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* 

^ 


-3 


BOSTON 

Medical  Lib b art 


8  THE  FENWAY 


1 


THE 


NEV-YORK  DISSECTOR: 


Ca  (fllnarterls  lonntal 


or 


MEDICINE,  SURGERY,.  MAGNETISM,  MESMERISM. 


AHh   THB   COLLATBRAL   BCIEHCB& 


WITH  THB 


MYSTERIES  AND  FALLACIES  OP  THE  FACOLTV. 


■DnXD  ET 


/^PPie  1390  ^ 


YOli,frnJS^t''lSUTO  184a 


i 


NEW-YORK: 
PUBLISHED     BY     THE     EDITOR, 

1848. 


CATALOGUED, 
E.  H.  B. 


THE    DISSECTOE. 


▼d.  I.) 


ITEW-TORE,    XANUABT,  1844. 


(Wo.  I. 


▲RTJOLB  I. 
The  M78t«ries  of  tho  Faculty. 
Physicians  of  learning  and  experience 
know  that  no  dependence  can  be  placed  on 
&e  old  astrolc^ical .  symptoms,  by  which 
they  have  been  taught  to  distinguish  tuber- 
cnJar  disease,  nor  on  the  common  imbecile 
remedies  for  it,  as  is  seen  by  the  following 
declaiutions  of  the  distinguished  professor, 
M.  Lugol,  of  Paris,  to  the  students  of  medi- 
cine, 1841*. 

"Tubercles  may  exist  in  parenchymatous 
organs,  may  even  partly  annihilaie  thtrm, 
without  iheir  existence  being  revealed  by  any 
external  symptoms.  Our  want  of  success  in 
ihe  nsc  ol  the  ordmary  means  of  tiiagnosii- 
eaking  tubercles,  proves  that  those  means  are 
inadequate,  that  we  follow  an  erroneous 
conrsein  oar  iovestigations,  and  that  we  must 
resort  to  new  modes  if  we  wish  to  be  success- 
ftd.  The  numerous  checks  and  ri'peated 
deceptions  to  which  physicians  are  daily  ex- 
posed in  the  diagnosis  and  treatment  of  tuber- 
eoloiis  dis  .^ases,  do  th»y  not  prove  that  it  is 
neeesaiy  :o  leave  the  b»:aten  track  of  inquiry 
and  pursue  some  other  which  is  less  fallible]" 

Few  physicians,  however,  will  leave  the 
old  beaten  track  for  a  new  one,  until  they  are 
driven  from  it  by  public  opinion ;  no  matter 
whattfae  consequences  may  be  to  their  patients, 

"  Wherever  we  have  any  thing  like  princi- 
ples to  guide  us,  our  prescriplion^  are  extremely 
amiied;  wherever  we  have  no  fixed  principles 
to  guide  us,  our  prescriptions  accumulate  with 
empirieni  rapidity.  But  what,  it  may  be  rea- 
sonably enquirecT,  is  the  principal  cause  of  all 
this  complexity  of  lormulae  in  chronic  dis- 
eases? undoubtedly  iL  arises  from  that 
vagueness  of  opinion  which  exists  respecting 
Ihe  nature  ot  these  diseases  in  their  onset, 
and  in  the  greater  part  of  their  progress ;  and 
so  long  as  we  attempt  U*  cover  our  Ignorance 
by  such  terms  as  nervous^  btUiaus,  dyspeptw^ 
spasmodic,  and  the  like,  so  long  shall  onr  prac- 
tice be  mere  experiment  in  most  chronic  affec- 
tions. We  may  make  a  sort  of  druggist'i 
fthopof  the  stomach  of  every  patient  laboring 
narer  chronic  disease,  by  alternately  cram- 

"  Tha  profMMn  of  our  medicfti  colleges,  like  the 
anoieat  astrolocers,  who  were  phyucians,  prieftU  and 
wtronomen,  pretead  to  dislingaish  chrome  diseases 
J.v  *"*  «•  P«*«»*he  atp^ct  of  ihe  urine,  the  odour 
•f  tA0  Mttda,  6a.  &<j.,  and  they  will  continue  to  teach 
""  „  Ig^  at  it  i»  ©f  any  valtie  in  the 


ingit  with  most  of  the  articles  of  the  pharma* 
copoBas;  but  we  shall  not,  probably,  advance 
in  the  treatment,  until  we  deduce  pathological 
principles,  from  cautiously  narking  the  rite 
and  progress  of  the  sympUms^  and  exploring 
their  seals  and  effects. — Dr.  Armstrong. 

"  The  whole  science  of  healing  is  built  upon 
fortuitous  and  chance  discoveries.  Like  the 
alchemists  of  old,  we  have  discovered  a 
thousand  valuable  things,  where  we  never 
thought  of  looking  for  mem ;  and  while  use- 
lessly seeking  lor  talismanic  gold,  we  have 
lighted  on  a  pearl  of  great  price.  Everr 
ihing,  in  fact,  is  presented  to  us  as  the  result 
ofexperiraent ;  and,  in  the  treatment  of  disea?p| 
(he  most  valuable  remedy  can  boast  of  no 
higher  origin  than  its  more  humble  neighbor.'* 
— G.  B.  Childs. 

In  addition  to  the  testimony  of  the  distin- 
fished  physicians  above  mentioned,  is  the 
following  extract  from  the  London  Lancet^ 
for  January  14,  1843,  to  the  same  effect; 
and  this  brief  paragraph  is  only  one  of  the 
many  evidences  afforded  by  that  very  high 
medical  authority,  and  indeed  by  the  medi^ 
literature  of  the  day,  that  a  brighter  era  is 
beginning  to  dawn  upon  this  momentous 
subject : 

"How  much  have  we  yet  to  learn,  how 
little  do  we  really  know,  of  the  nature  and 
rational  treatment,  not  only  of  the  diseases  of 
the  cerebro-spinal  system,  but  of  di.seases  in 
general!  Assuredly,  the  uncertain  and  most 
unsatisfactory  art  that  we  call  medical  sci- 
ence, is  no  science  at  all,  but  a  jumble  of  in- 
consistent opmions;  of  conclusions  hastily 
drawn  J  of  Tacts  badly  arranged;  of  observd- 
tions  made  wiii  carelessness ;  of  comparisons 
instituted  which  are  not  analogical;  of  hypo- 
theses which  are  foolish:  and  of  theories 
which,  if  not  useless,  are  dangerous.  Thi&  is 
the  reason  why  we  have  our  homceopathisUL 
and  our  hydropatbists ;  our  mesmerists  ana 
our  celestialists !"  (and  he  might  have  added 
an  army  of  arrant  quacks.)~DR.  Evans. 
Edikburo. 

Mr.  Wakley,  M.  P.,  in  his  editorial  arti- 
cle, in  the  same  number,  advises  the  mem* 
bers  of  the  medical  profession,  to  conunenoe 
collecting  facts,  in  their  several  districts,  de 
novo,  on  which  to  found,  at  a  future  period, 
a  rational  and  effectual  mode  of  treating 
diseases. 


2 


Mysteries  of  the  Faculty. 


The  illibciality  with  which  I  have  been 
treated,  by  many  of  the  leading  men  of  the 
profession,  while  I  have  been  alone  engaged, 
through  a  long  series  of  years,  in  establish- 
ing the  true  character  and  great  importance 
of  the  new  symptoms  and  remedies,  in 
chronic  diseases,  and  in  the  only  way  in 
which  I  could  hope  for  success,  will  fully 
justify  me,  in  thus  exposing  to  the  public  in 
the  years  of  my  triumph,  the  heartless  im- 
positions those  men  are  constantly  practis- 
ing. 

The  following  observations  upon  the  mys- 
teries and  fallacies  of  the  faculty,  are  from 
one  of  the  most  intellectual  men  of  the  age. 

Observers  of  passing  events  cannot  have 
failed  for  some  year^past  to  recognize  the  ap- 
proach of  a  new  era  in  the  science  of  medi- 
pine.  The  practitioner  who  has  imbibed  his 
dogmas  during  his  hospital  pupilage,  who, 
from  inertness,  indifference,  or  incompetency, 
rejoices  in  the  conjectural  nature  of  his  an, 
who  contemns  its  .principles,  closes  his  ears 
against  its  reasoning,  and  his  understanding 
to  its  improvetnenis,  may  proceed  self-suffi- 
cienUy,  and  empirically,  to  the  lermioation  of 
his  career.  Tne  practitioner  of  this  stamp 
may  boldly  vaunt  his  experience  as  the  infal- 
lible criterion  of  the  means  that  are  available 
by  n^aa  in  alleviating  misery  and  prolonging 
existence,  and  may  continue  to  play  upon  the 
weaknesses  and  sufferings  of  humanity,  and 
the  contingencies  of  life,  regardless  alike  of 
the  advancement  of  learning,  and  of  the  use- 
fulpractical  results  which  flow  from  it. 

But  the  disciples  of  a  truly  rational  medi- 
cine, who  are  now  daily  filling  the  ranks  of 
the  profession,  who,  being  active,  emulous, 
and  competent,  are  watching  with  a  vigilant 
eye  the  progress  of  science,  and  are  drawing 
continually  from  its  tributary  streams,  for  the 
means  of  rendering  more  complete  their 
knowledge  of  the  animil  economy— who  seize 
with  avidity  every  newly  developed  truth, 
view  it  in  all  its  relations,  compare  it  with 
previously  discovered  troths,  fix  its  legitimate 
value,  and  assign  its  proper  locality,— who, 
slow  to  adopt  erode  incories,  founded  upon 
oncertain  data;  slower  still  in  resorting  to 
ex})edients  of  conjectural  utility,  both  in  me- 
dicine and  suigery ;  arrive,  albeit,  impercep- 
tibly, at  unerring  principles,  as  the  basis  of  a 
considerate  and  cautions,  but  an  energetic  and 
fearless  practice.  Such  men  must  hail  with 
the  liveliest  enthusiasm,  every  new  impulse 
received  by  the  science,  at  a  period  of  its  his- 
tory when  there  is  promised  a  richer  harvest 
of  beneficial  results  than  at  any  which  has 
preceded  it       HENRY  ANCELL,  Esq., 

Leelnrer  on  Medical  Jarispnidence  «t  the  School  of 
Anatomy  and  Medirintt.  Grosrenor  Place,  Saint 
Oaoixii'>  Hospital,  and  Surgeon  to  the  Western  Gene- 
ral l)i.«prn«arr.— LoMDOH  La!«cbt  —Aw.  19, 1842. 


ABTIOLB  ZI. 
Symptoma  of  Tubercular  Disease. 

Tubercula,  or  Scrofula,  is  invariably  dis- 
tinguished by  pain,  more  or  less  severe  in 
proportion  to  the  intensity  of  the  disease, 
produced  by  pressure  on  the  ganglions  of  the 
spinal  nerves,  in  the  intervertebral  spaces 
along  each  side  of  the  spine :  no  matter 
what  name  may  have  been  given  to  the 
malady  by  physicians,  nosologists,  or  odxer 
medical  writers.  These  ganglions  are  oigan» 
of  sensation,  and  are  connected  with  the 
skin  and  serous  membranes,  as  well  as  the 
serous  surfaces,  in  every  part  of  the  body» 
through  the  posterior  spinal  nerves;  while 
the  anterior  and  motor  spinal  nerves,  aie 
connected  with  the  mucous  membranes,  and 
mucous  surfaces  in  every  part  of  the  body; 
and  this  arrangement  of  the  nerves  of  sensa- 
tion and  motion,  was  obviously  necessary, 
both  to  the  inception  and  existence  of  the 
animal  creation,  to  prevent  the  imtating 
efiects  of  the  atmosphere,  of  fluids,  and 
semi-fiuids,  or  other  non-solid  substances, 
which  are  necessarily  and  C3n8tantly  in  con- 
tact with  the  mucous  membranes,  and  mucous 
surfaces  of  sentient  creatures.  The  foUow- 
ing  case,  in  which  nearly  all  the  organs  and 
limbs  were  aiiected  with  tubercular  disease  at 
the  same  time,  not  only  gives  a  very  clear 
view  of  the  simplicity  and  accuracy  of  these 
symptoms,  but  also  conclusively  demonstrates 
a  direct  connection  between  the  ganglions 
of  the  spinal  nerves,  and  the  serous  mem-- 
branes  and  surfaces : — 

Mrs.  J.  P.,  of  good  constitution,  light  own- 
plexion,  and  naturally  full  habit,  aged  22 
years. 

Called  to  see  her  January  11th,  1835. 
She  has  a  swelling  on  the  right  side  of  her 
neck  and  face,  which  commenced  about  the 
10th  of  November  last,  and  has  been  out  of 
health  about  three  years. 

Suspecting  tubercula,  and  without  making 
further  inquiries,  and  in  the  presence  of  a 
number  of  gentlemen  and  ladies,  we  commen- 
ced an  examination  of  the  lymphatic  glands 
along  both  sides  of  the  spine,  and  first  with 
those  of  the  first  cervical  vertebrc,  and 
presised  with  the  finger  upon  one  lying  close 


Symptoms  of  Tubercular  Disease, 


to  dw  right  side  of  the  vertebre,  and  of  the 
aate  of  a  very  small  bean,  which  produced  a 
scream  from 'severe  spasmodic  pain,  which, 
on  every  repetition  of  the  pressure,  darted 
violently,  and  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning, 
into  the  external  cervical  and  submaxillary 
tnbeides,  and  into  the  upper  jaw,  ear,  and 
T^t  ade  of  the  head ;  and  on  her  complain- 
ing of  its  darting  also  into  her  throat,  we  gx- 
andnedit,  and  found  two  tubercles  rising  con- 
fl|ttciioiisIyin  the  right  tonsil,  and  one  in  the 
gum  of  the  upper  jaw,  all  of  which  were 
veiy  awe,  and  also  painful  under  pressure. 
We  now  applied  pressure  in  die  same  way  to 
tiiese  cervical  and  submaxillary  tubercles  on 
the  side  of   the  neck  and  the  under-jaw, 
which  produced  &e  same  Ipnd  of  pain  in 
diem,  which,  at  every  repetition  of  the  pres- 
aore,  darted  violently  along  the  neck  and  un 
der  the  clavicle  into  the  upper  portion  of  the 
ri^t  lung.    We  now  applied  pressure  to  the 
left  aide  of  the  first  vertebra,  on  a  stQl  smaller 
tabeitle,  and  she  screamed  again,  and  pointed 
her  finger  to  the  spot  ike  pain  darted  to,  on 
the  apper  portion  of  the  left  side  of  the  neck, 
and  on  examination,  we  found  there  a  large 
aobmaxiUajy  tubercle,  and  on  applying  pres- 
sure  to  this,  the  scream  was  again  repeated, 
and  she  at  the  same  time  applied  her  hand 
to  the  left  breast  or  mamma,  and  then  point- 
ed out  the  course  of  1^  pain  from  the  tu- 
bode  akmg  the  neck  and  under  the  clavicle 
into  the  breast    We  now  examined  it,  and 
foimd  it  every  where  literally  crammed  with 
tobeiciea  of  the  size   of  peas;  the  breast 
one-diiid  larger  than  the  right ;  color  of  the 
akin  natural.    The  right  breast  flaccid  every 
where,  and  neither  gland  nor  tubercle  to  be 
lelt  in  it 

The  conall  tubercles  along  the  right 
aide  of  the  other  cervide  vertebrae  were  sore 
or  tender,  and  pressure  on  the  upper  ones 
aent  darting  pains  into  the  right  side  of  the 
neck,  and  on  the  left  side  of  the  lower  one 
into  the  region  of  the  heart,  and  checked  her 
bieathing.  Pressure  applied  now  on  the 
tides  of  the  first,  second,  third,  and  fourth 
daraal,  produced  pain  which  darted  into  the 
rtomach;  and  on  the  second,  third,  fourth, 
«d  fifth  lumbar,  produced  the  most  severe 


spasmodic  pain,  and  darted  violently  into  the 
uterus.  Pressure  on  the  sides  of  the  other 
vertebra  produced  no  pain  or  e&ct  what- 
ever. 

We  now  inquired  at  what  time  she  first  dis- 
covered tubercles  or  swellings  on  the  side  d 
her  neck  ?  She  answered,  about  the  first  of 
June,  or  the  first  of  July,  her  attention  was 
first  directed  to  one  on  the  side  of  her  face, 
in  front  of  the  ear,  that  was  very  sore,  and 
at  times  painful,  and  that  at  such  times 'then 
was  "soreness  along  the  chords'*  of  the 
neck,  but  "never  thought  of  examining 
there  for  tubercles."  We  now  told  her  she 
must  have  white  swellings  of  some  of  her 
joints  or  limbs,  besides  that  of  the  neck  and 
face,  when  she  presented  her  left  arm  per- 
manently flexed  into  an  obtuse  angle.  On  re- 
moving the  clothing  from  this  arm,  it  pre- 
sented a  white  swelling  of  the  elbow  joint 
and  arm.  The  swelling  of  the  arm  waa^ 
united  to  that  of  the  joint,  and  extended  more 
than  half  way  to  the  shoulder,  and  there  was 
plainly  felt  along  the  under  side  of  this 
swelling,  or  under  and  inner  side  of  the  aim, 
a  large  or  wide  ganglia  of  tubercles,  extend- 
ing from  the  elbow  six  or  seven  inches  above 
it.  These  tubercles  were  of  the  size  of 
peas,  near  the  elbow,  but  became  gradually 
smaller,  and  of  the  size  of  small  seeds  where 
they  were  lost  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
swelling. 

We  inquired  now  whether  she  had  any  other 
swellings  about  her,  when  she  answered, 
"  no,  that's  all,"  but  I  told  her  it  would  not 
do, — she  must  have  white  swellings  of  the 
limbs  and  joints  of  the  right  side,  as  well  as 
of  the  left ;  and  after  viewing  me  for  a  mo- 
ment with  an  expression  of  hesitancy,  she 
began  to  make  preparations  to  show  me  her 
right  leg.  It  was  swelled  from  the  ankle  to 
the  knee,  and  had  an  elastic  and  pufly  feel, 
and  I  plainly  felt  along  the  front  and  aides  of 
the  tibia,  small  tubercles  from  the  size  of 
small  seeds  to  that  of  a  small  pea.  She  now 
told  me  she  would  show  me  the  other  one. 
It  was  swelled,  and  in  all  respects  like  the 
right  leg. 

Diagnosis,  tubercula  of  the  uterus,  both 
legs,  left  arm,  left  breast,  heart,  stomach. 


Symptwns  of  Tubercular  Disease. 


right  luDg,  cavity  of  tbe  ear,  right  lobp.  of 
cerebellum,  right  side  of  the  ntck,  upper 
jaw  of  right  side,  and  right  tonsil. 

On  applying  the  stethescope  to  l/ie  region 
of  the  heart,  we  found  its  action  si  ro  rig,  and  it 
jpppeared  to  strike  hard  against  tl.e  ribs,  but 
its  sound  was  subdued  or  muffled,  and 
its  action  was  felt  and  heard  under  the  cla- 
vicle of  the  right  side,  very  nearly  as  plainly 
as  in  its  own  region,  but  could  hear  it  very 
■lij^y  under  the  left  clavicle,  and  left  and 
right  side  of  the  back.  The  respiration  was 
natoial  in  every  part  of  the  chest,  except  in 
the  upper  portion  of  the  right  lung,  where  it 
was  very  slight,  and  at  times  inaudible. 
Diagnosis  by  stethescope :  Hypertrophy  of 
the  heart  and  tuberculated  upper  and  front 
portion  of  the  right  lung. 

We  now  inquired  into  the  history  of  this 
caae,  which  is  as  follows : — 

The  disease  commenced  about  three  years 
since,  when  she  was  living  in  Cincinnati, 
and  soon  after  an  attack  of  cholera,  with  the 
naaal  symptoms  of  chlorosis.  Her  catame< 
nia  commenced  when  she  was  fifteen,  but 
iq^peaied  but  twice  during  that  year,  and  only 
two  or  three  times  a  year  since  that  time,  and 
then  only  from  the  influence  of  medicine,  up 
to  the  first  of  December,  1833,  when  she 
was  married. 

Previous  to  her  marri^,  they  had  been 
absent  eleven  weeks,  but  appeared  in  a  day 
or  two  after,  and  have  re-appeared  since  that 
time  oftener  than  before,  in  a  proportion  of 
ahout  two  to  one,  but  have  always  been  very 
alight  or  small  in  quantity.  About  three 
years  since,  a  discharge  commenced  from  the 
uterus  which  was  adhesive,  and  of  a  white 
or  milky  color,  and  after  few  months  be- 
came of  a  yellow  color,  with  cheesy  matter 
or  flocculi,  and  has  continued  to  this  time. 
Her  feet  and  ankles.began  to  swell  about  six 
months  after  the  discharge  commenced,  and 
about  a  year  from  that  time,  her  legs  began 
to  swell  and  be  painful.  Her  back  became 
very  weak  soon  after  the  discharge  com- 
menced, and  has  contii\ued  so  to  this  time, 
and  she  has  frequently  more  or  less  pain 
along  the  lumbar  vertebrae.  About  the  mid- 
4)e  of  December,  1833,  and  two  weeks  after 


her  marriage,  her  left  arm  b^gan  to  swell  and 
be  painful,  and  in  the  first  part  of  June  last, 
her  left  breast  began  to  swell,  and  she  soon 
began  to  feel  darting  pains  in  it  at  intervals  of 
from  one  to  five  or  six  days,  which  still  con- 
tinue, and  are  gradually  becoming  more  fre- 
quent and  violent  In  the  first  part  of  July 
last,  her  right  ear  began  to  swell,  was  very 
red,  and  soon  became  very  painful,  and  the 
pain  extended  through  the  cavity  of  the  ear 
into  the  right  and  middle  portion  of  the  head, 
and  in  three  days  the  swelling  of  the  ear  sub- 
sided and  left  a  tubercle  of  the  size  of  a  pea, 
on  the  upper  side  of  the  jaw,  near  the  car; 
but  the  pain  in  the  internal  ear  and  head  baa 
continued  with  intervals  of  ease.  On  the  10th 
of  Nov.  last,  this  tubercle  began  to  enlaige, 
and  to  be  irritated ;  and  the  external  cerviole 
and  submaxillary  tubercles  of  the  same  side 
began  to  increase  in  size,  and  to  be  painful* 
and  soon  after  the  throat,  with  the  gum  of 
the  upper-jaw  of  the  right  side  became  sore 
and  painful ;  and  in  a  few  days  after,  the 
right  side  of  the  neck,  with  the  lower  and 
upper-jaw,  began  to  swell,  and  with  the  ear 
and  right  side  of  the  head  became  very  pain- 
ful. Her  heart  began  to  beat  very  hard  about 
the  last  of  November,  and  tiiis  strong  or  haid 
beating  continues.  On  the  26th  of  Decem- 
ber she  began  to -cough  and  expectorate,  and 
this  cough  and  expectoration  continue. 

Her  stomach,  from  the  commencement  of 
the  disease  in  the  uterus,  has  been  more  or 
less  disordered  with  first  mild  and  then 
acute  symptoms  of  dyspepsia :  bowels  con- 
fined. 

The  marasmus  has  been  slow  but  constant, 
and  is  now  much  advanced,  with  flaccidityof 
the  muscles. 

The  disease,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  history 
of  this  case,  was  traced  with  great  accuracy 
to  the  diflerent  oigans  and  limbs.  It  was 
then  in  an  active  state,  in  consequence  of  a 
cold ;  for  when  we  repeated  the  examination, 
about  two  weeks  from  that  time,  after  the 
cold  had  subsided,  and  the  disease  had  con- 
sequently become  passive,  the  pain  produced 
by  pressure  did  not  dart  into  the  diseased  or- 
gans as  before. 

We  can,  therefore,  not  onlv  detenniae  the 


Symptim^  of  Tuberculcar  Disease, 


cbancter  of  the  diaeaae  by  these  symptoms, 
which  are  constant  in  all  the  cases,  but  we 
can  detenoine  whether  it  is  in  its  active  or 
passiTe  state,  in  patients  of  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions, without  any  previous  knowletige  of 
them. 

When  the  disease  commences  in  one  oigan 
or  limb,  it  is  frequently  propagated  to  the 
tither  (Bgans  or  limbs,  as  is  seen  in  this  and 
Ae  following  cases : — 

Mis.  T.  S.,  aged  31  years.  She  came  to 
•eeQsAug:u8t  14,  1836,  and  says  she  has 
ieen  oat  of  health  about  five  years*  The  ex- 
finmariwn  jq  her  case  was  commenced  as 
QBul,  by  an  examination  of  the  spine,  and 
tet  of  the  fiiat  cervical  vertebia. 

PiesBoie  on  a  small  tubercle  of  the  right 
ade  of  it  produced  severe  pain,  which  darted 
into  the  right  side  of  the  throat,  and  right 
side  of  the  heal  Pressure  on  the  right  side 
of  U  produced  psdn,  which  darted  into  the 
left  side  of  her  diioat.  Pressrue  on  the  siies 
oi  the  second  joint  also  produced  pain,  which 
daitod  into  the  upper  and  front  part  of  the 
neck.  Pressure  on  the  2, 3, 4,  and  5  dorsal, 
prodnoed  severe  pain,  which  darted  into  the 
stomach.  Pressure  on  the  right  side  of  the 
7, 8,  and  9  produced  severe  pain  also,  which 
darted  into  the  r^on  of  the  liver.  Pressure 
on  the  3  and  4  lumbar  dorsal  was  painful. 
Pre«sare  on  the  other  cervical  dorsal  and  lum- 
bar vertebnc,  produced  no  pain  or  ef&ct  what- 
ever. 

We  now  examined  the  line  of  glands  along 
^  neck,  and  under  the  jaws,  and  found 
fliem  very  much  enlarged,  and  told  her  that 
her  tonsils  and  palate  were  enlaiged,  and 
that  she  had  the  dyspepsia,  chronic  dis- 
ease of  the  liver  and  leucorrhoea,  besides, 
swellings  of  some  of  her  limbs. 

She  said  that  vras  right,  and  that  the  dis- 
eaas  commenced  in  the  uterus  five  years  be- 
Icne,  and  about  a  year  after  it  commenced  in 
ber  liver,  and  in  a  few  months  after  that,  in 
her  stomach;  and  that  it  was  now  nearly 
lluee  months  since  her  ankles  and  legs  began 
lo  swell.  It  is  now  a  year  since  her  cata- 
menia  disappeared,  and  they  have  not  since 
tetomed.     On  examining  her  throat,  found 


and  the  tongue  one-tiiird  larger  than  natoral. 
The  tonsils  are  very  sensible  to  pressure,  and 
have,  with  the  palate  and  rest  of  the 
throat,  a  dark  red  color,  and  during  the  las^ 
few  weeks  the  act  of  deglutition,  or  of  swal- 
lowing solid  food,  has  been  difficult  and  pain- 
ful. She  has  had  more  or  less  pain  in  the 
right  side  of  her  head  with  dizziness,  during 
the  last  few  months.  She  is  also  very  pale, 
feeble,  and  emaciated. 

Mr.  W.,  merchant,  aged  28  years,  called 
upon  me  May  — ,  1836,  who  told  me  h« 
had  been  out  of  health  a  number  of  yeare, 
and  had  been  growing  much  worse  during  the 
last  few  weeks. 

On  appl3ring  pressure  to  the  2,  3,  and  4 
dorsal  it  pradnoad  •  Ml  pain  in  these  verte- 
bne.  Pressure  on  the  right  side  of  the  spine, 
between  the  7  and  8  and  8  and  9  dorsal,  pro- 
duced the  same  kind  of  pain.  Pressure  on 
the  right  side,  between  the  12th  dorsal  and 
first  lumbar  vertebne,  produced  severe  pain, 
which  darted  into  the  region  of  the  right  kid- 
ney, showing  the  disease  in  an  acture  slate  in 
the  last  oigan,  and  in  a  passive  state  in  the 
Hver  and  stomach.  There  also  appeared  to 
be  a  swelling  along  the  right  side  of  the  spine» 
extending  from  the  9th  dorsal  to  the  5th  lum- 
bar vertebrae,  which  had  a  pufiy  or  elastic 
feel,  and  on  comparing  this  with  the  left  side 
of  the  spine,  this  swelling  and  puffiness  was 
very  conspicuous.  Diagnosis:  Tubercula 
of  the  liver,  stomach,  right  kidney,  and  spine. 

The  disease,  he  info0ned  me,  commenced 
in  the  liver  about  three  years  before,  and  that 
it  was  about  a  year  since  it  commenced  in 
his  stomach,  and  three  weeks  since  it  extend- 
ed to  his  kindey,  and  gave  him  the  most  se- 
rious alarm  for  his  safety-.  He  has»  as  usual 
in  such  cases,  consulted  and  employed  a 
number  of  physcians  in  this  case,  and  rigidly 
followed  their  prescriptions,  and  yet  the  dis- 
ease in  the  liver  continued  to  grow  worse — 
was  extended  to  the  stomach,  and  has  now 
extended  to  the  right  kidney,  and  right  side 
of  the  spine. 

These  symptoms  point  to  the  disease  in 
every  other  part  of  the  system  that  may  be  tub- 
erculated,  in  the  most  arbitrary  manner ;  as  in 


^  toBsili  and  polale  very  much  enlarged,  these  cases  without  any  regard  to  the  classtfi- 


Symptoms  of  Tubercular  Disease. 


cation  of  noflologists,  or  the  pedantic  theories 
of  the  schools. 

They  are  the  natural  and  scientific  symp- 
toms of*  the  disease  in  its  active  and  passive 
state  in  the  organs — they  are  produced  by 
natural  causes,  and  are  very  plain,  invariable, 
and  easily  understood. 

When  the  disease  has  commenced  in  one 
(Mgan  or  limb,  it  is  frequently  propagated 
from  that  to  another  organ  or  limb,  as  in  the 
ease  of  Mrs.  J.  P — cases  in  which  it  is  propa- 
gated from  the  tonsils  and  uvula  to  the  lungs, 
and  from  the  stomach,  to  the  lungs,  and  from 
the  liver  to  the  stomach,  and  from  the  uterus 
to  the  ankles,  legs,  and  stomach,  are  very 
common 


In  examining  patients  with  chronic  dis- 
eases, it  should  not  be  foigotten  that  the  dis- 
ease is  sometimes  in  an  active,  but  most  com' 
monly  in  a  passive  state.  If  the  disease  were 
constantly  in  an  active  state,  patients  would 
die  with  it  in  a  few  weeks,  like  those  with 
acute  diseases,  instead  of  living  as  they  do 
months,  and  sometimes  years.  We  can  al- 
ways tell,  in  an  instant,  whether  it  is  in  an 
active  or  passive  state,  in  the  organs,  by 
pressure  in  the  proper  places  on  the  spine. 
If  the  disease  is  active,  the  pain  produced  by 
the  pressure  will  dart  into  the  diseased  organ 
with  a  violence  proportioned  to  the  intensity 
of  the  disease,  but  if  it  is  in  a  passive  stale, 
pressure  produces  pain  in  the  spine  only 


PrPM  baf«    to    iad 
1,  mpLdBS  of  tvbor- 

\i-\iia.  of  tho  hood, 
ijurqihif  ud  toofuo. 

Hnrr  to  Aodthomof 


Luogs,   and 


Urnkmrmuktm. 


In  distinguishing  the  disease,  and  in  tracing 
it  in  the  di&rent  organs  and  limbs,  we  com- 
menced and  pursued  the  examinations  as  de- 
tailed in  the  cases  appended  to  this  work  as 
we  commonly  do,  without  any  previous 
knowledge  of  them.  Any  person  of  common 
education  and  capacity  may  easily  distinguish 
the  disease  in  the  same  way,  in  any  of  the 
oigans  or  limbs. 


Here  14 
at  ttiB 
hvVkrt 

HfTV  to  iind    tlMB 
uf  die  ilamock  Uld 

<&rf  e  mtottinoa. 

Here  tofladthomof 

iLe  llvor. 

lleta  ta  fiodthomof 

L^)r<    imai  intOldlMO. 

r[er«toftDdtlMmor 
JUrrta  end  thorn  of 


I  Ltti    hsrfi     to 

ihrui  of  Ibo 


which  does  not  dart  into  the  diseased  oigan 
as  in  its  active  state,  but  is  more  or  less 
severe  in  proportion  to  the  progress  of  the 
disease. 

In  many  cases  of  the  disease  afiecting  the 
different  organs,  pain  more  or  less  severe  is 
felt  along  the  vertebrae,  when  none  is  felt 
in  the  diseased  organ.  We  frequentiy  find 
the  same  phenomenon  in  disease  of  the  hip 


Recent  European  Discoveries  in  Tubercular  Disease. 


jmnU  where  the  pain  is  in  the  knee  instead  of 
the  hip. 

FatientB  consequently  refer  the  disease  to 
the  place  where  the  pain  is  felt,  and  some 
physcians  who  have  no  more  knowledge 
than  they,  agree  with  them,  and  apply  their 
remedies  to  the  same  place.  Large  blisters 
have  been  applied  to  the  knee,  and  cupping, 
Uisteiiog,  setons,  issues  and  the  moxa  to  the 
spne  in  such  cases  without  mercy  during 
many  months,  and  an  enonnous  amount  of 
gofleriog  has  been  frequently  inflicted  in  this 
way  with  little  or  no  benefit  to  the  patient 

These  symptoms  are  magnetic,  for  when 
we  press  on  the  ganglions  of  spinal  nerves, 
in  the  active  state  of  the  disease,  and  the  pain 
inoduced  by  pressure  darts  into  the  diseased 
dgan,  a  fwce  passes  into  |he  oigans,  and 
ooDsequendy  produces  pain  in  it,  and  that 
force  is  magnetic 

ABTICLE  III. 

B«c0iit  Baropean  diicoreriai  In  Tubercular 

Diaease. 

In  the  {receding  article,  the  editor  has  pre- 
sented three  cases  out  of  many  thousands 
that  have  occurred  in  his  own  practice  during 
Ae  last  thirty  years,  to  illustrate  the  symp- 
toms of  tubercular  disease,  upon  which  his 
peculiar  mode  of  treatment  has  been  founded. 
If  those  symptoms  and  that  treatment  have 
remained,  for  so  long  a  period,  comparatively 
unknown  to,  and  unacknowledged  by  the 
profession  in  general,  it  is  to  their  prejudices 
and  their  attachment  to  the  old  visionary 
tibeories  and  practice  of  the  schools,  that 
the  eoDsequences  must  be  chaiged;  for  he 
has  poblished  more  than  fifteen  thousand  co- 
pies of  several  works  which  he  has  written 
upon  the  subject,  and  transmitted  them  far 
and  near. 

It  is  due,  however,  to  some  of  the  members 
of  die  profession,  to  state,  that  their  intelli- 
gence and  candor  have  already,  within  a  few 
years  past,  cleared  away  much  of  the  dense 
mass  of  bigotry  and  hostility  which  surround- 
ed them,  and  opened  a  fertile  field  of  exten- 
sive usefulness.  To  those  enlightened  and 
lihend  coadjutors,  scarcely  less  than  to  the 
editor  himself,  it  must  afford  a  high  and 


cheering  sadsfaction,  to  see  exhibited,  to  the 
whole  medical  world,  so  triumphant  a  con- 
finnation  of  the  truth  of  their  theory  and 
practice,  as  is  obtained  from  the  recent  disco- 
veries of  several  of  the  most  distinguished 
physicians  and  anatomists  oi  Europe.  And 
first  for  the  direct  connection  which  we  have 
claimed  between  the  posterior  spinal  nerves 
and  the  oigans,  we  extract  the  following  no- 
tice from  a  late  number  of  the  London  Lancet 
[anatomt  op  the  qanolionic  nerves.] 
The  researches  of  Volkmann  and  Bidder 
have  confirmed— what,  indeed,  the  march  of 
science  had  previously  caused  to  be  little 
doubted  by  physiologists — that  the  ganglionic 
or  sympaiheticis  not  a  mere  offset  from  the  oe- 
rebro-spinal  nervous  system,  but  an  indepo^ 
dent  system  of  itself.  The  above  anatomists 
have,  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  verified  a 
great  difference  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
nervous  fibrillae  in  the  two  systems.  The 
fibrillae  of  the  sympathetic  nerves  are  distin- 
guished from  those  of  the  spinal  cord,  by 
being  paler,  thinner,  and  containing  less  gra- 
nular mailer.  Collected  in  bundles  they  lukva 
a  greyish-yellow  tinge.  Where  they  com- 
municate with  the  spinal  nerves,  the  nbrilsof 
each  system  of  nerves  may  be  distinctly  tra- 
ced by  the  aid  of  the  microscope.  Those  of 
the  sympathetic  system  are  seen  not  only  to 
penetrate  to  the  centre  of  the  spinal  nenres, 
but  to  spread  themselves  around  the  eircnmlS»- 
rence  of  the  latter,  where,  by  a  careful  mea- 
surement, the  greater  number  are  found  to  be 
distributed.  If  the  »ympathetic  nerves  orici« 
nated  from  those  of  the  spinal  cord,  say  VoQe- 
mann  and  Bidder,  we  ought  to  find  fibrils 
belonging  to  them  in  the  roots  of  the  sninal 
nerves.  Now,  if  these  roots  be  exanuned, 
scarcely  one  sympathetic  HmongGAy  medulaiy 
fibrils  will  be  found;  though  thejr  ought  m 
such  a  case  to  be  met  with  there  in  greatest 
n umber.  Tke  sympathetic  nerves  in  reality  ori- 
ginate in  the  gangUa ;  but  not  only  in  the  gan- 
glia of  the  sympathetic  cord,  but  those  also 
on  the  posterior  branches  of  the  spinal  nerves. 
These  latter  ganglia  especially  |;ive  origin  to 
the  sympathetic  filaments  destmed  to  unite 
with  the  posterior  ramifications  of  the  spinal 
nerves,  a  fact  which  gives  probability  to  the 
hypothesis  of  Weber  respecting  the  use  of  the 
spinal  ganglia.— lfVm<y'5  Natizen,  xxxi.,  90. 
Now,  we  many  yeare  since  discovered,  with 
the  magnetic  symptoms,  (by  which  tabercu- 
lar  disease  is  distinguished  in  little  children* 
with  the  same  certainty  as  in  adults,)  a  di- 
rect  connection  between  the  posterior  spinal 
nerves,  and  the  ganglionic  or  sympathetic 
system  of  nerves,  connected  with  the  oigans, 
which  connection,  has  been  constantly  denied 
I  by  the  advocates  of  the  ridiculous  notion  of 


JpilJI.  pi 


^ 


8 


RaceaU  European  Discaveriea  in  Tuhercukar  Disease. 


refening  tubeicalar  disease  of  the  oigans,  to 
«< spinal  disease,'*  "spinal  irritation"  '*ner« 
vous  affectioDS  of  the  spine,*'  "  spinal  neu- 
ralgia,** &c.,  with  all  their  horribly  torturing 
appliances.  We  also  traced  this  connection 
with  clairvoyants,  and  Volkmann  and  Bidder 
have  now  traced  it  w^ith  the  microscope,  and 
as  this  connection  is  now  confinned  by  foreign 
authority,  it  will  be  taught  in  our  medical 
colleges,  in  connection  with  the  magnetic 
symptoms,  as  soon  as  the  conceited  profes- 
sors of  these  schools  can  be  replaced  by  men 
who  hare  talents  and  industry  to  keep  pace 
with  the  improvements  in  our  profession. 
The  quackery  which  these  professors  have 
practised  and  disseminated-  in  their  lectures, 
and  the  amount  of  suffering  they  have  in- 
flicted upon  their  patients,  while  they  were 
fiteially  groaning  under  the  weight  of  their 
knowledge  of  "spuial  disease" — "spinal 

IRRITATION" — "  NBRVOUS  AFFECTIONS  OF  THE 
SPINE** — "  SPINAL  NEURALGIA,**  &C.,  which  it 

10  now  seen  were  never  favored  with  a  real 
existence,  is  absolutely  appalling ;  yet  they 
have  the  vanity  to  establish  rules  of  prac- 
tice, and  the  barefaced  efirontery  to  denounce 
every  physician  who  varies  from  them. 

In  confirmation  of  the  views  which  we  have 
90  long  maintained  on  this  continent,  of  the 
generaJ  prevalence  of  tuberculax  disease  in 
Uie  organs  and  limbs,  against  the  combined 
inflneiice  of  the  professors  of  our  colleges,  we 
present  the  following  abstract  of  the  second 
lecture  of  M.  Lugol  of  Paris,  on  Scrofula. 

7\Lberdes  in  particular  Organs. — The  con- 
sideration of  this  pan  of  the  subject  belongs 
rather  to  Pathological  Anatomy.  The  diag- 
nosis of  tubercles  in  particular  organs,  is  very 
diJicuU  at  least  in  the  first  period  of  their  ex- 
istence. 

When  tubercles  exist  in  the  sub-cutaneous 
regions,  the  mere  local  examination  of  the 
part  at  once  enables  us  to  convince  ourselves 
of  their  presence,  although,  as  we  have  al- 
ready stated,  these  morbid  productions  devel- 
ofte  thftinselvet  gradually  mihozU  pain,  and 
without  swelling  of  the  surrounding  parts,  in 
a  word  without  giving  rise  to  any  perceptible 
pheoomena. 

When,  therefore,  we  consider,  that  sub-cu- 
taneous tubercles  only  become  manifest  du- 
ring the  first  stages  of  their  existence,  because 
they  are  external,  we  can  easily  understaod 
ho  V  it  is,  that  in  the  mediastinum  and  the  par 
renchymatons  organs,  this  source  of  diagno- 


sis being  closed,  it  should  be,  always  difficulty 
and  oflen  impossible  to  recognize  thelir  pre- 
sence. 

Tubercles  may  exist  in  parenehymatous 
organs,  may  even  panly  annikilaU  lAent  wilK* 
tnU  their  ezisLence  being  revealed  by  a7iy  external 
symptoms;  or  if  they  are  discovered  it  is  at  an 
advanced  period  of  their  existence,  when  they 
have  so  far  progressed  that  treatment  is  lio 
1  .iger  of  any  avail.  In  such  cases  it  can 
scaice  be  said  that  the  mal.dy  haa  been 
recognized  during  life;  they  belong  in  lealit/ 
lu  Pathological  Anatomy. 

Our  want  of  success  in  the  use  of  the  ordinary 
means  of  diagnosticaUng  tubercles,  proves  thai 
those  msans  are  inadeqiuUe,  that  we  follow  an^ 
erroneons  course  in  our  investigations,  and  that 
we  must  resort  to  new  modes  if  toe  wish  to  be  sue- 
cestui. 

When  pulmonary  tubercles  are  suspected, 
we  resort  to  auscaliation  and  percussion,  bat 
in  many  cases  these  fail  us,  even  when  nu- 
merous tui»ercles  are  disseminate^L  through 
the  lungs,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  that  many 
physicians,  after  having  greatly  exaggerated 
the  value  of  the  stethoscopir  signs,  now  de- 
clare them  of  little  value,  at  least  daring  the 
first  stages  of  the  disease.  I'here  is  here 
another  mode  to  which  we  may  resort,  induc- 
tion; fur  instance,  a  patient  complains  for 
some  time  of  slight  pain  and  uneasiness  in 
the  thoracic  cavity,  we  resort  to  auscultation 
and  percussion,  the  resonance  of  the  thorax  is 
every  where  normal,  pulmonary  expansion 
free  and  easy,  respiration  perfectly  natural,  and 
guided  by  these  data  the  physician  declares 
that  there  are  no  tubercles  in  the  lungs.  But 
he  is  deceved,  the  method  of  invealifi:atioa 
which  he  has  followed  has  been  inefficient 
If  we  consider  that  the  patient  is  bom  of  ta- 
berculous  parents,  that  he  has  lost  brothers  or 
sisters  from  phthisis,  or  that  they  are  suffering 
from  cervical  tubercles,  white  swelling  or 
other  scrofulous  affections,  that  his  health  is 
delicate,  his  growth  has  been  df'ficient,  in  a 
word,  if  we  consult  with  care  antecedents  and 
Cdincidences,  we  hall  acquire  the  conviction 
that  his  lungs  contain  tubercles,  although 
avscuUation  is  powerless  to  dem/mstrate  their 
presence. 

One  of  two  things  happens,  either  ansccU 
tation  agrees  with  the  aata  furnished  by  in- 
duction, then  it  affords  a  valuable  concurrent 
testimony,  or  it  disagrees,  and  then  I  think  we 
should*  follow  induction  as  less  Hkeiy  to  de* 
ceive  us.  Especially  would  I  rely  on  the 
evidence  of  hereditary  taint 

Tuherdes  in  th"  //rain.— Out  of  four  cases, 
in  which  tubercles  were  found  in  the  brain 
after  death,  there  were  two  in  which  symp- 
toms were  noted  which  might  be  referred  to 
their  presence,  but  in  the  oiher  two,  though 
the  le.sions  were  more  serions,  no  signs  re- 
vealed the  tuberculous  disease.  In  one  of 
these  cases,  the  left  hemisphere  had  nearly 
disappeared,  being  replaced  by  a  cyst  filled 
with  tuberculous  matter.  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  brain  shoukl  imdergo  such  extensive 


Anatomy  of  the  Ganglionic  Nerves. 


9 


alterations  teiikaiU  any  exiemal  symptoms,  in- 
forming US  of  ihe  gravity  of  the  lesions  which 
had  taken  place  in  its  substance. 

It  is  equally  difficult  to  ascertain  the  pre- 
sence of  tubercles  in  the  cerebellum,  in  most 
cases  indeed  their  existence  is  not  even  sus- 
pected, M.  Lugol  has  met  with  several  in- 
stances in  which  tubercles  as  large  as  a 
wtUnnt  or  a  horse  cluanuty  have  been  lound  in 
the  cerebellum,  in  subjects  who  presented 
during  life  no  indication  of  encephalic  dis- 
ease.  One  of  the  cases  he  relates  in  illustra- 
tion of  this  fact,  is  interesting  in  a  physiolo- 
gical point  of  view.  A  young  girl,  though  17 
years  old,  presented  no  indications  of  puberty, 
the  breasts  and  genitals  were  completely  ru- 
dimentary. The  head  was  always  thrown 
iMckwua,  and  it  was  only  by  an  effbit  of  the 
wiU  that  it  could  be  brought  forward. 

M.  Lugol  has  seen  tubercles  in  the  tuber 
annulare,  (pons  varoLU,  ^  fig.  4)  without  any 
symptoms. 

T^ubercles  in  the  iMngs.-^ln  the  lungs,  tu- 
bercles are  so  commonly  met  with,  that  M. 
Lugol  believes  it  to  be  a  rule  having  very  few 
exceptions,  that  they  always  co-exist  in  that 
organ  with  other  scrofulous  disease,  if  the 
patient  have  attained  to  the  age  of  pubertv. 
They  may  appear  very  early  in  life,  and  oo- 
stinale  cough  in  ekUdren  sometimes  depends 
on  their  presence.  The  period  of  life  at 
which  they  are  most  commonly  developed  is 
the  few  years  after  puberty.  At  this  period 
we  too  often  observe  in  scrofulous  patients 
the  terrible  array  of  symptoms  which  charac- 
terize phthisis. 

Puberty  then  is  the  time  at  which  tubercles 
in  the  lungs  most  commonlv  appear,  and  this 
is  a  ittle  so  general,  that  m  the  only  three 
cases  in  which  M.  Lugol  recollects  having 
assured  himself  of  the  absence  of  tubercles 
irom  the  lungs  of  scrofulous  patients  of  adult 
age,  tbe  organic  signs  by  which  puberty  is 
commonly  manifested  were  entirely  absent. 
ScToftilous  patients,  however,  occasionally 
advance  in  years,  without  any  maniiestations 
of  tubercles  in  the  lungs,  and  it  happens 
sometimes,  thoueh  rarely,  that  at  that  period 
the  symptoms  of  scrofula  gradually  dimiiu»h, 
and  finally  disappear  entirelv — ^but  the  pre- 
disposition still  exists  and  tne  malady  may 
return  sooner  or  later.  Sometimes  the  inva- 
sion of  tobercles  in  the  lungs  is  suiden,  and 
their  generation  prospresses  with  frightful  ra- 
pidity. This  form  of  phthisis  is  rapidly  fatal. 
This  may  be  assimilated  to  what  occurs  in 
the  cervical  region. 

Tubercles  in  the  lungs  foUow  precisely  the 
same  course  as  elsewhere.  At  first  disseminated 
in  the  tissue  of  the  lung,  they  gradually  con- 
verge as  they  increase  in  size,  and  uniting, 
forai  tuberevious  masses.  These  when  they 
soften  and  are  evacuated,  leave  behind  them 
tuberculous  caverns^  which  are  cavities  in  the 
substance  of  the  lungs,  the  walls  of  which  are 
ibrmed  by  pulmonary  structure  or  by  what 
remains  of  the  toherculous  matter.  When  a 
tuberctUous  mass  emptif  s  itself  into  the  bron- 
2 


chius,  and  is  rejected  by  ezpectoratian  it  con- 
stitutes a  vomica.  It  is  just  possible  that  one 
of  these  caverns  may  heal,  but  even  if  they 
do,  other  tubercles  remain,  or  if  not,  the  pre- 
disposition to  generate  mbercle  still  remains, 
and  in  nearly  every  instance  the  patient  wiil 
eventually  fall  a  victim  to  the  disease. — 
These  cayities  become  the  seat  of  a  more  or 
less  abundant  tuberculous  suppuration,  this  is 
of  course  absei\(  till  the  tubercle  has  made  its 
way  into  the  bronchius.  We  shall  here  only 
allude  to  the  existence  of  a  trachael,  pleural 
or  costal  fistula,  the  history  of  these  does  not 
belong  to  our  present  subject. 

On  examining  the  lung^  of  a  patient  who 
has  died  with  tubercles,  we  are  often  tempted 
to  ask  ourselves,  why  did  not  this  patient,  in 
whom  so  large  a  portion  of  the  lungs  is  oes- 
troyed,  and  what  remains  is  so  compressed 
ana  condensed  that  it  is  no  longer  capable  of 
receiving  air,  die  of  asphyxia  1  It  is  evident 
that  they  cannot  be  said  to  breathe  by  the 
lungs,  for  a  long  period  before  they  die ;  now 
in  such  cases,  whtch  of  the  organs  takes  the 
place  of  the  pulmonary  tissue  1  M.  Lugol 
nad  no  facts  which  authorize  him  to  attempt 
an  answer  to  this  difficult  question.  The 
presence  of  tubercles  in  the  lungs  may  coin- 
cide with  an  otherwise  healthy  state  of  the 
organs;  indeed  M.  Lugol  questions  whether 
the  lungs  may  not  be  healthy  even  in  the  ad- 
vanced stage. 

From  all  thai  has  been  said,  it  results  thai 
puhnonary  ivJberde  is  in  fact  but  tuberaUous 
scrofula.  This  is  the  position  which  the  dis- 
ease ought  to  occupy,  and  pathologists  would 
never,  in  all  probability  have  attributed  phthi- 
sis to  infiammalion  if  they  had  studied  it  as 
what  iiis,2L  manifestation  of  scrofula. 

Nor  would  thousands  have  been  hurried 
into  their  graves,  as  they  have  been  every 
year  with  rail-road  speed,  if  phthisis  or  con- 
sumption, had  not  been  treated  as  infiamma- 
tions,  by  bleeding,  antimonials,  cathartics,, 
blisters,  &c.  &c.  Hundreds  of  these,  would 
have  been  saved  every  year,  by  nature  alone» 
from  the  change  of  seasons,  who  are  now 
mouldering  in  their  graves,  the  victims  of  the 
scientific  quackery  of  the  schools. 

TuJberdes  in  the  Liver,  Kidneys.  Ovaria,  and 
T^esUs^The  liver  is  often  foimd  to  have  un- 
dei^ne  the  fatty  degeneration  in  scrofulous 
patients,  but  it  is  not  often  the  seat  ot  tuber- 
cles. They  are  rare  in  the  biliary  ducts, 
though  M.  Lugol  has  seen  one  the  size  of  a 
large  walnut  in  the  cystic  duct.  They  are 
more  common  in  the  spleen  than  in  the  liver, 
and  when  they  co-exist  in  these  two  oiigans, 
those  in  the  spleen  are  most  advanced.  M. 
Lugol  has  never  seen  mbercle  in  the  pan- 
creas. In  the  kidneys  tubercle  is  common,  it 
invades  both  the  cortical  and  the  tubular  por- 
tions, and  sometimes  acquires  the  sise  of  a 
walnut.    There  are  seldom  more  than  three 


10 


Anatomy  of  the  Oanglionic  Nerves. 


or  four.  M.  Lagol  hast  seen  i^U}erck  in  the 
unUrs.  He  has  only  once  seen  it  in  the  ova- 
ries, when  it  co-existed  with  tubercle  of  the 
folds  of  the  mesentery,  the  cerebellum  and 
the  lungs.  Tubercles  in  the  testes  are  not 
uncommon. 

Tubercles  in  the  Muscles,  Bones,  and  Blood 
KMjeto.— Tubercles  may  be  generated  in  the 
muscular  as  in  other  tissues.  M.  Lugol  has 
however  only  seen  it  in  the  psoa*',  in  that 
case,  the  tubercle  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
muscle.  There  was  no  lesion  of  the  bones 
in  the  neighborhood,  the  tuberculous  matter 
had  evidently  been  generated  tbere. 

More  than  twelve  years  ago,  M.  Lugol  sa- 
tisfactorily demonstrated  the  existence  of  tu- 
bercles in  the  bones,  developed  in  the  osseous 
tissue  and  increasing  as  tubercle  does  else- 
where at  the  expense  of  the  tissue  in  which  it 
is  developed.  They  have  been  found  in  the 
centre  of  bones  surrounded  by  healthy  osseous 
structure.  Tubercles  are  often  developed 
around  large  bluod  vessels,  but  that  dropsical 
effusions  so  common  in  scrofulous  diseases, 
depended  on  the  pressure  of  these  tumors 
upon  the  vessels,  M.  Lu^ol  has  not  been  able 
to  convince  himself.  lie  has  never  known 
one  of  these  tuberculous  tumors  penetrate  the 
coats  of  the  vessel  around  which  it  was  deve- 
loped. 

Tuberdes  in  the  Blood. — M.  Lugol  has  lound 
tubercles  swimming  in  the  blood  of  the  iliac 
veins  at  the  origin  of  the  vena  cava.  It  was 
impossible  to  admit  that  the  tubercles  had 
originated  externally  to  the  vessel.  They 
were  ot  an  ovoid  form,  ten  in  number. 

Having  now  studied  tubercle  in  the  differ- 
ent organs,  we  pass  to  the  consideration  of 

T%e  Formation  of  Tubercles. — Patholp^ts 
are  by  no  means  agreed  upon  this  subject, 
some  believe  tubercles  the  product  of  inflam- 
mation, others  a  product  or  an  alteration  of 
secretion,  otners  again  a  degeneration  of  the 
normal  tissues.  M.  Lugol  regards  tubercles 
as  parasitical  organs  generated  m  the  economy 
with  an  organization  which  enables  them  to 
increase  by  intusseption,  so  that  their  pro- 
gressive developement  is  explained  by  tneir 
anatomical  structure.  Tubercles  arc  not  the 
normal  tissue  degenerated,  else  during  their 
first  stage  we  should  be  able  to  recognize  the 
tissue  which  is  undeiigoing  the  morbid  change, 
but  this  is  not  so,  wherever  generated,  tuber- 
cle is  in  every  thing  but  ibrm.  the  same ;  the 
organ  in  which  it  is  developed  never  modi- 
fies its  nature. 

M.  Lugol,  however,  I  may  say  with  great 
deference  to  his  opinion,  is  mistaken  in  the 
true  character  of  tubercles.  They  are,  as  I 
have  found  them  by  numerous  dissections, 
diseased  lymphatic  glands,  and  the  new  symp- 
toms I  have  introduced  to  distinguish  this 
disease,  and  which  depend  entirely  on  the 
motiv*  pofwer  of  the  system,  demonstrate  this 
fact  in  ^e  clearest  manner. 


As  to  the  doctrine  which  attributes  tuber- 
cles  to  inflammation,  it  deserves  a  more  de- 
tailed notice. 

Inflammation  is  a  peculiar  and  complex 
state,  having  some  s}Tnptoms  which  are  inhe- 
rent in  its  nature  and  essential,  and  others 
which  vary  according  to  its  particular  loca- 
tion. Now  the  products  of  inflammation  dif- 
fer in  different  organs  and  tissues.  The  liver 
does  not  suppurate  as  the  Inngs  do,  nor  the 
serous  as  the  mucous  Ussues.  Tubercles  oa 
the  contrary,  are  as  we  have  said  always 
identical,  never  varying,  whatever  organ  they 
may  attack.  The  generation  of  tubercle* 
has  been  most  studied  in  the  lu^g*,  let  us  ex- 
amine it  there  in  reference  to  inflammation 
as  its  cause.  Pneumonia  is  a  common  dis- 
ease, so  common  that  did  there  really  exist 
any  connexion  between  it  as  a  cause,  and  the 
generation  of  tubercles  as  an  effect,  that  con- 
nexion would  assuredly  be  discovered.  Bat 
this  is  not  the  case.  Nay  more,  the  labors  of 
Bayle  and  other  pathologists  prove  that  pneu- 
monia has  no  connexion  whatever  with  the 
generation  ot  tubercles.  Bayle  examined  the 
bodies  of  numerous  patients  dying  with  pnea- 
monia;  he  found  the  lungs  hepaticised,  canii- 
fied,  but  never  tuberculous.  Again,  epidemic 
pneumonias  are  by  no  means  uncommon, 
and  where  they  have  prevailed,  a  great  mass 
of  the  population  ought  to  be  afiected  with 
tubercles,  yet  this  has  never  been  noted  as  a 
consequence  of  epidemic  pneumonias  by  anjr 
of  the  authors  who  have  left  us  descriptions 
of  them. 

M.  Lugol  hesitates  to  allow  pneumonia  any 
influence  even  in  augmenting  the  secretion  or 
tubercle,  his  facts  however,  do  not  authorize 
him  in  pronouncing  a  positive  opinion.  He 
thinks  that  many  pathologists  have  attributed 
pulmonary  tubercle  to  inflammation,  irho 
never  would  have  thought  of  adopting  such 
an  etiology,  for  asy  other  form  of  tubercle,  as 
tubercle  in  the  liver,  the  spleen,  the  mesenteiy, 
&c. — Med,  Qaz. 

The  following  are  extracts  from  M.  Lu- 
gol*s  fourth  lecture  on  the  formation  of  tuber- 
cles in  internal  organs : 

"  The  numerous  checks  and  repeated  deccf- 
Urns  to  which  physicians  are  daily  exposed  in 
the  DIAGNOSIS  and  treatment  of  tuberculous 
diseases,  do  they  not  prove  that  it  is  necessary 
to  leave  the  beaten  track  of  inquiry  and  pursue 
some  other  which  is  lessfalliblel  You  all  know 
that  auscultation  and  percussion  are  useless 
in  the  diagnosis  of  pulmonary  tubercles. — 
Both  alike  insufficient  to  announce  the  com- 
mencement of  the  mischief,  they  are  super- 
fluous at  the  very  time  that  they  become 
capable  of  indicating  the  presence  of  tuber- 
cles; tor  then  these  are  discoverable  by  other 
means,  and  alas !  are  too  far  advanced  in 
their  development  to  warrant  our  hopes  of  ar- 
resting their  prwress— *t  least  in  the  gene- 
rality of  cases.  I  will  even  go  a  step  farther, 
and  say  that  the  unlimited  confidence  placed 
by  the  greater  number  of  practitioners  of  the 


The  Sequel  of  Hmceopathy. 


11 


P^^j?^^  5  *^^l^^»on  and  percussion,  To  the  Royal  Medical  ami  CTurvrgicataocietv,  Jan.  K 
has  had  the  effect  of  too  orten  inspiVing  SifaUU  J842.  Dr.  Williams,  PresidS^  1;  ^TdfeairtS 
security  in  many  tuberculous  diseases,  wliich      *t"^'*'»"«  '«/^''*  concerning  Tubcrdei  of  the  Bram  in 


security  in  many  tuberculous  diseases,  wliich 
are  thereby  allowed  to  advance  in  their  pro- 
gress, until  this  is  revealed  by  physical  phe- 
nomena at  a  period  when  remedial  measures 
have  but  little  chance  of  effecting  any  good. 
But  what  are  the  means,  you  will  say  to 
me,  that  are  to  be  substituted  in  the  room  of 
auscultation  and  percussion  ?  I  answer,  gen- 
tlemen, induction.  Examine  by  these  boasted 
methods  this  patient,  and  tell  me  what  results 
you  obtain.  Negative  results  you  will  reply. 
And  yei  I  maintain  that  he  is  tuberculous ; 
for  hi«  father,  his  mother,  and  his  brothers, 
have  all  died  of  tuberculous  disease ;  and  he 
himself  is  affected  with  it  in  his  chest  at  the 
jarescnt  moment.  Believe  me,  this  plan  is 
much  less  deceptive  than  the  other  one.  I 
tell  you,  the  inductive  method  cannot  mislead 
you ;  for  nature  is  invariable  in  its  causes  as 
in  its  effects;  and  the  external  sign:?  of  tuber- 
culous scrofula  must  give  you  assurance  taat 
similar  morbid  productions  exist  in  internal 
organs,  especially  in  the  lungs. 

M-  Lugol  is  mistaken  in  regard  to  the  cer- 
tainty of  this  method ;  for  nothing  is  more 
common  than  to  find  all  the  external  signs  of 
.tuberculous  disease,  without  tuberculization 
of  the  Jungs,  and  this  fact  is  disclosed  by  the 
absence  oi  the  magnetic  symptoms,  while 
their  presence  gives  the  first  notice  of  the 
commencement  of  the  disease  in  the  lungs 
even  before  the  cough  commences. 

"  It  is  by  viewing  the  question  from  this 
^evaied  point  of  view,  by  studying  it  in  all 
its  ensemUe,  that  you  will  be  best  enabled  to 
comprehend  it  in  its  details  j  and  these  can- 
not be  understood  by  the  special  methods  of 
examination  which  have  been  so  much  re- 
commended of  late  years. 

The  tuberculization  of  internal  oigans  ex- 
hibits in  its  development  the  same  phenomena 
as  tubercles  which  are  outwardly  situated- 
there  is  no  pain  and  nothing  of  mechanical 
derangements. 

The  existence  of  tubercles  in  the  lungs  is 
«o  frequent,  that  I  must  admit  that  they  are 
presem  in  all  scrofulous  persons.  You  know 
that  aU,  or  almost  all  patients,  who  have  pul- 
monary tubercles,  are,  or  have  been  at  some 
time,  affected  with  tubercles  in  the  neck ;  the 
majority  have  had  during  infancy  this  exter- 
nal sign  of  scrofula ;  whUe  others  have  had  it 
at  a  later  period  of  life.  I  beUeve  that  puhno- 
nary  tubercles  frequently  exist  in  early  youth, 
but  it  is  frequenUy  about  the  age  of  puberty 
that  they  are  apt  to  be  developed  Puberty  in 
truth  seems  to  have  a  fatal  specific  influence 
in  promoting  their  development ;  and  in  our 
wards  at  the  present  moment  there  is  a  case 
which  seems  to  confirm  this  opinion.  A  scro- 
fulous patient,  who,  although  22  yeare  of  age, 
exhibited  none  of  the  usual  characters  of  mar- 
riMieableness,  has  just  died,  and  in  him  no 
tubercles  were  found  in  the  lungs. 


following  facts  concerning  1  uucrcipi  oi  we  cram  m 
children,  wilh  a  Tabular  View  of  Z^'^  cases  of  the  af- 
fecUon,  was  comraanicated  by  Dr.  T.  H   RrROKSS. 

An  analysis  of  30  cases  of  tubercle  of  the 
brain  is  laid  before  the  society  by  the  author 
preparatory  to  a  more  extended  communica-  • 
tion  on  this  subject,  which  he  promises  to 
afford. 

After  noticing  the  importance  of  extended 
post-mortem  researches,  with  a  view,  to  the 
pathology  of  the  brain,  so  as  to  comprehend 
lesions  of  the  medulla  oblongata,  he  concludes 
with  some  general  remarks  on  his  Tabular 
View.  Jn  his  30  cases,  the  ages  he  observes 
varied  between  19  months  and  12  years.         ' 

With  respect  to  sex,  14  were  boys,  16  girls. 

Infawr  cases,  no  cerebral  symptoms  existed 
during  life;  in  two,  only  periodical  head-ache : 
in  two,  deafness  and  purulent  discharge  from 
the  ear.  In  the  remaining  cases,  head-ache, 
vomiting,  amaurosis,  convulsions,  weakening 
of  intellect,  were  observable ;  the  duration  of 
this  chronic  state  var}ing  from  me  month  to 
threr  years. 

Nine  died  with  acute  hydrocephalic  symp- 
toms, a  few  with  symptoms  of  softening,  the 
rest  of  consumption,  small-pox,  &c 

The  number,  volume,  and  site  of  the  tuber- 
culous masses,  varied  considerably  in  different 
cases. 

A  discussion  took  place,  relating  chiefly  to 
the  degree  in  which  the  pathology  of  tubercles 
in  the  brain  was  known^in  England ;  Dr.  Ad- 
dison, particlularly,  stating  that  he  believed 
the  disease  was  so  familiar  to  practitionere, 
that  in  many  obscure  chronic  aflfections  of  the 
brain  it  was  almost  confidently  expected  that 
tubercles  would  be  found  either  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  brain  or  in  its  membranes. 

These  are  all  cases  of  children.  Thedis- 
ease  in  the  bmin  is  besides  very  common  in 
adults,  as  we  always  have  cases  of  it  on 
hand,  which  yield  to  the  influence  of  the 
magnetic  remedies,  as  it  does  when  affecting 
other  oigans.  Very  little,  however,  is 
known  of  the  pathology  of  tubercles  in  the 
brain  in  this  countr}^  There  are  even  pro- 
fessors of  the  theory  and  practice  of  physic 
in  our  Medical  Colleges,  who  have  often  ex- 
posed their  ignorance  by  denying  the  exis- 
tence of  tubercular  disease  of  the  brain, 
"  except  in  extremely  rare  cases." 


AHTIOLB  IV. 
The  Sequel  of  Homaopathy. 
Professor  Hahnemann  divested  him- 
self of  the  shackles  which  bound  him  to 
the  old  visionary  theories  and  routine  practice 
of  the  schools,  and  undertook  to  effect  a  most 
important  object  by  the  most  extraoi^ary 


12 


The  Sequel  of  HomfBopathy, 


means.  His  object  was  a  revolution  in  the 
theory  and  practice  of  physic.  This  he 
avowed ;  and  he  supported  its  necessity  and 
importance  with  great  ability ;  but  the  means 
by  which  he  intended  to  efTect  it,  like  the 
general  who  contemplates  storming  an  ene- 
my's camp,  he  kept  a  profound  secret  His 
enemies  in  the  distance,  as  well  as  his  most 
obsequious  proselytes,  were  equally  in  the 
dark,  and  while  the  first  were  amused,  the 
latter  were  astonished  at  the  novelty  and 
profundity  of  his  pretended  expedients  to 
demolish  "  the  old  alloeopathy  castles  in  the 
air."  He  had  too  m\ich  good  sense  to  think 
for  a  moment,  of  attacking  these  erial  for- 
tresses with  "  gross  inanimate  matter,'!  after 
he  had  seen  in  the  clairvoyant  or  somnicient 
state,  the  astonishing e£^ts  of  the  "  spiritual, 
self-moved,  vital  dynamic  power,  which 
moves  our  systems,  and  preserves  them  in 
harmonious  order." 

Besides  this  knowledge  of  the  moving 
power  of  the  human  system,  that  of  the 
identity  of  the  magnetic  or  spiritual  forces  of 
nature  with  the  powers  of  medicine,  was  one 
of  those  discoveries  which  he  considered  too 
far  in  advance  of  the  intelligence  and  candor 
of  the  age  to  be  entrusted  to  the  rude  resist- 
ance of  established  prejudices;  and,  there- 
fore, in  imitation  of  the  wise  examples  of 
antiquity,  he  cautiously  veiled  it,  under  the 
specious  garb  of  the  magical  effects  of  infi- 
nitesimal doses  of  medicines,  for  the  purpose 
of  preserving  its  advantages  through  this, 
to  a  more  enlightened  and  liberal  period. 

The  following  are  the  corollaries  on  which 
he  foimds  his  theory,  and  practice ;  his  other 
corollaries  being  chiefly  intended  to  veil  his 
discovery  in  its  application  to  practice,  by 
the  gratification  of  the  marvellous  propensi- 
ties of  his  readers ;  and  while  he  depends  en- 
tirely on  the  action  of  the  magnetic  or  spiritual 
forces,  which  he  condenses  in  his  homoeo- 
pathic doses,  for  the  success  of  his  system. 
Prelnd«. 
«  To  presume  that  disease  (non  chinigi- 
cal)  is  a  peculiar  and  distinct  something^  re- 
sidmg  in  maD,  is  a  conceit,  which  has  ren- 
dered alloB3pathy  so  peniicious." 

Oorollari«8. 
1.  "  During  health,  the  system  is  animated 
by.a  tprUwd,.  tdf-meved^  vital  power,  which 


preserves  it  in  harmonious  order"  That  ii, 
n  is  magnetized,  with  the  forces  in  equal  pro- 
portion. 

2.  "Without  this  vital  dynamic  power,  the 
organism  is  dead."    Or,  it  is  unmagneiized. 

3.  "  In  disease,  the  vital  power  only  is  pri- 
marily disturbed,  and  expresses  Us  suffering 
(internal  changes)  by  abnormal  alterations  in 
the  sensations  and  actions  of  the  system."  Or 
one  of  the  forces  predominates. 

4.  "By  the  extinction  of  the  totality  of  the 
*s3rmptoms  in  the  process  of  cure,  the  sufferii^ 
of  the  vital  power,  that  is  the  entire  morbid 
affection,  inwardly  and  outwardly,  is  re- 
moved." 

5.  "The  sufferings  of  the  deranged  vital 
povxr,  and  the  morbid  symptoms  produced 
thereby,  as  an  indivisible  whole,  are  one  and 
the  same." 

6.  "  It  is  only  by  means  of  the  spirittud  in- 
fluence of  the  morbific  agent,  that  out  sptritur- 
al  vital  poicer^  can  be  diseased,  and  in  like 
manner,  only  by  the  spiritual  (dynamic)  ope- 
ration of  medicine  that  healtn  can  be  re- 
stored."— Oroanon  op  Medicine,  iviii. 

The  following  extracts  from  his  "  Orga- 
non,"  will  bear  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
fact,  that  he  does  not  depend  on  the  natural 
quantity  of  the  spiritual  or  magnetic  forces 
in  their  medicines  to  cure  diseases. 

1.  "It  is  only  by  the  use  of  ihe  minutest 
homoeopathic  doses,  that  the  reaction  of  vital 
power  shows  itself,  simply  by  restoring  the 
equilibrium  of  health,    p.  xx. 

2.  "But  the  signs  of  amendment  furnished 
by  the  mind  and  temper  of  the  patient,  are 
never  visible  (shortly  after  he  has  taken  the 
remedy,)  but  where  the  dose  has  been  aUenn- 
aJted  to  the  proper  degree — that  is  to  say,  as 
much  as  possible.  A  dose  stronger  than  ne- 
cessary (even  of  the  most  homoeopathic  re- 
medy) acts  with  too  great  violence,  and 
plunges  the  moral  and  intellectual  faculties 
into  such  disorder  that  it  is  impossible  to  dis- 
cover ijUickly  any  amendment  that  takes 
place,    p.  193. 

3.  "A  judicious  physician  will  confine 
himseli  to  an  internal  application  of  the  re- 
medy which  he  has  selected  as  homceopathi- 
cally  as  possible^  and  will  leave  the  use  of 
ptisans,  little  bags  filled  with  medicine  herbs, 
fomentaiions  of  vegetable  decoctions,  washes, 
and  frictions  with  different  species  of  oint- 
ments, injections,  &c.,  to  those  who  practice 
according  to  routine."   p.  202. 

4.  "  The  best  mode  of  administration  is  to 
make  use  of  small  globules  of  sugar,  the  size 
ol  mustard  seed  ;  one  of  these  globules  ha  vine 
imbibed  the  medicine,  and  being  inttt)duced 
into  the  vehicle,  forms  a  dose  containing 
about  the  ihree-hundredlh  part  of  a  drop,  for 
three  hundred  such  globules  will  imbibe  one 
drop  of  alcohol;  by  placing  one  of  those  on 
the  ton£^e,  and  not  drinkiog  any  thing  after 
it.  the  dose  is  considerably  diminished.  But 
ii  the  patient  is  very  sensitive,  and  it  is  ne- 
cessary to  employ  Uie  smallest  dote  possible 


The  Sequd  of  EbmcBopaihy. 


13 


and  attain  at  the  same  time  the  most  speedy 
results,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  smM  once." — 
p.  207. 

It  would  be  easy  to  add  a  great  many  re- 
petitioDB  of  the  same  declarations  in  different 
forms,  but  these  must  be  abundantly  eufficient 
to  satisfy  even  the  greatest  skeptic ;  for  it  is 
impoQsible  in  the  very  nature  of  things,  that 
such  minute  doses  of  medicine  should  pro- 
duce such  efiects,  or  any  e&ct  whatever,  and 
this  fact  was  well  known  to  Hahnemann. 
He  indeed  says  so  in  the  above  extracts,  in 
the  stroiigest  language  he  could  use,  without 
expressing  it  in  so  many  words,  and  thereby 
expose  the  object  he  wished  to  veil. 

Let  us  now  see  if  we  can  ascertain  by 
what  means  it  was  he  communicated  to  his 
hom<Bopathic  medicines  a  power  which,  it  is 
conceded,  sometimes,  at  least,  produces  the 
magical  efiects  he  describes,  and  which  are 
claimed  for  it  by  homceopathists ;  and  for  this 
pujpoee  it  will  only  be  necessary  to  select 
and  place  before  the  reader  a  few  extracts 
from  the  same  work  above  quoted. 

"Thehomosopathic  healing  art  developes 
for  its  purpose  the  immaterial  (dynamic] 

VIBTVES  OF  MEDICINAL  SUBSTANCES,   and  tO  a 

degree  previously  unheard  of,  by  means  of  a 
pecvUar  and  hitherto  untried  process.  By 
this  process  it  is  that  they  become  penetrat- 
ing, operative,  aLd  remedial,  even  those  that, 
in  a  ntUwrai  or  crude  state^  betrayed  not  the 
least  medidnal  power  upon  the  human  sys- 
tem."—p.  199. 

lliis,  it  will  be  conceded,  is  a  very  modest 
annonncement  for  such  an  important  discove- 
ry as  that  of  magnetizing  even  inert  sub- 
stances, so  as  to  give  them  a  high  and  impor- 
tant remedial  power ;  and  from  my  know- 
ledge of  the  subject,  I  cannot  avoid  entertain- 
ing a  strong  suspicion,  that  Hahnemann 
obtained  his  knowledge  of  this  art,  as  well 
as  that  of  the  magnetism  of  the  human  sys- 
tem from  some  distinguished  clairvoyant. 
But  let  us  hear  how  he  performs  these  opera- 
tions. 

"If  two  drops  of  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of 
alcohol  and  the  recent  juice  of  any  medidnal 
plant  be  diluted  with  ninety-eight  drops  of 
alcohol  in  a  vial  capable  oi  cuntaining  one 
immdred  and  <Air<y  drops,  and  the  whole  knee 
shaken  together,  the  medicine  becomes  exalt- 
ed in  energy  to  the  ^n^  development  of  power* 
01^  as  it  may  be  denominated  the  fira  potence. 
Tte  proeew  is  to  be  contiiiued  through 


iwenttf^'ne  additional  via)8,  each  of  equal 
capacity  with  the  first,  and  each  contain!]^ 
ninetf^ine  drops  of  spirits  of  wine;  so  that 
every  successive  vial,  after  rhefint^  being  fur- 
nished with  one  drop  from  the  vial  of  dilution 
immedfately  preceding  (which  had  just 
been  twice  shaken^)  is,  in  its  tu/m  to  be  Aakei^ 
tvTuXf  remembering  to  nufnber  the  dilution  of 
each  vial  upon  the  cork  as  the  operation  pro- 
ceeds. The  MAMipnLATioNs(l)  are  to  be  con- 
ducted thus  through  all  the  vials,  from  the 
first  up  to  the  thirtieth  or  decoUionth  develop- 
ment of  power,  wMch  is  the  one  in  most  fnae- 
ral  use.*^ 

"All  other  medicinal  substances,  excepting 
sulphur,  which,  of  later  years,  has  hem  em- 
ployed ooly  in  the  highly  diluted  tincture  (X), 
sucn,  for  example,  as  the  metals,  either  puie. 
or  ozydized,  or  in  the  form  of  sulphurets,  and 
other  minerals,  petroleum,  phosphorus,  the 
parts  or  juices  of  plants,  obtainable  only  in 
their  dry  or  inspisated  state,  animal  sub- 
stances, neutral  salts,  &c.,— one  and  lUlwere, 
in  the  first  place,  exalted  in  energy  by  atten- 
uation in  the  form  of  a  powder,  by  means  of 
three  hov/rs  trituration  in  a  mortar,  to  the  mU- 
liorUh  degree.  Of  this  one  grain  was  then 
di&^olved  and  brought  througn  twenty-seven 
vials,  by  a  process  similar  to  that  employed 
in  the  cai  e  of  the  vegetable  juices,  up  to  the 
thirtieth  development  of  power."  p.  300. 

Hahnemann,  it  will  now  be  seen,  imparts 
power  to,  or  magnetizes  'his  medicines,  aa 
magnetists  magnetize  their  patients;  or,  by 
a  regular  order  of  manipulations,  which  in- 
crease the  power  or  potency  of  the  medicines, 
directly  as  the  number  of  their  dilutions ;  the 
minimum  increase  being  that  of  1  to  100. 
It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  minuteness  of 
these  doses  in  the  thirtieth  or  decollionth  de< 
gree  "  in  the  most  common  usf*  without  the 
greatest  exertion  of  the  imagination,  even 
when  expressed  in  figures,  thus  : 

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,- 
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,- 
000. 

We  find  nothing  more  that  is  peculiar  in 
Hahnemann's  art  of  manipulation  in  the 
manufacture  of  his  medicine,  except  that 
which  is  seen  in  the  following  paragraph. 

"When  I  make  use  of  the  word  inMrnaJl^y 
I  mean  to  say  that  by  shaking  a  drop  of  medi- 
cinal liquid  with  ninety-nine  drops  of  alcohol 
^m<^— that  is  to  saj,  by  taking  the  vial  in  the 
hand  which  contaus  the  whole,  and  imparting 
to  it  a  rapid  motion^  by  a  single  powerful  stroke 
of  the  arm  descending*  1  shall  then  obtain 
an  exact  mixture  of  them  j  but  that  two,  three, 


*  We  we clairvoyanta  in  tha  fomniaeieiit  ttftttumaf • 
itixe  water  by  the  pmw  datceadinc.  ^ 


u 


The  Skquel  of  HanmopcUhp. 


or  ten  such  movements  vonld  render  the  mix- 
ture much  doser^that  is  to  say,  they  woald 
4evelepe  the  medicinal  virtues  still  furfher. 
making  them,  as  it  were,  more  potent,  and 
tkeir  actioft  on  the  nerves  much  more  penetiat- 
iDM,  In  proceeding  therefore  to  the  dilution 
or  medicinal  suhstaoces,  it  is  ^vrong  to  give 
the  twenty  or  ihifty  successive  attenuating 
passes  mere  ihaek  two  sktUces,  where  it  is  mere- 
ly intended  to  develope  the  power  of  the  medi- 
cine in  a  moderate  degree.  It  would  also  be 
well  in  the  attenualion  of  powders  not  to  rub 
them  down  too  much  in  the  mortar;  thus, for 
example,  when  it  is  requisite  to  mix  oiie  grain 
of  a  medicinal  substance  in  its  entire  state 
with  nineip^ine  grains  of  sugar  of  milk,  it 
ought  to  be  rubbed  down  with /mx  during 
one  haw  only^  and  the  same  space  of  time 
should  not  be  exceeded  in  the  subsequent 
triturations,  in  order  that  the  power  of  the  me- 
dicine may  not  be  carried  to  too  great  an  ex- 
teat/'  p.a07. 

The  common  dose  of  the  solution  of  the 
thirtieth  or  decollionth  development  of 
power  is  one  drop,  and  in  the  dry  state  one 
globule;  and  these  doses  are  generally  re 
peatedin  from  one  to  seven  days.  The  ac- 
tion of  these  medicines  is  thus  described  by 
Hahnemann. 

"  The  action  of  medicines  in  a  liquid  form 
upon  the  body,  is  so  penetrating,  it  propagates 
itself  with  so  much  rapidity,  and  in  a  manner 
so  general,  from  the  irritable  and  sensitive 
part  which  has  undergone  the  first  impression 
of  ^e  medicinal  substance  to  all  the  other 
parts  of  the  body,  that  we  might  ahnost  call  it 
a  tpiritual  (dynamic  or  virtual)  effect. 

"  Every  part  of  the  body  that  is  sensible  to 
the  touch,  isequally  susceptible  of  receiving 
the  impression  of  medicines,  and  of  convey- 
ing it  to  all  other  parts.  Homoeopathic  reme- 
dies operate  with  the  most  certainty  and  ener- 
gy by  smdling  or  iphaling  the  medicinal  mora 
constantly  emaiuUing  from  a  saccharine  glo- 
bule that  has  been  impregnated  with  the  high- 
er dilution  of  a  medicine,  and  in  a  drv  state, 
enclosed  in  asmall  vial.  Onegkinde  (of  which 
10,  30  to  100  weigh  a  arain)  moistened  with 
the  thirtieth  dilution  ana  then  dried,  oroWded 
it  be  preserved  from  heat  and  the  liekt  of  the 
wn,  retains  its  virtues  undiminished,  at  least 
for  eighteen  or  tioentv  ffears,  (so  far  my  ex- 
perience extends,)  although  the  vial  that  con- 
tained it  had  during  ttiat  time  been  opened  a 
thousand  times,  ^ould  the  nostrils  be  closed 
by  corvza  or  polypns,  the  patient  may  inhale 
through  his  mouth,  holding  the  mouth  of  the 
vial  between  his  lips.  It  may  be  apolied  to 
the  nostrils  of  smaU  children  while  they  are 
asleep^  wiUi  the  certainty  of  success.  During 
these  inhalations,  the  medicinal  aura  comes 
in  contact  with  the  nerves^  which  are  spread 
over  the  parieties  of  the  ample  cavities  through 
which  it  freely  passes,  and  thus  influences  the 
vital  power  in  the  mildest  yet  most  powerful 


and  beneficial  manner.  All  that  is  cwrabU  by 
honiaopaJhy  may  with  the  most  certainty  and 
safety  be  cured  by  this  mode  of  receiving 
the  medicine.  Of  late  I  have  become  convin- 
ced of  the  fact,  (which  I  would  not  have  pre- 
viously believed,)  ih&ismeUing  imparts  a  medi- 
cinal influence,  as  energetically  and  as  long 
continued  as  when  the  medicine  is  taken  in 
substance  by  the  mouth,  and  at  the  same  time 
that  its  operation  is  thus  more  gentle  than 
when  administered  by  the  latter  mode.  It  Is 
therefore  requisite  that  the  intervals  for  repeat- 
ing the  smelling  should  not  be  shorter  than 
those  prescribed  for  taking  the  medicine  in  a 
more  substantial  form."  p.  SOS. 

Oantion  to  Praotitioners. 
"The  smallest  homceopathic  dose,  when 
properly  applied,  effects  wonders.  It  not  un- 
frequently  occurs,  that  patients  are  over- 
whelmed, by  incompetent  homoepathists,  with 
a  rapid  succession  of  remedies,  which  though 
well  selected  and  of  the  highest  potence,  vet 
produce  such  a  state  of  excessive  irritability, 
that  the  life  of  the  patient  is  placed  in  jeopar- 
dy, and  another  dose,  however  nuki,  may 
prove  fatal.  Under  such  circtunstances,  the 
hand  of  the  mesmeriser  gently  sliding  doion, 
and  frequentl}r  touchirig  the  part  affected^  pro- 
duces an  unifom  distribution  of  the  vital 
power  through  the  system,  and  rest^  sleep  uid 
health  are  restored."    p.  311 . 

How  beautiful  the  description  !  how 
charming !  and  how  astonishing  the  effects ! 
not  of  infinitesimal  doses  of  medieine,  but  of 
the  hand  of  the  mesmeriser,  when  the  imma- 
terial (dynamic)  or  spiritual  virtues  of  his 
medicines  fail !  What  art !  What  a  magi- 
cian! Hahnemann  "frequently  touched' 
his  readers  organs  of  marvelousness,  and 
then  "  gently  sliding  them  along^  to  the  end 
of  his  work,  when  behold,  poor  puss  is  at 
last  exposed  to  the  glaring  light  of  the  sun. 
Hahnemann  deserves,  and  fate  has  decreed  to 
him,  immortal  honors,  for  his  success  in  in- 
troducing, in  a  most  adroit  manner,  against 
the  indomitable  prejudices  of  the  age,  so 
simple  and  so  important  an  agent  for  often 
palliating  and  sometimes  curing  diseases  in  a 
safe  and  satisfactory  manner. 

Fandammitsl  Errors  in  the  HomoBopatUo 

System. 
Hie  foUowing  propositions  are  thoee  on 
which   Hahnemann's   apparent  or  popular 
theory  and   practice  is  founded: 

1.  "Every  curable  disease  is  made  known 
to  the  ph^ician  by  its  symplomfl."  (T%e  oUL 
ever-varying  symptomsJ) 

3.  *' The  m^^  symptoms  which  mediciMs 
produce  in  healthy  personsi  are  tba  sole  ia4i- 


The  Sequel  nf  HonuBopathif. 


16 


cfttioQ  of  ^eir  cnntiTe  viitues  in  disease.'' 
ijimika  smiUbus,  or,  in  volgai  phraseology, 
"the  hair  of  the  same  dog.") 

3.  '*Thr  UftciUy  of  the  symptoms  is  the  sole 
i&dication  in  the  choice  of  the  remedy." 


These  propositions,  however  simple  and 
planiable  they  may  at  first  appear,  are  never- 
thelesa,  in  their  application  to  practice,  the 
mocft  eomplicaled,  and  most  deceptive,  that 
"were  ever,  perhaps,  presented  to  the  human 
mind ;  and  having  disposed  of  Hahnemann's 
homceopalhiG  doaes  of  medicine,  we  propose 
to  AeYGte  a  few  moments  to  the  investiga- 
tioD  of  the  pretenaions  of  these  proposi- 
tions. 

There  never  were  propositions  more  appa- 
rently tme  in  the  abstract,  and  yet  more 
positively  fiallacious  in  the  practice ;  and  no 
man  was  more  aware  of  this  fact  than 
Ihhnemann ;  for  the  number  of  the  common 
symptoms  of  diseases  is  infinite,  as  well  as 
the  number  of  moibid  symptoms  medicine 
produces  in  healthy  persons,  and  both  are 
infinitely  varied  ia  different  cases,  and  in  the 
same  persons  at  di&rent  times,  as  every 
physician  knows;  and  hence  the  number  of 
Hahnemami'B  pietended  remedies  are  infi- 
nite, jwesenting  in  the  whole,  an  infinitely 
varied  and  complicated  system,  and  there- 
jtxre  an  imnatural  and  eironeoos  one.  He 
however,  had  no  confidence  in  it,  or  in  his 
«0pu3tBal"  or  magnetic  remedy  for  ail 
» and  consequently  wisely  provided  a 
t  for  the  disappointments  of  his  prose- 
lylea,  from  the  frequent  failures  of  their 
homsopathic  medicines,  m  their  own  errors 
in  selecting  the  proper  ones,  forthetoto/i^y 
of  the  symptoms. 

The  truth  is,  there  are  very  few  causes  of 
disease,  and  the  chief  oi  thoee  are  atmos- 
pherical, undeanlinees,  and  intemperance; 
and  veiy  few  symptoms  (pathognomonic) 
wkich  i^ysidans  should  regard,  and  conse- 
quently tiiey  should  prescribe  very  few  re- 
medies. These  facts  are  now  so  well  un- 
dentoodhynen  of  sense  and  observation, 
as  to  induce  them  to  r^ard  physicians,  and 
the  latter  one  anoflier,  in  an  inverse  ratio  to 
the  number  of  medicines  they  prescribe. 
And  die  aoundness  of  these  views  is  demon- 
fltaled  in  fte  clearest  manner,  in  die  unity 


of  the  true  pathognomonic  ^mptc»ns,  and 
simple  specific  remedies  in  truly  acute,  and 
in  a  very  large  class  of  chronic  diseases. 

Hahnemann  confounds  the  true  symptoms 
of  acute  diseases  with  the  sympathies  they 
produce,  and  knew  nothing  of  those  of 
chronic  diseases,  which  are  truly  magnetic 
and  pathognomonic ;  nor  of  the  great  natural 
divisions  of  positive  and  negative  matter ; 
nor  of  the  important  therapeutical  relations  of 
the  "  spiritual"  or  magnetic  forces  with  these 
great  divisions  of  matter ;  nor  of  the  natural 
laws  of  these  loices  which  govern  the  hu- 
man system.  His  theories,  like  those  which 
have  preceded  them,  are  consequently  found- 
ed on  a  medley  of  facts  and  fictions,  and  his 
practice  empirical,  like  the  old  alloeopathic 
practice  oi  the  schools.  He  has,  however, 
shown  that  a  great  variety  of  different  kinds 
of  matter  can  be  magnetized,  and  their  natu- 
ral distinctive  qualities  diereby  greatly  in- 
creased, and  that  tiierefore  there  may  he 
truly  *<  magnetic  remedies."  He  has  also 
shown  the  existence  of  intimate  and  impor- 
tant relations  between  magnetized  remedies 
and  the  magnetism  oi  the  human  system, 
and  has  consequently  added  much  to  our 
knowledge,  as  well  as  to  the  mortification  of 
those  who  are  constitutionally,  as  well  as 
from  motives  of  interest,  opposed  to  such  in- 
novations. 

There  have  been  many  explanati<ms  given 
of  the  action  of  Hahnemann's  minute  doses 
of  medicine,  by  a  number  of  Homoeopathists 
at  different  periods,  to  all  of  which,  many 
objections  have  been  raised.  The  following 
from  Professor  Doppler,  seems  to  have  given 
the  greatest  satisfaction  to  these  physicians. 
Proliis««r  Dopi^er's  BzplajMtlo&  of  the  «oti«M 
of  Homaopathio  Bemedlos. 

The  main  points  are  briefly  the  following:— 
"  The  active  strength  of  a  medicine  is  not  to  be 
judged  of  accordinc:  to  its  weight,  but  according 
to  the  size  of  its  eflective  sur&ce.  The  physi- 
cal surface  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  mar 
thematical  one ;  the  general  physical  surface 
increases  bv  trituration  of  the  medicine  with 
another  body  (sugar  of  milk)  in  a  greater  pro- 
portion, than  the  diameter  of  the  individual 
particle  diminishes  itself.  Now,  if  we  only 
consent  to  the  hundred-fold  diminution  of  an 
atom  bv  each  trituration,  calculation  will 
show,  that  the  physical  surface,  after  the 
third  trituration,  amounts  to  about  t«ro  square 


16 


The  Sequel  of  HamcBopaihf/. 


miles,  and  that  the  small  point  of  a  knife  full 
of  the  thirtieth  trituration,  offers  a  surface  of 
many  thousand  square  miles.  H  therefore, 
the  power  of  action  is  measured  by  the  extent 
of  surface,  the  apparent  minuteness  rises  to  a 
*real  and  truly  astonishing  magnitude.  The 
cause  of  the  action  of  surfaces  rests  on  the 
argument,  that  with  the  division  of  a  body, 
electricity  is  developed,  and  that  the  quantity 
of  free  electricity  increases  in  an  equal  ratio 
with  the  increased  surface." 

Jahr,  the  great  and  prolific  champion  of 
homoeopathy,  adopts  this  explanation  or  the* 
cry  of  the  action  of  these  medicines,  which 
IB,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than  another  medley 
of  facts  and  fictions.  The  active  strength  of 
a  medicine  should  not  be  judged  by  its  weight, 
nor  by  the  extent  of  its  atomic  surface,  but  by 
the  quantity  of  its  distinctive  properties  in  a 
given  space,  the  action  of  which  is  increased 
by  magnetizing  the  dormant  forces  in  the 
atoms  of  the  medicine  in  which  they  are  con 
densed,  as  we  do  those  of  iron  or  steel,  which 
is  conformable  to  theory  and  observation. 
The  amount  of  these  innate  and  all  pervading 
forces  in  iron  and  steel,  is  very  great;  yet 
their  effect  upon  the  magnetic  needle,  like  the 
unmagnetized  homcEopathic  doses  upon  the 
human  system,  is  inappreciable  until  their 
power  is  developed  by  magnetizing,  when  it 
becomes  very  great,  or  is  increased  and  ex- 
panded in  direct  proportion  to  the  amount  of 
the  forces,  in  a  given  space,  in  the  body 
magnetized. 

In  assuming  this  explanation  to  be,  as  i^ 
really  is,  mathematically  conect,  the  veiled 
novice  may  be  overwhelmed  with  astonish- 
ment, upon  the  first  announcement  of  the 
fact  fliat  medicine,  from  the  mineral,  vege- 
table and  animal  kingdoms,  as  well  as  man, 
can  be  magnetized;  yet  there  is  nothing  more 
certain;  and  these,  with  a  great  many  other 
corresponding  facts,  establish  the  existence 
of  a  magnetic  medium  by  which  we  are  sur- 
rounded, and  by  which  we  are  thus  connect- 
ed with  the  earth  and  even  with  the  sun. 

Sir  H.  Davy  says,  «*  Electricity  (or  mag- 
netism) seems  to  be  an  inlet  into  the  internal 
structures  of  bodies,  on  which  all  their  sen- 
sible properties  depend;  in  pursuing  there* 
fore,  this  new  light,  the  bounds  of  natural 
science  may  possibly  be  extended  beyond 
what  we  can  now  form  any  idea  of;  new 


worlds  may  be  opened  to  our  vieVr,  and  the 
glory  of  the  great  Newton  himself,  may  be 
eclipsed  by  a  new  set  of  philosophers,  in 
quite  a  new  field  of  observation.**  Sir  H.^ 
supposed  the  heat  of  the  animal  frame  to 
be  engendered  by  electricity ;  taking  it  further- 
more, to  be  identical  with  the  nervous  fluid. 
Dr.  Griffith  has  lately  made  some  re- 
searches on  the  nature  of  molecular  moticme 
in  substances  impalpably  divided.  With  re- 
spect to  those  occurring  among  particles  of  in- 
soluble bodies  in  water,  he  denies  that  they 
are  to  be  attributed,  as  has  been  supposed,  to 
the  evaporation  of  the  fluid)  inasmuch  as  they 
continued,  when  this  process  was  cut  off,  by 
inclosing  the  fluids  and  particles  between  two 
pieces  of  glass,  evaporation  at  the  edges  also 
being  prevented  by  a  rim  of  olive  or  almond 
oil,  or  lamp-black  mixed  with  gold-size. 
He  says  : — (Med.  CJaz.) 

"  I  have  examined  a  lai^  number  of  inor- 

fanic  substances  powdered  in  a  mortar  to  the 
nest  powder,  ana  have  found  no  difliculty  in 
detecting  the  peculiar  motion  in  any  substance 
save  semi-fluid  bodies,  or  solids  wnich  cannot 
be  reduced  to  a  sufficiently  fine  powder.  The 
motion  is  quite  destroyed  by  immersion  in  oil, 
thick  gum,  or  syrup ;  here  the  viscidity  of  the 
liquids  seems  to  prevent  its  taking  place.  It 
has  appeared  to  me  to  cDsue  most  readilv  in 
water,  less  so  in  spirit  and  leastof  all  in  either. 
The  movement  is  totally  different  from  that 
of  particles  which  are  moved  by  currents  ex- 
cited by  evaporation.  These  latter  hurl  a 
number  of  molecules  in  vortices  with  great  ra- 
pidity ;  io  the  true  molecular  movement  the 
molecular  oscillaie  or  vibrate^  moving  but  very 
slowly  from  place  to  place ;  in  some  cases  we 
can  clearly  perceive  a  single  molecule  quite 
distinct  from  others  and  enjoying  its  own  jpAe-  • 
rUal  movements."  True  molecular  motion  is 
due,  1st,  to  an  extreme  subdivision  of  the  mat- 
ter :  2dly,  to  a  relation  between  the  specific 
gravity  of  the  molecule  and  the  medium  that 
shall  admit  its  free  suspension;  3dly  to  ab- 
sence of  all  viscidity  in  the  liquid.  Under  these 
ciipumstances  any  kind  of  matter,  organic  or 
inorganic,  will  exhibit  tWs  motion.  ThecoMse 
of  the  motion  is  yet  unfonovm^  it  has  not  ap- 
peared, in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Griffith,  to  be  infla-  ' 
enced  by  electricity.— Ltmdon  Lancet,  JulfB 
1843. 

The  pecular  oscillating  or  vibrating  motions 
in  these  molecules  or  atoms,  uninfluenced 
by  currents,  is  conclusive  in  regaid  to  the 
cause  of  the  motion ;  there  is  no  longer  any 
room  to  doubt  that  it  is  magnetic—that  iheae 
molecules  are  magnetized  in  the  process  of  re- 


BffeeU  of  Chhanism  lawwn  to  the  Anaenis. 


17 


dectian  to  the  atomic  stale ;  for  besides  the 
cofFespondiiig  oscillating  motions,  the  power 
pf  the  innale  wunagiietised  forces  in  matter, 
18  wen  known  lobe  too  weak  to  overcome  the 
lesistance  of  the  magnetic  medium  which  sur- 
foondfl  theiB,  and  produce  such  results. 


Bfltets  of  (^mlTaalcm  kaown  to  the  iLBoients. 
{From  Oe  Lomdm  Lancet^  Sahardag^J^  29,  ISO.) 

In  calliog  attention,  as  we  last  week  pro- 
mised to  some  of  the  **  old  pribnds  with  new 
PACsa,"  to  whom  we  then  referred,  we  shall 
£)r  obFious  reasons,  not  follow  anj  exact  order 
of  presentation,  but  shall  introduce  them  in 
chronological  succession,  or  in  the  sequence 
that  is  best  suited  to  the  illustrations  that  we 
have  proposed ;  or  else  in  an  insulated  form, 
I'ust  as  they  may  occur  to  us.  Following  the 
last  named  method,— or  what  must,  perhaps, 
mher  be  legaided  as  a  deviation  from  method, 
—we  shall  on  the  present  occasion,  direct 
attention  to  the  medicinal  applications  oigai- 
vimisiit,  as  adverted  to  by  tbe  Greek  and  Ro- 
man wiitera  on  medicine. 

"Gfralvaniam  applied  to  medicine  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans!    Why,  the  existence 
fl(f  9iky  such  principle  was  not  known  until 
the  year  17901"    Very  true.    Yet  that  gal- 
vanism was,  virtually,  applied  by  the  ancients 
to  the  treatment  of  disease,  we  now  propose 
lo  demcmstrale,  citing,  with  that  view,  certain 
passages  from  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  and 
translating  them  for  the  benefit  of  all  Fellows 
ef  the  liondon  College  of  Physcians  and 
other  unlearned  persons  who  need  £nglish  ver- 
sions thereof. 

There  is  a  certain  living  voltaic  battery 
called  a  ierpedo.  The  ancients  were  acquaint- 
ed with  that  fish,  and  were  in  the  habit  of  em- 
ploying the  shock  which  it  communicates 
as  a  remedial  agent  The  following  pas- 
sage of  Galkn  is  in  several  respects  remark 

"Some  persons  think  that  certain  bodies 
can  aliect  ocfaers  in  their  vicinity  by  contact 
only,  in  consequence  of  the  mere  force  of  their 
virtue,  and  that  this  is  plainly  shown  in  the 
case  or  the  marine  torpedo,  the  power  of  which 
is  so  great  that  when  it  is  transmitted  to  tbe 
hand  of  the  fisherman  through  his  spear,  it  sud- 
denly renders  the  whole  hand  torpid.  From 
these  eonjectures  it  is  easilv  understood  that 
certain  things  of  small  bulk  induce,  by  con- 
tact alone,  the  greatest  alterations;  as  may  be 
seen,  also,  in  9ie  Heraclean  stone,  which  is 
called  the  magnet ;  for  iron  which  It  has  touch- 
ed adheres  to  it  without  any  iasteninf;  thenif 
another  piece  of  iron  touch  that  which  was 
f&rst  touched,  it  will  adhere  to  it  as  ti^e  first  did 
to  the  magnet;  a  third  piece  of  jion  wfll,  in  like 
manner,  adhere  to  the  second,  so  as  to  make 
it  evident  that  most  intense  powers  reside  in 
certain  substaaces,**— (GALBf,  "De  Locis 
AMtctiB^"  Ubuvi,  e.  6.  Edit.  Basfl,  Qnece, 
1838.) 

3 


We  have  here  three  things  worthy  of  notice ; 
first,  a  recognition  of  the  power  that  haa 
since  been  known  as  animal  electricity;  se- 
condly, a  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  this  power 
is  capable  of  transmission  through  a  conduct- 
ing medium ;  and,  thirdly,  a  conjecture  of  its 
affinity  to  the  maanetic  power.  In  anothes 
place  the  same  author  says, 

*'  But  some  persons  write  that  a  whole  tor^ 
pedo  (I  speak  of  the  marine  animal)  will  cure 
headache  when  applied  to  the  part,  and  will 
cause  a  prolapsed  anus  to  return.  But  I,  hav- 
ing tried  it  in  both  cases,  found  the  assertion 
true  in  neither.  Bethinking  me,  however,  that 
the  fish  should  be  applied  to  the  aching  head 
alive,  and  that  it  might  have  an  anodyne  pow* 
er,  and  allay  pain  luce  other  things  which  ob- 
tund  the  sense,  I  found  such  to  be  the  case.''-* 
("  De  SimpL  Madic.  Facult,"  lib.  xi  Ed.  cit^ 
torn.  ii.  p.  150.) 
iEnus  writes  to  the  same  efifect : — 
"  The  torpedo,  applied  alive,  cures  chronic 
headache,  and  causes  the  prolapsed  anus  to 
return.  When  dead,  it  produces  these  effects 
either  not  at  all,  or  only  in  a  small  degree.'' 
("  Lib.  Medicinal,"  lib.  ii..  c.  186,  Ed/Ald.) 
ScRiBONinvs  LAaovs,  a  miserable  Latin 
writer,  of  the  age  of  Claudun,  recommends 
the  application  of  torpedos,  both  in  headache 
and  in  gout : — 

"A  headache,  however  inveterate  and  intole- 
rable, is  immediately  removed,  and  permanent- 
ly cured,  by  placing  a  live  black  torpedo  on  the 
painful  part  till  the  pain  cease  and  the  part  be- 
come benumbed.  As  soon  as  these  efiTects  have 
taken  place,  the  remedy  should  be  removed  lest 
the  sensibility  of  the  part  be  destroyed.  Seve- 
ral torpedos  of  this  kind  should  be  procured, 
because  sometimes  the  cure  scarcely  responds 
to  the  action  of  two  or  three,  that  is,  the  torpor 
which  is  the  sign  of  the  cure.**— ("  Composl- 
tiones  Medicae,"  c.  i.  Apud  Medicse  Artis  Prin- 
dpes,  1667.) 

"  In  both  species  of  gout  (the  hot  and  the 
cold,  to  wit)  a  live  black  torpedo  should  be 
placed  under  the  feet,  the  patient  standing, 
not  on  a  dry  shore,  but  one  washed  by  the  seSi 
till  the  whole  foot  and  leg  is  benumoed,  up  to 
the  knees.  This  both  removes  the  pain  at  the 
time,  and  prevents  its  future  return."— (Op. 
cit  c,4l.)  ^  '^ 

Marcellus  Empirictts,  who,  unless  there 
has  been  some  confusion  of  manuscripts,  ia 
the  most  impudent  of  plagiarists,  has  copied 
whole  passages  from  Q^ribonids,  without 
acknowledflement :  among  others,  the  two 
just  qaoteOy  the  u)imer  verbatim,  the  latter, 
nearly  so. 

So  much  for  torpedos.  It  is  not  to  this  appar 
lentiy  whimsical  remedy,  that  we  now  request 
attention,  but  to  the  facts  that  the  activity  or  gal- 
vanism on  the  human  system,  and  its  applica- 
bility to  medicine,  were  known  to  the  experi- 
ence of  the  ancients,  »lt}i^T^gh  the  principle  of 
^hranism  was  unknown  to  their  philosophy. 
Might  not  the  intelligent  perusal  of  the  first 
passage  that  we  have  quoted  from  Galen,  ha ve 
led  to  the  discovery  orthe  ^Qvanic  power  be- 
fore the  latter  end  of  the  eighteenth  century? 


IS 


Effects  of  Galvanism  known  to  the  Ancients. 


Is  not  a  germ  of  electro-magnetism  also  to  be 
found  in  the  same  passage  1  1 1  may,  however, 
be  asked  on  the  other  hand, — if  galvanism  had 
been  discovered  and  applied  to  medicine  sooner 
than  it  was,  would  the  latter  science  have  been 
any  great  gainer  thereby  1  Do  the  trials  that 
have  hitherto  been  maae  of  electricity,  as  a 
thieapeutic  agent,  justify  us  in  reposing  much 
oonfiaence  in  its  powers  1  We  answei  that  it 
has  not  yet  received  a  fair  trial,  having,  in  a 
majority  of  instances,  been  unscientincally 
ana  inefficiently  applied.  Some  of  the  results 
that  have  been  obtained  have,  nevertheless, 
been  sufficiently  striking,  it  is  probable,  that 
a  very  moderate  galvanic  influence,  sustained 
for  a  length  of  time,  will  be  found  of  more 
extensive  utility  than  the  more  intense  but 
transitory  application  of  the  same  agent  in  the 
way  of  shocks;  but  we  cannot  persuade  our- 
selves that  an  agent  which  so  powerfully  af- 
fects the  nervous  system,  as  well  as  the  coagu- 
labili^  and  other  properties  of  blood,  would 
not,  if  we  knew  how  to  handle  it  properly, 
admit  of  very  important  applications  to  the 
treatment  of  disease. 

These  views  of  the  Editor  of  the  London 
Lancet,  corresponds  with  those  we  long  since 
formed,  and  which  we  have  practised  upon, 
through  a  long  series  of  years,  with  great 
success,  and  as  he  has  advanced  so  far  upon 
this  important  and  interesting  subject,  we  may 
now  venture  to  say  a  word  to  him  on  the 
subject  of  magnetic  remedies  in  chronic  dis- 
eases, by  which  a  very  moderate  galvanic 
influence  is  "  sustained  for  a  length  of  time, 
and  the  nervous  system,  as  well  as  the  co- 
agulability and  other  properties  of  the  blood, 
are  effected  in  the  most  sanative  and  benefi- 
'Cial  manner.  It  will  not  do  to  say  a  word  to 
him  about  magnetised  gold  pills,  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  his  knowledge,  for  with  them 
there  would  be  associated  in  his  mind  the 
idea  of  "  pill  monger,"  and  perhaps  "  animal 
magnetism"  either  of  which  would  be  fatal 
|0  his  further  progress  in  favor  of  **  galvanic 
influence." 

We  may  however  say,  that  the  magnetis- 
ed steel  rings,  (which  may  be  gilded  by  the 
electro-magnetic  process,)  when  worn  on  the 
fingers,  maintain  a  moderate  magnetic  influ- 
ence in  some  persons,  and  a  strong  one  in 
others,  who  arc  very  susceptible.  They, 
with  the  influence  of  the  magnetised  gold 
pills,  removed  a  large  tubercle  of  the  size  of 
a  small  hen's  egg,  from  the  side  of  a  person's 
neck,  the  last  summer  in  six  weeks,  which 


had  maintained  its  position  there  during  five 
years.  They  have  alone  removed  tubercles 
from  the  necks  of  more  than  twenty  children* 
during  the  last  six  months;  in  about  the 
same  time,  which  had  remained  there  from 
three  months  to  two  years,  and  rendering 
them  liable  by  a  propagation  of  the  disease, 
to  attacks  of  white  swellings  of  the  limbs, 
and  disease  of  the  hip-joint,  &c.  Scrofulons 
ulcers  heal  faster  under  their  influence,  and 
they  apparently  affect  very  favorably  persons 
affected  w^ith  tubercular  disease  of  the  organa 
and  limbs. 

In  what  manner  do  they  produce  such  ef- 
fects, is  a  question  which  is  frequently  ask- 
ed, but  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge 
is  very  difficult  to  answer  in  a  satisfactory 
manner.  We  may  however,  be  assisted  in 
forming  an  opinion  on  the  subject,  by  the 
statement  of  certain  facts  connected  with  it,, 
among  which  are  the  following : 

The  rings  are  magnetised  with  two  poles, 
which  are  connected  by  a  magnetic  axis,  and 
have  a  magnetic  equator  at  right  angles  with 
the  axis,  both  of  which  pass  through  the  fin- 
ger at  right  angles — ^they  consequently  pajsa 
through  the  blood  vessels  and  nerves ;  and 
besides  the  magnetism  in  the  surface  of  the 
ring,  is  connected  with  the  numerous  nerves 
in  the  surface  of  the  skin.  The  nerves  are 
good  conductors  of  the  magnetic  forces,  or  as 
the  editor  of  the  Lancet  will  have  it,  the  gal- 
vanic influenee,  and  connect  the  forces  in  the 
ring  or  rings  of  one  hand,  with  those  of  the 
rings  of  the  other.  Now  the  poles,  and  the  for- 
ces in  the  rings,  are  negative  and  positive, 
and  negative  and  positive  forces  attract  each 
other ;  and  as  the  tubercles  in  the  neck  are 
necessarily  formed  and  sustained  under  the 
influence  of  the  repulsive  force  which  ex- 
pands, there  is  a  well  grounded  suspicion 
that  the  forces  in  the  rings,  attract  the  lepuK 
sive  forces  in  the  tubercles,  and  thereby  ena- 
ble their  attractive  forces  to  contract,  and 
reduce  them  to  their  natural  glandular  state. 

May  not  the  use  of  these  magnetised  rings 
banish  hereditary  tubercular  disease  or  scro- 
fula from  the  face  of  the  earth  ?  The  num- 
ber of  cases  of  this  disease  is  increasing 
rapidly  in  Europe  and  in  this  country.    They 


Lunar  Influence^  ^c. 


19 


liaye  increased  fifty  per  cent  in  the  last  hun- 
dred yeare  from  the  abuse  of  mercury  alone, 
by  physicians,  and  by  the  quacks,  disguised 
in  their  panaceas  and  syrups  of  aarsaparilla, 
yet  we  should  never  despair  in  our  efforts  to 
cflfect  an  object  so  important,  as  that  of  redu- 
cing the  very  germs  of  hereditary  disease  in 
infancy  and  adult  age. 

The  physicians  of  Europe  are  aroused  from 
their  slumber  on  this  subject  which  is  now 
discussed  in  some  of  the  medical  journals  in 
a  Yery  elaborate  maimer. 

Besides  the  passage  of  laws  to  prevent 
the  increase  of  hereditary  disease,  Dr. 
Prater,  of  London,  suggests  the  following. 


Plans  for  Pr«T«iiting  the  Transmission  of  He- 
reditary Diseases  from  Parent  to  Child. 


apartment,  shonld  not  be  kept  for  any  long 
period  in  very  intimate  contact  with  her,— 
London  Lancet. 

We  can  here  hardly  resist  the  temptation  to 

show  the  great  superiority,  of  the  influence 

of  Ae  magnetised  rings,  over  the  influences 

suggested  by  Dr.  Prater,  in  preventing  the 

transmission  of  hereditary  disease,  but  must 

defer  it  until  we  have  demonstrated,  as  we 

propose  to  do  in  the  next  number,  the  magnetic 

organization  of  the  human  system. 


1.  Let  those  on  whose  side  the  taint  eiiste, 
adopt  for  some  years,  (or  at  all  events,  for  a 

Sar)  previous  lo  marriage  a  diet  and  plan  of 
e,  which  has  been  found  by  general  experi- 
ence most  conducive  to  the  palliation  of  the 
disease  under  which  they  are  laboring. 

\  As  a  part  of  the  same  system,  let  them, 
if  their  circamstances  permit,  even  remove  to 
a  climate  where  the  afiection  which  they  wish 
to  subdue  is  rare,  or  unknown ;  and  if  they 
cannot  continue  there  during  life,  let  them,  at 
ail  events,  remain  there  for  a  period  of  six  or 
eight  vears. 

3.  After  marriage,  if  the  hereditary  taint  be 
<m  the  male  side,  the  mother  may  suckle  her 
chiMren  herself,  living,  as  we  are  now  suppos 
mg,  with  them,  in  a  climate  very  unfavora- 
ble to  the  growth  of  the  disease;  or,  at  all 
events,  bring  them  up  by  a  system  of  diet  and 
regimen  (aided  by  medicine  if  proper)  calcu- 
lated to  subdue  it. 

4.  If  the  disease  be  on  the  mother's  side, 
she  is,  of  course,  for  some  years  previous  to 
marriage,  to  live  in  a  manner,  the  best  calcu- 
lated to  eradicate  it;  and  if,  indeed,  this  be 
impracticable,  she  ought  particularly  to  do  so 
during  the  whole  time  of  pregnancy.  In 
case  of  issue,  the  child  as  soon  as  possible  is 
to  be  separated  from  her,  as  far  as  nourish^ 
««•<,  <f«.,  15  ctmcemed^  and  to  be  brought  up 
either  by  the  hand  or  a  wet  nurse  (of  which 
the  ibrmer  is  preferable),  that  it  may  not  de- 
rive a  further  disposition  lo  disease  from  her 
milk ;  for  this,  although  not  possessing  a  di- 
rect power  of  communicatingthe  disease,  still, 
as  a  nutritive  fluid,  has,  in  alTprobability,  that 
defect  in  composition  or  structure,  (for  milk  is 
^ebuiar  common  to  the  solids,  on  which  he- 
reditary diseases  seem  mainly  to  depend- 
Since,  moreover,  the  other  secretions  of  the 
mother  may  partake  of  the  same  diseased  dis- 
position as  the  milk,  it  should  be  a  general 
rule  that  the  child,  although,  of  course,  it 
may  be  allowed  to  remain  in  her  house  or 


ARTICLE  V. 

LUNAB    INFLtTENOB. 

Being  a  Fourth  Oontrlbation  to  Proleptlost* 

Bj  T.  LATCocit,  M.  D. 

Pkyncian  to  the  JXspentary,  York. 

The  opinions  hij^erto  held  by  scientific 
men  on  the  validity  of  the  doctrine  of  lunar 
influence  have  been  remarkably  discordant 
The  skeptical  have  always  been  unphiloso- 
phical  in  their  skepticism,  and  the  bcdievera 
up  to  the  time  of  Mead  were  credulous  in 
their  belief;  both  agreed,  however,  in  ad- 
mitting or  rejecting  the  doctrine  without 
much  examination.  As  it  has  had,  and  may 
have,  an  important  bearing  on  proleptical  sci- 
ence, I  propose  to  review  the  subject  in  a 
spirit  of  impartiality. 

The  phases  of  the  moon  have  measured 
time  from  a  very  early  period.  Mr.  Culli- 
more  traces  evidence  of  a  bmar  division  of 
time  on  the  bricks  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
and  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  is  of  opinion  that  die 
circumstance  of  the  god  Lunus  being  the  dis- 
penser of  time,  and  represented  as  noting  off 
years  upon  the  palm-branch,  leads  to  the  idea 
that  in  former  years  the  Egyptians  calculated 
bv  lunar  instead  of  solar  years.  The  hieio* 
glyphic  of  a  month,  which  is  a  lunar  crescent, 
shows  also,  that  their  months  were  originally 
lunar.  The  derivation  of  the  word  monm 
in  our  language,  and  of  monat  and  Men  in  the 
German  and  Greek,  sufficiently  proves  that 
the  moon  was  likewise  the  measurer  of  the 
months  at  a  very  early  period  in  the  history 
of  European  nations. 

This  connection  of  the  moon  with  the 
measure  of  time  seems  to  have  brought  that 
planet  into  relation  with  the  religious  rites  of 
ancient  nations,  as  the  E^ptians  and  Jew^ 
and  also  to  have  given  ongin  (in  part)  to  the 
mythological  idea  so  extensively  prevalent  of 
a  lunar  mfluence  on  marriage  and  child-bear- 
ing. Even  the  barbarous  Greenlanders,  a« 
Egede  informs  us,  believe  in  tiiis  superstitioua 
notion.    They  imagine  that  the  moon  visits 


•  See  Lavobt,  VoL  I,,  1843^. 


so 


IiuiMr  ^t^fuenetf,  4^. 


f 


rvv- 


&eir  wives  now  and  then ;  that  Btaiing  long 
at  the  full  moon  will  make  a  maid  pregnant, 
&c.  Among  the  ancient  nations  the  ^neial 
idea  was,  that  the  lunar  influence  vaned  ac- 
cording to  the  a^  of  the  moon.  Bombastes, 
the  E^ptian  Diana,  was  not  equally  favor- 
able to  jputurient  females  and  their  o£&pring  in 
her  diroJfent  phases.  Among  the  Jews  the 
fall  moon  was  believed  to  be  lucky,  and  the 
two  other  disastrous.  "  The  full  moon  /'  says 
the  Rabbi  Abravanel,  "  is  propitious  to  new- 
bom  children,  but  if  the  child  be  bom  in  the 
increase  or  wane,  the  homs  of  that  planet 
cause  death ;  or,  if  it  survive,  it  is  generally 
suilty  of  some  enormous  crime."*  The 
Greeks  and  Romans  entertained  a  similar 
idea  respecting  the  lunar  phases.  The  gene- 
ral opimon  seems  to  have  been  that  the  moon 
was  propitious  in  proportion  as  its  luminous 
fiace  was  on  the  increase.!  The  ancient 
Greeks  considered  the  day  of  the  full  moon 
to  be  die  best  day  for  marriaee.  Euiipdes 
makes  Agamemnon  answer,  wnen  asked  on 
wha^  day  he  intends  to  be  married, 

"When  the  bleaaed  Maaon  of  fall  moon  is  come. — 
fyhig,f  act  v.,  717. 

Hesiod^  asserted  that  the  fourth  day  of  the 
moon  was  propitious,  but  the  eighteenth  was 
bad,  especially  to  the  female.  The  Laceds- 
monians  thought  it  unlucky  to  march  to  war 
before  the  full  of  the  moon,  or  to  make  com- 
manders at  any  other  time  than  the  new 
moon.|  But  illustrations  of  this  kind  might 
be  multiplied  to  a  great  extent.  Those  who 
are  curious  in  the  matter  will  do  well  to  refer 
to  Dr.  Prichard's  work  already  ouoted,  to 
«« The  Doctor,"  vol.  iii.,  n.  186,  to  Dr.  Milli- 
gan*s  "  Curiosities  of  Medical  Experience,'* 
vol.  i.,  p.  113,  and  (if  they  can  get  it)  to 
**  Astrologia  Restaurata,  by  William  Ram< 
sey,  Gent,  Student  in  Astrology,  Physick,' 
&c.,  folio,  Lond.,  1653.  This  Ramsey  was 
probably  the  son  of  Davy  Ramsay,  celebra- 
ted by  Scott,  in  the  "  Fortunes  of  Nigel,"  and 
who  says  of  the  nativity  of  the  Duke  of 
Buckingham, — 

"Full  moon  and  hicfa  aea, 
Great  man  ahalt  thon  be  ; 
Red  dawning;,  etonnr  sky. 
Bloody  death  ihalt  thon  die."— Chap.  tL 

Hie  influence  of  the  moon  was  acknowl- 
edged in  magic  and  alchenrp',  as  well  as  in 
mythology  and  astrology.  Trallian  directs  a 
magiod  nng  for  the  coUc  to  be  prepared  on 
the  seventeenth  or  twenty-first  day  of  the 
moon.§  in  Ben  Jonson's  **  Alchemist,"  a 
play    which,    firom   the   known   accuracy 


*  Basnafea,  Histoiro  des  Jnift,  IV.  chap.  xi. 

t  Prichard,  Analyeisof  the  Egyptian  Mytholof)r,8vo., 
Iiond.,  1819,  p.  72. 

}  Axehaol.  Attictt,  hj  Z.  Bogan,  6th  od.,  4to.,  Ox* 
fold  166B,  p.  387. 

I  Lib.  Xn  cap  i* 


of  its  author,  may  be  conndeied  as  npreaeBt- 
ing  the  swindlers  in  that  line  who  were  his 
contemporaries.  Tribulation  says, — 

"  But  how  long  time, 
Bir,  must  the  taints  expect  1  ^ 

"  SuBTLB.— Let  me  see, 
How's  the  moon  nowl    Eight,  nine,  ten  daysheiiM^ 
He  will  be  silver  potate ;  then  three  days 
Before  he  citronise, — some  fifteen  days.'' 

Act  iii.,  scene  L 


Medical  science  could  not  escape  being  in- 
volved in  these  notions.  Indeed,  the  idea  of 
a  physiological  and  pathological  influence  is 
directly  connected  with  &e  mythological;  but 
this  idea  was  conjoined  with  the  doctrine  of 
septenaries,  and  necessaiiiy  so,  because  the 
observed  vital  period  of  seven  diavs  was  con- 
terminous with  the  lunar  period  of  seven  da^s, 
or  one  week.  In  the  second  century  we  find 
Galen  discussing  this  connection  between  the 
moon's  influence  and  critical  days,  inextensop 
and  with  great  ingenuity,  and  his  doctrines 
revived,  but  not  improved,  by  Actuarius  in  the 
twelfth.  That  these  doctrines  influenced  medi- 
cal language  and  practice  to  a  great  extent 
might  he  proved  by  various  historical  facts. 
For  example,  in  ^latth.  xviii.,  verse  13,  of  a 
person  described  as  falling  oft  into  the  fire  and 
oft  into  the  water,  it  is  said  that  he  {sdeniaze' 
tat)  is  aifected  by  the  moon.  Trallian,  unng 
the  same  word,  terms  epileptics,  seUniakoL* 
Apuleius,  a  Latin  auAor,  also  terms  epileptics 
luTuUici.  In  Mr.  Wright* s  "  Bionaphia  lit- 
eraria"  it  is  stated,  that  one  day  John  of  Be- 
verley entered  the  nunnery  of  W  etadun  (sup- 
posed to  be  Wetton,  in  Yorkshire),  where  the 
abbess  called  him  to  visit  a  sister  in  whom  the 
operation  of  bleeding  had  been  followed  by 
dangerous  symptoms.  When  he  was  inform- 
ed that  she  had  been  bled  on  die  fourth  day  of 
the  moon,  be  blamed  &e  abbess  severely  for 
her  ignorance ;  "  for,"  said  he, "  I  remember 
that  Archbishop  Theodore,  of  blessed  memo- 
ry, said,  that  bleeding  was  very  dangerous  at 
the  time  when  both  the  light  of  the  moon  and 
the  flood  of  the  ocean  were  on  the  increase." 
This  notion  influenced  medical  practice  to  the 
time  of  Van  Swieten. 

Mead  was  the  firet  of  modem  writers  who 
considered  the  doctrine  of  lunar  influence  in  a 
truly  philosophical  spirit  Ifis  work  on  the 
subject  is  still  worthy  of  peru8al.t  He  antici- 
pated the  doctrine  of  atmospheric  tides.  He 
declared  that  the  moon's  influence  would  be 
found  to  be  greatest  at  apoeee  and  perigee.^ 
He  showed,  nom  various  c^culations,  mat  the 
atmospheric  pressure  on  the  body  might  vary 
in  consequence  of  the  moon's  innuence  on  the 
atmosphere,  to  die  extent  of  three  diourand 
and  sixty-two  pounds,  forcibly  adding, "  Fieri 


Lib.  i.  can.  xr. 
_t  Ds  Impeiio  Soils  ac  Lmua  in  ConMoa  HwnMM.  at 


r 


iMIUtf  h^MUM*^  ^e. 


81 


tUDen  neqail  qniii  migniim  ewpe  momentum 
kabeat  tern  inagnis  yaiiatio.'' — ^P.  28.  In 
short.  Mead  bRnurht  the  sabject  before  the 
profeesion  as  commetely  as  the  state  of  science 
at  the  tune  would  permit  The  last  oentiuy 
has  been  mote  piohfic  in  correct  and  extended 
ohaeifalions  on  the  subject  than  the  preceed- 
ing  ten.  These  I  shall  attempt  to  collate  and 
anaage. 

h^tuenee  of  tke  Moon  on  Feven  and  on  ike 
Spread  and  DuraHon  of  Epidemics. 

Testa  quotes  Gillespie,  or  Symmons,  as  hav- 
ing oommunicated  to  the  *  London  Medical 
Jonmal,"  for   1785,  cases  in  which  ulcers 
showed  an  evident  connection  with  the  moon's 
ebaues,  and  also  refers  to  remarks  to  the  ef- 
^leet  mat  the  knowledge  of  lunar  influence  may 
be  used  pvoleptically  in  the  treatment  of  inter- 
mitlents.     Balfour  republished  his  tract,  at 
about  the  same  time,  at  Edinbuigh,  by  the 
special  recommendation  of  Cullen.    It  is  wor- 
thy of  remark  that  Balfour  also  refers  to  the 
praLeptkal  use  of  the  knowledge  of  lunar  in- 
ftoence.    His  views  are  as  follows : — 1 .  That 
in  Bengal,  fevers  of  eveiy  denomination  are, 
in  a  remarkable  manner,  connected  with  and 
allected  by  the  revolutions  of  the  moon.    3. 
That  ID  Bei^,  a  constant  and  particular  at^ 
feotiQD  to  die  leyolution  of  the  moon  is  of  the 
greatest  importaoce  in  the  cure  and  prevention 
oi  feveiSw    3.  That  the  Influence  of  the  moon 
in  &veis  prevails  in  a  similar  manner  in  every 
inhabited  part  of  the  ^obe.     4.  That  tbie 
whole  doctaine  of  the  crisis  of  f  erers  may  be 
readily  explained  bom  the  premises  establifi^ed 
lespectiqg  the  influence  oi  the  moon  in  these 
discnders  at  the  full  and  change.*    The  fever 
which  came  under  Balfour's  observation  in 
Bengal  was  a  bilious  intermittent,  appearing 
most  commonly  as  a  tertian  or  quotidian.  The 
mooD's  influence  was  exhibited  at  full  and 
dau^  by  the  greater  number  of  attacks  and 
lebq^ses  which  took  place  in  the  three  days 
pRceeding  and  the  thiee  days  foUovidng  each 
of  these  periods.    The  first  and  second  propo- 
sitions are  alone  substantiated  by  his  observa- 
tioDS.    In  considering  his  foium  proposition 
he  was  quite  unconscious  of  the  general  law  I 
have  hef^  demonstrated.    Ambrose  Pare  ob- 
served that  people  were  more  liable  to  be  at- 
tacked by  the  plague  at  the  full  moon.    Die- 
meihsoedL  (as  quoted  by  Mead)  also  relates 
that  in  the  plague  of  1636,  two  or  three  davs 
hdbre  and  mr  the  new  and  full  moon,  the 
disoise  was  more  violent,  and  that  more  per- 
sons were  seized  at  those  times  than  at  any 
odMcand  in  a  more  fatal  manner.  Bamazzini 
asserts  that  the  inflnenee  of  the  new  and  full 
moQiw  bst  partiDularly  of  the  ftmner,  was  anat- 


ler  of  general  observations  during  ^  preva- 
lence of  an  epidemic  fever  at  Modena.  Bal- 
four quoted  Dr.  Lind,  as  entertaining  views 
similar  to  his  o>^n,  and  he  has  since  b^n  sup- 
ported by  several  physicians  and  suigeons  of 
the  Indian  armies.  Dr.  Scot  asserted  that  the 
influence  of  the  moon  on  the  human  body  in 
India  was  well  known  to  every  medical  prac- 
titioner. It  was  universally  acknowledged  by 
the  doctors  of  all  colon,  of  all  castes,  and  oi 
all  countries.  Dr.  Faiquhar  corroborated  these 
assertions.  Mr.  Peareon,  an  Indian  suijgeon, 
declares  *<  that  a  careful  observation  of  disease 
in  that  climate  will  corroborate  the  inferences 
of  Dr.  Balfour  that  die  attacks  and  fatal  ter- 
minations of  febrile  disease  and  of  dysentery, 
retention  in  the  intestinal  canal,  aggravations 
of  spasmodic  and  nervous  affections,  lake  place 
most  frequently  during  the  lunar  periods,i.  e., 
in  fifty  hours  before  and  after  toe  new  and 
full  moon."*  Dr.  Kennedy,  in  bis  woik  on 
the  Epidemic  Cholem,  also  declares,  "  The 
constitution  here  [India],  both  of  native  and 
denizen  is  assuredly  under  lunar  influence,  or, 
what  is  the  same  thing,  under  the  influence  of 
the  changes  of  weather,  which  as  invariably 
accompany  the  changes  of  the  planet  as  tbie 
ocean.'*  (chap,  vi.)  No  recent  writer  has  en- 
tered so  fully  into  this  part  of  the  subject  as 
Mr.  Orton.f  Indiyidual  cases  which  cams 
under  his  own  observations  are  related  in  sap- 
port  of  the  doctrine,  and  establish  it  apparent- 
ly beyond  controveray.  One  gentleman,  for 
example,  had  a  paroxysm  of  intennittent  fever 
every  lunar  month,  at  the  new  moon,  lor  two 
years  and  ekht  months.  For  two  successive 
years  he  had  one  paroxvm  only  in  the  mooAk, 
and  that  was  invariabty  at  the  new  moon  fp. 
204,  also  394).  Mr.  Orton  constructe  me 
fc^owing  dia^nm  in  sapport  of  Balfour's 
views: — 


f  0f  tbi  Moon  in  PMrvn. 

1^  FtaMOiBdlrar,  lf.l>.|  Snv  Bdiiilniiilb,  17». 


The  black  lines  are  the  nnheahhy  periods ; 
the  dotted  lines  the  more  fwrouiabJe  neriods. 
Each  period  extends  for  tluee  days  and  thsee- 

*  On  thePiMMM  of  Wann  Climato.    London  Mid^ 
t  On  Om  Epidimte  OMkm  of  Indi^  %id  od.,  ini. 


22 


Lunar  Influence^  ^c. 


quarters  before  and  after  the  full  and  newt  moon  on  which  the  cholera  appeared  at  yari* 
moon,  or  the  quarters.  Mr.  Orton  then  enters  I  ous  places  in  India,  and  presents  the  result  of 
into  a  number  of  details  as  to  the  day  of  the  'forty-six  instances  in  the  following  table ; — 


▲ppeanncM 

of 
the  cholera.     ]       16 


Days  before  and  after  fall  or  change. 
2         I        3       J        4         I         6 

16 


7  and  7  1-2 
(the  quarter.) 
No  instance . 


The  first  column  contains  the  instances  in 
which  the  cholera  appeared  on  the  day  of 
the  syzigee,  as  well  as  that  before  or  after. 
The  attacks  which  commenced  on  the  pleni- 
lunar,  or  light  half,  of  the  moon,  were 
twen^-eiffht;  on  thenovi-lunar,  or  dark  half, 
eight  Mr.  Orton  consequently  infers,  "  that 
the  moon's  syzigees  have  a  very  marked  in- 
fluence in  producing  the  disease,  and  the 
Suarters  in  removing  it."  The  progress  of 
ie  cholera  in  York,  Glasgow,  and  Manches- 
ter, did  not  exactly  corroborate  Mr.  Qrton*s 
Tiews,  as  the  following  tables  show : — 

Progress  of  cholera  in  York  from  June  2d 
to  August  13th,  1832,— 

New  Caaet       Deaths 
per  diem.        per  diem. 


▲t  qoadratnrr's.jncladine  "i 
the  day  preceding  and  > 


6.4D 
6.63 


1.S8 

1.72 


&46 

6.33 


2.00 
1.96 


following. 
On  other  days 
On  three  days  at  new  and 

fall  moon, 

On  three  days  at  quarters,' 

In  Glasgow,  from  Feb.  13th  to  May  24th, 
1832,— 

New  Cases  Deaths 

per  diem.  per  diem. 

Onjb^  days  at  quadra- )  ^^  ^^g 

tures.        •       '       •       ) 

On  other  days,  11.42  6.80 

On  three  days  at  new  and  >  g^gg  ^^q 

full  moons,       -       -    ) 

At  quarters,       •       ;  11.90  6.76 

In  MandiesttTt  from  1st  to  23d  August, — 

On  three  days  at  qnadratnres  17.77  new  cases  per 
diem. 


faJl,  scarcely  any  person,  and  certainly  no 
one  affected  with  feverish  or  nervous  symp- 
toms, is  exempted  from  extraordinary  ^nsa- 
tions  at  the  period  of  the  spring  tides."*  The 
arriero,  or  muleteer  of  Peru  takes  care  not  to 
unsaddle  his  mules  in  the  creciente  or  increase 
of  the  moon,  until  they  have  cooled,  other- 
wise they  would  be  disabled  by  abscesses, 
which  would  rapidly  form  on  the  shoulders 
or  loins,  t 
lAmar  Influence  in  Affections  of  the  Nervous 


On  other  days  20.71  new  c 


B  per  diem. 


The  difference  in  the  results  between  these 
tables  and  Mr.  Orton's  may,  indeed,  be  attri- 
butable to  the  difference  of  climate,  for  we 
have  seen  how  more  regularly  the  at- 
mospheric tides  recur  within  the  tropics  than 
the  temperate  zones.  Besides,  we  can 
scarcely  set  off  negatvoe  results  against  the 
numerous  positive  observations  detailed  by 
various  individuals,  and  all  leadine  to  the 
same  result.  And,  in  fact,  these  (^servers 
are  borne  out  by  what  is  noticed  in  other 
tropical  countries.  **  Him  fever,"  says  the 
Negro  in  the  West  Indies,  "  shadl  go  when 
the  water  come  low.  Him  always  come  hot 
when  the  tide  high.'**  ««  "Mmot  Moore  says 
that  near  the  tropics,  especially  in  situations 
where  the  tide  of  the  sea  has  a  great  rise  and 

•  The  Doctor,  toL  iii.  p.  179. 


It  is  yet  a  popular  opinion  that  epilepsy,  in- 
sanity and  asthma,  recur  at  intervals  r^ula- 
ted  by  the  moon.  Mead  mentions  a  case  of 
convulsions  in  a  young  female,  the  paroxysms 
of  which  corresponded  in  their  cessation  with 
the  flow  of  the  tide,  and  in  their  accession  with 
the  ebb.  Bropkes,  a  popular  writer  in  his 
day,  recommends  the  remedies  for  epilepsy  to 
be  given  a  day  or  two  before  the  new  and 
full  moon,  as  the  disease  returns  at  the  peri- 
ods of  the  moon,  especially  the  new  and  full. 
He  mentions  another  convulsive  disease  in 
which  the  accessions  of  the  fits  keep  exact 
pace  with  the  phases  of  the  moon.  J  A  very 
minutely  detailed  case  of  periodic  asthma 
was  communicated  to  the  royal  academy  at 
Madrid,  by  Dr.  Franzieri,  physician  to  the 
court  §  The  history  extends  over  a  period 
of  twenty  one  years ;  but  it  is  enough  to 
state  here,  that  for  four  years  the  days  of  in- 
termission counted  from  the  very  day  of  the 
new  moon,  to  that  preceding  the  eve  of  the 
full  moon,  and  from  the  day  of  the  full 
moon  to  the  day  before  the  eve  of  the  new 
one.  In  a  case  of  hysteralgia,  detailed  by 
Dr.  Rutter,  he  says,  "the  pain  was  also  greatly 
increased  at  the  new  and  full  moon.  She 
first  directed  my  attention  to  this  circum- 
stance, and  I  observed  it  for  many  yeara  af- 
terwaids  to  recur  with  a  degree  of  regularity 
which  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  the  fact,  to 
whatever  cause  it  may  be  ascribed." ||  Dr. 
Ebers,  of  Breslau,  has  lately  published  an 
interesting  example  of  somnambulism  in  a 
boy,  aged  eleven  years,  and  which  he  watch- 
ed himself  closely.  The  paroxysms  came  on 
regularly  every  full  moon.ir 

*  The  Doctor,  toI.  iii.  p.  179. 
t  Peru  as  it  is;  by  Dr.  Smith. 
I  Gen.  Pract.  of  Physic.  voL  i.  p.  279,  6th  ed. 
{  See  Lond.  Mad.  and  Phy.  Journal,  vol.  iii.,  p.  40L 
I  Sdia.  Medieal  and  Bugical  Jontnal,  voL  ir..  n, 
170. 
f  Caiper'a  Wochmuchrift,  nunbecs,  46,  43f,  (183S.) 


Lunar  Influence^  Sfc. 


23 


Influente  of  the  Moon  on  Insanity. 

The  evidence  on  this  point  is  conflicting. 
Dr.  Arnold  says  that  he  could  never  clearly 
and  certainly'  perceive  any  such  lunar  influ- 
ence.* In  the  annual  report  of  the  State 
Lunatic  Asylum,  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
a  table  of  fifty  cases  of  periodical  excitement 
is  dyen,  aad  their  relations  to  the  moon. 

There  occurred  on  the  average,— 


▲t  the  neiar  moon,    - 

middle  of  ditto, 
At  ^  fir»c  quarter, 

middle  of  ditto, 
At  fall  moon.   • 

middle  of  ditto. 
At  last  ouarter. 

middle  oi  ditto. 


20 
13 
16 
11 
12 
11 
13 
18 


Allen's  periods  of  increased  excitement, 
the  following  diagram  shows : 

Diagram  of  Dr.  Attends  Observations. 
15  Deaths. 


The  periods  however,  in  one  half  were 
not  exoteric,  but  esoteric,  in  their  origin ;  for 
in  tWGity-five  the  paroxysms  occurred  at  very 
nearly  regular  intervals  of  four,  six,  eight, 
and  twelve  weeks.    In  one  the  intervals 
were  tertian.    These  cases  should  have  been 
separated  from  the  others.    M.  Daguin,  phy- 
flidan  to  the  Lunatic  Hospital  at  Chambery 
^Savoy,)  made  numerous  observations  and 
was  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  moon  ex- 
ercises a  constant  and  real  injQuence  on  in- 
sane people.    Dr.  Michael  Allen  strenuously 
advocates   the   doctrine,  f    He    divides    the 
phases  o{  the  moon  into  four  periods  of  in- 
creased and  diminished  excitement ;  the  for- 
mer commence  two  days  before  new  and 
iu2i  moon,  and  continue  for  four  days  after ; 
the  latter  commence  three  days  before  the 
quarters  and  continue  for  four  days  after. 
hk  fact,  the  division  of  the  lunation  corres- 
ponds   almost    exactly  with  Mr.  Orton*s; 
iaa  unfaYorable  periods  answering  to  Dr. 


Freqaeney  of  the  pnlae  at  • 

Per  cent,  in  whom  it  was  j 

qaickened  at    -     -      < 


Last  qtiarter. 
85.67 

67.12 


11  Deaths. 

The  latter  author  appeals  to  a  table  of 
deaths  which  occurred  m  his  establishment, 
the  result  is  as  follows : — At  full  moon,  11 
died;  new  moon,  15;  first  ({uarter,  1 ;  last 
quarter,  3  died.  But  even  this  table  is  nulli- 
ned  by  the  experience  of  the  Retreat 

Mr.  Thumam  kindly  furnished  me  with 
details. 

Deaths  at  the  Retreat  for  forty-four  yean, 
arranged  on  Dr.  Allen*s  hypothesis : — At  full 
moon,  33  ;  new  moon,  40 ;  first  quarter,  34 ; 
last  quarter,  32. 

The  plus  negatives  the  minus.  I  may  add 
here  that  MM.  Leuret  and  Metivie  made 
observations  on  the  frequency  and  irritability 
of  the  pulse  of  insane  people  at  the  moon's 
phases  during  August  and  September.  The 
patients  at  me  Salpetriere  and  Maison  de 
Sante  d*Ivry  were  examined :-— * 


New  moon.  First  qtiarter.  Full  moon. 

81.62  I  80.56  I  79.80 


3172 


34.72 


83.82 


I  have  had  asthmatic  and  epileptic  patients 
who  complained  of  lunar  mfluence,  but  I 
could  never  satisfactorily  ascertain  that  it  was 
exerted.  The  paroxysms  certainly  occurred 
at  intervals  of  a  lunar  month,  and  abotU  the 
time  of  a  lunation ;  but  this  might  be  simply 
a  coincidence  of  the  esoteric  cycle  with  the 
lunar,  and  nothing  more.  A  medical  friend 
informs  me  of  a  case  in  which  the  patient  is 
much  more  easily  excited  by  alcoholic  drinks 
at  the  full  moon  than  at  any  other  time. 
Chalterton,  like  Milton,  imagined  his  intel- 
lect was  more  vigorous  at  ihe  full  moon.^ 


*  (Mwerratio&s  on  Lunacy,  Ac,  voL  L,  p.  391. 

i  C«M  of  Insanity,  8vo.,  1831. 

t  Woika  tditad  by  Sovthay,  1809,  toL  L,  p.  31 


Olksr  Diseases  and  Fimclums  under  lAmar 
Injhience. 
The  very  ancient  doctrine  that  the  periodi- 
cal chan^  in  the  sex  is  under  lunar  influence 
has  still  its  advocates.  Dr.  Flachs,  a  German 
critic,  in  a  review  of  Dr.  Davis*  work  on  Mid- 
wifery, controverts  an  opinion  of  that  writer 
to  the  contrary.  He  says  that  the  fact  is  well 
ascertained,  and  that  the  full  moon  is  most 
influential.  Mead  quotes  cases  to  prove  that 
leucorrhoeal  discharges  are  under  lunar  infla- 
ence.  "  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  remark,"  says 
Mr.  Lambert,t  "  that  the  new  and  full  moon 
are  the  periods  at  which  the  Kookies  generally 

*  London  Medical  and  Sturgical  Joamal,  voL  ir.,  p. 
68& 

t  Account  oi  tlU  BotFvoB(alia>  or  Oy»U.  Linn.  Tiaaf. 
ToL  vii,  p»  W> 


M 


iMnar  htfrneiM^^  ^e. 


» tbeir  openitkNi  (tfcatchiBg  the  wild 

gyallB,  from  having  obeerv^d  that  at  these 
chaafEes  the  two  sexes  are  most  inclined  to 
assoaate.  The  same  observation  has  often 
been  made  to  me  by  our  elephant  catchers.*' 
In  the  earlier  volumes  of  the  «  Philosophical 
Transactions'*  are  histories  of  fuemorrhages 
which  broke  out  at  lunar  periods.  Mead  re- 
lates a  curious  instance  of  thi6  kind.  Dr. 
Pitcaime  was  seized  at  a  country  seat  near 
Edinbuigh,  with  a  bleeding  from  the  nose 
and  faintness,  at  the  exact  hour  of  the  new 
moon,  namelyi  nine  o'ck)ck,  a.  m.  On  re- 
turning to  Edinlwrch,  he  was  informed  that 
Mr.  Cockburnt  professor  of  philosophy,  had 
died,  suddenly,  at  the  same  oour,  from  hae- 
morrhage  from  the  loags,  and  also  that  five 
or  six  of  his  patients  &d  been  seized  with 
haemorrhages.  The  barometer  was  lower  at 
that  hour  than  either  he  or  his  friend  Dr. 
Qngfxy  had  ever  observed  it  The  births 
and  deaths  of  mankind  generally  have  been 
supposed  to  be  under  lunar  influence.  It  was 
loimecly  supposed  in  the  Netherlands  that  fat 
people  died  at  the  flood,  and  thin  spare  people 
at  the  ebb.  Among  the  wonders  of  the  isle  and 
city  of  Cadiz,  one  is,  that  the  sick  never  die 
there  while  the  tide  is  rising,  but  alwavs  du- 
ring the  ebb.  'Dr.  Mosely  made  out  a  list  of 
persona  who  had  died  aged  from  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-nine 
years,  to  prove  that  very  old  people  die  at  the 
new  01  full  moon.  He  also  infers  from  the 
tiwM>»  el  death  of  forty  illustrious  persons, 
that  the  same  rule  holds  good  with  mankind 
in  genaniL  Three  or  four  years  ago,  Mr. 
Proctor  (now  resident  medical  officer  at  the 
York  County  Hospital)  made  me  out  a  list  of 
the  births,  with  their  dates,  which  had  occur- 
red ia  the  iHBBCtice  (^  Mr.  Janes  Allen  of  this 
city,  dwing  the  five  yeaisfrom  1831  to  1835, 
inclusive.  On  arranging  these  according  to 
the  changes  of  the  moon,  the  result  was  as 
foUowB : — ^Number  of  births  at  new  moon, 
151 ;  first  quarter,  129 ;  full  moon,  131 ;  last 
quarter,  154.  The  day  before  and  the  day 
after  &e  dsnr  of  change  were  included  in  the 
estimate.  The  whole  number  of  births  were 
1403 ;  of  hmations,  247 ;  oi  days  induded  in 
Ae  hmations,  741,  or  247x3. 

It  is  remarkable  Aiat  the  ancient  doctrine 
at  hmar  inAuenoe  on  vegetation  is  still  prac- 
tically applied  in  some  tropical  countries. 
'^Heriw  set  in  &e  wane  of  me  moon,"  says 
Wtllkm  Ramsay,  quoting  this  doctrine,  "  do 
BOt  thrive  weB ;  vines,  to  cheek  their  growfli, 
should  be  pruned  in  the  wane ;  timb^  cnt  to 
keep  well,**  &c.  Dr.  Robertson  asserts  tint 
in  tds  West  Indies  a2I  aorta  of  vegetables  are 
fuller  of  sap  at  the  new  and  full  moon;  the 
eolDiiifli8»  teefm*  sbolain  ftom   catting 


wood  at  these  ^riods,  but  sugar-canes  are 
cut  and  castor-oil  nuts  are  gathered  at  these 
seasons,  the  latter  bein^  supposed  to  yield  one 
fifth  more  oil  at  those  times  than  at  any  other. 
This  influence  of  the  moon  is  still  acknowi- 
edsed,  at  least  in  Cuba,  as  Mr.  Backhouse 
informs  us,  in  the  account  of  his  travels  lately 
published.  The  moon  also  ffvudes  die  agricoi- 
tural  operations  in  Peru.  "The  maize  crops,* 
says  Dr.  Smith,  in  his  work  before  quc^, 
"  the  fanners  alwavs  harvest  in  the  *  m«ngt«- 
antSt  or  decrease  of  the  moon ;  for  it  is  a  met, 
known  to  every  husbandman,  that  if  Aey  col- 
lect the  crop  in  the  *  creciefUSy  or  increase  of 
the  moon,  it  will  not  keep  free  of  moths  for 
three  months,  even  though  allowed  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  left  in  me  husk."  Around 
Lima  the  former  takes  caie  not  to  sow  in  die 
credentej  or  the  wood-cutter  to  cut  timber, 
e^iecially  willow  and  elder,  or  it  soon  de- 
cays, as  Dr.  Smith  found  out  by  his  own 
experience. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  the  moon  exerci- 
ses an  attractive  power  cm  the  fluids  of  liv- 
ing siructaies,  like  that  exhibited  on  the  great 
masses  of  water  on  the  globe.  I  think  this 
hypothesia  need  not  be  discussed  or  noticed 
further.  It  has  also  been  supposed  that  the 
li^kt  of  the  moon  has  a  direct  influence  on 
vital  function.  The  sun*s  rays  may  certainly 
be  so  altered  by  impinging  on  the  moon,  diat 
when  reflected  frcmi  the  latter  they  may  have 
a  chemical  and  physiolofpcal  action  very  dif- 
ferent from  those  proceedmg  directly  from  the 
f<Nrmer.  Testa  discusses  the  question  at  coa- 
siderable  length*  Supposing  it  to  be  proved 
that  the  moon*s  light  have  an  iiqurious  influ- 
ence I  think  it  scaroely  belongs  to  my  subject 
Shutters  or  an  awning  will  at  any  time  efiec- 
tually  neutralize  it,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  there  are  no  observations 
extant  worthy  notice. 

In  accordance  with  my  previous  plan  I 
shall  next  proceed  to  compare  physiological 
and  pathological  observations  with  meteoro* 
logical  phenomena  and  consider  whether  there 
be  any  changes  in  the  density,  electric  ten^[on, 
or  hygrometric  condition  of  the  air  at  the 
lunar  phases,  whether  there  be  changes  in  the 
direction  of  its  currents,  and  whetner  these 
changes  have  any  connection  with  the  ob- 
served changes  in  vital  function,  and  how 
it  takes  place.  This  will  form  the  subject  of 
another  communication. 


nn  mid  Endwiniiiunii 
Zastande  de*  mentctLUchen  Ki 


Bennerlmnfen  Abtr  di«  periodiadMn  Vflr&pdtnui* 
Eneh0miinc»n  im  kxanlran  and  jfarandam 
1m  mentckficheii  KAipen,  Leipsig,  1790.  pw 
337,  Mq.  Thii  is  a  tnuulatioo  from  the  Latin  of  T\Mi> 
ta.  TWta'a  Boqk,  I  may  ob— 1 1  a  ,contei—  mow  mdim- 
al  facts  and  aifomeBts  on  tha  snlnaet  of  vital  period- 
ieitj «hu tty  voih of  tbi  tims  «&at I ^^—^'-  ' 
widL    BetookilapwkaiallMdMtit. 


Hemorrhage  from  the  Lungs. 


86 


\ 


TlM  Law  of  S^ren. 
To  the  Editor. — Sir :  In  your  widely-read 
Journal  the  periodic  law  of  seven,  in  health 
and  disease  has  been  illustrated,  both  physio- 
Icj^cally  and  pathologically  by  Dr.  Laycock  ; 
by  Dr.  Robert  Williams,  on  Consumption  ; 
and  by  "  Chiruigus "  on  Menstruation  and 
Delivery  (Lancet,  11th  March,  1843,)  and  I 
flome  time  ago,  observed  what  may  be  consi- 
dered to  be  another  illustration  of  it,  in  a  pa- 
per (by  Dr.  Stratton)  in  the  "  Edinbui]gh  Me- 
dical and  Suigical  Journal"  for,  Jan.,  1843, 
page  112,  where  the  result  of  several  series  of 
observations  is  to  the  effect  that  in  health  the 
homan  pulse  is  more  frequent  in  the  morning 
tlian  in  the  evening  for  six  days  out  of  seven, 
and  that  on  the  seventh  day  it  is  slower. 
Verily  it  seems  as  if  the  days  of  mathemati- 
cal medicine  were  about  to  return.  I  am, 
sir,  your  constant  reader  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, PrrcAiBN  Secundus. 

Kbtg^Umy  tapper  Canada,  May  21,  1843, 
Hflmorrhage  from  the  Lnngs. 
Nkarlt  all  the  cases  of  hemorrhage  from 
the  lungs  occur  within  four  days  of  the  new 
moon  or  of  the  full  moon,  and  the  natural  and 
tegulai  periods  ol  hemorrhage  from  the  uterus 
occur  within  the  same  time.    These  facts 


were  well  known  to  the  ancients,  and  a 
knowledge  of  diem  is  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance to  both  sexes  who  are  predisposed 
to  hermorrhage  from  the  lungs,  to  enable 
them  to  avoid  any  exciting  causes  of  hemorr- 
hage at  these  periods,  and  particularly  to  fe- 
males, /orobvioiis  reasons. 
4 


A  solution  of  this  lunar  influence  is  found  in 
the  more  rarified  state  of  the  atmosphere,  from 
its  expansion  at  K  J  and  J  K ;  at  the  new 
moon,  c,  and  full  moon,  E,  from  the  com- 
bined action  of  the  sun  and  moon  upon  it, 
at  these  periods,  in  the  direction  seen  in  Ae 
figure,  and  in  consequence  of  which  the  pres- 
sure of  the  atmosphere  on  every  square  inch 
of  the  body,  and  of  the  cavities  exposed  to  ito 
influence,  is  greatly  reduced. 

The  diminution  of  pressure  commences  three 
days  and  a  half  before  the  new  and  full  moon» 
and  gradually  increases  until  it  arrives  at  ill 
maximum,  at  the  time  of  the  new  and  full 
moon ;  when  it  begins  to  decrease,  and  goes 
on  decreasing  to  the  end  of  three  days  and  a 
half,  when  it  is  minimum,  or  0,  and  so  con- 
tinues through  the  intermediate  periods.* 

When  the  moon  is  in  its  syzygees,  c  £«^ts 
forces  are  extended  to  the  atmosphere  of  tha 
earth,  B,  by  the  action  of  the  forces  from 
the  sun.  A;  but  when  the  moon  is  in  itn 
quadratures,  D  L,  the  extension  of  its  forcea 
beyond  the  )  parenthesis  (  is  interrupted  by 
the  forces  from  the  sun,  and  the  density  of 
the  atmosphere  is  then  at  its  maximum. 

The  periods  of  excitement  and  repoM  in 
chronic  diseases  are  generally  very  r^ular* 
the  first  occurring  in  the  periods  of  the  new 
and  full  moon,  and  the  latter  in  the  interme- 
diate periods. 

When  hermorrhage  commences  from  the 
lungs,  the  arms  above  the  elbows  and  die 
legs  above  the  knees,  should  be  bound  with 
handkerchiefs,  moderately  tight,  until  the 
hemorrhage  ceases,  for  the  purpose  of  check- 
ing temporarily  the  accumulation  of  blood 
in  the  heart  and  lungs.  The  patient  should 
at  the  same  time  drink  freely  of  alum  water. 
or  salt  water.  The  violence  of  the  hemorr- 
hage soon  ceases  under  this  treatment ;  the 
use  of  these  drinks  should,  however,  be  con- 
tinued until  the  bloody  expectomtion  kaa 
ceased,  when  these  safe  and  efficient  resia- 
dies  will  finish  their  work  by  exating  the 
action  of  the  intestines.  Drawing  bkxid 
from  the  arm  in  laige  quantities  under  sndi 

*  Contomptive  pwiona  of  the  vallaM  an  ftvqiMiitly 
attacked  wiui  hemofrfaafe  from  the  lojiga^iA  r^itin^ 
orer  the  moantains  m  fhe  iatevmediate  period*. 


86 


Diagnosia  by  the  Puke. 


circumstances,  as  is  commonly  practised,  is 
not  only  positively  injurious  in  a  great  ma- 
jority of  cases,  but  it  is  often  fatal ;  and  such 
patients  are  never  in  greater  danger  than 
when  they  are  in  the  hands  of  a  f  hysician 
whose  knowledge  is  bounded  by  inflamma- 
tions. When  ^e  quantity  of  blood  raised, 
exceeds  a  wine  glass,  a  blister  should  be  ap- 
plied between  the  shoulders,  and  rest  and 
quietness,  with  a  light  diet,  strictly  observed, 
until  the  system  has  recovered  from  the  ex- 
haustion produced  by  the  hemorrhage. 

The  acetate  of  lead  (sugar  of  lead,)  if  at 
hand,  may  be  also  used  in  these  cases,  3  or 
4  grains,  or  a  quantity  that  will  lay  on  a  six- 
penny piece,  made  into  3  or  4  pills,  with 
moist  bread,  may  be  taken  at  once,  or  at  in- 
vals  that  may  be  determined  by  the  urgency 
of  the  symptoms. 

The  few  cases  of  hemorrhage  from  the 
lungs,  which  occur  when  the  moon  is  in  its 
quadratures,  or  when  it  is  moving  from  the 
octant ;  r,  to  that  at  m,  and  from  the  octant 
at  s,  to  that  at  I,  are  those  that  occur  in 
chronic  bronchitis,  or  chronic  disease  of  the 
mucous  membrane  that  lines  the  inside  of  the 
bronchial  or  air  tubes,  which  rarely  amounts 
to  more  than  a  wine  glass,  and  is  in  general 
a  matter  of  little  consequence,  requiring  only 
the  exercise  of  common  prudence  at  those  pe 
riods  to  prevent  its  recurrence. 

Hemorrhage  from  the  serous  substance  of 
the  lungs,  or  from  its  serous  membranes,  oc- 
cur in  the  rarified  state  of  the  atmosphere,  at 
fhe  periods  when  tlie  moon  is  in  syzygees  or 
apogee  and  perigree;  while  hemorrhage  from 
the  mucous  substance,  or  the  mucous  mem 
hranes  of  the  lungs,  occur  in  the  dense  state 
of  the  atmosphere,  at  die  periods  when  the 
moon  is  in  its  quadratures,  as  we  have  ascer- 
tained in  the  most  satis&ictory  manner,  by  a 
long  series  of  observations. 


OtagBOsU  kf  th«  PnlM. 

Loags. 

TO  TBB  IPITOR  OP  TBB  LANCBT. 

Si R— The  number  of  thepulse  in  one  minuie 
is  generally  a  multiple  of  twelve;  I  believe 
that  this  fact  has  not  hitherto  been  noticed} 
yet  will  it  be  found  not  leas  useful  and  impor- 
tant than  curious,  in  extensive  practice, 
when  advice  gratis  necessitates  rapid  conclu- 


sions, it  is  easy  to  determine,  in  a  few  seconds, 
to  which  number  the  pulse  may  be  referred, 
and  in  many  cases  the  nature  and  intensity  of 
a  disease  may  be  suspected  from  the  number 
of  the  Dulse  alone.  In  accordance  with  this 
law  of^ numbers  we  meet  with  poises  of  60, 
72, 84, 96, 108, 190, 144, 168.  I  have  recenUy 
prescribed  for  a  lady  who  has  twice  snfierea 
from  excessive  nervous  irritability ;  her  pulse 
I  clearly  ascertained  to  be  diO,  twenty  times 
twelve,  nor  was  there  any  difficulty,  as  some 
have  asserted  there  must  be,  in  accurately 
counting  it. 

A  pulse  of  144  and  168  is  often  met  with  in 
pneumonia  in  children ;  it  is  remaricable  that 
a  pulse  characteristic  of  a  special  disease 
will  be  the  same  in  number  in  individuals  of 
widely  different  ages.  The  pulse  in  rising 
and  udliDg  from  accidental  and  temporary 
excitement,  rises  and  falls  through  a  series  of 
duodecimal  decrees;  when  within  the  first 
few  minutes  of  an  interview  the  pulse  of  a 
oatient  rapidly  subsides  from  120  to  108, 96, 
84,  a  knowledge  is  at  once  afforded  of^the 
highly  excitable  and  therefore  susceptible  con- 
stitution of  the  patient:  beware  of  treating 
such  subjects  durmg  periods  of  excitement,  as 
for  acute  or  serious  disease,  by  violent  mea- 
sures ;  many  such  individuals  are  destroyed 
by  continual  cupping  and  bleeding,  and  mer- 
curialising, for  alleged  determination  of  blood 
to  the  head ;  inflammation  of  the  spinal  mar- 
row; inflammation  of  the  lungs;  pleurisjr; 
disease  of  the  heart.  &c.,  when  a  recovery  is 
often  easily  effected  by  merely  allaying  ner» 
vous  iiritaDility. 

The  pulse  in  many  chronic  diseases,  as  ia 
consumption,  is  generally  108,  and,  under 
moderate  excitement,  Iw,  but  not  unilre- 
quently  only  96 ;  a  pulse  not  slower  than  96 
in  an  adult  should  always  excite  suspicion.-— 
It  sometimes  happens  that  in  bulky,  lentfh 
phlegmatic,  or  hydrosemic,  phthisical  subjects, 
having,  too,  a  finely-developed  chset,^  that  the 
pulse  does  not  rise  above  73  or  84 ;  the  prac- 
titioner, misled  by  first  appearances,  is  apt  to 
cheer  the  patient  with  an  assurance  of  certain 
recovery,  but  from  the  cootin  nance  of  the 
cough,  after  one  or  two  visits,  is  induced,  al- 
most carelessly,  to  auscultate  the  chest,  and  ia 
dismayed  at  discovering  a  considerable  exca- 
vation in  the  lungs.  In  such  subjects,  not 
very  frequently  met  with,  recoveries  do  some* 
times  inclubit{u>ly  occur;  the  treatment  con* 
sisting  of  an  almost  entire  restriction  to  the 
most  stimulating  animal  diet;  of  salt  laigelr 
administered  at  every  meal ;  of  quinine  ana 
preparations  of  iron;  and  of  lotions  of  spirit 
of  wine  and  tincture  of  iodine  applied  to  the 
surface  of  the  chest  To  such  subjects  sea- 
air  is  especially  beneficial.  I  have  known  the 
audible  evidences  of  consumption  to  disappear 
andreappearin  individuals  visiting  the  East  In- 
dies, the  disease  at  last  proving  fiital,  as  in 
one  instance  very  lately,  apparently  in  conse- 
quence of  the  individual  having  prolonged  his 
stay  ia  England  longer  than  usual:  in  such 
subjects  1  have  known  a  well-marind  exeava- 


iS^ptnat  Mtningitis. 


2r 


CioD  oontinue  for  many  jean,  apparently  sta- 
tionaiy.    The  rapid  progress  or  consnmption 
in  more  ixritable  subjects,  in  whom  the  pulse 
is  lUO  or  120,  is  in  many  instances,  I  have  rea- 
son to  btslieye,  as  mtLch  attribatable  to  the 
highly  absurd  and  reprehensible  practice  of 
bleeding  to  arrest  hsemoptysis,  as  to  the  unre- 
sisted progress  of  tubercular  disease;  chronic 
disease   mvades  the  system  when  the  vital 
powers  are  depressed^  and  always  acquires 
growth  and  rapidly  from  exhaustion  of  the 
Tital  and  op^mg  force:  bleeding  ibr  haemop- 
tysis in  subjects  snfifering  irom  tuberculous 
ca€hexia,  may  be  denominated  fashionable 
homicide.    I  am  at  present  acquainted  with 
many  delicate  individuals  who  have  been  ex- 
pectorating blood,  at  intervals,  for  several 
years ;  I  am  convinced  that  eveiy  one  of  them 
woold  be  destroyed  by  even  a  moderately 
large  bleeding;  why  should  such  panic  be 
excited  by  ordinary  haemoptysis  as  to  con- 
firand  all  common  sense  ana  sober  judgment  7 
The  hemoptysis  may  doubtless  be  arrested  by 
hieeding,  but  though  the  triumph  of  arresting 
it  be  great,  the  patient  is  merely  placed  upon 
h&i  legs  to  sla^r  to  the  grave.    In  nineteen 
cases  out  of  twenty  the  hemorrhage  will  cease 
by  iudicioos  treatment,  without  me  adoption 
oif  Ui^  desperate  eipediem  of  bleeding,  which, 
though  it  cootinoe  for  days  or  weeks,  a  natu- 
ral hemofiiiage  is  iar  more  easily  borne  than 
deCncb'on  of  blood  by  the  lancet ;  calmly  and 
jndicioosJy  advise  and  administer,  and  seldom 
will  danger  or  difficnltv  result  from  the  mere 
hemoptysis,   though  tne  patient  may  ulti- 
mately die  fiom  the  natural  progress  of  the 
disease.    With  eveiy  sentiment  of  respect,  I 
am,  sir,  Ac,  Anthropos. 

4^4lM3— Lamqbt. 

8PIVAL  MEiriirOITIS. 
A  new  name  for  tubercular  disease  of  the 
oigana  and  muscles.  The  old  names,  such 
m  Bfioal  diflease,  ^inal  irritation,  spinal  neu- 
ralgia, and  nervous  afifection  of  the  spine,  are 
heeoming- rather  stale  and  unpopular,  and 
hence  the  policy  of  giving  a  new  name  to 
Aese  maladiew  of  the  imagination,  which 
were  never  favored  with  a  real  existence. 
TMatmcnt  of  Spinal  Manlngiiis. 

TO  YU  KDITOR  09  TKB  LAVCST. 

Sir:  Id.  looking  over  the  Lancet  for  May 
STth  last,  my  attention  has  been  arrested  by 
the  eaae  of  spinal  meningitis  related  by  Mr. 
Tyte  (p.  967.)  The  lenph  of  time  required 
to  accomplish  the  cure,  by  the  treatment  em- 
pioTed,  notwithstanding  its  severity,  will  fur- 
nish a  speedy  excuse  far  the  suggestion  of  a 
more  speedy,  certain,  and,  at  the  same  time. 
lees  pamftii  method.  Had  Mr.  Tyte  applied 
eig^  or  twelve  leeches  over  the  tender  part  of 
4tt  hack,  repeated  them  on  the  next  day,  if 
much  tenderness  on  prcasmt  remained,  and 
aHerwBidBuaed  fiiction  with  croton  oil  nntUa 
crop  of  pustules  was  produced,  instead 


of  six  weeks  elapsing  before  the  patient  be- 
came decidedly  better y  the  same  happy  result 
would  probably  have  occurred  within  as  many 
days.  The  functional  derangement  of  the 
liver,  stomach,  or  kidneys,  which  is  generally 
present,  would,  of  course,  require  to  be  treated 
at  the  same  time  (by  means  of  decoction  ot 
aloes,  carbonate  of  potass,  &c.,  as  the  particu- 
lar case  might  require). 

I  have  treated  about  a  dozen  cases  of  this 
disease  during  the  present  year,  and  in  only 
one  have  required  to  use  calomel  and  opium. 
The  patient  was  a  man  of  very  weak  consti- 
tution ;  for  a  week  the  disease  was  supposed 
to  be  enteritis,  all  the  symptoms  of  which 
were  present.  He  was  bled,  and  calomel  and 
opium  were  administered,  but  the  disease  not 
yielding,  I  had  a  consultation  with  another 
practitioner,  when  ereat  tenderness  was  dis- 
covered over  one  of  the  lumbar  vertebras. — 
The  patient  was  cupped  over  this  part,  coun- 
ter-irritation was  afterwards  applied,  the  mer- 
curial action  maintained  for  a  few  days  lon- 
ger, and  he  was  discharged,  cured,  in  five 
weeks  from  the  conmiencement  of  the  attack. 
I  usually  find  about  ten  days  sufficient  to  ao* 
complisn  the  cure,  but  occasionally  more  is 
required,  and  sometimes  recovery  proceeds 
more  rapidly. 

I  believe  that  a  great  proportion  of  these 
cases  is  not  recognised  by  the  medical  atten- 
dants; and  also  that  many  cases  exist,  sup- 
posed to  be  obstinate  dyspepsia,  which  are 
owing  to  that  subacute  form  of  the  disease 
which  is  termed  spinal  irritation.  A  case  of 
this  sort  occurred  to  me  lately.    The  patient 

S resented  the  usual  symptoms  of  functional 
erangement  of  the  liver  and  stomach,  and 
during  the  last  five  months,  these  symptoms 
had  been  treated  bv  four  medical  men.  On 
placing  himself  unaer  my  care  it  was  only  by 
very  carejul  examination  that  I  discovered 
tendemess  over  one  part  of  the  lumbar  spine. 
I  cupped  him,  used  croton-oil  friction,  order- 
ed a  powder  composed  of  calomel,  one  grain, 
aloes,  one  grain,  and  calumba,  eight  grains, 
to  be  taken  every  night  and  morning,  and 
within  three  weeks  the  patient  was  curat 
I  am,  tir,  jaan  truly, 
June  26, 1843.  O. 

1^  The  writer  has  authenticated  his  state- 
ments privately,  by  forwarding  his  real  name 
and  address  to  the  editor. 

These  cases  including  that  of  Mr.  Tyte 
referred  to,  were  all  cases  of  tubercular  dis- 
ease of  the  organs,  and  not  that  of  meningi- 
tis, nor  of  functional  disease  of  the  oigans; 
for  there  is  never  magnetic  symptoms  of  tu- 
bercular disease,  as  in  these  cases,  in  mere 
functional  derangement  of  (he  stomach,  liver, 
or  any  other  organ,  and  Dr.  Tyte  had  the  can- 
dor to  acknowledge  that  the  symptoms  of  me  - 
ningitisin  his  case  was  not  well  marked,  al« 
though  it  was  much  more  so  than  any  of 


StatisiicB  of  Cancer^  ^e. 


tfao0e  deflcribed  by  Dr.  C.  But  the  sequel  of 
ttkese  cases  like  thousands  of  the  same  kind, 
is  not  yet  told,  and  I  hope  the  gentlemen  will 
paidon  me  for  saying  that  neither  of  their 
cases  are  cured — ^that  they  have  only  passed 
through  a  temporary  period  of  excitement, 
to  a  temporary  period  of  repose.  We  have 
seen  a  great  many  thousand  such  cures 
of  the  same  disease,  and  in  the  same  or  a 
very  similar  manner,  during  the  last  ten  years ; 
but  these  cures  were  very  temporary;  for 
these  patients  would  not  *<  stay  cured,"  and 
in  fact,  nothing  was  effected  by  the  common 
remedies  in  any  of  these  cases,  but  a  tempo- 
rary palliation  of  the  uigent  sjrmptoms,  while 
the  patients  were  passing  through  the  pe- 
riods of  excitement  to  that  of  repose. 


Tnbercnlar  Oonsnmption. 

Dr.  Hastings,  of  London,  has  recently  com- 
menced treating  this  disease  with  naptha, 
and  apparently  with  success,  so  far;  and 
other  physicians  in  that  metropolis  are  now 
engaged  in  testing  its  effects  in  this  disease. 

There  are  a  number  of  different  articles  in 
commerce,  which  are  sold  under  the  name  of 
naptha.  The  naptha  used  by  Dr.  Hastings 
IS  obtained  by  the  destructive  distillation  of 
an  ascetate,  as  the  ascetate  of  lead,  or  of 
lime.  This  product  has  been  called  by  che 
mists,  pyroacetic  spirit,  mesilic  alcohol,  or 
ascetone,  and  is  missible  in  all  proportions 
with  water,  without  producing  milkiaess. 
The  dose  is  from  10  to  20  drops,  three  times 
a  day.  We  are  now  testing  its  effects  in  a 
great  variety  of  cases  in  this  city,  both  alone 
and  in  conjunction  with  the  compound  chlo- 
ride of  gold,  an  article  which  we  have  been 
long  in  the  habit  of  using  with  uniform  suc- 
cess, in  the  first  stage  of  tubercular  disease  of 
the  lungft 

Dr.  Hasse,  of  Koningsberg,  cauterises  the 
parts  affected  in  lar3mgeal  phthisis  with  a 
strong  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver,  consisting 
of  one  part  of  the  nitrate  to  four,  and  afler- 
wards  two  parts  of  water. — London  Lancet. 

▼oiBitinc,  a  Oare  for  Fhthisii. 
It  is  stated  that  176  patients  under  con- 
tamption,  47  in  the  incipient,  and  129  in  the 
advanced  stage,  admitted  during  a  period  of 
ibur  years  into  tbe  military  hospital  at  Capua 
were  ultimately  discharged,  perfecUy  cured, 


their  treatment  having  consisted  in  the  admi- 
nistration of  a  tablespoonful  night  and  morn- 
ing of  the  following  mijcture: — Tartarised 
antimony,  three  grains ;  syrup  of  cloves,  an 
ounce;  decoction  of  marsh  mallows,  six 
ounces ;  mix.  The  dose  was  to  be  repeated 
until  vomiting  ensued.— Annali  Univ.  di 
Medicine. 


Statistics  of  Oancer. 
The  following  are  results  of  researches  on  the  nrevm- 
lence  of  this  disease  throughout  France,  which  have 
been  made  with  much  care  and  accuracy  on  the  part 
of  M.  Le  Roy  d'Eloilles: 

Of  3781  cases  occurring  in  the  practice  of 
174  surgeons,  1227  happened  in  individuals 
above  forty,  and  1061  to  others  above  sixty 
years  of  age.  I'he  ca^^es  of  cancer  of  thie 
uterus  were  about  thirty  per  cent. ;  of  the 
breast  twenty-four  per  cent  Cancer  of  the 
mouib  was  in  women  only  as  one  to  one-and- 
a-half  per  cent.,  while  in  men  (probably  from 
the  use  of  the  tobacco-pipe)  it  was  as  mach 
as  twenty-six  per  cent.  Cancers  supposed  to 
have  been  of  hereditary  transmission  figured 
only  as  1  in  378  [1] :  while  those  induced  by 
scrofula  were  as  1  in  10 ;  and  by  syphilis  as 
1  in  5. 

The  most  useful  part  of  the  inquiry  is  that 
that  which  is  brougnt  to  bear  upon  the  utility 
or  otherwise  of  operating  on  cancers.  Out  of 
1172  patients  not  operated  on,  18  lived  for 
more  than  thirty  years  after  the  first  appear- 
ance of 'the  disease;  while  out  of  801  operated 
on  by  excision  or  caustic,  the  existence  oi  only 
4  was  prolonged  for  a  similar  lapse  of  time : 
14  patients  operated  on,  and  34  not  operated 
on,  lived  for  a  period  of  from  twenty  to  thirgr 
years;  and  88  in  the  first  category, and  2& 
in  the  second,  lived  from  six  to  twenty  years 
afler  the  first  appearance  of  the  disease.  The 
ordinary  duration  of  life  afler  this  period 
among  persons  not  operated  on,  is  said  to  be 
five  years  for  men  and  five  and  a  half  for 
women ;  while  among  those  operated  on,  it  Is 
no  more  than  five  years  and  two  months  for 
men,  and  six  years  lor  women. 

From  these  results  the  natural  conclusion  it 
that  the  ablation  of  cancer  (leaving  out  of 
account  the  risks  attending  the  operation 
itself)  does  little,  even  when  successful,  to 
prolong  life  and  is  therefore  (m  Prance,  at 
least)  of  very  Questionable  utility.  Resolta 
like  these,  startling  as  they  may  seem,  and 
however  tney  may  demand  subsequent  cor- 
roborations, are,  at  least  indications  of  the 
light  which  statistical  science  is  enabled  to 
throw  upon  the  actual  and  relative  value  of 
many  or  the  aids  in  medicine  and  surgery  of 
which  we  at  present  avail  ourselves.— jLoniipii 
Lancet, 

Oaie  of  Enlargement,  Soroftilove  Abeoees, 
and  removal  of  the  Testis. 

BT  OBO.  LAN08TAFV,  BS^,  SUROBON,  LONDON  LANCBT. 

This  was  a  common  case  of  tubercular 
disease  of  the  testis  on  the  right  side,  in 
which  an  ulcer  was  formed,  and  dischaiyed 


Derangement  of  the  Brain. 


lis  matter  through  an  opening  upon  the 
surface,  duriD^  the  use  of  the  common  reme- 
dies, including  iodine,  when  it  was  removed 
in  the  usual  manner.  I  have  noticed  this 
case  for  the  purpose  of  saying  that  I  have 
cured  cases  of  this  disease  of  the  testis  with 
the  magnetio  remedies  for  it,  where  they 
were  enonaously  enlaiged  and  dischaiging 
scrofulous  matter  from  one  to  seven  ab- 


Svppresslon  of  Pvs. 
The  dischaige  from  a  child^s  ear,  or  a 
i;leet  in  a  man,  is  suddenly  suppressed.  Pain 
and  danger  ensue,  and  are  ascribed  to  the 
suporession ;  but  they  ought  to  be  attributed 
to  the  increeue  of  inflammation  to  an  extent 
which  is  inconsistent  with  the  secretion  of 
purulent  matter.  Leeching  and  fomentation 
are  obTious.  In  wounds  and  ulcers  the  se- 
cretion must  be  re-established  by  wine,  bark, 

and  sdmulating  fomentation. — Sir  Charles 

Bkll. 


]>era]ig«m«itt  of  ihB  Brain  by  a  sndden  Shock, 

and  itM  Eecomj  by  similar  moans. 

CSimitia  SimililmB  ) 

By  a  ?ATTEMMon  EvAKS,  M.  D.,  Edin.,  Newmarket- 

QD-rWgQM. 

A  laboring  man  brought  to  me  his  son, 
nineteen  vears  old,  for  my  advice.  Having 
attended  him  for  a  cat  leg  two  months  previ- 
ously, I  was  much  struck  now  with  his  altered 
appeeirance.  When  coming  to  me  before,  1 
laonght  him  remarkably  acute  and  intelligent ; 
he  now  had  become  idioti-:  in  countenance 
and  manner.  He  did  not  know  my  name,  his 
own  or  his  father's;  continually  talked  to  him- 
self indistinctly  i  sang;  made  grimaces;  laugh- 
ed with  a  foolish  look ;  would  leap  about,  and 
ctherwise  behave  ridiculously.  His  answers 
were  peculiarly  short  and  snappish,  nor  could 
he  keep  steady  a  moment,  but  was  altogether 
restless  and  irritable.  At  home  he  attempted 
to  injure  his  sisters  with  a  knife.  Appetite 
good;  sleeps  pretty  well,  but  often  starts  with 
a  scream  in  his  sleep,  as  if  frightened.  When 
asked  a  question  he  did  not  appear  to  compre- 
hend its  meaning  until  repeatea.  When  ques- 
tioned as  to  pain,  he  put  his  hand  to  his  head, 
but  did  not  reply;  and  from  frequently  apply- 
ing his  hand  all  over  that  reckon,  it  appeared 
to  be  the  seat  of  some  general  pain  or  uneasi- 
ness. The  head,  generally,  felt  hot,  and  espe- 
cially the  forehead;  the  temporal  and  carotid 
arteries  pulsated  ralSier  strongly;  the  pupils 
were  contracted,  and  the  sclerotic  vessels  more 
minutelv  injected  than  I  had  ever  seen  those 
▼cssds  oefore ;  no  vomiting,  nor  any  lesion  of 
the  muscular  syvtem.  Upon  my  asking  his 
father  whether  he  could  account  for  this 
alanning  state,  he  gare  me  the  following 
aiiViilar  history  >- 


Up  to  the  22nd  of  Nov.,  18^,  he  was  pep- 
fectly  well  and  able  to  work.  On  that  day  he 
happened  to  kill  a  hen  belonging  to  a  woman, 
who  complained  of  him  to  his  mother,  who 
told  Ms  iather  of  what  he  had  done.  The  boy. 
knowing  that  his  father  would  punish  him.  dii 
not  come  in  to  go  to  bed  until  ne  supposeu  his 
father  was  asleep.  However,  the  old  man, 
who  was  very  apt  to  be  e^uided  by  King  Solo- 
mon, and  not  "  spare  the  rod  and  spoil  the 
child,''  stole  to  the  bed  when  the  boy  lay  asleep, 
and,  catching  him  by  the  hair,  gave  lum  a  few 
smart  stn>kes  of  a  small  sallv  rod.  He  then 
left  him,  going  out  to  his  work.  That  day  his 
mother  remarked  that  the  boy  looked  rather 
silly,  and  talked  incoherently,  and  then  daity 
got  worse. 

1  therefore  ordered  the  head  to  be  shared, 
cold  applied,  leeches  to  the  occiput  and  neck, 
colvcynth  and  calomel.  He  was  ordered  to 
be  kept  auiet,  in  a  dark  room,  and  on  low  diet 
Owii4f,  however,  to  his  father's  being  con- 
stantly out  at  work,  and  he  being  the  only 
person  who  could  manage  him,  my  directioos 
were  not  followed  up,  with  the  exception  of 
giving  him  the  purgative,  and  throwmg  cold 
water  over  his  head  every  morning.  After 
some  days  I  saw  him  again,  but  be  appeared 
no  better.  The  bowels  were  particularly  ob- 
stinate.   (Prescribed  accordingly.) 

Five  or  six  days  after  this  I  saw  him  again, 
and  was  surprised  with  the  change  in  his  man* 
ner,  as  well  as  his  altered  appearance.  He  now 
knew  me;  answered  questions  rationally; 
talked  quietly;  had  lost  the  restless  manner; 
and,  in  fine,  he  was  quite  another  boy.  Hia 
pulse  soft;  toiigne  pale  and  moist ;  head  cool ; 
eyes  natural,  intelhgent,  and  uninjected ;  but, 
upon  inquiry,  I  found  that  though  he  had  taken 
all  my  last  medicines  regularly,  he  was  not 
indebted  to  them  for  his  recovery,  for  up  to  the 
day  previous  he  was  as  bad,  if  not  worse,  than 
before ;  but  his  father  gave  me  the  following 
singular  account  of  his  recovery,  whichl 
consider  inexplicable  upon  any  oUwr  prinei* 
pies  than  those  advanced  by  Hahnemann  in 
nis  axiom,  simiUa  simiUbus  curantur: 

The  day  before  that  upon  which  1  saw  him 
last,  he  was  on  the  road-side  amusing  himsdf ; 
a  carman  was  going  by;  the  boy  flung  a  stone 
at  the  man,  who  caught  the  boy,  axidgave  kirn 
a  good  beating  wiiJi  Ms  whip.  The  boy  ran 
home  cryins  told  his  mother  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  from  that  day,  as  if  a  devil  had 
been  cast  out  of  him,  became  quiet  and  rar 
tional,  and  he  is  now  perfectly  well,  thoagh 
not  as  steady,  sharp,  or  intelligent,  altogether, 
as  be  was  before  the  accident 

How  much  we  have  yet  to  learn,  how  little 
we  really  know,  of  the  nature  and  rational 
treatment,  not  only  of  the  diseases  of  the 
cerebro-spinal  system,  but  of  diseases  in  gene* 
ral.  Assuredly,  the  uncertain  and  most  un- 
satisfactory art  that  we  call  medical  science 
is  no  science  at  all,  but  a  jumble  of  inconds- 
tent  opinions;  of  conclusions  hastily  drawn; 
of  facts  badly  arranged ;  of  observations  made 
with  carelessness;  of  comparisons  institmed 


30 


Making  Believe  to  admifdater  Arnica. 


which  are  not  analoncal ;  of  hv^theaes  which 
are  foolish ;  and  of  Uieories  wnich,  if  not  use- 
less, are  dangerous.  This  is  the  reason  why 
we  have  our  homoBopathists,  and  our  hy- 
dropathists;  our  mesmerists  and  our  celes- 
tialistsl 

I  will  ofier  no  comments  upon  the  foregoing 
case.  My  experience  in  diseases  of  the  mind 
has  been  too  limited,  and  my  observations 
would  perhaps  only  destroy  the  impression 
which  tne  case  is  calculated  to  make.  At  the 
same  time,  1  cannot  conclude  without  direct- 
ing the  attention  of  parents,  and  those  who 
have  the  charge  of  children,  to  the  lamentable 
results  which  may  follow  the  infliction  of  cor- 
poreal punishment  upon  young  children,  of 
tender  a^e  and  delicate  constitutions.  It  en- 
feebles their  minds ;  it  undermines  their  atten- 
tion and  memory ;  it  breaks  down  the  finest  of 
their  moral  fiselings.  But  especially  is  it  fol- 
lowed by  terrible  results  when  unexpected  or 
•adden.  Indeed,  at  any  time  taking  the  ner- 
Yous  system  by  surprise,  with  violence,  may 
be  followed  by  consequences  equally  awfuL — 
Abridged  from,  Dub,  Jour.^  Jan.  4th. 

This  was  a  case  of  derangement  of  the 
magnetic  organization  of  the  bndn,  called 
functional  deremgement  of  the  brain,  we  long 
since  traced  the  magnetic  organization  of  the 
brain  by  the  direction  of  its  fibres,  and  this 
oiganization  is  constantly  confirmed  by  dair- 
Toyants. 

Making  b«ll«TS  to  Adniiilstar  Aniioa.* 


8i«:— It  ii  just  two  years  since  I  drew  the 
attention  of  thp  medical  profession,  through 
the  medium  of  your  journal,  to  the  invalua- 
ble benefits  to  be  denved  firom  the  use  of  ar- 
nica montana  in  bruises,  incisions,  sprains, 
and  other  affections  more  particularly  regard- 
ed as  belonging  to  sui^gery.  Since  that  time 
the  numerous  additional  cases  illusUative  of 
the  value  of  arnica,  have  increased  so  fast, 
that  I  have  given  up  recording  them  particu- 
larly. My  attention  has,  however,  been  ar- 
.  parted  to  a  case  so  strikingly  illustrative  of 
these  benefits,  that  I  have  thought  it  to  be  my 
^httv  to  forward  it  to  your  Journal. 

To  the  Rojral  Jennerian  London  Vaccine 
hstitDtion,  last  Thursday,  a  mother  brought 
her  child  to  receive  the  certificate  of  protec- 
tion. After  receiving  it  she  exclamed, "  You 
sir.  saved  this  child^s  life,**  and  a  fine  little 
fellow  he  was.  I  had  quite  forgotten  the  cir- 
eumstanoe.  I  asked  the  name,  and  on  reach- 
ing home,  examined  my  book  of  eases,  and 
feund  the  following:— Alfred  Wvatt,  June  20. 
aged  three  monihs  and  a  fortnight;  child  ap- 
parently dvinff .  A  litde  girl  that  nursed  the 
child  had  let  him  fiUl,  aid  he,  in  falling,  fell 

*  Onr  worthy  cofRMpMidaat  Ium  entitlod  Im  tottar 
"Amica  uid  ita  UtM,'*  bat  an  examinfttiQA  af ' ' 
fmcriptioB in  ^  Aota,iadvow  uiopcdU  an 


upon  kU  head.  The  mother  had  obtained 
somewhere  a  powder,  but  the  child  became 
worse.  He  had  been  in  a  severe  fever  ever 
since  the  accident.  His  eyes  were  half  closed, 
and  the  peculiar  cast  of  countenance  indica- 
tive of  anection  of  head  was  present ;  in  fact, 
I  feared  the  child  would  die  oefore  he  reach- 
ed home.  I  told  the  mother  to  let  me  know 
the  state  of  the  child  on  the  following  day,  my 
belief  being  that  I  should  hear  of  lus  death. 
(  ordered  three  globules*  of  aconite  in  two 
ounces  of  water,  a  fourth  part  immediately, 
and  four  hours  after  the  first  dose  of  aconite 
a  dose  of  arnica,  three  globules,  in  two  ounces 
of  water,  a  fourth  part  as  a  dose,  and  to  re- 
peat the  aconite  and  the  arnica  alternately, 
every  four  hours. 

21  [i.  e.  the  next  day.]  The  mother  came 
to  me,  and  said,  weeping  with  ioy,  "  He  is 
laughing  to-day. ''  Her  gratitude  was  exeat: 
she  said  she  mought  that  before  she  shoula 
reach  home  yesterday,  he  should  have  died. 
I  ordered  another  aconite  mixture  and  an- 
other arnica  mixture,  a  dose  of  each  once  a 
day,  and  the  result  was  iken  health,  and  on 
Thursday  last  the  a|;reeable  notice,  "You,  sir, 
saved  this  child's  life." 

Arnica  is  now  used  most  extensively  by  al- 
lopathic practitioners,  so  much  so  that  the 
following  notice  has  been  deemed  necessary ; 
— "The  Great  and  increasing  demand  tor 
tincture  of  amicm  has  led  many  drug  mer- 
chants to  vend  a  root  which  is  not  that  of  the 
arnica  monlana." — BaiTisn  JouamL  op  Ho- 

MOSOPATHT. 

TooES  Sincerely, 

JOHN  EPPS,  M.  D. 

Iit727,l8(3. 

We  have  frequently  piescrihed  arnica  and 
aconite,  and  find  them  very  useful  medidnea. 
In  regard  to  the  minuteness  of  the  homceo- 
pathic  doses,  as  in  this  case,  it  is  in  general  a 
matter  of  little  consequenee  if  they  are  wail 
magnetised,  according  to  the  directions  of 
Hahnemann  and  Jahr;  when  tfaey  will  mag- 
netise the  water  in  which  they  are  dilated, 
and  impart  to  it  the  distinctive  qualities  of  the 
medicine,  with  a  power  fully  equal  to  the 
commcm  doses  {Nrescribed  by  physicians  of 
the  old  school,  or  allmopathists,  for  the 
amount  of  magnetism  in  the  doees  increases 
with  each  dilution  an  hundred  fold,  until  the 
distinctive  quali^  ol  the  medicine  is  ex- 
hausted. 


*  The  ckiM  did  aot  on  anuCK  extenmllT,  and  dM 
flolndet  of  aconite  were  impregnated  witn  aconita 
tmetwe  »t  the  octWiomih  diluuon,  and  Hm  globiiks  oC 


MtttM  tiMtiM  at  Sm  MWbiil*  filvtfoB. 


waxier  on  Magneiie  ElectricUy^  ^c. 


SI 


to  llM  SkU. 
AeamspaodaA  (Antkropot)  writes  as  fol- 
kws: — ^The  iodine  or  potaanum  possesses  the 
Rmarkable  property  oi  causing  deteimination 
of  diseased  action  to  the  skin.    In  cases  of 
what  may  be  termed  "  suppressed  measles" 
and  *' scarjatjna,"  it  will  iniquently  induce  a 
healthful  reaction  under  the  most  desperate 
drewmstaiMfit     One  or  two  nains,  according 
to  die  age  of  the  patient,  under  twelve  years, 
may  be  diasohred  in  a  quantity  of  sugared 
ipoter,  and  ariministffred,  repeaUdkf,  as  an  ordi- 
nary drink,  the  whole  ouantity  being  given  in 
twntffomr  k^urt,  for  tnree  or  four  days.    In 
meaalesi  a  small  plaster  to  the  chest  assists 
the  peculiar  action  of  the  iodine.    In  scarla- 
tina, the  compound  tincture  of  iodine,  diluted 
with  three  or  lour  parts  of  water,  may  be  fre- 
qnoitly  anplied  by  means  of  a  camel  hair 
brush,  to  the  front  and  sides  of  the  throat  and 
neck.    Milk  ia  injurious  during  the  first  two 
or  three  days,  in  cases  either  of  measles  or 
leailatina.    I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
giving  iodine  to  individuals  sunering  from 
mall  pox,  but  think  it  might  prove  servicea- 
ble especially  after  the  appearance  oi  the  erup- 
tion, as  anticipatory  of  secondary  fever.    Let 
those  readers  of  The  Lancet  who  doubt  the 
suffidcncy  or  efficacy  of  so  small  a  quantity 
oftheiodjnetestitbv  their  practice.    Those 
to  whom  experience  oas  demonstrated  the  utter 
insnfficieocy  of  other  measures  in  malignant 
cases  caanot reasonably  object.— Lancet. 


^^^tf^^^/V^i^^/\/ 


OUaisal  Lsotvss  on  Oases  of  Oiseasos  of  tfas 
VorvoBs  System,  deUvered  at  Xiog's  Ool- 
loge  Hospital. 
■T  B.  B.  Toas,  M.  a.  r  a.  s. 
We  hare  waded  through  these  lectures 
and  those  of  Dr.  Marahall  Hall  on  the  same 
aobiect,  with  all  the  patienee  d  Job,  widiout 
beingaUe  to  find  any  thing  in  them,  of  any 
value  to  the  phyaidan  or  his  patients.   When 
titaae  diatingwinhed  j^yaidans  have  prac- 
liaed  tiie  mi^gnetic  symptoms  of  tubercular 
diaaaea  among  their  patients  through  the  dif- 
ferent seaaona  of  a  year,  and  have  compared 
diem  with  the  old  astrdogical   symptoms 
with  which  they  are  so  ^miliar,  they  will 
begin  to>have  some  knowledge  of  the  subject 
on  which  they  have  been  delivering  these 
lectoiee  to  the  students  of  medicine. 


Bttdaekimmgm  ikber  dm  Nuizen  tmd  CMremek 
4e$  KriUeken  MugnH  BitOriseken  XotoHon^ 
Ajpwralag  m  Enmkkmim^  ^    Von  J.  £. 
wnsLBB,  fte.fte.Ae, 
Obsorratloas  on  the  VtUity  and  Iffedo  of  apply, 
hif  the  M agBOtlo,  Bleotrle,  and  Eotatory 
ikfparatas  of  Xeil. 

We  nqr  gm  cme  or  two 
the  eificacy  of  this  a«;ent 


The  first  we  select  ia  detailed  at  pp.  14, 
15,  and  is  as  follows : — 

"  The  Rev.  M ,  a  UtUe  above  40  yeais 

of  age.  of  a  robust  frame,  had  suffered  for  six 
years  from  pain  in  his  head  and  face.  He  was 
in  other  respects  well.  The  pains  began  at  the 
forehead,  and  extended  over  the  temples  to  the 
cheeks  and  upper-iaw,  where  they  were  so 
violent  as  to  compel  the  patiem  to  lie  down  ia 
bed,  and  keep  perfectly  still.  At  one  time, 
they  were  worst  on  the  right,  at  another,  on 
the  left  side ;  but  generally  worst  on  the  left 
His  exposure  to  wet,  wind,  and  cold,  in  the 
dischanre  of  his  duties,  generally  bruu^t  OA 
an  attack.  I  ma^etised  him  twice,  and  ha 
left  his  place  of  sojourn  (Kesstngen)  perfectly 
free  from  pain.  1  inquired  at  the  expiry  of  a 
year,  whether  he  had  remained  free  from 
pain,  and  received  for  answer,  that  for  three 
months  he  enjoyed  perfect  immunity ;  but  that 
after  that,  the  pain  returned.  Eight  days,  in- 
deed, was  altogether  too  short  a  time  to  efiect 
a  rad ical  cure.  In  his  case,  the  second  bianeh 
of  the  fifth  pair  of  nerves  was  chiefly  affected. 
Over  this  nerve  he  could  not  bear  the  weakest 
power  of  the  apparatus,  but  I  was  obliged  to 
transmit  the  current  tbroueh  my  finger;  and 
when  I  placed  the  point  of  the  finger  on  the 
spot,  he  felt  as  severe  a  pain  as  during  hn  at- 
tack. Whenever  I  removed  the  finger,  the 
pain  instanUv  subsided.  Hera  we  have  an 
example  of  the  homoeopathic  smile  jtmstt." 

At  pase  20  we  find  this  curious  case:— 

**  Madam  £ ,  from  EiBeaach,   suflhr- 

ed  three  years  from  gout,  and  then  fhmi 
typhus  fever,  which  confined  her  to  bed  six 
momhs.  Her  recovery  was  stow.  The  pre- 
vious summer  she  had  employed  the  fen* 
baths.  Her  right  arm  was  lame  from  rheum- 
atism. She  gradually  recovered  her  strength, 
and  the  use  of  her  arm  likewise.  The  two 
la&t  phalange  of  the  fore  and  middle  fingera, 
however,  sull  remained  stifiT,  and  bent  inwards: 
and  when  she  tried  to  move  them  in  laying 
hold  of  any  thing,  the  attempt  made  her  wh^ 
hand  shake.  I  was  able  to  magnetise  her  only 
seven  times.  Bm  even  in  this  time  there  was 
considerable  improvement^-the  trembling  of 
the  hand,  was  almost  cone,  and  the  finger  more 
flexible.  On  the  fofiowing  summer  she  r^ 
turned  to  Kessingen,  and  shewed  me  with  joy 
her  finger,  now  straight  and  flexible— telling 
me,  that  after  her  return  home,  her  finger  giacf 
ually  recovered  its  flexibility,  and  the  shaking 
of  the  haiid  entirely  disappeared.  So  proloB? 
ed  an  effect  I  had,  indeed,  not  expected !" 

At  page  34— 

"  Mr.  R^  a  book-keeper,  a  middle-aged  man, 
became  affected,  two  yean  and  a  half  ago! 
with  trembling:  of  the  riffht  hand,  and  eramp 
of  the  middle  finger  and  thumb,  so  that  he  mSt 
ill  on  with  his  writing.  The  arm  felt  heavy 
aa  lead,  was  colder  than  the  other,  and  the 
trembling  and  cramp  were  so  severe  that  he 
ooukL  not  write  "his  name  distinctly.  The 
toilla«linte  tramblingwaa  woiae  in  the  morning,  and  after 
any  exertion.  When  he  wioce,  the  middle  fin- 
ger, aa  wen  aa  the  thumb,  were  afibeted  with 


32 


WetzUr  an  Moffnetie  Eleetricityy  ^c. 


cramp.  After  the  first  operation,  he  wrote 
more  easily ;  after  ihe  fourth^  tolerably  weil, 
and  improvement  followed  all  the  subbequent 
operaiiuns.  For  fourteen  days  he  was  mag- 
netised daily,  and  then  dismissed,  as  the  seo^ 
of  weight,  and  coldness  of  the  arm,  as  well  as 
the  trembling  and  cramp  were  all  gone,  so 
that  the  patient  could  write  as  well  as  when  iq 
perfect  health.  After  the  fourth  day  the  pa- 
tient took  some  exercise,  to  see  whether  it 
would  recall  the  pain,  but  it  had  no  such  ef- 
fect" 

Again,  at  page  44^ 

"  Madame  bL  (whose  mother  was 

deaf),  thirty-ft)ur  years  of  age,  small  in  sta- 
ture, and  slight  in  frame,  very  sensitiire  to 
change  of  weather,  for  eight  years  married, 
but  c'Eildless,  began,  fifteen  years  ago,  to  have 
difficulty  in  hearing.  The  consulted  physi- 
cian applied  caustic  behind  the  ears,  and  the 
ulcer  thus  produced  continued  to  discharge  for 
thiee  months  without  any  benefit.  Two  years 
afterwards  she  was  affected  with  chlorosis. 
Venesection  proved  very  iniurious  to  here 
For  several  years  she  suffered  from  dyspepsia 
to  such  an  extent,  that  she  could  not  bear  the 
slightest  aliment.  She  was  cnred  of  this  by 
a  homoeopathic  physician,  so  that  she  was 
enabled  to  eat  even  the  heaviest  food,  such  as 
roasted  goose,  without  any  inconvenience. 
Deafness  and  painful  noise  in  the  ears,  always 
woret  at  the  menatrual  oeriod,  and  after  expo- 
8Ui«  to  cold  were  her  chief  complaints.  iShe 
also  suffered  from  weakness  of  the  eye,  so  that 
she  could  not  read  bv  candle-light.  The  deaf- 
ness was  not,  indeed,  very  bad,  but  annoying, 
as  it  prevented  her  mixing  in  society,  as  she 
could  not  understand  what  was  said.  I  began 
to  magnetise  her  on  the  I8th  of  October,  once 
every  day.  On  the  first  day  after  the  opera- 
tion she  heard  somewhat  better.  By  the  8th 
of  November  the  ringing  in  the  ears  was  gone ; 
the  menses  occurred  on  the  10th  of  November, 
and  with  them  aggravation,  after  that  amelior- 
ation. Again,  once  or  twice,  after  unusual  ex- 
posure to  cold,  aggiavation.  In  this  state  she 
remained,  having  lost  all  hope  of  further  mag- 
netising doing  her  good.  The  weakness  of 
sight  was  so  far  improved,  that  she  could 
again  lead  by  candle-light.  A  scaly  eruption 
(psoriasis)  on  the  neck,  about  the  size  of  a 
shilling,  disappeared,  after  she  had  been  mag- 
netised three  Umes." 

In  all  these  forms  of  disease  the  magnetic 
electricity  effected  rapid  improvement  (with 
few  exceptions,  as  in  the  case  of  deafness), 
and,  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  perfect 
cure.  According  to  the  experience  of  Dr. 
Wetsder  no  good  is  (o  be  expected  from  it,  if 
no  trace  of  benefit  be  derived  after  the  3d  or 
4th  application.  Its  operation  being  so  speedy, 
and  Its  application  so  free  of  danger,  the  sur- 
geon should  always  try  its  effect  in  cases  of 
squinting,  stuttering,  and  contraction  of  the 
limbs  before  he  proceeds  to  use  the  knife. — 
For,  if  unsuccessful,  nothing  but  a  little  time, 
which  in  these  cases  is  of  no  value,  is  lost ; 
ifsaoeeMftidaffainfaUdanflerons  and  uncer- 


tain operation  may  be  avoided.  "  How  then,"' 
our  author  asks,  "does  it  operate  1  On  what 
principle  1"  Observation  shews  that  it  i» 
equally  useful  in  preternatural  excitability  as 
in  paralytic  torpor  of  the  motory  nerves,  in 
weakness  and  stiffness  of  the  limbs,  in  swell- 
ings, ptyalism  (of  a  paiticulai  kind,)  and 
various  other  diseases,  if  the  conductor  be 
moved  slowly  along  the  skin  of  a  person  in 
health,  a  tingling  (knistem)  and  slight  pain 
are  produced ;  if  the  conductor  be  allowed  to 
remain  for  a  little  time  upon  one  spot,  when  a 
high  power  of  the  apparatus  is  employed,  the- 
most  violent  pain  is  produced,  as  mtolerable 
as  the  most  agonizing  neuralgia,  and  the  mus- 
cles underneath  are  excited  into  convulsive 
movements  or  spasms.  The  moment  the  con- 
ductor is  removed  the  pain  and  spasms  cease. 
If  a  conductor  be  held  in  each  hand,  the  most 
violent  contractions  of  the  joints  of  the  hand 
are  produced,  and,  on  the  removal  of  the  ap- 
paratus, a  sense  of  torpor,  which  is  soon  fol- 
lowed by  unusual  ligmness.  Even  the  mo- 
mentary action  of  the  magnetic  electric  appar- 
atus upon  the  brow,  leaves  a  sense  of  tension 
or  uncomfortable  sensation,  that  remains 
some  time  after  its  removal :  and  by  its  ap- 
plication to  the  tongue,  an  increased  secretion 
of  saliva  is  excited,  which  sometimes  attoids 
its  application  to  the  face.  The  allopathic 
school  will  here  recognize  a  stilling  and^  exci- 
ting eneiqgy,  a  calmatine,  stimulant,  and  irri- 
tant, combined  with  the  power  of  at  once  in- 
creasing deposition  and  absorption:  the 
homoeopathic  school,  on  the  other  hano,  will 
e^lain  its  curative  influence,  in  di&  principle 
"Simile  simiU"  The  homceopathic  small- 
ness  of  dose,  however,  does  not  nold  here  uni- 
versally eocid.  It  is  true  that  neuraigiaB  re- 
quire ana  bear  only  the  feeblest  power  of  the 
instrument ;  but  in  spasms  and  paraljrsis  the 
highest  power  is  required.  Pain  is  felt  <mlv 
at  the  point  of  contact  with  the  conductor;  it 
does  not  spread  either  up  or  down  the  nerve ; 
in  this  respect  it  is  nnlilre  the  galvanic  action 
on  the  motatory  nerves.  For,  if  phiced  over 
one  of  these,  it  produces  movement  of  the  mus« 
cular  fibres  along  the  whole  course  of  the  rami- 
fications of  the  nerve.  The  effect  of  the  nega- 
tive pole  is  the  same  in  kind  in  my  oniniim,  as 
that  of  the  positive— different  in  dejgTee.  I 
have  healed  affections  of  the  nerves  or  motion 
and  sensation,  swellings,  stifiness,  Ac,  as  well 
with  the  positive  as  the  ne^tive  pole  applied 
to  the  part  But  the  negative  is  much  strong- 
er, 90  or  40  per  cent,  perhaps,  than  the  pon^ 
tive. 

"  The  magnetised  part  becomes  warmer  and 
redder ;  and  at  the  spot  whereon  the  cylinder 
was  held,  turgescenoe  and  a  red  spot  appear: 
the  pain  is  burning  like  fire,  and  a  blister  wouU 
be  produced,  if  the  person  had  resolution  to 
endure  the  action.  On  the  other  hand,  rednesS| 
heat,  swelling,  as  in  neuralgik  of  the  fi&ccL 
acute  rheumatism,  sprains,  £c.,  are  removeu 
by  it    (On  this  the  homoeopathists  lay  much 

reas.) 

"I  have  never  observed  aiiyeilect  on  tte 


Efeeis  of  Galvanism  an  the  Eye. 


33 


pabe  from  the  magnetic  electricity,  even  in 
cases  where  1  hare  exerted  the  highest  power 
of  the  instniment  for  half  an  hoar.    Farther, 
in  npwanis  of  two  hundred  cases  in  which  1 
have  a{^ed  the  apparatus,  I  have  never  in 
any  (with  the  exception  of  two)  observed  a 
general  effect  to  be  produced  upon  the  nervous 
centres — the  brain  and  spinal  conL    The  ex- 
ceptions were  as  follows : — A  young  woman — 
ti^t-laced— came  to  me  to  be  magnetised  on 
aoeoont  of  migrim.    I  employed  the  feeblest 
power  of  the  instrument,  and  transmitted  the 
current  through  my  finger.    In  two  minutes 
fllie  feinted,  but  soon  recovered,  when  some 
edd  water  was  sprinkled  on  her  face.    The 
aeoond  was  that  of  a  gentleman  of  about  My 
years  of  age,  of  a  nervous-sanguineous  tem- 
pezament,  who  had  suffered  from  hemorrhoids 
and  iheumatism.    Two  days  before  he  wa.H 
to  leave  Kiasengen,  he  was  attacked   with 
fheumatism  in  the  neck.    I  first  magnetised 
1dm  veiy  gently,  and  then  as  he  said,  he  felt 
nothing.    I  increased  the  power.     Suddenly 
he  fell  into  a  faint,  and  on  coming  to  himself, 
told  me,  that  he  always  fainted  at  the  sight  of 
blood.    He  was  cured  of  the  rheumatism,  how- 
ever.   Magnetic  electricity  is  only  available 
against  local  diseases,  as  its  operation  is  con- 
fined to  the  place  of  its  apj^Iication ;   and  a 
main  point  to  be  attended  to  is,  that  the  appli- 
cation should  be  made  as  near  the  affected 
part  as  possible.    If,  for  example,  the  mascle 
of  the  ann  is  affected  with  rheumatism,  it  is 
not  to  be  cured  by  exciting  violent  contraction 
i^the  whole  limb  by  laying  the  conductor 
on  the  bend  of  the  arm,  but  by  passing  the 
conductor  gently  over  the  affected  muscle,  and 
hc^ng  it  fast  there.    Of  course,  in  the  cure 
of  neuralgia,  paralysis,  &c.,  these  must  arise 
from  no  incurable  disorganization,  if  any  but 
transient  benefit  is  to  be  derived  from  the  ap- 
llicatioiL  of  the  galvanism.^' 

We  aie  repeating  these  experiments  with 
a  rotary  magnetic  machine,  in  a  variety  of 
cases,  and  shall  be  able  to  give  some  of  the 
lesults  in  the  next  number,  when  we  pro- 
pose to  try  the  ei&ct  of  this  powerful  ma- 
chine upon  the  seat  of  knowledge  of  some  of 
the  professors  of  our  medical  colleges,  as  the 
forces  emanating  from  magnetic  machines 
remove  opacity  of  the  organs  with  great  fia- 
cility  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  article 
on  the 


of  Oalvanism  in  o«rtain  organic  dis- 
eases of  the  Eye. 

The  following  experiments  were  made  by 
Dr.  Lerche  in  St  Petersbmrgh,  with  the  assis- 
tance of  Dr.  Crosell,  the  discoverer  of  this 
method  of  applving  galvanism. 

1st.  A  complete  leacoroa  of  the  cornea,  as 
being  a  diwease  which  has  hitherto  baffled  all 
attempts  to  care,  was  chosen  for  the  first  sub- 
ject Ql  ezpeiiment.  The  patient,  a  boatman, 
C6  yeazs  old,  had  entered  the  Institution  on 


accoant  of  an  inflammation  of  (he  other  eye. 
1  he  apparatus  used  was  a  simple  chain,  con- 
sisting of  a  zinc  and  copper  plate,  immersed 
in  diluted  sulphuric  acid.  1  he  wire  in  con- 
nection with  the  copper  plate  was  brought  in 
contact  with  the  ieucuma,  while  the  wiie  from 
the  zioc  plate  was  placed  upon  the  tongue  ol 
the  patiept,  and  the  stream  of  galvanism  was 
kept  up  for  two  minutes.  As  the  patient  did 
not  sufier  in  the  least  fh>m  the  operation, 
and  no  bad  consequences  ensued ;  on  the  con- 
trary, the  white  opacity  on  the  edge  of  the 
cornea  appeared  thinner  and  clearer,  the 
operation  was  repeated  after  three  days.  A 
distinct  change  for  the  better  was  gradually 
visible  in  the  consistence  of  the  leucoma,  and 
the  patient  affirmed  upon  his  part,  that  his 
perception  of  light  had  iDcreased. 

Dr.  Lerche  now  determined  to  apply  gal- 
vanism to  the  cure  of  internal  opacities  ofthe 
eye,  such  as  those  ofthe  crystalline  lens; 
and  the  results  which  Dr.  Crusell  had  obtain- 
ed in  his  experiments  on  the  eyes  of  animals, 
confirmed  him  in  his  resolution.  The  fiLr^t 
experiment  was  made  on  a  pig.  A  fine  cata- 
ract needle,  fastened  to  the  zinc  pole,  was 
{>ushed  through  the  cornea  into  the  crystalline 
ens  of  the  right  eye,  and  the  wire  in  connec- 
tion with  the  copper  nlate  was  put  upon  the 
external  ear.  Alter  the  eye  had  been  galva- 
nised for  four  minutes,  iJie  pupil  began  to 
look  opaque,  and  the  operation  was  concluded. 
•Similar  experiments  were  made  upon  the  left 
eye.  After  a  few  days,  a  p'n-fecny  developed 
lenticular  catarcu^t  was  observed  on  both  eyes, 
and  the  animal  had  become  blind.  "  Accord- 
ing to  the  theory,"  observes  the  operator, 
"  the  opposite  pole  of  the  galvanic  battery 
should  dispel  tne  artificially  foimed  cata^ 
ract."(!t)  In  the  course  of  ten  days  the  opera- 
tion was  performed.  After  the  eye  had  been 
exposed  to  the  operation  ofthe  galvanic  stream 
for  three  minutes,  the  process  of  resolution 
appeared  to  commence  with  the  evolution  of 
gas  vesicles  upon  the  pupil,  and  the  operation 
was  straightway  concluded.  The  pupil  ap- 
peared rough,  and  less  opaque.  In  the  course 
of  four  days  it  had  recovered  almost  entirely 
its  former  clearness ;  and  the  vision  so  far  as 
could  be  learnt  from  the  behavior  of  the  ani- 
mal, was  restored.  On  the  cornea  alone,  at 
the  circumference  of  the  puncture  ofthe  nee- 
dle, a  dim  spot  remained. 

Sd.  A  coppcrsmiih,  aged  40,  was  recently 
successfully  operated  on  for  cataract  of  the 
lefl  eye.  In  compliance  with  his  desire  to  do 
something  for  the  right  eye  also,  which  was 
affected  with  a  capsiUar  cataract  firmly  adhe- 
rent to  the  iris,  depression  and  other  means 
were  tried,  but  without  permanent  benefit 
The  very  large  cataract  lay  immediately  be- 
hind the  somewhat  irregular  and  perfectly 
immoveable  pupil ;  the  patient,  however,  had 
perception  oflight.  Galvanism  was  applied. 
It  was  most  astonishing  to  see  how,  aftei  the 
very  fine  cataract  needle  in  connection  with 
the  copper  pole  had  been  run  into  the  centre 
of  the  lens,  while  the  zinc  pole  was  laid  on  the 
patient's  tongue',  sdmost  before  a  minute  had 


84 


The  Agent  in  Animal  Magwrtiam. 


elapsedi  the  cataract  appearod  to  expand,  in- 
creased  in  volume,  aiuT  pressed  against  the 
cornea ;  then  suddenly  burst  into  three  parts, 
one  of  which  entered  inwards  and  above,  the 
other  towards  the  temple  of  that  side,  and  the 
third  projected  downwards  into  the  anterior 
chamber;  and  yet  the  triangular  fissure  ap- 
peared perfectly  clear  and  black,  i-'rom  the 
novelty  of  the  thing  (it  was  the  first  attempt 
of  this  kind  upon  a  living  man,)  it  was  deemed 
advisable  to  desist,  and  the  patient  immediate- 
ly saw  and  recognised  a  finger  held  before 
him,  while  the  leil  eye  was  covered,  and  like- 
wise the  fkces  of  persons  before  him.  He  had 
experienced  no  pain  diuing  the  operation, 
wMch  did  not  last  a  full  minute,  nor  did  in- 
flammation or  any  other  bad  consequences 
ensue. 

3d.  The  third  case  was  that  of  a  peasant 
aged  40,  of  a  feeble  constitution.  The  patient 
suffered  from  considerable  amaurotic  ambly- 
opia of  the  right  eye,  while  the  left  was  affect- 
ea  wiih  capsular  lenticular  cataract,  and 
synochia.  I'he  breaking  down  of  the  cataract 
was  attempted,  but  was  of  no  use.  On  the 
17th  November  galvanism  was  applied  (and 
this  time  by  means  of  a  Becher-apparatus.) 
After  half  a  minute,  the  adherent  part  toward 
the  internal  canthus  gave  way,  and  an  exca- 
vation formed  around  the  puncture,  while 
the  cataract  expanded  and  protruded.  The 
patient  complained  of  headache ;  and  so  the 
operation,  which  had  lasted  about  two  mi- 
nates,  was  concluded.  I'o wards  evening 
considerable  inflammatory  action  occurred, 
attended  with  great  intolerance  of  light,  and 
constant  severe  pain,  deep  in  the  eye  and  head. 
For  a  consideraole  time  great  sensitiveness  to 
light  remained,  yet  the  patient  was  able  to 
recognise  small  objects  when  the  eye  was 
turned  away  from  the  light,  the  pupil  remain- 
ing very  much  contracted.  The  operation 
was  repeated  on  the  1st  of  December,  but  this 
time  only  with  the  weak  apparatus  of  two 

Slates,  such  as  was  used  in  tne  first  trial,  and 
le  negative  pole  remained  only  one  minute 
in  contact  witn  the  eye.  Even  after  this  in- 
flammatory reaction  followed,  but  in  less  de- 
gree, and  of  shorter  duration.  The  vision 
improved  to  a  certain  point,  only  there  re- 
mained fragments  of  the  cataract  still  in  the 
pupil.  A&T  this  had  been  expanded  by  bel- 
ladonna, a  few  lymph  filaments  were  discern- 
ed, connecting  the  iragments  of  the  cataract 
with  the  edge  of  the  iris,  which  were  easily 
and  entirely  removed  by  the  needle.  No  un- 
pleasant consequences  followed  the  last  opera- 
tion, and  the  patient  was  dismissed  on  the  6Ui 
of  April,  with  perfectly  restored  vision. 

4th.  The  third  was  the  case  of  a  woman, 
aged  56  years,  who  had  lost  the  sight  of  her 
left  eye  under  severe  headache.  The  capsular 
lens,  which  had  the  appearance  of  the  mother 
of  pearl,  adhered  in  its  whole  circumference 
to  the  pupil,  the  eye  was  tremulous,  and  the 
conjunctiva  injected.  On  the  15th  or  Novem- 
ber 1840,  a  cataract  needle  connected  with  the 
negatiTe  pole^wiie  of  a  pair  of  plates,  was 


passed  through  the  oomea  inlQ  the  uppev  atg- 
ment  of  the  lens,  the  positive  conductor  being 
put  into  the  patient's  mouth,  and  the  galvanic 
current  continued  tor  a  minute  and  a  half. 
The  upper  part  of  the  cataract  disengaged 
itself  trom  the  iris,  and  the  pupil  contracted. 
Upon  the  same  day  also  slight  inflammatory 
reaction  occurred,  requiring  for  some  weeks 
.vevere  antiphJogisiic  treatment  On  i he  18th 
of  December,  the  patient  became  aflected  with 
erysipelatous  catarrhal  opthalmia  of  both 
eyes,  and  in  consequence,  the  palpebral  con- 
junctiva appeared  hypertrophied,  and  covered 
with  large  granulations.  This  condition, 
combined  with  great  intolerance  of  light,  was 
extremely  obstinate.  In  the  meantime,  how-  ' 
ever,  the  vision  improved,  and  the  absorpiioa 
of  the  cataract  continued.  After  the  inflam- 
mation had  partially  subsided,  belladonna 
was  dropped  into  the  eye ;  and  then  it  ooald  he 
observed  that  the  lens  was  absorbed,  but  vision 
])revented  by  the  remains  of  the  opaque  cap- 
sule, which  were  easily  removed  by  means 
of  a  needle.  The  pupil  appeared  a  beautiful 
black,  and  the  vision  was  perfect.— (Lerche 
in  Berlm  Med.  Vereinstg.  l641.  No.  35;  Bei- 
liige,  s.  171,  172 :  also  Hygaea,  xv.  Band.  v. 
Hell.) 

The  Agent  in  Animal  MsgneHflm. 

A  writer  in  the  Rochester  Daily  Advertiser, 
who  signs  himself  T.  J.  Smith,  states  that  he 
has  succeeded  in  producing  ihe  various  effecta 
of  what  is  called  Mesmerism,  by  means  of 
common  electrical  machines,  and  iniers  from 
this  fac*  that  electricity  is  the  magnetic  agent. 
He  says: 

'*  In  the  commencement  of  my  examination 
of  animal  magnetism  the  impression  was  for- 
ced upon  my  mind,  that  its  agent  was  the 
same,  or  near  akin  to  electricity. 

"  This  led  me  to  lest,  by  actual  experiment, 
their  similarity.  1  have  u:»ed  a  small,  com- 
mon electric  machine,  and  with  it,  by  repeat- 
ed trials,  succeeded  in  producing  all  the  enects 
usually  produced  by  the  will  and  passes  of  an 
operator.  I  have  put  a  subject  in  the  mag- 
netic stale  by  the  machine,  and  awakened  the 
subject  without  its  aid,  by  the  usual  passes. 

"  Again:  1  have  put  a  subject  into  the  magw 
netic  state  by  the  will  and  passes,  and  arons^ 
the  subject  to  all  his  powers  with  the  machine 
only. 

"  These  experiments  repeated  several  timea^ 
go  to  prove  that  electricity  is  the  agent  that 
produces  all  the  marvelous  results  of  animal 
magnetism. 

"  The  machine  in  the  first  instance.  p«t 
the  subject  into  the  magnetic  state,  and  the 
passes  restored  again  to  the  natural  state, 
in  the  second  insunce,  the  will  and  passes 
produced  the  same  unnatural  state,  and  the 
machine  restored  the  subject. 

'*  I  have  succeeded  in  putting  a  person  In 
communion  with  the  subject,  by  connecting 
him  with  the  machine  during  the  operations, 
and  the  person  thut  in  communion,  had  control 
akneover  the  subject  could  excite  the  organs, 


Jigmorkabte  GbM  •f  Magnetum. 


B5 


teralyse  the  limbs,  fte.,  and  awaken  the  sab* 
jeet  in  tlie  sane  manner  as  wImq  pul  to  sleep 
in  the  usual  way. 

"Others  have  repeated  the  experiments 
with  like  success ;  and  all  who  have  witness- 
ed them,  were  satisfied  that  electricity  is  the 
agept  in  all  the  mysterious  effects  of  Mesmer- 
ism." 

Some  persons  who  are  very  susceptible  to 
magnetic  influence,  cannot  wear  magnetised 
ateel  rings  on  their  fingers,  in  consequence  of 
their  constant  liability  to  fall  into  the  mag- 
netic sleep.  Some  pass  into  that  state  in  one 
minute,  while  others  of  this  class,  feel  no 
othtf  inoonvenience  hut  that  of  slight  shocks, 
which  soon  cease.  The  rings  are  magneti- 
sed with  two  poles—having  a  magnetic  axis 
which  passes  through  the  finger,  and  a  mag- 
netic equator  at  right  angles  to  it 

HcmarkaUe  Oase  af  Macn«tism. 

rtaiMi— iitiifimi  to  Ike  Editor  of  the  Phrtnrtogieal 

Magaxme. 

«T  TBB  EST.  DB.  BBJtOBBB. 

In  October,  1842,  on  my  way  to  the  Sy- 
nod of  Genesee,  I  spent  the  night  at  the 
hoose  of  Mr.  HalJ,  at  B}rron.  In  the  even- 
ing I  called  on  fiev.  Mr.  Childs.  On  enter- 
ing the  room,  I  found  his  son,  an  intelligeat 
boy,  a^  ten  years,  then  in  a  cataleptic  fit, 
stiing  m  his  father's  arms,  and  his  feet  in 
wann  water. 

In  a  few  moments  he  recovered.  He  fre- 
quently had  from  three  to  six  fits  a  day. 
Jttad  received  the  best  medical  attendance  m 
the  i^on.  Was  no  better — daily  worse. 
He  lost  entirely  the  power  of  speech  for  seve- 
ral days.  Great  fears  were  felt  that  he 
would  never  recover.  There  was  a  sore 
place  on  &e  back  part  of  his  head  and  on  the 
spine,  occasioned  oy  a  fall  some  months  pre- 
vious. When  the  fits  passed  off  he  became 
hon^,  and  not  at  all  drowsy;  and  during 
the  mlerval  appeared  pretematurally  bright ; 
and  engaeed  in  sports  as  usual. 

After  f  had  conversed  a  few  moments,  I 
said,  <I  would  have  him  magnetised;'  to 
which  his  Either  replied,  *  I  don't  beheve  in  it 
at  all,'  and  the  mother  added,  <  if  you'll  put 
me  to  s^eep  I'll  believe,  and  not  without' 
I  replied,  <  I  would  try  it — it  may  do  good, 
and  can  do  no  ham.'  During  this  conversa- 
tion I  made  a  lew  passes  in  front  of  the 
child,  chiefly  with  one  hand,  and  without 
any  particular  concentration  of  the  mind  or 
will,  and  mostly  with  my  face  toward  the 
mother.  In  less  thin  a  minute  the  father 
•aid, '  he  is  in  another  fit !'  <  No  he  is'nt  I 
declare ;  I  believe  he  is  asleep/  Much  sur- 
piised,  (for  I  had  never  magnetised  one,)  I 


said,  *  It  surely  cannot  be  what  I  have  done, 
but  if  so  I  can  awaken  him  f  then  with  a 
few  reversed  passes  he  awoke.  <  Well,  this 
is  strange,'  said  I,  <  but  I  can  put  him  to  sleep 
again  if  it  is  real.*  I  then  seriously  repeated 
the  passes  with  both  hands  for  one  or  two 
minutes,  and  placed  him  in  the  perfect  mes- 
meric sleep.  I  then  fixed  my  eyes  on  a  lady  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  room,  the  boy  not  yet 
having  spoken  for  three  days,  and  said  *Henry, 
what  do  you  see?'  He  gave  a  name  un- 
known to  me ;  I  looked  to  his  father,  who 
replied, « it  is  her  maiden  name.*  I  then  took 
vinegar  into  my  mouth,  and  said,  <  what  do 
you  taste  I*  *  vinegar*  speaking  with  great 
tartness,  and  at  the  same  time  making  many 
contortions  of  the  face.  The  mother  now 
whispered  to  one  of  the  children,  who  left 
her  seat,  and  I  said,  <  Henry,  what  is  she  go- 
ing for  P  *  Sugar,  and  I  love  it'  She  went 
to  the  closet  and  brought  the  sugar.  I  pnt 
some  in  my  mouth,  which  seemed  to  ^ve  him 
the  same  pleasure  as  if  I  had  put  it  into  his 
own.  I  then  said, « What  kind  of  sugar  is  it  ?• 

*  Muscovado.'  *  What  is  its  color  r  « Well, 
sir,  a  kind  of  light  brown.'  A  small  glass 
jar  with  a  lar^  cork  was  now  placed  in  my 
hand,  when  immediately  I  observed  the  ol- 
factory nerves  affected,  and  the  muscles 
about  the  nose  contracted  at  the  same  mo- 
ment I  said  to  the  girl, « What  is  it .''  To 
which  the  boy  answered,  *  Hartshorn.'  'How 
do  you  know.'  *  I  smell  it.'  I  myself 
neither  knew  nor  smelt  it.  I  then  took  out 
the  cork  and  applied  it  to  my  nose,  when  he 
instantiy  placed  his  fingers  on  the  part  of  his 
nose  next  to  the  forehead,  and  said,  *  I  feel 
it  here,'  just  where  I  myself  experienced  the 
burning  sensation. 

During  all  these  experiments  he  sat  on  his 
father's  knee,  with  his  head  down  on  his 
breast,  and  reclining  against  his  father. 

I  now  asked  him  *  what  is  the  matter  with 
you  r  ♦  My  brain  is  sore.*  *  Where  ?  «At 
the  bottom  of  it'  •  Where  it  joins  the  spinal 
marrow  P  « Yes,'  •  What  occasioned  it?'  •! 
fell  from  the  ereat  beam  in  the  bam.'  His 
mother  here  asked  him,  *  why  did'nt  jrou  tell 
us  before  ?  « I  feared  you  would  not  let  me 
play  there.'    *  Can  Dr.  A.  cure  you  ?'    *  No.* 

•  Why  not  f*  *  He  don't  know  any  thing 
about  it,'  (very  decidedly).  « Can  Dr. 
C.?*  •  No.'  « Why  ?•  « He  dont  understand 
it.'  « Will  the  medicine  you  now  use  do  you 
goodr  'No.'  *0f  what  is  it  composed?* 
« There  is  turpentine  in  it'  'Does  the  Doctor 
give  it  to  you  lor  tape  worm  ?  ♦  Yes.'  *  Have 
you  any  ?'  *  No.'  •  Would  you  like  to 
walk?'  ♦Yes.'  «Well,  walk.'  He  arose 
promptly,  stepped  between  the  chairs^  and 
said,  well,  sir,  where  shall  I  go,  ?'  '  From 
the  waU  to  the  door  and  back.'    This  he 


36 


Remarkable  Case  of  Magneiiem. 


did,  avoiding  eveiy  obstruction,  and,  at  my 
direction,  returned  and  sat  af^n  with  his  fa- 
ther.    I  now,  without  notice  to   any  one, 
placed  my  fingers  on  the  oiigan  of  benevo- 
lence, thinking  at  the  moment  it  performed 
the  office  of  Veneration,  and  said,  *  Would 
you  like  to  pray  ?*    With  some  lightness,  he 
said,  *  No.'     Some  questions  were  asked  by 
his  mother  and  myself,  about  the  bible,  &c., 
hut  no  veneration  appeared.    I  then  recollect- 
ed the   true  office  of  the  organ,  and  said, 
<  Have  you  any  thing  in  your  pocket .''    He 
took  out  a  knife.    *  uive  it  to  me  for  my  little 
boy,'  which  he  did  promptly.    I  removed  my 
haind.    *  Have  you  any  thing  else  ?'  *  I  have 
a  pencil.'    *  Will  you  give  me  that  for  my 
otner   boyP    *It   has   no  head.'    'Never 
mind,  give  it,  won't  you  .'*    *  I  should  not 
like  to.'    *  Well,  but  you  will.'    *  I  couldn't 
come  it,'  (with  peculiar  emphasis.)    Azubah 
aaid,  ask  him  where  the  nead  of  the  pencil 
is.    *  Where  is  it,  Henry  ?    •  Well,  sir,  in 
the  parlor.'    •  Where?'    *  On  the  window. 
Azubah:  *  Why,  I  picked  it  up  and  put  it  there 
to-day.'    (He  certainly  did  not  know  this.) 
I  then  said,  *  Henry,  can  you  get  it  ^    He 
arose  and  went  into  the  parlor  m  the  dark 
and  took  the  pencil  case  head  from  the  win 
dow,  to  the  great  surprise  of  us  all.    Indeed, 
we  were  all  so  astonished  that  it  seemed  a 
dream,  during  these  and  subsequent  proceed- 
ings.   He  spoke  with  a  promptness,  bold- 
ness, and  propriety,  in  advance  of  his  years, 
and  beyond  lumself  in  his  natural  state ;  and 
60  perfectly  evident  was  it  that  he  was  in  a 
somnambulic  state,  that  no  skeptic,  I  verily 
believe  could  have  doubted. 

At  my  request,  he  returned  to  his  seat  I 
touched  benevolence,  and  instantly  he  hand- 
ed me  the  pencil  case.  'For  my  boy.'* 
« Yes,  sir.'  I  then  silently,  and  without  any 
•  willing,'  and  with  a  feeling  of  curiosity  to 
see  and  test  the  matter,  touched  reverence. 
His  countenance  at  once  assumed  a  softened 
and  solemn  aspect  *  Henry,  would  you  like 
to  pray?*  'Yes,  sir.'  *You  may.'  He 
commenced  praying  inaudibly.  '  You  may 
pray  aloud.'  He  uen  prayed  in  a  low  au- 
oible  voice.  On  touching  tune,  he  sung  a 
tune,  though  not  in  the  haoit  of  singing.  On 
touching  combativeness  and  destructiveness, 
he  raised  his  clenched  fist  to  strike  me.  He 
was  ignorant  of  phrenology,  and  also  of  my 
intention  to  touch  any  particular  oigan ;  nor 
did  I  in  any  case  will  the  activity  of  the  or- 
gan. I  now  took  out  my  watch,  and  hold- 
ing the  dial  towards  myself,  and  above  the 
line  of  his  vision,  his  eyes  being  closed  and 
his  head  bowed  forward,  and  my  hand  also 
between  him  and  the  watch.  *  Henry,  what 
ft  ia  it  ?*    ■  Eight  o'dock*  air* — which  was 


exactly  the  time  by  the  wateh,  thoQ^  by 
the  clock  in  the  room  it  was  fifteen  nunutes 
faster.  « Henry,  how  long  ought  you  to 
sleep  ?'  •  Well,  sir,  I  must  sleep  two  hourw 
and  five  minutes.'  « Will  you  then  awake  ?* 
«  Yes,  sir.'  «  Very  well.'  This  I  did  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  his  knowledge  of  time,  as 
stated  by  Townsend,  an  English  clergyman, 
whose  work  on  this  subject  I  had  read. 

I  then  said,  *  Will  you  go  with  me  to  Mr. 
Hall's  r  *  Yes.'  *  Well,  now  we  are  there ; 
now  we  are  in  the  parlor ;  who  are  here  f* 
•Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hall,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bard- 
well.'  *  Who  else  ?  He  did  not  give  their 
names,  but  intimated  that  they  were  stian|[« 
ers.  He  described  the  room  and  the  posi- 
tion of  things,  all  of  which  I  found  correct 
on  going  to  the  house  shortly  after.  These 
persons  were  not  in  the  habit  of  being  there 
in  the  evening,  but  company  having  come  in» 
they  were  all  together  at  that  moment  As 
this  was  in  his  own  town,  I  did  not  deem  it 
proof,  and  so  said,  •  Will  you  go  to  Batavia.^ 
•  Yes '  *  Now  we  are  there — now  we  are  at 
my  house — ^now  we  will  go  into  my  room — 
what  do  you  see  ?'  •  I  see  a  large  table  co- 
vered with  black  cloth,  and  with  books  and 
papers  scattered  over  it'  *  How  laige  is  it  r 
It  is  about  five  feet  long.'  'How  many 
book  cases?'  *  Three,  sir.'  *  What  sort  of 
a  stove .''  He  could  not  describe  this,  for  it 
was  so  queer  a  thing  as  not  to  be  easily  de- 
scribed. Nor  did  I  press  him,  for  all  his  an- 
swers had  been  correct,  and  I  was  sufficiently 
astonished,  for  he  had  never  seen  my  etady, 
and  no  other  minister,  I  am  sure,  has  such  a 
table  (5  feet  by  3  1-2)  or  left  it  in  such  con- 
fusion as  mine  was  at  that  moment 

I  may  here  say,  that  during  the  whole  pe- 
riod of  his  sleep,  he  could  hear  the  questions 
of  others  put  to  him,  and  would  answer 
them,  iif  I  were  willing;  but  if  I  willed 
otherwise,  or  forbade  him  to  speak,  as  I  often 
did,  he  then  would  answer  no  one  but  my* 
self,  not  even  father  or  mother;  nor  could  he 
hear  their  conversation  with  me,  nor  with 
each  other. 

I  now  left  him  for  an  hour,  and  went  back 
to  Mr.  Hall's,  giving  him  leave  to  converse 
only  with  his  father.  On  my  return  I  found 
him  in  the  same  state.  He  utterly  refused  to 
speak  to  any  one  but  his  father,  and  told  him 
he  should  not  have  another  fit  till  the  fol- 
lowing Sabbath,  (this  was  Monday  evening,) 
which  proved  true;  but  when  that  day  came 
he  had  several. 

At  nine  o'clock  and  three  minutes,  holding 
my  watch  as  before,  and  standing  eight  or 
nine  feet  from  him,  I  asked  the  time.  He 
gave  nine  o'clock  and  five  minutes.  ■  Look 
shaip)'  said  I.    <  0 !  three  minutes,'  said  he. 


Observation*  an  Spermaimrkma,  ^c. 


3T 


We  were  now  euiiouB  to  see  if  he  would 
awBke  himself  at  the  two  honis  and  live 
minutes;  and  as  the  clock  in  the  room 
zeached  that  time  he  did  not  awake,  I  said, 
« Henry,  did  yoa  mean  by  my  watch  or  by 
&e  clock  ?  •  By  your  watch,  sir.*  *  Veiy 
well.'  At  the  exact  moment,  he  opened  his 
eyes  and  looked  around,  and  that  without 
any  act  or  willing  of  mine ;  and  what  was 
Tcry  affecting  and  convincing,  he  could  no 
lof^er  speak  at  all,  and  was  unconscious  of 
all  that  ne  had  said  or  done. 

I  have  said  that  he  had  no  return  of  fits 
till  the  next  Sabbath.  One  day  after  that 
Sabbath,  he  came  in  to  his  mother  much 
aplaled,  and  apparently  going  into  a  fit,  and 
malring  the  passes,  he  soficited  his  mother  to 
do  it,  who,  merely  to  pacify  him,  passed  her 
fingers  over  him,  and  soon  he  fell  into  a 
mesmeric  sleep,  and  escaped  the  fit  After 
&iB  he  vras  so  highly  chaiged  by  his  sister, 
that  when  she  vras  in  the  next  room  in  the 
doeet,  he  would  instantly  taste  any  thing  she 
tasted,  eat  what  she  eat,  &c. 

In  ten  ^y%  I  returned  and  magnetised  him 
again,  and  went  through  several  of  the 
wove  experimenta  He  always,  while  in  the 
mesmeric  state,  declared  that  it  benefitted  him, 
relieved  ali  inin,  and  would  cure  him. 

Alter  I  len,  atmy  sumstion,  he  was  daily 
ffii^^netised :  his  fits  leR  him,  his  voice  re- 
lumed, die  sore  spots  on  his  head  and  back 
were  removed,  and  he  recovered  rapidly  till 
the  family  could  no  longer  mesmerise  him. 
A  man  in  the  village  was  found  who  could, 
and  daily  did,  till  he  appeared  entirely  well. 
On  omitting  it  he  had  a  fit  or  two,  and  it  was 
resumed ;  and  when  I  last  saw  the  father, 
he  infonned  me  that  they  considered  the 
child  cured. 

I  may  add,  I  have  since  cured  toothache, 
greatly  relieved  tic  doloreaux,  and  removed 
other  pains  and  swellings,  as  well  as  head- 
ache. I  am  not,  however,  a  full  believer  in 
all  vrbich  is  affirmed  of  clairvoyance — ^what 
I  lee  sad  know,  I  believe.  In  respect  to  ma- 
ny well  authenticated  facts,  I  neither  affirm 
nor  deny.  That  there  are  many  cases  of 
gross  deception  and  imposition  I  fully  be- 
Eeve.  On  such  a  subject  it  can  hardly  be 
otherwise.  This,  however,  is  a  reason  why 
men  of  character  and  intelligence  should  in- 
vestigate it,  rather  than  otherwise.  *But  it 
isde^tion.'  <  Well,  then,  let  us  expose  it 
by  a  fair  trial.'  *But  it  is  the  work  of  the 
devil.'  How  do  you  know .'  What  is  the 
evidence?  What Wm  has  it  done ?  *0h, 
bad  men  have  used  it  for  bad  ends !'  And 
what  is  there  in  the  world  that  has  not  been 
soused?  If  it  is  the  work  of  the  devil,  then 
we  need  not  be  ignonnt  of  his  devices,  and 


should  make  the  examination  for  ourself, 
for  ignorant  and  bad  men  will  not  expose  his 
devices.  From  experiment  and  observatiaa, 
I  have  no  doubt,  that,  as  a  remedial  agent* 
mesmerism  is  yet  to  accomplish  much  good, 
and  no  harm  can  result  from  it,  except  like  all 
other  blessines,  it  be  abused. 

W.  H.  BEECHER. 

Boston,  June  28, 1843. 


Obserrations  oo  Speniuitorrh»a, 

Or  the  inoolwOary  dischargea  qf  the  Seminai 

Fhdd. 

■T  W.  H.  BAinUNO,  M.  D.  CANTJLB., 

Physician  to  the  SnfTolk  General  HospttaL 

That  important  and  most  afflicting  class  of 
affections  of  tiie  sexual  organs,  which  is 
characterised  by  the  frequent  involuntary 
discharge  of  the  seminal  fluid,  although  suf- 
ficiently familiar  to  the  majority  of  practi- 
tioners engaged  in  the  large  towns  of  this  and 
other  countries,  has  not  met  with  such  public 
notice  on  theif  part  as  it  would  seem  to  de- 
mand. For  this  reason,  and  to  the  great  de- 
triment of  society,  the  treatment  of  the  effects 
of  sexual  abuse  or  excess,  exclusive  of  sy- 
philtic  and  blennorrhagic  affections,  is  too  ge- 
nerally confined  to  a  section  of  that  horde  of 
unprincipled  pretenders,  which  the  govern- 
ment of  this  country,  to  its  shame,  by  tole- 
rating, continues  to  patronise,  and  from  whose 
obscene  advertisements  it  condescends  to  de- 
rive a  portion  of  its  revenues.  It  thus  hap- 
pens that  a  subject  fraught  with  the  deepest 
mterest,  both  as  regards  the  individual  and 
society  at  lar^,  is  rarely,  in  all  its  extensive 
details,  submitted  to  honest  and  scientific  in- 
vestigation. It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that 
as  the  eye,  the  ear,  the  teeth,  have  one  by  one 
been  rescued  from  the  unclean  grasp  of  quack- 
ery, so  in  its  turn,  this  most  wretched  of  all 
the  curses  which  man's  imprudence  entails 
upon  him,  may  be  thought  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  the  educated  practitioner. 

If  a  person  after  the  age  of  puberty,  and 
more  especially  if  he  have  indulged  in  regu- 
lar sexual  intercourse,  be  from  any  cause  m- 
duced  to  lead  a  life  of  perfect  continence,  he 
will  experience  involuntary  emissions  during 
sleep  in  greater  or  less  frequency,  llie  se- 
cretion of  semen  being  continuous,  and  not, 
as  is  by  some  believed,  accidental,  upon  ero- 
tic excitement,  nature  adopts  this  mode  of 
disembarrassing  the  system  of  a  product 
which  ought,  in  correspondence  with  her 
laws,  to  be  expended  in  the  wholesome  sex- 
ual employment  of  the  oigans.  Emissions, 
therefore,  occurring  under  such  circum- 
stances in  robust  individuals,  so  far  from  be- 
ing injurious,  must  be  regarded  as  a  salutary 
provision.    But,  although  beneficial,  or  at 


38 


Observations  an  SpermatarrhoEUi  ^e. 


leaAt,  hannlese,  at  first,  these  nocturnal  dis- 
charges may,  if  the  continence  be  prolong- 
ed, be,  by  an  acquired  habitude  of  the  parts 
concerned,  repeated  to  an  extent  which  be- 
comes positively  injurious,  and,  as  in  the 
case  of  other  habitual  discharges,  then  produce 
inconveniences  proportionate  to  their  fre- 
quency, and  the  original  constitution  of  the 
individual. 

But  the  cases  in  which  spermatorrhoea  is 
consequent  upon  unnatural  continence,  per  se 
are  comparatively  rare.  The  involuntary 
emissions  which  occur  in  such  abundance  as 
to  constitute  a  really  morbid  phenomenon, 
are  usually  to  be  traced  to  one  or  other  of  the 
causes  hereafter  to  be  mentioned. 

Symptoms. 

From  the  almost  insurmountable  objection 
to  speak  of  their  ailments  which  is  generally 
observed  in  the  unhappy  subjects  of  this  com- 
plaint, it  is  difficult  to  procure  a  complete  ac- 
count of  its  origin.  The  hi#tory  of  a  case 
of  seminal  emissions,  however,  wilf  usually 
be  found  to  be  somewhat  as  follows. — After 
a  neater  or  less  amount  of  abuse  of  the  geni- 
tal organs,  either  natural  or  unnatural,  the 
individual  makes  the  discovery  that  he  has  be- 
come infested  with  seminal  emissions  during 
sleep.  The  emissions  are  at  first  accompa- 
nied by  erection,  but  soon  occur  with  dimi- 
nished rigidity  of  the  j)enis.  If  he  at  this 
time  indulge  in  sexual  intercourse  he  expe- 
riences more  than  usual  difficulty  in  consum- 
mating the  act ;  he  is  frequently  disappointed 
altogether,  or,  if  not,  the  erection  is  incom- 
plete, and  ejaculation  more  than  ordinarily 
precipitate,  and  in  some  cases  painful.  As 
the  disease  advances  the  nocturnal  emissions 
Increase  in  frequency  and  abundance,  at 
length  occurring  without  either  erection  or 
pleasurable  sensation ;  in  fact,  the  patient  is 
often  only  made  conscious  of  them  by  the 
sense  of  feebleness  on  waking,  and  by  the 
marks  upon  his  linen.  In  sexual  intercourse 
ejaculation  becomes  more  and  more  hurried, 
till  at  length  mere  contact  with  or  even  sight 
of  the  female  will  induce  it,  and  complete 
impotence  is  thus  established.  The  nerni- 
cious  effects  of  these  dischaiges  upon  tne  ^- 
neral  economy  is  soon  evinced.  The  mind 
becomes  enfeeble  and  incapable  of  protracted 
attention,  the  memorv  fallacious  and  uncer- 
tain, and  the  patient  ^Is  that  he  is  no  longer 
fitted  for  his  usual  avocations.  His  disposi- 
tion undergoes  an  equal  change,  he  becomes 
morose  and  suspicious,  fond  of  solitude, 
lachrymose  upon  trivial  occasions,  and  ex- 
hibits those  apparently  causeless  contrarie 
ties  of  temper,  which  are  commonly  received 
fts  evidences  of  hvpochondriaais  or  eccentrici- 
ty. Cerebral  and  tnofadc  symptoms,  as  giddi* 


ness,  noises  in  the  ear,  palpitation,  and  cough, 
present  themselves  in  greater  or  less  intensi- 
ty. The  body  gradually  emaciates,  especi- 
ally about  the  lowers  extremities.  The  as- 
pect becomes  dejected,  the  patient  seldom 
raises  his  eyes  to  the  person  he  addresses  as  if 
conscious  that  the  expression  of  his  counte- 
nance would  reveal  his  wretched  condition. 
Di^stion  is  impaired  and  accompanied  by 
pam  and  flatulence.  The  bowels  are  invan- 
ably  costive ;  indeed,  I  know  scarcely  any 
disease  short  of  mechanical  obstruction,  in 
which  they  so  obstinately  resist  the  power- 
ful cathartics.  That  this  state  of  bowels  is 
intimately  connected  with  the  emissions  is 
shown^  by  the  fact,  that  upon  the  suspension 
of  these  the  bowels  at  once  resume  their  nor- 
mal action.  A  case  has  lately  come  under 
my  care  in  which  the  bowels  resisted  two- 
minim  doses  of  croton  oil,  but  acted  sponta- 
neously and  regularly  after  the  cure  of  the 
emissions  by  cauterisation  of  the  urethra.— 
T^e  urine  is  passed  frequently,  three  or  four 
times  perhaps  during  the  nieht  The  aspect 
of  the  genitals  is  generally  though  not  al- 
ways enfeebled. 

I  have  seen  the  most  complete  impotence 
co-exist  with  sexual  oigans  of  large  size  and 
vigorous  appearance,  but  usually  ue  penis  is 
flaccid  and  without  elasticity,  the  scrotum 
pendulous,  and  the  testicles  soft  and  tender  to 
the  touch.  After  the  lapse  of  a  certain  time 
if  the  disease  makes  progress,  the  nocturnal 
emissions  cease,  and  the  patient  is  buoyed  up 
with  the  hope  that  his  aiunenlB  are  removed ; 
but  his  increasing  feebleness  soon  proves  that 
his  hones  are  wimout  foundation.  If  at  this 
time,  tne  patient's  attention  be  directed  to  it, 
it  will  be  found  that  an  eJteration  has  taken 
place  in  the  character  of  the  urine,  it  has 
become  turbid  and  nauseous  to  the  smell. 
The  turbidity  is  not,  as  in  chronic  affections 
of  the  bladder,  persistent  throughout  the  entire 
act  of  micturition,  but  appears  chiefly  towards 
the  end,  the  urine  being  clear  at  the  com- 
mencement. In  other  cases  the  seminal  fluid, 
is  not  emitted  till  the  bladder  is  emptied,  when 
a  glutinous  fluid  is  observed  to  accompany 
the  last  few  drops  of  urine.  The  evacuation 
of  the  bowels  is  accompanied  by  the  same 
discharge,  so  that,  in  fact,  there  is  a  daily 
draining  away  of  seminal  secretion. 

The  case  is  now  complete,  and  in  that  con* 
dition  which,  until  LaUemand  directed  our 
attention  to  it,  was  utterly  misunderstood. — 
The  medical  attendant  being  misled  by  tlie 
fact  of  the  absence  of  nocturnal  pollution,  was 
invariably  in  such  instances  occupied  by  the 
more  prominent  features  of  the  case,  which 
was  considered  as  cerebral,  cardiac,  or  gastric 
disease,  accordingly  as  one  or  other  019U1 
happened  to  take  the  lead  in  the  symptoms- 


Observaiums  an  Spermaiarrhmtij  ^e. 


ao 


tohogy.     This  is  dnabdess  the  description  of 
an  extreme  case ;  the  majority  present  them- 
selves while  the  emissions  are  nocturnal, — 
before,  in  fact,  the  disease  has  assumed  its 
worst  aspect ;  but  it  is  of  importance  to  be 
aware  that  the  seminal  fluid  may  pass  away 
with  the  urine,  and  tliat  it  is  not  to  be  con- 
dnded,  in  a  suspicious  case,  that  spermator- 
ifacea  does    not  exist,  because  a  nocturnal 
emission  has  not  occurred  for  a  long  time. 
The  tendency  of  every  case  of  morbid  noc- 
turnal emisaions,  if  unchecked,  is  to  become 
diurnal.    The  nocturnal  dischaiges  cease  for 
the  plain  reason  tha^  the  semen  is  removed 
continuously  in  the  evacuations  of  the  blad- 
4k  md  cectiun. 

Oavses. 
It  has  been  the  custom  with  most  writers, 
from  the  time  of  Hippocrates  downwards,  to 
attribute  seminal  pollutions  in  all  cases  to 
previoTis  abnse  of  the  sexual  powers.    More 
leeent  investigations  have  determined  th|t, 
although  such  indulgence  is  the  more  com- 
mon cause,  there  are   other  circumstances 
capable  of  inducing  the  disease,  independent- 
ly of  any  blame  on  the  part  of  the  patient. 

It  is  well  known  that  some  individuals 
support  with  impunity  a  degree  of  sexual 
iznguiarity  which  inevitably  plunges  another 
into  the  miserable  condition  in  question 
We  mustt  therefore,  admit  in  the  case  of 
apeimalorrfaiBa,  as  in  other  diseases,  the  ex- 
istence of  predisposition. 

The  application  of  lunar  caustic  to  the  ure- 
thra in  cases  of  sperm^torrhcBa  was  first  the 
suggestion  of  Lallemand ;  for  although  Sir  £. 
Home  had  previously  cauterised  the  canal,  it 
was  with  the  object  of  overcomins  a  stricture, 
Lallemand  prefers,  in  all  cases,  me  applica- 
tion  of  the  solid  nitrate,  but  it  may  likewise 
be  usei  with  benefit  in  the  form  of  solution. 
In  the  hands  of  the  French  surgeon  the  suc- 
cess of  this  mode  of  treating  involuntary 
emisuons  has  been  most  remarkable.  Near- 
ly one  hundred  cases  are  reported  in  which  it 
"Was  adopted  by  him,  and  m  all,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  its  eflEbctshave  been  rapid, 
and,  wh^  the  patient  has  been  commonly 
prudent  sabsequent  to  the  treatment,  permap 
neat  The  experience  of  British  surgeons, 
flioiwfa  not  so  extensive,  is  as  far  as  it  gpes, 
equally  satishtctory.  In  an  excellent  criti(jue 
upon  LallemaAd's  works,  in  the  "  British 
and  Foreign  Medical  Review,**  are  collected 
the  written  testimony  of  several  English  prac- 
titionei&  One  gentleman  writes  as  follows: — 
*«  I  ean  leedAect eleven  cases  in  whichl  have 
Ibmid  Ulemand^s  treatment  sacoessful,  and 
one  in  whieh  it  ihd  not  completely  succeed. 
In  aem^  of  flie  eleven  cases  a  single  appHca- 
tioQ  of  the  <»qfltiqwa9  voficient;  in  four  it- 


was  necessary  to  apply  it  a  second  time.  .  . 
.  The  e^ts  are  immediate ;  a  person  in 
whom  the  discharge  has  continued  lor  months  ^ 
will  have  none  for  some  days  after  the  use  of 
the  caustic."  Another  writes  thus :  "  I  have 
carefully  noted  twenty-seven  cases  treated  by 
the  nitrate  of  silver.  ...  Of  these,  thirteen 
were  completely  cured,  eight  so  much  benefit- 
ted that  the  emissions  only  recurred  occasion- 
ally, and  produced  but  little  eflect  upon  the 
system ;  the  remaining  live  were  benefitted, 
but  not  to  the  same  extent"  A  third  surgeon 
states  that  with  regard  to  Lallemand's  method 
of  cauterising  the  urethra,  he  has  tried  it  in  a 
dozen  cases,  and  in  the  majority  of  them  with 
decidedly  good  efiects.  Mr.  Phillips,  in  the 
paper  before  alluded  to,  thus  speaks  of  the 
caustic  bougie : — **  In  nineteen  cases  I  used 
the  caustic.  Of  these  cases  ten  were  com- 
pletely relieved  by  a  single  application ;  in 
three  the  amelioration  was  decided,  tiiough 
the  complaint  was  not  cured;  in  six  there 
was  no  relief.  In  the  nine  cases  in  which  the 
first  application  was  insufficient,  the  remedy 
was  again  used, — in  three  cases  with  com- 
plete relief."  So  that  "  in  thirteen  cases  out 
of  nineteen  it  succeeded,  in  six  it  failed ;  but 
in  no  case  was  there  any  aggravation."  It 
appears,  then,  from  these  remarks,  that  of 
lifty-ei^ht  cases,  exclusive  of  those  of  Lalle- 
mand, m  which  caustic  was  applied,  it  failed 
only  in  six,  was  beneficial  ia  fourteen,  and 
completely  successful  in  thirty-seven,  or  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole,  a  result  sufficient  to  es- 
tablish its  character  as*  a  remedy  of  the  ut- 
most value. 

Physicians  of  much  expericaee  will  Bscog- 
nise  in  this  practice  an  old  acquaintance,  and 
will  see  tlie  fallacy  of  the  greal  majority  of 
these  pretended  eures;  for  they  an  nearly  all 
cases  of  tubercular  disease  of  the  prostrate 
gland,  involvin  m<r)  or  less  the  oigaas 
with  which  it  is  connected,  and  c(Nnplicat«d 
with  tub^ular  disease  of  the  cerebellum,  in 
which  the  checking  of  the  seminal  dischar- 
ges forms  but  a  small  part  of  the  cure.  The 
story  ol  the  subsequent  suffering  and  daath 
of  many  of  these  patients  from  disease  of 
these  organs,  aod  from  tubercular  disease 
piopagtted  from  these  to  other  organs,  is 
not  yet,  and  for  obvious  reasons  aeiwr  will 
be  told.  We  have  seen  and  treated  a  great 
many  such  cases  so  well  desoribed  by  thaaii- 
thor  of  the  above  aitide,  many  of  which  lutd 
besn  nearly  qiiadied  to  deaith  wiih  I^alls- 
maad'saod  oUmv  cammoA  nmadiaa.    b  all 


40 


Power  of  the  Human  WUl. 


these  cases  the  magnetic  symptoms  disclosed 
tubercular  disease  of  the  prostrate  gland,  and 
cerebellum,  and  in  many  others  it  had  been 
propagated  from  these  oigans  to  the  cerebrum, 
stomach,  intestines,  and  liver,  and  in  others 
at  last  to  the  lungs.        ^ 

Besides  the  moral  treatment  in  these  cases 
of  tuberculous  habits,  in  which  the  natural 
inclinations  are  much  stronger  than  they  are 
in  other  persons,  they  should  be  put  under 
the  use  of  the  remedies  for  tubercular  disease, 
and  should  continue  under  the  use  of  them  un- 
til their  healths  are  restored,  and  it  is  only  in 
Che  few  cases,  in  which  the  urgent  symptoms 
described  in  the  above  article,  do  not  readily 
or  ?  a  1  ally  yield  to  their  influence,  that  Lal- 
lemand's,  or  any  similar  remedy  should  be 
used. 

The  Power  of  the  Hnmaa  Will. 
The  following  extract  on  this  subject ,  is 
from  the  New  Orleans  Crescent. 

Extraordinary  Power  of  the  Human  WiUr— 
A  long  time  ago  we  recollect  hearing  of  some 
experiments  performed  by  two  ancient  gradu- 
ates of  Ecole  Poly  techn ique.  A  drop  of  q uick- 
silver  hermetically  sealed  in  a  small  nut-shell 
covered  with  wax,  and  attached  to  a  thread, 
on  being  held  over  a  parcel  of  dimes  placed  in 
a  straight  line  will  move  from  one  end  of  the 
silver  to  another,  and  its  motion  can  be 
stopped  by  a  mere  effort  of  the  villi  11 
this  ball  be  held  over  a  gold  watch  a  rotary 
movemeot  can  be  obtained,  and  the  motion 
reversed  by  the  action  of  the  mind  I  We 
tried  the  experiment  yesterday,  and  found  it 
to  be  perfectly  successful. 

We  have  been  much  pleased  with  a  repe- 
tition of  this  experiment  Another  extraor- 
dinary example  of  the  power  of  the  human 
will  is  that  exercised  by  the  magnetiser. — 
From  numerous  experiments  in  mesmerism, 
about  one-seventh  of  the  adult  population, 
and  children  generally  under  ten  years,  are 
supposed  to  be  very  susceptible  to  its  influ- 
ence, and  these  it  is  now  ascertained  can  be 


easily  put  into  the  mesmeric  or 
stale,  by  the  exercise  of  the  will  of  the  mag- 
netiser, without  the  use  of  manupulations, 
under  certain  favorable  circumstances,  and 
these  are  principally  strict  attention  to  the 
magnetiser  or  some  other  object,  when  he 
exeicifles  his  will  upon  them.  Persons  too, 
who  have  been  once  magnetised,  although  not 


before  very  susceptible  to  its  influence,  can 
afterwards  be  put  into  the  magnetic  state  by 
the  mere  exercise  of  the  will  of  the  magne- 
tiser, and  even  at  great  distances  from  him. 
There  is  besides  a  still  more  extraordi- 
nary phenomenon  in  regard  to  the  power 
of  the  will,  for  we  And  we  can  bring  the 
true  images  of  different  persons  from  any 
part  of  the  world  into  the  room  before  clair- 
voyants, in  an  instant  of  time,  even  persons 
we  never  saw  or  heard  of  before,  whether 
dead  or  alive,  when  they  will  see  and  des* 
cribe  them,  with  apparently  the  same  ae- 
curacy  they  would  if  these  persons  were 
really  before  them,  in  their  natural  waking 
state,  and  solves  the  mysteries  displayed  by 
a  travelling  magician  at  Cairo,  as  described 
ii^  the  following  article,  as  well  as  those  that 
are  practised  by  the  same  gentry  in  this  coun- 
try. 

"  Lord  Prudhoe  and  Major  Felix  being  at 
Cairo  last  autumn,  on  their  return  from  Abys- 
synia,  where  they  picked  up  much  of  that  in- 
formation which  has  been  worked  up  so  well 
by  Captain  Bond  Head  in  his  life  of  Bruce, 
fuund  the  town  in  a  state  of  extraordinary  ex- 
citement, in  consequence  of  the  recent  arrival 
in  those  pans  of  a  celebrated  magician,  from 
the  centre  of  Alrica,  somewhere  in  the  vici- 
nity of  the  Mountains  of  the  Moon     It  was 
universally  said,  and  generally  believed,  that 
this  character  possessed  and  exercised  the 
power  ol  showing  to  any  visitor  who  chose  to 
comply  with  his  terms,  any  persons,  dead  or 
living,  whom  the  same  visitor  pleased    to 
name.    The  English  travellers,  afler  abun- 
dant inquiries,  and  some  scruples,  repaired  to 
his  residence,  paid  their  fees^  and  were  admit- 
ted to  his  sandwm.    They  found  themi^elTes 
in  the  presence  of  a  very  handsome  young 
Moor,  with  a  very  long  black  beard,  a  crim- 
sun  caflan,  a  snow  white  turban,  eighteen  in- 
ches high,  blue  trowser»  and  yellow  slippers, 
sitting  cross-legged  on  a  Turkey  carpet,  three 
feet  square,  with  a  cherry  stalk  in  his  mouthy 
a  cup  of  coffee  at  his  left  elbow,  a  diamond 
hafted  dagger  in  his  girdle,  and  in  his  right 
hand  a  large  volume,  clasped  with  brazen 
clasps.  On  hearing  their  errand,  he  arose  and 
kindled  some  spices  on  a  sort  of  small  altar 
in  the  middle  of  the  room.    He  then  walked 
round  and  round  the  altar  for  half  an  hour  or 
so,  muttering  words  to  them  unintelligible; 
and  having  at  length  drawn  three  lines  of 
chalk  about  the  altar,  and  placed  himself  up- 
right beside  the  flame,  desired  them  to  seek  a 
seer,  and  he  was  ready  to  grati^  them  in  all 
their  desires.    There  were,  in  the  old  days» 
whole  schools  of  magicians  here  in  Europe, 
who  could  do  nothing  in  this  line  without  Uie 
intervention  of  a  pun  t$er,  to  wit,  a  mtUdm'it^ 


Menial  Powers  of  Clairvoyants. 


41 


€fe,  Thi3  Afjrican  beloDgs  to  the  same  fra- 
temitj — he  made  them  imderstand  that 
nothing  coald  be  done  aati"  a  virgin  eye  was 
placed  at  his  disposaL  He  bade  them  go  oat 
in  the  streets  of  Cairo,  and  fetch  up  any  chiJd 
they  fancied  ander  ten  years  of  age. 

They  did  ao ;  and  after  walking  abont  for 
half  an  hoar,  selected  an  Arab  boy.  not  appa- 
rently above  eight,  whom  they  founa  playing  at 
marbles.    They  bribed  him  with  a  few  half- 
pence, and  took  him  with  them  to  the  studio  of 
the  Auican  Roger  Bacon.  The  child  was  much 
frightened  at  the  smoke  and  the  smell,  and 
Uke  chatter  and  the  muuering^-but  by  and  by 
he  sacked  his  sogar  candy,  and  recovered  his 
tranqoibty,  and  tne  magician  made  him  seat 
himself  under  a  window — the  anhf  one  that 
had  lut  been  dartmed,  and  poured  about  a  ta- 
hle-^xxmlal  of  some  dlack  kmdd  inio  the  boy's 
right  hand  and  bade  him  hold  the  hand  steady, 
and  keep  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  surface  ot  the 
liq[nid — and  then  resummg  his  old  station  by 
the  brazier,  sung  out  for  several  minutes  on 
end,—*  W hat  do  you  see  1    Allah  bismillah— 
what  do   you  seel    Illala   Resoul  Allah! 
What  do  you  see  V    All  the  while  the  smoke 
curled  faster  and  laster.    Presently  the  lad 
aaid,  BisnuUakf     I  see   a  horse— a  horse- 
man—I  see  twohoisemen— I  see  .three— I  see 
lour— five — ^six — I  see  seven  horsemen,  and 
the  seventh  is  r  StUUnJ    *  Has  he  a  flagl' 
cries  the  magician  ?— '  He  has  three,'  answer- 
ed Che  boy.    '  'Tis  well,*  says  the  other  *  now 
halt  P  and  with  that  he  laid  his  stick  right 
acioas  the  fire,  and  standing  up  addressed  the 
travellers   in   these   words:— *  Nans e   your 
name— be  it  of  those  that  are  upon  the  earth, 
or  of  those  that  are  beneath  it ;  oe  it  Frank, 
Uoor,  Turk,  or  Indian,  prince  or  begear, 
Uvine  and  breathing,  or  resolved  into  the  dust 
of  Adam,  SOOOyears  ago— speak,  and  this  boy 
shall  behold  and  describe.' 

"  The  first  name  was  William  Shakspeare. 
The  magician  made  three  reverences  towar'' 
the  window,  waved  His  wand  nine  times,  sung 
cm  something  beyond  their  interpretation, 
and,  at  length  called  out,  *  Boy,  what  do  you 
behold  T— *  The  Sultan  alone  remains/  said 
the  child—*  and  beside  him  I  see  a  pale-faced 
Frank,  bat  not  dressed  like  these  Franks— 4w/A 
large  eyes,  a  pointed  beard,  a  tall  hat,  roses 
on  his  shoes,  and  a  short  mantle !  The  other 
asked  for  Francis  Arouel  de  Voltaire,  and  the 
boy  immediately  described  a  lean,  old,  yeU 
low  faced  Prank,  with  a  huge  brown  wig,  a 
notraeg  grater  profile,  spindle  shanks,  buc- 
kled £oes,  and  a  gold  snuff  box  V  Lord 
Pmdhoe  now  named  Archdeacon  Wrang- 
ham,  and  the  Arab  boy  made  answer,  and 
said  *I  perceive  a  tall,  gray-haired  Frank, 
with  a  black  silk  petticoat,  walking  in  agar- 
dcn  with  a  little  book  in  his  hand.  He  is 
reading  on  the  book— his  eyes  are  bright  and 
gleaming— his  teeth  are  white — he  is  the  hap- 
]rfest  looking  Prank  I  ever  beheld.'  Major 
Felix  now  named  a  brother  of  his,  who  is  in 
the  cavalry  of  the  East  India  Company,  in 
the  presidency  of  Madras.    The  magician 


signed,  an^gthe  bov  again  answered.  '  I  set 
a  red-haired  Prank,  with  a  short  red  jacket, 
and  white  trowsers.  He  is  standing  by  tha 
sea-shore,  and  behind  him  there  is  a  black 
man  in  a  turban,  holding  a  besditiful  horse 
richly  caparisoned.'  'God  in  heaven  I'  cried 
Felix.  <rJay,'  the  boy  resumed,  'this  is  am 
odd  Frank— he  has  turned  round  while  you 
are  speaking,  and,  by  Allah,  he  has  but  one 
arm  1'  Upon  this  the  major  swooned  away. 
His  brother  lost  his  arm  in  the  campaign  of 
Ava!" 


]ff«ntal  Pow«rs  of  Olalrvoyaats. 

There  is  apparently,  as  much  di&rence  in 
the  mental  powers  of  clairvoyants,  as  their  is 
in  these  individuals  in  their  natural  waking 
state.  There  is  also  a  gieat  difference  in  the 
relative  clearness  of  their  visions,  and  in  the 
same  individuals  at  diflerent  times.  Some 
again  will  see  very  clearly,  and  describe  very 
accurately  an  hour  or  two,  and  then  become 
weary  or  exhausted,  when  they  will  make 
mistakes,  and  little  or  no  dependence  can  he 
placed  upon  any  thing  they  say.  They  also 
sometimes  become  displeased,  and  aware  of 
their  superior  mental  powers,  give  vent  to 
their  spleen  by  attempts  to  deceive  those 
around  them.  One  of  the  best  examples  of 
their  extraordinary  mental  powers,  is  that  de- 
scribed in  the  following  accoimt  of  some  phre- 
nological experiments  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  ia 
January,  1842. 

"  The  subject  was  an  interesting  married 
lady,  of  high  intellectual  cultivation,  most 
respectably  connected,  and  of  imimpeachable 
integrity. 

"An eminent  lawrer  being  introduced  to 
her,  she  began  with  him  the  discussion  of 
some  legal  question,  astonishing  us  by  the 
clearness  of  her  conceptions,  or  keeping  us  in 
a  roar  of  laughter  by  the  lively  sallies  of  her 
wit.  During  this  conversation,  some  one  be- 
hind her  placed  his  hand  near  her  head,  with- 
out touchmg  it.  She  instantly  evinced  em- 
barrassment, forgot  the  subject  of  discussion, 
and  could  not  go  on  until  the  hand  was  re- 
moved. The  magnetiser  then  placed  his  hand 
upon  her  forehead,  her  recoUecticm  was  re- 
stored and  the  conversation  renewed.  The 
magnetiser  then  touched  the  organ  of  venera- 
tion, when  she  abruptly  terminated  the  discnis- 
sion,  assuming  an  attitude  of  devotion,  and 
refused  all  farther  communication  with  the 
physical  world.  Her  devotions  being  ended, 
she  was  put  in  commimication  with  a  scien- 
tific gentleman,  with  whom  she  held  a  long 
and  interesting  conversation  on  the  subject  of 
Animal  Magnetism ;  boldly  controverting  his 
arguments  and  giving  her  own  view  of  this 
extraordinary  science  with  great  cleamees  of 


42 


Sulphate  of  Quinine,  ^c. 


thought  and  beauty  of  exprcssio:#  And  here 
she  seemed  like  an  ethereal  bemg— a  being  of 
another  creation— and  in  the  language  of  the 
eminent  divine,  to  whose  church  she  beloM^, 
"  she  appe^Qred  perfectly  sublimated."  After 
this  she  astonisned  all  by  determining  with 
wonderful  accuracy  the  pnrenological  charac- 
ter of  various  inaividuals  present,  and  de- 
scribing with  most  minute  exactness,  their 
several  diseases,  acute  or  chronic,  incipient  or 
confirmed.    A    gentleman   present   was  re- 

guested  to  sing  and  play  a  German  song  for 
er.  The  first  note  struck  brought  her  to  the 
Eiano,  when  during  the  prelude  she  persisted 
1  standing,  but  the  instant  he  commenced  the 
song,  she  sat  down  by  him,  and  with  a  full, 
sweet  voice,  accompanied  him  in  the  very 


shows  and  theatrical  performances,  on  holi- 
days, in  imitation  of  the  Pagans  and  of  the 
lesser  mysteries,  to  amuse  their  audiences, 
and  these  were  continued,  even  in  England,  as 
late  as  the  last  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. — 
Hone's  Ancient  Mtbtebies,  &c.,  Lomdoit, 
1823. 

St.  Cyril,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  in  A.  D. 
412,  in  his  Vlllth  book  against  Julian,  grave- 
ly observes:  "These  mysteries  are  so  pro- 
found and  so  exalted,  that  they  can  be  compre- 
hended by  those  only  who  are  enlightened.  I 
shall  not  therefore  attempt  to  speak  of  what  is 
most  admirable  in  them,  lest  by  discovering 


rtlno'KK^^frLS^t^|themtothe™.MUated,IshauMoffendiH^ 

then  accompanied  a  French  gentleman  in  one 
of  the  songs  of  his  country,  and  afterward 


began  again  the  German  song,  which  the 
pdanist  had  been  requested  to  sing  once  more, 
buring  the  performance  of  this  she  was  de- 
magnetised, and  of  course,  discontinued  her 
accompaniment.  Being  asked  by  the  writer 
why  she  stopped,  and  if  she  would  not  still 
accompany  tne  other  voice,  she  replied  that 
she  knew  neither  the  words  nor  the  air." 


These  feats,  in  the  somniBcient  state,  of 
understanding  and   speaking   in   unknown 
tongues,  or  in  a  language  unknown  to  these 
persons  in  the  natural  state,  have  been  fre- 
quently repeated  in  this  city.    They  were, 
moreover,  practised  in    the   ancient  Pagan 
Temples,  and  by  the  apostles  of  the  Chris- 
tians.    See  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  chapter  2. 
'*  Magnetism  appears  to  have  been  well 
imderstood  by  the  Egyptian  hierarchy,  not 
only  from  some  of  the  effects  we  find  record- 
ed, but  in  one  of  the  chambers  (of  the  Tem- 
ple) whose  hieroglyphics  are  devoted  to  me- 
dical subjects,  we  find  a  priest  in  the  very  act 
of  that  mesmerism  which  is  pretended  to 
have  been  discovered  a  few  years  ago.    The 
patient  is  seated  in  a  chair,  while  the  operator 
describes  the  mesmeric  passes,*  and  an  at- 
.  tendant  wails  behind  to  support  the  head 
when  it  is  bowed  in  the  mysterious  sleep." — 
Dublin  University  Magazine,  Oct  1843 

The  higher  orders  of  the  Christian  priest- 
hood continued  to  be  initiated  into  the  mysteries 
taught  inthe  temples,  long  after  the  Christian 
era;  and  this  was  a  matter  of  great  impor- 
tance, for  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  get  up 


the  injunction  not  to  give  what  is  holy  to  the 
impure,  not  to  cast  pearls  before  such  as  can- 
not estimate  their  worth." 

Theodoret,  Bi.shop  of  Cyzicus,  in  Syria,  A. 
D.  420,  in  his  dialoga,  entitled,  "  The  Immur 
table"  introduces  Orthodoxus,  speaking  thoa: 
"  Answer  me,  if  you  please,  in  mystical  and 
obscure  terms,  for,  perhaps,  there  arc  persons 
present  who  are  not  initiated  inthe  mysteries.*' 


"  'One  Qf  his  »m^^«  is  nuMd  abort  tbs  haad  of  the 
ikk  pcnoDi  and  ths  other  is  on  the  breaat.'' 


Oasaa  ancceaaively  traatad  with  Svlphat*  of 

Qninino 

By  C.  Sbarlb,  M.  D.,  M.  R.  C.  a  L.,  Badi. 

Scarlatina. — ^I  was  requested  by  a  lady, 
twenty  miles  distant,  to  visit  her  family  as 
soon  as  possible,  as  a  son  and  daughter  wcie 
dangerously  ill  with  scarlet  fever.    I  reached 
the  place  of  her  abode  the  same  evening, 
when  the  son,  I  found,  had  died  two  houis 
before.    The  daughter,  a  delicate  girl,  a^ 
seventeen,  I  found  delirious  in  bed,  wiUi 
great  difficulty-  of  deglutition,  a  anall  initaWc 
pulse  at  120,  and  an  excited  skin.    leeches 
were  then  being  applied  to  the  temples,  and 
powders  of  calomel  and  antimony  being  ad- 
ministered every  two  hours.    The  leeches  I 
directed  to  be  unmediately  removed,  and  sent 
for  the  medical  attendant,  on  consultiOion 
with  whom,  on  his  arrival,  as  he  declined 
any  responsibility  in  the  measures  I  thought 
it  necessary  to  pursue,  the  cure  was  thrown 
altogether  into  my  own  hands.    The  patientfs 
skin  I  now  had  sponeed  with  tepid  waler, 
and  the  throat  gargled,  or  rather  mopped, 
occasionally  wito  a  large  hair  pencil,  dipped 
in  a  mixture  of  strone  chiUy  vinegar  and 
honey,  which  produced  a  copious  muculent 
salivation.    Soon  after  this  a  grain  of  quinine, 
in  solution,  was  administers,  with  a  table- 
spoonful  of  port  wine ;  and  the  same  was 
repeated  every  two  horns  throughout  ibs 
night,  and  two  or  three  spoonfuls  of  sageuid 


Pathology  of  Tetanus. 


43 


wine  between  each  doee.  On  the  following 
moming  the  ihroat  was  much  better,  the  fe- 
Ter  had  declined,  and  she  expressed  herself  as 
feeling  in  every  respect  better.  The  remedies 
were  continned,  and  in  the  evening  all  dan- 

Swas  at  an  end.  After  this  she  continued 
quinine  in  doses  of  three  or  four  erains 
dniine  the  day,  and  was  up  and  well  by  the 
end  of  the  wedc. 

Another  son  and  a  servant  of  the  same  fa- 
mily were  attacked  the  day  after  my  arrival 
at  Ihe  bouse*  the  disease  being  of  epidemic 
preralenoe  in  the  town  and  for  many  miles 
araond.  They  were  both  treated  by  an  eme- 
tic in  die  first  instance,  followed  up  by  a  dose 
of  calomel  and  jalap ;  and  after  the  operation^ 
el  this  by  a  lea-spoonful  of  bark-powder, 
with  two  table-spoonfuls  of  port  wine,  every 
two  hours,  with  immediate  convalescence; 
md  this  treatment  becoming  now  general  in 
tiie  town,  was  very  succes^lly  pursued. 

^Erygipdas. — An  infant,  fourteen  months 
old,  was  attacked  with  erysipelas  on  the  face, 
ivbich  extended  down  the  neck  to  the  chest, 
mid  down  the  aims  to  the  finser  ends,  the 
'faandB  hemmmg  Qodemalous.    Calomel ,  anti- 
mony, and  pureatLves  were  freely  adminis- 
tered for  more  man  a  week  without  pehna- 
sent  benefit;  on  the  contrary,  the  disease 
was  extending  itself,  and  the  child  had  be- 
come oomalose.    Under  these  circumstances 
Laif  a  grain  of  quinine  was  given  every  two 
bouiB,  and  a  blister  apphea  to  the  thigh. 
The  amendment  was  ahnost  immediate,  and 
Ifaediild  was  two  days  after  convalescent. 
I  have  only  to  add,  in  conclusion,  that 
Ifae  above  are  not  a  few  choice  cases  selected 
fnmi  among  many,  in  support  of  the  opinion 
I  have  previously  advanced,  that  quinine  is 
a  remedy  which  of  late  years  has  been  too 
jBiieh  neglected  in  the  treatment  of  these  va- 
rieties of  fever ;  but  as  I  am  out  of  practice, 
tiiese  are>  although  few,  the  only  cases  of 
Oe  kind  with  the  treatment  of  which  I  have 
bad  anything  to  do.    June  10,  1843. 


2a  Ub- Arachnoid  Haraaorrhage. 
False  membranes  never  occur,  but  in  the 
intiaraichnoid  hsmorrhase  they  are  always 
iDtmd  around  the  efiusea  clot  on  the  fourth 
or  fifth  day.  Paralysis  of  motion  rarely 
aeoompanies  sub-arachnoid  hemorrhage,  but 
commoniy  intra-arachnoid  haemorrhage ;  pa- 
mlyns  of  sensation  is  rare  in  both  kinds. 
BeviatioQ  of  the  mouth  does  not  occur  in 
s,  but  sleep  and  coma  are  almost 
symptoms.  Delirium  and  fever 
ay  mtia-archnoid  hemorrhage  alone, 
bat  £fom  this  disease  the  patient  may  re- 
cover ;  while  sub-arachnoid  hsmorrhage  has 
been  foond  constantly  fotal  within  eighty 


Treatment  in  Cholera. 

A  physician  of  Freienwalde  has  it  is  said* 
in  the  "Medic.  Zeitung,"  proved  the  acetate  of 
lead,  with  strychnine,  to  be  effectual  in  causing 
the  immediate  cessation  of  the  vomiting  in  spo- 
radic cholera  and  in  tending  to  the  speedy  cure 
of  that  disease.  The  urinary  secreUon  is,  how- 
ever, suspended  under  its  emplojrment,  some- 
times for  as  long  a  time  as  two  days.  Dr. 
Steinbach,  of  Brandenburg,  is  an  advocate  for 
the  acetate  in  the  same  disease,  but  in  combi- 
nation with  a  solution  of  pure  tannin.  This 
mixture,  he  says,  is  specially  indicated  in  the 
cases  in  which  a  softening  of  the  gastro-intes- 
tinal  mucous  membrane  is  present 


BTerrone  Headache,  fte. 
A  physician  of  Marseilles  has  found 
headaches  of  a  kind  dependent  on  nerv- 
ous disturbance,  obstinate  tic  doloureaux, 
&c.,  curable  by  Ae  application  of  Uquor 
ammonia  {Vammoniaqut  depuis  le  vingt- 
cinquieme  degre  jusmi*  au  trente-deuxtemet) 
on  a  dossil  oflint,  to  the  alveolar  border  of  the 
palate.  The  solution  is  to  be  retained  in  con- 
tact with  the  mucous  membrane  immediately 
within  the  teeth,  until  an  abundant  effiision  of 
tears  is  excited,  when  the  exacerbation  of  pain 
will  suddenly  cease.  This  remedy  proves 
more  efficient  against  tic  doloureaux  attack- 
ing the  frontal  and  facial  than  the  occipital 
nerves ;  but  it  has  been  successful  in  several 
authenticated  instances  in  which  the  latter 
have  been  the  seat  of  pain. 


Pathology  of  Tetaniu. 
At  the  autopsy  of  a  patient  who  died  in 
the  Hotel  Dieu  of  Paris,  with  tetanus  super- 
vening on  fracture  of  the  Iqg,  numerous  ecchy- 
moses  were  found  on  the  fibrous  sheath  of  the 
spinal  cord ;  and  external  to  that  membrane 
a  collection  of  black  and  liquid  blood  occupied 
the  lower  part  of  the  vertebral  canal  to  the 
height  of  five  or  six  inches.  The  spinal  cord 
itself  was  softened  throughout  its  lower  two- 
thirds,  and  closely  adherent  to  its  pia  mater ; 
and  the  ramoUissement  continued  though  in  a 
less  degree,  to  the  occipital  foramen,  termina- 
ting just  below  the  corpora  pyramidalia. 
Withm  the  camium  the  pia  mater  was  obser- 
ved to  be  greatl}'  injected,  and  there  was  ex- 
tensive softening  of  the  left  anterior  and  mid- 
dle lobes  of  the  brain.  In  the  sciatic  nerve  of 
the  right  side  the  side  of  the  fractures  ecchy- 
mosis  and  inflammation  were  perceptible,  but 
there  was  neither  in  the  nerve  of  the  opposite 
side.  (It  should  be  stated  that  the  autopsy 
was  not  made  until  fifty  hours  after  deatM 
Numerous  other  cases  are  cited,  in  which 
softening  of  the  nervous  organs  and  similar 
appearances  have  been  observed ;  but  tetanus 
has  occurred  without  such  having  been  after- 
wards discoverable.— AfcAii?.  Oen.  de  la  Med., 
April,  l9^,^London  Lamcet, 


44 


'  Pathological  Reaearehe^y  ^c. 


The  pathology  of  these  cases,  confinns 
what  we  had  formed  of  the  disease  in  a  case 
of  a  lady,  to  whom  we  were  called  in  con- 
sultation about  15  years  since.  Tetauus 
came  on  in  consequence  of  an  injury  (from 
a  puncture  of  a  nail,)  to  the  fore-finger  of 
the  right  hand.  After  sufiering  a  number  of 
days,  we  found  her  in  a  comatose  and  appa- 
enfly  hopeless  state  with  opisthotonus,  from 
which  she  could  not  be  aroused,  but  shaved 
the  top  of  the  head,  and  cupped  her  freely 
and  obtained  about  12  ounces  of  blood,  when 
she  awoke,  and  from  that  time  became 
ralescent,  and  soon  recovered  her  health. 
Tetanus. 

7>  the  Edilor.Sir.  —In  a  late  number  of 
Tbb  Lancet,  I  find  an  account  of  the  post- 
mortem appearances  in  a  case  of  tetanus.  As 
the  patholo^  of  the  disease  does  not  appear 
to  be  understood,  1  would  ask  irhether,  ajfri- 
m,  me  shoukl  not  suppose  it  lo  depend  on  an 
irritable  and,  in  some  cases,  an  inflammatory 
state  of  the  •  pinal  cordi  If  this  iuference  bie 
correct,  what  is  the  treatment  indicated  1 

I.  Laj^  bleeding,  to  subdue  irritation 
and  control  the  spasms. 

If.  BlistPring  along  the  whole  spine. 

III.  Calomeiin  large  doses,  combined  with 
opium,  continued  until  its  specific  action  on 
the  system  is  induced. 

I  am  aware  that  each  of  these  means  has 
been  tried,  severally,  and  with  various  results, 
but  I  have  not  met  with  any  case  of  their  con- 
joint use.    I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 
H.  Whitworth. 
St,  Agneij  Aug.  23, 1843.— Londom  Lahcbt. 

Paralfsis  of  the  Bladder,  oured  by  the  Tino- 
tvre  of  Oantharidee. 

A  patient  was  lately  admitted  into  the  Ho* 
pital  de  la  Pitie  with  paralysis  of  the  bladder, 
tor  the  relief  of  which  all  ordinary  methods 
of  treatment  had  failed.  M.  Lisfranc  order- 
ed the  direct  application  of  tincture  of  can- 
tharides  to  the  oladder  by  the  following  mode : 
One  drop  of  the  tincture  was  let  into  the  or^an 
through  a  catheter,  and  followed  by  an  injec- 
tion of  simple  lukewarm  water.  Next  day 
two  drops  were  similarly  instilled,  and  the 
like  operation  was  repeated  night  and  mor- 
ning for  several  succeeding  days,  an  addition- 
al drop  of  the  tincture  being  added  on  each 
successive  occasion.  By  this  method  of 
treatment  a  cure  was  soon  effected.  M.  Lis- 
franc found  no  perceptible  Irritation  to  result 
from  the  use  ot  the  tincture  in  an  undiluted 
£)rm,  while  the  direct  application  of  the  re- 
medv  to  the  organ  affected,  was  clearly  pre- 
ferable, in  every  respect  to  its  internal  admin- 
istration.—IfOfk/m  Lancet. 

Violent  inflammation^would  have  been  the 
lesult,  if  this  tincture  had  been  applied  to  a 


serous  aoriace  connected  witii  the  nervee  of 
sensation ;  but  in  this  case  it  was  the  moter 
nerves  only  in  which  it  came  in  contact,  and 
hence  the  importance  of  the  distinction  as  in 
this  case  between  the  sensibility  of  the  one, 
and  the  insensibility  of  the  other. 

Pathologioal  Reeearohee  Into  the  Looal  Oaiuea 
of  Dealhesf 

Baa«d  on  One  Hundred  and  Twenty  Disst^dons  of  ihe 
Hamin  Ear  By  Josbph  Toynbxb,  F.  R.  8.,  Sur- 
geon to  Bt  QeoTge'B  and  St.  James's  Dispensary. 

The  researches  of  which  this  is  a  summary 
view,  are  in  continuation  pf  a  previous  paper 
con-«^  contained  in  the  24th  volume  of  the  Soci^y*s 
"  Transactions."  The  principal  pmctical  con- 
clusions to  which  they  lead  is,  that  the  most 
common  cause  of  deafness  is  chronic  inflam- 
mation of  the  mucous  membrane  which  lines 
the  tympanic  cavity;  and  that  by  far  the 
greater  majority  of  cases  conunonly  called 
nervous  deafness  ought,  more  properly  to  be 
attributed  to  this  cause.  The  pathological 
conditions  to  which  inflammation  of  the  mu- 
cous membrane  gives  rise  are  divided  in  the 
papers  into  three  stages. 

ItL  the  first  stage,  me  membrane  retains  its 
natural  delicacy  of  structure  though  its  blood 
vessels  are  considerably  enlarged  and  contort- 
ed ;  blood  is  efiused  into  its  substance,  or, 
more  frequently,  at  its  attached  surface. 
Blood  has  also  been  found  between  the  mem- 
brane and  the  membrane  of  the  fenestra  ro- 
tunda, and  in  very  acute  cases  lymph  is  effii- 
sed  over  its  free  surface. 

The  second  sta^  is  characterized  by  the 
following  pathological  conditions : 

First,  the  membrane  is  very  thick,  often 
pulpy  and  flocculent  In  this  state  the  tym- 
panic plexus  of  nerves  becomes  concealed, 
the  base  and  crura  of  the  stapes  are  frequent- 
ly entirely  embedded  in  it,  while  the  fenestra 
rotunda  appears  only  like  a  superficial  depres- 
sion on  the  swollen  membrane. 

Second,  concretions  of  various  kinds  are 
visible  on  the  surface  of  the  thickened  mem- 
brane. In  some  cases,  these  have  the  con- 
sistence of  cheese,  and  are  analagoua  to 
tuberculous  matter ;  in  othere  they  are  fiibro- 
calcareous,  and  exceedingly  hard. 

Third,  by  far  the  most  nequent  and  pecu* 
liar  chaiuctehstic  of  this  second  stage  of  the 
disease  is  the  formation  of  the  membranous 
bands  between  various  parts  of  the  tympanic 
cavity.  These  bands  at  times  are  so  numer* 
ous  as  to  occupy  nearly  the  entire  cavity; 
sometimes  they  connect  the  inner  surface  of 
the  membrana  tympani  to  the  internal  wall 
of  the  ^^panum,  to  the  stapes,  and  to  the 
incu&  They  have  also  been  detected  between 
the  malleous  and  the  promontory,  as  well  «■ 


Changes  of  Mercurials  in  the  System^  ^c 


46 


Iwtween  the  incus,  the  walls  of  the  tympanum, 
and  the  sheath  of  the  tensor  tympam  mus- 
cle, as  well  as  between  various  parts  of  the 
drcomference  of  the  fenestra  rotunda;  but 
tiic  place  where  the  adhesions  are  most  fre- 
quently visible  is  between  the  crura  of  the 
stapes  and  the  adjoining  walls  of  the  tympa- 
nic cavity  ;  this  was  the  case  in  twenty-four 
instances  out  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  dis- 
sections, being  a  fifth  of  the  number.  These 
kinds  of  adhesions  sometimes  contain  blood 
and  Bcrofolous  mater. 

In  the  third  state  of  inflammation  of  the 
membrane,  it  becomes  ulcerated,  the  mem- 
brani  tympani  is  destroyed,  and  the  tensor 
tympam  muscle  is  atrophied.  The  sosicular 
auditus  are  diseased,  and  ultimately  discharg- 
ed from  the  ear,  and  the  disease  not  unfie- 
quently  communicates  itself  to  the  tympanic 
walls,  afiecting  also  the  brain  and  other  im- 
portant organs. 

OhaxicvB  of  MercnrlAla  in  tha  SystMS. 

The  fact  that  calomel  could  be  converted 
into  conosive  saUimate  in  the  system,  was 
known  many  jean  ago.  But  the  exact  dr- 
cumstances  of  this  transformation  were  not 
suflicieDtlj  ondentood.  Mialhe,  in  an  ela^ 
boiate  set  of  experiments  on  the  subject  (Ann 
de  Ciumie,  v.  160,)  says,  the  action  occurs 
wheo  calomel  is  brought  in  con  tact  with  asolu- 
tion  of  an  alkaliae  cnlohde»  that  the  quantity 
of  sublimate  formed  is  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  alkaline  chloride  present,  and  the 
action  increases  in  proportion  to  the  concen- 
tration of  the  alkaline  chloride.  His  experi- 
ments were  made  with  conunon  salt  and  sal- 
ammoniac.  The  action  is  much  increased 
by  the  presence  of  air  and  dextrine,  but  is 
Tetaided  by  fat  and  gum.  By  simply  boiling 
calomel  in  distilled  water,  sublimate  is  form- 
ed. Mialhe  extended  his  obser^'ations  to  all 
the  compounds  of  mercury,  and  obtained 
similar  results.  He  condudes  that  it  is  cor- 
rosive sublimate  which  is  the  active  aeent  in 
medicine.  If  this  idea  should  be  connnned, 
it  should  lead  to  the  substitution  of  this  fonn 
of  mereury  for  all  others.  The  same  che- 
mist recommends  the  hydrated  proto-sulphu- 
let  of  iron  as  a  complete  antidote  to  corro- 
aiveimblimate.  To  prepare  it  copperas  is  to 
be  pcedpitaled  with  dydrosulphuret  of  so- 
dium, the  predpitate  washed  and  preserved 
in  an  air-tight  bottle. — Br.  R.  D.  Thomson  in 
Proceedings  ofCHasgow  Philosopfucal  Society, 
'Jfo^  4. 


of  these,  which  weie  cases  of  litbotrity,  all  the 
patients  survived.  Of  the  other  eighteen  cases 
in  which  lithotomy  was  performed,  eleven 
were  attended  with  perfect  success,  and  the  re- 
covery of  the  patient,  but  the  seven  remaining 
temiinated  in  death,  in  one  case  two  months 
after  tiie  operation ;  and  in  the  rest  only  from 
two  to  five  days.^  In  these  seven,  two  of  the 
patients  were  upwards  of  seventy  years  of  age. 
Of  the  whole  twenty-four  individuals  opera&d 
on,  thirteen  were  from  three  to  twenty-five 
yeaiB,  three  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  years, 
and  eight  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  years ; — a 
proportion  which  seems  to  indicate  that  calcu- 
lus IS  more  frequent  in  youth  than  in  age,  and 
that  middle  life  is  nearly  exempt  from  its  ac- 
cess. In  1841  six  natientB  were  operated  on 
in  the  same  hospital  by  M.  Roux,  on  four  of 
whom  lithotomy,  and  on  two  litbotrity  vras 
practised.  The  mortality  in  this  year  was 
greater  than  in  any  of  the  ^Ye  prececung ;  five 
out  of  the  six  patients  died ;  smd  the  case  of 
recovery  was  one  in  which  lithotomy  had 
been  employed. — Gazette  Med.,  No  47. 

ttatlstles  of  Aaal  FUtvla. 

During  the  five  years  from  1836  to  1840  in- 
cltisive,  119  patients  were  operated  on  at  the 
Hotel  Dieu,  Paris  for  fistula  m  ano.  Of  these 
persons  110  left  the  hospital  cured,  and  9  (or  1 
m  12)  died.  The  mor&lity  from  the  opera- 
tion was  progressively  less  in  proportion 
from  the  first  to  the  last  mentioned  year.  Of 
the  119  individuals  operated  on,  32  were  of 
ages  between  15  and  25  (4  only  being  under 
20  yeara  of  age,)  55  from  25  to  40,  and  32 
between  40  and  60  yeare  old  (only  3  being 
more  than  51  years  old.)  Only  12  of  the 
whole  119  were  females.  Sedentary  occu- 
pations, and  whatever  is  productive  of  habit- 
ual constipation,  have  been  considered  fruitful 
cases  of  fistula ;  but  the  evidence  elicited  from 
the  individuals  suffering  from  the  disease 
was  by  no  means  corroborative  of  such  state- 
ments. The  patients  induded  indifferently 
sawyera,  carpenters,  masons,  bakere,  porters, 
and  other  persons  accustomed  to  perpetual  ex- 
ercise, as  well  as  tailors,  bootmakera,  cutlers, 
cabinet-makere,  and  othera  employed  in  se- 
dentary purauits.  Some  connection  of  fistula 
with  a  tuberculous  diatheds  seemed,  how- 
ever, to  be  apparent — Gazette  Medkale  de 
Paris, 


Stattetioa  pf  Uibiotomr* 
In  the  five  years,  1836  to  1840  indudve, 
twenty-four  operations  for  stone  in  the  bladder 
took  pboe  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  in  Paris.    Ladx 


The  Hartford  Journal  says,  that  Dr.  John 
S.  Wolcott,  son  of  the  late  Governor  Wolcott, 
and  the  last  of  the  Wolcotts  in  Litchfield, 
died  suddenly  on  the  22d  instant,  from 
putting  arsenic  in  a  tooth  to  aleviate  the 
toothache. 


46 


Spontcmeatts  Cure  of  Ovarian  Dropsy y  ^c 


Dr  F  Bird,  Physician  to  the  Metropolitan 
Free 'Hospital,  has  lately  successfully  extir- 
pated a  dropsied  ovarium,  on  which  para- 
^ntesis  had  been  performed  no  less  than^ 
Umes.  The  incision  was  made  on  the  ngni 
side  a  little  below  the  umbilicus,  and  the  tu- 
mor, after  being  discharged  of  its  contents, 
was  withdrawn  to  the  outside  of  the  abdomen, 
and  separated,  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
FaUopian  tube,  by  the  help  of  silken  liga- 
tures placed  round  its  pedicle.  The  recovery 
was  aJ  first  slow  and  doubtful,  but  at  the  end 
of  three  weeks,  the  patient  was  quite  conva- 
lescent and  is  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  pertect 
health.  The  solid  portion  of  the  tumor  was 
little  larger  than  an  orange,  but  wten  filled  it 
would  contain  about  two  gaUons  of  fluid,  and 
weighed  upwards  of  twenty  pounds.— I-<w«to» 
lancet. 

These  ovarian  tumors  which  terminate  in 
dropsy,  are  cases  of  tubercular  disease  of  the 
ovaria,  in  which  there  is  more  or  less  pain 
produced  by  pressure  on  the  lumber  verte- 
bne,  as  in  the  case  of  tubercular  disease  of 
the  uterus,  of  which  the  ovary  are  an  ap- 
pendage. Disease  of  the  ovaria  may  how- 
ever be  distinguished  from  that  of  the  uterus, 
by  the  difference  in  the  size  of  the  breasts— 
the  largest  being  on  the  same  side  of  the 
diseased  ovaria,  in  consequence  of  atrophia 
of  that  on  the  opposite  side.  We  have  found 
these  symptoms  to  be  constant  in  twenty-six 
cases  of  undoubted  disease  of  the  ovaria,  in 
which  eight  had  terminated  in  dropsy. 


Masonlar  ICotion. 
Numerous  experiments  on  the  relatire  heat 
and  pulsation  of  animals,  under  different  lat- 
itudes have  shown  that  men  in  this  climate, 
pulsate,  on  an  average,  78  times  in  a 
minute,  while  in  the  Canadas  they  do  not 
exceed  57.  This  circumstance  affords  proof 
positive  of  the  fact  that  the  transitions 
from  heat  to  cold,  vary  the  powers  of  pulsa- 
tion. The  common  vKUch  is  computed  to  tick 
17,154  times  in  one  hour.  This  is  411,686 
times  a  day,  and  consequently  150,165,390  in 
a  year,  supposing  the  year  to  be  but  366  days : 
and  as  some  watches  do,  by  care,  preserve 
their  powers  of  action  for  100  years,  wc 
have  the  gross  number  of  15,016,539,000 
times  for  one  time-piece.  Now,  although  the 
watch  is  formed  of  hard  metal,  and  therefore, 
to  all  appearance,  is  likely  to  endure  long, 
yet,  man  possesses,  within  him  a  piece  of  mar 
chinery  composed  of  an  extremely  soft  mate- 
rial, which  beats  nearly  5,000  times  every 
hour,  120,000  times  each  day,  and  43,000,000 
times  per  year ;  and  consequently  4,380,000,- 
000  times  in  100  year&— an  age  frequently 
attained  by  healthy  persons  who  lead  tempe- 
rate lives.  This  piece  of  machinery  is  the 
Heart, 


Spontaneous  Owe  of  OvBrlan  Dropsy* 
The  following  case  is  recorded  by  M.  Hay, 
at  Altena,  in  Prussian  Westphalia.    A  wo- 
man, aged  forty-eight,  who  had  previously 
been  in  perfect  health,  was  the  subject  for 
eome  time  of  great  uneasiness  in  the  hypo- 
gastrium,  when  at  length,  on  the  right  side  of 
Sxe  abdomen,  immediately  above  the  ramus 
of  the  pubis,  there  appeared  a  laige  tumor, 
flomewhat  moveable,  and  uneoually  distend- 
ing the  abdominal  parietes.    The  accompa- 
nying symptoms  were  pain  in  the  thighs  and 
^e  nght  leg ;  the  lower  extremities  (Edema- 
tous, dyspnoea,  &c.      The    clear  diagnosis 
furnished  of  ovarian  dropsy  had  induced  the 
practitioner  to  advise  the  operation  of  para- 
centesis, which  was  on  the  point  of  being 
performed,  when  a  large  serous  discharge  is- 
sued from  the  vagina  and  lasted  about  four 
day8»  at  the  close  of  which  time  the  tumor 
and  all  its  concomitants   disappeared.      It 
should  be  mentioned  that  this  aiSection  had 
no  influence  either  in  stopping  or  diminish- 
ing die  menstrual  discharge ;  only  one  ovary 
therefore,  appears  to  have  been  a&cted. — 
MedkinUdu  Zeitung. 


New  Pessmiles. 

Mr.  Snow  laid  before  the  Westminster  So- 
ciety at  its  last  meeting,  some  pessaries 
which  he  had  invented,  consisting  of  sponge 
cut  into  a  globular  form  and  tied  up  in  oiled 
silk,  in  such  a  manner  that,  when  compressed, 
the  ^r  contained  in  the  interstices  of  the 
sponge  was  displaced  from  the  instrument, 
whicn  was  thus  reduced  in  size,  but  gradual- 
ly returned  to  its  original  dimensions  when 
the  pressure  was  discontinued.  He  said  that, 
by  this  capability  of  being  reduced  in  size, 
the  pessaries  were  very  easy  of  introduction; 
he  had  found  them  more  effectual  and  create 
less  uneasiness  than  any  other  kind  which  he 
had  used ;  and  as  the  oiled  silk  protected  the 
sponge  from  all  extraneous  matters,  they 
were  calculated  to  be  durable.  He  had  got 
Mr.  Read,  R^nt-circus,  to  make  them  for 
him. — Lancet. 

This  new  invention,  like  many  others  in 
our  father  land,  is  an  old  invention  in  this 
country.  It  was  used  here  more  than  20 
years  ago,  in  cases  of  prolapsus  uteri,  with 
ulceration,  when  the  pressure  of  no  other 
pessary  could  be  borne.  Its  use  here  is 
now  mostly  confined  to  these  cases.  The 
glass  pessary,  is,  however,  on  many  ac- 
counts, much  the  neatest  and  best  for  com- 
mon cases. 


Tubereuhus  Deposite  in  the  Pia  Mater ,  4rc^ 


47 


TvbercvloM  Dspeclu  la  th*  Pia  Mater. 
The  following  case  (s  selected  from  a  num- 
ber of  others  of  a  similar  kind  in  a  late  num- 
ber of  the  •*  Joum.  de  la  Soc.  de  Med.  de 
Nantes."    A  young  man,  twenty-five  years 
of  age,  had  long  suffered  from  disease  of  the 
heart;  he  was  seized  with  inflammation  of 
the  left  pleura,  which  became  afterwards 
complicated  'with  pneumonia  and  pericarditis 
Ifie  disease  proTed fatal,  and  towards  the  ter- 
nunation  of  his  life  he  daily  had  fits  of  an 
epileptic  character,  losing  consciousness  for 
some  minutes,  his  face  becoming  purpled 
and  his  arm  agitated  by  involuntary  move 
ments.    After  death,  on  the  middle  and  pos- 
lenor  portions  of  the  ri^t  hemisphere  of  the 
biain,  many  tubeicnlous  deposites,  of  a  grey 
or  bluish  color,  underneath  which  parts,  the 
brsin  was  in  a  softened  state.    Deposites  of 
tile  like  nature  were  discovered  on  the  infe- 
natsaifaiee  of  the  cerebral  lobes,  on  the  up- 
per suTface  of  the  cerebellum,  and  in  other 
parts  of  ^e  pia  mater.    In  the  thorax,  the 
neaxt  was  found  hypertrophied,  and  adhe- 
rent to  &e  pencardium ;  adherences  also  ex- 
isfeedbetween  fbt  light  pleurae  puhnonalis  and 
eostaHs;  the  kft  lung  was  partially  hepa- 
liaed,  and  there  were  numerous  tubercles  in 
the  bronchia]  glands,  hvt  none  existed  in  the 
hmgs.    It  is  smgnlar  also  that  the  patient  is 
not  stated  to  have  ever  been  dehrious  during 
his  malady. — ^Lahcxt. 

Tubercular  disease  of  the  brain  is  a 
eomnum  cause  of  insanity.  We  have  a  cas^ 
of  a  lady  who  had  been  insane  about  a  year, 
and  in  whom  we  detected  tubercular  disease 
of  the  brain  by  the  magnetic  symptoms,  and 
y/rbo  became  perfectly  sane  in  seven  week^ 
tiieieafter»  under  the  influence  of  the  magnet^ 
iaed  gold  pill.  She  has  continued  sane  to 
fliis  time»  now  more  than  six  months. 

Another  Wonder. 
We  learn  from  the  Bangor  Democrat,  that 
a  successful  surreal  operation  was  perform- 
ed on  a  woman  m  Bangor  on  Monday,  while 
she  was  in  the  magnetic  sleep.  The  lady  is 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  D^vis,  of  Jarvis 
Gore,  (Penobscot  Co.)  She  was  thrown  in- 
to the  mesmeric  state,  when  a  tumor  was  re- 
moved from  her  shoulder  by  Dr.  Rich. 
While  he  was  performing  the  operation. 
Mrs.  D.  exhibited  no  other  s3rmptoms  of  suf- 
fering than  a  sl^ht  twitohing  of  the  muscles 
and  a  compression  of  the  lips.  When  awak- 
ened, she  was  unconscious  that  any  thin^ 
nnusnal  had  taken  place  in  regard  to  herself 
^-fihe  did  not  know  that  the  tumor  had  been 
lemoTed  until  informed  by  others.  The 
parties  are  all  Ie8pe6tid>le,  says  the  Democrat 


PhTslologr  of  tho  BplMU. 
Our  professor  of  anatomy,  Dr.  Hargrave» 
has  paid  some  attention  to  the  subject,  and  he 
concludes  that  its  chief  use  is  to  receive  the 
blood,  as  a  temporary  reservoir,  or  diverticu- 
lum, when  any  obstruction  in  the  heart, 
lungs  or  liver,  renders  it  necessary  that  they 
should  be  relieved  from  the  pressure  of  that 
fluid.  The  absence  of  valves  in  the  splenic 
veins  permits  of  regurgitation,  and  other 
circumstances  render  this  opinion  probable. 
He  always  conceives  that  it  performs  a  simi- 
lar office  for  the  mucous  membrane  and  the 
skin.  When  the  blood  is  driven  from  those 
membranes  by  cold  or  rigors,  it  is  received 
into  the  spleen  for  the  time,  and  returned  to 
the  general  circulation  as  soon  as  the  balance 
of  the  circulation  is  restored  in  those  organs. 
Certainly  the  phenomena  of  intermittent  fe- 
vers go  far  to  support  this  opinion. — Dr. 
Benson's  Lectures ;  Vub.  Med,  Press. 


Post  Mortom  Spleens. 

To  the  Editor.— Sir:  The  quantity  of 
crude  speculations  which  your  readere  have 
lately  been  presented  with  on  the  office  of  the 
spleen  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  by  your 
lengthened  summary,  showing  the  result  to 
be  even  more  jejune  than  might  have  been 
feared  by  those  who  ^ere  aware  of  the  ina- 
nity of  the  subject.  To  sum  up  your  sum- 
ming up,  nothing  is  yet  known  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  spleen.  Still  these  canvassings 
of  opinions,  if  brief,  are  {u;reeable  enough. 
Every  one,  perhaps,  has  his  peculiar  opi- 
nions on  the  use  of  the  spleen.  I  expect 
however,  that  you  will  never  know  the  truth 
until  you  meet  with  a  case  of  opening  in  the 
abdomen  opposite  the  spleen,  as  there  was 
with  regard  to  the  stomach,  permitting  the 
changes  to  be  observed  as  they  occur,  and 
then  my  opinion  is  that  you  would  see, — 
what  you  would  see. 

But  I  would  beg  to  know  whether  the  pa- 
tholc^'  of  the  spken  be  not  as  defective  as 
its  pnysiology .'  Whether  the  cases  you 
have  published  {passim)  of  spleen  disease  be 
not  erroneously  stated  ?  And  I  would  add 
an  appendix  to  this  spleen  dispute,  in  a  few 
words  on  the  morbid  appearances  thereof. 

I  had  an  opportunity,  when  assistant  to 
Dr.  Hodgkin,  of  carefully  observing  the  state 
of  the  spleen  in  many  hundred  inspections, 
and  I  noticed  the  singular  variations  of  char- 
acter that  it  presents,  particularly  the  yery 
soft  and  pulpy  state,  which  was  usually  as- 
cribed to  the  efiecte  of  inflammation  or  spe- 
cific disease.  "  See  how  inflamed  tbe  spleen 
is  ?"  Cases  have  been  thus  described  in  your 
journal.  Now,  this  is  only  tiie  result  ojf  a 
general  atony,  or  relaxation  of  fibre,  1nit» 


48 


Medicinal  EmplojfmefU  of  Iron  and  Iodine, 


owing  to  the  peculiar  structure  of  the  spleen, 
most  marked  or  pronounced  in  that  organ. 
It  follows  chronic  diseases,  prostration,  ty- 
phus in  hot  weather,  gangrene,  hsemorrhagic 
diathesis,  purpura,  petechia,  &c.  The  worst 
case  was  where  the  spleen  was  quite  a 
pulpv,  &c. 

Along  with  the-  spleen,  the  kidney,  liver, 
heart,  hrain,  &c.,  are  in  a  degree  softened. — 
There  is  cadaveric  exudation  ;  the  course  of 
the  veins  conspicuous.  Other  splenic  pheno- 
mena are  very  interesting  and  important  as 
concerned  in  latal  accidents.  The  duties  of 
a  coroner  will  be  badly  performed  by  one 
ignorant  on  these  points.  Your  obedient  ser- 
vant, H.  P. 
April  16. 

The  editor  of  the  London  Lancet  continues 
to  rail  against  animal  magnetism,  to  gratify 
the  prejudices  of  a  certain  class  of  his  rea- 
ders— ^the  old  ladies  in  breeches,  who  imag- 
ined they  had  monopolised  all  the  knowledge 
in  the  healing  art 

Weak  and  bigoted  men  always  gratify  their 
vanity  in  opposing  the  introduction  of  ad- 
ditions to  our  knowledge,  which  not  being 
taught  in  the  schools  in  which  they  were 
educated,  are  consequently,  above  their  com- 
prehension. The  fury  with  which  such  self- 
sufficient  philosophers  opposed  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  theory  of  the  Copemican  system 
of  astronomy  is  equalled  only  by  that  with 
which  they  now  oppose  the  introduction  of 
the  theory  of  the  magnetism  of  the  human 
system.  "  Do  we  not  see  the  sun  rise  in  the 
east, — ^move  through  the  heavens  and  set  in 
the  west?  and  must  we  now  believe  against 
the  plain  evidence  of  our  own  senses,  that 
the  earth  moves  around  the  sun !  and  does 
not  the  Bible  say  that  the  sun  rises  in  the 
east  and  sets  in  the  west  ?  What  sacrilege ! 
Bring  the  faggots,  and  we'll  consign  these 
new  philosophers  to  the  flames !"  exclaimed 
the  bigots,  and  Copernicus  barely  escaped 
those  flames,  by  refusing  to  allow  his  work 
to  appear  until  the  day  of  his  death ! 


Iffedioiaal  Bmploymont  of  Iron  and  lodln*. 
Diabetet  cured  by  Iodine  of  Iron.— B.,  a 
man,  forty  years  of  age,  of  a  naturally  strong 
constitution,  and  who  had  usually  enjoyed 
eood  health,  became  subject,  without  any 
J3iown  cause,  to  a  difficult  of  digestion,  ae- 


compaiued  by  a  feetinff  of  tightness  in  the  epi- 
gastric region,  diminiwed  appetite,  insatiable 
thirst,  increase  of  urine,  and,  in  short,  all  the 
other  symptoms  of  diabetes,  on  which  ac- 
count, a  few  months  since,  he  went  into  the 
Hotel  Dieu  at  Paris.  For  three  weeks  previ- 
ously he  had  passed  daily  between  three  and 
four  gallons  of  saccharine  urine,  when  he  was 
put  on  a  course  of  ioduret  of  iron  to  the  amount 
of  about  fifteen  grains  in  the  twenty-four 
hours,  in  four  doses,  accompanied  with  a  ge- 
nerous diet,  which,  however,  had  been  previ- 
ously employed  alone  without  any  salutary 
effect  Under  this  treatment  the  quantity  of 
urine  began  at  once  to  diminish,  and  in  three 
days  the  quantity  passed  daily  was  less  than 
three  gallons,  and  the  urine  contained  muck 
less  sugar.  The  thirst  also  was  considerably 
lessened.  Within  a  short  time  afterwards  the 
quantity  of  urine  had  decreased  to  a  gallon 
daily.  The  same  treatment  was  continued 
which  had  been  pursued  throughout,  and  five 
days  afterwaids  the  patient  was  dischaiged 
ciued. 

Prurigo. — ^A  solution  of  iodide  of  potas- 
sium has  been  found  of  considerable  benefit 
as  an  external  application  in  prurigo;  and 
in  M.  Lisfranc's  practice  the  use  of  ic^nehas 
prevented  the  extension  of  cancerous  sores, 
though  it  has  not  superseded  the  use  of  the 
knife.— Gflwr.  desHop.,  Oct  1842. 

Hydrocele. — M.  Serre  also  recommends  the 
employment  of  this  remedial  agent  in  solu- 
tion (one  part  of  tinct.  iod.,  to  four  parts  of 
water)  as  an  injection  into  the  tunica  vagina- 
lis after  the  operation  for  hydrocele,  in  pre^ 
ference  to  wine,  to  which  he  seems  to  show 
it  is  generally  superior  in  every  point  of  view. 
— DExperience. 

Tendinous  Ho-nnion. 
M.  Berard  lately  exhibited  to  the  French 
Acad,  of  Med.  a  preparation  of  the  tendo- 
Achillis,  which  had  been  divided  six  mondis 
previously,  but  had  become  united  again  by 
an  intermediate  substance  of  a  character  difler- 
ent  from  the  tendo-Achillis  itself,  to  both  cut 
extremities  of  which  it  was,  however,  closely 
adherent  M.  Berard  finds  that  bv  dividing 
this  tendon  in  the  case  of  fracture  of  the  fibula 
with  dislocation  of  the  foot  outwards,  this  ac- 
cident, otherwise  so  difficult  of  remedy,  be- 
comes easily  repaired — London  Lancet, 


ActlTo  Ointment  of  Me  sorooa. 
Herr  Hoffinann,  a  chemist,  of  Landaa, 
makes  a  venr  active  preparation  by  dissolving 
a  diachm  of  the  alcobmic  extract  of  mezeie* 
on  in  four  drachms  of  akohol,  and  mijdng 
the  solution  with  about  4i  lbs  (avoird.)  (3 
lard.  Thisointment  is  said  to  be  a  very  ei&- 
cient  counter-iiritant — LanaL 


1 


New  Pkrmolofficat  Organs. 


49 


V«w  Phrenolofical  Organs. 
On  a  oompaiison  of  the  great  aod  iatal 
disparity  in  the  results,  both  in  the  number 
and  aitaatioa  of  the  new  phrenological  or- 
gans, obtained  in  exciting  di&rent  parts  of 
tiie  brain  in  the  nesmeric  state,  by  Messrs. 
Towleia,  Snnderiand,  Buchanan,  and  King, 
&ey  an  now  satisfactorily  accounted  for, 
wifli  a  teiy  few  exceptions,  (marked  f,)— 
Mne  by  their  having  excited  (^posite  sides 
of  ib&  same  oigan,  and  others  by  their  hay- 
ii^  excited  portions  of  diiBferent  oigans,  at 
the  mme  time.  With  such  a  license  with  the 
bniB,  me  can,  Hke  an  old  fiddle,  play  any 
time  upon  it  that  may  suit  die  propensitite  of 
&e  maryellotis. 

There  appears,  however,  to  be  no  doubt 
tat  some  of  these  are  true  <»gan&  The  ver- 
ttiiorm  process  in  the  median  line  of  th^  ce- 
feibellnm,  is  apparently  the  organ  of  vohmta- 
jy  motion.  Tius  motion  is  interrupted  in 
dMRta,  or  St  Vitutf'  dance,  which  is  tuber- 
cular disease  oi  this  <iigan,  as  is  disclosed 
hy  fbe  magnetic  symptoms.*  In  fifteen  riculls 

-Catelmsf  Md  Bpikpsr  are  CUM  «r  talMfXMikr  di». 


of  different  nations,  we  found  a  prominence 
in  thirteen  on  the  under  and  back  part  of 
them,  or  under  the  natural  situation  of  that 
process  in  the  skull.  The  accuracy  of  the 
organs  of  penetration  and  thirstiness  are  also 
confiimed  by  our  observations,  independent 
of  those  made  by  exciting  the  oigans  in  the 
mesmeric  state. 


1.  iBdiTidoaUty. 

2.  Fonn. 

91.  Imitation. 

3.  Langoage. 

26.  Suavity,  t 

4.  8ixe. 

20.  PenetratioiLt 

&  Wdght 

2r.  Benevolence. 

6.  Color. 

28.  Veneration. 

7.  Order. 

m.  BelfBelMin. 

aThiittmen.t 

la  Alim«ntivene«. 

12.  CoBatraciiyiOMM. 

31  Aznativenew. 

13.  Tone. 

36.  Vokmt»i7MoUo&.t 

14.  Time. 

36.  CombaUveneM. 

16.  LocaUty. 

37.  Connubial  Love.t 

16.  ETentuality. 

17.  Compariflon. 

381  OmeDtation.t 

la  CaoMtlity. 

19.  ICrllif^lMM. 

41.  CoHeclattt&otfBMM. 

Sa  UMlky. 

42.  CaHtivMBaM. 

9LBAhmkj. 

22.  Hope. 

50    Comments  on  soma  DoctHnea  of  a  Dangerous  Tendency^  ^e. 


Mr.  BurriU,  the  "learned  blacksmith^'  to  the 
Rev.  Le  Roy  Swuterland, 
"  A  few  months  ago  I  received  a  communi- 
cation from  a  gentleman  residing  in  a  remote 
part  of  the  State,  to  this  effect.  He  had  sent 
a  lad,  in  the  clairvoyant  state  to  the  moon,  where 
he  made  many  discoveries  with  regard  to  the 
inhabitants,  &c.  Having  found  his  wav  into 
a  building  resembling  a  school-house,  he  de- 
tected a  book,  which,  upon  opening,  he  was 
unable  to  read.  At  the  request  of  the  mag- 
netiser,  he  copied  off  twenty-eight  well-form^ 
characters,  as  different  from  each  other  as  the 
letters  of  our  alphabet.  These  were  forward- 
ed to  me  to  compare  with  the  characters  em- 
ployed in  the  Oriental  languages.  A  few 
weeks  afterwards  I  received  another  letter 
from  the  gentleman,  containing  thel  results  of 
another  tour  of  discoveiy  to  the  moon.  The 
lad  saw  things  more  dennitely  this  time ;  and 
took  drawings  of  a  monument  and  a  metallic 
horn.  Upon  the  monument  was  an  inscrip- 
tion, written  in  the  very  characters  which  the 
boy  found  in  the  hook.  I  have  just  written  to 
the  gentleman,  requesting  him  to  begin  a  new 
series  of  experiments  upon  the  moon,  simul- 
taneously with  Mr.  Shepnerd,  and  send  the  re- 
sult to  me.  I  would  therefore  propose  that 
you  do  the  same  with  your  subject,  and  to 
publish  the  result  of  the  three  series  together, 
should  there  be  a  striking  correspondence. — 
The  course  I  have  proposed  to  Mr.  S.  and  the 
other  gentlemen,  was^  to  take  their  subjects  to 
the  north-east  side  of  the  moon,  and  let  them 
proceed  through  to  the  south-west  side;  then, 
horn  the  west  to  the  south-east;  from  north  to 
south ;  and  from  east  to  west ;  describing  what 
they  saw,  as  woald  be  natural  to  a  traveller 
journeying  through  a  new  countiy.  When 
each  of  the  three  subjects  has  been  through  in 
the  above  order,  it  might  be  of  great  interest 
to  compare  their  notes  on  the  moon,*' 


We  understand  that  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Royal  Society  on  the  8th  instant,  a  paper  by 
Dr.  Martin  Barry  was  read,  announcing  his 
discoTery  of  spermatozoa  within  tkemammi' 
ferous  ovum.  The  ova  were  those  of  a 
labbit,  taken,  twenty-four  hours  post  cot^um, 
from  the  Fallopian  tube. — Lancet. 


OoiBinentarI«B  on  som«  Doctrines  of  a  Dan- 

g«rons  Tsndenoy  in  M«dicin«» 

^^  on  the  Qeneral  Principle*  of  S(^  Praetke. 

BT  Sia  AUIZ.  CazCHTOH,  ILD.,  *0. 

A  work  prooeedine  from  an  individual  of 
high  standing,  who  nas  passed  die  greater 
part  of  a  long  career  in  the  active  pursuits  of 
the  profession  of  medicine, — ^in  emy  life  an 
hospital  physician  and  a  teacher  in  London, 


— the  contemporary  of  Drs.  Re3niolds»  War- 
ren, (the  elder,)  and  Pitcaim,  and  numbering 
amonest  his  pupils  the  late  Dr.  Young — ^fa- 
vorabhr  known  to  the  public  as  the  aumor  of 
"  An  uiquiry  into  the  Nature  and  Origin  of 
Mental  Derangement ;"  also  holding,  for 
many  years,  the  appointment  of  physician  to 
the  late  Emperor  Alexander,  of  Russia, — one 
who  has  retired  from  practice,  and  from 
whose  bosom  is  withdrawn  (we  may  pre- 
sume) in  such  a  production  as  this,  every 
motive  save  that  of  a  desire  to  confer  a  bene- 
fit upon  his  fellow  creatures,  being  in  the  79th 
year  of  his  age : — a  work  from  such  asouioe 
demands  attention  and  respect. 

There  are  three  commentaries.  The  great- 
er part  of  the  first  is  occupied  in  demonstrat- 
ing the  erroneous  notion  entertained  by  Hal* 
ler  and  many  of  his  successors,  including  Dr. 
W.  Philip,  of  the  possession  by  the 
arterial  tunics  of  a  muscular  power, 
with  the  fatal  tendency  of  such  an 
error;  but  the  physiological  writers  in  our 
own  Journal  having  generally  held  the  same 
opinion  as  that  of  the  author,  we  need  not 
dwdl  upon  it  now.  One  or  two  statements, 
however,  in  this  part  of  the  book  call  for 
notice. 

Upon  mathematical  data,  furnished  by  the 
late  Dr.  Young,  the  conclusion  is  arrived  at, 
that  a  quick  pulse  is  indicative  of  a  slow  or- 
culation : — 

"The  pulse  may  beat  130  times  per  min- 
ute, and  yet  the  progressive  motion  of  the 
blood  from  ventricle  to  auricle  may  be  slower 
than  in  health."--P.  9. 

The  pulse  being  both  quick  and  weak,  its 
two  most  frec|uent  concomitant  qualities,  the 
above  proposition  becomes  self-evident,  the 
quantity  ol  fluid  to  be  moved  being  the  same, 
and  provided  the  admission  be  made  that  its 
motion  depends  mainly  on  the  action  of  the 
heart;  so  &at  the  rate  of  pulsation,  taken 
alone,  is  no  index  whatever  of  the  progres- 
sive motion  of  the  blood ;  and  the  only  case 
in  which  a  quick  pulse  corresponds  with  the 
increased  celejity  of  tiie  blood,  is  where  the 
action  of  the  heart  is  stronger,  as  well  as  be- 
ing more  frequent  than  natural,  and  accord- 
ingly the  quantity  of  blood  expelled  at  each 
ventricular  contraction  is  either  increased,  or 
but  little  or  not  at  all  diminished.  In  a  ma- 
jority  of  cases  the  heart's  action  being  in- 
creased in  frequency,  it  is  also  more  feeble, 
and,  as  a  general  nue,  it  would  appear,  that 
the  frequency  is  proportionate  to  the  loss  of 
ventricular  power.  In  these  cases  it  is  diat 
a  quick  (it  should  rather  have  been  written 
frequent)  pulse  becomes  indicative  of  a  alow 
circulation  of  blood.— Lonxx>n  Llncit. 


OperaHcns  in  Disease  of  the  Ovaria,  ^c 


SI 


Op«rmttonB  in  disease  of  the  Orarim,  aad 

Spina  Bifida. 
Quadtery. — The  following  ingenious  no- 
tice, professedly  of  a  new  bi-monthly  pe- 
rio(tical,  which  •  appeared  in  a  New  York 
paper  of  the    15th  inst,  is  v  fair  sample 
of  the  daily  puffing  process,  by  which  a 
eextain  class  of  physicians  in  this  city  sus- 
tain each  other — no  matter  how  unimpor- 
tant or  Unsoccessful  their  practice — and  is 
now    re-published    for  the  benefit  of  their 
brother  chips  in  other  cities. 
KeU'Yark  Journal  of  Medieme  and  the  OoOateral 
SeiatnM    .Edited  by  Samuel  f\3rrttf,  M.  D. 
TIm  Mcoad  numlMr  of  this  valoable  Joaraal  has 
e«iias  to  hand.     The  original  depariment  is,  as  asual. 
rich  and  instmctive.    Dr.  Foltx  has  again  contributed 
lugrlf  to  its  pages.    Dr.  F.  reports  one  of  the  most 
estiaordinarr  satgical  operationa  which  has  ever  been 
performed  in   this  country.    It  was  a  case  in  which 
both  ovaria  had  been  saceessfnlly  removed.    It  seems 
from  the  bibliographical  account  of  this  operation, 
that  Dr.  McDowell,  of  Kentuchv.  performed  it  first, 
•ad  more  saccesfallj  than  any  other  man  in  the  world 
—and  that  Dr.  Aloan  Goldsmith^  of  this  city,  is  the 
second  most  snccnsfol  opemtor  in  this,  the  greatest 
ftat  of  modem  sorgenr.    Dr.  David  L.  Rogers,  of  this 
city,  has  likewise  peitormed  it  once.    We  notice  this 
particalaxly,  because  we  take  it  to  be  a  matter  of  con- 
giatalatioa,  that  New-Tork  talent  has  been  able  in 
Ihk,  as  in  many  onaations,  to  perform  successfully 
that  which  has  again  snd  again  baffled  the  skill  of  the 
beat  talent  in  Europe.    Some  idea  may  be  had  of  the 
immeBHtr  of  this  opesation,  when  it  is  remembered 
that  it  is  done  by  iajiog  open  the  abdomen,  and  re- 
moving fjnom  the  in^t  of  the  intestines  tumors  as 
Jaq^  as  a  man's  head.    This,  too,  while  the  patient  is 
wnthing^  in  agony,  and  the  operator  moving  his  knife 
fhtoogh  the  mass  of  intestines  that  protrude  from  the 
woond.     We  notice  sdso,  from  the  note  book  of  that 
talented  and  able  operator.  Dr.  John  Watson,  of  this 
city,  an  interesting  case  of  spina  MUkh  anccessfully 
opeiated  npon  by  Dr.  Stevens.*    flie  resume  of  Dr. 
Lee's  work  oa.dkelartee,  by  the  able  editor,  is  full  of 
pcactical  interest,  to  much  so  that  we  mean  to  pre- 
aent  a  digest.    We  commend  ihisjoomal  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  profesailon.    And  we  assure  the  editor  that 
when  he  can  command  for  his  pages  the  contributions, 
of  SQch  men  as  Francis.  Mott,t  Goldsmith,  Stevens, 
WaiaoD,   Foitz,  and  the  hke,  he  can  easily;  ontotrip, 
with  oar  immenae  ho^ital  fibcilities,  any  journal  m 
ihecoimtry. 

The  following  extracts,  from  Cooper's 
IKctionary  of  Practical  Surgery,  witt  notes 
and  additions  by  D.  M.  Reese,  M.  D. — J.  & 
J.  Harper,  New  York,  1830 — will  give  a 
fair  view  of  the  dependence  that  may  be 
placed  npon  the  statements  of  the  class  of 
physicians  before  mentioned : — 
Orarlan  Tumor  a. 

"  The  first  attempt  to  remove  them  by  an 
operation  was  made  in  1776,  by  L.  Aumo- 
nier,  suigeon  in  chief  of  the  HospiM  in  Rouen, 
fFrance)  and  is  reported  as  a  successful  case. 
See  Good's  study  of  Medicine,  p.  423."— 
(This  operation  was  performed  many  years 
before  Dr.  McDowell  was  bom.)  "  In  the 
London  Medical  Gazette  for  1829,  Dr.  Hop 
fer,  of  Biberback,  has  reported  three  cases  of 

*  IVofessor  of  Soigeiy  in  the  old  Medical  Colleee. 

t  Professor  of  Bvajgery  in  the  now  Medical  College. 
The  other  gentlemen  mentioned  are  aU  either  ex- 
pnfaMow.  or  adjuneUt  and  profeaton  inezpeetamcy  of 
veieCoHegM. 


extirpation  of  diseased  ovaiia,  by  Canysmaa. 
The  first  was  performed  in  1819,  and  proved 
fatal  in  thirty-six  hours  after  the  operation. 
The  second  in  1820  ;  this  case  was  success- 
ful, and  the  woman  has  since  borne  children. 
The  third  case  occurred  in  the  same  year,  and 
the  patient  never  recovered  from  the  shock  of 
the  operation."  "  M.  Lizars,  in  the  Edin- 
buigh  Journal,  for  October,  1820,  relates  an 
attempt  to  extirpate  an  ovarian  tumor,  but  un- 
fortunately, on  cutting  into  the  abdomen,  he' 
found  no  tumor  to  remove.} 

Besides  these  cases  by  "  the  best  talent  in 
Europe,"  Dr.  Jeflferson,  of  Ipswich,  has  per- 
formed the  operation  once,  which  was  suc- 
cessful— Dr.  West,  Tonbridge,  once — and 
Dr.  Clay,  of  Manchester,  twice,  and  all 
successful/  Dr.  Phillips,  of  London,  once, 
which  proved  fatal. — See  Braithwaite's  Re- 
trospect, part  7th,  pp.  99-100.  "Professor 
Smith,  of  Yale  College,  has  given  an  interest- 
ing case  of  the  successful  removal  of  an  ova- 
rian dropsy,  by  an  operation.  See  Am.  Med. 
Rec,  1822.  Dr.  D.  L.  Rogers,  of  this  city, 
removed  an  ovarian  tumor  in  1829.  The 
operation  was  successful.  "  The  tumor  was 
composed  of  a  large  sac,  which  contained  a 
fluid  drawn  off  in  different  operations  for 
tapping.  One  third  of  the  tumor  was  solid, 
containing  a  fibro-cartilaginous  substance.  It 
weighed  three  and  half  poimds."  «*  Dr. 
McDowell,  of  Kentucky,  has  reported  three 
cases  in  which  he  operated  successfully  for 
tumors  in  the  abdomen,  ovarian  and  hydatid. 
A  doubt  exists  in  regard  to  these  cases ;  and 
certainly  the  mode  of  describing  them  is  cal- 
culated to  confirm  that  doubt'* — See  Med. 
Chir.  Rev.,  vol.  5,  page  216. 

Thus  much  for  the  operations  in  cases  of 
ovarian  tumors,  and  of  the  notice  of  the 
New-Vork  Journal  of  Medicine,  and  the  c(d- 
lateral  sciences,  in  the  New- York  paper  re- 
ferred to,  which  it  will  now  be  seen  was  in- 
tended only  for  the  "  green  horns*'  in  the 
community  and  of  the  profession.  But  "  we 
notice  also  from  the  note  book  of  that  talent 
ed  and  able  operator,  Dk  John  Watson,  of 
this  city,  an  interesting  case  of  spina  bifida, 
successmlly  operated  upon  by  Dr.  Stevens.** 
Bah!  see  Cooper's  Surgical  Dictionaiy,  be- 
fore quoted ;  article  Spina  Bifida,  in  which  it 
will  be  seen  Sir  Astley  Cooper  fully  succeed- 
ed in  one  case,  in  1809.  See  also  the  New- 
York  Medical  Repository  for  1813,  p.  28, 
where  it  will  be  seen  that  Dr.  H.  H.  Sher- 
wood, of  this  city,  operated  with  eaual  suc- 
cess in  one  case  m  181 1.§ — NeW'York 
Herald,  Sept.  28,  1843. 


;  Hee  the  symptoms  1  have  introdaced  to  distingnuE 
diseases  of  the  ovaria. 

§  I  have  since  operated  in  three  cases,  the  first  of 
which  (by  ligature)  proved  fatal  in  36  hoars — ^the  two 
last  (by  excision)  like  that  of  1811,  wave  both  saocass- 
fuL— Bd. 


62     Effectual  Reduction  of  StrangvUUed  Memia,  by  Ether^  ^e. 


BAotval  Hedootloii  of  Strangulated  K«raia  by 
£th«r. 

M  Vela  has  been  enabled  to  effect  the  re 
duction  of  strangulated  hernia  In  many  cases 
by  the  external  application  of  sulphuric  ether, 
accompanied  with  friction ;  in  wnich  plan  of 
treatment  he  was  successfully  followed  by 
other  French  surgeons.  M.  Barbon,  of  Bor- 
deaux, was  called  to  a  case  inguinal  hernia 
in  a  woman  fifty-seyen  years  of  ase,  forty 
hours  after  strangulation  had  occurred.  When 
aU  other  attempts  at  reduction  had  failed, 
he  had  recourse  to  irrigations  of  ether  over 
the  surface  of  the  tumor,  which,  to  his  sur- 
prise, disappeared  in  the  space  of  five  or  six 
minutes,  and  was  followed  by  a  copious  eva- 
cuation of  the  bowels,  and  the  prompt  recove- 
ry of  the  patient  The  same  pnytitioner  re- 
ports another  case,  occurring  in  a  man  thirty- 
six  years  of  age,  to  which  also  he  was  called. 
The  hernia  formed  a  tumor  eight  inches  in 
length,  by  an  equal  breadth,  and  extending  to 
the  oase  of  the  scrotum ;  it  was  hard,  and  so 
painful  that  the  taxis  was  impracticable.    Co- 

Sious  blending,  baths,  and  frictions  with  bella- 
onna,&c.,  having  proved  of  no  use,  the  pa- 
tient was  raised  by  means  of  a  bolster  under 
the  hips,  sq  that  the  tumor  would  present 
for  the  manipulation  of  the  operator  its  whole 
surface  which  was  accordingly  irrigated  with 
ether  gently  rubbed  over  it  by  the  hand. — 
Three  minutes  after  the  commencement  of 
tbiB  pocess  the  hardness  of  the  tumor  began 
to  give  way,  the  hernia  diminished  in  vo- 
lume, and  seven  or  eight  minutes  were  suffi- 
cient to  produce  its  total  reduction,  followed 
bv  the  speedy  cessation  of  all  the  previous 
alaiming  symptoms.  The  ordinary  opera- 
tion for  strangulated  hernia  is  sufficiently 
difficult  and  doubtful  in  its  result  to  render 
any  medical  agent  tending  to  supersede 
its  necessity  a  valuable  adjunct  to  surgical 
science. — UazetUdesHopitauXy  Sup.  Oct 

Vitrio  Aold  in  Internal  Hemorrhoids. 

Dr.  Houston,  of  Dublin,  is  greatly  in  favor 
of  the  employment  of  nitric  acid  in  cases  of 
vascular  tumors,  in  preference  either  to  ex- 
cision or  to  any  other  chemical  application. 
The  acid,  he  says,  maybe  applied  m  the  fol- 
lowing manner : — 

"Let  the  patient  strain  as  at  the  ni^ht- 
chair,  so  as  to  bring  the  tumors  fully  mto 
view ;  and,  while  they  are  so  down ;  let  him 
either  lean  over  the  back  of  a  chair,  or  he 
down  in  the  bent  posture  on  the  side  on  which 
the  disease  exists,  with  the  buttocks  over  the 
edge  of  the  bed.  Let  a  piece  of  wood,  cut 
into  the  shape  of  a  dressing-case  spatula,  be 
^pped  into  the  acid,  and  then,  with  as  much 
of  &e  acid  adhering  to  it  as  it  will  carry 
witiMutdipping,  let  it  be  rubbed  on  the  tumor 


to  the  extent  desired.  The  due  e&ct  of  the 
acid  on  the  partis  shown  by  its  chaneine  it  to 
a  greyish- white  color.  If  a  superficiJstough 
be  all  that  is  required,  a  single  application  may 
be  enough ;  if  a  more  deep  one,  then  two  or 
three  applications  of  the  wood,  dipped  in  the 
add  may  be  made  in  quick  succession,  whidi 
being  finished,  let  the  part  be  well  smeared 
over  with  olive  oil,  provided  beforehand  lor 
the  purpose.  The  prolapsed  parts  should  then 
be  pushed  back  within  the  sphincter,  the  pa- 
tient put  to  bed,  and  an  opiate  administered. 
The  pain  of  the  application  is  sharp  and  burn- 
ing at  first,  but  goes  dHT  in  two  or  thiee 
hours,  and  does  not  return  again  in  the 
same  form.  A  general  uueasiness  about  Hit 
anus  on  motion,  together  with  a  alieht  senae 
of  heat,  fuhiess,  and  throbbing,  arelelt  for  a 
few  days,  and  there  may  be  some  little  ie- 
verishness ;  but  I  have  not  seen  or  heard  of 
any  more  serious  efifects  from  tibe  remedy." 
*<  The  symptoms  following  the  applicalien 
of  the  acid  are  usually  so  mild  as  not  abso- 
lutely to  require  confinement  to  bed  more  than 
a  few  hours,  although  for  many  reasons  such 
confinement  may  often  be  desirable.  On  Ike 
third  or  fourth  day,  a  purgative  draught 
should  be  administered,  when  the  bowds 
will  be  found  to  yield  to  the  medicine,  gene- 
rally without  either  pain  or  prolapse  of  ^ 
rectum.  The  progress  after  this  to  hi»»Hiy 
is  rapid,  and  free  from  any  disagreeable 
symptoms."— DuA^m/oiima^  ofMeSial  Sd- 
ence^  March,  1843.  * 

Analogf  between  Diseaeee  of  Dillbreat  p«itoie 

of  Xiiie  and  Oorreepondlng  Periods 

of  tiie  Tear. 

Some  of  the  French  physidaas,  adopting 
the  notions  of  the  ancients,  have  lately  pio- 
mulgaled  the  doctrine  of  an  analogy  between 
the  diseases  occurring  at  diiferent  periods  of 
life,  and  those  which  are  produced  at  cones- 
ponding  periods  of  the  year..  Thusin^prm^, 
mey  say,  it  is  the  younjj  who  suftr  most 
from  disease,— the  maladies  that  are  chiefly 
produced  in  that  season,  such  as  inflamna- 
tory  diseases,  and  others  which  are  depend- 
ent on  too  copious  a  general  or  partial  sup- 
ply of  blood,  to  which  persons  of  early  age 
are  more  especially  subject  The  diseaaes 
which  prevail  in  summer  are  mostly  those  at- 
tacking persons  of  middle  age,  as,  for  in- 
stance, diseases  aflectinff  the  l)iliary  organs ; 
and  the  autumnal  complaints  are  principally 
experienced  by  individuals  of  more  advanced 
years.  The  vnnter,  they  observe,  is  feiiae  %, 
in  rheumatisms,  neuralgia,  catarrhs,  appo-  " 
plexies  and  other  diseases  which  mleat  die 
aged,  who,  forthe  mostpart,  pay  the  debt  ol 
nature  at  this  seaaoa.'^-XaiMil. 


Ancient  Ruinf,  ^ 


53 


AaoleatBoias. 
A  gentieman  who  has  travened  a  large  por- 
tioi  of  the   Indian  coontiy   lying  between 
Santa  Fe  and  the  Pacific,  infonns  the  editor 
cfthe  HoiutOQ  [Texas]  i'elegr^ph,  that  there 
aie  vestiges  of  ancient  cities  and  ruined  tem- 
atos  on  the  Rio  Poeroo  and  Colorado  of  the 
West.    On  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Rio 
Pneico,  a  fie  w  days  travel  from  Sante  Fe,  there 
is  ac  immense  pile  of  rains  that  appear  to  be- 
long to  an  ancient  temple.    The  Duilding  oc- 
cupies nearly  an  acre  of  ground — ^portions  of 
the  old  wall  are  still  standing,  consisting  of 
laige  blocks  of  lime-stone  r^;ularly  hewn  and 
lain  in  eement.    The  ruins  bear  resemblance 
to  those  of  Palenqne  or  Utolun.    There  are 
man/  stoailar  ruins  on  the  Colorado  of  the 
West  which  empties  into  the  Califomian  sea. 
Keicher  the  Indians  resident  in  the  vicinity, 
nor  the  oldest  Spanish  settlers  of  the  nearest 
settlements,  can  give  any  account  of  the  origin 
of  these  buildings. 

An  antiquarian  at  my  elbow,  with  no 

■uH  pRtensions,  suggests  the  great  pioba- 

bQiteB  of  the  antidiluvian  origin  of  these  le- 

mains  of  andent  cities,  which  with  the  ex- 

^nct  mammo&  laces  of  animals  of  the  same 

period  have  beea  bniied,  one  after  another  in 


ed  remedy,  employs  the  following  fonnu- 
la: — Finely  powdered  resin  of  guaiacum, 
a  drachm;  orange  leaves,  powdered,  b^lf 
a  drachm;  acetate  of  morphine,  three- 
quarters  of  a  grain.  These  ingredients, 
are  mixed,  and  divided  into  sixteen  powders, 
one  of  which  is  to  betaken  every  two  hours. 
The  acetate  of  morphia  is  useful  bodi  for  en- 
abling the  stomach  to  tolerate  the  guaiacum 
and  m  moderating  the  stimulant  effects  of 
this  substance  which  so  often  compeLi  its 
disuse  — LiNCET. 


JUBpvtations  ia  Paris. 
Jledical  statistics  receive  much  attention 
OB  the  continent  la  the  hospital  of  "PtaiB, 
bam  1833  to  1S40  indnsive,  852  amputations 
were  reported  to  have  been  perfmmed,  tiie 
senenl  lasulto  of  most  of  which  were  as  fol- 
low:— of  201  cases  of  amputation  of  the 
fliigh  126,  or  62  per  cent,  were  followed  by 
dem ;  of  192  ampatations  of  the  leg,  death 
eoaoed  in  106  cases,  or  55  in  100 ;  in  38  do. 
of  the  foot,  the  subs^uent  mortality  was  only 
9  cases,  or  24  in  100;  in  91  of  the  arm  there 
were  41  deaths,  or  45  in  100;  in  28  of  tihe 
ioie-ann  8  deatibs,  or  21  in  100;  The  mortali- 
ty after  ampatations  of  the  toes  or  fingers 
was  comparatively  inconsiderable;  564  of 
tbese  opecations  took  place  on  male  subjects, 
of  whom  267  died;  165  were  on  females,  56 
^fji  whom  succumbed.  The  autumn  appears 
'to  have  been  the  season  most  unfovorable  to 
happy  terminations  of  these  cases,  and  next 
to  it  the  ^ring ;  &e  summer*  and  winter  are 
the  most  favorable  seasons ;  the  latter  premei- 
nentlyso.  Sudi  researches  have  great  practical 
utility ;  but  in  none  of  our  own  hospitals  are 
siii^lar  attempts  at  generaUsiog  remits  pursu- 
ed hy  the  iiieaical  establishment — Lancet. 


Digestion  of  Ailm«ntU7  •obttsaess. 
An  account  of  experiments,  in  order  to 
ascertain  the  elements  necessary  for  diges- 
tion in  the  stomach. — Messrs.  tundras  and 
Bouchardat,  the  authora  of  this  paper,  state 
that  the'  digestion  and  absorption  of  albu- 
minous andieculus  substances  are  performed 
exclusively  by  the  stomach: — whereas, 
greasy  substances  are  not  there  acted  upon. 
But  pass  into  the  duodenum  in  the  state  of 
emulsion,  by  means  of  alkalies,  which  are 
given  out  by  the  liver  and  pancreas.  This 
emulsion  is  to  be  found  in  abundance  in  the 
whole  of  the  intestine.  The  chyle  ap 
to  be  the  same  whether  the  food  be  i 
nous  or  feculous;  but  there  is  a 
difference  where  greasy  food  is 
Paris  Academy  of  Sciences. 


tSOKftip- 


Prersatieii  oi  Sor*  Vlpplss. 
Tothe  Editor.-^Su:  I  think thtft  i 

Sles  would  seldom  oeeur  did  mothera  pursio 
lis  plan  which  I  always  advise  to  my  fe- 
male friends  on  occasions  of  sueUing,  nane- 
ly,  after  the  child  has  left  the  breast,  to  wipe 
the  nipple  very  dnr,  and  apply  to  it  a  piece 
of  linen  cloth.  I  have  had  mudi  practiee 
among  the  ladies  for  the  lasttwdve  yeaiB» 
and  never  had  a  case  of  sore  nipple  where 
this  plan  was  adopted.  Althou^f^h  it  may  ap- 
pear to  be  a  trilling  communication,  yet  trifles 
are  not  to  be  despised,  especially  in  the  ob- 
stretric  deijartment  of  medicine ;  they  lead  to 
more  practical  advantage  than  a  great  deal  of 
the  theoretical  nonse  se  of  the  present  4|^. 

Toiir  obedient  flervant, 

T.  C,  Wood,  M.  R.  C.  S.,  L.  A.  C. 

Boigeon  to  the  Resdk^  DiiyeMMry, 
LondoB-etreet,  Baadii^;^  IiAiraw. 

N9V.  1842. 


7MViala  itr  RhnunatisnL 
M.    Peieyra,    of    Bordeaux,   who   has 
adopted  the  uae  of  gaaiaeum  for  rhenmaitic 


Van  Hedde(;hem  mentions  the  case  of  a 
Creole  in  Lomsiana,  who  was  so  susceptible 
to  Ae  action  of  Rhus  Toxicodendron  that  he 
could  not  drive  along  tiie  roads  where  the 
rhus  plant  grew,  or  shake  hands  with  a  per- 
son  who  had  been  exposed  to  the  eflluvmm 
of  Ae  plant,  without  being  almost  immedi- 
<atelyttifikad  wilh  the  rhm  mymfdat,  which 


54 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


aflected  his  face,  neck,  hands,  arms,  chest, 
and  genitals,  in  peulicular.  He  had 
uaed  venr  many  remedies  in  vain,  in  order  to 
deaden  his  susceptibility,  when,  finally  his 
physician,  Bressa,  determined  to  give  him  the 
rhus  ^randiflora  which  produces  efTects 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  rhus  toxi- 
codendron. At  first  it  caused  an  ery- 
sipelatous affection  of  the  eyelids  and 
noee;  in  course  of  time,  however,  it  no 
longer  produced  any  perceptible  effect,  and 
he  was  enabled  not  only  to  expose  himself 
to  the  effluvium  of  the  rhus  tree,  but  could 
even  handle  it  without  suffering  the  slightest 
inconvenience. — Precis  analytique  des  tra- 
vaux  de  la  Societe  Med.  de  I)igon  pour  ran- 
nee,  1832.    Dijon,  1838,  p.  48. 

Rau  {Nouvet  Organe,  p.  55)  relates  a  case 
also  illustrating  the  action  of  rhus.  A  labor- 
er, in  the  botanical  garden  at  Giessen,  a  few 
hours  after  being  employed  in  expressing  the 
sap  from  the  leaves  of  the  rhus  radicans.. 
wag  attacked  with  violent  vesicular  erysipe- 
las of  ^e  face  and  hands  attended  with  a  high 
state  01  fever. — British  Jour,  or  Hom. 

Anenteintht  Chrome PleurUy  of  Sheep. 
M.  de  Gasparin  communicated  to  the  Aca- 
demy of  Science  (January  2,  1843)  the  re- 
sults obtained  by  M.  Cambessedes  with  arse- 
nious  acid  in  sheep  affected  with  chronic  pleu- 
risy. A  hundred  and  twenty  of  these  ani- 
mals each  swallowed  thirty-two  scruples  of 
this  poisonous  preparation,  mixed  with  com- 
mon salt ;  with  the  exception  of  one,  all  en- 
tirely recovered ;  whilst  before  the  adminis- 
tration of  ^8  remedy,  the  flock  was  actually 
decimated  by  the  disease.  M.  Cambessedes 
was  induced  to  try  it  from  its  being  vaunted 
as  a  specific  by  the  country  people.  He  con- 
sidered that  it  is  not  a  poison  to  the  sheep ; 
but  the  experiments  penormed  previously  by 
a  commission,  prove  this  opinion  to  be  erro- 
neous, and  also  shew  that  arsenic  is  ho- 
m<eopathic  to  pleurisy  in  the  sheep.  In  an 
experiment  by  MM.  Flander  and  linger,  six 
giains  (trois  decigrammes)  of  arsenious  acid 
were  introdued  under  the  skin  of  the  sheep, 
symptoms  very  soon  manifested  themselves, 
and  m  five  days  the  animal  died.  The  au- 
top^  shewed  pleuropneumony  with  efiiision 
on  the  ri^ht  side.  The  production  of  serious 
efiusion  mto  the  pleura  of  animals  poisoned 
by  arsenic,  has  also  been  observed  by  M. 
dhatin.  It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the 
seemingly  innocuous  effects  of  the  laige  dose 
administered^  by  M.  Cambessedes. — AnjiaUs 
t^HygienePubiique,  etc,  April,  1843,  p.  469. 

Vr.  Chapmi  qf  BerUny  upon  the  en^toffment  qf  Oarbo 
A.itinuUiB  in  Buboet. 

The  rapid  rasoiution  of  Buboes  in  three 


instances  in  which  Dr.  Gaspari  gave  Carbo 
an.,  not  as  homoeopathic  to  the  buooes,  but  to 
the  other  attendant  symptoms,  led  him  to  tiy 
it  in  several  cases,  and  with  great  success. 
In  the  Mat  Med.  of  Hahnemann,  buboes  are 
not  given  as  one  of  the  fraithogenetic  effects  of 
Carbo  an.;  its  therapeutic  use  can  therefore 
be  only  established  as  yet  ex  vsu  in  morbit. 
The  buboes  he  trtoted  were  principally  ve- 
nereal, and  though  the  medicine  seemed  spe- 
cific to  the  bubo  it  appeared  to  exercise  no 
effect  upon  the  primary  venereal  affections ; 
so  that  after  the  resolution  of  the  bubo,  other 
remedies  had  to  be  given.  The  treatment 
lasted  three,  five,  or  at  the  most,  eight  days. 
In  numerous  cases  where  the  bubo  appeared 
as  if  about  to  suppurate,  still  resolution  was 
affected. — Annates  de  la  Med.  Hom.  tome  i, 
p.  11.  ^ 

Poimming  by  Stranumium  (Datura.') 
A  girl  four  years  old  ate  a  few  seed  of  this 
plant  Towaras  evening  tennitus  aurium  and 
sleeplessness  occurred ;  the  child  sang  and 
wept,  and  spoke  uninterruptedly  confused 
nonsense.  The  eye  was  lively,  the  pupil  di- 
lated and  insensitive  to  the  light ;  she  snatch- 
ed continually  in  the  air  as  if  to  seize  some- 
thing ;  to  stand  was  impossible,  for  on  rising* 
the  knees  knocked  together,  and  the  child  on 
attempting  to  exert  herself,  she  staggered  and 
fell  like  one  drunk.  Vomiting  was  induced* 
and  she  got  rid  of  the  poison  and  recovered. 
— (Caspen's  Wochenscrift  1842,  No  25; 
also  Osten.  Med.  Wochenscrift  bim.  No.  32, 
August  6, 1^42.) 

Ilffeete  of  an  over  doee  of  Cina  ;  obaervedhyDr.  A. 
Noack  ofLeipeic. 

Theodore  Georgi,  a^d  2  1-2,  of  a  scrofu- 
lous constitution,  had  been  early  very  deli- 
cate, but  latterly  in  good  health  till  three 
months  before  ;  since  Vhen,  he  was  subject 
to  diarrhoBa,  and  only  lately  freed  from  it 
He  received  from  his  mother,  lor  ascarides,  a 
heaped  tea-spoonful  of  powdered  cinna-8eed» 
with  syrupus  communis,  on  the  23d  Novem- 
ber, 1841,  about  11  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
About  ten  minutes  afterwards,  violent  re- 
peated vomiting  of  yellow  water  came  on- 
together  with  watery  diarrhoea  and  general 
convulsions.  After  this  state  had  lastea  about 
half  an  hour,  I  was  called  in,  and  found  the 
child  in  the  lap  of  its  mother,  still  in  convul- 
sions, which,  according  to  the  mother's  ac- 
count, had  not  decreas^  in  violence.  They 
consisted  in  distortions  of  the  limbs  in  aU 
directions,  from  which  the  fingers  and  toes 
alone  remained  free ;  head  and  body  were 
drawn  backwards,  forwards,  sidewards,  by 
turns,  whilst  the  boy  beat  about  with  his 
annsand  legs.    There  were*  besides,  from 


MisedloHeous  Ittms. 


66 


time  to  time,  violent  shocks  through  the  whole 
hody,  with  stamping  of  the  feet  downwards, 
and  pushing  with  the  head  upwards  and 
backwards;  the  shocks  were  particularly  vio- 
lent in  the  lower  part  of  the  breast,  and  felt 
on  laying  on  the  hand  on  the  epigastrium. 
The  face,  which  I  was  told  had  been  pale  at 
first,  and  had  become  by  degrees  gradually 
more  livid,  was  now  quite  blue,  the  eye-balls 
were  soon  after  turned  upwards  convulsive- 
ly, so  Uiat  only  the  white  was  visible ;  soon 
mey  became  meed  straight  forward,  the  pu- 

e  considerably  dilated,  and  insensible  to 
t    The  tongue  was  sometimes  drawn  to- 
gether in  the  form  of  a  cylinder,  and  spas- 
modically passed  throi^h  betwixt  the  lips 
without  em)rts  of  vomiting   having    taken 
]4ace.     Breathing  natural,    temperature   of 
the  skin  low,  skin  dry,  pulse  small,  con- 
tracted, neither  frequent  nor  quick,  regular, 
(llnct  Ipecac.  1 ,  every  quarter  of  an  hour  1 
gL  to  be  taken  on  sugar.)    The  child  after- 
wards vomited  light  yellow  water  twice,  but 
not  a^n ;  ti^e  cramps  abated,  passed  by  de- 
grees mto  slight  twitchings,and  after  the  lapse 
of  half  an  hour  the  fits  ended  with  a  peace- 
ful deep,  which  lasted  an  hour,  with  me  re- 
turn of  furgor  of  the  skin,  a  breaking  out  of 
ceneral  perspiration,  and  rising  of  the  pulse. 
The  L'ttle  patient  awoke  lively  and  well- 
pleased,  and  continued  so  during  the  follow- 
mg  days. — Fkom  Htoea,  vol.  xvi.  p.  81. 

acuta. 
A  widow,  50  years  old,  of  a  slender  frame, 
who  had  never  r^ularly  menstruated,  and 
had  sofiered  much  from  urinary  affections, 
attended  with  pain  in  the  renal  rn^on,  to  re- 
lieve  which  i.umerous  warm  baths  were 
eniDloyed,  was  attacked,  fn  September  1838, 
wim  mquent  vomitine  in  the  course  of  the 
day,  by  which  all  m&  eat,  and  latterly  a 
frothy  white  fluid,  was  ejected.  When  the 
narrator  of  the  case  visited  the  patient,  her 
countenance  was  of  an  earthy  hue,  the  skin 
was  dry,  there  was  e;reat  weakness,  depres- 
sion ol  spirits,  littfe  sleep;  the  pulse  was 
flnall,  but  not  frequent,  the  tongue  dry.  Ur- 
gent thirst,  the  abdomen  normal  to  the  touch. 
Only  on  the  right  epigastric  region,  under  the 
IbIb^  ribs,  there  was  a  painful  induration 
about  ih&  size  of  an  oiange.  This  indura- 
tion seemed  to  arise  from  an  inflammatory 
abscess  of 'tiie  liver,  the  vomiting  from  exces- 
sre  irritability  of  the  stomach,  or  disease  of 
die  pyloms.  As  the  vomiting  had  not  con- 
tinued long,  the  narrator  diagnosced  chronic 
gastritis  complicated  with  hepatitis.  From 
mis  view  of  the  case  he  ordered  copious 
leeching,  embrocations,  with  belladonna,  and 
jjflifip^iiay  and poigatlTet.    Asthis  treatment 


was  of  no  use,  after  having  been  pursued  for 
three  or  four  days,  pill  of  saffix>n,  and  then 
opium  pills  were  given — these  diminished 
the  pain  and  procur»l  sleep,  but  the  vomiting 
and  the  other  symptoms  continued.  Other 
two  experienced  physicians  were  called  in, 
who  ^ve  it,  as  their  opinion,  that  there  was 
likewise  induration  of  the  pylorus  present, 
and  ordered  opium  and  blisters  on  the  epigas- 
trium. Neither  was  this  treatment  of  any 
use.  The  patient  visibly  declined.  From 
the  recommendation  of  Stoerk,  pills  made  of 
the  extract  of  cicvtai  and  a  large  blister  and 
an  opiate  enema  were  used.  By  this  means 
the  threatening  danger  was  removed,  and  a 
steady,  thougn  slow  convalescence  ensued. 
Cicuta  was  given,  first  half  a  grain  daily, 
then  half  a  grain  three  times  a  day.  [The 
reporter  of  the  case,  in  Oppenheim's  Journal, 
observes,  naively  enough,  it  is  evident  that 
this  wonderful  core  was  ejected  by  the  mor- 
phia and  blisters,  for  the  dose  of  cicuta  was 
too  small  to  have  done  it.  Be  it  observed, 
that  opium  and  blisters  had  been  diligently 
employed  before  Vfitk  no  benefit y  the  patient 
dauy  getting  vjorae.  Did  they  acquire  a  new 
power  when  "  too  small"  doses  were  admi- 
nistered?]— Journal  de  Soci£nAD£  das 
SciENciAS  D£  LisBOA.  Tom.  ix.  lo  Semestre 
de  1839.  Extracted  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  die 
Gesammte  Medicin.  Yon  F.  W.  Qppenheim. 
No.  11.  November,  1842. 

The  Muriate  qflHnin  Ouono—ByDr.  P«rM». 

A  girl  1 1  years  old,  after  a  dreadful  fright, 
became  aflected  with  headache,  and  occasion- 
al twitches  of  the  angle  of  the  mouth  and  ex- 
tremities of  the  right  side  of  the  body,  which 
gradually  increased  in  frequency,  until  at 
lenffth  they  became  constant  during  her  wak- 
ing nours.  As  the  examination  m.  the  spine 
shewed  that  there  was  considerable  tender- 
ness between  the  2d  and  6th  cervical  verte- 
brae, twelve  leeches  were  applied,  and  ungt 
mere,  rubbed  in  near  tiie  sensitive  part,  and 
calomel  and  zinc  powers  prescribed.  On  the 
12th,  salivation  occurrea,  and  the  calomel 
was  supplanted  by  hyosciamus.  Leeches 
were  aeam  applied,  and  afterwards  a  blister. 
Notwitnstanding  diese  active  measures  the 
disease  got  worse,  and  the  blister  seemed  to 
aggravate  the  excitement  Upon  this.  Dr. 
Person  determined  to  try  the  murias  stannif 
as  recommended  by  Dr.  Schlesinger  (Hufel. 
Joum.  1837,)  and  began  with  the  one-six- 
teenth' of  a  grain  as  a  dose,  morning  and 
evening,  grsSiually  increasing  the  amount 
until  he  gave  one-fourth  of  a  gnin  twice  a 
day.  After  the  very  first  smdl  dose,  im- 
provement appraired,  which  ahnost  hourly 
advanced.    By  the  tenth  day,  after  the  patient 


•6 


The  Magnetic  Poles  and  the  Moan. 


had  taken  altofl;ether  five  grains  of  the  muri- 
ate of  tin,  all  the  convulsive  symptoms  were 
sone,  and  she  was  perfectly  recovered. 
This  medicine  effected  the  cure  without  pro- 
ducing any  re-action, — ^it  occasioned  neither 
primary  aggravation  (according  to  Fischer,) 
nor  dryness  of. the  mouth  (according  to 
Schlesinger,)  but  seemed  to  opiate  as  a  pure 
sedative,  quieting  the  powerful  excitement  of 
the  nervous  svstem,  to  which,  perhaps,  the 
previous  antiphlogistic  treatment  might  have 
contributed.-QEST£R.  Med.Wocbbnschrift, 
No.  viii.,  1843,  p.  216. 

[Had  Dr.  Person  consulted  Hahnemann's 
Materia  Medica,  he  mi^ht  perhaps  have  been 
induced  to  try  the  munate  of  tin  at  first,  in- 
stead of  at  last ;  and  thus  the  patient  might 
have  been  saved  the  blood  letting  and  me 
blistering.  He  would  also  have  lound  the 
occasioiud  aggravations,  and  the  other  S3rmp- 
toms  of  the  action  of  the  medicine  that  have 
been  observed,  explained. — Editoiis.] — ^Bri- 
TI8H  Journal  of  Homcbopatht. 


^>W>/WWN/»A«^- 


Ohroaie  BronoUtts* 

Oo«gii  and  expMtomlion,  bat  AO  pua  wodnc^d  hj 
unrntm  <m  th*  iatMnrprtobnl  meet  BatwMa  tM 
lut  cenrical  (7th)  and  ftnt  doml  Tetebra. 

K.  Hard  Bal.  Copa,  and  Cubebs  3iii88,  Ext 
HyoA.  3m.  Make  100  pills.  Dose  1  pill  3 
timM  a  day--after  eating.-*i%wci/ic 

CouoH.— TVouiJefOfVM  at  lugft^.  &.  Solu. 
Moiphine  3|.  Syr.  Bal.  Tola.  3  oz.  Mix. 
Do0e  a  tea-spoon,  at  night  on  going  to  bed. 


lar  di0eaBe  of  fhe  throat 


Tubeiea* 


Hoonwo  CoiroB.— ft.  Cochineal  pulv.  10 
gn.  Onra  Tartar  80  gia.  Sugar  1  oz.  Hot 
water,  half  a  pint  Mix.  Dosfr—a  tea-spoon  8 
times  a  day— specific. 


Porpwa  XMnorrhagloa. 

Kb  Citeoaote  half  aminim  (drops),  akdhol 
«  sufficient  qaantityto  suspend  it  in  an  ounce 
and  a  half  of  muciCaje,  to  be  taken  every  six 
hofook 

ia  caati  when  fte  guns  are  bleeding*  the 
foDowmgnay  be  vaedfiequenfly  as  a  gaigle. 
ft.  Creosote,  half  a  drachm ;  alcohol,  a  suffi- 
citat  quantity  to  unite  it  with  twelve  ooncas 
of 


Increase  of  Knowledge. 
A  Professor  of  one  of  the  Medical  Colle- 
ges in  this  city,  in  his  introductory  lecture  to 
the  students  of  medicine,  has  announced  the 
brilliant  discovery  of  the  important  fact,  that 
the  unifonn  curative  effiK^ts  of  a  remedy  in 
any  disease,  was  no  evidence  of  its  applica- 
bility to  the  case ;  from  which  it  would  seem 
to  follow  by  a  strict  parity  of  reasoning,  that 
the  fatal  effects  of  a  prescription  are  no  i^oof 
either  of  its  pemiciousness  or  of  the  igno- 
rance of  the  physician ! — a  conclusion,  which 
if  not  very  gratifying  to  the  friends  of  the  pa- 
tient, cannot  fail  of  being  extremely  con- 
solatory to  the  practitioner. 

Tke  Magnetlo  Poles  and  the  Meoa. 
In  181  years  th^  magnetic  poles  of  the 
earth  and  line  of  no  variation  idvanoe  from 
east  to  west  10^  in  which  time  the  moon's 
nodes  perform  an   entire  revolution  in  their 
rOrogade  motion  from  east  to  west    In  3 
times  18|  or  65|  years,  these  poles   and 
line  of  no-variation  advance  SO**  in  which 
time  the  nodes  perform  3  revolutions.    In  3 
times    551    or   1661    years,    these    poles 
and  line  of  no-variation  advance  90",   it 
which  time  fhe  nodes  perform  9  revolutions. 
In  4  times  1661'  or  666  years,  these  poles 
and  line  of  no-variation  perfonn  an  entire  re- 
volution of  860°,  in  which  time  also  the 
nodes  perform  36  revolutions.    These  num- 
bers are  all  perfectly  exact,  as  expressions  of 
mean  or  true  time  and  motion,  and  aie  appli- 
cable to  the  magnetic  clock-work  of  the 
whole  solar  system,  which  shows  that  die 
retrogade  motion  of  the  moon's  nodes  is  the 
consequence  of  the  motion  of  our  magnetic 
poles,  at  the  same  time  that  these  poles  aie 
moved  around  &e  earth  by  the  magnetic  for- 
ces from  the  sun.    It  will  be  recollected  by 
some  of  the  readers  of  this  Journal  that  in 
our  Astro-Magnetic  AlnanaB,f6r  1843*  wt 
demonstmted  the  aimual  rate  of  motion,  and 
time  of  revolution  of  these  poles  and  line  of 
no- variation;  a  work  which  should  have  been 
continued  for  the  present  year*  bet  whkh 
has  been  supeneded  by  the  daoM  of  fim 
Journal  upon  our  time. 


Mr  City  Hall^ew  York  Jan.   I,  1M4. 
riation,  603d'  11"  W. 


THE   DISSECTOK. 


Tol.  I.] 


HBW-TOBK,  APRIL,  1844. 


[Ho.  U. 


ARTIOLB  I. 
Xagiwiic  Orpuisation  of  tho  Human  Syatam. 
It  has  been  truly  said,  that  "  life  itself,  is 
onij  known  to  us  empiricayj.  We  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  disease  in  the  same  way ;  and 
the  same  method  is  adopted  in  the  cure  ;** 
and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  we  eball  ad- 
Tance  much  in  a  scientific  knowledge  of  dis- 
eases, or  of  the  remedies  fox  them,  until  we 
first  obtain  a  scientific  knowledge  of  the  or- 
gamsation  which  constitutes  animal  hfe.  We 
have  a  very  accurate  knowledge  of  the  ana- 
tomical or  anifflal  oiganisation,  but  none 
whatever  of  the  invisible  motive  powers 
which  constitute  animal  life.  Few,  very 
few  physicians  ever  had  any  conceptions  of 
even  the  existence  of  such  an  oiganisation 
— ^yet  there  cannot  be  motive  power  with- 
out such  oiganisation.  We  can  see  the  ropes, 
the  levers  and  the  pulleys,  by  which  motion 
is  produced,  but  nothing  of  the  spiritual, 
sympathetic  and  invisible  forms  that  use 
&em  for  the  purposes  of  motion — yet  it  is 
on  these  forms  in  the  different  oigans  and 
oAer  structures  which  the  immaterial  or 
spiritual  powers  of  medicines  act,  and  it  was 
the  obvious  importance  of  a  knowledge  of 
these  fbnns  that  induced  us  many  years 
since,  to  oHnmence  an  investigation  of  this 
subject  which  has  at  last  resulted  in  a  de- 
velopement  of  their  organisation. 

We  commenced  with  the  brain,  and  traced 
by  the  direction  of  its  fibres,  an  oiganisation 
representing  five  magnetic  poles ;  two  in  the 
aigans  of  causality,  two  in  the  organs  of 
amativeness,  and  a  very  large  one  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  Iffain,  requiring  at  least  two  mag- 
netic axes,  which  must  cross  each  other  in 
tfie  centre  of  that  oigan. 


Some  of  these  fibres  were  seen  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  white  and  others  with  the 
grey  substance,  divided  by  a  thin  neurilema 
or  membrane.    Those  in  the  white  substance 
(fig.  1)  were  also  seen  to  diverge  from  the 
centre,  or  great  inferior  ganglions  (dd)  to  the 
neurilema  connected  with  the  grey  substance, 
in  the  circumference  of  the  brain,  while  those 
in  the  grey  substance  diverged  from  the  cir- 
cumference to  the  centre  through  the  corpus 
coUosum  and  great  superior  ganglions  (p  p). 
The  diverging  fibres  were,  therefore,  found  to 
connect  the  white,  and  the  converging  fibres 
the  gray  substance,  which  was  seen  to  be  a 
mechanical  arrangement  of  the  different  fibres, 
with  the  different  kinds  of  matter  of  the 
brain ;  for  different  kinds  of  matter  maintain 
opposite  forces,  which  are  necessary  to  the 
production  of  motion.    Having  apparently 
traced  the  poles  of  those  forces,  we  resolved 
to  test  their  identity,  and  for  this  purpose 
it   was  necessary  to    know  whether  the 
magnetic  forces  would  of  themselves  with- 
out artificial  aid,  take  these  forms  under  fa- 
vorable cireumstances  ;  and  for  this  purpose 
a  circular  plate  of  steel,  eight  inches  in  di- 
ameter, with  a  round  hole  in  the  middle  of 
one  inch,  corresponding  with  a  middle  sec- 
tion of  the  brain,  was  placed  on  a  pole  of  a 
large  Galvanic  Battery,  covered  with  white 
paper,  and  iron  filings  strewed  over  it,  when 
they  were  immediately  arranged  by  the  for- 
ces in  the  plate,  in  the  manner  seen  in  fig- 
ure 2. 

On  applying  the  dipping  needle  io  these 
poles,  that  in  the  centre  and  those  in  the  cir- 
cumference at  c  c,  were  found  to  be  positive, 
and  those  at  d  d,  negative  poles.  When, 
however  the  order  of  magnetising  on  the 


68 


Magnetic  Organisation  of  the  Human  System. 


difierent  poles  of  the  battery  was  reversed, 
the  character  of  the  pole  in  the  centre  was 
changed  from  a  positive  to  a  negative  pole, 
and  tiie  positions  of  the  positive  aud  nega- 
tive poles  in  the  circumference  were  also 
changed;  the  positive  occupying  the  posi- 
tions of  the  negative,  and  the  negative  those 
of  the  positive  poles. 

The  magnetic  axes  of  the  positive  and 
that  of  the  negative  satellites  cross  each 
other  in  the  centre  of  the  open  space 
in  the  inside  of  the  disc,  each  forming 
two  sides  of  an  inverted  plane  triangle,  the 
base  of  each  of  which,  from  the  form  of  the 
disc,  necessarily  forming  a  spherical  side  of 
a  triangle,  and  as  the  latter  is  in  the  circle  of 
the  disc,  and  as  this  disc  is  a  middle  section 
of  a  hollow  sphere,  it  necessarily  follows 
that  when  a  hollow  sphere  or  body,  more  or 
less  round,  is  magnetised  in  the  same  man- 
ner, inverted  cones  are  formed.  For  as  the 
disc  is  a  section  of  a  sphere,  so  are  the  plane 


and  spherical  sides  of  the  triangles,  sections 
of  inverted  cones. 

This  experiment  was  repeated  eleven  times 
on  plates  of  from  four  to  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter,  and  always  with  the  same  result. 
It  may  therefore  be  inferred  to  be  constant 
It  presents  one  large  and  strong  pole  in  the 
centre  of  the  plato,  and  four  smaller  and 
weaker  poles  in  the  circumference,  like  those 
in  the  brain. 

There  is  here  disclosed  the  existence  of 
five  poles  united  with  two  magnetic  axes : 
one  in  the  centre  of  the  space  in  the  centre^ 
and  four  in  the  circumference  of  the  plate, 
corresponding  in  the  most  exact  manner 
with  those  we  had  traced  in  the  brain  by 
the  direction  of  its  fibres,  as  seen  in  fig- 
ure 3,  representing  a  horizontal  section 
of  the  brain,  through  the  organs  of 
causality,  a  b,  and  amativeness,  c  d,  in  which 
the  relative  characters  of  the  poles  are  re- 
versed. 


Magnetic  Organisation  of  the  Human  System. 


59 


When  the  heart  is  laid  open  and  distended 
in  a  circular  manner  (ci  d,  walls  of  the  heart; 
e  e,  septum  or  division  between  the  auricles 
and  ventricles;  /  /,  pericardium)  as  seen 
in    figure    4,  it  is  found    by  the  manner 


in  'which    it   is  constructed    to  have  four 

large  poles  in  its  circumference ;  a  a,  and  c  c, 

the  axes  of  which  cross  each  other  in  the 

centre  pole  of  the  heart,  like  those  of  the  cir- 

cnmference  of  the  brain.    The  forces  from 

the  poles,  a  a,  radiate  along  the  ligaments  or 

braces,  called  calumnce  cornea,  to  the  sides  of 

the  ventricles ;  b  b,  and  the  forces  also  radiate 

horn  the  poles  in  the  oracles  c  c,  along  their 

ligaments,  as  seen  in  the  figure :  all  of  which 

are  first  expanded  and  then  contracted  in  the 

motions  of  the  heart,  by  the  action  of  the 

forces  from  the  poles. 

The  number  and  situation  of  these  poles 
are  from  this  view  of  the  construction  of  the 
heart  so  self-evident  as  to  preclude  the  neces- 
sity of  a  solitary  remark,  but  it  may  be  asked 
if  the  motions  of  the  heart  are  produced  by 
the  action  of  these  poles  upon  its  muscles, 
from  whence  are  the  forces  derived  which 
sustain  these  poles*  ? 

The  answer  is,  from  the  serious  and  mu- 
cous surfaces  of  the  body,  which  are  main- 
tained in  negative  and  positive  states,  for 
such  purposes — the  serous  including  the  skin 
supplying  the  positive  and  the  mucous  inclu- 
ding the  alimentary  canal,  the  negative  force, 
which  are  conducted  to  the  poles"in  the  or- 
gans through  the  nerves  in  these  surfaces — 


*  MAfiietic  pole*  cannot  be  long  maintained,  any 
where,  without  a  com tant  lupply  of  these  forces  from 
someaoarce. 


the  negative  poles  attracting  the  poeitive,  and 
the  positive  poles  the  n^ative  force. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that 
magnetic  poles  of  the  same  denomination  re- 
pel, and  those  of  opposite  denominations 
attract  each  other,  and  in  order  to  ascertain 
the  degree  of  force  with  which  they  repel 
and  attract,  it  is  found  by  experiments,  con- 
ducted on  the  most  rigid  principles  of  induc- 
tive philosophy,  that  they  repel  and  attract 
each  other  with  a  force  proportioned  to  the 
quantity  of  these  forces  in  given  spaces,  or 
the  spaces  they  occupy.  It  is  also  ascer- 
tained, in  the  same  manner,  that  when  they 
repel,  they  expand,  as  seen  in  the  case  of 
iron  filings  attached  to  poles  of  the  same  de- 
nomination. 


And  when  they  attract,  they  contract,  as 
seen  in  the  case  of  iron  filings  attached  to 
poles  of  opposite  denominations,  with  a 
force  proportioned  to  their  quantities  in  the 
s])aces  they  occupy.  The  two  poles,  then, 
of  the  same  denomination  in  the  opposite 
hemispheres  of  the  brain  may,  through  the 
spinal  nerves  attached  to  these  hemispheres, 
expand  one  set  of  muscles  on  one  side  of 


60 


Magnetic  Organisation  of  the  Human  System. 


the  body,  limb,  or  organ,  at  the  same  time 
that  those  of  the  opposite  denomination,  con- 
tract the  antagonist  muscles  on  the  other; 
for  the  muscles,  like  the  organs  and  nerves 
are  necessarily  double  for  the  purpose  of 
producing  motion  by  their  simultaneous  ac 
tion. 

They  may  also  expand  one  set  of  muscles 
by  the  repulsive,  and  contract  their  antago- 
nists by  the  attractive  force;  in  the  same 
way  that  one  metallic  ^re  is  expanded  with 
the  repulsive,  and  another  contracted  with 
the  attractive  force.  Thus  w^hen  by  the 
mere  exercise  of  an  inclination,  excited  by 
a  sensation,  we  incline  to  expand  one  set  of 
muscles  to  extend  a  limb,  we  incline  to  con- 
tract their  fellows  at  the  same  time ;  so  that 
when  one  muscle  expands,  its  fellow  neces- 
sarily contracts ;  and  when  another  contracts 
its  fellow  expands.. 

These  motions  called  attracting  and  repel- 
ling are,  in  other  words,  the  pushing  and 
pulling  motions :  and  if  motion  is  produced 
in  man  and  other  animals  by  the  action  of 
these  forces,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  recognise 
the  same  motions  in  the  fluids  of  the  body, 
-  whether  «riform  or  aqueous,  and  also  in  the 
oi^ns  by  which  they  are  moved. 

On  a  minute  exainination  of  this  subject, 
we  find  that  in  the  formation  of  the  oi^gajis, 
the  same  order  is  observed  in  the  distribution 
of  the  membranous  surfaces  as  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  External  and  internal  surfaces  of 
the  body.  The  brain,  heart,  lungs,  stomach, 
intestines,  liver,  spleen,  kidneys,  uterus,  and 
cystisare  all  covered  with  a  serous  mem- 
brane, and  their  inner  surfaces  are  lined  with 
a  mucous  membrane.  On  observing  the  ac- 
tion of  the  air  and  of  the  lungs  in  breath- 
ing, we  instantly  recognise  those  motions 

In  reflecting  on  the  great  power  which  it 
was  necessary  to  give  to  the  heart,  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  the  diagram  or  plan  for  its 
construction  must  conform  to  that  necessity 
This  consideration,  however,  presented  no 
difficulties,  for  the  sources  from  which  it 
might  derive  the  necessary  strength  and  du- 
rability, under  the  action  of  these  forces, 
were  abundant  and  we  accordingly  find  it 
0'rong  muscles  supported  by  braces  and  sur- 


rounded by  additional  membranes,  presentiiig 
extensive  surfaces  for  the  accumulation  of 
these  forces. 

On  an  attentive  examination  of  the  action 
of  this  oi^gan,  and  of  the  motion  of  the  blood 
in  the  arteries,  we  again  recognise  in  both^ 
and  in  the  clearest  manner  these  motions. 

The  heart  is  constructed  and  acts  on  the 
principle  of  the  pump ;  the  fluids  being  at- 
tracted through  the  veins  and  other  absorbent 
vessels  in  steady  streams  to  the  heart,  with  an 
intensity  of  force  equal  to  that  with  which 
the  ventricles  repel  them  through  the  arteries. 
Every  repulsion  of  a  fluid,  in  elastic  bodies, 
produces  expansions,  and  every  attraction  is 
succeeded  by  contractions  of  these  bodies,  ac- 
cording to  a  law  of  these  forces,  viz  :  repul- 
sions expand,  and  attractions  contract  with 
powers  proportioned  to  their  quantities  in 
given  spaces. 

Every  repulsion  of  the  heart,  repels  or 
pushes  the  fluids  in  the  arteries,  and  every 
attraction  pulls  the  fluids  in  the  absorbent 
vessels. 

The  motions  of  the  pulse  correspond  ex- 
actly with  these  laws  and  these  motions ;  for 
every  repulsion  is  succeeded  by  an  expansion 
in  the  arter}%  and  every  attraction  by  a  con- 
traction of  it  The  same  phenomena  is  found 
in  the  hose  of  the  fire  engine  when  in  motion. 
The  water  moves  in  the  hose  from  the  cistern 
or  hydrant  in  a  steady  stream  to  the  engine, 
and  from  the  engine  through  the  hose  with 
the  motions  of  the  pulse. 

Sensations  and  inclinations,  like  repulsions 
and  expansions,  and  attractions  and  contrac- 
tions, are  attributes  of  these  forces.'  The  in- 
clinations belong  to  the  sensations,  whether 
repulsive  or  attractive,  as  the  expansions  do 
to  the  repulsions,  and  the  contractions  to  the 
attractions,  and  follow  them  in  the  same  order. 
These  spiritual,  or  male  and  female  f o  e  is, 
are  innate  in  every  kind  of  matter,  witl  out 
possessing  any  character  in  common  with  .t, 
whether  ponderable  or  imponderable ;  and  in 
their  organised  or  magnetised  state,  were  the 
foundations  on  which  matter  was  laid,  in  the 
formation  of  the  solar  system,  and  of  the 
mineral,  vegetable,  and  animal  kingdoms. 
Repulsions,  expansions,  attractions,  contrac- 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


61 


fkme,  sensations,  inclinations,  xijmpatkdic 
action,  motion,  and  form,  are  then,  in  this 
Older  the  attributes  of  these  forces,  by  which 
that  system  and  these  kingdoms  were  fonned 
with  a  precision,  and  adorned  with  a  beauty 
that  defy  imitation. 

Nothing  can  therefore  equal  the  adaptation 
of  these  forces  to  produce  such  results ;  for 
besides  their  unlimited  power,  which  can 
make  a  worid  tremble  like  a  leaf,  the  great 
Telocity  of  their  motions  and  their  great  and 
almost  inconceivable  tenuity,  enable  them  to 
penetzate  the  most  minute  orifices,  and  con- 
struct an  infinite  variety  of  bodies  of  every 
form  and  size,  and  produce  motion  in  the 
smallest  with  the  same  geometrical  accuracy 
as  in  the  largest  structures. 

These  views  of  the  dynamics,  or  moving 
powers  in  animate  and  inanimate  matter  may 
at  first  appear  very  strange  and  unaccount- 
able to  even  men  of  science  who  have  little 
or  no  knowledge  of  this  subject,  and  I  may 
therefore  direct  their  attention  to  another  ex- 
ample oi  the  repelling  and  expanding  and  at- 
fiactti^  and   contracting    powers  of   these 
/oroes,  in  illustration  of  these  views,  and 
which  may  be  seen  and  tested  in  the  most 
satisfactory  manner  in  the  recently  discovered 
process  of  gilding  metals  by  the  action  of 
these  forces  in  solutions  of  gold. 

I  may  also  direct  the  attention  of  physi 
cums  and  suigeons  to  the  experiments  of 
Doctors  Laroche  and  Crusell  of  St  Peters- 
hoigh,  given  in  our  last  number,  in  which 
cataracts  were  fonned  in  the  eye  with  the  at- 
tractive and  contractive  force,  and  were  after- 
wards dispelled,  in  two  minutes,  with  the  re- 
pulsive and  expansive  force,  and  which  can- 
not lail  to  suggest  to  them  not  only  the  great 
importance  of  a  knowledge  of  the  magnetic 
organization  of  fhe  human  system,  but  that  of 
the  magnetic  character  of  their  remedies  for 
diseases. 

The  Vagus  Nerve  the  Motok  of  the 
Stoilach. — Longel  experimented  on  dogs. 
He  irritated  the  vagus  nerve  by  galvanism, 
or  mechanically,  and  found  that  contractions 
of  the  stomach  followed,  which  constricted 
itself  mto  two  portions,  a  cardiac  and  pyloric, 
and  aliment  was  forced  through  the  pylorus. 
The  oigan  was  most  susceptible  of  such 


stimulus  and  movement  during  digestion. 
Irritants  applied  to  the  semilunar  ganglion 
or  splanchnic  nerves  produced  little,  if  any, 
movement  of  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  sto* 
mach. — Annales  Med.  Psych. 

Seat  op  Tubercles  in  Phthisis. — In  M- 
Lousis'  experience,  out  of  80  cases  of  pul- 
monary tubercle,  the  cervical  glands  also 
were  found  the  seat  of  tuberculous  matter  in 
8  instances  ;  out  of  102  cases,  the  mesen- 
teric glands  were  tuberculous  in  23  instan- 
ces ;  tne  meso-cscal  and  metrO-colic  glands 
were  similarly  affected  a  little  less  frequently 
than  the  mesenteric ;  and  out  of  60  cases,  the 
lumbar  glands  were  found  tuberculous  in  5 
instances.  Attention  is  naturally  excited  to 
the  eminent  frequency  of  tubercle  in  the  lac- 
teal glands,  and  some  authors  have  asserted 
that  ttiey  are  the  oridnal  seat  of  tubercles  in 
consumption.*  M.  Louis  states,  however, 
that  all  his  experience  has  gone  to  confirm 
that  after  the  age  of  fifteen,  tuberculous  mat- 
ter never  presents  itself  in  any  tissue  or  or- 
gan unless  it  exist  also  in  the  lungs. — 

]^£boturb 

On  the  Nagnetlsm  of  the  Hnman  Body, 
Delivered  before  the  Apprentices'  Library  Society  of 
Cliarieston,  by  RobsuT  W.  Gibbbb,  U.  D.  of  Co- 
lumbia, 8.  C  IWS. 

"  The  facts  of  nature,  not  the  theones  of  man,  are 
the  only  infallible  te«u  of  the  verity  of  alleged  dis- 
coveries."— Bacon. 

'•The  power  a  d  corrigible  authority  of  this,  lies  in 
our  wiiAB."— &Afl*specre. 

Sir  David  Brewster  has  said  truly,  "  Man 
has,  in  all  ages,  sought  for  a  sign  from  heav- 
en, and  yet  ne  has  been  habitually  blind  to 
the  million  -of  wonders  with  which  he  is 
surrounded.  Modern  science  may  be  regard- 
ed as  one  vast  miracle,  whether  we  view  it 
in  its  relation  to  the  Almighty  Being  by 
whom  its  objects  and  its  laws  were  formed, 
or  to  the  feeble  intellect  of  man,  by  which 
its  depths  have  been  sounded,  and  its  myste- 
ries explored ;  and  if  the  philosopher  who  is 
familiarized  with  its  wonders,  and  who  has 
studied  them  as  necessary  results  of  general 
laws,  never  ceases  to  admire  and  adore  their 
author,  how  great  should  be  their  effect  upon 
less  gifted  minds,  who  must  ever  view  tliem 
in  the  light  of  inexplicable  prodigies."  And 
what  is  there  more  deserving  of  our  attention 
than  the  beautiful  and  wonderful  structure 
and  relations  of  the  human  body  ?  «  Know 
thyself"  was  a  maxim  of  antiquity  in  rela- 
tion to  moral  man.  As  truly  may  we  call 
for  its  application  to  his  physical  attributes, 
and  say  with  the  poet, 

**The  proper  study  of  mankind  is  man." 

Having  lately  directed  my  attention  to  the 
investigation  of  the  curious  phenomena  of 
Mesmerism  or  Animal  Magnetism,  by  which 
powerful  physical  influence  is  exerted  by 


62 


Magnetism  of  tfte  Human  Body. 


one  man  over  another,  producing  extraordi- 
nary effects,  both  on  his  mind  and  body,  I 
became  particularly  interested  in  experiments 
with  the  magnet. 

It  had  been  stated,  that  during  the  peculiar 
cataleptic  condition  induced  by  this  remark- 
able influence,  the  head  and  hands  of  the 
subject  were  attracted  by  the  magnet — and 
that  the  brain  possesses  polarity y  one  side  of 
the  head  being  attracted  by  one  pole  of  the 
magnet,  while  the  other  was  repelled ;  and 
that  opposite  results  were  apparent  from  the 
application  of  the  other  pole.  I  made  the 
experiment,  and  found  that  if  the  N.  pole  of 
a  strong  magnet  be  placed  near  the  upper 
part  of  the  forehead,  on  the  right  side,  it  pro- 
duces, in  a  few  minutes,  a  sensation  of 
**  pushing"  the  head  from  it,  and  in  some 
cases,  a  strong  repulsion ;  if  placed  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  head,  it  produces  a  feel- 
ing of  "  pulling**  the  head  towards  it.  The 
opposite  effects  are  produced  by  the  S.  pole. 
This  experiment  I  have  repeated  on  seven  or 
eight  susceptible  subjects  with  similar  results. 
On  tv\o  young  ladies,  who  are  very  sensitive 
of  mesmeric  influence,  I  find  these  results 
appreciated  by  them  in  their  waking  state — 
and  the  experiments  having  been  repeated 
under  circumstances  when  there  could  be  no 
suspicion  of  deception,  1  became  entirely 
convinced  of  the  fact,  that  the  human  body 
is  magnetic^  and  possesses  polarity. 

Dr.  Sherwood,  of  New  York,  in  a  pamph- 
let on  "  the  motive  power  of  the  human 
system,"  has  given  experiments  of  an  inge- 
nious character,  which  tend  to  shew  that  the 
brain  has  polarity,  reasoning  by  analog}' 
from  magnetic  experiments,  and  comparing 
them  with  the  knowledge  derived  from  the 
action  of  the  magnet  on  mesmerised  subjects. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Sunderland,  of  New  York,  is 
satisfied  of  the  fact,  and  reasons  upon  it,  in 
his  publication  "  The  Ma^et,"  to  the  con- 
struction of  various  theories,  in  relation  to 
the  "  magnetic  nature*  of  man. 

The  phenomena  of  mesmerism,  however, 
being  still  denied  by  those  who  have  not  had 
proper  opportunities  of  personal  experience 
of  its  truth,  no  influences  observed  in  that 
state  can  be  considered  strictly  as  settled, 
which  are  not  supported  by  direct  experiment 
on  the  body  in  its  ordinary  condition.  I  will, 
therefore,  for  the  present,  refer  to  no  farther 
effects  on  mesmerized  subjects,  until  I  give 
you  the  opinions  of  others  in  support  of  my 
proposition. 

The  influence  of  the  magnet  on  the  body, 
has  been  recorded  in  the  works  of  many 
medical  men  of  established  character,  but 
scientific  men  have  denied  it,  b^use  the  re- 
ciprocal influence  of  the  body  on  the  magnet. 


has  never  been  shewn.  This  is  the  experi- 
mentum  crusis  which  has  been  called  for  to 
settle  the  question,  but  has  never  been  ex- 
hibited. Prof.  Henry,  of  Princeton,  N.  J., 
who  has  rendered  humself  eminent  by  his 
discoveries  in  magnetic  philosophy,  in  a 
lately  published  letter  says,  «*  Of  the  electro- 
magnetism  of  the  human  body  I  know  no- 
thing, and  I  can  say,  with  certainty,  that  no 
branch  of  science  bearing  this  name,  has  an 
existence  in  the  circle  of  the  positive  sciences 
of  the  present  day.  Nothing  like  polarity^ 
has,  as  yet,  been  shewn  to  exist  in  connec- 
tion with  the  brain.* 

I  have  discovered  a  mode  of  shewing 
ujpon  the  needle  directly  the  ma^etic  polarity 
of  the  human  body — ^and  I  anticipate  that  the 
study  of  the  magnetic  properties  of  the  ner- 
vous system  will  furnish  us  with  a  key  to 
unlock  the  mysteries  of  Animal  Magnetism. 

The  limits  of  a  single  lecture  \vill  not 
allow  me  to  go  into  a  full  consideration  of 
the  arguments  which  have  been  brought  for- 
ward, founded  upon  experiment,  to  prove  the 
identity  of  Electricity,  Galvanism  and  Mag- 
netism, but  such  a  belief  is  very  general 
among  scientific  men  of  the  present  day. 
Nor  can  I  enter  very  fully  into  the  enquiry 
as  to  the  identity  of  the  nervous  fluid  with 
this  power  or  these  powers.  Dr.  Faraday, 
who  is  high  authority,  says  of  the  former : 

"  After  an  examination  of  the  experiments 
of  Walsh,  Ingenhous,  Cavendish,  Sir  H. 
Davy,  and  Dr.  Davy,  no  doubt  remains  on 
my  mind  as  to  the  identity  of  the  electrid^ 
of  the  torpedo,  {animal  electricity,)  with 
common  and  voltaic  electricity.**  Yet  he 
candidly  goes  on : 

"  Notwithstanding  the  general  impression 
of  the  identity  of  electricities,  it  is  evident 
that  the  proofs  have  not  been  sufficiently 
clear  and  distinct  to  obtain  the  assent  of  all 
those  who  are  competent  to  consider  the  silb- 
ject.** 

Whether  this  be  so  or  not,  is'  not  of  much 
importance  to  my  proposition,  as  I  think  it 
will  be  apparent  that,  whether  there  be  one 
or  several  agents  involved  in  electric,  galvan- 
ic and  magnetic  effects,  the  human  bodv  ex- 
hibits the  results  of  the  several  modes  of  pio- 
curine  these  influences.  I  am  not  satisfied, 
myself,  of  there  being  different  states  of  in- 
tensity of  one  fluid,  but  my  opinion  should 
have  no  weight  against  the  mass  of  authority 
on  the  other  side.  With  regard  to  the  iden- 
tity of  the  nervous  fluid,  or  power,  with  gal- 
vanism, electricity  and  magnetism,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  we  have  not 
enough  facts  to  settle  that  question ;  still 
there  is  much  to  induce  a  belief  of  it 


*  Mmgaai.  p.  S8.  toL  L    July,  1942. 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


63 


Thai  the  animal  body  is  dedric,  is  proba- 
bly within  the  knowledge  of  all  who  hear 
me.  The  phenomena  of  sparks  being  seen 
to  follow  the  removal  of  flannel  or  silk  from 
the  person  in  dry  weather,  and  the  stroking 
of  the  back  of  a  cat,  dog  or  rabbit,  are  com- 
mon. Some  individuals  appear  to  have  less 
conducting  power  than  others,  although  their 
bodies  are  generally  good  conductors.  In 
jHoportion  as  the^  are  so,  they  shew  the 
wesence  of  electncity  in  a  stronger  degree, 
rerhaps  deficient  perspiratory  function  may 
be  the  cause  of  the  accumulation  of  it 

A  correspondent  of    Silliman's   Journal 
stales  that,  "On  the  evening  of  January 
25th,  1837,  during  a  somewhat  extraordinary 
display  of  the  northern  lights,  a  respectable 
lady  became  so  highly  charged  with  electri 
•dty,  as  to  give  out  vivid  electrical  sparks 
from  the  end  of  each  finger  to  the  face  of 
each  of  the  company  present.    This  did  not 
cease  with  the  neavenly  phenomenon,  but 
continued  several  months,  during  which  time 
«he  was  constantly  charged  and  giving  off 
electrical  sparks  to  every  conductor  she  ap- 
proached.   This  was  extremely  vexatious, 
as  she  conld  not  touch  the  stove,  or  any  me- 
tallic utensil,  without  first  giving  off  an  elec- 
tikal  spark,  with  the  consequent  twinge. 
The  state  most  favorable  to  this  phenome- 
noD,  was  an  atmosphere  of  about  80°  F, 
moderate  exercise  and  social  enjoyment    It 
disappeared  in  an  atmosphere  approaching 
zero,  and  under  the  debilitating  efiects  of 
iear.     When  seated  by  the  stove,  reading, 
with  her  feet  upon  the  fender,  she  gave 
isparks,  at  the  rate  of  three  or  four  a  minute ; 
and  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances, 
a  spark  that  could  be  seen,  heard  or  felt, 
passed  every  second.      She  could  charge 
others  in  the  same  way  when  insulated,  who 
could  then  give  sparks  to  others.    To  make 
it  satisfactory  that  her  dress  did  not  produce 
it,  it  was  changed  to  cotton  and  woollen, 
without  altering  the  phenomenon."    Similar 
cases  are  occasionally  reported  to  our  medi- 
cal journals — and  I  was  consulted,  profes- 
.fiioimlly,  by  a  gentleman,  as  to  the  reason 
why  his  wife  should  attract  a  great  many 
fire^fiies  around  her  when  in  the  dark,  and 
no  others  of  his  family  be  similarly  troubled. 
i^e  was  much  annoyed  at  times,  by  observ- 
ing so  many  sparks  about  her,  and  was 
anaid,  for  some  time,  to  mention  it,  as  she 
thought  she  would  be  ridiculed. 

"  Saussure  and  his  companions,  while  as- 
cending the  Alps,  were  caught  in  the  midst 
of  thunder  clouds,  and  were  astonished  to 
find  their  bodies  filled  with  electricity,  and 
every  part  of  them  so  saturated  that  sparks 
were  emitted  with  a  crackling  noise,  accom- 


panied by  the  same  painful  sensations  which 
are  felt  by  those  who  are  electrified  by  art." 

Larrey,  in  his  memoirs  of  the  Kussian 
Campaign,  mentions  his  having  seen  similar 
e&cts.  On  one  occasion,  he  says,  when  the 
cold  was  excessive,  the  manes  of  the  horses 
were  found  electrified,  in  a  manner  similar  to 
that  mentioned  by  Saussure.  Rousseau  has 
described  eloquently  the  extraordinary  elas- 
ticity of  spirits  which  he  experienced  in  as- 
cending some  of  the  higher  r^ions  of  the 
Alps.    Dr.  Madden  asks  : 

"  Who  has  ever  experienced  the  effects  of 
the  sirocco  of  the  South  of  Europe,  the  poi- 
sonous Kamsin  of  the  East,  or  even  the 
summer  S.  E.  wind  of  our  own  climate, 
(England,)  without  feelings  of  indescribable 
lassitude,  not  to  be  accounted  for  by  any 
alteration  of  temperature,  but  obviously 
owing  to  the  electrical  changes  superinduced  ? 
During  the  prevalence  of  these  winds,  the 
atmosphere  is  almost  altogether  deprived  of 
electricity,  and  the  nervous  system  simul- 
taneously is  deprived  of  its  vigor.  In  damp 
weather,  likewise,  when  electricity  is  ab- 
sorbed rapidly  by  the  surrounding  moisture, 
every  invalid  is  aware  how  unaccountably 
dejected  his  spirits  become,  and  how  feebly 
the  various  functions  of  the  body  €ire  per- 
formed, especially  those  of  the  digestive  or- 
gans. This  state  of  morbid  irritability  in  the 
whole  frame,  continues  till  the  north  or 
west  wind  "  awaken,"  as  Brydone  has  well 
expressed  it,  "  the  activity  of  the  animating 
power  of  electricity,  which  soon  restores 
energy,  and  enlivens  all  nature." 

In  1835  I  was  called  to  see  a  young  lady 
who  had  been  struck  by  lightning.  Sne  had 
been  sitting  near  a  window,  stringing  beads. 
A  storm  arose,  with  thunder  and  lightning — 
suddenly  she  saw  a  blaze  of  light  in  her  Iap» 
felt  hot  and  became  insensible — she  fell,  and 
was  caught  by  her  mother,  who  was  near — 
cold  water  was  thrown  over  her,  and  she 
was  put  to  bed — had  spasms  in  the  anns  and 
legs.  She  recovered  ner  consciousness  in 
about  ten  minutes.  When  I  saw  her,  a  half 
hour  after  the  occurrence,  she  complained  of 
great  intolerance  of  light — could  not  bear  to 
unclose  the  eye-lids,  dthough  the  room  had 
very  little  light  in  it — complained  of  stricture 
across  her  chest — numbness  in  the  head, 
neck,  and  sides  of  the  face.  She  had,  oc- 
casionally, for  two  days,  spasms  j  but  on  the 
third  was  relieved,  and  felt  better.  Although 
the  room  was  closed  from  light,  whenever 
rain  clouds  passed  near  the  house,  she  felt 
very  much  oppressed,  and  when  another 
storm  arose,  sne  a^ain  had  violent  spasms, 
which  lasted  two  nours.  On  the  fifth  day 
she  seemed  as  well  as  usual,  and  had  no  re- 
turn of  the  nervous  irritability. 


64 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


"  In  the  south  of  France,  there  are  whole 
vineyards  in  which  numerous  electrical  con- 
ductors are  attached  to  the  plants,  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  proeress  of  yege- 
tation,  and  of  invigorating  tne  vine&  In 
the  same  manner  does  electricity  act  upon 
the  animal  body,  quickening  the  circulation 
by  its  stimulus,"  &c. 

We  all  know  the  sensible  influences  of 
change  of  weather  on  rheumatic  and  panir 
lytic  patients,  and  old  persons,  with  most 
chronic  diseases. 

Sir  Humphry  Davy  speaks  thus : 
"  Electrioity  seems  to  be  an  inlet  into  the 
internal  structure  of  bodies,  on  which  all 
their  sensible  properties  depend ;  by  pursu- 
ing, therefore,  this  new  light,  the  bounds  of 
natural  science  may  possibly  be  extended  be- 
yond what  we  can  now  form  any  idea  of; 
new  worlds  may  be  opened  to  our  view,  and 
the  glory  of  the  great  Newton  himself,  may 
.  be  eclipsed  by  a  new  set  of  philosophers,  in 
I   juite  a  new  field  of  speculation."    Dr.  Paris, 
/   in  his  biography  of  Sir  H.  Davy,  mentions 
/    that  **  Sir  H.  supposed  the  heat  oi  the  animal 
!    frame  to  be  engendered  by  electricity;  taking 
it  furthermore  to  be  ideniical  with  the  nerv- 
1    ous  fluid — sensation  being,  in  his  view,  mo- 
i    ticns  of  the  nervous  ether  exciting  medul 
.    laiy  substance  of  the  nerves  and  brain." 

The  experiments  of  Prevost  and  Dumas 
induced  the  expression  of  the  opinion,  that 
«<  muscular  contractions  result  from  the  action 
of  a  nervous  fluid,  which,  if  it  be  not  the 
electric  fluid,  possesses  at  least  the  same  pro- 
perties; and  the  analogy  which  exists  be- 
tween the  phenomena  of  secretion  and  those 
produced  by  the  action  of  an  electric  pile,  is, 
they  say,  very  remarkable;  for  wnen  an 
electric  current  ti-averses  a  liquid  containing 
salts  and  albumen,  serum  for  example,  an 
acid  will  be  produoed  at  one  end  of  the  pile, 
and  an  alkali  at  the  other,  and  the  animal 
substances  the  liquid  contains,  change  their 
natures.  Now  this  is  precisely  what  takes 
place  in  the  organs  of  secretion ;  though  se- 
creted entirely  by  the  bl(X)d,  the  liquids  these 
.  oigans  contain,  differ  from  it  in  their  chemical 
qualities.  The  physiologist  Milne  Edwards 
says: 
«*  The  recent  experiments  of  M.  Becquerel 
.  on  the  influence  of  electricity  upon  the  vege- 
tation of  plants,  support  the  opinion  at  pres- 
ent entertained  by  many  physioloeists,  that 
the  nutritive  as  well  as  the  muscuku-  move- 
ments of  the  living  body,  are  carried  on  by  a 
nervous  influence  analogous,  and  perhaps 
identical  with  the  physical  force  that  pro- 
duces the  electro-chemical  phenomena." 

Professor  Miller  of  Baltimore,  from  ex- 
periments, has  found  that  a  stream  of  elec- 
ricity  passed  through  dark  venous  blood. 


will  change  it  at  once  to  a  rich  colored  arte* 
rial  fluid.  This  eflect  is  usually  attributed  to 
the  action  of  oxygen  in  t)ie  lungs,  combining- 
with  carbon,  and,  according  to  Leibig,  with 
iron.  Now  carbon  and  iron  are  the  perfect 
conductore  of  electricity,  and  are  pdttivdy 
electric— oxypen  is  negatively  so,  and  we 
know  that  it  is  the  agent  of  essential  impor- 
tance to  the  support  oi  life.  Sir  Humphrej 
Davy,  and  chemists  generally,  consider  its 
elasticity  owing  to  electricity,  and  during  ils 
combination  in  respiration  and  in  the  blood» 
as  in  all  cases  of  chemic^  action,  there  is  no 
doubt  dectriaty  is  set  free. 

**  Pouillet  states  that  all  gases,  in  com- 
bining with  other  elements,  give  out  a  certain 
amount  of  electricity.  He  illustrates  this 
proposition  by  the  case  of  carbon,  15  grains 
of  which,  in  becoming  carbonic  acid  gas,  hj 
union  with  oxygen,  give  out  enough  elec- 
tricity to  charge  a  common  sized  Leyden  jar. 
By  this  estimate,  how  much  electricity  would 
be  formed  in  the  body  ?  Let  us  see — ^it  is 
estimated  that  17,811  ^ns  of  carbonic  acid 
escape  from  the  lungs  in  24  hours;  then,  by- 
calculation,  enough  electricity  would  be 
generated  by  the  formation  of  this  gas,  to 
charge  333  common  sized  Leyden  jare,  which 
average  two  feet  each  of  coated  glass.  If  we 
assume  but  half  of  this,  we  shall  still  have  a 
very  large  quantity  of  electricity,  formed  by 
the  union  of  oxygen  with  carbon,  in  the  va- 
rious tissues  of  tne  body,  traversed  by  good 
arterialised  blood."  (W.  H.  Muller,  M.  D., 
in  the  Ma^et,  vol.  1,  p.  194.) 

Galvanic  phenomena  are  witnessed  in  ani- 
mals. Humboldt  discovered  that  the  muscles 
of  a  frog  have  contractions  excited  in  them 
by  touching  the  nerve  and  muscle  at  the 
same  moment,  with  a  fresh  portion  of  muscle. 
Muller,  of  Berlin,  has  repeated  this  experi- 
ment several  times,  and  confirms  its  acburacy. 
Buntzen  formed  a  weak  galvanic  pile  with 
alternate  layers  of  muscle  and  nerve;  and 
Prevost  and  Dumas  state  that  a  circle,  formed 
simply  of  one  metal,  fresh  muscle,  and  a  sa- 
line solution  of  blood,  afiects  the  ^vanome* 
ter.  If  to  the  conductore  of  the  galvanome- 
ter, plates  of  platinum  are  fixed,  and  a  piece 
of  muscle  of  several  ounces  weight  is  placed 
upon  one  of  these  plates,  the  conductors 
being  then  immersed  in  blood,  or  a  saline  so- 
lution, a  deviation  of  the  magnetic  needle  of 
the  instrument  takes  place ;  or  if  to  one  of 
the  conductors  a  piece  of  platinum,  moisten- 
ed with  muriate  of  ammonia,  or  nitric  acid  is 
attached,  and  to  the  other  a  portion  of  nerve, 
muscle  or  brain,  and  the  two  conductors  are 
made  to  communicate,  the  same  deviation  of 
the  needle  is  produced."  Mejendie,  Joum. 
torn,  111. 

"  Kaemtz  has  shewn  that  efficient  galvanic 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


66 


piles  can  be  constructed  from  oi]gamc  sub- 
stances, without  any  concurrence  of  metals." 
Schweigger.     Jour.  56,  1. 

The  magnetism  of  the  living  human  body 
has  never  been  satisfactorily  dhewn,  before 
my  experiment  The  following  one  we  find 
in  the  Medico- Chirurgical  Review  for  Jan- 
uary, 1837,  but  thermo-electricity  is  here 
concerned,  and  we  have  not  seen  it  noticed 
elsewhere,  nor  bad  an  opportunity  of  trying  it 

Dr.  Donne  of  Paris,  publishes  the  results 
of  his  enqnixies,  of  which  one  of  his  corrol- 
lariesis, 

**  The  external  acid  and  internal  alkaline 
membranes  of  the  body  represent  the  two 
pdes  of  a  ealvanic  pile,  whose  effects  are 
appreciable  by  a  galvanometer.  For  if  one 
01  the  conductors  of  this  ing^tniment  be  placed 
in  contact  with  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
mouth,  and  the  other  conductor  be  applied  to 
the  skhi,  the  magnetic  needle  will  be  found 
to  shew  a  deviation  of  from  1 5  to  20,  or  even 
30  degrees ;  and  the  direction  of  the  needle 
proves  that  the  mucous  or  alkaline  membrane 
mdicates  a  negcUive  electricity,  and  the  cu- 
taneous or  acid  membrane  a  positive  elec- 
tridty. 

My  experiment  was  brought  about  by  the 

following  circumstance.  1  observed  that 
mefimenzers  (or  rather  magnetisers)  after 
throwing  (heir  subjects  into  the  magnetic 
state,  direct  their  fingers  with  energy  towards 
their  eyes,  as  they  say,  to  render  that  state 
more  intense,  or,  in  common  language,  to 
deepen  the  sleep.  I  thought  it  not  improbable 
that  magnetism  (motive  power,)  which  is  not 
aoiparent  while  the  limbs  are  at  rest,  mieht 
flihew  its  peculiar  influence  during  musciuar 
action.  I  procured  a  long  delicate  magnetic 
needle,  made  a  strong  effort  as  if  throwine;  off 
something  from  the  fingers,  and  brought  tnem 
carefully  to  the  needle,  avoiding  to  produce 
vibration  of  the  air,  and  to  my  satisfaction,  I 
found  my  right  hand  repel  its  North  pole.  I 
repeated  the  experiment,  and  found  it  attract 
the  South  pole,  proving  north  polarity  in  that 
land.  I  now  tried  the  left  hand,  and  found 
it  to  exhibit  opposite  polarity,  attracting  the 
North  and  repelling  the  ScnJUh  pole  of  the 
needle. 

I  have  practised  the  experiment  repeatedly, 
and  seeii  a  great  many  do  so,  and  the  fact  is 
positively  3icwn.  The  influence  is  only 
momentary,  but  clearly  apparent.  If  it  were 
the  result  of  a  current  of  air,  the  effects  on 
both  ends  of  the  needle  would  be  similar. 

This  is  an  important  fact  in  magnetic  phi- 
losophy, and  I  think  will  assist  us  materially 
in  explaining  many  interesting  phenomena, 
and  most  likely  give  us  the  means  of  under- 
standing those  of  Mesmerism. 


Bodies  similarly  electrified  or  magnetised 
repel  each  other,  while  in  opposite  states 
they  attract  The  North  pole  of  a  magnet 
attracts  the  South  of  another,  and  repels  the 
North,  &c.  Electrified  bodies  have  a  tend- 
ency to  impart  electricity  to  all  surrounding 
bodies.  The  magnet  communicates  magnet- 
ism to  iron  or  steel,  if  placed  in  contact  with 
it,  inducing  in  the  former  temporarily,  and  in 
the  latter  permanently,  a  state  similar  to  its 
own.  All  bodies  may  be  more  or  less  mag- 
netic, but  not  exhibit  efiects,  except  under 
certain  circumstances,  iron  and  steel  bavins 
a  greater  capacity  than  others,  to  acquire  ana 
to  give  out  the  influence. 

The  North  pole  imparts  S.  polarity,  and 
the  S.  pole,  N.  polarity,  and  the  nrocess  is 
called  Induction.  Now,  if  the  right  side  of 
the  body  possesses  different  polarity  from  the 
left,  when  the  magnetizer  sits  opposite  to  his 
subject,  they  are  rightly  placed  to  produce 
the  phenomena  of  attraction,  and  for  the 
former  to  impait  to  the  latter  his  magnetism. 
It  would  seem  here,  however,  to  be  expected, 
that  the  individual  of  strongest  magnetic 
force  would  charge  the  other,  as  the  strongjer 
magnet  controls  trie  weaker,  and  chanffes  its 
poles — which  is  the  case.  The  fact  of  sub- 
jects putting  the  operators  into  the  magnetic 
state  is  common,  and  assists  our  theory,  and 
the  subsequent  attraction  of  the  magnetized 
subject  by  the  magnetizer,  is  a  result  to  be 
expected. 

A  gentleman  who  is  in  the  practice  of 
magnetism  had  three  attempts  made  by  dif- 
ferent persons  to  influence  nim,  two  out  of 
the  three  fell  into  the  magnetic  sleep  them- 
selves. I  have  personal  knowledge  of  one 
case,  where  a  lady  attempted  to  magnetize 
her  husband,  and  he,  to  amuse  himself,  ex- 
erted his  will  strongly  to  put  her  to  sleep, 
and  she  fell  into  it  herself. 

The  magnetizer's  influence  over  his  sub- 
jects is  lost  if  he  is  exhausted,  or  becomes 
weak — ^if  his  nervous  power  is  weak,  he 
cannot  put  them  into  the  magnetic  state,  or  if 
he  should,  he  cannot  keep  them  so — they 
wake  up  immediately  on  being  spoken  to  or 
shaken  by  others.  Frequently  when  I  have 
felt  badly  and  dull,  the  subject  would  be 
sluggish,  upon  my  taking  a  glass  of  wine,  I 
coula  then  make  them  act  with  more  spirit 
and  animation. 

Before  I  attempt  to  deduce  any  practical 
inferences  from  the  success  of  the  experiment 
detailed,  I  will  continue  my  reference  to  oth- 
ers, that  will  support  my  proposition. 

The  facts  which  I  have  mentioned  beinj; 
known,  the  phenomena  exhibited  by  electric 
fishes  appear  less  extraordinary,  although  the 
power  of  producing  electric  dischaiges  exists 


66 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


only  during  life  and  an  undisturbed  state  of 
the  nervous  system.  The  experiments  of 
Walsh,  Fahlenburg,  Gay,  Lussac  and  Hum- 
boldt are  our  sources  of  information  relative 
to  these  fishes;  the  torpedo  orcelkud  and 
marmorata  in  the  seas  of  the  south  of  Europe 
— the  electric  Eel,  gi/mnotus  electricmy  found 
in  several  rivers  in  South  America — ^the  «/«- 
Tus  dedricus,  met  with  in  the  Nile  and  in 
Senegal.  Several  others  have  been  named, 
but  are  less  knoven. 

The  efiects  produced  by  them  on  animals 
are  perfectly  analogous  to  electric  discharges. 
The  shock  from  the  Torpedo,  when  the  ftsh 
is  touched  with  the  hand,  reaches  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  arm.  My  late  friend.  Dr. 
Cooper,  had  personal  experience  of  its  shocks, 
which  I  have  frequently  heard  him  describe. 

Muller,  in  his  late  work  on  Physiology, 
observes : 

"  Substances  which  are  conductors  or  non- 
conductors of  electricity,  are  equally  so  to  the 
influence  communicated  by  the  Torpedo  or 
Gymnotus,  which  are  the  only  electric  fishes 
that  have  been  hitherto  accurately  examined 
with  reference  to  their  electric  action ;  a 
shock  is  propagated  through  a  chain  of 
several  persons  when  those  at  the  extremities 
of  the  chain  touched  the  fish.  Walsh  pro- 
cured sparks  from  the  Gymnotus,  which  were 
seen  by  Pringle,  Magellan  and  Ingenhous. 
Fahlenburg  also  procured  them  by  the  same 
experiment.  More  recently,  Linari  and  Mat- 
teucci,  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  sparks 
from  the  Torpedo." 

Although  no  eflect  has  been  observed  on 
the  electrometer,  Dr.  J.  Davy  discovered  that 
the  electric  organs  of  the  Torpedo  have  really 
an  action  on  the  galvanometer.  He  also 
Bucceeded  in  decomposing  water,  and  in  ren 
dering  needles  magnetic,  and  found  that  the 
electnc  dischaige  was  conducted  through  a 
bar  of  iron  several  feet  long.  Linari  and 
Matteucci  have  also  communicated  the  mag- 
netic property  to  needles,  have  decomposed 
water,  and  have  observed  marked  deviations 
of  the  galvanometer  at  the  moment  of  the 
dischaiges.  A  very  remarkable  fact  is  also 
stated  by  MuUer. 

"  The  power  of  producing  the  dischar^, 
is  qjiite  voluntary,  and  depended  on  the  m- 
teenty  of  the  nerves  of  the  electric  organs, 
wnich  are  largely  supplied  with  them.  The 
heart  rnay  be  removed,  and  the  shocks  will 
be  continued,  but  with  the  destruction  of  the 
brain,  or  division  of  the  nerves  going  to  the 
organs,  the  power  ceases.  The  dischai]ge 
does  not  take  place  every  time  the  fish  is 
touched,  but  depends  on  a  voluntary  power, 
hence  it  is  necessary  to  irritate  it."*    Some 

*  Profenor  Ellbtt,  of  the  Soutli  Caroliaa  College, 
lut  •ommcr,  hod  an  opportunity  of  •zperimenlinc  wtih 


think  it  has  power  to  direct  the  shock,  as  when 
Humboldt  and  Bonpland  held  the  head  and 
tail,  both  did  not  always  receive  the  shock. 
Matteucci,  who  experimented  on  one  hundred 
and  sixteen  torpedoes  on  the  shores  of  the 
Adriatic,  during  two  months,  is  convinced 
that  they  can  discharge  their  shocks  when 
they  please,  but  not  where.    He  says : 

"  Where  the  animal  is  endowed  with  a 
great  vitality,  the  shock  is  felt,  whatever  part 
of  the  body  is  touched.  In  the  proportion  as 
the  vitality  ceases  the  region  of  its  body  in 
which  the  discharge  is  perceptible  is  reduced 
to  that  which  corresponds  to  the  organs  com- 
monly  called  electrical." 

This  fact  accords  with  the  loss  of  nervouB 
power  in  the  human  body — the  extreme  fila- 
ments losing  their  power  first.  He  made  a 
number  of  interesting  experiments  which 
shew  that  the  electric  power  of  the  fish  in- 
creased with  the  acceleration  of  the  circular 
tion  and  respiration.  Among  them  was  this : 
He  took  a  very  small  and  weak  torpedo 
whose  respiratory  motion  was  at  times 
scarcely  perceptible,  and  from  which  it  was 
very  difficult  to  obtain  a  discharge.  He  placed 
this  torpedo  under  a  bell  full  of  oxygen  gas. 
The  animal  immediately  became  agitated, 
opened  its  mouth  several  times,  making 
stronff  contractions,  and  at  the  same  time  gave 
him  five  or  six  strong  electrical  discharges, 
after  which  it  died.* 

He  also  found  that  cutting,  or  tying  and 
compressing  the  nerves  cf  one  of  the  organs, 
the  dischaige  ceases  on  that  side,  while  it 
continues  on  the  opposite  side.  Does  not 
this  have  an  analogy  with  the  paralysis  of 
the  human  body  ? 

He  shows  that  the  chief  electric  organ  is 
the  last  lobe  of  the  brain,  which  he  calls  "  the 
swelling  of  the  elongated  marrow,  from 
whence  the  nerves  proceed/'  &c.,  answering 
to  our  medulla  oblongata,  which  gives  our 
nerves  of  motion. 

He  also  shews,  by  experiment,  that  no 
trace  of  electricit}'  is  ionnd  in  the  fish,  except 
when  it  discharges  itself.  This  is  very  ex- 
traordinary, and  adds  to  our  theory  of  the 
electric  or  magnetic  action  of  our  bodies 
being  under  our  will,  and  only  apparent 
during  muscular  motion.  The  very  curious 
experiments  of  Matteucci,  may  be  found  in 
Sturgeon's  Annals  of  Electricity,  vol.  2. 
1838. 

In  the  last  number  of  the  Medico  Chirur^ 
gical  Review,  which  I  received  a  few  days 


a  Gymnolos  about  foar  feet  lone,  in  New  York.  Ha 
infonna  me  that  he  procured  (ne  Kpark  from  It,  and 
that  the  power  of  the  fish  Is  certainly  voluntarf. 

'  I  tmit  I  may  ba  excnsed  in  tracing  the  inflnence  of 
facts  on  mesmeric  action.  Mr.  Tewnaead  mendona 
that  his  mesmeric  influence  is  stronnr  anddaralopad 
mora  quickly  whan  he  breathes  rapidly. 


Major  Periods  of  Development  in  Man. 


67 


ago,  is  an  excellent  review  of  a  late  work  of 
Dr.  Carpenter,  on  physiolog}',  which  is  laud- 
ed in  very  high  terms  Dr.  C.  mentions  of 
electrical '  fishes,  that  their  electric  nerves 
iave  an  origin  similar  to  that  of  the  8th  pair 
in  the  human  hody. 

The  Reviewer  'remarks,  «*  Now,  the  cir- 
cmnstance  that  the  electrical  nerves  in  the 
Torpedo  should  he  analogous  to  the  8th  pair 
in  tlie  higher  vertebrata,  is  one  of  a  highly 
striking  nature.     Of  all  nerves  in  the  human 
subject,  tiie  8th  pair,  {par  vagum)  is  that 
li^hich,  with  the  oigans  to  which  it  is  distri- 
buted, appears  to  exhibit  the  most  intimate 
sympathizing  connecton  with  cerebral  im- 
pressions.    The  influences  of  fear  and  anger, 
(which  are  probably  the  chief  exciting  causes 
of  the  instinctive  electric  dischaiges)  of  hope, 
aflection,  and  indeed,  of  all  passions,  whethei 
of  an  exciting  or  depressing  kind,  are  inevit- 
ably manifested  more  or  less  on  the  heart, 
lux^gs,  and  stomach,  larynx,  &c.,  and  which 
denve  tiieir  nervous  influence,  partly  through 
the  branches  of  the^r  va^um.  The  analogy 
is  even  farther  earned  out  by  pathol(^.  For 
in    hydrophobia,  a  disease  in  which    the 
nervous  ener^-  is  in  paroxysms,  exalted  to 
the  highest  pitch,  and  the  secretions  of  parts, 
to  which  the  8th  pair  is  supplied,  are  exas- 
pented  into  a  poisonous  quality — the  chief 
lesion  discovered  after  death,  has  been  said 
to  be  found  in  the  trunk  of  the  8th  pair,  where 
it  issues  from  the  skull.*' 

Dr.  Davy  observed,  that  after  the  removal 
of  the  brain  of  a  Torpedo,  no  more  shocks 
were  given  when  the  nerves  of  the  electric 
oigans  were  irritated.  In  one  instance,  when 
a  small  portion  of  brain  had  accidentally  been 
left  in  connection  with  the  electric  nerves  of 
one  side,  the  fish  gave  a  shock  when  irri- 
tated. 

MuUer  expresses  the  belief  that, «« electri- 
city is  generated  in  living  bodies,"  and  that  it 
**  does  not  appear  possible  for  the  various 
chemical  changes  which  take  place  in  them, 
to  occur  without  some  development  of  elec- 
tricity." 

The  experiments  of  Pfaf  and  Ahrens,  re- 
ported in  Meckel's  Archives,  (v.  iii.  p.  161) 
among  other  results  shewed,  that  the  elec- 
tricity of  the  human  body  in  a  healthy  state 
is  positive — that  excitable  persons  of  a  san- 
gnme  temperament,  have  more  free  electricity 
3ian  indolent  persons  of  a  phle^atic  tem- 
perament— ^that  when  the  body  is  cold,  no 
evid»ice  of  electricity  is  shewn,  but  gradually 
it  becomes  manifest  as  warmth  is  restored — 
that  during  the  continuance  of  rheumatic  af- 
fections, t&e  electricity  of  the  body  is  reduced 
to  zero,  but  is  manifested  aeain  as  the  dis- 
ease subsides.    Humboldt  also  thinks,  that 


rheumatic  patients  have  an  insulating  action 
action  on  the  feeble  current  produced  by  a 
single  galvanic  circle.* 

To  be  Continued. 


The  Mi^or  Periods  of  Development  In  Muiy 
betag  a  sixth  oontribtttlon  to  Proleptios, 
Br  T.  LArcoox,  M.  D., 
Ph^aieian  to  the  York  Dispenaary,  ^ 
The  course  of  human  life  has  been  divided 
into  periods  from  a  very  remote  antiquity. 
The  most  casual  observer  must  see  that  there 
is  a  progressive  evolution  of  each  individual, 
through  infancy,  youth,  and  puberty,  to  the 
climax  of  complete  development,  bom  mental 
and  corporeal ;  and  from  ;nence  a  mdual  in- 
volution of  the  system,  and  a  decline  of  all 
the  powers,,  until  the  man  descends  into  what 
has  been  expressively  termed  his  second 
childhood,  and,  at  last,  into  the  grave.  This 
cycle  of  change,  looked  at  as  a  whole,  gives 
to  the  mind  the  idea  of  ascent  and  descent, — 
not  quickly  or  irregularly,  but  step  by  step ; 
and  since  certain  points  are  well  marked  m 
the  course  of  life  (as  dentition,  pubertj',  the 
decline  of  the  sexual  functions,  &c.),  and  di- 
vide it  into  distinct  periods,  these  were  termed 
by  the  Greeks,  with  reference  to  this  idea, 
dimacteric»  from  gradusy  scalar  a  step,  or  se- 
ries of  steps.  The  modem  German  term  for 
the  climacteric  years,  stufenjahre,  step-years, 
expresses  the  same  idea.  These  years  and 
periods  have  also  been  termed  septenary, 
from  an  early  age,  because  the  latter  were 
supposed  to  comprise  a  lapse  of  seven  years, 
so  that  the  climacteric  and  septenary  periods 
are  synonymous.  The  origin  of  this  idea  of 
periods  of  seven  years  is  lost  in  remote  an- 
tiquity. It  formed  a  part  of  the  doctrines  of 
Pygathoras,  who,  it  appears,  was  not  the 
founder,  but  only  the  Eurojiean  propagator 
of  these  doctrines,  he  having  derived  them 
from  the  ancient  Egyptian  or  Chaldeans.  As 
applied  by  the  latter,  they  referred  not  only 
to  the  health,  but  to  the  events  of  a  man's 
life.  "  Pericula  quoque  vitae  fortunarumque 
hominum  qu»  clinuicteras  Chaldaei  appellant, 
gravissima  qiUBque  fieri  affirmat  Aristides  Sa- 
mius  septenariis."  (Aulus  Gellius,  lib.  iii., 
cap.  X.)  This  doctrine  of  septenniads  and 
septenaries  has  come  down  to  modem  tunes 
almost  unchanged.  Its  history  presents  the 
singular  phenomenon  of  a  mere  philosophical 
dogma  passing  uninjured  through  the  most 
extensive  revolutions  in  human  society,  and 
surviving  the  utter  overthrow  of  empires  and 
religions.  Long  after  the  a^  of  Pygathoras 
we  trace  it  in  the  Hippocratic  writings ;  it  is 


vol 


I  find  nnce  thisleetvre  was  written  in  the  Magnet, 

I  vol  1,  p.  193.  that  Dr  Mailer,  of  Pittsbur^h^  ha«  pob. 
lishcd  experiments  to  prove  that  the  electricity  of  the 
body  is  developed  during  motion,  so  that  the  electro- 
meter  is  affected. 


68 


Major  Periods  of  Development  in  Man. 


Sroininent  in  those  of  the  later  Greeks;  it 
ourished  in  the  middle  ages ;  and  it  is  ex- 
tensively adopted  by  modem  physicians.  The 
editor  of  the  "  Medico  Chiruigical  Review," 
for  example,  divides  life  into  ten  septenniads. 
after  the  ancient  mode,  asserting,  further,  that 
there  is  a  difference  of  seven  years  betr^'een 
Ute  two  sexes,  not  in  the  actual  duration  of 
life,  but  in  the  stamina  of  the  constitution, 
the  symmetry  of  the  form,  and  the  lineaments 
of  the  face.  (Economy  of  Health,  second 
edition,  p.  ^^.)  It  is  manifest  that  the  major 
vital  periods  can  only  be  marked  by  changes 
in  structure  or  function.  By  the  observation 
of  these  changes  the  ancients  professed  to 
subdivide  the  whole  period  of  life ;  and  this 
plan,  indeed,  is  the  only  safe  plan  for  the 
modern  scientific  inquirer.  He  must  observe 
the  evolution  of  structure,  of  function,  and  of 
diseasi^. 

Diocles,  the  successor  of  Hippocrates  both 
in  fame  and  skill,  wrote  a  book  ••  concerning 
weeks."  Macrobius  has  a  notice  of  his  doc- 
trines, which  describe  the  development  of  the 
individual  man  as  follows :— The  limbs  of  the 
male  foetus  are  distinct  at  the  seventh  week 
and  the  birth  takes  place  at  the  ninth  month, 
but  if  they  be  distinct  at  the  fifth  week,  birth 
takes  place  at  the  seventh  month.  If  the 
infant  survive  the  seventh  hour,  it  will  proba- 
bly live ;  at  the  end  of  seven  days  the  umbil- 
ical cord  sloughs  off;  in  2x7  days  the  infant 
perceives  the  light,  and  in  7x7  days  it  turns 
Its  head  to  follow  with  its  eyes  the  objects 
presented  to  it.  When  seven  months  old,  its 
teeth  begin  to  develop ;  in  2x7  months  it  can 
sit  without  fear  of  falling ;  after  3x7  months 
it  speaks;  in  4x7  months  it  is  suflScienthr 
strong  to  walk  firmly;  and  at  5x7  months  it 
has  an  aversion  for  the  breast  At  the  age  of 
seven  years  it  loses  its  first  teeth  and  speaks 
distinctly ;  at  2x7  years  it  attains  the  age  of 


years 

the  man  is  at  his  full  strength,  and  so  continues 
at  6x7;  but  at  7x7  the  strength  somewhat 
diminishes.  Lastly,  at  10x7  (the  two  most 
perfect  numbers)  are  the  limits  of  life,  and 
those  who  have  passed  this  term  are  exempt 
from  all  labour.  (Le  Clerc,  Histoire  de  fa 
Medecinc,  p.  211.)  ««  The  days  of  our  years 
are  three-score  years  and  ten."  So  wrote 
Moses,  a  philosopher,  poet,  historian,  and 
statesman,  the  supposed  fellow-student  of 
Hermes  in  the  college  of  On,  and  undoubtedly 
a  man  learned  in  all  the  learning  of  the 
Egyptians ;  and  he  adds,  almost  immediately, 
"so  teach  us  to  number  our  days  that  we 
may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom,"  as  if  he 
I  b«5n  pondering  over  the  philosophy  then 


current,  and  thinking  how  stoically  it  calcu- 
lated the  duration  of  the  health  and  life  of 
man,  numbered  his  days,  and  hopelessly  de- 
monstrated their  termination. 

The  doctrines  of  Diodes  are  distinctly  laid 
down  in  the  Hipnocratic  writings,  especially 
in  the  book  entitled  "  De  Carnibus,"  and  in 
those  "  De  Septimestri  Partu"  and  »*  De  Oc- 
timestri  Partu,"  written  apparently  by  the 
same  author.  The  writer  refers  to  the  sep- 
tennial phases,  and  specially  notes  the  teeth 
developed  in  the  fourth  septenary,  which  he 
terms  moderatores.  That  the  life  of  man  is 
circumscribed  by  the  number  of  seven  days  is 
manifest,  he  observes,  and  then  refers,  like 
Diocles,  to  the  periods  of  foetal  development, 
but  introduces  decades  ofveeks,  and  observes 
that  the  period  of  utero-gestatioti  is  four  de- 
cades of  weeks.  He  also  states  the  doctrine 
of  equal  and  unequal  days ;  coT^nects  the  pe- 
riods of  fevers  with  the  periods  of  develop- 
ment ;  and  refers  to  the  full  moon  as  having 
influence. 

Some  critics  have  remarked  that  the  book 
termed  "  De  Carnibus,"  ought  to  be  entitled 
•*  De  Principiis,"  concerning  principles.  It  is 
very  probable  that  this  and  the  two  following 
books  constitute  an  exposition  of  the  Pyga- 
thorean  doctrines  as  they  were  applied  to 
transcendental  physiolo^  and  medicine  when 
the  author  wrote.*  Hippocrates  was  thor- 
oughly imbued  with  these  views,  and  has  left 
several  practical  observations.  For  example, 
he  says  that  convulsions  do  not  accompany 
fever  in  patients  above  the  age  of  seven  yean, 
and  that  if  they  do,  they  indicate  danger. 
According  to  him,  the  following  diseases  do 
not  attack  individuals  under  the  age  of  pu- 
berty, or  fourteen  years : — ^inflammations  of 
the  lungs,  pains  in  the  side,  eout;  diseases  of 
the  kidneys,  varicose  veins  of  the  legs,  men- 
orrhagia,  cancer,  a  species  of  leprosy  (vitili- 
go), a  disease  termed  deflexion  on  the  medulla 
spinalis,  hemorrhoids,  and  a  disease  of  the 
intestines  termed  chordapsus.  From  the  four- 
teenth to  the  forty-second  year,  any  kind  of 
disease  may  attack  the  system,  but  from  the 
latter  to  the  sixty-third  it  is  exempt  from 
struma,  from  calculus  in  the  bladder  (unless 
it  existed  previously),  from  defluxion  on  the 
spinal  medulla,  from  diseases  of  the  kidneys, 
unless  arising  in  previous  years,  from  bleed- 
ing piles,  and  from  mcnorrhagia,  except  when 
connected  with  antecedent  Sseaae.  These 
statements,  whether  considered   phyaiologi- 


*  Rurdach,  the  German  phys.ologist,  adopu  the  de- 
cade numeration  in  a  work  he  ha»  publinhed  on  the  pe- 
node  of  life,  entitled  "Die  Zeitrecimung  de«  Menschli- 
chen  Lebene ;"  Leipzig,  i8^.  According  to  M.  Quct*- 
Ict  (for  I  have  not  seen  the  book)  he  divides  life  into 
ten  periods  of  four  hundred  weeks  each,  and  Uiusnaakes 
an  age  of  the  first  dentition,  adolrscenca,  4fcc.  In  tha 
first  period  is  a  secondary  one  of  iorty  weeka,  the  age 
of  lactation. 


Major  Periods  of  Development  in  Man. 


69 


tally  or  patholpgically,  are  correct  upon  the 
vbole. 

The  preceding  remarks  roust  perve  as  an 
exposition  of  the  doctrine  of  the  ancients  re- 
gardine  septenaries.  It  now  remains  to  in- 
quire now  far  these  doctrines  are  trae,  and 
what  practical  benefits  can  be  derived  from 
them. 

La  man,  life  may  be  divided  into  three  great 
periods.    The  first  may  be  defined  as  extend- 
ing frcHn  the  commencement  of  intra-uterine 
existence  to  the  complete  evolution  of  the  sex- 
ual o^ans ;  tbe  second  comprises  the  period 
in  which  those  oi^ans  are  acfive;  and  the 
third  extends  from  the  period  when  they  cease 
to  act  to  the  termination  of  life.    These  are 
clear  and  well-defined  epochs,  but  it  is  diffi- 
cuJt  to  ^  their  precise  dates,  for  all  vital 
I       chan^  are  gradual,  and  do  not  admit  of  ex- 
\      act  hmitation.     Similar  difficulty  is  experi- 
enced in  the  attempt  at  a  natural  classification 
<^f  animals,  and  is  only  overcome  by  having 
transition  or  inesculent  groups.     We  may 
adopt  a  like  expedient  here.    The  first  period 
may  l>e  stated  as  comprising  21  years,  the 
second  28  years,  and  the  third  21  years.  The 
secondary  periods  of  the  first  great  period  will 
be  seven,  namely,—!,  intra-uterine  life;  2, 
the  period  between  birth  and  the  first  denti- 
'        ^oa ;  3,  the  time  occupied  by  the  first  denti- 
Hob;  4,  the  period  between  the  first  and 
Becopd  deatiuons ;  5,  the  time  of  the  second 
dentition;  6,  the  period  between  the  latter 
and  commencing  puberty ;  7,  the  time  occu- 
pied in  the  evolution  of  the  reproductive  or- 
cms.    The  second  great  period  will  comprise 
ttiiee  minor  periods.     First,  the  perfecting  of 
adolescence  from  21  to  28 ;  secondly,  the  cli- 
max of  deyelopment,  or  status  of  life,  from 
21  to  42 ;  and  thirdly,  the  septenary  of  de- 
dine  in  the  reproductive  powers,  extending 
from  42  to  49,  after  which  latter  age  concep- 
tion rarely  takes  place.    The  third  comprises 
also  three  periods,  the  first  from  49  to  63,  the 
grand  dini^teric ;  the  second  from  63  to  70, 
or  old  age ;  and  the  third  from  70  to  death, 
tbe  jem  of  atas  ingravescensy  or  decrepitude. 
In  lixing  these  epochs  I  have  followed  the 
generally  received  septennial  division,  bein^ 
lelnctant  to  make  any  innovation  thereon.   It 
would,  I  think,  however,  be  more  in  accord- 
ance with  modem  science  to  date,  not  from 
the  birthy  but  the  conception  of  the  individual. 
If  this  be  done,  each  great  period  should  be 
calculated  as  commencing  mne  solar  months 
earlier. 
Those  of  the  readers  of  Tax  Lancet  who 
;       may  have  perused  the  first  paper  in  my  series 
I       would  ohaerwe  that  the  periods  of  development 
in  insects  were  more  particularly  alluded  to 
as  establishing  the  mmor  periods,  namely, 


those  in  relation  with  critical  days,  the  cata- 
menial  period,  &c.  These  phases  of  devel- 
opment, in  birds,  are  indicated  in  most  in- 
stances by  moulting,  a  process  in  which  the 
mucous  membrane  of  the  whole  system  is 
implicated,  as  well  as  the  skin  and  its  appen- 
dages. In  all  birds  a  moult  takes  place  sooner 
or  later  after  being  hatched,  but  it  does  not 
clearly  appear  what  dentition  (for  this  is 
analogous  to  moulting)  corresponds  to  this 
moult.  I  am  inclined  to  think,  however, 
that  its  analo^e  is  neither  the  first  nor  the 
second  dentition,  but  both.  The  plumage 
characteristic  of  the  sexes  begins  to  appear  at 
this  moult,  and  it  is  always  a  period  of  dan- 

fer  to  domesticated  birds,  as  peacocks,  tur- 
eys,  pheasants,  canaries,  &c.  As  iron  is 
recommended  for  their  cure,  the  state  of 
health  seems  analogous  to  the  chlorotic  con- 
dition of  young  people.  Buffbn  remarks  that 
the  period  is  analogous  to  dentition  in  chil- 
dren, meaning,  1  suppose,  the  first.  In  tur- 
keys it  occurs  in  six  or  eight  weeks  after  the 
hatch ;  in  peacocks,  four  weeks ;  in  partridges 
twelve  weeks ;  in  canaries,  five  or  six  weeKS. 
The  period  during  which  the  eyes  of  some 
mammals  are  closed  after  birth  is  worthy 
notice,  this  being  evidently  heptal.  In  whelps 
it  is  fourteen  days;  in  bear-cubs,  twenty- 
ei^ht  days.  It  may  be  possible  that  the  idea 
ofDiocles,  respecting  the  first  use  of  the  eyes 
after  birth,  may  have  some  foundation  in 
truth.  That  some  change  takes  place  in  the 
infant  in  the  eighth  week  may  be  fairly  in- 
ferred from  the  fact  that  the  man  with  ich- 
thyosis, (the  porcupine  man)  whose  history 
is  detailed  in  an  early  volume  of  the  "  Philo- 
sophical Transactions,"  (1731),  and  who 
transmitted  his  disease  to  his  progeny,  stated 
that  the  cutaneous  afiection  appeared  in  him- 
self when  about  seven  or  eight  weeks  old ; 
and  we  find,  subsequently,  that  his  six  chil- 
dren had  the  disease  first  at  the  same  age. 
The  tusks  of  young  elephants  are  shed  in  ue 
twelfth  or  thirteenm  year,  but  the  cheek-teeth 
appear  six  or  seven  weeks  after  birth.  But 
the  seventh  and  fourteenth  days  of  infants 
seem  to  constitute  periods.  M.  Quetelet  finds 
that  the  weight  of  an  infant  diminishes  sensi- 
bly immediately  after  birth,  and  does  not  be- 
gin to  increase  until  after  the  seventh  day. 
in  1810,  Dr.  Holland  published  a  table  of 
deaths  in  newly-born  infants  from  tetanus  in 
the  Westmann  islands,  Iceland,  and  denoted 
the  days  most  fatal:  in  185  deaths,  75  took 
place  on  the  seventh  day.  A  few  hours  must  ^ 
be  idlowed  for  retarded  labor  and  errors  in  * 
computation,  but  if  we  take  the  sixth,  sev- 
enth, and  eighth  days,  the  average  of  deaths 
is  37  2-3  daily,  while  the  average  of  the  re- 
maining 18  days  is  only  4.    An  increased 


70 


Major  Periods  of  Development  in  Man. 


mortality  took  place  on  the  fourteenth  day 
after  birth.  (Edin.  Med.  and  Surg.  Jour, 
vol.  viii.,  p.  207.)  The  fourteenth  day  after 
birth,  is  marked  £^80  by  changes  in  the  lower 
animals^ 

The  order  of  development  of  the  teeth  in 
man  is  an  interesting  subject,  as  upon  it  we 
must  principally  rely  for  determining  the  pe- 
riods of  development  in  the  system  generally. 
Mr.  Goodsir^s  researches  are  exceedingly  in- 
teresting, as  marking  their  gradual  hebdoma- 
dal evolution  in  the  embryo  and  foetus,  but 
are  not  sufficiently  accurate  for  our  purpose 
as  to  the  time  when  the  changes  occur.  Pre- 
viously to  the  eruptive  stage,  or  common  den- 
tition, there  are  three  phases  of  development : 
the  papillary,  commencing  about  the  seventh 
weeK  of  foBtal  life,  the  follicular  in  the  tenth, 
and  the  saccular  in  the  fourteenth  week, 
which  continue  until  the  eruptive  stage,  about 
the  seventh  month  after  birth,  when  the  four 
central  incisors  present  themselves.  After 
this  period  the  omer  teeth  appear  at  intervals 
not  yet  precisely  fixed,  the  first  dentition  be- 
in^  terminated,  however,  bv  the  end  of  the 
thirty-sixth  month.  All  is  then  quiescent  for 
three  or  four  years,  or  until  about  the  middle 
or  end  of  the  seventh  year,  when  the  first 
true  molar  makes  its  appearance,  and  which, 
according  to  Mr.  Goodsir,  is  analogous  to  the 
milk-teetli  in  its  mode  of  formation,  tiie  per- 
manent central  incisors  appearing  about  the 
same  time.  Mr.  Saimders  has  proposed  to 
make  use  of  the  development  of  the  perma- 
nent teeth  to  ascertain  the  ages  of  factory 
children,  and  his  table,  deduct  from  several 
hundreds  of  observations,  is  as  follows  :— 
The  first  true  molars  appear  at  the 

age  of       -       -       -  -      7  years. 

The  central  incisors     -  -      8 

lateral  incisors      -  -       9 

first  bicuspids       -  -     10 

second  bicuspid     -  -     11 

canine       -  -  -     13  to  13| 

second  trae  molars  -     13|  to  14 

The  third  pair  of  molars,  the  denies  sapienUSy 
appear  later ;  according  to  Meckel  and  Good- 
sir,  at  from  16  to  20  years. 

In  animals  generally  the  development  of 
the  teeth  is  closely  connected  with  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  reproductive  organs.  The  tusks 
of  the  stallion,  wild  boar,  and  walrus,  are 
sexual,  and  are  simply  canine  teeth  of  an  un- 
usual size  Upon  inquiring  how  far  the  teeth 
are  related  to  the  reproductive  oivans  in  man, 
it  is  interesting  to  observe  that  there  is  occa- 
sionally a  comcidence  of  development  be- 
tween the  two,  which,  a  priori,  would  seem 
improbable.  From  time  to  time  instances  of 
precocious  puberty  have  been  recorded,  and  it 
would  appear  that  the  change  in  the  ovaria 
or  testes,  and  in  the  system  generally,  has  oc- 


curred concurrently  with  a  period  of  about 
forty  weeks  after  birth,  or  with  the  first  or 
second  dentition.  I  have  collected  17  instaa- 
ces  of  this  kind,  with  the  following^  results : 
— 5  were  males  and  12  females ;  of  these,  3 
males  and  1  female  were  more  fuUy  devel- 
oped than  usual  at  birth ;  of  the  remaining,  1 
male  and  3  females  exhibited  the  phenomena 
of  incipient  puberty  at  the  age  of  eight  or 
nine  months,  1  at  two  years,  1  at  two  years 
and  a  half;  6  had  the  catamenia  or  were 
fully  developed  at  three  or  four  years,  and  3 
were  perfect  women  at  8  years.  Two  of  the 
latter  were  pregnant  at  that  age,  and  the  re- 
maining one  lived  to  have  a  numerous  family. 
In  all  mese  instances  in  which  the  growth  of 
the  teeth  is  alluded  to,  it  is  sufficient  to  state 
that  it  was  irregular.  ( Vide  Lond.  Med.  and 
Phys.  Jour.,  vols,  vii.,  xxiv.,  xxv.,  Ixv.;  New 
Lond.  Med.  and  Phys.  Jour.,  vol.  ii. :  Med. 
Chir.  Transactions,  vol.  i.,  ii.,  xii.,  &c,) 

It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  sexual  develop- 
ment tsikes  place  in  these  cases,  as  well  as 
normally,  per  saltum,  an  effort  being  made 
just  at  the  time  when  certain  teeth  are  ap- 
pearing ;  after  the  tooth  is  perfected,  and  the 
constitutional  eflbrt  has  ceased,  so  also  will 
the  nisus  in  the  ovaria  or  testes.  Occasionally 
the  catamenia  appear  in  young  females  about 
the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen,  for  once  or 
twice,  when  the  canine  teeth  are  protruding; 
and  then  cease,  to  re-appear  only  when  pu- 
berty fairly  commences,  about  the  aee  of 
fourteen,  the  period  at  which  the  second  mo- 
lars burst  forth.  Taking  the  appearance  of 
the  teeth  as  indicating  the  periods  of  a  consti- 
tutional nisus,  we  must  look  upon  the  third 
molar  teeth  as  marking  the  conmiencementof 
that  last  stage  of  development  in  which  the 
individual  is  perfected. 

Upon  a  review  of  dental  development  it 
will  be  observed  that  the  periods  lengthen  as 
age  advances  First,  the  primary  papiUs  ap- 
pear hebdomadally  in  the  fcetal  state ;  tbtf  i 
during  the  eruptive  stage,  the  teeth  succeed 
each  other  at  intervals  of  six  or  eight  weeks, 
but  afterwards  of  three  or  four  months.  Du- 
ring the  second  dentition  the  interval  is  at 
first  a  year,  then  a  year  and  a  half,  or  two 
years,  tnen  four  or  five  years.  The  dentition 
observed  at  an  advanced  age  I  shall  notice 

What  relations  have  these  dental  periods 
to  functions,  disease,  and  death .'  Firrt,  as 
regards  function.  The  development  of  the 
thorax  in  males,  concurrently  with  the  testes, 
alters  the  functions  of  the  lungs ;  besides,  as 
plants  consume  a  larger  quantity  of  oxygen 
while  flowering,  or,  in  other  words,  when  ai 
puberty,  we  may  look  for  an  ^^^'^^jf^T 
sumption  in  animals  and  man  at  puberty. 
Now,  M.  Andral  has  found  that  the  excreboo 


Major  Periods  of  Development  in  Man.    . 


71 


of  eaibonic  acid  from  the  lungs  is  greater  in 
males  than  in  females  after  eight  years  of  age ; 
in  the  fonner,  at  puberty,  the  quantity  sud- 
denly increases,  while  in  Uie  latter,  when  the 
catamenia  conDnence,  the  excretion  is  as 
suddenly  arrested,  and  remains  stationary  in 
quantity,  and  almost  as  small  as  in  child- 
hood, so  long  as  the  monthly  uisus  continues : 
when  this  ceases,  or  when  pre^ancy  takes 
place,  the  quantity  immediately  mcreases.  In 
males  the  excretion  begins  to  diminish  in 
quantity  at  the  age  of  30 ;  between  16  and 
that  age  it  is  double  that  excreted  by  the  fe- 
male. M.  Boui?ery  made  experiments  on  the 
oapadty  tf  thelungs  in  the  two  sexes  at  dif- 
feient  ^es.  He  found  that  the  volume  of  the 
lespfiation  of  the  male  doubles  that  of  the  fe- 
male, and  that  the  plenitude  in  both  sexes 
occurs  at  the  age  of  30.  The  volume  of  air 
nequiied  by  an  individual  in  an  ordinary  res- 
ptration  augnients  gradually  with  the  age. 
The  relations  between  the  ases  of  7,  15,  20, 
and  80,  are  geometrical,  ana  represented  by 
the  numbers  1,  2,  4,  8.  (Dublin  Medical 
Presa,  March  15, 1843.) 

The  muscular  system  acquires  additional 
development  doling  the  second  dentition,  and 
in  boys  ^  respiratory  movements  are  pro- 
portionally active;  but  it  appears  that  they 
are  not  so  in  giris,  and  we  can  thus  explain 
the  greater  prevalence  of  chorea  in  the  fatter 
aez  at  the  second  dentition.  The  less  liability 
IbcoDVolsians,  on  the  access  of  febrile  afibc- 
tions,  may  be  connected  with  this  increased 
ansoilarity.    According  to  Quetelet,  during 
childhood  the  lumbar  power  of  boys  is  about 
floe-lfaiid  more  than  that  of  girls ;  towards  the 
age  of  piabeity  one-half;  and  the  strength  of 
a  developed  man  is  double  that  of  a  woman. 
Tlieae  data  correspond  so  closely  with  ^ose 
of  Bomgery  and  Andral,  on  die  respiratory 
faactiona,  that  the  coincidence  cannot   be 


M.  Quetelet  also  shows  that  the  ratio  of 
giowdi  of  a  child  in  height  diminishes  as  its 
age  increases,  until  the  end  of  the  firet  denti- 
tion. Fhmi  the  fourth  or  fifth  year  the  in- 
ereaae  of  stature  is  almost  the  same  in  each 
year  up  to  the  sixteenth,  when  it  diminishes 
gradaaJly  until  the  attainment  of  the  25th 
year,  if  a  male,  but  eariier  if  a  female.  The 
weiriit  follows  the  same  rate  of  increase  as 
the  height 

According  to  Quetelet  the  viability  between 
faiith  and  complete  puberty  varies  considerably 
at  different  ages.  fiVom  birth  to  the  comple- 
tion of  the  first  dentition  the  mortality  is 
r;  it  then  diminishes,  and  at  the  age  of 
years  the  probability  of  life  attains  its 
maximum.  At  13  or  14  a  favorable  chan^^e 
is  agaiu  utAerved;  viability  is  then  at  its 


maximum,  or  in  other  words,  it  is  the  period 
when  man  can  most  depend  upon  his  actual 
existence.  The  periods  of  dentition  (and 
also  the  analogous  periods  of  moult  in  ani- 
mals) are  the  times  when  the  individual  is 
most  liable  to  disease,  and,  during  the  firet 
dentition  at  least,  to  death.  Mr.  Parr's  tables 
show  this  very  strikingly.  The  eruption  of 
each  individual  tooth,  both  in  the  hrstand 
second  dentition,  is  invariably  attended  with 
considerable  constitutional  disturbance  in  deli- 
cate persons,  so  considerable,  indeed,  during 
even  the  eruption  of  the  third  molars,  or 
denies  sapienttos,  as  sometimes  to  create  alarm. 
The  great  mortality  in  the  first  four  months 
of  infantile  existence  seems  to  be  connected 
rather  with  congenital  debility,  many  only 
breathing  once  or  twice ;  or  wtth  extraneous 
circumstances,  as  early  exposure  to  cold,  &c. 
Antecedently  to  the  first  dentition  infants  are 
remarkably  free  from  the  attacks  of  prevalent 
and  fatal  epidemics. 

The  development  of  the  reproductive  or- 
gans has  a  secondary  influence  on  the  system 
at  large,  and  modifies  its  diseases.  In  males 
(as  just  stated)  the  thoracic  region  is  more 
fully  developed,  the  respiration  and  circula- 
tion becoming  more  active.  We^  can  thus 
explain  the  liability  of  youths  to  diseases  of 
the  heart,  and  to  haemophrsis  and  other  pul- 
monary afiections.  In  both  sexes  the  kidneys 
are  acted  upon  by  the  ovaria  and  testes,  and 
their  functional  activity  is  exalted  or  dimin- 
ished. Hence  a  class  of  diseases  is  observed 
in  youth  analogous  to  those  observed  in 
spring  and  autumn.  In  females  with  the 
eouty  diathesis  this  ovarian  action  upon  the 
Kidneys  develops  those  irregular  forms  of 
hysteria  which  so  often  baffle  the  skill  of  the 
routinist  The  irritation  set  up  in  various 
organs  connected  anatomically  or  physiolod- 
cally  with  the  ovaria,  as,  for  example,  ue 
organs  of  voice,  the  mammse,  the  pelvic  vis- 
cera, the  dorso-Iumbar  cord,  and  those  parts 
of  the  encephalon  associated  with  the  sexual 
instinct,  is  so  great  as  to  stimulate  inflamma- 
tion, and  being  founded  on  an  arthritic  dia- 
thesis it  assumes  the  mizratory  character  6i 
arthritic  disease.  Thus  the  diagnosis  and  the 
treatment  are  rendered  hopelessly  difilcult  to 
the  practitioner  whose  «  practical"  knowled^ 
is  not  derived  from  the  true  source  of  practi- 
cal skiU,  namely,  a  knowledge  and  just  ap- 
preciation of  physiological  laws. 

These  views  respectine  the  ovarian  and 
renal  origin  of  the  anomalous  forms  of  hys- 
teria are  developed  at  length  in  my  publisned 
work ;  as  they  are  based  on  the  solid  founda- 
tion of  physiology  applied  to  pathology,  I 
venture  to  hope  that  in  proportion  as  the 
solido  humoral  pathology  of  the  day  is  per- 


72 


New  Era  in  Medicine. 


fected,  their  correctness  ^vill  be  admitted.  It 
is  manifest  that  as  the  due  evolution  of  the 
system  in  youth  is  necessary  to  healthy  and 
useful  manhood,  and  to  a  comfortable  old 
age,  the  laws  of  development  and  their  bear- 
ingon  pathology  are  of  the  first  importance. 

To  consider  the  remaining  periods  of  life, 
namely,  the  status  and  decline,  would  be  to 
review  the  whole  domain  of  pathology.  After 
the  age  of  30  or  35  the  abdominal  viscera  play 
a  more  important  part  in  health  and  disease, 
and  often  ^ive  the  latter  its  distinguishing 
characteristics.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that 
just  as  precocious  puberty  is  occasionally  seen 
in  infancy,  so  an  attempt  at  rejuvenescence  js 
sometimes  made  in  old  age,  about  the  grand 
climacteric,  or  later.  There  is  a  fresh  eruption 
of  teeth,  a  complete  set  sometimes  protruding, 
the  reproductive  organs  reassume  their  acti- 
vity, and  the  catamenia  again  appear,  as  well 
as  other  phenomena,  observed  only  durins 
the  evolution  of  the  syslem.  Stol^Good,  and 
others,  have  recorded  instances  of  this  kind. 
That  this  is  not  mere  chance  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  a  similar  change  is  observed  in  the 
lower  animals.  Gallinaceous  albinos — pheas- 
ants, for  example, — according  to  Temminck, 
will  assume  all  their  former  brilliancy  of 
plumase,  proving  (since  the  latter  is  strictly 
sexual)  that  the  reproductive  or^ns  are  again 
active.  The  hen  of  the  galbnaceous  and 
other  birds  occasionally  approximates  in  plu- 
mage to  the  cock,  and  ceases  laying.  It  has 
been  shown  by  Yarrell  that  this  change  is 
connected  with  a  shrinking  of  the  ovaries ; 
but  sometimes  the  male  plumage  falls  off,  and 
that  of  the  female  is  redeveloped,  and  then 
the  bird  lays  em  again.  Nature  herself  here 
exhibits  something  uke  perpetual  youth,  and 
those  who  wish  for  this  grand  desideratum 
would  do  well  to  inquire  closely  into  the  cir- 
cumstanci's  which  accompany  me  rejuvenes- 
oence  described. 

The  periods  of  life  have  a  much  more  im- 
portant and  practical  bearing  on  the  periodic 
aevelonment  of  hereditary  cusease.  It  is  as 
certainly  true  that  oil  the  peculiarities  of  the 
parent  are  transmitted  to  the  ofidprin^,  as  that 
the  whole  is  equal  to  the  sum  of  all  its  parts. 
Some  or  many  of  the  peculiarities  derived 
from  the  one  parent  may  be  n^atived  by  pe- 
culiarities denved  from  the  other,  or  even  hy 
extraneous  circumstances,  and  not  be  mani- 
fest in  the  offspring ;  but  they  are  not  the  less 
surely  there,  and  may  and  do  reappear  in  the 
third  or  fourth  generation.  In  a  previous 
paper  I  observed  that  as  conception  took 
place  at  a  minor  period  (the  catamenial),  the 
minor  periods,  at   least,  of    the  offspring, 

would  correspond  to  those  of  the  mother,  and  fitted  to  mathematicfans,  and  fpures  be  al- 
that  if  twins  dated  their  conception  frona  the  owed  to  express  the  mysterious  lawa  of  or- 
same  hour,  the  periods  of  their  hfe  would  be  Iganic  ]^t,'-EdU.  L,  Lancet. 


coincident  I  gave,  also,  an  iUustration  of 
this  inference,  in  which  twins  (two  boys) 
went  through  dentition,  and  were  attacked  by 
indisposition  and  infantile  disease  always  at 
the  same  time.  Stoll  seems  to  have  suspect- 
ed some  coincidences  of  this  cind  when  he 
remarked — "  Utile  est  observare  necne  sem- 
per eo  tempore  quo  infans  corripitur  enilepsia 
matri  ffuant  menses,  necne."  (Ratio  Meden- 
di,  Aphor.  209.)  What  is  true  of  the  minor 
periods  is  true  of  the  major,  and  examples  in 
proof  are  numerous.  Phthisis  carries  off  the 
members  of  a  ftunily  as  they  successively  ar- 
rive at  a  certain  stage  of  development;  in- 
sanitv  appears  at  a  known  age  in  all  the 
members  of  another;  apoplexy  and  paralysis 
in  those  of  a  third,  &c.  Dr.  Martin  has  re- 
corded a  striking  example  of  this  periodic  de- 
velopment of  hereditary  disease.  A  person 
named  Moses  Le  Compte,  who  was  blind, 
had  thirty-seven  children  and  grand-children 
that  became  blind  like  himsell  The  blind- 
ness is  described  as  commencing  in  all  about 
the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen,  and  terminating 
in  total  deprivation  of  sight  about  twent)'-two. 
(Quoted  uom  the  Baltimore  Med.  and  Phys. 
Jour.,  vol.  1.,  p.  394.)  But,  indeed,  many 
similar  instances  might  be  quoted  from  nu- 
merous writers,  whidi,  ii  less  striking,  are 
equally  instructive-  Such  may  be  found,  for 
example,  in  Dr.  Holland's  interesting  essay 
on  the  Hereditary  Transmission  of  Disease. 
( Vide  Medical  Notes  and  Refections,  p.  27, 
1st  edition.)  The  assiduous  cultivation  of 
this  branch  of  vital  proleptics  promises  the 
most  valuable  and  practical  results.  £very 
family  should  possess  its  medical  history, 
with  exact  dates,  just  as  a  nation  its  archives, 
and  illustrated  by  a  series  of  Dagneneotype 
portraits.  The  physician  could  then  have 
data  that  might  enable  him  to  anticipate  he- 
reditary disease*  and  if  not  to  prevent  its  de- 
velopment, at  least  to  predict  its  occairenoe 
and  modify  its  influence.  But,  indeed,  if  the 
laws  re|^ulating  the  hereditary  tnuismisskm 
and  periodic  evolution  of  morbid  states  be 
once  clearly  ascertained  in  all  their  rekUionSf 
much  of  the  imperfection  of  medical  adenoe 
would  be  obviated,  and  its  value  piopoition- 
ally  exalted. 

With  our  countryman,  Clifton  Wint- 
RiNOHAM,  the  school  of  mathematical  fhyn- 
cians  seemed  to  expire.  With  section  A, 
that  of  "  Mathematics  and  Physics,"  in  the 
British  Association  of  Cork,  the  labours  of 
medical  men  have  as  little  connection  as  with 
any  of  the  departments  into  which  the  meet- 
inp  were  divided.  Yet  the  time  may  come 
when  the  data  of  physiologists  will  be  sub- 


New  Era  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 


73 


jfBw  BRA  nar  the  praotioe  of  medi- 

OINB. 

Lectures  dcUrered  at  the  Egyptian  Hall, 

JPicadiliy,  London,  ISIO. 

Br  Samdbl  Dickson,  M.  D.' 

LECTURE  I. 

Fallacies  or  the  Faculty. 

Introduction — Phenomena    of  Health    and 

Sleep — Disease  and  its  Type — Causes, 

Gentlemen, — ^We  daily  hear  of  the  march 
of  intellect,  of  the  progress  of  perfection  of 
many  branches  of  science.    Has  Medicine 
kept  pace  with  the  other  arts  of  life — has  it 
fallen  short  or  excelled  them  in  the  rivalry  of 
improvement?     Satisfactorily  to  solve  this 
question,  we  must  look  a  little  deeper  than 
me  surface — for  Truth,  as  the  ancients  said, 
lies  in  a  well, — meaning  thereby  that  few 
people  are  d««p-sighted  enough  to  find  it  out. 
In  me  case  of^  Mraicine,  we  must  neither  be 
m^^ftified  by  the  boasting  assertions  of  disin 
g^uous  teachers,  nor  suffer  ourselves  to  be 
misled  by  the  constant  misrepresentation  of 
the  medical  press — for  these  publications  for 
the  most  part  aie  nothing  better  than  mere 
oigans  of  paiU',  and,  like  the  newspapers  of 
the  day,  do  often  Httle  more  than  crush  and 
ciy  down  any  truths  that  militate  against  the 
interest  of  the  schools  and  coteries  they  are 
anployed  to  serve.    The  late  Sir  WUham 
£ajgliton  was  at  the  head  of  his  profession ; 
he  was,  moreoTer,  physician  to  George  the 
Fourth.    Joining,  as  he  did,  much  worldly 
wiedom  and  saeacity  to  a  competent  knowl- 
ed^  o[  the  medical  science  of  his  age,  his 
opinion  of  the  state  of  our  art  in  these  later 
times  may  be  worth  your  knovdng;  more 
especially  as  it  was  given  in  private,  and  at 
a  period  when  he  had  ceased  to  be  pecuni- 
arily interested  in  its  practice.    In  one  of  his 
private  letters,  published  after  his  death,  he 
thus  deliTers  himself : — "  It  is  somewhat 
strange  that,  though  in  many  arts  and  sci- 
ences improvement  has  advanced  in  a  step  of 
regular  progression  from  the  first,  in  others, 
it  nas  kept  no  pace  with  time ;  and  we  look 
back  to  ancient  excellence  with  wonder  not 
unmJTed  with  awe.    Medicine  seems  to  be 
one  of  those  ill-fated  arts  whose  improve- 
ment bears  no  proportion  to  its  antiquity. 
This  is  lamentably  true,  although  Anatomy 
has  been  better  illustratBd,  the  Materia  Medica 
enlaiged,  and  Chemistry  better  understood."* 
Dr.  James  Gregory,  a  man  accomplished  in 
all  the  science  and  literature  of  his  time,  was 
for  many  years  the   leading  physician  of 
Edinbui]^h ;  but  he  nevertheless  held  his  pro- 
fession in  contempt.     On  visiting  London,  he 

*  T^fl  mden  of  the  l>ia»ecior  will  find  these  Lec- 
tiKft  cztremejT  rich. 

10 


had  an  opportunity  of  being  introduced  to 
his  equally  celebrated  countrjTnan  and  con- 
temporary Baillie.     Curious  to  know  Gre- 
gory's opinion  of  the  man  who  then  swayed 
the  medical  sceptre  of  the  metropolis,  his 
friends  asked  him  what  he  thouglit  ofjBaillie. 
"  Baillie,"  he  replied,  knows  nothing  but 
physic  ;*'  in  revenge  for  which,  Bailie  after- 
wairds    wittily  rejoined,   "  Gregory   knows 
every  thing  but  Physic."     But  w^hat  was  Dr. 
Bailiie's  own  opinion  of  his  profession  after 
all  ?    I  do  not  now  allude  to  his  language 
during  the  many  years  he  was  in  full  practice ; 
then,   doubtless,  with  the  multitude    who 
thronged  his  door,  he  really  believed  he  knew 
a  great  deal ;  but  what  did  he  say  when  he 
retired  from  practice,  and  settled  at  his  coun- 
try seat  in  Gloucestershire  ?     Then,  without 
the  slightest  hesitation,  he  declared  he  had 
no  faim  in  Physic  whatever !    Gentlemen, 
you  must  not  from  this  imagine  that  the  for- 
tunate doctor  intended  to  say  that  the  world 
all  along  had  been  dreaming  when  it  be- 
lieved Opium  could  produce  sleep.  Mercury 
salivate,  and  Rhubarb  purge.    No  such  thing 
— he  only  confessed  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  manner  of  action  of  these  substances 
on  the  body,  nor  the  principle  upon  which 
they  should  be  used.    Now,  what  would 
YOU  think  of  a  sailor  who  should  express 
himself  in  the  same  way,  in  rtsard  to  the 
rudder  and  compass, — who  should  tell  you 
that  he  had  no  faith  in  either  instrument  as 
a  guide  to  steer  a  vessel  by  ? — why,  certainly 
that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  profession  by 
which  he  gained  his  living.    And  such  really 
was  Dr.  Baillie's  case.    The  gjreat  bulk  of 
mankind  measure  the  professional  abilities 
of  individuals  solely  by  their  degree  of  repu- 
tation— forgetting  Shakspeare's  remark,  that 
a  name  is  very  often  got  without  merit,  and 
lost  without  a  fault.    That  Baillie  actually 
attained  to  the  eminence  he  did,  without  any 
very  ereat  desert  of  his,  what  better  proof 
than  nis  own  declaration  ? — a  declaration 
which  fully  bears  out  what  Johnson  tells  us 
in  his  life  of  Akenside :  "  A  physician  in  a 
CTeat  city,  seems  to  be  the  mere  plajrthing  of 
fortune ;  his  degree  of  reputation  is  for  the 
most  part  totally  casual ;  they  that  employ 
him  know  not  his  excellence — they  that  re- 
ject him  know- not  his  deficiency."    But  still, 
some  of  you  may  very  naturally  ask,  how 
could  Dr.  Baillie,  in  such  a  blissful  state  of 
ignorance  or  uncertainty,  contrive  to  preserve 
for  so  long  a  period  his  high  position  with 
the  professional  public  ?    This  I  take  to  be 
the  true  answer:  the  world,  like  individuals, 
has  its  MdJiood — a  period* when,  knowing 
nothing,  it  may  fairly  be  excused  for  believ- 
ing any  thing.     When  Baillie  began  practice. 


74 


New  Era  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 


the  profession  were  slowly  and  tardily  gi'op- 
in^  their  way  in  the  dark ;  a  few  practical 
points  they  of  course  knew ;  but  of  the  true 
principles  of  the  application  of  those  points, 
they  wore,  as  I  shall  afterwards  show  you, 
entirely  ignorant.  Most  of  them  were,  there- 
fore, very  ready  to  follow  any  one  of  their 
number  who  should  most  lustily  cry,  Eure- 
ka— I  have  found  it! — that  was  what  Dr. 
Baillie  did.  At  the  commencement  of  his  ca- 
reer, few  medical  men  opened  the  bodies  of 
their  dead  patients;  for  Sydenham,  the  Eng- 
lish Hippocrates,  had  long  before  ridiculed 
the  practice.  It  was,  therefore,  all  but  in 
disuse,  and  all  but  forgotten,  when  Dr.  Bail- 
lie  published  his  book  on  Morbid  Anatomy, 
— ^a  book  wherein,  \vith  a  prais worthy  min- 
uteness and  assiduit)%  he  detailed  a  great 
many  of  the  curious  appearances  so  usually 
found  in  the  dissection  of  dead  bodies.  HarJ 
he  stopj)etl  here,  Dr.  Baillie  would  have  done 
Medicine  some  little  service ;  but  by  doing 
more  he  accomplished  kss — more  for  him- 
self, less  for  the  public ;  for  by  further  teach- 
ing that  the  only  way  to  learn  the  cure  of 
the  living  is  to  dissect  the  bodies  of  the  deatl 
he  put  the  profession  on  a  wrong  path, — 
one  from  which  it  will  be  lone;  before  the  un- 
thinking majority  can  in  all  likelihood  be 
easily  reclaimed.  In  the  earlier  part  of  his 
career.  Dr.  Baillie,  it  is  only  fair  to  suppose, 
believed  what  he  wrote,  thonp^h  by  his  after- 
declaration  he  admitted  himself  wrong.  His 
arguments  nevertheless  succeded  but  too  well 
with  the  profession;  proving  the  tnith  of 
Savage  Langdor's  observation,  that,  "  In  the 
intellectual  as  in  the  physical,  men  grasp  you 
finnly  and  tenaciously  by  the  hand,  creeping 
close  at  your  side,  step  by  step,  while  you 
lead  them  into  darkness^  but  when  yort  lead 
them  into  sudden  light,  they  start  and  quit 
you !"  To  impose  upon  the  world  is  to  se 
cure  your  fortune ;  to  tell  it  a  truth  it  did  not 
know  before  is  to  make  your  ruin  equally 
sure.  How  was  the  exposition  of  the  Cir- 
culation of  the  Blood  first  received?  Har- 
vey, its  discoverer,  was  persecuted  through 
life ;  his  enemies  in  derision  styled  him  tne 
Circulator, — a  word  in  its  original  Latin  sig- 
nifying vagabond  or  quack;  and  their  efforts 
to  destroy  nim  were  so  far  successful,  that  he 
lost  the  greater  part  of  his  practice,  through 
their  united  machinations,  "  Morbi  non  el- 
oquentia  sed  remediis  curantur  "  is  an  obser- 
vation some  of  you  may  have  met  in  Celsus 
which,  if  you  will  allow  me,  I  will  trans- 
late : — Diseases  are  cured  by  Reviedie.%  not 
by  Rhodomontade.  Yet  strange  to  say,  the 
generality  of  great  professors  who  have  suc- 
cessively obtained  the  public  ear  since  the 
'tic  of  the  Roman  physician,  have  been  most 


inveterate  against  ever}-  thing  savoring  of  in- 
novation in  the  shape  of  remedies.  Let  me 
give  you  examples.  When  a  limb  is  ampu- 
lateil,  the  sui^eons,  to  prevent  their  patient 
bleeding  to  death,  as  you  all  well  know,  tie 
the  aiteries.  In  the  time  of  Francis  the  First, 
they  followed  another  fashion:  then,  and 
formerly,  they  were  in  the  habit  of  stanch- 
ing the  blood  by  the  application  of  boiling 
pitch  to  the  surface  of  the  stump.  Ambmse 
Pare  principal  surgeon  to  that  king,  introduced 
the  ligature  as  a  substitute — he  tirst  tied  the 
arteries.  Mark  the  reward  of  Ambrose 
Pare :  he  was  hooted  and  howled  down  by  the 
Faculty  of  Physic,  who  ridiculed  the  idea  of 
hanging  human  life  upon  a  thread,  when 
boiling  pitch  had  stood  the  teat  of  centuries. 
In  vain  he  pleaded  the  agony  of  the  old  ap- 
plication ;  in  A'ain  he  showed  the  success  of 
the  ligature.  Corporations,  colleges,  or  co- 
teries of  whatsoever  kind,  seldom  foigive 
merit  in  an  adversary ;  they  continued  to  per- 
secute him  with  the  most  remorseless  ran- 
cour :  luckily  he  had  a  spirit  to  despise  and 
a  master  to  protect  him  against  all  the  efforts 
of  their  mah'ce.  What  physician  now-a- 
days  would  dispute  the  value  of  antiraonv 
as  a  medicine  ?  Yet,  when  lirst  introduced, 
its  employment  was  voted  a  crime.  But  ^"as 
there  no  reason  !  Yes  it  was  introduced  by 
Paracelsus — Paracelsus  the  arch-enemy  of 
the  established  practice.  At  the  instigation 
of  the  college,  the  French  parliament  accord- 
ingly passed  an  act  making  it  penal  to  pre- 
scribe it.  To  the  Jesuites  of  Peru,  Protest- 
ant England  owes  the  invaluable  bark;  how 
did  Protestant  England  first  receive  this  gift 
of  the  Jesuites.'  Being  a  popish  remedy, 
they  at  once  rejected  the  drug  as  the  inven- 
tion of  the  father  of  all  papists — ^the  deril. 
In  1693,  Di-.  Groenvelt  discovered  the  cura- 
tive power  of  Cantharides  in  dropsy ;  what 
an  excellent  thing  for  Dr.  Groenvelt!— Ex- 
cellent indeed ;  for  no  sooner  did  his  cures 
begin  to  make  a  noise  than  he  was  at  once 
committed  to  Newgate,  by  warrant  of  the 
president  of  the  College  of  Physicians,  for 
prescribing  cantharides  internally.  Blush! 
most  sapient  College  of  Physicians— -yoor 
actual  president.  Sir  Henry  Halford,  ifl  a 
humble  imitator  of  the  ruined  Groenvelt  !— 
Before  the  discover}-^  of  vaccination,  Inocu- 
lation for  Small  Pox  was  found  greatly  to 
mitigate  that  terrible  disease.  Who  first  in- 
troduced small  pox  innoculation  ?  Lady  Ma- 
ry Montague,  who  had  seen  its  success  m 
turkey.  Happy  Lady  Mar}-  Montague! 
Rank,  sex,  beauty,  genius — these  all  doubt- 
less conspired  to  bring  the  practice  into  no- 
tice. Listen  to  Lord  Wharncliffe,  who  has 
written  her  life,  and  learn  from  his  story  this 


New  Erd  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine, 


7S 


teirible  truth — ihaX persecution  ^y^i  has  been, 
and  ever  will  be  the  only  reward  of  the  ben- 
cfectors  of  the  human  race.  "  Lady  Mary," 
«ays  his  Lordship,  "  protested  that  in  the 
four  or  five  years  immediately  succeeding  her 
arriTal  at  iTome,  she  seldom  passed  a  day 
without  repenting  of  her  patriotic  undertak- 
ing; and  she  vowed  she  never  would  have 
attempted  it  if  she  had  foreseen  the  vexation, 
the  persecution,  and  even  the  obloquy  it 
brought  upon   her.     The  clamours  raised 
against  the  practice,  and  of  course  against 
her,  were  beyond  belief.     The  faculty  all 
rose  in  arms  to  a  man,  foretelling  failure  and 
the  most  disastrous  consequences;  the  cler- 
gy descanted  from  their  pulpits  on  the  impie- 
ty ol  thus  seeking  to  lake  events  out  of  the 
hands  of  Providence ;  and  the  common  peop- 
le were  taught  to  hoot  at  her  as  an  unnatural 
mother  who  had  risked  the  lives  of  her  o^vn 
children.    We  now  read  in  grave  medical  bi- 
ography, that  the  discover}-  was  instantly 
hailed,'and  the  method  adopted  by  the  princi- 
pal members  of  that  profession.    Very  lik^^y 
they  left  this  recorded — for,  whenever  an  in- 
vention OT  a  project,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  persons,  has  made  its  way  so  well  by 
itself  as  to  establish  a  certain  reputation,  most 
people  are  sure  to  find  out  that  they  always 
psSxamzed  if  from  the  beginning,  and  a  hap- 
py gift  ol  /oigetfulness  enables  many  to  be- 
lieve their  own  assertion.     But  what  said 
Lady  Maiy-  of  the  actual  fact  and  actual  time  ? 
Why,  that  the  four  great  physicians  deputed 
by  government  to  watch  the  progress  of  her 
daughter's  inoculation ,  betrayed  not  only  such 
incredulity  as  to  its  succeto,  but  such  an  un- 
viUingness  to  have  it  succeed — such  an  evi- 
dent spirit  of  rancor  and  malignity,  that  she 
never  cared  to  leave  the  child  aJone  with  them 
one  second,  lest  it  should  in  some  secret  way 
sofier  from  their  interference." 

Gentlemen,  how  was  the  still  greater  dis- 
covery of  the  immortal  Jenner  received — Vac- 
cination ?  Like  every  other  discovery — with 
lidicnle  and  contempt.  By  the  Royal  Col- 
lie of  Physicians,  not  only  was  Jenner  per- 
secuted and  oppressed ;  but  long  even  after 
the  benefits  wnich  his  practice  had  conferred 
upon  mankind  had  been  universally  admitted, 
the  pedants  of  that  most  pedantic  of  bodies 
refused  to  give  him  their  license  to  p^ractice  his 
profeseion  in  London ;  because,  vrith  a  prop- 
er feeling  of  self-respect,  he  declined  to  un- 
deigo  at  their  hands  a  schoolboy  examination 
in  Greek  and  Latin.  The  qualifications  of 
the  schoolmaster,  not  the  attainments  of  the 
physician ;  the  locality  of  study,  rather  than 
the  extent  of  information  possessed  by  the 
candidate,  were,  till  very  lately,  the  indis- 
pensable preliminaries  to  the  honours  of  the 


College.  Public  opinion  has  since  forced 
them  to  a  mere  liberal  course.  But,  to  return 
to  Jenner ; — even  religion  and  the  Bible  were 
made  engines  of  attack  against  him.  From 
these  Errliam  of  Frankfort  deduced  his  chief 
grounds  of  accusation  against  the  new  prac- 
tice ;  and  he  gravely  attempted  to  prove  from 
quotations  of  the  prophetical  parts  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  the  writings  of  the  fathers  of  the 
church,  that  Vaccination  was  the  real  Anti- 
christ !  Can  you  wonder  that  medicine  should 
have  made  so  little  progress,  if  those  only 
make  fortunes  by  means  of  it  who  know 
nothing  more  than  the  jaigon  and  crudities 
which  pass  for  medical  science  with  the  vul- 
gar .'  How  true  are  the  words  of  the  Son  of 
Sirach, — after  searching  the  world  he  "  re- 
turned and  paw  under  the  5«?i,  tfmt  there  was 
neither  bread  to  the  wise,  nor  riches  to  men  of 
understanding,  nor  favor  to  men  of  skill." 

Gentlemen,  the  ancients  endeavored  to  ele- 
vate physic  to  the  dignity  of  a  science,  but 
failed.     The  moderns,  with  more  success, 
have  endeavored  to  reduce  it  to  the  level  of 
a  trade.     Till  the  emoluments  of  those  who 
chiefly  practise  it  cease  to  depend  upon  the 
quantity  of  useless  drugs  they  mercilessly  in- 
flict upon  their  deluded  jiatients — till  surgeons 
shall  l)e  other  than  mechanics,  and  physicians 
something  more  than  mere  puppets  of  the 
apothecar}- — till  the  terrible  system  of  collu- 
sion, which  at  present  prevails  under  the 
name  of  a  "  good  understanding  among  the 
different  branches  of  the  profession  "  be  ex- 
posed, the  medical  art  must  continue  to  be  a 
source  of  destruction  to  the  many — a  butt  for 
the  ridicule  of  the  discerning  few.    The  wits 
of  ever}'  age  and  country  have  amused  them- 
selves at  the  expense  of    the  physician; 
against  his  science  they  have  directed  all  the 
shafts  of  their  satire ;  and  in  the  numerous 
mconsistencies  and  contradictions  of  its  pro- 
fessors they  have  found  matter  for  some  of 
their  richest  scenes.    Moliere,  so  long  the 
terror  of  the  apothecaries  of  Paris,  makes 
one  of  his  dramatis  persona  say  to  another, 
"  Call  in  a  doctor,  and  if  you  do  not  like  his 
physic,  PU  soon  find  you  another  who  will 
condemn  it."    Rousseau  showed  his  distrust 
of  the  entire  faculty,  when  he  said, "  Science 
which  instructs,  and  physic  which  cures  us, 
are  excellent  certainly;  but  science  which 
misleads,  and  physic  which  destroys,  are 
equally  execrable ;  teach  us  how  to  distin- 
guish them.**    Equally  sceptical  and  rather 
more  saix^astic  in  his  satire  of  the  profession 
was  Le  Sage.    **  Death,"  says  he, «'  has  two 
wings ;  on  one  are  painted  war,  plague,  fam- 
ine, fire,  shipwreck,  with  all  the  other  mis- 
eries that  present  him,  at  everjr  instant,  with 
a  new  prey.    On  the  other  wing  you  behold 


76 


New  Era  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 


a  crowd  of  young  physicians  about  to  take 
their  degree  before  him.  Death  with  a  de^ 
mon  smile,  dubs  tliem  doctors,  {Icur  donne 
le  bonnet)  having  first  made  them  swear  nev- 
er in  any  way  to  alter  the  established  practice 
of  physic."  But  it  is  not  our  continental 
neighbors  only  who  have  labored  to  expose 
medical  pretensions.  Locke,  Smollet,  Gold- 
smith, (all  three  physicians)  held  their  art  in 
contempt.  Swift,  Temple,  Hume,  Adam 
Smith, — to  say  nothing oiBeron,  Hazlitt,  and 
other  cotemporaries — were  equally  severe  on 
its  professors.  Byron,  indeecf,  anathematised 
it  as  "  the  destructive  art  of  healing ;"  and 
when  writing  to  a  friend  the  details  of  a  fe- 
ver from  which  he  had  suffered,  he  tells  him, 
"  I  got  well  by  the  blessings  of  barley  water, 
and  refusing  to  see  my  physician !"— -Gentle- 
men, do  you  think  that  all  tliese  great  men 
were  inferior  in  observation  and  renection,  to 
the  herd  of  doctors  and  apothecaries  who 
swarm  in  these  times  ? 

But  so  completely  at  variance  with  each 
other  are  even  the  greatest  medical  authorities 
on  every  subject  m  medicine,  that  I  do  not 
know  a  single  disease  in  which  you  will  find 
any  two  of  them  agreeing.  Take  the  sub- 
ject of  Pulmonary  Consumption,  "for  exam- 
ple :  "  The  celebrated  Stohl  attributed  the 
frequency  of  consumption  to  the  introduction 
of  the  Peruvian  bark.  The  equally  cele- 
brated Morton  considered  the  bark  an  effect- 
ubI  cure.  Reid  ascribed  its  frequency  to  the 
use  of  mercury.  Brillonct  asserted  that  it  is 
only  curable  by  this  miTieral.  Rush  says, 
that  consumption  is  an  inflammatory  disease, 
and  should  be  treated  by  bleeding,  purging, 
cooling  medicines,  and  starvation.    With  a 

rter  show  of  reason,  Salvadori  maintained 
disease  to  be  one  of  debility,  and  that  it 
should  be  treated  by  tonics,  stimulating  rem- 
edies, and  a  generous  diet.  Galen,  among 
the  ancients,  recommended  vinegar  as  the  best 
preventive  of  consumption.  Dessault,  and 
other  modern  writers,  assert  that  consumption 
is  often  brought  on  by  a  common  practice  of 
young  people  taking  vinegar  to  prevent  their 
getting  fat.  Dr.  Beddoes  recommended  fox- 
glove as  a  specific  in  consumption.  Dr.  Parr, 
with  equal  confidence,  declared  that  he  found 
foxglove  more  injurious  in  his  practice  than 
beneficial !  Now,  what  arc  we  to  infer  from 
all  this.'  Not,  as  some  of  you  might  be 
tempted  to  believe,  that  the  science  is  decept- 
ive or  incomprehensible  throughout,  but  that 
its  professors  to  this  very  hour  liave  ne;;lected 
to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  true 
principles  upon  which  remedies  act,  and 
know  as  little  of  the  true  nature  of  the  dis- 
eases whose  treatment  they  so  confidently 
u  adertake.    And  what  is  the  daily,  tlie  hour- 


ly result  of  this  terrible  ignorance  and  un- 
certainty ?  In  the  words  of  Frank  "  thou- 
sands are  slaughtered  in  the  quiet  sick-room" 
"  Governments,"  continues  the  same  physi- 
cian, "  should  at  once  either  banish  medical 
men  and  their  art,  or  they  should  take  prop- 
er means  that  the  lives  of  people  may  be  saier 
than  at  present,  when  they  look  far  less  after 
the  practice  of  this  dangerous  professsioh, 
and  the  murders  committed  in  it,  than  after 
the  lowest  trades." 

"If  false  facts,"  says  Lord  Bacon,  "be 
once  on  foot,  what  through  neglect  of  ex- 
amination, the  countenance  of  antiquity,  and 
the  use  made  of  them  in  discourse,  they  are 
scarce  ever  retracted."    The  late  professor 
Gregory  used  often  to  declare  in  his  class- 
room, that  ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  med- 
ical facts  were  so  many  medical  lies,  and 
that  medical  doctrines  were  for  tiie  most  part 
little  better  than  stark-staring  nonsense;— 
and  this,  Gentlemen,  we  shall  have  some 
amusement  in  proving  to  you.     In  the  mean 
time,  we  may  observe,  that  nothing  can  more 
clearly  explain  the  difficulties  wnich  beset 
tie  student  of  physic — for  who  can  under- 
stand nonsense,  and,  when  clothed  in  phrases 
which  now  admit  one  sense,  now  another, 
what  so  difficult  to  refute?     "Nothing,** 
says  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  *«ha8  so  mudi 
checked  the  progress  of  philosophy,  as  the 
confidence  of  teachers  in  delivering  dogmas 
as  truths,  which  it  would  be  presumptuous  to 
question.    It  was  this  spirit  which,  for  more 
tnan  ten  centuries,  made  the  crude  physics  of 
Aristotle  the  natural  philosophy  of  the  whole 
of  Europe.    It  was  this  spirit  which  produc- 
ed the  imprisonment  of  the  elder  Bacon  and 
the  recantation  of  Galileo.     It  is  this  spirit, 
notwithstanding  the  example  of  the  second 
Bacon  assisted  by  his  reproof,  his  genius, 
and  his  influence,  which  has,  even  in  later 
times,  Attached  men  to  imaginary  systems,— - 
to  mere  absti-acted  combinations  of  words, 
rather  than  to  the  visible  and  living  world ; 
and  which  has  often  induced  them  to  delight 
more  in  brilliant  dreams  than  in  beautiful 
and  grand  realities.*' 

Imposed  upon  by  these  abstracted  combi- 
nations of  words,  we  find  it  difficult  to  divest 
ourselves  of  the  erroneous  aud  mystical  dis- 
tinctions by  which  our  teachers  have  too 
often  endeavored  to  conceal  their  own  igno- 
rance:—for  in  the  "physical  sciences," — ^I 
again  quote  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  «« there  are 
much  greater  obstacles  in-overcoming  old  er- 
rors, than  in  discovering  new  tniSis — the 
mind  in  the  first  case  being  fettered  ;  in  the 
last  perfectly  free  in  its  progress."  ««  To  say 
that  any  claims  of  opinions'shall  not  be  im- 
pungod— tliat  their  truth  shall  not  be  called 


New  Era  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 


77 


in  qnestion,  is  at  once  to  declare  that  the?e 
opinions  are  infallibfe,  and  that  their  authors 
cannot  err.  Whiit  can  be  more  egregious- 
ly  absiud  and  presumptuous  ?  It  is  fixing 
bounds  to  human  knowledge,  and  saying  man 
cannot  learn  by  experience — that  they  can 
never  be  wiser  m  future  than  they  are  to-day. 
The  vanity  and  folly  of  this  is  sufficiently 
evinced  by  the  history  of  religion  and  phi- 
losophy. Great  changes  have  taken  place 
in  both,  and  what  our  ancestors  considered 
indisputable  truths,  their  posterity  discovered 
to  be  gross  errors.  To  continue  the  work  of 
improvement,  no  dogmas,  however  plausible, 
ou«[ht  to  be  protected  from  investigation." 

In  the  early  history  of  every  people,  we 
find  the  pnest  exercising  the  functions  of  the 
physician. — ^Looking  upon  the  throes  of  dis- 
ease as  the  workings  ol  devils,  his  resource 
was  prayer  and  exorcism;  the  maniac  and 
epileptic  were  termed  by  him  demonicas,  and 
when  a  cure  was  accomplished,  the  demon 
was  said  to  be  cast  out. — Eveji  now,  tlie 
traces  of  clerical  influence  on  our  art  ara  not 
extinct  in  England ;  for  though  our  church- 
men have  long  ceased  to  arrogate  to  them- 
Bclves  the  exclusive  right,  as  well  as  the  ex- 
clusive power  of  healing,  an  Archbishop  oJ 
Canterbury  is  still  permitted,  by  the  laws  of 
his  country y  to  confer  degrees  in  physic !  nor 
does  he  faiJ  even  in  these  days  to  avail  him- 
self  occasionally  of  his  prerogative.* 

In  the  course  of  these  Lectures,  gentlemen , 
it  shall  be  my  business  to  jirove  to  you  the 
UKiTr  or  iDEjfTiTy  of  all  morbid  action,  and 
the  unity  and  identity  of  the  source  of  power 
of  the  various  agencies  by  which  disease  of 
every  kind  maybe  caused  or  cured. 

More  than  twenty-three  centuries  have 
elapsed  since  Hippocrates  distinctly  announc- 
ed the  Unity  of  Morbid  Action, — *«  Omnivm 
morborum  unus  et  idem  modus  est."    The 

type  of   ALL  DISEASE  IS  ONE  AND  IDENTICAL. 

These  are  his  words,  and  that  is  my  Case. 
That  is  the  cause  upon  which  unprejudiced 
and  disinterested  posterity  will  one  day  pro- 
nounce a  verdict  in  my  favor,  for  the  evidence 
I  am  prepared  to  adduce  in  its  support  will 
be  found  to  be  as  perfect  a  chain  of  posi- 
tive and  circumstantial  proof  as  ever  was  of- 
fered to  human  investigation. 

The  more  you  can  explain  and  facilitate 
the  attainment  of  any  science  the  more  yon 
will  find  that  science  approach  perfection. — 
The  true  philo.sopher  has  always  studied  to 
find  out  relations  and  resemblances  in  nature. 


'The  preseot  Sir  Charle3  Manslield  Clark,  Dart, 
S^,  after pract  fing  for  many  yearv  as  a  London  apoih- 
•c-iry  and  acconcher,  was  dabot-d  I  >octor  ol  Medicine 
hj  tiie  laie  Archbishop  Manners  Button.  I  know  not  if 
that  be  the  reason  he  is  Eomctimcs  called  by  his  la.iy- 
jpaticnts  the  divine  doctor. 


thus  simplifying  the  apparently  wonderful ; 
the  schools,  on  the  contrary,  have  as  inva- 
riably endeavored  to  draw  hne-spun  distinc- 
tions and  differences,  the  more  eliectually  to 
perplex  and  make  the  most  simple  things 
difficult  of  access.  «*  In  universities  and  col- 
legts,"  says  Lord  Bacon,  "  men's  studies  are 
almost  confined  to  certain  authors,  from  which 
if  any  dissentoth  or  propoundeth  matter  of  re- 
dargution,  it  is  enciigh  to  make  him  be  thought 
a  person  turbulent."  Any  exposition  of  the 
singleness  of  principle  which  pervades  a  par- 
ticular science  will  be  sure  to  meet  the  cen- 
sure of  schools  and  colleges;  nor  will  their 
disciples  always  forgive  you  for  making  that 
easy  which  they  themselves  after  years  of 
study,  have  declared  to  be  incomprehensible. 

The  most  perfect  system  has  ever  been  al- 
lowed to  be  that  which  can  reconcile  and 
bring  together  the  greatest  number  of  facts 
that  come  within  the  sphere  of  the  subject 
of  it. 

IN  THE  STATE  OF  HEALTH, 
an  equal  and  medium  temperature  prevails 
throughout  the  frame.  The  voluntary  and 
other  muscles  obey  with  the  requisite  alacri- 
ty the  several  necessities  that  call  them  into 
action.  The  mind  neither  sinks  nor  rises  but 
upon  great  emergencies ;  the  respiration,  easy 
and  continuous,  requires  no  hurried  effort, — 
no  lengthened  sigh  The  heart  is  equal  in 
its  beats,  and  not  easily  disturbed  ;  the  appe- 
tite moderate  and  uniform.  At  their  appoint- 
ed period,  the  various  secreting  organs  per- 
form their  office.  The  structures  of  the  body, 
so  far  as  bulk  is  concerned,  remain  to  appear- 
ance, though  not  in  reality,  unchanged;  their 
possessor  being  neither  encumbered  with 
obesity,  nor  wasted  to  a  shadow.  His  sen- 
?»orium  is  neither  painfully  acute  nor  morbid- 
ly apathetic ;  he  preserves  in  this  instance, 
as  in  every  other  a  happy  moderation.  His 
sleep  is  tranquil,  dreamless. 

If  wft  analyze  these  various  phenomena, 
we  shall  find  "that  they  all  consist  in  a  series 
of  alternate  motions, — amotions,  for  the  ful- 
filment of  ■^vhich  various  periods  of  time  are 
requisite ;  some  being  diurnal,  some  recur- 
ring in  a  greater  or  less  number  of  hours, — 
while  others  exhibit  a  minutary  or  moment- 
ary succession.  At  morn,  man  rises  to  his 
labor ;  at  night,  he  returns  to  the  repose  of 
sleep ;  again  he  wakes  and  labors — again  at 
the  appointed  period  he  *«  steeps  his  senses 
in  forgetfulness  "  once  more.  His  lungs  now 
inspire  air,  now  expel  it — his  heart  succes- 
.^ively  contracts  and  tiilates-^his  blood  bright- 
ens into  crimson  in  the  arterial  circle  of  its 
vessels — again  to  darken  and  assume  the  hue 
of  modena  in  the  veins.  The  female  part- 
ner of  his  lot, — she  who  shares  with  him  the 


78 


New  Era  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine, 


succession  of  petty  joys  and  sorrows,  hopes 
and  fearK,  which  make  up  the  day-dream  of 
life,  has  yet  another  revolution,  the  Catame- 
nial ;  and  Parturition,  or  the  process  by 
which  she  brings  the  mutual  offspring  into 
the  world,  is  a  series  of  po  iodic  pains  and 
remissions. 

Eveiy  atom  of  the  material  body  is  con- 
stantly undergoing  a  revolution  or  alterna- 
tion ; — liquid  or  aeriform  one  hour,  it  becomes 
solid  the  next — again  to  pass  into  the  liquid 
or  aeriform  state ;  and  ever  and  anon  varying 
its  properties,  colors,  and  combinations,  a.<, 
in  brief,  but  regular  periodic  succession  it 
assumes  the  nature  of  every  organ,  tissue, 
and  secretion  entering  into,  or  producing 
from,  the  corporeal  frame.  "It  is  every- 
thing by  turns,  and  nothing  long/* 

The  phenomena  of  the  human  body,  like 
every  other  phenomena  in  nature  have  all  a 
three-fold  relation. — a  relation  to  Matter, 
Space,  Time,  and  there  is  another  word — 
Motion,  which  may  be  said  to  bring  all 
three  to  a  unity;  for  without  matter  and 
space,  there  can  lie  no  motion,  and  motion 
being  either  quick  or  slow,  must  also  express 
time  or  period. 

Moreover,  there  can  be  no  motion  in  mat- 
ter without  change  of  temperature,  and  no 
change  of  temperature  without  motion  in  mat- 
ter. This  is  so  indisputable  an  axiom  in 
physics,  that  Bacon  and  others  supposed  mo- 
tion and  change  of  temperature  to  be  one  and 
the  same. 

The  powers  by  which  the  corporeal  mo- 
tions are  influenced,  are  ^he  same  that  influ- 
ence the  motions  of  every  kind  of  matter, 
namely,  the  electric,  mechanical,  and  chemic- 
al forces,  and  the  force  of  gravitation.  When 
rightly  considered,  the  whole  of  these  powers 
resoive  themselves  into  attraction  and  reptU- 
sum.  It  is  by  attraction  that  the  fluid  mat- 
ter of  the  blood  first  assumes  the  solid  consis- 
tence of  an  organ ;  again  to  pass  by  repulsion 
into  the  fluidity  of  secretion.  From  the  earth 
and  to  the  earth,  the  matter  composing  our 
bodies  comes  and  goes  many  times  even  in 
the  brief  space  of  our  mortal  existence.  In 
this,  the  human  system  resembles  a  great 
city,  the  inhabitants  of  which,  in  the  course 
of  years,  are  constantly  changing,  while  the 
same  city,  like  the  body,  betrays  no  other 
outward  appearance  of  change  than  what 
naturally  belongs  to  the  periods  of  its  rise,  pro- 
gress, maturity,  or  tendency  to  decay. 

The  last,  and  one  of  the  most  important  of 
the  revolutions  of  the  healthy  state,  is 

SLEEP. 
Philosophers  of  all  ages  have  made  this  an 
object  of  their  most  anxious  study,  its  rela- 


tion to  death  perhaps  being  their  chief  in- 
ducement to  do  so.  "  Half  our  days,"  says 
Sir  Thomas  Browne,  "  we  pass  in  the  shad- 
ow of  the  earth,  and  sleep,  the  brother  of 
death,  extracteth  a  third  part  of  our  lives." 
In  the  state  of  perfect  sleep,  the  pupil  of  the 
eye  will  not  contract  on  the  approach  of 
light — the  skin  has  no  feeUng — the  ear  no 
sense  of  hearing — the  taste  and  smell  are  not 
to  be  roused  by  any  of  the  ordinary  stimuli. 
What  is  this  (figuratively  speaking)  but  a 
periodic  Aa//'-death — speaking  truly,  but  a 
periodic  pa'sy  or  cessation  of  internal  motion 
of  the  nerves  by  which  we  maintain  a  con- 
sciousness of  existence,  and  perceive  our  re- 
lationship to  the  world  around  us  ?  Broken 
sleep  consists  either  in  brief  remissions  of 
the  whole  sleeping  state,  or  in  a  wakefulness 
of  one  or  more  of  the  five  senses.  There  are 
individuals,  for  example,  who  always  sleep 
with  their  eyes  open,  and  who  should  see 
you,  were  you  to  enter  their  chamber  with 
the  most  noisless  tread.  These  tell  you  they 
are  always  half  awake.  In  the  condition  of 
body  termed  nightmare,  there  is  a  conscious- 
ness of  existence  with  a  wakefulness  of  the 
nerves  of  sight  or  feeling ;  but  with  a  to- 
tal inability  to  influence  the  voluntary  mus- 
cles by  any  effort  of  the  will.  The  subject 
of  it  can  neither  sleep  nor  turn  himself. — 
The  dreamer,  portions  of  whose  brain  think, 
and  therefore  act  or  move,  is  partially  awake. 
The  somnamhidist  and  sleep  talker,  are  dream- 
ers, who,  having  portions  of  the  brain  in  a 
state  of  action,  and  others  torpid,  perform  ex- 
ploits of  deed  or  word,  that  bring  you  a  mind 
of  the  maniac  and  the  drunkard,  whose  pow- 
ers of  judging  are  defective.  A  man  may  be 
entirely  awake  ^vith  the  exception  of  a  sin- 
gle member;  and  this  we  still  refer  to  a  tor- 
pid state  of  some  portion  of  the  brain.  Such 
a  man  will  tell  you  that  his  arm  or  leg  is 
asleep  or  dead.  But,  as  this  is  a  soporific 
subject,  and  may  have  a  soporific  influence  on 
some  of  you,  I  may  as  well  wake  you  up 
with  an  anecdote  a  brother  medical  officer  of 
the  army  once  told  me  of  himself:  While 

serving  in  the  East  Indies,  Dr.  C one 

night  awoke,  or  I  should  rather  say  half 
awoke  suddenly,  when  his  hand  at  the  in- 
stant came  in  contact  with  a  cold  animal 
body.  His  fears  magnifying  this  into  a  cobra 
capel,  he  called  out  most  lustily,  "  a  snake, 
a  snake."  But  before  his  drowsy  domestics 
had  time  to  appear,  he  found  he  had  mistaken 
his  own  sleeping  arm  for  this  most  unwel- 
come of  oriental  intruders ! 

Gentlemen,  the  human  body  in  health  is 
never  asleep  throughout,  for  when  volition (f^ 
naialysed — when  we  are  ever}'  thing  but 
dead  to  all  that  connects  us  with  the  external 


New  Era  in  the  Practice  of  Mediciitc. 


79 


world,  the  Jicart  still  continues  to  beat,  the 
lungs  perform  their  office,  and  the  other  in- 
ternal Cleans,  oyer  which  volition  has  no 
control,  keep  on  tlieir  usual  harmony  of  mo- 
tion— in  other  worJsjthe  digestion  of  the  food, 
the  circulation  of  the  blood,  and  the  other 
lesser  motions  of  organic  life,  proceed  as  in 
the  waking  state. 

DISEASE. 
Till  the  hour  of  sickness  comes,  how  few 
non-medical  persons  ever  think  of  a  subject 
which  ought  to  be  of  interest  to  all.  The 
same  men  who  discuss  with  becoming  gravi- 
ty the  artificial  inflections  of  a  Greek  or  Latin 
verb,  neglect  to  inform  themselves  of  the  nat- 
ural laws  iJial  ffovcrn  the  motions  of  their 
own  bodies!  No  wonder  that  the  world 
should  be  so  long  kept  in  darkness  on  med- 
icine and  its  mode  of  action, — no  wonder  that 
even  educated  persons  should  still  know  so 
little  of  the  proper  study  of  mankind — man  ! 
In  the  throes  of  disease,  the  early  priests,  as 
I  have  already  told  you,  imagined  they  de- 
tected the  workings  of  demons.  The  med- 
ical iheoiists,  on  the  contrary,  attributed  them 
to  morbid  ingredients  in  the  blood  or  bowels. 
One  2^  bowed  the  knee  to  an  "  acrimony  " 
or  "putridity;"  another  acknowledged  no 
cause  but  a  "  crudity,"  or  a  "  htmior."  The 
modems  hold  the  notion  that  a  mysterious 
process,  which  they  term  "  inflammation,"  is 
me  head  and  front  of  all  oflending.  How 
absurd  each  and  all  of  these  doctrines,  will 
appear  in  the  sequel !  Disease,  Gentlemen, 
is  neither  a  devil  to  "  cast  out,"  an  acrimony 
or  crudity  to  be  expelled,  nor  any  fanciful 
chemical  goblin  to  be  chemically  neutraliz- 
ed— ^neither  is  the  state  erroneously  termed  in- 
flammation, so  commonly  the  cause  as  acom- 
adent  part  of  general  disorder.  Disease  is  an 
error  of  action — a  greater  or  less  variation 
in  the  motion,  rest,  and  revolutions  of  the 
difleient  parts  of  the  body — reducible,  like 
the  revolutions  of  Health,  into  a  systematic 
series  of  periodic  alternations,  in  the  course 
of  which  the  matter  of  a  structure  occasion- 
ally by  its  atomic  changes  alters  its  natural 
character  and  chemical  relations,  so  much  so 
in  some  cases,  as  to  become  even  completely 
decomposed  and  disorganised.  Whatever  be 
the  cause  or  causes  of  corporeal  aberration, 
in  obedience  to  the  law  of  all  matter,  the  first 
efl^ts  are  change  of  motion  and  change  of 
temperature.  T^e  patient  accordingly  has  a 
feelii^  of  heat  or  cold.  His  muscular  mo- 
tkmiy  less  under  the  control  of  their  respect- 
ive influences,  become  tremulous,  spasmod- 
ic; or  wearied,  palsied,  the  functions  of 
particular  muscles  cease.  The  breathing  is 
burned  on  slight  exertion,  or  it  is  maintain- 
ed slowly  and  at  intervals,  and  with  a  long 


occasional  in«p  ration  and  expiration — fa- 
miliar to  you  all  in  the  act  of  sighii.g.  The 
heart  is  quick,  pulp" tilling ;  or  languid,  or  re- 
mittent in  it.s  beats ;  the  appetite  craving,  ca- 
pricious--, or  lost.  The  secretions  are  either 
hurried  and  increased  in  quantity,  or  sluggish, 
or  suppre^scJ.  The  body  shows  a  partial 
or  general  waste;  or  becomes  in  part  or  in 
whole  jjreternaturally  tumid  and  bloated. 
Alive  to  the  slightest  stimulus,  the  patient  is 
easily  Impassioned  or  depressed ;  his  mind, 
comprehending  in  its  various  relations  every 
shade  of  unreasonable  sadness  or  gaity,  prod- 
igality or  cupidity,  vacciilation  or  pertinacity, 
suspicious  caution  or  too  confident  security  ; 
with  every  color  of  iraajrination,  from  highly 
intellectual  conception  to  the  dream-like  va- 
garies and  reveries  of  hallucination.  His 
sensations  are  perceptibly  diminished  or  in- 
creased. Light  and  sound,  for  example, 
confuse  or  distract  him  ;  like  the  soft  Syba- 
rite, a  rose  leaf  ruffles  him.  With  the 
smallest  increase  in  the  medium  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere,  he  becomes  hot  and  un- 
comfortable, and  the  slightest  breeze  shivers 
and  discomposes  him ;  or,  as  you  may  some- 
times observe  in  the  case  of  extreme  ase  and 
idiotcy,  he  becomes  equally  insensible  to 
excess  of  light,  sound,  heat,  and  cold. 

CAUSES  OF  DISEASE. 
What  are  the  agencies  that  give  rise  to 
" Maladies 


Of  ghastly   spasms,   or    racking   tortures, 

qualms. 
Of  heart- sick  agony,  all  feveri^  kinds, 
Convulsions,  epilepsies,  fierce  catarrhs, 
Intestine  stone,  and  ulcer,  colic  pangs, 
Demoniac  phrenzy,  moping  melancholy 
And  moon-struck  madness,  pining  atrophy. 
Marasmus,  and  wide- wasting  pestilence, 
Dropses    and  asthmas,    and   joint-racking 

rheums .'" 

Milton. 

Gentlemen,  the  Catises  of  all  these  various 
diseases — Various  in  name,  place,  and  de- 
gree— One  only  in  their  real  nature — may 
Be  found  either  in  a  deprivation  or  wrong 
adaptation  of  the  identical  forces  which  con- 
tinue life,  in  health — the  same  natural  agen- 
cies, in  a  word,  by  which  every  motion  or 
event  is  produced  throughout  the  universe. 
They  comprise,  therefore,  every  thing  that 
connects  us  directly  or  indirectiy,  witn  Ae 
external  world ;  and  most,  if  not  all  of  them, 
act  upon  us,  in  the  first  place,  through  the 
different  modiflcations  of  nervous  perception. 
The  causes  of  disease,  then,  never  originate 
in  any  one  organ  of  the  body — except  in  so 
far  as  that  oi^gan  may  be  predisposed  by  an 
inherent  weakness  of  the  attractive  power  of 


80 


Use  of  Arsenic  in  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 


the  atoms  of  its  parts  to  receive  grave  im- 
pressions from  outward  agencies  that  affect 
the  more  stable  portions  of  the  same  body  in 
a  slighter  manner. 

To  return  to  the  cavs^x  of  disease, — 
are  they  not  infinite  ?  The  earth  and  its 
emanations — the  air  and  its  electrical  condi- 
tions— the  degrees  of  temperature,  dr\ncss, 
and  moisture  of  bcth — the  nature  and  ex- 
tent of  our  food  and  drink — the  passions  by 
which  we  are  agitated,  with  all  the  other 
changes  and  chances  of  our  social  and  indi- 
vidual position ;  these  are  the  elements  to 
which  we  must  look,  not  only  for  the  causes 
of  disorders,  but  for  the  causes  of  health 
Itself. 

We  have  already  analyzed  the  Life  of 
Health; — we  have  seen  that  it  consists  in  a 
periodic  alternation  of  harmonious  move- 
ments, sOme  long,  some  short, — greater  and 
lesser  movements,  otherwise ^^« ;  in  Shaks- 
peare*s  language,  Life  is  a  **Jitfnl  fever."  If 
wo,  what  can  the  morbid  modifications  of 
that  Life  be,  but  modifications  of  Fitful  or 
Intermittent  Fever  ?  *'  All  diseases,"  says 
Hippocrates,"  "  resemble  each  other  in  their 
form,  invasion,  march,  and  decline."  "  The 
type  of  all  diseases,"  he  adds,  *'  is  one  and 
the  same."  What,  then,  is  that  type  ?  If 
we  succeed  in  proving  to  you  that  tooth- 
ache, asthma,  epilepsy,  gout,  mania,  and 
apoplexy,  all  come  on  in  fits  ;  that  all  have 
febrile  chills  or  heats ;  that  intermissions  or 
periods  of  immunity  from  sufiering,  more  or 
less  complete,  are  common  to  each  ;  and 
that  every  one  of  these  supposed  different 
diseases  may,  moreover,  be  cured  by  anyone 
of  the  agents  most  generally  successful  in 
the  treatment  of  Intermittent  Fever,  popu- 
larly termed  Ague ;  to  what  other  conclusion 
can  we  possibly  come,  but  that  this  same 
Ague  is  the  type  which  pervades,  and  the 
bond  which  associates  together  every  one  of 
these  variously  named  diseases  ?  If,  in  the 
course  of  these  Lectures,  we  further  prove 
that  what  are  called  "  inflammations"  also 
come  on  in  fits ;  that  the  subjects  of  them 
have  equally  their  periods  of  immunity  from 
pain,  and  that  these  yield  with  equal  readi- 
ness to  the  same  remedial  means ; — who  can 
be  so  unreasonable  as  to  doubt  or  dispute 
that  Ague  is  the  model  or  likeness — the 
type  of  all  disease ! 


Us*  of  Arsextlo  in  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 

Br  JoBM  E.  Bricbsbn,  Es^ 
There  is  probably  no  substance  in  the  Ma- 
teria Medica  about  which  a  greater  discre- 
rcy  of  opinion  has  arisen  tlian  arsenic, 
some  its  uses  have  been  highly  extolled 
and  used  too  indiscriminately;  by  others  it 


has  been  looked  upon  only  as  a  last  resource, 
and  used  when  every  other  remedy  has  failed. 

The  arsenious  acid,  in  an  uncombined 
state,  is  but  very  seldom  employed  in  this 
country,  although  with  Biett,  and  some  other 
continental  physicians,  it  is  a  favorite  reme- 
dy in  psoriasis  inveterata,  and  other  very 
obstinate  cutaneous  affections.  Its  dose,  in 
the  form  of  the  "  Asiatic  pill,"  varies  from 
the  sixteenth  up  to  the  fourth  of  a  grain 
twice  a  day.  The  comparatively  large  quan- 
tity of  arsenious  acid  that  is  required  in  an 
uncombined  state  to  produce  a  beneficial  ac- 
tion on  the  skin,  ought,  in  my  opinion,  to 
militate  strongly  a^iinst  its  emplojinent  in 
this  form.  The  nunimimi  dose  of  arsenious 
acid  recommended  by  most  writers  on  the 
diseases  of  the  skin  is  one-sixteenth  of  a 
grain ;  now  this  is  equal  to  the  quantity  con- 
tained in  seven  and  a  half  minims,  ahnost 
the  maximum  dose  of  the  solution  of  the  ar- 
senite  of  potassa,  and  certainly  too  lai^e  a 
quantity  of  this  preparation  for  us  to  be  jus- 
tified in  commencing  with.  This  difference 
in  effect  is  probably  owing  to  the  greater  rea- 
diness with  which  the  arsenious  acid  when 
presented  in  solution,  must  be  taken  up  by 
any  surface,  and  carried  into  the  general  cir- 
culation. 

^Ir,  Donavan  lays  great  stress  upon  the 
small  quantity  of  arsenic,  and  of  the  other 
elements,  that,  in  his  preparation,  .sometimes 
effect  a  cure  ;  but  in  this  I  do  not  think  it 
presents  anything  peculiar  or  more  remarka- 
ble, than  is  constantly  seen  in  Fowler's  solu- 
tion, and  the  other  preparations  of  arsenic. 

The  modus  operandi  of  the  arsenical  pre- 
paration, as  of  most  other  medicinal  agents, 
is  unknown  to  us.  We  are  only  acquainted 
with  their  secondary  effects,  which  manifest 
themselves  most  unequivocally  on  the  diges- 
tive, nen'ous,  and  integumentary  systems; 
on  all  of  which  they  act  as  excitant  or  stimu- 
lating tonics. 

From  a  careful  examination  of  many  cases 
of  cutaneous  disease  in  which  this  mineral 
had  been  employed,  I  am  enabled  to  state 
that  nothing  is  gained  by  carrying  it  beyond 
a  certain  point,  as  far  as  the  affection  of  the 
skin  IS  concerned,  and  that  by  so  doing, 
much  mischief,  perhaps  of  an  irremediable 
nature,  may  be  inflicted  on  the  patient :  that 
it  is  not  a  remedy  that  can  with  safety  be 
pusJtedy  to  use  a  common  phrase,  but  that  all 
the  good  that  will  result  from  its  employment 
can  be  accomplished  by  a  careful  and  guard- 
ed administration  of  it,  and  by  its  being  mter- 
mitted  on  the  first  appearance  of  any  symp- 
tom of  local  or  general  irritation. — MedMas. 
MayV2th,  1843. 


Phthisis. 


81 


Sir  B.  C.  firodie  in  a  Lecture  delivered  in 
the  Theatre  of  St  Geoiige*s  Hospital,  in  the 
session  1843-44,  in  speaking  of  the  swelled 
tong:ae,  in  which  small  tumors  and  abscesses 
are  sometimes  formed,  saj's, — 

"  The  reniedy  best  adapted  for  these  cases 
is  a  solution  of  araenic.   Give  the  patient  five 
minims  three  times  daily,  in  a  draught,  gra- 
dually increasing  the  dose  to  ten  minims.    It 
shouid  be  taJcen  in  full  doses,  so  that  it  may 
begin  to  produce  some  of  its  poisonous  effects 
on  the  system.     When  it  begins  to  act  as  a 
poison  it  will  show  itself  in  various  ways. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  sense  of  heat,  a  burning 
pain  in  the  rectum ;  sometimes  griping,  purg- 
ing, and  sickness,  and  nervous  tremblings. 
A  patient  who  is  taking  arsenic,  especially  in 
pretty  large  doses,  ought  to  be  very  carefully 
watched.  At  first  you  may  see  him  every  two 
or  three  days,  and  then  every  day ;  and  as 
soon  as  the  arsenic  begins  to  operate  as  a 
poison,  leave  it  off.     When  this  effect  is  pro- 
duced tiie  disease  of  the  tongue  generally  gets 
well,  but  at  any  rate  leave  off  the  arsenic,  and 
the  poison'me  will  not  go  too  far ;  it  will  do 
no  barm.    If,  after  a  time,  you  find  that  the 
disease  is  relieved,  but  not  entirely  cured,  you 
may  Iry  another  course  of  arsenic.    Perhaps 
it  msLy  take  a  considerable  time  to  get  the 
fongue  quite  well.     Sarsapaiilla,  with  the  bi- 
chlonde  of  mercury,  may  be  given  at  one 
time ;  and  at  another,  arsenic.     You  cannot 
pre  either  of  these  remedies  for  ever,  and 
mdeed  the  arsenic  can  only  be  given  for  a 
very  limited  period;  but  it  is   astonishing 
what  had  tongues  of  this  description  I  have 
seen  get  well  under  these  modes  of  treat- 
ment, especially  under  the  use  of  arsenic. 

OH  PHTHISIS.— Bt  Dr.  Graves,  Dnblin. 

tin  the  following  passage.  Dr.  'Graves  ex- 
plsuns  his  views  on  the  pathology  of  tuber- 
cle:}— 

"I  look  on  tubercular  development  and 
consumption  as  the  consequences  of  that 
particular  state  of  constitution,  which  occa- 
sions what  is  falsely  termed  tubercular  in- 
fiamrnatwn^  a  state  of  constitution  in  which 
we  have  three  distinct  processes,  atten-'ed  by 
corresponding  morbid  changes,  each  different 
in  itself,  but  depending  on  one  common 
cause.  Every  form  of  consumption,  which 
has  hitherto  come  under  our  notice,  is  refer- 
able to  one  common  origin,  and  this  is  that 
debilitated  state  of  constitution  which  has 
heen  termed  the  sgxjfulous  habit  One  of 
the  first  tendencies  of  this  habit  is  to  the 
formation  of  tissues  of  an  inferior  degree  of 
animalization,  and  parasitic  productions, 
among  which  I  class  tubercles,  whether  oc- 


curring in  the  lungs,  brain,  or  liver,  whether 
they  exist  in  a  minute  or  granular  form,  or 
in  large,  soft,  and  yellow  ma.sses,  or  in  the 
state  of  tubercular  infiltration.  I  look  on 
tubercles  in  this  light,  and  not  as  the  conse- 

Suence  of  inflammation,  nor  do  I  consider 
lat  it  has  been  proved  that  tubercular  devel- 
opment is  the  cause  of  phthisis. 

Dr.  Graves  contends,  that  in  all  cases  of 
phthisis,  •  the  pectoral  symptoms,  of  what- 
ever nature  they  may  be,  are  caused  by  zero- 
fulous  inflammation,'  by  which  we  presume 
that  he  means,  inBammalion  as  it  occurs  in 
individuals  of  a  scrofulous  diathesis,  and  he 
proceeds  to  compare  the  progress  of  ulcera- 
tions of  the  lungs  with  that  of  external  scro- 
fulous abscesses.  There  is,  he  observes, 
the  same  slowness,  the  same  insidious  laten- 
cy, the  same  gradual  solidification  and  gra- 
dual softening ;  the  puriform  fluid  ^reted  is 
similar  in  character,  while  there  is  the  ana- 
logous occurrence  of  burrowing  ulcers  and 
fistulous  openings  with  close  approximation 
in  the  form  of  thin  parieties,  and  difficulty 
of  healing  in  each ;  and  at  the  same  time 
constitutional  symptoms  identical  in  nature  ; 
hectic  flushings  ajid  sweate,  diairhcea,  ema- 
ciation, &c.,  equally  accompany  phthisical 
suppuration  of  the  lungs  and  scrofulous  in- 
flammation of  the  joints  or  other  external 
parts.  With  these  views,  therefore,  we  are 
not  surprised  to  find  Dr.  Graves  entertaining 
the  opinion  that  tubercle,  though  a  most  fre- 
quent accompaniment  of  phthisis,  is  neither 
the  essential  cause  of  that  disease  nor  a  ne- 
cessary product.  Scrofulous  inflammation 
is  with  him  the  fans  ct  origo,  the  real  and 
efficient  cause  oi  phthisis,  whether  tubercle 
be  generated  in  the  course  of  the  diseased 
action  or  no,  and  thus  we  have  scrofulous 
pneumonia  and  scrofulous  bronchitis  equally 
productive  of  phthisis  without  the  presence 
of  one  single  tubercle  or  spot  of  deposition 
of  tubercukir  matter,  either  in  the  pulmona- 
ry tissue  or  on  the  bronchial  membrane.  In 
the  latter  case,  scrofulous  bronchitis  it  is 
urged  by  Dr.  Graves,  that  the  accompanying 
fever  presents  all  the  material  phenomena  of 
phthisis;  there  is  the  same  emaciation,  fre- 
quently the  same  incurability;  the  same 
means  tend  to  its  aggravation  or  benefit,  and 
the  same  scrofulous  pus  is  secreted,  although 
not  mixed  as  in  cases  of  true  phthisis  with 
broken-down  tubercles. 

We  may  therefore,  have  tubercles  without 
either  the  pneumonia  or  the  bronchitis ;  and 
we  may  have  scrofulous  pneumonia  often 
ending  in  slow  burrowing  suppuration,  and 
proving  fatal  without  any  tubercles  being 
formed.  In  like  manner,  a  person  may  die 
of  scrofulous  bronchitis  without  the  occur- 
rence of  either  tubercles  or  pneumonia.    Of 


82 


Polemical  Powers  of  Hahnemann. 


these  three  effects  of  scrofula,  it  may  be  re- 
marked, that,  owing  to  their  cause  and  origin 
being  the  same,  ihoy  are  most  frequently 
found  in  combination.  The  same  diathesis 
which  produces  one  may  give  rise  to  the 
others;  hence  the  frequency  of  their  associa- 
tion ;  hence  it  is  that  they  gonerally  occur 
together. — Brit,  aud  For.  Med.  Rev.,Jxdij, 
1843. 

Dr.  Graves  is  one  of  the  most  talented  men 
of  the  age,  and  has  had  for  a  long  period  an 
extensive  hospital  and  private  pmctice, — yet 
it  would  be  diflicult  to  find  an  ordinary  phy- 
sician whose  notions  are  so  erroneous  on  the 
pathology  of  tubercle  or  of  bronchitis.  We 
are  told  first,  that  tubercular  development  is 
falsely  termed  tubercular  inflammation^ — 
"which  is  very  true,  but  notwithstanding  he 
repeats  this  affirmation,  his  head  is  so  full  of 
the  acute i  sub-acute  and  chronic  inflamma- 
tions of  the  schools,  he  soon  foi'gets  himself 
and  **  contends,  that  in  all  cases  of  phthisis, 
the  pectoral  symptoms,  of  whatever  nature 
they  may  be,  are  caused  by  scrofidous  inflam- 
mation** We  are  also  told,  that  tubercle 
is  a  parasitic  production,  the  consequence 
of  an  inferior  degree  of  animalization,  and 
yet  we  are  told  tubercles  of  the  lungs  have 
the  same'  character  in  all  respects,  as  those 
seen  on  the  external  surface  of  the  body, 
with  exalted  animalization,  accompanied  with 
irr^ular  fever,  and  terminating  in  scrofulous 
abscesses  and  ulceration,  &c.,  and  which 
every  tyro  know  s  to  be  diseased  lymphatic 
glands. 

This  notion  of  the  parasitic  origin  of  tuber- 
cles, is  the  old  astrological  theory  which  was 
taught  more  than  2000  years  ago ;  and  not- 
withstanding its  absurdity,  the  professors  of 
our  medical  colleges  will  continue  to  teach 
it  as  long  as  such  trash  is  of  any  value  in 
their  market. 

If  there  is  any  thing  any  where  to  be  found 
more  crude  and  contradictory  than  the  effu- 
sions we  have  noticed  of  Professor  Graves, 
it  may  be  found  in  the  crudities  with  which 
he  confounds  phthisis  with  bronchitis  and 
pneumonia.  The  regular  and  vascular  or- 
ganization of  tubercles,  and  the  poverty  of 
the  secretions  which  are  conveyed  to  the 
heart  by  the  lymphatic 'system  in  phthisis. 


should  have  long  since  directed  him  to  the 
true  character  of  these  bodies,  without  any 
knowledge  of  the  scientific  symptoms  which 
point  with  an  unerring  hand  to  the  disease  in 
this  system.  The  Doctor,  however,  as  we 
have  before  said,  is  a  man  of  talents,  but 
knows  nothing  of  these  symptoms,  or  of  the 
difference  between  diseases  of  the  serous  and 
of  the  mucous  membranes,  and  his  treatment 
of  these  aflections  is  consequently  the  fore- 
bodings of  death,  or  a  mere  repetition  of  the 
old  astrological  absurdities  of  the  schools. 


OOROLLARIES. 

1.  "Daring  healthy  the  system  is  animated  by  a  tpi' 
ritual,  selftnored,  vxtcd  potpcr,  which  preserves  it  in 
harmonious  order." 

2.  ^'  It  is  only  by  means  of  the  spiritual  influence  of 
the  morbific  agent,  that  our  spirilucU  vital power^  cut 
be  diseased,  and  in  like  manner,  only  by  the  spiritual 
(dynamic)  operation  of  medicine  that  health  can  be 
restored." 

3.  "  The  homoBopathic  healing  art  developes  for  its 
purpose  the  immaterial  (dynamic)  vihtubs  orMfi- 
oiciNAL  SUBSTANCES,  and  to  a  degree  previously  ua- 
heard  of,  by  means  of  a  peculiar  and  hiTHBRTO 
UNTRiBD  PROCESS.  By  this  process  it  is  that  thej 
become  penetrating,  nperative,  and  remedial,  even 
those  that,  in  a  tiatural  or  crud^  state^  betiayed  not  the 
least  medicinal  power  upon  the   human    »v«tem."— 


Polemical  Powers  of  Hahnemann. 

FROM    THB 

BRITISH  JOURNAL  OF  HOMGBOPATHT. 

Introduction  to  the  proting  of  Arsenic. 
By  Bamuel  Habnbjiamn. 

Ovenvhelming  recollections    arrest  my 
mind  at  the  mention  of  Arsenic. 

When  He,  the  AU -bountiful,  created  iron, 
He  left  to  the  free  choice  of  the  children  of 
men  to  fashion  it  either  into  the  deadly  dag- 
ger, or  the  peaceful  ploughshare  ;  to  slay  or 
to  support  their  race.  Ah,  how  much  hap- 
pier for  them  did  thev  employ  all  His  gifts 
for  good !  So  would  they  fulfil  His  will 
and  the  end  of  their  being.  We  cannot 
charge  an  all-loving  Providence  with    the 


Polemical  Powers  of  Hahnemann, 


83 


cnznes  that  men  have  committed  in  having 
abused  the  administration  of  terribly  power- 
ful dniss,  by  giving  them  in  enormous  doses, 
and  in  improper  cases,  confiding  in  some  fri- 
volous conceit  or  miserable  authority,  without 
having  any  proving  or  grounds  of  choice. 

No  sooner  does  a  careful  prover  of  the 
action  of  medicines  appear,  than  all  are  in 
commotion  against  him  as  an  enemy  of  their 
ease ;  and  they  do  not  shrink  from  meeting 
him  with  the  most  unblushing  calumnies ! 

The  ordinary  system'  of  medicine  adminis- 
ters,/r^^uen/Z^ancf  inlar^edoseSy  the  strong- 
est of  drugs,  such  as  arsenic,  nitrate  of  silver, 
corrosive  sublimate,  wolfs-bane,  deadly 
nightshade,  iodine,  foxglove,  opium,  hen- 
bane, &c.  Stronger  substances  Homoeopathy 
cannot  employ,  for  none  are  stron^r.  When 
pbysicians  of  the  prevailing  school  employ 
them,  they  eA-idently  vie  with  each  other 
who  shall  prescribe  the  lai^st  doses,  and 
boast  of  the  monstrous  quantities  they  have 
administered.  For  this  they  receive  the  ap- 
nrobation  and  applause  of  their  brethren. 
Let  Homoeopathy,  however,  make  use  of  the 
same  substances,  not  at  random,  as  in  the 
ordinary  practice,  but,  after  careful  investi 
gation,  in  those  cases  only  for  which  they 
are  e.Tactij  Baited  and  in  the  smallest  possi- 
ble quantities,  and  it  is  immediately  chaiged 
withpcHBomngl  How  partial,  how  unjust, 
how  caiumnious  is  this,  in  those  who  pass 
for  honest  and  upright  men ! 

Does  Homoeopathy  now  enter  into  a  fuller 
explanation  ?  Does  it  condemn  (as from  con- 
viction it  mu5t)  the  monstrous  doses  admin- 
istered in  the  prevailing  practice,  and  does  it 
contend  that  infinitely  smaller  quantities 
should  be  given — that,  where  the  ordinary 
physician  prescribes  a  tenth,  a  half,  a  whole 
grain,  and  upwards,  a  auadrillionth,  a  sex- 
tiUionth,  a  decillionth  0/ a  grain  is  perfectly 
sufficient?  On  this,  the  same  prevailing 
school,  which  decried  the  homoeopathic  heal- 
ing'art  as  a  system  of  poisoning,  Jauehs  out- 
right, pronounces  it  to  be  mere  child's  play, 
and  declares  itself  thoroughly  convmced 
(convinced  without  having  tned  it  ?)  that  such 
a  mnail  Quantity  can  have  no  earthly  effect, 
;— *f  in/aet  as  good  an  nothing  at  all.  Thus 
it  is  not  ashamed  to  blow  hot  and  cold  with 
the  same  breath,  to  accuse  exactly  the  same 
thing  of  being  inert  and  ridiculously  small, 
which  it  had  just  declaimed  against  as  rank 
poisoning,  all  the  time  praising  to  the  skies 
Its  own  monstrous  and  murderous  doses  of 
the  same  substances.  Is  not  this  the  most 
miserable  and  gross  inconsistency  it  is  possi- 
ble to  conceive,  wilfuUy  perpetrated  for  the 
purpose  of  doing  shameful  injustice  to  a  sys- 
tem»  which  cannot  be  proved  to  be  deficient 


in  truth,  consistency,  practical  utility,  the 
tenderest  caution,  and  most  unwearied  cir- 
cumspection, in  the  choice  and  administration 
of  its  remedies .' 

When  not  very  long  since  a  celebrated 
physician*  spoke  of  pounds  of  opium  which 
were  consumed   monthly  in    his  hospital, 
where  even  the  nurses  were  permitted  to  give 
as  much  of  it  as  they  thought  proper  to  the 
patients — ^mark  now,  opium,  which  in   the 
ordinary  practice  has  consigned  so  many 
thousands  to  the  grave — yet  this  man  lost 
none  of  the  esteem  in   which  he  was  held> 
because  he  belonged  to  the  prevailing  guild, 
in  which  every  thing  is  allowable,  be  it  as 
hurtful  and  dangerous  as  it  may.    And  when 
a  few  yeaiB  aso,  in  one  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened cities  of  Europe,t  almost  every  prac- 
titioner, from   the  dignified  doctor  down  to 
the  barber's  apprentice,  prescribed  arsenic  as 
a  fashionable  medicine  in  almost  every  dis- 
ease, and  that  so  frequently,  and  in  such  im- 
mense doses,  that  the  detriment  to  human 
health  was  quite   palpable;   yet  this  was 
most  honorable  practice,  though  not  one  of 
those  who  employed  it  was  acquainted  with 
the  peculiar  mode  of  action  of  this  metallic 
oxyde  (consequently  must  have  been  ignor- 
ant of  the  cases  of  disease  when  its  employ- 
ment was  indicated,)  and  they  all  continued 
prescribine  it  in  repeated  doses,  any  one  of 
wkichy  had  it  been  sufficiently  diluted  and  po^ 
tentialized,X  was  quite  sufficient  to  cure  all  the 
diseases  in  the  habitable  globe  in  which  this 
remedy  was   indicated.    Which,  then,  of 
these  opposite  methods  of  practice  best  de- 
serves tne  flattering  appellation  of  '*  system 
of  poisoning," — the  ordinary  method,  which 
assails  the  poor  patient  (who,  by  the  way, 
often  requires  quite  another  medicine)  with 
the  tenth  of  a  grain  of  arsenic,  or  the  homoeo- 
pathic method,  which  administers  not  even 
a  drop  of  tincture  of  rhubarb,  without  hav- 
ing previously  instituted  a  most  rigid  inquiry 
to  ascertain  whether  or  not  rhubarb  be  the 
best  adapted,  the  only  appropriate  remedy — 
the  homoeopathic  method  which  has  discov- 
ered, by  indefatigable  and  oft- repeated  trials, 
that  it  IS  very  rarely  necessary  to  administer 
more  than  a  fractional  part  of  a  decillionth 
of  a  grain  of  arsenic,  and  that  only  in  cases 
for  which  the  most  careful  proving  has  shewn 
the  remedy  adapted  ?    To  which,  then,  of 


*  Marcus,  in  Bamborg* 

t  In  what  a  de«p  state  of  ignorance  mnst  not  the  med- 
ical science  of  our  quarter  of  the  ^lobe  be  sunk,  when 
the&e  things  occurred  in  such  a  rity  as  Berlin,  which 
vet,  in  all  other  kinds  of  hunuui  knowledge,  has  scare** 
ly  an  equal  I 

t  PoTBXTiAUZxo— that  is  the  word— the  old  Fox 
would  not  tay  magnettxecL    Ed. 


84 


Numbering — its  importance  to  the  Physician, 


these  two  methods,  does  the  honorable  title 
of  "  inconsiderate,  rash  system  of  poison- 
ing," best  apply  ? 

"  A  tenth  of  a  grain,"  I  hear  some  re- 
mark, "  is  the  very  smallest  quantity  we  are 
in  the  habit  of  giving;  were  we  to  prescribe 
less,  we  would  render  ourselves  ridiculous.*' 

Indeed !  So  a  tenth  of  a  grain  produces 
sometimes  dangerous  results,  but  the  observ- 
ances of  your  clique  prohibit  you  from  giv- 
ing less — a  great  deal  less !  Is  this  not  a 
gross  insult  to  common  sense  ?  Are  the  ob- 
servances of  your  fraternity  introduced 
among  a  set  of  senseless  slaves,  or  among 
men  who  are  endowed  with  liberty  of  thought 
and  understanding  ?  If  the  latter  be  the  case, 
what  should  hinder  you  from  giving  a 
smaller  quantity  where  a  large  quantity  proves 
injurious  ?  Is  it  obstinacy  ?  scholastic  dog- 
matism ?  or  what  other  prison  of  the  mind  ? 

Novelty  is,  indeed,  a  capital  crime  in  the 
orthodox  school,  which,  settled  down  upon 
her  lees,  enslaves  the  reason  to  the  tyranny 
of  antiquated  custom. 

But  why  should  a  physician  who,  from 
his  profession,  ought  to  be  learned,  thinking, 
— independent, — ^a  controller  of  nature — ^be 
bound  down  by  such  a  pitiful  rule;  and 
above  all,  what  should  prevent  him  from 
rendering  a  dangerous  dose  mild  by  diminu- 
tion 1 

What  should  prevent  him,  if  experience 
teach  him  that  one  thousandth  of  a  grain  is 
still  too  strong,  from  giving  one  hundredth- 
thousandth,  or  a  millionth  of  a  grain  ?  And 
were  he  to  find  that  this  quantity  in  many  in- 
stances was  productive  oi  6vil  consequences, 
since  every  thing  in  medicine  is  learned  by 
investigation  and  experience  (seeing  that  it  is 
but  an  experimental  science,)  what  should 
hinder  him  from  diminishing  the  millionth 
to  a  billionth  ?  And  if  this  were  in  many 
cases  too  powerful,  why  should  he  not  still 
further  diminish  it  to  a  quadrillionth  of  a 
grain,  or  if  necessary,  still  less ! 

Methinks  I  hear  vulgar  stolidity  croak 
from  out  the  quagmire  of  its  thousand-year- 
old  prejudices :  "  Ha !  ha !  ha !  a  quadril- 
lionth !  Why,  that's  nothing  at  all ! 

How  so  ?  The  smallest  possible  portion  of 
a  substance,  is  it  not  an  inte^al  part  of  the 
whole  ?  Were  it  to  be  divided  and  re-divided 
even  to  the  limits  of  infinity,  would  not 
there  still  remain  something — something  sub- 
stantial— a  part  of  the  whole,  let  it  be  ever 
60  minute  ?  What  man  in  his  senses  would 
deny  it  ? 

And  if  this  (a  quadrillionth,  quintillionth, 
octillion th,  decillionth)  be  in  ifality  an  in- 
tegral part  if  the  divided  substance,  which  no 
man  in  his  senses  can  doubt,  why  should 


this  minute  portion,  as  it  is  certainly  some- 
thing,  be  inactive,  while  the  whole  acted 
with  such  violence?  But  what  and  how 
much  this  minute  portion  can  effect,  pro- 
foundly speculating  reason,  or  lack  thereof, 
can  never  tell :  experience  alone  must  deter- 
mine, against  whose  facts  there  is  no  appeal. 
Experience  alone  can  decide  whether  this 
small  portion  be  too  weak  to  have  any  ef- 
fect on  diseases,  too  weak  to  relieve  and  re- 
store to  health  the  morbid  condition  in  which 
it  is  indicated.  No  dogmatical  assertion,  is- 
suing from  the  closet  of  the  theorist,  can  de- 
termme  this  pomt;  experience  alone,  the 
only  competent  arbiter  in  such  a  case,  can  do 
this. 

Experience  has  already  decided  the  mat- 
ter, and  is  seen  to  do  so  daily  by  every  un- 
prejudiced person. 


Nunbering— its  importance  to  the  Fhysidan. 

The  virtues  of  simple  arithmetic — which, 
when  occupied  in  the  deduction  of  medical 
facts,  is,  by  general  consent,  called  number- 
ing— ^have  no  operation  more  important  than 
that  of  calculating  the  efficacy  of  remedies, 
for  numbering  is  the  only  method  by  which 
their  qualities  can  be  satisfactorily  proved, 
though  almost  wholly  neglected  by  us,  very 
many  medicines  which  are  in  daily  use  being 
indebted  for  their  character  simply  to  hear- 
say, and  not  to  that  of  effectual  test.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  most  diverse  opinions  prevail, 
even  among  intelligent  practitioners,  with 
regard  to  the  pretensions  of  numerous  pre- 
sumed therapeutic  agents.  One,  for  example, 
says  that  he  has  the  greatest  confidence  in 
the  alterative  virtues  of  sarsaparilla ;  another, 
with  equal  opportunities  of  observation,  de- 
clares his  belief  that  its  qualities  are  piecisely 
equivalent  to  those  of  chopped  hay.  Some 
experimenters  will  affirm  that  iodide  of  po- 
tassium, given  in  doses  of  more  than  e^ht 
or  ten  grains,  will  act  as  an  irritant,  j>ro- 
ducing  diarrhoea,  vomiting,  and  other  disa- 
greeable effects ;  while  certain  inquirers,  (m 
the  other  hand,  assert  that  six  drachms  of 
that  substance  may  be  given  iiaily,  in  di- 
vided doses,  for  many  weeks,  and  even  half 
an  ounce  of  it  at  a  single  dose,  without  in- 
convenience to  the  patient. 

It  is  quite  clear  that — the  constitution  and 
condition  of  the  patients  being  analagous— 
one  or  other  of  these  statements  is  egrc- 
giously  erroneous,  although  both  profess  to 
be  founded  on  personal  observation.  It  is 
needless  to  multiply  instances.  There  are, 
in  daily  use,  a  great  number  of  alleged  medi- 
cinal substances,  with  reference  to  which  it 
is  disputed  whether  they  have  any  operation 
at  all,  or  admitting  that  they  have  some, 
what  that  operation  is,  and  under  what  cir- 


Numbering — its  importance  to  the  Physician. 


86 


comstances  it  occurs.     But  to  ascertain  whe- 
ther a  given  substance  be  active  or  inert,  in 
relation  to  the  animal  economy,  and — if  it 
have  an  appreciable  action, — ^to  determine 
what  that   action  is,  are  points  of  inquiry 
within  the  compass  of  every  individual  who 
is  endowed  with  common  sense,  and  willing 
to  incur   the  trouble  of  the  investigation. 
Hence  the  fact  that  if  any  uncertainty  exist 
on  such  questions,  it  is  discreditable  to  medi- 
cal science,  their  solution  being  mere  matters 
of  aiithmetic     But  ciphering  seems  as  irk- 
some to  doctors  as  to  schoolboys,  the  greater 
part  of  us  preferring  to  exercise  our  faith  or 
our  fancy  to  using  our  tablets.    The  ex- 
pression **  caeteris  paribus"  is  common  enough 
m  medical  language,  but  that  distzibution  of 
objects  which  is  necessary  to  render  the 
nhiase  applicable,  is  lamentably  rare  in  me- 
dical inquiries.    In  no  other  department  of 
human  knowled^  are  to  be  found  such  dis- 
crepancies of  opinion  as  to  what  ought  not 
to  he  matter  of  opinion  at  all,  but  matter  of 
fact ;  nor  is  it  surpriong  that  sound-headed 
men  o(  other  professions  should  often  turn 
ixom  medicine  with    incredulity  and  con- 
tempt, as  from  a  science  that  is  without  prin- 
ciples, and  an  ait  without  effiicacy. 

The  numeiical  method  may  be  applied  to 
theiapentic  operations  with  greater  facility 
tiian  to  most  other  branches  of  medical  in- 
qairy,  becanse  we  have  here  the  advantage 
of  kncfwing  the  nature  and  proportion  of  at 
least  one  of  the  agents  that  are  concerned  in 
the  actions  imder  investigation,  namely,  the 
mnhcine  itself ;  whereas  in  many  questions 
in  vital  statistics  we  have  to  calculate  efiects 
arising  from  causes  whose  nature  and  inten- 
sity— ^nay,  perhaps,  their  very  existence — 
are  all  wholly  unknown.    When  a  medi- 
cine is  brought  forward  laying  claim  to  the 
power  of  producing  a  certain  action  in  the 
living  system,  or  of  curing  a  given  disease 
spedfically,  no    matter  by  what  process, 
nothing  can  be  plainer  than  the  method  of 
asceitaming  whether  the  allegation  be  well 
fomided.  •   Simply  take  care  that  genuine 
samples  and  similar  doses  of  the  medicine 
are  employed,   that  all  the  individuals  to 
whom  it  is  exhibited  are,  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible, circumstanced  alike,  and  that  the  num- 
ber of  patients  is  sufficient,  and  then  the  con- 
clusion that  is  educed  by  the  accurate  use  of 
numbers  may  be  considered  to  be  as  certain 
as  any  that  can  be  obtained  in  a  science  that 
is  not  purely  mathematical.    Medicine  can- 
not attain  the  exactness  of  astronomy  or  op- 
tics ;  but  there  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  acquire  equal  certainty  with  che- 
mistry, and  otber  branches  of  experimental 
science. 


If  the  efficacy  of  every  new  remedy  had 
been  thus  tested  as  it  arose,  how  often  would 
the  profession  have  been  spared  the  humilia- 
tion of  reposing  unbounded  confidence  in 
agents  which  were  really  either  inert  or  per- 
nicious. Iceland  liverwort  would  not  tnen 
simply  have  settled  down  into  a  very  respect- 
able article  of  diet,  after  having  promised  to 
scare  consumption  from  the  face  of  the  earth, 
nor  would  mercury  have  poisoned  those 
myriads  of  persons  who  have  fallen  victims 
to  an  indiscriminating  belief  in  its  specific 
powers. 

It  is  impossible,  day  after  day,  to  observe 
the  mass  of  isolated  facts  that  are  thrown  be- 
fore the  profession  relating  to  medicine,  with- 
out lamenting  the  neglect  to  which  we  have 
drawn  attention — both  on  this  and  biany 
other  occasions — and  continuing  to  press  the 
necessity  of  a  remedy  for  the  evil,  until  the 
proper  remedy  is  adopted. 

These  observations  of  the  editor  of  the 
London  Lancet  are  not  only  of  the  utmost 
importance  to  the  physician  and  his  patients, 
but,  like  his  observations  and  suggestions 
given  in  the  last  number  of  this  work  (p.  18.) 
on  the  probably  extensive  utility  of  the  use 
in  chronic  diseases  of  "  a  very  moderate  gal- 
vanic influence,  sustained  for  a  length  of 
time,*'  should  be  printed  in  letters  of  gold, 
and  suspended  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  the 
office  of  every  phjrsician. 

The  diagnosis  of  diseases  must,  however, 
be  first  perfected  before  the  profession  can 
advance  much  in  the  choice  of  remedies,  and 
may  not  we,  who  have  practised  physic 
nearly  40  years,  and  these  arithmetical  num- 
bers more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  now 
venture  to  suggest  to  the  editor  of  the  Lancet, 
the  importance  of  copying  into  his  journal, 
from  the  last  number  of  this  work,  and 
spreading  far  and  wide,  the  mathematical 
symptoms  of  tubercular  disease  of  the  oigans 
and  limbs,  disclosed  by  the  practice  of  the 
arithmetical  system  which  he  now  recom- 
mends to  the  attention  of  the  profession  ? 
No !  such  a  suggestion  would  be  perfectly 
useless,  for  it  would  be  necessary  for  these 
symptoms  to  undergo  a  metamorphosis,  and 
appear  in  a  new  dress  under  the  garb  of  dis- 
coveries of  some  English  physician,  before 
we  could  have  the  least  hope  of  seeing  them 
published  in  that  or  any   other  Medical 


86 


Connection  of  Respiration  toith  Sensibility. 


Journal  of  that  kingdom,  or  in  the  semi- 
English  journals  of  the  medical  schools  of 
this  country.  A  universal  or  general  know- 
ledge of  these  symptoms,  with  the  remedies 
naturally  suggested  by  them,  would  save 
myriads  of  our  race  ever}'  year  from  a  pre- 
mature grave,  who  are  now  annually  poison- 
ed or  quacked  to  death  every  yesir  with  the 
common  remedies  and  treatment  of  the 
schools.  But  an  incubus  has  hung  its 
deadly  weight  upon  every  effort  to  improve 
the  practice  of  medicine  more  than  two  thou- 
sand years,  and  the  victims  of  every  age  and 
condition  must  submit  to  their  fate. 


Oonnection  of  Respiration  with  Sensibility. 

NEW  EXPLANATION   OF  AN  OLD  RIDDLE. 

To  to  the  Editor  of  The  Lancet. 
Sir, — It  is  always  pleasing  to  throw  light 
on  the  result  of  an  experiment  whioh  is  out 
of  the  usual  course  of  explicable  phenomena. 
One  of  such,  I  believe,  is  the  following,  for 
I  never  met  with  any  ex])lanation  of  it.  Its 
discovery  has  generally  been  ascril)ed  to  an 
American  naval  officer,  but  whatever  its  ori- 
gin, it  has  the  same  interest  to  the  physiolo- 
gist. 

When  each  of  four  persons  standing  at  the 
comers  of  a  long  table,  places  two  fingers  of 
one  hand  under  the  shoulders  and  hips  of  a 
person  lying  on  the  table,  if  at  a  given 
signal  they  all  five  draw  their  breath  (inspire) 
quickly,  the  four  can  raise  the  fifth  person, 
who  will  appear  to  them  to  be  much  lighter, 
or,  as  it  has  been  described,  •'  as  light  as  a 
feather."  They  must  all  inspire  at  the  same 
time,  and  without  irregularity,  or  laughing, 
&c.,  on  which  account  it  may  have  to  be 
tried  twice  or  thrice  before  the  remarkable 
result  is  obtained. 

How  can  we  explain  it }  A  medical  friend 
suggested  to  me  that  he  thought  the  act  of 
inspiration  changed  the  position  of  the  poles 
of  a  person,  and  thus  altered  the  weights  and 
to  support  his  view  stated  that  iron  weights, 
after  acquiring  magnetic  polarity  from  contin- 
uing long  in  one  position,  are  lighter  when 
turned  over  on  their  face.  But  this  explana- 
tion, ingenious  as  it  certainly  is,  supposes  a 
change  of  weight  in  the  person  operated  upon, 
a  thing,  which  of  course,  cannot  be.  Indeed, 
there  must  be  an  increase  in  the  weight  equal 
to  that  of  the  air  so  inspired.  I  will  proceed, 
therefore,  to  show  what  I  think  is  the  real 


cause  of  the  person  raised  appearing  to  be  so 
light. 

1.  Pressing  my  hand  hard  on  the  seat  of  aU^^to  three  periods, — inspiration,  expiration, 


as  equally  as  I  could,  and  another  person 
observing  the  index,  the  result  was,  that 
when  I  inspired  the  instrument  indicated  a 
greater  pressure  in  the  proportion  nearly  of 
eight  to  seven,  so  that  at  each  inspiration  the 
index  moved  forward  considerably. 

2.  I  placed  a  bucket  full  of  water  on  the 
floor,  and  carried  a  wire  round  its  handle, 
and  thence  around  my  finger,  making  a  loop 
at  the  middle  of  the  second  phalanx  of  the 
index  of  the  right  hand.  I  then  found  that 
the  pressure  of  the  wire,  when  I  attempted 
to  raise  the  bucket  by  it,  caused  (of  course) 
considerable  pain,  but  that  if  I  inspired  at 
the  same  time  the  pain  was  diminished,  and 
I  could  raise  the  weight  with  less  difficulty. 

Now,  here  are  three  things  to  be  consider- 
ed ;  the  amount  of  weight  raised,  the  sensa- 
tion experienced  in  raising  this  and  other 
weights  (and  by  which  I  presume  we  form  a 
judgment  of  the  weights  of  bodies  generally, 
or  of  resistances)  and  the  pain  caused  by  great 
pressure  on  the  part  from  which  the  weight 
is  hung.  My  first  experiment  proves  the 
influence  of  inspiration  in  obscuring  the  judg-  « 
ment  of  weight,  inasmuch  as  the  pressure 
appeared  to  be  always  the  same ;  yet,  during 
inspiration,  the  index  showed  a  change.  In 
the  second  it  may  easily  be  seen  how  the  act 
of  inspiring  blunts  sensibility  to  pain. 

The  explanation  that  T would  attempt  to 
ffive,  therefore,  of  the  lightness  observed  in 
the  American  experiment  is,  that  the  act  of 
simultaneous  inspiration  which  tends  to  stif- 
fen the  body  of  the  person  lying  down,  and 
render  it  better  adapted  for  raising,  also  im- 
pairs the  judgment  of  those  who  raise  him, 
and  blunts  tnat  unpleasant  sensation  in  the 
fingers,  &c.,  which  might  prevent  them  from 
raising  that  weight  in  the  ordinary  way.  But 
the  influence  of  inspiration  on  sensation  is 
not  confined  to  these  efforts,  or  operations, 
only.  The  scream  of  affright  is  an  inspira- 
tion, and  the  scream  itself  is  a  sound  uttered 
during  that  act,  and  not  a  vocal  sound  produ- 
ced, m  the  usual  manner,  by  expiration. 
And  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this 
sudden  drawing  of  the  breath,  as  in  the  expe- 
riments cited  above,  is  a  means  of  dulling 
sensibility  against  the  fatal  shock  which  a 
fright  mi^ht  otherwise  occasion.  The  sud- 
den application  of  cold  to  the  surface  of  the' 
body  in  the  shower  bath,  is  attended  with  a 
sudden  gasp,  a  modified  scream,  a  rapid  in- 
spiration, and  its  effect,  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve, is  to  deaden  sensibility. 

If  we  consider  the  function  of  respiration 
in  connection  with  sensibility,  perhaps  of 
every  kind,  we  shall  find  it  naturally  divided 


weighing  machine,  1  kept  up  that  pressure  I  ^^^  a^  interval,  the  intend  being,  more  pro- 


Magnetic  Poles^  ^*c. 


87 


jieriy,  the  time  for  sensibilitj', — ^inspiration 
taking  up  a  certain  time,  expiration  a  time 
fiomewhat  shorter,  and  the  interval  vailing 
in  dniation^  according  to  the  wants  of  the 
syBlem.     AH  these  periods  arc  liable  to  alter, 
and  we  may  see  this  in  many  slates  of  the 
body.     In  the  hurry,  and  bustle,  and  strain- 
ing, of  what  is  well  called  "  action,"  no  in- 
lerval  is  allowed  in  the  breathing,  no  one  at- 
tends to  his  sensations,  and  the  result  of  such 
increased  respiration  and  muscular  exertion 
is,  quickened  pulse,  augmented  heat  of  body, 
&Jc.    But  in  an  opposite  condition  of  our  sys- 
tem, when  the  mind,  content  on  a  subject  that 
absorbs  every   thought  and  feeling,  demands 
a  long  iaterc^l,  as  in  amatory  cases,  the  ter- 
mination of  that  interval  is  marked,  mediate- 
ly, by  a  sigh,  a  form  of  expiration  following 
a  iuJly  drawn  inspiration.     Hoping  that  these 
observations,  hastily  made,  wil  I  meet,  in  your 
valuable  Journal,   the  eye  of  some  reader 
who  haf;  paid  attention  to  the  subject,  I  re- 
main. Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

Salter  Livesay,  M.  D.,  R.  N. 
Belvedere-road,  l^mbeth,Dec.  1S43. 

London  Lancet. 


Tb0  cold  water  dash,  and  replex  actioiii 
Heimrrhage  from*  the  lungs,  nose,  and  ute- 
rus, is  frequently  arrested  in  an  instant  by 
repeated  dashes  of  cold  water.  Syncope, 
infantile  fainting  fits — Comay  from  narcotic 
poisons — Asph yxia — Apoplexy — and  Pucr- 
p§ral  convulsions,  are  arrested  and  quickly 
subdued  in  the  same  manner.  These  extra- 
ordinary effects  of  the  sudden  alternation  of 
cold  upon  a  warm  surface  is  purely  mechani- 
cal, and  is  the  consequence  of  the  sudden 
and  powerful  contraction  of  the  over-expand- 
ed blood  vessels.  A  subdued  expansion  of 
these  vessels  necessarily  follows  this  and  the 
succeeding  contractions,  according  to  the  laws 
(^  the  magnetic  forces  which  produce  motion, 
and  these  are  precisely  the  effects  that  are 
required  in  these  cases  of  hermorrhage  and 
suspended  animation.  With  such  means 
and  with  such  a  powerful  remedy  always  at 
liand,  many  a  fond  mother  has  by  mere  in- 
tuition, saved  her  darling  child. 

When  in  any  of  these  cases  the  body  has, 
isom.  any  cause,  become  too  cold  to  obtain 
these  results,  heat  should  be  first  applied  to 
the  surface,  and  then  the  cold  dash,  and  we 
should  remember  that  whatever  we  do  in  such 
cases  should  be  done  quickly. 


In  cases  of  inaction  of  the  bladder  in  con- 
sequence of  its  great  expansion,  from  exces. 
sive  accumulations  of  urine,  the  cold  dash 
upon  the  feet,  legs  and  thighs,  makes  the 
bladder  contract  with  great  force,  when  the 
urine  instantly  flows  in  a  large  stream. 


Magnetic  Poles,  and  Heat  and  Gold. 

The  greatest  heat  known  to  us  is  pro- 
duced by  the  action  of  the  magnetic  poles 
upon  each  other.  Sir  IL  Davey  decom- 
posed the  alkalies  and  many  other  sub- 
stances that  had  resisted  every  other  means 
of  reduction,  by  bringing  them  in  contact 
with  the  opposite  poles  of  a  powerful  mag- 
netic batter}'. 

The  greatest  cold  on  the  earth  is  known 
to  be  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  mag- 
netic poles  in  the  arctic  and  antarctic  circles, 
and  it  follows  then,  that  when  active  and 
powerful  magnetic  poles  are  brought  near  to 
each  other,  they  produce  the  greatest  heat 
known  to  us,  and  that  at  their  greatest  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  they  produce  the 
greatest  cold,  or  that  the  cold  increases  as 
their  distance  from  each  other.  The  distance 
of  the  magnetic  poles  from  each  other,  in  a 
direct  line  through  the  centre  of  the  earth  is 
120  deg.  or  about  7,900  miles,  and  the  dis- 
tance from  each  pole  to  the  centre  of  the 
earth  about  3,950  miles,  and  as  the  mag- 
netism of  the  eajrth  with  its  magnetic  poles  is 
in  motion,  and  consequently  in  an  active 
state,  as  in  the  case  of  Davey's  battery,  the 
heat  must  increase  as  the  distance  from  these 
poles  to  the  centre  of  the  earth,  where  it 
must  be  at  its  maximum.  Now  the  heat  in 
the  earth  increases,  from  a  few  feet  below 
the  surface,  at  the  rate  of  about  one  degree 
in  every  45  feet,  as  is  well  ascertained  by 
numerous  experiments  in  mines  in  difierent 
parts  of  the  earth,  as  well  as  by  boring  into 
it,  in  many  places,  a  distance  of  from  a  few 
hundred  feet  to  the  hot  water  line. 

The  deepest  coal  mine  in  England  is  near 
New  Castle,  where  the  temperature  at  the 
bottom,  1200  feet  below  the  surface,  is  con- 
stantly 77  deg.,  and  at  900  feet  70  deg., 
while  at  the  surface  it  is   about  4S  deg.» 


88 


Magnetic  Poles^  ^c. 


being  about  1  deg.  for  every  45  feet.  In  the 
Mexican  mines,  at  about  the  same  distance 
from  the  surface,  the  temperature  is  con- 
stantly 74  degrees. 

An  increase  of  heat  from  the  surface  to- 
wards the  centre  of  the  earth,  at  the  rate  of 
1  deg  for  every  60  feet,  would  make  water 
boil  at  a  distance  of  9900  feet,  and  ^his  is 
probably  the  source  and  mean  depth  of  hot 
springs.  The  same  rate  of  increase  of  heat 
would  produce  an  intense  light  red  heat  at 
the  distance  of  ISO  miles,  and  melt  almost 
every  known  substance,  and  at  a  distance  of 
about  200  miles  would  convert  them  all  into 
the  gaseous  state,  when  these  gases,  in  a 
con.»tant  state  of  expansion,  would  be  forced 
to  the  surface,  as  they  are,  through  the  lava, 
or  valves  of  the  craters  of  the  volcanoes,  by 
the  action  of  the  heat  of  the  internal  surface, 
The  earth  is  therefore  a  hollow  sphere,  the 
crast  or  shell  of  which  cannot  be  more  than 
about  200  miles  thick.* 

The  intense  light  red  heat  of  the  internal 
surface  of  the  shell  of  the  earth  must  ex- 
pand the  gases  inclosed  in  it  so  much  as  to 
make  them  perfectly  transparent  at  the  dis- 
tance of  many  hundred  miles  from  it,  through 
which  the  light  from  this  concave  surface 
must  shine  with  great  splendor,  and  present 
to  an  observer,  a  thousand  miles  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  earth,  a  scene  of  surpassing  gran 
deur. 

The  solid  crust  of  the  earth  covered  by  the 
sea  is  thinner  than  other  parts  of  it,  the 
water  extending  over  a  great  part  of  it  far 
below  the  boiling  water  line ;  and  hence  the 
cause  of  the  situation  of  the  volcanoes  in  the 
islands  and  near  the  sea. 

There  are  about  200  active  volcanoes,  of 
which  90  are  in  the  islands  surrounded  by 
the  sea,  and  110  on  the  continents  near  it. 

A  volcano  in  the  Indian  sea,  in  1815, 
shook  the  earth  at  the  distance  of  1000  miles, 
filled  the  air  with  ashes  300  miles,  and 
roared  at  that  distance  like  thunder. 


*  The  heal  at  the  distance  of  two  handred  milei 
from  the  magnetic  poles  towards  the  centre  df  the 
earth,  or  in  the  direction  of  their  magnetic  axis,  is, 
therefore,  so  great  as  to  reduce  every  kind  of  solid 
matter  to  th«  gaseous  state. 


The  heat  of  the  gases  which  issue  from 
the  craters  of  volcanoes  is  so  intense  as  to 
melt  every  thing  that  comes  in  contact  with 
them,  in  their  course  to  the  surface  of  the 
earth ;  and  hence  the  cause  of  the  lava  in 
the  craters,  which  sometimes  flows  over 
their  mouths,  and  descends  in  rivers  of  fire 
to  the  valleys  below. 

These  are  some  of  the  evidences  of  the 
most  intense  heat  in  the  centre  of  the  earth ; 
while  the  arm  frozen  and  fixed  in  its  descent 
with  the  steel  in  hand  to  strike  the  flint  to 
light  a  fire,  is  one  of  the  evidences  of  the 
most  intense  cold  on  its  surface — ^presenting 
in  one  view  the  heat  expanding  from  the 
centre,  and  the  cold  spreading  and  con- 
densing from  opposite  points,  and  thus  form- 
ing from  its  elements  a  crust  upon  the  sur- 
face.* 

The  condensing  power  of  these  poles,  at 
first  comparatively  feeble,  has  been  increased 
immensely  as  the  number  of  the  strata  sub- 
sequently formed  upon  the  earth  at  difierent 
and  distant  periods  of  time,  and  the  density 
of  these  strata,  or  the  crust  of  the  earth,  has 
consequently  increased  in  the  same  propor- 
tion. 

As  the  repulsive  force  which  maintains  the 
earth  and  planets  at  their  respective  distances 
from  the  sun  decreases  in  direct  proportion 
from  it,  they  must  be  maintained  in  an  order 
in  direct  proportion  to  their  density,  and  as 
their  density  is  increasing  with  the  number 
of  their  strata,  they  are  consequently  ap- 
proaching the  sun. 

The  number  of  strata  in  the  earth  and  in 
the  different  planets  is  in  direct  proportion  to 
the  number  of  revolutions  performed  in  their 
orbits.  The  number  of  strata  in  the  earth 
being  taken  as  12,  their  numbers  are  nearly 
Vulcan,    24,t    Mercury,    20,   Venus,   16, 


*  The  ancients  it  appears  from  the  following  quota- 
tion had  a  knowlpdge  of  these  extraordinary  facts,  and 
taught  it  in  their  Temples. 

"The  spot  whence  issued  the  prophetic  vapor  (from 
'     •     "*        «      -  '      *ro,  a 


site  quarters  of  the  heavens,  which  there  encountered 
each  other"  (Strabo.  41d.— Pausan  10,  16.— Flat., 
de  orace.    Dep.  p.  409.    Anthon. 

tThis  planet  now  in  the  sun's  atmosphere,  has  been 
seen  through  temporary  openings  in  it,  five  times,  by 
dif erent  astj  onomers. 


Case  of  EhMHUemesis. 


89 


£arth»  12,  Mais,  8,  Asteroids,  6,  Jupiter, 
4,  Satuni,  2,  Uranus,*  1 .  The  time  in  which 
a  stratitm  is  f  onned  on  each  of  these  bodies 
is  in  direct  proportion  to  their  distance  from 
the  SOB,  and  they  are  formed  about  3  times 
laster  on  Mercury  than  they  are  on  the  earth 
at  the  piesent  period. 


Oms«  of  Beiiiat«m«sls, 

TSBATBD  BT  JOHX  WM,  M.O.,  LOMOO*. 

Mn.  Waite,  aged  23,  married  only  a  fort 
night  I  was  requested,  on  Saturday,  July 
16p  1843,  by  the  mother  of  this  patient  to 
rimt  her  daughter,  whom  she  rei^esented  as 
in  a  most  dangerous  stale,  and  rapidly  be- 
earning  worse. 

I  learned  that  on  the  previous  Monday  the 
patient,  to  outward  appearance,  was  very 
well,  but  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day  was 
wized  with  giddiness  and  faintnees,  fell,  and 
was  found  lyingon  the  floor.    This  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  Tomiting  of  a  huge  quantiW  of 
h&ood,  which  continued  daily,  more  or  less, 
decreasing  a  little  till  Friday,  when  (she 
having  haul  mmevowerftd  purgative  medi- 
eioe  administeied  by  her  medical  attendant,) 
it  increased,  and  on  the  Saturday,  the  day  I 
was  consuJted,  still  increased.    Such  was 
the  stale,  indeed,  that  the  suigeon  in  attend- 
anee  said  ii  another  vomiting  took  place,  the 
lesnlt  must  be  fatal. 

When  I  arrived,  which  was  about  a  quar- 
ter past  one,  p.  m.,  I  found  the  patient  lying 
on  me  hed  with  white  cheeks,  white  lips, 
while  hlanched  fingers,  with  a  swollen 
tmnsparency  about  them,  exhausted,  eyes 
half  doaed*  pulse  rapid,  and  weak,  excessive 
anzie^  of  countenance,  the  tongue  blanched, 
but  with  a  tint  indicative  of  approaching  ty- 
phus, the  teeth  encrusted  with  a  sordes,  cold 
sweats  often  breaking  out,  and  she  herself 
ezeeasively  thirsty.  Besides  these  symp- 
toms, ihen  was  the  peculiar  ratlessnesSf  so 
atiiking  in  these  cases,  causing  her  constantly, 
ao  £u-  as  her  weakness  weuld  allow  her,  to 
change  her  position.  Her  mother  stated 
further  that  the  patient  experiences  continual 
fain  round  the  waist,  this  becoming  violent 
before  she  vomits,  the  pain  being  after  the 
vomiting  for  a  short  time  relieved.  Her  ap- 
petite was  gone;  her  bowels  had  been  very 
violently  acSed  upon  by  the  medicinep  admi- 
nifllered  to  her  before  I  saw  her ;  the  motions 
were  black  and  knotty ;  her  water  passes  re- 
gularly; her  last  monthly  period  was  na- 
toiaL    I  satisfied  myself  that  she  had  had 


*  Thm  amstntn  m  upon  this  planet  it  not  yet  eom 
I  f  i«a  aUa«aAtioiwloaBd«4  M  «crtaui 


no  blow,  no  extra  exertion.  I  ascertained,  also 
that  she  had  had  pain  round  the  waist  for 
eight  or  nine  weeks  before  she  was  manned, 
and  also  a  pain  at  the  heart,  the  ktter  con* 
tinning  after  her  marriage. 

I  ^ve  the  patient  at  once  three  globules  of 
aconite,  in  a  wine  glass  of  water,  and  order- 
ed the  following : — 

ft.  ^rfm^c,  four  globules; 

Water,  four  ounces.  The  fourth  part 
to  be  taken  immediately*  and  the  dose  to  be 
repeated  every  fourth  hour. 

I  left  with  the  patient  three  globules  of  ve- 
ratrum,  to  be  given  in  case  she  fainted  away. 

Sunday  morning,  July  16.  The  patient 
vomited  some  blood  soon  after  I  left  her  yes- 
terday. She  took  the  arsenicum  mixture, 
slept  in  the  beginning  of  the  night,  but  after 
waking,  became  resUess,  and  nas  so  con- 
tinued ever  since.  She  has  not  passed  any 
w&ter  since  I  saw  her  yesterday.  Her  pale 
ness  is,  of  the  two  rather  worse,  and  her  ap* 
pearance  (to  her  mother)  was  worse  than  it 
was  vesterday :  her  bowels  have  not  acted. 
She  has  not  complained  of  the  pain  round 
the  waist  and  upper  part  of  the  bowels.  She 
fainted  vesterday,  and  the  veratrum  globules 
were  administered.  She  feels,  to  use  her 
own  words,  "heart-sick,"  retches  very 
much,  but  brings  up  nothing^ ;  she  wishes  to 
die.  For  the  continual  retching  I  prescribed 
the  following  mixture : — 

K*  fy^caeuanha,  four  globules; 

frater,  four  ounces.  A  spoonful  for 
each  dose.  The  dow  she  was  ordered  t^ 
take  after  each  violent  retching. 

On  Sunday  night,  at  10  j».m.,  her  husband 
came  in  great  anxiety,  wishing  me  to  visit 
his  wife  immediately,  as  thev  all  expectml 
she  was  dyinj^.  On  arrival  I  found  that 
though  the  previously  existing  symptoms  ex- 
isted, still  they  were  not  augmented  to  the 
degree  that  by  this  time  they  must  have 
been  if  she  were  really  worse ;  I  therefore 
^ve  hope.  Gave  three  spoonfuls  of  her 
ipecacuanha  mixture,  and  left,  in  case  the 
exhaustion  should  increase,  three  globules  of 
China  (cinchona)  to  take ;  otherwise  to  con- 
tinue the  ipecacuanha  mixture. 

Mondav,  July  17.  She  was  restless  all 
through  tne  night,  till  the  morning.  At  four 
in  the  morning  her  mother  administered  the 
three  globules  of  China.  She  then  feU 
asleep,  and  slept  better  since  that  hour  than 
she  mis  since  Friday.  She  took  a  cup  of 
cocoa  and  some  barley  water,  and  bodi  re- 
mained on  the  stomach.  She  has  not  vomited 
since  she  took  the  arsenicum  on  Saturday. 
She  complained  last  night  of  pain  in  her 
head,  and  wandered  much ;  her  eves  not 
elosed  when  aaleep.    She  ia  now  hot  and 


90 


Case  of  Hamatemesis. 


thirsty ;  her  forehead  also  is  hot ;  the  retch- 
ings have  diminished ;  her  bowels  have  not 
acted;  she  is  restless  when  awake.    I  or- 
dered her  two  mixtures : — 
R.  Aconite,  four  globules ; 

IVater,  four  ounces,  Ft  mist..  No.  1. 
R.  Nucis  vomica^  four  riobules ; 

Water t  four  ounces.  Ft.  mist,  No7  2. 

I  directed  that  she  should  take  a  fourth 
part  of  No.  1  mixture  at  once :  wait  four 
hours,  then  take  a  fourth  part  of  No.  2 ; 
wait  six  hours,  :md  then  repeat  as  before. 

18.  Slept  still  better  last  night ;  was  not 
awake  more  than  an  hour  from  twelve  to 
six;  her  eyes  more  closed  in  sleep;  she 
seems  still  inclined  to  vomit,  but  to-day  it  is 
rather  heaving ;  water  passes  freely ;  bowels 
not  opened ;  she  complains  of  a  pain  in  her 
stomach  and  of  a  fulness.  Her  hands  burned 
last  night,  and  this  evening  she  is  a  little  fe- 
verish. To-day  she  is  decidedly  better ;  her 
lips  are  less  blanched.  She  is,  however, 
more  sleepy  to-day.  I  left  three  globules  of 
opium,  which  were  ordered  to  be  taken  if  the 
bowels  remained  confined,  and  the  restless- 
ness increased,  and  the  eyes  half  closed,  and 
the  tongue  should  become  brown,  and  the 
sleep  comatose.-  If  all  these  symptoms  do 
not  appear,  then  to  continue  the  aconite  and 
nux  vomica  mixtures. 

20.  Slept  well  for  four  hours  last  night, 
and  slept  with  her  eyes  dosed :  has  had  very 
little  retching ;  tongue  not  so  black ;  thirst 
leas.  She  has  not  as  yet  eaten  anything,  but 
expressed  a  wish  for  some  stewed  eels.  Her 
bowdssttU  inactive,  though  she  has  felt  a  de- 
are  this  morning  to  relieve  them,  but  with- 
out effect ;  water  clear ;  still  pain  and  a  sense 
of  fubesa  about  the  stomach,  and  she  cannot 
bear  pressure  at  the  pit  of  her  stomach ;  she 
has  complained,  also,  of  a  fievere  pain  in  her 
hack ;  her  temper  is  peevish ;  her  restless- 
ness, when  awake,  is  much  lessened;  her 
lips  b^in  to  assume  a  shade  of  redness : 
hands  less  hot  Has  taken  some  beef-tea. 
She  did  not  take  the  opium  globules.  Pre- 
scribed an  aconite  and  a  pulsatilla  mixture, 
four  globules  in  each,  and  ordered  a  bread 
poultice,  on  which  twenty  drops  of  the  tinc- 
ture of  Pulsatilla,  of  the  first  dilution,  were 
dropped,  to  be  applied  to  the  pit  of  the  stom- 
ach, and  directed,  that,  should  the  bowels 
not  act  the  next  day,  she  might  have  an  in- 
jection of  warm  water. 

22.  Her  improvement  is  great ;  all  her  fa- 
mily and  friends  are  astonished ;  she  sleeps 
well;  lips  are  more  natural;  tongue  less 
black:  ate  a  boiled  sole  yesterday;  bowds 
Ml  inactive,  though  she  has  had  two  injec- 
tions. She  has  a  Bttle  pain  in  the  head,  and 
•idieptineand  romhlings  in  her  bowels ;  the 


pain  in  the  stomach  is  gone.  I  ordered  four 
elobules  of  cocculus  (one  globule  every  ei^ht 
nours,  in  a  wineglass  of  %vater),  for  the  in- 
action of  the  bowels,  the  rumblings,  and  the 
pain. 

23.  Bowels  inactive  still;  complains  of 
her  head ;  slept  well  last  night,  and  awoke 
quite  sensible ;  her  color  is  returning.  '  She 
complains  of  pain  in  her  stomach  and  bowels, 
and  there  is  some  soreness  on  pressure;  and 
she  was  directed  to  continue  the  cocculus  till 
three  p.  m.,  when,  if  her  pains  were  not  bet- 
ter, sne  was  ordered  to  take  aconite,  one 
globule,  and  four  hours  after  one  globule  of 
nux  vomiccL 

24.  Head  better;  she  is  stronger,  eafi 
heartily;  took  some  mutton  yesterday; 
bowels  still  inactive ;  about  four  p.  m.,  felt  a 
wish  to  relieve  the  bowels,  but  with  no  ef- 
fect ;  she  has  severe  pain  in  her  back,  and 
some  tenderness  about  the  bowels :  water 
free  and  clear;  slept  well  last  night,  but  had 
during  sleep  one  of  her  eyes  open ;  she  has 
still  a  litle  day-restlessness.  Ordered  one 
globule  of  ophim  in  a  wineglass  of  water 
every  eight  hours,  for  the  inaction  of  Iht 
bowels  and  the  sleeping  with  the  one  eye 
open. 

25.  Slept  well  last  night  and  with  the  eye 
closed.  After  taking  three  doses  of  the 
opium,  her  bowels  were  freely  open;  the 
stools  black  and  offensive ;  lips  are  regaining 
rapidly  their  natural  color;  the  fingers  have 
still  a  marbly  hue.  Ordered  a  globule  of 
opium  once  a  day. 

31.  The  patient  is  able  to  sit  up  and  to 
walk  about  tne  room  without  assistance ;  die 
eats  heartily,  but  sometimes  brines  up  her 
food ;  the  bowels  have  been  confined  since 
the  28th ;  water  clear.  The  monthly  period 
has  not  appeared ;  she  has  pain  in  the  back 
of  the  head  and  great  soreness  there — of  these 
she  continually  complains.  I  ordered  pul- 
satilla, one  globule,  in  two  spoonfuls  of 
water— one  spoonful  twice  a  day. 

Aug.  S.  She  paid  me  a  visit ;  she  had 
been  at  « public  worship"  on  the  Sunday. 
The  back  of  the  head  is  painful  when  she 
lies  down,  and  the  pain  has  kept  her  awake 
the  two  last  nights.  Her  food  agrees ;  appe* 
tite  good ;  {ood  remains  quiet ;  bowels  toler- 
ably regular.  The  soreness  of  the  back  of 
the  head  she  ascribes  to  the  fall  at  the  com- 
mencement of  her  illness.  I  ordered  amua, 
and  my  patient  became  well. 

This  case  presents  several  interesting  fea- 
tures. 

The  first  is  the  inaaivity  of  the  boweii. 
The  bowels  did  not  act  for  ten  days,  and  yet 
notwithstanding  this  inaction,  the  patient  be- 
came stiodUy  better.    I  am  quite 


Sponianwus  Cure  of  Phthisis. 


91 


thai  this  inaction  of  the  bowels  was  an  es- 
sential to  the  core ;  and,  further,  that  had 
tins  patient's  bowels  been  forced  open  by 
pnigatiTe  medicine,  haemorrhage  would  have 
leemied,  and,  death  must  have  been  the 
•eqael. 

A  second  feature  of  interest  is  the  evi- 
dence afixded  in  the  effect  produced  by  the 
optnm  on  the  bowels,  of  the  power  of  opium 
in  xenumngifiizcttdn  of  the  bowels  in  certain 
conditions. 

I  may  add  here,  that  I  have  cured  the 
most  obstinate  constipations  by  opium,  in 
infinitaimal  doses;  but  let  it  not  be  sup- 
posed, in  piofieiing  this  statement,  that  I  as- 
sert that  opium  is  the  cure  for  constipation 
^BXuniOj.  Opium  will  cure  the  constipa- 
tion which  is  attended  with  symptoms  to 
which  it  is  homceopathic,  i.  e.,  to  which  the 
opium  has  the  power  of  producing  in  a 
healthy  person,  similar  symptoms.  Those, 
therefore,  who  think  to  cure  constipation  by 
tte  use  of  opium  without  first  ascertaining 
whedierthe  concomitant  symptoms  are  si- 
milaz  to  thoee  produced  by  the  operation  of 
opiiim,  will  be  themselves  deceived,  and  will 
injure  their  paJdents. 

Grmt  Russdl street,  Jan,  10, 1844. 
See  a  case  hy  Dr.  Epps,  and  note  in  ex- 
^anation,  in  our  last  number,  p.  30. 

▲nscnltatloii. 
The  editor  of  the  London  Lancet,  in  an  ar- 

lide  of  the  25th  Nov.  1843,  laments  the  de- 
cline oi  the  use  of  the  Stethescope,  and  im- 
pales it  to  an  exaggeration  of  its  real  merits 
by  the  dependence  that  has  been  placed  upon 
minute  and  fanciful  sounds,  or  uncertain 
symptoms,  and  the  neglect  of  the  aid  of  per- 


'These  are  probably  some  of  the  causes  of 
the  decline  of  the  use  of  this  instrument,  but 
there  is  another  cause  which  has  operated 
more  powerfully  in  this  country  lo  prevent 
its  use  at  all  by  many  physicians,  and  to 
cause  the  decline  of  its  use  by  others ;  and 
that  is  the  habit  of  guessing  the  precise 
seat,  character,  and  state  of  diseases  of  the 
ciiest  and  elsewhere,  which  saves  almost  en- 
liiely  tlie  time  and  labor  of  investigation. 

As  reasoning  and  their  obligations  to  their 
effltiidipg  patients  have  failed  to  change  the 
habits  of  these  drones,  we  would  suggest  to 
tiiem  the  practice  of  the  magnetic  symptoms 
which  operate  like  a  great  labor-saving  ma- 
chine, and  by  which  diseases  of  the  chest 
wt  diatiiigQished  in  an  instuit  of  time,  and: 


with  a  precision  that  defies  imitation  by  the 
Stethescope  and  percussion  combined.  Mere 
Tyro's  in  the  practice  of  these  symptoms 
have  often  put  the  profeesors  of  auscultation 
and  percus.<^on  to  the  route,  by  ocular  and 
overwhelming  demonstrations  with  the  dis- 
se-cting  knife. 


M.  Bondet,  oa   the  Hatvral  or  SpoatUMoas 
Onre  of  Fhthlils. 

"  Tuberculous  degeneration  of  the  lungs 
and  bronchial  ganglia  is  infinitely  more  com* 
mon,  and  is  oftener  susceptible  of  a  favora- 
ble termination,  Uian  most  medical  men  are 
willing  to  admit.  In  very  young  children, 
indeed,  tubercles  in  the  lung  are  certainly  of 
rare  occurrence.  Of  835  dissections  of  the 
bodies  of  infants,  during  the  first  year  of 
life,  pulmonary  tubercles  were  found  in  18 
only— or  once  in  every  64  cases.  The  fre- 
quency, however,  of  the  disease  increases 
very  rapidly  with  the  age ;  for,  during  the 
second  year,  the  ratio  was  found  to  be  as 
that  of  1  to  12 :  and  this  progresses,  as  yean 
advance. 

"  Havine  examined  in  succession,  and 
without  selection,  the  state  of  the  lungs  in 
197  persons,  (of  from  2  to  70  years  of  age,) 
who  died  from  various  diseases  or  even  nom 
casual  accidents,  I  obtained  the  following 
results.  From  two  to  fifteen  years,  I  found 
tubercles  in  three-fourths  of  the  cases.  At 
a  somewhat  more  advanced  age,  the  propor- 
tion of  tuberculous  to  non-tuoerculous  indi* 
viduals  seems  to  reach  its  maximum ;  forot 
135  persons,  whose  ages  varied  from  15  to 
36  years,  in  no  fewer  than  116  were  tuber- 
cles found,  either  in  the  lun^s  themseli^s  o> 
in  the  bronchial  glands ;  viz.  a  proportion 
of  six  in  every  seven  cases.  If  such  be  the 
case,  we  may  truly  say  that  the  presence  of 
tubercles  in  the  respiratory  organs  is  the  rule, 
and  their  absence  is  the  exception. 

"  This  singular  result — a  result  which,  at 
first  sight,  seems  almost  quite  incredible — ^is 
however  readily  explicable  by  the  gratifyinr 
circumstance  of  die  extreme  facility  witn 
which  these  morbid  products  cease  to  be  in- 
compatible with  health,  in  consequence  of 
various  changes  that  they  are  liable  to  xmder* 
go  in  their  intimate  composition. 

**  The  spontaneous  cure  of  tubercles  in  the 
lungs  is  enected  in  several  different  warn 
In  some  cases  the  tuberculous  deposit  be- 
comes isolated  from  the  surrounding  pulmo- 
nary tissue,  by  a  firm  fibrous  envelop  being 
formed  around  it.  Again,  the  density  of  die 
tubercles  themselves  may  become  increased 
in  one  of  three  ways :  either  by  their  be- 
coming so  desiccated  as  to  foim  quite  a  fria- 
ble paste;  or  by  Htsk  agsnming  a  firm  tsna- 


92 


SiHnUane9U9  Cure  fif  PhihiMU. 


doos  consistenoe  that  is  greasy  to  the  touch ; 
or,  lastly,  by  their  degenerating  into  an  inor- 
ganic calcareous  matter. 

•«  Tubercles  may  also  disappear,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  progressiye  extension  of  the 
black  pulmonic  deposit*  that  we  so  often  see 
arouna  them.  Occasionaliy,  too,  they  be- 
come wholly  or  partially  absorbed,  leaving 
nothing  in  tneir  place  but  their  sac  or  enve- 
lop. Lastly,  ^eir  contents  may  be  eliminat- 
ed from  the  body." 

These  various  modes  of  natural  cure  may 
be  reduced  to  five,  viz.— 1.  Seguw^ro/ton, 
by  the  developement  of  a  fibrous  sac  around 
the  tuberculous  deposit ;— 2.  Induration  ,—3. 
Tranrformatum  into  black  pulmonary  mat- 
ter;—4.  Absorption  t^-^^Liid  5.  Elimination, 

The  author  makes  the  following  remarks 
on  the  latter  two  modes ;  and  first  of  absorp- 
tion. 

^*  Tuberculous  matter  may  be  absorbed.  I 
btft  frequently  had  occasion  to  observe  tu- 
bercles which  had  become  modified  in  their 
consistence,  and  which  exhibited  V(  ry  unusual 
i^pearances.  Instead  of  being  globular,  they 
were  of  an  oval  or  eliptic  shape,  or  they  had 
become  rough  and  angular  on  their  sides. 
May  we  not  suppose  that  such  changes  were 
owing  to  an  unequal  absorption  of  difierent 
parts  of  these  deposits  ? 

•*  Occasionally,  too,  I  have  found,  in  the 
centre  of  a  thin  membraneous  cyst,  a  minute 
tubercle,  perhaps,  not  larger  than  the  quarter 
of  the  size  of  a  millet  wed,  and  which  yet 
exhibited  all  the  physical  characters  of  this 
morbid  product  iNow  we  rarely  or  never 
meet  with  tubercles,  when  first  deposited  in 
the  pulmonary  parenchyma,  so  very  small 
as  tnose  wmch  we  have  now  described. 
There  is  strong  reason,  therefore,  for  suppos- 
ing that  a  partial  absorption  has  taken  place. 
What  greatly  confirms  the  probability  of  this 
idea  is,  that  I  have  occasionally  found,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  these  dwarfed  tubercles,  nu- 
merous minute  cysts,  which  were  entirely 
empty;  the  tuberculous  matter,  which  had 
once  filled  them,  having  disappeared.  From 
diese  facts  I  infer  that  tuberculous  depo- 
aits  may  disappear  from  the  tissue  of  the 
lungs,  by  becoming  absorbed. 

'•  With  respect  to  the  mode  by  elimination, 
the  only  remark  that  I  have  to  make  is,  that 
I  have  never  known  it  to  be  efiected  except 
in  one  way,  viz.  that  of  expectoration  from 
the  bronchi.  In  this  manner,  sometimes, 
pieces  of  very  considerable  size  have  been 
rejected  by  coughing. 

'*  The  transformation  of  tuberculous  mat- 
tar  may  take  place  at  all  the  stages  of  itsevo- 
luticm ;  in  the  state  of  softening,  as  well  as 
of  crudity;  and  under  the  form  of  grey  gnr 


nulations,  and  yelkyw  tubadet, 
these  be  separate  or  aggregated  toother. 

"Even  tuberculous  excavations  of  die 
lungs  not  unfrequently  undergo  a  cuntiTe 

Frocess.  Of  197  cases  taken  at  hazard,  in  10 
have  found  the  cicatrices  of  caverns  in  Ae 
lunes,  without  the  existence  of  any  recent  tu- 
bercles ;  and  in  other  eight  cases,  the  process 
of  sicatrisation  was^inr  on,  while  reoently- 
formed  tubercles  existed  at  the  same  time. 
When  circumstances  are  favorable,  the  pro- 
cess of  their  healing  is  usuaUy  by  the  organ- 
ization of  an  accidental  mucous  membrane, 
lining  their  cavity ;  but  sometimes  by  the  for- 
mation of  a  fibrous  or  fibro-cartilaginous  en- 
velop. Iheir  cavities  may  continue  to  be 
open,  and  to  communicate,  or  not,  with  the 
adjoining  branch.  Sometimes  they  becooM 
quite  obliterated  by  the  cohesion  of  their  op- 
posite surfaces. 

*•  Usually,  the  parenchyma  of  the  hmg  hx 
some  little  extent  around  the  cicatrised  tobu- 
ca  is  more  or  less  indurated  and  impermcAble 
to  air :  very  often  it  is  infiltrated  witn  a  black- 
colored  matter. 

"  Not  only  have  1  frequently  asceitsined 
by  dissection  the  frequent  traniuormatioQ  of 
tuberculous  deposits,  but  I  have  also  been 
able  to  follow  out,  in  the  living  subject,  the 
CDnformation  of  these  data ;  and  I  now  fed 
confident  that  phthisis  is  much  more  frequent- 
ly cured  than  most  physicians  are  willing  to 
aidmit" 

M.  Foumet  alludes  to  his  having  met  with* 
in  the  course  of  one  year,  no  fewer  than  14 
cases  of  confirmed  phthisis  that  were  cured ; 
besides  10  other  cases,  in  which  dissection 
revealed  the  traces  of  caverns,  that  had  be- 
come perfectly  healed. 

He  eoes  on  to  remark,  that  "  these  14  cases 
of  phthisis  cured  in  the  living  subject,  have 
proved  to  me — 

"1.  That  certain  persons,  who  have  ex- 
hibited the  most  deciaed  symptoms  of  the  <h»- 
ease  in  its  most  advanced  stage,  may  yet  be 
restored  to  excellent  health. 

"  2.  That,  if  the  general  state  is  satisbcto- 

Sin  these  individuals,  and  does  notoocasion- 
y  bear  the  evidence  in  some  nuinner  of  the 
accidents  of  their  past  lifSe,  the  local  condition 
is  very  different,  and  always  reveals  the  pies* 
ence  of  alterations,  more  or  less  extensive. 

*'  3.  That  even  hereditary  phthisis,  in  its 
most  advanced  stage,  is  susceptible  of  cure ; 
although  such  an  occurrence  is  certainly 
much  more  rare  than  in  cases  of  theaeddtt* 
tal  disease. 

**  4.  That  phthisical  patients,  who  hsvt 
been  treated  by  very  vanous  kinds  of  reme- 
dies, or  who  nave  been  left  entirely  to  tha 
resoQToes  of  the  natuial  powers  of    ~ 


Spmiaimmt  Cun  tfPhtbint. 


88 


I  to  lMif9'  loeownd  ia  sbont 
^Mt  same  proDoitkm;  and,  tfaeiefore,  that 
nature  generaUy  *  fait  toua  leB  {nua'  of  the 
core  of  the  disme.** 

He  eondudes  hisremaiks  with  the  follow- 
iqgaenteiice  :  *'  The  capital  feet  which  seems 
to  aprior  from  these  inquiries  is,  that  tuber- 
culova  oiaeaae  is  not,  like  Cancer,  essentially 
incmable ;  on  the  contrary,  that  it  is  often 
cuiahle,  and  that  its  extreme  and  most  dis- 
heaitening  fatality  is  relenible  rather  to  the 
cucnraatanoe  of  its  being  seated  in  one  of  the 
vital  oigana  of  the  system,  and  to  its  tenden- 
cy to  nequent  relapses,  than  to  its  nrimary 
and  essential  nature. — Rewu  Mediaue. 

H  Boudet  confirms  in  the  most  extraor- 
dioaiy  manner  the  vipws  of  consumption  we 
have  ioDg  maintained,  and  long  since  pub- 
liahed  in  ftia  country,  and  we  have  selected 
and  now  lepubliah  the  article  for  the  particu- 
lar boiefit  of  a  certain  class  of  physicians, 
who  when  they  have  been  pointed  to  cases 
m  which  this  disease  has  been  cured  by  the 
wwgMtic  remedies,  have  uniformly  answered 
**  it  ?raa  not  a  csie  oi  consumption,  for  that 
disBue  cant  be  cured.'*    We  may  now,  also 
hr  Mr  benefit,  repablish  a  schedule  of  the 
CMOS  ei  tnbereoltf  disease  treated  with  those 
remediea  in  1835»  and  published  in  1836,  in 
which  it  will  he  seen  42  out  of  46  cases  of 
consumption  were  cured.    We  would  not, 
however,  be  understood  as  intimating  a  belief 
that  diey  could  have  made  such  a  propor- 
tional awsba  of  cures  with  those  remedies, 
wiifaoiit  iint  learning  how  to  distinguish  the 
diaeaee  before  die  sexton  is  called. 

daesoi  tubercular  disease  afiecting  difier- 
ent  parts  of  the  body,  and  treated  with  the 
B^gMiie  remedies  from  Jan.  1,  to  Dee.  31, 

CaePH  sirf  ling  the  neck,    ....     18 

Neck  and  eyes, 2 

Neck,  nose,  and  spine, 1 


Lungs,  last  stage,  with  tubereles  in  a  ma- 
ture state,    1 

Lungs,  with  excavations,     .    .    .    .5 

Lun^  and  both  lem,  and  one  ankle,    * 

with  excavation  01  both  lunn.  f 

Heart, .  *.     8 

Heart  and  liver, 4 

Stomach, *    19 

Liver .'    '.      5 

Stomach  and  lunirs,    ...  la 

Kidney,  (left.)    *   .    .    .    .'.'.'.    J 

Liver  and  kidney,  (right,) | 

liver  and  stomach,    .  .    .    .  *    4 

Liver  with  abscess,    ...!!.'     3 

Mesentery, 1 

Uterus  and  legs, *  .    .      3 

Uterus  and  lungs 2 

Uterus  and  stmnach,    .     .    .    ...    e 

Joints  and  limbs, .31 

Unknown, '.    1 

Whole  number  of  cases  in  1835,    163 
Of  these  cases  the  number  cured  is,    .154 
Cases  not  cured,  in  consequence  of  not 
using  the  remedies  a  sulficient  length 

of  time, ^     3 

Of  the  cases  which  have  died,  the  first  was 
that  of  Master  N.,  of  Columbus,  aged  16  or 
17  years*  whom  I  never  saw,  and  of  whose 


Keck,  tongue*  tonsils,  and  r^t 
19eck«  jaw,   tonails,  ear,  oerebeiiiim, 
hnaet.  heart,  stomach*  uterus,  one 

arm,  and  both  legs, 1 

Neck  and  lung, 2 

Neck  and  stomach 1 

Neck  and  mesottteiy,  .....  3 
Tc^giie,  tonsils,  and  uvuk  .  .  .  .  1 
Ti»|giie  tonsils,  and  light  kg,    .    .    .    1 


case  I  know  nothing,  except  that  it  was  about 
tenyears  since  it  commenced. 

Tlie  second  case  was  that  of  Mra.  B.,  of 
M.,  in  the  kst  part  of  the  last  stage  of  tuber* 
cuJa  of  the  mesentery,  with  a  frightful  ma- 
rasmus. 

The  third  case  was  that  of  Mrs.  K.,  of  M , 
with  cancer  of  the  uterus  in  a  state  of  ulce. 
ration,  complicated  with  abscess  of  the  liver, 
which  was  discharging  matter  through  the 
right  side  in  four  places.  ^^ 

The  fourth  case  was  that  of  Mr.  W.,  of  M, 
Michigan,  with  tuberculated  t%ht  leg,  left 
hand,  heart,  and  scalp  over  the  right  frontal* 
wid  right  parietal  bones.  The  leg  and  also 
the  scalp  ulcerated  in  two  places.  He  died 
of  compression  of  the  brain,  in  consequence 
of  the  injudicious  use  of  nitrate  of  silver, 
which  had  been  frequently  applied  by  the  di- 
rection of  his  physicians,  to  the  upper  part 
of  the  parietal  bone,  and  penetrated  Sirough 
It  to  the  brain,  as  shown  by  dissection. 

The  fifth  case  was  that  of  Mra.  S.,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, with  tuberculated  left  lung  in  a  ma- 
ture state;  and  sixth,  the  case  ofMrs.  C,  ol 
Cincinnati,  with  hypertrophy  of  the  heart, 
and  excavation  of  both  lungs. 

The  yearly  number  of  cases  in  which  these 
magnetic  remedies  have  been  used,  and  also 
the  yearly  number  of  cases  they  have  cured 


Noee  and  face, 2    I  «nce  1836,  have  increased  more  than  a  hun 

(finiel«0fti) 21    •diedfoM.aeaseertainedbyaaimplearithmeti^ 


94 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


cal  series — under  all  the  disadvantages  in  loss 
of  time,  and  of  having  been  before  in  many 
cases  nearly  quacked  to  death  with  the  com- 
mon treatment  of  the  schools. 
Tliey  should  now,  with  the  demonstrations 


of  the  scientific  character  of  these  remediea 
derived  from  the  results  of  the  magnetic  ac- 
tion of  the  rotary  machine,  increase  in  a 
much  greater  ratio. 


Hotarj  Magottio  Machin«. 

The  readers  of  the  Dissector  will  recollect 
Aat,  in  our  last  number,  we  gave  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  extraordinary  effects  of  the  Rotary 
Magnetic  Machine,  obtained  by  Von.  J.  £. 
Wetzler,  of  Erunkheiten,  in  Germany.  We 
have  repeated  some  of  his  experiments  with 
this  machine  with  the  same  or  similar  results, 
and  we  have  besides  obtained  with  it  the 
most  astounding  effects  in  a  variety  of  other 
cases. 

This  machine  has  been  known  as  one  of 
great  power  both  in  Europe  and  this  country, 
during  the  last  two  or  three  years,  but  noth- 
ing of  consequence  has  been  published  in 
regard  to  its  application  in  the  cure  of  diseas- 
es, excepting  the  experiments  of  Von.  Wetz- 
ler. 

When  the  wheel  is  turned,  the  armature  of 
•oft  iron,  wound  with  copper  wire,  strikes 
the  poles  of  the  magnet,  S,  fig.  5 ;  which 
elicits  sparks  of  fire,  while  brass  cylinders, 
connected  with  the  armature  and  poles  of 
the  magnet,  by  copper  wires,  are  held  in  the 
hands.  The  forces  from  this  machine,  it 
will  be  wtKit  are  difiiised  and  connected  with 


the  skin,  from  and  over  large  sur&ces,  in- 
stead  of  points  of  copper  wire,  as  formerly. 
Von.  Wetzler,  it  seems,  first  c^plied  these 
cylinders  to  the  face,  head  and  other  parts  of 
the  body  to  cure  local  diseases. 

We  soon  found  the  cylinders  very  awk- 
ward means  of  connecting  these  forces  witii 
different  parts  of  the  body,  and  especially  ia 
directing  them  into  the  different  organs 
through  the  posterior  spinal  nerves,  and  we 
consequently  substituted  large  brass  buttona, 
&c.,  connected  with  copper  wires,  AB — the 
wires  being  drawn  through  corks,  d  d,  (non- 
conductors) with  which  the  buttons  are 
placed  and  held  on  the  different  parts  of  the 
body.  The  button,  c  A,  is  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  in  diameter,  and  is  connected  with  the 
hollow  conductor,  B,  of  the  north  pole  of  the 
magnet,  by  means  of  a  screw ;  while  the 
button  of  the  other  wire,  c  B,  of  one  inch  in 
diameter,  is  connected  with  the  south  pole* 
S,atA. 

The  forces  that  are  conducted  from  the 
north  pole  along  the  wire.  A,  through  the 
button,  c,  repel  and  expand,  and  are  much 
stronger  than  those  that  are  conducted  from 


Rotary  Magnetic  MaMne. 


96 


the  0oadi  pole  along  the  wire  fi,  through  the 
Imtton,  c,  which  attractand  contract,  and  this 
§act  was  known  to  Yon.  Wetzler,  who  esti- 
mated the  di&ience  at  from  30  to  40  per 
cent 

We  have  another  rotary  magnetic  machine 
from  the  aame  maker,  much  smaller,  and 
which  answers  all  the  purposes  of  this,  in 
which  a  small  magnet  is  turned  over  a  small 
mnaluie,  by  a  small  magnetic  battery.  The 
ImttODS  we  use  in  magnetising  are  attached 
to  it  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  other  ma- 
dune,  and  its  power  is  increased  to  a  very 
great  extent  by  placing  pieces  of  iron  'wire  of 
tbe  length  and  size  of  knitting  needles  into  the 
cylinder  oi  coils  of  copper  wire  connected  with 
tte  poles  of  the  magnet  and  armature. 

Having  described  thesemachines,  and  the 
iBstroBKiit,  by  which  the  forces  obtained 
from  them  are  connected  with  different  parts 
of  the  bod^,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  des- 
cribe the  efifects  of  the  action  of  these  forces 
on  the  oigans  and  other  parts  of  the  body  in 
a  Taiiely  of  cases. 

Ski'HBadttthe. — In  these  cases  we  have 
applied  the  laige  button  connected  with  the 
machine  to  the  poles  of  the  brain  through  the 
oigan  of  causality  on  one  side,  and  the  small 
hanon  to  the  oigan  of  amativeness  on  the 
oppoate  side,  alternately;  so  that  the  forces 
might  pass  along  the  line  of  the  axes  of  the 
la^  poles  of  the  brain  as  seen  in  fig.  p.  58. 
The  power  applied  was  always  very  light 
and  8  persons,  including  ladies  and  gentle 
men,  were  cured  in  from  1  to  3  minutes. 

Cftorni,  or  St.  Vttuf  Danu.—Tht  case  of 
a  yonag  lady  aged  13  years,  with  complete 
loss  oi  power  over  the  left  hand  and  arm,  and 
very  little  over  the  left  foot  and  leg.  She  had 
been  out  of  health,  with  pain  in  the  head  and 
chest,  but  the  disease  was  not  fully  developed 
until  two  weeks  before  she  called  upon  us. 
The  magnetic  symptoms  pointed  to  the  dis- 
ease in  the  cerebellum.  The  laige  button  was 
dkcn  placed  on  the  right  side  of  the  organ  of 
amaJdvenese  and  the  other  on  the  hand,  and 
flien  on  &e  foot,  and  sometimes  on  the  oigans 
of  causidity  and  individuality.  She  improv- 
ed daOy  under  this  process.  We  commenced 
awgntfitimng  her  Jan.  15, 1844,  and  magnetiz- 


ed  her  generally  once  every  other  day,  and 
on  the  9th  of  Feb.  the  use  of  her  limbs  was 
entirely  restored. 

Tooth-ache. — (Jumping.) — ^Two  cases,  and 
each  entirely  cured  in  an  instant  of  time. 

Tic  Dou/oureux.—Three  cases.  The  first 
was  cured  the  first  sitting.  The  second  after 
three,  and  the  third  on  the  second. 

Tooth-ache  with  swelled  face,  6  cases,  5 
of  which  were  cured  at  the  first,  and  1  on  the 
second  application  of  the  buttons,  to  the  face. 

White  Swdlmgs  of  Mucous  Surfaces — Ef^ 

cysted  Tumors  of  the  Wrist  and  HatuU 
Three  Cases. 

A  hopeless  case  of  this  afiection  in  a  gen- 
tleman, nQed  37  years,  was  presented  to  us, 
in  which  the  joints  of  both  wrists  and  hands 
were  implicated.  The  use  of  the  right  hand 
and  arm  had  been  entirely  lost  about  seven 
months,  and  the  left  was  swelling  and  fast 
approaching  the  same  state.  There  were 
two  very  small  encysted  tumors  on  the  right 
wrist,  which  was  much  swelled,  and  four 
about  the  size  of  musket  balls  on  the  left 
There  was  one  also  on  a  swelled  joint  of 
each  hand. 

Tne  buttons  were  placid  tipon  these 
swellings  under  the  full  power  of  the  instru* 
ment,  which  they  resisted  with  the  greatest 
tenacity  for  ten  days,  when  they  b^an  to 
succumb  and  shrink  from  it  They  have 
now,  March  10th,  been  under  the  action  of 
the  machine  from  five  to  ten  minutes  nearly 
every  day  during  the  last  60  days,  and  they 
are  now  very  nearly  reduced,  and  the  strength 
and  action  of  the  hands  and  arms  very  nearly 
restored. 

The  second  case  is  that  of  a  female  ser- 
vant, with  swelling  of  the  left  wrist  and 
hand,  and  two  large  encysted  tumors,  with 
entire  loss  of  power  in  the  hand  and  wrisL 
One  of  these  tumors  had  been  opened  by  a 
surgeon,  and  its  gelatinous  ccntents  dis- 
charged without  benefiting  the  patient  The 
buttons  were  applied  as  in  the  first  ease; 
on  the  fifth  day  the  swelling  and  tumon 
began  to  shrink  under  ihem,  and  on  the  mtdk 
day  she  was  able  to  open  and  shut  her  hand 


96 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


with  considerable  force,  and  the  disease  will 
60on  be  reduced. 

The  third  case  is  that  of  a  lad^r  with 
swelled  wrist,  and  one  encysted  tumor, 
which,  like  the  other  cases  of  this  class,  is 
yielding  slowly  to  the  power  of  the  instru- 
ment 

Lateral  Curvatures  of  the  Spine. — 2  cases. 
The  muscles  of  the  back  ai-e  alternately  tuber- 
culated  and  atrophied  in  these  cases,  and  in 
many  of  them  puffy  or  elastic  white  swell- 
ings formed  over  the  tuberculated  muscles, 
while  the  atrophied  muscles  become  parab'sed 
and  cease  to  act  Sb'ght  deviations  of  the 
spine  are  the  consequences  of  the  first  change 
in  the  natural  state  of  these  muscles,  and 
great  curvatures  of  the  last,  as  seen  in  ^.  6. 

This  figure  represents,  in  no  exaggerated 
form,  the  case  of  a  young  lady  of  this  city, 
i^ed  17  years,  who  on  returning  home  from 
(Khool,  about  two  years  since,  was  seen  to 
have  a  slight  deviation  in  the  spine,  which 

Fig.  6. 


gradually  increased  to  the  great  curvatoies 
aeen  in  the  figure,  which  also  represents,  very 
weU,  hondxedsof  other  caaee  in  this  dty,  that 
aiamoft  lanentahlemomuacmtol  thtpiis- 


ent  state  of  the  knowledge  and  skill  of  the 
medical  profession. 

In  this  case  a  large  puffy  and  elastic  white 
swelling  occupied  the  back  part  of  the  8ctp«- 
la,  D£,  over  the  tuberculated  muscles  under 
it,  and  extended  to  the  upper  part  of  the  right 
shoulder;  while  the  muscles  on  the  iiiiUb 
of  the  arch  of  the  spine  at  A,  were  paralised. 
Again  die  muscles  on  the  outside  of  the  aidi 
at  C,  were  tuberculated  and  as  tense  as  die 
head  of  a  drum ;  while  those  on  the  inside  at 
B,  were  perfectly  paralised,  soft  and  flabby. 
The  muscles  were  also  tuberculated  and  tense 
at  F,  and  atrophied  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  spine.  There  was  also  a  great  projection 
of  the  point  of  ^he  scapula  at  D,  and  the  spine 
itself  was  tuberculated  from  thence  to  6. 

We  commenced  magnetizing  this  young 
lady,  by  applying  the  different  buttons  on  the 
pandised  muscles  at  A,  and  B,  aitenialely> 
at  intervals  of  a  few  seconds,  with  the  great* 
esc  power  of  the  machine.  They  were  also 
applied  at  £,  and  B,  and  al  £  and  C,  which 
straightened  the  spine  so  much  as  to  hriag 
the  whole  width  of  it  oat  from  under  die 
shoulder  blade,  and  the  sitting  was  concliidid 
in  10  minutes. 

Very  little  action  was  apparently  prodneed 
in  the  paralised  muscles,  but  it  was  aonaag 
to  see  them  dance  at  the  next  and  saceeediiig 
sittings  to  the  tune  of  the  instrument  Tht 
laige  pufly  swelling  D£,  was  seen  to  shiink 
under  its  power,  while  magnetixing  her  the 
fourth  time,  and  we  and  the  ladies  in  attend- 
ance were  surprised  to  see  it  suddenly  vanish 
entirely,  leaving  behind  little  else  but  &e  skin 
and  bones  of  the  scapula,  when  th^  sittiig 
was  instantly  concluded. 

The  action  of  the  paralised  muscles  was 
now  so  much  increased,  as  to  make  it  neces- 
sary to  lessen  the  power  of  the  instrument, 
and  after  the  tenth  sitting,  in  the  course  of 
fourteen  days  from  the  time  we  Gommenoed 
magnetizing  her,  the  muscles  at  B,  had  be- 
come full,  broad,  and  tense ;  while  those  on 
the  opposite  side  had  become  much  softer  and 
less  tense.  The  muscles  at  A  had  also  he- 
come  tense,  and  those  on  the  opposite  side 
relaxed.  The  space  between  the  ahouUer 
which  did  act  at  fim  exceed  tme 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


97 


inches,  amounted  now  to  six  inches,  and  the 
spine  having  very  nearly  resumed  its  natural 
position,  and  her  form  very  nearly  perfect,  she 
was  diaoiissed,  with  directions  to  apply  the 
magnetic  plaster  five  inches  wide  along  the 
Bpinal  column,  and  to  take  the  magnetised 
gold  pin. 

White  Swellings  of  the  Serous  Surfaces^Tu- 
hercdar  Diseasej  or  common  Serofulovs 

Swdlings  of  the  Joints. 
We  have  heen  daily  applying  those  but- 
tons to  these  swellings  during  the  last  two 
months,  with  a  moderate  power  of  the  ma- 
chine, and  in  a  great  variety  of  cases,  in- 
clnding  those  of  the  shoulder,  elbow,  wrist, 
hip  joint,  knee,  ankle,  foot,  and  cervical, 
dorsal,  and  lumber  vertebne.    A  great  majo- 
rity of  these  cases  were,  at  the  time  we  com- 
menced magnetising  them,  using  the  mag- 
netic gold  piUs  and  magnetic  plaster,   and 
were  in  the  various  stages  of  the  process  of 
cure — seme  of  the  cases  being  still  in  the 
first,  others  in  the  second  stage,  and  some 
Yery  nearly  well.    It  would  be  as  tedious  as 
it  would  he  useless  to  describe  successively 
the  apparent  effect  in  each  case,  as  they  ne 
cessarily  varied,  more  or  less  in  the  different 
stages  of  that  process,  and  it  will  be  sufficient 
to  say  the  eflect  has  been  apparently  bene- 
ficial in  nearly  all  these  cases,  and  has  in 
no  instance  been  apparently  injurious.    The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  cases  which  had  not 
heen  under  the  use*  of  these  remedies,  and  the 
case  of  white  swelling  of  the  scapula  of  the 
young  lady  with  curvatures  of  the  spine,  is 
an  example  of  the  best  effects  obtained  in 
some  of  these   cases,  which  did  not,  how- 
ever, from  the  nature  of  the  disease,  preclude 
the  necessity  of  the  use  of  other  remedies. 

B-^ondwcdc — (Goitre). — Two  cases.  1st. 
that  of  a  young  lady,  from  the  mountains  of 
New  Jersey.  The  disease  commenced  five 
years  sine*,  was  very  large,  and  we  had 
been  foiled  in  an  attempt  to  cure  it,  and  now 
applied  the  buttons  to  it  without  mercy, 
under  the  full  power  of  the  machine, 
which  made  it  tremble  like  a  leaf,  without 
exhibiting  any  disposition  to  shrink  from  the 
actioii  oi  the  instrument,  and  the  sitting  was 


concluded  in  ten  minutes.  The  next  day  the 
tumor  was  again  placed  under  the  full  power 
of  the  machine,  which  soon  began  to  shrink 
under  it,  and  in  ten  minutes  was  reduced 
about  one-third,  when  the  sitting  was  con- 
cluded. On  the  third  day  it  was  again  sub- 
mitted to  the  full  power  of  the  instrument, 
and  in  ten  minutes  entirely  disappeared,  and 
the  sitting  was  concluded ;  but  on  removing 
the  buttons  the  swelling  appeared  again.  It 
was,  however,  much  reduced.  *0n  applying 
the  buttons  to  it  again  on  the  next  day,  it 
disappeared  in  an  instant,  when  the  patient 
screamed  under  the  frightful  power  of  the 
instrument,  which  now  shook  her  whole 
frame.  The  power  was  instantly  reduced  by 
an  assistant  one-half — the  buttons  being  still 
held  in  their  position,  and  in  ten  minutes  the 
sitting  was  again  concluded. 

On  removing  the  buttons,  this  unwelcome 
intruder  on  female  beauty,  like  Monsieur 
Tonson,  "  came  again,"  but  was  now  re- 
duced fully  one-half.  The  reduction  has 
continued  under  the  daily  action  of  a  mo- 
derate power,  and  the  swelling  now  (March 
12th,)  after  having  been  magnetised  ten 
times,  is  not  more  than  one  quarter  of  its  ori- 
ginal dimensions. 

The  second  case  is  that  of  a  young  lady  of 
this  city.  The  swelling  was  comparatively 
small,  and  she  was  unable  to  bear  more  than 
one-fourth  part  of  the  power  of  the  instru- 
ment at  the  first  sitting.  It  entirely  disap- 
peared in  an  instant  at  the  commencement  of 
the  second  sitting,  and  on  removing  the  but- 
tons, it  was  apparently  permanently  reduced 
more  than  one- half.    (March  12th). 

Paralysis — (Palsy). — Thirteen  cases,  in- 
cluding those  of  one  side  of  the  face,  of  the 
ear,  eye,  one  arm,  leg,  one  side  of  the  body, 
(hemaplegia,)  and  of  both  lower  limbs,  or 
paraplegia. 

In  some  of  these  cases  the  paralysis  was 
diminished,  or  removed  temporarily,  and  in 
others  permanently,  by  the  action  of  the  ma- 
chine. Some  of  them  were  the  consequence 
of  tubercular  disease  of  the  serous  surfaces 
of  the  cerebellum  and  medulla  oblongata,  as 
disclosed  by  the  magnetic  symptoms;  while 
other  cases  were  those  of  hypertrophy  of  the 


98 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


mucous  surfaces  of  those  organs,  as  dis- 
closed by  the  presence  of  the  disease,  and 
the  absence  of  those  symptoms.  The  diag- 
noses in  the  different  ca^es  was  confirmed,  1  st, 
by  the  existing  connection  between  the  para- 
lysed muscles  and  these  organs;  and,  se- 
condly, by  the  great  difference  shown  in  the 
sensibility  of  those  different  surfaces  under 
the  action  of  the  machine. 

These  observations  will  enable  physicians 
who  are  familiar  with  these  symptoms  to  dis- 
tinguish the  diflferent  cases  requiring  very  dif- 
ferent powers  of  the  machine,  and  also  the  im- 
portance of  aiding  its  action  on  these  organs 
with  the  proper  remedies  for  the  reduction  of 
these  diseases,  or  aiding  the  steady,  although 
comparatively  feeble  action  of  the  proper  reme- 
dies for  these  cases,  by  the  necessarily  tem- 
porary action  of  the  machine,  as  the  cause  of 
ths  paralysis  in  these  cases  must  be  removed, 
as  our  experiments  have  shown,  before  the 
paralysed  limbs  can  be  fully  and  permanently 
restored. 

These  suggestions  are  deemed  of  so  much 
importance  as  to  induce  us  to  illustrate  them 
in  a  concise  history  of  one  of  these  cases — 
that  of  C.  J.  H.,  a  young  man,  aged  24,  who 
for  four  or  five  years  past  had  been  suffer- 
ing from  a  gradual  diminution  of  the  power 
of  voluntary  motion,  mostly  in  the  lower  ex- 
tremities, and  amounting  at  least  to  almost 
perfect  paralysis,  being  unable  to  walk  across 
a  room  without  the  aid  of  a  cane,  and  then 
only  able  to  shuffle  along  without  raising  the 
feet  or  bending  the  knees.  These  symptoms 
were  accompanied  with  costiveness,  loss  of 
appetite,  of  sleep,  of  flesh,  and  at  last,  with 
pain  in  the  head,  when  his  mind  began  to 
give  way  to  the  general  wreck  of  his  natu- 
rally good  constitution. 

The  magnetic  symptoms  pointed  to  the 
seat  of  the  disease  in  the  cerebellum,  and  we 
commenced  magnetising  him  on  the  3d  of 
January,  and  the  first  sitting,  which  was 
concluded  in  ten  minutes,  resulted  in  a  favor- 
able modification  of  all  the  symptoms.  He 
was  brought  to  us  in  a  carriage,  but  deter- 
mined to  put  his  increased  power  of  locomo- 
tion to  the  test,  and  first  walked  about  half  a 


mile  on  his  way  to  his  lodgings.  At  the 
second  sitting  on  the  6th  of  January,  the 
pain  in  his  head  gave  way.  After  the 
third  sitting  on  the  6  th,  he  walked  about 
three  miles,  and  after  the  6th,  (11th  Jan.)  he 
made  the  natural  motions  in  walking.  He 
was  magnetised  daily,  with  a  steady  improve- 
ment in  his  symptoms,  until  the  20th  Jan., 
when  he  took  a  severe  cold,  and  was  conse- 
quently confined  to  the  house  until  the  12th 
February,  when  we  commenced  magnetising 
again.  His  bowels  have  now  (March  16th,) 
become  perfectly  regular,  appetite  excellent, 
sleep  sound,  mental  powers  greatly  im- 
proved, and  flesh  and  power  of  locomotion 
nearly  natural,  indicating  a  vigorous  action 
in  all  the  functions  of  life. 

Now  this  naturally  talented  and  amiable 
young  man  commenced  the  use  of  the  mag- 
netic remedies  before  mentioned  by  the  direc- 
tion of  a  physician  in  one  of  the  southem 
States,  and  who  after  a  few  weeks  advised 
him  to  come  to  this  city,  and  we  advised  him 
to  continue  the  remedies  in  conjunction  with 
the  action  of  the  machine.  He  did  so,  and 
such  is  the  result  of  a  perfectly  hopeless 
case,  the  consequence  of  supposed  harmless 
irregularities,  exciteil  by  an  enormous  cere-  ^ 
helium. 

Ear. — (Deafness.) — We  have  two  cases 
of  this  affection,  from  tubercular  disease, 
whose  healing  is  improving  under  the  com- 
bined action  of  the  machine,  and  the  remedies 
mentioned.  ' 

Eye. — We  have  obtained  the  -most  flatter- 
ing effects  in  some  cases  of  disease  of  the  eye, 
by  the  action  of  the  machine  alone — indiscri- 
.minately,  without  regard  to  tlie  classification 
of  the  nosologists. 

Erysipelas. — Two  cases.  The  erythema, 
or  red  blush  of  the  skin,  in  this  disease,  is 
precisely  like  that  produced  by  the  buttons 
under  the  action  of  the  machine,  and  we 
were  pleased  with  an  opportunity  to  test  the 
effect  of  its  forces  in  a  severe  case  afi^ting 
the  face,  which  became  as  pale  as  death,  on 
moving  one  of  the  buttons  over  it — ^the  other 
being  at  the  same  time  in  contact  with  the 
ear.  This  magical  effect,  after  the  lapse 
of  eight  days,  appears  to  be  permanent 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine, 


99 


The  homoeopathiste  lay  great  stress  upon 
die  result  o/  this  experiment,  as  confirming 
in  the  most  extraordinary  manner  their  favo- 
rite doctrine  of  similia  shnilibus  curantur, 
and  insist  upon  it  that  the  aVopathi^ts  must 
match  it,  or  give  up  their  opposition  to  ho- 
nusopathy.* 

The  second  case  was  also  a  severe  one, 
afiectii^  the  lower  limbs,  in  which,  like  the 
first,  the  common  remedies  of  the  schools, 
and  a  great  variety  of  nostrums  had  failed. 
The  disease,  however,  gave  way  in  the  most 
extraordinary  manner  under  the  action  of  the 
instrument,  reducing  the  swelling  and  re- 
moving entirely  the  intolerable  itching. 

Aware  of  the  consequences  resulting  from 
attempts  to  impart  to  the  people,  and,  conse- 
quently, to  pretenders  to  science,  a  know- 
ledge lor  which  the  former  are  not,  and  the 
latter  never  can  be  prepared,  we  should  not 
at  present  venture  to  describe  the  efiects  ob- 
tained from  the  machine  in  another  case,  if 
those  we  have  already  described,  as  well  as 
many  others,  had  not  been  witnessed  by  a 
great  number  of  respectable  persons,  but  as 
such  is  the  fact,  we  may  proceed,  regardless 
ah'ke  of  the  good  or  evil  effects  of  the  action 
of  the  machine  under  the  guidance  of  those 
who  know  nothing  of  the  magnetic  symp- 
toms of  disease,  acute  or  chronic,  or  of  the 
magnetic  organization  of  the  human  system 
on  which  the  instrument  acts. 

Tubercular  Disease  of  the  Neck.— (Kings 
Evil.) — Four  cases.  They  were  all  under 
the  influence  of  the  magnetic  remedies  before 
mentioned,  or  magnetised  rings,  to  which 
thai  of  &e  machine  has  been  added,  and  are 
all  progressing  favorably. 

Strahimua. (Squinting.) — One    case. 

lliis  was  a  bad  case  of  a  young  lady,  affect- 
ing both  eyes  during  the  last  seven  years^ 
which  turned  out  so  much  as  to  make  it 
very  difficult  to  read.  We  applied  the  but 
tons  to  them,  under  a  moderate  power  of  the 
machine,  and  concluded  the  sitting  in  two 
Biinutes,  with  a  plain  diminution  of  the  af- 
fection.    The    reduction    continued   daily, 


'  One  of  thMB  fntUem«n,  how«var,  tnc^ta  that 
Hmt  may  poanbly  be  abU  to  do  to,  by  th«  aid  of  raeh 
afniiaa  a*  Dr.  Post,  m  odabnttd  in  th«  nwiuifiMlitte 
M  konuwpaibj  Mwp. 


under  the  action  of  the  instrument,  and  on 
the  fifth  sitting  it  was  completed.  The  action 
of  the  eye  was  then  perfectly  natural,  and 
the  cure  appears  to  be  permanent. 

Entropium. — (Eye-lashes  and  eye-lid  in- 
verted upon  the  eye-ball.) — One  CAse.  That 
of  a  female.  The  common  operation  and 
remedies  had  failed  in  this  case.  The  disease 
could  not,  however,  resist  the  action  of  the 
machine,  but  succumbed  to  it— the  eye-lid 
turning  out,  and  the  sitting  was  concluded  in 
ten  minutes.  The  eye-lid  and  lashes  did  not 
venture  to  occupy  their  former  position.  We 
are  now  magnetising  both  eyes  to  remove  the 
opacity  of  the  corneas  and  granulations  of 
the  eye-lids,  which  are  disappearing  rapidly 
under  the  action  of  the  instrument. 

Aph(mia.—(Loss  of  voice.) — One  case. 
We  have  used  the  machine  three  times  in 
this  case  with  decided  benefit. 

Tubercular  Disease  of  the  2%roo<.— Eight 
cases.  The  swelling  and  redness  of  the 
throat  could  be  plainly  seen  to  be  lessening 
daily  under  the  action  of  the  machine  in 
these  cases.  The  worst  cases  of  enlarged 
tonsils  do  not  withstand  the  action  of  the  in* 
strument,  but  shrink  under  it,  becoming  pale 
and  corrugated. 

Acute  Diseases. — Inflammation  of  the 
Liver. — ^Two  cases.  The  action  of  the  in- 
strument reduced  the  inflammation  in  these 
cases  with  great  rapidity.  The  pain,  how- 
ever, is  so  much  increased,  as  to  make  it  ne- 
cessary to  observe  the  greatest  caution  in 
magnetising  inflamed  surfaces. 

Tubercular  Disease  of  the  Organs.— -We 
have  conducted  the  forces  from  the  machine 
through  all  the  organs  in  a  great  number, 
and  a  great  variety  of  cases,  including  the 
brain  and  spinal  cord.  In  these  cases  one  of 
the  buttons  was  placed  over  the  spinal  cold 
in  the  hollow  of  the  neck  on  the  organ  of 
amativeness,  the  suboccipital,  or  one  of  the 
posterior  spinal  nerves,  and  the  other  button 
on  different  parts  of  the  body  depending  on 
the  organ  and  different  parts  of  it,  through 
which  we  wished  to  conduct  the  forces,  and 
this  we  have  always  been  able  to  do  with  the 
greatest  facility  and  precision.  As  regards 
the  effects  obtained  in  these  cases,  beyond 


100 


Rotc^ry  Magtietic  Machine. 


that  of  removing  or  palliating  a  painful  or  ur- 
gent symptom,  permanently  or  temporarily. 
We  can  say  but  little  that  is  perfectly  satis- 
factory, because  the  process  of  cure  is  neces- 
sarily slow,  where,  at  least  in  many  of  them, 
large  portions  of  the  organs  have  to  be  taken 
down,  carried  off,  and  rebuilt  before  the  pa- 
tient can  recover,  and  the  time  since  we  com- 
menced magnetizing  these  organs,  now  only 
about  three  months,  is  not  generally  long 
enough  to  effect  these  objects. 

Besides  a  great  majority  of  these  cases 
were  under  the  influence  of  the  magnetic 
remedies,  and  many  others  were  placed  under 
their  influence  with  the  impression  that  the 
eflect  of  the  machine  alone  must  necessarily 
be  temporary  in  such  cases,  which  appears 
to  be  confirmed  by  the  apparently  temporary 
effect  of  the  instrument  upon  most  if  not  all 
of  those  who  were  not  under  such  influence. 

As  regards  the  effect  ol  the  machine  in  ma- 
ny of  the  cases  in  which  the  patients  were  at 
first,  or  after  having  been  magnetized  a  few 
times,  were  placed  under  the  influence  of 
those  remedies  it  was  generally  little  more 
than  that  of  removing  the  urgent  symptoms 
of  the  periods  of  excitement  in  the  course  of 
the  disease.  There  were  however  some  ex- 
traordinary and  most  interesting  exceptions 
to  these  general  results,  and  among  these  are 
the  apparent  effects  of  the  machine  m  some 
of  the  cases  of  consumption  in  which  we  have 
used  it,  which  leave  little  doubt  of  its  great 
influence  in  this  disease,  and  as  little  tliat  it 
will  hereafter  be  entirely  under  the  control  of 
the  physician  who  learns  as  he  may  to  dis- 
tinguish it  in  its  incipient  stage,  or  w  ht  n  the 
tubercles  are  in  their  milliary  state. 

The  expeiiments  of  Drs.  I^erche  and  Cru- 
sell,  of  St  Petersburgh,  suggested  to  is  the 
probability  of  such  a  result  from  the  action  of 
the  machine,  as  they  formed  tubercles  with 
one  pole  of  a  battery  and  dissipated  them  with 
the  other,  in  their  exper  mcffs  unnn  t/ieci/e  * 


'  The  re^ulls  of  Uioki*  exp»!iiinen(s  lorm  one  ot  the 
best  text«  Tor  the  moM  withering  conuneni' on  iho 
common  synem  of  practce,  a<«  will  be  &"vn  from  the 
fact  that  rhv»»«ian»  of  every  name  and  ^[Tade.  ay  well 
M  qua^k!>  of  all  »oiis,  are  cnn^tnnly  p<psriibinp  ^^dm. 
tive  and  i  pgative  remp€*ip!«.  indi'cri  ii.ateiu  in  diffVr- 
•nt,  or  positive  and  nepativpdi«>ra;'es.  without  the  ipa*t 
knowlrdpe  of  iheii  having  anvsiuhdi' linciive  charac- 
ter, and  foiiscqiientl^  none  ot  ti.ecdiisc  f  tho  di  cr-r- 
dant  and  unscieniinc  resulu  of  the  action  of  llieir 
remedies. 


The  action  of  the  machine  will  also  be 
found  of  the  greatest  importance  in  female 
complaints.  The  uterus,  and  the  broad  liga- 
ments which  sustain  it  in  its  position  in  the 
healthy  state,  contract  with  great  force  in 
prolapus  uteri  under  the  action  of  the  instru- 
ment, and  gives  the  most  entire  and  apparent* 
ly  permanent  relief. 

In  tubercular  disease  of  the  heart  (hyper- 
trophy) the  effect  of  the  instrument  is  also 
very  extraordinary — ^the  action  of  the  heart 
becomes  slow  and  regular,  whereas  in  mag- 
netizing other  organs  the  action  of  the  heart 
and  arteries  is  not  altered. 

There  are  certain  rules  which  we  have  ob- 
served in  magnetizing  to  prevent  injury  from 
the  action  of  the  machine. 

1.  The  large  button  for  the  sake  of  dis- 
tinction, and  for  convenience  in  conducting 
the  negative  force  over  large  surfaces,  was  al- 
ways connected  with  the  machine  in  the 
place  and  manner  before  described. 

2.  In  magnetizing  the  brain  or  cerebrum 
we  have  placed  the  lai^e  button  on  the  organ 
of  causality  on  one  side,  and  the  small  but- 
ton on  the  organ  of  amativeness  on  the  other. 

3.  The  large  button  was  placed  on  the 
cerebellum  on  one  side  in  disease  of  this  or- 
gan, and  the  small  button  on  the  ear  or  hand 
of  the  other,  excepting  cases  of  disease  of 
the  vermicular  process,  when  the  large  button 
was  placed  on  the  hollow  of  the  neck,  and 
the  small  one  on  the  organ  of  individuality. 

4.  In  magnetizing  the  face,  both  buttons 
have  sometimes  been  applied  to  it,  but  gen- 
erally the  large  one  only,  while  the  other  was 
aj^plied  to  the  ear. 

5.  We  have  placed  the  lai^e  button  over 
the  eye-lids  and  the  small  one  over  the  organ 
of  amativeness  in  magnetizing  the  eye,  ex- 
cept in  the  case  of  strabismus,  when  the 
small  button  was  placed  in  the  comer  of  the 
eye  next  the  nose,  and  the  other  in  the  oppo- 
site comer. 

6.  In  magnetizing  the  ears,  the  laige  but- 
ton has  been  placed  upon  the  tongue  and  the 
small  one  on  the  ear,  except  in  cases  where 
the  disease  has  been  traced  to  the  origin  of 
the  auditory  nerve,  when  the  laige  button  has 


Animal  Magnetism. 


101 


leen  placed  on  the  cerebellum  on  one  side, 
and  the  ear  on  the  other. 

7.  The  buttons  have  been  held  on  both 
sides  of  the  throat  a  minute  in  magnetizing  it, 
and  then  reversed  alternately,  and  in  magne- 
tizing bronchocele?  and  other  swellings  we 
haTe  pursued  the  same  course. 

8.  In  palftied  limbs  the  laige  button  has 
been  placed  on  the  cerebellum,  or  over  the 
cervical  vertebrae  as  in  rheumatism,  and  the 
other  on  the  palm  of  the^hand  or  on  the  leg 
or  foot 

9.  In  magnetizing  the  organs  of  the  body 
as  the  lungs,  heart,  stomach,  &c.,  the  laTge 
button  has  been  placed  on  the  spinal  nerves 
connected  with  these  organs,  and  the  other 
over  the  lower  parts  of  the  organs.  * 

10.  In  ma?netiztng  the  brain  or  cerebrum 

we  have  observed  the  greatest  caution  in  usiog 

only  the  weakest  power  of  the  machine,  and 

tins  is  a  rule  which  should  never  be  departed 

from ;  and  in  magnetizing  the  othdr  oigans  it 

will  be  the  safest  course  to  commence  the 

operation  with  a  weak  power,  and  then  grad- 

aaUyiBcrease  it  as  the  patient  can  bear  it,  or  as 

cfrcumsCanoes  may  require.     It  may  appear 

saperBuouB  to  say  another  word  in  regard  to 

the  caution  that  should  be  practised  in  the 

use  of  this  instrument.    It  may,  however,  be 

useful  to  observe  that  in  consequence  of  the 

greater  force  from  the  large  button,  the  focus 

of  the  forces  is  not  equi-distant  between  tlie 

buttons,  but  at  about  two-thirds  the  distance 

from  the  large  one,  and  this  fact  may  aid 

magnetizerB  in  avoiding  as  much  as  possible 

in  operating  upon  the  brain,  the  withering 

efiects  of  the  little  button.     If  any  injury  is 

felt,  the  action  of  the  instrument  should  be 

reversed — a.  fact  that  will  be  understood  by 

inesmerizers  who  will,  we  have  no  doubt 

make  the  best  and  safest  ma^etizers. 

We  may  now  with  our  experience  in  the 
use  of  these  machines,  advise  physicians  to 
Hse  the  small  rotary  machine  we  have  des- 
cribed, as  it  is  the  safest,  cheapest  and  most 
perfect  instrument,  and  which  cannot  fail  to 
advance  with  great  rapidity  the  progress  of 
the  present  revolution  in  the  practice  of  phy- 
sic and  surgery. 


*  When  peuH  is  prodaced  by  Uie  action  of  the  instra- 
nmt,  the  pocition  of  the  button  should  bs  reversed. 


Animal  Magnetiam. 
Surgical  operations  in  the  magnetic  state 
are  becoming  common  occurrences.  Bones 
are  set,  tumors  and  limbs  are  removed,  and 
teeth  are  drawn  in  this  state  in  a  very  comfor- 
table manner,  without  pain  or  knowledge  of 
the  patients.  The  attention  of  clairvoyants  is 
also  beginning  to  be  directed  to  the  motions 
of  the  light- fingered  gentry,  as  will  be  seen 
in  the  following  article,  from  the  March 
Number  of  the  Magnet. 

Extraordinary  instance  of  OlalrTOfanoe. 

Dear  Sir:— Believing  that  the  following 
account,  althouj^h  connected  with  circum- 
stances of  a  melancholy  and  painful  charac- 
ter, may  not  be  uninteresting  to  your  readers, 
I  have  concluded  to  subnut  it  to  you,  for 
publication  in  the  Magnet.  I  feel  great  re- 
luctance in  undertaking  the  sketch,  on  ac- 
count of  the  deeply  mortifying  circumstances 
under  which  the  developments  were  made ; 
and,  because,  it  must  cast  severe  reflections 
upon  a  young  man  who  is  now  no  more.  I 
feel  compelled  to  use  initials,  instead  of 
names  at  full  length,  so  as  not  to  give  nnne- 
cessarij  pain  to  surviving  friends,  though  it 
be  to  subserve  the  interests  of  a  sublime  and 
interesting  science,  which  is  my  only  apology 
for  the  narrative. 

Some  time  during  the  month  of  January 
last,  a  Mrs.  S.,  of  the  village  of  A.  A.,  in  the 
State  of  Michi^n,  missed  from  her  parlor 
table,  a  beautiful  little  gold  watch,  ft  was 
taken  one  evening,  while  no  member  of  the 
family  was  in  the  parlor;  and  no  one  having 
been  heard  to  go  into  the  room,  the  whole 
affair  was  enveloped  in  mystery.  Suspicion 
rested  upon  no  one  in  particular,  in  the  mind 
of  Mrs.  S.  or  her  husband.  Careful  search 
and  enquiry  were  made  for  several  weeks, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  The  singular  disap- 
pearance of  the  watch,  remained  an  unex- 
plained secret,  locked  up  in  the  bosom  of  the 
unhappy  young  man  who  had  ventured  to 
commit  the  deed.  A  few  months  passed  away, 
and  the  matter  was  nearly  forgotten. 

In  the  spring,  (in  the  month  of  April,  I 
believe,)  Mr.  D.  B.,  the  distinguished  scholar 
in  the  science  of  Animal  Magnetism,visited  A. 
A.,  for  the  purpose  of  lecturing  and  exhibit- 
ing facts  and  cxjxjriments  in  proof  of  the  pre- 
tensions of  Mesmerism.  He  had  with  him, 
a  young  man,  whose  name  I  do  not  now  re- 
collect, but  who  was  a  stmnger  in  that  place. 
This  man  was  an  excellent  dairvoyant;  and 
while  in  clairvoyance,  possessed  one  peculiar 
faculty,  which  I  do  not  recollect  to  have  ever 
read  of  before.    He  invariably  took  that  no- 


102 


Animal  Electricity. 


tice  of  objects,  that  enabled  him  to  remember 
them  with  perfect  distinctness,  when  awake. 

One  day,  while  in  clairvoyance,  Mr.  S., 
the  husband  of  the  lady  who  lost  the  watch, 
was  placed  in  communication  with  him.  He 
enquired  of  the  clairvoyant,  (whose  name 
for  convenience  I  will  call  A.^  in  relation  to 
the  disajipearajice  of  the  watcn.  For  a  long 
time,  Mr.  A.  refused  to  answer  the  interro- 
gatories put  to  him,  touching  this  delicate 
subject ;  out  at  length,  consented  to  under- 
take a  full  disclosure.  His  answers  were 
sufficiently  definite  and  descriptive,  to  fasten 
suspicion  upon  C.  C,  a  young  man  who  re- 
sided in  the  place,  and  who  had  been  in  the 
employ  of  Mr.  S.,  and  who  had  long  been 
a  familiar  visitor  at  his  house.  He  stated, 
definitely,  that  the  watch  was  now  [then]  in 
the  hands  of  a'young  man  in  the  village  of 
Amsterdam,  in  the  State  of  N.  Y. 

The  credulous,  of  course,  believed  that  C. 
C.  was  the  guilty  man,  especially  as  he  was 
known  to  have  visited  Amsterdam  late  in  the 
winter.  This  disclosure  was  made  in  the 
presence  of  but  few  witnesses  or  spectators. 
The  next  day,  Mr.  A.,  the  clairvoyant,  came 
to  Mr.  S.,  apparently  under  great  excitement, 
and  pointed  through  the  window  of  Mr.  S.'s 
office,  to  a  young  man  in  the  street,  and  de- 
clared him  to  be  the  young  man  whom  he 
saw  in  clairvoyance  the  day  before,  and  who 
took  the  watch !  The  young  man  was  C.  C. , 
who  was  a  perfect  stranger  to  A.  Even  the 
credulity  of  Mr.  S.  was  now  disturbed.  He 
could  not,  he  wovldnoX,  believe  the  clairvoy 
ant.  C.  C.  had  always  maintained  an  un 
sullied  reputation ;  and  Mr.  S.  had  been  long 
and  intimately  acquainted  with  him :  he  was 
a  young  man  much  beloved  and  res}>ected. 

This  young  man,  C.  C,  early  in  the  month 
of  August  last,  was  taken  violently  sick, 
with  a  fever.  After  it  had  raged  for  a  few 
days  with  such  obstinacy  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  recovery,  he  was  told  by  his 
faithful  pliysician,  that  his  case  was  hope 
less, — ^that  he  must  die !  It  was  an  unwel- 
come message ;  but  he  must  now  be  honest, 
for  the  scenes  of  the  Judgment  were  at 
hand ! 

Two  days  before  his  eyes  were  closed  in 
death,  he  sent  for  the  Rev.  Mr.  C.  an  Epis- 
copal clergyman,  with  whom  he  had  long 
been  familiarly  acquainted.  To  him  he  made 
a  free,  full,  and  humble  confession  of  tlie 
whole  transaction.  He  disclosed  the  secret 
known  to  none  but  his  God !  It  was  pre 
cisely  as  the  clairvoyant  had  stated  it.  He 
took  the  watch  east  with  him,  and  sold  it  to 
a  brother  in  the  village  of  Amsterdam,  as  had 
been  stated.  He  exonerated  every  body  else 
from  any  participation  or  privity  in  the  aflair; 
and  confessed  that  upon  his  head  alone 


rested  the  guilt !  Such  is  a  true  histoiy  of 
this  matter,  which  may  be  relied  upon  as  per- 
fectly authentic. 

Yours,  &c. 

Philomathu. 
Michigan,  Jan.  16th,  1844. 


Animal  SeUetrioity. 

As  some  remarks  were  made  in  our  last 
number  on  this  subject,  we  revert  to  it  now 
merely  to  state  a  fact,  to  which  a  large  num- 
ber of  our  most  intelligent  citizens  can  testify. 

During  Mr.  Quimby*s  exhibition  in  this 
town  on  Wednesday  evening,  14th  inst,  his 
intelligent  Clairvoyant  was  in  communication 
with  t.  Clark,  Esq.,  a  respectable  merchant 
of  this  place.  The  Clairvoyant  described  to 
the  audience  a  barque  owned  by  the  Messrs. 
Clarks  &  Co.,  called  the  Casilda,  thenoi 
her  passage  from  Cuba  to  New  York,  min- 
utely, from  "  clue  to  earing"  as  seamen  say. 
He  then  informed  the  company  how  far  said 
barque  was  from  her  destined  port,  and  gave 
the  name  of  vessel  and  port.  The  distance, 
we  think,  was  about  70  miles. 

On  the  next  evening,  he  visited  (in  his 
.somnambulism)  the  same  vessel,  and  said  she 
had  arrived  off  the  Hook,  where  she  then 
was. 

On  the  Tuesday  following  this  exhibitioa 
the  merchants  received  a  letter  informing 
them  of  the  arrival  of  this  barque  (see  our 
Marine  Report)  at  the  precise  time  stated  bv 
the  Clairvoyant,  who,  it  will  be  recollected, 
is  Lucius  Bickford,  a  young  man  19  years  of 

This  was  but  one  of  several  exhibitions  of 
his  visiting  absent  vessels,  of  which  he  could 
have  had  no  information,  and  describing 
even  the  master  and  people  on  board. 

We  profess  no  knowledge  of  this  wonder- 
ful science,  but  deem  it  a  duty  we  owe  to  the 
public,  to  publish  every  fact  that  may  aid  the 
procuress  of  human  knowledge. 

Now  to  our  minds,  there  is  no  more  mys- 
tery in  all  this  than  there  is  in  repeating  a 
les?on  committed.  How  is  this  done  >  Why, 
we  say,  it  is  the  impression  made  on  the 
mind,  of  the  very  letters  and  words  commit- 
ted ;  and  when  the  book  is  removed  and  the 
bodily  eye  camiot  see  those  letters  and  words, 
the  **  mind's  eye"  sees  them,  and  by  this 
agency  alone  the  subject  repeats  them,  and 
can  even  describe  the  very  fonn  of  the  Icttcw. 
But  it  is  a  fact,  that  pressure  on  the  brain 
will  instantly  stop  all  this,  even  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  word ;  and  this  has  been  demonstra- 
ted to  many  witnesses.  What  does  this 
prove  ?  Why,  that  the  nervous  system  of 
man,  is  the  medium  of  all  such  intcllectnal 
communications ;  and  if  so,  we  say,  it  is  the 


Mesmeric  PreviMon. 


103 


invtgibU  nervous  fluids  which  is  as  much 
XLECTRiciTT  as  that  of  the  atmosphere  which 
produces  such  wonderful  and  mysterious  ef- 
lects;  but  "wrhich  is,  and  even  wjll  be  invis- 
ible and  hidden,  and  one  of  the  mysteries 
reserved  for  a  world  of  spirits.    Now  when 
the  electric  fluid  or  spirit  of  the  atmosphere 
shatters  a  tree  or  house,  we  all  believe  it  was 
done  by  that  agency,  passing  from  a  cloud  to 
the  object    below.     Why,  then,  reject  the 
testimony  of  our  own  senses,  by  disbelieving 
that  a  similar  fluid  passes  from  one  person  to 
another,  enabling  him  to  see  in  the  *'  mincVs 
eye"  what  he  cannot  behold  with  his  natural 
eye  ?    If  we  reject  this  mode  of  reasoning, 
we  might  on  the  same  grounds  reject  truths 
of  a  most  sacred  and  immutable  character. — 
Wisccsset  (Me,)  Republican,  Feb.  22,  1844. 

Mr.  Sunderland. — This  gentleman  con- 
cluded his  course  of  lectures  on  Magnetism, 
on  Saturday  eveninglast,  to  a  good  audience 
The  evening's  entertainment  wlis  a  rich  one, 
inasmuch  as  the  experiments  were  interesting 
and  satisfactory.     Quite  a  number  of  indi- 
viduals iell  victims  to  the  sympathetic  power 
of  "Mr.  S,,at  extreme  points  of  the  hall,  who, 
after  an  elapse  of  some   twenty  or  thirty 
minutes,  were  dra\vn  to  the  platform  by  the 
attract/on  of  the  operator. 

Mr.  Sunderland's  mode  of  operating  is  en- 
tireJj  diflferent  from  any  thing  we  have  here- 
to/ore seen — ^it  is  original  with  him,  and  sin- 
gular in  the  extreme.  He  brinf^s  the  power 
io  bear  while  he  is  lecturing,  and  as  he  seems 
to  rivet  the  attention  by  his  remarks,  your 
curiosity  will  be  dra\vn  ofi"  by  the  som- 
nambulic sleep  of  some  dozen  or  twenty  per- 
sons in  various  parts  of  the  hall.  The  effect 
produced  in  this  way  is  amusing,  to  say  the 
least;  and  when  we  find  individuals  in  sub- 
jugation to  this  power,  whos2  characters  are 
unimpeachable,  how  can  we  doubt  the  spcl! — 
the  charjii,  or  whatever  signification  you  may 
please  to  give  it .' 

As  we  before  stated,  some  of  the  experi- 
ments were  very  fine.  There  were  eleven 
patients  upon  the  stage,  and  what  affected  one 
afected  the  whole.  The  sympathy  was 
great,  and  run  apparently  in  a  vein  through 
the  circle  of  this  little  community. 

Mr.  S.  caused  one  of  the  )'oung  men  to  see 
a  ghost — without  a  word  being  said — and  as 
you  could  see  the  countenance  change,  from 
a  serene  look  to  a  frightful  and  ghastly  stare, 
there  would  be  but  little  room  left  in  the 
mind  for  skeptical  evasions.  Mr.  S.  then 
caused  them  to  see  snakes,  at  which,  in  the 
twinkle  of  an  eye,  they  all  burst  out  into  a 
frenzied  shriek,  and  evinced  all  those  fearful 
emotions  which  they  would  if  the  scene  had 
been  real. 


What  appeared  to  be  the  most  pleasing 
part,  was  that  of  a  deaf  woman,  who  was 
under  this  influence — and  when,  to  appear- 
ance, they  were  in  the  height  of  ecstatic  plea- 
sure, she  with  the  rest,  clapped  her  hands, 
while  in  unison  they  exclaimed — "  Oh  !  how 
happy  we  are  in  this  place  (the  place  to 
which  they  were  in  imagination,)  we  should 
like  to  stay  here  for  ever  !" 

We  will  here  say,  that  ^Ir.  Sunderland 
had  seven  new  subjects  on  the  above-men- 
tioned evening — percons  he  had  never  before 
seen,  and  who  had  never  before  been  "  mag- 
netised." 

Mr.  S.  has  left  a  good  and  lasting  impres- 
sion, and  e:cncral  satisfaction  prevails  with 
regard  to  his  lectures. — Salem  Advertiser  and 
Argus,  Feb.  28,  1844. 

Mesmeric  Prerision. 

The  London  Spectator  publishes  the  fol- 
lowing singular  narrative,  with  the  remark 
that  although  skeptical  on  the  subject  of  mes- 
merism, it  does  not  hesitate  to  print  it  without 
comment,  coming  as  it  does  from  a  •*  gentle- 
man of  careful  habits  of  obser>ation  and 
scrupulous  veracity." 

Have  you  courage  to  give  insertion  to  the 
following  case  .'  It  is  so  singular  that  I  can 
hardly  expect  any  one  to  receive  it  without 
considerable  hesitation ;  and  yet,  as  I  am 
able  to  pledge  myself  to  the  strict  accuracy 
of  its  details,  and  to  the  respectability  of  sta- 
tion and  high  moral  worth  of  the  parlies  to 
whoui  it  refers,  1  feel  desirous  that  it  should 
be  widely  knov/n. 

On  Monday,  the  25th  Docember,  I  magne- 
tized jMrs.  H ,  a  married  lady,  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.  She  had  been  magnetiz- 
ed at  intcn'als  during  the  preceding  year, 
altogether  about  six  times.  Upon  each  oc- 
casion she  had  manifested  some  degree  of  lu- 
cidity; and  in  the  only  instance  when  the 
experiment  was  tried,  she  had  answered  rea- 
dily to  the  action  of  my  hand  upon  the  various 
phrenological  orgiuis.  On  the  present  occa- 
sion, I  magnetized  her  solely  for  the  improve- 
ment of  her  health,  as  she  was  suffering  from 
weakness  and  a  pain  in  the  breast,  the  result 
of  a  confinement  eight  weeks  back.  In  other 
respects  her  health  was  good. 

In  less  than  two  minutes  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  magnetizing  process,  she 
pa««sed  into  a  state  of  somnambulism.  I  then 
addressed  her :  "  How  do  you  feel  ?"  She 
made  no  answer.  I  repeated  the  question 
two  or  three  times,  without  success ;  but  in 
a  few  moments  she  exclaimed,  with  an  ex- 
pression of  great  aneuish,  "  Oh,  pretty  weU, 
but  I  shall  soon  be  dreadfully  ill." 
"  When  shall  you  be  ill  ?  now,  while  you 


104 


Mesmeric  Prevision. 


are  being  magnetized  ?"  "  No,  in  two  days 
time." 

"  At  what  hour  ?"  "  Three  in  the  after- 
noon." 

«  Can  nothing  he  don^  to  avert  it ."'  «« Noth- 
ing." 

"  What  will  it  result  from  ?  an  accident,  or 
natural  causes .»"    "  Natural  causes." 

«  Can  you  tell  me  any  thing  that  can  be 
done  ?  Will  magnetism  afford  you  service  r" 
"  Yes,  it  cannot  avert  the  attack,  but  it  may 
do  much  good.  It  will  be  a  spasmodic  at- 
tack, and  after  a  little  while  it  will  extend  to 
the  heart.  The  heart  will  not  be  originally 
affected;  but  the  violence  of  the  suffering 
will  cause  it  to  be  affected  sympathetically, 
and  there  will  then  be  danger.  Magnetism 
may  remove  this." 

"  And  will  it  not  remove  the  other  suffer- 
ing .'  "  No."  Then,  after  a  pause,  she  ad- 
dedr-"  It  cannot  remove  them  entirely ;  but 
I  think  it  may  mitigate  them." 

"  At  what  time  after  the  attack  should  I 
commence  the  magnetic  passes  ?"  "  In  about 
half  an  hour." 

«*  How  long  will  the  attack  last  ?"  *'  From 
an  hour  to  an  hour  and  a  quarter.  It  will  be 
dreadfully  severe ;  but  it  will  not  prove  fatal. 
I  shall  have  more  of  them.  I  have  much 
Buffering  to  undergo." 

"  When  will  the  next  attack  take  place .?" 
"  I  cannot  ehe." 

"  What  description  of  passes  should  I  make 
on  Wednesday,  m  order  to  relieve  the  heart  ?" 

"  Commence  just  under  tlu  hearU  smd  make 
long  passes  to  the  feet." 

"During  what  time  am  I  to  continue  them?" 
"  About^w  minutes.  You  must  also  make 
passes  acrass  my  back,  if  possible." 

"  How  long  will  it  be  before  you  c^ase  to 
suffer  from  these  attacks  ?"  "  About  eight 
months." 

"  Will  magnetism  benefit  you  during  that 
time  ?"    "  Materially." 

She  still  manifested  much  apprehension 
and  anguish.  "  Come,"  I  said,  "  You  must 
not  be  sad.  I  am  sure  that  you  can  bear  pain 
with  patience;  and  as  it  will  all  end  well 
you  must  not  give  way  to  despondency."' 

"  Ah  !"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  think  of  my 
children  and  my  husband — I  know  what  he 
will  feel." 

I  now  cea.sed  speaking  to  her  for  a  minute 
or  two ;  afterwards  I  said,  ••^You  must  tell 
me  if  you  desire  to  say  any  thing  more,  or  if 
you  would  rather  sleep }"  "  I  think  you  had 
better  awaken  me." 

««I  demagnetized  her  accordingly.  She 
awoke  instantly,  and  (as  on  all  former  occa- 
sions) totally  unconscious  of  having  uttered 
a  single  word.  She  said,  however,  that  she 
was  not  so  much  refreshed  as  usual,  and  that 


her  head  felt  as  if  she  had  been  engaged  in 
the  most  intense  thought.  To  relieve  ^is,  I 
magnetized  heragain  lora  few  minutes;  and 
when  she  w^as  again  awakened,  she  stated 
herself  perfectly  restored.    I  then  took  my 

leave ;  previously  agreeing  with  Mr.  H 

that  no  intimation  should  be  given  to  his  wife 
of  what  had  passed. 

On  the  following /lay,  I  saw  Mr.  H ; 

when  he  stated,  that  during  the  preceding 
evening  bis  wife  had  enjoyed  excellent  spir- 
its, and  that  she  still  continued  in  a  satisfac- 
tory state.  On  the  W^ednesday  morning,  he 
told  me  that  he  had  left  her  in  apparently 
good  health,  excepting  that  she  seemed  in  a 
state  of  depression  which  almost  caused  him 
to  apprehend  that  her  prediction  would  be 
verified.  She  was  herself,  however,  free 
from  any  anticipation  of  evil. 

In  the  afternoon,  I  proceeded  to  her  house, 
intending  to  reach  it  about  half-past  three, 
which  according  to  her  prediction  would  be 
half  an  hour  after  the  commencement  of  the 
attack,  the  time  at  \vhich  she  had  stated  that 
magnetism  should  be  resorted  to.  Having, 
however,  little  expectation  that  my  services 
would  be  required,  (since  I  was  inclined  to 
regard  her  forebodings  merely  as  the  result 
of  a  momentary  sadness,)  I  did  not  pay  any 
particular  attention  to  punctuality,  and  it  was 
twenty-two  minutes  to  four  when  I  arrived. 

I  found  her  extended  upon  a  sofa,  in  the 
severest  agony.  Her  pain  drew  from  her  re^ 
peated  cries,  and  I  learned  that  she  had  been 
seized  with  a  violent  spasmodic  affection. 

I  immediately  commenced  making  the  pas- 
ses below  the  heart,  which  she  had  directed 
during  her  somnambulism  on  the  preceding 
Monday. 

"  Does  that  give  you  relief?"— "Oh  yes; 
it  greatly  relieves  the  heart." 

I  then  raised  her  to  a  sitting  posture,  and 
commenced  the  passes  across  her  back. 

"  Oh !  that  gives  still  more  relief — it  takes 
it  entirely  away  from  the  left  side ;  but  the 
general  pain  remains  the  same." 

She  sank,  apparently  still  suffering  most 
severely  from  attacks  of  pain  in  the  epigas- 
tric reprion,  which  seemed  to  threaten  suffi)- 
cation.  She  began,  however,  after  I  had 
made  a  few  passes,  to  experience  some  short 
intervals  of  case.  During  one  of  them  I 
asked,  "At  what  time  were  you  attacked?" 
— "  Half  an  hour  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour 
before  you  came ;  nearer  three-quarters  of  an 
hour." 

"  Was  it  sudden  .>" — **  Quite.  I  was  in 
the  passage,  and  was  obliged  to  call  one  of 
the  servants  to  help  me  to  this  room.  It 
seemed  to  suspend  animation.  In  about 
twenty  minutes,  or  more,  it  attacked  my 
heart;  the  blood  seemed  to  fill  my  head,  and 


MUcellaneous  Item9j  4*c. 


106 


I  was  macli  alanned.  It  continued  till  you 
came ;  my  Buffeiings  were  dreadful ;  but  now 
tiie  paios  seem  longer  to  aflfect  the  heart." 

She  still  continued  to  experience  parox- 
eyms,  which  I  was  only  able  partially  to  re- 
hcre.  At  intervals  she  exclaimed,  "Oh, 
how  fortunate  you  happened  to  call !  I  feel 
as  if  you  had  saved  me." 

She  complained  of  fulness  of  the  head, 
and  directed  me  to  make  two  or  three  passes 
over  her  forehead ;  which  gave  her  instant 
leUei.  At  length  at  about  six  or  seven  min- 
utes past  four,  the  pains  seemed  rapidly  to 
snbade.  She  fell  mto  a  calm  sleep,  her 
countenance  assuming  an  expression  of  per- 
fect composure;  and  from  this,  at  about 
twenty  minutes  past  four,  she  awakened  in 
good  spirits,  and,  though  greatly  exhausted, 
perfectly  free  from  pain. 

She  oontiBued  to  dweU  upon  the  "  fortu- 
nate" circumstance  of  my  having  called :  and 
1  left  her  in  the  full  belief  that  the  visit  had 
been  an  accidental  one. 

Sin«e  the  above  occasion,  she  has  been 
magnetized  several  times ;  and  she  now  pre- 
did^  with  rigid  accuracy  the  state  of  her 
beaBh  for  several  consecutive  days.    On  the 
7th  of  this  month,  she  announced  a  slight  at- 
tack to  occur  at  eleven  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  nth,  which  would  not  extend  to 
the  heart,  and  another  severe  attack  at  three 
P.  M.  on   the   15th,  in  which  that  organ 
would  again  be  compromised.    On  both  oc- 
casions the  prediction  was  fulfilled  even  in 
its  minutest  particulars. 

I  may  mention,  in  conclusion,  that  until  the 
attack  above  described,  she  had  never  expe- 
rienced any  indisposition  in  which  the  heart 
was  supposed  to  be  in  the  slightest  degree 


^.  Nitrate  of  potash,  four  grains ;  tax- 
trate  of  potash,  a  quarter  of  a  grain ; 
mercury  with  chalk,  five  grains.  Mix. 
Repeated  every  four  hours 
And  in  all  fevers  of  a  low  type  he  was  con- 
vinced of  the  benefit  of  the  saline  treatment 
His  formula  was — 

^.  Chloride  of  soda,  three  drachms ; 
carbonate  of  soda,  two  drachms ;  hy- 
drochloric acid,  half  a  drachm ;  cam- 
phor mixture,  six  ounces.  Mix. 
Half  an  ounce  every  hour. 
He  founded  his  experience  upon  notes  of  120 
cases. 

In  leference  to  the  use  of  mercury.  Dr. 
Macartney  says,  **In  no  single  instance 
have  I  known  mercury  fail  in  arresting  the 
progress  of  fever,  provided  it  be  not  com- 
bined with  visceral  affections,  or  charac- 
terised from  the  beginning  with  great  pro- 
stration of  strength." 

Mr.  R.  Stevens  (Lancet,  25tii  June,  1842,) 
asserts  the  value  of  mercury  in  all  conta- 
gious diseases,  and  he  has  met  with  more 
than  ordinary  success  since  employmg  it  in 
the  treatment  of  fever. 

Dr.  EUiotscn,  and  many  other  T^iters, 
speak  favorably  of  the  mild  use  of  mercury 
in  this  disease ;  and  when  the  type  was  in- 
flammatory, it  might,  perhaps,  be  always 
judiciously  prescribed. 


Deloze  gives  many  cases  of  previson  in 
the  Bomnicient  state,  and  they  are  of  common 
occurrence  in  this  cotmtry. 

Treatment  of  Fever. 

Br  C»Ab.x.BS  CowAM,  M.D.,  E.  ft  P. 

PbTscmn  to  the  Royal  Berkshire  Uoipital,  ftc. 

Dr.  Cowan  has  not  said  much  respecting 
his  own  practice,  as  the  type  of  fevers  in  his 
own  neighborhood  of  R^ing  has  seldom 
been  found  severe ;  but  he  has  taken  pains  to 
collect  the  experience  of  others,  which  is  as 
follows : — 

We  shall  now  briefly  advert  to  the  expe- 
rience of  others  in  the  treatment  of  fevers, 
selecting  that  which  may  not  have  sufli- 
ciently  attracted  the  student's  attention.  A 
surgeon  in  extensive  practice  has  found  the 
following  powder  very  advantageous  in  140 
ca0e8  of  simple  fever,  continuing  its  use  until 
thegnms  were  slightly  affected. — 


Oaee  of  Poiaoniag  bj  Oolchicnm. 

BtA-  T.  Thompson,  M.!>., 

Physician  to  UiuTernty  College  Hospiul,  4cc. 

The  subject  of  the  following  case,  John 
Goodrich,  was  ordered  in  a  public  institution 
six  drachms  of  tincture  of  colchicum  in  a 
half  pint  mixture  of  Epsom  salts,  of  which 
he  took  one  ounce  every  six  hours.  It  was 
ascertained  that  a  laiger  quantity  (six  oz.)  of 
the  colchicum  had  been  put  into  the  bottie 
than  was  prescribed.  Vomiting  soon  com- 
menced after  the  first  dose,  and  after  the  third 
the  nose  began  to  bleed  profusely,  accom- 
panied with  violent  purging.  Notwithstand- 
ing these  violent  symptoms,  the .  medicine 
was  continued.  His  medical  attendant  found 
him  sitting  up  in  bed,  with  his  back  reclined 
against  the  wall,  his  arms  hanging  listiessly 
bf  side  him,  his  head  bent  forward  upon  his 
breast,  and  his  shirt  drenched  with  blood 
from  his  nostrils.  His  mouth  was  open,  his 
eyes  were  staring,  full,  and  turgid;  the  ves- 
sels of  the  adnata  congested,  and  the  pupils 
dilated;  pulse  170,  full,  bounding,  and  in- 
compressible, and  respiration  short  and  hur- 
ried. Thirty  ounces  of  blood  were  taken 
from  the  arm,  and  a  mixture  containing  pot- 
ass, carb.  and  liq.  opii  sed.  was  prescribed, 
followed  by  port  wine  and  cinchona  bark. 
This  treatment  seemed  to  rally  the  patient. 


106 


Miscellaneous  Items,  ^c. 


but  he  ultimately  relapsed  and  died.  But 
we  have  condensed  this  case  chiefly  to  hang 
a  practical  remark  upon  it,  made  by  Dr. 
Thompson,  which  is  as  follows : — 

On  reviewing  the  treatment  of  this  import- 
ant case,  I  have  little  to  remark,  except  that 
it  is  probable,  had  my  assistance  been  sooner 
demanded,  I  should  have  opened  the  temporal 
artery,  instead  of  bleeding  from  the  arm.  I 
am  of  opinion,  tliat  in  the  early  stage  of  poi- 
soning oy  an  acrid,  or  a  narcotico  acrid 
poison,  the  poison  is  circulating  in  the  blood, 
and  that  much  benefit  would  result  from  ra- 
pidly abstracting  a  large  portion  of  it  from 
the  vicimty  of  that  oiean,  upon  which  much 
of  its  eneigy  is  exerted.  By  such  a  practice, 
also,  the  sympathetic  irritation  would  have 
been  greatly  lessened,  and  time  would  have 
been  thus  afforded  for  providing  against  the 
collapse,  which,  in  all  these  cases,  is  the  re- 
sult to  be  dreaded. — London  and  Edin.  Mon. 
Jour,  of  Medical  Science,  June,  1843,  p.  o40. 

Ohronlo  Eydrocephalns  treated  with  Ipeoaon- 
anha,  in  Form  of  Liniment. 

In  Dr.  Hannay's  Dispensary  cases  is  the 
following  one  pf  chronic  hydrocephalus, 
which  is  said  to  be  congenital : — 

The  infant  was  in  its  eighth  month,  and 
the  head  had  acquired  a  size  much  beyond 
natural.  It  presented  an  unnatural  expres- 
sion, looked  languid  and  inactive ;  squinting, 
vomiting,  and  costive  bowels.  It  had  been 
several  times  attacked  with  convulsions, 
after  which  it  lay  comatose  for  several  hours. 
The  fontanels  were  large  and  full.  I  di- 
rected diuretics  (nit  pot.  and  pulv.  ipecac.) 
as  I  have  a  notion  tliat  to  increase  the  uri- 
nary is,  on  many  accounts,  very  advanta- 
geous in  this  disease.  But  it  is  to  the  effect 
of  a  liniment  composed  of  powdered  ipeca- 
cuanha root,  from  which  decided  benefit  was 
derived  in  this  case,  that  I  request  space  for 
a  short  memoir  of  my  trials  of  this  remedy 
first  suggested  to  me  by  my  accomplished 
colleague,  Dr.  Easton,  Professor  of  Materia 
Medica  in  Anderson's  University.  To  that 
gentleman  I  sent  the  following  results  of  my 
experience  of  this  new  counter-irritant,  and 
beg  to  offer  it  as  the  therapeutic  parts  of  mv 


The  formula  t  adopt  is  as 
lows : — 

B:.  Ipecac.  Pulv. ;  Olei  Oieae  Europ,  aa, 

3ij. ;  Adipis  Suill.  ^ss. ;  M. 

opt.  fiat  linimentum  fricando  admo- 

vendum. 
The  part  we  wish  to  irritate  is  to  be  rubbed 
freely  with  this  liniment  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes  three  or  four  times  daily,  and  enve- 
loped in  flannels.  This  produces,  in  about 
thirty-six  hours,  or  sometimes  sooner,  very 
numerous  small  papulcB  and  vesides,  seated 


on  a  deep  red  base  of  irregular  extent  They 
become  flattened  in  a  short  period,  and  as- 
sume the  pustular  character.  Many  of  them 
run  together ;  are  confluent  The  part  feels 
hot  to  the  hand  of  another,  and  a  tingling 
sensation,  never  amounting  to  pain,  is  expe- 
rienced by  the  patient  The  eruption  en- 
dures very  vividly  for  a  few  (three)  days, 
during  which  the  pustules  become  covered 
with  a  scab-like  scale,  and  fall  off",  leaving 
no  mark.  They  never  ulcerate,  as  do  the 
pustules  from  the  tartrate  of  antimony.  I 
regard  the  ipecacuanha  as  a  very  valuable 
addition  to  our  counter-irritants.  It  is  not 
over  severe,  as  the  tartrate  is  occasionally 
found  to  prove.  Yet,  with  all  its  moderation, 
it  is  very  efficient,  and  extremely  nianage- 
able.  In  feeble,  young,  and  veiy  irritable 
persons,  it  will,  I  feel  assured,  prove  aveiy 
suitable  counter-irritant  I  specially  beg  at- 
tention to  the  use  of  it  in  the  liead  diseases  of 
a  chronic  kind  in  infants  and  youne  child- 
ren. Many  of  these  cases  follow  the  sup- 
pression of  eruptions  and  scabbed  di-slases  of 
the  scalp.  Now,  the  ipecacuanha  liniment 
produces  a  scabbed  state  of  the  scalp,  as 
nearly  resembling  the  affections  in  queston 
as  can  be  imagined,  and  maintaining  a  coun- 
ter-iiritaticn  on  the  surface  which  I  have 
proved,  I  think,  to  be  a  very  valuable  agent 
of  this  nature.— i:c/.  Med,  and  Surg.  /•» 
OctAS43,p,  321. 

Idspismted  Bile. 

We  have  several  times  alluded  to  the  ex- 
hibition of  inspissated  ox-gall,  aa  a  remedy 
for  constipation,  &c.  We  find  that  the  in- 
spissated bile  of  the  swine  has  been  used  m 
America  since  1828,  for  this  and  other  piu- 
poses.  In  a  communication  on  fever  by  Dr. 
Mettauer,  we  have  the  following: — 

Another  modification  of  the  ipecacuanha 
pill  employed  by  us,  was  the  combination  ot 
two  or  three  grains  of  the  inspi.^sated  bile  ot 
the  swine,  with  one  grain  of  ipecac,  and  two 
of  the  carbonate  of  potass;  this  compound 
was  most  valuable  in  this  stage  ;  and  it 
seemed  to  act  with  decided  efiect,  as  a  sup- 
porting and  secerning  remedy,  upon  the  mu- 
cous membrane  o|  the  stomach  and  intes- 
tines, and  as  a  diaphoretic  at  the  same  time. 
It  was  especially  valuable  in  those  cases  at- 
tended with  a  denuded  and  raw  tongue;  this 
organ  always  becoming  more  healthy  jM«r 
its  administration. — Amer.  Jour,  of  M^- 
Science,  July,  1843,  p.  52. 


tofCopp^' 


Treatment  of  Croup  with  Sulp 

By  Dr.  Schwabe. 

This  invaluable  medicine  in  CKWP»  "^ 

recommended  by  Serlo,  has  been  uaed  «» 


Miscellaneous  Items,  ^*c. 


107 


more  than  fifty  cases  by  the  writer.    He  ge- 
nerally begins  the  treatment  by  applying  from 
four  to   twelve  leeches  to  the  larynx,  and 
then  orders  11-2,  2,   3,  and  occasionally 
even  4  srains  of  sulphate  of  copper,  mixed 
with  a  ievr  grains  of  sugar,  to  be  taken  every 
half  hour  or  every  hour,  according  to  the  ur- 
^ncy  of  the  symptoms.     Each  dose  is  fol- 
Jow»l  by  vomiting,  which,  scanty  after  the 
first  dose,  is  always  copious  after  the  second, 
and  is  continued  so  long  as  thick  mucus  or 
membranous    concretions    are  apparent  in 
the  matters  ejected.     The  patient  men  takes 
half  a  grain  of  the  sulphate  every  hour,  until 
several  dark  green  motions  have  been  dis- 
charged, to  eflect  which  from  eight  to  twelve 
doses  suffice. — Casper's  Wockenschrift,  No.  9, 
1843. — Lond.  and  Edin.  Man.  Jour,  of  Med. 
Science,  Sept.  1843,  j?.  834. 

Treatment  of  Vdvxdus. 
Mr.  Richer  has  recorded  a  case  of  volvu- 
lus occurring  in  a  child,  in  which  all  the  re- 
medies conmionly  employed  for  the  removal 
o£  the  disease  had  been  unavailingly  employ- 
ed, when  he  was  induced  by  the  recollection 
of  a  former  case,  to  order  thin  gruel  to  be  in- 
jected by  the  rectum  until  the  low^er  intestines 
had  become  completely  distended,  regurgita- 
tion befnop  prevented  by  pressure  around  the 
anus.     The  cfiect  was  almost  immediate,  the 
ohgtmc^on  giving  way,  and  the  patient  com- 
pletely recovering. — Prov.  Med.  Jour.  May 
6,  1843,p.  122. 

Vcdue  of  Antimony  in  Mania. 
Dr.  Sutherland  states  that  the  employment 
of  antimony  in  the  treatment  of  mania  is  of 
the  highest  value.  A  fourth  of  a  grain  of 
the  Dotassio-tartrate  may  be  given  every 
lourtn  hour,  or  at  the  commencement  of  the 
paroxysms  of  furor.  It  is  powerful  as  a 
means  of  controlling  the  action  of  the  heart 
and  arteries.  In  many  cases  in  which  it  has 
been  given,  it  has  acted  like  a  chaim  in  in- 
stantly subduing  the  excitement  and  violence 
of  the  patient;  and  in  some  cases  an  altera- 
tion in  the  symptoms  for  the  better  has  been 
traced  from  the  commencement  of  its  admi- 
nistration.— Frov.  Med.  Jour.,  July  22, 1843, 
p,  342. 

Dartres  of  the  Perineum. 
Dr.  Barosch,  of  Lemberg,  was  consulted 
by  a  young  man,  about  twenty-eight  years  of 
a^,  for  a  dartrous  eniption  aflfecting  the  pe- 
rineum and  scrotum,  with  which  he  had 
been  afflicted  from  his  sixteenth  year,  and 
the  irritation  from  which  was  such  as  to 
cause  him  to  be  continually  applying  his 
hands  there,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  avoid 


society.  He  had  consulted  the  most  famous 
physicians  in  Hungary,  but  the  only  thing 
that  seemed  at  all  to  relieve  him  was  the 
cold  water  hip-bath.  When  he  consulted 
Dr.  Barosch,  he  was  exhausted  by  sufiering, 
insomnia,  loss  of  appetite,  and  despair ;  the 
skin  was  dry ;  the  entire  perineum,  scro- 
tum, and  internal  surface  of  the  thigh,  were 
covered  with  deep  brown,  hard  crusts,  sur- 
rounded by  bleeding  fissures,  caused  by  the 
nails  of  the  patient.  Below  these  crusts,  the 
skin  was  hard  and  thickened.  The  fall  of 
crusts  alternated  with  an  acrid  discharge. 
Kcechlin's  liquor  having  failed.  Dr.  Barosch 
prescribed  the  external  application  of  iodine 
as  follows: — Fifteen  grains  of  iodine  and 
two  scruples  of  hydriodate  of  potass,  dis- 
solved in  five  ounces  of  distilled  water,  and 
one  ounce  of  spirits  of  wine ;  make  a  lotion. 
The  topical  application  of  this  solution  con- 
tinued for  several  hours,  caused  at  first  a 
bumine  sensation,  which  was,  however, 
very  tolerable,  and  was  soon  followed  by  a 
rehef  such  as  the  patient  had  not  experienced 
for  two  years.  The  use  of  this  lotion  was 
continued  for  three  weeks,  the  patient  taking 
baths  frequently  during  that  period,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  the  cure  was  complete. — 
Oesterr.  Medicin.  Wochen. — Provincial  Med. 
Journal,  April  29, 1843,  p.  99. 

Commession  m  Chronic  Hydrocephalus. 

M.  Hirsch  has  published  another  example 
of  the  efficacy  of  compression  in  cases  of 
chronic  hydrocephalus.  A  'child,  eleven 
months  old,  labored  under  this  affliction  ; 
the  head  was  large,  tontanelles  open, 
and  all  the  sutures  widely  separated.  The 
lower  extremities  were  paralysed.  On  the 
1 1th  of  May,  a  mixture,  containing  infusion 
of  bark,  digitalis,  and  sweet  spirits  of  nitre, 
was  admimstered,  and  mercurial  frictions 
were  made  on  the  head.  The  naralysis  gra- 
dually disappeared  under  the  infiyence  of  this 
treatment.  On  the  28th  the  head  was  en- 
veloped with  strips  of  sticking  plaster,  which 
compressed  it  on  all  sides ;  the  plaster  was 
renewed  on  the  28th  of  June  and  4th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  in  February  it  was  found  that 
the  fontenelles  and  sutures  were  completely 
ossified.  The  child  had  begun  to  walk  and 
speak. — Casper's  Wocken. — Provincial  Med, 
Journal,  April  29, 1843,;?.  101. 

Pdula  Ferri  Comp. 
Several  methods  of  preparing  this  pill  have 
been  recommended  to  preserve  the  carbonate 
of  iron  undecomposed,  and  to  insure  the  uni- 
form consistence  of  the  mass.  This  can  be 
made  according  to  the  directions  of  the  Phar- 
macopeia by  an  attention  to  the  following 
particulars : — 


108 


Miscellaneous  liemsj  ^c. 


Dissolve  the  sulphate  of  iron,  finely  pow- 
dered, in  treacle,  with  a  moderate  heat,  and 
add  the  carbonate  of  6oda,  stirring  constantly 
until  tho  effervescence  has  entirely  ceasetl, 
and  the  mixture  has  become  cool ;  then  add 
the  myrrh  gradually,  and  incorporate  the 
mass.  As  a  little  evaporation  takes  place  at 
the  commencement  of  the  process,  a  small 
excess  of  treacle  is  requisite  to  supply  the 
deficiency.  This  mass  retains  its  color  and 
consistence  remarkably  well. — Pharm.  Jour. 
July  1,1843,  p.  36. 

Treatment  of  Diabetes. 
An  interesting  case  of  this  affection  is  pub- 
lished by^  Mr.  Hodges,  of  Downpatrick,  in 
which  the  nitrocenizing  plan  of  treatment  so 
ably  recommenaed  by  Dr.  Barlow,  of  Guy's 
Hospital,  was  attended  with  excellent  re- 
sults. The  treatment  was  commenced  by 
giving  hvt  grains  of  the  sesquicarbonate  of 
ammonia  every  three  hours,  with  coffee 
and  bacon  to  breakfast,  animal  food  and  cru- 
ciferous vegetables  for  dinner.  The  skin 
was  stimulated  by  friction,  and  the  patient 
well  clothed  with  warm  flannel.  In  four 
days  the  urine  was  diminished  in  quantity 
from  twenty-four  to  fourteen  pints  daily. 
The  ammonia  was  then  increased  to  five 
grains  every  two  hours,  and  very  soon  the 
quantity  of  urine  voided  was  only  eight  pints 
daily ;  in  thirteen  days  more  only  five  pints ; 
and  in  twenty-one  days  the  drink  taken  in 
the  twenty-four  hours  %vas  two  pints,  and  the 
urine  four  pints.— -Medico/  Gazette,  July  7, 
1843,  ;i.  525. 

Incontinence  of  Urine  successfully  treated  by 
Nitrate  of  Potask. 
Dr.  Young,  of  Chester,  Delaware  County, 
has  found  that  this  medicine,  given  in  ten- 
grain  doses  every  three  hours,  has  had  a  very 
excellent  effect  in  checking  this  troublesome 
affection.  In  several  cases  where  tinct.  lytt® 
and  other  means  had  failed,  this  medicine 
'was given  with  complete  success.  He  sup- 
poses that  its  good  results  may  be  owing  to 
its  increasing  the  irritating  p  operties  of  the 
mine,  thus  making  it  more  stimulating  to  the 
bladder  or  its  sphincter.  If  so,  he  also 
thinks  that  other  preparations  of  potash, 
soda,  &c.,  may  be  used  when  the  nitrate  fails. 
— American  Jour,  of  Med.  Science,  April 
1843,  p.  371. 

Elder  Bark  in  Chronic  Dropsies. 
The  decoction  and  extract  of  this  vegetable 
auhstance  are  reported  to  be  remarkably  effi- 
cacious by  hydragogues,  producing  so  speedy 
an  effect  on  the  urinary  and  fiBcal  secretions 
as  to  make  it  needless  to  use  more  than  two 
or  three  applications.    The  proportions  for 


the  decoction  consist  of  a  couple  of  handfuls 
of  the  bark  to  a  quart  of  water ;  dose,  a  wine 
glassful  a  day.  The  extract  is  administered 
in  France  in  the  form  of  nills,  of  one  and  a 
half  grains  each,  of  which  from  six  to  ten 
are  taken  in  the  twrenty-four  hours. — Joum. 
de  Med.  et  de  Chir,  Pratique. — Lancet,  June 
1843,  p.  340. 

Aphonia  cured  by  (xolvanism, 
Theodore  Mandurik,  a  Dalmatian,  twenty- 
four  years  of  age,  of  sanguine  temperament 
and  a  robust  constitution,    and    who  had 
usually  enjoyed  good  health,  killed  one  of 
his  coimtrymen  in  a  quarrel,  for  which  of- 
fence he  was  incarcerated  in    the  prison  at 
Scardona.    Three  davs  afterwards  he  was 
attacked  by  a  violent  nt  of  epilepsy,  followed 
by  entire  loss  of  voice,  to  restore  which  ex- 
ternal local  and  general  bleedings,  and  anti- 
phlogistic measures  of  all  kinds  were  em- 
ployed without  effect    In  a  few  months  he 
was  removed  to  the  central  prison  of  Zara, 
where  he  was  examined  by  the  medical  staff 
The  tongue  was  somewhat  enlaiged,  and 
preternaturally  reddened,  though  dry,  and  the 
blood-vessels  around  its  base  were  much  dis- 
tended.    The  sense  of  taste  was  uninjured, 
but  the  movements  of  the  toneue  and  of  the 
larynx    were   perfomed    with   difliculty.— 
Leeches  were  now  applied  to  the  sides  of  the 
tongue ;  tartarised  antimony,  in   both  lai^ 
and  small  doses,  and  drastic  purgatives,  were 
employed,  and  a  tartar  emetic  plaster  was 
placed  over  the  lar}'nx ;  but  all  these  means 
failed  to  restore  a  healthy  action  in  the  parts 
adjacent,  and  Mandurik  was  still  compelled 
to  keep  his  mouth  partially  open  to  maintain 
respiration,  a  function   only  performed  by 
short  and  difficult  inspirations.    At  length, 
about  sixteen  months  after  the  attack,  the 
voltaic  pile  was  thought  of,  and  a  battery 
of  fifty  pair  of  plates  was  employed.    The 
positive  pole  was  placed   over  the  cervical 
vertebrae,  and  the  negative  upon  the  parts  af- 
fected.   On  the  first  day  two  hundred  shocks 
whre  given,  and  on  the  second  three  hundred, 
but  no  perceptible  effect  followed.    Two  days 
were  suffered  to  elapse,  and  a  battery  of  70 
pair  of  plates  was  then  used,  with  which 
about  three   hundred   shocks    were  given. 
The  patient  was  found  acutely  sensitive  to 
the  action  of  electricity,  and  a  lapse  of  five 
days  was  permitted  to  intervene  before  its 
fourth  application,  which  consisted  of  four 
hundred  shocks  with  the  lattter-named  ba^ 
tery.     Whether  these  had  been  administered 
too  precipitately,  or  whether  his  system  bad 
become  more  excitable  by  galvanism,  the  pa- 
tient, after  this  last  application,  became  much 
agitated,  and  subsequently  fainted  for  a  short 
time.    Next  day  he  sufered  intense  head- 


Miscellaneous  Jtemsj  ^c. 


109 


ache,  his  face  was  flushed,  eyes  lustrous, 
poise  full  and  strong,  from  which  state  he 
was  relieved  by  copious  bleeding.    But  he 
now,  for  the  first  time,  gave  utterance  to 
hoaise  sounds.     After  six  more  days  the  bat- 
tery of  fifty  pairs  was  again  employed,  and 
three  hunciied  shocks  were  given.    The  same 
treatment  was  repeated  every  two  oi  three 
days,  and  then,  at  similar  intervals,  four  hun- 
dred shocks  were  given  with  the  seventy-pair 
battery.      The  voice,  meanwhile,  and  the 
motive  powers  of  the  tongue  and  larynx, 
gradually  returned  to  their  normal  condition, 
and  after  the  twelfth  application    the  pa- 
tient had  completely  recovered.    The  deduc- 
tion drawn  by  the  suigeon  who  has  reported 
the  case  is,  that  no  nervous  aflection  what- 
ever should  be  regarded  as  incurable  till  elec- 
tricity in  Esome  form  has  been  tried  and  found 
to  fail— Lancet,  May  27,  1843,  ji.  291. 

Reduction  of  Femoral  Hemea  on  Dr.  0*- 
Beime's  Plan. 
We  have  repeatedly  referred  to  this  plan 
of  reducing  a  strangulated  hernia,  but  as  eve- 
ry fresh  fact  in  corroboration  of  it  is  satisfac- 
tory, we  subjoin  the  following  case  by  Mr. 
CoUambell,  of  Lambeth.    It  was  that  of  a 
woman,  2St  51,  raptured  24  years  ago.    All 
the  symptoms  of  strangulation  being  present, 
the  taxis  being  used  for  a  considerable  time, 
and  various  other  measures  resorted  to  with- 
out avail.  Dr.  OBeime's  plan  was  tried  as 
{(Alows : —  • 

I  introduced,  says  Mr.  CoUambell,  the 
elastic  tube  of  the  stomach-pump  into  the 
rectum,  and  passed  it  the  distance  of  twelve 
inches.  I  then  attached  the  syringe,  and 
slowly  injected  two  quarts  of  warm  water. 
When  half  of  that  quantity  had  been  thrown 
up  a  gurgling  was  distinctly  heard  in  the  tu- 
mor, and  itgradually  became  less  tense.  Hav- 
ing injected  all  the  water,  1  removed  the  sy- 
ringe, and  allowed  it  to  run  off  by  the  tube ; 
I  then  reapplied  the  syringe  and  continued 
exhausting  the  air,  when,  after  a  few  min- 
utes, I  had  the  gratification  to  find  the  hernia 
giadoally  subsiding,  and,  by  keeping  up  gen 
tie  pressure,  the  contents  were  returned  into 
the  abdomen.  My  patient  immediately  pro- 
nounced herself  reUeved;  her  countenance 
became  cheerful,  and  the  sickness  abated ; 
she  was  ordered  a  brisk  aperient  of  magn. 
solph.  and  aq.  menth.  pip.  and  a  dose  of  cal- 
omel and  opium.  The  bowels  acted  freely 
on  the  following  morning,  and  she  is  now  as 
well  as  usual. — Lancet,  April  29,  1843,  p. 
155. 

Strabismus. 
M.  Jules  Guerin  has  published  a  second 
Memoir  on  Strabismus,  devoted  to  a  rational 


and  experimental  inquiry  into  the  distinction 
between  the  optical  and  the  mechanical  forms 
of  the  disorder ;  a  former  memoir,  pubhshed 
in  the  same  journal  the  3d  April,  1841,  hav- 
ing; treated  principally  of  the  mechanical  or 
pnmitively  muscular  form. 

Optical  strabismus,  the  principal  subject  of 
the  present  paper,  the  author  defines  as  a 
consecutive  of  secondarily  muscular  deviation 
of  the  eye,  consequent  on  a  disjunction  of  the 
axis  of  vision  and  the  axis  of  the  eye.  This 
disjunction  may  be  •  produced  in  three  ways ;  * 
1st,  from  an  obstacle  to  the  passage  of  visual 
axis  along  the  course  of  the  ocular  axis; 
2ndly,  by  a  change  of  relation  in  the  refract- 
ing media  without  alteration  of  their  transpa- 
rency ;  or,  3rdly,  by  an  insensibility  of  the 
retina  at  the  proper  })oint  for  the  reception  of 
luminous  rays.  The  first  is  characterised  by 
the  squint  existing  only  while  the  patient  is 
looking  at  an  object.  In  these  cases  the  two 
visual  axes,  though  no  longer  concurring 
with  the  ocular  axes,  conveige  towards  one 
point.  A  squint,  then,  existing  only  during 
active  or  intentional  vision,  cannot  depend  on 
permanent  muscular  contraction.  A  young 
person  aged  19,  who  had  a  moveable  clot  of 
blood  in  the  posterior  chamber,  was  observed 
to  squint  from  the  attempt  to  place  a  transpa- 
rent portion  of  the  medium  opposite  to  the 
object  looked  at,  and  thereby  to  avoid  the  in- 
convenience produced  by  the  presence  of  the 
clot  in  different  parts  of  the  chamber.  As 
soon  as  she  ceased  to  look  at  an  object,  she 
ceased  to  squint.  A  disturbance  in  the  rela- 
tion of  the  refracting  media,  the,  author  thinks 
is  the  only  way  of  accounting  for  some  cases 
of  strabismus  which  are  produced  suddenly 
after  a  blow,  or  a  jarring  faQl  on  the  seat  or  on 
the  feet.  The  first  effect  of  displacement  is 
doub'e  virion  ;  and  the  squint,  at  first  tempo- 
rary, lasting  only  during  attentive  vision,  is 
gradually  made  permanent  by  the  repeated 
endeavor  to  escape  from  this  fatiguing  symp- 
tom. 

The  third  form,  viz.,  from  partial  paralysis 
of  the  retina,  is  more  difficult  of  actual  de- 
monstration, though  its  presence  may  be  in- 
ferred by  induction  rigorous  enough  for  prac- 
tical purposes.  Amaurct'c  patients,  when 
endeavoring  to  distinguish  a  light,  are  seen  to 
turn  the  eye  in  different  directions  where  they 
know  the  light  does  not  exist ;  they  present 
the  various  surfaces,  as  it  were,  feehng  for  it 
Those  in  whom  the  paralysis  is  but  partial) 
contract  a  habit  of  subjecting  to  the  influence 
of  the  rays  that  part  that  is  most  sensible. 
The  author  believes  that  in  no  case  of  secon- 
dary optical  strabismus  will  the  texture  of  a 
muscle  be  found  fibrous,  and  that  in  no  case 
of  primary  mechanical  muscular  strabismus 
will  such  a  fibrous  state  of  the  muscle  be 


no 


Miscellaneous  Items,  ^c. 


wanting.  Where  myotomy  has  been  per- 
fonned  in  cases  of  optical  secondary  strabis- 
mus, he  believes  that  one  of  three  things  must 
have  happened — either  the  case  has  not  been 
watched  long  enough  to  ascertain  the  result, 
or  a  po3iii\re  failure  has  followed,  or  the  pri- 
maiy  cause,  whatever  it  mayhave  been,  has 
really  been  removed  by  the  operation.  The 
author  adds  a  summary  of  the  distinctive 
characters  of  the  two  kinds  too  concise  to  be 
materially  abridged,  but  too  longfor  our  pages. 
Medical  Gazette,  May  12, 1843,;>.  254. 

Electro-puncture  in  the  treatment  of  Deaf- 
ness, depending  on  a  Paralysvi  of  the 

Acoustic  Nerve. — By  M.  Jobe7t. 
The  paralysis  of  the  acoustic  nerve  may  be 
produced  by  exposure  to  a  current  of  air,  to 
too  great  a  shock  of  the  head,  to  waves  of 
sound  too  violent,  to  affections  of  the  teeth  or 
of  the  gums.  Electro-puncture  has  been  al 
ready  employed  in  these  cases,  but  it  had 
fallen  into  disrepute.  The  author  believes 
that  he  uses  it  in  a  manner  more  direct  and 
more  rational;  here  is  his  proceeding: — 
Stard's  sound,  he  says,  is  introduced  through 
the  nasal  fossa  into  the  eustachian  tube,  and 
in  this  sound  a  long  thin  acupuncture  needle 
is  inserted,  so  as  to  fix  itself  in  a  point  of  the 
paiietes  of  the  eustachian  tube,  while  the 
other  end  projects  from  the  end  of  the  soimd ; 
another  acupuncture  needle  is  implanted  in 
the  membrane  of  the  tympanum.  This  be- 
in^  done,  one  of  the  conducting  wires  of  a 
galvanic  battery,  of  which  the  trough  is  filled 
with  water  £^d  muriatic  acid,  is  passed 
through  the  eye  of  one  of  the  needles,  and 
the  end  of  the  other  conducting  wire  is  made 
to  touch  the  opposite  needle.  I  have  used, 
in  the  beginning,  eight  pairs  of  the  battery, 
then  I  got  to  ten,  to  twelve  pairs ;  finally  I 
have  been  as  high  as  eighteen,  and  at  present 
I  have  patients  who  have  undergone  several 
sittings,  and  on  whom  I  have  acted  with  the 
entire  pile,  the  touch  of  which  contains  forty 
metallic  pairs.  At  the  moment  that  the  two 
poles  are  put  in  contact,  there  is  a  very  pain- 
lul  shock  in  the  ear  and  in  the  head,  with 
convulsive  motions ;  but  this  shock  and  this 
pain  cease  immediately.  In  a  single  patient 
the  impression  was  felt  during  eight  days,  but 
it  never  extended  beyond  a  slight  pain,  which 
ceased  of  itself.  It  must  be  added,  that  the 
pa.tient8  who  were  submitted  to  electricity  in 
this  manner,  were,  during  some  moments, 
as  if  stunned,  and  preserved  some  time  after 
tiie  experiment  a  bewildered  look.  The  sit- 
ting was  usually  confined  to  a  single  diock 
when  the  patients  were  irritable ;  I  bAve  given 
two  and  even  three  shocks  in  people  whose 
sensibility  was  obtuse,  and  wno  nave  been 
already  submitted  to  electro-punctuie.    In 


general  I  allow  eight  days  to  pass  between 
each  trial.  The  author  then  relates  four  ca-, 
ses  of  well  marked  deafness,  and  in  which 
the  cure  was  complete ;  in  the  first  after  a 
single  shock,  in  the  second  after  two  shocks, 
and  in  the  third -after  two  sittings,  each  com- 
posed of  three  galvanic  shocks. — DExami- 
nateur  Medicale. — Medical  Gazette,  June  2, 
1843,  p.  356. 

Oil  of  Turpentine  in  Night  Blindness. — By 

Charles  Kidd,  M.  R.  C.  S.,  Medical  At- 
tendant of  the  Doonass  Dinpensary. 

In  two  cases  of  this  description,  in  which 
the  patients  were  seized  with  a  total  blindness 
every  evening,  the  moment  the  sun  set,  al- 
though in  other  respects  perfectly  well,  Mr. 
Kidd  tried  the  whole  routine  of  medicines 
without  effect.  The  iris  al  one  showed  symp- 
toms of  disease;  the  rest  of  the  eye  was 
healthy.  The  iris  was  very  interrupted  and 
sluggish  in  its  movements,  and  evidently  veiy 
insusceptible  of  its  usual  stimulus,  the  pupil 
contracting  very  little  even  on  the  approach 
of  the  strong  glare  of  the  sun. 

Being  aware  of  the  action  of  turpentine  on 
this  part  of  the  e^e.  Mr.  Kidd  ordered  the 
following  mixture  with  excellent  effect : — 

R.  01.  terrebinth;  ol.  ricini,  aa.  J\.;  mist 
camphorae,  ^iv. ;  liquor,  potassae,  3i.  ;traB. 
opii.  gtts.  X.    Ft.  mistura. 

Half  an  ounce  to  be  taken  every  night  and 
morning.  The  patients  were  cured  in  a  few 
doys.— Dublin  Medical  Press,  May  10, 1843, 
p.  292. 

It  is  often  difficult  to  continue  the  use  of 
turpentine  on  account  of  its  disagreeable  na- 
ture. Bouchardat  recommends  the  following 
formula : — 

Take  of  gum  accacia,  ten  grammes ;  mix 
it  with  ten  grammes  of  water ;  add  of  white 
honey,  fifty  grammes ;  oil  of  turpentine,  fifty 
grammes;  carbonate  of  magnesia,  q.s.  Make 
a  soft  electuary. 

The  dose  is  from  2  to  10  grammes  (36  to 
180  grains)  a-day  in  unleavened  bread.    In 
some  cases  a  little  laudanum  may  be  added. 
Medical  Gazette,  Sept.  22,  1843,;?.  912. 

How  to  make  Leeches  Bite. 
The  leech  which  it  is  intended  to  apply,  is 
thrown  into  a  saucer  containing  fresh  beer, 
and  is  to  be  left  there  till  it  begins  to  be  quite 
lively.  When  it  has  moved  about  in  the  ves- 
sel for  a  few  moments,  it  is  to  be  quickly  ta- 
ken out  and  applied.  This  method  will  rare- 
ly disappoint  the  expectation,  and  even  dull 
leeches,  and  those  wnich  have  been  used  not 
long  before,  will  do  their  duty.  It  will  be 
seen  with  astonishment  how  quickly  they 
bite.— jS^ico^  Gazette,  June  23,  1843,  p. 
480. 


Miscellaneous  Items,  ^e. 


Ill 


Researches  into  the  Nervous  Influence  sup- 
plied try  the  Par  Vagum. 

M.  Sttllixg,  whose  researches  on  the 
nerves  was  noticed  in  the  last  volume  of  Tb£ 
LiKCET,  has  been  led  to  the  foUowins;  con- 
clusions respecting  the  functions  of  the  par 
Tagum  and  some  of  its  branches. 

The  par  vagum  is  both  motor  and  sensi- 
tive. The  superior  laryngeal  nerve  is  solely 
scnative,  having  no  effect  to  produce  motion 
in  the  glottis.  The  recurrent  nerve  is  motor, 
and  sensitive  also,  though  in  a  less  degree 
than  the  superior  laryn^al.  The  glottis 
and  the  whole  larynx  derive  aU  their  sensa- 
tion from  the  first  named  branch.  The 
trachea  derives  its  sensation  from  the  recur- 
rent branch,  and  the  lungs  from  the  branches 
of  the  par  vagum,  which  they  receive.  The 
elottis  depends  for  motion  on  the  recurrent 
branch,  and  not  at  all  on  thenervus,  accesso- 
lius.  Irntation  of  the  roots  of  the  vagus 
nerve  within  the  skull  causes  the  same  re- 
sult as  irritation  of  the  recurrent  branch. 
The  quality  of  the  voice  is  dependent  on  the 
condition  of  the  superior  laryngeal  nerve,  and 

the  degree  oi  harmony  between  this  and  the 

rccnrrent  branch. 

With  regard  to  the  motions  of  the  pharynx : 

in  ordinary  respiration  the  pharynx  is  closed ; 

it  is  only  in  abnormal  circumstances  that  it 

conlains  air.    In  most  animals  the  pharynx 

manifests  a  contractile  action  or  vibration  of 
its  JDoseuIar  fibres  during  expiration;  this 
action  is  not  perceived  in  inspimtion.  The 
section  of  the  par  vagum  determines  a  con- 
traction of  the  pharynx,  as  does  irritation  of 
the  recurrent  and  superior  laryngeal  nerve. — 
SchmidVs  Jahrbuch  36;  Haesefs  Archiv. 
1842. 


Medical  use  of  Saffron. 
In  several  cases  of  obstinate  chlorosis  that 
had  not  yielded  to  preparations  of  iron,  in 
one  case  of  puerperal  fever  in  which  digitalis 
and  bleeding  had  failed,  and  in  two  c^s  of 
ehionic  artero-phlebitis,  Dr.  Morgante,  of  Ve- 
rona, reports  that  he  has  employed  saffron 
with  the  CTeateat  success,  commencing  with 
doses  in  the  form  of  pills,^  amounting  to  six- 
teen grains  in  the  twenty-ifour  hours,  increas- 
ing the  doses  until  the  Quantity  is  doubled.  As 
to  the  manner  in  whicn  this  medicine  acts — 
it  is  reported  to  be  particularly  effective  in  ca- 
ses of  mcreased  acticm  of  the  capillary  ves- 
sels, and  analo^us  in  its  effect  to  the  more 
active  preparations  of  iron. — Memoriale  delta 
Medicina  Contemporanea. 

Facial  Neuralgia. 
An  ointment  composed  of  veratria,  one 
put,  to  eighty  parts  of  lard,  has  been  found 


very  useful  as  an  external  application  in  ca- 
ses of  facial  neuralgia.  But  the  preparation 
is  much  more  efficacious  if  made  with  rancid 
instead  of  iresh  lard,  which  is  probably  ow- 
ing to  a  salification  and  greater  solubility  ef- 
fected in  the  veratria  by  the  agency  of  the 
free  acid  in  the  fat. — Revue. Scientifique. 

Lancet,  May  27, 1843,  p.  304. 

Black  Drop  reduced  to  the  strength  of  the 

Tincture  of  Opium. 

Take  of  hard  opium,  powdered,  ^iij ;  citric 

acid,  powdered,  ^iss;  boiling  water,  ^xv; 

rectified  spirit,  ^^xv.    Pour  the  boiling  wa- 

ter'on  the  opium  and  citric  acid ;  macerate  for 

twenty-four  hours ;  add  the  rectified  spirit ; 

again  macerate  for  fourteen  days,  and  strain. 

Lancet,  May  20, 1843,  p.  304. 

Treatment  of  Dropsy. 

The  main  object  in  the  treatment  of  ascites 
is,  of  course,  to  excite  the  oigans,  by  the  aid 
of  which  nature  herself  expels  the  serious 
secretions  of  the  abdominal  cavity ;  and  ac- 
cordingly such  diuretic  and  drastic  agents 
should  be  employed  as  are  most  likely  to  act 
at  the  same  time  on  the  absorbent  system, 
the  urinary  organs,  and  the  intestinal  tube. 
In  combination,  also,  with  medicinal  agents, 
a  diet  should  be  adopted  at  once  solid  and 
tonic,  composed  principally  of  broiled  or 
roasted  meats,  toasted  bread,  &c.,  with  small 
quantities  of  red  or  white  wine ;  but  on  no 
account  should  the  patient  have  recourse  to 
toast  and  water,  broths,  gruel,  or  such  like 
drinks ;  in  fact,  the  principle  should  be  to 
drink  as  little  as  possible,  and  instead  of  li- 
quids to  use  jellies,  oranges,  and  fruit  gener- 
ally, by  way  of  demulcents.  M.  Delreyne, 
who  advises  the  above  regimen,  recommends 
the  following  diuretic  wine  as  suited  to  weak- 
er subjects : 

R.  Nitrate  of  potash,  three  drachms,  and 
juniper  berries,  fifteen  drachms,  to  be  steeped 
for  twenty-four  hours  in  a  bottle  of  wine 
water ;  dose,  a  glass  daily. 

This  stimulant  is  especially  useful  in  in- 
cipient dropsy,  and  cases  of  cedematous 
swellings  of  the  extremeties. — LExperience. 
—Lancet,  May  20,  1843,  p.  253. 


Couiiter- Irritants  in  Bronchitis, 
Dr.  Graves,  in  his  work  on  clinical  medi- 
cine, makes  some  excellent  remarks  on  coun- 
ter-irritant remedies,  which  are  to  be  appUed 
not  merely  over  the  chest,  but  to  the  nape 
and  along  the  aides  of  the  neck,  over  the 
epigastrium,  and  in  the  course  of  the  cervico- 
spinal  and  pneumogastric  nerves  generally. 
He  thinks  tnat^* 


112 


Miscellaneous  ItemSj  ^c. 


Tte  spirit  of  turpentine  exercises  some- 
thing more  than  a  mere  counter-irritant  action , 
and  proposes  the  following  formula  for  imi- 
tation. 

Strong  acetic  acid,  Sss;  spirit  of  turpen- 
tine, 3iij;  rose  water,  ^'iss;  essential  oil  of 
lemon,  a  few  drops ;  yolk  of  e^,  sufficient 
to  suspend  the  turpentine. — British  and  For- 
eign Medical  Review,  July  1843,^.  246. 

Casarean  Section. 
A  woman,  aged  thirty-one,  who  hadhorae 
five  children  naturally,  was  attacked  with 
violent  arthritis,  during  her  sixth  pr^nancy. 
The  pelvis  became  so  deformed  that  the  finger 
could  scarcely  be  introduced  between  the  tu- 
berosities of  *the  ischum  and  the  ascending 
rami,  on  either  side ;  the  pubes  also  formed 
a  very  prominent  angle,  the  sacrum  projected 
much  forwards,  and  the  os  uteri  could  not  be 
•reached.  On  the  27th  of  July,  1840,  laboui 
havine  commenced,  and  the  contraction  of 
the  pelvis  diameter  being  well  ascertained, 
the  Caesarean  section  was  determined  on,  and 
was  performed  in  the  linea  alba  by  Dr.  Ar- 
noldi.  The  results  were  most  fortimate ;  the 
mother  nursed  the  child  herself,  and  the 
wound  healed  by  the  beginning  of  September. 
Ptov.  Med.  Jour.y  Oct.  21, 1843,  p.  60. 

Cure  of  Venereal  Warts. 
Francis  states  that  two  remedies  which  he 
had  tried  for  the  extirpation  of  venereal 
warts,  have  always  perfectiy  eradicated  them, 
namely  powdered  savine  and  a  solution  of 
lunar  caustic;  the  first  to  be  applied  to  the 
warts  every  night,  taking  care  previously  to 
wet  them,  in  order  that  the  powder  may  ad- 
here to  them.  The  quantity  ought  not  to 
be  more  than  will  lie  on  the  top  of  a  good- 
sized  horse-bean.  Applied  every  night  for  a 
week  or  ten  days,  this  remedy  will,  it  is  said, 
cure  them  effectually.  Should  this,  how- 
ever, not  be  considered  powerful  enough,  the 
savine  may  be  sprinkled  every  night,  and  on 
the  following  morni  g  a  solution  of  nitrate  of 
silver  (four  grains  to  the  ounce)  may  be  ap- 
plied. These  two  remedies  Mr.  Francis 
always  employs,  and  has  never  found  them 
useless.— A/ed.  Chir.  Rev.,  July,  1843,  p. 
281. 


six  to  seven  centimetres  in  length.  The 
hand,  when  passed  into  the  gap  m  the  ute- 
rus, came  in  contact  .with  the  mass  of  the 
small  intestines.  A  month  afterwards  the 
uterus  contracted,  and  the  tear  in  its  substance 
could  no  longer  be  perceived.  The  patient 
was  alarmingly  ill.  She  vomited,  had  hic- 
cup, violent  pain  in  the  abdomen,  &c.  Never- 
theless she  did  not  die  ;  on  the  contrary,  after 
several  days  passed  in  a  state  between  life 
and  death,  she  began  to  improve,  and  finally 
recovered.— ioTid.  and  Edin.  Mon.  Jour,  of 
Med.  Science,  July  1843,p.  .651. 

Disease  in  the  brain,  spinal  cord,  heart, 
lunes,  stomach,  intestines,  liver,  kidneys,  or 
other  vital  organs,  is  characterised  more  by 
disturbances  of  function  in  those  organs  thaa 
by  pain.— I>r.  Bellingham. 


A  short  time  since  an  ox  was  killed  at 
Waltham  and  on  proceeding  to  cut  it  up,  a 
live  snake,  perfect,  with  the  fceP^o"  f 
the  scales,  was  found  in  the  caul  of  the  am- 
mal.  It  measured  two  feet  six  inches  in 
leigth.— English  paper. 

Leeches  have  been  found  in  the  liver,  and 
snakes  in  the  stomach  of  human  beings  in 
this  country. 


Rupture  of  the  Uterus— Recovery. ^By  M. 
Vaulpre,MD. 
The  patient  in  this  case  was  in  her  19th 
year,  and  confined  for  the  first  time.  Delivery 
was  attempted  by  the  long  forceps,  but  in 
vain  ;  the  head  of  the  infant  had  to  be  open- 
ed, and  delivery  was  accomplished  by  means 
of  the  hook.  In  passing  the  hand  into  the 
uterus,  a  longitudinal  rent  was  discovered, 
corresponding  to  the  right  fossa,  and  from 


Revelations  by  Mesmerism.— The  Penn- 
sylvaniaii,  of  Poiladelphia,  translates  a 
strange  narrative  from  a  Dutch  paper,  a 
little  girf»  five  years  of  age,  was  drowTi«^ 
near  bresden,  while  amusing  hersell  wiw 
some  playmates,  who  were  afterwards  unafiic 
to  point  out  the  place  of  the  catastrophe. 
The  parents  applied  to  Amelia  Klunger,  a 
celebrated  somnambulist,  and  she  immem- 
ately  told  them  where  they  sould  find  ine 
body,  which  they  did,  in  the  very  spot Jhc 
named,  and  they  returned  her  their  thanks  in 
the  newspapers.  The  affair  has  created  a 
sensation  in  Dresden. 

Naptha— its  cwro^jve  effects  in  tubercular 
consumption — a  humbug. 


Errata,  in  our  last  number  p.  13,  &c.,  f« 
decollionth,  read  decillionth. 


Errata,  in  this  number  p.  61,  for  Nagne- 
tism,  read  Magnetism;  p.  87,  for  replex 
read  reflex. 


THE  DISSECTOK. 


Vol.  I.] 


.  NEW-TOBS,  JULY,  1844. 


[Vo  in. 


TALLAOIBB  OF  THB  FAOULTT. 
ilffv*— Spasmodic  and  Faralftio  Dlteate— Dis- 
orders of  Bensatlon. 

LECTURE    II.  ^ 

In  our  fonner  Lecture,  ^ntlemen,  you  will 
lemember  that,  after  a  bnef  allusion  to  a  few 
oi  tbe  many  enois  which,  from  time  to  time, 
have  preyailed  in  the  schools,  we  took  a 
more  simple,  though,  at  the  same  time,  a 
much  more  bold  and  sweeping  yiew  of  the 
subject  of  Medicine  than  would  appear  to 
have  hitherto  come  within  the  grasp  of  teach- 
eis  and  professors.    The  nattue  of   Health 
and  Sleep,  of  Death  and  Disease,  we  in  some 
measure  explained; — and  we  proposed,  as 
matter  for  future  argumentation,  that  inter- 
MrrrEHT  fever  or  ague  is  the  likeness  or 
type  of  all  the  maladies  to  which  man  is  l/a- 
hie, —  referring,  at  the  same  time,  to  certain 
natural  analogies  in  the  world  around  us ; 
and  hazarding  the  statement,  (which  until 
we  prove,  we  by  no  means  wish  you  to  take 
for  ^rai^ted)  that  the  chrono-thermal  or  ague 
medicines  are  the  most  generally  influential 
in  the  treatment  of  every  kind  of  disease. 
Ltt  it  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  in  our 
hi^h  estimate  of  this  particular  class  of  rem- 
edies, we  reject,  in  practice,  any  earthly  a- 
gent  which  God  has  given  us ;  for  there  is  no 
subfflance  in  nature  which  may  not  be  turn- 
ed to  good  account  by  the  wise  and  judicious 
physician.    Besides  the  chrono-thermal  rem- 
edies, which  we  chiefly  use  as  remedies  of 
prevention,  we  possess  a  multitude  fit  pow- 
ers which  have  all  more  or  less  influence  up- 
cm  the  human  body,  both  in  health  and  dis- 
ease :  and  though  few  or  no  substances  can 
act  upon  any  part  of  the  frame  without  impli- 
cating every  other  part,  yet  do  we  find  that 
certain  medicines  have  relations  of  aflinity 
to  particular  oigans  of  the  body  greater  Aan 
to  others — some  affecting  one  organ,  some 
another.    Of  this  class,  Vomits  and  Purga- 
tives, as  (their  names  import.)  Mercury,  Cre- 
osote, Canthaiides,  and  the  various  Gums 


and  Balsams,  are  th^  principal :  Iodine,  Lead, 
the  Eslrths  and  Acids  are  also  examples. — 
But  while,  in  the  more  simple  cases  of  dis- 
ease, the  chrono-thermal  medicines,  singly, 
will  answer  every  purpose, — particular  cases 
of  disorder  will  be  more  efficiently  treated 
with  alternations  and  combinations  of  both 
classes,  than  by  the  exhibition  of  either  sim- 
ply.   Of  the  action  of   remedies  of  every 
kind,  we  shall  speak  more  particularly  when 
we  come  to  treat  of  individual  substances. — 
For  the  present,  we  shall  content  ourselves 
with  repeating  what  we  stated  in  our  former 
lectnte,  in  connexion  with  this  subject,  that 
the  action  of  remedy  and  cause,  in  every 
case,  comes  at  last  to  the  common  principle 
of  their  capacity  Electrically  or  Galvanically 
to  aflect  temperature  or  motion— change  in 
one  never  taking  place  without  change  in  the 
other.     It  will  he  a  subject  of  gratification  to 
pursue  DISEASE  through  all  its  modifiations 
an8  varieties,  step  by  step,  and  to  show  you 
the  source  and  the  extent  of  our  influence 
over  it, — for  which  purpose  we  shall  call 
our  difierent  witnesses   before  you  in  the 
shape  of  Cases, — ^taking  these,  as  often  as 
possible,  from  the  experience  of  others,  and 
when  this  fails  us,  from  the  results  of  our 
•own  practice  ;  leaving  to  you,  of   course,  to 
compare  and  cross-examine  these  last  at  your 
leisure,  with  such  facts  and  cases  of  a  simi- 
lar description,  as  may  come  before  vou  du- 
ring your  attendance  at  the  various  hospitals 
with  which  you  are  respectively  connected. 
Of  this  we  feel  assured,  that  whether  or  not 
you  individually  pronounce  a  verdict  in  our 
favour  upon  all  counts,  you  will  at  least  col- 
lectively admit  that  we  have  compelled  you 
to  alter  your  sentiments  most  materially  up- 
on many  measures  which  you  previously 
supposed  to  be  as  unquestionable  in  practice 
as  they  were  orthodox  in  precept   But  if,  ac- 
cording to  Lord  Bacon,  "disciples  do  owe  un- 
to masters  only  a  temporary  belief,  and  a  sus- 
pension of  their  own  judgment  until  they  he 
fully  instructed,  and  not  an  absolute  resigna- 
tion or  perpetual  captivity,"  you  will  not  be 


114 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


sorry  to  escape  froni  the  thraldom  of  men 
who,  when  asked  for  bread,  gave  you  a  sub- 
Btance  which,  in  the  darkness  of  your  igno- 
lance,  you  could  not  by  any  possibility  tell 
was  a  stone  !  No  longer  mocked  by  mystic 
^berish,  you  will  now  take  your  places  as 
judges  of  the  yery  doctrines  you  formerly,  as 
pupils,  implicitly  and  without  examination 
believed ;  and  according  to  the  eyidenee 
which  I  shall  bnng  b^ore  you,  you  will  pro- 
nounce between  your  teachers  and  me — 
whether  the  infini^  of  distincti6ns  and  differ- 
ences, upon  which  they  so  pride  themselves, 
be  founded  in  nature  and  reason,— or  wheth- 
er, in  the  words  of  the  same  great  philoso- 
pher <*all  things  do  by  scale  ascend  to  un^-Y, 
80  dien,  always  that  knowledge  is  worthiest 
which  is  chaiged  with  least  multiplicity.** 

Gentlemen,  there  was  a  time  when  the 
greater  number  of  people  imagined  that  the 
only  thing  worth  acquiring  in  this  life,  was 
a  knowledge  of  the  dead  languages.    A  new 
era  has  since  sprung  up,  and  mankind  have 
begun  to  appreciate  the  advantages  to  be 
obtained  from  an  acquaintance  with  the  che- 
mical and  physical  sciences.    They  now  pre- 
fer the  study  of  the  natural  bodies  around 
them,  to  pedantic  discussions  about  Greek 
articles  and  Latin  verbs.    It  is  only  in  the 
cloisters  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  that  men 
sneer  at  '*  utilitarianism,"  or  in  mat  antiqua- 
ted off-shoot  of  these  monkish  institutions 
— the    College  of  Physicians.     Bailroads, 
steam-boats,  galvanism,  and  gas,  have  all 
come  to  light  within  the  last  half  century. 
A  revolution  in  thought  and  action  has  been 
the  result;  petty  odjects  have^ven  wa^to 
comprehensive  yiews,and  petty  interests  have 
been  destroyed  by  the  general  improvement 
that  has  already  been  accomplished.    Is  Me- 
dicine the  only  branch  of  human  knowled^ 
destined  to  stand  still,  while  all  around  it  is 
in   motion  ?    Is  the  march  of  intellect  to 
sweep  on  and  on>  and  leave  behind  it  this, 
so-called  science,  untouched  and  unimproved 
in  its  progress  ?    When  the  monarchs  who 
have  successively  wielded  the  medical  scep- 
tre—who each  in  their  day  were  looked  up- 
on as  demigods  in  nhysic,  have  in  turn  de- 
clared that  all  that  they  knew  of  it  was  that 
«they  nothing  knew,"  shall  blame  be  at- 
tached to  him  who  would  attempt  to  rescue 
his  profession  from  this  worse  than  darkness 
visible  ?    If,  by  their  own  confession,  the 
Knightons  and  Baillies  were  ignorant  of  the 
first  principles  of  correct  practice,  surely  it 
were  but  charitable  to  suppose  that  men  so 
intelligent  and  saf;acious  on  most  other  mat- 
ters may,  in  this  instance  at  least,  have  pur- 
sued a  deceptive  mode  of  investigation?  Like 
the  racer  on  the  wrong  road,  how  could 
they  in  thatcaaeget  to  the  end  of  their  jour- 


ney? Pursuing  their  professional  studies 
chiefly  in  the  dead  house,  these  physidans 
foigot  that  medicine  has  no  power  over  a 
corpse.  Gentlemen,  the  reflections  which 
I  snail  have  the  honor  to  submit  for  your 
consideration,  were  the  result  of  obsma- 
tions  made  on  the  ever-shifting  motions  of 
the  living.  Who  will  tell  me  that  this  kind 
of  study  is  only  proper  for  medical  persons  ? 
Who  shall  say  that  this  description  of  know- 
ledge may  not  be  made  interesting  to  the 
world  at  laige  ?  Greek,  Latin,  High  Dutch, 
and  Hebrew, — are  these  repetitions  of  the 
same  sims  more  important  than  an  enlaiged 
knowledge  of  the  sense — more  instructive  to 
those  who  pursue  ihem  as  a  study,  tiian  a 
consideration  of  the  revolutions  and  con- 
stantly changing  relations  of  the  matter  of 
their  own  homes  ?  Widiout  a  proper  know- 
ledge of  the  laws  of  your  own  organization, 
how  can  you  possibly  put  in  practice  the 
Greek  maxim,  «  Enow  yourselves  ?" 

Having  premised  this  much,  I  now  come 
to  consider  in  detail  the  phenomena  of 

INTERMITTENT  FEVER  OR  AGUE; 

for  ague  being  the  type  of  every  other  modi- 
fication of  di^ase,  it  is  necessary  yon  should 
be  well  acquainted  with  its  principal  symp- 
toms. I  have  already  told  you  there  can  be 
no  disease,  no  morbid  motion  without 
change  of  temperature.  The  subject  of  ague, 
then,  among  other  sensations  and  changes, 
successively  experiences  a  Chill  and  Hkit, 
followed  by  a  profuse  Perspiration.  These 
three  stages,  commonly  called  the  Cold,  Hot, 
and  Sweating  stages,  constitute  the  Paroxtsm 
or  Frr.  The  patient,  during  each  stage,  is 
consequently  in  a  di&rent  condition  of  Dody 
from  either  of  the  others ;  his  sensations, 
moreover,  difler  during  each  of  them.  To 
the  state  of  Perspiration,  which  tenninates 
the  fit,  an  Intermission,  or  interval  of  com- 
parative health,  succeeds ;  and  this  interval 
of  immunity  from  suffering  usually  lasts 
one,  two,  or  more  days,  (giving  rise  to  the 
terms  tertian^  ymrtan,  and  other  ^es,  ac- 
cording to  the  interval  of  duration),  before  the 
recurrence  of  another  similar  fit; — such  fit 
generall]r  making  its  invasion  with  a  won- 
derful de^gree  of  exactness  at  the  same  hoar 
of  the  clock  as  the  former,  and  lasting  about 
the  same  time, — when  it  is  again  followed 
by  a  similar  periodic  intermission  of  the 
symptoms  as  Mfore.  In  all  the  sta^  of 
the  fit,  every  function  of  the  body  is  dis- 
turbed— some  more,  some  less.  During  the 
cold  stag^,  the  face  becomes  pale,  the  fea- 
tures shnnk*  and  the  muscles  aie  tremulous 
or  even  spasmodic:  the  patient,  in  other 
words,  shiveiB,  has  ciamp»  and  his  strength 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


115 


IB  prostrate.    The  breathing  and  drculation 
are  variously  altered, — his  imne»  if  he  pas- 
ses any,  is  generally  pale  and  plentiihi],  and 
his  other  secretions  are  siinilarly  changed  in 
quantity  and  quality.    The  senses  and  men- 
tal powers  are  for  the  most  part  depressed, 
or  eyen  cmioasly  Titiated,  though  sometimes 
they  are  pretematurally  exalted.    A  centle- 
maaa,wko  was  recently  my  psdent,  informed 
me,  that  during  &e  cold  stage  his  intellectual 
powers  were  more  than  usually  clear,  and 
bis  sensations  throughout  hiehly  pleasura- 
ble ;  he  felt  as  if  under  the  pleasurable  feel- 
in|^  produced  in  some  people  by  opium ;  but 
this  kind  of  feeling  is  more  frequently  an 
aeeompaniment  of  the  hot  stage.    The  patient 
has  nausea  and  loss  of  appetite,  sometimes 
sickness;  less  frequently  looseness  of  bow- 
els,— or  he  has  hunger  amounting  to  ▼oraci- 
ty, — and  sometimes  thirst    A  reaction  now 
oom»  on.    The  patient  firadnally  becomes 
waimeT  and  wanner — ^die  lace  changes  from 
pale  to  red-~his  cheek  is  now  flushed^-his 
eyes  are  suffused,  and  he  suffers  from  head- 
ache, more  or  leas  agonising.    This  is  the 
'     Hot  stage. 

The  thirst,  wheOier  it  existed  before  or 
not,  is  now  a  most  prominent  symptom ;  the 
appetite  is  thoroughly  lost ;  the  patient  hav- 
mgf  in  most  instances,  a  repugnancy  to  the 
Teiy  name  of  food.  If  you  inspect  the 
loom,  yon  will  find  it  comparatively  dry  and 
loaoed,  and  of  a  brown  colour ;  and  though 
the  skhi  feel  to  your  hand  like  a  burning 
coal,  so  to  speak,  the  patient  himself  may 
complain  of  such  excessive  coldness,  as  to 
indiioe  the  attendants  to  cover  him  with  nu- 
merous blankets; — ^more  generally,  how- 
ever, be  has  a  sensation  of  neat  equally  se- 
vere. Every  muscle  of  his  body  in  this 
stasis  more  or  less  painful  and  enfeebled ; 
though  in  some  instances,  he  may  appear  to 
have  a  greater  command  over  them  than  in 
health;  and  if  delirium  supervene,  which  it 
may  do,  his  strength  will  apftear  almost  su- 
perhuman. During  the  excitement  of  this 
stage,  individuals  -have  been  known  to  be- 
come musical,  poetical,  oratorical,  and  have 
exercised  other  talents  which  they  never 
were  known  to  manifest  in  healm.  The 
heart  now  beats  violently,  and  the  pulse  is 
fall  and  bounding;  the  urine,  instead  of  be- 
ing pale,  as  in  the  preceding  stage,  is  scantf 
aim  high  coloured.  The  secretions  general- 
ly are  sluggish,  and  in  some  instanees  tiiey 
ore  aUoeether  suppressed.  A  long  wmU  sue- 
«9eed8»  during  wnich  the  greater  number  of 
tiie  suppressed  secretions  ^aduaily  reappear. 
— As  with  a  feeling  of  ku^or,  lassitude  and 
a  disposition  to  yawn  and  stretch  the  various 
membefB  of  the  body,  the  fit  is  usually  pre- 
M ;  io  wKh  ihe  «me  sympldmB  dioM  it 


usually  end.  Then  comes  the  state  of  com- 
parative health,  which  may  either  again 
pass  into  die  Fever- fit,  or  continue  for  an 
indefinite  period,  so  as  eventually  to  become 
Health. 

As  every  individual  has,  from  birth,  some 
part  of  his  body  less  strongly  constructed  than 
the  other  parts,  it  would  be  wonderful  indeed, 
if , during  tnis  tempest  of  body , termed  an  Agut' 
fit,  that  weak  pomt  were  not  very  often  dis- 
covered, but  discovered  more  or  less,  in  every 
instance  it  usually  is.  Is  the.  Brain  the  least 
strongly  constructed  point?  Then,  accor- 
ding to  the  part  of  the  organ  most  implicated, 
and  the  deme  of  implication,  will  you  have 
Epilepsy,  Apoplexy,  Insanity,  Imbecihty  of 
Mind,  or  Palsy,  superadded.  Is  the  original 
weakness  of  conformation  seated  in  the 
lungs  ?  Look,  then,  for  spitting  of  blood, 
astmna,  or  consumption. — In  the  heart? 
how  it  palpitates  or  remits  in  its  beats ! — it 
may  even  stand  still /or  ever ;  and  more*than 
once  in  my  life  have  I  known  it  to  do  this 
during  the  ague-fit  But  the  joints  may  be 
the  weak  points  of  the  patienfs  body  ? — 
then,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  joints  swell 
and  become  more  or  less  hot  and  painful. 
And  if  just  at  this  epoch,  some  wiseacre  of 
the  profession  chance  to  drop  in, — ^with  the 
usual  scholastic  sagacity,  he  discovers  the 
disease  is  not  Fever,  hxiiBhewfnaiism,  The 
lancet,  of  course,  is  immediately  bared — ^the 
leech  and  the  blister  are  ordered ; — from  this 
moment,  the  entire  treatment  i^  directed,  not 
to  the  beginning,  but  to  the  end — hot  to  the 
Fever,  but  to  its  termination !  The  state  of 
the  joints  is  the  sole  subject  of  thought  and 
action;  the  Brain — ^that  Pandora's  box  of 
the  whole — that  oigan  upon  which  every 
motion  of  the  body,  wrong  or  right,  depends 
— ^never  once  enters  into  the  wonderfully 
wise  man's  head ; — he  never  once  dreams  of 
influencing  this  key  to  all  the  corporeal  ac- 
tions, in  any  manner  whatever.  And  what 
is  the  result  of  this  treatment  ?  Daily  pro- 
mises, and  daily  disappointments-^hope  de- 
ferred and  the  heart  made  sick — ^the  health, 
the  happiness,  and  the  home  of  the  patient 
too  often  made  desolate  forever. 

Thus  far,  Gentiemen,  I  have  detailed  to 
you  the  bcjginning,  the  progress,  and  some  of 
the  more  important  terminations  of  what  is 
usually  called  a  perfect  ague-fit  I  must  now 
tell  }ou  that  all  agues  are  not  equally  per- 
fect ;  the  stages  of  the  fit  in  particular  cases 
may  vary  in  duration — the  bolder  features  or 
symptoms  be  all  more  or  less  subdued — ^the 
intennission,  or  immunity  from  sufering,  in- 
stead of  extending  to  a  day  or  days,  may  be 
only  an  hour  or  two  in  duration.  The  dis- 
ease is  now  no  longer  Ague ;  Physicians 
change  itsname  to  Bmittmt  IB^^tzt.    Remit- 


116 


Fallacies  of  the  Fadidty. 


tent  fever  may  be  either  the  primary  disease, 
or  the  Fever  may,  in  the  commencement,  be 
a  veritable  ague, — recurring  and  re-recurring, 
in  the  first  instance,  at  perfectly  periodic  in- 
tervals of  a  day  or  more ;  yet  slide ,  by  de- 
grees into  a  fever  of  the  Kemittent  form. 
And  this  Remittent  Fever  again,  whether  it 
be  the  original  or  secondary  disease,  from  its 
periods  of  access  and  interval  becoming  still 
less  obviously  marked,may  assume  the  %ape 
and  shade  of  disease  incorrectly  termed  Con- 
Untied  Fever  ;  which  last,  from  long  duration 
and  other  circumstances,  may  terminate  m 
that  most  terrible  state  of  mental  and  corpo- 
real prostration,  by  the  schools  denominated 
Typhus  Fever, — from  a  Greek  word  signify- 
ing stupor  or  unconsciousness,  that  being  one 
of  the  most  common  symptoms. 

What,  then,  are  all  these  Fevers,  but  va- 
rieties or  shades  of  each  other  ?  Duiinff  the 
course  of  all  or  any  of  these  so-callea  dif- 
ferent fevers,  every  organic  affection,  every 
possible  local  change  you  can  name  or  im- 
agine, may,  with  more  or  less  quickness,  be 
developed, — giving  occasion,  of  course,  to 
the  attending  practitioner  to  baptise  the  dis- 
tase  anew ;  and  this  he  may  either  do,  ac- 
cording to  the  locality  of  such  organic  change, 
or  according  to  the  locality  in  which  the 
symptoms  may  induce  him  to  suspect  its  ex- 
.  istence.  Should  a  new  doctor  chance  at  this 
particular  time  to  be  asked  to  see  the  patient, 
what  a  fine  opportunity  for  a  very  pretty 
quarrel !  And  tne  practitioner  who  attended 
from  the  beginning,  though  he  may  have 
practised  the  right,  shall  very  likely  be  dis- 
missed, while  the  other  for  advising  the 
wrong  may  as  certainly  be  retaincMJL  and  be 
esteemed,  at  the  same  time,  as  an  angel,  or 
an  oracle  at  least  You  are  doubtless  curi- 
ous to  kn  owthe  wherefore  of  this.  But  there 
is  nothing  so  very  curious  in  the  matter  after 
all.  For  if  you  only  reflect  how  few  people 
in  this  world  can  e^t  further  than  the  surface 
of  things, — ^how  few  can  see  beyond  present 
signs  and  present  symptoms,  you  will  not  be 
astonished  that  the  new  doctor  who  shall 
place  his  finger  on  the  organ  for  the  time 
most  implicated,  and  wrongly  set  that  down 
not  as  the  end  but  as  the  beginning — ^not  as 
.  the  consequence  or  efiect,  but  as  the  origin 
and  cause  of  the  totality  of  disturbance,  will 
be  preferred  to  him  whose  experieQce  of  the 
whole  case  led  him  rightly  to  look  upon  the 
local  disease  as  the  gradual  development  of, 
repeated  febrile  attacks.  But  the  new  practi- 
tioner will  seldom  be  content  with  n^erely 
seizing  upon  the  local  termination  as  the 
cause  or  beginning  of  the  mischief,  and  pro- 
ceed to  treat  it  accordingly ;  for  he  will  very 
often  dix)p  a  hint,  at  the  same  time,  that  but 
for  neglect  of  this  the  case  xnight  have  ended 


far  more  favorably.  Suppose,  for  example. 
Pulmonary  Consumption  to  be  the  uter 
result  ol  the  original  fever.  "  What  a  pitv," 
the  learned  man  will  say,  **  I  was  not  called 
in  at  first,  for  then  I  should  have  at  once  at- 
tacked the  SEAT  of  the  disease — ^the  chest" 
Jhen^  Gentlemen,  when  no  consumptive 
symptom  existed, — then^  when  the  Vfeak 
point  of  the  patient,  for  all  you,  I,  or  any 
other  doctor  Juiew,  or  could  know,  mi^ht 
have  been  the  liver,  stomach,  or  any  thing 
else !  And  by  that  pretty  speech  of  his, 
nine  times  out  of  ten,  such  new  doctor  wiU 
succeed  in  securing  the  esteem  of  the  persons 
*who  employ  him.  Now  this  is  a  haid  case 
for  the  nonest  and  more  able  practitioner; 
but  so  the  world  wa^s ! 

Until  the  publication  of  my  Work,  the 
Fallacy  of  the  Art  of  Physic  as  taught  in  the 
Schods,  and  long  after,  it  was  the  almost 
universal  belief  of  medical  professors  that 
Ague  could  only  be  caused  oy  emanations 
from  the  fens;  the  complaint  being  very 
common  in  fenny  countries ;  and  I  am  not 
sure  that  this  belief  is  not  even  now  one  of 
the  numerous  fallacies  stiU  taueht  in  our 
schools  and  universities.  But,  uentLemen, 
there  is  no  agent  in  nature  which  may  not 
cause  ague,  from  a  blow  to  a  passion.  Lord 
Byron's  mother,  according  to  Mr,  Moore, 
died  of  a  "  fit  of  ague  brought  on  by  rage  or 
vexation,  caused  by  reading  her  upholsterer's 
bill.**    The  close  analogy  subsistuig  between 

r\  and  the  passions  nas  not  escaped  the 
rvation  of  the  poets,  Shakspeare,  as  I 
shall  afterwards  show  you»  often  alludes  to 
it ;  and  Goleridge  in  his  usual  playful  man- 
ner, gives  us  to  understand*. 


There's  no  philosopher  but  i 
That  Rage  and  Fear  are  ons  disease. 
Though  this  may  burn  and  that  may  freezet 
They're  both  alike  the  Aeus. 

You  see,  then,  there  can  be  no  corporeal  agi- 
tation, no  constitutional  revolution,  withont 
a  change  of  temperature  of  some  kind.— 
Butler  in  his  Hudihras,  t^Us  us. 

Love's  but  an  ague  fit  reversed, 
The  hot  fit  takes  the  patient  first. 

Seriously,  you  will  do  well  to  ponder  on  the 
relations  which  the  efifects  of  the  varioos 
passions  bear  to  ague.  Throughout  them  aii 
you  may  observe  the  same  tremor  and  ther- 
mal changes;  andin  many  cases  the  disease 
which  they  may  cause  becomes  equally  pen- 
odic  and  recurrent  A  young  lady  ^'^*^^ 
have  been  maziied  on  a  particular  day ;  hut 
on  the  very  morning  of  that  day  the  bnde- 
groom  was  accidentally  killed.  The  grief  ?i 
Um  lady  ended  in  insanity.    Tkd  ft  mm 


FaUticies  of  the  Faculty. 


117 


e,  came  on  every  day  at  the  same  time ; 
but  dining  the  remainder  of  the  twenty-four 
hours,  she  had,  in  scholastic  phrase,  a  "lucid 
interral/'  She  was  then  perfectly  sane. — 
Gentlemen,  may  I  ask  what  are  the  lucid 
intervals  oi  mania  but  intermissions  f  Pro- 
long them  to  an  indefinite  period  and  you 
ptToduc^  sanity !  Prolong  the  intermission  of 
any  disease  to  an  indefinite  period,  and  you 
have  Heakk.  Your  own  common  sense 
will  tell  you  that 

What  aze  the  constitutional  e&cts  of  a 
fall  or  a  severe  blow  ?  Do  we  not  perceive 
the  same  tremor  in  the  first  instance — the 
same  pallor  and  loss  of  strength  so  remark- 
able in  the  cold  fit  of  ague  ?  Have  we  not 
the  same  hot  or  febrile  fit  succeeding  ?  **  The 
ieveia"  says  Abemethy, "  produced  by  local 
disKiae  [local  iniury,]  are  me  very  identical 
fevers  which  physicians  meet  with  when 
there  is  no  external  injury.'*  How  can  they 
be  otherwise,  since  it  is  only  by  the  matter 
q{  the  body  changing  its  motive  ralations 
and  eonaequent  mermal .  conditions  in  an 
id^tical  manner  in  both  cases,  that  we  ob- 
tain the  group  of  symptoms  included  by 
phjrsicians  under  the  abstract  word  *'F£V£r.>" 
'Hie  agents  which  cure  fever  from  a  blow, 
are  the  same  agents  which  cure  fever  from  a 
jMissioo,  a  poison  or  a  viewless  and  unknown 
cause.  When  a  man  is  hot,  and  ^is  skin 
diy  all  over,  no  matter  what  the  cause  be, 
Tou  may  bring  his  condition  to  the  state  of 
health  by  throwing  cold  water  over  him. 
You  ma^  do  the  same  by  an  emetic.  Oh  ! 
an  emetic  has  a  wonderful  power  in  the  case 
of  fever ;  smd  the  old  physicians  treated 
all  fevers  in  the  first  instance  by  emetics. — 
They  did  not  trouble  themselves  much  about 
the  cause.  The  state  of  the  patient  was 
what  they  cared  most  about  When  he  was 
cold,  they  warmed  him,  sometimes  with  one 
thing,  sometimes  with  another.  When  hot 
they  cooled  him — ^not  in  the  Sangrado  fash- 
ion of  these  days,  by  draining  him  of  his 
life's  blood ;  but  by  the  employment  of  jan 
emetic,  or  by  sponging  him  over  with^  cold 
water !  By  bleedi^  a  man  in  the  hot  stage 
of  fever,  you  may  cool  him  certainly ;  but 
unless  you  cool  him  to  death,  you  cannot 
thereby  keep  the  fit  from  returning.  When 
it  does  return,  you  may  bleed  him  again,  it 
is  true ;  but  how  often  may  you  do  this 
safely?  So  far  as  my  experience  of  medical 
matters  goes,  few  people  in  these  times  are 
wrmUtm  to  die  of  disease.  The  orthodox 
fashion  is  to  die  of  the  doctor !  Gentlemen, 
we  daily  hear  of  the  terms  umstant  ftnd  coni 
tinued  iev&j  but  there  never  was,  nor  can 
there  be  a  fever  without  a  remission,  with- 
out a  period  of  comparative  immunity  from 
0iifieii]>g»moxe  or  kss  marked    Every  writer 


of  name  from  Cullen  downwards  admits  this, 
but  what  does  it  signify  whether  they  admit 
it  or  not  ?  use  your  own  eyes,  and  you  will 
find  it  to  be  the  truth.  You  have  only  then 
to  prolong  that  period  of  immunity  to  an  in- 
definite time,  and  you  have  health.  By  bark, 
opium,  and  ihe  various  chrono-thermal  jnedi- 
cmes,  you  may  in  most  cases  succeed.  But 
instead  of  trymg  to  prevent  recurrence,  prac- 
titioners now-a-days  only  temporize  during 
the  fit;  and  this  is  the  most pro/f^a6/6  prac- 
tice ;  for  a  long  sickness  makes  many  fees  ! 
The  honest  physician  will  do  his  best  to  keep 
the  fit  from  returning.  Now  if  blood-letting 
were  certain  to  do  mat,  how  could  we  pos- 
sibly hear  of  people  being  bled  more  than 
once  for  fever  ?  Do  we  not  hear  of  repeated 
applicatibn  of  the  lancet,  and  of  the  patient 
dying  notwithstanding?  When  1  come  to 
speak  of  Inflammation,  you  shall  find  how 
bttle  that  instrument  is  to  be  relied  on  in  fever, 
or  rather  you  shall  find  that  its  employment 
at  all,  is  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  terri- 
bly fatal  of  medical  mistakes !  How  then  is 
it,  that  this  practice  has  so  long  maintained 
its  ground  ?  By  the  same  influence  that  for 
thirty  centuries  determined  the  Indian  widow 
to  perish  on  the  funeral  pile  of  her  husband 
— ^tiie  influence  of  authority  and  custom 
simply.  In  physic,  gentlemen,  as  in  other 
thines,  men  are  *'  bred  to  think  as  well  as 
speadc  by  rote,they  furnish  their  minds  as  they 
furnish  their  houses,  or  clothe  their  bodies, 
with  the  fancies  of  other  men,  and  according 
to  the  age  and  country.  They  pick  up  their 
ideas  and  notions  in  common  conversations 
or  in  their  schools.  The  first  are  always 
superficial,  and  both  are  commonly /aZse" — 
[Bolingbroke.]  The  first  step  that  I  myself 
made  in  rational  medicine,  was  to  unlearn  ail 
I  had  been  taught ;  and  that  at  the  bednnihg 
was  difllcult  How  I  ever  came  to  believe 
one  half  the  rubbish  propounded  by  medical 
teachers,  I  cannot  now  understand ;  for  the 
whole  doctrines  of  the  schools  are  a  tissue 
of  the  most  glaring  and  self-evident  absurdi- 
ties At  a  future  period  of  this  course  I  shall 
prove  my  assertion,  but  before  you  can  de- 
tect error,  you  must  first  know  truth,  and  this 
it  shall  be  my  endeavor  to  point  out  to  you. 
To  return  then  to  Fever.  From  the  facts  and 
observations  already  stated,  you  at  once  per- 
ceive that  during  the  whole  of  the  parox- 
ysmal stages  of  an  ague  the  entire  economy 
IS  more  or  less  altered  and  revolutionized. 
It  matters  very  little  upon  what  part  of  the 
body  the  exciting  cause  or  causes  of  this 
corporeal  disturbance  shall  first  fall — wheth- 
er directly  upon  the  brain  in  the  shape  of  a 
Passion,  a  poison,  or  a  blow  on  the  head — 
or  more  remotely,  as  in  the  case  of  a  sudden 
chill,  or  the  m^hanical  injury  of  a  joint  or 


118 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


other  external  part — to  the  consequent  de- 
rangement of  the  Brain  and  Nervolis  System, 
we  still  refer  the  whole  paroxmysmal  symp- 
toms. ^  Why,  after  these  symptoms  have 
once  completely  passed  away,  and  the  econo- 
my has  been  comparatively  restored  to  its 
usual  healthy  motive  condition,  periodical 
repetitions  of  the  diseased  motions  should 
yet  recur,  is  a  thing  not  more  inexplicable 
than  that  the  various  habits  of  Health  should 
in  certain  instances  with  our  knowledge,  and 
in  certain  other  instances  without  it,  all  have 
a  tendency  periodically  to  repeat  themselves: 
Upon  this  subject  I  will  touch  more  at  lai^ 
at  an  after  period  of  the  course.  Meantime 
aB  the  s3rmptoms  of  an  uncomplicated  Ague 
fit  stand  out  boldly  in  rehef — and  as  in  every 
other  form  of  disease,  however  named  or  by 
whatever  caused,  these  symptoms  or  shades 
of  symptom  may  readily  be  traced ;  you  at 
once  see  the  reason  why  I  have  taken  Ague  as 
the  type  of  the  whole.  But  while  wim  this 
explanation  I  assume  every  disease  to  be  in 
the  first  instance  an  ague— Jo  not  suppose  for 
a  moment  that  I  employ  the  term  in  any  con- 
fined sense.  Call  tne  symptoms  ague,  fever, 
or  what  you  please,  constitutional  dis- 
turbance is  the  prelude  to  every  disease — 
the  precursor  oi  every  kind  of  local  mischief 
— though  in  numerous  cases  if  not  in  all — 
more  especially  after  repeated  paroxysmal  re- 
currence, SUPERADDED    PHENOMENA   appear, 

and  these  last  may  be  either  functional  or 
ORGANIC — and  in  some  instances  they  are  of 
a  kind  so  grave  and  important,  as  to  throw 
the  constitutional  symptoms  for  a  time  alto- 
^ther  into  shade.  Some  part  of  the  system, 
m  a  word,  may  be  so  much  more  prominent- 
ly implicated  than  another,  as  to  become  the 
cnief  feature  of  the  case— functionally  if  the 
motions  be  only  atomicallif  altered— organi- 
cally, if  the  part  in  question  be  threatened 
with  a  change  in  its  structure  tending  in  any 
way  to  its  destruction  or  decay.  Of  the  first 
you  have  an  example  in  the  spasm  or  palsy 
of  a  muscle,  or  the  suspension  or  too  ereat 
fiow  of  a  secretion.  Of  the  second  I  can 
give  you  no  better  instances  than  that  disor- 
ganizing disease  of  the  knee  joint  termed 
*♦  white-swelling,"  and  that  too  common  termi- 
nation of  chest  disease  in  this  country — Phthi- 
sis as  it  is  termed  by  medical  men — Consump- 
tion or  decline  by  the  vulgar. 

The  propriety  of  adopting  any  remedial 
measure  has  in  every  case  more  or  less  rela- 
tion to  time  and  temperature.  But  the  bene- 
ficial influence  of  the  Peruvian  bark,  and  its 
preparation  Quinine,  would  appear,  more 
than  any  other  agent,  to  depend  upon  the 
period  in  which  we  administer  it.  llie  pro- 
per period  for  its  exhibition  is  during  the  re- 
mission.   With  the  exception  of  opiiim,  it  is 


more  strictly  a  preventive  than  any  other 
known  agent.  So  generally,  indeed,  has  it 
been  found  to  answer  this  purpose  in  tiie 
treatment  of  Ague,  that  many  teachers  of 
medicine  have  vaunted  it  as  a  Specific  for 
this  distemper;  but  as  we  stated  to  yon 
in  our  former  lecture,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  specific  in  nature  for  any  disease  what- 
ever. Had  there  been  a  specific  for  ague,  do 
you  think  the  court  doctors  would  have  per- 
mitted  Oliver  Cromwell  to  diei  of  it?  What- 
ever be  the  agency  by  which  this  or  anv  oth- 
er disease  has  been  cured,  you  shall  nnd  in 
the  course  of  these  lectures,  ample  evidence 
that  its  influence  relates  in  every  case  to 
change  of  temperature.  Major-General  Sir 
R —  A —  while  serving  in  Portugal,  became 
the  subject  of  severe  ague,  which  resisted  a 
host  of  remedies  prescribed  for  him  by  nu- 
merous medical  nriends — Bark  among  the 
number.  One  day  when  riding  out  he  was 
seized  with  a  paroxysm.  The  inmate  of  a 
little  shop  where  he  dismounted  till  the  fit 
should  be  over,  suggested  to  him  to  try  the 
barber-surgeon  of  ms  neighbourhood.  Wil- 
ling to  be  cured  by  any  body  or  by  any  thing. 
Sir  R.  at  once  agreed.  The  ambidexter  man 
of  medicine  came,  ordered  him  a  laige  plaster 
to  his  back,  and  the  ague  was  forthwith  cu- 
red !  Genflemen,  to  what,  but  to  the  im- 
provement of  the  temperature  of  the  spine 
must  we  attribute  the  success  of  that  plaster? 
The  general  good  effect  of  Qiuinine  in  keep- 
ing OT  the  ague-fit,  when  it  proceeds  frcSn 
viewless  causes,  is  sufficiently  well  known  to 
every  member  of  the  profession  ;  but  it  is  not 
so  generally  understood  that  the  same  agent 
may  be  equally  serviceable  in  cases  produced 
by  local  injury.  Of  this,  however,  I  will 
give  you  a  proof.  A  gentleman  shortly  after 
having  had  a  bougie  passed,  was  seized  with 
ague  of  the  most  perfect  kind ;  two  days  af- 
ter, at  the  same  hour,  he  had  a  return,  and 
every  alternate  day  it  recurred,  till  he  had  ex- 
perienced about  twelve  paroxysms ;  then  for 
the  first  time  he  took  quinine,  and  he  had  no 
repetition.  He  never  nad  a^ue  before  that 
occasion,  nor  ever  afterward,  unless  when 
compelled  to  use  the  bou^e. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  could  better  com- 
mence my  proof  of  the  Intermittent  nature  of 
Disease  generally,  than  by  entering  into  a 
short  consideration  of  what  are  termed 

SPASMODIC  COMPLAINTS. 

Such  complaints  being  unattended  wifli  any  * 
Btructmal  change,  are  termed  by  the  prof»- 
sion  FUNCTIONAL ;  a  word,  as  we  have  ieeD» 
expressive  of  their  simplicity.  What  is  the 
meaning  of  the  term  Spasm  7  It  means  an 
irregular  ^or  mmatond  contraction  of  Bome 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


119 


muscle  of  the  body,  and  in  the  case  of  the 
Foluntary  miificles,  you  cannot  by  any  eSbrt 
of  the  will  control  or  counteract  it.    By  rub- 
faing  and  warming  the  part,  you  may  some 
times  succeed,  and  there  are  a  great  many 
medicines  by  which,  when  taken  internally, 
the  same  e^ct  ^nay  be  produced ;  but  what 
wOl  ansyrer  in  one  case  may  not  answer  in 
another.    The  disease  is  sometimes  termed 
Conwdnon,  and  Cramf  also,  more  especial- 
ly if  tiie  spasm  be  pamf  ul.    The  diiierence 
of  locality  in  which  spasm  takes  place  in  dif- 
ferent persons  has  anorded  professors  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  of  mystifying  the  whole 
subject.     When  it  happens  in  tne  membra- 
nous lining  of  the  lachrymal  duct,  you  shall 
see  the  tears  accumulating  at  the  inner  angle 
oLthe  eye,  the  passage  to  the  nose  being  clo- 
0M  up  by  the  contracting'  spasm.    This  dis- 
esse  is  called  Epiphora^    and    sometimes, 
though  not  quite  coirecdy.  Fistula,  Lackrym- 
qIm.    Sneeze^  Hiccough,  and  Yaivn,  are  also 
effects  of  spannodic  action.    Occurrmg  in  the 
moflcukki  apparatus  of  the  windpipe,  or  its 
diviaons,  spasm  is  familiar  to  you  sdl  in  the 
word  Asthma ;  and  'it  is  also  tenned  Dys- 
p9UBa,  horn  the  difficult  breathing  which  it  cer- 
lainly  occasions.    When  this  spasmodic  ac- 
tim  aSectB  the  moscles  about  the  jaws  and 
ihioat,  and  the  patient  at  the  same  time  has 
conTDlfifons  of  the  face  and  limbs,  there  is 
waailr  Joss  of  consciousness,  with  a  sudden 
iosB  of  power  in  all  his  members,  which  cau- 
ses him  to  fail.    This  is  the  Epilepsy  or^'fal- 
ling  sickness."    The  subject  of  the  disease 
tenned  Jaundice,  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a 
hundred,  owes  the  yellow  colour  of  his  akin 
to  spasm — spasm  of  the  gall-ducts — ^though 
any  other  obstruction  of  these  passages— a 
gaU-stone  for  example,  may  give  rise  to  the 
nme  effect    Taking  place  in  the  illLum  or 
Hnall  intestine,  spasm  is  tenned  the   Eliac 
Passions;   in  the  colon  or  gieat  intestine, 
Co/tc;  in  the  urethra.  Spasmodic  Stricture. 
The  LockJMD  afibrds  yet  another  example  of 
^lasm.     That  all  these  vanous  diseases  are 
merely  e&cts  of  the  same  action  in  different 
puts  is  proved  by  each  and  all  of  them 
having  b^n  known  to  assume  the  most  per- 
fectly periodic  type  in  individual  cases,  and 
by  all  being  more  or  less  amenable  to  the 
same  class  of  remedies  most  generally  influ- 
ential in  keeping  off  the  a^e-fit 

Like  eveiy  other  Force  m  nature,  Remedial 
Powers  act  by  altracHon  or  repulsion,  and  for 
a  reason  to  be  afterwards  given,  every  reme- 
,  dy  can  act  both  ways  in  di&ient  individuals. 
lliey  are  all  capable  of  producing  inverse  mo- 
tion,— ^in  one  case  curing  or  aBeviating,  in 
another  «3Mmfir  or  aflsiavating  disease.  Opi- 
um, for  example,  will  set  one  man  to  sleep, 
and  keep  another  wakeful     Arsenic  has 


cured  the  tremor  and  heat  of  ague,  and  setup 
both  in  a  previously  healthy  person.  Opium, 
Bark,  Copper  have  done  the  same.  More- 
over, all  four  have  produced  diseases  with 
fits  and  remissions. 

A  girl  took  a  large  dose  of  arsenic  (sixty- 
four  grains)  for  the  purpose  of  suicide ;  her 
design  was  discovered  in  sufficient  time  to 
prevent  her  death ;  but  a  periodic  epilepsy 
ushered  in  by  chills  and  heats  was  the  result. 
A  man  of  the  30th  foot,  after  a  course  of  hard 
drinking,  became  epileptic ;  his  disease  came 
on  every  second  day  at  the  same  hour.  Qui- 
nine, silver,  and  calomel,  were  tried  without 
success.  I  then  gave  him  arsenic,  after 
which  he  never  had  another  fit  In  these  two 
cases  then,  arsenic  produced  inverse  motions, 
causing  epilepsy  in  the  first,  and  curing  it  in 
the  second.  When  I  come  to  treat  particu- 
larly of  die  Passions,  T  shall  show  you  that 
the  same  passion  wh'ch  has  caused  an  ague 
or  an  epilepsy  may  cure  either.  In  truth,  I 
scarcely  know  a  disease  which  the  passions 
Rage  and  Fear  have  not  cured  and  caused, 
according  to  their  attractive  or  repulsive  mode 
of  action  in  particular  cases. 

I  have  said  that  Asthma  is  an  intermittent 
disease.  "  The  fits  of  convulsive  Asthma,*' 
according  to  Darwin,  "  return  aiperiodsy  and 
so  far  resemble  the  access  of  an  intermittent 
fever,**  Had  this  physician's  knowledge  of 
the  symptoms  of  Asthma  been  sufficiently 
complete,  he  would  have  added  that  in  almost 
every  instance  the  subject  of  it  shakes  or 
shivers,  and  in  aU  complains  of  a  chilly  feel- 
ing followed  by  heat  of  skin.  Then  doubt- 
less he  would  have  found  that  between  ague, 
and  asthma  there  is  something  more  than  a 
resemblance — that  Asthma,  m  fact,  is  an 
ague,  with  the  further  development  of  spasm 
of  some  of  the  muscles  of  the  windpipe. — 
But  call  the  disease  what  you  like,  I  have 
generally  cured  it  with  one  or  other  of  the 
chrono-thermal  remedies ;  and  with  two  or 
more  in  combination  I  can  most  truly  say  I 
have  seldom  been  compelled  to  complain  of 
ill-success  in  its  treatment.  In  one  case, 
however, — ^that  of  a  gentleman  who  had  the 
disease  every  second  night, — I  had  the  great- 
est difficulty  in  effecting  a  cure,  for  it  was  not 
till  I  had  nearly  exhausted  all  my  best  resour- 
ces that  I  succeeded  to  my  heart's  content  by 
applying  a  warm  plaster  all  along  his  spine. 
Here  you  again  see,  in  the  most  direct  manner, 
the  advantage  of  attention  to  temperature; 
the  spine,  in  this  case,  was  always  chilly, 
but  became  warm  and  comfortable  under  the 
use  of  the  plaister.  Many  medical  writers 
have  detected  the  analogy  which  subsists  be- 
twixt Spasm  and  Tremor,  without  being  at 
all  able  to  explain  in  what  it  consists.  An- 
alysse  tremor,  or  as  it  is  more  commonly  cal- 


120 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


led,  "  shivering"  **  shaking,"  or  "trembling, 
and  you  will  hnd  it  to  be  merely  a  rapid  suc- 
cession of  incomplete,  spasms.  In  St.  Vituf 
dunce,  or  as  it  is  sometimes  termed,  "  the 
leaping  Agu£,"  which  is  also  a  periodic  dis- 
ease, you  may  see  every  variety  of  spasmo- 
dic and  tremulous  action  a  muscle  can  take. 
It  is  a  disease  which  I  am  very  often  con- 
sulted for  in  children,  and  in  most  cases  I 
speedily  succeed  with  minute  doses  of  one  or 
more  of  the  chrono-thermal  remedies;  one 
remedy  of  course  answering  better  in  one 
case,  another  in  another. 

With  the  same  agents,  prescribed  upon  the 
same  principle,  I  have  been  equally  fortunate 
in  the  treatment  of  Urethral  Stricture —  a  dis- 
ease for  which  the  bougie,  in  general  prac- 
tice, is  far  too  indiscriminately  employed. 
You  all  know  the  beneficial  influence  of  warm 
baths  in  this  affection,  and  some  of  you  have 
heard  of  the  advantages  to  be  obtained  .from 
the  internal  use  of  Iron.    But  the  influence 
of  Quinine  over  stricture  is  not  so  generally 
known.     It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  give 
any  instances  of  my  own  in  evidence  of  this, 
Sir  Benjamin  Brodie    having  'published  at 
length  the  case  of  a  gentleman  aflected  with 
spasmodic  stricture  of  the  tertian  type — that 
is  to  say,  which  came  on  every  alternate 
night  about  the  same  hour,  and  which  yield- 
ed, in  his  hands,  to  quinme.    The  marked 
•  periodicity  of  this  case  (Joubtless  pointed  out 
the  proper  treatment ;  but  in  cases  where  this 
is  less  striking,  you  have  only  to  ask  the 
patient  if  there  are  times  when  he  passes  his 
water  better  than  at  others ;    and  if  he  an- 
swers in  the  affirmative,  you  may  be  sure  the 
stricture  depends  less  on  a  permanent  thick- 
ening of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  ureth- 
ra, than  upon  a  remittent  spasmodic  action  of 
its  muscular  apparatus*     Such  a  patient  on 
coming  out  of  a  warm  room  into  a  cold  one, 
will  find  himself,  all  in  a  moment  unable  to 
pass  a  drop  of  water.     See  then  the  effect  of 
thermal  change— of  change  of  temperature — 
in^producing  spasm, — and  hence  too  the  bene- 
fit to  be  derived  from  the  warm  bath  in  the 
treatment  of  spasm  generally.    In  the  great 
majority  of  stricture-cases,  the  surgeon  may 
save  himself  the  trouble,  and  his  patient  the 
torture,  of  passing  the  bougie  at  all,  by  treat- 
ing the  disease  chrono-thermally ; — that  is, 
if  he  prefers  the  interest  of  the  public  to  his 
own ;  but  this  mode  of  preventing  the  return 
of   disease  is  obviously  less  lucrative  than 
that  which  enables  him  to  give  a  temporary 
relief  at  the  expense  of  long  attendance. 
We  now  come  to  that  form  of  disease  termed 

PALSY  OR  PARALYSIS. 

An  affection  in  which  there  is  a  still  greater 
loss  of  muscular  power  than  in  any  of  those] 


we  have  hitherto  considered.  From  the  sud- 
denness with  whidh  the  patient  is  in  most  in- 
stances af^ted  or  "  struck,"  this  disease  is 
known  to  every  body  under  the  name  of "  Pa- 
ralytic Stroke,"  or  more  familiarly  still,  "  a 
Stroke."  It  consist  either  in  |l  partial  or  com- 
plete inability  to  use  the  aflected  muscles— 
for  there  are  degrees  of  Palsy  as  of  eveiy 
other  disease — ^inability  to  control  their  ac- 
tions in  any  manner  whatever  by  the  will. 
New  it  is  a  common  error  of  the  schools  to 
teach  that  such  disorder  is  oJvHiys  dependent 
on  some  pkessube  on  the  Brain  or  Spine.— 
But,  gentlemen.  Paralytic  disease  has  often 
been  produced  by  spurge,  and  oftener  still  by 
loss  of  Blood  ;*  and  many  weakly  persons  cm 
suddenly  rising  from  their  chfur,  have  all  at 
once  lost  the  use  of  a  leg  or  arm.  Most  cases 
of  Paralytic  diseases  if  properly  sifted,  will  be 
found  to  be  only  the  termination  of  preview 
constitutional  disturbance ;  previous  tnreaten- 
ings  of  such  loss  of  power  having  been  more 
or  less  frequently  felt  by  the  subjects  of  cve^ 
ry  case.  Moreover,  in  a  number  of  caseB, 
palsy  is  an  intermittent  disease  throughout 
its  whole  course,  being  preceded  by  chills  and 
heats,  and  going  off  with  a  return  of  the  pro- 
per temperature  of  the  body.  How  canyoi 
reconcile  the  idea  of  permanent  pressure  wita 
such  phenomena? 

I  now  hold  in  my  hand  the  Dublin  Jour- 
rudy  in  which  1  find  a  case  of  paralysis  of 
some  of  the  muscles  neceseary  for  the  pro> 
per  performance  of  the  functions  of  speech— 
Aofumia,  as  it  is  called  by  professionsd  men. 
Tliis  case  will  show  you  that  Palsy,  like 
every  other  form  of  disorder,  may  exhibit  the 
most  perfect  periodic  intermissions.  It  is  taken 
from  a  foreign  journal.  lHecker*8']  "A  peasanl 
girl  was  attacked  in  the  following  manner:— 
Speechlessness  came  on  every  day  at  fon: 
o'clock-,  P.  M.  accompanied  by  a  fee^u^  of 
weight  about  the  tongue,  whicn  remaind  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  The  patient,  while  i{ 
lasted,  could  not  utter  any  sound,  but  occa- 
sionally made  an  indistinct  hissing  noise.— 
Consciousness  did  not  seem  impaired  durini; 
the  fit.  She  ascribed  her  inability  to  sneak  to 
a  feeling  of  weight  in  the  tongue.  The  pa- 
roxysm went  off  with  a  laige  evacuation  of 
watery  urine,  accompanied  with  perspiration 
and  sleep.  Ten  such  attacks  had  occurred, 
when  Df.  Richter  of  Wiesbaden  was  called 
to  see  her ;  he  ordered  her  considerable  doses 
of  sulphate  of  Qumine  with  inunediate  good 
effect  from  the  first  day.  The  attack  returned, 
but  in  a  mitigated  form,  and  on  the  second  day  < 


*  The  ncant  cam  of  Sir  Wm.  G«anr  miwt  Im  sUU 
fresh  in  every  body's  mind.  That  GonUeman  met  wUh 
a  sudden  loss  of  blood  from  an  accidental  wonad  of 
the  carotid  artary.    Falty  of  Uie  left  aide  ensned. 


Failacm  of  the  Faculty. 


121 


I 


no  trace  of  it  was  Yuuble  except  a  certain 
degree  of  debility  and  fati^e  felt  at  the  usual 
liour  of  its  coining  on.'* 

I  am  soiry  the  corporeal  tempeFature  is  not 
stated  hj  the  reporter  of  this  case,  but  the  pe- 
nodic  manner  in  which  it  came  on  and  Went 
of^  tog;ether  with  the  mode  of  its  cure,  suffi- 
ciently illustrate  its  hature.    Mot  lonf  ago, 
I  was  CQDSulfeed  in  a  similar  case,  whi<m  was 
moieoTer  oomplicaled  with  palsy  of  one  side. 
Sarah  Wamer,  aged  25,  married,  had  suffered 
pehodicaUy  from  loss  of  speech,  and  also 
from  an  iimhili^  to  move  the  ies  and  arm  of 
one  side.    Various  remedies  had  been  inef- 
fectually presciibed  by  her  medical  attendants, 
who  all  looked  upon  her  disrase  as  Apopux;- 
Tic — in  other  words  they  mipposed  it  to  be 
canned  by  vretsure  on  the  Brain.    One  of 
tfaem,  indeed,  proposed  to  bleed  her,  but  she 
wonid  not  consent    When  she  applied  to  me 
I  ordered  her  a  combination  of  Quinine  and 
Iron,  after  which,  she  never  had  another  fit. 
I  shall  now  give  you  the  details  of  a  case 
o{  palsy  which  I  treated  successfully  after  it 
had  been  long  considered  hopeless : — 

Mrs.  Sargent,  aged  40,  a  married  wcxnan, 
and  the  mother  of  several  children,  had  kept 
her  bed  for  eight  years,  on  account  of  paraly- 
sis cf  the  lower  extremities ;  during  which 
period  she  had  been  und^  the  treatment  of 
e/>ht  or  mne  different  physicians  and  surgeons 
01  ^^  Cheltenham  Dispensary,  Dr.  Cannon 
and  Mr,  C.  T.  Cooke  among  others.   Such  at 
least  was  the  woman's  own  statement,  con- 
firmed to  meby  many  people  of  respectability, 
who  had  visited  her  from  the  commencement 
of  her  illness.    When  I  hrst  saw  her,  she 
could  not  move  either  leg;  her  voice  was  an  al 
most  inaudible  whisper;  she  was  liable  to  fre- 
quent retchings  and  she  complained  of  spasms 
with  much  pain  of  the  loins  and  limbs.    Hex 
last  dispensary  medicine,  mercury,  which  she 
believed  had  been  given  her  by  mistake,  had 
produced  salivation,  but  with  decided  aggra- 
.  Tation  of  her  symptoms.    In  this  case  I  pre- 
A;ribed  a  combination  of  remedies,  the  prin- 
cipal of  which  were  hydrocyanic  acid  and 
tincture  of    cantharides.    Under  this  treat- 
ment her  voice  returned  in  about  a  week :  her 
recovery  from  every  symptom  was  complete 
in  Six  weeks,  and  she  had  no  return  in  three 
years  after  she.  was  under  my  care. 

Charles  Overbury,  aged  10,  had  been  in  a 
nirious  state  for  some  months  previous  to  my 
first  visit  I  foimd  him  lying  upon  a  couch, 
€very  muscle  of  his  face  in  such  complete 
repose,  that  his  countenance  seemed  quite 
idiotic;  his  arms  and  legs  were  perfectly 
powerless,  and  if  you  held  him  up,  his  limbs 
doubled  under  him  like  those  of  a  drunken 
person.  Upon  which  ever  side  you  placed 
nis  head,  he  was  unable  to  remove  it  to  the 


other.  It  was  with  difficulty  he  swalloiwed 
his  food,  but  the  heart  and  respiratory  muscles 
performed  their  respective  offices  with  tolera- 
ble correctness.  The  patient  labored  under 
complete  loss  of  speecn  the  entire  night,  and 
nearly  the  whole  day.  About  the  same  time 
daily — noon-— he  could  utter  the  monosylla- 
bles^ and  no,  but  this  power  remained 
with  him  for  half  an  hour  only.  The  reme- 
dies to  which  1  resorted  in  this  case  were 
minute  doses  of  calomel,  quinine,  and  hy- 
drocyanic acid, — all  of  which  improved  him, 
but  the  last  proved  the  most  effectual.  In 
less  than  three  weeks  he  was  running  about, 
well  in  every  respect,  and  the  ehange  in  his 
countenance,  from  apparent  idiocy  to  intelli- 
gence, was  as  perfect  a  transfoimation  as  it  is 
possible  to  imagine  You  marked,  I  hope, 
the  periodic,  mou^b  imperfect,  remissions 
which  this  case  exhibited. 

The  case  of  the  celebrated  Madame- Mali- 
bran  may  still  be  fresh  in  some  of  your  minds. 
It  was  completely  the  converse  oi  this  boy's 
disease,  for  at  particular  times  every  muscle 
of  that  actress  became  stifi  and  rigid  through- 
out the  entire  body.  When  taken  together, 
these  cases  show  the  analogy  which  subsists 
between  paralytic  and  spasmodic  afiections-; 
indeed,  in  many  cases,  both, a&ctions co-ex- 
ist at  the  same  time  in  different  muscles  of  the 
same  person  ,~r-sometimes  they  are  compli- 
cated with  imbecility  of  mind  or  insspity. 

A  young  girl  wad  lately  carried  into  my 
room  by  two  of  my  servants.  Her  mother 
brought  her  to  me,  at  the  request  of  the  Hev. 
Edward  Murray,  brother  of  the  Bishop  of' 
Rochester.  Not  only  had  this  girl  lost  the 
use  of  one  side,  but  her  reason  was  gone ; 
in  fact,  her  appearance  was  quite  idiotic,  and 
she  was  utterly  helpless  in  every  way.  She 
had,  moreover,  an  EpUejAic  fit  every  night 
when  she  was  put  to  bed.  Jn  this  case,  I 
prescribed  a  combination  of  copper,  silver, 
strychnia,  and  quinine;  What  a  medley  \ 
I  hear  some  of  you  say ;  but  don't  be  too 
quick,  for  mark  the  result  About  six  weeks 
afterwards,  a  young  person  walked  into  my 
room  with  a  letter  **  from  the  Rev.  Edward 
Murray."  It  was  the  same  girl,  looking 
quite  intelligent,  and  speaking  and  walking 
as  well  as  she  had  ever  done  in  her  life. — 
Her  epileptic  fits  had  become  faint,  few,  and 
far  between,  and  she  was  then  the  monitor  of 
her  class !  Now  this  girl,  Mr.  Murray  in- 
formed me,  had  been  ill  four  years,  and  had 
been  dismissed  the  Middlesex  Hospital  *'  in- 
curable." 

1  was  suddenly  called  to  see  Mrs.  T 

of  Claiges- Street,  whom  I  found  with  com- 
plete loss  of  the  use  of  one  side,  and  partial 
paJsy  of  the  muscles  on  the  same  side  of  the 
face.    She  had  been  nervous  and  ill  for  some 


122 


Fallacies  of  the  Fcumlty. 


time,  and  the  night  before,  she  had  been  suf- 
fering from  domestic  affliction.  The  next 
mommg,  while  entering  her  own  door,  she 
fell  as  if  she  had  been  shot.  When  1  saw 
her,  her  face  was  pallid,  and  her  feet  were 
cold .  The  people  about  her  were  ui^gent  that 
she  should  be  bled,  but  I  ordered  her  warm 
brandy  and  water  instead.  A  gentleman  who 
was  formerly  her  medical  attendant,  was  sent 
for,  and  agreed  with  me  that  she  should  not 
be  bled.  Under  the  use  of  quinine  and 
strychnia,  continued  for  about  six  weeks, 
with  country  air,  she  recovered  the  use  pf 
her  side  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  walk  without 
a  stick ;  the  use  of  her  arm  has  also  since 
returned.  Had  this  lady  been  bled  or  leech- 
ed, she  would  now  in  all  probability  be  in 
her  coffin. 

I  will  now  give  y*i  a  case  or  two  exf  m- 
plifving  the  cure  of  palsy  of  a  single  limb. 

Case  1. — Mary  Boddy,  18  years  old,  from 
the  age  of  deven,  had  weakness  of  the  back 
and  loins,  and  she  gradually  lost  the  use  of 
the  right  leg.  In  this  state  she  remained  for 
three  years ;  sixteen  months  of  this  period 
•he  was  an  in-patient  of  the  Gloucester  In- 
firmary, in  which  establishment  her  mother 
held  the  situation  of  nurse.  But  cupping, 
bleeding,  leeching,  blistering,  were  all  ineflfec- 
tual.  The  patient  complained  of  having  suf- 
fered from  shivering  fits,  followed  by  heats, 
and  sometimes  perspirations.  The  same  mode 
of  tJreatment  as  in  Mrs.  Sareenf  s  case,  with 
the  addition  of  a  galbanum  plaster  to  the  loins 
in  which  she  complained  of  coldness,  was 
adopted,  and  followed  with  like  success.  She 
had  scarcely  been  a  fortnight  under  my  care, 
before  she  completely  recovered  the  use  of  her 
pamlvtic  limb,  and  she  has  had  no  relapse  du- 
ring the  last  four  or  five  years. 

Case  2.— Esther  Turner,  aged  30,  when  in 
the  service  of  Mr.  Ward,  the  master  of  a  re- 
spectable Boarding  School,  at  Painswick,  fell 
down  stairs,  and  from  that  moment,  lost  the 
use  of  her  left  leg.    After  a  period  of  eleven 

J^ears,  during  which  she  had  been  ineffectual - 
y  under  treatment  in  various  hospitals  and 
infirmaricR,  she  came  on  crutches  to  my 
house.  She  explained  that  she  was  subject 
to  severe  shiverinff,  with  occasional  convul- 
sions. Her  leg,  she  said,  had  more  feeling  on 
certain  days  than  others.  After  trying  her 
for  some  time  with  a  combination  of  hydro- 
cyanic acid  and  tincture  of  cantharides,  with- 
out any  improvement,  I  prescribed  a  pill,  con- 
taining a  combination  of  quinine,  silver,  and 
colchicum,  night  and  morning.  She  progres- 
sed from  that  day ;  and  in  about  aix  weeks  I 
had  the  satisfaction  to  see  her  in  possession  of 
the  complete  use  of  her  limb ;  nay,  she  re- ' 
turned  to  her  service  at  Mr.  Ward's,  which 
she  only  left  to  get  married. 


Case  3.*  Miss  M ,  aged  25,  had  lost 

the  use  of  both  limbs  for  seven  years ;  all 
that  time  she  had  been  confined  to  her  bed, 
and  though  she  had  the  advice  and  attendance 
of  the  late  Sir  Charles  Bell,  who  was  a  friend 
of  her  family,  she  never  once  could  stand  up 
during  the  whole  of  that  period.  She  was 
brought  up  to  town  from  Yorkshire,  a -dis- 
tance of-  260  miles,  on  a  sofa-bed,  to  be  placed 
under  my  care.  I  immediately  put  her  on  a 
course  of  chrono-thermal  treatment,  and  \7e 
had  not  lon^  to  wait  for  improvement,  for  in 
five  days  this  young  lady  could  walk  round 
the  table  with  the  partial  support  of  her 
hands.  At  the  end  of  two  months,  without 
any  assistance  whatever,  without  even  the 
support  of  the  bannisters,  she  could  run  up 
and  down  stairs  nearly  as  well  as  myself. 

Should  this  case  be  considered  to  require 
better  confirmation  than  my  word,  I  am  per- 
mitted privately  to  give  Miss  M ^*8  name 

and  address  to  any  party  who  may  take  an 
interest  in  the  case,  the  particulars  of  which 

she  will  readily  communicate.    Miss  M 

is  the  daughttr  of  an  accomplished  Engbsh 
c]er]?yman,  and  is  niece  of  one  of  the  judfes 
of  tne  supreme  court  of  Scotland,  who  be- 
ing in  town  all  the  time  she  was  under  my 
care,  saw  her  the  day  after  she  arrived,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  to  witness  the  whole  pro- 
gress of  her  cure. 

If  a  knowledge  of  anatomy  couM  confer  a 
kiiowledje  of  Physic,  why  did  Sir  C.  Bell 
fail  in  this  case  ?  No  man  knew  anatomy 
better ;  few  knew  the  nervous  system  so  well. 
But  to  know  the  anatomy  of  the  dead  is  one 
thing,  and  to  know  how  to  influence  the  mo- 
tions of  the  living  is  anothe*.  Sir  C.  BeH 
was  a  profound  anatomist,  and  an  admirable 
operative  Surgeon;  he  excelled  in  Mechanics, 
but  not  in  Medicine. 

I  could  here  give  you  numerous  other  cases, 
all  more  or  less  explanatory  of  the  manner 
in  which  palsy  of  almost  every  muscle  of 
the  body  may  hie  developed  and  cured.  For 
the  present,  I  shall  content  myself  with  re- 
cording my  experience  of  a  disease,  which 
until  I  explained  its  nature  in  1836,  was 
never  supposed  to  depend  on  Palsy,  namely 
the  Curved  or  Coooked  Spine.*  By  most  au- 
thors, this  disorder  had  been  supposed  to  be 
under  all  circumstances,  an  affection  of  the 
bones  Some  vaguely  referred  it  to  be  pecu- 
liarity of  nervous  action ;  while  others  by- 


When  I  fiiit  puhlubed  my  view*  of  (hf  nalar«  of 
Curved  t'pine,  iht-ii  coireitneM>%'a!t  called  in  qurstioB. 
When  ^■^romeyer  and  others,  without  noticing  my  !»• 
houri*,  a/Urtrard*  adnpfrd  ihem  •«  Iheir  own,  ihey 
werr  admiilfd  by  the  whule  pinlef>»ion  lo  be  true.— 
Wiiataiewaiil  to  the  leal  cnltiwaions  of  irience.— fr»t 
'ohave  their  di^^c over ip»  d«nie<^  then  pilfered '  The 
reader  will  find  as  he  proceeds  that  'hisi*  not  th«  only 
inKlance  of  plagiantm  1  have  to  coiuplain  of. 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


123 


potheticaiiy  traced  it  to  looseness  of  the  liga- 
ments. When  the  late  Mr.  Abemethy  said 
it  was  owine  to  a  <*  rancour  in  the  moscles," 
he  only  usea  an  unmeaning  phrase  to  conceal 
his  ignoiance  of  the  entire  matter ;  for  what 
meaning  can  there  in  reality  be  in  the  word 
**  rancour,**  when  applied  to  a  subject  like 
this  ?  Rancour  is  an  old  English  word  for 
malignity  or  ill  temper ;  but  how  can  that 
a^ply  to  a  stale  of  muscular  repose, — to  'a 
palsy  I  NeTcitheless,  to  Mr.  Abemethy's 
surgical  care,  almost  every  case  of  spinal 
cunratnre,  among  the  higher  ranks,  was  at 
one  time  entrust^.  What  the  disease  really 
i8»  I  shall  now  proceed  to  demonstrate. 

The  mast  of  a  ship  is  kept  erect  by  the 
stays  and  skrouds — it  you  divide  or  loosen 
these  on  one  side>  the  mast  falls  more  or  less 
in  an  opposite  direction.  The  human  spine 
is  kept  uprkht  by  a  similar  apraratus — the 
mtucfes.  IT  any  of  these  muscles  from  bad 
health  become  weakened  or  paralyzed  on  any 
side,  the  spine,  from  the  want  of  its  usual 
sup^xting  power,  must  necessarily,  at  that 
.  particular  place,  drop  to  the  other  side.  But 
being  composed  of  many  small  jointed  bones, 
— ^the  wr£*rtf— the  Spinal  column  cannot, 
like  the  mast,  preserve  its  upright  form,  but 
when  ansupported,  must  double  more  or  less 
down  in  the  shape  of  a  curve  or  obtuse  an- 
gle,* and  the  d^iee  and  situation  of  thiscur- 
Tature  will  depend  upon  the  number  and  par- 
ticular, locality  of  the  muscles  so  weakened 
or  paralyzed.  This  disease  or  "  deformity," 
(for  Mr.  Abemethy  would  not  allow  it  to  be 
anjTthing  else,)  tmder  all  its  uncomplicated 
variations  of  external  and  lateral  curvature,  is 
the  result  of  muscular  weakness  or  palsy ; 
which  palsy,  for  the  most  part,  is  a  feature  or 
termination  of  long  remittent  febrile  disorder. 
It  is  often  a  more  or  less  rapid  development 
of  the  usual  diseases  of  ctiildren, — Scarlet 
fever.  Chicken-pox,  Measles,  and  so  forth ; 
all  of  which,  as  I  shall  afterwards  show  you, 
are  purely  remittent  fevers;  but  whether 
complicated  with  vertebral  disease  or  not, 
curved  spine  is  no  more  to  be  influenced  by 
issues,  setons,  moxas,  &c  ,  except  in  so  far 
as  these  horrible  measures  almost  invariably 
confirm  it  by  further  deteriorating  the  general 
health  of  the  patient. 

In  the  commencement  of  most  cases  oi 
this  kind,  the  patient  is  taller  one  day  tl?an 
another, — a  proof  that  it  depends  upon  the 
state  of  health  of  the  hour ;  and  never  do  I 
remember  to  have  had  such  a  patient  who 
did  not  confess  to  chills  and  heats  or  vice 
versa,  I  will  give  you  two  cases  in  which 
these  phenomena  were  observed. 

Case  1. — A  young  lady,  aged  16  had  a  lat- 
eral curvature  of  the  vertebne  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  back,  (that  is  a  curvature  to  one 


side)  causing  the  inferior  angle  of  the  shoul* 
der  blade  to  protrude.  I  prescribed  calomel 
and  quinine,  m  small  doses,  and  directed  her 
to  have  her  spine  rubbed  night  and  morning 
with  soap  liniment  In  less  than  a  month 
the  patient  had  ^ned  three  inches  in  height^ 
and  m  two  montns  more,  she  was  erect 

Case  2.— A  lady,  45  years  of  age,  the 
mother  of  children,  had  her  spine  so  much 
curved  at  the  lower  part  of  the  loins,  that,  to 
use  the  phrase,  her  "  hip  grew  out"  This 
case  came  on  suddenly.  1  ordered  a  warm 
plaster  to  be  applied  to  the  spine,  and  pre- 
scribed hydrocyanic  acid  and  quinine.  In 
three  weeks  she  stood  upright  Four  years 
afterwards  she  had  a  return,  when  the  same 
means  were  again  successfully  put  in  prac- 
tice. These  two  cases,  gentlemen,  were 
cases  of  simple,  uncomp  icated  palsy  of  the 
muscles  of  tne  back.  There  are  yet  other 
ways  in  which  curved  spine  may  take  place, 
though  these  still  depend  on  &  loss  of  Health 
of  the  general  system.  The  mere  weight  of 
the  body  will  in  some  cases  produce  i£ki^«,  or» 
professionally  to  speak,  interstitial  absorption 
of  particular  vertebra,  or  of  their  parts.  A 
curve  of  course  must  follow ;  but  curvature 
of  the  spine  is  notunfrequently  the  effect  of  a 
consumptive  disease  of  the  substance  of  the 
vertebrae — ^a  process  by  which  one  or  more  of 
these  small  bones  fall  into  a  state  of  ulcera- 
tive decay.  Still,  even  in  these  cases  them 
is  at  the  same  time  a  greater  or  less  loss  (A 
power  in  particular  muscles— for  the  same 
general  bad  health  that  weakens  the  bones 
must  weaken  them  also. 

i  will  give  YOU  two  cases  illustrative  of 
this  last  complication. 

Case  1. — Mrs  Craddock,  aged  25,  had,  for 
upwards  of  eighteen  months,  great  weakness 
in  the  upper  third  of  the  back,  where  a  swell- 
ing made  its  appearance,  gradually  increas- 
ing in  size.  According  to  the  statement  of 
this  woman,  she  had  been  an  in-patient  of 
the  Gloucester  Infirmary  for  seven  months; 
during  which  time  she  had  been  treated  by 
issues  and  odier  local  measures,  but  with  no 
good  efiect  When  I  first  saw  her,  she  could 
not  walk  without  assistance.  Upon  examin- 
ation, I  found  a  considerable  ezcun'ature,  in- 
volving the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  vertebrae 
of  the  back, — w^hich  vertekiaB  were  also  pain- 
ful and  enlarged,  and  the  skin  which  cover- 
ed them  was  red  and  shining.  The  patient 
was  extremely  dispirited,  shed  tears  upon  the 
most  trifling  occasion,  and  was  subject  to 
tremblings  and  spasms.  She  was  generally 
chilly,  and  suflered  much  from  coldness  ol 
feet.  She  also  complained  of  flushes.  Some 
days  she  thought  the  "swelling"  in  her 
back  was  not  so  ^reat  as  upon  others ;  and 
upon  these  particular  days,  she  also  remarked 


124 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


her  spirits  were  not  so  low.  I  directed  the 
issues  to  be  discontinued,  and  ordered  a  com- 
bination of  hydrocyanic  acid  and  tincture  of 
cantharides,  to  be  taken  three  times  a-day. 
These  medicines  she  had  scarcely  continued  a 
fortnight,  when  the  improvement  in  her  gen- 
eral appearance  was  most  decided ;  the  pro- 
tuberant part  of  her  spin<^  had  in  that  period 
considerably  diminished — ^her  health  dauy  be- 
came better,  and,  in  less  than  a  month,  her 
cure  was  accomplished.  A  permanent  curve, 
Blight  when  compared  with  her  former  state, 
stiU  remains. 

Case  2.  A  young  gentleman,  9  years  of 
tffe,  had  external  curvature  of  the  upper  ver- 
m>FBe  of  the  back ;  one  or  more  of  which 
were  in  a  diseased  and  even  ulcerated  state, 
as  was  obvious,  from  the  dischai^^e  which 
proceeded  from  an  opening  connected  with  the 
spine.  His  mother  observed  that  he  stood 
more  erect  some  days  than  others.  *  When  I 
was  first  consulted,  he  had  an  issue  on  each 
side  of  the  spine ;  but  these,  as  in  the  former 
case,  having  been  productive  of  no  ^ood,  I 
ordered  to  be  discontinued.  Keeping  m  view 
the  remittent  and  constitutional  nature  of  the 
disease,  I  prescribed  small  doses  of  calomel 
and  quinine.  The  very  next  day  the  discharge 
was  much  diminished  and  a  cure  was  obtained 
in  about  six  weeks.  The  ulcer  in  that  time 
completely  healed  up,  but  a  permanent  an- 
fular  curve  of  course,  remained — ^trifiing, 
lowever,  when  compared  with  the  state  in 
which  I  first  found  him.  I  might  ^ive  you 
many  other  such  cases,  but  my  object  is  to 
illustrate  a  principle,  not  to  confuse  you  with 
too  much  detail.  These  two  cases,  gentle- 
men, are  sufficient  to  show  you  the  nature 
and  best  mode  of  treating,  what  you  may  call, 
if  you  jplease,  Vert^ai  Consumption  ; — 
though  1  am  not*  so  sure  the  schools  will 
agree  with  you  in  the  designation.  The  one 
case  wa«  in  its  incipient  stale,  the  other  ful- 
ly developed. 

It  occasionally  happens  that  the  matter 
proceeding  from  a  diseased  vertebra,  instead 
of  making  its  way  out  bv  the  back,  proceeds 
down  the  loins  internally,  till  it  reaches  the 
^oin,  where  it  forms  a  tumour ;  this  tumour 
IS  called  by  the  profession  lumbar,  or  psoas 
abscess.  With  the  exception  of  opening  the 
tumour  to  allow  the  collection  of  purulent  or 
other  matter  to  escape,  this  disease,  like  the 
cases  just  detailed,  should  b6  treated  almost 
entirely  by  constitutiofud  measures — by  siich 
measures  as  tend  to  the  improvement  of  the 
health  generally.  It  has  been  for  some  time 
the  fashion  to  confine  all  patients  with  spinal 
disease  to  a  horizontal  posture ;  and  a  rich 
harvest  makers  of  all  kmds  of  beds  and  ma- 
chines have  derived  from  the  practice.  In 
the  greater  number  of  cases  this  ^treatment  is 


erroneous  from  beginnin^^  to  end.  Constant 
confinement  to  one  posture  is  sufficient  of 
itself  to  keep  the  patient  nervous  and  ill ; 
while  his  own  feelings  and  wishes  are,  for 
the  most  part,  the  best  guide  as  to  whether  he 
should  rise,  walk,  sit,  or  lie  down.  "In  this 
ke  has  no  theory — ^the  doctor  too  often  has 
nothing  else.* 

Equally  effectual  have  I  found  the  chrono- 
thermal  principle  of  treatment  in  that  par- 
ticular palsy  of  one  or  more  muscles  of  the 
eyeball,  which  gives  rise  to  Squint,  or  Stra- 
bismus, as  the  Faculty  phrase  it  Parents 
who  have  children  thus  affected  will  tell  you 
that  the  little  patient  some  days  scarcely  squint 
at  all.  You  see  tlien  that  this  affection,  at 
the  commencement  at  least,  is  in  most  ingtan- 
ces  an  intermittent  disease.  Can  the  inter- 
mission here,  like  that  of  the  ague,  be  pro- 
longed to  an  indefinite  period  bv  bark,  opium, 
&c.?  Oh,  I  could  give  you  half-a-hundred 
instances  where  I  have  prolonged  it  to  a  cure 
by  these  remedies.  In  a  cas<^  lately  under 
my  care,  the  squint  came  on  regularly  every 
alternate  day  at  the  siime  hour,  and  lasted  an 
hour.  The  subject  of  it,  a  boy  of  eleven, ' 
after  taking  a  few  minute  doses  of  quinine, 
never  squinted  more.  In  another  case,  as 
nearly  a<s  possible  the  same,  I  ran  through  al- 
most all  the  chrono-thcrmal  medicines  inef- 
fectually ;  but  succeoJod  at  last  with  musk. 
I  was  lately  consulted  in  the  case  of  a  young 
gentleman  affected  with  squint,  who  had  also 
a  tendency  to  curved  spine.  A  few  doses  of 
calomel  and  quinine  cured  him  of  both.  The 
subject  of  all  these  cases  had  corporeal  chills 
and  heats, — showing  clearly  that  the  local 
aflfections  were  merely  developments  of  re- 
mittent fever.  Were  medical  men  only  to 
attend  a  little  more  to  constitutional  signs,  tbey 
would  not^  I  am  sure,  leech,  blister,  and  cup 
away  at  localities,  as  thev  are  in  general  ^oo 
fond  of  doing.  If  properfy  treated  al  the  com- 
mehcment,  squint  is  very  generally  curable  by 
internal  remedifes;  hut  when,  from  long  n^ 
gleet  or  ill-treatment,  it  has  become  permanent, 
the  position  and  appearance  of  the  eye  maybe 
made  all  but  natural  by  a  surgical  division  of 
the  opposite  muscle.  If  the  squint  be  partial 
only,  a  surgical  operation  will  make  the  pa- 
tient pouint  worse  than  ever — and  even  in  the 
case  01  complete  squint,  should  the  paralytic 

*  Amon^r  the  nnmeron^  canMs  of  ipintl  "'**J^ 
nan*d  in  books,  much  sireaii  is  laid  on  ^«  .""P'TJS 
•ivi»  of  Sfnya,  and  other  aiticles  of  female  °r*'*'|2S 
what  la  Ilf>avrn'ii  nnme  in.  the  nse  of  rra&onine  J^" 
the  EiigVi^h  people  on  such  a  subject— a  P«**P,  .  JL 
irnitaie  ctery  body,  fear  every  bodr,  and  *n  aU  uunj" 
attempt  to  rival  ever?  bodv— not  so  mnch  ^  J^°~ 
truth  and  txcellence,  bat' as  rejcardi  the  »iark,  »»J 
,  ing  ibandonment  of  both  !  The  doctors  at  jM"  «"7 
reason  to  ihank.  them.  We  lanph  at  the  Chin"«  "« 
diminishing  tho  size  of  the  female /oo/,  \rhich  i»  nei  » 
vital  part.  The  chest  w,  if  yoa  take  iu  coutnatt^ 
to  account ;  but  sec  how  wo  dimioiah  it  by  »**/■*  *  * 


Fallacies  of  the  Faeulty. 


125 


jnnscie  upon  which  it  depends  recover  its 
power  after  the  opetation,  a  new  squint 
would  follow  of  course. 

There  is  yet  another  paralytic  affeclion  of 
the  eye   which  I  must  explain  to  you.    I 
allude  to  what  is  called  Amaurosis  or  Ner- 
vous Blindness.    In  this  case,  a  non-medical 
person  could  not  tell  the  patient  was  blind  at 
all,  the  eye  being  to  all  appearance  as  perfect 
as  the  healthy  organ.    Now,  this  affection, 
in  the  be^nning,  unless  when  caused  by  a 
erudden  blow  or  shock,  is  almost  always  a  re- 
mittent disease.    Some  patients  are  blind  all 
day,  and  others  all  night  only.     Such  cases, 
by  the  profession,  are  termed  hemeralopia 
and  ntfctalopia,  or  day  and  night  blindness. 
These,  then  are  examples  of  intermittent  am- 
aurosis; and  they  have  been  cured  and   cau- 
sed, like  the  a^e,  by  almost  every  thing  you 
can  name.     \ou  will  find  them  frequent*  in" 
long  voyages, — not  produced  in  that  case  by 
exlialatious  from  the  fens  or   marshes,   as 
many  of  the  profession  still  believe  all  inter- 
mittent diseases  to  be, — but  by  depraved  and 
deiective  food,  with  exposure  to  wet,  cold, 
•  and  hard  work,  perhaps,  besides.     In  the 
Iar^,[8th  Dec.  1827,]  you  will  find  the 
case  of  a  girl,  twelve  years  of  age  who  had 
intem^ittefU  blindness  of  both  eyes,  palsy  of 
the  limbs,  phrenzy,  and  epilepsy,  from  all  of 
which  she  recovered  under  the  use  of  ammo- 
niaied  Copper —  a  chrono-thermal  remedy. — 
This  case  fully  establishes  the  relations  which 
these  various  symptoms  all  maintain  to  each 
other ;  and  their  remittent  character,  together 
iriJh  the  mode  of  cure,  explains  the  stillgrea- 
ter  aihnity  they  bear  to  afue. 

The*  remedies  which  1  have  found  most 
efficient  in  yermaneTit  nervous  blindness  have 
been  the  ccrono^ermal,  or  ague  medicines, 
occasionally  combined  with  mercurVj  or  cre- 
osote. I  will  give  you  a  case  which  I  trea- 
ted saccessfully  by  an  internal  remedy. — 
Charles  Emms,  aged  25,  stated  to  me  that  he 
had  been  completely  blind  of  both  eyes  for 
upwards  of  nine  years,  four  of  which  he 
passed  in  the  Bristol  Asylum,  where,  after 
naring  been  under  the  care  of  the  medical 
officer  of  that  establishment,  he  was  taught 
basket  making,  as  the  only  means  of  ear- 
Bioe  his  subsistence.  He  had  been  previ- 
ously an  in-patient  in  the  Worcester  Infirm- 
aiy,  under  Mr.  Pierrepoint,  but  left  it  with- 
out any  benefit.  Some  days  he  perceived 
feshes  of  light,  but  could  not  even  then  dis- 
cern the  shape  or  shade  of  external  objects. 
Before  he  became  completely  blind,  he  saw 
better  and  worse  upon  particular  days.  When 
he  first  consulted  me,  his  general  appearance 
was  very  unhealthy,  his  face  pale  and  ema- 
ciated, his  tongue  clouded,  appetite  defective 
and  capricious,  and  he  described  himself  as 


being  very  nervous,  subject  *to  heats  and 
chills,  palpitations  and  tremblings  ;  his  spir- 
its were  depressed.  My  firsts  prescription, 
quinine,  disagreed ;  my  second,  silver,  was 
equally  unsuccessful ;  with  my  third,  kydrO" 
cyanic  add,  he  gradually  regained  his  vision 

being,  after  an  attendance  of  four  months, 
sufficiently  restored  to  be  able  to  read  large 
print  with  facility.  Such  has  been  his  state 
for  upwards  of  two  years.  I  need  not  say 
his  general  health  has  materially  improved — 
his  appetite,  according  to  him,  having  become 
too  good  for  his  circumstances.  In  confirma- 
tion of  the  value  of  hydrocyanic  acid  in  ner^ 
vous  blindness,  I  may  mention  that  many 
years  after  I  first  published  this  case.  Dr. 
Turnbull  detailed  as  a  great  discoveiy  some 
cures  which  he  made  in  similar  cases  by  ap- 
plying the  vapour  of  this  acid  to  the  Eye. 

If  patients  who  are  subject  to  Deafness, 
be  asked  whether  they  hear  better  upon  some 
days  than  others,  the  great  majority  will  re- 
ply in  the  affirmative ; — so  that  deafness  is 
also  for  the  most  part  a  remittent  disease. — 
That  it  is  a  feature  or  development  of  gener- 
al constitutional  disorder  is  equally  certain, 
from  the  chills  and  heats  to  which  the  great 
body  of  patients  affected  with  it,  acknowledge 
they  are  subject.  Deafness  from  oiganic 
change  of  the  ear  is  infinitely  less  frequent  than 
that  which  arises  from  nervous  or  functional 
disorder.  Hence  the  improvement  to  be  ob- 
tained in  the  great  majority  of  diseases  of 
this  organ,  by  simply  attending;  to  the  patient's 
genenu  health.  By  keeping  in  view  the 
chrono-thermal  principle,  I  have  been  enabled 
to  improve  the  hearing  in  hundreds  of  cases. 
One  old  gentleman,  upwards  of  70  years  of 
age,  after  having  been  all  but  quite  deaf  for 
years,  lately  consulted  me  for  his  case ;  he 
recovered  completely  by  a  short  course  of 
hydrocyanic  acid.  The  like  good  effects 
may  also  be  obtained  by  chrono-thermal 
treatment  in  ringing  of  the  ears,  &c.  Indeed, 
very  few  people  get  much  out  of  health  with- 
out suffering  more  or  less  from  noise  in  the 
ears ;  sometimes  so  great  as  to  cause  partial 
deafness. 

Cases  of  loss  of  the  sense  of  Touch,  and 
also  those  of  partisd  or  general  numbness, 
will,  in  the  greater  number  of  instances,  be 
found  to  exhibit  remissions  in  their  course. — 
So  also  will  almost  every  instance  of  that 
exafted  degree  of  sensibility  known  by  the 
various  names  of  Tic  dovloureux,  Sciatica, 
Sic.f  according  to  the  locality  of  the  various 
nerves  supposed  to  be  its  seat.  Look  at  the 
history  of  these  diseases.  What  have  your 
surgical  tricks  done  for  their  relief, — your 
moxas,  your  blisters,  your  division  of  nerves ! 
The  only  measures  to  which  these  diseases 
have  yielded,  have  been  the  chrono-thermal 


126 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


remedies,  bark,  arsenic,  iron,  prussic  acid  &c., 
the  remedies,  in  a  word,  of  acknowledged  ef- 
ficacy in  ague.  1  shall  here  present  you 
with  a  case  from  the  London  Medical  and 
Surgical  Journal ^  illustrative  of  the  nature 
of  Tic  when  involving  the  nerves  of  the  fate. 
The  pain  first  supervened  after  a  fright ;  it 
returned  every  day  at  two  o'colck,  commen- 
cing at  the  origin  of  the  suborbital  nerve,  ex- 
tending along  its  course,  aiid  lasted  from  half 
an  hour  to  an  hour.  Two  grains  of  sulphate 
of  quinine  given  every  two  hours  for  three 
days  produced  in  so  short  a  period  a  complete 
cure.  The  same  prompt  and  favourable  ef- 
fects were  observed  in  another  case  of  frontal 
tic  that  appeared  without  any  known  cause. — 
Now  this /row  fa/  tic  is  commonly  known  by 
^e  name  of  brow-agti^.  Why  then  mystify 
Qs  With  neuropathy,  neuralgia,  and  a  host  of 
•ther  jaw-breaking  terms,  tnat,  so  far  from 
enlightening  the  student  upon  the  subject  of 
medicine,  do  nothing  but  lead  him  into  dark- 
ness and  confusion.  All  these  are  mere  va- 
lietes  of  Ague ;  the  place  of  pain  making 
the  only  diiference. 

Loss  of  the  sense  of  Taste  is  an  occasio- 
nal effect  of  constitutional  disturbance,  and  so 
is  Depraved  Appetite.  An  example  of  what 
is  called  Bulimia  or  excessvte  appetite,  occurs 
in  the  lectures  of  Mr.  Abernethy :  "There 
was  a  woman  in  this  hospital,  who  was  eter- 
nally eating ;  they  gave  her  food  enough,  you 
would  have  thought,  to  have  disgusted  any- 
liody,  but  she  crammed  it  all  down ;  she  never 
ceaaed  but  when  her  jaws  were  fatigued. — 
She  found  out  that  when  she  put  her  feet  into 
ecld  water,  she  ceased  to  be  hungry."  What 
could  be  this  woman's  inducement  to  put  her 
feet  in  cold  water,  in  the  first  instance  ?  What 
but  their  hi^h  temperature — ^the  Fever  under 
which  she  Jabored }  A  gentleman,  who  was 
fond  of  play,  told  me,  that  when  he  lost  much 
money  he  was  always  sure  to  become  rave- 
not»/y  Aungry ;  but  that  when  he  won,  this 
did  not  happen.  The  temperature  of  his  bo- 
dy, as  well  as  the  condition  of  his  brain, 
must  have  been  different  at  these  different 
times. 

To  the  state  of  corporeal  temperature,  we 
must  also  refer  the  various  degrees  of  Thirst, 
from  which  so  many  invalids  suffer.  This 
like  Hunger,  when  extreme,  is  a  depraved 
eensation.  If  we  have  intermittent  fever,  so 
'  also  must  we  have  intermittent  hunger  and 
thirst  among  the  number  of  morbid  phenome- 
na. Colonel  Shaw,  in  his  personal  memoirs 
and  correspondence  has  this  remaik ;  "I  had 
learned,  from  my  walking  experience,  that  to 
tAir^y  men,  drinking  water  onlygives  a  mo- 
mentary relief ;  but  \i  the  legs  be  wetted,  the 
relief,  though  not  at  first  apparent,  positively 
deetroys  the  pain  of  thirst" 


We  have,  hitherto  Gentlemen,  confined  our- 
selves, 36  much  as  possible,  to  simple  or 
"functional"  diseases, — those  forms  of  disor- 
der in  which  there  does  not  appear  any  ten- 
dency to  local  disorganization  or  decay.  In 
our  next  Lecture,  we  shall  enter  into  a  consid- 
eration of  those  disorders  which  manifest 
more  or  less  change  of  structure  in  their 
course.  Such  diseases  are  termed  "organic," 
by  medical  writers,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
they  are  more  complicated  than  those  we 
have  just  left.  To  a  certain  extent,  too,  they 
admit  modification  of  treatment.  Inmost  ca- 
ses of  this  kind,  though  not  in  all,  it  is  my 
custom  to  prescribe  one  or  more  powers,  hay- 
ing a  general  chrono-thermal  influence,  with 
one  or  more  having  a  special  local  bearing.— 
I  have  necessarily,  on  occasion,  combined 
remedies  which  may  partially  decompose  each 
other.  In  continuing  still  to  do  so  I  am  justi- 
fied by  successful  resuUs,  the  only  test  of  med- 
ical truth — the  ultimate  end  and  aim  of  all 
medical  treatment.  Achai]^of  unchemical 
knowledge  has  been  occasionally  uiged  a- 
gainst  me  for  this,  by  chemists  and  drug  com- 
pounders. But  what  says  Mr.  Locke?— 
"Were  it  my  businesg  to  understand  physic, 
would  not  the  surer  way  be  to  consult  nature 
itself  in  the  history  of  diseases  and  their  cures, 
than  to  espouse  the  principles  of  the  dogma- 
tists, methodists,  or  chemists  ?'  This  charge, 
then,  I  am  willing  to  share,  with  numerous 
medical  men,  whom  the  world^  has  aheady 
recognised  as  eminent  in  their  art  By  such, 
the  answer  has  been  often  ^ven,  that  the  hu- 
man stomach  is  not  a  chemist* s  alembic,  but  a 
living  organ,  capable  of  modifying  the  action 
of  every  substance  submitted  to  it.  And 
here  I  may  mention,  that  the  late  Sir  Astley 
Cooper,  when  I  sent  him  my  work,  entitled 
"The  Unity  o'f  Disease,"  with  that  candour 
and  gentleman-like  feeling  by  which  he  was 
not  less  distinguished,  than  by  his  high  emi- 
nence as  a  surgeon,  wrote  to  me  as  follovB : 

"  Dear  Sir,  I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for 
your  valuable  work.  I  have  not  the  least  ob- 
jection to  being  unchemical,  if  I  can  be  vsefid\ 
and  I  agree  with  you,  that  the  living  stomach 
is  not  a  Wedgewood  mortar. 
Yours  truly, 

Astley  Cooper." 

*Dr.DieKSON,  Clarges-street,  Piccadilly." 


Intermittent  Fever,  following  local  injury j 
cured  by  Quinine. — Mr.  Staflfonl  narrates  the 
case  of  a  gentleman,  who  dislocated  the  tar- 
sal bones.  Reduction  was  efTected,  but  the 
injury  was  followed  by  excessive  paiii,  which 
after  a  time,  became  intermittent,  coming  on 
every  evening  about  eight,  lasting  five  or  six 
hours,  and  then  gradually  abating.  It  vras 
cured  by  quinine. — London  Laneet. 


r"  •"  —^ 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


izr 


A  LBOTTJBE 

On  t]i0  MagnetiMm  of  the  Human  Body. 

(ConLinned  from  page  67.) 

It  was  attempted  to  be  shown  by  Mat- 
teucci,  that  the  nerves  weie  electric,  but  no 
effect  on  the  galvanometer  has  been  detect- 
ed, even  when  the  current  of  a  galvanic  bat- 
tery is  passed  through  them — hence,  even  if 
there  were   electric  currents  in  the  nerves, 
they  would  not  be  detected  by  the  galvano- 
metre,  unless  the  direct  influence  of  the  de- 
nuded nerves  could  be  experienced.     I  do 
not  think  this  has  been  attempted,  and  1 
propose,  when  at  leisure,  to  examine  into  it 
Within  a  few  days,  I  have  received  in  the 
London  Lancet,  the  notice  of  a  report  by  M. 
Shuster,  to  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences, 
to  prove  that  electricity  is  not  serviceable-  in 
medicine,  unless  it  be  applied  through  acu- 
puncture needles.  Administered  in  this  way, 
he  asserts  it  may  be  employed  with  success 
in  many  diseases,  chronic  rheumatism,  pa- 
ralysis, amaurosis,  &c.    He  says  it  acts  by 
dlxectly  stimulating  the  sensibibty,  contrac- 

liUtv  and  absorbent  function. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  also,  that  needles 

used  in  acupuncture,  become  ^magnetic — ^this 

aids  lus  idea,  of  forming  a  direct  communi- 

catioD  with  the  nerves. 
In  eases  of  serous  efiusions,  the  eminent 

le  Roy  D'EtioUes  has  also  been  successful 
mtb  the  above  mode  of  application. 

My  experiments  showing  magnetic  influ- 
ence on  the  needle  only  during  motion  of 
the  moflclee,  derive  additional  support  from 
the  fact  of  their  being  no  action  developed 
by  electric  cuirents  passed  through  the  nerves 
when  quiescent,  and  the  latter  experiment 
lenders  it  probable  that  human  electricity  is 
modified  by  vital  power,  or  perhaps  the  in-' 
fluence  of  the  mind,  until  muscular  action, 
under  the  control  of  the  latter,  is  com- 
menced. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  time  to  quote 
the  multitude  of  curious  experiments  which 
go  to  show  a  similarity  in  effects  of  the 
nervous  power  with  electricity,  ealvanism 
and  magnetism.  I  would  not,  m  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  give  a  fixed  opinion 
as  to  their  identity — effects  attributable  to  all 
these  fluids,  supposing  them  distinct,  and  all 
possessed  by  the  body,  have  been  exhibited. 
Farther  experience  may  show  us  that  whe- 
iher  one  fluid  in  different  states,  or  several, 
acme  vital  principle  or  mind,  modifies  their 
action  in  the  body.  We  know  that  oiir  mo- 
tive power  is  under  the  control  of  our  will, 
and  that  sensation  involves  consciousness, 
and  without  consciousness,  there  is  no  wiU. 
If  tKe  nervous  power  is  weak,  the  will  can 
only  make  it  act  feebly,  and  without  a 
strong  will,  great  effects  of  nervous  power 


are  not  shown.  The  will  controls  the  nerv- 
ous system  of  animal  life,  while  it  does  not 
influence  that  of  oiganic  life.  This  is  worth 
noticing  in  relation  to  mesmeric  or  magnetic 
influence,  where  the  operator  controls  the 
will  of  the  subject,  and  what  his  will  con- 
trols, but  does  not  affect  the  oiganic  func- 
tions. Insanity  or  mental  disorder  deprives 
us  of  the  power  of  will,  and  thus  of  the 
control  of  animal  life,  but  or^nic  actions  are 
not  necessarily  impeded.  When  the  mind  is 
sane,  muscular  motion  is  mostly  under  the 
control  of  will,  if  the  organs  are  sound. 
Bichat  has  clearly  shown  a  difference  be- 
tween the  nervQus  system  of  animal  life 
which  ministers  to  the  mind,  and  is  under 
the  will,  and  carries  on  the  functions  indis- 
pensable to  the  continuance  of  life,  and  the 
nervous  system  of  organic  life  which  is  not 
subservient  to  the  will,  and  does  not  transmit 
sensations,  except  when  the  sensibility  of  a 
part  is  highly  exalted  by  irritation,  and  then 
we  perceive  its  action.  The  natural  stimu- 
lous  of  these  separate  nerves  is  in  like  man- 
ner developed.  That  we  derive  sensation 
and  perception  from  the  external  world, 
through  nervous  communication,  no  one 
donbts,  because  if  you  divide  or  compress 
the  nerve,  the  sensations  are  not  communi- 
cated to  the  brain — an  influence  developed 
on  the  nerves  and  communicated  to  the  brain, 
give  us  perception.  If  the  power  of  sensa- 
tion was  in  the  nerves  (whicn  are  only  vehi- 
cles of  it)  the  brain  would  not  be  of  so 
much  importance — ^it  has  no  sensibility  when 
irritated — ^^e  nerves  receive  impressions  and 
then  convey  them  to  the  brain,  the  organ  of 
mtfi^,  which  power  notices  and  appreciates 
them. 

Experiments  to  indicate  that  the  motive 
and  sensorial  power  of  the  body  is  galvanic 
or  electro-magnetic,  are  very  numerous. 
Among  the  most  singular  are  those  of  Wein- 
hold,  related  in  the  Journal  des  Progres,  voL 
X,  1828. 

"  He  beheaded  a  cat,  and  after  pulsation 
and  muscular  action  had  completely  ceased, 
he  remt)ved  the  spinal  marrow,  and  filled 
the  vertebral  canal  with  an  amalgam  of  mer- 
cury, zinc  and  silver.  Immediately  the 
throbbing  of  the  arteries  re-commenced,  and 
the  muscular  actions  were  renewed,  which  it 
was  impossible  to  distinguish  from  those 
which  are  produced  b^  the  influence  of  the 
spinal  marrow ;  the  animal  made  many  leaps. 
When  the  irritability  appeared  exhausted, 
Weinhold,  by  means  of  a  metallic  arc,  placed 
the  heart  and  voluntary  muscles  gradually  in 
contact  with  the  artificial  medullary  sub- 
stance, and  he  revived  again  general  but  fee- 
ble contractions.'* 

"  He  filled  with  the  same  amalgam,  the 


108 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Pody. 


cranial  and  vertebral  canal  of  another  cat 
"which  did  not  give  any  sign  of  life ;  the  ani- 
mal became,  during  about  twenty  minutes,  in 
such  a  state  of  vital  tension ,  that  it  raised  its 
head,  opened  its  eyes,  looked  steadily,  at- 
teinpted  to  walk,  and  endeavored  to  rise  af- 
ter falling  down  frequently.  During  all  this 
time  the  circulation  and  pulsation  were  very 
active,  and  continued  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  after  the  chest  and  abdomen  were  open- 
ed. The  secretion  of  gastric  juice  was  evi- 
dently more  abundant  than  ordinary,  and 
the  animal  heat  was  perfectly  re -establish- 
ed." 

"  He  filled  also  the  cranium  only  of  a  dog 
-with  the  same  amalgam,  he  examined  then 
the  principal  functions  of  the  senses,  arid  ob- 
served that  the  pupil  still  contracted,  that 
the  animal  manifested  still  a  desire  to  avoid 
the  li^ht  when  a  lighted  candle  was  placed 
near  it,  and  that  it  listened  when  a  person 
struck  with  a  key  on  the  table." 

In  support  of  this  very  singular  experi- 
mei!t,  we  have  a  paragraph  from  Muller*s 
.late  work. 

"  In  the  eye,  a  feeble  galvanic  current  ex- 
cites the  special  sensation  of  the  optic  nerve, 
namely,  the  sensation  of  light.  In  the  audi- 
tory nerves,  electricity  produces  the  sensa- 
tion of  sound." 

Volta  states  that  when  the  poles  of  a  bat- 
tery of  forty  pairs  of  plates  were  applied  to 
his  ears,  he  felt  a  shock  in  his  head,  and  a 
few  moments  afterwards,  perceived  a  hissing 
and  pulsatory  sound  like  that  of  a  viscid 
substance  boiling,  which  continued  as  long 
as  the  circle  was  closed," 

It  is  a  generally  received  opinion,  that  nerv- 
ous power  produces  sensation  and  motion — 
•what  this  is,  we  have  not  settled.  Sir 
Charles  Bell  has  demonstrated,  however, 
that  the  posterior  roots  of  the  spinal  nerves, 
are  the  origin  of  nerves  of  sensation,  while 
the  anterior  roots  are  for  those  of  motion. — 
Majendie  has  shown  that "  the  spinal  mar- 
row is  composed  of  two  distinct  cords  in 
juxta  position,  the  one  endowed  with  exqui- 
site sensibility,  whilst  the  other  almost  com- 
pletely unconnected  with  this  property, 
seems  to  be  reserved  for  motion.*'  Upon 
this,  a  theory  has  been  based,  that  an  ascend- 
ing current  of  electricity  by  one  cord  causes 
sensation,  and  a  descending  current  by  the 
other  causes  motion — or  perhaps  there  is  a 
negative  and  positive  portion  of  the  cord, 
the  one  constituting  the  agent  of  sensation, 
and  the  other  that  of  motion. 

The  experiments  of  Muller  have  proved 
that  "the  application  of  galvanism  to  the 
anterior  roots  of  the  spinal  nerves,  after  their 
connection  with  the  cord  is  divided,  excites 
violent  muBCular  twitchings ;  the  same  stim- 


ulous  applied  to  the  posterior  Toots  is  attend- 
ed with  no  such  effects."  These  galvanic 
experiments  support  the  facta  determined  bv 
C.  Bell. 

The  late  discoveries  of  electro-magnetiBm 
strongly  incline  to  &e  opinion  that  motion 
and  sensation  are  produced  in  the  body  by. 
it 

The  convulsive  and  violent  muscular  ac- 
tion produced  on  the  bodies  of  criminals  im- 
mediately after  death  by  galvanic  action, 
clearly  makes  it  appear  that  it  can  cause  mo- 
tion in  animal  bodies,  and  acts  on  nerves  and 
thus  through  the  organs  of  motion.  Liebig 
says,  "  By  means  of  nerves,  ail  parte  of  the 
boldy,  all  the  limbs,  receive  the  moving  force 
which  is  indispensable  fa  their  functions— 
to  the  production  of  mechanical  effects.— 
Where  nerves  are  not  found  motion  does  not 
occur.  The  will  certainly  has  an  influence 
over  motive  power,  while  the  organ  to  be 
moved  has  its  nerves  sound — how  it  acts 
we  know  not.  The  will  directed  to  our 
vocal  apparatus  causes  any  sound  which  we 
can  utter  to  be  given  forth — how  it  is  effect- 
ed, and  why  the  sound  is  acute  or  grave, 
we  can  only  explain  as  the  result  of  will. 

If  Electricity,  Galvanism  and  Magnetism 
be  separate  powers,  their  peculiar  combina- 
tion or  supply  in  different  proportions  by  the 
pile  or  chemical  action  which  prodijcestnefli, 
may  account  for  varied  susceptibility,  and 
idiosyncracy*  according  to  the  predominance 
of  one  or  otner. 

There  are  objections  to  their  identity 
which  I  have  not  time  to  enumerate ;  the 
permanence  of  the  needle  pointing  in  the 
same  direction,  unless  mechanically  obstruct- 
ed ;  magnetism  is  not  impeded  bv  dass,  and 
electricity  is — you  can  insidate  the  latter  and 
not  the  former— touching  with  the  hand  re- 
moves nothing  from  the  magnet, -and  deprives 
an  electrified  body  of  its  electricity  instantly, 
&c.  With  200  feet  of  copper  wire,  and  200 
feet  more  ii||erpo8ed  in  the  turns  of  the  spi- 
ral, and  120  pairs  of  plates  4  inches  square, 
the  current  made  magnetized  needles,  t)ui 
did  not  affect  the  galvanometer.    Faraday. 

That  magnetism  produces  motion  in  ma^- 
mate  matter,  is  shown  by  the  polarity  ot  tn« 
needle,  which  if  placed  E.  and  W.,  and  leit 
to  itself,  turns  to  the  N.  and  S.  Call  ihis 
attraction  or  what  you  will,  oscillation  ana 
motion  result.  The  magnet  will  hold  up  ^ 
its  inherent  power  a  weight  heavier  ujan 
itself.  Connect  with  it  a  galvanic  a^^iann^ 
and  it  will  lift  forty  times  its  o^vn  !^.^^Sy^  "^ 
human  strength  is  capable  of  raising  *P?^  ^ 
five  times  the  weight  of  the  body.  A?  iL. 
an  individual  weighing  less  than  3oa  lu^ 
who  has  lifted  from  the  ground  ^^^y^;^,^^ 

The  following  case  iBustrative  of  eiecnv- 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


129 


magnetic  action  on  the  human  system,  is  te- 
ported  in  the  London  Lancet. 

At  the  Middlesex  Hospital  a  man  was  ad- 
mitted about  six  hours  after  haWng  taken  an 
ounce  of  laudaTium.     At  this  time  he  was 
apparently  lifeless,  the  surface  of  the  body 
was  cold,  countenance  pale  and  livid,  lips 
purple,  pupils  contracted  to  a  mere  point,  res- 
piration was  scarcely  perceptible,  pulse  hard- 
ly to  he  felt.     The  laudanum  was  removed 
jjy  the  stomach   pump,  but  in  spite,  of  every 
exertion  the  pulse  became  more  unfrequeut, 
and  was  at  times  imperceptible;    when  re- 
course was  had  to  electro-magnetism,  which 
was  applied  by  means  of  a  small  battery 
with  coil  and  contact  breaker.    One  wire 
was  applied  to  the  neck,  and  the  other  to  the 
legion  of  the  heart,  or  epigastrium,  and  by 
these  a  succession  of  very  powerful  shocks 
was  given.    The  good  effects  were  very  ap- 
parent.   The  muscles  of   respiration  were 
set  in  motion,  and  the  diaphragm  contracted 
powerfully;  the  chest  was  more  fully  ex- 
panded, respiration  was  more  powerfully 
earned  on,  andaconesponding  improvement 
was  observed  in  the  countenance.  The  pulse 
improved  and  became   more  powerful,  be- 
commg  steady  when  the  current  wafe  inter- 
rupted'^/or  a  few  minutes.    The  application 
was  contfnned  for  several  hours,  and  was 
inaily  successful  and  the  patient  restored. 

In  the  J*»t  (April)  number  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Journal,  is  a  similar  case. re- 
ported with  the  same  results.  It  occurred  in 
ACarch,  184?,  at  Valparaiso.  A  gentleman 
was  poisoned  by  a  powder  which  was  given 
to  him  at  Cubebs;  after  the  most  violent 
symptoms,  and  continued  unavailing  efforts 
to  relieve  him,  "  he  now  appeared  to  be  sink- 
ing. The  surface  was  cold  and  covered  with 
a  clammy  sweat.  The  face  was  palid,  with 
a  purplish  tinge,  the  jaw  and  eyelids  were 
feilen.  The  pulse  was  hardly  perceptible  at 
the  wrist,  if  at  times  it  was  at  all  to  be  felt. 
Stimulants  were  continued.  There  were  no 
agns  of  reaction,  and  the  features  wore  the 
aspect  of  death.  Worn  out  with  fruitless 
^fcrts,  the  medical  attendants  desisted  from 
farther  exertion.  Dr.  Page  thought  of  the 
dectro-magnetic  battery,  and  proposed  its  ap- 
plkation,  as  they  felt  justified  by  the  de- 
sponding circumstances  to  make  the  experi- 
ment."   He  says,' 

"  It  was  immediately  tried,  and  with  the 
happiest  results.  With  an  assistant  rapidly 
rotating  the  wheel,  I  applied  the  balls  at  first 
to  each  side  of  the  neck,  and  ran, them  down 
behind  the'  clavicles.  The  arm's  and  body 
now  moved  convulsively,  but  the  patient  lay 
as  unconscious  as  before.  I  now  passed  one 
ball  over  the  region  of  the  heart,  and  the 
odier  to  a  corresponding  point  on  the  right 


side.  In  an  instant  his  eyes  opened  widely, 
and  with  a  ghastly  expression  of  counte- 
nance, his  he^  and  body  were  thrown  con- 
vulsively toward  me,  and  he  groaned.  He 
now  sank  back  in  his  reclining  posture  and 
was  again  asleep.  The  balls  were  reapplied 
in  the  same  situation,  with  similar  results,  a 
third  and  fourth  time,  and  he  cried,  •  no 
more.*  Reaction  was  now  positively  esta- 
blished. The  heart  had  received  a  strong 
impulse.  The  pulse  was  becoming  rapidly 
developed,  and  the  whole  surface  warm." — 
Reaction  continued  satisfactorily,  and  there 
was  no  farther  occasion  for  the  battery. 

"  When  he  recovered  his  consciousness, 
he  says  all  had  been  blank,  until  he  felt  as 
if  a  gun  had  been  fired  off  within  him, 
which  thrilled  through  and  shook  him  to  the 
very  extremities."  This  was  the  application 
and  effects  of  the  electro-magnetic  battery. 

This  case  is  reported  by  Dr.  T.  S.  Page, 
and  was  witnessed  by  Dr.  Houston,  of  the 
Royal  Navy,  and  Dr.  Barrabino,  of  the 
United  States  Navy,  attached  to  the  schooifer 
Shark.  A  few  weeks  previously,  a  French 
gentleman,  who  took  the  same  medicine  from 
the  same  shop,  lost  his  life.  Upon  an  anal- 
ysis of  an  equal  quantity  of  the  powder,  30 
per  cent,  of  opium,  (75  grains)  were  found 
in  it,  which  accounts  for  its  melancholy 
effects. 

The  results  of  the  experiments  in  these  two 
two  cases,  fully  warrant  us  in  tlie  belief  that 
post  hoc  propter  hoc  may  fairly  be  presumed 
here,  and  that  electro-magnetic  action  sup- 
plied the  place  of  nervous  power  in  the  hu- 
man body.  In  vol.  4,  p.  482,  of  Sturgeon's 
Annals  of  Electricity,  are  some  interesting 
experiments  with  galvanism  on  dogs.  Three 
puppies  were  drowned,  and  left  in  cold  water 
fi'teen  minutes.  All  vitality  had  apparently 
ceased — no  motion  being  perceptible.  They 
were  taken  out .'  one  was  submitted  to  suc- 
cessive shocks  from  a  voltaic  battery,  and 
restored  to  life-^the  other  two  were  left  as 
they  were — they  remained  so.  Three  others 
were  drowned  in  warm  water,  and  left  im- 
mersed forty  minutes — ^two  of  them  were  re- 
stored in  the  same  manner.  In  the  "  Dis- 
course on  the  Study  of  Natural  Philosophy,'* 
the  philosophical  Herschel  says : 

"  The  principle  once  established,  that  there 
existe  in  the  animal  economy  a  power  of 
determining  the  development  of  the  electrical 
excitement,  (speaking  of  the  torpedo,)  capa- 
ble of  being  transmitted  along  the  nerves, 
and  it  being  ascertained,  by  numerous  and 
decisive  experiments,  that  the  transmission  of 
voltaic  electricity  along  the  nerves  of  even  a 
dead  animal,  is  sufficient  to  produce  the  most 
violent  muscular  action,  it  hecomes  an  easy 
step  to  refer  the  origin  of  muscular  motion  In 


130 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body, 


the  liyine;  frame  to  a  similar  cause ;  and  to 
look  to  tne  brain,  a  wonderfully  constituted 
oigan,  for  which  no  mode  of  action  possess- 
ing tiie  least  plausibility  had  ever  been  de- 
vised, as  the  source  of  the  required  electrical 
power.  If  the  brain  be  an  electric  pile  con- 
stantly in  action,  it  may  be  conceived  to  dis- 
chaige  itself  at  regular  intervals,  when  the 
tension  of  the  electricity  developed  reaches  a 
certain  point,  along  the  nerves  which  com- 
municate with  the  heart,  and  thus  to  excite 
the  pulsations  of  that  organ.  This  idea  is 
forcibly  suggested  by  a  view  of  that  el^ant 
apparatus,  the  dry  pile  of  Deluc,  in  which 
tne  successive  accumulations  of  electricity 
are  carried  off  by  a  suspended  ball,  which  is 
kent  by  the  dischaiges  in  a  state  of  regular 
pulsation  for  any  length  of  time."  This 
same  idea  of  the  cause  of  the  pulsation  of 
the  heart  appears  to  have  occurreid  to  Dr.  Ar- 
nott  The  stron^r  pulsations  of  the  brain 
during  high  excitement,  favour  this  hypo- 
thesis. 

Alany  more  experiments  might  be  offered 
in  support  of  the  identity  of  the  nervous  pow- 
er with  electric,  ealvanic  and  magnetic  influ- 
ence, both  as  to  me  production  oimotion  and 
sensation. 

I  have  not  noticed  the  evolution  of  light 
during  decomposition  or  chemical  change,  of 
yvhich  some  curious  cases  are  recorded,  aria- 
ing  in  the  human  body. 

I*  Sir  Henry  Marsh  observed  in  a  patient, 
dying  of  consumption,  about  ten  days  before 
her  death,  a  very  extraordinary  li^ht  which 
seemed  darting  about  the  face  and  illuminat- 
ing all  around  her  head,  flashing  very  much 
like  an  Aurora  Borealis.  She  had  been  that 
day  seized  with  suflbcation,  and  was  ex- 
tremely nervous.  At  night  this  luminous 
appearance  suddenly  commenced.  The  maid 
said  she  had  seen  it  before,  and  it  had  daz- 
zled her  eyes,  but  that  she  was  afraid  to 
speak  of  it,  as  she  would  be  called  supersti- 
tious. It  continued  for  an  hour  and  disap- 
peared. Three  nights  after  he  saw  it  again. 
The  evening  before  she  died,  he  saw  it  again, 
but  fainter,  and  it  lasted  about  twenty  mi- 
nutes. The  state  of  the  body  was  that  of 
extreme  exhaustion.  Her  breath  had  a  pecu- 
liar smell,  which  led  him  to  suppose  some 
decomposition  was  going  on.  Sir  H.  Marsh 
has  collected,  in  all,  four  cases  similar  to  the 
above.  He  considers  it  as  resulting  from  de- 
composition, as  seen  in  dissecting  rooms — 
from  chemical  action,  in  peculiar  conditions, 
evolving  light  through  electrical  phenome- 
na." We  know  tfie  decomposition  of  ani- 
mal matter,  especially  flsh,  produces  phos- 
phorescence, or  electric  light 

The  influence  of  light  on  animal  develop- 
ment is  strikingly  pointed  out  by  the  experi- 


ments of  Dr.  M.  Edwards.  He  has  sho\ni 
that  if  tadpoles  be  nourished  with  proper 
fo^,  and  are  restored  to  the  constantly  re- 
newed contact  of  water,  (so  that  their  bran- 
chial respiration  be  maintained,)  but  are  en- 
tirely deprived  of  light,  iheir  growth  conti- 
nues, but  their  metamorphosis  into  breathing 
animals  is  arrested,  and  they  remain  in  the 
form  of  laige  tadpoles ! 

Here  is  a  fact  which  we  are  forced  to  be- 
lieve, which  we  cannot  explain.  ^ 

When  the  queen  bee  in  a  hive  dies,  or  is 
removed,  do  we  understand  how  the  bees 
have  the  power  of  converting  into  queens 
the  neuter  eggs  ?  and  yet  do  we  not  believe 
this  ?  Do  we  not  see  a  different  animal  in 
the  general  form  of  the  body,  the  proportion- 
ate length  of  the  wings,  the  shape  of  the 
tongue,  jaw  and  sting,  and  in  many  other  re- 
spects, than  would  otherwise  have  been  pro- 
duced—yet can  we  explain  how  this  is  ef- 
fected? 

I  might  relate  cases  of  spontaneous  com- 
bustion, under  circumstances  strongly  induc- 
ing a  belief  in  the  agency  of  electricity  in  ils 
production. 

The  direct  influence  of  the  magnett)n  the 
human  body,  has  been  a  subject  of  frequent 
experience  among  medical  men.  1  Mve, 
myself,  witnessed  cases  where  positive  efectt 
were  felt.  A  lady  of  cultivated  intellect  and 
much  intdiigence  had  neuralgia  of  the  aim 
for  several  months,  with  intense  sufieringfr*- 
the  N.  pole  of  a  magnet  applied  to  it,  re- 
lieved her  pain  temporarily,  while  the  soum 
rle  increased  it  violently.  This  same  eftct 
have  seen  in  cases  of  rheumatic  ioints.— 
These  influences  arc  not  perceived  by  all. 
but  only  by  those  of  highly  sensitive  nervoni 
systems.  All  who  are  susceptible  of  mes- 
meric induction,  feel  the  effects  of  the  magnet 
when  applied  to  the  head ;  in  some  it  pro- 
duces giddiness,  headache,  and  even  convul- 
sions. 

The  editor  of  «  The  Magnet"  mentions 
that  he  held  a  magnetized  steel  ring  over  tne 
head  of  one  of  his  subjects,  while  a^^^ 
"  in  a  few  minutes  she  drooped  into  a  stale 
resembling  sleep."  On  removine  the  ring, 
he  found  it  impossible  to  wake  ner  up,  or 
to  control  her  at  aU,  «  The  entire  syst^ 
seemed  to  be  paralyzed,  the  breathing  was 
much  increased,  and  difficult,  and  she  con^ 
nued  in  spasms  about  twenty  minutes,  w**  ^ 
she  was  relieved,  and  came  out  **"! , 
shudder."  like  the  lad  described  in  the  artiae 
below.  .     ...     * 

The  following  letter  "from  an  mteUigcp 
minister  of  the  gospel,  well  and  extensively 
known,"  published  in  "  The  Magnet,  P"' 
sents  singular  facts.  -j 

«  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  :-Agreeably  to  1^ 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


131 


lequest,  I  herewith  transmit  the  facts  respect- 
ing the  influence  of  the  magnet,  in  producing 
the  magnetic  sleep  in  the  case  of  my  little  son. 
I  first  magnetized  him  about  the  26th  of  Feb- 
niary-,  1 842.  His  age  is  1 5.  For  some  days 
he  was  put  to  sleep  each  day,  for  about  half 
or  three-quarters  of  an  hour.  After  that, 
each  alternate  day,  for  about  three  or  four 
weeks. 

"  About  ten  days  since,  he   was  playing 
with  a  small  hoise-shoe  magnet,  capable  of 
sustaining  about  12  or   14  ounces.     In  a 
short  time,  I  perceived  that  he  was  asleep, 
and  exhibited   the  usual  symptoms  of  the 
m^etic  state.     I  attempted  to  arouse  him, 
and  he  iomiediately  opened  his  eyes,  but  said 
"  I  am  in  the  magnetic  state,  I  can  see  every 
thing  just  as  when  I  am  magnetized."    I  at- 
tempted by  the  usual  passes  to  remove  it,  but 
found  I  could  not.    He  said,  *«  it  is  the  mag- 
net that  has  produced  this  state,  and  you  can- 
not take  it  oft"    I  then  took  the  magnet  in 
my  hand,  and  tried  the  effect  of  making  the 
Bcveral  passes  with  that ;  but  it  only  in- 
eieased  the  difficulty.    I  then  proposed  to 
send  the  magnet  away  to  a  distant  place,  but 
he  objected  with  peat  earnestness,  and  even 
with  tears.    I  tnen  persuaded  him  to  go 
with  me  into  another  room,  20  or  30  feet 
distaat  fiom  the  magnet ;  and  after  staying 
there  a  short  time,  he  consented  to  have  the 
magnet  removed. 

"  I  ^ain  tried,  by  the  usual  passes,  to  re- 
move  the  influence  from  him,  but  could  not. 
He  remarked  that  nothing  I  could  do  would 
remove  it,  hut  that  it  would  nass  off",  of  it- 
self, in  about  an  hour,  and  iat  he  should 
«  came  out  of  it  vnth  a  shudder."  During  all 
Una  ^me  kis  eyes  were  open.  He  could  hear 
and  converse  with  me  and  with  persons  who 
vrere  very  near  him,  after  they  had  been 
Bear  him  for  a  few  minutes,  but  with  no 
others. 

"  He  was  playful,  and  apparently  happy. 
In  about  an  hour,  he  started  suddenly,  and 
with  a  violent  spasmodic  shudder,  and  ap- 
peared to  he  restored  to  his  natural  state.  Of 
nothing  that  had  passed,  had  he  any  yecol- 
iection,  and  the  only  difference  that  I  could 
discover  between  this  and  the  state  in  which 
he  nad  usually  been  when  magnetized,  was 
that  in  this,  his  eyes  were  open ;  he  had  none 
of  the  usual  attachment  for  me,  all  seemed 
transferred  to  the  magnet,  and  I  had  no  pow- 
er to  remove  it.  The  magnet  had  been  re- 
moved to  a  distant  chamber.  But  he  express- 
ed a  strong  desire  to  go  to  it.  I  then  took 
the  magnet  away,  unknown  to  him,  and 
passing  out  of  doors,  carried  bu  a  circuitous 
route,  and  placed  it  in  a  pile  of  lumber,  dis- 
tant about  70  or  80  feet.  It  was  past  9 
o'clock  at  night,  and  very  dark,  and  he  had 


no  means  of  knowing,  by  the  ordinary 
senses,  that  it  had  been  removed.  He  said, 
however,  that  it  had  been  removed,  and  went 
on  to  tell  me  which  way  he  would  take  to 
find  it,  and  said  he  woula  not  go  directly  to 
it,  but  would  find  it  by  a  circmtoub  route — 
that  he  would  go  out  round  the  house,  in 
about  the  same  course  that  I  had  taken  in 
conveying  the  magnet  there  !  But  he  said 
the  magnet  was  wrapped  up  in  a  paper, 
and  put  in  a  pile  of  lumber,  which  was  the 
fact. 

**  I  then  went  and  removed  it  to  a  still 
greater  distance,  where  I  left  it  till  the  next 
morning.  He  said  he  had  a  strong  impres- 
sion on  his  mind,  that  it  had  been  removed 
to  a  more  distant  place,  as  I  have  described 
it,  and  that  from  that  time  he  lost  all  interest 
in  it  This  was  more  than  an  hour  from  the 
time  that  he*  came  out  of  the  magnetic  state 
with  a  shudder,  as  above  described.  Since 
then,  he  has  manifested  no  desire  for  the 
magnet,  but  when  it  was  afterwards  brought 
near  him,  even  within  several  feet,  he  said, 
after  a  few  minutes,  that  he  felt  the  same  in- 
fluence coming  over  him,  and  immediately 
caused  it  to  be  removed. 

"  I  might  add,  that  the  application  of  liv- 
ing magnetism  in  his  case,  v^as  in  a  course  of 
medical  treatment  for  a  spinal  disease,  and 
was  generally  applied  under  the  direction  of 
expenenced  physicians,  and  apparently  with 
very  happy  results. 

Respectfully  youn, 

Philadelphia,  April  17, 1849. 

When  Casper  Hauser,  who  had  been  iso- 
lated from  the  ordinary  influences  of  the  ex- 
ternal world  for  eighteen  years,  had  the  N. 
pole  of  a  small  magnet  held  towards  him,  he 
described  a  drawing  sensation  produced  out- 
wards from  the  epigastrium,  and  as  if  a  cur- 
rent  of  air  went  from  him.  The  S.  pole 
affected  him  less,  and  he  said  it  blew  upon 
him.* 

Professors  Daumer  and  Herman  made 
several  experiments  of  the  kind,  and  calcu- 
lated to  deceive  him,  and  even  though  the 
magnet  was  held  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  him,  his  feelings  always  told  him  very 
correctly.  These  experiments  always  occa- 
sioned perspiration,  and  a  feeling  of  indispo- 
sition. He  could  detect  metals  placed  imder 
oil  cloths,  paper,  &c.,  by  the  sensations  they 
occasioned.  He  described  these  as  a  draw- 
ing, accompanied  with  a  chill,  which  ascend- 
ed according  to  the  metal,  more  or  less,  up 
the  arm — the  veins  of  the  hand  exposed  be- 
ing visibly  swollen. 


132 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body. 


The  influences  felt  by  him  from  the  mag- 
net are  precisely  such  as  it  produces  in  the 
cases  of  my  experiments — and  the  paralysis 
of  the  arm  of  -a  susceptible  individual,  by 
making  him  grasp  a  rod  of  soft  iron  or  cop- 
per, is  effected  with  the  same  feelings  on  the 
arm,  described  by  Hauser  from  his  toiiching 
a  metal. 

The  sensitiveness  of  this  boy  to  the  im- 
pression of  metals  is  well  explained,  when 
we  reflect  that  the  eye,  when  kept  from  light, 
increases  in  its  susceptibility  to  its  influence ; 
and  its  sudden  application  to  this  oigan,  will 
destroy  its  vision,  while  slowly  accustomed 
to  its  influence  it  is  its  essential  stimulus. 

A  gentleman  of  high  respectability  inform- 
ed me  lately,  that  he  knew  from  personal 
experience,  that  the  body  is  magnetic.  He 
was  a  surveyor,  and  had  observed  frequent- 
ly, that  in  dry  weather,  at  midday,  his  needle 
would  vary  whenever  he  approached  it* 

The  conducting  power  of  the  body  varies 
with  diflerent  individuals,  some  shewing 
electrical  influences,  and  others  none — Now 
in  terrestrial  magnetism,  Mrs.  Somerville 
says,  "  The  effects  of  induction  depend  upon 
the  facility  with  which  the  equilibrium  of 
the  neutral  stale  of  the  body  can  be  over- 
come; a. facility  which  is  proportioned  to 
the  conducting  power  of  the  body ;  conse- 
quently, the  attractive  power  exerted  by  an 
electrified  substance  upon  another  substance 
previously  neutral,  will  be  much  more  ener- 
getic, if  die  latter  be  a  conductor^  than  if  it 
Be  a  non-conductor." 

This  may  also  be  applied  to  oi]gaiuzed  bo- 
dies, as  well  as  inprganic.  . 

Dry  animal  matter,  as  bone,  or  horn,  or 
leather,  are  non-conductors  of  electricity — 
moistened,  they  become  conductors.  It  is 
not  improbable,  that  at  eu  future  time  we  may 
refer  the  phenomena  oi  fever  to  the  free  elec- 
tricity of  the  body  accumulated  on  the  sur- 
face, when  the  perspiratory  function  is  im- 
peded— carried  off  as  it  usually  is,  by  the 
restoration  of  the  latter.  The  calorification 
of  the  body  is  still  unsettled,  and  is  open  for 
examination. 

The  sources  of  magnetism  would  give  us 
an  interesting  subject  for  investigation,  for 
we  know  that  the  sun*s  rays  are  magnetic. 
Milton  beautifully  describes  the  constella- 
tions, as  governed  by  the  magnetism  of  the 
sun. 


*  Since  thif  lecton  ^ru  written,  I  hare  eacoMded  in 
magnetising  needles,  by  the  tame  effort  of  the  arm 
and  hand  over  them.    The  fact  of  rendering  needles 


mafnetie  by  the  pauea  continued  for  a  loAg  time  over 
Ihem,  is  mentioned  in  the  ^^Masnet."  I  succeeded  in 
a  short  €me  by  my  process— ^ich  I  hare  repeated 
five  times  successfoUj.  Whether  this  oan  be  effected 
only  in  carlaia  electneal  canditions  of  the  body,  is  to 
be  learned.  " 


-**  as  they  move 


Their  starry  dance,  in  nombers  that  compato 

Days,  months  and  years,  towards  his  flU-iheering  lamp 

Turn  swift  their  various  motions,  or  are  tarn'd 

Bv  his  magnetic  beam  that  gently*  warms 

Tne  universe,  and  to  each  inward  part 

With  gentle  penetration,  though -unseen, 

Shoots  invisible  virtue  ev'n  to  the  deep." 

Liebig  attributes  to  "  the  unequal  degree  of 
conducting  power  in  the  nerves,  those  con- 
ditions "which  are  termed  paralysis,  syncope 
and  spasm.**  This  eminent  chemist  also 
says,  "  As  an  immediate  effect  oi  tlie  man- 
ifestation of  mechanical  force,  we  see  that  a 
part  of  the  muscular  substance  loses  its  vital 
powers,  its  characters  of  life ;  that  this  por- 
tion separates  from  the'  living  part,  and  lostfs 
its  capacity  of  growth  and  its  power  of  re- 
sistance. We  find  that  this  change  of  pro* 
perties  is  accompsinied  by  the  entrance  of  a 
foreign  body  (oxygen)  into  the  composition 
of  the  muscular  hbre,  (just  as  the  acid  loses 
its  chemical  characters  by  combining  with 
zinc,)  and  all  experience  proves  that  this 
conversion  of  living  muscular  fibre  into  com- 
pounds, destitute  of  vitality,  is  accelerated 
or  retarded  according  to  the  amount  of  force 
employed  to  produce  motion.  This  is  cor- 
roborative of  the  ideptity  of  nervous"  power 
witji  electro-magnetic  influence.*'  He  goes 
on  to  say,  "  the  moving  force  certainly  pro- 
ceeds from  living  parts."  "  It  is  obvious 
that  the  ultimate  cause,  the  vital  force,  &c., 
has  served  for  tjie  production  of  mechanical 
force ;  that  it  has  been  expended  iii  the  shape, 
of  motion.** 

That  the  nervous  power  is  derived  from 
a  source  within  the  body  is  certain,  as  it  va- 
ries with  its  healthful  or  disordered  lotion — 
it  becomes  exhausted  by  muscular  action^ 
and  excited  by  stimulants,  which  act  on  our 
material  structure ;  it  is  lost  by  continued 
wakefulness — and  intense  pain  debilitates  it 
excessively.  Steady  application  of  the  mind 
also  fatigues  the  brain  and  weakens  nervous 
power,  and  rest  alone  restores  it.  While  the 
brain  and  nerves  are  sound,  our  nervous 
power  of  motion,  (and  to  some  extent  that  of 
sensation)  is  under  the  control  of  the  will, 
the  existence  of  which  involves  conscious^ 
ness  in  our  ordinary  state.  In  somnambu^ 
lism,  in  which  consciousness  is  absent,  some 
modification  of  reason,  allied  to  what  we  call 
instinct,  seems  to  control  them.  This  is  for 
the  inquiries  of  the  metaphysician  as  well  as 
the  physiologist,  and  desen'^es  our  study. — 
It  is  well  known  that  in  somnambulism ,  .the 
intellectual  functions  are  not  only  active,  but 
freqiiently  more  developed  than  when  the  in- 
dividuals are  awake,  and  in  their  actions  and 
locomotion  they  are  more  cautious. 

Whether  the  nervous  power  extends  with- 
out our  bodies,  and  how  far,  we  are  yet  to 
learn.  The  phenomena  of  Mesmerism  would 


Magnetism  of  the  Human  Body, 


133 


aeem  to  indicate  that  it  does,  and  produces 
effects  OD  other  iiying  oiganization.  Dr. 
HoUaDd  observes  : 

**  We  cannot  assert  this  to  be  impossible ; 
and  one  or  two  high  authorities  have  afSim- 
edilB  probability." 

The  emanations  from  animal  bodies,  by 
which  dogs  scent  them  in  the  chase,  and 
which  the  Hindoos,  living  on  vegetables, 
perceive  in  Europeans,  feeding  on  animal 
substances,  show  perceptible  influences  ex- 
tending around  us. 

The  curious  phenomena  of  what  is  called 
sympathy,  are  physical  results  yet  to  be  ex- 
plained. We  Know  that  mind  acts  upon 
matter,  but  the  quo  modo  is  as  yet  inexphca- 
ble  to  us.  Can  we  explain  that  mysterious 
in^oence  by  which  a  nervous  disease  afiects 
the  minds,  and  finds  its  way  to  a  diseased 
structure,  as  an  electric  shock  is  conununi- 
cated  from  body  to  body  by  contact  I  Can 
we  explain  Jiow,  when  this  occurs,  a  loss  of 
will  is  the  result,  similar  to  the  fascination 
oi  a  serpent  over  its  prey  ?  Yet,  do  we  deny 
the  well  authenticated  facts,  relating  to  the 

convulsionaiies  of  France — the  jerks  ol  our 

Own  country,  and  the  4000  cases  of  St 

Titus's  dance  in  England  ? 
Can  these  be  the   results  of  imagination 

alone?  Is  the  imitation  'of  the  wise  and 
good,  prompting  us  to  simulate  and  rival 
mem  merely,  "  such  stufi  as  dreams  are 
made  of  t" 

1/ nervous  power  originated  from  mental 
action,  it  would  be  less  variable — ^bu|  we  see 
lUie  mind  as  strong  and  active  when  the  body 
is  weak — and  the  strength  oi  the  latter  de- 
pends on  nervous  power.  Coleridge,  who 
thought  as  much  as  most  men,  says,  "  illness 
never  in  the  smallest  d^ee.  affects  my  intel- 
lectual powers  I  can  tkink  with  all  my  or- 
dinary vigor  in  the  midst  of  pain ;  but  I  am 
beset  with  the  most  wretched  and  unmanning 
reluctance  and  shrinking  from  action.  I 
could  not,  upon  such  occasions,  take  the  pen 
in  hand  to  write  down  my  thoughts  for  all 
the  wide  wdirld.**  It  is  not  mmd,  for  we 
conceive  that  to  be  indestructible,  eternal, 
therefore,  not  liable  to  disease  and  decay ; 
the  bodily  oigans  through  which  it  develepes 
its  influence  on  matter,  may  be  disordered.and 
communicate  its  powers  imperfectly,  hence 
we  become  familiar  with  what  is  called  rnen- 
ial  disease,  which  is  strictly  paradoxipal. .  A 
man  drinks  liquor,  his  brain  becomes  Op- 
pressed with  blood — as  this  increases  mental 
confusion  comes  on,  and  then  a  loss  of  mind 
takes  place — il  the  blood  be  thrown  out  and 
apoplexy  result,  it  is  permanently  gone.  In- 
tense mental  action  produces  fulness  in  the 
vessels  of  the  brain,  which  frequently  is  fol- 


example  of  this  lately  exhibited  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  poet  Southey,  will  readily  pre- 
sent itself  to  me  mind. 

U  the  electricity  of  ^he  body  varies,  (which 
experiments  prove,)  this  will  enable  us  to 
understand  how  sensitive  nervous  prsons 
experience  so  readily  atmospheric  changes, 
electric  influences,  in  the  animal  economy, 
solids  are  constantly  passing  to  fluids,  and 
fluids  into  solids  and  gases,  and  changes  into 
electrical  ponditions,  and  as  to  temperature, 
are'  always  going  on.  When  the  bodilj 
health  varies,  and  the  nutritive  function  is 
impeded,  as  well  as  other  vital  actions,  we 
must  expect  this  to  be  the  case. 

Pfaf  and  Ahrens  have  shown,  that  in 
health  the  electricity  of  the  body  is  positive, 
yet  sometimes  it  is  negative,  and  much  often- 
er  so  with  women.  In  the  5th  volume  of 
Tilloch's  Magazine,  there  is  an  article  on 
animal  electricity,  with  original  experiments, 
by  a  Mr.  Hemmer,  of  the  Electoral  Academy 
at  Manheim.  From  2,422  experiments,  he 
came  to  the  following  conclusion : — Thait 
electricity  is  common  to  all  men ;  that  it  is 
soinetimes  negative,  oftener  positive,  and 
sometimes  wanting ;  that  it  is  produced  with- 
out friction  with  the  clothes,  and  is  evolved 
from  the  naked  body ;  that  its  quality  is  al- 
tered by  certain  circumstances,  and  chanffed 
from  the  one-  to  the  other  kind  by  sudaen 
violent  motion — from  positive  to  negative  by 
cold,  or  lessened  in  amount  by  it;  that  con- 
tinued mental  exertion  increased  the  positive 
electricity,  &c.  This  latter  fact  is  very  im- 
portant, if  verified.  When  Casper  Hauser 
held  a  cat  by  the  tail,  he  was  seized  by  a 
shivering  as  if  he  held  a  metal,  and  felt  as 
if  he  h^  received  a  blow.  If  mesmerism 
depends  upon  magnetism  or  electricity,  the 
power  of  the  magnetizer  may  be  derived 
from  his  capacity  to  communicate  his  nerv- 
ous power  of  motion  and  sensation  to  his 
subject — ^if  so,  he  should  control  both  his 
motions  and  sensations ;  this  he  does,  while 
his  influence  over  him  lasts. 
*  Sensative  persons  are  most  easily  affected 
by  mesmeric  induction — ^weak  and  sensative 
persons  experience  electrical  and  atmospheric 
changes  more  readily — ^they  also  part  with 
nervous  power  more  quickly  than  strong  and 
healthy  persons.  The  touch  of  metals  pro- 
duces painful  sensations  in  some  persons, 
andpaialyses  the  muscles  of  others. 

The  variation  of  the  electrical  state  of  the 
bodily  oigans,  may  enable  us  to  appreciate 
varied  susceptibility  to  disease  in  different 
persons — and  may  also  account  for  suscepti- 
bility, as  to  magnetic  induction.  The  pre- 
dominance or  deficiency  of  the  magnetic  or 
electric  conditions,  may,  perhaps,  assist  us, 


lowed  by  similar  effects.    The  melancholy  1  with  more  adyanced  knowledge,  in  investi- 


134 


Magnetism  of^  the  Human  Body. 


gating  temperaments,  sympathy,  special  fan- 
cies and  antipathies. 

Dr.  £lliutson,of  the  Royal  Medical  Socie- 
ty of  London,  says,  "  I  am  not  aware  that 
one  temperament  is  more  susceptible  of  mes- 
meric influence  than  another.  The  same 
person  may  be  susceptible  at  one  time,  and 
not  at  another.  I  have  had  a  patient  insus- 
ceptible for  four  weeks,  and  then  become 
hii^hly  susceptible." 

I  have,  myself,  had  a  case  of  an  intelli- 
gent lady,  in  delicate  health,  whom  I  tried 
seren  diflerent  times  without  effect,  for  an 
hour  at  each  sitting — on  the  eighth,  she  \(ils 
fully  influenced  in  fifteen  minutes,  and  con- 
tinued in  the  magnetic  state  until  I  waked 
her. 

I  cannot  here  avoid  a  quotation  from  an 
eminent  author.  Dr.  Holland,  who  says  of 
the  origin  of  nervous  power,  "  Physiologi- 
cal science,  on  the  matter  in  question,  seems 
at  this  moment  to  be  on  the  verge  of  some 
great  discovery ;  resembling  in  this  respect, 
toe  actual  state  of  other  physical  sciences — 
those  of  light,  heat,  electricity,  chemical 
forces,  and  perchance  of  gravitation — which 
the  course  of  modem  inquiry  is  ever  tending 
to  reduce  to  certain  common  laws.  It  is  a 
question  oi  deep  interest  already  referred  to, 
whether  the  relation  here, -is  not  closer  than 
that  of  mere  analogy ;  and  whether  future 
research  may  not  associate  some  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  nervous  syBtem^  with  the  more 
general  elements  of  force  and  action  in  the 
physical  world.  Vital  laws,  and  what  we 
term  physical  laws,  stand  precisely  in  the 
same  relation  to  our  knowl^^.  They  are 
continually  approximating  as  this  knowledge 
advances ;  and  may  not  impossibly  in  the 
end  be  submitted,  even  in  human  comprehen- 
sion, to  some  common  principle  embracing 
the  whole  series  of  phenomena,  however 
remote  and  dissimilar  they  now  appear  All 
science  tends  to  prove  the  unity  of  creatron, 
through  the  evidence  it  afiords  of  mutual  and 
universal  relation  of  parts.** 

Dr.  Carpenter  expresses  a  similar  idea.    * 

**  That  the  rapid  progress  of  generalization 
in  physical  sciences  renders  it  probable  that 
ere  long,  a  similar  fonnula  shall  comprehend 
all  the  phenomena  of  the  inorganic  world  j 
and  it  is  not,  perhaps,  too  much  to  hope  for 
a  corresponding  simplification  in  the  laws  of 
the  organized  creation.*' 

Did  time  allow  me  to  consider  sympathy, 
cases  might  be  presented  to  you,  as  interest- 
ing and  extraordinary  as  the  apparent  mira- 
cles v)f  animal  magnetism. 

Having  trespaestsl  long  on  your  attention, 
I  will  hasten  to  a  few  deductions  from  the 
experiments  on  the  needle  which  I  have 
mentioned ;  while  I  add  that  the  ■<  facts  of 


NATIJRE,  NOT  THE  THEORIKS  OF  MAN,  ARE  THE 
ONLY  INFALLIBLE  TESTS  OF  THE  VERITY  OF 
ALLEOED  DISCOVERIES." 

1.  The  human  body  is  mafi;netic,  and 
possesses  polarity.  May  I  be  allowed  here 
to  allude  to  the  tieautiful  analogy,  which  the 
innate  principle  of  our  being,  pointing  to 
the  Great  First  Cause,  has  to  the  mysterious 
tendency  of  the  needle  to  the  pole  ?  Our  ben- 
evolent and  wise  Creator  may  have  intended 
the  same  power,  with  which  he  regulates  the 
terrestrial  movements  of  our  planet,  to  be 
the  instrument  of  communication  between  • 
matter  and  mind,  and  mind  and  his  Divine  in- 
fluence. 

When  we  see  an  influence  imparted  by 
one  man's  mind  to  that  of  another,  comma- 
nicating  thought  and  impulse,  is  it  mere  im- 
agination to  suppose  that  this  view  may  be 
consistent  with  me  mechanism  of  our  moral 
government?  Can  we  not  better  appreciate 
the  Divine  influence  over  our  own  minds, 
when  we  have  personal  experience  of  the 
influence  of  our  own  finite  powe^  over  that 
of  others .'    Surely  we  can. 

**  Man,  the  servant  and  interpreter  of  na- 
ture, understands,  and  reduces  to  practice, 
just  so  much  as  he  has  actually  experienced 
of  nature's  laws ;  more  he  can  neither  know 
nor  achieve." 

2.  Individuals  of  stronger  magnetic  jww- 
er,  can  chaige  weaker  with  their  macnetism, 
which  gives  them  a  control  over  the  will 
and  actions  of  the  latter,  while  the  chaige 
or  communication  lasts.  Persons  of  equal 
magnetic  power,  do  not  produce  any  per- 
ceptible influence  on  each  other. 

Perhaps  future  experiments  may  indicate 
that  the  polarity  of  individuals  varies,  and 
susceptibility  to  induction  may  depend  on 
one  reversing  the  polarity  of  another. 

3.  The  will  controls  and  puts  in  motion 
the  magnetic  force,  perhaps  analogously  to 
the  supposed  influence  of  the  sun  giving  mo- 
tion to  vibrations  producing  light. 

4.  As  iron  is  charged,  and  parts  with  its 
magnetism  if  the  inducing  pow^r  is  removed, 
so  buman  bodies  become  more  so  by  the  in- 
fluence of  others,  and  lose  the  additional 
force  when  the  cause  is  removed.  This  ac- 
cords with  experience. 

6.  As  magnets  once  charged,  when  they 
lose  their  magnetism,  are  more  easily  chaii^ed 
again  ;  so  th^  susceptibility  to  induction  m- 
creaseRwith  individuals.*  Once  affected  they 
l)ecome  more  easily  influenced  at  each  sub- 
sequent experiment. 

6.  As  the  capacity  of  iron  or  steel  for 
maornctipm  varies,  when  soft  or  hardened,  so 


*T\\W  fact  in  relation  to  magnets  is  stated  by  m»Bft 
bnt  itt  not  settled. 


Magnetic  Organization  of  the  Human  System. 


135 


does  peculiarity  of  temperament,  constitation 
and  cucmnstances,  modify  the  influences  of 
human  magnetism. 

The  laws  oi  human  magnetism  are  yet  to 
be  learned,  but  we  are  now  fairly  started  in 
their  inyestigation. 

In  the  19di  century,  it  is  remarkable  that 
man's  pnde  should  exceed  his  ignorance, 
and  that  the  study  of  natural  causes  of  phy- 
sical phenomena,  reported  by  credible  winess- 
es,  should  be  deemed  beneath  the  notice  of 
scientific  men.  Or,  as  Sir  William  Temple 
lemarks: 

"When  man  has  looked  about  him  as  far 
as  he  can,  he  concludes  there  is  no  more  to 
be  seen  ;  when  he  is  at  the  end  of  his  line, 
he  thinks  he  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  ; 
when  he  has  shot  his  best,  he  is  sure  none 
ever  did  or  ever  can  shoot  better  or  beyond 
it  ,■ — his  own  reason  he  holds  to  be  the  mea- 
sure of  truth,  and  his  own  knowledge,  of 
what  is  possible  in  nature." 

In  this  age  of  philosophy,  the  discoveries 
oi  science  are  dsiily  becoming  productive  of 
facts,  which  ousht  to  humble  the  pride  of  ar- 
rogant man,  ana  teach  him  with  how  much 
more  reverence  he  should 

"Loakibna^nBtun  up  to  nature's  Gtod." 

May  I  he  allowed  to  hope  that  the  time 
wilJ  arrive,  when 

"A  decent  respect  for  the  opinions  of  man- 
kind" will  protect  students  of  science  from 
the  discouraging  and  illiberal  course  pursued 
towards  them,  by  those  whose  posftion  in 
in  communities,  gives  them  the  opportunitj^ 
of  a  ridicule,  which  too  often  destroys  their 
ability  to  add  to  the  common  stock  of  human 
knowloilge. 

It  is  ungenerous,  it  is  unjust,  it  is  unwise, 
to  heap  unmerited  censure  and  charges  of 
insanity,  or  collusion  with  imposture,  upon 
those,  whose  interest  is  in  the  common  ad- 
vancement of  science,  and  whose  enthusiasm 
is  necessary  in  the  mechanism  of  scientific 
enquiry,  to  supply  the  place  of  self  interest, 
which  is  the  great  impelling  powerin  the  or- 
dinary pursuits  of  life. 

To  such  as  are  engaged  in  the  study  of 
truth,  I  would  say,  in  conclusion,  in  the  lan- 
guaee  of  one  whose  intellect  has  had  a  pow- 
erful influence  on  the  world, 

"  Crafty  men  contemn  studies,  simple  men 
admire,  and  wise  men  use  them" — and  to 
those  who  oppose  them,  **  read  not  to  con- 
tradict and  confute,  nor  to  believe  and  take 
for  granted,  but  to  weigh  and  consider." 


Magnetio  Orf^anisation  of  the  Organs  of  tli« 
Haman  Body,  as  traoad  bj  the  Rotary  Mag- 

nttlo  Machint. 

Continued  from  our  Itut  Number. 


A.A. — Poles  in  the  organs  of  causality. 
a.a. — Poles  in  the  organs  of  amativeness.^ 
Arbor  vitae.  h — Cervical  glands,  c.c. — Lunga. 
d.d. — Mammae  or  breasts,  and  heart,  e — Sto- 
mach. /-—Spleen,  g — Liver,  h.h. — Kid- 
neys, i.i. — Oyaria.  j — Uterus,  m — Cystis. 
n — Arbor  vitae.  a.n — Axis  between  •  these 
poles. 

The  importance  of  a  knowledge  of  the 
magnetic  or;;anization  of  the  human  system, 
is  greatly  increased  by  the  introduction  of 
the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine  into  practice, 
as  it  is  on  that  organization  which  the  in- 
strument acts.  In  magnetising  the  organs, 
it  is  necessary,  in  most  cases,  to  place 
one  of  the  buttons  on  the  posterior  spinal 
nerves  connected  with  them,  while  the  other 
is  moved  over  the  organs.  In  some  cases, 
however,  one  button  should  be  placed  direct- 
ly over  one  pole  of  an  organ,  while  th^4)ther 
is  over  the  spinal  nerve  connected  with  it- 
There  are  otljer  cases,  in  which  one  button 


136 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  ^c. 


fibould  be  placed  over  the  pole  of  one  organ 
and  the  other  over  the  pole  of  another  organ ; 
and  again,  there  are  cdses  in  which  one  button 
should  be  placed  over  one  pole,  of  one  oigan, 
and  the  other  over  an  organ  .of  the  brain. 
There  are  also  many  cases,  in  which  the  but- 
tons must  be  placed  over  diiTerent  phrenolo- 
gical oigans,  and  hence  the  necessity  of  a 
knowledge  of  their  relative  situations.  The 
engraving  in  the  first  number  of  this  journal,  > 
page  49,  giving  a  view  of  these  organs,  and 
the  preceding  .diagram,  intended  to  give  the 
outlines  of  the  magnetic  organization  of  the 
principal  organs  of  the  body,  will  be  of  great 
service  to  magnetisers,  who  have  little  or  no 
knowledge  on  these  subjects. 

We  have  traced  these  poles  through  the 
spinal  nerves,  under  a  very  moderate  power 
of  the  instrument,  and  a] so  direct  magnetic 
axes,  between  poles  of  the  same,  and  of  dif- 
ferent and  distant  organs,  as  seen  in  the  above 
figure,  which  accounts  for  the  direct  sympa- 
thies that  are  known  to  exist  between  djgtant 
oigans,  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner. 
The  direct  magnetic  connectioii  between  the 
stomach  and  spleen,  and  the  spleen  and  left 
kidney,  accounts  also,  in  the  most  satisfactory 
manner,  for  the  introduction  of  some  fluid 
into  the'  kidneys,  through  a  medium,  other 
than  that  of  the  general  circulation. 

There  are  other  large  poles  in  the  abdo- 
men, besides  those  represented  in  tlie  above 
figure— there  are  two  in  the  solar  plexuses, 
and  two  in  the  meseniary  surrounded  with 
satellites.  There  are  also  two  poles  in  each 
joint,  including"  those  of  the  spinal  column, 
with  axes  connecting  antagonist  muscles, 
a  knowledge  of  which,  and  of  these  muscles, 
is  indispensable  to  a  scientific  and  success- 
ful application  of  the  buttons,  in  magneti- 
sing for  lateral,  anterior,  and  posterior,  cur- 
vatures of  the  spine,  acute  and  chronic  rheu- 
matism, paralysis,  &c. 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  and  of  the 

Earth  and  Planets. 

To  men  of  that  cast  of  mind  which  impehs 

them  to  search  out  truths  for  themselves, 

and  can  practice  the  patience  necessary  in 

working  out  demonstrations,  Sir  Isaac  New- 


Ws  theory  of  gravitation  has  ever  been  far 
from  satisfactory.    At  the  same  time,  to  ea- 
dea^our  to  controvert  a  theory,  which  has 
been  received  as  settled,  by  all,  or  nearly  all, 
the  devotees  to  sciena?  for  a  century  and  a 
half,  is  a  labor  sufficient  to  deter  the  boldest 
To  raise  a  question  as  to  the  tri^th  of  what 
men {•  have,  from  their  youth  upwards,  been 
accustomed  to  believe,  strikes  the  world  as 
something  that  even  the  charitable  pronounce 
preposterous,  and  others  will  regard  as  rank 
heresy.     The  innovator,  may  reason,  though 
neyer  so  logically,  yet  il  he  succeeds  in  ex- 
citing wonder  only,  he  may  esteem  himself 
happy— nay,  if  he  do  not  call  down  the 
spirit  of  persecution  he  may  regard  himself 
fortunate.    Human  nature  is  so  constituted 
— self-love  is  so  pervading — that  men. do  not 
like  to  be  found  in  enor.     Envy  makes  the 
individual,  who  happens  to  have  struck  on 
the  right  path  in  advance  of  his  fellows, 
her  favorite  mark.    In  short,  although  we 
admit  that  the  ao^e  in  which  we  live  is  more 
liberal  than  any  that  has  preceded  it,  since 
the  christian  era,  we  must  also  acknowledge, 
and  every  day's  experience  stiengthens  the 
testimony  on  which  the  conviction  is  found- 
ed, that  truth  is  the  most  unwelcome  visitor 
that  can  knock  for  admitfemce'at  the  doors 
of  the  hearts  of  men.     Furthermore,  it  is 
much  less  laborious  to  adopt  a  venerable, 
and  venerated  error,  than*to  make  those  toil- 
some researches  which  are  necessaiy  to  es- 
tablish a  new  truth.    The  very  labor  of  think- 
ing is   itself  painful,   so  much  so,  in  fad, 
that  very  few  men  take  the  trouble  to  think 
ab  initio' ior  themselves.     There  is  some- 
thing so  very  respectable  in  the  cloak  of  er- 
ror, that  no  matter  how  threadbare  it  may 
have  become,  it  is  most  frequently  adopted 
as  the  most  fashionable  garb,  and  worn  with 
a  kind  of  triumphant,  petit  maitre,  jaunti- 
ness.     To  its  assuraers  it  never  seems  un- 
graceful, and  it  is  but  seldom  that  the  popu- 
lar voice  pronoimces  it  out  of  character. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  that  we,  of  all 
men,  need  be  most  deeply  impressed  with 
the  correctness  of  all  thisr— it  is  the  result  of 
some  forty  year's  experience — we  lay  before 
our  readers  the  foilowing  dialogue.     We 


I 


J 


Motions  oft/te  Magnetic  Forces^  ^c. 


137 


^  adopt  this  style  of  composition  from  be- 
W  Vtieving  that  it^is  most  simple,  and  least  ca- 
I  jnble  of  beiug  misonderstood ;  it  alsOj^n  our 
I  Tiew,  admits  of  greater  certainty  of  expres- 
I         sion,  an  object  which  it  is  desirous  to  gain, 

inasmuch  al»  we  would  aroid  ambiguity. 
A.    Do  you  know  that  motion  is  produced 

by  the  action  of  two  forces,  one  oft  which 

lepels  and  expands,  and  the  other  attracts 

and  contracts  ? 
B.    No,  I  don't  know  any  such  thing. 

A.  You  don*t,  therefore,  teach  any  such 
thii^  in  your  college  ? 

B.  No,  indeed !  There  is  only  one  force 
that  produces  motion  ;  namely,  that  of  gra- 
T2ty  or  attraction. 

A.  How  were  the  eardi  and  planets  first 
placed  at  certain  distances  from  the  sun,  and 
how  are  they  maintained  at  those  distances 
without  a  Tepulsire  force  ? 

B.  *  VrhenGod  made  the  earth  and  planets, 
he  gave  each  of  them  an  impulsion  in  a 
light  line,  in  which  they  would  have  al- 
ways moved,  but  for  the  force  of  gravity  in 
the  son,  which  constantly  draws,  or  attracts 
tiiem  out  of  that  line  into  curved  lines  or  orbits. 

A.  Each  of  these  bodies  had  then  a  re- 
polsaye  force  to  start  with,  by  the  aid  of  a 
miracle  in  each  case,  and,  as  the  attractive 
force  from  th%  sun  has  been  in  action  an  im- 
mense period  o£  time,  these  impulsions  must 
have  been  tremendous,  or  those  bodies  would 
have  long  since  gone  into  the  sun,  and  the 
mftor  of  this  theory  has  established  his 
elaims  to  provident  discretion  in  imputing 
Aese  impulsions  to  an  all-powerful  source. 

B.  The  theory  to '  which  you  allude  sup- 
poses a  primitive  projectile  force  in  a  right 
'  iine,  and  the  force  of  attraction,  and  that 
from  a  combination  of  these  forces,  results 
Ibe  curvilineal  motion  of  the  planetary  bo- 
ihes.  It  is  true,  theee  bodies  would  have 
long  since  fallen  into  the  sun,  if  the  projec> 
die  force  were  not  increased  by  the  increase 
oi  the  force  of  attraction,  in  certain  portions 
of  their  orbits. 

A.  So  the  force  of  attraction  is  so  accom- 
modating as  to  manufacture  a  projectile  or 
repulsive  force,  whenever  and  wherever  it 
may  be  necessary  to  suit  the  theory,  and  pre- 
Tent  these  bodies  from  falling  into  the  sun. 


According  to  the  theory,  therefore,  they  were 
first  put  in  motion  by  a  succession  of  mira- 
cles, and  are  still  prevented  from  falling  into 
the  sun  by  a  perpetuation  of  those  miracles.^ 
B.  The  projectile  force,  according  to  the 
theory,  is  increased  in  the  failing  of  a  body 
through  half  of  the  radius  of  a  circle,  to  an 
amount  which  would  be  equal  to  what  it 
would  have  acquired  by  gravity  alone ;  and 
in  this  way  overcome  the  force  of  attraction, 
and  thus  prevent  the  plannets  falling  into  the 
sun,  "while  in  thf  other  part  of  the  orbit 
the  solar  attraction  is  exercised  in  an  oppo' 
xUe  direction.'* 

A.  I  know  that  sueh  is  the  theory,  but  it 
is  remarkable,  that  since  it  tells  about  the 
planets  acquiring  projectile  force  in  falling 
in  one  p^  of  the  orbit,  it' says  nothing  about 
its  losing  projectile  force  in  rising  in  the  oth- 
er. But  here  it  seems  the  solar  attraction  is 
exercised  in  an  opposite  direction.  And  such 
are  the  absurdities,  and  resources  of  this  mir- 
aculous theory,  so  characteristic  of  the  age  in 
which  it  was  formed,  and  so  congenial  to  a 
mind  redolent  of  superstition  and  witchcraft 

B.  I  know  that  men  of  science  have 
never  been  satisfied  with  Nevrton's  Theory, 
but  they  agree  in  the  necessity  of  teaching  it, 
notwithstanding  its  complexity,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  any  other  that  is  not  subject  to  the 
Mme  objection;  for  we  can  determine  the 
place  of  a  planet  at  any  time,  and  account 
for  the  variations  in  tiie  motions  of  the 
planets,  however  minute,  with  the  most 
perfect  exactness. 

A.  I  know  that  such  are  the  pretensions 
of  the  advocates  of  this  theory,  and  that 
these  pretensions  increase  pari  passu  with 
their  absurdity.  There  is,  however,  an 
exception,  in  a  distinguished  mathematician, 
who  acknowledges  that  "  the  planet  is  not 
in  the  place  represented  by  the  figures,  but 
then  it  is  not  far  from  it**"  That  is,  not 
more  than  10,  M,  30  or  40  thousand  miles 
from  it,  (and  we » know  that  it  is  frequently 
at  these  distances,)  and  this  is  an  example 
of  their  perfect  exactness. 

You  call  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes, 
or  retrograde  motion  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit, 
*«  the  eflect  of  the  solar  attraction,  that  acts 

*  SeeEaa.  MetropoliUuw. 


138 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  ^*c. 


"with  more  int^ensity  upon  the  increased  quan 
tity  of  matter  at  the  equator,  which  it  lends 
to  draw,  into  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  but 
which  maintains  its  inclination  by  the  effects 
of  its  motion  of  rotation  ;"  or,  in  other  words, 
the  eajlh  staggers  back  from  this  cause,  and 
barely  maintains  its  inclination  by  the  mo- 
mentum of  its  motion  of  rotation  ;  and  this  is 
a  fair  sample  of  the  manner  in  which  you  ac- 
count for  the  variations  in  the  motions  of  the 
earth  and  planets.  Now,  the  intensity  of  the 
attractive  force  from  the  sun,  instead  of  being 
so  very  great  at  the  equator,  as  is  here  assum- 
ed, is  66  1-2  times  greater  at  the  poles  than  it 
is aXih^ equator,  and  thys difference  is  increas- 
ng,  and  will  go  on  increasing,  until  it  amounts 
to  90 ;  for  the  intensity  of  the  action  of  the 
foroes  of  the  sun  upon  those  of  the  earth, 
is  in  direct  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  the 
forces  of  the  earth,  and  this  intensity  is  mini- 
mum at  the  equator,  and  increases  inversely 
as  the  squares  of  the  distances  to  the  ma^et- 
ic  poles  in  the  arctic  and  antarctic  circles, 
where  it  is  maximum,  as  is  shown  by  mag 
netic  observations  on  the  earth,  and  as  is  de- 
monstrated by  the  magnetized  ring.  Besides 
the  heat  upon  the  earth,  which  lessens  the 
force  of  attraction,  is  maximum  at  the  equa- 
tor, and  minimum  at  the  poles,  and  yet  you 
talk  of  the  greater  intensity  of  the  solar  at- 
traction on  the  equator,  in  the  presence  of 
facts  which  are  fatal  to  such  an  assumption, 
£.  I  am  aware  that  the  facts  are  as  you 
state  them — that  the  planets  are  not  perhaps, 
exactly  in  the  places  represented  by  the 
figures;  and  the  manner  of  accounting  for 
the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  may  be  er- 
roneous. But  you  do  not,  I  hope,  seriously 
intend  to  deny  the  truth  of  the  theory  of 
universal  gravitation,  or  attraction. 

A.  Yes,  I  do;  for  a  theory  of  universal 
repulsion  would  be  just  as  tiue  as  that  of 
universal  attraction.  The  absurdities  in- 
volved in  each,  it  could  be  easily  shown, 
would  be  exactly  equal 

B.  Well,  I  am  astonished  I 

A.  So  am  I,  that  any  man  of  common 
sense^  should  have  ever  believed  so  absurd  a 
theory. 

B.  Newton's  theoiy  of  univerBal  gravita- 


tion was  opposed  more  than  thirty  years,  by 
men  of  the  best  talents  in  Europe,  and  the  . 
opposition  was  at  last  given  up,  and  the  the-* 
ory  acknowledged  to  be  true ;  and  do  you, 
at  this  late  period,  believe  you  can  show  it 
to  be  a  false  theory  ?  Does  not  the  apple  as 
well  as  other  bodies,  fall  to  the  earth  by  the 
influence  of  the  force  of  gravity  alone  ? 

A.  I  do,  and  can,  not  only  show  the  the- 
ory to  be  false,  but  also,  that  that  appUy  as 
well  as  other  bodies,  have  a  repulsive  force 
constantly  acting  upon  them,  from  the  at- 
mosphere alone,  of  15  pounds  to  the  square 
inch,  which  is  abundantly  sufficient  to  make 
them  fall  with  great  velocity,  without  the  aid 
of  the  attractive  force. 

B.  But  these  bodies /a//  in  a  vacuum. 

A.  Yes,  and  so  does  thaX  feather  as  fast, 
and  mark  the  difference  in  time. 

B.  Well,  we  will  see  if  you  can  show  the 
theory  to  be  false ;  and  now,  to  prevent  any 
misunderstanding  in  regard  to  it,  I  will  state 
the  theory  as  it  is,  viz.  "  Tha.t  all  particles 
of  matter  mutually  attract  eauih  other,  in  the 
direct  ratio  of  their  masses,  and  reciprocally, 
as'  the  squares  of  their  distances." 

A.  That  I  acknowledge  is  the  assump- 
tion on  which  the  theory  is  founded,  and  you 
I  presume  will  acknowledge,  that  the  forces 
which  produce  motion  in  the  particles  of 
matter  are  magnetic  ? 

B.  Yes,  I  acknowledge  the  attractive  foice 
is  magnetic,  and  if  there  is  any  other  foroc 
in  the  particles  of  matter,  I  suppose  it  must 
be  magnetic  also,  but  I  dont  want  to  hear 
anything  about  motion  being  produced  by 
heat  and  cold — ^about  the  expansive  force  of 

heat  and  the  contractive  force  of  cold we 

understand  all  about  that  There  have  been 
a  great  many  theories  introduced  by  visiona- 
ry men,  but  they  have  all  been  found  untena* 

when  compared  with  the  theory  of  una* 
versal  gravitation.  You  must  show  that  the 
assvunption  on  which  the  theory  is  founded, 
as  you  please  to  call  it,  is  false,  heiore  you 
can  disturb  the  theory. 

A.  Very  well,  there  can  now  be  no  mis- 
take in  regard  to  your  position  or  mine  ;  and 
now  here  are  some  square  noagnets,  and  I 
will  dip  the  positive  end  of  each  into  iron 


rz 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces^  ^. 


139 


filings,  and  you  will  now  see  that  on  placing 
these  ends  near  to  each  other,  the  forces  in 
these  ends  of  the  ma^ets  repel  and  expand. 


B.    Wei],  that  is  a  f  ict,  there  is  an  im 
jmlflioD,  or  prcjectile  force  which  expands. 
A.    I  will  now  dip  the  opposite,  or  nega- 


^Te  end  of  one  of  these 


filings,  and  place  it  neai  the  positiTe  end  of 
the  other. 

And  here,  you  now  see  the  forces  attract 
and  contract. 

B.    That  is  true.    How  heautiful   and 
how  perfect  the  illustration ! 


A. 

disc? 

B. 


Sir,  did  you  ever  see  a  magnetized 


Pray  what  is  it  ?  ^ 

A.  I  have  here  a  steel  disc  of  saw  plate, 
15  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  round  hole  in 
the  middle  of  it,  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
I  will  now  place  it  on  one  of  the  poles  of 
this  Galvanic  Battery  a  moment,  and  then 


first  adjust  and  then  remove  the  connecting 
copper  wires,  and  raise  it  from  the  pole.  1 
will  now  lay  it  on  the  table— place  a  sheet 
of  white  paper  over  it,  and  strew  the  paper 
in  inml^*^  ^^  filings,  as  you  see. 


140 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  ^c. 


B.  That  is  astonishmg !  what  makes  the 
iron  filings  work  into  lines  ? 

A.  They  are  magnetized  by  the  disc  with 
two  poles,  and  the  forces  form  the  pole  in 
the  space  in  the  centre  of  it ;  repel  one  end  of 
each  iron  filing  and  attract  the  other,  and 
consequently  compel  them  to  lie  in  a  line 
with  the  forces  which  radiate  from  the 
centre. 

B.  What  makes  that  halo,  or  light  circle, 
aromid  the  pole  in  the  centre  of  the  disc  ? 

A.  It  is  produced  by  the  violent  action  of 
the  forces  upon  the  matter  which  surrounds 
it. 

B.  Is  not  that  possibly  the  way  in  which 
the  sun  lights  up  its  atmosphere. 

A.  To  answer  that  question  in  the  affirm^ 
ative,  it  is  only  necessary  to  admit  a  power 
in  the  forces  from  the  sun,  proportioned  to 
what  we  obtain  with  the  magnetic  battery ; 
for  by  bringing  the  poles  in  contact  with  each 
other,  in  our  atmosphere,  they  produce  the 
most  intense  light  and  heat,  and  the  direction 
of  the  attractive  force  from  the  surface,  and 


of  the  repulsive  foraj  from  the  centre  of  the 
sun,  bring  them  (as  can  be  shown)  in  contact 
in  his  atmosphere. 

B.  I  see  four  circular  spots  in  the  circum- 
ference of  this  disc,  where  some  of  the  iron 
filings  stand  up  on  end,  and  others  are  turned 
half  round.    What  does  that  mean  ? 

A.  They  are  the  offsprings  of  the  large 
pole  in  the  centre.  It  has  made  four  poles 
and  pushed  them  into  the  circimiference  of 
the  disc,  and  it  is  the  action  of  the  forces  from 
the  small  poles  that  makes  some  of  the  iron 
filings  stand  on  their  ends,  and  others  turn 
around  them. 

B.  Well,  the  sun,  it  has  been  said,  may 
have  formed  the  earth  and  planets  by  its  ac- 
tion upon  matter  in  space,  and  you  have 
here,  it  appears,  a  miniature  solar  system, 
produced  by  the  action  of  these  forces,  and 
showing  at  least,  a  possibility  of  their  pro- 
duction in  that  manner. 

A.  There  are  other  and  more  important 
facts  in  confirmation  of  that  supposition  m 
the    correspondence  of    these  two  lunate 


r 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  ^c. 


141 


forces,  with  the  two  great  divisions  of  mat- 
ter ;  for  there  are  two  great  divisions  of  mat- 
ter, one  of  which,  as  alkalies,  repel  and  ex- 
pand, while  the  other,  as  acids,  attract  and 
contract     Again,  it  is  well  known  that  the 
earth  is  equally  divided  in  the  same  order, 
or  that  the  southern  hemisphere  is  in  a  posi- 
tive, while  the  nothem  hemisphere  is  in  a 
negative  state;  and  moreover,  that  they  con- 
eequently  attract  each  other,  at  the  same  time 
that  the  southern  hemisphere  repels  positive, 
and  the  northern  negative  matter.    The  sun 
and  planets  being  constituted,  and  organized 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  earth,  their  re- 
spective hemispheres,  ol  the  eame  denomi- 
nation,   must    repel,  while    the    hemis- 
pheres of  opposite  denominations,  must  at- 
tract each  other,  when  within  repelling  and 
attracting  distances,  as  seen  in  this  ii^re. 


mh^n//\ 


S,  the  sun;  a,  the  axis  of  rotauon;  6, 
equator ;  S  t,  magnetic  axis ;  c,  plane  of  the 
cdiptic;  £,etfrth;  d,  axis  of  rotation;  e, 
equator ;  £  n,  magnetic  axis ;  m  tn»  continu- 
ous lines  representing  the  direction  of  the  at- 
tractiTe  forces ;  r  r,  dotted  lines  reg[>re8enting 
die  direction  of  the  repalsive  forces;  g,  the 
positive,  and  ^  the  negative  hemisphere  of 
die  son ;  t,  the  negative,  and  ;,  the  poaittye 


hemisphere  of  the  earth.  It  is  now  only 
necessary  to  apply  the  simple  and  universally 
acknowledged  laws  of  the  magnetic  forces, 
to  show  that  tiie  sun  S,  must  compel  the 
earth  £,  to  revolve  on  its  axis ;  for  the  posi- 
tive hemisphere  of  the  sun  g,  would  attract 
the  negative  hemisphere  of  the  earth  t,  at  the 
same  time  the  negative  hemisphere  of  the 
sun  A,  was  attracting  the  positive  hemisphere 
of  the  earth  y;  while  the  hemispheres  of  op- 
posite denominations,  gj  and  k  t,  would  re- 
pel each  other  in  the  direction  of  the  dotted 
lines  r  r. 

The  earth  being  a  round  body,  and  having 
two  forces  thus  acting  upon  it  in  opposite 
directions,  would  necessarily  revolve  on  its 
axis  with  a  velocity  proportioned  to  the  in- 
tensity of  the  forces,  in  the  same  mann^  as 
a  ball  revolves  on  its  axis,  when  we  pull  it 
with  one  hand  on  one  side,  and  push  it  on 
the  opposite  side  with  the  other.* 

The  earth  like  the  ball,  it  will  be  seen, 
must  revolve  as  it  does,  in  the  direction  of 
the  attracting  or  pulling  forces. 

When  the  earth  would  be  thus  revolving 
on  its  axis,  it  would  be  compelled  to  revolve 
round  the  sun  at  the  same  time  and  in  the 
same  direction,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it 
would  be  constantly  attracted  on  the  west 
and  repelled  on  the  east  side,  and  would  per- 
form a  revolution  in  its  orbit  in  a  time  pro- 
portioned to  die  intensity  of  the  forces  and 
its  distance  from  the  sun. 

The  true  cause  of  the  motion  of  the  earth  on 
its  axis  and  in  its  orbit,  is  thus  shown  by  the 
action  of  the  magnetic  forces,  and  in  a  man- 
ner so  plain  as  to  make  it  easily  understood 
by  persons  of  the  most  common  education 
and  capacity,  notwithstanding  the  great  diffi- 
culties in  which  the  subject  has  been  hereto- 
fore involved. 

Newton,  like  the  philosophers  of  the  pre- 
sent day,  knew  nothing  of  the  motion  of  the 
magnetic  poles,  but  imputed  the  cause  of  the 
motion  of  the  earth  on  its  axis  and  in  its  or- 
bit, to  the  immediate  agency  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  as  may  be  seen  in  his  ninth  proposi- 
tion, in  which  he  says,   "  That  as  no  me- 


*The  forces  act  nmnltaneonsly  on  the  opponta 
ndt»  of  bodieg  m  m  dMnourttattd  on  iJm  nMgiiitlii>4 
ring. 


142 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  ^c. 


chanical  cause  can  be  assigDed  for  the  pro- 
jectile force,  none  for  the  gravitating  force, 
and  none  for  the  ix)tation  of  planets  on  their 
axes;  so  all  those  phenomena  must  be  refer- 
red to  the  imniediate  agency  of  the  Supreme 


Sir  Richard  Philips  has  promulgated  a 
gaseous  system  of  astronomy,  founded  bn 
the  assumption  of  the  equal  densities  of 
the  sun,  earth  and  planets,  and  their  momenta 
among  one  another  in  an  elastic  medium, 
which  is  equaUy  subject  to  the  necessity  of 
,  the  same  marvellous  interposition  besides  that 
of  enchantment  or  witchcraft 

Newton  supposed  that  when  God  made 
the  earth  he  gave  it  a  push,  and  that  from 
that  impulse  it  would  have  always  moved  in 
a  straight  line,  but  for  the  gravitating  or  at- 
tacting  force  of  the  sun,  which  compelled 
the  earth  to  change  its  course;  but  as  it  was 
in  constant  danger  of  falling  into  the  sun  by 
the  long  continued  action  of  this  force,  not- 
withstanding the  first  prodigious  impulse,  he 
in  his  eagerness  to  prevent  it,  founded  a  theo- 
ly  of  a  projectile  or  repulsive  force,  for 
keeping  the  earth  at  a  respectful  distance 
from  it,  on  the  ridiculous  assumption  of  a 
fall  of  the  moon  sixteen  feet  in  a  minute, 
which  he  applied  to  the  earth,  and  in  this 
way  demonstrated  most  minutely  in  his  own 
mind,  as  well  as  in  that  of  most  of  his  read- 
ers, the  stability  of  the  earth  in  its  orbit. 

Sir  Richard  Philips  has,  however,  had  the 
presumption  to  deny  the  accuracy  of  New- 
ton's calculations,  in  regard  to  the  distance 
the  moon  falls  in  a  minute  which  according  to 
his  theory  is  1 28,81 4  iett  instead  of  16 ;  and 
he  applies  it  to  the  earth,  and  in  this  way 
obtains  a  tremendous  projectile  force,  and  ac- 
counts for  the  stability  of  the  earth  in  its  or- 
bit, by  the  assistance  of  this  new  moon  story, 
with  the  same  minuteness  that  Newton  did, 
with  16  feet  fall  of  the  moon  in  a  minute, 
and  with  all  the  gravity  and  solemn  empha- 
flis  due  to  such  a  subject,  notwithstanding  the 
glaring  absurdity  of  the  attempt  to  obtain  an 
increase  of  the  projectile  out  of  the  gravita- 
ting force,  whenever  and  wherever  it  might 
be  necessaiy  to  suit  his  theory. 


B.  I  see  that  the  facts  you  have  adduced  are 
perfectly  fatal  to  the  theory  that  all  particles 
of  matter  mutually  attract  each  other  in  the  di- 
rect ratio  of  their  masses ;  for  as  you  say  it 
might  be  as  truly  said  that  all  bodies  mutual- 
ly repel^each  other  in  the  same  ratio  of  their 
masses.  There  is,  however,  another  fact 
connected  with  the  Newtonian  theory  that 
may  help  us  out  of  this  difficulty,  and  as  I 
presume  you  do  not  intend  or  wish  to  demol- 
ish the  whole  fabric  on  which  thisjBystem  i» 
founded,  I  will  mention  it  It  is  this,  "  A 
double  projectile  force,  balances  a  quadruple 
attractive  one.*' 

A.  Yes,  at  short  distances  from  the  bodies 
from  which  the  forces  emanate,  but  as  the 
projectile  force  decreases  in  direct  proportion, 
and  the  attraction  only  as  the  cubes  of  the 
distances,  they  are  consequently  bafamced  at 
a  certain  distance,  and  alsQ  at  uncertain  dis- 
tances, according  to  the  density  of  bodies  with 
which  they  come  in  contact,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  earth  and  planets.  That  appendage  to 
the  theory  of  universal  gravitation  cannot 
therefore  save  it  from  the  fate  of  every  other 
not  founded  on  the  laws  of  these  forces. 

B.  I  can  now  see  that  the  projectile  force, 
which  as  in  the  case  of  the  iion  filings* 
expands,  must  necessarily  lose  power  in 
some  proportion,  and  I  should  be  pleased 
to  see  an  example,  if  you  can  conveniently 
give  one,  which  shows  it  to  be  direct 

A.  I  Can  readily  do  so,  and  will  illus- 
trate it  in  this  drawing  of  the  solar  system*  inT 
which  the  repulsive  force  is  represented  in 
lines  drawn  from  the  centre  of  the  sun  to  the 
surface  of  the  planets,  and  the  attractive 
force  by  lines  drawn  from  the  surfebce  of  the 
Sim  to  the  planets.  Now  there  is  always  a 
magnetic  axis  or  principal  magnetic  meridian 
between  poles  of  opposite  denominations, 
whether  they  are  of  the  same  body,  or  poles 
of  difTerent  bodies,  when  they  are  within 
attracting  .and  repelling  distances,  and  the 
line  drawn  here  from  the  cenlreof  the  sim, 
to  the  centre  of  the  earthy  represents  the 
pnncipal  meridian  between  them,  and  cones- 
ponds  with  the  principal  meridian  or  Une  if 
no  vcanatUm  of  the  earth. 


Motions  of  the  Magnetic  Forces,  ^c. 


143 


i^-SJeeSf 


Tbe  son  moves  on  its  axis  from  west  to 
east,  and  consequently  moves  the  earth  and 
planets  on  their  axis,  and  in  their  orbits,  by 
the  action  of  his  attractive  force  in  the  same 
direction,  while  the  repalsive  force  maintains 
them  at  their  respective  distances  from  him, 
and  at  the  same  time  moves  their  lines  of  no 
variation  from  east  to  west,  or  in  a  direction 
opposite  to  that  in  which  the  earth  and  plan- 
ets are  moved  by  the  attractive  force ;  for 
this  economy  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
the  action  of  these  forces  in  opposite  direc- 
tfoDS.  Now  the  distance  which  the  line  of 
no  variation  of  the  earth  is  moved  by  the 
repulsive  force,  in  one  year,  or  in  the  time 
the  earth  performs  one  revolution  in  its  orbit 
is  32'^6",  as  is  ascertained  by  numerous  ob- 
servations, and  this  corresponds  very  nearly 
with  the  mean  diameter  of  the  sun  (32%03") 
as  found  by  observations  at  its  greatest  and 
least  distances  from  the  earth ;  and  as  the 
visual  angles  of  bodies  decrease  in  direct 
proporticm  to  distance,  it  necessarily  follows 


that  the  repulsive  force  from  the  sun  de- 
creases in  the  same  proportion.* 

B.  Barlow,  I  recollect,  calculated  the  an- 
nual rate  of  motion  of  the  magnetic  poles, 
and  of  course  the  line  of  no  variation  at  25' 
and  the  line  of  revolution  at  about  860. 

A.  J  know  he  did,  but  his  calculations 
were  founded  on  assumptions  which  were 
eroneous. 

The  time  of  revolution  is  666  years, 
and  this  number  has  a  very  important  relation 
to  our  system ;  for  the  magnetic  poles  and 
line  of  no  variation  of  the  sun,  earth  and 
planets,  perform  a  revolution  around  these 
bodies  in  666  of  their  years ;  and  it  is  easy  to 
determine  by  this  and  their  distance  from  the 
sun,  their  annual  rate  of  motion,  but  it  is  get- 
ting late,  and  we  must  defer  any  further  con- 
versation upon  this  interesting  subject  to  a  fu- 
ture period. 

*  32'^"  is  th«  tni*  mean  diameter  of  the  San,  at 
Mmfirom  the  earth— it  does  notvary  from  it  one  m- 
cond,  and  aatronomert  will  pleaae  correct  their  ohaav- 
vatioae. 


144 


The  «  Water  Cun^^  Analyse^. 


The  **  Water-Onr*"  Analrs^d. 
JTrom  tht  Z/mdon  Lancet, 

As  we  stated  in  our  last  number,  on  exam- 
ining the  varioas  elements  of  which  the  hy- 
dropathic treatment  is  composed,  we  find  that 
they  may  be  reduced  to  the  following.—The 
temporary  application  of  cold  to  the  skin  af- 
ter copious  jyerspiration  has  been  produced 
without  artificial  heat,  total  abstinence  from 
all  stimulating  fluids  ;  simple  diet ;  early 
hours  for  rising;  and  regular  bodily  exer- 
cise. 

With  the  arception  of  the  first,  the  one.  it  is 
tme,  on  which  the  greatest  stress  is  laid,  all 
these  means  of  treatment  can  only  be  consid- 
ered as  hyf  ienie  agents ;  and  if  we  analyse 
carefully  the  sweating  and  bathng  processes, 
we  find  that  chey  are  merely  the  application  to 
disease  generailjr  of  agencies,  the  use  of 
which  has  been,  from  the  earliest  times,  fam- 
iliar, not  only  to  the  profession,  but  to  ihe  pub- 
lic at  large.  To  appreciate  correctly  the  in- 
fluence of  the  hydropathic  medication  we 
must  recal:  to  mind  the  physiological  action 
of  cold  water  on  the  haman  frame.  Immer- 
sion in  cold  water  produces  a  sudden  shock  on 
the  nervous  system,  and  is  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  contraction  of  the  cutaneous  capil- 
laries and  retrocession  of  the  blood  from  the 
external  to  the  internal  regions,  the  nervous 
system,  however,  soon  rallies,  and  the  heart 
impelling  the  blood  with  renewed  vigour,  it  is 
returned  to  the  periphery  of  the  body,  disten- 
ding the  capillary  vessels  which  it  had  previ- 
ously abandoned,  and  giving  rise  to  an  uni- 
versal glow  or  sensation  of  warmth.  The  in- 
tensity of  this  re-adionj  as  it  is  called,  de- 
pends on  various  causes,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  is  the  state  of  the  skin  pre- 
vious to  immersion.  If  its  circulation  is  ac- 
tivie  and  vigorous,  and  if,  consequently,  the 
surface  of  the  body  is  warm,  the  re-action  is 
certlain,  prompt,  and  vigorous.  If,  on  the 
contraiy,  the  circulation  of  the  skin  is  slug- 
gish, deficient  in  energy,  the  reaction  is  in- 
complete, or  may  be  absent  entirely.  In  this 
case  the  person  who  has  been  immersed,  on 
getting  out  of  the  water,  shivers,  feels  an  uni- 
versal sensation  of  cold,  pain  in  the  chest, 
cephalagia,  and  may  not  experience  reaction 
£>r  some  minutes,  or  even  hours. 

The  above  principle,  that  the  intensity  of 
reaction  alter  the  application  of  cold  depends 
chiefly  on  the  previous  vigour  of  the  cutane- 
ous circulation,  has  scarcely  been  sufficiently 
appreciated  by  hygienists.  It  is  this  principle 
which  explains  the  inocuity  of  the  cold-bath 
as  used  by  hydropathists  in  some  diseases. — 
By  wrapping  theu-  patients  up  in  a  blanket,  or 
inawetaheet  first  and  then  in  a  blanket,  as 
soon  as  they  awake  in  the  morning,  when 
they  are  warm,  and  the  circulation  of  the 
akin  is  active,  perspiration  is  easily  produced  ; 
and  it  is  whilst  they  are  in  this  state,  whilst 
the  cutaneous  circulation  is  the  most  vigo- 
rous, that  they  are  plunged  into  cold  water. — 
As  might  phyiiologically  be  expected,  the  re- 


action is  generally  prompt  and  eneigetic.  and 
thus  the  tonifVing  effects  of  the  cold-bath  are 
often  obtained  with  patients  who  would  not 
have  had  sufficient  warmth  of  skin  or  vital 
energy  to  react  against  the  cold-bath,  as  usu- 
ally employed. 

But  this  mode  of  administering  the  coldrbath 
and  the  physiological  data  on  which  it  isius- 
tifiable,  are  not  new  to  the  profession.  With 
the  exception  that  before  Prikssnitz  ^e  sweat- 
ing stage  was  produced  by  artificial  heat, 
which,  in  our  opinion  modifies  but  little  its 
physiological  action,  it  has  been  Imown  and 
put  in  practice  from  the  remotest  antiquity 
up  to  the  present  day.  'i  he  Romans  of  old 
were  in  the  habit  of  sweating  in  the  sudatari- 
nnif  and  of  then  throwing  themselves  into  cold 
water.  The  Russians  and  Finlanders  of  the 
present  day  remain  for  many  minutes  expo- 
sed to  vapour  heated  to  150®  Fahr.  and  then 
throw  themselves  into  water  just  above  the 
freezing-point,  or  roil  themu^lves  in  the  snow. 
Even  in  our  own  country,  where  such  practi- 
ces are  not  in  use,  it  is  generally  understood 
that  a  person  may  throw  himself  into  cold  wa- 
ter when  warm  or  perspiring  from  exercise 
without  the  slightest  danger.  Indeed,  1(  la- 
dies catch  colds,  pneumonias,  &c.,  b^  coming 
out  of  ball-rooms,  and  heated  locaHties,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  is  much  less  frequent  than 
is  generally  supposed,  it  is  not  because  they 
come  out  of  a  very  warm  locality  into  a  colcl 
one,  for  thewarmsr  the  skin  is  the  more  able 
is  the  economy  to  resist  the  action  of  the  cold, 
but  because  small  portions  only  of  the  cutane- 
ous surface,  the  neck  and  shoulders,  ibr  in- 
stance, are  exposed  for  a  considerable  length 
of  lime  to  the  action  of  the  cold  air.  How 
seldom  do  we  hear  of  men,  whose  c'.othing  is 
such  as  to  place  the  entire  economy  under  the 
same  hygienic  co* edition,  experiencing  any  in- 
flammatory attack  from  such  a  cause.  In 
northern  climates,  where  the  houses  are  hea- 
ted in  their  totality,  attacks  of  bronchitis,  la- 
ryngitis, &c.,  are,  we  believe,  much  less  com- 
mon amongthe  higher  classes  than  in  our  own 
country,  although  the  cold  out  of  doors  is 
much  more  severe.  The  reas</n  is  that  the 
skin  being  thoroughly  warmed  when  they 
leave  their  dwellings  the  system  is  much  bet- 
ter able  to  resist  the  action  of  the  cold,  to  re- 
act against  it. 

If  the  view  we  have  taken  of  the  action  of 
cold  water  on  ihe  skin  is  correct,  and  it  is  the 
one  entertained  by  all  the  first  physiologists 
and  hyg  enisis  of  the  day,  Ihe  sweating  and 
bathing  processes  of  thenydr  'pathists  are  re- 
duced to  little  more  than  a  novel  mode  of  ap- 
plying the  cold-bath  and  of  ensuring  its  effi- 
ciency in  delicate  constitutions.  It  is  merely 
the  exaggeration  of  the  cold  sponging  in  thte 
morning,  or  rising  warm  from  bed,  which  med- 
ical  men  so  often  recommend  to  their  pa^ 
tients. 

As  to  the  abundant  perspiration,  respecting 
which  so  much  is  said,  and  which  is  suted  to 
be  80  extremely  efficacious,  it  la^  in  reality,  ff 
very  little  importance  whether  it  be  produced 


n 


The  «  Water  Cure''  Analysed. 


145 


by  lolJiLg  a  person  up  in  blankets,  and  thus 
arresting  the  natural  evolution  of  heat  from 
the  skin  until  that  organ  relieves  itself  by  a- 
bnndant  perspiratioL,  or  whether  it  be  pmu- 
ced  by  the  direct  application  of  moisture  and 
lieat  combined  in  the  shape  of  heated  va- 
pour. The  efiect,  as  regards  the  elimination 
of  a  certain  proportion  of  the  animal  tiuids 
Ihioagh  the  medium  of  the  skin,  is  the  same. — 
And  yet  these  are  the  novelties  brought  for- 
ward by  the  hydropathists,— novelties,  the  na- 
ture and  action  of  which  everv  medical  man 
has  learned  as  part  of  his  professional  educa- 
tion. 

The  means  of  treatment  which  constitute 
hydropathy,  considered  as  a  portion  of  our 
tberap?uticai  arsenal,  are  powerful  medical 
and  hygienic  agents,  but  can  only  be  adopted 
aa  a  panacea  for  all  diseases  by  the  ignorant 
public,  or  by  such  medical  men  as  wish  to 
raise  their  owd  fortunes  on  the  credulity  of  oth- 
ers, oa  are  destitute  of  that  valuable  faculty 
which  we  alluded  to  in  a  former  number — 
common  s^nse.    By  attention  to  diet,  by  moder- 
ation in  the  use  of  stimulants  (or  in  some  ca- 
ses, by  abstaining  from  them  entirely,)  by  ex- 
ercise, by  earlv  rising,  by  cold  ablutions,  we 
preservf  health ;  and  in  a  long  series  of  dys- 
peptic and  nervous  disorders,  occasioned  by 
town  life,  in  which  the  stomach  is  often  over- 
loaded with  food,  stimuli  are  taken  in  excess, 
exerci-^e  is  neglected,  late  hours  are  kept,  and 
the  miad  is  continoally  on  the  stretch,  attention 
to  these  points  is  equally  successful,  in  restor- 
ing lost  health.    Cures  are,  indeed,  every  day 
eSecied  by  all  medical  men  who  practice  ex- 
tensively our  profession,  through  the  action  of 
the  above  means,  and  that  without  their  de- 
manding of  their  patients  the  sacrifice  of  their 
lesideocc  or  occupations,  and,  without  any- 
thing more  than  a  placebg  in  the  shape  of 
medicine  being  administered.    Is  it  then  exira- 
oidinary,  that  when  we  add  to  their  agency 
ireedomfrom  the  harass  of  business,  the  nov- 
elty of  a  picturesque  highland  residence  and 
a  militarv-like  regularity  in  the  execution  of 
the  plan  laid  down,  that  many  thus  affected 
should  rapi  fly  recover  at  Graefenberg,  Mari- 
enberg,  Malvern,,  or  other  similar  places. — 
We  must  not  also  forget  that  the  hydropathists 
have  many  advantages  in  the  application  of 
their  hygienic  rules  over  regular  practitioners. 
They  maie  their  patients  get  up  at  five,  ab- 
stain from  stimuli,  take  long  walks,  &c.,  whilst 
Bkembers  of  the  faculty  in  general  can  only  ad- 
vise those  who  place  themselves  under  their 
care  to  follow  such  a  course,  for  they  have  not 
the  halo  which  public  opinion  gives  to  novelty 
and  more  especially  to  all  panacea-mongers. — ' 
pRiessmTZ,  the  peasant,  is  said  to  rule  over 
lords  and  ladies,  at  Graefenberg  with  a  rod  of 
iron.    His  very  nod  is  obeyed  by  his  patients,- 
whom  he  never  deigns  to  acquaint  with  the 
motive  of  his  prescriptions,    what  would  a 
West  end  fine  lady  say  of  her  physician,  if  he 
insisted  on  her  getting  up  at  five  o'clocK,  ta- 
king a  cold-bath,  and  then  walking  round 
Hyde  Park  a  couple  of  times  before  break&st  1 


He  would  be  called  a  fool  and  dismissed.— 
But  the  same  lady  will  submit  to  this,  or  any- 
thing else,  if  it  comes  from  a  Morison  or 
FaiEssNiTs.  or  even  from  one  of  their  more 
humble  followers. 

No  doubt,  in  cases  such  as  those  we  have 
just  mentioned,  the  cold-bath,  which  Dr. 
Forbes  justly  calls  the  most  powerful  tonic 
of  the  Pharmacopaei,  is  a  valuable  adjuvant, 
but  we  much  doubt  whether  its  efficacy  is  much 
increased  by  the  immoderate  sweating  that 
precedes  it.  It  appears  that  in  a  great  number 
of  cases,  after  a  certain  time,  numerous  boils 
and  abscesses  appear  on  the  skin,  and  in  the 
subcutaneous  cellular  tissue.  These  are  ap- 
pealed to  as  indicating  that  the  pecant  hu- 
mours of  the  blood  have  made  their  way  to 
the  surface  of  the  economy  ;  but  every  ration- 
al medical  man  must  give  a  very  different  in- 
terpretation to  the  manifestation  of  such  phe- 
nomena. They  can  in^reality,  only  be  consid- 
ered as  the  result  of  rej)eated  and  lopg-contin- 
ued  irritation  of  the  skin,  and  must  do  harm 
by  their  reaction  on  the  system  generally. 

There  is  another  class  of  diseases  in  which 
the  hydropathic  treatment  is  calculated  to  be 
beneficial,  viz,  in  rheumatic  and  gouty  ^  en- 
gorgements of  the  fibrous  tissues  of  the  joints, 
in  ihese  cases,  it  is  more  especially  the  sweat- 
ing and  bathing  that  act  on  the  lengorged  tis- 
sues, gradually  promoting  a  healthier  action  of 
the  absorbents,  and  favouring  the  resorption  of 
the  effused  Ijrmph.  In  gouty  constitutions,  the 
hygienic  treatment  resorted  to  is  also  precise- 
ly the  one  calculated  to  modify  the  constitu- 
tional diathesis.  If  we  could  always  per- 
suade a  patient  who  consults  us  for  the  first 
fit  of  the  gout,  to  drink  water  for  the  rest  of 
his  life,  to  take  exercise,  and  to  diminish  by 
half  the  amount  of  animal  food  he  is  in  the 
habit  of  taking,  there  would  be  but  little  chance 
of  a  rectum  ol  the  attack.  But  although  we 
think  hydropathy  harmless,  or  even  benefi- 
cial, when  directed  against  the  sequelae  of 
gout  and  rheumatism,  we  are  very  far  indeed 
from  admitting  this  to  be  the  case  during  an 
acute  attack  of  gout  or  rheumatic  ffever.  The 
experience  of  ages  tells  us  that  in  buch  cases 
there  is  a  general  inflammatory  diathesis 
which  explodes  in  the  local  inflammation  and 
that  if  re-percussion  of  that  local  inflammation 
takes  place,  there  is  danger  of  the  inflamma- 
tory action  settling  on  some  vital  organ,  and 
terminating  the  life  of  the  patient.  It  is  gen- 
erally acknowledged  to  be  of  such  extreme  im- 
portance to  prevent  this  translation  of  the  dis- 
ease from  the  extremities,  that  no  physician  in 
his  senses  would  ever  dream  of  preventing,  by 
cold  local  applications,  the  manifestation  of  an 
incipient  attack  of  gout,  and  would  even  be 
very  careful  how  he  applied  cold  to  a  person 
subject  to  gout  in  the  interval  of  the  attacks.— 
This  remark  apf^es  more  especially  to  per- 
sons advanced  m  life,  as  they  wiUi  difficulty 
resist  even  common  inflammatory  attacks  of 
the  more  important  viscera.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  Sir  F.  Bubdett's  death  is  to  be  at- 
tributed to  the  neglect  of  this    pathological 


146 


The   Water  Cure^  Analysed j  ^c. 


principle.  In  nearly  all  acute  diseases  we 
siiould  be  inclined  to  consider  hydropathy  a 
most  dangerous  practice. 

The  practice  followed  by  most  of  the  profes- 
sed hydropathists,  as  compared  with  theirpre- 
tensions,  stamps  them  as  impostors.  They 
profess  to  be  able  to  treat  and  to  cure  all  dis- 
eases by  mean^i  of  "the  water  cure,"  and  at 
the  same  time  it  is  notorious  that  they  select 
their  cases,  principally  choosing  the  forms  of 
disease  we  have  enumerated  as  likely  to  be 
benefitted  b^  the  plan  of  treatment  which  they 
follow.  It  is  a  general  remark  amon^  those 
who  have  written  on  the  subject  that  the  per- 
sons who  sit  down  to  the  "table  d'hote"  of  the 
hydropathic  establishments  on  the  continent, 
are,  generally  speaking,  as  health3r  and  cheer- 
ful a  set  of  people  as  you  could  wish  to  meet 
with.  Dr.  Ebrbnberg,  the  hydropathist  who 
was  refused  a  license  to  practice  by  the  French 
Academy^  states  in  one  part  of  his  w  ork,— *' 
I  expected  to  find  at  Graefenberg  a  reunion  of 
the  most  varied  and  severe  maladies,  and  on 
every  side  1  only  saw  robust  bodies,  aiidTresh 
countenances.  It  was  only  several  months  af- 
terwards that  I  perceived  some  who  presented 
external  traces  of  a  deep-seated  vital  affec- 
tion." Priessnitz  exercises  great  discrimi- 
nation in  the  choice  of  his  patients,  refusing 
those  who  appear  to  present  traces  of  deep- 
seated  disease.  We  believe  his  example  is 
followed  by  his  English  disciples  {  indeed, 
there  cannot  be  a  greater  proot  of  the  fact 
than  the  printed  assertion  made  by  one  of 
them,  that  out  of  five  hundred  patients  he  has 
not  lost  one. 

Hydropathy  which  is  now  in  the  zenith  of 
its  fame,  will  have  the  fate  of  all  other  medi- 
cal impostures.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years 
it  will  be  abandoned  by  the  public  for  some 
other  novelty,  and  this  wiU  continue  to  be  the 
case  until  the  Legislature  steps  into  shield  the 
public  and  the  profession  from  the  inroads  of 


We  think  we  cannot  better  close  our  re- 
marks on  hydropathy  than  by  quoting  the  con- 
clusion to  which  the  French  Atrademy  came 
on  the  government  referring  to  it  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  allowing  a  hydropathic  establishment 
to  be  formed  in  Paris. 

1 .  Thai  hydrotherapy  is  a  dangerous  the- 
rapeutical method  which  does  not  rest  on 
fhcts. 

2.  That  its  theory  is  chimerical. 

3.  That  it  is  in  disaccord  with  our  chemi- 
cal andpathological  doctrines. 

4.  That  the  Academy  cannot  in  any  way 
approve  of  it. 

5.  That  the  use  of  cold  water  has  been 
long  in  the  domain  of  medicine,  and  submit- 
ted to  known  rules. 


Digitalis  in  EpUepfty—DT.  Scott,  of  Liver- 
pool, describes  some  cases  of  sthenic  epilepsy 
■which  seem  to  have  been  successfully  treated 
by  tincture  of  digitalis  admmisterea  during 
the  premonitory  stage,  in  full  doses,  and 


continued  until  it  produce  some  effect  This 
remedy  deserves  attention,  as  calculated  to 
subdue  the  increased  vascular  action  which 
in  many  cases  precedes  the  epileptic  convul- 
sion. Dr.  Scott,  judiciously  remarks,  "In 
the  sthenic  species  of  epilepsy  the  premon- 
itory symptoms  which  have  come  under  my 
observation,  have  usually  been  those  of  ner^ 
vous  and  vascular  excitement,  gradually  in- 
creasing until  the  cerebro-spin£  congestion 
has  been  sufficient  to  produce  the  paroxysm; 
and  it  seemed  reasonable  to  suppose  that  if 
Ae  excitement  could  be  allayed,  the  parox- 
ysm might  be  arrested,  and  by  continued 
prevention  the  disease  might  be  eventually 
removed,  provided  it  was  not  dependent  upon 
oiganic  causes.  This  has  been  effected  in 
so  many  instances,  by  the  instrumentality  of 
digitalis,  without  detriment  to  the  powers  of 
the  constitution,  that  I  cannot  but  think  that 
it  presents  a  valuable  resource,  and  is  de- 
serving of  a  more  extended  trial  in  similar 


Incontintnce  of  Urine  and  Enuresis  Cured 
by  Electricity.  —  Incontinence  of  urine 
frequently  comes  on  after  severe  rheuma- 
tic and  gouty  afiections.  In  many  cases 
these  affections  have  been  referred  to  afiec- 
tions  of  the  spinal  marrow ;  bnt  M.  Fion'ep 
denies  this,  as  any  affection  of  the  lower 
portion  of  die  cord,  which  would  cause  pa- 
ralysis of  the  bladder,  would  at  the  same 
time  produce  some  paralytic  symptoms  in 
the  voluntary  muscles  of  the  lower  extremi- 
ties. He  refers  it,  therefore,  to  a  local  affec- 
tion of  the  bladder  itself,  to  an  affection  of 
the  nerves,  or  the  muscular  fibres  or  of  both. 
Takine  this  view  of  the  question,  he  resolved 
to  try^the  effect  of  the  application  of  the  local 
apphcation  of  electricity.  A  metallic  stilet, 
terminating  in  a  button-point,  is  introduced  in- 
to the  bladder,  with  the  aid  of  a  gum  catheter, 
which  envelopes  the  whole  but  the  button- 
point  The  handle  of  the  stilet  is  then  con- 
nected with  one  of  the  wires  of  the  electro- 
galvanic  battery,  while  the  extremity  of  the 
other  wire  is  pressed  against  the  pubes.  The 
electric  curient  is  passed  througn'  the  bladdff 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  eacn  day.  The 
bladder  in  ffeneral  retains  the  urine  better  the 
very  first  day  after  the  application ;  but  the 
application  requires  to  be  renewed  at  intervals, 
till  the  bladder  recovers  its  full  power.  Ser- 
eral  cases  are  related  of  this  affection,  in  peo- 
ple from  thirty  to  forty  years  of  age,  in 
whom  the  afiection  was  completely  removed 
b^  the  electricity.  M.  Froriep  ws  found 
this  agent  equally  powerful  in  removioff  the 
weakness  on  which  the  enuresis  of  childxen 
depends.    In  some  cases,  he  found  one  ap- 


r: 


Human  Magnetism,  S^c. 


147 


plication  of  the  electricity  remove  the  dis- 
ease ;  in  others,  it  required  to,  be  repeated  at 
intervals.  He  found  that,  in  weekly  chil- 
dren, a  lew  doses  of  iron  confirmed  the  cure. 
— Jdent. 


Hnman  Magn«tlim. 

AsKf/^iXaXvm  performed  during  the  Magnetic 
Sleep. 

The    Wdverhampton  Chronicle  contains 
the  following  extraordinary  statement;  for 
the  accuracy  of  which  it  vouches: — John 
Marrion,  agSed  forty-five,  residing  in  Can- 
lane,  Sedjdey,  received  an  extensive  injury 
of  the  middle  finger  in  January  last,  and  be- 
came a  i»tient  of  Messrs'  Thompson  and 
Dunn.    It  has  since  been  treated  ny  those 
gentlemen  in  the  usual  maimer,  but  the  na- 
ture of  the  injury  rendered  amputation  ne- 
cessary.    With  a  view  to  test  mesmeric 
Bleep,  Marrion  consented  to  the  proposal  to 
place  liimself  under  the  treatment  of  Dr. 
Owens,  and  on  Sunday  week,  for  the  first 
time,  he  was  magnetized.    The  patient  was 
afterwards  daily  magnetized,  and  the  case 
created  intense  ii^terest  in  the  public  mind, 
more  jMUtJculariji  among  medical  men,  who 
attended  in  numbers    every  day  to  mark 
Dr.  Owen's  progress.    On  Saturday  the  ope- 
ration was  performed,  and  Mr.  Dunn's  room 
was  thronged  with  medical  and  other  gen- 
tlemen, to  witness  the  event    The  patient, 
cm  being  brought  into  the  room,  appeared 
rather  fiushed,  but  Dr.  O^^ens  addressed  him 
in  a  lively  and  friendly  manner,  and  he  took 
his  seat  evidently  quite  composed.    In  two 
minutes  and  a  half  deep  sleep  was  produced, 
but  the  doctor  kept  his  position  some  time 
longer.    Dr.  Mannix  then  felt  the  patient's 
pulse,  which  beat  one  hundred  per  minute. 
Some  questions  were  put  to  him  while  ih  this 
atate  by  Dr.  Owens,  and  language  being  ex 
cited,he  said  he  felt  very  comfortable.    "Pro- 
ceed with  the  operation,"  said  the  doctor ; 
knd  ID  one  minute  Mr.  Dunn  had  performed 
it  veij  neatly.     The  cutting  the  fiap  and  the 
dividing  of  the  bone   by  the  nippers  was 
watchcS  with  breathless  scrutiny  by  all  pre- 
sent, but  not  a  muscle  quivered  nor  did  a 
sigh  escape,  nor  did  any  single  thing  occur 
to  betray  the  slightest  sensation.    During  the 
dressing  of  the  arm  the  hand  was  suspen- 
ded over  the  table  in  a  cataleptic  state,  with- 
out any  further  support    Two  minutes  after 
the  operation  Dr.   Mannix  felt  the  man's 
pulse — ^it  was  still  1 00..    Dr.  Owens  then  ex- 
cited lai^hter,  and  the  patient  laughed  hap- 
pily, eTidently  quite  unconscious  of  the  le- 
fiex  he  had  muwgone.    Some  time  elapsed 


during  which  he  continued  sleeping,  and  on 
being  questioned  in  that  state  he  was  not  at  all 
aware  of  what  had  been  done.  Being  awoke 
O^rhich  was  done  instantaneously  by  Dr. 
Owens  touching  the  organ  of  firmness,  which 
seemed  to  act  umost  miraculousl}r,)  and  find- 
ing his  arm  in  a  sling,  he  ejaculated — 
"Thank  the  Lord'  for  that"  In  reply  to 
questions,  he  said  he  had  not  felt  it  Every 
gentleman  signed  the  minutes,  which  were 
noted  by  Mr.  Gatis,  during  the  operation, 
when  a  liberal  subscription  was  raised  for 
the  man,  and  Dr.  Owens  was  warmly  con- 
gratulated. 

There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of 
this  statement,  as  it  is  gravely  put  forth. 
It  deserves  the  timeliest  and  most  careful 
consideration  of  the  many  surgeons  and 
scientific  men,  who  doubt  the  efficacy  of  n^g- 
netism  in  this  application.  If  the  most  fear- 
ful operations  of  surgery  can  be  performed 
without  any  pain,  almost  without  incon- 
venience to  the  patient,  many  a  pang  will 
be  saved  to  humanity.  An  agent  that  has 
such  wonderful  piower  over  the  human  frame 
as  this  has,  should  at  once  attract  the  care- 
ful and  unprejudiced  study  of  the  natural 
philosopher  and  practical  physician.^ — Ed. 
Magnef,  June,  1844. 


Period  of  Incubation  in  Syphilis. — Ricord 
says,  when  indurated  chancre  existe,  a  true 
syphilitic  diathesis  is  established,  and  Acci- 
dental circumstances  alone  are  necessary  to 
bring  about  ite  manifestation.  The  interval, 
which  separates  indurated  chancre  from  se- 
condary symptoms,  may  truly  be  considered 
as  an  incubation,  during  which  a  ferment 
mixed  with  the  blood  (syphilis  larvee,  Bagli- 
vi),  and  circulating  with  it,  modifies  ite  cona- 
position  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  render  it,  in 
some  measure,  unfit  for  proper  nutrition  on 
the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other — ^under  the  in- 
fluence of  circumstances  which  have  no  ac- 
tion on  the  healthy  individual — tg  give  rise 
to  a  series  of  symptoms  which  have  received 
the  collective  name  of  secondary  syphilis. 
This  interval  of  incubation  is  shorter  in  the 
child  and  female  than  in  the  male  adult.  It 
lasts  from  three  to  four  weeks  to  as  many 
months  in  general,  the  average  being  six 
weeks.  A  sudden  change  in  the  external 
temperature,  the  excitement  caused  by  alco- 
holic stimulants,  or  even  local  causes,  or 
warm  or  cold  baths,  the  action  of  a  short 
pipe  on  the  UpB,  neglect  of  cleanliness,  diet  of 
an  exciting  nature,  the  exercise  of  riding — 
such  are  the  most  frequent  determining  causes 
of  the  first  outbreak  of  secondary  sympV)ms. 


148 


Miscellaneous  Items, 


Ihe  Effects  of  Mercury  on  Cattle,—*'  A 
cow  had  been  very  mach  mfeisted  with  large 
hlack  lice,  to  destroy  which  the  unguentum 
hydraigyri  had  been  freely  used.  She  was 
salivated,  being  well  supported,  however, 
with  decoction  of  linseed ;  m  a  few  days  the 
eiects  of  the  mercury  began  to  subside ;  but 
ftit  result  was,  that  the  hair  of  her  ears 
sloughed  off  close  to  the  head,  and  likewise 
the  points  of  both  the  ossa  calc^,  and  to  such 
an  extent  that  one  of  the  tarsal  joints  was 
left  open,  which  caused  no  little  trouble  to 
stop  the  escape  of  synovia.  Her  tail,  like- 
wise, became  almost  denuded  of  hair ;  never- 
theless, she  ultimately  rallied,  and  milked 
well  in  the  following  summer." — Veterina- 
nan. 

Tapping  the  Chest  is  usually 'performed 
in  front  between  the  sixth  and  seventh  ribs, 
where  the  serratus  magnus  and  obliquus  ex- 
temus  muscles  digitate.  On  Uiis  subject  Mr. 
Colles  remarks,  "  The  place  to  operate  on  in 
empyema  is  in  my  opinion,  referable  to  the 
inferior  angle  of  the  scapula.  Place  your  pa- 
tient on  the  side  opposite  to  where  the  matter 
is ;  place  his  arm  of  the  affected  side  on  a 
line  with  the  body,  the  elbow  being  just  over 
the  highest  part  of  the  crest  of  the  iliium ; 
you  then  have  the  scapula  fixed ;  then  mea- 
sure four  fingers'  breadth  downwards  from  the 
angle  of  the  scapula,  and  four  fingers'  breadth 
transversely  from  the  spinous  process  of  the 
vertebrae  (to  get  clear  of  the  tbick  mass  of 
muscles  near  the  spine)  until  it  meets  the  per- 
pendicular line,  where  they  decussate,  there 
you  should  puncture.  You  are  first  to  make 
an  incision  three  or  four  inches  lon^  in  the 
transverse  direction  through  the  skm,  next 
through  the  latissimus  dorsi,and  next  through 
the  intercostal  muscles,  and  then  you  get 
upon  the  pleura.  Now  som^  advise  you  to 
tear  through  the  pleura;  but  in  hiany  of 
these  cases  the  membrane  is  thickened  by 
disease,  so  as  to  be  several  inches  thick,  and 
you  might  be  tearing  until  you  were  tired 
before  you  could  get  through.  I  once  ope- 
rated for  empyema  until  me  whole  knife 
was  in  the  wound," — Dublin  Medical  Press, 

Prophylactic  virtues  of  Belladonna  against 
Scarlatina. — "  A  curious  fact  is  mentioned, 
under  the  head  of  the  solanaceous  narcotics, 
in  support  of  the  supposed  efilcacy  of  bella- 
donna as  a  preventive  of  scarlatina.  A  child 
was  brought  home  from  school  ill  with  this 
fever,  ana  M.  de  Lens  caused  all  the  fiamily 
to  take  belladonna  as  a  preventive,  except  one 
the  grandmother  and  she  was  the  only  per- 
son who  received  the  infection.    The  form 


and  dose  in  which  it  is  given,  for  this  pur- 
pose, are  as  follows : — ^Fifteen  centigrammes 
of  the  extract  are  dissolved  in  thirty  grammes* 
of  distilled  water,  and  of  this  two  or  three 
drops  are  given  night  and  morning  to  infants 
one  year  <3d  or  under,  three  or  four  drops  to 
children  of  two  years,  and  so  on  progressive- 
ly, so  that  the  dose  for  an  adult  is  fifteen 
drops.  It  appears  that  the  reputation  of  this 
prophylactic  course  of  treatment  is  pretty 
firmly  established  in  France,  and  so  much  so 
in  Germany  that  it  has  been  frequently  re- 
commended by  authority  during  violent  epi- 
demics. We  doubt  whether  it  is  much  in 
favour  with  English  practitioners ;  but  yet  as 
M.  Bouchardat  justly  observes,  it  is  attended 
with  httle  trouble,  and  no  possible  harm,  so 
that  it  would  be  .well  worth  while  to  take  the 
chance  of  its  being  useful.  It  may  do  good 
too,  as  a  medicine  morale."  Provincial  Jour- 
nal. 


Faralynii. 

Mrs.  Pollock  600  Greenwich- Street,  had 
a  paralytic  shock  about  6  months  since, 
which  palsied  entirely  the  left  half  of  her 
body  and  limbs,  the  common  remedies  were 
applied  without  benefit.  On  the  23d  of  May 
last,  Mr.  D.  B.  Crist  commenced  mesmeri- 
sing  her  daily,  and  on  the  4th  sitting  she 
raised  her  hand  to  her  head,  and  after  the 
7th  sitting  she  was  able  to  walk  without  as- 
sistance, and  on  the  8th  of  June  inst  she 
was  apparently  entirely  well,  when  the  sit- 
tings were  concluded. 


Tests  for  Arsen  ic.  In  the  Provincial  Jour- 
nal (which  by  the  way  now  issues  from  its 
rural  retirement,  pale,  sickly,  and  attenuated) 
we  find  a  paper  by  Dr.  Sherman  on  the  tests 
for  arsenic.  He  particularly  alludes  to  those 
of  Marsh  and  Keinsch,  and  their  modifi- 
cation recommended  in  T^e  Lancet  by  Mr. 
Ellis.  The  only  objection  to  those  tests  is 
the  difficulty  of  procuring  zinc  free  from 
arsenical  contamination.  The  author  is  then 
led  to  remark  that "  there  is  another  test 
which  deserves  more  attention  than  it  has 
yet  met  with,  viz.  the  decomposition  of  distil- 
led wcUer  by  galvanism^  to  which  the  suspected 
solution  is  added,  with  pure  sulphuric  acid. 


*U  mmv  be  as  ynVi  to  brinff  to  the  TaeellMtieii  of  oar 
i«ad«n  that  a  namme  ia  lM44  graina  by  wm^\  a 
eantignumna,  Iha  lOOili  part  of  a  gnmrna. 


r 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


149 


collectiiig  the  hydn»en  Jrom  the  negative 
pole  or  zmcode  of  Smee's  batteiy,  igniting 
it  and  examining  the  stain  left  in  a  glass  tube 
open  at  both  ends.  If  there  is  the  smallest 
raiticle  of  arsenic,  the  hydrogen  will  com- 
tane  with  it,  and  you  then  have  a  stain  of 
metallic  arsenic^  with  rhomboidal  crustah; 
whicii  you  may  oxidise,  collect,  and  dissolve 
in  water;  go  through  the  fluid  tests,  reduce 
the  sulptMret  in  a  tube,  and  sublime  it  into 
arseniouR  acid  again.  This  is  the  most  deli- 
cate teat  known,  and  is  perfectly  free  from 
the  charge  (/  using  any  substance  in  iohidi 
arsenic  can  exist."  It  should  be  remembered 
that  sulphuric  acid  is  not  always  free  from 
arsenic.  The  only  satisfactory  means  of 
ascertaining  the  purity  of  the  materials  made 
use  of  is  to  put  the  apparatus  in  action  pre- 
Tiousij  to  the  addition  of  the  suspected 
substance,  if  found  then  to  be  pure,  tne  ex- 
periment can,  of  course,  be  relied  on. 


The  Influence  of  Factory  Labour  on  Growth. 

T>t    Vndte,  in  a  eommtmication  to  the 
Medical  Gazette,  makes  the  following  re- 
marks, which  will  not  at  the  present  mo- 
ment be  lost  on  some  of  our  readers : — **  It 
28  by  no  means  an  unfrequent  occurrence  in 
this  ne^bbourhood  (Preston)  to  find  new- 
born infants  weigh  twelve,   thirteen,  and 
fourteen  pounds;  and  the  average  weight 
seems  to  be  from  ten  to  eleven  pounds, 
Notwithstanding  the  more  than  ordinary 
weight  of  infants  at  the  time  of  birth,  it  is 
worthy  of  remark  that, the  generali^  of 
adults  never  reach  above  the  middle  size, 
and  by  far  the  greatest  number  are  much 
below  it     It  is  very  probable  ^at  this  may 
arise  from  the  early  age  at  which  children 
are  sent  to  work  in  the  factories;  and  that, 
although  the  parent  plant  be  impaired  from 
want  of  proper  culture,  it  preserves  within 
itself  the  power  of  propa^ting  a  race  which, 
by  due  and  timely  trainmg,  might  become 
one- of  the  finest  in  the  kingdom." 


fested  themselves.  Five  ptustules  appeared 
around  the  tumour,  which  itself  became  in- 
flamed. On  the  tenth  day  it  was  covered 
by  a  black  crust,  which  came  ofl  on  the 
twentieth,  leaving  a  healthy,  rosy  surface 
underneath.  All  traces  of  the  erectile  tu- 
mour had  disappeared. 

A  child  nine  years  of  age,  had  borne,  since 
its  infancy,  an  erectile  tumour  in  the  external 
angle  of  the  eye.  The  tumour  had  never  in- 
creased in  size  until  the  child  was  attacked 
with  scarlatina.  Its  increase  from  that  time 
was  so  rapid  as  to  alarm  ihe  parents,  who  ap- 
plied to  M.  Carron  du  Villards.  Three  en- 
tomolopcal  pins  were  fixed  in  the  tumour, 
and  their  extremities  having  been  bound  to- 
gether with  a  little  silver  wire,  were  exposed 
to  the  flame  of  a  wax  candle.  The  tumour 
became  swollen, cracked,  and  then  sank.  On 
withdrawing  the  pins  they  brought  away  a 
portion  of  its  parenchyma.  Eight  days  after- 
wards the  child  was  cured. 

A  pretty  young  woman,  of  Versailles,  had 
an  erectile  tumour,  of  the  size  oi  a  pea,  oa 
the  superior  eyelid.  After  an  attack  of 
scarlatina^  it  became  endowed  with  increased 
vitality,  and  appeared  ready  to  burst  every 
time  she  coughed.  In  six  weeks  it  acquired 
the  size  of  an  olive.  M.  Caircm  du  Villards 
having  been  then  consulted  by  her  family,  de- 
termined to  operate  by  the  coagulating  method 
The  tiunour  was  injected  by  means  of  Anel'a 
syringe,  with  a  styptic  solution.  It  became 
black,  and  then  faded.  On  the  fourth  day,  it 
was  surrounded  by  an  inflammatory  circle> 
and  covered  by  small  phlyctenae.  The  fifth 
day  a  portion  of  it  separated,  and  the  rest 
dried  up.  On  the  eighth  day  the  entire  crust 
fell  off,  leaving  underneath  a  rosy,  new  skin» 
similar  to  that  of  a  cicatrised  blister,  without 
loss  of  substance  or  deformity. — Annales  d' 
Ocultispue. 


Treattant  of  the  Er«otil«  Tnmonrs  of  tlie 
Eyolldn. 

By  M.  Cakboh  ov  Villardi. 

A  little  girl,  fourteen  years  of  age,  had  pre- 
sented, since  her  birth,  on  the  upper  eyelid,  an 
erectile  tumour,  about  the  size  of  a  grain  of 
tofke.  The  tumour  was  of  a  livid  red  colour, 
increased  daily,  and  was  excessively  tense 
when  the  child  cried.  M.  Carron  du  Villards 
inoculated  the  tumour  and  its  circumference 
with  vacine  virus,  traversing  it  with  a  thread 
impresiiated  with  the  vacine  matter  On  the 
iim  &y,  the  symptoms  of  inoculation  mani- 


kH^^X%XSWW»V\«^%K%'^'N« 


Oaso  of  Large  Ovarian  Tmnonr  Removed 
OperaHoa. 

By  pRBoauoK  Bird,  M.  D.,  dbc. 


[Head  b^are  the  Medio  At  Sooibtt  or  LoNDOir. 
itfarcA  4, 1844.] 

The  subject  of  the  case  was  a  lady,  on 
whome  he  had  lately  operate  for  the  extir- 
pation of  a  laive  ovarian  tumour.  The 
operation,  although  attended  by  unusual  diffi- 
culties, had  been  completely  successful.  He 
had  been  induced  to  bring  the  case  before  the 
notice  of  the  society,  partly  on  account  of 
the  peculiar  features  it  presented,  and  partly 
because  it  aflforded  a'marked  illustration  of 
the  imperfect  state  of  the  means  of  diagnosis 
of  certain  forms  of  ovarian  disease.  Tlw 
sfi)jcct  of  the  case  was  thirty-five  years  of 


150 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


age,  married,  but  without*  children,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  dysmenorrhsea,  had  enjoyed 
previous  good  health.  During  the  last  two 
years  the  abdomen  had  been  increasing  in 
size,  the  enlai^gement  having  taken  place 
equally  on  either  side»  and  had  been,  until 
within  the  last  six  months,  quite  unaccom- 
panied by  disturbance  of  the  general  health. 
Pregnancy  was  for  some  time  supposed  to 
exist,  and,  under  that  impression,  no  recourse 
was  had,  until  lately,  to  remedial  measures. 
The  abdomen  had,  within  the  preceding  four 
or  five  months^  enlarged  much  more  rapidly 
than  before,  frequent  vomiting  and  protracted 
diarrhcea  then  occured,  and  general  emaciation 
succeeded.  Two  months  ago,  Dr.  Frederick 
Bird  saw  the  patient,  in  consulation  with  Mr. 
Hale  Thompson  and  other  gentlemen,  at 
which  period  the  abdomen  had  a  circumfer- 
ence of  forty  inches ;  fluctution  appeared  very 
distinct  in  every  direction ;  the  thoracic  cavity 
was  much  encroached  upon  by  the  large  size 
of  the  tumoui',  she  was  greatly  emaciated, 
and  it  was  evident  that  the  constitutional 
powers  were  fast  sinking  beneath  the  disease. 
UT.  Locock,  Dr.  Hamilton  Roe,  Dr.  Hodgkin, 
Mr.  B  Phillips,  and  others,  subsequently  saw 
the  patient,  and  the  operation  for  extirpation 
was  finally  determined  upon. 

The  same  prelinrunary  treatment  adopted 
in  his  former  operations  have.been  employed. 
Dr.  F.  Bird  commenced  by  making  a  small 
incision  in  the  linea  alba,  and  a  little  below 
the  umbilicus,^and  on  exposing  the  peri- 
toneum, the  cyst  was  found  to  be  adherent ; 
the  adhesions  were  then  examined,  and  Dr. 
Locock  concuring  in  the  operation  that  they 
would  admit  of  separation  without  any  great 
difficulty,  the  incision  was  enlarged  to  about 
five  inches,  so  as  to  readily  admit  of  the  pas- 
sag^  of  the  hand,  which  was  next  cautiously 
introduced  between  the  surface  of  the  tumour 
and  the  parietes  of  the  adbomen ;  the  adhe- 
sions were  found  to  exist  in  every  direction 
anteriorly,  but,  excepting  in  some  few  parts, 
gave  way  readily  to  the  presence  of  the  fin- 
gers ;  all  the  adhesions  having  been  thus  de- 
tached, and  it  having  been  previously  found 
that  the  contents  of  the  cyst  were  not  fluid,  an 
incision  was  made  into  it,  and  its  bulk  con- 
siderably reduced  by  the  withdrawl  of  several 
pounds  of  the  firm  gelatinous  mass  by  which 
it  was  filled,  and  as  soon  as  the  tumour  began 
to  protrude  from  the  wound,  it  was  firmly 
grasped  by  the  foreceps,  the  incision  carried 
upwards  to  about  three  inches,  and  the  re- 
maining part  of  the  morbid  growth  removed 
from  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen ;  the  wound 
was  then  closed,  and  secured  by  sutures,  the 
vessels  of  the  pedicle  having  been  previously 
tied  and  divided,  and  the  ligatures  fixed  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  incision.    But  li(flQ 


haemorrhage  occurred  and  the  operation  waa 
borne  remarkably  well  by  the  patient,  her 
pulse,  at  its  conclusion,  exceeding  but  hy  two 
beats  the  frequency  observed  during  seveiai 
days  prior  to  its  performance. 

No  pain,  or  omer  local  symptom,  was  felt 
after  the  operation  ;  reaction  soon  appeared, 
and  as  quickly  subsided ;  the  patient  passed 
a  good  night,  and  at  the  end  of  a  few  days 
had  quitteaher  bed ;  the  wound  rapidly  heaL- 
ed,  and  all  the  ligatures  were  removed  before 
the  end  of  the  fouflh  week  after  the  operation. 
The  patienf s  convalescense  had  not  been  re- 
tarded by  any  subsequent  symptoms,  and  she 
is  now  in  complete  health. 

The  tumour  weighed  thirty-five  pounds.  It 
consisted  of  the  r^ht  ovarium,  enlaiged  by 
the  development  of  one  laree  primary  and 
several  secondary  cysts.  Tne  parent  cyst 
was  filled  by  a  firm  gelatinous  secretion, 
varying  in  color  and  in  density,  the  difier- 
ence  in  color  being  apparently  due  to  the 
amount  of  blood  sent  to  its  seveiai  parts,  the 
deepest  color  being  observed  at  the  lowest 
portion  of  the  mass.  In  some  parts  was  opake 
and  striated.  There  were  several  vessels  of 
laige  size  traversing  the  interior  of  the  tumour. 
The  pedicle  contained  three  arteries,  of  which 
one  was  large ;  the  contents  of  the  secondary 
cysts  did  not  essentially  difier  from  that  con- 
tained in  the  primary  one.  The  external 
surface  of  the  tumour  was  irregularly  covered 
by  false  membrane,  which,  in  some  parts, 
was  of  considerable  density  and  firmness. 

In  making  some  remarks  upon  the  preced- 
ing case.  Dr.  F.  Bird  said,  the  attendant  cir- 
cumstances of  the  operation,  in  the  present 
instance,  had  conlu^med  him  in  his  opinion 
of  the  advantages  to  be  gained  by  the  employ- 
ment of  an  incision  of  mediate  size;  the 
separation  of  the  adhesions  had,  in  this  case, 
been  found  neither  a  tedious  or  difficult  pro- 
ceeding, for  the  tense  condition  of  the  abdo- 
minal walls  not  having  being  destroyed  by  the 
laige  abdominal  section,  the  hand  was  no 
sooner  introduced  laterally  between  the 
parietes  of  the  abdomen  and  the  contained 
tumour,  than  the  adhesions  were  put  upon 
the  stretch,  and,  in  that  state,  readily  etive 
way  before  the  presence  of  the  fingers  Had 
the  abdominal  walls  been  more  extensively 
divided,  the  detachment  of  the  adhesions 
would  have  been  a  more  difficult,  and  proba- 
bly a  more  dangerous  proceeding.  Although 
the  tumour  was  of  large  size,  and  did  not 
contain  any  fluid,  yet  it  was  removed  without 
having  recourse  to  the  very  large  incision. — 
The  history  of  the  case  had  afl&rded  no  rea- 
son for  believing  that  inflammation  had  oc- 
curred at  any  former  period,  and  the  adhe- 
sions were  neither  detected  nor  susoected.  It 
was  difficult  to  detezmine  the  period  for  which 


True  Character  of  Idiopathic  Erysipelas. 


151 


tbe  peritioneal  adheaions  had  existed ;  but  the  wards,  on  December  1 3th,  that  the  local  in- 
thickened,  and  in  some  parts  well  oi^ganised  flammation  declared  itself  by  heat,^8welhng, 
Jonnof  the  false  membrane,  scattered  over  the  ""  ""*  "  "^  '  -x  *»--  i-^ 


surface  of  ihe  tumour,  seemed  to  indicate  that 
flicy  were  not  of  very  recent  date.  It  was 
worthy  of  remark  that,  since  the  operation, 
ihe  menstrual  function  had  been  twice  per- 
formed, and  on  neither  occasion  had  the 
patent  experienced  any  of  the  severe  pain 
&om  which  she  formerly  suffered. 

On  the  true  Oharaoter  of  Idiopathic  Erysipe- 
las. 
Bt  Jameb  AaTHua  Wxlsoii,  M.  D., 
Pk^aidan  to  8t.  George's  BbapUaL 

Tbere  is  a  short  severe  fever,  at  all  times 
sporadic  in  this  country,  and  occasionally 
prevailing  with  epidemic  frequency, — a  fever 
which,  though  uniform  in  any  given  num- 
ber oi  cases,  as  that  of  measles,  small  pox,  or 
scarlatina,  is  not  yet  associated  by  nosqjo- 
gists  or  practitioners  with  its  proper  class  of 
acute  eruptive  disorders,  but  is  known  only 
by  a  name  common  to  it,  with  various  other 
afiections  of  the  skin,  some  of  which  are 
not  febrile,  and  arc  comparatively  of  trivial 
importance.  The  idiopathic  erysipelas  of  the 
head  and  face  is  a  disorder  essentially  con- 
Btitutioaal,  specially  determined  to  certain 
straetDies — ^pervading  ev«ry  one — engaged 
from  the  first  in  limiting  its  own  action — ^and 
falfiUing  within  a  given  period  of  time,  in 
its  operation  on  the  skin,  as  generally  in  the 
system,  every  condition  of  the  regular  erup- 
tive fever. 

In  one  of  the  last  instances  of  idiopathic 
erysipelas  that  fell  under  my  care,  the  pa- 
tient, aged  53,  formerly  an  officer  in  the  Bri- 
tish army,  was  admitted  with  every  symptom 
of  the  disease  into  St  Geoige^s  Hospital  on 
December  20,  1843.    He  was  taken  ill,  ten 
days  before,  while  on  his  way  to  London, 
'  baving  been  previously  exposed  to  wet  and 
cold,  and  suffering  much  from  anxiety  of 
mind.    When  I  iirat  saw  him,  on  December 
IK  1st,  he  was  under  the  full  influence  of  the 
fever,  exhausted,  prostrate,  and  nearly  blind. 
His  ^ce,  universally  swollen,  was  rough  on 
the  left  side,  with  extensive  desquamation, 
and  disfigured  about  the  lower  part  by  thin 
black  emsts  of  lymph  and  cuticle.    On  the 
vi^t  cheek  vesication  was  still  in  active  pro- 
gress.   The  pulse  was  full  and  frequent,  the 
tongue  much  coated.    On  December  23rd  the 
inTOimmation  had  extended  to  the  right  ear, 
^^here  it  ceased  to  spread.    IVo  days  after- 
'wards,  the  symptoms,  both  local  and  general 
had  entirely  subsided.    The  attack,  in  this 
case,  began  on  December  11th,  with  a  sense 
of  (»neral  ilhiess,  and  pain  over  the  left  side 
€i  me  face.    It  was  not  until  two  days  after- 


and  redness,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  left 
cheek.  This  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  fever 
in  its  usual  form  and  average  degree  of  in- 
tensity. 

One  of  the  first  cases  that  compelled  my  at- 
tention to  the  r^ularity  of  penod  in  idiopa- 
thic erysipelas  was  that  of  a  young  gentleman, 
whom  I  attended  under  a  severe  attack  oi  this 
fever,  in  July,  1829.  The  local  inflamma- 
tion, which  was  exceedingly  severe,  occupied 
both  sides  of  the  face,  the  forehead,  and  an- 
terior scalp.  There  was  high  fever,  with 
delirium,  at  times  loud  and  maniacle;  the  < 
breathing  was  much  disturbed;  thelbn^e 
remarkably  black  and  dry.  When  I  first 
saw  him  he  had  been  three  days  ill.  In  five 
days  more  all  the  urgent  symptoms  had  sub- 
sided. 

In  another  case,  which  occurred  at  the 
close  of  the  autum  of  1830,  and  which  af- 
forded me  an  opportunity  «f  studying  the 
disease  by  personal  experience  of  its  enects, 
the  first  symptoms  observed  were  general 
weakness  and  uneasiness,  with  a  senae  of 
coldness j  especially  in  the  legs,  and  of  shrink- 
ing in  the  bulk  of  the  limb.    They  felt  "like 
cold  thin  sticks."    To  this  evidence  of  gen- 
eral illness  succeeded,  on  the  same  evening, 
December  2,  a  cough  of  the  most  harassing 
kind,  which  entirely  prevented  sleep,  ¥Fas 
not  relieved  by  expectoration,  and  was  ac- 
companied by  severe  shooting  pain  in  the 
right  groin.    On  the  following  day  there  was 
swellmg,  with  heat  and  redness  in  the  lobe 
of  the"  right  ear  and  under  the  angle  of  the 
jaw,  which,  in  the  course  of  a  week,  had 
extended  over  the  entire  face,  and  hairy  scalp 
of  both  sides  of  the  head.    The  febrile  symp- 
toms already  mentioned  were  not  alleviated 
on  the  appearance  of  the  eruption,  but  con- 
tiAued  to  mcrease,  with  slight  intermission, 
until  December  8,  on  which  day  (the  seventh 
from  the  invasion  of  the  fever,)  and  durine 
the  two  following  days,  the  disorder  seemed 
to  have  reached  its  maximum  of  intensity. 
The  tongue  was  at  this  time  thickly  loaded; 
there  was  an  abhorrence  of  food,  with  nau- 
and  occasional  vomiting;  the  bowels 
were  constipated,  and  the  motions  obtained 
by  medicine  were  of  a  black  pitchy  appear- 
ance.   There  was  exceeding  hurry,  with  per- 
plexity of  mind  and    occasioned  dehrium. 
The   vesications  were   large    and   numer- 
ous, discharging  an  acrid  matter.     During 
their  formation  a  very  copious  viscid  exupa- 
tion  took  place  from  the  mflamed  scalp,  by 
which  the  hair  was  matted  into  thick  folds. — 
the  inflammation  extended  from  the  face  back- 
wards, through  the  nostrils,  to  the  upper 
pharynx,  so  mat  these  surfaces  remained  for 


True  Character  of  Idiopathic  Erysipelas. 


ng  time  sore  and  disposed  to  bleed.  Al- 
ight days  of  fever  the  symptoms,  both  lo- 
md  general,  gradually  subsided,  leaving 
sat  effect  of  waste  by  emaciation  of  the 
:e  frame,  with  extreme  muscular  debility, 
he  kidneys  continued  to  act  very  largely 
ng  the  early  period  of^convalescence;  the 
(tite  was  greater  than  it  had  ever  been 
re  or  since ;  but  it  was  long  before  the 
tion  of  sleep  was  recovered.  The  hair 
rated  entirely  from  the  head,  and  several 
U  abscesses  subsequently  formed,  one  be- 
h  the  lower  eyelid,  two  under  the  chin, 
another  behind  the  ear.  They  were 
led  in  due  time  by  the  lancet,  and  healed 

vo  of  my  medical  friends,  whom  I  attend- 
rhen  ill  with  erysipelas  of  the  head  and 
>  in  the  years  1832  and  1833,  might  be  in- 
ced  in  further  evidence  of  the  regularity 
n  which  the  symptoms  of  this  fever  pro- 
and  are  determined,  [f  they  kept  notes, 
did,' of  their  own  cases,  during  convales- 
e,  they  will  find  that  their  sufferings  from 
r  and  inflammation  were  terminated  in 
than  ten  days, 
[r.  J.  G.,  of  Claiges  street,  complained  to 
in  the  afternoon  of  April  11,  1832,  of 
8,  heat,  violent  headach,  sickness,  and  a 
Qg  of  general  distress.  The  tongue  was 
I  white,  but  not  furred.  On  the  foUow- 
lay  black  scybala  had  been  voided  from 
o  wels,  succeeded  by  bilious  motions ;  and 
leadache  was  relieved.  There  was,  how- 
,  a  sense  of  great  oppression,  widi  con- 
:  nausea,  and  ne  had  vomited  much  green 
yellow  fluid,  which  was  intensely  sour  to 
aste,  and  instantly  reddened  blue  litmus- 
r.  On  the  following  day  erysipelas  de- 
d  itself  by  swelling  and  redness  of  the 
and  cheeK,  which  m  twenty-four  hours 
;,  had  extended  to  the  forehead  and  hairy 
)  of  the  same  side,  and,  subsequently, 
is  the  nose,  chin,  and  forehead,  to  the 
r  side  of  the  face.  The  local  inflamma- 
had  reached  its  greatest  d^ee  of  inten- 
on  April  17th,  l^ing  the  m'th  day  from 
commencement  of  the  eruption  and  the 
nth  from  that  of  the  first  symptoms  of  the 
'.  On  April  18th  the  face  was  paler  and 
tumid ;  on  the  20th  there  was  general 
iiamation  of  the  cuticle;  and  on  April 
all  symptoms  of  the  disorder  had  sub- 

the  case  of  Mr.  J.  P.,  of  Eaton-square, 
two  days  of  much  constitutional  distur- 
e  by  chills,  heats,  and  other  symptoms 
>ver,  the  dusky  redness  and  swelling  of 
pelas  were  first  observed  behind  the  right 
n  August  7,  1843.  .  The  inflammation 
5quently  extended  over  the  entire  face, 
lead,  and  hairy  scalp;  the  vesications 


were  extensive,  and  there  was  much  fevftr. 
On  August  15,  (the  ninth  day  from  the  inva- 
sion of  the  looad  symptoms,)  ihe  swelling  of 
the  face  was  fast  subsiding,  the  natural  com- 
plexion had  begun  to  return,  the  skin  was 
moist,  the  pulse  natural,  and  convalescence  in 
all  respects  fairly  established.  In  this  case 
the  erysipelas  fever  had  supervened  on  the  re- 
moval of  an  en^sted  tumour  from  the  back 
of  the  neck,  from  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  patient,  and  with  a  full  knowledge  of 
the  causes  in  previous  operation  on  his  gene- 
ral health,  I  had  every  reason  to  believe  that, 
had  he  not  been  attacked  by  erysipelas,  he 
would  have  been  laid  up  before  the  close  of 
the  autumn  with  some  other  form  of  fever. 
Thus  it  would  appear,  that  a  severe  consti- 
tutional disorder  was  specially  determined 
in  its  character  by  the  accident  of  a  local  ia- 

From  these  select  instances  of  idiopathic 
erysipelas,  as  from  the  huge  majority  of  a 
mtich  more  numerous  record,  extending  at  in- 
tervals over  a  period  of  sixteen  years,  ue  dis- 
order may  be  described  as  a  severe  depressing 
fever,  lasting  from  eight  to  twelve  days,  and 
determined,  by  a  special  effect  of  infliEunma- 
tion,  to  that  peculiar  organic  structure,  the  in- 
teguments of  the  head  and  face.  like  othei 
fevers;  it  often  supervenes  on  local  injuiies. 
or  on  any  of  the  various  causes  that  induoe  a 
bad  state  of  the  general  health.  It  attaches 
specially  to  certain  temperaments,  and  to  par- 
ticular states  of  constitution;  aflecting  the 
limited  range  of  persons  liable  to  it,  under  cir- 
cumstances which,  in  others,  would  induce 
the  more  common  varieties  of  fever.  It  pre- 
vails most  in  particular  districts,  and  at  cer- 
tain seasons  ojfthe  year.  The  late  Dr.  Warren, 
in  the  course  of  his  long  metropolitan  practice, 
observed  that  it  was  most  frequent  during  the 
months  of  spring  and  autumn,  and  when  the 
wind  blew  from  the  south-west.  Idiopathic 
erysipelas  is  not  so  frequent  as  is  generally 
supposed.  On  looking  over  my  hospital  case- 
books, from  1839  to  the  present  time,  I  have 
been  surprised  at  not  finding  more  instances 
of  this  disease.  From  the  information  af- 
forded to  us  in  the  admirable  medical  reports 
lately  issued  from  the  War-office,  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  a  frequent  complaint  among  the 
troops  of  the  British  army.  Its  eflects  upon 
structure  are  so  frightfully  obtrusive,  that 
they  exact  an  undue  share  of  attention  from 
the  clinical  observer,  and  are  thus  remember- 
ed, to  the  exclusion  of  cases  less  prominent  in 
their  interest     . 

A  further  analogy  might  be  assumed  be- 
tween the  erysipelas  and  common  eruptive 
fever,  from  the  contagious  properties  which, 
it  is  supposed,  are  inherent  to  both.  With 
this  much-disputed  question  I  do  not  at  pre- 


r 


Time  Character  of  Idiopathic  Erysipelas. 


163 


•Bent  propose  to  interfere.  That  during  cer- 
tain states  of  atmosphere,  and  of  other  local 
influences,  erysipelas  may,  and  does,  attack 
many  individuals  simultaneously,  is  heyond 
doubt  That,  in  some  instances,  it  has  oeen 
*«  caughr  by  one  person  from  another,  there 
is  much  reason  to  believe.  The  eminent  phy- 
sician to  whose  opinions  respecting  the  dis- 
ease 1  have  already  alluded,  did  not  consider 
erysipelas  as  contagious.  The  president  of 
the  College  of  Physicians,  fourteen  years 
back,  held  an  opposite  opinion. 

When  erysipelas  of  the  head  and  face 
proves  fatal,  which  seldom  happens  unless  in 
sequel  of  some  other  disease,  it  is  generally 
found,  on  examination  after  death,  that  the 
Jungs,  the  serous  and  the  mucous  membranes, 
are  the  structures  in  which  there  is  most  evi- 
dence of  oiganic  injury.  Like  the  other 
eruptive  fevers  of  this  country,  erj'sipelas  in 
bad  cases,  always  becomes  typhoid  towards 
its  close.  Its  pathology,  by  dissection,  is 
that  of  scarlet  fever,  which,  in  its  several 
8ta8;eft,  it  very  much  resembles. 

On  the  examination  post  mortem  of  a  mid- 
dle aged  man,  who  died  with  this  disease  in 
St  George's  Hospital,  on  June  1, 1837,  there 
"was  universal  thickening  of  the  peritoneum, 
with  an  effusion  of  sero-pumlent  fluid  into 
its  cayity.    Kecent  efl^cts  of  its  same  kind 
were  likewise  observed  in  both  sides  of   the 
chest     The  heart  was  much  enlarged  by  dil- 
atation and  thickening  of  its  left  ventricle  ; 
the  aorta  was  atheromatous,  the  liver  unusu- 
ally hard,  and  the  kidneys  small,  mottled, 
and  granular.     Thus,  according  to  the  rou- 
tine practice  of  the  day,  in  this  case  of  mix- 
ed acute  and  chronic  disease,  bleeding,  blis- 
tering and  other  antiphlogistic  measures  would 
have  been  indicated  by  the  symtoms  of  pleu- 
xisy  and  peritonitis,  while  bark  and   wine 
vrould  have  been  in  demand  as  specifics  for 
the  erysipelas.     Can  stronger  argument  be 
adduced  for  the  revision  of  much^  that  is  dog- 
matical in  our  modem  practical  medicine  ? 

Here,  then,  is  the  true  character  of  the  dis- 
ease, with  a  practical  inference  for  its  treat- 
ment. Thus,  regarding  its  symptoms,  wheth- 
er local  or  general,  as  a  train  of  actions  ten- 
ding of  necessity  to  their  own  relief,  we 
should,  in  most  cases,  be  content  to  watch 
over  their  safe  development,  and  to  wait  pa- 
tiently for  the  result ;  which,  in  this  fever, 
soon  arrives.  Idiopathic  erj^sipelas,  within 
ten  days  from  its  invasion,  seldom  fails  to 
cure  itself.  like  the  other  eruptive  fevers, 
it  occasionally  presents  itself  in  a  complica- 
ted and  irregular  form,  and  must  then,  of 
course,  be  treated  by  means  that  are  special 
lo  the  case,    I  have  known  the  erysipelas 


various  local  inflammations  of  the  vital  or 
other  organs  ;  on  the  scarlet,  rheumatic,  and 
epidemic  typhoid  fevers. 

In  a  case  which  I  attended  in  February 
1837,  the  patient,  an  athletic  fanner,  past  the 
middle  age,  was  bled  five  times  from  the  arm 
before  he  got  well,  and  the  blood  taken  was 
in  every  instance  bufi^.  The  inflammation 
of  the  skin  began  in  the  face,  and  subsequent- 
ly extended  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  bo- 
dy, not  excepting  the  palms  of  the  hands  ol 
the  soles  of  the  feet,  from  which,  at  the 
close  of  the  disease,  there  was  desquama- 
tion. 

In  the  early  days  of  ordinary  er3r8ipelaA 
fever  the  physician's  rule  of  treatment  should 
be  neither  specific  nor  exclusive.  The  pa- 
tient is  nauseated  by  the  lightest  food,  nis 
tongue  is  foul,  and  his  bowels  loaded.  You 
would  pui^^e  him  in  other  fevei^s ;  do  the 
same  in  this.  Just  exception  is  taken  against 
the  use  of  purgative  medicines,  from  their 
supposed  weakening  eflect,  in  this  disease, 
by  those  who  make  no  distinction  between 
it  and  the  partial  erysipelatous  inflammations 
of  the  skin.  Aperients  may,  however,  be  ad- 
ministered with  much  advantage  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fever,  and,  indeed,  during 
its  continuance,  with  a  proper  limitation  as 
to  Aeir  quality  and  frequency. 

Like  other  epidemic  fevers,  erysipelas  is 
often  first  developed  from  influences  that  dis- 
turb the  digestive  functions.  The  ton^e  is 
remarkably  foul  in  many  cases  of  this  dis- 
ease, and  the  motions  of  a  peculiarly  dark 
appearance  and  pitchy  consistence  There 
is  every  reason  to  believe  that  its  attacks 
might  occasionally  be  prevented  by  the  time- 
ly administration  of  orisk  aperient  medi- 
cines. In  the  first  onset  of  this  i^vere  fever, 
when  digestion  is  arrested,  when  secretion 
and  general  nutrition  are  suspended  ;  in  those 
days  and  nights  of  the  hurried  pulse,  the  hot 
skm,  and  perplexed  head, — of  incessant 
cough  it  may  be,  and  constant  sickness  ;  at 
this  time  to  cram  the  patient  with  bark  is  to 
obey  a  rule  by  the  abuse  of  its  piinciple.— 
Salines,  rennet- whey,  and  fresh  water  are 
all  that  the  patient  needs  durin?  the  early 
symptoms  of  this  inflammatory  fever. 

In  our  application,  by  treatment,  of  these 
principles  to  the  local  efiects  of  the  disease, 
while  we  are  careful  to  protect  from  lasting 
injury  the  structures  in  which  its  action  is 
most  declared,  we  should  continually  remem- 
ber, that  in  the  progress  of  the  eruption  is  the 
advancement  of^the  cure.  It  is  under  an  im- 
posed task  of  swelling,  vesication,  and  excre- 
tion, that  the  skin,  which  bears  ihe  strain  of 
this  fever,  is  enabled  to  relieve  the  other  vi- 


iever  supervene  on  laryngitis  and  pharingitis,  tal  organs,  and  in  the  end  to  maintain  its  own 
on  jaundice,  on  phrenitis,  hemiplegia,  and  [  integrity.    How  rash  and  mischievous  the 


154 


7Vti€  Character  of  Idiopathic  Erysipelas. 


interference  that  would  seek  to  mislead  the 
actions  thus  determined  to  the  surface,  by 
the  introduction  of  helladona  to  the  system 
already  charged  with  marbid  poison  in  the 
blood  ;  that  would  prescribe,  in  all  cases  of 
the  disease,  an  exact  limit  to  its  erruptive  ac- 
tion, by  pencilling  the  inflamed  far4;  and 
scalp  with  designs  in  lunar  caustic !  '1  he 
mask,  which  in  erysipelas  the  patient  is  com- 
pelled to  wear,  should  never  be  adapted  by 
iis  physician. 

There  is  seldom  occasion  for  external  ap- 
plications of  any  kind.  JBven  were  it  pos- 
sible, by  such  means,  at'  once  to  arrest  the 
'  l9cal  inflammation,  we  should  be  wrong  to 
employ  them.  It  is  essential,  for  the  safe  de- 
velopment of  this  fever  to  its  close,  that  in 
the  skin,  as  elsewhere,  certain  spfecial  ac- 
tions should  be  suffered  for  a  time.  The  ex- 
cessive pungent  heat  of  the  inflammation,  in 
its  early  stage,  may  be  relieved  by  frequent 
lotions  with  the  Liquor  of  acetate  of  ammo- 
nia, diluted  with  equal  parts  of  tepid  water. 
The  continual  application  of  cold  is  repellent 
and  unsafe.  When  the  vesication  has  com- 
menced, or  is  in  progress,  tepid  washes  of 
of  soft  water,  or  of  thin,  smooth  gruel  are 
the  best.  The  watery  solution  of  acetate  of 
ammonia  may  be  again  used  at  this  timei  di- 
luted with  hot,  well-strained  poppy  decoc- 
tion. 

It  is  better  not  to  sprinkle  flour  upon  the 
excoriated  surfaces.  While  absorbing  the 
acrid  discharge,  it  concretes  into  a  stiff,  un- 
comfortable scab  which  a  little  gentle  spong- 
ing would  entirely  obviate.  To  bathe  the 
head  and  facie,  according  to  ordinary  practice, 
incessantly  with  spirit-Ioiion  is  to  surrounil 
the  patient,  helpless,  fevered,  and  comatose, 
with  an  almosphere  of  intoxicalinj};  vapour, 
which  at  every  inspiration,  he  is  compelled  to 
drink.  From  this  most  objectionable  process 
of  cooling  by  evaporation  there  is  often  a 
peat  a;^gravation  of  the  delirium  at  all  times 
mcidental  to  the  fever. 

Uiopathicerys'pela.'*  of  the  head  and  face 
18  actually  treated  on  this  pnncip  e  of  resprcl 
for  its  symptoms  by  many  who  have  not  as 
yet  been  lau2;ht  to  consider  it  as  a  re^u  iir 
eruptive  fever.  Its  wide  con^itutional  cha- 
acter  hQ\n%  thus  pi-aclically  known,  there  is 
the  more  reason  to  resfret  that  it  has  not  been 
distinguished  by  a  name  less  productive  of 
error  and  false  analogies  in  the  management 
of  disease.  Under  tHis  one  desi.^nation  of 
"  erysipelas,"  the  severe  fever  in  question  is 
confused  not  only  with  partial  errat  c  inflam- 
mations of  the  skin,  supervening  on  local  in- 
juries, but  with  frets,  rashes,  p"mples,  anl 
scaly  eruptions,  in  all  their  variety  of  eczema, 
urticaria,  lichen,  or  psoriasis.  When  a  pa- 
tieat  declares  that  he  has  **tfae  erysipelas,'*  no 


precise  idea  is  given  to  his  medical  attendant 
of  the  nature  of  the  illness,  or  of  its  particu- 
lar effects  on  the  skin.  The  extreme  and  ac- 
knowledged vagueness  of  this  term  when  used 
by  persons  not  of  the  profes.«ion,  prevents  er- 
ror by  obliging  closer  inquiry;  but  it  is  very 
necessary  that  medical  men,  in  their  discus- 
sions on  erysipelas,  should  know  what  they 
are  talking  about.  The  bark,  wine,  and  por- 
ter, which,  in  ceitain  diffuse  inflammation  of 
the  skin,  so  rapidly  alter  its  nature  and  limit 
its  extent,  would  be  utterly  comlemned  in  the 
early  stages  of  idiopathic  erysipelas  by  all 
physicians  conversant  with  the  disease  as  it 
really  exists.  Yet  by  too  many, — especially, 
be  it  observed,  by  the  doctors  in  surgery, — let 
the  case  be  once  named  erysipelas,  and  Peru- 
vian bark  is  a  sj^^^cific  for  its  cure  In  the 
conventional  allotment  of  disease,  idiopathic 
erysipelas,  being  a  fever,  beloni^  of  right  to 
the  physician.  From  the  limited  views  that 
prevail  respecting  its  constitutional  character, 
and  from  the  undue  importance  attached,  in 
ordinary  practice,  to  the  symptoms  which  it 
presents  in  the  skin,  it  is,  in  many  instances 
treated  exc'usively  by  the  surgeon,  who 
would  hesitiite  to  undertake  the  undived  re- 
sponsibility of  small- pox,  measles,  scarlatina 
or  rh<*umalic  fever.  This  last  named  fever, 
res^ular  in  its  course,  and  determined,  like  the 
others  very  much  to  the  skin,  suggests  a  good 
distinctive  name  for  the  idiopathic  eiysipelaa 
of  the  head  and  face.  For  many  years  past  I 
have  proposed  to  those  studying  with  me  in 
the  physicians'  wards  of  St.  Georisje's  Hospi- 
tal that  we  should  consent  to  know  the  dis- 
order in  question  under  the  desigi.ation  of 
Erysipelas  Fever.  We  thus  merely  add  to 
the  name  >.y  which  the  disease  is  alrealy 
known,  a  term  that  vindicates  the  importance 
of  itsconsl'tutional  character  over  the  partial 
and  comparatively  trifling  affections  of  the 
skin  with  which  it  is  now  confounded. 

Th's  law  of  rei^ularity  in  the  succession  of 
symptoms,  that  tin  Is  within  a  j^iveii  time  it* 
completion  in  their  cure,  receives  a  much 
w'der  app  icaton  than  isireiu'raliy  assigned 
to  it  in  the  liin-tiitions  of  rational  medicine. 
In  many  cases  of  chorea,  and  in  some  few  of 
jaundice,  that  have  fallrn  under  my  observa- 
tion, I  have  seiMi  reason  to  consider  the 
spasms  of  the  one  disease,  and  the  yellow 
suffusion  of  the  other,  m^rcly'as  symptoms 
of  disturbed  g.niera  health,  working.?  by  train 
anti  in  sequel  foraj^ool  and  wholesome  re- 
sult. The  praiica!  application  of  this  prin- 
ciple in  the  treatment  of  disease  is  a  continu- 
al rebuke  to  the  vanity  that  would  in  all 
cases  attribute  the  interruption  or  alteration 
of  symptoms  to  the  elficacy  of  the  last  pre- 
scription. 


True  Character  of  Idiopathic  Erysipelas. 


165 


There  is  no  better  test  of  the  physician's 
professional  character  than  is  afforded  by  his 
practice  in  erysipelas.  From  the  rapidity 
with  which  its  symptoms  are  developed 
(generally  to  a  good  end)  most  of  the  treatment 
in  this  fever  is  superfluous,  yet  much  affects 
to  be  specific.  And  thus  llie  boaster  triumphs 
in  a  cure  where  the  true  physician  is  content 
with  acknowledging;  a  result.  The  only  ex- 
planation of  this  great  regulating  agency,  un- 
der which,  as  by  a  clock  within  us,  the  ef- 
iects  of  fever  are  determined  in  a  given  time, 
is,  from  what  we  notice  in  the  blood,  in  the 
stir  of  its  elementary  particles,  and  in  the 
sonstancy  and  uniformity  of  its  moving 
forces. 

Idiopathic  erysipelas,  being  a  fever,  is,  of 
necessity  a  disorder  of  the  entire  blood ;  and 
here  is  the  explanation  of  its  wide  range  of 
.symptoms  and  pathological  effects.  If  the 
l^eneral  material  of  the  body  be  prejudiced  in 
Its  elementary  arrangement,  or  in  any  of  its 
essential  functional  properties,  the  business  of 
all  structure,  and  of  all  p^arts  of  every  struc- 
ture, must  suffer  ■,  and  this  it  may  be,  to  the 
extent  of  entire  interruption  or  death.  Thus, 
by  a  spoiling  or  a  wasting  of  the  general 
blood  in  the  erj'sipelas,  as  in  other  fevers, 
asaimiiatfoo,  secretion,  and  muscular  action, 
are  sometimes  hastened  to  their  end.  With 
thos»e  accustomed  to  this,  the  true  view  of  the 
disease,  the  partial  alterations  resulting  from 
its  agency  in  structure  are  regarded  but  as  so 
many  expressions  of  a  disturbing  influence 
general  through  the  sj^stem,  as  effects  and 
symptoms  far  removed  from  the  beginning  of 
the  fever,  giving  rise,  in  their  turn,  to  other 
cyjnploms ;  but  seldom  of  sufficient  uigency 
to  he  received  as  the  immediate  cause  of 
death.  It  appears  by  the  direct  observations 
oi  M.  Andral,  that  the  blood  of  a  person  la- 
bouring under  an  attack  of  erysipelas  con- 
tain? much  more  than  its  healthy  proportion 
of  fibrin.  M.  Andral  attaches  much  import- 
ance to  this  excess  of  the  coagulable  princi- 
p'e,  and  seeks  to  establish  from  it  an  essen- 
tial pathological  difference  between  fever  and 
local  inflammation,  which  few  practical  phy- 
sicians would  be  disposed  to  admit.   ' 

However  questionable  the  claims  of  modern 
physic  to  much  of  the  superiority  which  it  a&- 
flerts  over  that  of  times  past,  it  is  certain  that 
in  our  pracu'cal  intercourse  with  small-pox, 
measles,  and  scarlatina,  we  do  not  derogate 
from  the  wisdom  of  our  later  ancestors.  Of 
the  few  principles  which  physician-s-now  a 
days  care  to  profess,  the  best  are  made  availa- 
ble for  the  treatment  of  the  febrile  actions 
which  are  determined  by  eruption  to  the  skin. 
There  is  among  us,  generally,  a  comprehen- 
ave  and  well-considered  view  of  such  action 
in  all  its  varieties,  a  nice  knowledge  of  it  in 


detail,  a  respect  for  the  symptoms  by  which 
it  is  made  evident  to  the  senses — a  belief  in 
the  benevolence  of  its  purpose — and  a  reli- 
ance on  the  steadiness  oi  its  operation  to- 
wards a  speedy  and  wholesome  end.  Thus 
it  is  good  service  done  to  physic,  when  an 
unclassed  eruptive  fever  is  placed  where  it 
of  right  belongs. 

Idiopathic  erysipelas  has,  I  am  told,  been 
recently  classed  with  the  eruptive  fevers  by 
M.  Rayer,  of  Paris ;  but  in  the  various  medi- 
cal reports  lately  published  in  this  country, 
it  is  distinctly  separated  from  fevers  of  every 
kind,  and  is  designated  in  their  tabular  ar- 
rangments  as  a  disease  sui  generis. 


THE  ROTARY  MAGNETIO  MAOHIKE. 


In  the  April  number  of  ^this  Journal,  we 
gave  an  engraving  of  a  Rotary  Magnetic  Ma- 
chine. The  instrument  then  exhibited  is 
worked  by  hand.  Above  we  present  a 
drawing  of  a  similar  machine,  but  which 
differs  so  far  as  to  be  put  in  operation  by 
magnetic  power.  The  length  of  that  now 
displayed,  including  the  battery,  is  16  inch?s 
Its  width  4 — height  5  inches,  and  the  wei.2;ht 
of  the  whole,  the  case  and  buttons,  for  mag- 
netising, about  eight  pounds.  It  is  very  du- 
rable, and  is  put  in  motion  by  a  solution  of 
sulphate  of  copper,  the  expense  of  which  is 
very  trifling. 

The  price  of  the  instrument  accompanied 
by  the  necessary  buttons,  (6  in  number)  and 
case,  is  $14  50  cents,  cash  in  hand. 

The  size  and  weight  of  the  Machine,  to- 
gether with  its  liability  to  get  out  of  order, 
and  the  complaints  frequently  made  of  ditfi- 


156 


The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


culty  in  running  it,  has  given  us  great  inquie- 
tude, and  we  consequently  detennined  to  ob- 
viate these  objections  if  possible,  and  have 
at  last  succeeded  in  our  object,  by  employing 
a  Jeweller  extensively  known  in  the  Union, 
as  having  no  superior  in  this  city,  to  make 
the  machine  imder  our  direction.  It  has  a 
new  and  convenient  arrangement  as  repre- 
sented in  the  following  engraving,  and  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  other  machines  we  have 
named  it  the 

Savage  Rotaky  Magnetic  Machine. 


The  instrument  is  fitted  into  a  neat  Ma. 
hogany  case  (with  lock  and  key)  8  inches 
long,  4  wide,  and  3  deep. 

A,  case ;  B,  the  cover ;  C,  sheet  copper 
vessel ;  £,  sheet  copper,  the  lower  edge  of 
which  is  soldered  on  the  bottom  of  the  cop- 
per vessel  C ;  D,  copper  piece  connected  with 
the  zinc  between  the  copper  surfaces,  con- 
taining a  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper; 
F,  cylinder  of  copper  wire ;  G,  magnet  and 
armature ;  e,  e,  conductors  to  the  armature  ; 
c,  negative,  and  a,  positive  button  for  mag-, 
netising. 

The  cylinder,  magnet,  and  armature,  with 
the  block  of  wood  on  which  they  rest  are  very 
light,  and  are  set  on  the  cover  of  the  case  in 
magnetising;  after  which  it  may  be  placed  in 
the  open  space  in  the  centre  of  the  case,  ano 
the  buttons  and  conducting  wires  laid  over  it, 


and  the  cover  turned  over  the  whole  and 
locked. 

The  armature  is  jeweled,  and  in  running 
is  estimated  to  make  more  than  10,0(K)  revo- 
lutions in  a  minute.  The  instrument  runs 
much  better,  and  apparently  as  well  as  it  is 
possible  to  make  one  run ;  its  power  is 
fully  equal  to  any  we  have  seen,  and  has  be- 
sides great  advantages  in  size,  weight,  and 
neatness,  and  will  be  found  very  convenient 
for  physicians  and  private  famihes,  and  ta 
posses  other  advantages  than  those  we  have 
noticed. 

Mr.  Savage  is  making  a  machine  muc^ 
smaller  and  lighter  on  the  same  plan,  a 
pocket  instrument,  which  has  a  power  that 
wiU  be  "suflScient  for  ordinary  purposes.— 
He  also  makes  a  larger  machine,  precisely 
like  these,  in  a  neat  mahogany  case  10  inch- 
es long,  5  wide,  and  3  deep,  more  especially 
for  office  use  which  is  jewelled  and  runs  in 
the  same  manner  as  that  first  described. 

The  price  of  the  Savage  instrument  first  de- 
cribed  is  $15,  including  6  buttons  of  a  form 
we  have  found  necessary  and  most  conve- 
nient, with  full  directions  for  ruiming  the 
machine,  and  directions  for  magnetising,  in 
a  great  variety  of  cases,  illustrated  with  en- 
gravings, &c. 

The  price  of  the  pocket  instrument  in  a  neat 
mahogany  case  6i  inches  long,  '3  wide  and  2 
deep,  is  $15,  including  2  buttons. 

The  price  of  the  machine  last  described  ioc 
office  use  is  $18,  including  8  buttons  and  di- 
rections for  running,  and  using  it  as  above. 
These  instruments  are  very  light  neat  and  pw- 
table,  will  run  without  difficulty,  and  will  la«l 
a  life  time.  They  will  be  found  indispena- 
ble  to  every  physician,  and  also  in  many 
private  families,  as  well  as  for  ships  and 
other  Vessels. 

The  figure  drawn  above  the  engraving  is 
intended  to  represent  the  direction  of  the 
forces  as  they  proceed  from  the  buttons  in 
magnetising,  c,  the  negative  button  repels 
and  expands,  while  the  positive  button  at- 
tracts and  contracts.  Besides  one  of  these 
forces  exerts  an  alkaline,  and  the  other  an 


r. 


The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


157 


add  influence  upon  the  fluids  and  solids  of 
&e  body. 

We  cannot  however  enter  further  into  this 
subject  at  present,  and  it  is  not  necessary  to 
do  so,  if  the  magnetizer  observes  the  direc- 
tions we  have  given  for  magnetizing. 

The  effects  of  these  instruments  are  of  a 
character  so  extraordinary,  in  both  acute  and 
chronic  diseases,  as  to  leave  no  doubt  it  will 
produce  an  entire  revolution  in  the  practice  of 
both  phync  and  surgery.  It  will  become 
indispensible  to  every  physician,  and  also  in 
Biany  pnvate  families,  and  they  are  both 
avaih'ng  themselves  of  its  benefits  as  fast  as 
it  can  be  manufactured. 

We  have  been  magnetising  with  these 
machines  for  the  last  six  months,  and  they 
have  thus  far  realized  our  anticipations  as 
described  in  our  last  number.  Since  that 
publication  we  bsTe  tested  it  in  a  great  va- 
riety and  number  of  cases,  with  results 
that  have  been  highly  satisfactory.* 

Among  these  cases  there*  have  been  36  of 
lateral  curvature  of  the  spine;  1 1  of  distortion 
of  the  spine ;  5  of  distortion  and  lumbar  ab- 
Bcess,  and  disease  of  the  hip  joint ;  51  of 
tubercular  consumption ;  13  of  chronic  bron- 
chitis ;  5  of  chronic  bronchitis,  complicated 
in  its  last  stage  with  tubercular  disease  of 
^  lungs ;  11  of  tic-doloureux ;  2  of  tubercu- 
lar disease  of  the  antrum  and  nose ,  5  amou- 
loas ;  8  opacity  of  the  cornea ;  2  tumours 
of  the  eyelids ;  28  sick  head  ache  from  tuber- 
cular disease  of  the  brain ;  1  tubercular  dis- 
ease ol  the  organ  of  approbativeness,  ctm- 
neded  with  tubercula  (white  swelling,)  of 
the  right  side  and  back  part  of  the  first  cervi- 
cal vertebrae,  involving  the  upper  attachment 
of  thestemo-cleido-mastoid  muscle,  and  pro- 
ducing an  impediment  in  the  motion  of  the 
right  leg ;  2  cases  of  tubercular  disease  of 
the  organ  of  firmness  connected  with  tuber- 
cular disease  of  the  same  muscle ;  6  tubercu- 


*  W«  JwTsltad  with  the  aMutsnctt  of  StndenU,  three 
■aekuiM  jnumiac  almost  coiutantly  from  morniDg 


la  of  the  cerebellum,  connected  with  tuber- 
cula of  the  uterus,  and  uterus  and  stomach ; 
8  tubercular  disease  of  the  ear ;  2  paralysis 
of  auditory  nerves;  1  hypertrophy  of  the 
mucous  surfaces  of  the  organs  and  limbs; 
1  acute  rheumatism ;  18  chronic  rheun^atism; 
7  paralysis;  26  tubercular  disease  of  the 
throat;  13  secondary . syphilis ;  6  amenorr- 
hoea;  5  corea — SL  Vitus*  dance,  or  tubercu- 
lar disease  of  the  cerebellum ;  2  catalepsy. 

A  great  majority  of  these  cases  were  com- 
plicatea  with  tubercular  disease  of  other  or- 
gans, as  the  heart,  stomach,  liver,  kidneys, 
&c.  All  the  cases  of  consumption  were 
thus  complicated,  excepting  two,  in  which 
the  disease  had  commenced  in  the  stomach, 
liver,  arteries,  throat,  or  brain,  before  it  at- 
tacked the  lungs.  This,  we  may  here  re- 
mark, we  have  long  observed  to  be  the  uni- 
form course  of  the  disease  in  9  cases  out  of 
10,  showing  the  importance  of  attacking  it 
in  its  transit  to  that  organ. 

'  In  the  notice  of  the  effects  of  the  Rotary 
Magnetic  Machine,  in  the  April  number  of 
the  Dissector,  we  suggested  the  probability 
of  its  great  importance  in  the  incipient  stage 
of  tubercular  consumption,  from  the  results 
obtained  in  the  few  cases,  in  which  we  had 
then  used  it  Further  trials,  in  more  than  50 
cases,  have  not  only  confirmed  that  opinion 
but  have  shewn  it  to  be  very  useful  in  the 
last  stage,  especially  in  promptly  reducing 
the  pleuro-peripheumony  that  often  attends 
tubercular  disease  of  the  lungs.  In  many, 
cases  it  lessens  the  cough  and  expectoration, 
by  reducing  the  mucous  disease  of  the 
bronchial  tubes  that  traverse  the  tubercula- 
tions. 

In  magnetising  the  lungs,  the  button  con- 
veying the  weakest,  or  positive  force,  is  pla- 
ced over  the  posterior  spinal  nerves  connect- 
ed with  them,  in  the  intervertebral  spaces, 
between  the  7th  or  last  cervical,  and  first 
dorsal  vertebras,  while  the  other,  or  negative 
button,  conveying  the  strongest  force,  is  mo- 
ved slowly  over  the  entire  surface  of  the 
chest,  with  the  instrument  graduated  to  a 
moderate  power.    This  practice  is  adopted  in 


158 


The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


consumption  or  pneumonia,  for  the  purpose 
of  first  exploring  the  lungs  to  find  the  place 
most  diseased,  as  the  action  of  the  instrn 
ment  will  be  much  more  sensibly  felt  when 
the  button  passes  over  it,  and  it  will  re- 
quire more  magnetising  than  other  parts  of 
the  Jungs. 

In  exploring  the  chest,  and  in  magnetising, 
whether  for  disease  of  the  lungs,  heart,  or 
pleu  a,  the  positive  button  should  be  placed 
over  the  left  intervertebral  space  in  magneti- 
sing the  left  side  of  the  chest,  and  over  the 
same  space  on  the  other  side  in  magnetising 
the  right  side  of  the  chest.  In  such  cases 
the  process  is  continued  only  from  5  to  10 
minutes,  and  once  a  day  is  generally  suffi- 
cient 

Turbercula  of  the  heart — hypertrophy.  In 
this  case  the  negative  button  should  be  pla- 
ced below  the  lower  apex  of  the  heart,  where 
it  may  remain  10  or  15  minutes,  under  a  very 
moderate  power  of  the  inetrument 

Pleurisy,    Acute   or   Chronic,    In   these 
cases  the  negative  button  should  be  placed 
over  the  seat  of  the  disease,  or  place  where 
'  the  pain  is  felt,  under  a  very  moderate  pow 
erof  the  instrument 

Tubercula  of  the  Stomach — Dyspepsia. — 
The  positive  button  should  be  placed  over 
the  intervertebral  spaces,  between  the  first 
and  second,  and  second  and  third  dorsal  ver- 
terbne,  and  the  other  button  over  the  stomach. 
In  magnetising  the  left  side  of  the  stomach, 
the  positive  button  should  be  placed  over  the 
left  side  of  the  spine,  and  the  othei  about 
two  inches  to  the  left  of  the  medium  line. — 
In  magnetising  the  right  side,  the  button 
should  be  placed  over  the  right  side  of  the 
spine  and  stomach. 

Tubercula  of  the  liver — acute  or  chronic 
diseases  of  the  liver.  The  positive  button 
should  be  placed  over  the  intervertebral 
spaces  of  the  right  side,  between  the  7th  and 
8lh,  and  8th  and  9th  dorsal  vertebre,  while 
the  other  is  moved  slowly  arcmnd  one  half  of 
the  body,  from  the  pit  of  the  stomach  below 
the  short  ribs  to  the  qmie,  and  then  over  the 
short  ribe. 


Tubercula  of  the  spleen — acute  or  chronic. 
The  positve  button  should  be  placed  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  spine,  to  that  in  the  case 
of  the  liver,  and  the  other  button  over  the 
left  side  as  in  the  case  of  the  liver. 

Tubercula  of  the  large  intestines.— Tht 
positive  button  must  be  placed  over  the  inter- 
vertebral space,  between  the  5th  and  6th  and 
6th  and  7th  dorsal  vertebrs,  and  the  other 
over  the  intestines  on  the  right  or  left  side, 
as  indicated  by  the  seat  of  the  disease. 

Tubercula  of  the  small  intestines.  The 
positive  button  should  be  placed  over  the 
interveitebiui  space,  between  the  11th  and 
12  dorsal  vertebrs,  and  the  other  over  the 
fiont  part  of  the  abdomen,  right  or  left  of 
the  medium  line,  as  indicated  by  the  seat  of/ 
the  disease. 

Mesenteric  Diseases.  In  these  cases  the 
buttons  should  be  placed  over  the  spine  and 
abdomen,  as  in  the  instances  of  the  laigeand 
small  intestines. 

Kidneys.  In  tubercular  diseases  of  the 
kidneys— acute  or  chronic,  the  negative  but- 
ton should  be  placed  over  the  intervertebral 
space  betweeu  the  12th  dorsal  and  first  lum- 
bar vertebras,  and  the  other  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  abdomen. 

Cystis,  The  positive  button  should  be 
placed  over  the  same  intervertebral  spaces 
as  incases  of  the  kidneys,  and  the  other  over 
and  above  the  pubis. 

Prostate  Gland.  In  these  cases  the  posi- 
tive button  should  be  placed  over  the  inter- 
vertebral space,  between  the  last  lumbar  ver- 
tebrs and  the  os-coxgex,  and  the  other  over 
and  above  the  pubis. 

Uterus.  In  magnetising  this  oigan;  the  poei- 
tive  button  should  be  placed  over  .the  inter- 
vertebral spaces,  between  the  first  and  second 
and  second  and  th^ird  lumbar  vertebnc,  and 
the  other  over  and  above  the  pubis.  ■ 

Ovaria.  In  tubercular  disease  of  the  otbt 
ry,  the  breasts  or  mamme  are  not  of  the 
same  size — that  on  die  same  side  of  the  dis- 
eased ovaria  being  laiger  than  that  on  the 
opposite  side,  in  consequence  of  atrophia  of 
the' latter  from  direct  sympathy  with  the 
aiseased  ovaria.    The  positive  button  ahooid 


r 


The  Rotaiy  Magnetic  Machine, 


169 


therefore  be  placed  over  the  atrophied  bwast* 
and  the  other  over  the  ovaria  of  the  opposite 
ride. — ^The  same  course  should  be  pursued 
in  chlorosis,  ommorrhotB,  Jfc. 

Letuorrhcta.  The  positive  button  in  these 
cases  should  be  placed  over  the  interverte- 
bral space,  between  the  last  lumbar  vertebrae 
and  os-coxgix,  if  tenderness  is  elicited  by 
pressure  there,  othervnse  it  will  be  found  in 
the  lumbar  vertebras,  over  which  this  button 
must  be  placed.  In  the  first  case  the  nega- 
tive button  should  be  placed  over  the  front 
part  of  the  perineum,  and  in  the  last  over  the 
pubis. 

Prolapsus-tUeri.  In  these  cases  the  button 
majbe  placed  on  each  side  of  the  pubis, 
or  one  button  may  be  placed  over  a  lumbar 
vertebrae,  and  the  other  on  the  side  of  the 
pubis,  when  the  broad  dilated  ligaments  that 
suBlain  the  uterus  will  contract  with  great 
ioTce. 

In  tubercular  disease  of  the  stomach  and 
uterus — the  positive  button  should  be  placed 
over  the  intervertebral  space,  between  the 
Artftand  second  dorsal,  and  the  other  over 
fbc  pubis,  in  consequence  61  the  direct  sym- 
pathy between  these  organs. 

In  tuhercular  disease  of  the  cerebellum  and 
uterus — the  negative  button  is  placed  over 
the  organ  of  amativeness,  on  one  side,  and 
the  other  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  pubis, 
and  we  should  here  observe  that  females  can 
and  should  magnetise  themselves,  in  cases  of 
^aeaae  of  the  uterus,  and  vagina,  &c.,  and 
flboiild  never  allow  a  physician  to  do  so, 
while  they  have  strength  to  do  it  themselves, 
or  can  procure  the  assistance  of  a  feipale. 

Brain.  'Tubercular  disease  of  the  brain 
ie  distinguished  in  an  instant,  by  the  pain 
pfoduced  by  the  pressure  on  die  sub-occipital 
nerves,  on  the  sides  of  the  space  between 
<he  head  and  first  cervical  vertebtae,  or  joint 
of  the  neck,  m  the  abscence  of  tiibercutar 
diteate  qf  the  throat.  It  may  also  be  dis- 
tinj^shed  by  the  pain  darting  into  the  brain, 
wlien  the  disease  is  in  its  active  state,  or  by 
wewesre  pain  in  the  head,  in  the  absence  of 
an  injury.  In  magnetising  this  organ,  we 
should  always  observe  the  greatest  eaation, 
v^  always  commence  with  the  weakest 
powcv  of  die  ikkstmment 


Sick  head  ache.— The  positive  button  is 
placed  over  the  organ  of  amativeness,  and 
the  negative  over  the  organ  ot  causality  or 
the  opposite  side  of  the  head,  and  moved 
quickly  over  that  side  of  the  forehead,  when 
the  positive  button  is  placed  over  the  oppo- 
site organ  of  amativeness,  and  the  negative 
over  the  opposite  organ  of  causality,  and 
moved  over  that  side  of  the  forehead  as  be- 
fore. The  sitting  is  thus  concluded  generally 
in  less  than  one  minute. 

In  head  aches— other  than  those  that  are 
periodical,  and  called  sick,  head  ache,  we 
place  the  negative  button  over  various  organs 
as  indicated  by  the  pain,  or  seat  of  disease, 
while  the  positive  button  is  moved  around 
the  neck. 

TiC'Dolroaux. — ^The  positive  button  is 
placed  over  the  plexus  of  nerves,  in  front  of 
the  ear,  while  the  other  is  passed  over  the  side 
of  the  face,  and  the  sitting  concluded  in  a  few 
seconds. 

SfroWsmiw— Squinting.  The  positive  but- 
ton is  placfed  over  and  pressed  in  to  the  cor- 
ner of  tiie  eyelid  over  the  paralyzed  muscle, 
and  the  other  over  the  opposite  corner  of  the 
eye,  and  the  sitting  conduded  in  one  minute. 
Eye. — Diseases  of  the  eye,  acute  and 
chronic, — ^The  negative  button  is  placed  over 
the  eyelids  in  these  cases,  and  the  other  over 
the  back  part  of  the  neck,  excepting  amour- 
osis,  in  which  case  the  buttons  are  reversed. 
Nose. — Diseases  of  the  nose,  acute  or  chro- 
nic. The  negative  button  is  placed  over  the 
nose  in  these  cases,  excepting  polypus,  in 
which  case  the  buttons  are  reversed. 

ArUrum.-— In  case  of  disease  of  the  antrum 
the  negative  button  is  placed  over  the  an- 
tnim,  and  the  other  over  the  neck. 

Too^-acA^.— The  negative  button  is  placed 
over  the  diseased  tooth,  and  the  other  in  front 
of  the  ear. 

Throat— In  diseases  of  the  throat,  acute 
or  chronic,  the  buttons  are  placed  on  the  op- 
posite sides  of  the  neck,  under  the  ear,  and 
moved  slowly  towards  the  chin,  or  the  posi- 
tive over  the  sub-occipital  nerves,  and  the 
other  on  the  side  of  the  throat. 

3fu5c/es.— Tubercular  disease  of  the  muscleg 
— Rhetunatism,  acute  or  chronic    Pain  is 


160 


The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


produced  by  pressure  on  the  intervertebral 
spaces  of  the  cervical  vertebrae,  which  in- 
creases with  the  intensity  of  the  disease ;  and 
in  magnetising  for  rheumatism  the  positive 
button  should  be  placed  over  the  back  part  of 
the  neck,  at  the  commencement,  and  at  inter- 
vals during  this  process — no  matter  whether 
the  disease  is  in  the  arm,  finger,  leg  or  toe, 
The  buttons  should  also  be  placed,  and  moved 
slowly  over,  and  around,  and  between,  the 
joints.  The  positive  button  being  sometimes 
on  one  joint,  and  the  negative  on  another. — 
When  the  disease  is  affecting  the  arms, 
shoulder  or  neck,  one  button  may  be  held  a 
few  minutes  in  each  hand. 

Paralysis. — In  cases  of  paralysis,  patients 
should  be  magnetised  in  the  same  manner  as 
in  rheumatism. 

CAorea.— St. Vitus'  dance— Tubercular  dis- 
ease of  the  cerebeDum.  The  negative  button 
should  be  placed  over  the  organ  of  amative- 
ness,  while  the  other  should  be  placed  on 
the  affected  limb,  or  limbs,  of  the  opposite 
side. 

Epilep^.—TubercvXar  disease  of  the  cere- 
bellum. The  negative  button  should  be 
placed  over  the  cerebellum,  and  the  positive 
on  the  neck  or  ear  of  the  opposite  side. 

Catalepsy.— TuheTcvlai  disease  of  the  ver- 
miform process,  in  the  medium  line  of  the  ce- 
rebellum, (organ  of  motion.)  In  these  cases 
the  positive  button  should  be  placed  over  the 
first  cervical  vertebrae,  and  the  other  over  the 
oigan  of  individuality. 

l>eq/heM.— Tubercular  disease  of  the  eus- 
tation  tube.  In  these  cases,  the  positve  but- 
ton should  be  placed  on  the  tongue  and  the 
other  on  the  ear. 

Joints  and  Limbs. — ^Tubercular  disease  of 
the  joints  and  limhs— white  swellings.  In 
these  cases  both  buttons  are  moved  over  and 
around  these  swellings,  whether  in  a  sound 
or  ulcerated  state. 

Spine. — ^Tubercular  disease  of  the  spine — 
distortion  of  the  spine— distortion  of  the  spine 
and  lumbar  abscess.  ITie  buttons  are  appli- 
ed around  and  over  the  distortions,  and  ab- 
scesses, as  in  the  case  of  white  swellings. 

Spine. — Lateral  curvatures  of  the  spine — 
(See  description  of  the  manner  of  magneti- 


sing,*with  an  engraving,  in  the  April  number 
of  this  Journal.) 

Aphonia. —  LoaB  of  Voice.  Dr.  L.  D. 
Fleming,  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  who  recovered 
his  voice  rapidly  under  the  action  of  this  in- 
strument, thinks  it  is  better  to  apply  one  of 
the  buttons— the  negative— over  the  organ  of 
imitation,  instead  of  both  on  the  neck,  under 
the  angle  of  tlie  lower  jaw,  from  the  effects 
produced  in  his  case. 

Tubercular  disease  of  the  organs  is  inva- 
riably distinguished,  in  all  these  cases,  by 
pain  more  or  less  severe  (in  proportion  to  the 
intensity  of  the  disease)  produced  by  pressure 
on  the  ganglions  of  the  spinal  nerves,  in  the 
intervertebral  spaces  along  eachlside  of  the 
spine— no  matter  what  name  may  have  been 
given  to  the  disease  by  physicians,  nosolo- 
gists,  or  other  medical  writers.*  It  is  a  dis- 
ease of  the  secreting  or  lymphatic  system  in 
the  serous  surfaces,  in  which  the  posterior 
spinal  nerves  terminate,  and  is  propa«;ated 
from  the  skin  to  the  limbs,  and  from  the 
limbs  to  the  organs,  and  from  one  organ  to 
another.  The  seat  of  the  disease  in  the  skin, 
limbs,  and  spine,  is  easily  seen,  and  its  pre- 
cise situation  in  the  organs  is  in  general  easi- 
ly determined,  by  exploring  them  under  a 
very  moderate  power  of  the  instrument 

Patients  affected  with  tubercular  disease, 
will  bear  only  a  moderate  power  of  the  ma- 
chine, and  among  these  |here  is  a  great  dif- 
ference in  susceptibility  to  its  action,  as  ia 
the  cases  of  mesmeric  influence.  Generally 
they  will  bear  very  comfortably,  one  half  of 
the  power  of  the  instrument,  but  there  are  a 
few  that  wUl  go  into  a  fainting  fit,t  or  into 
the  mesmeric  state,  under  its  weakest  power. 
The  greatest  caution  should,  therefore,  be  cx- 
eixiised  in  graduating  the  instrument,  especial 
ly  at  the  first  sitUng.  In  fact,  children  and 
weak-minded  people  should  never  be  allow- 
ed  to  use  it.  The  time  occupied  in  magneti- 
sing varies  in  the  different  cases— generally 


•  These  .ymptom- are  magnetic 5  ["J'^^J^SK 
upon  ikese  .anglion.  «  the  actiT.  •^•/^*f;h  vSS 
the  pain  will  dartinio  the  diseased  oj«»"'J7"JV! 
which  inoraases  with  the  intensity  of  the  disease- 

t  We  have  had  onW  two  caMs  «f  **»»  X^t^^  * 
lady,  in  mannelising  Ute  brain,  •«d  ^^*  ^l^'liiJiiy 
ma?,  in  ina«netisin|  the  chest  They  w«"  **^  ^ 
subject  to  fain  ting  fits  from  trifling  causflfc 


r 


The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


161 


from  fi^e  to  fifteen  minutes,  when  the  rang- 
netic  oiganisation  of  the  system  becomes  so 
lense  as  to  give  violent  shocks  to  the  magne- 
tiaer,  and  sometimes  headache  to  the  patient 
if  the  process  is  continued  too  long. 

In  nearly  all  the  cases  of  tubercular  dis- 
ease, other  remedies  are  required  to  keep  up 
magnetic  action.    Magnetising  re- 


stoteslost  motion  in  the  tuberlucated  por- 
tions of  the  oigans,  limbs,  and  other  struc- 
tures—sometimes peimanently,  but  generEiDy 
lempoiarOy,  making  it  necessary  for  such 
patients  to  use  other  remedies  at  the  same 
time.  With  these,  in  conjunction  with  the 
action  of  the  instrument,  they  recover  very 
lapidJy— even  cases  so  far  advanced  as  to 
preclude  any  hope  of  their  recovery  by  any 
other  means.  Magnetic  or  magnetized  reme- 
dies are  the  only  ones  that  are  of  any  value 
in  lubercular  disease  of  the  organs  and  limbs. 
We  continue  to  use  the  magnetised  gold  pills 
in  these  cases  with  a  success  in  conjunction 
with  the  action  ol  the  machine  that  precludes 
the  necessity  oi  any  other,  and  we  should 
here  remark,  that  the  daily  effects  of  the  ac- 
tion of  this  instrument  affords  the  most  con- 
dusive  and  overwhelming  proof  of  the  cor- 
lectness  of  the  magnetic  treatment  we  have 
long  pursued'  in  tubercular  disease,  and  gives 
va  a  most  extraordinary  and  glorious  thumph 
over  our  opponents. 

Htpxrtropht  or  Mucous  Surpaces. 

J^onc^tiis— (Chronic.) — ^The  action  of  the 
TOlary  magnetic  machine,  alone,  will  cure  all 
the  cases  in  the  first  stage  of  this  disease  of 
tile  membrane  that  lives  inside  of  the  air 
ti^bes.  The  disease  is  distinguished  by  cough 
and  expectoration,  and  the  abscence  of  the 
Biagnetic  symptoms  of  tubercular  disease  of 
Ae  lungs. 

The  negative  button  should  be  placed  first 
over  the  intervertebral  spaces,  between  the 
seventh  cervical  and  first  dorsal  vertebne 
while  the  other  is  passed  slowly  over  the 
^hole  surface  of  ^e  chest,  .including  the 
beck  part  of  it,  as  in  the  case  of  tubercula 
of  the  lungs,  or  consumption.  The  positive 
button  is  then  placed  on  the  tongue,  and  the 
oilier  moved  quickly  over  the  whole  surface 
of  the  chest,  and  the  sitting  concluded  in  ten 
omrates. 


In  the  last  stage  of  the  disease  the  ac- 
tion of  the  instrument  should  be  aided  by  the 
nitrate  of  silver,  which  should  be  ground  one 
hour  in  a  glass  mortar,  with  loaf  sugar,  in 
the  proportion  of  5  grains  of  the  nitrate  of 
silver  to  100  of  sugar.  About  a  drachm  of 
this  powder  should  then  be  put  into  a  per- 
fectly dry  phial,  holding  not  less  than  half-a- 
pint,  and  then  shaken  and  instantly  applied 
to  the  mouth,  making  at  the  same  time  a  full 
inspiration  in  siich  a  manner  as  to  inhale 
the  particles  of  powder  suspended  in  the  air 
contained  in  the  phial. 

Mucous  disease  of  the  throat. — This  dis- 
ease is  distinguished  by  hawking  and  expec- 
toration, and  the  abscence  of  the  magnetic 
symptoms  of  the  tubercular  disease  of  the 
throat. 

The  negative  and  positive  buttons  are  ap- 
plied alternately  over  the  upper  part  of  the 
neck,  or  on  each  side  of  the  throat  in  these 
cases.  Every  case  in  the  first  stage  of  the 
disease  is  cured  in  this  way.  In  its  last 
stage  the  throat  should  be  gaigled  with  a 
weak  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver,  once  in 
two  or  three  days. 

In  diseases  of  the  mucous  surfaces  of  the 
the  organs  and  limbs,  patients  will  bear  fully 
double  the  power  of  tiie  machine,  that  they 
will  in  diseases  of  the  serous  surfaces ;  in 
fact  the  greatest  p6wer  that  is  borne  in  dis- 
eases of  the  serous  surfaces,  whether  acute 
or  chronic,  will  have  little  or  no  effect  in 
acute  or  chronic  diseases  of  the  mucoue  sur- 
faee9,  and  this  fact  in  a  doubtful  case  is  suf- 
cient  to  determine  the  true  character  of  the 
disease,  whether  in  thebrain  or  any  other 
part  of  the  body. 

Acute  diseases — inflammation  op  thb 
Serous  Surfaces,— -Acute  Tubercula. 

The  action  of  the  rotary  magnetic  machine 
reduce  inflammations  of  the  organs  and  limbs 
with  great  rapidity.  We  have  used  it  in 
cases  of  inflammation  of  the  liver,  and  in- 
flammatory rheumatism,  &c.  It  cured  the 
first  in  from  two  to  three  minutes,  and  in  cases 
of  paralyzed  limbs  in  the  last,  the  progress  of 
the  disease  from  one  limb  to  another  has 
ceased  on  the  first  application  of  the  instru- 
ment, and  the  inflammation  in  the  paralyzed 


162 


T%e  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


limb  or  limbs  Boon  reduced  by  a  few  more 
applications  of  the  instrument,  without  the 
use  of  any  other  means  whatever.  In  a  let- 
ter from  Dr.  L.  D.  Fleming  of  Newark,  N.  J. 
he  says,  "  A  few  weeks  since  my  wife  had  a 
most  violent  attack  of  pleurisy  of  the  left 
side.  I  applied  the  buttons  of  the  instru- 
mcfnt,  from  one  to  two  minutes.  It  produced 
a  sensation  of  faintness,  which  subsided  in 
about  fifteen  minutes — since  whicli  time 
there  have  been  no  symptoms  of  the  disease. 
I  could  add  a  great  many  cases  of  the  extra- 
ordinary effects  of  the  machine,  hut  time 
presses  hard  upon  me,  and  this  must  suffice." 

Inflammation  or  acute  tubercular  disease  of 
the  serous  surfaces  of  the  organs  and  limbs, 
is  distinguished  by  the  magnetic  symptoms, 
in  the  same  manner  as  chronic  tubercula  of 
^  these  surfaces,  and  in  magnetising  in  these 
cases  of  disease  of  the  organs  the  positive 
button  should  be  placed  over  the  ganglions  of 
the  spinal  nerves,  in  the  intervertebral  spaces, 
and  the  negative  over  the  seat  of  the  disease 
in  the  oigans,  in  the  same  manner  as  descri- 
bed in  cases  of  chronic  disease  of  these  sur- 
faces. In  pleurisy  pleuritis  costalis  or  pieuro- 
peripneumony,  the  positive  button  should  be 
placed  over  the  intervertebral  spaces  between 
the  7th  or  last  cervical  and  first  dorsal  vette- 
bre,  as  in  the  case  of  peripneumony  or  in- 
flammation of  the  lungs. 

The  posterior  cervical  nerves,  or  those  be- 
tween the  first  and  last  cervical  vertebrs  of 
the  neck,  are  connected  with  and  terminate 
in  the  serous  or  external  surfaces  of  the 
muscles  (the  fascia)  and  the  internal  cervical 
motor  nerves,  or  nerves  of  motion  with  the 
mucous  or  inner  surfaces  of  the  muscles  * 
In  magnetising  for  rheumatism,  acute  or 
chronic,  the  positive  button  should  there- 
fore, be  placed  over  some  one  of  the  cer- 
vical intervertebral  spaces  of  the  afiected 
fiide  while  the  negative  is  moved  slowly 
over  the  affected  mosclefi  or  limbs.  We 
have  frequently  first  applied  both  buttons  to 
a  limb  in  these  cases  without  efiect,  and  have 

*  We  long  ainca  discovered  those  connections  of  iK^ 
•pinal  nerves  with  the  different  surfaces  of  the  muscles 
and  of  the  organ*,  by  the  magnetic  symptoms,  and  its 
cocrectness  and  importance  is  now  every  day  demon- 
■trated  by  the  action  of  tha  maohina. 


at  last  been  obliged  to  resort  to  the  manner  of 
magnetising  above  described,  as  in  the  case 
mentioned  of  a  gentleman  with  impediment 
in  the  motion  of  his  right  leg. 

Pa 'sy— shaking.  In  these  cases  the  posi- 
tive button  f^houM  b3  applied  to  the  neck  ae  in 
the  case  oi  rheumatism,  and  the  other  to  the 
extremities  of  the  affected  side. 

Bronchttis—amte. — The  buttons  should 
be  applied  in  these  cases  in  the  dame  man- 
ner as  in  chronic  bronchitis. 

Diseases  of  the  Skin. 

The  buttons  should  be  both  applied  and 
moved  over  the  diseased  surface  in  diseases 
of  the  skin,  with  a  few  exceptions,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  face  when  the  positive  button 
should  be  placed  on  the  ear,  or  over  the 
plexus  of  nerves  in  front  of  it,  while  the 
other  is  passed  over  the  diseased  surface. 

We  have  used  the  instrument  in  only  a 
few  cases  of  disease  of  the  skin,  and  these 
mostly  ca-^s  of  erysipelas,  lepra,  «a/t-rA«im 
and  herpes.  It  reduces  the  most  inveterate 
cases  of  erysipelas  with  great  rapidity,  and 
the  effects  in  the  others  have  been  such  as  to 
warrant  a  beliel,  that  there  are  very  few  dis- 
eases of  the  skin,  that  can  long  exist  under 
the  action  of  the  machine. 

Fevers. — From  the  very  favorable  efiects 
of  the  action  of  the  machine  in  s)rmpathetc, 
hectic,  or  irregular  fevers,  great  hopes  are 
entertained  of  its  future  success  in  those  that 
are  idiopathic,  as  intermittent,  remittent^  ner- 
vous, congestive,  and  yellow  fever. 

The  spine  should  always  be  examined  ia 
these  cases  to  determine  the  true  character  ^f 
the  disease,  whether  of  the  serous  or  mucous 
surfaces,  and  the  number  of  oigans  implicated 
in  it ;  and  this  can  always  be  done  with  per- 
fect ease  and  certainty  by  the  presence  or  ab- 
sence of  the  magnetic  symptoms.  Whea 
these  are  present,  the  positive  button  should 
be  placed  over  the  intervertebral  spaces,  and 
the  n^ative  moved  slowly  over  the  diseased 
organ  under  a  very  moderate  power  of  the 
instrument  to  find  the  seat  of  the  disease  in 
the  oigan,  and  determine  the  amount  of  the 
powerthat  can  be  borne  with  ease  to  the  p»> 
tient. 


The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


163 


Ib  the  sdraence  of  these  symptoms,  the  ne- 
gative button  should  be  applied  to  the  inter- 
Tertebral  spaces,  connected  with  the  stomach 
and  intestines,  while  the  positive  is  moved 
slowly,  first,  over  the  surface  of  the  stomach, 
and  then  over  the  intestines— observing  the 
rule  to  have  a  button  over  the  spinal  nerve 
connected  with  the  oigan  which  we  wish  to 
magnetise. 

Effects  of  Magnetism  fr  upon  the  Magnetiser. 

We  have  probably  received  on  an  average 
50  shocks  a  day  in  magnetising  our  patients, 
during  the  last  six  months,  either  from  acci- 
dently  touching  the  unprotected  parts  of  both 
boHons,  or  from  touching  the  patient  with 
one  finger  and  a  button  with  the  other,  and 
was  at  first  much  alarmed  at  the  consequences 
that  might  result  from  it  .  We  have  been 
howevei  not  only  happily  disappointed  in 
our  expectations  of  injury,  but  have  found 
it  a  great  benefit  to  us.  It  has  removed  it 
appears  every  vestige  of  chronic  rheuma- 
tism \^\ih  which  we  have  been  much  afiect- 
ed  during  the  last  14' years. 

We  never  had  so  much  elasticity  in  our 
body  and  limbs,  and  never  had  so  much 
strength,  we  never  walked  with  so  much 
ease  as  we  now  do,  and  besides,  we  frequent- 
ly, even  after  having  gone  through  a  great 
labor  during  the  day,  feel  so  much  elasti- 
city and  buoyancy  that  it  is  rather  difficult  to 
sit  or  stand  still,  from  a  strong  inclination  to 
be  moving,  jumping,  or  dancing ;  these  sen 
sationsarein  fact  sometimes  so  strong  as 
to  require  strong  eft)rts  to  repress  them. 

Magnetic  Sleep. — ^A  much  greater  number 
of  persons  can  be  put  into  the  magnetic  or 
mesmeric  sleep  under  the  combined  influence 
of  the  rotary  magnetic  machine  and  the  mag- 
netiser,  than  by  the  common  method,  or  that 
of  the  magnetiser  alone.  We  have  put  per- 
sons into  that  state  by  the  influence  of  the 
nacbine  alone. 

In  the  combined  operation  we  place  the 
positive  button  in  the  left  hand  of  the  person 
to  be  magnetised,  and  take  the  negative  but- 
ton in  our  left  hand,  and  then  take  with  the 
oQier  hand  the  right  hand  of  the  same  per- 


son, under  the  most  moderate  power  of  the 
tnstrament 

When  persons  have  passed  into  the  mag- 
netic state  in  this  way,  or  through  the  influ- 
ence of  the  instrument  alone,  they  represent 
themselves  as  1>eing  surrounded  with  an  in- 
tense light.  They  also  represent  the  brain 
as  beaming  every  where  with  intense  light 
which  gradually  disappears,  and  in  10  or  15 
minutes  is  no  longer  noticed. 
*  We  have  not  given  a  concise  history  of 
the  effects  of  the  machine  in  each  case  men- 
tioned, as  in  the  few  cases  noticed  in  the 
last  number  of  this  Journal ;  because  such 
descriptions,  with  veiy  few  exceptions  would 
have  been  little  more  than  mere  repetitions 
of  the  triumphant  action  of  the  instrument 
It  may  however  be  of  some  importance  to 
notice  more  particulariy  its  effects  in  lateral 
curvatures  of  the  spine,  as  we  have  only  re- 
ferred to  them  in  the  last  number.  In  the  35 
cases  we  have  had  lince  that  time,  there  was 
a  great  variety  in  the  form  of  the  curves,  and 
a  great  difTerence  in  the  time  since  they  com- 
menced as  well  as  of  their  ages.  The  time 
of  their  existence  was  from  1  to  16  years, 
and  their  ages  from  8  to  32  years. 

The  time  required  to  straighten  a  spine, 
or  make  it  resume  its  natural  position  de- 
pends so  much  upon  the  circumstances  at- 
tending each  individual  case,  as  the  form  of 
the  curve,  the  time  6{  its  existence,  and  the 
health  of  the  patient,  &c.,  as  to  make  it  ne- 
cessarily very  uncertain. 

The  first  object  to  be  obtained  is  to  lessen 
the  action  of  the  tuberculated  muscles  on 
the  posterior  side  of  the  curves,  and  increaee 
it  in  the  paralyzed  muscles  on  the  other,  to 
enable  us  to  make  the  spine  pass  the  centre 
and  curve  ih  the  opposite  direction,  under  the 
action  of  the  buttons. 

When  this  object  is  attained  and  we  can 
make  it  pass  the  centre  at  each  sitting,  the 
muscles  will  soon  maintain  it  in  its  natural 
position  In  eight  cases  in  which  the  curva- 
tures had  existed  from  one  to  two  years,  they 
passed  the  centre  the  first  sitting,  while  it  has 
required  more  than  two  months  to  effect  this 
object  in  three  cases  of  long  continuance.*— 


164 


TAc  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


The  muscles  are  always  swelled,  thickened, 
or  tubercuiated  on  the  posterior  side  of  the 
curve,  (as  seen  in  the  following  engraving,-) 


and  emaciated  or  atrophied  and  paralyzed  on 
the  other.  In  magnetising  these  cases  the 
positive  button  is  placed  over  the  paralyzed 
muscles  at  ^,  while  the  negative  button  is 
passed  over  the  tubercuiated  muscles  in  the 
right  shoulder  and  hip,  at  intervals  from  5  to 
15  minutes ;  in  the  mean  time  the  negattve 
button  is  placed  over  the  tubercuiated  mus- 
cles at  C,  while  the  positive  button  h  moved 
over  and  around  the  left  shoulder  along  the 
inside  of  the  curve  at  A,  under  a  power  of 
the  instrument  that  can  be  easily  borne. — 
Some  of  these  bear  only  a  moderate,  while 
others  will  bear  its  full  power. .  We  com- 
mence with  a  moderate  power  at  each  sitting 
and  then  gradually  increase  it  to  the  full  pow- 
er that  can  be  borne,  bringing  the  spine  up  as 
straight  as  possible  at  tlie  close  of  each  sit- 
ting. In  some  bad  cases  assistance  is  re- 
quired to  raise  the  atrophied  shoulder  and 
keep  the  paralyzed  muscles  distended  under 
the  action  of  the  buttons,  much  however  will 
depend  on  the  tact,  perseverance  and  experi- 
ence of  the  magnetiser. 


In  magnetising  in  these  cases,  as  well  as 
every  other,  the  passes  with  the  buttons 
should  be  downwards,  or  in  a  direction  from 
the  head  to  the  feet,  and  this  is  a  rule  that 
should  not  be  departed  from,  and  to  avoid 
mistakes  in  the  use  of  the  different  buttons, 
magnetisers  should  attain  a  habit  of  taking 
the  negative  button  in  the  right  hand,  and  the 
positive  in  the  left. 

Classification  of  Diseases. — The  magnetic 
sjTuptoms  to  which  we  long  since  directed 
the  attention  of  physicians,  make  a  natural 
division  of  (disease,  into  four  classes,  viz  :— 

I.  Acute  diseases  of  the  serous  surfaces 
of  the  body,  including  the  skin. 

II.  Chronic  disease  of  the  serous  sur- 
faces. 

ni.  Acute  disease  of  the  mucous  surfaces 
of  the  body,  including  the  alimentary  canaL 

IV.  Chronic  disease  of  the  mucous  sur- 
faces. 

The  action  of  the  magnetic  machine  on 
these  different  surfaces,  confirms  the  correct- 
ness of  this  classification,  which  simplifies 
the  practice  of  physic  and  surgery  in  the  most 
extraordinary  manner,  and  elevates  the  study 
and  practice  of  medicine  from  a  yety  uncer- 
tain, and  consequently  ever-changing  art,  to 
the  character,  dignity  and  rank  of  a  science. 

In  running*the  machine,  an  ounce  or  a  table 
spoonful  of  sulphate  of  copper  (blue  vitriol) 
is  put  into  the  space  in  which  the  zinc  is 
placed,  when  water  is  poured  on  it,  until 
the  space  is  about  half  full.  The  vitriol 
will  be  dissolved  in  three  minutes,  when  the 
zinc  is  placed  in  the  solution  in  a  position  in 
which  it  does  not  .touch  anything  but  the 
cross  piece  which  suspends  it  in  the  solution. 
The  wires  are  then  connected  with  the  batte- 
ry, machine  and  buttons,  in  the  manner  seen 
in  the  figure.  The.  arm  of  the  armature  is 
then  pushed  slightly  with  the  finger,  so  as  to 
turn  it  in  a  direction  from  east  to  v^est,  or  in 
the  apparent  course  of  the  sun,  when  it 
moves  with  great  rapidity  and  the  process  of 
magnetising  is  commenced.  As  soon  as  we 
are  through  with  the  operation,  the  zinc  is  . 
raised  out  of  the  solution  and  placed  on  the 
projections,  attached  to  the  different  surfaces 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


165 


of  copper,  to  pTevent  the  further  action  of  the 
flolation  upon  the  zinc.  The  solntion  does 
not  act  on  the  copper  surface,  and  may  there- 
fore remain  in  it,  or  it  may  be  poured  into  a 
phial  or  hottle  and  used  many  times,  or  until 
it  becomes  too  weak  to  make  the  machine 
run  well,  when  a  little  more  blue  vitriol  may 
be  added  or  a  new  solution  made  as  before. 

Depositions  accumulate  constantly  upon 
the  zinc,  and  sometimes  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  prevent  the  solution  from  acting  upon  it, 
when  it  must  be  washed  oft,  and  again  placed 
in  the  solution,  and  the  armature  started  as 
before. 

The  silver  conductors  of  the  forces  to  the 
armature,  sometimes  press  too  hard  upon  it, 
and  at  other  times  not  so  hard  as  it  should 
do  to  make  it  run  very  fast  or  at  its  greatest 
speed.    A  very  little  attention  to  these  con- 
ductors, and  to  keeping  the  zinc  clean,  will 
enable  any  person  to  run  the  machine  in  the 
best  manner. 

Thepowerof  the  instrument  is  regulated 
hymoTing  the  piston  in  the  cylinder.  It 
iocieasesirom  its  minimum  to  its  maximum, 
with  the  distance  of  the  piston  in  the  cylin- 
der. 


Animal  and  Vegetable  Electriolty. 

dcetricity  tho  principal  aj^nt  of  animal  life— of  the 
Tefctable  life  and  growth — iis  action  a  direct  stimn- 
loa— deficiency  of  its  density  or  elasticity  subversive 
of  animal  health,  and  induees  diseases  of  debility- 
intense  and  long  continued  heat  reduces  its  density 
or  elasticity. 

T.  Gals,M.  D.,  Troy.K.  Y.  1802. 
The  electrical  effluvia  is  far  more  subtile 
than  air,  is  diffused  through  all  space,  sur- 
rounds the  earth,  and  pervaSes  every  part  of 
it ;  and  such  is  the  extreme  fineness,  velocity 
and  expansiveness  of  this  active  principle,  that 
aU  other  matter  seems  to  be  only  the  body,  and 
Ihis  the  soul  of  the  universe.  This  element 
exists  in  all  places  and  in  all  bodies ;  and  its 
action  is  sumcient  not  only  to  be  (under  the 
First  Cause)  the  secondary  cause  of  motion, 
but  to  produce  and  support  life  throughout  all 
nature,  as  well  in  animals  as  vegetables. 
Now  as  the  heat  of  every  animal  is  the  en- 
gine which  circulates  the  blood  through  the 
whole  body;  so  the  sun,  as  the  heat  of  the 
world,  circulates  or  rarifies,  condenses,  vi- 
brates, stimulates,  and  by  continually  chang- 
ing the  state  and  density  of  this  elementary 
fire,  not  only  gives  motion  and  gravitation  to 
surrounding  worlds,  but  doth,  on  principles 
occult,  impart  hfe,  vigour  and  growth  to  all 


animals  and  vegetables.    It  is  a  species  of 
itself,  and  totally  distinct  from  all  other  bodies. 

This  elementary  fire  noi  only  exists  in  ani- 
mal bodies  on  an  equilibrium  with  those  sub- 
stances with  which  they  are  constantly  con- 
nected, but  the  common  air,  especially  when 
cool,  imbibes  a  large  proportion  of  this  elastic 
fire.  The  lungs  inspire  this  air,  the  lire  min- 
gled with  it  is  dispersed  through  the  pulmo- 
nary vessels  into  the  blood  :  the  whole  mass 
of  fluids  are,  in  a  degree,  fermented  and  en- 
livened, and  the  ve&sels  being  at  the  same 
time  more  filled  and  distended,  their  tone  is 
quickened,  and  the  circulation  accelerated ; 
all  the  animal  functions  are,  in  part,  nut  in, 
and  preserved  in  motion,  and  the  whole  sys- 
tem IS  invigorated  by  this  single  agent. 

If  it  is  granted,  that  totally  non-conductors 
become  such  by  their  imbibing,  in  some  fixed 
form,  a  large  quantity  of  this  elementciry  fire, 
which  it  is  supposed  so  far  constitutes  these 
bodies,  that  they  are  incapable  of  conveying 
an  electric  shock,  then  it  will  follow  that  cold 
air,  which  any  one  may  easily  know  is  a 
non-conductor,  imbibes,  as  was  before  sugges- 
ted, an  immense  quantity  of  this  electncal 
fluid.  The  consequence  then  is,  that  the 
lungs  serve  as  an  electrical  machine  to  all 
animals,  keeping  up  a  constant  insolation,  by 
which  the  system  is  invigorated,  as  was  be- 
fore described ;  this  insolation  is  subject  to 
continual  waste,  partly  by  perspiration,  part- 
ly by  internal  heat  which  subdues  its  elasti- 
city, and  partly  by  those  less  electrified  bodies 
with  which  they  are  necessarily  connected. 

These  operations  may  be  called  natural  in- 
solation ;  but  as  I  am  hereafter  to  describe 
the  effect  of  the  artificial  insolation,  the  pecu- 
liar effects  of  the  natural  will  be  rendered 
more  obvious  and  certain. 


Electric  fire  promotes  the  vegetable  life,  life. 

That  this  effluvia  promotes  the  vegetable 
life  and  growth  will  not  be  questioned  by 
those  who  are  made  to  believe  that  it  pro- 
dyceth  that  eflfecf  on  the  animal.  The  most 
that  hath  been  siiid  of  its  effects  on  the  ani- 
mal, will  apply  to  the  vegetable,  except  Ihe 
action  of  the  lungs,  and  by  their  action,  a 
higher  life  obtains  a  higher  and  greater  sup- 
ply as  is  necessary  for  its  support.  But  a 
single  experiment  will  put  it  beyond  all  doubt, 
that  what  I  have  'ventured  to  call  a  natural 
insplation,  doth  exists  and  pro^uceth  the  de- 
scribed efl^ects,  and  this  will  appear  by  adding 
a  little  of  the  artificial  thereto,  which  may 
be  done  thus :  Prepare,  at  the  proper  season, 
a  box  of  earth  sumcientiy  moist,  place  it  on 
an  insolating  stool  or  stand,  sow  in  it  lettuce 
seed  :  at  the  same  time  sow  the  same  kind  of 


166 


Miscellaneous  Items* 


seed  in  a  garden  bed  ;  this  bein^  done,  im- 
mediately electrify  the  box  of  earth  on  the 
stool,  and  keep  it  continually  insolated,  and 
it  will  bring  the  lettuce  to  perftction  in  one 
half  the  time  of  the  former.  This  circum- 
stance alone  is  sufficient,  in  my  opinion,  to 
put  the  matter  beyond  ail  doubt,  that  this  ele- 
mental y  fire  is  the  principal  agent  in  promo- 
ting the  growth  and  life  of  vegetables. 

And  it  will  be  shewn,  in  its  proper  plaue, 
that  the  artificial  insolation  oi  the  human 
body  is  as  conspicuous  an  evidence  of  the 
same  element  being  the  main  cause  of  life, 
motion  and  vigor  in  the  animal  creation. 

The  action  a  direct  stimulus. 

That  this  elementary  fire,  electricity,  or  by 
whatever  name  it  is  distinguished,  is  a  stimu- 
lus, is  obvious  from  all  that  hath  been  ol  - 
served  of  its  efects  on  animal  and  vegetable 
life.  The  fluids  of  animals  and  vegetables 
contain  more,  in  proportion  to  their  bulk,  oJ 
this  elementary  fire,  than  the  solids  of  either; 
and  it  is  the  pc  culiar  propensity  of  this  ef- 
fluvia, to  put  in  agitation  any  bodies  capable 
of  moving  or  of  being  acted  upon  by  th  s 
agent  Thus  the  heart  of  every  animaf  gives 
the  first  motion  to  the  blood ;  this  perpetuated 
by  the  dilation  and  contraction  of  th  •  artenes, 
at  the  same  time  each  particle  of  the  fluids 
has  attached  to  it  a  globular  atmosphere;  th  s 
atmosphere  buoys  up,  enlivens  and  facili- 
tates the  flow  of  blood  thn)*  every  part  of  thr 
system  ;  and  beinsf  contained  chiefly  iu  the 
fluids,  doth,  in  some  degree,  fill  and  distend 
the  vessels,  and  thus  excite  their  action.  It 
is  my  opinion  that  could  this  element  be  ex- 
tracted from  an  animal  or  vegetable,  then 
would  hf.  an  instantaneous  decay,  which 
would  Sf)on  terminate  in  the  death  of  either. 

In  supportine;  the  diminiphevl  Ife  of  the 
vegetable,  a  diminished  action  is  alJotied  io 
thisefiluvia;  its  globular  atmospheres  always 
tend  to  propel,  buoy  up  and  ditfuso  to  ever} 
the  mi)st  extreme  part  of  every  flower  anil 
branch  of  iho  sprealiiig  tree:  And  it  is  oj- 
this  principle  oiiiy  we  can  acccMmt  for.  the 
juices  ascen.ling  and  diflusno;  ihemselveg 
throughout  the  vegetable  growth 

Deficiency  *  of  ethereal  fire  subversive  of 
health. 
Life  and  health  being  so  much  suspenlod 
onafu'l  supp'y  of  th'squickcnina^  prmc'plp, 


*  I  muM  own.  thai  I  Mill  sUiCPrcd  n  di-tfrminiti:; 
wheihiT  litis  dpricimcy,  hs  I  vnW  ii.  doih  «onsi-«  in  the 
redticiion  of  tije  cUxiici'v  of  cthrna)  tire  only,  or 
wh  ''her,  by  soui"  me  hih  noi  y«»t  tin  'ei«.tno'f.  '-le  upm 
tary  fire  i  ahsoluic  y  diM>ipated  and  dlllli^i^hr•d  in 
inqii'tntity — ii'*  «*l  Mici'y  must  '  v  reducfd  «n  pr'«rnoi»' 
thevfsjHU  le  growth,  lor  bi*  vegfijible  lifcsubsidex.  in 
the  wiitut  M»*(*o«i  When  Ihis  element  beromen  very 
dense  utid  eU>tic,  iheir  flaid%  rHiinot  (low  in  coii»e- 
queiiLeof  Uiu  rtisUuace  lo  laocion.    I  am  most  apt  to 


it  follows  that  an]^  deficiency  thereof  must 
tend  directly  to  diminish  life  and  health 
either  in  the  animal  or  vegetable  creation; 
as  it  respects  the  animal  life,  the  deficiency  is 
in  the  air,  the  lungs  are  not  sufficiently  vi- 
trated ;  as  it  respects  the  vegetable,  the  soil 
is  deficient  in  containing  it.. 

Deficiency  of  ethereal  fire  causes  diseases  of 
debtlilif. 

A  continued  deficiency  of  existing  powers, 
tend  to  induce  diseases  of  debility,  and  inas- 
much as  they  arise  from  deficiency  ol  st  mu- 
ius,  are  denominated  direct,  or  diseases  of  di- 
rect debility ;  as  this  respecis  the  animal  life, 
the  reme  jy  is  the  artificial  insolation,  opium- 
^  ra  idy,  and  :.he  more  durabfe  stimulus  of  diets 
&c.  As  It  respects  the  vegetable  life,  the  re, 
medy  is  water,  and  such  manure  as  contain, 
a  greater  quantity  of  th:s  elementary  fire- 
It  was  coi.t?nded  before  that  there  is  a  vast 
disproportion  in  the  quantity  contained  in 
skills,  (metallic  substance  excepted)  com- 
pared with  that  which  is  contained  in  fluids ; 
hence  there  is  not  only  a  deficiency  of  this 
element  iri  the  circumambient  air,  by  reason 
of  heat ;  but  through  the  inat)ility  of  the  soil 
to  contain  this  element,  there  is  also  a  ded- 
ciency — dry  loam,  sand,  &c.,  contain  but  a 
scanty  portion  of  this  elementary  fiie. 

There  is  reason  o  believe  that  the  plaster 
of  Paris  is  highly  impregnanted  with  this  fire, 
for  it  is  a  non-conductor,  as  also  lime ;  but 
this  is  said  to  be  imparted  by  culinaiy  fire,  in 
'juming  the  stone  ;  after  the  same  manner  it 
'.s  imparted  into  the  ashes  of  wood,  which 
rentiers  them  So  valuable  a  manure.  Some 
suppose  it  is  imparled  into  iron,  to  render  it 
steel ;  and  is  contained  in  great  quantities  m 
ii  fluid  form,  as  in  spirits  of  distillation. 

Intense  heat  causes  a  defidency  of  this  qaitk- 
eniug  ejjluvia. 
Notwithstanding    what    hath     been  said 

0  ove  by  impartitic; elementary  firo  by  Oie  cu- 
inary,  which  is  but  a  difL  rent  modifiriition 

of  the  same  element :  yet  the  in^t;int  thtse 
*'o  lies,  or  others  simi'ar,  undcrsro  this  htrat, 
they  appear  to  be  divested  of  that  which  ig 
peculiar  lo  them  in  their  cool  stale  t  gla?-*,  in 
particu'ar,  when  heat  to  a  certain  de^^ree, 
will  receive  and  convey  the  electric  shock  as 
free'y  as  brass  or  steel ;  but  a«*  soon  as  it  is 

001  attain,  \\i!l  make  the  same  resistance  as 


hiiik  'liiH  ihii»'d  icfion  «»t  e.aNiirnv  is  atlimniMtK  n  of 
the  exisiini  <|>ainity  ol  ctheieal  fire,  but  peiiMp**©'"* 
TtMire  exp«niui-nt  may  cnnvi>  c«>  mo  o(  a  mi*'ak'-~ 
'HiiH  eleineni  a'siinips  such  a  varifly  of  app«'«•«nce^ 
and  pro»liic»»R  efftHrts  Wks  varioim  And  an  nnaccnititanU 
MS  ihe  ph' nomena  ol  it*  nppcrtrance*.  ibaJ  pprhap**^ 
will  he  the  business  of  aueK  Cully  io  comprehend  thfin 
all      But   one   Uiiii|S  I  am  ceitain  of,  and  that  i^  •» 

hin  ••lauli*  i  y  in  air  Bub»ide<i.  animal  lif«  •anjruww? 
and  thfi  the  artificial  inbolation  directly  in vi«orat«i 
the  ayKiem. 


i 


MiacManeaus  Hems* 


befote:  this  resMtance  is  supposed  to  be 
made  by  the  vast  quantity  imparted  into  the 
substance  of  the  fiass  in  the  furnace ;  but 
however  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  when- 
€Ter  it  is  a^n  rahfied  by  heat,  the  resistance 
is  lost,  the  imparted  eJement  subsides,  and  the 
properties  of  tha  ^lass  appear  to  be  essen- 
tially changed.  However,  as  to  the  truth  of 
this  element's  being  imparted  in  any  form,  I 
am  not  anxious  to  maintain  it ;  it  is  not  much 
to  my  purpose,  it  is  rather  the  opinion  of 
others:  but  it  ts  to  my  present  purpose  to 
shew,  that  the  rarilication  of  boat,  causes  a 
deficiency  of  this  electric  effluvia,  which  is 
so  necessary  to  life  and  heaJth.  It  being  so 
far  evident,  that  some  bodies  contain  so  much 
of  this  ethereal  element,  as  their  natural 
aquntity,  in  a  cool  state,  (hat  they  resist  the 
approach  of  an  additiona]  quantity,  made  by 
art,  as  glass,  bees-wax,  tallow  and  some 
oth^  babies;  yet  when  these  bodies  are  rari- 
fied  by  heat,  they  become  divested  of  this 
natural  quantity,  or  at  least  of  its  elasticity, 
and  will  as  freely  receive  an  additional  quan- 
tity as  iron  or  water,  which  quantity  is  sup- 
plied lo  them  by  the  artificial  machmery. .  ff 
we  apply  these  reasonings-  to  the  element  of 
air,  which  in  a  cold  state  is  as  much  a  non- 
conductor as  glass,  bees- wax,  &c,  and  un- 
doubtediy  from  the  'same  cause,  viz  : — its 
own  excessive  natural  quantity ;  it  will  fol- 
low, that  heat,  in  pioportion  to  its  degree, 
diverts  common  air  of  tnis  ethereal  element, 
or  of  its  elasticity;  the  consequence  is,  that 
in  proportion  as  the  air  is  divested  of  this  es- 
sential property,  the  animal  life  must  suffer 
in  respiration;  the  lun^s  receive  and  supply 
less  of  this  animating  and  quickening  power, 
and  the  animal  functions  grow  more  and 
more  languid,  and  impaired  ;  and  if  continued 
long,  must  terminate  in  ('isnases  of  debility. — 
It  Would  be  superiluoiis  for  me  to  oi)scrve, 
that  (li«isases  of  debility  are  pccnliail)  fre- 
quent in  hot  countries  and  climates;  I  mean 
rather  to  trace  the  cau.se  to  its  source  ;  and  if 
it  shou'-i  appear  lo  be  a  doficieiit  supplyof  ihjs 
ethereal  fire,  1  shall  lay  a  foundation  lor  what 
fhha'!  hereafter  recommen.l  in  diseases  of 
debility  as  an  excellent  remedy,  viz: — the 
ariiricial  insolation,  with  some  light  shocks 
to  accompany  the  insolation. 

Th©  relative  merits  of  Mercury  and  Iodine  in 
tlie  treatment  of  SyphUis. 

Dr.  Hockex,  at  the  close  of  a  lengthened 
and  elaborate  essay,  arrives  at  the  following 
conclusion  on  this  subject:— 

"  That  a  modified  use  of  mercury  is  adapt- 
ed lo  nearly  all  the  forms,  but  especially  the 
indurated,  of  primary  syphilis  :— that  in  con- 
rtiiutional  syphilis  a  modified  use  of  mercury 
is  almost  a  sine  qua  non  in  the  great  majori- 


167 

ty  of  eecondapr  symptoms,  but  is  eithef 
hurtful  or  useless  in  the  tertiary ;— that 
lodme  IS  mert  m  almost  all  the  symptoms  of 
primary  syphilis  with  the  exception  of  some 
forms  of  phagedena,  attended  with  great  de- 
bility and  derangement  of  the  health ;— that 
in  constitutional  syphilis  it  is  less  valuable 
a  remedy  m  the  majority  of  secondary  symp- 
toms than  mercury,  with  the  exception  of 
some  severe  cases  of  pustular  eruption, 
phagedemic  throat,  rupia,  and  secondary 
ulcerations,  of  bad  character,»all  of  them 
marked  by  a  cachectic  and  debilitated  con- 
stitution ;  whilst  in  tertiary  symptoms  iodine 
IS  far  more  valuable  than  mercury,  and  its 
effects  moredtcided  and  certain  than  in  any 
other  set  oi  symptoms :— that  mercury  and 
lodme  are  most  advantageously  combined 
in  cases  presenting  both  secondary  and  tertia- 
ry symptoms :— that  many  forms  of  mercury 
having  local  or  constitutional  actions,  are 
applicable  to  the  various  symptoms  of  syphi- 
lis, but  that  the  mildest  constitutional  effect, 
capable  of  overcoming  the  disease,  is  always 
to  be  preferred: —  that  the  only  form  of 
iodine  safely  applicable  to  the  treatment  of 
syphilis  is  the  iodide  of  potassium,  whkh 
should  never  be  carried  beyond  moderate 
doses  :— hence,  however  valuable  the  iodide 
ot  potassium  may  be  in  some  forms  of  syph- 
ilis. It  cannot  be  substituted  with  advantage 
for  mercury  in  the  great  majority."  -^Edm- 
(nirgh  Journal. 

On  the  treatment  of  obetinate  cases  of  Strio- 
tare  of  the  Urethra. 
Professor  Syme  read  a  paper  on  the  treat- 
ment of  stricture  of  the  urethra,  in  cases 
where  the  ordinary  means  prove  inefficient 
He  described  the  characters  of  the  disease 
when  it  possesses  an  obstinate  disposition, 
and  endeavored  to  show  that,  in  such  in- 
sapccs,  an  attempt  to  effect  dilatation  by 
bougies  was  no  less  dangerous  than  useless. 
Division  of  the  stricture,  either  by  subcuta- 
neous puncture  when  it  is  seated  in  the  pen- 
dulous part  of  the  canal,  or  by  free  incision 
upon  a  grooved  director,  when  it  lies  behind  * 
the  scrotum,  was  recommended',  as  having 
prove<l  completely  successful  in  cases  that 
had  resisted  every  form  of  dilatation.— Cor- 
mack's  Jaumal  of  Medical  Science. 

Effects  of  Tartar  Emetic  on  Infants. 
Mr.  Noble,  whose  experience  on  this  point 
corresponds  with  that  of  the  late  Mr.  Good- 
lad  of  Manchester,  remarks  that  tartar  emet- 
ic acts  occasionally  as  a  poison,  even  in 
small  dosesy  in  the  cases  of  young  children. 
He  gives  some  illustrations  of  his  opinion, 
and  points  out  the  necessity  of  great  caution 
in  the  administration  of  this  remedy. — Pro- 
vincial Journal. 


168 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


Academie  de  M^diolne,  Paris. 
M.  Maloaiomb  on  Dorsal  Mtotomt. 

Lateral  Curvatures  of  the  Spine. — ^M.  Mal- 
^gne  read  a  memoir  on  dorsal  myotomy, 
invented  a  few  years  ago  by  M.  Guerin. — 
M.  Malgaigne's  memoir  was  divided  into 
two  parts.  The  first  contained  an  analysis 
of  twenty-four  of  the  cases  treated  by  M. 
Guerin,  between  1839  and  1843,  the  remain- 
der was  devoted  to  a  critical  examination  of 
the  operation  and  its  results. 

During  the  period  mentioned,  57  cases  were 
thus  treated  at  the  Hopital  des  Enfans,  of 
whom  it  is  stated  that  24  were  completely 
cured,  and  28  mxuh  improved,  4  remaining 
without  amelioration,  and  1  iiyine.  M.  Mal- 
^igne  asserts  that  he  has  been  able  to  obtain 
information  respecting  24  of  these  patients, 
either  by  personal  inquiry  and  examination, 
or  from  authentic  data.  He  adds,  that  twenty 
of  these  patients  had  undergone  section  of  the 
dorsal  muscles  from  one  to  nine  times.  They 
had  remained  at  the  hospital  from  two  to 
eleven  months,  the  treatment  however,  having 
often  been  continued  at  their  own  residence. 
M.  Malgaigne  states  that  he  has  not  seen  one 
complete  cure,  and  that  even  the  instances  of 
amelioration  are  problematical.  From  his  ex- 
amination of  the  patients,  he  even  doubts 
whether  the  reti-acted  muscles  were  really 
divided,  and  whether  the  operation  is  not  one 
which  addresses  itself  hazardously  to  over- 
come imaginary  evils.  The  greatest  difficulty 
in  orthopedy  is  not  to  raise  the  vertebral  co- 
lumn, but  to  give  it  the  solidity  which  it  wants 
by  reinforcing  its  ligaments  and  its  muscles. 
The  weakness  of  these  two  classes  of  oijjans 
is  so  marked,  so  constant,  in  lateral  deviations 
of  the  spine,  that  they  may  be  considered  as 
one  oftheir  principal  causes.  Six  years  ago, 
having  to  judge  between  diflferent  orthopedic 
systems,  he  condemned  all  apparatus  for 
extension  as  only  tending  to  increase  the 
weakness  of  the  ligaments  and  muscles. — 
Dorsal  myotomy  was  not  then  invented,  but 
the  principles  by  which  he  was  then  guided 
apply  equally  to  the  new  operation,  ft  was 
a  bad  plan  to  divide  a  muscle  ^in  order  to 
strengthen  it. 

A  committee  was  named  by  the  academy  to 
report  on  M.  Malgaigne's  communication, 
the  nomination  of  which  gave  rise  to  a  very 
stormy  debate,  M.  Guerin  naving  refused  M. 
Velpau  as  one  of  the  committee.  The  acade- 
my, however,  persisted  in  retaining  him. 


Academy  d«s  ScUnoe,  Paris. 

Structure  and  diseases  of  the  Eustachian 
Tube. — In  a  paper  on  the  general  and  patho- 


logical anatomy  and  on  the  diaeases  of  the 
Eustachian  tube,  M.  Bonntifort  states  that  he 
has  found  with  the  microscope  numerous  mu- 
cous follicles  on  the  mucous  |membraoe  of 
the  Eustachian  Htbe,  but  none  on  that  of  the 
cavity  of  the  tympanum.  He  believes  that 
surdihr  is  more  frequently  caused  by  thicken- 
ing of  the  mucous  surface,  and  subsequently 
stricture  of  tlie  passage,  than  by  mucous  ob- 
struction. Consequently,  insteiEui  of  merely 
injecting  air  into  the  Eustachian  tube,  as  most 
surgeons  do,  he  dilates  it  as  he  would  the 
urethra,  with  small  gum  elastic  bougies* 
which  he  introduces  into  the  tube  by  means 
of  a  small  silver  sound.  He  iias  not  y^ 
met  with  a  case  of  stricture  which  has  ne- 
cessitated cauterisation. 


Oopaiva  Sngar-plnms. 


Take  of  balsam  of  copaiva,  460  grains; 
calcined  magnesia^  18  grains.  Intimately 
mix  these  ingredients,  and  in  about  twenty- 
four  hours  tne  mass  may  be  divided  into 
seventy-two  parts,  which  are  to  be  rolled 
out  between  the  fingers.  These  are  to  be 
covered  with  gum  and  sugar,  prepared  in  the 
following  manner : — 

First.  A  solution  of  gum  arable,  contain- 
ing a  third  of  its  weight  of  gum. 

Second.    White  sugar,  in  powder. 

Put  the  copaiva  pills  into  a  tinned  basin, 
of  an  hemispherical  form ;  pour  in  a  little 
of  the  solution  of  gum,  to  moisten  them ; 
tiien'add  some  of  the  powdered  sugar,  and 
turn  the  basin  so  as  to  get  the  pills  covered 
all  over;  repeat  this  operation  three  times 
and  afterwards  place  the  sugar-plums  on  a 
horse-hair  sive,  in  a  stove  neated  to  77** 
Fahrenheit.  The  temperature  of  the  basin, 
during  the  covering  of  the  pills,  should  not 
be  above  60^  Fahrenheit. — Pharmaceutic4d 
Journal. 


Original  seat  of  Cancer  of  the  Broltds. 

Most  frequently  the  orieinal  seat  is  in  the 
palpebral  conjunctiva,  and  from  thence  it  at- 
tacks the  skin,  on  the  other  side  of  the  palpe- 
bral edge.  Sometimes  the  skin  is  afiected 
first.  The  affection  may  be  considered  as  a 
glandular  schirrhus  when  it  commences  in 
the  lachrymal  caruncle.  The  frequency  of 
cancerous  ulcerations  at  the  internal  an^le  of 
the  eye  is  very  remarkable.  This  fact  is  ex- 
plained by  the  use  of  this  anele,  which 
serves  as  a  receptacle  for  the  different  secre- 
tions of  the  conjunctiva  and  of  the  glands  of 
the  lids. — Northern  Journal  of  Medicine. 


r 


THE   DISSECTOR. 


Vol.  1.1 


VBW-TOBK,  OOTOBBB,  laM. 


[Vo.  XT 


FALI»AOIB8  OFTKS  FAOITLTT. 

BM«fltarFPr«di«»o«ltion— ApoplMcf-Bttmorr^ 
ki(M— Start  Disease —PnluMmunr  Oon- 
avnptlOB— ai«ad«lar  OoiBplaiaui^09as«Mip<- 
Ifra  4ia*a»«s  of  Jalats. 

Bt  Bb.  DieKMii. 

GeiiillaB€iL :  ^ 

We  iMim  hi&ect9  deriTed  otir  iJlustmtione 

of  tbe  muty  ud  tntermiiUent  nature  of  dis- 

«ne>  ahMMt  entirely  fron  «ich  lonas  of  dis* 

<mler,  •«,  by  <fae  profeaedon  of  the  present 

day;  ave  tetned  ixmcnoNAL ;  that  is  to  say, 

aocft  aa  are  snoonplicaled  with  oiganic  de- 

conrpafiilioo  or  aay  marked  tendency  therato. 

Mow,  in '  the  oommencement»  all  complaints 

mte  mmply  fimetional.    I  do  not  of  course 

ioelade  tfcloae  onratnie  diseaaee  that  have  been 

Che  immediate  elbct  of  mechanical  or  other 

diiect  ioiaiy— ^atich  as  die  passing  of  a  small 

aarovd  tfaroogh  the  lungs  or  liver.    I  speak 

ttf  diaeaaa  in  the  medical  aoceptation  of  that^ 

in  whidi  one  or  more  consti- 

paroyxaus  oecor    before  oiganic 

ebaaga  beooiieB  developed.    Enquire  the  Se- 

fadm  oi  thoae  agues  for  which  the  usual 

tBBtmc  ai  ttedicid  treatment  any  have  proved 

VBKvaikng.    Do  sot  these  coaiprise  every 

stovctuTal    change   to   which    nosologists 

luifve  giTci  a  name^--hsmo^hage>  or  rup 

tBie  m  biood-vasds  wherever  situated, — 

with  all 


I  er,  with  all  his  aouteness,  fell  into  this  «m]r> 
when  he  said>  **We  have  ague,  too»  fnm 
many  diseases  of  parts,  more  cspedally  of 
the  liver>  as  also  the  spleen,  aud/rom  i»da- 
ration  of  the  mesenteric  glands.*'    It  is  only 
of  late  yearn  that  the  b^r  inlomwd  mcm- 
bera  of  the  profession  have  begun  to  somct 
that  these  stnictunl  alterations,  instead  of 
being  the  caiosea  of  the  **  constitutional  dis^ 
turbance^**  an  the  results.    But  diisphraae* 
in  most  instances,  they   use  without  any 
very  definite  idea  of  its  meaning — and  when 
questioned  in  regard  to  it,  they  either  oon- 
fuse  the  matter  with  the  mijced-up  jaigdn  of 
incompatible  theories,  or  frankly  confess  that 
they  entertain  notions  which  they  feel  them- 
selves unable  by  any  ftyna  of  speech  to  im* 
part  to  others.    Gentlemen,  "  constitutiond 
disturbance,**  when  analysed,  will  be  found 
to  be  neither  more  mx  less  than  an  txctu  or 
dminution  of  the  healthy  temperature  and  ^ 
motions  of  various  patto  of  the  body,— 
amounting,  when  the  disease  is  rectnt  (or 
**  acute")  to  the  bolder  features  of  intbb* 
MirrENT  rsvER — and  in  cases  of  logger 
standing  (or  **  chnmic**)  cominr  at  last  to  tiia 
more  subdued  symptoms  of  tnat  usiversal 
disease.    Betwixt  these  two  extremes  ys^ 
have  every  kind  of  intermediate  shade,-«» 
sometimes  depends  upon    duration,  some<> 
times  upon  inaividual  constitution. 
Every  child  of  Adam  comes  into  the  world 


dieeaMdlunga  by  whatever  termed  ; 

Ihe  viQoaa  visceral  alterations  which  have  j  with  some  weak  point,  and  this  weak  point 

necessarily  gives  me  subject  of  it  a  precftf- 
position  to  disease  of  one  locality  or  tisane 
of  the  frame  rather  than  another ;  but  many 
persons,  from  accidental  causes,  have  also 
their  weak  points.  Of  this  kind  are  such 
parts  of  the  body,  as  after  having  been  eac« 
temally  injured  get  so  well,  that  while  ycm 
continue  m  health  you  su^r  no  inconveni* 
ence;  but  as  old  age  steals  upon  you,  or 
when  your  xeneFEu  health  gives  way,  yon 
are  reminded  D^  certain  feelings  of  weakness 
in  the  parts  mjuted,  of  the  accidents  llnDt 
have  fomvly  happened  to  yeii*^Md..thfl!^  ts 
keep  the  afcM  parts  in  totetaUe  stteogdB 


I  desi^oalkms  more  or  less  expressive 
of  tbe  locabliea  in  which  they  become  known 
to  u»---the  enlarged,  softened,  or  otherwise 
diiwigiiniacd  heart,  liver,  spleen  and  joint;  the 
ttdwiilioBa  and  odier  changes  which  take 
place  in  the  seveial  glands  of  the  body, 
lali^ier  called  scrofulous  or  c<msumptive, 
cHMvoos  or  seinhous.  When  patients  thus 
flfllieisd  e&mfflBan  of  the  agm-Jits,  from 
-^fiuA  HhKf  safe,  theii  medical  attendants 
iDOollai  poort^tb  the  locsl  disease  as  the 
,  whan  hi  ianlity,flaeh  loosl  disease  has 
m  BKsa  tatnie  dr  affsct  of  xmated 
»of  litiakiiid.    Even  J<^liaiit- 


170 


PcMacies  of  the  FacuUf/. 


you  must  not  play  tricks  with  your  constitu- 
tion. Individuals  so  situated  can  predict 
every  change  of  weather;  they  are  living 
barometers,  and  can  tell  you  what  kind  of  a 
day  it  shall  be,  before  they  rise  in  the  mor- 
ning They  obtain  their  knowledge  of  this 
from  the  experience  of  their  feelings  in  their 
old  wounds  and  fractures.  Now,  Gentle- 
men, this  is  what  you  ought  to  be  prepared 
to  expect: — the  ajoms  of  .repaired  parts 
must  always  have  a,-  weaker  attraction  to 
each  other,"  than  the  atoms  of  the  other  parts 
of  the  frame, — and  they  must,  therefore,  in 
the  very  nature  of  things,  be -more  liable  to 
be  influenced  by  extemau  agency — by  every 
thing,  in  a  word,  that  has  the  power  to  ^ut 
matter  in  tnotion.  Whatever,  under  ordinary 
'  cinumslaaees,  shall  slightly  shake  or  effect 
Ae  whole  body,  must,  under  the  same  cii- 
cumstadces,  be  a  subject  of  serious  import  to 
its  weaker  parts ;  and  this  aigument  also  ap- 
plies with  e^uai  foice  to  the  atoms  of  those 
parts  of  individual  bodies,  which,  by  here- 
ditary predisposition,  manifest  a  similar 
.weakness  in  the  attractive  power  of  their 
atoms  to  each  other.  As  the  child  is  but  an 
«xten6ion  of  the  living  principle  of  the  pa- 
seats,  its  frame  must  naturally,  to  a  certain 
dmee,  partake  of  the  firmness  and  faults 
which  characterised  its  progenitors,  whether 
mental  or  corporeal — resembling  them,  not 
only  in  external  features,  but  copymg  them 
even  in  their  inward  contiguration.  Such 
Btmilitude  we  see  extending  to  the  minutest 
parte,  whether  such  parts  oe  fully  developed, 
or  defectively,  or  even  superfluoudy  con- 
etmcted.  As  instances  of  these  last,  I  may 
neption,  that  I  have  known  particular  fami- 
Ijee,  where  the  frequent  repetition  of  six 
fingers  to  the  hand  has  taken  place  in  succes- 
sive ffenerations,  and  ethers,  where  the  same 
laemWs  have  been  as  hereditarily  reduced 
taieadi  the  correct  human  standard.  Then 
in  fegaid  to  hereditary  mental  resemblances, 
vtm  will  see  children,  whose  father  died  be- 
loie  they  were  bom,  manifesting  the  same 
fccility  or  stubbornness  of  temper,  the  same 
disposition  to  moroseness  or  jocularity, 
which  characterised  the  author  of  their 
being.  Friends  and  relatives  will  sometimes 
bdidup  their  hands  with  astonishment  at 
this  mental  likeness  of  children  to  their  pa- 
rents ;  *«he  is  iust  his  father  over  a^ain,"  is 
a  common  ancl  correct  remark  of  the  least 
observant  In  the  doctrine  of  hereditary 
predtapoattion,  then,  the  profession  and  the 
public,  I  believe,  aie  equally  united  in  opin- 
ion ; — ^but  whether  they  be  so  or  not,  is  of 
verv  little  import  while  you  have  eyes  to 
look  around  you,  and  can  judge  for  your- 
selves. I  must»  however,  tell  yon,  that  in 
j»a»of  hereditary- pradisposilioii*  much  vnli 


depend  upon  circumstances,  whether  or  not 
such  predispositioif  be  actually  and  visibly 
developed  in  the  individual  members  compo- 
sing a  given  family.  A  person,  for  example,  - 
in  whose  family  ihe  heart  or  lungs  is  the 
weak  point— by  ^us^ng  himself  against  too 
rapid  changes  of  temperature,  and  avaHing 
himself  of  a  fortunate  position  in  society  as 
to  pecuniary  and  other  means,  may  so  con- 
trol* numerous  exciting  elements  of  diseaBe, 
as  to  pass  through  life  heppy,  and  compara- 
tively healthy  : —  while'  his  less  fortunate 
brother,  worn  down  by  an  accumulated 
weight  of  domestic  and  other  trouble,  shall 
not  only  sufler  in  his  general  health,  but 
shall  as  surely  have  the  weak  jioijit  of  his 
family's  constitution  brought  out  in  his  indi- 
vidual person.  We  are  aU,  (hen,  more  or 
less,  the  "sport  of  circumstances."' 

Among  the  various  diseases,  which,'from 
their  frequency,  we  ju^y  lecoenise  as  the 
most  prominent  and  important  that  afiect  the 
inhabitants  of  these  islands,  I  mayitaentieA, 
Spitting  of  Blood,  Consumption,  anddaida- 
lar  disocders.  The  rapid  tcansitions  of  tan- 
perature»  so  characteristic  of  this  climate  eer- 
tainly  predispose  us  to  these  compiainla :— * 
for  while  in  the  ^^-armer  coon^es  of  the 
East,  Dysentery  and  Abscess  of  the  liver 
carry  oti  the  greater  number  of  the  vaiiims 
races  that  compose  the  population  ,-^the  na- 
tives of  India,  who  have  died  on  our  shores* 
have  generally  fallen  victinis  to  Giandnhr 
and  Chest  Disease.  Even  the  monkey  ac- 
knowledges the  baneful  effects  of  such  lapid 
thermal  transitions  on  his  lespiiatonr  oigans. 
More  than  one  half  of  this<dasa  ot  aaSnais 
that  come  to  England,  die  of  consumption  d 
the  lungs.  Diseases  of  the  chest  and  ghukb 
certainly  become  hereditary  ;  hvt  under  that 
head,  you  may  indude  a  great  many  othai^ 
—epilepsy,  apopiezy,  palsy,  maki«#  md 
perhaps,  every  pmeiyr  constitutional  con- 
plaint,  which  has  obtained  a  .name.  Coidd 
the  breeding  of  mankind.be  9b  doseljr 
watched  ami  as  easily  controUed  as  the 
breeding  of  our  domestic  animi^,  incaknli^ 
ble  advantages,  moral,  as  well  as  fihytiosk 
might  be  the  efEbct  of  judiciously  cioasn| 
particular  races  with  each  other  The  ten* 
dency  to  the  particular  posaioDS  and  dis- 
eases, which  chaiBcterise  nations  and  fsni- 
lies,  might,  in  this  manner,  be  as  ceitsinl^ 
diminished,  as  the  beauty  of  the  .face  aad 
form  might  be  exalted  in  its  standafd :— lor 
both  depend  greatly  upcMi  hereditary  oonfifib 
ration,  or  upon  the  particular  atomic  assotii* 
atton  of  certain  parts  of  the  «bodjf,  which 
you  find  prevailing  in  hunihea-— other  exier* 
aa)  modifying  cirottmstances  beiBgr  at  the 
same  time*  k^  in  vievr,->-£\ich  .m  eliiaa|B!> 
temperature  ,'aocial  and  pohticai-tiJuiiiiHsliili, 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


m 


te.  But  hb  this  as  it  may,  whatever  will 
^lAte  the  whole  frame  of  an  individual, — 
wWteTer  will  in  any  manner  touch  the  sta- 
bility and  strength  of  his  corporeal  Totality, 
laust  to  a  certainty  with  much  more  seventy 
aAct  the  weakest  point  of  his  tx)dy,  what- 
ever ^at  point  he.  This  doctrine  I  mean 
shortly  to  apply  to. 

APOPLEXY. 

The  §^eal  System  termed  the  Human  Eco- 
nomy is  laade  up  <^  numerous  lesser  sys- 
tems, each  having  a  fabric  or  material  pecu^ 
liar  to  itaelf.    By  anatomists,  these  various 
Mfies  are  letmed  the  Tissues.     Thus  we 
ham  the  Osseous  or  Bony  tissue  of  the  skele- 
ttm,  the  Cartilaginons  and  Ligamentous  tis- 
fliKS  of  die  joints ;  the  Glandular  tissues  dif  • 
Inentin  difierent  systems  of  glands,  but  with- 
out which  there  eonld  be  no  secretion — no 
nliva — DO  biie—no  perroiration,  and  the 
like ; — die  Muscular  and  Tendinous  tissues, 
M  necesaary  to  locomotion ; — the  Nervous 
time-— of  imo  kinds,— K^ne  to  convey  im- 
wesnons  frtm  the  Brain  to  all  parts  of  the 
Dodv,  the  othtt  to  convey  impressions  back 
to  ibe  Bain.    Then  there  is  the  Vascular 
tissue,  psitiy  muscular  in  is  nature,  compri- 
mag  the  heart  and  its  infinity  of  blood- ves- 
mfe ; — lo  say  nothing  of  the  Cellular  tissue, 
which,  like  a  web  or  net,  invests  and  insinu- 
ates itself  into  the  whole  tissues  of  the  body. 
Hie  tissue  of  the  lun^  and  that  of  the  in- 
festfoal  tube  are  principally  compounded  of 
(hie  odiers ;  so,  also,  are  the  lining  mem- 
branes of  die  various  cavities  and  canals  that 
convey  the  secretions — rrmccms  membranes, 
as  diey  are  termed — for  the  membranes  that 
line  shut  eavities,  such  as  the  cavities  of  the 
chesitand  abdomen «  are  distinguished  by  the 
fenn  vtrxms.    The  Cutaneous,  or  Skin-tis- 
ane, performs  the  part  of  an  outward  en- 
velope to  all.    Now,  2Lfi  there  is  seldom  such 
a  things  to  be  seen  as  a  man  or  woman,  whose 
ho&y  is  so  perfectly  mode  in  its  outward 
lorm  as  \o  stand  the  scrutiny  of  a  sculptor  or 
painter  in  all  its  parts, — ^so,  in  the  internal 
eoniigunLtion  of  all  bodies,  will  there  be 
parts,  a«  we  have  already  seen,  inferior  to 
odier  ports  in  strengjth  and  so  forth.    Some 
tiasue,   or  portion  of  a  tissue,  may  be  at 
JhalL    WeD,  then,  suppose  the  fabric  of  the 
^ood-^vesseh  of  a  part  to  be  the  least  strong- 
ly eonatnicted  tissue  of  a  ^ven  individuaJ, 
can  you  doubt  that  any  thmg  which  mi^ht 
injure  thai  individuaPs   health    generally, 
vrotild  amonr  other  phenomena,  develofje 
toch  oiig^nal  weakness  in  that  part  of  his 
Vmcakax  tissue,  even  where  it  had  not  been 
hefcne  suspected?     Suppose  you  were  to 
starve  a  person  slowly,  or  to  bleed  hi»  day 


by  day,  would  you  not  in  that  case  be  sure 
to  break  down  his  whole  health  .>  Would 
you  not  also  weaken  the  coats  of  the  blood- 
vessels generally  by  what  so  palpably  weak- ' 
ened every  tissue  of  the  frame  ?  Now,  sop-' 
pose  one  or  more  vessels  of  the  Brain  to  be* 
the  least  strongly  constructed  parts  of  an  in-' 
dividual  body,  would  not  such  starvation  or 
such  blood-letting  be  sure  to  produce  so^ 
great  a  weakness  of  the  coats  of  these  ves** 
sels  as  to  give  them  a  tendency  to  tvmtuve/ 
the  consequence  of  which  would  be  effusion ' 
of  blood  upon  the  brain, — ^in  other  words, 
Apoplexy  ?  I  think  you  must  even  in  theory' 
come  to  that  conclusion.  But,  Gentlemen,  f 
will  ffive  you  a  fact,  or  rather  a  host  of  facts 
which  you  will  be  glad  to  take  in  change  foi 
a  thousand  theories.  The  inmates  of  the 
Penitentiary  Prison,  by  very  gross  misman- 
agement, were  put  upon  a  diet  from  which 
anii^al  food  was  almost  entirely  excluded — 
they  were  all  but  starved — "An  ox's  head 
weighing  eiffht  pounds  was  made  into  soup 
for  one  hundred  people,  which  allows  one 
ounce  and  a  quarter  of  meat  to  each  person. 
After  they  had  been  livir^  on  this  food  for 
some  time,  they  lost  their  colour,  flesh,  and 
strength,  and  could  not  do  as  much  work  as 
formerly."  The  affections  which  came  on 
during  this  faded,  wasted,  weakened  state  of 
body,  were  headache,  vertigo,  delirium,  con- 
vulsions, Apoplexy.**  Remember,  Gentle- 
men, this  is  not  my  statement — ^no  distocticm 
or  corruption  of  words  made  by  me  as  a  par- 
ty advocate.  It  is  hteratim  et  verbatim  ex- 
tracted from  the  official  report  of  Dr.  Latham, 
the  physician  who  was  deputed  by  Govern- 
ment to  inquire  into  the  cause  of  the  great 
mortality  in  the  Penitentiary.  If  you  place 
any  confidence  in  its  accuracy, — If  you  be- 
lieve Dr.  Latham  to  be  an  honest  man,  there 
is  only  one  conclusion  you  can  come  to, 
which  is  this,  that  the  apothecary  practice 
of  starving  and  bleeding  to  prevent  or  ^ure 
Apoplexy  is  the  most  certain  mode  of  produ- 
cini;  this  disease  in  persons  pre-disposed  to  it^ 
ana  of  confirming  it  in  such  as  have  already 
shown  the  Apopletic  symptoms  Gentle- 
men, you  seem  startled  at  this,  and  no  won- 
der— for  some  of  you  have  doubtless  lost 
relatives  by  the  practice.  How  then,  you 
have  a  right  to  demand,  must  apoplexy  be 
treated  ?  That  apoplexy,  like  every  other  dis- 
ease, is  a  development  of  general  constitu- 
tional disturbance, — ^that  it  is  a  remittent  dis- 
ease, and  in  many  instances  curable  by  the 
remedies  so  generally  influential  in  the  treat- 
ment of  intermittent  fever,  according  to  the 
various  stages  of  that  complaint.  I  could 
move  to  you  by  a  multitude  of  evidence. — 
but  there  is  a  case  in  th&M^ical  Gazette, 
which  bears  so  strongly  on  this  very  point. 


i79 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


that  I  will  give  it  to  you  at  length.    It  is 
horn  the  pen  of  Dr.  Grayes  of  Dablin,  aod 
ihe  subject  of  it  was  a  gentleman  livii^  in 
^e  neighbourhood  of    Donybrook.     This 
gentleman.  Dr.  Graves  tells  us,  **had  slept 
well  till  four  o'clodc  in  the  morning,  when 
he  was  awakened  by  a  general  feeling;  of 
ilMilaise,  shortly  after  which  he  complained 
oif  ckiUinesst  some  nausea,  and  headache. — 
[Here  then  was  the  cold  stage.]    After  these 
Bvmptoms  had  continued  a£;>ut  an  hour,  his 
skin  became  extremely  ^,  the  pain  of  the 
head  intense,  and  drowsiness  was  complain- 
ed of,  which  soon  ended  in  perfect  coma, 
vith  deep  snoring  and    insensibility ; — in 
fact  he  appeared  to  be  laboring  under  a  vio- 
kat  apopietic  fit     He  seemed  to  deriye  much 
advantage  from  bleeding  and  other  remedies, 
and  to  my  surprise  was  perfectly  well  when 
I  Tisited  him  in  the  evening.    The  day  but 
one  after,  at  the  very  same  houvy  the  ^ery 
same  symptoms  retunjed  and  were  removed 
by  the  very  same  remedies.    [So  at  least  the 
aocUx  thought]    I  must  confess,"  he  con- 
tinues, "that  I  could  not  explain  in  a  satis- 
isctory  manner  the  perfect  freedom  from  all 
cerebral  and  paralytic  symptoms  after  two 
such  violent  attacks  of   Apopucxt.     But 
when  a  third  attack  came  on,  I  then  saw  it 
was  a  case  of  the  T£rtiana  Soporosa  of 
nosologists,  [what  jaivon  !]  and  I  prevented 
the  return  of  the  fit  oy  the  exhibition  of 
Qfonine/*    The  quinine,  you  see,  proved  at 
Qfid  an  efficient  preventive  of  the  returning 
fits,  while  repeated  blood-letting,  whatever 
might  have  been  its  ef^t  in  shortening  them, 
had  not  the  slightest  influence  in  that  more 
•sltttary  respect    But  when  Dr.  Graves  sup- 
posed that  his  bleedings  did  actually  shorten 
ue  duration  of  the  fits,  may  he  not  have 
been  deceived  by  the  approaching  remiisum 
oi  the  disease, — ^may  he  not  have  mistaken 
this  natural  phenomenon  of  all  disorder  for 
the  efiect  of  his  remedies  ?    However  that 
be,  I  can  say  this  much  for  myself,  that  since 
1  gave  up  the  practice  of  bleeding  in  apo- 
plexy, I  have  found  that  disease  in  the  young 
as  generally  curable  as  any  other,  and  in  the 
old  much  less  fatal  than  when  treated  by  the 
kncet    Mr.  Smith  of  Cheshunt  lately  in- 
formed me  that  he  had  cured  several  cases  of 
apoplexy  simply  by  dashing  cold  water  oyer 
iht  patient's  head,  without  drawing  a  drop  of 
blood.    Mr.  Walter,  a  suxseon  of  Dover, 
has  snceessf  uUy  treated  apoplexy  by  the  same 
pnctioe.    "The  application  of  your  theory,*' 
le  writes  to  me,  "has  lately  saved  me  from 
bleeding  in  tvx^  cases  of  apoplext,  both  of 
which  did  well  without  it"    Now  apoplexy 
as  it  happens,  is  the  great  stumbling-block 
of  thevukar..    How  mad  Dr.  Dickson  must 
baaot tabled  in  apoplexy  s^that  is  tiie 


language  of  every  blockhead  who*  knowing 
nothing  of  the  subject  but  what  he  has  pick- 
ed up  "in  conversation  or  in  his  sehopls/' 
very  wisely  fancies  himself  an  oracle.  But 
what  say  th^  oracles  of  the  schools— what 
say  the  men  who  for  yeais  and  yean  hai* 
been  preaching  up  blood-letting  as  an  infal- 
lible remedy  for  all  diseases !  Dr.  Chitler- 
buck,  as  you  idl  know,  throughout  a  long 
life,  has  advocated  that  kind  of  practice ; 
what  does  Dr.  Clutterbuck  say  of  its  suooesi, 
of  apoplexy  ?  I  almost  fear  jjoa 


wiU  not  believe  I  quote  him  Yightiy*-4rat  his 
name  assuredly  stands  as  tiM  author  of  te 
article  Apopubxt  in  the  Ccyknedia  cf  JMi- 
cine,  from  which  I  quote — aaa  this  is  what 
he  says  under  tiuit  head  and  upon  that  sub* 
ject : — ^**As  mere  matter  of  experience  then 
is  reason  to  beUeve  that  blood-letkiag^  does 
much  less  good,  and  the  omission  of  it  less- 
injury,  than  is  ^nerally  supposed."  Only 
imagine  my  feehn^  when,  in  the  course  of 
my  desultory  reading,  I  first  stumbled  upon 
this  passage.  Such  a  confession  from  snob 
a  quarter !  Gentlemen,  I  laughed  most 
heartily,  and  made  an  extract  on  the  instuil» 
keepinj^  to  the  exact  words  which  1  biro 
now  given  you  for  yoiir  edification. 
That  you  may  cure  the  disposition  to 

RuPTUKSD  Blood-Ysssbl  or  HmeaaHACS 

in  other  parts  of  the  body»  as  well  as  in  lbs 
brain,  by  cold  afiusion*  I  could  give  yon  m 
infinity  of  proofs.  What  is  the  old  woman's 
practice  in  bleediiig  from  the  nose  ?  To  pot 
a  cold  key  down  your  back,  and  thus  by  tbs 
suddenness  of  the  shock  change  in  a  moiaaA 
the  whole  corporeal  temperature.  "Hm 
principle  is  the  same  in  both  cases,  and  ths 
good  effects  of  that  measure  ought  loi^  s^ 
to  have  suggested  to  medical  practitionen  a 
better  practice  in  apoplexy  and  other  beoH 
orrhages  than  is  at  present  the  fashion  wita 
fashionable  doctors.  Cold  watsr,  Gentle- 
men, HAS  MANY  VIRTUES,  iUT  A  GRXAT  »***• 
DXPKNDS  ON  THE  MODE  OF    APPLICATIOK.*— 


*  Mach  ia  nid  now^  daya  of  HvoBoVATaff  ^''{■J 
whether  m  noTeltYor  not,  oafht  nther  to  be  f*W» 
Hydro-b  ATB-T.    When  the  word/I  hmrt  piBw  »  J* 

S'ltalt  in  the  text  wore  firti  pnaledi  BydniMlhf  ,  0'** 
old-water  Care,  wu  not  even  kttowii  Vjr  '^'^J* 
England.  Hydropathy  on  a  fight  prindple  uiMuT} 
Jre^fmentaljun  of  chiono-tlMnnal  meaae.  p^^fT 
as  It  is  by  Priascmtz  and  his  followm,  oa  the  oh  » 
roneoas  kumor-td  doctrine,  it  most  occaaioBBlly  njw* 
those  who  snbmit  to  it  Of  this  I  lately  »  ^^ 
stance  in  the  person  of  a  female  patieat  whohM pr 
tially  lost  the  nse  of  her  right  arm  and  leg.  The  osiv 
waa  of  a  paralytic  kind,  and  among  oth«  ">— y.,^ 
iu  relief,  the  patieot  hadtxied  ahydrof^thic  esiaelB* 
ment,  which  she  declares,  not  only  mado  ^r  woQ 
hot  ^md  bnt  killed  her*  Under  a  chroao-thiqqi 
eonne,  I  am  happy  to  my,  she  haa  »«r  ■■•**y  "SKIir 
the  ODJ^nmi  power  of  tha  •ffoetadattMlia  Tli£ 
tlent was  racommandad to  mthfUu<» »V^ ^'^ 
driUBMne,Aff     ^    - 


Fali^dm  •/  the  Faeuiif. 


179 


The  flodileneas  of  the  dash  is  the  cluef  thing 

to  be  attended  to  in  cases  of  this  nsture. — 

So  much  then  for  the  proper  treatment  of  the 

patkst  during  the  fit  of  bleeding ;  bat  what 

IS  to  be  done  to  pieyent  its  return  ?    English 

{■Miitionen  almost  to  a  man  bleed  and  purge 

ycm.    The  following  case  may  open  their 

eyes ;  and  as  it  is  not  taken  from  my  own 

experience,  but  from  a  German    Medical 

Jcmraal  of   repute,  it  may  perhaps  carry 

mamt  weight  with  it  on  tlmt  account    **A 

straagman,  aged  27,  sufieied  on  alternate 

dajb  from  rery  violent  bleeding^  at  the  nose, 

-which  continued  Uom  four  to  six  hours,  and 

eouU  neither  be  stopped  nor  diminished  by 

the  usnal  styptics,  nor  by  any  of  the  other 

means  commonly  employed  in  similiar  cases. 

Taking  into  account  the  remarkable  ;>enodt'c- 

fll^  of  the  bleeding,  the  treatment  was  chan- 

gnd  for  a  laifgR  dose  of  sulphate  of  <iuinink 

witii  sulphuncacid.    During  the  twenty-one 

days  fioUowing,  the  bleeding  recurred  but 

twice,  and  was  then  readily  stopped.    The 

pateitsohseqaently  continued  quite  weli"— 

[Med.  Zatung.No.  33, 1836.]  . 

In  the  case  of  a  young  lady  a^cted  with 
periodical  Vomking  of  blood,  for  which  she 
had  been  repeatedly  bled  without  the  smallest 
advanli^,— or  latber  to  the  ereat  injury  of 
her  genm  health, — 1  efiecteaa  rapid  cure 
with  a  combination  of  Quinine  and  Alum. 
The  same  disease  I  have  asain  and  again 
cued  by  Arsenic,  Opium  ana  Prussic  Acid. 
A  Captain  of  die  royal  navy,  whom  I  lately 
attinded  along  with  Mr.  Henry  Smith,  of 
ChcdiuBt,  for  vomiting  of  blood,  got  well  by 
small  doses  of  copper. 

You  wLl  now,  I  have  no  doubt,  be  prepa- 
red to  question  the  propriety  of  the  uiaiual 
naideious  treatment  adopted  for  l^pittmg  of 
blood— Pulmonary  Apoplexj,  as  it  has  been 
called.  Is  not  the  lancet  m  almost  every 
sadi  case,  the  tot  thing  in  requisition,  and 
death  the  almost  as  invariable  result  of  the 
neasare  ?  What  say  the  older  authors,  upon 
this  subject?  List^  to  Heberden,  a  physician 
who,  lor  upwards  ol  thirty  years,  had  the 
h^est  and  most  extensive  practice  in  Lon- 
don. *'  It  seems  probable,"  Writes  this  vete* 
ma  in  medicine,  **  from  all  the  experience  I 
have  had  of  such  cases,  that  where  the  he- 
monhage  proceeds  from  the  breach  of  some 
Imjge  vein  or  artery»  ^len  the  opening  of  a 
vein  will  ncf  stop  me  efflux  of  blood,  and  it 
wiU  stop  vUhcut  tke  hdp  i^  the  lancet,  when 
it  pmeeedsfroBi  a  small  one.  In  the  former 
caae»  blesding  does  no  good ;  and  in  the  lat- 
Utg  by  an  unnecessary  waste  of  the  patient's 
strength,  it  will  <fo  Aorst.  But  if  the  open- 
iagota  vein  be  intended  to  stop  a  hcmor- 
Httge,  by  dnRfation  or  tevukBOD,  may  it 
not  be  questioaed  whedker  this  dMtrinebe  m 


clearly  established,  as  to  remove  all  lean  of 
hurting  a  person  who  has  already  lost  too 
much  blood,  by  a  practice  attended  by  the 
(Certain  loss  of  more  r  With  whidi  reason- 
ing, I  hope  you  are  all,  by  this  time  piepared 
to  agree.  But  men  who  know  nothing  of 
the  economy  of  the  human  system,  will 
sometimes  dispute  this  matter  with  you,  by 
sayinff,  that  their  pcdents  make  blood  so  fast 
/that  they  must  periodically  bleed  them,  to 
keep  down  the  disposition  to  hamorrhage. 
Gentlemen,  these  practitioners  deceive  them- 
selves ;  they  are  deluded  into  this  false  and 
fatal  practice  by  the  returning  >6ri/e  fit— a  fit 
that  will  recur  and  re-recur  at  more  or  lesa 
regular  periods,  while  there  are  blood  and  life 
in  the  body;  and  the  more  frequent  the  bleed- 
ing practised  in  the  case,  the  more  frequent 
will  this  febrile  fit  come  on,  and  with  it,  the 
very  hemorrhage  which  it  is  the  object  of 
their  solicitude  to  prevent  Does  it  not  stand 
to  reason,  that  the  more  you  debilitate  the 
wAo/tf  body,  the  more  certainly  must  you' 
weaken  at  the  same  time  the  already  too 

WKAK   TI88UX  of  the  VASCULAX    COATS,    that 

tissqe  whose  original  weakness  constitute^ 
the  tendency  to  hemonhage !  Instead  of  be- 
ing the  consequence  of  any  constitutional 
nlenitude  of  the  blood  itself,*  spitting  of 
Blood  is  only  a  natural  effect  of  real  weak- 
ness in  the  coals  of  the  containing  vessels  of 
the  lungs ;  so  that  not  only  is  the  theory  of 
making  too  much  blood  absolute  nonAenre» 
but  the  measures  which  medical  men  have 
for  centuries  been  putting  in  force,  for  the 
cure  of  hemorrhagic  disease,  have  been  one 
and  all  as  fatal  in  their  tendency,  as  the  theory 
that  led  to  them  was  in  principle  false.  Look 
at  the  Bale  and  exsanguined  countenances  of 
the  unfortunate  individuals,  who,  whether 
for  spitting  of  blood,  apoplexy,  or  other  he* 
morrhages,  have  been  subjected  to  such  cruel 
discipline,  and  tell  me,  if  these  poor  creatures 
make  too  much  blood  ?— only  place  your  fin* 
ffer  on  the  artery  of  the  wrist,  and  you  may 
feel  it  ierking,  and  compressible,  like  that  U 
a  female  who  has  sul&red  from  repeated 
floodings.  Even  during  the  febrile  paroxysm, 
you  may  see  by  the  circumscribed  flush  of 
the  face,  that  this  patient  is  actually  dying  of 
hectic  or  inanition.  What  fatal  nustiOLes 
have  not  originated  in  the  notion  of  making 
too  much  blood !— To  bleed  in  the  case  ofa 
ruptured  blood-vessel,  then,  is  positive  mad- 
]«BS.  If  you  q)en  a  vein  in  the  ann  of  any 
man,  whether  healthy  or  the  reverse,  and  lit 
blood,  will  the  opening  of  another  vein  stop 
the  flow  of  blood  from  the  vein  first  opened  ? 
So  far  from  tiial,  both  veins  will  go  on  bleed* 
ing  till  the  patient  either  &int  or  die!-- 

ShouW  wt  this  fact  have  Icu^g  MP  opened  the 
eyes  of  the  profession  to  the  fallacy  of  Ifaeir 


174J 


FuUadci  of  the  Factiky: 


pmctice  ?     Gfentlemen,  how  can  you  doubt, 
ior  a  moment,  that  the  coats  of  the  blood- 
vessels, like  ever  J  other  tissue  of  the  body, 
must  he  equally  implicated  in  the  general  de- 
bility that  cannot  fail  to  be  produced  by  what- 
ever abstracts /roOT,  or  prerenls  the  entrance 
oft  the  material  necessary  to  the  healthy 
oiganization  of  every  part  of  the  human 
frame  ?    To  bleed  or  starve  a  person  having 
a    hereditary  predisposition    to  spitting  of 
blood  or  apoplexy,  is  the  most  certain  method 
to   develop    these  diseases  in  their  worst 
forms  !~-Yet  this  is  the  daily  practice  of  the 
most  eminent  physicians !  one  among  many 
proofs,  that  in  the  medical  profession,  emi- 
nence is  less  frequently  attained  by  success- 
fid  results  «*•  practice,  than  by  the  dexterous 
employment  of  all  those  mean  arts  and  petty 
intngues  with  which  mediocre  but  unscrupu- 
lous minds  too  often  beat  men  of  genius  in 
the  game  of  Ufe.     So  far  as  practice  is  con- 
cerned, the  eminent  physician  generally  con- 
fines himself  to  the  fashion  of  the  day— -the 
more  especially,  if  that  fashion  be  profitable 
to  the  apothecary ;  for  in  such  case  he  is  sure 
to   become   the   fortunate  puppet  of  those 
whose  bread  depends,  not  so  much  upon  the 
cores  they  shall  efiect,  as  the  quantity  of 
physic  they  shall  manage  to  sell !     What  a 
nappy  nation  of  fools  must  that  be,  which 
supposes  that  any  class  of  mankind  will  put 
the  interests  of  the  public  in  competition 
with  their  own.    Bemghted  and  misguided 
people !  you  call  upon  men  to  relieve  you 
mm.  your  suflferings,  while  you  hold  out  to 
them  the  most  powerful  of  temptations  to 
keep  you  on  your  sick-beds !    You  pay  for 
physic,  what  you  deny  to  talent — for  a  long 
ulness,  what  you  refuse  to  a  speedy  recovery ! 
lio  you  think  medical  men  angels,  that  you 
thus  tamper  with  their  integrity  ?    Your  very 
mode  of  remunerating  them  forces  them  to 
be  corrupt — and  that  too,  at  a  moment  when 
their  numbers  are  so  great,  that  could  even 
one  half  of  them  live  honestly,  the  other  hall 
fftarve !    Hear  Mr.  Abernethy  on  this  sub- 
ject:—"There  has  been  a  great  increase  of 
medical  men,  it  is  true,  of  late  years ;  but 
upon  my  life,  diseases  have  increased  in  pro- 
portion ^-^si  is  a  great    comfort  !'*— To 
whom  is  it  a  comfort  ? — to  the  public  or  the 
profession  ? — When  you  call  in  the  physician 
vacommended  by  your  apothecary,  how  can 
you  be  sure  that  he  is  not  a  confederate  ?  or 
&t,  when  the  farce  of  a"  Consultation"* 
gone  through,  you  are  not  the  dupes  of  a  pet- 
ty intrigue  to  pick  your  pockets  ?    Unchari- 
table man  1  some  of  you  may  possibly  say, 
how  can  you  thus  malign  me  members  of 
your  own  profession  ? — Gentlemen,  when  so 
many  of  my  profession,  and  those  not  always 
of  tne  lowest  class,  descend  to  practices 


which  defi:rade  medicine  into  the  vilest  of 
trades ;  wlien,  like  the  Thugs  of  India,  num- 
bers of  them  silently  and  secretly  enter  hito 
systematic  collusions  and  conspiracies  forthe 
purpose  of  Inveigling  and  plundering  under 
friendship's  garb,  the  unfortunate   viofius 
who,  too  confidingly  repose  on  their  honour- 
and  integri  ty ;  when  the  editors  of  the  Medi- 
cal  Journals  even  are  forced  to  notice  the 
letters  they  receive  in  tlieir  exposure,— is  it 
not  time  that  the  too  credulous  public  shoald 
be  put  upon  their  guard  ?*    If  any  medical 
practitioner  of  your  acquaintance  has  tbe 
hardihood  to  deny  the  existence  of  this  ter- 
rible  state  of  collusion  now  so  prevatent; 
both  m  town  and  country,  look  upon  that 
man  with    suspicion, — or  rather  set   him 
quietly  down  at  once  in  your  own  mind,  as 
one  of  the  inost  deeply  implicated  of  the 
corruption ists.  "A  monarch,"  says  Dr.  Forth,- 
"  who  should  free  his  state  from  this  pestilent 
set  of  physicians  and  apothecaries,  and  en- 
tirely interdict    the    practice    of  medicine, 
would  deserve  to  be  placed  by  the  side  of  the 
most  illustrious  characters  who  have  ever 
conferred   extensive    benefits  on  mankind. 
Ifiere  is  scarcely  a  more  dishonest  trade  tm- 
nginable  than  the  Art  of  Medicine  in  it» 
present  state." — [Rhapsodien  uber  Medite^] 
But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  Ruptuppd 
Blood-vesseK    You  will  find  that  ii>  every 
case,  except  where  it  has  been  produced  by 
mechanical  or  other  local  agency,  this  disease 
is  the  effect  or  development  of  eeneial  iirte^ 
mittent  fever ;    the  syinptoms  or  which  fever 
vary  in  Aeir  degree  of  severity  with  every 
case, — in  one  being  bold  and  well  marked, 
in  another,  so  softened  and   subdued,  as 
almost  to  escape  the  patient's  own  observa- 
tion ; — curable,  too,  like  the  simplest  ague, 
by  the  cold  dash  or  an  emetic  given  during 
the  hot  fit ;— and  to  be  prevented  from  recur- 
ring by  chrono-therraal  treatment  during  the 
interval  of  remission.    One  case  will  yield 
to  opium  or  arsenic,  another  to  copper,  quin- 
ine,  or  prussic  acid,  and  some  will  trouble 
you  to  cure  them  at  all — ^for  what  will  agree 
with  one  constitution,  may,  as  we  have  too 
ofUn  seen,  disagree  with  another.    I  conW 
give  dozens  of  cases  of  every  kind  of  consti- 
tutional haemorrhage  cured  in  this  manner; 
but  the  details  of  one  would  be  the  details  of 
all.    Yes,  Gentlemen,  I  repeat,  by  the  caiiy 
use  of  emetics,  the  proper  application  of  heat 
and  cold  in  the  different  morbid  conditions  of 
the  body  constituting  the  febrile  fit,  and  by 
the  judicious  exhibition  of  the  chrono-ther- 
mal  medicines  during  its  remission,  I  have 
successfully  treated  every  kind  of  h«mor- 


Lanfiety  pMiim,— purticuUrly  U&t  former,— for  «  w« 
exporare  of  thow  iiMkrionf  practicM: 


.  FaUa6ie»  vf  the  FamiUy. 


175 


Ill 


The  fiame  system  of  trealBMrit 
oabled  me  e&dualiy  to  cute  many 
\  ot  Enlaiged  Yeiofl — Varicose  Veios, 
as  they  are  termed— aiMi  the  meotion  of  thif^ 
lecalJe  to  my  recollection  the  case  of  bd  aged 
female  who  had  a  painful  varicose  ulcer — 
that  is,  a  sore  with  blood->'e6sels  openk^ 
into  it — for  which  I  prescribed  the  internm 
ime  of  arsealc,  with  almost  rnimodiate  relief 
Id  her  pain,  and  the  subBequent  cure  of  her 
tttcer.  From  the  happy  result  of  that  and 
other  similar  cases,  the,  suigical  mechanic 
may  learn  that  there  are  other  and  better 
modes  of  treating  **  varicose  Yeins»"  than  by 
baodaj^es  and  laoed  stockings.  Weil,  theii, 
I  hare  said  all  1  mean  to  say  upon  the  subject 
o£  Hamorrha^,  and  I  have  anticipated 
somethug  of  what  naiuially  belongs  to  the 
treatment  of  Diaeaaes  of  the  Cu£st.  Of 
these  I  must  now  apeak  at  some  leaeth. 

It  has  ever  been  the  pohcy  of  teachers  and 
pipfesaoiB  to  Bfkci  to  penetrate  farther  into  a 
millstone  than  their  pupils ;  and,  seeing  that 
Tor  the  most  part  such  proiesaors  know  as 
iitlle  of  ^eir  perticniar  subFJect  as  those  they 
pretend  to  enUghten  upon  it,  so  far  as  their 
own  renutation  is  concerned,  they  are  doubt- 
leas  dght !  The  great  millstone  of  die  pre- 
aant  day,  is  the  Chest, — and  Laennec's  bau- 
ble, the  divining  rod  by  which  our  modem 
sages  pretend  to  have  obtained  their  knowl- 
ediie  oi  it.  U  you  beheve  them,  a  hollow 
poeoe  oi  stick  they  have  nicknamed  <<  the 
StetkoseotM^*  is  the  greatest  invention  of  these 
timea !  By  means  of  it  you  may  discover 
emery  motion  and  change  of  motion  that  ever 
look  place  in  the  organs  within  the  cavity  of 
the  cheat,  and  some  (hat  never  could  take 
place  in  them  at  all. 

What  an  invaluable  instrument  must 
ii.be-4hat  stethoscope  1  The  enchanter's 
wand  waa  nothing  to  it!  Aaron's  rod  per- 
haps came  the  nearest  to  it !  Bnt,  seriously 
speaking,  just  observe  how  gravely  your  hos- 
pclai  tyros  hood- wink  and  hocus  each  other 
with  the  pbiaaes  **  hypertrophy"  here^  and 
"Afiophy"  there;  "  Caveras"  in  this 
place,  and  **  congeationa"  inrthatr— toBay  no- 
thing of  "rhoncus"  and  "rale,"  "egoplwny** 
and  <*8ybilu8" — and  heaven  knows  what 
odier  sounds  and  signs  beaides-^eounds  and 
fl%na  which,  in  the  greater  number  of  casea, 
have  aa  much  of  truth  and  reaht^  as  the  roar 
of  the  sea  with  which  the  child  dehides  his 
focy  when  holding  a  shell  to  hia  ear  i 

Let  me  first  speak  to  you  of 

DoEASxs  or  THE  Keaat. 

Do  not  the  subject  of  every  kind  of  Heart- 
auction  tell  you  they  are  one  bay  better,  an- 
vIIkt  womei    How  shall  we  e^aak  of  dis- 
.of  tluaoqgaa.^-r-of  pa^itetwo  andtemv 


poraiy  cessation  or  remission  of  ita  action  ?n— 
disordere  constantly  misunderstood,  and  as 
constantly  maltreated.  Complain  but  of  flat- 
ter or  uneasiness  in  any  part  of  the  Chest, 
the  stethoscope — the  oracular  stethoscope — 
is  instantly  produced.  Astonished — in  raao^ 
instances  terrified — ^the  patient  draws  his 
breath  convulsively — his  heart  beats  rapidly 
— and  the  indications  obtained  by  means  of 
this  instrument,  at  such  a  moment  of  doubt, 
anxiety,  and  fear,  are  registered  and  recognis- 
ed as  infallible.  "Have  we  not  had  too 
much  talk  of  Heart-Disease  since  the  steth- 
oscope has  come  so  generally  into  vocue?" 
was  a  question  asked  some  years  ago  iy  the 
late  Dr.  Uwins.  Dr.  Jamea  Johnson  shaU  an- 
awer  it;  and  for  reasons  which  I  shall  by  and 
bye  make  you  acquainted  with,  I  prefer  his 
evidence  here  to  that  of  any  other  physician. 
In  one  of  the  numbers  of  The  Lancet,  I>r. 
James  Johnson  is  stated  to  have  said  at  a 
Medical  Society : — "It  waa  a  combon  enor 
in  young  practitionen  to  consider  the  heart 
as  ofjgaaically  diseased  when  ks  fuoctiona 
only  were  much  interfered  with,  and  this  er- 
ror has  become  more  general,  he  waa  sorry 
to  say,  since  the  sTsrruotoorK  has  come  uUo 
useJ'  Dr.  Johnson  confines  his  observation 
to  young  practitioners — himself  not  coming 
under  that  head, — but  I  have  seen  men  aa 
old  as  he  make  the  same  mistake,  and  those, 
too,  enjoying  a  great  reputation  for  stethoa- 
copic  sagacity. 

Patient  after  patient— medical  aa  wellaa 
non-medical,— have  come  to  ma  with  the  fit- 
tal  scroU  of  the  stethoscopist— -there  hearts 
palpitating,  their  limbs  trembling,  as  they 
gazed  in  my  face,  expecting  to  read  there 
nothing  short  of  a  confirmation  of  their  deadi- 
warrants  ,^yet  of  those  patients,  many  aie 
now  living  and  well,  and  iau§^,  aa  I  h^  to 
make  you  laugh,  at  both  the  instrument  and 
its  responses.  How  litde  must  that  man 
know  of  his  duty  aaa  physician,  who  wocdd 
deprive  a  fellow-creature  in  distress  of  the 
balm  of  hope — ^how  little  can  he  agpredale 
the  influence  of  the  depressiiMr  pasaiooa  on 
the  bodily  sufieiings  of  the  sick  t  Yet  with 
these  eyes  have  I  seen,  in  the  hands  of  the 
patient,  the  whtlen  aanounccoienta  of  his 
doom,  an  announcement  which  aflrawaida 
turned  out  to  be  utterly  unprophetioand  lalaa. 
How  unwarrantable  in  any  caae  toiatniat 
the  patient  with  such  a  document 

Let  the  practitioner  wi&draw  his  eye,  for 
a  time,  froln  a  mere  symptom;  let  him  ob- 
serve how  other  muacfes  of  hia  patient  pal- 
pitale  at  times,  like  the  heart,  and  act,  like 
that,  convulaively— finding  these  symptoms 
to  be  remittent  in  every  case;  and  comphcated 
with  others,  all  equally  remittent,  would  ha 
still  persist  m  hia  small  bleedings,  hia  repeat- 


m 


Failacie9,of  the  Faeuliy. 


ed  leeehes,  his  piiTges, — measures  of  them- 
selves  sufficient  for  the  jpvoduction  of  any  and 
eyerrdeKree  of  oiganic  change  he  already 
fanaes  he  has  detected  !  Would  he  not 
rather  leAect  with  honor  on  his  past  treat 
ment,  and  endeavour,  hy  another  and  a  bet- 
ter practice,  to  enable  his  patient  to  escape 
the  sadden  death  to  which,  in  his  imagina 
tion,  he  had  devoted  him  ?  How  many  a  phy 
sician,  by  such  a  prognostic,  has  obtained 
unmerited  credit  for  foresight  and  sagacity, 
while  he  onl^  taught  the  patient's  friends  to 
be  prepared  for  an  erent,  lie  himself  vxis 
maUriaUy  umtrUmting  to  hasten/  Truly, 
in  this  case  at  least,  prophecies  do  tend  to 
verify  themselves  1 

Gentlemen,  I  have  seen  two  stethoscopists 
ttcamine  a  patient  with  supposed  Heart-dis* 
«ase,  and  come  to  the  most  opposite  conclu- 
-  aioDS, — one  declaring  the  orpn  to  be  en- 
loiged,  the  other  assuming  with  equal  confi- 
4eaodj  tint  it  was  the  reverse !  The  utter 
«bfluidity  of  attempting  to  distinguish,  during 
life,  one  form  of  Heart-affection  from  another 
hj  any  particular  sign  or  symptom,  is  suffi* 
cientFy  proved  by  this  one  fact,  that  a  mere 
fwietional  variation  of  its  motions  will  pib- 
duee  every  symptom  of  a  real  change  in  the 
ctmcture  of  the  organ  itself.  But  even 
>  eouM  such  distinction  be  e&cted  to  the  nicety 
of  a  hair,  the  loiowledge  of  it  would  not  be 
^NTOtlb  a  rush  for  any  ffraUical  purpos&^'^n* 
asmuch  as  the  remedies  for  every  kind  of 
dieet-disease  eone  at  last  to  the  same  agency, 
whefter  that  agency  be  directly  applied  to  the 
mxhoe  of  the  body  in  the  shape  of  cold  or 
lieat ;  or  be  externally  or  internally  admin- 
istered in  the  form  of  medicines  that  electri- 
cally influence  the  corporeal  motions  throusfa 
tfie  medium  of  the  brain  and  nervp&  Bv  the 
ehnmo-thermal  system  of  practice,  I  have 
'  SMccesgfttily  treated  every  kind  of  Heart-dis- 
«Me  Which  ever  came,  or  could  come,  under 
^  notice  of  the  physician — setting  aside, 
<lf  ctmrse,  original  malformation  of  the  organ 
I  will  give  you  some  oases  in  illustration  :* — 

A  gentleman,  aged  30,  had  been  ill  for  a 
long  thne,  particularly  complaining  of  his 
lieait,  the  action  of  wkich  organ  was^er- 
•Hv  below  the  healthy  standard,  and  it  also 
INJpitated  oecasionally.  So  great  was  his 
metital  depression,  that  the  smallest  triife 
inodttoed  tears.   The  temperature  of  his  body 

Tk«  Doctor  i«  ben  wo  ore  0007  to  M|^  m  profoond' 
if  igoofsat  M  tho  orofoHion  genMoUf.  oT  the  nng* 
HMkoymptonu,  by  whieh  taboteolar  dSaeooo  of  tfio 
8Hfft,«ata«v«Toihflr  oi|m,  ia  dUtuigniikad  with 
taitmij  and  Mifoct  ceruinty,  ia  oTary  cote,  ond  ia 
•ay  ifeifo  of  tlie  diMMO :  aad  m  dUi  dJMOM  U  rai- 
MMtio,  orofiuowa  kiad,  aad latMlbn aatiioly dif- 


iVnnt  ttom  fancuoaal  donafomoat  from  oscitoaioat  of 
me  bimia  or  may  oilier  caaio,  it  is  cortualy  a  mattor 
«r  MMtto  itajportflMO  to  bo  ablo  to  diMianidk  it 

Tk^fmikm  Dootn  has  fivoa  ia  iuailretifn  an 
woea  of  fuoetional  damnceaieat,  and  icoomils  m  aia 
vecoaaia  tiaaUaf  **  diaaaaaaof  tlie  beart'*   SdUsr. 


genenlly  was  below  that  of  health,  and  be 
suffered  much  from  coldness  of  leet— iwb. 
sions  he  of  course  had,  being  better  at  pir> 
ticular  times.  As  he  did  not  improve  in  Ae 
country,  he  thought  he  would  t^-  a  London 
doctor ,  so  he  came  to  town,  and  consQlled 
the  late  Dr.  Hope,  a  gentleman,  who  Ihoi^ 
he  wrote  a  ^ck  tome,  entitled  *<Distt8Mof 
the  Heart,''  was,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  altcfrth- 
er  wrong  in  his  treatment  of  them!  'Ae 
stethoscope  in  this  case  was  as  usual  applied 
10  the  chest,  and  its  annunciation  was  send- 
chral.  Hopjs  here  told  no  **ifaittering  taue," 
for  not  only  was  the  heart  pronounced  to  le 
enlaiiged,  but  a  tatal  result  was  prophetially 
expTMsed.  The  treatment  prescnbed  yns 
not  ill  calculated  to  verify  the  pradictiQa— 
carecarilhi  and  ammonia, — ^withaperieoti!! 
and  a  bleeding  every  month,  or  six  weeb! ! 
The  patient's  health,  as  you  may  readily 
suppose,  got  worse  and  worse  Mly,— he 
became  much  emaciated  in  his  person,  sad 
completely  prostrate  in  mind.  To  soin  ap 
all,  ne  had  a  tendency  to  fiuntinir  fits ;  yi 
which  state,  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  Selwyn  of 
Ledbury,  he  came  to  roe.  Yoa  already 
guess  the  practice  I  adopted— -chiono-tber- 
mal,  of  course.  Yes,  gentlemen,  I  ordoed 
hijaffirst  a  combination  of  prussic  add  aad 
creosote,  which  I  afterwards  followed  op  by 
arsenic  and  quinine.  I  also  prescribed  1 
generous  diet,  with  wine.  Well,  what  wai 
the  efiect  of  this  ?~>Why,  notwithstaadiu 
the  depletion  to  which  he  had  been  subjected, 
he  improved  daily,  and  in  about  six  weeke 
had  become  so  well  as  to  be  able  to  nam 
his  profession-— the  law,  which  pofesnoi, 
at  the  hour  1  speak,  he  follows  with  ardoat, 
and  without  a  complaint  of  any  kind,  hi- 
deed,  n  letter  ^^ch  I  recently  received  lioa 
Dr.  Selwyn,  gave  me  the  news  of  his  ntf- 
riage.  Yet  this  patient,  aeeordinff  to  Ike 
stethoscope,  should  have  been  dead  oA 
buried  long  ago ! 

Gentlemen,  in  confirmation  of  the  nfae 
6i  Arsenic  in  disease  of  die  heart,  the  de- 
tails of  a  case  from  Darwin,  who  wrote,  be 
it  remembered,  m  the  last  century,  mgfvA 
be  deemed  unimportant : — '*A  gentleman,  65 
years  of  age,  had  for  about  ten  years  beea 
subject  to  an  intBrmitlent  pulse,  and  to  ^ 
quent  jialpilEtiQns  of  his  heart.  Lately  the 
palpitations  seemed  to  observe  ineguiarpfli- 
ods,  bat  die  intemission  of  every  thiid  or 
fourth  pulsation  was  almost  perpefnaL  Oa 
giving  iiim  four  drops  of  asatuialed  solntifln 
of  Arsenic  aboirt  every  four  hours,  not  only 
the  j^pitation  did  not  return  but  the  inters 
mission  caaaed  entirely,  and  did  not  retua 
so  long  as  he  took  the  medicine.'^ 

ThecMtesI  shall uowgive  yManthUi 
of  ttaay  aneH  wliich  haiva  90tmmd  in  0T 
own  practice:-— 


JBWmfbfs  ^  ike  ^MidQp. 


m 


falfitaliQii  of  tba  keart>  ocoMional  coughs 
ip|ir«»  gieat  •  di&alty  o£  bi«aUu«g  i»  to  be 
liinlilc  Id  aleep,  except  when  eupported  with 
Billows.  Shd  had  ^equeot  shiveriog  fits; 
W  abdcNBen  aad  legs  were  much  swelled, 
and  hor  symptoois  altogether  so  distressingy 
as  Id  Isa^e  iter  iriends  with  acarcely  a  ray  of 
hope.  Nevertheless*  by  the  employment  of 
iOnrtr,  aaiaine.  and  prvssic  acid,  she  did 
ftvealaaliy  lecoTes,  to  the  surprise  of  all 
who  know  her.  Remissions  were  well 
^aaikedin  this  case. 

.  Case  £.— A  young  gentleman,  aged  1£, 
Itfd  violent  palpitatioD  of  the  heart*  head- 
achoy  ewFiog  apfKtite,  and  some  thirst,  with 
i;reat  4epKssion  of  spirits. .  He  was  much 
€imaci«ted,  and  tad  a  tendency  to  eruption  of 
Ifaftflkin.    His  hands  and  feet,  whicn  were 
ywemlly  cold  br  day,  became  during  the 
sight  BO  hot*  as  frequently  to  keep  him  from 
aieepuig^    By  a  coozse  of  Gold*plunge  baths, 
alteniated  with  the  shower  bath,  and  by  the 
Qse  at  the  same  time  of  quinine  and  iron  in 
combinatioa,  the  youas  gentleman  was  cora- 
plat^y  mtoioi  to.health — every  one  of  the 
above  symptoms  having  disappeared  in  a  few 
weeks.    He  \%Tyav  servine  with  his  re^ment 
ia  Indiii,  haviBg  reached  the  rank  of  lieuten- 
ant 

Case  3.— Major  M  'P '^  heart  pal- 

fitaled  so  violently  at  times,  that  you  could 
eee  the  motions  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
loom.  Xliis  was  the  ca^e  when  I  was  asked 
Id  see  him.  1  ordered  him  prussic  acid  and 
musk*  which  stopped  the  palpitation  in  about 
two  laiviilea  after  he  took  it  la  the  middle 
of  the  n%ht  he  had  a  threatening  of  the 
CMttplainty  hut  it  was  at  once  arrested  by  the 
auae  medieiQes.  A  continuation  of  them 
iov  about  six  weeks  cured  him  completely. 

Befom  (fissmissing  afiections  of  the  heart, 
Imnst  tell  you  that  all  of  them,  or  almost 
«n  depeod  upon  weakness  of  the  Brain— as 
j^ou  OH(y  convince  yourself  h^  putting  this 
question  to  your  patienf—How  do  you  feel 
when  anything  disturbs  your  mina  ?  The 
answer  will  ahnost  invariably  be,  "  Oh  it 
tni^  on  the  palpitation  at  once,"  or  the 
|iein  as  the  case  may  be.  Gentlemen, 
st^e^gthan  the  biain,aiid  in  few;  instances 
will  jpoa  have  apy  tremble  about  the  heart. 
llis.  hiain  is  the  gpeat  conttolier  of  every 
inactinq.  ■  i»  ia  the  tow  k^  iko  all  good  treat- 
jseat..     . 

We  how  come  to  consider 

^  JPouieasav  CoviMPrKnr,  oa  Dsclins. 

Wbea  jon  see  ^  person  harassed  with 
m^a^lmai^  his  flesh,  aad  if ,  at  the 
«ne  tten,  hs  eompliiBS  of  lOKi^tB^  of 


bnath  and  paia  of  the  chest,  aad  faegine  ^ 
expectorate  a  muoo-purulent-looking  malttf« 
you  may  eertainly  eet  his  disease  down  ae 
Covuwmpttve  i  for  not  only  is  bis  cenerai 
health  in  that  case  manifestiy  wrong,  but  hia 
luugs  are  more  or  less  implicated,-  -and  what 
does  it  signify  in  which  of  tibeir  tissues  ? 
what  does  It  signify  whether  it  be  their  m«* 
cousmembraae,  their  glands,  or  th  ir  inter- 
stitial substance.  If  his  general  health  fhm 
the  time  he  becomes  your  patient,  impiove» 
he  will  naturally  live  as  long  as  it  cootinoea 
to  do  so,— if  not,  and  if  it  as  promssively 
continue  to  get  worse,  he  must  die  !  Anjr 
further  discussion  of  the  matter,  otionf  Ao«i 
resolves  itself  into  the  interminebJe  question 
of  Tweedle-dtim  and  Tweedk^i^M ! 

"Can  Concfumption  be  cured  ?**  asked  Mr. 
Abemethy,  adding  in  his  own  sarcastic  man* 
ner  "Odd  bless  me  !  that's  a  question  whiclft^. 
amanwbobad  lived  in  a  dissectinff-roott 
would  laugh  at.  How  many  people  do  you 
examine  who  have  luQgs  tubercular  which- 
are  otherwise  sound.  What  is  Consump* 
tion  ? — It  is  tubercle  of  the  lungs— then  if 
those  tubercles  were  healed,  and  the  lungt 
otherwise  sound,  tbe  patient  mtuit  get  bHUr^ 
but  if  the  inquirer  shift  his  groimd  and  8ay» 
"It  was  the  case  I  meant  of  tubercles  over 
the  whole  lungs,"  why  then,  he  shifts  hie 
ground  to  no  purpose,  for  there  is  np  case  of 
any  disease  wnich,  when  it  hae  proceeded  t» 
a  certain  extent,  can  be  cured." 

Tbe  next  question  is  what  are  Tubercles  I 
I  take  tbis  to  be  ihe  true  an6iver,**-«nd  L 
wish  you  to  consider  it  well^  for  it  is,  or,  I 
should  rather  sa^r  it  tnu,  until  I  took  the  lib*; 
ertyof  enlightening  the  profession,  totally  at 
variance  wjth  their  notions  {  some  of  them 
even  now  believing  tubercles  to  be  parasiti* 
cal  animals  !  Gentlemen,  for  the  requisite 
lubrication  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
cells  and  other  air-pasrages  of  the  lungsi 
there  must  be  a  certain  amount  of  secretionii 
To  supply  this  secretion,  I  need  not  tell  ypa 
there  must  be  a  glandular  apparatus ;  and  ae« 
cordingly  a  number  of  nunute  and  almost  im« 
perceptible  Gland*  in  reality'  intersperse  ^ 
entire  tissue  of  the  lungs— dbe  pulmenary  tis* 
sue,  as  it  is  called — but  abound  more  paitisr 
ularly  in  the  t^pet; portion  of  it— that  idenp 
tical  portion  in  which  pathologists  imagiiM 
they  nave  detected  the  wmmeneement  oi  v«Ar 
sumptioiv  But  what  they  call  the  txmt 
mencementisnothing  more  than  an  Epraqr 
or  development  of  general  constitutional  dilh 
order.  U  it  be  the  beginning,  it  is  the  begii|- 
ning  of  the  end— the  end  of  previous  repei* 
ted  lebrile  paioxyeuM  of.  greater  or  less  inteft* 
sity.  Dunng  such  constitutional  disoidflf» 
and  particularly  during  the  course  of  sev«» 
fevera-«-8mch  aa  f^  long  remitt^t  fev#r,  tks 


ITS 


FMaciBs  €f  the  PtmuUfi. 


iiverstennedfaiwU  pox,  measles,  and  the 
like,  tfaeae  minute  pulmonary  glands  become 
dileaaed,  there  being  a  previous  ffredtspositim 
•f  course ;  in  other  words,  these  glands  be- 
ing the  original  weak  points  of  individuals 
having  the  consumptive  tendency.  Tuber- 
cles then  are  diseased  pulmonary  glsmds.-^ 
How  many  people  have  traced  the  Consump- 
tion of  their  children  to  the  smallpox  or  mea- 
sles-^but  would  any  man  in  his  senses  say 
the  consumption  was  the  cause  of  these  fe- 
vers ?  Here  it  must  have  been  the  effect,  and 

00  also  it  may  be  the  eflbct  of  any  other  kind 
of  fever,  and  in  no  case  can  it  be  the  cause 

01  such  fever — though,  as  in  the  giving  way 
of  any  other  part  of  the  body,  the  local  dis- 
ease may  in  the  course  of  time  ag<i^ravate  and 
keep  up  the  febrile  etate.  The  a&cted  gland 
is  in  this  instance  at  first  almost  microscopi- 
oftlly  minute,  but  as  the  disease  advances,  it 
swdls  and  becomes  of  a  reddish  gray  colour, 
or  it  may  at  once  take  on  a  suppurative  ac- 
tion— ^it  may  become  an  abscess  varying  from 
the  size  of  a  pea  or  less  to  that  of  a  walnut 
or  more,  or  it  may  go  on  enlarging  to  any  ex- 
tent without  suppurating  or  becoming  an  ab- 
scess at  all-— the  function  of  the  affected  lung 
ki  this  case  being,  nevertheless,  as  complete- 

2r  disturbed  as  it  it  did  take  on  the  suppura- 
ve  state ;  but  in  most  cases  of  consump- 
tive disease  both  kinds  of  disoiganization  go 
on  at  the  same  time,  one  gland  or  cluster  of 
friands  suppurating,  and  sooner  or  later  burs- 
niig  and  (fischaTging  their  contents  into  the 
ttir-pessages,  rendering  the  lungs  at  the  same 
time  more  or  less  cavernous  and  hollow — 
another  gland  or  cluster  of  glands  swelling 
ind  coalescing  so  as  to  fiU  up  and  solidify 
tlie  air-cells  c4  the  part  they  occupy.  These 
at  least  are  among  the  principal  changes  to 
b«  found  in  the  lungs  of  persons  who  die  of 
consumption,  and  they  are  all,  as  1  have  al- 
leady  said,  more  or  less  gradually  produced 
in  the  course  of  repealed  paroxysms  of  gen- 
eral remittent  disorder.  The  matter  expecto- 
rated by  the  patient  consists  of  the  contents 
of  the  tuberculous  abscess,  and  more  or  less 
taucous,  sometimes  mixed  with  .blood ; 
while  the  cough  is  at  one  moment  produced 
hy  a  lodgment  of  matter  in  the  air-peasages, 
«t  another  it  is  an  effect  of  the  cold  air  com- 
ing in  contact  with  the  ulcerated  surface  of 
thediseased  lungs, — though  almost  every  pa- 
Hent  has  it  |ienMftai2^j(  spasmodic.  To  un- 
derstand this  subject  in  all  its  bearinn,  you 
have  only  to  observe  the  more  pafpabtt  chan- 
M  which  take  place  in  the  glands  of  the 
ffidt  ci  certain  patients.  These  glands  in 
the  hioltky  living  subject,  can  neither  be  seen 
«aor  Ml ;  but  apniy  Any  general  influence 
^^iMtfthallexeite /eoerxnan  individual  pre- 
*4^)uiid  to  giimdular  diaoider»-HHKh  as  star- 


vation, exposure  to  cold,  or  tfie  riraieof  ner- 


euiy, and  what  do  you  find?  Wfcv,  mem 
very  glands  mdudly  enlarge  and  wtm  ti» 
mours,  vrhiai  tumours,  as  in  ^  oaae  of  tii* 
bercles  of  the  lungs,  are  sometimes  of  a  solid 
kind,  and  when  examined  after  death  hmv^ 
the  same  reddish  grey  appearance,  but  tnoie 
fiequently  like  them  terminate  in  aboeesiea» 
the  contents  of  which,  so  far  as  nt&n  -lyn* 
ness  is  concerned,  are  the  identical  conteati 
of  pulmonary  tubercles,  or  vomimt  as  tiiest 
tubercles  aresomethnes  called.  In  the' one 
case,  the  patient  is  said  to  have  the  ^Evd"  or 
"Scrofula,**  in  the  other  Phthisis  or  Consmiip* 
tion ;— the  difference  of  place,  and  fte  degree 
of  importance  of  this  in  the  animal  economy, 
making  the  only  diflemnce  between  them.— 
In  still  ferther  proof  of  the  correctness  of 
this  explanation,  I  may  mention  that  Louis 
and  odiers  have  detected  tubercukfUM  matter 
in  various  other  Glandtdar  parts  of  the  bo^ 
of  patiente  who  have  died  consmnpttve.  U 
it  be  objected  that  they  have  also  detected  it 
in  the  hontSt  I  answer,  bones  like  every  other 
part  have  a  glanduhir  apparatus.* 

We  now  come  to  the  qoestkm  of  Ciirs» 
and  from  what  we  have  already  said,  yoa 
must  be  aware»  that  however  curable  Pulmo- 
nary Consumptbn  may  be  in  the  commeaoe- 
meiit,  in  the  later  sta^s— that  is,  where  & 
very  considerable  portion  of  the  lungs  is  de- 
stroyed— ^it  cannot  possibly  be  cured,  thougll 
even  in  this  ease,  the  disease,  by  proper 
management,  may  aomitmes  be  arrested.— 
But  here,  instead  of  confusing  you  with  ilaa 
spun  difTerences  and  distinctions,  die  ddight 
of  the  schoolmen,  1  shall  try  to  explain  mj 
meaning  to  you  by  nmthtudes;  for  simili- 
tudes, in  the  words  of  FtiUer,  are  indeed  "'the 
windows  Aat  give  the  but  ttg*e.*— Many  Of 
you  doubtless  have  had  a  certain  portion  of  l 
tooth  slowly  eonmmed  by  disease,  which  dis- 
ease, [tooth-eonsump^n  ?]  by  some  ehai^ 
in  your  manner  of  living,  or  otherwise,  mi 
all  of  a  sudden  stopped,  and  tihe  remaining 
sound  portion  of  that  identical  tooth  tas 
continued  to  be  useful  to  you  lor  years  !— 
Such  arrest  of  ^e  consumption  of;  a  tooHl, 
I  have  often  myself  obtained  by  quinine  bk* 
temally  administered ;  and  Dr  Irving  of 
Cheltenham,  some  tmieago,  detaiM  to  nte 
two  cases  in  whidi  he  succeeded  wHk  thai 
remedy.  Well,  then,  with  medicmes  oilhiB 
class,  and  sometimes  ttven  wiAiont  wr  mad* 
icine  at  all»  the  same  thmg  may  taka  pUee  Ul 


*Wt  have  pabluli«d  daring  Um  last  tM  TMia,aMf« 
w«  have  civ«npracia«l7  the  MOM  TiflWB  of  tks  i 


L$Um^  m  Orgmm  Ch^misirjf. 


17« 


Nid  I  kflfve  known  penoot  reaeh 
« good  old  B^p  who  iiad  portioos  of  tbtir 
huig^  destroyed,  but  who,  by  pioper  medi- 
ciiwb  wd  atteoticm  to  the  tempentuip  of  their 
idiamben,  preeenred  the  sonnd  paxtsfiom  go- 
ji^  into  nuther  decay.  Such  perdone,  at 
mater  or  leae  interrale  of  time,  may  even 
{a  free  itom  the  graver  aymptomt  of  con- 
fHiaptbii*  and  only  commeoee  to  expectorate 
dniiiig  eona  chansB  of  weather,  when  they 
bava  eli^  febrile  attacks,  but  these  wiJl 
leave  them  again  on  the  return  of  warm 


LECTURES 

ON 
ORQAMIO  oaBMZtTBT  ; 

JMfMfwl  dwrmg  Il4tf  Wihaer  Smiany  1844. 

nC  THE  UNIVBRSmr  (IT  aiSMBK, 


Fwfwtat  «f  CbamMtrjr,  Aq.,  4cc. 


DmODUCnOM-No.  DC. 

0em.  h»N(aitn.  A  Slow  CostfrtMlwn. 
XflWNw  of  Decay  to  Fermeniatmi  end 
Fair^iKiiOn,  ks  ittrtn  tf^  ArU.  Bkadi^ 
m^,  Mam^utwre  itf  Vin$m  Inf  the 
^wifls  fToceee.  Snggeettons  joi^  tfHfrov^ 
mtmU  m  f*<  FermenMiwi  af  Beer  and 
Wme. 

Tos  immA^iatP  and  most  CDeigetic  cause 

,/oi  all  the  alteiationB  and  transformations 

which  orgsnic  atoms  undei]^,  is,  as  I  have 

already  staled  in  the  preceding  introductory 

.^remarks,  the  chemical  action   of  oxygen. 

t'ennentetion  and  putrefaction  manifest  tnem- 

.  selves  only  in  consequence  of  the  commence- 

,  jaeal  of  a  process  of  decay ;  their  completion 

Tisthe  restoiation  of  a  state  of  equilibrium.. 

.  Whilst  the  oxygen  is  in  the  act  of  combining 

with  any  one  of  the  elements  of  an  organic 

substance  the  original  state  of  equilibrium  of 

attraction  in  all  its  elements  is  destroyed,  the 

fldistance  descomposes,  resolving  itself,—- 

'  sB  the  molecular  attractions  bemg   again 

enialJsed, — into  a  series  of  new  products, 

which  undergo  no  further  change  in  their 

moypertictt  umess  further  causes  of  distur- 

» jSce  or  alteration  are  brought  to  operate 

apon  them. 

Although  the  chemical  action  which  the 

elements  of  organic  atoms  exercise  uj^n 

each  other  in  fermentation  and  putrefaction 

Isdaoces  itcelf,  inasmuch  as  a  state  of  rest  is 

fJMdiMod  hfltween  the  attractions  of  the  new 

.Jmed.j^ioducts^  jet  this  equilibrium  does 

\.MUpc'0  vitKie^ct  to  their  attraction  for 

"'—"       jrhe  dieinkail  action  of  oxygen 


upon  oig^iBie  substances  oeasesonlT 
the  capacity  oi  the  elements  to  combine  with 
ozygan  is  exhausted.  That  action  consists 
in  nothing  more  than  the  affinity,  or  tendency 
of  the  oxygen  to  combine  with  thoee  eU^ 
meots.  A  perfect  equalisation  of  this  tenden* 
cy,  therefore,  can  only  ensue  when  the  ele- 
ments, by  combining  with  oxygen,  have  form* 
ed  such  products  as  are  totally  incapable  of  ab- 
sorbing anv  additional  amount  of  oxygen. 
It  is  only  then  that  the  attractions  of  the  ele- 
ments  oi  organic  substances  attain  a  perfect 
equlibrium  with  the  attraction  of  oxygen. 

Fermentation  or  putrefaction  represents 
the  first  stage  of  the  resolution  of  complex 
atoms  into  more  simple  combination;  the 
process  of  decay  completes  the  circulation  of 
the  eiements  by  transposing  the  products  of 
fermentation  and  putrefaction  into  gaseous 
compounds.  Thus  the  elements  constitutii^ 
all  organised  beings,  which  previously  to 
participating  in  the  vital  process  were  oxym 
compounds,  such  as  with  carbon  and  hyoro- 

?m ,  reassume  the  form  of  oxygen  compoundiL 
he  process  of  decay  is  a  process  qf  combus- 
tion taking  place  at  the  common  temperature  f* 
in  which  the  products  of  fermentation  and 
putrefection  of  plants  and  animal  bodies 
combine  gradually  with  the  oxygen  of  die 
atmosphere. 

No  organised  substance,  no  part  of  any 
plant  or  animal,  after  the  extinction  of  tble 
vital  principle,  is  capable  of  resisting  the 
chemical  action  of  air  and  moistttre ;  for  all 
diat  power  of  resistance  which  ihtj  lempom- 
rily  possessed  as  the  bearers  of  life,  the  me- 
dia of  the  vital  manifestations,  completely 
ceases  with  the  death  of  the  organism ;  their 
elements  fall  again  under  the  unlimited  do- 
minion of  the  chemical  forces. 

The  clearing  of  the  primeval  forests  of 
America,  and  the  facilitated  access  of  air  to 
that  soil,  so  rich  in  vegetable  remains,  altera 
gradually,  but  altogether  itscoastitatioa ;  af- 
ter the  lapse  of  a  few  years  no  trace  of  or- 
ganic remains  can  be  found  in  it.  The  soil 
o(  Germany  in  the  time  of  Tacinis  was 
covered  with  a  dense,  almost  impenetrable 
forest ;  it  must,  at  that  pei;iod,  have  exactly 
resembled  the  soil  of  America,and  have  been 
rich  in  humus,  and  vegetable  subsUinoes,  but 
all  the  products  of  vegetable  life  in  those 
primeval  forests  have  completely  vanished 
from  our  perceptions.  The  innumerable 
millions  of  molluscous  and  other  animals. 


In  order  to  avoid  the  ambifoity  atueh«d  to  th« 
wovd  deemy,  from  iu  iMiAg  in  ttrnaoalar  Imngcuf*  «p» 
^itd  to  Mwral  pcocMCM  which  it  is  decirable  to  dig- 
tfnfoiah,  iIm  aaihoi  propoMd  to  tahttUato  t^  tcna 
kBBMAG  AOtii,  and  thu  Ium  been  Tory  fOMimOf  ado^ 
a4  ia  ■♦watiito  tMatiatt,  Wias  »  «on-veiiitnt  aoda  of 
ax|iiatitnf  th«  relation  of  decay  to  ocdinary  cam « 


189 


LeeiutB9  m  (hgunlc  CTwiitfagih^. 


Wlkite  retnahw  form  extenshre  geological  for- 
mations and  mountaifis,  have,  alter  death.paB- 
«ed  into  a  state  of  fermentation  and  putrefac- 
tion ,  and  subseqaehtly,  by  the  continuous- 
iKtion  of  the  atmosphere,  all  their  soft  parts 
have  been  transposed  into  gaseous  com- 
pounds, and  their  shells  and  bones,  their  in- 
destructible constituents,  alone  remain. 

It  is  only  in  localities,  under  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, where  the  access  of  oxygen  was 
limited  or  altogether  precluded,  that  we  still 
*find  distinct  remains  of  primeval  vegetables 
in  a  stale  of  retarded  or  impeded  decay,  as 
for  example,  in  beds  of  turf  and  brown  coal. 
The  presence  of  water  and  a  suitable  tem- 
perature are  indispensable  conditions  of  the 
oxidising  process  of  decay,  just  as  they  are 
.jdecessary  to  putrefaction  and  fermentation. 
Perfect  dryness,  or  a  temperature  below  the 
freesune  point,  suspends  all  processes  of  de- 
cay ana  fermentation.  The  transmission  of 
decompositioa  from  one  particle  to  another 

O poses  a  change  of  place  ;  it  requires 
e  particles  should  possess  mobility  or 

■  the  power  of  free  motion » and  this  is  imparted 
to  them  by  the  preaeace  of  water.  In  decay 
it  is  more  especially  a  certain  elevated  tem- 
perature which  increases  the  aptitude  of  the 
elements  of  organic  substances  to  combine 
with  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere. 

A  great  number  of  oivanic  bodies,  when 
in  a  moist  state  are  capable  of  absorbiiig  oxy- 
geni  whilM  many,  and  indeed  most  of  them, 
mper  $e  eiitirely  deficient  in  this  property. 

If  we  place  wet  saw-dust,  or  moistened 

'  fragments  of  wood,  into  a  vessel  filled  with 

itmospheric  air,  all  the  properties  of   the 

•eontainAd  air  become  in  a  very  short  time 

completely  altered.      If  a  lighted  splinter, 

•  which,  of  course,  would  bum  in  the  atmo- 

•  spheric  air,  is  introduced  after  the  lapse  of 
two  or  three  hours,  its  flame  will  be  imme- 

■  diaiely  extinguished.  The  air  confined  in 
the  vessel,  if  examined,  will  be  found  to 
have  lost  all  its  oxygen,  and  to  have  ac- 
quired an  equal  volume  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 
If  a  fresh  supply  of  atmospheric  air  is  made 

'  to  replace  this,  the  same  process  again  oc- 
eiir»,  idl  the  oxygen  becomes  converted  into 
carbonic  acid. 

In  Reprocess  of  bleaching  in  the  open  air, 
or,  as'it  l^  called  grass-bleaching,  we  have 
the  process  of  decay  applied  to  an  impor- 
tant purpose  in  the  arts  upon  a  large  scale. 
^  JUnen  or  cotton  textures  consist  of  ordinary 
woody  iibze,  more  or  less  colored  by  extraae* 
pus  organic  substances  which  were  cither 
'  .contained  In  the  plaat  whence  the  fibre  haa 
"^  hten  4«tived,  or  have  become  mixed  witfi  it 
during  the  processes  of  preparatioh. 


When  linen  or  cotton  W)rics  are  moitteiied 
wtfh  water  and  exposed  to  the  light  of  the 
sun,  a  slow  process  of  combustion,  or  ^Ksy, 
immediately  begins  upon  the  whole  etufaee; 
the  oxjrgen  of  the  atmosphere  in  immediate 
contact  with  the  linen  or  cotton  is  inces- 
santly  converted  into  carbonic  acid.    Tilt 
weight  of  the  fabric  diminishes  every  second* 
pre^sely  because  it  is  in  a  state  of  oomtnis* 
tion ;  all  the  coloring  matter*  gradtrally  disap- 
pear and  with  them  a  considerable  amooitt 
of  woody  fibre,  their  elements  being  con  vcrtHi 
into  oxygen  compounds.      If  this  action  of 
air  and  light  upon  the  linen  or  cotton  con- 
tinues for  a  considerable  time,  these  subalan- 
ces  lose  their  cohesion  and  become  converted 
into  a  matter  similar  to  that  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  paper,  and  this  matter  still  con- 
tinues to  decay  as  long  as  tlxe  essential  con- 
ditidn  of  this  change,  that  is  the  ahwfptidii 
of  oxyuwik  proceeda.  ,   ,    .       j 

The  nitrogenous  censtituents  of  plants  ana 
anhnala  comport  tkemselvea  taiwanls  aswa 
in  a  manner  precisely  stmiiar  to  the  beha- 
viour of  the  non-nitrogenous  principle  we 
have  spoken  of,  namely,  -broody  nbre.  Fresh 
meat,  as  Well  as  fte  first  prodttcts  51I  dke 
decomposition  of  the  nitrogenous coo*titttents 
of  plants,  by  fermentation,  that »,  beer-Jeast 
or  wine-yeit,  withdraw  oxy^n  from  ateos- 
pheric  air,  and,  like  woody  fibre,  yield  in 
return  an  equal  volume  of  caii>onic  add. 

When  the  Cemetery  of  the  Innocents  at 
Palis  was  removed  from  the  interior  of  the 
town  to  the  outside  of  the  barriers,  the  bur- 
ied corpses,  which  had  accumulatea  to  a 
depth  of  sixty  feet,  were  found  to  a  gjeat  ex- 
tent apparently  converted  into  fat  TTie  sub- 
stance of  the  skin,  muscles,  cellular  tissue, 
and  tendons,  all  the  soft  parts,  and  even  fbe 
bones,  had  completely  disappeared,  leavmg 
only  the  fat,  which  resisting  longest  the  in- 
fluence of  decay,  remained  in  the  form  of 
stearic  acid.  This  human  fat  was  employed 
to  the  extent  of  many  tons  by  the  so^  bM- 
ers  and  tallow-chandlers  of  Paris,  for  Oe 
manufacture  of  soap  and  candles.  ^ 

If  meat  be  suspended  in  running  y«X^» 
or  buried  in  moist  earth,  nothing  of  it  will 
remain  after  the  lapse  of  some  time  except 
the  fat  which  it  contains. 

All  substances  susceptible  of  decay,  whw 
in  a  moist  state,  and  exposed  to  the  air  and 
light  at  the  common  temperature,  ^J^^^R 
precisely  the  same  change  as  Aey  would  if 
exposed  to  a  red  heat,  in  a  dry  state,  thatis» 
they  absorb  oxygen, — ^they  nndeigo  coto- 

bustion.  ,^   *  \^* 

Alcohol,  one  of  the  products  of  the  fcWittt- 
ation  of  saccharinie  vegetable  juities,  w  rite* 
jether  inc^iable  of  undergomg the  f-"- 
lol  decay;  when  exposed  tote  air.  * 


Lestures  ori  0>tg€atie€^^ni9trff. 


1«1 


in    its  jpuie  state  or  mixed  ^ith  initcr,  it 
evaporates  without  combining  Tfitb  oxygen. 
Alcohol  is  readily  inflammabie  at  a  higher 
temperature*  and  in  bnming  is  resolved  into 
earbotiie  add  and  water,    it  is  obvious  that 
118  elements  have  a  powerful  affinity  /or  ox- 
ygen ;  the  high  temperature  is,  however,  a 
iieces^ary  condition  of  the  manifestation  of 
Ihis  affinity.    Hydrogen  gas  and  many  other 
faiftamiDabie  substances,  are,  in  this  respect, 
^precisely  similar  to  alcohol,  their  affinity  for 
oxygen  manifests  itself  only  at  certain  high 
temperaturrs. 

In  the  process  of  decay  it  has  been  like- 
wise observed  that  a  substance  undergoing 
diis  stale  of  elementary  transposition  exerci- 
fies  a  remaiicahle  Infinence    upon   the  parti- 
cles of  as  adjacent  substance,  which  per  ie, 
would  not  be  capable  of  passing  into  the 
same  state  of  change,  decay  or  transposition. 
Many  substances,  when  in  contact  with 
another  in  a  state  of  decay  manifest,  at  com- 
mon temperatuies,  an  aflSnity  for  oxygen  ; 
tSiflt  is,  they  enter  into  combination  with  this 
element,  at  this  low  tempemture;  whilst  un- 
der other  ditumstances  such  a  combination 
can  only  be  efiecled  by  a  far  higher  degree 
of  heat 

The  actfve  absorption  of  oxygen,  the  com- 
frralton  of  the  dacaying  substance,  is  trans- 
mined  to  the  particles  of  other  substances  in 
ocMitaet  with  il ;  they  assume  its  characteris- 
tic state  of  activitv  ;  they  like  it,  combine 
with  oxyeen,  as  if  undergoing  a  real  com- 
bastion  5  but  how  this  is  effected  does  not 
appear  to  admit  any  further  explanation. — 
Contact  with  a  substance  in  decay  is  the 
diief  cOnAtion  of  decay  for  all  organic  sub- 
stances which  do  not  possess  the  power  of 
omnhining  with  oxygen  at  common  temper^ 
atorea.    In  consequence  of  the  ensuing  com- 
hisation  of  its  dements  with  oxygen  the  tem- 
perature of   the  decaying  substance    rises 
above  that  of  the  surrounding  medium ;  but 
|jreat  as  tie  influence  in  whicn  heat  exercises 
IS  aeoclerating  the  process,  it  is  not  in  this, 
•  as  in  other  chemicsU  processes,  the  cause  o! 
th*  manifestation  of  the  affinity  for  oxygen. 
If,  in  a  vessel  filled  with  common  aSnos- 
liberie  air,  to  which  a  certain  amount  of 
hydrogen  gas  has  been  added,  a  linen  bag  be 
Suspeud^,  laied  with  wet  ^w-duSt,  vegetable 
ttouM,  &e.  the  process  of  decay  will  con- 
Umie  just  8B  It  w6nld  if  they  were  exposed 
Id  the  op^  air.  .  They  will  convert  fte  sur- 
xouadinfi:  oxygen  into  carbonic  acid.    But 
what  ia  very  retoarkable  in  this  case,  the 
hydiogwi  also  participates  in  the  process.  If 
^ttdcigoes  decay ;  diaf  is,  from  being  in  con- 
^^^wi^decBtmg  substances  it  acquires  iht 


amount  of  oxygen  present  all  the  bydmifeB 
gas  is  converted  into  water. 

Othei  inflammable  eases,  both  simple  aai 
compound,  are  affected  under  these  cireua* 
stances  in  exactly  the  same  manner  as  hydro* 
gen.  The  vapour  of  alcohol,  for  example, 
when  in  a  vessel  containing  wood  or  omt 
substances  in  a  state  of  decay,  absorbs  oxy* 
sen  from  the  atmosphere,  and  becomes  trans^ 
formed  into  aldehyde,  and  subsequently  inis 
acetic  acid,  which  upon  assuming  a  fluid  stala, 
is  withdrawn  from  the  further  influenee^if 
the  oxygen. 

It  is  upon  this  power  of  substances  undet- 
going  decay,  to  increase  the  attraction  of  dl 
organic  substances  for  oxygen,  and  especially 
the  affinity  of  alcohol  for  this  element,  that 
a  speedy  process  for  acidifying  aleolK^<ia 
based,  which  is  termed  the  •<  quick  Tia^ar 
piocess." 

The  transformation  of  lermeftled  liqnMi 
into  vinegar  formerly  required  weeks^  and 
even  months  to  accomplish.  In  oonstSquenae 
of  the  imperfect  access  ol  the  air;  we  taa 
now  convert  alcohol  into  vinegar  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours,  and  this  is  efleetodnaililjr 
by  making  brandy  dilated  with  water,  or  ally 
other  weak  spirituous  liquor,  trickle  slowly 
through  casks  filled  with  wood  shavings,  and 
at  the  same  time  causing  a  slight  stream  of 
air  to  ci  rculate  through  these  shavings.  Thb 
method  exposes  to  the  air  a  surface  of  alco- 
hol capable  of  absorbing  oxygen  by  many 
thousand  times  more  extensive  than  the  cod 
method,  and  consetiQcntly  the  time  whidi 
alcohol,  under  ordinary  dreumsiances,  se* 
quires  for  its  acidification  »  abridged  in  itm 
same  proportion.  At  te  eommsneemettt  of 
this  process  it  is  u«ud  to  add  to  the  diitfle 
spirit  a  small  quantity  of  some  snbsbmcs 
containing  matter  capable  of  underfoiitt  fhs 
process  of  decay,  such  as  beer-wort,  honly, 
vinegar,  &c.,  Sut  after  the  lapse  of  a  very 
short  time  the  surf^  of  the  wood  shavings 
passes  into  a  state  of  oxidation,  and  from  tIbU 
moment  efieets  the  transformation  of  fiie 
spirit  into  vinegar  without  the  farther  co- 
operation of  extraneous  decaying  matter. 

The  application  of  our  knowledge  respect- 
ing ^e  phenomena  attendant  upon  decay,  to 
the  manufacture  of  beer  and  wine,  is  euy 
and  obvious.  The  ^operty  of  beerand  wbe 
to  be  converted  into  vinqgar  when  in  contaet 
with  the  air,  depends  invariidily  upon  the 
ptesente  of  Inetgn  matters  which  Imasmit 
their  own  inherent  aptitude  to  absorb  oxyf^ 
to  ^e  ^ulitles  of  alcohol  ia  eoalaot  with 
them.  By  removing  eompletehraMsaahaab- 
stimoes  from  wine  imd  beer,  thsis  losiaittK 
gether  the  property  of  addifyhii»«r«ifWm 


"ywcof  cbtateSywitfi  oxygen  at  the  torn    e<mveiited  mlo  Ti]tt||tf . 
ifem  i«ttip«at«iie        dine  n  It  wdident  * 


189 


Leeiwre$  ^  Orgamc  Chemufrg. 


bk  the  juice  of  grapes  pour  in  sugar  there 
remains,  after  the  completion  of  the  process 
pf  fermentation,  that  is^  after  the  resolution 
of  the  suoar  into  carbonic  acid  and  alcohol,  a 
considerable  amount  of  nitrogenous  constitu- 
ents tetainina:  the  same  properties  which  they 
poesessed  in  the  juice  previous  to  fermenta- 
tion. This  does  not  happen  with  the  juice  of 
4he  grapes  of  southern  climates.  These 
Iprape?  are  rich  in  sugar,  and  a  considerable 
amount  of  this  substance  remains  undecom- 
j^oaed  after  all  nitn^enous  matters  have  com- 
pletely separated  m  an  insoluble  state,  as 
yeast  Such  wines  alter  very  little  when  ex- 
posed to  the  air ;  the  red  wines  of  this  kind, 
however,  acidify  because  their  colouring  mat- 
.}er  is  oif  ready  mutability,  and  performs, 
when  in  contact  with  the  air,  the  i»rt  of  the 
nitrogenous  constituents. 

The  nitrogenous  constituents  of  the  grape- 
.iuiee  which  lemain  in  wine,  after  fermenta- 
,  tion,  are  those  fernoents  or  exdtors  of  ferment 
jiiiofk'm  the  su^,  of  which  I  have  already 
./noken  in  piev*oiis  papers.    After  the  com- 
plete Innstormation  of  the  sugar  they  exer 
.^lae  upon  the  alcohol  exactly  ue  same  e&dt 
,«s  the  decaying  wood,  they  are  the  exciting 
^  causes  of  the  ensuing  process  of  acidification. 
The  affinity  of  these  substances  for  oxygen 
is  very  powerful ;  during  the  short  space  of 
time  necessary  to  transfer  wine  from  one  cask 
into  another,  they  absorb  oxygen  from  the 
.  air,  and  induce  a  state  of  acidity  in  the  wine, 
,.  which  goes  on  irresistibly  if  it  be  not  check- 
.,ed  hy  artificiid  ineans.    It  is  well  known 
.  fiksX  this  check  is  practically  effected  by  sul- 
.  phuration,    A  piece  of  sulphur  is  burned  i|i 
;  the  cask  destined  to  receive  the  wine,  the 
contained  air  is  thus  deprived  of  its  oxygen, 
.,  and  an  amount  of  sulphurous  acid  is  formed 
..fiqualto  the  volume  of  the  oxygen.    This 
^  Aewly-formed  sulphurous   acid  is  rapidly 
•^-absorbed  by    the    moist    internal    surface 
.  ol  the  cask.    Sulphurous  acid  possesses  a 
^  atron^er  affinity  of  oxygen  than  the  excitora 
.  of  acidiiication  in  the  wine.    The  acid  ib 
gradually  disused  from  the  internal  surface 
of  the  cask  through  the  wine,  and  withdraws 
from  those  substances,  as  well  as  from  the 
wine  itself,  all  the  oxygen  they  have  absoid- 
.  ed  from  the  atmosphere  and  thus  reconverts 
.  the  wine  into  the  state  in  which  it  existed 
previous  to  beioff  tiansfeired  into  the  new 
.,  ^ask.    The  sulphuiooa  acid  in  this  process 
;.  becomes  conyerled  into  milphufic  ac&d,  and 
.  epuflts  aaanch  in  the  wine, 
f ,     Whea  the  wine  is  strored  up  in  casks  to 
.iqiilD»  a  con«tant»  although  very  slow  difiu- 
.(  jKinof  air  takes  place,  ttuoughthe  pores  of 
^  the  WQod>or,  vhatoomea  to  ue  same  thing, 
the  wine  is  ineesaaiitly  in  o<mtact  with  a 
fvnuli  amount  of  ozyjgpn,  by  means  of 


which,  after  the  lapse  of  a  certain  tiiDe»  the 
entire  quantity  of  the  excitors  of  acidifica- 
tion, that  is,  the  nitrc^nous  substancea 
present  in  the  wine,  oxidise  and  separate  in 
the  form  of  a  sediment,  or  dregs,  termed 
under-yeast 

The  separation  of  yeast  from  wine  or  beer, 
during  the  fermentation  of  grape-juice  or  of 
wort,  takes  place  in  consequence  of  the  ab- 
sorption of  oxygen,  or,  in  other  worda,  « 
process  of  oxidation,  occurring  in  the  fermen- 
ting liquid.  The  nitrogenous  constituent 
of  narley  is  in  its  primary  state  insoluble  in 
water,  but  in  the  process  of  malting,  or  whilst 
the  grain  is  germinating,  it  becomes  soluble  in 
water,  it  assumes  the  same  condition  or  na- 
ture which  belongs  to  the  nitrogenous  constit- 
uent of  grape-juice  originally. 

Both  uiese  substances  lose  their  solubility 
in  wine,  or  in  beer,  by  absorbing  oxygen.  Ac- 
cording to  analyses  in  which  we  may  confide, 
made  with  regard  to  this  point,  wine-yeast, 
and  beer-yeast  are  far  richer  in  oxvgen  than 
the  nitrogenous  substances  from  which  they 
are  derived. 

As  long  as  any  particles  of  sugar,  in  a 
state  of  fermentation,  are  present  in  the  fluid 
toother  with  these  nitrogenous  matters,  the 
fluid  itself  supplies  the  oxygen  required  lor 
their  transformation  into  yeast  by  the  decom- 
position of  a  small  amount  of  tbe  sug^  or 
of  water.  This  oxidising  process  witmn  the 
fluid  itself,  which  causes  the  nitrpgenova 
constituents  to  become  insoluble,  ceases  with 
the  disappearance  of  the  si^ar;  but  it  ia 
renewed  if  the  fluid  is  reconverted  into  a 
fermenting  state,  by  the  addition  of  new  por- 
tions of  sugar,  and  it  ensues  also  when  the 
surface  of  the  fluid  is  exposed  to  the  fZee 
access  of  the  atmosphere.  In  the  latter  case 
separation  of  the  nitrogenous  constituenta  ji 
eflected  by  the  atmospneric  oxygen,  and  ia 
thus  a  consequence  of  their  decay  or  slow 
combustioiL 

I  have  already  stated  that  the  presence  of 
nitrogenous  matters  in  alcohol  causes  Am 
transformation  of  the  alcohol  into  acetic  acid 
when  there  is  a  sufficient  supply  of  air ;  now 
it  is  owing  to  the  inequalities  m  their  rdative 
affinities  for  oxyeen,  that  during  the  matuia- 
tion  of  wine  in  the  storehouse  when  the  ac- 
cess of  air  is  extremely  limited,  that  the  ni- 
trogenous substances  alone  oxidise,  and  nol 
the  alcohol  la  open  vessels,  under  thdM 
circumstances,  the  wine  would  become  cob* 
verted  into  vinegar. 

The  preceding  remarks  render  it  obviona 
that  if  we  possessed  any  means  of  preventiog 
the  transformation  of  alcohol  into  acetic  acii 
we  should  be  able  to  preserve  wine  ^n4  hmx 
for  an  unlimited  pericxi,  and  to, being  theaa 
liquors  into  a  3tate  of  pe^ect  maturity  ^  ic)r» 


Lectures  on  Organic  C^emittrif. 


las 


tinder  sach  ciicmnslances,  all  fhoae  sobstan- 
ees  -which,  cause  wine  and  beer  to  acidift 
would  become  insoluble  by  combining  with 
ox^fgen*  and  separate  from  the  liqmd,  and 
ivich  tkeir  perfect  remoTal  the  alcohol  present 
would  altogether  lose  the  property  of  absor- 
biM^  oxygen. 

Sbcperimentalart  has  diseoYersd  a  means 
of  accomplishing  this  purpose  perfectly.  It 
consists  in  maintaining  the  fluid  at  a  low 
temperature  when  undergoing  fermentation. 
The  method  based  upon  this  principle,  and 
•mployed  in  Bavaria,  is  one  which  the  most 
iieilect  theory  could  scaccely  have  surpassed 
m  oertaialy  and  simplicity,  and  it  seems  im- 
possible to  devise  one  more  ia  accoidaaee 
with  science. 

The  transformation  of  alcohol  into  acetic 
add  by  contact  with  a  substance  in  a  state 
of  decay  occurs  most  rapidly  at  a  temperature 
of  35**  (=95°  Fahrenheit.)  At  lower  tem- 
peiataieB  the  affinity  of  alcohol  for  oxygen 
decreases*  and  at  from  8^"  to  l^^  C.  (»=  46'' 
flO^.Fahienhieit)  no  combination  with  oxygen 
1id:es  plaee  under  these  circmnstanoes,  wmlst 
Ike  tendency  of  nitrogenous  substances  to  ab>- 
80)rb  oxygeh'aftthiAow  temperature- is  scarce- 
ly diminished  in  any  perceptible  degree. 

It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  if  wort  is  fer- 
mented in  wide,  open*  and  shallow  vessels, 
.as  ia  done  in  Bavaria*  which  afiord  free  and 
ulimited  aoeees  to  the  atmosphecic  oxygen, 
«m1  this  in  a  aitoalion  where  the  terapenSure 
doe«flOt«xceei  8  to  10  degrees  (&  46^  toSO 
fVdi.,)  a  sejparation  of  the  nitrogeaoQa  con- 
^fiienlB,  i.e.,  the  ejccitors  of  acidification, 
lakes  place  simuttaneously  on  the  stnrface, 
mf.  within  the  whole  body  of  the  liquid  — 
Tbe  clearing  of  the  beer  is  the  sign  by  which 
it  is  known  that  these  matters  are  sepa^ted. 
A  n^ie  or  Was  perfectly  complete  lemoval  of 
tbeas  aitnjgeiioas  sohateaces,  howevei ,  accor- 
Ong  to  Owjmethod  of  fennentBition«  depends 
upon  the  skill  and  experience  of  liie  brewer. 
It  may  be  easily  conceived  that  an  absolutely 
perfect  separation  of  them  is  attained  only  in 
rare  and  extremely  happy  instances.  Never- 
theless, the  beei  obtamedin  this  manner  is 
invartably  far  superior  in  quality  and  stabili- 
ty  to  that  brewed  accocdiog  to  the  common 
method. 

Ilie  exeeediocly  firvoufable  influsswe 
wfaidi  Ae  adoption  of  ibis  Jffineiple  mast 
esneise  tmbn  tae  manufaclate  of  wine  is 
indisputable.  It  is'  too  evident  to  admit  of  a 
douM  that  it  will  lead  to  the  adoption  of  a 
more  rational  method  than  has  hitherto  been 
emplOTed.  The  reajBon  ihat  it.  has  not  long 
siaee  been  ia. use,  and  that  ihegioweiBoI 
VIM  have  not  dttived  inmitdie  gpealad- 
^iiyi  a  is'calBriatedm  aftfi»  ia-ofavi^ 
<naslytfMir  ioqpeitet  knowledge  reepeuiiig 


it ;  nay,  I  may  say  the  total  ignorance  of  the  , 
great  majority  of  wine-growers  and  man- 
ufacturers  upon  this  point. 

Wine  prepared  by  this  method  will,  of 
course,  bear  the  same  relation  to  the  wine 
prepared  in  the  ordinary  way,  as  Bavarian 
oeer  bears  to  common  beer,  in  the  fabrication 
of  which  the  same  amount  of  malt  and  hops 
has  been  employed.  In  Ihe  shortest  possi- 
ble time  the  same  quality,  the  same  maturity, 
may  be  attained  by  the  wine  which,  under 
ordinary  circumstances,  result,  only  after 
long  and  protracted  storing.  If  it  .ble  borne 
in  mind  that  the  period  for  the  manufacture 
of  wiae  is  the  end  of  October,  just  at  the  cool 
season  which  is  peculiarly  favourable  to  the 
fermentation  of  beer,  and  that  no  other  con- 
ditions are  necessary  to  the  vinous  fermentar 
(ion  than  a  cool  cellar,  and  open,  wide, 
shallow  fermenting  veeseis;  and  fnrthef, 
that  under  all  circumstances  the  danger  df 
acidification  being  much  less  with  wine  tiiaa 
with  beer,  it  is  evident  that  the  best  success 
may  confidently  be  expected  from  the  appli- 
cation o£  this  method.* 

The  method  employed  at  most  places  ois 
the  Rhine  proceeds  upon  principles  the  very 
reverse  of  this  The  wine  is  left  to  ferment, 
not  in  coocl  hilars,  but  in  rooms^sitimied  m«dl 
too  hif  h  and  too  warm ;  the  access  of  ahr  ie 
compfetely  precluded  during  the  process  of 
fermentation  by  tin-plate  tubes,  confin^ 
with  water.  These  tubes  certainly  exercise 
an  ii^Mrious  edecl  upon  the  quality  of  the 
wine )  they  tae#  in  every  respect,  futile— 
the  invention  of  some  idle  btain ;  they  eenre 
no  object^  and  vet  they  are  used  by  peqile 
who  are  too  idle  to  inquire  into  the 
and  who  are  wholly  iftcapable  of 
any  reason  for  their  adoption. 

M.  BsAU  has  never  witnessed  a  case  of 
apontaneoua  acute  peritonitis  in  old  ege. 
When  the  ehnmic  disease  has  been  observed 
at  this  period  of  life,  it  has  generally  been 
the  consequence  of  canceious  (not  tubeien* 
iotts)  productions  within  the  cMomen. 

*  Oiif  of  the  most  intelliffeni  afrievltiirists  and 
wiiM||frowen  of  the  Grand  ifcioliy  of  BadMu  Bat<n 
von  iMbo.  renurk%  in' a  letter  to  me,  dalM  ApriL 
1813,  *'WiUi  reepeet  to  Uie  application  of  the  Bavan- 
an  method  of  fcomentation  to  the  mantifaetme  of  my 
red  wine  lait  aatttmn,  I  am  happy  to  Infonn  yew  Attt 
it  aniweied  ejfieelleiitly.  Oar  wine-iaakiar  ««■*■« 
aadewiand  theiMiUer«  clear  and  ebvioae  at  it  19,  that 
the  method  irhach  it  |e  nnivenallj  aeknowledfei 
yields  mott  excellent  results  in  the  maiwraetare  4i 
beer,  shoald  be  eqimUr  adv«»tt«ee(nlf  ap^lie*^  •• 


▲n  aueriment  ^nade  with  red  wine  in  the  antmim 
of  180,  by  the  sami9  nobleman,  had  ilTorded  the  saiiw 
faTOoiable  remits,  aspeeiaUy  ae  to  tho  eolovr  of  llli 
wine.  Betore  Uiese  saeeeesfol  faparioMtt^iA  ariiJli 
haw batn Ihonajht  that  flK2  wine  waathe  rochnpoft 
which  that  method  w/aihl  founder,  bat  w«  are  now  aa* 
sored  of  its  oairersci  a4»tatfii»  f  the  eisituihrfUuat 
ofr-'—    '  -   .       .  .      . 


tM 


AfeMMirufii,— tJ^  CutBM^ 


ORns  of  Tarioiit  DiitatM  wlthM««meiitiii,  ^ 
dUftr«Bt  OentUman. 

To  Um  Editor  of  iIm 

Sir.— I  aend  you  the  folIowiDg  accoQDts  of 
the  utility  of  mesmerism  in  diseases  treated 
not  by  myself.  The  first  is  vriuen  by  my- 
self;  the  others  by  the  gentlemen  who  dil 
Che  good.  I  remain,  yotus,  Ac., 

London,  June  86th  1844. 

,   John  fiixioraOK 

Allow  me  to  quote  the  following  passage 
fVom  Mrs.  Homer's  charming  work,  called 
the  Rhtmty  Darro  and  Guadalqwiver : 

''Shall  I  not  be  hailed  with  a  shout  of  de- 
lision  when  I  declare,  that  I  verily  believe 
Petrarch  to  have  been  (all  unknown  to  him- 
self, and.  as  innocently  ignorant  of  his  pow- 
ers as  Moliere's  Bourgeois  Gentilhonune 
was,  who  had  been  making  prose  all  his  life 
jttMi  s'M  dnUer)  a  most  expert  magnetizer  1^ 
t  graoDdiiijr  beliet  upon  a  oassage  in  hi3  life, 
vhlchhasbcendweUupon  by  one  oC  his  bi- 
ogoiAhers  as  demonstrating  the  errors  into 
vtica  a  romantic  imagination  will  hurry  even 
a  mind  like  Petrarch's,  and  the  fond  credulity 
with  which  he  made  complete  abnigation  of 
Ills  powers  of  reasoning  wnenevtr  any  chance 
Incident  occurred  of  a  nature  toeorToboraie 
his  assertions  of  a  mystical  sympathy  exia- 
iing  between  himself  and  her  to  whom  bis  a£- 
leoHuna  ware  exclusively  devoted. 

'*The  anecdote  sets  forth,  that,  one  day  at 
Avignon,  Petrarch,  who  was  in  the  habit  ol 
reciting  his  compositions  to  Laura,  read  to 
her  a  poem,  in  which,  under  suppositiotis 
names,  the  history  of  his  passion,  and  the 
misery  which  the  inflexible  virtue  of  its  fair 
object  had  inflidtd  upon  him,  were  deacribed 
with  a  tmth  and  paih<;t  which  left  no  posei- 
hUlty  of  mioapprehenaion  in  the  mind  of  his 
lifltetter.  LAora  understood  him  but  too  well, 
yet  she  abstained  from  uttering  any  remark 
to  that  effect.  When  the  ]>oem  was  finished, 
Along  silence  ensued',  during  which  the  eyes 
of  each  were  fixed  upon  the  other  with  an  ex- 
pression of  tendemeits  so  intense  that  their 
^ry  souls  appeared  to  have  become  tmnsfti- 
aedin  that  abaoTbing  glance.  At  that  time 
Lam  waa  sniferiogfrom  a  sUghi  opthalmia ; 
nnditao  chanced,  says  the  biographer,  that, 
on  Ae  following  day.  her  eyes  were  complete- 
ly lastocad  toa  beauny  sUte,  while,  by  an  ex- 
#aoidinaiy  coineidenoa.  those  of  Petrarch 
wai^  painfnitf  attaekud  by  the  distressing 
jBoaladFunder  which  she  had  suffered.  Her 
|0var7ho  waver,  firmly  beUeved  that  the  force 
'nf  ayfnpathy,  and,  more  especially,  the  ardent 
desire  he  had  felt,  white  gaiinr  upon  her  the 
preceding  day,  to  relieve  her  ux>mher  aulTer- 
1iign,hadgtf«nhiflithnpgiwartotransfer  them 
IQcmn  her  to  himself;  for  such  was  hia  &ith 
in  the  strength  and  puritT  of  his  love  f(tf  her, 
«hal  he  believed  it  capa^  of  pei£)nnifig  mlr- 
MAes  in  tar  finer. 

^^Waauatttdanirade,  howave^  the  aim- 
Bin  i«en«y  9f  itnjim<JTO»gaetiffl^,  djlrected  by 
thoeetwo  moat  powerful  engines  Mtf  c^f  4Ni4 


the  will  ?  I  have  no  donbt  in  my  own  nind 
on  the  subject ;  and  I  have  so  frequently  seen 
magnetizers  afi^ected  bv  the  identical  symp- 
toms from  which  they  had  relieved  their  pa- 
tients, that  the  circumstance  of  Petrarch  haw- 
ing gained  the  opthalmia  of  which  Lanra  had 
90  suddenly  been  cured  is  to  me  an  additionm'i 
and  convincing  proot,  that  the  occmrreace 
which  he  had  fancied  to  be  a  miracle,  and 
which  hia  historian  had  attributed  to  the  dekv- 
sions  of  an  overwrought  ima^ation,  waa 
neither  more  nor  less  than  one  or  those  phyai- 
cal  phenomena  of  which  I  have  seen  more 
than  one  example  in  the  practice  of  animal 
magnetism,  and  which  torm  the  most  extraor- 
dinarv  and  perhaps;  tnexpHcable  charaeterf«- 
tlcs  ot  magnetic  attraction  and  sympathj  ia 
the  human  frame. 

Let  those  who  are  inclined  to  smile  at  the 
opinion  oi  this  accomplished  lady,  read  the 
following  narration. 

I  have  just  been  attending  a  :^ouLgIady  £>r 
an  adection  of  her  lungs,  in  conjunction  with 
Dr.  Ashburner.  The  outer  half  of  the  while 
uf  the  right  eye  became  slightly  inflamed,  an^ 
grew  very  gradually  worse  fora  tbctnighL  Ic 
then  got  much  worse  in  three  days,  the  aehln|: 
being  changed  into  sharp  pains  both  in  tlie 
eye  and  the  temple ;  and  the  inflamed  portioa 
became  «f  an  intense  and  uniform  red,  with  a 
palish  elevation  at  one  spot  as  though  a  pas- 
tulc  woald  form.  We  had  been  anxious  to 
distress  and  weaken  her  as  little  as  possible, 
but  were  now  compelled  to  take  some  mear 
sure  for  arresting  the  disease,  and  praacribed 
a  blister,  and  mercurial  m  «dicine. 

She  was  so  agitated  at  headng  ot  our  pw- 
aeripilon,  that  neither  the  bHslar  waa  yotea, 
nor  the  mercurial  taken.  Mr.  Atkinson,  fat- 
ing a  friend  who  was  firequently  at  the  houaa, 
mesmerised  the  eye  the  same  night,  fFiidar 
June  21  St.)  In  the  morning  I  found  die  had 
for  the  first  time  during  three  days  been  Iree 
from  the  darting  pain^,  had  slept  all  nigfal— a 
thing  she  had  not  done  for  a  considerable  tioia, 
and  that  the  eye  waa  lo  myviewleaaioAaaMi. 
He  meamerised  it  the  next  night,  and  en  Soft- 
dayshe  waaatlll  fknefrom  all  tbedaitiof  ptiM 
and  had  dept  ail  night,  and  the  eye  waa  da- 
cidedly  better.  He  mesmerised  it  again  wilit 
all  the  same  results,  and  on  Moodav  she  had 
bsteven  the  aching  which  she  suffered  for  a 
fortnight  before  the  darting  pains.  On  Tues- 
day, the  last  night's  mesmensationhad  almost 
dissipated  the  inflammation ;  and  to4ny 
(Wednesdav)  all  i  see  is  that  the  eye  has  heea 
inflamed— there  is  just  a  vestage  left.  TMi 
is  aa  decided  a  ewe  by  meameriaai'as  ever  I 
have  witaesied.  No  maaaa  but  ataaokcviaii 
wen?  employed  $  the  diaeaaa  waa  aervn,  anA 
had  increaaed  up  to  the  moment  of  meameri- 
sation ;  and  declined  immediately  after  the 
first  mesmirisation,  and  cleared  off  with  a  ra- 
pidity which  was  astonishing:  and  the  instaa- 
taneons  relief  of  the  pain  was  what  could  not 
have  been  i^omplished  by  any  oHmt 
8oada[draMy,lor  the  lamady, 
'  paia/ 


MBmnerie  Bevelatiam^ 


m 


OOBOLLASIB8. 


1.  ^'Dorinf  kaalth  the  system  is  animatod  by  a.  tpi- 
ritmat,stifwie9ed  viudfower  which  pmarrcs  it  in 
^atmofuooB  order." 

2.  **Iiisoiily  by  means  of  the  tpirilual  influence 
of  the  morbifle  aeent^  that  oar  tpirUual  vitat  potctr, 
«aa  be  dispsf^  and  tn  like  manner^  only  by  the  tpir- 
Umaiiijuutuc}  operation  of  medicine  that  health  can 


i«The  homeepathic  healing  art  developes  for  its 
_  oee  the  immatseial  (otwamic)  vibtuks  op  me* 
nctmx  soBSTAJfCBe,  and  to  a  degree  prerionsly  an- 
heard  ot,  by  means  of  a  jteeuHar  and  hith£rto  un- 
YEiBD  raocsts.  By  this  process  it  is  that  they  be- 
eena  penetiatinc,  operative,  and  remedial,  even  those 
thai  in  a  MUtiraTor  crude  9tate,  betrayed  not  the  lanst 
mmiiiinul power  apoa  the  human  sjstem."— 

Uahnkkiiin 

It  was  the  magnetising  process  by  which  Hahne- 
■Man  laeraased  the  power  of  his  medicines,  and  the 
Mme  as  that  dirscted  and  practiaed  by  Clairvoyants, 
la  the  meameiie  state. 

At  one  rime,  men  would  make  for  ihem- 
mires  an  imaginary  incorporeal  somethiDg, 
whicii  gnided  and  raled  the  whole  system  in 
its  Ticissirades  of  health  and  disease  (Van 
Hefanont's  ATe^4gus,  Stahl's  Ammal  Soul,); 
at  another,  they  could  flatter  themselves  they 
]»d  discoTered  the  secret  of  physical  constiiu- 
tiiGoa  and  temperaments,  as  well  as  of  the 
origin  of  particular  diseases  and  epidemics, 
in  tfafe  eonsieUatioDs  of  the  stars,  m  an  in- 

~  !e  emanatii^  from  the  heavenly  bodies, 
/  oullioDs  01  miles  distant ;— or  (accord- 
ing to  the  modem  wide-spread  notion,  based 
on  ancient  absurdities),  the  human  body,  in 
agreement  with  ihe  primeval  mystic  Trinity, 
developed  itself  in  triplicitv,  presenied  a 
miniature  of  the  universe  (microcosm-ma- 
crocosm) ;  and  thus,  by  means  of  our  know- 
ledge ot  the  great  whole,  miserably  defective 
MB  k  ia,  was  to  be  explained,  to  a  hair's- 
teeadth.  That  which  had  baffled  clear  che- 
mitCij  and  physics,  dim,  self-unintelligible 
mjTSticism  and  frenzied  fancy  were  to  brin^ 
to  light :  where  young  natural  philosophy  had 
fiuled,  old  astrology  was  to  succeed. 

Thus  did  the  leaders  of  the  medical  sects 
and  their  followers,  whenever  they  sought  to 
analyze  health  and  disease,  and  its  cure, 
deriate  more  or  lees  widely  flrom  the  truth ; 
and  the  only  use  of  piles  of  folios,  quartos, 
and  octavos,  which  cost  a  lamentable  ex- 
pnditure  of  time  and  eneigy,  is  to  frighten  us 
ifom  indulging  in  a  like  explanation-mania, 
and  leach  as  that  all  such  immense  exertions 
aie  nothing  Imt  poniieioQa  foUr. 

•mairiiuwr. 


According  to  theory  foimded  upon  an  in- 
numerable number  of  correspofiding  facta 
the  magnetic  forces  pervade  all  space ;  aia 
innate  in,  and  produce  motion  in  every  kind 
of  matter.  In  the  air  ;  in  odors  ;  in  fluids* 
and  solids  ;  in  the  solar  system,  and  in  tfaa 
vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms. 

These  forces  which  the  ancients  called 
male  and  female  spiritual  forces,  are  gener- 
ally imbued  more  or  less  witl^  minute  or 
evanescent  portions  of  diflierent  kinds  of 
matter  of  the  bodies  with  which  they  are 
connected,  and  which  apparently  modifies 
their  action  in  some  degree,  tmder  certain 
circumstances,  and  hence  the  modern  namei 
of  electricity,  galvanism,  and  electro-magne- 
tism, &c. 

Besides  these  evidences  of  the  ignorance 
of  the  moderns  upon  this  subject,  they  call 
these  forces  a  fluid.  They  never  it  seems 
can  have  any  conception  of  any  thing  finer 
than  a  fluid — of  spirit,  without  attaching  to 
It  the  idea  of  a  fluid,  which  has  in  fact  no 
character  in  common  with  it  The  follow- 
ing article  from  the  Columbian  Magazine* 
may,  however  give  them  some  new  and  im* 
portant  views  of  this  interesting  subject 

MBSMSSXO  RBVELATIOV. 

BT  BSOAR  A.  POB. 

Whatever  doubt  may  still  envelope  the 
rationale  of  mesmerism,  its  startling  facts 
are  now  almost  universa  ly  admitted.    Of 
thpf%  latter,  those  who  doubt  are  your  mere 
doubters  by  profession — an  unprofitable  and 
disreputable  tribe.     There  can  be  no  more 
absolute  waste  of  time  than  the  attempt  to 
provcy  at  the  present  day,  that  man,  by  mere 
exercise  of  will,  can  so  impress  his  fellow 
as  to  cast  him  into  an  abnormal  condition, 
whose  phenomena  resemble  very    closely 
those  of  death,  or  at  least  resemble  them 
more  nearly  than  they  do  the  phenomena  of 
any  other  normal  condition  within  our  cog- 
nizance ;  that,  while  in  this  state,  the  person 
so  impressed  employs  only  with  eflbrt,  and 
then  leebly,  the  external  organs  of  sense,  yet 
perceives,  with  keenly  refined  perception,, 
and  through  channels  supposed  unknown, 
matters  beyond  the  scope  of  the  physical  or- 
f^ns  ;  that,  moreover,  his  intellectual-  faciiU 
ties  are  wonderfully  exalted  and  invigofated ; 
that  his  sjrmpathies  witfi  the  person  so  im* 
pressing  him  are  pro^rand  ;  and  fifially,  that 


iU 


Mmmmit  Rtvtlaiim^^ 


hlB  dtificeptibility  to  the  impreaedon  incieases 
with  its  frequency,  while,  in  the  same  pro- 
iportion,  the  peculiar  phenomena  elicited  are 
more  extended  and  more  pronounced. 

I  say  that  these — which  are  the  laws  of 
mesmerism  in  its  general  features — it  would 
%»  sapererogation  to  demonstrate;  nor  shall  I 
inflict  upon  my  readers  so  needless  a  demon- 
stration to-day.  My  purpose  at  present  is  a 
very  different  one  indeed.  I  am  impelled, 
even  in  the  teeth  of  a  world  of  prejudice,  to 
detail  without  comment  the  very  remarkable 
substance  of  a  colloquy,  occuring  not  many 
days  ago  between  a  sleep  waker  and  myself. 

I  hS  long  been  in  the  habit  of  mesmeri- 
sing the  person  in  question,  (Mr.  Vankirk,) 
and  tbe  usual  acute  susceptibility  and  exalta- 
iion  of  the  mesmeric  perception  had  super- 
vened. For  many  months  he  had  been  la- 
boring under  confirmed  phthisis,  the  more  dis- 
tressing effects  of  which  had  been  relieved 
by  my  manipulations  ;  and  on  the  night  of 
Wednesday,  the  hfteenth  instant,  I  was  sum- 
moned to  his  bedside. 

The  invalid  was  suffering  with  acute  pain 
in  tlw  region  of  the  heart,  and  breathed  with 
great  difficulty,  having  all  the  ordinary  symp- 
.  toms  of  asthma  In  spasms  such  as  these 
lie  had  usually  found  relief  from  the  appli- 
cation of  mustard  to  the  nervous  centres,  but 
to-night  this  had  been  attempted  in  vain. 

As  I  entered  his  room  he  greeted  me  with 
a  cheerful  smile,  and  although  evidently  in 
much  bodily  pain*  appeared  to  be,  mentally, 
quite  at  ease. 

*  I  sent  for  you  to  night"  he  said,  "not  so 
much  to  aiimioister  to  my  bodily  ailment  as 
to  satisfy  me  concerning  certain  psychal  im- 
jpreseions  which,  of  late,  have  occasioned 
me  much  anxiety  and  surprise.  I  need  not 
tell  you  how  skeptical  1  have  hitherto  been 
9m  the  topic  of  the  soul's  immortality.  1 
mmnot  deny  that  there  has  always  existed, 
M  if  in  that  very  soul  which  I  have  been 
denying,  a  vague,  half  sentiment  of  its  own 
«D8tence.  fiut  this  half  sentiment  at  no 
tittie  amounted  to  conviction.  With  it  my 
mason  had  nothing  to  do.  All  attempts  at 
logical  inquiry  resulted,  indeed,  in  leaving 
mfe  more  skeptical  than  before.  I  had  been 
advised  to  study  Cousin.  I  studied  him  in 
koB  own  works  as  well  as  in  those  of  his 
Skiropeai^  .and  American  echoes.  The 
•*ChwrleB  Elwood"  of  Mi.  Brownson,  for  ex- 
,  •mple,  was  placed  in  my  hands.  I  read  it 
witn  profound  attention.  Throughout  I 
&and  It  logical,  but  the  portions  which  were 
BOt  merely  iO^kiA  were  unhappily  the  initial 
/Uguments  of  the  disbelieving  hero  of  tbe 
book.  In  his  summing  up  it  seemed  evident 
4p  me  that  the  leasoner  hm  not  even  sucoee- 
,  ded  in  convincing  IfimseTf .     His  end  had 


plainly  forgotten  M«  begiiming,  like  the  gov- 
ernment of  Trinculo.  m  short,  I  was  not 
long  in  perceiving  tl\at  if  man  is  to  be  intel- 
lectually convinced  of  his  own  immortality, 
he  will  never  be  so  convinced  by  the  mere 
abstractions  which  have  been  so  long  tbe 
fashion  of  the  moralists  of  En^and,  of 
France,  and  of  Germany.  Abstractions  may 
amuse  and  exercise,  but  take  no  hold  upon 
the  mind.  Here  upon  earth,  at  least,  philos- 
ophy, I  am  persuaded,  will  always  in  vain 
call  upon  us  to  look  upon  qualities  as  things. 
The  will  may  assent — the  soul — the  intellect, 
never. 

I  repeat,  then,  that  I  only  half  felt,  and 
never  intellectually  believed.  But,  latterly 
there  has  been  a  certain  deepening  of  the  fee- 
ling, until  it  has  come  so  nearly  to  resemble 
the  acquiescence  of  reason,  that  I  hnd  it  dif- 
ficult to  distinguish  between  the  two.  I  lUti 
enabled,  too.  plainly  to  trace  this  e&cttothe 
mesmeric  influence.  1  cannot  better  explain 
my  meaning  than  by  the  hypothesis  that  tl^e 
mesmeric  exaltation  enables  me  to  perceive  a 
train  of  convincing  ratiocination — a  train, 
which  in  my  abnormal  existence,  convinces, 
but  which,  in  full  accordance  with  the  mes- 
meric phenomena,  does  not  exteady  exc^t 
through  its  eff^ea,  into  my  normal  coiiditiavi. 
In  sleep- waking,  the  reasoning  and  its  con- 
clusion^ the  cause  and  its  efieet^-are  pifesent 
together.  In  my  natural  4tate,  the  oaoie 
vanishing,  the  eroct  only,  and  perhaps  only 
partially,  remain's. 

These  considerations  have  led  me  to  think 
that  some  good  results  might  ensue  from  a 
seties  of  well  directed  questions  propounded 
to  me  while  mesmerized.  You  hav»  «l(en 
observed  the  profound  self-€Ogm«ttOft  evin- 
ced by  the  sleep- waker,  the  extamive  knolr- 
ledge  he  displays  tipon  all  roifits  veialifig  lo 
the  mesmeric  condition  itself  ;  and  from  this 
self-cognizance  may  be  deduced  hints  for^ 
proper  conduct  of  a  catechism. 

I  consented  of  course  to  make  this  exiier- 
iment.  A  few  passes  threw  Mr.  Yaolurk 
into  the  mesmeric  sleep.  His  breathiBg  be- 
came immediately  more  easy,  and  he  seemed 
to  suffer  no  physical  vneasinesBS.  Tb»  id- 
lowing  convemati<m  then  entsued.  V.  in  the 
dialogue  lepresenting  Mr.  Vankirit,  «md  P. 
myself. 

P.    Are  jon  aslseep  ? 

V.  Yes— no  ;  I  would  rather  sleep  more 
eoundly. 

P.  {After  a  few  more  pwuaee,^  bo  jwu 
sleep  now  ? 

V,    Yes. 

P.  Do  you  Mill  feel  te  pma  fih  yma 
heart? 

Y.    Nb. 


M«nmie^  fi«wk^im' 


JW 


P.    ifow  da  you  think  your  present  ill- 

V.  {After  kmg  h€sUation  end  speaking  as 
if  wthe0orL)    I  mast  die. 

P.    Does  the  idea  of  death  afflict  you  ? 

V.    (  Very  quickly.)    No — no  ! 

P.    Are  you  pleased  with  the  prospect  ? 

V.  If  I  were  awake  I  should  like  to  die, 
bat  now  it  is  no  matter.  The  mesmeric  oon- 
^itifm  is  so  near  death  as  to  content  me. 

P.  I  wish  you  would  explain  yomself , 
Mt.  Vankirk. 

-  V.  i  am  wiliins  to  do  so,  but  it  requires 
mom  efbri  than  I  feel  able  to  make.  You 
do  not  queadon  me  properly. 

P.    Wbat  Uier  shall  I  ask  ? 

V.    Yoa  must  \  cgin  at  the  beginning. 

P.  The  begiiitiing  ?  but  where  is  the  be* 
ginning. 

y.  You  know  tnaf  the  beginning  is  God- 
(This  was  said  in  a  low,  ^actuating  tone, 
and  with  every  sign  oi  the  most  prefouad 
veneratioft.] 

P.    What  then  is  God? 
Y.    (Hesitating  far  many  minvtes.)     1 
cannot  tell. 

P.    h^  not  God  spirit  i 

V.    While  I  was  awake  I   knetw  what 

ou  meant  by  "spirit,"  but  now  it  seems  on- 

r  a  word — such  for  instance  as  truth,  beau- 
ty,— a  quality,  I  mean. 

P.    Is  not  God  immaterial } 

V.  There  is  no  immateriality — it  is  a 
Ipere  word.  That  which  is  not  matter  is  not 
4t  all,  unless  qualities  are  things. 

P.    Is  God,  then,  material  ? 

V,    No.     iThu  reply  startled  me  very 

P.    Wliat  then  is  he  ? 

V.  (-4/^  ^  ^f^  pause  and  mutteringly) 
1  see— but  it  is  a  Uiing  diificult  to  tell  [A  - 
dHith«  long  panse.]  He  is  not  spirit,  for  he 
ftxislB.  If  or  16  be  matter,  as  you  understand 
it.  But^tboe  aie  gradations  of  matter  of 
"wiuchnMUi kaoiws  nothing  ;  the  grosser  im- 
peUingtht  iner-i  the  fiqer  pervading  the  gros- 
ser. TlkB  atmoMphere,  for  example,  impels 
.«r  modifies  the  electric  principle,  while  the 
idbetric  principle  permeales  the  atmosphere. 
Thm  gradations  of  matter  increase  in  rarity 
01  finencass  until  we  arrivei  atnvatter  a  unpar- 
^fK/^rf—without  particles — indivisible — ane  ; 
■nd  hem  Ihe  law  of  impulsion  and  permea- 
tiOB  is  BMKiited.  The  ultimate,  or  unparti- 
-xAed  matter,  jkH  only  permeates  all  things  but 
impels  aU  Ainn-^ttd  ^aa  ^  all  things 
within  its^.  This  matiter  is  God.  What 
BMnvBffMlifAkteinpt  to  embody  in  the  word 
**lkoQAw'  m  iJm  matter  in  motion. 

P.  THie  Bwtobjjwytfmt  maintaw 

~    JMe  ti»  #otifii)ft  amd  thinking* 


and  that  the  ^tter  is  the  origin  of  Aie  l^r- 
mer. 

v.  Yes  ;  and  I  now  see  the  oonfusi^ 
of  idea.  Motion  is  the  action  of  mind^w% 
of  thinking.  The  unparticled  matter,  or 
God,  in  quiescence,  is  (as  nearly  as  we  ca%; 
conceive  it)  what  men  call  mind.  And  the 
power  of  self-movement  (equivalent  in  eifect 
to  human  volition)  is,  in  the  unparticle4 
matter,  the  result  of  its  unity  and  omuiprev^ 
alence  ;  iioto,  I  know  not,  and  now  cleurly 
see  that  I  shall  never  know.  But  theruopaf* 
tided  matter,  set  in  motion  by  a  iaw,  or  qual* 
ity,  existing  within  itself,  is  thinking. 

P.  Can  you  give  me  no  more  precise  idea 
oi  what  you  term  the  unparticled  matter..* 

V.  The  matters  of  which  man  is  cO|lii» 
zant  escape  the  senses  in  gradation.  We 
have,  for  example,  a  metal,  a  piece  of  wood» 
a  drop  of  water,  the  atmosphere,  a  gas,  cai* 
one,  light,  electricity,  the  luminiferous  eth* 
er.  Now  we  call  all  these  things  matter, 
and  embrace  all  matter  in  one  general  defini- 
tion ;  but  in  spite  of  this,  there  can  be  m^ 
two  ideas  more  essentially  distinct  than  that 
which  we  attach  to  a  metel,  and  that  whieh 
we  attach  to  the  liftniniferous  ether.  When 
we  reach  the  latter,  we  feel  an  almost  irre- 
sistible inclination  to  class  it  with  spirit,  ^ 
with. nihility.  The  only  consideration  which 
restrains  us  is  our  conception  of  its  atomic 
constitution  ;  and  here,  even,  we  have  to 
seek  aid  from  our  notion  of  an  atom,  porae*- 
sing  in  iniinite  minuteness,  solidity,  palpa- 
bility, weight.  Destroy  the  idea  of  the  ato* 
mic  constitution  and  we  should  no  longer  be 
able  to  regard  the  ether  as  an  entity,  or  at 
least  as  matter.  For  want  of  a  better  word 
we  might  term  it  Fpirit.  Take,  now  a  step 
beyond  the  luminiferous  ether— coneeive  a 
matter  as  much  more  rare. than  the  ether  as 
this  ether  is  more  rare  than  the  metal,  and 
we  arrive  at  once  (in  spite  of  all  the  school 
dogmas)  at  an  un  ique  mass — at  unparticM 
matter.  For,  although  we  may  admit  infi- 
nite littleness  in  the  atoms  themselves,  the 
infinitude  of  littleness  in  the  spaces  between 
them  is  an  absurdity.  There  will  be  a  point, 
there  will  be  a  degree  of  rarity,  at  which  if 
the  atoms  are  sufficiently  numerous,  the  in- 
terspaces must  vanish,  and  the  mass  abso- 
lutely coalesce.  But  the  consideration,  ^of 
the  atomic  construction  bein§:  now  taken  ^- 
way,  the  nature  of  the  mass  inevitably  glides 
into  what  we  conceive  of  spirit.  It  is  cle^, 
however,  that,  it  is  as  fully  matter  as  before. 
The  truth  is,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive 
spirit,  since  it  is  impossible  to  imagine  what 
is  not.  When  i*e  flatter  ourselves  that  we 
have  formed  its  conception,  we  have  meniiy 
deceived  our  iu)4^standi;)g  J^y  the  con^dera- 
tkm  of  infuMt^y  ;rap^  «fi$Ute& 


188 


Mesfnerie  RevdaHon. 


P.  But,  in  all  this,  is  there  nothing  of  ir» 
iiv«rttiiee  ?  [I  was  forced  to  rei)eat  this  ques- 
tion before  the  sleep- waker  fnlly  comprehen- 
ded mj  meaning.] 

V.  Can  you  say  why  matter  should  be 
1ms  rererenced  than  mind  ?  But  you  fotget 
that  the  matter  of  which  I  speak  is,  in  all  re- 
spects, the  very  "  min '"  or  "  spirit"  of  the 
schools,  so  far  as  regards  its  high  capacities, 
and  is,  moreover,  the  *•  matter"  of  these 
Khools  at  the  same  time.  God,  with  all  the 
jiowere  attributed  to  spirit,  is  but  the  perfec- 
tion of  matter. 
P.  You  assert,  then  that  the  anparticled 
^matter  in  motion,  is  thought  ? 

y.    In  general,  this  motion  is  the  univer- 
sal thought  of  the  universal  mind.    This 
tbouffht  creates.    All  created  things  are  but 
the  thoughts  of  God. 
P.    You  say  "in  general.** 
V.  -Yes.    Jhe  universal  mind  is  God. — 
For  new  individualities,  matter  is  necessary. 
P.    But  you  speak  of  *•  mind"  and  •«  mat- 
tS("  as  do  the  metaphysicians. 

V.    Yes— to  avoid  confusion.     When  I 
lay  "  mind,"  I  mean  the  unparticled  or  ulti- 
mate matter;  by  "  matter,"  I  intend  all  else. 
P.    You  were  saying  that  •«  for  new  indi- 
vidualities matter  is  necessary." 

V.'  Yes  ;  for  mind  existing  unincorporate, 
is  merely  God.  To  create  individual,  think- 
ing bemgs,  it  was  necessary  to  incarnate 
portions  of  the  divine  mind.  Thus  man  is 
jBdiTidualized.  Divested  of  corporate  inves- 
nitare,  he  were  God.  \ow,  the  particular 
notimi  of  the  incarnated  portions  of  the  un- 
ptitided  matter  is  the  thought  of  man  ;  as 
the  motion  of  the  whole  is  that  of  God. 

P.  You  say  that  divested  of  the  body 
nan  will  be  God  ? 

y.  {After  mudi  htsHolion,)  1  could  not 
'JhSTiS  said  this ;  it  is  an  absurdity ; 

p.  (Rtferring  to  my  ncAes,)  You  did 
'fliylhat  "divested  of  corporate  investiture 
man  were  God." 

V.  And  this  is  true.  Man  thus  divested 
wivld  be  God — would  be  unindividualized.- 
But  he  can  never  be  thus  divested — at  least 
never  wiU  be— else  we  must  imagine  an  ac- 
tion of  God  returning  upon  itself— a  pur- 
TOseleSs  and  futile  action.  Man  is  a  creature. 
Creatures  are  thoughts  of  God.  It  is  the  na- 
ture of  thought  to  be  irrevocable. 

P.    I  do  not  comprehend.    You  say  that 
nan  will  never  put  off  the  body  ? 
y.    I  say  that  he  will  never  be  bodiless. 
P.    Explain. 

N.  There  are  two  bodies— ^he  rudimen- 
Ul  and  the  complete  ;  conesponding  with 
the  two  condidoosof  the  worm  and  me  but- 
terfly. What  we  call  «<  death"  is  but  the 
painful  matamoiylioMt.    Ow  presentiaear- 


nation  is  progressive,  preparatorr,  tanpofB- 
ry.  Our  future  is  perfected,  vlthDale,  im* 
mortal.  The  ultimate  life  is  the  full  design. 
P.  But  of  the  worm's  metamorphosia  w« 
are  palpably  cognizant. 

Wcs  certainly— but  not  the  worm. — 
The  matter  of  which  our  nidimental  body 
is  composed,  is  within  the  ken  of  the  orgum 
of  that  body  ,•  or  more  distinctly  our  nidi- 
mental  oreans  are  adapted  to  the  matter  ol 
which  is  formed  the  rudimental  body  ;  hut 
not  to  thai  of  which  the  ultimate  is  compo- 
sed. The  ultimate  body  thus  escapes  oar 
rudimental  senses,  and  we  perceive  .  only 
the  shell  which  falls  in  decaying  from  the 
inner  form;  not  that  inner  form  itself;  but 
this  inner  form,  as  well  Rf  the  shell,  is  a[»- 
preciableby  those  who  have  already  acqui* 
red  the  ultimate  life. 

P.  You  have  often  said  that  the  mesme- 
ric state  very  nearly  resembled  death.  How 
is  this  ? 

y.  When  I  say  that  it  resembles  death,  I 
mean  that  it  resembles  the  ultimate  life  ;  for 
the  senses  of  my  rudimental  life  are  in  abey* 
ance,  and  I  perceive  external  things  directly, 
without  oigans,  through  a  medium  which  I 
shall  employ  in  the  ultimate,  unoiganized 
life. 
P.    Unoiganized  ? 

y.  Yes ;  omns  are  contrivances  by 
which  the  individual  is  brought  into  sensible 
relation  with  particular  classes  and  forma  ol 
matter,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  classes  and 
forms.  The  oigans  of  man  are  adapted  to 
his  rudimental  condition,  and  to  that  onljr; 
his  ultimate  condition,  being  unorganised,  is 
of  unlimited  comprehension  in  all  points  bat 
one — the  nature  of  the  volition,  or  motion, 
of  the  unparticled  matter.  You  will  hate  a 
distinct  idea  of  the  ultimate  body  by  oonoeiv* 
ing it  to  be  entire  brain.  This  it  is  not;  hot 
a  conception  of  this  nature  will  briii|  yoa 
near  to  a  comprehension  of  what  it  tt.  A 
luminous  body  imparts  vibiatioii  to  *the  hi- 
miniferous  ether.  The  vibmtions  Kenerale 
similar  ones  within  the  retina,  whkE  again 
communicate  similar  ones  to  the  optic  nervo. 
The  nerve  conveys  similar  ones  to  the  hnda ; 
the  brain,  also,  similar  ones  to  the  unparti- 
cled matter  which  penheales  it  The  motion 
of  this  latter  is  thought,  of  which  peicap* 
tion  is  the  first  undulation.  This  is  mo 
mode  by  which  the  mind  of  the  mdimeolal 
life  communicates  with  the  exiemmi  world  ; 
and  this  external  world  is  Ihailed  through  dm 
idiosyncrasy  of  the  oigans.  But  in  the  ohi- 
mate,  unoiganized  life,  the  external  world 
reaches  the  whole  body,  (which  is  of  a  vah- 
stance  having  affinity  to  bram,  as  I  ha^a  oaid) 
with  no  other  intervention  than  that  of  an  in* 
iittilely  rarer  etiier  than  even  the  huninite* 


Oinrvatitnt  in  Mkbotftry. 


in 


10  nuimH 


ooi ;  and  to  diss  eaer-*in  unison  with  it — 
dtt  whols  body  Tibmles,  setting  in  *  motion 
the  uopaiticled  matter  which  permeates  it — 
It  is  to  the  ahscence  of  idiosyncratic  organs, 
therefore,  that  we  must  attribute  the  nearly 
wilhrnted  peiception  of  the  ultimate  life. — 
To  nidimenta]  beings,  oTgans  are  the  cages 
eeoeary  to  confine  them  until  fledged. 
P.  You  speak  of  rudimental  "  beings". — 
Abb  there  other  rudimental  thinking  beings 
ten  man  ? 

V.    The  multitudinous  congloroeraticn  of 
me  matter  into  nebul«,  planets,  suns  and 
other  bodies  which  are  neither  nebuls,  suns, 
nor  planets,  is  for  the  sole  purpose  of  sup- 
plying )Ni6ti^ifm  for  the  idiosyncrasy  of  the 
organs  of  an  infinity  of  rudimental  beings. — 
Bat  for  the  necessity  of  the  rudimental,  prior 
to  the  nitiniale  life,  there  would  have  been 
00  bodies  such  as  these.    Each  of  these  is 
tenanted  by  a  distinct  variety  of  organic,  ru- 
dimental, thinking  creatines.    In  all,  the  or^ 
gans  vary  with  the  features  of  the  place  ten- 
anted.   At  death,  or  metamorphosis,   these 
creatares,  enjoying  the  ultimate  life,  and  cog- 
nizant of  all  eeoets  but  the  one,  pervade  at 
pleasure  the  weird  dominions  of  the  infinite. 
As  the  sleep-waker  pronounced  these  lat- 
ter words,  in  a  feeble  tone,  I  observed  upon 
bis  countenance  a  sin^ilar expression,  which 
alarmed    me,   and    induced  me  to  awake 
hha  at  once.    No  sooner  had  I  done  this, 
than,  with  a  bright  smile  irradiating  all  his 
Intuiesv  he  fell  rack  upon  his  pillow  and  ex- 
pired.    I  noticed  that  m  less  than  a  minute 
alferwaids  his  corpse  had  all  the  stem  rigidi- 
ty of  stone. 


Obssrrations  la  MMNrifsry. 

Bt  Ttlik  Shits,  M.  B.,  London. 

Aftoft  tf  lAe  Pkytiology  qf  Parturition. 

**  At  ths  time  of  labour  a  ntw  principle 
snpeisedcs  those  oi  ascension  and  descent 
This  gives  a  disposition  to  the  uterus  to  ex- 
dude  whatCTsr  is  contained  in  its  cavity,  and 
(he  ciect  produced  is  in  proportion  to  the  en- 
e^of  the  principUf  and  to  the  power  of 
the  atenis.  A  perfect  intelligence  of  this 
frindole,  and  of  the  mdde  of  its  operation, 
woola  proboly  be  of  infinite  use  in  practice, 
as  we  might  be  enabled  to  suppress  the  action 
fhaiehy  occasioned  when  premature,  moder- 
ate it  when  too  violent,  strpngthen  it  when 
loo  leebk,  and  regulate  it  in  a  variety  of 
ways  conducive  to  ue  welfare  of  our  patients 
On  the  knowledge  we  at  present  have  of  the 
nanner  in  which  Ihia  principie  operates,  and 

fte  ciiouDstaocesby  which  it  is  influenced. 

tha  assislanct  whieh  scienee  and  dexterity 


can  give  in  cases  of  diflicnU  parturition,  and 
in  preventing  abortions,  very  much  do- 
pencfp." — Denman, 

Up  to  the  present  time  it  will  be  acknow* 
ledged  that  the  parturient  function  of  the 
uterus  has  been  an  wnvrntten  chapter  in 
physiology.  The  nature  and  causes  of  the 
motor  forces  which  expel  the  ioeris  have  been 
in  great  measure  lost  sight  of,  obstetndans 
having  chiefly  occupied  tliemselves  widi  an 
examination  of  the  mechanism  of  labour,-* 
in  defining  the  mensuration  of  the  diflerent 
diameters  of  the  pelvis  and  of  the  fostal  head, 
— and  in  settling  the  precise  axis  along 
which  the  child  passes.  These  are  points  <m 
practical  moment,  inasmuch  as  by  a  know- 
ledge af  them  we  jud^  if  the  passage  of  the 
head  can  be  accomplished  without  artificial 
assistance ;  but  they  are  not  capable  of  more 
extended  application  to  the  management  of 
labour. 

The  motor  power  exerted  in  natural  partu« 
rition  is  of  a  mixed  kind,  being  in  part  ro/im- 
tary,  partly  dependent  on  emotion,  and  partly 
ezato*mGt€r.  Volition  is  generally  exerted 
in  the  latter  part  of  labour,  especially  in  ]»> 
bourn  subsequent  to  the  first,  the  voluntary 
eflbrt  being  similar  to  the  voluntary  part  of 
the  act  of  defecation.  In  primipara  little 
voluntary  eflbrt  is  made  unless  the  patient 
has  been  mal-advised. 

£motiou  is  chiefly  of  importance  as  modi* 
fifing  reflex  motor  action.  It  is  matter  of 
experience  that  contidence,  hope,  fear,  aa|^, 
or  despair,  may  either  increase  or  diminish 
the  voluntary  and  reflex  actions  concerned  in 
parturition.  The  motor  forces  dependent  on 
emotion t  and  on  the  wHly  are  intended  to  be 
accessory,  but  they  are  not  essential,  to  the 
exbulsion  of  the  child.  The  evacuation  of 
the  gravid  uterus  can  be  performed  perfectly 
by  reflex  motor  action  alone,  as  a  function 
01  the  true  spinal  system.  Deliyery  may 
fake  place  during  the  coma  of  puerperal  cott« 
vulsions,  during  sleep,  paraplegia,  or  even 
after  the  death  of  the  mother,  when  the  func- 
tions of  the  cerebrum  are  either  suspended 
or  annihilated. 

It  may  be  stated  briefly  that  labour  con- 
sists of  positive  dilatation  of  the  os  uteri  and 
the  vagina,  the  action  of  the  muscles  of  ex- 
piration, and  contraction  of  the  uterus  and 
the  vagina;  all  excito-motor  phenomena, 
which  are  aided  by  volition,  and  modijiedhy 
emotion. 

To  p  ve  the  proofs  that  the  act  of  parturition 
is  excito-motor : — 

1.  The  abdominal  segment  of  the  diagon* 
fly  lays  eggs  after  its  separation  from  the 
other  part  of  the  body  of  the  insect 

d.  n  the  border  of  Ae  cloaca  in  the  hen  be 
irritated  with  a  £sw  grains  of  oomfium  salt, 


CM 


ObeerveHons  in  Midwtfsry. 


intarient  action  is  excited » and  the  egg  ex- 
{MUed. 

3.  Irritation  of  the  os  uteri  produces  abor- 
tiim  by  inducing  contractions  of  the  uterus. 

4.  The  coal  water  douche  upon  the  abdo- 
men excitefi  contractions  of  the  uterus  in  ute- 
line  inertia  and  in  uterine  hsmorrhage. 

5.  But  the  most  positive  and  conclusive 
p»0of>  and  one  which  can  alone  be  accounted 
for  on  the  principle  of  reflex  action,  is  the 
fact  lecognised  by  experienced  accoucheurs, 
that  the  application  of  the  child  to  the  breast 
excites  distinct  uterine  contractions. 

6.  Equally  conclusive,  if  proved,  is  the  re- 
flex action  between  the  stomach  and  the  ule- 
ms.  It  has  not  been  noticed  hitherto  as  such, 
but  I  believe  that  irritation  ofthe  gastric  di- 
vision of  the  pneumo-gastric  nerve  during 
tebour  .recites  distinct  uterine  contractions. 
This  subject  I  propose  to  treat  of  in  a  sepa- 
rate paper. 

i  reserve,  too  for  another  occasion,  the  in- 
qaity  into  the  immediate  causes  which  give 
to  Vh  nerves  and  muscles  of  the  uterus,  and 
thb  other  parts  concerned  in  the  expulsion  of 
4lie  foetus,  the  tendency  to  be  excited  in  such 
manner  as  to  produce  labour  at  a  particular 
time ;  and  shall  now  proceed  to  examine  file 
phenomena  of  excito-motor  action  as  they 
aoturlly  occur. 

In  the  present  place  1  insert  a  division  of 
natural  labour  into  three  sta^s,  in  accordance 
'with  tbe  physiological  action  of  the  parts 
.engaged  in  the  act  of  parturition.  My  read- 
fkn  will  be  enabled  to  judge,  from  the  argUK 
•ment  that  follows  it,  of  the  propriety  of  such 
«n  arrangement. 

'  First  Stage. 

.  JDilatation  of  the  os  uteri.  Commence - 
CDSOt  of  the  dilatalion  of  the  vagina.  Con- 
^tfaction  of  the  fundus  and  body  of  the  uterus. 

Second  Stags. 

Closure  of  the  glottis.    Closure  of  the  car- 
'  dia.    "Forcible  contraction  of  the  muscles  of 
expiration.    Contraction  of  the  uterus.    Com- 
.  plete  dilatation  of  the  vagina. 

Thdid  Stagje. 

•  ••  Closure  of  the  glottis.  Closure  (A  the  car- 
.dia  Contraction  of  the  muscles  ol  expira- 
tion.   Contraction  of  the  uterus.    Contrac- 

'  fitoii  of  the  vagina.  ProMble  eorttraetion  of 
the  levatores  ani.  Dilatation  of  the  sphinc- 
ter «ni. 

For  some  days  before  the  aiooession  of  the 
regukr  pains  which  Me  recognised  as  con- 
etilating  labour,  the  fundue  and  body  of  the 
«rtenieeontraet  ii{)Oii  its  contents  in  an  eqnar 


and  continuous  manner,  sons  to  foice  thn 
head  of  the  child  low  down  into  the  pelvis* 
and  thus  the  patient's  size  is  considerably  di<- 
minished.  This  contraction  of  the  uterus  in 
caused  by  the  presence  of  the  fffitus.  The 
same  kind  df  uninterinittentcontnction  is  ob- 
served in  certain  labours  where,  in  lieu  of 
regular  pains,  the  uterus  remains  for  many 
hours  [irmly  contracted  round  the  fstus  with- 
out any  remission.  In  consequence  of  tinn 
kind  of  contraction,  and  the  gradual  disapJ 
pearance  of  the  cervix  uteri  in  the  latter 
months  of  pregnancy,  the  head  of  the  child 
becomes  placed  directly  in^contaet  with  tlin 
OS  uteri,  the  portion  of  the  uterus  most  sensi- 
tive.— in  fact,  most  §xcitor  of  all  the  paits 
concerned  in  parturition.  At  the  same  time* 
or  nearly  so,  that  the  fundus  and  body  of  the 
uterus  contract,  the  os  uteri  oonuneneen  ils 
dilatation. 

I  do  not,  on  the  present  occasion,  attempt 
to  decide  how  much  of  this  continuous  ac- 
tion of  the  uterus,  which  precedes,  and  min- 
gles with,  the  regular  pains  of  labour,  is  de- 
pendent on  the  direct  action  of  the  VfS  nervosa; 
or,  in  other  words,  on  the  iuitability  of  the 
contractile  fibres  of  the  uterus.  Nor  shall  I 
attempt  to  define  the  modifications  of  true 
spinal  action  produced  by  the  development  oj 
the  ganglionic  nerves  of  the  uterus  during 
pregnancy,  as  described  by  Dr  Lee.  The 
continuous  and  periodic  contractions  ought 
to  be  arranged  under  different  heads,  and  we 
must  probably  attribute  the  periodicity  of 
uterine  action  to  the  iq/Iuence  of  the  g^Uij^ 
onic  system. 

When  labour  has  actually  commenced  the 
whole  interna]  surface  of  the  uterus,  the  cer* 
vix  and  os  uteri,  and  (he  iraginnl  pasnge, 
are  in  high  d^ree  excito-mptor*  X^e  inci- 
dent spinal  nerves  proceeding  from  these 
parts  are  the  principal  excitors  of  the  nBex, 
actions  in  natural  labour.  Impressions  on 
any  part  of  their  extensive  surraces  pioduce 
re/lex-motor  action  in  the  ulnms  itseif,  i»r  in 
the  other  muscles  associated  with  this  oigan 
during  parturition. 

The  motor  phenomena  of  labour  are,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  of  twq  distinct  kinds, 
namely,  contraction  and  dUatahoii.  Con- 
traction of  the  uterus  and  of  the  abdominnl 
and  other  muscles,  so  as  to  increase  the 
action  of  the  uterus,  and  dilatation  of  Ae 
outlet  of  the  uterine  cavity  and  the  whole 
vaginal  passage,  to  permit  the  exit  of  An 
child.  Subsequent  to  the  dilata;don  of  t^ 
vagina,  contraction  of  this  part  occurs  ^ 
expedite  delivery ;  I  proceed,  in  the  mt 
place,  to  treat  ofthe  mode  in  which  the  ^- 
atation  of  tiie  parts  is  affiled —n  novel  a;^ 
important  subject 


Obatnatione  in  Midwiftrp. 


m 


the  Os  and  Cervix 


Dilatation  of 

Vaginot  during  Labour. 


Positive 
UUrit  oivd  of  the  ^ 
Accoucheurs  have  noticed,  a£i  remarkable 
facts,  that  lor  some  time  before  the  accession 
of  labour  and  during  its  first  stage,  the  os 
uteri  is  sensibly  dilaOed,  and  that  the  vagina 
dilates  long  before  the  mechanical  pressure  of 
ihe  head  of  the  child  can  possibly  have  had 
.  any  share  in  the  process.  No  satisiactory 
attempt  has  hitherto  been  made  to  explain 
iheae  curious  phenomena.  The  study  of  re- 
fiex-motor  action  appears  to  aflford  a  clue  to 
the  solution  of  tlie  oiificulty,  and  to  point  out 
the  aourc^  of  the  discrepancies  of  midwifery 
wxiters  on  this  point. 

Let  UB&xaaiine  other  physiological  actions 
which  resemble  the  dilatation  of  the  vagina 
and  OS  uteri.     We  may  observe  that  in  the 
.process of  defecation,  at  the  same  time  that 
the  abdominal  and  other  muscles  contract  so 
as  to  lessen  tlie  cavity  of  the  abdomen  (and 
thus  exert  pressui-e  on  the  rectum,  which  has 
besides  its  own  independent  contraction)  there 
is  a  positive  dilatation  of  the  sphincter  am. 
'  The  faures  could  not,  in  fact,  t>e  extruded  un- 
less the  sphiucter  opened  during  the  instant 
of  the  action  of  the  other  muscles.    This  po- 
sitire  dilatation  takes  place  in  the  involuntaiy 
action  of  the  bowels,  when  it  is  purely  a  re- 
flex act,  or  the  sphincter  may  be  dilated  by  a 
voluntary  effort     Th us,  what  do  we  di rect  in 
the  severe  pains  produced  by  the  impaction  of 
internal  hemorrhoidal   tumors   within   the 
contracted  sphincter  ?     We  recommend  the 
patient  to  strain  as  if  at  a  stool,  and  immedi- 
ately the  sphincter  diiaies,  the  tumor  may  be 
letumed  and  the  pain  departs.    The  old  ex- 
planation of  this  action  of  the  sphincter  was 
.  Chat  the  longitudinal  fibres  of   the  rectum 
dragged  the  sphincter  open  by  their  contrac- 
.  ticHi,  though  the  sphincter  is  infinitely  the 
^  more  powerful  of  the  two. 
^.      Dewees,  Sir  C.  Bell,  and  Rigby  have  thus 
'  eitplalned  the  dilatation  of  the  os  uteri.    The 
;  latter  sajs,  "  it  does  not  dilate  merely  by  the 
'  mechanical  stretching  which  the  pressure  of 
the  inembiaoes  and  presenttng  part  exert  upon 
it ;  it  dilates  in  consequence  of  its  circular 
I  Skrt^  bekig  no  longer  able  to  maintain  that 
\  aUte  ol  contraction  which  they  have  pre- 
.  aerved  during  pregnancy;  they  are  over- 
',  powered  by  the  longitudinal  fibres  of  the  ute- 
'  XQS, which,  by  their  €ontraotions,pull  open  the 
,  •s  uteri  in  every  direction."    There  is  here  no 
reoQ^tiou  of  the  positioe  dilatation  of  the 
'  cervix  uteri  for  which  I  am  contending.    Dr. 
'fiamsbotham,  though  he  perceives  the  fai? 
lacy  of  a  mere  mechanical  distention  of  the 
-H«  ttttri  iiB  Mtoeedingly  vague  in  hift  explana- 
tioiHxf  the  aalter.    Mis  wotdd  Bie,  "<  Some 
'^.gigriM#ili1iD«Uliadimli>  believe  that 


act ;  that,  as  the  uterus  contacts,  it  propei» 
the  head  first  through  the  os  uteri,  by  diktiaff 
it  mechanically,  then  through  the^vagina,  aiid 
lastly,  through  the  external  parts,  solely  by 
the  same  forcible  dintention.  It  is  evident 
from  the  structure  of  ihe  organs  that  a  me- 
chanical dilatation  to  such  a  great  extent  never 
couM  take  place  unless  a  correspoii^ng  dis- 
positio;]  to  relax  were  given  them  at  the 
same  time ;  therefore  we  must  consider  the 
dilatation  of  the  passages  not  entirely  depett- 
dent  on  mechanical  dtstention,  but  that  it  is 
in  great  measure  to  be  referred  to  that  inalt- 
tute  of  nature  which  induces  them  to  beoone 
relaxed  and  softened  when  the  ufeeruft-is 
about  to  commence  contraction."  The*^'dii(- 
position  to  relax"  is  a  positive  dflatation*  Ihe 
« Institute  of  nature/*  the  reflex-motoc-func- 
tk)n,  now  first  applied  to  this  subject. 

To  give  another  illustration .  In  the  case 
of  deglutition,  the  act  of  swaiiowtng  consists 
of  contraction  of  the  constrictors  of  the  pha- 
rynx, with  a  simultaneous  dilitationoi  the 
cardia.  The  cardia  dilates  to  receive  the 
food  in  deghitition,  while  in  defacatfon '  it 
contracts y  otherwise  the  contents  of  the  slo* 
mach  would  be  expelled  at  the  same  tise 
with  those  of  the  rectum.  The  dilatalian 
and  contraction  of  the  cardia  may  either  de- 
pend on  refiex  action  or  on  volition.  In 
swallowing,  in  defacation,  and  in  vomiting, 
the  action  of  the  cardia  is  purely  excito- 
motor ;  but  there  are  many  persons  who  can 
voluntarily  open  the  cardia  so  as  toailaw 
of  the  passage  of  gas  from  the  stomach  to 
the  pharynx.  Some  can  even  imitate  the  iii- 
minants,  and  return  the  food  to  the  mouth  in 
the  same  manner. 

To  apply  these  physiologiGal  fads,  all  of 
which  are  entirely  deduced  m>m  the  reaeaiah- 
es  of  Dr.  Marshall  Hall  into  the  physiolefy 
of  the  true  spinal  system,  to  the  explanation 
of  the  process  of  parturition : — 

It  has  been  already  remarked  that  beiaie 
the  commencement  of  actual  labour  the  os 
uteri  sensibly  dilates  and  softens.  The  dic- 
tation at  this  time  can  neither  depend  on  aiy 
expulsive  force  brought  to  bear  against  it,  nor 
on  any  contraction  of  the  longiUwinal  GAmB, 
It  is  confined  to  the  os  uteri,  and  must  be.fis- 
sentially  positive.  It  is  also  without  doubt  K- 
fiex  in  its  nature,  closely  resembling  the  opau- 
ing  of  the  oardia  from  the  presence  oifoadiin 
the  phar3mx,  though  it  takes  place  in  a  more 
gradual  maniier.  The  whole  of  the  uteniais 
composed  of  the  aame  oontrectile-tisaiieb  ACtd 
let  us  observe  what  would  be  the  resultif  Ihe 
whole  organ  oQatracted  at  the  eame  tiiaev—- 
The  fundaa  and  body  of  the  uterus  w6iild 
ecmttaot,  and  andoutHiiy  Ihe  oa  lileis  wotfid 
cki0B  imif  if  then  mat^atxy  oontiaaliaiw)f 
tfat  eimlar  Ubia.     IM  ilhtt«  wha  Iiaiik4iia 


192 


OhservoHons  in  Midwifery, 


body  and  fundus  of  the  uterus  could  overpow- 
er the  contraction  of  the  o«  uteri,  consider  for 
a  moment  that  the  united  force  of  all  the  res- 
piratory museles  is  sufficient  to  force  the 
fonall  muscles  which  closes  the  glottis. 

During  the  recession  of  a  pain  the  os  uteri 
is  in  some  degree  closed,  even  when  its  dila- 
tation has  considerably  advanced.  There  is 
an  alteration  of  action  in  the  two  parts. 
When  the  expulsive  pain  comes  on,  and  the 
head  of  the  child  is  pressed  downward  by  the 
contraction  of  fundus  and  body  of  the  uteius, 
at  diis  moment  the  os  uteri  is  most  widely 
opened.  In  fact,  this  dilatation  during  a  pain 
18  held  to  be  a  diagnostic  mark  of  the  true  la- 
bor-pain. If  the  uterus  contracts  forcibly 
without  any  distention  of  its  mouth,  the  pains 
are  said  to  be  false.  Nothing  can  be  more 
conclusive  than  this  as  evidence  of  posiiive 
dikOation.  . 

Thus,  then,  we  have  a  simple  phjrstological 
explanation  of  the  opening  ^of  the  os  uteri 
previous  to  the  commencement  and  during  the 
continuance  of  uterine  contractions.  This 
function  continues  throughout  the  procefe«  of 
natunii  labor,  under  the  influence  of  reifex- 
motor  action,  and  is  a  beautiful  provision 
•gainst  the  rupture  of  the  uterus. 

The  dilatatuni  of  the  vagina  before  the  head 
has  passed  through  the  os  uteri,  frequently 
considered  the  result  of  pressure  or  passive  di- 
latation, is  of  the  same  positive  kind.  It  is 
one  part  of  the  concatenation  of  events  by 
which  delivery  is  efiected.  At  the  same  time 
that  active  contractions  are  going  on  in  the 
uterus,  a  positive  dilatation  is  going  on  in  the 
passages  through  which  the  foetus  has  to  be 
expelled.  When  the  second  stage  of  labor 
has  commenced,  and  the  abdominal  muscles 
are  acting  forcibly,  this  dilatation  of  the  vagi- 
aa  is  increased  by  the  ef^cts  of  mechani^ 
-mssure.  I  shall  have  to  revf  rt  to  this  point 
nereafter.  The  dilatation  commences  at  the 
06  uteri,  and  giadually  proceeds  downwards 
to  the  vulva ;  but  in  its  whole  course  it  dis- 
tinctly precedes  the  mechanical  pressure  of 
Ibe  child  upon  the  part?. 

On  a  future  occasion  I  propose  to  examine 
wbe^er  there  is  not  during  pr^nancy,  in  ad- 
ditipn  to  the  constrictpr  vs^ins,  a  develop- 
ment of  the  cellulo-iibrous  sheath  which  en- 
velops the  vagina,  and  which,  at  its  upper 
part  IS  continuous  with  the  fibrous  structure 
of  the  uteroB ;  similar  in  kind,  though  not  in 
extent,  to  that  which  takes  piaee  in  the  uterus. 
We  know  that  in  the  early  months  there  is 
eontiBCtion,  but  afterwards  a  dilatation  and 
even  protrusion  of  the  vagina ;  aoa  during 
labor  not  only  is  its  diameter  increased,  but  its 
kngtk  gecomes  greater.  These  wooM  form 
a  prion  reasons  tor  believing  in  the  growth  of 
tteipait.  but  dvHsg  labor  the  cootrMtile 


power  of  the  vagina  is  also  oonsideraMy  in- 
creased. The  exclusion  of  the  placenta  by 
the  action  of  the  vagina  alone,  is  a  proof  of 

this. 

Excito^mofor  Action  of  the  Uterus. 

The  action  of  the  uterus  is  usually  periodie» 
consisting  of  intervals  of  contraction  antTte* 
laxation.  The  foetus  is  the  natural  stimnlos 
of  the  uterus,  but  all  the  reflex  acts  wh^ 
constitute  labor  may  be  excited  by  any  other 
irritation  of  the  uterus;  such  for  instance,  aa 
the  presence  of  polypus  or  hydatids.  I  have 
known  the  uterus  ruptured  by  the  violence  ol 
its  own  contractions  when  thus  excited.  The 
power  C'f  irritation  of  the  mucous  surface  of 
the  uterus  to  produce  reflex  action  of  the  or« 
gan,  is  seen  when  the  hand  of  the  accoucheur 
IB  introduced  in  the  operation  of  turning.  The 
introduction  of  the  hand  to  promote  the  excla- 
sion  of  the  placenta,  or  to  arrest  haemorrhage, 
by  causing  contractions  of  the  uterus,  are 
other  familiar  instances  of  excito-motor  action* 
though  they  have  not  been  accurately  recog^ 
nised  as  such. 

The  OS  uteri  is  an  excitor  of  reflex  action  to 
a  greater  extent  than  any  other  part  of  the 
uterus.  The  pains  of  labor  are  more  violent 
when  the  head  of  the  child  is  pressing  on  the 
OS  uteri,  or  passing  through  it,  than  they  sue 
before.  It  is  well  known  that  if  the  mem* 
branes  are  broken  early,  and  the  water  evacu* 
ated  so  as  to  permit  the  head  of  the  child  to 
piess  on  the  os  uteri,  the  pains  are  much  in- 
creased in  severity  and  frequency,  though  the 
labor  is  often  tedious  in  consequence  of  the 
motor  force  being  expended  in  the  evacoation 
of  the  amniotic  fluid.  It  is  on  this  principle 
that  premature  labor  is  induced  by  perfora- 
tion of  the  08  uteri.  Some  obstetric  auAori* 
ties  have  recommended  the  introduction  of  m 
plug  into  the  upper  part  of  the  vaeina,  so  an 
to  irritate  the  os  uteri,  as  a  mode  oi  procnring 
delivery  in  certain  cases.  Very  recently  it 
has  been  observed  that  even  the  ifoUcttemeni^ 
if  rudely  perfoimed,  is  sufficient  to  caoae 
abortion. 

In  natural  labor  the  presence  of  the  chBd 
only  excites  the  action  of  the  uterus  itself  da- 
ring the  first  stage  of  labor;  no  other  motor 
effort  of  an  expulsive  kind  takes  place,  either 
voluntary  or  reflex.  Those  cases  must  be 
considered  complicated  in  which  the  musdea 
of  the  abdomen  are  excited  to  contractiona. 
or  in  which  spasmodic  actions  of  other  moa- 
cles  occur  in  this  stage. 

The  ExcUo-motor  Aaians  cmued  by  tkefam* 
sence  of  the  Child  m  the  VagimL 

When  the  second  at^  of  ]abor»  aa  it  i» 
~  haseomnMnesd^aiidibeiMad^  lh« 


r 


ObMrvtitiomt  in  Midwifery. 


199 


cUldfaaseiitared&e  Tagina»the  mniicles  of 
Ae  mpoaftor^  system  hScomt  powerfully  ex- 
dtecl,  w  addition  to  the  action  of  the  uterus. 
Aceoucheun  have  held  the  most  contradictory 
opinions  concerning  the  muscular  efforts 
made  in  this  stage  of  labor.  Many  look  on 
the  extra-uterine  contractions  as  entirely  vol- 
VBtary,  while  others  hold  exactly  the  contrary 
opthion.  'thva.  Dr.  Ramsbotham  says  that 
«•  the  attziliary  muscles  which  assist  the  ute^ 
TUB  in  its  contiactions  are,  in  a  great  decree, 
Tohintaiy."  Dr.  Lee,  on  the  other  hand,  is  of 
opnion  that  there  ought  to  be  no  voluntary 
actioD  in  pwtuiition.  I  would  maintain  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  extra-uterine  muscular 
action  is  as  purely  exciio-motor  as  that  of  the 
utenis  itself,  though  patients  frequently  mix 
tip  Yoiu&tary  exertions  with  the  true  re/iex 
actions,  so  as,  in  some  measure,  to  confuse 
them.  It  will,  however,  be  found  that  during 
•  seveie  pain  they  have  no  iwwer  to  arrest 
the  contractions  of  the  abdominal  muscles, 
Plough  they  can  increase  their  intensity  by  an 
efibrt  of  the  will. 

That  the  action  of  the  respiratory  muscles 
is  involuntary  and  reflex,  I  have  no  doubt, 
and  I  may  here  instance  an  illustration  of  the 
wisdom  oi  such  an  anangemeut.  If  the  tre  - 
laendous  efforts  made  by  women  in  labor, 
often  for  many  hours  successively,  were  vol- 
vntary,  they  would  necessarily  produce  exces- 
rnnhtian;  whereas  Dr.  Marshall  Hall  has 
shown  mat  the  reflex  motions  are  of  greater 
weigy  than  the  voluntary  motions,  and  con- 
tinue without  calisinff  the  same  degree  of 
weariness.  Jt  is  perfectly  wonderful  to  see 
delicate  auid  emaciated  females,  with  litile 
nusenlar  strength,  after  twenty-four  or  thirty 
mx  boon  of  severe  labor,  appear  calm  and 
refreshed  immediately  their  delivery  is  ac- 
complished. 

During  the  severe  pains  produced  by  the 
presence  of  the  head  of  the  child  in  the  vagi- 
na, the  glottis  is  closed^  so  as  to  fix  the  chest, 
and  the  cardia  and  sphincter  ani  are  also^^ii^, 
while  all  the  respiratory  muscles  are  acting 
as  in  fordhle  expiration.  Closure  of  the 
glottis  ia  an  impcwtant  feature  ;  but  in  severe 
pam,  itieaa^rfectly  involuntar)r  as  it  is 
in  dcffiotitimi,  in  vomiting,  or  even  in  epilep- 
sy. Whoi  the  glottis  is  closed,  the  patient  by 
tttoitary  effinrt,  assists  in  fixing  the  chest  by 
grasping  with  the  hands  and  planting  the  feet 
against  some  fixed  body.  Dr.  Ramsbotham 
supposes  that  the  diaphragm  acts  during  the 
expulsive  efioit  A  moment's  consideration 
will  show  the  ^laey  of  this.  The  action 
of  the  reepiiatory  muscles,  those  of  the  glottis, 
the  infenaoilab,  and  the  abdominal  muscles, 
is  that  of  forcible  expiration  with  the  glottis 
Now,  die  dia^ragm  is  the  great 
^ ^^'.^ ,  ^  ^^  ^y  aol  ill  fil- 


ling the  chest.  During  the  parturient  eflorts 
it  must,  therefore,  be  in  a  state  of  relaxation 
floating  between  the  cavities  of  the  thorax 
and  abdomen,  so  as  to  render  them,  in  effect, 
as  one,  precisely  as  in  vomiting. 

These,  then,  are  the  true  distinctions  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  sta^s  of  labour. 
In  the  first  the  excito-motor  action  is  confined 
to  the  uterus,  or  nearly  so  ,*  in  the  second  it 
is  more  extensive.  The  only  obstetricians 
whom  I  can  discover  to  have  held  any  thing 
--proacbing  to  this  opinion  kte  Wigand,ana 

er  him.  Dr.  Rigby ;  but  they  refer  to^mm 
sympathy  between  the  vaccina  and  the  abdom* 
inal  muscles.  Dr  Ri^hy  is  the  most  explicit. 
He  considers  "  there  is  the  same  relation  be- 
tween these  muscles  (the  abdominal)  and  the 
vagina,  as  there  is  between  them  and  the 
rectum."  Tr.  Rigby  isi  however,  silent  a- 
bout  the  more  extended  muscular  actions  ex- 
cited through  the  vagina,  and  their  excito- 
motor  nature.  On  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Fleet- 
wood Churchill,  one  of  the  most  recent  wri- 
ters .on  midwifery,  expresses  himself  thus: 
"  It  is  not  easy  to  explain  the  change  in  the 
character  of  the  pahis,  nor  why  straining 
should  only  occur  in  the  second  stage.  Wi- 
gand  attributes  it  to  the  sympathy  between 
the  abdominal  and  other  muscles.  It  certain- 
lu  cannot  be  mereiy  owing  to  the  presence  of 
the foBial  head  in  the  vagincL  *'  Besides  the 
support  afforded  to  the  uterus  in  the  parturient 
process,  by  the  action  oi  the  expiratory  mus- 
cles, it  is  of  essential  service  in  another  mode. 
While  the  irritation  of  the  vagina  excites  the 
action  of  the  abdominal  and  other  muscles, 
the  straining  thus  occasioned  tends  to  dilate 
the  vagina  itself.  This  seems  the  most 
probable  explanation  of  the  mode  in  which 
the  positive  dilatation  of  the  vagina  oi  which 
I  have  spoken,  as  independent  of  mechanical 
pressure,  is  chiefly  produced.  Women  can 
themselves  feel,  even  before  the  head  has  en- 
tirely descended  into  the  vagina,  that  at  each 
pain  there  is  a  straining,  a  sensation  of  mus- 
cular efibi-t,  in  the  vagina  itself.  Manual 
examination  demonstrates  that  in  the  first, 
and  more  particularly  in  the  second  stage  of 
labour,  this  action  is  dilatation,  aiid  hot  con- 
traction. 

In  the  first  stage  of  ]^our,  when  the  head 
of  the  child  is  wholly  within  the  uteius,  and 
the  reflecto-motor  action  is  confined  to  this 
organ,  the  patient  is  generally  timid  and  irri- 
table, manifesting  considerable  impatience  of 
her  sufferings  and  alarm  for  the  result  But 
when  the  second  stage  has  commenced,  and 
the  descent  of  the  head  into  the  vagina  calls 
the  respiratory  muscles  into  action  ,tlie  woman 
is  no  longer  irresolute.  She  exhibits  a  re- 
nlarkable  chan^  fiqm  timidity  to  confidence 
and  ditenninatioo.    In  the  on(»  case  her  ci:^ 


194 


Observations  in  Midwifery. 


are  freqaent  and  distressing,  in  the  other  she 
remainifi  silent,  or,  at  most,  only  a  slight  cry 
escapes  her  on  the  subsidence  of  n  paio.  Yet 
her  sufierings  in  the  latter  are  equally  acute. 
Her  sileftce  may  b*»  "-aid  to  depend  on  the 
closure  of  the  glot^^,  ^at  the  change  of  mind 
is  evident  in  her  whole  physiognomy.  Dr. 
Marshall  Hall  has  shown,  that  whatever  may 
he  their  seat,  the  manifestations  of  passion 
and  emotion,  are  invariably  made  through  the 
medium  of  the  true  spinal  system ;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  the  purely  involuntary,  or  re- 
flex-motor efforts*  made  in  the  second  part  of 
labour,  exactly  represent  the  change  which 
has  taken  place  in  the  mind  of  the  patient. 
The  involuntary  and  reflex  workings  of  the 
muscles  of  expression  are  precisely  those 
which  would  be  called  up  to  pourtray  the 
most  intense  degree  oi  mental  energy  and  res- 
olution. I  am  not  here  attempting  to  place 
these  facts  in  the  relation  of  cause  and  efiect, 
but  merely  marking  their  coinci.lence. 

When  the  dilatati^n  of  iJie  os  uteri,  the  va- 
gina, and  the  external  p:irts  is  accomplished 
and  while  the  respiratory  system  and  the  ute- 
rus unite  in  energetic  contraction,  a  new  se- 
ries of  actions  commence  and  facilitate  the 
final  expulsion  of  the  child  and  afterwards  of 
the  placenta.  This  though  an  innovation  I 
have  ventuied  to  call  the  third  sta^  of  la- 
bour. It  consists  of  contraction  of  the  va- 
eina  itself ;  retraction  of  the  perineum  over 
the  head  of  the  child,  as.sisted  probably  by 
contraction  of  the  levators  ani,  and  dilatation 
of  the  sphincter  ani,  which  in  the  previot  s 
stages  remains  closed.  The  head  of  the  child 
is  generally  expelled  with  c:)nsiderable  force 
at  once,  but  the  trunk  remains  for  a  short 
time,  if  allowed  to  do  so,  in  the  vaginia.  I 
believe  that  when  in  this  situation  it  has,  in 
great  measure,  escaped  from  the  action  of  the 
uterus,  and  is  expelled  by  the  contractions  of 
the  vaginia.  It  is  well  known  that  when 
the  placenta  has  descended  into  the  vagina, 
it  has  the  power  of  excluding  it  without  as- 
sistance. Indeed,  Denman  recommends  that 
this  practice  should  be  followed  in  order  to 
diminish  the  intensity  of  the  after-pains. 
This  action  of  the  vagina  would  certainly 
favour  the  idea  of  the  development  of  its  fi- 
brous covering  during  pregnancy,  as  its  con- 
.  tractile  power  is  very  slight  in  t\ie  unimpreg- 
nated  state. 

I«  certain  cases,  irregular,  or  as  they  have 
been  termed,  metastatic  pains  occur,  and  prove 
embarrassing  to  t^^e  practitioner,  and  are  a 
real  impediment  to  toe  progress  of  labour. 
They  sometimes  affect  the  bladder,  at  other 
times  the  abdominal  muscles,  but  not  syn- 
chronously with  the  uterus ;  or  the  rectum, 
the  thif^hs,  and  other  {larts,  the  uterus  being 
either  little  or  only  inegularly  afibcted.  They 


are  generally  dependent  either  on  the  vis  ner^ 
vosa  being  reflected  from  the  uterus  in  irregu- 
lar arts,  or  the  irritation,  instead  of  prooc«d- 
ing  from  the  foetus,  is  caused  by  fatigue,  gen- 
eral irritability,  a  loaded  slate  of  the  stomachf 
the  rectum,  the  large  intestine,  or  the  bladder, 
according  as  the  case  may  be. 

Table  of  the  Act  of  Parturition  in 
First  Stage. 

I. 
Ilie  Excitors. 
The  incident  nerves  proceeding  from  the 
inner  surface  of  the  uterus,  patticularly  the 
OS  and  cervix  uteri. 

II. 

7%€  Centric  Organ, 

The  medulla  spinalis. 

III. 

Vie  Motors, 

1.  The  motors  which  contract  the  fundus 
and  body  of  the  uteris. 

2.  The  motors  which  dilate  the  os  uteii 
and  the  vagina.  ^ 

Table  of  the  Act  of  Parturition  ik  thk 
Sjccond  Stage. 

I. 
Tlie  HxcitOTs, 

1.  The  incident  nerves  proceeding fiom 
the  inner  surface  of  the  uterus. 

2.  The  incident  nerves  proceeding  froea 
the  vagina. 

3  In  numerous  cases  the  gastric  branch- 
es of  the  pneumogastric  and  the  incident 
nerves  of  the  rectum  and  bladder  become 
excitors  of  parturient  action.  It  remains  to 
be  decided  whether  these  facts  should  be 
classed  with  physiological  or  pathological 
phenomena. 

II. 

The  Centric  Organ. 

The  medulla  oblongata  and  spinalis 

HI. 

The  Motors. 

1.  The  motors  which  dose  the  glottis. 

2.  The  motors  which  dose  the  cardia. 

3.  The  motois  which  contract  the  uterus. 

4.  The  motor  nerves  of  expiratory  effixt. 

5.  The  motors  which  dilate  the  vagiiuu 

Table  of  the  Act  of  Parturixioh  in  i 
Third  Stage. 

I. 
Tht  Excitors. 
The  same  as  in  the  previous  table. 
IL 
Hu  Centric  Organ, 
The  medulla  oblongata  and  spinalis. 
III. 
The  Motors, 
1.  The  motors  which  contraU  the  ' 
9.  The  motors  which  dilatt  the  sphincter  ani 


r. 


Proleptieal  Science. 


196 


3.  Tlie  motors  which  contract  the  levatores 
ani. 

4.  The  rest,  the  same  as  in  the  prerious 
table. 

The  foregoing  does  not  j^etend  to  be  moie 
than  a  sketch  of  this  Interesting  and  hitherto 
nnattempted  subject .    Future  opportnni  ty  and 
observation  will,  I  trust,  enable  me  to  nil  up 
and  correct  this  imperfect  outline,  and  draw 
nomerous  practical  deductions  from  the  facts 
I  hare  detailed.    Now  that  the  physiological 
principle  which  presides  over  the  function  of 
parturition,  which  Denman  and  others  anti- 
cipated, is  discovered  to  be  a  pari  of  the  func- 
tion of  the  true  spinal  marrow,  of  the  princi- 
ple which  presides  over  all  the  acts  of  inges- 
tion and  egestion: — the  detection  of  which 
we  owe  to  Dr.  Marshall  Hail,  though  the 
profession  has  been  tardy  in  appreciating  its 
importance,  or  I  should  not  at  this  late  period, 
twelve  years  from  its  discovery,  be  engaged 
in  the  first  attempt  to  apply  it  to  the  whole 
Q^tstetric  art ;  now  that  this  principle  is  re- 
cognized, the  entire  phenomena  of  natural 
pre^ancy,  from  the  act  of  conception  (itself 
excito-motor)  to  the  return  of  the  uterus  after 
delivery  to  the  animpregnated  state,  inclusive 
with  many  other  cognate  subjects  of  equal 
importance,  must  inevitably  be  treated  of  as 
the  physio/pgy  of  the  uterus,  and  as  one 
branch  of  the  physiology  of  the  true  spinal 
system. 
Bolton-street,  Piccadilly,  May,  1844. 


THE  PERTODS 

SEOUZ^TIHO  THE  EE0X7RBEN0E  OF  VI- 
TAL  PBENOMENA 

Being  a  General  Summary  of  Previous  Con- 
trilmitions  to  Proleptieal  Science. 

By  Thomas  Latcock,  M.  D.,  Physician  to 
the  York  Dispensary. 


The  communications  I  have  made  to  the 
LANCET  from  time  to  time  on  the  laws  of  pe- 
riodidty,  as  exhibited  in  the  recurrence  of  vi- 
tal phenome  a,  have  been  published  at  con- 
siderable intervals,  and  extend  into  two  or 
three  volumes.  I  have  thought  it  would  be 
well  to  give  the  readers  of  my  p^vious  pa- 
pers such  a  general  view  of  the  whole  as 
may  assist  them  in  appreciating  the  impor- 
luice  and  extent  of  the  subject,  and  guide 
them  in  any  further  remarks  they  may  be  in- 
elined  to  make. 

While  it  ts  the  prerogative  of  reason  to 
look  both  "before  and  after,"  man  has  al- 
ways manifested  the  most  earnest  desire  to 
look  before  and  know  the  future.  Two 
■mu  1w?e  been  adopted*  in  all  ages,  to  at- 


tain  this  end,  namely,  divination,  or  the  con- 
sultation of  supernatural  beings,  real  or  sup* 
posed  9  and  the  observation  of  natural  phe- 
nomena, and  of  the  times  of  their  recurrence. 
It  must  have  been  soon  found  that  there  was 
a  regularity  in  the  latter.  Day  constantly 
followed  night,  and  night  day ;  spring  succee- 
ded winter,  and  summer  succeeded  to  spring ; 
the  ebbing  tide  changed  into  the  Hood,  and 
the  flood-tide  fell  to  the  ebb.  And  so,  also, 
with  physiological  phenomena ;  the  infant 
grew  into  youth,  the  youth  became  a  man, 
and  manhood  sunk  gradually.into  the  decrep* 
itude  0'  old  as^e.  Hence,  man  has  learnt  to 
predict  a  variet}'  of  events  in  nature  and  so- 
ciety with  absolute  certainty.  He  knows 
that  the  storms  of  winter  will  surely  pass  of 
way  and  be  succeeded  by  the  warmth  a- 
spring  ;  that  the  Hood  tide  will  assuredly,  in 
a  few  houis,  be  at  ebb  ;  and  so,  also,  with  a 
variety  of  phenomena  implicating  the  indi- 
vidual, as  the  duration  of  pregnancy,  the  re- 
currence of  the  hour  of  sleep,  &c.  Now, 
all  natural  phenomena  being  Jinite,  must  be 
periodic,  bjcanse  the  time  within  which  they 
are  circumscribed  is  itself  a  period  and  capable 
of  division  into  less  periods.  The  science 
which  investigates  the  laws  of  recurrence  of 
events  involvin^f  individuals  and  societies  of 
men,  measures  their  periods,  and  applies  the 
knowledge  llms  obtained  to  practical  uses  iu 
connection  with  the  sciences  of  medicine  and 
of  political  and  social  economy,  is  the  sci- 
ence which  I  have  termed  proleptics, — an 
anticipation,  to  anticipate,  seize  before.— 
Proleptics,  then,  is  the  science  of  anticipa- 
ting events. 

Of  course  the  science  of  proleptics  recog- 
nises no  mysterious  or  supernatural  agency 
more  than  is  recognized  in  astronomy,  or  any 
other  natural  .science  ;  it  is  founded  alt(^th- 
eron  the  observation  of  phenomena,  with 
special  reference  to  tfie  order  in  which  they 
arise.  Thai  order  may  be  ascertained  by 
pure  observation,  or  may  be  calculated  from 
p  inciples  and  laws  already  known,  or  may 
be  inferred  from  the  relations  of  cause  and 
elTect 

In  preiicting  proleptieal ly  the  return  of  an 
ague-tit  we  are  guided  by  pure  observation  ; 
from  this  source  we  know  that  if  the  fever 
be  a  quoiiuim  the  febrile  paroxysm  wtll  re- 
turn next  day,  at  the  same  hour,  as  surely  as 
the  sun  will  rise  after  having  set,  and  we  an- 
ticipate it  accordingly.  In  like  manner  we 
know  that  in  a  malarious  district  we  may 
expect  to  have  bilious  remittents  in  summer, 
quotidians  and  tertians  in  .spring  and  autumn, 
and  quartans  in  winter. 

Proleptics  is  not  limited  to  periods  of  any 
particular  duration  ;.  it  applies  itself  alike  to 
periods  of  hours  or  of  thousands  of  years. — 


196 


Proleptieal  Science, 


It  18  within  its  prorence  to  investigate  the 
changes  induced  in  the  earth  and  in  society 
at  the  completion  of  grand  cycles,  as  well 
as  the  changes  induced  during  a  single  revo- 
lution of  the  earth  on  its  axis  or  round  the 
sun.  It  concerns  itself  with  all  astronomi- 
cal phenomena,  because  they  are  eminently 
periodic ;  it  traces  the  laws  ot  recurrence  of 
cosmic  and  telluric  changes  with  special  ref- 
erence to  the  influence  of  those  changes  on 
man,  either  as  an  individual  or  in  society. — 
Proleptieal  science  is  not  confined  to  circu- 
lar phenomena,  for  it  sees  polarity  and  oscil- 
latory movements  in  regularly  recurring  e- 
vents.  The  impulse  given  to  human  socie- 
ty by  an  exoteric  force,  as,  for  example, 
when  meteorological  changes  induce  destruc- 
tive epidemics,  may  continue  long  after  the 
cause  has  passed  away,  just  as  a  pendulum 
swings  backwards  and  forwards  after  the 
hand  that  put  it  in  motion  is  removejl.  ) 
What  happens  to  societies  will  occnr  also  to 
individuals. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  this  brief  outline, 
that  proleptics,  being  eminently  a  practical 
science,  hesitates  not  to  draw  its  data  from 
every  available  source.  It  watches  the  pro- 
gress of  geological  science,  that  from  what 
has  happened  it  may  de.iuce  what  terrestial 
changes  will  happen  In  future,  and  when. — 
It  cultivates  meteorology  to  find  out  the  law 
of  recurrence  of  meteorological  phenomena, 
knowing  how  much  the  latter  influence  man's 
condition  under  all  circumstances, — his  health 
fool,  personal  comfort,  relief  if  diseased,  or 
his^ social  prosperity  and  progress.  It  con- 
siders man  as  a  part  of  the  great  whole  of 
organized  beings,  and  seeks  a  knowledge  of 
the  laws  of  recurrence  of  vital  phenomena 
in  all  nature,  that  it  may  apply  that  know- 
ledge in  administering  to  the  relief  and  cure, 


of  man  when  sick,  and  to  his  comfort  when 

.well. 

Having  premised  these  explanatory  obser- 
vations I  will  subjoin  a  summary  of  the  con- 
tributions I  have  made  to  the  science.  I 
would  wish  to  observe,  however,  that  these 
contributions  were  made  principally  with  the 
object  of  placing  it  on  a  true  foundation,  and 
of  constituting  a  nucleus  round  which  future 
observations  might  be  arranged.  It  will  be 
seen,  in  reference  to  the  paper  alluded  to, 
that  I  have  divided  periodic  vital  phenomena 
into  three  classes,  namely,  the  exoteric,  eso- 
teric, and  endexoteric,  the  lirst  comprising 
those  resulting  from  causes  internal  and  prop- 
er to  the  organism  ;  the  second  those  resul- 
ting from  causes  external  to  and  independent 
of,  the  organism  ;  and  the  third  those  com- 
pounded of  the  two. 

The  esoteric  series  of  periodic  chanm 
commence  with  conception  and  the  first  de- 
velopment of  the  ovum,  and  eoes  on  until 
death,— the  major  periods  involving  and  be- 
ing constituted  by  the  minor.  ^  They  are 
marked  by  the  evolution  of  the  teeth  In  the 
embryo  and  foetus,  by  the  reproduction  or 
shedding  of  the  latter  in  infancy ,  and  youth, 
and  by  physiological  changes  recurring  at 
larjrer  intervals— the  septenary  periode—in 
after  life.  After  birth  the  periods  become,  in 
a  trreat  measure,  endexoteric,  the  exoperiodic 
influences  coming  then  into  opeiation,  and 
compl  icating  the  esoperiodic  changes.  TTicy 
are  marked  in  animals  by  a  variety  of  phe- 
nomena, and  the  periods  are  of  diversified 
length,  just  as  we  observe  in  the  recurrence 
of  meteorologrical  changes.  The  primary  u- 
nit  is  a  day  of  twelve  hours,  comprising  one 
barometic  maximum  and  one  minimum.  A 
tabular  view  will  best  illustrate  the  order  of 
the  minor  periods,  deduced  from  a  multitude 
of  observations. 


I.— The  Esoteric  4nd  Exoteric  Periodn, 

1.  Two  minor  periods,  including  a  1  _  C  A  lunar,  barometric,  or  meteorological 
maximum  and  minimum j  "~  (     <lay. 

2.  Two  barometric  or  lunar  days.      =     A  solar  day. 

3.  Seven  solar  days --     A  .lunar  week. 

4.  Four  weeks =    A  lunar  month. 

II. — The  Endexoteric  Periods. 

In  marking  these  I  shall  take  the  periods  of  fevers  as  the  most  familiar  example*  •!• 
though  all  periodic  physiological  phenomena  illustrate  them. 
Let  a        as  the  barometric  or  lunar  day. 
Then  a       sr  the  term  of  a  bi-quotidian  and  of  certain  physiological  acts. 
2  a       s  the  diurnal  or  quotidian  period. 
4  a       b:  the  tertian  period. 
•  •       CB  tiie  quartan  period. 


Proleptical  Science, 


197 


Aa  in  agues  the  interval  is  calculated  from  the  beginning;  of  one  paroxysm  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next,  the  unit  of  the  second  series  must  comprise  the  time  occupied  by  the  last 
parozysm,  as  well  as  the  period  of  intermission,  so  that  we  iiave  6  ax  a— 7  a,  or  one 
veek  of  seven  days  of  12  hours  ;  let  6  represent  this  (leriod. 

Then  (  =  the  half- week  of  physiological  periods  and  the  fourth  day  of  fevers. 

2  6  =  one  week,  and  the  seventh  day  ot  fevers. 

4  b  =  fourteen  days,  a  physiological  period,  and  a  critical  day  in  fevers. 

6  6  =  a  minor  menstrual  period,  and  the  limit  of  a  "  twenty  one  day  fever." 

*    6  6  X  26  s=  the  menstrual  period,  and  its  analogue  in  hemorrhoidal  and  neurotic  pa- 
ticDts. 


Thus,  then,  the  minor  periods  may  be  con- 
fidered  to  be  multiples  of  four  basic  units. — 
1.    The  day  of  twelve  hours  ;  2.    The  day 
of  twenty-four  hours;  3.      The  week  of 
twelve  hour  or  lunar  days  ;  4.    The  week 
of  soLu*  days.    If  any  of  these  be  multi- 
plied by  2,  3,  or  4,  or  by  4, 6,  8,  the  pro- 
dneteyieidall  the  observed  periods  pf  men- 
Btniation,  four  weeks  being  the  normal  peri- 
od.   Of  course  the  catamenial  excitement  is 
only  in^cative  (as  T  have  elsewhere  shown, 
— 'neatise  on  the  Nervous  Diseases  of  Wo- 
men, p.  44,)  of  a  nisus  in  the  ovaria,  and 
marks  the  period  when  an  ovum  or  ova  are 
expelled.    In  fact,  the  processes  of  genera- 
tion and  development  display  throughout  the 
^JDoet  striking  examples  of  periodicity.    Sim- 
ilar multiples  give  the  periods  of   mixed  fe- 
veis.  the  cycle  of  paroxysms  observed  in  in- 
liennittents,  gout,  &c. 

The  preceding  are  the  minor  periods  of  de- 
velopment, the  esoteric  series  commencing 
with  conception,  and  so  re^larly  on  unlei^s 
broken  up,  and  a  new  series  be  begun,  by 
lome  powerful  influence  on  the  system.  It 
is  by  these  periods  that  we  can  theoretically 
explain,  the  period  of  incubation  of  contagi- 
ous and  epidemic  diseases.  It  is  by  these, 
too,  that  we  can  understand  the  *'  singular 
coinddences'*  observed  in  families,  as  to 
death,  time  of  sickenine;  from  contagious  fe- 
ver. Ice.,  the  period  of  conception  of  th« 
mother  being  a  common  point  to  which  the 
esoteric  periods  of  the  onspringcan  be  refer- 
red in  virtue  of  these  periods  being  precisely 
afike  as  to  tlie  date  oi  conception,  and  the 
cacmMtaiicesof  their  life  undeigo  similar  vi- 
tal chances  at  the  same  time,  biecause  they 
are  equ^y  exposed  to  the  same  exoteric  a- 
gencies,  and  underco  the  same  series  of  eso- 
teiie  clumffes.  Toe  coincidences  of  this 
iuDd  have  been  attributed  to  animal  magne- 
tisn,  and  adduced  as  a  proof  of  the  reality 
of  the  zoo-maffnetic  force. 

The  season^  and  annual  changes  and  the 

period  of  utero-gestation  and  of   foetal  life, 

are  intermediate  between  the  preceding  and 

.Ihttt^or  penods  of  development    The  term 

oi  foM  me  is  compoeed,  both  ae  i^gaidsthe 


parent  and  offspring,  of  minor  esoteric  peri- 
ods, consisting  either  of  the  week  of  seven 
lunar  days,  oi  the  week  of  seven  solar  'ilays, 
but  generally  the  latter.  The  analo^ouspro- 
cess  in  insects  occupies  the  whole  life,  from 
j  the  vivification  of  the  ovum  to  the  imago 
I  state,  and  its  minor  periods  are  marked  by 
'the  evolution  of  the  animal  from  the  ovum 
I  the^ successive  moults,  and  the  chrysalis  state. 
This  period  of  embryonic  and  fcBtal  life  is  of 
varying  length  in  insects,  reptiles,  fishes, 
birds,  and  mammals,  but  is  always  a  multi- 
ple of  a  lunar  or  solar  day,  and  always  hep- 
tal,  or  refcrrable  to  7. 

Ihe  intermediate  periods  above  alluded  to 
pass  insensibly  into  the  major,  and  the  major 
periods  complete  the  whole  period  of  life. — 
The  primary  unit  of  the  latter  is  a  solar  year, 
subdivided  into  four  portions,  by  the  equi- 
noxes and  solstices,  which  constitute  two 
means,  one  maximum,  and  one  minimum. — 
All  the  preceding  have  reference  to  the  indi- 
I  vidua!,  and  the  minor  have  reference  to  the 
individual  exclusively.    The  basic  unit  of 
'years  has,  however,  a  bearing  upon  man,  as 
]  constituting  society,  and  is  the  unit  limiting 
the  periods' of  those  esoteric  causes  which  in- 
fluence the  spread  and  mortality  of  epidem- 
ics, and  induce  physiological  mutations  on  a  < 
large  scale,  as  well  in  man  as  in  animals, 
and  vegetables,  through  their  action  on  the 
I  atmosphere,  and  the  crust  of  the  earth. 
I     To  recapitnlate,  according  to  the  facts  pre- 
viously stated,  the  periods  upon  which  oth- 
I  ers  must  be  calculated  are  the  following: — 1. 
The  barometric  or  lunar  day  ;  2.    The  solar 
day;  3.    The  lunar  week;  4.     The  solar 
I  week;  5.     The  lunar  month  ;  6.    The  solar 
'year,  with  its  four  subdivisions;  7.      The 
'week  of   vears,  or  septenary  period;  and, 
j  lastly,  the  lunar  cycle  of  eighteen  years,  with 
one  maximum  and  one  minimum.     Probably 
others  will  be  added  to  these,  as,  for  example 
a  lunar  year,  with  five  or  six  subdivisions,  a 
large  cycle  of  years,  &c.    I  think,  however, 
facts  sufficiently*numerous  have  been   stated 
to  point  out  those  just  enumerated,  as  the 
periods  round  which    fatnre  obBervstioiii 
should  be  grouped. 


198 


New  Magnetic  Fluid. 


OASB  OF  OTASIAir  DROFST 
In  which 

Tapping  was  performed  Seventy-eight  times. 
By  J.  C.  Atkinson,  Esq. 

Of  late  there  has  been  much  discussion  on 
the  subject  of  ovarian  dropsy  or  tumour ; 
8ome  practitioners  contending  tor  the  extirpa- 
tion of  the  diseased  ovary  and  others  for  palli- 
ative and  constitutional  measures,  as  less 
likely  to  endanger  the  patient's  life.  The  fol- 
lowing case  will  go  some  way  to  prove  how 
often  the  operation  of  paracentesis  abdominis 
may  be  performed  without  in  any  way  inter- 
fenng  with  the  ordinary  duties  of  domestic 
life,  or  its  enjoyments.  The  subject  of  the 
present  paper  was  always  prepared,  live  or 
six  days  after  tapping,  to  go  about  her  usual 
avocations  with  cheerfulness,  and  to  frequent 
places  of  amusement,  and  this  she  preferred 
to  leading  an  inactive  life. 

Mrs.  Herapath,  a^d  fifty-three,  of  John- 
son-street, Westminister,  rame  first  under  my 
care  in  the  latter  part  of  1836 ;  she  had  previ- 
ously consulted  medical  men  of  authority, 
and  had  followed  their  prescriptions,  but  with 
no  diminution  of  bulk.  Eventually  it  was 
thought  advisable  to  tap  her,  and  from  Ihat 
time  till  May  last  she  had  been  operated  on 
no  less  than  seventy-eight  times,  by  me  seventy' 
two  times.  The  nuij  at  first  abstracted  was 
grumous,  opake,  and  highly  chaiged  with  al- 
Duminous  malter,as  proved  by  the  common  test 
and  the  quantity  averaged  about  six  gallons. 
For  the  last  twenty  times  the  fluid  had  been 
nearly  one-half  less,  its  specific  gravity  con- 
siderably diminished,  nearly  colorless  and 
transparent,  and  almost  wholly  void  of  albu 
men  ;  and  I  would  observe  tnat  her  healt- 
seemed  to  have  been  better  when  the  quantity 
of  discharged  albumen  was  laiger.  I  must 
here  remaik  that  the  treatment  employed  by 
me  to  moderate  the  effusion  of  the  liquid  in 
the  ovarian  sac, — acupuncture,  friction,  diu- 
retics, mercurials,  pressure,  change  of  air, — 
were  one  and  all  attempted  at  various  times, 
according  to  circumstances,  but  with  no  defi- 
nite results.  There  was  an  interval  of  nearly 
fiye  months  from  the  first  operation  to  the  sec- 
ond ;  from  this  to  the  last  the  period  gradual- 
ly les«ened,  till  three  weeks  were  as  much  as 
it  was  |K)S8ible  for  the  patient  to  enduie  the 
distention  of  the  abdomen ;  and  owing  to  the 
great  inconvenience  in  the  epigastrium,  and 
tne  constant  rejection  of  all  food,  it  was  found 
imperatively  necessary  to  evacuate  the  fluid 
at  the  above  mentioned  period. 

The  part  of  the  abdomen  commonly  select^ 
ed  hy  me  for  the  operation  of  paracentesis  ab- 
dominis was  midway  between  the  umbilicus 
and  the  os  pubis,  and  the  area  within  which  it 
WW  pofonnd  wasnz  inches  by  four,  suppo- 


sing the  len^h  to  lie  between  the  iliac  bones. 
From  experience  of  its  propriety  I  always 
carefully  avoided  wounding  the  external  epi- 
gastric arteries  or  veins,  and  through  this 
precaution  much  of  the  hemorrhage  which 
usually  follows  the  incision  of  the  lancet 
was  prevented,  and  which,  on  seveml  occa- 
sions at  first,  entailed  on  the  patient  needless 
fatigue  and  faintness. 

On  the  post-mortem  examination  it  was 
found  that  the  left  ovary  alone  was  diseased* 
enlarged,  and  full  of  cysts,  about  an  inch  in 
length,  and  tilled  with  gelatineous  matter  the 
right  being  in  its  normal  condition  The 
abdominal  viscera  generally  were  healthy, 
and  the  only  cause  of  her  death,  in  my  opin- 
ion, appeared  from  mechanical  obstruclioii 
offered  to  the  food  by  the  rapidly-accumula- 
ting fluid,  and  the  excessive  exhaustion  con- 
sequent thereon.  There  was  great  emfciation 
of  the  whole  body.  The  weight  of  the  tu- 
mour was  five  pounds,  and  perfectly  unattach- 
ed. At  a  future  time  I  wiU  enter  more  mi- 
nutely into  the  comparilive  value  of  the  plans 
of  treatment  pursued  in  this  case. 

Romney  House,  Westminister. 


«N«w  Magnetic  Fluid." 

M.  M.  Thilorier  and  Lafontaine  have  piB- 
sented  to  the  academy  a  memoir  containing 
the  result  of  a  series  of  experiments  which 
they  have  lately  made,  and  which,  they  say, 
establish  the  existence  of  a  new  impondera- 
ble fluid.  This  fluid,  which  they  call  ner- 
vous, is  classed  by  them  between  electrici^ 
and  magnetism.  M.  Arago  has  undertaken 
to  go  through  the  experiments  with  the  au- 
thors, and  to  report  on  them  to  the  academy. 
The  experiments  quoted  were  made  with  a 
galvanometer. — London  Lancet. 

The  smallest  wonders  in  science  are  so 
thankfully  received  in  Europe  by  the  grasp- 
ing multitude  who  have  to  depend  upon  m 
certain  school  of  savans  for  a  supply,  that 
the  latter  are  induced  to  resort  to  every  spe- 
cies of  ingenuity  to  furnish  it  They  will 
take  old  discoveries,  "familiar  as  their  garters* 
and,  with  scarcely  a  change  of  pattern,  en- 
velope them  in  new  pretensions,  label  them 
with  new  names,  and  pass  them  off  as  {ho- 
found  and  invaluable  originalities !  **  A  new 
Magnetic  Fluid  f*  Why  not  discover  a  new 
kind  of  day  light  ?  «« A  new  Nervous  Flttid/* 
Why  not  announce  an  entirely  new  soft  of 
blood,  in  the  whole  ancient  creation  ? 

It  seems  extraordinary  that  piofeaaioBal 
men,  of  the  slightest  elaims  to  ehaiactsr* 


r 


Mesmerism, 


19* 


ibcmld  descend  to  such  piierilities,  and  scarce- 
ly less  so  that  any  work  of  reputatiou  should 
■nnoance  them,  unaccompanied  by  ridicule. 
There  cannot  be  a  man  of  science,  or  even 
oi  general  reading,  in   the  whole  cirilized 
woiid,  really  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the 
magnetic  influence,  in  some  modification  or 
other,  has  long  been  adduced  by  a  host  of 
experimenters,   in   almost    every    country, 
as  fhe  influence  (clumsily  called  *«  fluid") 
which  operates  upon  the  nervous  System, 
and  endows  it  at  once  with  sensibility  and 
motive  power.    The  claim  is  at  least  as  old 
and  as  notorious  as  the  demonstrations  of 
Galvani,  and  while  it  has  been  maintained 
by  innumerable  applications  of   electricity 
and  electro-magnetism,  the  abstract  identity 
of  every  form  of  magnetism,  called  electrici- 
ty, and  electro-magnetism,  with  the  old  and 
simple  forces  of  metallic-magnetism,  is  now 
■eaicely  disputed.    Yet  these  learned  Fiench- 
men  crown  themselves  with  wreaths  and 
plumes  for  having  ascertained  the  existence 
of  this  nervous  fluid  by  the  ordinary  galva- 
nometer /    They  say  it  is  neither  electric 
nor  magnetic,  but  something  intermediate. — 
Since  they  discovered  it  by  the  galvanometer, 
perchance  it  is  galvanic  !— and  if  they  should 
poiBue  their  discovery  to  this  brilliant  con- 
elttsion,  they  may  next  favor  us  with  a  lu- 
minous distinction  between  the  three  "fluids" 
here  contending  for  the  honor  of  their  pa- 
tronage. 

It  is  well  known  that,  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  the  Editor  of  this  Medical  Journal  has 
pnisoed  a  system  of  practice  based  entirely 
npon  the  fact,  more  clearly  understood  and 
explained,  which  these  gentlemen  have  now 
the  excessive  modesty  to  submit  to  the  world 
as  a  recent  discovery  of  their  own.  We 
have  asserted,  exemplified,  and  demonstrated 
it,  in  various  distinct  works  upon  the  subject, 
of  which  tens  of  thousands  of  copies  have 
been  circulated  in  this  country  and  in  Europe. 
It  has  been  difiusively  illustrated  in  every 
number  of  this  Journal,  which  is  read  both 
at  home  and  abroad ;  and  for  the  most  over* 
whelming  proofs  of  this  fact,  collected  within 
brief  limits,  we  need  only  refer  the  reader 
totha&wttuly  «<  lecture  on  the  magnetism  of 


the  human  body,"  by  Professor  R.  W.  Gibbs, 
M.  D.,  of  South  Carolina,  published  in  the 
2Qd  and  3d  numbers  of  this  Journal. 

ME8MSRISM. 

A  Young  Lady  of  this  city  was  magnetized 
a  few  evenings  since  by  a  young  gentleman 
who  had  very  little  knowledge  of  the  art,  and 
after  exciting  the  oigans  of  combativeness, 
dpstructiveness,  self-esteem,  and  firmness,  at 
short  intervals  during  an  hour  and  a  half,  he 
attempted  to  awake  her,  but  his  success  was 
only  partial.  He  could  not  awake  these  or- 
gans, or  calm  the  storm  he  had  raised ;  for  she 
continued  the  pugilistic  e:yercise  of  her  arms 
through  the  night.  The  next  morning  she 
was  induced  to  accompany  a  young  Lady  to 
our  oflice  for  the  purpose  of  trying  the  pow- 
er of  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine  upon  her. 
On  an  examination  of  the  case  we  found  the 
spasmodic  actions  of  her  arms  very  strong. 
The  positive  button  was  then  placed  on  the 
back  of  her  neck,  and  the  negative  held  in 
her  hand  under  the  full  power  of  the  Ma- 
chine during  a  few  minutes,  but  it  produced 
little  or  no  eflect  upon  her.  A  clairvoyant 
happened  to  come  in  at  this  time,  and  we  in- 
stantly put  her  into  the  somnicient  state,  and 
directed  her  attention  to  the  young  Lady, 
when  the  Clairvoyant  placed  her  hands  on 
the  same  oigans  in  her  own  head,  and  ob- 
served that  the  brain  appeared  to  be  diseased 
in  those  places  ;  and  when  we  inquired  how 
diseased?  nhe  observed  "the  brain  looks 
darker,  or  higher  colored  in  these  places." 

Her  magnetiser  at  our  suggestion  now  at- 
tempted to  put  her  other  oigans  to  sleep  again, 
but  failed.  On  the  evening  of  the  second  day 
after  she  was  mesmerised,  the  spasms  of  her 
arms  were  observed  to  be  less  violent,  and  on 
the  third  day  they  disappeared. 

nrFLTTENOE  OT  OVUM  ON  TRS  OATA- 
MENIAL  FUIfOTlONS. 

Dr.  M*Cune  Smith  records  in  the  Neuh 
York  Journal  of  Medicine,  five  or  six  cases 
in  which  the  habitual  use  of  opium  seemed  to 
cause  a  suspension  of  the  menstrual  func- 
tions, without  producing  constitutional  dis- 
turbance. He  hence  infers  that  its  use  is  in- 
dicated when  such  efibct  is  rMioired. 


•00 


Inorganic  Constituents  nf  Plants. 


out  TBS  ZNORQANIO  OONSTITUfiNTS  OF 
PLANTS. 

By  Dre.  H.  Will  anfl  R.  Presenius. 

In  pursuing  the  investigations  sketched 
out  in  his  ^orks  on  Animal  and  Vegetab'e 
Physiology,  Professor  liebig  has  entrusteJ 
to  the  able  hands  of  his  assistants  in  tlie  6i- 
essen  Iabo)atory  the  task  of  devising  a  meth- 
od for  the  qualitative  and  quantitative  deter- 
mination of  the  inorganic  constituents  of 
▼i^table  substances.  The  question  to  be 
determined  is  what  are  the  essential,  indis- 
pensable ingredients  and  what  are  the  sub- 
stances which,  being  present  in  the  soil,  en- 
ter into  the  oiganism.s  of  plants,  and  are  left 
in  the  ashes,  and  yet  are  unnecessary  to  the 
Yital  processes  of  the  plants  ?  In  order  to 
obtain  an  answer  to  this  question  which 
shall  be  satisfactory  to  the  physiologist  and 
the  agriculturist,  analyses  must  be  made  of 
the  acids  of  plants  grown  under  every  varie- 
ty of  circumstance  and  condition.  Before 
these  analyses  could  be  made  it  was  very  de- 
airablethat  a  method,  simple  and  sure,  should 
be  in  the  hands  of  chemisUt,  and  as  a  pre- 
liminary to  the  interesting  investigations  into 
the  ashes  of  particular  plants  and  parts  of 
plants  in  which  Drs.  Will  and  Fresenius 
liave  been  engaged,  they  have  presented  such 
a  method  to  coemists.  The  following  is  an 
abstract  of  this  valuable  paper : — 

"  The  analysis  of  De  Sausaure  and  oth- 
ers, inasmuch  as  they  were  not  in  possession 
of  means  sufficiently  accurate  to  determine 
Che  quantity  of  many  elements  pn^sent,  are 
ao  longer  tiustworthy  De  Saussure  first 
|>ointed  out  the  necessity  for  such  investiga- 
tions, and  Berthier  discovered  that  the  com- 
position of  the  ashes  of  plants  depends  in  a 
measure  upon  the  pioperues  of  the  soil,  but 
while  the  latter  found  that  the  ashes  of  the 
same  kind  of  wood  grown  upon  different 
soils  varied,  he  also  discovered  that  the  ash- 
es of  different  kinds  of  plants  erown  upon 
die  same  soil  are  dissimilar,  ana  that  plants, 
either  of  the  same  or  related  species,  when 
^wn  upon  the  same  soil,  yield  ashes  either 
identical  or  very  similar. 

Plants  take  up  all  the  soluble  constituents 
of  the  soil,  but  to  subserve  their  vital  pro- 
cesses they  select  the  suitable  materials,  so 
that  veiretable  oiganisms  take  up  and  appro- 
priate the  necessary  elen^ents.  Hence  in  an- 
alysing ashes,  stthstaaces  will  be  found 
which  nave  not  entered  into  the  composition 
of  any  oigan  or  part  of  the  plant,  but  are 
only  accidentally  present  in  the  juices  ;  we 
cannot,  dierefoie,  prevent  sash  matters  ifrom 
being  found  in  the  ashes,  together  with  that 
cuable  of  assimilation. 

Natuve  has  provided  in  the  seeds  of  plants 
ae  in  the  «igsaf  Uids,  aad  the  milk  of  aai- 


mals,  every  thing  necessary  for  the  develop** 
ment  of  the  infant  being,  so  long  as  it  is  in- 
capable of  deriving  its  sustenance  from  with- 
out. The  indispensible  mineral  food  of 
plants,  therefore,  will  be  found  almost  pure 
in  seeds. 

The  ashes  of  the  seeds  of  the  cerealia,  the' 
leguminosx,  the  cruci/era,  and  the  conifh^t 
consist  almost  exclusively  of  phosphates  of 
the  alkalies  and  earths,  with  variable  quan* 
titles  of  silicia  and  sul phates.  But  these  aahr 
es  do  not  eflfervesce  with  acids,  aod  contaiD 
only  mere  traces  of  chlorides. 

The  ashes  of  th'>  seeds  of  the  oak,  the 
chesnuti  and  other  trees,  of  which  the  seeds 
abound  in  starch,  but  contains  no  fat,  e&i^ 
vesce  strongly  with  acids.  They  contain  a 
large  proportion  of  carbonates  which  have 
been  formed  during  the  combustion,  from 
salts  of  vegetable  acids,  and  they  contain  al- 
so phosphates.  The  amount  of  chloridea* 
silica,  and  sulphates,  is  very  small  in  these 
ashes. 

From  these  facts  it  miist  be  concluded 
that  the  alkaline  and  earthy  phosphate  aie 
indispensible  to  the  cerealia,  and  that  the  oak 
and  tne  chesnut  require,  besides  these  phos- 
phates, alkalies  and  earth  not  combiueti  with 
mineral  acids. 

It  is  not  possible  at  present  to  .  distinguish 
between  essential  and  non-essential  constilii- 
ents  of  asbes.  Various  mineral  sabetaaces 
and  variable  amounts  of  them  are  required 
by  plants  during  tne  several  stages  of  their 
growth.  Nothing  found  in  the  ashes  of 
plants  can  be  deemed  unessential,  but  we  can 
distinguish  between  those  constituents  which 
have  been  already  assimilated  by  the  plant 
and  those  which  exist  in  its  juices  unassimi- 
lated.  Some  of  the  latter,  however,  only  a- 
wait  the  further  progress  of  growth  in  orte 
to  subserve  their  proper  purpose.  Thus,  al- 
kaline chlorides  and  sulphates,  are  alv^ys 
present  in  ashes  ;  they  always  exist  as  soln- 
nle  compounds  in  vegjetable  juices  ;  they  do 
not  themselves  enter  into  the  composition  of 
the  oigans,  but  they  yield  some  of  their  de- 
ments. The  bases  of  the  salts  of  vegetable 
acids  are  probably  derived  from  chlorides, 
the  latter  being  decomposed.  But  their  elec- 
tro-neeative  element  being  unimportant,  these 
chlorides  may  probably  te  replaced  by  other 
compounds  of  the  same  bases,  provided  the 
latter  be  equally  soluble,  and  not  injurious  to 
the  vital  textures  of  the  plant.  The  quanti- 
ties of  chlorides  are  very  variable,  and  this 
without  their  being  replaced  by  any  other 
substance  ;  they  are,  therefore,  pcobaUv  un- 
essential. The  quantity  of  sulphates  fonnd 
in  the  ashes  depends  in  some  measure  upon 
the  preparation  of  the  ashes.  The  salpoar 
of  tiM  Bitiogenoiis  oonslitilsDti  9t  tiis  piaat 


r: 


Organic  Constitution  of  Plants, 


inay»  by  a  strong  heat  and  free  access  of  airi 
be  conrerted  into  sulphuric  acid  during  the 
combustion.^  On  the  other  hand,  an  insuffi- 
cient heat,  with  the  subsequent  addition  of 
an  add,  may  evolve  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
In  order  to  make  a  quantitative  analysis  of 
aiihes  vre  must  heat  them  until  all  the  sulphu- 
rates are  completely  oxidised. 

Carbonic  acid  and  charcoal  are  generally 
accidental  constituents  of  ashes,  having  their 
origin  in  the  combustion.  Some  seeds,  how- 
ever, contain  carbonates.  The  amount  of 
carbonaceous  matter  and  carbonic  acid  in 
ashes  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  bases, 
present,  and  the  degree  of  heat  employed. 

Baus.  Bodies  combined  with  Bases. 


Potaas. 

Soda. 

lime. 

Magnesia. 

Peroxide  of  iron. 

Oxide  of  manganese. 

Alumina. 


Chlorine. 
Iodine. 
Bromine. 
Fluorine. 

Acids. 
Silicic  acid. 
Phosphoric  acid. 
Sulphuric  acid. 


B.  Ashes  abounding  in  the  phosphates  <f 
alkalies  and  earths,  as  tne  ashes  of  seeds. 

C.  Ashes  rich  in  silica.  The  gramines» 
equisetaceiB,  &c.,  belong  to  this  group. 

This  classification  is  not  to  be  considered 
more  than  an  approximation.  The  adies  of 
mistletoe  {viscum  album,)  the  ashes  of  the 
seeds  of  the  oak,  and  chesnut  contain  both 
carbonates  and  phosphates.  Those  of  tntli' 
um  sativum  (millet,)  oats,  and  barley,  a- 
bound  in  silica,  and  might,  with  equal  pro- 
priety be  placed  in  either  the  second  or  the 
third  class. 

According  to  the  beautiful  law  of  substi- 
tution established  by  Professor  Liebig  the 
predominance  of  potass  or  hme  in  the  ashee 
of  a  p  ant  depends  upon  the  bases  existing 
in  the  soil.  Tobacco  would  generally  be 
considered  to  belong  to  the  hme  plans,  but 
recent  analyses,  which  are  highly  interesting 
in  relation  to  the  law  of  substitution,  prove 
that  when  grown  in  a  soil  abounding  in  pot- 
ass, tobacco  would  equally  belong  to  the  pot- 
ass plants. 


All  these  acids  and  bases,  except  iodine, 
bromine,  fluorine,  and  oxide  of  manganese, 
are  found  in  almost  all  ashes  of  plants.  Al- 
umina is  said  by  many  chemists  to  be  found 
in  vegetable  ashes.  Ue  Saussere  stales  that 
the  ashes  of  the  bilberry,  the  pine,  and  the 
oleander,  contain  17.5,  14.8,  and  28.8  per 
cent  of  aiumnia,  but  he  mistook  the  phos- 
phates for  alumina,  becaus<%  when  he  made 
other  analyses  to  determine  the  amount  of 
phosphates,  he  found  no  alumina,  or  only  a 
trace.  Pure  alumina  is  insoluble  in  solution 
of  phosphoric  and  carbonic  acid.  The  phos- 
phate of  peroxide  of  iron  found  in  plants 
which  is  equally  insoluble  with  alumina,  is 
probably  taken  up  as  phosphate  of  protoxide 
which  is  soluble  m  solution  of  carbonic  acid. 
The  trac«s  of  alumina  found  in  ashes  of 
plants,  are  probably  derived  from  some  adhe- 
ring dirt  not  having  been  carefully  removed 
previously  to  combustion.  This,  no  doubt, 
also  gives  rise  to  the  presence  of  sand. 

In  some  parts  of  Germany  grain  is  steeped 
in  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper,  in  ordei  to 
prevent  blight ;  this  accounts  for  the  pres- 
ence of  oxide  of  copper  in  the  plants ;  it  may 
also  be  derived  from  the  presence  of  salts  of 
copper  in  the  soil,  but  is  only  an  accidental 
constituent  of  vegetable  ashes. 

A  large  number  of  analyses  are  necessary 
ere  a  classification  of  plants,  according  to  the 
constitution  of  their  ashes  can  be  accurately 
made.  For  the  present  purpose  they  may  bic 
arranged  into  three  groups. 

A.  Ashes  rich  in  cdkaltne  and  earthy  car- 
hmates  ;  to  this  belong  woods,  lichens,  since 
Cbete  contain  ndta  of  oiganic  acids. 


ROYAL  MEDTCO-BOTANICAL 
SOCIETY. 

Thursday,  June  27th,  1844. 

HxNRT  CoF£,  Ja.,  Esq.,  in  the  Chair. 


After  some  discussion,  a  communication  ' 
on  the  atropa   belladonna,  from  Ma.  Let* 
was  read. 

In  this  essay,  Mr.  Ley  endeavoured  to 
point  out  that  belladonna  was  not  of  so  dead- 
ly a  nature  as  its  name,  and  the  dread  enter- 
tained of  it  by  the  profession  and  the  public 
would  lead  one  to  suppose,  and  he  quotes 
several  cases  to  show  that  a  fatal  result  rare- 
ly attendp  its  ingestion.  He  observes  that  its 
eflects  are  ra])id  and  constant,  therefore  if 
understood,  most  highlv  valuable.  The  dif- 
ficultv  is  in  seemg  and  deecribing  them  so 
clearly  that  future  observers  shall  recognise 
the  same  results  from  medicinal  doses.  For 
this  purpose  ihe  variety  of  the  observations 
recorded,  and  even  the  varieties  of  language 
in  which  the  narratives  are  clothed,  become 
useful  infonnation  for  future  observers,  to 
test  and  reject  that  which  is  least  precise  and 
perfect.  In  testing  the  medicinal  influence 
of  a  medicine  by  which  we  'seek  to  relieve 
pain,  spasm,  and  irritability  of  system,  and 
to  procure  sleep,  its  approximation  to  or 
secession  from  opium  in  its  action  on  the  &y»- 
tem>  will  ionn  a  very  good  studaid  to  yaags 


202 


Royal  Medico  Botanical  Society* 


of  its  effects,  and  tried  by  this  test,  Mr.  Ley 
has  found  that  the  action  of  opium  and  bella- 
donna is  very  similar.  He  has  himself  taken 
belladonna,  and  has  given  it  irequently,  in 
doses  of  from  half  a  grain  to  a  grain,  and  in 
describing  its  action,  m stead  of  saying  that*t 
diminishes  sensation,  irritability,  and  arterial 
action,  in  the  first  stage  of  its  influence,  he 
believes  that  it  increases  them  all,  and  that 
the  peculiar  action  of  the  remedy  being  ex- 
hausted, reaction  takes  place  and  its  elects, 
to  wit,  diminution  of  sensation,  irritability 
and  arterial  action  follow.  He  observes,  thai 
soon  after  taking  a  grain  of  the  extract,  there 
is  a  peculiar  taste  in  the  mouth,  and  a  diffused, 
novel  sensation  over  the  whole  body,  which 
excites  the  attention  forcibly  and  unpleasant- 
ly. Saliva  is  secreted  in  diminished  quantity. 
The  nervous  excitement  becomes  absolutely 
painful,  with  restlessness,  and  with  the  at- 
tempt to  move,  giddiness,  with  an  affection  of 
the  cerrebrum,  become  evident.  There  is  dif- 
ficulty in  swallowing,  and  the  voice  becomes 
hoarse ;  it  is  as  if  the  action  of  the  parts  were 
impeded  by  ereat  i  loss  of  the  lubricating 
moisture  of  the  mucous  membranes.  The 
sight  is  affected  and  indistinct,  and  the  eye 
has  the  same  sensation  (perhaps  of  coldness) 
that  is  felt  over  the  body  The  lids  become 
dry,  and  the  general  sensation  is  similar  to 
that  exoerienced  after  long  watching,  Paiu 
in  the  Dowels  may  occur,  and  pcmaps  an 
evacuation  may  take  place,  but  neither 
purging  nor  diuresis  is  caused  by  it.  Sore- 
throat  and  redness  of  the  skin,  resembling 
scarlatina,  is  sometimes  produced,  and  inor- 
dinate m«snstTual  discharge  may  occur  sud- 
denly in  females.  The  attention  is  so  entire- 
ly aosort  ed  by  the  peculiar  sensation,  and  the 
irritability  of  system,  that  no  pursuit  can  be 
followed ;  the  eye  can  see,  but  is  indisposed 
to  maintain  attention  to  the  object,  and  the 
ear  has  sensation,  and  heais  peculiar  noises. 
The  disposition  to  with  Iraw  from  all  the  ex- 
citements of  passing  influences  becomes  ac- 
tive, and  the  retirement-like  weariness  brings 
repose.  In  this  stage  of  excitement  Mr.  Ley 
ooiBeryes,  it  is  not  difficult  to  trace  an  in- 
creased arterial  action  approaching  inflam- 
mation ;  and  this  being  the  first  and  immediate 
action  of  the  remedy,  we  ought  to  reckon  the 
rajpid  subsidence  or  evanescence  of  these 
effects  among  the  virtues  of  the  medicine.  In 
Dr.  Pereira's  opinion  belladonna  is  not  fitted 
for  plethoric  constitutions,  nor  for  febrile  and 
acute  inflammatory  cases,  in  which  Mr.  Ley 
coincides,  but  be  thinks  it  may  be  rendered 
80  by  combination  with  other  medicines,  or 
by  preceding  iu  use  by  bl(X)d- letting.  It  has 
beert  his  haoit,  he  says,  to  produce  the  excite- 
ment, and  to  allow  the  reaction  to  go  on  un- 
HoK  a  day  or  two.    Ha  expects  more 


benefit  in  the  second  or  third  day  of  inaction 
than  from  the  immediate  effect  of  the  drug^ 
In  this  way  relief  is  experienced  ip  scrofulous 
ophthalmia,  in  toothacn.  &c.,  when  the  state 
of  excitement  has  passed  away.  A  decided 
astrin^nt  effect  is  proddced  by  the  exhibition 
of  belladonna  in  some  chronic  discharges 
from  the  mucous  membranes,  and  the  secre- 
tion in  ulceration  of  the  trachea  is  diminished, 
and  the  cough  relieved  by  it;  various  vesi- 
cular  eruptions  on  the  skin  is  also  removed 
by  it,  and  when  the  contents  of  the  vesicle 
have  become  semi-purulent,  the  true  skin  ul- 
cerated, the  ulcer  being  deep  and  devoid  of 
healthy  granulations,  the  edges  being  under 
the  influence  of  the  creeping  vesicle,  a  sinrie 
erain  of  the  extract  of  belladonna  will  annihi- 
late the  eruption,  and  the  ulcer  will  immedi- 
ately assume  a  healthy  appearance.  This  in- 
fluence is  well  exemplified  by  that  afection 
of  the  finger  where  the  cuticle  is  raised  by  a 
semi-purulent  fluid  round  the  nail.  The  cu- 
ticle being  removed  the  circle  will  still  be  en- 
larged by  the'separation  of  fresh  cuticle,  and 
the  denuded  surface  pours  out  a  copious  dis- 
charge. The  effect  of  one  dose  of  belladonna 
is  to  dry  the  denuded  surface,  so  that  the  dis- 
ease no  longer  exists,  and  this  is  effected  with 
so  much  rapidity  as  almost  to  seem  like 
magic. 

Mr.  Ley  quotes  two  cases  from  Mr.  Liston's 
practice  in  University  College  Hospital,  in 
one  of  which  minute  doses  of  belladonna 
cured  an  attack  of  erysipelas  in  two  or  three 
days ;  and  in  the  other,  a  case  of  small  ul- 
cerations on  the  legs,  aflrravaled  by  a  scald, 
and  attended  by  much  inflammation  and  fever, 
after  the  fever  was  subdued  the  belladonna 
also  speedily  efifected  a  cure.  In  conclusion 
Mr.  Ley  adverted  to  the  difference  presented 
by  the  extracts  as  met  with  in  the  shops,  and 
stated  that  he  had  found  a  scaly  black,  tobac- 
co-smelling extract,  most  efficacious  for  ex- 
ternal application.  This,  he  considers,  may 
be  owing  to  the  mixture  of  the  fruit  with  tht 
leaves,  or  to  the  adulteration  of  the  extract 
with  some  other  drug,  and  in  that  case  he 
thought  it  would  l^  advisable  to  try  the 
adulterated  drug  itself. 


ANALYSES  OF  BLOOD  IN  DJSKA8E8. 

Dr.  Scharlau,  of  Settin,  having  sent  to 
Professor  Liebi^  some  specimens  of  blood 
drawn  from  patients  suffering  from  various 
diseases  for  the  purpose  of  having  their  a- 
mount  of  carbon  and  hydroffen  detennined* 
Professor  Liebiz  entrusted  tne  investigation 
to  Dr.  Herman  Hoffman.  The  specimens,  as 
sent  to  Giessen,  were  inclosed  in  waxed  pa- 
per, having  been  dried  and  coarsely  powder- 
ed.   Thty  were  examined  by  the  usual  meih- 


r 


Anafyses  of  Blood  in  Disocues, 


9M 


od  of  otsanic  combostion  with  oxide  of  cop- 
per* the  following  results  were  obtained. 

▲ahei.  CarboD.  Hydiofen 

1.  Blood  from  a  patient 
laboring  under  pneu- 
monia which  was 
drawn  from  the  arm 
and  exhibited  a  bufP^ 

coat  (1st  bleeding)  .  .4.365  57.428  8.615 

2.  Bo.  do  anothex  spe- 
cimen (2nd  bleeding)  4.081  52.280 

3.  Do.    another  speci- 
men (Ist  bleeding  .  .  3.880  51.966  8  549 
(2nd  bleeding)  ....  3.784  51.149  7.832 

4.  Tynhas  3.901  54.954  8.542 

5.  Tiiberenlar  phthisis ; 

no  boffy  coat  4.026  53.734  7.451 

6.  Typhus  abdomina- 
hs,  fifth  day ;  from 

the  arm  3.209  50.901  8.925 

7.  Do.  do.  second  day, 
from  the  arm   (1st 

bleeding)  3,108  54,184  8,493 

(2nd  bleeding)  3,479  55,295  7,945 

S.    Do.  from  the  head     4,702 


9.  Do  from  the  venacaya3,509  49 .28 1  7,2 1 7 

10.  Do.  do.  do.      3,960  45,575  7,897 

1 1.  Do.  from  the  aorta     4,184 

•^JMtgit  AnnaUm. 


Tabtdar  View  of  One  Hundred  and  Eigh- 
ty Cases  of  Tubercle  of  the  Lungs  in  Child- 
dreny  with  some  remarks  ^m  InfantUe  Con- 


By  p.  Hunmis  Grekn,  M.  B. 
The  author  commences  hfs  paper  by  observ- 
ing  that  the  remarks  appended  to  the  tabular 
FJew  are  rather  intended  to  point  out  a  few 
of  the  peculiarities  which  distinguish  infan- 
tile consumption  from  phthisis  of  adults, 
than  to  give  any  complete  history  of  phthisis 
in  the  young  subject. 

The  main  character  which  distinguishes 
the  |)hthjsis  of  children  from  that  of  adults 
is  this, — ^in  children  the  tubercular  deposit 
occupies  a  much  Ijuger  surface  of  the  lung, 
is  more  rapidly  secreted,  and  complicated 
with  tubercular  disease  of  the  organs  more 
frequently  than  in  the  adult. 

Haying  briefly  described  the  varieties  of 
tubercular  deposit  in  the  lungs  of  children, 
the  author  gives  some  statistical  result"  rela- 
tive to  crude  tubercle  and  caverns,  as  deduced 
from  hia  table. 

The  complications  of  pulmonary  tubercle 
in  the  child  are  numerous  and  varied.  The 
author  compares  his  own  results  with  those 

S'ven  by  M.  Louis  for  the  adult,  and  shows 
e  proportion  in  which  various  other  organs 
were  anected  with  tubercular  disease. 
The  tEymplome  aie  referred  to  two  varieties, 


one  occurring  in  children  of  from  ten  to  four- 
teen years  of  a^,  and  resembling  the  disease 
in  adults ;  the  other  aflecting  younger  chil- 
dren, and  r  resenting  several  peculiarities.  In 
the  acute  form  of  this  latter  variety  the  patient 
is  often  cut  off  long  liefore  the  disease  has 
arrived  at  the  8tage  of  cavern,  while  the  wide* 
spread  and  rapid  diffusion  of  tul/ercular  de-> 
posit  may  excite  in  the  head  hydiocephalus, 
or  meningitis ;  in  the  chest,  pleurisy ;  in  the 
abdomen,  peritonitis;  and  in  the  intestinal 
canal,  tubercular  ulceration.  In  tlie  chronic 
form  of  this  variety  the  author  remarks  that 
the  siens  of  cavern  are  very  frequently  ab- 
sent cutogether,  and  that  this  absence  may  de- 
pend on  the  seat  of  the  cavity  (middle  or 
lower  lobe,)  or  the  small  calibre  of  the  bron* 
chial  tubes. 

The  author  next  examines,  successively, 
the  rational  symptoms,  and  indicates  the  pe- 
culiarities which  may  attend  each.  With  re* 
gard  to  haemoptysis,  he  observes  that  it  is  not 
so  rare  a  symptom  as  many  eminent  authori- 
ties assert. 

The  question  of  diagnosis  having  been  dis- 
cussed, the  author  concludes  with  a  brief  de- 
scription of  bronchial  phthisis.  The  me- 
chanical and  physiological  effects  produced 
by  the  enlaiged  glands  on  the  neighbouring 
tissues  and  organs  are  first  jpointed  out,-  the 
symptoms  are  then  indicatea,  and  the  author 
sums  up  with  some  valuable  remarks  rela- 
tive to  tne  diagnosis  of  its  variety. 

The  author  does  not  enter  into  the  questioD 
of  treatntent,  which  he  regards  as  merely 
palliative,  but  he  states  bis  belief  that  under 
favorable  circumstances  we  have  a  much 
j;reater  chance  of  arresting  the  progress  of 
mcipient  tubercle  in  the  child  than  in  the 
adult 

The  Society  adjourned  until  November 
next. 


On  the  Exclusion  of  the  Atmospheric  Air  in 
the  Treatment  of  Certain  Local  Diseases. 
Some  years  ago  I  attended  a  fatal  case  ol 

feritonitis.  On  a  post-mortem  examination 
was  struck  with  the  florid  red  appearance  of 
those  parts  of  the  intestines  which  were  con- 
tiguous and  adherent  to  the  abdominal  parie- 
tes,  and  the  perfectly  pale  condition  of  those 
other  parts  of  the  intestinal  canal  which  were 
contiguous  and  adherent  to  each  other.  Both 
surfaces  were  equally  covered  with  a  layer  of 
rather  opake  and  m6derately-consistent  co- 
a^lable  lymph.  I  could  only  account  for  the 
difference  in  tne  appearance  of  these  two  por- 
tions of  the  same  intestine  by  supposing  that 
one  was  affected  by  the  absorption  of  oxygen 
from  the  atmospheric  air,  whilst  from  the 
other  this  gas  was  excluded. 


«M 


Exclusion  of  Atmaspk^ic  AiTf  ^e. 


.  It  id  usual  in  the  Fanaian  hospitals  to  trust 
the  treatment  of  plearitis  greatly  to  the  appli- 
cation of  cataplasms.  I  confess  that  when  I 
first  heard  of  this  mode  of  treatment  I  thought 
it  trifling.  I  have  since  considered  that  these 
cataplasms  may  entirely  exclude  the  influence 
of  the  atmospheric  air,  and  thus  prove  of  real 
efiicacy.  But  whatever  may  be  the  rational, 
the  fact  remains  as  I  have  stated  it,  and  where 
the  treatment  of  pleuritis  consists  greatly  in 
the  application  of  mere  cataplasms,  a  post- 
mortem in  this  disease  is  scarcely  or  not  to  be 
obtained,  so  generally  do  the  patients  recover. 

[  have  DOW  to  add  a  fact  from  my  own  per- 
sonal experience.  I  have  recently  seen  the 
most  satisfactory  result,  both  in  pleuritis  and 
peritonitis,  from  the  assiduous  application  of 
cataplasms  of  powdered  linseed. 

It  is  probably  by  the  exclusion  of  the  atmos- 
pheric air  that  other  remedies  for  imflamma- 
tory  diseases  act ;  the  various  plasters,  the  ni- 
trate of  silver,  even  blisters  have  this  efl*ect. 
I  do  not,  however,  mean  to  insinuate  that  they 
have  no  other.  Cataplasms  may  further  act 
by  tfieir  warmth  and  moisture.  The  nitrate 
01  silver  possesses  some  extraordinary  power 
over  the  actions  which  constitute  or  coincide 
with  inflammation.  But  certainly,  more  ad- 
hesive plasters  have  an  efficacy  in  cases  of 
chronic  chest  a£^tion,  in  lumbago,  sciatica, 
and  other  forms  of  rheumatism,  in  neuralgia, 
and  even  of  scirrhus,  which  canuot  be  easily 
explained. 

One  of  my  patients,  a  martyr  to  extensive 
•eiatica,  was  disired  to  envelope  the  limb  in 
adhesive  plaster.  He  was  a  joinet  and  an 
ingenious  num  He  prejpared  the  common 
stocking  material  with  glue,  dissolved  in  the 
proportion  of  one  ounce  to  two  pints  of  water, 
ana  had  it  spread  over,  when  di^,  with  galba- 
num  plaster,  ard  if  this  exuded  it  was  dusted 
with  flour.  By  the  steady  application  of 
this  plaster  his  severe  rheumatism  was  cured. 

I  was  once  informed  by  a  celebrated  physi- 
cian that  he  had  prescribed  adhesive  plaster 
to  be  applied  over  a  scirrhous  tumour  of  the 
mamma.  It  remained  adherent  for  years,  and 
the  disease  remained  stationary.  The  plaster 
then  separated,  and  from  that  period  the  dis- 
ease pursued  its  devastating  progress. 

Certain  modes  of  the  treatment  'of  bums 
consist  in  excluding  the  influence  of  the  at- 
mospheric air. 

Some  afl^tions  of  the  face  are  remedied  by 
applying  a  layer  of  gelatine.  Isinglass  is  dis- 
eomd  in  water,  and  the  solution  is  applied 
with  a  camei's-hair  pencil,  and  allowed  to  dry. 
1  have  just  witnessed  some  very  remarkable 
eflbete  of  this  mode  of  treatment,  which  I  will 
commimicate  hereafter. 


On  the  Microscopical  Charactir$  qf  Milk  ctnd 
the  use  of  the  Microscope  in  the  choice  of 
a  Nurse, 
Recent  inquiries  have  shown  that  homan 

milk,  examined  by  the  microscope,  presents 

different  characters  : — 

1.  Large  globuled. 

2.  Small  globuled,  generally  "pulverulentf* 
milk. 

3.  Milk  of  medium-sized  globules. 

None  of  these  are  found  in  this  fluid  to  the 
complete  exclusion  of'  the  others.  The  first 
yarietyis  the  most  nutritive,  and  the  others 
in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  globules.  The 
microscope,  then,  will  enable  us  to  determine, 
in  doubtful  cases,  whether  a  given  milk  be  of 
a  strong  or  weak  class,  and  will  guide  the 
physician  in  the  choice  of  a  nurse  whenever 
the  Question  turns  on  the  advisability  of  one 
or  other  of  these  kinds.  Milks  difiei  not  only 
in  respect  of  the  size  of  their  globules,  but 
also  of  the  abundance  of  these ;  nigh  or  low- 
amount  of  globules  signifies  richness  or  poor- 
ness of  the  milk  generally. — British  and 
Foreign  Review. 

Mineral  Marmoratum,  or  Paste,  to  fill  Hollow 
Teeth. 
Take  Anhifdrous  phosphoric  add,  forty- 
eight  grams ; 
Pure  caustic  lime,  forty-two  grains  ; 
finely  pulverised.    Mix  rapidly  in 
a  mortar. 
The  powder  soon  becomes  moist;  it  must 
therefore  be  brought  as  quickl]^  as  possible 
into  the  cavity  of  tne  tooth,  which  has  been 
cleaned  and  dried*;  the  powder  is  to  be  well 
pressed  into  the  cavity,  smoothed  off,  and 
moistened  on  its  surface. 

TOOTH  POWDERS. 

Take  Powder  of  red  bark. 

Bole  armeniac,  sifted,  of  each  one 

ounce  ; 
Powder  of  cinnamon,  half  an  ounce  ; 
Bicarbonate  of  soda,  half  an  ounce  ; 
Oil  of  cinnamon,  two  or  three  drops^ 
Mix. 
This  is  an  excellent  tooth-powder,  unobjec- 
tionable in  every  respect 

Carbonate  of  magnesia  may  be  subetitiited 
for  the  bicarbonate  of  soda,  or  precipitated 
carbonete  of  lime ;  but  the  solubility  of  the 
bicarbonate  of  soda  renders  it  preferable. 

Oaits  Nported  for  th«  DUitoter  byAsK.— 1CJ>. 
MOMTGOMXRT,  OraNOX,  Co.,  N.  Y 

17^  April,  1844. 
Dr.  H.  H.  Sherwood, 

My  Dear  Sir,— I  was  called  on  &e  SOth  of 
February,  1842,  to  visit  T.  K.  of  Ulster 
Coimty,m  this  State.    Hswasayoiiflffmaa 


r 


Ccuea  reported  for  Dissector. 


SQR^ 


of  MBgoine  temperament,  good  physical  and 
Mental  endowmeDte,  and  up  to  the  time  of 
he  present  sickness,  had  enjoyed  uninter- 
npted  eootl  health.  He  was  18  years, of 
age,  and  by  avocation  a  farmer. 

His  illness  commenced  Sept  3d,  1841, 
with  swelling  in  the  left  knee,  and  after  a  few 
weeks  in  its  fellow  also,  both  joints  being 
Tery  painful.  These  swellings  continued  for 
a  few  weeks  and  then  subsided,  leaving  stifT- 
neea,  languor^  &c.  Seven  weeks  after  the 
swdQinK  ol  ib&  knees  had  subsided,  the  sboul- 
ler  ana  hips  hecame  similarly  affected. — 
Chills,  fevers,  and  head-aches  immediately 
followed.  The  family  physician  being  called 
I  piODotineed  the  disease  Rheumatism,  and  pla- 

I  oed  the  patient  under  the  usual  antiphlogistic 

treatment    Notwithstanding  this,  however, 
I  the  disease  continued,  but  was  erratic  in  its 

character,  sometimes  attacking  the  chest,  then 
the  head.  |n  July,  the  throat  and  tongue  be- 
came swollen,  pus  formed  under  the  tongue, 
afterwards  the  chin,  and  then  the  cervical 
glands  swelled  and  suppurated.  The  pain 
mthe  left  knee  and  hip,  at  length  gave  way 
*"  to  ooonter  irritation,  blisters,  &c.    and  from 

the  use  of  porter,  the  strengtn  gradually  aug- 
mented, enabling  him  to  sit  up.  But  thus 
Iv  the  use  o/  the  left  limb  was  nol  recovered, 
at  the  same  time  at  this  period,  great  tume- 
ioK^an  aod  edema  took  place ;  in  this  state 
bandages  were  applied,  and  in  September 
:*  the  formation  of  pus  was  discovered  ;  on  the 
I  15th,  the  abscess  was  opened,  by  incision   in 

the  thiffh,  aboat  midway,  on  the  outside ;  on 
the  23a,  another  abscess  which  had  formed 
on  the  opposite  side  broke  ;  on  the  20th  of 
October  he  was  again  able  to  sit  up,  and  on 
die  Istof  Novemoer,  could  walk  with  the 
aid  of  crutches. 

On  the  15th  of  November,  while  walking 
he  had  the  misfortune  to  fall,  by  which  the 
thigh  was  fractured  6  inches  above  the  knee. 
Ab  a  matter  oi  course,  the  limb  was  pla- 
ced in  splints,  the  ulcer  continuing  to  dis* 


Afentthelst  of  January  1842,  the  pa- 
tient exhibited  all  those  symptoms  that  indi- 
este  the  ebbing  of  the  tide  of  life,  and  that 
Wttally  follow  suffering  from  a  protracted, 
aod  nainfol  disease.  He  had  a  dry  hacking 
ooQgn,  the  hectic  fever  appeared,  the  frame 
was  emaciated  to  a  skeleton,  and  two  aadi- 
tional  abscesses  had  formed,  and  become 
imuing  ulcers.  The  usual  remedies  of  blis- 
tering, creating  counter  issues,  and  prescri- 
hii^  Iodine,  I&driodate  Potassa,  Extract  of 
SarsBparilla,  Blue  Pill,  Spanish  Rob  !!^ 
Swain's  Panacea,  &c.,  &c.,  constituted  the 
tieatment  until  February,  at  which  time  I 
macaiied  in. 

When  I  first  saw  the  patieDt  he  was  sub- 


ject to  colliquative  sweats,  his  cough  was  ob- 
stinate, and  nis  pulse  seldom  varieafrom  120. 
The  whole  left  limb  displayed  the  presence  of 
great  tumefaction,  particularly  the  illiac  re- 
gion. The  tubercular  character  of  the  dis- 
ease was  plainly  indicated  by  these  symptoms 
which  were  exceedingly  unfavorable.  He 
was  also  subject  to  great  oain,  which  contin- 
ued- without  any  visible  abatement,  or  inter- 
val of  ease.  Lai^^e  doses  of  morphine  were 
administered  to  quiet  him,  and  as  he  and  his 
friends  remarked  "  to  smooth  the  passage  to 
the  grave."  For  17  weeks  he  had  not  left 
his  bed«  the  pain  of  moving  being  too  great 
to  be  endured.  He  had  availed  himself  of 
the  services  of  several  experienced  suigeons 
and  physicians,  some  of  whom  had  pronoun- 
ced him  beyond  the  reach  of  art. 

From  the  condition  of  the  patient  when  I 
was  called  in  I  felt  the  responsibility  to  be 
almost  terrible ;  however  I  entered  upon  my 
duty,  trusting  for  success  solely  on  those 
principles,  which  for  many  years  past  you 
have  been  laboring  to  establish. 

Upon  a  careful  examination,  I  found  the 
diagnosis  to  be  tubercula  of  the  left  knee, 
(white  swelimgs,)  half  the  former  implicated 
with  tubercula  of  left  lung,  liver,  throat, 
heart,  stomach  and  mesente^,  accompanied 
with  a  total  loss  of  a})petite. 

On  the  patient  being  placed  under  my 
chaige,  all  former  prescriptions  were  thrown 
aside.  The  diseased  limb  was  bandaged 
smoothly  from  the  instep  to  the  knee,  and 
wetted,  with  a  strong  solution  of  Sal  Ferri, 
Capsia  &c.,  at  the  same  time  fermenting  poul- 
tices were  applied  to  the  thigh  every  eveiiing. 
[  prescribed  a  pill  morning  and  evening,  a^ 
covered  the  whole  thigh  with  a  plaster.  I 
also  placed  one  on  the  lumbar  region,  to  be 
taken  off  at  night,  however,  and  me  poultice 
applied. 

Under  this  the  magnetic  treatment,  12  days 
from  its  commencement,  the  appetite  returned, 
the  palpitations  ceased,  and  the  pulse  assu- 
med a  healthy  standard.  In  three  weeks  the 
cough  and  expectoration  ceased,  the  tumefac- 
tion subsided,  pus  of  a  more  healthy  char- 
arter  was  discbaiged,  and  in  one  week  more 
the  patient  was  able  to  sit  up.  In  July  he 
couJd  walk  with  the  aid  of  sticks,  and  con- 
tinued to  improve  steadily.  In  December 
last  the  ulcers,  four  in  number,  gradually  clo- 
sed up,  and  swelling  with  some  pain  follow- 
ed. To  alleviate  this,  one  of  the  ulcers  near 
the  knee  was  re-opened,  and  serous  matter 
with  exfoliation  of  carious  bone  was  dis- 
charged. 

Since  the  re-opening  of  the  ulcer  near  the 
knee  the  patient  has  improved  rapidljr.  At 
this  time  he  is  able  to  walk  without  incon- 
venience, and  labor  at  his  business  alUu>ugih 


eo6 


Ccises  reported  far  Dissector. 


not  eo  well  as  before  his  iUness.  Indeed 
this  was  not  to  be  expected.  The  patient 
when  I  wafl  called  in,  was  in  an  almost 
hopeless  state,  diseased  in  his  entire  sybtem, 
and  emaciated  to  a  skeleton,  therefore  the 
cure. must  necessarily  be  very  slow,  almost 
as  much  so  as  is  the  growth  from  infancy  to 
manhood.  I  have  deemed  it  proper  to  be 
thus  explicit,  in  order  to  show  the  eirdr  in 
judgment  that  occured  at  the  commencement 
of  Uie  disease,  as  well  as  the  mistakes  in 
treatment  that  followed.  He  owes  his  life 
to  your  remedies." 


"  Mr.  M.  R,  of  Orange  County,  New- York, 
had  been  out  of  health  two  years,  during 
which  time  he  had  received  the  professional 
senrices  of  8  or  10  different  physicians  from 
whom  he  obtained  little  or  no  relief.  About 
the  first  of  last  February,  I  was  called  in  to 
see  him,  and  on  examination  detected  tuber- 
cula, — 

1st — in  the  left  lung.  2nd — in  the  stomach. 
3d — ^in  the  kidneys.  4th — in  the  spleen,  and 
dth — in  the  large  intestines.  6th — in  the 
brain. 

"In  addition  to  this  wretched  condition  of 
the  body,  he  was  also  affected  with  Hyper- 
trophia  of  the  heart,  liver,  &c.  The  actio- 
of  the  heart  viras  very  much  diseased,  the 
most  gentle  exercise  being  followed  by  a 
prostration  nearly  approaching  to  absolute 
exhaustion.  The  most  trifling  emotion  of 
tibe  mind,  the  least  surprise,  as  the  enterine: 
of  a  stranger  into  his  room,  was  attended 
with  the  most  violent  and  painful  palpita- 
tions, so  great  at  times  as  to  threaten  imme- 
diate dissolution. 

Nor  was  this  all  the  disease  from  which 
the  patient  suffered ;  his  spine  was  curved  lat- 
erally ,with  an  excavation  on  the  left  side,  ow- 
ing to  paralysis  of  the  abdominal  and  inter- 
c<»tal  muscles,  with  perfect  immobility  of 
the  left  side,  as  indeed,  could  not  be  other- 
wise ;  this  state  was  accompanied  with  an 
extreme  derangement  of  the  digestive  organs, 
so  ^reat,  in  fact,  as  to  prevent  the  exercise  of 
their  Junctions.  The  offices  of  nature  were 
entirely  suspended,  except  under  the  influ- 
ence of  medicine.  The  patient  was  in  contin- 
ual pain  about  the  region  of  the  pleura,  and 
sleep  could  only  be  procured  by  large  doses  of 
morphine.  In  addition  to  this,  for  moie  than 
a  twelvemonth,  he  suffered  from  headache 
without  intermission.  In  this  state  he  had 
been  confined  for  nearly  two  years,  seldom 
leaving  his  room,  and  was  emaciated  to  the 
last  degree,  when  I  was  consulted.  The 
gentlemen  who  had  preceded  me,  and  who 
are  the  most  eminent  in  that  section  of  the 
ttmntry,  and  deservedly  so,  had  placed  him 


under  the  antiphlogistic  treatment; 
the  first  symptoms  were  those  of  pleurisyr 
and  in  consultation  with  them  they  recom- 
mended an  adherence  to  the  course  of  treat- 
ment prescribed  for  inflammatory  disease.-^ 
Notwithstanding  this,  however,  I  resolved  to 
attempt  the  magnetic  remedies  as  prescribed 
by  Dr.  H.  H.  Sherwood,  having  applied  them 
before  in  many  cases  with  the  most  satisfac- 
tory results  ;  under  this  treatment  ihe  patient 
soon  exhibited  signs  of  improvement,  and  has 
continued  to  mend  from  that  time  to  the  pres- 
ent. He  no  longer  suffers  from  pain,  his  ap- 
petite has  returned,  his  sleep  healthy  and  re- 
freshing, and  his  appearance  favorable  ;  and 
so  far  as  the  radical  cure  of  the  complication  of 
disease  described  is  concerned,  he  has  now 
entirely  recovered  his  health ;  he  is  able  to 
walk  about  his  farm,  eat  the  ordinary  food 
provided  in  a  farmer's  household,  and  can 
ride  a  number  of  miles  on  horseback  withoat 
fatigue.  The  magnetic  treatment  has  rescu- 
ed him  from  what  was  literally  a  '*  living 
death.*' 


AMZRICAM    MSDICAL    STUDENTS    AND  TRSOL 
HABITS. 

We  extract  the  following  very  gratifying 
observations  from  a  late  number  of  the  PhU' 
adelphia  Medical  Examiner : — 

**  Thfr  improvement  in  education  and  gene- 
ral character  of  the  medical  stndeuts  at  Uie 
colleges  in  Philadelphia  within  the  last  few 
years  is  the  comon  subject  of  remark  with 
all  who  have  had  the  opportunity  of  judgiag. 
There  are  at  .this  time  between  seven  and 
eight  hundred  of  these  young  gentlemen  in 
this  city,— connected  from  nearly  ail  parts  of 
the  continent  and  the  adjacent  islands,  sur- 
rounded by  the  temptations  of  a  large  city, 
and  without  the  restraining  presence  of  pft> 
rents  and  relations, — ^as  quietly  and  diligently 
engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  as  any 
grey^eaed  philosophers  that  ever  conere^ 
ted  together.  They  afford  an  example*  in- 
deed, to  the  younff  men  of  other  professions 
in  the  place,  which  it  would  be  profitable  for 
them  to  follow.  Among  othei  evidences  of 
their  self-denial  and  rigid  determination  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  of  temptation,  is  their 
voluntary  association  as  members  of  a  tem- 
perance society,  on  the  principle  of  total  ab- 
stinence. Early  in  the  session  of  last  year» 
such  a  society  was  formed  among  them,  and 
embraced  a  considerable  number ;  the  present 
winter  a  similar  movement  was  made  early 
in  the  session ;  two  public  meetings  have 
been  held,  at  which  nearly  all  the  studrats  in 
the  city  were  present,  and  a  very  laige  i 
her  signed  the  pledge." 


mw' 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machines. 


207 


ThmRotBrj  Magattlo  Machlnssy  andths  Dno- 
dTnamic  treatmsnt  of  Diieases. 


The  saTage  Rotary  l^Iagnetic  Machines  are 
of  different  sizes,  and  are  fitted  into  neat  ma- 
hogsDy  cases,  including  the  battery.    The 
case  of  the  first  size  is  ten  inches  long,  five 
wide,  and  three  deep.    The  second  size  is 
eight  inches  long,  four  wide,  and  three  deep. 
The  third  nze  is  seven  inches  long,  three  wide, 
and  two  and  a  half  deep.    The  fourth  size 
ia  six  inches  and  a  half  long,  three  wide,  and 
one  and  a  half  deep.    The  instruments  are 
aet  on  the  corers  in  magnetising,  as  seen  in 
the  fig;nre,  and  are  made  in  a  very  superior 
style;  are  jewelled  and  run  in  the  best  manner. 
A, case;  B,  the  cover;  C,  sheet    copper 
resael;  E,  sheet  copper,  the  lower  edge  of 
which  is  soldered  on  the  bottom  of  the  cop- 
per vessel  C;  D,  copper  piece  connected  with 
the  zinc  between  the  copper  surfaces,  contain- 
ing a  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper ;  F,  cyl- 
inder of  copper  wire ;  G,  magnet  and  arma- 
ture; e,  c,  conductors  to  the   armature;  c, 
negative,  and  a,  positive  button  for  magneti- 
sing. 

A  great  many  physicians,  as  well  as  many 
private  Aunilies,  have  been  testing  the  effects 
oi  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machines  during  the 
Jast  six  months,  and  so  far  as  we  can  learn, 
they  are  very  generally  well  satisfied  with 
the  results  they  have  obtained,  but  complain 
much  of  the  imperfection  of  the  old  instru- 
ments— of  the  bungling  manner  in  which 
they  have  been  made — of  their  liability  to 
get  out  of  order— of  the  difficulties  in  run- 
ning them,  and  of  the  necessity  of  frequent 
resort  to  the  aid  of  blacksmiths,  gunsmiths, 
leclcc. 


It  was  useless  to  talk  to  ihe  manufactur- 
ers of  these  machines  on  the  propriety  and 
importance  of  manufacturing  a  more  perfect 
instrument,  so  long  as  those  that  were  eoarae 
and  cheap  could  be  sold  at  a  great  profit. 
To  obviate  these  obje(?tlons,  we  were  at  last 
compelled  to  employ  a  jeweller  to  make  the 
machine  represented  in  the  engraving  at  the 
head  of  this  article,  under  our  direction,  as 
mentioned  in  our  last  number. 

These  machines  are  made  upon  a  new  and 
mathematical  arrangement  of  a  new  princi- 
ple in  Duody^iamics,  are  very  light,  neat  and 
portable,  and  will  last  a  life  time. 

It  has  been  the  great  object  of  those  who 
have  before  planned,  or  constructed  the  Rota- 
ry Magnetic  Machines,  to  make  them  in  a 
manner  to  obtain  the  greatest  or  most  severe 
shocks,  and  for  this  purpose,  laige  machines 
or  instruments  were  supposed  to  be  necessa- 
ry, and  those  ideas  were  very  natural,  espe- 
cially in  those  having  large  oigans  of  mar- 
vellousness.  They  proceeded  upon  the  er- 
roneous principle  *'  that  the  greater  the  ma- 
chine the  greater  the  power,*'  or  that  the 
power  increases  pari-passu  with  the  size  of 
the  machines,  whereas  the  reverse  of  this ' 
proposition  is  true ;  for  the  power  of  these 
instruments  increases  as  their  size  decreases 
— -other  things  being  eqi^al,  as  is  seen  on  a 
comparison  of  the  old  machines  with  the 
Savage  instruments.  The  motions  of  the 
forces  from  the  latter  are  continuous  and 
agreeable,  and  produce  the  most  violent  ac- 
tion of  the  muscles  and  of  the  poles  of  the 
organs,  without  the  severe  and  painful  shocks 
of  the  former,  which  are  more  or  less  injuri- 
ous, and  always  very  unpleasant  to  adults, 
and  are  borne  with  great  difficulty  by  chil- 
dren. 

There  are,  in  fact,  many  cases  in  which 
these  shocks  do  a  positive  injury,  like  the 
electrical  machines.  The  value  of  these 
machines  consequently  increases  as  the  shocks 
decrease,  or  as  the  motions  of  the  forces 
from  them  are  more  continuous,  other  things 
being  equal.  It  was  a  principal  object  in  the 
plan  upon  which  the  Savage  machines  are 
constructed  to  avoid  these  shocks,  as  much 
as  possible,  and  it  was  in  a  great  degree  sue* 


20^ 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machines. 


cesaf ul ,  but  not  perfectly  so.  We  have  how- 
erer  at  last  succeeded  ia  our  object,  by  having 
a  cross  or  four  or  more  arms  to  the  shaft  of 
the  armature  as  seen  in  the  figure,  with  a  cor- 
responding number  of  breaks  or  pole  chan- 
gers, and  adjusting  screws,  which  make  the 
motions  of  the  forces  continuous.  The  ar^ 
matures  and  pistons  axe  gilded,  the  battery  im- 
proved, and  their  pgwer  and  value  greatly  in- 
creased. 

The  price  of  these  improved  machines  is 
$20,  while  that  of  the  others  remain  the 
same  as  before,  or  $18  for  the  .largest  size, 
and  $15  for  the  2d  and  3d  size,  although 
they  are  improved  by  the  cross  and  adjusting 
"screws,  which  increase  the  power  of  these 
machines,  and  ro^ke  the  forces  more  continu- 
ous. 

The  figure  drawn  below  the  engraving  is 
intended  to  represent  the  direction  of  the  for- 
ces as  they  proceed  from  the  buttons  in  mag* 
netising-^a,  the  negative  button,  repels  and 
expands,  while  the  positive  button,  b,  attracts 
and  contracts.  Besides  the  negative  force 
exerts  an  alkaline,  and  the  positive  an  acid 
influence  upon  the  fluids  and  solids  of  the 
body,  and  hence  the  importance  of  a  scien- 
tific application  of  the  buttons  in  diseases  of 
the  diflerent  membranes,  or  of  the  serous  and 
mucous  surfaces. 

The  foim  of  the  buttons  for  magnetising, 
and  the  different  kinds  of  metals  of  which 
they  are  made,  is  a  matter  of  some  import- 
ance. Brass  cylinders  were  connected  with 
the  machine,  and  held  in  the  hands  to  show 
the  power  of  the  instrument,  before  we  ap- 
plied the  buttons  seen  in  the  figure.  It  was 
then  a  mere  toy,  but  is  now  an  important  and 
indispensable  instrument  in  the  treatment  of 
diseases.  Besides  these  buttons,  we  have 
found  other  forms  very  useful  in  magnetising 
the  eye,  and  in  some  cases  of  disease  of  the 
uterus,  urethra,  &c.,  and  these  are  now  for- 
warded with  the  machines. 

Effect!  of  the  Rotuy  Bffagnetlo  Machines. 

In  describing  the  effects  of  these  machines 

in  the  April  and  July  numbers  of  this  work, 

we  were  very  cautious  in  our  commendations 

of  Hub  new  mode  of  treating  diaeases,  aa  a 


sufiicieht  time  had  not  elapsed  since  we  ( 
menced  magnetising  with  these  InstrumentB 
to  obtain  a  full  and  unbiased  view  of  the 
subject.  We  had  many  doubtful  cases  under 
treatment,  the  result  of  which  could  not  then 
be  known.  Among  these  there  were  some 
of  the  worst  cases  of  distortion  of  the  spine, 
and  lumber  abscess  in  children,  of  from  one 
to  eight  vears  old,  we  have  ever  seen.  Some 
of  thei%  cases  were  complicated  with  disease 
of  the  sacrum,  hip  joint,  mesentery  or  lungs. 
Some  of  the  worst  cases  are  now  cured,  and 
all  the  others  are  so  far  advanced  in  the  cure, 
as  to  leave  little  doubt  of  their  entire  recoT- 
ery. 

The  great  number  of  lateral  corvatures  of 
the  spine,  and  the  extraordinary  efiects  of  the 
machines  in  these  cases,  continue  to  exdte 
the  greatest  interest.  The  cases  we  are  now 
magnetising  have  continued  from  one  to 
twenty-eight  years,  and  many  of  them  are  of 
the  worst  description,  yet  they  are  all  adTin- 
cing  to  an  erect  position.  In  some  of  these 
cases  the  extent  of  the  curvatures  has  been 
so  great  as  to  cause  a  displacement  ci  the 
heart,  lungs,  stomach,  spleen  and  intestioeB. 
The  heart  beats  in  the  right,  and  is  not  heaid 
in  the  left  side,  while  the  left  lung  occupies 
its  position.  The  stomach  and  spleen  are 
depressed,  and  crowded  into  the  left  or  right 
side,  and  displace  the  intestines,  but  as  the 
spine  becomes  more  erect,  they  gradually  re- 
sume their  natural  positions  These  are  cM 
cases  of  tubercular  disease  of  the  muscles, 
or  rheumatism^  in  which  white  swellings  are 
often  formed  under,  over  and  around,  the 
shoulder  blades,  on  the  hips — the  side  of  the 
lumber  vertebrae,  and  sometimes  on  the  lower 
extremity  of  the  spine. 

Young  females  who  have  rheumatism,  are 
always  in  danger  of  such  a  deplorable  result 
The  disease  is  easil}  distinguished ;  for  if  a 
person  has  rheumatism — no  matter  what  part 
of  the  body  or  limbs  is  affected  by  it— pres- 
sure with  the  fingers  upon  the  intervertcbial 
spaces  of  the  cervical  vertebrae  will  produce 
pain  more  or  less  severe,  in  proportion  to  fte 
intensity  of.  the  disease.  In  cases  of  rheu- 
matism, acute  or  chronic,  affecting  the  bead, 
laoe  or  limbs,  the  machine  if,  and  will  ooA- 


r. 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machines. 


209 


tmue  to  be,  invaluable.  Nearly  all  the  cases 
of  dizziness  in  the  aged,  are  cases  of  rheu- 
matism,  and  are  the  premonitory  symptoms 
of  palsy  or  apoplexy,  which  may  be  easily 
reduced,  and  their  lives  prolonged  by  the  use 
oi  this  instrument  Rheumatism  may,  and 
does  attack,  one  or  both  hemispheres  of  the 
brain,  as  it  does  a  finger,  hand  or  ann,  and 
may  paralyze  them  in  the  same  manner,  or 
the  spasms  from- this  cause  may  be  so  strong 
as  to  rapture  the  blood  vessels  of  the  brain, 
as  they  frequently  do;  when  the  blood  flows 
into  the  sinuses,  and  ventricles,  or  forms  de- 
posits in  its  substance,  as  every  physician 
knows,  who  distinguishes  diseases  by  the, 
BiagDed'c  symptoms. 

In  all  the  cases  of  disease  of  the  oigans 
the  machine  is  of  gieat  service,  and  in  some 
cases  it  is  indispensable  to  a  successful  tieat- 
ment,  among  which  are  some  cases  of  amen- 
onbea,  chlorosis,  leucorrhcea,  and  prolapsus 
uteri,  &c. 

We  have  used  the  instrument  in  one  severe 
case  of  hHioua  fever  with  great  success.  It 
nduced  the  pain  in  the  head,  stomach,  liver, 
and  back,  with  the*  paroxysms  oi  fever,  in 
the  most  prompt  m^ner.  In  examining  this 
case,  severe  pain  was  produced  by  pressure  on 
the  sub-occipital  nerves  connected  with  the 
brain,  and  pressure  on  the  ganglions  of  the 
^inal  nerves,  in  the  intervertebral  spaces 
connected  with  the  stomach,  liver,  secum,  and 
amnll  intestines,  prbduced  the  same  effect, 
showing  it  to  be  a  case  of  acute  tubercula  of 
the  serous  surfaces  of  these  oigans,  instead 
of  a  case  of  gastro-enterete,  or  acute  disease 
of  the  mucous  surfaces  of  these  organs. — 
These  magnetic  and  invariable  83anptoms 
which  point  to  the  disease,  like  the  needle  to 
die  pole,  are  always  present  in  bilious,  re- 
mittent, congestive,  yellow,  and  nervi/y^  fe- 
▼ei8.  We  have  always  found  them  in  every 
case  we  have  seen  from  the  great  lakes,  to 
tiie  fialize  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  we 
have  published  and  circulated  more  than  20,- 
000  copies  of  diierent  medical  works,  in 
which  these  symptoms  are  delineated ;  yet 
the  Professors  of  Astrology  in  our  Medical 
Colleges  call  these  fevers,  cases  of  disease  of 
thehnicouASUifacesof  the  stomach  and  in- 


testines, from  the  aspects  of  the  tongue  and 
urine,  and  the  color  and  odor  of  the  stools^ 
as  in  other  cases  of  disease,  and  continue  to 
teach  such  nonsense  to  the  students  of  medi- 
cine. They  have  even  had  the  address  to 
induce  grave  legislatore  (tell  it  not  in  Gotham) 
to  pass  laws  to  prevent  any  person  from 
practising  physic  until  his  head  was  full  of 
such  absurdities,  as  seen  by  their  sign  manu- 
al. 

In  two  cases  of  paralysis,  in  consequence 
of  prostrated  fever;  one  of  the  entire  left 
arm  and  hand,  and  the  other  of  the  extensor 
muscles  of  the  left  leg ;  the  machine  has  had 
the  happiest  efibct 

The  first  was  a  case  of  a  little  girl  aged 
eight  years.  She  had  bilious  fever  when  she 
was  four  years  old,  during  which  time  the 
left  arm  was  observed  to  be  paralysed ;  since 
which  time  it  hung  by  her  side  like  a  lag 
without  the  least  power  in  the  muscles  of 
her  arm,  hand  or  shoulder. 

On  the  first  application  of  the  buttons  to 
the  hand  and  shoulder ;  about  two  months 
since  she  raised  her  elbow  two  or  three  inches, 
and  she  can  now  flourish  a  cane  with  the 
same  hand. 

The  second  case  was  that  of  a  3roung 
gentleman  aged  20  years.  He  had  bilious 
and  then  typhus  fever,  more  than  a  year 
since,  and  when  banning  to  recover,  found 
he  was  unable  to  raise  the  left  leg.  Various 
remedies  were  resorted  to  including  the  spring 
and  bandage,  without  the  least  effect.  We 
commenced  magnetising  the  leg  about  ten 
weeks  since  under  the  full  power  of  the 
machine,  which  he  bore  every  day  without 
^he  least  uneasiness,  or  any  appfient  effect 
during  three  weeks.  He  however  soon  be- 
gan to  raise  his  toes,  and  then  his  foot,  and 
next  his  leg,  and  in  about  eight  weeks  from 
Ihe  time  we  firstcommenced  magnetising  him 
he  began  to  walk  without  his  cane. 

A  recent  but  bad  case  of  paralysis,  of  the 
right  arm,  of  a  mechanic  aged  28  years  was 
cured  with  the  action  of  the  machine  in  a- 
bout  two  weeks.  We  have  al'o  apparently 
cured  in  the  same  way,  four  cases  of  recent 
and  partial  paralysis  of  one  side  of  the  face, 
in  one  of  which  there  was  slight  paralysis  of 
the  light  arm  and  leg. 


210 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machines. 


These  cases  of  paralysis  were  not  com- 
plicated with  disease  of  the  organs,  and  re- 
quired no  medicine.  We  have  also  had 
three  or  four  cases  of  paralysis  of  the  mus- 
cles about  the  ankles,  approaching  what  is 
called  club  feet  that  required  no  medicine, 
but  nearly  all  of  the  other  cases  we  have 
had  since  we  commenced  ma^etising  with 
the  machine  have  required  medicine. 

We  have  tried  faithfully  to  cure  chronic 
diseases  of  the  organs  with  the  machine  a- 
lone,  but  have  failed  in  every  case  of  any 
importance,  and  were  at  last  compelled  to 
resort  to  the  aid  of  medicines  applicable  to 
the  cases,  when  the  disease  has  given  way; 
and  such  patients  have  recovered  their 
healths  much  sooner  than  they  have  before 
when  under  the  influence  of  medicine  alone, 

Besides  many  recover  when  in  the  last 
stage  of  the  disease,  who  could  not  do  so 
under  the  influence  of  medicine  alone. 

We  have  also  observed  the  daily  efiects  of 
the  machine  alone,  on  tubercular  and  mu- 
ecus  disease  of  the  throat  and  eyes,  and  al- 
so its  combined  action  with  medicine  in  these 
cases  where  we  could  see,  as  well  as  hear, 
of  the  daily  and  weekly  progress  of  the 
cure,  so  as  to  be  able  to  form  a  more  correct 
prognosis  of  the  progress  of  the  cure  in  the 
lungs  or  other  organs,  and  the  results  have 
been  so  palpable  as  to  leave  no  doubt  of  the 
great  importance  of  combining  the  action  of 
tiie  machine,  with  other  remedies  in  diseases 
of  the  brain,  throat,  heart,  lungs,  stomach, 
intestines,  liver,  kidneys  and  utenus,  as  well 
as  diseases  of  the  spine,  muscles  and  joints 
of  the  limbs. 

On  a  comparison  of  the  eflects  of  the  ma- 
chine in  a  great  number  and  variety  of  cases, 
it  appears  that  its  extraordinary  eflects  must  be 
imputed  mostly  to  its  power  of  restoring  lost 
motion,  by  its  action  upon  the  magnetic  or- 
ganization of  the  system. 

In  acute  or  inflammatory  diseases  the  mo- 
tion of  the  forces  along  the  membranes  or 
substance  of  an  organ,  are  obstructed  at 
8om€. point,  when  the  motions  of  the  fluids 
in  the  blood  vessels,  are  instantly  impeded 
and  accumidate  around  that  point  and  distend 
Itt    The  foroM  £rom  the  machine  if  soon  ap^ 


plied,  re-establish  the  motions  of  the  forces  in 
the  membrane  or  substance,  and  consequent- 
ly the  motions  of  the  accumulated  fluids, 
and  health  is  re-established  in  the  most  prompt 
manner. 

In  chronic  diseases,  the  phenomena  pre- 
sented to  us  aie  very  difierent.  The  motions 
of  the  forces  along  the  minute  lymphatic  aod 
absorbent  vessels  of  the  serous  surfaces  be- 
come obstructed,  when  the  motions  of  the 
fluids  in  these  vessels  are  impeded,  and  ac- 
cumulate in  them  and  in  the  lymphatic  or  se- 
creting glands  and  distend  them,  or  the  fol- 
licles or  excreting  glands  of  the  mucous  sur- 
faces are  distended  in  the  same  manner.^ 
The  strength  of  the  magnetic  organization  of 
the  glandular  system  of  these  different  sur- 
faces of  an  organ,  limb,  or  other  stnictuie  is 
consequently  increased  ;  while  that  of  the 
general  organization  of  the  system  is  decrea- 
sed in  the  same  proportion;  for  the  strength 
of  the  body  or  of  a  limb,  depends  entirely 
upon  the  strength  of  their  magnetic  oigani- 
zation  ;  the  muscles  being  the  mere  puilieB 
and  ropes  by  which  it  moves  the  body,  head, 
eyes,  or  limbs. 

Besides,  acute  diseases  finnounce  their  ad- 
vent, as  thunder  does  a  storm,  while  chrooic 
diseases  advance  stealthily  and  slowly,  and 
rarely  excite  the  attention  of  their  victims- 
guardians,  or  their  attendant  professors  d 
Astrology,  until  these  tuberculations  in  one 
case,  and  v^tations  in  the  other,  has  gain- 
ed great  advantages  in  age  and  strength,  and 
it  must  consequently,  and  does  require  a  mach 
longer  time  to  reduce  and  restore  lost  motion 
in  these  regular  organizations,  than  thai  ol 
mere  accumulations  of  fluids,  as  in  the  caae 
of  acute  diseases. 

If,  however,  we  commence  magnetising  in 
the  first  stage  of  chronic  diseases,  they  are 
reduced  very  fast  as  in  the  cases  of  taberea- 
lar  disease  of  the  throat  and  lun^n,  and  then 
is  no  reason  why  physicians  should  not 
do  so  as  there  is  now  no  difficulty  in  distin- 
guishing chronic  diseases  with  facility  and 
certainty  in  the  first  as  well  aa  the  last  st^ge. 
Besides  restoring  lost  motion  the  Satage 
Rotary  Magnetic  Machines  (at  least)  opens 
die  pores  of  the  skin,  and  iacieases  i» 


Observations  in  Midwifery i 


Sll 


strength,  and  these  effects  of  these  instru- 
ments are  very  constant,  and  unifonnly  no- 
ticed by  these  patients. 

In  nearly  all  the  cases  we  have  ma^eti- 
sed  including  the  case  of  fever,  we  have  found 
it  necessary  to  use  medicine  of  some  kind, 
or  that  indicated  by  the  disease,  and  such  pa- 
tients have  not  only  recovered  much  faster 
than  they  usually  do  under  the  old  treatment 
but  a  great  many  entirely  recover  their  health 
in  cases  in  which  the  common  alopathic  and 
homceopathic  remedies  and  a  great  variety  of 
qnack  medicines  have  entirely  failed. 


The  following  is  a  postcript  in  a  letter  from 
Dr.  L.  D.  Fleming,  of  Newark,  N.  J. 

"July  4, 1844. 

*«  I    commenced    treating   Mr.  S ,  0| 

New  Vernon,  for  a  tumor,  or  enlarged  lym- 
phaidc  gland,  on  the  right  side  of  the  neck, 
of  the  size  of  a  walnut,  which  had  continued 
there  9  or  10  years.  I  Magnetised  it  with 
the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine  6  or  8  times  in 
as  many  weeks,  when  it  suppurated,  and  by 
the  Igtoi  September  the  cure  was  complete. 
The  efiect  of  the  instrument  was  the  same 
upon  a  similar  tumor  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
stemnm  of  30  years  standing.^ 


Tbe  Ovrabillty  of  Cerebral  and  Spinal 
Softenings. 
.Thon^  numerous  observations  have  fully 
dmonstrated  the  postiibility  of  this  occur- 
rence. Dr.  Bennett  considers  that  the  anato- 
mical marks  or  appearances,  by  means  of 
which  pathologists  have  endeavoured  to  de- 
monstrate the  &ct,  are  very  fallacious.  The 
alight  induntions  occasionally  met  with  in 
the  nervous  substance  are  spoken  of  by  some 
aathors  as  cicatrices — a  term  he  thinks  whol- 
ly inappiicable  to  them.  Durand-Fardel  al- 
ludes to  the  softening  resembiinf  chalky  milk, 
as  a  proof  of  the  passage  of  the  lesion  into 
a  slate  oi  cure,  and  Dr.  Sims  speaks  of  the 
fawn-colored  cavities  as  evincing  the  same 
fict  In  one  case  of  hemiplegia  of  long 
slaading,  in  which  the  chalky  milk-softening 
was  found,  the  granules  of  the  exudation- 
corpnscles  were  seen  to  be  large,  equal  in 
size,  and  very  transparent,  in  fact  presenting 
a  very  onusual  appearance ;  it  is  not  improb- 
able, tiieiefore,  that  the  granules  were  un- 
dogoing  abeontion;  and  consequently  that 
the  opsDiiJB  oi  Doiand-Fardel  may  be  correct. 
Oo  the  other  hand,  the  appearances  described 


by  Dr.  Sims  were  met  with  in  one  case,  but 
here,  on  the  application  of  the  microscope, 
numerous  exudation-corpuscles  and  granu- 
les were  met  with,  precisely  similar  to  those 
seen  in  parts  undoubtedly  affected  with  acute 
mflammation.  Intense  rigidity  of  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  body  also  existed,  without 
any  other  lesion  than  this  which  could  at  all 
account  for  it.  Dr.  Bennett's  opinion  there- 
fore is,  that  the  fawn-colored  spots  describ- 
ed by  Dr.  Sims  are  no  evidence  of  the  cure 
of  inflammatory  softening. — JHfedico-Chtrur- 
gical  Review. 

OBSERVATIONS  IN  MIDWIFBRT. 
1    BT  TTLER  SMITH,  M.  D. 

TTie  Spinal  Uterine  Actions  excited  through 
the  medium  of  the  Stomach. 

Uterine  action  may  be  excited  in  three  dif- 
ferent modes : — 

I.  By  the  direct  action  of  the  vis  nervosa 
from  the  central  oigan,  the  spinal  marrow,  in 
the  direction  of  the  motor  nerves  distributed 
to  the  uterus. 

II.  By  the  immediate  action  of  the  uterus 
itself,  in  virtue  of  its  own  irritability,  on  the 
application  of  an  appropriate  stimulus. 

III.  By  the  reflex  action  of  the  vis  nervo- 
sa, along  incident  nerves,  proceeding  te  the 
central  organ,  and  from  thence  reflected  by 
motor  nerves  to  the  uterus. 

It  is  to  one  vaiiety  of  the  latter  kind  pf  ac- 
tion which  ha.s  not  hitherto  been  noticed  as 
such,  that  I  am  desirous  of  drawing  attention, 
namely,  the  uterine  action  excited  through  the 
medium  of  the  pneumogastric  nerve  in  the 
stomach. 

1  have  looked  in  vain  in  the  therapeutic 
treatises  of  Drs.  Paris,  Christison,  Pereira,  and 
A.  T.  Thompson,  for  any  reference  to  a  mo- 
tor action  of  the  utenis,  dependent  on  the  ap- 
plication of  a  stimulus  to  the  stomach.  They 
make  the  common  remark  that  emetics  should 
not  be  given  in  the  latter  months  of  pregnan- 
cy, but  the  rationale  of  this  contra-indication 
has  been,  that  the  straining  of  the  abdominal 
muscles,  and  the  concussion  would  prove  in- 
jurious It  has  also  been  the  general  belmf 
that  stimulants  excite  contractions  of  the  ute- 
rus, but  this  has  been  explained  by  their  sim- 
ple exciting  effects  on  the  svstem  generally. 
Another  fact  observed,  namely,  that  sickness 
or  nausea  favors  the  dilatation  of  the  uterus, 
has  been  thought  to  depend  on  the  general 
effects  of  nauseants,  and  not  on  a  particular 
action  on  the  uterus. 

In  fact,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  idea  of  a 
spinal  action /roiTi  the  stomach  to  the  uterus, 
or  even  a  sympathy  actmg  m  this  direction, 
has  completely  eluded  the  v^riters  on  materia 


212 


Observations  in  Midwifery. 


medica.  The  converse  of  this,  the  action  of 
the  uterus  on  the  stomach  has  been  well  un- 
derstood, and  the  knowledge  of  reflex  motor 
action  supplies  the  true  explanation.  Frac- 
ti<»l  accoucheurs,  have,  however,  reporded 
numerous  facts,  showing  that  excitation  of 
the  gastric  nerves  is  usually  followed  by  ute- 
rine contraction,  but  non^  of  them  have  at- 
tempted to  account  for  such  facts  on  the  prin- 
ciples of  reflex  motor  action. 

Among  the  proverbial  philosophy  of  the 
lying-in-room,  nothing  is  more  popular  or 
more  true  than  that  "  sick  labors  are  al- 
ways safe."  I  believe  the  explanation  of  this 
to  be  found  in  the  circumstance  that  irritation 
of  the  stomach  promotes  the  actions  of  the 
utenis,  increasing  both  its  contractions  and 
the  dilatation  of  its  mouth,  in  the  first  place 
I  proceed  to  consider  briefly  the  evidence  of 
the  former  kind  of  action. 

Uterine  Contractions  excited  through  the  Me- 
dium of  the  Stomach. 

Dr.  Rigby  observes  that  «*  a  sudden  drink 
of  cold  fluid  will  generally  excite  contractions 
of  the  uterus,  owing  to  the  close  sympathy 
irfaich  exists  between  it  and  the  stomach." 

Heat,  as  well  as  cold,  is  a  powerful  excitor 
of  reflex  motor  action.  It  was  the  old  prac- 
tice, and  is  still  the  rule  with  nurses  and  oth- 
ers, to  give  patients  warm  drinks  from  time 
to  time  during  labor,  with  a  view  to  strength- 
en the  pains. 

Much  discussion  has  been  raised  about  the 
pro^r  mode  of  exhibiting  the  ergot  of  rye, 
but  it  is  singular  that  almost  all  accoucheurs 
consider  the  warm  or  cold  infusion  to  be  most 
efficacious.  Is  not  this  because  either  the 
warm  or  cold  liquid  tends  to  excite  the  uterus, 
and  in  this  manner  adds  to  the  power  of  the 
eigot?  Without  doubting  the  specific  action 
of  the  ergot,  I  may  adduce,  in  favor  of  this 
opinion,  a  remark  made  by  Mr.  Headland,  at 
a  recent  meeting  of  the  London  Medical  So- 
dety,  to  the  eflect  that  he  knew  a  gentleman 
who  had  kept  a  table  of  the  relative  effects 
of  the  eiigot,  and  warm  brandy  and  water, 
and  had  found  them  nearly  equal  in  power. 
It  is  also  well  known  that  taking  warm  flu- 
ids into  the  stomach  immediately  excites  after- 
pains  when  delivery  has  taken  place. 

Spontaneous  sickness  sometimes  occurs  in 
uterine  haemorrhage,  and  excites  uterine  con- 
tractions. With  reference  to  this  pomt.  T 
quote  the  following  interesting  passage  from 
fienman : — 

When  patients  have  suffered  much  from 
loss  of  blood,  they  will  often  have  a  sndden 
and  violent  fit  of  vomiting ;  and  sometimes, 
under  circumstances  of  such  extreme  debility , 
that  I  have  ehrunk  with  apprehension  lest 


they  should  have  been  destroyed  by  a  letum 
or  increase  of  the  haemorrhage,  which  1  con- 
cluded would  be  an  inevitable  consequence 
of  so  violent  an  effort.  But  there  is  no  rea- 
son for  this  apprehension ;  for  although  the 
vomiting  mav  be  considered  as  a  proof  of 
the  injury  which  the  constitution  ha^*  sufifer- 
ed  by  the  haemorrhage,  yet  the  action  of  vom- 
iting contributes  to  its  suppression,  and  to  the 
immediate  relief  of  the  patient ;  perhaps  hj 
some  revulsion,  and  certainly  by  exciting  a 
more  vigorous  action  of  the  remaining  pow- 
ers-of  the  constitution,  as  is  proved  oy  the 
amendment  of  the  pulse,  and  of  all  other  ap- 
pearances, immediately  after  vomiting,  which 
I  have  therefore  in  some  cases  attempted  hy 
gentle  means  to  promote." 

Though  the  true  modus  operandi  of  vomit- 
ing is  not  given  in  this  passage,  it  is  clear 
from  the  context  the  writer  was  aware  of  its 
causing  uterine  contraction,  for  he  remarks 
that  "during  faintness  the  advantage  an'sing 
from  contraction  of  the  uterus  is  obtained ; 
for  this  acts,  or  make?  its  efforts  to  act,  in 
sleep,  during  faintness,  and  sometimes  even 
after  death."  He  adds  that  the  nausea  pro- 
duced by  medicines  "  has  by  no  forced  coa- 
struction  been  considered  an  artificial  imita- 
tion of  faintness,  and  found  serviceable,  and 
medicines  have  been  riven  expressly  for  this 
purpose"  in  cases  of  haemorrhage. 

Incases  of  abortion  from  excessive  vomit- 
ing in  the  last  months  of  pregnancy,  I  be- 
lieve the  accident  is  caused  by  the  uterine 
contractions  it  excites,  and  not  by  the  concus- 
sion of  the  system,  or  the  spasmodic  action 
of  the  abdominal  and  other  muscles  as  gene- 
rally supposed. 

Dilatation  of  the  Os  Uteri  through  the  Medi- 
um of  the  Stomach. 


The  belief  in  the  power  of  nausea  on 
iting  to  relax  the  uterus  in  common  with  oth- 
er parts  of  the  body,  is  of  very  ancient  datr. 
Dr.  Ramsbotham,  however,  appears  to  have 
been  the  first  to  recognize  a  practice  founded 
on  this  idea.  This  physician  observes,  «•  Un- 
der a  state  of  preternatural  rigidity  of  the  os 
uteri,  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  with- 
out any  cause,  and  independent  of  any  means 
being  used,  sudden  relaxation  takes  place  and 
from  that  time  the  labor  progresses  with 
much  greater  rapidity.  This  favorable  alter- 
ation in  the  condition  of  the  oigan  is  general- 
ly accompanied  by  sickness,  and  I  always 
hail  an  attack  of  vomiting  under  such  circom- 
stances,  provided  there  oe  no  symptoms  of 
exhaustion  present,  as  the  harbinger  of  a  for- 
tunate change.  I  have  stated  above  that 
emetics  have  been  recommended  for  the  par- 
pose  of  facilitating  the  dilatation  of  the  nte- 


ObservdUians  in  BUdwifery. 


213 


line  mouth,  under  the  erroneous  idea  that 
the  vomiting  was  the  cause  of  the  softening 
obiierved ;  hut  that  artihcial  vomiting  induced 
'with  this  view  had  disappointed  the  expecta- 
tion of  its  advocates.    Antimony,  neverthe- 
less, taken  in  doses  sufficient  to  keep  up  a 
leeimg  of  nausea,  has  been  exhibited  in  these 
cases  with  marked  advantage."    In  another 
passage  Dr.  Ramsbotham  repeats  that  nause- 
ating doses  of  emetic  tartar  are  of  service  in 
dilating  the  os  uteri.    I  agree  with  his  con- 
clusion, but  not  with  the  mode  in  which  it  is 
arrived  at    The  action  of  the  uterus  on  the 
stomach  is  recognized  by  him,  but  not  the  re- 
ciprocal action  of  the  stomach  on  the  uterus. 
Hence    the  contradiction    involved    in    Dr. 
Bamsbotham's  view  of  the  subject    He  con- 
siders the  idea  that  vomiting  causes  dilatation 
to  be  erroneous,  and  yet  admits  that  nausea 
is  ol  marked  benelit  in  dilating  the  os  uteri. 
IT  nausea  have  the  power  of  diJating  the  os 
ateri,  then  emetic  substances  must  ^er  conae' 
auence  be  a  cause  of  uteiine  dilatation.    The 
difficulty  is  solved  if  we  recognize  in  the  ac- 
tion of  the  two  organs  what  Sir  C.  Mans- 
field Clark  called  a  double  sympathy,  in  oth- 
er words,  a  double  reflex  action ;  in  fact,  if 
we  believe  that  irritattion  of  the  uterus  excites 
nausea  and  vomiting,  and  that  these,  in  turn 
excite  the  action  of  the  uterus  through  the 
medium  of  the  spinal  marrow. 

Other  physicians  besides  Dr.  Ramsbotham 
have  testified  to  the  effect  of  emetic  tartar  in 
diJating  the'os  uteri.  We  may  illustrate  its 
action  on  this  part  by  referring  to  the  more 
extensive  effects  of  nausea  and  vomiting  on 
the  system. 

Emetics  have  been  commonly  looked  on  as 
relaxing  all  the  soft  tissues,  and  in  this  gen- 
end  relaxation  the  active  dilatation  of  a  reflex 
Idnd  which  they  cause  in  different  parts  of 
&e  body  has  been  completely  merged.  I  be- 
lieve that  nausea  dilates  the  os  uteri  under 
the  influence  of  reflex  action,  but  I  further 
believe  that  a  more  extended  view  than  this 
may  be  taken  of  the  action  of  vomiting,  and 
that  we  may  look  upon  it  as  the  means  of 
dilating  all  the  contractile  oriflces  and  canals 
of  the  body  in  cases  where  dilatation  is  re- 
quired. In  all  irritations  of  mucous  ducts 
and  canals,  either  nausea  or  vomiting  is  ex- 
cited»  and  accompanies  the  attempt  to  eject 
the  cause  of  irritation  ;  or,  more  properly, 
we  may  term  it  a  provision  for  effecting  their 
expulsion.  In  this  sense  the  power  of  vom- 
iting to  dilate  the  sphincters,  or  contractile  pas- 
sa^s,  assumes  the  utmost  importance ;  its 
object  being  to  remove  all  obstructions  horn 
the  mucous  surfaces.    It  dilates  the  OBSopha- 


Eustachian  tubes,  the  ureters,  the  urethra, 
the  cerrix  vesicae,  the  sphincter  ani,  probably 
also  the  bronchial  tubes,  and,  as  I  believe  the 
OS  uteri  and  vagina  during  labor.  All  this  is 
not  evident  in  ordinary  vomiting,  because 
some  of  the  parts  are  closed  by  voluntary  ef- 
fort; but  in  excessive  sickness,  or  where  vo- 
lition is  suspended,  as  in  the  combination  of 
vomiting  with  syncope,  such  an  extended  ac- 
tion of  the  spinal  system  occurs.  In  vomit- 
ing the  cardia  and  oesophagus  are  always  di- 
lated, and  I  believe  that  m  cases  where  there 
is  no  preternatural  rigidity,  the  os  uteri  is  di- 
lated by  vomiting  in  parturition.  It  is  also 
certain  that  in  severe  vomiting,  and  in  the 
vomiting  of  children,  the  faeces  and  urine  are 
sometimes  expelled.  It  is  likewise  known 
that  obstructions  of  the  Eustachian  tubes, 
and  biliary  and  renal  calculi,  are  often  dislod- 
ged during  a  fit  of  vomiting.  This  has  been 
referred  to  concussion,  but  it  would  be  more 
physiolq^cal  to  attribute  it,  in  great  measure, 
to  a  positive  dilatation  of  these  canals. 

Diaphoresis  is  a  very  constant  attendant  on 
vomiting,  and  I  know  that  Dr.  Marshal]  Hall 
believes  every  perspiratory  pore  to  be  endow- 
ed with  its  sphincter,  which  is  relaxed  and 
contracted  to  difbrent  causes.  According  to 
his  view  the  sweating  of  sickness,  or  from 
drinking  warm  fluids,  would  depend  on  the 
dilatation,  by  reflex  action  of  the  innumera- 
ble sphincters  of  the  cutaneous  surface ;  and 
the  cutis  anserijia  in  the  cold  stage  of  ague, 
or  on  the  application  of  cold,  wotud  be  owing 
to  their  contraction. 

'But  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  in  pursuing 
this  train  of  reasoning  I  would  deny  that 
simple  relaxation  is  really  caused  by  vomiting 
and  nausea.  We  know  that  a  strangulated 
hernial  tumor  is  sometimes  reduced  during 
the  continuance  of  nausea,  which  it  was  pre- 
viously impossible  to  reduce ;  and  we  know 
that  volition  is  impaired,  and  the  power  of 
the  voluntary  muscles  enfeebled  by  nausea ; 
but  we  are  also  aware  that  while  the  volun- 
tary muscles  are  thus  affected,  those  concern- 
ed in  vomiting  under  the  influence  of  spinal 
action,  are  powerfully  contracted.  On  ihe 
other  hand,  while  the  soft  tissues  and  the 
voluntary  muscles  are  relaxed,  the  sphincters, 
and  muscular  canals  are  in  a  state  of  positive 
dilatation  as  long  as  vomiting  or  nausea  con- 
tinues. 

We  are  bound  to  acknowledge  the  distinc- 
tion between  relaxation  of  the  muscles  under 
the  influence  of  the  cerebrum  and  the  con- 
traction of  those  under  the  control  of  the 
spinal  fnarrof0  during  vomiting.  We  must 
likewise  recognize  the  diflerence  between  pas- 


gus.  the  cardia,  the  lips,*  the  gall-ducts,  the  „^  relaxation  of  the  soft  tissues  geneiiUy, 

^[^^^i^J^T^S^^  sphincter. 

:\j  »  nflsz  act  M  its  eiotim  in  moidnff.       >  under  spimu  mflueDce.    Without  admitting 


214 


CampliccUed  Ovarian  Disease. 


such  distinctions  it  is  difficult  to  understand 
the  effects  of  gastric  irritation  on  the  uterus 
in  producing  at  the  same  time  contraUion  and 
dilatation. 

There  is  another  subject  related  to  the  pre- 
sent which  I  propose  to  consider  on  a  future 
occasion.  I  mean  the  vascular  and  sensory 
connection  between  the  stomach  and  the  ute- 
res, particularly  in  the  direction  from  the 
stomach  to  tbe  uterus.  This  will  embrace 
the  effects  of  nauseants  and  other  gastric  ex- 
citants in  increasing  and  producing  the  cata- 
menia ;  the  action  of  emetics  in  puerperal 
fever;  the  power  of  dyspepsia  as  a  cause  of 
dysmenorrhoea,  amenorrhoea,  chlorosis,  steril- 
ity, abortion,  and  other  important  points  of  a 
jHsctical  nature. 

Bolton  street,  June  7, 1844. 

The  subject  of  the  above  article  will  be 
better  understood  by  a  reference  to  the  dia- 
gram of  the  magnetic  oiganization  of  the 
human  system  in  the  last  or  July  number  of 
this  Journal,  as  traced  by  the  Rotary  Mag- 
netic Machine,  in  which  it  will  be  seen  a 
magnetic  axis  exists  between  the  cerebellum, 
the  organ  of  motion,  and  the  uterus,  and  the 
stomach  and  uterus,  or  a  direct  magnetic  con- 
nection between  them,  without  any  regard  to 
the  spinal  nerves.  There  is  also  a  direct  con- 
nection between  antagonist  muscles,  by  means 
of  magnetic  axes,  and  all  these  axes  are  so 
connected  as  to  concentrate  their  power  up- 
on the  uterus.  There  is  no  other  way  by 
which  such  a  tremendous  power,  as  is  seen 
in  many  cases,  can  be  made  to  bear  upon  the 
uterus. 


0uM9  of  Oomplioated  Orarian  DUeata. 
^      Bj  ChulM  Hogg,  Esq.,  M..R.  0. 8.,  Lon. 

Jane  Rickets,  aged  65,  Brick  Lane,  Old- 
■trect-road,  consulted  me  on  the  8th  of  March, 
1841.  She  then  complained  of  obtuse  pain 
over  the  whole  right  hypochondriac  region, 
extending  to  the  scapula  of  the  same  side ; 
pulse  feeble ;  tongue  coated  with  a  brownish 
for;  appetite  bad;  acidity,  with  flatulence 
and  constipation ;  difficulty  of  breathing  on 
exertion,  but  no  ftxed  pain  in  the  chest,  ex- 
cept in  the  intisr  scapular  region  already  allu- 
ded to ;  complexion  sallow,  and  the  general 
health  much  inpaired  ;  considerable  morbid 
senafaility.    On  examination  the  liver  feit 


hard  and  considerably  enlarged,  painful  on 
pressure.  In  the  abdominal  region  there  was 
considerable  enlargement,  and  fluctuation 
was  distinctly  perceptible.  The  urine  was 
scanty,  pale,  but  sometimes  turbid,  and  depos- 
ting  a  sediment ;  a  very  trifling  quantity  of 
albumen  was  discoverable  by  the  ordinary 
tests  during  the  whole  course  of  the  disease. 
Her  general  health,  for  several  years  back, 
had  been  indifferent;  she  was  considered  tem- 
perate in  her  habits.  Large  doses  of  extract 
of  taraxacum,  with  sulphate  of  magnesia  and 
tincture  of  rhubarb,  occasionally  three  grains 
of  blue-pill,  with  five  of  compound  extract  of 
cblocynth,  apparently  restored  the  liver  to  a 
healthy  state.  She  also  took  a  vapour-bath 
twice  a  week.  The  digestive  organs  regained 
their  former  vigour;  with  this  her  usual 
strength ;  both  the  skin  and  kidneys  performed 
their  functions  healthily. 

Iodine,  in  its  various  preparations,  was  em- 
ployed, also  diuretics,  hydragogue  cathartiis 
&c ;  but  notwithstanding  every  effort  the  wa- 
ter accumulated,  and  I  was  compelled  to  have 
recourse  to  tapping  on  the  21st  of  April  of  the 
same  year  On  pioceeding  to  the  operatioD 
I  found  to  my  surprise,  as  well  as  that  of 
my  fnend,  Mr.  Sparke,  who  saw  the  case  two 
or  three  times,  a  hernia  about  the  size  of  a 
full-grown  child's  head,  protruding  an  inch 
below  the  umbilicus.  It  was  easily  reduci- 
ble after  bandaging  and  twenty-five  quarts  of 
fluid  were  drawn  of.  The  consistence  of 
this  fluid  was  about  that  of  olive  oil,  horribly 
offensive,  and  of  a  greenish  yellow  color. 

I  now  diocovered  the  existence  of  what 
the  general  swelling  had  prevented  me  from 
ascertaining  earlier,  viz ;  a  lobulated  tumoor 
extending  beyond  the  pelvic  into  the  abdomi- 
nal region  ;  measuring,  as  nearly  as  I  could 
estimate,  ten  inches  in  length  by  five  or  9^ 
in  breadth.  It  was  extremely  tender  on  pres- 
sure, and  even  on  touch,  although  no  pain 
was  complained  of  on  repose. 

Moderate  antiphlogistic  treatment  was  had 
recourse  to,  and  the  vapor  bath  continued. 
The  recovery  was  rapid,  and  as  she  becane 
apparentiy  in  excellent  health  and  spiritSs  I 
had  begun  to  hope  that  permanent  good  hud 
been  done.  On  the  2nd  of  August,  1841, 
she  again  requested  my  attendance  ;  the  ab- 
dominal enlargement  was  as^reat  as  before. 
Twenty-five  quarts  were  again  removed,  the 
fluid  was  less  offensive  in  smell,  consistence, 
and  colour  than  before.  The  former  treat- 
ment was  resumed,  with  the  same  effect,  that 
is,  the  general  health  alone  was  benefitted ; 
the  fluid  now  secreted  more  rapidly,  whi^ 
obliged  me  to  remove  it  every  fourth  or  fi'm 
week,  until  the  number  of  operations  *• 
mounted  to  twenty  nine,  thus  making  alto- 
gether one  hundred  and  seventy  gaUoM  ot 


r 


Skin  Diseases,  S^c. 


216 


taoid  which  had  been  abstracted.  I  have  un- 
iortunalely  mislaid  my  memorandum  of  the 
flpecific  gravity.  About  the  middle  of  Jan- 
uary, 1844,  unfavourable  symptoms  began 
to  appear,  which  were  ushered  in  by  alternate 
li^rs  and  hot  fits;  face  flushed;  pulse  un- 
usually feeble,  at  times  scarcely  perceptible ; 
she  complained  now  of  violent  pain  in  the 
right  hip,  which  did  not  yield  to  either  gener- 
al or  local  applications,  vomiting,  cold  pers- 
plratioQs,  and  at  last  she  died  on  the  8tli  of 
the  present  month. 

Examination,  Twenty-six  Hours  after  Death 
The  body  was  by  no  means  emaciated ; 
after  removing  about  ten  quarts  of  fluid,  the 
abdomen  was  laid  open.     Instead  of  the  usual 
appearance,  the  omentum  picsented    small 
pieces  of  greenish  fatty  matter.    No  traces  of 
inflammation  to  any  extent  were  observable ; 
the  parietal  peritoneum  was  much  thickened 
and  of  a  cartilaginous  consistence.     The  liver 
was  greatly  enlarged,  and  of    a  dark-slate 
colour.    On  an  incision  being  made,  there 
eashed  out    a   dark   grumo-purulent  fluid, 
naving  a  most  offensive  smell.    The  organ 
seemel  to  have  become  one  extensive  abscess, 
but  little  of  its  parenchyma  leraaining.    The 
Inngs,  heart,  kidneys,  pancreas,  spleen,  did 
Dot  exhibit  any  appreciable  marks  of  disease. 
On  first  examination  the  ovaries,  uterus,  &c. , 
ajppeared  one  mass  of  mseas«,  connected  by 
thin  membranous  bands  to  the  surrounding 
Mrts.      On  carefully  separating  the  tumor 
from  its  adhesions,  the  uterus  and  Fallopian 
tabes  were  found  free  from  disease ;  there  was 
more  vascularity  found  than  in  the  natural 
and  healthy  state.    The  patient  was  supposed 
to  have  some  disease  in  the  uterus  twelve 
months  before  I  saw  her,  and  was  treated  for 
some  time  with  reference  to  such  disease. 
The  tumor  itself  appeared  to  be   composed 
of  cells;  their  exact  structure  could  not  well 
be  ascertained,  as  they  seemed  as  if  crushed 
into  each  other.    The  diseased  ovarian  mass 
"was  very  vascular,  several  of  the  arteries 
were  of  considerable  calibre ;  it  appeared  to 
be  about  the  fourth  of  the  size  which  it  pre- 
sented when  noticed  after  the  first  tapping. 

I  have  occupied  too  much  space  already  to 
make  many  reflections  on  the  case.  I  was 
most  surprised  at  the  state  of  the  liver ;  after 
the  first  three  months  I  had  no  reason  to  sup- 
pose there  was  much  disease  existing  in  that 
organ  from  the  nature  of  the  symptoms.  The 
marked  improvement  in  the  general  health 
and  strengtn  led  me  to  suppose  that  the  he- 
patic disease  had  been  overcome. 
Finsbuiy-place  South,  March  19,  1844. 

Actosishino  xffect  of  Electhicitt  in 
cciDie  HrvTCRiCAL  Locked  jaw. —  The 


following  account  of  the  efficacy  of  this  ex- 
traordinary remedy,  we  should  do  wrong  io 
withholding,  though  it  should  never  aeain 
prove  effective.  We  have  the  account  mm 
some  friends  who  chanced  to  be  present,  and 
saw  the  patient  eatii^  the  first  meal  she  had 
taken  in  five  days,  a  few  minutes  after  the 
spasm  bad  ceased.  She  had  been  previously 
nourished  by  drawing  milk  through  the  ap* 
ertures  of  the  closed  teeth,  through  which 
the  edge  of  a  knife  could  be  passed  with  the 
greatest  difliculty.  The  young  woman  was 
thus  afiected  in  consequence  of  exposure  to 
cold  and  fatigue,  and  was  completely  recover- 
ed by  the  Electro  Galvanic  aparatus  applied 
to  both  angles  of  the  jaw.  The  machine  had 
not  made  forty  revolutions,  when  the  jaw 
opened  to  its  full  and  natural  width.  We 
learn  that  it  has  been  successfully  applied  for 
many  nervous  diseases  of  the  eye;  also  in  a 
case  of  poisoning  by  laudanum,  where  two 
entire  ounces  had  been  swallowed.  In  this 
case  the  patient  was  revived  by  the  machine, 
and  collapsed  alternately,  during  five  hours, 
the  intervals  becoming  shoiter  till  speech  was 
re-estabhshed.  Curvature  of  the  spine  has 
also  yielded  to  its  power.  Indeed  its  proper 
application  is  as  varied  as  diseases  of  gener- 
al debility  and  irregular  nervous  action,  ft 
was  applied  by  Dr.  £.  H.  Dixon,  of  5  Mer- 
cer street 

N.  Y.  Journal  of  Commkrcx, 
September  I,  \h\A, 

NoTB— We  saw  this  case  soon  after  the  jawi  w«ra 
>pened  and  she  had  eaten  her  fint  meaL— Bditoc    . 


THB 


'TRAITEMENT  ARABIQUB" 

XM  OBSTlMATa  OASBS  OF 

SKIN     DISEASES. 


By  G.  M.  Dangeifield,  M.  D.,  Nawpart. 

The  very  remarkable  success  I  observed  to 
follow  the  under-mentioned  novel  treatment 
in  some  of  the  worst  and  most  obstinate  ca- 
ses of  chronic  cutaneous  afiections  in  the 
south  of  France,  induces  me  to  make  it 
known  to  the  profession  through  the  medi- 
um of  The  Lancet.  Most  m^cal  men  in 
extensive  practice  can  testify  as  to  the  obstin- 
acy of  certain  cutaneous  anections,  and  will 
appreciate  any  mode  of  treatment  calculated 
to  aid  them  in  their  endeavours  to  effect  a 
cure  when  all  ordinary  means  have  failed ; 
such,  from  the  few  cases  1  have  seen,  I  am 
induced  to  hope  will  be  the  result  of  the  fol- 
lowing treatment  if  perseveringly  carried  out 
[  have  hitherto  had  no  opportunity  of  proving 
its  efi&cacy  in  this  coun^,  but  would  uigeits 
adoption  by  the  profession  at  large,  and  par- 
ticiuarly  by  those  haying  the  advantage  of 


S16 


Skin  Diseases^  ^c. 


hospital  discipline  to  carry  it  out,  believing  it 
to  be  our  duty  to  investigate  the  merits  of  any 
treatment  likely  to  relieve  those  obstinate  ca- 
ses oi  cutaneous  disease  which  render  the 
patient's  life  a  misery  to  him,  and  often  defy 
the  utmost  exertions  of  our  art 

These  means  consist  in  a  treatment  knovni 
in  Fiance  by  the  name  of  Traitement  Arab- 
ique, — composed  of  pills,  an  electuary,  a  de- 
coction, and  a  particular  diet  {diete  seche.) 
The  pills  are  the  following:— Quicksilver, 
bichloride  of  mercury,  of  each  half  a  drachm ; 
aenna,  pellatory  of  Spain,  agaric,  of  each  one 
diBchm. 

The  bichloride  and  quicksilver  are  first 
rubbed  together,  the  vegetable  substances  are 
then  reduced  to  a  very  fine  powder,  and  all 
mixed  with  the  mercury,  until  the  globules 
have  disappeared;  then  made  into  a  mass 
with  honey,  and  divided  into  four  or  six  grain 
pills.  The  electuary  consists  of— Sar^pa- 
liUa  root,  six  ounces;  China  root  (squine,) 
three  ounces;  dried  nut  shells,  (ecoree  de 
noisettes  torrifiees,)  one  ounce ;  cloves,  two 
drachms.  Reduce  all  to  a  fine  powder,  and 
make  an  electuary  with  honey.  The  decoc- 
tion:— Siusaparilia  root,  two  ounces;  water, 
three  pints.    Boil  to  a  quart,  and  strain. 

The  diet,  which  particularly  appears  to  m- 
fluence  the  treatment,  consists  in  the  patient 
confining  himself  for  twenty-five,  thirty,  or 
forty  days  (seldom  more)  rigorously  to  the 
following  rtt^men :  avoiding  all  other  sub- 
stances, he  snail  eat  only  cakes,  biscuits,  and 
dried  fruits,  such  as  nuts,  walnuts,  figs,  al- 
monds, &c.  To  drink  no  fluid  of  anu  de- 
KTtpium,  except  decoction  of  sarsaparilla 

This  severe  regimen,  however,  cannot  al- 
wa3rs  be  enforced  in  very  debilitated  subjects ; 
hence  in  these  extreme  cases  a  broiled  mut- 
ton-chop may  be  allowed  once  a  day,  but  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  this  has  b^n  rarely 
necessary.  The  medicines  are  administered 
in  the  following  manner : — 

A  pill  is  given  every  night  and  morning, 
followed  by  a  wine-glassful  of  the  decoction; 
an  hour  after  the  pm  a  drachm  of  the  electu- 
ary, gradually  increased  to  six  drachms,  is  to 
be  taken,  the  decoction  being  drunk  at  inter- 
vals during  the  day. 

The  mode  of  treatment  must  vary,  of 
course,  according  to  the  age  and  temperament 
of  the  patient,  and  the  intensity  and  duration 
of  the  disease.  The  practitioner  must  exer- 
cise his  own  judgment  as  to  augmenting  or 
diminishing  the  dose  of  the  pilb,  when  to 
suspend  or  recommence  them ;  in  a  word,  it 
is  for  him  to  modify  but  not  to  diverge  more 
than  possible  from  the  rules  laid  down  until 
the  disease  is  removed. 

There  is  one  remark  I  would  make  relative 
to  the  puis,  aa  the  cause  of  Uieir  requiring  the 


constant  attention  of  the  practitioner  depends 
upon  their  producing  frequently,  sooner  or 
later,  salivation.  It  has  been  remarked  that 
this  efiect  common1>  depends  upon  their  be* 
ing  recently  prepared,  and  that  when  thev 
have  been  maiie  two  or  three  months,  such 
accidents  rarely  take  place.  This  depends 
doubtless  upon  the  constant  contact  of  the 
bichloride  with  the  quicksilver  and  other  in- 
gredients, it  becomes  modified  in  its  chemical 
conditon,  and  loses  more  or  less  its  corrosive 
qualities,  and  hence  is  more  adapte4  for  iti 
present  application. 

My  sole  object  in  bringing  this  treatment 
before  the  profession  is  a  desire  to  hear  oi  ill 
merits  being  put  to  the  test  of  expenenoe. 
In  the  few  cases  in  which  I  have  seen  it  em- 
ployed (cases  of  maculae  syphilitics,  syphii- 
itical  psoriasis,  idiopathic  chronic  eczema, 
psoriasis)  it  was  singularly  successful,  after 
the  ordinary  remedies  had  failed,  and  I  may 
remark  that  it  has  now  stood  the  test  of  a 
considerable  number  of  cases  of  the  most 
obstinate  and  inveterate  character  in  the  hos- 
pitals of  Montpellier  and  Marseilles.    The 
most  singular  part  of  it  is,  that  in  some  ca- 
ses of  syphilitic  psoriasis,  where  meicary 
pushed  to  salivation,  decoction  of  the  woods, 
mercurial  bath,  nitric  acid  lotions,  Sic,  had 
been  administered  without  permanent  benefit, 
the  employment  of  the  traitement  Arabupu 
was  successful,  and  that  in  the  short  space  of 
four  or  five  weeks.    These  are  pomts  for 
reflection,  and  it  will  be  for  experience  to  de- 
termine how  far  the  withdrawal  of  all  fluids 
from  the  diet,  with  the  exception  of  decoction 
of  sarsaparilla,  can  influence  the  action  of 
the  preparations  of  mercury,  for  these  caaes 
had  a  syphilitic  origin,  and  mercury  had  bea 
given  previously  a  fair  trial.    Again,  what 
IS  the  modm  operandi  m  those  cases  whew 
no  syphilitic  taint  exists?  and  it  has  beeo 
found  as  serviceable  in  those  as  in  the  fonner. 
The  humoral  pathologist  may  account .  for  it 
by  aiRuing  that  the  action  of  the  skin  will  l» 
modified  by  the  (quantity  of  the  ciiculatin; 
fluid  being  diminished,  on  the  principle  that 
a  supply  of  fluid  to  the  blood  is  nccesBi- 
ry  to  exudation,  &c. ;  and  "those  who  have 
dined  off  dry  food  or  laboured  in  the  tropi» 
will,  perhaps,  admit  of  both  force  and  troth 
in  the  remark."    To  diminish  the  blood  and 
alter  its  constituents  are  decidedly  depletoiy 
acts,  and  thus  local  inflammatory  action  maf 
be  removed;  and  the  diaphoretic  action  « 
the  sarsaparilla,  &c.,  may  equalise  the  90- 
moral  distribution,  and  thus  tend  to  restore  a 
healthy  action  of  all  the  functions.    ^*'2t 
ry,  it  is  true,  excites  certain  secretionst  w» 
modifying  morbid  ones  restores  the  bawnce, 
and  both  subsiding  together,  health  and  ntf- 
uial  actions  are  restored.    Without  atunp- 


i 


Memory,  i/'c. 


%vr 


io^,  howerrer,  to  explain  the  operation,  leav- 
ing that  to  an  abJer  pen,  I  place  the  matter  in 
the  hands  of  the  profession,  trusting  that 
some  one  may  hare  the  means  ere  long  of 
^onfinnmg  or  remoyin^  the  fayomable  opin- 
ion I  have  f onned  of  its  merits. 


MSICOST : 
j&t  In^uence  and  Importance  as  a 
action  in  animals. 
Bf  J.  MuMOB  Kfllaoi  IL  D.,  Uabiini. 


Besides  the  influence  of  memory  as   a 
aonrce  of  action  in  animals,  the  consideration 
of  which  is  here  more  immediately  to  eng 
VEt  these  are  yery  obyiously  and  distinctly 
these  other  influencew  in  addition : — 

i.    Instinct; 

2»    Intellectual  action,  or  ratiocination ; 

a.    Mqptal  feeling,  or  emotion.  • 

Of  these  latter  sources,  or  principles  of  ac- 
tioo,  instinct  only,  as  we  shall  find,  is  entire- 
ly independent  of  an  exercise  of  memory  in 
leleieiice  to  prior  sensations  or  impressions. 
Therefore,  when  in  addition  to  the  direct  and 
une^yoGftl  influence  of  memory,  whose  ex- 
lensiye  diflosion  throi^h  the  animed  kinedom 
we  shall,  it  is  hoped,  m  able  satisfactorily  to 
estahlish,  we  takie  into  account  its  indirect 
isfliienre,  as  maaifested  through  processes  of 
intellectual  action,  or  a  species  of  reasoning 
and  mental  feeling  or  emotion,  the  yast  im- 
portance of  this  mculty,  as  a  stimulant  and 
^iiidis  of  action  in  many  diflerent  genera  and 
tribes  of  animals,  at  once  discloses  itself, 
shaDen^ng  yery  forcibly  detailed  inquiry  and 
sxpoeitioii.  It  is  certainly  only  consistent 
with  (Mdinary  conectness  to  refer  phenomena 
te  their  proper  causes,  and  this  equaliti 
the  psychical  and  in  the  physical  world. — 
But  certain  si  is  that  almost  all  recent  wrters 
on  instinct,  of  any  degree  of  celebrity,  have 
refaned  maay  phenomena  to  this  peculiar  in- 
fluence<  which  more  or  less  evidently  pertain 
to  an  operation  of  memory,  or  the  intellectu- 
sJiQritf  the  animals ;  this,  undoubtedly,  is  an 
error  which  imperatively  calls  for  correction, 
at  least  as  far  as  may  be.  Hence,  in  order 
to  place  the  subject  in  a  proper  light,  to  dis- 
tinguish those  actions  which  are  the  result  of 
memory  from  those  that  belong  to  instinct, — 
in  a  word,  to  eliminate,  as  far  as  practicable, 
truth  from  error,  it  will  be  absolutely  neces- 
any  to  go  somewhat  largely  into  detsuls , — to 
isriew  not  cmly  the  phenomena  of  memory  in 
affiqift^  asd  those  active  mental  manifesta- 
tioDs  cQimeeted  with  their  nature,  involving, 
•saa  efloential  condition,  an  exercise  of  this! 
badty,  bat  also  the  principle  <4  instinct  itself,  | 


and  its  immediate  consequences  or  effects. — 
With  a  view  to  this  important  object,  the  fol- 
lowing communications  are  placed  at  the  cm- 
ticm  of  Ths  LAMcrr ;  and,  although  tte 
ground  which  we  shall  have  to  treveraeis,  as 
will  be  apparent,  rather  extensive,  and  nch 
besideb  in  topics  of  no  ordinary  interest,  g^ 
I  hope  not  to  trespass  too  largely  on  the  vaL- 
uable  space  of  that  journal. 
of  Memory,  as  is  perfectly  clear,  nertains  m&t 
exclusively  to  the  mental  or  intellectual  con* 
stitution  of  man ;  it  exhibits  itself,  also,  in 
some  de^^,  in  many,  very  many,  of  the 
lower  animals,  influencing,  or  guiding  and 
controlling  their  actions  to  an  extent  little 
short,  probably,  of  that  of  the  power  at  in- 
stinct itself. 

With  reference  to  all  the  higAer  species  of 
animals,  the  indications  of  the  influence  of 
memory  are  numerous,  indeed,  and  most  un- 
equivocal ;  and  it  may  be  slated  here,  gene- 
rsdly,  that  in  them,  equally  as  in  ourselyes, 
it  constitutes  the  main-spring  of  all  those  ae* 
tions  that  have  conventionally  been  denomi- 
nated intdligential.  But,  in  regard  to  iht 
more  humble  and  essentially  instinctive  or- 
ders and  tribes  of  creature  kfe,  the  existence 
and  active  play  of  tnis  faculty,  as  evidenced 
in  certam  of  their  actions,  has,  tacitly  at 
least,  been  hitherto  altogether  denied,  thoitth 
as  I  am  disposed  to  think,  quite  erroneously. 
In  a  word,  as  a  source  or  principle  of  action 
both  in  vertebrated  and  invertebrated  animals 
the  influence  of  memory,  direcdy  or  indirect- 
ly, through  processes  of  comparison  and 
combination,  has  been  hitherto  either  whoHy 
overlooked,  or  only  casually  and  incidental 
ly  adverted  to  in  explanation ;  and  by  no 
one,  so  far  as  I  ara  acquainted,  has  the  ques^ 
tion  received  that  degree  of  attention  which 
its  importance  most  undoubtedly  demands. 

The  diflerent  sources,  or  principles  of  ac- 
tion in  animals,  we  have  just  now  indicated, 
and  it  will  be  seen  that  they  naturally  divide 
themselves  into  instinctive  and  non^insttnctitfe 
Of  the  latter,  it  has  been  equally  observed, 
that  memory  is  either  the  sole  spnng  or  agent, 
or  the  chief  and  indispensable  actuating  pow- 
er, or  rather  element  of  those  composite  prin- 
ciples and  feelings  which  constitute  the 
source  of  numberless  and  infinitely  varied 
actions,  habitual  or  incidental,  in  many  diff* 
erent  genera  and  tribes  of  the  lower  ortos 
of  creation.  i 

It  may  be  as  well,  then,  briefly  to  advert, 
in  the  commencement,  to  those  actions  which 
are  the  result,  not  of  memory  per  se,  but  of 
mental  or  intellectual  processes  neeessarily 
involving  an  exercise  of  this  faculty  in  some  - 
defljee,  and  they  may  not  inapOTopriately  be 
viewed  here  undSr  the  general  Dead  d 


21JB 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


AHIMAL  IKT£LLIO£NC£. 

That  there  are  many  different  species  of 
the  lower  orders  whici.  habitually  will  and 
ptrfoim  Biany  actions  that  are  admirably  sui- 
ted to  the  attainment  of  certain  ends, — and 
ibtte  iiften  remote  and  obscure,  and  known 
to  ug  only  by  repeated  observation,  or  ezperi- 
«B«e  and  reflection,  and  reasonii^  on  the  in- 
ductiTe  principle, — is  a  proposition  the  cor- 
iMtneas  of  which  there  are  few,  now-a-days, 
'  who  would  be  disposed  serionsly  to  call  in 
question.  And  as  actions  of  this  kind  can 
Beyer,  with  any  pretensions  to  common  accn- 
niey,  be  considered  as  at  all  pertaining  to  the 
power  either  of  instinct,  or  of  memory  per  se, 
^ai  less,  certainly,  to  mental  feeling  or  e- 
motion, — ^they  have,  very  correctly,  been  re- 
lured  to  proeeaaes  of  intellectual  action  or 
rationality ;  implying  equally  an  exercise  of 
tfa^ee  essential  powers  or  elements  of  reason 
— companion  and  com^inolioA,  and  memory 
or  recollection  of  previously  experienced  sen< 
eations,  or  acquired  perceptions. 

It  was,  as  is  well  known,  the  opinion  of 
both  Descartes  and  fiuffon,  that  animals  axe 
nothing  more  than  automata — mere  pieces  of 
artificial  mechanism,  insensible  equally  to 
pleasure  and  to  pain,  and  incapable  of  internal 
feelings  or  emotions,  as  well,  of  course,  as 
processes  of  ratiocination,  implying  an  exer- 
cise of  several  distinct  mental  faculties — ^akin 
to  those  of  which  we  are  susceptible  ourselves. 
If  this  were  the  case,  the  objects  of  creation 
would  forever  remain  a  dark  and  unfathom 
able  mystery.  But  the  very  reverse  happens 
Id  be  the  fact  I  shall,  I  feel  persuaded,  be 
able  satisfactorily  to  demonstrate  that  the  vast 
BMJority  of  animals  are  suceptible,  in  some 
debtee,  not  only  of  the  common  feeling  of 
enjoyment,  but  of  several  distinct  mental 
feehngs,  or  emotions,  analogous  to  those 
which  agreeably  or  disagreeably  influence 
ourselves.  I  cannot,  too,  but  think  myself 
eqiable  of  establishing,  quite  clearly,  the 
fact  of  many  animals  of  different  oiders, 
genera  and  species,  being  influenced  and  gui- 
ded in  their  actions  to  an  extent  not  genial- 
ly known  or  conceded  throiu?h  an  operation 
of  memory  in  reference  to  prior  sensations 
orimmssions,  feltand  remembered.  Fur- 
ther, 1  shall  be  able,  I  feel  convinced,  satis- 
iKtorily  to  show  that  many  animals  of  all 
the  higher  orders  and  classes  are  possessed, 
in  addition,  ^nerally,  to  great  natural  saga- 
city, of  limited  powers  of  reasoning  from 
premises  to  a  conclusion.  It  is  the  consider- 
ationand  illostration  of  the  latter  highly  in- 
teresting and  important  question  to  which, 
with  permission,  we  now  propose  to  turn ; 
and,  commencing  with  insects,  the  ants  may 
ha  first  notioid  as  fornishiog  us  witfi  some 


unequivocal  indications  of  the  influence  not 
only  of  strong  natural  sagacity,  but  apparent- 
ly of  a  d^ree  of  intelligence  and  memory, 

I  may  here  drop  the  subject  for  the  present 
and,  with  permission,  will  resume  it  in  an 
early  publication. 

Lisbum,  April  29,  1844. 


Phytomatra  or  TjmpaBitU  of  tfa*  VtMvs. 

MM.  Stoitz  and  Nae^e,  two  of  Ae  most 
celebrated  practitioners  m  the  diseases  of  fe« 
males  of  the  present  day,  at  the  medical 
congress  held  at  Strasbourg,  1842,  expressed 
their  belief  that  tympanitis  of  the  uterus  was 
impossible,  and  that  the  alleged  eases  of  its 
occurrence  were  apocryphal.  M,  Ijsfranc 
has  seen  several  cases  in  which  physometia 
was  caused  by  the  decomposition  of  extrane- 
ous matter  induded  in  the  uterus.  In  one  of 
these  cases  the  womb  extended  three  inches 
above  the  pubes,  and  occupied  neariy  the 
whole  transverse  diameter  of  the  hypogts- 
trium ;  on  examining  the  uterus  \vith  the  fin- 
ger  in  the  vagina,  the  otner  being  applied  on 
the  hypogastrium,  he  felt  a  tumour  of  extn- 
ordinary  elasticity ;  during  the  manipulation 
the  neck  of  the  uterus  suddenly  dilated,  a 
volume  of  gas  escaped  with  consideiiM^Ie 
noise,  and  the  abdomen  reBumed  its  natorat 
size ;  the  uterus,  however,  remained  sligfadv 
dilated,  and  at  short  intervals  audibly  expell- 
ed portions  of  air.  After  the  lapse  of  a 
few  days  a  fleshy  mole  was  expelled.  M. 
Lisfranc  argues,  that  as  the  mucous  mein» 
brane  of  the  intestinal  canal  indisputably  of- 
ten secretes  air,  it  is  unreasonable  to  day 
that  the  lining  membrane  of  the  uterus  may 
also  do  the  same ;  and  in  answer  to  the  objee- 
tion,  that  any  ^  generated  in  the  womb 
when  its  cervix  is  not  mechanically  obstruct- 
ed must  escape,  he  observes,  that  every  sor- 
geon  who  has  had  much  experience  in  ex- 
amining the  uterus  must  have  often  observed 
the  remarkable  facility  which  the  inferior  of- 
ifice  of  the  uterus  contracts." 

The  reviewer  remarks  that  M.  lisfiaae 
does  not  appear  to  have  seen  any  case  in 
which  the  tympanitis  was  purely  <fvnamtf, 
that  is  indenendent  of  the  presence  of  an  ex- 
traneous substance  in  the  womb.  He  refei* 
to  a  case,  however,  which  is  perfectly  satW" 
factory  on  this  point.  In  this  instance,  din^ 
ing  three  years,  gas  had  been  freely  gencia- 
ted,  though  there  had  been  no  evidence  of  die 
presence  of  any  other  foreign  body  in  d» 
womb.  The  abdomen  became  at  certidD  in- 
tervals distended  and  returned,  on  the  ex^ 
sion  of  the  gas,  to  its  fonner  mte.-^BrUi^ 
and  Eoreign  Review* 


MxsceUaneous  Items. 


tl9 


Bxdrpmtion  of  th«  Ut*nu  by  Llffanur«. 

Two  cases  of  this  formidabie  operation 
Intve  been  zecently-iecoided,  one  by  Dr.  Es- 
selman,  in  en  American  journal,  quoted  in 
the  Medical  Gazette ;  the  other  by  Dr.  Too- 
good,  in  ihid  Provincial  Journal.  The  first 
was  the  case  of  a  married  lady  who  had  la- 
bottied  under  disease  of  the  womb  from  the 
date  of  her  first  confinement,  twelve  years 
preyloosly.  It  was  finally  determined  to  re- 
move a  polypus  like  tumour  which  was 
found  occupying  &e  vagina.  A  ligature  was 
applied  and  tightened  every  morning,  for 
^gktepn  days,  at  which  time  tne  tumour  came 
away,  and,  to  the  surprise  of  her  physician, 
instead  of  a  polypus,  proved  to  be  the  uterus 
itself,  much  reduced  in  size  by  ulceration 
and  stnogolation. 

The  patient,  thus  accidentally  denrived  oi 
hex  womb,  did  well ;  at  each  monthlv  period, 
however,  she  suffered  from  cerebral  conges- 
lion. 

The  case  related  by  Dr.  Toogood  was  that 
oi  a  angle  lady  who  had  sufiered  for  many 
years  from  what  was  called  a  prolapsus  of 
the  "Uterus,  It  was  ultimately  found  impos- 
sible to  give  the  patient  relief  by  the  usual 
remedies,  and  *'a  careful  examination  having 
shown  that  the  neck  of  this  laige  mass,  as  it 
entered  the  vagina,  rather  diminished  in  »ze," 
if  was  resolved  to  remove  the  whole. 

**The  mass  removed  was  about  two  pounds 
we^ht,  die  shape  of  the  uterus,  but  its  struc- 
Ime  much  altered  in  charaipjter,  the  cavity 
being  quite  obliterated,  and  the  os  uteri  be- 
come almost  cartilaginous."  The  patient  re- 
covered, and  "on  examination  no  uterus 
cooldhe  discovered,"  nevertheless,  the  his- 
tory of  the  case  and  the  description  of  the 
maas  removed*  elcites  some  suspicion  as  to 
its  naJure. 

We  should  hesitate  before  recieving  "  it  as 
an  additional  example  of  the  safety  and  pro- 
priety of  removing  the  uterus  under  certain 
circumstances." 


RBMBBIBS  FOR  REUBALaiA. 
Bf  R.  R.  Allnatt,  ILD.,  HA.,  F.S  A.,  etc 

In  reference  to  a  notice  of  mine,  which  ap- 
peared some  time  since  in  The  Lancet,  of 
certain  "Remedies  for  Neuralgia,"  Mr.  Chip- 
pendale has  courteously  mentioned  two  cases, 
which  he  states  to  have  been  successfully 
treated  by  the  application  of  the  infusion  of 
tobac(» ;  and,  he  adds,  "it  appears  to  me  that 
an  extract  might  be  prepared  from  tobacco, 
which,  being  mixed  with  simple  cerate,  would 
be  a  convenient  form  for  frictions." 

In  the  category  of  antagonist  "unsuccess- 
ful remedies,"  recorded  by  me  in  my  work  on 
''Tie  Douloanux,"  I  find  a  mention  of  this 


extract ;  and  I  also  find  that  tobacco,  in  all 
its  forms  and  modes  of  preparation,-— its  cata- 
plasms of  dried  leaves,  tincture,  infusion,  ak- 
tract,— have  all  Iieen  resorted  to,  at  diierest 
periods,  by  the  despairiqg  practitioner. 

The  potassio-tartrale  ol  antimony,  aJao 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Chippendale,  has  been 
often  tried,  and  almost  as  frequently  rejected 
as  useless.  Ik.  Scott  was  the  first,  1  beheve» 
to  propound  this  remedy, — upon  what  princi- 
ple it  would  be  difficult  to  conjecture;  and 
Magri,  following  the  wake  of  an  empirical 
practice,  applied  compresses  moistened  with 
a  strong  solution  of  tartarised  antimony,  un- 
til redness,  approaching  to  pustnlation,  had 
been  produced.  These  two  agents,  Mi, 
Chippendale  has  cited  as  having  been  sia* 
ultaneously  employed;  the  example,  I  can 
assure  him,  is  by  no  means  an  isolated  one ; 
and  I  cannot  but  congratulate  him  ion  repu- 
diating die  doctrines  which  would  enfofce 
the  adoption  of  such  heterogeneous,  oonfliet' 
ing  elements  in  combination. 

In  sober  truth,  tobacco  was  designed  for  a 
far  less  noble  purpose  than  the  cure  of  neu- 
ralgia, and  Mr.  Chippendale  will,  I  am  sure* 
panion  me  for  stating,  that  I  rather  doubt 
whether  or  not  the  cases  to  which  he  has  . 
alluded  were,  ipsofaao,  anythinj^  more  than 
neuralgia  nothat  or  a  spurious  kmd  of  rheti" 
malic  tic.  I  can  hardly  persuade  myself  that 
the  peripheral  pangs  of  true  ganglionic  irrita- 
tion can  be  appeased  by  any  measure  that 
falls  short  of  at  once  striking  at  the  root  and 
oriein  of  the  evil. 

Having  now  encountered  a  vast  variety  of 
these  maladies  in  all  their  phases,  in  their  va- 
rious complications,  and  in  all  stages  of  their 
manifestations,  from  the  functfonal  fond  of  a 
few  day's  ^wth,  to  the  hideous  organic  va; 
riety  of  thirty  years ;  and  having,  as  far  as 
these  opportunities  have  enabled  me,  search- 
ed diligently  into  matters  connected  with  their 
history,  past  and  present,  and  traced  the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  accompanying  pathogno- 
monic symptoms,  I  have  little  hesitation  in 
expressing  a  decided  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  the  following  propositions: — 

1.  That  peripheral  neuralgia  never  occurs 
as  a  primary  idiopathic  action,  but  that 
(independent  of  organic  disease,)  its  invaria- 
ble source  may  be  ascribed  to  irritation  of  the 
ganglionic  centres. 

2.  That  this  condition  is  transmitted  by  di- 
rect communication,  irrespective  of  the  laws 
of  "sympathy." 

3.  That  (functiohal)  tic  is  an  affection  pe- 
culiarly amenably  to  constitutional  treatment 

4.  That  local  applications,  whether  seda- 
tive or  stimulating,  anodyne  or  destructive, 
are  more  frequently  detrimental  than  suiative 
in  their  operation. 


Absurdities  of  the  FacfuUy. 


Dr.  Copland,  in  the  last  number  of  his 
**I>ictionaTy  of  Practica  Medicine,"  a  work 
which  has  been  apphiuded  by  the  nnanimous 
Yoice  of  the  whole  profession,  states  that 
«8ir  Charles  Bell  and  Dr.  Allnatt  have  prais- 
ed the  decided  exhibition  of  croton  oil  as  a 
frngatwe,**  in  cases  of  neuralgia.  A  few 
wonls  will  suffice  to  explain  upon  what  prin- 
ciple I  haTe  recommended  the  adoption  of 
this  agent 

I  do  not,  in  the  majority  of  instances,  em- 
ploy croton  oil  uncombined,  or  with  a  view 
to  obtain  its  puigative  effects.  In  fact,  so 
minute  and  subdivided  are  the  doses  requisite 
to  ensure  its  remedial  action,  as  to  preclude 
altogether  the  idea  that  its  salutary  operation 
lesiaes  in  the  power  it  possesses  of  produc- 
ing catharsis.  Croton  oil  is  a  specific  purga- 
tive ;  that  is,  its  properties  are  equally  man- 
ifested whether  externally  applied  on  an  ab- 
sorbing surface  laid  over  the  abdomen  in  the 
form  of  a  cataplasm,  or  exhibited  intemallv. 
The  active  principle — ^the  tigline — ^is  absorb- 
ed, and  is  carried  by  the  circulating  mass  of 
the  blood  into  direct  contact  with  the  disor- 
dered tissues.  Its  modus  operandi  is  still  a 
mystery. 


'  ABSUBD1TZB8  OF  THB  FAOULTT. 
We  have  beiore  stated  that  one  of  the 
chief  objects  in  establishing  this  Journal  was 
to  expose  and  correct  the  errors  in  medical 
science,  which  a  long  course  of  prescription 
seems  to  have  sanctioned  as  if  incontroverti 

fck. 

These  errors  pervade  all  the  branches  of 
medical  science,  while  the  number  in  each, 
and  the  extent  to  which  they  are  earned,  are 
almort  incredible.  One  of  the  most  common 
subjects  of  misrepresentation,  is  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  simplest  functions  in  animal 
physiology.  We  have  a  delectable  specimen 
of  the  ignorance  and  folly,  which  charac- 
terize a  class  of  men,  profesing  to  be  learn- 
ed, to  base  every  thing  upon  unerring  facts, 
and  to  reason  in  strict  conformity  with  the 
principles  of  inductive  philosophy,  in  the 
litde  article  of-  which  this  notice  is  introduc- 
tory. Though  taken  from  one  of  the  most 
respectable  Journals  of  Medicine,  a  greater 
absurdity  was  never  uttered  in  the  name  of 
fleience. 

To  call  the  effete  matters  which  are  habit- 
ually thrown  off  from  the  emunctoriesof  the 
hunua  system*  asiflial  secratioos,  is  a  per- 


version of  language,  which  the  commoo  flenflfr 
of  eveiy  reflecting  man»  would  prevent  fai» 
using.  Every  one  knows  that  $ecntion  «ad 
excretion  are  very  different  terms,  and  imply 
very  different  duties. 

The  merest  tyro  in  physiology,  is  awan 
that  fbe  former  is  a  result  of  the  fiusctioii  of 
the  lymphatics,that  through  it  the  iahuliai 
of  life  is  supplied,  and  that  its  products  are 
invariably  transmitted  to  the  heart,  and  tibenoe 
into  the  general  ciiculationa  The  excielioii* 
are,  so  to  speak,  the  debris  of  the  geneni 
man ;  they  are  the  portions  of  the  system, 
which,  having  fulfilled  their  duties  are  thrown 
off  as  excrementitious.  The  distinctioa  be- 
tween these  two  functions,  is  so  simple  and 
obvious  that  every  pretender  to  scientific 
knowledge  ought  to  recognize  it  at  a  glance ; 
and  yet  we  see  medical  writers,  and  medical 
teachers,  as  the  Professors  inourCoU^gw, 
in  the  constant  practice  of  confounding 
them  as  if  they  were  one  and  the  same. 

The  error  in  this  instance,  is  not  one  of 
very  great  importanoe;  and  we  only  allude  to 
It  as  illustrative  of  the  absurdities,  which 
those  accustomed  to  copy  their  opinions  from 
authority  are  prone  to  hll  into.  The  doe- 
trine  of  the  equal  powers  of  lepalsian  aal 
attraction,  in  animal,  as  in  all  other  matter, 
which  we  have  taught  for  many  yeaxB, 
would  if  generally  known,  prevent  the  com- 
mission  of  such  errors. 

ON  MUCOUS  MEMBRANES  JIND  THEIR  SEORETIOV 

Mucous  is  found,  on  microscopic  exami* 
nation,  to  be  composed  of  a  viscid  stringy 
fluid,  and  of  a  solid  matter,  that  consisto 
chiefly  of  shreds  oi  the  epitiielium.  It  i» 
sometimes  acid,  and  at  other  times  alkaUne, 
Donne  distinguishes  three  kinds  of  anoeas 
membranes : — 1.  Those  that  are  analcttoas 
to  the  skin,  which  furnish  a  frothy  acid  se- 
cretion ;  for  example,  the  lining  of  the  TSj^i- 
na.  These  acid  mucous  membranes,  which 
our  author  calls /d^,  never  exhibit  any  ri- 
bratory  cilia  on  their  surface.  2.  Trmvoi' 
cous  membranes — as  ibsX  of  the  bronchi-' 
which  secrete  a  fluid  that  possesses  alkaline 
properties,  is  viscid,  and  contains  mncoit» 
globules  r  these  are  supplied  with  vibialoiy 
cilia.  S.  Intermediate  mucons  membranes, 
which  secrete  a  mixed  kind  of  mucoos :  of 
this  kind  are  those  wjiich  exist  around  th* 
orifices  of  the  month,  noBe,aRiis.ftc— if<K^« 
CMr.  Reniev. 


J 


INDEX 


TO 


FIRST  VOLUME, 


The  Mysteries  of  the  Faculty.     - 
"    aptoms  of  Tabercular  Disease. 

opean  Biscoreries  in  Tubercular  Dis- 


PACK 

-    1 
-      2 


r 

Tjbe  Sequel  of  Homoeopathy.        -        -  11 
Eflects  of  Galvanism  Imown  to  the  An- 
cients.         17 

Plans  to  prevent  the  transmission  of  He- 

leditaxy  Diseases.  •  -  -  18 
Jjimar  Influence.  -  -  -  -  19 
Hemorrhage  from  the  Lungs.  -  -  25 
Diagnosis  OY  the  Pulse,  and  Hemorrhage 

from  the  lun^.  •  -  -  -  26 
6t4nal  Meningitis.         -  .        .        27 

Tiibercular  Consumption.  -  *  28 
IStaliflticsof  Cancer.        -  -        -      2S 

'Sctofiilous  Ahscess  of  the  Testis.  -  28 
Sudden  Shodc  of  the  Brain  and  recovery 

by  flinular  means,  (Similia  Similibus.)  29 
Making  beDeve  to  administer  Arnica.  30 
Detenmnalian  to  the  Skin  in  Scarlatina 

and  Measles.  -  -  -  -  31 
Clinical  lectures  on  Diseases  of  the  Ner- 

yooA  System.  -  -  -    31 

Botaiy  Ma^etic  Madidne,  effects  of  31 
The  Agent  m  Animal  Magnetiam.  -  34 
Hesnarxable  Case  of  Magnetism.  -  35 
Obeervafions  on  Spermaton^cea.  -  -  37 
The  Power  of  the  Human  Will,  -  40 
MentalFovers  of  Clairvoyance.  -  41 
Scarlatina,  Erysipelas,  and  Sulphate  of 

Quinine. 42 

Bob-Arachnoid  HemorfbRge.  -         43 

Qioleia,  Nervous  Headache,  TVftanus.       43 

PKalysis  of  the  tt^idder,  and  Tincture 

CaflftaridM.  -     44 


PAa& 

Researches  into  the  Local  causes  of  Deaf- 
ness. •  -  -  -  44 
Changes  of  Mercurials  in  the  System.  45 
Statistics  oi  litiiotomy  and  Anai  Fistula.  45 
Ovarian  Tumors,  and  Symptoms  of  -  40 
Muscular  Motions,  New  Pessaries  -  46 
Tuberculous  Deposit  in  the  Pia  Mater.  47 
Operation  in  the  Mesmeric  State  -  47 
Patholoey  of  the  Spleen.  -  .  4T 
Editor  of  the  Lancet  and  Annual  Magnet- 
ism. -  -  -  -  4B 
Iron  and  Iodine,  Tendmous  Re-union^ 

Mezereon.  -'  -  -        48 

New  Phrenoloacal  Organs.        •        -      ^ 
Mr.  Burritt    the  **  I^eamed  Blacksmift/' 

to  &e  Rev.  Leroy  Sunderland.        -      60 
Spermatozoa  -  -  -       50 

Commentaries  on  some  Doctrines  of  a 

Dan^rous  Tendency,  in  Medicine.  50 
Operations  in  Disease  of  the  Ovaria,  kc.  51 
E^ectual  Reduction  of  Straiyilated  Her- 
nia, by  Ether.  .  .  -  at 
Nitric  Add  in  Internal  Hemorrhoids.  HZ 
Anal(^  betvreen  Diseases  of  Different 
Pendds  of  life,  and  Conei^nding  P^ 
riods  of  the  Year,  -  -  -  5t 
Ancient  Ruins»  -  -  -  03 
Amputation  in  Paris,  -  -  58 
Formula  for  Rheumatism,  -  -  53 
Digestion  of  Alimentary  Substances  53 
Prevention  of  sore  Nipples,  -  -58 
Rhus  Toxicodendron,.  -  -  53 
Arsenic  in  the  Chronic  Pleurisy  of  Sheep,  54 
Carbo  Animalis  in  Buboes,  -  -  54 
Poisoniaff  by  Stxamonium,  •  54 
Effects  oif  an  over  doie  of  CHna,              54 


Index  to  First  Volume. 


Page, 


Cieata,  .  .  . 

Muriate  of  Tin  in  Chorea, 

Chronic  Bronchitis,  Hooping  Cough, 

Cough, — ^Hawking,  -  -      * 

Purpura  Hemorhaf ica, 

Increase  of  Knowledge, 

The  Magnetic  Poles  and  the  Moon, 

Variation  at  City  Hall, 

Magnetic  Organization  of  the    Human 

^slein,  .  -  - 

Numher  of  Poles  in  the  Brain, 
Number  of  Poles  in  the  Heart, 
Action  of  Magnetic  Poles, 
The  Vagus  Nerve,        -        -         - 
Seat  of  Tubercles  in  Phthisis, 
Lecture  on  the  Magnetism  of  the  Human 

Body,  by  Professor  R.  W.  Gibbons,  M. 

D.,  of  South  Carolina, 
Polarity  of  the  Brain,        -        .        . 
Opposite  Polarity  in  right  and  left  side  of 

the  Body, 
Major  Periods  of  Development  in  Man, 

Mii^  a  sixth  Contribution  to  P/oleptics, 

by  T.  Lay  cock,  M.  D.,  Physician  to  the 

York  Dispensary,  &c., 
New  Era  in   the  Practice  of  Medicihe. 

Lecture  delivered  at  the  Egyptian  Hall, 

Piccadilly,  London,  1840,  by  S.  Dick- 
.    son,  M.  D.    Lecture  1 ,  Fallacies  of  the 

Faculty.    Introduction, 
Phenomena  of  Health, 
"  Disease, 

Cause  of  Disease,  -  -        - 

Arsenic  in  Diseases  of  the  Skin,  by  J.  £. 

Elrickson,  Eaq,, 
Araenic  in  Tumors  and  Abscesses  of  the 

Tonj^e,  by  Sir.  B.  C.  Brodie 
Phthisis,  by  Dr.  Graves,  Dublin , 
Obflervations  on  Dr  Graves*  Views, 
Similia  similibus  curantur.    Corollaries, 
Polemical  Powers  of  Hahnemann.  From 
^  the  British   Journal  of  Homoeopathy. 

Introduction  to  the  proving  of  Arsenic. 

By  Samuel  Hahnemann,        •        -      82 
Magnetised  Arsenic,  -  -         83 

Numbering,  its  importance  to  Physicians,  84 
Connection  of  Respiration  with  Sensibil- 
ity. New  explanation  of  an  old  riddle,  86 
The  Cold  Water  Dash  and  Reflex  Action,  87 
Magnetic  Poles,  and  Heat  and  Cold,  87 

'  Case  of  Hsmatemesis,  by  J.  Epps,  MD.  89 
Ausaultation,         -  -  -91 

Curability  of  Phthisis,  by  M.  Boudet,       91 
Confirmation  of  M.  Boudef  s  Views,  93 

Rotary  Magnetic  Machine,  description  of,  94 
Extraordinary  Efiects  of,  in  Toothache. 

Jumping,  -  -  -  95 

Tic  Douloureux,  .  .        -      95 

Toothache,  with  swelled  Face,        -         95 
White  Swellings  of  mucous  Surfaces,  and 

EncyBted  Tumors,  95 


67 


Paob. 
Lateral  Curvatures  of  the  Spine,  -  95 
White  Swellings  of  serous  Surfaces  of 

Joints  and  limbs,  -  -  9T 

Bronchocele  or  Goitre,  -  -      97 

Deafness,  Tubercular  Disease,        -  98 

Eye,  diseases  of,  -  -        -      98 

Erysipelas,  ...  98 

Tubercular   Disease  of   Neck   (Kiagm 

Evil,)  ...» 

Strabismus,  -  -  -  99 

Entropium — Aphonia,  -  -      99 

Throat— Tubercular  Disease  of,        -        99 
Acute  Diseases,        -  -         -  99 

Tubercular  Disease  of  the  Oigans,        -    99 
Rules  in  Magnetizing,    .        -  -     100 

Animal  Magnetism,  -  -        101 

Extraordinary  Instance  of  Clairvoyance,  101 
•     •  -       •  102 

103 
103 
105 
105 
106 
106 
107 
107 
107 
107 
108 
108 
108 
109 
109 
110 
110 
111 
111 
111 
111 

n% 

112 
112 


Animal  Electricity, 

Mr.  Sunderland  and  the  Ghost, 

Mesmeric  Prevision, 

Fever — treatment  of, 

Colchicum — poisoning  by. 

Hydrocephalus — Inspissated  Bile, 

Croup  and  Sulp.    Copjper, 

Volvulus— treatment  of. 

Mania  and  Antimon^r, 

Dartres — Pilula  Fern, 

Hydrocephalus — compression  in. 

Diabetes — Incontinence  of  Urine, 

Dropsies — Elder  Bark  in. 

Aphonia  cured  by  Galvanism, 

Femeral  Herma, 

Strabismus, 

Deafness — Electro— puncture  in 

Night  Blindness — Leeches, 

Par  Va£um — Saffron, 

Facial  Neuralgia, 

Black  Drop,  ... 

Dropsy — Bronchitis, 

Cesarian  Section, 

Venereal  Warts, 

Uterus — ^Rupture  of. 

Leeches  in  tlie  Liver,  and  Snakes  in  the 
Stomach,  ... 

Naptha, 

Revelations  in  Mesmerism, 

New  Era  in  the  practice  of  Medicine. 
Lecture  delivered  at  the  E^ptian  Hall» 
Piccadilly,  London,  1840,^  &  Dlck- 
Bon^M.  D.  Lecture  II — ^Ballacies  of 
the  Vacuity.    Introduction, 

Intermittent  Fever — or  Ague 

Spasmodic  Complaints, 

Paralysis, 

Intermittent  Fever  following  local  injury,  1 26 

Lecture  on  the  Magnetism  of  the  Hu- 
man Body,  by  Professor  R.  W.  Gibbs, 
M.  D ,  (continued  from  page  67,) 

Magnetic  oiganization  of  me  onans  of 
the  human  bodv,  as  traced  by  me  Ro- 
tary Magnetic  Machine, 


112 
112 
112 


113 
114 
116 
120 


127 


•     135 


Index  to  First  Volume. 


"""^  Page. 

Motions  of  fhe  Magnetic  Poles,  and  of 

the  Earth  and  Planets*        -        -        136 
The  "  Water  Cure"  analyzed,  -        144 

Digitalis  in  Epilepsy,        -  -  146 

Incontinence  of  Urine,   and   Enuresis 

cured  by  Electricity,        -  -        146 

Ampntadon  perf  onned  during  the  Mag- 
netic Sleep,  -  '  „.  '  ^^^ 
Period  of  inculiaition  in  Syphilhs,  147 
Tapping  the  Chest,  -  -  148 
BeUadonna  in  Scarlet  Fever,  -  148 
Paralysis;  -  -  -  148 
Tests  for  Arsenic,  -  148 
Infloenoe  of  Factory  Labor  on  growth,  1 46 
Treatment  of  Ereqile   Tomors  of  the 

Eyelids,         -  -  -  149 

Ckuse  of  laige  Ovarian  Tumor  removed 

by  operation,  by  F.  Bird,  M.  D.  149 

On  the  true  character  of  Idiopathic  Ery- 

apelas,  by  J.  A.  Wilson,  M.  D.,  151 

The  Botaiy  Magnetic  Machine,        -      155 
The  Savage  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine,  156 
The  direction  and  character  of  the  for- 
ces as  they  proceed  from  the  Buttons,  156 
The  extraordinary  effects  of  these  mstru- 

nents,  -  -  -  157 

The  great  number  and  variety  of  cases  m 

which  they  have  been  tested,        -      157 
Tbe  great  importance  of  the  machine  in 

inopient  Tubercular  Consumption,       1 57 1 
Ihibennilar  disease  of  the  Serous  Surfa- 
ces; Directions  for  Magnetising  the 
Heart,  Pleura,  Stomach,  Liver,  Spleen, 
Laige   Intestines,    Small   Intestines, 
Mesentary,  Kidneys,  Cystis,  Prostate 
Gland,  Uterus  and  Ovaria,         -         1 58 
Direetians  for  Magnetising  in  Chlorosis, 
Ajnenoiriioea,  Leucorrhcaa.  Prolw)su8- 
uteri.  Disease  of  the  Stomach  and  Ute- 
rus, Disease  of  the   Cerebellum  and 
Uterus,  Brain,  Sick-head-aches,  Tic- 
Dolereux,    Strabiamus,  Eye,   Nose, 
Antrum,  Tooth-ache,   Throat,   and 
Bheumatism,        "        *        *        7     ^ 
Directions  for  Magnetising  in  Paralysis, 
Chorea,  St  Vitus'  Dance,  Epilepsy, 
Catalepsy,  Deafness  Jfointerand  Limbs, 
Spine  m-distortions,  and  distortions  in 
Luinbar  Abscess  and  Aphonia,     -     160 
Directions  for  distinguishing  Tubercular 
diseases  of  the0^8,and  for^radu-  . 
ating  the  power  of  the  Machine  in 
these  cases,  and  the  time  occupied  in 
Magnetising  at  each  sitting,  160  161 

Hypertrv^hv  of  Macous  Surfaces.  Di- 
rections u»r  Magnetising  in  Bronchi- 
tis, Chronic  and  Mucous  disease  of 
the  Throat,  -  -  '  ^  'e  ^^^ 
Acute  Diseases ;  Inflammation  of  the  Se- 
lona  Sojfaces;  Acute Tubercula ;  ca- 
ses in  wbieh  the  Machine  has  been 
..^         .  -  -  161  162 


/  PAfi«. 

Directions  for  distinguishing  Acute  Dis- 
ease of  the  Serous  Surfaces,  and  for 
Magnetising  in  these  cases,  and  in  Fe- 
vers, Acute  Bronchitis,  and  Shaking 
Palsy,  ...  162 

Diseases  of  the  Skin.    Directions  for 

Magnetising  in  Diseases  of  the  Skin,   162 
Effects  of  Magnetising  on  the  Magneti- 

zer — Magnetic  Sleep,        -  -      168 

Spine,   Latend  Curvatures— Directions 

for  Magnetising- in  these  cases>       163—4 
Classification  of  Diseases,        -        -      164 
Directions  for  running  the  Savage  Rota- 
ry Magnetic  Machine,        -        -        164 
Animal  and  Vegetable  Electricityy  165 

Mereury  and  Iodine  in  Syphilis,  167 

Treatment  of  Stricture  of  the  Urethra,    167 
Elffects  of  Tartar  Emetic  on  Infants,        167 
Lateral  Curvatures  of  the  Spine,        -     168 
Structure  and  Diseases  of  the  Eustachi- 
an Tube,        -        -  -         -        168 
Copaiva  Sugar  Plumbs,        -        -  168 
Original  seat  of  Cancer  in  the  Eyelids,    168 
FaUacies  oSthe  Faculty,      -        -  169 
Apoplexy,         ...        -  171 
Ruptuxed  Blood-vessel  or  Hemonhage,    172 
Diseases  of  the  Heart,         -        -  175 
Pulmonary  Consumpton,  or  Decline,      177 
Lectures  on  Oiganic  Chemistry,        -       179 
Cures  of  various  Diseases  with  Mesmer- 
ism, by  different  Gentiemen,       •        184 
Corollaries,           -        -        -        -        185 
Mesmeric  Revelation,        -        -        -    185 
Observations  in  Midwifery,        -        -     189 
Excito-motorAction  of  the  Uterus,     -    192 
The  Excito-motor  Actions  caused  by 
the  presence  of  the  Child  in  the  Yig- 
ina,             -            -            -  192 
Table  of  the  Act  of  Ptaturition  in  First 

Stage,  ...  194 

Table  of  the  Act  of  Parturition  in  the 

Second  Stage,  -  -  194 

Table  of  the  Act  of  Parturition  in  the 

Third  Stage,  -  -  194 

The  periods  regulating  the  Recun:ence 

of  Vital  Phenomena.         -         -        195 
Case  of  Ovarian  Dropsy,  -  198 

*«  New  Magnetic  Fluid,'*.  -  189 

Mesmerism,  -  -  -       199 

Influence  of  Opium  on  the  Catamenial 

Functions,      -  -  -  199 , 

On  the  Inorsanic  Constituents  of  Plants,  200 
Royal  Medico-Botanical  Society,      -      201 
Analyses  of  Blood  in  Diseases,        -       202 
Tabular  View   of   One  Hundred  and 
Eighty   Cases   of   Tubercle  of   the 
Lungs    in  Children,  with    some   re- 
marks on  Infantile  Consumption,         203 
On  the  Exclusion  of  the  Amiospheric 
Air  in  tbe  Treatment  of  Certain  Lo- 
cal Diseases,  203 


Index  t0  First  Volume. 


Pagk. 
Qq  the  ]^cro8CopicaI  Characteis  of  Milk 

and  tbe  use  of  the  Microscope  in  the 

choice  of  a  Nurse,  -  -  204 

Mineral  MarmoratuiD,  or  Paste  to  fill 

Hollow  Teeth,  ...         204 

Tooth  Powders,  -        .        -         204 

Odses  reported  for  the  Dissector,  bj  A. 

H.— M.D.  -  -  -  .  204 
American  Medical  Students  and  their 

Habits.  .    ,        -  -  206 

The  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine  and  the 

Duodynamic  treatment  of  Diseases,  207 
jBfEects  oi   the  Rotary  Magnetic  Ma- 

ehmes,  -  -  -  208 

file  Curability  of  Cerebral  and  Spinal 

Softenings*  -  -  -  -  211 
Obserrations  in  Midwifery,  by  Tyler 

Smith,  M.D.,  ...  21t 

Uterine  Contractions   excited  through 

the  Medium  of  the  Stomach,       -      212 


Pagk. 


Dilatation  of  the  Os  Uteri  throogh  the 
Medium  of  the  Stomach, 

Case  of  Complicated  Ovaiian  Disease, 

Exammation,  Twenty-six  Houn  after 
Death,  .  .  - 

Astonishing  effect  of  Electricity  in  ca- 
ring Hysterical  Locked  Jaw, 

The  *<  Traitement  Arabiq[ue"  in  obsti- 
nate ca3es  of  Skin  Diseases. 

Memory,  its  Influence  and  Importance 
as  a  source  of  Action  in  Animals, 

Miscellaneous  Items, 

Absurdities  of  the  Faculty, 
Index  to  the  First  Volume,      -    . 


213 
214 

215 

215 

215 

217 
118 
219 
220 
221 
222 
223 
224 


NOTICE. 

This  number  completes  the  First  Tolume  of  this  Journal,  and  it  is 
eonsequeatly  accompanied  with  an  Index.  The  commendations  of  tha 
course  we  have  pursued  in  conducting  it,  from  many  of  the  most  diatin- 
guished  men  of  the  profession,  who  have  become  tired  and  ashamed  of 
uie  old  visionary  theories  and  practice  of  the  schools,  and  the  patronage 
which  has  been  extended  to  it,  has  encouraged  us  to  publish  another 
Tolume,  quarterly,  the  first  number  of  which  will  be  out  on  the  First  «f 
January  next. 

The  introduction  of  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machinci  in  the  duodynam- 
ic treatment  of  diseases,  has  marked  a  new  era  in  the  practice  of  physic 
and  surgery.  We  have  sold  more  than  a  hundred  of  theae^  macbinca  to 
physicians  during  the  {last  three  months,  and  we  shall  be  pleased  to  re- 
ceive from  those  who  are  using  them,  any  information  that  maybe  new 
and  useful  in  the  use  of  these  instruments,  tor  the  next  and  succeeding 
numbers. 

H,H.  SHERWOOD,  M,a 


f 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


T*i.  n.] 


nW^TOaK,  JAVUABT.  1840. 


[V*.  z. , 


TJJJJlOXBU  of  TRB  TAOUhTT. 


BT  •.  SZZOir,  IL  9. 

LECTURfi    IV. 

GmXTLEMXS: 

Whea  medical  men  liear  that  I  am  Id  the 
habit  of  treating  all  kinds  of  disease  without 
Blood-letting,  they  seoerally  open  their  eves 
vrith  a  staxe,  and  ask  me  what  I  do  in  In- 
TLAXMATioN.  Inflammation ! — who  ever 
saw  any  part  of  the  body  on  fire,  or  in 
haiues  ?  foT  the  word,  if  it  means  any  thing 
at  all,  must  hare  something  like  that  signifi- 
oation.  To  he  sure,  we  have  all  heara  of 
**  spontaDeous  combustion,'*  bat  I  confess  I 
nerer  «aw  >t,  and  what  is  more,  nobody  that 
ever  did  I  What,  then,  is  this  inflammation 
— thia  term  which  our  great  modem  doctors 
ao  dogmatically  assure  us  is  the  head  and  front 
of  erery  corporeal  disorder?  D  is  a  meta- 
phor merely — a  theoretical  expression,  which, 
torture  it  how  you  please,  can  only  mean  a 
ouicker  motion  and  a  higher  temperature  in 
ua  moTing  atoms  of  a  given  structure,  than 
are  compatible  with  the  nealt|iy  oiganization 
of  that  structure.  When  you  find  a  conside- 
laUe  degree  of  heat  and  swelling,  with  pain 
and  redness  in  any  part,  thai  pert  in  medical 
language  is  if^lamea.  Now,  what  are  these 
pteiomena  but  the  signs  of  approaching 
attoctnialiecomponhon  7  During  tne  slighter 
corporeal  changeSythe  coincident  variation  of 
iea^^eratwre  is  not  always  ver^  sensibly  per- 
ceptible ;  but  whenever  there  is  the  least  ten- 
dency to  deoomposition,  this  thermal  chan|p 
b  sore  Id  be  one  of  the  most  {>rominentfec^ 
tarea.  The  phenomena  of  inflammation, 
didf  very  ckael^  resemble,  if  they  be  not 
inleed  identical  with,  the  chemical  phenome- 
na which  take  place  precedii^  and  during 
die  deooMpoiition  pf  inot^mip  substancesw 
Now,  wh^  thie  kind.of  action  proceeds  un- 
cbed^>  the  reeuU  in  .most  cases,  k  ^  tu- 
mov  caaktfBouiog  fwrtdent  matter^  which 
metier,  h^h^  %  new  fiuid  product,  diflers 
Mfttbr  m  tta  a^pmwon  imd  conmstenoe 
Inb  9ie  OfigiiMl  timm,  iir  wliieh  it  chinoei 


to  become  developed.    This  tumour  we  caU 
abscess.     And  how  is  it  Id  be  cured?    IH 
most  instances,  the  matter,  after  working  it« 
way  to  the  surface,  escapes  by  an  ulceiated 
opening  of  the  integument,  while  in  othenr* 
an  artificial  opening  must  first  be  made  by 
the  knife  of  the  surreon.    In  either  Gaae»  im 
part  in  which  the  abscess  was  situated,  gene^ 
rally  recovers  its  healthy  slate  by  the  repam* 
tive  powers  of  nature.    But  thdre  is  yot 
another  mode  in  which  a  cure  may  be  dfecte^ 
namely,  by  MsorpHon;  that  is  to  say,  the 
matter  of  the  abscess  may  be  agma  taken  up 
into  the  system,  and  by  the  inscrutable  chem^ 
istry  of  ufe,  become  once  more  a  nart  aad 
parcel  of  the  heaUky  fabric  of  the  body  1-^^ 
being  thus  again  reduced  to  the  elements  oi«t 
of  which  it  was  oi^inally  formed.    How 
analogous  all  this  to  the  operations  of  the 
chemist,  who,  by  means  of  the  galvanic  wiie» 
having  first  reduced  water  into  its  elemeoHiI 
gases,  again   conveils  these,  by  electtieil 
means,  into  the  water  from  whose  deoomp#> 
sitbn  they  proceeded!     Such,  and  maiy 
more  chemical  operations.  Nature  daily  mSp 
forms  in  the  animal  body ;  and  that  she  doae 
ail  tUis  through  the  electric  or  galvanic  medi- 
um of  the  BnAnr  and  Nkuvjes,  cannot  pomk' 
bly  admit  of  dispute,  when  you  eooM  U 
consider  that  under  the  influence  of  a  Fmmm 
(the  most  unquestionable  of  cerebral  actiom^ 
laige  abscesses,  and  even  solid  tumours,  have 
often  disappeared  in  a  single  night    Gently 
meut  there  is  not  a  nassion,-^Grief»  Sacv* 
Terror,  or  Joy,— which  has  not  as  efibctoally 
cured  abscesses  and  other  tumoure,  as  tat 
most  powerful  agents  in  the  materia  medleat 
The  writings  of  the  older  authors  abound  in 
instances  of  this  kind.    But  there  are  ^ 
other  terminations  to  the  inflammatory  pio- 
cesi.    For  example,  after  having  ptoceeMk 
to  a  certain  exteat,  in  the  way  ot  change 
but  still  lulling  short  of  actual  jmraleot 
decomposition*  the  atoms  of  the  inflamed 
part,  by  the  renewal  of  a  healthy  eondiMl 
of  the  body  generally,  or  by  thft  direot  apfdl* 
cation  of  cold  Or  other  agency,  may  again* 
with.more  or  less  qtliokness,  stihside  iilia>fha 
denee  of  motion  m  temperature  cbaraetet* 
istic  of  their  naAuial  revoIution&    This  4eib 
minaSxon>  callai  lUsohti&ik    Vfhm  te 
inflammatoiy  acticHi  is  mora  ttaa  uaaalJJr 


2 


FcUlaciea  of  the  Faculty. 


lapid,  the  result  may  be  the  complete  death 
of  the  part  implicated, — a  black  inoi^nic 
mass  being  left  in  the  place  of  the  tissue 
which  it  originally  composed.  This  last  we 
term  Mortifioatum  at  Qangtene. 

But,  GenUemen,  medical  men  extend  the, 

terra  inflammation  to  some  other  morbid  pro- 

eOfses,  which,  under  the  various  names  of 

Gout,  Rheumatism,  and  Erysipelas,  we  shall 

in  another  lecture,  have  the  honour  to  ex- 

tvhain  to  you.    A  great  many  books  have 

Men  written  upon  the  subject  of  Inflammation, 

bat  I  must  own  I  never  found  myself  one 

whit  the  wiser  after  reading  any  of  them. 

Their  writers,  in  almost  every  instance,  uee 

lim^uage  which  they  do  not  themselves  seem 

l»  nave  understood,  otherwise  they  would 

Itave  confined  themselves  to  one  sense,  in- 

^ead  of  including  under  the  same  term,  states 

^e  most  opposite.    Were  I  to  tell  yoa  that 

the  word  "Inflammation''  is  used  by  ihany 

Writers  when  a  jjart  is  more  than  usually 

wold,  Von  would  think  I  was  laughing  at  you ; 

y^t  there  is  nothing  more  true,  and  1  will 

ffiTe  Tou  an  instance. — A  carpenter  had  his 

*  tnumb  severely  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake ;  and 

Ihe  effects  ol  the  venom  aie  thus  described  by 

one  of  the  most  learned  of  livine  medicsd 

writers,  Mr.  Samuel  Cooper  :-~^*  The  conse* 

^ence  was,  that  in  ten  or  twelve  hourr,  the 

whole  limb,  axiUd,  and  shoulder  became  very 

mild  and  enormouriy  swollen  up  to  the  neck ; 

im  fact,  the  whole  surface  of  the  body  was 

imnh  hdov)  the  natural  temperature.    The 

«trelling,  you  know,  is  produced  bv  that  kind 

<pl  inrtiMMATiON  whjch  is  called  diffuse 

injUtmmaiiofi  of  the  cellular  tissue."— ^Mr. 

S.  CoopKR*s  Lecture  in  Mbd.  Gazette.] 

0entlemen»  was  there  ever  such  an  abuse  of 

ivords — such  an  abandonment  of  common 

aense  as  this  ?    The  arm  was  *<  very  coUt* — 

H  much  hd(M  the  natural  temperature," — ^yet 

it  was  m/2am«(f — on  fire ! 

Restricted  to  the  sense  in  which  I  have 
ilready  spoken  of  the  term,  namely,  heat, 
sirelling,  and  pain,  *<  inflammation,"  like 
•'  fever,"  or  any  other  abstract  w<^,  may  be 
itted  as  a  "  counter  to  reckon  by,"  and,  like 
almost  every  other  phonomenon  of  disease, 
it  is  a  developenient  of  previous  constitution- 
w3l  disturbance  I  do  not  speak  of  immediate 
local  inflammation  produced  by  a  chemical 
or  mechanical  injury — ^leavin^  that  to  tiie 
Mimons  to  elucidate  or  mystify,  according 
15  lileir  jMO^uhtf  inelinationE ;  I  talk  of  in- 
Ajrtuttatioii  from  a  general  or  c(mstitutional 
oaviSi  Has  aa  mdividual,  for  example,  ex- 
f^mik  hiBMelf  to  a  cold  draught,  or  to  any 
other  widely  injurious  iEfluence,  he  abivers, 
f^iw«,  and  complains  of  pain,  thioU»ing,  and 
tout «  the  heaa,  cheat,  or  abdomen,  phenom* 
«M^  gMniUy  developed  aecoidiag  lo  the 


patient's  predisposition  to  oij^anic  change  in 
this  or  that  locality.  Phrenitis,  Pneumonia, 
Peritonitis,  (technical  terms  for  inflammation 
of  the  Brain,  Langs,  and  Membranous  cove' 
rmg  of  the  fiowSs,)  ate  consequences  or 
features,  not  cavus  of  the  constitutional  dis- 
order. But  are  the  symptoms  of  inflammation 
in  such  parts  eaually  intermittent. with  the 
diseases  of  which  we  have  already  treated  ? 
Listen  to  I^Uemand : — **  In  inflammation  of 
the  brain,"  he  tells  you,  *'  you  have  spasmo- 
dic symptomsy.slow  and  pro^pieanve  pamlyiis 
the  course  of  the  disorder  being  intermiUent." 
So  that  inflammation,  like  almost  every  other 
morbid  action,  is  for  the  most  part  a  leisure 
or  developement  of  intennittant  fever.  Dr, 
ConoUy,  in  his  Cyclopedia  of  Medicine,  sap 
« diurnal  remiMswm  an  diatingoiahed  m 
EVERT  attack  of  inflammation."  Now,  if 
you  prefer  the  evidence  of  another  man's 
eyes  to  your  own,  this  statement  ought  to  be 
more  than  convincing,  for  it  comes  from  the 
enemy's  camp.  Genuemen,  it  is  the  laneuage 
of  an  opponent,  the  Editor  of  the  British  ain 
Foreign  Af  edical  Review — ^the  same  individ- 
ual who  lately  told  his  readers  that  &e  Unitif 
of  Disease  was  a  silly  book.  If  it  was  se 
silly  as  he  says,  why  was  he  ao  sillj  ai  to 
abuse  it?  But  aeainst  his  authority,- if 
atOhority,  in  these  days,  be  still  pemiittBd  to 
take  the  place  of  examination — you  have  the 
opinion  of  Sir  Astley  Cooper,  who,  with  his 
usual  candour  and  good  feeling,  at  oaoepio- 
nounced  it  to  be  a  •*  valuable  work."  JTow, 
who  in  his  senses  would  think  of  comparing 
these  two  men  together,— Asdey  Cooper,  the 
father  of  English  suisery,  smd  John  Conblly, 
the  ilfod-doctor?—**  Hyperion  to  a  satyr  r 
But,  Gentlemen,  you  have  no  idea  what  tndn 
theae  medical  RJeviewers  are  in  the  habit  d 
playing.  Some  time  ago  I  showed  up  cm 
of  them  in  a  way  he  will  not  soon  ">'8^ 
Dr.  James  Johnson,  were  he  here,  wooW 
know  the  person  I  mean ;  for  he,  Gentlemea, 
as  I  have  already  toldyou,  reviewed  my  "^W- 
lacy  of  the  Art  of  Physic  as  taught  in  thj 
Schools,  in  the  Medioo-Chiraigical  Review^* 
A  most  unlucky  business  it  turned  out' for 
him,  for  were  I  to  tell  you  how  I  replied  to 
his  criticism,  you  never  couM  acatn  J^^^^"* 
name  mentioned  without  langhing.  W^ 
has  he  not,  in  revenge, «  cut  up"  the  Vany 
of  Disease  ?  The  editor  of  the  Medical  Ga- 
zette, not  long  ago,  pretended  to  Review  tW 
work.  He  did  not,  howairer,  like  Dr.  w 
oily,  call  it  a  eilly  book  j--^  "^^^St 
the  contrary,  that  it  had  "bolb  pith  and  poiar 
but  he  contended  that  it  watf  cmty  a  OTW 


thrown  up  at  a  lucky  moment  whctt  the  wijd 
of  mediciu  opinion  was  lariaii^  af^  "^ 
«  bleeding  mama,**--^  mania.  ^Ww  «•  ■ 


baaJaoreprobafed.    I  wiote  to 


himlOiA 


\ 


Ftilhteies  of  the  FaaOty. 


% 


if  that  wwe  reaUy  the  ease,  why  he  Mr.  Ed- 
itor had  nerer  r^robated  that  mad  practice 
betfbn,  and  knowing  it  to  be  so  murderous  in 
its  efeeta,  as  lie  said  he  did,  how  in  common 
honaatty  he  allowed  my  strictures  upon  it 
tonmain  so  Jong  unnoticed  in  his  pages; 
while  all  the  years  that  these  strictures  had 
been  beloie  hhn,  he  had  not  only  continued 
to  fitt  kis  joamal  with  oases  tveaied  after  the 
aangiiiiiary  fashion,  but  had  even  held  them 
up  to  the  woild  aa  models  oi  practice !  True, 
lA  one  or  two  instances,  whctre  the  person  he 

red  washis  enemy,  he  had  oertainly  hinted 
the  treatment  was  bad;  But  these  were 
ymry  sony  eioeptions.  So  far  from  my  book 
faonr  a  straw  which  showed  which  way  the 
wiad  Uew,  I  was  the  irst,  (1  maintained) 
who  had  the  courage,  alone,  and  in  the  face 
d  amk  onpeeitioii,  to  set  tiuUvmd  a*blow- 
ii^i  and  I  aided,  that  before  I  died  1  hojwd 
to  raise  aoeh  a  Jionay  one  as  would  purify 
^  medical  atmoepbeee  of  some  of  its  pres- 
ent conniption  and  foulness!  But  of  that 
IfMer  my  good  friend  the  Editor  took  no 
notka  whatever ;  nor  was  I  surprised  at  it, 
for  the  Madicai  Gazette,  as  some  of  you  may 
know,  ia  a  mem  oigan  and  supporter  of 
the  College  of  Physicians  $  and  so  much  the 
slaves  oi  that  body  aie  the  booksellers  who 
niblish  it,  that  when  about  two  years  before, 
1  aent  them  the  MSS.  of  this  very  Unity  of 
Diseaas,  they  actually  refused  to  brin^  it  out 
ibr  me  on  any  terms:! — the  editor  of  the  Ga- 
zette can  beet  tell  at  whose  instigation,— for 
he  is*  or  was  then  at  least,  the  examiner  of 
all  thor  medical  laannscripts,  and  therefore 
peifeetly  acqnainted  with  that  particular  se- 
crat  Like  a  good  servanl,  doubtless,  he  had 
too  nach  i^aid  for  his  employers  to  permit 
them  10  nahtf  icto  the  world  soch  a  terrible 
expuauie  of  their  professional  patrons.  Be* 
fere  qoittiag  tins  matter,  I  may  mention,  that 
I  am  iiequeatly  asked  why  my  writings  have 
iMwr  been  latoi  up  by  the  Lancet^  the  Lan- 
cet which  tilks  so  constantly  and  so  grand- 
iloquently of  its  reforming  and  liberal  politics! 
1  can  aoggcst  a  reason ;— that  periodical  is 
BOW  the  oig^  of  the  Apothecaries.  Mr, 
Wfdder*  its  proprietor,  was,  in  early  life,  a 
medical  roomer,  anif  much  good  he  certainly 
at  one  time  did  in  that  character.  Now — but 
I  tfhaU  say  nothing  more  of  him  on  this 
oeoaeion  escept  Cave  canem  I 

To  retam  to  inflammation.  Whether  the 
patticalar  condition,  so  called,  be  termed  er^- 
ftpeloid,  goaty,  iheumatic,  scrofulous,  it  is 
■till  rendtteiU;  and  if  you  question  the  pa^ 
tbttf ,  he  wiH  almost  in  every  case  admit  that 
ilwaa  piecedad  or  aocompanied  by  cold  or 
bol  to  or  both*  May  not  inflammation, 
Hm^yMd  to  BaTk~4o  Quinine.?  The  late 
Ik  WiAitt  of '  Dahlia  maintained  the  affirm- 


ative, dwelling  more  particularly  oai  its  good 
eflects  in  that  disorganizing  inflammation  of 
the  eye,  termed  Iritis,  in  which  disease  he 
preferred  it  to  all  the  routine  measures,  which,' 
on  the  strength  of  a  theory,  medical  men  have 
from  time  to  time  recommended  as  araij^ih'' 
gtstic.  During;  an  attack  of  Ague,  he  tellr 
us.  Iritis  with  inflammatory  aftection  of  other 
parts  of  the  eye,  occurred  in  the  person  of  a. 
patient  under  his  care.  "For  the  former 
complaint,  namely,  the  intermittent  fever,  he 
administered  Bark;  by  the  exhibition  of' 
which,  he  was  surprised  at  seeing  the  infiam- 
matory  affection  ^  the  Eye,  as  well  as  ther 
Uy^j,  disappear.**  This  was  the  case  which 
first  led  him  to  suspect  the  fallacy  of  the 
blood-letting  system  in  inflammation  of  the 
Eye.  Now  I  shall  tell  you  what  first  led  me. 
to  entertain  similar  doubts  of  its  efficacy.  A 
medieal  officer  of  one  of  Her  Majesty's  Wt- 
ments  serving  in  India,  couched  a  woman  m 
cataract.  The  next  da^,  the  eye  havmg* 
become  inflamed,  according  to  received  prac- . 
tice  he  bled  the  patient;  but  scarcely  had  he. 
bound  up  her  arm,  when  she  fellas  if  she. 
had  been  shot,  and  lay  to  all  appearance* 
dead.  With  the  greatest  difficulty,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  recovering  her  from  this  state ;  but^ 
It  was  not  until  four  long  hours  had  passed,, 
that  he  felt  that  he  could  safely  leave  her. 
with  ordinary  attendants;  for  daring  tha; 
greater  part  of  that  time,  when  he  ceased  td- 
chafe  her  temples  or  otiierwise  call  up  the- 
attention  of  the  brain  by  the  application  oL 
stimulants  to  the  nose,  mouth,  &c.,  she  re^: 
lapsed  into  a  death-like  swoon.  More  than, 
once  he  was  even  obliged  to  inflate  her  Inoga 
to  keep  her  from  dying.  But,  in  this  caee^ 
^ntlemen,  the  blood  letting  did  not  cure  the 
inflammation ;  for  the  next  day  the  eye  wee 
more  painful  and  inflamed  than  ever,  and  the 
poor  woman,  after  all  the  blood  she  had  lost 
—and  who  will  say  that  she  was  not  bled 
enough?— did  not  recover  her  sight.  It 
is  now  many  years  since  that  case  came 
under  my  observation,  and  it  made  an  im- 
pression on  my  mind  I  shall  never  forget. 
Had  that  woman  died,  would  not  eveiybody- 
have  said  that  the  gentleman  who  had  bled 
her  had  killed  her?  and  very  justly  too,> 
thouj^h  he,  ^ood  man,  only  conscientiously 
put  in  practice  what  he  had  been  taught. to 
consider  his  duty.  Yoa  see,  then,  that  blood* 
letting  even  to  the  point  of  deaths  is  no  eunSi 
for  inflammation ;  and  that  it  cannot  prevent 
its  developement,  I  shall  furnish  you  with 
ample  evidence  before  I  finish  this  lecture* 
Meantime,  I  will  tell  you  what  can  do  both 
— Bark  ssiA  Opium.  These  are  the  remedies 
to  give  befora.anr  operation,  aud  they  are  also 
the  remedies  b^t  adapted  for  the  lelief  q|: 
inflammation  after  it  h^a  come  <»>— and  thfil 


F^ades  of  tfie  Fdcutty. 


friimficial  influence  will  be  more  geneially 
certain  in  the  latter  case,  if  you  first  premise 
an  emetic,  and  wait  till  its  action  has  ceased 
before  yon  administer  them. 

"The  Peruvian  Bark,"  says  Heberden, 
«<  has  been  more  objected  to,  than  any  of 
tibese  medicines  (Bitters)  in  cases  of  conside- 
nble  inflammation,  or  where  a  free  expecto- 
imtion  is  of  importance ;  for  it  is  supposed  to 
haTe»  beyond  any  other  stomach-medicine, 
«uch  a  strong  bracing  quality,  as  to  tighten 
Hi  fibres  (  / )  still  more»  which  were  ahready 
too  much  upon  the  stretch  in  inflammation, 
and  its  aatringency  has  been  judged  to  be  the 
likely  means  of  checking  or  putting  a  ston 
to.  expectoration.'?  AU  this  appeared  muck 
mare  plausMt  when  taught  in  the  schools  or 
VHT8IC,  than  probable,  when  I  attended  to 
ImI  and  experience.  The  unquestionable 
•alety  and  wknotoUdged  ttse  of  the  Bark,  in 
the  vmnt  ttage  of  inflammation,  when  it  is 
tBodinf  to  a  xoRTincATioN,  affords  a  suifi* 
eient  answer  to  the  first  of  these  objections ; 
««d  i  have  several  times  seen  it  given  plenti- 
fully  in  the  confluent  small  pox,  without 
ItMening  in  any  degree  the  expectoration." 

fiome  time  ago,  I  was  called  to  see  a  young 
gaotleman,  who  had  a  swelling  under  the 
aim-pit,  extending  to  the  side.  The  skin 
WBS  red  and  hot,  and  the  tumour  so  painful 
pa  to  have  deprived  him  of  all  rest  for  the 
three  previous  nights*  Though  suppuration 
appoued  to  me  to  have  commenced,  fat  once 
ofdered  Quinine,  and  b^ed  him  to  poultice 
the  tumour.  By  these  means  he  was  per- 
fectly cured  in  fhiee  days,  the  swelling  hav- 
ings in  that  period,  completely  disappeared. 
The  subject  of  this  case  was,  in  the  first 
instance,  attacked  with  shivering  and  fever, 
which  had  repeatedly  recurred,  but  disap- 

rared  under  the  use  of  the  quinine.  Matter, 
have  no  doubt,  was  absorbed  in  this  in- 
Mance,  but  so  far  from  this  absorption  pro- 
ducing shiverings, — which,  according  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  schools,  it  ought  to  have  done, 
-^e  very  reverse  took  place. 

I  shall  now  give  you  one  of  many  instan- 
ces of  IndubitaMe  and  palpable  inflammation 
-*-if  the  word  have  a  meaning  at  all — as  a 
proof  of  the  value  of  Opium  in  the  treatment 
of  this  afiection 

Case,— An  old  c^eer.  Major  F.,  89th  foot 
who  had  previously  lost  one  e^  by  acute 
Ophthalmia,  notwithstanding  a  vigorous  anti- 
ptofpstie  discipline,  had  the  other  attacked  in 
a  similar  manner  with  great  pain,  redness, 
and  throbhinr.  I  found  him  leanin^^  his 
htad  over  a  chair-back,  his  face  indicative  of 
jiifeiise  agony.  For  ten  nights,  he  assured 
Hie,  he  had  been  unable  to  tolerate  any  other 
MsitioA,  and  it  was  only  towards  morning, 
wVMi  <i^»«none  by  sitiMing,  Oat  he  ooold. 


at  last,  obtain  any  thing  like  repose.  The 
pain  came  on  at  bed-time  in  an  a0;F8vateil 
degree,  and  remitted  principally  in  the  after- 
noon. Three  grains  of  opium  which  I  di- 
rected him  to  take  half  an  hour  before  the  re- 
currence of  the  expected  paK>xysm,  procured 
him  a  whole  night  of  profound  sleep,  and 
his  eye,  in  the  morning,  to  his  astonishment, 
was  free  from  nain,  and  only  slightly  vascu- 
lar. He  had  been  repeatedly  bled,  leeched, 
purged,  and  bli^red,  without  even  temporairr 
benefit — indeed,  the  gentleman  who  attended 
him,  in  the  first  place,  plumed  himself  upca 
the  activity  of  his  treatment. 

But  how,  you  may  ask  me,  can  PixiTRisr 
and  Pncumomta  be  cared  without  Blood-let- 
ting ?  What  are  Pleuhsy  and  Pneumonia  ? 
Any  rapid  tendency  to  atwiic  change  in  the 
substance  of  the  lungSi^  from  the  real  paiik 
and  presumed  increase  of  temperature  at  the 
same  time  developed,  is  termea  Pneumonia-^ 
vtdgo  inflammation  of  flie  lungs.  A  similar 
tendency  to  change  in  the  atomic  relations  of 
the  membrane  {pleura)  which  covers  the 
outer  surface  of  tne  lungs,  or  of  that  portion 
of  it  which  is  continued  over  the  inner  sur* 
face  of  the  chest,  is  called  the  Pleurisy.  Now, 
authors  have  thought  it  a  fine  thing  to  be 
able  to  tell  pleurisy  from  pneumonia,  but  the 
thing  is  impossible ;  and  what  is  more,  if  it 
were  possible,  so  far  as  the  treatment  is  eon- 
cemed,  It  would  not  be  worth  the  time  you 
spend  in  doing  it.  Such  distinctions  only 
lead  to  interminable  disputes,  widiout  in  the 
least  tendino;  to  improvement  in  practice. 
This  much,  however,  1  do  know, — ^toth  dis- 
eases are  developements  of  intermittent  fever, 
and  both  may  often  co-exist  at  one  and  die 
same  time.  And  in  the  Medical  G^izette 
there  is  an  excellent  case  of  the  kind,  which, 
as  it  in  a  mat  measure  illustrates  the  chrono- 
thermsd  doctrine  and  treatment  in  both,  I 
shall  give  to  you  in  the  words  of  its  nanator. 
"  The  patienfs  symptoms  were  difficult  res- 
piration, dry  cough  with  stringy  expectoration 
pulse  full.  The  disease  commenced  wiA  an 
intense  fit  of  Arvmringt  followed  by  heat  and 
a  severe  cough.  Every  day  at  noon  there 
was  an  exacerbation  of  all  fhe  symptoms, 
commencing  wi&  very  great  shivering,  congh, 
and  intolerable  pain  m  the  chest,  a  fit  of  suf(h 
cation,  and  finally  perspiration  ^ — at  the  end 
of  an  hour  the  paroxysm  terminated.  Am- 
moniacal  mixture  was  first  given,  then  two 
grains  of  Quinine  every  two  hours.  The 
very  next  day  the  fit  was  scarcely  peroeptibit ; 
the  day  after,  there  Was  no  fit  at  alL  An 
observation  worthy  of  remark  is,  that  the 
symptoms  of  PLEUR0-pinn7M0NiA,"^which 
continued  throughout  in  a  very  slight  degree* 
it  is  true,  in .  the  intervals  of  the  vtMji^wam 
^lisappeeied  conpleldyi  akidita  liVttyAdit 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


time,  hy  Ike  eiect  of  the  sulphate  of  qui- 
Jkine.'* 

Who  are  the  persons  most  subjected  to 
inflammatory  disease  of  the  chest  ?    Medical 
tkeoritts  answer,  **  strong  healthy  labourers, 
and  people  much  exposed  to  the  air."    How 
these  gentlemen  deceive  themselves!    If  I 
know  any  thing  at  all  upon  any  subject,  I 
know  that  the  fact  in  this  case  is  just  the 
leverae.     The  subjects  of  dftst-disease  in 
mr  experience  have  been  almost  all  persons 
of  a  delicate  habit,  many  of  them  confined 
to  badly  ventilated  rooms,  and  the  ireater 
number  hrakm  down  by  starvation,  blood- 
letting, or  nrevious  disease.    Some  of  you 
may  have  neard  of  M.  Louis,  of  Paris,  a 
physician,  who  for  many  years  has  made 
ch^-dtaease  his  study.     Speaking  of  his 
eonsiim{Mive  patients,  who  became  the  sub- 
jects ol  mJUanmatory  disease,  he  has  this 
observation :  *■  As  we  have  already  remarked 
in  speaking  of  Pnettmonia,  the  invasion  of 
Plewrisy  comddes  in  a  laige  proportion  of  our 
patients  with  the  period  of  extreme  weakness 
and  emiictatio7V.">>-Dr.  Cowan's  translation  of 
Louis. 

Now,  what  is  the  usual  treatment  of  Pleu 
lisy  and  Pneumonia  ?  Does  it  not  almost 
entirely  consist  in  blood-letting,  starving  and 
jpmgimjf — ^with  blisters  and  mercury  some- 
times ?  Bat  what  are  the  results  ? — relapse 
or  repetition  of  the  paroxysm  from  time  to 
time, — ^loog  illness, — ^weakness  ever  after, 
and  death  too  often.  Even  in  these  cases  of 
extreme  emaciation,  M.  Louis  applies  leeches! 
Contrast 'the  case  I  have  just  given  you  from 
the  Medical  Gazette,  wim  the  case  and  treat- 
ment of  an  individual,  whose  omnipotent 
power  of  setting  a  theatre  in  a  roar  may  be 
alitt  fresh  in  the  recollection  of  niarn^  of  you 
celebrated  Joe  Grimaldi.  The  very 
excites  your  smile! — ^but  upon  the 
ion  to  which  I  refer,  the  poor  clown, 
instead  of  being  in  a  vein  to  move  your 
laughter,  very  much  wanted  your  sympathy. 
"  Monday,  Uie  9th  of  October,"  says  Mr. 
Charles  Dickens,  "  was  the  day  fixed  for  his 
benefit,  but  on  the  preceding  Saturday,  he 
was  suddenly  seized  with  severe  ilhiess,  ori- 
cinating  in  a  most  distressing  impediment  in 
mshreathine.  Medical  assistance  was  im- 
ibediately  c^led  in,  and  he  was  bled  until 
B^  FAINTING.  This  slightly  relieved  him, 
hot  shortly  after  he  had  a  relapse,  [return  of 
ibe  paroxysm  ?]  and  four  weeks  passed  be- 
hn  he  recovered  sufficiently  to  leave  the 
fionse.  There  is  no  doubt,  (continues  Mr. 
OBckens)  hut  thaut  some  radical  change  had 
oecarred  in  his  constitution,  for  previously 
helttd  never  been  visited  with  a  single  day's 
3IIHIS,  ifhile  after  its  recurrence,  he  never 
liiriitfii(b  dfliy  of  perfect  heakh»*>    If  you 


reflect  that  medical  relief  |Was  iffmediatdn 
called  in,  you  may  be  inclined,  like  myself, 
to  ascribe  poor  Grimatdi's  damaged  constitu- 
tion, not  so  much  to  the  efieet  of  the  original 
disorder,  as  to  the  sanguinary  treatment  adop* 
ted  in  his  case.  Whether  or  not  he  had  the 
additional  medical  advantage  of  being  starved 
at  the  same  time  1  do  not  know ;  but  lest  it 
might  be  inferred  that  this  continued  illness 
was  owing  to  the  n^lect  of  this  very  eXG^- 
lent  part  of  anttphlopstic  practice,  I  may  just 
hint  that  there  have  been  such  things  as 
inflammation  of  the  lungs  brought  (m  by 
starvation.  Witness  the  verdict  of  a  coW>- 
ner*8  jury,  in  the  case  of  a  pauper,  who  died' 
not  long  ago  in  the  |White  Chapel  Work- 
House.  **  That  the  decease  died  from  in- 
flammation  of  the  lungs,  produced  by  expo- 
sure and  wflnt.'*  The  veniict  in  question 
was  only  in  accordance  with  the  eviden<ie 
of  the  suigeon  of  the  work-house. 

In  acute  disease  of  the  chest — ^wliether 
involving  the  pkvra  simply,  the  interstiliai 
substance  of  the  lungs,  or  the  mucous  dr  • 
muscvdar  apparatus  of  the  air-tubes,  youi^ 
first  duty  is  to  premise  an  emetic.  So  hct 
from  acting  exclusively  on  the  stomach; 
medicines  of  this  class  have  an  influence 
primarily  cerebral,  and  they  therefore  act 
powerfully  upon  every  member  and  matter 
of  the  body.  By  emetics  you  may  change 
the  existing  relations  of  the  whole  corporeal 
atoms  more  rapidly  and  eflbctually,  than  by 
any  other  agency  of  equal  safety  m  tiie  Ma- 
teria  Medica.  £very  kind  of  chest-disease 
being  a  mere  feature  or  developement  of  fever, 
whatever  will  relieve  the  latter  will  equally 
relieve  the  former.  Hie  value  of  emeticinn 
the  simpler  forms  of  fever,  few  will  be  suffi- 
ciently bold  to  deny;  and  the  quickness  with 
whicn  the  same  medicines  can  alter  the  state 
of  the  inflamed  part  may  be  actually  seen  by 
their  efiects  on  the  eye,  in  the  inflammatory 
afifections  of  that  organ.  You  have  only  to 
try  them  in  chest-disease  to  be  satisfied  of 
their  inestimable  value  in  cases  of  this  kind. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  talking  of  the  tempo- 
rary good  you  have  occasionally  seen  done 
by  the  lancet  in  inflammation  of  the  chest, 
call  to  mind  the  many  deaths  you  have  wit- 
nessed where  it  had  been  most  freely  used — 
to  say  nothing  of  the  long  illnesses  which 
have  been  ihe  lot  of  such  as  have  escaped 
the  united  bad  effects  of  a  chest-disease  and 
loss  of  blood.  Whatever  wdutary  influence, 
as  a  present  means  of  rdief,  blood-letting  may 
produce,  it  is  infinitely  inferior  to  what  you 
may  obtain  by  emetics— a  class  of  remedies 
which  possess  the  additional  advanti^  of 
gjiving  that  relief,  without  depriving  the  p$. 
tient  of  the  material  <A  healthy  eoDSlitatiQiial 
power.    Their  ihtoaticief/iiioitk^erttii^}^ 


& 


Faliaci^  of  the  FaeuUy, 


=5Ss«sL 


V9niive  ogmnsi  setum  of  the  paroxysm,  is 
very  considerable/  while  blood-letting,  bo 
far  B8  my  experience  goes,  has  onl]^,  on  the 
contrary,  appeared  to  render  the  patient  more 
liable  to  a  recurrence. 

Lord  Bacon  tells  us  in  his  Works,  that  if 
disciples  only  knew  their  own  strength,  they 
would  soon  find  out  the  weakness  of  their 
masters.  What  led  hiiD  to  this  conclusion  ? 
What  but  the  fact  that,  with  all  his  ability, 
even  Lord  Bacon  himself  had  been  duped  by 
hift  teachen  ?— and  why  did  Des  Cartes  say, 
that  no  man  could  possibly  pretend  to  the 
name  of  philosopher  who  had  not  at  least 
onee  in  his  life  doubted  all  he  had  been 
previously  tuughl }  He  too  had  been  hood- 
winked by  his  pretended  masters  in  philoso- 
phy. But  yo<4,  perhaps,  will  say  all  this 
took  place  in  old  times — ^the  world  is  quite 
chani^ed  since  then ;  professors  are  now  the 
most  enlightened  and  respectable  men  alive ; 
tbay  go  to  church,  where  they  aie  examples 
of  piety ;  they  never  were  f(mnd  out  in  a  lie ; 
am  not  subject  to  the  passions  of  other  men ; 
have  no  motives  of  interest  or  ambition, — in 
fact,  they  are  all  but  angels.  Now,  I  only 
wish  yoa  knew  the  manner  in  which  most 
of  these  very  respectable  persons  get  their 
chairs — the  tricks*  the  party  work,  the  sub- 
sf  cvieacy,  meanness,  and  hypocrisy  practised 
by  them  ioi  that  and  other  ends— and  you 
would  not  so  tamely  submit  your  judgment  to 
their  theoretical  dreams  and  delusions.  Young 
mea>  be  men,— and  instead  of  taking  for 
gospel  the  incoherent  and  inconsistent  doc- 
trines of  the  fallible  puppets  whom  interest 
or  intrigue  has  stuck  up  in  Academic  Halls, 
— iw  your  own  eyes,  and  exercise  your  own 
reasoB !  Here,  then,  I  give  you  a  test  by 
whi^h  you  may  know  the  best  practice  in 
infladmatory  diseases  of  the  chest — a  test 
that  cannot  possibly  deceive  you.  Take  a 
certain  number  of  pleuritic  and  pneumonic 
palients — bleed,  blister,  and  physic  these 
after  the  most  orthodox  fashion,  so  that  you 
shall  not  be  able  to  tell,  whether  the  continued 
disease  be  the  effect  of  the  primary  cause,  or 
the  heroic  measures  by  which  your  patients 
have  been  worried  during  their  illness.  Take 
another  equal  number  similarly  afflicted,  and 
treat  them  chrono-thermaliy,— that  is  to  say 
piemise  an  emetic,  and  when,  by  means  of 
this»you  have  obtained  a  remission  of  the 
symptoms,  eudeavoui*  to  piolong  such  period 
of  iflununity,  bv  quinine,  opium,  or  hydro- 
cyanic acid,  and  then  compare  thie  results  of 
both  mod^  of  practice.    If  you  do  not  find 


*•  This  ttirtmtiit,  wlMii  I  int  pnblklMd  it,  wu  d«- 
niad  bj  Phy9iciAiit,bat  it  hm*  be«a  njic«  ooimrnMd  by 
Dr.  asymonr,  of  8t  Qeotge't  Hoapital,  wbo  reeently 
■MAt  sMM  ranuki  wpuu.  tJM  powtr  of  Emetics  in 


an  immense  saving  of  suffering  and  mortaiity 
by  the  latter  mode  of  treatment,  I  will  con- 
sent to  be  stigmatised  by  you  as  an  impostor 
and  deceiver — a  cheat — a  quack — a  person* 
in  a  word,  who  would  rather  teach  error  than 
vindicate  truth.  Remember,  however,  before 
you  begin,  that  the  Chrono-Thetmal  Systeai 
professes,  as  its  chief  feature  of  superiority 
oyer  every  other,  to  make  «ftor*  wwifc  with 
disease, — a  cii^mstance  not  likely  to  recom- 
mend it  to  those  whose  emolument,  from  the 
manner  in  which  things  are  now  ordered* 
arises  principally  from  long  sickness  and 
much  physic ! 

I  am  often  asked  how  T  treat  Enteritis, — 
Inflammation  of  the  Bowels — without  the 
Lancet  ?  Before  I  give  my  answer,  I  aene* 
rall^  ask — Can  medical  men  boast  of  any 
particular  success  from  depletion  in  this  dis- 
ease ?  If  so,  why  have  they  been  alwava 
so  solicitous  to  get  the  system  under  toe 
influence  of  calomel, — or  why  do  they  pie- 
scribe  Turpentine  In  its  treatment  ?  b  it  not 
because  the  nature  of  the  relief  afforded  by 
the  lancet  has  either  been  tempomry  or  delu- 
sive, or,  what  I  have  myself  found  it  to  be* 
absolutely  hurtful  in  the  majority  of  cases  ? 
"  The  symptoms  of  Enteritis,"  says  Dr.  Pan, 
*'  are  a  sluveringy  with  an  uneasiness  in  the 
bowels,  soon  increasing  to  a  violent  pain« — 
occasionally  at  first  remitting,  but]  soon 
becoming  continual.  Generally  the  whole 
abdomen  is  affected  at  the  same  time  with 
spasmodic  pains,  which  extend  to  the  loins, 
apparently  owing  to  flatulency.  The  pulse 
is  small,  frequent,  generally  soft,  but  some- 
times hard,  and  at  last  irregular  and  intermit- 
tent— the  extremities  are  cold — the  strength 
sinks  rapidly."  "  Perhaps,"  he  adds,  *'  bleed- 
ing is  more  seldom  necessary,  in  this  disease 
than  in  any  other  inflammation ;  for  it  rapidly 
tends  to  mortification,  and  should  it  not  at 
once  relieve,  it  soon  proves  fatal."  In  a 
letter  which  I  received  from  st^-suigeon 
Hume,  he  says :  "  I  am  satisfied  that  Pneu- 
monia and  Enteritis,  diseases  which  ace  at 
present  the  bugbears  of  the  faculty,  an 
mdebted  for  their  chief  existence  to  the 
remedies  employed  in  ordinary  ailments^ 
namely,  bleeding,  and  unnecessary  puning, 
I  never  saw  a  case  of  either,  (ana  I  have 
seen  many)  of  which  the  subject  liad  not 
been  the  inmate  of  an  hospital  previously » 
where  he  had  undergone  the  usuai  antixhuh 
fistic  regimen,— or  had  been  otherwise  dehil« 
itated,  as  in  the  case  of  long  residence  in  a 
warm  climate."  Now,  Gentlemen  this  is  the 
language  of  an  experienced  Medical  Offioar 
of  the  Army,  one  who,  having  no  intetested 
end  to  serve,  and  who  would  not  take  privnta 
practice  if  of&ied  to  him,  is  at  least  as  wor« 
thy  of  belief  as  those  whose  daily,  hnad. 


r 


FaUades  of  the  Faculty. 


4ttpend8  npOD  &e  extoit  and  dwnBtion  of  dis- 
ease Biound  them.      My  own  practice  in 
Bateiitis  I  will  illtistiate  by  a  case.    I  was 
one  evening  lequested  by  the  Dowager  Dach- 
«88  of  RoxDuigh  to  see  her  butler ;  1  found 
him  with  severe  pain  of  abdomen,  which 
would  not  brook  the  touch,  furred  tongae, 
hard  pulse,  and  hot  skin ;  he  told  me  he  had 
tknered  repealedly,  that  the  pain  was  at  first 
mtsrwitlcnt,  but  at  hst  constant    He  had 
hnm  seen  in  the  morning  by  a  gentleman, 
who  had  ordered  him  Turpentine  and  Calomel 
— «  proof  that  he  also  considered  the  case  as 
one  of  inflammation  of  the  bowels.    The 
patient  havLi^  obtained  no  relief,  I  was  called 
m.    I  ^ye  him  an  emetic,  and  went  up  stairs 
to  await  the  result    In  about  twenty  minutes 
t  ^;ain  saw  him.    The  vomit  had  acted 
poweiiuUy,  and  with  such  relief  that  he 
eodd  then  tun  himself  in  bed  with  ease, 
which  he  oonld  not  before  do.    I  then  pres- 
cribed prassic  add  and  quinine.    In  a  few 
dsjB  ne  was  as  well  as  ever.  .  Instead  of 
kinfpng  tkeotrHic  objections  to  this  method  of 
trcatific   inflammation  of   the  bowels,   let 
piactitionera  only  ^  it  to  the  ffroqf,    l&  it 
possible  that  they  can  be  less  successful  with 
the  new  practice  dian  with  the  old,  under 
which,  when  they  save  a  patient  in  this 
diaeafle,  thej  are  fain  to  boast  of  it  as  a 
woodier! 

I  shall  now  eater  at  some  length  upon  the 
«riijeetof 

BLOOD-LsTTIliG. 

While  with  one  class  of  practitionere, 
liBdidlre  is  reduced  to  the  mere  art  of  pur- 
frtioD,  widi  anothtt  class  it  consists  in  the 
ajfatematic  abstraction  xA  blood ;  evei^  means 
littng  resorted  to  in  the  mode  of  domg  this, 
fcoaa  teneaection,  arteritomv,  and- cupping,  to 
the  basest  apphcation  of  the  leech.  In  the 
nmaiks,  Genttemen,  which  I  am  now  about 
to  auJce  on  the  subject,  instead  of  discussing 
the  prefenable  mode  of  takine  blood  away, 
I  aliali  Ining  before  you  some  iacts  and  a»u- 
maato  that  may  convince  you  of  the  periect 
paaaibility  of  dispensing  with  the  practice 


J  impntalion  of  novelty,"  says  Locke, 
*^  a  tBitiUe  chaige  amongst  those  who  judge 
of  BMO's  heads  as  they  do  of  dieir  perukes, 

atkefatkwn — and  can  allow  ncme  to  be 
kt  hut  the  nceived  doctrine."  Yet,  in  the 
tMife  ai  the  aame  acute  writer :— *<  An  emx 
la-iioC  the  bellar  lor  bemg  eommon»  nor  truth 
Iha  worae  for  hanriag  lam  neglected ;  and  if 
M^feie  vut  t»  the  vote  any  ^where  in  the 
'WtMf  1  doubt*  as  thingn  are  manogad, 
Immp  Truth  would  have  the  majority ;  at 
vAuHe  the  aut&onty  </  mm,  and  fui 
i^tkmghmatith^itiA 


sure."    In  the  same  spirit  Lord  Byron  askar 

"  What  from  this  barren  being  do  we  reapl 
Oar  senses  narrow,  and  our  reason  frail. 
Life  short,  and  truth  a  gem  that  loves  the 

deep, 
And  ail  things  weighed  in  CustoTiCs  falsest 

scale. 
Opimion  an  omnipotence — whose  veil 
Mantles  the  earth  with  darhMfs-^voaXiX  right 
And  wrong  are  accidents^-and  men  grow 

pale 
Xjest  their  own  judgments  should  become  too 

bright, 
And  their  free  thoughts  be  crimes,  and  earth 

have  too  much  Tight. 

The  operation  of  blood-letting  is  so  associ- 
ated in  the  minds  of  most  men,  with  the 
practice  of  physic,  that  when  a  very  sensible 
German  physician,  some  tiTie  ago,  petitioned 
the  King  of  Prussia  to  make  the  employment 
of  the  lancet  pencdy  he  was  laughed  at  from 
one  end  of  Europe  to  the  other.  This  you 
will  not  wonder  at,  if  you  ccmsider  that  the 
multitiule  always  think  « whatever  ts  is 
right ;"  but  a  little  reflection  will  teach  yoa 
that  there  must  have  been  a  period  in  the 
worid's  history,  when  the  lancet  was  un- 
known as  a  remedy ;  and  that  many  centu- 
ries necessarily  elapsed  before'  it  ooaid  even 
be  imagined  that  loss  iA  blood  mirht  allevialB 
or  cure  disease.  Natiotts,  nevertneleas ,  grew 
and  prospered.  To  what  daring  innovailor 
the  practice  of  physic  owes  the  Curee  of.  the 
lancet,  the  annals  of  the  art  leave  us  in  igno- 
rance ;  but  this  we  know,  that  its  introductioa 
could  0Ti\y  have  been  done  during  tiie  mfanfl^ 
of  Medicine;  when  remedial  means  were 
yet  few,  and  the  mode  of  actioa  of  remediea 
totally  unknown.  It  was  the  invention  of  aa 
unenhghtened,  possibly,  a  aangninazy  age; 
and  its  continued  use  says  but  little  lor  the 
after-discoveries  of  ages<  or  for  the  boasted 
progress  of  medical  science.  Like  evety 
other  lucrative  branch  of  human  knowlec%e, 
the  Practice  of  Medicine  a^  one  time  was 
entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  priesthood.  Might 
not  blood-letting  have  been  fint  introduced 
as  a  sacrifice  or  expiation  on  the  part  of  the 
patient  for  his  supposed  sins  against  an  of* 
fended  deity  ? — for  that  till  very  lately  was 
the  ecdegioitical  CKQB^  of  all  disease.  I  am 
the  rather  inclined  to  this  idea,  from  the  ibet 
that  when  one  of  the  kinfp  of  Spain  made 
his  peace  with  the  Inquisition,  after,  a  bitter 
quarrel  with  that  body,  they  condemned  him 
as  a  penance  to  lose  a  pound  of  hie.  blood, 
whicn  was  afterwards  burnt  in  pahlift  by  the 
commoik  hangman ! 

Of  whatis  the  body  composed  ?  Is  it  not 
of  Blood,  and  Blood  only?  What  fills  up 
the  excuratioB  of  an  ulcer  or  an-abaaaoal 
Whatrepiodnceadie  homtA  the  leg  of  tUgh. 


fi 


F^dlacies  of  th^  FacuUy. 


alter  it  has  been  thrown  off  dead»  in  nearly 
all  itH  length  ?  What  but.the  Living  Blood, 
under  the  electrical  inflttence  of  the  brain  and 
nerves  \  How  does  the  alaughtered  animal 
die  ?  Of  loss  of  blood  solely.  Is  not  the 
blood  then,  in  the  impressive  language  of 
acripture,  "  the  life  of  the  flesh  ?**  How  re- 
marWble,  that  while  the  value  of  the  blood 
to  tbit  animal  economy  should  be  thus  so 
^istinetly  and  emphatically  acknowledged. 
Blood-letting  is  not  even  once  alluded  to, 
among  the  various  modes  of  cure  mentioned 
in  the  sacred  volume.  We  have  "  balms," 
« balsams,"  "baths,"  «* charms,"  "nhysic,' 
•"poultices,"  even, — ^but  loss  of  blood  never 
flad  it  been  nractised  h^  the  Jews,  why  this 
oniiMion  ?  Will  the  men  who  now  so  lav- 
ishly pour  out  the  filood,  dispute  its  import- 
«aea  m  die  animal  economy? — ^will  they 
deny  that  it  forms  the  basis, of  the  solids, — 
diat  when  the  body  has  been  wasted  by  long 
disease,  it  is  by  the  blood  only  it  can  recover 
ite  healthy  volume  and  appearance  ?  Has  not 
nature  done  every  thing  to  preserve  to  ani- 
nals  of  every  kind, 

**  The  electric  Blood  with  which  their  arteries 
nm !"  Btron. 

She  has  provided  it  with  strong  resilient  ves- 
«eUh— veeeels  which  slip  from  the  touch,  and 
never  permit  their  contents  to  escape,  except 
where  their  costs  have  been  injured  by  acci- 
dent or  disease.  Misguided  by  theory,  man, 
pmtumptuouB  man,  1ms  dared  to  divide  what 
God,  as  a  part  of  creation,  united ;  to  open 
what  the  fiteroai,  in  the  wisdom  of  his  om- 
Diseience  made  entire !  See  then  what  an 
cclfWM  measure  is  this !  It  is  on  the  very 
laoe  of  it  a  most  unnatural  proceeding.  Yet 
what  -'pcoceeding  so  common,  or  what  so 
readily  sobmittiS  to,  under  the  influence  of 
anthori^^  and  custom  ?  if ,  m  the  language 
of  the  Chemist  Liebig,  the  blood  be  indeed 
■'  the  MM  of  ALL  THE  OROAKs  that  are  being 
formed)*'  how  can  you  withdraw  it  from  one 
organ  without  depriving  every  other  of  the 
material  of  its  Am^v  state  ?  Yet  enter  the 
crowded  hospitals  of  England — of  Europe — 
and  we  how  mercilessly  the  lancet,  the  leech, 
and  the  cupping-glas8»  are  employed  in  the 
diseases  of  the  poor.  Look  at  the  pale  and 
ghastly  feces  of  the  inmates.  What  a  con- 
fast  to  the  eager  pupila  and  attendants 
thvooflngatound  ^eir  beds^those  attendants 
with  noon  and  basin,  ready  at  a  moment's 
ntftiee  to  taSa  horn  the  poor  creatuna  what- 
ever, quantity  of  life^Moit  solemn  Pedantry 
may  j>re«cribe  aa  the  infallible  mean*  of  re* 
liflimg  their  suiferinga.  Do  that,  I  say,  and 
nlraln,  if  you  can,  bom.  exdaiminff  with 
B«hm»  «<  when  Poverty  is  side,  tiM^4octoa 
~f  itt*    Whit  m  Hw  mm$  <tf  ^ 


diaorden  of  this  class  of  people  ?  In  tlio 
majority  of  cases,  defective  kxxC  and  imfmie 
air.  By  these  has  their  blood  been  detaoora- 
ted — and  for  what  does  the  (so  termed)  man 
of  science  abstract  it  ?  To  make  room  for 
better  ?  No  !~-goaded  on  by  the  twin-gob- 
lins, <*  congestion"  and  *<  inflammation,"  to 
deteriorate  it  still  further  by  starvation  antf 
confinement.  Gentlemen,  these  terms  play 
in  physic  much  the  same  thing  aa  othera, 
equally  senselessly  misused,  play  in  the  com- 
mon afidrB  of  the  world — 

Religion,  freedom,  vengeance,  what  yoa  wiil, 
A  word's  enough  to  raise  mankind  to  kiU^ 
Some  parfy-phrase  by  cunning  caught  and 

spread. 
That  GUILT  mav  reign,  and   wolvxs   and 

worms  be  fed.  Btron. 

The  first  resource  of  the  surgeon  is  the  lanoett 
— the  first  thing  he  thinks  of,  when  called  to 
an  accident,  is  how  he  can  most  quickly  qpen 
the  floodgates  of  the  heart,  to  pour  out  the 
stream  of  an  already  enfeebled  existence. 
Does  a  man  fall  from  his  horse  or  a  height, 
is  he  not  instantly  bled? — ^has  he  been 
stunned  by  a  blow»  is  not  the  lancet  in 
requisition  ?  Nay,  has  an  individual  fainted 
from  over-exertion,  or  exhaustion,  is  it  not 
a  case  of  fip— ^and  what  so  proper  as  vene- 
section ! 

You  cannot  have  forvotten  the  late  of 
Malibran — ^the  inimitable  Malibran  —she  who 
60  often,  by  her  varied  and  admirable  per- 
formances, moved  you  to  tears  and  smiles  by 
turns.  She  was  playing  her  pait  upon  the 
sta^e— she  entered  into  it  with  her  whot^ 
soul,  rivetting  the  audience  to  the  spot  by  die 
Y&j  intensi^  of  her  actmg.  Just  as  she 
had  taxed  the  powers  of  her  too  delicate 
frame  to  tiie  uttermost—at  the  very  moment 
she  was  about  to  be  rewarded  by  a  simultft- 
neous  burst  of  acclamation,  she  fainted  and 
fell — fell  from  very  weakness.  Instantly  a 
medical  man  leapt  upon  the  staffe— to  dAmtf 
ister  a  cordial  ?  No— to  bleed  ner— to  bleed 
a  weak,  worn,  and  exhausted  woman !  And 
the  result  ? — she  never  rallied  from  that  un- 
fortunate hour.  But,  Gentlemen,  Malihian 
was  not  the  only  inteileetual  person  of  the 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  who  Ya^m 
prematurdy  perished  by  the  lancet  Qyroft 
and  Scott— those  master-spirits  of  their  i|ge-«- 
those  great  men  who,  like  Ariosto  and  Shakeir 
peare,  not  onl;^  excited  the  adiniiation  al 
colemporary  millions,  but  whose  genius  muit 
continue,  for  generatioofl  yet  unbona,  tP  (te^ 
Ikht  the  land  that  produced  them— th^y  tot 
fdl  victims  to  the  lancet^they  too  weie  de^* 
tro  ved  by  hands  which,  however  frifeadiy  Ufk 
weIl-intentiQne4»  nwil  ondoobtaditjr'  tek 
tham  fteif.aa«th*U«ws.    b  not  Om  •  «d^ 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


ject    for  deep  reflection .'    To  the  cases  of 
these  great  men  we  shall  recur  in  the  course 
of  this  lecture ;  hut  for  the  present,  we  must 
turn  to  other  Hiattere — to  evenfs  that  have 
ittst  passed  he/oie  our  eyes.    The  aflair  of 
Ne^nrport,  in  Wales,  is  still  the  topic  of  the 
hour.     Yoa  must  therefore  remember  it  to 
its  minmest  detail — the  attack  by  the  rioters 
upon  the  town — the  gallant  and  successful 
Ktamd  made  by  Captain  Gray  and  his  little 
deticbment  of  the  45th  regiment — the  pris- 
oners captured,  arid  the  investigation  which 
iJterwanls  took  place     In  the  courbc  of  that 
inquiry  a  prisoner,  when  under  examination, 
iaiated.    What  was  done  with  him .'    He 
"WSB  carried  out  of  court  and  immediately 
Ued .'    On  his  return  the  newspapers  tell  us, 
«D  extraordiiiary  change  had  come  over  his 
oooBtenance.    From  being  a  man  of  robust 
appearance,  he  had  become  so  wan  and  hag- 
gard, so  altered  in  every  lineament,  the  spec- 
tators could  scarcely  recognize  him  as  the 
nme  prisoner.    Yet,  strange  to  say,  not  one 
of  the  many  journals  that  reported  this  cafe, 
intioduced  a  single  word  in  condemnation  of 
the    ullerly   uncalled   for  measure,  which 
hrouficbt  the  man  to  such  a  state ; — so  much 
has  Custom  blunted  the  sense  of  the  public 
to  this  the  most  dangerous  of  all  meJical 
appliances .' 

Gentlemen,  a  coroner's  inquest  was  held 
opoo  a  pereoo  who  died  suddenly.  I  shall 
Md  to  you  what  followed  from  the  Times 
newspaper,  of  the  20rh  •  December,  1839, 
anppressin^,  for  obvious  reasons,  the  name 

of    the   Witness.      "Mr.  ,  surgeon, 

itiUed  that  he  was  called  upon  to  attend  de- 
ceased, and  tound  him  at  the  point  of  death. 
He  attempted  to  blego  hini,  but  ineffectually, 
and  in  less  than  a  minute  from  witness's  ar- 
rival, deceased  expired.  Witness  not  being 
able  to  give  any  opinion  as  to  the  cause  of 
death  from  the  symptoms  that  then  eA'hibited 
tiiem^elves,  he  afterwards,  with  the  assistance 
ot  Dr.  Ridge,  37  Cavendish  Square,  made  a 
post-monem  examination,  and  found  that  a 
laige  cavity  attached  to  tne  large  vessel  of  the 
he^,  containing  blood,  had  burst,  and  that 
that  was  the  cause  of  death."  So  tbat  while 
the  man  was  actually  dying  of  inanition  from 
internal  bleeding,  the  surgeon,  utterly  igno- 
rant, according  to  his  own  confession,  of  the 
nature  of  the  symptoms,  deliberate!3r  proceeded 
to  open  a  vein  1 — How  happens  it  that  the 
lancet  should  be  so  invariabiy  the  first  resort 

of   loNORAKCfe:! 

In  every  case  of  stun  or  faint,  the  employ- 
ment of  this  instrument  mu»t  he  a  r<upeiadi]ed 
injury; — in  aU,  there  is  a  pOHitive  enfeeble- 
mcnt  of  the  whole  frame,  evidenced  by  the 
eold  surface  and  weak  or  impercepiihle  pu'se; 
there  is  aii  exhaustion,  which  loss  of  blood, 


so  far  from  relieving,  too  often  converts  into 
a  state  of  utter  and  hopeless  prostration.  True» 
men  recover  though  treated  in  this  manner, 
but  these  are  rot  cures^ — they  are  escapes. 

How  few  the  diseases  which  loss  oi  blood 
may  not  of  itself  produce.  If  it  cannot 
cause  the  eruptions  of  small -pox,  nor  the 
glandular  swellings  of  plague,  it  has  givea 
rise  to  disoiders  more  frequently  and  mors 
immediately  fatal  than  either.  What  think 
you  of  cholera  asphyxia — Asiatic  cholera  ? 
Gentlemen,  the  symptoms  of  that  disease  are 
the  identical  symptoms  of  a  person  bieedmi; 
sloteiy  away  from  life !  The  vomiting,  the 
cramps,  the  sighinj;,  the  long  gasp  for  breath 
—the  leaden  and  livid  countenance  which  the 
painter  gives  to  the  dying  in  his  battle-piecea 
— these  are  equally  the  symptoms  of  cholera 
and  loss  of  blood!  Among  the  numerous 
diseases  which  it  can  produce,  Darwiu  saya 
— "  a  paroxysm  of  gout  is  liable  to  recur 
on  bleeuing."  John  Huiitei  mentions  "  lock- 
jaw and  dropsy,"  among  its  injurious  efiects» 
— Travers,  "  blindness,'*  and  "  Pa'sy,'-— 
Marshall  Hall,  **  Mani^,*'— Blundell,  "  dys- 
entery,"— Broussais,  "  1£V£r  and  convul- 
sions !"  '<  When  an  animal  looses  a  ronsid- 
erable  quantity  of  blood,"  says  John  Hunter» 
**  the  heart  increases  in  it  frequency  of  stroiia 
as  also  in  its  violence."  Yet  these  are  the 
indication  for  which  professors  tell  you  to 
bleed  !  You  must  bleed  in  every  inflamma- 
tion, they  tell  you..  Yet  is  not  inflammatiou 
a  daily  effect  of  loss  of  blood!  Masreudie 
mentions  "  pneumonia"  as  having  been  pro- 
duced t)y  it,— completely  confirming  the  evi- 
dence of  Mr.  Hume  uoon  that  point.  He 
further  tells  us  that  he  has  witnessed  among 
its  effects  *'  the  entire  train  of  what  peop'e  aie 
p'eased  to  call  inflammatory  phenomena  ;-— 
and  mark,"  he  says,  "the  extraordinary  fact 
that  this  inflammation  will  have  been  produ- 
ced by  the  very  agent  which  is  daily  used  to 
combat  it"  What  a  long  dieam  of  false 
security  have  mankind  been  dreaming! — they 
have  laid  themselves  down  on  the  laps  ot 
their  medical  mentors,— they  have  slept  a  long 
sleep; — while  these,  like  the  fabled  vampii-e 
of  tne  poets,  taking  advantage  of  a  ('ark  nkht 
of  barbarism  and  ignorance,  have  thou»rbt  it 
no  sin  to  rf)b  them  of  their  life's  blood  during 
the  profoundness  of  their  sU  mber  I 

Gentlemen,  the  long  shiver  of  the  severcrt 
afj:ue,  the  liunJng  fever,  the  fatal  lock  jaw». 
the  vomitine:,  cramps,  and  asphyxia  <»r  chole- 
ra, the  spasm  of  asthma  and  epilepsy,  the 
pains  of  iheumat  sm,  the  pa^p  tatmg  a  i d, 
uimulimus  heart  the  mot-t  s  tt  e\  meancholy 
and  madness,  dysenteiy,  consumption,  every 
species  of  pa'sy,  ih**  faint  that  became  death* 
these — all  these— have  /  iruced  to  loss  of 
blood.    Could  aisjuic,  could  prussic  a^id,  in 


w 


F^Uixcies  of  the  Pacidty. 


their  deadlieist  and  most  concentrated  doses  do 
more  ?  Yet  I  have  heanl  men  object  to  use 
the  minutest  portions  of  these  agents,  medi- 
cinally,— men  who  wonld  open  a  vein,  and 
let  the  life-blood  flow  until  the  patient  fell  like 
an  ox  for  the  slaughter,  death -like,  aiid  all 
but  dead,  upon  the  floor !  Do  these  practi- 
tioners know  the  nature  of  the  terrible  power 
they  thns  fearlessly  call  to  their  aid  ?  Can 
they  explain  its  manner  of  action  even  in 
those  cases  where  they  have  supposed  it  to 
be  beneficial  ?  The  only  information  I  have 
been  able  to  extract  from  them  upon  this  point, 
has  been  utterly  vague  and  valueless.  Their 
leasoning,  if  it  could  be  called  reasoning:,  has 
been  based  on  a  dread  6(  **  inflammation*'  or 
"  coa^estion."  From  the  manner  in  which 
they  discuss  the  subject,  ^ou  might  believe 
there  was  no  remedy  for  either  but  the  lancet. 
Ask  them  why  they  bleed  in  ague — in  syn- 
cope—in exhaustion  or  collapse? — ^ihey  tell 
you  it  Ts  to  relieve  congestion.  After  a  stun 
or  fall? — it  is  to  prevent  inflammation. — 
Bleeding,  in  all  my  experience,  I  have  already 
efafed  fo  you,  never  either  relieved  the  one, 
or  prevented  the  other !  Gentlemen,  did  you 
never  see  inflammation  of  a  vein  aftrr 
bleeding — inflammation  caused  by  the  very 
act !  f '  have  known  such  inflammation  end 
fatally.  Did  you  never  know  the  wounds 
male  by  leech-biies  become  inflamed,  after 
these  reptiles  had  exhausted  the  blood  of 
the  part  to  which  they  were  applied !  And 
how  came  that  about?  Simply  because, 
however  perfectly  you  exhaust  any  part  of 
its  blood,  you  do  not  thereby  prevent  that  part 
from  being  a^n  filled  with  it— or  rather,  you 
make  it  more  liable  to  be  so,  by  weakening 
the  coats  of  the  containing  vesBels !  Hundreds 
thousands  have  recovered  from  every  kind  of 
disease,  who  never  were  bled  in  any  manner ; 
and  many,  too  many  have  died,  for  whom  the 
o|)eration,  in  all  its  m  odes,  had  been  most 
ficientiflcally  practised  !  Have  I  not  proved 
that  every  remedial  agent  podsesses  but  one 
kind  of  influence,  namely,  the  power  of 
ehanging  temperature?  xjsX  the  schoolman 
show  me  that  the  lancet  possesses  any  supe- 
riority in  this  respect — any  specific  influence 
more  advantageous  than  other  less  questiona- 
ble measures ;  and  I  shall  be  the  last  to  repu- 
diate its  aid  in  the  pract'ce  of  mv  profession 
The  beneficial  influence  of  blood-letting, 
where  it  has  been  beneficial  in  diseaf«e,  relates 
-aolely  to  temperature  To  this  complexion 
it  comes  at  last,  and  to  nothing  more—the 
equalization  and  moderation  of  temperature 
In  the  congestive  and  non -congestive  stages 
of  fever— the  cold— the  hot— the  swealine— 
the  lancet  has  ha!  its  atlvocates.  B!o(5.l-let- 
ting,  un  ler  each  of  these  circumstancea,  has 
changed  euating  lempemtuft.    Why*  tbeu, 


object  to  its  use  ?  For  ibis  best  of  reasons. 
that  we  have  remedies  without  number,  pos- 
sessing each  an  influence  equally  rapid,  and 
an  agency  equally  curative,  without  being, 
like  blood-letting,  attended  with  the  insuper* 
able  disadvantage  of  abstracting  the  material 
of  healthy  oixanization.  I  deny  not  its 
power  as  a  remedy  in  certain  casea;  but  I 
Question  its  claim  to  precedence,  even  in 
tnese.  Out  of  upwards  of  twelve  thous* 
AKD  CASES  of  diseasc  that  have,  within  the 
last  few  years,  been  under  my  treatment,  I 
have  not  been  com]>elled  to  use  it  once.  Re* 
sorted  to,  under  the  most  favovrable  circum- 
stances, its  success  is  any  thing  but  sure,  and 
and  its  failure  involves  consequences  which 
the  untoward  administration  of  other  means 
may  not  so  certainly  produce.  Have  we  not 
seen  that  all  diseases  have  remissions,  and 
exacerbations — that  mania,  asthma,  apoplexy 
and  inflammation,  are  all  remittent  disorders  ? 
From  the  agony  or  intensity  of  each  of  these 
developements  of  fever,  you  may  obtain  a 
temporary  relief  by  the  use  of  the  lancet; 
hut  what  has  it  availed  in  aveniiir  the  recur- 
rence of  the  paroxysm  ?  How  often  do  yott 
find  the  patient  you  have  bled  in  the  morning 
ere  night  wjth  every  symptom  in  aggravation. 
Again  you  resort  to  bleeding,  but  the  relief 
is  as  transitory  as  before.  True,  you  may 
repeat  the  operation,  and  re-repeat  it.  until 
you  bleed  both  the  blood  and  tne  life  away. 
Venesection,  then,  in  some  cases,  may  be  a 
temporary  though  delusive  lefief.  The  gene-, 
ral  result  is  depress'on  of  vital  energy,  with 
diminution  of  corporeal  force  ! 

Dr.  SouthwooJ  Smith,  physician  to  the 
London  Fever  Hospital,  has  published  a  book 
purposely  to  show  the  advantages  of  bleeding 
in  fever.  One  of  his  cases  is  so  curiously 
illustrative  of  his  position,  that  I  shall  take 
the  liberty  of  transcribing  it  from  the  Medi- 
cal Gazette,  with  a  running  commentary  by 
the  Eiitor  of  that  perio lical  r— "The  case  of 
Dr.  Dill  demands  our  most  serious  attention* 
and  deserves  that  of  our  readers.  It  is  ry^^ 
duced  as  an  example  of  severe  cerebral  affsc- 
tion,  in  which  case.  Dr.  S.  affirms,  '  the 
bleeding  must  be  large  and  eaHy  as  it  is  copi- 
ous.' *  I  saw  him,'  says  Dr.  Smith,  *  before 
there  was  any  pain  in  the  head,  or  even  in 
the  back,  while  he  was  jret  only  feeble  and 
chilly.  The  aspect  of  his  countenance,  the 
state  of  his  pulse,  which  was  slow  and  la- 
bouring, and  the  answer  he  returned  to  two 
or  three  questions,  satisfied  me  of  the  inor* 
dinate,  I  may  say  the  ferocious  attack  that 
was  at  band  — p.  99(i ' 

«*  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  our 
reaiers,  as  to  the  above  signs  indicating  a 
ferocious  cerebral  attack,  they  will  one  and 
all  i^iee  with  as,  that  the  f eiocious  auack 


I 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


11 


wsfc  met  with  a  ferodous  treatment ;  for  an 
emetic  was  given  without  delay,  and  <  blood 
was  taken  from  the  arm,  to  the  extent  of 
tiprenty   ounces.'    This  blood  was  kot  in- 
flamed.    Severe  pains  in  the  limbs  and  loins, 
and  intense  pain  m  the  head,  came  on  durine 
the  nigfat — and  early  in  the  morning  blood 
waa  again  drawn  to  the  extent  of  sixteen 
otinoes  *  with  great  diminution,  but  not  entire 
removal  of  the  nain.'   tV>wards  the  afternoon 
he  was  again  bled  to  sixteen  ounces.    *  The 
pain  was  now  quite  gone — the  blood  from 
Doth    these   bleedings   intensely   inflamed.' 
^Inflamed,  according  to  Dr.  Smith's  notions — 
but  mark,  io  his  own  words — the  first  blood 
drawn  was  "  not  inflamed."    Were  the  lan- 
cet a  preventive  of  inflammation,  how  came 
the  blood  to  be  inflamed  ajt£R  so  many 
bleedings  /] 

''  Daring  the  night  the  pain  returned,  and 
in  the  morning,  notwithstanding  the  eyes 
were  dull  and  b^inning  to  be  suflfused,  tbe 
bee  blanched,  (no  wonder!)  and  the  pulse 
slow  and  intermittent,  and  weak,  twelve 
leeches  were  applied  to  the  temples — and  as 
these  <Ud  not  entirely  remove  the  pain,  more 
blood,  to  the  extent  of  sixteen  ounces,  was 
taken  by  cupping.  The  operation  aflorded 
great  relief — but  the  following  morning,  the 
pain  retaraed,  and  again  was  blood  abstracted 
to  sixteen  ounces.  *  Immediate  relief  fol* 
lowed  this  second  operation;  but  unfortu- 
netelif,  tbe  pain  returned  with  great  violence, 
towairds  evening ;  and  it  was  now  impossible 
to  carry  the  bleeding  any  further.'  T3rpboid 
symptoms  now  began  to  show  themselves ; 
*  the  far  on  the  tongue  was  becoming  brown, 
and  there  was  alrrady  a  slight  tremor  in  the 
hands.'  W  hat  was  to  be  done  ?  Ice,  and 
evaporating  lotions  were  of  no  avail ; — but 
happily  for  Dr.  Dill*  the  affusion  of  cold  wa- 
ter on  the  head, '  the  cold  dash,'  was  thought 
of  and  employed — and  this  being  eflectually 
applied,  the  relief  was  'instantaneous  and 
most  complete.'  So  that  this  case,  announced 
as  a  severe  cerebral  aflection,  and  treated  in 
anticipation,  by  copious  blood-lelting,  beporb 
there  was  any  pata  in  the  head  while  the 
pat^f  was  yet  only  feeble  and  chilly, 
whtch  grew  worse  and  worse  as  the  blood 
letting  was  repealed,  until,  after  the  abstrac- 
tion of  RiNBTV  00MC£8  of  blood,  the  patient 
had  become  in  a  *  state  of  intense  suiierinfr,' 
and  *  imminent  danger,'  and  was  relieved  at 
last  by  the  cold  dash— this  case,  we  say,  is 
bron^  forward  as  a  specimen  of  the  extent 
to  whieh  copious  blood— letting  mav  some 
times  be  rbquirbd  ! !  Most  sincerely  do  we 
einfrratnlate  Dr.  Dill  on  his  escape,  not  froiu 
adai^erons  disease*  bat  from  a  daxoksous 

Could  any  east  moie  foittbly  eswmplify 


the  utter  inefficiency  of  blood-letting,  in  al- 
most all  its  forms,  either  as  a  certain  remedy, 
or  a  preventive  of  fever  ?  Yet  such  is  the 
force  of  custom,  prejudice,  education,  that 
this  case, — and,  I  have  no  doubt,  thousands 
like  it,  so  far  from  opening  the  eyes  of  the 
physician  toihe  London  Fever  Hospital,  only 
served  to  confirm  him  in  his  error.  He  had 
his  methodus  medendit  and  he  pursued  it  ;and 
notwithstanding  the  total  inemcif-ncy  of  his 
vaunted  remedy,  he  gives  the  case  at  length, 
as  a  perfect  specimen  of  the  most  perfect 
practice — Mark  the  result  of  that  practice  ! — 
out  for  the  <'cold  dash,"  the  patient  must 
have  perished.  It  is  even  now  a  question 
whether  he  ever  recovered  from  those  repeat- 
ed blood-lettings, — for  he  died  not  many 
months  after.  Happy  would  it  have  been 
for  mankind,  that  we  had  never  heard  of  an 
Anatomical  or**  Pathological  School," — ^hap- 
pier  for  Dr.  Dill,  for  to  that  school,  and  its 
pervading  error  of  imputing  eflect  for  cause* 
may  we  fairly  atuibute  all  this  sanguinary 
practice 

Lord  Byron  called  medicine  **  the  deftrw' 
tive  art  of  healing."  How  trulj^  it  proved  to 
be  so  in  his  own  person,  you  will  see,  when 
I  give  vou  the  detail?  of  his  last  illness:— 
**  Of  all  his  prejudices,"  says  Mr  Moore, 
**  he  declansd  the  stroneest  was  that  against 
Bleeding.  His  mother  had  obtained  from  him 
a  promise,  never  to  consent  to  be  hied,  and, 
whatever  aigument  might  be  produced,  his 
aversion,  he  said,  was  stronger  than  reason. 
*  Besides,  is  it  not,*  he  asked,  *  asserted  by 
Dr.  Reid,  in  his  Eseays,  that  less  slaughter 
i.<«  e&cted  by  the  lance,  than  the  lancet  — that 
minute  instrument  of  mighty  mischief!"  On 
Mr.  Millengen  observing  that  this  remark 
related  to  the  treatment  of  nervous  but  not 
cif  inflammatory  complaints  he  joined,  in 
an  atigry  tone,  *  Who  is  nervous,  if  1  am 
not.'— and  do  not  those  other  words  of 
his,  apply  to  my  case,  where  he  says, 
that  drawing  b'ood  fiom  a  nervous  patient, 
is  like  loosening  the  cords  of  a  musical 
instrument,  whoso  tones  already  larl,  for 
want  of  a  sufficient  tension !  Even  before 
this  illness,  you  yourself  know  how  weak 
and  irritable  I  had  become  ;  and  bleeding,  by» 
increasing  this  state,  will  inevitably  kill  me. 
Do  with  me  what  else  you  like,  but  bleed 
me  you  shall  not.  I  have  had  several  in- 
flammaiory  fevers  in  my  life,  and  at  an  age 
when  more  robust  and  p'elhoric;  yet  I  got 
Ihfough  them  without  bleeding.  This  time, 
a'so,  will  I  take  my  chance.'"  Aftei  much 
reasoning,  and  repeated  entreaties^ Mr.  MiU 
lengen  at  length  succeeded  in  obtaining  from 
him  a  promise,  that  should  he  feel  his  fever 
mcifase  at  night,  be  would  allow  Dr.  Bruno 
to  bleed  him.    <*0d  revisiting  the  patient 


12 


Fallacies  of  the  FacuUjf. 


eai-ly  next  morning,  Mr.  Milleneen  learned 
from  him  that  having  passed ,  as  he  thought, 
on  the  whole,  a  better  night,  he  had  not  con- 
sidered it  necessary  to  ask  Dr.  Bruno  to  bleed 
him.  What  followed,  I  shall,  in  justice  to 
Mr.  Millengen,  give  in  his  own  words : — "  I 
thought  it  my  duty  now  to  put  aside  all  con- 
sideration of  his  feelings,  and  to  declare  sol- 
emnly to  him  how  deeply  1  lamented  to  see 
him  trifle  thus  with  his  life,  and  show  so 
little  resolution.  His  pertinacious  refusal  had 
already,  I  said,  caused  much  precious  time  to 
be  lost ;  but  few  hours  of  hope  now  remain- 
ed* and  unless  he  submitted  immediately  to 
be  bled,  we  could  not  answer  for  the  conse- 
quences. It  was  true,  he  cared  not  for  life, 
but  who  could  assure  him  that  unless  he 
changed  his  resolution,  the  uncontrolled  dis- 
'  ease  might  not  operate  such  disorganization 
in  his  system,  as  utterly  and  forever  to  de- 
prive him  of  reason !  I  had  now  hit  at  last 
upon  the  sensible  chord ;  and  partly  annoyed 
by  our  imuortunities,  partly  persuaded,  he 
cast  at  us  both,  the  fiercest  glance  of  vexa- 
tion, and  throwing  out  his  arm,  said,  in  the 
angriest  tone,  *  Ther6  you  are,  1  see,  a  d~- d 
set  of  butchers, — take  away  as  much  blood 
as  you  like,  but  have  done  with  it !'  We 
sei2»d  the  moment,  (adds  Mr.  Millengen.) 
and  drew  about  twenty  ounces.  On  coagula- 
ting, the  blood  presented  a  strong  bufly  coat ; 
yet  the  relief  obtained  did  kot  corresjiond  to 
the  hopes  we  had  formed ;  aiid  during  the 
night  the  fever  became  stronger  than  tt  had 
been  hitherto,  the  restlessness  and  agitation 
increased,  and  the  patient  spoke  several  times 
in  an  incoherent  manner.' "  Surely  this  was 
sufficient  to  convince  the  most  school-bound 
of  the  worse  than  inoperative  nature  of  the 
measure.  Far  from  it.  "  On  the  following 
morning,  the  17lh  April,  the  bleeding  was 
repeated  twice,  and  it  was  thought  right  also 
to  apply  blisters  to  the  soles  of  his  feet !" 
Well  might  Mr.  Moore  exclaim :  **  It  is 
painful  to  dwell  on  such  details."  For  our 
present  purpose,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  state, 
that  although  the  **  rheumatic  symptoms  had 
been  completely  removed,'*  it  was  at  the  ex- 
pense uf  the  patient*s  life;  his  death  took 
filace  upon  the  19th,  that  is,  three  days  after 
ne  was  first  bled — [Moore's  Life  of  byron.} 
Now  I  ask  you,  what  might  have  been  the 
term i nation  of  this  case,  had  an  emetic  been 
Bubstituted  ibr  the  lancet,  and  had  the  remis- 
sion ()een  prolonged  by  quinine,  opium,  or 
arsenic!  I  solemnly  believe  Lord  By ron 
wouH  be  alive  at  this  moment;  nay,  not 
only  is  it  possible,  but  probable,  that  a  suc- 
cessful re.su!t  might  have  ensued,  without 
any  treatment  at  all.  When  describing  the 
efRscts  of  a  former  fever,  Lt>rd  Byron  himself 
•ays:  «« Altera  week  of  half  deUimoi,  born 


ing  skin,  thirst,  hot  headache,  horrible  pulsa- 
tion, and  no  sleep,  by  the  blessings  of  barley 
water,  and  refusing  to  see  my  physician,  I 
recovered."  Facts,  like  these,  are  indeed, 
stubborn  things ! 

I  have  preferred  to  give  these  two  instances 
of  what  I  conceive  to  be  decided  malpractice* 
to  any  of  the  numerous  cases  which  have 
come  under  my  own  observation,  as  the  first 
named  gentleman  was  well  known  to  many 
of  the  medical  profession,  while  the  death- 
scene  of  the  noble  poet,  will  arrest  the  atten- 
tion of  all  who  take  an  interest  in  his 
genius. 

in  the  generality  of  cases  of  disease,  gen- 
tlemen, it  matters  little  what  may  have  been 
the  primary  (^ause.  The  disease  or  effect, 
under  every  circumstance,  not  only  involves 
change  of  temperature,  but  produces  more  or 
less  interruption  to  the  two  vital  processes 
Digestion  and  Respiration.  In  other  words, 
it  impedes  sangwfication,  or  the  necessary 
reproduction  of  that  Living  fluid,  which, 
throughout  all  the  changes  of  life,  is  con- 
stantly maintaining  expenditure.  This  being 
in  the  nature  of  things  one  of  the  first  e£kcts 
of  disorder,  let  us  beware  how  we  employ  a 
remedy,  which,  if  it  succeed  not  in  restoring 
healthy  temperature,  must  inevitably  hasten 
the  fatal  catastrophe— or,  in  default  of  that, 
produce  those  low  chronic  fevers,  which, 
under  the  names  of  dyspepsia,  hypocfaondna, 
hysteria,  mania,  &c.,  the  oest  dttvised  means 
too  often  fail  to  alleviate,  far  less  to  cure. 
With  the  tree  admission,  then,  that  the  lan- 
cet is  capable  of  giving  temporary  relief  to 
local  fulness  to  blood,  and  to  some  of  the 
attendant  symptoms,  I  reject  it  generally, upon 
this  simple  and  rational  ground  that  it  cannot 
prevent  such  fulness  from  returning — while 
It  requires  no  ghost  from  the  grave  to  tbll  us 
that  its  influence  upon  the  general  constitu- 
tion, must,  in  every  such  case,  be  prejudicial. 
If  the  source  of  a  man's  income  is  suddenly 
cut  ofi,  and  he  still  continue  to  spend  as 
before,  surely  his  capital  must,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  diminish. — Beware  then,  how  under 
tlie  exact  same  circumstances  of  body,  you 
allow  a  doctor  to  take  away  the  litt'e  capital 
of  blood  you  possess  when  disease  comes 
upon  you,— remember  there  is  then  no  income 
—  ill  IS  expenditure.  And  1  care  not  whether 
jou  take  inflammation  of  any  considerable 
internal  organ,— the  Brain,  Liver,  or  Heart, 
'or  exam  pie, — or  of  any  external  part,  such 
as  the  knee,  or  ankle  JQint — with  the  lancet, 
you  can  seldom  ever  do  more  than  give  a  de* 
lusive  relief,  at  the  expense  of  the  powers  of 
the  constitution.  The  man  of  routine,  who 
has  not  heard  my  previous  leclnres,  givinficttpk 
Fever,  perhaps,  and  a  few  other  disonier% 
which  the  oocasional  obstinacy  of  a  reftscts- 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


13 


rj  patient,  contrary  to  **  received  doctrine," 
lias  taught  him,  may  yield  lo  other  means  than 
liJ€x>d-letting — will  ask  me  what  I  should  do 
without  the  lancet  in  apoplexy  ?    Here  the 
patient  having  no  will  of  his  own,  and  the 
prejudices  of  nis  friends  being  all  in  favour 
of  blood-letting,  the  schooUbound  member  of 
the  profession  has  seldom  an  opportunity  of 
opeuini^  hia  eyes.    iMine  were  opened  by 
ooeerving  the  want  of  success  attending  the 
sanguinary  treatment;  in  other  words,  the 
number  of  deaths  that  took  place,  either  in 
con<«equence,  or  in   spite  of  it!     Was  not 
that  a  reason  for  change  of  practice  ?  Having 
in   my  Military  Hospital  no  prejudices  to 
coml»t ;  and  omserving  the  flushed  and  hot 
state  of  the  patient's  forehead  and  face.  I 
determined  to  try  the  cold  dash.    The  result 
was  beyond  my  best  expectations.    The  first 
patient  was  laid  out  all  his  length,  and  cold 
water  poured  on  his  bead  from  a  height. 
After  a  few  ablutions,  he  staggered  to  his 
feet,  stared  wildly  round  him,  and  then  walked 
to  the  hospital,  where  a  smart  purgative  com 
pleted  his  cure.    While  in  the  army,  I  had 
a  suSciently  extensive  field  for  my  experi- 
ments ;  and  I  seldom  afterwards  lost  an  ap- 
oplectic patient 

But,  tieotlemen,  since  I  embarked  in  pri- 
vate practice,  I  have  improved  upon  my  Army 
plan.  With  the  purgative  given  after  the 
cold  dash,  I  have  generally  combined  quinine 
or  arsenic — and  1  nave  also,  upon  some  oc- 
casions, at  once  prescribed  hydrocyanic  acid 
without  any  ruijgative  at  all.  This  practice 
1  have  found  highly  successful.  That  Qui- 
nine may  prevent  the  apoplectic  fit,  I  have 
proved  to  you,  by  the  case  given  by  Dr. 
Graves.  The  value  of  Arsenic  in  apoplexy 
bas  also  been  acknowledged,  even  by  mem< 
bers  of  the  profession;  but  whether  they 
luive  been  acquainted  with  the  true  principle 
of  its  mode  of^action,  in  such  cases,  is  another 
4bing.  Dr.  A.  T.  Thomson  recommends  it 
'« in  threatened  apoplexy,  after  Cuppings  and 
Paigings,  when  the  strength  is  diminished 
and  the  complexion  pale ;"  that  is,  you  must 
^  first  break  down  the  whole  frame  by  deple- 
tion— you  must  still  further  weaken  the  al- 
leadj  weak  vessels  of  the  brain,  before  you 
take  measures  to  give  their  coats  the  degree 
of  strength  and  stability,  necessary  to  their 
Wealthy  containing  power !  Upon  what  prin- 
ciple would  jfott,  dentlemen,  prescribe  arse- 
nic in  threatened  apoplexy  ?  Surely,  upon 
the  same  principle  that  you  would  prescribe 
it  during  tne  remission  in  ague— to  prolong 
Ihe  period  of  immunity— to  avert  the  parox- 
ysm. lK>ng  after  the  Bark  came  into  fashion 
lor  the  cure  of  Ague,  practitioners  still  con- 
tinued to  treat  that  distemper,  in  the  first  in- 
-^      e,  by  depletion,  UU  the  complexion 


became  pale.  Do  they  treat  it  so  now  ?-<*- 
No ;  they  have  become  wiser ! — why  then  do 
they  go  on  from  day  to  day,  bleeding  in 
threatened  apoplexy  ?  In  the  case  given  by 
Dr. Graves,  depletion — repeated  depletion,  dm 
not  prevent  the  recurrence  of  the  apoplectic 
fit — but  quinine  was  at  once  successful.  Sir 
Walter  Scott  had  a  series  of  fits  of  apoplexy. 
What  did  the  bleeding  and  starving  system 
avail  in  his  case  ?  It  eave  him,  perhaps,  a 
temporary  relief,  to  leave  him  at  last  in  a 
stat<%  of  irrecoverable  prostration.  Mr.  Lock- 
hart,  his  biographer,  tells  us  how  weak  the 
bleeding  always  made  him.  But  how  (5buld 
it  be  otherwise,  seeing  that  1  have  proved  tn 
ail  but  mathematical  demonstration,  that 
whatever  debilitates  the  whole  body,  must 
still  further  confirm  the  original  weakly  con- 
dition of  the  coats  of  the  bloi)d- vessels,  which 
constitutes  the  tendency  to  apoplexy.  Had 
tbe  cold  dash  been  resorted  to  during  the  fit, 
and  had  quinine,  arsenic,  or  hydrocyanic 
acid  been  given  during  the  period  of  immor 
nity,  who  knows  but  the  Author  of  Waveiv 
iy  might  still  be  delighting  the  world  with  the 
wonderful  productions  of  his  pen  ! 

Shall  I  be  told  there  are  cases  of  apoplexy, 
where  the  face  is  pale,  and  the  temperature 
cold  ?  My  answer  is — ^these  are  not  apop- 
lexy, but  faint  /—case:)  which  the  cold  dash 
or  a  cordial  might  recover,  but  which  the 
lancet,  in  too  many  instances,  has  perpetua- 
ted to  fatality !  If  the  practitioner  tells  me 
that  the  cold  dash  by  no  possibility  can  ctire 
an  apoplexy,  where  a  vessel  is  ruptured  with 
much  effutton  of  blood  on  the  brain;  mr 
reply  is,  that  in  such  a  case  he  may  bleed  all 
the  blood  from  he  body,  with  the  same*  nur 
successful  result !  In  the  case  of  efiuBJoa 
of  blood  in  an  external  part,  from  a  braise, 
for  instance,  could  any  repetition  of  venesee- 
tion  make  the  effwed  blood  re-enter  the  vessel 
from  which  it  had  escaped  ?  No  more  could 
it  do  so  jn  the  brain,  or  any  other  part  Why, 
then,  resort  to  it  in  this  case  ?  If  it  be  said, 
to  stop  bleeding,  I  answer  that  it  has  no  such 
power.  Who  will  doubt  that  Cold  has? 
Surely,  if  the  mere  application  of  a  cold  key 
to  the  back  very  often  stops  bleeding  from 
the  nose,  you  can  be  at  no  loss  to  conceive 
how  the  far  greater  shock  of  the  cold  dash 
may  stop  a  bleeding  in  the  brain  ?  When, 
on  the  contrary,  there  is  no  vascular  rupture, 
but  only  a  tendency  to  it,  the  eold  dash  will 
not  only  contract  and  strengthen  the  vascular 
coats  so  as  to  prevent  them  from  giving  way; 
but  will  moreover  rouse  the  patient  from  his* 
stupor,  by  the  simple  shock  of  its  application. 
But  from  theory  and  hypothesis,  I  appeal  to 
indubitable  and  demonstrative  fact 

Let  the  older  membere  of  the  profeastoa 
[seriously  reflect  upon  the  ultimate  injonr 


Fallacies  of  *' 


early  next  morain^, 
from  hiiD  that  bavin 
on  the  whole,  a  bet' 
sidered  it  necessary 
him.    What  folio 
Mr.  Millengen,  g 
thought  it  my  du 
sideration  of  biF 
emnJy  to  him  h 
him  trifle  thus 
little  lesolutior 
already.  I  sai 
be  lost ;  but 
ed»and  un' 
be  bled,  w 
quences. 
but  who 
changed 
\  mi 


"M^. 


^r^oations  of  the  heart 

^0  of  half  the  blood 

ot  have  cured.    So  also 

_     physician  to   the  Bom 

^iitiemen  who  had  the  felicitjr 

—  .  ^^-^^g»-#-,,^«/-7,^ysp-yp,5F-^fl5d  with  Dr.  Jennei  in  his  la- 

^,^Y^ir^  **'^I3»2S^  ^  ^J^ane^in  whose  success  and  fortunes 

i2S^  *'^&^'!f>iJr'^//^^''^"^"*  man  took  the  warmest  inte- 

4rS^f^'%r'<>>^/i'^^  Baron's  life  of  Jenner.]    In  some 

A^fjS*^V*^'^^^yvS«  nunoters  of  the  lancet  Dr.  Fosbroke 

fc^  l^Z^:^p;^»  f^fin^lhBi^  f'^*"  several  cases  of   Heart-Disease, 

f^C£^!!fl^'  ^ibey  ifatr'^i^^  ^^  treated  successfully  without  blood- 

fi!^^^  ^^,<^'  arA«tt'"g»  *"^»  ^'^^  *  f*^  candour,  he  admits 


^T^i^.  7'K^^..^sa^  hfiltbat  a  lecture  of  mine  on  the  heart  and  circu- 


L^^ 


r///,r!r*>'^ 


(/ijcy 


in  hie  < 

prive 

upon 

by  f 

east 

tJo>  # 

an 

M 

9 

r 


^acon 
firo  and 


^l^&y^L 


'^. 


■tell''' 


'-''ii-ru!k^<'fioldBS  to  tell 


,*«*' 


oifan  in  the 
reme- 


^A**"^;    j*'A/  J^  J  p J  !it  and  rheu  mati  sm .' 
^''^y^''^^  ^iesp  '^'  [lumerous  instances 

^  T^fJn?  ^^^^{[^jmifla(itvi8,  more  surely  and 
^(ff  '*''7^W^^*^*  "'^"  ®^  '^®*^'*  °'  lancet  ? 
?jSf  ^''h  jfiff^^^^^'^'"^»  then,  we  have 
If  0^  .^LemBi  remedies,  why  may  we 
^^^^sti  ^ij^nes  equally  available  for  dis- 


^^^T^el^n^ '     Hav'e  I  not  shown  you 
i  f  Jf  pfijsajc  acid  in  such  cases }  "But 
^^^        of  the  clftnger  of  such  a  reme- 
skilful  hands.    In  the  hands 


?rf|fl* 

I'Tlnybut 

d!f 'j'^'oorant  and  injudicious,  what  reme- 

•  /flaea»*»  ^®^  ™®  **®^»  ^*^®  "^^^  proved,  not 
i^  dangeroup,  but  deadly  ? — has  not  mer- 

^"!?  done  so  ? — Are  purgatives  guiltless  ? 

^^  many  have  fallen  victims  to  t&  lancet ! 

^tb  prussic  acid  properly  diluted  and  com- 
bioed,  f  have  saved  the  infant  at  the  breast 
/fom  the  threatened  sufibcation  of  croup ;  and 
I  have  known  it  in  the  briefest  space  of  time 
leiieve  so  called  inflammation  of  the  lungs, 
where  the  previous  pain  and  difficulty  of 
breathing  were  hourly  expected  to  terminate 
in  death.  True,  like  ever)  other  remedy,  it 
may  fail — but  have  we  no  other  means  or 
combination  of  means  tor  such  cases  ?  With 
emetics  and  auinine  I  have  seldom  been  at  a 
loee ;  and  with  mercury  and  turpentine  I  have 
cured  pneumonia. 

But  will  the  inflamed  heart  yield  to  any- 
Ihiag  but  blood-letting  !  Fearlessly  I  answer, 
yes !  and  with  much  more  certainty.  With 
emetics,  prufrsic  acid,  mercury,  colchicum, 
-silver,  &c.,  I  have  conquered  cases  that  were 


lation  had  no  small  influence  in  leading  him 
to  dismiss  blood-letting  in  the  treatment  of 
them. 

The  human  mind  does  not  easily  turn  from, 
errors  with  which,  by  early  education,  it  has 
been  long  embued :  and  men,  grey  with  years 
and  practice,  seldom  question  a  custom,  that, 
fortunately  for  them  at  least,  has  fallen  in 
with  the  prejudices  of  their  times.  For  my- 
self, it  was  only  step  by  step,  and  that  slowly 
that  I  came  to  abandon  the  lancet  altogether 
in  the  treatment  of  disease.  My  principal 
substitutes  have  been  the  various  remedies 
which,  from  time  to  time,  I  have  had  occasion 
to  mention ;  but  in  a  future  lecture  I  shall 
again  enter  more  fully  into  their  manner  of 
action.  That  none  of  them  are  without  dan- 
ger in  the  hands  of  the  unskilful,  1  admit ;^ 
nay,  that  some  of  them,  mercury  and  purga* 
tives,  for  example,  have,  from  their  abuse, 
sent  many  more  to  the  ffrave,  than  they  have 
ever  saved  from  it,  is  allowed  by  every  can- 
did and  sensible  practitioner.  But  that  was 
not  the  fault  of  the  medicines,  but  of  the  men, 
who,  having  prescribed  them  without  pro- 
perly understanding  the  manciples  of  tneir 
action,  in  the  language  of  Dr  Johnson,  **  put 
bodies  of  which  they  knew  little,  into  bocues 
of  which  they  knew  less !" 

Gentlemen,  I  have  not  always  had  this 
horror  of  blood-letting.  In  many  instances 
have  I  formerly  used  tine  lancet,  where  a  cure, 
in  my  present  state  of  knowledge,  could  have 
been  effected  without;  but  this  was  in  my 
noviciate,  influenced  by  others,  and  without 
sufficient  or  correct  data  to  think  for  myself. 
In  the  Army  Hospitals,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  studying  disease,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
There  1  saw  the  fine  tall  soldier,  on  his  first 
admission,  bled  to  relief  of  a  symptom,  or  to 
fainting.  And  what  is  fainting  ?  A  loss  of 
every  organic  perception — a  death-like  state, 
which  only  diners  from  death,  by  the  possi- 
bility of  a  recall.  Prolong  it  to  permanency 
and  it  »  death !  Primary  symptoms  were, 
of  course,  got  over  by  sucb  measures — but 
once  having  entered  the  hospital  walls,  I 
found  that  soldier's  face  become  famiiimr  tx> 


FaUades  qf  the  FaeiiUy. 


16 


me.  Seldom  did  his  pale  cooiitenance  reco- 
r&  its  fonner  heal  thy  character.  He  became 
the  Tictim  of  connumptton,  ilyBentery,  or 
dropey ;  his  constitation  was  broken  bv  the 
first  depletory  measures  to  which  he  had  been 
snhjected. 

Such  instances,  too  nameroits  to  escape  my 
oheerralion,  naturally  led  me  to  ask — Can 
tbia  be  the  proper  practice  ?  It  was  assuredly 
the  practice  of  others— of  all.  Could  all  be 
wiong  i  Reflection  taught  me  that  men  sel- 
dom act  for  themseives;  but  take,  for  the 
most  part,  a  tone  or  bias  from  some  individ- 
ual  master. 

By  education  most  have  been  misled ; 
So  they  believe,  because  they  were  so  bred. 
But,  Gentlemen,  I  had  the  resolution  to 
think  for  myself — aye,  and  to  act,  and  my 
Gonviction  gained,  from  much  and  extensive 
experience,  is,  that  all  diseases  may  not  only 
he  successfully  treated  without  loss  of  blood, 
but  that  blood-leliing,  however  put  in  prac- 
tice, even  where  it  gives  a  temporary  relief, 
almost  invariably  injures  the  general  health 
of  the  patient.    Englishmen !  you  have  tra- 
▼emed  seas,  and  dared  the  most  dangerous 
climes  to  put  down  the  traffic  in  blood ; — are 
you  sure  that  in  your  own  homes  there  is  no 
such  traffic  carried  on — no  Guinea  Trade  } 
In  connection  with  Blood-letting  in  the 
treatment  of  inflammation,  we  generally  find 

Abstinence  or  Starvation 

recommended.    Beware  of  carrying  this  too 

far ! — for  •*  Abstinence  engenders  maladies." 

So  Shakspeare  said,  and  so  nature  will  tell 

you,  in  the  teeth  of  all  the  doctors  in  Europe ! 

Abstinence,  Gentlemen,  may  produce  almost 

eveiy  form  of  disease  which  has  entered  into 

the considemtion  of  the  physician;  another 

proof  of  the  unity  of  morbid  action,  whatever 

ne  its  cause.    You  remember  what  I  told  you 

of  the  prisoners  of  the  Penitentiary ;  but  1 

may  as  well  restate  the  facts  at  this  lecture. 

In  the  words  of  Dr.  Latham,  then, «« An  ox's 

head,  which  weighed  eight  pounds,  was  made 

into  soup  ior  one  hundred  people;  which 

allows  one  ounce  and  a  quarter  of  meat  to 

each  person.    After  they  had  been  living  on 

ihis  food  for  some  time  they  lost  their  colour, 

flesh,  and  strength,  and  could  not  do  as  much 

work  as  formerly-.    At  length  this  simple 

debility  of  constitution  was  succeeded  by 

Tarious  forms  of  disease.    Tliey  had  scurvy, 

diarrhoea,  tow  FeveVt  and  lastly,  diseases  of 

the  brain  and  nervous  system. 

«'  The  aflections,"  Dr.  Latham  continues, 
**  which  came  on  during  this  fiaded,  wasted, 
weakened  state  of  hAj,  were  headache, 
vertigo,  delirium,  convulsions,  apoplbxv,  a.nd 
even  mania.  When  blood-letting  was  tried 
(why  was  it  tried  ?)  the  patients  fainted,  after 
loaing  five,  four,  or  even  fewer  ounces  of 


blood.  On  examination,  after  death,  them 
was  found  increased  vasctdaritif  of  the  brain, 
and  sometimes  fluid  between  its  membrane 
and  its  ventricles."  Is  not  this  a  proof  of 
what  I  stated  to  you  in  my  last  lecture,  thstt 
ihe  tendency  to  hemorrhagic  developement 
does  not  so  much  depend  upon  fulness  of 
blood,  as  upon  weakness  of  tne  coats  of  the 
containing  vessels? — starvation,  you  see, 
actually  producing  this  disease — in  the  Braia 
at  least 

Every  tribe  of  animals  conveys  its  food  to 
its  mouth  in  its  own  way— but  in  all  the 
higher  animals,  man  inchided,  the  substances 
composing  the  food  are  converted  into  blood 
in  precisely  the  same  manner.  Ciushing  and 
comminuting  it  by  their  teeth,  they  all  reduce 
it  by  the  aid  of  their  saliva  to  a  jmlp,  and 
by  the  action  of  their  tongue  and  other  mus- 
cles convey  it  in  that  state  to  the  gullet, — the 
Epiglottis,  or  valve  of  the  wind-pipe,  shut- 
ting simultaneously,  so  as  to  prevent  all  in- 
tnisiou  in  that  quarter — thougn  some  of  yon, 
when  attempting  to  speak  and  eat  at  the  same 
time,  may  have  had  the  misfortune  to  let  a 
particle  enter  the  *'  wrong  throat  :** — I  need 
say  nothing  of  the  misery  of  that.  When 
the  food  reaches  the  stomach,  into  which  it 
is  pushed  by  the  muscular  apparatus  of  the 

fillet,  a  new  action  commences.  Pooh,  pooh! 
hear  you  say,  all  this  we  know  already — 
but,  Gentlemen,  what  i/du  know  may  be  newi 
to  somebody,  and  as  I  see  strangers  listeninc 
with  apparent  attention,  I  will  proceed  as  1 
have  begun.  Well,  then,  to  continue.  Once 
in  the  stomach  the  food  becomes  mixed  vrith 
the  gastric  juice,  a  secretion  peculiar  to  thai 
organ,  and  this  secretion  woiks  so  great  aa 
alteration  upon  it,  that  it  is  no  more  the  same 
thing.  It  IS  now  what  medical  men  uvm 
Chyme— but  this  is  not  the  only  change  it 
has  to  undergo ;  for  scarcely  has  the  chyme 
left  this  great  receptacle  of  gluttony,  and 
entered  the  small  intestines,  when  it  receives 
a  supply  of  another  juice  from  a  gland  called 
tbe  Pancreas— 4md  yet  another  from  the  ducts 
of  the  Liver,  a  still  laiger  gland ;  and  this 
under  the  mysterious  name  of  Bile,  some  of 
you  may  possibly  have  heard  of  before  !  By 
this  last  juice  it  is  turned  of  a  white  colout, 
and  from  Chyme  its  name  becomes  Chyle,— 
why,  upon  my  word,  I  foiget.  But  as  no- 
thing in  nature  will  go  on  constantly  the 
same  without  change,  the  chyle,  for  very 
good  reasons  of  its  own,  must  needs  separate 
into  two  parts— one  nutritious,  the  other  tue 
reverse*-one  portion  enters  into  the  forma- 
tion of  eveiy  part  of  the  body— the  other  is 
excrementitious,  and  must  be  expelled  from 
it  Eor  the  nutritious  portion  a  million  of 
mouths  are  ready — ready,  like  sharks,  to 
make  the  most  of  it  These  belone  to  « 
system  of  vessels,  called  from  the  milxy  ap^ 


16 


FMacies  of  ih9  Faeultif. 


pearance  of  their  contents,  Lacteals — and  they 
peivadetbe  greater  part  of  the  entire  alimen- 
tary canal.  A  mat  receptacle,  (the  Thoracic 
duct)  receives  them  ail,  for  it  is  their  common, 
point  of  re-union;  and  this  as:ain  under  a 
new  name,  (the  receptacuJum  Chyli)  passing 
iipwards  alonj;  the  front  of  the  spinal  column, 
quietly  drops  its  contents,  pulp,  chyme,  chyle, 
what  you  please,  into  the  left  subclavian 
vein,  a  large  blood-vessel  leading  under  the 
left  collar  bone  to  the  heart.  Here  the  chyle 
is  no  longer  chyle — meeting  and  mixing  with 
the  blood,  it  becomes  Blood  in  fact,  to  be  sent 
first  by  the  right  chamber  of  the  heart  through 
the  lungs,  and  then  by  the  left  chamber  cir- 
culated to  all  parts  of  tne  body,  in  that  now 
living  state  it  successively  takes  the  shape  of 
every  oigan  and  atom  of  the  body ;  again  in 
the  shape  of  die  excreraentitiou:»  secretions, 
to  pass  in  due  time  to  the  earth  from  which 
its  elements  were  first  derived. 

The  food  of  animals  supports  them  only  in 
«o  far  as  it  of&rs  elements  for  assimilation  to 
the  matter*  of  the  various  organs  and  tissues 
composing  their  frames.  While  a  single  se- 
cretion still  continues  to  be  given  off  from  the 
body— while  the  kidneys  or  bowels,  for  ex- 
ample, continue  to  perfonn  their  office,  how- 
ever imperfectly, — it  must  be  manifest  to  you, 
that  without  some  corresponding  dietetic 
tncrement,  elemental  atoms  of  the  animal 
oiganism  must  sooner  or  later  be  so  far  ex- 
pended as  to  leave  it  in  a  state  incompatible 
with  life.  How,  then,  let  me  ask,  can  you 
reconcile  Healthy  organization  with  Starva- 
tion-practice ?  How  can  you  expect  to  find 
even  the  appearance  of  health  after  having 
practised  the  still  more  barbarous  and  unnat- 
ural proceeding  of  withdrawing  by  blood- 
letting a  certain  portion  of  the  sitm  of  ail  the 
organs  that  are  l«ing  formed  ?  The  quantity 
ot  food  which  animals  take,  diminishes  or 
increases  m  the  same  proportion  as  it  contains 
more  or  less  of  the  substance  which  chemists 
term  azote  or  nitrogen.  This,  as  you  well 
know,  is  most  abundant  in  animal  food,  but 
all  vegetables  possess  more  or  less  of  it.  Rice 
perhaps  contains  less  than  any  other  grain, 
and  that  is  the  reason  why  the  Asiatics  can 
devour  such  quantities  of  it  at  a  time,  as  they 
are  in  the  habit  of  doing.  You  would  be 
quite  surprised.to  see  the  natives  of  India  at 
meal -time.  Sitting  cjoss- legged  on  their  mats, 
a  great  basin  of  rice  before  them,  with  mouth 
open  and  head  thrown  back,  they  cram  down 
handful  after  handful,  till  you  wonder  how 
their  stomachs  can  possibly  contain  the  quan- 
tity they  make  disappear  so  quickly. 

The  most  cursory  examination  of  the  hu- 
man teeth,  stripped  of  every  other  considera- 
tion, should  convince  every  body  with  the 
least  pretension  to  biains,  that  the  food  of 


man  was  never  intended  to  be  reUricted  to 
vegetables  exclusively.  Tftie,  he  can  sub- 
sist upon  bread  and  water,  for  a  time,  without 
dying,  as  the  records  of  our  prisons  and  pen- 
itentiaries can  testify  ;  but  that  he  can  maia- 
tain  a  state  of  health  under  such  circumstan- 
ces, is  as  utterly  and  physically  impossible  as 
that  the  lion  and  the  panther  should  subaist 
on  the  restricted  vegetable  diet  of  the  elephant. 
The  dental  organization  of  man  partakes 
of  the  nature  of  the  teeth  of  both  gramini- 
vorous and  carnivorous  animals — his  food 
should,  therefore,  be  a  mixture  of  the  ele- 
ments of  the  food  of  both,  and  with  this 
mixed  nourishment,  the  experience  of  ccata- 
ries  tells  us,  he  supports  life  longest  How 
wretched,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  person 
doomed,  however  briefly,  to  an  exclusive 
diet.  Sir  Walter  Scott  thus  describes  the 
effect  of  what  he  terms  "  a  severe  vegetable 
diet,"  upon  himself.  "  1  was  aflfected,"  he 
says,  *•  while  under  its  influence,  with  a  ner^ 
vousness  which  I  never  felt  before  nor  since 
—a  disposition  to  start  upon  slight  alarms ;  a 
want  of  decision  in  feeling  and  acting,  which 
has  not  usually  been  my  failing ;  an  acute 
sensibiliiy  to  trifling  inconveniences,  and  an 
unnecessary  apprehension  of  contingent  mis- 
fortunes, nse  to  my  memory  as  connected 
with  vegetable  diet"  How  can  a  dietetic 
system,  which  so  shakes  the  entire  frame,  by 
any  possiblility  give  strength  and  stability  to 
the  weaker  parts  of  the  body,— those  parts 
whose  atomic  attractions  are  so  feeble,  that 
every  breath  that  blows  upon  the  whole  or- 
ganism,  shakes  them  to  pieces  ?  Must  it  not, 
in  the  very  nature  of  thiiigs,  make  the  man 
predisposed  to  consumption  more  certainly 
consumptive,— and  so  On,  throughout  the 
whole  catalogue  of  hereditary  disease  ?  That 
abstinence  is  proper,  in  the  commencement 
of  most  acute  disorders,  nobody  will  doubt 
The  fact  is  proved  by  the  inability  of  the 
patient  to  take  his  accustomed  meal;  his 
stomach  then  is  as  unfit  to  digest  or  assimilate 
nutriment,  as  his  limbs  are  inadequate  to 
locomotion.  Both  equally  require  rest  Bui 
to  starve  a  patient  who  is  able  and  willing  to 
eat  is  downright  madness.  No  animal  in 
existence  can  preserve  its  health,  when  fed 
on  one  kind  or  food  exclu  ively.  The  dog, 
when  restricted  to  sugar  alone,  seldom  sur- 
vives the  sixth  week,— and  the  hoise,if  kept 
entirely  upon  potatoes,  would  waste  away 
day  by  day,  though  you  were  to  give  him  as 
much  of  that  particular  diet  as  he  could  de- 
vour ;  -he  would  die  of  a  slow  starvation. 
How  many  persons,  even  in  the  upper  walks 
of  life,  are  every  day  starved  to  death.  The 
apothecary  has  only  with  a  mysterious  shrq^ 
to  whisper  the  word  "  inflammation,'*  and  it 
is  quite  astonishing  to  what  misembk  Ian 


r 


FaUaeies  of  the  PacuUp. 


17 


people  of  all  conditions  will  submit  Instead 
of  an  exclusive  yegetable  diet  bein^  a  core 
for  all  Gomplaints,  as  your  medical  wiseacres 
assure  jou,  I  know  no  complaint  except 
smail-pox  and  the  o^her  contagious  diseases, 
that  It  has  not  of  itself  produced.  The  only 
thing  it  is  good  for,  in  my  view  of  the  matter 
18  to  keep  the  patient  to  bis  chamber,  and  the 
doctor's  carriage  at  the  door.  You  see  what 
a  profitable  practice  it  must  be  for  tbe  apoth 
ecary,-~ajid  111  bet  you  my  life  the  physician 
ivho  first  brought  it  into  fashion  msuie  his 
fortune  by  it  Not  a  nurse  or  nostruni-ven- 
^er  in  the  kingdom,  but  would  be  sure  to  cry 
him  up  to  the  skies !  Not  an  apothecary  from 
Gretna  Green  to  Land's-End,  but  could  tell 
you  of  some  miracle  worked  by  him ;  and 
the  world  hearing  the  same  thing  eternally 
rung  in  its  ears,  -how  could  it  possibly  doubt 
the  greatness  of  *<  Diana  of  the  Ephesians  I" 

I  am  every  day  asked  by  my  patients  what 

diet  they  should  take.    I  have  the  same  an- 

«wer  for  all — whatever  they  like  best  them- 

aeWes,  if  ihey  do  not  find  it  disagree.    Their 

own  experience  of  what  agrees  and  disagrees 

with  their  own  particular  constitutions,  is  far 

better  than  any  theory  of  yours  or  mine. 

Why,  bless  my  life !  m  many  chronic  d'p- 

eases  the  diet  which  a  patient  can  take  to-day 

would  he  rejected  with  disgust  to-morrow ; 

luder  such  circumstances,  would  you  still.. 

according  to  common  medical  practice,  tell  a 

sick  man  to  go  on  taking  what  he  himself 

found  worried  him  to  death  ?    Gentlemen,  I 

hope  better  things  of  you. 

Ths  only  general  caution  you  need  give 
your  patients  on  the  subject  of  diet,  is  mod- 
eration ;  moderation  in  using  the  things 
which  they  fidd  agree  with  themselves  best 
You  may  direct  them  to  take  their  food  in 
smaii  quantities  at  a  time,  at  short  intervals, 
intervals  of  twb  on  three  hours  for  example, 
and  tell  ihem  to  take  the  trouble  to  masti- 
cate It  properly  before  they  swallow  it,  so  as 
not  to  give  a  weak  stomach,  the  double  work 
of  masticatjon  and  digestion, — ^Ihese  process- 
es being,  even  in  health,  essentially  distinct. 
Unless  propeily  communicated  and  mixed 
with  sahva,  how  can  you  expect  the  food  to 
be  anything  but  a  source  of  inconvenience  to 
penons  whom  the  smallest  trifle  will  fre- 
quently discompose?  1  remember  having 
lead  an  anecdote  of  the  late  Mr.  Abemethy, 
which  is  so  apronos  to  what  I  have  just 
been  telline  you,  tnat  I  do  not  know  that  I 
can  better  finish  what  1  have  to  say  upon  the 
Mbjectof  diet,  the;^  by  letting  you  hear  it. 
«^en  at  the  risk  of  its  proving  to  some  of 
you  a  twice;told  tale : — An  American  cap- 
tein,  on  being  one  morning  shown  into  his 
consulting  room,  immedhitely,  in  Yankee 
iaofalon,  emptied  the  contents  ot  his  mouth 


upon  the  floor.  The  man  of  medicine  stated, 
keeping  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  accord- 
ing to  his  custom,  until  the  patient  should  ex- 
plain. "Wha».  shall  I  do  for  my  dyspepsy  l^ 
asked  the  American  captain.  "Pay  me  your 
fee  and  1  will  tell  you,"  replied  the  doctor.— 
The  money  was  produced  and  this  advice 
given,  "instead  of  squirting  ydUr  saliva  over 
my  carpet,  keep  it  to  masticiate  your  food 
with."  Now,  upon  my  word,  he  could  not 
have  given  him  better  advice. 

Gentlemen,  I  shall  conclude  this  lecture 
by  reading  to  you  a  few  of  my  communica- 
tions 1  have  received  from  medical  men  of 
repute,  since  I  fiist  published  my  doctrines  in 
1836.  Dr.  Fosbroke,  of  Ross  began  his 
medical  career  as  the  associate  of  the  immor- 
tal Jenner ;  he  lived  in  his  honse,  and  ma- 
terially aasisted  to  propagate  his  great  doc- 
trine of  Vaccination.  You  will  therefore 
fully  appreciate  the  evidence  of  a  gentleman 
so  distinguished  in  the  history  of  medicine. 
From  a  letter  which  I  received  from  him  in 
January  1840 ;  -I  shall  read  to  you  a  passage 
or  two : — 

"  In  April  1835,  our  acquaintance  and  free 
communication  commenced;  and  though  I 
pricked  up  my  ears,  like  one  thunderstruck* 
at  your  wholesale  denunciation  of  blood-let- 
ting, and  your  repeated  asseveration*,  that  in 
a  practice  embracing  the  treatment  of  several 
thousands  of  patients  per  annum,  you  never 
employed  a  lancet  or  a  leach,~your  asser- 
tions made  an  impression.though  it  was  slow- 
ly and  reluctantly  received."  Thatitstrength- 
ened  by  time.  Gentlemen,  you  will  see  by 
the  next  extract.— "Nothing  can  be  more 
striking  than  the  great  disparity  between  the 
proportion  of  persons  who  were  bled  in  the 
two  first  years  of  my  Ross  practice,  1834  and 
1835,  (in  which  latter  year  I  first  became 
acquinted  with  your  views,)  and  the  three 
following  years,  1S36,1837  and  1838.  In 
the  former  two  years,  I  bled  one  in  seven,  in 
the  fourth  only  one  in  twenty-eight— and  in 
the  fifth  year  I  bled  none  !  The  year  1839 
is  now  concluded,  and  aff^in  in  all  that  time 
I  have  NOT  bled  a  single  individual  !** 

"Vour  crime  is,  that  you  are  before  the 
afiie  in  which  you  hve.  If  you  had  done 
nothing  else  but  put  a  bridle  upon  Blood-let- 
ting, you  would  deserve  the  eternal  gratitude 
of  your  race,  instead  of  the  calumny  and 
oppression  of  the  two-le^jed  fools— the  Ya- 
hoos, who  persecute  their  greatest  benefac- 
tors. But  how  can  you  expect  to  be  more 
fortunate  than  your  predecessors  in  this  re- 
spect ?  The  health  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy 
was  affected  by  the  ingratitude  of  his  country. 
« A  mind,*  said  he,  •  of  much  sensibiliQr 
might  be  disgusted,  and  one  might  be  induced 
to  say— why  should  I  labor  for  public  ob- 


18 


FaUacies  of  the  FadtUlf* 


jectB  only  to  meet  abuse?  I  am  irritated 
more  than  I  ought  to  be,  but  1  am  getting 
wiser  every  day, — recollecting  Galileo  and 
fhe  times  when  philosophers  and  pubJie  bene- 
factors were  burnt  for  their  services.' — 
Whence  is  all  this  ?  Pride,  poverty,  disap- 
pointment, difficulty  and  envy — ^and  'envy,' 
said  Janner  to  me  in  his  last  days,  *is  the 
curse  of  this  country.'  These  are  kept  up 
by  the  canker  of  party  and  the  taint  of  cor- 
ruption. 

*■  One  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  reform 
of  blood-letting  and  blistering,  will  be  the 
prospective  loss  of  guineas,  half-guineas,  five 
shillings  and  half-crowns.  I  saw' a  farmer 
last  summer  come  into  a  druggist's  shop. — 
Some  one  had  told  him  *he  must  be  cupped,* 
so  he  drove  a  bargain,  and  stepped  into  a 
back  room.  'That  fool,'  said  I,  *does  not 
want  cupping.'  •He  does  not  look  as  if  he 
did,'  said  the  druggist,  *but  we  can't affoid  to 
let  him  go  without.*  *• 

Gentlemen,  the  next  two  communications 
are  irom  an  army  medical  officer,  StafT-sur- 
geon  Hume,  a  gentleman  who,  from  the  na- 
ture of  his  duties,  has  the  very  best  oppor- 
tunity of  testing  any  particular  practice — and 
one  who,  were  he  to  eive  a  false  report, 
must  be  at  once  contradicted  by  regimental 
records.  His  statements  may  therefore  be 
relied  upon  with  somewhat  greater  confi- 
dence than  the  reports  which  annually  eman- 
ate from  the  Medical  Officers  of  Civil  Hos- 
pitals and  Dispensaries  throughout  England. 
From  the  tables  of  Mr.  Parr,  we  learn,  that 
these  officers  make  the  deaths  at  their  insti- 
tutions infinitely  less  than  the  average  num- 
ber of  deaths  of  sick  and  well  throughout 
the  country !  so  that,  if  their  reports  be  cor- 
rect, sickness  would  appear  to  be  actually  a 
protection  against  death !  Mr.  Hume  first 
i^Tites  from  Dover,  6th  December,  1838, 
"My  object  in  writing  is  to  congratulate  you 
on  the  moral  courage  you  have  evinced  in 
your  last  two  works.  I  have  been  now 
pearly  thi.-lcen  years  in  the  service — mostly 
in  chaise  of  an  hospital,  and  it  will  be  grati- 
fying to  you  to  know  that  an  old  fellow- 
etudpnt  adopts  and  carries  out  your  principles 
in  his  daily  practice.  I  have  not  used  the 
lancet  these  last  two  tears.  My  cases 
yield  readily  to  warm  baths,  cold  effusions, 
emetics  and  quinine.  You  may  ask  me 
where  I  have  been  ?  Four  years  in  Jamaica, 
the  rest  in  North  America  and  Home  Service. 
If  yo'i  had  seen  Marshall  s  Digest  of  the 
Annual  Reports  of  the  Army  Medical  Offi- 
cers since  1S17,  you  might  have  quoted  it  as 
a  proof  of  your  startling  fact — the  Unity  of 
Disease.  The  more  1  read  your  book,  the 
more  I  am  convinced  it  is  based  on  truth,  and 
'^nibistenl  eqtially  widi  common  sense  and 


nature's  lawa.  However  little  this  age  may 
appreciate  your  labors  and  the  persecution 
you  are  likely  to  sufier  from  a  certain  clan 
of  doctors,  every  liberal  mind  must  do  justice 
to  your  unwearied  zeal.  Your  holding  up 
to  ridicule  the  most  fatal  of  all  medical  vt- 
rors — bleeding  a  patient  into  a  temporary 
calm  and  incurable  weakness,  ought  to  stamp 
you  as  the  benefactor  of  mankind." 

The  same  gentleman  again  writes  to  me 
from  Naas  Barricks,  Ireland,  5th  December* 
1839.  '*  It  is  now  twelve  months  since  I 
wrote  to  you,  saying  that  I  had  not  used  the 
lancet  for  the  two  previous  years ; — and  I 
am  now  more  convinced  tlian  ever  of  its 
utter  inutility  in  the  treatment  of  diseass. 
Every  day*8  experience  contirms  roe  in  the 
truth  of  your  doctrines.  During  the  last 
year,  T  have  neither  bled,  leeched,  nor  cop- 
ped in  any  case — and  I  have  not  had  a  sing^ 
death  of  man*  woman,  or  child.  The  depot 
was  never  more  healthy,  and  I  attribute  this 
principally  to  my  abstaining,  during  the  last 
THREE  years,  from  every  kind  of  depletion 
in  the  treaUnent  'of  disease.  I  am  satisfied 
that  Pneumonia  and  Enteritis,  (inflammation  « 
of  the  lungs  and  bowels)  which  ate  at  pres- 
ent ihe  bug-bears  of  the  faculty,  are  indebted 
for  their  chief  existence  to  the  remedies  used 
for  ordinar}'  ailments^namely,  bleedingyStsr- 
vatioii,  and  unnecesnsary  puigiug  I  never 
saw  a  case  of  either  (and  I  have  seea  many) 
in  which  the  ])atient  had  not  been  the  inmate 
of  an  hospital  previously,  where  he  had 
undergone  the  usual  antiphlogistic  regimen, 
or  had  been  otherwise  debiljtated — as  in  the 
case  of  long  residence  in  a  warm  climate. 
I  am  not  surprised  at  the  opposition  you  meet 
with.  It  has  ever  been  the  lot  of  those  who 
have  done  good  to  humanity  to  be  o&red  ifp 
as  sacrificAs  at  the  altars  of  ignorance,  prcjv- 
dice  and  obstinacy.  It  is  a  fact  related  by 
Harvey,  he  could  not  get  a  physician  above 
the  age  of  forty  to  belitve  in  the  CircuUtion 
of  that  Blood  whose  value  in  the  economy 
YOU  have  so  forcibly  proved.  AJlhoughl 
yield  to  you,  as  your  just  due,  the  origin  of 
the  improved  principle  of  treating  disease,  I 
take  credit  to  myself  for  being  one  of  the 
first  to  carry  it  into  efiect,  and  I  am  doubtful 
whether  a  person  in  private  practice  coald 
ever  so  far  overcome  prejudice  as  to  uee  the 
cold  bath  with  the  confidence  I  do  in  every 
kind  of  fever.  Its  power,  together  with  a 
warm  one,  is  truly  wonderful  in  equalizing 
the  temperature  oi  the  body.  When  I  com- 
pare the  success  of  my  treatment  duiinflt  the 
last  few  years,  with  that  of  my  previous  ex- 
perience, I  feel  inclined  to  curse  the  professor 
who  first  taught  me  to  open  the*  vein  with  a 
lancet    Yourtf  meet  tranr« 

T.  D.  Huu. 


Naiare  of  Insanity. 


1» 


AMERICA^N 

JOURVAL  OF  UrSAVITT 

For  October,  1844. 

ABg&m,  Utioa.-Vu1.  1.  No.  2. 

Article  I. 
DcOaitioti  of  Insaiiity^Vatvrt  of  th«  J)U«ai«. 


By  Insanity  is  generally  understood  some 
disorder  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind.  This 
is  a  eorrect  statement*  so  far  as  it  goes ;  but 
it  does  not  define  the  disease  with  sufficient 
accuracy,  as  it  is  applicable  to  the  delirium 
of  fever,  inflammation  of  the  brain,  and  other 
diseases  which  are  distinct  from  insanity. 

Insanity,  says  Webster's  Dictionary,  is 
'*  derangement  of  the  intellect.**  This  is  not 
merely  too  limited  a  definition,  but  an  incor- 
tect  one,  for  in  some  varieties  of  insanity, 
asPrichard  remarks,  <<the  intellectual  fac- 
ulties appear  to  have  sustained  little  or  no 
ia^urf,  while  the  disorder  is  manifested 
principally  or  alone,  in  the  state  of  the  fed- 
mes,  temper  oi  habits." 

We  consider  insanity,  a  chronic  disease  of 
the  brain,  produane  either  derangement  of 
the  inteUectual  facukiesy  or  prolonged  change 
of  the  feelmgs^  affections^  and  habits  of  an 
mdwidual. 

In  all  cases  it  is  a  disease  of  the  brain, 
though  the  disease  of  this  organ  may  be 
«ecoadary,  and  the  conseouence  of  a  pri- 
mary disease  of  the  stomach,  liver,  or  some 
other  part  of  the  body :  or  it  may  arise  from 
loo  great  exertion  and  excitement  of  the 
mental  powers  or  feelings;  but  still  insanity 
never  results  unless  the  brain  itself  becomes 
aflected. 

In  former  times,  insanity  was  attributed 
to  the  agency  of  the  devil,  and  the  insane 
were  supposed  to  be  possessed  by  demons. — 
Something  of  this  opinion  is  still  prevalent, 
and  it  appears  to  have  been  emoraced  by 
OUT  Pilgrim  Fathers. 

Cotton  Mather,  in  his  life  of  William 
Thompson,  thus  remarks: — **Satany  who 
had  been  afteP'  an  extraordinary  manner  ir- 
ritated by  the  evangelic  labors  of  this  holy 
Bian,  obtained  the  liberty  to  sift  him  ;  and 
hence,  after  this  worthy  man  had  served  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  church  of  our 
New  English  Braintrety  he  fell  into  that 
Balneutn  diaboli,  a  black  melancholu,  which 
lot  divers  years  almost  wholly  disabled  him 
for  the  exercise  of  his  ministry.'* 

Still  we  find  this  leafned  and  good  man 
HEW  the  connection  between  the  diseased 
mind  and  bodily  disease,  as  he  thus  observ- 
es :  "There  is  no  experienced  minister  of  the 
goipel,  who  hath  not  in  the  cases  of  tempted 


souls,  often  had  this  experience  that  the  ill 
caMss  of  their  distempered  bodies  are  the 
frequent  occasion  and  original  of  their  femp- 
tationi.  There  are  many  men,  who  in  the 
very  constitution  of  their  bodies,  do  afford  a 
bed,  wherein  busy  and  bloody  devils,  have 
a  sort  of  lodging  provided  for  them.  The 
mass  of  blood  in  them,  is  disordered  with 
some  fiery  acid,  and  their  brains  or  bowels 
have  some  juices  or  ferments,  or  vapors 
about  them,  which  are  most  unhappy  en  jmes 
for  devils  to  work  upon  their  souls  withal. 
The  vitiated  humors,  in  many  persons,  yield 
the  steams,  whereunto  Satan  does  insinuate 
himself,  till  he  has  eained  a  sort  of  posses- 
sion in  them,  or  at  least,  an  opportunity  to 
shoot  into  the  mind,  as  many  fiery  darts,  as 
may  cause  a  sad  life  unto  them ;  yea  *tis 
well  if  self-murder  be  not  the  sad  end,  into 
which  these  hurried -people  are  thus  precipi- 
tated. New  England,  a  country  where  sple- 
netic malaaies  are  prevailing  and  pernicious, 
perhaps  above  any  other  hath  afforded  num- 
berless instances  of  even  pious  people, 
who  have  contracted  those  melancholy  in- 
dispositions, which  have  unhinged  them 
from  all  service  or  comfort;  yea,  not  a 
few  persons  have  been  hurried  thereby  to  lay 
violent  hands  upon  themselves  at  the  last. 
These  are  among  the  unsearchable  judgments 
of  God  ?* 

We  believe,  however,  that  such  opinions 
are  no  longer  embraced  by  intelligent  per- 
sons, who  have  paid  much  attention  to  insan- 
ity. By  such,  insanity  is  regarded  as  a  dis- 
ease of  the  body,  and  few  at  the  present 
time,  suppose  the  mind  itself  is  ever  disea- 
sed. Tne  immaterial  and  immortal  mind  is 
of  itself,  incapable  of  disease  and  decay.— 
To  say  otherwise,  is  to  advocate  the  doctrine 
of  the  materialists,  that  the  mind,  like  our 
bodily  powers,  is  material,  and  can  chang<(, 
decay,  and  die.  On  this  subject,  the  truth 
appears  to  be,  that  the  brain  is  the  instru- 
ment which  the  mind  uses  in  this  life,  to 
manifest  itself,  and  like  all  other  parts  of 
our  bodies,  is  liable  to  disease,  and  when  dis- 
eased, is  often  incapable  of  manifesting  har- 
moniously and  perfectly  the  powers  of  the 
mind. 

Insanity  then,  is  the  result  of  diseased 
brain  just  as  dyspepsia  or  indigestion  is  the 
resuh  of  disordered  stomach ;  but  it  is  only 
one  of  the  results  or  consequences  of  a  dis- 
ease of  this  organ.  The  brain  may  be  dis- 
eased without  causing  insanity;  for  al- 
though we  say,  and  say  truly,  that  the 
brain  is  the  organ  of  the  mind,  yet  certain 
portions  of  the  brain  are  not  directly  concer- 
ned in  the  manifestation  of  the  mental  pow- 
ers, but  have  other  duties  to  perform.  Cer- 
tain parts  of  the  brain  confer  on  us  the  pow- 


20 


Nature  of  Insanity. 


er  of  voluntary  motion,  but  these  portions 
are  distinct  from  those  connected  with  the 
mental  faculties.  Hence  we  sometimes  see 
thoug^h  rarely  I  admit,  individuals  paralytic, 
and  unable  to  move,  from  disease  of  the 
brain,  whose  minds  are  not  at  all,  or  but 
very  little  disturbed.  In  such  cases  there  is 
some  disease  of  the  brain,  but  of  a  part  not 
concerned  in  the  manifestation  of  the  men- 
tal powers.  We  receatlv  saw  an  aged  gen- 
tleman, who  had  been  for  several  weeks, 
paralytic  on  one  side,  whose  mind  was  not 
obviously  affected.  He  died,  and  on  exami- 
ning his  brain,  a  portion  of  the  interior  of 
one  half  of  the  brain  was  found  much  dis- 
eased, while  the  outer  part  was  apparently 
in  a  healthy  state. 

From  such  cases,  and  numerous  other  ob- 
«ervations,  we  are  quite  su^e  that  tiie  outer 
part  of  the  brain  is  connected  with  the  men- 
tal powers,  and  the  inner  portion  with  vol- 
untary motion.  These  parts  6f  the  brain 
differ  in  color  and  structure.  The  outer  is  a 
grejrish  red  color,  and  different  from  every 
other  part  of  the  system,  while  the  inner 
part  is  beautifully  white  and  resembles  the 
nerves. 

Again  the  brain  appears  to  be  a  double  or- 
gan, or  it  is  divided  mto  halves,  or  hemis- 
pheres of  like  form  and  function,  and  there- 
fore, though  one  side  or  one  half  of  the 
bzain  may  be  affected,  the  powers  of  the 
mind  may  still  be  manifested  by  the  other. 

We  may  say  then,  that  insanity  is  an  ef- 
fect of  a  disease  of  only  a  part  of  the  brain 
— the  outer  or  grey  part,  in  most  cases,  in- 
sanity is  the  consequence  of  very  dight  dis- 
ease, of  a  small  part  of  the  brain.  If  it  was 
not  so,  the  disease  would  soon  terminate  in 
death — for  severe  and  extensive  disease  of 
the  brain  soon  terminates  in  death.  We  see 
however,  numerous  instances  of  insane  per- 
sons, living  many  years,  and  apparently  en- 
joying good  health.  We  have  seen  several 
persons  who  have  been  derang^  40  and 
€ven  50  years,  during  which  time  they  enjoy- 
ed in  other  respects,  good  health.  On  ex- 
aminin^  the  brain  after  death,  in  such  old  ca- 
ses of  insanity,  but  little  disease  of  this  or- 
gan is  often  found,  though  a  little,  we  be- 
lieve may  always  be  found ;  sometimes  only 
an  unusual  hardness  of  Uie  outer  portion, 
but  in  so  delicate  an  or^n  as  the  brain  this 
is  sufficient  to  derange  its  functions,  just  as 
a  little  disorder  of  the  eye  or  ear,  though 
not  sufficient  to  affect  the  health,  will  disor- 
der hearing;  and  vision. 

It  is  as  if,  in  some  very  complicated  and 
delicate  instrument,  as  a  watch  for  instance, 
some  slight  alteration  of  its  machinery, 
should  disturb,  but  not  stop  its  action. 

Urns  we  oecasionally  find  that  violent 


mental  emotions — a  great  trial  of  the  affec- 
tions— suddenly  to  derange  the  action  of  the 
brain,  and  cause  insanity  for  life,  without 
materially  affecting  the  system  in  other  re- 
spects. Esquirol  relates  the  case  of  a  young 
lady,  who  for  several  years  expected  to  mar- 
ry a  person  to  whom  she  was  enga£;ed,  and 
much  attached.  He  finally  deserted  hAr  and 
married  another,  on  heanng  of  which  she 
immediately  became  deranged,  and  for  years 
remained  m  this  condition,  rejecting  the 
attention  of  all  other  men,  and  constantly 
taJking  of  her  former  lover,  whom  she  BtiU 
loved. 

In  this  Asylum  is  an  interesting  patient, 
who  became  deranged  suddenly,  three  years 
since,  in  consequence  of  the  murder  oi  her 
son.  Her  whole  time  and  thoughts  since 
that  period)  have  been  engrossed  in  search- 
ing and  calling  for  her  son,  whom  she  be- 
lieves to  be  concealed  in  the  building,  or  be- 
neath the  furniture.  Thus  she  lives  in  hopes 
of  soon  seeing  him. 

Garrick  used  to  say  that  he  owed  his  sac- 
cess  in  acting  King  Lear,  from  having  Been 
the  case  of  a  worthy  man  in  London,  who, 
when  playing  with  his  only  child  at  a  win- 
dow, accidentallylet  it  fall  upon  the  pave- 
ment beneath.  The  poor  father  remained  at 
the  window,  screaming  vnth  agony,  until  the 
neighbors  delivered  the  child  to  him  dead. — 
He  instantly  became  insane,  and  from  that 
moment  never  recovered  his  understanding, 
but  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  go- 
ing to  the  window,  and  there  playing  in  ten- 
cy  with  his  child,  then  dropping  it  and  hun- 
ting into  tears,  and  for  awhile  filling  the 
house  with  his  shrieks,  when  he  would  be- 
come calm,  sit  down  in  a  pensive  mood, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  for  a  long  time  on  one 
object.  Garrick  was  often  present  at  this 
scene  of  misery,  and  <*  thus  it  was,'*  he  said, 
«<  I  learned  to  imitate  madness." 

Sometimes,  however,  a  severe  trial  of  the 
feelings  and  affections  produces  death. 

This  is  not  merely  the  assertion  of  po^ 
and  novelists,  Esquirol  mentions  the  case 
of  a  young  lady  of  Lyons,  in  France,  who 
was  engaged  to  be  married  to  a  young  man 
of  the  same  place.  Circumstances  suMesly 
occured  which  determined  the  parents  to 
prevent  their  marriage,  and  the  young  man 
was  sent  away.  Immediately  on  learning 
this  she  became  deranged.  After  five  days 
spent  in  vain  efforts  to  relieve  her,  the  pa- 
rents, to  prevent  her  death,  had  the  younr 
man  recalled,  but  it  was  too  late— she  died 
in  his  arms. 

In  such  cases,  and  we  could  cite  many, 
death  does  not  occur  from  apoplexy,  nor 
from  the  exhaustion  following  long-ooatinu- 
ed  and  great  excitement,  but  from  the  want 


Nature  of  Insanity. 


21 


of  deep ;  the  grief  is  too  overwhelming  for 
"poppy  or  mandragora,  or  all  the  drowsy 
syrups  of  the  world,"  to  medicine  to  repose. 
Snch  was  the  sadden  insanity  and  death 
of  Haidee,  described  b;^  Byron,  and  so  true 
to  nature  and  so  beautifully,  that  we  trans- 
ciibeit. 

*11i»  >Mt  right  which  she  mw  was  Juan's  fora, 
kn4  he  htmaelf  o'ermasiei'd  and  cat  down ; 
Jlisb'ood  was  running  on  the  xvtj  floor 
Where  late  he  trod  her  b^aatit'ul,  her  own  ; 
Thus mu-h aha view'd an  tn>tant,  and  no  more,-^ 
Hei  Btnifsies  ceaaad  with  one  convnliiTa  groan. 

1>aj«  lar  »ha  ni  t'  at  state  nnchanc'd,  thongfa  chill. 
With  nothing  livid,  sti'l  her  lips  were  red ; 
She  haH  nopa'ee.  bat  death  neena'd  ab«ant  still ; 
No  hidaoos  sign  proclaimed  her  sorely  dead. 

At  last  a  dava  hethooiht  her  of  a  harp  ; 

The  h  Toer  came,  and  tnned  his  in«tramant; 

▲t  the  first  no'e*.  irre^alar  and  sharp. 

On  hijn  her  da»hing  eves  a  moment  bent, 

Thrn  t'>  the  wall  f^e  tarncd,  asir  to  warp 

Her  ihoof  bts  from  sorrow  through  her  heart  ra*iaftt, 

And  ha  bcfsn  a  tong,  low  i»la  d  song 

0(  ancient  days,  era  tfranny  grew  strong. 

Anon  her  thia,  wan  fingers  beat  the  wall 

la  tune  to  his  oU  tana ;  he  changed  the  theme, 

AnA  s«nc  of  love— the  fierce  name  strack  tluongh  all 

Her  reenll^i  on ;  on  her  flashed  the  dreaaa 

Of  vrfaat  she  wjs,  and  is,  if  je  conld  call 

To  be  so  brine :  in  a  gmhi  c  stream 

The  tears  ra  h*d  forth  from  her  o'erclonded  brain, 

LiJce  mooniain  mists  at  length  dissolved  in  rain. 

Short  ffolaea,  vain  relief  !-~thnoght  cans  too  quick. 
And  wlir-'d  htr  brain  to  madiiesa;  she  arose 
A>  one  who  ne'er  had  dwelt  among  the  sick, 
And  flew  St  all  she  met.  as  on  her  foes : 
Bat  ao  one  ever  beard  her  speak  or  shnek, 
Aliboogh  her  pamxvsm  drew  towards  its  doaa. 
Bers  was  a  fn>nzy  which  disdained  to  rave. 
Even  arben  they  amoia  her,  in  the  hope  to  eava. 

Food  she  refnsed,  and  raiment;  no  pretence 
AvaiI'd  for  either  ;   neithrr  chanire  of  plare. 
Nor  iinH>  nor  skill,  nor  remedy, ooiiU  jive  her 
Soma  /o  sleeps  tls«  power  seemed  gone  lorever 

Twelve  days  and  laights  she  vrither'd  thas;  at  laat, 
Withont  a  eroiin,  m  sigh,  or  glance,  to  show 
A  parting  pang,  tine  spirit  from  her  pass'd." 

A  little  injur^r  of  the  brain — a  slight  blow 
on  the  head,  has  often  caused  insanity,  and 
'  chanf^  the  whole  moral  characer — ^usually 
for  the  worse,  tsometimes  for  the  better. 
We  have  known  a  most  exemplary  and 
pious  iady — a  most  excellent  wife  and  mo- 
ther, whose  mind  had  been^  highly  cultiva- 
ted— ^transformed  by  a  little  injury  of  the 
head,  into  one  of  the  most  violent  and  vulgar 
beings  we  ewtx  saw,  and  yet  the  intellectual 
powers  were  not  very  much  di.<vturbed.  For 
a  considerable  time  she  continued  to  take 
good  care  of  her  family,  so  far  as  related  to 
nousehold  duties,  but  her  love  of  rea  ling,  of 
attending  church,  and  all  affection  for  her 
tamily  and  neighbors  was  gone,  and  she 
became  so  violent  that  her  friends  were  oh 
liged  to  p!ace  her  in  a  Lunatic  Asylum.  The 
cdebrated  Dr.  Parry  refers  to  a  titee  in  which, 


on  the  head  perverted  all  the  best  principles 
of  the  human  mind,  and  changed  a  pious 
Christian  to  a  drunken  and  abandoned  felon" 
Such  cases  teach  us  to  be  cautious  and 
tolerant  in  instances  where  change  of  cha- 
racter and  misconduct  are  connected  as  to 
time,  with  injury  or  disease  of  the  head,  or 
even  with  general  ill  health. 

Now  and  then  an  injury  of  the  head  seems 
to  improve  the  intellect,  and  even  the  moral 
character.  Instances  of  the  fonner  are  not 
very  uncommon.  The  disease  or  injury  of 
the  brain  appears  to  give  more  energy  and 
activity  to  some  of  the  mental  faculties. 
This  we  often  see  in  the  delirium  of  fever. 
The  following  very  curious  case  was  related 
to  Mr.  Tuke,  of  the  Retreat  for  the  Insane 
near  York,  England :  a 

"A  young  woman,  who  was  employed  as 
a  domestic  servant  by  the  father  of  the  relater, 
when  he  was  a  boy,  became  insane,  and  at 
length  sunk  into  a  state  of  perfect  idiocy. 
In  this  condition  she  remained  for  many 
years,  when  she  was  attacked  by  a  typhus 
fever ;  and  my  friend,  having  then  practiced 
some  time,  attended  her.  He  was  surprised 
to  observe,  as  the  fever  advanced,  a  develop- 
ment  of  the  mental  powers.  During  that 
period  of  the  fever,  wnen  others  were  deliri- 
ous, this  patient  was  entirely  rational.  She 
recognized,  in  the  face  of  her  medical  atten- 
dant, the  son  of  her  old  master,  whom  she 
had  known  so  many  years  before ;  and  she 
related  many  circumstances  respecting  this 
family,  and  others,  which  had  happened  to 
herself  in  earlier  days.  But,  alas!  it  was 
only  the  gleam  of  reason ;  as  the  fever  abated, 
clouds  a^n  enveloped  the  mind ;  she  sunk 
into  ner  former  deplorable  stale,  and  remain- 
ed in  it  until  her  death,  which  happened  a 
few  years  afterwards." 

Numerous  cases  are  on  record  where  a 
blow  on  the  head  by  depressing  a  portion  of 
the  skull  has  caused  the  loss  of  speech, 
memory,  and  of  all  the  mental  faculties  for 
many  months;  but  which  were  restored  on' 
trephining  and  raising  the  depressed  bone. 

As  we  have  said,  sometimes  the  mcral 
character  is  improved  by  injury  or  disease  of 
the  head.  Dr.  Cox,  in  his  Practical  OIsT' 
vations  on  Insaniiif^  relates  such  cases.  We 
sometimes  see  the  same  results  from  severe 
illness.  Most  experienced  physicians  must 
have  noticed  striking  and  permanent  changes 
of  character  produced  by  disease.  The  insan-' 
ityof  some  persons  consists  merely  in  a  litt'e 
exaltation  of  some  one  or  more  of  the  men- 
tal facuUies  of  se1f-e^teem,  love  of  approba- 
tion, cautiousness,  benevolence,  &c. 

A  man  received  a  severe  wound  on  the 
upper  part  of  his  head,  after  which  his  ndnd 


to  use  his  own  words*  <^an  accidental  blow  |  became  some  affected,  especially  as  related 


42 


Naittrt  of  Insanity. 


5' 


to  his  beneyolent  feelings,  which  were  per- 
petually active  towards  man  and  beast.  lie 
was  disDosei  to  give  away  all  that  be  had, 
and  finally  was  placed  in  a  Lunatic  Asylum, 
ijfi  consequence  of  the  trouble  which  he 
made  in  his  eadeavors  to  benefit  others  and 
relieve  suffering.  Whenever  he  saw  any 
cattle  in  a  poor  pasture,  he  would  invariably 
remove  them  to  a  better;  and  whenever  he 
heard  of  a  destructive  fire  or  shipwreck,  he 
would  hasten  even  to  a  great  distance  to  en- 
deavor to  afford  relief. 

Among  the  insane  in  Lunatic  Asylums, 
we  sometimes  see  not  only  exhibitions  of 
strength,  mechanical  and  musical  skill,  pow- 
ers of  language,  &c.,  far  superior  to  what 
ihe  same  individuals  ever  exhibitel  when 
sane,  but  also  a  remarkable  increase  and  en- 
€i;ey  of  some  of  the  best  feelings  and  im 
pulses  of  our  nature,  prompting  them  to 
lee  Is  of  self-sacrifice  and  benevolence, 
which  remind  us  of  the  somewhat  insane 
but  ever  memorable  act  of  Grace  Darling— 

"  Whose  deeds  will  live 
A  theme  for  angels,  when  they  celebrnte 
The  high-90uled  virtue  which  forgetful  earth 
Hath  witnessed." 

In  such  instances,  fear  and  every  selfish 
feeling  a])pears  to  be  lost  or  overcome  by 
the  intensity  of  the  benevolent  impulse. 

From  the  preceling  remarks  we  see  that 
insanity  is  often  but  an  effect  of  a  slight  in 
jury  or  disease  of  a  part  of  the  brain,  and  in 
many  instances  only  a  few  of  the  faculties 
of  tne  mind  are  disordered.  From  this  we 
infer  that  the  brain  is  not  a  single  organ,  but 
a  conj^eries  of  organs,  as  miintainel  by  the 
illustrious  Gall  an  1  his  celebrate  1  succe^sor^ 
Spurzheim  and  Combe.  Thus  ea;:h  menta' . 
faculty  has  an  e.special  orgran,  an  i  therefore 
certain  faculties  may  be  disordere  i  by  dis- 
ease of  the  brain,  while  others  are  not  affect- 
el;  a  fact  every  day  observed  in  Lunatic 
Asylums,  but  which  we  know  not  how  to 
explain  if  we  believe  the  brain  to  be  a  single 
organ. 

We  very  rarely  find  the  who'e  mind  de- 
stroyed or  disordered  in  insanity,  except  in 
cases  of  long  continuance,  or  of  unusual 
eeverity.  A  majority  of  patients  in  Lunatic 
Asylums  have  considerable  mini  left  un  Jis- 
turbel,  and  some  of  them  con  iuct  with  pro- 
priety, and  converse  rationally  most  of  the 
tune,  an  1  on  all  but  a  few  subjects. 

We  have  seen  an  in  iiyidual  who  believe  1 
tiiat^he  direstel  the  planets  and  cause!  the 
sua  to  shine  an  1  the  rain  to  descen  1  when 
he  chose,  yet  he  was  a  mm  of  much  intelli- 
gence  and  converse  1  lationally  on  other 
anbjests*  anl  was  renvkable  for  geitleness 
of  Buiiner  and  amiability  of  disposition* 


We  could  cite  very  many  cases  nearly 
similar,  and  to  those  who  have  frequently 
visited  this  Asylum,  we  can  appeal  for  the 
verification  of  the  statement— that  patients 
decidedly  insane  on  one  or  more  subjects* 
still  manifest  acute  and  vigorous  minds,  and 
appear  to  be  sane  on  others. 

Having  seen  that  insanity  consists  in  the 
derangement  of  one  or  more  of  the  faculties  of 
the  mind,  poduced  by  disease  of  only  a  part 
of  the  brain,  we  conclude  there  is  no  one 
faculty  of  the  human  mind  but  may  beeome 
disordered.  If,  therefore,  we  actually  knew 
what  mental. faculties  mankind  possess,  we 
mi^ht  then  know  all  the  various  forms  of 
jnsanity,  all  the  varieties  of  mental  aberra- 
tion to  which  these  faculties  are  liable.  But 
we  do  not  know.  Philosophers  have  ever 
disagreed  as  to  the  number  of  the  faculties 
of  the  human  mind,  and  even  as  to  what 
constitues  a  faculty. 

We  shall  not  however  particularise  their 
views,  but  briefly  allude  to  the  constitution 
of  the  human  mind,  appealing  to  com- 
mon observation  for  the  correctness  df  what 
we  assert  on  this  subject. 

In  contemplating  the  phenomena  of  mind, 
we  can  not  fail  to  perceive  the  variety  of  its 
faculties,  and  that  there  is  an  obvious  gene- 
ral division  of  them  into  intellectual  and 
moral,  the  latter  comprehending  the  propen- 
sities and  impulses. 

These  faculties,  both  the  inteUectual  and 
moral,  are  originally  possessed  by  all,  and 
are  alike  dependant  upon  a  healthy  state  oi 
the  brain  for  their  proper  manifes'ation.  la 
some  they  are  far  more  active  and  energetic 
than  in  oUiers,  owing  in  most  cases  we  be- 
lieve to  original  formation  of  the  brain,and  in 
others  to  e  iuratioD.  That  the  intellectual  fac- 
ulties can  be  great  y  improved  by  cultivation, 
eveiT  one  knows,  and  by  many,  too  many 
we  (ear,  this  is  redded  the  most  importsnt 
and  sole  object  of  education, — as  if  the  mo- 
r  il  powers,  the  propensities,  and  impulses,  * 
were  not  a  part  of  the  mind,  and  not  capa- 
ble of  improvement 

But  however  important  the  cultiyatioa  of 
the  intellect  may  be,  it  certainly  is  not  more 
so  than  the  culdvation  and  improvement  of 
the  moral  powers.  We  do  not  wish  to  uji- 
dervalue  the  intellect,  or  discourage  dbrta 
for  its  improvement,  but  we  wish  that  all 
might  realise  the  superiority  of  our  moral 
nature  over  intellect  itself. 

The  intellectual  faculties  are  but  a  part  of 
our  mental  powers,  and  contribute  but  little 
in  fact  towards  forming  what  we  call  the 
characier  of  an  in  iivi dual.  We  call,  to  mind 
our  acquaintances  and  notice  that  thieir  char- 
acters are  very  different,  but  this  dilferaioe 
does  not  arise  fion  the  dilfeience  in  their  in* 


Naiure  of  Insanity. 


23 


leUectual  ftunilticB,  but  in  their  moral  pow- 
en.  That  one  man  knows  more  of  the 
Greek  langiiaee  or  mathematics^,  or  has  more 
knowledge  of  commercial  or  political  afiairs 
or  of  some  mechanical  art,  or  has  the  ability 
to  acquire  knowledge  of  many  subjects  fas- 
ter ibam  another,  does  not  cause  the  differ- 
ence we  perceiye  in  what  we  denominate 
die  characteT.    The  character  is  determined 

a  the  moral  faculties  or  propensities,  by  the 
ections,  benevolence,  love,  seliishness, 
avarice,  &c.  The  difference  in  the  activity 
and  energy  of  these,  create  the  differences  we 
0ee  in  the  characters  of  men ;  these  consti- 
tute the  man  himself,  or  the  9oul  of  man, 
while  the  intellectual  faculties  are  but  in- 
struments to  administer  to  the  wants  and  de- 
mands of  the  propensities. 

Without  these  propensities  or  moral  fac- 
ulties, the  intellectual  powers  would  not  be 
exert^  at  all,  or  but  feebly.  The  stimulus 
or  urgency  of  the  impulses  of  our  moral  na- 
ture, of  benevolence,  love,  avarice,  &c.,  im- 
pel men  to  action — ^to  gratify  these  the  hu- 
man race  have  forever  toiled. 

Now  it  is  to  these  important  faculties,  the 
propenaties  of  our  moral  nature,  that  we 
wisn  to  call  particular  attention.  Not  mere- 
}y  to  the  importance  of  their  early  cultiva- 
tion and  improvement,  but  to  the  fact  that 
tbej  as  often  become  deranged  as  the  intel- 
lectual. They  as  truly  use  the  brain  for 
manifesting  themselves ;  consequently  when 
certain  parts  of  the  brain  become  diseased, 
Aey  become  deranged,  and  not  unfrequently 
without  the  intellectual  powers  being  noti- 
ceably disturbed.  A  man's  natural  benevo- 
lence or  propensity  to  acquire,  or  to  love, 
may  become  deranged  from  disease  of  the 
brain  as  truly  as  his  powers  of  comparing, 
reasoning,  Szic. 

Yet  evident  as  this  is  from  Physiology 
and  Pathology,  and  from  daily  observation 
in  Lunatic  Hospitals,  it  is  a  fact,  and  an 
alarming  fact,  that  when  disease  causes  de- 
rangement of  the  moral  faculties,  and  chan- 
ge the  character  and  conduct  of  an  individ- 
ualy  he  13  not  deemed  insane,  provided  the 
intellectual  powers  are  not  obviously  disor- 
dered. 

It  may  be  said  that  such  a  perM>n  has  rea- 
son still  left  to  guide  him,  as  is  evidenced  by 
his  ability  to  converse  rationally  on  many 
subjects,  and  even  to  reason  well  against  the 
very  crime  thai  he  commits.  AD  this  may 
be  true,  and  yet  the  person  may  not  be  ac- 
coontable,  m  although  reason  is  given  to 
prevent  us  from  doing  evil,  it  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  resist  a  diseased  and  excited  im- 
pulse. 

Let  not  diis  be  applied  to  crimes  oommit- 
tel  during  Tofautaiy  urtoxiaaiOBt  iw  thovgh 


when  thus  intoxicated  a  man  may  be  mo- 
mentarily insane,  yet  it  is  voluntary  insani- 
ty produced  by  poss  misconduct,  of  which 
no  one  can  avail  himself  to^escape  the  legal 
conse<{uences  of  crime.  Still  in  such  cases 
the  crune  must  be  the  immediate  result  of 
intoxication,  and  while  it  lasts,  to  make  a 
man  accountable,  as  has  been  decided  by 
Judge  Story  and  other  leged  authorities,  u 
committed  afterwards  during  delirium  tre- 
mens induced  by  intoxication,  he  must  be 
acquitted  on  the  ground  of  insanity,  as  he 
can  not  be  held  accountable  for  the  immor- 
ality of  the  cause  of  his  insanity,  a  disease 
which  he  can  not  succesfully  feign  or  vol- 
untarily induce. 

The  disbelief  in  a  kind  of  insanity  that 
does  not  disturb  the  intellect,  arises  perhaps 
from  the  common  phraseology,  that  the  af- 
fections, {Missions,  and moralqualities,  have, 
their  seat  in  the  heart  and  not  in  the  brain» 
and  therefore  are  not  likely  to  be  disordered 
by  disease  of  the  latter  organ.  But  in  fact, 
the  orderly  manifestation  of  our  moral  fac- 
ulties, our  affections,  and  intellectual  pow- 
ers, are  alike  dependsuit  on  the  healthy  state 
of  the  brain.  The  heart  has  nothing  to  do 
with  either. 

We  wish  to  repeat,  that  there  is  no  facul- 
ty of  the  mind  but  may  become  deranged  by 
disease  of  the  brain.  Disease  of  one  part 
of  this  or^^an  may  cause  the  derangement  of 
some  of  the  intellectual  faculties,  while  dis- 
ease in  another  part  may  not  disturb  the  in- 
tellect, but  derange  the  moral  powers  or  pro- 
pensities. Thus  we  see  blows  on  the  head 
and  wounds  of  the  brain,  sometimes  destroy 
only  one  or  two  of  the  intellectual  faculties 
such  as  the  memory  of  words,  or  the  mem- 
ory of  places,  and  at  other  times  to  effect  an 
entire  change  o(  the  moral  character. 

But  while  the  injury  that  affects  the  intel- 
lect is  acknowledged  to  cause  insanity,  the 
injury  that  changes  the  moral  character  is 
not  supposed  to  have  this  effect.  The  sub- 
ject of  the  former  is  considered  an  object  of 
concern  and  pity,  while  the  latter  is  consi- 
dered a  depraved  and  wicked  being  deser- 
ving of  punishment  Numerous  cases  have 
fallen  under  our  observation,  where  a  great 
change  in  the  moral  character  occurred  and 
lasted  a  year  or  two,  and  then  the  inteUect 
became  affected.  This  change  of  character 
was  noticed  and  lamented,  but  those  thus  af- 
fected were  not  considered  insane  until  the 
intellect  itself  became  involved;  while  in 
fact  they  were  insane  from  the  first 

We  wish  all  to  be  assured  that  a  sudden 
and,  great  chanj^e  of  character,  of  the  tern- 

KSnd  disposition,  following  disease  or  in* 
f  of  the  head,  althoi^h  the  intellect  is 
not  diatmbsd, is  an  ahnning  symptom ;  itis 


24 


Nature  jcf  Insanitff. 


often  the  precursor  of  intellectual  derange- 
ment, and  if  not  early  attended  to,  is  apt  to 
terminate  in  incurable  madness. 

Within  a  few  ^lays  we  have  seen  two  ca- 
ses of  insanity,  both  said  to.be  ouite  recent, 
but  on  inquiring  particularly  of  tneir  friends 
we  found  that  they  had  noticed  a  striking 
change  of  character  for  several  months  be- 
fore they  thought  of  insanitv.  In  one  the 
change  was  from  being  naturally  very  gener- 
ous and  benevolent,  to  the  opposite  extreme 
of  selfishness,  and  as  they  expressed  it,  of 
stinginess.  In  the  other,  the  change  was 
from  great  mildness  and  amiability  of  dis- 
position, to  that  of  extreme  irrascioility  and 
moroseness.  Now  these  persons  were  not 
deemed  insane  until  their  intellects  were  dis- 
turbed ;  but  we  r^ard  the  previous  change 
of  character  as  truly  the  consequence  of  dis- 
ease of  the  brain  as  the  disturbance  of  the 
intellect,  and  this  is  now  the  opinion  of  their 
friends. 

Derangement  of  the  intellectual  faculties 
seldom  occasions  much  dispute — every  one 
easily  recognizes  it — ^but  not  so  with  de- 
rangement of  the  moral  powers.  Most  per- 
sons have  seen  individuals  who  are  crazy, 
and  consider  themselves  qualified  to  judge 
whether  a  person  is  deranged  or  not,  yet  on 
inquiry  we  find  that  nearly  all  expect 
irrational  and  incoherent  talk  from  those 
that'  are  deranged,  or  wild  and  unnatural 
looks,  or  raving  and  violent  conduct.  Their 
opinions  respecting  insanity  are  derived  from 
having  seen  raving  maniacs,  and  not  from 
observation  in  Lunatic  Asylums;  for  in  the 
latter  may  be  found  many  whose  insanity 
consists  in  derangement  of  the  affections  and 
moral  powers,  and  not  in  disturbance  of 
the  intellect. 

Owing  to  such  limited  and  erroneous 
views  respecting  insanity,  mkny  persons  are 
not  disposed  to  believe  in  a  kind  of  mental 
disorder  that  may  impel  men  to  commit 
crimes,  unless  such  individuals  exhibit  de- 
rangement of  the  intellect,  or  conduct  in  a 
manner  that  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
see  deranged  persons  conduct 

But  notwithstanding  this  ccmmon  opinion 
T^;arJing  insanity,  it  is  a  well  establishel 
truth,  ^at  there  is  a  form  of  insanity,  now 
called  by  many  maral  insanity,  ariring  from 
disease  of  the  brain,  which  may  impd  men 
to  commit  great  crimes,  while  the  intellect  is 
not  derange  1,  but  overwhelms!  anl  silenced 
by  the  domination  of  a  disor  lerei  impulse. 

Sometimes  insanity  seems  to  arise  from 
flome  defect  of  the  organs  of  sense,  from 
change  in  the  nerves  of  sensation.  It  is  said 
that  m  those  who  are  trouble  1  with  hallu- 
cinationa  of  sight  or  of  he.irin?,  some  disease 
of  the  nenrea  of  the  eye  or  ear  is  found. 


Still,  in  such  cases  there  must  be  in  additioa 
some  defect  in  the  power  of  comparison,  or 
insanity  would  not  ^result.  Comparison  is 
one  of  the  most  important  of  the  raculties  of 
the  mind,  and  the  one  most  liable  to  be  affec- 
ted in  insanity,  or  in  any  disease  of  the  brain, 
as  in  headache  for  instance. 

Disorder  of  the  nerves  of  sensation  may 
also  lead  to  insane  ideas  and  conduct.  Some 
have  believed  themselves  converted  into 
inanimate  substances.  One  man  thought 
himself  changed  into  a  teapot,  another  into  a 
barrel  which  was  rolled  along  the  street,  and 
another  into  a  town-pump  to  which  no  rest 
was  given  day  nor  night. 

Mr.  Connolly,  in  his  work  on  Insanity, 
tells  of  a  respectable  merchant  in  London 
who  fancied  himself  metamorphosed  into  a 
seven  shilling  piece,  and  who  took  the  pre- 
caution of  ^omg  round  to  those  with  whom 
he  had  dedrngs,  requesting  of  them  as  a  par- 
ticular favor  that  if  his  wife  should  present 
him  in  payment  they  would  not  give  change 
for  him. 

In  all  these  cases — ^for  they  all  admit  we 
think,  of  one  explanation — there  was  some 
affection  of  the  nerves  of  sensation,  and  also 
some  disorder  of  the  faculty  of  comparison. 
In  some  cases  of  mental  disorder,  there 
seems  to  be  almost  complete  annihilation  of 
sensation.  This  is  the  case  with  those  who 
believe  themselves  dead ;  they  feel  not,  and 
fully  believe  that  they  have  ceased  to  exist, 
yet  such  persons  will  often  talk  rationally 
on  other  subjects.  Most  of  their  mentsd 
faculties  are  in  perfect  condition,  and  some- 
times by  exciting  some  of  the  most  predom- 
inating impulses  or  passions,  such  persons 
are  cured. 

One  of  the  Prmces  of  the  Bourbon  family 
of  France,  imagined  himself  dead,  and  refusd 
to  eat  To  prevent  his  dying  of  starvation, 
two  persons  were  introduced  to  him,  in  the 
character  of  illustrious  dead  like  himself  and 
they  invited  him  after  some  conversation 
respecting  the  world  of  shales  to  dine  with 
another  distinguished  but  deceased  person 
the  Marshal  Turenne. 

The  Prince  accepted  this  very  polite  invi- 
tation, and  made  a  very  hearty  dinner;  and 
every  day,  while  the  delusion  continued,  in 
order  to  induce  him  to  eat,  it  was  necessary 
to  invite  him  to  the  table  of  some  ghost  of 
high  rank  and  reputation. 

Dr.  Meai  relates,  that  an  M  hell  ringer 
at  Oxford  University,  imagined  himself  dead, 
an.l  ordered  the  bell  to  be  rurg,  as  was  usual 
on  the  occurrence  of  a  death  at  that  place. 
The  bell  wis  rung,  but  in  a  most  awkwani 
anl  unusual  manner;  the  ell  rinffer  could 
not  bear  this,  and  lef^ied  from  his  bel,  an<l 
hastened  to  the  belfry  to  fidiow  how  it  should 


r 


Nature  of  Insaniiy. 


26 


be  rang ;  he  then  returned  to  his  room  that 
he  might  die  in  a  proper  way,  but  the 
exercise  and  passion  proved  so  beneficial 
that  his  delusion  was  broken  up,  and  he 
eoon  recovered. 

As  I  have  already  mentioned,  some  per* 
0ODS  decidedly  insane  on  some  subjects,  ex- 
hibit greater  intellectual  power  on  others 
during  their  mental  derangement,  than  when 
they  are  sane.  The  following  is  an 
instance. 

A  geneial  in  the  French  army,  who  had 
the  entire  confidence  of  Napoleon,  and  who 
had  heen  directed  by  him  to  superintend 
some  immense  mihtarv  preparations  at  Bou- 
logne, became  much  fatigued  by  his  duties, 
ivhidi  exposed  him  most  of  the  day  to  the 
hot  sun.  Suddenly  he  quitted  the  work, 
and  accompanied  by  one  of  his  aids,  set  off 
for  I^ris,  announcing  on  his  way  that  he 
was  the  bearer  of  a  treaty  of  peace  witii 
England.  He  traveled  with  great  rapidity, 
not  allowing  himself  time  to  eat,  and  paid 
postiUions  mreely  to  hasten  his  speed. 
Aniving  at  Fans,  the  public  funds  rose  from 
this  news  of  the  t/eaty.  Not  finding  Napo- 
leon at  the  Palace  of  the  TuiUeries,  he  hast- 
ened  to  St  Cloud,  and,  in  disordered  dress, 
penetrated  \o  the  aoartment  of  the  Emperor, 
and  announced  to  nim  what  he  alone,  of  all 
whom  the  general  had  met,  knew  to  be 
incorreet  in  fact.  Napoleon  was  the  first 
to  discover  his  insanity,  and  committed  him 
immediately  to  the  care  of  physicians. 

The  insanity  of  the  general  continued 
tiliough  the  Bununer,  during  which  time  he 
wrote  comedies  and  plays  which  were  much 
admired*  and  he  also  conceived  or  in- 
vented an  improvement  in  firearms,  and 
begged  to  have  permission  to  visit  a  found- 
er m  order  to  have  a  model  made  from  draw- 
ings he  had  himself  prepared.  His  physi- 
ciao  reluctantly  yielded  to  his  request,  on 
his  giving  his  word  of  honor  that  he  would 
not  ^  elsewhere.  He  went  and  returned, 
and  eight  days  afterwards  weM  again  and 
foand  ihe  model  eompleted,  and  then  rave 
or Jers  /or  50,000  models  to  be  made.  This 
orJer  for  50,000  models  was  the  only  symp- 
tom oi  insanity  that  he  exhibited  cfuring 
the  whole  afiair.  He  soon  however  became 
worse,  then  paralytic,  and  died  insane. — 
But  the  ei£>rts  of  his  diseased  mind  have 
survived  him ;  his  writings  are  still  read  and 
admired,  and  his  invention  was  soon  found 
to  be  quite  an  improvement,  and  has  since 
Iwen  flJopted  in  tne  French  armies. 

In  some  cases  of  insanity,  the  faculties  of 
the  mini  are  so  aoute,  that  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult  for  a  stranger  to  detect  the  mental 
abenadon.  The  1^  Lord  Erksine,  in  his 
\  in  defence  of  Hadfield,  for  shooting 


at  the  King  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre,  in  order 
to  demonstrate  how  cunnine  and  acute  in 
reasoning  insane  persons  frequently  are, 
and  consequently  how  difficult  it  sometimes 
is  to  discover  their  insanity,  referred  to  Uie 
foUowing^cases,  which  we  quote  in  his  own 
words: 

**  I  well  remember  (indeed  I  never  can  for- 
get  it,)  that  since  the  noble  and  learned  judge 
has  presided  in  this  Court,  I  examined  lor 
the  greater  part  of  a  day,  in  this  very  place, 
an  unfortunate  gentleman  who  had  indicted 
a  most  affectionate  brother,  together  with 
the  keeper  of  a  mad-house  at  Hoxton,  for 
having  unprisoned  him  as  a  lunatic,  whilst, 
accor<ung  to  his  evidence,  Jie  was  in  perfect 
senses.    I  was,  unfortunately,  not  instructed 
in  what  his  lunacy  consisted,  although  my 
instructions  left  me  no  doubt  of  the  fact; 
but,  not  having  the  clue,  he  completely  foil- 
ed me  in  every  attempt  to  expose  his  infirr 
mity.    You  may  believe  that  t  left  no  means 
unemployed  which  longexperienoe  dictated, 
but  without  the  smallest  efiect.    The  day 
was  wasted,  and  the  prosecutor,  by  the  most 
affecting  history  of  unmerited  suffering,  ap- 
peared to  the  judee  and  jury,  and  to  a  hu- 
mane English  audience,  as  the  victim  of  the 
most  wanton  and  bcu'barous  oppression.-- 
At  last  Dr.  I^ms  came  into  Court,  who  had 
been  prevented  by  business,  from  an  eeirlier 
attendanoe,  and  whose  name,  by  the  hye,  I 
observe  to-day  in  the  list  of  the  witnesses 
for  the  crown.    From  Dr.  Sims  I  soon 
learned  that  the  very  man  whom  I  bad  been 
above  an  hour  examining,  and  with  every 
possible  effort  which  counsel  are  so  mueh 
m  the  habit  of  exerting,  believed  himself  to 
be  the  Lord  and  Saviour  of  mankind,  not 
merely   at   the  time  of   his   oonfinemeati 
which  was  alone  necessary  Ux  my  defence, 
but  during  the  whole  time  that  he  had  been 
triumj^ing  over  every  attemj^t  to  surprise 
him  in  the  conceahnent  of  his  disease.    I 
th^  affected  to  lament  the  indecency  of  my 
ignorant  examination,  when  he  expressed 
lus  forgiveness,  and  said  with  Ihe  utmost 
gravity  and  emphasis,  in  the  face  of   the 
whole  Court,  "  I  am  the  Christ.^'  and  so 
the  cause  ended.    Gentlemen,  this  is  not  the 
only  instance  of  the  power  of  concealing 
this  malady ;  I  could  consume  the  day  if  I 
were  to  enumerate  them ;  but  there  i%  one 
so  extremely  remarkable,  that  I  cannot  help 
.stating  it. 

"  Being  engaged  to  attend  the  assizes  at 
Chester,  upon  a  question  of  lunacy,  and 
having  been  told  that  there  had  been  a 
memorable  case  tried  before  Lord  Mansfield 
in  this  place,  I  was  anxious  to  procure  a 
report  of  it,  and  from  that  great  man  him- 
self (who  witiiin  these  walls,  will  ever  be 


96 


Dr,  Stevens^  Address, 


reverenced,  being  then  retired  in  his  extreme 
\old  aee,  to  his  seat  near  London,  in  my  own 
neighborhood)  I  obtained  the  following  ac- 
count of  it.  *  A  man  of  the  name  of  Wood,* 
said  Lord  Mansfield,  *  had  indicted  Dr.  Mon- 
ro, for  keeping  him  as  a  prisoner  (I  believe 
in  the  same  mad-house  at  Koxton)  when  he 
was  sane.  He  underwent  the  most  severe 
examination  by  the  defendant's  counsel 
without  exposing  his  complaint;  but  Dr. 
Battye,  having  come  upon  the  bench  by  me 
and  naving  desired  me  to  ask  him  what  was 
become  of  the  Princess  whom  he  had  cor- 
responded with  in  cherry-juice,  he  showed 
in  a  moment  what  he  was.  He  answered 
that  there  was  nothing  at  all  in  that,  because 
having  been  (as  every  body  knew)  impri- 
soned in  a  hiffh  tower,  and  being  debarred 
the  use  of  ink,  he  had  no  other  means  of 
correspondence  but  by  writing  his  letters  in 
cheny-juice,  and  throwing  them  into  a  river 
which  surrounded  the  tower,  where  the 
Princess  received  them  in  a  boat.  There 
existed,  of  course,  no  tower,  no  imprison- 
ment, no  writing  in  cherry-juice,  no  river, 
no  boat;  but  the  whoie  the  inveterate 
phantom  of  a  morbid  imagination.  I  im- 
mediately, continued  Lord  Mansfield, 'direct- 
ed  Dr.  Monro  to  be  acquitted ;  but  this  man, 
Wood,  being  a  merchant,  in  Philpot  Luie, 
and  havihg  been  carried  dirough  tne  city  in 
his  way  to  the  mad-house,  he  indicted  Dr. 
Monro  over  aeain,  for  the  trespass  and  im- 
prisonment in  London,  knowing  that  he  had 
lost  his  cause  by  speaJcing  of  the  Princess 
at  Westminister;  and  such/  said  Lord 
Mansfield,  <  is  the  extraordinary  subtlety 
and  cunninji^  of  madmen,  that  when  he  was 
cross-exammed  on  the  trial  in  London,  as  he 
had  successfully  been  before,  in  order  to 
expose  hiB  madness,  all  the  ingenuity  of  the 
bar,  and  all  the  authority  of  the  Court, 
oovdd  not  make  him  say  a  single  syllable 
upon  that  topic  which  had  put  an  end  to 
the  indictment  before,  although  he  still  mA 
the  same  indelible  impression  upon  nis 
mind,  as  he  signified  to  those  who  were 
near  him;  hut  conscious  that  the  delusion 
had  occasioned  his  defeat  at  Westminster, 
he  obstinately  persisted  in  holding  it  back. 
This  evidence  at  Westminster  was  then 
j^roved  against  him  by  die  short-hand 
writer.'" 

In  a  future  number  we  shall  resume  the 
subject  of  this  article,  and  we  beg  our 
readers  to  keep  in  view  the  statements  ad- 
vaneed  in  this,  as  we  purpose  to  refer  to 
them  in  connection  with  the  Medical  Juris- 
prudence of  Insanity,  and  an  explanation  of 
some  cases  of  moral  insanity  that  have 
much  embi^:yassed  both  physicians  and 
jurists. 


Dr.  STEVENS'  ADDRESS, 

At  Ihe  opening  of  the  Annual  Semm  ofihn  Ne»-  York 
Medical  CoUege :  Crtfsbjf  street. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  full  and  accu- 
rate report  of  this  remarkable  production 
has  not  been  laid  before  the  profession  and 
the  public.  The  notices  of  it  which  have 
appeared  in  the  city  journals,  have  been 
confessedly  mere  "  meagre  outlines"  of  a 
really  rich  and  elaborate  performance.  It 
is,  therefore,  to  the  private  reports  of  judi- 
cious and  intelligent  medical  gentlemen  who 
heard  it  delivered,  rather  than  to  any  other 
source,  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  infonna 
tion  which  we  have  received  concerning  it, 
and  on  which  we  chiefly  found-  our  reflec- 
tions  and  remarks. 

All  reports  concur  in  representing  that 
the  object  and  tendency  of  tlus  Sessional 
Address,  beyond  the  immediate  and  tempo- 
rary occasion  which  called  it  forth,  were  to 
check  the  present  liberal  and  humane  efibrts 
of  many  enlightened  men  to  rescue  medical 
knowledge  from  its  inveterate  prejudices  and 
trammels,  and  thus  enable  it  to  keep  pace 
with  the  general  intelligence  of  the  age. 

Accordingly,  the  Address  proceeded, 
in  the  true  snuff-colored,  old  fashioned  style, 
first  to  claim  for  medical  science,  as  it  now 
stands,  s  dignity  and  maturity  rivaling  any 
other;  and  secondly  to  deprecate  free  inresti- 
gation  and  progress*  under,  the  venerable 
scare-crow  jealousy  of  "  dangerous  experi- 
ments." The  gentleman  proceeded  to  show^ 
says  a  published  report,  "that  medicine  was 
as  much  a  science  as  any  other  known, 
although  not  based  on  fixed  prindplea.** 
How  far  he  succeeded  in  establishing  this 
amusingly  contradictory  proposition,  we  are 
not  pttblicly  informed,  but  it  must  evidently 
have  been  as  difficult  an  operation  as  he 
ever  attempted  in  the  whole  course  of  bis 
practice.  This  done,  however,  he  advanced 
to  his  second  position,  which,  according  to 
the  same  report,  was  to  show  that  "those, 
who  were  given  to  experiments  never  raised 
themselves  in  the  profession  and  were  inju- 
rious to  their  patients."  And  in  these  two 
points  we  have  the  whole  scope,  design  and 
iBtdlect  of  this  famous  Annual  Addr^ 


Dr.  Stevens^  Address. 


27 


It  becomes,  therefore* an  important  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  sincerely  zealous  and 
talented  young  men  who  now  throng  our 
medical  schools,  fronrall  parts  of  the  Union, 
should  be  thus  misled  and  retarded  in  their 
noble  aspirations  for  true  eminence  and  use- 
fulness in  the  arduous  profession  which 
they  have  chosen,  and  in  which  so  awful 
an  amount  of  r^sponsibihty  and  so  vast  a 
field  of  human  interest  are  necessarily  in- 
volved. None  hut  bigots  will  hesitate  to 
admit,  that  the  tendency  of  such  instruction 
as  we  have  above  quoted,  is  to  keep  the 
next  generation  of  medical  men  at  least  as 
ignorant,  conceited  and  mischievous  as  the 
present  and  the  past:  mere  petrifactions  in 
the  stream  of  time,  while  the  students  of  al- 
most every  other  department  of  knowledge 
display  a  living  and  athletic  career  of  ad- 
vancement and  renown.  * 

Thai  medidne  is  not,  as  Dr.  Stevens  af- 
firmed, "  as  much  a  science  as  any  other 
known,'*  has  been  frankly  admitted  by 
many  men,  as  distinguished,  to  say  the 
least,  in  that  profession  as  himself.  Let 
Ae  ingenious  student  listen  to  the  opinion 
6f  another  instmctor,  ^e  truly  eminent  Dr. 
Evans  of  Edinburgh  :— 

"  How  much  have  we  yet  to  learn,  how 
Ihile  do  we  really  know,  of  the  nature  and 
ittdonal  treatment,  not  only  of  the  diseases  of 
the  cerebro-spinal  system,  but  of  diseases  in 
general !  Assuredly,  the  uncertain  and  most 
nnsatisfactor^r  art  that  we  call  medical  sci- 
ence, is  no  science  at  all,  but  a  jumble  of  in- 
consistent opinions ;  of  condusiona  hastily 
drawn ;  of  mcts  badly  arranged ;  of  obser- 
vations made  with  carelessness;  of  compari- 
sons  instituted  which  are  not  analogical ;  of 
hypothefiee  which  are  foolish :  and  of  theo- 
ries which,  if  not  useless,  are  dangerous. — 
Tins  is  ^e  reason  whv  we  have  our  homceo- 
padiists,  and  our  hydropathists ;  our  mes- 
merists and  our  celestialiats  1" 

And  as  a  timely  counterpoise  to  Dr.  Ste- 
vens' nervous  horror  of  "  experiments,"  in- 
jurious at  once  to  practitioner  and  'patient, 
l?e  would  submit  the  following  remarks  of 


"The  whole  sdence  of  healing  is  built  up- 
on fortuitous  and  chance  discoveries.  Like 
the  alchemists  of  old,  we  have  discovered  a 
thousand  valuable  things,  where  we  never 
thought  of  looking  for  them;  and  while 
uselessly  seeking  for  talismanic  gold,  we 
have  lighted  on  a  pearl  of  great  price.  Ev- 
ery thing  in  fact,  is  presented  to  us  as  the 
result  of  experiment ;  and,  in  the  treatment 
of  disease,  the  most  valuable  remedy  can 
boast  of  no  higher  origin  than  its  mo^^e  hum- 
ble neighbor. 

Dr.  Knighton  who  was  at  the  head  of  his 
profeflBion,and  physician  to  George  IV — said 

"  It  is  somewhat  strange  that,  th&ngh  in 
many  arts  and  sciences  improvement  has  ad^ 
vanced  in  a  step  of  regular  progression  from 
the  first,  in  others  it  has  kept  no  pace  with 
time;  and  we  look  back  to  ancient  excel- 
lence with  wonder  not  unmixed  with  awe. 
Medicine  seems  to  be  one  of  those  ill-fateit 
arts  whose  improvement  bears  no  proportion 
to  its  antiquity.  This  is  lamentably  true, 
although  Anatomy  has  been  better  i&ustra* 
ted,  the  Materia  Medica  enlarged,  and  Chem- 
istry better  understood." 

It  would  be  easy  to  add  the  testimony  of 
a  great  number  of  distinguished  men  to  the 
same  effect,  but  it  would  be  useless  to  do  so 
as  the  truth  of  the  statements  of  those  we 
have  quoted,  is  known  to  every  well  in- 
formed physician.  Dr.  Stevens,  however* 
steps  forth  and  breasts  the  whole  tide  oi 
testimony,  and  while  he  admits  that  medi* 
cine  is  not  founded,  like  all  other  sciences, 
upon  fixed  principles,  still  obstinately  insists 
that  it  is  «*  as  much  a  science  as  any  other.** 
Fixed  principles  being  thus  unnecessary  to 
medical  science,  it  seems  perfectly  conso- 
nant that  he  should  denounce  those  **  exper- 
iments" by  which  alone  fixed  principles  ev- 
er can  be,  or  ever  have  been  established.—- 
We  strongly  susptet,  however,that  the  Doc- 
tor may  have  other  motives  of  hostilily  to 
experiments"  than  those  which  he  assigns, 
for  we  could,  ourselves,  refer  to  some  "ex- 
periments," of  a  very  singular  character 
which  have  proved  as  beneficial  to  his  pa- 
tients as  they  may  possibly  have  been  inju<» 
rious  to  his  practice.  And  there  is  much 
less  of  paradox  in  this,  than  in  thenotiofn  of 
the  able  and  honest  Dr.  G.  B.'Childs  of  Lon-  |a  sdence  without  principles.  We  have,  in- 
don.  ,  I  deed,  no  doubt  tbal.the  "  experiments"  of 


26 


Chraham^s  Surg&ry. 


which  the  following  are  a  few  of  the  results, 
are  among  the  most  objectionable  which  the 
Doctor  eould  adduce  :— 

Many  cases  of!  confirmed  tubercular  con< 
sumption,  long  under  the  best  treatment, 
known  to  the  anti-experiment,  (oranti-inju- 
lious-to-patients !)  school,  and  then  avow- 
ddly  abandoned  as  utterly  hopeless,  cwredt 
within  a  few  months  after  the  *<  experiments" 
were  tried,  directly  under  anti-experimental 
obsenration ! 

2.  Many  eases  of  white*0W«Uiog,  tuber 
Golar  disease  of  the  joints — ^treated  and  aban- 
doned by  science  without  principles,  and 
rapidly  cured  by  experiments  injurious  to 
patients,  as  above. 

3.  Violent  inflammations  of  the  oigans, 
YlBiformiy  reduced  in  from  three  to  fifteen 
ttinutes. 

4.  The  most  severe  paroxywus  of  Bilious 
Fever,  with  violent  pain  in  the  head,  back, 
stomach  and  intestines,  &c,  uniformly  redu- 
ced in  from  five  to  ten  minutes. 

5.  Sick  head-ache  uniformly  reduced  in 
from  one  to  ten  seconds ;  and  Nervous  head- 
ache in  from  one  to  five  minutes. 

6.  Tooth-ache  in  from  one  to  fifteen  sec- 
onds. 

7.  Tic-Douloureux,  of  the  most  intoleia 
ble  severity,  in  from  one  to  five  seconds. 

8.  Luxation  of  the  hip  joint,  of  four  years 
standing,  reduced  by  three  applications  of  the 
Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 

9.  Cum  myitis  aliis.  And  we  mean  by  this 
Latin  that  Dr.  Stevens  can  have  as  many 
more,  in  plain  English,  as  he  could  lecture 
against  from  this  time  to  the  next  Annual 
Session. 


ICART  BBVT  AITD  JOHV  OAHLAITD. 

In  a'recent  number  of  The  Lancet,  (July 
27,  p.  662,)  we  published  a  short  account, 
extracted  from  the  Times,  of  a  most  extraor- 
dinary trial  which  had  taken  place  on  the 
Norfolk  Circuit,  that  of  John  Garland,  sur- 
|eon,  accused  of  fek)niousiy  killing  Mary 
Dent  The  appeal  which  we  then  made  to 
our  friends  residing  in  that  part  of  the  coun- 
try, for  further  particulars,  has  been  responded 


to,  and  we  are  now  able  to  lay  a  full  and 
authentic  account  of  this  strange  afiair  before 
our  readers.  In  addition  to  a  medical  narra- 
tive of  the  case  by  Mr.  Henry  Mitchell,  of 
Addenbrook's  Hospital,  Cambridge,  one  ol 
the  surgeons  who  performed  the  post  mortem 
examination,  we  also  publish  a  letter,  which 
has  bince  appeared  in  the  •*  Provincial  Medi- 
cal and  Surgical  Journal,"  from  Mr.  Jones, 
the  9ttigeon  who  was  first  called  in  by  Mr. 
Grarland. 

Mr.  Henry  Mitckdts  Hatory  of  the  Case, 


The  name  of  the  unfortunate  patient 
Mary  Dent,  wife  of  John  Dent,  of  Littleport, 
in  the  Isle  of  Ely,  labourer;  she  was  twenty- 
three  years  of  age,  of  good  health,  and  ro- 
bust appearance ;  she  h^  borne  five  children 
and  had  miscanried  once ;  she  was  married 
at  a  very  early  age,  and  became  a  mother 
when  between  sixteen  and  seventeen  years 
old. 

On  the  22d  day  of  May  last,  Mvy  Dent 
complained  of  feeling,  very  unwell ;  she  felt 
^reat  pain,  and  vomited  occasionally,  and  be- 
ing apprehensive  of  miscarrii^,  sent  oft, 
about  eleven  o'do^  at  night,  for  Mr.  Jolid 
Garland,  a  person  ot  middle  age,  who  haa 

Eractised  as  a  surgeon  and  accoucher,  at 
Jttleport,  ever  since  1816. 
It  appears  that  on  the  day  in  question,  tke 
patient  had  occasion  to  lift  or  drag  a  sack  of 
flour,  containing  fourteen  stone ;  it  also  ap- 
pears that  accoMing  to  her  own  account,  she 
was  at  this  time  about  three  months  advanced 
in  pregnancy,  havinffmenstruated  for  the  last 
time  on  the  14th  of  February. 

Upon  his  arrival,  Mr.  Garland  proeeedsd 
to  examine  the  patient  by  paning  his  hand 
and  arm  into  the  vagina,  intending  as  he 
himself  expressed  it«  to  '<  bring  the  child."* 
He  shoiity  afterwards  made  a  second  exami- 
nation, whereupon  the  patient  entreated  o£ 
him  to  desist,  **  tor  be  was  pulling  her  eof  laiJb 
out  f*  and  presently  Ann  Banyan,  the  nurse* 
saw  hanemg  out  in  the  bed  *<  a  large  quantity 
of  entrails,  as  many  as  could  lie  on  a  large 

£ite."  (I  quote  her  own  woids  as  takeii 
wn  by  the  txatntr.) 

When  matteis  had  arrived  at  this  crisae, 
Mr.  Garland  appeared  most  anxious  for  fur- 
ther advice  and  assistance,  and,  at  his  uiveiit 
request,  a  messenger  was  despatched  to  Ely* 
who  relumed,  bringing  with  him  Mr.  Jones, 
of  Ely,  suigeon. 

Upon  turning  down  the  bed-clothes,  Mr. 
Jones  discovered  in  the  bed  a  something* 
which  he  at  first  mistook  for  the  umbilical 
cord,  but  |i  more  careful  examination,  con- 
vinced^ him  that  the  protruding  mass  waa 
small  intestine,  depending  from  the  vi^as. 


Oraham^9  Surgery. 


29 


Upon  a  minufe -inspection,  he  aecerlaioed  that 

the  intestine  was  compietely  detached  from 

the  mesentery,  throughout  its  whole  length 

and  that  it  was  extensively  lacerated;  the 

duial  portion  heina^  torn  completely  across, 

^at  is,  its  whole  diameter  being  conipletely 

divided,  whilst  the  proximal  portion  was 

lacerated,  so  as  to  be  very  nearly  divided. 

Under  these  unfortunate  and  perplexing  cir- 

ciiiBfitanoes,  Mr.  Jones  was  of  opinion  that 

any  attempt  to  save  the  intestine  would  prove 

YiaelesA ;  he  therefore  passed  a  ligature  around 

the  intestine,  above  the  proximcd  laceration, 

asd  dose  to  the  vagina,  and  cut  oft  ail  the 

intestine  below  the  ligature ;  the  intestine,  so 

cot  off,  measured  nineteen  feet  six  inches. 

Mr  Jones  then  took  his  departure  stating  his 

bdief  that  the  patient  could  not  survive  many 

hoara. 

All  this  occurred  between  four  and  seven 
&dock  on  the  morning  of  the  23d  of  May. 
Shortly  after  the  departure  of  Messrs.  Jones 
and  (Garland,  the  fcetus  was  found  in  the  bed ; 
it  appeared  a  fcetus  of  about  three  months. 
About  twelve  hours  after  the  application  of 
the  ligature,  the  bowel  above  the  ligature  be- 
came -very  distended,  and  ultimately  burst. 
Subsequently,  the  nurse,  Anne  Ban^d,  re- 
moved about  half-a-yard  more  of  mtestine, 
without  any  medical  man  being  present;  she 
cut  it  off,  and  she  did  so,  <*  because  it  became 
762  ^^*^  ^  ^*^  ''''^'7  offensive." 

The  poor  woman  lingered  seventeen  days, 
and  expired  suddenly  and  at  once,  whilst  at- 
tempting to  raise  herself  up  in  bed,  on  the 
Sth  day  of  June.  During  ttiis  period  she  did 
not  suffer  so  acutely  as  might  have  been  im- 
a^ned ;  for  three  or  four  days  the  stomach 
rejected  every  thing,  but  latterly  it  became 
much  less  irritable ;  her  skin  was  cool,  her 
pulse  rareFy  above  eighty,  her  count^ance 
natural,  and  she  complained  of  no  pain,  nei- 
ther ^as  there  any  appearance  of  hsmorr- 
hage.  She  took  a  little  simple  sesqui-car- 
iKnate  of  soda  as  medicine,  and  weak  gruel 
or  chicken-broth  as  diet. 

I  was  instructed  to  make  a  post-mortem 
examination  about  forty-eisht  nours  after 
deaA.  The  following  is  the  result  of  the 
examination : — 

A  very  ntarked  flatness  and  depression  was 
obserKuUe  betwieen  the  two  iha;  over  the 
whole  abdomen  the  bodies  of  the  vertebre 
could  be  more  distinctly  felt  than  naturally 
they  should  be ;  the  external  parts  of  gene- 
ration and  the  perineum  were  very  much  ex- 
coriated. There  was  nothing  else  worthy  of 
note  about  the  trunk. 

Upon  opening  the  abdomen,  the  liver  was 
aseeilained  to  be  healthy,  as  also  the  stom- 
ach. The  omentum  was  afleosive,  black, 
SUfreaous,  and  adherent  to  the  arch  oi  the 


colon,  and  to  the  small  intestines  generally ; 
this  adhesion  was  more  marked  from  the 
symphysis-pubis  to  the  right  than  to  the  left 
iliac  region. 

The  colon  appeared  shrunken  and  con- 
trated,  and  was  so  adherent  to  the  omentum 
throughout  the  extent  of  the  ascending  and 
transverse  portions,  that  the  omentum  and 
colon  might  be  turned  back  together ;  .th^ 
whole  of  the  ascending  portion  of  the  colon 
was  in  a  state  of  complete  gangrene  ;  over 
the  reffion  of  the  cscum  a  small  and  circum- 
scribed collection  of  matter  was  found,  and 
it  appealed  as  if,  in  this  situation,  the  smalU 
intestines  had  been  separated  from  the  laige; 
the  descending  portion  of  the  colon  and  me 
rectum  were  not  in  so  diseased  a  condition. 

About  two  yards  only  of  small  intestines 
remained  in  the  abdomen,  these,  towards  the 
lower  portion  were  very  gan^nous,  and  up- 
on tracmg  them  downwards  it  was  discovered 
that  they  were  very  adh^  rent  in  the  right  iliac 
region,  and  that  in  this  situation  they  dipped 
downwards  and  inwards  to  the  right  of  the 
uterus,  and  became  attached,  by  their  lowei 
maxgin,  to  the  borders  of  an  opening  found  in 
the  right  side  of  the  vagina ;  tne  small  intes- 
tines appeared  to  terminate  in  the  vagina,  for 
they  could  not  be  traced  onwards  to  the  laige. 

The  mesentery  was  gangrenous,  and  had 
been  torn  in  two  or  three  places. 

In  the  va^na  was  found  in  the  upper  part 
and  on  the  ri^ht  side,  a  laceration  sufficiently 
laige  to  admit  two  or  three  of  my  fingers ; 
this  laceration  was  found  to  communicate* 
widi,  and  lo  lead  into,  the  above-mentioned 
depending  portion  of  small  intestine,  so  that 
the  fingere  could  readily  be  passed  from  Uie 
vagina  into  the  smatl  intestine ;  the  vagina 
on  the  left  side  vras  healthy  and  unmptum. 

The  uterus  was  normal  in  size  and  appear* 
ance,  and  what  perhaps  is  rather  singular* 
did  not  exhibit  any  traces  of  recent  impreg^' 
nation. 

The  bladder  was  healthy,  so  were  the 
lungs,  and  so  was  the  heart 

Defence  by  Mr.  Garlands s  Cowuel, 
Mr.  OMalley  addressed  the  jury  on  behalf 
of  the  prisoner  in  a  speech  of  geeat  eio« 
quence  and  power.  He  began  by  adverting 
to  the  spirit  in  which  the  prosecution  had 
been  got  up,  which  he  characteriaed  as  one 
of  professional  jealousy  and  revenae.  An 
unfortunate  interpolation  in  tiie  evidence  of 
Mr.  Stevens,  to  the  effect  that  he  had  gene<- 
rally  found  the  prisoner  an  ignorant  man,  he 
denounced  in  terms  of  severest  and  BKMit 
indignant  reprehension.  He  analysed  wi& 
much  acumen  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Jooes* 
and  was  not  leto  severe  upon  him  than  ha 


30 


Qraharris  Sttrgery. 


had  been  upon  Mr.  Stevens.  Talk  of  rash- 
ne8^,  forsooth !  Why,  here  was  a  man  who, 
with  three  minutes  consideration,  performed 
an  operation  which  he  confessed  destroyed 
every  possible  chance  of  life.  Whatever 
misfit  have  been  the  result  before  the  cutting 
ofi^the  protruding  intestine,  at  any  rate,  ac- 
cording to  the  witness's  own  showing,  there 
teas  no  hope — no  chance  whatever  after  that 
operation.  And  whx)  was  to  say  what  was 
the  state  of  things  when  Mr.  Jones  first  ex- 
amined the  woman  ?  He  confessed  that  be 
knew  not  what  the  extraneous  substance  was 
when  first  he  saw  it;  he  thought  it  was  the 
umbilical  cord  ;  mieht  not  his  handling  of  it 
have  produced  the  Boles  and  lacerations  spo- 
ken of .'  The  learned  gentleman  aigued  tnat 
most  likely  the  rupture  in  the  vagina  had 
been  occasioned  by  the  lifting  of  the  flour — 
that  the  prisoner,  like  Mr.  Jones,  had  mista- 
ken the  intestine  protruding  from  the  aper- 
ture for  the  umbilical  cord — and  that  at  nest 
he  had  been  guilty  of  an  error,  and  that  me- 
dical men  were  liable  to  errors  every  day  of 
their  lives.  Hundreds,  nay  thousands,  were 
annually  killed  by  the  errors  of  medical  men, 
it  was  impossible  it  could  be  otherwise ;  but 
they  were  not  to  be  indicted  for  manslaughter 
for  mere  errors.  Mr.  OMalley  made  a 
most  forcible  appeal  to  the  feehngs  of  the 

The  jury  found  Mr.  Garland  ouiltv,  and 
he  was  sentenced  to  one  month's  imprison- 
ment 


Aoad«ni«  d«  K«d«oiae,  Pmrla.-^ic/y. 

GABB  OV  iU»-»l7B10  UTHOTOMT,    (BI0B  OFBBAtlOll.) 

M,  Segalas  piesented  to  the  academy  two 
yukaX  calculi  which  he  bad  recently  extract- 
ad  from  two  old  men,  by  the  uigh  operation. 
One  of  them  was  of  the  form  of  a  kidney, 
of  extreme  haidnees,  and  weighed  136 
grammes  (4  oz.  4  dr.;)  its  circumference  was 
nineteen  centimetres  in  one  diieetion  and  fif- 
teen in  the  other.  The  patient  who  bore  it 
was  a  prieet,  residing  in  the  department  of 
the  Loire.  Its  pre^nce  had  been  overiooked 
by  an  hospital  suigeon  who  first  examined 
him,  but  was  subsequently  discovered  by  an- 
other prscfitioner,  when  he  was  sent  to  Faris, 
Id  M.  Segalas.  On  examining  his  patient, 
M.  S^tpdas  easily  discovered  a  very  hard  and 
▼oluminoos  calculns.  He  has  alraady  seve- 
nd  times  found  stones  of  this  descr))>tion  in 
country  priests  on  whom  he  his  operated,  a 
fmcA  to  which  he  attributes  Co  their  being  far 
fiom  snigical  assistance,  and  allowing  the 
atone  to  acquire  a  lai;^  size  before  they  leave 
Hietr  homes  for  advice.  At  the  uigent  le- 
qoest  of  the  patient,  M.  Segalas  made  three 


breaking  the  stone,  the  pains  becoming  very 
violent,  and  fever  setting  in,  he  proposed  an 
operation,  which  was  accepted  with  resigna- 
tion, supported  with  courage,  and  followed 
by  complete  success.  The  cure  was  obtained 
without  the  slightest  accident.  After  the 
extraction  of  the  stone,  which  was  easily 
accomplished,  although  the  patient  was  veiy 
corpulent,  a  siphon-sound  was  established, 
and  under  its  influence  the  urine  escaped 
nearly  always  by  the  ordinary  channel. — 
The  wound  was  completely  cicatrised  in  a 
month. 

The  other  calculus  was  not  so  laige,  and 
only  weighed  68  grammes.  (2  oz.  2  dr.)  Its 
form  was  that  of  a  full  wheel.  The  patient 
was  an  old  man,  sixty-five  years  of  age,  a 
shoemaker.  The  sus-pubic  operation  was 
also  performed,  and  the  stone  easily  extract- 
ed. Lithotrity  had  previously  been  tried 
once.  The  siphon-sound  was  introduced, 
but  occasioned  so  much  irritation  that  it  was 
withdrawn  on  the  fifth  day.  Nevertheless, 
urine  only  issued  from  the  wound  on  the 
twelfth  day.  The  patient  was  then  sounded 
every  two  hours ;  he  subsequently  sounded 
himself  when  he  felt  the  desire,  and  the  core 
was  completed  on  the  20th  day. 

EXCISION  OP  TBI  8PLBIX. 

M.  Berthet,  of  Gray,  related  a  case  of  ez- 
cision^of  the  spleen.  An  individual  received* 
in  a  quarrel,  a  cut  with  a  knife  in  the  left 
side.  Eight  days  after  the  accident,  M.  Ber- 
thet, on  being  called  in,  found  a  considerable 
tumour  formed  by  the  spleen,  which  exhaled 
a  strong  smell  of  putrefaction.  He  excised 
the  tumour,  the  surface  was  methodically 
dressed  for  some  time  and  healed.  The  pa- 
tient Jived  more  than  thirteen  years  after- 
wards, and  his  digestions  weie  always  ac* 
complished  with  ease,  which  seems  to  prove 
that  the  spleen  is  not  more  necessary  to  life 
in  man  than  in  the  animals  from  which  it 
has  been  excised  of  late  by  vivesectors.  This 
individual  died  of  pneumonia.  Only  a  very 
small  portion  of  the  spleen,  as  lane  as  a  nu^ 
was  found  ;  it  was  applied  on  the  external 
parietes  of  the  stomach. 

A^Ummr  of  S«(«no«0,  Peris.— M^. 

MIVDO-IUinftAllOVt  IVTLAiaiATMtr  OV  TU  BLA»- 
»■»  PRODVOSD  AT  BUITBAS. 

M.  Morel-Lavallee  stated  that  although* 
generally  speakin^^,  cantharides  applied  to  the 
skin  exercise  no  influence  over  the  bladder, 
they  sometimes  develop  in  that  omn,  owing 
to  individual  peculiarity,  an  inlammatioii 
similar  to  that  produced  on  the  skin,  and 
accompanied  by  the  formation  of  klse  i 


•Cempts  at  hthotnty,  but  not  succeeding  injhfanes.    The  size  of  the  blister  appenm  to 


Paihelogjf, 


31 


have  a  conaidemble  influenee  over  the  occur- 
lence  of  these  accidents.  In  the  three  cases 
which  M.  Morel  Lavallee  gave*  the  blisters 
were  yery  laige.  One  had  been  applied  near 
the  bladder  on  the  hypogastric  region ;  the 
others  had  heen  applied  at  a  considerable 
distance  on  the  h^  and  the  chest.  The 
false  membranes  are  sometimes  small,  thin, 
with  an  irregalar  festooned  margin,  whilst 
sometimes  tt^y  are  as  large  as  hali  a  playing 
card.  In  the  first  instance  they  are  of  a 
neyish-ied  coloor,  striated  with  streaks  of 
blood;  in  the  other  they  are  of  a  dull-white 
colour  on  the  non-adherent  side,  rosy  on  the 
adherent  (me.  In  one  case  in  which  M. 
Fidal  de  Casas  was  able  to  examine  the 
bladder  after  death,  its  internal  siuface  was 
ied  and  swollen,  like  the  conjunctiye  in  blen- 
norrhi^c  ophthalmia.  The  symptoms  are 
those  o£  ordinary  crystitis.  It  is  worthy  of 
remark  that  in  the  cases  obyersed  by  M. 
Morel-Lavailee,  the  blister  had  been  pow- 
dered with  camphor.  In  the  treatment  of 
these  cases  M.  Morel  advises  vesical  injec- 
tions of  emollient  fluids,  along  with  poultices 
refreshing  drinks,  &&,  at  the  same  time  be 
takes  ofl  the  blister. 


PATHOLOaY. 

A  OAMM  Cr  AGOTB  TVBBAC0LO8If  OF  TBI    lUM- 

BBABBf  OF  THB  BRAIN,  THB  LVNOB,  AMD 

LTICPBATZO  GLAMDB. 

ObMTVBd  by  Dr.  Bbabtc,  Amictant  Phjiician  to  Dr. 
Skoda,  of  VieiinB. 

rnm  tk&  BritUk  Journal  qf^  Hommopaihjf. 

[Weffive  the  full  details  of  this  cure,  of  a 
pure  ana  very  interesting  disease,  and  would 
wish  to  direct  the  attention  of  practitioners  to 
it ;  for,  from  the  difficulty  of  the  diagnosis, 
It  is  not  improbable  that  it  is  often  confound- 
ed with  other  diseases,  which  it  not  unfre- 
quently  simulates.  At  the  Homoeopathic 
Hoepitel  of  Vienna,  we  had  an  opportunity 
of  obeerving  a  case  of  acute  tuberculosis, 
vbich  so  cloeely  resembled  the  typhus  fever 
of  the  Continent,  that  it  was  impossible  to 
distinguish  the  diiSerence.  Even  the  most 
oelebraled  diagnosticians  admit  their  incom 
petency  to  the  task.  A  notice  of  the  disease 
will  be  found  in  a  paper  on  "  The  Pathology 
of  Tyi^os,**  at  p.  342  of  the  Edinbui^h 
Monthly  Journal  of  Medical  Science  for 
1842.] 

B.  A.,  ased  28  years,  by  trade  a  gunsmith, 
a  native  of  Hungary,  of  a  muscular  and  ro- 
bust fame,  a  pale  complexion,  and  described 
to  have  been  previously  healthy.*  For  six 
weeks,  the  patient  complained  of  severe  and 
constatit  headache,  particularly  over  the  re- 
gion of  the  eyebrow,  and  the  forehead,  which 


deprived  him  altogether  of  rest,  and  rendered 
him  Quite  unfit  lor  any  hard  work.  Until 
now  ne  had  not  sought  any  medical  aid,  and 
on  his  entering  the  **  General  Hospital"  here, 
upon  the  2d  of  October  of  this  year,  the 
symptoms  he  presented  were  as  follows :  The 
only  morbid  symptom  whiah  the  patient 
complains  of,  is  severe  pressive  pain  in  the 
forehead  and  in  both  eyebrows,  which  is  not 
increased  by  any  amount  of  pressure  on  the 
part,  and  never  varies  in  degree.  There  is 
nothing  else  of  a  morbid  character  discernible; 
the  forehead  does  not  feel  unnaturally  hot, 
and  nothing  abnormal  can  be  detected  in  the 
eyes,  ears,  or  face.  From  the  *nouth  there 
comes  a  most  ofiensive  smell,  the  origin  of 
which  cannot  be  discovered  ;  the  tongue  is 
covered  with  a  very  thick;  white,  adherent 
coat ;  there  is  loss  of  appetite  and  thirst  ^ 
the  chest  is  normal;  the  abdomen,  in  its 
whole  extent,  sensitive  on  strong  pressure. 
The  stools  present  nothing  unnatural;  the 
temperature  of  the  skin  is  not  raised;  the 
pulse  is  slow  and  regular.  The  patient  feels 
not  so  much  exhausted  as  gjiddy,  espedallv 
on  rising.  An  acidulated  drink  was  ordered, 
and  no  diagnosis  was  pronounced. 

The  4th.— the  pain  remains  the  san^e  in 
every  respect ;  the  countenance  is  somewhat 
fla£d>ed ;  there  have  been  two  stools ;  the  pa- 
tient feels  weak. 

The  5th.-— No  change.  A  blister  was  ap^ 
plied  behind  the  ear.  < 

The  9th.— The  pain  is  still  terrible  ^  the 
smeU  from  the  mouth  continues;  there  is  no 
appetite.  Neither  the  mental  powere,  nor  the 
power  of  voluntary  motion  are  at  all  affected. 
Cold  embroeations  were  applied  to  the  brows. 

The  lltH— Tne  weakness  has  increased ; 
the  patient  cannot  sit  up  in  bed.  The  head- 
ache is  still  most  severe,  especially  in  the 
supraorbital  region ;  there  is  a  slight  cough, 
with  a  little  mueons  expectoration. 

The  12th.— Still  dreadful  headache,  con- 
stipation, dysuiia:  the  pulse  morejapid  than 
natural.  The  |iatient  has  several  times  vom- 
ited  small  quantities  of  thin  greenish-yellow 
fluid.  There  is  unnatura)  sensibility  of  the 
abdomen;  no  alvine  evacuation,  nor  any 
passage  of  urine. 

The  1 3th.— No  more  vomiting;  the  patient 
lies  with  his  eyes  constantly  closed ;  no  con- 
sciousness of  any  thing;  pressure  on  the 
eyebrows  and  forehead  excites  no  pain.  He 
cannot  swallow;  and  there  have  been  no 
evacuations. 

The  1 4th.— Hydrocephalic  symptoms  have 
developed  themselves ;  the  right  eyelid  per- 
fectly paralyzed,  its  pupil  manifestly  dilated  ^ 
consciousness,  sensibility  and  power  of  vol- 
untary motion  entirely  suspended ;  the  .moutb 
is  open  at  its  right  side ;  the  breathing  is 


32 


On  the  Structure  of  the  Uterus. 


molliusculam,  tenuem  vidi  et  modice  quasi 
alow,  stcntoriouB,  and  difficult;  no  cough. 
Ihe  temperature  of  the  skin  fallen;  the 
pulse  very  rapid;  no  stool,  nor  any  urine 
passed.  Death  ensued  on  the  night  of  the 
14lh  of  October. 

Dissection.— The  body  was  of  strong 
osseous  build,  and  very  muscular ;  the  pupil 
of  the  right  eye  dilated;  the  neck  and  the 
limbs  rigid;  the  thorax  arched;  the  skull 
compact ;  some  coagulated  fibride  in  the  si- 
nuses. The  arachnoiij  vascular;  the  pza 
mater  on  the  left  side,  especially  along  the 
fimus,  and  to  a  much  laiger  extent  on  the 
right  side,  in  the  temporal  region,  was  per- 
meated (durchwept)  by  an  exudation,  partly 
hemorrhagic,  but  more  yellow,  granulated, 
tuberculous,  around  which  it  was  soaked  by 
^  a  greenish  yellow  serum.  The  substance  of 
the  bmin  was  soft;  in  the  yentricles  there 
was  half  an  ounce  of  «ey  turbid  serum ;  the 
choroid  plexus  was  nale ;  the  dura  mater ,  at 
the  base  of  the  skull,  was  irregularly  infil- 
trated with  serum,  especially  around  the  de- 
cussation and  infundibulum. 

The  neurilema  of  the  optic  nerve  and  of 
the  motor  oculi  was  vascular,  that  of  the  mo- 
tor oculi  was  injected,  of  a  dark  red  colour, 
at  the  part  between  vfhere  it  leaves  the  brainy 
and  where  it  penetratee  the  dcutL  The  left 
^  lung  was  free,  the  right  one  was  firmly  united 
at  the  top  to  the  parietes  of  the  chest ;  the 
substance  of  both  did  not  collapse.  Pale, 
with  little  Wood ;  at  the  top  of  the  right  upper 
lobe,  (here  were  calcareous  tubercles,  but- 
rounded  by  condensed  tissue  of  the  lung ;  at 
the  loWer  part,  as  well  as  at  the  ton  of  the 
left  upper  lobe,  groups  of  grey  fresk  tuber 
cles,  the  size  of  a  millet  or  a  hemp  seed 
The  liver  was  pale,  with  little  blood ;  at  its 
inferior  margin  an  old  acephalocyst,  the  size 
erf  an  egg.  The  mesenteric  glands  around 
the  pancreas  were  converted  into  a  cheesy 
Iha^,  the  size  of  an  egg.  The  spleen  and 
kidneys  firm ;  the  bladder  distended,  and  con- 
taining more  than  two  pounds  ol  urine. 

OSTEH.  Me1>.  WoCHENBCmilPT,  No   46. 

Th^  tuberculous  character  of  this  case, 
could  have  been  determined  in  a  moment  by 
the  mlagnetic  symptoms,  like  every  other  case 
of  typhus  fever. — Editor. 


Xk«  meidaroh*!  of  M.  Jobert(D«  DelambaUe) 
on  the  Structure  of  the  tTtenxs. 

Mr.  Jobert,  surgeon  to  the  Hospital  St. 
Louis,  is  an  enligntened  and  conscientious 
observer,  whose  labors  seldom  fail  to  throw 
light  on  the  subject  which  he  studies.  We 
extract  the  subjoined  account  (condensed)  of 
his  researches  of  the  anatomy  of  the  utcras 


from  M.  Malgaigne*8  "Journal  dc  Chirajie," 
one  of  the  best  conducted  French  periodicals 
of  the  day. 

The  uterus  is  generally  considered  to  be 
formed  of  proper  dssue,  of  two  membranes, 
of  numerous  vessels,  and  of  cellular  tissue 
uniting  these  elements. 

The  existence  of  subperitoneal  cellular  tis- 
sue uniting  the  abdominal  serous  membrane 
to  the  uterine  tissue,  is  generally  admitted. 
This  celhilar  tissue  which  is  said  to  entirely 
surround  the  uterus,  is  considered  by  some 
authors  to  present  the  physical  characters  of 
yellow  fibrous  tissue,  and  by  others  to  be  sus^ 
ceptible  of  muscular  transformation  during 
pregnancy.  My  researches,  says  M.  Jobert, 
nave  shown  me  that  there  is  no  cellular  tis- 
sue or  yellow  fibrous  tissue  underneath  the 
peritoneal  covering  of  the  uterus.  Celluhir 
tissue,  on  the  contrary,  is  evident,  at  all  pe- 
riods of  life,  round  the  Fallopian  tubes,  the 
round  ligaments,  the  ovaries,  and  a  pait  of 
the  uterine  neck.  The  peritoneal  serous  sur- 
face is  elsewhere  joined  to  the  entire  extent 
of  the  uterine  substance  by  muscular  fibres, 
so  adherent  that  it  is  difficult,  except  near  the 
neck,  to  separate  it  from  them  without  bring- 
ing some  of  them  away.  When  this  separa- 
tion is  affected  on  the  posterior  surface  of  the 
uterus,  the  torn  fibres  present  a  longitudinal 
disposition.  On  the  anterior  surface,  on  the 
contrary,  the  fibres  appear  transversal  and 
obliijue.  At  the  fundus  of  the  organ  theii  di> 
rection  varies,  and  cannot  be  always  ascer- 
tained. This  union  of  the  peritoneum  and  of 
the  body  of  the  uterus  is  also  evident  in  the 
female  of  the  monkey,  in  the  sow,  the  ewe, 
and  the  mare ;  in  these  animals  the  cellular 
tissue  is  abundant  round  the  vagina,  and  in 
the  large  ligaments.  The  adhesion  between 
the  peritoneum  and  the  cornea  of  the  uterus 
is  also  effected  by  muscular  fibres. 

I  think,  therefore,  that  we  may  esfabhsb 
as  a  kw  that  the  peritoneum  is  connected 
with  the  proper  tissue  of  the  uterus,  in  wo- 
man and  in  animals,  by  muscular  fibres, 
never  by  cellular  tissue  or  by  yellow  fibrous 
tissue,  and  that  cellular  tissue,  in  the  entire 
animal  series,  is  the  means  of  union  between 
the  peritoneum  and  the  neck  of  the  uterus, 
the  vas;ina,  and  the  large  ligaments.  I  hav« 
never  found  any  trace  of  cellular  tissue  in  the 
proper  substance  of  the  uterus. 

Is  there  a  mucous  membrane  on  the  inter- 
nal surface  of  the  uterine  cavity .'  Most  of 
those  who  have  submitted  its  existence  have 
done  so  more  on  the  strength  of  analog 
than  from  anatomical  evidence.  Rcederer  is- 
the  only  author  who  really  appears  to  have 
anatomically  seen  it.  He  says  '« I  have  seen 
an  interna]  membrane,  rather  soft,  thin  and 
apparently  villous  (membranaxn  intemam*. 


Off  the  Structure  of  the  Uterus. 


SS 


TfiJoeam.")    But  the  moet  celebrated  modern 
anatomists  bare  aoaght  io  vain  for  it,  and  if 
they  admit  its  existence  at  the  end  of  preg- 
nancy. It  is  as  a  newly  formed  membrane. 
The  nameroas  experiments  which   I   have 
performed  anP^ar  to  me  to  demonstrate  its 
existence     Tht  |»>incipal  obstacle  to  its  sua 
tomical  demonstratioQ  is  the  absence  of  eel 
lalar  tissoe  between  the  mucous  membrane 
and  the  proper  tifli»ue  of  the  uterus,  whence 
lesuliB,  as  it  were,  the  fusion  of  the  two 
parts.    NcTertheless,  a  longitudinal  or  trans- 
Tenal  section  of  the  uterus  shows  a  verjf 
thin  layer,  distinct  from  the  proper  tissue,  the 
sniface  of  which  is  remarkable  from  its  pol- 
ish and  its  coating  of  mucous.    Maceration 
renders  the  presence  oi  this  layer  still  more 
evident    if  the  opened  uterus  is  placed  in 
lety  jKtre  water  the  villosities  of  its  surface 
become  evident,  but  disappear  after  a  length- 
ened maceration.    At  this  period  flakes  may 
he  laised  belonging  to  the  mucous  membranes 
underneath  which  there  appears  a  rugous 
uneren  surface.    In  the  female  of  the  mon- 
key I  hare  lound  the  uterine  mucous  rocm- 
bmne  still  more  evident,  and  by  boiling  I 
have  been  enabled  to  raise  a  thin  pellicle 
which  appeared  to  me  a  delicate  epidermis. 
This  membrane  contained  follicles  both  in  the 
neck  and  in  the  body. 

The  lacunas,  which  are  few  in  number  on 
the  internal  surface  of  the  body  of  the  uterus, 
and  which  are  rendered  visible  bv  maceration 
beconie  more  numerous  on  the  internal  sur- 
face of  the  neck,  and  there  form  a  series  of 
cavities,  the  extent,  direction,  number,  and 
diameter  of  which  vaiy  at  diflfercnt  periods  of 
Hfe,  according  to  whether  the  woman  has  had 
children » or  has  suffered  from  uterine  disease. 
These  cavities  are,  as  it  were,  the  rudimente 
of  follicles,  attd  constitute  another  proof  of 
the  existence  of  the  mucous  membrane.  The 
.  younger  the  subject  is,  the  more  numerous 
are  the  lacun«.  There  are  scarcely  any  to 
he  found  in  women  who  have  had  children ; 
tlwee  women  present  uneven  prominences 
which  appear  to  be  constituted  by  the  reunion 
of  several  of  these  lacunae,  or  by  the  cicatri- 
ecs  which  follow  their  rupture.  The  lacuna 
ffltuated  near  the  extern^  orifice  of  the  ute- 
line  neck  approximate  more  to  the  character 
«i  sebaceous  folhcies.  They  form  a  small 
•c,  provided  with  a  neck  and  an  orifice 
Jhkh  podrs  out  die  secreted  mucous.  When 
*•«  follicles  become  obliterated  the  mucous 
coUectxng  forms  real  cysts. 

1^  structure  of  the  substance  of  the  ute- 
JB  is  stitt  a  debated  point  Some  look  upon 
we  uterine  tissue  as  a  special  tissue,  without 
•nwogy  in  die  economy,  odiers  as  a  tissue  of 
IS"*^A?  mature,  odiers  maintain  that  it  con- 
»«»min«,  and  can  be  tmaslonned  into  a 


muscle,  but  that  it  belongs  to  the  yellow 
tissue.  The  possibility  of  me  transformation 
of  fibrous  yellow  tissue  into  muscular  tissue 
is  denied  by  M.  Blainville  and  many  others; 
moreover  chemistry  shows  us  that  fibrous 
yellow  tissue  never  contains  fibrin,  whereas 
fibrin  is  always  found  in  the  uterus  at  all 
periods  of  life.  This  fact  alone  nroves  the 
muscular  nature  of  the  uterus.  M.  Caven* 
ton,  at  my  reauest,  analyzed  the  uterus  of  a 
yymng  girl  of  seven  or  eight  yeare  of  age« 
and  found  it  completely  fibrinous,  and  abso- 
lutely free  from  gelatin.  I,  therefore,  think 
I  am  warranted  in  stating  that  the  uterus  ia 
formed  by  muscular  tissue  at  every  epoch  of 
life,  and  that  the  uterine  muscular  fibres 
merely  become  more  evident  during  pregnan* 
cy.  Irhe  diversity  of  opinion  wnich  ha» 
hidierto  existed  is  to  be  attributed  to  dio 
arrangement  of  die  fibres,  to  their  extreme 
tenuity,  and  principally  to  their  intimate  con- 
nection with  each  other  owing  to  the  com- 
of  cellular  tissue.    As  regards 


plete  absence 

the  arrangement  of  the  fibres,  the  ^^reatest 
anatomists  have  failed  to  determine  it  with 
precision.  Vesaliusand  Malpighi  gave  up 
the  attempt  Ruysch  describes  an  orbiC!|lar 
muscle,  Hunter,  layers  'crossing  each  other* 
Madm.  Boivin  recognized  an  anterior  and 
posterior  longitodinaf  layer,  passing  from  the 
fundus  to  the  neck ;  anteriorly  and  posteriorly 
three  layere  of  transversal  fibres,  which  loss 
themselves  in  the  Fallopian  tubes,  die  liga- 
ments of  the  ovaries,  and  the  round  ligament^ 
two  circular  layers  deeply  situated,  the  centre 
of  which  correspond  with  the  orifice  of  ths 
Fallopian  tubes;  lasdy,  a  diin  laryer  near 
the  internal  muhce. 

I  have  examined  the  uterus  in  the  entiie 
animal  series  with  the  greatest  possible  eare» 
and  think  I  am  able  to  assert  that  it  is 
fornaed  of  one  mumJe^  die  fibres  of  whidi^ 
arranged  in  iayere,  present  the  following  di«< 
rectioii  : — 

The  longitudinal  snpeiiieiftl  fibres,  which 
may  be  called  median  from  their  position,  ars 
seldom  seen  on  the  anterior  surface,  but  are 
constantly  met  with  on  die  posterior,  where 
they  constitute  two  thin  superincumbent 
layers. 

1.  Posterioriy,  diey  begin  at  the  fundus  ol 
die  uterus,  and  end  at  the  uterine  extremity 
of  the  vaffina,  to  which  they  become  attach- 
(h1,  with  tne  exception  of  some  few  that  ter- 
minate on  the  tieck,^above  the  opening  of  the 
vulvo-uterine  canid.  They  adhere  oy  one 
surface  to  the  peritoneum,  by  the  other  to  the 
oblique  fibres. 

2.  The  anterior  sup^ficial  fibres  do  not 
pass  along  the  entire  extent  of  the  uterine 
parietes,  but  cioss  each  other  before  they 
arrive  at  the  round  ligament  of  the  opposite 


34 


On  the  Structure  of  the  Uterus. 


Bide.  Some  contribute  to  form  it,  whereas 
others  pass  behind  and  terminate  on  the  late- 
xal  r^ons,  where  they  cross  also  those  of 
the  posterior  region. 

3.  There  are  other  superficial  fibres,  only 
evident  during  pregnancy,  which  are  destined 
to  the  Fallopian  tubes  and  to  the  ovarian 
ligaments.  Some  originate  at  the  fundus  of 
the  uterus,  unite  to  those  which  contribute  to 
form  the  Fallopian  tubes,  and  pass  on  to  the 
anterior  part  ot  the  ovarian  ligament.  Others, 
more  numerous,  originate  from  the  posterior 
surface  of  the  fundus  of  the  uterus,  and  pass 
on  to  the  same  ligament  Lastly,  a  few 
transversal  fibres  from  the  posterior  feurface 


2.  In  pregnancy  the  uterus  is  merely  in  a 
state  of  muscular  hypertrophy. 

The  uterus  is  formed  hy  one  muscle  and 
not  by  several. 

4.  There  exists  an  uterine  mucous  mem- 
brane, but  without  epithelium. 

5.  The  direction  of  the  uterine  fibres  shows 
how  they  act  in  freeing  the  utenis  from  its 
contents.  The  longitudinal  layer  of  fibres, 
which  originates  at  the  fundus,  and  is  inserted 
into  the  neck  and  vagina,  tends  to  diminish 
the  length  of  the  uterus ;  while  the  semi-cir- 
qilar  fiores  by  their  action  diminish  its  cavity 
in  every  sense.  The  longitudinal  and  anna* 
lar  fibres  of  the  Fallopian  tube  explain  the 


form  its  inferior  part.    The  numerous  fibres  mode  of  progression  of  the  product  of  con- 
which  pass  on  to  the  Fallopian  tubes  origi-  ception,  and  those  which  surround  the  ute- 


nate  at  the  fundus  of  the  uteius.  and  form  a 
thick  fasciculus,  which  divides  into  two  sec- 
ondary fasciculi  destmed  one  to  the  ovarian 
^;ament,  the  other,  more  voluminous,  to  the 
Fallopian  tube.  Some  fibres  separate  from 
the  common  fasciculus,  and  lose  themselves, 
in  the  cellular  tissue  which  separates  the 
Fallopian  tubes  from  the  round  ligament 

The  deep  fibres  are  very  visible  when  the 
uterus  has  undergone  rather  lengthened  boil- 
ing. They  all  evidently  present  a  semi -cir- 
cular direction,  are  rather  oblique,  and  only 
difler  from  those  above  described  by  their 
smallness,  and  by  their  belonging  exclusively 
to  the  body  and  to  the  neck  of  the  uterus. 
They  cross  each  other  on  the  median  line 
anteriorly  and  posterioriy,  as  also  on  the 
sides,  so  as  to  produce  a  kind  of  net- work. 
Their  thickness  varies  as  they  approximate 
the  internal  surface  of  the  uterus,  where  they 
appear  to  describe  cireles  exterior  to  the  inter- 
sal  memhrane.  There  are  annular  fibres 
along  the  Fallopian  tubes,  which  do  not  en- 
tirely encircle  it«  and  are  deep  seated.  Lastljr* 
the  blood-vessels  are  encircled  by  fibres,  si- 
milar to  the  deep  muscular  layer  which 
surrounds  the  intestinal  canal. 

The  uterine  neck  is  formed  hy  fibres  which 
constitute  semicircles,  and  decussate  without 
mingling.  This  semi-circular  arrangement 
is  more  evident  in  women  who  have  had 
children  than  in  others.  Do  the  fibres  of  the 
neck  mingle  with  those  of  the  superior  por- 
tion of  the  vagina  ?  It  has  appeared  to  me 
tl»t  the  vagina  attaches  itself  to  the  proper 
substance  where  the  mucous  membrane  pas- 
ses from  the  neck  itself  to  the  os  tines.  This 
insertion  terminates  abruptly  anteriorly ;  pos- 
teriorly, oh  the  contrary,  it  is  continuous  in 
every  ease  with  the  longitudinal  fasciculus. 
From  the  above  data  we  may  draw  the  fol- 
lowing inferences : — 

1.  The  proper  tissue  of  the  uterus  is  not 
fibrous  ydlow  tissue,  but  muscular  tissue, 
and  that  at  all  periods  of  life,  and  in  all  ani- 


line vessels  appear  to  diminish,  by  their  con- 
traction, the  rapidity  of  the  circulation,  and 
to  prevent  hemorrhage  during  parturition- 

Ounphor  a  PreaenratiTe  of  Ergot  of  Bye. 

To  the  Editor  qf  Thb  Lanobt. 
Sir,— I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  read 
some  remarks  by  Mr.  Rawle,  stating  that  he 
had  discovered  camphor  to  be  a  preservative 
of  etgol  of  rye.  I  can  only  say  that  I  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  using  it  for  the  last  nine 
or  ten  years,  but  not  exactly  in  the  manner 
described  by  him.  I  order  the  camphor  to  he 
mixed  with  the  powdered  ergot  in  the  propor- 
tion of  a  grain  in  every  scruple.  By  this 
means  I  think  the  camphor  is  more  mtimateljr 
diffused  throughout  the  whole  than  can  possi- 
bly take  place  by  the  plan  proposed  by  Mr. 
Rawle.  I  do  not  give  this  either  as  a  new, 
or,  indeed,  my  own  discovery ;  for  I  adopted 
the  method  by  having  seen  it  in  the  practice 
of  Mr.  Spurgin,  an  old  practitioner,  also  at 
&ifrron  Walden,  and  from  whom  I  have 
every  reason  to  believe  that  your  correspon- 
dent also  obtained  the  same  information,  he 
having  been  engaged  in  the  same  gentleman's 
practice. 

If  you  think  the  above  worthy  of  notice 
you  will  oblige,  Sir,  yours  respectfully, 
John  M.  Simpson,  M.R.C.S.  &c 
Staines,  August  28, 1844. 

The  EffMts  of  Tartar  Bmetie  oa  Toimt  SiA« 
Jeoto 
Mr.  Wilton,  of  Gloaeester,  rscords  in  the 
Provincial  Journal,  four  cases  in  which  ex- 
treme prostration  and  collapse  followed  the 
administration  of  the  ordinary  dcees  of  tar- 
tar emetic  to  young  persons.  Two  of  then 
were  fatal.  We  alluded,  on  a  former  ocea^ 
sion,  to  several  similar  instances  of  the  per- 
nicious efl^ts  of  this  remedy,  recorded  by 
Mr.  Noble,  of  Manchester.  The  reeolleo- 
tion  of  those  fads  is  sufficient  to  place  practi* 
doners  on  their  guard  when  the  use  of  this 
remedy  is  required  in  the  cases  of  inlants  or 
young  children. 


r 


Practical  Observations. 


36 


FRAOTIOAL  OBSSBVATIOVS : 

Affections  of  the  Spinal  Marrow :  employ- 
ment of  Ranunculus  Bulbosus,* 

By  Frakcis  Black,  M.  D. 

A.  R.,  aged  20,  of  a  bilious  temperament, 
enjoyed  good  hesJth  until  he  was  16,  when 
he  fi^t  complained  of  weakness  in  the  back. 
Ahout  this  time,  after  bathing,  he  suffered 
from  pain  in  his  back  which  set  in  with  a 
tHaw  lever ;  but  he  was  unable  to  go  about 
bis  occupations  until  the  end  of  1840.  In 
January  1841,  he  observed,  while  bathing 
his  feet  in  hot  water,  that  he  had  no  sensa- 
tion in  them ;  at  this  time  the  pain  in  the 
back  had  disappeared,  and  the  only  thing 
complained  of  was  loss  of  sensation ;  this 
gradually  extended,  the  weakness  increased, 
and,  at  last,  he  was  scarcely  able  to  walk. 
March  16,  the  actual  cautery  was  appli 
for  about  9  inches  along  the  spinal  column, 
and  after  this  time  he  was  afl^cted  with  com- 
plete paralysis  of  the  lower  extremities. 
From  this  period,  bleeding,  dry  cupping,  sina- 
pisms, &c.  were  used,  but  without  benefit. 

I  sa^  him  first  on  the  1 5th  February,  1842; 
he  had  then  been  confined  to  bed  for  six 
months.  The  following  was  his  state: — 
Paralysis  of  the  lower  extremities,  hardly 
any  emaciation  of  the  limbs ;  the  flesh  seems 
tolerably  firm,  the  skin  is  slightly  sensible. 
He  is  able  to  flex  the  left  leg  a  very  little, 
but  with  great  difliculty,  and  attended  with 
quivering  of  the  muscles.  He  can  scarcely 
move  the  right  lower  extremity. 

There  is  no  tender  spot  along  the  course 
of  the  spine,  but  there  is  slight  lateral  cur- 
vature, with  acute  projection  of  one  of  the 
spines  of  the  dorsal  vertebrae  ;  here  there  is 
no  pain,  even  upon  pressure,  but  the  skin 
over  this  place  is  sligntly  red. 

Bowels  costive,  requmng  constantly  ap- 
erients. Urine  passed  freely  and  easily,  al- 
though occasionally  there  is  little  pain. 

Sleeps  sound,  but  dreams  a  great  deal ; 
disposition  cheerful. 

Cocc  18-4.  ii.,  [4]  m.  et.  n.  V  Up  toFe 
bmary  28th,  two  such  doses  were  adminis- 
tered ;  the  bowels  acted  four  times ;  no 
change,  except  that  he  feels  as  if  the  limbs 
were  beaten,  as  if  after  a  lone  walk  ;  sulph. 
30-4.  ii.,  []  m.  et  n.  3.  In  this  way  coccu- 
lus  18.,  sH.,  18.,  nux  v.,  15.,  and  rnus.,  6., 
were  riven  until  May,  and  on  the  9th  of 
May  there  was  no  change,  when  he  got  siL, 
18-4.  pulv.  ii.,  [6]  m.  et  n.  3. 

May  17. — ^A  day  after  the  first  powder, 
Boflered  from  pain  in  the  back,  in  the  part 
"where  there  is  projection  of  the  verteoral 
spine ;  it  lasted  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
was  not  increased  by  pressure  upon  the  part. 

*  Bttibooi  Crowfoot 


From  this  time  there  was  a  gradual  increase 
of  motion  and  sensation,  Rept.  June  Ist — 
Considerable  improvement;  he  is  able  now 
to  put  one  leg  over  the  other,  and  with  his 
feet  to  push  off  the  bed  clothes  ;  siL,  6-4 
[4]  m.  et  n.  .  From  June  8th  to  20th  he 
received,  for  other  symptoms  which  had 
shewn  themselves,  calc,  18-,  bell.,  6.,  and 
sulph.,  6.  June  26th.— Continued  improve- 
ment ;  sulph.  On  July  3d,  the  silex  was 
again  resumed,  and  continued  until  Septem. 
23d,  with,  however,  frequent  intervals,  du- 
ring  which  no  medicine  was  given. 

September  23d.— Has  now  for  a  month 
been  ah\^  to  move  about ;  walks  pretty  welL 
From  this  time  he  continued  steadily  to  im- 
prove, but,  as  a  precaution,  moved  about  the 
room  in  a  madiine  such  as  children  are 
sometimes  put  into  on  first  learning  to  walk. 
This  he  soon  laid  aside,  and  completely  re- 
covered under  the  daily  use  of  occasional 
doses  of  sulph.,  calc,  nux  v.,  sil.,  afcd  the 
administration  of  cold  sponging,  and  latterly 
the  shower  bath.  Some  six  months  after 
this,  he  was  again  troubled  with  pain  along 
the  spine,  and  weakness  of  the  limbs,  but 
this  soon  yielded  to  the  administration  of 
silex.  There  now  remains  an  acute  projec- 
tion of  one  of  the  dorsal  spines. 

The  above  case  we  believe  to  have  been 
an  affection  of  one  or  more  of  the  bodies  of 
the  dorsal  vertebra  of  a  scrofulous  charac- 
ter, and  that  the  paralysis  arose  either  from 
inflammation  or  irritation,  extending  to  the 
spinal  column.  We  believe  that  the  use  of 
the  actual  cautery  added  to  the  already  exis- 
ting evils,  by  increasing  the  irritation,  and 
thus  rendering  the  paralysis  of  the  limbs 
more  complete.  »  . 

The  caf«  is  interesting,  as  shewing;  the 
beneficial  influence  of  silexvin  a  disease 
which,  according  to  one  of  our  best  surgi- 
cal au^orities,  "  proves  extremely  obstinate 
or  rather  always  incurable,  at  least  with 
such  few  exceptions  as  hardly  deserve  to  be 
mentioned."  We  cannot  suppose  that  the 
successful  termination  was  attributable  to 
rest,  and  the  horizontal  position.  First,  Be- 
cause these  means  had  been  previously  tned 
for  a  considerable  time  without  any  benefit 
Second,  Because  the  improvement  became 
apparent  only  after  the  aggravation  caused 
by  the  silex ;  and  during  the  treatment  we 
ooserved  mudi  more  evident  effects  from  the 
silex  than  from  any  of  the  other  remedies.— 
Third,  Because  we  have,  in  several  instan- 
ces, seen  similar  good  effects  follow  th^  ad- 
ministration of  sUex  in  affections  of  the  spi- 
nal cord.  We  recollect,  at  present,  two  ca- 
ses of  children,  where  the  benefit  was  very 
marked.  The  one,  a  child  aged  2  years,  of 
a  strumous  diathesis,  was  unable  to  stand 


36 


PrtzctictMl  Observations. 


or  walk,  the  lower  extremities  were  thin 
and  flabby,  hanging  down  as  if  powerless ; 
no  loss  01  sensation ;  appetite  pretty  good, 
and  the  evacuations  natural  and  regular. 

Silex  18,  was  administered  in  solution,  at 
various  intervals,  for  a  month ;  towards  the 
end  of  the  month,  the  muscles  of  the  lower 
extremities  became  firmer,  and  the  child 
could  stand  a  little;  the  sil.  was  continued. 
In  six  weeks  the  child  could  stand  weU,  and 
walk  a  little ;  and  before  three  months  had 
elapsed,  the  child  could  walk  perfectly.  In 
the  other  case,  the  inability  to  stand  or  walk 
was  not  so  great;  this  child  also  perfectly 
recovered  under  the  use  of  silex.* 

Paralysis,  principally  of  the  lower  extremities. 

M.,  a  middle-aged  healthy  person,  of  tem- 
perate habits,  has  suffered  for  twelve  years, 
from  palsy.  He  attributes  it  to  a  fall  when 
hunting,  but  at  no  time  suffered  from  pain  in 
the  region  of  the  spine ;  the  disease  came 
on  gradually,  and  notwithstanding  that  ev- 
ery possible  measure  has  been  tried,  the 
palsy  has  not  diminished.  The  following 
was  his  state  when  seen  by  me  in  December 
10th,  184^— The  patient  is  well  made,  and 
of  a  healthy  appearance;  he  complains  of 
weakness,  especially  of  the  lower  extremi- 
ties, from  the  hips  downwards.  Stands 
with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and  only  by  lea- 
ning the  weight  of  the  body  upon  the  arms. 
Is  able,  when  setting,  to  move  the  legs  about 
hut  cannot  place  them  firmly  upon  any  thin^ ; 
for  example,  if  placed  upon  the  fender,  he 
cannot  retain  them  there,  they  immediately 
drop  down.  The  lower  extremities  are  col- 
der than  other  parts  of  the  body,  and  defi- 
cient in  sensation.  Has  complete  control 
over  the  upper  extremities,  but  deficient  sen- 
sation in  tne  fingers ;  feels,  on  grasping  any 
thing  smooth,  as  if  its  surface  were  rough. 
BoM^elskept  re^lar  by  a  lavement  of  sim- 
ple water.    Urme  passed  easily. 

Very  liable  to  spasms  in  various  parts, 
especially  in  the  lower  extremities. 

Has  amaurosis  of  the  right  eye. 

Cocc.  6-4.  pul.  ii.,  [4]  m.  et  n,  3. 

December  22d.  —  The  sensation  is  more 
perfect ;  feels  more  power  in  the  lower  ex- 
tremities ;  suffered  a  good  deal  from  shoot- 
ing pains  in  parts  where  he  had  not  previ- 
ously felt  them.    Cont. 

January  7th.  —  Continued  improvement ; 
is  able  to  place  his  feet  upon  the  fender,  and 
retain  them  there.  Until  the  30th,  he  recei- 
ved'two  more  doses  of  cocc.;  but  on  the 
31st,  lie  retropaded  considerably;  rhus.  [] 
was  then  administered,  but  with  little  good. 
On  the  6th  February  he  got  silex  [  ],  this 

P'ThsM  w«re  ftUcMM^f  tabwcalar  diitMi  of  Um 
qpiiM.^Sdiloc. 


was  continued  until  the  end  of  the  month» 
and  under  its  use  he  was  in  the  same  state 
as  on  January  30th.  Durine  the  month  of 
March  he  received  alternate  Hoses  of  siL  [  ] 
and  cocc,  [  ] :  by  the  end  of  this  month  he 
had  considerably  improved ;  the  j^ritty  feel- 
ing had  left  his  fingers,  the  sensation  had  re- 
turned to  his  legs ;  going  between  two  tows 
of  chairs,  he  could  walk  backwards  and  for- 
wards for  a  distance  of  18  yards.  He  could 
see  well  with  the  right  eye ;  the  cramps  had 
almost  ceased.  During  April  he  received 
sil.,  and  cocc.,  but  prinapalJy  the  latter,  and 
continued  daily  to  gain  ground.  May  the 
2d,  has  been  out,  and  with  assistance,  aod 
sitting  down,  has  been  able  to  walk  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile ;  and  by  the  end  of  the  month 
he  could  walk  half  a  mile,  though  with  dif- 
ficulty, and  always  supported,  and  mount  to 
the  top  of  a  flight  of  long  stairs.  To  the 
end  of  June  he  received  nux  v.,  sil.,  and 
cocc.  [  ]  alternately,  and  continued  steadily 
to  improve.  In  July,  however,  he  lo^ 
ground,  and  though  the  same  remedies  were 
used,  as  also  rhus,  oleander,  agaricus,  and 
sulphur,  he  from  day  to  day  be^me  worse, 
without  any  assignable  cause,  and  by  the 
month  of  September  was  nearly  in  the  same 
state  as  when  I  first  saw  him.  The  patient 
then  became'  dispirited,  and  gave  up  the 
treatment. 

This  liability  to  relapse  we  recollect  to 
have  observed  in  two  cases,  both  of  them 
in  elderly  men,  who  suffered  from  palsy,  not 
depending  however  upon  spinal  msease,  as 
in  the  case  above  detailed,  but  following  an 
apoplectic  attack.  Under  the  use  of  cocca- 
lus,  which  at  first  produced  sharp  shootin^^ 
pains  in  various  parts  of  the  body  where 
palsied,  and  where  the  patient  had  not  suf- 
fered previously,  they  improved  considera- 
bly in  two  months,  and  gave  great  promise 
of*^ being  cured:  but  before  four  months  had 
elapsed,  they  gradually  ^ot  worse ;  the  one 
we  lost  sight  of,  the  oSier  resisted  all  the 
other  means  employed.* 

Diseases  of  the  spine,  when  affecting  a 
great  portion  of  the  spinal  marrow,  are  ex- 
tremely  unmanageable.  We  have  not,  and 
we  have  treated  several,  seen  a  single  case, 
where  the  disease  had  so  far  advanced  as  to 
cause  gjeat  general  disorder  and  partial 
palsy,  3deld  to  treatment. 

Nor  does  the  first  case  we  have  given 
form  an  exception ;  for,  in  it,  the  palsy  evi- 
dently depended  upon  the  iiritation  of  a 
diseased  vertebra,  but  the  cases,  the  progno- 
sis of  ^hich  we  state  to  be  unfavorable,  are 
those  in  which  there  has  been  at  first  acute 
or  chronic  inflammation,which  has  probably 


Thh  was  a  cam  of  tubercnlmr  di«MM  of  Um  bwa 
and  n«t  of  the  sptao  as  the  Dr.  gueamtL-^M^ktat. 


Practical  Obtervuiums. 


37 


Jed  either  to  ramniollisement  or  some  other 
Btrnctural  change. 

This  obstinacy  is  what  we  might  ahnost 
hare  been  led  to  expect,  when  we  consider 
that  Homoeopathic  practitioners  are  rarely  at 
nresent  consulted  until  the  poor  patient  has 
Men  bed-ridden  for  years,  and  undergone 
ttie  moet  riolent  treatment.  The  prognosis 
is  also  more  confirmed  when  we  know,  that, 
tiioogh  the  affection  may  not  have  com- 
m/moeA  in  some  organic  change,  the  long- 
continued  disease  and  treatmerU  will  produce 
it  But,  though  hitherto  unsuccessful,  we 
dto  not  despair  of  succeeding  in  recent  cases 
of  this  disease:  and  our  hopes  are  princi- 
pally founded  u{K>n  the  great  benefit  which 
loUows  the  administration  of  our  remedies 
in  similar  cases,  but  confined  to  a  smaller 
fostkm  of  the  spinal  marrow  or  its  cover- 
uipBL  For  example,  we  have  seen  great 
good  follow  the  administration  of  ars.,  nux  v., 
and  iach.,  in  eases  of  dy^meea,  cough,  pain 
in  the  diest  and  palpitation,  wMch  were  dis- 
tinetlv  referable  to  irritation  in  the  upper 
donal  portion  of  the  spine;  spasms,  pain 
in  the  bowels,  and  gastrodynia  depending 
upon  the  aame  cause,  reliered  by  nux.,  v., 
coec.,  and  Teratr. 

The  allenuite  use  of  the  abore  medicines, 
togedier  with  ail.,  sulph.,calc,and  belL,are 
frefueDlly  attended  with  great  relief  to  the 
patient  Even  in  advanc^  cases,  the  pains 
m  various  parts  of  the  body,  the  disorder  of 
*  tiie  stemach,  and  costiyeness,  which  is  a 
teqnent  symptom,  are  frequently  relieved 
by  these  remedies.  The  subject  of  costive- 
ness  reminds  us  of  a  case  of  a  yonng  lady 
-who  had  been  unable  to  walk  for  a  long 
time,  owing  to  a  spinal  affection;  when  we 
saw  her  she  had  recovered  so  as  to  be  able 
to  walk  across  the  room ;  but  it  was  espe 
ciatty  lor  the  excessive  costiveness  that  the 
aid  of  Homsopathy  was  asked.    She 


the  bowels  a  peculiar  white  tape-like  sub- 
stance, which  we  at  first  supposed  to  be 
tape-worm.  A  more  minute  examination 
shewed  it  to  be  an  exudation  from  the  intes- 
tines. This  exudation  has  continued  for 
nearly  eight  months ;  but  Homsopathic  treat- 
ment was  only  steadily  pursued  for  about 
six  weeks ;  the  medicines  given  were  sulph., 
nit,  ac.,  nux  v.  and  mere.,  but  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  nux,  which  relieved  the  cos- 
tivenesB,  their  administration  was  attended 
by  no  improvement  The  patient  is  again 
under  treatment* 

DfcMAMi  of  the  8pliie  predvciaff  ▼■rlout  V^U" 
rtdgio  Afl¥otieBS« 

C,  aged  sixty. — ^Has  since  tibe  age  of 
twenty-one  suffered  from  affection  of  the 
head  and  spine — for  many  years  she  com- 

Slained  of  fatigue  and  weakness,  with  ten- 
ency  to  syncope.  In  an  acute  affection  of 
the  head  she  lost  her  sight  and  smell  After 
this  the  eyes  inflamed  very  much,  and  since 
then  she  has  been  constantly  liable  to  attacks 
of  shooting  pain  in  them.  She  has  great 
lateral  and  also  antero-posterior  curvature. 
There  is  a  very  tender  spot  over  the  lower 
cervical  vertebrae, which,  upon  being  pressed, 
causes  violent  shooting  pams  down  the  scap- 
ula, chest,  and  arms.  Complains  of  spas* 
modie  sharp  pains  round  the  waist  and  in 
the  abdomen,  and  also  similar  pains  in  the 
lower  extremities,  especially  at  the  ankles. 
The  least  motion  increases  the  pain — ^pain 
worst  at  night ;  is  unable  to  walk,  and  rais- 
ed with  difficulty  from  her  invalid's  chair ; 
sleeps  very  little.  Bowels  costive ;  frequent 
acidity  and  great  flatulence.  She  had  under- 
gone every  variety  of  treatment  without  be- 
nefit.   Such  was  her  state  in  August ;  cocc 

6-4  ii.  [4]  m.  et  n.  3.    Cocc.  was  thus  ad- 


ministered altemateljr  with  nux  v.  18.,  until 
in  the  habit  of  takiig  every  4th  day,  two  or  ^P*'  ^^ ' ,  ^^  ^**  J"'^^«  ^"^^  ^^  ^ 
threecaJocynth  pilkf  notSig  w^V^Jd  2^^!?^;  t«  ^llS^whh^l^r'  "^ 
•d;  alwf  an  W  after  tSdng  these,  she  ti  "^.rit^.^lT^?^'. 
Daoame  always  sick;  tlus mcreased ;  and  be- 
Inre  long  she  was  seized  with  cramp  in  the 
•Momtp,  and  vomiting ;  towards  the  morn- 
ing this  lessened,  and  she  had  an  evacua- 
tion;  aU  aperient  medicine  produced  the 
same  symptom;  and  even  strong  enemata 
had  no  effect  Under  the  use  of  nux.  v.  i. 
the  coativenesa  was  much  improved,  so  that 
tlie  bowels,  with  the  aid  of  an  enema  of  aim- 

ei  tepid  water,  w^-e  moved  every  4th  day. 
e  at  first,  tried  the  higher  dilutions  of  nux, 
and  then  various  other  medicines,  sulph.. 


laeh.,  ail.,  puk.»  bry.,-  but  without  any  edect ; 
hut,  after  nux  v.  1.  g^^  [l]^there 


r^kdy  an  evacuation.    She  improved  in 
ftnagth:  but  of  late  has  diachaiged  horn 


Sept.  7th,  continued  improvement;  sulph. 

6-3  ii.  [4]  m.  et  n.T     Sept  18th,  sil.  18., 

was  administered  as  above,  and  under  the 
use  of  this  remedy  she  improved  very 
rapidly ;  the  pain  became  lees  frequent ;  she 
was  aSle  to  walk  a  b'ttle ;  slept  better ;  appe- 
tite improved. 

From  this  time  until  the  end  of  October, 
she  received  sil.  18.,  [  ]  calc.  18.,  [  ]  and 
continued  to  improve.  She  was  able  to  walk 
about  with  much  less  pain ;  and  even  went 
out  to  drive.  Up  to  toe  present  time  this 
patient  has  contmued   comparatively  very 


This  M  A  CMB  of  tabwenla  disMue  of  th»  lirvr,  ito- 
mmchf  intastiaw,  wA  nltrtn,— Ed.tor. 


38 


Practical  Observations. 


free  of  pain ;  and  when  it  comes  on,  cocc, 
or  sil.,  succeed  in  relieving  it.  Occasionally 
carbo.  r.  was  given  to  relieve  the  flatulence, 
which  at  night  was  sometimes  excessive. 

Miss  W.,  aged  26,  has  suffered  for  fifteen 
years  from  her  present  auction,  for  which 
numerous  remedies  have  been  tried,  but 
without  a.iy  relief.  She  was  seen  by  us  on 
January  i7th,  1844.  She  states  that  the 
pain  commenced  gradually,  and  without  any 
assignable  cause.  The  pain  commences  in 
autumn,  gets  worse  during  winter  and  spring, 
and  diminished  during  the  heat  of  summer. 
She  complains  of  frequent  attacks  of  pain 
between  the  shoulders,  in  a  space  not  larger 
than  half-a-crown,  over  the  8th  dorsal  ver- 
tebra, where  there  is  no  tenderness  upon 
pressure.  The  pain  is  dull,  (^ming  on  fre- 
quently eight  or  nine  times  a-aay,  but  never 
at  night.  The  pain  frequently  extends  round 
the  waist,  wnen  she  suffers  from  cutting 
pains,  as  if  knives  were  run  into  the  stom- 
ach; these  shoot  round  to  the  back,  and 
suddenly  disappear,  when  they  settle  into  the 
dull  pain  above  described.  When  the  pain 
goes  off,  she  is  troubled  with  yawning. 
Catamenia  regular,  and  in  all  other  respects 
quite  well.     Cocc.  6-4,  iii.  [6]  8**  q.  q.  h, 

Jan.  26. — Pain  between  shoulders  much 
better.  Ars.  15-4.  Cocc,  6-4.  Ars,  6-4. 
Cocc.  6-4.  [4]  m.  et  n.  1. 

Feb.  9, — rias  been  greatly  better ;  for  the 
last  ten  jays,  has  had  no  pain  between  the 
shoulders,  and  the  cutting  pains  in  the  abdo- 
men have  almost  ceased. 

Kept.  Med.  ut  Jan,  26th. 

Feb.  24, — ^Is  now,  and  has  been  for  some 
time,  entirely  free  of  pain.  The  patient,  up 
to  the  time  we  write,  oas  continued  free  of 
pain. 

Ranunculus  bulboses  we  have  found  useful 
in  three  instauces  of  pain  depending  upon 
spinal  irritation.  In  one  case,  the  patient, 
who  was  under  treatment  for  chronic  head- 
aches and  abdominal  affections,  complained 
of  sharp  shooting  pains  round  the  chest ; — 
in  the  other,  the  nain  was  acute,  and  fell 
principaUy  in  the  sooulder,  axilla,  and  mam- 
ma; so  acute  was  it  in  the  breast,  that  the 
patient  dreaded  cancer,  for  which  fear  there 
were  no  grounds.  These  two  cases  we  be- 
lieved to  be  neuralgia  of  the  intercostals. 
The  third,  which  was  thft  case  of  a  lady  who 
had  suffered  from  long-existing  spinal  dis- 
ease, and  complained  of  sharp  gnawing  pain 
over  the  left  side  of  the  chest,  as  if  the  skin 
were  torn,  with  occasionally  shooting  pain 
from  the  spine.  In  the  two  first  cases,  two 
doses  of  ran.  6,  [  ],  removed  the  pain,  and  in 
the  third  it  was  also  very  useful,  but  the 
pain  returnefl  in  a  fortnight    She  is  still  un- 


der treatment ;  but,  under  the  use  of  ail.  and 
cocc.  has  improved  considerably. 

As  the  ranunculus  is  not  as  yet  much 
used,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  give  the 
following  case  of  rheumatism,  where  it  pro- 
ved useful. 

J.  S„  aeed^50,  has  been  several  voyazes 
to  warm  climates ;  during  his  last  voyage  ne 
caught  cold,  and  has  for  some  months  suf- 
fered from  rheumatism.  The  pains  are  con- 
fined almost  entirely  to  the  trunk.  He  feels 
as  if  the  abdomen  and  chest  had  been  bruis- 
ed; on  the  least  motion  the  pains  become 
cutting  and  sharp.  Bowels  costive ;  tongue 
foul. 
June  23. — ^Ran  6-4  ii,  [4]  m.  et  n.  3. 
July  4. — Pains  a  good  deal  better.  Kept. 
med. 

July  13. — Ptedns  in  abdomen  and  chest  are 
now^one;  coniplains  of  pain  in  the  neck 
and  shoulder,    Bry. 

July  17. — ^Hewas  better,  and  again  recei- 
ved bry ;  and  on  the  20th,  from  a  slight  re- 
turn  of  the  pain  round  the  chest,  ran.  b.-was 
again  administered.  After  this  he  under- 
went treatment  for  disorder  of  the  stomach. 
From  the  pathogenetic  action  of  the  ra- 
nunculi, we  oelieve  that  they  would  fre- 
quently be  useful  in  various  rheumatic  and 
neuralgic  affections,  especially  of  the  chest. 
The  last  cases  the  Doctor  calles  "  Neural- 
gic Affections,''  are  plaui  ca^es  of  tubercular 
disease  of  the  organs  and  muscles,  or  chro« 
nic  disease  of  the  organs  and  rheumatiflm; 
and  they  are  now  in  much  the  same  state 
they  were  before  the  Doctor  saw  them. 


Oaionlni  of  the  Bladder  treated  bj  Electrlcitj. 
7\»  the  EdUw  oj  TKb  Lanut. 

Sir ; — A  "  Suffersr"  imploringly  bAm  in 
your  last  number  whether  you  know  any 
thing  of  a  method  for  the  cure  of  stone  by 
electricity,  and  seems  justly  to  estimate  its 
importance.   For  his  comfort  I  beg  to  infonn 
him  that  there  is  such  a  method,  and,  I  be- 
lieve, a  successful  one.    The  author  of  itt 
whom  at  present  I  have  no  authority  to  name 
publicly,  was  so  good  as  to  call  on  me,  about 
a  fortnight  a«o,  with  a  patient,  on  whom  he 
had  successmlly  operated,  in  order  to  show 
me  what  had  been  done.    The  man  was 
perfectly  well   after,    I  think,  about  two 
months'  treatment.    I  questioned  him  as  to 
his  previous  suffering,  and  there  dm  be  no 
Joubt  that  he  had  labored  under  very  aggra- 
vated 83nmptom8  of  stone  in  the  bladder. 
He  had,  moreover,  been' sounded,  I  was  told, 
at  one  of  the  Borough  hospitals,  by  an  emi- 
nent surgeon,  whose  opinion  was  that  there 
was  a  Wage  calculus.    The  physician  wi&a 


Miscellaneous  Articles. 


39 


brought  him  to  me  informed  me  that  it  was 
aYery  large  lithic  acid  calculus  that  had 
been  decomposed.  I  presume  that  very  soon 
the  subject  wtll  be  brought  before  the  pro- 
fession and  the  public. 

I  am,  sir,  yo\ir  obedient  servant, 

Wm.  Maclure. 

Harley-street,  Aug.  5,  1844. 


Xhierapewtieal  Applieatioii  of  Cold. 

To  insure  good  effects  from  the  applica- 
tion of  cold,  the  temperament  of  the  patient 
should  always  be  considered.  In  nervous 
persons,  and  upon  irritable  orrans,  the  use 
of  cold  should  never  be  carried  to  the  same 
extent  as  in  opposite  states  of  the  system, 
or  in  other  parts  of  the  body.  Two  young 
females,  sisterej  one  of  whom  was  of  ex- 
treme susceptibility,  the  other  more  calm, 
were  attacked  at  the  same  time  with  fever. 
Ice  was  applied  to  the  head  of  both  of  them. 
The  latter  was  relieved  by  the  application; 
the  symptoms  of  the  former  were,  on  the 
contrary,  aggravated  by  it,  and  the  attack 
soon  proved  fatal. — Idan, 


On  tke  Oaitsei,  STmptoms,  and  Treatment  of 
Aonte  Foimdev  in  theHoree. 

A  clever  communication  on  this  subject, 
from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Gabriel,  appears  m  a 
late  nomW  of  the  Veterinarian.  He  points 
out,  in  an  historical  sketch  how  successfully 
the  disease  was  treated  some  two  hundred 
years  ago,  and  how,  on  the  other  hand,  by 
modem  veterinarians  it  has  been  deemed  in- 
curable. He  attributes  its  occurrence,  in  a 
large  majority  of  cases,  to  over-exertion  of 
the  aninud,  either  by  long  standing,  rapidity 
of  travelling,  or  long  journeys.  The  symp- 
toms are  characteristic :  in  addition  to  fever 
there  is  an  extreme  reluctance  of  the  animal 
to  rest  its  weight  on  the  affected  fore-feet. 
In  getting  up  from  the  ground,  or  in  attempt- 
ing to  move,  the  hinf  feet  are  made  the  m- 
0frament  of  progression.  The  treatment 
hitherto  pursued  nas  been  exceedingly  va- 
ried. We  do  not  nrof  ess  to  be  very  profound 
hippopathologist^  we  must  rely  to  a  certain 
extent,  therefore  on  the  statements  of  the 
aathor.  He  says  that  modem  patholc^ists 
pronounce  the  disease  incurable;  in  his 
Bands  that  the  treatment  rarely  fails.  This 
consists  of  a  dose  of  Barbadoesialoes  [eight 
or  nine  drachms]  and  then  a  seton  through 
each  frog  I  on  the  latter  he  places  his  chief 
reliance.  Venesection  must  follow  till  the 
pulse  is  affected,  and  large  tepid  bran-poulti 
ces  are  to  be  applied  to  the  feet.  The  shoes 
should  not  be  removed,  but  the  venesection 
and  physic  must  be  repeated  if  necessary. 


These  hints  may  prove  useful  to  some  of 
our  professional  readers,  whose  horses  are 
too  liable  to  a  disease  amongst  the  exciting 
causes  of  which  are  to  be  found  rapid  travel-' 
ling  and  long  journeys. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  substances  yet 
met  with  in  organic  chemistry  has  been  ob- 
tained by  Dr.  Blyth,  in  an  investigation,  car- 
ried on  m  the  Giessen  laboratory,  upon  the 
styrax  liquidus  ; — before  the  publication  of 
Dr.  Blyth's  paper  we  cannot  say  whether  as 
a  product  or  educt,  nor  can  we  give  the 
composition  of  the  body ;  but  it  is  in  the  form 
of  a  colorless,  transnarent  and  very  limpid 
fluid,  with  very  high  refracting;  powers. — 
Upon  heating  this  fluid,  in  a  closed  vessel, 
beyon«i  its  boiling  point,  it  becomes  converted 
into  a  solid  hard  body,  retaining  its  transpa- 
rency and  its  refracting  power  unimpaired, 
looking  like  a  piece  of  pure  glass.  To  this 
substance  the  term  styrol  has  been  applied. 

DXABBTBe  TaSATBD  BT  ALKALZBB. 

MM.  Miale  and  Contour  narrated  a  case  of 
diabetes  millitus  cured  by  the  use  of  alkalies, 
and  sudorifics.  The  patient,  a  man  aeed 
forty-three,  had  been  labouring  under  diswe- 
tes  for  eighteen  months,  and  was  in  the  fol- 
lowing state :— Extreme  prostration  and  ema- 
ciation, great  weakness,  appetite  good,  diges- 
tion easy,  thirst  intense,  dryness  of  the  mouth 
although  the  patient  drank  five  or  six  quarts 
a  day.  His  urine  was  abundant,  and  the 
quantity  was  always  in  relation  to  the  fluid 
he  introduced  into  the  economy.  It  was  acid 
and  nearly  colourless;  density,  1035.;  it 
contained  a  little  more  dian  nine  drachms  ol 
sugar  for  each  quart  After  giving,  without 
any  result,  the  chloride  of  somum  during  fif- 
teen days,  the  internal  administi-ation  of  suka- 
lies  was  commenced,  as  also  the  use  of  flan- 
nel, of  vapour^-baths,  and  of  a  highly-ani- 
malized  diet  One  drachm  of  bicarbonate  of 
soda  and  eighteen  grains  of  calcined  magnesia 
were  given  daily  during  eight  days.  The 
dose  ol  bicarbonate  was  then  progressively 
raised  to  one  drachm  and  a  half,  to  two  and 
a  half,  and,  lastly,  to  three.  The  doses  ol 
the  magnesia  remained  the  same.  This  treat- 
ment lasted  a  month,  and  was  followed  by 
complete  success.  The  quantity  of  sugar 
contained  in  the  urine  gradually  decreased, 
and  when  the  fluids  of  the  economy  had  re- 
covered their  alkaline  properties,  it  entirely 
disappeared.  At  that  time  the  patient  was' 
cured,  and  eating  every  day  a  pound  of  bread 
along  with  a  pint  of  milk.  He  still,  how- 
ever, continued  the  use  of  the  alkalies,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  say  whether  the  symptoms 
might  not  return,  Were  their  administration 
suspended. 


40 


Duodynamics. 


DXrODTlfAMIOS. 

Medicines  that  act  upon  the  different  sur- 
faces of  the  body  are  either  positive  like  the 
alkalies,  or  negative  like  the  acids ;  that  is, 
they  are  of  opposite  dynamic  characters. 
Their  combinations  also  are  varied  with  the 
predominance  of  one  force  or  the  other;  for 
each  and  every  one  of  the  articles  are  imbued 
with  two  forces ;  one  of  which  prevails  over 
the  other,  and  determines  its  character  as  ne- 
gative or  positive.  In  some  articles  the  pre- 
valence of  one  over  the  other  is  very  great, 
while  in  others  it  is  very  little,  tio  matter 
whether  they  belong  to  the  vegetable,  mine- 
tal  or  animal  kingdom,  or  are  combinations 
of  the  different  kingdoofis ;  and  we  distin- 
guish these  different  medicines  by  their  ef- 
fects upon  the  serous  and  mucous,  or  nega- 
tive and  positive  surfaces  in  acute  and  chro- 
nic diseases  of  these  surfaces. 

Physicians  have  been  constantly  in  the 
habit  of  prescribing  negative  and  positive 
medicines  Indiscriminately  in  these  diseases, 
wiUiout  a  knowledge  of  these  distinctive 
dynamic  properties,  and  the  result  of  such 
practice  has  been  anything  but  satisfactory. < 
We  have,  however*  pursued  a  different 
eowse  for -many  years,  and  the  extraordinary 
cx)nfirmation  of  its  conectness  in  the  results 
obtained  from  the  action  of  the  forces  from 
the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machines  has  suggested 
tbe  great  importance  of  a  new  dassifioation 
of  medicines,  and  we  have  consequently 
commenced  the  work,  as  will  be  seen  in  the 
following  tabular  view  in  which  medicines 
are  classed  according  to  their  negative  or 
posi^e  properties. 

It  contains  it  will  be  seen  the  principal  ar- 
ticles used  by  both  the  alopathic  and  homoeo- 
pathic physicians,  and  present  in  one  view 
a  list  of  negative  medicines,  which  are  useJ 
'mostly  in  diseases  oi  the  serous  surfaces, 
and  a  list  of  positive  medicines,  which  are 
prescribed  mostly  in  diseases  of  the  mucous 
surfaces,  or  one  of  which  acts  at  least  more 
directly  on  the  serous,  and  the  other  on  the 
mucous  soifaces; 


Negative. 
Acid,  Acetic, 

Benzoic, 

Muriatic, 

Niiric, 

Pho»phqric, 

Pni  I  ic, 

Suipharic, 
Aconite,  Mo-ikS'hood. 
Antimony,  Tariax  iced, 
Antimomalis  Palvis, 
Arnica, 
Arsenic, 
Aurum,  Gold, 
BelJadoniM,  Ntf  ht^hade, 
Haryta  ledida, 
Ca  omel, 

Cannabis  Ind.  Hamp, 
CbMtliarides, 
Chamo  miUa, 
China,  Cinchonia 
Coichicum  Mead.  Saff. 
Coniom.  m.  H»-nilock 
CrocnaflaUyns  SaffinMi, 
Cuprum  Copper, 
Acetate, 
Bttlphate, 
Digitalis, 

Dalcaniaria,  Bittex-aweat, 
Emetic  1  artar, 
Gold,  Chloride, 
Hyosiamvs,  Henbaae, 
Iodine, 

Iodine  Chlaride, 
Iodide  Pdiafrh. 
Mercury  Mu*  CorronTe  or 
Merc  onus  Solubilis, 
Magn-tism, 
Magnetized  rings, 
Mesmerism, 
Morphine, 
Nnx  Vomica, 
Opium, 
Pu.sati)la, 
Puivis  AntimeniaUiu 

»•      Uovari, 
Quinine, 

Ranancams.  B.  Crowfoot, 
Rhus  Tox  Sumach, 
Hecale  Cnrnutum  Ergot, 
Siiicia  ttlcz, 
Hitver  Nitrate, 
riang.  ('ana.  Bloodroot, 
8epia  iDka  juice,  C.  Ksh, 
^^pongia  Toeta, 
Stramonium,  Ihorn  Apple 
1  in,  Moriaie. 


P04ittva. 
Amooia.  Carbonate, 
Acetate, 
Maiiate, 
Antimony,  Ciude, 

**  Salphoret, 

AssaffoBtida, 
Baisam  Copavia, 
«      C  nada, 
Bryonia, 

Calcaria  Carbonica, 
Caibon  Veg^etable, 

"      AnimaL 
Castor  Oil, 
Oina  WonuModi 
Camphor 
Oatecho, 
Cinnamon, 
Cochineal, 
CoccqIub  ladiena, 
ColocynthfHit  Cm 
Cream  of  Tartar, 
Creosote, 
Croton  Qil, 
Cubcba, 

Blatcrium,Wild  Oocmnb'r 
Gamboge, 

Graphites,  Carbont  of  Icoa 
(JaJIs,  Nut, 
Gmn  Amoaaae, 
Kiae, 

Scammonv, 
Helleboie,  Whit^, 
BUck, 
Hepar  Bulphnr, 
Ignatia,  iSt.  Igoa.  Bean, 
Ipecaeoanha, 
Iron  Carbonate, 
"    Sobcarboaata, 
"    Iodide, 
"    Muriaie, 
"    Bnlphate,      , 
Jalap, 
Kino,  Gam 
Lead  Acetate, 
Lime,  Muriate, 

"    Sulphate  or 
Hepai  Sulpher, 
Lycopodium,  Club  Moea 
Lobelia  InflaU, 
Mercurius.  or 
Meicuij  Crude, 
Magnesia  Carbonate, 
"        Baiphata, 
"        Calcined,       • 
Petrols nm.  Tar  B«rba4o«a 
Potash  Carb.  Salto  Tartar, 
Pot  tsh  Caustic, 
PpiroKilineum,  Parsley, 
Phosphoitts, 
Rheum,  Rhobarb, 
Sciliae.  Squills, 
Soda,  Carbonate, 
Muriete, 
Sulphate, 
i^u'phur, 
I  Tartarnra,Oraam  ef  TuMr 
Zinc,  8>ulpbate. 


CAMPHOR  A  PRESERVATIVE  DF  ERGOT  OF  RTK. 

To  the  Editor  of  The  Lancet. 
Sir,— In  the  Lancet  of  to-day,  is  a  notice 
of  Mr.  Rawle,  purgeon,  of  Saffron  Waiden, 
concerning  the  preservative  power  which 
camphor  exerts  upon  ergot  of  rye.  I  have 
been  in  iheRabit,  sir,  of  ufiag  this  preserva- 
tive fur  the  last  six  years,  and  have  done  so 
in  consequence  of  having  reaJ  the  foUowins 
passage  in  a  paper  of  Dr.  Bnghi's,  publishea 
in  No.  141  of  the  •*  Edinburgh  MedicaJ  and 
Sui|;ica)  Journal  :**  "  Camphor  if  intermixed 
with  even-powdered  eigoi,  completely  pre- 
vents the  formation  of  animalcuts,'*&ic. 
AoeoiiT  17, 1811  An  OLD  tiMTsraxoiAM. 


Effects  of  Magnetising  upon  the  Magnetiser. 


41 


Sli^cts  of  Magnetising  upon  the  Magnetiser. 

Sh^matism—Dizzineat— Cold  feet  and  hands— Keu- 
a—  Tie  Douioureiu^^  Hahnemann  and  Homoeo' 


roteid 
poUde 

We  probably  receive,  on  an  average,  fifty 
shocks  a  day  in  magnetising  our  patients, 
either  from  accidentallv  touching  the  unpro- 
tected parts  of  both  buttons,  or  from  touch- 
ing  the  patient  with  one  finger  and  a  button 
with  the  other,  and  were  at  first  much  alarm- 
ed at  the  consequences  that  might  result 
from  it  We  have  been,  however,  not  only 
keppily  disappointed  in  our  expectations  of 
injury,  but  have  found  it  a  great  benefit  to 
UB.  It  has  removed  every  vestige  of  chronic 
rheumatiam  with  which  we  have  been  much 
eiflected  d«ring  the  last  fourteen  years. 

We  never  had  so  much  elasticity  in  our 
body  and  limbs,  and  never  had  so  much 
strength;  we  never  walked  with  so  much 
ease  as  we  now  do ;  and  besides,  we  fre- 
quently, even  after  having  gone  through 
great  labor  during  the  day,  feel  so  much 
elasticity  and  buoyancy  that  it  is  rather  dif- 
icuit  to  ait  or  stand  stiJl,  from  a  strong  in- 
elination  to  be  moving,  jumping,  or  dancing ; 
these  sensations  are  in  fact  sometimes  so 
strong  as  to  require  great  efforts  to  repress 
them. 

Persons  affected  with  rheumatism,  and 
especially  those  in  the  decline  of  life,  are 
Biore  or  less  subject  to  turns  of  dizziness,, 
which  sometimes  compel  them  to  sit  or  lie 
down  suddenly,  to  prevent  them  from  falling, 
and  we  had  been  much  affected  in  this  way. 
But  these  premoriitory  symptoms  of  palsy 
have  entirely  disappeared  with  those  of 
rheumatism;  and  we  have  removed  these 
symptoms  in  many  other  cases^jby  magneti- 
aing  the  brain — a  practice  much  more  simple 
and  eifectoal  than  the  old  routine  practice  of 
the  schools. 

Those  who  are  affected  with  rheumatism 
are  very  subject  to  colds^and  to  cold  feet  and 
kands.  A  great  number  of  the  cases  of  head- 
aefae,  are  those  of  rheumatism  affecting  the 
muscles  of  the  head,  and  the  membranes  of 
tiie  brain ;  and  the  muscles  of  the  fkce  are 
afiected  with  rheumatism  under  the  names  of 
KeuT^dgtaand  Tic-Bouloureux ;  and  those 


of  the  heart  under  the  name  of  hypertrophy 
of  the  heart.*  Many  of  the  cases  of  vacilla- 
ting pains  about  the  chest — of  the  front, 
right,  and  left  side,  along  the  pectoral  and 
intercostal  muscles,  are  cases  of  rheumatism, 
often  mistaken  for  disease  of  the  lungs. 
These  cases  are  all  distinguished  in  an  in- 
stant by  the  pain  produced  by  pressing  with 
the  thumb  and  finger  on  the  intervertebral 
spaces  of  the^  middle  and  back  part  of  the 
neck,  the  intensity  of  which  increases  with 
the  intensity  of  the  disease ;  and  physicians, 
on  commencing  the  practice  of  the  magnetic 
symptoms,  are  often  surprised  to  find  the 
great  number  of  cases  of  rheumatism — of 
tubercular  disease  of  the  muscles,  as  well  as 
of  the  organs. 

Haihnemann  committed  a  great  error  in 
mistaking  tubercula  of  the  oigans  and  mus« 
cles  for  Psora  or  Itch,  as  every  physician 
knows  who  practices  these  symptoms ;  and 
in  searching  lor  remedies  for  this  imaginary 
affection,  or  **  anti-psorics,'^  justly  subjected 
himself  and  his  followers,  or  homceopalhists, 
to  the  imputation  of  chasing  a  phantom. 

These  remedies,  like  those  of  the  Allopa- 
th ists,  have  no  effect  in  chronic  diseases  of 
the  organs  and  limbs,  but  that  of  palliating 
urgent  symptoms  in  the  •).TiQds  of  excite- 
ment.which  uniformly  lowthose  of  repose. 
They  nevsr  cure  the  disease,  and  have  little 
or  no  effect  upon  those  who  are  not  very 
susceptible  to  mesmeric  or  magnetic  influ- 
ence.! Homceopathic  remedies  are,  however, 
generally  very  efficient  in  acute  difleases,  and 
are  useful  as  palliatives  in  those  that  are 
chronic. 

The  negative  and  positive  surfaces  of  the 
facia  of  the  muscles  are  both  equally  affected 
in  acute  rheumatism,  and  the  afiected  limb  or 
limbs  are  consequently  paralyzed;  and  in 
chronic  rheumatism  the  positive  surface  of 
the  facia  in  which  tlie  motor  nerves  termi- 
nate, is  more  or  less  affected,  and  the  motion 


*  In  macnHi.infi  fni  headache,  the  necaiive  bntton 
Bhnult!  be  p!ace«1  over  the  point  inhere  the  pain  ia  most 
in«pn«»e,«fiM  oih«T  caKe*.  .      .     .^ 

t  Tht  gri*at  namb«r  c>r  caiie»  we  have  examined  with 
the  ro<tgnptic  fiymptnms  diirins  the  latt  seven  J^^ 
afi'f  «h«*v  h*«d  *»<•«••»  •  long  lime  nnderahe  treaimeiitoi 
ihe  honicenpaihUo  of  this  city,  has  lelt  no  doubt  upoa 
ihts  subject. 


42         Mesmerism— Effects  of  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


of  the  limb  or  limbs  more  or  lees  impeded, 
and  hence  the  necessity  of  using  positive  as 
well  as  negative  medicines,  or  combinations 
of  positive  and  negative  medicines,  in  many 
cases  of  this  disease.  The  uncertainty  in 
regard  to  the  extension  of  the  uisease  in  the 
different  surfaces,  relatively  to  each  other, 
necessarily  makes  the  true  remedy  for  any 
given  case  uncertain,  so  that  it  may  be  ne- 
cessary, in  some  cases,  to  try  one,  two, 
three  o'  more,  before  we  find  the  right  one. 
Medicines  ot  any  kind  in  this  disease,  are, 
however,  only  palliative ;  they  rarely  cure  it 
permanently, 


MESMERISM. 

Rome,  N.  Y.  Dec.  3, 1844. 
Dr.  Sherwood, 

Dear  Sir  *. — As  you  are  the  publisher  of 
an  independent  medical  journal,  permit  jpe 
briefly  to  relate  a  case  or  two,  of  the  cure 
of  disease  by  mesmerism. 

Not  lone  since  I  was  called  to  see  Mrs. 

M ,  wno  was  kborinff  under  a  severe 

attack  of  Inflammatory  Rnenmatism.  She 
bad  called  her  physician  the  day  before, 
who  had  bl^  ner  largely,  blistered  the 
shoulder  (this  and  the  elbow  being  the  parts 
affected)  and  given  a  cathartic.  Her  suffer- 
ing was  intolerable.  Every  thins  that  had 
been  done  only  increased  her  difficulty.  I 
at  first  refused  to  prescribe  for  her  in  the 
absence  of  her  physician.  Of  this  she 
would  hear  nothing,  but  in  her  acute  suffer- 
ings implored  that  I  would  try  magnetism. 
At  that  time  I  did  not  believe  it  to  be  of  any 
ay^,  but  to  gratify  her  I  made  the  effort, 
and  to  my  utter  astonishment  found  that  her 
sufferings  began  to  abate,  and  in  less  than 
forty  nimutes  she  was  perfectly  easy,  the 
arm,  that  was  before  immoyeahie  and  sus- 
pended on  pillows,  became  flexible  and  the 
shoulder  could  be  rotated,  and  moved  in  any 
and  every  direction. 

At  the  time  I  entered  the  room  her  suffer- 
ings more  resembled  those  of  a  woman  in 
the  last  stage  of  labor  than  any  thing  to 
which  I  can  compare  them.  Now  behold 
the  change !  In  less  than  one  hour  she  may 
be  said  to  have  been  cured;  for  her  pain 
never  returned,  and  as  soon  as  her  bhster 
healed  she  was  attending  to  her  domestic 
duties ! 

Another  case  has  since  occurred  under  my 
observation,  even  more  unaccoimtable  than 


the  one  above  related.  A  young  man  was 
suffering  under  partial  paralysis  of  the  rigdht 
side,  so  much  so  that  he  could  not  close  me 
eye  of  that  side,  nor  thrust  out  his  tongue, 
which,  was  turned  sideways :  there  was 
moreover,  great  loss  of  sensation  and  mo- 
tion of  the  whole  of  that  side.  At  the  sug- 
gestion of  Professor  Grimes,  the  young  man 
being  easily  magnetised,  I  put  him  into  the 
mesmeric  sleep ;  and  then,  in  that  situation^ 
told  him  that  my  object  in  mesmerising  him 
at  that  time  was  to  entirely  remove  ail  his 
paralysis.  I  assured  him  that  a  pass  from 
my  hand  over  the  affected  part  would  restore 
lost  motion;  and  that  as  soon  as  this  was 
done  he  would  perfectly  dose  his  eye,  thrust 
out  his  tongue  straight,  and  have  all  his  na- 
tural motions  perfectly  restored.  In  short, 
that  he  would,  by  this,  be  entirely  cured. — 
After  repeating  these  assurances  and  makh^ 
a  few  passes  over  the  side  affected,  I  awoke 
him. 

I  then  told  him  in  a  g[rave  and  confident 
manner  that  my  object  'in  putting  him  to 
sleep  was  to  cure  his  ralsy,  and  t&t  I  had 
done  it.  "Now,"  said  I  "you  can  thurst  out 
your  tongue  straight;  you  can  close  your 
eye,  and  do  all  other  acts  with  that  side  that 
you  ever  did."  He  then  made  the  effort  to 
close  the  eye,  and  thrust  out  the  tongue,  and 
to  my  utter  astonishment  every  e&rt  was 
successful.  In  short  he  was  well;  and 
from  that  day  to  this,  nothing  of  his  former 
difficulty  has  returned. 

I  know  that  for  a  man  to  relate  circum- 
stances like  the  above,  is  as  much  as  his  re- 
putation for  tmth  is  worth ;  but  I  only  state 
what  I  do  know,  and  testify  what  I  have 
seen.  Below  I  give  you  the  names  of  both 
of  the  above  persons ;  one  of  whom  is  now 
a  resident  of  your  city. 

Yours  Kespectfully, 

J.  V,  COBB.  M.  D. 


EffBoti  of  th«  Rotary  Macnotie  Machiaa. 

St,  Andrews,  ISth  Nov,,  1844. 
Dear  Sir: 

In  fulfilment  of  my  promise  to  report  to 
you  the  case  of  Comp.  Bronchitis,  I  allud- 
ed  to  when  I  saw  you  last,  I  must  apolo- 
gise for  its  not  being  as  free  and  concise  as 
could  be  wished ;  as  in  the  pressure  of  pro- 
fessional business,  it  only  received  a  notice 
among  a  variety  of  other  cases. 

Mrs.  H ,  of  Orange  Co.  N.  Y.,  of 

middle  a^e,  bihous  temperament  and  leuco- 
phlegmatic  habits,  la^t  winter,  suffered  from 


Magnetic  Sleep. 


43 


a  severe  and  protracted  attack  of  inflamma- 
tion of  the  bronchial  avenues,  ending  in  efin- 
sion  of  the  chest,  (the  sequel  of  a  tedious 
labor,  with  profuse  utenne  hemorrhage,) 
from  which,  howeTer,  she  recovered  tolera- 
ble well,  and  so  continued  until  August  past; 
at  which  time  pains  of  an  erratic  character 
appeared  about  the  shoulders  and  rieht  side; 
soon  followed  by  tenderness  in  the  left  pec- 
toral region,  and  some  quickness  of  breathmg, 
loss  of  strength,  appetite,  and  a  dry  hacking 
cough,  which  annoyed  her  constantly — ^the 
dyspnoea  now  so  great,  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  take  the  least  exercise;  and  at  one 
time  absolutely  threatened  suffocation. — 
Blmers^  expecturanU,  alteratives,  &c.,  &c.,  I 
used  for  some  time  with  little  or  no  benefit; 
at  length,  I  caused  the  use  of  the  R.  M.  Ma- 
chine ,and  in  exploring  the  chest  found  Tubei'- 
eula  of  the  lower  and  middle  lobet  of  the  left 
lung,  with  chronic  inflammation  of  the  Bron- 
€&td;  (pulse  at  this  time  very  quick  and 
full.) 

The  instrument  was  now  used  daily  for 
three  weeks,  with  the  use  of  Naptha  as 
an  expectorant;  and  a  comp.  C.  gold  piU 
night  and  momine  as  a  deobstruent,  (if  you 
like  the  term.)  Uk  conjunction  and  for  some 
time  subsequent  to  the  discontinuance  of 
the  use  of  toe  Machine,  rapid  improvement 
followed  from  the  first  weeK — cough  lessen- 
ed---appetite  returned,  &c.,  &c.,  and  at  pres- 
ent is  in  the  enjoyment  of  very  good  h^th, 
attending  to  her  domestic  duties,  (the  wid- 
owed mother  of  six  interesting  children.)  It 
may  not  be  improper  for  me  to  state  that  in 
March  last  she  lost  her  husband  with  tuber- 
cular consumption,  and  she  had  come  to  the 
deliberate  conclusion  that  no  better  fate 
awaited  her;  considering  the  disease  as  con- 
tracted from  care  and  attention  given  to  her 
Iraaband,  and  by  strong  entreaties  and  to  grat- 
ify friends,  was  she  alone  prevailed  on  to 
accept  of  relief. 

A  Phtsicun  of  Orange  Co. 


MAOVETIO  SLBBP. 

A  much  greater  number  of  persons  can  be 
pat  into  the  magnetic  or  mesmeric  sleep  un- 
der the  combined  influence  of  the  rotary 
magnetic  machine  and  the  magnetiser,  than 
by  the  common  method,  or  that  of  ttie  mag- 
netiser alone.  We  have  put  persons  into 
that  state  by  the  influence  of  the  machine 
alone. 

In  the  combined  operation  we  place  the 
positive  button  in  the  left  hand  of  the  person 
to  be  magnetised,  and  take  the  negative  but- 


ton in  our  left  hand,  and  then  take  with  the 
other  hand  the  right  hand  of  the  fame  per- 
son, under  the  most  moderate  power  of  the 
instrument 

The  patient  is  then  requested  to  look  stea- 
dily at  some  small  object,  as  the  armature  of 
the  instrument,  as  long  as  the  eyes  can  be 
kept  open,  and  then  to  close  them  and  go  to 
sleep,  or  into  the  mesmeric  state. 

This  manner  of  magnetising,  like  every 
other,  should  be  practised,  under  the  most 
favorable  circumstances,  as  regards  time, 
place  and  seclusion,  and  should  be  repeated 
every  day  at  the  same  hour,  until  the  object 
is  effected. 

When  persons  or  patients  have  passed  into 
the  mesmeric  state,  they  should  be  treated  in 
the  most  mild  and  respectful  manner,  and  if 
they  show  s3rmptoms  of  restlessness,  a  few 
passes  should  be  made  from  the  head,  along 
the  anns  to  the  feet,  which  will  quiet  them, 
and  they  may  then  be  allowed  to  remain  in 
that  state  a  few  minutes  or  one  or  more 
hours,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the  mag- 
netiser, when  they  may  be  aroused  ^n  a 
moment,  by  reversing  the  action  of  the  ma- 
chine, or  by  the  reversed  passes,  or  passes 
with  the  back  of  the  hands  over  the  face  at 
right  angles  with  the  median  line. 

Patients  are  sometimes  clairvoyant  the  first 
time  they  are  mesmerised,  but  not  generally 
so ;  they  will,  however,  tell  the  number  of 
times  it  will  be  necessary  to  mesmerise  them 
before  they  will  become  clairvoyant  They 
advance  in  /tgAf  and  knowledge  by  degrees 
in  the  mesmeric  or  somnicient  state.  There 
are  six  of  these  degrees,  and  six  sub-degrees 
or  steps  in  each  degree,  thus  making  thirty- 
six;  and  the  clearness  and  extent  of  their 
vision,  as  well  as  of  their  intuitive  know- 
ledge, increases  as  they  advance  in  the  difle- 
rent  degrees.  There  are,  it  appears,  very 
few  who  advance  higher  than  the  third  de- 
gree, or  eighteen  steps.  A  few  are  raised  as 
high  as  the  fifth  degree,  but  these  are  the 
bounds  it  seems  they  cannot  or  do  not  pass 
with  impunity. 

These  reco^^nized  degrees  are  described  as 
circles  of  light  in  the  form  of  a  cone,  with 
steps  or  degrees  of  less  light  ii^  spiral  circles 


44 


Magnetic  Sleep, 


between  the  greater  degrees  of  light  in  per- 
fect circles — the  spiral  being  continuous,  and 
terminating  in  a  disc  of  the  most  intense  light 
in  the  top  of  the  cone,  as  represented  in  the 
engraving  below. 

The  light  is  represented  as  radiating  from 
the  disc  at  the  top,  to  the  bottom  of  the  cone, 
and  the  intensity  of  the  light  is  minimum  in 
the  first  degree  at  the  base,  and  increasing  in 
each  degree  its  they  rise  to  the  sixth,  where 
it  is  at  its  maximum. 

A  reversed  interior  arrangement  or  inverted 
cone,  is  also  described  by  clairvoyants,  cor- 
responding with  that  in  the  circumference,  as 
seen  by  its  outlines  in  the  engraving — the 
great  degrees  of  both  being  interspersed  with 
rooms  or  apartments  oi  light,  which  are 
probably  reflections  connected  with  the  phre- 
nological oi^gans. 

The  first  great  degree  of  light  forming  the 
base  of  the  cone  first  described,  surrounds 
the  base  of  the  brain,  while  the  sixth  degree 
is  mounted  on  its  summit 


Clairvoyants  have  the  power  or  faculty  of 
increasing  the  diameter  of  the  great  degrees 
or  circles  of  light,  to  an  unlimited  extent,  for 
the  purpose  of  encompassing  objects  situated 
at  great  distances,and  enabling  them  to  see  and 
describe  with  great  accuracy  through  the  sur- 
rounding Magnetic  medium,  especially  in  the 
intense  light  of  the  higher  degrees. 

The  light  is  very  dim  m  the  first  degreee, 
less  so  in  the  second,  and  at  a  medium  in  the 
third ;  in  which  degree  clairvoyants  see  and 
describe  very  well  under  favourable  circum- 
stances, but  are  otherwise  subject  to  great 
errors  in  their  descriptions,  as  well  as  in  the 
first  and  second  degrees. 

In  raising  clairvoyants  to  the  higher  de- 
grees, magnetisere  should  proceed  with  great 
caution.  They  should  first  inquire  about 
their  knowledge  of  the  degrees  in  the  somni- 
cient  state,  and  then  of  the  degree  they  are 
in.  If  they  are  in  one  of  the  lower  degrees, 
the  magnetiser  may  then  inquire  whether  he 
can  raise  them  to  the  next  degree.  If  the 
answer  is  in  the  affirmative,  he  may  proceed 
to  raise  them  by  the  exercise  of  his  wiU ;  bat 
if  it  is  in  the  negative,  the  clairvoyants  will, 
on  inquiry,  tell  him  how  many  times  it  will 
be  necessary  to  magnetise  them,  before  he 
can  raise  them  to  the  next  degree.  We 
have  great  doubts  of  the  propriety  of  any 
attempt  to  raise  them  higher  than  the  fifth 
degiee,  even  with  the  most  perfect  prepara- 
tions  for  it ;  because  in  the  present  state  of 
our  knowledge  they  cannot  be  raised  to  the 
sixth  degree  without  great  danger,  indeed* 
without  the  peril  of  their  lives ;  and  there  is 
no  real  necessity  for  it,  as  the  light  is  intense 
enough  in  the  fifth  degree,  and  there  are  also 
sights  enough  that  may  be  seen  in  that  de- 
gree to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  the  most 
marvellous. 

The  phenomena  of  the  degrees  in  the  la- 
byrinth we  have  described,  as  seen  in  the 
somnicicnt  state,  and  about  which  tiiere  ap- 
pears to  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  are  one  of  the 
moeX  extraordinary  that  was  ever  presented 
to  the  human  mind ;  yet  it  is  a  perfectly  sim- 
ple, and  beautiful  magnetic  arrangement,  re* 
suiting  from  the  operation  of  magnetising,  or 
of  giving  a  new  and  systematic  roHgnetic 


i 


Animal  Magnetisun, 


46 


form  to  the  iHrain — of  adding  an  artificial  to 
natural  organization,  in  which  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  great  pole  in  the  centre  of  the 
kain  (2)  is  reflected  upon  ita  surface,  and 
fxook  thence  into  infinite  space. 

The  poles  of  all  the  other  organs  are  or- 
ganized in  a  similar  manner  as  seen  in  the 
aoamicient  state ;  that  is,  they  are  organized 
with  drcies  at  right  angles  with  their  radia- 
tions, like  those  seen  on  the  summit  of  the 
lahynnth,  and  some  clairvoyants  see  through 
those  of  the  stomach.  Besides  the  concnr- 
lenl  testimony  of  clairvoyants  on  the  organ- 
ization of  magnetic  poles,  it  is  fonnd  on  a 
comparison  of  our  previous  knowledge  on 
this  subject,  that  their  descriptions  agree 
exactly,  as  far  as  our  knowledge  extends. 
We  were  well  acquainted  with  the  radia- 
tions, with  the  circles  at  right  angles  with 
^m—with  their  light,  and  with  their  spiral 
ciidea  and  inverted  cones;  and  could  not, 
therefore,  fail  to  recognize  in  these  descrip- 
tions, a  magnetic  organization. 

Those  who  are  unaccustomed  to  magnetic 
jxbenomena,  howerer,  find  great  difficulty  in 
leoonciling  with  their  preconceived  notions, 
the  possihility  of  persons  heing  able  to  see, 
and  thereby  distinguish,  objects  through  any 
other  medium  than  that  of  external  light,  and 
by  means  of  the  ordinary  functions  of  vision. 

The  idea  of  any  light,  except  that  which 
comes  from  external  objects  seems  to  be 
regarded  as  unphilosophical,  if  not  assump- 
tive of  the  supernatural,  although  an  easy 
and  palpable  demohstration  of  the  fact  is,  at 
all  times,  within  the  reach  of  the  most  scep- 
tical and  supercilious.  Let  the  doubter  and 
sneerer  simply  close  his  eyep;  so  as  to  ex- 
elude  all  external  light,  retiring,  if  he  please, 
into  a  perfectly  dark  room  where  not  a  ray 
existSy  and  on  pressing  his  fingers  on  his 
eye-balls,  he  will  $ee^  without  that  mechan- 
ism of  the  eye  which  is  essential  to  external 
vision,  several  distinct  and  concentric  rings 
of  light,  around  a  central  point  of  still  great- 
er brilliancy.  And  though  he  be  afflicted 
with  blindness  towards  external  things,  this 
power  of  internal  vision  will  be  in  nowise 
impaired.  The  light  thus  seen  is  magnetic, 
bang  elicited  from  the  two  poles  of  opposite 
denominations,  which  belong  to  the  crystal- 


line lens,  and  is  doubtless  of  the  same  char- 
acter as  that  which  is  atfirmed  by  clairvoy- 
ants to  exist  in  the  brain,  the  heart,  the  cer- 
vical glands,  the  kidneys  and  other  organs, 
and  by  which,  in  fact,  they  are  enabled  to 
trace  the  whole  magnetic  organization  of  the 
human  system.  With  the  intense  luminosi- 
ty of  the  magnetic  forces  when  in  atmos- 
pheric combustion,  every  one  is  familiar; 
and  we  have  now  furnished  an  example,  at 
least  equally  familiar,  in  which  this  lumino- 
sity is  independent  of  atmosphere  as  it  is 
distinct  from  every  other  kind  of  light.  In 
short,  every  one  can  see  for  himself  precisely 
the  same  kind  of  light  that  is  beheld  by  clair- 
voyants in  the  mesmeric  state. 


ANIMAL  MAaNSTISM. 

Surgical  Operation  under  the  in- 
fluence OF  Magnetism. — ^The  editor  of  the 
Cleveland  Plain  Dealer,  states  that  he  wit- 
nessed on  the  25th  inst.  a  most  difficult 
purgical  operation,  performed  by  Professor 
Ackley,  assisted  by  Professors  Delamater, 
Kirtland,  and  others  before  a  class  of  stu- 
dents at  the  Cleveland  Medical  College.  The 
patient  was  a  Dr.  Sbriever,  from  Columbiana 
county,  Ohio,  quite  an  elderly  man.  It  was 
an  operation  for  tumor,  situated  under  the 
lower  jaw  and  partly  in  the  neck,  near  the 
right  ear.  (n  refeience  to  the  proceedings  of 
the  operator,  the  Plain  Dealer  has  the  fol- 
lowing statement : 

"  We  happened  in  just  as  the  Professor 
was  putting  knife  to  the  skin.  He  made 
two  or  three  frightful  gashes,  seemingly  cut* 
ting  the  throat,  and  not  a  muscle  of  the  old 
man  was  observed  to  move.  ^\  e  were  as- 
tonished, and  we  think  the  whole  medical 
class,  and  even  the  faculty  were  not  less  so 
than  ourself.  The  secret  was,  the  patient 
was  in  a  magnetic  sleep.  This  fact  of  course 
was  known  oy  the  professors,  but  not  by  the 
spectators  ^nerally.  Theie  stood,  by  the 
bleeding  patient  (not  sufferer)  the  m^etie>er» 
who,  with  the  magic  of  Mesmer,  hadthrown 
his  subject  into  pleasant  dreams ;  and  now 
while  the  knife  of  the  bold  surgeon  was 
dashing  awav  at  his  vitals,  and  dripping 
with  gore  at  his  throat,  he  could  say  to  tba 
trembling  nerves,  "be  still,"  and  all  was 
quiet!  What  a  triumph  of  mind  over  mat- 
ter was  there'!  The  will  of  the  majgnetiser 
striking  dumb  even  the  living  being  and 
making  even  his  body  the  insensible  subject 
of  dissection !    No  agonizing  groans  were 


46 


Animal  Magnetism. 


heard,  as  is  usual  from  the  conscious  patient 
to  alarm  and  terrify  the  operator,;  but  he 
went  quietly  on,  without  haste,  and  conse- 
quently with  better  effect.  It  lasted  some 
nfteen  minutes,  during  which  time  there  were 
frequent  consultations  among  the  professors, 
as  it  proved  to  be  a  malignant  case.  It  caused 
a  frightful  wound  and  a  profusion  of  blood. 
The  patient  was  removed  to  another  room, 
still  unconscious  of  pain  and  the  operation ; 
and  when  we  left  he  was  assuring  the  mag- 
netiser  that  He  felt  quite  happy. 


The  following  article,  from  the  Newbuigh 
Gazette  may  be  given  in  proof  of  the  practi- 
cal application  of  Animal    Mas:neti8m  in 
many  important  and  painful  operations. 
Mr.  Adams. 

Beaeflolal  effects  of  Animal  Magnetiem. 

A  correspondent  has  furnished  us  with  the 
following  interesting  statement  touching  the 
beneficial  effects  of  Animal  Magnetism.  The 
operation  alludeu  to  was  performed  on  Wed- 
nesday last,  by  Dr.  Grant,  at  the  house  of 
David  Cromwell,  near  Canterbury,  in  the 
presence  of  several  persons,  among  whom 
were  Drs.  Blackman  and  Phinnev,  of  New- 
burgh,  who  are  ready  to  vouch  for  the  truth 
of  the  facts  as  stated  by  our  correspondent. 
Tlie  following  is  his  statement. 

**  The  patient,  a  female  18  years  of  age, 
was  subjected  to  the  usual  mesmeric  "  pas- 
ses" by  Mr.  Adams  for  about  ten  minutes, 
when  she  appeared  to  be  in  a  deep  sleep. 
Dr.  Grant  then  proceeded  to  cut  around  the 
ffums  of  two  of  the  molar  teeth  on  the  lower 
jaw,  and  to  extract  them  with  the  forceps. 
During  the  whole  of  this  proceeding,  the 
patient  manifested  not  the  slightest  evidence 
of  pain.  She  was  allowed  to  remain  undis- 
turbed for  several  minutes,  when  Dr.  G.  in- 
cised die  gums  around  two  of  the  molar 
teeth  of  the  upper  jaw.  Dunne  the  cxtrac 
tion  of  the  third  tooth,  which  from  several 
causes,  was  attended  with  considerable  diffi 
culty,  there  was  a  slight  contraction  of  the 
limbs,  but  not  the  least  disturbance  of  the 
muscles  of  the  face.  The  expression  of  the 
countenance  remained  unaltered.  Dr.  Grant 
then  extracted  the  fourth,  and  last  tooth, 
which  had  lar^e  fangs,  whilst  the  ])atient 
remained  as  before,  to  ail  appearance,  insen- 
sible. In  a  few  minutes  Mr.  Adams  res- 
tored her  to  her  natural  condition,  and  she 
appeared  to  be  totally  unaware  of  the  whole 
transaction  " 

We  may  add,  the  patient  has  suffered 
not  the  slightest  pain  or  inconvenience  from 
he  operation  since  it  was  performed. — 


Mesmerism  in  Xiondon. 
The  London  papers  by  the  Britannia  state 
that  Miss  Martmeau,  the  well-known  au- 
thoress has  been  highly  benelitled  of  late  by 
mesmerism.  I  have  been  told  of  a  letter 
from  her  to  a  friend  in  this  country,  in  which 
she  abundantly  con  firms  the  report.  She 
had  been  given  over  by  her  physicians,  who 
had  told  her  that  medicine  could  afford 
her  no  relief.  She  had  been  confined  for 
many  months  to  her  chamber,  which  as  she 
says,  she  never  expected  to  quit,  "  unless  in 
her  coffin."  She  had  been  unable  during 
that  time  to  procure  even  an  hours  sleep, 
except  through  the  aid  of  laudanum.  The 
consequence  was,  that  both  her  mental  and 
physical  powers  were  fast  yielding  to  a  pain- 
ful, and,  as  it  was  believed,  utterly  incurable 
disease.  At  length  it  occurred  to  her  to  try 
mesmerism.  The  experiment  was  made  and 
it  was  successful.  Although  not  thrown  by 
it  into  the  state  of  trance  of  which  we  hear 
such  wonders,  a  gentle  and  refreshing  sleep 
was  induced,  wfiich  lasted  twelve  hours. 
On  its  termination  her  physicians  declared 
that  such  had  been  the  change  in  her  whole 
nervous  system,  that  they  ventured  to  enter- 
tain hopes  of  a  cure.  The  mesmeric  pro- 
cess was  continued  at  various  intervals ;  and 
now  the  distinguished  patient  has  so  far 
recovered  that,  from  not  being  able  to  walk 
across  her  room,  she  can,  in  her  own  lan- 
guage, "  walk  three  miles  at  a  time  with  a 
relish."  "I  cannot  be  thankful  enough,"  she 
says,  "  for  such  a  resurrection"  Miss  Mar- 
tinean,  as  all  who  know  her  will  admit,  is 
not  a  person  of  a  fanciful  or  imaginatiTB 
temperament.  Her  case  will  probably  induce 
many  to  regard  with  more  respect  and  atten- 
tion a  science,  the  believers  in  which,  al- 
though Cuvier  and  La  Place  may  be  found 
among  the  number,  are  often  classed  with 
Mormons,  Millerites,  and  other  fenatics. 
The  following  intimation,  from  the  Ix)ndoii 
Literary  Gazette,  of  the  present  condition  ol 
this  science  in  London,  is  perfectly  applict- 
ble  at  this  moment  to  New- York :  «  Mesmer- 
ism, which  has  rapidly  assumed  a  ^J?°J 
vitality,  and  the  reality  and  utility  of  whica 
have,  despite  the  shallow  wit  of  unphiio- 
sophlcal  critics,  been  maintained  by  a  num- 
ber of  cautious  and  practical  men,  is  iot  tw 
moment  retarded  in  its  progress  by  P^^^^l 
hibilon  of  its  often  painful  phenomena ;  ana 
hurried,  on  the  other  hand,  to  a  maturity tw 
has  no  real  foundation  by  enthusmstic  iw- 
lowers,  whose  intellects  have  «PP?"°:Z 
never  been  trained  to  the  severity  of  «'«"?.r 
investigation."  This  is  a  brief  but  ^nsibie 
view  of  the  whole  matter.— i^.  ^  Corrts.of 
the  Nat,  InteUigmcer.    Dec.  17tA,  1844. 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


47 


Tbi*  Sotary  Magaetle  MaohiiM,  and  tho  Dqo« 
dTiMinIo  Treatment  of  Diteaeei* 


We  gare  a  full  description  of  the  Savage 
Rotary  Magnetic  Machine,  represented  in  the 
above  engraving,  in  the  last,  or  October,  num- 
ber of  this  Journal,  with  its  great  superiority 
over  the  old  shocking-machines,  or  those 
that  were  made  for  giving  shocks  instead  of 
a  continuous  motion.  Many  physicians,  who 
were  using  the  old  machines,  have  become 
BO  welJ  satisfied  ^f  the  great  advantages  of 
the  Savage  instrument  as  to  lay  aside  the 
former  and  purchase  the  latter. 

It  was  the  great  importance  of  having  an 
instrument  as  perfect  as  possible  for  magnet- 
izing, that  induced  us  to  direct  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  Savage  Rotary  Magnetic  Ma- 
chines, in  which  no  expense  has  been  spared 
4o  make  them  superior  to  all  others ;  and  the 
«ale  of  more  than  200  of  them  to  physicians 
during  the  last  six  months,  shows  how  much 
they  are  appreciated  by  those  of  the  profes- 
sion who  have  obtained  a  knowledge  of 
them  in  so  short  a  period. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  great  supe- 
riority of  these  instruments,  practice  has 
«hown  that  the  silver  conductor  to  the  shaft 
of  the  armature,  in  consequence  of  the  great 
Telocity  of  the  latter,  will  wear  ofi  in  five 
or  six  months,  if  the  machine  be  kept  in 
constant  motion  every  day,  when  it  becomes 
necessary  to  replace  them ;  and  as  a  gold- 
smith or  other  mechanic  may  not  always  be 
at  hand  to  replace  them,  or  the  armature,  if  it 
should  require  repair,  we  have  directed  our 


attention  to  a  substitute  for  both,  and  have 
at  last,  succeeded  in  our  object.  We  have 
substituted  a  spring  as  seen  in  the  following 
figure,  which  vibrates  so  fa^t  as  to  make  the 
motions  of  the  forces  continuous. 


A  piece  of  brass  is  turned  in  a  conical  form, 
and  a  round  hole  turned  out  of  the  bottom 
for  the  top  of  the  magnet  to  enter  the  eighth 
of  an  inch  where  it  is  soldered.  A  screw 
hole  is  then  made  on  the  top  of  the  cone* 
and  a  piece  of  watch  spring  fastened  on  to 
it  with  a  screw  as  seen  in  the  figure.  A 
piece  of  iron  is  turned  in  a  conical  form,  and 
a  hole  drilled  into  the  top  of  it,  and  fastened 
with  a  screw  to  the  opposite  end  of  the 
spring  as  seen  in  the  figure.  A  hole  is 
first  drilled  through  the  middle  of  the  spring 
and  a  silver  plate  of  a  fourth  of  an  inch 
square,  placed  on  the  top  of  the  spring,  and 
riveted  to  it,  for  the  brass  screw,  in  the  cap 
of  brass  that  crosses  the  spring,  to  rest  upon 
The  brass  cap  is  soldered  on  to,  and  support- 
ed by,  two  strong  brass  pillars,  which  are 
secured  in  a  steady  position  by  brass  nuts 
screwed  on  to  the  bottom  of  the  pillars  under 
the  foundation  board.  The  end  of  the  cop- 
per wire  that  has  been  first  wound  aroimd 
the  U  magnet,  is  then  soldered  to  the  brass 
nut  that  holds  the  magnet  in  its  place — the 
other  arrangements  of  the  copper  wires  being 
the  same  as  in  the  Savage  instruments— con- 
necting the  wire  which  conducts  the  force 
from  the  zinc  with  the  brass  pillar  on  the 


425 


Rotary  Magnetic  Machine. 


same  side.  The  brass  screw  which  rests  on 
the  spring,  should  have  a  rounded  point,  and 
on  setting  the  machine  in  motion  should  be 
screwed  down  to  a  point  where  the  spring 
ribiates  in  the  most  steady  manner.  It 
makes  a  steady  and  not  unpleasant  bumming 
•ound,  with  yariations  more  or  less  regular. 

The  only  difference  in  the  motions  of  the 
forces  from  these  machines  is  the  variations 
in  the  intensity  of  the  vibrating  instruments 
from  the  variations  in  the  motions  of  the 
forces  from  the  battery,  which  b  n3t  obser- 
ved in  the  rotary,  in  consepuence  of  the 
great  momentum  acquired  by  the  velocity  of 
its  annature.  These  variations  are  very 
frequent  and  often  very  great;  requiring 
great  caution  in  the  use  of  it,  especially  in 
magnetising  the  brain,  heart,  or  stomach. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  our  des- 
cription of  the  vibrating  machine,  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  those  who  have  the 
Savage  Rotary^Machines  to  cbimge  them  into 
this  form  if  they  should  choose  to  do  so. 
when  it  should  become  necessaryto  make  the 
repairs  we  have  mentioned,  as  the  change 
can  be  easily  made  by  any  goldsmith,  and 
with  a  trifling  expense,  as  they  have  the 
magnet  and  brass  cap,  &c.,  for  the  purpose. 

The  power  of  thete  instruments  is  fully 
equal  to  that  of  the  Aotaiy  instruments,  and 
they  are  made  of  the  same  sizes.  They  have 
both  more  power,  and  are  much  more  portable 
than  any  others  made  in  this  country. 

We  shall  continue  to  forward  these  ma- 
chines to  any  part  of  the  Union,  the  Cana- 
das  or  the  West  Indies,  according  to  order, 
at  the  low  prices  of  15,  18  and  20  dollars, 
according  to  the  size  and  style  in  which  they 
are  finished ;  the  vibrating  being  from  15 
to  18,  and  the  rotary  from  15  to  20  dollars, 
including  the  buttons  and  manual  for  mag- 
netising. Besides  the  improvement  in  the 
instruments,  we  have  directed  our  attention 
to  improvements  in  the  batteries  connected 
with  them,  but  they  have  not  resulted  in  any 
practical  importance.  The  size  of  the  bat- 
teries can  be  much  reduced,  but  it  involves 
the  necessity  of  the  use  of  strong  acids,  as 
the  sulphuric  and  nitric,  the  fumes  of  which 
are  always  annoying,  and  even  dangerous. 
There  are  besides  other  obvious  objections  to 


their  general  use,8uch  as  the  danger  in  carry* 
ing  these  acids  every  day  fn>mj[>lace  to  place» 
which'fs  entirely  obviated  by  the  use  of  the 
sulphate  of  copper  in  the  common  batteries. 

Effects  of  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Miaehint. 

In  our  notice  of  the  effects  of  the  rotaij 
magnetic  machine  in  the  last  number  of  tbie 
Journal,  we  mentioned  a  severe  case  of  bil- 
ious fever,  in  which  we  reduced  the  pain  ia 
the  head,  back,  stomach,  intestines,  and  the 
paroxysms  of  fever,  with  the  machine,  in 
the  roost  prompt  manner,  and  we  have  been 
much  pleased  to  learn  from  physicians  of  this 
city,  and  from  the  country  tl^at  they  have 
uniformly  obtained  the  same  and  very  similar 
results  from  the  action  of  the  machine  ia 
the  same  disease. 

There  is  now,  as  we  have  before  suggested 
very  little  doubt  that  the  machine  will 
reduce  yellow  fever  in  the  same  prompt  man- 
ner, for  although  the  globules  of  the  blood 
are  found  to  be  more  or  less  broken  down  in 
this  disease,  or  demagnetised,  there  is  now 
no  doubt  that  the  machine,  besides  restoring 
lost  motion  in  the  membranes,  magnetises 
the  blood  in  the  strongest  manner,  as  well  as 
every  other  part  of  the  system.  We  bendes 
suggested  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
numbers  of  this  Journal,  the  probability  of 
the  great  importance  of  these  machines  ia 
the  treatment  of  tubercular  consiimption»  and 
the  results  of  a  year**  trial,  of  the  inslni- 
ments,  in  a  great  number  of  cases,  has shcfwn 
that  we  were  not  mistaken  in  the  signs 
upon  which  these  suggestions  were  founded ; 
for  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  cases 
of  both  sexes,  and  in  every  stage  of  Uie  dis- 
ease, have  been  magnetised  in  our  room* 
during  this  period,  and  of  this  number  nine 
only  have  died,  and  of  the  few  of  the  above 
number  we  are  now  magnetising  not  more 
than  two  will  be  lost.  These  results  are 
so  extraordinary  as  hardly  to  admit  of  belief 
among  those  who  know  little  or  nothing  of 
the  effects  of  these  machines.  They  will 
very  naturally  suspect  that  there  must  be  ^ 
some  mistake  in  regard  to  the  diagnosis  or 
genuineness  of  the  cases ;  yet  there  is  no- 


Miscellaneous  Articles. 


49 


tidag  more  certain,  than  that  they  were  all 
troe  cases  of  tubercular  consumption ;  for 
the  maoDer  of  our  diagnosis  does  not  admit 
of  a  mifllake  in  any  case.  There  was  not 
among  these  a  solitary  case  of  chronic  bron- 
chitis ;  for  we  distinguish  these  cases  with 
die  aame  certainty  we  do  the  aboye  cases, 
and  reduce  them  with  the  aid  of  the  ma- 
diinto  in  about  lie  same  proportion  to  the 
number  of  cases.  Other  physicians  of  this 
city  have  obtained  with  the  instrumental  simi 
)ar  results  in  such  cases. 

The  reader,  we  hope,  is  now  prepared  for 
what  has  appeared  to  us  more  extraordinary 
nsnlts  from  tbe  action  of  these  machineb, 
one  <^  which  at  least  we  are  sure  we  could 
not  have  believed  without  ocular  demonstra- 
tion, and  thai  is  a  case  of  luxation  inwards 
of  the  right  hip  joint,  set  on  the  third  trial 
fey  the  action  of  the  machine  al<me.  The  hip 
bad  been  out  of  joint  three  or  four  years,  and 
the  leg  fully  an  inch  and  a  half  shorter  than 
that  on  the  oppoeite  side. 

In  this  case  the  positive  button  of  one  of 
onr  iaigest  machines  was  placed  in  the  groin 
while  the  negative  one  was  moved  over  and 
around  the  hip  or  gluteal  muscles,  when  the 
head  of  the  femor  went  into  its  place  with 
a  loud  snapping  sound.  Such  is  the  power 
and  such  are  ^the  astonishing  e&cts  of  the 
machine. 

Among  other  interesting  efiects  of  the  ma- 
chinea  not  before  noticed  in  this  work,  is  the 
caae  of  two  large  carbuncles  over  the  right 
Bide  of  the  lumber  vertebrs  of  a  gentleman 
aged  70  years,  which  were  reduced  by  the 
wraaf  means  with  the  aid  of  the  action  of 
fbe  machine.  The  age  and  feeble  state  of 
the  patient's  health,  with  the  laige  and  ex- 
tensive swelling  around  the  carbuncles  indi- 
cated a  fatal  case.  The  swelling,  with  the 
fiTid  and  scarlet  color  of  the  skin  was,  how- 
ever, reduced  in  the  most  marked  manner  by 
every  application  of  the  instrument,  and  the 
diiseaae  subdued  in  a  few  da]rB. 

Bed-sores,  gleets,  gonorrhoeas,  and  chan- 
ctes  are  now  also  subdued  with  great  facility 
by  physicians  of  thiQ  city  with  the  action  of 
the  machine. 


MAGNETIO  SUBVBT. 

In  the  Montreal  Herald  we  find  the  follow- 
ing interesting  letter  on  a  recent  magnetic 
stirvey : 

**  As  a  brief  notice  of  the  route  pursued 
by  Lieut.  Lefroy,  in  his  late  scientific  exhibi- 
tion to  the  far  North  West,  together  with  one 
or  two  novel  facts,  brought  to  light  by  bim 
while  engaged  in  that  quarter,  may  not  be 
uninteresting  to  some  of  your  readers,  I  shall 
make  no  apology  for  requesting  the  favor  of 
you  to  give  the  following  outhne  of  them  a 
place  iu  your  valuable  columns.  But,  be- 
fore proceeding  farther,  it  may  not  be  unne- 
cessary to  premise,  that  the  Koyal  Society 
having  determined  on  making  a  number  of 
ma^etic  observations,  in  various  parts  of  the 
globe,  selected  Mr.  Lefroy  for  that,  service, 
as  he  bad  already  proved  himself  eminently 

?[na)ified  for  it,  by  discharging  so  succetis- 
uily  the  duties  which  devolved  upon  him  on 
a  similar  mission  to  St.  Helena,  where  an 
observatory,  of  which  he  was  placed  in 
charge,  was  established  for  the 'like  scientific 
purpose.  Lieut.  Lefroy,  with  his  assistant* 
left  Montreal,  on  the  1st  of  May,  1843,  and 
followed  the  usual  canoe  route  to  the  interi- 
or, in  the  prosecution  of  the  objects  of  his 
mission,  he  visited  York  Factory  m  Hudson's 
Bay,  Norway  House,  Red  River  Settlement, 
Cumberland  House,  Isle  a  la  Crosse,  the 
great  Methey  Portage,  so  graphically  des- 
cribed both  by  Sir  John  FrankKn  and  Sir 
Geoige  Beck,  and  reached  Lake  Athabasca 
in  the  following  September,  Having  re- 
mained at  the  latter  station  for  the  space  of 
five  months,  he  sat  out  on  the  ice  for  Mack- 
enzie's River,  on  which  he  travelled  to  the 
verge  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  Retracing  his 
steps  to  Uke  Athabasca,  he  descende  1  the 
Peace  River  to  Dunv^;an,  whence  he  crossed 
overland  to  Edmonton  on  the  Saskutchewan, 
which  river  he  descended,  and  traversed  the 
north  west  end  of  Lake  Winnepeg  to  Nor- 
way  House,  where  he  arrived  in  the  early 
part  of  September  last.  The  necessary  ar- 
rangement for  his  journey  to  Canada  being 
completed,  he  embarked  at  this  place  in  a 
canoe  manned  by  six  men ,  and  after  a  tedious 
and  boisterous  passage  in  his  frail  bark» 
reached  Penetaneuishene  on  the  14th  of  last 
month,  having  neen  absent  about  twenty 
months,  and  having  thus  completed  a  chain 
of  magnetical  observations,  which  includes 
many  miles  of  countiy,  and  which  will  add 
mslerially  to  our  knowledge  of  a  very  im- 
portant and  interesting  branch  of  the  Physique 
du  Globe,  ^  Conformably  to  his  instructions, 
Mr.  Lefroy  devoted  a  portion  of  every  day 
to  magnetical  observations,  having  for  their 
object  to  ascertain  upon  a  great  number  o^ 


50 


Magnetism* 


determinate  stations,  tke  physical  facts  as  to 
the  present  distribution  of  the  earth's  mag- 
netism over  this  portion  of  the  earth's  sur- 
face, and  more  particularly,  the  region  of  the 
greatest  magnetic  energy  or  intensity ;  since 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  this  region,  the  Dole 
or  focus  of  greatest  attraction,  is  far  from 
coinciding  with  the  pole  of  vertical  dip,  dis- 
covered m  1831,  by  Commander  (now  Sir 
James)  Ross ;  and  appears,  we  understand, 
to  exist  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Ihe  Lake  of  the  Woods.  The  winter  of  1 843 
and  1844  was  comparatively  mild,  the  severe 
cold  weather  lasting  but  a  short  period ;  its 
lowest  degree  at  Lake  Athabasca  was  46  de- 
grees below  Zero>  Fahrenheit.  Here  a  small 
observatory  was  erected,  and  many  curious 
and  interesting  facts,  relative  to  the  influence 
of  the  aurora  upon  maeuetic  needles  were 
displayed,  and  these  oDservations  we  are 
informed,  throw  light  upon  that  beattif ul  and 
little  understood  pnenomenon,  and  its  close 
connection  with  the  agency  which  produces 
the  effect  of  terrestial  magnetism. — N.  Y. 
Herald,  Dec.  16. 

Mr.  Sunderland. 

The  experiments  performed  by  this  gentle- 
man at  his  last  two  lectures  in^his  city,  were 
BO  very  extraordinary,  so  every  way  unlike 
any  thing  we  ever  heard  of  before,  and  so 
very  like  Jhe  tales  of  the  fairies,  or  the  won- 
ders of  the  Arabian  Nights,  that  we  frankly 
confess  our  inability  to  oelieve  what  we  saw 
with  our  own  eyes,  but  for  our  knowledge 
of  the  lecturer,  and  those  of  our  citizens 
upon  whom  the  experiments  were  per- 
formed. 

Mr.  Sunderland  had,  previously,  informed 
his  audience,  that,  on  Friday  evening  he 
would  give  a  novel  exhibition  of  that  power 
which  Ee  denominates  Pathetism,  by  causing 
a  number  of  the  audience  to  fall  into  a  s*ate 
of  somnambulism,  before  he,  Mr.  S.  came 
into  the  Hall.  Accordingly,  the  place  was 
well  filled  with  an  anxious  multitude,  some 
time  before  half  past  six,  waiting  to  witness 
lesults  performed  on  the  human  uiind  so 
«trange  and  unaccountable.  And  sure  enough, 
jome  considerable  time  before  Mr.  S.  came 
In,  one  after  another  was  seen  to  arise,  and 
slowly  approach  the  platform,  and  two  gen- 
tlemen and  one  lady  were  seated  upon  it, 
hesides  a  number  of  other  cases,  of  persons 
in  whom  the  sleep  was  equally  profound, 
hut  who  did  not  leave  their  seats  in  the  audi- 
ence till  some  minutes  after  Mr.  S.  had  ar- 
rived. 

On  Satijrday  evening,  Mr.  S.  reversed 
somewhat  the  order  of  proceeding,  by  actu- 
ally inducing  some  eight  or  ten  cases  of  som- 


nambulism even  before  the  persons  on  whom 
the  influence  was  exerted,  had  reached  the 
Hall  I  The  lecturer  arrived  a  few  minutes 
adter  six,  and  took  his  seat  on  the  platform  ail 
usual ;  and  such  was  the  great  desire  of  the 
large  auJience  who  had  assembled  to  wimess 
the  approach  of  the  sleep-tealkerst  that  con- 
siderable commotion  ensued.  At  about  half- 
past  six,  a  young  lady  was  seen  entering  the 
Hall  with  her  eyes  fast  c)^d,  the  hands  ex- 
tended ;  and  with  a  slow  and  somewhat  un- 
natural step,  she  approached  the  place  where 
Mr.  S.  was  standing,  and  was  seated  upon 
the  platform.  Next  came  a  gentleman,  Mr. 
R.,  and  then  another,  Mr.  D.,  with  the  eyes 
closed,  somewhat  awkwardly  making  their 
way  up  the  aisle  to  the  lecturer,  who  seated 
them  upon  the  platform.  Soon  after,  there 
came  two  more  ladies,  until  there  were  eight 
seated  upon  the  rostrum,  with  as  many 
more  asleep,  promiscuously  seated  in  the 
audience. 

After  the  statement  of  a  few  facts,  show- 
ing the  utter  falsity  of  the  old  theories  knowa 
under  the  terms  ol  «•  Mesmerism,"  or  «*  Neu- 
rology," and,  proving  that  these  results  were 
not  produced  by  any  fluid  magnetic  or  ner- 
vous, he  proceeded  to  the  developement  of  a 
series  of  most  curious  and  extraordinary 
phenomena.  The  patients  were  first  thrown 
into  a  state  of  ecstacy,  and  with  their  hands 
clasped  and  elevated  as  in  a  state  of  devotion, 
they  manifested  in  their  countenances  and 
conversation,  a  state  of  mental  tranquility 
almost  superhuman.  While  in  this  state, 
Mr.  Sunderland  drew  from  them  some  pieces 
of  music  which  were  most  beautifully  per- 
formed. '  Next  they  were  transferred  into 
what  they  conceived  to  be  enravisfaing  fields 
of  fruit  and  flowers,  and  now  commenced  a 
most  diverting  scene,  for  each  patient  made 
motions  as  if  actually  gathering  flowers, 
grapes  from  vines,  and  peaches  from  the 
trees,  which  they  seemeo  to  taste  and  eat 
with  the  greatest  imaginable  delight 

*<  Come,"  said  the  lecturer,  <*  go  with  me 
in  another  direction,"  when,  in  a  few  mo- 
ments, they  began  to  describe  every  variety 
of  wild  animals.  Among  them  was  discov- 
ered an  elephant,  and  a  lide  on  his  bock 
having  been  proposed,  they  went  through 
with  tne  motions  of  mounting  for  that  ppr^ 
pose.  The  expressions  of  tear,  the  agitation 
and  tossing  about  seemed  reality  to  the  life ; 
till,  in  a  few  minutes,  as  if  the  huge  animal 
had  actually  stumbled  and  fallen,  and  the 
patients  were  thrown  upon  the  floor,  with 
cries  of  fear,  and  complaints  of  broken  bones 
which  it  took  the  operatoi  sometime  to  res- 
tore. 

Other  interesting  results  followed,  which 
were  highly  gratifying  to  the  audience,  espe- 


Miscellaneous  Articles. 


61 


da]ly  in  view  of  the  facta  referred  to  by  Mr. 
S.,  that  neither  of  these  patients  had  ever 
bfen  mannipuiated  in  the  usual  way, « the 
sleep  having  been  induced  for  the  tirst  time 
by  his  new  process  of  operating,  and  they 
had  never  been  operated  upon  together,  in 
that  manner  before.  And  what  was  still 
more  interesting  to  the  audience,  and  those 
who  wished  to  understand  the  practical  ben- 
efits of  Fathetism,  Mr.  S.  pointed  out  a  num- 
ber of  them  who  had  been  most  remarkably 
relieved  or  cured  of  some  nervous  or  chronic 
disease.  One,  a  Mr.  A  ,  had  been  cured  of 
St.  Vitus'  dance.  Mr  H.  ha^  been  cured  of 
nervous  sick-headache ;  and  a  third  was  a 
case  of  amaurasis.  The  lady  had  been  al- 
most blind,  and  utterly  unable  to  see,  or  n  ad 
without  glasses ;  but  since  she  first  attended 
these  lectures,  she  has  thrown  aside  her 
specs,  and  has  been  able  to  see  as  well  as 
ever  before ;  and  the  lecturer  nleasantly  re- 
marked, that,  had  he  only  been  known, 
heretofore,  as  a  eood  Catholic,  or  Mormon, 
cures  like  those  He  had  performed  in  these 
and  many  other  similur  cases,  might  have 
passed  for  miracles,  and  entitled  him  to  a 
place  among  the  "  Saints"  of  the  Polish  Cal- 
ander,  or  made  him  the  successful  rival  of 
the  Mormon  Prophet.  *^* 

Providetice  Gazette, 

—Dec,  17. 


Pir«ttnd«d  DisooTtrtos  la  Aalmal  Magnttiim. 
Duly  impressed  with  the  deep  and  extend- 
ed interest  which  the  subject  of  Animal  Mag- 
netism has  created  in  the  public  mind,  and 
the  ardent  curiosity  and  attention  which 
every  new  fact  connected  with  it  is  sure  to 
command,  several  writers  have  flattered 
themselves  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  ad- 
▼ance  a  daim,  however  shallow  and  assump- 
tive,  to  some  peculiar  originality  in  the  sci- 
ence, in  order  to  become  distinguished  as 
immense  magnetical  philosophers.  Accord- 
ingly we  have  a  Dr.  James  Braid  of  Man- 
chester in  England,  discovering  that  Animal 
Magnetism  ought  no  longer  to  be  known 
under  that  name,  but  be  called  Hypnotism, 
or  Hypo-tism ;  and  he  therefore  introduces 
new  terms  for  all  the  principles  and  proces- 
ses involved.  Thus  a  person  can  be  no 
more  magnetised,  but  must  be  hypnotised, 
&c.,  and  he  then  favors  us  with  the  whole 
under  the  general  den6mination  of  Neuryp- 
nology  /  This  philosopher's  production  ap- 
peared in  London  in  1843,  in  12mo. 


The  Rev.  La  Roy  Sunderland  discovered, 
in  this  country,  and  nearly  contemporane- 
ously with  Mr.  Braid,  that  Animal  Magnet- 
ism should  be  called  Patketism,  because,  as. 
he  supposes,  it  depends  altogether  upon 
sympathy.  The  word  sympathy,  however, 
not  being  fine  enough  for  such  a  discovery, 
and  as  it  might  induce  a  number  of  common 
people  to  inquire  into  the  causes  and  laws 
of  sympathy,  he  discards  it  for  the  word 
Pathetism,  which  of  course  stops  all  further 
investigation,  and  leaves  every  body  perfect- 
ly satisfied.  He  consequently  uses  the  word 
Pathetising  for  Magnetising,  &c.,  and  his 
work  was  published  in  New  York  in  1843, 
in  12mo. 

Next,  and  quite  recently,  we  have  Pro- 
fessor J.  Stanley  Grimes,  coming  out  in  a 
volume  of  350  pages,  to  show  that  Animal 
Magnetism  should  be  re-baptized,  and  ever 
known  hereafter,  under  the  name  of  Ethero^ 
logy,  Etherivmy  or  Etheropathy,  but  which 
of  these  three  terms  he  decidedly  prefers  he 
leaves  rather  dubious,  so  much  so  indeed, 
that  it  would  not  surprise  us  to  see  some 
other  new  philosopher  reject  them  altogether 
for  one  of  his  own  invention  or  sponsorship. 
Prof.  Grimes's  Etherology  has  been  publish'^ 
ed  in  this  city  within  a  few  weeks,  and  bears 
the  confidently  anticipatory  date  of  1845. 

Of  the  character  and  capacity  of  this 
work  as  a  philosophical  treatise,  a  pretty  ad- 
equate idea  may  be  formed  from  the  follow- 
ing brief  specimen  which  constitutes  the  au- 
thor's first  grand  postulate,  and  to  which  he 
is  so  much  attached  that  he  copies  it  on  his 
title-page : 

«  All  the  known  phenomena  of  the  Uni- 
verse may  be  referred  to  three  general  prin- 
ciples, viz:  matter,  motion,  and  conscioui- 
ness.  Everything  that  we  know  is  a  modifi- 
cation of  one  or  all  of  these  three." 

Previous  philosophers  had  held  the  doc- 
trine that  motum  (for  instance)  was  an  effeU 
of  forces,  instead  of  being  a  primary  princi- 
ple, and  that  the  forms  and  modifications  of 
matter  were  results  of  the  motion  thus  pro- 
duced.   But  n'importe. 

The  only  other  highly  original  feature  of 
this  production  that  particularly  strikes  us 


62 


Colon  Strang^ulated  by  the  Meso-colon. 


is  to  be  found  under  the  title  of  "Credensive- 
ncss'*  a  new  term,  we  presume,  for  the  old 
phrenological  organ  of  marvellousnes.  In 
connection  with  this  new  piece  of  nomen- 
clature, the  author  expatiates  with  no  little 
complacency  upon  the  extraordinary  efficacy 
of  ASSERTION,  as  a  branch  of  Animal  Mag- 
netism— we  beg  his  pardon — Etherology; 
and  his  whole  work  may  be  adopted  as  an 
evidence  of  his  unbounded  confidence  in  this 
potent  agency.  In  fact,  he  wields  it  like  the 
rod  of  Aaron  through  his  whole  controversy 
with  other  ma^cians,  and  causes  it  to  swal- 
low up  the  whole  of  theirs  with  the  utmost 
facility.  With  this  weapon  only  he  defeats 
Buchanan,  Caldwell,  Braid,  Sunderland, 
Fowler,  EUiotson,  and  all  others  while  he  re 
mains  invincible. 

We  have  no  doubt  that  each  and  all  of 
these  writers  upon  Animal  Magnetism  whom 
we  have  here  mentioned  have  many  merits, 
both  as  writers  and  investigators,  and  are 
entitled  to  the  regard  of  all  lovers  of  science 
for  the  zeal  and  dilligence  with  which  they 
have  pursued  their  labors.  We  merely  pro 
test  against  their  childish  exploits  in  setting 
up  ideal  distinctions  where  there  are  no  real 
differences,  as  if  they  felt  that  this  was  the 
only  way  of  becoming  distinguished  above 
other  men  from  whom  they  do  not  otherwise 
differ. 


Ooton  Strangvlated  hj  ihM  Mtsooootoa. 

By  Gilman  Davis,  M-  D.,  Portland,  Me. 

Comimmieaitdfor  the  Boaton  Medical  and  Surgieai 
JouinaL 

On  the  13th  Oct.  1843,  was  called  to  An- 
son Robinson,  Esi^.  set.  26,  merchant.  I 
found  him  complainmg  of  violent  pain,  not 
constant,  but  paroxysmal,  and  referred  to 
the  epigastrium.  There  was  no  tenderness 
on  pressure  over  any  portion  of  the  abdo 
minal  surface,  no  thirst,  and  the  pulse  not 
accelerated ;  the  bowels  constipated,  and  had 
been  so  for  some  time.  The  most  remark- 
able  symptom  was  a  tonic  ri^dity  of  the 
abdominal  muscles.  On  applymg  tne  hand 
to  the  abdomen,  the  muscles  were  felt  to  be 
literally  as  firm  as  board,  in  a  perfect  tonic 
spasm,  and  yielding  to  no  pressure.  Co- 
locynth,  calomel  hyoscvamus  were  given 
internally,  conjoined  witn  morphia  and  re- 


peated injections.  After  three  days  ,the 
symptoms  yielded,  but  there  was  pain,  and 
rigidity  of  the  recti  and  other  muscles  re- 
maining for  several  days.  The  relief  began 
M  soon  as  an  evacuation  from  the  bowels 
was  produced. 

On  the  evening  of  the  5th  of  May,  1844, 
T  was  again  called  to  see  Mr.  Robmson.— 
He  had  enjoyed  moderate  health  in  the  in- 
terval since  1  had  last  attended  him,  bat  had 
been  troubled  by  constinated  bowels,  ua* 
ring  the  latter  part  of  the  time,  he  was  ob* 
served  to  place  his  hand  frequently  during 
the  day,  on  the  hypogastrium,  as  if  in  pain, 
and  -daring  the  last  week  had  repeatedly 
said  to  a  member  of  the  family,  that  M 
could  obtain  no  evacuation  from  nis  bowds. 
There  was  a  very  small  discharge,  however, 
two  days  previous  to  my  visit.  I  found 
him  complaining  of  ^eat  pain,  as  in  the 
previous  attack,  but  with  much  less  of  the 
muscular  rigidity;  the  pain,  as  before, 
coming  on  in  paroxysms.  There  was  now 
superadded  to  the  previous  symptoms,  con- 
stant vomiting,  the  smallest  quantity  of  food 
bein^  instantly  rejected,  and  the  effort  of 
vomiting  increasing  the  pain.  There  w« 
no  thirst,  no  pain  caused  by  the  finnert 
pressure  on  Ae  epieastrium  or  other  parts  of 
the  abdomen,  and  tne  nulac  not  perceptibly 
accelerated.  His  pain  ne  referred  to  the  epi- 
gastrium, placing  his  hand  directly  bdow 
3ie  sternum,  and  repeatedly  said  *erc  *'waj 
a  stoppage  there,"  and  that  "he  should  feel 
better  ifhe  could  only  have  an  evacuatioB 
from  his  bowels."  There  was  no  app^- 
ance  of  hernia.  There  was  a  remarkable 
restlessness  and  nervous  agitation,  as  muell 
as  I  ever  before  saw. 

The  same  medicines  were  given  as  before 
—calomel,  colocynth,  hyoscyamus,morpIiiai 
and  injections.  Between  11  and  12  o'doclt 
that  night,  there  was  a  slight  alvine  evacua- 
tion, but  it  afforded  no  relief.  Hot  fom«» 
tions  with  hops  enclosed  in  flannel  bap 
were  kept  constantly  applied.  The  morj^m 
afforded  slight  temporary  relief.  There  wa^ 
no  vomiting  of  faeculcnt  matter  at  any  tiffl^ 

He  remained  in  this  stete  Monday  and 
Tuesday,  during  which  I  visited  hun  lojtt 
times  a  day.  On  Tuesday  night,  at  U 
o'clock,  I  visited  him,  and  the  symptoms 
had  not  changed ;  still  no  tenderness  and  no 
apparent  acceleration  of  the  pulse,  thoiigo  i 
examined  carefully  and  often,  and  with  ^' 
prise.  It  was  evident  there  was  some  inter- 
nal strangulation,  and  that  it  must  end 
fatally.  On  Wednesday,  at  my  morrni^ 
visit,  I  found  a  great  change— a  Hippocmw 
face,  the  pain  much  less,  and  the  P^^.^ 
tweeu  130  and  140,  and  so  feeble  as  to  yic» 
to  the  slightest  pressure.     He  was  atfo 


r 


Miscellaneous  Articles. 


63 


diiisty  now,  but  the  smallest  quantity  of 
fluid  was  rejected  generally,  though  he  had 
swallowed  and  retained  a  very  little  broth. 
There  was  extreme  restlessness  and  jacita- 
tbn,  the  patient  going  repeatedly  from  one 
loom  and  one  bed  to  another. 

He  remained  in  this  state  till  evening :  the 
axtremities  then  became  cold,  but  he  hnger- 
ed  till  the  next  day  (Thursday)  and  died  at 
12  o'clock,  noon.  For  hours  before  death 
the  limbs  were  icy  cold,  and  no  pulse,  and 
the  most  incessant  restlessness,  the  poor 
sufierer  rising  up  in  bed  with  a  look  of  inde- 
scribable anguish,  and  then  falling  back 
faint  and  apparently  dying.  I  remained 
with  him  from  Wednesday  noon  through 
the  night,  and  until  his  death,  with  the  ex* 
6epiJon  oif  an  hour  and  a  half  on  Thursday, 
when  I  was  obliged  to  leave  him. 

On  the  foUowing  morning  I  opened  the 
body.  The  stom»^  was  empty,  with  con- 
side^le  ecchymosis;  the  gall-bladder  fully 
distended  with  dark  bUe ;  the  lutestutef  filled 
with  gas,  and  a  little  fluid  fcecal  matter.  In 
ihe  hypo^trium  appeared  a  large  knuckle 
of  intestine,  of  a  deep  port- wine  color.  I 
removed  the  whole  with  great  care,  and 
lound  this  knuckle  to  be  composed  of  thir- 
teen inches  of  the  colon,  strangulated  in  an 
aperture  o{  the  meso-colon,  the  aperture  be- 
ing about  the  size  of  an  American  quarter 
of  a  dollar.  From  the  stran^lated  part  of 
the  colon  to  its  termination  in  the  auus,  it 
measured  four  feet,  I  need  not  add  that  the 
portion  included  in  the  aperture  was  in  a 
complete  state  of  mortification.  The  aper- 
ture was  round  and  with  eveiT  edges,  wiUi 
no  appeanuice  that  could  lead  to  any  rea- 
aonable  conjecture  as  to  its  formation ;  nor 
could  I  learn  that  the  patient  had  ever  had 
any  severe  fall  or  blow  upon  the  abdomen. 

I  know  of  no  similar  case.  In  the  two 
cases  recorded  by  Sir  Astley  Cooper  of  me- 
senteric and  meso-eolic  hernia,  m  the  last 
edition  of  his  work  on  Hernia,  the  bowel 
Was  contained  in  a  sac  formed  by  the  intes- 
tine protruding  itself  through  one  layer  of 
Ae  peritoneum  forming  the  mesentery,  sep- 
arating the  two  layers,  and  remaining  enclo- 
sed between  them.  In  this  case  the  aperture 
was  through  the  entire  thickness  of  the  me- 
80-€olon,  and  through  this  thirteen  inches  of 
the  colon  had  passed  and  become  strangula- 
ted. 

Organ  of  Galovlstiott. 
Vermont  has  furnished  two  or  three  boys, 
within  the  last  twenty  hye  years,  whose 
sagacity  for  arithmetical  pursuits  was  of  an 
extraorJinary  character.  The  autobiography 
of  the  far-iamed  Zera  Colburn  is  familiar  to 
the  public.    After  having  positively  aston- 


ished the  mathematicians,  both  here  and  in 
Europe,  with  the  rapidity,  accuracy  and 
mystery  with  which  he  conducted  the  most 
elaborate  arithmeticiai  calculations,  all  at 
once,  equally  to  the  surprise  of  himself  as 
well  as  every  body  else,  he  actually  lost  the 
faculty  of  doing  wonders  in  figures.  No 
effort  on  his  part  was  successful  in  recover- 
ing a  power  that  made  his  name  ring  over 
the  world  as  an  eighth  wonder. 

Another  calculatmg  boy,  by  the  name  of 
Safford,  now  only  eight  years  of  age,  says 
the  Vermont  JournaT,  has  been  discovered 
in  Vermont,  who  will  give  the  product  of 
four  figures  by  four,  performing  the  opera- 
tion mentally  nearly  as  quick  as  one  can  do 
it  with  pen  and  paper.  He  has  also  multi- 
plied five  places  of  figures  by  five,  which 
was  the  extent  of  Zera  Colburn's  power  in 
his  best  days.  He  will  extract  the  square 
and  cube  roots  of  numbers  extending  to 
nine  or  ten  places,  performing  the  operation 
quite  rapidly  in  his  head.  Ine  division  of 
numbers  into  their  factors  is  a  favorite 
amusement  with  him.  Give  him  the  age  of 
a  person,  and  he  will  give  the  number  of 
seconds  correctly. 

How  can  the  doctrines  of  the  phrenolo- 
gist be  called  in  question,  with  such  sustain- 
ing proofs  of  their  truth,  as  are  presented  in 
this  and  many  other  analogous  gases? — 
Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal. 


VnXuM  9i  KoBfl»opatkio  Prmotloe. 

In  the  Circuit  Court  of  this  city  Dr.  F. 
Vanderberg  brought  an  action  against  T.  E. 
Beckman,  to  recover  $427  for  two  profes- 
sional visits  from  New- York  to  Hudson, 
and  nine  visits  from  Rhinebeck  to  Hudson, 
to  attend  Miss  Elizabeth  Beckman,  ill  with 
consumption,  who  died  in  Dec,  1842.  "Dr. 
V.'s  treatment  was  of  the  homoeopathic  de- 
scription, alid  it  is  contended,  in  defence  to 
the  charge,  that  such  is  a  species  of  quack- 
ery, and  unskilful :  also  that  the  charge  is 
too  high.  In  relation  to  the  homceopatbic 
treatment,  several  eminent  physicians,  viz: 
Drs.  Buel,  Frasy,  Manly,  Stevens,  Green- 
ough,  Cheesman  and  Beck,  declared  their 
beuef  that  the  system  is  a  species  of  quack- 
ery. One  of  the  gentlemen  said  it  was  an 
attempt  to  cure  one  disease  by  creating  an- 
other of  the  same  kind.  Dr.  Manly  said  his 
opinion  of  it  could  be  stated  in  a  few  words. 
It  is  delusion  on  the  part  of  the  public  and 
knavery  on  the  part  of  the  practitioner. — 
These  gentlemen  stated  that  they  had  not 
examined  the  theory,  as  they  thoufi:ht  it  too 
absurd  to  give  it  attention.  On  the  other 
hand,  Drs.  Cooke,  McVickar,  Curtis  and 
Peck,  stated  that  they  had  fully  examined  the 


64 


Miscellaneous  Articles, 


theory,  and  were  decidedly  in  its  favor.  lX» 
principle  is  to  treat  <  like  with  like.*  That 
18,  to  administer  heat  for  a  fever,  &c.  while 
the  allopathic,  or  old  system,  was  the  re- 
verse. It  was  shown  that  the  yoang  lady 
whom  Dr.  V.  was  called  upon  to  attend  was 
seized  with  a  vomiting  of  blood.  Dr. 
Cooke  was  her  physician,  and  the  services 
of  Dr.  V.  were  requested  by  her  father, 
knowing  that  his  mode  of  treatment  was  on 
the  principle  of  homoeopathy.  She  was 
taken  afterwards  with  a  second  attack  of 
vomiting  blood,  and  Dr.  Y.  aeain  sent  for, 
though  he  stated  to  her  father  from  the  first, 
it  is  eaid,  that  he  could  do  her  no  good.  It 
was  remarked  by  the  physician  who  gave 
testimony,  that  consumption,  when  once 
seated,  can  never  be  cured,  although  life  may 
be  prolonged  by  care  and  medicine.  It  was 
shown  that  Dr.  V's  practice,  under  the  old 
system,  was  large." 

The  court  charged  that  Dr.  V.  havinj^ 
shown  himself  a  regularly  licensed  physi- 
cian, he  is  entitled  to  pay  for  his  services, 
unless  it  can  be  shown  by  defendant  that  he 
exhibited  ignorance  or  want  of  skill.  On 
that  point,  and  also  as  to  the  compensation 
asked  for,  the  Jury  must  decide  from  the 
evidence.     Verdict  for  plaintiff,  $325. 


DMompositionof  Tinetnrt  of  Oplnn  bj 
Anmoiiia* 

It  is  61  great  importance  for  prescribers 
to  remember  that  the  addition  of  ammonia 
either  as  carbonate  or  spiritus  ammon, 
aromaticus,  to  mixtures  containing  tincture 
of  opium  or  any  salt  of  morphia,  will  after 
Bome  time,  say  twenty-four  hours,  precipi- 
tate the  morphia  in  a  crystalline  form ;  so 
that  if  a  mixture  is  made  a  day  or  two  be- 
fore it  is  taken,  the  patient  may  get  several 
doses  of  morphia  concentrated  in  the  last 
portion  left  in  the  bottle,  and  fatal  conse- 
quences may  be  produced.  The  presence  of 
alcohol  will  prevent  the  precipitation. — 
Chemical  Gazette. 


J.  J.  Paulding,  M.  D.  will  sail  from  Boston 
soon,  destined  for  the  foreign  missionary 
service  in  Asia.  There  are  sixty  students 
at  the  Botanico-medical  Institution,  at  Cin- 
cinati.  Dr.  Hill,  of  the  chair  of  Anatomy, 
is  represented  to  be  an  admirable  instructer. 
A  pamphlet  has  appeared  in  that  ci^r>  upon 
human  magnetism,  by  Henry  F.  Smith. — 
There  is  a  class  of  ninety  students  now  at- 
tending lectures  at  Dartmouth  College,  llie 
school  is  well  sustained.  At  Wuloughby 
University,  there  are  now  attendiu)^  the 
medical  lectures,  120  students.  The  insti- 
tution is  very  prosperous,  and  the  faculty,  to 
a  man,  are  exertine  themselves  to  educate 
their  classes  in  the  best  manner.  There  are 
nearly  nine  hundred  students  attending  lee* 
tures  at  the  two  medical  schools  in  Phila- 
delphia.—Boston  Medical  and  Surgttd 
Journal, 

There  are  about  500  students,  attending 
the  Medical  Schools  in  New  YoriL.--£(L 


Medieal    MUoeUaay. 

There  was  some  alarm  in  regard  to  the 
appearance  of  small-pox,  lately,  £)that  Han- 
over N.  H.,and  near  New  Preston,  Conn. — 
The  Visiting  Physician  of  the  Michigan 
Penitentiary,  located  at  Jackson,  receives  of 
the  State  seventy-five  cents  for  each  visit, 
and  one  dollar  when  he  prescribes  for  two 
patients.  Yellow  fever  was  raging  fearful- 
ly, at  the  last  accounts,  at  Metamoras,  Texas. 

The  American  Consul  and  many  others 
had  died  with  it.  From  fifteen  to  twenty 
cases  of  small-pox  recently  occurred  among 
the  paupers  in  the  Almshouse  in  Saratoga 
Co.  N.  Y.    Two  of  them  only  proved  fatal. 


TIm  Loeal  Pathology  of  VMualgU 
Has  been  explained  by  Dr.  Black  upon  ana- 
tomical principles.  He  very  justly  observes 
that  the  nerves,  which  are  usually  the  seat 
of  neuralgic  pains,  are  those  which  take 
their  exit  from  the  interior  of  the  hodj 
through  canals  in  bone  or  unyielding  tendi- 
nous structure.  He  adds  to  this,  the  anato- 
mical fact,  that  each  nervous  twig  is  acooB- 
panied  by  a  branch  of  an  artery  and  a  vein. 
It  may  easily,  therefore,  be  conceived  that 
those  nerves,  whicli  are  contained  in  rigid 
canals,  must  be  subjected  to  injurious  pres- 
sure whenever  their  accompanying  veeseb 
are  unusually  distended  witn  blood.  Upoo 
this  pressure,  according  to  Dr.  Wallis,  de- 
pends the  neuralgic  paroxysm.  The  expla- 
nation is  ingenious,  and  is,  I  think,  borne 
out  by  the  consideration  both  of  the  exci- 
ting causes  and  the  effects  of  treatment— 
Dr.  Ranking  m  Provencial  Journal. 

Motion  along  the  nerves  ceases  in  sarh 
cases,  and  violent  pain  is  the  consequence, 
in  cases  of  pleurisy,  and  as  the  pain 
ceases  instantaneously  on  the  application  of 
the  forces  from  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Ma- 
chine, there  can  be  no  doubt  but  it  is  the 
consequence  of  restoring  lost  motion.— £d. 

The    Symptomc   of  Abiceas  of  the  Pi-oftate 
Oland.    Diagnosis  from  Ooaorrhflva. 
The  following  remarks  by  Professor  Col- 
les,  deserve  to  be  remembered : 

Abscess  of  the  prostate  often  bes^ins 
with  symptoms  closely  resembling  gcncnbopa 
inflammatory  fever,  more  or  less  well-marked 
usually  precedes  both,  there  is  the  same  heat 
and  pain  in  making  water;  and  the  pain  in 


Calomel  in  Typhus^  ^c. 


65 


mictarition  is  often  referred  to  the  same  spot 
in  both;  there  is  a  discharge  from  the  ure- 
thra Bcaieeij  purulent  peraape  at  first,  but 
Boon  becoming  so :  but  while,  in  clap,  the 
discharge  increases  with  an  uniform  pro- 
nession,  in  the  prostatic  disease  it  will  often 
be  observed  to  oe  very  trifiinj^  suppose  to- 
day, profuse  to-morrow,  again  diminished 
considerably  on  the  next,  and  so  on ;  even 
this,  however,  is  not  so  constant  as  to  be  re- 
lied on  for  a  distinguishing  mark  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  case.  There  will  be  often  felt 
a  pain  or  uneasiness  in  the  region  of  the 
gland,  increased  during  the  passa^  of  hard- 
ened stools,  irritability  of  the  bladder,  or  re- 
tention of  urine." — Medical  Press, 


THB  OURABILITT  OF  HTDSOPHOBIA. 

Mt.  Hawkins  makes  the  following  re- 
jnarks  rn  a  very  interesting  lecture  on  the 
subject  of  hydrophobia.  We  fear  that  f  hose 
anticipations  are  very  far  from  being  realised. 

*'  At  the  same  time  that  a  cure  of  hydro- 

eobia  is  possible  is  rendered  not  unlikely 
the  fact  that  rabies  is  sometimes  cured,  or 
recovered  from,  in  dogs,  of  which  there  seems 
no  doubt,  from  the  experience  of  Mr  Yoaatt 
and  others  wbo  have  attended  to  the  subject 
— 0O9  also,  h  is,  perhaps,  sometimes  in  the 
human  nibject;  at  least  more  than  one  in- 
stance has  been  recorded  in  which  several 
vecBons  at  once,  in  the  same  family  or  neigh- 
bourhood, have  been  bitten  by  the  same  ani- 
mal, of  whom  one  has  died,  and  of  the  others 
some  one  or  more  have  suffered  from  an  in- 
disposition. This  indisposition  may  have 
been  essentially  hydrophobia,  though  with- 
out coming  to  its  usual  stage.  At  any  rate, 
I  am  convinced  that  in  racn  a  line  of  inves- 
tigation alone  is  any  cure  to  be  anticipated. — 
Medical  Gazeiie. 


Omtkt  ^fieaey  of  Large  DoMt  of  Calomelim 
By  J.  BuRGBSS,  Esq.,  M.R.C.S. 

If  you  think  proper  to  insert  the  inclosed 
communication,  which  appeared  in  a  provin- 
cial journal  in  1842,  it  will  show  that  the  use 
of  calomel  in  typhus^  proclaimed  as  a  new 
opinion  in  a  contemporary  periodical,  which 
came  accidentally  under  my  notice,  ha8  been 
anticipated  by  me,  as  therein  recorded,  and 
practised  in  the  manner  described,  with  the 
most  uncling  euccess  morethati  twenty  years 
since. 

OALOMEL. 
The  popular  character  of  calomel  as  a  me- 
dicine may  be  some  apology  for  trespassing 
upon  your  space  with  the  following  observa- 


tions, since  medicines  of  common  and  gene- 
ral use,  like  diet,  clothing,  nursing,  and  exer- 
cise, appeal  to  the  welfare  of  all  classes,  and 
claim  a  popular  discussion. 

An  interesting  article  in  the  Times,  on 
**  The  Climate  of  the  Western  Coast  of  Af- 
rica,*' which  appeared  on  the  12th  ult.,  in- 
duced the  following  remarks : — 

Calomel,  although  a  specific  remedy  in 
many  diseases,  is  capricious  and  uncertain  in 
its  action,  which  is  frequently  the  result  of 
an  empiricism  in  its  use,  even  by  those  of 
whom  better  things  ought  to  be  expected. 

One  of  the  most  familiar  circumstances  at- 
tending its  use,  when  continued  in  small 
doses,  is  salivation,  and  swelling  of  the  soft 
parts  of  the  palate,  mouth,  and  gums,  which 
occur  more  or  less  certainly  and  speedily  in 
different  constitutions. 

This  is  so  common  a  tendency  that  it  is 
frequently  considered  by  the  practitioner  in- 
separable from  its  remedial  powers,  a  con- 
clusion which  leads  to  mucn  error  In  the 
treatment  of  diseases. 

In  those  cases  in  which  this  test  of  a  cu- 
rative mercurial  influence  is  wanted  to  estab- 
lish its  permanency  and  safety,  the  object  is 
to  know  how  to  arrive  at  it,  in  a  degree  suf- 
ficiently small  and  mild,  and  which  is  one  of 
the  desiderata  of  medical  practice. 

There  is  a  wide  range  of  diseases  in  the 
treatment  of  which  its  remedial  powers  de- 
pend in  no  degree  whatever  on  these  ciicum- 
stances,  but,  on  the  contrary,  are  impeded  and 
frustrated  by  them,  and  yet,  in  its  use,  the 
practitioner  has  difficulty  to  divest  himself  of 
the  prejudice  of  a  necessity  for  its  a&cting 
the  mouth  and  gums. 

It  is  necessary  to  continue  its  influence  on 
the  vascular  and  absorbent  systems  for  a 
lengthened  period  to  develop  some  of  its  pow- 
ers ;  and  it  may  be  difficult  under  some  cir- 
cumstance and  constitutions  to  avoid  this 
dilemma ;  but  if  mercurial  salivation  was  to 
be  considered  in  the  light  of  a  false  practice, 
and  its  avoidance  a  test  of  a  successful  one, 
supposing  the  cure  to  be  obtained  in  the  one 
instance  without  mischief  or  injury  to  the 
constitution,  so  likely  to  result  from  saliva- 
lion,  the  triumph  of  calomel  in  the  treatment 
of  disease  would  become  established,  and 
this  valuable  remedy  would  be  henceforth 
relieved  from  the  ban  under  which  it  is  pla- 
ced. 

In  those  cases  in  which  small  doses  of 
calomel  are  required  to  be  administered  most 
often  there  exist  counteracting  circumstances 
to  prevent  or  mitigate  its  irritating  tendencies. 

lu  children,  in  whom  small  doses  of  calo- 
mel are  most  often  indicated,  a  condition  of 
the  intestinal  canal  presents,  to  remove  which 
no  other  remedy  than  calomel  will  prevail* 


66 


Miscellaneous  Articles, 


it  being  loaded  with  a  slimy  anj  mucous  h&' 
cxei\ont{excretion)  protecling  its  surfaces  from 
Ihc  agency  of  rr-medies,  which,  io  no  other 
cases  and  without  such  protection,  would  be' 
irritating  and  preternatural  I  y  active. 

It  is  the  peculiar  remedy  of  infants  and 
children ;  but  the  greatest  triumph  of  calo- 
mel, even  in  the  cure  of  infantile  diseases, 
is  in  the  administration  of  large  doses,  which 
act  upon  the  overloaded  absorbent  sjrstem 
iuvip;orating  it,  and  restoring  the  patient  to 
health. 

Its  merit  as  a  remedial  arent  does  not  con- 
sist in  its  irritant  qualities,  out  in  its  sedative 
ones ;  and  the  first  invariably  developed  by  a 
timid  and  fearful  exhibition  of  it  in  small 
doses,  whilst  its  sedative  and  more  valuable 
qualities  result  from  large  doses. 

Thirty,  or  sixty  grains  of  calomel,  admin- 
istered in  typhus,  act  [ike  a  charm  upon  the 
unconscious  and  comatose  patient,  and  pro- 
duce what  every  other  remedy  fails  to  do,  a 
profound  and  natural  sleep,  from  which  he 
awakens  to  consciousness  and  comparative 
comfort,  with  a  soft  and  relaxed  skin,  a  free 
and  tranquil  pulse,  and  a  tendency  to  general 
perspiration ;  the  bowels  become  washed 
with  secretions,  {excretions^)  and  saline  pur- 
gatives being  resorted  to,  after  the  benefit  of 
sleep  has  been  obtained,  make  them  patent ; 
and  little  more  is  left  to  remove  the  most 
formidable  attacks  of  this  epidemic,  but  to  re 
peat  the  remedy  and  aid  its  influence  by  cold 
affusions  over  the  surface  of  the  body. 

The  agency  of  calomel  in  yellow  fever, 
and  the  other  formidable  endemics  of  trophi- 
oal  climates,  which  cjetens  paribus,  are 
within  the  same  denomination  aud  elass  of 
morbid  actions,  only  influenced  by  tempera- 
tore,  is  of  a  similar  character,  and  totally 
independent  of  its  irritant  agency,  or  of  any 
efiect  it  produces  upon  the  mouth  and  j^ms, 
which  is  a  regular  and  course  test  oC  its  in- 
fluence. 


The  most  successful  sedatives  we  possess, 
next  to  blood-letting  to  syncope,  are  calomel 
in  large  doses;  laudanum,  in  large  doses 
(particularly  when  administered  after  deple- 
tion and  blood-letting,)  oxymuriate  of  mer- 
cur),  combined  with  tincture  of  foxglove,  in 
Bmall  doses ;  and  these,  next  to  the  laneet, 
are  the  most  successful  means  to  combat 
acute  dieseasc,  and  are  divested  of  the  objec- 
tions to  blood-letting,  of  leaving  a  permanent 
and  organic  debility,  forbidding  in  many  in- 
stances its  use ;  or  as  an  evil  scarcely  less 
than  the  disease,  and  which  objection  also 
exists  against  tartar  emetic,  which  remotely 
debilitates  the  nervous  and  absorbent  sys- 


tems, and  impairs  the  vital  powers.    I  am» 
Sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

Joshua  Burgess. 
London  Lancet. 

We  have  pursued  the  course  suggested  in 
the  above  article  in  the  use  of  calomel  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  we  have  no  doubt  of 
its  correctness.  In  epidemics  we  have  been 
constantly  in  the  habit  of  giving  tea-spoon- 
ful doses  of  calomel  to  adults,  and  when  at- 
tacked with  the  disease, we  have  taken  table- 
spoonful  doses,  with  the  happiest  efiects— 
eschewing  small  doses  in  acute,  and  its  use 
in  chronic  diseases. — En, 


Spoataneons  Ovr«  of  Oataraot. 
A  stone-breaker  had  suffered  from  cataract 
from  his  youth.  Whilst  pursuin^g  his  occu- 
pation, he  was  struck  by  a  splinter  in  the  af- 
fectedeye,  and  this  gave  rise  to  inflamma- 
tion. He  consulted  a  medical  man,  who 
with  a  view,  of  examining  the  eye,  dropped 
into  it  a  solution  of  beli^idonna.  The  pupil 
beoune  laisely  dilated,  and  at  the  saiue  time 
the  opake  lens  fell  into  the  anterior  cham- 
ber, vision  being  immediately  restored*— 
Edinbwrgh  Monthly  ^Journal, 


PULHB  TBiaOWOMETRY. 

23  27  33  Obliquity  Ecliptic,  Jan.l,  1845. 
101  17  46  West  Longitude  Magnetic  pole  in 

[arctic  ciide. 
96  30  56  West        do    line  nova,  do  do 

83  29  04  East 

do         do        do  do 

158  38  32  East 
153  51  42  East 

do     Magnetic  pole  in 
[antaicticcirde. 
do    line  no.va.  do  do 

21  21  28  West 

do         do        do  do 

32  26  An  rate  of  motion  of  line  no.  va. 
4  18  Minimum  daily  va.  of  needle 
6  27  33  Maximum  do        do        do 

8  03  Mean  annual  rate  of  declinatioa 
6  41  04  West  dec.  City  Hall.  New- York. 
Dec.  incrc£8in9-~mean  heat  is  increasing. 
Dec.  decreasing — ^mean  heat  is  decreasing. 


Errata, — On  page  45,  m  Column  of  Posi- 
tive Forces,  in  46th  hne  from  the  top  of 
page—for  Sulphate  read  Solphuret 


r 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


Vol.  II. 


WBWr.YOHK,  APRIL,  1845. 


No.  U. 


PAT«T.A0IE3  OF  THE  FACULTT. 
Lteture»  JhJirered  at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Picadilly 
London.    1810.  * 


Bt  S.  Dixon,  M.  J). 

LECTURE  V. 

jubical  doctrines,  old  and  new — go€t 

— ^rkermattsm cutaneous  disease 

8mai.l  pox— plague — yellow  fever — 
dysentery — dropsy — cholera. 
Gentlemen, 

When  a  young  man  has  run  the 
usual  course  of  study  at  a  university,  he 
thinks  he  has  learned  everything  worth 
knowing.  But  herein  he  grievously  mis- 
takes ;  tor  if  we  may  trust  Lord  Bacon  who 
had  no  interest  in  the  matter,  rather  than 
the  Professors  who  have,  we  shall  find  that 
"  in  the  Universitiei  all  things  are  found 
opposite  to  the  advancement  of  the  sciences ; 
for  the  readings  and  exercises  are  here  so 
managed,  that  it  cannot  easily  come  into  any 
one*s  mind  to  think  of  thuigs  out  of  the 
common  road ;  or  if  here  and  there  one 
should  venture  to  use  a  liberty  of  judging, 
he  can  onlv  impose  the  task  upon  himself 
without  obtaining  assistance  from  his  fel- 
lows; and  if  he  could  dispense  with  this, 
he  will  still  find  his  industry  and  resolution 
a  great  hindrance  to  his  fortune.  For  the 
studies  of  men  in  such  places  are  confined 
and  pinned  down  to  the  writings  of  certain 
authors ;  from  which,  if  any  man  happens 
to  di£fer,  he  is  presently  represented  as  a  dis- 
torher  and  innovator." 

Gentlemen,  in  this  passage  you  at  once 
see  the  reason  why  Medicine  has  progressed 
EC  little  from  the  time  of  Hippocrates  to  the 
present.  Every  person  who  has  in  anv  way 
unproved  the  practice  of  physic  has  had  to 
repent  it.  Harvey  lost  his  business  by  dis- 
covering the  circulatioa  of  the  blood ;  Lady 


1  Mary  Montague  suffered  in  her  reputation 
;  for  introducing  the  small-pox  inoculation  j 
and  Jenner  for  a  long  period  of  his  life  waa 
I  victimized  for  the  still  greater  improvement 
I  of  the  Vaccine.  His  moral  character  was 
for  years  at  the  mercy  of  the  most  venal  and 
corrupt  members  of  the  profession.  "  Such,** 
in  the  words  of  Milton,  "  are  the  errors^ 
such  the  fruits  of  misspending  our  prime 
youth  at  schools  and  universities,  as  we  do^ 
either  in  learning  mere  words,  gr  such  things 
chiefly  as  were  better  unlearned."  So  far  as. 
they  relate  to  Medicine,  the  doctrines  of  the 
schools  have  been  a  succession  of  the  gros> 
sest  absurdities.  Let  us  hriefly  review  a 
few  of  the  most  prominent. 

For  several  ages  the  state  of  the  Blood 
was  held  to  be  the  cause  of  all  disease — na 
matter  how  the  disorder  originated.  Had 
you  a  shivering  fit  from  exposure  to  cold  or 
damp,  the  "  Blood"  required  to  be  instantly^ 
purihed, — a  fever  from  a  bruise  or  fall,  the 
only  thought  was  how  to  sweeten  "  the 
Blood ;"  nay,  were  you  poisoned  by  hemlock 
or  henbane,  "  the  blood  "  or  its  blackness 
was  the  cause  of  all  your  sufferings — and 
the  chief  anxiety  was  how  to  get  rid  of  it. 
It  never  occurred  to  the  physicians  of  that 
day  that  the  blood  was  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  economy,  or  that  "  black  Wood** 
was  better  than  no  blood  at  all, — so  on  they 
bled  and  continued  to  hleed  while  a  drop 
would  flow  from  the  veins  When  their 
patients  died,  it  was  all  owing  to  the  accur- 
sed <'  black  blood"  that  still  remained  in  the 
system !  How  to  get  the  whole  out,  was 
the  great  subject  of  scholastic  disputation » 
and  treatises  innumerable  were  written  to 
prove  that  it  might  be  done.  In  progress  of 
time,  another  doctrine  arose,  namely,  that 
all  diseases  first  originate  in  the  Solids,  and 
many  were  the  partizans  that  took  it  up ;  so. 
that  for  several  centuries  the  fluidists  and" 
solidists  divided  the  schools,  and,  like* 
Guelph  and  Ghibelline,  ranged  tjiemselves- 
under  their  respective  leaders.    What  medi- 


68 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


cal  man  is  ignorant  of  the  wars  they  waced, 
the  ink  they  shed,  and  the  eloquence  they 
wasted  upon  the  still  unsettled  point  -whether 
the  solids  or  the  fluids  ought  to  hear  the 
blame  of  first  imparting  disease  to  the  con- 
stitution !  If 
But  to  turn  from  these  to  the  doctrines  of 
more  modern  schools.    The  chief  feature  in 
the  professional  notions  of  the  day,  is  the 
assumption  that  all  diseases  may  be  traced 
to  the  "  inflammation"  or  other  theoretical 
state  of  a  given  portion  of  the   body,  one 
School  taking  one  organ— another,  another ; 
but  why  should  I  say  organ  ?  seeing  Ihert 
are  professors  who  exclusively  patronize  a 
given  TISSUE,  and  others  a  given  secretion 
even  ;— which   One  thing,  after  they  have 
wrapped  it  round  in  mummery  and  mysti- 
cism, they  gravely  proceed  to  magnify  into 
the  very  Daniel  CConnell  of  every  corporeal 
disturbance!     Exposure  to  cold  and  heat, 
the  mid-night  revel,  and  the  oft-repeated  de- 
bauch—any, or  all  of  these  may  have  inju- 
red your  constitution.    This,  of  course,  you 
already  know  and  feel ;  so  you  wish  to  have 
the  sense  of  your  physician  upon  it.     And 
what  does  he  do  ?     Why,  he  takes  you  by 
the  hand,  counts,  or  afiects  to  count,  your 
pulse,  looks  at  your  tongue  jjerhaps,  and 
then,  with  a  seriousness  becoming  the  occa- 
sion, he  tells  you,  your  "  Stomach  is  wrong;" 
— and  so  far,  so  true,  as  your  own  want  of 
appetite  and  sensation  of  nausea  abundantly 
testify.    But  as  if  this  were  not  enough,  and 
more  than  enough,  he  must  proceed  to  tell 
you  the  cause  of  your  disease ;  and  what 
does  he  say  that  was  ?     Being  a  "  stomach 
doctor,"  of  course  he  says,  "  the  stomach" 
again.    "  The  stomach,"  he  tells  you,  is  the 
cause  of  all ; — your  headache,  tremor,  and 
blue  devils,  all  proceed  from  "  the  stomach !" 
But  herein,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  doctor  falls 
into  the  same  error  as  the  man  who,  on  see- 
ing a  house  n  ruins,  should  point  to  one  of 
the  broken  bricks,  and  saddle  it  with  the 
whole  amount  of  mischief;  when,  in  reality, 
it  was  only  one  of  many  coincident  effects 
produced  by  agency  from  without,  such  as 
accident,  time,  or  tempest 

For  a  considerable  space,  the  Stomach 
held  undisputed  sway  in  the  meidical  schools, 

John  Hunter  having  contributed  much  to 

bring  it  into  fashion.  His  pupil  Abernethy 
afterwards  coupled  the  whole  alimentary  ca- 
nsJ  with  it,  under  the  name  of  the  "  diges- 
tive organs ;"  and  for  a  time  nobody  dared 
to  dispute  his  dictum  that  derangement  of 
the  digestive  or^ns  is  the  cause  of  all  dis- 
ease. Some  other  partialist  would  have  it, 
howevr,  that  "the  Liver**  is  the  great 
source  of  all  ailments— and  a  very  conven- 
ient substitute  this  organ  became,  for  not 


only  did  it  save  the  physician  the  trouble  of 
thinking,  but  the  patient,  by  constantly  di- 
recting his  mind  to  it,  very  soon  foundout 
that  the  liver  was  the  only  organ  of  the  body 
worth  a  momenfs  cogitation.  Oh  I  "the 
liver"  has  put  a  great  many  fees  into  ^e 
pockets  of  the  faculty,  and  might  conUnuc 
to  do  so  still,  but  for  Laennec's  invention, 
the  stethoscope.— Adieu,  then,  to  the  hver, 
and  adieu  to  the  stomach  and  dig«sUv«  ^'; 
gans !  for,  from  the  moment  people  heard  of 
this  instrument,  the  Heart  and  Lungs  eclip- 
sed them  all.  We  have  no  liver  and  dig«- 
tive  organs  in  these  days,— we  have  only 
"the  heart"  and  « lungs  ^  and  these,  as 
the  world  wags,  are  always  in  such  a  state 
—in  such  a  deplorable  condition  of  disease 
and  danger,  that  Heaven  only  ^^^o^^  *^ 
what  end  they  were  given  us,  unless  it  be 
that  our -bodies  were 

-intended 


For  nothing  but  to  be  mended  I 
—in  other  words,  were  expressly  created  for 
the  benefit  of  the  next-door  neighbor  the 
apothecary!  Never  was  there  suchacata- 
logue  of  disease  as  these  organs  have  en- 
tailed upon  us;— but  the  curious  thing  js, 
that  nobody  knew  it  until  Laennec  made  the 
discovery  by  means  of  the  stethoscope. 
Since  then,  leech,  lancet,  cupping-glass,  and 
purge  have  followed  each  other  with  unex- 
ampled rapidity ;  but  whether  the  "  fits"  and 
«  sudden  seizures,"  which  now-a-days  <arry 
off  so  much  mortality,  be  the  effect  of  these 
very  safe  and  gentle  remedies,  or  of  the 
"Heart-disease,"  under  which  the  doctors, 
in  their  innocence,  are  pleased  to  class  them, 
I  leave  to  persons  oi  common  sense  Mid 
common  discrimination  to  decide.  One 
thing  is  certain,  physicians  have  made  a 

C  professional  scride  since  the  days  of 
ere— for  whereas  in  his  time  the  only 
organ  tiiey  ever  thought  or  theorized  about 
was  the  lungs ;  now,  thanks  to  the  stetho- 
scope, they  have  got  the  heart,  vnth  its  val- 
vular and  vascular  apparatus,  to  the  bargain. 
So  much  ifoi  organs.  Gentlemen ;— let  us 
now  speak  of  tissues.  To  be  chronologi- 
cally correct,  we  must  first  take  the  ;'  Skm* 
—for  of  skin,  and  nothing  but  skm,  our 
bodies  at  one  time  would  appear  to  have 
been  entirely  constructed.  The  skin  was 
the  medical  rage  and  the  doctors  were  very 
certain  the>  had  made  a  ^freat  discovery,  when 
they  turned  tiieir  attention  to  it  Derange- 
ment of  the  skin  explained  every  thinj  m 
existence,  and  many  other  things  besides ; 
whatever  your  sufferings,  the  answer  vm 
always  tiie  same,  "The  skin.  Sir,  the 
skin  !"— The  skin  solved  every  possible  dii- 
ficulty,  and  if  patients  were  pleased,  why 
undeceive  them?    Sick  men  do  not  reason— 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


69 


jou  must  therefore  treat  them  like  children  ; 
and  he  ^*ho  can  hest  impose  upon   their 
credulity  is  sure  to  become  tile  popular  phy- 
adan.     The  9kin,  however,  had  a  pretty 
long  run ;  but»  like  its  predecessors,  it  was 
destined  to  fall  in  its  turn — to  be  supplanted 
by  another  tissue,  "  the  Mucous  Membrane.** 
— ^Tn  the  hands  of   Broussais  the  mucous 
membrane  first  rose  to  eminence.    Bustling, 
active,  ready,  he  first  pushed  if  into  notice ; 
and  BO  skilled  was  he  in  all  the  arts  of  scho- 
lastic juggling,  that  not  only  did  he  parry 
every  blow  aimed  against  his  favorite  theme 
by  the  skin  supporters,  but  he  at  last  ob- 
tained for  it  so  great  an  influence  in  the  sick- 
room, that  no  patient  of  importance  could 
be  put  to  death  legitimately  till  he  had  first 
been  called  in  to   prescribe  something  for 
the  ''mucous  membrane."     Broussais  thus 
became  the  French  medical  dictator,  and  the 
'*  mucous    membrane"    the  French  ruling 
doctrine.     Carried  by  his  numerous  parti- 
zans  and  disciples  into  every  commune  in 
Fiance,  the  "  mucous  membrane  *'  at  last 
found  its  way  into  England,  where  it  was 
taken  up  by  the  late  Dr.  Armstrong— and  an 
excellent  stepping-stone  it  proved  to  him  in 
practice.     Every  body  came  to  hear  what 
he  had  to  say  o!  the  *'  mucous  membrane." 
You  could  not  have  an  ache  in  your  back, 
or  a  cramp  in  your  leg,  but  the  "  mucous 
memhran^*  was  at  fault ;  nay,  had  you  a 
pimple  on  your  nose,  or  a  pain  in  your 
great  toe,  it  was   still  the  "  mucous  mem- 
brane!"     Nor  is  this   doctrine  even  now 
quite  exploded.      How  many  of  the  various 
secretions  have  run  this  eauntlet  of  accusa- 
tion, it  would  be  unprofitable  to  do  mor& 
than  allude  to.      The  Perspiration  was  at 
one  time   much  in  vogue,  and  **  checked 
perspiTation  "  the  reply  to  every  inquiry — 
ctut  grandmothers  use  the  phrase  occasion- 
ally still ;  though   some  of  them  betray  a 
leaning  to  the  system  of  the  Water-doctors, 
a  class  of  persons  who  only  needed  to  in- 
spect your  urine  to  find  out  a  cure  for  your 
complaint    Many  curious  stories  come  to 
my  mind  in  connection  with  this ; — but  the 
subject  18  too  grave  to  be  trifled  with — let  us 
therefore  pass  from  that  to  "  the  Bil^* — the 
mysterious    cause  of  so  much  offending. 
How  many  difilculties  has  not  this  secretion 
mastered?    How  many  has  it   not  made 
where  none  existed  before  ?    You  derange 
every  organ  and  function  of  your  frame  by 
intemperance — **  the  bile,"  not  the  wine,  is 
the  criminal!      You  have  headache  from 
hard  study,  it  is  still "  the  bile  ;*'—  the  palpa- 
ble and  obvious  agencies  going  for  nothing, 
while  one  of  many  efibcts  produced  by  a 
common  cause,  is  absurdly  singled  out  as 
the  father  and  mother  of  the  whole ! 


I  have  still  to  notice  another  school  of  phy- 
sicians, who  ring  the  same  changes  upon  a 
word,  which  havinR^nAvery  definite  signifi- 
cation itself,  may  therefore  signify  anything 
they  have  a  mind,  without  in  the  least  coin- 
mitting  them  in  the  opinion  of  the  public. 
Rheumatism,  Gout,  Scrofula,  Scurvey— what 
is  the  meaning  of  these  terms  ?  They  are 
synonymous  simply,  having  all  a  common 
import,  fluidity  or  humor.  In  Rheumatism, 
we  have  merely  a  derivation  from  the  Greek 
verb,  (Rheo,  I  flow,)  and  Shakspeare  used  it 
in  its  pro|)er  sense  when  he  said. 
Trust  not  these  cunning  waters  of  his  e  yes, 
For  vil.iany  is  not  without  such  Bhium, 

Then,  as  regards  Gout,  what  is  it  but  a 
corruption  of  the  French  word  goutte,  a 
"drop."  And  this  perhaps  some  of  you 
may  think  not  so  bad  a  name  for  a  class  of 
symptoms  which  frequentiy  proceed  from  "a 
drop  too  much" — but  that  is  not  what  doctors 
mean  by  the  term.  Gout  with  them  is  mere- 
ly a  fanciful  "  humor."  Scrofula  in  Latin, 
and  Scurvy  in  Saxon,  have  the  same  signifi- 
cation, namely,  a  "  dry  humor."  Only  think 
of  dry  humidity.  Gentlemen, — and  the  coa- 
fusion  of  tongues  during  the  building  of  Ba- 
bel, will  readily  occur  to  you  as  a  type  of  the 
language  in  which  medicine  is  even  now 
taught  in  most  of  our  schools  !  Some  Ger- 
man physicians  of  the  present  day  tell  us 
that  scrofula  has  taken  the  place  of  scurvy 
in  the  European  constitution.  But  this  is 
only  one  of  the  many  modes  in  which  pro- 
fessors play  at  "  hide  and  seek"  with  words. 
The  Diseases  Continental  doctors  formerly 
termed  Scurvy,  they  now  term  Scrofula,  and 
Heaven  only  knows  what  the  doctors  of  af- 
ter times  will  call  the  same  corporeal  varia- 
tions before  the  world  comes  to  an  end !  So 
much,  Gentiemen,  for  the  "  Humoral  school" 
—a  school  that  impressed  upon  its  disciples 
a  doctrine  of  purgation  scarcely  less  fatal 
than  the  sanguinary  practice  of  the  present 
pathologists.  In  fact  it  is  the  identical  sys- 
tem of  "Morrison,  the  hygeist,"  and  all 
those  quacks,  who,  by  their  determined  per- 
severance in  purging  away  a  fancied  "  im- 
purity of  the  blood,"  have  too  ofteii  pureed 
away  the  flesh  and  the  lives  of  their  creau- 
lous  victims.  Do  people  at  this  time  of  day 
require  to  be  told  that  you  may  purge  a 
healthy  man  to  death  I— that  by  any  class  of 
purgatives,  whether  vegetable  or  mineral, 
you  may  so  disturb  every  action  of  the  body 
— may  so  alter  every  corporeal  structure  and 
secretion,  that  no  one  shall  be  of  natural 
consistence  or  appearance !  By  the  eternal 
use  or  rather  abuse  of  any  pureative  you 
please,  in  a  previously  healthy  oody,  you 
may  so  change  the  alvine  secretions,  that 
they  shall  take  the  form  of  any  <*  impurity" 


60 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


you  fancy— and  for  this  impttrity  of  your 
own  creation  you  may,  day  by  day,  and 
\7eek  by  week,  purge  and  purge  till  you 
have  brought  your  patient  to  the  state  of  in- 
anition which  constitutes,  ^as  F  shall  in  the 
course  of  this'  lecture  explain  to  you,  the 
disease  termed  "  Ship  Scurvy.'*  See,  then, 
the  effect  of  that  humoral  doctrine!  But 
even  this  kind  of  folly  appeared  loo  simple 
to  some  teachers,  and  these  taxed  their  inven- 
tion to  make  nonsense  compound.  Who 
has  not  heard  of  Rheumatic  Gout? — and 
who  will  be  so  bold  as  to  deny  its  existence? 
Yet,  what  i?  it  but  a  self  evident  absurdity  ! 
Its  literal  meaning  is  "  fluid  fluidity."  You 
might  as  well  call  an  injury  from  fire,  "  a  ig- 
nes-eous  burn  !"  Gentlemen,  does  such  jar- 
gon convey  to  your  minds  the  most  distant 
idea  of  the  true  motions  which  take  place  in 
the  body  in  the  course  of  any  one  disease  ? 
How  then  can  you  wonder  at  men  of  obser- 
vation laughing  at  the  whole  medical  profes- 
sion ?  It  IS  only  a  fool  or  a  physician  who 
could  be  duped  for  a  moment  by  such  pueril- 
ity; and  Lord  Stowel  was  right  when  he 
hinted  a  man  might  be  both  at  forty. — 
'«  When  youth  made  me  sanguine,"  says 
Horace  Walpole,  "  1  hoped  mankind  might 
be  set  right.  Now  that  I  am  very  old,  1  sit 
down  with  this  lazy  maxim,  that  unless  one 
could  cure  men  of  beinz  fools,  it  is  to  no 
purpose  to  cure  them  of  any  folly,  as  it  is 
only  making  room  for  some  other."  This  I 
believe  was  said  in  regard  to  religious  doc- 
trines— ^but  that  it  applies  equally  well  to 
medical  doctrines,  may  be  seen  from  a  state- 
ment of  Sir  William  Temple :  —  "  In  the 
course  of  my  life,"  he  says,  "  I  have  often 
pleased  or  entertained  myself,  with  observing 
the  various  and  fantastical  changes  generally 
complained  o/,  and  the  remedies  in  common 
vogue,  which  were  hke  birds  of  passage, 
very  much  seen  or  heard  of  at  one  season,  and 
disappeared  at  another,  and  commonly  suc- 
ceeded by  some  of  a  very  different  kind. — 
When  1  was  very  young,  nothing  was  so 
much  feared  or  talked  of  as  rickets  among 
children,  and  consumptions  among  young 
people  of  both  sexes.  After  these  the 
apleen  came  into  play,  and  grew  a  formal 
disease.  Then  the  scurvy,  which  was  the 
general  complaint,  and  both  were  thought  to 
appear  in  many  various  guises.  After  these 
and  for  a  time,  nothing  was  so  much  talked 
of  as  the  ferment  of  the  blood,  which  pas- 
sed for  the  cause  of  all  sorts  of  ailments, 
that  neither  physicians  nor  patients  knew 
well  what  to  make  of ;  and  to  all  these  suc- 
ceeded vapors,  which  serve  the  same  turn, 
and  furnish  occasion  of  complaint  among 
persons  whose  bodies  or  minds  ail  something 
but  they  know  not  what ;  and  among  the 


Chinese,  would  pass  for  mists  of  the  mind  or 
fumes  of  the  brain,  rather  than  indispositions 
of  any  other  parts.  Yet  these  employ  our 
physicians  more  than  other  diseases,  who  are 
fain  to  humor  such  patients  in  their  fancies 
of  being  ill,  and  to  prescribe  some  remedies, 
for  fear  of  losing  their  practice  to  others 
that  pretend  more  skill  in  linding  out  the 
cause  of  diseases  or  care  in  advismg  reme- 
dies, which  neither  they  nor  their  patients 
find  any  effect  of,  besides  some  gains  to  one 
and  amusement  to  the  other.  As  Diseases 
have  changed  vogue,  so  have  Remedies,  In 
my  time  and  observation.  I  remember  at 
one  time  the  taking  of  tobacco :  at  another, 
the  drinking  of  warm  beer,  proved  universal 
remedies — then  swallowing  of  pebble  stones 
in  imitation  of  falconets  curing  hawks. 
One  doctor  pretended  to  help  all  Heats  and 
Fevers  by  drinking  as  much  spring  water  as 
the  patient  could  bear;  [Priessnitz's  plan?] 
at  another  time  swallowing  up  a  spoonfull  of 
powder  of  sea  biscuit  after  meals,  was  infal- 
lible for  all  indigestion,  and  so  preventing 
diseases.  Then  coffee  and  tea  began  their 
successive  reigns.  The  infusion  oi  powder 
of  steel  has  had  its  turn ;  and  certain  drops 
of  several  names  and  compositions,  fiat 
none  that  I  find  have  established  their  au- 
thority, either  long,  or  generally,  by  any  con- 
stant and  sensible  scucesses,  but  have  rather 
passed  like  a  mode  which  every  one  is  apt  to 
follow,  and  finds  the  most  convenient  or 
graceful  while  it  lasts,  and  begins  to  dislike 
in  both  these  respects  when  it  goes  out  of 
fashion.  Thus  men  are  apt  to  play  with 
their  healths  and  their  lives  as  they  do  with 
their  clothes ;  which  may  be  the  better  excu- 
sed, since  both  are  so  transitory,  so  subject  to 
be  spoiled  with  common  use,  to  be  torn  by 
accidents,  and  at  last  to  be  so  worn  out- 
Yet  the  usual  practice  of  physic  among  ji» 
runs  still  the  same  course,  and  turns  m  a 
manner  wholly  upon  evacuation  either  by 
blood-letting,  vomits,  or  some  sorts  of  puiga- 
tion ;  though  it  be  not  often  agreed  among 
physicians  in  what  cases  or  what  degrees  any 
of  these  are  necessary,  nor  among  other  men 
whether  any  of  these  are  neceseaiy  or  no. 
Montaigne  questions  whether  purging  ever  be 
so,  and  from  many  ingenious  reasons.  The 
Chinese  never  let  Blood." 

Gentlemen,  you  now  see  the  correctness  of 
a  remark  of  the  late  Dr.  Gregory,  that  medi- 
cal doctrines  are  little  better  than  "Stark  fa- 
ring absurdities."  And  God  forgive  me  for 
saying  it,  but  their  authors,  for  the  most  part 
have  been  very  nearly  allied  to  those  charla- 
tans and  impostors,  who 

^wrap  nonsense  round 

In  pomp  and  darkness,  lUl  it  seems  pro- 
found; 


Fallacies  of  the  Faeulty. 


61 


Play  on  the  hopes,  the  terrors  of  Mankind 
With  changeful  skill;        ♦        ♦        ♦ 
While  Reason,  like  a  grave-faced  mummy, 

stands 
Wih  her  arms  swathed  in  hieroglyphic 
bands. 

Moore. 
As  for  the  Schools,  at  this  rery  moment, 
atkt  whole  regime  of  medical  teaching  is  a 
system  of  hnmbug,  collusion,  and  trick — em- 
bracinff  intrigue  and  fraud  of  every  kind, 
-with  the  necessary  machinery  of  Periodicai 
Journals,  and  Renews,  by  which  the  masters 
aie  enabled  to  keep  down  truth,  and  mystify 
.and  delude  the  student  and  country  practitio- 
ner at  their  pleasure.  In  physic,  now  as 
ionnerly,  the  very  clever  world 


bows  the  knee  to  Baal, 

And  hurling  lawful  Genius    from   his 

throne. 
Erects  a  shrine  and  idol  of  its  own, — 
Some  leaden  Calf— 

who  by  virtue  of  his  puppet  position,  main- 
tadns  a  reputation  and  a  rule  in  matters  med- 
ical, to  which  neither  his  merits  nor  his  lear- 
ning in  the  very  least  entitle  him ; — never- 
theless he  rei^s  the  Esculapius  of  the  day, 
and  it  is  only  m  the  next  age  that. 


-  the  vulgar  stare, 


WAe%  the  swollen  bubble  bursts  and  all  is 
airl 

But  Gentlemen,  what  do  the  faculty  of 
^nr  own  time  mean  by  the  term 

Gout.' 

What  do  they  mean  by  it  ?  You  may  ask 
them  that  indeed.  Crabbe,  who  studied  phy- 
sic, bat  left  the  profession  in  early  life  to 
take  orders,  when  describing  some  of  the 
doctors  of  his  day,  among  other  things,  tells 
us. 

One  to  the  Gout  contracts  AU  human 

He  views  it  raging  on  the  frantic  brain, 
Finds  it  in  fevers  all  his  efforts  mar, 
And  sees  it  lurking  in  the  cold  catarrh. 

Gont,  then,  may  be  any  thing  you  please ; 
for  according  to  received  opinion,  this  off- 
spring of  Nox  and  Erebus,  this  vox  et  prete- 
lea  nihil,  takes  shapes  as  many  and  Protean 
as  there  have  been  authors  to  treat  of  it 
This  much  I  may  venture  to  tell  you,  that 
nothing  will  so  soon  help  a  man  to  a  chariot 
as  to  write  a  book  with  Gout  for  its  title — for 
being  supposed  to  be  a  disease  peculiar  to  ar- 
istdcracy,  every  upstart  is  fain  to  affect  it. — 
You  cannot  please  a  mushroom  squire,  or  a 
retired  shopkeeper  better,  than  by  telling  him 
bis  disease  is  •*  Gout" — "Gout  suppressed" 
'••Gout  retrocedent" — "  Gout  in  this  place,  or 
•«  Gour  in  that !    And  what  is  Gout  ?— 


Of  all  our  vanities  the  motliest — 

The  merest  word  that  ever  fooled  the  eari 
From  out  the  schoolman's  jaigon  I— 

Btrok. 

In  sober  seriousness,  is  there  such  a  dis- 
order as  Gout  ?  Gentlemen,  as  a  "  counter 
to  reckon  by,"  you  may  use  the  word ;  hav- 
ing first  so  far  made  yourselves  acquainted 
with  it^  real  meaning  that  nobody  shall  per- 
suade you  that  it  is  m  itself  anything  but  a 
piece  of  hypothetical  gibberish,  invented  by 
men  who  knew  as  little  of  Disease  and  its 
nature  as  the  tyros  they  pretend  to  illummate. 
When  a  Lady  or  Gentleman  of  a  certain  a^ 
complains  to  you  oidi  painful  swelling  in 
some  of  the  small  joints  of  the  hand  or  loot, 
you  may  say,  if  you  please,  that  such  pa- 
tient has  got  the  Gout.  If  the  same  kind  of 
swelling  should  appear  in  the  knee  or  hip- 
joint,  or  take  the  snape  of  an  enlarged  gland 
or  a  rubicund  nose,  you  must  then  change 
your  phrase ;  and  you  may  easily  exhaust  a 
volume  in  pointing  out  the  diflferences  be- 
twixt them.  But  as  neither  this  kind  of  dis- 
quisition, nor  the  baptizing  your  patient's 
disease  by  one  name  or  another,  can  in  the 
very  least  help  you  to  cure  it,  I  may  just  as 
well  explain  to  you  that  this  swelling,  like 
every  other  malady  incident  to  man,  is  not 
only  a  development  qi  constitutional  disease* 
but  comes  on  in  fits  or  paroxysms.  Now, 
Gentlemen,  you  will  find  this  nt  in  one  case 
perfectly  periodic  and  regular  in  its  recur- 
rence ;  in  another  less  determinate  as  to  the 
time  of  its  approach.  The  result  of  reputed 
paroxysms,  as  in  other  diseases  where  great 
beat  and  swelling  take  place,  must  be  a  ten- 
dency to  decomposition,  and  in  this  instance, 
the  product  for  the  most  part  is  a  deposit  of 
chalky  or  earthy  matter.  In  that  case  no- 
body will  dispute  the  name  you  have  given 
to  the  disorder ;  but  should  the  result  of  the 
decooiposing  actic>n  by  purulent  matter  or 
ichor,  instead  of  chalk  or  earth, — which 
neither  you  nor  anybody  else  can  know  be- 
forehand,— you  must  not  be  astonished  if  a 
rival  practitioner  be  called  in  to  give  the  dis- 
ease anolhersoubriquet, — to  christen  it  anew 
by  some  other  phonic  combination  full  as  in- 
definite as  the  first,  and  which  may  thus 
serve  you  both  to  dispute  about  very  prettily 
from  one  end  of  the  year  to  the  other,  with-  ^ 
out  either  of  you  becoming  a  whit  the  wiser ! 
You  see,  then,  that  the  only  difference  be- 
twixt what  is  called  "Gout/' and  what  is 
called  "Inflammation,"  is,  that  the  result  of 
the  morbid  action  in  the  former  case,  is  e#thy 
instead  of  purulent  deposit  a  solid  instead  of  a 
fluid  product.  Now,  this  difference  may  be 
accounted  for,  partly  by  hereditary  predispo- 
siton,  and  partly  by  the  age  .of  the  respective 
subjects  of  each.     Young  plants   contain 


62 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


more  sap  than  old  ones ;  the  diseases  of  both 
mast  therefore  in  some  points  vary;  lor 
though  in  the  blood  of  the  old  or  middle- 
aged  man  we  find  the  same  elemental  princi- 
ples as  that  of  infancy  and  youth,  from  these 
being  in  different  proportions,  the  results  of 
decomposition  must  mutatis  mutandis,  be  dif- 
ferent. What  are  the  Causes  oi  Gout? 
One  writer  says  one  thing ;  another,  another. 
Br.  Holland,  Physician  Extraordinary  to  the 
Queen,  is  among  the  latest  who  has  written 
upon  the  subject,  and  he  says  the  cause  is 
"  a  morbid  ingredient  in  the  blood ;" — nay, 
he  says,  **  it  cannot  be  denied."  Still,  not 
only  do  I  presume  to  dispute  the  dictum,  but 
I  challenge  him  to  bring  forward  a  title  of 
proof  in  support  of  it.  His  whole  doctrine 
of  Gout,  I  apprehend,  is  a  fallacy ;  for  if  you 
enquire,  the  patient  will  tell  you  that  he 
took  too  much  Wine  the  night  before  his  first 
fit ;  or  that  he  had  got  Wet ;  or  had  been 
exposed  to  the  East  Wind ;  or  had  been  vex- 
ed by  some  domestic  matter.  *  From  which 
you  see,  the  causes  of  Gout  are  any  thing 
and  every  thing  that  may  set  up  any  other 
disease, — Small-pox  and  &ie  other  Contagi- 
ous Fevers  of  course  excepted.  A  paroxysm 
of  Gout  has  been  actually  brougnt  on  by 
Loss  of  Blood  and  also  by  a  purge,  for 
which  statement,  if  you  wiU  not  believe  me, 
yon  may  take  the  auttlority  of  Parr  and  Dar- 
win. What,  then,  is  the  remedy  ?  If  you 
ask  me  for  a  Specific,  I  must  again  remind 
you  there  is  no  such  thing  in  physic ;  and 
what  is  more,  the  man  who  understands  his 
profession  would  never  dream  of  seeking  a 
specific  for  any  disorder  whatever.  No,  the 
remedies  for  Gout  are  the  same  as  cure  other 
diseases;  namely,  attention  to  temperature 
during  the  Fit,  and  the  exhibition  of  the 
chrono-thennal  or  ague  medicines  during  the 
Remission ; — for  we  have  seen  that,  like  the 
ague,  it  is  a  periodic  disorder,  and  such  is  the 
description  of  it  given  by  Sydenham,  who 
was  half  his  life  a  martyr  to  it ; — to  say  no- 
thing of  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson's  explanation 
in  his  dictionary.  That  it  comes  on  like  the 
ague  with  cold  shiverings,  the  experience  of 
almost  every  case  will  tell  you ;  but  as  your 
minds  may  be  too  much  occupied  with 
school  theories  to  mark  that  fact  for  your- 
selves, I  will  give  it  to  you  in  black  and 
white  in  the  words  of  Darwin.  Speaking 
of  some  cases  of  the  disease,  he  says :  "  The 
patients  after  a  few  days,  were  both  of  them 
affected  with  cold  fits  like  ague-fits,  and  their 
feet  became  aflfected  with  Gout."  To  meet 
it  in  a  proper  manner  you  must  treat  the  dis- 
ease purely  as  an  ague.  With  quinine,  ar- 
senic, opium,  and  colchicum,  I  have  cured  it 
scores  of  times,  and  truth  obliges  me  to  say 
I  have  in  some  cases  failed  with  sdl.    Now 


what  can  I  say  more  oi  any  other  disease  I 
Every  day  you  hear  people  talk  of  the 
*<  principle  "  of  a  thing,  but  really  without 
knowing  what  they  are  talking  about.  The 
true  meaning  of  the  word  principle  is  Unitt 
— something  simple  or  single  to  which  you 
may  specially  refer  in  the  midst  of  an  appa- 
rently conflicting  variety.  That  a  perfect 
unity  of  type  pervades  all  the  variations  of 
disease  is  indisputable,  and  of  the  correctness 
of  a  unity  or  principle  to  guide  your  treatment 
there  is  as  little  doubt.  What,  then,  are  all 
your  school-divisions  but  "  flocci,  nauci, 
nihih,  pili !"  1  shall  now  give  you  a  case 
or  two  which  may  perhaps  suffice  to  show 
you  my  treatment  of  Gout. 

Case  1,— Colonel  D ,  aged  60,  had  a 

fit  of  Gout  which  came  on  every  night,  and 
for  which  leeches  and  purgatfon  had  been  in- 
effectually prescribed,  before  i  was  called  in. 
I  ordered  a  combination  of  quinine  and  col- 
chicum, but  as  this  did  not  stop  the  fit,  I 
changed  it  for  arsenic,  after  taking  which 
the  patient  had  no  return. 

Case  2.— Captain  M ,  aged  56,  had  a 

fit  of  Gout  which  recurred  every  night  duriiu; 
his  sleep.  I  prescribed  arsenic  without  ef- 
fect ;  J  then  gave  him  quinine,  which  acted 
like  magic.  The  same  gentleman,  twelve 
months  after,  had  a  recurrence,  but  was 
much  disappointed,  on  resuming  the  quinine 
to  obtain  no  relief.  I  then  prescribed  ar- 
senic, which,  though  it  failed  the  year  be- 
fore, this  time  perfectly  succeeded  I — a  lesson 
to  such  as  would  vaunt  any  remedy  as  a 
specific  for  any  disease. 

The  influence  of  the  Passions  in  causing- 
or  curing  gout  is  well  known.  One  of  many 
cases  so  cured  comes  just  at  this  moment  to 
my  mind.  A  clergyman  was  laid  up  with  a 
severe  attack  of  the  Gout — his  wife  having 
heard  of  the  effects  of  Surprise  in  cases  of 
the  kind,  dressed  up  a  lai^  hare  in  baby* 
clothes,  and  brought  it  to  his  bed-side,  telling 
him  how  fearfully  changed  their  child  haa 
become.  The  old  gentleman  eyed  the  ani- 
mal with  a  look  of  terror,  sprung  out  of  bed^ 
and  comp'a'ned  of  his  foot  no  more ! 

Now,  Gentlemen,  as  gout,  like  Ague,  is  a 
remittent  disease,  and  curable  in  the  same 
manner, — whether  hy  mental  or  physical 
agency, — what  right  have  we  to  assume  that 
its  cause  is  a  "morbid  ingredient  in  the 
blood,"  any  more  than  the  cause  of  ague  is? 
Still,  we  shall  suppose  for  a  moment  that  it  is 
the  effect  of  a  'morbid  in^edientinthe  blood,' 
what,  then,  let  me  ask,  is  this  morbid  ingre- 
dient doing  ail  the  time  of  remission? 
Does  it  sleep  or  wake  during  this  internal  of 
immunity  ? — and  how  comes  it  that  arsenic, 
quinine,  and  colchicum  to  often  neutraliie 
its  effects—while  purgation  and  blood-letting 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


ea 


in  too  many  instances,  produce  a  recurrence 
In  a  word,  is  not  this  *'  morbid  ingredient  in 
the  blood  **  a  mere  crotchet  of  Dr.  Holland's 
bnun — a  goblin — a  phantom — that,  like 
other  goblins  and  phantoms,  disappears  the 
moment  the  daylight  comes  m  i 

Haying  stated  my  reasons  for  dissenting 
from  Dr.  Holland's  hypothetic  view  of  the 
cause  of  gout,  it  may  not  be  out  of  place 
here  to  request  your  attention  to  some  points 
of  infinitely  greater  importance,  upon  which 
that  physician  and  myself,  by  some  curious 
iatality,  maintain  a  remarkable  Coincidence 
of  opinion.  I  quote  the  lollowing  passages 
iiom  his  Medical  Notes  and  Reflections. 

"  Has  sufficient  weight  been  assigned  in 
our  pathological  reasonmgs  to  that  principle 
which  associates  together  so  many  facts  in 
the  history  of  disease,  namely,  the  tendency, 
in  various  morbid  actions,  to  di&tinct  inter- 
mifision  of  longer  or  shorter  duration,  and 
more  or  less  perfect  in  kind  ?"  "  The  sub- 
jection of  8o  many  diseased  actions  to  this 
common  law,  establishes  relations  which 
could  not  have  been  learned  from  other 
flources,  and  which  have  much  value  even  in 
the  details  of  practice." 

Again  he  says,  "  It  will  probably  be  one 
of  the  most  certain  results  of  future  research, 
to  associate  together,  by  the*  connexion  of 
causes  of  common  kind,  diseases  now  regard- 
ed as  wholly  distinct  in  their  nature,  and  ar- 
ranged as  such  in  our  syttems  of  noseology. 
This  remark  applies  very  widely  throughout 
ail  the  genera  oi  disease."  **  We  can  scarce- 
ly touch  upon  this  subject  of  Fever  (particu- 
larly that  which  our  present  knowledge 
obliges  us  to  consider  as  of  idiopathic  kind,) 
without  finding  in  it  a  Bond  with  which  to 
aafiodate  together  numerous  forms  of  disease 
but  withal  a  knot  so  intricate,  that  no  re- 
aeaich  has  hitherto  succeeded  in  unravelling 
it" 

Now,  what  does  Idiopahtic  mean?  It 
means  peculiar  or  primary — in  opposition  to 
flymptomatic  disease,  or  disease  of  long  stand- 
ing. The  profession,  then,  accoiuing  to 
Dr.  Holland,  and  he  is  right,  have  been  per- 
fectly in  the  dark  in  lega^to  the  beginning 
of  any  disease.  The  "knot"  they  have 
lor  80  many  centuries  been  tryins  to  un- 
ravel, 1  hope  he,  they,  and  every  body  else 
will  now  consider  as  completely  untied,  but 
not,  as  I  shall  in  a  few  minutes  prove,  in 
consequence  of  Dr.  Holland's  prediction. 

When  speaking  of  the  Influenza  and  other 
Epidemics,  Dr.  Holland  says :  "  I  may  brief- 
ly notice  the  singular  analogy  to  the  milder 
£»nn8  oi  Typhus  and  Intermittent  Fever 
which  these  epidemics  have  occasionally  pre- 
sented." Why  he  puts  Typhus  before  Iiiter- 
fever»  I  know  not;  but  this  I  do 


know,  that  except  where  badly  treated,  the 
Influenza  seldom  takes  the  typhoid  shape. 
However,  Dr.  Holland  admits  he  has  pre- 
scribed Bark  in  the  Influenza  with  very  great 
advantage 

On  the  subject  of  Temperature,  the  same 
physician  thus  speaks :  "  The  patient  may 
almost  alwayb  choose  a  temperature  for  him- 
self, and  inconvenience  in  most  cases,  posi- 
tive harm  in  many,  will  be  the  effect  of  op- 
posing that  which  he  desires,  his  feelings 
here  is  rarely  that  of  theory,  though  too  of- 
ten contradicted  by  what  is  merely  such.  It 
represents  in  him  a  definite  state  of  the  body, 
in  which  the  alteration  of  temperature  desir- 
ed is  that  best  adapted  for  relief,  and  the  test 
of  its  fitness  usually  found  in  the  advantage 
resulting  from  the  change.  This  rule  may 
be  taken  as  applicable  to  all  fevers,  even  to 
those  of  the  exanthematous  kind."  By 
which  term  medical  men  understand  small- 
pox, chicken-pox,  measles,  and  scarlet-fever. 
Some  include  the  plague. 

Dr.  Holland  asks :  "  Is  not  depletion  bjr 
blood-letting  still  too  general  and  indiscrimi- 
nate in  affections  of  the  Brain,  and  especially 
in  the  difierent  forms  of  Paralysis  ?  I  be- 
lieve that  the  soundest  medical  experience 
will  warrant  this  opinion.  The  vague  con- 
ception that  all  these  disorders  depend  upon 
•ome  inflammation  or  pressure  which  is  need- 
ful to  remove,  too  much  pervades  and  directs 
the  practice  in  them,  and  if  the  seizure  be  one 
of  sudden  kind,  this  method  of  treatment  is 
often  pursued  with  an  uigent  and  dangerous 
activity."  "  Theory  might  suggest  that  in 
some  of  these  various  cases,  the  loss  of  blood 
would  lead  to  mischief.  Experience  un- 
doubtedly proves  it,  and  there  is  cause  to  be- 
lieve that  this  mischief,  though  abated  of 
late  years,  is  still  neither  infrequent,  nor 
small  in  amount."  It  is  now  the  fashion  of 
the  Eminents  and  their  herd  of  followers  to 
say,  *'  Oh,  there  has  certainly  been  too  much 
bleeding,"  and  *<0h>  we  don't  bleed  as  we  used 
to  do ;"  but  it  is  not  so  convenient  for  them 
to  tell  who  opened  their  eyes  to  their  errors. 

Wow,  Gentlemen,  if  any  of  you  be  dispos- 
ed to  question  by  whose  influence  this  abate- 
ment of  mischief  was  principally  brought 
about,  1  may  suggest  that,  from  numerous 
letters  I  have  received  from  medical  men, 
long  before  Dr.  Holland's  volume  first  ap- 
peared, my  writings  must  at  least  have  con- 
tributed to  it.  Dr.  Holland's  work,  from 
which  I  quote,  was  published  by  Messrs. 
Longman  and  Co.  in  1839.  Mark  that  date, 
and  mark  aleo,  if  you  please,  that  it  wafi  in 
the  year  1836,  three  years  before,  that  the 
same  Publishers  brought  out  the  Fallacy  of 
the  Art  of  Pkysic  as  taught  in  the  Schools, 
wherein  i  stated  : — ^ 


«4 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


1.  «*We  hope  to  prove  even  to  demon- 
stration, that  Fever,  remittent  or  intermittent, 
comprehends  every  shape  and  shade  which 
Disorder  can  assume.'* 

2.  "  That  many  cases  of  Disorder  have 
been  o1;)served  to  partake  of  the  nature  of  Re- 
mittent Fever,  and  to  derive  benefit  from  the 
modes  of  treatment  adapted  to  that  periodic 
distemper,  we  are  sufficiently  aware.  But 
ive  have  yet  to  learn  that  any  author,  an- 
cient or  modem,  has  detected  that  tpye,  and 
advocated  that  treatment  in  every  shade  and 
Tariety  of  disease." 

3.  "  That  attention  tp  Temperature  is  the 
€nd  to  all  medicine.'* 

4.  "  That  Blood-letting  might  be  advan- 
tageously dispensed  with  m  all  diseases,  even 
in  Apoplexy." 

Gentlemen,  some  of  you  may  have  read 
an  anecdote  of  Dennis  the  Critic.  Having 
invented  a  new  mode  of  producing  theatricau 
thunder,  he  submitted  his  discovery  to  the 
managers ;  but  their  high  mightiness  only  af- 
fected to  laugh  at  it.  Some  weeks  after- 
wards, he  went  to  see  a  play,  in  which  there 
was  a  thunder  scene.  "  Now  thought  Den- 
nis, is  my  turn,  now  can  1  afford  to  laugh  at 
their  thunder  as  much  as  they  laughed  at 
mine  ;"  but  judge  his  surprise  when,  instead 
farcical  squall  he  expected,  his  ears  were  sa- 
luted with  a  thunder  as  terrible  and  as  true  as 
the  "hurly-burly"  of  his  own  invention 
Perceiving,  in  an  instant,  the  trick  that  had 
been  played  him,  he  cried  aloud.  ««  By  G — ! 
thafs  my  thunder '."  This  or  something  like 
this,  always  excepting  the  irreverent  amura- 
tion,  was  the  sentiment  that  escaped  me 
,  when  I  first  perused  the  passages  I  have  read 
to  you  from  the  Medical  Notes  and  Reflec- 
tions. "These  are  my  doctrines,"  I  said; 
*'  aye,  the  identical  doctrines  which  Dr.  James 
Johnson,  physician-extraordinary  to  the  King 
deceased,  two  years  before,  stigmatized  as  a 
Pyrexy-mania,  or  Fever-madness.  How 
will  he  receive  them  now,  now  that  they  are 
patronized  a  second  hand  by  an  F.R.S.  and 
a  physician  extraordinary  to  the  Queen  that 
reigns.^'  That  was  my  exclamation,  and 
how  did  he  receive  them,  Gentlemen  ?  Oh ! 
he  praised  Dr.  Holland  to  the  skies ;  said  he 
was  this,  and  said  he  was  that ;  and  couclud- 
«d  by  telling  us  that  "  it  is  impossible  to  lay 
down  his  book  without  an  acquiescence  in 
the  decision  of  the  public,  which  has  placed 
him  ill  the  first  rank  amon^the  practical 
physicians  of  the  capital ;  addmg,  moreover, 
that  "  his  bearing  towards  his  brethren  is  fair 
and  open,  and  his  candid  mind,  instructed  by 
liberal  reading  and  polished  by  society,  is 
willing  to  allow  their  need  of  merit  to  all." 
But  not  a  syllable  did  Dr.  James  Johnson 


say  in  condemnation  of  Dr.  Holland's  pro- 
phecy, that  "  Fever "  would  one  day  be 
found  to  be  "  the  Bond  with  which  to  asso- 
ciate together  numerous  forms  of  disease  f* 
nor  did  he  remind  him  that  when  that  pro- 
phecy was  actually  fulfilled  by  me  to  the 
letter  years  before  Dr.  Holland  took  the 
trouble  to  make  it,  he,  Dr.  James  Johnson 
ridiculed  it  as  a  Fever-madness '  Gentle- 
men, if,  in  the  course'of  his  "  liberal  reading," 
the  Author  of  the  Medical  Notes  and  Reflec- 
tions never  saw  the  Fallacy  of  the  Art  of 
Physic  as  taught  in  the  Schools !  Nor  the 
Review  of  it  by  his  patron  Dr.  Johnson ; 
Nor  Dr.  Conolly's  equally  honest  criticism 
of  it !  Nor  the  controversy  in  the  Lancet, 
to  which  the  former  gave  rise  !  Nor  heard 
in  "  society "  the  remarks  made  by  the 
laughter-loving  part  of  the  profession,  when 
that  controversy  was  concluded !  Nor  met 
with  the  Unity  of  Disejise !  Nor  the  many 
Reviews  that  were  written  upon  it ! !  You 
must  acknowledge  the  coincidence  to  be  curi- 
ous, startling ! ! !  And,  further,  you  must 
admit  that  this  coincidence  affords  another  of 
many  proofs  of  the  truth  of  a  discovery, 
which,  when  Dr.  Holland,  with  the  candor, 
I  am  willing,  in  common  with  Dr.  Johnson, 
to  allow  him,  takes  into  account  dates,  facts 
and  other  similar  trifles,  1  hope  he  will,  in 
return,  pennit  me  now,  henceforth  and  for- 
ever, to  call  MINE!  Meantime,  I  have 
much  pleasure  in  availing  myself  of  the  tes- 
timony of  a  physician  so  eminent,  in  favor 
of  its  "  value,  even  in  the  details  of  prac- 
tice." 

[Shortly  after  the  above  observations  made 
their  appeaiance  in  print,  Dr.  Holland  ad- 
dressed to  me  a  letter  in  "explanation." 
The  correspondence  which  followed  I  am 
not  quite  at  liberty  to  give,  as  the  Doctor  ex- 
pressed a  wish  that  his  communicationB 
should  be  kept  private.  This  much  I  may, 
however,  state,  that  though  couched  in  very 
polite,  very  diplomatic  language,  the  expla- 
nation afforded  by  his  letters  did  not  appear 
to  me  to  be  any  explanation  at  all.  His  ob- 
servation might  apply  to  this,  that,  or  the 
other,  or  anything  else !  How  green  Dr. 
Holland  must  have  thought  me  when  he  im- 
agined he  would  tie  up  my  hand  with  his 
"  private  "  letters.  But  seriously,  if  he  in- 
tended to  do  more  than  shuflle  me  out  of 
mv  discoveries,  why  did  he  send  a  "  private  •• 
answer  to  my  published  charre,  or  insinua- 
tion, if  he  like  it  better.  The  concluding 
paragraph  of  his  last  letter  is  so  adroitly 
worded,  that  with,  or  without  his  leave  I 
must  quote  it.  "It  gives  me  pleasure  to 
know  that  you  find  anylhinff  of  truth  or  use- 
ful suggestion  in  what  I  have  published. 
And  f  shall  be  gratified  by  any  opportunity 


FcUlacies  of  the  Faculty. 


65 


which  may  hereafter  occur  of  talking  with 
you  on  these  subjects,  of  common  interest 
to  us,  out  of  print,  [no  dobut !  Ever,  my 
dear  Sir,  yours  faithfully,  H.  Holland." 
Now  I  should  like  to  know  which  is  the 
**  suggester"  here.  I  who  first  published  the 
discovery,  or  Dr.  Holland,  who  three  years 
afterwards  printed  it  in  a  phraseology  only 
slightly  altered .'  "  New  truths  of  a  higher 
order,**  says  an  enlightened  physiologist, 
*•  and  of  which  the  connection  is  not  seen 
with  common  and  hackneyed  doctrines,  are 
scouted  by  ail,  and  especially  sneered  at, 
denied,  and  abused  by  the  base  creatures 
who  have  just  sense  enough  to  see  there 
really  is  something  in  them,  who  have  just 
ambition  enough  to  make  them  hate  one 
who  appears  to  know  more  than  they  do, — 
and  who  have  just  cuncedure,  the  doctrines 
at  first  denied  are  subsening  or  skill  enough 
to  bias  minds  yet  weaker  than  their  own. 
To  crown  suitably  such  proquently  pilfered 
with  all  the  little  art  of  which  such  minds 
are  capable/'  Alexander  Walker  on  the 
Nervous  System,  "to  which  is  prefixed 
some  account  of  his  earlier  discoveries,  of 
which  the  more  recent  doctrine  of  Bell,  Ma- 
^endie,  &c.,  fs  shown  to  be  at  once  a  plag- 
iarism, an  inversion,  and  a  blunder. **] 

From  this  digression  I  now  turn  to 
Rrbumatism. 

lAke  Gout,  the  word  Bheumatism  conveys 
nothing  beyond  the  expression  of  the  false 
theory,  which  fh-st  gave  rise  to  it.  But  as 
we  are  compelled,  by  long  custom,  to  retain 
this  amone  other  equally  unmeaning  terms, 
I  may  tellyou,  that  the  profession  of  the 
present  day  class  under  it  numerous  affec- 
tions of  the  great  joints,  particularly  such 
as  have  come  on  suddenly,  and  are  attended 
wi&  much  pain  and  s'yelling.  You  will 
find  that  these,  in  every  case,  have  been  ush- 
ered in  by  fever  fits.  The  young  and  middle 
aged  are  more  liable  to  rheumatism  than  the 
extreme  old.  Like  the  gout,  it  is  a  remittent 
disorder,  and  Dr.  Haygarth,  long  ago,  wrote 
a  work  illustrative  of  th6  value  of  Bark  in 
its  treatment.  My  own  practice  is  to  pre- 
mise an  emetic ;  this  I  follow  up  with  a  com- 
bination of  quinine  and  colchicum.  If  that 
mode  of  treatment  fail,  I  have  recourse  to 
opium,  arsenic,  guiaic,  mercury,  silver,  tur- 
pentine, copaiba,  arnica  montana,  aconite  or 
sulphur,— or  combinations  of  them — all  of 
which  remedies  have  succeeded  and  failed  in 
ague  as  well  as  in  Rheumatism.  In  most  in- 
stances of  acute  rheumatism,  the  first  combi- 
nation will  be  found  to  answer  perfectly ; 
though,  in  cases  of  long  standing,  you  may 
have  to  run  from  one  m^icine  and  combina- 
tion of  medicine  to  another,  before  being 
able  to  bring  about  this  desirable  termina- 


tion ; — and  it  is  my  auty  to  confess  to  you, 
that  in  some  cases,  particularly  where  either 
much  depletion,  or  much  mercury,  or  both 
have  been  employed — as  I  grieve  to  say, 
they  too  often  are  in  the  primary  treatment — 
you  may  faiJ  with  every  means  you  may  de- 
vise. 

Under  the  head  of  Rheumatism,  medical 
men  also  include  certain  muscular  pains, 
which  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  body, 
but  which  are  unattended  by  any  apparent 
morbid  structural  development.  With  ni- 
trate of  silver  and  prussic  acid,  I  have  often 
cured  these  pains ;  and  with  the  cold  plunge 
bath,  I  have  sometimes  succeeded  after  ev- 
ery other  means  had  failed.  Of  my  mode  of 
treating  acute  Rheumatism,  1  will  give  you 
two  examples. 

Case  1. — A  young  man,  aged  25,  had 
been  suffering  severely  from  Rheumatism  for 
four  or  five  days  before  I  saw  him.  At  this 
time,  the  joints  of  his  wrists  and  ancles 
were  much  swelled  and  exquisitely  painful ; 
his  heart  labored,  and  was  in  such  pain  as  to 
impede  his  breathing ;  his  tongue  was  foul 
and  furred,  and  he  had  been  occasionally  de- 
lirious. I  ordered  an  emetic,  which  was 
some  time  in  operating,  but  when  it  did, 
the  relief  was  signal.  I  followed  this  uj> 
with  pills  containing  a  combination  of  qui* 
nine,  blue  pill,  and  colchicum,  and  in  two 
days  he  was  silting  up  with  scarcely  any 
swelling  remaining  in  the  affected  joints ; 
in  two  days  more  he  had  no  complaint. — 
Not  a  drop  of  blood  was  taken  in  tnis  case. 

Case  2. — A  gentleman  aged  thirty,  after 
exposure  to  wet  and  cold,  had  a  shivering  fit 
with  fever,  in  the  course  of  which  almost 
every  joint  in  his  body  became  swollen  and 
very  painful.  He  was  bled,  leeched,  blister- 
ed, and  took  mercury  to  no  purpose,  before 
I  was  called  in.  I  ordered  him  a  combina- 
tion of  quinine,  colchicum,  and  opium, 
which  agreed  so  well  with  him,  that  in  three 
days  I  found  him  free  from  every  symptom 
but  weakness,  which  I  presume  was  as 
much  the  effect  of  the  former  sanguinary 
treatment,  as  of  the  disease ;  at  any  rate,  he 
had  certainly  suffered  very  severely.  But, 
Gentlemen,  like  every  other  disease  incident 
to  man,  Rheumatism  may  not  only  be  cured 
without  loss  of  blood,  but  without  any  phy- 
sic at  all ;  and  in  evidence  of  this,  I  will 
read  to  you  an  extract  from  the  writings  of 
Sydenham;  **As  to  the  cure  of  Rheuma- 
tism" he  says  "  I  have  often  been  troubled, 
as  well  as  you,  that  it  could  not  be  perform- 
ed without  the  loss  of  a  great  deal  of  blood, 
upon  which  account  the  patient  is  not  only 
much  weakened  for  a  time,  but  if  he  be  of  a 
weakly  constitution,  he  is  most  commonly 
rendered  more  obnoxious  to  other  diseases 


66 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


for  some  yearei,  when,  afterwards,  the  mat- 
ter that  causes  the  Hheumatism  [Sydenham, 
like  Hippocrates,  was  a  disciple  oi  the  Hu- 
moral School]  falls  upon  the  lungs,  the  la- 
tent indisposition  in  the  blood  being  put  into 
motion  by  taking  cold,  or  upon  some  slight 
occasion.  For  mese  reasons,  I  endeavor  to 
try  for  some  other  method  different  from 
Bleeding,  so  of  ten  repeated,  to  cure  this  dis- 
ease; therefore,  well  considering  that  this 
disease  proceeded  from  an  inflammation, 
which  is  manifest  from  other  phenomena, 
but  especially  from  the  color  of  the  Blood, 
which  was  exactly  like  that  of  Pleuritis.  I 
thought  it  was  probable  that  this  disease 
might  be  as  well  cured  by  ordering  a  simple 
cooling,  and  moderately  nourishing  diet,-  as 
by  bleeding  repeated,  and  those  inconveni- 
ences might  be  avoided  which  accompanied 
the  other  method ;  and  I  found  that  a  whey 
diet,  used  instead  of  Bleeding,  did  the  busi- 
ness. After  last  summer,  my  neighbor  Mat- 
thews, the  apothecary,  an  honest  and  inge- 
nious man,  sent  forme;  he  was  miserably 
afflicted  with  a  Rheumatism,  accompanied 
with  the  foUowinf^  symptoms.  He  was 
first  lame  in  the  hip  for  two  days,  after- 
wards he  had  a  dull  pain  upon  nis  lungs, 
and  a  difficulty  of  breathing,  which  also 
went  off  in  two  days  time,  [both  remittent,] 
after  which  his  hesid  began  to  pain  him  vio- 
lently, and  presently  the  hip  of  the  right  side 
which  was  first  seized ;  and  afterwards,  ac- 
cording to  the  usual  course  of  the  disease, 
almost  all  the  joints,  both  of  the  arms  and 
l^gs,  were  afflicted  by  turns.  He  being  of  a 
weak  and  dry  habit  of  body,  I  was  afraid 
that  by  taking  away  much  blood  his  strength 
before  but  infirm,  would  be  wholly  van- 
quished, especially  the  summer  beinr  so  far 
spent,  it  was  to  be  feared  winter  woiud  come 
biefore  he  could  recover  his  strength,  weak- 
ened by  frequent  bleeding,  and  therefore  I 
ordered  that  he  should  feed  on  nothing  but 
whey  for  four  days.  Afterwards,  I  allowed 
him,  besides  the  whey»  white  bread  instead 
of  a  dinner,  namely,  once  a  day,  till  he  was 
nuite  well.  He,  being  contented  with  this 
uun  diet,  continued  the  use  of  it  for  eigh- 
teen days;  only  I  at  last  indulged  him  in 
bread  at  supper  too ;  he  daily  drank  eigh- 
teen pints  of  whey,  made  at  nome,  where- 
with ne  was  sufficiently  nourished.  After 
these  days,  when  the  symptoms  did  no  more 
vex  him,  and  when  he  walked  abroad,  I  per- 
mitted bim  to  eat  flesh,  namely  of  boiled 
chick^is,  and  other  things  of  easy  digestion; 
but  every  fourth  day  he  was  dieted  with 
whey,  till  at  length  he  was  quite  well ;  the 
inconveniences  mentioned  above  beinr  quite 
remedied  by  this  method,  with  which  ne  was 
grievously  afflicted  ten  years  before,  bleed 


ing  being  then  used  by  my  order  for  his  cure, 
and  often  repeated.  If  any  one  shall  con- 
temn this  method  because  it  is  plain  and  in- 
artificial,! would  have  such  a  one  know 
that  only  weak  people  despise  things  for 
their  being  simple  and  plain ;  and  that  I  am 
ready  to  serve  the  public,  though  I  lose  my 
reputation  by  it.  And  I  will  say  that  I  do 
not  at  all  question,  were  it  not  for  common 
prejudice,  that  the  said  method  might  be  ac- 
commodated to  other  diseases,  the  namcu» 
whereof  I  conceal  at  present,  and  that  it 
would  be  more  beneficial  to  the  sick  than 
the  common  pomp  of  Remedies  that  are  us«l 
for  people  when  they  are  just  dying,  as  if 
they  were  to  be  sacrificed  like  beasts." — 
But 

The  Stone. 

You  will  doubtless.  Gentlemen,  ask  me 
whether  or  not  I  look  upon  that  also  as  an 
effect  of  intermittent  fever  ?  To  this  ques- 
tion I  have  only  to  say,  that  Stone  must  be 
admitted  to  be  a  result  of  morbid  urinary  se- 
cretion. Can  any  secretion  become  morbid 
without  the  previous  occurrence  of  constitu- 
tional (in  other  words  intermittent  febrile.) 
change?  Certainly  not ;  then;  without  such 
change,  how  could  stone  become  developed 
at  all  ? — ^moreover,  are  there  not  times  of 
the  day,  when  the  subject  of  it  is  better  and 
worse,  and  U)is  nqt  alto^ther  to  be  referred 
to  the  period  of  micturition.  A  "  fit  of  the 
stone**  is  as  common  an  expression  as  a  fit 
of  the  affue.  Drs.  Prout  and  Roget,  who 
have  paid  much  attention  to  calculary  disea- 
ses, state,  that  while  medicines  styled  lithoa- 
triptics  exert  but  little  influence  in  such  ca- 
ses, tonics  have  almost  universally  amelio- 
rated the  condition  of  the  patient; — and 
what  are  the  medicines  usually  termed  ton- 
ics, but  the  remedies  for  ague  ? 

Whether  Gout  and  Rheumatism  be  remit- 
tent diseases  or  not,  or  whether  they  be  re- 
markable for  the  changes  of  temperature 
and  action,  termed  fever,  nobody  but  sudli 
as  prefer  books  of  nosology  to  the  book  of 
nature  and  common  sense,  would  be  so  igno- 
rant as  to  question.  Whether  they  be  yaii- 
eties  of  the  same  disease  is  another  thing ; 
but  this  I  know,  they  are  both  first-cousins 
to  ague,  and  by  treating  them  as  such,  the 
practitioner  may  save  nimself  a  world  of 
trouble,  and  the  patient  a  world  of  pain, 
which  neither  might  escape,  in  adopting  tke 
doctrine  of  the  "  pathologists,'*  that  tnese 
are  inflammatory  diseases,  and  only  to  be 
subdued  by  leech,  lancet,  and  mercury  to 
salivation.  Gentlemen*  laugh  at  the  pathol- 
ogists, and  laugh  too  at  their  disputationa, 
which,  being  all  about  nonsense,  can  never 
possibly  come  to  a  satisfactory  oonclunoa. 


FaUaeies  of  the  Faculty. 


67 


The  cdculary  (gritty)  or  stony  concre 
tions  which  are  occasionally  deposited  in 
the  different  joints  during  Gout,  suggested  to 
medical  men,  even  at  an  early  period,  the 
analogy  subsisting  betwixt  that  disease  and 
stone.  During  constitutional  disorders,  cal- 
culus may  be  developed  in  any  tissue  or 
structure  of  the  body.  Saliyary  concretions 
are  common ;  pulmonary  calculi  I  have  seen 
in  two  instances:  in  one  case  they  were  ex- 
pectorated by  a  consumptive  female  who 
died ;  in  the  other,  by  a  gentleman  whose 
Inngs  being  otherwise  organically  uninjured 
recovered  bis  health  completely  by  attending 
to  the  temperature  of  his  chest,  and  by  the 
occasional  use  of  hydrocyanic  acid  and  qui- 
nine, which  I  prescribed  for  him.  This  pa- 
tient had  previously  consulted  two  of  the  best 
employed  medical  men  in  London,  one  aphy- 
flician,  the  other  a  surgeon,  neither  of  whom 
held  out  a  hope  for  him  but  in  a  warm  cli- 
mate. Dr.  Chalmers  and  Sir  B.  Brodie,  for 
these  were  the  practitioners  the  patient  pre 
vioQsly  consulted,  showed  in  this  instance, 
at  least,  ^eir  good  opinion  of  attention  to 
temperature.  How  often  the  liver,  gall  blad- 
der, and  kidney  are  the  seat  of  stone,  1  need 
not  tell  you.  Taking  place  in  the  course  of 
an  artery,  calculus  is  erroneously  termed  os- 
sification. I  wonder  it  never  occured  to  au- 
thors to  call  it  the  gout !  seeing  that  there  is 
at  least,  this  resemblance  betwixt  them,  that 
both  generally  become  developed  after  mid- 
dle age  has  marked  the  subjects  of  them  with 
her  seal. 

There  are  not  wanting  authors  who 
have  traced  an  analogy  betwixt  Rheumatism 
and 

Cutaneous  Diseass — or 
IKsease  of  the  skin — and  as  all  disorders 
are  cousins-gerraan  to  ague,  we  must  give 
them  full  credit  for  their  powers  of  observa- 
tion— stating,  at  the  same  time,  our  readi- 
ness to  help  them  out  to  a  still  more  compre- 
hensive view  of  the  relationship  which  sub- 
sists betwixt  all  **  the  vanous  genera  of  dis- 


What  a  fine  thing  to  be  able  to  master  the 
dood  of  ridicxdous  distinctions  and  defini- 
tions by  which  Drs.  Willan  and  Bateman 
have  contrived  to  disguise  the  whole  subject 
of  Cutaneous  Disorder;— to  distinguish,  for 
example,  psoriasis  from  lepra  —  erythema 
horn  erysipelas,  diseases  only  difiering  from 
each  other  in  being  acute  or  chronic,  or  from 
being  more  or  less  extensively  developed; 
all,  too,  depending  upon  the  same  constitu- 
tional unity  and  intwrity  of  state — all  more 
or  less  amenable  to  identical  agency !  Most 
truly,  then,  has  my  Lord  Bacon  remarked, 
"IKviaions  only  give  us  the  husks  and  out- 


er parts  of  a  science,  while  they  allow  the 
juice  and  kernel  to  escape  in  the  splitting." 
What!  I  shall  be  asked,  is  Erysipelas  or 
Rose  nothing  more  than  a  result  of  ague — 
Erysipelas,  for  which,  according  to  Mr. 
Lawrence,  we  must  make  incisions  in  the 
skin,  at  least  a  foot  long  — gashes  not  quite 
so  short,  but  quite  as  deep  as  sabre  wounds! 
Hear  what  Sir  James  Mackenzie  says  when 
describing  his  own  case ;  and  the  accuracy 
of  his  description  will  scarcely  be  question- 
ed, if  it  be  remembered  that  previously  to 
entering  upon  his  legal  career.  Sir  James  had 
not  only  studied  but  taken  his  degree  in 
physic: — "We  had  an  unusually  cheerful 
day,"  he  says  "but  just  as  I  was  ^oin^  to 
bed  I  was  attacked  by  a  fit  of  shivering, 
which  in  the  morning  was  followed  by  a 
high  fever,  and  in  two  days  by  an  erysipe- 
las in  the  face.  The  disease  went  through 
its  course  mildly,  but  it  is  liable  to  such  sud- 
den turns,  (fits  ;)  that  one  is  always  within 
six  hours  ojf  death.'*  For  the  value  of  qui- 
nine or  bark  in  this  disease  I  could  cite  many 
authorities,  but  the  candor  of  Mr.  Travers 
entitles  his  evidence  to  a  preference.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Medico  Chirugical  Societv, 
he  is  reported  to  have  stated  that  in  "a 
great  many  instances  (of  Erysipelas)  he  had 
found  the  most  decided  benefit  from  the  use 
of  Bark  and  other  tonics,  and  which,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  disease,  he  bad  oitea  ' 
seen  highly  useful  in  the  practice  of  others, 
even  in  cases  where  he  would  have  employ- 
ed the  antiphlogistic  treatment,  if  the  patients 
had  fallen  into  his  own  hands. — Lancet. 

Every  medical  man  of  experience  knows 
that  Erysipelas  is  very  often  epidemic ;  in 
other  woitls,  it  prevails  at  a  particular  time 
to  a  greater  or  less  extent  among  a  particu- 
lar people  or  class  of  people.  Wherefore  it 
seems  to  depend  upon  a  peculiar  constitution 
of  atmosphere;  for  during  the  time  it  is 
prevalent  in  camps  or  cities,  the  shghtest 
scratch  on  the  skm  will  set  it  up.  ihave 
known  it  follow  the  application  of  a  blister 
to  the  chest,  and  I  remember,  when  in  Edin- 
burgh Castle  with  the  Royals,  I  was  obli- 
ged to  tell  the  officer  commanding  the  troops 
a  little  of  my  mind  upon  the  subject  of  cor- 
poreal pimishment :  one  'poor  fellow  had 
just  escaped  with  his  life  from  the  Erysipe- 
las brought  on  by  a  flogging.  But  even  at 
periods  when  the  disease  is  not  epidemic,  it 
may  be  produced  bv  any  one  of  the  thou- 
sand things  that  daily  occur  in  life.  Cold 
and  wet  are  frequent  causes ;  and  there  are 
individuals  who  cannot  take  mercury  in  any 
shape  or  dose  without  being  liable  to  an  at- 
tack of  it — ^nevertheless,  I  have  myself  cured 
many  cases  with  mercury.  The  best  prac- 
tice, however,  is  to  treat  it  like  other  acute 


68 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


fevers.  Begin  with  emetics  and  follow 
them  up  with  arsenic  or  quinine ;  this  prac- 
tice will  apply  to  all  acute  diseases  of  the 
skin,  hy  wnatever  names  they  may  he  known 
or  distinguished. 

What  are  the  causes  of  cutaneous  disease 
generally  ?  Every  thing  that  can  set  up  Fe- 
ver;— and  what  agent  in  nature,  when  ahu- 
.sed,  may  not  do  that  ?  Cutaneous  disease 
may  be  produced  by  mechanical  injury  ev- 
en— a  blow,  or  a  fall,  for  example.  A 
friend  of  mine,  who  hunts  a  great  deal,  has 
had  several  falls  from  his  horse,  and  on  each 
occasion  the  accident  was  followed  by  an 
erruption  all  over  his  skin.  I  have  known 
eruptions  to  be  a  constant  effect  of  the  intro- 
duction of  a  bougie  into  the  urethra  of  a- 
particular  individual.  What  will  the  gen- 
tlemen of  the  Humoral  school  say  to  this  ? 
for  you  know  the  partizans  of  that  school 
trace  all  such  diseases  to  a  "morbid  ingre- 
dient in  the  blood,"  and  they  look  upon  erup- 
tions as  an  effort  of  nature  to  expel  the 
**  peccant  aumor.**  Be  careful,  they  tell  you 
not  to  drive  it  in !  Now,  what  is  an  erup- 
tion but  the  effect  of  a  tendency  to  decom- 
position of  the  matter  entering  into  a  de- 
tached portion  of  the  cuticular  tissue,  so  as 
to  produce  an  arrangement  and  motion  of 
the  atoms  composing  it  difierent  from  their 
motion  and  arrangement  in  health .'  Such 
caution,  therefore,  amounts  exactly  to  this  : 
be  careful  that  you  do  nothing  that  sliall 
make  these  cuticular  atoms  resume  their  re- 
spective places  and  motions  in  the  economy, 
so  as  to  resemble  the  healthy  skin !  See, 
then,  to  what  a  ridiculous  pass  the  humoral 
doctrine  leads  us !  When  that  doctnne  was 
more  prevalent  than  it  is  at  present,  cutane- 
ous diseases  were  very  generally  classed  un- 
der the  head  of  "Scurvy;"  or  Scorbutic; 
whoever  had  eruptions  on  his  skin  of  a 
chronic  character,  was  said  to  have  the  scur- 
vy. Now,  if  this  phrase  had  been  used 
«imply  as  a^ign  or  "counter  to  reckon  by," 
no  great  harm  could  have  ensued;  but  like 
**scrofula,"  and  the  "gout"  "Scurvy"  in 
process  of  tiii^e  came  to  perform  the  part, 
not  of  a  sign  merely,  but  of  a  corporeal 
something — an  indefinite  entity  or  essence, 
.  -^or  any  thing  but  a  real  sense,  which,  like 
a  will-o-the-wisp,  played  its  "fantastic 
tricks"  now  in  this  part  of  the  body,  now  in 
that.  Some  wise  professor  made  his  pupils 
suppose  that  he  had  detected  it  in  the  Blood 
even ;  and  from  that  moment  not  only  did 
people  believe  that  Scurvy  was  a  specific 
disease,  but  the  whole  faculty  were  anxious 
to  discover  a  specific  remedy  for  it  A  spe- 
cific for  what,  Gentlemen?  for  an  "airy 
nothing,"  that  only  existed  in  the  theore'ic 
risions  of  their  own  most  mystified  brains. 


You  may  stare  as  you  please — but  this,  af- 
ter all,  is  the  truth.  What,  then,  you  will 
demand,  is  the  disease  which  doctors  call 
ship-scurvy !"  Now  to  this  most  reasona- 
ble question,  I  will  endeavor  to  reply  in  a 
reasonable  manner.  Having  been  myself 
for  months  at  sea  without  landing  or  seeing 
land,  my  evidence  may  be  just  as  good  as 
that  of  others  who  have  handled  the  subject 
before  me.  During  long  and  harassing  voy- 
ages, what  from  being  forced  by  foul  weath- 
er to  sleep  under  closed  and  consequently 
unventilated  decks— what  from  being  obli- 
ged to  watch  and  work  hard  upon  a  short 
allowance  of  food  and  water — together  with 
the  anxiety  and  depression  of  spirits  produ- 
ced by  "hope  deferred,"  the  men  gradually 
begin  to  show  signs  of  a  constitutional 
"break  up."  You  wiD  find  them  with  faces 
pale  and  oloated ; — their  skins  rough,  rug- 
ged, and  exhibiting  petechiae  and  haemorr- 
nagic  ulcers ;  their  gums  weak,  spongy,  and 
bleeding;  their  hair  harsh^  dry  and  tailing 
away,  and  their  bowels  subject  to  fluxes ;  a 
low  fever  wastes  them  day  by  day  and  night 
by  night,  and  they  become  at  last  so  ill  as  to 
faint  from  the. least  exertion.  This  is  Ship 
Scurvy,— not  depending  upon  a  something 
noxious  in  the  blood,  but  upon  a  positive 
want  of  something  essential  to  its  healthj 
reproduction.  And  how,  think  you,  is  this 
disease  to  be  cured  ?  By  'wholesome  food 
and  pure  air.  you  will  naturally  reply.  No 
such  thmg.  Gentlemen ;  nothing  so  simple 
would  dolor  scientific  people,  it  can  only 
be  cured  by  Lemon  Juice  !  Lemon  Juice, 
according  to  the  greatest  medical  professors 
is  not  oiuy  a  preventive  of  the  bad  effects 
of  starvation — but  a  substitute  for  pure  air 
and  proper  food  in  the  cure  of  diseases  pro- 
duced by  a  deprivation  of  both  !  Now,  it 
is  a  curious  fact  in  the  history  of  ship  scur- 
vy, that  just  about  the  time  that  lemon 
juice  came  into  fashion  as  a  cure  for  it, 
great  improvements  b^gan  to  be  made  in 
navigation,  as  also  in  snip  building,  and  in 
the  ventillating  and  victualling  of  fleets; 
voyages  that  formerly  took  up  a  year,  can 
now  be  completed  in  a  month  or  two,  and 
the  natural  good  effects  of  all  this  upon  the 
habits  and  constitution  of  the  seamen  are 
up  to  this  moment,  very  modestly  claimed 
by  the  doctors  as  the  result  of  their  em- 
ployment of  lemon  juice.  And  not  only 
are  there  fools  in  the  world,  but  philoso- 
phers also,  who  daily  echo  this  trumpery 
story  ! 

There  is  not  a  disorder  of  the  skin,  how- 
ever named,  that  I  have  not  myself  cured 
with  QUININE, — and  I  have  met  with  exam- 
ples of  every  kind  of  skin  disease,  that 
nave  baffled  me  with  every  thing  I  could 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


69 


I 

I 


think  of.  I  may  here,  nevertheless,  state 
in  r^ard  to  cutaneous  disease  generally, 
that  Ihaye  not  very  often  been  at  a  loss, 
while  I  had  at  my  disposed  quinine,  arsenic, 
oxymuiiate  of  mercury,  hydriodate  of  pot- 
ass, creosote,  iron,  and  lead.  In  a  very 
obstinate  case  of  scalledhead,  the  subject 
of  which  was  a  young  artist  of  talent,  a 
combination  of  belladonna  and  stramonium 
effected  a  complete  cure  in  about  a  fortnight. 
The  disease,  m  this  instance,  had  been  up- 
wards of  twelve  months  standing,  and  had 
resisted  ike  prescriptions  of  some  of  the 
ablest  men  of  Dublin  and  London.  Baths, 
of  which  I  shall  afterwards  speak,  I  have 
also  found  of  great  service  in  diseases  of 
the  skin — and  what.  Gentlemen,  do  all 
these  remedies  come  to  at  last,  but  to  ther- 
mal change  ? 

In  the  great  majority  of  instances,  then, 
the  local  disorder  from  which  physicians 
now  almost  invariably  name  disease,  and  to 
which  they  almost  invariably  confine  their 
attention,  is  only  one  of  the  many  features 
of  universal  disturbance.     So  far  from  be- 
ing the  causes  of  such  disturbance,  th,e  lo- 
cal tendencies  to  disorganization  are  mere- 
ly hereditary  or  accidental  developments  oc- 
curring iniiB  course — developments  expres- 
eive,  WT  the  most  part,  of  the  weak  points 
of  individual  constitution — though  some- 
times determined  by  climate  or  other  speci- 
ahty  of  cause.     In  England,  for  example, 
the  viscera  of  the  chest  are  the  organs 
which  chiefly  suffer,  while  in  the  East  and 
West  Indies,  the  liver  and  other  contents 
of  the   abdomen  ^come  more  frequently 
implicated.     Remittent  fever,  I  need  not  say, 
is  the  parent  of  both. 

Injuries,  passions,  poisons,  then,  are  each 
capable  of  producing  the  same  constitution- 
al disturbance  with  every  kind  and  degree 
of  organic  change  to  which  the  subjects  of 
them  may,  by  original  weakness  of  configu- 
ration, be  predisposed.  To  use  a  homely 
phrase— <*  when  the  whole  house  shakes, 
the  worst  built  room  suffers  most," — and 
this,  of  course,  diflers  with  every  house. 
A  blow  on  the  head,  nay,  an  injury  to  so 
nunute  a  member  as  the  finger,  may  pro- 
duce a  general  febrile  disorder,  ending  in 
abscess  of  the  lungs  or  liver,  according  to 
the  predisposition  of  the  patient.  Even  in 
the  course  of  the  Contagious  or  Pustular 
Fevers,  we  daily  find  all  kinds  of  organic 
change  developed — change  which  no  man 
in  his  senses  would  place  in  the  light  of  a 
Cause  of  those  fevers.  Amonff  the  organic 
and  other  disturbances  induced  oy  the 

SmalL'Pox  Fever 
or  yA&ioLA,as  it  is  called  by  the  profession, 
I  have  noticed  sore  throat,  deafness,  dropsy, 


consumption,  glandular  swellings,  rheuma- 
tism, and  palsy,  just  as  I  have  seen  the 
same  localisms  developed  in  the  course  of  a 
common  remittent  fever, — such  sequel®  de- 
pending, of  course,  upon  the  original  pre- 
disposition of  the  patient  to  the  develop- 
ment of  this  or  that  couj  plaint  by  any  agen- 
cy capable  of  mjuring  the  general  constitu- 
tion. And  how  should  it  be  otherwise, 
when  we  come  to  reflect  that  the  Small -Pqk 
Fever,  like  every  other  fever,  consists  in  a 
succession  of  paroxysms  so  exactly  resem- 
bling ague,  that,  before  the  appearance  of 
the  eruption,  it  cannot  possibly  be  distin- 
guished from  it !  Nor,  so  far  as  individual 
treatment  is  concerned,  does  that  matter  a 
straw,  for  however  perfectly  specific  the  • 
cause  of  the  disorder  undoubtedly  is,  the 
disease  itself  admits  of  no  specific  mode  of 
treatment.  To  shorten  the  cold  stage,  you 
may  resort  to  the  nearest  cordial  you  can 
get.  During  the  hot,  keep  the  patient  as 
cool  as  possible,  or  endeavor  to  break  it  by 
an  emetic,  w^hich,  in  nine  times  out  of  ten, 
you  may  easily  do ;  and  when  that  and  the 
sweating  stage  are  ended,  endeavor  to  pro- 
long the  interval  of  remission  by  opium, 
hyorocyanic  acid,  or  quinine.  That  I  be- 
lieve comprehends  nearly  the  whole  duty  of 
the  physician  in  this,  as  in  every  other 
acute  disorder.  By  a  reverse  course,  the 
most  perfectly  curable  case  of  small-pox 
may  be  very  speedily  rendered  malignant. 
During  the  spring  of  1824,  a  great  many 
instances  of  the  disease  occurred  in  Edin- 
burgh, and  I  remember  two  cases  which, 
from  the  difference  of  the  practice  employed, 
and  from  the  difference  of  the  results,  made 
a  strong  impression  upon  my  mind.  The 
first  case  was  treated  by  the  late  Dr. 
Mackintosh  by  repeated  bleeding  and  pur- 
gation ;  in  consequence  of  which  the  pa- 
tient became  delirious,  and  the  pustules 
were  rendered  confluent.  The  subject  of 
the  second  case  was  myself ;  having  fre- 
quently visited  the  former  gentleman  during 
his  illness,  I  may  fairly  presume  I  took  the 
infection  from  him.  But  the  treatment  in 
my  own  instance,  was  restricted  to  an  oc- 
casional antimonial,  and  an  opiate  about 
seven  in  the  evening,  which  had  the  effect 
of  either  entirely  preventing  the  anticipated 
paroxysm,  or  of  rendering  it  so  trifling  as 
to  pass  without  observation.  On  two  occa- 
sions it  was  neglected,  and  a  night  of  fever 
and  restlessness  was  each  time  the  result. 
I  was  out  of  the  house  in  ten  days,  and,  as 
you  see,  I  have  not  a  perceptible  mark  on 
my  countenance,  while  the  other  gentleman 
was  confined  to  his  room  for  more  than  a 
month,  barely  escaping  with  his  life,  and 
when  he  made  his  appearance  in  the  streets. 


70 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


his  face  was  so  disfi&;ured  by  .scars,  that  his 
most  intimate  frienas  did  not  know  him 
w^en  he  addressed  them.      During  the  au- 
tumn and  winter  of  1825,  while  I  attended 
the  Parisian  Hospitals,  the  small-pox  was 
raging  fearfully  in  France.      But  so  unsuc- 
cessful was  the  treatment  employed,  bleed- 
ing, leeching,  and  purgation,  that  the  dissec- 
ting-rooms of  Pans  were  literally  crowded 
with  the  bodies  of  the  people  who  had  died 
of  the  disease.       Some  of   these    bodies 
bore  the  mark    of   vaccination  on     their 
arms.    But  what  is  Vaccination  ?    Vaccin- 
ation is  only  the  artificial  introduction  into 
the  human  system  of  an  animal  poison; 
and  it  was  first  practised  by  Dr.  Jenner  of 
Berkley,  in  Gloucestershire.      Now  Jenner 
was  a  man  of  great  observation,  great  pene- 
tration — ^  man  upon  whom  facts  were  nev- 
er lost,  not  a  mere  collector  of  facts,  not 
one  of  those  poor  creatures  who  cry  "  facts, 
facts,  give  me  facts,  I  never  think,' — men 
who  might  as  wittily  cry  "  Bricks,  bricks, 
give  me  bricks,  I  never  Build !"    Of  quite  a 
different  stamp  was  Dr.  Jenner.     Practising 
his  profession,  chiefly  at  first  among  the 
poor  of  his  native  country,  from  them  he 
learned  that  the  people  connected  with  dai- 
ries had  their  hands  very  often  attacked 
with  an  eruptive  disease,  which  they  traced 
to  a  similar  eruption  on  the  teats  of  the 
cows  they  milked,  and  their  general  belief 
was  that  such  as  had  this  eruption  could 
not  take  the  small-pox.    Ail  through  Glou- 
cestershire this  fact  was  known  to  the  pea- 
santry, but  the  wise  doctors  only  looked  up- 
on it  as  a  popular  superstition.      Not  so 
Jenner, — ^who  set  about  an  investigation, 
and  he  discovered  it  to  be  the  truth  ;  and,  in 
sjfite  of  the  greatest  opposition  from  men  of 
his  own  profession,  and  others  whom  they 
secretly  influenced,  he  finally  succeeded  in 
establishing  the  practice  of  vaccination,  so 
called  from  vacca,  the  Mtin  for  cow.    Jen 
ner,  then,  was  the  flrst  who  artificially  in 
troduced  cow-pox  as  a  preventative  of  small 
pox ;  and  that  it  is  indeed  a  preventative 
you  will  have  no  difficulty  in  believing,  if 
you  choose  to  recall  to  memory  the  number 
of  persons  whose  faces  were  fretted  and 
seamed  by  the  small-pox  in  your  younger 
days,  and  the  few  instances  of  a  similar 
kind  you  meet  with  in  these  times,  since 
vaccination  has  been  practised.      Do  you 
doubt  the  preventive  effect  of  SmsM-pox  a- 
gainst  a    recurrence  of    smsdl-pox  ?     No 
more  can  you  doubt  the  effect  of  vaccina- 
tion— for  though  small -pox  does  occiasion- 
ally  attack  individuals  wno  have  previously 
undergone  vaccination,  so  also  does  it  recur 
occasionally  in  persons  who  bear  the  indeli- 
ble marks  of  having  previously    suffered 


from  small-pox  itself.  What  is  the  Vaccine 
disease  but  a  modification  of  the  small-pox  ? 
It  is  small-pox  in  a  milder  form,  a  fact 
which  Jenner  suspected,  and  which  Mr. 
Ceely  of  Aylesbury  has  recently  proved  by 
a  very  simple  experiment.  He  furst  inocu- 
lated a  cow  with  the  matter  of  a  Small-pox 
pustule.  From  the  new  pustules  which 
were  in  due  time  produced  m  that  animal, 
he  took  matter  and  inserted  it  into  the  arm 
of  a  child.  The  vaccine  or  cow-pox  pus* 
tule  was  the  result ! — and  these  experiments 
he  has  several  times  repeated  with  the  same 
success,  in  the  presence  of  many  medical 
men, — ^so  that  the  cause  of  smaJl-pox  in 
man  (whatever  its  real  nature  be)  becomes 
so  altered  in  its  vaccine  or  Ck>w  modifica- 
tion, as  to  constitute  a  most  valuable  pre* 
yentative  against  the  severer  form.  What 
is  the  nature  of  the  specific  agent  which 
produces  and  reproduces,  through  such  an 
infinity  of  individuals,  an  effect  so  eenend- 
ly  specific  ?  Can  it  be,  as  Uiumbus  thought, 
of  an  animalculine  chatacter  ?  or,  is  it  at  all 
analogous  to  the  influence  produced  by  the 
magnet  on  iron  ?  which  metal,  you  all 
know,  may,  from  the  contact  of  a  magnet, 
become  itself  magnetic.  These  are  the  most 
probable  relations  in  which  the  subject  may 
be  viewed — if,  indeed^  it  have  not  some  a- 
nalogy  to  the  continuation  and  reproduction 
of  ail  animal  life. 

There  are  a  few  questions,  connected  with 
this  subject,  which  I  confess  myself  unable 
to  answer.  Perhaps  the  ingenuity  of  eome 
of  you  may  solve  tnem  for  me. 

1  Why  is  Small-pox,  when  directly  in- 
oculated, more  generally  mild  than  when 
taken  casually  by  infection  ? 

2.  Why,  after  Vaccination,  have  we,  in 
the  majority  of  cases,  only  one  pustule  in- 
stead of  many,  as  in  cases  of  the  small-pox  ? 

3.  Why  is  the  Cow-pox  not  infections, 
like  Small-pox — ^seeinir  'that  it  is  a  mere 
modification  of  id  enticsa  agency  ?  The  cow. 
pox,  so  far  as  we  know,  can  only  be  com- 
municated by  direct  inoculation. 

4.  Has  the  protection  which  the  Cow-pox 
and  the  Small-pox  aflbrd  to  the  constitution 
against  recurrence,  any  analogy  to  agricul- 
tural exhaustion — to  the  impossibility  to  ob- 
tain more  than  a  riven  numoer  of  successive 
crops  of  a  particular  herbage,  from  a  partica- 
lar  soil,  in  a  given  period  of  years? 

But  the  small-pox  fever  is  not  the  only 
fever  which  once  having  attacked  an  indivi; 
dual  during  his  life,  for  the  most  part  ren- 
ders him  unsusceptible  of  recurrence ;— all 
the  truly  contagious  fevers  have  this  effect- 
Chicken  pox,  Measels,  Scarlet-fever,  Hoop- 
ing-cough, seldom  affect  the  constitution 
above  once  in  life — ^though  sometimes,  like 


r 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


71 


Small-pox,  they  make  their  appearance  twice 
and  even  three  times  in  individuals.  By 
Bome  authors,  the  Chicken  pox  has  been  sup- 
posed  to  he  a  modification  of  Small>pox — an 
opinion  to  which  I  myself  lean — for  when 
we  consider  how  remarkably  small-pox  be- 
comes modified  after  vaccine  transmission, 
we  can  scarcely  doubt  that  it  may  admit  of 
still  further  modifications,  by  passing  through 
the  bodies  of  other  animals  besides  the  cow. 
"ms  much  is  certain,  that  every  one  of  the 
contagious  diseases  has  the  most  perfect  a- 
nalo^  to  the  ague — seeing  that  all  have  re- 
missions and  exacerbations  of  fever  more  or 
less  perfect  in  kind,  and  that  all  are  more  or 
less  amenable  to  the  chrono-thermal  reme- 
dies— ^not  one  of  which  remedies,  however, 
possesB  such  snecific  influence  over  them,  as 
to  be  exclusively  relied  upon  in  the  treatment 
of  any  case.  Is  not  this  the  best  of  all  proofs 
that  there  is  no  Specific  in  physic  ?  If  in  a 
most  decidedly  specific  disease  we  have  no 
specific  remedial  agency,  how  can  we  possi- 
bly expect  to  find  such  for  any  one  of  the 
great  lamily  of  disorders  which  may  be  pro- 
duced by  anything  and  everything  that  can 
derange  the  general  health  ?  Yet  Dr.  Hol- 
land hopes  tnat  medical  men  may  one  day 
find  a  specific  for  Gout,  and  another  for  Con- 
sumption— diseases  which  may  be  produced 
and  cured  by  any  agency  that  can  alter  the 
moving  powers  of  particular  individuals ! 
Is  the 

Plague 
an  intennittcnt  fever  ? — The  case  of  Corporal 
Farrel,  as  detailed  by  Dr.  Calvert,  [Medico- 
Chirurgical  Transaaiona]  will  be  a  sufficient 
answer  to  the  question : — **  This  man  had 
been  standing  in  the  sea  on  the  10th  of  No- 
rember,  upwards  of  an  hour,  to  wash  and 
purify  his  clothes,  according  to  an  order  to 
that  efied  On  coming  out  of  the  water  he 
-was  seized  with  violent  shivering  and  head- 
ache, succeeded  by  heat  of  akin,  and  aiter- 
^rards  by  sweating,  which  alleviated  the  dis* 
tresstng  symptoms  On  the  following  day 
the  paroxysm  was  repeated.  He  was  per- 
mitted to  remaiif  in  the  barracks  horn  a  be- 
lief that  his  complaint  was  intermittent  fever. 
The  next  day  his  fever  returned  as  usual, 
but  it  now  declared  itself  to  be  the  Plague 
by  a  bubo  (glandular' swelling)  arising  in  the 
gioin,  while  the  seat  of  the  pain  seemed  to 
be  suddenly  transferred  from  the  head  to  that 
part  The  paroxysm  was  again  followed  by 
intermission  or  remission.  But  the  next 
morning,  while  dressing  himself  to  go  to  the 
lazaret,  he  dropped  down  and  expired.** 

Disputes  stiu  exist  as  to  whether  Pla^e 
^  contagious  or  not  On  whichever  side 
truth  lies,  ihexe  can  be  no  difficulty  as  to  the 


proper  treatment  The  indications,  in  Plague 
as  in  simple  intermittent  fever,  or  the  Small- 
pox, are  to  regulate  the  temperature  in  the 
cold  and  hot  stages,  bv  the  means  already 
pointed  out,  and  to  prolong  the  remission  by 
quinine,  opium,  arsenic,  &c.,  according  to 
particular  constitutions.  Treated  in  this 
manner,  the  disease  could  not  by  an;^  possi- 
bility be  more  fatal  than  we  are  told  it  is  un- 
der the  present  routine  of  practice.  «« In  all 
our  cases,**  says  Dr.  Madden,  "  we  did  as  all 
other  practitioners  did, — we  continued  to 
bleed,  and  the  patients  continued  to  die  !** — 
lMad(len^8  Constantinople.'] 

From  the  same  candid  author,  I  find  that 
the 

Yellow  Fever 
of  the  West  Indies,  is  not  less  remarkable  for 
its  periodic  remissions  and  exacerbations  than 
for  the  shiverings  and  alternations  of  tempera- 
ture characteristic  of  eveiy  other  disorder. 
The  yellow  appearance  of  the  patient,  like 
the  milder  jaundice  of  our  own  climate,  is  a 
mere  efiect  of  spasm  of  the  gall  ducts.  Jaun- 
dice, then,  is  a  symptom,  not  a  disease ;  it  is 
the  result  of  spasm  developed  in  the  course 
of  a  febrile  paroxysm.  People  will  say, 
«•  You  would  not  give  Quinine  or  Bark  in 
jaundice.'*  But  wherefore  not  ?  seeing  I  could 
muster  a  good  half-hundred  instances  where 
I  myself  have  cured  the  disease  by  one  or  the 
other.  Dr.  Madden  details  a  case  of  yellow 
fever  cmod  by  Quinine,  a  case  in  which  he 
says,  "  had  the  gentleman  been  bled,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  country,  I  think  in  all  proba- 
bility he  would  have  died ;  or  had  he  survi- 
ved, that  he  would  have  had  left  a  debilitated 
constitution  and  a  dropsical  diathesis  to  en- 
counter in  his  convalescence." 

Previous  to  my  embarkation  for  the  East 
Indies,  where  it  was  my  chance  to  serve  five 
years  as  a  medical  officer  of  the  army,  I  read 
Dr.  James  Johnson's  work  on  the  "  Disea- 
ses of  Tropical  Climates."  Impressed  when 
a  boy  with  his  pretty  style,  I  put  his  sangui- 
nary treatment  and  his  twenty  grain  doses  of 
calomel  to  the  test  But  so  far  from  confirm- 
ing his  assertions,  my  own  after-experience 
led  me  to  adopt  conclusions  much  the  same  as 
Dr.  Madden  Capt  Owen  of  the  Royal  Na- 
vy, too,  who  could  neither  have  a  theory  to 
support  nor  any  interested  end  to  serve  one 
way  or  the  other,  details  at  great  length  the 
mortality  which  took  place  amone  his  people 
while  employed  in  surveying  me  African 
coast  "It  may,  in  fact,  be  questioned," 
says  this  intelligent  navigator,  <<  whether  our 
ver^  severe  losses  were  not,  in  some  measure, 
attributable  to  European  medical  practice. 
Bleeding  and  Calomel  being  decidedly  the 
most  deadly  enemies  in  a  tropical  climate.*— 


i 


72 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


During  the  whole  time  of  tlie  prevalence  of 
the  fever,  we  had  not  one  instance  of  perfect 
recovery  after  a  hberal  application  of  the  lan- 
cet or  of  this  medicine."  Captain  Owen  far- 
ther states,  that  he  himself  recovered  without 
either  bleeding  or  calomel,  while  the  ship- 
doctor  fell  a  martyr  to  his  medical  faith, — he 
bled  himself,  took  calomel,  and  died !  [The 
above  remarks  were  first  printed  m  1840. — 
Two  years  afterwarus,  12th  November  1842, 
extracts  from  the  Report  of  the  Select  Com- 
mittee on  ihe  Western  coast  of  Africa,  ap- 
peared in  the  Times  newspaper,  wherein, 
among  other  things,  is  the  following :  "  The 
bleeding  system  has  fortunately  gone  out  of 
fashion,  and  the  frightful^ mortality  that  at- 
tended its  practice,  is  now  no  longer  known 
on  board  our  ships."  Dr.  James  Johnson, 
are  you  satisfied !] 

But  the  Eastern  practitioner  will  tell  me' 
possibly,  that 

Dysentery 

cannot  be  safely  treated  in  any  other  feishion. 
Is  he  sure  he  knows  exactly  what  is  meant 
by  the  word  Dysentery .'  I  shall  say  no- 
thing of  its  etymology  but  rather  give  you 
the  symptoms  included  by  Sydenham  under 
the  name.  "  The  patient,"  he  tells  us,  "  is 
attacked  with  a  chilliness  and  shaking, 
which  is  immediately  succeeded  by  a  heat 
of  the  whole  body.  Soon  after  this  gripes 
and  stools  follow."  What  then ,  Gentlemen , 
is  this  dysentery  but  an  a^ue,  with  increase 
of  secretion  from  one  surface  instead  of  an- 
other— from  the  mucous  surface  of  the 
bowels  instead  of  the  skin,  and  the  skin  re- 
member IS  only  a  continuation  of  the  mucous 
m*embrane  of  the  bowels.  Now,  Dr.  Gum- 
ming, late  of  the  £ast  India  Company's 
medical  service,  informs  us,  that  while  as- 
cending the  Nile  in  1836,  he  was  attacked 
with  dysentery.  After  suffering  for  a  week 
with  "  intervals  of  remission,'*  he  fairly  gave 
himself  up,  and  so  did  his  attendants,  for  he 
had  nothing  in  the  shape  of  medicine  with 
him.  As  a  foilom  hope*  however,  he  or- 
dered his  guide  to  sponge  him  with  warm 
water.  And  this  simple  remedy  [attention 
to  temperature,]  with  fomentation  of  the 
abdomen,  was  the  only  treatment  employed. 
He  took  a  little  wine  and  water,  which  re- 
mained upon  his  stomach  ;  he  then  became 
drowsy,  slept  for  a  short  time,  felt  his  skin 
less  hot  and  burning,  and,  in  brief,  began  to 
recover,  and  that  rapidly.  In  about  a  week 
afterwards,  he  writes  in  his  journal :  "  My 
recovery  is  almost  complete, and  the  rapidity 
of  my  convalescence  leads  me  to  contrast 
mv  late  attack  with  a  precisely  similar  one 
which  I  had  at  Cawnpore  in  the  autumn  of 
1829.    On  that  occasion  I  was  largely  bled 


at  the  arm,  had  fifty  leeches  applied  to  the 
abdomen,  and  during  the  first  four  days  of 
the  disease,  in  addition  to  extensive  mercu- 
rial frictions,  I  swallowed  two  hundred  and 
sixteen  grains  of  calomel.  True,  1  recover- 
ed ;  or  rather  1  did  not  die  !  whether  in  con- 
sequence, or  in  spite  of  the  above  heroic 
treatment,  I  will  not  venture  to  say.  My 
face  was  swollen  to  an  enormous  size,  every 
tooth  was  loose  in  my  jaws,  and  for  six  or 
eight  weeks  I  could  eat  no  solid  food ;  my 
constitution  received  a  shock  from  which  it 
never  fairly  recovered,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
come  to  Europe  on  furlough.  On  the  present 
occasion,  fortunately  for  me,  the  vis  medica- 
trix  naturae  was  my  sole  physician,  [he  for- 
got the  sponging  part !]  and  I  am  now  al- 
most as  well  as  before  the  attack  commenced. 
British  medical  practice,  in  my  humble  opin- 
ion, deals  too  much  in  heroics." 

That  opinion.  Gentlemen,  I  hope,  is  now 
yours  also — it  has  many  years  been  nunc. 
Such  a  case,  from  such  a  quarter,  must 
doubtless  be  more  than  sufficient  to  warn 
you  against  the  sanguinary  and  merculrial 
practice  introduced  into  the  East  by  the  in- 
fluence of  Dr.  James  Johnson's  Work  on 
the  Diseases  of  India.  What  an  idea,  first 
to  break  down  by  the  lancet  and  mercury  to 
salivation  the  attractive  power  of  every  atom 
of  the  body,  in  the  expectation  of  thereby 
strengthening  its  weakest  parts !  Does  this 
savour  of  mania,  or  does  it  not  ?  and  that 
too,  as  I  hinted  before,  madness  of  rather  a 
homicidal  kind  ? 

Dropsy. 

How  can  there  be  a  naorbid  superabun- 
dance of  any  sec^tion  without  a  correspon- 
ding change  of  temperature  ?  He  who  will 
rigidly  scrutinize  this  disease  shall  find  that 
the  same  shiverings  and  fever  which  pre- 
cede the  sweat  of  a^ue,  usher  in  the  tumid 
abdomen  and  swollen  legs  of  Dropsy. 
Dropsy,  then,  may  be  termed  an  Ague  with 
inward  sweat.  Tnat  it  is  a  remittent  disease 
may  be  seen  by  the  palpable  diminution  of 
the  swelling  on  particular  days ;  to  say  no- 
thing of  the  hopes  both  of  the  patient  and 
physician  on  such  4*7^  being  excited  by 
general  improvement  throughout.  How 
should  the  disease  be  treate^  f  Not,  accord- 
ing to  modern  practice,  by  diuretics  and  su- 
dorifics  solely ;  but  by  a  combination  and 
alternation  of  these  remedies  with  the  medi- 
cines of  acknowledged  efficacy  in  that  most 
perfect  type  of  all  disease,  the  ague.  Of  ca- 
ses successfully  treated  by  me  m  this  man- 
ner, I  could  give  you  hundredsr-hut  to 
what  purpose?  The  recital  would  only 
comprehend  the  symptoms  of  ague  with  in- 
crease of  the  natural  secretions  of  the  van- 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


73 


ous  cavities  even  to  effusion,  (or  cellular 
substance)  instead  of  perspiration  by  the 
skin ;   and  the  remedies,  as  you  majr  guess, 
quinine,  opium,  arsenic,  hydrocyanic  acid, 
combined  or  alternated  with  creosote,  squill, 
ipecacuanha,  colchicum,  mercury,  &c.  What 
other  proofs  do  you  want  of  the  unity  of  all 
disease  ?     The  Paymaster-Sergeant  of  the 
Soyals  had  drops}',  which,  notwithstanding 
the  usual  treatment  by  diuretics,  pur^tives, 
&c.,  was  daily  getting  worse,  when  Dr.  Ste- 
phenson, of  the  13th  Dragoons,  suggested 
the  applicaton  of  poultices  of  lichen  vulgar- 
is to  the  loihs.     From  that  day  the  amend- 
ment was  rapid,  and  the  patient  subsequently 
got  wclL    Now,  Gentlemen,  everybody  be- 
lieved that  there  must  have  been  some  ma- 
gical virtue  in  the.  lichen.    But  Mr.  Brady, 
we  surgeon  of  the  raiment,  thinking  that 
the  plant  had  less  to  do  with  the  cure  than 
^e  neat  which,  in  the  form  of  a  poultice,  it 
produced,  determined  to  try  poultices  made 
with  rke  in  a  case  exactly  similar.    The  re- 
sult was  the  same — a  cure ;  proving  how 
hght  he  was  in  his  conjecture.    Since  I 
have  entered  into  private  practice,  I  have  re- 
peatedly applied  poultices  to  the  loins  with 
advantage,  and  have  also,  with  the  assis- 
tance of  phiBttn  of  pitch,  galbanum,  &c., 
succeeded  in  curing  cases  of  dropsy,  that  re- 
listed every  kind  of  internal  remedy. 

Cholsra, — 

the  scourge  of  nations— will  cholera  be 
found  to  psutake  of  the  same  universal  type 
of  disease,  the  ague  ?  You  will  be  the  best 
judges.  Gentlemen,  when  I  draw  my  paral- 
lel. While  in  India  I  had  ample  opportuni- 
ties for  ascertaining  its  nature.  Tremulous 
and  spasmodic  action  belong  equall)  to  ague 
and  to  cholera ;  vomiting  or  nausea  charac- 
terises both.  The  ague  patient  has  some- 
times diarrhoea  or  looseness ;  oppression  at 
the  chest,  and  coldness  of  the  whole  body 
are  the  primary  symptoms  of  each.  The 
increased  flow  of  pale  urine,  so  often  re- 
marked in  ague,  is  an  occasional  symptom 
of  epidemic  cholera.  In  more  than  one  in- 
stance of  cholera,  which  came  under  my  ob- 
servation while  serving  in  the  East,  that 
secretion  passed  involuntarily  from  the  pa- 
tient a  short  time  before  death.  Suppression 
of  urine,  so  common  in  the  late  epidemic, 
was  a  A'equent  symptom  of  the  Walcheren 
ague.  When  there  is  no  hot  fit  or  reaction, 
death  is  usually  preceded  by  a  sleepy  stupor 
m  both.  You  have  ague,  too,  with  hot  skin 
tnd  bounding  pulse,  a  state  analogous  to  the 
Biilder  forms  of  cholera,  in  which  you  re- 
BMrk  the  same  phenomena.  When  not  fatal, 
cholera,  like  ague,  has  a  hot  and  sweating 
B^e.   Moreoyer,when  ague  terminates  life 


by  a  single  paroxysm,  you  And  the  same  ap- 
pearances after  death  m  the  bodies  of  botn. 
Lastly,  phrensy,  disease  of  the  lungs,  liver, 
and  spleen,  wiUi  dysentery  and  dropsy,  to 
say  nothing  of  epilepsy  and  apoplexy,  have 
been  the  occasional  sequels  of  each.  Chol- 
era, then,  is  an  extreme  of  the  cold  stage  of 
ague. 

What  are  the  remedies  most  beneficial  in 
Cholera  ?  Attention  to  temperature  compre- 
hends every  thing  that  has  either  failed  or 
succeeded.  Were  I  myself  to  become  the 
subject  of  it,  I  should  feel  inclined  to  trust 
more  to  a  bottle  of  brandy  than  to  any  thing 
contained  in  the  Materia  Medica.  While 
serving  in  the  East  Indies  I  saw  many  hun- 
dred cases  of  the  disorder,  but  I  never  could 
convince  myself  of  the  superiority  of  any 
one  kind  of  medical  treatment  over  another. 
In  my  Work  upon  the  Diseases  of  India,  I 
have  proved  that  death,  in  the  great  majority 
of  instances  of  cholera,  takes  place  from  a 
palsy  of  the  pneumo-gastric  nerves, — those 
nerves  that  influence  the  functions  of  the 
lungs  and  stomach.  If  you  divide  theile 
nerves  in  the  dog,  you  nave  the  essential 
sjrmptoms  of  Cholera,  viz.,  loss  of  voice,  vo- 
miting, and  difficult  breathing  always, — 
cramps  and  flatulence  frequently ;  ana  the 
animal  seldom  survives  the  third  day.  On 
dissection,  you  find  the  vessels  of  the  head,, 
lungs,  and  intestines,  filled  with  black  blood. 
That  is  exactly  what  you  find  on  opening^ 
the  bodies  of  persons  wno  have  died  of  cho- 
lera. Shortly  after  my  return  from  India* 
Dr.  Wilson  Philip  read  a  paper  at  the  West- 
minster Medical  Society,  in  which  he  took 
the  very  same  view  of  Cholera,  but  wherein 
he  forgot  to  say  that  his  views  of  the  disease 
had  been  every  one  of  them  anticipated  in 
my  Remarks  upon  it,  published  in  tne  Lan^ 
cet  some  months  before  I  quitted  India. 


Foltonisg  1>7  Arsenio. 
M.  Grimaud,  a  chemist  at  Poictfers,  ha» 
proposed  a  mode  of  rendering  poisoning  by 
arsenic  more  difficult.  He  recommends  that 
this  article  shall  be  sold  only  when  mixed 
with  ^certain  quantity  of  sulphate  of  iron 
and  cyanure  of  potash.  About  one  per  cent, 
of  each  substance  would,  he  alleges,  be  suf- 
ficient. The  arsenic,  thus  qualified,  shews 
itself  either  by  colour  or  smell,  when  used 
m  the  various  aliments  fit  for  man.  Thu8„ 
arsenic  prepared  this  way,  and  thrown  into 
warm  meat  soup,  gives  immediately  a  green, 
bronze  colour ;  into  hot  milk,  an  opal ;  into 
red  wine,  a  violet ;  into  bread,  a  deep  blue ; 
and  so  on  for  20  mixture,  on  which  M.  Gri- 
maud has  made  experiments. — Galignanfa 
Messenger. 


74 


Miss  Mariineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


MISS  MABTINBAU'S  LETTBRS  OV 
MBSMBBISM. 

LETTER  I. 

Tjnemouth,  Nov.  12. 
It  is  important  to  society  to  know  whe- 
ther Mesmerism  is  true.  The  revival  of  its 
pretensions  from  i^  to  age  makes  the  nega- 
tive of  this  question  appear  so  improbable, 
and  the  affirmative  involves  anticipations  so 
vast,  that  no  testimony  of  a  conscientious 
witness  can  be  unworthy  of  attention.  I  am 
now  capable  of  affording  testimony :  and  all 
personal  considerations  must  give  way  be- 
fore the  social  duty  of  imparting  the  facts  of 
which  I  am  possessed. 

For  some  years  before  June  last,  I  was  in 
the  class  of  believers  upon  testimony.  I  had 
witnessed  no  mesmeric  facts  whatever ;  but 
I  could  not  doubt  the  existence  ^f  many 
which  were  related  to  me  without  distrusting 
either  the  understanding,  or  the  integrity,  of 
some  of  the  wisest  and  best  people  1  knew. 
Nor  did  I  find  it  possible  to  resist  the  evi- 
dence of  books,  01  details  of  many  cases  of 
protracted  bodily  and  mental  effects.  Nor, 
if  it  had  been  possible,  could  1  have  thought 
it  desirable  or  philosophical  to  setup  my 
negative  ignorance  of  the  functions  of  the 
nerves  and  the  powers  of  the  mind,  against 
the  positive  evidence  of  observers  and  recor- 
ders of  new  phenomena.  Peojjle  do  not,  or 
ought  not,  to  reach  my  years  without  learn- 
ing that  the  stranseness  and  absolute  novelty 
of  facts  attested  by  more  than  one  mind  is 
rather  a  presumption  of  their  truth  than  the 
contrary,  as  there  would  be  something  more 
familiar  in  any  devices  or  conceptions  of 
men ;  that  our  researches  into  the  powers  of 
nature,  of  human  nature  with  the  rest,  have 
as  yet  gone  such  a  Httle  way  that  many  dis- 
coveries ai^  yet  to  be  looked  for ;  and  that, 
while  we  have  hardly  recovered  from  the 
'  surprise  of  the  new  lights  thrown  upon  the 
functions  and  texture  of  the  human  frame  by 
Harvey,  Bell,  and  others,  it  is  too  soon  to  de- 
^de  that  there  shall  be  no  more  as  wonder- 
ful, and  presumptuous  in  the  extreme  to  pre- 
determine what  they  shall  or  shall  not  be. 

Such  was  the  state  of  my  mind  on  the 
aubject  of  Mesmerism  six  years  ago,  whefi 
1  related  a  series  of  facts,  on  the  testimony 
of  five  persons  whom  I  could  tmst,  to  one 
whose  intellect  I  was  accustomed  to  look  up 
to,  though  I  had  had  occasion  to  see  that 
great  discoveries  were  received  or  rnected  by 
him  on  other  grounds  than  the  evidence  on 
which  their  pretensions  rested.  He  threw 
himself  back  in  his  chair  when  I  becan  my 
Btoiy,  exclaiming,  '*  Is  it  possible  toot  jou, 


are  bit  by  that  nonsense  ?"  Qn  my  decla- 
ring the  amount  of  testimony  on  which  I  be- 
lieved what  I  was  telling,  he  declared,  as  he 
frequently  did  afterwards,  that  if  he  saw  the 
incidents  himself,  he  would  not  believe  them ; 
he  would  sooner  think  himself  and  the 
whole  company  mad  than  admit  them.  This 
declaration  did  me  good ;  though  of  course, 
it  gave  me  concern.  It  showed  me  that  I 
must  keep  my  mind  free,  and  mast  obserre 
and  decide  independently,  as  there  could  be 
neither  help  nor  hindrance  from  minds  self- 
exiled  in  this  way  from  the  reeion  of  evi- 
dence. From  that  time  till  June  last,  I 
was,  as  I  have  said,  a  believer  in  Mesmerism 
on  testimony. 

The  reason  why  I  did  not  qualify  myself 
for  belief  or  disbelief  on  evidence  was  a  sub- 
stantial one.  From  the  early  summer  of 
1839, 1  was,  till  this  autumn,  a  prisoner  from 
illness.  My  recovery  now,  b3r  means  of 
mesmeric  treatment  alone,  has  given  me  the 
most  thorough  knowledge  possible  that  Mes- 
merism is  true. 

This  is  not  the  place  in  which  to  give  any 
details  of  disease.     It  will  be  sufficient  to 
explain  briefly,  in  order  to  render  my  storj 
intelligible,  tnat  the  internal  disease,  under 
which  I  have  suffered,  appears  to  have  beea 
coming  on  for  many  years ;  that  after  warn- 
ings of  failing  health,  which  I  carelessly 
overlooked,  I  oroke  down,  while  traYelliBg 
abroad,  in  June,  1839 ;  that  I  sank  lower 
and  lower  for  three  years  after  my  return, 
and  remained  nearly  stationary  for  two  mon 
preceding    last  June.      During    these  five 
years,  I  never  felt  wholly  at  ease  for  one 
single  hour.    I  seldom  had  severe  pain ;  but 
never  entire  comfort    A  besetting  sickDesB* 
almost  disabling  me  from  taking  food  for  twe 
yeara,  brought  me  very  low ;  and,  together 
with  other  evils,  it  confined  me  to  a  condi- 
tion of  almost  entire  stillness — ^to  a  life  pas- 
sed between  my  bed  and  my  sofa.    It  wai 
not  till  after  many  attempts  at  gentle  exer- 
cise that  my  friends  agreed  with  me  that  the 
cost  was  too  great  for  any  advantage  gained : 
and  at  length  it  was  clear  that  even  goiiy 
down  one  ffight  of  stain  was  imprudenL— 
From  that  time  I  lay  still ;  and  by  means  of 
this  undisturbed  quiet,  and  such  an  increase 
of  opiates  as  kept  down  my  most  urgent  dis- 
comforts, I  passed  the  last  two  years  with 
less    suffering    than    the  three  preoediif- 
There  was,  however,  no  favorable  change  ifl 
the  disease.    Every  thing  was  done  for  me 
that  the  best  medical  skilland  science  could 
suggest,  and  the  most  indefatigable  humanity 
and  family  affection    devise:   but  nothing 
could  avail  beyond  mere  alleviation.     My 
dependence  upon  opiates  was  despemte.  My 
kind  and  vigilant  medical  Ihend— the  mo^ 


Miss  Martineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


76 


sanguine  man  I  know,  and  the  most  bent  up- 
on keeping  his  patients  hopeful — avowed  to 
me  last  Christmas,  and  twice  afterwards,  that 
he  found  himself  compelled  to  give  up  all 
hope  of  afiecting  the  disease — of  doing  more 
than  keeping  me  up,  in  collateral  respects,  to 
the  highest  practicable  point.  This  was  no 
surprise  to  me ;  for  when  any  specific  medi- 
cine is  taken  for  above  two  years  without  af- 
fecting the  disease,  there  is  no  more  ground 
for  hope  in  reason  than  in  feelins.  In  June 
last,  I  suffered  more  than  usual,  and  new 
measures  of  alleviation  were  resorted  to.  As 
to  all  the  essential  points  of  the  disease,  I 
was  never  lower  than  immediately  before  I 
made  trial  of  Mesmerism. 

If,  at  any  time  during  my  illness,  I  had 
been  asked  with  serious  purpose,  whether  I 
believed  there  was  no  resource  for  me,  I 
should  have  replied  that  Mesmerism  might 
perhaps  give  me  partial  relief. 

After  my  medical  friend's  avowal  of  his 
hopelessness,  however,  I  felt  myself  not  on- 
ly at  liberty,  but  in  duty  bound,  to  try,  if 
possible,  the  only  remaining  resource  for  al- 
leviation. I  felt  then,  and  I  feel  now,  that 
throueh  all  mortification  of  old  prejudices, 
and  all  springing  up  of  new,  nobody  in  the 
world  would  undertake  to  say  I  was  wrong 
in  seeking  every  recoveiy  by  any  harmless 
means,  when  every  other  hope  was  given 
np  by  all :  and  it  was  not  recovery  that  was 
ID  my  thoughts,  but  only  solace.  It  never 
presented  itself  to  me  as  possible  that  disease 
BO  long  and  deeply  fixed  could  be  removed ; 
and  I  wasnerfectly  sincere  in  saying  that  the 
utmost  I  looked  for  was  release  from  my 
miserable  dependence  on  opiates.  Deep  as 
are  my  obligations  to  my  faithful  and  skilful 
medicu  friend,  for  a  long  course  of  humane 
effort  on  his  part,  no  one  kindness  of  his  has 
touched  me  so  sensibly  as  the  grace  with 
"wbicb  he  met  my  desire  to  try  a  means  of 
-vrhich  he  had  no  knowledge  or  opinion,  and 
hioEiself  brought  over  the  Mesmerist  under 
-whom  the  first  trial  of  my  susceptibility  was 
made. 

Last  winter,  ( wrote  to  two  friends  in  Lon- 
don, telling  them  of  my  desire  to  try  Mesme- 
rism, and  entreating  them  to  be  on  tUe 
watch  to  let  me  know  if  any  one  came  this 
way  of  whose  aid  I  might  avail  mysielf. — 
They  watched  for  me,  and  one  made  it  a 
business  to  gain  all  the  information  she 
could  on  my  behalf;  but  nothing  was  actu- 
ally done,  or  seemed  likely  to  be  done,  when 
in  June  a  sadden  opening  for  the  experiment 
was  made,  without  any  effort  of  my  own, 
and  on  the  22nd  I  found  myself,  for  the  first 
time,  under  the  hands  of  a  Mesmerist 

It  all  came  about  easily  and  naturally  at 
last    Mr.  Spencer  T.  Hall  being  at  New- 


castle lecturing,  my  medical  friend  went  out 
of  curiosity,  was  impressed  by  what  he  saw 
and  came  to  me  very  full  of  the  subject  I 
told  him  what  was  in  my  mind ;  and  I  have 
said  above  with  what  a  grace  he  met  my 
wishes,  and  immediately  set  about  gratifying 
them. 

At  the  end  of  four  months  I  was,  as  far 
as  my  own  feelings  could  be  any  warrant, 
quite  well.  My  mesmerist  and  I  are  not  so 
precipitate  as  to  conclude  my  disease  yet  ex- 
tirpated, and  my  health  established  beyond 
all  danger  of  relapse ;  because  time  only  can 
jjrove  such  facts.  We  have  not  yet  discon- 
tinued the  mesmeric  treatment,  and  I  have 
not  re-entered  upon  the  hurry  and  bustle  of 
the  world;  the  case  is  thus  not  complete 
enough  for  a  professional  statement.  But, 
as  I  am  aware  of  no  ailment,  a^d  am  restor- 
ed to  the  full  enjoyment  of  active  days  and 
nights  of  rest,  to  the  full  use  of  my  powers 
of  body  and  mind,  and  as  many  invalids, 
still  languishing  in  such  illness  as  I  have  re- 
covered from,  are  looking  to  me  for  guidance 
in  the  pursuit  of  health  by  the  same  means, 
I  think  it  rieht  not  to  delay  giving  a  precise 
statement  of  my  own  mesmeric  experience, 
and  of  my  observation  of  some  different 
manifestations  in  the  instance  of  another  pa- 
tient in  the  same  house. 

On  Saturday,  June  22nd,  Mr.  Spencer  Hall 
and  my  medical  friend  came,  as  airaneed,  at 
my  worst  hour  of  the  day,  between  the  ex- 
piration of  one  opiate  and  the  taking  of 
another.  By  an  accident  the  gentlemen  were 
rather  in  a  hurry — a  circumstance  unfavora- 
ble to  a  first  experiment  But  result  enough 
was  obtained  to  encourage  a  further  trial, 
though  it  was  of  a  nature  entirely  unantid- 

f.tea  by  me.  I  had  no  other  idea  than  that 
shouJa  either  drop  asleep  or  feel  nothing. 
I  did  not  drop  asleep,  and  I  did  fed  some- 
thing very  strange. 

Various  passes  were  tried  by  Mr.  Hall; 
the  first  of  tnose  that  appeared  effectual,  and 
the  most  so  for  some  time  after,  were  passes 
over  the  head,  made  from  behind  —  passes 
from  the  forehead  to  the  back  of  the  head 
and  a  little  way  down  the  spine.  A  very 
short  time  after  these  were  tried,  and  twenty 
minutes  from  the  beginning  of  the  seance,  I 
became  sensible  of  an  extraordinary  appear- 
ance, most  unexpected,  and  wholly  unlike 
anything  I  had  ^ver  conceived  of.  Some- 
thing seemed  to  diffuse  itself  through  the  at- 
mosphere— not  like  smoke,  nor  steam,  nor 
haze — but  most  like  a  clear  twilight,  closing 
in  from  the  windows  and  down  from  the  ceil- 
ing, and  in  which  one  object  after  another 
melted  away,  till  scarcely  anything  was  left 
visible  before  my  wide  opened  eyes.  First, 
the  outlines  of  all  objects  were  blurred ;  then 


76 


Miss  MartineaiCs  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


a  bust,  standing  on  a  pedestal  in  a  strong 
light,  melted  quite  away ;  then  the  opposite 
bust,  then  the  table  with  its  gay  cover,  then 
the  floor,  and  the  ceiling,  till  one  small  pic- 
ture, high  up  ion  the  opposite  wall,  only  re- 
mained visible  —  like  a  patch  of  phosphoric 
light  I  feared  to  move  my  eyes,  lest  the 
singular  appearance  should  vanish;  and  I 
cried  out,  "  0 !  deepen  it !  deepen  it !  ** 
supposing  this  the  precursor  of  the  sleep. — 
It  could  not  be  deepened,  however;  and 
when  I  glanced  aside  from  the  luminous 
point,  I  found  that  I  need  not  fear  the  return 
of  objects  to  their  ordinary  appearance  while 
the  passes  were  continued.  The  busts  re- 
appeared, ghost-like,  in  the  dim  atmosphere, 
Lke  faint  shadows,  except  that  their  outlines, 
and  the  parts  in  the  highest  relief,  burned 
with  the  same  phosphoric  light  The  fea- 
tures of  one,  an  Isis  with  bent  head,  seemed 
to  be  illumined  by  a  fire  on  the  floor,  though 
this  bust  has  its  back  to  the  windows. 
Wherever  I  glanced,  all  outlines  were  dres- 
sed in  this  beautiful  light :  and  so  they  have 
been  at  every  seance,  without  exception,  to 
this  day ;  though  the  appearance  has  rather 
^iven  away  to  drowsiness  since  I  left  off"  op. 
lates  entirely.  This  appearance  continued 
during  the  remaining  twenty  minutes  before 
the  gentlemen  were  obliged  to  leave  me. — 
The  other  effects  produced  were,  flrst,  heat, 
oppression  and  sickness,  and,  for  a  few 
hours  after,  disordered  stomach:  iollowed, 
in  the  course  of  the  evening,  by  a  feeling  of 
lightness  and  relief,  in  which  I  thought  I 
could  hardly  be  mistaken.  On  occasions  of 
a  perfectly  new  experience,  however,  scepti- 
cism and  ^if  distrust  are  very  strong.  I  was 
aware  of  this  beforehand,  and  also,  of  course 
of  the  common  sneer — that  Mesmeric  effects 
are  "  all  imagination."  When  the  singular 
appearances  presented  themselves,  I  thought 
to  myself, — **  Now,  shall  I  ever  believe  thai 
this  was  all  fancy  ?  When  it  is  gone,  and 
tt^hen  people  laugh,  shall  1  ever  doubt  hav- 
ing seen  what  is  now  as  distinct  to  my  wa- 
king eyes  as  the  rolling  waves  of  jonder  sea, 
or  the  faces  round  my  sofa  ?"  I  did  a  little 
doubt  it  in  the  course  of  the  evening :  I  had 
some  misgivings  even  so  soon  as  that ;  and 

et  more  the  next  morning,  when  it  appeared 

ike  a  dream. 

Great  was  the  comfort,  therefore,  of  re- 
cognizing the  appearances  on  the  second  af- 
ternoon. **  Now,"  thought  I,  "  can  I  again 
doubt?"  I  did,  more  faintly;  but,  before  a 
week  was  over,  I  was  certain  of  the  fidelity  of 
my  own  senses  in  regard  to  this,  and  more. 

There  was  no  other  agreeable  experience 
on  this  second  afternoon.  Mr.  HaU  was  ex- 
hausted and  unwell,  from  having  mesmeri- 
zed many  patients ;  and  I  was  more  oppres- 


I 


sed  and  disordered  than  on  the  preceding  da}, 
and  the  disorder  continued  for  a  longer  time : 
but  again,  towards  night,  1  felt  refreshed  and 
relieved.  How  much  of  my  ease  was  to  be 
attributed  to  Mesmerism,  and  how  much  to 
my  accustomed  opiate,  there  was  no  saying, 
in  the  then  uncertain  state  of  my  mind. 

The  next  day,  however,  left  no  doubt 
Mr.  Hall  was  prevented  by  illness  from  com- 
ing over,  too  late  to  let  me  know.  Unwil- 
ling to  take  my  opiate  while  in  expectation 
of  nis  arrival,  and  too  wretched  to  do  with- 
out some  resource,  I  rang  for  my  maid,  and 
asked  whether  she  had  any  objection  to  at- 
tempt what  she  saw  Mr.  Hall  do  the  day 
before.  With  the  greatest  alacrity  she  com- 
plied. Withio  one  minute  the  twilight  and 
phosphoric  lights  appeared ;  and  in  tnro  or 
three  more,  a  delicious  sensation  of  ease 
spread  through  me,— a  cool  comfort,  before 
which  all  pain  and  disease  gave  way,  oozing 
out,  as  it  were,  at  the  soles  of  my  feet.  Da- 
ring that  hour,  and  almost  the  whole  eve- 
ning, I  could  no  more  help  exclaiming  widi 
pleasure  than  a  persdh  in  torture  cr3nng  out 
with  pain.  I  became  hunery,  and  ats  with 
relish,  for  the  flrst  time  for  Svt  years.  There 
was  no  heat,  oppression,  or  sickness  during 
the  seance,  nor  any  disorder  afterwards.— 
During  the  whole  evening,  instead  of  the  la- 
zy hot  ease  of  opiates,  under  which  pain  ifl 
felt  to  lie  in  wait,  I  experienced  something 
of  the  indescribable  sensation  o^  health, 
which  I  had  quite  lost  and  forgotten.  I 
walked  about  my  rooms,  and  was  gay  and 
talkative.  Something  of  this  relief  remained 
till  the  next  morning ;  and  then  there  was  no 
re-action.  I  was  no  worse  than  usual ;  and 
perhaps  rather  better. 

Nothing  is  to  me  more  unquestionable  and 
more  striking  about  this  influence  than  ibc 
absence  of  all  re-action.  Its  highest  exhil- 
aration is  followed,  not  by  depression  or  ex- 
haustion ,  but  by  a  further  renovation.  From 
the  first  hour  to  the  present,  I  have  ncTcr 
falIe^  back  a  single  step.  Every  point  gain- 
ed has  been  steadily  held.  Improved  com- 
posure of  nerve  and  spirits  has  followed- np- 
on  every  mesmeric  exhilaration.  I  have 
been  spared  all  the  weaknesses  of  convales- 
cence, and  have  been  carried  through  all  the 
usually  formidable  enterprises  of  return  from 
deep  disease  to  health  with  a  steadiness  and 
tranquility  astonishing  to  all  witnesses.  At 
this  time,  before  venturing  to  speak  of  my 
health  as  established,  I  believe  myself  more 
firm  in  nerve,  more  calm  and  steady  in  mind 
and  spirits,  than  at  any  time  of  mv  life  he- 
fore.  So  much,  in  consideration  of  the  nat- 
ural and  common  fear  of  the  mesmeric  influ- 
ence as  [)erniciou8  excitement — as  a  kind  of 
intoxication. 


Mis3  Mariineauls  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


77 


When  Mr.  Hal)  saw  how  congenial  was 
the  influence  of  this  new  Mesmerist,  he  ad- 
Yised  our  ^ing  on  by  ourselves,  which  we 
did  until  the  6th  of  September.  * 

I  owe  much  to  Mr.  Hall  for  his  disinter- 
ested zeal  and  kindness.  He  did  for  me  all 
he  cpuld ;  and  it  was  much  to  make  a  be- 
gLnning,  and  put  us  in  the  way  of  procee- 
ding. 


LETTER  II. 

I  next  procured,  for  guidance,  Deleuze's 
*  Instruction  Pratique,  sur  le  Magnetisme 
Animal.'  Out  of  this  I  directed  my  maid : 
and  for  some  weeks  we  went  on  pretty  well. 
Finding  my  appetite  and  digestion  sufficient- 
ly improved,  I  left  off  tonics,  and  also  the 
medicine  which  I  had  taken  for  two  years 
and  four  months,  in  obedience  to  my  doctor's 
hope  of  affecting  the  disease, — though  the 
eminent  physician  who  saw  me  before  that 
time  declared  that  he  had  "  tried  it  in  an  in- 
finite number  of  such  cases,  and  never  knew 
it  avail."  I  never  felt  the  want  of  these 
medicines,  nor  others  which  1  afterwards 
diBcontinued.  From  the  first  week  in  Au- 
gust, I  took  no  medicines  but  opiates ;  and 
uiese  I  was  gradually  reducing.  These  par- 
ticulars are  mentioned  to  show  how  early  in 
the  experiment  Mesmerism  became  my  sole 
xeliance. 

On  four  days,  scattered  through  six  weeks, 
our  seanu  was  prevented  bv  visitors,  or 
other  accidents.  On  these  iour  days,  the 
old  distress  and  pain  recurred ;  but  never  on 
the  days  when  iwas  mesmerized. 

From  the  middle  of  August  (after  I  had 
diacontinued  all  medicines  but  opiates,)  the 
departure  of  the  worst  pains  and  oppressions 
of  my  disease  made  me  suspect  that  the 
complaint  itself, — the  incurable,  hopeless 
disease  of  so  many  years, — was  reached ; 
and  now  I  first  began  to  glance  towards  the 
thought  of  recovery.  In  two  or  three  weeks 
more,  it  became  certain  that  I  was  not  de- 
ceived ;  and  the  radical  amendment  has  since 
gone  on,  without  intermission. 
-  Another  thing,  however,  was  also  be- 
coming clear :  that  more  aid  was  necessary. 
My  maid  did  for  me  whatever,  under  my  own 
instruction,  good- will  and  affection  could  do. 
But  the  patience  and  strenuous  purpose  re- 
quired in  a  case  of  such  long  and  deep  seat- 
^  disease  can  only  be  looked  for  in  an  edu- 
cated person,  so  familiar  with  the  practice  of 
Mesmerism  as  to  be  able  to  keep  a  steady 
eye  on  the  end,  through  all  delays  and  doubt- 
ful incidents.  And  it  is  also  important,  if 
not  necessary,  that  the  predominance  of  will 
should  be  in  the  Mesmerist,  not  the  patient. 


The  ofiSces  of  an  untrained  servant  may 
avail  perfectly  in  a  short  case, — for  tlie  re- 
moval of  sudden  pain,  or  a  brief  illness; 
but,  from  the  subordination  being  in  the 
wrong  party,  we  found  ourselves  coming  to 
a  stand. 

The  difficulty  was  abolished  by  the  kind- 
ness and  sagacity  of  Mr!  Atkinson,  who  had 
been  my  adviser  throughout.  He  explained 
my  position  to  a  friend  of  his — a  lady,  the 
widow  of  a  clergyman,  deeply  and  practi- 
cally interested  m  Mesmerism — ^possessed 
of  great  Mesmeric  power,  and  of  those  hi^h 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  fortify 
and  sanctify  its  influence.  In  puie  zeal  and 
benevolence,  this  lady  came  to  me»  and  has 
been  with  me  ever  since.  When  I  found 
myself  able  to  repose  on  the  knowledge  and 
power  (mental  and  moral)  of  my  Mesmerist, 
the  last  impediments  to  my  progress  were 
cleared  away,  and  I  improved  accordingly. 

A  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  my  kind 
Mesmerist,  1  had  my  foot  on  the  grass  for 
the  firpt  time  for  four  years  and  a  half.  I 
went  down  to  the  little  garden  under  my 
windows.  I  never  before  was  in  the  open 
air,  after  an  illness  of  merely  a  week  or  two, 
without  feeline  more  or  less  overpowered ; 
but  now,  under  the  open  sky,  after  four 
years  and  a  half  spent  Detween  bed  and  a 
sofa,  I  felt  Ho  faintness,  exhaustion,  or  ner- 
vousness of  any  kind.  I  was  somewhat 
haunted  a  day  or  two  by  the  stalks  of  the 
nass,  which  I  had  not  seen  growing  for  so 
long  (for,  well  supplied  as  I  had  been  with 
flowers,  rich  and  rare,  1  had  seen  no  grass, 
except  from  my  windows  0  but  at  the  time 
I  was  as  self-possessed  as  any  walker  in  the 
place.  In  a  day  or  two,  1  walked  round  the 
garden,  then  down  the  lane,  then  to  the  ha- 
ven, and  so  on,  till  now,  in  two  months,  five 
miles  are  no  fa.igue  to  me.  At  first,  the 
evidences  of  the  extent  of  the  disease  were 
so  clear  as  to  make  me  think  that  I  had  nev- 
er before  fully  understood  how  ill  I  had  been. 
They  disappeared  one  by  one ;  and  now  I 
feel  nothing  of  them. 

The  same  fortifying  influence  carried  me 
through  the  greatest  effort  of  all, — the  final 
severance  from  opiates.  What  that  struggle 
is,  can  be  conceived  only  by  those  who  have 
experienced,  or  watched  it  with  solicitude  in 
a  case  of  desperate  dependence  on  them  for 
years.  No  previous  reduction  can  bridge 
over  the  chasm  which  separates  an  opiated 
from  the  natural  state.  I  see  in  my  own  ex- 
perience a  consoling  promise  for  the  diseas- 
ed, and  also  for  the  intemperate,  who  may 
desire  to  repin  a  natural  condition,  but  might 
fail  througn  bodily  suffering.  Where  the 
mesmeric  sleep  can  be  induced,  the  transi- 
tion may  be  made  comparatively  easy.    It 


78 


Miss  Martinean^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


appears,  however,  that  opiates  are  a  great 
hmdrance  to  the  production  of  the  sleep ; 
but  even  so,  the  mesmeric  influence  is  an  in- 
estimable help,  as  1  can  testify.  I  gave  all 
my  opiates  to  my  Mesmerist,  desiring  her  not 
to  let  me  have  any  on  any  entreaty ;  and  dur- 
ing the  day  I  scarcely  felt  the  want  of  them. 
Her  mesmerizing  kept  me  up;  and,  much 
more,  it  intercepted  the  distress, — obviated 
the  accumulation  of  miseries  under  which  the 
unaided  suflerer  is  apt  to  sink.  It  enabled 
me  to  encounter  every  night  afresh, — acting 
as  it  does  in  cases  of  insanity,  where  it  is  all- 
important  to  suspend  the  irritation — to  ban- 
ish the  haunting  idea.  What  further  aid  I 
derived  in  this  last  struggle  from  Mesmerism 
in  another  form,  I  shall  mention  when  I  de- 
tail the  other  case  with  which  my  own  be- 
came implicated,  and  in  which,  to  myself  at 
least,  the  interest  of  my  own  has  completely 
merged. 

It  will  be  supposed  that  during  the  whole 
experiment,  I  longed  to  enjoy  the  mesmeric 
sleep,  and  was  on  the  watch  for  some  of  the 
wonders  which  I  knew  to  be  common.  The 
sleep  never  came,  and  except  the  great  mar- 
vel of  restored  health,  I  have  experienced 
less  of  the  wonders  than  I  have  observed  in 
another.  Some  curious  particulars  are,  how- 
ever, worth  noting. 

The  first  ver}  striking  circumstance  to  me, 
a  novice,  though  familiar  enough  to  be  prac- 
tised, was  the  power  of  my  Mesmerist's  voli- 
tions, without  any  co-operation  on  my  part. 
One  very  warm  morning  in  August,  when 
every  body  else  was  oppressed  with  heat,  I 
was  shivering  a  little  under  the  mesmeric  in- 
fluence of  my  maid, — the  influence,  in  those 
days,  causing  the  sensation  ot  cold  currents 
running  through  me  from  head  to  foot. — 
"  This  cold  will  not  do  for  you  ma'am,"  said 
M. «« 0 !"  said  I,  "  it  is  fresh,  and  I  do  not 
mind  it :"  and  immediately  my  mind  went  ofi* 
to  something  else.  In  a  few  minutes,  I  was 
surprised  by  a  feeling  as  of  warm  water  tick- 
ling through  Ae  channels  of  the  late  cold. — 
In  reply  to  my  observation,  that  I  was  warm 
now,  M.  said,  "  Yes,  ma'am,  that  is  what  I 
am  doing.  By  inquiry  and  observation,  it 
became  clear  to  me,  that  her  influence  was, 
generally  speaking,  composing,  just  in  pio- 
portion  to  her  power  of  willing  that  it  should 
De  so.  When  I  afterwards  saw,  in  the  case 
I  shall  relate,  how  the  volition  of  the  Mes- 
meiist  caused  immediate  waking  from  the 
deepest  sleep,  and  a  supposition  that  the  same 
glass  of  water  was  now  wine— now  porter, 
&c.,  I  became  too  much  familiarized  with  the 
effect  to  be  as  much  astonished  as  many  of 
my  readers  will  doubtless  be. 

Another  striking  incident  occurred  in  one 
of  the  earliest  of  my  walks.    My  Mesmerist 


and  1  had  reached  a  headland  nearly  half  a 
mile  from  home,  and  were  resting  there, 
when  she  proposed  to  mesmerize  me  a  little 
—partly  to  refresh  me  for  our  return,  and 
partly  to  see  whether  any  effect  would  be 
produced  in  a  new  place,  and  while  a  fresh 
breeze  was  blowing.  She  merely  laid  her 
hand  on  my  forehesul,  and  in  a  minute  or  two 
the  usual  appearances  came,  assuming  a 
strange  air  of  novelty  from  the  scene  in  which 
I  was.  After  the  blurring  of  the  outlines, 
which  made  all  objects  more  dim  than  the 
dull  gray  day  had  already  made  them,  the 
phosphoric  lights  appeared,  glorifying  every 
rock  and  headland,  the  horizon,  and  all  the 
vessels  in  sight.  One  of  the  dirtiest  and 
meanest  of  the  steam  tugs  in  the  port  was 
passing  at  the  time,  and  it  was  all  dressed 
in  heavenly  radiance — the  last  object  that 
any  imagination  would  select  as  an  element 
of  a  vision.  Then,  and  often  before  and 
since,  did  it  occur  to  me  that  if  I  had  been  a 
'pious  and  very  ignorant  Catholic,  I  could  not 
have  escaped  the  persuasion  that  I  had  seen 
heavenly  visions.  Every  glorified  object  be- 
fore my  open  eyes  would  have  been  a  reve- 
lation ;  and  my  Mesmerist,  with  the  white 
halo  round  her  head,  and  the  illuminated  pro- 
file, would  have  been  a  saint  or  an  angel. 

Sometimes  the  induced  darkening  has  been 
so  great,  that  I  have  seriously  inquired 
whether  the  lamp  was  not  out,  when  a  few 
movements  of  the  head  convinced  me  that  it 
was  burning  as  brightly  as  ever.  As  the 
muscular  power  oozes  away  under  the  mes- 
meric influence,  a  strange  inexplicable  feel- 
ing ensues  of  the  frame  becoming  transpa- 
rent and  ductile.  My  head  has  often  appwr- 
ed  to  be  drawn  out,  to  change  its  form,  ac- 
cording to  the  traction  of  my  Mesmerist,  and 
an  indescribable  and  exceedingly  agreea- 
ble sensation  of  transparency  and  lightness, 
through  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  frame, 
has  followed.  Then  begins  the  moaning,  of 
which  so  much  has  been  made,  as  an  indica- 
tion of  pain.  I  have  often  moaned,  and 
much  oftener  have  been  disposed  to  do  so, 
when  the  sensations  have  been  the  most  tran- 
quil and  agreeable.  At  such  times,  my 
Mesmerist  has  struggled  not  to  disturb  me  by 
a  laugh,  when  I  have  murmured,  with  a  sen- 
ous  tone,  «*  Here  are  my  hands,  but  they 
have  no  arms  to  them:"  **  0  dear!  what 
shall  I  do  ?  here  is  none  of  me  left ."'  the  in- 
tellect and  moral  powers  being  all  the  while 
at  their  strongest.  Between  this  condition 
and  the  mesmeric  sleep  there  is  a  state,  tran- 
sient and  rare,  of  which  I  have  had  cxpen- 
ence,  but  of  which  I  intend  to  apvc  no  ac- 
count. A  somnambule  calls  it  a  ghmmeringol 
the  lights  of  somnambulism  and  clairvoyance. 
To  me  there  appears  nothing  like  glimmenng 


Miss  Martineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


79 


in  it  The  ideas  that  I  have  snatched  from 
if,  and  now  retain,  are,  of  all  ideas  which 
ever  visited  me,  the  most  lucid,  and  impres- 
sive. It  may  be  well  that  they  are  incom- 
municable— partly  from  their  nature  and  re- 
lations, and  partly  from  their  unfitness  for 
iTcinslatlon  into  mere  words.  I  will  only  say 
that  the  condition  is  one  of  "  no  nervous  ex- 
dtement,"  as  far  as  experience  and  outward 
indications  can  be  taken  as  a  test.  Such  a 
state  of  repose,  of  calm  translucent  intellec- 
tuality, I  had  never  conceived  of ;  and  no  re- 
action followed,  no  excitement  but  that  which 
is  natural  to  every  one  who  finds  himself  in 
possession  of  a  great  new  idea. 

Before  leaving  the  narrative  of  my  own 
case  for  that  of  another,  widely  different,  I 
put  in  a  claim  for  my  experiment  being  con- 
sidered rational.  It  surely  was  so,  not  only 
on  account  of  my  previous  knowledge  of 
facts,  and  of  my  hopelessness  from  any  other 
resource,  but  on  grounds  which  other  suffer- 
ers may  share  wiih  me ; — on  the  ground  that 
though  the  science  of  medicine  may  be  ex- 
hausted in  any  particular  case,  it  does  not 
follow  that  curative  means  are  exhausted ; — 
on  the  ground  of  the  ignorance  of  all  men  of 
the  nature  and  extent  of  the  reparative  pow- 
cr  which  lies  under  our  hand,  and  which  is 
vaguely  indicated  by  the  term  "  Nature  ;"— 
on  the  ground  of  the  ignorance  of  all  men  re- 
mding  the  very  structure,  and  much  more, 
the  functions  of  the  nervous  system ; — and  on 
the  broad  ultimate  ground  of  our  total  igno- 
rance of  the  principal  of  life, — of  what  it  is, 
and  where  it  resides,  and  whether  it  can  be 
reached,  and  in  anyway  beneficially  affected 
by  a  voluntary  application  of  human  energy. 

It  seemed  to  me  rational  to  seek  a  way  to 
lefreshment  first,  and  then  to  health,  amidst 
this  wilderness  of  ignorances,  rather  than  to 
lie  perishing  in  their  depths.  The  event 
seems  to  prove  it  so.  The  story  appears  to 
me  to  speak  for  itself.  If  it  does  not  assert 
itself  to  all, — if  any  should,  as  is  common  in 
cases  o!  restoration  by  Mesmerism, — try  to 
account  for  the  result  by  any  means  but  those 
which  are  obvious,  supposing  a  host  of  mor- 
al impossibilities  rather  than  admit  a  plain 
new  Jact,  I  have  no  concern  with  such  ob- 
jectors or  objections. 

In  a  case  of  blindness  cured,  once  upon  a 
time,  and  cavilled  at  and  denied,  from  hostili- 
ty to  the  means,  an  answer  was  given  which 
we  are  wont  to  consider  sufficiently  satisfac- 
tory :  ««One  thing  I  know,  that  whereas  I  was 
blind,  now  I  see."  Those  who  could  dispute 
the  Tact  after  this  must  be  left  to  their  doubts. 
They  could,  it  is  true,  cast  out  their  restored 
brother ;  but  they  could  not  impair  his  joy  in 
his  new  blessing,  nor  despoil  him  of  his  far 
higher  privileges  of  belief  in  an  allegiance  to 


his  benefactor.  Thus,  whenever,  under  the 
Providence  which  feadson  our  race  to  knowl- 
edge and  power,  any  new  blessing  of  healing 
arises,  it  is  little  to  one  who  enjoys  it  what 
disputes  are  caused  among  observers.  To 
him,  the  privile^  is  clear  and  substantial. — 
Physically,  havine  been  diseased*  he  is  now 
well.  Intellectually,  having  been  blind,  he 
now  sees. 

For  the  wisest  this  is  enough.  And  for 
those  of  a  somewhat  lower  onler,  who  have 
a  restless  craving  for  human  sympathy  in 
their  recovered  rensh  of  life,  there  is  almost 
a  certainty  that  somewhere  near  them  there 
exist  hearts  susceptible  of  simple  faith  in  the 
unexplored  powers  of  nature,  and  minds  ca- 
pable of  an  ingenuous  recognition  of  plain, 
facts,  though  they  be  new,  and  must  wait  for 
a  theoretical  solution. 


LETTER   III. 

Tynemouth,  Nov.  20, 1844. 
When  I  entered  upon  my  lodgings  here, 
nearly  five  years  ago,  I  was  waited  upon  by 
my  landlady's  niece,  a  girl  of  fourteen.  From 
that  time  to  this,  she  has  been  under  my  eye ; 
and  now,  at  the  age  oi  nineteen,  she  has  all 
the  ingenuousness  and  conscientiousness  that 
won  my  respect  at  first,  with  an  increased  in- 
telligence and  activity  of  affections.  I  am 
aware  that  personal  confidence,  such  as  I 
feel  for  this  girl,  cannot  be  transfened  to  any 
other  mind  by  testimony.  Still,  the  testimony 
of  an  inmate  of  the  same  house  for  so  many 
years,  as  to  essential  points  of  character, 
must  have  some  weight:  and  therefore  I  pre- 
face my  story  with  it.  I  would  add  that  no 
wonders  of  Mesmerism  could  be  greater  than 
tliat  a  person  of  such  character,  age,  and  po- 
sition should  be  able,  for  a  long  succession  of 
weeks,  to  do  and  say  things,  every  evening, 
unlike  her  ordinary  payings  and  doings,  to 
tell  things  out  of  the  scope  of  her  ordinary 
knowledge,  and  to  command  her  countenance 
and  demeanor,  so  that  no  fear,  no  mirth,  no 
anger,  no  doubt,  should  ever  once  make  her 
move  a  muscle,  or  change  colour,  or  swerve 
for  one  instant  from  the  consistency  of  her 
assertions  and  denials  on  matters  of  fact  or 
opinion.  I  am  certain  that  it  is  not  in  human 
nature  to  keep  up  for  seven  weeks,  without 
slip  or  trip,  a  series  of  deceptions  so  multifa- 
rious ;  and  I  should  say  so  of  a  perfect  stran- 
ger, as  confidently  as  I  say  it  of  this  girl, 
whom  I  know  to  oe  incapable  of  deception, 
as  much  from  the  character  of  her  intellect  as 
of  her  morale.  When  it  is  seen,  as  it  will  be, 
that  she  has  also  told  incidents  which  it  is 
impossible  she  could  have  known  by  ordina- 
ry means,  every  person  who  really  wishes 


80 


Miss  Mariineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


to  study  such  a  case,  will  think  the  present 
Bs  worthy  of  attention  as  any  that  can  be  met 
wi.th,  though  it  offers  no  anay  of  strange 
tricks,  and  few  extreme  marvels. 

My  Mesmerist  and  I  were  taken  by  sur- 
prise by  the  occurrence  of  this  case.  My 
friend's  maid  told  her,  on  the  1st  of  October, 
that  J.  (our  subject)  had  been  suffering  so 
much  the  day  before,  from  pain  in  the  head 
and  inflamed  eye,  that  she  (the  maid)  had 
mesmerised  her ;  that  J.  had  gone  off  into 
the  deep  sleep  in  five  minutes,  and  had  slept 
.  for  twenty  minutes,  when  her  aunt,  in  alarm 
had  desired  that  she  should  be  awakened.  J. 
found  herself  not  only  relieved  from  pain, 
but  able  to  cat  and  sleep,  and  to  set  about 
her  business  the  next  day  with  a  relish  an(} 
vigour  quite  unusual.  My  friend  saw  at 
once  what  an  opportunity  might  here  offer 
for  improving  the  girl's  infirm  health,  and 
for  obtaining  light  as  to  the  state  and  man- 
agement of  my  case,  then  adraocing  well, 
but  still  a  subject  of  anxiety. 

J.  had  for  six  years  been  subject  to  fre- 
quent severe  pain  in  the  left  temple,  and 
perpetually  recurring  inflammation  of  the 
eyes,  with  much  disorder  besides.  She  is 
active  and  stirring  in  her  habits,  patient  and 
cheerful  in  illness,  and  disposed  to  make  the 
least,  rather  than  the  most,  of  her  complaints. 
She  had,  during  these  six  years,  been  under 
the  care  of  several  doctors,  and  was  at  one 
time  a  patient  at  the  Eye  Infirmary  at  New- 
castle; and  the  severe  treatment  she  has 
undergone  is  melancholy  to  think  of,  when 
most  of  it  appears  to  have  been  almost  or 
entirely  in  vain.  She  herself  assigns,  in 
the  trance,  a  structural  defect  as  the  cause 
of  her  ailments,  which  will  prevent  their 
ever  being  entirely  removed  :  hut  from  the 
beginning  of  the  mesmeric  treatment,  her 
health  and  looks  have  so  greatly  improved, 
that  her  acquaintance  in  uie  neighborhood 
stop  her  to  ask  how  it  is  that  her  appearance 
is  so  amended.  There  was  in  her  case  cer- 
tainly no  "  imagination"  to  beein  with ;  for 
she  was  whoUy  ignoiant  oi  Mesmerism, 
and  had  no  more  conception  of  the  pheno- 
mena she  was  about  to  manifest  than  she 
has  consciousness  of  thcin  at  this  moment. 

This  unconsciousnesfl  we  have  guarded 
with  the  utmost  care.  We  immediately  re- 
solved that,  if  possible,  there  should  be  one 
case  of  which  no  one  could  honestly  say 
that  the  sleeping  and  waking  states  of  mind 
were  mixed.  Our  object  has  been,  thus  far, 
completely  attained — one  harmless  exception 
only  having  occurred.  This  was  when, 
speaking  of  the  nature  and  destiny  of  man, 
an  idea  which  she  had  "heard  in  church"  in- 
truded itself  among  some  otherwise  derived, 
and  troubled   her  by  the  admixture.    On 


that  occasion,  she  remarked  afterwards,  that 
she  had  been  dreaming,  and,  she  thought, 
talking  of  the  soul  and  the  day  of  judgment. 
This  IS  the  only  instance  of  her  retaining 
any  trace  of  anything  being  said  or  done  in 
the  trance.  Her  surprise  on  two  or  three 
occasions,  at  finding  herself^  on  awakening, 
in  a  different  chair  from  the  one  she  went  to 
sleep  in,  must  shew  her  that  she  has  walked, 
but  we  have  every  evidence  from  her  recep- 
tion of  what  we  say  to  her,  and  from  her 
ignorance  of  things  of  whici  she  bad  pre- 
viously informed  us,  that  the  time  of  her 
mesmeric  sleep  is  afterwards  an  absolute 
blank  to  her.  I  asked  her  one  evening  late- 
ly, when  she  was  in  the  deep  sleep,  what 
she  would  think  of  my  publishing  an  ac- 
count of  her  experience  wi<h  my  own, — 
whether  she  should  be  vexed  by  it  She 
replied  that  she  should  like  it  very  much ; 
she  hoped  some  body  would  let  her  know 
of  It,  and  show  it  to  her,— for  thoudi  she 
remembered  when  asleep  everything  she  had 
thought  when  asleep  before,  she  could  not 
keep  any  of  it  till  she  awoke.  It  was  all 
regularly  "  blown  away."  But  if  it  was 
pnnted,  she  should  know ;  and  she  should 
like  that 

To  preserve  the  unconsciousness  as  lone  as 
possibte,  we  have  admitted  no  person  what- 
ever at  our  stances,  from  the  first  day  till 
now,  who  could  speak  to  her  on  the  subject 
We  shut  out  our  maids  at  once ;  and  we  two 
have  been  the  constant  witnesses,  with  a  vis- 
itor now  and*  then,  to  the  number  of  about 
twelve  in  the  whole. 

It  is  a  memorable  moment  when  one  first 
hears  the  monosyble,  which  tells  that  the 
true  mesmeric  trance  has  begun.  •*  Are  you 
asleep .'"  "  Yes."  It  is  crossing  the  thres- 
hold of  a  new  region  of  observation  of  hu- 
man nature.  Then  it  goes  on. — "How  long 
shall  you  sleep  ?"  "  Half  an  hour."—"  SbaU 
you  wake  of  yourself,  or  shall  1  wake  you  ?** 
"  I  shall  wake  of  myself." — And  so  she  did 
to  a  second, — no  clock  or  watch  being  near* 
but  the  watch  in  my  hand.  For  some  weeks 
she  could  always  see  the  time,  and  foretell 
her  own  waking;  but  of  late, in  manifesting 
some  new  capabilities,  she  has  lost  much  of 
this. 

Nothing  can  induce  her  to  say  a  word  on  a 
matter  she  is  not  perfectly  sure  of.  She  so- 
lemnly shakes  her  head,  saying, "  I  voni 
guess :  it  won't  do  to  guess."  And  some- 
times, appealingly,  "  I  would  tell  you  if  J 
could"  "  ril  try  to  see."  "  I'll  do  all  I 
can,"  &c.  When  sure  of  her  point,  nothing 
can  move  her  from  her  declarations  NigM 
after  night,  week  after  week,  she  stick?*  to 
her  decisions,  strautfely  enough  sometimes, 
as  it  appears  to  us :  out  we  are  not  aware  of 


Miss  Martineau's  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


81 


her  ever  yet  havine  been  mistaken  on  any 
point  on  which  she  has  declared  herself.  We 
ascribe  thip  to  our  having  carefully  kept 
apart  the  waking  and  sleeping  ideas ;  for  it 
is  rare  to  find  somnambules  whose  declara- 
tions can  be  at  all  confidently  relied  on.  If 
any  waking  consciousness  is  mixed  up  with 
their  sleeping  faculties,  they  are  apt  to  guess 
— to  amuse  their  fancy,  anci  to  say  anything 
that  they  think  will  best  please  their  Mes- 
merist. J.'s  strict  and  uncompromising  truth- 
fulness forms  a  striking  contrast  with  the 
vagaries  of  hackneyed,  and  otherwise  mis- 
managed somnambules. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  one  of  her 
strongest  powers  was  the  discernment  of  dis- 
ease, its  condition  and  remedies.  She  clear- 
ed up  her  own  case  first,  prescribing  for  her 
self  very  fluently.  It  was  curious  to  see,  on 
her  waking,  the  deference  and  obedience  with 
which  she  received  from  us  the  prescriptions 
with  which  she  her^If  had  just  furnished 
us.  They  succeeded  and  so  did  similar  ef- 
forts on  my  behalf.  I  cannot  here  detail  the 
wonderful  accuracy  with  which  she  related, 
'without  any  possible  knowledge  of  my  life 
ten  and  twenty  years  ago,  the  circumstances 
of  the  origin  and  progress  of  my  ill-health, 
of  the  unavailing  use  of  medical  treatment 
fpT  five  years,  and  the  operation  of  Mesmer- 
iffn  upon  it  of  late.  One  little  fact  will  serve 
our  present  purpose  better.  Soon  after  she 
was  first  mesmerized,  [  was  undergoing  my 
final  severance  from  opiates — a  serious  mat- 
ter to  one  who  had  depended  so  long  and  so 
desperately  upon  them.  As  1  have  said,  I 
got  through  the  day  pretty  well ;  but  the 
nights  were  intolerable,  from  pain  and  ner- 
Tous  irritations,  which  made  it  impossible  to 
rest  for  two  minutes  together.  Aitei  four 
Buch  nights,  I  believe  my  Mesmerist's  forti- 
tude and  my  own  would  have  given  out 
together,  and  we  should  have  biought  the 
laudanum  bottle  to  light  again,  but  for  the 
bright  idea,  "let  us  ask  J!*'  She  said  at 
once  what  my  sufferings  had  been,  and  de- 
clared that  I  should  sleep  more  and  more  by 
degrees,  if  I  thok — (what  was  as  contrary  to 
ber  own  ordinary  ideas  of  what  is  right  and 
rational  as  to  mine) — ale  at  dinner,  and  half 
a  wine-glass  full  of  brandv  in  water  at  night. 
I  refused  the  prescription  till  reminded — "  Ke- 
member  she  has  never  been  wrong."  I  obey- 
ed; the  fact  being  kept  secret  between  us 
two,  in  order  to  try,  every  evening,  J 's  knowl- 
edge and  opinion.  She  always  spoke  and  ad- 
ViMd,  in  a  confident  familiarity  with  incidents 
known  only  to  us  two,  and  carried  me  stead- 
ily through  the  stru^le.  I  lost  my  miseries, 
and  recovered  my  sl^p,  night  by  night,  till, 
at  the  end  of  the  week,  I  was  ouite  well,  with- 
out stimulant  or  sedative.    Nothing  can  be 


more  remote  from  J.*s  ordinary  knowledge 
and  thought  than  the  structure  of  the  human 
body,  and  the  remedies  for  disease ;  and, 
though  I  was  well  aware  how  common  the 
exercise  of  this  kind  df  insight  is  in  som- 
nambules—how  it  is  used  abroad  as  an  aux- 
iliary to  medical  treatment — I  was  not  the  less 
surprised  by  the  readiness  and  peremptoriness 
with  which  a  person,  in  J.*8  position,  declar- 
ed, and  gave  directions  about  things  which 
she  is  wholly  ignorant  of  an  hour  after,  and 
was,  during  the  whole  of  her  life  before. 

Monday,  October  14th,  J.  did  not  come  up 
as  usual  to  our  stance.  There  was  affliction 
in  the  house-hold.  An  aunt  of  J.'s,  Mrs. 
A.,  a  good  woman  I  have  long  known,  lives 
in  a  cottage  at  the  bottom  of  our  garden. 
Mrs.  A.'s  son,  J.'s  cousin,  was  one  of  the 
crew  of  a  vessel  which  was  this  evening  re- 
ported to  have  been  wrecked  near  Hull.  This 
was  all  that  was  known,  except  that  the  own- 
er was  gone  to  Hull  to  see  about  it.  J.  was 
about  to  walk  to  Shields  with  a  companion 
to  inquire,  but  the  night  was  so  tempestuous, 
and  it  was  so  evident  that  no  news  could  be 
obtained,  that  she  was  persuaded  not  to  go. 
But  she  was  too  much  disturbed  to  think  of 
being  mesmerized.  Next  morning  there  was 
no  news.  All  day  there  were  flying  reports, 
—that  all  hands  were  lost— that  all  were 
saved— but  nothing  like  what  afterwards 
proved  to  be  the  truth.  In  the  afternoon  (no 
tidings  having  arrived)  we  went  for  a  long 
drive,  and  took  J.  with  us.  She  was  with  us, 
in  another  direction,  till  tea-time ;  and  then, 
on  our  return,  there  were  still  no  tidings;  but 
Mrs.  A.  was  gone  to  Shields  to  inquire,  and 
if  letters  had  come,  she  would  bring  the  news 
in  the  evening.  J.  went  out  on  an  en  and, 
while  we  were  at  tea, — no  person  in  the  place 
having  then  any  means  ol  knowing  about  the 
wreck ;  and  on  her  return,  she  came  straight 
up  to  us  for  her  seance.  Two  gentlemen 
were  with  us  that  evening,  one  from  Ameri- 
ca, the  other  from  the  neighbourhood.  I  may 
say  here,  that  we  note  down  at  the  moment 
what  J.  says ;  and  that  on  this  evening  there 
was  the  additional  security  of  my  American 
friend  repeating  to  me,  on  the  instant,  (on 
account  of  my  deafness,)  every  word  as  it  fell. 

J.  was  presently  aaileepi  and  her  Mesmer- 
ist, knowing  the  advantage  of  introducing 
subjects  on  which  the  mind  had  previously 
been  excited,  and  how  the  inspiration  follows 
the  course  of  the  affections,  asked,  as  soon  as 
the  sleep  was  deep  enough, 

*«  Can  you  tell  us  about  the  wreck  ?" 

J.  tranquilly  replied, 

**  Oh !  yes,  they're  all  safe ;  but  the  ship  is 
all  to  pieces." 

"  Were  they  saved  in  their  hoal .'" 

*<  No,  that's  all  to  pieces." 


82 


Miss  Martineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


«« How  then  r 

'*  A  queer  boat  took  them  off;  not  their 
boat." 

"  Are  you  sure  they  are  all  safe  ?'* 

"  Yes ;  all  that  were  on  board ;  but  there 
tDos  a  hoy  killed.  But  I  don't  think  it  is  mj 
cousin." 

"  At  the  lime  of  the  wreck  ?" 

"  No,  before  the  storm." 

*«  How  did  it  happen  f" 

"By  a  fall" 

"  Down  the  hatchways*  or  how  I** 

**  No,  he  fell  through  the  rigging,  from  the 
mast" 

She  presently  observed,  "  My  aunt  is  be- 
low, telling  them  all  about  it,  and  1  shall 
hear  it  when  I  go  down." 

My  rooms  being  a  selection  from  two 
houses,  this  "  below"  meant  two  stones  low- 
er in  the  next  house. 

She  continued  talkine  of  other  things  for 
an  hour  longer,  and  before  she  awoke,  the 
gentlemen  were  gone.  After  inquiring  wheth- 
er she  was  refreshed  by  her  sleep,  ana  wheth- 
er she  had  dreamed,  ("  No,")  we  desired  her 
to  let  us  know  if  she  heard  news  of  the 
wreck ;  and  she  promised,  in  all  simplicity, 
that  she  would.  In  another  quarter  of  an 
hour,  up  she  came,  all  animation,  to  tell  us 
that  her  cousin  and  all  the  crew  were  safe, 
her  aunt  having  returned  from  Shields  with 
the  news.  The  wreck  had  occurred  between 
Elsinore  and  Gottenberjg,  and  the  crew  hal 
been  taken  off  by  a  (ishing-boat,  after  two 
days  spent  on  the  wreck,  their  own  boat  hav- 
ing gone  to  pieces.  She  was  turning  away 
to  leave  the  room,  when  she  was  asked, — 

"  So  all  are  saved — all  who  left  the  port  .>" 

"  No,  ma*am,'  said  she,  "  all  who  were 
on  board  at  the  time :  but  they  had  had  an 
accident; — a  boy  fell  from  the  mast, and  was 
killed  on  the  deck." 

Besides  having  no  doubt  of  the  rectitude 
of  the  girl,  we  knew  that  she  had  not  seen 
her  aunt, — the  only  person  from  whom  ti- 
dings could  have  been  obtained.  But,  to 
make  all  sure,  1  made  an  errand  to  the  cot- 
tage the  next  morning,  well  knowing  that 
the  relieved  mother  would  pour  cut  her 
whole  tale.  My  friend  and  I  encouraged 
her ;  and  she  told  us  how  she  got  the  news, 
and  when  she  brought  it  to  Tynemouth, — 
just  as  we  knew  beiorc.  "  How  glad  they 
must  have  been  to  see  you  •  at  ours* !" 
said  I. 

"0  yes,  ma'ma.-**  and  she  declared  my 
landlady's  delight. 

"  And  J.,"  said  I. 

<*  Ma'am,  I  did  not  see  J."  said  she,  sim- 
ply and  rapidly,  in  her  eagerness  to  tell. 
Then,  presently, — "  They  told  me,  ma'ma, 
that  J.  was  up  stairs  with  you." 


Two  evenings  afterwards,  J.  was  asked, 
when  in  the  sleep,  whether  she  knew  what 
she  related  to  us  by  seeing  her  aunt  telline 
the  people  below  ?  to  which  she  replied, 
"  No ;  I  saw  the  place  and  the  people  tnem- 
selves, — like  a  vision." 

Such  was  her  own  idea,  whatever  may  be 
the  conjectures  of  others. 

LETTER   IV. 

Tynemouth,  Nov.  24, 1844. 
I  have  too  little  knowledge  of  Mesmerism 
to  be  aware  whether  the  more  important  pow- 
ers of  somnambulism  and  clairvoyance  abide 
long  in,  or  can  be  long  exercised  by,  any  in- 
dividual. 1  have  heard  of  several  cases 
where  the  lucidity  was  lost  after  a  rather 
short  exercise ;  but  in  those  cases  there  was 
room  for  a  supposition  of  mismanagement 
The  temptation  is  strong  to  overwork  a  som- 
nambule;  and  especial^  when  the  faculty  of 
insight  relates  to  diseases,  and  sufferers  are 
languishing  on  every  side.  The  temptation 
is  also  strong  to  prescribe  the  conditions,— to 
settle  what  the  somnambule  shall  or  shall 
not  see  or  do,  in  order  to  convince  oneself  or 
somebody  else,  or  to  gratify  some  desire  for 
information  on  a  particular  subject  It  is 
hard  to  say  who  was  most  to  blame  with  re- 
gard to  Alexis, — the  exhibitor  who  exposed 
him  to  the  hardship  of  unphilosophical  re- 
quirements, or  the  visitors  who  knew  so  lit- 
tle how  to  conduct  an  inquiry  into  the  pow- 
ers of  Nature,  as  to  prescribe  what  her  man- 
ifestations should  be.  The  "  failures,"  in 
such  cases,  go  for  nothing,  in  the  presence 
of  one  new  manifestation.  Thejr  merely  in- 
dicate that  there  is  no  reply  to  impertinent 
questions.  The  successes  and  failures  to- 
gether teach  that  the  business  of  inquirers  is 
'to  wait  upon  Nature,  to  take  what  she  gives, 
and  make  the  best  they  can  of  it,  and  not  dis- 
own her  because  they  cannot  get  from  her 
what  they  have  predetermined.  Strongly  as  I 
was  impressed  by  this,  when  reading  about 
Alexis,  from  week  to  week  last  spring,  1  still 
needed  a  lesson  myself, — a  rebuke  or  two 
such  as  our  somnambule  has  more  than  once 

§iven  us  here.  As  soon  as  her  power  of  in- 
icating  and  prescribing  for  disease  was  quite 
clear  to  us,  we  were  naturally  anxious  to  ob- 
tain replies  to  a  few  questions  of  practical 
importance  We  expressed,  I  hope,  no  im- 
patience at  the  often  repealed  *•  I'll  try  to  see: 
but  I  can't  make  it  out  yet"  "  I  BhdW  not 
get  a  sight  of  that  again  till  Thareday. 
"  It's  all  gone :— it's  aU  dark,— and  1  shall 
see  no  more  to-night."  We  reminded  cacn 
other  of  the  beauty  and  value  of  her  truthful- 
ness, from  which  she  could  not  be  tumea 
aside,  by  any  pressure  of  our  cagemesi. 


Miss  Martineau^s  Letters  an  Mesmerism. 


83 


But  one  evening  out  came  an  expieesion, 
•which  procured  us  a  reproof  which  will  not 
be  lost  upon  us.  She  was  very  happy  in  the 
enjoyment  of  some  of  her  favorite  obiecls, 
crying  out  "  Here  come  the  lights !  This  is 
a  beautiful  light !  It  is  the  quiet,  steady,  si- 
lent light !"  And  then  she  described  other 
kinds,  smd  lastly  one  leaping  up  behind  the 
steady  light,  and  shining  like  the  rays  of  the 
sun  before  the  sun  itself  is  visible.  When 
this  rapture  had  gone  on  some  time,  she  was 
asked  "  What  is  the  use  of  these  lights,  if 
ftey  show  us  nothing  of  what  we  want  ?*' 
In  a  tone  of  gentle  remonstrance,  she  said 
earnestly,  "  Ah ! — ^but  you  must  have  pa- 
tience !" 

And  patience  comes  with  experience.  We 
soon  iind  that  such  extraordinary  things  drop 
out  when  least  expected,  and  all  attempts  to 
govern  or  lead  the  results  and  the  power  are 
so  vain,  that  we  learn  to  wait,  and  be  thank- 
ful for  what  comes. 

The  first  desire  of  every  witness  is  to 
make  out  what  the  power  of  the  Mesmerist 
is,  and  how  it  acts.  J  seems  to  wish  to  dis- 
coYer  these  points;  and  she  also  struggles  to 
convey  what  she  knows  upon  them.  She 
frequently  uses  the  act  of  mesmerizing  ano- 
ther person  as  soon  as  the  sleep  becomes 
deep ;  and  if  not  deep  enough  to  please  her, 
ehe  mesmerizes  herself, — using  manipula- 
tions which  she  can  never  have  witnessed. 
Being  asked  about  the  nature  of  the  best  mes- 
meftc  efforts,  she  replied  that  every  power  of 
body  and  mind  is  used,  more  or  less,  in  the 
operation;  but  that  the  main  thing  is  to  de- 
sire strongly  the  effect  to  be  produced.  The 
patient  should  do  the  same. 

«*  People  may  be  cured  who  do  not  believe 
in  the  influence ;  but  much  more  easily  if 
they  do." 

"  What  is  the  influence  ^ 

"  It  is  something  which  the  Mesmeriier 
throws  from  him ;    but  I  cannot  say  what." 

And  this  was  all  that  evening ;  for  she  ob- 
served, (truly,)  "  It  is  a  few  minutes  past  the 
half  hour;  but  I'll  just  sleep  a  few  minutes 
longer." 

**  Shall  I  wake  you  then  .^" 

"  No,  thank  you ;  Til  wake  myself."  And 
she  woke  up  accoidingly,  in  four  minutes 
more.  Another  evening,  "  Do  the  minds  of 
the  Mesmerist  and  the  patient  become  one  f** 

**  Sometimes,  but  not  often." 

**  Is  it  then  that  they  taste,  feel,  &c.,  the 
same  things  at  the  same  moment  .'** 

"  Yes." 

*•  W^ill  our  minds  become  one  ?" 

"  I  think  not" 

"  What  are  your  chief  powers  ?" 

**I  like  to  look  up,  and  see  spiritual  things. 
I  can  see  diseases ;  and  I  like  to  see  risions." 


When  asked  repeatedly  whether  she  could 
read  with  her  eyes  shut,  see  things  behind 
her,  &c.,  she  has  always  replied  tliat  she  does 
not  like  that  sort  of  thing,  and  will  not  do  it ; 
— she  likes  "  higher  things."  And  when 
asked  how  she  sees  them — 

*<  I  see  them,  not  like  dreams  in  common 
sleep, — ^but  things  out  of  other  worlds ; — not 
the  things  themselves,  but  impressions  of 
them.    They  come  through  my  brain." 

'*  Mesmerism  composes  the  mind,  and  se- 
parates it  from  the  common  things  of  every 
day." 

"  Will  it  hurt  your  Mesmerist  .>" 

"  It  is  good  for  her.  It  exercises  some 
powers  of  body  and  mind,  which  would  oth- 
erwise lie  dormant.  It  gives  her  mind  occu- 
pation, and  leads  her  to  search  into  things." 

"Can  the  mind  hear  otherwise  than  by 
theear.>" 

*'  Not  naturally ;  but  a  deaf  person  can 
hear  the  Mesmerist,  vvhen  in  the  sleep ; — not 
any  body  else,  however." 

"  How  is  it  that  you  can  see  without  your 
eyes  ?" 

**  Ah  !  that  is  a  curious  thing.  I  have  not 
found  it  out  yet." — Again  when  she  said  her 
lime  was  up,  but  she  would  sleep  ten  mi- 
nutes longer. 

«*  Shall  I  leave  you,  and  mesmerize  Miss 

M.r 

««No;  I  should  jump  about  and  follow 
you.  I  feel  so  queer  when  you  go  away ; 
The  influence  goes  all  away. — It  does  so 
when  you  talk  with  another." 

"  What  is  the  influence,"  &c.  &c.  as  before. 

**  I  have  seen  as  many  places  since  I  was 
mesmerized ;  but  they  all  50  away  when  I 
wake.  They  are  like  a  vision, — not  a  com- 
mon dream." 

*'  How  do  you  see  these  ?  Does  the  influ- 
ence separate  soul  and  body  ?" 

**  No :  it  sets  the  body  to  rest ;  exalts  and 
elevates  the  thinkine  powers." 

When  marking,  from  her  attitude  and  ex- 
pression of  countenance,  the  eagerness  of  her 
mind,  and  vividness  of  her  feelings,  and  when 
listening  to  the  lively  or  solemn  tones  of  her 
voice,  I  have  often  longed  that  she  had  a 
more  copious  Tocabulary.  Much  has  pro- 
bably been  lost  under  the  words  «*  queer," 
"  beautiful,"  *•  something,"  "  a  thing,"  &c., 
which  would  have  been  clearly  conveyed  by 
an  educated  person.  Yet  some  of  her  terms 
have  surprised  us,  from  their  unsuitableness 
to  tier  ordinary  language  ;  and  particularly 
her  understanding  and  use  of  some  few,  now 
almost  appropriated  by  Mesmerism.  On  one 
of  the  earliest  days  of  her  sleep,  before  we 
learned  her  mesmeric  powers  and  habits,  she 
was  asked  one  evening,  after  a  good  deal  of 
questioning. 


84 


Miss  Ji^ariineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism, 


*'  Does  it  tire  you  to  be  asked  questions  ?** 

«  No." 

*«  Will  it  spoil  your  lucidity  ?'* 

"  No." — Whereat  I  made  a  dumb  sign  to 
ask  her  what  "  lucidity**  meant 

"  Brightness,"  she  iustantly  answered. 

In  the  course  of  the  day,  her  Mesmerist 
asked  her  carelessly,  as  if  for  present  conve- 
nience, if  she  could  tell  her  the  meaning  of 
the  word  "  lucidity." 

J.  looked  surprised,  and  said,  "  {  am  sure, 
ma'am,  I  don't  know.  I  don't  think  I  ever 
heard  the  word." 

When  asleep  the  next  day,  she  was  again 
asked. 

Does  it  hurt  your  lucidity  to  be  asked 
many  questions !" 

"  Wnen  not  very  deep  in  sleep,  it  does." 

"What  is  lucidity?'* 

"  Brightness,  clearness,  light  shining 
through.    I  told  you  that  vesteraay." 

"  mve  you  looked  for  the  word  since  .^* 

*'  No :  and  I  shall  not  know  it  when  I  am 
awake." 

It  struck  us  that  we  would  try,  another 
evening,  whether  her  Mesmerist's  will  could 
affect  her  taste.  In  her  absence*  we  agreed 
that  the  water  should  be  silently  willed  to  be 
sherry  next  night.  To  make  the  experiment 
as  clear  as  possible,  the  water  was  first  oflfcr- 
ed  to  her,  and  a  little  of  it  drank  as  water. 
Then  the  test  was,  while  still  id  her  hands, 
silently  willed  to  be  sherry ;  she  drank  it  ofl, 
— half  a  tumbler  full — declared  it  very  good ; 
but,  presently,  that  it  made  her  tipsy.  What 
was  it?  "Winfr— white  wine."  And  she 
became  exceedingly  merry  and  voluble,  but 
refused  to  rise  from  her  chair,  or  dance  any 
more,  or  go  down  stairs,  for  she  could  not 
walk  steady,  and  should  fall  and  spoil  her 
face,  and  moreover  fiighten  them  all  below. 
I  afterwards  asked  her  Mesmerist  to  let  it  be 
porter  the  next  night.  J.  knew  nothing  of 
porter,  it  seems,  but  called  her  refreshment 
•*a  nasty  soit  of  beer."  Of  late  she  has 
ceased  to  know  and  tell  the  time,—"  can't 
see  the  clock-face,"  as  she  declares.  The 
fl;reatest  aptitude  at  present  seems  to  be  for 
Deing  affected  by  metals,  and  for  the  singular 
muscular  rigidity  producible  in  the  mesmeric 
sleep. 

when  her  arm«  or  hands  are  locked  in 
this  rigidity,  no  force  used  by  any  gentleman 
who  has  seen  the  case  can  separate  them  ; 
and  in  her  waking  state  she  has  certainly  no 
such  muscular  force  as  could  resist  what  has 
been  ineffectually  used  in  her  sleeping  state. 
The  rigid  limbs  then  appear  like  lo^s  of 
wood,  which  might  be  broken,  but  not  bent ; 
but  a  breath  from  her  Mesmerist  on  what  is 
called  by  some  phrenologists  the  muscular 
oigan,  causes  her  muscles  to  relax,  the  fin- 


gers to  unclose,  and  the  limbs  to  fall  into  th« 
attitude  of  sleep.  During  these  changes,  the 
placid  sleeping  face  seems  not  to  belong  to 
the  owner  of  the  distorted  and  rigid  limbs,  till 
these  last  slide  into  their  natural  positions, 
and  restore  the  apparent  harmony. 

Not  less  curious  is  it  to  see  her  inextrica- 
ble gripe  of  the  sted  snufiers,  or  the  noker, 
detached  by  a  silent  touch  of  the  steel  with 
gold.  When  no  force  can  wrench  or  dra.w 
the  snuffers  from  her  grasp,  a  gold  pencil- 
case  or  a  sovereign  stealthily  made  to  touch 
tlie  point  of  the  snuffers,  causes  the  fingers  to 
unclasp  and  the  hands  to  fall.  We  have  of- 
ten put  a  gold  watch  into  her  hands,  and 
when  the  gripe  is  firm,  her  mesmerist  winds 
tlie  j;old  chain  round  something  of  steel.  In 
a  minute  or  less  occurs  the  relaxation  of  the 
fingers,  and  the  watch  is  dropped  into  the 
hand  held  beneath.  While  grasping  these 
metals  she  someti^ies  complains  that  thej 
have  burnt  her. 


LETTER   VII. 

Tynemouth,  Nov.  28, 1844. 

Many  persons  suppose  that  when  the 
truth,  use,  and  beauty  of  Mesmerism  are  es- 
tablished, all  is  settled;  that  no  further 
ground  remains  for  a  reiection  of  it.  My 
own  late  experience,  and  my  observation  oi 
what  is  passing  abroad,  convince  me  that 
this  is  a  mistake.  I  know  that  there  aie 
many  who  admit  the  truth  and  function  of 
Mesmerism,  who  yet  discountenance  it  I 
know  that  the  repudiation  of  it  is  far  more 
extensive  than  the  denial.  It  gives  me  pain 
to  hear  this  fact  made  the  occasion  of  con- 
temptuous remark,  as  it  is  too  often  by  sach 
as  know  Mesmerism  to  be  true.  The  repa- 
diation  I  speak  of  proceeds  from  minds  of  a 
high  order ;  and  their  superstition  (if  saoer- 
stition  it  be)  should  be  encountered  with  bet- 
ter weapons  than  the  arrogant  compassion 
which  I  have  heard  expres^. 

I  own  I  have  less  sympathy  with  those 
who  throw  down  their  facts  before  the 
world,  and  then  despise  all  who  will  not  be 
in  haste  to  take  them  up,  than  with  some 
I  know  oi,  who  would  seriously  rather  suf- 
fer to  any  extent,  than  have  recourse  to  re- 
lief which  they  believe  unauthorized ;  who 
would  rather  that  a  mystery  remained  sacred 
than  have  it  divulged  for  their  own  benefit; 
who  tell  me  to  my  face  that  they  would  ra- 
ther see  me  sent  back  to  my  couch  of  jain 
than  witness  any  tampering  with  the  hidden 
things  of  Providence.  There  is  a  subiimc 
rectitude  of  sentiment  here,  which  commandj 
and  wins  one's  reverence  and  sympathy ;  and 
if  the  facts  of  the  history  and  condition  ol 


Miss  Martineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


8B 


Mesmerism  would  bear  out  the  sentiment,  no 
one  would  more  cordially  respond  to  it  than 
I — no  one  would  have  been  more  scrupulous 
about  procuring  recovery  by  such  means — no 
one  would  have  recoiled  with  more  fear  and 
disgust  from  the  work  of  making  known 
y^DAi  I  have  experienced  and  learned.  But  I 
am  persuaded  that  a  knowledge  of  existing 
facts  clears  up  the  duty  of  the  case,  so  as  to 
prove  that  the  sentiment  must,  while  preserv- 
ing all  its  veneration  and  tenderness,  take  a 
new  direction^  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
safety  of  man. 

Grantin|;  to  all  who  wish  that  the  powers 
and  practice  of  Mesmerism  (for  wnich  a 
better  name  is  sadly  wanted)  are  as  old  as 
man  and  society ;  that  from  age  to  age  there 
have  been  endowments  and  functions  sacred 
from  popular  use,  and  therefore  committed  by 
providential  authority  to  the  hands  of  a  sa- 
cred class;  that  the  existence  of  mysteries 
ever  has  been,  and  probably  must  ever  be, 
essentjal  to  the  spintual  welfare  of  man  ; 
that  there  should  ever  be  a  powerful  senti- 
ment of  sanctity  investing  the  subject  of  the 
ulterior  powers  of  immortal  beings  in  their 
mortal  state ;  that  it  is  extremely  awful  to 
witness,  and  much  more  to  elicit,  hidde;n 
faculties,  and  to  penetrate  by  their  agency  in 
fo  regions  of  knowledge  otherwise  unattain- 
able;— admitting  all  uese  things,  still  the 
facts  of  the  present  condition  of  Mesmerism 
in  this  country,  and  on  two  continents,  leave 
to  those  who  know  them,  no  doubt  of  the 
folly  and  sin  of  turning  away  from  the  stu- 
dy of  the  subject.  It  is  no  matter  of  choice 
whether  the  subject  shall  remain  sacred —  a 
deposit  of  mystery  in  the  hands  of  the 
Church — ^as  it  was  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and 
as  the  Pope  and  many  Protestants  would 
bave  it  still.  The  Pope  has  issued  an  edict 
a$;ain8t  the  study  and  practice  of  Mesmerism 
in  his  dominions;  and  there  are  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  of  England  who  would 
have  the  same  suppression  attempted  by 
means  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  law  at 
home.  But  for  this  it  is  too  late ;  the  know- 
ledge and  practice  are  all  abroad  in  society  ; 
and  they  are  no  more  to  be  reclaimed  than 
the  waters,  when  out  in  floods,  can  be  gnth- 
exed  back  into  reservoirs.  The  only  efiect  of 
such  prohibitions  would  be  to  deter  from  the 
study  of  Mesmerism,  the  very  class  who 
should  assume  its  administration,  and  to 
drive  disease,  compassion,  and  curiosity  into 
holes  and  comers  to  practice  as  a  sin  what 
is  now  done  openly  and  guiltlessly,  however 
recklessly,  througn  an  ienorance  for  which 
the  educated  are  responsible.  The  time  past 
for  facts  of  natural  philosophy  to  be  held  at 
discretion  by  priesthoods;  for  any  facts 
which  concern  all  human  beings  to  be  a  de- 


posit in  the  hands  of  any  social  class.  In- 
stead of  re-enacting  the  scenes  of  old — set- 
ting up  temples  with  secret  chambers,  ora- 
cles, and  miraculous  ministrations  —  instead 
of  reviving  the  factitious  sin  and  cruel  pen- 
alties of  witchcraft,  (all  forms  assumed  by 
mesmeric  powere  and  f:iculties  in  different 
times),  instead  of  exhibiting  false  mysteries 
in  an  age  of  investigation,  it  is  clearly  our 
business  to  strip  f^se  mysteries  of  their 
falseness,  in  order  to  secure  due  reverence  to 
the  true,  of  which  there  will  ever  be  no  lack. 
Mystery  can  never  fail  while  man  is  finite ; 
his  highest  faculties  of  faith  will,  through 
all  time  and  all  eternity,  find  ample  exercise 
in  waiting  on  truths  above  his  ken  :  there 
will  ever  be  in  advance  of  the  human  soul, 
a  region  •*  dark  through  excess  of  light  ;*• 
while  all  labor  spent  on  surrounding  clear 
facta  with  artificiiu  mystery  is  just  so  much 
profane  effort  spent  in  drawing  minds  away 
Irom  the  genuine  objects  of  faith.  And  look 
at  the  consequences !  Because  philososhera 
will  not  study  the  facts  of  that  mental  rap- 
port which  takes  place  in  Mesmerism, 
whereby  the  mind  of  tne  ignorant  often  gives 
out  in  echo  the  knowledge  of  the  informed, 
we  have  claims  of  inspiration  springing  up 
right  and  left.  Because  medical  men  will 
not  study  the  facts  of  the  mesmeric  trance, 
nor  ascertain  the  extremest  of  its  singulari- 
ties, we  have  tales  of  Estaticas,  and  o7  sane 
men  going  into  the  Tyrol  and  elsewhere  to 
contemplate,  as  a  sign  from  heaven,  what 
their  pnysicians  ought  to  be  able  to  report 
of  at  home  as  natursu  phenomena  easily  pro- 
ducible in  certain  states  of  disease.  Because 
physiologists  and  mental  phiiosopbera  will 
not  attend  to  facts  from  whose  vastness  they 
pusillanimously  shrink,  the  infinitely  deli- 
cate mechanism  and  organizntion  of  brain, 
nerves  and  mind  are  thrown  as  a  toy  into  the 
hands  of  children  and  other  ignorant  persons, 
and  of  the  base.  What,  again,  can  follow 
from  this  but  the  desecration,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  many,  of  things  which  ought  to  com- 
mand their  reverence?  What  becomes  of 
really  divine  inspiration  when  the  common- 
est people  find  they  can  elicit  marvels  of 
prevision  and  insight  ?  What  becomes  of 
the  veneration  for  religious  contemplation 
when  Estaticas  are  found  to  be  at  the  com- 
mand of  very  unhallowed — wholly  unau- 
thorized handfs  ?  What  becomes  of  the  re- 
spect in  which  the  medical  profession  ought 
to  be  held,*  when  the  friends  of  the  sick  and 
suffering,  with  their  feelings  all  alive,  see 
the  doctors'  skill  and  science  overborne  and 
set  aside  by  means  at  the  command  of  an  ig- 
norant neighbor— means  which  are  all  ease 
and  pleasantness  ?  How  can  the  profession 
hold   its  dominion   over  minds,   however 


86 


Miss  Martineau^s  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


backed  by  law  and  the  opinion  of  the  educa- 
ted, when  the  vulgar  see  and  know  that 
limbs  are  removed  without  pain,  in  opposi- 
tion to  Ae  will  of  the  doctors,  and  in  spite 
of  their  denial  of  the  facts  ?  What  avails 
the  decision  of  a  whole  College  of  Surgeons 
that  such  a  thing  could  not  be,  when  a  whole 
town  full  of  people  know  that  it  was? 
Which  must  succumb,  the  learned  body  or 
the  fact?  Thus  are  objects  of  reverence 
desecrated,  not  sanctified,  by  attempted  re- 
striction of  truth,  or  of  research  into  it. — 
Thus  are  human  passions  and  human  desti- 
nies committed  to  reckless  hands,  for  sport 
or  abuse.  No  wonder  if  somnambules  are 
made  into  fortune-tellers — no  wonder  if  they 
are  made  into  prophets  of  fear,  malice  and 
revenge,  by  reflecting  in  their  somnambulism 
the  tear,  milice,  and  revenge  of  their  ques- 
tioners ;  no  wonder  if  they  are  made  even 
ministers  of  death,  by  being  led  from  sick- 
bed to  sick-bed  in  the  dim  and  dreary  alleys 
of  our  towns,  to  declare  which  of  the  sick 
will  recover,  and  which  will  die !  Does  any 
one  suppose  that  powers  so  popular,  and 
now  so  diffused,  can  be  interdicted  by  law — 
such  oracles  silenced  by  the  reserve  of  the 
squeamish — such  appeals  to  human  passions 
hushed — ^in  an  age  ol  universal  communica- 
tion, by  the  choice  of  a  class  or  two  to  be 
themselves  dumb  ?  No :  this,  is  not  the  way. 
It  is  terribly  late  to  be  setting  about  choosine 
a  way,  but  something  must  be  done;  and 
that  something  is  clearly  for  those  whose 
studies  and  art  relate  to  the  human  frame  to 
take  up,e8me6tiy  and  avowedly,  the  investi- 
gation of  this  weighty  matter;  to  take  its 
practice  into  their  own  hands,  in  virtue  of 
the  irresistible  claim  of  qualification.  When 
they  become  the  wisest  and  most  skilful  in 
the  administration  of  Mesmerism,  others, 
even  the  most  reckless  vulgar,  will  no  more 
ihink  of  interfering  than  they  now  do  of 
using  the  lancet,  or  operating  on  the  eye. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  knowledge  is  power. 
The  greater  knowledge  will  ever  insure  the 
Buperior  power.  At  present,  the  knowled^ 
of  IVIesmerism,  superficial  and  scanty  as  it 
18,  is  out  of  the  professional  pale.  When  it 
is  e.xcelled  by  that  which  issues  from  within 
the  professional  pale,  the  remedial  and  au- 
thoritative power  will  reside  where  it  ought : 
and  not  till  then.  These  are  the  chief  con- 
siderations which  have  caused  me  to  put  forth 
these  letters  in  this  place;— cm  act  which 
may  seem  lash  to  all  who  are  unaware  of 
the  extent  of  the  popular  knowledge  and 
practice  of  Mesmerism.  The  Athenaum*  is 
not  likely  to  reach  the  ignorant  classes  of  our 


*  Tha  Letter*  were  fir«t  pnlished  in  London,  in  the 
«  AtKenaam,  a  Joainal  of  Bncliah  ttad  Fonign  Lit«r»- 
tan  Mid  tbe  Fine  ArU" 


towns ;  and  if  it  did,  the  cases  I  have  related 
would  be  less  striking  to  them  than  numbers 
they  have  learned  by  the  means  of  itinerant . 
Mesmerists.  The  AtkeruBam  does  reach 
large  numbers  of  educated  and  professional 
men ;  and  I  trust  some  of  them  may  possibly 
be  aroused  to  consideration  ol  the  part  it  be- 
hoves them  to  take. 

As  for  the  frequent  objection  brought  adnst 
inquiry  into  Mesmerism,  that  there  should  be 
no  countenance  ot  an  influence  which  gives 
human  beings  such  power  over  one  anothe  , 
I  really  think  a  momenf  s  reflection,  and  a 
very  slight  knowledge  of  Mesmerism  would 
supply  both  the  answers  which  the  objection 
requires.  First,  it  is  too  late,  as  I  have  said 
above ;  the  power  is  abroad,  and  ought  to  be 
guided  and  controlled.  Next,  this  is  but  one 
addition  to  the  powers  we  have  over  one 
another  already ;  and  a  far  more  slow  and 
difficult  one  than  many  which  are  safely 
enough  possessed.  £very  apothecary's  shop 
is  full  of  deadly  drugs — every  workshop  is 
full  of  deadly  weapons — wherever  we  go, 
there  are  plenty  of  people  who  could  knock 
us  down,  rob,  and  murder  us ;  wherever  we 
live  there  are  plenty  of  people  who  could  de- 
fame and  ruin  us.  Why  do  they  not  ?  Be- 
cause moral  considerations  deter  them.  Then 
brine  the  same  moral  considerations  to  bear 
on  the  subject  of  Mesmerism.  If  the  fear  is 
of  laying  victims  prostrate  in  trance,  and  ex- 
ercising spells  over  them,  the  answer  is,  that 
this  is  done  with  infinitely  greater  ease  and 
certainty  by  drugs  than  it  can  ever  be  by 
Mesmerism ;  by  drugs  which  are  to  be  had 
in  every  street  And  as  sensible  people  do 
not  let  narcotic  drugs  lie  about  in  their  hou- 
ses, within  reach  of  the  ignorant  and  mis- 
cheivous,  so  would  they  see  that  Mesmen'sm 
was  not  practised  without  witnesses  and 
proper  superintendence.  It  is  a  mistake,  too, 
to  supposQ  that  Mesmerism  can  be  used  at 
wiU  to  strike  down  victims,  helpless  and  un- 
conscious, as  laudanum  does,  except  in  cases 
of  excessive  susceptibility  from  disease ;  ca- 
ses which  are  of  course  under  proper  ward. 
The  concurrence  of  two  parties  is  needful  in 
the  first  place,  which  is  not  the  case  in  the 
administration  of  narcotics;  and  then  the 
practice  is  very  uncertain  in  its  results  on 
most  single  occasions ;  and  again,  in  the  ma- 
jority of  instances;  it  appears  that  the  intel- 
lectiml  and  moral  powers  are  more,  and  not 
less  vigorous  than  m  the  ordinary  stale.  Ab 
far  as  I  have  an}  means  of  judging,  the  hifl;h- 
est  faculties  are  seen  in  their  utmost  perfec- 
tion during  the  mesmeric  sleep;  the  innocent 
are  stronger  in  their  rectitude  than  ever,  re- 
buking levity,  reproving  falsehood  and  flat- 
tery, and  indignantly  refusing  to  tell  secrete, 
or  say  or  do  any  thing  they  ought  not ;  while 


Miss  Martineau's  Letters  on  Mesmerism. 


the  more  faulty  confess  their  sins,  and  grieve 
orer  and  ask  pardon  for  their  ofifences.  The 
Tolitions  of  ue  Mesmerist  may  actuate  the 
inoTements  of  the  patient's  limbs,  and  sug- 
gest the  material  of  his  ideas ;  but  they  seem 
unable  to  touch  his  morale.  In  this  state  the 
morale  appears  supreme,  as  it  is  rarely  found 
in  the  oramar^  condition,  if  this  yiew  if 
mistaken,  if  it  is  founded  on  too  small  a  col- 
lection of  facts,  let  it  be  brought  to  the  test 
and  corrected.  Let  the  truth  be  ascertained 
and  established ;  for  it  cannot  be  extinguish- 
ed, and  it  is  too  important  to  be  neglected. 

And  now  one  word  of  respectful  and  sym- 
pathizing accost  unto  those  reverent  and 
nnmble  spirits  who  painfully  question  men's 
right  to  exercise  faculties  whose  scope  is  a 
new  D^ion  of  insight  and  foresight  They 
ask  whether  to  use  these  faculties  be  not  to 
encroach  upon  holy  ground,  to  trespass  on 
the  precincts  of  the  future  and  higher  life. 
May  I  inquire  of  these  in  repJy,  what  they 
conceive  to  be  the  divinely  appointed  boun- 
dary of  our  knowledge  and  our  powers  ? 
Can  they  establish,  or  indicate,  any  other 
boundary  ten  the  limit  of  the  knowledge 
and  powers  themselves?  Has  not  the  at- 
tempt to  do  80  biled  from  age  to  age  ?  Is  it 
not  the  most  remarkable  feature  of  the  pro- 
gress of  Time  that,  in  handing  over  the  fu- 
ture iofo  the  past,  he  transmutes  its  material, 
incessantly,  and  without  pause,  converting 
what  trutn  was  mysterious,  fearful,  impious 
to  glance  at,  into  that  which  is  saf«,  beauti- 
ful and  beneficent  to  contemplate  and  use, — 
a  clearly  consecrated  gift  from  the  Father  of 
all  to  the  children  who  seek  the  light  of  his 
countenance  Where  is  his  pleasure  to  be 
ascertained  but  in  the  ascertainment  of  what 
he  gives  and  permits,  in  the  proof  and  verifi- 
cation of  what  powers  he  has  bestowed  on 
n8»  and  what  knowledge  he  has  placed  with- 
in our  reach  ?  While  Tesarding  with  shame 
all  pride  of  intellect,  ana  with  fear  the  pre- 
aomption  of  ignorance  I  deeply  feel  that  the 
truest  humili^  is  evinced  by  those  who 
BBoat  simply  accept  and  use  the  talents  pla- 
ced in  their  hands ;  and  that  the  most  child- 
like dependence  upon  their  Creator  appears 
in  thoee  who  fearlessly  apply  the  know 
ledge  he  discloses  to  the  furtherance  of  that 
rreat  consecrated  object  the  welfare  of  the 
lamily  of  man. 

HARRIET  MARTINEAU. 

These  letters  of  Miss  Martineau  are  hard 
pills  for  the  "old  ladies  in  breechesT'to  swal- 
low and  it  is  amusing  to  see  the  wry  faces  they 
make  in  contemplation  of  the  dire  necessity 
which  awaits  them.  The  Editor  of  the  Lon- 
don Lancet  has  had  tha  Indicioue  vanity  to 


express  his  astonishment  at  the  teme 
Miss  Martineau  in  resorting  to  the  re 
agency  of  meMnerism,  after  he  forsooil 
exposed  what  he  arrogantly  assumed 
its  "arrant,  trickery  and  scandal." 
peare,  however,  that  this  vaunted  expt 
was  not  very  satisfactory  even  to  the 
rable   sisterhood    in    inexpressibles, 
which  he  has  latterly^  identified   hii 
and  it  is  perfectly  evident  to  every  disc 
reader  of  his  flippant  and   inconseqi 
remarks  upon  this  case,  that  he  has  no 
superciliously  dismissed  it  without  ii 
gation,  but  is  blankly  ignorant  of  the 
subject  of  which  he  coolly  usurps  th 
pirage.    But  even  this  conduct  is  tol< 
perhaps  only   laughable,  when    con 
with  the  outrageous  brutality  of  the 
upon  Miss  Martineau,  committed  by 
Robert  Hull,  of  Norwich,  in  England, 
that  distinguished  lady  resides.    It  is  i 
indelicate,  both  in  expression  and  all 
for  reprint  in  this  work,  and  is  only  eq 
by  the   meanest   blackguards.      Yet 
coaree  and  unmanly  piece  of  ob?cen€ 
rility,  together  with  the  Lancet's  arl 
contemptuousness,  with  a  few  garble 
tracts  from  Miss  Martineau's  letters,  is 
ly  selected  and  hashed  up  by  the  Bosto 
dical  Joumalt  for  the  benefit  of  its  reac 
the  musty  fraternity  in  this  country  to 
we  have  referred.    {Editor  Dissector. 

Th«  PrtsMio*  of  Aalmalovla  in  tli*  Bl 

Dr.  Goodfellow  relates,  in  the  Jl 
GazitU,  a  case  of  fever  in  which  he  d 
ered  a  great  number  of  aniroaculs 
contents  of  the  stomach  and  in  the 
The  following  is  a  condensation  of  1 
marks:— 

"  On  examininjf  the  fluid  ejected  fn 
stomach  during  hfe,  and  on  the  day  f 
ing  that  on  which  tiie  vomiting  comm 
by  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  myri: 
animalcula  were  observed  in  very 
motion.  These  minute  organisms  ap 
to  vary  in  length  from  1 -5000th  to 
3000th  of  an  inch,  and  their  diameter  ( 
I  am  convinced  was  the  same  throi 
their  length)  from  about  1 -40,000th  to 
1 -2000th  of  an  inch.  Nothing  was  ( 
ed  by  which  I  could  distinguish  thi 
from  the  tail,  although  sometimes  oi 
tremity  appeared  certainly  laiger  ths 


88 


Mtscellaneowf  Items. 


other;  close  observation  enabled  me  to  dis 
cover  that  this  appearance  was  owing  to 
one  extremity  being  a  little  out  of  focus; 
when  the  whole  of  one  animalcule  was  in 
focus,  no  difference  could  be  detected. 
Their  movements,  when  active,  closely  re- 
sembled those  of  the  small  naiades  so  fre- 
quently seen  in  river  water  after  rain,  but 
when  they  became  sluggish  from  the  inclo- 
sure  of  the  animal cula  between  slips  of  glass 
for  several  hours,  they  resembled  those  of 
the  larvse  of  the  common  meat  fly,  musca 
vomitoria.  The  fluid  ejected  after  every  at- 
tack of  vomiting  was  found  to  contain  the 
animalclua  in  as  large  numbers  as  when  it 
was  first  examined ;  they  were  also  found 
in  the  sanguineous  exudation  from  the  lin- 
ing membranpe  of  the  mouth  and  nostrils. 
The  vomited  matters  also  contained  a  con- 
siderable quantity  ef  altered  blood  corpuA- 
des,  epithelial  cellB,  and  a  small  quanti^  of 
mucus,  but  no  trace  of  bilious  admixture. 
8imnlar  animaleulse  were  observed  in  blood 
taken  from  the  capillaries  of  the  skin,  but 
in  such  small  numbers  that  they  escaped  my 
notice  for  several  examinations.  Repeated 
observation,  however,  ultimately  convinced 
me  of  their- existence  in  the  olood  taken 
from  the  capillaries  during  life.  At  the  au- 
topsy, forty-eight  hours  p.  m.,  they  were 
still  seen  in  large  numbers  in  the  contents 
of  the  stomach,  and  in  the  blood  taken  from 
both  sides  of  the  heart,  and  the  aorta,  caro- 
tid, vens  cave,  pulmonary  artery  and  veins, 
brachial  artery  and  veins,  and  the  femoral 
artery  and  vein.  They  were  also  found, 
during  life,  in  the  faeces,  but  here  they  were 
never  seen  to  exerciee  any  movement. — 
None  could  be  detected  in  the  gall-bladder 
or  biliary  ducts,  in  the  pancreatic  fluid,  in 
the  urine,  or  in  the  frothy  mucus  in  the 
large  bronchial  tubes. 

Dr.  Goodfellow  expresses  his  ignorance 
of  the  manner  in  which  those  animals  got 
into  the  blood-vessels.  He  does  not  believe 
that  they  were  introduced  into  the  blood 
^rom  the  stomach,  but  rather  that  they 'pass- 
ed, and  they  could  do  this  readily,  owing  to 
their  minute  size,  from  the  blood-vessels  in- 
to the  stomach. — London  Lancet. 


Meant  of  Arresting  Hamorrhage  from 
Leech  Bites. 

The  "Journal  de  Chirurgie*'  contains  the 
details  of  an  interesting  case,  narrated  by 
Dr.  Bord^s,  in  which  the  twisted  suture  was 
successfully  used  to  arrest  haemorrhage  from 
leech  bites.  The  operation  is  a  trifline  one, 
and,  it  appears,  always  successful,  and  con- 
sequently deserves  to  be  better  known.    M. 


Bordes  was  called  one  evening  to  attend  a' 
young  English  lady,  twenty-two  yean  of 
age,  who  aad  had  forty  leeches  applied  to 
the  abdomen  at  seven  o*clock  in  the  morning. 
Seven  or  eight  of  the  leech  bites  were  bleed- 
ing in  the  same  manner  as  if  veins  had  been 
opened  with  the  lancet.  She  had  lost  all 
consciousness.  Compression  was  impossi- 
ble, and  cauterization  was  not  likely  to 
succeed  with  so  abundant  a  flow  of  blood. 
M  Bordes,  recollecting  the  manner  in  which 
veterinary  surgeons  close  the  vein  after 
bleeding  norses,  resolved  to  try  the  efiect  of 
the  twisted  suture.  Pinching  the  skin  at 
the  orifice  of  the  wound  he  passed  a  smaU 
needle  through  it,  and  then  tied  a  thread 
around.  The  slight  operation  was  repeated 
for  each  orifice,  and  effectually  arrested  the 
bleeding.  It  was  only  the  following  day 
that  the  lady  recovered  her  senses,  and  mt 
convalescence  lasted  three  months.  M.  Bor- 
des has  since  frequently  resorted  to  thisplaa» 
and  always  with  success. 


On  the  consequences  of  Insects  or  Foreign 
Bodies  gaining  admission  into  the  auditorif 
passages,  and  on  the  best  modes  of  extTod" 
ingtnem, 

Bt  W.  Wright,  Esq.,  London. 

The  case  mentioned  by  Mr.  Hatfield,  in 
The  Lancet  for  April  13th,  quoted  by  Sir 
B.  Brodie,  of  a  child  in  whose  ear  there  was 
a  pea,  the  attempts  to  remove  which  cavsei 
death,  is  by  no  means  a  singular  unforttt- 
nate  instance,  and  probably  nad  not  those 
attempts  been  made  so  injudiciously,  the 
case  would  not  have  terminated  fatally.  I 
had  under  my  care,  in  1818,  a  young  gentle- 
man who  had  had  a  pea  in  his  auditory 
passaee  four  years  and  a  half,  which  I  ex- 
tracted without  pain.  I  gave  the  particulars 
of  the  treatment  in  several  medical  journals: 
he  is  now  alive,  and  filling  a  responsible 
station  abroad. 

The  case  of  the  boy  who  died,  after  suf- 
fering great  agony,  through  injury  inflicted 
by  the  endeavors  to  extract  the  head  of  a 
nail  from  his  left  ear,  which  was  not  found 
during  his  life,  or  after  the  most  rigid  post- 
mortem examination,  is  interesting  In  that 
instance,  an  efficient  examination  before  the 
cutting  and  laceration  began,  would  have 
probably  saved  the  poor  boy's  life. 

A  girl  who  died  at  London  hospital,  from 
the  opperations  for  extracting  a  pebble  from 
her  ear,  wasdetstroyed  by  gross  ignorance.-— 
I  have  pebbles,  and  even  a  small  shell.which 
I  removed  from  the  ears  of  patients  without 
pain  or  inconvenience.  It  is  not  ncccfsary 
to  mention  more  of  those  cases  which  have 


Physiological  and  Pathological  Researches  on  Tuberculosis.     89 


terminated  fatally  through  the  maladroit  en- 
deaYors  of  well-intentioued  but  incompetent 
men.     The  proper  method  of  examining  the 
auditory  passage  is  so  little  known,  uat  I 
cannot  but  commiserate  the  poor  patients 
who  are  the  subjects  of  examination  oy  fun- 
nel-shaped spring  forceps,  as  su^ested  by 
Kramer,  and  with  equal  stolidity  imitated  by 
other  writers,  some  of  whom  give  plates  of 
this  most  absurd  contrivance ;   whereas  no- 
thing IS  more  simple  or  easy  to  the  patient 
or  practitioner  than  the  examination  of  the 
ear,  or  the  extraction  of  any  substance  from 
it     The  syringe,  however,  is  not  always  to 
be  depended  upon,  «ven  in  the  hands  of  the 
most  competent  operators :  hence  I  use  small 
steel  hooks,  with  the  handles  marked,  and 
these  being  passed  down  flatwise  beyond  the 
substance,  and  then  turned,  never  fail  of  suc- 
cess ;  of  Gouree  I  have  them  of  all  sizes  and 
shapes. 

It  is  very  injudicious  to  endeavor  to  re 
move   any  large   live  insect,   because  its 
struggles  are  so  violent  as  to  affect  the  brain, 
through  the  fibres  of  the  portio  dura  becom- 
ing excited,  and  communicating  that  excite- 
ment to  the  base  of  the  nerve.     Want  of  at 
tention  to  this  caused  the  death  of  a  boy  in 
the  Bristol  Infirmary,  several  years  ago; 
whereas  had  the  ear  been  filled  with  oil,  the 
insect  would  have  been  killed,  and-  might 
easily  have  been  lemoved.    In  the  case  of 
a  man  in  Ireland,  who  had  a  horse-leech  in 
his  ear,  and  died  an  hour,  and  a  half  after  it 
was  extracted,    such  a  termination  might 
have  been  prevented  by  either  injecting  salt 
and  water,  or  sprinkling  salt,  into  the  ear. — 
Lancet. 


Fhysiologicml  and  Pathologicsil  Besoarchot  on 
Tabaronlosii. 

BT  H.   UCBERT,  M.   I>. 

{Mvllefs  Archives,  Nos.  2  and  3,  1844.) 

SUMMARY. 

1.  The  pathological  peculiarities  of  tuber- 
cle are  exhibited  in  its  microscopical  struc- 
tme. 

2.  The  constant  elements  of  tubercle  are, 
molecular  granules,  an  adhesive  hyaline 
mass,  and  peculiar  tubercle  cells,  from  0.06 
to  0.01  of  a  miUimetre  in  diameter— of  irreg- 
ular form,  containing,  no  nucleus  but  mole- 
cular granules. — Water,  aether,  and  weak 
acid,  scarcely  change  them.  Concentrated 
alkaJies,  liq.  ammonia,  dissolve  them  com- 
pletely. 

3.  The  dimensions  of  tubercle  cells  under- 
go many  variations,  which  depend  rather 


upon  the  difierent  organs  than  upon  diflfer- 
ences  of  age.  They  are  most  easily  recog- 
nised in  crude  yellow  tubercle. 

4.  Tubercle  corpuscles  consist  of  cells 
having  a  very  low  power  of  development. 

5.  The  opinion  that  tubercular  substance 
is  a  modification  of  pus  is  contradicted  in  the 
most  positive  manner  by  the  microscope. 

6.  Tubercle  corpuscles  are  distinguished 
from  ^  undeveloped  pus  globules,  Dy  the 
spherical  form  and  greater  diameter  of  the 
latter.  Cancer  cells  are  clearly  distinguished 
by  their  being  two  to  four  times  as  large, 
and  consisting  of  a  cell  wall,  and  a  large 
clear  nucleus,  often  containing  nucleoli. 

7.  When  tubercle  softens;  the  adhesive 
matter  becomes  fluid,  and  the  corpuscles 
rounded;  their  opposition  to  each  other  is 
destroyed,  they  become  distended,  and  hence 
appear  larger.  This,  Imwever,  is  not  the 
result  of  growth,  but  the  beginning  of  decay. 

8.  The  pus  which  surrounds  softened  tu- 
bercle never  originates  in  the  tubercle  itself^ 
but  is  formed  directly  in  the  surrounding 
parts. 

9.  The  micToscofe  can  determine  whether 
we  have  to  do  with  softened  tubercle,  with 
purulent  matter,  or  whether  there  be  a  mix- 
ture of  both. 

10.  Pus  appears  to  destroy  quickly  tuber- 
cle corpuscles,  and  thus  to  make  their  indi- 
viduality undistinguishable. 

11.  When  the  irregular  outline  and  close 
apposition  of  tubercle  cells,  in  their  first 
stage  of  development,  present  the  second 
stage  of  separation  from  each  other,  disten- 
tion and  roundness,  then  the  third  stage  of 
disintegration  commences.  The  corpuscles 
are  broken  up  into  a  ^anular,  hsdf-fluid 
ma.as,  and  lose  their  individuality. 

12.  Tubercle  becoming  hard  and  calcare- 
ous {etat  cretace)  is  a  natural  process  of  cure. . 
The  peculiar  elements  of  tubercle  disappear, 
and  become  in  part  absorbed.  In  their  place, 
small  mineral  granules,  and  sometimes  crys- 
tals of  cholesterine,  are  deposited.  The  de- 
position of  lime  is  generally  accompanied  by 
an  increase  of  pigment.  According  to  the 
chemical  analysis  of  M.  T.  Boudet,  there 
exist,  as  principal  elements,  chlorate  of  so- 
dium and  sulphate  of  soda;  salts  of  lime 
only  in  small  quantity. 

13.  Among  the  occasional  elements  of  tu- 
bercle may  be  mentioned  melanosis,  which> 
is  the  most  frequent;  further,  fat,  filaments,, 
dark  olive-colored  globules,  and  crystals. 
Sometimes  we  find  mixed  with  tubercle,  but 
in  no  way  belonging  to  its  substance,  the 
products  of  inflammation,  serum,  pus,  and 
the  elements  of  epithelium  in  various  forms. 

14.  The  seat  of  tubercle  in  the  lungs  is 
generally  the  elastic  cellular  tissue.    Yet  it 


90     Physiological  and  Pathological  Researches  on  TSiberculosis, 


is  also  found  in  the  air  vesicles,  and  in  the 
bronchial  capillaries. 

15.  The  tissue  of  the  lung  surrounding 
tubercle  may  be  sound,  but  is  mostly  in  a 
state  of  congestion  or  inflammation.  The  last 
is  either  globular,  or  spread  over  a  large 
portion  of  a  lobe. 

16.  The  pus  found  surrounding  tubercle 
is  often  not  the  result  of  grey  hepatization, 
but  comes  from  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
small,  partly  destroyed  and  open  bronchi,  in 
the  substance  of  the  lung. 

17.  The  pneumonia  surrounding  tubercles 
has  nothing  specific;  there  is  found  in  it  the 
same  elements  of  the  exudation  as  in  ordi- 
nary pneumonia — viz.  aggregrate  globules, 
fat  vehicles,  pus  corpuscles,  &c.  Tubercle 
corpuscles  are  not  generally  found  among 
the  products  of  exudation. 

18.  Sometimes  there  is  found  surrounding 
tubercle  a  peculiar  form  of  chronic  inflam- 
mation, with  yellowish  hepatization,  and  in- 
creased consistence  of  the  tissue.  The  vesi- 
cles of  the  lung,  small  bronchi,  and  paren- 
chyma,  are  partly  filled  with  coagulated  fl' 
brin,  and  a  formation  of  new  fibrous  fila- 
ments, partly  >vith  aggregate  and  pus  corpus- 
cles, and  in  the  centre  of  the  chronic  slightly 
vascular  hepatization  there  is  found  a  highly 
vascular  acute  lobular  pneumonia. 

19.  The  decree  of  consistence  of  acute  or 
chronically  inflamed  lunes  depends  upon  the 
amount  they  contain  of  nbrin,  fluid  blastema, 
and  corpuscles.  Much  fibrin,  with  a  small 
quantity  of  blastema  and  corpuscles,  produce 
induration;  much  fluid  blastema,  with  a 
small  number  of  corpuscles,  cause  softening. 
An  equal  proportion  of  these  diflerent  ele- 
ments produces  a  medium  degree  of  hardness. 

20  Lungs  rendered  compact  from  the  nres- 
8ure  of  a  pleuritic  efliision  often  exhibit 
throughout  no  appearance  of  inflammation. 

21.  The  grey  semi-transparent  granula- 
tions of  the  tissue  of  lung  are  also  a  true 
form  of  tubercle.  Their  color  and  transpa- 
rency are  partly  dependent  on  the  apposition 
of  tne  tubercle  corpuscles  to  each  other, 
throughout  the  intact  fibres  of  the  lung^ 
partly  on  the  existence  of  a  large  quantity  of 
adhesive  material. 

22.  The  grey  granulation  is  not  always 
the  commencement  of  the  formation  of  yel- 
low tubercle ;  the  last  is  often  primarily  de- 
veloped as  such. 

23.  The  vascular  network  found  surround- 
ing the  grey  granulations  is  neither  a  proof 
of  inflammation  nor  of  a  new  formation,  but 
rather  results  from  the  pressure  on  many 
capillaries,  occasioned  by  the  tubercular  de- 
position, and  the  consequent  distention  of 
the  remaining  capillaiies,  which  are  reduced 
in  number. 


24.  The  opinion  that  gre^  granulations 
may  be  the  result  of  inflammation  is  opposed 
by  positive  observation. 

25.  The  process  of  ulceration  is  through- 
out diflerent  from  that  of  suppuration.  Thus 
we  find  on  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
bronchi,  suppuration  without  olcention,  and 
on  the  intestinal  muccnis  mwnbranc,  ulc^ 
without  suppuration.  The  last  cause  of  ul- 
ceration is  from  inflanomation  by  paiasttic 
deposition,  sometimes  from  causes  uaknown 
to  us,  producing  obliteration  in  a  certain 
number  of  capillary  vessels. 

26.  The  tubercular  ulcer  of  the  lunr  is 
not  physiologically  di&rent  from  the  tuber- 
cular ulcer  of  the  intestines  or  of  the  skin. 

27.  In  tuberculosis  a  general  ulcerative 
diathesis  is  found  to  take  place  even  in  or- 
gans where  tubercles  appear  very  seldom. 
This  is  clearly  established  by  the  excellent 
labors  of  Louis. 

28.  The  internal  fluid  layer  of  the  con- 
tents of  a  cavernous  uker  of  the  lung,  con- 
tains— a,  tubercular  substance,  seldom  in- 
tact, the  corpuscles  for  the  moat  part  in  a 
state  of  distention,  or  broken  down  into 
granules;  6,  pus  corpuscles  sometimes  in 
small  quantity;  c,  "puridea**  corpuscles;  rf, 
aggregate  corpuscles ;  6,  purulent  mucus ;  /. 
blood  corpuscles ;  g,  filaments  of  the  lung; 
h,  black  pigment;  t,  epithelium;  ib,  some- 
times crystals ;  and  /,  adipose  tissue. 

29.  Amongst  this  thick  fluid  are  generally 
found  pseudo-membranes,  consisting  of  co- 
agulated pus  elements  inclosine  fibnn. 

30.  Among  the  pseudo-jnemoranes  corer- 
ing  the  diseased  tissue  of  the  lung  is  fonnd 
a  true  pus  membrane,  consisting  oi  filaments 
inclosing  small  corpuscles.  It  generally  be- 
comes partly  destroyed  by  a  new  irruption 
of  tubercle  occurring  in  tfie  same. 

.  31.  This  membrane  is  a  natural  effort  to- 
wards cu]%,  isolating  the  ulcerous  tissue  of 
the  lung,  and  thus  £ivoring  its  cicatrization. 

32.  Between  the  pus  membrane  and  the 
tissue  of  the  lung  is  often  found  newly- 
formed  filamentous  tissue. 

33.  Surrounding  the  cavernous  ulcer  is 
generally  found  a  deposition  of  recent  crude 
tubercle. 

34.  The  healine  of  caverns  takes  place,— 
c,  from  isolation,  oy  means  of  the  pus  mem- 
bfane,  and  shrinking  of  the  cavern;  &»  by 
deposition  of  fibrin,  which  fills  up  the  car- 
em,  grows  to  its  walls,  and  so  forms  a  fi- 
brous cicatrix;  c,  by  mineral  deposition  in 
the  cavity,  and  formation  of  a  filamentous 
tissue  around  the  same. 

35.  There  are  no  peculiar  mucous  bodies; 
what  has  been  described  as  such  are  nothii^ 
but  pus  corpuedes  secreted  from  diseased 


Physiological  and  Pathological  Researches  on  Tuberculosis.     91 


membranes.    Pus  tests  are  thus  henceforth 
useless. 

36.  In  the  sputa  of  phthisical  individuals 
the  following  elements  are  found— c,  mucus ; 
6,  pus  corpuscles,  existing  in  large  quantity 
— they  are  sometimes  found  in  a  shrunken 
state,  and  may  easily  induce  error;  c,  epithe- 
lium in  its  various  forms ;  d,  granular  sub- 
stance in  great  quantity,  probably  consisting 
of  broken  down  tubercle  corpuscles ;  e,  small 
yellow  shreds,  pieces  of  pseudo-membrane ; 
/,  filaments  of  the  lun^;  g,  fat  vesicles;  A, 
blood  corpuscles,  sometimes  combined  with 
coagulated  fibrin ;  i,  aggregate  corpuscles ;  ifc, 
small  infusoria,  vibrios,  but  this  seldom,  and 
only  accidentally. 

37.  The  jpeculiar  tubercle  cells  are  not 
commonly  found  in  the  expectoration  of 
phthisis.  There  are  also  no  constant  means 
of  distinguishing  the  sputum  of  phtliisis  pul- 
monalis  from  that  of  other  diseases. 

38.  Filaments  of  the  lung  in  sputum  indi- 
cate an  ulcerous  cavity.  Their  presence, 
however,  is  rather  exceptionable  than  other- 
wise. 

39.  The  greatest  portion  of  the  sputa  in 
phthisis  does  not  come  from  caverns,  but  is 
secreted  from  the  bronchi. 

40.  The' copious  mucus  and  purulent  se- 
cretion of  (he  bronchi,  so  frequent  in  phthisis 
pulmonalis,  is  one  of  the  ways  nature  adopts 
m  order  to  prevent  the  great  destruction  of 
the  circulation  which  would  necessarily  re- 
sult from  the  complete  imperviousnessoi  one 
]x>rtion  of  the  capillary  system,  and  disten- 
tion of  the  rest. 

41.  A  portion  of  the  broken  down  tuber- 
cle of  the  ulcerous  cavity  mixes  itself  with 
the  expectoration;  another  portion  is  re- 

■  absorbeid. 

42.  The  law  announced  by  Louis,  that 
after  the  age  of  15  years  the  lungs  contain 
tuberdes,  when  they  are  found  in  other  or- 
gans, is  throughout  correct.  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  so  far  modified,  that  if  very  exten- 
sive tubercular  deposition  has  occurred  any 
where  in  an  organ — as,  for  instance,  in  the 
liver,  the  kidneys,  or  the  peritoneum, — the 
lungs  often  contain  very  little. 

43.  In  childhood,  tubercle8«are  more  fre- 
quent in  the  membranes  of  the  brain,  the 
glandular  system,  and  the  peritoneum,  than 
m  adults. 

44.  The  thickening  of  the  pleura  in  tuber*, 
culosis  of  the  lung,  not  only  originates  in 
inflammation,  but  suso  in  increased  nutrition, 
from  its  greater  vascularity,  dependent  on 
the  diminution  of  blood  in  the  lungs.  Thus 
a  supplementary  organ  for  the  circulation  of 
the  lung  is  produced,  and  at  the  same  time, 
from  iti  growth  to  the  thoracic  walls,  the 


anastomosis  with  the  great  circulation  is  in- 
creased. 

[Nothing  can  be  more  erroneous  than  this 
old  astrological  theory,  which  imputes  the 
thickening  of  the  pleura  in  tuberculosis  of 
the  lungs  to  inflammation.    Ed.  Dis.} 

45.  It  results  from  embryological  and 
pathological  researches,  that  neither  around 
the  tubercle,  nor  in  the  pseudo-membrane  of 
the  pleura,  are  new  vessels  formed  indepen- 
dent of  the  general  circulation.  New  ves- 
sels in  diseases  are  rather  formed  centrifu- 
gally  from  the  general  circulation. 

46.  The  apparent  transformation  of  the 
pseudo-membrane  into  cartilaginous  sub- 
stance consists  only  in  the  filaments  being 
pressed  together,  without  the  formation  oi 
the  peculiar  cartilage  elements.  In  the  same 
manner  the  so-called  ossification  of  the 
pseudo-membrane  only  consists  in  the  depo- 
sition of  an  amorphous  mineral  formation. 

47.  The  three  principal  forms  of  glandular 
tubercles  are  those  of  the  more  superficial — 
the  bronchial  and  mesenteric  glands :  the  last 
have  a  very  slight  tendency  to  soften. 

48.  The  tubercular  matter  in  the  glands 
is  throughout  the  same  as  that  in  other 
organs. 

.49.  The  existence  of  a  sensible  scrofulous 
matter  we  cannot  admit;  what  has  been  con- 
sidered as  such  is  either  the  result  of  common 
inflammation  or  of  suppuration — certainly 
under  the  influence  of  cachectic  elements, 
but  without  a  peculiar  material  or  tubercular 
deposition  accompanying  the  inflanmiation 
or  suppuration. 

60.  Tuberculosis  in  the  osseous  system  is 
a  much  more  rare  disease  than  is  generally 
supposed  at  present.  There  is  frequently 
found  here  a  difliculty  in  determining  be- 
tween concrete  pus  and  tubercular  matter. 
In  doubtful  cases,  the  microscope  can  alone 
determine  the  diagnosis. 

51.  True  scronilous  diseases,  which  are 
mostly  distinguished  by  inflammatory  and 
suppurative  eliminations,  are  to  be  separated, 
on  the  one  hand,  from  tuberculous  diseases, 
and  on  the  other,  from  idiopathic  chronic  in- 
flammations of  the  eye,  skin,  glands,  bones, 
joints,  &c.  TTie  last  category  is  often  con- 
founded with  scrofula  in  children. 

52.  In  a  word,  the  positive  diagnosis  and 
abstract  separation  of  scrofula  are  most  ur- 
gent desiderata  in  modem  medicine. 

[The  magnetic  symptoms  always  give  a 
positive  diagnosis,  but  no  abstract  separation 
of  scrofula.  There  are  no  such  distinctions 
in  nature  or  in  fact.  Compelled  at  last  to 
acknowledge  that  the  common    cases  of 


92     Physiological  and  Pathological  Researches  on  Tuberculosis, 


chronic  disease  of  the  organs  and  limbs,  or 
of  the  serous  membranes  and  tissues,  called 
chronic  inflammations,  are  cases  of  scrofula, 
an  attempt  is  made  to  set  up  distinctions 
where  there  are  no  real  differences.  All  the 
cases  of  scrofula,  in  all  its  forms,  and  in  all 
ages  and  conditions,  are  distinguished  in  an 
instant  by  the  same  symptoms,  and  are  con- 
stantly cured  by  the  same  remedies,  and 
these  facts,  which  are  now  known  to  hun- 
dreds of  physicians  in  this  country,  are  fatal 
to  the  assumptions  on  which  these  distinc- 
tions are  founded.    Ed,  Du.] 

63.  The  grey  granulations  of  the  mem- 
branes of  the  brain — ^viz.  of  the  pia  mater, 
exhibit  clearly  between  the  filaments  of  the 
serous  membrane  depositions  of  tubercle  cor- 
puscles. Thev  present  themselves,  besides, 
frequently  in  tne  brain,  together  with  yellow 
miliary  tubercle ;  with  tuberculous  infiltra- 
tion, as  well  as  with  large  tubercles. 

54.  In  the  liver,  tubercles  are  often  found 
in  very  considerable  masses,  and  even  with 
true  caverns.  These  cases  are  easily  con- 
founded with  cancer.  In,  like  manner,  the 
change  into  softening  and  breaking  down  of 
certain  cerebriform  tumours  of  the  hver  often 

S resent  a  similar  appearance  to  tuberculous 
epositions. 

55.  Besides  the  fatty  depositions  in  the 
liver,  fatty  degeneration  of  the  heart  is  some- 
times present  in  phthisis ;  also  a  tendency  to 
internal  depositions  of  fat,  whilst,  for  the 
most  part,  it  disappears  from  the  external 
parts. 

56.  The  kidneys  also  may  be  almost  en- 
tirely filled  with  tuberculous  degeneration. 
In  these  cases  fewer  tubercles  are  found  in 
the  lungs. 

57.  In  tubercles  of  the  peritoneum  there 
are  found,  together  with  tubercle  corpuscles, 

^several  filaments  of  the  serous  membrane. 

'Peritoneal  tubercles  have  little  tendency  to 
softening.  They  are  mostly  accompanied  by 
a  considerable  pigmentary  deposition. 

58.  Tuberculosis  of  the  peritoneum  pro- 
duces sometimes  perforation  of  the  intestine, 
which  is  generally  fatal ;  but  in  very  rare 
cases,  rife  is  maintained  by  the  formation  of 
an  artificial  anus. 

59.  The  consistence  of  crude  tubercle  in 
the  intestines  is  usually  less  thick  than  it  is 
in  other  organs.  No  pus  is  found  upon  tu- 
berculous intestinal  ulcers. 

60.  The  microscopic  elements  of  tubercu- 
lar ulcers  of  the  intestines,  besides  broken 
down  tubercle  cells,  are  cylinder  epithelium. 


broken  down  granular  mucous  membrane, 
and  the  filaments  and  bundles  of  the  muscu- 
lar coat  The  young  epithelial  cells  are  not 
to  be  confounded  wiUi  pus  corpuscles. 

61.  On  the  diseased  mucous  membnine  of 

Ebthisis  are  occasionally  found  polypi,  me- 
motic  and  tubercular  excresences. 

62.  In  extremely  rare  cases,  tubercles  are 
found  deposited  between  the  coats  pf  arteries, 
an  exceedingly  important  fact  for  (in  favor 
of)  the  excretion  of  tubercle  from  the  blood. 

63.  Tubercles  are  also  found  in  the  peri- 
cardium and  heart.  An  extensive  adherence 
often  thus  takes  place,  and  a  vascular  anas- 
tomosis of  the  branches  of  the  coronary  ar- 
tery with  those  on  the  surface  of  the  lunes, 
a  remarkable  communication  between  the 
vessels  of  the  Izurger  and  smaller  circulations. 

64.  Tubercles  in  the  cavity  of  the  chest, 
as  well  as  of  the  abdomen,  can  open  them- 
selves externally,  and  thus  form  fistuljE  of 
the  lungs  and  of  the  intestines. 

65  Tubercles  and  cancer  do  not  exclude 
one  another,  or  even  interfere  with  their 
separate  march.  Both  morbid  processes  can 
at  the  same  time  run  through  their  stages  of 
development  in  the  same  person. 

[We  have  investigated  long  since  and  very 
thoroughly  the  subject  of  cancer  connecte3 
with  scrofula  with  the  magnetic  symptoms, 
dissections  and  the  microscope,  and  have 
little  doubt  but  there  will  hereafter  be  found 
a  fallacy  in  those  investigations,  which  sfUl 
be  fatal  to  the  distinctions  that  are  here  at- 
tempted to  be  established.  It  is  only  in  the 
second  stage  of  tubercular  disease  of  a  gland, 
a  membrane  or  tissue  that  cancerous  degene- 
ration is  developed,  and  then  only  when 
every  other  contiguous  membrane,  fibre,  tis- 
sue or  substance  becomes  equally  involved  in 
the  disease,  and  this  condition  appears  to  be 
always  necessary  to  the  true  cancerous  for- 
mation. 


We  will  not  affect  to  conceal  the  fact  that 
we  republish  the  above  comprehensive  sum- 
mary of  elaborate  researches  on  Tubercular 
disease,  with  a  degree  of  satisfaction  partak- 
ing of  a  sense  of  personal  triumph.  It  is 
now  many  years  since  we  advanced  the 
self-same  doctrines  of  the  all-pervading 
character  of  Tuberculosis,  in  calm  and  confi- 
dent independence  of  the  ignorant  sneers  and 
arrogant  denunciations  of  a  large  portion  of 


Chi  the  Cure  ofDeafness. 


93 


th e  profession.    To  scoff  them  as  "  visionary 
theories"  and  "arrant  quackery,"  was,  even 
within  a  recent  period,  deemed  almost  essen- 
tial  to    professional   respectability  among 
those  who  condescended  to  advert  to  them, 
or  in  whose  hearing  they  were  mentioned. 
It  was  of  no  consequence  that  we  had  traced 
and  demonstrated  them  in  the  most  **  regu- 
lar" and  legitimate  manner,  and  by  a  process 
of  induction  as  severe  and  scrutinizing  as  is 
ever  adopted  in  any  scientific  investigation ; 
it  was  a  matter  of  no  weight  with  these  in- 
Uated  scomers  that  we  had  verified  and  ma- 
tured these  doctrines  by  the  ocular  evidence 
of  many  continuous  dissections,  and  by  the 
results  of  experience  in  a  long,  extensive, 
»JDd  laborious  practice,  both  in  town  and 
country.     All  this  was  of  no  value  with 
«uch  opponents,  first,  because  they  had  not 
made  these  discoveries  themselves;  secondly, 
because  they  were  new;  and,  thirdly,  be- 
cause they  had  not  received  the  approving 
s\ajnp  of  foreign  authority.  Now,  however, 
that  our  original  views,  publications  and 
practice  upon  these  subjects,  and  our  most 
novel  and  even  startling  propositions,  have 
been  confirmed  by  such  men  as  Lugol,  Louis, 
lififranc,  and  others  of  the  eminent  Frisian 
schools;  now  that  our  long-proclaimed  doc- 
trine that  the  ganglia  of  the  posterior  spinal 
nerves  are  connected  with  the  ganglia  of  the 
great  sympathetic  nerire ;  and  as  the  latter 
are  connected  with  the  organs,  so  external 
pressure  on  the  former  would  indicate  the 
seat  of  disease  in  those  organs— now  that 
this  connection  has  'received  full  and  ir- 
resistible  confirmation   by  the   dissectioi^ 
and   microscopic  determinatioiv  of  Volk- 
man  and  Bidder,  the  German  anatomists, 
behold!  our  lofty  medical  Mtwn^  stroke  their 
chins,  knit  their  brows,  and  look  as  sage  and 
as  comical  asthe  carved  heads  of  their  canes. 
With  what  grotesque  caprice  of  physiogno- 
my they  wiU  peruse  the  above  synopsis  of 
Tuberculosis,  by  Lebert,  from  Midler's  Ar- 
(hives,  it  is  rather  difilcult  to  imagine;  and 
it  is  to  be  regretted  that  it  cannot  be  caught 
by  the  Daguerreotype  process,  for  the  em- 
bellishment of  the  medical  journals  of  the 
fichools.     [Ed,  Dis, 


On  the  care  of  Deafheii  by  pnnotnring  the  mem- 
brana  tympani. 
Sir  Astley  Cooper  wrote  a  memoir  on  this 
subject  in  the  "  Philosophical  Transactions," 
and  shewed  that  the  cases  likely  to  be  re- 
lieved by  the  practice  were  those  in  which 
the  Eustachian  tube  was  permanently  closed, 
or  when  blood  had  been  extravasated  be- 
hind the  membrane.    To  those  cases  other 
pathologists  have  added  "  a  morbidly  thick- 
ened and  cartilaginous  condition  of  the  mem- 
brana  tympani"  itself.    In  the  last  number 
of  the  Northtni  Journal,  we  find  an  inter- 
esting communication  on  the  results  of  the 
operation,  by  Dr.  Mercer.    This  gentleman 
has  performed  it  in  several  cases.    He  gives 
a  table,  which  includes  fifteen.    Of  these, 
six  were  performed  for  chronic  thickening 
of  the  membrane,  and  the  remaining  nine 
for  obstruction  of  the  Eustachian  tube.   One 
case  alone,  and  that  of  the  latter  affection, 
succeeded  in  the  restoration  of  hearing.   The 
operator  then  agrees  with  Xtard  in  saying 
that "  nothing  is  mpre  rare  than  the  cure  of 
deafness  by  perforation  of  the  membrana 
tympani."    He  then  details  at  length  the 
history    of  an. instance  of  idiopathic  hae- 
morrhage into  the  cavity  of  the  tympanum. 
In  this  case,  deafness,  which  was  complete, 
was  removed  by  the  operation.    As  the  ex- 
ample is  an  instructive  one,  we  shall  allow 
the  author  to  describe  the  local  appearances, 
the  mode    of  operating,    and  the   instru- 
ment:— 

The  membrana  tympani,  instead  of  its 
normal,  transparent  gray  appearance,  had  a 
dull  brown  colour,  and  was  slichtly  conges- 
ted at  the  margin ;  the  vertical  line,  incfica- 
ting  the  handle  of  the  malleus,  was  lost  in 
the  surrounding  colour,  and  the  membrane, 
instead  of  presenting  its  concave  appearance, 
seemed  pushed  outwards  into  the  meatus. 
On  touching  it  with  a  probe  it  was  almost 
insensible,  and  pressure  against  it  produced 
an  elastic  pitting.     The  head  was  carefully 
supported  with  the  left  ear  turned  up,  and 
the  auricle  drawn  towards  the  vertex.    The 
speculum  being  introduced  as  far  as  the 
second  curve  of  the  meatus,  and  then  ex- 
panded with  a  clear  and  steady  light,  the 
anterior  and  inferior  part  of  the  membrane 
was  perforated,  and  a  small  portion  of  it 
removed  by  an  instrument,  which  consists 
of  a  fine  but  strong  steel  needle,  two  inches 
and  a  half  long,  and  the  handle  of  an  oc- 
tagonal form,  one  and  a  half  inch  in  length. 
The  cutting  or  drill  head  is  spear-shaped, 
one  sixth  of  an  inch  long,  and  one-eighth 
in  breath  at  the  shoulders,  where  the  edges 
are  turned  over.    The  point  and  edges  are 
very  sharp     Each  of  these  edges  is  hook- 


94 


MisceUaneous  Items. 


shaped;  one  turned  forwards  and  the  other 
backwards ;  and  when  thus  viewed  longitu- 
dinally at  their  broadest  part,  they  resemble 
the  italic  letter  /.  On  being  brought  in 
contact  with  the  membrana  tympani,  the 
handle  is  made  to  rotate  between  the  thumb 
and  fore-finger,  and  this  being  communica 
ted  to  the  cutting  point,  it  perforates  the 
membrane  similar  to  a  drill,  at  the  same 
time  that  the  averted  edges  are  causing  a 
considerable  loss  in  its  substance." 

The  subsequent  treatment  consisted  chief- 
ly in  injections  of  warm  water,  and  infla- 
ting the  cavity  with  air,  through  the  Eusta- 
chian tube.  Dr.  Mercer  observed  that  the 
average  time  for  reproduction  of  the  mem- 
brane, when  allowed  to  take  place,  was 
about  four  days. — London  Lancet. 

The  .Scalp  !«•«•  In  0«rel>ral  Dlsoasei. 

Instead  of  the  long  and  frightful  incision 
made  through  the  scalp  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  this  issue  in  chronic  cerebral 
disease.  Dr.  James  Johnson  has  adopted 
with  success  "a  more  simple  and  less  pain- 
ful practice." 

"  It  consists  merely  in  drawing  a  line  of 
the  kali  purum  along  the  course  of  the  sagit 
tal  suture — poulticing  till  the  slough  clears 
away — and  then  inserting  a  few  threads  of 
silk  or  cotton  daily,  imbued  with  the  cera- 
tum  lyttae.  A  purulent  drain  is  thus  estab- 
lished with  very  little  trouble,  and  with 
great  benefit  in  obstinate  cerebral  affec- 
tions."— Medico- Chir.  Review, 


Statistio*  of  Obstotrio  Praotiot. 

In  the  leist  number  of  the  Dublin  Journal 
we  find  a  communication  from  Professor 
Murphy,  which  contains  several  points  de- 
serving attention.  We  shall  refer  to  them 
in  the  order  of  their  occurence. 

1.  Menstniatton.-^J)T  Murphy  has  ascer- 
tained the  age  at  which  this  function  com- 
menced in  559  individuals.  This  inquiry 
has  been  already  pursued  in  450  instances 
by  Mr.  Robertson,  and  in  H60  by  Dr.  Lee. 
A  total  of  2169  cases  shews, 

"That  there  is  a  great  variety  in  the  age 
at  which  the  catamenia  first  appears;  9 
years  [14  cases,]  and  23  years  [1,]  seem  to 
be  the  extremes;  the  most  frequent  period 
of  its  occurrence  is  between  the  ages  of  12 
and  18  ;  and  of  those  recorded,  it  commenc- 
ed, in  the  greatest  number  of  instances  [417,] 
at  15." 

The  interval  of  the  catamenial  function 
was  recorded  in  591  cases  bythe  author,  and 
by  Mr.  Robertson  in  100.  In  557  of  those 
cases  the  interval  was  found  to  be  28  days ; 
in  105  it  was  21  days ;  and  in  the  remaining 
29  it  was  irregular,  varying  from  14  days  to 


42.  It  should  be  observed,  that  Dr.  Mur- 
phy's inquiries  were  addressed  to  pregnant 
females,  in  whom  probably  the  menstrual 
period  would  be  found  to  nave  been  more 
regular  than  in  the  same  number  of  females 
taken  indiscriminately. 

2.  Pregnancy. — Its  duration  was  made  by 
the  author  the  principal  subject  of  inquiry ; 
some  curious  and  useful  facts  are  the  result 
The  number  of  cases  in  which  accurate  in- 
formation was  procured  was  186 ;  in  each 
the  catamenial  period  was  noticed ;  and 

"  To  prevent  error  arising  from  uncer- 
tainty as  to  the  exact  date  of  conception, 
this  interval  was  deducted  from  the  whole 
number  of  days  of  pregnancy;  thus,  328— 
28  would  make  the  duration  of  pregnancy 
300  days." 

The  results  thus  ascertained  establish  301 
days  as  the  average  limit  of  gestation.  To 
this  there  are,  however,  thre^  remarkable 
exceptions.  In  the  first  a  fully  developed 
child  was  borne  after  an  interval  of  261 
days.  The  evidence  of  this  instance  (an 
unmarried  female,  stating  herself  to  be  pru;- 
nant.  after  one  connexion)  is  not  to  be 
wholly  relied  on.  In  two  other  cases  the 
duration  of  pregnancy  extended  to  342  and 
352  days,  or  deducting  the  menstrual  period 
to  324  and  314  days  respectively.  The  hia- 
tories  of  those  cases  nven  in  detail  are  such 
as  to  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  pregnancy 
may  be  prolonged  to  this  extended  period— 
a  fact  of  great  importance  to  the  medical 
jurist.  TOe  relation  of  pregnancy  to  previ- 
ous menstruation  is  referred  to,  and  some  ex- 
ceptional cases  are  recorded.  Thus  in  one 
instance  pregnancy  occurred  without  previ- 
ous menstruation ;  in  another  menstruation 
ceased  on  marriage,  and  in  a  few  cases  peri- 
odic dischaiges  resembling  the  catamenia 
were  present  during  pregnancy. — Dublin 
Journal. 


The  Admlniatratlon  of  Medicines  in  a  State  of 

p  Flnidity. 

"It  has  been  found  that  fifteen  grains  of 
sulphate  of  quinine  exhibited  in  infusion  of 
senna,  are  more  efficacious,  as  a  tonic^  not- 
withstanding the  aperient  <jualitv  of  the 
reliefs,  than  twenty-four  grains  of  quinine 
taKen  in  pills.  M.  Pannezza  accounts  for 
this  difference  by  supposing  that  the  senna, 
by  augmenting  the  perist^tic  action  of  the 
alimentary  tube,  and  increasing  the  secre- 
tions of  the  bowels,  excites  the  production 
of  a  fluid  well  adapted  for  perfectly  dissolv- 
ing the  quinine,  and  in- that  state  it'is  appli- 
ed to  a  much  greater  surface  of  absorption 
than  if  it  passed  alone  the  canal  in  the 
form  of  pills. — Medico  Chit.  Review,  fn^ 
Medical  Examiner. 


On  the  Method  of  Taking  Plaster  Casts. 


95 


On  the  Method  of  taklag  Plaster  Oasts. 

We  have  frequently  heard  medical  men 
express  their  regret  at  not  knowing  how  to 
take  plaster  casts  of  various  objects  in  which 
they  felt  interested.  The  method  is  suffi- 
ciently simple,  as  shown  by  the  following 
directions,  given  by  Mr.  "Butler,  in  the 
«  Zoist"  and  copied  into  the  "  Phrenologi- 
cal Journal.''  Keferring  more  particularly 
to  casts  of  the  head  taken  during  life,  they 
are  equally  applicable  under  all  other  cir- 
cumstances. 

"  In  taking  casts  of  the  head  from  life, 
precaution  is  necessary,  to  prevent  adhesion 
of  the  plaster;  for  this  purpose  a  lather  of 
soap  and  water  is  employed,  of  a  consisten- 
cy similar  to  that  used  m  shaving,  or  even 
BtiDDger.  With  this  the  hair  must  be  satu- 
rated and  combed  or  brushed  down  close  to 
the  head,  after  which  the  soap^aad  water  is 
again  apph'ed  abundantly  to  the  smoothed 
surface,  and,  sometimes,  if  any  doubt  exist 
of  perfect  security  against  adhesion,  the  la- 
ther may  be  applied  even  a  third  time. 

**  In  mixing  the  plaster,  let  a  hasin  be 
nearly  filled  with  water,  and  the  plaster  care- 
fullv  and  gradually  but  (quickly  scattered  in 
with  the  hand  until  it  nse  to  the  surface, 
when  it  may  be  stirred  with  a  common  iron 
spoon.  Care  is  necessaiy,  in  doing  this,  to 
prevent  the  formation  of  lumps. 

"It  will  be  understood  uiat  the  mould 
must  be  removed  from  the  head  in  sections. 
The  simplest  form  of  division  is  in  two 
parts;  the  line  of  separation  running  from 
the  throat  to  the  back  of  the  head,  so  divi- 
ding the  whole  into  two  equal  portions. 
For  this  purpose,  and  before  the  application 
ai  the  plaster,  a  thin  string  is  passed  over 
the  face,  dividing  it  down  the  centre  of  the 
nose,  and  again  passing  over  the  head  down 
to  the  nape  of  the  neck.  This  string  should 
he  arranged  before  the  plaster  is  laid  on. 
Divide  the  plaster  into  two  portions ;  one  of 
which  place  in  any  earthen- vessel  approach- 
infl^  in  shape  the  hack  of  the  head,  and  suf- 
fiaently  large  to  admit  of  immersion  for  the 
greater  facihty  of  applying  the  plaster.  The 
person  should  be  in  a  recumbent  position, 
and  the  back  of  the  head  immersed  in  the 
vessel  provided  for  the  purpose,  while  the 
other  portion  is  to  be  gently  but  quickly 
laved  over  the  face,  previously  moistened 
with  a  little  sweet  oil.  The  eyebrows  it 
will  be  necessary  to  moisten  with  soap 
lather,  as  also  the  whiskers  and  the  eye- 
lashes with  a  little  oil.  The  whole  of  the 
head  is  thus  covered,  the  nostrils  of  course 
being  left  open ;  it  )vould,  however,  be  ad- 
visable that  novices  should  place  quills  just 
widiin  the  nostrils,  to  avoid  inconvenience. 
The  mould  should  be  consolidated  by  the 


repeated  addition  of  plaster,  until  it  is  of  the 
thickness  of  about  half  an  inch,  when  it 
may  be  divided  by  drawing  up  the  string ; 
this  must  be  done  before  the  plaster  acquires 
too 'great  a  degree  of  induration ;  then  the 
mould  may  be  removed  without  difficulty. 

"  The  CTcatcst  care  must  be  observed  in 
casting  tne  ears;  in  order  to  prevent  the 
plaster  trom  adhering  internally  or  even  ex- 
ternally. Let  the  whole  of  the  crevices  be 
well  stopped  with  a  mixture  composed  of 
soap  and  oil,  of  about  the  consistency  of 
thick  paste ;  and  it  may  be  well  to  observe 
to  the  inexperienced  operator,  that  should, 
any  of  the  plaster  form  internally,  it  would 
be  productive  of,  at  least,  extreme  inconve^ 
nience. 

«*  To  take  casts  from  the  would. — Immedi- 
ately after  the  removal  of  the  mould,  tie  it 
together  and  saturate  it  with  water  by  steep- 
ing it  during  three  or  four  minutes ;  and  be- 
fore the  moisture  has  disappeared  from  the 
surface,  pour  in  at  the  opening  at  the  throat 
a  quantity  of  plaster  of  the  same  consistency 
as  before,  and  this,  by  turning  the  mould 
around,  must  be  made  to  flow  into  every  part 
of  it.  The  plaster  will  be  thus  added  until 
the  cast  be  of  the  thickness  of  about  half  an 
inch.  When  this  substance  has  been  thus 
acquired,  let  the  whole  stand  for  a  few  hours, 
after  which  the  mould  maybe  removed  from 
the  cast  by  the  careful  use  of  a  mallet  and 
chisel. 

«*  The  multipltcaiion  of  casts. — Dry  the 
original  casts  thoroughly ;  then  with  a  brush 
and  some  boiled  oil  go  over  the  surface  two 
or  lb|ee  times,  after  which  the  cast  must 
stand  a  day  or  two,  to  allow  it  to  dry,  when 
it  will  be  in  a  fit  condition  for  the  formation 
of  the  mould.  For  ordinary  purposes  the 
mould  may  be  made  in  three  pieces,  of  which 
the  back  of  the  head  as  far  as  the  ears,  but 
not  including  them,  constitutes  one,^nd  the 
face,  equally  divided  as  before,  affords  the 
other  two,  an  ear  of  course  attaching  to  each. 
This  operation  is  performed  piecemeal.  The 
part  receiving  the  plaster  must  first  be  thinly 
coated  with  a  mixture  of  oil  and  grease, 
(hogs-lard  or  tallow,)  to  prevent  adhesion. 
When  the  piece  is  of  the  necessary  thickness, 
remove  it,  and  trim  the  edges  with  a  sharp 
knife,  after  which  replace  it  on  the  cast,  and 
having  greased  the  edges,  proceed  to  the  for- 
mation of  another  portion,  which  of  course 
will  adapt  itself  to  the  edge  already  prepared. 
When  the  mould  is  msSe,  put  it  together j^ 
dry  it  perfectly ,  then  oil  it  in  the  manner  be- 
fore described  with  reference  to  the  cast»  and 
in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days  it  will  be 
in  a  fit  state  for  casting,  taking  care  to  coat 
it  with  oil  and  grease  before  taking  each, 
caat" — Lancet. 


96 


On  the  Treatment  of  Femoral  Hernia. 


ON  THB  TBBATMBNT  OF  FEMORAL 
HERNIA. 

B7  J.  Sbbastxav  WiLKXMSOH,  EmIm  Snifcon,  Loodon. 

The  following  case  of  femoral  hernia  oc- 
curred to  me  in  the  course  of  my  practice 
some  years  ago ;  and  having  met  with  simi- 
lar cases  since,  in  the  treatment  of  which  I 
have  been  equally  successful,  I  beg  the  fa- 
vour of  its  insertion  in  the  widely-circulated 
journal,  Thx  Lamcet. 

Mrs.  W ^  a^ed  forty,  affected  with 

femoral  hernia,  apphed  to  me  in  the  early 
part  of  the  spring  of  1833,  to  know  if  I  could 
afford  her  any  relief,  as  her  case  was  pro- 
nounced  irreducible  and  incurable.  The  sub 
joined  is  her  own  history  of  the  case : — 

"  The  swelling  in  the  groin  first  appeared 
in  the  year  1823.  It  could  then  be  easily 
returned  into  the  abdomen.  I  thought  noth- 
int,  of  it,  and  neglected  to  apply  a  truss. 
About  four  years  before  I  applied  for  medical 
advice,  I  could  not  return  the  swelling.  It 
was  occasionally  painful,  especia'ly  when 
the  bowels  were  confined.  About  three 
months  before  I  consulted  you,  I  became 
alarmed,  owing  to  the  increased  size  of  the 
tumour,  and  the  pain  I  experienced  in  walk- 
ing. I  was  obliged  to  be  particular  in  my 
diet,  and  keep  the  bowels  always  relaxed. 
I  then  lived  as  cook  and  housekeeper  in  a 
family  residing  at  Newport  Pagnell,  who 
called  in  their  family  surgeon.  He  said  he 
could  do  nothing  for  me,  but  sent  me  to  Lon- 
don to  Mr.,  now  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie.  '  This 
gentleman  examined  me,  and  said  it  was 
^uite  irreducible  and  incurable,  and  that  my 
life  would  be  endangered  by  any  blow  upon 
the  part,  or  from  inflammation  arising  from 
*  walking.  He,  however,  considered  it  advis- 
able to  wear  a  piece  of  thick  leather,  beat  out 
in  the  fcym  of  a  cup,  over  the  tumour,  to  be 
confinedl)y  a  strap  round  the  lower  part  of 
the  body." 

When  I  saw  the  patient,  the  tumour  was  as 
big  as  a  large  walnut,  doubled  overPoupirt's 
ligament ;  moveable,  but  confined  at  the  fem- 
oral ring.  It  consisted  of  intestine  and 'omen- 
tum, and  quite  irreducible.  Having  observed 
in  the  dissecting-room,  subjects  witn  old  her- 
ni»,  with  bdth  abdominal  and  crural  rings  of 
a  large  size,  I  consii'ered  it  feasible  that  diK 
atation  might  gradually  be  accomplished  in 
an  inverse  direction. 

The  patient  being  very  fat,  I  first  reduced 
her  in  substance  by  bleedin/?  twice  a  week, 
to  eight,  and  afterwards  to  five  ounces ;  low 
diet,  consisting  of  broth  and  gruel,  with 
warm  baths,  three  times  a- week,  and  occa- 
sional doses  of  castor  oil.  When  the  skin 
had  become  flabby,  and  her  size  reduced,  I|(ifczne. 


used  daily  manipulations,  pressing  the  tumour 
downwards  and  then  upwards.  In  this  way 
I  proceeded  for  nearlysix  months,  and  at  last 
succeeded  in  returning  the  rupture.  I  tied 
my  silk  handkerchief  in  a  large  knot,  which 
I  olac^  in  the  groin  of  the  jntient,  and  con- 
fiiied  the  ends  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
pelvis,  thus  affording  a  temporary  truss.    I 

gut  her  into  a  coach  and  sent  her  to  Mr. 
irodie,  who  returned  me  the  following 
note: — 

««  My  dear  Sir,— There  appears  to  be 
nothing  left  but  the  sac,  and  probably  a 
small  portion  of  adhering  omentum.  There 
can  be  no.  objection  to  the  patient  wearing 
one  of  Salmon  and  Ody*s  trusses. 

«  J.  S.  Wilkinson,  Esq." 

Mrs.  W soon  afterwards  got  marri- 
ed, and  is  now  living  in  good  health,  with 
her  husband,Vho  is  a  farmer  in  Hereford- 
shire.— London  Lancet. 


Medioal  Memoranda. 

Quinine  in  <4gt«.--Dr.  Stratton  thinks  a 
single  large  dose  in  the  interval,  cures  more 
rapidly  man  repeated  small  doses. 

Treatment  of  Neuralgia. — T>t.  Jacques,  of 
Antwerp,  recommends  inoculation,  by  means 
of  a  vaccinating  lancet,  with  a  solution  of 
sulphate  of  morphia. 

M.  Laf  argue  recommends  inoculation  in 
the  same  way,  with  a  solution  of  vera^ia : 
and  M.  Roclauts,  a  Dutch  physician,  gives 
nux  vomica,  in  doses  of  from  three  to  ten 
grains  in  the  twenty-four  hours. 

Succinate  of  Ammonia  in  Delirium  7V»> 
mens. — M.  Scharn  has  seen  the  most  furious 
delirium  overcome  as  by  enchantment,  and 
the  disease  removed  in  a  few  hours,  by  the 
use  of  this  remedy  alone. 

Arsenic  in  Peritoneal  Dropsy. — ^Dr.  Dcha- 
vay  has  treated  a  case  successfully.  One- 
twentieth  of  a  grain  was  given  twice  a  day. 
The  improvement  was  notable  in  six  weeks, 
and  in  six  months  all  symptoms  had  ceased, 
and  the  catamenia,  whidi  had  been  suppress- 
ed, was  restored. 

Mustard  in  the  Convulsions  of  CAiMfW- 
—Dr.  Triplu  was  led  to  the  employment  of 
this  remedy  as  an  emetic,  and  finding  it  ar- 
rest in  a  few  minutes  an  attack  of  convul- 
sions that  had  lasted  five  hours,  he  has  em- 
ployed it  in  three  other  cases  with  complete 
success. 

Prophylactic  Remedy  against  Ptyalisnu-^ 
Dr  Schoepf  recommends  the  following  tooto- 
powder  during  the  administration  of  ow- 
cury,  to  prevent  salivation.  Dried  alumt 
powdered,  3ij. ;  powder  of  cinchona,  Jj- » 
to  be  used  by  means  of  a  soft  brush,  morn- 
ing and  evemng. — Northern  Journal  cj  ^ 


Polypus  of  the  Womb, 


97 


POLYPT7S  OF  THE  WOMB. 
BT  M.  LUI-RANC,  PARIS. 

[In  an  able  notice  of  Lisfranc's  clinical  sur- 
gery in  the  British  and  Foreign  Medical 
Review,  we  find  some  excellent  and  prac- 
tical remarks  on  this  subject.  A  polypus 
descending  from  the  womb  is  said  to  be  in- 
sensible, whilst  an  inverted  uterus  is  very 
sensible.  If,  however,  a  polypus  descend 
•  witb  a  covering  from  the  inner  surface  of 
the  womb,  it  is  evident  that  its  sensibility 
will  be  more  or  less  retained.] 

In  partial  inversion  of  the  uterus,  M.  Lis- 
lianc  thinks  favorably  of  the  mode  of  exam- 
ination proposed  by  M.  Malgaigne,  which  we 
shall  describe,  in  this  affection  the  bladder 
and  a  portion  of  the  intestines  are  lodged  in 
the  concavity  formed  by  the  depression  of  the 
fundus  of  the  uterus;  if,  then,  a  curvea  cathe- 
ter i»  passed  into  the  bladder  with  its  concav* 
ity  downwards,  and  the  beak  of  the  instru- 
ment is  directed  to  the  most  depending  part  of 
the  bladder,  its  extremity  will  be  readily  felt 

Stbe  fin^r  in  the  vagina,  if  the  case  is  one 
inversion,  unless,  indeed,  the  intestines 
have  become  adherent  to  the  womb  in  such  a 
way  as  to  prevent  the  catheter  penetrating 
into  the  depression  formed  by  the  inverted 
oigan,a  circumstance  of  very  rare  occurrence. 
Bat  M.  Lisfranc  thinks  that  the  best  way  of 
discnminating  between  polvpus  and  inveision 
of  the  uterus,  is  by  a  mode  of  examination 
similar  to  that  above  recommended,  in  the 
case  of  an  intra-uterine  polypus  or  of  a  com- 
mencing  inversion.  If  we  seize  and  depress 
the  tumor  with  two  fingers  passed  into  the 
vagina,  and  then  introduce  the  index-finger  of 
the  other  hand  into  the  rectum,  no  tumor  can 
be  felt  through  the  g|ut  above  the  one  which 
is  grasped  in  the  vagina,  if  the  case  is  one  of 
inverted  uterus.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  we 
feel  through  the  rectum,  a  second  tumor  sim- 
ilar in  shape  to  the  uterus,  above  the  vaginal 
tumor,  then  this  latter  tumor  is  a  polypus. 
In  one  instance,  indeed,  M.  Lisfranc  was 
zmsXeA  by  this  mode  of  examination;  he  diag- 
nosticated inversion  of  the  uterus,  but  the  pa- 
tient having  died,  a  small  fibrous  tumor  was 
discovered  implanted  on  the  uterus,  which 
was  iiattened  and  reduced  to  tne  tenth  part  of 
its  natural  size.  It  appears  that  attempts 
have  been  made  to  defraud. the  author  of  the 
honor  due  to  this  suggestion,  as  he  subse- 
quently **  begs  leave  to  thank  the  authors 
who  have  appropriated  his  ideas,  or  with 
characteristic  candor  cited  them  as  dating 
from  the  eleventh  century.'*  It  is  not  stated 
who  are  the  delinquents  here  alluded  to,  and 
we  are  not  able  to  supply  the  omission. 

M.  Li^ranc  has  on  several  occasions  re- 
moved by  enudecAion  both  polypi  and  fibrous 


tumors  which  were  not  pedunculated,  wheth- 
er situated  completely  within  the  cavity  of 
the  uterus,  or  having  partly  (or  in  the  case 
of  polypi  entirely)  made  their  way  into  the 
vagina.  To  use  his  own  words,  he  "  dwells 
on  this  important  point  of  practice  which  he 
believes  to  be  new."  We  need  not  occupy 
space  in  showing  that  the  practice  is  not  new, 
but  as  we  believe  M.  Lisfranc  has  adopted  it 
with  more  boldness  than  his  predecessors, 
and  under  circumstances  in  which  it  was  not 
previously  applied,  we  shall  give  a  summary 
of  a  few  of  the  cases  by  whidl  he  lUustrates 
this  practice. 

In  one  case  having  drawn  a  fibrous  poly- 
pus almost  entirely  through  the  vulva,  ne 
perceived  that  its  envelope,  which  consisted 
of  a  thin  layer  of  the  tissue  of  the  uterus,  was 
lacerated,  and  passing  the  index-fin^r 
through  the  rent,  enucleated  the  tumor  with 
the  greatest  facility.  In  another  case  enucle- 
ation was  effected  almost  accidentally :  M. 
Lisfranc,  while  examining  a  polypus,  found 
the  envelope  give  way  beneath  tne  nail  of 
the  index-finger,  and  by  an  easy  manipulation 
enucleated  the  tumor  in  a  few  seconds.  On 
examining  the  uterus  immediately  afterwards, 
he  found  that  the  part  of  that  organ  to  which 
the  polypus  had  been  attached,  had  singularly 
contracted,  that  the  depression  caused  by  the 
tumor  had  diminished  greatly  in  depth,  and  . 
at  least  two-thirds  in  in  breadth,  it  seemed  to 
be  diminishing  while  the  finger  was  in  con- 
tact with  it,  and  in  ten  hours  the  uterus  had 
regained  its  natural  size,  and  the  cervix  would 
not  admit  the  finger.  We  mentiorf  these  latter 
facts,  as  we  conceive  they  have  an  important 
bearing  on  the  question  of  hemorrhage  after 
excision  of  polypi.  M.  Lisfranc  has  also 
frequently  enucleated  with  the  nail  of  the  in- 
dex-finger, small  cellulo-vascular  polypi  oc- 
cupying the  neck  of  the  womb.  In  a  case 
where  a  fibrous  tumor  as  larj^  as  the  clenched 
hand  projected  into  the  vagma,  its  envelope 
was  lacerated  with  the  nails,  and  the  con- 
tained tumor  turned  out.  But  enucleation 
must  generally  be  preceded  by  an  exploratory 
incision;  and  by  this  combination  of  means, 
M  Lisfranc  has  removed  fibrous  tumors  while 
still  completely  included  within  the  cavity  of 
the  uierus.  A  lady  was  reduced  almost  to 
extremity,  by  protracted  uterine  hemorrhage 
caused  by  a  fibrouA  tumor,  which  could  be  . 
felt  through  the  dilated  cervix  uteri.  The 
neck  of  the  uterus  was  seized  withMuseaux's 
hook,  depressed  almost  to  the  vulva,  and  a 
more  perfect  examination  being  then  practica- 
ble, the  tumor  was  found  to  extend  from  the' 
middle  of  the  body  of  the  uterus  almost  to  its 
lower  extremity,  and  to  be  lodged  in  its  pos- 
terior wall,  from  which  it  was  commencing 
to  disengage  itself.    With  a  straighi,  blunt- 


98 


Symptoms  in  Spinal  Meningitis 


pointed  bistoury  passed  along  the  forefinger, 
a  Tcrtical  incision  was  slowly  and  cautiously 
made  over  the  tumor  until  the  finger  was  en- 
abled to  be  insinuated  beneath  the  envelope 
and  complete  the  enucleation,  which  was  not 
accomplished  without  some  difficulty.  Occa- 
sionally enucleation  may  be  more  easily  a- 
chieved  by  substituting  a  spatula  for  the  fin- 
^r.  If  it  is  necessary  to  enlar^  the  incision 
m  order  to  effect  the  lemoval  oi  the  tumor,  a 
grooved  director  will  often  guide  the  knife 
more  conreniently  and  safely  than  the  finger. 
In  some  cases  where  the  cervex  uteri  was  in- 
sufficiently dilated,  M.  Lisfranc  divided  it  an- 
teriorly. Whenever  the  peduncle  of  a  poly 
pus  is  very  broad,  we  should  incise  the  en- 
yelope,  and  endeavor  to  enucleate  the  tumor, 
in  this,  however,  we  cannot  always  succeed. 
If  the  tumor  is  removed,  the  envelope  some- 
tiioes  contracts  and  cicatrizes,  sometimes 
sloughs  in  whole  or  in  part 

[The  removal  of  polypi  by  ligature^  M. 
Lisfranc  condemns  in  common  with  most 
French  surgeons.] 


Sjinptoms  and  Pathological  Appearancat 
in  a  Oase  of  Spinal  Meniogitis. 

The  following  case,  from  the  Gu)f8  Hos- 
pital Reports,  aSfonls  a  good  illustration  of 
this  rare  form  of  disease  : — 

"  T.  M ,  aged  nineteen,  of  small,  but 

well-formed  frame,  of  temperate  and  regular 
habits,  generally  having  good  health,  until 
eighteen  months  before  nis  death,  when  he 
was  treated  in  Guy's  Hospital  for  pleurisy ; 
this  was  followed  by  scarlatina ;  from  both 
he  recovered ;  but  he  subsequently  complain- 
ed of  wandering  pains  in  the  neck  and  loins, 
and  general  malaise  Three  months  before 
his  last  admission,  he  had  erysipelas  of  the 
face,  and  was  confmed  to  his  bed  for  a  few 
days,  but  perfectly  recovered  in  about  a 
month,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  he 
became  an  out-patient,  the  pains  continuing 
in  the  back,  neck,  and  loins,  and  being  re> 
gaided  and  treated  as  rheumatism,  without 
relief.  On  the  Friday  before  admi.«6ion,  the 
pains  became  very  much  aggravated  in  the 
neUc,  back,  and  loins,  causing  him  to  scream 
violently,  with  great  restlessness,  alarm,  and 
dread,  if  any  one  approached  to  touch  any 
part  of  his  body.  These  symptoms  were 
more  severe  on  Saturday ;  and  on  the  follow- 
ing morning,  May  7,  he  wa^  admitted,  wiih 
symptoms  of  fever,  and  complained  of  the 
pains  in  the  neck,  and  loins,  which  were  less 
severe;  had  great  disinclination  to  turn  in 
bed  ;  and,  on  oeing  raised,  maintained  almost 
a  tetanic  rigidity  oi  the  miucles  of  the  neck, 
but  these  symptoms  were  not  very  marked 


until  two  or  three  days  afterwards.  On  the 
Wednesday,  he  lost  the  use  of  his  arms  for 
a  time,  and  then  the  pains  left  him,  but  be- 
came again  severe  wiln  the  return  of  motion. 
On  Thursday,  convulsions  came  on  ;  he  had 
foaming  at  the  mouth;  the  features  were  dis- 
torted ;  the  hands  were  clenched,  and  he  was 
insensible ;  the  tonic  rigidity  of  the  neck  con- 
tinued. He  had  frequent  recurrence  of  tht 
convulsive  attacks  during  the  next  day,  when 
he  died,  trismus  having  been  present  during 
the  two  hours  preceding  his  death. 

"  Sectio  Cadaveris.—The  skin,  generally, 
and  conjunctivae,  were  slightly  •jaundiced. 
On  openmg  the  head,  the  veins  and  sinuses 
were  seen  large  and  congested ;  and  on  di- 
viding the  spinal  cord,  jusf  below  the  medul- 
la owon^ta,  some  puriform-looking  fluid 
exuded  from,  apparently,  the  centre  of  the 
cokI,  the  cut  surface  of  which  was  looser  in 
texture  than  natural. 

'♦  The  spinal  canal  being  opened  from  be- 
hind, there  was  some  light  ecchymosts  between 
the  muscles,  and  extravasation  of  blood,  w'th 
effusion  of  lymph,  between  the  vertebne  and 
dura-mater :  an  effusion  of  lymph,  and  some 
puriform  albuminous  matter,  were  also  seen 
between  the  arachnoid  surfaces,  and  beneath 
the  arachnoid  itself,  rendering  these  mem- 
branes slightly  adherent  and  opaque.  This 
opacity  was  seen  especially  in  some  spots, 
and  evidently  of  no  very  recent  charada^. 
These  appearances  were  most  observed  at  the 
fourth  Sind  fifth  cervical  vertebra. 

"  The  surface  of  the  liver  was  rather  pale; 
the  edge  rather  rounded ;  and  some  yellow- 
ish spots,  of  the  size  of  half-a-crown,  sur- 
rounded by  an  areola  of  darker  vasculanty, 
were  observed :  these  extended  to  the  depin 
of  half  an  inch.  On  incision,  the  structiue 
was  yellowish,  with  an  occasional  motflwg 
of  florid  red.  The  lobules  were  universally 
of  a  pale-yellow  colour ;  and  in  those  pan* 
which  were  of  a  brighter  red  hue,  the  inter- 
lobular fissures  were  the  seat  of  florid  w- 
cularity.  The  organ  was  lacerated  and  tore 
with  a  granular  appearance.    This  was  n- 

firded  as  an  inflammatory  condition  of  t«w 
ver.  , . 

« The  peritoneal  surface  of  the  blaflaw 
was  corrugated,  thickened,  and  ^^^'J^\^, 
ecchymosis,  which  was  also  observed  m  • 
nally,  in  the  submucous  tissue."— [I^"^^ 

The  above  is  a  plain  case  of  eeroais  or 
tubercular  disease  of  the  hver,  ^^^^^^  *? 
muscles,  extending  to  the  membranes  oi 
brain  and  spinal  cord,  as  every  physician^  ^ 
practices  the  magnetic  symptoms  would 
knowji  without  a  post  mortem  cxamina^on. 


Scrofula. 


99 


A  SXTBSTITUTB  FOR  WOOD  BNaBA- 

vwa. 

ByRiCHABD  Lbwxs  Bsan,  Esq.,  M.R.C.B.,  London. 

Hayiko  been  engaged  lately  in  some  pho- 
togenic ezperimentfl,  1  tried  the  foIJowing 
method  of  engraving,  which,  although  not 
of  use  ifi  photography,  appears  to  be  an  ex- 
cellent substitute  lor  wood  engraving,  as  it 
takes  so  little  time,  (two  or  three  hours,)  and 
only  costs  a  few  pence ;  those  who  can  draw 
a  little  may  avail  themuelves  of  it,  and  I  have 
no  doubt,  suigeons  and  others  publishing 
would  find  it  of  great  service,  as  the  trouble 
and  expense  are  so  light. 

I  take  a  piece  of  black  glass,  or  glas^ 
with  a  black  ground  behind;  melt  com- 
mon wax,  so  that  there  may  be  a  coat  about 
the  thickness  of  a  sixpence ;  when  this  is 
cool,  rub  it  over  t^ith  a  preparation  cf  salad 
oil  and  white  lead,  mixed  into  an  ointment ; 
tills  is  to  give  a  white  ground  for  etching 
upon.  Trace  the  drawing  so  as  to  leave  a 
led  outline  on  the  ground ;  proceed  to  etch 
with  needles,  (taking  care  to  make  the  grooves 
perpendicularly  through  the  wax;)  when 
this  is  done,  lay  some  water  gently  over  the 
wax,  and  if  there  are  any  minute  globules  of 
air  sticking  to  iXy  they  are  to  be  removed  by 
gently  heating  wiih  a  lamp,  great  care  being 
taken  not  to  melt  the  wax ;  sprinkle  some  of 
the  fittest  sulphate  of  lime,  (plaster  of  Par- 
is,) which  is  best  ^ot  at  the  casting  shops ; 
let  it  combine  with  the  water,  and  set. 
When  this  is  done,  it  should  be  made  of  a 
convenient  thickness,  by  adding  more  to  the 
back  of  it ;  now  dry,  and  deepen  the  broad 
lights  in  the  same  manner  as  a  wood  engra- 
ver's block ;  boil  in  due,  which  will  sink 
into  the  substance  of  the  plaster!  and  enable 
it  to  bear  pressure  in  printing.  After  this, 
proofs  must  be  taken,  and  gradual  improve- 
ments made. — London  Lancet. 

Reciprocal  laflnenoe  of  the  Nerrovs  and  San- 
guiferous Systomt. 

The  bloodvessel  and  the  nervous  fibre  are 
the  first  parts  which  receive  life,  and  the  last 
which  lose  it.  Anatomy  shows  that  they 
are  always  associated  together  in  the  cellu- 
lar substance,  which  serves  as  a  bond  of 
union  between  them.  Physiology  displays 
them  invariably  acting  in  unison — and  Pa- 
thology finds  them  very  generally  acting  one 
upon  the.  other  Let  us  cite  a  few  examples 
in  iUustration  of  these  propositions : — 

A  young  girl,  returning  home  one  morn- 
ing, wafi  insulted  by  a  soldier,  who  clasped 
her  round  the  waist.  She  chanced  to  have 
the  catamenia  upon  her  at  the  time ;  the  se- 
cretion was  at  once  checked,  and  did  not 
again  return. 


The  mother  of  one  of  the  youne  soldiers 
in  the  army  of  Italy,  1798,  was  told  of  the 
death  of  her  son :  she  started  up  for  a  second, 
and  the  menstrual  discharge  ceased  that  very 
moment.  ^ 

These  are  instances  of  the  action  of  the 
nervous  on  the  sanguiferous  system :  the  fol- 
lowing exhibit  the  action  of  the  sanguifer- 
ous on  the  nervous. 

A  young  Creole  girl,  of  an  histerical  cob-' 
stitution,  was  seized  with  spasm  of  the* 
throat,  which  for  two  days  prevented  her 
from  swallowing  anything.  She  was  bled ; 
and  from  the  moment  that  the  blood  began 
to  flow,  the  spasm  gave  way,  and  she  could 
swallow  with  ease. 

A  plethoric  woman  is  advanced  beyond 
the  middle  of  pregnancy  without  having 
quickened ;  draw  a  few  drops  of  blood  from 
her,  and  the  first  movements  of  the  foetus  will 
irobably  be  felt  forthwith  — Medico  Chirur, 


PRESTATS  ADHESIVE  PLASTER. 

Tha  following  composition  is  said  never 
to  crack,  and  nbt  to  inflame  the  skin : — 
Erapl.  Diachyl.  Gum.,  400  grs..  Purified 
Rosm,  50  grs.,  Tereb.  Venet.,  38  grs.,  are 
mixed  together  at  a  gentle  heat,  and  then  12 
grs.,  of  Gum  Mastic,  and  12  grs.  of  Gum 
Ammoniao  incorporated,  and  the  mass 
spread  on  linen.  In  winter  it  is  advisable  to 
add  10  grs.  more  turpentine,  and  12  grs.  of 
01.  Amygdal. — Lancet. 


SOBOFTTLA, 
BT  M.   LUGOL,  PARIS. 

M.  Lugol  looks  upon  scrofula  as  an  heri- 
ditary  cachexia  of  tlie  entire  system  with 
the  intimate  nature  of  which  we  are  wholly 
unacquainted,  but  the  manifestations  of 
which  may  be  followed  from  birth  in  the  dis- 
eases of  every  tissue  and  of  every  or^an. 
The  maximum  of  the  scrofulous  diathesis  is 
the  production  of  tubercle,  which  may  be 
p:enerated  in  any  region  of  the  economy. 
The  tuberclft  in  M.  Luj^oPs  eyes  is  an  oi^an- 
ised  abrormal  formatton,  endowed  with  a 
life  and  nutrition  of  its  own,  and  passing 
through  the  various  phases  of  its  existence 
like  aU  other  abnormal  tissues.  The  devel- 
opement  of  tubercle  takes  place  in  different 
parts  of  the  human  economy  at  difierent 
periods  of  life,  owing  to  various  modifica- 
tions of  local  vitality.  Accompanying  the 
production  of  tubercle,  anteriorly  or  poste- 
riorly to  it,  various  forms  of  disease  occur 
in  the  difierent  tissues  of  persons  laboring 
under  the  cachexia.    Thtse  various  morbid 


100 


Scrofula. 


forms  are  all  manifestations  of  the  scrofu- 
lous diathesis.    Thus,  the  mucous  and  cuta- 
neous surface,  the  bones»  cellular  tissue, 
joints,  &c.,  are  attacked  with  chronic  in- 
flammations^ viz.  ophthalmia,  coryza,  ca- 
tarrh, diarrhoea,  &c..  lupus,  acne,  pustular 
and  papular  eruptions ;  osteitis,  caries,  ne- 
crosis; white  swellings,  cold  abscesses,  &c. 
These  constitute  the  cortege  of  the  scrofu- 
lous   cachexia.      These    are  the  diseases 
which,  more  or  less  developed,  accompany 
the  martyr  of  scrofula  from  his  birth  to  his 
grave,  rendering  manifest  to  the  medical  ob- 
server the  cachexia  under  which  he  labours, 
even  in  the  absence  of  tubercular  formations. 
The  characters  of  hereditary  scrofula  in 
a  family  are  the  existence  of  the  scrofulous 
complexion  among  its  members — the  great 
mortality  which  is  observed  in  such  families 
more  especially  during  infancy.    These  two 
characters  may  be  studied — in  the  family 
itself,  in  the  different  branches  which  origi- 
nate from  the  same  stock,  in  the  children  of 
different  marriages.     With  reference  to  pa 
rents    who  procreate    scrofulous  children, 
their  giving  birth  to  such  children  may  be 
owing  to  their  original  health,  in  which 
case  either  they  are  scrofulous  or  affected 
with  pulmonary  tubercles ;  have  been  scro- 
fulous during  their  infancy,  and  have  ceased 
to  appear  so ;  have  brothers  and  sisters  who 
are  scrofulous ; — or  it  may  be  owing  to  an 
acquired  state  of  health.    Thus,  syphiliti- 
ca! parents,  parents  who  have  given  them- 
selves up  with  excess  to  venereal  pleasures ; 
who  are  too  young  or  too  old ;  whose  age 
is  disproportionate;  who  are  suffering  from 
epilepsy,  paralysis,    or  insanity,    all  give 
birth  to  scrofulous  children ;  also  the  father 
whose  strength  is  disproportioned  to  that 
of  the  mother.    In  some  instances  the  dis- 
ease   is   evidently  transmitted  by  heredity 
without  the  original  or  acquired  health  of 
the  parents  being  such  as  at  first  to  explain 
the  circumstances.     Parents  may  only  show 
symptoms  of  scrofula  after  the  birth  of  scro- 
fulous children.    Hereditary  scrofula  never 
skips  a  generation.*    The  hereditary  causes 
of  scro^Ia  may  be  united,  in  variable  num- 
ber, in  the  same  individual.    Marriage  is 
the  most  ordinary  cause  of  the  propagation 
of   scrofulous  diseases.      Scrofula  is  very 
frequent  among  foundlings  and  orphans. — 
The   seeds  of   scrofulous  disease'  may  be 
transmitted  by  the  nurse  to  her  nursling. 

Scrofulous  families  says  Lugol,  may  be 
recognized  by  the  general  impression  of  de 
hility  which  all  the  children  present ;  their 
state  of  health  bein^  at  the  most  native, 
and  always  exclusive  of  the  attributes  of 
health  and  strength,  and  of  (rood  orj^niza* 


*  Hera  Lugol  u  mUlaktn.    [Ed.  Dii. 


tion.  Their  physical  forms  are  devoid  of 
harmony;  there  is  no  proportion  between 
the  limbs  and  the  trunk;  the  former  are 
badly  attached  to  a  body  too  long  or  too  short 
The  development  of  the  similar  regions  of 
the  trunk  is  unequal,  often  giving  rise  to  de- 
formity. The  size  of  scrofulous  children 
is  generally  short,  although  sometimes  they 
grow  to  an  extreme  height.  The  mouth  is 
small,  and  the  teeth  are  black,  and  soon  de- 
cay. The  spongy  tissue  of  the  bones  is  by- 
perthrophied,  so  that  the  joints  are  dispro- 
portionately large.  The  sp;ne  and  bones  of 
the  pelvis  often  give  way  more  or  less.— 
The  digestive  functions  are  frequently  in  a 
continued  state  of  atony,  of  inertia:  such 
children  have  no  appetite,  and  do  not  take 
enough  food  to  support  the  economy ;  others 
present  a  voracious  appetite,  by  which,  how- 
ever, they  do  not  seem  to  profit  The  face 
is  pale,  the  breath  foetid.  Constioation  al- 
ternates with  diarrhoea,  in  which  latter  case 
a  considerable  portion  of  the  food  passes 
through  the  intestlpal  canal  only  pardy  di- 
gested. The  skin  and  cellular  tissue  is  ex- 
tremely emaciated,  or  in  a  peculiar  state  of 
unhealthy,  hardened  hypertrophy.  It  is 
often  dry,  and  covered  with  papulse  of  li- 
chen, or  prurigo.  Children  who  present 
these  characteristics  are  generally  idle,  apa- 
thetic, and  have  no  inclination  whatever  for 
exerciee.  Menstruation  is  very  late  with 
girls,  and  the  age  of  puberty  with  both  sexes 
is  retarded.  Writers  on  scrofula  have  gene- 
rally considered  a  certain  degree  of  enbon' 
point  and  freshness  of  complexion  to  be  pe- 
culiar to  scrofulous  constitutions,  especialiy 
with  women.  This  peculiar  kind  of  beauty 
is  certainly  Observed,  but  much  less  fre- 
quently than  is  generally  supposed,  and 
generally  co-exists  with  some  scrofulous 
symptom  which  reveals  its  nature,  such  as 
a  too-dilated  pupil ;  slight  epiphora ;  habi- 
tuad  coryza  ;  obstinate  chilblains ;  a  smi^ 
mouth,  of  an  ogee  form ;  teeth  too  long  and 
too  close,  often  black  and  carious;  too  short 
and  thick  a  neck;  habitual  leucorrhoa; 
dysm^norrtioea;  anorexia;  frequent  sore 
throats,  &c.  This  state  of  freshness  and 
fulness  seldom  lasts  long ;  it  disappears  earlT 
in  life,  leaving  behind  a  wrinkled  skin,  which 
disfigures  women  who  ought  still  to  be  m 
the  bloom  of  youth. 

Parents  who  are  not  themselves  scrofa- 
lous,  may,  under  certain  circumstances,  pro- 
create scrofulous  children.  The  abuse  ol 
venereal  excitement  will  lead  to  this  result; 
and  instances  of  this  kind  are  frequently 
seen  in  the  higher  walks  of  life.  ^T 
marriages  are  followed  by  the  generation  ^ 
scrofulous  children.  A  roan  ought  to  be 
five-and-twenty  before  he  marries;  beloie 


Clairvoyance. 


101 


that  period  his  organization  is  seldom  suffi- 
dently  manured  to  enable  him  to  procreate 
healthy  children.  This  law  holds  good 
thiougboat  nature.  The  first  year  or  two  a 
fruit-tree  bears,  the  fruit  is  small  in  size,  in- 
diflferent  in  quality.  Such  marriages  are 
principally  seen  in  the  lowest  and  in  the 
highest  classes  of  society.  Scrofulous  chil- 
dren are  still  more  frequently  the  result  oi 
late  marriages.  If  either  of  the  parents  has 
arrived  at  ue  time  of  life  when  the  system 
begins  to  decay,  their  children  are  generally 
scrofulous.  At  the  age  of  forty-five  the 
procreative  faculty  begins  to  decline  in  man. 
For  a  few  years,  nowever,  he  is  still  able  to 
procreate  healthy  children,  but  after  fifty- 
two  they  seldom  present  the  conditions  of 
health.  Thus,  when  a  healthy  man,  advan- 
ced iq  life,  manies,  his  first  children  are 
healthy,  but  they  deteriorate  as  they  increase 
in  number.  Tlie  same  remark  applies  to 
women.  As  they  approach  the  critical  age 
their  powers  of  reproduction  diminish,  and 
after  forty  their  children  are  often  scrofulous. 
Disproportion  between  the  ages  of  the  pa- 
renV  is  a  cause  of  scrofula  among  children. 
The  wife  oueht  to  be  a  few  years  younger 
than  the  husband ;  if  she  is  older  the  chil- 
dren are  generally  scrofulous.  A  man 
whose  hodSy  strength  is  not  that  of  his  sex, 
especially  if  it  is  much  less  than  that  of  his 
wife,  will  generally  have  scrofulous  chil 
dren ;  consequently  the  popular  opinion  that 
the  children  of  a  weak  scrofulous  man  mar- 
ried to  a  strong  robust  woman  will  be  heal- 
thy, is  a  fallacy.  Diseases  of  the  brain  ap- 
pear to  modify  the  reproductive  powers.— 
Those  who  are  laboring  under  insanity,  par- 
alysis, or  epilepsy,  generally  procreate  scro- 
fulous children. 

Scrofula  may  be  inoculated  by  suckling — 
a  fact  which  has  been  remarked  by  various 
authors.  Nurses,  however,  should  only  be 
made  responsible  for  scrofula  occurring  in 
children  whom  they  suckle,  when,  on  the 
one  hand,  it  is  quite  eyident  that  no  traces 
of  that  disease  exists  in  the  child's  family, 
and  when,  on  the  other,  the  diseases  can  be 
traced  clearly  to  the  nurse.  When  the  con 
stitution  of  a  child,  is  contaminated  from  this 
source,  its  health  will  form  a  striking  con- 
trast with  that  of  the  other  members  of  the 
family.  As  a  necessary  consequence  of  the 
above  fact,  scrofulous  mothers  ought  never 
to  suckle  their  own  children. — Lancet. 


OliAIBVOTAiroa. 

Dear  Sir — There  is  in  this  place  a  Clair- 
voyant, Jackson  Davis,  whose  wonderful 
powers  have  for  a  long  time  astonished  many 


of  our  citizens.  This  young  man  is  eighteen 
years  of  age,  is  uneducated,  and  has  resided 
here  for  the  last  six  years,  and  is  very  gen- 
erally known. 

What  is  perfectly  astonishing  is,  when  in 
the  Clairvoyant  state,  he  is  complete  master 
of  the  general  sciences,  such  as  physiology^ 
pathology,  anatomy,  geology,  hydrology, 
phrenology,  astronomy,  medicjne,  &c.  He  is 
conversant  with  all  these  sciences — distinctly 
points  out  their  fundamental  truths,  and  ex- 
poses their  incidental  errors.  He  has  spoken 
also  in  as  many  different  languages,  and, 
whilst  in  that  state  is  able  and  willing  to  give 
instruction  on  any  subject  which  will  be  of 
benefit  to  mankind.  He  has  already  explained 
many  phenomena  in  nature  which  the  learned 
have  been  unable  to  fathom,  such  as  for  in- 
stance the  cause  of  the  variation  of  the  Mag- 
netic Needle 

Of  late,  he  has  given  us  four  lectures  on 
Animal  Magnetism.  The  theory  of  Magnet- 
ism, as  given  in  these  lectures,  is  entirely  new, 
and  beautiful  beyond  description.  He  shows 
in  a  clear  and  lucid  manner  that  Mesmerism 
is  a  science,  and  that  all  its  phenomena  are 
accounted  for  on  natural  principles,  thus  re- 
moving all  the  mystery  in  which  the  subject 
has  been  shrouded,  and  completely  reversing 
all  former  theories  which  have  been  put  forth 
— and  he  has  given  Mesmerism  a  new  name, 
expressive  of  tnis  fact,  that  of  *'Clairmative' 
ness.**  > 

Within  the  last  twelve  months,  this  young 
man  has  examined  and  piescribed  for  upwards 
of  one  hundred  persons,  and  has  restored 
them  to  health. 

The  names  of  these  persons  can  be  given 
if  called  for.  Among  the  number,  1  will 
mention  Dr.  Charles  Thatch  r,  an  eminent 
physician  of  this  town.  This  gentleman,  for 
four  years  past,  was  afflicted  with  ulceration 
of  the  bowels,  in  consequence  of  which  he 
was  obliged  to  give  up  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine.    He  is  now  restored  to  health. 

This  young  man  has  often  astonished  and 
confounded  me  by  revealing  to  me  my  own 
thoughts  when  I  have  been  sitting  beside 
him,  in  the  trance  state.  And  he  has  fre- 
quently done  the  same  with  others,  in  the 
presence  of  many  witnesses. 

He  is  still  engaged  in  giving  us  lectures  on 
various  subjects,  and  these  lectures  in  due 
time  will  -be  given  to  the  public. 

By  giving  the  above  a  place  in  your  paper, 
you  will  much  oblige  myself  and  many  of 
your  readers  in  this  vicinity. 

GIBSON  ImITH, 
Pastor  of  the  First  Universalist  Society. 
Poughkeepsiet  Feb.  16, 1845. 

IN.  Y.  Tribune. 


102         Bursal  Swelling  of  the  Wrist  and  Palm  of  the  Hand. 


Bursal  Swelling  of  the  Wriat  and  Palm  of  the 
Hand. 

Br  James  Syme,  Esq. 

There  are  few  subjects  of  surgical  prac- 
;tice  that  have  occasioned  more  trouble  and 
disappointment  than  morbid  distention  of 
the  bursa,  which  accompanies  the  flexor  ten- 
dons of  the  fore-arm,  in  their  course  under 
the  annular  ligament  of  the  wrist,  towards 
the  fingers.  'Ilie  resistance  of  the  ligament 
prevents  any  enlargement  of  the  bursa  where 
lying  under  it ;  but  the  wrist  and  palm  be- 
come distended)  so  as  to  occasion  an  un- 
seemly swelling,  and  weakness  of  the  hand. 
The  fluid  efiused  into  the  cavity  is  generally 
associated  with  numerous  small  cartilagi- 
nous-looking bodies,  of  a  lozenge  or  lenticu- 
lar figure. 

In  treating  this  fonn  of  ganglion,  the 
means  generally  employed  prove  very  un 
availing.  Punctures  either  heal  without 
producing  any  improvement,  or  remain  open, 
80  as  to  occasion  obstinate  sinuses.  Incis- 
ions of  larger  extent,  caustics,  and  setons, 
have  all  been  carefully  employed  with  very 
Uncertain  benefit,  and  frequently  great  sul- 
fering ;  indeed  I  have  known  the  continued 
irritation  so  induced  prove  fatal.  As  the 
treatment  of  similar  derangements  in  other 
parts  of  the  body  is  not  attended  w^ith  such 
troublesome  consequences,  the  question  na- 
turally presents  itself,  what  local  peculiarity 
is  concerned  in  causing  the  obstinacy  of  this 
particular  case  ?  The  reply  suggested  by 
what  has  fallen  within  my  observation  is, 
that  the  constriction  caused  by  the  annular 
ligament  produces  the  efiect  in  question,  by 
preventing  the  portion  of  bursal  sac  corres- 
ponding to  it  and  the  subjacent  tendons  from 
undergoing  the  healing  process.  Impressed 
with  tnis  conviction,  I  tried  the  following  ex- 
periment, the  complete  success  of  which  en- 
courages me  to  hope  that  the  method  pursu- 
ed will  be  found  to  afford  an  effectual  remedy 
for  a  complaint  which  has  hitherto  proved  so 
troublesome. 

Janet  Preston,  aged  20,  was  admitted  on 
the  13th  of  February,  complaining  of  pain 
and  weakness  in  her  left  hand.  The  wrist 
and  palm  of  the  hand  were  much  swelled, 
but  not  discoloured,  and  pressure  on  these 
parts  caused  distinct  fluctuation,  with  the 
jarring  sensation  that  characterizes  effusion 
into  the  bursal  sheaths.  She  stated  that  pain 
had  been  first  felt  about  two  years  before,  and 
that  foi  the  last  twelve  months  she  had  had 
hardly  any  use  of  the  hand,  in  consequence 
of  the  swelling,  and  weakness  attending  it. 
I  made  a  free  incision  from  the  wrist  into  the 
palm  of  the  hand,  dividing  the  annular  liga- 
ment.   This  gave  vent  to  a  quantity  of  glai- 


ry iluid,  vnth  many  small  flat  cartilaginouf- 
looking  bodies,  and  exposed  to  view  tbe 
flexor  tendons,  separated  and  surrounded  by 
thickened  bursal  membrane.  The  cavity 
was  filled  with  dry  lint,  supported  by  a  ban- 
dage moderately  compressing  tbe  band  and 
wrist.  In  the  subsequent  treatment  care  was 
taken  to  prevent  protrusion  of  the  tendons, 
by  drawing  the  eoges  of  the  wound  together, 
and  applying  a  compress  over  the  seat  of  the 
annular  ligament.  Not  the  slightest  disa- 
greeable symptom  followed  the  operation, 
and  three  days  after  it  the  patient  was  able 
to  sew,  whicn  she  had  been  prevented  from 
•doing  for  many  months  previously.  In  tbe 
course  of  a  few  weeks  the  wounil  healed, 
and  the  limb  was  in  every  respect  perfectly 
sound.— Lonrf.  and  Ed.  M.  J.  of  M.  &,  Od., 
1844,  p,  825. 

Oaontchonc  as  a  Remedy  for  Toothaoht. 

Caoutchouc,  becoming  very  smooth  and 
viscous  by  the  action  of  fire,  has  been  pro- 
posed by  Dr  Rolfls  as  an  excellent  remedy 
for  filling  hollow  teeth,  and  alleviating  the 
toothache  proceeding  from  that  defect  A 
piece  of  caoutchouc  is  to  be  put  on  a  wire, 
then  melted  at  the  flame  of  a  candle  and 
pressed,  while  warm,  into  the  hollow  tooth, 
and  the  pain  will  disappear  instantly.  The 
cavity  of  the  tooth  should  first  be  cleaned  out 
with  a  piece  of  cotton.  In  consequence  of 
the  viscosity  and  adhesiveness  of  the  caout- 
chouc, the  air  is  completely  prevented  from 
coming  in  contact  with  the  oenuded  nenre, 
and  thus  the  cause  of  the  toothache  is  de- 
stroyed.— Medical  Times. 

An  Extraordlaaiy  Fact. 

A  case  has  been  communicated  to  the  Lhr- 
erpool  Pathological  Society  by  Dr.  Gill,  of  m 
altogether  extraordinary  kind.  A  man  by  the 
name  of  Mclvor  was  dyinr,  and  the  none 
who  was  tending  him  made  the  following 
statement : 

"  Nov,  16th,  11  P.  M.— Nurseobsenredi 
<  red'kat  coal-like  streak  on  M.'s  month,  aod 
(playing)  on  his  right  cheek  and  top  lip/  •< 
he  lay  m  the  insensibility  of  approaching 
dissolution.  This  flame  lasted  for  aboot 
twenty  minutes— i.  e.  until  death. 

«  The  impression  on  the  mind  of  fbennise 
was,  that  he  was  insensible  during  the  uhUe 
of  this  Inminovs  combustion  of  his  breath. 
He  lay  with  his  eyes  onen,  on  his  back.  The 
'  flame  was  red,  just  hie  red-liot  Loal-firt'  to 
which  the  nurse  and  tbe  other  man  (Mcfwr) 
both  compared  it.  Nurse  pointed  to  the  lcd- 
tre  of  the  clear  fire  then  burning  in  tbe  ward 
when  these  notes  were  taken;  it  was  *«^ 
blue^*  it  was  persistent  with  the  breath  of  tf  • 


Fractures — Inoculation  with  Strychnia  in  Amaurosis, 


103 


piration,  ('when  he  breathed  out,'  and  not 
lambent, .'  not  flickering,  coming  and  goin^.') 
There  was  in  the  room  a  common  *  raked'  hre 
in  the  fireplace  at  the  one  end,  close  to  which 
the  nurse  stood,  and  a  gas  jet  burning  low, 
(reiy  (ow)  suspended  from  a  rafter  m  the 
middle  of  the  room,  and  about  twelve  feet 
Irom  the  dying  man's  bed.  M.  had  not  been 
taking  any  phosphoric  medicine  at  ali,or  any 
aleoholie  stimulant  during  that  day,  or  for  six 
weeks  previous,  though  he  bore  the  character 
of  being  a  drunkard.  Nurse  and  Mclvor 
were  both  terrified  so  much,  that  they  dared 
not  stir  from  their  places  until  the  flames  had 
ceased.** 


General  Laws  Rognlatlng  the  BUplaoement 
of  Fracmres. 

M.  £d.  Lacroix  has  published  an  interest- 
ing and  philosophical  paper  ou  this  subject, 
to  which  we  beg  to  direct  the  particular  atten- 
tion of  our  suixical  readers.  His  general 
conclusion  is,  that  "  the  displacements  of 
bones  occur  in  angles  which  have  the  same 
sines  directed  in  the  same  planes  and  in  the 
same  sense  as  the  natural  curves  of  the  bones 
implicated." 

Ciamde. — Displacement  variable  according 
to  the  point  broken ;  forwanls  when  the  two 
external  thirds  are  broken  ofi"  from  the  inner 
thirds;  backwards  when  the  two  inner  thirds 
are  severed  from  the  outer  third ;  upwards  so 
as  to  foim  an  angle  with  its  apex  superior, 
where  the  seat  of  fracture  is  the  middle  of  the 
boce.  When  the  clavicle  is  broken  in  two 
places,  one  towards  the  sternal,  the  other  to- 
wards the  acromial  extremity,  the  natural 
.curves  of  the  bone  are  replaced  by  two  angu- 
lar knees,  one  of  which  corresponds  to  each 
of  the  solutions  of  continuity. 

Humerus. — ^Displacement  generally  out- 
wards,  so  as  to  form  an  anele  the  apex  of 
which  is  external  when  the  shaft  of  the  bone 
ia  broken,  not  outwards  and  upwards  as  is 
commonly  said  by  writers;  the  inferior  por- 
tion of  the  bone  is  most  apt  to  get  in  front  of 
the  superior.  In  fractures  of  the  inferior  ex- 
tremity the  displacement  is  mostly  forwards, 
and  there  is  generally  an  incieafie  of  concavity 
inwards,  of  convexity  outwards ;  the  inferior 
portion  is  also  very  apt  to  rotate  outwards 
and  inwards. 

Forearm, — Tendency  to  displacement,  out- 
wards and  backwards,  when  both  bones  give 
way  in  the  middle.  The  ulna  alone  fractured 
in  its  upper  portion,  the  tendency  is  to  dis- 
placement backwards  and  outwards;  in  its 
lower  portion,  to  displacement  forwards  and 
inwards.  The  radius  having  given  way 
singly  in  its  upper  third,  the  tendency  to  dis- 
placement is  inwards,  to  the  formation  of  an 


angle,  the  apex  of  which  looks  inwards ;  the 
bone  having  yielded  in  the  middle,  the  angle 
of  displacement  will  regard  backwards ;  and 
having  failed  in  its  lower  third,  the  angle  will 
turn  inwards  and  backwards. 

Femur. — Wherever  seat  of  the  fracture, 
the  extremily  of  the  superior  portion  of  tne 
bone  tends  to  get  in  front  of  the  inferior,  and 
to  form  an  angle  projecting  outwards. 

Tibia. — When  the  bone  is  broken  in  its 
lower  moiety,  there  is  a  general  tendency  to 
rotation,  in  which  the^nner  malleolus  be- 
comes more  anterior ;  and  to  the  fonnation 
of  an  angle,  the  apex  of  which  looks  back- 
wards. 

Fibula. — Constant  tendency  to  form  an 
ande  whose  apex  regards  inwards,  and  more 
or  less  backwards. 

Tibia  and  Fibula. — (jeneral  tendency  to 
the  formation  of  an  angle,  with  its  apex 
turned  posteriorly  and  internally.  Less  dis- 
position to  rotation  than  when  either  of  the 
bones  is  broken  singly. 

But  we  must  refer  to  the  original  and  very 
ingenious  paper  of  M.  Lacroix  for  other  and 
more  particular  information,  in  Annales  de  la 
Chirurgie  Francaise,  Ifc,  Mars,  1844. 

[Medical  Gazette. 

Varioooela  Treated  by  Oomprettion. 
Mr.  Curling  publishes  some  cases  of  this 
kind  to  show  the  valve  of  compression  at  the 
external  ring  in  curing  the  enlarged  veins. 
The  cure  seems  to  depend  not  so  much  on 
the  pressure  as  on  the  removal  of  the  hydro- 
static pressure  of  the  blood  in  the  dilated 
veins  by  means  of  the  presence  of  the  moc- 
main  truss.  In  one  case  "there  was  a  lam 
bunch  of  dilated  veins  above  and  behind  the 
left  testis.  There  was  a  dull  aching  pain, 
which  became  worse  towards  evenine.** — 
The  moc-main  lever  truss  was  applied  day 
and  night,  so  as  to  compress  the  spermatic 
veins  at  the  external  abdominal  ring.  'This 
ended  in  a  complete  cure.  Another  case  of 
the  same  kind  is  related,  which  was  equally 
benefitted  by  the  compression. — Lancet. 

Inoonlatloa  with  Stryohaia  in  Amaiiroaia. 
BT  DR.   VERLEGH. 

The  subject  was  a  lady,  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  of  nervous  temperament,  affect- 
ed with  incomplete  amaurosis  of  the  left  eye, 
and  commencement  of  the  same  disease  in 
the  right  one.  The  disease  was  of  three 
months'  standing,  and  of  rheumatic  origin ; 
after  two  months'  fruitless  efibrt>»,  Dr.  Ver- 
legh  tried  inoculation  with  the  sulphate  of 
strychnia  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  orbit. 
A  grain  of  the  salt  was  dissolved  in  two 
drops  of  water;  the  if  si  day  twelve  inocula- 


104 


Thfi  Styptic  Power  of  Ergot* 


a  styptic,  and  I  shall  certainly  use  it  on  the 
Arst  favourable  opportunity  that  presents  it- 
self.—Xanc^f,  Aug,  31,  1844,  p.  691. 

EXTIBFATION   OF  TKS    MAMMA   OF    A 

FEMALE  IN  THE  MESMERIC  SLEEP, 
WITHOUT  ANY  EVIDENOE  OF  SENSI- 
BILITY DUBINa  THE  OPERATION.  By 
L.  A.  Dagas,  M-  D- Professor  of  Fhfsiologf 
in  the  MedioftI  OoUeg e  of  Georgia. 

On  the  3d  of  January,  1845,  Mrs.  Clark 
(wife  of  Mr.  Jesse  Clark,  of  Columbia  coim- 
ty,  Georgia,)  came  to  this  city  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  me  to  remove  a  schirrous  tumor  off 
her  right  mamma,  which  had  been  gradually 
increasing  for  the  last  three  years,  and  which 
had  now  attained  the  size  of  a  turkey's  egg. 
The  t  jmor  had  never  caused  any  pain  of  con- 
sequence, was  not  adherent  to  the  skin,  nor 
did  it  implicate  any  of  the  axillary  glands. — 
Mrs.  C.  is  about  47  years  of  age,  has  never 
borne  a  child,  and  her  health,  thouffh  by  no 
means  robust,  was  pretty  good,  and  had  not 
been  impaired  by  the  evolution  of  the  tumor. 
The  operation  having  been  determined  upon 
for  the  following  day,  Mrs.  C.  remarked  to 
me  that  she  had  been  advised  bvMr.  Kenrick 
to  be  mesmerized,  but  as  she  knew  nothing 
about  it,  she  would  like  to  have  my  advice, 
and  would  abide  by  it.  To  which  I  replied 
that  there  were  several  well  authenticated 
cases  on  record,  in  which  surgical  operations 
bad  been  performed  under  mesmeric  influence, 
without  the  consciousness  of  the  patient;  that 
I  would  be  happy  to  test  the  subject  in  her 
case,  and  that  I  would  endeavor  to  mesmerize 
her,  instead  of  operating  as  had  been  proposed 
on  the  day  following. 

On  the  4th  of  January,  at  11  o'clock,  A.  M. 
I  called  on  Mrs.  C.  and  was  informed  that 
on  the  preceding  evening  she  had  been  put  to 
sleep  by  Mr.  B.  F.  Kenrick,  at  whose  bouse 
she  resided.  I  then  mesmerized  her  myself, 
and  induced  sleep,  in  about  fifteen  minutes. 
Finding  my  patient  susceptible  to  the  mes- 
meric influence,  and  reflecting  that  it  would 
not  be  convenient  for  the  same  person  to 
maintain  this  influence  and  to  perform  a  sur- 
gical operation  at  the  same  time,  1  requested 
Mr.  Kenrick  to  mesmerize  Mrs.  C.  roomii^ 
and  evening,  at  stated  hours,  until  insensibil- 
ity could  be  induced.  This  was  regulaiiy 
done,  with  ^rEidually  increasing  eflect,  when, 
on  the  evenmg  of  the  6th  of  January,  sleep 
was  induced  in  five  minutes,  and  the  prick  of 
a  pin  was  attended  with  no  manifestation  of 
pain.  The  sittings  were  continued,  and  the 
patient's  insensibility  daily  tested  by  myself 
and  others  in  various  ways.  On  the  9th  of 
January  I  invited  Professor  Ford  to  be  pres- 
ent, and,  after  pricking  and  pinching  strongly 


tions  were  performed, six  above  the  eye  in  the 
course  of  the  supra-orbital  nerve,  six  under, 
and  on  the  side  of  the  nose  where  the  eth- 
moidal filaments  and  nasal  branch  terminate, 
and  whence  arise  the  filaments  which  go  to 
the  iris.  There  was  no  effect  that  day ;  but 
next  day  some  slight  tremors  occurred  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  inoculated  spots.  After 
two  days  rest  the  inoculations  were  repeated 
and  the  number  of  punctures  increased  to 
eighteen.  Tha  patient  now  became  sensible 
of  a  slight  hazmes6.  After  five  successive 
inoculations,  carried  to  the  length  of  thirty 
punctures,  she  commenced  to  distinguish  ob- 
jects ;  after  the  eighth,  vision  was  completely 
restored ;  the  contraction  of  the  pupil  gradu- 
ally increased, and  the  other  symptoms  dimin- 
ished after  five  grains  of  the  sulphate  had 
been  used;  during  the  same  time  inocujations 
were  had  recourse  to  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  right  eye ;  after  the  lapse  of  two  months 
the  parent  continued  perfectly  restored  ;  and 
this  the  author  conceived  sufficiently  long  to 
warrant  him  in  considering  the  cure  as  per- 
manent.— Gazetta  Medica  de  Milano. 

^he  Styptic  Power  of  Ergot. 

[Mr.  Liston,  in  bis  lectures  on  surgery,  re- 
lates the  following  case  to  show  the  effi- 
cacy of  this  medicine  as  a  styptic] 
Mr.  Wright,  of  Nottingham,  an  excellent 
surgeon,  told  me  of  a  case  in  which  a  strong 
decoction  of  the  herb  proved  immediately  el- 
ficacious  in  a  case  of  very  profuse  and  alarm- 
ing bleeding.  The  case  was  a  very  odd  one. 
A  man  in  the  country  had  been  suspected  of 
unfaithiulness  to  his  wife,  and  she  caught 
him  at  last  in  the  embraces  of  another  wo- 
man. She  was  in  a  ^at  rage,  snatched  up 
his  fowling-piece,  which  he  had  put  down  in 
the  room,  loaded,  and  when  he  had  got  fairly 
upon  his  legs,  she  presented  it  at  him,  and 
blew  away  one  side  of  his  face.  He  went 
on  recovering  very  well,  for  a  time,  from  this 
dreadful  and  dangerous  wound,  but  one  day 
very  profuse  hemorrhage  took  place.  The 
wound  was  so  extensive  that  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  say  where  the  blood  came  from ;  it  was 
doubtful  whether  even  the  ligature  of  one 
carotid  would  suffice.  Knowing  the  pov/er- 
ful  astringent  effects  of  the  ert  ot,  Mr.  W. 
begged  of  Dr.  Sibson,  the  intelligent  and  ac- 
tive resident  medical  officer,  to  have  a  decoc- 
tion of  the  remedy  injected  into  the  wound, 
and  amone:st  the  ethmoid  cells,  and  some 
dossils  of  Tint,  soaked  in  the  decoction  ap- 
plied to  the  wound.  It  had  the  effect  of  in- 
stantly stopping  the  bleeding;  a  clot  was 
formed,  there  was  no  recurrence  of  it,  and 
the  case  did  very  well.  The  oil  of  ergot  is 
as  I  have  said,  reputej  to  be  very  effectual  as 


Extirpaiion  of  the  Mamma  during  Mesmeric  Sleep.  106 


the  patient  without  evidence  of  pain,  the  me»- 
menzer  was  requested  to  leave  the  room, 
when  we  exposed  the  breast,  handled  it 
roughly  in  examining  the  tumor,  and  re-ad- 
justed the  dress,  without  the  consciousness  of 
the  liatient.  We  then  held  to  her  nostrils  a 
vial  of  sfronff  spirits  of  hartshorn,  which  she 
breathed  freely  for  a  minute  or  two,  without 
the  tea.<  indication  of  sensation,  unless  the 
fact  that  she  swallowed  once  be  regarded  a» 
such,  instead  of  a  mere  reflex  action.  On  the 
11th  of  January,  in  presence  of  Professors 
Ford  and  Means,  in  acniition  to  the  usual  tests, 
I  made,  with  my  pocket-knife,  an  incision 
about  two  inches  in  length,  and  half  an  inch 
in  depth,  into  the  patienfs  leg,  without  indi- 
cation of  sensatioB. 

Fully  satisfied  now  of  our  power  to  induce 
total  insensibility,  I  determined  to  operate  on 
ber  the  next  day  at  noon,  but  carefully  con- 
cealed any  such  design  from  the  patient  and 
ber  friends,  who  did  not  expect  its  perform- 
ance until  several  days  later. 

On  the  12th  of  January,  at  twenty  minutes 
paat  11,  A.  M.,  Mrs.  C.  was  put  to  sleep  in 
forty-five  seconds,  without  touch  or  pass  of 
any  kind,  the  facility  with  which  the  mes- 
meric influence  was  produced  having  gradu- 
•  ally  increased  at  each  sittinc.  At  12  o'clock, 
in  presence  of  Profs.  Ford,  Means,  Gavin  and 
Newton,  and  Dr.  Halsee,  the  patient  being  in 
a  profound  sleep,  I  prepared  her  dress  for  the 
operation,  and  requested  my  professional 
brethten  to  note  her  pulse,  respiration,  com- 
plexion, countenance,  &c.  before,  during,  and 
after  the  amputation,  in  order  to  detect  an} 
•vidence  of  pain  or  modification  of  the  func- 
tiona  As  Mr.  Kenrick  had  never  witnessed 
a  sniKical  operation,  he  feared  he  might  \<me 
his  self-possession, and  requested  to  be  blind- 
folded; which  was  done.  He  now  seated 
himself  on  the  couch  near  the  patient,  and 
held  her  hand  in  his  during  the  operation. 
This  was  accomplished  b^  two  elinti<»d  inci- 
sions about  eight  inches  in  length,  rompre- 
faendinr  between  them  the  nipple  and  a  con- 
aiderabTe  portion  of  skin,  sifter  which  the  in- 
teguments were  dissected  up  in  the  usual 
manner,  and  the  entire  mamma  removed,  ft 
weighed  sixteen  ounces.  The  wound  was 
then  left  open  about  three-quarters  of  an 
hour,  in  order  to  secure  the  bleeding  vessels, 
six  of  which  were  ligated.  The  ordinary 
dressing  wat  applied,  and  all  appearances  of 
blood  carefully  removed,  so  that  they  might 
not  be  seen  by  the  patient  when  amused.— 
The  amount  of  hemorrhage  was  rather  more 
than  is  usqal  in  such  cases. 

During  the  operation,  the  patient  gave  no 
indication  whatever  ol  bensibility,  nor  was 
any  of  the  fuartions  observed  by  those  pres- 
ent modified  m  the  least  degree.  She  temained 


in  the  same  sound  and  quiet  sleep  as  beloia 
the  use  ot  the  knife.  Subsequently  the  pet- 
toral  muscle,  which  had  been  laid  bare,  was' 
twice  or  thrice  seen  to  contract  when  touched 
with  the  sponge  in  reawving  the  blood.  Aboat 
fifteen  minutes  after  the  operation,  a  tremu- 
lous action  was  perceived  in  her  lower  jaw, 
which  was  instantaneously  anested  by  the 
application  of  tlie  mesmenzer's  hand  to  the 
patient's  head.  This  phenomenon  recurred 
in  about  ten  minutes  after,  and  was  again  in 
the  flame  manner  quieted.  Professor  Foid, 
who  counted  the  pulse  and  respiration,  states 
that  before  any  preparation  was  made  for  the 
operation,  the  pulse  was  ninety-six,  and  the 
respiration  sixteen  per  minute;  that  after 
movinjc  the  patient  toarran^  her  dress  for  the 
operation ,  and  just  before  this  was  commenced 
the  pulse  was  ninety-eigfat,  and  the  respira- 
tion seventeen;  that  immediately  after  the 
detachment  of  the  breast,  the  pulse  was  nine- 
ty-six, respiration  not  counted;  and  that  after 
final  adjustment  of  the  bandages  and  dress, 
which  required  the  patient  to  be  raised  and 
moved  about,  the  pulse  was  ninety-eightaad 
the  respiration  sixteen.  All  {Nesent  concur 
in  stating  that  neither  the  placid  countenance 
of  the  patient,  nor  the  peculiar  natural  blush 
of  the  cheeks,  experienced  anycbange  what- 
ever darina;  the  whole  process;  that  she  con- 
tinued in  the  same  profound  and  quiet  sleep, 
in  which  she  was  before  the  operation,  (with 
the  exceptions  above  noted,)  and  that,  had 
they  not  been  aware  of  what  was  being  done, 
they  would  not  hkve  suspected  it  from  any  in- 
dications furnished  by  the  patient's  condition. 
The  patient  having  been  permitted  to  sleep 
on  about  half  an  hour  aiter  the  final  arrange- 
ment of  her  dress,  the  mesmerizer  made  paspes 
over  the  seat  of  the  operation,  in  order  to 
lessen  its  sensibility,  and  aroused  her  in  the 
usual  manner,  when  she  enmped  in  cheerful 
conversation  with  Mr.  Kenrick  and  myself, 
as  though  she  had  no  suspicion  of  what  had 
taken  place.  I  then  introduced  to  her  the 
gentlemen  who  had  placed  themselves  so  as 
not  to  be  seen  by  her  on  awakening,  and  ob- 
served, that  I  had  invited  them  to  come  in 
during  her  sleep,  in  order  that  we  might  fully 
test  her  insensibility,  preparatory  to  the  ope- 
ration. After  a  few  minutes  of  conversation, 
i  asked  her  when  she  would  like  to  have  the 
operation  performed  /  to  which  she  replied, 
the  sooner  the  better,  as  she  was  anxious  to 

S\t  home.  I  added,  "  Do  you  really  think 
at  I  could  remove  your  entire  breast,  when 
asleep,  without  your  knowledge  .^'  Answer.- 
<*  ^hy,  doctor,  me  fact  is,  that  from  the  va- 
rious experiments  1  am  told  you  have  made 
on  me,  I  really  do  not  know  what  to  think 
of  it  *<  Well,  madam,  suppose  I  were  to 
perform  the  operation  one  of  theas  da^i  and 


106 


MagnffHc  SUep — Vibrating  Magnetic  Mac/une. 


lo  inform  you  of  it  when  you  would  awake, 
would  you  believe  me,  and  could  you  control 
your  feelings,  on  finding  that  it  had  been 
done  ?"  Answer.  "  I  could  not  suppose 
that  vou  would  deceive  me,  and  of  course  I 
would  be  Very  glad,  but  would  try  not  to  give 
way  to  my  feelings  "  "  Have  you  perceived 
since  your  arrival  here,  or  do  you  now  per- 
ceive, any  change  in  the  ordinary  sensations 
of  the  affected  breast  ?"  *•  No,  sir ;  it  feels 
about  as  it  has  done  for  some  time  back." 
About  a  quarter  of  an  hoar  having  elapsed 
since  she  woke,  I  then  told  her  that,  as  we 
found  her  in  a  proper  state  for  the  operation. 
I  had  peiformed  it,  and  that  the  breast  was 
now  removed.  She  expressed  her  incredu- 
lity— said  I  was  •certainly  jesting,  as  it  was 
impossible  that  it  could  have  been  done  with- 
out her  knowing  it  at  the  time^  or  feeling  any 
thing  of  it  now.  She  became  convinced  only 
on  carrying  her  hand  to  the  part,  and  finding 
that  the  breast  was  no  longer  there.  She 
lemained  apparently  unmoved  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, when  her  friends  approaching  to'  con- 
gratulate her,  her  f^ce  became  flushed,  and 
she  wept  unaffectedly  for  some  time.  The 
wound  healed  by  the  first  intention. 

In  laying  the  above  narrative  before  the 
profession,  it  is  due  to  the  cause  of  truth  to 
state,  that  it  has  been  submitted  to  all  the 
physicians  present  at  the  operation,,  and  that 
1  am  authorized  by  them  to  say  that  it  ac- 
cords in  every  particular  with  their  own  ob- 
servations so  far  as  they  w^re  present  1 
should  also  add  that,  haviiig  no  other  object 
in  view  than  the  establishment  of  the  fact 
that  a  surdcal  operation  may  be  performed 
under  such  circumstances,  without  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  patient,  I  have  designedly 
avoided  any  mention  of  the  various  and  in- 
teresting  mesmeric  phenomena  manifested 
prior  and  subsequently  to  the  operation. 

Augusta,  Ga.,  Feb.  1st,  1845. 

[Southern  Med.  and  Sur.  Jour. 


MAaNBTIO  SLBBP. 
{Continued  from  Page  45.) 
The  internal  organization  of  the  pole  in 
the  centre  of  the  brain,  as  disclosed  in  the 
Bomniscient  state,  is  a  subject  of  great  inte- 
rest ;  for  the  interior  inverted  cone,  described 
by  clairvoyants,  is  the  magnetic  miniature 
germ  of  the  form  of  the  brain.  The  heart, 
lungs,  stomach,  and  other  organs,  as  well  as 
the  limbs,  have  magnetic  miniafure  germs  of 
their  organizations,  which  ate  varied,  accord- 
ing to  the  variations  in  the  forms  of  the  or- 
gans and  limbs,  as  seen  by  clairvoyants. 
These  organizations  are  also  seen  to  be  con- 
nected together  liy  magnetic  BxeB  and  inter- 
lacings,  irrespective  of  the  organization  of  the 
AervQUs  system,  and  constitute  a  perfect  mag.  | 


netic,  spiritual,  or  immaterial  form,  corres- 
ponding with  that  which  is  material.  They 
are  purely  spiritual  forms,  connected  with, or 
inclosed  in,  those  that  are  material,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  concurrent  testimony  of  clair- 
voyants, these  spiritual  forme  are  raised  in 
all  the  beauty  of  their  earthly  tenements. 

The  germs  with  which  the  human  system 
WHS  formed  and  perpetuated,  are,  therefore^ 
magnetic  or  immaterial  forms,  inclosed  in 
those  that  are  material ;  and  according  to  the 
same  concurrent  testimony,  the  entire  animal 
and  vegetable  kingdoms  were  formed,  and 
perpetuated  in  the  same  manner.  Hence  we 
infer  a  corresponding  cosmogony  of  the  solar 
system,  and  of  the  stare  in  the  heavens. 


VIBRATING  MAGNBTIO  MAOHDTB. 


We  have  substituted  a  spring,  as  seen  iff 
the  above  figure,  which  vibrates  so  fast  as  to 
make  the  motion  of  the  forces  continooai. 
The  power  of  the  instrument  is  also  greatly 
increased,  and,  with  the  continnous  motion 
of  the  forces,  makes  them  greatly  sapenor  to 
the  rotaries,  or  any  other  instrtments  for 
magnetizing.  We  have  also  mode  eAer  im- 
portant improvements  connected  with  these 
machirMs,  in  which  no  expense  has  been 
spared  to  render  them  eveiy  thins:  that  ooolii 
be  desired  for  the  purpose  tor  which  they  are 
intended. 

The  construction  of  these  Ofiachines  is  so 
simple  as  to  make  any  instructions  for  rui- 
ning them  apparently  unnecessary.  We  may, 
however,  obs^ve  that  the  solution  of  sul- 
phate of  copper^  with  which  tiie  instrumeirt 
is  run,  should  be  a  saturated  solution,  or  u 
strong  as  it  can  be  made,  and  should  be  pooicd 
into  and  nearly  fill  the  space  surrounding  the 
zinc:  when,  on  adjusting  the  conducting 
wires  from  the  battery  to  the  instrumeatras 
seen  in  the  above  engraving,  the  armature  or 
spring  will  commence  vibratiag ,  if  the  sciew 
presses  moderately  upon  it 

If  the  pressure,  however,  is  veiy  8tn)nf» 
strike  the  spring  downwards  with  the  end  of 
the  finger.  When  .it  will  vibrate  unless  the 
screw  presses  too  hard. 

A  very  little  attention  to  the  e&a  of  the 


Vibrating  Magnetic  Machine. 


10? 


upon  the  action  of  the  spring,  will  en- 
able any  person  to  understand  it,  and  to  see 
that  the  intensity  of  the  forces  from  the  ma- 
chines may  be  varied  by  the  screw  as  well  as 
by  the  piston« 

CASES. 

CHRONIC  MTJCOSrS*  OP  THE  LUK68. 

Chronic  Bronchitis. 

Mr.  J.  G.  of  Sixth  Avenue,  New  York, 
ag^  40  years.  Called  to  see  him  Nov.  17th 
1844,  and  found  him  in  the  last  part  of  the 
last  sti^s  of  chronic  roucosis  of  the  ]ung:s. 
He  had  severe  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs 
about  three  months  before,  about  a  year  after 
the  disease  commenced,  and  was  now  raising 
lam  quantities  of  matter — was  emaciated, 
had  night  sweats  and  sleepless  nights — was 
Ankiag  fast  under  the  ordinary  treatment,  and 
in  this  state  abandoned  by  his  family  physi- 
cian as  a  hopeless  case. 

There  was  no  pain  or  tenderness  produced 
by  pressure  on  the  ganglions  of  the  spinal 
nerves  connected  with  the  lungs  or  any  oth^* 
organ. 

We  now  magnetized  his  iun^  in  the  most 
thorough  manner,  and  directed  Mrs.  G.  to  re- 
peat the  operation  morning  and  evening,  and 
^'▼e  him  a  pill  of  the  following  prescription, 
momfng,  noon  and  night. 

Hard  Bal.  Copa  and  Cubebs,  -    •    3  iiiss 

Ext  Hyos. 3s8 

Make  one  hundred  pills. 

We  also  directed  the  use  of  Port  wine  or 
strong  beer  morning  and  evening,  and  brandy 
at  dinner,  with  the  most  nourishing  diet.  Mrs. 
G.,  after  having  recovered  irom  her  frightful 
apprehensions  of  a  return  of  the  hemorrhage, 
from  the  gormandizing  beirerage  we  had  pre- 
scribed, promised  a  faithful  adherence  to  our 
advice,  and  afterwards  called  upon  us  once  a 
week  with  buoyant  spirits  to  advise  us  of  the 
favorable  progress  of  the  ca^e. 

At  the  end  of  four  weeks  a  messenger  called 
to  inform  us  that  "  a.  gentleman  whom  we 
had  cured  of  consumption**  had  that  day  "ex- 
amined iVfr.  G.  and  found  he  had  tubercles  in 
bis  lungs,  and  required  the  gold  pilli)."t  I 
had,  however,  no  hesitation  in  declaring  my 
belief  that  the  gentleman  was  mistaken,  but 
promised  to  call  and  sec  the  patient,  when, 
on  applying  pressure  upon  the  ganglions  of 
the  spinal  nerves  connected  with  the  lungs, 
we  found  them  very  sensitive,  and  conse- 
quently that  tubercles  had  formed  in  his 
lungs,  as  they  frequently  do  in  the  last  stage 
of  mucosis.  His  cough  and  expectoration 
had,  however,  been  gradually  decreasin^^ 
his  nieht  sweats  had  disappeared, and  he  had 
fEained  flesh  and  stren^^h. 


'  Chionic  disraset  o(  the  mucout»  menibrane*. 
A  W«  dad  not  learn  ih«  name  of  the  genneman. 


We  now  added  to  our  prescription  in  this 
case  the  magnetized  gold  pill  morning  and 
evening,  and  in  five  weeks  from  this  time  his 
cough  and  expectoration  ceased,  and  he  is 
now,  Feb.  201h,  attending  to  his  daily  routine 
ot  busipess. 

We  have  selected  this  case  for  notice  ifom 
among  many  others,  to  show  the  effect  of  the 
treatment  in  chronic  mucosis,  and  also  as  an 
example  of  the  development  and  treatment  of 
tubercles  in  the  last  stage  of  the  disease. 

CHKONTC  9ER06I8*  OF  TH£  UTKRtTS,  STOMACH^ 
AND   LIVER. 

Tt^ercfda;  Chlorosis;  Green  Sickness; 
Pallidus  Morbus* 

Miss  J.  S.  of  Newark,  N.  J.,  aged  22  years. 
On  an  examination  of  this  young  lady  in  June, 
1844,  there  was  found  great  sensibility  to 
pressure  on  the  ganglions  of  the  spinal  nerves 
coniiected  with  the  heart,  stomacn,  liver,  and 
uterus,  and  it  was  two  years  since  her  health 
began  to  decline,  and  a  year  and  a  half  since 
the  last  reairrence  of  the  catamenia.  She 
was  greatly  emaciated — her  skin  perfectly 
blanched — was  very  feeble,  and  in  the  last 
part  of  the  last  stage  of  the  disease.  She  had 
been  a  long  time  under  the  ordinary  routine 
of  treatment  of  the  schools,  but  the  disease 
continued  to  make  progress. 

The  gold  pills  were  now  pre.«cribed,  with 
the  action  of  the  Rotary  Magnetic  machine, 
and  we  magnetized  the  diseased  organs  from 
one  to  three  times  a  week.  It  was,  however, 
five  or  six  weeks  before  the  disease  began  to 
give  way,  when  she  began  to  gain  strength, 
and  to  show  some  color  in  her  skin.f  Her 
appetite  began  to  increase,  and  she  now  be- 
gan to  gain  a  little  flesh,  and  more  color  in 
the  skin.  In  abont  four  months  her  breasts 
began  to  expand,  and  m  about  six  months  the 
catamenia  appeared,  after  an  absence  of  more 
than  two  years,  and  her  health  was  soon  re- 
established. As  a  matter  of  curiosity,  we  have 
since  looked  into  a  number  of  recent  medical 
works  of  high  reputation,  to  see  the  notions 
of  the  writers  on  the  subject  of  the  fatal  dis- 
ease called  Chlorosis,  with  which  our  patient 
was  affected ;  and  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  none  of  them  knew  a  word  of  the 
true  cause  of  the  phenomena  presented  in 
such  cases,  or  of  the  proper  treatment  of  the 
disease. 

CHBONIC  SKR0S1S  or  THS  ABDOMKff. 

Ascitis  Dropsif. 
In  the  last  stage  of  chronic  disease  of  the 
organs,  their  serous  surfaces  excrete  an  albu- 
minous serum,  which  accumulates  m  the 

■  ■-■        *-■    i    .»■■■'       iHi     ■«      t  ■     11  |i..         II    I 

*  Cbronic  diseMe  of  the  Mrom  meini)Taa«f. 
t  This  yotinfi:  lady  ipqtiired  coiisfanrly  Iwo  9i  Uia 
gold  pilU  a  day  10  kftp  her  ftoa  sraking.    •* ' : 


"'^ 


106 


Anatomy  and  Physiology. 


t  , 


I 


i     f 


eay'ity  of  the  abdomen,  and  distends  it.  Se- 
nun  is  also  excreted  by  the  serous  surfaces 
of  the  facia  of  the  mupcles,  when  the  feet 
aakles,  and  legs,  begin  to  swell,  and  some- 
times, with  the  aiMlomen,  become  very  lai^. 

We  commenced  magnetizing  a  |}erfectly 
hopeless  case  of  this  kind  about  seven  weeks 
8ince»  of  a  lady  aged  40  years,  and  the  results 
have  been  such  as  to  leave  little  doubt  that 
the  forces  from  the  magnetic  machines  will 
be  found  greatly  superior  to  any  other  remedy 
in  such  cases.  It  was  a  case  of  serous  dis- 
ease, and  very  gieat  enlargement  of  ttie  left 
kidney. 

VV^e  placed  the  negative  button  over  the 

rg;lion  of  the  spinsU  neive  connected  with 
organ,  and  moved  the  other,  repeatedly, 
all  over  the  abdomen,  under  the  full  power  of 
the  instrument.  We  then  placed  the  positive 
button  over  the  ganglions  of  the  spinal  nerves 
connected  with  the  stomach,  and  repeated, 
with  the  negative  button,  the  operation  over 
the  abdomen,  and  then  magnetized  .he  feet 
and  legs  in  the  usual  manner,  under  the  full 
power  of  the  instrument. 

We  repeated  this  operation  nearly  every 
day,  with  a  daily  progress  of  improvement, 
witbC'Ut  any  other  aid  than  that  of  Homeo- 
pathic medicines,  and  the  swellings  have  now 
nearly  disappeared,  and  the  lady*s  general 
iMalth  and  strength  greatly  improved. 

On  reading  over  this  case,  I  find  I  have  de- 
•cribe'l  it  so  as  to  make  it  appear  not  more 
than  about  half  as  bad  as  it  really  was,  or 
would  have  appeared  had  it  been  described 
hy  her  family  physician,  who  prescribed  the 
IDedicine  required  during  the  time  we  were 
magnetizing  her. — [Sherwood's  Manual  for 
Mt^etizing,  fifth  edition. 


ANATOMT  AND  PHTSIOLOGT. 

It  is  now  mo^  than  thirty  years  since  we 
ascertained  by  the  magnetic  symptoms,  and 
hy  post-mortem  ej^ami  nations,  that  there  was 
a  direct  connexion  between  the  ganglions  of 
the  spinal  nerves,  and  the  serous  surfaces  of 
the  on^ans,  as  well  as  with  the  muscles. — 
These  ganglions  were  thus  found  to.be  con- 
nected with  the  different  organs,  and  with 
the  muscles,  in  the  order  described  in  dia- 
gram A. 

The  intermediate  ganglions  are  no  doubt 
connected  with  the  di&rent  viscera,  and  a 
physician  of  this  city  has,  at  our  request,  di- 
rected his  attention  to  this  subject.  He  has 
been  trying  to  determine  these  connections  by 
the  action  of  the  magnetic  machines,  and  tbe 
result  thus  far  makes  the  probable  connections 
•8  marked  with  interrogation  points. 

>yhen  the  doctor  found  tenderness  on  ap- 
plying pressure  over  the   ganglions,  thus 


Rinisaii 
eye*  01  noHrlbC. 


if   the    mn'Rr^ 
ili=4.-ri,:^e    nf    the  Bll 

rhvitrikntiMn — i 
I  inn;.'.. 

ii  Ptnni  cn^tKlisI 

I'l  Lnnp  a. 


rirOmenttini  T 
of  Liv#!r  and 

of  Peril  tDpeciiii  t 


nrSmAlL  IntHllBM, 
^'f  Kldqnyii, 

■f  tJlCftli. 

i  tit  Gmm\a.l  ergant. 


marked,  he  placed  the  positive  button  over  tbe 
ganglion  thus  indicated ;  and  then  passed  tbe 
negative  button  over  the  entire  surface  of  tbe 
chest  and  abdomen,  under  a  moderate  power 
of  the  instrument,  by  which  sensations,  more 
or  less  painful,  were  produced  on  difibrent 
parts  of  these  surfaces,  and  which  induced 
nim  to  locate  the  connexions  as  above  de- 
scribed. 

No  opportunity  has,  however,  occurred  to 
test  their  correctness  by  post-mortem  exami- 
nations, and  we  would  now  suggest  to  phya- 
cians  who  are  practising  the  magnetic  synap- 
toms,  and  using  the  magnetic  machines,  tbe 
importance  of  these  scientific  investigations, 
and  of  ascertaining,  and  publishing,  as  soon 
as  possible,  the  true  connections  of  these  gan* 
glions  with  the  viscera. 

The  connections  of  the  spinal  nerves  be- 
tween the  3d  and  4th,  5th  and  6th,and  lOth 
and  11th  dorsal,  should  also  be  ascertained, 
as  well  as  the  connection  of  the  lumbar  ver- 
tebrae in  males,  corresponding  with  tbo«  that 
are  connected  with  the  utenis  in  females 

This  is  a  fine  field  for  investigation  and  for 
distincbon,  and  we  hope  that  the  enterprising 
young  men  of  the  profession  will  not  fail  to 
enter  upon  it. — [fb. 


John  Wesley  and  Electricity* 


109 


tetter  to  lh#  Editor  from  J.  D  Friend,  If.  D* 
Middldown,  N.  Y..  March  6,  1845. 
Dr.  Shbkwood— />«ir  Sir: — I  am  much 
gTBtilied  with  the  Magnetic  Machine.    I  con- 
sider it,  from  the  opportunities  I  have  had  of 
testing  its  yirtues,  an  invaluabie  assistant  to 
the  practitioner :  and  these  opportunities  have 
not  been  few ;  for  I  have  n^ed  it,  dnrin^  the 
Jant  two  months,  in  moie  4han  thirty  cases ; 
and  in  each  instance  tbe  effect  has  been  more 
or  less  salutary.     In  the  first  caw  which  I 
used  it,  I  was  astonished  at  the  immediate 
relief  it  aflbnded  tbe  patient     This  was  a 
case  of  Tic  Doulouienx,  and  abscess  of  the 
Alveolar  process.    The  patient  was  a  lady 
nearly  sixty  yeaw  of  a^,  and  had  been  af- 
flicted for  more  than  six  years.    The  pain 
"Was  so  severe  that  I  was  assured  by  her  re- 
latives ^he  had  not  for  three  months  previous 
to  my  being  called,  slept  five  minutes  during 
the  night.    After  the  first  application  she 
rested  well  and  sent  for  me  early  to  repeat 
the  operation.    The  result  is  that  she  is  near- 
ly as  well  as  she  ever  was,  with  every  pros- 
pect of  her  Gorople|e  restoration.     In  cases 
of  Rheumatun,  Head-ache,  Bronchitis,  and 
ProlapsDs  Uteri,  I  can  confidently  recommend 
the  Blachioe  as  a  lemedial  agent  which  will 
not  disappoint  the  practitioner.    I  may  men- 
tion, in  closing  this  bri^f  communication, 
that  a  severe  case  of  cdtc  which  came  un- 
der my  observation  was  completely  cured  in 
has  than  ten  minutes  by  the  applicat  on  of 
the  Dmchine. 

I  have  been  very  mnch  amused  at  the 
leporta  which  have  been  circulated  in  refer- 
ence to  the  supernatural  effects  which  have 
been  attributed  to  this  beautiful  piece  of  me- 
chanism, which  is  rather  a  matter  of  surprise 
itince  there  is  such  a  wonderful  propensity  in 
the  human  mind  to  reject  everything  which 
does  not  come  recommended  for  its  antiquity; 
and  it  ctti  be  for  this  reason  and  for  no  oth- 
er that  mankind  have  adhered  with  such 
^rtinaci^  to  Ae  absurdities  and  contradic- 
tions and  barbarisms  of  a  false  school  of 
medicine ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the  inquirer 
after  truth  who  endeavours  to  arrive  at  yrae- 
iical  knowledge  by  an  examination  and  stu- 
dy of  the  counMess  volumes  which  have 
been  issued  by  as  many  ambitious  aspirants. 
must  of  necessity  become  lost  and  bewilder 
ed  in  the  search,  without  having  the  satisfac- 
tion  of  knowing  that  he  has,  by  concurrent 
testimony,  established  in  his  mind  one  imjnr- 
tant  principle-one  universally  acknowledged 
opinion ! 

Knowledge  and  science  are  ever  progres- 
sive ;  and  he  who  with  a  self-satisfied  and 
cfcotistical  air  laughs  at  the  pretensions  of 
any  fresh  discovery,  without  previously  in 


vestigatin^  its  merits,  mav  aptly  be  compared 
to  the  snail,  which  inhabiting  its  own  nar- 
row shell,  thinks  the  whole  universe  lies 
within  the  scope  of  its  limited  vision.  He 
who  will  not  read  and  compare  and  invesu- 
^te  must  remain  in  ignorance ;  and  while  it 
IS  the  duty  of  every  man  to  deal  justly  with 
every  subject  that  may  be  piesented  to  his 
mind,  he  acts  unwisely  when  he  takes  that 
for  granted t  which  the  testimony  of  cen- 
turies even  has  stamped  with  the  seal  ol 
approval.  For  the  reason,  simply,  that  a 
certain  dogma  comes  down  to  us  diessed  up 
in  the  habiliments  of  age»  and  loaded  with 
the  "dust  and  cobwebs  of  time**  is  no  t«a/ 
evidence  of  its  correctness.  DorBT,  Iomoiu 
ANCE  AND  SrupiDn-T  havc  ever  been  at 
work,  rearing  boundaries  and  barriers  to  the 
advancement  of  the  bunan  intellect:  and 
they  have  been  arrested  most  arduously  by 
our  <<  Medical  professors"  and  the  host  of 
"blind  leaders  of  the  blind."  In  the  study 
of  medicine  we  have  taken  too  much  for 
granted.  And  we  have  found  it  easier  to 
follow  than  to  lead.  The  ipse  dixit  of  tbe 
celebrated  Doctor  such-an-one  has  been  re- 
ceived with  all  the  meekness  and  servility  of 
an  urchin  in  tbe  school  room.  The  scien- 
tific conclusions  of  the  learned  Sir  John 
Somebody,  have  placed  the  capstone  upon  a 
given  science :  and  sacriq^iousare  the  nan4s 
that  dare  attempt  to  hurl  it  from  so  proud  an 
eminence  or  carry  the  .structure  to  a  moie- 


grand  and  dazzling  height 

The  "science  of  medicine,"  if  it  could  be 
embodied,  would  be  lound  to  have  upon  its 
huge  trunk  ten  thousand  wounds  and  bruises 
and  putrifying  sores  that  can  never  be  "bouiMl 
up  or  mollifi^l  with  ointment !" 

But,  dianks  to  the  "dawning  intelligence" 
of  the  age,  men  are  beginning  to  break  away 
from  the  restraints  of  the  schools,  and  are 
weighing  and  investigating  for  themselves. 
They  are  beginning  to  discover  the  absurdi- 
ties and  gilded  ignorance  of  those  schools, 
and  to  follow  more  closely  the  dictates  and 
teachings  of  plain  experience  and  nature. 
Yours,  truly. 


J«lui  Wesley  aotf  BleotneUy. 
The  individual  whose  name  stands  at  the 
head  of  this  article  was  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable men  of  the  past  century.  For  depth 
of  scholarship,  consistent  )nety.  abundance  of 
labors,  and  a  rich  harvest  of  success,  he  has 
been  excelled,  or  even  equalled,  by  few  men 
since  the  days  of  the  apostle  Paul.  The  gen- 
eral wisdom  of  his  plans  and  arrangements 
is  manifest  from  the  fact  that  more  than  a 
million  ot  his  followers  are  found  in  thia 
country,  and  nearly  that  many  moie  in  Great 


110 


John  Wedey  and  Electricity. 


Britain  and  Ireland,  whose  consistent  piety 
is  read  and  known  of  all  men.  He  died  ai 
the  advanced  aj^e  of  88 ;  and  although  not  a 
day  was  given  to  repose,  nor  an  hour  to  un- 
necessary leisure,  for  70  years  he  did  not 
Jose  a  night*6  sleep,  and  such  was  his  capa- 
bility to  endurfe  fatigue,  that  in  his  eighty-fifth 
year,  he  speaks  of  that  day  as  a  day  of  leis- 
ure, in  which  he  preached  only  twice.  It 
was  the  misfortune  of  this  distinguished  man, 
quite  early  in  his  public  life,  to  be  the  sub- 
ject of  a  severe  pulmonary  affection,  bringing 
him  almost  to  death's  door  This  fact,  in 
connexion  with  many  others  which  came 
under  his  observation,  induced  him  to  pay 
particular  attention  to  the  economy  of  nature 
and  the  laws  of  life.  His  work  entitled, 
**Pnmitrve  Physic,**  or  ^'An  easy  and  rtatu- 
ral  method  of  curing  most  diseases**  reached 
its  twenty-third  edition  before  his  death  in 
March,  1791.  It  is  not  my  intention  to  no- 
tice at  length  more  than  one  of  the  remarka- 
bly simple  and  therefore  efficient  remedies 
there  suggested  for  the  relief  of  human  suf- 
feringj—one  only  shall  claim  our  attention  : 
it  lA  Electricity  as  a  remedial  agent.  It  was 
«oon  after  the  veiy  interesting  experiments  of 
Dta,  Franklin,  Lovett,  Hoadly,  and  others, 
were  published,  that  Mr.  Wesley  collected 
together  the  sum  of  what  had  been  written 
on  this  subject,  and  published  it  with  this 
title :  **  Desideratum :  or  Electricity  made 
plain  and  useful.  By  a  lover  of  mankind 
and  common  sense."  His  opinion  of  its  effi- 
cacy is  thus  expressed: 

«*  Indeed  there  cannot  be  in  nature  any 
such  thing  as  an  absolute  panacea— a  medi- 
cine that  will  cure  every  disease  incident  to 
the  human  body.  If  there  could,  Electricity 
would  bid  fairer  to  do  it  than  any  thing  in 
the  world;  as  it  takes  place  in  such  a  vast 
number  of  disorders,  some  of  them  so  widely 
diflereut  from  the  others." 

On  the  ^d(h  of  February,  1753,  there  is 
the  following  statement  in  his  journal.  '*  I 
advised  one  who  had  been  troubled  many 
years  with -a  atubbom  paralytic  disorder,  to 
try  a  new  remedy.  Accordingly  she  was 
electrified,  and  found  immediate  help.  By 
the  same  means  I  have  known  two  persons 
cured  of  an  inveterate  pain  in  the  stomach  ; 
and  another  of  a  pain  in  his  side,  which  he 
he  had  had  ever  since  he  was  a  child  Nev- 
ertheless who  can  wonder  that  many  gentle- 
men of  the  faculty,  as  well  as  their  good 
friends  the  apothecaries,  decry  a  medicine  so 
shockingly  cheap  and  easy."  In  perfect  ac- 
cordance with  this,  on  the  9th  Nov.  1756,  I 
find  the  following ;  «« I-  aving  procured  an 
apparattis  on  purpose,  I  ordered  several' per- 
«ons  to  be  electrified,  who  were  ill  of  var.ous 
"disorders ;  pome  of  whom  found  an  immedi- 


ate, some  a  gradual  cure.  From  this  time  1 
appointed,  first,  some  hours  in  every  week, 
and  afterwards,  an  hour  in  every  day,  where- 
m  any  that  desired  it  might  try  the  virtue  of 
this  surprising  medicine.  Two  or  three  years 
alter,  our  patients  were  so  numerous  that  we 
were  obliged  to  divide  them.  So  part  were 
electrified  in  South wark,  part  at  the  Foun- 
dry, others  near  St.  Paul's,  and  the  rest  near 
the  seven  dials.  The  same  method  we  have 
taken  ever  since ;  and  to  this  day,  whihs  hun- 
dreds, perhaps  thousands,  have  received  uh- 
speakable  g(x>d,  I  have  not  known  one  man, 
woman,  or  child  who  has  received  any  hurt 
thereby :  so  that  when  I  hear  any  talk  of  the 
danger  of  being  electrified,  (especially  if  they 
are  medical  men  who  talk  so,)  I  cannot  but 
impute  it  to  a  great  want  either  of  sense  or 
honesty." 

As  the  work  to  which  f  -have  alluded  is 
entirely  out  of  pri  it,  1  beg  leave  to  make  the 
following  quotaUons  from  its  preface : 

"And  yet  there  is  something  peculiarly 
unaccountable  with  re^rd  to  its  operation. 
In  some  cases  where  tl)ere  was  no  hope  of 
help,  it  will  succeed  befond  all  expectat*0D ; 
in  others  where  we  had  the  greatest  hope,  it 
will  have  no  effect  at  all.  Again,  in  some 
experiments,  it  helps  at  the  very  first,  and 
promises  a  speedy  cure ;  but  presently  the 
good  effect  ceases,  and  the  patient  is  as  he  was 
before.  On  the  contrary,  in  others  it  has  no 
effect  at  first ;  it  does  no  good ;  perhaps  seems 
to  do  hurt.  Yet  all  this  time  it  is  striking  at 
the  ]t)ot  of  the  disorder,  which  in  a  while  it 
totally  removes  Frequent  instances  of  the 
former  we  have  in  paralytic,  .of  the  latter  in 
rheumatic  cases. 

•*  But  still  one  may,  upon  the  whole,  pro- 
nounce it  the  Desideratum,  The  general  and 
rarely  failing  remedy  in  nervous  cases  of 
every  kind  (palsies  excepted)  as  well  as  in 
many  others.  Perhaps  if  the  nerves  arc 
really  perforated  (as  is  now  generally  sup- 
posed) the  electric  ether  is  the'  only  fluid  in 
the  universe  which  is  fine  enough  to  move 
through  them.  And  what  if  the  nervous 
juice  itself  be  a  fluid  of  this  kind  ?  f  sOt  it 
IS  no  wonder  that  it  has  always  eluded  the 
search  of  the  most  accurate  naturalists. 

"  Be  this  as  it  may,  Mr.  Lovelt  is  of  opin- 
ion, *the  electrical  method  of  treating  dif- 
orders  cannot  be  expected  to  arrive  at  any 
considerable  decree  of  perfection,  till  admin- 
istered and  applied  by  the  gentlemen  of  die 
faculty.*  Nay,  then  quanta  de  spe  detidtf 
All  my  hbpes  are  at  an  end  For  when  wlj 
it  be  administered  and  applied  by  them? 
truly  ad  Gratis  Calendis.    [Never.] 

"  Therefore,  without  waiting  for  ^nat 
probably  never  will  be,  and  what  indeed  ^* 
liave  no  reason  to  expect,  let  men  of  8en« 


r 


Mofneiic  MisctUcmy^ 


ill 


r 


do  the  best  they  can  for  themselves,  as  <well 
as  for  their  poor,  sick,  helpless  neighbors. 
How  many  may  they  relieve  from  racking 
pain  or  pining  sickness,  by  this  unexpensive 
and  speedy  remedy !  restoring  them  to  ease, 
health,  strength,  generally  in  a  few  minutes, 
frequently  in  a  moment !  And  if  a  few  oi 
these  lovers  of  mankind,  who  have  some 
little  knowledge  of  the  animal  economy 
would  only  be  diligent  in  making  experr- 
ment?,  and  setting  down  the  mure  remarkable 
of  them,  in  order  to  communicate  them  one 
to  another,  that  each  mi^ht  proht  by  the 
othcis*  labor,  I  doubt  not  but  moie  nervous 
disorders  woiild  be  cured  in  one  year,  by  this 
single  remedy,  than  the  whole  English  JVIa- 
T£RiA  McDicA  will  cure  by  the  end  of  the 
century." 

The  above  testimony  is  valuable  not  only 
because  of  the  source  from  whence  it  comes, 
but  beonttse  it  is  confirmed  by  recent  experi- 
ments, and  is  entirely  disinterested :  as  such 
it  is  commended  to  the  attention  of  the  pub- 
Uc.  R- 


Newark,  N.  J.,  March  1, 1845. 
Dr.  Shxkwood: 

Sir— For  ipore  than  a  year  past,  I  have 
been  in  the  constant  use,  in  my  piactice,  of 
the  Electro* Magnetic  Machine,  and  I  must 
acknowledge  ithas  more  than  met  my  expec- 
tations in  its  effects.  It  exerts  a  most  sur- 
prising inffnence  in  reducing  inflammations, 
floreneas  and  pains.  It  seems  ts  exhiiamte 
the  nerreS)  excite  the  absorbents,  dissolve 
and  remove  obstructions  in  many  instances 
in  an  extraordinary  manner. 

I  applied  it  to  an  elderly  gentleman  who 
had  a  laige  tumor  on  the  lower  point  of  the 
sternum,  of  some  thirty  years  standing.  It 
caused  it  to  suppurate  in  a  fe4v  days, and  en- 
tirely removed  it.  I  applied  it  to  a  Mr.  L. 
for  a  tumor  on  the  side  of  the  neck,  of  some 
ten  years  standing,  and  in  a  few  weeks  it 
caused  suppuration,  and  completely  cured  it. 

I  hare  ^ren  permanent  relief  to  several 
caaes  of  Tic  Douloureux,  and  restored  the 
aenaes  of  hearing  and  smelling.  In  one  or 
two  cases  of  flm^us  diseases  the  efiect  has 
been  astonishil%«, 

I  have  recently  applied  it  with  wonderful 
eflect  in  a  very  severe  case  of  hip  disease, 
using  also  your  Electro- Magnetic  pill  at  the 
same  time. 

I  have  just  relieved  two  severe  cases  of 
SL  Vitus'  dance ;  and  I  might  multiply  the 
cases,  but  this  must  answer  for  the  present. 
As  ever, 

L.  D.  FLEMING. 


MAONETia  MISOBLLANT. 

fn  magnetizing  a  boy  aged  12  years  on  the 
23d  of  March  inst,  with  recent  paralysis  of 
the  left  arm,  tomcue  and  face,  and  tetanic 
rigidity  of  the  muscles  of  the  neck,  &c.,  we 
placed  the  positive  button  in  his  left  hand, 
and  the  negative  button  in  our  left  hand, 
while  we  made  passes  with  the  right  hand 
over  the  face  during  four  or  five  minutes.  In 
about  five  minutes  from  the  time  we  finished 
the  operation,  our  left  arm  began  to  ocAf  ,* 
and  the  intensity  of  this  sensation  increased 
so  rapidly  as  to  completely  paralyze  the  arm 
in  one  minute,  and  in  about  two  minutes  it 
was  so  great  as  to  be  insupportable.  A 
sinking  sensation  began  to  pervade  the  sys- 
tem, when  we  called  for  assistance,  and  had 
the  negative  button  quickly  placed  in  the  left 
hand,  and  the  positive  on  the  neck,  under 
the  full  power  of  our  laigest  machine.  We 
soon  felt  a  pleasant  sensation  from  the  action 
of  the  instrument — the  horrible  aching  sen- 
sation began  to  give  way,  ai]d  in  about  five 
minutes  it  had  ceased  very  nearly,  and  the 
motion  of  the  arm  restored,  f  n  this  cate  the 
disease  in  the  left  arm  of  the  boy  was  con- 
ducted to  our  Meft  arm  by  the  cturent  from 
the  positive  button  in  an  opposite  direction 
from  the  current  which  was  at  the  same  time 
moving  from  the  negative  to  the  positive  ' 
button. 

This  manner  of  magnetizing  is  a  very 
pleasant  one  for  patients,  but  sometimes,  as 
we  have  how  learnt,  a  very  dangerous  one 
for  magnetizers.! 

The  most  severe  cholic  pains  are  reduced 
with  great  rapidity  by  the  action  of  the  ma- 
chines, as  we  are  informed  by  several  physi- 
cians. Two  cases  of  recent  dropsy — one 
from  chronic  serosis  or  tubercular  disease  of 
the  heart  and  muscles,  and  the  other  from 
chronic  serosis  of  the  liver  and  right  kidney, 
have,  we  are  also  informed,  been  promptly 
removed  by  the  action  of  these  instrument*!. 

Asthma's  which  have  long  defied  every 


*  AORBIMO  \h  the  senMtton  produced  hj  the  ptrvA- 
lence  of  the  ponitive  over  the  negative  force  ano  paik 
ihe  •cnitatioii  produced  by  the  prevalence  of  the  nega- 
tive over  the  joMiive  loico. 

t  We  have  taken  disease  in  mesmerizini;  patientv 
and  in  rnr  b  cHsr  it  wa^  (he  exact  conn-prpari  of  tUv 
diMAttOHith  which  iht  paiicuis  wcit  aflccied.. 


112 


Magnetic  Miscellany. 


other  remedy,  have  readily  yielded  to  the  ac- 
tion of  these  machines.  In  these  cases  pa- 
tients should  be  magnetized  as  in  Bronchitis. 

TThe  importance  6l  a  scientific  application 
of  the  buttons  may  he  seen  in  the  fact  thai 
many  cases  of  disease  which  resisted  an  em- 
pirical manner  of  magnetizing,  have  yielded 
readily  to  a  scientific  application  of  the  but- 
tons. 

Dr.  Cox,  of  Williamsburg,  N.  Y.,  has 
cured  a  bad  case  of  white  swelling  of  the 
knee,with  the  Sayiige  Rotary  Machine  alone. 

Dr.  Baker,  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  has 
brought  a  child  about  two  years  old  to  life, 
and  saved  it  with  one  of  these  machines, 
after  it  had  been  apparently  dead  ten  or  fif- 
teen minutes. 

Dr.  brought  a  child  to  life  under 

similar  circumstances.  It  breathed  a  few 
minutes,  but  in  consequence  of  some  difilcul- 
ty  in  running  the  machine,  the  child  was  lost 
On  learning  these  circumstances,  we  deter- 
mined, if  possible,  to  have  a  machine  which 
should  not  be  subject  to  such  accidents,  and 
we  have  succeeded  in  the  Vibrating  Machine 
with  the  aasistance  of  the  ingenious  Mr. 
Cornell,  of  the  Magnetic  Telegraph.* 

Salt  Rheum.  The  worst  cases  of  this 
disease  aie  quickly  cured  by  the  action  of  the 
machine.  Dilute  Sulphuric  acid  is  the  reme 
dy  to  use  at  the  same  time.  One  drop  of  the 
acid  to  ninety  of  alcohol — ^magnetize.  Dose 
three  to  five  drops  two  or  three  times  a  da> 
in  a  wine  gla.«s  of  water. 

Dr.  Milspaugh,  of  Orange  county,  N.  Y., 
has  cured  a  case  of  Amaurosis  with  the  Sav 
age  Rotary  Machine. 

There  are  some  cases  of  rheumatism  in 
which  pain  in  a  limb  or  other  part  of  the  sys- 
tem commences  or  is  increased  on  becoming 
warm  in  bed  at  night  lo  these  cases  the 
Tinctuie  Rhus  Toxicodendronf  is  the  remedy 
which  should  be  used  in  conjunction  with 
the  action  of  the  machine.  Dose  1  to  3  drops 
in  a  wine  glass  of  water,  thiee  times  a  day, 
according  to  the  age  and  condition  of  the 
patient. 


Bilious  Fjbvers. — A  number  of  phyn- 
cians  of  this  city  and  country,  have  reduced 
violent  paroxysms  of  fever  with  these  instru- 
ments, in  from  five  to  ten  minutes.  The  ex- 
cessive action  of  the  instrument  on  persons 
in  health,  produces  fever. 

The  blood  is  dark  colored  in  fevers  and  in 
acute  and  chronic  diseases,  and  becomes 
more  florid  under  the  action  of  the  instrument. 

In  the  Vibrating  Magnetic  Machines,  the 
circuit  of  the  forces  is  broken  so  fast  as  to 
make  their  motions  continuous,  without  vari- 
ation of  intensity  except  by  the  action  of  the 
piston,  and  they  consequently  accumulate  in 
the  system  with  great  rapidity. 

In  from  five  to  ten  minutes  from  the  time 
we  commence  magetizing  patients,  the  poief 
of  the  skin  are  generally  opened  by  the  action 
of  these  forces,  and  they  begin  to  perspire. 
It  is  commonly  only  necessary  for  patients 
to  hold  the  buttons  in  the  hands,  ondei  a 
moderate  power  of  the  instrument,  to  obtain 
these  results. 

Nothing  can  be  compared  to  the  eawAn 
action  of  these  machines  in  acute  diseaees, 
or  in  inflammations.  The  Lancet,  Calomel, 
and  Blue  Pill,  which  entail  diseases  on  mil- 
lions of  the  human  race  every  year,  may  now 
be  laid  aside  with  perfect  safety  to  patients, 
and  abiding  benefit  to  their  posterity. 

Some  physicians  think  these  instrameoli 
are  of  greater  importance  in  acute  diseases 
than  in  those  that  are  chroniCf  firom  the  giot 
rapidity  of  the  cures  in  such  cases.  Tbejr 
should,  however,  never  foiget  the  fact,  that 
chronic  diseases  are  slow  in  their  progieee* 
and  consequently  necessarily  so  in  the  cure. 


*  Imi'Akt-re  urc  already  an^acad  in  aitamptu  to  im* 
poM  nn  tha  public  intserabla  tmiiationa  of  Umm 
machinaa 

f  Uri»^aiin  dc  Ca«i«bcar,  Carman  Apethecarias, 
>aw  lotft. 


UixERATEO  Ears.— R.  Jaanaica  niriti,  a 
wine  glass.  Honey,  a  tea-spoon  full.  MiJt» 
and  introduce  a  little  into  the  ulcerated  etr 
morning  and  evening,  with^a  feathor:— [I^ 
Van  Buren.  ^^ 


Rhbum ATISM.— The  nitmte  of  potash  («lt 
petre)  is  far  superior  to  the  hydriodaie  or 
iodide  of  potash  m  rheumatism  or  tubercoltf 
disease  oi  the  muscles,  «as  well  as  in  utb^ 
scrofulous  aHections,  or  tubercular  diffue  st 
other  parts  of  the  system.  Yef  jAy«««» 
will  prescribe  the  bydriodat*  until  it  goes  «! 
oi  fashion. 


THE   DISSECTOR. 


TOL.n. 


JULY,  1846. 


vo.  ni. 


TALUL0TB2  OF  TStB  FAOITLTT. 
LuHrm  deUtm-ed  at  f Aa  Eg^ff^am  HaU,  PiceadiUy. 


BY  S.   DIXOK,   M.   D. 


LECTURE  VI. 


Pt«Mat  Stat*  of  K«dic«l  Fneilc*  in  Baclaad. 

Bynwpmr-0]rsteriii  %tA  HxaochondriA-InMnity^ 
cflcci  of  Lmliuea— F»iiitr~Coogmtioii,  iu  natax* 
— lKlbiiifl«  €«Mf  olttons. 

Gentumsh: 
A/ter  a  long  intercourse  with  the  woild, 

and  s  rupd  examination  of  what,  in  his  day. 

was  called  its  wisdom,  the  mat  Lord  Ba- 

con,  musing  doubtless  over  nis  own  philo- 
sophical discoveries,  thus  writes : — "  It  is  a 
view  of  delight  to  stand  or  walk  upon  the 
shore-side,  and  to  see  a  ship  tossed  with 
tempest  upon  the  sea,  or  to  be  in  a  fortified 
town,  and  to  see  two  battles  join  upon  a 
plain ;  but  it  is  a  pleasure  incompaiabie,  for 
the  mind  of  man  to  be  settled,  landed,  and 
fortified  in  the  certainty  of  truth ;  and  fjom 
thence  to  descry  and  Mhold  the  errors,  per- 
turbations, labours,  and  wanderings  up  and 
down  of  (rther  men."  But,  Gentlemen,  how- 
ever exdtinff  this  kind  of  pleasure  be  to  him, 
who  should  be  content  with  merely  making 
a  discovery  to  himself— the  making  of  it 
public  has  its  drawbacks ;  for  "  whoever," 
in  the  words  of  Johnson,  <*  considers  the 
revolutions  and  the  various  questions  of 
greater  or  less  importance,  upon  which  wit 
and  reason  have  exercised  their  power,  must 
lament  the  unsuccessfulness  of  inquiry,  and 
the  slow  advances  of  truth,  when  he  reflects 
that  great  part  of  the  labor  of  every  writer, 
is  only  the  destruction  of  those  that  went  be- 
fore mm.    The  first  care  of  the  builder  of  a 
HKW  SYSTEM,  IS  tO  demolish  the  iabrics  that 
are  standing.**     But  how  can  you  brush 
away  the  cobwebs  of  ages  from  the  windows 
of  truth,  without  rousing  the  reptiles  and  in- 
sects that  so  long  rejoiced  in  the  darkness 
and  secrecy  these  cobwebs  afbrded— the  bats 


and  spiders,  to  whom  the  daylight  is  death ! 
Truth,  like  a  torch,  does  two  things ;  for  not 
only  does  it  open  up  to  mankind  a  path  to 
escape  from  the  thorns  and  briars  which  sir- 
round  them ;  but  breaking  upon  a  long  night 
of  irnorance,  it  betrays  to  the  eyes  of  the 
newly  awakened  sleeper,  the  bandits  and 
brigands  who  have  been  taking  advantage  of 
its  darkness  to  rob  and  plunder  him.    What 
has  Truth  to  expect  from  these  ? — What» 
but  to  be  whispered  awav  by  the  breath  of 
calumny,  to  be  scouted  and  lied  down  bj  the 
knaves  and  fools,  whom  interest  or  mter- 
course  has  leagued  with  the  public  robber  as 
his  partizans.    Who  will  talf  to  me  of  con- 
ciliation ?    Who  will  tell  me  that  mild  and 
moderate  measures  ever  brought  over  such 
implacable  enemies  to  the  ranks  of  their  de- 
strover ;  or  that  robbers  rioting  in  the  spoils 
of  their  victim,  will  listen  to  the  voice  of  the 
charmer,  charm  he  never  so  wisely  ?  Surely^ 
people  must  be  out  of  their  senses,  who  ima- 
gine that  any  exposition  of  Truth  will  be 
acceptable  to  men  whose  emoluments  are 
chiefly  derived  from  a  course  of  studied  and 
systematic  mystification — Professors,   who 
lure  the  student  by  every  possible  promise  to 
their  schools,  and,  when  once  in  their  net, 
keep  him  there  by  every  possible  artifice  and 
pretext  which  collusion  and  corruption  can 
devise !  one  day  entangling  him  in  a  web  of 
unmeaning  sophistry— another,  stimulating 
him  to  waste  his  time  and  labor  in  splitting 
straws,  or  in  magnifying  hairs — now  encou- 
raging him  in  a  butterfly  chase  after  shadows 
— now  engaging  him  in  a  wordy  and  worth- 
less disputation  with  his  fellows !    Gentle- 
men, I  appeal  to  you,  if  this  is  not  the  mode 
in  which,  in  most  cases,  from  four  to  six 
years  of  the  best  part  of  a  young  man's  exis- 
tence are  passed  in  our  mediou  schools — 
passed  in  the  fruitless  endeavor  to  know  a 
profession,  upon  the  exercise  of  which  he  is 
too  often  compelled  to  enter  with  no  other 
pretensions  to  a  knowledge  of  its  principles 
than  the  trumpery  certificates  and  diplomas 
for  which  he  nas  been  duped  and  deluded. 


114 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


How  is  that  student  to  be  repaid  the  capital 
of  time  and  money  he  has  expended  upon 
what  he  calls  his  education  ?  How,  but  by 
deluding  and  mystifying  in  his  turn  the  suf- 
fering sick  who  apply  to  him  for  relief. 
For  relief  ?-  -Vain  hope !  Look  at  the  num- 
bers of  persons  who  iiTe»  or  try  to  live  by 
physic,--<loctoTs,  surgeons,  apothecaries, 
druggists,  cuppers,  nurses — and  ask  your- 
selves how  even  one  tithe  of  these  can  do 
80,  but  bv  alternately  playing  upon  the  pas- 
sions and  prejudices, — the  hopes,  fears,  and 
ignorance  of  the  public  ?  in  one  case  inflict- 
ing visits  too  numerous  to  be  necessary ;  in 
another,  employing  draughts,  mixtures,  or 
measures,  too  expensive,  too  frequently  and 
too  fruitlessly  repeated,  to  be  all  for  the  be- 
nefit of  the  patient !  Think  you,  that  the 
members  of  the  medical  profession  are  differ- 
ent in  their  feelings  from  every  other  human 
being — that  their  minds  are  so  constituted, 
that,  under  the  most  terrible  temptations, 
they  can  so  far  set  at  defiance  the  stern  law 
of  necessity,  as  in  their  present  crowded  and 
starving  state,  receive  with  open  arms  a  sys- 
tem that  threatens  so  many  of  their  order 
with  ruin  ?  Is  it  in  the  nature  of  things 
that  they  wil^  welcome  a  practical  improve- 
ment, by  which  the  practitioner  may,  in  a 
few  hours,  cut  short  cases  and  chances, 
which,  by  daily  visitations,  or  by  three 
draughts  a-day,  might  be  profitably  protract- 
ed to  a  month,  if  the  system  on  which  it  is 
hased  were  only  advocated  in  calm,  melliflu- 
ous, and  complimentary  language !  As  soon 
may  you  expect  a  needy  attorney  to  be  pre- 
vailed upon  by  his  client's  tears  to  cut  short 
a  chancery  suit ;  or  the  master  of  a  sailing- 
smack  to  listen  patiently  to  the  praises  of 
steam  ;  or  a  coach-propriolor  to  admit  the 
safety  and  superiority  of  railroad  over  coach 
co^iveyance,  when  estimating  each  the  losses 
they  shall  respectively  sustain  by  the  too 
general  use  of  the  superior  motive  power 
What,  though  the  present  condition  of  medi- 
cal piactice  be  less  the  crime  of  the  profes- 
sion, than  the  fault  of  the  Ics^slature,  that 
permits  men  clothed  witli  collegiate  autho' 
rily, — professors  enjoying  the  sanction  of  its 
protoction,— annually  to  lure,  by  misrepre- 
£«ntation  and  lying  promises,  thousands  of 
credulous  and  unsuspecting  youths  into  a 
path  strewed,  even  in  the  very  best  of  times, 
with  thorns  and  briars  innumerable  ?  Better 
far  that  one  half  of  these  should  at  once 
abandon  a  walk  of  life,  where  the  competi- 
tion is  so  keen  and  close,  that  comparatively 
few  in  the  present  day  can  live  honestly  by 
means  of  it,~than,  that  the}r  should  here- 
after tiave  to  eat  theii  precarious  bread,  at 
the  daily  and  hourly  sacrifice  of  their  own 
honor,  and  their  patients'  interests.  Who 
will  tell  me  half-measuies  can  be  of  any 


avail,  under  circumstances  like  these  I  Gen- 
tlemen,  in  corrupt  and  difficult  times,  half- 
measures,  so  far  from  succeeding,  have  ei- 
ther been  taken  as  a  sign  of  weakness  in  the 
cause,  or  as  a  symptom  of  timidity  on  the 
part  of  the  advocate.  Away  then,  with 
half-measures ! — away  with  the  idea  of  con- 
ciliating men,  the  already  rotten  tree  of 
whose  sustenance  you  sap— the  long-cemen- 
ted system,  whose  existenoe  depends,  not  on 
a  virtuous  adherence  to  natuie  and  truth,  but 
upon  a  collusive  and  fraudulent  perversion 
of  both !  When  persons  little  versant  with 
the  present  state  oi  medical  affiurs,  see  men 
of  established  name  supporting  a  system  of 
dishonesty  and  error,  they  too  often  doubt 
the  light  of  their  own  reason.  **  Would  Dr. 
So-and-So,"  they  ask,  "  and  Mr.  Such-a- 
One,  hold  this  language,  if  they  did  not 
themselves  believe  it — ^men  so  respectable, 
and  so  amiable  in  private  life  1^  But  tell 
these  simpletons,  that  Dr.  So-and-So*s  Bread 
depends  upon  his  Belief—that  Mr.  Such-a- 
one's  family  would  wither  with  his  fading 
fortunes,  if  the  father,  in  the  language  of 
Hazlitt,  <'  ceased  to  support  that  whicn  he 
had  so  long  supported,  and  which  supported 
him'*— anf  you  bring  an  argument  which, 
though  not  quite  convincing  in  itself,  will 
at  least  compel  a  closer  investigation  of  the 
system  it  is  vour  wish  to  expose  and  crash. 
Gentlemen,  I  have  been  blamed  for  the  tone 
and  spirit  in  which  I  have  spoken  of  Wj 
adversaries— I  have  been  asked  why  assail 
their  motives — why  not  keep  yourself  to 
their  errors  ?  But  in  this  particular  iostanoe 
I  have  been  only  the  humble  imitator  of  a 
great  master — a  man  whose  name  wiU  at 
once  call  up  every  sentiment  of  veneration— 
the  indomitable  Luther.  3Iagim  componere 
parva,  I  have  followed  in  his  wake— ^1  hope 
soon  to  add  passibus  aquis.  Think  you,  the 
Reformation  of  the  Church  could  have  pro- 
gressed with  the  same  rapidity,  had  its  most 
forward  champion  been  honey-mouthed- 
had  his  lip  been  all  smiles,  and  his  langnaf;e 
all  politeness— or  had  he  been  content,  m 
pointless  and  unimpassioned  periods,  to  di- 
rect attention  solely  to  the  doctrinal  errors  of 
Rome?  No — he  thundered,  he  denounced, 
he  heaped  invective  upon  invective,  and 
dealt  in  every  form  of  language  which  could 
tell  best  against  his  enemies,  whether  in  ex- 
posure or  attack.  Too  wise  to  leave  them 
the  moral  influence  of  a  presumed  in- 
tegrity, which  they  were  far  from  meriting, 
he  courageously  tore  away  the  cloak  of  sanc- 
tity and  sincerity  with  which,  in  the  eyes  of 
the  vulgar,  they  had  been  too  long  invested. 
Had  he  done  otherwise,  he*(BUB^ht  have  ob- 
tained the  posUium<nu  praise  mmodemtioat 
at  the  price  of  defeat  and  the  stake. 


i 


FaUacies  of  the  Factdiy. 


115 


Gentlemen,  let  it  not  for  a  moment  be  sup 
poeed  that  in  thus  sweeping!/  arraignlnfi;  the 
Bieeent  system  of  medical  polity,  T  can  have 
the  remotest  wish  to  demxle  the  profession 
of  the  physician.    On  the  contrary,  it  has 
been  my  endeavor  throughout  to  improve  his 
tiumi/«,  and  to  elevate  his  condition, — to  ren- 
der him  a  useful,  honorable,  and  honored 
person,^ to  make  him  what  neither  tbe  mere 
lawyer,  nor  the  mere  churchman  can  possi- 
bly he---a  student  of  nature,  and  an  intellec- 
tual expounder  of  his  Milker's  works ;  one 
from  whose  ranks  kings  may  still,  as  they 
once  did,  choose  their  counsellors.     And 
how  can  this  be  done  but  by  rescuing  the  art 
of  medicine  from  the  hands  of  the  miserable 
creatures  who  at  this  moment  principally 
usurp  its  practice  ?      Nor  do  1  for  an  instant 
wish  to  insinuate  that  amonz  the  individual 
members  of  the  profession,  there  are  not  nu- 
merous exceptions  to  the  line  of  conduct 
pun^ued  by  thes??  creatures,     Jn  every  one 
of  its  grades  and  conditions, — apothecary, 
surgeon,  and  physician, — 1  have  had  the 
pleasure  to  meeC  jniactitioners  who  not  only 
Wrtily  join  me  in  deploring   the  present 
shamefaf  state  of  practice,  but  who  aid  me 
with  their  hast  efforts  to  expose  and  correct 
it    One  and  all  of  these  honorable  persons 
acknowJedge  that  unless  some  great  and 
Bjpeedy  change  in  the  mode  of  educating  and 
remunerating  medical  men  be  introduced  by 
the  I^slature,  Medicine  must  shortly  cease 
lo  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  liberal  pro- 
fession ;  for  as  things  now  stand,  the  only 
sure  path  to  lucrative  popularity  in  physic 
is  a  complete  sacrifice  of  conscience  and 
principle  on  the  part  of  the  physician.  How 
often  have  J  been  told,  in  my  own  case,  that 
by  courting  the  apothecary,  and  offering  up 
incense  at  the  false  shrine  of  the  professors, 
I  might  easily  and  cheaply  obtain  the  bubble 
reputaiion,  to  be  blown  me  by  their  breath : 
wnile  hy    exposing    the  intrigues  of    the 
schools,  and  the  collusions  and  corruptions 
of  ihe  professional  world,  not  only  do  I 
stand  as  one  man  to  a  host,  but  I  lay  myself 
open  to  the  secret  stabs  of  a  thousand  unseen 
assassioB.     To  tempters  of  that  sort  this  has 
been  my  answer ;— let  it  be  yours  also — 

Slave  I  I  have  put  my  life  upon  a  cast, 
And  I  will  stand  the  hazard  of  the  die. 

TTiat  hazard  now,  thank  Heaven  is  small 
— for  the  daily  increasing  number  of  up- 
right and  honorable  practitioners  who  espouse 
my  views,  place  me  ahtjady  sufficiently  far 
a&>ve  tbe  reach  of  my  enemies,  to  enable  me 
to  despise  them  thoroughly ;  and  at  this  mo- 
ment 1  feel  as  secure  of  victory,  as  at  one 
period  of  my  life,  I  feared  defeat!  As  yet, 
1  Inre  onSy  assailed  the  System— careiully 


avoiding  individual  attack.  True,  I  have 
repelled  the  attacks  of  others,  somewhat 
strongly  too;  but  that  was  all  in  self-de- 
fence. If,  in  tearing  away  the  veil  of  in- 
iquity, I  have  not  altogether  remained  un- 
scathed, I  have,  at  least,  tbe  satisfaction  to 
kno^,  that  my  enemies  have  done  every 
thing  but  laugh  at  the  blows  I  dealt  them. 
If  it  be  said  I  have  used  language  too  strong 
/or  the  occasion,  I  answer  m  the  woids  of 
Burke :  "  When  ignorance  and  corruptioii 
have  usurped  the  Professor's  chair,  and 
placed  themselves  in  the  seats  of  science  and 
virtue,  it  is  hi^h  time  to  speak  out.  W» 
know  that  the  doctrines  of  folly  are  of  great 
use  to  the  professors  of  vice. — We  know 
that  it  is  one  of  the  signs  of  a  corrupt  and 
degenerate  age,  and  one  of  the  means  of  in- 
suring its  further  corruption  and  degeneracy, 
to  give  lenient  epithets  to  corruptions  and 
crimes."  What  reformer  has  not  been  called 
a  «  violent  person  '."—none  that  I  ever  heard 
of.  Now,  Gentlemen,  to  the  more  orthodox 
matter  of  this  lecture. 

We  have  hitherto  spoken  of  the  Brain  as 
a  unity — yet  this  organ  is  divided  into  two 
hemispheres.  Lake  the  features  of  the  face 
it  is  two-fold.  We  have  two  eyebrows,  two 
eyes,  two  nostrils,  two  ears,  and  in  the  early 
fcetal  state,  the  mouth  and  chin  are  separated 
in  the  middle — you  have  the  marks  of  this 
original  separation  in  the  infant,-— I  may  al- 
most say  in  the  adult :  Now  though  a  man. 
may  lose  one  eye,  he  is  not  therefore  blind ; 
or,  though  he  lose  the  hearing  of  one  ear, 
he  is  not  necessarily  deaf.  It  is  fust  possi- 
ble that  a  small  part  of  one  of  the  hemis- 
pheres of  the  Brain  may  in  like  manner  be- 
come diseased,  and  the  subject  of  it  shall  ap- 
pear to  reason  very  fairly  to  the  last.  But 
that  must  be  a  shallow  observer  indeed,  who 
from  such  a  possible  fact  should  draw  the 
fictitious  inference  that  even  one  hemisphere 
of  the  Brain  may  be  disorganized  through- 
out its  entire  substance,  without  the  intellec- 
tual powers  being  at  all  disturbed  !  If  you 
read  of  such  facts,  set  them  down  as  false 
facts.  The  Brain  then,  like  the  body,  in 
some  of  its  parts  is  double,  yet  like  the  body 
in  its  integrity,  the  Brain  is  a  unity,  and 
like  the  same  body  it  also  has  a  diversity  of 
parts.  That  the  scalpel  has  hitherto  failed 
to  trace  any  well-marked  divisions  betwixt 
the  various  cerebral  portions  to  which  phre- 
nologists have  ascribed  variety  of  function, 
is  no  argument  against  this  doctrine.  Do 
not  all  the  different  parts  of  the  frame  merp- 
into  each  other— the  elbow  into  the  sltj^ 
the  arm  into  the  hand,  &c. .'  What  pftoie 
clearly  a  unity  than  the  Hand  ?— YTao  we 
not  fiequendy  find  from  the  weakf^  ot  one 
or  more  of  its  joints  or  musclr^[^    bihty 


"^ 


Uft 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


on  t1>e  part  o(  its  possessor  to  do  a  particular 
irork>  tnough  he  may  still  accomplish  many 
others  by  means  of  it. — It  is  the  same  thing 
with  the  head.  Partial  disease  of  the  Brain 
produces  partial  intellectual  injury,  and  you 
see  th^  effects  of  such  injur}'  in  these  ^er- 
Qons  who  reason  rightly  upon  every  subject 
but  Qne,— monomaniacs  as  they  are  called. 
Oh !  I  want  no  belter  proof  of  diversity  of 
parts  in  the  Brain  than  this.  Like  every 
other  organ » the  Brain  of  man  commences 
its  fcBtal  existence  in  the  lowest  type  of  the 
same  oigan  of  those  animals  that  possess  a 
brain — gradually  assu.Ding  bv  additions  and 
aupQradditions,  the  form  of  the  infant  Brain. 
In  some  instances,  as  in  the  case  of  other 
organs  of  the  body,  one  or  more  of  the  su- 
peradditions  are  never  properly  developed 
lie  result  you  can  anticipate.  Idiocy,  ac- 
cording to  the  degree  of  the  defect ;  and  yet 
these  are  medical  twaddlers  who  say  the 
Brain  is  not  the  organ  of  intellect  I  This 
much  I  have  thought  it  ri^ht  to  premise  be- 
fore entering  upon  the  subject  of 

Dtsfxpsia,  or  Indigestion; 

for  to  the  state  of  the  Brain  and  nervous 
TOtem  we  shall  have  to  ascribe  the  disease. 
When  treating  of  Pulmonary  Consumption, 
at  a  former  meeting,  I  explained  to  you,  that 
no  individual  could  possibly  suffer  from  any 
complaint  whatever,  without  his  digestion 
being  more  or  less  implicated.  The  patient 
who  labors  under  any  severe  form  of  dis- 
ease, such  as  Gout,  Consumption,  or  Ery- 
sipelas, has  all  the  symptoms  or  shades  of 
symptom,  that  medical  men  group  together 
under  the  head  of  Indigestion ;  but  the  gra- 
Titv,  prominence,  or  locality  of  the  superad- 
ded symptoms,  which  may  disp'tse  the  phy- 
etician  to  term  the  disease  Consumption,  Ery- 
sipelas, or  Gout,  may  also  dispose  him  to 
O'verlook,  or  esteem  as  insignificant,  the  co- 
incident errors  and  disorders  of  the  diges- 
tive apparatus.  In  the  lower  and  more  sub- 
dued lorms  of  Fever,  the  patient  very  often 
has  no  particular  tendency  to  decomposition 
in  any  organ  or  locality,  but  from  everj' 
function  being  more  or  less  wrong,  be  very 
naturally  turns  his  attention  to  his  stomach 
or  bowels,  the  errors  of  which  come  more 
particularly  under  the  immediate  cc^izance 
of  his  feelings.  Such  a  patient  will  com- 
plain to  you  of  flatulence  and  acidity,  or 
of  that  distressing  symptom  termed  "water 
brash."  If  you  ask  him  about  his  appetite, 
]1«  will  tell  you  it  is  "  so-so,**  or  «  he  cares 
nothing  about  eating,**  or  it  is  positively  "ex- 
cellent-—which  last,  I  need  scarcely  tell 
yo*,  meaiis  that  it  is  morbidly  craving.  Ten 
tof'fne^  it  ^^capricious,— the  patient  now 


wishing  for  this,  and  now  for  the  other,  snd 
rejecting  what  he  desired  most,  the  moment 
It  comes  before  him.  Perhaps  he  has  thirst 
H6  is  wearied  upon  the  least  exertion ;  has 
little  inclination  to  get  up  in  the  moTDing; 
and  when  he  does  get  up,  he  is  indolent,  and 
dawdles  his  time  away.  He  is  apathetic  in 
mind  as  he  is  indolent  in  body;  and  he  has 
often  a  great  disposition  to  shscp,  especially 
after  meals.  Others  again  will  just  be  quite 
the  reverse  of  all  this;  these  perpetnallf 
harp  upon  some  particular  topic— fidect 
themselves  and  every  body  else  about  trifles, 
and  look  always  at  the  dark  side  of  life. 
Some  fly  in  a  passion  for  nothing,  or  upon 
the  least  contradiction,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
after  the  gust  of  passion  has  passed  away, 
they  lament  their  mental  weakness.  Their 
nights  are  either  s'eepless  or  broken  and  dis- 
turbed by  unpleasant  dreams  One  moment 
they  dream  of  robbers,  from  whom  tfaey 
cannot  escape ;  or  they  are  on  the  eve  of 
tumbling  down  a  precipice ;  dreaming  some- 
times within  a  dream — ^asking  themselvefi, 
even  in  the  very  act  of  dreaming,  whether 
they  dream  or  not — and  ^ey  will  satisfy 
themselves  by  a  process  of  unreason,  that 
they  are  actually  awake  and  walk  the  air. 
Even  during  the  .day  many  of  these  patiante 
have  their  dreams  or  reveries — pleasurable 
sometimes,  but  more  often  the  reTerse;— 
they  see  things  either  as  if  "  through  a  glasa 
darkly*' — or  their  perceptions  are  all  cm^- 
gerated  and  unnatural,  rhantoms  may  evea 
pass  before  them  at  mid-day,  phantoms  such 
as  they  see  in  their  dreams  of  the  aisht 
The  very  colors  of  things  may  be  altered  to 
their  eyes — red  appearing  to  them  green,  and 
vice  versa.  Even  the  shs^)e9  and  dimen- 
sions of  bodies  may  be  quite  changed  to 
their  sight — though  the  greater  number  have 
sufficient  judgment  remainine,  to  know  this 
to  be  an  optical  delusion  merely.  John  Hun- 
ter had  the  sensation  that  his  own  body  "W 
reduced  to  the  size  of  a  pigmy !— I  have  met 
with  some  patients  who  have  even  at  times 
doubted  their  own  existence.  —  Light  and 
shade  have  wonderful  effects  upon  mo^  in- 
valids of  this  class.  One  is  perfectly  miser- 
able, except  when  he  is  in  the  sonshine— 
another  cannot  bear  the  lieht  at  all.  Ring' 
ing  in  the  ears,  or  paitial  deafness,  is  a  com- 
mon complaint  of  dyspeptic  peraons.  Some 
can  only  hear  distincUy  during  the  noise  of 
passing  carriages,  or  in  the  hum  of  a  city  t 
or  of  iailing  waters ;  while  others  hear  so 
acutely,  that  they  complain  of  the  ticking  of 
the  clock.  The  sense  o!  touch  is  veiy  «- 
ten  similarly  vitiated;  one  patient  havijf 
partial  or  general  numbness, — another,  his 
feelings  so  sensitive,  that  he  shrinks  with 
P5un  3  you  merely  touch  him.    Occaswnal- 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


i\i 


1y,  though  more  rarely,  you  have  examples 
of  a  reverse  kiod ;  the  patient  in  that  case 
\rill  say—"  Oh,  do  not  take  your  hand  away 
the  pressure  does  me  good — it  acta  like  mag- 
netism. 

Ail  kiads  of  aches  are  complained  of  hy 
dyspeptic  patients — headache  perhaps  most 
frequently,—  headache*  for  which,  on  the 
hypothetical  assumption  of  fulness  of  blood 
in  the  brain,  the  leech,  lancet,  and  cupping- 
glass  are  so  frefiuently  in  requisition.      But 
to  what  end  ?    In  the  words  of  Abemethy, 
stipposinff 'such  assumption  to  be  correct— 
•*•  Docs  Wood-lettine  cure  diseases  in  which 
there  is  a  fulness  of  blood  in  the  h.ad  ?     It 
mast  be  granted,  that  in  many  instances,  it 
temporarily  alleviates  them,  but  in  others,  it 
fails  to  relieve,  and  even  aggravates  them 
What  are  those  headaches,  those  night  and 
day  dreams,  all  those  various  signs  and  sen- 
sations, but  the  effects  of  a  great  instability 
of  Brain,  now  brought  on  by  one  thing,  now 
hy  another  ?     I  have  known  the  most  se- 
vere ^d  distressing  headaches  arise  from 
loss  of  blood,  and  I  nave  known  them  origi- 
nate in  a  lone  fast.      Surely  for  such  disea- 
ses, the  leeen  and  the  lancet  are  not  the 
proper  remedies.    But,  Gentlemen,  there  arc 
Bumy  other  ways  by  which  the  brain  may 
be  weakened.      You  may  as  certainfy  ex- 
liaasf  it  by  prolonged  literary  or  other  men- 
tal labor,  as  by  starvation  or  loss  of  blood ; 
fof  there  are  times  to  think,  and  times  to 
«ea8e  thinking:  and  if  the  brain  be  eternally 
harassed  by  an  over  anxiety  in  any  of  the 
porsuits  of  life;  if  it  be  always  at  work  on 
one  subject,  not  only  will  there  be  headache 
or  confusion  of  head,  but  the  constitution 
nrast  be  injured.    How  can  this  oigan  pain- 
fully revolve  again  and  again  the  occurren- 
ces of  the  external  world,  and  give  the  prop- 
-er  attention  to  the  internal  economy,  over 
which  it  presides  ?     When  vou  listen  to  an 
oxator  or  a  preacher  whose  discourse  power- 
fully affects  you,  the  brain  becomes  so  en- 
gaged, that  it  cannot  at  the  same  time  attend 
to  the  breathing— and  you  are,   therefore, 
^compelled   ever  and  anon  to  draw  a  long 
breath — you  must  take  a  deep  sigh,  to  make 
np  for  the  ordinary  succession  of  short  in- 
spirations and  expirations,  which  constitute 
the  natural  art  of  breathing.    Now,  Gentle- 
men, if  the  function  of  the  lungs  be  so  easi- 
ly disturbed  in  this  way,  can  you  doubt  that 
the  heart,  stomach,  bowels,  and  other  parts, 
may  be  similarly  inffuenced?    What  are  the 
complaints  of  men  who  have  much  on  their 
minds,  of   bankers,  merchants,  and  great 
lawyers  ? — what  the  diseases  of  aged  per- 
80IUI — persons  whose  brains  become  weaker, 
and  weaker  by  the  slow  but  certain  opera- 
tion of  time 7    Do  not  these  patients  con- 


stantly complain  of  their  stomachs  and  bow- 
els ?  Do  not  many  of  them  suffer  from  pal- 
pitations of  the  heart, — from  giddiness  and 
sensations  like  fainting,  with  a  fear  of  fall- 
ing? Now,  Gentlemen,  this  giddy  sensa- 
tion, this  disposition  to  fall,  is  most  common- 
ly felt  upon  suddenly  raising  the  head,  or  Isk 
rising  from  a  chair.  What  surer  sign  of 
cerebral  weakness?  Yet,  not  long  since, 
two  gentlemen  each  upwards  of  seventy, 
inf(Nrmed  me,  they  had  been  bled  and  leeched 
by  their  respective  apothecaries  for  this  dis- 
ea^  of  pure  cerebral  exhaustion.  Bless  my 
life,  you  may  bleed  or  puige  a  healthy  man 
into  this  state  any  day  ! 

In  these  diseases,  one  patient  will  tell  you 
he  is  troubled  by  a  feeling  of  sinking  and 
pain  of  stomach,  which  is  only  relieved  by 
eating.  Another  suffers  from  spasm,  and 
pain  of  the  heart  or  stomach,  with  acidity  or 
flatulence,  the  moment  he  begins  to  eat ;  and 
in  either  of  these  cases  the  pain  may  some- 
times become  so  violent,  that  if  it  did  not 
soon  go  off",  the  patient  must  die.  No"<v, 
this  kind  of  spasm,  whether  affecting  the 
stomach  or  heart,  is  a  disease,  for  whkh  you 
are  expected  to  give  immediate  relief,  add 
nothing  will  do  so  more  readily  than  a  glass 
of  hot  water — water  as  hot  as  the  patient 
can  possibly  drink  it.  This  point  of  prair- 
tice  we  owe  to  John  Hunter,  who  having 
frequently  suffered  from  spasm  of  the  stom- 
ach, tried  every  thing  he  could  thfnk  of,  and 
among  others  not  water.  The  ease  whidh 
this  gave  him,  led  him  to  extend  Its  use  \o 
his  oyspeptic  patients;  and  my  own  experi- 
ence of  its  virtues,  enables  roe  to  bear  him 
out  in  the  encomiums  he  has  passed  u^n 
it.  To  this  simple  means,  palpitations, 
spasms,  head-aches,  wind  and  acidity,  will 
aJl  Sometimes  yield  as  to  a  charm.  Is  not 
this  another  instance  in  proof,  how  mete 
change  of  temperature  acts  on  the  body  tfn- 
der  disease  ?  Now,  as  hydrocyanic  acid  very 
frequently  gives  the  same  immediaite  relief 
in  every  one  of  these  affections,  we  at  onto 
see  that  its  medicinal  power  mu&t  depend 
upon  the  chancre  of  temperature  which  it 
electrically  produces.  Of  the  various  cot- 
dials  to  which  you  may  have  recour^  fbr 
spasmodic  pain  of  the  heart  or  Stomach, 
there  is  none  so  good  as  noyeau,  and  the 
virtue  of  this  "  strong  water*'  depends  Very 
much  upon  (he  prussic  acid  it  contains.  Of 
all  the  remedies  with  which  \  am  acquaint^ 
there  is  none  equal  to  this  acid,  in  convul- 
siotis  and  spasms  of  every  kind.  Bht 
spasms  of  the  stomach  and  heart  are  n6t 
the  onl^  ones  of  which  dyspeptic  patients 
c6mplain.  Some  are  troubled Vith  a  sente 
of  tension  of  the  brain — others  with  a  tight- 
neto  of  (he  thfOat  or  ch^st,  and  some,  t»Jtic-  ^ 


118 


FaUacies  of  the  FacuUy. 


iiiarly  females,  sofier  from  a  spasmodic  afiec- 
tion  of  the  gullet,  which  gives  them  a  feel- 
inff  as  if  they  had  a  ball  Uiere.  Others  a~e 
tooject  to  stitcli  or  pain  of  the  side,  jjro- 
daced  by  cramp  of  the  muscles  of  the  ribs. 
How  correctly  Shakespeare  described  the  na- 
ture of  these  pains,  when  he  made  Prospero 
•ay  to  Caliban  in  the  Tempest, 

For  this  be  sure,  to-night  thou  shall  have 

Cramps, 
Side-stitches,  that  shall  pen  thy  breath  up  I 

The  common  practice  in  these  cases  is  to 
say,  "draw  your  breath,"  and  if  you  cannot 
do  so  for  the  pain,  "  inflammation**  is  the 
imaji^inary  goblin  of  the  doctor,  and  blood- 
letting in  some  of  its  forms  the  too  ready 
remedy  (?)  to  which  he  flies; — how  vainly 
for  the  patient-— how  profitably  for  himself, 
truth  must  one  day  tell !  To  small  doses  of 
nitrate  of  silver,  prussic  acid,  or  quinine, 
Buch  pains  will  often  yield,  after  havine  re- 
sisted evei^  form  of  depletion,  with  all  the 
usual  routine  of  blisters,  black  draught  and 
blue  pill  to  the  bargain.  1  he  ^reat  error  of 
both  patient  and  practitioner,  m  dyspeptic 
cases,  is  to  seize  upon  some  of  the  most 
prominent  features  as  the  Cause  of  all  the 
others.  In  one  instance  they  will  blame 
wind — in  another  acid.  But  as  it  happens, 
these,  instead  of  bein^  causes,  are  omy  the 
common  and  the  coincident  effects  of  a 
neat  cerebral  weakness,  and  not  the  pro- 
auct,  as  many  imagine,  of  fermentation  of 
the  food — they  are  mcurbid  secretions  from 
the  lining  membrane  of  the  alimentary  canal. 
And  of  wis  you  may  be  assured,  not  only 
by  the  mode  of  their  production,  but  by  the 
manner  of  their  cure,  when  that  happens  to 
be  accomplished.  Just  watch  a  dyspeptic 
patient  when  he  receives  a  sudden  or  unex- 
pected visit ;  his  *<  heart  bum,"  as  he  calls 
his  acidity,  comes  on  in  a  moment,  and  his 
bowels  commence  tumbling  and  tossing 
about,  and  will  often  guggle  so  audibly  as  to 
make  even  the  bystanders  feel  sorry  for  him 
— showine  you  clearly  that  this  acidity,  as 
well  as  the  gases  so  suddenly  extricated, 
are  the  effects  of  a  weakened  nervous  sys- 
tem,— that  they  are,  in  a  word,  the  common 
effects  of  wrong  secretion,  ^ow  the  term 
Secretion  is  so  constantly  associated  in  the 
mind  of  the  student  with  the  notion  of  a 
Liquid,  that  some  of  you  may  not  all  at 
once  comprehend  how  gas  can  be  secreted  ; 
but,  Gentlemen,  is  not  every  tissue  of  the 
body  the  result  of  secretion  ? — are  not  the 
hair  and  the  nails  as  certainly  secreted  as  the 
saliva  or  the  bile  ?  Only  place  yoqr  naked 
arm  for  a  few  minutes  under  water,  and  yon 
will  find  bubbles  of  air  constantly  forminfr 
npon  It— such  air  being  in  that  case  actually 


secreted  before  your  eyes  bylhc  glandular 
anparatus  of  the  skin !    Can  you  be  at  any 
difficulty  now,  to  conceive  how  flatus  is  a 
secretion  from  the  alimentary  canal  ?    If  a 
doubt  remain,  you  have  only  to  debilitate  the 
brain  of  an  animal  by  bleeding  him  alowly, 
and  his  bowels  will  become  full  of  flatus  even 
to  bursting.    Then  again,  as  regards  the  cure 
of  dyspeptic  patients,  a  drop  or  two  of  prus- 
sic acid,  twice  or  thrice  a-day  for  a  week,  or 
a  short  course  or  treatment  by  quinine,  nitrate 
of  silver,  or  alternations  and  combinations  of 
these  medicines,  will   often  do   away  for 
months,  and  even  years,  with  every  symptom 
of  wind  and  acidity— while  cordials,  alkalis 
and  mild  laxative?,  seldom   do  more  than 
give  a  temporary  relief.    Oh  !    I  never  saw 
much  good  doiie  by  that  placebo  mode  of 
practice — nor  is  this  at  all  to  be  wondered 
at,  if  you  reflect,  that  every  part  of  the  con- 
stitution of  a  dyspeptic  patient  is  more  or 
less  disordered.    In  every  case  of  this  kind 
there  is  an  unnatural  temperatuie  of  body  j 
some  patients  complaining  to  you  of  chills 
or  heats,  or  alternations  of  both  in  the  back, 
stomach ,  hands,  and  feet,  &c.    In  these  cases 
the  skin,  partially  or  generally,  is  either 
more  moist  than  in  healtn,  or  it  js  harsh  and 
4ry — perspiring,  if  at  all,  with  difficulty.    la 
the  latter  case,  some  other  secretion  may  be 
morbidly  active.    The  urine  or  the  bile  may 
be  in  excess ;  or  the  natural  fatty  or  watery 
deposit  of  the  great  cavities  of  tne  chest  and 
abdomen,  may  oe  in  superabundance.     The 
looker-on  may  even  have  a  false  impression 
of  the  patient's  case  and  condition  from  the 
increase  of  either  in  the  minute  cells  of  the 
investing  membrane  of  all  the  cellular  sub- 
stance.    Should  such  a  patient  complain  of 
being  ill,  he  is  sure  to  be  laughed  at  for  his 
pains — for  nobody  has  any  sympathy  with 
nim— and  this  is  one  of  the  many  cases  in 
the  world,  where  *'  appearances  are  deoeit- 
ful.*» 

The  dyspeptic  patient  is  either  torpid,  and 
with  difficulty  roused  to  exertion,  whether 
corporeal  or  mental,  or  he  is  acted  upon  by 
every  thing  he  hears.  The  last  person  that 
speaks  to  him  il  the  man  for  him.  HSs 
spirits  are  depres.«ed  by  the  merest  trifle,  and 
raised  again  by  a  straw  or  a  feather.  Then, 
as  regaras  his  actions  or  his  promises,  you 
can  scarcely  depend  upon  any  thine  he  tells 
you.  What  he  is  dying  to  do  to-day,  he  is 
miserable  till  he  can  again  undo  to-morrow ; 
he  spends  his  life  betwixt  acting  and  regret- 
ting;— hesitating,  hoping  and  fearing  by 
turns — one  moment  all  confidence,  the  next 
all  suspicion.  Now,  is  not  this  one  of  the 
strongest  of  many  striking  proofs  how  much 
our  mental  workings  are  tne  ^fects  of  our 
material  state— the  result  of  our  brain^s  con- 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


119 


dition,  and  its  atomic  relations  and  re  vol  u- 
tions?  It  is  in  perfect  accordance  with 
what  we  observe  in  all  our  corporeal  mo- 
tions. If  the  muscles  be  tremulous,  can  you 
wonder  that  the  miud  should  be  va^^iUating 
and  capricious  ? — or  when  these  are  cramped 
and  spasmodic,  why  should  you  be  aston- 
ished to  find  a  corresponding  wrong- headed - 
ness,  and  pertinacious  and  perverse  adhe- 
rence to  a  wrong  opinion  ? — mens  sana  in 
eorpore  $ano.  You  may  argue  for  hours  to 
no  Durpose  whatever  with  some  patients; — 
for  now  can  you  expect  the  wrong  brains  of 
wfQpg  bodies  to  reason  rightly  ?  These  per- 
sons are  like  the  inebriated,  who  see  two 
candles  when  there  is  only  one — their  per- 
ceptions being  false,  so  also  must  be  their 
mode  of  reasoning.  The  plunge  bath,  or  a 
short  course  of  chrono-thermal  treatment 
will  make  them  alter  their  minds  sooner 
than  the  most  powerful  and  pursuasive  argu- 
ments of  a  Cicero  or  Demosthenes. 

Lady  Mary  Montatnie  held  the  notion 
that  the  whole  world  hate  more  or  less  to  be 
told  the  truth.  She  formed  her  opinion, 
doubtless,  from  observing  how  bpdly  the 
Public  had  for  the  most  part  treated  its  best 
benefactors.  From  what  I  have  seen  of 
mankind  myself  I  cannot  help  thinking  hi 
the  ass  that  kicked  the  eood-natured  man, 
when  trying  to  relieve  it  u'om  the  weight  of 
its  panniers !  Never  yet  did  I  attempt  to 
open  the  eyes  of  a  person  imposed  upon, 
bathe  was  sure  to  abase  me.  The  poet 
was  therefore  right  when  he  said, 

The  pleasure  surely  is  as  great, 
Of  being  cheated,  as  to  cheat 
In  all  my  experience,  the  more  unscnipu- 
lovia  and  unprincipled  theimposter  has  bc»n, 
the  more  certainly  he  appeared  to  fascinate 
bis  dupes  All  he  had  to  do  was  to  hold 
out  an  impossibility  to  them,  and  they  were 
to  dance  attendance  at  his  door  for 
Taking  advantage  of  a  popular 
Imt  puerile  prejudice  against  Mineral  medi- 
eine,  the  medical  charlatan  is  very  careful  to 
pnfbc  the  word  Vegetable  to  his  nostrum; 
and  this,  he  tells  the  publit,  is  safe  in  every 
foim,  dose,  and  degree — which  being  in 
utter  repugnance  to  every  thing  in  nature,  is 
greedily  swallowed  by  the  multitude  as  an 
undisputable  truth !  Can  weight,  measure, 
heat,  cold,  motion,  rest,  be  so  applied  to  the 
human  body  with  impunity?  Can  you 
without  injury  cover  yourselves  with  any 
wetfht  of  clothes,  or  swallow  any  measure 
ci  food  ?  Or  can  you  retain  any  part  of 
the  body  in  perpetuaJ  motiod  or  repose  with- 
out that  part  sufierjng?  No,  truly!  re- 
noads  the  same  dyspeptic,  who  lielieves 
that  such  and  such  a  medicine  is  sale  in 
enry  form*  dose  and  degree !    When  treat* 


ing  patients  of  this  class,  it  is  better  not  to 
tell  them  what  they  are  taking ;  but  shoul'd 
they  chance  to  find  out  that  you  have  been 
giving  them  arsenic,  prussic  acid,  or  nitrate 
of  silver,  you  will  be  sure  to  be  worried  to 
death  by  questions,  dictated  sometimes  by 
their  own  timidity,  and  sometimes  by  tlM 
kind  feeling  of  some  "damned  good  natured 
friend*'  secretly  set  on  by  some  equally 
damned  good  natured  apothecary.  Now,  aa 
these  patients  are  for  the  most  part  great 
sticklers  for  authoritv,  your  only  course  is 
to  tell  the  truth — which  after  all,  in  nine 
cases  out  of  ten,  will  make  no  impression— « 
and  that  is  the  reasyn  why  the  quack  and 
the  subordinate  practitioner  who  can  keep 
their  medicines  secret,  have  an  advantage 
over  the  honorable  physician — an  advanta^ 
so  great,  that  in  a  tew  ^ears,  if  matters  do 
not  take  a  turn,  I  doubt  if  one  such  will  be 
found  practising  medicine  at  all.  You  may 
say  then  what,  if  it  have  no  efiect  with  pa- 
tients themselves,  will  at  least  appear  rea- 
sonable to  th^ir  frienda— that  the  medicines 
you  ordered  are  all  contained  in  the  pharma- 
copeifle  of  the  three  Collms  of  Edmbuigh, 
London  and  Dublin,  and  that  they  are  there- 
fore recognized  as  medicines  of  value  by  all 
physicians  who  have  a  character  to  make  or 
a  name  to  lose — that  the  dose  in  which  you 
^ve  them  is  perfectly  safe,  inasmuch  as,  if 
it  disagree  witn  th^ir  particular  constitu- 
tions, it  will  only  cause  a  short  temporary 
inconvenience;  and  to  sum  up  all,  you  may 
quote  Shakspeare,  who  says,  and  says  truly 
«In  POISON  there  is  physic." 
And  again : 

*<Oh  miekle  is  the  powerfai  craee  that  liei, 
In  herb*,  pianti,  stones  and  uieir  trna  qnalitiea, 
Mor  aoaebt  so  vile  that  on  the  earth  doth  live, 
Bat  to  the  canh  some  special  cood  doth  give ; 
For  aught  so  good  but  strained  from  that  fair  nsa, 
Revolts  from  true  birth,  stumbling  en  abuse. 
Virtae  itself  turns  vice,  being  misapplied, 
And  vieeaomctime's  hj  action  difrnificd, 
Within  the  infant  riod  of  this  small  flower, 
PoiaoM  hath  residence,  and  MBOioinB  povrer!" 

So  that  Poison  and  Physic— whether  vege- 
table or  mineral,  are  either  Poison  or  Phy- 
sic according  as  they  are  wrongly  or  rightly 
applied. 

But  to  return  to  Dyspepsia,  or  that  low 
Fever  so  termed  In  cases  of  this  kind,  my 
practice  i.**  to  combine  the  chiouo- thermal  re- 
medies with  what  you  may  call,  if  you  please 
symptomatic  medidnea  For  example,  where 
flatulence  is  the  most  prominent  symptom,  1 
prescribe  quinine,  hydrocyanic  acid,  or  ni- 
trate of  silver,  with  aniseed  or  cardemoms.  • 
In  acidity,  either  of  the  two  first  remedies 
will  often  answer  very  well  with  soda  or 
potash.  Where  the  bowels  are  slow  and 
torpid,  rhubarb,  aloes,  or  both  are  very  good 
medicines  with  which  to  combine  any  of  the 


130 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


chrono-thermal  medicines.  In  8uch  cases 
purgative  effervescing  draughts  are  also  use 
ml.  Should  the  patient  complain  of  muscu 
lar  or  other  pains,  you  may  add  colchicum 
or  guiac,  and  so  proceed  in  a  similar  manner 
with  other  symptomatic  remedies  for  other 
local  indications ;  keeping  in  mind,  however 
that  these  symptomatic  medicines  are  merely 
a  means  of  secondary  importance  in  the 
treatment  of  a  great  constitutional  totality  of 
derangement.  In  addition  to  these  mea- 
sures plasters  to  the  back  or  stomach  may 
be  very  beneficially  resorted  to  in  many  cases 
of  dyspepsia,  and  you  may  also  run  the 
changes  upon  various  kinds  of  baths.  The 
cold  plunge  and  the  shower  bath  are  my  fa 
▼orites,  though  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the 
feelings  of  the  patient,  after  he  comes  out  of 
it,  are  a  better  guide  to  you  in  your  chbice 
and  continuance  of  any  bath  than  all  the 
theories  of  all  the  doctors  that  ever  wrote  or 
leasoned  upon  disease  and  its  tieatmeut. — 
**  How  do  you  think  me  now,  doctor  ?"  is  a 
question  I  am  asked  every  day,  and  every 
day  I  give  the  same  answer :  «*How  do  you 
feel  ?"  If  the  patient  is  better,  he  says  so ; 
if  worse,  he  wal  be  sure  to  tell  me  he  is  not 
io  well :  and  according  to  his  answer  do  I 
diange  or  continue  his  physic.  Now^ 
whether  this  be  common  sense  or  not, 
leave  you  to  judge.  Heaven  only  knows  it 
is  not  science,  or  what  very  learned  people 
call  science ;  for  when  the  patient  says  he 
gets  worse  and  worse  every  day,  science  ge- 
nerally tells  him  to  continue  his  medicine, 
for  that  he  has  not  taken  enough  of  it,  and 
that  he  will  be  worse  before  he  be  better, 
which  I  need  not  tell  yon  is  a  lie,  or  more 
politelv  to  speak,  a  piece  of  imposture. — 
Should  the  patient  die,  why,  then,  be  dies  a 
natural  death,  and  he  has  had  the  first  advice, 
for  not  only  did  Mr.  So-and-so,  the  fashion- 
able apothecary,  attend  him,  but  Dr.  Sucb-a- 
one,  the  gjeat  physician,  was  also  called  in 
and  he  said  all  was  right,  and  that  nothine 
belter  could  be  done.  Had  the  doctor  said 
•all  was  wrong,  he  might  perhaps  hare  been 
nearer  the  mark — but,  in  that  case,  what 
apothecary  would  either  call  him  in  again 
himself,  or  let  him  in  again  when  requested, 
where  he  could  by  a  liule  gentlemanly 
trickery  keep  him  out !  Iq  my  own  particn- 
lar  case,  the  custom  of  the  apothecary  has 
been  secretly  to  play  upon  the  fears  of  the 
patient  or  his  friend  against  "strong  medi- 
cine," to  shrug  his  shoulders  and  smile  con- 
temptuously. "Oh  I  can  tell  you  something 
of  Dr.  Dickson,'*  he  has  said  «  but  you 
must  not  give  up  me  as  the  audior :  where- 
iipoa  he  has  proeMded  to  lie  Dr.  Dickson's 
bfe  away ;  and  when  he  had  thus,  to  his 
omi  liiiQldng,  nfficiently  poisoned  the  ear 


of  his  patient,  he  has  turned  round  in  Ibift 
manner  to  him — "But  if  yon  still  waiit  a 
second  opinion,  why  do  you  not  call  in  Dr. 
This,  or  Sir  Thinirumy  T'other,  they  are 
leading  men, you  know!"  Now  that  only 
means,  that  the  physicians  in  question  are 
the  fashionable  puppets  whom  he  and  all 
people  like  him,  call  in  to  conceal  their  bad 
work — men,  who  would  as  soon  think  of 
differing  with  the  opinion  of  their  supposed 
suborduiates  but  real  patrons,  as  of  q^uarrel- 
ling  with  their  breakfast,  because  it  was 
purchas>ed  with  the  shilling  of  a  dead  man*! 
guinea !  • 

What  a  just  observation  was  that  of  the 
author  of  Lacon.  "The  rich  patient  cures 
the  poor  physician  much  more  often  than 
the  poor  physician  the  rich  patient :  and  it 
is  rather  paradoxical,  that  the  rapid  recoreiy 
of  the  one  usually  depends  upon  the  procras- 
tinated disorder  of  the  other.  Some  persons 
will  tell  you  with  an  air  of  the  miraculous, 
that  Ihey  recovered  although  they  were  given 
over,  when  they  might  with  mort  reason 
have  said,  they  recovered  because  they  wete 
given  over."  But  in  very  truth  "the  greit 
success  of  quacks  in  England  has  been  alto- 
^ther  owing  to  the  real  quackery  of  the 
regular  physician  s."  What  does  that  mean  ? 
Just  this,  that  the  morality  of  many  legali- 
zed practitioners  even  of  the  highest  |rade, 
is  not  one  remove  above  that  of  the  Mori- 
sons  and  St.  John  Longs,  wliose  dishonest 

Rractices  they  are  so  constantly  deciyitig' 
Fowrthis  you  will  say,  is  a  startline  Ele- 
ment, and  much  will  doubtless  depend  upon 
the  character  of  the  person  making  it, 
whether  you  treat  it  with  a  lawh  ofcooteinpc 
or  listen  to  it  with  mmetfaing  like  respedfdl 
attention.  Gentlemen,  the  man  who^to- 
rately  put  that  on  paper,  (and  I  quote  hitt 
to  the  letter)  was  no  less  a  person  thaa 
Adam  Smith,  the  author  of  tHe  Wealth  of 
Nations!  If  such,  then,  was  the  ceitnB 
ard  settled  conviction  of  that  very  kesa- 
sighted  observer  of  mankind,  will  an]f  » 
sertion,  any  asseveration  on  the  part  of  iadi- 
vidiials  interested*  in  declaring  the  coatxvtf, 
weigh  with  you  one  stiaw  against  the  evi- 
dence of  your  own  senses,  when  70a  choose 
to  examine  this  matter  fairly  and  fallj^  ka 
yourselves  ?  So  far  as  my  own  experience 
goes — that  is,  from  what  I  have  seen  of  the 
profession  in  London  and  the  English  oovn- 
try  towns,  eminence  in  medicine  is  less  t 
test  of  talent  and  integrity  than  a  just  tm- 
son  of  suspecting  the  penon  who  has  at- 
tained to  it,  of  a  complete  contempt  for  hdki 
I  say  suspecting,  for  I  have  met  with  txttf- 
dons,  but  not  many,  to  the  rale.  Conld  y^n 
only  see  a«  I  have  seen,  the  ftuce  of  a  M- 
ieal  consoltation,  I  think  3fo«  wcmid  agM 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


121 


wiih  me,  that  the  impersonation  of  Physic, 
like  the  picture  of  Garrick,  might  be  best 
painted  with  comedy  on  dne  side  and  tra- 
gedy on  the  other.  In  saying  this  mnch, 
not  only  have  I  acted  against  everything 
like  medical  etiquette — but  I  shall  be  sure  to 
be  roundly  abused  by  the  medical  profession 
for  it  TTie  truth,  however,  I  maintain  it  to 
be — but  not  the  whole  truth ;  for  the  world 
must  have  its  eyes  a  little  more  open  before 
it  can  believe  all  I  happen  to  know  upon 
the  subject.  By  aiid  bye  I  shall  tell  the 
English  people  something  will  make  their 
eata  (fngle ! 

To  return  to  the  consideration  of  Disease. 
You  now  see  that  in  all  the  cases  of  which 
we  have  been  speaking,  the  constitution  is 
for  the  most  part  primarily  at  fault,  and  that 
the  names  of  disorders  depend  very  much 
upon  the  greater  or  less  prominence  of  some 
particular  symptoms — which  symptoms,  or 
their  shades,  may  be  readily  detected  in  all 
diseases.  With  every  case  of  Dyspepsia, 
depression  of  spirits,  and  more  or  less  men- 
tal caprice,  with  hasty  or  erroneous  notions 
tipon  one  or  more  points,  will  be  found 
to  be  as£odated.  When  such  depression 
aroantft  to  despondency,  medical  men,  aci 
cording  to  the  sex  of  the  patient,  change  the 
won!  nrspEPSiA  into 

fiypocHOJrDRiA,  OR  Hysteria  : 
and  some  professors  are  very  particular  in 
their  directions  how  to  distinguish  the  one 
from  the  other!  Gentlemen,  what  is  the 
meaning  of  Hysteria  ?  it  is  a  corruption  of 
the  Greek  word  {Hystera)  the  womb;  and  it 
was  a  name  given  by  the  ancients  to  the 
particular  symptom  we  are  now  considering, 
from  a  hypothetical  idea  that  in  such  cases 
the  womb  was  the  principal  oigan  at  fault. 
From  the  same  language  we  also  derive  Hypo- 
diondria,  a  compound  word  formed  of  (Hypo) 
under,  and  (Chondros)  cartilage,  from  the 
mipposed  seat  df  the  disease,  being  the  liver 
or  stomach ;  for  both  of  these  organs,  as 
yon  know,  are  situated  under  the  cartilagi- 
non^  portions  of  fhe  lower  ribs.  So  that 
when  a  female  sofiers  htm  low  spirits  and 
despondency,  with  occasional  involuntary 
fits  of  laughing,  crying  sobbing,  or  shrieking, 
ytm  must  caU  her  state  hysteria ;  and  when 
a  male  is  similarly  afiected,  you  must  say 
he  has  hypochondria.  Now  it  so  happens, 
that  medical  men  sometimes  pronounce  even 
their  male  patients  to  be  hysterical!  And 
this  brings  me  in  mind  of  an  honest  Quaker 
(rf  the  profession,  who  being  very  ill,  had 
three  doctors  to  attend  him — Mr.  Abernethy, 
Dr  BlundelJ,  and  a  physician  whose  name  I 
now  fbfget.  !&ach  of  these  had  his  own  no- 
lion  of  the  disease ;  Mr.  Abernethy  of  course 
said,  it  was  all  owing  to  the  state  of  the 


"dieestive   organs."      Dr. ,  being  a 

stethoscope  man,  maintained  that  the** heart*' 
was  affected,  and  Dr.  Biundell,  in  the  true 
spirit  of  a  man  midwife,  declared  that  their 
patient  was  only  "hysterical."  Now  the 
patient,  though  a  Quaker,  was  a  humourist ; 
so  he  ordered  in  his  will,  that  when  his  body 
should  be  opened  after  his  death,  his  diees 
tive  organs  should  be  presented  to  Mr.  Aber- 
nethy, his  heart  to  Di. ,  and  to  Dr. 

Biundell  his  womb,  if  he  could  find  one ! 
Gentlemen,  that  the  brain  is  the  principal  or- 
gan implicated  in  all  disorders,  which  come 
within  the  physician's  province,  more  espe- 
cially in  such  as  are  termed  hysteria  or  hy- 
pochondria, the  smallest  reflection  will  con- 
vince you.  Suppose  a  person  of  either  sex 
had  been  accidently  debilitated  by  loes  of 
blood— a  person  who  previously  was  strong 
in  aerve  as  in  muscular  fit)re ;  suppose  a  let- 
ter comes  with  a  piece  of  bad  news — the 
patient  in  that  case  bursts  into  tears,  laughs 
and  cries  time  about,  and  then  sinks  into  a 
state  of  dismal  and  gloomy  despondency. — 
And  all  this,  forsooth,  you  must  put  down 
to  the  state  of  the  fromb  or  dipstive  appa- 
ratus, according  to  the  sex  of  the  patient, 
instead  of  placing  it  to  the  account  of  the  * 
brain  and  ncrves,without  which  the  ill-timed 
letter,  the  cause  of  all,  could  not,  by  any 
possibility,  have  afiected  the  mind  m  the 
feast!  Another  class  of  practitioners, 
scarcely  less  unreasonable  than  those  to 
whom  we  have  just  alluded,  will  have  it, 
that  patients  coming  under  the  head  of  hys- 
teria and  hjrpochonoria,  are  not  ill  at  all. — 
"Oh !  there  is  nothing  the  matter  with  this 
man :"  they  will  say,  "he  is  only  hip})ed  !** 
and  if  the  female,  "she  is  only  hysterical." 
Dr  Radclifie,  when  he  refused  to  come  to 
Queen  Anne,  declared  he  would  not  stir  a 
foot  "for  there  was  nothing  the  matter  with 
her  but  the  Vapours !"  Such  was  the  term 
by  which  the  doctors  of  that  day  character- 
ized the  shifting  shades  of  symptom  now 
called  Hysteria.  Gentlemen,  do  I  require 
to  tell  you  that  no  man  or  woman  suflers 
irom  melancholy,  or  indul^s  in  whims  and 
fantasies,  without  being  positively  ill.  Who- 
ever labors  under  mental  delusion  or  despon- 
dency, has  alternate  chills  and  heats ;  and 
■emissions  and  exaceikitions  of  all  the  more 
prominent  symptoms  characterize  the  disor- 
der in  every  form.  The  late  Lord  Dudley, 
in  a  letter  to  the  'Bishop  of  Landaff,  relates 
his  own  case,  and  it  is  so  like  what  you 
will  daily  meet  in  practice,  that  I  shall  give 
it  to  you  in  his  own  words :— "It  is  in  vain," 
he  says,  "that  my  reason  tells  me  that  the 
view  I  take  of  any  unpleasant  circumstances 
in  my  situation  is  exaggerated.  Anxiety, 
regret  for  the  past,  apprehensive  tmeasiAess 


122 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


as  to  my  future  life,  have  seized  upon  me  as 
their  prey.  I  dread  solitude ;  for  societ}'  I 
am  unfit ;  and  every  error  of  which  I  have 
been  guilty  in  life  stands  constantly  before 
my  eyes.  I  am  ashamed  of  what  I  feel 
when  I  recollect  how  much  prosperity  I  still 
enjoy,  but  it  seems  as  if  I  had  been  suddenly 
trsmsplanted  into  some  horrible  region  be- 
yond the  bouiids  of  reason  or  of  comfort ; 
now  and  then  L  enjoy  a  few  hours  respite, 
(the  remission  ?)  but  this  is  my  general  con- 
dition. It  is  a  dismal  contrast :  for  you  wil) 
remember  that  I  was  naturally  gay  and 
cheerful."  Now,  although  Lord  Dudley  re- 
covered perfectly  from  this  particular  attack, 
his  disease,  at  a  later  period  of  his  life,  re- 
tamed  ;  but  this  lime  he  was  less  fortunate, 
for  the  symptoms  of  his  disorder  gradually 
deepened  in  their  hue,  until  they  amounted 
to  the  most  complete 

Iksanttt, — 

a  proof  to  you  that  the  hypochondriac  whim, 
and  the  hysteiic  fancy,  differ  from  hallucina- 
tion and  mania,  in  shade  merely,  and  the 
chills  and  heats  which  precede  or  accompany 
them,  from  the  cold  and  hot  stages  of  the 
most  intense  fever,  in  nothing  but  degree. 
Has  not  the  maniac,  in  every  ioim  of  his  de- 
lusion, lucid  intervals — remissions?  Your 
schoolmen,  your  "  pathologists,"  your  pro* 
found  medical  reasoners,  speak  of  madness 
and  other  diseases,  as  if  they  were  the  effects 
of  some  fixed  cerebral  malformation,  instead 
of  being  the  consequences  of  external  influ- 
ences acting  on  an  atomic  instability  of  brain. 
They  tell  you  they  are  curable  or  not,  ac- 
cording to  the  Causs; — they  look  in  the 
dead  M>dy,  for  the  causes  of  an  intermittent 
living  action,  for  the  oriein  of  hypochondria 
and  mania,--^iseases  wnich  they  have  even 
themselves,  perhaps,  traced  to  bard  study  or 
a  passion  !  External  agencies,  then,  were 
the  real  causes,  not  the  structural  deviations 
detected  within  after  death  by  the  scalpel. 
Students  of  medicine !  young  men  honorably 
ardent  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  for  the 
sake  of  your  profession  and  your  future  pa- 
tients, learn  to  think  for  yourselves.  Pause, 
examine,  weigh,  before  you  ffive  a  slavish 
assent  to  the  dicta  of  your  teachers.  When 
these  tell  you  that  mulness  with  a  lucid  in- 
terval is  an  inflammatory  essence,  or  that  it 
depends  upon  some  cerebral  malformation  or 
tumour,  ask  them  how  they  reconcile  days 
or  even  hours  of  sanity  and  sense  with  a  ce- 
rebral structure  thus  partially,  but  perma- 
nently malformed  or  disoiganized !  That 
medical  men,  mystifled  from  boyhood  by 
their  teachers,  should  fall  into  such  errors, 
is  not  so  astonishing  as  that  the  leaders  in 
ovr  periodical  literatnie  should  be  equally 


unfortunate.  What,  for  enmple,  can  be 
more  eeregiously  absurd  than  an  observation 
the  reviewer  of  Lord  Dudley's  letters  in  the 
Quarterly  Review  has  allowed  to  escape  from 
his  pen !  *<  The  gifts  of  fortune  and  intel- 
lect," says  this  writer,  "  were  counterbalaa- 
ced  by  an  oiganic  malformution  of  the  brain  " 
How  can  intellectual  power  even  for  one 
moment  be  compatible  with  a  defective  cere- 
bral organization  ?  How  can  the  cause  d 
an  intermittent  disease  be  a  corporeal  entity, 
or  something  permanently  lixed?  Let  oo 
sounding  wonts,  no  senseless  sophistrr, 
cheat  you  of  a  reply  to  this  question.  Tne 
maniac  who  has  lucid  intervals  is  curable  in 
the  greater  number  of  instances— the  hypo- 
chondnac  ^ho  at  any  time  of  the  night  or 
day  enioys  the  very  briefest  immunity  from 
his  miserable  feelings,  may  be  equally  sus- 
ceptible of  improvement  trom  well-deviaed 
remedial  means.  The  modem  medical  treat- 
ment of  both  beinc  essentially  agg;ravant,€an 
you  wonder  that  uese  diseases  should  so  of- 
ten remain  unrelieved,  or  that  a  sceptic  smile 
should  be  the  reward  of  the  individual  who 
tells  you  that  in  his  hands  at  least  they  have 
ceased  to  be  the  opprobria  of  medicine! 
What  has  been  the  resujt  of  the  Antiphlo- 
gistic treatment  of  insanity?  Letiheph]f- 
sicians  who  attended  Lord  Dudley  in  m 
last  illness  answer  that  question,  for  they 
spared  neither  lancet  nor  leech  in  his  case. 
In  the  case  of  Lord  Byron,  delirium,  which 
is  only  another  word  for  mania,  was  actually 
produced  by  the  lancet  But  the  better  to 
open  your  eyes  to  the  efiect  of  such  cruel 
treatment  in  this  disease,  I  will  read  a  short 
extract  from  a  letter  I  received  from  Dr- 
Hume,  the  same  stafi-suiigeon  whose  success- 
ful practice  I  have  already  had  occasion  to 
detail  to  you.  **  I  lately,"  he  thus  writes, 
"  paid  a  visit  with  our  Depot  Pay-master  to 
the  Armagh  lunatic  asylum.  Being  the  re- 
ceptacle for  the  insane  poor  of  four  com^^ 
namely,  Monaghan,  Fermanagh,  Cavan  and 
Armagh,  it  generally  contains  about  160  in- 
mates. Having  visited  the  difierent  apart- 
ments, I  enquired  •f  the  manager,  Mr.  Jack- 
son, the  treatment  pursued.  His  answer 
was :  *  Although  I  am  not  a  professional 
man,  I  have  paid  great  attention  to  the  trest- 
ment  of  the  insane  for  the  last  five  and  twen- 
ty years,  and  the  result  of  my  observation  * 
that  the  usual  practice  of  bleeding,  leecbiQg* 
cupping,  &c.,  only  aggravates  the  condition 
of  the  patients.  Of  those  who  were  wwj 
on  admission  I  never  saw  one  recover. 
Now  this  is  a  curious  fact  elicited  fr^** 
plain  practical  man  of  great  experience,  who, 
had  he  known  I  belonged  to  the  medical  pro- 
fession, might  not  perhaps  have  been  so  can- 
did in  his  remarks,-    l)f.  Conolly.  in  w» 


Fallacies  of  the  FacuUy. 


123 


Heport  of  the  Hanwell  Lunatic  Asylum,  i» 
obliged  to  admit  that  ^reat  numbers  die 
shortly  after  their  admission  into  that  estab- 
lishment. The  large  abstraction  of  blood 
which  he  so  lauds  in  his  work  on  Insanity, 
will  easily  account  for  the  unsuccessful  ter- 
mination of  his  cases. 

Weil  then.  Gentlemen,  Hysleria,  Hypo- 
chondria, Mania,  are  merely  modifications, 
or  developments  of  chronic  or  habitual  low 
Fever.  And  since  I  commenced  to  treat 
them  as  such,  T  have  bad  a  practical  success 
and  a  mental  satisfaction,  that  contrast  some- 
what stronely  with  the  poor  opinion  I  enter- 
tained of  the  resources  of  our  art,  and  the 
vexation  I  experienced  when  first  entering 
upon  my  professional  career.  This  muco 
you  should  know,  however,  that  in  all  such 
disorders  you  will  be  obliged  to  change  your 
remedies  ireouently — for  in  chronic  disease 
what  will  often  succeed  to  admiration  one 
day,  may  as  often  have  an  opposite  effect 
the  next ;  and  this  is  strictly  in  accordance 
with  what  you  find  in  every  thing  in  liJfe. 
The  toy  that  will  stop  the  cry  of  the  ween- 
ing child  lo-day,  may  make  it  cry  more  loua- 
ly  to-moiiow.  You  must,  in  that  case, 
change  its  rattle  for  some  other  gew-gaw; 
and  so  it  is  in  the  diseases  we  have  been 
BOW  considering — diseases  where  the  tem- 
perament oi  the  body,  like  the  temper  of  the 
m/nd,  is  constantly  varying.  The  great  se- 
cret of  managing  chronic  diseases  properly 
then,  consists  in  the  frequent  change  and 
right  adjustment  of  the  cbrono-thennal  and 
other  remedies,  to  particular  cases; — and 
this  also  explains  the  good  effect  of  Travel- 
ling upon  many  of  these  patients,  for  to  the 
coDs^ntly  shifting  scenes  and  to  the  frequent 
repetition  of  novel  cerebral  excitement  pro- 
duced by  these  scenes,  we  must  ascribe  Uie 
chief  advantages  of  such  a  course ;  clearly 
proving  that  the  Brain  in  this  instance,  as  in 
evciy  other,  is  the  true  key  to  all  good  me- 
dical treatment  Whatever  then,  be  the 
name  by  which  you  choose  to  designate  your 
patienrs  complaint,  you  will  be  sure  to  meet 
with  nothing  but 'disappointment,  if  you  pin 
your  faith  exclusively  to  any  one  medicine. 
To-day  a  mild  emetic  will  give  relief— -tem- 
porary only  if  you  do  not  follow  it  up  to- 
morrow, with  iron,  opium,  musk,  nuinine, 
or  the  bath.  One  week  arsenic  will  be  a  di- 
vine remedy;  the  next,  having  lost  its  power, 
you  may  dismiss  it  for  prossic  acid,  valerian, 
creosote,  strychnine,  or  silver.  In  legard  to 
silver,  the  nitrate  is  the  preparation  which  I 
am  in  the  habit  of  using,  and  an  admirable 
medicine  it  is,  when  properly  managed. 
Boerhaave,  the  greatest  physician  that  ever 
lived,  speaks  in  raptures  of  its  remedial  pow- 
ers in  «  nervous  complaints."    Cullen,  Pit- 


cairn,  every  medical  man  but  the  most  ill- 
educated  apothecary  or  the  equally  ill* educa- 
ted puppet  who  enjoys,  at  the  mercy  of  his 
breath,  the  reputation  of  being  ^r  excellence 
a  physician,  will  readily  bear  testimony  to 
its  safety  and  value  as  a  medicine.  Like 
every  e;ood  thing,  however,  the  nitrate  of 
silver  has  been  abueed  in  practice,  and  in 
some  half-dozen  instances  it  nas  been  pushed 
to  so  great  an  extent  as  to  ^ive  the  patient  a 
permanent  blueness  of  skin  for  lire ;  but. 
Gentlemen,  in  these  cases,  the  practitioners 
who  employed  it  committed  the  double  error 
of  givine  it  too  long  and  in  too  gn;at  quanti- 
ties, and  that  jieople  should  entertain  a  pre- 
judice against  it  on  that  score,  is  just  as  rea- 
sonable as  that  a  man  should  be  afraid  to 
warm  himself  when  cold,  because  his  next- 
door  neighbor  had  burnt  his  fingers.  For 
myself,  I  can  truly  say,  that  though  I  have 
prescribed  the  nitrate  oi  silver  in  some  thou- 
sand cases,  I  never  had  the  misfortune  to 
^ive  the  slightest  tinge  to  the  skin  of  a  single 
individual.  But  should  objections  to  the  use 
of  this  medicine  still  continue  to  be  urged, 
after  a  proper  explanation  on  your  part,  you 
may  be  pretty  sure  that  some  ignorant  or  in- 
terested rival  has  been  secretly  playing;  upon 
the  timidity  of  your  patient  or  his  niends. 
In  that  case  you  are  less  to  be  pitied  than  the 
patient ;  for  if  you  have  no  remedy  for  ras- 
cality, he  may  have  no  relief  for  his  suffer- 
ing. So  much  then  for  one  of  many  annoy- 
ances every  practitioner  must  experience 
when  his  patient  happens  to  be 

"  the  tool 

That  KNAvas  do  wor](  with,  called  a  fool.'' 

But,  Gentlemen,  we  must  not  suppose  that 
medicine  is  the  only  profession  where  able 
and  honorable  men  experience  such  annoy- 
ances. Doctors  of  divinity,  and  doctors  of 
law,  are  equally  obnoxious  to  intrigue  and 
prejudice,— aye,  and  State  doctors  too,  aa 
Dr.  Peel  and  Dr.  Melbourne,  could  tell  you 
if  you  would  ask  them.  To  return.  The 
shiJting  shades  of  mental  distress,  and  the 
various  vagaries  and  wrong  thoughts—  to  say 
nothing  of  wrong  actions — of  persons  whose 
diseases  come  under  the  head  we  have  just 
been  considering,  are  so  many  and  so  multi- 
farious, that  to  attempt  to  describe  them  all 
would  be  a  mere  waste  of  time  and  labor — 
inasmuch  as  however  ereatly  they  may  ap- 
pear to  differ  from  each  other  in  shape  and 
nue,  they  all  depend  upon  a  similar  totality 
of  corporeal  infirmity,  and  yield,  when  they 
yield  at  all,  to  one  and  the  same  system  of 
corporeal  treatment.  A  few  instances  in. 
pioof ,  may  suffice  to  show  you  this : — 

Case  1. — A  married  lady  consulted  me  ua- 
der  the  following  ciicumstances  :->~£veiy  se- 


124 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


cond  day,  about  the  same  hour,  she  had  an 
unconquerable  wish  to  kill  her  children,  and 
vrhen  she  happened  to  look  at  a  knife,  her 
terror,  lest  she  should  do  so,  was  extreme. 
Now,  as  every  function  of  this  lady's  frame 
was  more  or  less  wrong,  I  prescribed  for  her 
quinine  with  sulphuric  acid.  From  that  day 
she  had  no  return  of  the  homicidal  feeling. 

Case  2. — A  gentleman,  every  second  day, 
took  a  fit  of  suspicion  and  jealousy  of  his 
wife,  without  the  slightest  cause  whatever, 
as  he  confessed  to  me,  on  the  day  of  remis- 
sion, when  he  called  to  consult  me ;  and 
however  absurd  and  unreasonable  the  idea 
which  haunted  him,  he  found  it  impossible 
to  drive  it  from  his  mind.  Prussic  acid  and 
the  plunge  bath  cured  him  completely. 

Case  3. — Another  gjentleman,  after  a  hard 
contest  at  the  university  for  prize  honours, 
suddenly  became  moody  and  sullen ;  lost  his 
flesh  and  appetite,  and  fancied  himself  Judas 
Iscariot.  Such  was  his  belief  one  day — to 
be  laughed  at  even  by  himself  the  next !  T 
saw  him  six  times,  at  the  end  of  which  he 
was  perfectly  cured  by  chrono-therraal  treats 
ment.  Two  years  afterwards  his  sister  con- 
sulted me  for  •«  nervousness,"  when  I  learnt 
that  her  brother  had  not  had  the  slightest 
symntom  of  return. 

Whoever,  in  his  progress  through  life, 
takes  the  trouble  to  study  individual  charac- 
ter, must  be  struck  bv  the  perversities,  in- 
consistencies, and  otner  bizarreries  of  the 
human  mind.  Many  people,  for  example, 
commit  follies,  faults,  and  crimes  even  in- 
voluntarily and  without  any  apparent  object. 
Some  of  yott  may  possibly  remember  the 
case  of  Moscati,  a  person  singularly  gifted 
with  talent,  but  who,  at  the  same  time,  had 
such  an  invincible  disposition  to  lie,  that  no- 
body would  believe  him,  even  when  by  ac- 
cident he  spoke  the  truth.  A  lady,  who  was 
once  a  patient  of  mine,  told  me  that  every 
time  she  became  pregnant  she  caught  herself 
frequently  telling  lies,  for  no  end  or  purpose 
whatever.  I  knew  a  gentleman,  with  ni^h 
feelings  of  honor,  who  was  occasionally  m 
the  habit,  when  un:ler  the  influence  of  wine, 
of  pocketing  the  silver  forks  and  spoons 
within  his  reach ;  you  can  easily  inmgine 
fais  distress  of  mind  the  next  day,  when  he 
packed  up  the  articles  to  return  them  to  their 
owners.  From  these  cases  you  now  see 
how  much  the  morale  of  every  one  must  de- 
pend upon  his  physimie ;  for  if  I  know  any 
thing  in  the  worl^,  I  know  that  attention  to 
corporeal  temperature  will  be  found  of  more 
avail  in  mending  the  morals  of  some  indivi- 
duals than  a  well -written  homily. 

How  many  pretty  things  have  been  said 
for  and  against  the  morality  of  Suicide  I  I 
wiiK  it  were  always  in  a  person's  power  to 


abstain  from  it  But  that  the  disposition  to 
commit  it  may,  like  many  other  bad  dispOM- 
tions,  be  cured  by  medicine,  I  could  give  you 
a  great  many  proofs.  However,  as  our  time 
will  not  now  permit  me  to  enter  into  these 
subjects  so  fully  as  I  could  wish,  f  shall  con- 
tent myself  with  reading  to  you  part  of  a 
letter  I  some  time  ago  received  from  Dr.  Sel- 
wyn,  formeriy  of  Ledbury,  now  of  Chelten- 
ham. Speaking  of  Mr.  Samuel  Averill,  of 
the  Plough  Inn,  Dynock,  Gloucestershire, 
Dr.  Sehvyn  savs :    "  Before  he  came  to  me, 

he  had  consulted  Mr. ,  of  I^dbury, 

and  other  medical  men,  to  no  good  purnoac, 
as  you  can  easily  understand  when  I  tell  you 
they  principally  went  over  the  old  routine  of 
cupping,  purging,  &c.  Mr  Averiirs  symp- 
toms were  depression  of  spirits  to  crying- 
thoughts  of  suicide,  fears  oi  becoming  a  lu- 
natic, sleepless  nights,  and,  gencrallv  speak- 
ing, the  greatest  possible  state  of  mental 
wretchedness.  He  passed  immense  quanti- 
ties of  urine,  as  pale  and  pellucid  as  tn?  wa- 
ter from  the  pump.  Finding  no  particular 
organ  in  a  worse  state  than  another,  I 
thought  this  a  good  case  for  your  doctrines; 
and  accordingly  I  rang  the  changes  on  the 
nitrate  of  silver,  strychnine,  musk,  pussfc 
acid,  creosote,  iron,  quinine,  and  opiuto— 
varying  and  combining  these  according  to 
circumstances  with  valerian,  hartshorn.  Bloc 
pill,  &c.  In  a  fortnight  you  would  have 
been  astonished  at  the  improvement  effected 
upon  him.  In  about  six  weeks  more  hie  hsid 
no  complaint,  and  he  was  with  me  about  t 
month  ago,  when  I  considered  his  cure  com- 
plete. 1  have  treated  a  great  maiiy  cases  of 
Dyspepsia  successfully,  by  attending  to  fte 
intermittent  principle,  and  1  had  lately  a  cm 
of  Tic  Douloureux,  which,  after  having 
been  under  the  successive  treatment  of  se«- 
ral  eminent  practitioners  with  no  perceptiWfe 
improvement,  yielded  to  the  chrono-thermll 

remedies.    The  subject  of  it,  Miss  T » 

vras  formeriy  a  patient  of  your  own  for 
some  other  complaint.  I  fetili  hold  thsrt,  in 
chronic  diseases,  by  keepipg  your  principte 
in  view,  we  have  a  great  help  in  manv  of 
these  anomalous  cases,  which  i  would  adf 
a  nosologist  or  pathologist  to  name  or  cla^ 
sify ;  and  as  I  am  still  consulted  in  such  es- 
ses, I  do  not,  I  assure  you,  loee  sight  of 
them.  Often,  indeed,  when  I  obould,  unto 
the  scholastic  system,  have  been  complete! J 
puzzled  what  to  do,  I  now  proceed  at  oofli 
to  act  upon  the  intermittent  principle,  a&o  I 
have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  mj 
success.  Believe  me,  yours  faithfully* 
CoKORKYK  Sklwth.* 
Gentlemen,  that  the  numerofus  diaeiMi 
which  medical  men  group  together  uiid»  tb« 
head  of  Dyspepeia,  Hysterw,  and  Hyp>- 


'  PaUaciea  of  the  Faculty. 


186 


chondria,  are  caused  by  circumstances  from 
without,  acting  upon  an  atomic  instability  of 
bmin  within,  might  be  prored  by  an  affinity 
of  facts.  But  this  instability  may  be  produ- 
ced or  rather  put  in  action  by  difl^rent  influ- 
ences in  diilerent  indiriduats — one  patient 
beinfl^  only  susceptible  to  one  agent,  while 
another  may  be  acted  upon  literally  by  every 
wind  that  blows. 

General  O'Hara,  when  he  commanded  the 
troops  on  the  Mediterranean,  was  so  sensi- 
ble of  the  Levant  wind,  that  before  he  rose 
in  the  morning,  h«  knew  if  it  had  set  in,  by 
the  eftct  it  had  on  his  temper ;  and  during 
its  continuance  he  suffered  from  a  morose- 
ness  and  irritability  no  efibrt  on  his  part 
could  conquer;  by  his  own  desire  his  ser- 
▼ants  kept  out  of  his  way  on  these  occasions. 
The  diflbrent  efiects  of  the  winds  on  the  hu- 
man system,  Shakespeare  well  knew  when 
he  made  Hamlet  say, 

'*  I  am  only  mad  north,  north^wett^ 
When  the  wind  ia  southerly  I  know  a  hawk 
from  a  handsaw." 

And  in  eonfirmation  of  Shakespeare's  truth- 
fulness  to  nature  in  tiiis  as  in  most  of  his 
other  observations.  Sir  W^oodbine  Psurish,  in 
Jus  publication  upon  Buenos  Ayres,  tells  us 
tiaai  "  not  many  years  back,  a  man  named 
Gareta  was  executed  for  murder.  He  was  a 
person  of  some  education,  esteemed  by  those 
who  knew  him,  and,  in  general,  rather  re- 
markable than  otherwise  for  the  eivility  and 
amenity  of  his  manners.  His  countenance 
was  open  and  handsome,  and  his  di^sition 
frank  and  generous;  but  when  the  north 
wind  set  in,  he  appeared  to  lose  all  com- 
mand of  himself,  and  such  vras  his  extreme 
iiritability,  that  during  its  continuance,  he 
oould  hardly  speak  to  any  one  in  the  street 
without  quarreuinff.  In  a  conversation  with 
mj  infonnant,  a  rew  hours  before  his  exe- 
cution, he  admitted  that  it  was  the  third  mur- 
der he  had  been  guilty  of,  besides  having 
been  engaged  in  more  than  twenty  fights  vrith 
knives,  m  which  he  had  both  given  and  re- 
eeiyed  many  serious  wounds,  but  he  observ- 
ed that  it  was  the  north  wind,  not  he  that 
shed  all  this  blood.  When  he  rose  from  his 
bed  in  the  morning,  he  said,  he  was  at  once 
aware  of  its  accursed  influence  upon  him  :— 
a  dull  headache  first,  and  then  a  feeling  of 
impatience  at  every  thing  about  him,  wotdd 
cause  him  to  take  umbrage,  even  at  the  mem- 
ben  of  his  own  family,  on  the  most  trivial 
oocurrense.  If  he  went  abroad,  his  head- 
ache generally  became  worse,  a  heavy  weight 
seem^  to  hang  over  his  temples — he  saw 
objects,  as  it  were,  through  a  cloud,  and  was 
hardly  conscious  where  he  went  Such  was 
flie  account  the  wretched  man  gave  of  him- 


self, and  it  was  corroborated  afterwards  by 
his  relations,  who  added,  that  no  sconer  had 
the  cause  of  his  excitement  passed  away, 
than  he  would  deplore  his  weakness,  and  he 
never  rested  till  he  had  sought  out,  and  made 
his  peace  with  those  whom  he  had  hurt  or 
offended."  The  same  diflerence  of  e^t 
upon  individuals  may  take  place  from  any  of 
the  common  articles  of  diet.  Dr.  Millengen 
in  his  Curiosities  of  Medical  Experience, 
tells  us  he  knew  a  person  who  could  never 
indulge  in  tea  without  experiencing  a  dis- 
position to  commit  suicide,  and  nothing 
could  arouse  him  from  this  state  of  morbid 
excitement  but  the  pleasure  of  destroying 
something— books,  papers,  or  any  thing 
within  his  reach.  *  Under  np  other  cir- 
cumstance than  this  influence  of  tea  were 
these  fearful  alterations  observed."  Cofiee 
efliects  many  people  with  fever.  But  if 
cofiee,  tea  and  otner  things  so  apparently 
trifling  sometimes  set  up  severe  disorder — 
things  equally  trifling  will  sometimes  cure  it, 
indeed  there  is  nothing,  perhaps,  in  the 
whole  history  of  disease  more  curious  than 
the  readiness  with  which  the  poiox^rsm  of 
many  complaints  will  occasionally  yield  to 
measures  so  simple  and  so  apparently 
powerless  in  themselves,  that  it  might 
almost  seem  puerile  to  suggest  their  applica-  * 
tion.  Who,  for  example,  could,  a  priori 
suppose  it  possible  to  stop  a  fit  of  mania 
with  a  thread  ?  or  who  would  be  believed, 
were  they  to  tell  a  person  that  had  never 
heard  the  like  before,  that  aches  and  agues 
had  been  cured  with  a  song  ? — Yet  in  tfober 
truth,  such  things  have  been  actually  done ! 

Effect  qf  Ligatures. 

Of  the  power  of  mere  words  over  the  mor- 
bid motions  of  the  body,  we  .-hall  afterwards 
have  occanon  to  speak.  Of  the  efficacy  of 
a  thread  or  ribbon  m  arresting  the  maniacal 
paroxysm,  I  shall  now  give  you  a  striking 
example.  **  Mr.  R.,  a  chemist,  naturally  of 
a  ^Txde  disposition,  voluntarily  claimed  ad- 
mission to  a  madhouse  in  the  Faubourg  St 
Antoine,  on  account  of  a  desire  to  commit 
homicide,  with  which  he  was  tormented.  He 
threw  himself  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  and 
supplicated  the  Almighty  to  deliver  him  froni 
the  horrible  propensity.  Of  the  origin  of 
his  disease  he  could  say  nothing ;  but  when 
he  felt  the  accession  of  the  fatal  desire,  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  running  to  the  Chief  of 
the  Establishment,  and  requesting  to  have 
his  thumbs  tied  together  with  a  ribbon. 
However  slight  the  ligature»  it  sufficed  to 

calm  the  unnappy  R* ;  though  in  the 

end,  he  made  a  desperate  attempt  upon  one 
of  his  keepers,  and  perished,  at  last,  in  a 
paroxysm  of  fury.**— [ilww&r  ^  Hygiene 


126 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


Publique,  et  de  Medicine  Legale.}  Now, 
every  man  of  any  information  in  the  profes- 
sion, knows  th  it  the  application  of  a  liga- 
ture to  the  arm  or  leg  will  frequently  stop 
the  commencing  ague-fit.  Dr.  Davis,' in  his 
adcount  of  the  vVaicheren  ague,  lelis  us  that 

•  he  very  often  arrested  it  merely  by  grasping 
the  leg  or  arm  strongly  with  his  hand,  rut- 
ting aside,  then,  all  consideration  of  the  re- 
mittent nature  of  the  case  of  homicidal  ma- 
nia I  have  just  read,  all  consideration  of  the 
thermal  and  other  changes  which  usher  in 
the  iit  of  every  nmniacal  case,  you  could  not 
fail  to  find,  in  the  very  simple  measure  which 
may  equally  succeed  in  preventing  or  arrest- 
ing the  fit  of  mania  and.ague,  a  new  hond  ^f 
connection  with  which  to  associate  ague  and 
mania  together  in  the  same  category.  But, 
Grentlemen,  these  are  not  the  only  complaints 
in  which  the  ligature  may  be  thus  advanta- 
geously employed.  In  epilepsy,  asthma,  and 
other  convulsive  affections,  i  have  often  ob- 
tained the  same  salutary  result  by  its  appli- 
cation. Not  very  long  ago,  I  happened  to 
be  in  the  room  of  a  medical  man«  Jrhen  he 

,  was  unexpectedly  seized  with  severe  cramp 
in  his  back  and  loins.  Observing  him  to 
become  pale  and  shiver  all  over,  I  caught  him 
suddenly  by  the  arm  and  opposite  leg.  "My 
God !"  he  exclaimed,  "I  am  relieved."  And 
his  astonishment  was  extreme ;  for  immedi- 
ately afterwards  he  became  warm  and  com- 
fortable, though  for  several  days  previously 
he  had  been  suffering  from  cold  feet  and  gen- 
eral malaise.  Mania,  epilepsy,  asthma, 
cramp,  ague,  then,  completely  establish  their 
fraternal  relationship  by  means  of  the  liga- 
ture ;  for  had  we  no  other  facts,  no  other 
bond  of  association  than  that  which  the  liga- 
ture lurnishes  us,  we  should  f^till  be  led  to 
the  irresistible  conclusion,  that  those  partic- 
ular diseases,  at  least,  amid  all  their  apparent 
diversity,  have  yet  some  principle  in  common 
which  determines  their  unity.  When  I  come 
to  explain  to  you  the  manner  in  which  the 
ligature  acts,  you  will  find  that  the  connect- 
ing link  of  the  whole  is  the  Brain.  They 
are  all  the  result  of  a  weak  and  exhausted 
state  of  that  organ  ;  but  not  produced,  as  the 
late  Dr.  Mackintosh  of  Edinbuigh  supposed 
by  any  Congestion  or  fulness  of  its  blood- 
vessels. That,  you  know,  was  his  doctrine 
of  the  ca^ise  of  ague ;— and  as  he  was  a  very 
eloquent  man,  and  a  very  pleasant  and  gen- 
tleman-like person  to  boot,  he  made  manj 
proselytes  to  his  opinion,  not  only  among  his 
own  pupils,  who  were  very  numerous,  but 
also  among  the  profession  generally.  To 
prove  his  hypothesis,  or  dream  rather,  he 
was  in  the  habit,  first  of  detailing  the  "con- 
gestion," found  on  dissection  of  the  heads  of 
-    persons  who  had  died  of  the  cold  stage  of 


ague,  and  then  he  appealed  to  the  relief 
which  very  often  followed  the  practice  of 
bleedine  at  the  commencement  of  that  stage. 
"  Behold  the  fact,"  he  would  say;  "  behold 
how  the  shiverings  cea?e  the  very  moment 
you  open  the  vein — what  can  be  a  more  tri- 
umphant answer  to  the  opponents  of  the 
lancet  !*'  But  mark  the  fallacy  of  that  fact 
— mark  how  the  too-confident  doctor  was 
deceived  by  his  own  practice.  The  relief  of 
which  he  boasted,  for  the  roost  part  tempo- 
rary only — instead  of  being  produced  by  the 
very  trilling  quantity  of  blood  which  flowed 
before  such  relief  was  obtained,  was  in  re- 
ality nothing  more  than  the  effect  of  the  lig- 
ature by  which  the  arm  was  necessarily  baa» 
daged  for  the  operation  !  The  late  Dr.  Parr 
tells  us,  that  when  called  to  a  patient  in  the 
fit  of  asthma,  he  was  in  the  habit  of  tying 
up  the  arm  as  if  he  intended  to  bleed,  bat 
that  though  he  never  did  more  than  scratch 
the  skin  with  his  lancet,  the  fit  was  at  oooe 
arrested.  But  Gentlemen,  ague,  asthma,  epi- 
lepsy, nay,  every  one,  of  the  non-contagious 
diseases  to  which  man  is  liable,  have  ail 
been  produced  by  loss  of  blood.  In  that 
case,  at  least,  they  must  have  been  diseases 
of  exhaustion,  the  eStaa  in  a  word,  of  di- 
minished cerebral  power.  But  when  we 
come  to  consider  that,  in  every  instance  in 
which  the  causes  of  the  diseases  now  under 
consideration  have  been  known,  the  Braia 
has  been  suddenly  and  primarily  afiected-- 
as  in  tlkf  case  of  a  blow,  a  poison,  a  puijgef 
a  passion,  we  can  be  at  no  loss  in  formii^ 
an  opinion  as  to  the  real  nature  of  theae 
diseases— they  are  all  the  efect  of  cerebral 
weakness,  and  have  all  more  or  less  analogy 
to  faint.  Faint,  in  fact,  may  be  the  premo- 
nitory symptom  of  them  ail ;  and  the  Wal- 
cheren  ague  in  particular,  generally  beg^B 
with  a  lainting  fit,  which  faint  was  some- 
times so  alarming  ss  to  cause  the  greatest 
possible  anxiety  in  the  minds  of  the  atten- 
dants for  the  immediate  result.  Now,  what 
is  the  condition  of  the  body  you  call 

Faint? 
Is  it  not  a  state  very  like  death  !  A  person 
from  his  brain  all  at  once  ceasine  to  act,  be- 
comes instantly  pale  and  pulseless ;  — the 
blood,  having  thus  suddenly  left  the  artencs 
and  external  vessels  of  the  body,  must  go 
somewhere  else.  Had  we  never  dissected  a 
person  who  had  died  of  faint,  we  shoula 
naturally  expect  it  to  settle  in  the  intetiial 
veins i  and  there  accordingly,  when  we  do 
dissect  the  bodies  of  sucn  persons,  wc  do 
find  the  greater  part  of  the  blood.  Now, 
this  was  what  first  misled  Dr.  MackiotodL 
On  opening  the  heads  of  subjects  who  had 
died  m  the  cold  fit  of  agae,  he  ahnost  mn- 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


127 


ft 


liably  found  the  veins  of  the  brain  gorged 
with  blood.  This  constant  Effect  of  every 
kind  of  exhaustion  he  at  once  presumed  was 
the  Cause  of  such  exhaustion.  Gentlemen, 
he  did  not  know  that  the  very  same  internal 
vascular  fulness  may  be  seen  on  opening  the 
bodies  of  those  who  died  of  Joss  of  blood ! 
To  prove,  however,  what  I  say, — to  demon- 
strate to  you  that  this 

CoNGieSTION, — 

this  bug-bear  of  medical  quidnuncs — instead 
of  being  the  invariable  eause,  is  in  reality 
the  invariable  effect  of  sudden  exhaustion,  I 
shall  now  read  to  you  one  of  several  experi- 
ments in  which  Dr.  Seeds  bled  healthy  dogs 
to  death.  The  editor  of  the  Medical  Ga 
'  zette  will  pardon  me  for  reading  it  from  his 
pa^;e8 ;  but  as  my  facts  have  been  sometimes 
said  to  be  *^  selected  facts,**  I  have  at  least 
this  answer  in  store,  that,  in  the  greater  num- 
ber of  instances,  they  have  been  selected 
from  the  writings  of  my  opponents. 

«*  All  the  larger  veins  of  the  legs,"  Dr. 
Seeds  tells  us, /'were  opened  in  a  small 
Bog.  At  first  the  pulse  was  accelerated — 
soon  after  it  became  slow  and  languid.  The 
heart's  motions  though  feeble,  were  never  ir- 
regular; and  indeed,  long  before  death,  they 
couJd  neither  be  seen  nor  felt.  Borborygmi 
[fatulent  ^uiglings]  were  earlv  heard  and 
lasted  along  time.  The  breathing  at  first 
was  hurried ;  soon  it  became  slow  and  la- 
borious, and  at  last  convulsive.  The  pupils 
were  frequently  examined:  they  became 
gradually  less  and  less  obedient  to  the  influ- 
ence of  light,  and  at  len^h  ceased  fo  con- 
tract altogether.  [That  is,  they  became  di- 
lated.] Slight  spasmodic  contractions  took 
place,  first  in  the  femoral  and  abdominal 
muscles:  then  the  head,  neck,  and  fore-le^, 
were  likewise  powerfully  afiected  with 
Bpasms,  [or  convulsions.]  At  this  time  a 
deep  sleep  seizeil  the  animal :  he  breathed 
Blowly  and  with  difficulty,  and,  for  a  little 
time  before  death,  respiration  at  intervals 
was  suspended  altogether.  [All  the  symp- 
toms of  apoplexy !]  Whenever  the  breatn- 
ing  was  strong  and  quick,  the  pupils  reco- 
vered &eir  tone,  and  the  blood  was  more 
strongly  propelled.  In  an  hour  death  closed 
the  scene."  Now  for  the  dissection : — "The 
Dissection  of  the  Head  was  first  begun. 
The  membranes  of  the  Brain  were  Ic^ed 
with  tui^id  vessels,  the  laiger  of  which 
were  of  a  very  dark  color.  A  bright  red 
spot  was  observed  near  the  comua,  where 
■ome  d^ee  of  sanguineous  effusion  had  ta- 
ken niace.  The  sinuses  were  fulf  of  blood, 
bi  aU  the  ventricles  there  was  more  or  less 
water  effused :  the  base  of  the  brain,  and  the 
€9ghth  and  ninth  pain  of  nerves,  were  inun- 


dated with  water.  A  net- work  of  red  ves- 
sels was  spread  round  their  origins,  and  the 
optics  were  in  the  same  state.  In  the  cervi- 
cal and  lumbar  regions  of  the  spinal  marrow 
there  was  a  considerable  degree  of  redness. 
The  right  side  of  the  heart  was  full  of 
blood ;  the  left  auricle  contained  a  little. 
Some  blood  was  found  in  the  large  veins, 
and  a  few  clots  in  the  thoraric  aorta.  The 
stomachs  and  all  the  intestines  were  tumid 
with  flatus ;  the  veins  of  the  mesentary  were 
turgid.  The  tuigid  state  of  the  veins  of  the 
head  was  very  remarkable :  indeed,  through- 
out the  whole  body  the  veins  were  tumid." 

Now,  Gentlemen,  if  anything  in  this 
world  could  open  the  eyes  of  "patliolodcal" 
professors, —  if  facts  or  reasoning  oi  any 
kind  could  possibly  move  thoscr  mechanical 
minded  persons,  who  plan  their  treatment  of 
living  men  from  what  they  see  on  dissecting 
dead  bodies, — this  and  similar  experiments 
ousht  surely  to  do  so.  For  here  you  not 
only  find  dilated  pupil,  convulsions,  deep 
sleep,  slow  and  ilifficult  breathing,  with 
other  apoplectic  symptoms,  the  efiecc  of  lit- 
erally bleeding  a  healthy  animal  to  death ; 
but,  to  complete  the  deception  of  such  as 
constantly  ascribe  these  phenomena  to  pres- 
sure on  the  brain,  the  cerebral  and  other 
veins  of  the  same  animal  were  found  after 
death  loaded  and  congested  with  blood 
throughout!  Nay,  in  addition  there  was 
water  on  the  Brain,  with  "some  degree  of 
sanguineous  effusion"  even.* 

Not  long  ago,  I  was  shocked  with  the  de- 
tails of  an  inquest  which  took  place  "be- 
fore the  coroner  for  Middlesex,  Mr.  Wakley 
who  is  also  the  editor  of  the  lancet.  The 
inquest,  according  to  the  report  in  that  paper 
was  held  on  the  body  of  a  man,  who,  m  the 
act  of  disputing  with  his  master  about  his 
wages,  *•  turned  suddenly  pale,  and  fell 
speechless  and  insensible  for  a  time,  breath- 
ing heavily  until  his  neckerchief  was  loosed. 
In  falling,  his  head  struck  the  edge  of  a 
door  and  received  a  deep  wound  three  inches 
lone,  from  which  blood  flowed  enough  to 
soak  through  a  thick  mat  on  the  floor."  Be- 
fore being  taken  from  his  master's  shop  to 
his  own  house,  he  recovered  sufficiently  to 
complain  of  pain  of  his  head,  and  this  fact 
I  beg  you  will  particularly  mark.  His  wife 
immediately  sent  for  "a  doctor :"  and  what 
do  you  think  was  the  first  thing  the  doctor 
did, — what  can  you  possibly  imagine  was 
the  treatment  which  this  wise  man  of  Goth- 
am put  in  practice  the  moment  he  was  called. 


^Kt  coDstantl/  b«ar  of  children  dying  of  "Water 
the  Brain."  I  scrapie  not  to  declare,  that  in  nine- 
ty-nine of  every  hundred  of  snch  eaaec.  the  water  in 
die  Bxaia  it  iifodaced  hj  the  lancet  or  leechM  of  th« 


doctot. 


1:28 


FaUacieA  of  the  FactiUj/> 


to  a  person  who  bad  fallen  down  in  a  faint, 
and  who,  from  injury  occasioned  by  the  fall» 
had  lost  blood  "  enough  to  soak  through  a 
thick  mat?"    Why,  to  bleed  him  again. 
And  what  do  you  think  was  the  quantity  of 
blood  he  took  from  him  ?    More  than  three 
pints!    The  landlady  of   the  house, — and 
she  was  corroboiated  by  other  witnesses, — 
swore  that  "she  thought  that  about  three 
and  a  fifth  pints  of  blood  was  taken  besides 
what  was  spilt  on  the  floor.    The  bleeding, 
she  calculated,  occupied  twenty   minutes. 
The  bandage  also  got  loose  in  bed,  and  some 
blood,  not  much,  was  lost  there  before  its 
escape  was  discovered.     He  had  convulsions 
on  Siaturday,  after  wliich  he  lay  nearly  still, 
occasionally  moving  his  head.      On  Sunday 
he  was  more  ej^hausted  and  quiet ;  in  the 
evening  he  was  still  feebler,  and  on  Monday 
afternoon,  at  ten  minutes  to  one,  without 
having  once  recovered  bis  sensibility  to  sur- 
loundmg  objects,    he    died."     Remember, 
Gentlemen,  he  did  recover  his  sensibility 
rfter  he  left  his  master's  shop,  and  only  lost 
it  affain  on  rented  bleeding.     And  how 
could  he  possibly  survive   such    repeated 
bleeding !    That  ne  died  from  loss  of  blood, 
was  the  opinion  of  every  person  who  heard 
the  evidence,  till  the  Coroner,  luckily  for 
"the  doctor,"  had  the  corsi  opened.     Then 
sore  enough,  just  as  in  the  case  of  the  dog  that 
was  bled  to  death,  the  internal  veins  were 
found  to  be  turgid  and  congested  tliroughout. 
received  by  this  very  constant  result  of  any 
great  and  sudden  loss  of  blood,  Mr.  Wakley 
and  the  jury  were  now  convinced,  not  that  the 
man  had  been  bled  to  death  but  that  he  had  not 
been  bled  enough!    One  of   the  strongest 
proofs  of  bad  treatment  was  thus  received 
as  evidence  of  the  best  possible  treatment 
under  the  circumstances,  and  a  verdict  pro- 
nounced  accordingly !     That  an  ignorant 
coroner  and  an  ignorant  jury  should  be  im- 
posed upon  in  this  mauner,  were  nothing 
very  wonderful ;  but  that  the  Editor  of  the 
lancet,  who  publishes  the  case,  and  who 
from  his  position  knows  every  thing  going 
on  at  the  present  time  in  the  medical  world, 
should  in  his  capacity  of  coroner  pass  over, 
without  a  word  of  reprobation,  a  mode  of 
practice  no  conceiyable  circumstance  could 
justify,  only  shows  the  lamentable  state  of 
darkness  in  which  the  profession  are  at  this 
very  moment  on  eYcry  tning  connected  with 
the  proper  treatment  of  disease !    When  St. 
John  Long,  or  any  other  unlicensed  quack, 
by  an  over  dose,  or  awkward  use  of  some  of 
our  common  remedies,  chances  to  kill  only 
one  out  of  some  hundreds  of  his  dupes,  he 
is  immediately  hunted  to  death  by  the  whole 
lacqlty  ;  bat  when  a  member  of  the  profes 
son  at  one  bleeding  takes  more  blood  by 


three  times  than  is  taken  on  any  occasion  by 
practitioners  who  kill  their  man  every  day 
with  the  lancet ;  not  from  a  strong  powerful 
man,  but  from  a  person  so  weakly  that  du- 
ring the  excitement  of  a  trifling  dispute  with 
his  master,  he  fainted  and  fell,  and  m  falling 
had  already  lost  blood  enough  to  soak 
thiough  a  tnick  mat;  not  a  word  of  blame 
is  said !  On  the  contrar^r  it  was  all  right,  or 
if  there  was  any  error,  it  was  on  the  safe 
side ;  if  Aich  things  be  permitted  to  be  done 
in  the  heart  of  the  metropolis,  not  only 
without  censure,  but  with  something  like 
praise  even,  homicide  may  henceforth  cease 
to  be  looked  upon  as  a  reproachable  act.— 
The  only  thing  required  of  the  perpetrator 
IS,  that  he  should  do  it  under  the  sanction  of 
a  diploma  and  secundum  artem ! 

But,  Gentlemen,  to  return  to  Ague,  and  the 
other  morbid  motions  which  lea  to  this  di- 

fression.  Some  of  you  may  be  curioiis  to 
now  how  so  fiimf  le  a  thing  as  the  Ligature 
can  produce  such  a  salutary  effect  in  these 
disorders.  I  will  tell  you  how  it  does  this, 
and  the  explanation  I  ojQTer.  if  received  as 
just,  will  afford  you  an  additional  proof  not 
only  that  these  diseases  have  all  their  com- 
mon origin  in  the  brain  ;  but  that  they  ate 
all  the  natural  conseouences  of  an  arrnt  or 
other  irregularity  of  the  atomic  HOVBMXim 
of  the  different  portions  of  that  organ ;  far 
to  the  diversity  ef  the  cerebral  parts,  and  the 
diversity  of  the  parts  of  the  body  which 
they  respectively  influence,  we  ascribe  the 
apparent  difference  of  these  diseases,  accor- 
ding to  the  particular  portion  of  the  brain 
that  shall  be  most  affected  by  some  outward 
agency.  Thus,  after  a  blow  on  the  vsxd, 
or  elbow  even,  one  man  shall  become  sick, 
and  vomit,  another  fall  into  convulsions,  a 
third  shiver,  fever,  grow  delirious,  and  be- 
come mentally  insane.  In  all  these  diseases 
the  atomic  movements  of  the  brain  being  no 
longer  in  healthy  and  harmonious  action,  the 
natural  control  which  it  exercised  m  faealth 
over  every  part  of  the  body,  must  be  Aen 
more  or  less  withdrawn  from  the  varioos 
nerves  through  which  it  influenced  the  entne 
economy.  The  consequence  of  all  this  is, 
that  some  organs  are  at  once  placed  in  a  state 
of  torpidity,  while  others  act  in  a  manner 
alike  destructive  to  themselves,  and  the  other 
parts  of  the  body  with  which  they  ore  most 
nearly  associated  in  function.  We  find 
palsy  of  one  oigan,  and  spasm  or  palpittttion 
of  another.  In  fact,  if  I  may  be  permitted 
to  use  so  bold  a  simile,  the  various  oivans 
of  the  body,  when  beyond  the  control  of  the 
Brain,  resemble  so  many  race-horses  that 
have  escaped  from  the  control  of  their  ri- 
ders— one  stands  still  altogether,  another 
moves  forward  vx  the  right  course  perbaps. 


FaUacies  of  the  Faculty. 


129 


bat    with   TacUlatiiig   and   uncertain  step, 
while  a  third  endangers  itself  and  every 
thiiig  near  it,  by  the  rapidity  or  eccentricity 
of  its  rooveiDents.     When  the  atoms  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  Brain,  on  the  contrary, 
act  in  haimony  with  each  other,  there  is  an 
equally  harmonious  action  of  every  organ  of 
the  body — supposing  of  course,  every  organ 
to  be  perfect  in  its  constiuction.      >Vhatever 
suddenly  arrests  or  puts  into  irregular  motion 
the  whole  cerebral  actions,  must  with  equal 
cel^ty  influence  the  previous  motive  con- 
dition of  every  membier  and  matter  of  the 
body — for  evil  in  one  case,  for  good  in 
another.    Were  you  suddenly  and  without 
any  explanation  to  put  a  ligature  round  the 
arm  of  a  neaJthy  persoo,  you  would  to  a  dead 
certainty  excite  his  alarm  or  surprise.    Now 
as  both  of  these  are  the  effects  of  novel  cere- 
bral movements,  should  you  not  thereby  in- 
fluef^ce  ill  a  novel  manner  every  part  of  his 
economy  ?    How  should  you  expect  to  in- 
fluence tt  ?    Would  not  most  men  in  these 
drcumstances,  tremble  or  show  some  kind  of 
muscular  agitation  ? — their  hearts  would  pro- 
bably padpitate — ^they  would  change'  color, 
becoming  pale  and  red  by  turns,  according  as 
the  brain  alternately  lost  and  recover^  its 
controlling  power  Dver  the  vascular  appara- 
tosL    If  the  alarm  was  very  great,  the  pallor 
and  tremor  would  be  proportionally  long. 
But  in  the  case  of  a  person  already  trembling 
and  pale  from  another  cause,  the  very  natursu 
eflect  of  suddenly  tying  a  ligature  round  the 
arm  would  be  a  reverse  efiect — for  if  the  ce- 
rebral motive  condition  should  be  thereby 
changed  at  all,  it  could  only  be  by  a  reverse 
movement ;  and  such  reverse  cerebral  move- 
ment would  have  the  efiectof  reversing  every 
previously  existing  movement  of  the  body. 
The  face  that  before  was  pale,  would  now 
become  redder  and  more  life-like ;  the  trem 
bling  and  spasmodic  muscles  would  recover 
their  tone;  the  heart's  palpitations  would  be- 
come subdued  into  healthy  beats ;  and  a  cor- 
responding improvement  would  take  place  in 
every  other  organ  and  function  of  the  body. 
The  ligature,  then,  when  its  application  is 
Bttccessful,  acts  like  every  other  remedial 
agency ;  and  a  proper  knowledge  of  its  mode 
01  action  s^fords  us  an  excellent  clue  to  the 
mode  of  action  of  medicinal  substances  gener- 
ally— all  of  which,  as  you  have  already  seen, 
and  I  shall  still  further  show,  are,  like  the 
ligature,  capable  of  producing  and  curing  the 
various  morbid  motibns  for  which  we  respec- 
tively direct  their  administration.    It  is  in 
this  manner  that  every  one  of  the  various 
passions  may  cause  or  cure  every  disease  you 
can  name — ^always  excepting,  as  I  have  said 
before,  the  properly  contagious  disorders.  The 
Biain,  GentlemeOi  is  the  principal  organ  to 


which,  in  most  cases,  you  sliould  direct  your 
remedial  means.  When  a  person  faints  and 
falls,  whatever  be  the  cause  of  such  faint — a 
blow,  a  puige,  or  loss  of  blood — the  first 
thing  to  be  done  is,  to  rouse  the  brain.  You 
must  throw  cold  water  on  his  face,  put  harts- 
horn, snuff,  or  burnt  feathers  to  nis  nose, 
and  a  little  brandy,  if  you  can  get  it,  into  his 
mouth.  You  may  also  slap  or  shake  him 
strongly  with  your  hand---if  you  can  only 
make  him  feel,  you  will  be  almost  sure  to 
recal  him  to  life ;  but  to  think  of  BLXjEDiNH^a 
person  in  such  a  state«~ha  !  ha !  After  all, 
this  is  no  laughing  matter ;  for  when  we  see 
such  things  done  m  the  nineteenth  century, 
we  should  rather  blush  for  a  profession  that 
would  endeavour  to  screen  any  of  its  mem- 
bers from  the  contempt  they  merit,  when  they 
have  so  far  outraged  everything  like  decency 
and  common  sense.  The  proper  treatment 
of  a  fit  of  fainting  or  convulsion,  should  be 
in  principle  the  same  as  you  may  have  seen 
practised  by  any  well-informed  midwife,  in 
ibe  case  of  cnildren  that  are  still-bom — 
children  all  but  dead.  You  may  have  seen 
the  ffood  lady  place  the  child  on  her  knee 
and  beat  it  smartly  and  repeatedly  with  her 
open  hand  on  the^hipsand  shoulders,  or  sud- 
denly plunge  it  ipto  cold  watei; :  now  while 
this  is  doing,  the  infant  will  often  give  a 
gasp  or  two  and  then  cry — that  is  ail  the 
midwife  wants.  And  if  you  will  only  follow 
her  example  in  the  case  of 

Infantile  Conyulsions, — 


which,  after  all,  are  the  very  same  thin^  as 
Epileptic  fits  in  tlie  adult, — ^you  will  often 
succeed  in  substituting  a  fit  of  crying,  which 
I  need  hardly  say,  is  attended  with  no  danger 
at  all,  for  a  spasmodic  fit,  which,  under  the 
routine  treatment,  is  never  free  from  it  Only 
get  the  child  to  cry,  and  you  need  not  trouble 
yourself  more  about  it,-for  no  human  creature 
can  possibly  weep  and  have  a  convulsion  fit 
of  the  epileptic  or  faintine  kind  at  the  same 
moment.  Convulsive  sobbing  is  a  phenome- 
non perfectly  incompatible  with  these  move- 
ments-for  it  depends  upon  a  reverse  action 
in  the  atoms  of  the  bram.  The  only  thing 
which  may  prevent  some  of  you  from  doing 
your  duty  on  such  occasions,  is  the  fear  ol 
offending  an  ignorant  nurse  or  mother,  who 
will  think  you  a  monster  of  cruelty  for  treating 
an  infant  so.  Gentlemen,  these  persons  do  not 
know  how  difficult  it  is  to  get  a  child  in  con- 
vulsions to  feel  at  all ; — and  in  proof  of  this, 
I  may  tell  you,  that  such  slaps  as  in  a  per- 
fectly healthy  child  would  be  followed  by 
marks  that  should  last  a  week,  in  cases  of 
this  description  leave  no  mark  whatever  af- 
ter the  paroxysm  has  ceased.  During  the  fit, 
the  child  is  so  perfectly  insensible  as  to  be 


tse 


/Suggestions  RdcUive  to  the  Cause  of  Sleep. 


literally  all  but  half  dead.  Now  this  brings 
to  my  mind  a  case  of  infantile  conyulsions, 
in  which  I  was  gravely  requested  to  meet 
an  old  woman  in  coneiuItation**-a  nurae  or 
midwife,  I  forget  which,  who  being  much 
with  children,  muM  necessarily  be  wonderful 
ly  cieyer  in  the  cure  of  th«r  diseases.  You 
■mil^,  doubtless,  that  1  should  be  asked  to 
do  any  thing  of  the  kind;  but  it  was  in  the 
case  of  the  child  of  a  relative  ;  and  relatives, 
you  know*  sometimes  take  strange  liberties 
with  each  other.  Still  it  was  not  altogether 
to  tell  you  this,  that  1  reverted  to  the  case 
in  question — it  was,  on  the  contrary,  to  show 
you  what  a  wise  person  she  proved,  the  fe< 
male  doctor  who,  on  this  occasion,  was  pro 
posed  for  my  coadjutor.  On  bein^  asked  by 
the  mother  what  should  be  done  m  the  case 
of  a  return  of  the  convulsion  fits,  the  old  lady 
answered,  **  Oh  madam,  yoa  must  let  the 
child  be  very  quiet  and  not  disturb  it  by 
noises  or  an^  thing  of  that  sort!" — which 
Bapient  advice  I  have  no  doubt  was  found 
one  of  the  best  antidotes  in  the  world  to  a 
state  in  which,  if  you  were  to  roar  till  your 
lungs  cracked,  you  could  not  by  any  possi 
Mlity  make  the  subject  of  it  hear  at  all. 

What  is  the  present  routine  treatment  of 
an  infant  tak^n  with  convulsion  fits  ?  That 
I  can  scarcely  tell  you ;  but  when  I  settled 
in  London,  some  four  years  aeo,  the  Court 
dqctors,  who,  of  course,  give  Uie  tone  to  the 
profession  in  the  country,  had  no  hesitation 
in  applying  all  at  once  the  Eight  lancets  of 
the  cupping  insftument  behind  the  ear  of  in- 
fants under  six  months  old, — and  that,  in 
some  cases,  repeatedly!  In  addition,  they 
were  in  the  habit  of  leeching,  purging,  and 
parboiling  the  poor  little  creatures  in  warm 
baths  !  If  mothers  will  really  suffer  their 
children  to  be  treated  in  this  manner,  surely 
they  only  deserve  to  lose  them.  The  strong- 
est and  healthiest  child  in  existence,  far  less 
a  sick  one,  could  scarcely  survive  the  rou- 
tine practice.  But  whether  you  believe  me 
or  not,  there  is  nothing  moie  true  than  what 
^e  Duke  says  in  the  play  of  The  Honey- 
moon, such  fits  are 


-seldom  mortal, 


Save  when  the  doctor's  sent  for. 

In  the  case  of  adult  epilepsy,  especially  at 
the  commencement  of  the  fit,  a  very  little 
thing  will  often  at  once  produce  a  counter 
movement  of  the  brain  sufficiently  strong  to 
influence  the  body  in  a  manner  incompatible 
with  Its  further  continuance.  The  application 
of  so  simple  a  means  as  the  beaturemay  then 
very  often  do  this  at  once  ;  but,  like  every 
other  remedy  frequently  resorted  to,  it  will  be 


sure  to  lose  its  good  e&ct  when  the  patient 
has  become  accustomed  to  it;  for  in  this  and  I 


similar  cases,  every  thing  depends  upon  the 
suddenness  and  unexpectedness  of  the  parti- 
cular measure  nut  in  practice  whether  your 
influence  the  Drain  of  a  patient  in  a  novel 
manner  or  not.   The  sudden  cry  of  •*  fite"  or 
"  murder,"  nay,  the  unexpected  smging  ol 
some  old  song,  in  a  situation,  or  under  cir- 
cumstances which  suiprised  the  person  who 
heard  %  has  charmed  away  a  ]»roxysm  of 
the  severest  pain.    In  the  anny,  the  unex- 
pected order  lor  a  march  or  a  battle  will  often 
empty  an  hospital.    The  mental  excitement 
thereby  produced,  has  cured  diseases  which 
had  baffled  all  the  efforts  of  the  most  experi- 
enced medical  officers.     In  the  words  of 
Shakspeare,  then,  you  may  positively  and 
literally 

Fetter  strong  madness  with  asilken  Viriod; 
Cure  ache  with  €ur,  and  agony  with  toards ! 


Snggtttions  relative  to  t)M  oaase  of  tletp. 
By  W1U.1AM  Smith,  Esq.  8urg«on,  Clifton. 

Sleep  appears  to  depend  on  a  retardation 
of  the  circulation  through  the  brain,  there- 
by producing  a  venous  condition  of  the 
blood  in  that  organ,  and  this  diminished  or 
retarded  circulation  may  probably  depend 
on  a  periodic  exhaustion  of  the  propelling 
powers  of  the  heart.  The  proofs  of  the 
nrst  portion  of  this  proposition  are  many, 
and  I  think  satisfactory. 

First.  Venous  congestion  of  the  brain, 
from  any  obstacle  to  the  return  of  the  blood 
will  produce  drowsiness,  stupor,  coma,  and 
finally,  apoplexy,  if  its  intensity  be  suffi- 
ciently great. 

Second.  In  sleep,  respiration  and  circula- 
tion are  performed  more  slowly  than  in  the 
waking  condition :  hence  a  change  in  d»e 
blood  of  the  brain  does  not  occur  so  itt- 
quently. 

Third.  Anii^al  heat,  and  its  causes,  re- 
spiration and  circulation,  are  feeble  in  by- 
bemating  animals  during  their  winter  sleep. 

Fourtli.  The  adult,  in  whom  the  reapirfr 
tory  and  circulating  systems  are  at  the  max- 
imum of  developement,  takes  less  sleep  than 
the  infant,  in  whom  the  nutritive  or  glan- 
dular system  is  in  full  activity,  but  in  whom 
the  respiratory  functions  are  at  their  mini- 
mum. 

Fifth.  Motion,  with  its  tendency  to  in- 
crease circulation  and  respiration,  prevents 
sleep. 

Sixth.  Hence  an  easy  and  quiet  positioo 
of  the  body,  and  all  the  means  which  tend 
to  favor  a  tranquil  circulation,  are  incen- 
tives to  sleep. 

Seventh.  Hence  tfaa  whole  claas  of  sedi 


Surgictd  Diseases. 


131 


tire  remedies  erentoally  produce  slowness 
of  the  heart*^  action  after  a  loiter  or  short- 
er staee  of  stimulation. 

Eighth.  Hence  the  desire  of  sleep  after 
exercise,  as  the  circulation  becomes  so  much 
dower  after,  in  proportion  to  its  accelera- 
tion during  it. 

Ninth.  From  the  same  cause,  v^ne  and 
all  sduQulantB  act  primarily  as  excitants;  and 
when  their  stimulation  oas  subsided,  the 
ciiculation  becomes  slow,  slightly  oppres- 
sed, and  drowsiness  supervenes. 

Tenth.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
warm  bath,  the  pulse  at  first  rising,  and 
subsequently  becoming  retarded. 

Eleventh.  Cold,  applied  to  the  head,  ra- 
pidly lessens  the  circulation,  and  tranquil 
flleep  is  sometimes  produced  by  this  meajis 
in  fierce  delirium,  and  in  violent  paroxysms 
of  insanity. 

Twelfth.  Motion  is  employed  as  a  reme- 
dial means  in  obviating  the  enects  of  opium. 
We  walk  the  patient  about,  and  so  keep 
^t  circulation  excited,  till  the  poison  is  got 
fid  of,  or  its  effects  shall  have  passed  off. 

Thirteenth.  Intense  cold  produces  slow 
and  retarded  circulation,  drowsiness,  and 
coma.  Hence  the  necessity  not  to  allow 
persons  exposed  to  its  infnience  to  cease 
nom  exercise,  which  supplies  the  necessary 
stiamlation  to  the  circulation.  A  celebra- 
ted surgeon,  in  describing  the  disastrous  re- 
treat from  Moscow,  says  "those  who  sat 
down  went  to  sleep,  and  those  who  slept, 
awoice  no  more." 

Fourteenth.  Hence  the  amount  of  fat  ani- 
mal food  which  is  not  only  eaten  with  im- 
punity by  those  who  are  exposed  to  great 
cold,  but  is  found  to  be  absolutely  essential 
to  maintain  the  proper  amount  of  circula- 
tion. 

Fifteenth.  We  have  sneezing  and  yawn- 
ing as  important  illustrations  of  the  effect 
of  an  accelerated  circulation  in  preventing 
sleep.  The  sneeze  is  a  forcible  expiration, 
after  which  a  deep  breath  is  taken  m  :  this 
ci  coarse,  produces  arterialization  and  sub- 
sequent circulation  of  the  blood.  Yawning 
is  a  prolonged  and  deep  inspiration,  and  in 
the  same  manner  has  the  enect,  for  a  time, 
of  keeping  up  the  attention,  by  furnishing 
to  the  Drain  a  fresh  amount  of  arterialized 
blood. 

Sixteenth.  Immersion  in  an  atmosphere  of 
carbonic  acid,  or  in  an  atmosphere  which 
contains  a  large  proportion  of  it,  will  produce 
drowsiness,  coma,  and  the  sleep  of  death. 

Seventeenth.  Breathing  oxygen  gas,  on 

-Ac  contrary,  will  produce  acceleration  of 

die  pulse,  and  all  tne  vital  functions,  and 

eventually  delirram. 

^I^teentfa.  In  delirium,  whether  attend- 


ed with  symptoms  of  power  or  debility, 
whether  of   the  sthenic  or  asthenic 


we  have  an  accelerated  pulse.  In  the  for- 
mer case,  as  we  lessen  the  excitement  by 
depleting  measures,  and  in  the  latter,  or  true 
delirium  tremens,  as  we  obtain  the  same  end 
by  the  use  of  narcotics,  sleep  gradually 
steals  on  the  patient,  and  delirium  ceases. — 
In  faet,  our  grand  object  is  to  lessen  the 
rafildity  of  the  circulation  through  the  brain, 
and  thus  induce  sleep. 

I  trust  that  these  very  imperfect  remarks 
may  call  the  atteution  of  the  readers  of  Tus 
Lancbt  to  this  most  interesting  subject,  and 
tend  to  elicit  more  observations  on  a  point 
which,  being  closely  connected  with  health 
and  disease,  is  peculizurly  worthy  of  investi- 
gation. Lancet, 

SUBOIOAL  DISEASES. 

Dr.  Alfred  Augustus  Harvey,  M.R.C. 
S.E.,  and  formerly  surgeon  in  the  Hon.  East 
India  Company's  Service,  has  forwarded  to 
us  for  publication,  the  following  account  of 
the  mode  of  procuring  a  radical  cure  for 
Hydrocele,  without  injection,  employed  by 
him,  at  intervals,  for  thirty  years,  suocess- 
fully: — First,  discharge  the  fluid  with  a 
trocar,  or  pocket  lancet,  and  then  apply  a 
warm  vinegar  poultice  all  over  the  scrotum, 
in  order  to  bnng  on  inflammation,  which 
generally  takes  place  in  a  few  hours,  and 
becomes  painful.  When  sufficient  inflam- 
mation has  been  excited,  remove  the  vinegar 
poultice,  and  apply  a  bread-and-milk  poul- 
tice. In  a  short  time,  the  pain  and  inflam- 
mation generally  subside,  and  the  cure  is 
completed.  Give  a  few  smart  doses  of  pur- 
ptive  medicine.  Dr.  Harvey  adds  the  sub- 
joined : 

"  Cure  for  Encysted  Tumours, — or 
Wens  of  the  Head,  or  other  parts  of  the 
body,  without  cutting  them  out."  First, 
make  a  longitudinal  cut  along  the  scalp. 
This  is  performed  with  little  loss  of  blood. 
Next  press  out  the  contents  of  the  cyst,  and 
apply,  freely,  alcohol  in  the  cavity,  with  a 
camel's  hair  brush.  Then  place  in  the  cav- 
ity, also,  from  two  to  six  grains  of  nitrate 
of  silver,  and  bring  the  edges  together  with 
strappings  when  inflammation  takes  place. 
Should  it  inflame  too  much,  apply  cold- 
water  dressings,  and  ^ve  a  few  doses  of  ac- 
tive purgative  medicine.  This  plan  has 
ever  been  found  to  complete  the  cure  in  a 
few  days. 

Fistula  in  Ano  (blind  external)  can 
often  be  cured  without  cutting,  by  injecting 
alcohol  the  whole  length  of  the  sinus,  three 
or  four  times  a-day,  until  it  brings  on  inflam- 
mation ;  when  that  takes  place,  the  cure  is 
generally  completed  in  a  short  time.    la 


132 


The  Gastric  Fluid. 


full  habits,  bleeding  by  ihe  arm  should  be 
practised,  if  required,  and  the  bowels  "open- 
ed pretty  freely,  before  the  alcohol  is  inject- 
ed. Should  the  inflammation  become  too 
severe,  it  should  be  regulated  by  poultice  or 
cold-water  dressings,  and  low  diet  should 
Btric^ly  be  attended  to.  Lancet. 

Tho  aattrio  Fluid,  Its  natnr*  and  propartUs. 
M.  Blondlot  has  recently  published  in 
Paris  a  treatise  on  digestion,,  detailing  very 
numerous  experiments  made  upon  a  dog,  in 
which  a  fistulous  opening  into  the  stomach 
was  maintained  for  upwards  of  two  years. 
The  gastric  juice  was  obtained  in  very  large 
quantities.  Submitted  to  distillation,  the 
fluid  passing  over  did  not  exhibit  the  slight 
est  acid  re-action,  whilst  the  residue  in  the 
retort  was  always  strongly  acid.  It  is 
therefore  certain  that  the  acid  of  the  gastric 
fluid  is  neither  hydrochloric  nor  acetic  acid, 
since  both  these  are  volatile.  The  gastric 
fluid  of  other  animalsjave  the  same  result 
on  being  distilled.  When  chalk  or  any 
other  carbonate  of  lime  is  added,  no  effer- 
vescence ensues,  which  further  proves  the 
acid  not  to  be  the  lactic.  M.  Blondlot  con 
eludes,  that  the  acid  re-actifln  of  healthy 
gastric  juice  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  su- 
perphosphate and  biphosphate  of  lime.  He 
•  adds,  1st.  "  That  there  is  no  other  acid 
which  can  remain  acid,  and  fail  to  decom- 
pose carbonate  of  lime.  2nd.  That  sulphu- 
ric acid,  added  to  gastric  juice,  precipitates 
an  abundance  of  sulphate  of  lime,  and  oxa- 
lic acid  precipitates  oxalate  of  lime.  3rd. 
Potass,  soda,  ammonia,  and  lime  water,  pro- 
duce abundant  precipitates  of  neutral  phos- 
phate of  lime.  4th.  The  calcined  ash  of 
gastric  juice  is  not  deliquescent,  dissolves 
without  effervescence  in  nydrochloric  acid, 
forming  chloride  of  calcium,  it  therefore 
contains  neutral  phosphate  of  lime,  the  ex- 
cess of  acid  being  drawn  off  in  the  calcina- 
tion. 

M.  Blondlot  also  made  many  experiments, 
to  determine  whether,  during  digestion  in 
the  healthy  stomach,  lactic  acid  is  formed 
by  the  transformation  of  sugar,  starch,  or 
other  substance,  and  his  conclusion  is,  that 
it  is  never  found.  He  could  never  find  even 
a  trace  of  it,  although  he  analysed  the  fluid 
expressed  from  the  contents  of  the  stomach, 
after  remaining  on  the  stomach  various  pe- 
riods. He  conceives  that  the  acid  of  the 
gastric  juice  prevents  the  lactic  acid  fermen- 
tation, just  as  other  acids  are  known  to  do 
under  other  circumstances.  In  confirmation 
of  this,  M.  Blondlot  relates  many  experi- 
ments  upon  birds  and  ruminatine  animals, 
which  shew  that  the  formation  oflactic  acid 


in  these  creatures  takes  place  only  in  those 
parts  of  the  alimentary  canals  where  no  acid 
is  present— hamely,  in  the  crop  of  birds,  the 
first  and  second  stomach  of  ruminants,  and 
the  cGPCum  of  man,  and  other  animals.    He 
first  proves  that  the  acid  found  in  these  ca- 
vities is  not  secreted  by  their  walls.    Feed- 
ing sheep,  goats,  chickens,  and  pigeons,  on 
food  d^titute  of  sugar,  and  examining  the 
fluid  found  in  the  cavities  mentioned,  he 
found  it  invariably  alkaline.    On  the  other 
hand,  the  addition  of  sugar  to  the  food  pro- 
duced an  acid  fluid  in  the  same  cavities 
which  proved  to  be  the  lactic.    The  con- 
tents of  the  ccecum  are  not  more  acid  than 
those  of  the  small  intestines,  exceut  sugar 
has  been  taken  in  the  food ;  but  when  su- 
ear  has  been  taken,  it  undeigoes  the  lactic 
fermentation  in  the  ccEcum.    These  experi- 
ments agree  with  those  of  Mr.  Ross,  pub- 
lished in  The  Lancet  for  January  and  Feb- 
ruary, 1844.    Tiedemann  and  Gmelin  found 
acid  in  the  crop  of  a  pigeon,  which  had  fed 
for  several  days  on  nothing  but  meat ;  but 
this,  as  M.  6londlot  shews,  probably^  had 
regurgitated  from  the  stonaach— an  accident 
reouirine  precautions  to  prevent,  after  death. 

M.  Blondlot  believes  that  the  digestive 
property  of  gastric  juice  depends,  not  on 
Its  obvious  chemical  constitution,  but  upon 
a  peculiar  organic  principle.  If  exposu  to 
a  temperature  of  104^  to  122*'  F.,or  higher, 
it  loses  entirely  and  irrecoverably  its  diges- 
tive powers,  although  to  all  appearance,  and 
even  as  to  its  composition,  as  noade  known 
by  analysis,  it  remains  unchanged.  With 
the  exclusion  of  the  air,  gastric  juice  may  be 
kept  for  two  years  without  loss  of  its  acti- 
vity ;  but  with  the  free  access  of  air,  it  pa- 
trifies  in  five  or  six  days,  although  the 
chyme  which  it  forms  from  nitrogenous  or- 
ganic substances  may  be  preserve  for  t^o 
or  three  months  without  change.  The  pt^ 
cipitation  of  all  the  lime  it  contains  does  not 
affect  its  activity,  nor  are  its  chlorides  indis- 
pensable, but  whatever  acts  upon  its  oiga- 
nic  constituents,  heat,  strong  alcohol,  or 
strong  acids,  or  which  removes  them,  sach 
as  ammal  charcoal,  chlorine,  tannic  acid,  or 
acetate  of  lead,  destroys  all  its  digestive 
properties. 

M.  Blondlot  also  shews — a..  That  coagu- 
lated albumen  resists  the  action  of  the  gas- 
tric juice  only  from  its  compact  form. 
When  coagulated  in  very  small  particles,  as 
white  of  egg  beaten  into  a  froth  and  poured 
into  boiling  water,  it  is  digested  as  quickly 
as  soft  fibrme.  b.  That  tbe  action  of  the 
stomach  in  coagulating  milk  is  not  due  to 
its  digestive  principle  solely,  but  to  its  acid, 
whicn  acts  like  lactic  acid.  c.  The  eflisct  of 
the  gasthc  fluid  upon  bones,  whether  entire 


Indian  Hemp  in  Traumatic  Tetanus. 


133 


or  not,  is  to  disintegrate  the  animal  matter 
slowly,  beginning  at  the  surface,  and  to  re- 
duce the  earthy  matter  into  a  fine  chalky 
powder,  but  without  dissolving  or  decompo- 
aing  it.  The  earthy  matter  not  being  dis- 
solFed,  proves  that  no  hydrochloric  acid 
bas  acted  upon  it,  but  it  all  is  discharged 
with  the  fieces. 

The  physiological  results  of  M.  Blondlot's 
experiments  confirm  those  of  M.  Beaumont, 
which  are  already  familiar  to  our  readers. — 
Lancet, 

ladlmn  Htmp  la  Tmunatte  Tttianiii. 

Bl^^.  PoTTBii.  r.L.8,  Surgeon  to  th«  Newcastle 
InfinBUT,  and  Lecturer  on  Surrerj,  at  the  New- 
«asllfr.oB.T7flie  School  of  Medicine  and  Snigeiy. 

Though  the  attention  of  the  profession 
has  been  frequently  directed  to  Indian  hemp 
as  a  medicinal  agent  in  the  treatment  of 
spasmodic  affections,  L  believe  that  its  pow- 
ers arc  not  yet  sufficiently  appreciated.  If, 
therefore,  you  will  allow  me  a  small  space 
in  your  valuable  publication,  I  will  mention 
a  case  in  which  I  lately  tried  this  medicine 
with  marked  good  e£lect.  A  young  man 
while  engaged  at  his  work,  Oct.  29,  1844, 
became  entanfled  in  the  belt  which  moved 
a  laige  wheel,  and  thus  received  a  severe 
laceiatioii  on  die  upper  part  of  right  thigh, 
exposing  the  femoral  vessels.  He  also  re- 
ceived several  other  iniuries.  He  was  im- 
mediately brought  to  the  Newcastle  Infir- 
mary, when  the  usual  treatment,  in  such  ca- 
ses, was  adopted.  The  case  proceeded  most 
favorably  until  the  twelfth  day,  when  S3rmp- 
toms  of  tetanus  appeared.  A  large  dose  of 
calomel  and  Dover's  powders  was  then  giv- 
en, and  as  no  good  effect  followed,  I  ordered 
lum  to  have  ten  grains  of  extract  of  Indian 
bemp,  and  to  repeat  the  same  dose  every 
two  or  three  hours,  if  required.  I  saw  him 
again  in  a  few  hours,  and  finding  that  his 
bowels  had  not  been  acted  upon  by  some 
purgatives  he  had  taken,  ordered  two  drops 
of  croton  oil  to  be  placed  on  the  tongue,  and 
the  following  injection: — Tobacco  leaves, 
one  scruple ;  boiling  water,  eight  ounces : 
macerate ;  strain  for  an  enema.  These  pro- 
duced free  action  in  the  bowels. 

In  consequence  of  the  difficulty  in  swal- 
lowing, I  determined  to  give  the  extract  in 
the  form  of  injection,  and  therefore  ordered 
him  to  have  the  following  enema  every  two 
hours:  Extract  of  Indian  hemp,  one 
scruple ;  strong  beef -tea,  six  ounces ;  mix. 
This  was  done,  and  the  injections  retained. 
No  violent  spasmodic  actions  took  place, 
%iit  the  back  became  gpdually  more  and 
more  arched,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to 
place  a  pillow  beneath.  The  extract  did  not 
«Biise  any  marked  B3rmptom  of  intoxication. 


though  it  evidently  produced,  at  intervals, 
calm  sleep. 

Without  suffering  any  pain,  the  disease 
gradually  progressed,  death  taking  place  on 
tne  fourth  day  after  symptoms  appeared. 

In  this  case,  four  drachms  and  two 
scruples  of  the  extract  were  administered, 
and  to  the  action  of  this  medicine  I  attribute 
the  freedom  from  pain  and  clonic  spasm, 
which  surely  is  sufficient  to  induce  any  one 
to  ^ive  this  remedy  a  full  trial  in  so  fearful 
a  disease. 

Before  I  conclude,  it  may  be  well  to  men- 
tion, that  no  abnormal  appearances  were 
detected  at  the  post-mortem,  to  throw  any 
light  on  the  pathology  of  this  disease. — 
Hmcet. 


A  Hew  Fr«p«ration  of  Oinohona  Bark. 

Mr.  M .  Donovan,  of  Dublin,  has  collec- 
ted a  considerable  amount  of  evidence  from 
numerous  medical  authors,  tending  to  prove 
that  the  alkaloids  of  the  barks,  quuiine,  cin- 
chona, &c.,  are  not  the  only  constituents 
which  give  those  barks  their  medicinal  pro- 

Serties,  but  that  their  anti-periodic  efficac/ 
epends,  in  part,  upon  other  m^edients,  and 
much  upon  the  combination  m  which  the 
alkaloids  are  found  in  the  natural  state  of 
the  bark.  The  sulphate  of  quinine  is,  at 
present,  the  form  most  commonly  employed 
out  many  authorities  are  adduced  bv  Mr. 
Donovan,  to  shew  that  it  cannot  in  all  cases 
be  depended  on. 

Under  the  impression  that  these  prelimin- 
aiy  points  are  proved,  Mr.  Donovan  pro- 
ceeds to  relate  his  experiments,  made  with 
the  view  to  obtain  an  agreeable  preparation  ^ 
containing  all  the  virtues  of  the  bark  in  a 
small  hu&.  «  Hitherto,"  he  says,  "  there 
has  been  no  way  of  exhibiting  bark  in  its 
full  powers,  except  in  the  state  of  powder 
which,  to  most  persons,  is  so  disgiutins  a 
dose  that  it  is  rarely  prescribed."  The  fol- 
lowing is  the  preparation  which  he  con- 
ceives aocomphshes  the  purpose: — 

Let  eight  ounces  of  yellow  bark,  in  coarM 
powder,  DC  digested  with  a  pint  of  proof- 
spirit  for  a  week,  in  <a  dose  vessel,  with 
frequent  agitation.  The  tincture  is  to  be 
fully  extracted  by  the  screw-press ;  the  resi* 
dum  is  to  be  digested  with  another  pint  of 
proof-spirit  for  a  week,  and  the  tincture 
again  expressed.  The  residum  is  now  to  be 
boiled  for  half  an  hour  with  a  pint  of  water, 
and  the  decoction  strongly  pressed  out.  The 
boiling  of  the  residum  a  second  and  third 
time,  with  a  new  pint  of  water  is  to  be  per- 
formed in  the  same  manner ,  and  then  the 
three  decoctions,  mixed,  are  to  be  evapora- 
ted by  heat  to  eight  ounces.  It  will  be  much     _ 


134 


Adulteration  o/Sttlphate  qf  QMinine. 


the  better  if  this  be  done  in  a  vacuum.  The 
Icnctuies,  mixed,  are  to  be  distilled  or  evapo- 
rated uDtil  eight  ounces  remain ;  and  these, 
still  boiling  hot,  are  to  be  added  to  the  eva- 
porated decoction.  A  pint  of  liquid  will 
thus  be  produced,  the  chief-  ingredient  of 
which  is  dikinate  of  quinina. 

To  this  liquid  add  315,31  grains  of  dinox- 
alate  of  quinina,  and  boil  for  a  few  moments; 
&en  add  21  troy  ounces  of  refined  suear, 
and  four  ounces  of  best  gum  arable,  both  in 
powder,  and  previously  mixed.  The  whole 
IB  to  be  kept  stirring  until  solution  is  effected, 
and  if  the  resulting  syrup,  when  cold,  does 
not  amount  to  32  ounces  by  measure,  water 
is  to  be  added  to  make  up  that  amount. 
When  cold,  filter  through  flannel. 

In  each  ounce  of  this  S3nrup  there  will  be 
16  ^rains'of  anhydrous  dikinate  of  quinina. 
This  syrup  is  twenty-five  times  stronger 
than  the  decoction  of  bark. 
^  It  remains  to  ofler  a  few  suggestions  rela- 
tiye  to  the  pharmaceutical  employment  of 
this  syrup.  In  general  it  may  be  used  in 
any  mixture  of  compatible  liquids,  when  the 
powers  of  bark  are  required,  and  when  the 
other  liquids  are  already  sufficiently  volu 
minous,  and  would  be  altogether  too  bulky 
if  decoction  of  bark  were  employed.  Thus, 
in  the^simultaneous  exhibition  of  decoctions 
of  bark  and  sarsaparilla,  in  equal  quantities 
the  smallest  efficient  dose  of  the  mixture  is 
six  ounces  three  times  a  day.  By  altering 
the  formula  to  fifteen  and  a  half  ounces  of 
decoction  of  sarsaparilla,  and  five  and  a  half 
drachms  of  syrup  of  bark,  the  same  powers 
are  exhibited  in  half  the  foregoing  bulk. 

The  following  contains  all  its  ener^  in 
a  state  of  perfect  development  and  activity, 
-    and  is  a  pleasant  carminative  tonic : — 

Cinnamon  water,  six  ounces  and  a  half ; 
epup  of  bark,  halif  an  ounce ;  compound 
tincture  of  bark,  an  ounce.  An  ounce  mea- 
sure of  this  mixture  is  equivalent  to  thirty- 
six  erains  of  bark  in  substance. 

When  bark  and  iron  are  indicated,  the  fol- 
lowing is  the  formula  in  which  the  least 
chemical  action  takes  places  between  the 
tannin  and  the  iron,  as  no  discoloration  ap- 
pears for  several  daya: — 

Precipitated  carbonate  of  iron,  syrup  of 
bark,  of  each  ^i  ounce.  Mix.,  Dose,  the 
size  of  a  small  nutmeg. 

The  strength  of  this  syrup  is  such,  that 
one  drachm  is  a  full  dose,  eitner  by  itself  or 
in  water.  Aromatjcs,  such  as  anise  or  fen 
kiel,  are  said  perfectly  to  mask  the  bitterness 
of  jHreparations  of  quinina.  M.  Pierquin  says 
that  thirty-two  grains  of  carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia conceal  the  taste  of  six  grains  of  sul- 
phate of  quinina,  without  interfering  with 
its  virtues. 


To  conclude:  this  prepaiation  of  baik 
seems  deserving  of  the  attentive  considera- 
tion of  physicians,  as  it  contains  all  that  is 
valuable  in  that  medicine,  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect preservation  and  full  energy.  It  nrc^ 
sents  the  active  ingredients  exactly  in  tkeir 
natural  state,  whicn  good  judges  have  decla- 
red to  be  in  many  forms  of  disease  absolute- 
ly necessary.  It  contains  nothing  but  what 
is  an  unaltered  proximate  principle  of  baik. 
The  form  is  commodious,  not  liable  to  spoil* 
ing,  is  less  disagreeable  than  any  other,  and 
may  be  renderea  even  agreeable. — Phmrm^ 
JoumaL 

Adnlt«ratioa  of  Snlphat*  of  QviniaOi  UMl  t 
Motliod  Of  dotoctiac  It. 

The  suphate  of  ouinine  of  commerce  is 
very  frequently  adulerated  with  salicinc.  If 
the  proportion  of  the  latter  alkaloid  present 
be  half,  or  even  one-fourth,  the  fraud  may 
be  detected  by  the  addition  of  concentratdi 
sulphuric  acid,  which  produces,  with  aali- 
cine,  a  characteristic  red  color.  But  if  no 
more  than  a  tenth  of  salicine  is  mixed  with 
the  sulphate  of  quinine,  this  red  color  is  not 
developed  by  the  addition  of  sulphuric  acid. 
In  order  to  detect  the  presence  pf  salicine  in 
this  or  lees  proportions,  this  alkaloid  must 
be  isolated.  For  this  purpose,  take  three  or 
four  grains  of  the  suspected  sulphate  of  quia- 
ine,  and  pour  on  it  a&out  six  times  itswe^ 
of  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  which  £s- 
solves  the  salt,  and,  if  salicine  be  presentr 
forms  a  soluti^  of  a  brown  color,  lust  like 
sulphuric  aci(f  soiled  by  some  ve&etable  mat- 
ter. To  this  add  carefully  and  gradually 
some  distilled  water,  until  a  white  precipi- 
tate appears.  This  will  probably  be  alicine, 
which  will  not  dissolve  in  a  moderatdy  di- 
lute acid  solution  of  sulphate  of  quinine. 
Filter  the  liquid,  and  collect  the  precipitate 
on  a  watch  glass,  and  it  will  now  produce, 
upon  the  addition  of  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid,  the  bright-red  color  characteristic  of  aa- 
licine.  If  too  much  water  be  added,  the 
precipitate  will  dissolve,  and  only  a  lojMe 
gelatinous  precipitate  will  form,  very  dim- 
cult  to  separate.  Journal  de  Chetnie  Mediuui* 

Spldomio  CTholera  treated  lif  Trantftislafr 
In  a  preceding  number  of  the  same  joor- 
nal,  several  extraordinary  cases  of  recovcnr 
from  the  late  epidemic  cholera  Aus  tieatw 
by  Mr.  Torrance,  are  recorded.  The  finis 
injected  consisted  of— Muriate  of  Soda,  * 
drachms,  carbonate  of  soda,  %  acrupks^ 
chloride  of  potassium,  7  grains,  water  (leis- 
perature  96»,)  2  quarts.  Of  this  aoji«tioBr 
as  many  as  10  quarts  were,  in  some  '^^ 
ces,  injected  into  the  system,  at  interwht. 
during  28  hours!— Xoncet. 


Miss  Mariineat^s  Repudiation  of  Mr.  GreenhovPs  Report.      131^ 


Miss  MartlBtss's  r«pwUmtloa  of  Mr.  Onaa* 
how's  Boport. 
It  Will  be  remembered  that  when  insert- 
ing our  analysis  of  the  pamphlet  of  Mr. 
Greenhow,  describing  the  medical  facts  of 
the  case  of  his  sister-in-law,  Miss  Martineau, 
we  stated  that  they  had  been  published  by 
that  gentleman,  with  the  full  assent  and  ap- 
pOYal  of  the  lady.    But  it  appears  from  a 
letter  of  Miss  Martineau,  published  in  The 
Observer^  London  news{)aper»  of    Sunday 
last,  that  Mr.  Greenhow,  in  supposing  that 
lie  had  obtained  the  consent  oi  the  patient, 
labored  under  a  '*  mistake  f  and  the  same 
letter   informs   us    that   Miss    Martineau 
considers  it  to  be  "  impossible  for  her  to  re- 
main under    the    supposition  of   concur- 
rence" in  the  publication.  She  admits,  how- 
ever, that  in  "  the  writing  and  the  reading  *' 
of  the  communications  which  passed  be- 
tween  her  and  Mr.  Greenhow  on  the  sub- 
ject, she  is  not  much  surprised  that  he  should 
have    been    thinking  of    one   thing  and 
speaking  of  another.  Miss  Martineau  says$ 
**  I  have  not  seennhe  report,  of  course,  and 
it  was  in  cinifolation,  I  believe,  ten  days  be- 
fore I  reodved  that  sliock  of  painful  amaze- 
ment which  your  declaration  occasioned.    I 
UBderstand  the  matter  thus  :— Yon  told  me 
that  certain  attacka  on  you  by  some  mem- 
bers of  your  profession  would  compel  you 
to  report  the  case,  profeasiotu^y,  in  self-de- 
fence.   By  a  strong  c^ort  1  abstained  from 
the  slightest  expression  of  my  natural  re- 
luctance,    iliis  respect  for  yoiur  bber^  of 
professional  self-defence  seems  to  have  been 
understood  by  you,  not  merely  as  acquies- 
cence but  participation.    In  reply  to  a  note 
from  you,  I  wrote  the  following  note,  which 
you  interpreted  (I  cannot  conceive  how)  as 
not  only  Goncorrenee  but  as  pomiseion  to 
uae  m  name  as  your  sanction  : — *  I  have 
no  nffit  or  wish  to  give  any  opinion  what- 
ever.   In  fulfilling  my  personal  obligations 
to  truth  and  science,  I  have  no  other  wish 
than  that  everybody  else  should  do  what  he 
believes  to  be  most  right.    This  was  one 
mistake  on  your  part;  another  arose  from 
a  similar  misapprehension.    Being  aware 
that  an  account  of  my  recovery  by  mesmer- 
ism must  appear,  I  proposed  ttiatyou  should 
transmit  to  tne  recorder  of  my  recovery,  for 
his  private  reading,  your  view  of  the  case, 
in  order  that  you  might  have  no  cause  of 
subsequent  complaint  of  misrepresentation. 
My  note  was  as  follows : — '  Dec.  6th,  I  said 
Mnd  him  your  statement,  doing,  I  trust,  full 
justice  to  your  excellent  temper  in  the  mat- 
ter.   Keep  in  mind  two  essential  things-— 
that  whatev»  is  ssud  about  the  various  dis- 
«ise8  attributed  to  me  is  pure  invention  on 
the  port  of  those  who  know  nothing  of  the 


matter ;  and  also  that  I  may  have  my  sense 
of  duty  about  communicatmg  the  benefits  I 
have  received  from  mesmerism.'  In  July 
you  were  so  struck  as  to  write  to  me,  *1 
cannot  but  feel  a  great  respect  for  the  influ- 
ence, whatever  it  be  called,  which  has  so 
improved  your  condition.*  Your  reply  waft— 
*  As  it  becomes  more  and  more  evident  that 
I  must  soon  lay  before  the  profession  a  com- 
plete report  of  your  case,  I  must  decline  fur-^ 
nishing  it,  in  the  meantime,  to  any  indivi- 
dual.' 

"  On  this  I  remarked  that  your  published 
report  would  answer  all  the  purposes  of  a 
private  statement  to  the  recorder  of  my  mes- 
meric recovery.  Of  all  conceivable  ideas, 
the  last  I  could  have  found  would  be  that  of 
being  made  in  any  dc^ee  responsible  for 
the  issue  of  a  shilling  pamphlet  of  the  kind 
that  I  am  told  yours  is.  A  professional  man 
may  be  eoabled  to  understand  the  shock 
caused  by  such  an  act ;  but  I  must  lament 
the  misapprehension  which  has  caused  yea. 
to  answer  for  any  one  but  yourself.  As  a 
mistake,  however,  I  take  leave  of  it,  and 
shall  forget,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  painful 
occasion  of  this  expfaoation.'' 

It  will  now  be  seen,  that  Miss  Martmeau'8 
physician.  Dr.  Greenhow,  was  compelled  to 
draw  up  and  publish  an  erroneous  histoiy  of 
her  case,  to  appease  the  agony  of  a  portion 
of  the  medical  profession,  opposed  to  inno<>^ 
vations  or  improvements  in  the  theory  and 
practice  of  the  old  astrological  schools  m 
which  they  were  educated,  and  known  un- 
der fbe  familiar  appellation  of  ''Old  Ladies 
in  Breeches." 

▲OASBMIB  DBS  SOISHOPS. 

Kotoarohos  of  MM.  Andral  snd  a«varret  oft 
the  Oompoiltioa  of  tho  Blood. 

MM.  Andral  and  Gavarret  have  commup 
nicated  the  results  of  their  further  researches 
on  the  composition  of  the  blood  in  disease. 
These  researches  tend  still  more  to  confirm 
the  law  which  they  previously  found  to  ex- 
i«t  witii  rderence  to  the  increase  of  fibrin  in 
iniSammatory  diseases,  and  its  decrease  in 
adynamic  In  four  cases  of  acute  meningitis, 
free  from  complication,  which  terminated 
fatally,  (a  malady  that  they  had  not  yet  been 
able  to  study  under  this  point  of  view,)  the 
blood  drawn  from  the  first  bleeding  did  not 
present  more  fibrin  than  in  the  natural  state. 
As  the  symptoms  became  more  decidedly  in- 
flammatory, the  quantity  of  fibrin  increased 
from  two-eighths  to  three-fourths,  and  at 
last  to  five-fourtha;  so  that  even  before  the 


136 


Academie  des  Sciences. 


nature  of  the  symptoms  had  dearly  an- 
nounced the  transformation  of  a  simple  con- 
tinued fever  into  inflammation  of  the  menin- 
ges, the  increase  in  the  quantity  of  the  fibrin 
contained  in  the  blood  forewarned  it,  con- 
fitituting  the  first  evidence  of  its  manifesta- 
tion: in  these  four  cases  of  meningitis,  the 
autopsy  rendered  it  possible  to  appreciate,  to 
their  full  extent,  the  changes  which  took 
place  in  the  meninges  and  encephalon. 

In  several  cases  of  saturnine  epileps) ,  the 
quantity  of  fibrin  was  normal,  a  circum- 
stance which  corresponds  with  our  idea  of 
the  disease.  In  a  case  of  jaundice,  with  pain 
in  the  right  hypocondrium,  tumefaction  of 
the  liver,  and  lebrile  re-action,  the  quantity 
of  fibrin  had  increased :  as,  also,  in  women 
who  presented,  several  months  after  deliv- 
ery, the  symptoms  of  a  slight  degree  of  in- 
flajnmation  of  the  uterus, and  of  the  annexed 
organs;  in  a  case  of  phlegmon  of  the  right 
iliac  fossa,  which  appeared  on  a  woman  de- 
livered a  few  weeks  previously ;  in  a  para- 
lytic female,  when  an  eschar,  that  had 
formed  on  the  sacrum,  separated ;  and  lastly, 
in  a  case  of  erythema  nodosum. 

In  forty  cases  of  typhoid  fever,  free  from 
complication,  the  quantity  of  fibrin  always 
remained  below  four,  and  lowered  even  as 
hi  as  two  and  one.  In  these  forty  cases 
there  was  a  complete  analogy  between  the 
diminution  in  the  amount  of  fibrin  and  the 
adynamia. 

The  blood  of  a  person  who  died  from  pur- 
pura haunorrhagica,  only  contained  0.9  of 
fibrin,  and  there  was  only  0.6  in  the  blood 
of  a  man  oi  fifty  years  of  age,  who,  whilst 
bein^  treated  at  the  Charite,  for  cirrhosis  of 
the  hver,  accompanied  by  its  ordinary  symp- 
toms, an  at  once  fell  into  a  state  of  extreme 
prostration,  with  fever  and  delirium.  When 
the  bodies  of  these  two  patients  were  open- 
ed, the  only  anatomical  data  which  had  any 
reference  to  the  last  s^rmptoms  which  they 
presented,  were  a  liquid  state  of  the  blood 
in  the  heart  and  the  large  vessels,  and  ecchy- 
moees  in  different  parts  of  the  sub-serous 
and  sub-mucous  cellular  tissues. 

The  above  results,  substantiating  the  pre- 
vious researches  of  MM.  Andral  and  Gkivar- 
ret  in  every  respect,  they  are  inclined  to 
think  that  the  examination  of  the  varying 
proportions  of  the  fibrin  of  the  blood  in  cer- 
tain diseases,  may  be  of  great  use  to  deter- 
mine the  nature  of  disease,  and  to  assist 
diagnosis. 

mM.  Becquerel  and  Rodier  have  likewise 
presented  to  the  Academy  an  analysis  of  re- 
searches similar  to  those  of  M.  Andial. — 
They  have  arrived  at  precisely  ^e  same  re- 
sults. Bur  they  have  also  ascertained  two 
new  facts :    Firstly,  that  the  proportion  of 


cholesterine  incre<ises  in  the  blood  from  for- 
ty to  fifty  years  of  age,  as  well  in  woman  as 
in  man.  Secondly,  that  the  proportion  of 
this  substance  increases  along  with  that  of 
the  fibrin  in  inflammatory  diseases,  whereas, 
on  the  contrary,  the  albumen  diminishes. 

On  the  Deg«neresen«e  of  Vaooine  Matter. 

M.Viard  has  be^n  performing  comparative 
experiments  in  order  to  ascertain  the  differ- 
ential characters  of  the  developement,  pro- 
gress, and  duration  of  the  eruption  of  the 
vaccine  matter  taken  from  the  cow  in  1836 
and  1844.  The  following  are  the  conclu- 
sions at  which  he  has  arrived :  It  is  not,  as 
is  generally  supposed,  in  the  degree  of  de- 
velopment of  tne  vaccinal  postules  on  the 
eighth  or  ninth  day,  that  we  must  look  for 
the  degeneresence  of  the  vaccine  matter ;  bat 
in  the  progress,  and  more  especially  in  the 
duration,  of  the  eruption,  which  diminishes 
progressively.  In  1836,  the  vaccine  of  Jen- 
ner,  after  nine  and  thirty  years  sojournation 
in  the  economy  of  man,  gave  rise  to  postules 
which,  on  the  twelfth  day  were  perfectly 
dried;  whereas  nostules,  originating  from 
vaccine  matter  taken  from  the  cow  that  year, 
dried  only  on  the  seventeenth  day.  At 
present,  the  vaccine  of  1836  dries  on  the 
thirteenth  or  fourteenth  day;  whereas  that 
recently  taken  from  the  cow  (1844)  only 
dries  on  the  seventeenth.  Thus,  in  sojourn- 
ing eight  years  in  man,  the  vaccine  of  1836 
has  decreased  in  its  power  of  keeping  op  the 
eruption.  M.  Yiard  consequently  concludes 
that  vaccine  matter  should  be  procured  freah 
from  the  cow  every  five  or  six  years. 

Lanca, 

The  Sex  of  the  Ohlld  aa  a  Oaoae  of  Diflealtf 
and  Oanger  la  finman  Partwitieii. 

Professor  Simpson  announces,  and  vciy 
adequately  supports,  the  following  proposi- 
tions in  the  last  number  of  the  JSoinbuii^h 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal : — 

1 .  *<  Of  the  mothers  that  die  under  par- 
turition and  its  immediate  consequences,  a 
much  greater  proportion  have  given  birth  to 
male  tnan  female  children.** 

2.  "Among  labors  presenting  moibid 
complications  and  difficulties,  the  child  ts 
much  oftener  male  than  female." 

3.  "  Amongst  the  children  of  the  moth- 
ers that  die  from  labor  or  its  conseqncnc«, 
a  larger  proportion  of  those  that  are  still 
bom  are  male  than  female ;  and,  on  the  con- 
trary, of  those  that  are  bom  alive,  a  larja 
proportion  are  female  than  male.** 

4.  "  Of  still-born  children  a  larger  pro- 
portion are  male  than  female.** 

5.  "Of  the  children  that  die  during  «e 
actual  progress  of  parturition,  the  number 


ParhcrUum.     Ventilation.     Thymus  Gland. 


137 


I 


of  males  is  much  greater  than  the  number 
of  females." 

6.  '<0f  those  children  that  are  bom 
ali>re,  more  males  than  females  are  seen  to 
suffer  fimn  the  morbid  states  and  injuries  re- 
sulting horn  parturition." 

7.  "  More  male  than  female  children  die 
in  the  earliest  periods  of  infancy  ;  and  the 
disproportion  between  the  mortality  of  the 
two  sexes  eradually  diminishes  from  birth 
onwards  tifi  some  time  subsequently  to  it." 

8.  *<0f  the  children  that  die  in  utero, 
and  before  the  commencement  of  labor,  as 
large  a  proportion  are  female  as  male." 

9.  "Of  the  morbid  accidents  that  are  lia- 
ble to  happen  in  connexion  with  the  third 
staffe  of  labor,  as  many  take  place  with  fe- 
male as  with  male  births. 

10>  "  The  average  duration  of  labor  is 
longer  with  male  than  with  female  chil- 
dren-" 

11.  *'More  dangers  and  deaths  occur 
both  to  mothers  and  children  in  first  than 
in  subsequent  labors." 

The  number  of  facts  which  Dr.  Simpson 
brings  forward  in  support  of  his  views,  ex- 
tends his  communication  to  a  great  length. 
Hie  subject  is  treated  with  characteristic 
ability,  and  those  for  whom  it  has  an  inter- 
est Wili  here  find  a  fund  of  valuable  practical 
in/oimation.  The  author  concludes  with  the 
following  startling  announcement: — 

**  The  official  returns  of  the  mortality  of 
England  and  Wales  have  only,  as  yet,  been 
coined  for  somewhat  upwards  of  seven 
years-^yiz:  from  1st  July,  1837,  to  the 
present  date.  If  the  calcuhitions  we  have 
abneady  given  are  accordant  with  truth,  (and 
we  beueare  them  to  be  much  within  the  lim- 
its,) there  have  been  lost  in  Great  Britain, 
during  that  limited  period,  as  a  consequence 
of  the  slightly  larger  siee  of  the  male  than 
of  the  female  head  at  birth,  about  50,000 
Ihres,  including  those  of  about  46,000,  or 
47,000  infants,  and  of  between  3000  and 
4000  mothers  who  died  in  childbed.  Lancet. 

nivstratioBs  •f  th«Iiiiportsao«of  Ventilation. 

Mr.  Squire,  in  the  last  month's  number  of 
die  Pharmafentical  Journal,  gives  the  fol 
lowing 

'<  l^e  usual  amnd  gas-burner  consumes 
about  five  cubic  feet  of  gas  per  hour,  pro- 
ducing rather  more  than  five  cubic  feet  of 
earbonic  acid,  and  nearly  half  a  pint  of 
water^ 

«*Saiop6  using  diirty  of  these  lights, 
derefore,  in  an  evening  of  four  hours,  pro- 
duce upwards  of  nine  gallons  of  water, 
holding  in  solution  the  noxious  products  of 


<'An  argand  lamp,  burning  in  a  room 
twelve  feet  nigh  and  twelve  feet  square,  con- 
taining 1728  cubic  inches  of  air,  with  clo- 
sed doors  and  windows,  produces  sufficient 
carbonic  acid,  in  rather  more  than  three 
hours,  to  exceed  one  per  cent.,  which  is  con- 
sidered unfit  for  respiration,  and  when  it 
amounts  to  ten  per  cent.,  it  is  fatal  to  life. 

"  A  man  makes  on  an  average,  twenty 
respirations  per  minute,  and  at  each  respi- 
ration inhales  sixteen  cubic  inches  of  air : 
of  these  320  cubic  inches  inhaled,  thiity- 
two  cubic  inches  of  oxygen  are  consumcMl, 
and  twenty  five  cubic  inches  of  carbonic 
acid  produced." 

On  tiN  ose  of  tho  Thymvs  Olsad. 

**Dr.  Picci,  after  glancing  at  the  theories 
of  his  predecessors,  sugeests  that  the  use  of 
this  gland  is  chiefly  of  a  mechanical  na- 
ture— viz :  to  occupy  a  certain  space  within 
the  thoracic  cavity,  while  the  lungs  remain 
unexpended  in  the  fcetus ;  and  thus  to  pre- 
vent tbe  ribs  and  sternum  from  falling  in  too 
much  upon  these  vital  organs.  The  size  of 
the  thymus  is  inversely  as  the  volume  of  iht 
hings;  and,  when  the  latter  become  dilated 
after  birth  by  the  admission  of  air  into  their 
cells,  the  former  immediately  begins  to 
shrink  and  become  atrophied.  In  truth,  it 
is  only  in  the  adult  that  the  thoracic  parietea 
are  moulded  completely  upon  the  lungs ;  for, 
in  infancy  and  youth,  it  is  rather  the  thymus 
gland  that  is,  m  their  place,  moulded  upon 
Uie  thorax. 

"  The  situation  of  this  gland  in  the  ante- 
rior mediastinum,  and  along  the  median  line, 
the  very  nature  of  its  tissue*  and  the  greater 
expansion  and  developement  of  its  inferior 
half,  are  adduced  as  aiguments  in  favor  of 
the  opinion  now  adducM.  Besides  the  well 
known  circumstance  that,  in  those  new- 
bom  children  in  whom  the  thorax  is  very 
laigely  developed,  the  thymus  continues  to 
increase  gradually  even  to  tbe  end  of  the 
second  year,  it  deserves  notice  that  all  those 
animals,  in  which  the  lungs  are  similar  to 
those  in  the  human  subject,  are  provided 
with  this  gland ;  whereas,  we  fiud  it  to  be 
entirely  wanting  in  those  which  breathe  by 
branchie,  or  membranous  lungs.  In  hyber- 
natinff  animals,  also,  the  thymus  exhibits  al- 
ternations of  enlargement  and  decrease,  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  the  respiratory  oigans. 
In  the  amphibia  It  attains  its  maximum  of 
development." 

«The  circumstance,  too,  of  the  gland 
bein^  usually  rather  larger  than  ordinary  in 

{>hthisical  patients,  may  be  mentioned  as 
ending  some  probability  to  the  view  propo- 
sed.**— Mid,  thiir.  Review. 


138 


Oahanism.    CKUnide  of  IAm4t.    Chui  DiuQ»es. 


(HlTaxilsm  appltod  to  tk«  treatment  of  Uterine 
Htomorrhage,  ete. 

Dr.  Kadford  says  that  he  has  pursued  this 
practice  with  ^eat  success,  in  cases  of  hae- 
morrhage, accidental  or  unavoidable,  accom- 
panied oy  exhaustion,  and  occurring  before, 
during  or  after  labor.    He  adds — 

"  I  am  satisfied,  from  positive  trial  of  the 
remedy,  that  it  will  be  found  a  most  impor- 
tant agent  in  tedious  labor,  depending  upon 
want  of  power  in  the  uterus,  and  where  no 
mechanical  obstacle  exists.  1  would  also 
su£;ge8t  the  probability  of  its  i)roving  valu- 
able in  origmating  uterine  action  de  novo. 


in  cases  where  it  may  be  considered  neces- 
sary, to  induce  premature  labor.  It  seems 
to  me  also  to  be  worthy  of  trial  in  certain 
cases  of.  menorrfaagia'  in  the  ungnivid  state, 
where,  on  vaginal  examination,  the  uterus 
fa  found  to  be  atonic,  aa  evidenced  by  its 
large  flaccid  condition,  and  the  patulous  siate 
of  the  OS  uteri." 
The  remedy  is  thas  applied : — 
**  The  brass  ball  of  tne  vaginal  conductor 
is  to  be  passed  up  to  the  os  uteri,  at  inter- 
vals, on  to  various  parts  of  this  organ ;  at 
the  same  time,  the  other  conductor  must  be 
applied  to  the  abdominal  parietes  over  the 
fundus  uteri.  Shocks  laay  be  also  passed 
txansversely  through  the  uterus,  bysimulta- 
neouslv  appl}ring  the  conductor  on  each 
side  of  the  oelly. 

<*  The  application  should  be  used  at  inter* 
vals,  so  as  to  approximate  in  its  efects,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  to  the  natund  pains.  It 
may  be  continued  until  it  meets  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  case."— Xancee. 


In  the  same  journal,  Dr.  Radcliff  HaU  re- 
commends 

TkeUse  of  Chloride  of  Xdfanoln  DieeaMs  at- 
tended with  Oontagioaa  Diecharge. 

*'  Gononrh<Ba. — (n  the  first  sta^,  before 
the  discharge  has  become  completely  puri- 
form,  or  the  scaldinx  great,  a  single  injection 
of  about  two  fluid  orachms  of  the  strong  so- 
lution will  always  put  a  stop  to  the  disease, 
either  in  a  first  or  subsequent  clap.  In  the 
second  stage,  when  there  is  considerable  dis- 
charge of  pus,  and  more  nain,  several  uijec- 
tions  are  required.  In  gleet,  provided  the 
dischar^  be  not  kept  up  by  some  structural 
change  in  the  urethra,  the  strong  injection  is 
Likewise  useful,  but  not  to  so  striking  an 
extent  The  effects  of  injecting  the  strong 
solution  are,  sharp  pain,  and  often  erection 
for  the  moment,  slight  puffiness  and  eversion 
of  the  orifice  of  the  urethra,  and  tej^demess 
on  pressure,  and  a  feeling  of  unusual  firm- 
ness for  two  or  three  inches  down  the  cor- 
pus spongiosam,  where  these  did  not  already 


exist  Ib  a  short  time,  the  pain  subsides, 
and  in  a  quarter  or  half  an  hour,  a  serous 
discharge  issues  from  the  mouth  of  the  ure- 
thra." 

Purulent  Ophthahnia,  Dr.  Hall  has  treated 
with  like  success.  He  thus  uses  the  solu- 
tion:— 

"  The  eyelids  are  slowly  and  gently  sep- 
arated until  the  eomeacan  be  seen,  when 
that  is  manageable,  and  all  secretion  it 
wiped  away  with  a  fine  soft  sponge.  A  lam 
birahy  camel-hair  pencil,  charged  with  the 
strong  solution,  is  then  insinuated  benesA 
the  upper  eyelid  and  swept  round  &e  froat 
of  the  eye ;  the  pencil  is  again  chaiged  with 
the  solution  and  applied  to  the  everted 
Iow«r  lid.  Unless  Blenty  of  the  fluid  be 
thus  applied,  the  application  will  be  equaih 
painful  but  less  efl&ctuaL  There  is  consid- 
eiable  pain,  of  a  smarting,  burning  (^aiae- 
ter,  for  half  an  hour  or  longer,  and  the 
akeady  swollen  eyelids  become  still  Bore 
tumid  and  prominent  This  tumelaetioD  is 
(Bdamatous  in  character,  the  skin  losing  ia 
some  measure  its  peculiar  redness,  and  be- 
coming more  transparent  In  a  few  honn^ 
a  serous  discharge  oozes  out  from  between 
the  eyeUds,  and  the  swelling  pwtiaUy  eub- 
sides.  This  is  followed  by  secretion  « 
matter,  but  after  two  orthiee  api;Ucatiofls  of 
the  chloride,  in  perceptibly  diminished  ^• 
tity,  the  discharge  cradually  k»es  its^- 
racteristic  yellow  color,  and  is  seen  m  flakes 
OB  opening  the  eyelids.  After  tluee  ^ 
more  apphcations,  the  eyelidt  no  longer 
0well  as  they  did  after  the  first,  and  the 
pain  is  much  less.  The  eyes  are  kept  cws 
with  warm  water,  nailer  never  bciag  so- 
fered  to  collect  beneadi  the  upp^  ^\^ 
little  spermaceti  ointment  b  smeared  en  tl|e 
edges  of  the  eyelids,  and  the  strong  solvitiSB 
is  applied  once  in  every  twenty-foiBr  hoo*» 
until  the  secretion  ceases  to  be  in  die  M 
degree  purifonn.  No  other  treatment  whet- 
ever  is  necessary." 

Oontrihvtlena  to  the  DIagaosie  and  Patkeleff 
9i  OhMt  Sfiieasea, 

Under  this  titk  Mr.  Mac  DonseU  oien 
some  raluahle  facts  and  obeervaUons  in  » 
last  number  of  the  Dublin  Journal.  Atpage 
74  of  the  Lancet  for  April.  IMA,  weg« 
an  analysis  of  an  essay,  by  the  same  w^ 
tiemaa,  on  the  "  Diagnosis  of  EbW*""' 
Of  this  form  of  disease  his  preeenuoaaa*' 
nication  affords  another  example.  TtMtm 
is  chiefly  remaricaMe  for  the  deee  !•■*• 
bknce  which  it  presented  in  its  ^^^^ 
general  symptoms,  and  in  many  ^^Jr^l 
sical  sig&B  to  tubercular  conawpoon.  ™^ 
were  present,  emaciation,  puruient  a«pt«»* 


Elegant  Esi9mU.    Rsnwval  of  a  Coin/rum  the  Larynx.     139 


Mtion,  hectk  ierer,  macous  rales  at  the 
apex  oi  the  afl^ted  side  of  the  chest»  and 
various  other  sisiis,  which  would  at  once 
hsjre  led  a  superficial  or  ignoiaot  inquirer  to 
amre  at  the  most  unfavorahle  prognosis. 
A  aouiid  knowledf^  of  the  phenomena  of 
diest  pathology  discovered,  howerer,  suffi- 
cient pounds  K>r  a  diflierent  conclusion,  and 
the  disease  was  pronouced  to  be  Empyeioa. 
Hie  progress  of  the  ease,  ^nd  the  final  re- 
eoYery  of  the  patient,  afforded  the  most  sat- 
iafiactoiy  evidence  of  the  accuracy  of  this 
opinion. 

On  the  lustory  of  this,  and  of  eight  other 
eases  of  empyema,  the  author  founds  the 
following  proposition : — 

**That  purulent  expectoration  in  empy- 
ema, thou^  attended  by  quick  poise,  sweat- 
ing, eoiaciation,  and  other  hectic  symptoms 
is  not  indicative  of  tubercular  or  pnem^onic 
ahseess,  unless  accompanied  by  unequivocal 
physical  signs  of  these  lesions;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  it  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  conse- 
quence of  an  efiprt  of  the  constitution  to  get 
nd  of  a  large  collection  of  matter  by  one  of 
theoidiaary  emunctories." 

Gangrene  of  the  lun^  also  might  have 
ieen  supposed  to  have  been  present  in  this 
oase^as  the  breath  and  expectoration  were 
flZtiemeJy  Isetid.  The  saa^  characters  were 
also  present  in  certain  other  cases,  which 
termiimted  fatally,  showinji^  that  no  such 
ooiiditjon  of  the  lui^g  existed.  Dr.  Mac 
*  Dcmnell  ofiers  the  following,  and,  we  believe 
oonect  ejq^anation  of  the  phenomenon . — 

*•  In  warn  cases,  we  have  a  quantity  of  pus 
and  ail  oocupyii^  the  minute  tubes  and  air 
oells,  and  having  but  an  imperfect  commu- 
nication  with  the  external  atmosphere,  ow- 
iae  to  ^e  larger  tubes  being  nearly  oblitera- 
tea  by  the  compression  to  which  the  king  is 
subjected  by  the  fluid  of  the  empyema,  and 
in  this  way  they  act  chemically  on  each 
otiKr,  and  produce  a  decomposition,  giving 
jtise  to  the  intolerable  odour  which  both  the 
pus  and  expired  air  soon  acquire.  In  fact, 
the  same  phenomena  are  observed  in  these 
eases  as  in  an  ordinary  abscess,  the  matter 
pf  which  may  be  healdiy  and  odourlew  on 
its  being  <^)ened,  but  soon  becomes  altered 
in  these  respects  when  air  enters  the  sac 
and  acts  upon  its  contents,  which  then  be- 
come bad  in  quality  and  offensive  in  odour. 
This  view  is  borne  out  by  what  was  noticed 
in  the  present  case — viz.,  that  the  breath 
was  not  fotid  during  ordinary  expiration, 
but  became  so  immediately  after  coug^g, 
by  which  the  air  pent  up  in  the  remote  tubes 
was  expelled,  wnilst  tnat  taken  in  during 
ordinary  inspiration  was  exhaled  devoid  im 
odour." 

A  Wwi  synchroDons  with  the  heart's  ac* 


tion  was  heard  durine  the  progress  of  the 
case,  at  the  left  side  of  the  spine.  It  disap- 
peared with  the  effusion.  Further  investi- 
gation will  probably  show  this  to  be  a  sign 
of  some  importance  in  acquiring  information 
as  to  t^e  actual  physical  relations  of  the 
parts  within  the  chest. — Lancet. 


ELEOAHT  fiZTHAOT. 
Mom  food  for  tlio  Old  Ladies  in  Breeohos. 
MssMsaisM  AMD  Miss  Martineau. 
"  We  do  not  know  whether  to  congratu- 
late or  condole  with  the  talented  Heroine  of 
Political  Economy  ou  the  strange  dream  that 
has  come  o'er  her  soul.    It  appears  that  ^. 
Miss  Martineau  recovered  her  health  and — 
we  were  nearly  saying— lost  her  senses!      ^ 
But  this  is  not  the  case — ^she  has  acquired 
an  aditional    sense — cLAiavoYANCE !    Her 
maid,  Bettt,  placed  her  hand  on  her  mis- 
tress's ivory  forehead,  and,  presto,  a  Steam- 
Tuo  that  was  passing  became  metamorphos- 
ed into  a  cdiip  of  celestial  glory,  fringed 
with  gold  and  silver,  and  lit  to  l)e  'a  God- 
head's dwelling.' 

Its  all  in  my  eye  Barrr  Mabtin— cau  ! 

Betty,  however,  is  no  fool.  She  prescribed 
ale  and  brandy-and- water  to  her  mistress* 
instead  of  opium-eating,  and  the  change  re- 
sulted in  the  best  effects.  Harriet's  Mesme- 
rie  dreams  will  prove  a  god-send  to  the  ani- 
mal magnetisers,  and  will  command  more 
attention  amon{;the  old  women  of  both  sexes 
than  her  Political  Economy  and  her  "Pre- 
ventive Checks."  But  it  won't  do !  It  will 
be  the  wonder  of  the  day— perhaps  of  nine 
days — and  then  sink  into  oblivion  with  the 
exploits  of  Miss  OkeyJ*'— Medico.  Chit.  Re- 
view. 

Dr.  Duncan  relates,  in  the  last  number  of 
the  Northern  Journal  of  Medicine,  an  in- 
teresting case  of  Removal  of  a  coin  from 
the  Lanfnx  by  inversion  of  the  body. 
An  individual  amusing  himself  by  tossing' 
up  a  shilling,  and  catching  it  in  his  mouth, 
it  slipped  through  the  glottis.    The  accident 
gave  rise  to  comparatively  little  inconveni- 
ence.   The  coin  seemed  to  the  patient  to  be 
fixed  at  the  cricoid  cartilage,  and  he  had  an 
impression  that  it  could  be  displaced  were  he 
to  stand  on  his  head.    This  impr^sion  cor- 
responding with  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Duncan 
and  his  associates-^ 

"The  man  was  placed  with  his  shoulders 
against  the  raised  end  of  a  pretty  hif  h  sofa, 
and  then  being  seized  by  three  of  the  most 
powerful  of  those  present  by  the  loins  and 
thighs,  he  was  rapidly  inverted,  so  as  ta 


140 


Detection  of  Crime  by  Mesmerism. 


bring  the  bead  into  the  dependent  position, 
and,  after  a  shake  or  two,  Dr.  Simpson  at 
the  same  time  moviug  the  larynx  rapidly 
from  side  to  side,  the  shilling  passed  into  the 
mouth  and  fell  upon  the  floor.  Not  the 
slightest  couj^h  nor  dyspnoea  was  produced, 
and  the  patient  immediately  started  up,  de- 
lighted with  the  result.  He  was  now  per- 
fectly free  from  uneasiness,  and  there  was  a 
marked  change  in  the  character  of  ihe  voice. 
He  had  not  the  slightest  subsequent  bad 
symptom." 


OariQus  oas*  of  M«sm«rio  D«t«otioa  of  Orino. 

Ltnn,  Mass.,  May  28, 1845. 
Mr.  Editor,  , 

Thinking  that  you  Sind  perhaps  your  rea- 
ders, might  be  interested  in  a  sj^ecimen  of 
what  may  be  said  on  the  possibility  of  de- 
tecting rogues  through  the  power  of  Mesme- 
rism, or  Animal  Magnetism,  I  have  conclu- 
ded to  give  you  a  brief  account  of  a  case, 
that  has  recently  passed  under  my  notice. — 
It  may  exceed  your  belief — I  am  confident 
that  it  will  your  explanation,  as  it  does  mine 
— ^meaning  the  process  by  which  the  given 
result  has  been  reached;  but  incredulous  as 
it  may  appear,  I  beg  to  say  that  the  circum- 
stances which  I  relate  are  bona  fide  facts, 
and  can  be  shown  to  be  sucb,  should  truth 
or  virtue  require,  in  any  court  of  justice. 

One  of  my  nearest  neighbors,  a  man  of 
unquestionable  veracity,  on  Tuesday  of  last 
week,  in  opening  one  of  the  money  drawers 
in  the  counters  of  his  store,  discovered  that 
Bome  money  had  been  taken  from  it,  evident- 
ly by  a  stealthy  hand,  since  he  had  been  to 
it  to  make  change— which,  I  believe,  was  in 
the  time  of  an  hour.  The  exact  amount 
that  had  been  taken  he  could  not  tell,  though 
he  knew  it  could  not  be  lam ;  and  as  to 
the  individual  by  whom  it  had  been  taken, 
he  could  form  no  reasonable  or  satisfactory 
conjecture.  His  thoughts  first  recurred  to 
ius  clerk,  he  being  a  boy  that  had  been  with 
him  but  a  few  days,  and  not  knowing  what 
power  temptation  might  have  over  him  ; 
though  he  had  seen  so  much  to  encourage 
confidence  in  his  honesty,  that  he  could  not 
believe  him  to  be  the  rogue.  Who  it  could 
be,  of  those  who  had  been  about  the  store 
during  the  day,  or  of  the  suspicious  charac 
ters  in  the  neighborhood,  he  could  not  ima 
gine  or  satisfy  himself.  After  waiting  a  day 
or  two,  without  fixing  upon  any  one  as  the 
probable  criminal,  and  having  heard  oi  the 
'wonderful  revelations  asserted  to  have  been 
made  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  in  a  neighboring 
street,  through  the  power  of  Mesmerism,  to 
gratify  his  euriositv  in  the  shape  of  seeing 
vhat  might  be  said  on  the  subject  by  a  per- 


son in  the  mesmeric  state,  taking  along  with 
him  his  clerk,  he  called  on  them  for  the  pur- 
pose.  Merely  statinji;  that  he  should  like  1o 
have  an  experiment  in  clairvojrance,  without 
telling  them  his  motive  or  businefas,  and  they 
having  had  no  means  of  knowing  the  cir- 
cumstances in  repaid  to  the  loss  of  money 
from  his  store,  Mr.  C.  put  his  wite  mto  the 
mesmeric  sleep,  and  proceeded  to  ask  her 
such  questions  as  Mr.  P.  the  applicant,  mi^t 
propose  without  being  in  communication  with 
her.  Ihe  first  question  related  to  the  dis- 
covery and  location  of  his  store.  She  soon 
found  it,  describing  it,  without  and  within, 
to  his  entire  satisfaction.  The  inquiry  was 
next  put,  whether  he  had  lost  anything  from 
the  store  within  a  few  days.  After  a  strong 
and  somewhat  protracted  mental  effort,  she 
answered,  *•  Yes,  some  money  from  a  litde 
drawer  in  the  inside  of  a  counter."  In  a 
free  and  earnest  manner  she  went  on  to  re- 
late the  particulars  as  they  appeared  to  her, 
stating  that,  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  P.  from 
the  store,  and  as  the  clerk  ste^wd  down  into 
the  cellar  with  a  bare-footed  boy  to  get  some 
butter  in  a  covered  tin  pail,  (which  the 
clerk  well  remembered,)  a  lad,  apparently 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  entered  the 
store,  reached  over  the  counter,  pulled  ort 
the  drawer,  and  took  from  it  four  doltan  in 
two  bills,  one  a  three  dollar  bill,  the  other  a 
one,  which  he  hastily  stuifed  into  bis  pockel; 
and  then,  instead  of  making  off  in  a  huiTi 
put  on  a  composed  air,  and  as  the  cktt 
came  up  from  the  cellar,  made  as  if  he  hu 
just  come  into  the  store  in  a  very  loiteriiu;, 
lazy,  careless  manner,  and  at  last  leisurdy 
passed  out  of  the  store  with  the  boy  ^ 
had  pt  the  buttci.  She  then  describedjte 
boy,  including  bis  size,  looks,  hair,  &e.,witt 
^reat  particularity ;  ahw,  his  parentage,  hab- 
its and  business;  and  in  tracing  him  froB 
the  store,  followed  him  down  to  the  comer 
of  the  next  street,  where  she  described  him 
as  going  into  a  grocery,  and  giving  two  ccntt 
for  an  orange,  &c.,  &c.— The  clerk  at  once 
remembered  that  a  boy  answering  c**?"y^ 
her  description  had  frequently  been  in  tfce 
store,  and  that  he  saw  him»  apparently  cooj- 
ing  into  the  store,  as  he  came  'f<>"\^5fj 
lar  at  the  time  mentioned ;  and  be  recogntfw 
as  true  of  him  what  ^e  had  said  concerning 
his  parents  and  habits.  p 

On  returning  from  the  examination,  Mr.  r. 
and  his  clerk  thought  the  matter  might  re- 
pay a  little  further  attention.  They  aowjj 
dingly  kept  a  look  out  for  the  ^c^o^  ^ 
had  been  so  particularly,  and,  as  ^ 
thought,  on  reflection,  so  correctly  dewnoeu. 
Before  the  wedt  closed,  hemade  his  «!f»^ 
ance  at  the  store.  Mr.  P  takinj  hij  ow 
aide,  and  speaking  to  him  \n  a  fneiMU/  ■«* 


Phf/sieian  and  CMeagtie.    A  Doctor  and  his  Lizards.        141 


4 


and  maoner,  told  him  that  he.  wanted  that 
money  that  he  took  from  his  drawer  the  other 
day,  (intending  to  carry  the  impreeaion  that 
he  knew  him  to  be  the  rogue.)  At  first,  he 
denied  having;  taken  the  mon^y ;  but  when 
Mr.  P.  told  him  that  a  person  in  Nahant- 
etree%  (having  in  his  eye  Mrs.  C.)  saw  him 
enter  the  store,  take  the  money,  put  it  into 
his  pocket,  and  when  he  went  out,  pass 
down  to  a  certain  grocery,  where  he  bought 
an  orange,  giving  two  cents  for  it,  he  lost 
his  power  ol  denial^  and,  in  owning  it,  con- 
fessed that  all  the  circumstances  relating  to 
the  number  and  size  of  the  bills,  &c.  were 
just  as  they  had  been  described  by  the  mes- 
merized subject ;  and  after  expressing  regret 
and  sorrow,  and  saying  that  he  had  paid 
away  the  money,  he  promised  to  go  to  work, 
earn  it  and  restore  it  lo  him. 

Such  are  the  facts  in  the  case,  and  I  have 

them  from  the  original  and  responsible  sour 

ees.    I  submit  them  to  the  public,  expecting 

them  to  be  questioned  and  perhaps  rimculed, 

but  knowing,  at  the  same  time,  that  they 

can  be  supported  by  the  most  unquestionable 

oi  human  testimony.    I  have  been  naiticu- 

lar  to  inquire  whether  either  Mr.  or  Mrs.  C. 

had  any  knowledge  of  the  boy  in  question 

be/ore  the  time  of  the  examination,  and  if 

they  had,  whether  they  had  any  suspicion  of 

him  as  a  bad  boy ;  and  I  learnt  that,  up  to 

that  time,  they  were  ignorant  that  any  such 

boy  Jived  in  town.    Leaving  every  one  to 

form  his  own  opinion  in  the  ease,  and  to 

make  his  own  comments,  1  here  leave  the 

Babject 

Yours,  believing  in  the  progress  of  himian 
discovery  and  knowledge. 

M.  S. 
^.  r.  Triinme. 


Tli«  relation  of  tho  Phyiiolan  to  a  OoUoagno 

This  relation  is  twofold.  The  first  embra- 
ces mutual  respect,  and  where  that  is  not 
possible,  let  indulgence  at  least  be  the  piinci- 
pal  law  of  conduct 

Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  judee 
othera,  but  nowhere  is  it  more  so  than  in  the 
practice  of  medicine.  It  is  therefore  unpar- 
oonflJ>le  in  the  public ;  but  it  is  revolting  to 
hear  physicians,  who  know  the  difficulties 
oi  the  art,  and  of  forming  opinions  regard- 
ing it,  judge  their  coUea^es  with  severity, 
haoshness,  contempt,  or  disclose  Aeir  faults, 
and  try  to  raise  themselves  by  lowering  others. 

0  that  I  were  able  to  impress  the  minds  of 
my  brethren  with  the  truism,  as  forcibly  as 

1  am  penetrated  by  it  1  He  who  degrades  a 
colleague  degrades  himself  and  his  art.  For, 
in  the  first  place,  the  mu^  the  public  be- 
comes acquainted  with  faults  oi  physidans, 


the  more  will  physicians  become  exposed 
as  contemptible  and  suspicions,  and  the  more 
will-such  exposure  impair  confidence :  and 
confidence  in  the  whole  body  being  diminish- 
ed, every  single  one,  and  the  censurers,  in- 
cluded, will  lose  a  shnre  of  it  The  public 
would  be  less  prone  to  cenemre  the  medical 
profession,  and  its  faults  would  not  be  a  fa- 
vorite topic  of  conversation,  if  the  members 
themselves  did  not  broach  it,  and  set  the  bad 
example.  .It  shews  a  short-sighted  selfish- 
ness, and  want  of  all  common  spirit,  when  a 
physician  acts  in  such  a  manner,  and  thereby 
hopes  to  raise  himself,  as  he  degrades  others. 

Lancet. 

A  Doctor  and  his  Lizards. 

A  letter  from  Vera  Cruz,  lo  the  Albany 
Evenina;  JournaK  relates  the  following  mar- 
velous mcJdents  in  a  notice  oi  a  visit  to  the 
estate  of  Dr.  Stephens : 

"  While  enjoying  our  segars  under  a 
broad-spread  tamarind  tree,  the  lizards  came 
down  as  usual  to  keep  the  mosquitoes  away 
from  their  protectors.  The  doctor's  kindness 
for  animals  has  developed  instincts  and  awa- 
kened affections  that  would  not  discredit  a 
race,  intellectually  endowed.  His  beautiful 
fan-tailed  pigeons,  when  he  returns  from 
towif,  come  with  their  greetings  to  his  car- 
riage, and  perch  upon  his  shoulders.  His 
lizards  jump  from  the  trees  into  his  hands. 
A  year  oi  two  since,  when  several  of  the  of- 
ficers of  the  United  States  ship  Potomac, 
with  t}ro  gpentlemen  residing  here,  were  at 
breakfast  with  the  doctor,  a  nuge  lizard  that 
had  the  misfortune  to  lose  its  tail  by  some 
casuality,  marched  into  the  rooms,  and  up  to 
the  doctor,  with  its  dismembered  limb  in  its 
mouth  !  This  loo1c5»,  T  coffees,  too  much 
like  a  *<  Remarkable  Snake  Story,"  but  it  is 
nevertheless,  a  well  authenticatecPact.  The 
maimed  reptile,  under  the  influence  of  in- 
stinct highly  excited,  sought  relief  from  the 
hand  by  which  it  had  been  fed  and  cherished. 
The  doctor  himself  reffatds  the  circumstance 
as  a  tribute  to  his  skill  in  surgery. 

The  unreasoning  species  are  not  alone, 
however,  in  their  appreciation  of  Dr.  Ste- 
phen's medical  services.  He  performed,  at 
an  early  day,  with  entire  success,  some  of 
the  most  difficult  surgical  operations.  His 
writings  on  yellow  fever,  scurvey,  &c.,  won 
for  him  the  highest  medical  honors  that  Eu- 
rope confers.  He  was  one  of  three  eminent 
physicians  upon  whom  decrees  were  confer- 
red upon  the  occasion  of  Lord  Wellington's 
installation  as  Chancellor  of  Oxford  Univer- 
sity. He  is  now  devoting  himself  to  inves- 
tigations of  the  highest  interest  touching  the 
Phenomena  of  Lire,  which,  in  his  judgment, 
prove,  l6t.  That  the  action  of  the  body  is 


142 


Cambustum*    MBdical  Sociely  ofLonAm. 


reeulated  by  some  power  or  agency  other 
than  the  Brain.  2d.  Thai  there  is  a  living, 
vital  agent,  independent  of,  and  so  far  as 
muscular  action  fs  concerned,  superior  to  the 
mind ;  and  3d.  That  in  man,  and  in  the 
higher  order  of  animals,  the  principle  of 
life  is  seated  in  the  '^solar  gangloin,  from 
which  the  nervotis  system  or  machinery 
draws  its  power  of  motion,  and  by  which  it 
is  propelled  and  governed. 

Bxtraordinary  faoU  relating  to  Oombnstioa. 

At  a  mectine  of  the  Academy  of  Science, 
February  3,  M.  Dumas  related  some  experi- 
ments to  which  he  had  submitted  liquid  chlo- 
rine refrigerated  to  90  degrees  below  the 
freezing  point,  in  a  mixture  of  solid  carbonic 
acid  and  ether. 

1.  Phosphorus  falling  into  liquid  chlorine 
is  ignited  with  a  violent  explosion. 

2.  Phosphorus,  itself  previously  cooled  in 
the  freezing  batl^,  inflames  m  the  same  man- 
ner, with  violent  explosion. 

3.  Arsenic,  taken  at  the  ordinary  tempera- 
ture, is  kindled  when  dropped  into  liquid 
chlorine. 

4.  Antimony,  on  the  contrary,  mamfests 
no  action  on  liquid  chlorine.  ^ 

M.  Boussingault  proposed  that  the  Acade- 
my should  give  facilities  for  extending  these 
experiments  (which  are  attended  with  much 
danger)  on  some  determinate  plan.—Comp- 
tes  Kendusy  2d  Feb. 


MBDIOAL  SOOIETT  OF  LOVDOV. 

Dr.  Tkeophilus  Thompson,  President 
BffBCts  of  Oovnter- Irritation. 

Mr.  Dendy,  in  reference  to  the  discussion 
at  the  last  meeting,  remarked,  that  when 
properly  and  judiciously  applied,  blisters  to 
children  were  by  no  means  attended  with 
danger.  He  himself,  however,  prefeired  the 
use  of  the  acetum  lyltae,  which  merely  re- 
quired to  be  painted  on  the  skin  with  a 
camel's  hair  brush,  once  or  twice,  to  produce 
vesication.  He  was  in  favor  of  small  vesi- 
cations, such  as  the  size  of  a  shilling,  being 
formed  successively  at  intervals  of  twelve  or 
twenty-four  hours.  The  acetum  lytts  bad 
the  advantage  of  not  producing  stran^ry. 

Some  remarks  on  the  effects  of  blisters  to 
children  were  made  by  several  members. — 
Applied  with  due  caution,  and  allowed  to  re- 
main only  a  short  period,  they  might  be  and 
were  serviceable  in  many  cases.  Their  abu.«»e 
however,  was  calculated  to  do  much  evil, 
and  never  more  so  than  when  applied  by 
ignorant  persons,  who  allowed  them  to  fe- 
main  on  for  a  long  period. 


In  order  to  shew  that  blisters,  or  any  other 
kind  ot  counter-irritation,  mifht  oocasionally 
be  of  serious  consequence  to  the  patient,  it 
was  observed  by  Mr.  Pilcher  that  he  recol- 
lected six  cases  of  inflammation  of  the  chest 
succeeding  to  measles,  in  which  blisters  had 
been  applied,  and  they  were  all  fatal.  He 
mentioned  also  the  instance  of  a  youth  fifteen 
or  sixteen  years  of  yean  of  age,  in  whom  the 
irritation  produced  by  a  compound  frankin* 
cense  plaster  applied  to  the  chest,  was  so 
great  that  the  parts  sloughed,  and  the  patient 
sunk.  In  these  cases,  doubtless,  the  consti- 
tutional powers  of  the  patients  were  veiy 
low. 

Mr.  Stedman  had  found  the  acetic  acid  as 
efficacious  afr  the  acetum  lyttie,  andcoRsider- 
ed  the  efficiency  of  the  latter  preparation  to 
be  dependent  on  the  vinegar. 

Mr.  Dendt  recollected  Sir  A.  Cooper  men- 
tioning a  case  in  which  a  young  lady,  recent- 
ly arrived  from  Jamaica,  fell  a  victim  to  the 
application  of  common  blister  to  her  kneeR 
She  sank  in  three  days,  from  sloughing  of 
the  parts.  In  respect  to  the  effects  of  the  va- 
rious paper  preparations  of  the  lyltse,  he  bad 
found  them  so  uncertain  that  he  never  em- 
ployed them. 

Mr.  Bishop  remarked  that  when  a  laige 
surface  was  exposed,  either  as  the  result  of 
a  blister  or  a  bum,  nervous  irritation  of  such 
a  character  mi^ht  be  produced  as  to  terminate 
fatally,  and  this  even  when  the  sore  itself 
might  have  a  healthy  aspect.  The  nervoofi 
irritation  kilted  Miss  Clara  Webster,  hi 
cases  in  which  this  irritation  was  set  up? 
opium  often  exerted  a  most  benign  influence. 

Dr.  Forbes  Winslow  read  a  paper  on 

Tho  Inonbation  of  loBaniif* 
After  dwelling  upon  the  importance  of 
studying  and  treating  the  disorders  of  the 
mind  in  their  eariiest  or  incipient  form,  ot 
during  the  period  of  incabation,  and  lamen- 
ting uie  little  attention  which  had  hitherto 
been  paid  to  this  important  subjdct,  Dr. 
Winslow  expressed  as  his  belief,  that  a  reiy 
large  proportion  of  the  8,796  incurable  iana- 
tics  confined  in  asylums  in  England  and 
Wales,  had  been  reduced  to  this  sad  state  by 
the  neglect  to  which  they  had  been  subjec- 
ted in  the  incipient  state  of  the  malady.  Ac- 
cording to  the  last  official  return  made  by 
parliament,  there  were  in  the  whole  of  Eng* 
land  and  Wales,  confined  in  asylums,  11 1^^ 
lunatics.  Out  of  this  number,  there  were  re- 
turned as  «*incurabJe,"  8,736;  and  as  "ca- 
rable."  only  2,519.  This  alarming  dispro- 
portion wasattributed  to  the  ignorance  whicft 
had  prevailed  with  regard  to  the  nnture  and 
treatment  ol  this  disease.  The  iioti<» 
which  had  ao  ganaiaUy  been  profliolK^' 


r 


Medical  Skciety  of  London — Jneubalion  of  Insaniif.         143 


r 

I 


that  inaaiii^r  was  ao  afiectioii  of  the  miiid, 
the  spiritual  principle  abstracted,  and  the  ma- 
tnoal  oraanizalion,  and  not  at  all  associated 
with  hocBly  disease,  had  had  the  efiect  of  re- 
taidinfl^  the  progress  of  sound  pathological 
knowtodge,  with  regard  to  the  condition  of 
the  brain  and  nervous  system,  during  this 
Imful  inroad  upon  its  recognized  functions. 
The  attempts  wliich  haye  also  been  made  to 
define  insanity,  to  establish  a  test  or  standard 
of  mental  unsoundness,  had  also  operated 
nost  injuriousiy.     Each  medical  man  hav- 
ing formed  his  own  notion  of  what  consti- 
tuted insanity,  no  person  was  admitted  to  be 
deraoced  until  he  came  up  to  his  precon- 
ceived standard;  and,  consequently,  the  pe- 
riod of  incuhetion  was  entirely  overlooked. 
The  author  maintained,  with  regard  to  the 
treatment  of  insani^,  that  the  probability  of 
lecovery  lessened  in  a  ratio  to  the  period 
which  was  allowed  to  intervene  between  the 
fntt  onset  of  the  disease  and  its  more  advan- 
ced stages ;  and  that  unless  the  result  of 
physiccu  injury,  or  connected  with  strong 
nereditary  predisposition,    deran^ment   of 
mind  was,  if  attacked  in  its  incipient  form, 
as  eauly  curable  as  incipient  inflammation, 
pneumonia,  or  rheumatism.     He  adduced  a 
BUffiber  of  stiUistical  facts  to  establish  the 
point    He  considered  that  in  the  primary 
stm,  insanity  was  but  slightly  connected 
with  lesions  of  nervous  structure;  but  if  the 
disorder  he  permitted  to  remain  for  any  length 
of  time  without  any  attempt  being  made  to 
mnove  it,  serious  organic  changes  take  place 
in  the  delicate  organization  of  the  brain, 
which  for  ever  place  the  patient  beyond  tbe 
leach  of  lemedial  measures.      The  author 
urged  tiM  importance  of  applying  to  the  dis>- 
cases  of  the  brain  and  its  disordered  manifes- 
tations the  same  principles  which  guide  us 
in  the  elucidation   and  treatmelit  of  other 
a&ctions  of  oiganic  structure.      He  consid- 
ered that  a  person  might  be  pathologically 
inaaiie,  who  ou^ht  not  to  be  held  as  le^lly 
mad.     In  studying  this  class  of  affections, 
the  medical  philosopher  should  dismiss  from 
his  mind  all  his  preconceived  notions,  based 
vpon  legal  and  medical  definitions  of  insan- 
ity;  if  he  tied  himself  down  to  these  meta- 
physical abstractions,  he  will  close  his  eyes 
to  a  noedical  truth  of  the  highest  import  to 
|he  bmnaa  race.     Dr.  Winslow  confessed 
his  inability  to  define  insanity.    He  thought 
that,  vrith  equal  propriety,  an  attempt  might 
he  made  to  define  yellow,  red,  blue,  or  any 
other  abstract  essence.     He  considered  that 
msanity  was  not  essentially  different  from 
other  maladies,  that  it  obeyed  the  same  pa- 
tboloffical  laws.      After  entering  at  some 
length  into  the  point,'and  havinff  pointed  out 
^  evils  which  had  resulted  uom  the  at- 


tempts whidi  have  been  made  to  throw  about 
this  malady  an  air  of  mysteiy  and  supersti- 
tion. Dr.  Winslow  next  proceeded  to  detail 
the  incipient  symptoms  of  this  aflection.    He 
thought  that  the  period  of  incubation  might 
last  lor  months  and  years ;  cases  had  been 
recorded  in  which  it  had  been  of  fifteen  years 
duration.    Long  prior  to  the  explosion  of 
insanity,  petieuto  have  confessed  that  they 
have  for  months  and  years  been  struggling 
against  the  encroachment  of  this  malady.    In 
forming  an  estimate  of  the  presence  of  in* 
sanity  m  any  given  case,  care  should  be  takm 
not  to  confound  natoral  healthy  singularity 
and  eccentricity  with  those  deviations  from 
sound  mental  health  which  are  clearly  the 
consequences  of  physical  disease  of  the  ner- 
vous system.    The  patient's  own  mind  must 
be  the  standard  of  comparison.    The  ph^i- 
cian  must  compare  the  manifestations  which 
prevail  at  the  time  when  the  mind  is  suppo* 
sed  to  be  affected  with  the  mental  state  of  the 
individual  in  its  natural  and  habitual  condi- 
tion.   Insanity  is  often  but  an  exaggeration 
of  the  natural  habits,  passions,  andcharac- 
ter.    Tbe  author  considered  that  almost  in- 
variably there  existed  in  the  early  period  of 
insanity,  a  stage  of  consciousness  during 
which  the  patient  was  perfectly  aware  of 
the  existence  of  an  altered  state  of  mind, 
and  the  approach  of  <*  thick  coming  fancies," 
sf^nst  which  he  often  heroically  struggled. 
It  was  a  f  Uacy  to  suppose  that  insanity  was 
often  suddenly  developed ;  in  those  instan- 
ces in  which  the  malady  appeared  to  break 
out  suddenly,  it  would  he  found  that  a  well- 
marked  premonitory  stage  preceded  the  at- 
tack of  mania.    This  was  remarkably  the 
fact  in  most  cases  of  suicidal  insanity.    The 
author  thought  that  the  first  stage  of  insanity 
had  been  properly  denominated  the  state  of 
"  moral  incoherency,"  and  that  in  every  case 
the  moral  faculties  would  be  found,  in  the 
first  instance,  to  be  implicated  in  the  disorder 
and  that  the  intellectual  derangement  was  to 
be  considered  but  as  an  advanced  stage  of 
the  moral  disease.    He  then  enumerated  the 
early  signs  of  insanity,  before  any  delusion 
bad  fastened  itself  upon  the  mind,  and  the 
patient    had    lost    all    control   over    the 
will. 

The  followinj^  was  said  to  be  among  the 
incipient  indications  of  insanity : — an  altered 
state  of  the  afiections  towards  relatives  and 
friends,  that  alteration  being  often  in  a  direct 
ratio  to  the  former  attachment ;  a  difficulty 
in  guarding  against  dislike ;  a  restlessness  of 
disposition ;  a  disposition  to  magnify  trifles ; 
weakened  volition;  defective  memory;  the 
patient  is  inordinately  depressed  or  elated  by 
the  most  trifling  circumstances ;  be  manifeste 
a  restlessness  and  inability  to  concentrate  his 


144  Medical  Society  of  London — Incubation  of  Imanity, 


attention  to  any  subject ;  he  neglects  his  busi- 
ness; avoids  the  society  of  those  with  whom 
he  formerly  associated;  becomes  violently 
passionate  about  trifles;  manifests  a^evish- 
ness  and  impatience  of  contradiction;  he 
exhibits  an  extravagance  in  all  his  thoughts 
and  actions. 

High  spirits  are  often  the  first  manifest 
signs  of  approaching  insanity ;  the  patiem 
takes  larger  quantities  of  wine  than  usual ; 
if  naturally  reserved  and  modest,  he  becomes 
the  reverse ;  all  his  actions  betray  extreme 
mental  agitation;  the  imagination  is  often 
unnaturally  brilliant ;  old  impressions  are  re- 
.vived;  the  patient  will  be  seen  to  sit  for 
hours  in  a  state  of  abstraction,  as  if  his 
mind  was  occupied  in  the  contemplation  of 
gloomy  fancies.  In  this  stage  the  patient 
has  the  appearance  of  being  intoxicated. — 
Combined  wiUi  these  mental  symptoms,  are 
certain  physical  indications,  snch  as  pain  or 
lightness  in  the  head ;  a  sense  of  constric- 
tion across  the  forehead ;  heat  and  puffiness 
of  the  scalp ;  distress  of  countenance ;  prom- 
inence of  cornea;  contracted  pupil ;  a  dispo- 
sition to  bite  the  nails  and  tips  of  the  flngens; 
defective  articulation;  sometimes,  however, 
extreme  loquaciousness ;  an  oily  or  greasy 
appearance  of  the  skin;  foetid  cutaneous  ex- 
halation; great  restlessness;  the  patient  is 
disposed  to  pace  up  and  down  a  room  for 
hours  together,  muttering  to  himself.  Be- 
fore the  development  of  insanity  the  patient 
often  complains  of  being  troubled  by  frightr 
ful  dreams,  or  with  illusions  or  hallucina- 
tions, out  of  which  he  is  unable  to  reason 
himself.  The  pat*ent  complains  of  sleepless- 
ness ;  the  secretions  often  become  diseased, 
and  the  hepatic,  in  fact,  the  whole  of  the  di- 
gestive oigans  give  evidence  of  derangement 
The  pulse  is  the  pulse  of  excitement  without 
power. 

The  value  of  these  signs,  the  author  stat- 
ed, was  often  not  sufficiently  estimated  until 
it  was  too  late  to  repair  the  cerebral  mischief 
done.  Dr.  Winslow  then  ^inted  out  the 
treatment  of  incipient  insanity.  He  stated 
that  no  specific  plan  of  treatment  could  be 
pursued  which  would  be  applicable  to  every 
case.  The  medical  practitioner  must  be 
guided  in  his  treatment  by  the  circumstances 
connected  with  each  case  brought  under  his 
consideration.  As  a  general  rule,  he  depre- 
cated bleeding  in  the  early  or  advanced  stages 
of  insanity:  there  were,  however,  cases  in 
which  considerable  vascular  action  was 
going  on  in  the  brain,  and  for  the  removal  of 
whidi  it  was  necessary  to  abstract  blood 
both  locally  and  generally.  Dr.  Winslow 
also  spoke  of  the  exhibition  of  morphia, 
puigatives,  counter-irritants,  and  the  appli- 
cation of  cold  in  the  treatment  of  insanity. 


and  pointed  out  the  stales  of  brain  in  which 
they  were  admissible. 

Mr.  Headland  complained  that  the  paper 
had  failed  in  elucidating  any  new  point  con- 
nected with  the  subject  discussed.  He 
shewed  that  cause  and  effect  had  frequently 
been  confounded,  and  referred  to  cases  in 
which  insanity  existed  without  any  appreci- 
able physical  change.  He  considered  that 
the  pathological  condition  was  often  the 
aiect  and  not  the  cause  of  the  mental  d'seaae. 
He  had  little  expectation  of  insanity  being 
either  cured  or  prevented  by  physical  reme- 
dies, but  trusted  that  moral  treatment  and 
training  might  be  of  service  in  effecting,  to 
some  extent,  its  eradication.  Altering  the 
habits  of  the  people  would  tend  greatly  to 
this  desirable  end.  He  shewed  the  difficulty 
of  preventing  the  accomplishment  of  suicide 
where  insanity  on  that  point  existed,  although 
it  was  easy  enoush  to  detect  its  presence. 

Mr.  Dendy  leterred  many  states  of  mental 
aberration  to  a  want  of  balance  in  the  circu- 
lation of  the  brain,  principally  in  respect  to 
venous  congestion. 

The  discussion  was  adjourned. 

A  communication  was  read  from  Mr.  Cor- 
tis,  in  reference  to  the  vklerianate  of  zinc,  in 
which  it  was  stated  that  he  had  administered 
this  medicine  with  great  advantage  in  a  vari- 
ety of  cases  of  tinnitus  aurium,  nervous  deaf- 
ness, amaurosis,  and  musoe  volitantes.  The 
dose  was  a  grain.  He  introduced  the  medi- 
cine to  the  Society  with  the  view  of  indu- 
cing the  members  to  try  it  in  cases  of  ner- 
vous debility ;  and  as  at  present  it  was  not 
easily  procurable  in  London,  he  had  placed 
some  of  the  medicine  in  the  hands  of  the 
Pre&ident,  to  supply  any^  gentleman  who 
would  wish  to  give  it  a  tnal.  This  remedf 
had  the  advanta^  of  having  mineral  and 
vegetid)ie  properties. 

Mr.  Hird  had  employed  this  medicine  is 
two  cases  of  hysterical  neuralgia.  In  one 
case  it  was  of  advantage. 

A  member  had  also  used  the  valerianate 
of  zinc  in  a  case  of  brain  afiection  closely 
resembling  (3elirium  tremens.  It  was  w 
much  benefit. 

The  discussion  of  Dr.  F.  Winalow's  pa- 
per was  then  resumed. 

Dr.  Costello  was  astonished  at  the  opinions 
expressed,  at  the  last  meeting,  by  Mr.  Head- 
land, as  they  were  petfectly  opposed  to  pa- 
thology. 

Mr.  Headland  explained,  that  in  the  ab- 
sence of  paralysis  or  other  manifest  ph^rsical 
disease,  in  a  great  majority  of  cases  of  inaar 
nity,  there  would  be  no  appreciable  change 
in  the  brain  after  death.  There  was  do  re- 
lation whatever  between  the  amoont  of  phy- 


Medical  Society  of  London — Inctibaiion  of  Insanity.  14S 


flica]  disease  and  the  mental  aberration.  He 
referred  to  a  case  pulished  in  The  Lancet 
some  years  since,  m  which  there  was  com- 
plete destruction  of  a  inreat  portion  of  both 
hemispheres  of  the  brain,  and  yet  mind  re- 
mained perfect  to  the  last. 

Mr.  Dendy  drew  an  analog  between 
simple  concussion  and  incipient  msanity,  in 
which  recovery  took  place,  one  from  a  moral, 
the  other  from  a  physical  influence. 

Dr.  Chowne  considered  that  every  mental 
disease  had  a  physical  origin  In  all  cases 
of  insanity  there  would  be  a  physical  change, 
thoueh  it  mi]^ht  not  always  be  appreciable. 
The  brain  mi^ht  be  temporarily  affected  by 
some  change  in  the  circulation,  independent 
of  organic  changes,  as  spasm  and  diarrhoea 
might  exist  without  physical  lesion. 

I>r.  Alison  shewed  that  disorder  of  the 
function  of  the  brain  might  exist  without  ap 
predable  organic  change.  Yet  who  doubted 
its  presence  any  more  wan  they  did  the  pres- 
ence of  organic  change  in  the  kidney  (though 
not  to  be  detected)  in  certain  disorders  of 
function  of  that  organ  ? 

Dr.  Clotterbuck  regarded  insanity  as  not  a 
disease  per  se,  but  merely  a  symptom  of 
disordered  function  of  the  brain.  If  we  ad- 
mitted—and, he  thought,  it  could  not  be  rea- 
sonably doubted— that  the  brain  was  the  or- 
gan through  which  the  mind  was  manifes- 
ted, it  followed  ^at  every  disordered  condi- 
tion of  the  mind  was  dependent  on  some  dis- 
ordered condition  of  the  brain ;  not  always, 
it  was  true,  obvious  or  appreciable,  but  sti  1 
it  was  clear  that  the  brain  was  not  in  a  sound 
state  of  health.  Not  always  to  &e  extent  of 
disorganization,  for  it  was  known  that  in- 
sanity often  left  the  patient  for  a  time,  and 
then  recurred,  from  causes  not  very  obvious. 
The  brain  was  often  found  diseased  in  cases 
of  insanity,  but  he  wanted  proof  that  those 
changes  were  always  the  cause  of  the  in- 
sanity. Authors  of  eminence,  however, 
had  asserted  that  they  had  always  found  the 
brain  diseased  in  cases  of  insanity ;  Suther- 
land and  Haslam  were  of  this  number ;  and 
Mr.  Lawrence,  out  of  seventy-two  cases,  had 
found  the  brain  diseased  in  all,  a  structural 
change  existing  in  each  case.  These  facts 
did  not  prove  that  the  structural  disease  was 
the  cause  of  the  symptoms,  but  it  shewed 
that  in  insanity  the  brain  was  not  sound. 
That  these  conditions  were  not  the  proximate 
cause  of  the  insane  phenomena,  however, 
was  proved,  for  they  existed  independent  of 
insanity.  We  found  opacity  of  the  mem- 
branes, increased  vascularity,  bloody  points, 
induration,  softening,  and  serous  effusions  of 


discover.  What  then  caused  this  state  of 
brain  ?  He  believed  that  it  was  always  the 
result  of  inflammation  which  had  existed  at 
some  period  or  other.  He  thought  this,  be* 
cause  inflammation  was  the  great  discigani- 
zing  process ;  and  if  disorganized,  therefore, 
the  brain  must,  at  one  time,  have  been  infla- 
med. The  disorganization  was  the  resuh,  in 
some  way,  of  inflammation.  We  might  of- 
ten trace  insanity  in  its  early  stages  to  the  in- 
fluence of  extreme  mental  emotion,  the  ef- 
fects of  alcohol,  or  of  local  injuries,  the  in- 
sanity subsiding  on  the  subsidence  of  these 
causes,  so  that  we  had  cause  and  effect  at 
once  before  us.  He  complained  that  tfia 
term  incubation  was  not  expressive  of  the 
manner  in  which  insanity  pro^pressed  in  its 
early  stages.  Confirmed  insanity  was  incu- 
rable, as  tiie  brain  had  become  permanently 
afiected.  The  time  for  treatment  was  in  th»' 
early  stage ;  subdue  the  inflammation  then*, 
and  ^ou  subdued  the  symptom,  and  the  brain 
regained  its  natural  condition. 

l>t,  Wigan  agreed  with  Dr.  Clutteibnck, 
except  as  to  inflammation  beinij;  the  first' 
cause  in  all  cases.  He  briefly  referred  to  his 
opinions  on  the  duality  of  the  brain  and 
mind. 

Dr.  Costello  agreed  in  the  main  with  Di> 
Ciutterbuck;  but  believed  that  the  changes 
of  the  brain  connected  with  insanity  might  be 
dependent  on  other  causes  than  inflammation* 
Thus  there  was  a  peculiar  shining  appear- 
ance of  the  white  portion  of  the  brain,  not 
the  result  of  inflammation,  frequently  found 
in  cases  of  insanity.  He  alluded  to  the  state 
of  initation,  the  result  of  long  suckling,  of 
softening  of  isolated  portions  of  the  brain,  in 
which  Sie  vessels  were  impervious  to  injec. 
tion,  as  beine  often  passed  over  in  examina- 
tions of  the  brain  of  lunatics. 

JBdr.  Headland  replied.  He  shewed  that 
no  observations  which  had  been  made  affect- 
ed the  position  vnth  which  he  had  started. 
He  shewed,  from  reference  to  statistical 
facts,  that  insanity  bore  a  ratio  to  the  state 
of  mental  and  physical  destitution  which 
prevailed,  and  he  particularly  directed  atten- 
tion to  the  prevalence  of  insanity  in  Wales. 
Re  shewed  the  little  benefit  likely  to  result 
from  merely  physical  asents  in  the  preven- 
tion of  this  disease,  and  trusted  for  the  alle- 
viation of  mankind  from  this  distressing  ma- 
lady to  increased  physical  comforts,  and  im- 
proved mental  and  moral  training. 


Imbbciutt  of  Medical  Collboxs.^K. 
Replace  the  professors  of  the  crude  notions  of 


the  brain,  in  cases  in  which  insanity  did  not       •  -        .... 

exist.    Changes,  however,  might  exist  be-  a  by-gone  age,  with  the  talented  young  men 

yond  what  we  were  at  present  enabled  to|of  the  professiou.— C/om^^iit. 


146 


Stpedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


Sw«d«nbor8:'«  "Animal  Kingdom." 
This  wonderful  man  is  clearly  destined  to 
be  acknowledged  as  one  of  the  great  lights 
erf  the  race.  His  scientific  works,  which 
haye  hitherto  remained  locked  up  in  the  oh- 
flQurity  of  the  Latin,  are  now  appearing  in  an 
English  translation,  and  the  profoundest 
nunds  are  astonished  at  the  gigantic  powers 
which  they  display.  The  "  Animal  King- 
dom" in  two  large  volumes,  8vo,  has  recent- 
ly appeared  from  the  London  press,  the  cha- 
ncder  of  which  may  he  judged  of  from  the 
following  notices,  the  one  from  the  London 
**  Forceps,**  a  Medical  Journal,  and  the  other 
from  the  "  Monthly  Review."  The  writers 
aii  aeither  of  them  in  the  interests  of  the 
New  Church,  nor  believers  in  the  divine 
ttisaion  of  Swedenboi]g. 

**  This  is  the  most  remarkable  theory  of 
iha  human  body  that  has  ever  fallen  in  our 
hands ;  and  by  Emanuel  Swedenboig,  too ! 
a  man  whom  we  had  always  been  taught  to 
regard  as  either  a  fool,  a  madman,  or  an  im- 
postor, or  perhaps  an  undefinable  compound 
of  idl  the  mree.  Wonders,  it  seems,  never 
will  eeaie*  and  therefore  it  were  better  hence- 
forth to  look  out  for  them,  and  accept  them 
whenever  they  present  themselves,  and  make 
them  into  ordinary  things  in  that  way.  For 
thereby  we  may  it  saved  from  making  won- 
derful asses  of  ourselves  and  our  craft,  for 
enlightened  posterity  to  laufi:h  at 

"To  return  to  our  book,  we  can  honestly 
assure  our  readers,  (which  is  more  than  it 
would  be  safe  to  do  in  all  cases)  that  we 
have  carefully  read  through  both  volumes  of 
it,  bulky  thoagh  they  be,  and  have  gained 
much  philosopnical  insight  from  it  into  the 
chains  of  ends  and  causes  that  govern  in  the 
human  oiganism.  What  has  the  world  been 
doing  the  past  century,  to  let  this  great  sys- 
tem slumber  on  the  shelf,  and  to  run  after  a 
host  of  little  bluebottles  of  hypotheses  which 
were  never  framed  to  live  for  more  than  a 
short  part  of  a  single  season  ?  It  is  clear 
that  it  yet  <  knows  nothing  of  its  greatest 
men.'  The  fact  is,  it  has  been  making  mo- 
ney, or  trying  to  make  it,  and  grubbing  after 
worthier  reputation,  until  it  has  lost  its  eye- 
sight for  the  stars  of  Heaven  and  the  Sun 
that  is  shining  above  it. 

«  Emanuel  Swedenborg's  doctrine  is  alto- 
ge&er  the  widest  thing  of  the  kind  which 
medical  literature  affords,  and  cast  into  an 
artistical  shape  of  consummate  beauty.  Un- 
der the  rich  drapery  of  ornament  which  di- 


the  truest  reasoning.  The  book  is  a  perfect 
mine  of  principles,  far  exceeding  in  intellec- 
tual wealth,  and  supassing  in  elevation,  the 
finest  eflor's  of  Lord  Bacon's  genius.  It 
treats  ol  the  loftiest  subjects  without  ab- 
struseness,  being  all  ultimately  referable  to 
the  common  sense  of  mankind.  Unlike  the 
German  transcendcntalists,  this  gifted  Swede 
fulfils  both  the  requisites  of  the  true  philo- 
sopher ;  he  is  one  *  to  whom  the  lowest 
things  ascend,  and  the  highest  descend,  who 
is  the  equal  and  kindly  brother  of  all.' 
There  is  no  trifling;  about  him,  but  he  sets 
forth  his  opinions,  irrespective  of  controver- 
sary,  with  a  plainness  of  affirmation  which 
cannot  be  mistaken  ;  and  in  such  close  and 
direct  terms,  that  to  give  a  full  idea  of  his 
system  in  other  words  would  require  that  we 
lesser  men  should  write  larger  volumes  than 
his  own. 

«*  The  plan  of  the  work  is  this :  Sweden- 
borg  first  gives  extracts  from  the  greatest 
anatomists  of  his  own  and  former  times, 
such  as  Malpighi,  Leuwenhoek,  Morg^ni, 
Swammerdam,  Heister,  Winslow,  &c.,  «c., 
so  that  these  volumes  contain  a  body  of  old 
anatomy  (translated  now  into  close  EngliA) 
such  as  cannot  be  met  with  in  this  shape 
elsewhere.  He  then  gives  his  own  unin- 
cumbered deductions  from  this  *  experience,' 
under  the  heading  *  analysis.'  Each  oian 
of  the  thorax  and  abdomen  in  this  way  has 
a  two-fold  chapter  allotted  to  its  considen- 
tion,  which  chapter  is  a  complete  little  essay, 
or  we  might  say,  epic,  upon  the  subject 
The  philosophical  unity  of  the  work  is  asto- 
nishing, and  serves  to  unlock  the  most  ab- 
struse organs,  such  as  the  spleen,  thynna 
gland,  supra-renal  capsules,  and  other  naifs 
upon  which  Swedenborg  has  dilated  with  an 
analytic  efficacy  which  the  moderns  hare 
not  even  approached ;  and  of  which  the  an- 
cients afibrded  scarcely  an  indication.  Upon 
these  more  mysterious  organs,  we  think  his 
views  most  sugeestive  and  valuable,  and 
worthy  of  the  whole  attention  of  the  better 
minds  of  the  medical  profession.  Ctf  the  doc- 
trine of  series,  since  called  by  the  lesfi^ 
propriate  term  *  homology,'  he  has  afforded 
the  most  singular  illustrations,  not  confining 
himself  to  the  law  of  series  in  the  solids, 
but  boldly  pushing  it  into  the  domain  of  the 
fluids,  and  this  with  an  eneigy  of  purpoee, 
and  a  strength  of  conception  and  execution, 
such  as  is  rarely  shown  by  •  any  nine  mai 
in  these  degenerate  days.'  We  opened  this 
book  with  surprise,  a  surprise  grounded  upon 
the  name  and  fame  of  the  author,  and  upon 
the  daring  affirmative  stand  which  he  takes 
in  limine ;  we  close  it  with  a  deep-laid  won- 
der, and  with  an  anxious  wish  that  it  may 


versifies  his  pages,  there  runs  aframework  of  j  not  appeal  invaia  to  a  proleasion 


Swef^eriborg^s  Animal  Kingdom — Principles  of  Motion.        147 


may  gain  so  mach,  both  morally,  intellectu- 
ally, 911(1  fldentifically,  from  the  priceless 
truths  contained  in  its  pages." 

The  language  of  the  Monthly  Review, 
June,  1844,  is  equally  emphatic : 

^^In  oondttsion,  we  record  our  opinion 
pofiitiirely,  and  not  relatively,  wholly  and 
wi^ut  reservation,  that  if  the  mode  of  rea- 
sonine  and  explanation  adopted  by  Sweden- 
horg  be  once  understood,  the  anatomist  and 
physiolo^st  will  acquire  more  information, 
and  obtain  a  more  comprehensive  view  of 
the  human  body,  and  its  relation  to  a  higher 
sphere,  than  from  any  single  book  ever  pub- 
lished ;  nay,  we  may  add,  than  from  all  the 
hooks  which  have  been  written  (especially 
in  modern  times)  on  physiology,  or  as  it  has 
been  lately  named,  transcendental  anatomy. 
Swodenboig  reasons  not  on  any  hypothesis, 
not  on  any  dieory,  not  on  any  favorite  doc- 
trine of  a  fashionable  school,  but  on  the 
■olid  principles  of  c^metty,  based  on  the 
immutable  rock  of  Truth ;  and  he  must  and 
win  be  considered  at  no  distant  period  the 
Zoraeslwof  Europe,  and  the  Prometheus  pf 
a  new  eia  of  Mason,  however  at  present  the 
doads  of  prejudice  may  intervene,  or  the 
OormB  ol  nassion  obscure  the  corruscatlons 
of  ]uB  inteliecf* 


IhonuuviiUy  Qa,,  May  l«f,  1845. 
DtL  H*  H.  Sbxkwqod. 

Bear  Sir— Inasmuch  as  I  recently  sent 
you  a  summary  view  of  the  merits  of  Swe- 
denborg's  Animal  Kingdom,  as  taken  from  a 
foreign  medical  periodical,  I  now  send  you, 
in  connection  therewith,  an  eictract  from  the 
work  itself — A.  K,  vol  ii.,  page  158 — in 
which  the  principles  of  motion  appertaining 
to  the  human  organization  are  explicitly  sta- 
ted, and  apparently  in  direct  accordance  with 
those  which  you  are  now  advocating. 
Should  they  meet  an  approval,  please  insert 
them  in  your  Dissector,  with  sucn  comments 
as  yon  may  deem  proper. 

Respectfally  yours,  &c. 

Wm.  Hunnxwell,  M.  D. 

«  It  is  a  truth  constantly  presented  to  us 
as  the  result  of  all  our  analytic  investigations, 
that  every  action  of  the  cerebrum  and  cere- 
beDum  is  determined  through  the  fibres ;  and 
that  tBe  fibres  cannot  be  determined  into  act, 
excepting  by  their  beginnings  or  principles ; 
in  snort,  by  the  organs  that  are  prefixed  to 
the  fibres.  The  latter  must  certainly  be  ex- 
cited to  motion  b3r  their  principles,  and  com- 
mence and  describe  their  motions  in  this 
way.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  any  ac- 
tion can  begin  in  the  middle  oi  a  fibre,  and 


not  in  its  first  terminus.    If,  then,  it  begin 
in  the  first  organs,  it  must  inevitably  begin 
in  the  cortical  glands ;   for  the  fibres  com- 
mence, and  are  conceived  and  produced,  in 
those  glands,  and  the  arterial  vessels  of  the 
cerebrum  terminate  also  in  them.  Hence,  if  the 
principles  of  motion  exist  in  them,  according 
to  ail  physical  and  philosophical  laws,  as 
mutually  confirmed  ny  and  confirming  eaeli 
other,  those  principles  must  necessarily  eomp 
mence  by  a  kind  of  active,  living,  or  loco* 
motive  reciprocal  force,  that  is,  by  a  kind  of 
expansion  and  constriction,  or  systole  and 
diastole,  such  as  we  observe  in  a  gross  form 
in  the  luiigs  and  heart ;  for  the  same  eoiidi« 
tions  are  involved,  whether  the  spirit  is  to  be 
driven   through   the    fibres,  or   Uie  blood 
through  the  vessels.    The  blood  cannot  be 
driven  through  its  arteries  without  ^  reci- 
procal  expansion  and  constriction  oi  the 
neart ;  nor  can  the  spirit  be  driven  tbrougb 
the  fibres,  which  are  little  canals  and  vessels 
analogous  to  the  arteries,  only  more  pure» 
without  the  reciprocal  expansion  and  con- 
striction of  the  cortical  glands  of  the  cere- 
brum, which  on  this  account  deserve  the 
appellation  of  pure  corcula,  or  litfle  hearts. 
Assuming  or  granting  these  points,  the  ne- 
cessary conseqaence  is,  that  every  time  the 
cortical  and  dneiiterous  substance  of  the  ce- 
rebrum, cerebellum,  medulla  oblongata,  and 
medulla  spinalis,  contracts  or  constringes 
itself,  the  whole  mass  of  those  parts  sinks 
down,  and  undergoes  systole ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  undergoes  diastole,  when  the 
same  substance,  1  mean  the  whole  congeries, 
expands.    This  is  the  animation  of  the  cere- 
brum— using  the  term  cerebrum  in  its  widest 
acceptation — that  corresponds  to  the  respira- 
tion of  the  lungs.     We  must  now  proceed  a 
step  farther.    If  the  animal  or  nervous  spi- 
rit, at  the  intervals  of  the  constriction  of  these 
oiganic'  substances — of  the  little  hearts  of 
the  cereforum-^is  expressed  by  the  cerebruia 
through  the  nerves  and  nervous  fibres,  of 
course  it  is  expressed  by  the  cerebellum  into 
its  grand  sympathetic  nerves,  the  par  vagum. 
and  the  intercostals :   and  granting  this,  ii 
follows  that  these  nerves  act  during  the  same 
intervals  upon  the  fibres  of  the  pulmonary 
plexus,  and  upon  the  fibres  of  the  costal 
nerves ;  which  cannot  fail  on  the  instant  to 
act  upon  their  muscles  and  membranes :  nor 
the  latter  to  act  upon  the  ribs,  and  this  upon 
the  internal  structure  of  the  lungs.    Hence, 
it  follows  that  the  animations  of  the  cere- 
brum (using  the  term  here  again  in  its  widest 
sense)  must  necessarily  be  coincident  with 
the  respiralion  of  the  lungs ;  and  the  fact  is 
still  more  plainly  declared  by  the  infiuxol 
the  fibres  of  the  above-mentioned  cerebellar 
nerves,  fhe  par  vagum,  and  the  intercostal. 


148 


Magnetizing  in  Lateral  Curvature  of  the  Spine. 


into  all  the  viscera  of  the  abdomen ;  and  by 
the  motion  of  those  viscera  agreeing  exactly, 
and  keeping  perfect  time,  with  the  respira- 
tory motions  of  the  lungs,  as  proved  in  detail 
in  our  Analysis." — Animal  Kingdom,  vol. 
ii.,  pp.  158-9. 

Each  convolution  of  the  brain  or  phreno- 
logical organ  is  divided  into  two  equal 
halves,  by  a  very  thin  nurilema,  on  the  op- 
posite sides  of  which  the  different,  or  diverg- 
ing and  converging  fibres  are  attached. 
Swedenboig,  a  hundred  years  ago,  called 
the  convolutions  of  the  brain,  organs,  corti- 
cal glands,  and  corcula,  or  little  hearts.  He 
was  also  familiar  with  the  fact,  that  motion 
is  produced  by  the  action  of  two  forces. 
Wonder  how  many  hundred  years  it  will 
require  to  beat  this  knowledge  into  the  heads 
of  the  professors  of  our  medical  colleges ! 


ISssatiiJBlnc  in  Lsttnl  OarratoxM  of  th»  Spin*. 
Drtmn  and  Sngm^d  from  «  Dagutrrtotjfp$, 


In  magnetising  for  lateral  curvatures  of  the 
spine,  we  have  introduced  the  chair  repre- 

■entcd  in  the  engraving.    It  is  a  strong  com- 1  the  wonde»ful  chanp  of  climate  it  b«p  oa- 
mon  office  arm-chair,  the  upper  and  back  |  deigone.    fiarren  BoiLi  have  been  itekimii 


part  of  which  being  sawed  ofi,  and  the  front 
part  cushioned — the  right  arm  resting  on  one 
cushion,  and  the  magnetising  buttons  on  the 
other.  A  loose  cushion  is  crowded  into  the 
space  on  the  right  side,  and  a  strong  gallon 
glass  bottle  placed  upon  it ;  when  the  young 
lady  with  a  right  and  left  spinal  curvature— 
or  having  the  upper  part  of  the  spine  curved 
to  the  right,  and  the  lower  part  to  the  left 
side — is  drawn  over  the  bottle  by  an  assist- 
ant, in  the  manner  seen  in  the  figure,  and 
the  buttons  applied  in  the  usual  manner,  as 
described  in  p.  60, 61. 

In  this  case,  it  was  eight  years  since  the 
curvature  commenced;  and  there  was,  as 
usual,  a  large  white  swelling  of  the  right 
scapula,  or  shoulder-blade,  which  drew  the 
spine  under  it. 

On  the  23d  time  we  magnetised  this  pa- 
tient (May  17,  1845,)  the  white  swelling 
being  greatly  reduced,  and  the  atrophied  or 
emaciated  muscles  on  the  opposite  side  much 
thickened,  the  spine  passed  the  centre,  under 
the  action  of  the  machine,  and  began  to 
curve  to  the  left  side,  as  seen  in  the  figure. 

The  most  prominei^t  part  of  the  white 
swelling  was  of  a  dark  red  color,  produced 
by  the  heavy  brass  corsets  the  young  My 
had  long  worn,  which  was  consequently 
shown  in  the  daguerreotype. 

We  have  here  presented  in  the  plainest 
manner,  the  extraordinary  phenomena  of  the 
reduction  of  hypertrophied  muscles  on  one 
side  of  the  spine,  and  the  thickened  atrophied 
muscles  on  the  other,  hy  the  action  of  the 
machine  cUont,  directed  by  a  scientific  and 
easy  application  of  the  buttons. 


aRBEVLAVD. 
English  antiquarians  are  pursuing  interes- 
ting enquiries  relative  to  the  original  settle- 
ment of  Greenland  and  Uie  character  of  its 
soil  and  climate.  It  was  supposed  ori^nal- 
ly  to  have  been  connected  with  our  continent 
but  it  has  been  distinctly  ascertained  that  it 
IS  separated  from  the  American  continent  by 
a  wide  channel  called  Davis  Straits,  ^^^ 
tends  beyond  78  d^rees  of  latitude.  ™ 
most  extraordinary  met  about  Greenland  li 


r 


Greenland, 


149 


\y  eiii%ration  and  industry,  and  cold  climates 
ehaiMd  mto  warmer  latitudes  by  clearing  the 
WOO&  and  lettiipg  in  the  laya  of  the  sun,  but 
we  hhye  no  instance  on  record  of  settlements 
oiiginally  in  warm  climates,  and  f  niitf  ul  soils 
becoming  in  centuries  cold,  bleak,  and  bar- 
len,  and  yet  such  has  been  the  case  with 
Greenland.     The  country,  although  now 
coofiisting  of  little  else  than  barren  rocks, 
mountains  covered  with  snow  and  ice,  and 
Tallies  filled   with  glaciers, — although  its 
coast,  now  lined  with  floes  of  ice,  and  che- 
quered with  icebergs  of  immense  size,  was 
ODce  easily  accessible,  and  its  soil  was  fruit- 
ful, and  well  repaid  the  cultivator  of  the 
earth.    This  country  was  discovered  by  the 
Scandinarians,  towards  the   close  of  the 
tenth  century,  and  a  settlement  was  effected 
on  the  eastern  coast  in  the  year  982,  by  a 
company  of  adventurers  from  Iceland,  under 
the  command  of  Eric  the  Red.     Emigrants 
flocked  thither  from  Iceland  and  Norway, 
and  the  germs  of  European  enterprize  and 
civilization  appeared  on  different  nans  of  the 
coast    A  colony  was  established  in  Green- 
land, and  it  bade  fair  to  go  on  and  prosper. 
Thai  the  climate  must  have  been  mild  and 
the  soil  iraitful,  we  gather  from  the  fact  that 
in  1400  there  were  not  less  than  190  villa- 
ges, 12  parishes  and  2  monasteries,  and  for 
4O0  years  there  was  constant  and  profitable 
meieaotile  intereouse  with  the  Danish  prov- 
inces and  Europe,  but  in  1406  every  thing 
.  changed — a  wall  or  ice  barrier  arose  alone 
the  whole  line  of  coast,  and  no  landing  could 
he  effected,  and  up  to  the  seventeenth  centu- 

S'  the  whole  approach  to  the  country  was 
ocked  by  nusurmountable  barriers  of  ice — 
-v^etatioQ  was  destroyed  and  all  vestiges  of 
its  former  inhabitants  are  gone — parts  of 
booses,  churches,  &c,  remain,  but  the  inhab- 
itants have  all  perished  by  cold.  One  of  our 
cdempotariee  in  referring  to  the  gloomy  sub- 
jaet  says : — It  would  require  no  very  vivid 
imagination  to  imagine  the  appalling  sense  of 
destruction,  which  nleached  tne  features  and 
chilled  the  hearts  of  those  unhappy  colonists 
when  they  began  to  realize  their  forlorn  con- 
dition, when  tne  cold  rapidly  increasing  and 
their  harbors  became  permanently  blocked 
with  icebeigs,  and  the  genial  rays  of  the  sun 
were  obscuned  by  fogs — when  the  winters 
became  for  the  first  time  intensely  rigid, 
cheerless  and  dreary — ^when  the  summers 
were  also  cold,  and  the  soil  unproductive — 
when  the  mountains  were  no  longer  crown- 
ed with  forests,  but  covered  with  snow  and 
ice  throughout  the  year,  and  the  vallies  fil 
Jed  with  fl^laciera — when  the  wonted  inhabi' 
tants  of  me  woods  and  the  waters  were  de- 
stroyed or  exiled  by  the  severity  of  the  wea- 
ther, and  their  places  perhaps  supplied  by 


monsters  of  a  huge  and  affrightful  charac- 
ter.—77k«.Y«w-yorA  Sm,  March  8<A,  1845. 

A  solution  of  the  mystery  of  the  extraor- 
dinary  changes  of  climate,  in  which  the  peo- 
ple of  Greenland  flourished  in  one  period^ 
and  became  extinct  in  another,  is  found  in 
the  revolutions  of  the  magnetic  poles  and 
lines  of  no  variation  and  maximum  declina- 
tion. These  poles  and  lines  perform  a  revo-  . 
lution  around  the  earth  in  666  years,  and 
produce  and  mark  the  lines  of  the  greatest  ^ 
cold,  while  the  lines  of  maximum  dedina^ 
tion,  90  degrees  east  of  these  lines  in  the  dif- 
ferent hemispheres  mark  the  lines  of  the 
greatest  heat  in  the  different  latitudes. 

The  line  of  no  variation  which  is  now  37 
minutes  west  of  Pittsburgh,  passed  over  Lon- 
don in  1657,  and  over  the  meridian  of  the 
City  Hall,  New.York,in  1791.  The  line 
of  maximum  declination,  which  is  now  90? 
37'  %8eU  of  Pittsbuigh,  passed  over  the  me- 
ridian of  that  city  in  162$,  and  the  one 
which  is  now90<>  87'  stwfof  Pittsburgh  pas- 
sed over  London  in  1820.  These  lines  are 
therefore  moving  from  east  to  west,  and  the 
heat  ingreaslng  on  the  east,  and  decreasing 
on  the  west  side  of  the  line  of  no  variation. 

The  cold  is  consequently  increasing  in 
Europe,  and  the  heat  increasing  in  this  coun- 
try, east  of  Pittsburgh,  and  from  a  line 
drawn  on  the  1st  of  January,  1845,  from  a 
point  3  degrees,  34  minutes,  55  seconds,  east 
of  St  Augustine,  Fa.,  in  latitude  29  degrees, 
48  minutes,  30  seconds  north,  and  longitude 
77  degiees,  54  minutes,  37  seconds  west;  to 
a  point  7  minutes,  and  51  seconds  east  of 
Ashtabula,  on  Lake  Erie,  in  latitude  41  de- 
grees, 52  minutes  north,  and  longitude  80  de- 
grees, 47  minutes,  57  seconds  west  of  Lon- 
don. 

These  lines  are  at  an  angle  of  6*  27'  33" 
with  the  terrestrial  meridians,  and  the  line 
of  maximum  declination  which  passed  over 
London  in  1820,  is  now,  or  was  on  the  first 
of  January,  1845, 10*»  52'  55"  west  of  that 
meridian,  on  that  parallel  of  latitude.  Its 
longitude  in  the  arctic  circle ;  (latitude,  66^ 
32'  27".)  which  passes  through  the  southern 
part  of  Greenland,  was  at  the  same  time  14? 
47'  07"  west    In  latitude  70^,  15*»  38'  30" ; 


150 


Greenland. 


and  in  latitude  80*,  18°  18'  57"  west.  On 
drawing  a  line  on  a  globe  through  these  lati- 
tudes and  longitudefi,  it  will  be  found  to  pass 
through  the  eastern  and  middle  part  of 
Greenland,  where  the  mean  heat  in  that 
country  is  now  at  its  maximum,  and  the 
following  table  will  show  the  position  of  the 
lines  of  maximum  declination,  in  ever}'  333 
years  from  the  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  to  the  year  2178,  or  during  the  tim*e 
the  sun  is  passing  through  one  sign  of  the 
Zodiac,  and  also  the  situation  of  the  mag- 
netic pole  and  lines  of  no  variation  in  every 
333  years  of  the  intermediate  periods. — X 
represents  the  pole  and  line  of  no  variation, 
«nd=X  the  pole  and  line  of  maximum  de- 
clinations. 


OhtutianBra, 

0   {ObUq. 

Eclip.  739  46' 

16} 

—X  180»  1 

West 

166} 

333 

™" 

183 

*" 

QO'* 

East 

""" 

1^ 

—  X 
1 

333 

■" 

516 
1664 

—  X  90<> 
1 

— 

681} 
166} 

—  Xl80«* 
1 

W. 

333 

"^ 

848 
166} 

—  X  90° 
1 

E, 

1013} 
166} 

—  X 

1073 

333 

"" 

1180 
166} 

—  X  90'> 

1 

W. 

— 

1345} 

—  X 

1406 

166} 

333 

OS 

1512 

<= 

90" 

E. 

^_ 

166} 
1678} 

^^  > 

< 

. 

1739 

166} 

333 

"™ 

1845 
166} 

—  X  90=' 
1 

W. 

— 

2011} 

—  XlSO" 

W. 

166} 

_l      1 

333 

,^ 

2178 

<  90" 

E. 

It  appears  from  the  above  table*  'that  in 
the  year  1013  1-2,  the  magnetic  pole  in  the 
arctic  circle,  was  in  the  same  longitude  as 


the  line  of  maximum  declination  is  in  at  the 
present  period,  and  the  cold  was  at  its  maxi- 
mum in  that  latitude.  Thi?  was  28  yens 
after  the  first  settlement  of  Greenland  by 
Eric  the  Red. 

It  also  appears  that  from  the  year  1073, 
when  the  climate  may  have  become  mild 
and  the  soil  fruitful  to  the  year  1406,  when 
the  whole  coast  was  closed  by  ice  barrien, 
was  833  years.  From  1406  to  1739  was 
333  years  when  the  ice  barriers  gave  way, 
and  the  climate  became  again  mild  and  the 
soil  b^aa  to  be  fruitful.  The  first  period  it 
will  be  seen  fiom  the  positions  of  fha  pole 
and  line  of  maximum  declination,  was  that 
of  heat,  in  which  the  colony  flourished,  and 
the  second  that  of  cold,  in  which  it  per- 
ished. 

The  historical  evidence  relative  to  die  ma- 
ratime  enterprises,  and  voyages  of  discoveiy 
made  by  the  northmen,  at  periods  correspoi- 
ding  to  those  of  the  mazimom  and  mininldffl 
temperature  of  this  region  from  this  eaase. 
is  highly  interesting  and  corroborative.  Thite 
we  find  that  in  the  year  1000,  but  13  1-2 
years  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  pole  in  the 
longitude  of  GreeDhuid,  14«  47*  wert.- 
Lief  Ericson,  son  of  Eric  the  Red,  cominen- 
ced  a  voyage  of  discovery  to  the  south,  and 
landed  at  various  places  on  the  eastern 
shores  of  this  continent,  to  which  he  gave 
the  names  of  Hallu-land,  Markiand,  awl 
Vin-land,  supposed  to  be  respectively  New- 
foundland, Nova  Scotia,  and  the  coast  of 
New  England,  whence  he  vetomed  wiA 
timber  and  grapes.  Two  >ears  suh«- 
quently,  in  1002,  Thorwald,  brother  of 
Leif,  made  a  voyage  to  Vinland,  or  Vine- 
land,  and  was  killed  by  tha  Indians,  togeth- 
er with  eight  of  his  crew.  The  survivon 
lingered  until  the  year  1004  in  the  vain  hope 
of  effecting  a  settlement,  but  were  so  haras- 
sed by  the  natives  as  to  be  induced  to  letom 
to  Greenland  in  the  spring  of  the  eowniig 
year.  In  the  course  of  the  next  six  or  eight 
years,  several  other  expeditions  were  atteiap- 
ted,  and  appear  to  have  been  rendeied  ahoi- 
tiva  from  the  same  cause.  A  long  iatertai  in 
the  prosecution  of  this  enterprise  seems  to 
have  then  ensued,  and  it  is  Hot  until  the  year 


r 


Oreenland. 


ISl 


1347,  or  more  than  333  years  from  the  date 
of  the  first  recorded  expedition,  that  we  find 
it  again  restimed.  At  this  period,  however, 
the  cold  in  Greenland  had  again  become  ex- 
ceedingly severe,  from  the  aniyal  of  the 
magnetic  pole  on  the  same  meridian,  al- 
though 180  degrees  of  longitade  distant,  and 
on  the  opposite  point  of  the  arctic  circle  to 
the  one  which  it  had  occupied  333  years  pre- 
viona.  This  retarn  of  cold  probably  furnish- 
ed dke  strong  impulse  of  necessity  for  the 
new  expedition  in  search  of  the  more  genial 
climate  of  which  record  and  tradition  had 
preserved  mem(»ials ;  for  the  cold  had  be- 
come 80  intense,  and  the  ice  had  so  formida- 
bly accumulated,  by  the  year  1406,  as  to 
create  an  insurmountable  iMirrier  of  ice-beigs 
along  &e  whole  coast,  gradually  destroy  the 
inhabitants,  and  leave  their  190  villages  deso- 
late. The  coast  thus  remained  ice-bound, 
and  the  country  inaccessible  to  explorers  un- 
til the  year  1739,  or  about  50  years  after  the 
aagnetie  pole  had  again  passed  that  meri- 
dian, on  its  westerly  quadrature  of  revolution. 
It  was  then  that  the  desolation  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  melancholy  relics  of  its  former 
piosfcrity  were  discovered,  and  a  new  colony 
established.  In  the  present  year,  1845,  the 
descendants  of  these  new  colonists  are  en- 
joying the  most  genial  climate  of  which  their 
Jatknde  admits,  the  pole  being  distuit  90  de- 
grees to  the  west,  and  the  line  of  maximum 
declination  in  their  midst  Their  next  cold 
period  will  be  in  the  year  2011  1-2,  when 
the  pole  will  be  180  degrees  west,  coincident 
with  their  meridian  of  longitude  as  it  was  in 
1345  1-2,  but  the  cold  will  be  less  intense 
than  it  was  in  1678  1-2,  when  its  effects 
were  so  destructive  and  exterminating,  be- 
eaoBe  it  will  then  be  more  distant  from  them 
In  latitude,  by  the  whole  diameter  of  the 
arctic  circle,  or  46^,  56'  ,*  and  this  truly  aw- 
ful and  intollerable  epoch  of  maximum  cold, 
will  not  return  to  them  until  the  year  2344 
1-2,  or  666  years  from  the  year  1678  1-2, 
when  the  pole  will  again  be  present,  in  all 
its  horrors* 

Similar  changes  of  climafe  occur  in  all 
other  latitudes,  in  the  same  periods,  although 
in  a  milder  and  less  remarkable  degree,  in 


propcNTtion  as  countries  approach  the  equ^ 
tor.  In  the  year  1780,  so  memorable  for  the 
intensity  of  its  winter,  the  magnetic  pole  vr%» 
on  the  meridian  of  this  dty  of  New  Yoik» 
and  being  also  on  the  proximate  side  of  the 
arctic  circle,  the  cold  was  greater  than  it  had 
been  for  the  previous  666  years,  or  than  it 
will  be  again  for  the  same  period  to  come* 
The  whole  bay  of  New-York  was  frozen 
over,  so  as  not  only  to  be  traversed  by 
sleighs,  but  to  admit  of  heavy  cannon  bei^g 
taken  on  the  ice  down  through  the  Nant>WB» 
and  across  the  lower  bay  to  the  shore  of 
New  Jersey.  Since  that  time  the  average 
temperature  of  our  winters  has  been  growing 
milder,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  until  the 
year  1967  1-2,  when  the  magnetic  needle  in 
this  city  will  have  acquired  its  mazimnm 
westerly  dectination,  or,  in  other  wotds> 
when  the  line  of  maximum  declination  will 
be  on  this  meridian.  In  the  meantime,  though 
very  temporarily,  our  springs  may  be  render- 
ed fickle  and  chilly  in  temperature,  by  the^ 
breaking  up  of  the  ice,  on  the  northeast  coa&t 
of  Europe,  where  that  line  is  present  on  its 
course  to  the  westward,  and  by  the  conae* 
quent  passage  of  large  fields  of  ice  off  aor 
coast,  on  their  way  to  the  southward.  Since 
this  line,  however,  like  the  line  of  minimum 
declination,  or  no  variation,  crosses  the  ter- 
restrial meridians  at  an  angle  of  6^  28% 
(nearly)  it  follows,  that  countries  situated  in 
more  southern  latitudes^  will  receive  their 
periodical  meliorations  and  deteriorations  of 
temperature  later  than  those  in  higher  lati- 
tudes ;  and  consequently,  the  winters  will  be 
increasing  in  severity  in  Florida,  Louisiana, 
Alabama,  and  all  other  regions  which  have 
now  an  easterly  declination  of  the  needle, 
while  they  are  diminishing  in  severity  in 
this  and  higher  latitudes  of  this  continent 
where  the  declination  is  increasing  westerly. 
In  short,  the  temperature  of  ail  countriM 
and  climates  is  absolutely  subservient  to  the 
following  law,  however  it  may  have  been 
over-looked  by  meteorologists  and  previous 
writers  upon  the  subject,  viz :  Where  the  de- 
clination of  the  magnetic  needle  is  increasing^, 
the  average  cold  is  decreasing ;  and  where  the 
declination  is  decreasing,  the  average  cold  is 


162 


Lord  Rosse^s  Two  Great  Telescopes* 


increasing.  In  briefer  terms,  the  arerage 
temperatore  iDcreases  and  decreases  with  the 
declination  of  the  magnetic  needle. 

In  Europe,  where  the  westerly  declination 
is  decreasing,  the  cold  of  winter,  as  we  learn 
from  the  unanimous  report  of  the  foreign 
journals,  is  sensibly  increasing,  and  it  will 
continue  to  do  so,  until  the  eastern  half  of 
tiie  great  circle  of  no-variation  now  in  the 
£ast  Indies,  and  9^  west  of  Fekin,  shall  ar- 
rive in  Europe,  and  the  declination  there  is 
diminished  to  Zero,  preparatory  to  its  becom 
ing  easterly. 

LORD  ROSSfi'S  TWO  ORBAT  TEL^- 
SOOPBSk 

[As  the  extraordinary  telescopes  recently 
constructed  by  Lord  Rosse  are  beginning  to 
excite  ponulaj  attention,  we  extract  from  an 
9iA<t  article  in  the  British  Review,  a  full  ac- 
count of  what  the  noble  astronomer  has  ac- 
eompiished :] 

'After  the  preliminary  details  respectine 
the  constructions  of  gigantic  telescopes,  ana 
the  princii»l  discoveries  which  they  have 
enabled  astronomers  to  make,  our  leaders 
will  be  belter  able  to  appreciate  the  genius, 
the  talent,  the  patience,  and  the  liberality 
with  which  an  Irish  nobleman  has  construe- 
ted  telescopes  far  transcending  in  magnitude 
and  power  all  previous  instruments,  whether 
they  were  the  result  of  nrivate  wealth,  or  of 
'  loyal  or  national  munincenee.  That  noble- 
man is  Lord  Ozmantown,  now  the  Earl  of 
Rosse,  one  of  a  distinguished  group  of  Irish 
philosophers,  who,  educated  in  the  same  ac- 
ademical institution,  now  adorn  it  with  their 
fenius,  and  sustain  it  with  their  labors. — 
n  the  records  of  modem  science,  there  are 
lew  brighter  names  than  thofe  of  Robinson, 
Hamilton,  Lloyd  and  Maccullagh,  and  in 
the  person  of  the  Earl  of  Rosse  and  Lord 
Enniskillen,  the  aristocracy  of  Ireland  b^ve 
contributed  their  contingent  to  her  intellectu- 
al chivalry. 

If,  in  an  eloquent  address  to  the  British 
Association  at  Cork,  Dr.  Robinson  has  given 
expression  to  his  delight,  'that  so  high  a 
problem  as  the  construction  of  a  six  feet 
'  flpeculom  should  ha^e  been  mastered  by  one 
of  his  countrymen — by  one  whose  attain- 
ments are  an  honor  to  his  rank— an  example 
to  his  equals — and  an  instance  of  the  per- 
fect compatibility  of  the  highest  intellectual 
puvuits  with  the  most  perfect  discharge  of 
the  duties  of  domestic  and  social  life  .*" — ^we 
also  may  indulge  in  the  pleasing  recollection 
that  Lord  Oxmantown's  earliest  plans  for 


improvine  the  reflecting  telescope  were  first 
^iven  to  ue  world  in  three  communications, 
whidi  were  published  in  a  Scottish  Journal 
of  Science,  and  that  some  of  as  were  the 
first  to  rec(^ize  their  value,  and  to  see 
looming  in  the  distance  that  mighty  instru- 
ment with  which  we  are  about  to  make  our 
readers  acquainted. 

As  the  surfaces  oi  all  lenses  and  specula 
are  necessarily  of  a  spherical  form,  they  are 
subject  to  what  IS  called  spherical  aberration, 
that  is  the  edge  both  of  specula  and  lenses 
has  a  shorter  focus  than  the  centre.  In 
lenses  this  may  be  diminished  or  even  re- 
moved by  the  opposite  aberration  of  a  con" 
cave  lens;  but  this  remedy  cannot  be  appli- 
ed to  specula.  It  therefore  occurred  to  Loid 
Rosse,  that^e  first  step  towards  the  im- 
provement of  the  reflecting  telescope,  was 
to  diminish  the  spherical  aberration.  With 
this  view  he  formed  the  speculum  of  three 
parts,  a  central  speculum,  a  ring,  inclosing 
the  central  speculum,  and  outer  rinc.  Theee 
three  portions  were  cemented  together,  and 
ground  and  poli^ied  as  one  speculum.— 
1  hey  were  then  combined  by  an  ingeniom 
piece  of  mechanism,  so  that  the  f^t  and 
second  rings  could  be  advanced  each  a  small 
fraction  of  an  inch,  in  order  that  their  focus 
should  accurately  coincide  with  the  focus  of 
the  central  speculum.  Lord  Rosse*s  first  at- 
tempt did  not  succeed  to  his  wishes,  owiu 
to  a  defect  in  the  mechanism,  which  requirn 
Irequent  adjustments,  as  the  smallest  shock 
displaced  the  images.  He  then  tried  to  com- 
bine one  ring  only,  1  inch  thick,  with  a  cen- 
tral metal  1  1-2  inches  thick,  the  two  to- 
gether forming  a  speculum  of  six  inches 
aperture,  and  two  feet  focal  length.  This 
combination  was  moie  successful,  as  it  "re- 
mained in  perfect  adjustment  even  after  veiy 
violent  shocks."  In  these  combinations 
Lord  Rosse  did  not  perceive  the  ill  effects 
which  he  had  apprehended  from  contraction 
and  expansion ;  and  it  remained  to  be^seeO) 
from  future  trials,  if  they  did  appear,  wheth- 
er or  not  they  could  be  removed.  "On  my 
return  from  Parliament,  (June  1828)  says 
Lord  Rosse,  if  other  avocations  do  not  in- 
terfere, I  propose  to  construct  a  speculam  m 
three  parts  of  18  inches  aperture,  and  twel« 
feet  focal  lenjfth— this  will  be  giving  the  ex- 
periment a  fair  trial  on  a  large  scale.**  This 
proposal  was  accordingly  executed,  and  he 
found  the  speculum  superior  to  a  solid  one 
of  the  same  dimensions. 

In  order  to  grind  and  {lolish  laiif^e  specula, 
Lord  Rosse  soon  perceived  that  a  steam- 
engine  and  appropriate  machinerv  weie  bs- 
cessary.  He  accordingly  invented  a  roachios 
of  this  kind,  and  transmitted  an  account  of 
it  to  the  writer  of  this  articl^,  who  puUiahed 


Lord  Rossffs  Two  Chreat  Tdescopes. 


15S 


it  in  the  Edinbui^h  Journal  of  Science,  for 
October,  18tS.  The  engine  which  his  lord- 
ahip  actually  conetmcted  and  used  was  one 
of  two  hoiae  power,  thoaeh  from  some  rude 
trials  with  it  he  inferred  that  a  one  horse 
power  would  be  fully  sufficient  for  execu- 
ting  at  the  same  time  three  or  four  specula 
six  inches  in  diameter.  For  such  sizes  Lord 
Rone  conceived  that  a  day  would  suffice  for 
completing  the  process,  and  that  a  machine 
on  the  scale  shown  in  his  drawing,  'would 
be  sufficiently  large  to  grind  and  polish  a 
speculum  of  three  feet  diameter,  or  perhaps 
larger.*  In  this  interesting  communication 
Lord  Roese  suggests  what  he  afterwards  ac- 
comnlished,  that  the  motion  for  producing  a 
j^ajabolic  curre, 'might  be  imitated  by  means 
of  the  eccentric  guides,  and  the  slow  circu- 
lar motion  of  the  speculum,  and  with  this 
advanlage,  that,  were  it  found  really  suc- 
ceasfn],  the  same  result  would  probably  be 
always  afterwards  obtained.' 

Before  the  year  1830,  Lord  Rosse  had 
made  still  further  adyances  towards  the 
great  object  he  had  in  view.  He  found  from 
many  experiments  that  he  could  not  cast  a 
apeculumoi  the  modern  dimensions  of  15 
inches,  without  reducing  the  composition 
constdezably  below  the  highest  standard,  that 
is  withoDt  using  so  much  copper  as  to  pro- 
duce a  soft  and  yellowish  mefal.  All  the 
specula  cracked  in  annealing  when  the  pro- 
per oomposition  was  employed. 

In  order  to  get  over  this  difficulty,  he  tried 
to  cast  the  specula  in  different  pieces,  and  to 
unite  them  by  their  surfaces ;  but  though  this 
was  practicable,  he  abandoned  it  for  the  fol- 
lowing plan.  He  found  that  an  alloy  of 
eopper  2-75  parts,  with  1  of  zinc,  expanded 
and  contracted  with  a  change  of  temperature 
in  the  same  degreee  as  speculum  metal,  and 
was  an  alloy  maleable,  ductile,  and  easUy 
worked.  With  ibis  alloy  he  cast  a  speculum 
15  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  rim  and  ribs 
behind.  It  was  turned  smooth  and  flat  on 
one  aide,  and  tinned.  Six  pieces  of  the 
bi^est  speculum  metal,  1  l-4th  of  an  inch 
thick,  were  then  placed  on  the  flat  tinned 
surface,  so  as  to  complete  a  circular  disc  15 
inches  in  diameter,  and  when  soldered  to  it, 
composed  a  plated  speculum.  When  ground 
and  polished,  it  formed  an  excellent  telescope 
of  twelve  feet  focal  length.  Upon  the  same 
plan.  Lord  Rosse  constructed  a  speculum 
two  feet  in  diameter,  for  a  telescope  twenty - 
six  feet  long.  Hitherto  it  had  been  believed 
by  opticians,  that  a  fine  polish  could  net  be 
even  to  specula,  unless  when  the  po1i^her 
oecaoie  dry  and  hot ;  but  Lord  Rosse  at  this 
stage  of  his  researches  found  out  a  method 
of  polishing  a  cold  metal  upon  a  moist  polish- 
er, an  object  of  very  great  importance,  as  a 


speculum  should  he  polished  at  the  same 
temperature  at  which  it  is  to  be  used. 

First  Tdescopey  Twenty'Six  feet  long. 

The  next  step  in  Lord  Rosse's  progress 
was  to  make  a  plated  speculum,  three  feet  in 
diameter.  The  proportions  of  copper  and 
tin,  which  he  found  to  be  the  best,  were  the 
de^nite  ones  of  four  atoms  of  copper  to  one 
of  tin,  or  126-4  parts  of  copper  to  58-9  of 
tin,  or  32  of  the  one  to  14-91  of  the  other. 
After  preparing  the  alloy  speculum,  which 
was  to  be  plated,  and  turning  it  to  a  radius 
of  64  feet.  Lord  Rosse  proceeded  to  cast  the 
small  plates  of  speculum  metal, about  9  inches 
square.  In  doing  this  he  encountered  great 
difficulties,  owing  to  their  extreme  brittleness, 
arising^,  no  doubt,  from  the  too  rapid  cooling 
of  their  edges,  and  the  consequent  state  of 
tension.  In  order  to  produce  uniformity  of 
cooling,  he  tried  two  ways  of  constructing 
the  mould.  The  first  was  to  make  the  lower 
surface  of  the  mould,  containmg  the  liquid 
speculum,  sbsorb  the  heat  rapidly,  and  the 
upper  retain  it ;  and  the  second  was  to  cool 
the  lower  surface  while  the  heat  of  the  up- 
per surface  was  undiminished.  The  first 
plan  did  not  succeed ;  but  the  second  did,  by 
making  the  lower  stirface  of  the  mould  of  iron, 
and  the  upper  of  sand ;  but  though  the  cast- 
ings wete  sound,  there  was  this  defect,  that 
buobles  of  air  were  entangled  between  the 
iron  disc  and  the  speculum  metal,  producing 
cavities  which  it  was  troublesome  to  grind 
out.  Hence  he  was  led  to  replace  the  iron 
disc,  by  one  made  of  pieces  of  hoop  iron, 
placed  side  by  side  with  their  edges  up,  tight- 
ly packed  in  an  iron  frame,  the  surface  tnus 
composed  of  edges,  being  smoothed  to  the 
proper  curvature,  by  filing  or  turning.  By 
this  most  ingenious  process  he  constructed  a 
metallic  sunace  every  where  open,  as  the 
closest  plates  allowed  the  air  to  pass  freely 
between  them. 

« So  successful  was  this  expedient,*  says 
Lord  Rosse,  <  that  of  sixteen  plates  cast  tor 
the  three  feet  speculum,  not  one  was  defec- 
tive. The  following  particulars  require  to 
be  attended  to.  The  disc  of  hoop  iron  should 
be  as  thick  as  the  speculum  to  be  cast  upon 
it,  so  as  to  cool  it  with  sufficient  rapidjtv ; 
it  requires  to  be  warm,  so  that  there  may  be 
no  moisture  deposited  upon  it  from  the  sand. 
It  may  be  heated  to  212  deg.  without  ifiateri- 
ally  lessening  the  cooling  power.  The  me- 
tal should  enter  the  mould  by  the  side,  as  is 
usual  in  iron  founding,  but  much  quicker, 
almost  instantaneously  ;  one  second  is  suffi- 
cient for  filhng  the  mould  of  a  nine  inch 
plate  of  speculum.  As  to  the  temperature  of 
the  metal,  this  can  be  best  ascertained  by 
stirring  it  with  a  wooden  pole  occasionally. 


164 


Lord  Rosses  Two  Oreat  Telescopes. 


after  it  has  become  perfectly  fluid :  when  the 
carbon  of  the  pole  reduces  the  oxide  on  the 
svrface  of  the  metal,  rendering  it  brilliant 
like  quicksilver,  the  heat  is  sufficient.  When 
the  metal  has  become  solid  in  the  ingate  or 
hole  through  which  it  enters  the  mould,  the 
plate  is  to  be  removed  quickly  to  an  oven 
heated  a  little  below  redness,  to  remain  till 
cold,  which,  where  the  plates  are  nine  inches 
in  diameter,  should  be  three  or  four  days  at 
least/— [Phil.  Trans.,  1840,  p.  611.] 

When  the  nine  inch  plates  Are  properly 
scraped  and  cleaned,  mucn  attention  is  neces- 
sary in  soldering  them  upon  the  tinned  sur- 
face of  the  alloy  speculum.  Care  must  be 
taken  that  until  the  tin  on  the  speculum  is 
fused,  the  melted  rosin  must  not  be  poured 
in  between  the  plates. 

The  great  success  which  attended  this  new 
method  of  casting  these  nine  inch  specula, 
induced  Lord  Rosse  to  try  it  on  a  laige  scale, 
and  he  accordingly  proceeded  with  one  20 
inches,  and  another  three  feet,  which  on  the 
first  trial  was  cast  perfect.  The  crucibles 
which  he  employed  were  made  of  cast  iron, 
and  cast  with  their  mouth  upwards ;  and  the 
fuel  used  was  peat  or  wood,  which  are  both 
•preferable  to  coke. 

A  perfect  speculum  being  thus  obtained; 
the  next  object  to  be  accomplished  is  to  work 
it,  by  gp^inding  and  polishing,  to  a  perfect 
spherical  figure.  The  macbine  for  this  pur- 
pose, which  we  have  already  described,  was 
impioved  and  enlarged  so  as  to  work  a  specu- 
lum three  feet  in  diameter,  and  after  several 
years  experience,  during  which  specula  have 
been  ground  and  polist^d  with  it  many  hun- 
dred times,  it  has  been  found  to  work  large 
surfaces  with  a  degree  of  precision  unattain- 
able by  the  hand.  The  peculiarity  in  this 
process,  introduced  by  Lord  Hosse,  and  as 
we  conceive  essential  to  success,  is,  that  the 
polisher  works  above  and  upon  the  face  of 
the  speculum  to  be  polished,  and  one  singu- 
lar advantage  of  this  arrangement  is,  that  the 
figure  of  the  speculum  can  be  examined  as 
the  operation  proceeds,  without  removing 
the  speculum,  which,  when  a  ton  weight,  is 
no  easy  matter.  The  contrivance  for  doing 
this  is  so  beautiful,  and  has  proved  so  useful 
that  we  must  briefly  explain  it.  The  ma- 
chine is  placed  in  a  room  at  the  bottom  of  a 
high  tower,  in  the  successive  floors  of  which 
trap-doors  can  be  opened.  A  mast  is  eleva- 
ted on  the  top  of  the  tower,  so  that  its  sum- 
mit is  about  90  feet  above  the  speculum.  A 
dial  plate  is  attached  to  the  top  of  the  inaat, 
and  a  small  plane  speculum  and  eye-piece, 
with  proper  adjustments,  are  so  placed  that 
the  combination  becomes  a  Newtonian  tele 
scope,  and  the  diai-plate  the  object. 

During  the  operation  of  polishing  the  lar 


ger  specula,  a  variety  of  difficulties  occnrred, 
but  they  were  all  surmounted  by  the  inge- 
nuity and  patience  of  Lord  Rosse.  At  firrt, 
in  order  to  allow  a  lateral  expansion  of  the 
pitch,  it  appeared  necessaiy  to  increase  die 
thickness  of  the  bed  of  pitch  as  the  dia- 
meter of  the  speculum  was  increased.  This 
proved  a  failure,  and  the  lateral  expansioii 
was  provided  for  bv  making  grooves  in  the 
pitch ;  but  these  grooves,  though  there  we» 
two  sets  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  and 
only  two  inches  distant,  were  with  difficohy 
kept  open,  and  the  other  polisher  lost  iti 
figure.  All  these  evils,  however,  were  «- 
moved  by  furrowing  the  polisher  itself,  bo 
as  to  divide  it  into  definite  and  insulated  por- 
tions. The  eflect  of  this  improvement  vm 
so  great  that  the  plated  or  divided  three  im 
speculum  defined  better  with  a  power  of 
1200  than  it  had  previously  done  with  a 
power  of  300.  In  place  of  pitch.  Lord  Roaae 
used,  as  his  polishing  surface,  a  mixture  of 
common  resin  and  turpentine,  and  this  com- 
position was  laid  on  in  two  strata  of  diftr- 
ent  degrees  of  hardness,  the  outer  one  beitf 
the  harder,  the  subjacent  softer  layer  expand- 
ing laterally,  so  as  to*  preserve  the  figure  w 
the  polifher.  The  speculum  being  placed  m 
a  cistern  of  water,  the  polishing  procese  is 
then  effected  by  using  peroxide  of  iron  and 
water,  of  about  the  consistence  of  thin 
cream. 

The  last  and  most  important  part  of  tfie 
process  of  working  the  speculum,  is  to  pn 
It  a  true  parabolic  figure,  that  is,  such  a  fig- 
ure that  each  portion  of  it  should  reflect  me 
incident  ray  to  the  same  focus.  This  grand 
difficulty  has  been  completely  mastered  by 
Lord  Rosse,  The  operations  for  this  pur- 
pose consist,  1st,  of  a  stroke  of  the  first  e^ 
centric,  which  carries  the  polisher  along  one- 
third  of  (be  diameter  of  the  speculum.  » 
A  transverse  stroke  21  times  slower,  m 
equal  to  0  27  of  the  same  diameter,  measuiw 
on  the  edge  of  the  tank,  or  17  beyond  the 
centre  of  the  polisher.  3d.  A  rotation  ot 
the  speculum  performed  in  the  same  time«» 
37  of  the  first  strokes ;  and  4th.  A  rotoh» 
of  the  polisher  in  the  same  direction  show 
sixteen  times  slower.  If  these  rules  are  »• 
tended  to,  the  machine  will  give  the  tree  pa- 
rabolic figure  to  the  speculum,  whether « 
be  six  inches  or  three  feet  in  diameter.  « 
the  three  feet  speculum,  the  figure  is  so  tine, 
with  the  whole  aperture,  that  it  is  thro^ 
out  of  the  iocus  by  a  motiqn^of  leas  tbana 
thirtieth  of  an  inch,  *•  and  even  with  a  ainge 
lens  of  one-eighth  of  an  inch  focus,  V'f^ 
a  power  of  2592,  the  dots  on  a  watcli  cm 
are  still  in  some  d^ee  defined. 

The  twenty-six  feet  tf l«8cope  thus  exf^' 
ted,  has  a  general  resemblance  to  that  oi  w 


Lord  RoMe^s  Ttoo  Great  Telescopes. 


166 


mage,  bat  the  tube,  galleiy,  and  vertical  axis 
of  the  stand  aie  counterpoised.  It  is  used  as 
a  Newtonian  t Jescope,  with  a  small  plane 
speculum,  to  prevent  the  ima(^  being  de- 
formed by  oblique  reflection  which  is  the 
e&ct  oi  the  front  view.  When  the  specula 
are  not  used  they  are  preserved  from  mois- 
ture and  acid  vapors  by  connecting  their 
boxes  with  chambers  containing  quicK  lime, 
an  arrangement  which  Dr  Robinson  had 
applied  for  several  years  to  the  Annagh  re< 
TOctor. 

Dmoveries  made  hy  the  Tducope. 

When  this  telescope  was  completed,  it  be- 
came an  object  of  high  interest  to  ascertain 
its  performance.  In  doing  this,  Dr.  Robin- 
0}ji  had,  as  he  remarks,  « the  advantage  of 
the  assistance  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
of  British  astronomers.  Sir  James  Smith  f* 
but  the  weather,  the  state  of  the  air,  and  the 
light  of  iht  moon,  between  the  29th  of  Octo- 
ber and  8tb  of  November,  1840,  were  unfa- 
vorable. The  following  is  the  substance  of 
Dr.  Robinson's  report: — 

'  Both  suecula,  the  divided  and  the  solid, 
seem  exactly  parabolic,  there  being  no  sensi- 
ble difiEbrence  in  the  focal  adjustment  of  the 
eye-piece  with  the  whole  aperture  of  36 
ioches,  or  one  of  twelve ;  in  the  former  case 
there  m  mojt  flutter,  but  apparently  no  differ- 
ence in  the  definition,  and  the  eye-piece 
comes  to  its  place  of  adjustment  very  sharply. 

*  The  solid  speculum  showed  a  Lyrse 
round  and  well  defined,  with  powers  up  to 
1000  inclusive,  and  at  moments  even  with 
l600 1  but  the  air  was  not  fit  for  5K)  high  a 
power  on  any  telescope.  Rigel,  two  hours 
from  the  meridian,  w?th  600,  was  round,  the 
field  quite  dark,  the  companion  separated  by 
more  than  a  diameter  of  the  star  from  its  light, 
and  so  brilliant  that  it  would  certainly  be  vi- 
Bible  long  before  sunset 

'  Orion  is  well  defined,  with  all  the  pow- 
ers from  200  to  1000,  with  the  latter  a  wide 
black  separation  between  the  stars ;  32  Ori- 
onis  and  31  Cam's  minoris  were  also  well 
separated. 

<  It  is  scarcely  possible  to  preserve  the  ne- 
cessary sobriety  of  language,  in  speaking  of 
the  moon's  appearance  with  this  instrument, 
which  discovers  a  multitude  of  new  objects 
at  every  point  of  its  surface.  Among  these 
may  be  named  a  mountainous  tract  near  Pto- 
lemy,  every  ridge  of  which  is  dotted  with 
extremely  minute  craters,  and  two  black  pa- 
rallel stnpes  in  the  bottom  of  Aristarchus.* 


'  Dt.  AobinaoD,  in  hii  addrem  to  the  Britiih  Auo< 
n,  on  ttM  QMi  Aogwt,  1843,  stated,  thai  in  ihia 
mcacope,  A  building  tha  lize  ol  the  ont  in  which  they 
Were  aataoibled  woold,  nnder  faTorable  eircnmttan* 
Mc,  be  eanlr  visible  wttthe  Loaat  surface.— {Athene- 
am,  Sept.  23^  p.  867.) 


<  There  could  be  little  doubt  of  the  high 
illuminating  power  of  such  a  telescope,  yet 
an  example  or  two  may  be  desirable,  be- 
tween s\  and  «2  Lyrs,  there  are  two  faint 
stars,  which  Sir  J.  Herschel  (Phil.  Trans., 
1824)  calls  '  debilissima,'  and  which  seem  to 
have  been  at  that  time  the  only  set  visible  in 
the  20  feet  reflector.  These  at  the  altitude 
of  180*>  were  visible  without  an  eye-glass, 
and  also  when  the  aperture  was  contracted 
to  12  inches.  With  an  aperture  of  18  inch- 
es, power  600,  they  and  two  other  stars 
(seen  in  Mr.  Cooper's  achromatic  of  13.2 
inches  aperture,  and  the  Armagh  reflector  of 
15  inches)  are  easily  seen.  With  the  whole 
aperture,  a  fifth  is  visible,  which  Dr  R.  had 
not  before  noticed.  Nov.  5,  strong  moonlight. 

<  In  the  nebula  oi  Orion,  the  fifth  star  of 
the  trapezium  is  easily  seen  with  either  spec- 
uluifl,  even  when  the  aperture  is  contracted 
to  18  inches.  The  divided  specuhim  will 
not  show  the  sixth  with  the  whole  aperture, 
on  account  of  that  sort  of  disintegration  of 
large  stars  already  noticed,  but  does,  in  fa- 
vourable moments,  when  contracted  to  18  in- 
ches. With  the  solid  mirror  and  whole  aper- 
ture, it  stands  out  conspicuously  under  all  the 
powers  up  to  1000,  and  even  with  18  inches 
it  is  not  hkeiy  to  be  overlooked. 

Among  the  few  nebule  examined  were  13 
Messier,  in  which  the  central  mass  of  stars 
was  more  distinctly  separated,  and  the  stars 
themselves  larger  than  had  been  anticipated ; 
the  great  nebula  ot  Orion  and  that  of  An- 
dromeda showed  no  appearance  ot  resolution, 
but  the  small  nebula  near  the  latter  is  clearly 
resolvable.  Ihis  is  also  the  case  with  the 
ring  nebula  of  Lyra ;  indeed,  Dr.  R.  thought 
it  was  resolved  at  its  minor  axis ;  the  fainter 
nebulous  matter  which  fills  it  is  irregularly 
distributed,  having  several  stripes  or  wisps 
in  it,  and  there  are  four  stars  near  it,  besides 
the  one  figured  by  Sir  John  Herschel,  in  his 
catalogue  of  nebulae.  It  is  also  worthy  of 
notice,  that  this  nebula,  instead  of  that  regu- 
lar outline  which  he  has  there  given  it,  is 
fringed  with  appendages,  branching  out  into 
the  surrounding  space,  like  those  of  13  Mes- 
sier, (Sir  J.  H's,  86),  and  in  particular  hav^ 
ing  prolongations  brighter  than  tbe  others, 
in  the  direction  of  the  major  axis,  longer 
than  the  ring's  breadth.  A  still  greater  dif- 
ference is  found  in  1  Messier,  described  by 
Sir  John  Herschel,  as  •  a  barely  resolvable 
cluster,*  and  drawn,  fig.  81,  as  a  fine  eliptic 
boundary.  This  telescope,  however,  shows 
the  stars,  as  in  his  figure  89,  and  some  more 
plainly,  while  the  general  outline,  besides 
being  irregular  and  Jringcd  with  appendages, 
has  a  deep  bifurcation  to  the  south.** 


*  Phil.  Trans.,  1833,  p.  500. 


156 


Lord  Rassefs  7\do  Great  Telescopes, 


In  a  Paper  entitled  *  Observations  on  some 
of  the  Neoulae/  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Society  on  the  13th  of  June  last,  Lord  Rosse 
has  given  sketches  of  five  of  the  nebule  in 
Sir  John  Herschel's  Catalogue,*  numbered 
$S,  81,  26,  29,  and  47,  as  seen  ia  his  three 
feet  specula,  and  as  soon  as  this  paper  is 
printed,  the  comparison  of  these  drawings 
with  Sir  John  Herschel  will  exhibit  the  pow- 
er of  the  new  telescope. 

Fig.  26  of  Sir  J.  Herschel's  Catalogue 
(Messier  27)  called  the  Dumb-bell  Nebulae, 
from  its  supposed  resemblance  to  a  dumb- 
bell, is  shown  by  Lord  Rosse's  telescope  to 
be  a  cluster  of  stars,  or  rather  two  clusters 
in  close  proximity,  and,  indeed,  to  a  certain 
extent,  blended  together,  and  without  the 
exact  elliptical  termination  of  Herschel's 
figure. 

Fig.  81  of  Sir  J.  Herschel's  Catalogue 
(Messier  51)  seen  as  an  oval  nebula  by  Iwtb 
ihese  astronomers,  Is  found  to  be  a  cluster  of 
stars  remarkable  for  its  singular  appearance, 
the  ramifications  from  its  southern  extremity 
extending  to  a  distance  equal  to  its  major 
axis,  ana  giving  it  the  appearance  of  a  scor- 
pion. 

Fig.  45  of  Sir  J.  Herschel's  Catalogue  is 
a  perfectly  circular  planetary  nebula:  but 
Lord  Rosse  has  discovered  it  to  be  an  annu- 
lar nebula  like  the  elliptical  annular  nebula 
in  Lyra,  (29  Sir  J.  Herschel's  Catalogue, 
and  57  Messier)  but  very  much  more  dif&ult 
to  be  seen. 

Fig.  49  of  Sir  J.  Herschel's  Catalogue  is 
represented  as  a  remarkable  round  planetary 
neoula,  containing  three  stars,  one  at  each  of 
the  three  vertices  of  an  equilateral  trianeie  ; 
Lord  Rosse's  telescope  shows  this  as  a  long 
irregular  patch,  with  about  seven  stars  in  it, 
grouped  unsymmetrically. 

There  are  a  few  interesting  examples  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  new  telescope  has 
resolved  nebulae  into  stars,  and  has  destroyed 
that  symmetry  of  form  in  globular  nebulae, 
upon  which  was  founded  the  hypothesis  of 
the  gradual  condensation  of  nebulous  matter 
into  suns  and  planets. 

Tke  second  Tdescope,  50  feet  long. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  the  construction 
and  performance  of  a  telescope  which  Dr. 
Robinson  charact<trizes  as  the  most  powerful 
that  has  ever  been  made.  Its  superiority  to 
all  other  instruments  must  have  been  v^ry 
gratifying  to  Lord  Rosse,  and  mieht  have 
justified  him  in  restinz  from  his  labors,  and 
enjoying  the  honor  of  having  triumphed  in 
so  noble  an  undertaking ;  but  the  instrument 


*  Proceedings  of  tbe  Royml  Iriih  AoadeniT,  No<  26, 
pp.  8^  11,  Nov  9,184a  " 


was  scarcely  out  of  his  hands  before  be  re- 
solved upon  attempting  the  construction  .of 
another  reflector,  with  a  speculum  six  feet  In 
diameter,  and  fifty  feet  lone !  This  magnifi- 
cent instrument  was  accordingly  undertaken 
and  within  the  last  month  has  been  brought 
to  a  successful  termination.  The  specalmn 
has  six  feet  of  clear  aperture,  and  tnerefoie 
an  area  four  times  greater  than  that  of  the 
three  feet  speculum,  and  it  weighs  nearly 
four  tpns !  The  focal  length  is  53  feet.  It 
was  polished  in  six  hours,  in  the  same  time 
as  a  small  speculum,  and  with  the  same  fa- 
cility ;  and  no  particular  care  was  taken  in 
Sreparing  the  polisher,  as  Lord  Rosse  inteii- 
ed  to  re-polish  it  as  soon  as  the  focal  lengdi 
iiras  ascertained  to  be  correct ;  but  upon  ^• 
reeling  it  to  a  nebula,  the  performance  vw 
better  than  he  expected,  ana  he  therefore  has 
suffered  it  to  remain  in  the  tube  for  the  pres- 
ent. The  second  or  duplicate  speculum,  not 
yet  finished,  is  in  every  respect  the  same  in 
size.  It  was  only  three  weeks  in  the  annea- 
ling oven,  and  is  reckoned  very  good. 

The  casting  of  a  speculum  of  nearly  foor 
tons  must  have  been  an  object  of  great  inter- 
est, as  well  as  of  difficulty;  but  every  dil- 
culty  was  foreseen  and  provided  against  lii 
order  to  insure  uniformity  of  metal,  the 
blocks  from  the  first  melting,  which  was  ef- 
fected in  three  furnaces,  were  broken  up,  and 
the  pieces  from  each  of  the  furnaces  were 
placed  in  three  separate  casks,  A,  B,  and  C. 
Then  in  charging  the  crucibles  for  the 
final  melting  of  the  speculum,  snccessiie 
portions  from  cask  A  were  put  into  famaoes 
a,  b,  and  c,  fr::m  6  into  b,  c,  d,  and 
so  on. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  metal  from  beading 
or  changing  its  form,  Lord  Rosse  has  intRK 
duced  a  very  ingenious  and  effective  support- 
The  speculum  rests  upon  a  surface  of  twenff 
seven  feet  of  cast  iron,  of  equal  area,ai» 
strongly  framed  so  as  to  be  stiff  and  li^l- 
There  are  twelve  of  these  in  the  outer  nm, 
nine  in  the  next,  and  six  sectors  at  the  cen- 
tre. Each  of  these  pieces  is  supported  at  dre 
centre  of  gravity  on  a  hemisphere  bearing  tf 
the  angle  of  a  triangle  of  cast  iron,  these 
triangles  being  in  their  turn  similarly  rap- 
port^ at  the  angles  of  three  primary  trivi' 
gles,  which,  again,  are  supported  at  tb^ 
centres  of  gravity  by  three  screws  which 
work  in  a  strong  iron  frame,  and  serve  ^ 
adjusting  the  mirrors.  This  frame  carn» 
also  levers  to  give  internal  support  to  to 
speculum,  in  the  same  diffused  manner.  The 
frame,  which  contains  the  specnluBi  i«  •** 
tached  to  an  immense  joint,  like  that  "• 
pair  of  compasses  moving  round  *P|°*? 
order  to  give  the  transverse  oiotion  ht  v»r 
lowing  the  star  in  right  ascension. 


Lord  Rossffs  Two  Cheat  Telescopes. 


157 


This  pin  is  fixed  to  the  centre  piece  be- 
tween two  trunnions,  like  those  of  an  enor- 
moos  mortar,  lying  east  and  west,  and  upon 
whidr  the  telescope  has  its  motion  in  alti- 
tude. To  the  frame  there  is  fastened  a  laive 
cubical  wooden  box,  about  eight  feet  a  side, 
in  which  there  is  a  door  through  which  two 
men  go  in  to  remove,  or  to  replace  the  cover 
of  the  minor.  To  this  box,  is  fastened  the 
tube,  which  is- made  of  deal  staves,  hooped 
like  a  huge  cask.  It  is  about  40  feet  long, 
and  8  feet  diameter  in  the  middle,  and  is  fur- 
nished with  internal  diaphragms,  about  6  1-2 
feet  in  aperture.  The  Dean  of  Elj  walked 
through  the  tube  with  an  umbrella  up! 

In  looking  back  upon  what  the  telescope 
had  accomplished— in  reckoning  the  thou- 
sands of  celestial  bodies  which  have  been 
detected  and  surveyed — in  reflecting  on  the 
vait  depths  of  ether  which  have  b^n  soun- 
ded, and  on  the  extensive  fields  of  sidereal 
matter  out  of  wliich  worlds  and  systems  of 
worlds  are  forming  and  to  be  formed — can 
we  donht  it  to  be  the  Divine  plan  that  man 
shall  7«t  discover  the  whole  scheme  of  the 
-nrable  universe,  and  that  it  is  his  individual 
duty,  as  well  as  the  high  prerogative  of  his 
Older,  to  expound  its  mysteiies,  and  to  devel- 
op its  Jaws?  Over  the  invisible  world  he 
'has  received  no  commission  to  reign,  and  into 
its  secrets  he  has  no  authority  to  pry.  It  is 
over  the  material  and  the  visible  he  has  to 
sway  the  intellectual  sceptre — ^it  is  among  the 
structures  of  on;anic  and  inoiganic  life  that 
his  functions  of  combination  and  analysis 
are  to  he  chiefly  exercised.  Nor  is  this  a 
task  unworthy  of  his'genius,  or  unconnected 
with  his  destiny.  Placed  upon  a  globe  al- 
leady  formed,  and  constituting  part  of  a  a^s- 
tem  already  complete,  he  can  scarcely  trace 
either  in  the  solid  masses  around  him,  or  in 
the  forms  and  movements  of  the  planet,  any 
of  the  secondary  causes  by  which  these  bod- 
ies have  been  shaped  and  launched  on  their 
journey.  But  in  tne  distant  heavens  where 
creation  seems  to  be  ever  active,  where  vast 
distance  gives  us  the  vision  of  huge  magni- 
tudes, and  where  extended  operations  are  ac- 
tually going  on,  we  may  study  the  cosmog- 
ony of  our  own  system,  and  mark,  even  du- 
ring the  brief  span  of  human  life,  the  for- 
mation of  a  planet  in  the  consolidation  of 
the  nehulous  mass  which  surrounds  it. 

Such  is  the  knowledge  which  man  has 
Tet  to  acquire — such  the  lesson  which  he 
has  to  teach  his  species.  How  much  to  be 
prized  is  the  intellectual  faculty  by  which 
Buch  a  work  is  to  be  performed — how  won- 
derful the  process  bv  which  ibt  human 
hrain,  in  its  casket  of  bone,  can  alone  estab- 
lish inch  nmote  and  traoscendental  truths. 


A  soul  so  capacious,  and  ordained  for  such 
an  enterprise,  cannot  be  otherwise  than  im- 
mortal. 

NBut  even  when  all  these  mysteries  shall 
be  revealed,  the  mind  will  still  wrestle  with 
eager  curiosity  to  learn  the  final  destiny  of 
such  glorious  creations.  The  past  and  the 
present  furnish  some  grounds  of  anticipation. 
Revelation  throws  in  some  slight  touches  of 
its  lig^t — but  it  is  in  the  indications  of  sci- 
ence chiefly — in  the  results  of  mechanical 
laws — ^that  we  are  likely  to  find  any  sure 
elements  for  our  judgment  In  the  creation 
around  and  near  us  ail  is  change  and  decom- 
position. This  solid  globe,  once  indecandes- 
cent  and  scarcely  cooled,  has  been  the  thea- 
tre of  recurring  convulsions,  by  which  every 
thing  has  been  destroyed*  and  after  which 
eveiy  thing  has  been  renewed.  Animal  life 
m  its  varied  oiganizations  has  perished,  and 
written  its  epitaph  upon' imperishable  monu- 
ments. Man  too,  though  never  extinct  as  a 
race,  returns  one  by  one  to  his  clay,  and  his 
intellectual  functions  are  perpetuated  in  the 
re-production  of  his  fellow.  In  the  solar 
system  we  see  fragments  of  planets^— aste- 
roids, as  they  have  been  called —  occupying 
in  almost  interlacing  orbits,  the  place  of  a 
iaiger  body;  and  in  the  direction  and  amount 
of  the  annual  and  diurnal  motions  of  the 
primary  and  secondary  planets  we  recognise 
the  result  of  a  grand  creative  movemeU,  by 
which  the  sun,  with  its  widelv  extended  at- 
mosphere, or  a  revolving  atmosphere  itself , 
has  cast  ofl,  by  successive  throes,  the  vari- 
ous bodies  of  the  system,  at  first  circling  in 
^[aseous  zones,  but  subsequently  contracted 
mto  planets  and  a  sun. 

This  system,  so  wonderfully  formed,  is 
again  enchained  with  another  more  distant 
by  an  assemblage  of  comets — a  class  of  bod- 
ies which  doubtless  carry  on  some  reciprocal 
intercourse  for  the  benent  of  both.  Compo- 
sed of  nebulous  matter,  they  may  yet  be 
consolidated  into  habitable  globes ;  and  re- 
sembling in  aspect  the  vast  nebulas  which  fill 
the  sidereal  spaces,  and  forming  a  part  of 
our  own  system,  they  countenance  the  theo- 
ry, that  tne  nebulse  which  the  telescope  can- 
not resolve  may  be  the  pabulum  out  of 
which  heat  and  motion  are  to  form  new  sys- 
tems, where  planets,  thrown  ofl*  from  a  cen- 
tral nucleus,  will  form  new  abodes  of  Life 
and  intelligence. 

But  while  all  the  phenomena  in  the  hea- 
vens indicate  a  law  or  progressive  creation, 
in  which  revolving  matter  is  distributed  into 
suns  and  planets,  there  are  indications  in 
our  own  system,  that  a  period  has  been  as- 
signed for  its  duration,  which,  sooner  or  la^ 
ter,  it  must  reach.  The  medium  which  filk 
univenai  space— whether  it  be  a  lumiferons 


158        Magnetic  Sleep.     Ocdvanic  Rings.    Magnetized  Rings. 


ether,  or  arise  from  the  indefinile  expansion 
of  planetary  atmosphere — must  retard  the 
bodies  which  move  in  it,  even  though  it 
were  360,000  millions  of  times  more  rare 
than  atmospheric  air;  and,  with  its  time  of 
revolution  gradually  shortening,  the  satellite 
must  return  to  its  planet,  the  planet  to  its  sun, 
and  the  sun  to  its  primeval  nehula. 

The  fate  of  our  system,  thus  deduced  from 
mechanical  iaws^  must  be  the  fate  of  all 
others.  Motion  cannot  bei  perpetuated  in  a 
resisting  medium ;  and  where  there  exists 
disturbed  forces,  there  must  be  primarily 
derangement,  and  ultimately  ruin.  From 
the  great  central  mass,  heat  may  again  be 
summoned  to  exhale  nebulous  matter  — 
chemical  forces  may  apain  produce  motion, 
and  motion  may  again  generate  systems : 
but,  as  in  the  recurring  catastrophes  which 
have  desolated  our  earth,  the  great  First^' 
Cause  must  preside  at  the  dawn  of  each 
oosmical  cycle — ^and,  as  in  the  animaT  races 
which  WQre  successively  reproduced,  new 
celestial  creations,  of  a  nobler  form  of  beauty, 
and  of  a  higher  order  of  permanence,  may 

fet  appear  in  the  sidereal  universe.  '  Behola, 
create  new  heavens,  and  a  new  earth,  and 
the  former  shall  not  be  remembered.'  '  The 
new  heavens  and  the  new  earth  shall  remain 
before  me.'  Let  us  look,  then,  according  to 
this  promise,  for  *\he  new  heavens,  and  the 
new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth  righteousness.' 


MAGNETIO  8LEBP. 

{OmtinittdfrompafB  106.) 

LIGHT    AND  IMAG£S   OF  THE  DX0E££8. 

In  the  first  degree  and  first  state  of  mag- 
netic sleep,  the  light  is  a  pale  blue.* 

In  the  second  degree  and  second  state,  the 
light  is  a  little  stronger,  and  a  little  deeper 
blue. 

In  the  third  degree  and  third  state,  these 
sleepers  are  fully  under  magnetic  influence, 
and  the  light  a  clear  sky  blue.  They  see  ob- 
jects, in  a  straight  or  direct  line,  through  the 
magnetic  medium  in  space,  but  not  compre- 
hensively, or  inclosing  various  objects  as  in 
the  natural  state. 

In  the  fourth  degree  and  fourth  state,  the 
light  18  stronger,  and  extends  farther  than  in 
the  lower  degrees.  Persons  with  moral  or- 
gans largely  developed,  are  disposed  to  see 
immaterial  or  spiritual  objects  in  this  degree. 


T1i«7  chMc*  from  the  iMavnU  to  hi(li«r  §wm^  M 
tt«7  nxUx  is,  and  MlTaiictiA  Uit  degrMs. 


tn  the  fifth  degree  and  fifth  state,  the  light 
is  still  more  intense,  and  clairvoyants  less  in- 
clined to  view  or  take  cognizance  of  natvai, 
external  or  material  subjects,  but  'disposed  to 
remain  in  this  exaltad  state. 

In  the  sixth  degree  and  sixth  state,  the  tm- 
dsncy  of  going  into  it  is  instant  death,  and 
should  be  most  cautiously  avoided. 

Galvanic  Rings. — A  knowledge  of  fiie 
remedial  effects  of  magnetized  rings,  in  per- 
sons who  are  very  susceptible  to  magnetic 
or  mesmeric  influence,  baa  excited  the  cupi-* 
dity  of  adventurers,  who  are  inundating  the 
country  with  **  Galvanic  Ringif' — ^so  caUed, 
under  the  patronage  of  the  professors  of  me- 
^dical  colics. 

These  rings  are  made  of  zinc  and  copper, 
and  zinc  and  copper  gilded,  plated  or  sUvered. 
Such  rings  cannot,  however,  be  galvanized  or 
magnetized  ao  as  to  retain  or  maintain  polar* 
ity;  and  are,  consequently,  of  no  value  ai 
remedial  agents.  They  serve,  however,  as  a 
badge  to  distinguish  the  weak,  ignorant  aad 
credulous  from  the  rest  of  the  commuaitjr. 


Magnekzad  Rings. — ^Theae  rings  should 
be  made  of  steel  wire,  plated  with  gdd,  al" 
ver,  tin,  copper,  or  brass.  When  finished, 
they  should  be  magnetized,  one  at  a  time,  by 
placing  a  ring  flat  on  one  of  the  poles  of  a 
strong  magnet,  and  then  pressing  on,  and  at 
the  same  time  drawing  it  entirely  off  oi  ^ 
ma^et  with  a  quick  motion.  The  ring  will 
then  have  two  poles,  which  will  a&ct  the 
compass  or  varialion-needle ;  one  of  which 
should  be  worn  on  a  finger  of  the  ri^t,  and 
another  of  the  left  hand. 

Gold  rings  made  in  this  manner  ba?e  a 
real  value,  as  their  influence  on  childieo  aad 
adults  affected  with  tubercula,  and  at  the 
same  time  very  susceptible  to  magnetic  or 
mesmeric  influence,  is  very  salutaiy,  as 
shovm  by  a  trial  of  their  effects  io  a  giMt  * 
number  and  variety  of  oases  during  the  lail 
three  years,  and  they  will  kst  a  life-tioe- 
They  have,  however,  little  or  no  effect  upon 
those  who  are  insuaoepUble  Io  these  iai^ 
ences. 

These  rings  are  manufactured  by  J.  &  »; 
Elkws,  JewcUert,  60,  Beade  Street,  netf 
Broadway. 


Medical  Duodynamics. 


169 


MBDIOAL  DTT0DYNAMI08. 


The  symptoms  we  have  introduced  to  dis- 
tinguish chronic  tuburcula  or  chronic  disease 
of  the  serous  sortaces,  axe  alwuys  present  in 
acute  diseases  of  these  surfaces,  and  de- 
pen^  entirely  upon  the  action  of  two  forces, 
or  upon  the  dnodynamic  or  moving  powers 
of  the  system.  They  are  founded  upon  the 
hxX  that  these  forces  act  in  unison  in  health, 
but  are  interrupted  in  disease — the  signs  of 
which  are  distinguished  with  facility  and 
certainty,  without  any  previous  knowledge 
ci  the  case. 
.  The  absence  of  these  symptoms,  and  the 

I       presence  of  disease  in  the  organs,  limbs,  or 
other  structures,  determine,  with  the  same 
facility  and  certainty,  dis^ise  of  the  mu- 
cous surfaces,  acute  or  chronic. 
The  duodynamic  treatment  we  have  in- 

.  tioduced,  iB  founded  on  the  fact  that  motion 
k  interrupted  or  lost  in  some  part  of  the 
body,  oreans,  or  limbs,  and  cures  the  disease 
inrestonng  the  interrupted  or  lost  motions, 
by^  action  of  two  forces,  emanating  from 
diflfeient  kinds  of  matter,  and  acting  on  the 
same,  or  difioreat  surfaces  of  the  body,  or- 
gans or  limbs.  These  svmptoms  are  pro- 
minent and  uniform  in  their  character,  and 
reduce  and  bind  down  the  classification  of 
diseases  to  the  narrow  limits  of  ac\Ue  and 
Aronu  diseases  of  the  serowy  and  of  the 
mucmu  sur&ces,  or  to  four  clases,  orders, 
genera,  and  species,  and  the  duodynamic 
treatment  of  diseases  which  we  long  since 
adopted,  supports  and  sustains  this  classifi- 
cation in  the  most  steady  and  successful 
manner,  and  presents  a  strong  contrast  vith 
the  old  never  ending  classification  and  ever 
varying  symptoms  and  treatment. 

The  posterior  spinal  nerves  are  connected 
writh  and  terminate  in  the  serous  membranes 

I  or  seroQS  surfaces  of  the  body,  organs,  and 
limbs,  including  those  of  the  skin  and  fas- 
ciae of  the  musdes,  &c.,  and  are  the  media 
of  sensation :  while  the  anterior  motor 
nerves  are  connected  with  and  terminate  in 
the  mucous  membranes,  or  mucous  surfaces, 
including  those  of  the  fasciae  of  the  muscles, 
the  bronchia  and  the  alimentary  canal,  and 
are  the  media,  only,  of  the  forces  which 
produce  motion. 

•  These  diferent  arrangements  of  the  nerves 
of  motion  and  those  of  sensation  account  for 
the  absence  of  the  magnetic  symptoms  in 

I  dueaae  of  the  mucous  surfaces.  Insensibil- 
ity IB  these  surfaces  is  as  necessary  to  the 
maintenance  of  animal  Hie,  as  sensibiUty  is 
in  ^e  serous  surfaces.  Itie  most  intense 
inilanmtation  of  the  mucous  surfaces  produce 
BO  pain.  There  is  never  any  pain  m  these 
cases  without  an  extension  of  the  disease  to 


the  serous  surfaces ;  yet  our  modern  medical 
writers  continue  to  repeat  the  tales  of  their 
grandfathers  about  the  great  and  wonderful 
sensibility  of  the  mucous  surfaces.* 

Acute  or  inflammatory  diseases  run 
through  their  course  in  a  few  days,  or  a  few 
weeks :  while  chionic  diseases  continue  not 
only  many  months,  but  many  years.  The 
excitement  of  the  system  in  the  first  is  ex- 
alted  and  continuous,  or  has  brief  remission 
or  intermissions,  while  in  the  last  it  is  de- 
pressed and  periodical  or  accidental,  with 
long  periods  of  repose  of  many  weeks  or 
months,  and  is  consequently  as  different  as 
darkness  is  from  light;  yet  the  modem  as- 
trologers of  the  schools,  like  their  ancient 
masters  who  were  priests,  physicians  and 
astronomers,  class  them  all  as  inflammations 
of  the  different  degrees,  and  treat  them  as 
such.  Our  modem  astrologers  also  follow 
their  ancient  masters  in  pretending  to  dis- 
tinguish these  diseases  by  feeling  the  pulse, 
the  aspects  of  the  tongue  and  urine,  and  the 
color  and  odor  of  the  stools,  &c. 

There  is  however  nothing  more  uncertain 
than  these  signs  or  symptoms,  unless  it  is 
the  treatment  founded  upon  them,  as  is  well 
known  to  our  faculty ;  yet  they  are  taught 
as  a  science  with  all  the  gravity  due  to 
these  subjects,  involving  life  or  death.  On 
the  contrary  there  is  nothing  more  certain 
than  the  magnetic  symptoms,  or  the  duody- 
namic treatment  founded  on  them,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  accidents  not  under  the  control  of 
the  physician ;  yet  such  is  the  attachment 
of  men  to  old  systems— the  old  astrological 
symptoms  and  treatment  will  continue  to  be 
taught  by  the  professors  in  our  medical  col- 
leges as  long  as  they  are  of  any  value  in 
their  market.  . 

Acute  and  chronic  tubercula,  or  inflam- 
matory and  chronic  diseases  of  the  serous 
membranes,  or  serous  surfaces  of  the  body, 
organs  or  limbs;  including  the  skin  and  fa- 
cia of  the  muscles,  is  easily  and  invariably 
distinguished  by  pain  more  or  less  severe 
(in  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  the  dis- 
ease) produced  by  pressure  on  the  ganglions 
of  the  spinal  nerves,  in  the  intervertebral 
spaces  along  each  side  of  the  spine,  without 
any  previous  knowledge  of  the  case— no 
matter  what  name  may  have  been  given  to 
the  disease  by  physicians,  nosologists,  or 
other  medical  writers.  


-'  We  commeaeed  a  •eri«  of  expensnents  with  th« 
maCDeao  mackin*  about  a  year  wnce,  for  the  purpose 
ofwcertaining  whether  the  least  susceplibjlitf  could 
b«  detected  in  the  great  mucous  eurtacea,  and  the  re- 
suit  showed  that  no  sensation  whaterer  could  be  telt 
from  the  brawcylinder  in  contact  with  Uiese  surfaces, 
under  the  action  of  our  most  powerful  machines, 
while  the  sensation  «rom  the  button  in  contact  with 
the  skin  orsaroos  sniface.  was  so  iatenJ*  that  it  wouio 
only  Tm  borne  momentarily. 


160 


Ganglions  of  the  Spinal  Nerves.    Electrical  Pills. 


ChuiirUoiis  of  tlie  aplmml  mm 
th.e  Interrertebral  a]NMs««« 


There  ere  7  cenricel  Tertebns,  C  ;  13  donal,  D  ;  iind  6 
tambar,  L ;  these  Tertebra  with  the  o»coxyx,m ;  oon- 
•titute  Uie  spinal  column. 

Press  on  the  sides  of  the  1,  cervical  verte- 
brae to  find  symptoms  of  tubercula  of  the 
head — of  the  brain,  throat,  nose,  eyes,  or 
cars. 

Press  on  the  sides  of  the  2,  3,  4,  5,  6  and 
7  cervical  to  find  tubercula  of  the  musucles, 
(Rheumatism)  or  of  the  vertebrae,  or  of  the 
joints  of  the  limbs — white  swellings,  S:c. 

Press  on  the  sides  of  the  intervertebral 
space  between  the  7  cervical,  and  1  dorsal, 
to  find  tubercula  of  the  lunp,  and 

Press  on  the  left  side  of  the  same  space  to 
find  tubercula  of  the  heart. 

Press  on  the  space  between  the  1  and  2 
dorsal  vertebrae  to  find  tubercula  of  the  sto- 
mach. 

Press  on  the  space  between  the  2  and  3 
dorsal  to  find  tubercula  of  the  duodenum. 

Press  on  the  rieht  side  of  the  space  be- 
tween the  7  and  8  dorsal  to  find  tubercula  of 
the  liver. 

Press  on  the  spaces  between  the  1 1  and 
12  dorsal  to  find  tubercula  of  the  small  in- 
testines. 

Press  on  the  spaces^  between  the  12.  dor- 
sal and  first  lumbar  to  find  tubercu  a  of  the 
kidneys. 

Press  on  the  spaces  between  the  1  and  4 
lumbar  to  find  tubercula  of  the  uterus. 

Press  on  the  spaces  between  the  4  lumbar  I 


and  os-coxyx  to  find  tubercul^of  the  genital 
organs. 

We  always  press  with  the  thumb  ol  the 
right  hand  on  the  intervertebral  spaces  of 
the  left  side  of  the  spine,  and  ^ith  that  of 
the  left  hand  on  the  intervertebral  spaces  of 
the  right  side. 

These  directions  will  enable  any  person 
of  common  sense  to  distinguish  tubercular 
disease  with  facilihr  and  certunty,  without 
even  the  aid  of  a  physician.  Native  mat- 
ter,  as  the  acids  and  the  metals  should  be 
the  principal  ingredients  in  the  preparations 
of  medicine  for  disease  of  the  serous  surfa- 
ces, and  should  be  used  in  connection  with 
the  action  of  the  rotary  magnetic  machine. 

Diseases  of  the  Mncons  Surfaces. 

Acute  and  Chronic  diseases  of  the  mucous 
surfaces  are  invariably  distinguished  by  the 
presence  of  disease  of  the  body,  oigans  or 
limbs,  and  the  absence  of  the  magnetic  symp- 
toms ;  and  require  for  their  reduction  a  treat- 
ment entirely  different  from  that  of  tubercu- 
lar disease  of  the  serous  surfaces.  Positivt 
matter,  as  the  alkalies  and  the  gums,  sboold 
be  the  chief  ingredients  in  the  preparations 
of  medicine  for  diseases  of  the  mucous  sur- 
faces, and  should  be  used  in  connection  with 
the  action  of  the  rotary  magnetic  machine. 

(For  the  Dissector.) 
it  ELBOTRIOAL  PILLS/'  ftc 

Dear  Sir  :—l  have  thought  it  might  sub- 
serve the  cause  of  justice,  if  I  were  to  give 
you  some  account  of  a  man,  who  has  been 
travelling  through  the  New  England  States, 
for  a  year  or  two  past,  selling  what  he  calls 
"Electrical  Pills,**  "Magnetic  Ether,**  and 
"  Galvanic  Plaster.*'  That  these  pretended 
"  Electrical  Pills,**  are  sold  on  the  credit  oi 
your  remedies,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and 
hence  it  would  seem  to  be  time  for  the  pub- 
lic to  be  duly  informed  of  the  base  imposi- 
tion played  upon  them  in  the  sale  of  tnese 
worthless  drues. 

The  man  who  sells  them  is  in  the  practice 
of  lecturing  on  what  he  calls  the  "  Philoso- 
phy of  Mesmerism  DiscoTered."  He  has  a 
subject  whom  he  puts  to  sleep  for  examining 
disease  ;  and,  of  course,  in  every  case  ex- 
amined, his  oracle  reconamends  the  invalid 
to  take  the  "  electrical  pills,"  or  the  "  maj- 
netic  ether,*'  or,  to  wear  the  "Galvawc 
Plaster.**  Hundreds  and  thousands,  I  have 
no  doubt,  have  been  duped  in  this  way,  as 

B (for  this  is  the  man's  name,)  sjited 

in  Provincetown,  Mass..  a  few  weeks  since, 
that  he  had  made  over  (1800  during  the  last 
six  months.  ^ 


Important  Proposal    Magnetic  Miscellany. 


161 


Havin?  stated  that  this  man's  name  is 

B ,  f  should  add,  that  this  is  not  the 

name  by  which  he  announces  himself  to  the 
public,  at  the  present  time.  He  was  appre- 
nended  for  theft  in  the  city  of  New- York, 
some  years  since,  and  gave  his  name  as  H. 
H.  B. ;  and  a  few  years  after  he  was  ex- 
posed in  the  Boston  Recorder,  as  an  infa- 
mous impostor,  under  the  name  of  J.  B.  D. 
He  was  expelled  from  Phillip's  Academy, 
Andover,  and  again  from  the  Bangor  Semin- 
ary ;  and  has  been  found  guilty  of  forgine 
letters,  and  other  disgraceful  crimes,  which 
render  him  unworthy  of  public  confidence. 
And  yet,  this  man  is  ever  and  anon  announ- 
dajr  himself  in  the  public  papers,  as  **  Dr, 
J.  B.  D. — ! !  As  he  will  probably  visit  the 
South  and  West,  it  would  seem  to  be  impor- 
tant that  the  public  should  be  made  acquain- 
ted with  his  character ;  and  hence  the  above 
is  submitted  for  your  columns. 

JUSTITIA. 
May,  1845. 

We  are  acquainted  with  the  correspond- 
ent,  who  has  sent  us  the  above  exposure  of 
a  very  gross  case  of  imposition,  and  we  are 
welJ  informed,  both  by  observation  and  fre- 
quent transmitted  intelligence,  that  it  forms 
but  one  of  many,  of  a  very  similar  character 
which  are  practised  in  almost  every  part  of 
the  country,  including  this  city,  and  Phila- 
delphia.    The  real  and  indisputable  effects 
of  metallic,  medicinal,  and  animal  magne- 
tism«  are  so  truly  remarkable  and  are  exci- 
ting so  much  attention  throughout  our  wide 
spread  population  that  mercenary  impostors, 
without  the  least  regard  to  conscience  or 
character,  are  taking  advantage  of  it  in  a 
thousand  ways,  throwing  deplorable  obsta- 
cles in  the  progress  of  a  science  so  impor- 
tant to  humanity,  if  not  inflicting  more  di- 
rect injury' upon  the  community. 


XMFOBTANT  FBOPOSAL. 
The  acknowledged  importance  of  Magne- 
\  and  Phrenology,  as  physical  and  psy- 
cllological  sciences;  the  profound  and  fer- 
Tent  interest  which  they  are  exciting  and 
Budntaining  in  every  section  of  this  exten- 
saTecountry  ;  and  their  manifest  liability  to 
ignorant  desecration  and  mercenary  charlat- 
anisn,  forcibly  appeal  to  all  who  desire  the 
jiMtyaitfWBent  of  knowledge,  to  adopt  aome 


means  by  which  these  comprehensive  scien- 
ces may  be  propagated  with  more  systema- 
tic efficiency  and  greater  security  from  per- 
version.  To  this  end  the  undersigned  have 
deemed  it  important,  if  not  indeed  essential, 
that  a  central  society,  for  the  rigid  investi- 
gation of  the  facts  and  inferences  which 
these  subjects  involve,  should  be  established 
in  this  metropolis,  with  the  view  of  afford- 
ing  authentic  information  concerning  them 
to  the  public  in  general,  and  to  induce  the 
formation  of  kindred  associations,  in  frater- 
nal alliance,  in  the  principal  cities  and  towns 
of  the  country. 

Aiming  at  nothing  but  fair  and  honest  in- 
quiry, and  the  extension  of  useful  know- 
ledge for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  they  ear- 
nestly invite  the  ma^y  scientific  and  philan- 
thropic individuals  around  them,  who  al- 
ready concur  in  this  object,  to  co-operate 
with  them  in  forming  the  society  here  respect- 
fully suggested.  Ample  intelligence  and 
talent  could  readily  be  contributed  for  this 
purpose,  without  any  serious  sacrifice  of 
time,  or  any  hazard  of  reputation;  while 
sciences,  confessedly  the  most  interesting 
and  elevated  of  any  now  in  active  progress, 
would  be  rescued  from  the  incompetent  dis- 
semination which  now  stamps  them  with  but 
an  equivocal  authority  and  character. 

Communications  upon  the  subject,  post 
paid,  will  be  cheerfully  received  and  publish- 
ed in  the  Journals,  of  which  the  undersigned 
are  the  editors. 

H.  H.  SHERWOOD,  M.  D. 

Editor  of  N.  Y.  Dissector. 

O.S.  FOWLER,  A.  B. 
Editor  N.  Y.  Phrenological  Journal. 

MAGNETIO  MISOBLLANT. 
Etxs — acute  and  chronic  diseases  of.  The 
forces  from  the  magnetic  machine  combine 
to  reduce  acute  and  chronic  diseases  of  the 
eyes,  and  to  remove  opacities  of  the  cornea, 
in  the  most  extraordinary  manner.  These 
interesting  and  important  results  furnish  the 
best  materials  for  the  most  withering  com- 
ments on  the  absurd  theories  and  practice  of 
the  sehook. 


162        Homaopathy.  Animal  Magnetism.  JMhgnetic  Machine. 


Alopacu~/oss  of  hairy  baldness.  The 
effects  of  the  magnetic  forces  in  producing 
the  most  rank  vegetation  from  the  earth, 
suggested  their  employment  in  the  produc- 
tion of  a  luxuriant  vegetation  from  the  skin, 
which  has  been  found  perfectly  successful. 

Among  the  cases  in  which  magnetic  ma- 
chines  have  been  used  for  this  purpose,  is 
that  of  a  gentleman  who  having  lost  every 
hair  from  his  head,  commenced  magnetising 
it  with  one  of  our  vibrating  instruments  in 
February  last,  and,  on  the  first  of  June,  had 
already  cut  two  heavy  crops  of  hair  from  his 
head ! 

Apoplexy. — The  magnetic  machine  redu- 
ces the  apoplectic  state  in  a  more  safe  and 
powerful  manner,  than  any  other  means 
that  has  been  heretofore  adopted. 

Ulcerated  legs  and  vauicose  veins. — 
Nothing  can  be  compared  to  the  abtion  of 
the  magnetic  machine  in  these  cases,  or  in 
acute  or  chronic  diseases  of  the  skin. 

Prolapsus  UTjr.Ri. — atonic.  These  cases 
from  feebleness  or  debility  are  quickly  re 
stored  by  the  action  of  the  instrument  or  by 
the  mesmeriser.  In  cases,  however,  which 
are  the  consequence  of  tubercular  disease  of 
the  uterus,  the  remedies  for  chronic  tuber- 
cula  are  required  to  aid  the  action  of  the  in- 
strument. 

Magnetic  Sleep.  There  are  now  a 
great  many  persons  who  have  gone  into  the 
magnetic  sleep,  under  a  very  slight  but 
steady  action  of  the  magnetic  machine,  some 
of  whom  have  been  clairvoyant.  'These 
facts,  with  the  increased  susceptibility  to 
mesmeric  influence  by  the  action  of  the  in 
strument,  are  strong  evidences  of  the  iden 
tity  of  the  influences  from  these  different 
sources. 

HomoBopatlqr. 

The  homceopathic  practice  is  eTer3rwhere 
incntasing  in  favor  with  the  people,  and 
many  alopathic  physicians  have  conse- 
quently found  it  necessary  to  adopt  it,  or 
lopc  their  practice  in  many  of  the  most  in 
telligent  and  wealthy  families. 

la  1837  there  was  only  four  homoeopa- 
thic physicians  in  this  city,  and  th«re  Jb 


now  more  than  forty,  and  their  number  has 
increased  in  the  other  cities  of  the  Union  in 
about  the  same  proportion  to  the  population. 
It  is  the  exti^rdinary  effects  of  homceo- 
pathic or  magnetised  medicines  upon  chil- 
dren and  upon  adults  who  are  very  suscep- 
tible to  magnetic  or  mesmeric  influence  that 
maintain  the  high  character  of  these  reme* 
dies.  They  have,  however,  little  or  no  ef- 
fect upon  those  who  are  naturally  insuscep- 
tible to  these  influences. 

Animal  Mag^netlsm. 
It  is  now  only  about  nine  years  since  the 
subject  and  practice  of  animal  magnetism 
was  first  introduced  into  this  country,  and 
although  it  has  every  where  met  with  gieal 
opposition  in  its  progress  from  the  bigoted 
and  the  ignorant,  a  practical  knowledge  of 
it  has  extended  more  or  less  into-allthe 
States  of  the  Union ;  and  its  extraordinary 
and  beneficial  effects  are  everywhere  a^ 
knowledged. 

MAQNETIO  MAOKINES. 
The  magnetic  machines  first  used  in  medi- 
cal practice,  although  very  superior  to  the 
old  electrical  apparatus,  were  naturally  Terj 
defective  and  strikingly  inferior,  both  in  con- 
struction and  effect,  to  those  of  the  impro- 
ved rotary  and  vibratory  principle  whid* 
greater  knowledge  and  experience  have  at 
lerfgth  produced.  The  former  were  not 
only  comparatively  clumsy  and  unmanagea- 
ble, but  liable  to  such  derangement  as  to  lie 
frequently  wholly  inoperative  except  in  tit 
hands  of  persons  accustomed  to  their  ^ 
fects,  and  skilful  in  repairing  them.  No*' 
withstanding  this,  we  find  that  these  obeo- 
lete  contrivances,  with  miserable  imitations 
of  our  machines,  are  still  imposed  upon  per- 
sons ordering  magnetic  machines,  through 
druggists  and  other  indirect  agent?,  as  those 
of  the  latest  and  best  construction.  '^ 
natural  consequence  is  that,  from  perplexing 
difliculties  almost  inseparable  from  the  nse 
of  them,  and  the  failures  in  benefieiai  cftct 
which  thence  ensue,  the  influence  itself, 
however  inestimable,  becomes  disparaged  in 
the  estimation  of  medical  men  who  have  hid 
no  Utter  meus  d  tastiiig  ito  vahw^ai' 


Letters  to  the  Editor.    Antiquity  of  America. 


163 


still  more  so  in  private  practice.  This  ie 
much  to  be  regretted,  as  well  for  the  sake  of 
science,  as  the  victims  of  disease  who  might 
otherwise  have  been  relieved  and  restored. 
The  most  improved  and  best  instruments, 
can  be  applied  with  ease  and  certainty,  with- 
out any  other  instruction  than  is  afforded  in 
the  Manual  which  accompanies  them,  by 
any  person  of  the  most  ordinary  capacity, 
and  in  a  wide  range  of  cases.  The  others 
are  constantly  liable  to  complete  failure, 
even  in  the  hands  of  the  most  patient  pro- 
fessional men,  on  whom  they  may  be  either 
carelessly  and  ignorantly,  or  designedly  and 
selfishly  imposed. 


Mr.  J.G- 


-of  Penn  Yann,  N.  Y.,  re- 


ports  the   following  case  which  recently 
eame  under  his  observation. 

Mrs.  A.  C.  Randall  living  near  the  vil- 
lage of  Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  had  been  deran- 
ged nearly  one  year ;  during  which  time  she 
was  incapable  of  taking  care  of  herself.   She 
was  attended  by^  three  or  four  physicians, 
vithoHt  any  favorable  results.     Her  hus- 
band made  application  to  me  to  mesmerize 
her — but  instead  of  doing  so,  I  mesmerized 
a  young  lady,  who  in  the  clairvoyant  state, 
ezamined  Mrs.  Randall.    Her  report  was, 
«  That  the  brain  was  diseased  —  that  it  had 
become  inflamed  in  consequence  of  taking 
cold,  together  with  some  other  irregularities 
of  the  system.    To  mesmerize  the  deranged 
person,  would  have  a  tendency  to  spread  the 
disease  through  the  system." 

Her  prescription  was,  to  put  a  seton  in 
the  hack  part  of  the  neck,  saying  that  the 
disease  would  run  off  by  this  means,  and 
the  brain  would  resume  its  healthy  func- 
tions. This  was  done  —  the  seton  was 
jc^pt  in  about  two  months,  during  which 
time  the  patient  improved ;  at  the  end  of  the 
second  month,,  her  reason  was  restored— 
she  was  cured.  This  was  about  two 
months*ago.  She  is  now  in  good  health, 
and  perfectly  sane. 

Fenn  Ion.  N.  Y.,  AprU  5, 1845. 

Neuxnky  N.  /.,  June  2nd,  1845. 
Dk.  SHxawoos,  Sir : 

A  few  weeks  since  I  was  called  to  a  Mrs. 
R.of  this  city,  whd  had  been  for  two 
ItKMkths  ander  regular  treatment  for  fever : 
Mitm  iiyu  bifarsl  was  called>  she  aborted, 


and  excessive  hemorrhage,  and  inflammation 
of  the  womb  ensued.  Before  the  miscar- 
ria;5e,  she  hail  lost  the  use  of  the  lower 
limbs  and  was  helpless.  In  this  condition 
her  physician  left  her,  and  sent  word  to  the 
family  that  they  might  employ  whom  they 
pleased.  I  was  called  upon,  but  regarded 
the  case  as  a  hopeless  one.  The  symptoms 
were  aggravated  and  discouraging.  Alter 
some  simple  applications  for  allaying  the 
inflammation  and  hemorrhage  of  the  womb, 
1  resorted  to  the  magnetic  instruments,  and 
although,  she  had  not  slept  for  nights,  and 
the  ccyebral  derangement  was  bordering  on 
delirium  ;  yet  under  its  influence  she  soon 
fell  into  a  refreshing  sleep,  and  convales- 
cence commenced  from  that  hour.  She  is 
now  getting  about  the  house,  and  looks 
more  healthy,  than  for  many  months  pre- 
vious. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  I  was  called  on  to 
visit  Mrs.  G.  an  elderly  lady,  under  an  at- 
tack  of  pleurisy.  It  was  a  clear  case.  She 
said  she  had  been  subject  to  it  for  years,  and 
had  always  been  confined  to  her  room  from 
four  to  six  weeks.  Two  applications  of  the 
instrument  reduced  the  bymptoms,  and  on 
the  12th  she  was  about  her  house.  They 
were  perfectly  astonished  at  the  result  of  the 
treatment. 

About  the  same  time  I  was  called  to  see 
Master  L,  ten  years  of  age  with  inflamma- 
tory rheumatism.  He  was  perfectly  help- 
less; not  a  finger  could  be  moved  without 
causing  him  to  scream.  In  one  week  he 
was  entirely  relieved,  by  the  machine.  I 
am  satisfied  of  the  value  of  the  instrument 
in  both  acute  and  chronic  diseases. 

In  haste,  I  am  as  ever  yours, 

L.  D.  FLEMING^ 


AW TXQT7ITT  OF  AMBRIOA. 

A  person  writing  to  the  Paris  Academy 
of  Sciences,  from  Brazil,  says  he  has  obser- 
ved in  one  of  the  numerous  calcareous  ca- 
verns in  that  country  a  quantity  of  human 
bones  near  those  of  different  species  of  ani- 
mals, some  of  which  are  now  extinct.  He 
concludes  from  this  fact  that  it  is  erroneous 
to  regard  the  South  American  race  as  a  va- 
riety of  the  Mongolian  race,  who  are  sud- 
posed  to  have  peopled  what  is  called  the 
New  World,  by  emigration.  The  geological 
constitution  of  America  shows,  he  says, 
that  It  is  anterior  to  what  we  call  the  old 
continent,  and  the  Mongolian  race  is  but  a 
branch  of  the  American  race,  instead  of  be» 
ing  the  primitire  root. 


164 


Clairvoyance.     Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom, 


OLAIRVOTANOB. 
We  were  requested  to  see  a  clairvoyant, 
at  Professor  Roger's  rooms,  95  Chamber- 
street,  on  the  23d  of  June  inst.,  in  the  per- 
son of  a  little  girl  aged  nine  years,  who  it 
was  reported,  could  read  with  facility  while 
in  the  mesmeric  state.  We  went  prepared 
to  secure  her  eyes  with  adhesive  plaster,  and 
after  having  placed  one  securely  over  each 
eye,  presented  her  with  a  book,  which  she 
handled  in  the  same  manner,  and  read  in  va- 
rious places,  with  apparently  the  same  ease 
as  in  the  natural  state. 

Such  feats  have  been  frequently  per- 
formed by  clairvoyants  of  private  families 
in  this  city. 

SWBDENBOBQ'S  AfJMJLL  KIKaDOM. 


Introductory  Remarks  by  the   Translator. 

James  John  Garth  Wilkinson, 

Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons, 

of  London. 


It  will  be  the  aim  of  the  foUowing  re- 
marks to  eive  a  general  view  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  "Animal  Kingdom,"  and  of 
their  relation  to  the  past,  present  and  future 
state  of  science;  and  in  so  doing,  to  ad- 
dress those  chiefly  who  are  acquainted  with 
the  theological  writings  of  Swedenborg,  as 
forming  the  class  by  whom,  at  present,  the 
work  IS  most  likely  to  be  read,  and  to 
whom  it  may  be  the  most  useful  and  satis- 
factory. 

The  evolution  of  the  natural  sciences 
amounts  to  the  creation  of  a  new  sphere  in 
the  human  mind;  and  since  this  develop- 
ment has  not  taken  place  under  the  auspices 
of  theology,  but  either  in  direct  or  tacit  op- 
position to  the  prevailing  church;  since  it 
proceels  from  without,  and  proposes  know- 
lelge  and  intelligence  as  ends  distinct  from 
spiritual  life ;  therefore  it  constitutes  a 
sphere  which  is  not  in  unison  with  the  cur- 
rent doctrines  of  religion,  but  from  the  be- 
ginning has  menaced  their  subversion  ;  and 
which,  unless  reduced  to  order,  is  opposed, 
however  true  its  materials  in  themselves 
may  be,  to  the  understanding  of  all  genuine 
truth.  It  was  a  perception  of  this  charac- 
ter in  science,  and  also  of  the  fact  that  the 
universal  human  mind  was  becoming  im- 
mersed in  Bcientifics,  that  impell^  Sweden- 
borg to  enter  the  field  of  aature,  foribe  pur- 


pose of  demonstrating  in  it  an  order  cones* 
ponding  to  the  order  of  heaven,  and  thereby 
of  making  it  a  medium  to  spiritual  and  sa- 
cred truths.  This  was  his  paramount  end 
in  the  construction  of  the  "  Animal  King- 
dom." 

The  system  therein  propounded  rests  up- 
on the  foundation  of  experience ;  namely, 
of  such  experience  as  the  learned  world  had 
accumulated  at  Swedenborg's  time ;  not  in- 
deed upon  the  particular  experience  strictly 
and  proximately  belonging  to  any  one  sci- 
ence ;  for  such  experience  would  be  inade- 
quate, in  the  present  imperfect  state  of  our 
insight,  to  suggest  the  universal  truths  that 
each  science  involves;  but  upon  the  ^neral 
experience  of  all  ages  in  all  the  sciences. 
This,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  was  Sweden- 
borg's  meaning,  when  he  likened  himself  to 
one  of  the  racers  of  olden  time,  who  before 
he  could  merit  the  crown,  was  commanded 
to  run  seven  times  round  the  goal;  and 
again,  when  he  declared  that  we  must  be 
instructed  by  all  things  of  one  thing,  .if  w* 
are  to  know  that  one  thing  thoroughly.  As 
his  theory  is  not  derived  from  particular  ex- 
perience, so  it  cannot  finally  be  either  odd- 
firmed  or  denied  by  any  isolated  fact  or 
facts.  For  it  is  a  conclusion  from  the  onler 
and  tenor  of  facts  universally ;  in  a  won!, 
from  an  integral  survey  of  nature.  Unless 
this  be  borne  in  mind,  the  very  lai|;ene8s  of 
the  field  from  which  his  inductions  are 
drawn,  and  the  very  strictness  of  niod 
which  caused  him  to  test  them  through  all 
the  sciences,  will  only  make  them  seem  die 
more  like  baseless  hypotheses.  In  this  case 
the  analytic  process  may  easily  be  mistaken 
for  the  synthetic,  and  Swedenborg  may  be 
charged  with  committing  the  error  whid^  be 
begins  his  work  by  denouncing  in  others. 

Swedenborg  announced  the  starting-point 
of  his  method  in  the  first  lines  of  his  firrt 
chapter ;  namely,  that  «*  the  use  or  cftet 
which  produces  the  end  must  be  the  M 
point  of  analytic  enquiry."  First  comes 
the  question  of  fact  or  result ;  next,  the  rea- 
soning upon  it.  Unless  we  reason  fmift 
uses,  what  chart  have  we  in  the  exploration 
of  structures .'  To  illustrate  this,  let  it  be 
supposed  that  a  complicated  tissue^for  in- 
stance, the  skin-^  presents  us  with  three  an- 
doubted  efiects,  say  of  absorption  and  excre- 
tion ;  from  these  efiects  we  infer  the  exie- 
tence  of  a  threefold  organism  to  produce 
them ;  for  effects  imply  causes,  and  fundioM 
forces,  motions,  accidents,  &c.,  are  predi- 
cates and  unvarying  signs  of  substances. 
Having  proceeded  so  far,  we  have  then  ^ 
distribute  the  effects  to  their  proper  organic 
causes  in  the  tiaeue ;  ai^d  thus  e&eta  ^luw 
the  rale  for  the  firei  aniJ)ra)e  of  a  i 


iSwedenborg's  Animal  Kingdom. 


165 


Ib  many  instances  indeed  it  will  be  impossi- 
ble to  trace  effects  to  visible  organic  causes, 
in  which  case  the  mental  sight  must  take  up 
the  operation,  and  continue  and  complete  it, 
and  this,  by  the  assistance  of  the  several 
instruments  and  appliances  which  are  now 
to  he  mentioned 

It  is  impossible  to  understand  either  the 
Word  or  the  works  of  God  without  doc- 
trines, which  in  both  cases  require  to  be 
formed  by  "  one  who  is  enlightened."*  The 
doctrines  made  use  of  by  Swedenborg  in  the 
**  Animal  Kingdom,"  are  the  Doctrines  of 
Forms,  of  Order  and  Degrees,  of  Series  and 
Society,  of  Influx,  of  Correspondence  and 
Representation,  and  of  Modification.  These 
doctrines  themselves  are  truths  arrived  at  by 
analysis,  proceeding  on  the  basis  of  general 
experience ;  in  short,  they  are  so  many  for- 
mulas resulting  from  the  evolution  of  the 
sciences.  They  are  perpetually  illustrated 
and  elucidated  in  the  "  Animal  Kingdom," 
but  never  stated  by  Swedenborg  in  the  form 
of  pure  science,  perhaps  because  it  would 
have  heen  contrary  to  the  analytic  method 
to  have  so  stated  them,  before  the  reader 
had  heen  carried  up  through  the  legitimate 
stages,  boning  from  ejpperience,  or  flie 
lowest  sphere.  Each  effect  is  put  through 
all  these  doctmes,  in  order  that  it  may  dis- 
close the  causes  that  enter  it  in  succession, 
that  it  may  refer  itself  to  its  roots  and  be 
raised  to  its  powers,  and  be  seen  in  connex 
ion,  conti^t]^,  continui^,and  analogy  with 
all  other  things  in  the  same  univeree.f 
They  may  be  compared  to  so  many  special 
organs,  which  analyse  things  apparently 
honu^eneous  into  a  number  of 'distinct  con- 
stituent principles,  and  distnbute  each  for 
use  as  the  whole  requires  To  deny 
any  of  these  doctrines,  or  to  give  them 
up  in  the  presence  of  facts  that  do  not 
rantge  upon  them  at  first  sTght,  is  to  nullify 
human  mind  as  the  interpreter  of  nature. 

The  Doctrire  of  Forms  teaches  that  "  the 
forms  of  all  things,  like  their  essences  and 
substances,  ascend  in  order  and  by  degrees 
from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  The  lowest 
form  is  the  angular,  or  as  it  is  also  called, 
the  terrestrial  and  corporeal.  The  second 
and  next  higher  form  is  the  circular,  which 
is  also  called  the  perpetnal-angular,  because 
the  circumference  of  the  circle  involves 
neither  angle  nor  rectilinear  plane,  being  a 
perpetual  angle  and  a  perpetual  plane ;  3iis 
lorm  is  at  once  the  parent  and  measure  of 
angular  fonns.  The  form  above  this  is  the 
spiral,  which  is  the  parent  and  measure  of 
Circular  forms,  as  the  circular,  of  angular 
forms.    Its  radi  or  diameters  are  not  rectili- 

^  Aieap»Cc»l«tCi«,  n.  10662.  ~~'. 

t  Bt«  vaMwf  thnimhmg  appears  to  meaa  any 
«onpbia  tnaaaiiafawAU  to  its  anitica.     -  - 


near,  nor  do  they  converse  to  a  fixed  centre 
like  those  of  the  circle ;  out  they  are  vari- 
ously circular,  and  have  a  spherical  surface 
for  a  centre;  wherefore  ^e  spiral  is  also 
called  the  perpetual  circular.  This  form 
never  exists  or  subsists  without  poles,  and 
axis,  foci,  a  greatest  circle,  and  lesser  cir- 
cles, its  diameters;  and  as  it  again  assumes 
a  perpetuity  which  is  wanting  in  the  circular 
form,  namely,  in  respect  ox  diameters  and 
centres,  so  it  breathes  a  natural  spontaneous- 
ness  in  its  motion.  There  are  other  still 
higher  forms,  as  the  perpetual-spiral,  pro- 
perly the  vortical ;  the  perpetual-vortical, 
properly  the  celestial;*  and  a  highest,  the 
perpetual-celestial,  which  is  spiritual,  and 
in  which  there  is  nothing  but  what  is  ever- 
lasting and  infinite."  There  is  then  a  scale 
of  forms,  whereof  the  higher  are  relatively 
more  universal,  more  perlect,  and  more  po- 
tent than  the  lower.  The  lower  again  in- 
volve the  higher  and  the  highest,  and  are 
generated  by  them :  so  that  where  there  is 
an  angular  body,  there  is  a  circular  form 
and  force  intimately  present  as  its  ground  ; 
where  there  is  a  circle,  it  is  the  limit  of  an 
interior  spiral ;  and  so  forth.  For  nature 
operates  from  the  very  principles  of  geome- 
try and  mechanics,  and  converts  them  all 
to  actuality  and  use.  The  purer  substances 
in  creation  gyrate  through  tne  higher  forms; 
the  less  pure  circulate  through  the  lower,  or 
are  fixed  in  the  lowest.  All  the  essentials 
of  the  angular  form  are  opposed  to  each 
other,  whence  the  origin  of  gravitating  and 
inert  matter,  intrinsically  unfitted  for  motion. 
But  the  other  forms,  according  to  their  emi- 
nence, are  more  and  more  accomodated  to 
motion  and  variation. 

The  Doctrine  of  Order  teaches  that  those 
things  which  are  superior  in  situation,  are 
also  superior  in  ftrces,  in  power,  in  dignity 
of  ofiice,  and  in  use ;  and  that  a  similar  law 
determines  the  situation  of  the  parts  of 
things,  and  of  the  parts  of  parts.  Corres- 
ponding to  the  highest  or  first  of  the  series 
of  subordination,  is  th^entral  or  innermost 
of  the  series  of  co-ordination. 

The  Doctrine  of  Degrees  teaches  the  dis- 
tinct progressions  through  which  nature 
passes  when  one  thing  is  subordinated  to, 
and  co-ordinated  with  another.  There  are 
three  discriminated  degrees  in  all  things, 
both  natural  and  spiritual,  corresponding  to 
end,  cause,  and  effect.  In  the  human  body 
there  is  a  sphere  of  ends,  a  sphere  of  causes, 
and  a  sphere  of  effects.  The  body  itself, 
comprenendine;  the  viscera  of  the  abdomen 
and  chest,  and  the  external  sensoria  of  the 

•  SwedenWf  hara  naas  tha  ti>mi  calastial,  not  in 
tbe  senae  wbich  it  peculiar  to  it  in  hia  thaoiocteal 
wntmfs,  btit  mora  witK  the  meaning  aliachedioit  in 
thaphraia,   '^ealastial  globa,»»  «a  pertaining  la  ik 
•form  of  tha  QaiTana^ 


166 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


head,  is  the  sphere  of  effects;  the  brain, and 
the  whole  of  its  appendages,  are  the  sphere 
of  causes;  the  cortical  substances  of  the 
brain  are  the  sphere  of  ends  or  principles. 
These  spheres  are  subordinated  to  each  other 
in  just  series  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 
The  highest  degree  or  sphere  is  active,  the 
lowest  IS  passive  and  re-active.  The  above 
degrees,  in  their  order,  indicate  the  progres- 
sion from  universals  and  singulars  to  gene- 
rals or  compounds.  But  every  organ  again 
involves  the  same  triplicity  of  spheres ;  it 
consists  of  least  parts,  which  are  congrega- 
ted into  larger,  and  these  into  largest.  AH 
perfections  ascend  and  descend  according  to 
aegrees,  and  all  attributes,  functions,  forces, 
modes,  in  a  word,  all  accidents,  follow  their 
substances,  and  are  simiiarly^  discriminated. 
Each  degree  is  enveloped  with  its  common 
covering,  and  communicates  with  those  be- 
low it  thereby. 

There  is  no  continuous  progression  from 
a  lower  degree  to  a  higher,  but  the  unity 
of  the  lower  is  the  compound  of  the  higher, 
and  in  transcending  that  unity,  we  leap  out 
of  one  series  into  another,  in  which  all  the 
predicates  of  force,  form,  perfection,  &c.,  are 
changed  and  exalted.     The  Doctrine  of  De- 

§rees  enables  us  to  obtain  a  distinct  idea  of 
le  general  principles  of  creation,  aftd  to  ob- 
serve the  unity  of  plan  that  reigns  through- 
out any  given  orffanic  subject;  and  by 
shewing  that  all  things  are  distinct  repre- 
sentations of  end,  caust,  and  effect,  it  em- 
powers the  mind  to  refer  variety  to  unity,  as 
the  effect  to  the  cause,  and  the  cause  to  the 
end,  and  to  recognize  the  whole  constitution 
of  tach  series  as  homogeneous  with  its  prin- 
ciples. 

Series  is  the  form  under  which  the  co-or- 
dination and  subordination^f  things,  accord- 
ing to  order  and  degrees,  ultimately  present 
themselves.  The  whole  body  is  a  series, 
which  may  be  looked  at  either  generally, 
from  above  to  below,  as  comprising  tne 
head,  the  chest,  and  the  abdomen ;  or  uni- 
versally, from  within  to  without,  as  divisi- 
ble into  the  three  spheres  already  alluded 
to.  All  the  organs  of  each  region  are  a 
series ;  each  organ  in  itself  is  a  series ;  and 
every  part  in  each  organ  likewise.  In  short, 
everytning  is  a  series  and  in  a  series.  There 
are  both  successive  and  simultaneous  series, 
but  the  latter  always  arise  from  the  former. 
Essences,  attributes,  accidents,  and  qualities 
lollow  their  substances  in  their  series.  Eveiy 
series  has  its  own  first  substance,  which  is 
more  or  less  universal  according  as  the  se- 
ries is  more  or  less  general.  This  firat  sub- 
substance  is  its  simple,  unity,  or  least  form, 
governing  in  the  entire  series,  and  by  its 
^dual  composition  lonninff  the  wiiole. 
ach  series  has  its  limits,  imd  ranges  only 


from  its  minimum  to  its  maximum.    What- 
ever transcends  those  limits  at  either  end, 
becomes  part  of  another  series.    The  com- 
pounds of  all  series  represent  their  simples, 
and  shew  their  form,  nature,  and  mode  of 
action.     The  Doctrine  of  Series  and  Society 
teaches  that  contiguity  and  continui^  of 
structure,  are  indicative  of  relationship  of 
function,  and  that  what  goes  on  in  one  part 
of  a  series,  goes  on  also,  with  a  determi- 
nable variety,  in  all  the  other  parts :  where- 
fore each  organ  is  to  be  judged  of,  and  ana- 
lysed, by  all  the  others  that  are  aibove  and 
around  it.    In  this  manner,  the  whole  series 
is  the  means  of  shewing  the  function  of 
each  part  of  itself,  and  indeed  of  analysing . 
that  function  into  a  series  similar  to  that  of 
the  whole ;  for  the  least  in  every  series  must 
represent  an  idea  of  its  universe.    Under 
the  operation  of  this  law,  the  point  becomes 
a  world  analogous  to  the  great  world,  bat 
infinitely  more  perfect,  potent,  and  universal. 

Such  is  a  very  brief  illustration  of  the 
Doctrines  of  Order  and  Degrees,  Series  and 
Society,  from  which  it  will  be  evident  hov 
closely  connected  these  doctrines  are,  and  that 
they  can  hardly  be  stated  without  our  seem- 
ing to  repeat  of  one  what  has  already  bectt 
predicated  of  the  others.  Degrees  appear  to 
involve  the  distinct  progressions  of  creation 
from  above  to  below,  or  from  with'm  to 
without :  order,  to  appertain  to  the  law  of 
succession  observed  in 'degrees,  whereby 
rank  and  height  are  given  to  excellence,  pn- 
ority,  universality,  and  perfection;  senes, 
to  involve  the  complex  of  the  whole  and  the 
parts  when  created  and  coexisting;  and  so- 
ciety, to  be  the  law  of  contig^uity  and  rela- 
tionship existing  between  different  series, 
and  between  the  parts  of  any  single  series. 
Perhaps  it  would  not  be  far  wrong  to  state 
in  generals,  that  order  and  degrees  invoWe 
the  creating  and  successive,  series  and  so- 
ciety, the*  created  and  simultaneous.  Bat  as 
we  have  said  before,  Swedenborg  never  sta- 
ted these  doctrines  as  promised  in  the  "Ani- 
mal Kingdom,"  but  contented  himself  with 
using  them  as  analytic  instruments  in  the 
exploration  of  the  boidy ;  and  therefore  the 
reader  will  learn  them  best  in  the  way  of 
example  and  illustration  in  the  Work  itself- 

The  Doctrine  of  Influx  involves  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  lower  substances,  forms 
and  forces  of  the  body  subsist^  as  they  at 
first  existed,  from  the  bieher  and  the  hi([h- 
est;  and  in  which  the  body  itself  suhswts 
from  the  soul,  as  it  at  first  existed ;  and  the 
natural  world  from  the  spiritual.  But  there 
is  not  only  an  influx  from  wltibin,  but  alw 
from  without ;  and  by  virtue  of  both,  the 
body,  which  otixerwise  would  be  a 
power,  is  raised  into  an  actrvs  faws-*, 

^  «#•  -  Anitetl  Kingdom,'*  toL'U,  p.Wk  " 


Swedenborg's  Animal  Kingdom, 


167 


The  Doctrine  of  Correspondence  and  Re- 
preseatatioa  teaches  that  the  natural  sphere 
IS  the  counterpart  of  the  spiritual,  and  pre- 
sents it  as  in  a  mirror ;  consequently  that 
the  forms  and  processes  of  the  body  are  ima- 
ges of  the  forms  and  activities  of  the  soul, 
and  when  seen  in  the  right  order,  bring 
them  forth  and  declare  them.  It  shows  that 
nature  is  the  type  of  which  the  spiritual 
world  is  the  ^nte-type,  and  therefore  is  the 
first  school  for  instruction  in  the  realities  of 
that  which  is  living  and  eternal. 

The  Doctrine  of  Modification  teaches  the 
laws  of  motion  and  change  of  state  in  the 
several  auras  or  atmospheres  of  the  world, 
and  in  their  spiritual  correspondents. f 

What  was  stated  of  the  Doctrines  of  Or- 
der, Degrees,  Series,  and  Society,  as  mutu- 
ally supposing,  or  as  it  were  interpenetrating 
each  other,  may  be  repeated  generally  of  the 
whole  of  these  doctrines,  and  this,  because 
they  are  all  but  so  many  varied  aspects  of 
the  one  principle  of  divine  truth  or  order, 
like  nature  itself  they  are  a  series,  each 
link  of  which  involves  all  the  others. 

The  Doctrine  of  Series  and  Degrees  in 
conjunction  with  that  of  Correspondence 
and  Kepresentation,  teaches  that  there  is  a 
tuiversai  analogy  between  all  the  spheres 
of  creation,  material,  mental,  and  spiritual: 
and  also  between  nature  and  all  things  in 
human  society.  The  circulation  of  uses  in 
the  body  perfectly  represents  the  free  inter- 
couise  of  roan  with  man,  and  the  free  inter- 
change of  commodities  between  nation  and 
nation.  The  operations  that  go  on  in  the 
body,  analogically  involve  au  the  depart- 
ments of  human  industry;  nay,  and  infi- 
jiitely  more,  both  in  subdivision,  unity,  and 
perfection.  There  is  not  an  art  or  trade, 
whether  high  or  low,  so  long  as  it  be  of 
good  use,  but  the  Creator  himself  has  adop- 
ted and  professed  it  in  the  human  system. 
Nay,  in  the  richness  of  his  pervalding  love, 
the'r^  prerogatives  of  the  mind  are  repre- 
seDtatively  applicable  to  the  body.  Lnd, 
cause,  and  effect,  as  existing  in  Himself,  are 
represented  in  the  latter  as  weU  as  in  the 
former.  Liberty  and  rationality,  the  nniver- 
aai  principles  of  humanity,  are  transplanted 
by  analogy  from  the  mind  into  the  body.  It 
presents  au  analogon  of  liberty,  in  that  every 
organ,  part,  and  particle,  can  successfully 
exercise  an  attraction  for  those  fluids  that 
are  adapted  to  its  life  and  uses ;  of  ration- 
ality, in  that  it  acts  as  though  it  took  cogni- 
zance of  the  adaptability,  and  operates  upon 
the  materials  demanded  and  supplied,  in 
SQch  a  manner  as  will  best  secure  the  well- 
bsiog  of  itself  and  of  the  whole  i|rstem. 

Toif  may  account  to  the  reader  for  the 


t  ToL  n.,  p.  Mi 


extremely  figurative  character  of  Sweden-  } 
borg's  style,  and   shew  that  it  proceeded  \ 
from  the  reason  and  not  from  the  imagina-  [ 
tioDv    It  is  because  each  thing  is  a  centre  { 
to  the  life  of  all  things,  that  each  may  freely  ! 
use  the  exponent  terms  of  all.      Analogous  \ 
uses  in  the  body  and  the  soul,  furnish  the  | 
point  of  contact  between  the  two,  and  the  j 
possibility  and  the  means  of  intercourse.  I 
Had  Swedenborg  confined  himself  to  the  \ 
dry  straitness  of  what  is  now  called  science,    , 
he  must  have  forfeited  the  end  he  had  in    ; 
view ;  lor  matter,  as  matter,  has  no  com-    ! 
munion  with  spirit,  nor  deaUi  with  life.    It 
was  absolutely  necessary^  that  the  body  [ 
should  be  tinctured  with  life  in  all  possible  > 
ways,  when  it  was  to  be  the  medium  of  in-  I 
struction  respecting  the  soul.  -^ 

But  it  is  time  to  instance  a  few  of  the  re- 
sults to  which  the  above  doctrines  lead  when 
wisely  applied  to  the  living  body.    It  will, 
however,  be  impossible  to  give  anything  be- 
yond the  merest  sketch  of  Swedenborg*s 
ph]yrsiology,  or  to  look  at  it  from  more  than  i 
a  single  point  of  view.    He  himself  has  re-  | 
garded  it  from  all  sides,  or  from  each  organ  ( 
and  sphere  of  the  body,  and  given  what  may  j 
be  called  a  combined  proof  of  its  correct- J 
ness.  '•^^'i 

The  alimentary  canal  and  the  whole  of 
the  viscera  of  the  abdomen  form  one  grand  ' 

series  subservient  to  the  creation  of  the 
blood.  This  again  is  divided  into  three  in- 
ferior series,  whereof  one  primarily  respects 
the  chyle,  another  the  serum,  and  a  third 
the  blood  alread^r  formed.  There  are  then 
three  series  of  digestions.  1,  The  alimen- 
tary canal  commencing  at  the  tongue  and 
terminating  with  the  rectum,  performs  as 
many  distinct  digestions  of  the  food,  and 
ehminates  from  it  as  many  distinct  products, 
as  the  canal  itself  has  distinct  divisions  and 
articulations.  Thus  there  is  the  chyle  of 
the  tongue  and  mouth,  the  ch^le  of  the  slo- 
mach,  the  chyle  of  the  small  intestines,  and 
the  chyle  of  the  laige  intestines,  and  all 
these  chyles  subserve  the  blood  in  a  succes- 
sive series,  coincide  in  its  formation,  and  ul- 
timately coexist  within  it  in  a  simultaneous 
series.  When  the  chyle  has  been  inaugu- 
rated into  the  blood,  and  is  once  in  the  arte- 
ries and  veins,  it  is  no  lon^r  caUed  chyle, 
but  serum.  2.  The  serum  is  the  object  of 
the  second  digestion.  The  finer  parts  of  it 
therefore  are  secreted,  and  the  worthlees 
parts  are  excreted  and  thrown  out,  just  as 
was  before  the  case  with  the  food.  The 
former  operation  is  performed  by  the  pan- 
creas, the  latter  by  the  kidneys.  3.  The 
blood  itself  is  the  object  of  the  third  diges- 
tion.   This  processt  termed  by  Swedenborg       _ 


168 


Swedenbor^a  Animal  Kingdom. 


the  lustration  of  the  blood,  takes  place  in 
the  capillaries  and  glandular  elements  all 
over  the  system,  but  specifically  in  the 
spleen,  the  pancreas,  and  the  liver.  As  in 
the  first  series  there  are  various  menstrua  or 
media  between  the  chyle  and  the  blood; 
nanely,  in  the  mouth,  the  saliva;  in  the 
stomach,  the  gastric  juice,  which  is  the  sa- 
liva potentialized  by  the  peculiar  action  of 
the  stomach;*  in  the  small  intestines  the 
pancreatic  juice,  and  the  hepatic  and  cystic 
biles ;  and  in  the  large  intestines  the  liquid 
distilled  from  the  vermiform  appendage  of 
the  coBcum ;  so  in  each  of  the  other  series 
oorresponding  menstrua  are  required  and 
applied.  The  blood  of  the  pancreas,  and 
the  blood  of  the  spleen  deprived  of  its  serum 
by  the  pancreas,  serve  in  the  liver  as  a  men- 
struum for  refining  the  chyle  and  lustrating 
the  blood.  The  lymph  is  a  kind  of  ultimate 
saliva  which  digests  the  chyle  as  the  com- 
mon saliva  digests  the  food.  The  lymph  of 
the  spleen,  for  instance,  digests  the  chyle  in 
the  mesentery,  as  its  blood  digests  the  chyle 
and  blood  in  the  liver.  In  snort,  as  ail  the 
abdotninal  viscera  form  one  series  of  uses, 
80  the  lowest  aad  largest  foim  of  that  series 
may  be  taken  as  an  exponent  of  the  whole ; 
and  it  will  then  be  found  that  all  these  or- 
gans are  hi^h  evolution  of  the  alimentary 
tube,  digesting  finer  and  finer  aliments,  (for 
the  blood  itself  is  the  essential  aliment  of 
the  body,)  and  throwing  out  subtler  and 
subtler  excrements  or  impurilies.  Thus  the 
liver  is  the  stomach  of  the  chyle  and  blood ; 
and  the  ductus  hepaticus  and  the  gall-blad- 
der and  ductus  cysticus  are  respectively 
analogous  in  their  proper  series  to  the  small 
and  the  large  intestines. 

The  viscera  of  the  thorax  also  minister  to 
the  blood.  The  heart  is  a  chemical  organ 
for  preparing  liquids  to  enter  into  its  com- 
position, at  the  same  time  that  it  is  the  be- 
finning  of  the  circulation.  It  separates  the 
iood  into  two  parts,  a  purer  and  a  grosser ; 
ti>e  purer  it  sends  away  through  the  lacuns 
underneath  the  columns  on  its  inner  surface, 
by  a  series  of  ducts  into  the  coronary  ves- 
sels, which  are  the  true  veins  of  the  heart,t 
the  grosser  into  the  lungs.  Thus  it  also  is 
an  organ  of  blood -digestion  or  sanguifica- 
tion. The  lungs  have  three  general  func- 
tions: 1.  They  iustrkte  all  the  blood  of  the 
body,  especially  in  regard  to  its  chyle  or 
serum ;  their  ofUcp  in  this  respect  being  anal- 
ogous to  that  of  the  kidneys  in  the  abdomen. 
2.  They  fee^  the  blood  with  serial  and  ethe- 
real chyle,  as  the  viscera  of  the  abdomen 

•  i*ee  **  Animal  Kingdom,""^!."!.,  p.  123,'note  (o) 
p.  138,  nou(y.) 
t  Oa  this  •ttbjecteumine  Swedenborf**  "Eeoaomy 


with  terrestrial  chyle.  3.  They  call  forth 
the  powers  of  all  the  organs  of  the  body  by 
respiration.  With  respect  to  the  last-named 
of  these  oihces  of  the  lungs,  namely,  that 
they  supply  the  body  and  all  its  parts  with 
motion,  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  dis- 
coveries in  the  **  Animal  Kingdom,**  and  not 
less  wonderful  in  its  consequences  than  in 
its  simplicity  and  obvious  truth. 

We  have  published  the  above  commence- 
ment of  the  Translator's  Introdaction  to 
Swedenborg's  **  Animal  Kingdom,"  with  the  * 
view  of  continuing  it,  to  completion,  in  the 
future  numbers  of  this  Journal,  together  with 
such  other  extracts  from  the  work  itself  as 
we  may  deem  most  interesting  and  import- 
ant. This  introduction  by  the  translator, 
a  medical  scholar  of  distinction,  probably 
gives  a  better  synoptical  and  analytical 
view  of  the  whole  of  this  really  wonderful 
work  than  could  be  presented  by  any  one 
less  thoroughly  acquainted  with  every  page 
and  sentence  of  its  contents.  It  will  be 
seen  from  notices  of  it  which  we  adduce 
from  English  Reviews,  that  it  is  beginning 
to  excite  the  profound  attention  and  aston- 
ishment of  the  enlightened  and  leaned 
minds  of  that  country ;  and  there  being  no 
American  reprint  whatever,  and  the  London 
edition,  moreover,  being  entirely  exhausted 
and  out  of  print,  we  have  thought  it  scarcely 
possible  to  occupy  a  portion  of  our  pages 
with  any  matter  of  equal  novelty  and  valve. 
We  confess,  too,  that  in  making  these  ex* 
tracts  we  are  not  wholly  uninfluenced  by 
what,  we  trust,  is  a  very  natural  ana  ex* 
cusable  gratification,  in  finding  and  suhoit- 
ting  to  our  readers  such  remarkable  aii4 
unexpected  illustrations  of  Ihe  physioligi- 
cal  doctrines  which,  in  perfect  indepcodence 
of  the  great  mass  of  medical  writers  and  oa 
the  authority  of  our  own  discoveries  tad 
convictions  alone,  we  have  been  publishing 
to  the  world,  and  adopting  in  practicei  for 
more  than  thirty  years  past. 

fieing  fortunately  in  possession  of  a  copy 
of  Swedenborg's  "  Principia,*  we  intend  to 
enrich  our  Journal  with  consecutive  «p«ci* 
mens  of  this  extraordinary  work  also,  which 
8Ucce5«fuUy  aspires  to  the  highest  altitodi 
of  inteUsctoal  acumen  and  ge&enlizalioii. 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


▼Oil.  n. 


OOTOBBB,  1846. 


no.  IV. 


FALLAOIBS  OP  THB  FAOULTT. 

ladies  delivered  ttt  tha  Egyptian  Hail,  PieeadWy, 

Londtm,]S^. 

BY  S.  DIXON,  M.  D. 

LECTURE  VII. 

Unity  of  all  Things. 
BUcMCB  o€  Women— Cancer— Tumour — Pregnaacy-^ 

Partimiiott—Abortidii— Teething— Hereditary  Peri- 

odieUy. 
GssTUauw: 

Man  J  of  ycm.  have  doubtless  read  or  heard 
of  Dr.  Chaoning  of  Boston,  one  of  the  bold- 
est amf  most  eloquent  of  American  writers. 
In  a  littte  Essay  of  Ms,  entitled  <<  Self-Cul- 
tme,"  Ifind  some  observations  bearing  so 
strongly  upon  the  subject  of  these  lectures, 
that  1  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  read 
them  at  length.  How  far  tfeey  go  to  strength- 
en the  view  I  have  thought  it  right  to  instil 
into  your  minds,  you  will  now  have  an  op- 
portunity of  judging  for  yourselves:—"  In- 
tellectual culture,"  says  this  justly  eminent 
person,  •«  consists,  not  chiefly,  as  many  are 
apt  to  think,  in  accumulating  information — 
tjikough  this  is  important;  but  in  building  up 
ft  force  of  thougnt  which  may  be  turned  at 
-m^  dn  any  subjects  on^hich  w<e  are  forced 
to  pom  judgment.  This  force  is  manifested 
in  the  concentration  of  the  attention — in  ac- 
cutate  penetrating  observation— in  reducing 
complex  subjects  to  their  dements^m  diving 
beneath  the  effect  to  the  cause— in  detecting 
the  more  9tid)tit  differences  and  resemblances 
of  things — in  reading  the  future  in  the  pre- 
sent,—and  ea^)ecially  in  rising  from  varticu- 
Uxrfads  to  general  faws  or  universal  traOts. 
This  last  exertion  of  the  intellect— its  rising 
to  bitiad  views  and  great  principles,  consti- 
tutes V7hat  is  called  the  philosophical  mind, 
and  is  especially  worthy  of  culture.  What 
it  means,  your  own  observation  must  have 
taught  you.  You  must  have  taken  note  of 
two  classes  of  men— the  one  always  em- 
ployed on  details,  on  particular  facts— and 


the  other  using  these  facts  as  foundations  of 
higher,  wider  truths.  The  latter  are  philos- 
ophers. For  example,  men  had  for  ages 
seen  pieces  of  wood,  stones,  metals  falling 
to  the  ground.  Newton  seized  on  these 
particular  facts,  and  rose  to  the  idea  that  all 
matter  tends,  or  is  attracted  towards  all  mat- 
ter, and  then  defined  the  law  according  to 
which  this  attraction  or  force  acts  at  different 
distances ;— thus  giving  us  a  grand  princi- 
ple, which  we  have  reason  to  think  extends 
to,  and  controls  the  whole  outward  Crx- 
ATiON.  One  man  reads  a  history,  and  can 
tell  you  all  its  events,  and  there  stops.  Ano- 
ther combines  these  events,  brings  them  under 
ONE  VIEW,  and  learns  the  great  causes  which 
are  at  work  on  this  or  another  nation,  and 
what  are  its  great  tendencies — whether  to 
freedom  or  despotism — to  one  or  another /brm 
of  civilization.  So  one  man  talks  continu- 
ally about  the  particular  actions  of  this  or 
that  neighbor, — while  another  looks  beyond 
the  acts  to  the  inward  principle  from  which 
they  spring,  and  gathers  from  them  larger 
views  of  human  nature.  In  a  word,  one 
man  sees  all  things  apart  and  in  fragments^, 
whilst  another  strives  to  discover  the  har- 
mony, connection,  unity  of  axx." 

Tnat  such  Unity,  Gentlemen,  does  actually 
and  visibly  nervade  the  whole  subject  of  our 
own  particular  branch  of  science — the  his* 
tory  of  human  diseases, — is  a  truth,  we  have 
now,  we  hope,  placed  equally  beyond  the 
cavil  of  the  captious  and  the  interested.  In 
this  respect,  indeed,  we  find  it  only  harmon- 
izing with  the  history  of  every  other  thing 
in  nature.  But  in  making  intermittent 
TEVER  OR  AGUE  the  type  or  emblem,  of  this 
unity  of  disease,  we  must  beg  of  you  at  the 
same  time,  to  keep  constantly  in  view  tKe 
innumerable  diversities  of  shaiae  and  period> 
which  different  intermittent  fevers  may  ex- 
hibit in  their  course.  It  has  been  said  of 
Faces, 

' ^Faciei  non  onuifDiutiMa^ 

Kec  divena  tamen— 


170 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


And  the  same  may  with  equal  truth  be  said 
of  Fevers—all  have  resemblances,  yet  all 
have  differences.     For,  betwixt  the  more 
subtle  and  slight  thermal  departures  from 
Health, — those  scarcely  perceptible  chills  and 
beats,  which  barely  deviate  from  that  state, 
and  the  very  intense  cold  and  hot  stages  cha- 
racteristic of  an  extreme  fit  of  ague,  you 
may  have  a  thousand  diffetences  of  scale  or 
degree.    Now,  as  it  is  only  in  the  question 
of  scale  that  all  things  can  possibly  differ 
from  each  other,  so  also  is  it  in  this  that  all 
things  are  iound  to  resemble  each  other. 
The  same  differences  of  shade  remarkable  in 
the  cas^  of  temperature  may  be  equally  ob- 
served in  the  motive  condition  of  the  tdus- 
cles  of  particular  patients.    One  man,  for 
example,  may  have  a  tremulous,  spasmodic, 
or  languid  motion  of  one  muscle  or  class  of 
muscles  simply — while  another  shall  expe- 
rience one  or  other  of  these  morbid  changes 
of  action  in  every  muscle  of  h  s  body.    Ihe 
chills,  heats  and  sweats,  instead  of  being  in 
all  cases  universal,  may  in  some  instances 
be  ffartial  only.    Nay,  in  place  of  any  in- 
crease of  perspiration  outwards,  there  may 
be  a  vicarious  superabundance  of  some  other 
secretion  within :  of  this  you  have  evidence 
in  the  llropsical  swellines,  the  diairhoeas, 
the  bilious  vomitings,  ana  the  diabetic  flow 
of  urine  with  which  certain  patients  are  af- 
flicted.   In  such  cases,  and  at  such  times, 
the  skin  is  almost  always  dry.    The  same 
diversity  of  shade  which  you  remark  in  the 
symptoms  may  be  equally  observed  in  the 
period.    The  degree  of  duration,  complete- 
ness, and  exactness  of  both  paroxysm  and 
remission,  differs  with  every  case.    The  cold 
stage,  which  in  most  instances  takes  the  pa- 
tient first — in  individual  cases  may  be  prece- 
ded by  the  hot     Moreover,  ^ter  one  or 
more  repetitions  of  the  fit,  the  most  perfect 
ague  may  become  gradually  less  and  less 
regular  in  its  paroxysms  and  periods  of  re- 
turn j  passing  in  one  case  into  a  fever  appa- 
rently continued — ^in  another,  reverting  by 
successive  changes  of  shade  into  those  hap- 
pier and  more  narmonious  alternations  of 
temperature,  motion  and  period,which  Shaks- 
peare,  with  his  usual  felicity,  figured  as  the 
«  fitful  fever"  of  healthy  life.    If  you  take 
Health  for  the  standard,  every  thing  above 
or  beneath  it — whether  as  regards  time,  tem- 
peratuffe  motion,  or  rest,  is  Disease.   When 
and  correctly  analyzed,  the  symptoms  of  care- 
fully such  disease,  to  a  physical  certainty, 
will  le  found  to  resolve  themselves  into  the 
symptoms  or  shades  of  symptom,  of  intermit- 
tent fever.    Fever,  instead  of  being  a  thing 
apart  from  man,  as  your  school  doctrines 
would  almost  induce  you  to   believe,  is 
only  an  abstract  expression  for  a  greater  or 


less  change  in  the  various  revolutions  of  the 
matter  of  Uie  body.  Fever  and  disease,  then, 
are  one  a  id  identical.  They  are  neither  "  es- 
sences *'  to  extract,  nor  «*  entities  "  to  combat 
— they  are  simply  variations  in  the  phenom- 
ena of  the  corporeal  movements;  and  m 
most  cases,  happily  for  mankind,  may  be 
controlled  without  the  aid  either  of  physic  or 
physicians.  The  same  reparative  power  by 
which  a  cut  or  a  bruise,  in  favorable  circum- 
stances becomes  healed,  may  equally  enable 
every  part  of  a  disordered  body  to  resame 
its  wonted  harmony  of  action.  How  often 
has  nature  in  this  way  triumphed  over  phy- 
sic, even  in  cases  where  the  physiciui  hsd 
been  only  too  busy  with  his  intc^renee.*- 
It  is  In  these  cases  of  escape  that  &e  genera- 
lity of  medical  men  arrogate  to  themselreB 
the  credit  of  a  cure. 

**  It  was  a  beautiful  speculation  of  Parme- 
nio,'*  remarks  Lord  Bacon, '*  though  bat  a 
speculation  in  him,  that  all  things  do  by 
scale  ascend  to  unity.**    Need  I  tell  yoo, 
Gentlemen,  that  every  thing  on  this  earth 
which  can^be  weighs  or  measured,  is  mat- 
ter— ^matter  in  one  mode  or  another.    What 
is  the  difference  between  a  piece  of  gold  and 
a  piece  of  silver  of  equal  shape  and  we^ 
A  mere  difference  of  degree  of  the  sameqnar 
lities — ^a  different  specific  gravity,  a  difiwa* 
ring,  a  different  degree  of  malleability,  a  dif- 
ferent lustre.    But  who  in  his  senses  wooid 
deny  that  these  two  substances  approedi 
nearer  in  their  nature  to  each  other  than  i 
piece  of  wood  does  to  a  stone ;  yet  mayn^ 
a  piece  of  wood  be  petrified,  be  tranafonned 
into  the  very  identical  substance  from  which 
at  first  sight  it  so  strikingly  differs!    NaTi 
may  not  the  bones,  muscles,  viscera,  aad 
even  the  secretions  of  an  animal  body,  ^ 
the  same  inscrutable  chemistry  of  nature,  be 
similarly  transmuted  into  stone  i    Gold  and 
silver  have  difierences  assuredly,  but  have 
they  not  resemblances  also— certain  thiop 
in  common,  froa  which  we  deduce  thsr 
unity,  when  we  speak  of  them  ^*^ 
metals?     How  much  more  akin  to  each 
other  in  every  resnect  are  these  substanoee 
than  water  is  m  either  of  its  own  elements 
gases  ?    What  certainty  then  have  you  or  1 
that  both  metals  are  not  the  same  Da^> 
only  differing  from  each  other  in  their  oondi- 
tion  or  mode  ?    Does  not  every  thing  in  torn 
change  into  something  elsfr— the  wgaj* 
passing  into  the  inorganic,  solids  into  liauws. 
liquid?  into  gases,  life  into  death,  and  Tice 
ersa  ?    The  more  you  reflect  upon  this  «uJ>- 


ject,  the  more  you  must  come  to  the  opiiu<» 
that  all  things  at  last  are  only  modes  (jrdii- 
ferences  of  one  matter.  The  umty  of  oib- 
ease  is  admitted  by  the  very  opponeDte^ 
the  doctrine,  when  they  give  to  apopwy 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


171 


and  toothace  the  same  name — disease  or  dis- 
order. But  the  approaches  to  unity  may  be 
traced  throughout  every  thing  in  nature  — 
Betwixt  the  nistory  of  man*s  race,  for  exam- 
ple, the  revolutions  of  empires,  and  the  his- 
tory of  the  individual  man,  the  strongest  re- 
lations of  affinity  may  be  traced.  The  cor- 
poreal revolutions  of  the  body,  like  the  rev- 
olutions of  a  kingdom,  are  a  series  of  events. 
Time,  space,  and  motion  are  equally  ele- 
ments of  both.  "  An  analyst  or  a  h istorian ," 
says  Home,  *'  who  should  undertake  to  write 
the  history  of  Europe  during  any  century, 
-would  be  influenced  by  the  connection  of 
time  and  place.  All  events  which  happen 
in  that  portion  of  space  and  period  of  time, 
are  comprehended  m  his  design,  though,  in 
:  other  respects,  different  and  unconnected. — 
They  have  stUl  a  species  of  unity  amid  all 
their  diversity.** 

The  life  of  man  is  a  series  of  revolutions. 
I  do  not  at  this  moment  refer  to  the  diurnal 
and  other  lesser  movements  of  his  body.  1 
allude  now  to  those  greater  changes  in  his 
economy,  those  climacteric  periods,  at  which 
certain  organs  that  were  previous^  rudimen- 
tal  and  inactive,  become  successively  deve- 
loped. Such  are  the  teething  times,  the 
^me  of  puberty,  and  the  lime  when  he  at- 
tains  to  bis  utmost  maturity  of  corporeal  and 
ioteUectual  power.  The  girl,  the  boy,  the 
woman,  the  man,  are  all  ufferent,  yet  they 
^re  the  same ;  for  when  we  speak  of  Man  in 
the  abstract,  we  mean  all  ages  and  both 
sexes.  But  betwixt  the  female  and  the 
male  of  all  animals,  there  is  a  greater  deeree 
of  conformity  or  unity  than  you  would  at 
first  suppose,  and  which  is  greatest  in 
their  beginning.  Now  this  harmonizes  with 
every  thin^  else  in  nature ;  for  all  things  in 
the  beginnmg  approach  more  nearly  to  sim- 
plicity. Tlie  eBily  foetus  of  every  animal, 
man  included,  has  no  sex ;  when  sex  ap- 
pears it  is  in  the  first  instance  hermaphrodite, 
just  as  we  find  it  in  the  lowest  tribe  of  adult 
animals,  the  oyster,  for  example.  In  this 
particular,  as  in  every  other,  the  organs  of 
the  hiunan  faUiu,  internal  as  well  as  exter- 
nal, iirst  come  into  existence  in  the  lowest 
animal  type — and  it  depends  entirely  upon 
the  greater  or  less  after  developement  of 
these  several  hermaphioditic  parts,  whether 
the  organs  for  the  preservation  of  the  race, 
take  flventually  the  male  or  female  form. — 
How  they  become  influenced  to  one  or  the 
other  form  we  know  not.  Does  it  depend 
upon  position  ?  It  must  at  any  rate  have  a 
rdation  to  temperature.  For  a  long  time 
even  after  birth,  the  breasts  of  the  boy  and 
girl  preserve  the  same  appearance  precisely. 
You  can  see  that  with  your  own  eyes.  But 
^  comparative  anatomist  can  point  out 


other  analogies,  other  equally  close  resem- 
blances in  the  rudimental  condition  of  the 
reproductive  organs  of  both  sexes.  During 
the  more  early  icptal  state  the  rudiments  of 
the  testes  and  the  ovaries  are  so  perfectly 
identical  in  place  and  appearance,  that  you 
could  not  tell  whether  they  should  after- 
wards become  the  one  or  the  other.  What 
in  the  male  becomes  the  prostate  gland,  in 
the  female  takes  the  form  of  the  womb.  To 
sum  up  all,  the  outward  generative  organs 
of  both  sexes  are  little  more  than  inversions 
of  each  other.  Every  hour  jthat  passes, 
however,  while  yet  in  its  mother's  womb, 
converts  more  and  more  the  unity  of  sex  of 
of  the  infant  into  diversity.  But  such  diver- 
sity, for  a  long  period,  even  after  birth,  is 
less  remarkable  than  in  adult  life.  How  dif- 
ficult  at  first  sight  to  tell  the  sex  of  a  child, 
of  two  or  three  years  old  when  clothed :  at 
puberty  the  difficulty  has  altogether  vanish- 
ed. Then  the  boy  becomes  bearded  and  his 
voice  alters  j  then  the  breasts  of  the  girl — 
which  up  to  this  period  in  no  respect  dmered 
from  his,  in  appearance  at  least — become 
fully  and  fairly  developed,  assuming  by  gra- 
dual approaches  the  form  necessary  for  the 
new  function  they  must  eventually  perform 
in  the  maternal  economy.  Another,  and  a 
still  greater  revolution,  imbues  them  with 
the  jjower  of  secreting  the  first  nutriment  of 
the  infant  But  even  before  the  girl  can 
become  a  mother  a  new  secretion  must  have 
come  into  play— a  secretion  which,  from  its 
period  being,  unlike  every  other,  monthly 
only,  is  known  to  physicians  under  the 
name  of  Catamenia  or  the  Menses.  How 
can  such  things  be  done  but  by  a  great  con- 
stitutional change — without  a  new  febrile 
revolution  of  the  whole  body  ?  Mark  the 
sudden  alternate  pallor  and  flush  of  the 
cheek  and  lip,  the  tremor,  spasms  and  palpi- 
tations— to  sa^r  nothing  of  the  uncontrollable 
mental  depressions  and  exaltations — to  which 
the  girl  is  then  subject,  and  you  will  have 
little  difficulty  in  detecting  the  type  of  every 
one  of  the  numerous  diseases  to  which  she 
is  then  liable.  Physicians  may  call  them 
Chlorosis,  green-sickness,  or  any  other  name, 
you  wiU  recognize  in  them  the  developments 
of  an  Intermittent  fever  simply — as  various 
in  its  shades,  it  is  true,  as  a  fever  from  any 
other  cause  may  become — producing,  like 
that,  every  wrong  action  of  place  and  time 
you  can  conceive,  and  like  other  fevers,  of- 
ten curing  such  wrong  actions  as  previously 
existed,  when  it  happens  to  reverse  the  atom- 
ic motions  of  the  various  parts  of  the  body. 
Before  touching  upon  the  principal 

DiSJEASES  INCIDENTAL  TO  WoMSN, 

I  must  teU  you  that  the  Catamenia^  in  most 


172 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


cases,  disappears  during;  the  period  of  actual 
pregnancy;  nor  does  it  return  while  the 
mother  continues  to  give  suck.  During 
health,  in  every  other  instance,  it  continues 
from  the  time  of  puberty,  or  the  period  when 
women  can  bear  children,  to  the  period  when 
this  reproductive  power  ceases.  As  with  a 
lever  it  comes  into  play,  so  with  a  fever  it 
also  takes  its  final  departure.  Why  it  should 
be  a  peculiaritjr  of  the  human  female,  I  do 
not  know — but  in  no  other  animal  has  any 
thing  analogous  been  observed.  Some  au- 
thors, Inde^,  pretend  to  have  seen  it  in  the 
monkey ;  but  if  this  were  really  the  case,  I 
do  not  think  so  many  physiologists  would 
Qtill  continue  to  doubt  it,  especially  as  they 
have  everjr  opportunity  of  settling  the  ques- 
tion definitively.  Various  speculations  have 
been  afloat  as  to  the  uses  of  this  secretion, 
but  I  have  never  been  satisfied  of  the  truth 
of  any  of  them.  I  am  better  pleased  to  know 
that  tne  more  perfect  the  health,  the  more 
perfectly  periodical  the  recurrence  of  th^ 
phenomenon.  It  is  therefore,  without  ques- 
tion a  secretion,  and  one  as  natural  and  ne- 
cessary to  females  of  a  certain  age,  as  the 
saliva  or  bile  to  all  people  in  all  times.  How 
absurd,  then,  the  common  expression  that  a 
woman,  during  her  period,  is  "  unwell.'*  It 
is  only  when  the  catamenia  is  too  profuse  or 
too  defective  in  quantity,  or  too  frequent  or 
too  far  between  in  the  period — when  the 
quality  must  also  be  correspondingly  altered 
— that  the  health  is  in  reality  impaired. 
Then,  indeed,  as  in  the  case  of  other  secre- 
tions imperfectly  performed,  pain  may  be  an 
accompaniment  of  this  particular  function. 

Need  I  tell  you  that  no  female  of  a  certain 
age  can  become  the  subject  of  any  fever 
without  experiencing  more  or  less  change  in 
this  catamenia  ?  or  that  during  any  kind  of 
indisposition,  how  slight  so  ever  it  may  be, 
some  corresponding  alteration  in  this  respect 
must,  with  equal  certainty  take  place  ?  In 
cases  where  the  alteration  thus  produced 
takes  the  shape  of  a  too  profuse  flow,  prac- 
titioners are  in  the  habit  of  prescribing  as 
tringents  and  cold  applications.  Happily 
for  the  patient  the  medicines  usually  styled 
"astringents,"  (iron,  bark,  alum,  opium, 
&c.,)  are  all  chrono-thermal  in  their  action; 
and  the  general  salutary  influence  which 
they  consequently  exercise  over  the  whole 
economy,  very  frequently  puts  the  catame 
nia,  in  common  with  every  other  function, 
to  rights — when  the  practitioner  who  pre- 
scril^s  them  has  no  idea  that  he  is  doing 
more  than  attending  to  the  derangement  of  a 
part.  He  accordingly  places  profuse  men 
Btruation  in  his  list  of  local  diseases  ?  When 
deficiency  or  suppression  of  this  secretion, 
on  the  contrary,  chances  to  be  the  coincl* 


dent  feature  of  any  general  constitutional 
change — a  thing  which  may  happen  from  a 
transitory  passion  even — such  ^ect  or  coin- 
cidence of  cerebral  disturbance  is  by  many 
practitioners  assumed  to  be  the  cause  of  aU 
the  other  symptoms  of  corporeal  derange- 
ment !  And  imder  the  formidable  title  of 
"  obstruction,*'  how  do  you  think  some  of 
your  great  accoucheur  doctors  are  in  the 
habit  of  combating  it  ? — ^By  leeching  the  pa- 
tient— by  applying  leeches  locally.  Now,  I 
only  ask  you  wliat  you  would  think  of  a 
practitioner,  who,  on  finding  the  same  na* 
tient  feverish  and  thirsty,  should  leech  ner 
tongue?  or  when  she  complained  of  her 
skin  being  uncomfortably  dry,  should  2q)ply 
leeches  to  that  ?  You  would  laiu;h  at  him  , 
of  course ;  and  so  you  may,  wim  iust  the 
same  reason,  laugh  at  the  fashionable  prac< 
titioners  of  the  day,  when  you  find  them 
leeching  their  patients  for  defective  or  sup- 
pressed menstruation — a  derangement  of 
function  which  a  passion  might  produce,  and 
another  restore  to  its  healtny  state.  Is  it 
then,  a  local  disease  or  a  disease  of  the 
brain  and  nerves — an  a&ction  of  a  pait  or  a 
disorder  of  totality?  If  the  latter,  who 
but  a  mechanic  would  think  of  applying 
leeches  locally  ?  In  either  case,  who  Irat  a 
cow-leech  or  a  quack  salver  would  dream  of 
restoring  any  periodical  secretion  by  a  mode 
of  practice  so  barbaiousand  disgusting?  You 
might  just  as  reasonably,  in  the  absence  of 
an  appetite  for  dinner,  expect  to  make  your 
"  mouth  watef"  by  the  application  of  leeches 
to  your  stomach  when  the  clock  should 
strike  five  I 

Having  thus  far  explained  the  nature  of 
these  cases,  1  have  now  little  else  to  say  of 
them.  The  general  principle  of  treatmeot 
is  obvious — attention  to  temperature ;  for  in 
every  case  of  catamenial  irr^ularity,  whfr 
ther  as  regards  qusmtity,  quality  or  period, 
the  temperature  of  the  loins  must  be  moie  or 
less  morbid — one  patient  acknowledging  to 
chill,  another  to  heat  In  the  fonner  case, 
friction  or  a  warm  plaster  may  be  tried  as « 
local  means — ^in  me  latter,  cold  or  t^d 
sponging :  though  I  may  teU  yoti  that,  with 
the  chrono-thermal  remedies  singly,  yot 
may  produce  the  most  perfectly  salutary  re- 
sults in  numerous  cases.  In  both  instances, 
cold,  warm,  and  tepid  baths  may  also  be  ad- 
vantageously employed,  according  to  ihe 
varying  circumstances  of  the  case. 

The  majority  of  women  who  suffer  from 
any  general  indisposition  short  of  acute 
fever,  are  more  or  less  subject  to  a  particular 
discharge  which,  by  the  patients  themselves 
is  very  often  termed  weakness,  but  whidi » 
more  familiar  to  the  profession  under  lh« 
name  of  kucorrhcM  or  whites.    The  usual 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


17$ 


concomitant  of  this  disease  is  a  dull  aching 
pain  at  the  lower  part  of  the  back.  Now,  I 
never  questioned  a  woman  who  suffered 
from  it,  but  she  at  once  acknowledged  that 
the  \ocbXJIow  was  one  day  more,  another  less, 
and  that  she  had,  besides,  the  chills,  heats, 
and  other  symptoms  of  general  constitutional 
derangement.  But  of  ttiat  derangement,  the 
discharge  so  often  supposed  to  be  the  cause, 
is  in  the  first  instance  nothing  more  than  a 
coincident  feature  or  effect;  though  from 
pain  or  profuseness,  it  may  again  react  upon 
the  constitution  at  large,  and  thus  form  a 
secondary  and  supeiudded  cause  or  aggra- 
wit.  In  cases  of  this  kind  I  am  in  the  prac- 
"fice  of  prescribing  quinine,  iron,  or  alum, 
sometimes  with,  and  sometimes  without  co- 
paiba, catechu,  or  cantharides — one  medicine 
answering  best  with  one  patient,  another 
^Tith  another. 

I  have  been  frequently  consulted  in  cases 
of  painful  whites,  and  also  in  cases  of  pain- 
ful menstruation,  disorders  which  practition- 
ers, as  remarkable  for  their  professional 
eminence  as  for  their  utter  want  of  high  pro- 
fessional knowledge,  had  been  previously 
treating  by  leeches,  some  applying  these  to 
the  loins,  which,  in  every  case,  whether  of 
vrhitea  or  irregular  menstruation,  is  weak 
and  consequently  painful ;  some,  to  the  dis- 
rust  of  every  woman  of  sensibility,  intro- 
ducing them  even  to  the  orifice  of  the  womb 
Itself.  What  practice  can  be  more  errone- 
ous ?  What  relief,  if  obtained,  more  delu- 
sive !  Bark,  iron,  opium, — these  are  the 
remedies  for  cases  of  this  description ;  and  the 
eeneral  constitutional  improvement  which, 
for  the  most  part,  follows  their  use,  together 
Vrith  the  disappearance  of  the  more  promi- 
nent local  irregularities  for  which  your  aid 
had  been  asked,  affords  the  best  answer  to 
any  hypothetic  objection  that  may  be  brought 
against  their  employment.  The  best  topical 
application  in  these  cases— and  you  will 
find  it  useful  in  most — is  a  plaster  to  the 
spine  to  warm  and  support  it ;  thoueh,  cold, 
hot,  or  tepid  fomentation  to  the  loins  or 
woDib  may  also  be  occasionally  employed, 
according  as  one  or  other  shMI  prove  most 
agreeable  to  the  patient's  own  feelings. 

The  various  female  disorders  of  which  I 
have  just  been  treating  are  matter  of  daily 
practice.  The  more  formidable  affection  to 
which  I  now  draw  your  attention, 

CaJUCEB.  of  the  B&£A8T, 

fortunately  for  the  sex,  is  of  rare  occurrence 
— not  one  woman,  perhaps,  in  five  thousand 
ever  becoming  the  subject  of  it.  Now,  what 
is  Cancer  ?  what  but  a  slow  and  painful 
decomposition — a  canker  or  blight  of  the 
particular  organ  affected.    The  manner  in 


which  cancer  of  the  breast  generally  com- 
mences is  this : — A  tumor,  at  first  smdler 
than  a  nut,  possessing  more  or  less  hardness, 
and  to  a  certain  extent  circumscribed,  is  ob- 
served in  the  neighborhood  of  the  nipple ; 
the  patient's  attention,  in  most  cases,  being 
first  called  to  it  by  a  slight  itching  or  unea- 
siness in  the  part  affected,  which  soon  deep- 
ens into  a  "  pricking,"  "  darting,"  or  "  shoot- 
ing" pain — for  sucn  are  the  various  phrases 
by  which  different  patients  describe  theix 
pain.  The  tumor  gradually  but  slowly  in- 
creases in  size  and  hardness,  while  the  pain 
becomes  more   and    more  intolerable  and 

lancinating."  The  disease,  in  every  case, 
is  intermittent,  and  in  most  instances,  this 
intermission  is  periodical,  the  tumor  being 
one  day  perceptibly  diminished,  another  as 
obviously  enlarged.  The  pain,  in  like  man- 
ner, disappears  more  or  less  completely,  for 
a  time,  to  return  at  a  particular  hour  of  the 
clock  with  undiminished  violence.  Now, 
when  surgeons  were  more  in  the  habit  of 
performing  operations  in  ca^es  of  this  kind, 
than  at  present,  such  tumors,  after  removal 
by  the  knife,  were  usually,  from  motives  of 
curiosity,  bisected.  If  their  internal  structure 
when  thus  divided,  resembled  something  be- 
twixt a  turnip  and  a  cartilagej  the  disease 
was  pronounced  to  be  "true  cancer" — a 
schirrus  or  carcinoma-  On  the  contrary,  ii 
instead  of  this  appearance,  the  tumor  had  a 
resemblance  to  the  substance  of  the  brain^ 
or  to  lard,  jelly,  or  was  of  a  mixed  charac- 
ter, disputes  frequently  arose  as  to  the  name 
by  which  the  disease  should  be  christened ; 
as  if  it  signified  one  straw  whether  the  breast, 
when  so  completely  changed  in  its  structure 
and  nature,  as  to  be  proouctive  of  nothine 
but  miser}'  to  its  owner,  should  be  called 
schirrus,  carcinoma,  cancer,  or  any  thing 
else !  Oh  !  it  matters  very  little  what  that 
organic  change  be  termed,  when,  as  in  all 
these  cases,  the  glandular  fabric  of  the  breast 
becomes  at  last  completely  destroyed  and  de- 
composed. 

HoW  and  in  what  manner  is  this  disease 
developed  .>  Gentlemen,  it  is  the  result  of 
ffenerj4  constitutional  change.  It  is  the  ef- 
fect of  a  weak  action  of  the  nerves  on  an 
originally'  weak  organ ;  and  of  this  you  may 
be  satisfied,  when  I  tell  you  that  in  most  in- 
stances cancer  is  a  hereditary  disease ;  or,  to 
express  myself  better,  there  is  hereditary  pre- 
disposition, and  what  is  more,  the  disease 
generally  makes  its  first  appearance  about 
3iat  period  of  life  when  the  breast  ceases  to 
be  any  thing  but  a  mere  personal  ornament 
to  its  possessor.  It  comes  on  much  about 
the  same  time  when  the  catamenial  secretion 
is  about  to  terminate  for  life.  Can  such  ter- 
mination take  place  without  a  new  corporeal 


174 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


revolution  ?  Certainly  not :  every  female  at 
such  time  suffers  more  or  less  from  constitu- 
tional disorder.  Analyze  this  disorder,  and 
you  will  find  that  it  resolves  itself  into  a 
general  intermittent  febrile  action  of  the 
whole  body,  varying  in  its  shade  with  every 
case.  Cancer,  tnen,  is  a  development  of 
that  fever.  Now,  why  is  it  that  the  word 
cancer  sounds  so  fearfully  in  the  female  ear? 
The  diflSculty  to  cure  it  simply — the  difficul- 
ty in  most  instances — the  aosolute  impossi- 
bility in  many.  To  understand  the  reason 
of  this  difficulty,  we  must  consider  the  na- 
ture and  uses  of  the  organ.  However  beau- 
tiful and  ornamental  to  its  possessor,  the 
breast  is  not,  like  the  heart  or  lungs,  an  or- 

•  ^  gan  of  the  k^t  .importance  to  her  own  vital 
'*'''^  economy,  it  is  a  part  superadded  for  the 
preservation  of  the  race.  Rudimental,  or  all 
but  absent  in  the  child,  this  organ  only 
reaches  its  full  maturity  of  development 
when  the  girl  becomes  the  woman.  After 
the  woman  ceases  to  bear  children,  or  whe- 
ther she  has  borne  them  or  not,  when  the 
period  of  the  possibility  of  her '  being  preg- 
nant has  passed  away,  the  substance  of  the 
breast  is  generally  more  or  less  absorbed, 
though  you  occasionally  meet  with  instan- 
ces where  it  becomes  enlarged  beyond  its 
previous  size.  In  fewer  cases  still  it  takes 
on  a  process  of  decay — in  other  words,  it  be- 
comes cancerous.  But  nature  in  this  in- 
stance, even  when  aided  by  art,  will  not 
often  exert  her  usual  reparative  efforts — she 
will  not  put  forth  her  powers  (so  to  speak) 
for  the  preservation  of  a  part  which  now, 
not  only  so  far  as  the  individual  economy  is 
concerned,  but  so  far  also  as  regards  the 
race,  has  become  a  useless  part,  lliis  I  take 
to  be  the  true  reason  of  the  difficulty  to  cure 
a  cancer ;  for  although  in  many  cases  more 
or  less  improvement  in  the  state  of  the  af- 
fected organ  may  follow  the  employment  of 
remedial  means — such  means  as  beneficially 
influence  the  whole  health — still,  as  if  to 
jrove  more  fully  the  truth  of  my  explana 
tion,  you  may  even  succeed  to  a  great  extent 
in  raising  the  general  healthy  standard,  and 
yet  fail  to  procure  the  slightest  arrest  of  the 
local  process  of  decay.  While  a  cut  or 
bruise  upon  any  other  part  of  the  body  of  a 
cancer  patient  will  heal  with  ease,  the  breast, 
partaking  no  longer  in  the  preservative  pow- 
er of  the  economy,  may  perish  piece-meal. 
Gentlemen,  never  m  my  life  did  I  meet  with 
a  cancer  in  any  state  or  stage,  the  subject  of 
which  did  not  acknowledge  to  chills  and 
heats,  or  who  did  mot  admit  errors  of  secre- 
tion ;  to  say  nothing  of  variations  in  the  vo- 
lume, temperature,  and  sensation  of  the  pari 
afiected.    I   lately  attended  the    sister    of 

a  FeDow  of  the  Royal  College  of  Physicians, 


who  was  first  induced  to  consult  me,  irom 
heariiig  that  1  looked  upon  ague  as  the  pri- 
mary type  or  model  of  all  complaints.  Her 
own  cancer,  she  assured  me,  was  preceded 
by  shivering  fits,  which  she  traced  to  a  sud- 
den chill ;  and  during  the  whole  progress  of 
the  disease  she  suffered  more  or  less  from 
aguish  feelings.  Previously  to  my  seeing 
her,  she  had  been  visited  by  a  surgeon  w 
eminence,  who  ordered  her  to  apply  leeches, 
but  the  effect  of  their  employment  was  an  in- 
crease of  her  pain  And  no  wonder— for  if 
that  great  man  had  only  taken  the  trouble  to 
enquire,  he  would  have  found  thai,  instead 
of  the  hypothetic  "inflammation,"  which 
doubtless  suggested  their  employment,  the 
breast  in  that  instance  was  generally  cold!  • 
Would  not  a  warm  plaster  under  these  dr- 
cumstances  have  been  of  more  service  ?  You, 
gentlemen,  may  try  at  least,  and  if  you  do 
not  find  it  produce  more  or  less  relief  in 
many  similar  instances,  I  know  nothing 
whatever  of  the  science  I  now  pretend  to 
teach  you.  No  local  application,  however, 
will  be  long  ^^roduclive  of  any  very  effectual 
advantage  in  this  or  any  other  disease,  with- 
out attending  to  the  cnrono -thermal  princi- 
ples of  paroxysm  and  remission.  Arsenic, 
quinine,  opium,  copper,  prussic  acid,  may  be 
all  successively  tried.  But  you  must  here 
always  keep  in  mind  that  cancer  is  a  chronic 
disease,  a  disease  of  time;  and  you  mu^ 
farther  hold  in  your  remembrance  what! 
have  already  said  in  regard  to  most  cases  of 
chronic  disease,  namely,  that  no  medicine 
will  produce  its  beneficial  effect  for  any  great 
continuance  in  those  disorders ;  for  once  the 
constitution  becomes  accustomed  to  the  use 
of  a  remedy,  such  remedy  either  loses  it» 
salutary  influence  altogether,  or  acts  in  a 
manner  the  reverse  of  that  which  it  did  when 
tried  in  the  first  instance,  l^o  medicinal 
agent  had  a  greater  reputation  at  one  time,  in 
the  treatment  of  cancer,  than  arsenic ;  arse- 
nic in  fact  was  supposed  to  be  a  wonderful 
specific  in  cases  of  that  nature.  What  was 
the  consequence .'  Like  every  thing  else  m 
this  world,  whether  person  or  thing,  physi- 
cian or  physic,  that  ever  enjoyed  the  tempo- 
rary distinction  of  infallibility,  after  a  few 
decided  failures  in  particular  instances,  th» 
mineral  came  at  last  to  be  almost  entirely 
abandoned  i  n  such  cases.  And  yet,  not  with- 
standing  this,  I  do  not  know  a  remedy  which 
may  be  more  successfully  used  in  cancer 
than  arsenic.  "  We  have  seen  from  its  use/* 
says  Dr.  Parr,  in  his  Dictionary,  published 
in  1809,  ••■  an  extensive  [cancerous]  sore 
filled  with  the  most  healthy  granulations,  the 
complexion  become  clear^  the  appetite  im- 
proved, and  the  general  health  mcrcased. 
Unfortunately,*' he  continues.  «« these  good 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


176 


cfliects  have  not  been  permanent.    By  in- 
creasing the  dose  we  have  gained  a  little 
more,  but,  at  last,  these  advantages  were  ap- 
paurently  lost.**    And  was  it  ever  otherwise 
with  any  other  remedy  f  No  power  on  earth 
could  always  act  upon  the  living  body  in  the 
same  manner.    The  strongest  rope  will  strain 
at  last,  and  so  will  the  best  medicine  cease, 
after  a  time,  to  do  the  work  it  did  at  first 
Bat  a  physician  who  should,  on  that  score, 
despise  or  decry  a  power  that  had,  for  a 
given  time,  proved  decidedly  advantageous  in 
any  case,  would  be  just  as  wise  as  the  trav- 
eller who,  on  reaching  his  inn,  instead  of 
being  thankful  to  his  horse  for  the  ground  it 
had  enabled  him  to  clear,  should  complain  of 
it  for  not  carrying  him  without  resting  to  the 
end  of  his  journey.    What,  under  the  circum- 
stances mentioned  by  Dr.  Parr,  either  he  or 
any  otherdoctorshouldhave  done, — and  what 
I  have  confidence  in  recommending  you  to  do 
on  every  similar  occasion  is  this,— Having 
obtained  all  the  good  which  arsenic  or  any 
other  remedy  has  the  power  to  do  in  any 
case,  change  such  remedy  for  some  other 
constitutional  power,  and  chance  and  change 
until  you  find  improvement  to  be  the  result ; 
and  when  such  result  no  longer  follows  its 
employment,  change  your  medicine  again  for 
some  other ;  or  you  may  even  again  recur 
with  the  best  effect  to  one  or  more  of  the 
number  you  had  formerly  tried  with  benefit ; 
for  when,  (if  1  may  speak  so  metaphorically) 
the  constitution  has  been  allowed  time  to 
forget  a  remedy  that  once  beneficially  influ- 
enced it,  such  remedy,  like  the  re-reading  of 
a  once  admired,  but  long-foigotton  book  on 
the  mind,  may  come  upon  the  corporeal  eco- 
nomy once  more  with  much  of  its  original 
force  and  freshness.    Tn  all  such  cases,  then, 
you  mu^  change,  combine,  and  modify  your 
medicines  and  measures  in  a  thousand  ways 
-  to  produce  a  sustained  improvement.    Arse- 
nic, gold,  iron,  meicury,  creosote,  iodine, 
opium,  prussic  acid,  &c.,  may  be  all  advan- 
tageously employed,  both  as  internal  reme- 
dies and  as  local  applications,  according  to 
the  changing  indications  of  the  case. 

When  Cancer  is  suffered  to  run  its  course 
undisturbed  by  the  knife  of  the  surgeon,  or 
the  physic  of  the  doctor,  the  usual  termina 
tion  of  it  is  this : — a  small  ulcer  shows  it 
self  upon  the  skin  of  the  most  prominent 
part  oi  the  tumour,  gradually  increasing  in 
dimension.  And  so  exceedingly  weak  do 
the  atomic  attractions  of  the  matter  of  the 
breast  become  during  the  change  produced 
by  the  disease,  that  scarcely  has  the  atmos- 
pheric air  been  allowed  to  come  in  contact 
with  the  tumour,  than  it  commences  to  mor- 
tify and  die — falling  away  in  most  c€wes,  (as 
it  did  indeed  in  the  case  of  the  lady  to  which 


I  have  already  alluded,)  after  a  certain  time* 
in  a  dead  and  corrupted  mass.  The  ulcer 
which  it  leaves  behind,  is  in  all  such  cases* 
extremely  fcetid,  and  shows  a  great  disposi- 
tion to  spread ;  the  reason  of  which  is  this, 
— first,  because  the  whole  constitution  of 
such  persons  is  more  or  less  weak ;  and  se- 
condly, because  the  particles  of  dead,  or 
half-dead  matter,  whicn  coat  the  bowl  of  the 
ulcer,  not  only  have  no  power  of  reparation 
in  themselves,  but  are  the  cause  of  a  further 
failure  of  reparative  power  in  the  already 
weak  parts  with  which  they  come  in  con- 
tact. Exactly  the  same  thing  takes  place 
when  any  part  of  an  old  tree  becomes  de- 
cayed, and  very  much  after  the  manner  of 
such  vegetable  decay,  as  you  may  see  it  in 
a  gnarlM  oak,  we  have  in  this  disease* 
mushroom-like  and  other  excrescences 
springing  from  the  sides  and  bottom  of  the 
ulcerous  and  decaying  part,  and  that  too 
with  a  rapidity  truly  astonishing.  A  case 
of  this  kind  I  lately  attended  with  Mr.  Far- 
quhar  of  Albermarle-street  Unless  every 
portion  of  these  fungoid  bodies  be  completely 
removed,  you  must  not  hope  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  the  disease.  The  whole  surface  * 
of  the  ulcer  should  be  cauterized  and  com- 
pletely destroyed  with  a  burning  iron,  nitrate 
of  silver,  ammonia,  or  potass.  All  four 
may,  in  some  cases,  be  resorted  to  with  ad- 
vantage. Nor  must  you  here  spare  any 
part  that  shows  even  a  symptom  of  weak- 
ness; but  cauterize,  and  cauterize  acain  and 
again,  until  you  get  red,  small,  healthy  gran- 
ulations to  appear.  The  dressings  which 
you  will  now  find  most  successful,  are  oint- 
ments or  other  preparations  of  the  red  oxide 
of  mercury,  iodine,  arsenic,  creosote,  lead* 
&c.,  and  each  and  all  of  these  will  only 
prove  beneficial  in  particular  cases,  and  for 
particular  periods.  The  law  that  holda 
good  in  the  case  of  internal  remedies,  will 
be  now  more  conspicuous  in  the  case  of  ex- 
ternal applications, — namely,  that  all  medi- 
cinal powers  have  a  certain  relation  to  per- 
sons and  periods  only,  and  must  in  no'  case* 
be  a  priori  expected  to  do  more  than  produce 
a  temporary  action.  If  that  action  be  of  a 
novel  kind,  they  will  produce  benefit;  if, on 
the  contrary,  the  increased  motion  from  their 
action  be  in  the  old  direction,  and  which 
cannot  be  foreseen  till  tried,  the  result  of 
such  trial  will  be  a  greater  or  less  aggrava- 
tion of  the  state  for  whose  improvement  you 
ordered  them  to  be  applied. 

Dr.  Abel  Stuart,  while  practising  in  the 
West  Indies,  where  the  disease  is  more  fre- 
quent than  in  England,  had  many  opportu- 
nities of  making  himself  acquainted  with 
every  one  of  the  various  states  and  stages 
of  cancer — and  since  I  settled  in  London^ 


176 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty* 


where  he  also  now  practices,  he  has  shown 
me  cases  of  this  kind,  which  he  has  treated 
-with  the  greateat  success.  You  must  not 
then  suppose,  like  most  of  the  vulgar,  and 
not  a  few  of  the  members  of  the  profession, 
that  cancer  of  the  breast  is  necessarily  a 
mortal  disease.  So  long  as  you  can  prevent 
the  ulcer  from  spreading:,  and  at  the  same 
time  keep  up  the  general  health  to  a  certain, 
mark,  how  can  there  be  danger  ?  The  breast 
I  repeat,  is  not  a  strictly  vital  organ ;  it  is 
not,  like  the  lungs  or  heart,  necessary  to  the 
individual  life,— it  is  a  part  superadded  for 
the  benefit  of  another  generation.  How 
many  women  at  one  time  remarkable  for  a 
large  full  breast,  iu  the  course  of  years,  lose 
€very  appearance  of  bosom  by  the  slow  but 
imperceptible  process  of  interstitial  absorp- 
tion ;  what  inconvenience  do  these  suffer  in 
consequence  ?  But  for  the  tendency  to 
spread,  and  the.  accompanying  pain,  cancer 
would  seldom  terminate  fatally  at  all ;  it  is 
the  pain  principally  that  makes  the  danger, 
not  any  loss  of  the  organ  itself.  Pain  alone 
will  wear  out  the  strongest:  relieve  this, 
therefore,  in  ever}'  way  you  can,  but  avoid 
leeches  and  depletion,  which,  I  need  not  say, 
are  the  readiest  means,  not  only  to  exhaust 
the  patient's  strength,  but  to  produce  that  ex- 
treme sensibility  of  nerve,  or  that  intoler- 
ance of  external  impression,  that  converts 
the  merest  touch  into  the  stab  of  a  dagger. 
Strong  people  seldom  complain  of  pain :  it 
is  bloated  and  emaciated  persons  who  mostly 
do  80.  Keep  up  your  patient's  health,  then, 
by  every  means  in  your  power,  and  she  may 
live  as  many  years  with  a  cancer  of  the 
breast,  as  if  sne  had  never  suffered  from 
such  a  disease.  Sir.  B.  Brodie  mentions  the 
case  of  a  lady  who  lived  twenty  years  with 
Cancer,  and  died  at  last  of  an  z^ection  of 
the  lungs,  with  which  it  had  no  necessary 
connexion.  What  shall  I  say  in  regard  to 
amputation  of  the  breast  ?  Will  amputation 
harmonize  the  secretions  ?  Will  it  improve 
the  constitution  in  any  way  whatever." 
Those  patients  who,  in  the  practice  of  oth- 
ers, have  been  induced  to  undergo  opera- 
tions, have  seldom  had  much  cause  to  tnank 
their  surgeons, — ^the  disease  having,  for  the 
most  part,  reappeared  at  a  future  period  in 
the  cicatrix  of  the  wounded  part.  Gentle- 
men, you  have  only  to  look  at  the  pallid, 
bloated,  or  emaciated  countenances  of  too 
many  of  the  sufferers,  to  be  satisfied  that 
something  more  must  be  done  for  them  than 
a  mere  surgical  operation — a  measure  doubt- 
ful at  the  best  in  most  cases,  and  fatal  in  not 
a  few.  Shiverings,  heats,  and  sweats,  or 
diaTrhoBa,'or  dropsy;  these  are  the  constitu* 
tional  signs  that  tell  you  you  have  something 
more  to  do  than  merely  to  dissect  away  a 


diseased  structure,  which  structure^  bo  k| 
from  being  the  cause,  was  in  reality  but  one 
feature  of  a  great  totality  of  infirmity. 
That  the  knife  may  sometimes  be  advanta- 
geously employed  1  do  not  deny,  but  instead 
of  being  the  rule,  it  should  be  meexception; 
for  the  majority  of  honorable  and  enlight- 
ened surgeons  will  admit  how  little  it  naa 
served  them  in  most  cases  beyond  the  mere 
purpose  of  temporary  palliation.  When 
you  hear  a  man  now-a-days,  speaking  of  the 
advantage  of  early  operating,  vou  may  fairiy 
accuse  him  of  ignorance,  witn  whicn,  I  re- 
gret to  say,  interest,  in  this  instance  may  oc- 
casionaly  go  hand  in  hand.  The  large  fee  for 
amputating  a  breast  enters  into  the  calcula- 
tion of  some  of  your  "great  operators"— for 
that  they  get  whether  the  operation  be  suc- 
cessful or  not. 

I  have  twice  in  my  life,  seen  cancer  of 
the  male  breast — the  subject  of  one  was  a 
EJjiropean,  the  other  a  native  of  India. 

JLet  me  now  say  a  few  words  on 

Tl'MOURS 

generally ;  premising  that  the  term  tumour 
is  merely  the  Latin  word  for  any  Swelling, 
though  we  commonly  employ  it  in  the  more 
limited  sense  of  a  morbid  growth.  It  is  a 
very  common  error  on  the  part  of  medical 
men,  to  state  in  their  report  of  cases,  that  a 
"healthy'*  person  presented  himself  wilb» 
particular  tumour  in  this  or  that  situation. 
Now,  such  practitioners  by  tfiis  very  expres- 
sion show  how  much  they  have  busied  them- 
selves with  artificial  distinctions — distinc- 
tions which  have  no  foundation  in  nature  or 
reason-  -to  the  neglect  of  the  circle  of  ac- 
tions w-hich  constitute  the  state  of  the  bodjr 
termed  heakh-  Never  did  a  tumour  spring 
up  in  a  perfectly  healthy  subject.  In  the 
course  of  my  professional  career,  I  haye 
witnessed  tumours  of  every  description,  but 
I  neyer  met  one  that  could  not  be  traced, 
either  to  previous  constitutional  disturbance 
or  to  the  effect  of  local  injury  on  a  previ- 
ously unhealthy  subject.  Chills  and  heats 
have  been  confessed  to  by  almost  every  pa- 
tient, and  the  great  majority  have  remem- 
bered that  in  the  earlier  stages  their  tumour 
was  alternately^  more  and  less  voluminous. 
Every  individual,  we  have  alrieady  shown, 
has  a  predisposition  to  disease  of  a  particu- 
lar tissue.  Whatever  shall  derange  the 
general  health,  may  develope  the  weak  point 
of  the  previously  healthy,  and  this  naay  b« 
a  tendency  to  tumour  in  one  or  more  tissues. 
The  difference  in  the  organic  appearance  of 
the  different  textures  of  the  body,  will  ac- 
count for  any  apparent  differences  betwixt 
the  tumours  themselves ;  and  where  tumours 
appear  to  differ  in  the  same  tissue,  the  differ- 
ence will  be  found  to  be  only  in  the  amount 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


177 


of  the  matter  entering  into  such  tissue,  or  in 
a  new  arrangement  of  some  of  the  elemen- 
tary principles  composing  it.  It  is  a  law  of 
the  animal  economy,  that  when  a  given  se- 
cretion becomes  morbidly  deficient,  some 
other  makes  up  for  it  by  a  preternatural 
abundance  If  you  do  not  perspire  properly 
you  will  find  the  secretion  from  the  kidneys, 
or  some  other  organ  increase  in  quantity.  I 
was  consulted  some  time  ago  by  a  female 
patient,  whose  breasts  became  enormous 
rrotn  excess  of  adipose  or  fatty  deposit. 
Now,  in  the  case  of  this  female,  the  urine 
was  always  scanty,  and  she  never  sweated. 
J^very  tissue  of  tne  body  is  built  up  by  se- 
cretion. The  matter  ot  muscle,  bone  and 
sjkin,  is  fluid  before  it  assumes  the  consist- 
ence of  a  tissue,  and  the  atoms  of  every 
texture  are  constantly  passing  into  each 
other.  "The  great  processes  of  nature,'* 
says  Px-ofessor  Brande,  "  such  as  the  vege- 
tation of  trees  and  plants,  and  the  pheno- 
mena of  organic  life  generally,  are  connec- 
ted with  a  series  of  chemical  changes." 
But,  Gentlemen,  this  chemistry  is  of  a  higher 
kJLnd  than  the  chemistry  of  the  laboratory ; 
-.—it  is  Vital  Chemistry,  under  the  influence, 
as  I  shall  afterwards  show  you,  of  Vital 
Electricity.  Secretion  of  every  kind  is  the 
effect  oi  this  vital  chemistry  j  and  Tumours 
instead  of  being  produced,  as  Mr,  Hunter 
sopposedf  by  the  "  organization  of  extrava- 
Baled  blood,  are  the  result  of  enors  of  se- 
cretion. They  are  principally  made  up  of 
excess  of  some  portion  the  tissue  in  wnich 
they  appear,  or  tne  result  of  new  combina- 
tions of  some  of  the  ultimate  principles 
which  enter  into  its  composition. 

If  you  search  the  records  of  *  medicine 
tmon  the  subject  of  tumours,  you  will  find 
that  the  medicinal  agents  by  which  these 
ha^e  been  cured  or  diminished,  come  at  last 
to  the  substances  of  greatest  acknowledged 
efficacy  in  the  treatment  of  ague.  One  prac-^ 
titioner  (Carmichael)  lauds  iron;  another 
(VUibert)  speaks  favorably  of  the  bark ;  the 
natives  of  India  prefer  arsenic ;  while  most 
practitioners  have  found  iodine  and  mercury 
more  or  less  serviceable  in  their  treatment. 
Genflemen,  do  you  require  to  be  told  that 
these  substances  have  all  succeeded  and 
failed  in  ague  !  Wonder  not,  then,  that  each 
has  one  day  been  lauded,  another  decried, 
for  every  disease  which  has  obtained  a  name, 
tumors  of  every  description  among  the  num- 
ber.   We  now  come  to 

Prj»kamct. 

But  this,  you  will  very  likely  say,  is  not  a 
disease.  In  that  ca^e,  I  must  beg  to  refer 
you  to  ladies  who  have  had  children,  and  I 
will  wager  you  my  life,  tjiat  they  will  give 


you  a  catalogue  of  the  complaints  that  affec- 
ted them  durine  that  state,  equal  in  size  to 
Dr.  Cullen's  Nosology.  In  the  case  of 
every  new  phenomenon  in  the  animal  econ- 
omy! whether  male  or  female,  there  must 
be  a  previous  corporeal  revolution,  We 
find  this  to  be  the  case  at  the  times  of  teeth- 
ing and  puberty, — and  so  we  find  it  in  the 
case  of  pregnancy.  Can  the  seedling  be- 
come an  herb  in  the  frost  of  winter,  or  the 
sapling  erow  up  into  maturity  without  a  se- 
ries of  cnanges  in  the  temperature  and  mo- 
tion of  the  surrounding  earth  .> — ^No  niore 
can  the  infant  germ  become  the  foetus  with* 
out  a  succession  of  febrile  revolutions  in 
ihe  parent  frame  !  Once  in  action  it  re-acts 
in  its  turn. 

The  influence  of  the  mother's  brain  over 
the  growth  of  the  child  while  in  the  woinb, 
is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  effects  of  frights 
and  other  passions,  induced  by  the  si^ht  of 
objects  of  horror,  and  so  forth,  while  m  the 
pregnant  state.  Hare  lips,  distortions,  moles, 
marks,  &c.,  have  in  too  many  instances  been 
traced  by  the  mother  to  such  passions,  to 
render  us  in  the  least  sceptical  upon  that 
point.  Now,  in  this  particular  instance, 
some  of  the  parts  or  divisions  of  the  mother's 
brain  must  act  in  association  or  simultane- 
ously, while  others  act  independently  or  in 
alternation,  for  otherwise  you  could  not  un- 
derstand how  the  brain  of  the  mother  should 
influence  the  growth  of  the  child  in  utero, 
and  at  the  same  time  continue  to  play  its 
part  in  the  parental  economy.  Some  of  its 
various  portions  must  act  in  these  respects 
alternately,  for  they  cannot  do  both  at  one 
and  the  same  moment  of  time.  But,  here 
again,  as  in  other  instances,  a  want  of  har- 
mony may  arise — the  brain  majr  continue  to 
exercise  its  influence  over  the  child  loo  long; 
in  other  casts  it  may  forget  the  child  for  the 
mother.  How  sucn  want  of  harmony  af- 
fects the  child,  we  can  only  guess  from  anal- 
ogy. How  a  too  long  cerebral  neglect  of 
the  mother's  economy  may  influence  her, 
we  may  daily  see  in  the  numerous  disorders 
to  which  she  is  then  liable— more  particu- 
larly in  the  periodic  vomitings  which  take 
place  in  most  instances,  and  also  in  the 
swoon  or  faint  which  occasionally  comes  on 
during  the  pregnant  state.  Are  not  these  the 
very  symptoms  that  happen  in  the  case  of 
a  person  who  has  had  a  olow  on  the  head,  or 
wno  has  been  much  bled  ?  It  appears  to 
me  probable  that  the  infant's  growth  must 
take  place  principally  during  the  period  of 
maternal  sleep.  For  it  is  chiefly  in  the 
morning,  just  as  she  awakes,  that  the  mo- 
ther experiences  those  vomitings  and  other 
symptoms  from  which  I  infer  the  brain  has 
been  too  long  neglecting  her  own  economy. 


178 


Falladts  cf  the  Faculty. 


But  even  as  a  natural  consequence  of  the 
more  favorable  alternations  of  cerebral 
movement  which  take  place  during  preg- 
nancy, the  mother  for  the  most  part  experi- 
ences chills,  heats,  and  sweats, —  she  has 
symptoms,  or  shades  of  symptom,  at  least, 
of  the  same  disorders  that  may  arise  from 
any  other  agency  affecting  the  brain  in  a 
novel  or  unusual  manner — she  becomes  at 
certain  times  pale  and  flushed  alternately, 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  other  fevers,  frequent- 
ly complains  of  headache.  When  blood- 
letting—the usual  refuse  of  the  ie;norant — 
is  in  such  cases  tried,  tne  blood  wawn  ex- 
hibits the  same  identical  crust,  which  under 
the  name  of  "  huffy-coat,"  "  inflamed  crust*' 
.&c.,  so  many  practitioners  have  delighted  to 
enlarge  upon  as  the  peculiarity  of  «  true  in- 
flammatory fever  !** 

Pregnancy  has  been  defined  by  some  very 
peat  doctors,  to  be  a  «*  natural  process." 
Now,  that  certainly  is  a  very  great  discovery; 
but  they  might  have  made  the  same  discove- 
ry in  the  case  of  disease  and  death.  Is  not 
every  thine  in  Nature,  a  natural  process, 
from  the  fsul  of  an  apple  to  the  composition 
of  the  lUiad  !  Every  thing  that  the  eye  can 
see  or  the  ear  can  hear  is  natural ;  miracles 
only  are  miraculous;  for  they  are  events 
that  are  contrary  to  the  natural  order  of 
things.  Pregnancy,  then,  is  a  natural  pro- 
cess;—  but  is  it  on  that  account  the  less 
surely  a  Febrile  state  ?  Is  it  for  that  reason 
the  less  certainly  an  Intermittent  Fever  } — 
What  disorders  have  not  originated  in  preg- 
nancy ?  What,  in  cases  where  they  previ- 
ously existed,  has  it  not  like  every  other  fe- 
ver cured  ?  If  it  hasproduced  Epilepsy,  Apo- 
plexy, Toothache,  Consumption,  Palsy,  Ma- 
nia,—each  and  every  one  of  these  diseases 
have  I  known  it  to  ameliorate,  suspend,  or 
cure !  I  remember  the  case  of  a  lady  who, 
before  her  marriage,  squinted  to  perfection. 
But  when  she  became  pregnant,' her  Squint 
diminished,  and  long  before  the  period  of 
her  confinement  it  was  cured ; — never  did  I 
see  such  an  improvement  in  the  face  of  any 

rrson.  Still,  if  pregnancy  has  cured  squint, 
have  known  cases  where  it  produced  it 
How  completely,  then,  does  this  harmonize 
with  the  unity  which  pervades  Disease  gen-, 
erally ! 

PARTURmoN, 

I  have  already  said,  is  a  series  of  pains  and 
remissions,  but  it  is  not  an  intermittent  fever ; 
nor,  indeed,  has  it  any  resemblance  to  that 
affection  !  So,  at  least,  I  have  been  assured 
by  very  clever  doctors :  and  they  have  told 
Ttit  the  same  of  pregnancy !  Is  this  ques- 
tion, then,  completely  settled  in  the  nega- 
tive ?  Certainlv,— it  is  setUed  to  the  satis, 
faction  of  all  who  pin  their  faith  upon  mere 


human  authority.  But  human  authority  sd- 
dom  settled  any  thing  with  me;  for  wnere? 
ever  I  have  had  an  interest  in  knowing  the 
truth,  I  have  generally  appealed  from  the  de- 
cree of  that  unsatisfactory  court  to  the  leaf 
fallible  decision  of  the  Court  of  Fact.  And 
what  does  Fact  say  in  this  instance }  Fact 
says  that  child-labor,  in  almost  every  case, 
commences  with  chills  and  heats,  and  that 
these  are  again  and  again  repeated  with 
longer  or  shorter  periods  of  immunity  during 


progress. 


But  how  do  I  know  all  this? 


its^  ^ 

you  will  ask, — ^I  who  hold  modern  midwi- 
fery in  such  horror !  I  will  tell  you  truly— 
1  first  guessed  it :  for  I  could  not  suppose 
that  parturition  unlike  every  other  great  re- 
volution of  the  body,  could  be  either  a  pain- 
less or  an  unperilous  state,  or  that  it  cooM 
be  free  from  the  chills,  heats,  and  remissions, 
which  I  had  always  observed  in  cases  of 
that  character.  Still  not  beinz  a  person  ea- 
sily satisfied  with  guess-work,  I  took  the 
trouble  in  this  particular  instance,  to  interro- 
gate Nature.  And  as  sure  as  the  sun  erer 
shone  on  this  earth.  Nature  completely  veri- 
fied the  fact  of  my  anticipation,  that  pirtti- 
rition,  in  every  instance,  is  an  intermittent 
fever.  In  some  of  my  medical  books,  too, 
I  found  shiverings  amonfl;  the  numcroM 
other  symptoms  mentioned  as  incidental  to 
women  at  this  period.  "  Sometimes,"  ttTS 
Dr.  Ramsbotham,  himself  a  man  mid-wifet 
*•  they  are  sufficiently  intense  to  shake  tte 
bed  on  which  the  patient  lies,  and  cause  w 
teeth  to  chatter  as  if  she  were  in  the  cow 
sta^e  of  an  ague-fit ;  and  although  ahecorn- 
plains  of  feeling  cold,  the  surface  may  tj 
warm,  and  perhaps  warmer  than  natwiL 
Now,  this  cold  sensation,  as  you  well 
know,  is  often  complained  of  by  ague  l» 
tients,  even  in  the  hot  stage.  In  spite  « 
every  assertion  to  the  contrary,  then,— n 
^pite  of  every  dtclaration  on  the  part  of 
medical  or  other  persons.  Pregnancy  «» 
Parturition  are  agues — agues  in  every  sewie 
of  the  word ;  for  not  only  do  their  revolu- 
tions take  place  in  the  same  manner  as  ag«i 
but,  like  ague,  they  may  both  be  influenced 
by  medicines  as  well  as  by  mental  impres- 
sions. Indeed  in  most  cases  of  partuntion. 
the  labor-fit.— mark  the  word !— will  stop  « 
a  moment  from  the  new  cerebral  movement 
induced  by  Fright  or  Surprise.  In  son^  "*• 
fit  never  returns,  and  the  most  terrible  con- 
sequences ensue.  When  the  fatus  is  fairly 
developed  in  the  case  of  pregnancy,  and  the 
labor  completed  in  that  of  parturition,  be8lU| 
is  the  general  result ;  but  in  the  course  ol 
both,  ZA  in  the  course  of  other  fevers,  etery 
kind  of  disease  may  show  itself,  and,  when 
developed,  may  even  proceed  to  mortahty. 
An  occasional  termination  of  pregnancy  t» 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


179 


I 


Abortion  or  IVIiscariuagx  ; 

And  this,  in  every  case,  is  preceded  by  the 
same  constitutional  symptoms  as  pregnancy 
and  parturition,  namely,  the  symptoms  or 
shades  of  symptoms  of  ague.  MoreoTcr, 
when  a  woman  gets  into  a  habit  of  miscar- 
rying, such  miscarriage,  like  an  ague,  recurs 
periodically,  and  takes  place  almost  to  a  day, 
at  the  same  month  as  the  first.  A  lady  who 
had  been  married  several  years,  but  who  had 
never  borne  a  living  child, although  she  had 
had  frequent  abortions,  consulted  me  upon 
the  subject.  Her  miscarriages  have  always 
taken  place  at  the  same  period  of  pregnancy 
— about  the  end  of  the  tnird  montn — ^I  desi- 
red her  when  she  should  again  become  preg- 
nant to  let  me  hear  from  her  within  a  fort- 
night of  the  time  she  might  expect  to  mis 
carry.  She  did  so,  telling  me  at  the  same 
time  she  knew  she  should  soon  be  taken  ill, 
as  she  had  already  had  shiverings.  I  direc- 
ted her  to  use  an  opium  suppository,  nightly, 
which  she  did  for  a  month,  and  she  was 
thus  enabled  to  carry  her  child  to  the  full 
time.  She  has  had  two  children  since,  and 
all  three  are  now  well  and  thriving.  I  have 
succeeded  in  similar  cases  with  the  internal 
exhibition  of  quinine,  iron,  hydrocjranic 
aeid,  &e.  But  opium,  where  the  drug  does 
not  decidedly  disagree,  will  be  found  the 
most  ^neraJly  useful  of  our  medicines  in 
checking  the  habit  of  miscarriage  Need  I 
teU  you  that  in  no  case  should  it  be  contin- 
ued where  it  excites  vomiting. 

The  tendency  to  return  of  any  action 
which  has  once  taken  place  in  the  constitu- 
tion, is  a  law  even  in  some  effects  of  acci- 
dents. A  lady,  who  from  fright  during  a 
storm,  miscarried  of  her  first  child,  a  Boy, 
never  afterwards  when  pregnant  with  boys, 
would  carry  them  beyond  tne  time  at  which 
she  miscarried  of  the  first.  On  the  other 
hand,  she  has  done  well  with  every  one  of 
her  daughters,  five  in  number,  all  of  whom 
are  at  this  moment  living. 

To  mothe>  s  and  nurses,  next  to  Pregnancy 
.  and  Parturition,  there  is  no  subject  so  inter- 
esting as  that  of 

TSKTHIXG. 

The  birth  of  the  first  tooth,  like  the  birth 
of  a  first  child,  is  commonly  expected  by 
both  with  a  certain  degree  of  anxiety,  if  not 
with  fear.  Why  is  inis  ?  Why,  but  be- 
cause as  in  the  case  of  pregnancy,  before  the 
dormant  germ  can  be  called  into  action — be- 
fore the  embryo  tooth  can  be  developed — 
there  must  be  a  complete  corporeal  revolu- 
TiOM,  an  intermittent  fever,  of  more  or  less 
intensity,  varying  according  to  the  varying 
conditions  of  particular  constitutions.    Ana 


what  a  curious  unity  runs  through  all  crea- 
tion, producing  those  wonderful  analogies 
that  alone  can  lead  us  to  the  proper  study  of 
nature.  The  embrjo  tooth,  like  the  embryo 
infant,  is  the  oflspnng  of  a  womb — tiny  in- 
deed, but  still  rigntly  enough  termed  by  the 
profession  matrix — that  being  only  another 
Latin  word  for  uterus  or  woxno.  both  also 
come  into  the  world  by  a  fever.  The  more 
healthy  and  vigorous  the  child,  the  more 
subdued  will  the  teething  fever  for  the  most 
part  be,  and  the  teething  itself  will  conse- 
quently be  less  painfully  accomplished ;  just 
as  under  the  same  circumstances  the  partu- 
rient mother  will  more  surely  bring  forth  her 
young  in  saiety.  In  those  cases,  on  the 
contrary,  where  the  child  is  weakly  or  out 
of  health,  the  fever  will  be  proportionaUy 
severe.  The  generality  of  teething  chil- 
dren, after  having  been  comparatively  well 
during  the  day,  recome  feverish  at  a  partic- 
ular hour  in  the  night.  Now,  the  newly 
developed  tooth,  though  in  the  first  instance 
itself  a  mere  effect  of  the  fever,  very  soon 
contributes,  by  the  painful  tension  which  its 
increasing  growth  produces  in  the  gum,  to 
aggravate  and  prolong  the  constitutional  dis- 
oraer.  It  is  first  an  effect,  and  then  a  super- 
added cause,  or  aggravant.  Gentlemen,  in 
this  fever  we  have  a  fresh  illustration  of  the 
unity  of  disease — a  fresh  proof  that  inter-, 
mittent  fever,  in  some  of  its  many  shades, 
is  the  constitutional  revolution  which  ushers 
in  every  kind  of  corporeal  disorder.  How 
many  varieties  of  local  disease  may  not  be 
produced  during  the  intermittent  fever  of 
teething!  Every  spasmodic  and  paral3rtic 
distemper  you  can  name — convulsions,  apo- 
plexy, lock-iaw,  squint,  curved  spine,  with 
ail  tne  family  of  structural  disorders,  from 
cutaneous  rash  and  eruption  to  mesenteric 
disorganization  and  dysentery.  Should  the 
gum  be  lanced  in  these  cases  ?  Who  can 
doubt  it  >  If  you  found  the  painful  tension 
produced  by  the  matter  of  an  abscess  keen- 
ing up  a  great  constitutional  disorder,  would 
you  not  be  justified  in  letting  out  the  matter 
with  a  lancet  ?  The  cases  ^e  similar.  In 
many  instances  of  teething,  then,  the  gum- 
lancet  may  be  used  with  very  great  advan- 
tage— but  with  greater  advantage  still  may 
you  direct  your  attention  to  the  temnerature 
of  the  chilcrs  body.  When  that  is  not  and 
burning,  when  its  little  head  feels  like  fire 
to  your  hand,  pour  cold  water  over  it,  and 
when  you  have  sufliciently  cooled  it  through- 
out,  it  will  in  most  cases  go  to  sleep  in  its 
nurse's  arms.  During  the  chill-fit  on  the 
contrary,  you  may  give  it  an  occasional  tea- 
spoonful  of  weak  brandy  and  water,  with  a 
little  dill  or  aniseed  to  comfort  and  warm  it 
— ^having  recourse  also  to  friction  with  hot 


180 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


flannel,  or  to  the  warm  bath.  During  the 
period  of  remission,  the  exhibition  of  small 
doses  of  calomel,  quinine,  or  opium,  vrith 
prussic  acid  occasionally,  will  often  antici- 
pate the  subsequent  fits,  or  render  them  tri- 
fling in  comparison  with  those  that  prece- 
ded them. 

But,  Gentlemen,  I  should  explain  to  you, 
that  you  may  sometimes  be  met  with  con- 
siderable opposition  on  the  part  of  the  wise- 
acres of  the  profession,  when  you  propose 
Quinine  or  Prussic  Acid  in  infantile  disease. 
I  was  once  requested  to  see  the  infant  son 
of  a  gentleman  living  in  Hertford  Street, 
which  had  *been  suffering  from  convulsions 
and  flatulence.  You  remember  what  I  told 
you  of  this  disease — that  infantile  convul- 
sion depends  in  every  instance  upon  cerebral 
exhaustion.  It  is  often  the  efiect  of  cold, 
and  frequently  follows  upon  a  purge;  I  have 
known  the  disease  come  q^  after  the  appli- 
cation of  a  leech.  "No  fact,"  says  Dr. 
Trotter,  "is  better  known  to  the  medical 
observer,  than  that  frequent  convulsions  are 
a  common  consequence  oif  the  large  loss  of 
blood."  And  you  may  recollect  tnat  in  the 
experiment  of  tbe  animal  bled  to  death  by 
Dr.  Seeds,  flatulence  and  convulsions  were 
among  the  symptoms  produced  by  the  evac- 
uation. But  to  return  to  the  child  in  ques- 
tion. Before  I  saw  it,  the  poor  little  thing 
*ad  been  the  subject  of  thirteen  distinct  con- 

-  vulsive  fits,  with  an  interval  of  remission  q\ 
longer  or  shorter  duration  between  each. 
What  do  you  think  was  the  treatment  to 
which  this  infant  had  been  in  the  first  in- 
stance subjected  by  the  practitioner  then  and 
previously  in  attendance  ?  Though  its  age 
was  under  six  months,  and  the  disease 
clearly  and  obviously  remittent,  he  bad  or- 
dered it  to  be  cupped  behind  the  ear,— afraid 
as  he  explained  to  me,  of  the  old  bugbear, 
pressure  on  the  brain!  How  compatible 
this  doctrine,  permanency  of  cause,  with  re- 
mission of  symptom  !  The  quantity  of 
blood  taken  was  about  an  ounce,  but  the 
convulsions  recurred  as  before.  This  was 
the  reason  why  I  waft  called  in.  The  chUd 
at  that  particular  moment  had  no  fit — so 
after  taking  the  trouble  to  explain  the  na- 

^  ture  of  the  symptoms  to  the  attending  San- 
grado,  I  sufifgested  quinine  as  a  possible  pre- 
ventive. The  man  of  cups  and  lancets  sta- 
red, but  acceded.  The  quinine,  however, 
upon  trial  proving  abortive  in  this  iastance, 
I  changed  it,  according  to  my  custom,  for 
prussic  acid — after  taking  which,  the  infant 
was  free  from  fits  for  a  period  of  at  least  fiv^ 
or  six  weeks,— when  the  convulsive  pa- 
roxsym  again  recurred — ^from  what  cause,  I 
know  not,  unless  it  might  be  from  a  Purge 
which  its  mother  injudiciously  gave  it  on  the 


mominsof  recuncnce.  Tlieflatulenc^jlocH 
with  which  the  child  was  all  along  troubled, 
began  to  diminish  from  the  moment  it  took 
the  prussic  acid.  You  may  perhapB  ask  m« 
in  what  dose  I  prescribed  the  acid  here.  I 
ordered  one  drop  to  be  mixed  with  three 
ounces  of  cin jamon  water,  and  a  tea-spooa 
full  of  the  nuxture  to  be  given  every  two 
hours  all  that  day ;  so  that  there  is  no  earthbr 
agent,  however  powerful,  even  in  a  smaO 
quantity,  that  may  not  by  dilution,  or  some 
other  mode  or  diminution*  be- fined  away  to 
any  state  and  strength — ^to  any  age  or  con- 
didoD  of  life  for  which  you  may  be  desiroui  i 
of  prescribing  it.  In  this  respect,  medicine  r^ 
sembles  every  thing  in  nature.  Takecoloa 
for  example ;— the  most  intense  blue  and  tU 
deepest  crimson,  by  the  art  of  the  painter, 
may  each  be  so  managed  that  the  eye  shall 
not  delect,  iahis  design,  a  trace  of  either  od^ 
or  the  other.  In  the  case  of  the  infant  jua( 
mentioned,  the  dose  of  prussic  acid  waj 
about  the  twenty  fourth  part  of  a  drop,  an^ 
its  good  eflects  were  very  immediaU  asd 
very  obvious..  Nevertheless,  when  the  ^ 
tending  practitioner  came  in  the  morning  tt 
see  the  little  patient,  then  compktely  out  (rf 
danger,  he  was  so  horrified  by  the  mediant 
which  bad  produced  the  improvemeat,  that 
he  stated  to  the  family  he  could  not,  in  con- 
science, attend  with  me  any  longer.  He  ac- 
cortLingly  took  his  leave  of  the  childhc  huBf 
self  had  brought  into  the  world,  and  all  b^ 
cause  he,  aman-mid wife !  could  not  approva 
of  the  treatment  that  saved  its  life.  Yet 
this  very  person,  withDUthe8itation,letK)oec 
all  at  once  the  Eight  lancets  of  the  cupping 
instxument  on  the  head  of  the  same  infant» 
whose  age,  be  it  remembered,  was  under  aa 
months!  Gentlemen,  though  I  will  not 
condescend  to  name  the  individual  whobaT' 
ing  so  heroically^in  this  instance,  swalloTO 
the  camel,  found  such  a  difficulty  afterwarof 
in  approaching  the  gnat;  I  may  state  loi 
your  diversion  that  he  is  a  very  great  btai 
man  in  his  way — bein^  no  less  than  oneoi 
Her  Majesty*s  principal  accouchers— a 
proof  to  you  that  "  Court-fools"  are  ai 
common  as  ever.  Indeed,  the  only  differ- 
ence 1  see  in  the  matter  is  this, — ^thatwhereai 
in  the  olden  time  sach  personages  only  ex- 
hibited in  cap  and  bells  at  the  feast  and  the 
revel,  they  now  appear  in  a  less  obtrusive 
disguise,  and  act  still  more  ridiculous  parta 
on  the  gravest  occasions. 

One  very  great  obstacle  to  improvement 
in  medicine  has  been  the  very  general  pre* 
ference  given  by  Englishwomen  to  male  over 
female  practitioners  of  midwifery.  Forby 
means  of  that  introduction,  numbers  of  badly 
educated  persons  not  only  contrive  to  woim 
themselves  into  the  confidence  of  iaimucs, 


Fattaeies  of  the  Paculty. 


181 


but  by  the  vile  arts  to  which  they  stoop,  and 
the  collusions  and  conspiracies  uito  which 
they  enter  with  each  otner,  they  have  in  a 
great  measure  managed  to  monopolize  the 
entire  practice  of  physic  in  this  country. 
And  what  an  infamous  business  medical 
practice  has  become  in  thev  hands!  To 
check  the  career  of  these  people.  Sir  Anthony 
Carlisle  wrote  his  famous  letter  to  the  Times 
newspaper,  wherein  he  declared  that  « the 
birth  of  a  child  is  a  natural  process,  and  not 
a  surgical  operation."  Notwithstanding  the 
howl  and  the  scowl  with  which  that  letter 
was  received  by  the  apothecaries,  it  is  pleas- 
ing to  see  that  the  public  are  now  berimiing 
to  oe  aware  of  the  fact  that  more  children 
perish  by  the  meddlesome  interference  of 
theae  persons,  than  have  ever  been  saved  by 
the  aid  of  their  instruments.  How  many 
perish  by  unnecessary  medicine  common 
sense  may  form  some  notion — ^for  the  fashion 
of  the  day  is  to  commence  with  physic  the 
moment  die  child  leaves  the  womb — to  dose 
every  new-bom  babe  with  castor  oil  before 
it  has  learnt  to  apply  its  lip  to  the  nipple ! 
y^\\xi  but  an  apothecary  could  have  suggested 
0ach  a  custom?  Who  but  a  creature  with 
the  mind  of  a  mechanic  and  the  habits  of  a 
butcher  would  think  of  applying  a  cupping 
instrument  behind  an  infant's  ear  to  stop 
wind  and  ^convulsions  ?  The  nurses  and 
midwires  of  the  last  age  knew  better.  Their 
eustom  in  such  cases  was  to  place  a  Uxurd- 
leaf  upon  the  tongue  of  the  child.  The  rou- 
tinists  laughed  at  what  they  called  a  mere 
old  woman's  remedy,  and  declared  that  it 
could  have  no  e^t  whatever;  they  little 
knew  that  its  strong  odour  and  bitter  taste 
depended  upon  the  prusBtc  acid  it  contained ! 
Gentlemen,  you  may  get  many  an  excellent 
bint  from  every  description  of  old  woman  but 
the  old  women  of  the  profession — ^the  pedan- 
tic doctors,  who  first  laugh  at  the  laurel-leaf 
as  inert,  and  yet  start  at  the  very  medicine 
upon  which  its  virtues  depend,  when  given 
with  tiie  most  perfect  precision  in  the  mea- 
sured form  of  prussic  acid !  men  who,  in  the 
isame  mad  spirit  of  inconsistency,  afieet  to  be 
horrified  at  the  mention  of  opium  or  arsenic, 
while  they  dose  you  to  death  with  calomel 
and  coloc^th,  or  pour  out  the  blood  of  youi 
life  aa  if  it  were  so  much  ditch-water ! 
Gentlemen,  there  Is  such  a  thing  as 

HfiSBDrrAllT  PfiRIODICITY. 

If  you  take  a  particular  family,  and,  as  far 
as  practicable,  endeavor  to  trace  their  disea- 
ses from  generation  to  generation,  you  will 
find  that  the  greater  number  die  of  a  particu- 
lar disease.  Suppose  this  to  be  ];)uImonary 
consumption.  Like  the  ague,  which  makes 
its  individual  revisitations  only  on  given 


days,  you  shall  find  this  disease  attacking 
some  families  only  in  given  generations — 
affecting  every  second  generation  in  one 
case ;  every  third  or  fourth  in  another.  In 
some  families  it  confines  itself  to  a  given 
sex,  while  in  the  greater  number,  the  age 
at  which  they  become  its  victims  is  equally 
determinate — in  one  this  disease  appearing 
only  during  childhood,  in  another  restricting 
itself  to  adult  life  or  old  age.  By  diligently 
watching  the  diseases  of  particular  families, 
and  the  ages  at  which  they  respectively  re- 
appear, and  by  directing  attention  in  the 
earliest  stages  of  constitutional  disorder  to 
those  means  of  prevention  which  I  have  in 
the  course  of  these  lectures  so  frequently 
had  occasion  to  point  out  to  you,  much 
might  be  done  to  render  the  more  formidable 
class  of  disorders  of  less  frequent  occurrence 
than  at  present — mania,  asthma,  epilepsy, 
and  consumption  might  thus,  to  a  certain 
extent,  be  msuie  to  disappear  in  families 
where  they  had  been  for  ages  hereditary. 
But  alas !  then,  for  the  medical  profession, 
the  members  of  which  might  in  that  case 
exclaim,  "  Othello's  occupation's  gone  I" 

[While  the  second  edition  was  in  the 
course  of  printing  I  received  the  three  fol- 
lowing letters,  wmch,  as  they  go  far  to  bear 
me  out  in  many  of  my  previous  observations, 
may  not  be  deemed  by  the  reader  to  be  en- 
tirely out  of  place  here.  The  first  is  from 
Dr.  M'Kenzie  of  Kenellan,  in  Scotland. 
"  Kenkllan,  near  Dinewall,  24th  Feb.  1841 . 
Dear  Sir, — ^After  studying  at  Edinburgh, 
London  and  Paris,  I  graduated  in  1824,  and 
immediately  afterwards  received  an  appoint- 
ment to  the  Medical  staff  of  the  army.  I 
conceive  that,  phrenolocpcally  speaking,  my 
head  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  common  run ; 
and  during  my  pupilage  I  had  the  very  best 
opportunity  of  acquiring  what  most  people 
call  "  medical  information."  In  the  military 
hospital  at  Fort  Pitt  I  had  abundant  oppor- 
tunities of  testing  its  value,  yet  though  I  did 
my  best  to  put  in  practice  the  rules  and  dii- 
rections  which  I  had  so  sedulously  studi^ 
in  the  schools  of  medicine,  the  result  of 
their  application  was  anything  but  satisfac- 
tory to  me ;  nor  did  the  observations  I  made 
on  the  practice  of  my  comrades  mend  the 
matter.  The  Sangrado  system  was  in  full 
operation.  Like  my  neighbors,  I  did  as  I 
had  been  taught,  but  the  more  I  considered 
the  result  of  our  practice,  the  more  convin- 
ced I  became  that  we  were  aU  in  the  dark, 
and  only  tampering  with  human  life  most 
rashly,  in  a  multitude  of  cases  Still  I 
thought  it  my  duty  to  do  as  my  superiors 
directed,  hopmg  soon  to  see  my  way  more 
clearly.    In  process  of  time  I  was  appointed 


182 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty* 


to  a  Regiment,  with  which  I  served  about 
two  years.  I  then  married,  and  finding  that 
a  married  man  has  no  business  to  be  m  the 
army,  I  resolved  to  embark  in  private  prac- 
tice, expecting  that  with  the  excellent  op- 
portunities of  becoming  acquainted  with  dis- 
ease in  every  form  which  I  had  possessed 
in  the  army,  and  aided  by  numerous  friends, 
I  mi^ht  rise  easily  in  my  profession.  I  set- 
tled in  Edinburgh,  and  became  a  Fellow  of 
the  College  of  Physicians.  I  soon  found, 
however,  that  in  leaving  the  army  for  pri- 
vate practice,  I  was  "  out  of  the  frying  pan 
into  the  fire ;" — there  were  obstacles  to  suc- 
cess that  I  had  never  even  dreamt  of.  In 
the  rililitary  hospital  1  had  only  to  say  "  do," 
and  it  was  done ;  and  I  knew  to  a  nicety 
the  effect  of  my  remedies,  for  in  every  in- 
stance they  were  faithfully  administered. 
In  private  practice  all  this  was  changed. 
There,  in  order  to  live  like  other  men  by  la- 
bor, I  found  it  absolutely  essential  to  prac- 
tise the  suaviter  in  modo  on  many  occasions 
when  ihefortiterin  re  would  have  been  the 
best  for  my  patients.  I  therefore  felt  my- 
self obliged  to  consider  how  others  managed 
such  matters,  and  I  was  soon  able  to  divide 
the  medical  body  into  three  classes.  At  the 
top  of  the  tree  I  noted  here  and  there  a  soli- 
tary individual  whose  word  was  law  to  bis 
patients.  I  endeavored  to  trace  the  career 
of  these  favored  practitioners,  and  was  griev- 
ed at  being  compelled  to  think  that  in  few 
instances  nad  they  ascended  to  their  emi- 
nence by  the  ladder  of  integrity,  talent,  or 
real  medical  knowledge.  On  the  contrary,  I 
was  compelled  to  believe  that  these  qualities 
often  were  a  bar  to  a  physician's  rise,  and 
that  flattery  and  humbug  were  far  more 
valuable  qualities  in  the  eyes  of  the  world, 
and,  if  skilfully  practised,  would  ensure 
first  rale  eminence.  Lower  down  I  found  a 
certain  number  who,  like  myself,  did  their 
best  to  retain  practice,  and  preserve  the  wd* 
tus  ad  sidera.  But  when  I  looked  to  the 
bottom  of  the  tree,  I  saw  around  it  a  host  of 
creatures,  void  of  any  scruples,  determined 
to  acquire  wealth,  and  to  act  on  the  ancient 
maxim,  rem  sipossis  rede ;  si  non,  quocunque 
modo  rem  ;  [Make  money, — ^honestly  if  you 
can ;  if  not,  make  money  I]  men  who,  void 
of  integrity  and  all  honorable  self-respect, 
looked  upon  such  as  differed  from  them  in 
this  point  as  insane.  I  certainly  was  taken 
quite  aback,  and  looked  and  better  looked 
in  hopes  that  my  senses  deceived  me ;  but 
the  more  I  looked  the  more  was  I  satisfied, 
or  rather  dissatisfied  with  the  correctness  of 
my  views.  It  was  now  quite  clear  that  I 
never  should  rise  in  the  profession,  and  that 
*«  although  bred  to  physic,  physic  would 
never  be  bread  to  me."    I  could  not  scramble 


for  subsistence  at  the  expense  of  self-respect, 
and  live  upon  an  ipecacvan  loaf.  In  spite 
of  the  lamentations  of  my  friends  and  pa- 
tients, who  thought  me  **  getting  on  so  nice- 
ly," but  who  were  unable  to  read  my  real 
feelinefs,  and  at  the  expense  of  being  ridicu- 
led by  many  who  supposed  me  actuated  by 
foolish  pride, -fee. ,  I  bade  adieu  to  private 
practice,  and  turned  my  lancet  into  a  plough- 
share. In  short,  I  took  to  farming,  in 
which  vocation  I  have  now  continued  for 
nine  years,  enjoying  a  happiness  and  peace 
of  mmd  that  I  think  few  medical  men  can 
understand.  Among  the  poor  I  still  keep 
up  a  little  practice,  and  occasionally  am  con- 
sulted by  my  country  practising  friends,  but, 
like  my  old  lancets,  I  grow  very  rusty. 
Perhaps  you  will  say  so  much  the  better. 
And  now,  why  have  I  troubled  you  with  all 
this  from  an  entire  stranger  ?  Simply  as  a 
preface  to  the  thanks  that  I  now  b^  to  of- 
fer you  for  the  new  light  that  broke  upon 
me  on  reading  your  Fallacies  of  the  Faculty^ 
sent  me  by  a  non-medical  friend.  My  ideas 
on  physic  have  been  totally  revolutionized 
by  it,  and  I  now  recal  to  my  mind  many  ca- 
ses where  I  made  most  fortunate  cures  acci- 
dentally, by  following  your  system,  though 
without  any  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
its  application.  Most  sincerely  do  1  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  discoveries,  and  most 
confidently  do  I  look  forward  to  the  day, 
not  distant,  when  they  will  be  duly  appre- 
ciated. I  have  nayseif  been  all  but  a  martyr 
at  the  shrine  of  &ingrado,  but  nothing  will 
ever  again  induce  me  to  part  with  a  drop  of 
blood,  80  long  as  it  vnll  circulate  in  the 
veins  of— Your  obliged  and  faithful 

J.  M'Kekzie,  M.  D." 

The  next  letter  is  from  Dr.  Charles  Gre- 
ville  of  Bath :  "  Bath,  Feb.  24.  1841. 
My  dear  Sir,  I  have  perused  with  much 
interest  your  excellent  and  original  lectuiw 
on  the  Falkuies  of  tke  Faculty,  and  hare 
much  pleasure  in  attesting  the  truth  of  yiyor 
remarks.  I  have  treated  numerous  cases  of 
diseaae  upon  the  chrono  thermal  principle, 
with  perfect  success.  Should  time  permit,! 
will  furnish  you  with  various  instances.  I 
have  no  doubt  the  public  will  eventoally 
appreciate  the  superiority  of  your  views, 
and  take  its  leave  of  the  nefarious  apolhe- 
cary,  whose  existence  seems  to  depend  upon 
the  deluging  of  his  patient  with  unneccsatfy 
and  too  often  deleterious  compounds.  I  «• 
main,  my  dear  Sir,  Yours  very  faithfully, 
Charlss  Grivuxi.*' 

The  third  letter  is  from  Mr.  Henry  Smith, 
a  surgeon  in  very  extensive  practice  at 
Cheshunt,  in  Hertfordshire:  "CHESire»T, 
Feb.  24, 1841,    My  dear  Sir,    At  a  tune 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


183 


when  your  doctrines  are  so  much  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion  both  with  the  profession 
and  the  public,  the  evidence  of  a  country 
fiiactitioner  as  to  the  result  of  their  applica- 
tion in  his  hands,  may  not  be  altogether  un- 
acceptable to  their  author.  The  nrst  time  1 
hem  your  name  was  about  eighteen  months 
ago,  when  the  Hon.  Edmund  Byng  sent 
year  Unity  of  Disease  to  my  father-in-law, 
Mr.  Sanders.  We  were  both  ec^ually  struck 
with  the  noTelty  and  simplicity  of  ^rour 
▼iews,  as  there  detailed,  and  we  detennined 
to  put  them  to  the  test  You  will  be  grati- 
fied to  hear,  tiiat  neither  Mr.  Sanders  nor 
myself,  from  that  time,  have  ever  had  occa- 
sion to  use  either  leech  or  lancet  in  our 
practice,  Aough  formerly  we  felt  ourselves 
compelled  to  use  both.  Every  day  has  con- 
firmed us  in  the  truth  of  your  opinions  by 
our  increased  success.  I  have  treated  cases 
of  Apoplexy  with  the  most  perfect  success 
with  no  other  means  than  the  application  of 
cold  water  dashed  over  the  head  and  face, 
^oUowin^  that  up  after  the  fit  had  gone 
off,  with  quinine,  ammonia,  and  prussic  acid. 
I  have  cured  all  kinds  ol  cases  of  convul- 
sion, \yy  the  same  treatment ;  indeed,  in  the 
ccmvulsive  diseases  of  children,  the  prussic 
acid  has  been  my  sheet-anchor.  In  cases 
where  children  have  been  apparently  stiU- 
hom,  I  have  succeeded  in  rousing  them  by 
dashing  cold  water  over  their  bodies.  With 
quinine,  and  prussic  acid,  I  have  treated 
many  cases  of  croup,  and  in  no  instance  do 
I  remember  to  have  lost  a  patient.  Many 
cases  of  hysteria,  and  some  of  epilepsy, 
have  been  cured  or  relieved  by  creosote,  u- 
ter  eveiy  other  medicine  had  been  tried  in 
Tain.  I  have  treated  cases  of  both  chronic 
and  acute  rheumatism  successfully  by  arse- 
nic. By  the  tonic  practice  I  have  been 
equally  successful  in  inflammations  of  the 
chest  and  bowels.  Before  concluding  this 
hasty  sketch,  permit  me  to  express  how 
thankful  and  nateful  I  feel  towards  you, 
for  the  light  by  which  you  have  expelled 
the  darkness  in  which  medicine  was  for- 
merly 80  much  enveloped  by  its  professors. 
Yours,  my  dear  Sir,  very  faithfully, 

HsNRT  Smith." 

Since  the  publication  of  the  second  edition 
ol  this  work,  Mr.  Smith  confirms  his  previ- 
WiB  statonent  by  a  further  experience  of 
eighteen  months — ^three  years  in  all-~durin^ 
Vmch  he  has  not  used  a  leech  or  lancet.  1 
have  also  received  among  other  communica- 
tions the  following : 

From  Ji  C.  Deshon,  Esq.,  Surgeon. 
*<Shrotoh,  BLAMDroan,  10th  November, 
1**41.    Dear  Sir,    1  have  from  time  to  time 
Mxioosljr  waited  to  hear  of  the  state  of 


health  of  that  beloved  relative  [his  mother] 
I  left  under  your  care,  and  I  am  now  glad  to 
hear  that  she  considers  herself  better,    * 

I  have  cured  palsy  and  epilepsy  by 
hydrocyanic  acid,  quinine,  arsenic,  &c.,  and 
I  nave  also  found  these  medicines  of  avail  in 
convulsions  and  dropsies.  Indeed,  I  am 
confident  that  most  diseases  may  be  cured 
(I  refer  to  chronic  diseases  chiefly)  hy  medi- 
cines useful  in  ague,  and  on  your  piinciples 
with  reference  to  Periodicity  and  Tempera- 
ture.   Dear  Sir,  very  truly  yours, 

Hekry  C  Deshon." 

From  Charles  Trotter,  Esq.,  Surgeon : 
"HoLMFiRTH,  near  Huddersfixli).  Dear 
Sir,  liaving  read  your  second  edition,  FaUa- 
cies  oftheTacultUt  I  have  been  induced  in  a 
CTcat  number  of  cases  to  try  the  chrono- 
tnermal  system  of  treatment,  and  I  must 
confess  that  in  very  many  instances  it  has 
exceeded  my  expectations.  I  have  cured* 
what  are  termed  inflammations  without  the 
patient  losing  a  single  drop  of  blood.  Very 
recently  I  succeeded  in  bringing  a  case  of 
Peritonitis  (inflammatian  of  the  membranous 
covering  of  the  bowels)  to  a  favorable  result 
without  bleeding  at  all.  Several  well-mark- 
ed cases  of  Pnuemonia,  (inflammation  of 
the  lungs,)  as  well  as  of  pure  Bronchitis, 
(inflammation  of  the  air-nadsages,)  have  also 
yielded  to  medicine  without  any  bleeding. 
And  I  may  at  the  same  time  observe,  the 
recovery  was  in  every  case  quicker,  and  the 
consequent  weakness  less  than  if  blood  had 
been  drawn.    Yours  truly, 

Charles  Trottir." 

From  Dr.  Fogarty,  Surgeon  of  the  St 
Helena  Regiment:  "London.  My  dear 
Sir,  I  have  read  with  the  greatest  delight 
your  Faliacus  of  the  Faculty,  Every  word 
ought  to  be  written  m  letters  of  gold.  Yours 
faiUifully, 

M.  FOOARTT.** 

From  H.  W.  Bull,  Esq.,  Surgeon,  R.  N.  : 
"Wokingham,  5th  February,  1843. 
Dear  Sir,  I  b^  to  forward  to  you  a  statement 
of  my  own  case,  and  one  or  two  cases  of 
others  treated  on  your  plan,  all  of  which  are 
evidence  of  the  value  of  the  chrono-thermal 
system.  1  was  attacked  by  paralysis  on 
tne  2$th  October,  1841,  which  deprived  me 
of  the  use  of  mv  right  arm  and  leg,  aflfected 
the  same  side  of  the  face,  and  produced  some 
difliculty  of  speech.  The  usual  plan  was 
adopted,  bleeding,  purging,  leeching,  mer- 
cury and  blisters.  In  this  state  I  crawled 
on  to  May,  1842,  when  I  lost  more  blood 
to  prevent  another  anticipated  attack,  goad- 
ed on  by  what  you  term  the  bugbear  Con- 
gestion.   In  this  manner  I  went  on  occa- 


184 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


ftionally  cupping  and  pui^ng,  and  with  a 
very  restricted  diet.  In  consequence  of  all 
this  I  was  much  reduced,  and  1  became  ex- 
ceedingly weak ;  the  heart  palpitated  verjr 
much  on  the  least  motion,  and  Iliad  in  addi- 
tion occasional  fainting  fits.  Last  May  my  son 
Bent  me  some  extracts  from  your  work,  the 
Fallacies  of  the  Faculty,  the  perusal  of  which 
induced  me  a  few  days  afterwards  to  state 
by  letter  the  particulars  of  my  case  to  you. 
The  first  prescription  you  were  so  kind  as 
to  send  disagreed ;  you  then  ordered  quinine, 
and  this  I  took  with  good  eflfect.  The 
shower-batii  which  you  also  ordered  I  found 
very  beneficial.  I  have  followed  the  plan 
laid  down  by  you  with  very  great  advan- 
tage ;  changing  the  difierent  medicines  from 
time  to  time  as  occasion  required ;  and  I  can 
now  walk  two  miles  without  assistance.  I 
have  not  only  power  to  raise  my  right  arm 
axid  wave  it  round  my  head,  but  I  caa  lift  a 
weight  of  forty  pounds  with  it.  I  am  now 
following  the  same  plan  with  very  good  ef- 
fect ;  I  must  confess  I  was  at  first  startled 
by  a  practice  so  very  difierent  from  all  I  had 
been  taught  in  the  schools,  but  a  practice,  I 
can  truly  say,  to  which  I  owe  my  life. 
Like  Dr.  M'Kenzie,  nothing  will  ever  in- 
duce me  to  lose  a  drop  of  olood  again  so 
long  as  it  will  circulate  in  the  veins  of, 
Yours,  most  sincerely  and  faithfully, 
H.  W.  Bull,  Surgeon,  Royal  Navy. 

Cases  alluded  to  in  the  above  letter. 

"  Case  1.  Mr.  C was  attacked  with 

acute  rheumatism  in  almost  every  joint, 
e;Teat  difficulty  of  breathing,  and  violent  pain 
m  die  chest.  I  presciibed  an  emetic,  but  he 
refused  to  take  it :  he  is  a  Hampshire  man, 
and  almost  as  obstinate  as  one  of  his  own 
hogs.  He  continued  in  this  state  two  days 
more ;  at  last  he  was  prevailed  on  to  take 
the  emetic.  It  operated  soon  and  gave  him 
instant  relief.  I  followed  it  up  with  qui- 
nine and  colchicum j  he  is  now  quite  well, 
and  has  gone  to  his  brother's  house,  some 
distance  from  this. 

"  Case  2. — A  girl  twelve  years  of  age  was 
brought  to  me  from  Binfield  in  convulsive 
fits  The  pupils  of  her  eyes  were  much  di- 
lated, and  the  fits  followed  eacK  Other  in 
rapid  succession.  I  first  g;ave  her  a  pui^- 
tive,  and  followed  it  up  with  prussic  acid ; 
this  was  on  a  Monday.  The  fits  became 
less  and  less  frequent,  and  from  the  follow- 
ing Friday  they  entirely  ceased.  I  also 
lately  used  the  prussic  acid  with  the  best  ef- 
fect m  the  case  of  a  child  seven  weeks  old. 

"  Case  3. — A  gentleman  lately  brought 
his  child,  a  fine  boy,  to  me  for  squint ;  the 
age  two  years.  Some  days  the  boy  squinted 
lees  than  others.    I  ga^e  him  six  powdens. 


containing  quinine  and  a  Idtle  calomel:  ilb 
other  me<£cme  was  prescribed.  There  has 
been  no  squint  Bince  the  powders  were  fin- 
ished. In  many  other  cases  I  have  follow<4 
your  plan  with  the  best  success. 

H.  W.  B.» 

From  John  Yeoman,  Esq.,  a  surgeon  in 
extensive  practice  at  Loftus  in  Yorieshire: 
"  LoFTUS,  Feb.  2, 1843.  Sir,  Hearing  that 
you  are  about  to  give  ue  another,  a  thiiiJ 
editicm  of  the  Fallacies  of  the  Faculty » 1  beg 
now  to  ofier  to  you  my  best  tjianks  for  the 
«ervice  you  have  already  done  the  medical 
profession,  by  the  publication  of  your  origi- 
nal doctrines  on  disease.  Being  convinceq, 
from  my  own  experience  and  observation, 
that  there  is  a  Periodicity  in  most  diseases, 
and  that  blood-letting  is  resorted  to,  as  a  cu- 
rative measure,  far  too  indiscriminatdy,  I 
have  read  the  Fallaaes  <of  the  Faculty  Fith 
very  great  interest  and  advantage.  With  ia- 
terest,  because  I  have  been  anxious  and 
ready,  for  the.  last  two  years,  to  test  the 
Chrono-thermal  doctrine  and  remedies  faidy, 
and  with  advantage,  because  I  have  suo- 
ceeded  in  a  wondenul  manner  to  cure  disear 
ses,  by  acting  up  to  the  nrinciples  and  piacr 
tice  you  recommend.  I  nave  treated  seyosl 
cases  of  diecided  Pleurisy  and  Pneumonia  Mr 
cording  to  the  Chrono-thermal  system,  vmf 
emetics,  purgatives,  tartar  emetic,  nmssic 
acid,  and  quinine,  and  witliout  the  aid 
of  laauet  or  blister,  most  successfully.  In 
croup  and  tynhus-fever»  I  can  bear  mfk 
testimony  to  the  good  effects  of  emetics,  coU 
afiusions,  prussic  acid  and  quinine ;  and  with 
these  agents  akne,  I  have  cured  several  car 
ses  of  both  within  the  last  six  months.  Yoa 
are  at  liberty  to  make  use  of  these  few  re^ 
marks,  to  make  them  known  to  the  profeflr 
sion,  or  the  world,  as  ^ou  please ;  and  wish- 
ing you  every  success  in  your  future  efforts, 
good  health,  and  happiness,  1  am.  Sir,  yonn 
sincerely, 

John  Yjboiiaii. 

Member  of  th«  Royal  CoHege  of  »*• 
geons,  and  Licentiate  of  the  Apotkeeaiitf 
Company,  London.* 

From  J.  H.  Sprague,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  former, 
ly  a  Medical  Officer  on  the  Staff:—"  Cwn- 
DON,  near  Bristol,  Feb.  6, 184S.  My  i«» 
Sir,  Having  read  over  and  over  again  ytm 
invaluable  work,  the  FalUtcus  of  *fc*  Feo^i 
and  having  devoted  much  time  to  tie 
study  of  the  principles  laid  down,  I  ■■ 
desirous  to  convey  in  phun  laBgnag* 
my  sentiments  in  regard  to  the  immtfiae 
benefit  which  would  indubitably  be  confer- 
red on  mankind  by  the  general  adoption  w 
your  opinions  and  practice.    I  was  MrictJf 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


Isi 


educated  to  the  Medical  profession  from  my 
yoath  up,  and  have  been  in  actual  practice 
for  more  tfian  thirty-three  years,  time  enough 
you  will  say,  to  be  rooted  and  grounded  in 
all  the  prejudices  of  an  age  of  such  superfi- 
cial thinking  as  the  present.  Those  preju- 
dices, doubtless,  I  should  have  imbibed,  and 
possibly  .cherished,  like  many  others  who 
know  no  better,  had  I  not  been  taught  at  an 
early  age  by  my  mother,  a  woman  of  supe- 
rior sense  aud  .discernment,  to  imitate  the 
example  of  one  whom  I  am  proud  to  call 
my  ancestor — the  immortal  John  Locke. 
Her  constant  advice  was,  think  for  yourself 
and  never  take  any  man's  assertion  for  proof. 
Examine  before  you  believe  : 
$eize  upon  Truth  where'er  'tis  found, 

Among  your  Mends,  among  your  foes, 
On  Christian,  or  on  heathen  ground, 

The  flower's  divine  where^r  it  grows, 

■  Walls. 

}  have,  therefore,  through  life  carefully  ex- 
amined and  compared  effects  with  their  sup- 
P'sed  causes,  believing  nothing  upon  the 
mere  assertion,  or  ipse  dixit  of  any  authority, 
however  high.  It  was  my  fortune  to  be  a 
pupil  o(  the  late  once  pcpular  Or.  Beddoes, 
at  a  period  when  Pneumonic  medicine  was 
all  the  fashion ;  or  in  other  words,  when  the 
inhalation  of  various  gases  was  prescribed 
for  chest  diseases.  J^i  that  time,  it  was  also 
common  to  place  consumptive  patients  in 
Cow-houses,  to  breathe  the  odor  of  the  ani- 
mal, then  believed  to  be  a  specific  for  that 
complaint.  Beddoes,  however,  prescribed 
digitalis  (fox-glove);  maintaining  that  he 
could  cure  consumpfion  with  that  drug,  as 
certainly  as  he  could  cure  an  ague  with  bark. 
Yet  all  these  things  are  now  candidly  allow- 
ed to  be  only  specious  fallacies.  Soon  after 
this  originated  the  doctrine  first  brought  to 
this  country  by  invalids  returning  from  India, 
that  the  Liver  is  tlfc  seat  of  all  disease ;  and 
this  doctrine  my  friend  and  correspondent, 
Dr  Curry,  of  Guy*s  Hospital,  promulgated 
to  the  world  as  tirue,  in  his  attractive  and 
eloquent  lectures;  assuring  his  numerous 
pupils,  at  the  same  time,'  that  t)ie  cure  was 
to  be  effected  by  calomel,  in  scruple  and  half- 
dlrachm  dopes  I  So  extensively,  indeed,  at 
one  tim?,  was  this  mercurial  used  through 
Dr.  Carry's  influence,  that  calomel  was  ge- 
nerally known  at  the  dru^isl's  shops  in 
London  by  the  name  of  Curry  powder! 
How  many  thousands  of  lives  have  been  der 
stroyed  by  the  mercurius  dulcts,  or  sweet 
mercury,  as  calomel  was  once  called !  On 
the  subisidence  of  the  Hepatic  mania,  Mr. 
Abemethy  appeared  upon  the  medical  stage 
with  hie  biae  pill  and  black  draught,  which, 
With  decoction  of  sarsaparilla,  were  long 
considered  as  the  only  remedies  required  for 


"  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to."  Some- 
what later,  began  the  rage  for  profuse  bleed- 
ing, which,  with  very  few  exceptions,  has 
up  to  the  present  time  been  zealously  advo- 
cated by  the  whole  medical  fraternity.  *  The 
Sanguinary  Science,'  as  you  have  most  ap- 
propriately named  it,  has  been,  and  is  still 
taught  and  inculcated  in  all  the  English 
schools  of  medicine ;  and  sanctioned  by  such 
authorities,  the  practice  of  phlebotomy  has 
spread  through  the  land  like  a  destructive 
torrent.  Whether  the  doctor  entered  the  rich 
man*s  habitation,  or  the  poor  man's  dwelling, 
the  first  word  was  *  You  must  be  bled  !*  S^ 
if  tlie  operation  had  been  performed,  the  next 
most  im])ortant  question  to  be  decided  was, 
*  Has  enough  blood  been  taken  ?*  Amontt 
the  principal  British  slaughter-houses,  1 
must  reckon  the  Army  Hospitals.  There  the 
living  blood  was  and  is  still  poured  out,  a» 
if  it  were  the  most  pernicious  element  in  na- 
ture ;  so  much  poisonous  ditch-water.  I  re- 
collect a  spruce  young  surgeon,  of  the  13th 
Regiment  of  Foot,  with  whom  I  was  in  gar* 
rison  in  the  Island  of  Jersey,  who  made  it 
his  boast  that  *  when  the  battalion  was  in 
Canada,  he  thought  nothing  of  having  sev- 
enty or  eighty  pounds  of  blood  thrown  out 
upon  the  dung-hill  every  morning ! !'  To 
preserve  my  credit  with  the  Director-General 
of  the  Army  Medical  Department,  I  was  of 
course  obliged  to  follow  at  an  humble  dis- 
tance this  terrible  practice :  for  had  not  the 
letters  V.  S.,  or  Venae  Sectio,  appeared  oppo- 
site to  the  patient's  name  in  my  returns  to  the 
Medical  Board,  I  should  undoubtedly  hare 
been  deprived  of  my  commission ;  so  indis- 
pensable was  the  operation  considered  to  be  t 
But  even  at  this  eariy  period  of  my  life,  by 
a  judicious  use  of  Emetic  Tartar  and  other 
medicines,  which  I  now  call  chrono-thermal 
remedies,  I  was  much  more  successful  in 
my  practice  than  those  who  trusted  almost 
exclusively  to  the  lancet.  A  few  years  after 
the  time  I  refer  to,  a  perusal  of  the  excellent 
practical  treatise  of  Dr.  Balfour  led  me  to 
adopt  the  Antimoniat  treatment.  (Jp  to  thia 
hour,  in  this  part  of  the  pountry,  the  dange- 
rous* system  of  depletion  is  thoughtlessly 
persisted  in,  and  the  delicate  and  weakly,  a^ 
well  as  the  more  robust,  are  every  day  drain- 
ed of  their  life'p  blood,— the  unfortunate  pa- 
tient sinking  into  a  state  of  exhaustion— and 
death  produced  not  by  disease,  hut  by  the 
doctor.  But  of  all  the  sanguinary  projeets 
ever  had  recourse  to,  surely  there  is  none  so 
barbarous  and  cruel  as  the  practice  of  scalp* 
ing  a  patient  by  a  cut  of  six  or  Bewexx  inohea 
along  the  upper  part  of  the  head)  for  the 
purpose  of  making  an  issue.  I  have  knowtt 
cases  m  this  neighborhood,  where  the  patient 
has  rapidly  sunk  from  loss  of  blood,  shortly 


186 


Fallacies  of  the  Facult]/. 


after  the  infliction  of  such  an  incision ;  and 
other  cases  in  which  the  bleeding  has  been 
80  impetuous,  that  it  could  only  De  stopped 
by  means  of  searing  the  wound  with  a  red 
hot  iron !  What  an  idea,  to  call  the  practice 
of  illiterate  quacks  in  question,  when  medi- 
cal men  are  permitted  to  perform  operations 
80  unprofitable!  Lord  £llenborough*8  act 
for  <  cutting  and  roaimine*  surely  applies  to 
these  torturers  of  their  fellow- creatures.  A 
very  clever  physician,  whom  I  lately  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  in  Devonshire, 
showed  me  a  preparation  of  the  head  of  an 
tmfortunate  man  who  had  formerly  been  a 
patient  of  his,  and  who  had  cancer  of  the 
eye.  A  short  time  before  his  decease,  the 
poor  man  went  to  Bristol  for  advice,  where 
nis  case  was  treated  by  two  medical  men,  a 

Shysician  and  an  oculist,  as  Inflammation  ol 
\Q  Brain.  This  patient,  by  their  directions, 
was  unmercifully  leeched  and  then  cut  and 
hacked,  as  I  have  described  to  you,  and  he 
returned  home  with  an  issue,  containing  fif- 
teen beans,  in  his  scalp !  after  which,  he 
lingered  a  few  weeks,  and  died  of  complete 
exhaustion.  Notwithstanding  the  strenuous 
and  persevering  advocacy  with  which  blood- 
letting has  been  so  universally  urged,  and 
that,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  great  destruction 
of  human  life  indubitably  produced  by  it,  to 
you.  Sir,  belongs  the  honor  of  triumphantly 
jjrovine  by  evidence  the  most  incontrover- 
tible, that  *  all  diseases  which  admit  of  relief 
can  be  successfully  treated  without  loss  of 
blood.'  And  here  do  I  most  willingly  record 
my  unbiassed  testimony  to  this  important 
Tkuth.  Let  me  further  add,  that  by  a  course 
of  patient  investigation  and  much  practical 
experience,  1  had  arrived  at  the  same  conclu- 
sion before  I  had  ,the  pleasure  of  perusing 
your  writings.  I  am  therefore  bound  to  ac- 
knowledge now  highly  I  value  the  moral 
courage  which  has  induced  you  to  promul-r 
ffate  your  invaluable  opinions,  and  which,  I 
believe  are  built  upon  an  immoveable  founda- 
tion. In  proof  of  the  benefits  derived  by  the 
application  of  your  principles  in  my  own 
practice,  I  annex  a  few  remarkable  cases, 
some  of  them  highly  inflanimatory,  which  I 
have  lately  cured  by  the  chrono-thermal 
treatment,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  drop 
of  blood.  With  a  deep  sense  of  obligation 
to  you  for  the  information  I  have  derived 
from  your  various  writings,  especially  the 
'FallacicB  of  the  Facul^,'  I  remain,  my 
dear  Sir,  yours  very  faithfully, 

J.  H.  Sp&agu£,  M.  D. 

Cases  referred  to  in  Dr.  Sprague's  letter : — 
Case  1. — I  was  suddenly  called  upon  to 
see  the  butler  of  Sir  C.  A.  Elton,  Bart.,  Cleve- 


don  Court,  who,  I  was  told,  had  Brain-fever,  |  peatedly  suflered  from  spitSg  of  blood,  for 


and  was  «  ramping  mad.'*  On  my  arrival, 
T  found  that  a  practitioner,  previously  in  at- 
tendance, had  bled  him  largely  at  the  ann, 
and  applied  leeches  to  his  head,  and  put  hinv 
on  a  low  diet.  His  state,  when  I  saw  him, 
was  one  of  great  daneer.  He  looked  wild 
and  agitated — his  head  at  intervals  beine  in- 
tensely hot,  succeeded  by  a  low  siniRing 
pulse,  and  his  skin  bedewed  with  a  clammy 
perspiration;  he  had  not  slept  for  seven 
nights.  The  case  was  evidently  Ddfmm  ' 
tremens,  1  immediately  ordercMi  the  cold 
dash  to  the  head,  which  was  repeated  at  in- 
tervals in  the  course  of  Uie  day.  Mulled 
port  to  be  taken  occasionally  with  some  cor- 
dial medicine  and  an  opiate.  The  next  day 
he  was  efi^ectually  relieved,  having  had  six 
hours*  comfortable  sleep.  A  remission  of 
symptoms  beine  thus  established,  I  prescribed 
quinine, and  other  chrono-thermal  medicines; 
and  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  he  was  so  &r 
recovered  as  to  be  able  to  walk  a  distance  of 
two  miles,  much  to  the  surprise  of  all  who  had 
heard  of  his  illness,  ihe  medical  man  former- 
ly in  attendance  having  declared  that  if  be 
did  not  die,  he  must  become  ^e  inmate  of  a 
mad-house.  He  is  now  doing  his  duty  as 
butler  in  good  health. 

Case  2. — A  girl,  aged  four,  who  had  been 
Dl  four  days,  was  brought  to  me,  witb  in- 
tense pain  of  head,  and  the  peculiar  scream 
that  generally  attends  inflammatory  brain  af- 
fection. She  had  much  fever,  with  hard  aod 
incompressible  pulse — the  pupil  of  her  eye 
was  contracted— -she  was  intolerant  of  MA, 
and  she  had  repeated  fits  of  vomiting.  lay- 
ing had  her  head  shaved,  cold  applications  in 
various  forms  were  employed,  and  her  feet, 
at  the  same  time,  were  kept  warm  with  hot 
water  bottles.  An  emetic  was  also  giveDt 
with  other  medicines,  to  subdue  the  fever.  In 
the  course  of  three  weeks,  this  severe  cased 
cerebral  inflammation  wa^  completely  cured, 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  drop  of  blooi 
Under  the  anti-phlogistic  plan,  such  caeei 
usually  terminate  la  water  of  Uie  head  and 
death. 

Case  3.— A  child,  twelve  months  old,  bad 
croup ;  he  was  hot  and  feverish,  had  gieat 
difliculty  in  breathing  and  cough,  with  th« 
metallic  sound  peculiar  to  that  disease,  ff 
an  emetic  twice  repeated,  followed  up  with 
quinine,  and  sulphate  of  copper,  in  minute 
doses,  to  say  nothing  of  warm  applications 
to  the  throat  and  other  chrono-thermal  means 
the  child  recovered  rapidly.  Under  the  old 
system  of  leeching,  bleeding,  and  blistering, 
such  cases,  if  the  subjects  ofthero  survive  at 
all,  which  is  seldom,  generally  end  in  aloi^ 
protracted  weakness  of  body. 

Case  4  —Miss  S ,  aged  30,  had  le- 


Trcu^s  on  Consumption.^ 


187 


'vfaicb  her  physician  in  Bath  bad  ordered  her 
to  be  as  repeatedly  bled  and  leeched.  When 
called  upon  to  see  ber»  she  was  bringing  up 
considerable  quantities  of  florid  blood,  and 
her  anxious  friends,  in  the  belief  tbat  I  would 
bleed  her,  had  the  bandage  and  bj^in  ready 
lor  the  operation  !  I  ordered  an  emetic  in- 
8tead,whicb-atonce  stopped  the  hsmonhage. 
This  I  followed  up  with  antimonials  and 
opiates.  1  then  prescribed  quinine,  and  other 
cnrono- thermal  medicines,  with  nuttitious 
<tiet,  directing  her  chest,  at  the  same  time,  to 
be  sponged  with  cold  water.«  In  the  course 
of  tnree  weeks,  her  health  was  very  greatly 
improved.  In  six  weeks  more,  she  left 
Clevedon  quite  an  altered  person,  and  with- 
out any  apparent  tendency  to  return  of  the 
hsmonhage. 

Case  5. — Mrs.  S ,  aged  about  38,  ap- 
plied to  me  for  a  lancinating  pain  of  the  left 
side,  cough,  and  difficulty  of  breathing,  in- 
creased by  inspiration,  with  the  other  com- 
mon symptoms  of  Pleurisy^  I  prescribed  an 
emetic,  and  havinfi",  by  means  of  this,  and 
aiitimonia.6  in  smiul  doses,  subdued  the  more 
xiigent  symptoms,  I  ordered  a  mustard  cata- 
plasm to  the  chest,  and  piescribed  the  usual 
chrono-tbermal  remedies,  which,  in  a  few 
dajB,  cured  an  attack  of  as  severe  Pleurisy 
as  I  ever  witnessed,  and  that,  too,  without 
the  abstraction  of  a  drop  of  blood  in  any 
hrm. 

Case  e.—Mr.T N -,  age  about  28, 

from  exposure  to  wet,  was  seized  with  severe 
sbiveriogs,  followed  by  violent  fever,  in 
course  oi  which,  the  elbow,  wrist,  and  the 
ankle  joints  became  so  swollen,  painful,  and 
agonizing,  as  to  prevent  his  moving  in  any 
manner.  Emetics,  opium,  bark,  and  warm 
fomentations  to  the  affected  joints,  rapidly 
produced  a  cure.  Since  thai  attack,  he  has 
nad  much  better  health  than  formerly,  with- 
out any  return  of  Rheumatism,  to  which  he 
was  before  very  liable. 

Case  7.— Mr.  H D ^  age  about  50, 

had  for  years  su&red  from  severe  pain  in  the 
back  and  limbs,  the  temperature  of  his  skin 
being  coider  than  natural.  Cupping,  bleed- 
ing, blisters,  &c.  had  all  been  tried  in  his  case 
vnavailingly.  I  prescribed  quini ne,  sulphur, 
goaiac,  aaid  small  doses  of  turpentine,  which, 
with  a  liniment  of  turpentine  and  mustard, 
worked  wonders  on  him.  These  measures, 
and  an  occasional  tepid  bath,  cured  him  com- 
pletely in  three  weeks. 


Nau$eay  or  Sickness  of  the  Stomachf — R 
Tlnct.  Ipecac.  3  to  5  drops,  in  a  wine-glass 
ol  water;  or  of  first  dilution  5  to  10  drops, 
n  a  wine-glass  of  water.— //tmiff^tAic. 


(For  the  DiMector.) 

TRACTS    OH    OONSUHPTIOV. 

IIUMB£B  OKS. 

On  a  B«w  Diagnostlo  Sfmptom  in  TnberonUr 
Phthisis. 

By  J G ,  M.  D. 

The  improvement  in  the  science  of  mcdi- 
crae  has  been  so  great  during  the  past  centu- 
ry, that,  if  it  does  not  constitute  one  of  the 
glories  of  modem  philosophy,  it  is  a  just  ob- 
ject of  pride  to  the  physician.  It  is  not  de- 
tracting unfairly  from  the  character  of  this 
improvement  to  confess  that  our  science  is 
still  very  imperfect  We  may  even  admit 
that  in  several  departments,  which,  from  their 
comprising  enquiries  into  the  greatest  evils 
incidental  to  man,  have  been  most  assiduous- 
ly investi^ted,  we  have  made  no  important 
advance  in  knowledge.  (  onsumption  is  a 
striking  example  of  tne  stationary  character 
of  medical  science.  This  disease  has  been 
regarded  as  influencing  the  happiness  of  man 
as  much  as  any  circumstance  connected  with 
bis  existence,  and,  as  such,  has  engaged  the 
attention  of  physicians  from  the  earliest  ages 
of  medicine;  and  yet  it  may  be  ques- 
tioned whether  it  is  more  submissive  to  the 
power  of  art,  at  the  present  day,  than  it  was 
m  the  time  of  Hippocrates,  improvements 
in  diagnosis  have  enabled  us  to  point  out  the 
disease,  at  least  in  its  advanced  stages,  with 
considerable  accuracy ;  and  yet  it  acknow- 
ledges no  more  control  from  the  art  o^  medi- 
cine, than  when  the  means  of  distinguishing 
it  were  so  ill  defined  that  its  characteristics  , 
mi^ht  be  applied  to  a  whole  class  of  com- 
plaints. The  zealous  cultivation  of  patho- 
logical anatomy  has  shown  us  an  approxima- 
tion to  the  true  nature,  if  not  the  actual  state, 
of  the  malady ;  but  still  it  is  as  rarely  cured 
as  when  pathology  consisted  wholly  of  fic- 
tion and  hypothesis.  Therapeutics,  based 
upon  a  sound  diagnosis  and  an  improved 
pathology,  have,  apparently,  suggested  the  • 
most  direct  and  eriereetic  means  of  subduing 
this  terrible  disease ;  but  so  unsatisfactory  an 
the  results  of  their  most  judicious  application 
that  no  physician  attaches  any  importance  to, 
or  places  the  least  reliance  on  them. 

Pathological  anatomy  has  clearly  demon- 
strated that  the  powers  of  nature  are  frequent- 
ly adequate  to  cure  consumption ;  and  it  is 
considered  equally  certain  tnat  it  is  utterly 
beyond  the  reach  of  art.  So  indisputable  is 
the  latter  position  deemed,  that  the  physiciaa 
who  should  pretend  to  cure  the  disease  would 
be  considerea  unacquainted  with  its  morbid 
anatomy,  if,  indeed,  he  did  not  subject  him- 
self to  the  imputation  of  being  a  boasting 
charlatan.    Aod  yet,  when  we  see,  as  mor- 


188 


TYdcts  on  Consumption. 


bid  dissection  demonstrates,  that  nature  by 
her  unaided  efforts,  not  on  It  changes  (he  con- 
dition of  the  system  o^  which  a  disease  pri- 
iQarily  depends,  but  even  remedies  its  local 
lavages,  it  is  certainly  not  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  art  may  be  so  apphed  as  to 
imitate,  or  at  least,  to  aid  her  labors.  An 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  morbid  condition 
which  characterizes  a  disease  ought,  in  every 
instance  in  which  it  is  curable,  to  establish  ^ 
foundation  for  a  successful  method  of  treat- 
inflr  it.  And  until,  in  these  cases,  the  latter 
follows  the.  former,  like  effect  from  a  cause, 
it  will  be  more  philosophical  to  consider  that 
our  views  are  erroneous  or  too  limited,  and 
fo  seek,  by  new  modes  of  investigation, 
Boundet  results,  than  to  suppose  an  evil  be- 
yond the  reach  of  art  to  remedy,  and  thus 
allow  ourselves  to  sink  into  the  hopeless  in- 
difference of  despair. 

The  treatment  of  consumption,  whether 
under  the  daripg  energies  of  the  empiric,  or 
the  suggestions  of  reason  based  upon  recog- 
'mzed  principles  of  pathology,  has  been  so 
uniformly  unsuccessful  that,  taking  into  view 
its  spontaneous  curability,  it  affords  conclu- 
sive evidence  it  must  be  associated  with  error. 
Its  melancholy  results  furnish  a  strong  in- 
centive, if  they  do  not  indeed  imply  an  abso- 
lute duty,  to  review  the  whole  subject  in  a 
light  entirely  different  from  that  in  which  it 
has  been  accustomed  to  be  looked  at.  Ex- 
amined in  this  way,  it  will  no  doubt  be  dis- 
covered that  many  of  the  supposed  facts  and 
principles,  upon  which  our  knowledge  of 
this  complaint  is  founded,  and  deemed  to  be 
incontesuble*  are  but  hazardous  conjectures. 
There  can  be  as  little  doubt  that  a  due  atten- 
tion bestowed  on  what  is  indisputable  in  con- 
aumption,  will  show  not  only  that  its  patho- 
logy is  incomplete,  and  that  the  deductions 
from  it  are  erroneous,  but  that  r^asoniiig  ap- 
plied with  the  earnestness  due  to  a  subject  so 
important  and  interesting,  will  point  out  the 
deficiencies.  But  in  order  to  do  this  with  a 
rational  hope  of  attaining  the  great  object  oif 
eontiollinff  consumption,  it  wiU  be  necessary 
to  establisn,  on  a  certain  bfisis,  three  condi- 
tions of  the  disease,  viz ;  first,  an  accurate 
means  of  determinijig  its  existence ;  second, 
aa  indisputable  pathology ;  and  third,  a 
meaas  of  treatment  in  strict  conformity  with 
ks  pathological  principles.  An  examination 
of  these  three  fundamental  conditions  of  con- 
aumptbn  will  fonn  subjects  for  three  sepa- 
sate  articles,  which  will  be  furnished  for  pub- 
lication in  this  journal 

DuGNosis.  The  first  step  in  the  conside- 
lation  of  any  disease  is  to  ascertain  its  pre- 
cise dia^ostic  characters.  This  department 
of  medical  science  is  nowhere  more  useful 
than  in  its  application  to  consumption,  be- 


cause there  are  a  number  of  diseases  simula- 
ting it,  but  arising  from  pathological  causes 
so  different  as  to  require  treatment  of  an  op- 
posite cliaracter.  Chronic  inflammation  of 
the  different  tissues  of  which  the  lungs  are 
composed  is  often  accompanied  with  symp- 
toms closely  resembling  those  produced  by 
tubercular  disease ;  and  the  disiinction  be- 
tween them  becomes,  by  the  ordinary  means 
of  diagnosis,  very  difficult — more  especially 
after  the  tuberculous  disease  has  existed  for 
some  time,  and  become  complicated  with  in- 
flammation. If^is,  therefore,  au  important 
desideratum  to  be  able  to  determine  the  pe- 
culiarities or  pathognomonic  signs  of  these 
distinct  diseases.  A  certain  degree  of  per-  j 
fection  in  identifying  phthisis  is  indispensa- 
ble to  the  reputation  of  any  means  which 
pretends  to  exert  an  influence  over  it ;  for  the 
ordinary  manner  of  setting  aside  the  evidence 
of  recoveries,  under  remedial  agents,  has 
been  by  denying  the  identity  of  the  disease 
and  tubercular  consumption.  And  this  sum- 
mary but  invidious  mode  of  dinposing  of  a 
difficulty  has,  hitherto,  been  sanctioned  by 
the  uncertainty  attending  the  diagnosis  of  the 
disease,  as  well  as  by  the  vast  preponderance 
of  the  testimony  against  the  success  of  the 
same  means  when  employed  by  ©thers,  than 
their  introducers,  in  uneauivocal  cases  of 
consumption.  It  is  of  still  nigher  importance 
to  be  able  to  distinguish  it  in  its  early  sta^ 
from  the  other  diseases  with  which  it  is  hap 
bleto  be  confounded,  since,  it  is  considered, 
that,  if  it  is  not  exclusively  in  thecomraenc^ 
ment  of  the  disease  that  we  can  hope  to  ef- 
fect a  cure,  or  even  to  arrest  its  progress,  it 
is  much  more  controllable  in  these  stages  un- 
der an  appropriate  treatment. 

it  IS  due  to  the  progress  of  medical  science 
as  well  as  to  the  interests  oi  society,  that  the 
diagnostic  characteristics  of  tubercular  con- 
sumption, in  every  stage,  should  be  accurat^ 
ly  determined.  The  enquiry  into  the  subject 
has  been  much  facilitated  dv  the  laboR  of 
Broussais,  Abercromby  and  Laennec,  subse- 
quently confirmed  by  the  minute  and  labori- 
ous investigations  and  researches  of  Loub, 
Andral,  Clark,  Williams,  and  a  host  of  mod- 
ern physicians.  Notwithstanding  this  vast 
mass  of  labor  it  is  still  encumbered  with  con- 
tradictory facts,  and  results  which  arc  diffi- 
cult to  reconcile  or  explain  in  a  satisfactory 
manner.  In  analysing  the  usual  diagnostic 
symptoms  and  signs  of  phthisis  we  shall  fiw 
that  there  is  not  one  of  the  former  which 
may  not  belong  to  a  multitude  of  complaintj 
and  scarcely  a  leading  one  of  Ae  latter  which 
may  not  be  absent,  indeed,  it  has  beta 
stated,  instances  have  occurred  in  which  tt- 
berculous  disease  has  proved  fatal  akno^ 
without  any  local  or  general  symptoms,  m 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


189 


4he  most  accurate  observers  have  been  de- 
ceived, even  in  the  last  stages  of  consamp- 
tion,  by  the  apparent  absence  of  all  physical^ 
fiigns. 

The  ambiguity  and  obscurity  in  which  the 
diagnosis  of  this  disease,  particularly  in  its 
early  stages,  is  involved,  fully  sanction  a 
new  attempt  at  its  elucidation.  In  making 
this  attempt,  I  am  not  without  hopes  of  being 
ab)e  by  a  simple  but  natural  means,  in  most 
cases  by  itself  alone,  and  always  by  contrast- 
ing it  with  the  nosological  character  and 
physical  signs,  to  render  its  diagnosis  so 
plain  and  distinct  that  no  one  who  is  compe- 
tent to  undertake  the  treatment  of  phthisis 
can  mistake  it.  In  conducting  this  enquiry, 
I  shall  avoid,  as  much  as  possible,  and  al- 
wsiys,  except  to  point  out  their  general  in- 
^umciency,  details  of  the  symptoms  and  phe- 
nomena, which  are  commonly  considered 
evidences  of  either  phthisis  or  the  diseases 
which  admit  of  being  identified  with  it.  This 
1  do,  not  that  I  think  them  valueless,  but  be- 
cause they  are  to  be  found,  accurately  de- 
scribed, in  almost  every  treatise  on  the  sub- 
ject. My  observations  will  be  strictly  con- 
iuied  to  a  notice  of  those  nosological  points 
which  contribute  to  illustrate  the  main  sub- 
ject oi  investigation,  and  which  must  be  ac- 
curately decided  upon  m  order  to  render  the 
disease  the  aid  our  profession  affords. 

Nosological  Symptoms.  The  value  of 
j^neral  symptoms  of  disease  consists  in  their 
afibrding  an  index  to  the  caosA  from  which 
"fliey  arise.  If  they  were  unerring,  and  con- 
sequently to  be  relied  upon,  they  would  af- 
fotd  a  very  simple  process  for  arriving  at  a 
knowledge  of  the  physiological  or  pathologi 
cal  conditions  of  diseased  structures  But 
though  the  progress  of  pathology,  during  the 
present  century,  has  done  much  to  explain 
the  rationale  of  the  general  symptoms  of  dis- 
ease, nosology  furnishes  but  feeble  agents 
in  determining  its  precise  nature  In  no  dis- 
ease is  the  imperfection  of  this  department  of 
medicine  more  apparent,  than  in  consump- 
tion ;  for  no  collection  of  symptoms  has  been 
ever  able  to  define  it,  even  in  the  loosest  and 
most  general  acceptation  of  the  term.  The 
enumeration  of  pnenomena  never  conforms 
invariably  with  Uie  disease,  nor  are  they  al 
ways  depender^t  on  the  same  pathological 
cause.  The  whole  train  of  symptoms,  laid 
diown  as  pathognomonic  of  phthisis,  may  oc- 
cur as  the  result  of  a  simple  cause,  such  as  a 
common  cold,  producing  catarrh,  pleurisy  or 
peripneumonia,  in  the  first  instance,  followed 
more  particularly  if  improperly  treated,  with 
wasting;  expectoration  and  hectic  fever. 
How  embarrassing  this  absence  of  precision, 
in  a  disease  so  destnictive  as  consumption, 
snust  have  been  to  the  practitioner  oi  past 


a^es,  when,  under  the  sole  guidance  of  nos- 
ology, it  was  of  the  highest  consequence  to 
identify  the  symptoms  with  the  name  given 
to  the  disease,  and  tltereon  found  the  treat- 
ment, must  be  apparent! 

If  we  examine  the  general  symptoms  of 
phthisis,  we  shall  find  that  they  are  common 
to  a  variety  of  diseases,  in  which  there  is  not 
only  an  absence  of  tubercles,  but  in  which 
there  is  neither  disorganization  of  the  lungs 
nor  any  material  interruption  of  their  func- 
tions. 

CoCGH.  "  This  symptom  is  generally  the 
earliest  indication  ol  pulmonary  irntation, 
and  the  first  circumstance  which  excites  the 
attention  of  the  patient  or  his  relatives.^ 
While,  in  general,  among  the  most  obvious 
and  constant  attendant  throughout  the  whole 
progress  of  consumption,  it  is  sometimes  so 
slight  as  to  be  overlooked,  and  cases  are  on 
record,  in  which  tubercles  have  proceeded  to 
a  fatal  termination  without  its  having  ev^ 
occurred.  That  it  does  not  uniformly  depend 
on  the  pathological  process  of  genuine  coi\- 
sumption,  every  practitioner,  as  well  as  the 
public  at  large,  very  well  knows.  In  truth, 
the  diseased  conditions  in  which  it  may  arise 
are  so  numerous  and  various  that  it  can 
hardly  be  considered  a  distinctive  sign  of  any 
disease.  Inflammation  of  the  pulmonary 
mucous  membrane  gives  rise  to  and  renders 
it  a  prominent  symptom  of  chronic  bronchitis 
— a  disease  that,  from  its  prevalence  and  fa- 
tality, is  scarcely  less  a  scourge  than  con- 
sumption itself — and  hence,  as  it  is  difereht 
both  in  its  nature  and  the  tissue  affected,  and 
consequently  requires  a  very  diHerent  mode 
of  treatment,  it  is  important  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  tuberculous  cough.  Gastric  irrita- 
tion is  frequently  attended  with  cough,  not 
unlike  that  which  accompanies  the  earhr 
stage  of  tuberculous  disease,  and  as  its  cure 
depends  on  principles  of  treatment  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  tubercular,  it  is  obvi- 
ously important  that  its  distinctive  characters 
should  be  known.  Besides  these  noore  com- 
mon sources  of  chronic  cough,  irritation  of 
the  liver  and  duodenum,  and  irritation  of  the 
uterus  often  give  rise  to  a  cough  which  may 
be  confounded  with  that  of  consumption. 
For  a  description  of  the  characteristics  of  the 
various  kincfs  of  coughs;  so  far  as  they  are 
cosnected  with  a  general  history  of  the  dis- 
ease, I  must  refer  the  reader  to  systematlb 
treatises  on  consumption,  and  particularly  to 
the  admirable  one  of  Sir  James  Clark.  It  is 
sufficient  for  my  purpose  to  state  that  the 
new  diajrnoStic  symptom  I  propose  to  intro- 
duce, \\nll  be  sufficient  to,  negatively,  recog- 
nize them  as  unconnected  with  tubercular 
phthisil 

Btsi^sa.    This  symptom,  though  never 


190 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


wholly  wanting  in  consumption,  vanes 
greatly  in  the  degree  of  its  intensity  in  dif- 
ferent cases,  and  evei^n  the  same  individual. 
Its  presence  will  generally  be  found  propor- 
tionate to  the  extent  of  the  disease  of  the 
lungs  and  to  the  rapidity  of  its  progress. 
Though  commonly  put  down  as  a  diagnostic 
symptom  of  phthisis,  and  certainly  present 
when  the  disease  exists  to  any  extent,  it  so 
often  and  so  obviously  arises  from  other 
causes  than  tubercles,  that  little  reliance  can 
be  placed  on  it  as  a  distinguishing  charac- 
teristic. 

Expectoration.  Few  of  the  symptoms 
of  phthisis  have  excited  more  attention  than 
the  matter  excreated  from  the  lungs,  or  have 
been  considered  of  equal  importance  iu  dis- 
tinguishing consumption  from  bronchial  dis- 
ease. But  since  morbid  anatomy  has  shown 
that  pus  may  exist  in  the  simple  afiections  of 
the  larynx,  trachea  and  bronchia,  or  may  be 
an  attendant  on  chronic  pleurisy,  or  pulmo- 
nary abscess,  it  has  also  satisfied  physicians 
of  its  inutility  as  a  diagnostic.  Whether, 
indeed,  in  correcting  the  error  which  for- 
merly attached  so  much  importance  to  this 
much  labored  diagnostic,  physicians  have 
not  gone  to  an  opposite  extreme  and  de- 
prived themselves  of  some  advantages  it  is 
capable  of  affording,  is  a  subject  worthy  of 
investigation.  Animal  chemistry  has  not 
done  much  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  puiiilent 
discharges,  or  of  tubercular  deposites;  but 
it  is  impossible  to  identify  the  melted  down 
'  matter  of  tubercles  with  that  bland  and  salu- 
tary fluid  which  is  poureS  out  on  the  surface 
of  granulating  sores,  or  even  with  that  dis- 
■  charged  from  bronchial  ulcers.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  the  cultivation  of  this  science 
would  show  that  tuberculous  matter  is  essen- 
tially different  from  that  fluid  discharged 
from  inflamed  mucous  surfaces ;  and,  if  so, 
might  elevate  discharges  from  the  lungs  to 
the  Important  position  in  diagnosis  they  were 
formerly  considered  to  possess.  That  there 
is  a  distinctive  difference  between  pus  and  the 
matter  of  tubercles  is  apparent  from  their  ap- 
pearance; and  Majendie  expressly  states 
that  he  had  a  pupil,  who  was  able,  by  sim- 
ple inspection  of  the  globules  to  distinguish 
pus  from  the  lung,  tne  pleura,  the  perito- 
neum, and  the  cellular  tissue  with  unerring 
accuracy.  It  is,  however,  possible  for 
jhthisis  to  run  its  course  without  expectora- 
tion, and  it  occasionally  does  w.  From  this 
circumstance,  conjoined  with  its  varying 
characters,  and  our  inability,  at  present,  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  matters  discharged  in 
other  affections  of  the  lungs,  no  pathologist 
places  any  reliance  on  it,  either  in  a  negative 
or  positive  sense,  as  a  diagqostic  symptom  of 


Hjemopttsis.  Amon^  the  consequences 
of  the  pathological  condition  of  the  lungs, 
accompanying  the  development  of  tubercu- 
lous diaease»is  a  tendency  to  hemoptysis. 
It  is  no  doubt,  occasionally,  idiopathic,  or  at 
least  totally  unconnected  with  any  prevloos 
disease  of  the  lungs;  but  it  is  generally  to 
be  considered  symptomatic  of  the  existence 
of  tubercles.  Occurring  in  a  large  propor- 
tion of  cases,  and  frecjuently  in  a  very  early 
stage  of  tuberculous  disease,  it  is  a  diagoos- 
tic  symptom  of  some  importance.  Being 
wholly  absent,  in  many  cases,  it  cannot  oe 
looked  upon  as  an  unerring  characteristic  of 
consumption. 

Hectic  Fever.  Hectic  fever  is  an  inva- 
riable attendant  on  consumption ;  but  as  it  is 
common  to  every  disease  in  which  there  is 
local  disorganization,  or  a  proce.*sof  destruc- 
tion accompanied  with  chronic  inflammation; 
and  as  it  may  be  both  considerable  and  con- 
spicuous, while  the  tissue  of  the  lungs  is 
neither  tuberculated,  destroyed  by  ulceration 
nor  otherwise  diseased  it  cannot  be  looked 
upon  as  a  nosological  characteristic  of 
phthisis. 

Emaciation.  This  very  prominent  eymj>- 
tom  forms  a  part  of  every  nosological  (fefini- 
tion  of  consumption,  and,  generally,  is  » 
dlspropoitioned  to  the  other  symptoms  by 
which  it  is  preceded  or  accompanied,  that  it 
is  frequently  the  first  that  attracts  the  atten- 
tion of  the  patient,  while  it  exercises  a  great 
influence  over  his  feelings.  Its  importance 
as  a  diagnostic  si^  is  inconsiderable,  b^ 
cause,  like  hectic  ^ver,  it  is  common  to  a 
large  class  of  diseases ;  while  in  consump- 
tion, other  symptoms  of  a  more  marked 
character  to  the  eye  of  the  physician,  usuallf 
precede  and  accompany  it 

Aphth-e.  The  clifliculty  of  definin 
phthisis  accurately,  in  any  of  its  stages,  by 
means  of  symptoms,  led  to  the  introduction 
of  an  aphthous  state  of  the  month  as  onp  of 
its  characteristics.  But,  besides,  thai  it  is 
one  of  the  last  evils  that  appears  in  the  long 
cataloffue  of  maladies  which  form  the  nosolo- 
gical definition  of  phthisis,  it  cannot  be  re- 
garded as  a  diagnostic,  because  it  follows 
hectic  from  any  cause,  chronic  bronchitis  for 
instance,  or  dysentery,  or  from  abscess  in  the 
liver  or  groin,  psoas  abscess,  &c. 

The  view  which  I  have  taken  of  the  as- 
semblage of  morbid  phenomena,  called  by 
nosological  authors  symptoms  of  consump- 
tion, shows  that  they  may  arise  from  patho- 
logical causes  so  widely  diflferent,  that  they 
cannot  often  possess  the  precision  for  point- 
ing out  either  tubercular  phthisis,  the  several 
species  of  disease  that  stimulate  it,  or  even 
to  designate  the  whole  as  a  class,  h  \a.t 
few  cases,  even,  in  which  their  indications 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


191 


miglit  be  regarded  as  unequivocal  tliey 
would  be  of  no  value,  because  they  must 
mark  a  stage  of  disease  too  far  advanced  in 
destructiTeness  to  admit  of  being  arrested  by 
the  art  of  medicine.  The  advance  in  the 
knowledge  of  pathology,  by  pointing  out  the 
variety  of  causes  on  which  apparent  con- 
sumption might  depend,  and  the  importance 
of  recognizing  them  in  the  earliest  stages  of 
disease,  called  foi  diagnostic  means  more 
positive  and  particular,  in  their  information, 
than  general  symptoms  afford.  Without 
these  tne  practitioner  must  continue,  as  he 
had  done  through  all  time,  to  administer 
medicines,  destitute  of  any  certain  principles 
for  determining  whether  tney  may  be  bene- 
ficial or  injurious  to  the  particular  variety  of 
morbid  action  in  his  patient's  lungs.  In  this 
difficulty,  as  applied  to  the  disease  before  us, 
the  science  of  medicine  has  received  a  pow- 
erful collatteral  aid  from  what  are  called  the 
physical  signs  of  consumption 

Physical  Sigks.  These  valuable  diag- 
nostic agents  depend  on  the  general  laws  of 
physics,  and  are  explained  on  the  same 
principles  as  other  phenomena  illustrated  by 
natural  philosophy ;  hence  they  stand  on  a 
broader  and  more  intelligible  basis  than  or- 
dinaiy  symptoms,  and  possess  a  great  supe- 
riority 35  a  channel  through  which  to  inves- 
tigate disease.  Their  discovery  introduced 
them  to  a  rapid  popularity;  for,  with  many 
physicians,  they  immediately  superceded  the 
necessity  of  attending  to  the  external  symp- 
toms of  such  diseases  as  phthisis.  In  this 
respect  the  value  of  their  indications  has 
been  over-rated ;  for  there  are  certain  organic 
afiections  pf  the  chest,  which  furnish  nearly 
or  quite  the  tsame  physical  signs,  but  in 
which  the  general  ana  specific  symptoms 
can  be  brought  into  service  to  indicate  the 
difference.  Thus,  however  inadequate  mere 
nosological  symptoms  may  be  for  Axing  the 
character  of  consumption,  they  may  render 
considerable  aid  to  the  physical  signs  in  re- 
moving doubts  on  the  subject.  It  is  true 
that  both  conjoined  are  often  very  equivocal 
in  chaiacterising  the  first  occurrence  of  pul- 
monary tubercle ;  yet,  at  this  time,  they  may 
aid  each  other  in  affording  very  valuable  in- 
formation, if  not  in  a  positive  at  least  in  a 
native  point  of  view.  If,  for  instance, 
they  cannot  give  us  positive  assurance  of  the 
presence  or  absence  of  tuberculous  disease, 
they  may  enable  us  to  say  that,  if  present,  it 
exists  in  a  very  limited  extent. 

Respiratory  Movements.  In  examin 
ing  a  patient  the  first  of  the  physical  si^ns 
we  should  notice  is  the  state  of  the  respira- 
tion. If,  in  the  act  of  inspiration,  we  find 
the  chest  is  unequally  raised  on  both  sides 
we  may  iofer  that  there  is  disease,  and  that 


the  side  which  is  least  raised  is  either  exclu- 
sively diseased  or  the  seat  in  which  it  is  the 
mo^t  extensive  But  it  is  right,  that  tu- 
berculous disease  must  occupy  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  lungs  to  be  capable  of  influen- 
cing to  a  perceptiole  degree  the  motions  of 
the  chest,  and  it,  therefore,  cannot  be  of  any 
value  in  the  stage  in  which  it  is  most  impor- 
tant to  determine  the  presence  of  the  disease. 

Percussion  The  importance  of  this  test 
of  tubercular  phthisis  has  been  much  exag- 
gerated. In  mo.«t  cases  it  is  of  very  liiUe 
value  in  the  early  stage  of  the  disease,  as 
tubercles  may  exist  even  to  a  considerable 
extent,  if  the  surrounding  pulmonary  tissue 
is  healthy,  without  being  detected  by  it 
•«  The  sound  elicited  by  it  may  even  be 
clearer  than  that  over  a  more  healthy  portion 
of  lung,  which  is  the  case  when  the  pulmo- 
nary vesicles  are  dilated,  as  they  often  are, 
amid  groups  of  small  tubercles.'*  Percussion, 
therefore,  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  very  valua- 
ble diagnostic  in  the  early  stages  of  phthisis. 

Auscultation.  Of  all  the  diagnostic 
agents  of  phthisis,  auscultation  is,  at  the 
present  day.  the  one  most  generally  relied 
upon.  The  indications  to  be  obtained  from 
it  afford  more  valuable  and  precise  informa- 
tion than  those  derived  from  either  general 
symptoms,  the  respiratory  movements  or 
resonance  of  the  thorax,  fiut  it  is  unfortu- 
nate that  not  even  the  ear,  with  or  without 
the  stethoscope,  can  give  us  satisfactory  evi- 
dence of  the  presence  of  tubercles  m  their 
early  stage,  or  of  the  nature  of  any  malady 
in  the  chest  previous  to  excavation.  How- 
ever  capable  of  pointing  out  the  extent  of  the 
ravages  tubercles  have  produced,  when  it  ia 
too  late  to  arrest  their  progress,  it  is  insuffi- 
cient to  announce  their  presence  with  cer- 
tainty while  the  disease  can  be  regarded  as 
curable.  In  many  instances,  though,  per- 
haps, only  in  injudicious  hands,  it  has  beei^ 
the  cause  of  mischief;  for  by  indicating 
sound  lungs  while  the  disease  is  in  an  in* 
cipient  state  it  has  too  often  inspired  security 
tin  tubercles  have  attained  a  progress  whico 
has  placed  them  beyond  the  reach  of  reme- 
dial measures.  The  powers  of  the  stetho- 
scope may,  however,  be  enhanced,  and  made 
hignly  useful,  by  collateral  circumstances 
and  the  exercise  of  a  sound  judgment ;  for 
.by  affording  negative  evidence  of  Uie  absence 
of  tubercles,  and,  either  alone,  or  in  conjuno 
tion  with  a  careful  observation  of  general 
symptoms*  positive  evidence  of  other  morbid 
conmtions  of  the  lungs,  information  of  great 
certainty  and  value  may  be  obtained.  Again, 
when  all  the  usual  symptoins  of  consump- 
tion exist,  but  the  physician  is  unable  to  de^ 
termine  whether  they  are  occasioned  by 
chronic  bronchitis  or  tubercular  softening,  the 


192 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


skilful  auflcultator  may  rely  on  the  eyid^nce 
of  the  stethoscope  with  the  greatest  confi- 
dence. In  other  instances,  as  in  distinguish- 
ing between  chronic  pleurisy,  and  the  second 
«tage  of  tubercles,  or  between  fistulous  open- 
ing into  the  pleura,  and  actual  tutercular 
excavations,  the  necessity  of  disregarding  all 
other  indications,  and  employing  the  less 
ainbiguous  aid  of  the  stethoscope  is  very 
obvious. 

^  The  value  of  physical  signs  has  been  les- 
aened  by  the  undue  inrijportance  attached  to 
them.  The  inventor  of  the  most  important 
of  them,  auscultation,  deemed  it  fully  ade- 
quate to  determine  the  nature  of  any  disease 
of  the  chest ;  and  his  followers  and  admirers 
have  thought  that  when  they  have  failed  to 
obtain  the  success  he  claimed,  as  the  result 
of  a  judicious  use  of  the  stethoscope,  the 
fault  has  been  in  their  observations,  and  not 
in  the  imperfection  of  the  means.  They 
have  thus  been  led  to  rest  satisfied  wittj  a 
feeble  instrument,  and  simply  urged  to  strive 
more  earnestly  to  master  its  supposed  pow- 
ers. In  this  effort  its  value  has  been  still 
further  diminished ;  for  in  the  endeavor  to 
make  its  indications  accurate  for  all  stages  of 
disease,  it  has  occasioned  such  an  enormous 
increase  of  ihe'number,  and  such  a  minute  and 
needless  division  of  physical  signs,  as  would 
require  the  observation  of  a  life  time  to  under- 
stand. This  abuse  of  a  valuable  means  of 
indicating  disease  has  excited  despair  in 
many  who  have  doubted  their  ability  to 
master  it,  and  ridicule  from  those,  even,  who 
place  confidence  in  auscultation ;  while,  see- 
ine  the  difficulty  or  absurdity  to  which  it  has 
led,  it  has  tended  to  repress  attempts  to  dis- 
cover new  means  of  diagnosis. 

If  our  previous  observations  are  founded 
on  truth,  it  is  apparent  that  neither  semei- 
ology,  nor  physical  signs,  nor  both  conjoin- 
ed, affords  the  practitioner  of  medicine,  a 
certain  means  of  distingmshinff  tubercular 
nhthisis  from  other  diseases  of  '  the  lungs 
having  the  same  constitutional  characteris- 
fics.  That  there  is  this  difficulty  in  discri- 
minating affections  of  the  chest,  must  be  ac- 
knowledged by  every  physician  who  has  been 
accustomed  to  treat  these  disea««es.  It  \n^, 
therefore,  highly  desirable  to  obtain  diagnos- 
tic agents  more  certain  in  the  information 
which  they  afford,  and  through  which  we 
shall  feel  a  confidence  in  employing  the  kind 
of  curative  process  which  we  may  deem  the 
most  appropriate  to  the  morbid  action  we 
bare  to  remove.  Above  all  we  need  a 
means  of  recognizing  phthisis  not  only  in 
its  advanced  and  incurable  stages,  but  also  in 
its  eariy  and  obscure,  but  remedial  stages. 
Fortunately,  a  portion  of  the  diseased  struc- 
tmres,  which  has  hei^tolore  been  unnoticed 


as  constituting  a  part  of  the  disease,  supplies 
this  urgent  want,  while  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology concur  in  explaining  its  mode  d 
action. 

The  Sympathetic  Nekve: — In  every 
form  of  tuberculous  disease  this  grand  nerve 
is  affected  either  in  its  structure  or  functions. 
In  phthisis,  the  sensibility  to  pain  in  partic- 
ular portions  of  the  spinal  region,  induced  by 
its  deviation  from  ordinary  healthy  action, 
renders  it  the  most  sensible,  as  well  as  the 
most  certain  diagnostic  of  the  disease.  It 
forms  a  s^^mntom  of  tuberculated  disease  of 
the  lungs'  wnich  is  always  present  at  the 
commencement,  and  continues  uniformly 
throughout  the  disease,  ^y  a  rigid  and  pro- 
per  examination  of  it,  The  greater  number,  if 
not  every  case  of  tuberculous  phthisis  maybe 
discovered,  independently  of  the  symptoms 
referable  to  the  respiratory  oi^ns,  or  evett 
in  their  absence,  and  often  weeks,  or  occa- 
sionally months,  before  auscultation  or  per- 
cussion aflford  any  evidence  of  an  apprecia- 
ble alteration  of  the  pulmonary  parenchyma. 
If  there  are  any  exceptions  to  its  applica- 
tion, they  must  be  of  very  rare  occurrence, 
for  I  have  never  found  it  absent ;  and  ce^ 
tainly  they  do  not  occur  so  often  as  to  inter- 
fere with  its  establishment  as  a  general  law 
in  phthisis.  This  simple  sien  is  so  sensible 
and  accurate,  that  if  it  could  be  allowable  to 
trust  to  a  single  means  of  diagnosis,  ^ben 
there  are  concurring  onca,  it  would  be  found 
sufficient  for  all  practical  purposes. 

The  parts  of  the  system  prinaarily  aflfected 
in  the  production  ox  this  symptom,  are,  no 
doubt,  the  nervous  filaments  distribated 
through  the  lungs,  and  connected  with,  and 
involving  one  or  more  ganglia  of  the  grand 
sympathetic  system.  As  disease  of  tbis 
nerve  can  scarcely  exist  without  involving 
the  ganglia  of  the  spinal  nerves,  and  the  cot- 
responding  ponion  of  the  spinal  marrow,  the 
symptom  is  made  manifest  by  pressure  on  the 
intervertebral  spaces  oi  the  adjacent  verti- 
brae.  The  tenderness  thus  induced  is  al- 
ways seated  in  and  around  the  part  occupied 
by  the  particular  ganglia  with  which  the 
nerves  of  the  diseased  lung  are  connected. 
In  phthisis,  pressure  on  the  intervertebral 
spaces  between  the  last  cervical  and  fi ret  dor- 
sal vertebrae  will  indicate  the  seat  of  this  sen- 
sibility. In  the  incipient  stage,  or  duriM  a 
suspended  action  of  the  disease,  the  tender- 
ness of  the  spine,  to  an  ordinary  and  supw- 
fieial  examination,  will  be  slight,  and  confi- 
ned to  the  scat  of  the  ganglia;  but  if  ithw 
advanced  to  the  second  stage,  or  is  in  actire 
progress,  the  pain  will  dart  like  an  t\txX^ 
shock  into  the  affected  organ,  and  induce  ap- 
parent spasm  of  the  long,  and  a  suspension 
of  the  respiration.    But  if  the  pressure  be 


Tracts  on  Cwisumftum, 


183 


jodicloosly  made*  and  its  efiects  be  carefully 
observed  at  the  commencement  of  the  forma- 
tion of  tubercles,  the  j[>henomena  will  be 
/ound»  it  is  true  much  milder,  but  similar  to» 
and  even  identical  with',  the  signs  accompa- 
nying their  advanced  stage  of  aevelopement 
In  some  cases  a  very  considerable  force  is 
necessaiy  in  making  the  requisite  pressure. 

'  1a  the  advanced  stages  of  the  disease,  the 
sensibiiitT  of  the  spine  is  greater  from  its 
being  diffused  over  a  lar^r  space,  owing  to 

L  the  extension  of  the  irntation,  through  the 
2Dedium  of  the  connecting  and  anastomosing 
nervous  branches,  to  the  spinal  nerves,  spi- 

I  nal  manow,  and  po|sibly  to  their  membranes, 
and  a  slight  pressure  will  give  the  most 
acute  pain. 

Contrary  to  the  opinion  ol  that  able  inves- 
tigator of  the  living  functions.  Dr.  Willson 
Phillip,  who  says,  **  he  has  found  it  impos- 
sible by  depriving  the  lungs  of  their  nervous 
power,  or  by  any  other  cause  operating  on 
them,  to  produce  the  symptoms  of  spasmo- 
dic asthma,"    I  have  freauently  observed 
that  pressnre  on  the  first  dorsal  ganglia,  in 
tttbercular  phthisis,  is  capable  of  producing 
a  genuine,  though  temporary  paroxysm  oi 
asthma.    Excited  sensibility  ot  the  sympa- 
thetic nerve,  re-acting    upon  the  diseased 
luDgs,  is,  no  doubt,  the  frequent,  and  perhaps 
^  (he  sole  cause  of  the  neuralgic  pains  which 
'  are  so  often  a  distressing  accompaniment  of 
nhthisis.    This  is  shown  in  the  connection 
between  the  nerve  and  the  seat  of  these 
pains,  as  well  as  in  the  metbodus  medendi 
employed;  relief  being  afforded.  In  these 
painiul  paroxysms,  by  remedial  means  direc- 
2sd  to  the  affected  spine  and  gane^lia. 

N'either  in  pure  chronic  bronchitis,  chronic 
laryngitis,  chronic  pleurisy,  chronic  pneumo- 
nia, or  in  any  of  the  other  complamts  that 
simalate  consumption,  is  sensibility  of  the 
spine  ever  /ound  present  as  a  necessary  con- 
comitant of  the  disease.  Modern  pathology 
has,  however,  shewi)  that  tbese  diseases  ex- 
ist very  rarely  in  a  simple  state :  and,  it  may 
be  said»  that  chronic  pleurisy,  and,  indeed 
all  affections  of  the  pleura,  are  always  ac- 
companied with  more  or  less  of  tubercular 
developement 

It  is  proper  to  remark  that  nelrous  irrita- 
tion of  the  ^glia,  and  sensibility  of  the 
spine  may  exist  as  an  idiopathic  and  primary 
disease,  and  though  affecting  ths  functions  of 
the  lun^,  may  have  no  connectioa  with  or- 
ganic disease  of  that  organ. 

Teale.  in  his  treatise  on  neuralgia,  was,  I 
helieve,  the  first  to  call  the  attention  of  phy- 
sicians to  diseases  of  the  spinal  marrow  and 
their  symptomatic  manifestation  in  the  mus- 
cular system  and  organs  of  HbA  chest  and  ab- 
donQteQ ;  but^  Dr.  Sherwood,  oi  New  York, 


was  the  first  to  point  out  the  converse  rela- 
tion between  these  structures,  and  to  show 
the  connection  between  tubercular  disease 
and  spinal  sensibility.  It  would  be  desir- 
able to  show  that  the  diagnostic  view  we 
have  taken  of  the  sensibility  of  the  spine, 
in  tubercular  phthisis,  is  in  strict  conformity 
with  anatomical  and  physiological  facts.  If 
this  be  established,  the  evidence  of  the  diag- 
nostic sign  can  neither  be  considered  as 
based  on  u  slight  foundation,  an  accidental 
coincidence,  nor  a  bold  conjecture;  for  it 
must  be  founded  on  science,  and  the  laws  of 
the  animal  economy,  and  being  so,  its  cor- 
rectness cannot  be  disputed.  There  is  cer- 
tainly nothing  in  the  origin,  course,  or  distri- 
bution of  the  grand  sympathetic  nerve,  which 
does  not  tend  to  support  the  probable  con- 
nection between  disease  of  the  lungs  and  its 
manifestation  in  the  spine.  But  the  subject 
of  the  functions  of  the  nerves  is  either  so 
new,  or  involved  in  so  great  obscurity,  that 
our  view  can  derive  littfe  collateral  support 
from  physiology.  Dissection  can  hardfy  af- 
ford direct  evidence  of  any  change  which 
nervous  ganglia,  or  the  spinal  marrow,  unr 
dergoes  from  sympathetic  irritation ;  and  in 
its  abscence  we  can  only  resort  to  conjectu- 
ral reasoning  to  elucidate  the  facts.  The 
enquiry  is  rendered  intricate,  but  not,  on  that 
account,  the  less  interesting  :  from  the  lungs 
being  supplied  with  nerves  from  two  sources 
— the  cerebro  spinal  system,  through  the 
medium  of  the  pneumo-gastric  nerve,  and 
from  the  sympathetic  system  through  the  fil- 
aments from  the  ganglia— and  from  the  cir- 
cumstance, that  the  facts  assign  to  them,  paif- 
ticuiarly  the  latter,  functions  different  from 
those  adopted  by  physiologists.  The  absence 
of  sensibility  of  the  spine  in  affections  of  the 
mucous  membranes,  tne  sub-mucous  cellu- 
lar, or  the  pulmonic  tissues  of  the  lungs, 
would  .seem  to  indicate  that  the  sympathetic 
nerve  has  no  communication  with,  or  agency 
in  their  functions.  Its  presence  in  tubercu- 
lar disease,  and  obscurely,  perhaps,  in  simple 
inflammatory  affections  of  the  serous  mem- 
branes, is  equally  conclusive  that  it  is  dis- 
tributed to  the  glandular  and  serous  tissues 
and  exerts  a  control  over  their  functions.* 

The  power  of  the  sympathetic  nerve  to 
transmit  the  impression  of  pain,  and,  as  has 
been  shown,  to  influence  or  even  arrest  the 
great  function  of  the  lungs,  is  an  interesting 
physiological  fact,  because  it  tends  to  de- 
monstrate that  the  automatic  system  of 
nerves,  are  nerves  of  sensation  and  motion. 
The  assignment  of  the  latter  function  to 
them  is  neither  new  nor  of  much  importance. 


*  The  doetor  it  here  miitttkM  in  tiippodiif  there  h 
wmf  pUearity  in.  thM«  frnptAnM  m  mmta  <«r  inflMBF 
aetorj  diieaseA  of  ihe  Mraoe  nembnncf .^E&* 


194 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


as  the  dependance  of  the  muscular  action  of 
the  heart,  stomach,  and  respiratory  move- 
ments of  the  lungs,  &c.,  on  this  system  of 
nerves,  is  generally  acknowledged.  But  the 
question  whether  the  sympathetic  nerve  is 
capab'e  of  bestowing  sensibility,  is  one  on 
wnich  physiologists  are»  at  least,  divided  in 
opinion,  if,  indeed,  they  have  not  universally 
decided  upon  it  in  the  negative.  And  it  is 
probable  that  in  a  perfectly  healthy  state  it 
IS  entirely  devoid  of  this  function.  In  the 
absence  of  direct  evidence  from  experiment, 
the  precise  relation  of  this  nerve  to  the 
whole  system  must,  to  a  certain  degree,  re 
main  conjectural ;  but  I  am  unable  to  con 
ceive  of  any  nervous  communication,  which 
can  convey  the  evidence  of  disorganization, 
and  painful  aiiectionsof  the  lungs  and  heart, 
to  the  spinal  region,  but  the  sympathetic 
nerve.  Thai  the  transmission  of  the  sense 
of  pain  from  the  lungs  to  the  spine  cannot 
be  dependant  upon  the  pneumo-gastric  nerves 
is  evident  upon  anatomical  considerations ; 
and  hence,  as  these  and  the  sympathetic  are 
the  only  nerves  of  connexion  with  the  lungs, 
^ts  necessary  dependance  on  the  latter,  for 
this  evidence  of  nervous  power,  must  be  ap- 
parent. This,  however,  does  not  necessa- 
rily prove  that  the  sympathetic  nerve  is,  in 
its  natural  and  healthy  condition,  a  nerve  of 
sensation.  Lobstein  has  shown,  with  much 
reason,  that  there  probably  exists  a  relation 
between  the  sympathetic  nerve  and  par-va- 
g[um,  by  which  one  may  take  on  it  the  func- 
tions of  the  other.  In  this  way  the  former 
may  become,  in  diseased  lungs,  either  from 
the  stimulus  of  irritation,  or  from  inability  of 
the  pneumo-gastric  to  perform  its  appropriate 
functions,  a  vicarious  nerve  of  sensation. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  the  subject  has  not  re- 
ceived any  elucidation  from  post-mortem  ex- 
aminations; though  it  is  probable  the  indica- 
tions of  disease  would  be  too  obscure  to  ad- 
mit of  the  detection  of  any  morbid  appear- 
ances. .Such  is  the  difficulty  in  whicn  this 
part  of  the  subject  is    involved    that  it  is 

auestionable  whether  even  inflammation  of 
le  nerves  and  ganglia  afibrd,  after  death, 
any  evidences  oi  disease ;  and  it  is  therefore 
scarcely  reasonable  to  suppose  that  mere 
irritation,  or  altered  nervous  function, should 
be  productive  of  such  appearances. 
In  conclusion  1  will  remark  that,  while  I 

filace  very  great  reliance  upon  the  indications 
urnished  by  spinal  sensibility,  I  must  not  be 
understood  as  proposing  this  simple  means 
as  an  exclusive  method  of  distinguishing 
phthisis  from  all  other  ailments.  The  tact 
which  results  from  long  experience  may 
iuive  imparted  a  facility  in  detecting  this  dis- 
ease, through  this  symptom,  which  others 
may  find  some  difficulty  in  attaining;   but 


it  is  so  uniformly  present  that  a  little  care 
and  attention  will  always  enable  the  practi- 
tioner to  find  it.  Viewed  in  its  least  favo- 
rable light,  it  presents  an  additional  way  to 
the  discovery  of  the  actual  condition  of  or-  { 
gans  afiected  with  tuberculosis,  of  which  the 
physician  may  avail  himself  to  the  Raving  (rf  j 
much  labor  in  diagnosis,  and  which  caimot 
be  neglected  without  the  risk  of  injury  to  the 
patient,  fiut  after  bringing  into  requisition 
all  the  means  of  diagnosis  above  described, 
it  will  be  found  that  attention  to  a  minofe 
history  of  the  case,  and  a  strict  reasoniug  . 
upon  It,  on  the  principle  of  induction,  vnll 
be  beneficial  in  supplying  any  deficiencies  " 
arising  from  the  obscunty  of  external  symp-  | 
loms,  the  imperfections  of  physical  signs,  aid 
the  insufficiencies  of  pathological  deductions, 
while  they  will  determine  any  doubt  as  to 
the  character  of  the  spinal  sensibilihr.  In 
the  incipient  and  obscure  stages  of  tnis  de- 
structive disease  no  circumstance  connected 
with  the  patient  should  be  overlooked;  bis 
aspect  should  be  noticed ;  hrs  past  health 
and  occupations,  the  previous  diseases  and 
family  predisposition  should  be  ascertained; 
while  tne  condition  of  the  more  important 
functions,  independent  of  the  respiratory  «• 
gans,  should  tie  investigated.  In  the  early 
stage  of  tuberculous  disease  it  would  be  no- 
wise to  depend  on  any  one  local  sign  or* 
symptom,  but  it  will  be  necessary  to  exam- 
ine it  in  relation  to  all  the  means  by  whid» 
it  may  be  identified.  By  a  careful  analysii 
of  the  whole  of  them,  and  by  availing  ooi- 
selves  also  of  the  negative  symptoms,  as  re- 
gai-ds  the  other  pulmonary  diseases  with 
which  consumption  is  liable  to  be  confound- 
ed, we  shall  not  be  liable  to  err  in  fonniw 
a  correct  diagnosis  at  a  very  early  stage » 
phthisis.  No  pains  in  discharging  this  es* 
sential  duty  of  the  physician  oi^ht  to  be 
deemed  unnecessary,  for  the  important  rea- 
son, already  mentioned,  that  several  diseases 
have  so  striking  a  resemblance  that  they  are 
not  easily  distinguished  from  consumpiioAi 
and  for  the  still  more  important  one  that  they 
arise  from  different  morbid  stales,  and  cons^ 
quently  require  a  treatment  that  has  no  affi- 
nity with  that  which  we  have  found  not  only 
the  best,  but  a  very  efficient  means  of  control- 
ling phthisis. 

Missloat  In  Qroenland. 
From  late  English  papers  it  appears,  thai 
on  the  ice-bound  coast  of  Greenland,  four 
Moravian  settlements  are  made,  towbichare 
attached  26  missionaries ;  in  aclimatewhere 
the  cold  is  often  50  degrees  below  the  free- 
zing point.  These  settlements  now  contain 
1864  native  converts  to  Christianity,  who 
gain  chiefly  from  an  icy  and  stormy  sea  t» 
needful  support  of  their  families. 


Dislocation  of  the  Long  Head  of  the  Biceps. 


196 


DislocKtion  of  th*  Long  Htad  of  the  Biceps, 

By  Henry  Hancock,  Ewj  ,  Surgeon  to 
Chdring-Cross  Hospital. 

iThere  are  probably  few  accidents  so  little 
noticed  or  uncferstood  as  displacement  of  the 
tendons.     The  subject  is  scarcely  mentioned 
in  any  of  the  numerous  works  on  disloca 
tions,  although  the  consequence,  when  unrc' 
daced,  is  great  inconvenience  to  the  patient, 
and  in  the  case  of  displacement  oi  the  tendon 
of  the  long  head  of  the  biceps,  which  hap- 
pens more  frequently  than  any  other  kind, 
tb£  patient  is  deprived  in  a  great  degree  of  the 
use  of  the  limb.    Mr.  John  Soden,  of  Bath, 
in  1841,  published  a  paper  on  the  subject  in 
the  "Transactions  of  the  Royal  Medico- 
Chiruigical  Society  of  London,  giving  details 
oi  two  cases  which  he  had  the  opportunity 
of  dissecting,  and  this  is  the  only  detailed 
and  satisfactory  account  we  have  of  these 
cases.     It  is  but  rarely  that  the  opportunity 
occurs  of  examining  these  injuries  by  dissec- 
tion, but  ^tr.  Soden  availed  himself  of  his 
opportunities,  and  the  profession  is  indebted 
to  him  for  a  very  good  paper,  which  has  dis- 
persed the  doubt  and  obscurity  investing 
them.    Magnetus,  who  died  at  Geneva  in 
1742,  reflates  a  case,  and  in.  the  second  edi- 
tion oi  William  CowpeT*s  "  Anatomy  of  Hu- 
aiaD  Bodies,"  is  a  case  which  there  is  reason 
to  think  is  a  filiated  version  of  that  of  Mag- 
netus.   Boerbaave   observed  that  muscles 
often  slip  out  of  their  places  when  their 
sheaths  are  so  relaxed  during  violent  efforts, 
as  to  pficr  little  resistance,  but  he  gives  no 
cases.'    Lieutand  in  1742  refers  to  displace- 
ment   and    injury  of  the    tendons  of  the 
lumbar  muscles;  and  Claude  Ponteau  in 
1760  published  a  case  which  he  describes  as 
a  displacement  of  one  of  the  attachments  of 
the  spleuius  colli.     Mr.  Bromfield  and  Mr. 
Stanley  each  met  with  one  case,  and  Mr. 
Gregory  Smith  met  with  two  cases  in  his 
dissecting  room,  both  in  the  same  person 
This  very  vague  and  unsatisfactory  account 
is  all  we  had  on  the  subject  unti^  the  appear- 
ance of  Mr.  Soden*s  paper ;  indeed  till  then 
we  knew  very  little  of  the  matter.] 

The  principal  signs  of  this  accident  are 
pain  and  tenderness  in  front  of  the  joint, 
corresponding  to  the  bicipital  groove ;  acute 
pain  in  the  course  of  the  biceps  when  it  is 
thrown  into  action,  the  pain  being  referred 
more  particularly  to  its  two  extremities ;  the 
patient  is  unable  to  raise  his  hand  to  his 
head,  or  his  arm  beyond  an  acute  angle  from 
his  body  ;  the  appearance  of  the  shoulder  is 
aomewhat  altered,  the  head  of  the  humerus 
being  drawn  upwards,  and  more  fojward 
than  natural,  lying  close  beneath  the  acro- 
mion process,  whift  the  posterior  and  exter-  j 


nal  part  of  the  joint  is  somewhat  flattened. 
When  we  consider  how  much  in  apnearance 
these  accidepts  resemble  partial  dislocations 
of  the  head  of  the  humerus  upward  and  for- 
ward, we  can  entertain  but  httle  doubt  that 
they  have  frequently  been  mistaken  for 
them. 

In  the  treatment  of  these  cases  you  have 
three  principal  objects  in  view : — to  over- 
come the  action  of  the  capsular  muscles,  to 
reduce  the  tendon,  and  to  keep  the  tendon  in 
its  groove  when  you  have  reduced  it. 
Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Bain- 
bridge,  Jr.,  I  have  been  enabled  to  make 
some  investigations  on  the  dead  subject, 
which  may,  perhaps,  be  of  some  service,  as 
guiding  us  in  the  treatment  of  these  cases. 
Assisted  by  this  gentleman,  Icut  down  upon 
and  dislocated  the  long  tendon  of  the  biceps 
on  to  the  lesser  or  inner  tubercle.  1  first  en- 
deavoured to  return  it  by  flexing  the  forearm 
and  relaxing  the  muscle,  while  1  rotated  the 
humerus  strongly  inward,  but  without  suc- 
cess. I  next  straightened  the  arm,  and  hold- 
ing it  by  the  wrist,  I  rotated  it  inward  as  far 
as  I  could,  and  then  with  a  sweep  carried  It 
across  the  chest,  while,  with  my  left  hand 
on  the  deltoid  muscle,  1  pressed  the  head  of 
the  bone  downward  and  outward,  and  the 
tendon  returned  to  its  groove  with  a  very 
evident  snap.  I  next  displaced  the  tendon 
on  the  outer  or  greater  tubercle,  when,  by 
rotating  the  arm  outward  with  my  right 
hand,  and  drawing  the  head  of  the  bone 
downward  and  outward  with  my  left,  I  re- 
duced it,  but  I  found  it  was  more  easily  re- 
stored to  its  proper  position  by  taking  hold  of 
the  wrist  with  my  right  hand,  and  placing  my 
teft  in  the  axilla ;  with  the  latter  I  pressed 
the  head  of  the  bone  gently  outward,  while 
with  the  foimer  I  supinated  the  hand  and 
rotated  the  arm  strongly  outward,  at  the  same 
time  bringing  it  to  the  side  of  the  body,  my 
left  hand  serving  as  a  fulcrum  in  the  axilla. 
By  this  means  the  deltoid  was  put  upon  the 
stretch,  and  its  anterior  fibres,  upon  the  in- 
sertion of  which  the  biceps  tendon  lay,  evi- 
dently assisted  the  latter  into  its  groove.  1 
next  endeavoured  to  ascertain  in  what  posi- 
tion of  the  arm  the  tendon  would  remain 
most  securely  in  its  proper  place.  Accord- 
ingly, I  flexed  the  forearm,  and  placed  the 
hand  in  the  position  of  pronation  across  the 
chest,  when  the  tendon  became  again  displa- 
ced, as  it  did  immediately  the  head  of  the 
humerus  was  rotated  inward,  although  the 
forearm  was  extended ;  but  when  I  extended 
the  forearm,  placed  the  hand  supine,  and 
separated  the  arm  from  the  side,  it  remained 
•roperly  in  its  place,  being  now  bound  down 
^y  the  tendon  of  the  pectoralis  major.  I  am 
fully  aware,  in  these  experiments,  that  the 


196        Rupture  of  the  Tendon  of  the  Long  Head  of  the  Biceps. 


subject  being  dead  I  did  not  encounter  that 
opposition  trom  the  capsular  muscles  which 
I  should  in  all  probability  have  met  with  in 
a  living  patient;  but,  making  every  allow- 
ance for  this,  I  am  still  in  hopes  that  what  I 
have  here  endeavoured  to  explain  to  you^ 
may  serve  to  place  the  treatment  of  tnese 
accidents  on  some  surer  basis  than  mere  con- 
jecture, and  that,  henceforth,  you  may  have 
some  rule  to  guide  you. 

We  have  seen  that  the  head  of  the  hu- 
merus is  drawn  up  against  the  acromion 
■process,  and  that  the  greater  tubercle  stri- 
king against  that  process,  when  the  arm  is 
separated  from  the  side,  prevents  its  being 
raised  beyond  a  very  acute  angle.  I  should 
advise  you  to  adopt  the  following  method, 
should  you  find  the  plan  as  recommended  by 
Mr.  Bromfield  fail.  I  am  nnt  aware  of  any 
particular  symptom  by  which  we  can  be 
guided  with  any  certainty  as  to  when  the 
Tendon  is  dislocated  inward,  or  when  out- 
ward ;  but,  as  a  result  of  my  experiments,  I 
should  imagine  that  it  is' more  frequently 
dislocated  inward  than  outward,  the  inclina- 
tion of  the  head  of  the  humerus,  and  the 
greater  projection  of  the  large  tubercle,  be- 
ing unfavorable  to  the  latter  displacement. 
Place  your  patient  on  a  low  chair,  and  let  an 
assistant  fix  his  scapula  by  pressing  upon 
the  superior  angle  and  costa ;  then  separate 
the  patient's  arm  from  his  side,  as  far  as  you 
can ;  keep  his  hand  in  the  prone  position, 
and  make  extension  downward  and  outward 
from  the  wrist,  until  you  have  somewhat 
withdrawn  the  head  of  the  bone  from  the 
acromion  process.  Now  let  an  assistant  sit 
down  on  the  floor>  underneath  the  injured 
arm,  and,  clasping  both  his  hands  over  the 
deltoid  muscle,  draw  the  head  and  neck  ol 
the  bone  downward  and  a  little  back- 
ward, while  you  rotate  the  head  of  the 
bone  inward  and  backward  in  the  glenoid 
cavity,  by  making  the  jjatient's  arm  de- 
scribe a  circle,  carrying  it  backward,  up- 
ward, forward  and  inward,  across  the  chest. 
Should  yon  have  reafion  to  suppose  that  the 
tendon  is  displaced  outward,  separate  the 
arm  as  far  as  you  can  from  the  body,  and  let 
an  assistant  make  extension  in  that  direction 
best  calculated  to  remove  the  head  of  the 
humerus  from  the  acromial  process,  that  is, 
downward  and  outward.  Unless  this  be 
done,  in  either  form  of  the  dislocation  the 
bicipital  tendon  remains  pressed  up  by  the 
head  of  the  humerous  against  the  acromial 
process,  and  is  obviously  prevented  from  re- 
turning into  its  natural  position  Next  place 
your  left  hand  well  up  in  the  axilla,  and  di- 
rect your  assistant,  wnile  he  keeps  up  the 
extension,  to  rotate  the  arm  strongly  out- 
ward, and  at  the  same  time  to  bring  it  to  the 


patient's  side.  Having  reduced  it,  gently 
separate  thearmfr^m  the  patient's  side ;  k<w 
it  steadily  rotated  outtvard,  and  the  hand 
supine;  place  a  long  splint  which  exteods 
from  the  shoulder  to  the  fingers,  along  the 
back  of  the  arm  and  hand,  and  also  a  p^  oi 
compress  in  front,  over  the  bicipital  groove. 
Fix  the  whole  with  a  roQer  evenly  and  caie- 
fully  applied,  and  place  your  pat  ent  on  his 
back  in  bed,  where  he  had  better  remain  un- 
til you  consider  that  the  parte  have  become 
sufficiently  firm  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of 
the  accident. 

The  reason  why  T  recommend  you  to  sep- 
arate the  arm  from  the  side  after  reduction, 
is,  that  by  so  doing  you  place  the  pectoralis 
major  muscle  upon  the  stretch,  and  conjK- 
qucntly  make  its  broad  tendinous  insertion 
press  more  closely  and  directly  over  the 
bicipital  groove.  In  my  experiments,  the 
difficulty  was  not  so  great  in  reducing,  as  io 
keeping  the  tendon  in  its  place  when  rcdtt- 
ced,  and  certainly  the  plan  which  I  am  now 
advocating  appeared  both  to  Mr.  Bainbridgc 
and  myself  to  be  the  most  efficacious.— 
Provincud  Med  tind  Sxtr.  Journal. 


Bvptort  of  the  Ttndon  of  th*  Z«osc  B*ad  of  ihi 
Biceps. 
By  Hbwry  Hakcoox,  Esq.,  Suigton  to 
CLaring^Cross  Hospital. 

This  accident  may  be  occasioned  by  fil- 
ing upon  the  arm,  by  violent  twists  of  the 
limbs,  without  external  violence  referred  to 
the  part,  or  by  the  sudden  and  violent  ex- 
tension of  the  bmb,  as  when  we  put  out  o«r 
arms  to  save  ourselves  in  falling.  The  p^ 
tient  experiences  at  the  moment  a-sensatiffl 
of  snapping  in  the  shoulder,  soon  succeeded 
by  inability  to  raise  the  hand  to  the  head; 
acute  pain  is  caused  by  even  slight  press«» 
in  the  course  of  the  bicipital  groove,  or 
lower  down,  on  the  muscle  itself;  the  latlff 
becomes  flabby,  and  the  movement  of  the 
arm  backwards  and  forvyards  produces  a«te 
suffering,  mostly  referred  to  the  situation  of 
the  biceps,  where  it  passes  over  the  head  ot 
the  humerus. 

TreatmehL—YoMT  object  in  these  at» 
should  be  to  approximate  the  two  portions 
of  the  tendon,  to  obtain  union  if  possible, « 
otherwise  to  favor  the  attachment  of  w 
lower  portion  to  the  head  of  the  humerjf* 
as  Mr.  Stanley  has  pointed  out.  To  do  tha 
effectually,  place  the  hand  in  the  seini-sl- 
pine  position,  that  is  with  the  thumb  of- 
wards,  making  your  patient  grasn  the  oppo- 
site shoulder;  thus  you  effectually  relax  tne 
biceps  muscle,  as  y6u  will  at  once  peiccir^ 
upon  recollecting  that  die  bicepa  is  tsksam 


Reduction  of  Dislocation  of  the  Scapula. 


lor 


info  the  back  of  the  tubercle  of  the  radius, 
and  that  the  first  action  of  the  muscle,  when 
the  hand  is  prone,  is  to  render  it  supine  be- 
fore it  can  enect  flexion  of  the  elbow.  Now 
apply  a  roller  carefully,  beginning  from  be- 
low, carrying  it  up  to  the  axilla,  and  fixing 
a  compress  over  the  course  of  the  biceps 
tendon,  by  which  means  you  will  keep  the 
mujscle  quiet  and  prevent  spasms;  and 
lastly,  secure  the  arm  in  this  position  by 
bandages. 

^Mr.  Earle's  and  Mr.  Chapman's  appara- 
tus for  ijBJurie»  about  the  shoulder,  tnough 
-well  adapted  for  the  purpose  intended,  are 
very  complicated  and  consequently  expen- 
sive Mr.  Hancock  has  invented  a  modifi- 
cation of  Mr  Earle's,  which  combines  sim- 
plicity with  cheapness,  and  can  be  made  in 
less  tnan  half  an  nour.] 

It  consists  of  a  long  sleeve,  made  either 
of  old  sheeting  or  bed-ticking,  which  should 
be  long  enough  to  extend  from  the  middle 
of  the  numerus  to  about  three  inches  beyond 
the  patient's  fingers,  and  having,  conse- 
qpently,  what  (for  the  purpose  of  dcFcrip 
tion')  I  shall  call  a  humeral  and  a  digital 
extremity,  and  also  a  hole  corresponding  to 
the  olecranon  to  allow  that  process  to  pro- 
ject through.  The  digital  extremity  termi- 
nates in  a  ad  de  sac,  or,  in  other  words,  is 
sewn  up,  and  to  it  is  attached  a  bandage 
three  inches  wide,  made  either  of  the  same 
material  as  the  sleeve,  or' of  strong  webbing, 
which  is  firmer  and  consequently  better. 
This  bandage  should  be  at  least  three  yards 
long,  but  you  must  be  guided  as  to  its  length 
by  the  corpulence  and  size  of  your  patient. 
To  the  posterior  and  external  margin  of  the 
humeral  extremity  of  the  sleeve  is  attached 
another  strap,  from  three  quarters  to  a  yard 
long,  of  the  same  width,  and  made  of  the 
same  material.  A  pad  for  the  axilla,  made 
with  bran,  with  a  tape  to  pass  round  the 
patient's  neck,  completes  the  apparatus. 

I  will  now  show  you  the  manner  in 
which  it  18  to  be  applied ;  we  will  suppose 
that  you  have  a  fracture  of  the  acromion 
process  or  of  the  neck  of  the  scapula ;  in 
me  former,  as  I  have  afready  told  you,  you 
should  not  place  a  pad  in  the  axilla.  In 
the  latter  you  must  not  only  use  a  pad  for 
the  axilla,  but  also  one  between  the  elbow 
and  the  side,  or  one  which,  extending  from 
Ac  axilla  to  the  elbow,  will  answer  the  pur- 
pose of  both.  I  first  put  the  sleeve  on  the 
injured  arm,  with  tnc  elbow  projecting 
ftroueh  the  openine  made  for  that  purpose, 
and  then,  bending  the  forearm,  place  it  tiori- 
zontally  across  his  chest.  I  carry  the  ban- 
dage from  the  digital  end  of  the  sleeve 
under  the  opposite  tirm,  obHquely  across  the 
Imi^,  {torn  MOW  upwards  over  the  front  of 


the  injuved  efaottlder,  without  pmssing  upon 
the  acromioiv- process,  under  the  opposite 
arm  round  the  back  under  the  elbow  of  the 
injured  side,  and  pin  the  end  to  the  band 
crossing  the  breast.  I  now  carry  the  strap 
from  the  humeral  end  of  the  sleeve  upwarda 
across  the  back  towards  the  opposite  shoul- 
der^  and  pin  it  up  to  the  oblique  band,  by 
which  the  head  of  the  bone  is  drawn  up- 
wards and  backwards  and  completely  sup- 
ported against  the  acromiom  process. 
Should  the  case  be  one  of  rupture  of  the  bi-' 
cipital  tendon  or  fracture  of  the  coracoid 
process,  you  emjdoy  the  axillary  pad,  and 
apply  the  apparatus  as  follows: — Having 
put  me  patient's  arm  in  the  sleeve,  you  rest 
his  hand  on  the  shoulder  of  the  opposite 
side,  and  carry  the  long  bandage  obliquely 
across  the  back,  over  the  elbow  of  the  inju- 
red side,  round  the  waist  as  often  as  it  will 
go ;  pin  it  there,  and  support  the  elbow  by 
carrying  the  short  strap  <wer  to  the  sound 
shoulder  and  fasten  it  to  the  bandage  encir- 
cling the  waist. 

You  will  obsei  ve  that  this  apparatus  is 
free  from  the  objection  urged  by  Air.  Chap- 
man against  that  invented  by  Mr.  Earle,  as 
it  leaves  the  motions  of  the  sound  shoulder 
entirely  free  and  unimpeded,  and  the  seat  of 
injury  uncovered,  enabling  you  to  watch  the 
state  of  parts,  without  the  necessity  of  dis- 
turbing tne  apparatus — Frov.Med.and  Sur, 
Journal. 

Bedictlon  of  Dislocation  of  the  Scapula. 

By  Jonathan  Toogood,  Esq.,  M.  D., 
Bridgewater. 

Dr.  Too^ood  has  published  the  following 
plan  of  fixing  the  scapula : — "  Having  seat- 
ed the  patient  on  a  low  chair  or  stool,  firmly 
secured. the  body,  and  fixed  the  pulley,  he 
stands  over  him,  aad  places  the  heel  of  liis 
right  hand  on  the  acromion  process^  bearing 
his  whole  weight  %>n  his  hand." 

By  this  metnod  the  scapula  is  rendered 
fixed  and  immoveable,  extension  is.  ma^ 
and  reduction  auickly  follows.  A  patient, 
a  tall  and  remarkably  muscular  man,  about 
forty,  had  his  right  shoulder  dislocated,' and 
the  united  atrength  of  one  physician,  four 
surgeons,  and  sixteen  assistants  were  reqoi* 
red  to  reduce  it;  he  a^ain  met  with  the 
same  accident,  but  on  the  left  side,  when 
Dr.  Toogood  reduced  it  in  two  minutes  by 
his  method  of  fixing  the  scapala.-^i&«i 

Sterility  is  one  of  the  consequences  of 
chronic  serosis,  or  tubercular  disease  of  the 
uterus,  for  which  the  magnetized  gold  pill  is 
the  specific,  as  is  well  known  to  many  phy- 
sicians. 


198 


On  the  Cure  of  Hydrocele  Encysted  Tumours^  ^c. 


Ob  the  Chure  of  Hjdrootlt  Enofsted  Tvmoiirt, 
and  Fiatnla  in  Ano,  withovt  Operation. 

B7  Dr.  Alfred  A.  HarvsTT,  Bristol. 

[Dr  Harvey  has  for  thirty  years  success- 
fully employed  the  following  treatment  in 
hydrocele,  ootaining  a  rudical  cure  without 
injection :  his  mode  is  as  follows : — ] 

First,  discharge  the  fluid  with  a  trocar,  or 
pocket  lancet,  aud  then  apply  a  warm  vine- 
ear  poultice  all  over  the  scrotum,  in  order  to 
bring  on  inflammation,  which  generally 
takes  place  in  a  few  hours,  and  becomes 
nainful.  When  sufficient  inflammation  has 
Seen  excited,  remove  the  vinegar  poultice, 
and  apply  a  bread-and-milk  poultice.  In  a 
short  time,  the  pain  and  inflammation  gen- 
erally subside,  and  the  cure  is  completed. 
Give  a  few  smart  doses  of  pur^tive  medi- 
cine.   Dr.  Harvey  adds  the  subjoined : — 

"  Cure  for  Encysted  Tumour St  or  Wens 
of  the  Head,  or  other  parts  of  the  body,  with- 
out cutting  then^ut."— First,  mafce  a  lon- 
gitudinal cut  alone  the  scaip.  This  is  per- 
formed with  little  loss  of  blood  Next  press 
out  the  contents  of  the  cyst,  and  appiv, 
freely,  alcohol  in  the  cavity,  with  a  camel's 
hair  brush.  Then  place  in  the  cavity,  also, 
from  two  to  six  grains  of  nitrate  of  silver, 
and  bring  the  ed^  together  with  strappings, 
when  inflammation  takes  place.  Should  it 
inflame  too  much,  apply  cold-water  dress- 
ings, and  give  a  few  doses  of  active  purga- 
tive medicine.  This  plan  has  ever  been 
found  to  complete  the  cure  in  a  few  days. 

Fistula  in  Ano  (blind  external)  can  often 
be  cured  without  cutting,  by  injecting  alco- 
hol the  whole  length  of  the  sinus,  three  or 
four  times  a  day,  until  it  brings  on  inflam- 
mation ;  when  that  takes  place,  the  cure  is 
generally  completed  in  a  snort  time.  In  full 
habits,  bleeding  by  the  arm  should  be  prac- 
tised, if  required,  and  the  bowels,  opened 
pretty  freely,  before  the  alcohol  is  injected. 
Should  the  inflammation  become  too  severe, 
it  should  be  regulated  by  poultice  or  cold 
water  dressings,  and  low  diet  should  be 
strictly  attends  to. — Lancet, 


V9W  Ifsthod  of  latrodnolng  th«  GatlMtw. 

M.  Maisonneuve  read  a  memoir  upon  a 
new  method  of  introducing  the  catneter, 
even  in  the  most  difficult  cases.  He  prece- 
ded his  description  by  pointing  out  the  difll- 
Gulties  and  dangers  in  many  cases  of  intio- 
ducii^  the  catheter,  and  he  describe  the 
various  methods  of  its  introduction,  which, 
as  they  are  known  to  the  profession,  we 
need  not  here  enumerate.  He  describ^  his 
method  as  follows :  He  flrst  introduces  into 
he  urethra  a  very  fine  gum-elastic  bougie, 


of  size  No.  1  or  2,  and  he  then  slides  down 
upon  this  bougie  a  sound,  open  at  both  ex- 
tremities, and  proportioned  to  the  calibre  of 
the  canal  ^  the  introduction  of  the  sound  is 
facilitated  by  means  of  a  thread  of  silk  or 
metal,  which  is  iixed  to  the  external  extrem-  1 
it^r  of  the  bougie.  Having  previously  paeced 
it  into  the  canal  of  the  sound,  it  soflices  to 
push  gently  the  sound  upon  the  conducting 
bougie,  first  stretching  the  thread  so  that  it 
may  elide  easily,  and  without  causing  pain, 
into  tne  bladder.  M.  Maisonneuve  aays  that 
in  all  cases  where  he  has  tried  this  method, 
he  has  succeeded,  though  many  of  them 
were  serious,  and  all  attempts  to  introduce  ' 
the  catheter  by  the  ordinary  methods  bad  ii 
failed ;  and  from  his  expeiience  he  draws  the 
following  conclusions: 

1.  The  introduction  of  the  catheter  by 
means  of  the  conducting  bougie  is  the  most 
easv  and  the  most  certain  method  known. 
2.  It  succeeds  perfectly  where  the  ordinary 
methods  are  applicable.  3  It  succeeds  also 
where  the  ordinary  methods  fail.  4  It  guards 
securely  against  painful  explorations  (taton- 
nemens  douloureux),  lacerations  of  the  car 
nal,  false  passages,  &c.  5.  It  requires  no 
particular  dexterity,  and  can  be  used  by  the 
most  unskilful.  6.  It  renders  useless  the. 
"arsenal"  of  instruments  reconunended  to 
overcome  diflerent  obstacles,  and  requires 
the  employment  of  the  ordinary'  instruments 
only. — Lancet,  March  1, 1845. 

This  method  of  passing  the  catheter  Mr. 
Barrington  states  to  have  been  known  and 
practised  in  the  Dublin  Hospitals  so  far  back 
as  five  years  ago,  when  Dr.  Hutton,  of  the 
Richmond  Hospital,  employed  it  The  mode 
there  adopted  is  perhaps  preferable  to  that 
of  M.  Maisonneuve. 

A  fine  catgut  bougie,  eighteen  or  twenty 
inches  long,  was  first  passed  within  the 
stricture ;  a  gum-elastic  catheter,  open  at 
both  ends»  was  then  passed  upon  the  cat^ 
down  to,  and,hy  proper  manas^ment,  uner- 
ringly through  the  stricture.  Tiie  difference, 
then,  consists  in  employing  catgut  of  such  a 
length  that  enough  may  remain  external  to 
the  urethra  to  be  j^sed  through  the  canal 
of  the  catheter  with  facility,  rendering  die 
use  of  string  of  any  kind  unnecessary. 
Lancet,  March  15,  iSi^' 

Creosote  in  NiEwuMalernus.^'Di  Tbom- 
toQ  informs  us  that  of  all  the  applications 
he  has  tried  against  nmvuy,  the  most  effectual 
is  creosote.  He  had  treated  three  cases  in 
the  course  of  the  year  successfully  with  this 
substance.  It  is  applied  two  or  three  times 
daily,  more  or  less  diluted.  Excoriation,  ul- 
ceration, and  gradual  disappearance  of  the 
nmvus  ensues ;  the  cicatrix  had  always  been 
smooth  and  soui)d.--dY.  /,  Jf.,  Ikc^  iS44. 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


199 


SWBDSITBOSG'S  ANTMAT.  XIirapOM. 

Introductory  Remarks  by  the  Translator, 

Jamu  Jobn  Garth  Wilxuibom, 

Meiober  of  the  Hoya3  College  of  Surgeons 
of  London. 

[Continued  from  page  168.] 

If  the  reader  c^  once  succeed  in  appre- 
hending it,  there  will  be  no  danger  of  his 
letting  It  go  again  even  among  the  perilous 
quicksands  of  modem  experience.  It  is  one 
of  those  truths  that  rest  upon  the  facts  within 
Ibe  range  ol  the  most  ordinary  observation, 
and  require  but  little  anatomical  investiga- 
tion to  confirm  and  demonstrate  them.  It  is 
yjAible  in  its  ultimate  effects  during  every 
aGtiou  that  we  perform,  and  at  every  mo- 
ment of  our  fives.  Perhaps  there  is  nothing 
in  the  history  of  physical  science  that  is 
more  ilhistrative  of  the  native  ignorance  of 
the  mind,  or  that  better  shews  how  far  we 
have  debited  from  the  simplicity  of  nature, 
than  the  manner  in  which  this  grand  office 
of  the  lungs  has  been  overlooked;  particu- 
larly when  coupled  with  the  fact,  that  it 
shouM  have  required  a  great  and  peculiarly 
instructed  genius,  by  an  elaborate  process, 
•to  place  it  once  again  under  our  mental 
Vision.  But  nature  is  simple  and  easy;  it  is 
man  that  is  difficult  and  perplexed.  Not 
only  in  the  lungs,  but  in  the  whole  body,  the 
primary  office  is  disregarded,and  the  second- 
ary substituted  for  it.  It  has  been  supposed 
that  the  lungs  inspire  simply  to  communicate 
certain  elements  of  the  air  to  the  blood ;  and 
expire  for  no  other  end  than  to  throw  out 
by  means  of  the  returning  air  certain  impu- 
nti«5  from  the  blood.  Under  this  view,  their 
motion  is  only  of  use  for  other  thin^,  or  in- 
Btmmentally,  and  not  as  a  thing  in  itself,  or 
principally. 

And  yet  it  is  not  confined  to  the  sphere 
in  which  these  secondary  offices  ol  the 
lungs  are  pefformed,  but  pervades  the  abdo- 
men as  sensibly  as  the  chest,  and  according 
to  the  shewing  of  the  experimentalists,  ex- 
tends also  to  the  heart,  the  spinal  manow, 
and  the  head.  It  ^as  therefore  incumbent 
on  the  physiologist  to  shew  what  its  func- 
^n  was  in  all  tne  regions  where  it  was  pre- 
sent, and  to  declare  its  action  as  a  universal 
cause,  as  well  as  its  action  as  a  particular 
cause.  Now  the.  motion  itself  which  the 
longs  originate,  is  their  grand  product  to  the 
i^etem:  the  inspiration  and  expiration  of 
tne  air  are  but  one  part  of  its  necessary  ac- 
companiments, beine  performed  in  the  chest 
alone.  Granting  that  the  inspiration  and 
expiration  of  the  air  are  the  partictdar  use  of 


this  motion  in  the  chest,  what  then  is  the 
use  of  the  rising  and  falling  which  the  lungs 
communicate  tb  the  abdomen,  the  heart, 
the  spinal  marrow,  and  the  brain  ?  — 
What  office,  analogous  to  respiration,  does 
the  motion  of  these  parts  communicate  to 
the  organs  ?  It  manifestly  causes  them  all 
to  respire,  or  to  attract  the  various  materials 
of  their  uses,  as  the  lungs  attract  the  air. 
For  respiration  is  predicable  of  the  whole 
system,  as  well  as  nutrition:  otherwise  the 
head  would  not  be  the  head  of  the  chest, 
nor  the  abdomen  the  abdomen  of  the  chest ; 
but  the  human  body  would  be  as  disconnec- 
ted, and  as  easily  dissipated,  as  the  systems  ' 
that  have  been  formed  respecting  it.  The 
universal  use,  therefore,  of  the  respiratory' 
motion  to  the  body,  is,  to  rouse  eveiy  organ 
to  the  performance  of  its  functions  by  an 
external  tractive  force  exerted  upon  its  com- 
mon membranes;  and  by  causing  the  eentle 
expansion  of  the  whole  mass,  to  enable  the 
organ,  according  to  its  particular  fabric,  situ- 
ation, and  connexion,  to  respire  or  attract 
such  blood  or  fluid,  and  in  such  quantity,  as 
its  uses  and  wants  require,  and  only  such. 
Each  organ,  however,  expands  or  contracts 
differently,  according  to  the  predicates  just 
mentioned  ;  the  intestines,  for  instance,  from 
articulation  to  articulation,  to  and  fro;  the 
kidneys,  from  their  circumference  to  their 
sinuosity  or  hilus,  and  vice  versa,  the  neigh- 
borhood of  their  pelvis  being  their  most 
?[uiet  station  and  centre  of  motion  :  and  so 
orth.  In  a  word,  the  expansio  i  as  a  force 
assumes  the  whole  form  of  the  structure  of 
each  organ.  In  all  cases  the  motion  is  syn- 
chronous in  times  and  moments  with  the  re- 
spiration of  the  lungs.  The  fluids  in  the  or- 
gans follow  the  path  of  the  expansion  and 
contraction,  and  tend  to  the  centre  of  motion, 
from  which  these  motions  begin,  to  which 
they  return,  and  in  which  they  terminate. 
The  lun^s,  however,  only  supphr  the  exter- 
nal moving  life  of  the  body;  nut  were  it 
not  for  them,  the  whole  organism  would 
simply  exist  in  potency,  or  more  properly 
speakine,  would  cease  to  be ;  or  were  it  per- 
meated Djr  the  blood  of  the  heart,- -a  condi- 
tion which  can  by  no  means  be  granted, — 
the  latter  would  rule  uncontrolled  in  all  the 
members,  subjugate  their  individualities,  and 
not  excite  them  to  exercise  any  of  the  pecu- 
liar forces  of  which  they  are  the  forms.  In 
a  word,  the  whole  man  would  be  perma- 
nently in  the  foetal  state,  for  ever  inchoate 
and  ineffective. 

It  need  not  surprise  the  members  of  the 
New  Church  that  no  writer  before  or  since 
the  time  of  Swedenborg  should  have  seen 
the  primary  function  of  the  lungs  in  the  hu- 
man body.    For  it  is  shewn  in  those  won* 


800 


Swedenborg^s  Animdl  KingdtMh. 


durful  theological  treatises  with  which  they 
are  familiar,  that  the  heart  and  lungs  of  the 
natural  body  correspond  fo  the  will  and  un- 
derstandii^  of  the  spiritual  man ;  and  as  the 
understanding  or  rational  mind  has  hitherto 
brought  out  none  of  those  truths  which  en- 
able man  spiritually  to  live,  nor  been  an  ex- 
ternal cause  co-operating  with  the  Word  as 
an  ijBtemal  cause  in  the  work  of  regenera- 
tion, so  it  had  initself  no  ground  from  which 
te  recognise  the  necessity  of  the  above 
function  ia  the  human  frame ;  but  its  lower 
chamber's  alone  being  opened,  took  cogni- 
zance only  of  the  lower  and  relatively  pas- 
sive offices  of  its  bodily  correspondent,  the 
lungs.  Unwittingly  it  yielded  up  the  scep- 
tre of  the  body  to  the  heart,  and  here  again 
obeyed  the  law  of  correspondence.  But  the 
truth  is  that  the  lungs  mediate  between  the 
brain  and  the  body,  precisely  as  the  rational 
mind  of  man  is  intended  to  mediate  between 
heaven  and  earth. 

The  brain  supplies  the  body  and  the 
blood  witn  life,  and  its  functions  in  this  res- 
pect combine  nutrition,  circulation,  and  re- 
spiration. It  respires  the  ethers  of  the 
world,  it  nourishes  its  life  with  ethereal 
chyle,  and  it  circulates  the  animal  spirit  ela- 
borated therefrom  through  the  corporeal 
system.  It  may  be  regarded  as  a  unity 
which  involves  in  principle  and  idea  all  the 
varieties  that  are  manifested  in  the  two  in- 
ferior regions  of  the  thorax  and  abdomen. 
Its  cortical  substances  involve  the  functions 
of  both  the  heart  and  lunes,  because  they 
are  in  the  degree  above  both.  They  are  so 
many  corcula  propelling  the  animal  spirit 
through  the  medullary  fibres  and  nervous 
system,  and  so  many  puhnuneula  perform- 
ing an  animatory  motion  synchronous  with 
the  respiratory  motion  of  the  lungs,  although 
not  dependent  upon  it,  but  automatic  or  self- 
derived,  and  which  indeed  generates  the 
motion  of  the  lungs,  as  the  end  generates 
the  cause,  or  the  cause  the  effect.  The 
e^real  medium  that  they  respire  they  de- 
rive principally  through  what  are  termed  by 
Swedenborg  the  corporeal  fibres,  which 
originate  in  the  skin,  and  run  back  from  the 
^  hjBX  boundaries  of  the  body  to  the  first  in 
the  brain.  Now  the  physioloj^ists  have 
never  discovered  the  animation  of  the  brain, 
because  they  have  never  seen  the  respira- 
tion oi  the  lungs  in  its  primary  light.  Had 
they  done  this,  it  woVild  have  been  evident 
that  the  respiratory  motion  exercises  a  trac- 
tion upon  the  sheauisof.all  the  peat  nerves, 
and  expands  them,  and  that  this  traction  is 
the  external  cause  of  a  nervous  circulation  \ 
for  were  there  no  fluid  to  respond  to  the 
iorce,  there  would  be  a  tendency  to  a 
vacuum  in  these  most  impressible  organs,* 


and  their  parts  T^uld  be  ^tndned,  or  drawn 
asunder.     But  if  there  be  a  real  circulation 
in  the  nervous  system,  it  must  have  cenltes 
that  ppopel  it,  aiid.  timed  and  momeats  in 
which  it  is  performed.    We  have  already     < 
seen  that  in  this  case  the  fiuid  is  externally     ' 
drawn  forth  by  the  attraction  of  the  lungs,     | 
consequently  in  the  times  of  the  respirations, 
and  hence  it  must  be  drawn  in  4>y  the 
hrains  in  the  same  times ;  in  short  the  ani- 
^nations  of  the  brains  must  be  s^'achronoM 
with  the  respirations  of  the  Jungs.    Hence 
it  is  that  the  brain  supplies  the  body  with    . 
internal  motive  force  at  the  same  instants  as 
do  the  lungs  with  external ;  the  heart  only   • 
maintaining  the  organs  in  a  state  of  potency 
and  supplying  what  they  demand  by  the 
influx  of  this  compound  attractive  force  op-     i 
erating  according  to  their  various  fabrics. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  a  truth  of 
sQch  paramount  impoitance  in  physioloey 
as  the  animation  of  the  brain,  rests  upon  the 
slight  chain  of  reasoning  attempted  above. 
No ;  i(s  attestation  is  as  general  as  the  truth 
itself  is  universal.  But  since  Swedenbotg 
has  taken  the  proof  of  it  upon  his  own 
Atlantean  shoulders,  the  reader  is  referred 
to  his  treatise*  on  the  subject  for  further 
corroborations.  But  it  may  be  useful  io  in- 
dicate, that  the  doctrine  is  in  no  way  shaken^ 
by  the  existence  of  the  pulsatile  movement 
so  readily  felt  in  young  children,  nor  yet  of 
that  other  movement,  ^lemate  and  not  m- 
chronous  with  the  respirations,  which  has 
been  observed  by  some  experimenfadsts. 
The  truth  is  that  all  the*  three  movements 
proceed  unintemipted  by  each  other;  and 
that  the  alternate'  movement,  which  is  refer- 
able to  the  blood  rushing  out  by  the  veins 
during  inspiration,  is  what  chiefly  masks  4« 
synchronous  movement,  which  is  auloma* 
tic^r  referrable  to  the  brain  itself. 

There  is  no  part  of  Swedenborg*s  system 
which  is  better  worthy  of  attention  thantii« 
doctrine  of  tlie  skin..  As  the  skin  is  the  con- 
tinent and  ultimate  of  tlie  whole  system, « 
all  the  forms,  forces  and  uses  of  the  interidt 
parts  coexist  within  ft.  Moreover  as  it  ij 
the  extreme  of  the  body,  and  the  contact  of 
extremes,  or  circulation,  is  a  perpetual  lav 
of  nature,  so  from  the  skin  a  return  is  made 
to  the  other  extreme,  namely,  to  the  cortical 
substances  of  the  brain.  Hence  the  M 
function  of  the  skin  is,  "  to  serve  as  a  new 
source  of  fibres."  For  the  fibres  of  one  ex- 
treme, to  wit,  the  brain,  also  called  by  Swe- 
denborg the  fibres  of  the  soul,  could  not  of 
themselves  complete  the  formation  of  the 
body,  but  could  only  supply  its  acUfJ 
grounds ;  and  therefore  these  nbres  proceed 


*  BeoDomr  of  the  AjubmI  Kingdom,  tr.  IL,  H 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


201 


outwards  to  the  skin,  which  is  the  most 

Sineral  sensorial  expanse  of  the  brain,  and 
ere  generate  the  papiliae ;  and  again  cmerg- 
ioj^  from  the  papillae,  and  convoluted  into  a 
minute  canal  or  pore,  they  take  a  new  na- 
ture and  name  from  their  new  beginning, 
and  become  the  corporeal  fibres,  or  the 
fibres  of  the  body,  which  proceed  from  with- 
out inwards  to  the  brain,  and  unite  them- 
selves to  its  cortical  substances.  These  are 
the  passives  of  which  the  nervous  fibres  are 
the  actives ;  the  veins  or  female  forces  of 
which  tlM  nervous  fibres  are  the  arteries  or 
males;  and  "they  suck  in  the  purer  ele- 
mental food  from  the  air  and  ether,  convey 
it  to  their  terminations,  and  expend  it  upon 
the  uses  of  life.'* 

Besides  this,  the  skin  has  a  series  of  other 
functions  which  there  is  not  space  to  dwell 
upon  at  present.  Inasmuch  as  it  is  the 
most  g^eneral  covering  of  the  body,  there- 
fore it  communicates  oy  a  wonderful  conti- 
nuity with  all  the  particular  coverings  of  the 
viscera  and  organs,  and  of  their  parts,  and 
parts  of  parts.  And  as  it  communicates 
with  all  by  continuity  of  structure,  so  it 
also  communicates  by  continuity  of  func- 
tion; the  whole  body  being  therefore  one 
grand  sensorium  of  tne  sense  of  touch.  In 
short,  the  animal  spirit  is  the  most  universal 
and  singular  essence  of  the  body  and  all  its 
jjarts ;  ttie  skin,  the  most  general  and  par- 
ticular form  corresponding  to  that  essence. 

Having  thus  bestowed  a  cursory  glance 
upon  some  points  of  Swedenborg's  dootrine 
of  the  three  spheres  of  the  body,  and  thAr 
most  general  and  particular  continent,  the 
skin«  we  shall  now  enlarge  a  little  on  cer- 
tain subjects  that  have  already  been  men- 
tioned, in  order  to  give  them  a  more  distinct 
place  in  the  reader's  apprehension.  And 
first  with  respect  to  the  circulation.  It  is 
clear  that  in  assigning  its  due  weight  to  the 
primary  function  of  tne  lu«i^s,  we  obtain  a 
taw  which  enables  us  to  limit  the  functions 
of  the  heart  and  arteries ;  ar.d  the  result  is, 
that  the  heart  and  aorta  simply  propel  the 
blood  io  the  mouths  of  the  arteries  leading 
into  the  viscera,  and  the  viscera  themselve8 
attract  it  thenceforth,  and  dominate  over  the 
circulation  of  their  own  vessels,  command- 
ing it  to  take  place  in  the  times  of  the  res- 
pirations, and  not  in  the  times  of  the  pulses 
of  the  heart.  As  one  means  to  this  end,  the 
vessels  which  supply  the  organs,  generally 
come  o£r  at  rignt  angles  uom  the  great 
artery. 

But  there  is  another  branch  of  this  sub- 
ject which  is  worthy  of  attention.  The  cir- 
culation in  the  great  vessels  is  comparatively 
inordinate  or  confused,  because  in  them  the 
blood  is  all  mingled  together  in  a  heteroge- 


neous mass,  and  propelled  onwards  by  an 
external  force;  but  the  circulation  in  the 
capillaries  is  most  orderly  and  distinct,  being 
an  automatic  movement  performed  by  the 
single  globules  of  the  blooa,  in  vessels  which 
correspond  to  them  individually,  and  where 
they  are  perfectly  at  home.  If  a  comparison 
be  permitted,  they  constitute  a  medley  crowd 
in  the  heart  and  aorta,  but  march  separately, 
man  by  man,  in  the  capillaries.  Hence  the 
blood  m  its  mass  can  but  imperfectly  mani- 
fest its  living  endowments,  hut  when  sun- 
dered into  its  individualities  or  leasts,  it  dis- 
tinctly exercises  its  dynamic  nature,  and 
flows  spontaneously ;  for  it  is  a  spiral  and 
circular  force  and  tends  therefore  to  a  spiral 
gyration,  or  to  circulation.  Indeed  in  a  unf-- 
versal  sense,  the  leasts  of  the  blood  are  the 
causes  of  the  heart's  action,  and  the  grounds 
of  the  whole  sanguineous  movement;  al- 
though speaking  in  generals,  the  heart,  and 
the  lungs  acting  on  the  viscera,  are  the  joint 
causes  of  this  effect. 

The  blood  is  the  product  of  the  whole  or- 
ganic system.  The  brain  and  lungs  give  it 
soul  and  spirit ;  the  abdominal  viscera,  by 
means  of  tne  food,  supply  it  with  body  or 
embodiment ;  wherefore  each  globule'  is  aft 
image  of  man  inasmuch  as  it  has  both  a  sout 
and  a  body.  Every  viscus  contributes  a  dis- 
tinct share  to  its  generation  and  regeneration. 
The  animal  spirit  is  its  organizing  principle. 
The  blood  consists,  in  the  language  of  Swe- 
denborg,  of  mere  simples ;  that  is  to  say,  it 
contains  the  primal  unities  of  all  the  series 
in  the  body,  and  being  readily  resolvable 
into  each,  can  give  origin  and  seed  to  all  its 
possible  compounds,  whether  they  be  solida 
or  fluids :  ^fothing  exists  in  the  body  that 
did  not  pre-exist  in  the  blood.  As  it  is  dis- 
tinctly compounded  of  a  triple  order  of  sub- 
stances, 80  during  each  round  of  the  circu- 
lation it  is  distinctly  decoinpounded  or 
resolved  into  each.  Its  spirit,  spirituous 
lymph,  and  bodily  portion  are  sundered  as 
often  as  it  circulates;  the  former  is  claimed 
by  the  cortical  substances  of  the  brain ;  the 
lymph  is  rendered  back  to  the  blood  in  a  cir- 
cle by  the  lymphatics ;  and  the  embodiment, 
by  the  veins.  The  reason  why  it  undergoes  ' 
this  resolution  is,  that  thereby,  when  its 
simples  are  disengaged,  it  gives  birth  to  all 
the  vital  fluids,  and  renovates  all  the  solids; 
and  moreover  submits  itself  to  perpetual  pu- 
rification, self-examination,  or  lustration. 
Those  portions  of  it  which  are  no  longer  of 
use  are  thrown  out  of  the  system  by  various 
excretions,  the  loss  thus  occasioned  produ- 

Icing  that  sense  in  the  little  veins  all  over  the 
body,  which  in  the  aggregate  we  term  hun- 
ger and  thirst.  The  blood  of  the  jugular 
veins  which  has  been  de-spirituated  in  the^       ^^ 


202 


Sw^dmb^rg^^  Animal  Kingdom. 


bram,  is  vivified  afresh  in  the  lateral  sinuses,' 
by  a  spirituous  lymp]i  sent  forth  from  the 
pituitary  gland,  which  is  the  conglobate 
gland  of  the  cerebrum.  Thus  ihe  effete 
spirit  of  the  brain  unites  with  its  effete 
blood,  and  both  together  serve  as  menstruum, 
medium,  or  saliva  for  introducing  the  new 
chjle  into  the  sanguineous  system.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  the  thoracic  duct  is  inserted 
at  or  near  the  bottom  of  the  jugular  vein. 
But  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  although  it 
'may  be  considered  by  itself^  yet  like  ail 
things  in  the  body,  is  but  a  part  of  a  more 
universal  order,  termed  by  our  author  the 
circle  of  life ;  and  which  involves  in  one 
the  circulation  of  both  the  blood  and  the 
•spirits. 

All  the  fluids  of  the  body  institute  circu- 
lations after  the  image  of  tne  circulation  of 
the  blood.  Such  may  be  readily  seen  to  be 
the  case  with  respect  to  the  saliva,  the  bile, 
the  fat,  &c.,  &c. 

The  circulation  of  the  animal  spirits,  sup 
nlied  to  the  bmin  through  the  corporeal  fibres 
jrom  the  ethereal  media  of  the  universe,  as 
well  as  by  the  blood  of  the  carotid  arteries, 
and  elaborated  in  the  cortical  substances,  is 
not  a  simple  circle,  like  that  of  the  blood, 
but  a  transcendent  circle,  leaping  from  series 
to  series,  omnipresent  in  all  things  and  con- 
joining all.  For  the  spirit  is  propelled  by  the 
cortical  substances  or  "  corcula  cerebri" 
through  the  medullary  and  nervous  fibres ; 
by  the  nervous  fibres  into  the  arteries,  where 
it  is  inserted  into  the  globules  ol  the  blood, 
and  constitutes  their  life  and  soul ;  and  it  is 
carried  back  in  the  bloodby  the  carotid  arte- 
ries to  the  same  cortical  substances,  there  to 
be  purified,  conjoint  with  fresh  spirit,  and 
begin  its  circle  anew.  The  animation  of  the 
brain  is  the  first  moving  cause  of  the  cir- 
culation of  the  spirits  ;  tiie  respiration  of  the 
lun|;s  the  secondar}'  or  corporeal  cause, 
which  operates  by  a  general  traction  upon 
the  external  membranes  of  all  the  organs, 
vessels,  and  fibres  of  the  body.  For  the 
brains  give  the  universal  or  most  internal 
life  of  ue  body,  and  in  this  respect*  as  pro- 

Sulsive  causes,  represent  the  capillaries  or 
istinct  corcula  of  the  nervous  circulation ; 
the  lungs,  the  general,  or  most  external  life, 
and  represent  the  one  heart  of  the  same. 

The  above  doctrine  may  conveniently  sug- 
gest the  idea,  that  points  of  analogy  are  not 
points  of  sameness  or  identy,  but  in  reality, 
of  harmonic  difference.  The  circulation  of 
the  blood  is  one  thin^,  and  Images  that  of 
the  spirits ;  but  notwithstanding,  the  circu- 
lation of  the  spirits  is  (juite  another.  Each 
fluid  has  its  own  peculiarities,  and  its  circle 
is  applicable  only  to  its  own  sphere.  It  is 
an  abuse  of  analogy  if  we  use  it  to  destroy 


and  not  to  reconcile  differences;  and  if  ao 
abused,  it  becomes  a  childish  and  paltry  in- 
strument, totally  inadequate  to  guide  the 
mind  through  the  labyrinths  of  nature.  To 
revert  to  the  present  case,  it  has  been  at- 
tempted to  be  shown,  that  the  circulation  6f 
the  animal  spirits  is  a  simple  circle,  precise- 
ly like  that  of  the  blood.  But  for  tbe  pur- 
poses of  analysis,  it  ought  to  be  paralleled 
with  what  is  higher  than  itself,  and  not 
with  what  is  lower.  ^  Let  us  take  as  illoB- 
trative  the  grand  circle  involved  in  genera- 
tion ;  for  *<  all  things  that  involve  an  end 
constitute  a  circle."  In  this  example,  the 
male  and  female  conspire  to  generate  a  new  fl 
being;  the  male  fluid  is  propelled  out  of  the 
body  into  the  body  of  tlie  female,  oi  from 
one  seri^  into  another;  here  it  is  developed 
or  embodied,  and  is  again  propelled  fron 
the  maternal  series  into  that  oi  the  exter- 
nal universe ;  afterwards  it  is  developed 
inwards  from  the  body  to  the  mind, 
and  when  its  circles  of  education  and 
information  are  completed,  it  returns  bb  a 
member  of  that  sociefy  from  which  it  pro- 
ceeded, to  commune  with  the  principles  tfalt 
gave  it  origin  in  the  parents,  to  amplify  (heir 
sphere,  and  enlar^  their  amount  cf  eocal 
life.  The  circulation  of  the  spirits  is  nwre 
like  this  of  generation,  than  Hkc  thato/  the 
blood ;  for  being[  a  universal  it  belongs  to 
the  sphere  of  universals,  and  is  but  poorly 
imaged  in  particulars,  which  are,  indeed,  wt 
portions  ot  itself.  , 

We  have  already  treated  of  the  limits  of 
the  circulation  considered  as  procee£og 
from  the  heart,  and  have  had  occasion  to 
hint  at  the  attraction  exercised  by  the  sev- 
eral.oreans.  The  truth  Is,  that  the  laSto 
demana  different  and  varying  quantities  aM 
qualities  of  blood  ^t  different  times,  <u:<^ 
ing  to  their  di^rent  states  as  detenninediqf 
and  determining  the  state  of  the  body;  sw 
that  the  heart  and  aorta,  as  a  propula^ 
powet,  can  have  no  share  in  appoitioniig 
these.  Hence  an  attractive  force  is  giTento 
Uie  viscera  tfiemselves,  whereby  all  w 
commodities  in  the  body  are  placed  at  thetf 
disposal i  or  as  Swedcnboig  says,  "they 
are  enabled  to  summon  what  they  i^^I^ 
from  the  universal  mass  of  the  blood.**  r^ 
each  organ,  and  each  part  and  particle  of 
each,  is  an  individuad  member  of  a  p€»fc^ 
society,  possessing  Ae  form  of  a  stupendous 
rationality  whereby  to  dlflcem  its  vrant^ 
and  of  an  equal  liberty  to  enable  it  to  sap* 

£y  those  wants  from  the  commmuty,  c* 
e  condition  of  reciprocation  of  use  t  not  fti 
smallest  intrusion  upon  its  individuality  by 
the  common  powers  is  permitted  for  a  mo- 
ment; for  should  this  taJce  place,  disease  is 
the  inevitable  conaequezice.    But  let  it  »* 


tSwedenbor^s  Animal  Kingdom, 


203 


be  imagined  that  the  attraction  exerted  by 
the  otgans  ia  of  a  Tiolent  ehaiacter,  or  that 
tet  their  movements  are  other  than  gentle 
and  tranqai).  It  is  unnecessary  that  such 
should  be  the  ease ;  inasmuch  as  there  is 
always  a  propulsion  or  incitation  corres- 
ponding to  the  attraction  or  invitation,  so 
viatwhat  the  oig&n  demands  is  immediately 
sappHed.  For  when  the  unities  or  leasts  of 
an  organ  expand  to  draw  in  their  blood, 
their  vessels  contract  to  propel  it;  and  by 
Tiitue  of  the  simultaneous  expansion  of  the 
unities  and  contraction  of  the  vessels,  the 
size  of  the  organ  is  scarcely  altered,  and  its 
notion  is  almost  iranerceptible. 

The  motions  of  tne  oigans  of  the  body 
are  an  important  subject  in  Swedenboiv*s 
theory;  occasionally  seen  in  glimpses  by 
many  writus,  among  whom  may  be  instan- 
ced oar  own  philosophic  Glisson,*  yet  not 
recogiiixed  by  them  as  a  necessary  law.  It 
has  been  remarked  before,  that  the  lungs 
and  the  brains  ^ve  each  organ  a  universal 
motion,  at  once  internal  and  extemcd.  But 
it  would  be  an  error  to  suppose,  because  the 
anotioa  communicated  is  one  and  the  same, 
that  therefore  it  is  not  received  and  appro- 
priated difaendy,  in  other  words,  mocfified, 
by  the  organs  themselves.  So  truly  is  this 
the  ease,  that  the  motion  takes  place  in 
e^'eiy  instance  in  accordance  with  the  geo- 
metncal  form  of  the  organ,  as  made  up  of 
lesser  and  least  parts,  and  these  forming 
axes,  diameters,  and  circumferences,  general, 
^Kcific,  particular,  and  singular.  Always 
indeed  it  is  expansion  and  constriction,  these 
being  nature's  own  motions,  and  pervading 
tile  uniTerse,  elemental,  material,  tod  orga- 
nic Nevertheless  it  is  an  expansion  and 
^cmstriction  proceeding  according  to  the 
form  of  ibe  organ.  As  a  general  rule,  tiie 
most  fixed  point  of  every  organ  is  its  centre 
of  motion,  from  which  its  expansion  and 
fonsttictioii  b^ins,  to  which  it  returns,  and 
ID  which  it  terminates.  For  each  organ  is 
an  individual,  made  up  of  an  infinity  of  les- 
ser iadrvidnals,  whereof  one  and  all  live 
their  own  lives,  exercise  their  own  forces, 
and  perform  their  own  actions,  and  only  rely 
vpon  the  general  system  for  supplies,  whtcn 
^Aey  can  convert  to  use  in  their  own  way, 
aim  according  to  their  own  essence:  and 
tins,  no  matter  whe^er  the  supplies  be  sup- 
fdies  of  blood  and  fluids,  or  supplies  of  mo- 
tion. The  material  always  comes  from 
withofat,  bttt  the  disposal  of  it  from  within. 
TheM  motio&s  convert  the  organs  from  pow- 
619  nHo  forces ;  so  that  it  may  be  stated  as 
a  kw,  &at  the  heart  and  the  blood  generate 

*  OliapDii  w'wiil.  worth  coMoIUof  oa  th*  m«Uon  of 


the  body;  but  that  the  brain  and  the  lungs 
make  use  of  it,  and  wield  it  as  an  instru- 
ment of  action.  As  a  rude  illustration  of 
this,  we  mayinstance  the  case  of  human 
machines  The  fabrication  of  a  steam  en- 
ine  by  artificers  in  the  workshop  is  one 
bing,  and  analogous  to  the  formation  of  the 
body  by  the  bbod,  the  vessels,  and  the 
heart ;  but  to  make  use  of  the  same  engine 
requires  altogether  a  different  series  of  pow- 
ers^—>fire,  water,  steam,  and  a  new  oroer  of 
workmen,  analogous  to  the  brain,  the  lungs, 
and  their  motions. 

As  motion  is  a  necessary  condition  of  ac- 
tual life  in  the  whole  body,  and  all  its  or- 
gans and  their  parts,  so  bkewise  is  sensa* 
tion.  For  without  sensation  the  organs* 
would  not  be  able  to  exercise  their  attrac- 
tions and  repulsions  with  benefit  either  to 
themselves  or  the  system.  The  cerebrum 
is  OUT  general  sensonum,  in  which  we  tfre 
conscious  of  all  the  impressions  that  rise 
from  the  external  sensoria,  of  sight,  hearing, 
smell,  taste,  and  touch ;  which  sensoria  Oc- 
cupy the  circumference  of  the  body :  but  the 
cerebellum  takes  cognizance,  apart  from  our 
consciousness,  of  all  the  impressions  that 
are  made  in  the  interiors  of  the  body;  name- 
ly, of  every  contact,*  in  general  and  in  ijar- 
ticular,  between  the  solids  and  the  fluids. 
Therefore  the  cerebellum  is  aware  of  the 
whole  state  of  the  kingdom  of  the  body  in 
its  minutest  details,  and  disposes  and  governs 
it  a^eably  to  the  ends  for  which  corporeal 
life  is  instituted.  Now  the  human  frame, 
unlike  that  of  other  animals,  is  co  ordinate 
with  the  vfkole  external  universe;  it  is  an 
organization  correlated  and  responsive  to 
the  entire  series  of  the  natural  creation. 
The  brain  is  a  form  of  the  elemental  king- 
dom ;  the  lungs,  of  the  atmospheric  woiid; 
and  the  abdomen,  of  the  terracHieoas  globe. 
Nothing  less  than  this  can  be  tne  case,  inas- 
much as  the  body  descends  from  the  highest 
sphere  to  the  lowest,  and,  by  the  heart  and 
its  vessels,  reascends  from  the  lowest  to  the 
hichest,  and  thus  doubly  draws  with  it  ihe 
order  of  the  universe.  £ach  degree  of  the 
body  (involves  a  sensation  of  its  external 
co-ordinate.  Of  the  exteroal  senses  speoifi- 
cally,  sight  is  co-ordinate  vrith  the  ^ber, 
and  apprehends  its  modifications;  hearing, 
with  the  air,  and  perceives  its  vibrations; 
smell,  with  the  e£lavia  of  matter ;  taste,  with 
the  essences  of  body »  and  touch,  with  body 

*  It  is'ra09B«ted  to  Um  meditftl  nmime  to  eoiicM«r, 
whether  Swedenboxc**  theorr,  that  the  uoee  of  tonoh, 
and  its  organism  and  accidents, pervade  every  partielo 
of  the  body,  lendi  any  support  to  the  remarkable 
View  taken  by  Hahnemann,  that  Mven-eighte  of  the 
ehronie  maJadiee  afflicting  the  haman  fimme  are 
forms  of  pioim,  and  that  a«*sacfa  maladies  are  r«fei»« 
hlaiawawwaietothwatypiiof  Alaftum. 


204  Digestion  of  Saccharitte  and  Amylaceotis  Maitms. 


in.  its  ultimate  or  concrete  fonn.  The  first 
two  senses  therefore  are  atmospheric  senses ; 
the  latter,  material,  and  may  bie  fitly  regard- 
ed as  different  forms  of  touch.  There  are 
then  three  grand  genera  of  touch.  The  first 
genus  prevails  afl  over  the  circumference, 
and  Gonstittttes  touch  proper:  the  second 
prevails  in  the  innermost  parts  of  the  body, 
beginning  from  the  tonfl;ue ;  namely,  in  the 
SBsophagus,  the  stomacn,  the  intestines,  and 
all  me  viscera  of  the  abdomen,  and  at  the 
threshold  of  this  series  is  called  taste :  the 
third  genus  prevails  likewise  in  the  in- 
nermost parts  of  the  body,  but  beginning 
.  from  the  iiares ;  namely,  in  the  trachea,  the 
larynx,  and  the  lunffs,  or  in  the  viscera  of 
the  thorax,  and  at  ue  entrance  to  these  is 
called  smell.  The  sense  of  taste  again  is 
divided  into  as  many  species  as  there  are 
viscera  of  the  abdomen,  and  these  species 
into  as  many  particular  differences  as  there 
are  unities  in  each  viscus.  *'  From  the 
variety  of  the  particular  sensations  of  one 
▼iscus,  a  common  sensation  arises;  and  from 
the  variety  of  sensations  of  many  viscera,  a 
still  more  common  sensation  arises.  And 
from  all  and  each  of  these  sensations  con- 
veyed by  the  fibres  to  the  cerebellum,  the 
soul,  by  ideans  of  this  sense,  here  apper- 
ceives  specifically  the  states  of  chylification, 
sanguification,  and  purification ;  in  a  word, 
of  nutrition;  and  according  to  the  percep- 
tion, disposes  those  viscera  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  the  whole  and  the  ^rts,  which  is 
the  efifect  and  use  that  this  sense  produces." 
The  villi  on  the  internal  surfaces  of  the  ab- 
dominal organs  are  the  papillary  sensoria  of 
the  above  sense. 


BiMstion  of  Saoohmrtne  and  AxDjlaoaont 
Matt«ra. 
M.  MiALHE  has  recently  made  numerous 
Vesearches  with  reference  to  the  physiology 
of  digestion.  The  essential  basis  of  the  ali- 
mentation of  animals,  he  states,  is  constitu- 
ted by  three  distinct  groups  of  bodies: 
albuminous,  fatty,  and  saccharine  matters. 
The  labors  of  modem  chemists  have  shown 
that  albuminous  substances  become  assimi- 
latable  through  the  assistance  of  the  gastric 
juice,  which,  by  its  acid,  swells  these  azoti- 
zed  products,  and  by  its  pepsin  liquefies 
them,  a  phenomenon  analogous  to  that  of 
diastasis  on  amidon.  Fatty  matter  becomes 
assimHatable  by  the  intervention  of  bile,  but 
with  regard  to  feculaceous  and  saccharine 
matter,  says  M.  Mialhe,  there  is  nothing 

Eositive  known.    This  lacuna  in  science  he 
as  endeavored  to  fill. 

The  new  facts  at  which  M.  Mialhe  has 
arrived,  tend  to  show  that  all  hydro-carbo- 
naceous substances  can  only  undergo  the 
phenomenon  of  assimilation  when  they  have 


been  decomposed  by  the  weak  alkalioe  dis- 
solutions contained  in  the  vital  htimon; 
either  immediately,  as  with  glucoie,  dex- 
trine, sugar  of  milk ;  or  mediately,  as  with 
cane-sugar  and  amidon,  which  nave  to  be 
first  transformed  in  the  economy,  die  one 
(cane-sugar)  into  glucose,  the  other  into 
dextrine  or  glucose.  As  to  hydro-carbona- 
ceous substances,  which  are  neither  suscep- 
tible of  fermentation  nor  of  decompositioD 
by  weak  acids,  or  alkalies  in  solution,  sach 
as  lignite  or  mannite,  they  escape,  in  man, 
the  digestive  and  afsimilating  action.  But 
by  what  chemical  action  is  the  amidou  tnas-  • 
formed  into  dextrine  and  glucose  ?  Numer- 
ous experiments  have  proved  to  M.  Mum 
that  this  transformation  is  produced  by  ibe 
saliva,  through  a  principle  which  this  In- 
mor  contains,  a  principle  comparable,  in 
every  respect,  to  diastasis.  In  order  to 
isolate  it,  human  saliva,  first  filtered,  is 
treated  by  five  or  six  times  its  wei^t  of 
alcohol,  alcohol  being  added  until  precipita- 
tion ceases.  The  animal  diastasis  is  deposi- 
ted in  white  flakes.  It  is  gathered  on  ali- 
tor, from  which  it  is  taken  still  moist,  sd 
dried  in  layers  on  glass,  by  a  current  of 
warm  air,  at  a  temperature  of  from  40  to  50 
degrees  (centigr;)  it  is  preserved  io  a  well- 
stoppered  botue.  This  active  principle  of 
the  saliva  is  solid,  white*  or  of  a  gfeyiih 
white,  amorphous,  insoluble  in  alc(Miol. 
soluble  in  water  and  weak  alcohol.  Tbe 
aqueous  solution  is  insipid,  neutral ;  the  nb- 
acetate  of  lead  does  not  ^ive  rise  to  a  prt- 
cipitate.  Abandoned  to  itself,  it  soon  be- 
comes acid,  and  whether  or  not  in  coolKt 
with  the  air.  This  animal  diastasis,  studied 
comparativelv  with  disastasisextraded  fiv 
germinating  barley,  presents  tbe  same  Doto 
of  action.  It  transforms  amidon  into  dfi* 
trine  and  glucose ;  acting  on  starch,  aad  ele- 
vating the  temperature  to  70  or  75  degree^ 
the  liquefaction  is  nearly  immediate.  Or 
part  of  this  substance  saffices  to  liquefy  v 
convert  two  thousand  4)arts  of  fecula.  1^ 
agents,  such  as  creosote,  tannin,  tbe  po^ 
ful  acids,  the  salts  of  mercur}%  of  eo^><' 
silver,  &c.,  which  destroy  the  propeiticaoi 
diastasis,  act  in  the  same  manner  with  m- 
pect  to  the  active  principle  of  saliva.  At* 
equal  weight  they  both  liquefy  and  tnas* 
form  the  same  quantify  of  hydrated  aniidee- 
It  appears,  even,  that  tbe  active  principle  <» 
germinated  barley  is  seldom  as  eneigetie  as 
Uiat  of  saliva,  wnich  is  owin^  to  thegreattf 
facility  of  obtaining  the  latter  in  a  pure  ^^ 
Finally,  as  a  last  resemblance,  tne  onf^ 
diastasis  existing  in  the  saliva  of  D»n  tarelT 
exceeds  two  thou{>andths,  and  this  is  o^ 
the  proportion  of  the  diastasis  GOtutaincd  a 
germinating  barley. — Lancet. 


Academic  des  Sciences.  Paris, 


205 


AOADBBOa  BBS  SOIBNOBS-PABIS,  1845. 

R«s«arch««  on  Qni«ratioii. 

The  researches  of  M.  Poucheton  the  pro- 
gression and  the  state  of '  the  seminal  fluid 
lound  in  the  genital  organs  of  female  rabbits, 
have  led  him  to  the  following  conclusions ; 
— From  the  sixth  to  the  twenty-fifth  hour, 
zoospennata  are  found  constantly  in  the  va- 
gina and  in  the  uterine  cornua.    Until  the 
twenty-first  or  twenty-second  hour,  these 
animalculae  are  veryiagile,  but  they  soon  af- 
ter become  less  active,  and  towards  the 
twenty-thiid  hour  they  dry,  and  appear  to 
undergo  a  kind  of  cadaveric  rigidity,  as 
characterized    by  the   rectilinear  direction 
which  their  caudal  appendix  assumes.    Af- 
ter this  period,  they  are  only  found  lacera- 
ted.    Sometimes,  nevertheless,  and  princi- 
pally when  the  death  has  been  preceded  by 
violent  convulsions,  living  zoospermata  are 
still  found,  towards  the  twenty-fifth  hour, 
engaged  in  the  entrance  of  the  uterine  ex- 
tremity of  the  Fallopian  tubes.    They  nev«r 
aacena  beyond  a  depth  of  twenty  millime- 
tres, the  mucus  which  fills  the  Fallopian 
tubes,  formed  of  dense  globules,  otfeiin?  an 
insurmountable  resistance.     It  is,  theremre, 
only  in  the  uterus,  and,  perhaps  also  in  that 
part  o/  the  Follopian  tunes  which  approxi- 
mates to  the  uterus,  that  fecundation  takes 
place  in  mammalia.      If  the  zoospermata 
i«ach  the  ovaries,  it  can  only  be  in  the  ab- 
nonnal  cases  which  give  rise  to  extra-uterine 
pregnancies. — Lancet 

Mr.  Bonjean  on  the  poisonous  effects  of  the 
,8ecale  Cornutwn. 
The  ergot  of  rye,  taken  as  an  alimen- 
tary substance,  may  give  rise  to  two  kinds 
of  symptoDQS ;  to  conpilsive  phenomena  or 
to  gangrene.  These  series  of  symptoms 
may  present  themselves  singly  or  comoined. 
A  year  ago,  M.  Bonjean  attended  a  family 
in  the  vicinity  of  Chamberry,  all  the  mem 
bers  of  which  were  attacked  with  the  con- 
vulsive form;  he  has  lately  observed,  in 
the  same  neighborhood,  a  case  in  which 
the  gangrenous  form  alone  prevailed.  A 
family  compofied  of  eight  inaividuals — the 
father,  mother,  and  six  children,  between 
the  ages  of  two  and  seventeen — ate,  during 
three  weeks,  bread  containing  one  and  a 
half  per  cent,  of  ergot.  The  father  and 
inother  merely  experienced  lassitude  in  the 
limbs ;  the  three  eldest  children  present  no 
abnormal  symptom.  Two  of  the  youngest 
only  were  attacked  with  gangrene;  one,  a 
boy,  ten  years  of  age,  after  eating  the  bread 
during  fifteen  days,  felt  a  severe  pain  from 
the  left  groin  to  Oic  calf  of  the  leg.    The 


phlyctens,  and  the  eangrene,  appearing  at 
the  inferior  third  of  the  legs,  descendedt  o- 
wards  the  feet,  and  ascended  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  legs,  where  it  became  limited. 
The  other,  ased  twenty-eight  months,  was 
attacked  in  the  same  way,  but  on  one  leg 
only.  There  were  no  premonitory  symp- 
toms whatever  in  either  case.  The  two 
children  were  admitted  into  the  hospital  at 
Lyons,  where  the  gangrenous  limns  were 
taken  off,  and  they  were^subsequently  quite 
cured. — Ibid. 

On  the  Value  of  Vaccination  and  Revacci- 
nation. 

In  1842,  the  Academy  of  Sciences  offered 
a  prize  for  the  best  treatise  on  the  above 
subject.  Thirty-five  candidates  responded 
to  the  call,  and  the  peruSal  of  their  labors 
has  proved  so  laborious  an  undertaking,  that 
it  is  only  very  lately  that  M.  Serres  has  been 
able  to  present  a  report  to  the  Academy,  in 
the  name  of  the  committee  appointed  to  de- 
cide on  the  comparative  merit  of  the  essays. 
M.  Senes*  report  is  a  remarkable  document, 
and  is  also  important  from  its  conclusions 
having  been  adopted  by  the  Academy  after 
mature  deliberation  We  extract  the  fol- 
lowing data  from  this  report : 

**  Vaccination  preserves  the  human  spe- 
cies from  variola,  but  its  preservative  power 
is  not  absolute.  Variola  itself,  either  spon- 
taneous, or  produced  bv  inoculation,  does 
not  preserve  absolutely  from  future  attacks, 
therefore  it  is  not  extraordinary  that  vacci- 
nation should  not.  Thus,  Mead  mentions 
having  seen  three  variolous  eruptions  take 
place  successively  on  the  same  woman ;  the 
son  of  Forestus  was  twice  attacked  with  va- 
riola, and  Dehaen  statea  that  one  of  his  pa- 
tients was  attacked  six  times  by  variola 
with  impunity,  but  died  of  a  seventh  inva- 
sion of  the  disease.  Although,  however, 
vaccination  is  sometimes  powerless  to  pre- 
serve us  from  variola,  it  always  diminishes 
the  gravity  of  the  malady.  TTiis  property, 
which  Jenner  and  his  first  successors  did 
not  even  suspect,  is  thoroughly  proved  by 
the  various  facts  which  have  been  receiitly 
accumulated.  In. one  of  the  most  terrible 
epidemics  of  variola  that  has  taken  place  in 
Europe  since  the  discovery  of  vaccination, 
—that  of  Marseilles,  in  1828,— more  than 
ten  thousand  persons  were  attacked.  Of 
these,  two  thousand  only  had  been  vaccina- 
ted, and  of  that  number  forty-five  only  died, 
whereas,  one  thousand  five  hundred  of  the 
eight  thousand  who  had  not  been  vaccinated 
were  carried  off  by  the  pestilence. 

"  Vaccine  matter  evidently  loses  part  of 
its  efficacy  in  passing  from  arm  to  arm ;  it 


feet  and  legs  became  tumefied,  covered  with!  is  therefore  desirable  to  renew  it  as  often  as .       ^ 


206 


Academic  des  Sciences^  Paris. 


possible.  A  remarkable  fact  mentioned  by 
one  of  the  competitors,  supplies  us  with 
a  means  of  renewing  it,  as  it  were,  at  will. 
A  cow  was  vaccinated  with  matter  taken 
from  a  child.  Not  only  did  the  pustules 
rise,  but  they  were  communicated  to  other 
cows,  so  that  the  cow-pox  was  observed 
nearly  in  its  natural  state.  The  pustules 
were  identical  in  both  cases. 

«*  The  propriety  of  revaccioation  is  now 
fully  established.  Ih  Germany,  the  various 
governments  have  been  induced  to  pay  great 
attention  to  re  vaccination,  owing  to  the  cir- 
cumstance of  epidemics  of  variola  having 
latterly  manifested  themselves  with  a  seve- 
rity to  which  we  had  become  auite  unaccus- 
tomed since  the  introduction  of  vaccination. 
Revaccination  has,  conseqaentlv,  been  re- 
sorted to  on  a  very  extended  scale,  and  has 
had  the  effect  of  arresting  the  epidemics 
Thus,  in  Wurtemburg,  forty-two  thousand 
persons  who  have  been  revaccinated,  have 
only  presented  eight  cases  of  varioloid, 
whereas,  one-third  of  the  cases  of  variola 
have  latterly  occurred  on  persons  who  had 
been  vaccinated.  It  is  principally  between 
the  ages  of  fourteen  and  thirty-five  that  vac- 
cinated persons  are  exposed  to  be  attacked 
by  variola.  When  there  is  an  epidemic,  the 
danger  commences  earlier,  and  children  of 
nine  years  of  a^  may  be  seized.  Piudence, 
therefore,  requires  that,  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, revaccination  should  be  peiform- 
ed  at  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen,  and  four 
years  earlier  if  within  the  radius  of  an  epi- 
demic of  variola.'* — Ibid. 

On  tk«  Anatomj  of  the  Sjmpathetio  Ntw: 
^  M.  Bour^ery  states  that  the  sympathetic 
divides  at  its  cephalic  extremity  into  two 
branches,  one  vertebral,  the  other  carotidian. 
These  branches  offer  five  modes  of  termina- 
tion, to  which  are  associated  the  cephalic 
nerves  and  the  pituitary  gland.  M.  Bourge- 
ry  looks  upon  the  latter,  along  with  Gail, 
MM.  Blainville,  Thierry,  and  Bazin,  as  a 
ganglion  of  the  ff^reat  sympathetic,  which  ap- 
pears to  be  the  intermediary,  or  the  organ  of 
reunion,  of  the  encephalic  mass — that  is,  of 
the  psychological  and  instinctive  nervous 
centres,  and  of  the  cephalic  nerves,  their 
rtost  active  agents,  with  the  great  sympa- 
thetic, which  on  its  side  represents  the  entire 
splanchnic  nervous  system.  The  most  vo- 
luminous terminations  of  the  great  sympa- 
thetic, that  which  appears  to  constitute  the 
BUture  of  the  splancnnic  nervous  system 
with  the  encephalic  mass,  takes  place  m  the 
pituitary  gland.  That  which  forms  the  two 
median  plexuses  has  for  its  object  the  anas- 
tomosis, external  to  the  central  ganglion,  of 
the  two  lateral  halves  of  the  sympathetic. 


The  apparent  termination  on  the  cerebral  ar- 
teries may  be  considered  more  as  an  origin, 
and  would  appear  to  be  no  other  than  the 
proper  visceral  nervous  apparatus  of  the  en- 
cephalic  mass,  united  in  the  middle— like  all 
the  extra- visceral  plexuses-^ with  the  cenlial 
ganglionic  mass,  the  pituitary  ganglion,  bat 
like  these  plexuses,  continued  on  thearteiies 
with  the  ^reat  common  chain  of  the  sympa- 
thetic. The  last  termination  of  the  sympa- 
thetic consists  in  its  anastomoses  with  the 
grey  twigs  emanated  from  the  cepbalic 
nerves.  Considered  in  th^r  common  chain 
of  connexion,  the  three  kinds  of  nervous  or- 
gans nf  sus-sphenoidal  region,  ofier  sevea 
varieties  of  anastomosis,  by  means  of  which 
all  the  parts  of  the  encephalic  mass,  and  ibe 
origins  pf  the  proper  nerves  of  the  faee,  aie 
placed  in  communication  with  the  cephalic 
extremity  of  the  splanchnic  nervous  system: 
and  if  we  add  the  chain  of  th^  sympathetic 
and  of  its  annexed  organs,  we  find  that  tk 
entire  central  cerebro-spinal  nervous  systeD 
is  in  relation  with  all  the  splanchnic  nenroos 
system.  This  intimate  connexion  of  the  jop 
tuitary  ganglion,  and  of  the  sympathetic,  be- 
tween each  other,  and  with  the  cephalic 
nerves  and  encephalon,  unites  all  the  parts 
of  the  two  great  systems  of  organic  and  of 
animal  life  one  to  the  other.  It  shows 
clearly  the  anatomical  reason  of  (he  omta^ 
ma^  as  prompt  as  lightning,  which  manileeis 
Itself  between  the  nervous  or^s,  and  nwie 
especially  between  the  cephalic  organs.— A 

The  Fnnotloiw  of  th«  PaacMM. 
MM.  BoucHABDAT  and  Sakbras,  follow- 
ing out  their  researches  on  the  chejnical 
phenomena  of  digestion,  have  recently  as* 
certained  that  the  pancreatic  juice  posseesei 
the  same  properties  %s  the  saliva.  Tm 
liquid,  taken  from  the  Pancreas  of  strong 
farm-yard  fowls,  was  transparent  and  tb- 
cous,  presenting  a  slightly  alltaline  reactioiL 
Mixed  with  amidon  jelly,  it  liquefied  it  ana 
transformed  it  into  dextrine  and  g|^^ 
By  adding  alcohol,  it  formed  a  white  de- 
posit, which  also  acted  on  the  jelly  of  fccnls 
m  the  same  manner  as  diastasis.  A  tem- 
perature of  100,  (centig.)  or  the  adheaon  ol 
various  substances,  such  as  tannin,  the  min- 
eral acids,  or  the  metallic  salts,  destroys 
its  properties.  The  pancreas  itself,  extracteu 
from  animals,  and  carefully  separated  froo 
the  different  vessels  which  pass  through  tf. 
and  from  the  blood  by  which  it  may  w 
soiled,  possesses  in  a  high  degree  the  prop- 
erty 01  giving  rise  to  the  transformation  ol 
fecula. .  A  few  fragments  of  the  glana* 
mixed  with  starch,  tepid,  and  very  consis- 
tent, convert  it,  after  a  few  minutes,  mto  « 
liquid  free  from  viscosity.    Pounded  and 


Aeademie  de  Medicine^  Paris.. 


20T 


mixed  with  water,  they  give  a  fluid,  from 
which  it  is  poseible  to  sepamte,  with  the  as- 
astance  of  alcohol,  a  flaky  precipitate,  en- 
dowed wift  the  power  of  dissolving  fecula. 
Other  organs,  sach  as  the  liver,  treated  in 
the  same  manner,  do  not  give  the  same 
results.  We  miiy  therefore  conclude  from 
these  facts,  that  the  principal  function  of  the 
pancreas  is  to  ttecrete  a  liquid  able  to  dissolve 
lecolaceous  substances,  to  allow  of  ^eir 
absorption  in  the  intestine  by  the  smaller 
lamincations  of  the  vena  porta,  and  conse- 
quently, to  admit  of  their  utilization  by  the 
economy. — Ibid. 

ACADEMIEDE  MEDICINE,  PARIS. 

(KAKCH,  APRU,  BfAT,  JUN£.) 
Antoplaatfc  Operation  In  Oanoeroua  Disease. 
I      M.  Blandin  presented  to  the  Academy  a 
woman  on  whom  he  had  extirpated  an  infe- 
rior eyelid  affected  with  cancer.    The  loss 
of   substance   thus   occasioned  was  then 
remedied  by  a  flap  taken  from  the  forehead. 
This  opemtioa  he  considered  calculated  to 
prevent  the  return  of  the  cancerous  disease. 
The  operation  was  successful.    The  views 
of  M,  Blandin,  with  reference  to  the  influ- 
ence exercised  by  autoplasty  in  preventing: 
the  return  of  cancer,  were  supported  by  M. 
Boux  and  M.  Berard. 

M  Gekdt  stated  that  he  was  not  a  great 
fnend  to  autoplastic  operations,  the  result  of 
which  was  seldom  or  ever  satisfactory.  In 
the  case  of  M.  Blandin,  he  thought  the  op- 
eration would  have  been  more  successful  if 
the  flap  had  been  taken  from  the  cheek. 
He  did  not  helieve  that  the  healthy  flap 
would  so  modify  the  parts  as  to  prevent  the 
return  of  the  cancerous  affection.  Cancer 
returns  either  from  some  of  the  tissues  affec- 
ted having  been  left  in  the  wound,  or  in  vir- 
tue of  a  general  predisposition,  the  essential 
nature  o7  which  is  unknown,  and  which 
autoplasty  does  not  remedy. — Ibid. 

On  ib/9  Can««s  of  Insuxity, 
M.  Bei^homms,  in  a  communication  ad- 
dressed to  the  Academy,  endeavored  to 
prove  that  insanity  is  always,  and  necessa- 
rily, connected  with  acute  or  chronic  phleg- 
masia of  the  brain,  or  of  its  membranes. 
Chronic  encephalitis,  characterized  by  the 
hardening  of  the  cephalic  substance,  coin- 
ddes  wim  chronic  insanity^  and  with  de- 
mentia^ accompanied  by  paralysis,  whilst 
acute  inflammation,  with  softening,  gives 
rise  to  acute  insanity,  or  to  mania  with  de- 
lirium. M.  Belhomme  supported  his  views 
by  fifteen  cased.  The  report  of  the  lecture 
of  M.  Jolly,  who  was  appointed  by  the 
Academy  to  examine  the  commum'catlon, 
gave  rite  to  an  interesting  discussioh. 


M.  JoLiy  maintained  that  the  opinions  of 
M.  Belhomme  were  inadmissible.  It  is  pos- 
sible, he  stated,  that  physical  and  moral 
similitudes  in  families,  or  mdividual  organi- 
zation, may  constitute  the  morbid  hereditary 
predisposition  so  frequently  observed  in  ner- 
vous diseases.  It  is  also  possible  that 
anomalies  in  the  intellectual  functions  may 
depend  on  some  accidental  molecular  modifi- 
cation in  the  cerebral  fibre.  But  we  are  not 
warranted,  on  that  account,  in  asserting,  in 
the  present  state  of  science,  that  material 
lesions — lesions  of  texture-^aie  necessary  to 
produce  insanity.  We  are  not  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  the  normal  conditions  of  the 
intimate  organization  of  the  brain,  to  appre- 
ciate the  modifications  which  may  correspond 
to  anomalies  of  motion,  of  sensation,  of  in- 
tellect. Microscopical  anatomy  may  some 
day  show  us  the  connexion  between  the 
structure  of  the  brain  and  the  acts  of  the 
mind ;  but  until  this  is  accomplished,  we  are 
not  authorized  to  do  more  than  simply  to 
observe  facts.  'I  he  attentive  examination  of 
the  causes,  the  symptoms,  and  the  progress 
of  insanity  does  not  enable  us  to  recognise 
the  characters  of  insanity  in  acute  or  chronic 
inflammation  of  the  brain.  Children  and 
young  people  are  very  frequently  attacked 
with  inflammatory  affections  of  the  brain, 
but  are  not  insane.  Insanity  is  nearly  ex- 
clusively experienced  by  persons  of  a  ner- 
vous, irritable  temperament.  The  lesions 
of  the  ijitellect  do  not  require  for  their  mani- 
festation, inflammation,  softening,  hardening, 
or  any  other  material  lesion.  Hereditary 
predisposition,  a  bad  edacation,  moral  com* 
motions,  alone  suffice  to  give  rise  to  them. 

M.  RocHoux  was  ready  to  admit  that  it  is 
impossible  to  attribute  insanity  to  acute  or 
chronic  meningo-cerebritis ;  but,  on  the  other 
side,  he  could  not  allow  that  lesions  of  the 
intellect  could  take  place  without  a  material 
alteration  of  the  brain.  There  was  no  effect 
without  cause.  Insanity  must  depend  on 
a  lesion  of  the  brain,  or  of  the  mind,  and  no 
one  had  ever  attempted  to  establish  the  ex- 
istence of  diseases  of  the  mind  distinct  from 
the  brain.  Every  functional  disturbance 
presupposes  the  disturbance  of  the  corres- 
ponding organ.  To  assert  that  a  lesion  of 
the  functions  of  the  mind  can  exist  indepen- 
dently of  a  lesion  of  the  brain,  is  to  assert 
that  the  same  sounds  may  be  obtained  fron 
a  violin,  whether  the  strings  are  tight  or 
slack.  The  views  of  M.  Belhomme,  thus 
supported  by  M.  Rochoux,  were  also  defend- 
ed by  M.  Ferrers  in  an  animated  discussion, 
whilst  MM.  Gerdy,  Prus,  and  Castell,  join- 
ed with  M.  Jolly  m  strenuously  denying  the 
possibility  of  connecting  functional  disorders 
of  the  brain  with  material  lesions. — Ibid. 


208 


Academie  de  Medicine^  Paris. 


Xlttulm  of  the  Urttkrm  Owed  by  Avtoplatty. 

M.  Jobert  has  again  succeeded  in  curing 
by  autoplasty  an  urethral  fistula  The  fis- 
tula was  Situated  at  the  root  of  the  penis,  iji 
front  of  the  scrotum,  was  two  entimetres  and 
a  half  in  length,  and  the  result  of  retention 
of  urine.  Two  unsuccessful  attempts  were 
made,  which  M.  Jobert  attributed  to  the  pa- 
tient's laboring  under  chronic  syphilis.  He 
was  treated  for  this  disease,  and  then  he  pro- 
ceeded to  operate  as  follows: — After  re- 
freshing the  margin  of  the  solution  of  cdb 
tinuity,  and  excising  the  skin  around  the 
fistulous  orifice  to  a  width  of  several  lines, 
two  incisions,  parallel  to  the  axis  of  the 
penis,  were  made  on  a  level  with  the  inferi 
or  oritice  of  the  fistula,  and  prolonged  on  to 
the  scrotum,  so  as  to  comprise  a  cjitaneous 
flap  &9  wide  as  the  denuded  surface^  on  each 
aide  of  the  fistula.  This  flap  was  then  dis- 
sected off,  drageed  up,  applied  on  the  fistu- 
lous orifice  and  the  denuded  surfaces,  and 
carefully  attached  by  means  of  interrupted 
sutures  to  the  surrounding  parts.  A  sound 
of  middle  caliber  had  been  previously  placed 
in  the  urethra,  and  sl^ht  compression  was 
exercised  on  the  flap,  in  order  to  maintain  it 
in  its  place.  The  adhesion  was  complete  in 
the  five-sixths  of  the  extent  of  the  fistula. 
There  remained,  however,  a  small  latteral 
orifice,  which  gave  considerable  trouble, 
The  twisted  suture  was  resorted  to  several 
times,  the  edges  having  been  freshened  with 
the  bistoury,  but  without  success.  This 
method  of  treatment,  followed  by  cauteriza- 
tion with  the  nitrate  of  silver,  proved  at 
length  successful,  and  the  fistula  became 
completely  cicatrized.-'i^. 

Rflatioa  b«twt«n  th«  Extent  of  the  Brain  and 
the  Intellect. 

M.  Baillarger,  in  a  paper  on  the  above 
subject,  states  that  he  has  been  able  to  un 
fold  the  cerebral  substance  by  a  process 
different  from  that  of  Gall.  He  takes  away 
gradually,  and  by  a  long  and  minute  dissec- 
tion, all  the  white  substance,  and  when  the 
brain  has  been  thus  reduced  to  a  very  slig:ht 
thickness,  the  peripheric  membrane  devel- 
opes  itself  as  it  we  i  e.  Operating  as  we  have 
stated,  he  has  been  able  to  model  with 
plaster  the  extended  hemisphere,  and  to  take 
Its  exact  measure.  For  the  brain  of  man, 
M.  Baillarger  has  found  a  medium  of  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  square  centimetres. 
The  measure  of  the  extent  of  the  surface  of 
the  brain  has  been  obtained  in  the  same 
way. 

If  we  now  nass  to  the  physiological  ap- 
plication of  tnese  researches,  we  find,  in 
contradistinction  to  what  has  been  advanced, 
that  the  development  of  the  intellect  is  not 


at  all  in  relation  to  the  extent  of  the  brain, 
for  the  brain  of  dogs  is  smalki  than  that  of 
sheep.  Even  in  taking  into  consideration 
their  relative  size,  the  brain  of  the  rabbit  is 
found  to  present  twice  and  a  half  as  large  a 
surface  as  that  of  man»  who  in  this  respect 
is  at  the  bottom  of  the  scalei  In  order  for 
it  to  be  otherwise,  it  would  be  requisite  for 
the  circumvolutions  to  be  both  moie  nu- 
merous and  deeper.  The  bram  follows  this 
mathematical  law:  the  volume  is  as  the 
cubes  of  the  diameter,  whilst  tLe  surfaces 
are  as  the  sauares  of  these  same  diameters. 
Thence  it  follows  that  the  most  voluminous 
brains  have,  relatively,  a  very  small  surface. 
The  cerebellum  alone,  by  the  extent  of  its 
surface,  can  bear  comparison  with  the  brain 
of  the  inferior  mammalia.  Ill  us  the  devel- 
opment of  the  intellect,  far  from  beine  in 
direct  proportion  to  the  relative  extent  of  the 
surface  of  the  brain,  appears  to  be  in  an  in- 
verse proportion. — Ibid, 

A  new  Mode  of  Treating  Spermatorrkaa, 

M.  Brachet,  of  Lyons,  stated  that  he  had 
been  induced,  accidentally,  to  try  the  effect 
of  pressure  on  the  pennaeum  in  sperma- 
torrhcea,  and  bad  obtained  verj^  advantageous 
results.     He  had  resorted  to  this  mwe  of 
treatment  in  four  instances,  in  each  of  which 
the  cause  was  different,  and  had  been  sac- 
cessful  in  all.     Evidently,  this  means  of 
treatment  would  not  apply  to  all  cases,  but 
he  thought  it  might  be  useful  when  the  dis- 
ease was  the  result  of  atony,  occasioned  bj 
the  abuse  of  venereal  excitement,  or  follow- 
ing repealed   blennorrhagia.    According  to 
M.  Brachet.  the  injurious  effects  of  sperma- 
torrhoea are  the  result  of  the  too  abundant 
deperditition  of  the  seminal  and  prostatic 
fluid.    The  latter  he  compares  to  that  which 
is  furnished  by  the  mucous  crypts  of  the 
vagina.    Compression,  he  says,  by  keeping 
the  seminal  fluid  in  its  natural  reservoirs, 
(the  seminal  vesicles,)  accustoms  the  latter 
to  letain  it  during  a  longer  time ;  compres- 
sion, a' so,  modifies  the  physiological  state 
of  the  urethra,  of  the  prostate,  and  of  the 
secreting  glands.    The  apparatus  by  which 
pressure  is  aj)plied  is  very  simple.    It  con- 
sists of  a  leathern  belt,  from  the  back  part  of 
which  descends  a  band,  which  is  passed  be- 
tween the  thighs,  and  which  dividing,  so  as 
to  leave  the  genital  organs  free  anteriorly,  a 
attached  to  the  belt  on  earh  side.    In  |h* 
middle  of  the  band    is   a  small  moveable 
cushion,  which  is  adapted  to  the  region  of 
the  perinaeum,  where  the  pressure  is  to  be 
applied,  and  which  is  tightened  as  m"ch  « 
possible.    Pressure  thus  exercised  ^  ^^ 
different  lo  the  circular  compression  of  the 


Academie  de  Medicine,  Paris. 


209 


penis  byrin^  or  strings  which  has  been 
recommended,  but  which  exposes  the  patient 
to  serious  accidents,  the  least  of  which  is 
the  regurgitation  of  the  spermatic  fluid  into 
the  bladder. — Ibid. 

Tlie  O'peratumfor  Hare  Lip  in  Infants. 

M.  Paul  Dubois  brought  forward  some  in- 
teresting data  respecting  the  period  at  which 
the  operation  for  hare  lip  ought  to  be  per- 
formed.    He  does  not  agree  with  the  gener- 
ality of  surgeons,  who  think  that  it  should 
be  deferred  for  several  years,  or  at  least 
tttveral  months.    He  thinks,  on  the  contrary, 
that  great  advantages  are  obtained  by  per- 
orming    the  operation    soon    after   birth 
These  views  he  substantiates  bv  his  own 
pRictice     In  various  operations  which  he 
BOB  performed,  be  has  merely  refreshed  the 
DMigin  of  the  solution  of  continuity,  and 
then  brought  the  parts  together  by  means  of 
iMect  pins  and  the  twisted  suture.    The 
wound  has  always  been  dressed  with   the 
neatest  facility,  often,  indeed,  whilst  thein- 
mnt  was  asleep.    The  pins  were  withdrawn 
on  the  third  or  fourth  day.     Two  of  M. 
Dahois's  patients  swallowed  blood:    one 
▼omited  it;  with  the  other,  it  followed  the 
ooone  of  die  intestinal  canal,  without  giving 
lim  to  the  aJigfatest  accident.    This  cireum- 
aluce  has  some  importance,as  the  swallow- 
ing of  blood  by  infants  has  been  given  as  a 
ooitfia-iiidieation.    All  the   children  were 
fed  as  before  the  operation,  by  means  re- 
quiring suction — that  is,  the  breast  or  the 
feeding  boat;  80  that  the  early  operation 
ouinot  be  objected  to  on  the  plea  of  its  ne- 
oessttatiAg  an  abstinence  of  several  days* 
duoration.     It  has  been  stated  that  the  cries 
of  the  child  mi^ht  derange  the  dresedng,  but 
this  objection  is  likewise  unfounded,  as  it 
naists  the  child*s  cries,  as  well  as  suction. 
The  principal  advantages  of  an  early  opera- 
tion  are   the    following — ^the   cicatrix   is 
saailer,  and  more  linear :  the  education  of 
the  child  becomes  much  easier;  and  the 
aaziely  and   distresb   of    the    parents  are 
eaimed. 

M.  Boux  thought  that  the  early  operation 
altkou^h  occasionally  useful,  could  not  be 
gtneiaJized.  He  had  seen  serious  accidents 
foUow  it  One  child  vras  found  dead  in  its 
bed^  another  was  seized  with  convulsions, 
which  all  but  proved  fatal.  Hare  lip,  in  his 
opinion,  o^red  such  a  great  variety  of 
fonns,  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  lay  down 
a  principle  applicable  to  all  cABta.'^ibid. 

Microscopical  Anatomy  of  Tnbercle. 
In  a  communication  on  the  above  subject, 
M.  Rochoux  reproaches  those  who  have 


made  microscopical  researches  in  patholo- 
gical anatomy,  with  having  examined  the 
morbid  tissues  at  too  advanced  a  stage,  when 
their  degeneration  had  modified  the  charac- 
teristic features  of  the  disease.  Avoiding 
this  source  of  error,  he  has  arrived  at  novel 
results.  If,  for  instance,  a  tubercle  in  its 
incipient  state  is  placed  under  the  mic^ogcope, 
it  presents  the  form  of  a  rounded,  globular, 
badly  circumscribed,  production,  of  a  diame- 
ter of  0.15  to  0.20  of  a  millimetre;  it  is 
lost,  as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  sound  pul- 
monary tis.sue  In  this  state,  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  isolate  it,  to  extract  it,  without  tearing 
numerous  filaments,  the  remains  of  pulmona- 
ry tissue,  of  vessels  and  nerves,  which  form 
around  it  a  kind  of  tomentum.  Its  color, 
which  at  a  later  period  becomes  of  a  dull, 
greyish  white,  is  then  that  of  gelantine,  with 
a  rosy  tinge,  the  more  marked  the  smaller 
the  tubercle.  If,  after  cutting  it  in  two,  the 
surface  of  the  section  is  examined  with  a 
magnifying  power  of  forty  or  fifty  only,  the 
morbid  tissue  appeals  homogeneous,  as  jelly 
or  gum  about  to  solidify ;  but  under  a  mag- 
nifying power  of  five  or  six  hundred  diame- 
ters, it  offers  a  very  different  aspect.  We 
then  perceive  that  it  is  formed  by  the  inter- 
weaving of  filaments  nearly  as  small  as  those 
of  cellular  tissue,  and  containing  no  visible 
fluid  in  their  intersiices.  The  mode  of  tex- 
ture is  regular  enough,  and  rccals  to  a  certain 
degree  that  of  the  crystalline  lens.  The 
incised  surface  presents  a  very  pale-reddish 
color,  with  a  metallic  reflection. — Ibid. 

F«U«gra  in  Oas«oay« 

It  appears  that  within  the  last  few  years, 
pellagra,  a  disease  w^ich  has  long  exercised 
treat  ravages  in  the  north  of  Italy,  has  been 
found  to  exist  in  the  department  of  La  Gi- 
ronde,  in  Gascony,  and  that  it  is  makine 
rapid  progress.  The  central  board  of  health 
of  the  department,  becoming  alarmed  at  the 
extension  of  the  disease,  has  latterly  taken 
every  possible  means  to  ascertain  its  nature, 
causes,  symptoms,  and  treatment.  Every 
practitioner  residing  in  the  affected  localities 
has  been  applied  to,  medical  conferences 
have  been  held,  and  a  vast  amount  of  infor- 
mation has  been  collected.  The  board  of 
health  of  La  Gironde,  considering  that  the 
data  which  their  investigations  have  brought 
to  light  are  of  importance  to  humanity,  re- 
cently addressed  the  results  of  its  labors  to 
the  Minister  of  Public  Instruction,  with  a 
request  that  they  might  be  published  under 
the  sanction  of  government.  The  Minister 
having  forwarded  the  document  which  he 
received  to  the  Academy  of  Medicine,  re- 
questing its  opinion  respecting  their  value. 


210 


Academic  de  Medicine,  Paris. 


the  committee  appointed  by  the  Academy  to 
examine  them,  has,  through  the  medium  of 
M.  Jolly,  its  reporter,  recommended  their 
immediate  publication.  M.  Jolly's  report 
contains  the  following  interesting  details 
with  respect  to  pellagra  as  observed  in 
France.  ^ 

The  existence  of  pellagra  in  the  Landes 
of  La  Gironde  was  first  noticed  in  print  by 
M.  Hameau  in  1829.  Since  then  it  has1)een 
insisted  on  by  various  physicians,  but  more 
especially  hv  M.  Leon  Marchand,  a  recent 
writer.  **  The  most  striking  character  of 
this  affection,"  says  M.  Marchand,  "  is  a 
squamous  erythema,  which  occupies  the  un- 
covered parts  of  the  body,  principally  the 
dorsal  surface  of  the  hands,  and  which  re- 
turns every  year,  at  spring,  with  the  same 
series  of  symptoms,  the  intensity  of  the  latter 
depending  on  the  duration  ol  the  disease.* 
The  erythematous  emiption,  which  may  suc- 
cessively present  itself  under  a  papular,  ves- 
icular, or  pustular  form,  disappears  at  au- 
tumn, leaving  on  the  skin  shining  cicatrices, 
which  assume  the  appearance  of  a  burn. 
The  general  phenomena  that  accompany  the 
cutaneous  affection  diminish,  at  first,  along 
with  it,  to  return  again  the  following  spring. 
As,  however,  the  disease  becomes  more 
chronic,  they  not  only  assume  a  severer 
form,  but  last  during  the  interval  of  the  dis- 
appearance of  the  e^hema.  The  principal 
general  phenomena  of  the  pellagra  proceed 
from  two  sources,  viz  :  First,  from  the  di- 
gestive apparatus,  redness  and  fissures  of  the 
tongue  and  of  the  lips,  a  scorbutic  sanguino- 
lent  state  of  the  gums,  ptyalism*  dyspepsia, 
▼omiting,  and  diarrhcBa.  Secondly,  from  the 
ccrebro-spinal  system  jj^ain  and  weakness 
of  the  limbs,  titubation,  vertigo,  obliteration 
of  the  senses  of  the  intellect,  mania  or  de- 
mentia, generally  presenting  the  form  of  sui- 
cidal monomania,  with  a  tendency  to  drown- 
ing. In  many  cases  there  is  progressive 
marasmus,  slow  and  gradual  sinking,  often 
dropsy.  The  disease  invariably  terminates 
by  death.  Pathological  anatomy  has  not 
hitherto  thrown  any  light  on  the  intimate 
nature  of  pellagra.  "  Its  Hue  nature,"  says 
M.  Marchand,  *^  must  be  soueht  for  m  the 
attentive  study  of  the  local  and  topographi- 
cal influences  which  favor  its  development  *' 

The  locality  in  which  endemic  pellagra 
«)pears  to  exercise  its  greatest  ravages,  is 
the  r^ion  which  borderd  the  Gulf  of  Gasco- 
ny.  It  is  the  most  sterile  part  of  the  country' 
— a  district  exposed  to  the  most  depressing 
and  the  most  debilitating  influences;  where 
everything  (men«  animals,  and  plants)  lan- 
guishes and  dies  before  its  time.  The  fcBtid 
emanations  from  the  marshes,  the  insalubrity 
of  the  habitations,  deficient  and  bad  alimen- 


tation, the  dirtiness  and  scantiness  of  cloth- 
ing— in  a  word,  all  the  evils  to  which  ex- 
treme poverty  exposes,  are  the  causes  which 
contribute  to  the  developement  of  this  dis- 
ease. But  these  causes  alone  are  not  suffi- 
cient to  produce  it,  otherwise  pella^  would 
be  found  wherever  extreme  poverty  prevails. 
There  exists,  probably,  some  principle  pecu- 
liar to  the  localities  which  tM  disease  rav- 
ages, which  has  not  yet  been  discovered.—* 
Great  stress  has  been  laid  on  exposure  to 
the  sun  as  a  ca,u8e  of  pellagra.  M.  Jolly 
does  not  think  that  it  exercises  so  great  aa 
influence  over  its  production  as  some  writem 
suppose.  Were  it  the  real  cause  of  this  dis- 
ease, the  latter  would  have  been  observed 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  last 
century,  when  it  was  first  described  in  Itai;^ 
moreover,  it  would  be  common  in  wami  cu- 
mates,  which  is  not  the  case.  Neverthelesii 
it  is  certain  that  the  heat  of  the  sun  perfonns 
an  important  part  in  the  symptomalogy  ol 
pellagra,  as  is  proved  hy  the  constant  return 
of  the  malady  in  spring.  The  opinioD  of 
M.  Gibert,  respecting  the  mode  of  acdoaof 
the  sun,  is  most  likely  correct  He  stateSi 
that  it  bums  the  akin.  The  explanation  of 
the  lesion  which  the  sun  thus  produces  is  to 
be  sought  for  in  the  alteration  that  thoskiA 
of  the  patient  affected  with  pellagra  has  im- 
deigone,  along  with  the  entire  oiganizatioiu 
in  its  intimate  texture.  It  may  be  compared 
to  the  bark  of  a  tiee  deprived  of  sap*  wUeh 
dries  and  cracks  under  the  influence  of  tb* 
sun's  rays. 

Whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  the  diseiM 
it  appears  to  be  above  the  resources  of  «t 
when  once  declared.  All  the  meaM  ^ 
treatment  whidi  have  hitherto  been  enplor 
ed  have  proved  useless.  The  plan  generally 
followed  is  to  protect  the  skin  from  the  di* 
rect  action  of  the  sun,  to  combat  by  re^iatt 
and  medicinal  agents  the  yartous  aecideiifs 
which  are  the  result  ol  the  general  veidi- 
ness,  or  of  the  lesions  of  the  principal  vt^ 
cera ;  recourse  is  had  to  bleedingi  baths,  as* 
tringents,  or  narcotics,  according  to  the  tf^ 
ture  of  the  symptoms  and  the  indicatiooi 
presented.  Such  being  the  case,  it  is  eri* 
dently  principally  prophylactio  measort* 
which  are  most  needed,  and  it  is  to  them  that 
the  attention  of  government  should  be  van* 
ly  directed.  It  ought,  therefore,  to  be  a« 
endeavor  of  p;Dvern]Bent,  by  admiiii«tia(i*]* 
measures,  to  improve  the  hysienic  aod  sau* 
tary  state  of  the  poverty-strickeQ  popuJatt* 
affected  with  this  fatal  dieeoae. 

in  the  course  of  the  de\Ait  which  follow- 
ed the  reading  of  M.  Jolly's  retort,  ». 
Gaultier  de  Claubry  stated  that  he  had  sett 
caaes  of  pellagra  in  the  Landes  and  ia  of 
Asturias  as  far  back  as  1809.    This  faetii 


Statistics  of  Bethlehem  Hospital^  ^e. 


211 


important,  as  Ibeiirflt  cases  fliat  were  noticed 
mthe  Laiides  oceuiredin  1818  only.  The 
dieease,  may  indeed,  hare  been  long  endemic 
in  tbis  part  of  fVance  as  in  Italy,  altl^ongh 
not  described  until  within  a  recent  period.  &. 

Ootttaglon  of  Ttpliold  Fever. 

M  Gaultier  de  Claubry,  in  a  communica- 
tion lead  before  the  Academy,  endeavored  to 
prove — Fust,  that  typhus  and  typhoid  lever 
(dothinenteritis)  are  identical.  Secondly, 
that  typhoid  fever,  like  typhus  is  contagi- 
ous. These  propositions  M.  Gaultier  de 
Claubry  supported  by  numerous  arguments 
drawn  from  his  personal  experience.  He 
had  within  the  last  few  years  met  with  eight 
eases  of  undoubted  contagion  in  his  private 
practice,  the  patients  being  all  in  easy  or 
wealthy  circumstances.  In  concluding,  he 
reminded  the  Academy  that  his  views  on  this 
subject  were  also  those  of  MM.  Chomel, 
Louis,  Andral,  Moreau,  Jolly,  and  many 
others. 

M.  Rochoux  disagreed  in  every  respect 
with  M.  Gaultier  de  Claubry.  In  his  opin- 
ioD,  the  diseases  were  perfectly  distinct,  dif- 
fering in  their  causes,  their  symptoms,  their 
palhoJojgical  anatomy,  and  their  treatment  i&. 

Qm  tka  iKieflOisadoB  of  8pe««h  im  tke  AatsHPt 
L«b«ft  of  the  Brsin 

M.  Beihonune  endeavored  to  prove,  by  t!>e 
analysis  of  ten  rases  which  had  occurred 
under  his  care,  that  speech  is  localized  in 
the  anterior  lobes  of  the  brain.  His  sam- 
mary  contains  the  following  propositions : 
First  Any  alteration  in  the  faculty  of  kn- 
goage  depends  eitfieron  a  cerebral  affection, 
or  on  a  lesion  of  the  organs  of  communica- 
tion between  the  brain  and  the  apparatus 
destined  to  the  aiticalation  of  words.  Sec* 
ond.  The  sudden  loss  of  speech  depends  on 
an  hauiionhagic  lesion  of  one>  or  more  espe- 
daUy  of  both,  of  die  anterior  cerebral  lobes. 
Third.  Convulsive  and  paralytic  phenomena 
which  modify  lasguage,  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  sadden  loss  of  the  memory 
of  wotrdas  and  subsequent  difficulty  of  speech. 
Fourth.  In  an  affection  partially  destroying 
die  anterior  lobes  of  the  turain)  and  suddenly 
anesting  apeeeh,  it  is  only  when  a  cicatrice 
has  loimed  in  the  brain  that  it  recovers  moie 
or  lesft  its  fimctions. — Ibid. 
^ 

Aofitftct   </   Btthlem   MmmJmf^   with  remarks  on 
btaoanty.    Part  II 

BT  JOBS  WSBtTBK,  M.  B.,  P.  B.  •.,  AC. 

^  After  referriag  to  his  previous  paper,  pub- 
^«A  in  the  36th  vol.  of  the  Society's 
TmuaUionSf  the  author  makes  some  rs- 


iparks  respecting  the  period  of  the  veajr 
when  mental  diseases  were  most  jvevalent, 
when  the  greatest  number  of  patients  were 
cured,  and  when  the  larger  proportion  of 
deaths  occurred  at  Bethlem  Hospital.  These 
points  he  illustrates  by  a  table  compiled  from 
the  official  registers,  (which  shows  that  most 
lunatics  were  admitted  into  the  institution  • 
during  the  second  and  third  quarters  of  the 
last  twenty- two  years,  most  were  cured  du* 
ring  the  third  and  fourth  quarters,  whilst 
the  lareest  number  of  deaths  were  met  with 
in  the  last,  but  especially  in  the  first  quarter 
of  the  above  series  of  years.)  The  author 
next  alludes  to  the  occupation  of  insane  pa- 
tients, and  states  that  sixty-six  per  cent  of 
the  inmates  of  fiethlem  Hospital  are  now 
employed.  This  employment  of  the  insane^ 
is  found  to  have  a  very  beneficial  influence 
in  their  treatment,  and  tends  materially  to 
dimini^  the  necessity  of  usine  personal  co- 
ercion in  the  management  of  ranadcs :  in 
proof  of  whidi,  the  author  states,  that  five 
years  ago  the  weekly  aveiaae  of  persons 
under  restraint  was  thirteen,  wnereas  at  pres* 
ent,  when  the  system  of  employing  the  in- 
sane patients  is  more  developed  than  for- 
merly, during  some  weeks  only  one,  and 
occasionally,  not  even  one  individual  is  in 
restraint  The  author  subsequently  gives  a 
synopsis  of  twenty-eight  autopsies  recently 
performed  at  Bethlem  Hospital  by  Mr.  Law- 
rence, thus  making  one  hundreo  post-mor- 
tem examinations  od  lunatics,  if  the  seventy- 
two  dissections  previously  reported  are  tfc. 
ken  into  the  account  The  diseased  altera- 
tions of  structure  are  succinctly  described  in 
the  twenty-eight  cases  now  broii^ht  before 
the  Society,  of  wh^h  the  following  may  be  ^ 
given  as  a  summary : — In  twenty -five,  there 
was  infiltration  of  tne  pia  mater :  in  twenty- 
four,  tuigidity  oi  the  bloodvessels ;  in  nine- 
teen, effusicm  into  the  ventricles ;  in  twelve, 
fluid  was  foujid  at  the  base  of  the  brain ;  be- 
sides other  varieties  of  morbid  appearances. 
In  twenty-two  cases,  the  oigansof  the  chest 
were  diseased ;  and  in  thirteen,  the  abdomi- 
nal viscera  were  more  or  less  affected.  In 
conclusion,  the  author  makes  some  general 
observations  on  the  facts  contained  in  his 
paper. 

Zntctro  lAagnetlo  Olocka* 

Which  never  run  down,  and  never  require 
winding,  have  been  invented  by  a  Mr.  Brain. 
A  writer  in  the  Polytechnic  Review  says — 
*<  he  set  up  a  clock  in  my  drawing-room, 
the  pendulum  of  which  is  in  the  hall,  and 
both  instruments  in  a  voltaic  circuit,  as  fol* 
lows :  On  the  N.  £.  side  of  my  house,  two 
zinc  plates,  each  a  foot  square,  are  sunk  b" 


212  Application  of  Mesmerism  to  Surgical  Operations. 


a  hole,  and  suspended  to  a  wire.  T^his  is 
^  passed  through  the  house,  to  the  pendulum 
first,  and  then  the  clock.  On  the  8.  £.  side 
of  the  house,  at  a  distance  of  about  forty 
yards,  a  hole  was  dug  four  feet  deep,  and 
two  sacks  of  common  coke  buned  in  it; 
among  the  coke  another  wire  was  secured, 
and  passed  into  the  drawing  room  window, 
and  joined  to  the  former  wire  at  the  clock. 
The  ball  of   the  pendulum    weighs   nine 

Cnds,  but  it  was  moved  energetically,  and 
ever  since  continued  to  do  so  with  the 
self  same  enei^.— The  time  is  to  perfection, 
and  the  cost  of  Ibe  motive  power  was  only 
78.  6d.  There  are  but  three  little  wheels  in 
the  clock,  and  neither  weights  nor  springs, 
80  there  is  nothing  to  be  wound  up.  To 
another  friend  in  Battersea,  he  has  given 
three  clocks,  two  small  ones,  and  one  a  hall 
clock,  all  moved  by  one  current,  and  regula- 
ted by  one  and  the  same  pendulum.  This 
is  all  he  has  completed  in  England,  having 
just  reached  Edinbui^gh,  where  he  is  to  es- 
tablish a  manufactory  of  these  clocks, 
which,  for  accuracy,  cheapness,  and  utility, 
will,  I  believe,  surpass  every  time  piece 
hitherto  contrived. 

Bxtractiag  T««th  in  the  M«snierlo  Sleep 

The  Nantucket  Inquirer  states  that  Kev. 
L.  R.  Sunderland  lately  put  a  woman  in  that 
place  into  the  Mesmerice  sleep,  and  that  while 
in  that  state  Dr.  D  ilingham  extracted  a  tooth 
in  which  two  physicians  had  examined  and 

Pronounced  to  be  firmly  set  in  her  head, 
'he  Inquirer  says : 

'*  During  the  cutting  of  the  gums,  faste- 
ning the  forceps  upon  the  tooth,  and  the  ac- 
tual drawing  of  thetooth>  the  patient  did  not 
exhibit  the  slightest  consciousness  that  the 
keen  eyed  physicians  could  detect.  She  ap- 
peared to  us  (  and  we  were  upon  the  plat- 
form, close  beside  her,)  to  exhibit  about  as 
much  sensation,  consciousness,  feeling  as 
would  be  exhibited  by  a  stick  of  wood  into 
which  a  penknife  bad  been  thiust,  and  not  a 
jot  more.  It  was  a  successful  operation,  and 
the  physicians  stated  to  the  audience  that 
they  were  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  patient 
was  in  a  state  of  perfect  unconsciousness, 
totally  insensible  to  pain;  of  which  fact 
every  fair  minded  perron  in  the  audience  was 
undoubtedly- convmced.  What  the  agency 
was  that  produced  this  unnatural  state,  those 
who  attended  the  lectures  can  judge  for 
themselves,  without  any  aid  irom  us. 
Thursday  evening,  another  tooth  was  ex- 
tracted from  the  same  person  by  the  same 
operator,  under  the  scrutinizing  eyes  of  sev- 
eral additional  physicians  with  similar  satis- 
factory results.** 


SaecesslU  appUcatioa  •£  Meemeyiem  te  a  tw« 
gioal  operation 

Mesmerism,  or  animal  magnetism,  is  at- 
tracting at  the  present  day,  no  inconsiderable 
share  of  attention  and  investigatioa  from  all 
classes  of  the  community,  ia  both  hemis- 
pheres. It  tinds  advocates  and  opponents 
among  the  learned  and  illiterate,  the  profound 
and  superficial,  philosophers  and  physiolo- 
gists. By  many,  ite  power  and  inflaence 
are  doubted,  by  some  denied,  and  by  others 
derided  as  imposture.  Whilst  a  cautious  re- 
move from  that  credulity  which  would  swal- 
low with  avidity  the  most  ridiculous  sdisur- 
dities,  deserves  the  highest  commendation, 
that  scepticism,  which  closes  every  avenue  to 
conviction,  and  discards  belief  in  facts  with- 
out investigation,  because  the  human  mind 
cannot  comprehend  them,  merito  reprobation. 
Our  present  knowledge  of  its  nature  and 
power  is  confined  to  narrow  limits,  and  the 
discovery  is  a  goal  yet  to  be  reached  by 
some  future  voyager,  that  it  is  subject  to  the 
same  universal  laws  that  goveni  matter.  To 
the  future  belongs  the  developement  of  its 
destiny— to  the  present,  scrutinizing  invesli- 
^tion  into  ite  concealed  mysteries.  Suffice 
It  for  my  present  purpose,  to  narrate  facts 
presented  to  my  own  observation,  withoat 
entering  the  broad  field  of  hypothesis,  or  as- 
cending into  the  regions  of  fiction ;  to  reiste 
in  brief  and  simple  phrase,  one  henign  visi- 
tation of  this  incomprehensible  i^ent,  which 
like  no  an^  of  mercy  from  the  skies,  bore 
on  its  mission  not  only  comfort  and  consola- 
tion, but  entire  immunity  from  the  pain  and 
torture  attendant  on  a  severe  sur^^icai  opent- 
tion.  As  the  object  of  this  communicatioQ 
is  simply  to  report  the  fact  that  animated  ani- 
mal matter  has  been  diaintegrated  without 
pain  and  without  the  knowledge  of  the  pa- 
tient, the  particulars  relating  to  the  natme 
and  progress  of  the  disease  will  be  necesasry. 
Miss  Cromett,  the  well  known  sulqect  of 
the  operation  which  has  excited  a  large  sbaie 
of  curiosity-  and  interest  in  this  place,  pos* 
sesses  an  exalted  nerTous  temperament,  with 
the  least  possible  share  of  fortitude  and  fins- 
ness — acutely  sensible  to  painful  impres- 
sions, aggmvated  at  the  time,  by  an  aeonisa- 
lationof  morbid  nervous  irritability.  Wheii< 
first  advised  by  her  physician,  that  exosioa 
was  the  only  remedy  to  arrest  the  disease 
and  stay  the  advance  of  death,  so  lepugaait 
was  the  remedv  to  her  feelings,  that  sbt 
avowed  her  preference  for  the  latter  alterna- 
tive, rather  than  submit  to  the  tortures  of  the 
knife. 

In  this  state  of  painful  anxiety  and  «»• 
pense,  three  months  elapsed,  adding  vigor  to 
the  disease,  at  the  expense  of  the  pahepfs 
welfare.    Representations  of  the  dangers  of 


TTic  Wonders  of  Electricity, 


213 


delay,  of  the  eartainty  ol  »  fatal  tenninalion, 
lenionatmiice  and  persuasion,  were  alike  im- 
potent to  overcome  her  opposition  and  dread 
of  the  openUioD.  At  this  critical  juncture, 
some  friends  adyised  and  aided  her  in  proea- 
ring  the  serrices^  of  Dr.  Josiah  Deane,  oi 
Bangor,  an  experienced  and  suceeflsful  oper* 
ator  in  Mesroeriinn.  fie  came,  remained  five 
days,  and  hiTorably  succeeded  in  magnetical- 
ly subduing  the  patient  Untoward  circum- 
stances at  this  time  forbade  the  operatto>i, 
and  a  short  delay  was  recommended  for  the 
removal  ol  local  inflammation. 

After  an  interval  of  ten  days,  the  local 
disease  beginning  to  assume  a  more  inauspi* 
cious  aspect.  Dr.  Dean  was  again  called  in 
on  June  28th,  but  owing  to  some  adventi- 
tious illness,  prudential  considerations  re- 
commended a  delay  until  July  3d,  at  10,  A. 
M.,  when  the  tumor,  involving  the  whole  of 
the  right  breast  was  removed  by  Dr.  H.  H. 
Hill,  of  this  village,  in  presence  of  Dr.  Hub- 
bard of  HalJowell,  Doctors  Snell,  Briggs, 
Myrick,  and  Nichols,  of  this  place,  Rev. 
Mr.  Burgess  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  J.  L. 
Child,  &q.,  Counsellor  at  law,  Mrs.  Smith, 
and  some  other  ladies. 

The  mgent  solicitation  of  the  patient  pre- 
vailed over  the  concealment  previously  de- 
termined on,  and  she  was  apprized  on  the 
day  previous,  of  the  hour  appointed  for  the 
operation.  Notwithstanding  her  fancied  for- 
titude forsook  her,  so  irresistible  was  the 
power  of  magnetism,  that  in  about  ten  min- 
utes she  was  oeyond  the  control  of  fear,  and 
secure  from  the  mHuence  of  pain.  The  ope- 
ration was  performed  by  two  incisions,  mea- 
suring on  the  line  of  their  curvature,  twelve 
inches  each,  the  whole  enlarged  glan  remo- 
ved, (weighing  two  and  a  half  pounds,)  the 
arteries  secur^,  the  wound  carefully  exami- 
ned, ^e  surfaces  brought  into  apposition  and 
partly  secured  by  sutures,  without  a  motion, 
a  groan  or  sign,  or  even  the  most  remote 
iniucation  of  pain  or  sensibility.  It  would 
have  appeared  to  an  observer,  "that  life 
itself  was  wanting  there,"  bad  not  respira- 
tion given  assurance  that  the  spirit  had  not 
departed. 

At  this  period,  when  a  few  more  stitches 
would  have  completed  the  whole  operation, 
the  Mesmeriser  unintentionally  permitted  his 
attention  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  patient, 
when  she  awoke  to  the  consciousness  of 
having  passed  an  ordeal  without  a  pang, 
which,  without  the  oblivion  of  magnetism, 
would  have  severely  tried  the  fortitude  of 
the  firmest,  and  have  convulsed  with  the 
keenest  agony  every  fibre  that  had  been  re 
nosing  in  softest  slumber.  The  acute  sensi- 
oihty  to  p^un  betrayed  by  the  introduction  of 


the  remaining  stitches,  would,  1  think,  con- 
vey conviction  to  the  mind  of  the  most  ob- 
durate disbeliever  that  such  a  result  could 
be  produced  by  no  art  of  legerdemain,  nor 
by  any  other  known  agent.  The  circula- 
tion was  slightly  accelerated — the  respiration 
natural,  and  an  entire  freedom  from  the 
faintness,  exhaustion  and  prostration,  so 
often  attendant  on  severe  corporeal  suffering. 

The  facilities  furnished  by  this  quiescent 
state,  essentially  aided  the  operator  in  ab- 
breviating the  time  usually  required  in  such 
operations.  The  writer  was  present  during 
the  whole  process — has  visited  and  con 
versed  with  her  since,  and  up  to  this  date 
(July  9th)  she  has  been  rapidly  convales- 
cent— Shaving  been  visited  by  no  secondary 
hsmorrhage,  no  inflammation,  pain,  sleep- 
lessness, nor  inquietude,  and  with  better 
health  than  the  last  two  months  have  af- 
forded.— Kennehec  Journal. 

Augusta,  July  9th,  1845. 

The  case  of  Mies  Cobbett,  above  descri- 
bed, fell  under  our  observation,  and  the  ma- 
terial facts  are  truly  stated. 

John  HtrsBARD, 
H.  H.  Hill, 
Ctkus  Briggs, 
IssACHAR  Snell, 
Lot  Mtrick, 
Hemrt  L.  Nichols. 

Having  been  present  during  a  part  of  the 

operation,  and  had  an  opportunity  to  verify 

the  facts  above  stated,  I  nave  no  hesitation 

in  certifying  to  their  accuracy.  ^ 

Jamjbs  L.  Child. 


The  Wonders  of  Eleotrlelty. 

The  Hartford  Courant  says,  that  on  the 
26th  ult,  Mr.  Fowler  of  Mansfield,  took  a 
bed  at  Nottingham,  and  in  the  morning  was 
found  apparently  dead  from  poison.  The 
usual  remedies  were  applied  without  effect, 
when  electricity  was  resorted  to.  At  the 
first  application  of  the  conducting  wire  to  the 
chest  of  the  patient,  he  rose  up,  but  gradu- 
ally fell  back  ajgain.  At  the  second  shock 
he  rose  up,  crying  out  "  Oh,"  and  then  fell 
back  again ;  but  on  the  third  shock  he  start- 
ed up,  crying  out,  "  Oh  God  V*  and  sat  up- 
right with  ease.  In  a  short  time  afterwards, 
he  asked  for  something  to  drink,  and  tea  and 
cofifee  were  administered  to  him ;  in  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  he  dressed  himself,  and 
appeared  almost  entirely  recovered.  He  had 
purchased  two  ounces  of  laudanum,  and  had 
taken  the  whole  of  it  in  two  doses.  Some 
disagreement 'with  his  wife  is  said  to  have^ 
been  the  inciting  cause. 


214 


Statistics  of  Insanity. 


Stallstlpf  wf  Zaianitr. 

According  to  an  abstractof  returns  recently 
made  to  the  British  Parliament,  of  the  num- 
ber of  lunatic  and  idiot  paupers  in  the  589 
unions  of  Eneland  and  Wales,  the  follow- 
ing facts  have  been  devcfoped  j — 

Popidatum.  Lufiatiis.  Idiots,  Total. 
England..  13,026,664  7,274  6,&82  14,153 
wSes .  . .      884,173      379     8S&     1,199 


13,910,837 

In   addition,   there 
1,574,371, 


7,680  7,702   15,452 
is  a  population   of 


not  included  in  these  unions, 
where  the  returns  show  the  number  of  luna- 
tics to  be  1,086 ;  idiots,  458;  total,  1,544. 


(Coaiinimieftt«A  for  th*  DiMMtOT. ) 

Boston,  August  dth,  1845. 
Dr.  Shsrwood: 

I  was  very  glad  to  see  by  the  last  Dissec- 
tor, that  you  and  Mr.  Fowler  proposed  to 
start  a  Meoneric  Journal.  I  deeoi  it  a  mat- 
ter of  importance,  and  onljr  K^^ret,  that  it  is 
not  your  plaa  to  associate  it  with  one  or  the 
other  oi  toe  joumals  already  in  your  care. 
Periodicals  multiply  so  fast  that  one  cannot 
reach  the  whole  unless  abounding  in  funds. 

Phrenology  and  Mesmerism  are  each  in- 
complete without  the  other ;  why  not  have  a 
Journal  devoted  to  the  two.*  Both  sciences 
suffer  for  want  of  a  better  knowledge  of 
their  principles  among  those  who  know  a 
little  and  think  they  know  every  thing. 
Mesmerism,  especially,  is  exposed  tomuoi 
opposition  from  the  pretensions  of  those 
Charlatans  who  think  to  make  their  little 
knowledge  and  great  pretensions  a  means  of 
plajring  upon  the  curious  and  of  obtaining  a 
nvelihood.  No  doubt  there  are  many  who 
honestly  think  they  understand  the  science, 
who  have  read  but  little  and  thought  less, 
and  who  might  be  induced  to  read  a  popular 
periodical. 

Besides  these,  many  aie  led  from  cusiosi- 
ty  and  some,  as  it  were,  accidentally  to  at- 
tempt to  mesoiehze  without  knowing  the 
power  of  the  agent  which  they  thus  tamper 
with     I  will  menlioa  some  cases  in  my  own 


friend  of  mine,  cuiious  to  see 
the  wonders  of  Mesmerism,  magnetised 
Miss  S.  F.,  who  was  a  natural  sleep-walker. 
She  was  very  susceptible,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ttents  he  for  the  fiiat  time  saw  a  person  in 
the  Mesmerie  sleep.    He  was  elated  and 


*Thi«  ia  a  mUt«k«  in  •ttppoung 
niTselfpropowd  to  commenet  a  new 
«iilj  ofiex«d  to  diMea 
Imu  ia  mnawim, 
JotvaaU,— B9. 


Mr.  Fowler  or 
lovntal.    We 


oate  a  Jmowledfe  of  inportaai 
*««i  ttooafk  oat  zwpeotife 


curions,  and  began  to  astonish  faimsdf  and 
oliiefswith  woaderfnl  cxpenmentB.  After 
an  hour  or  two  he  awakened  her,  and  she 
seemed  as  asaal.  Bat  there  was  a  gnat 
oall  to  see  her  in  the  deep,  and  he  ehited  at 
the  idea  of  **  showing  off." 

In  a  iew  days  the  sabjeet  was  so  affected, 
•that  as  soon  as  she  fell  adeep  at  nisht,  die 
appeared  Mke  a  orazy  persoa,  could  not  be 
confined  to  the  bed,  or  ner  room,  and  it  was 
very  difficult  to  rouse  her.  In  this  state  of 
things,  S.  called  on  me  in  great  excitement 
and  anxiejh^  of  mind,  and  in  the  most  anfit 
state  possiole,  for  having  a  subject  under  his 
control.  I  fully  believe  that  ii  he  had  not 
been  able  to  obtain  advice,  his  friend  would 
have  become  permanently  insane.  Timely 
treatment,  however,  brought  her  into  tfae 
control  of  a  calm  magnetizer  and  secured  her 
recovery  and  entire  relief  from  any  tendency 
to  sleep-walking.  She  has  been  well  for  3 
years,  and  a  good  subject. 

A.  R.  complained  of  the  headache,  and  a 
person  present  who  had  seen  an'other  mes- 
merize attempted  to  relieve  her.  He  chaned 
her  head  until  it  ached  no  more,  and  left 
her  in  that  state  for  a  town  some  miles  dis- 
tant. The  effect  of  this  eeemed  to  increase 
for  a  day  or  two  until  she  could  tell  whether 
her  mesmerizer  was  sitting,  eating,  walking, 
or  talking,  and  yet  she  conld  attend  to  bfm- 
ness.  Her  friends  were  compelled  after  3 
or  4  days  to  send  for  her  mesmerizer,  and 
with  the  aid  of  one  who  understood  it  r^ 
lieve  her  from  this  unpleasant  and  dangefOQS 
state. 

I  was  called  after  meeting  one  Sosday 
afternoon  to  see  S.  W.  who  nad  been  set- 
eral  days  in  the  mesmeric  state,  having  oeea* 
sional  intervals  when  she  appeared  natpially 
conscious,  and  then  relapsing  into  a  distind 
mesmeric  and  clairvoyant  state.  With 
proper  treatment,  she  was  relieved  of  her 
unpleasant  situation,  but  I  think  she  hd 
been  in  the  mesmeric  state  eight  days. 

B.  N.  a  young  man  about  18,  nad  beeo 
frequently  mesmerized  by  myself  and  othen. 
One  day  he  came  to  my  study  to  be  vf^ 
merizea,  having  felt  quite  unwell  for  a  fev 
days.  IJnder  ttie  most  gentie  mesmerie  in- 
fluence I  could  not  prevent  his  being  thwwa 
into  distressing  spasms.  I  consulted  tiro 
somnambulists  and  ionnd  that  Mr.  L  hsd 

netised  him  (tile  tot  one  he  hsd  ewr 
tried,)  and  then  excited  diffecent  axfsBM.  of 
the  brain,  and  left  his  head  in  a  >tateo£oaD- 
fudon  which  no  one  can  nnderetaDd  who 
has  not  had  Much  experience  in  Ph^Mg[ 
Mesmeric  experiments.    The 

▼ery  injunoss 


would  have  been 
timely  attention. 
By  stich  facts  as  these  I  am  noia 


ittt  ki 


Magnetic  Sleep. 


215 


more  impressed  with  the  importance  of  ear- 
nest effort  to  spread  light  on  this  ikteresting 
subject. 

Many  of  ns  haTe  facta  of  interest  to 
others,  and  of  great  importance  to  those 
"who  are  eyerj  day  awakening  to  an  inter- 
est, snd  especially,  should  it  be  kaown  that 
no  one  is  guiltless  who  ignoianUy  meddles 
whh  an  agent  so  important  and  powerf\il. 

O.  H.  W. 

TttmuisnBe,  Gee,  Auguti^,  1846. 
Dr.  H.  H.  SncBwoot). 

Dear  Sir:— I  leceired  the  lectures  of  J. 
Davis  pa  Clairmatiyeness,  by  the  Rev.  GHb- 
son  Smith,  and  am  truly  obliged  to  yon  for 
the  fa7or.  On  reading  tnem,  f  was  strongly 
impiesaed  with  the  wonderful  statemeote  of 
the  clairroyanti  relative  to  the  opening  of  his 
spiritual  sight;— the  correctness  of  which  is 
tahj  corroborated  by  Swedenborg  in  his  ex- 
perience. As  an  illustration  of  this  fact,  I 
will  cite  you  to  the  work  "Anemic  Wisdom 
eoneeming  Divine  Love  and  wisdom,"  No. 
253,  where  it  is  declared,  "  that  the  natural 
man  is  a  full  man  when  the  spiritual  degree 
with  him  is  opened ;  for  he  is  then  ocmsocia- 
ted  with  the  angels  of  heaven,  and  at  the  same 
tiafeoonsociat«iwith  men  in  the  world;  also, 
that  his  spir^al  mind  is  filled  with  a  thou- 
sand arcana  of  wisdom  and.  a  thousand  de- 
Sglhts  of  love  hv  the  Lord,  and  that  he  comes 
mnyihem  after  death  when  he  becomes  an  an- 

SL  In  No.  357  of  tbe  same  work,  it  is  fur- 
sr  stated:  "I.  That  the  natural  mind  can 
he  elevated  even  to  the  light  of  heaven,  in 
which  the  angels  are,  and  perceive  naturally 
what  the  angels  do  spiritually,  thus  not  so 
fully ;  but  still  the  natural  mind  of  man  can- 
not be  elevated  Into  angelic  light  itself.  S. 
That  man,  by  his  natural  mind  elevated  to  the 
light  of  heaven,  can  think  with  angels,  yea, 
speak ;  but  then  the  thought  and  speech  of  the 
angeis  flow  into  the  natimJ  thought  and 
speech  of  the  man,  and  not  the  reverse: 
wherefbrethe  ancels  apeak  with  man  in  natu- 
ral laagnttre.  which  is  the  man's  vernacular. 
9.  net  2U«  isdooo  hf  fpiritml  laflaz  into  the  natn. 
i«l  ftad  nol  oy  «ny  nata.al  influx  into  the  fpiritiinL 
4  That  hamnn  wisdom,  ^riiiok  is  aatnral  to  long  at  a 
ami  Jivea  in  llie  worid,  can  in  no  dagree  be  exaltod 
into  nitfolie  wiadom,  bat  only  into  a  oartain  image  of 
it'j  the  raaaon  ia,  beeaoae  the  elevation  of  tlie  baman 
bund  is  Aiade  by  continoity,  asltt>m  diado  to  ligbt,  or 
Iram  aiuaaer  to  paver.  Bat  etiU  a  nan  with  whom 
tbe  epfiitoal  diBgne  is  open,  comes  into  that  wisdom 
wbfo  he  dies,  aad  mojf  al$o  come  into  it  tnf  th*  pulHng 
atlimpof  the  eeneaHem  of  the  bodu,  and  then  by  influx 
frem  above  into  the  ^Tritoals  of  his  mind.  6.  The 
natural  mind  of  man  eonsists  of  spiritual  substanoes  : 
WherefoTO  that  same  noind  after  death,  when  a  man 
beeomes  a  spirit  or  «a  angal,  remains  in  a  form  simi- 
lar to  chat  in  which  It  was  in  the  world.  6.  The  nata- 
ml  sabslaneee  of  iiiat  mind,  which,  as  was  said,  re. 
eede  by  death,  make  the  eutaaeoos  envelope  of  the 
ipiritaal  body,  in  which  spiriU  and  angels  are.  Br 
sach  envelope^  which  is  taken  from  the  nataral  world, 
their  spiritnalbodieesttbsist.  for  the  naivrsl  is  the  con- 
taiaing  nltimate.  Hence  tt  is  that  there  is  not  any 
^irit  or  ancel  who  was  not  bom  a  man.  The  Arcana 
of  Angelic  Wisdom  are  hare  addaced,  that  it  may  be 
nowa  what  the  natural  mind  with  man  is,  and  what 
we  spirito^  which  is  also  fnrthn  ti«a(«l  oi  la  what 


The  pnnciples  laid  down  m  this  impoHam  wotk, 
are  bat  imperfectly  known  to  the  world,  for  they  hare 
appeared  to  transcend  the  common  sphere  of  hnman 
knowledge.  Heitee  the  little  attention  comparatively, 
wh:eh  they  have  attracted,  aside  fiom  the  receiving  o^ 
the  New  Charch  doctrines.  Bnt  the  lime  is  comuiff, 
yea,  no^  i«i*  m  ie  fal»y  believed,  when  a  very  diflerent 
estimate  will  be  plaaed  tmon  them.  Another  centarr 
nnder  ihe  providence  of  God,  and  nothing  will  be 
foand  m  the  qM  and  labored  stracture  of  Physick  and 
M^^hysios,  bat  the  voiee^  *< he  is  not  here,  bat  u 

Very  respectfully, 

WM.  HVMIiawBLL,  M.  D. 

,      MAaNETIO   8LBBP. 
OnMrnied  from  page  US& 

In  the  first  state  of  magnetic  sleep,  per- 
sons retain  more  or  less  of  their  intellectual 
faculties,  and  are  more  or  leas  susceptible  to 
external  influence. 

in  the  second  state  the  paralysis  of  the 
muscles,  and  the  insensibity  of  the  skin  is 
complete— the  natural  sight  lost,  the  hearing 
more  or  less  impaired,  and  a  muscular  at- 
traction established. 

In  the  third  state  a  strong  83rmpathy  is 
established  between  the  mind  of  the  subject 
and  the  magnetiser — ^the  mind  of  the  former 
being  under  the  control  of  the  latter. 

in  the  fourth  state  the  mind  of  the  clair- 
voyant soars  far  above  that  of  the  magneti- 
ser and  becomes  free  and  independent. 

These  phenomena  are  the  consequence  of 
reversing  the  natural  order  of  the  magnetic 
or  spiritual  organization  of  the  body.  The 
n^ative  and  insensible  forces  connected 
with  the  inner  or  mucous  membranes  or 
surfaces,  and  molar  nerves,  are  attracted  to 
the  outer  or  serous  membranes,  and  nerves 
of  sensation,  while  the  positive  and  sensi- 
tive forces  in  these  external  surfaces  are  re- 
pelled to  the  inner  or  mueous  membranes  and 
surfaces,  and  hence  the  cause  of  this  revers- 
ed order  of  the  sensibility  and  insensibility 
of  the  oj^site  or  serous  and  mucous  surfa- 
ces. 

In  passing  into  the  magnetic  state  a  per- 
eoif  feels  first  a  disposition  to  sleep  and  dien 
a  prickling  sensation  in  the  skin,  followed 
by  a  general  numbness— the  natural  light 
fading  away,  when  perfect  darkness  ensues. 
A  glimmering  of  magnetic  light  then  begins 
to  appear,  when  a  shock  ensues,  followed 
by  a  blaze  of  light,  consciousness  and  clair- 
Toyance. 


216  The  Hydrarchbs,  or  Great  Fossil  Sea-Slerpent. 


ThB  E^drarchos^  or  Great  Fossil  SeorSerpmL 


217 


THB  HYDBASOEOS, 
Os,  Obxat  Fossil  Sba-Sbrvsnt.      ^ 

AstoundiDg  as  the  progress  of  geological 
discoreiy  has  been,  for  the  prodigies  of  the 
WDinNil  kingdom  which  it  has  developed,  and 
the  enlarged  views  of  the  pre- historical 
epochs  of  our  globe  which  it  has  demanded, 
it  has  hitherto  produced  nothing  so  highly 
calculated  to  impress  both  the  scientific  and 
the  popalar  mind  with  the  wealth  of  its  re- 
sources and  the  magnificence  of  its  instruc- 
tion, as  the  stupendous  fossil  skeleton  rep- 
reeented  in  the  annexed  engraving.  In 
presenting  to  ns  the  osseons  and  petrified 
leroains  of  a  marifte  serpent  whose  original 
length  was  evidently,  at  least,  130  feet,  with 
a  bulk  in  due  proportion,  we  have  tangibly 
and  palpably  realized  not  only  the  ophicular 
descriptions  of  the  ancient  poets  and  histo- 
nans,  heretofore  deemed  fabulous,  but  the 
attestatioDS  of  modem  mariners  and  voya- 
gers, which  assert  the  existence  of  a  similar 
teiTor  of  the  ocean,  even  in  our  own  times, 
and  off  our  own  shores.  The  serpent  of  the 
Deocalian  deluge,  slain  by  Apollo  Pythius, 
ia  beheld,  with  scarcely  the  aid  of  the  dullest 
fancy.  In  (he  Apollo  Saloon  in  Broadway. 
And  the  gorgeous  portrait  of  the  Leviathan, 
(Heb.  levi-ten,  or  "  doubled  dragon")  in  the 
■atfihlwtn  poetry  of  Job,  has  found  its  first 
eondLQ8ive  prototype  in  this  Hydrarchon — ^so 
atrikiiigly,  so,  indeed,  to  every  scholar  who 
^iU  undertake  a  critical  examination  of  the 
CKigiiiai  language,  as  to  completely  supercede 
eTery  animal  heretofore  proposed  by  com- 
mentators as  the  subject  of  the  description, 
together  with  the  Missourium,  recently  pro- 
poaed  for  this  purpose  by  Dr.  Koch,  the  dis- 
coverer of  this  moie  appropriate  exemplar. 
He  who»  *'  when  he  raised  himself  up  caus- 
ed the  mighty  to  be  afraid ;"  who,  '*  laughed 
at  the  shaking  of  the  spear,  and  spread 
aharp*pointed  things  upon  the  mire ;"  who 
nnde  "  the  deep  to  boil  like  a  pot  of  oint- 
neQt  i"  who  made  "  a  path  to  shine  after 
hiflii*  9o  that  one  would  suppose  the  deep  to 
be  hoary,"  i*  heret  in  bony  majesty,  filling 
aa  with  wonder  and  awe,  at  the  proofs  we 
heboid  ot  hie  speed,  destraetivenese,  and  in- 
oonpmUe  foms.    Indeed,  m  are  cpnfi- 


dent  it  will  ultimately  be  a  point  of  unani- 
mous opinion  that  the  Leviathan  is  the  apt 
and  distinctive  title  which  this  rc-discovered 
creature  should  permanently  receive. 

It  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Koch,  (pronoun- 
ced ^--rh)  p  zealous  German  Geologist,  in 
the  early  part  -^^^  present  year  (March, 
1845,)  m  a  sma.*^*^'irle  in  Clarke' Co.,  Ala- 
bama, near  the  ^  '  v^sin^p^  called  by  the 
Indians,  «  Snake  River.  \  ^he  field  m  which 
it  was  found,  had  been  but  a  short  time  in 
cultivation,  and  the  vertebrse  first  disinterred 
were  turned  up  by  the  plough.  Dr.  Koch 
was  induced  to  explore  this  district  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring,  if  possible,  a  perfect 
skeleton  of  the  gigantic  saurian,  denominated 
from  the  immense  dimensions  of  its  vertebra 
th^^asiliosaurus,  or  the  King  of,  the  Liz* 
ards,  which  had  been  found  in  the  vicinity, 
some  years  previous,  by  the  late  Dr.  Richard 
Harlan,  of  Philadelphia.  It  appears,  by  the 
following  extract  of  a  letter  upon  this  sub- 
ject, from  Professor  Silliman,  addressed  to 
the  Editors  of  the  New  York  Express, 
(Sep.  2, 1845,)  to  be  extremely  questionable 
whether  the  bones  thus  supposed  to  consti- 
tute the  Basiliosaurus  were  not,  in  reality, 
portions  of  another  massdve  specimen  of  the 
sea-serpent,  now  called  by  Dr.  Koch,  Hy- 
drarchos  SiUimanii — a  name  which,  it  will 
be  seen,  the  Professor  very  modestly  and 
justly  deprecates,  suggesting,  instead,  the 
merited  sufiix  of  Harlanir  to  whatever  prin- 
cipal name  (instead  of  Hydrarchos,  from 
Hydroj  a  water  serpent  and  Archo  to  rule) 
may  be  finally  adopted.    H*  says : — 

"  Several  years  ago,  the  late  Jud^  Creagh, 
of  Clarke  Go.,  Ala&ma,  found  similar  bones 
on  his  plantation,  in  such  abundance,  that 
they  were  often  destroyed,  as  far  as  possible, 
by  hre,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  an  incumbrance 
that  interfered  with  agriculture;  the  QepoeSf 
also,  were  in  the  habit  of  building  their  fire- 
places of  them.  The  late  Dr.  Richard  Har- 
lan, of  Philadelnhia,  and  more  recently  of 
New  Orleans,  where  he  died  .more  than  a 
vear  since,  first  described  and  figured  these 
bones,  and  supposing  them  to  belong  to  a 
gigantic  fossil  lizard,  he  imposed  the  name  of 
fiasiliosaurus  or  King  of  Saurians  or  Lizards. 

He  several  years  afterwards  carried  with 
him  to  London,  tome  of  the  bones,  and  they 
were  there  reviewed  by  the  great  eompara 


218 


The  Hydrarchos^  or  Cfreai  Fossil  Sea^'SerperU. 


tiTc  anatomist.  Professor  Owen,  of  the  Roy- 
al College  of  Surgeons,  -who  was  of  the  opin- 
ion that  the  animal  must  have  had  more  re- 
semblance to  the  whales  than  the  lizards 
This  opinion  Dr.  Harlan  had  the  candor  to 
present  to  the  Association  of  American  Geo- 
logists, together  with  the  bones,  at  their 
meeting  ia  Philadelphia,  in  April,  1841, 
where  I  ^easd  iiis  statements.  Not  long 
after,  Dr.*  Bulkley  bwught  to  this  city,  and 
eventually  to  AMtlf,  an  entire  skeleton  of 
the  animal,  vrhich  is  between  seventy  and 
eighty  feet  long,  and  is  now  in  the  State  Ge- 
ological Collection  at  Albany ;  but  I  believe 
it  has  not  as  yet  been  set  up.  This  skeleton 
was  fully  described  by  Dr.  Bulk  ley,  in  the* 
American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts. 

Dr.  Kosch,  the  proprietor  of  the  skeleton 
now  in  this  city,  made  a  journey  of  discovery 
a  few  years  since  into  Alabama  and  other 
Southern  regions,  with  particular  reference 
to  this  animal.  He  had  the  rare  good  for- 
tune, as  the  result  of  his  perseverance,  aided 
by  the  kind  assistance  of  the  inhabitants,  to 
disinter  the  stupendous  skeleton  which  is 
now  set  up  for  exhibition  here. 

it  has,  evidently,  been  done  at  great  ex- 
pense and  personal  toil,  and  the  public, 
while  they  owe  a  debt  to  Dr.  K.,  will,  when 
paying  it,  receive  a  high  gratification  in  con- 
templating the  remains  of  a  race  of  animals 
whose  length  exceeded  that  of  all  other  crea- 
tures hitherto  discovered ;  the  spinal  column 
of  this  skeleton  as  now  arranged  measures 
114  feet  in  length.  The  skeleton  having 
been  found  entire,  enclosed  in  limestone,  evi- 
dently belonged  to  one  individual,  and  there 
lA  the  fullest  ground  for  confidence  in  its 
genuineness.  The  animal  was  marine  and 
carnivorous,  and  at  his  death  was  imbedded 
,  in  the  ruins  of  that  ancient  sea  which  once 
occupied  the  region  where  Alabama  now  is ; 
having  myself  recently  passed  400  miles 
down  the  Alabama  river,  and  touched  at 
many  places,  I  have  had  full  opportunity  to 
observe,  what  many  geologists  have  affirmed, 
the  marine  and  oceanic  character  of  the 
country. 

Judging  from  the  abundance  of  the  remains 
(some  of  which  have  been  several  years  in 
my  possession)  the  animals  must  have  been 
very  numerous  and  doubtless  fed  upon  fishes 
and  other  marine  creatures — ^the  inhabitants 
of  a  region,  then  probably  of  more  than  tro 
pical  heat;  and  it  appears  probable  also,  that 
this  animal  frequented  bays,  estuaries  and 
sea  coasts,  rather  than  the  main  ocean.  As 
regards  the  nature  of  the  animal,  we  shall 
doubtless  be  put  in  possession  of  Professor 
Owen's  more  mature  opinion,  after  he  shall 
have  reviewed  the  entire  skeleton.  I  would 
only  soggest,  that  he  may  find  little  analogy 


with  whales,  and  much  more  with  lizardi, 
according  to  Dr.  Harlan's  original  opibion. 

Among  the  fossil  lizards  and  saurian8,this 
resembles  most  the  Pleisiosaurus,  from  which 
however,  it  differs  verv  decidedly. 

N)o8t  observers  will  probably  be  stnick 
with  the  snake-like  appeaance  of  the  skele- 
ton.   It  differs,  however,  most  essentially, 
from  any  existing  or  fossil  serpent,  althou^ 
it  may  countenance  the  popular  (and  1  be- 
lieve well  founded)  impression'  of  the  exis^ 
ence  in  our  modern  seas,  of  huge  animals  to 
which  the  name  of  sea-serpent  has  been  at- 
tached.   For  a  full  and  satisfactory  state- 
ment of  the  evidence  on  this  subject,  see  a 
communication  by  Dr.  Bigelow,  of  Bo8toft« 
the  2d  volume  of  the  American  Joutnai. 

Dr.  Kosch  has  committtd  one  error  in  na* 
raing  the  fossil  skelton  now  presented  here 
for  inspection.  By  every  claim  of  scientific 
justice,  the  epithet — Harlani,  shouWbesnf- 
tixed  to  whatever  other  principal  name  may  be 
finally  adopted.  It  is  but  simple  josticelo 
the  memory  of  our  most  distinguished  com- 
parative anatomist — who  first  called  the  at- 
tention of  the  scientific  world  to  the  stapend- 
ous  fossil  animal  of  Alabama :  and  there  eu 
be  no  propriety  (however  kindly  it  may  haw 
been  intended )in  imposing  the  name  of  anoth- 
er individual,  who  can  claim  no  other  merit 
in  the  case,  than  the  very  humble  one  of  en- 
deavouring now,  as  well  as  formerly,  to 
awaken  the  public  attention  to  the  most  iv> 
markable  of  our  fossil  treasures.  Dr.  E.  i^ 
therefore  bound  to  recall  his  new  epithet,  and 
restore  to  Dr.  Harian  the  honor  which  is  hia 
due.  I  remain,  my  dear  sir,  with  gieitn* 
gard,  your  friend  and  servant* 

Brookltm,  L.  I.,  Sept  2d,  1845. 

B.  SILUMAN. 

P.  S.~It  should  be  lemarked  that  Jk- 
Kosch  has  also  brought  to  light  the  moAOr 
eantic  fossil  skeleton  of  the  Ma.«todon  fao^ 
tnat  has  ever  been  found.  It  was  cxhihitw 
in  our  cities,  and  is  now  in  the  British  Mo- 
sewn,  having  been  purchased  for  two  Aonam 
pounds  sterling,  by  that  institution. 

If  the  bones  examined  by  Professor  Owen. 
in  London,  and  the  «*  entire  skeleton,  be- 
tween seventy  and  eighty  feet  long,'*  now  ii 
the  State  Geological  collection  at  Albany,  te 
those  of  a  creature  identical  in  kind  wilfc 
the  Hydrarchos,  it  is  but  little  compKmenlaiy 
to  the  anatomical  science  of  the  exmiatf* 
that  they  should  have  confoonded  them  wi* 
those  of  any  known  variety  of  the  saiuiaBft 
The  teeth,  at  least,  should  have  been  tokw 
as  evidence  d!  a  decisive  dittihctimi.   Now 


The  Hydrarchosy  or  OrecU  Fossil  Sea-Serpent* 


219 


of  the  saurian  family  have  teeth  of  more 
than  one  fang,  while  the  incisors  of  the 
Hydiarchos  hare  two,  more  and  more  forked 
•0  we  prdceed  from  the  anterior  to  the  pos- 
tenor  of  the  jaw«  Dr  Koch  thinks  that 
theae  indsors,  wbile  like  those  of  aD  the 
Mipent  tribe»  have  also  some  analogy  to 
those  of  a  marsapial  animal  —  a  singular 
thing  enough,  if  we  OTerlook  the  fact  that 
all  serpenta  are  so  far  pouched  animals  as 
to  awaUow,  or  present  sm  internal  receptacle 
of  refuge  for  their  living  young.  It  is  evident, 
moieover,  that  the  Hydrarchosdid  not  masti- 
cate its  food,  but  gorged  it  entire,  although, 
njB  Dr.  Koch,  it  was  provided  with  palate 
bcwee  which  might  have  been  used  simply 
to  crush  its  food.  "  Its  greatly  elongated 
snout  was  armed  with  fifty  or  more  spear- 
shaped  incisors  whose  fangs  were  deeply  in- 
■ectedlLn  spear-shaped  sockets.  The  pivoca- 
ticm  is  in  the  extreme  anterior  ones,  and  only 
aariced  by  a  groove ;  the  spear-shaped 
crown  of  these  teeth  is  divided  into  more  or 
less  minor  spear-shaped  fronts,  which  in- 
crsase  or  diminish  in  number  according  to 
the  situation  the  tooth  occupies  in  the  ramus ; 
the  central  one  of  them  is  the  laigest,  and 
those  nearest  the  gum  are  the  smallest. 
These  crowns  are  covered  by  a  thick  coating 
of  enamel,  which  had  a  rough  surface,  and 
aie  marked  by  small  scale-liice  elevations 
which  are  narrow,  lancet-shaped,  and  elon- 
gBted,  with  their  points  upwards."  "All 
the  ineisors  are  so  aet  in  the  ramus  and  max- 
illa, fliat  their  extremities  have  an  inclina- 
tion backwards  towards  the  palate,  like  the 
•haric,  and  that  the  victim  canght  could  easi 
ly  enter  the  mouth,  but  could  not  possibly 
escape."  The  canine  teeth  correspond  with 
the  indsors  in  this  position,  while  they  are 
from  six  to  eight  inches  long. 

That  the  creature  was  an  air-breathing 
reptile,  is  conclusively  inferred  from  the 
nasal  cavity,  in  which  the  posterior  vents  are 
at  the  back  part  of  the  mouth,  enabling  it 
to  respire  deeply  and  freely.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that,  like  the  Pleisiosaurus,  this  stu- 
pendous serpent  was  a  coasting  rather  than 
a  deep  ocean  reptile,  as  indeed  are  all  known 
ottiine  creatures  of  a  kindred  form.    Not 


only  its  necessity  of  breathing,  but  the  pro- 
digious size  and  muscularity  of  its  cervical 
vertebrae,  indicate  its  habit  of  rearing  itself 
above  the  water ;  and  when  we  also  examine  .. 
the  peculiar  structure  and  marvellous  strength 
of  its  massive  lumbar  vertebrae,  which  may 
be  regarded  as  the  axis  of  its  muscular  pow- 
er, we  feel  authorized  to  conclude  that  it 
could  erect  nearly  two  thirds  of  its  entire 
length  from  this  basis,  in  a  majestic  curve 
above  the  surface  of  the  tide — often,  doubt- 
less, in  tranquil  seasons,  a  glowing  mirror 
of  its  gorgeous  form  and  stately  movements. 
Its  eyes,  too,  which  were  from  six  to  eight 
inches  in  diameter,  were  so  prominently 
situated  on  the  forehead  as  to  secure  it  a  vast 
circle  of  vision,  and  render  it  a  vivid  object 
of  terror ;  and  when  Job  says  of  his  leviathan 
that  "  his  eyes  ^re  like  the  eyelids  of  the 
morning,"  the  force  and  beauty  of  the  poetic 
hyperbole  are  as  appropriate  to  the  eyes  of 
the  Hydrarchos  as  to  those  of  any  animal, 
not  purely  imaginary,  of  which  we  can  form 
an  idea. 

Upon  the  general  osseous  structare  of  this 
mighty  being,  we  will  quote  the  description 
given  by  Dr.  Koch :— "  The  propelling  mo- 
tion of  the  animal  was,  like  that  of  all  the 
serpent  tribe,  dependant  upon  .the  action  of 
its  powerful  vertebras,  and  the  strong  muscles 
and  ligaments  acting  in  harmony  with  them. 
The  strong  and  lengthy  tail,  was  more  par- 
ticularly used  as  a  rudder  to  direct  its  course, 
as  well  as  for  the  purpose  of  propelling. 
The  transverse  processes,  which  are  very 
large  in  the  whole  spinal  column,  are  more 
especially  so  in  the  caudal  or  tail  vertebrae ; 
the  canal  for  the  spinal  marrow  is  very  much 
compressed  and  fiat,  and  the  spinous  process- 
es have  a  great  inclination  backwards,  [pro- 
bably enhancing  its  springing  or  ejaculative 
power].  The  dorsal  and  lumbar  vertebr* 
are  greatly  elongated,  measuring  each  from 
fourteen  to  eighteen  inches  in  length,  and 
having  a  circumference  of  from  twenty-four 
to  thirty  inches.  Their  construction  differs 
from  those  of  any  animal  with  which  1  am 
acquainted,  as  each  body  of  these  vertebrae  is 
composed  of  five  sections.  In  the  centre,  we 
observe  the  main  body  to  which  all  the  pro-  _^^ 


220 


The  Hydrarchos^  cr  Oreai  Fossil  Sea-Serpent. 


cesses  are  attached,  and  which  measures  from 
five  to  seren  inches  in  length  :  to  both  ex- 
tremities of  this  is  a  pelvis.    The  section  is 
•j^anglelozed,  measuring  from  three  to  four 
mches  in  length,  and  to  the  extremities  of 
these  again  we  find  a  pelvis.     The  whole 
is  anglelozed  and  ossified  together  in  an 
adult,  but  will  separate  in  younger  animals, 
as  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  observing 
personally.     [Dr.  Koch  found  several  imper- 
fect skeletons  of  younger  specimens  of  this 
creature.]    The  cervicle,  or  neck,  and  the 
cotyxal,  or  tail  vertebrae,   have    powerful 
processes,  but  their  bodies  have  not  the  ad- 
ditional divisions  described  above,  as  found 
in  the  dorsal  and  lumbar  vertebrae.    The  ribs 
are  of  a  very  peculiar  shape  and  form ;   so 
much  so  that  I  know  of  no  animal  to  which 
I  might  compare  them.    The  greater  number 
are  small  and  remarkably  slender  on  their 
superior  extremities,  until  we  arrive  within 
two  thirds  of  the  length  toward  the  inferior 
extremities,  where  they  begin  to  increase  in 
thickness  most  rapidly,  so  that  near  the  low- 
er parts,  where  they  are  flattened,  they  have 
three  or  four  ^imes  the  circumference  that 
they  have  on  the  superior  extremities,  and 
have  very  much  the  curve  of  the  sickle 
From  the  whole  of  their  construction,  we  may 
justly  form  the  conclusion  that  the  animal 
was  not  only  possessed  of  a  fleshy  back  of 
great  power,  bat  also  of  remarkable  strength 
in  its  belly,  by  which  means  it  was  enabled 
to  perform  very  rapid  movements.   Notwith- 
standing its  two  fore  feet,  or  paddles,  are 
quite  small  in  comparison  with  the  rest  of  the 
skeleton,  yet  they  are  in  proportion  with  the 
short  and  thick  humerus  and  ulna  or  fore- 
arm, which,  together  with  the  paddles,  must 
have  been  concealed  under  the  flesh  during 
the  life  of  the  animal,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  be  only  perceptible  through  muscles  and 
cartiliges,  similar  to  the  fins  of  an  eel.    The 
humerus  and  ulna  are  not  unlike  those  of  the 
Icthyosaurus )  and  each  paddle  is  composed 
of  twenty-seven  bones  which  form,  in  union, 
nine   forward   and    backward  articulatmg 
joints.** 
Upon  this  description  we  have  only  to  re- 
___nark  that  the  peculiar  forip  here  correctly  as- 


signed to  the  ribs  of  this  ponderous  creature, 
in  being  so  much  thicker  and  stronger  at  the 
part  of  the  curve  where  they  turn  to  bend 
under  the  beUy,  is  evidently  an  admirable 
provision  of  nature  for  sustaining  the  im- 
mense superincumbent  weight  of  its  mass, 
when  resting  upon  a  shore,  or  depositing  its 
bulk  for  repose,  upon  the  bottom  of  any 
other  shallow  waters;  and  as  a  Tesjttring 
reptile,  this  sea-serpent  must  have  often  en- 
joyed the  ease  of  such  a  position,  fearless  of 
every  foe.  That  none  of  the  saurians,  nor 
any  other  animals,  should  be  found  to  exhi- 
bit  this  very  striking  singularity  of  costal 
structure,  is  simply  because  they  were  other- 
wise furnished  and  did  not  need  it ;  while  to 
this  creature,  devoid  of  legs,  and  all  pedal 
points  of  support,  the  provision  was  indis- 
pensable, and  he  accordingly  possessed  it 
After  all,  the  ribs  seem  exceedingly  sliglrt 
for  so  bulky  a  mass,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  they  were  strengthened  with  thott 
well-knit  bands  of  intercostal  cartilage  and 
muscle,  which  supply  the  place  of  (weo« 
ribs  in  the  large  conger  eel,  and  other  Tarie- 
ties  of  the  serpent  race. 

Concerning  the  natural  habits  and  capad- 
ties  of  this  wonderful  animal,  compaiatiw 
anatomy  will  spread  a  rich  field  of  beantifal 
analogy  and  scientific  induction. 

Whether  he  was  amphibious,  to  thc«^ 
tent  of  our  present  water  snakes,  may  well  te 
doubted  from  the  evidence  afforded  by  to 
side  fins  of  a  more  decidedly  pisdnc  chaiao- 
ter.  The  last  joint  of  his  tail,  too,  indicalW 
a  final  bifurcated  fin  ;  and  the  finding  of  li»» 
termination  of  the  vertebraB,  cannot  but  be  re- 
garded as  a  most  felicitous  ciicumstance,  to 
while  it  tends  to  determine  the  animal's  dia- 
tinctive  nature,  it  also  proves  an  admirablf 
tapering  symmetry  of  form,  peculiar  to  the 
serpent  species. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  Dr  KocW 
unpublished  description  of  the  upper  and 
nether  stratification  of  the  spot  and  neigli- 
borhood  in  which  these  stupendous  foMU 
remains  were  discovered ;  and  we  have  groa 
pleasure  in  presenting  to  o\u  readers  a  matte' 
of  so  much  scientific  curiosity : — 

A.  A  stratum  of  diluvial  grav«  ^"^ 
sheUs. 


^r.'^'>'  ••/»". 


TTie  Hpdrarchos,  or  Chreat  Fossil  Sea-Serpent,^ 


221 


B.  A  stratum  of  a  blood-reJ  color,  from  a 
deposit  of  clay,  highly  impregnated  with 
iron,  and  exhibiting  grey  veins. 

C.  A  stratum  of  peculiar  lime  stone,  form- 
ing in  some  places  remarkable  terraces,  in 
divisions  or  steps,  from  five  to  seven  feet 
high,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  horizontal 
breadth,  exhibiting  great  regularity.  These 
occur  in  locations,  in  the  vicinity,  where  tra- 
ces of  a  most  violent  and  rapid  current  ap- 
pear, and  apparently  of  diluvial  action. 
This  lime-stone  is  termed  "  chimney-rock," 
hy  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
is  so  soft  as  to  be  sawed  into  blocks  for 
building,  with  a  common  cross-cut  paw. 

D.  A  stratum  of  volcanic  origin,  forming 
an  extensive  bed  of  volcanic  matter,  inclosing 
and  cementing  various  kinds  of  fossil  wood, 
some  partly  in  a  crystaline  state  and  others 
Teduced  to  charcoal.  These  specimens  of 
fossil  wood,  which  increase  as  we  leave 
Clarksville  and  approach  the  Mississippi, 
prove  the  existence  of  dry  land  vegetation  at 
this  epoch;  and  from  the  admixture  here 
found  of  fresh  water  shells  with  a  large 
number  of  beautiful  marine  fossils,  the  spot 
seems  to  have  been  connected,  at  the  time  it 
was  on  the  surface,  with  some  shallow  sea 
or  bay.  In  Clark  and  Washington  counties 
this  stratum  is  frequently  laid  open,  forming, 
indeed  a  considerable  portion  of  the  present 
Buriace,  and  often  appearing  like  a  dark 
brown  vegetable  mould,  mixed  with  corroded 
volcanic  substances  and  calcareous  matter. 
Its  volcanic  origin  is  clearly  traceable  where- 
ever  it  is  Imd  bare ;  fragments  of  lava  are 
thrown  for  miles  around  the  vicinity  of 
Clarksville,  and  we  frequently  find  extensive 
beds,  formed  of  a  mixture  of  sand,  iron  ore 
and  lava,  once  in  a  melted  state,  but  now 
broken  in  layer,  or  smaller  sections.  Some- 
times pieces  of  pumice  stone  are  found  here 
with  bituminous  coal,  and  an  extensive  bed 
of  the  latter  is  said  to  exist  in  the  Tallehalla 
Hills  in  Clark  Co. 

E.  A  stratum  of  yellowish  lime  rock,  con- 
taining fossil  remains  of  myriads  of  animals 
and  shells.  In  this  stratum,  at  a  spot  near  a 
ehasm,  where  it  had  been  lifted  to  the  sur- 
faee,  and  where  the  superincumbent  strata 

\        were  thrown  to  the  right  and  left,  by  vdcanic 


action,  was  found  the  skeleton  of  the  Hy- 
drarchos,  or  as  we  would  have  it  called,  the 
Leviathan.  The  vertebne,  with  the  exception 
of  one  or  two  joints  that  had  been  turned  up 
by  the  plough,  were  found  and  dug  out  in 
the  natural  order  in  which  they  lay,  and  in 
which  they  are  again  put  together  in  the 
skeleton  as  exhibited. 

F  A  stratum  of  quartose  sand,  ten  or 
twelve  feet  thick,  which  Dr.  Koch  conceives 
to  be  a  continuation  of  the  stratum  marked 
**  I,*'  (see  below.)  He  saye  that  at  Clarks- 
ville he  found  the  upper  section  of  this 
stratum,  containing  oysters  of  a  large  size, 
wl^ile,  on  the  Tombigby  side  of  the  disloca- 
ted elevation,  he  found  the  lower  portion  of 
this  stratum,  containing  oysters  in  quite  a 
young  state  of  growth.  He  adds  that  at 
Coffeeville,  the  same  stratum  appears  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  thick,  the  lower  portion  as  marl, 
and  the  upper  as  laminated  lime  rock  of  the 
game  color  as  at  Claiborne. 

G.  A  stratum  of  rich  green  sand,  contain- 
ing highly  brilliant  shells,  of  a  light  green 
color.  This  stratum  is  particularly  charac- 
terist'C,  having  a  bed  of  oysters  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  those  in  the  underlying  bed  (I), 
and  forming  a  bank  which  appears  never  to 
have  been  disturbed.  Indeed  the  shells  of 
many  of  these  bivalves  still  remain  united. 

H.  A  stratum  of  quartose  sand,  fourteen 
or  fifteen  feet  thick,  containing  shells  of 
oysters  and  other  oceanic  shells.  Here,  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Clarksville,  occurs  a 
miniature  species  of  the  saw-fish,  its  saw, 
although  of  a  similar  construction  to  that  of 
the  existing  species,  being  but  about  three 
inches  long,  instead  of  as  many  feet  Sev- 
eral  species  of  oysters  occur  here,  which 
must  have  originated  at  this  epoch,  as  they 
are  not  found  either  above  or  below.  «« I 
discovered"  says  Dr.  Koch,  "  that  this  last 
bed  is  identical  with  the  one  of  green  sand  (6) 
mixed  with  blue  clay,  and  with  an  over-ly- 
ing osseous  conglomerate,  containing  prind- 
pally  the  remains  of  sharks;  the  first  being 
also  mixed  with  yellow  lime  stone,  and  the 
second  with  mould  of  the  prairie  of  Ala- 
bama :  the  latter  proving  by  its  numerous 
fossils  to  be  the  upper  section  of  tiie  transi- 


823 


The  HydrarchoSj  or  Great  Fossil  SeOrSerpent, 


tion  series,  uniting  the  highest  cretaceous 
with  the  lowest  eocene  region.  The  yel- 
low limestone  and  the  green  sand  both  con- 
tdin  the  remains  of  the  largest  reptiles;  for  the 
Zuylodon,  [by  e^ome  called  the  basiliosau- 
rus]  1  discovered  at  Gay  HeaJ,  Martha's 
Vineyard,  where  it  occurs  only  in  the  green 
sand ;  and  in  Alabama,  where  it  as  exclu- 
sively occurs  in  the  yellow  lime  stone.  The 
remains  of  extinct  crabs  occur  in  both  locali- 
ties, of  an  identical  character ;  and  several 
species^ of  sharks  and  saurians,  found  in  the 
osseous  conglomerate  of  Gay  Head,  are  iden- 
tical with  those  of  the  prairie  mould  of 
South  Alabama. 

I.  A  stratum  of  light  blue  and  yellowish 
limestone,  in  some  places  70  feet  thick,  as  a 
rich  greenish  white  marl.  Where  it  occurs 
as  a  limestone  rock,  it  has  strongly  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  uninterrupted  bed  of  the 
same  species  of  oysters,  small  and  frequent- 
ly mingled  with  the  casts  of  oceanic  shells, 
•  which  formed  the  principal  portion  of  the 
above  mentioned  under-lying  bed.  As  we 
ascend  the  oysters  increase  in  size,  that  they 
may  be  termed  the  giants  of  their  race,  form- 
ing almost  a  solid  bed. 

J.  A  stratum  of  dark  greenish  sand,  in 
some  places  15  feet  thick,  containing  a  great 
variety  of  shells,  all  belonging  to  those  spe- 
cies which  we  find  in  deep  open  seas  in 
tropical  latitudes.  They  are  generally  in 
broken  fragments,  with  a  few  in  good  con 
dition.  We  also  find  a  few  young  oysters, 
of  a  kind  belonging  to  the  chalk  formation. 
Dr.  Koch  considers  the  whole  of  this  bed  as 
the  upper  part  of  the  secondary  formation, 
and  consequently  of  a  far  older  date  than 
has  heretofore  been  assigned  to  it. 

From  this  clear  and  interesting  account  of 
the  strata  among  which  the  Hydrarchos  was 
found,  4nd  which  in  Dr.  Koch's  exhibition 
room  is  illustrated  by  a  sketch  on  canvass 
of  their  present  dislocated  position,  relative- 
ly to  the  perpendicular  blufi'in  the  neighbor- 
hood where  they  appear  in  their  original 
and  undisturbed  level,  it  appears  that  there 
.was  one  stratum  of  volcanic  origin  and  for- 
mation, and  three  strata  ol  oceanic  deposite, 
piled  above  the  remains  of  this  animal,  upon 
the  surface  on  which  he  expired.    As  the  I 


volcanic  stratum  D,  occurs  next  above  the 
one  £,  m  which  these  remains  were  found, 
it  is  not  improbable  that  the  immense  sub- 
marine volcano  which  then  burst  forth,  was 
the  immediate  cause  of  this  creature's  de- 
struction. But  the  strata,  C.  B.  A.  abovs 
this  volcanic  one,  being  oceanic,  must  have  | 
been  deposited  at  three  several  and  distinct 
periods,  or  geological  epochs,  when  the 
ocean  arose  and  overflowed  the  strata  that 
had  previously  been  formed.  Geologists,  ai  ^ 
yet',  have  furnished  us  with  no  data  by 
which  we  can  determine  the  length  of  thoee 
periods,  nor  indeed  any  chronological  key  \ 
whatever  to  the  stratification  of  the  earth.  | 
Thus  is  geology  left  vdthout  a  chrondogy 
which  alone  can  harmonize  its  phenomena,  ' 
and  elevate  it  to  the  dignity  of  a  science. 
That  chronology,  however,  like  every  other, 
must  be  sought  for,  and,  we  have  k>n| 
thought  can  only  be  found,  in  an  astronomi- 
cal source,  developing  and  demonstrating  the 
changes  in  the  position  of  the  earth's  axis 
towards  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic  and  the  siu, 
under  the  influence  of  the  spiral  motion  of 
the  magnetic  poles,  as  calculated  and  pub- 
lished in  our  Astro-Magnetic  Almanac  for 
1843.  From  the  calculations  there  gifea 
it  appears  that  it  requures  2,304,000  yean, 
or  one  complete  siderial  revolution  of  the 
earth's  axis,  for  the  ocean  to  deposit  two 
strata;  and,  consequently,  that  the  period  of 
of  3,456,000  has  elapsed  since  the  three 
oceanic  strata  were  deposited  over  the  skel^ 
ton  of  the  Hydrarchos.  We  say  nothing  <rf 
the  time  during  which  the  volcanic  stratyn 
was  formed  immediately  over  these  remaifls> 
because  this  occurred  in  the  interval  betwees 
the  formation  of  the  yellow  limestone  stntlna 
in  which  they  were  found,  and  that  of  the  liiM* 
stone  stratum  C,  next  above  the  volcanic 
stratum  itself.  But  since  the  deposit  of  the 
third  oceanic  stratum  A,  a  period  has  elapsed 
of  1,008,000  years,  during  which  the  ocean 
has  again  advanced  from  the  equator  tovaidi 
that  latitude,  in  its  progressive  fonnalion  of 
a  fourth  stratum ;  so  that  this  time  most  he 
added  to  the  one  before  given,  to  make  the 
total  period  4,464,000  years,  since  the  Hy- 
drarchos was  destroyed.  And  immenm  ai 
this  period  may  seem  to  those  who  are  oik^ 


The  HydrarchaSj  or  GrecU  Fossil  Sea-Serpent. 


223 


eostomed  to  the  contemplation  of  tibe  astro-  the  chann,  was  Dr.  H.  G.  Payne,  Mr. 
nomical  causes  of  stratification,  it  cannot  Ketchum,  and  a  young  man  by  the  nanie  of 
,,.,,..,         *•      *  •  « '  Allhiscr.     The    o».her  three    were  ladies, 

teabn^gedwithoutresortmgtoasu^^^^^  Mr.  A  to  dance,  and  a  few 

oJher  results,  Mr.  S.  proceeded  to  prepare 


of  miraculous  causes  to  explain  the  pheno 
mena  which  undeniably  exist  It  was  some- 
time in  the  last  intermediate  period  of  1,008, 
000  years,  that  the  new  subterranean  disrup- 
tioD  of  the  strata  of  that  locality  occurred 
which  raised  these .  stupendous  relics  from 
the  place  of  their  protracted  oblivion,  to  be- 
eome  the  wonder  of  the  present  age. 


Motion  of  the  Mag&etio  Machine. 

In  running  the  vibrating  Magnetic  ma- 
chine, we  sometimes  find  a  point  of  about  the 
aze  of  »  small  needle  projecting  from  the 
end  of  the  screw,  which  rests  on  the  vibrating 
npnng  and  impedes  its  motion.  This  should 
he  removed  with  a  penknife  or  file,  when 

the  spring  will  again  vibrate  in  the  best 

manner. 

Experience  has  also  shown  that  the  spring 
is  sometimes  bent  by  pressing  the  screw  so 
hanl  upon  it  so  as  to  prevent  it  from  vibra- 
ting. In  this  case,  the  spring  must  be 
straightened,  when  it  will  again  vibrate  in 
the  usual  way . 


X.B  BOY  BTtirBERLAND. 

The  tenth  and  last  lecture  of  this  ^ntie- 
man  on  the  Human  Soul,  was  delivered, 
according  to  previous  notice,  in  Morris 
Place,  to  a  crowded  and  highly  intelligent 
audience  on  Saturday  evening  last.  Long 
before  the  appointed  hour  the  bouse  was 
filled,  and  "expectation  stood  tip-toe,**  to 
witness  the  extraordinary  phenomena  prom- 
ised for  the  evening.  At  half  past  7  the 
lecturer  made  his  appearance,  and  immedi- 
atdy  commenced  the  experiments,  which 
were  brought  on  while  he  was  in  the  act  of 
explaining  some  few  things  peculiar  to  his 
new  theory  of  mind,  denominated  Pathetism. 
In  the  course  of  some  fifteen  minutes,  about 
a  dozen  of  the  audience  were  found  to  be  in 
a  state  of  trance;  and  six  of  the  number 
aroM,  one  after  another,  and  walked,  in  a 
peculiar  unnatural  gait,  up  to  the  platform, 
and  by  the  assistance  of  the  lecturer  seated 
ftemseWes  upon  the  sofa.  Among  those 
taken  ufoii  the  platform  under  the  power  of 


one  of  the  ladies  for  a  surgical  operation, 
and  invited  the  medical  faculty,  the  clerey 
and  gentlemen  of  the  press,  present,  to  the 
plat^rm,  for  the  purpose  of  having  them  in- 
spect the  tooth  to  be  drawn,  and  notice  the 
manner  in  whichjit  was  done.  He  then 
took  hold  of  Dr.  Payne  (who  was  still  under 
the  influence  of  the  spell,)  and  led'  him  up 
to  the  lady  seated  in  the  chair.  And  now 
occurred  a  sight  upon  which,  probabty,  mor- 
tal eyes  never  gazed  before !  It  was  to  see 
the  somnabulic  Dr.  in  the  process  of  extract- 
ing that  tooth,  while  be  and  the  patient  were 
in  a  state  of  trance,  and  neither  of  them  able 
to  open  their  eyes  or  move  a  muscle  without 
consent  of  the  lecturer!  The  tooth  was 
very  firmly  set,  and  it  required  an  extraordi- 
nary outlay  of  strength  to  extract  it.  The 
lady  sat,  during  the  operation,  without  the 
slightest  manifestation  of  consciousness, 
though  she  is  well  known  to  be  one  of  the 
most  fearful  and  timid  in  her  natural  state : 
so  much  so,  that  she  has  been  thrown  into 
spasms,  it  is  said,  when  attemjpts  have  been 
made  to  draw  her  teeth  when  she  was 
awake. 

In  a  few  minutes  after,  the  Dr.  himself 
was  seated  in  the  front  chair,  the  spell  still 
upon  him,  and  another  physician  present, 
(Dr.  Lyman,)  proceeded  to  perform  a  similar 
operation  upon  him !  It  was  one  of  the 
wisdom  teeth,  and  had  grown  in  such  an  un- 
natural manner,  as  rendered  the  extraction 
exceedingly  difficult.  Five  times  the  key  or 
forceps  supped  from  the  tooth,  and  the  vio- 
lence done  to  the  jaV  was  such,  that  the  Dr., 
we  learn,  has  scarcely  been  able  to  open  his 
mouth  since :  and  though  he  declared  that 
he  suffered  no  pain  at  all  at  the  time,  it 
would  seem  that  he  has  since  suffered  enough 
to  make  it  up. 

This  experiment  was  intensely  interesting, 
and  highly  satisfactory  to  the  audience ;  as 
we  suppose  it  the  first  and  only  one  of  the 
kind  ever  performed  since  old  Adam  was  put 
into  the  "  deep  sleep,*'  for  the  purpose  of 
having  the  rib  taken  from  his  side. 

After  the  above,  Mr.  S.  informed  the  au- 
dience that  another  lady  was  present  in  a 
state  of  trance,  who  would  submit  to  have 
two  of  her  teeth  drawn,  if  they  had  patience 
or  a  desire  to  see  any  more  blood  shed,  A 
wish  being  expressed  to  see  it  done,  Dr. 
Payne  was  now  restored  to  his  natmal  state, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  he  drew  two  of  her 


224 


Clairniativenes^* 


molar  teeth,  while  she  manifested  not  the 
slightest  knowledge  of  what  was  going  on. 
And  hoth  ladies  operated  on  declared,  after 
being  restored,  they  had  no  knowledge  what- 
ever of  any  thing  done  to  them  while  upon 
the  stage  in  the  state  of  trance  ! 

What  Mr.  Sunderland  has  accomplished 
during  his  visit  to  this  city,  has  abundantly 
confirmed  the  newspaper  reports  we  have 
seen  of  his  wonderful  performances  in  other 

{)laces;  which,  in  the  production  of  psycho- 
ogical  phenomena,  especially  those  peculiar 
to  what  «re  called  spells  and  charms,  place 
bim  far  before  all  other  men  of  whom  history 
has  givBn  us  any  account.  He  has  evidently 
left  a  good  impression  on  the  minds  of  our 
citizens,  as  was  manifest  by  the  audience, 
last  Saturday  evening,  when  he  declared  his 
determination,  at  some  future^day,  to  visit  our 
city  again. — Tray  Budget. 


'*  OlairmatiTeness." 
DcAR  Sir  : 

The  pnblicaiion  containing  "  All  the  Mysteriee  of 
Human  Magnetum  and  Clairvoyance  Explained,  by 
the  celebrated  Jackson  Davis  of  Poaghkeepsie,"  pro> 
miaed  in  the  Tribnne  some  time  since,  by  Rev.  G. 
Bmith,  has  just  come  to  my  notice ;  and,  as  1  know 
■tany  of  your  readers  foel-  considerable  inteiest  in  the 
•object,  I  beg  the  privilege  of  offering  a  few  remarks 
ooBceming  it  And,  I  am  the  more  inclined  lo  do  so, 
from  knowing,  as  I  do,  that  many  candid  persons  like 
Mr.  Bmith  have  been  so  completely  carried  away  with 
tba  oracular  proofs  of  young  Davis,  as  to  admit  and 
balMve  most  or  all  ke  has  Siid  without  the  shadow  of 
adonbti  Had  these  friends  heard  as  many  **  ravelar 
(aoBB**  of  theories  from  somnambuliste  as  it  has  fallen 
to  my  lot  to  listen  to  within  the  last  seven  ytars,  I  do 
belieT*  it  would  have  very  much  moderated  the  ardor 
of  their  faith  in  the  "  Clairmativeness"  of  Mr.  Jackson 
Dnvia.  Swedenborg  was  a  far  more  remarkable  Bom- 
nambnlist  than  Davis,  or  indeed  than  many  others  of 
the  present  age  who  have  been  thought  to  be  so  very 
extraordinary.  More  beautiful  theories  were  never 
conceived,  perhaps,  in  the  haroan  biain  than  were  put 
forth  by  Swedenborg.  while  in  a  state  of  Bomnambu- 
Ham,  or  one  identical  with  that  to  which  we  now  ap- 
ply this  term.  Somnambulic  revelations  of  theories 
have  often  been  made  by  Mormons,  French  Prophets, 
Anabaptists,  Methodists,  Catholics,  Presbyterians,  and 
others.  Witness  the  Tiance  of  Rev.  Mr.  Ttnnant  of 
Mew- Jersey.  These,  visinns,  or  Bomnambnlic  descrip* 
ttona,  may  be  classed  with  the  phenomena  of  Dream- 
ing, and  are  no  more  to  be  depended  upon  as  truthful 
than  many  eaaea  of  dreaming,  which  are  of  eonstant 
occurrence. 

Many  of  the  representations  made  by  Davis,  are  not 
only  puerile,  but  they  are  false  in  fact,  as  any  one  may 
easily  know.  Bee  page  34  of  his  book.  "  Clairma 
tiveness,"  he  tells  us,  **  is  a  componnU  word,  anii^  lite 
rally  signifies  clearly  reversed  'M  ! !  ^  Clair,"  is  a 
French  adjective,  and  literally  signifies  ^  clear,"  and 
not  ••clearly,*'  m  Mr.  D.  thought ;  and,  then  as  to  the 
literal  neHriiit  of  "mftCivcnees,"  who  knowa) 


His  stoiies  about  the  inhabitants  of  Saturn,  nsf  be 
clashed  with  the  visions  of  Joe  Smith.  1  no  mofsbe> 
lieve  th'  m  than  1  do  the  following,  where  (page  96)  ha 
speaks  of  himself  in  the  following  terms: 

''When  in  the  state  that  I  now  am,  I  am  master  of  the 
general  sciences,  can  speak  all  languages,  impart  in- 
structions apon  those  deep  and  hidden  things  in  na- 
ture, which  the  world  have  not  been  able  to  solve,  m 
I  bave  done  in  theee  lectures  (I]  can  name  thediAnni 
organs  in  the  human  system,  point  out  their  office  sad 
functions — tell  the  nature,  cause  and  symptoms  of  di» 
ease,  and  prescribe  the  remedies  th»t  will  effect  thi 
cure,"  Ac.  4e.c. 

Did  that  youth  ever  converse  with  any  inteUigaat 
person,  in  a  foreign  language  1  And,  into  what  egre- 
gious delusion  must  that  mind  have  fallen  which  eooU 
utter  such  language  as  the  above!  Many  things  bi 
affirms  about  the  siale  denominated  the  "magiMtie 
sleep,"  I  know  to  be  untrue,  but  it  would  not  be  waitk 
the  space  to  point  them  out  here.  Page  21,  he  unte- 
takes  to  prove  that  <' magnetism"  is  ^'animal  best," 
and  the  caase  of  all  *'  feeling  or  sensation ;"  aad  isfi: 
"Take  for  example  a  limb  thai  has  zeceivei  a  pantf 
tic  shock— it  is  entirely  insensible  to  touch,  no  Mwa 
tlon  can  be  produced  in  it." 

This  is  a  great  mistake  as  every  Pathologist  kaomk 
and  shows  how  really  ignorant  this'youth  is,  notwifr 
standing  his  assumption  that  he  is  **^  Master  of  the  |* 
eral  sciences!"  I  have  seen  and  treated  aaawnil 
cases  of  paralysis,  where  the  sensation  was  far  gnat* 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  system  not  nffeetii 

Mr.  Davis  seems  to  have  borrowed  largely  finoi  u* 
merous  writers  in  his  sleep,  and  from  one  he  has  quo- 
ted ideas  abontthe  ••  sympathetic  nerves," peg*  W|»"' 
the  effects  of  manipulation,  page  21,  withent  gbiei 
credit  for  them. 

The  pamphlet  is  interesting  as  a  Somnambolie  pi^ 
formance,  though  it  contains  much  that  amonnti  M 
nothing,  even  if  admitted  to  be  true ;  and  sdll  wn 
which  may  be  easily  demoosiratiBd  to  be  falae  ie  fie* 
losophy  and  unsustained  by  matter  of  fact  b  f 
ing  this  much,  howeveri  I  must  not  be  nndentoed  • 
attaching  the  least  blame  to  Mr.  Davis,  or  hisaiBfl^ 
ensis.  Rev.  Mr.  Bmith.  The  former  tc^d  his  senaia- 
bnlic  visions,  containing  some  truth,  ouzed  vp  «iik  * 
vast  amount  of  fancy,  and  the  latter  gentlemee  Mii^ 
ed  the  whole.  Time  will  show  that  they  wee*  boA 
deceived,  as  thousands  of  others  have  been  befmaA* 
who  have  depended  upon  sinular  revehition»  to  *^ 
they  should  believe  both  in  science  and  religion* 

Lb  Rot  SuNSMaUfl' 
Boston,  Mass.  Sept  26th  IMS. 

Trihiim. 


This  number  completes  the  second  Tolnff 
of  this  J.ournal  The  first  number  of  tl» 
third  volume  will  be  issued  on  the  fintof 
January  next 


ITrra/uJW.— Page  215— Article  ''Magnetic 
Sleep,"  18  lines  from  the  bottom  of  the  li- 
cood  column,  for  molar  rewl  "  i 


r 


miHSX  TO  yObUlEB  a 


Pacob. 

FaOkies  of  the  Fftc«ll)r.  L^elttte  dl^yer- 
ed  «t  the  l^yj^n  Hall*  Plccadillv,  Lob- 
^on,  K40,  by  S.  Dixon^  M.  D.  Ledare 
IV.  InfljonnAiion'^Biobd  Letting^ 
Abstinence     ---.-.--      i 

AjBerican  Jdtimal  of  Tniantty  for  October, 
1844,  Kdiled  by  the  Officers  of  the  New 
Vork  State  Lunatic  Aeylom,  Utica. — 
Vol.  I.  No.  2.  Article  L  Definition  of 
Inaanitj — Nature  of  the  Diaease  -    -    19 

Dr.  Stevens*  Address  ^t  the  openinr  of  the 
Annual  Session  of  the  New  Yok  Med- 
ical College :  Crosby-street    ...    26 

Mary  Dent  and  John  Gaiiaod— Sir  James 
mham*s  ••  Suiigery. "      Mr.    Henry 
Mitchell's  History  of  the  Case     -    -    23 
Defence  by  Mr.  Garland's  Counsel.  From 
the  Londsn  Lancet 29 

Acad^flkiede  Medicine,  Faris-^July.  Case 
of  Sns-pabic  iithotomy,  high  opera- 
tion SO 

Exdsioii  of  the  Spleen    .....    90 

Aeadennr  of  Sciences,  fttfis — ^July.  Pseu- 
do-Membianous  Inflammation  of  the 
J^idder,  produced  by  Blister  -    -    -    80 

Plathology.  A  case  of  Acute  TubercnloMs 
of  the  Membranes  of  the  Brain,  the 
Longs,  and  Lymphatic  Glands.  Obser- 
-red  by  Dr.  Brazic,  Assistant  Physician 
to  Dr.  Skoda,  of  Vienna.  Fr6m  the 
Bntish  Journal  of  Homoeopathy  -    -    31 

llie^Refiearches  of  M.  Jobert  (De  Delam- 
halle)  on  the  Structure  of  the  Uterus    32 

Camphor  a  Preserrative  of  Ergot  of  Rye. 
From  the  London  Lancet  -    .    -    -    34 

The  E^ts  of  Tartar  Emetic  on  Young 
'  Subjects.    From  the  London  Lancet  •    34 

Practical  Observations.  Affections  of  the 
Spinal  Marrow:  employment qf  Rannn- 
cultts  Btilbosus,  By  Francis  Black,  M. 
D.  From  the  British  Journal  of  Homce- 
Baihy 36 

CbJcuIos  of  the  Bladder  treated  by  Electri- 
city-   -.•.-.-'--*-    38 

Hierapentical  application  of  Cold.    From 

the  London  Lancet -39 

Tlie  Causes,  Symptoms,  and  Treatment  of 
Acute  founder  in  the  Horse.    From  the 

London  Lancet 39 

IXadwtes  treated  by  Alkalies.    From  the 

,       London  Lancet •  -    89 

Dttodyaaniies 40 


.  Pitte 
tSunphor,  m  PiwerratiTe  of  Eigot  of  Kye  40 
Efiects  of  Maapieliziikg  tipbn  thie  M3i)s^W. 
zer-    ..........    41 

Mesmerism  .(........^S 

Efleets  of  th^  Botafy  Magnietic  Maehinte  42 

Ms^eticSleep 43 

Animal  Msrnetitm     ......    45 

Beneficial  J^fiscts  of  Animal  Maghetisib  46 
Hie  Rotary  Msffnetie  Machine,  and  the  , 
Dnodynamic  Tieatment  of  Disease  -    47 
Effects  of  the  Rotary  Magnetic  Madiine  4)B 

Magnetic  Surrey 49 

Mr.  Sunderland  and  the  Fairies  -    -    -    60 
Pretended  Discoveries  iu  Animal  Magne- 
tism      51 

Coh)n  Sirangnlated  by  Meso-eolon  -    -    52 

Orran  of  Calculation 53 

Vame  of  Homceopatfaic  Practice  -  -  53 
Decomposition  of  Tincture  of  Opium,  by 

Ammonia 54 

Medical  Miscellany  *  -  -  -  -  .  64 
The  Local  Pathology  of  Neuralgia  -  -  54 
The  Symptoms  of  Abcessof  the  Prostrate 

Gland.    Diagnosis  from  GoAorhoea  -    54 
The  Curability  of  Hydrophobia  •    -    -    55 
On  the  Efficacy  of  Lai^  Doses  of  Odo- 
mel  in  Typhus,  by  J.  Buigess,  Esq.,  M. 

R.  C.  S. 55 

Spontaneous  G«re  of  Cataract   -    -    -    56 

Plane  Trigonometry 56 

Errata 56 

Fallacies  of  the  Faculty.  Lectures  deliv- 
ered  at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Piccadilly, 
London,  1840,  by  S.  Dixon,  M.  D. — 
Lecture  V.  Medical  Doctrines,  old  and 
new — Gout — Rheumatism —  Cutaneous 
Disease— Small  Pox — Plague — ^Yellow 
Fever — Dysentery— Dropsy — Cholera  57 

Poisoning  by  Arsenic 73 

Miss  Martineau's  Letters  on  Mesmerism  74 
The  presence  of  Animalculae  in  the  Blood  87 
Means  of  Arresting   Hemorrhage   from 

Leech  Bites -    88 

On  the  Consequence  of  Insects,  or  Foreign 
Bodies  gaining  admission  into  the  Audi, 
tory  Paaq^ges,  and  on  the  best  modes  of 
extracting  them,  by  W.  Wright,  Esq., 

London 88 

Physiological  and  Fbtholoeisftl  Researches 

on  Tuberculosis,  by  H  Lebert,  M.  D.   89 
On  the  Cure  of  Dieainess  by  puncturing 
the  Membrana  Tympani   ....    93 


INDEX. 


Page. 
The  Scalp  Issue  in  Cerebral  Diseases  -  94 
Statistics  of  Obstetric  Practice  -  •  •  94 
The  Administration  of  Medicines  in  a  stale 

of  Fluidity 94 

On  the  Method  of  taking  Plaster  Casts    95 

On  the  Treatment  of  Femoral  H^mia,;tV    / 

J.  Sebastian  Wilkinson,  Esq.,  Surgeon, 

London 96 

Medical  Memoranda 96 

Polypus  of  the  Womb,  by  M.  Lisfranc, 

.   Paris ,    ,    -    .    97 

Symptoms  and  Pathological  Appearances 

in  a  Case  of  Spinal  Meningitis    -     -    98 
A  Substitute  for  Wood  Engraving,  by 
Richard  Lewis  Bean,  Esq.,  M.  R.  C.  S., 

London »--99 

Reciprocal  InJSuence  of  the  Nervous  and 

Sanguiferous  Systems 99 

Prestat's  Adhesive  Plaster    -    ....  99 
Scrofula,  by  M.  Lugol,  Paris    .    -    -    99 

Clairvoyance 101 

Bursal  Swelling  of  the  Wrist* and  Palm 

of  the  Haad,  by  James  Syme,  Esq.  -  102 
Caoutchouc  as  a  Remedy  for  Toothache  10^ 

An  Extraordinary  Fact 102 

General  Laws  Regulating  the  Displace- 
ment of  Fractures    -    -    .     -    *    -  103 
Variocele  Treated  by  Compression  -    v'103 
Inoculatioit  with  Strychnia  in  Amauro- 
sis   103 

The  Styptic  Power  of  Eigot  -    -    -    -  104 
ExtiipaUon  of  the  Mamma  of  a  Female 
in  the  Mesmeric  Sleep,  by  L.  A.  Du- 

gas,  M.  D. 104 

Mimetic  Sleep 106 

Vibrating  Magnetic  Machine    -    -    -  106 
Anatomy  and  Physiology    -    -    -    -  108 

Letter  lo  the  Editor 109 

John  Wesley  and  Electrioi^  ^p-     -    -  109 

Letter  to  the  Editor Ill 

Magnetic  Miscellany Ill 

Ulcerated  Ears 112 

Rheumatism 112 

Fallacies  of  the  Faculty,  Lectures  deli- 
vered at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Piccadilly, 
London,  1840,  by  S.  Dixon,  M.  D. — 
Lecture  VL  Present  State  of  Medical 
Practice  in  England.  Dispepsia — Hys- 
teria an:  I  Hypocondria— Insanity — Ef- 
fect of  Ligatures — ^Faint — Congestion, 
its  Nature — Infantile  Convulsions  -113 
Suggestions  Relative  to  the  Cause  of 
Sleep,  by  William  Smith,  Esq.,  Sur- 
geon, Clifton -  130 

Surgical  Diseases 131 

The  Gastric  Fluid,  its  Nature  ai^  Pioper* 

ties -  132 

Indian  Hemp  in  Traumatic  Tetanus,  by 
H.  G.  Potter,  F.  L.  S.,  Suraeon  to  the 
Newcastle  Inftrmanr,  and  Lecturer  on 
Suigery  at  the  NewcastJe-on-Tyne 
School  of  Medicine  aad  S«j|^y  -    -  133 


*     .  PlGI. 

A  new  pryianition  of  Cinchona  Bark   133 
Adulteration  of  Sulphate  df  Quinine,  and 

a  method  of  detecting  it  -  -  .-  -  134 
Epidemic  Cholera  treal^  b^  Transfusion  134 
Miss  Marti  neau's  Repudiation  of  Mr. 

1 0ree|iha(w!s  Report 135 

Academie  des  Sciences — Researches  of^ 

MM.  Andral  and  Gavarreton  the  Com-\ 

position  of  the  Blood 135 

On  the  D^eneresence  of  Vaccine  Matter  136 
The  Sex  of  tbe.Child  as  a  Cause  of  Dif- 
ficulty and  Danger  in  Human  Parturir . 

lioa 136 

Illustration  of  the  Impoitaace  of  Ventila-. 

t   tion 137 

On  the  Use^f  the  Thymus  Gland  -    -  13r 
Galvanism  applied  to  the  Treatment  of 

Uterine  Hemorrhage,  etc  -  -  -  -  138 
Use  of  Chloride  of  Lime  in  Diseases  at' 

tended  with  Contamous  Discharee  •  138 
Contributions  in  the  Diagnosis  and  Pa- 
thology of  Chest  Diseases    -    -    -  138 
Elegant  Extract— Mesmerism  and  Miss 

Martineau H* 

Removal  of  a  Coin  from  the  Larynx  by 

Inversion  of  the  Body ^^ 

Curious  Case  of  MeHnisric  Detection  of 

Crime .    •  140 

The  Relation  of  a  Physician  to  a  Col- 

leage 1*1 

A  Doctor  and  his  Lizards  -     -     -    -  -  141 
Extraordinary  Facts  relating  to  Combos^ 

tion 142 

Medical  Society  of  London^E&cts  oi 

Counter  Irritation — Incubation  of  Ia- 

sam'ty 1^ 

Imbecility  of  Medical  Colleges  -    -    - 1** 
Swedenborg*a  Animal  Kingdom  -    -    - 1** 

— Principles  of  Motion  -  -  -  -  1*^ 
Magnetizine;  in  Lateral  Curvatures  of  the 

Spine  - -    •  1^ 

Greenland .    -  148 

Lord  Roase's  Two  Great  Telescc^^   •  1^ 

Magnetic  Sleep --!» 

Galvanic  Rings ^^ 

Magnetized  Rings '^ 

Medical  Duodynamics     -    -    -    -    •  1^ 
Glanglions  of  the  Spinal  Nerves  iJ*  ^  ^ 

Intervertebral  Spaces ^J: 

Diseases  of  the  Mucous  Surfaces  -    -  ^jj 
Letter  to  the  Editor— Electrical  PiUa,  etc.  IW 

Important  Proposal ^jj 

Magnetic  Miscellany ^r: 

Homoeopathy     -    -    -     -    •    "    "    "  ^2 

Animal  Majpmetism 'J?: 

Magnetic  Afachine "  'J! 

Letters  t©  the  Editor jg 

Antiquities  of  America jj; 

Clairvoyance JJ: 

Swedenbore's  Animal  KiAgdom  -    -   •  !•* 
Fallacies  of  the  Faculty.    Lectures  dch- 

veied  at  the  Egyptian  Hall»  J»cQMliily» 


INDEX.  3 

I/Mdon,  1846.    By  S.  Dixon,  M.  D.        Swedenboiif  s  Animal  Kingdom.    Introt^'' 
Ucture  m    Unity  of  all  Things.-^  ductory  Remarka  by  the  Translator, 

lHwaaes  of  Women-Cancer-Tiimour  James  John  Garth  WTUkmaon,  Member 

— Ffegnancy--Parturition-  Abortion  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons  of 

—Teethmj— Hereditary  Periodicity  -  169      London 199 

Dweascs  Incidental  to  Women   -    -    -171  Digestion  of  Saccharine  and  Amylaceous 

Cfflicer  of  the  Breast 373      Matters    - -    -    -  204 

ifcj^°" 176  Acadpmie  des  Sciences,  Paris,  1845.    Re- 

W^^^^ 177      searches  on  Generation    -    -    -    -  205 

Fartuntion   -    -    ......    .  178  Mr.  Bonjean  on  the  Poisonous  Effects  of 

AborUonocMiscamagB   ^    -    -    -    .  179      the  Secale  Comutum 205 

i^!!5-?^  "■.-.: 179  On  the  Value  of  Vaccination  and  Revac- 

Iferedjtary  Periodicity igj       cination 206 

Nausea,  or  Sickness  of  the  Stomach    -  187  On   the  Anatomy  of  the   Sympathetic 
Tracts  on  eonsumption.    No.  1.    On  a  Nerve-    ,--......  2O6 

I    ^uL^^S^  Symptom  in  Tubercu-        The  Functions  of  the  Pancreas  -    .    -  20C 

IBT  Phthisis.  By  J G ,M.D.  187  Academie  de  Medicine,  Paris.    March, 

Jf^^.*  ,  " 188      April,  May.  June.    Autoplastic  Opera- 

IVosological  Symptoms    -----  189       tion  in  Cancerous  Disease  ...    -  207 

I^^° *    -    -    -    -  189  On  the  Causes  of  Insanity    ....  207 

^P"®®-. 189  Fistula  of  the  Urethra  Cured  by  Auto- 

Expectoration 1^^      plasty 208 

tomoptysis IPQ  Relation  between  the  Extent  of  the  Brain 

Hectic  Fever 1^^      and  the  Intellect 208 

A  kJif^**" 190  A  New  Mode  of  Treating  Spermatorrhea  208 

^*^T*- 190  The  Operation  for  Hare  Lip  in  Infants  -  209 

rnymcai  Signs £91  Microscopical  Anatomy  of  Tubercle  -  209 

Rcspiratoiy  Movements 19,   P#|Jagra  in  Gascony    - 209 

f^^^"^^? 191   Contagion  of  Typhoid  Fever-     -    -    -211 

AiLSculfation     .    - 191  On  the  Localization  of  Speech  in  the  An- 

Ihe  Sympathetic  Nerve  -----  192      nor  Lobes  of  the  Brain    -    -    -    -  211 
Missions  in  Greenland    -----  194  Statistics  of  Bethlem  Hospital,  with  Re- 
Dislocation  of  the  Long  Head  of  the  Bi-  marks  on  Insanity.    PUrt  IL    By  John 

cepe.    By  Henry  Hancock,  Esq.,  Sur-  Webster,  M.  D.,  R  R  S.,  &c.    -    -  211 

geon  to  Charing-Crotfs  Hospital    -    -  196  Electro  Magnetic  Clocks 211 

Rupture  of  the  Tendon  of  the  Long  Head        Extracting  Teeth  in  the  Mesmeric  Sleep  212 
01  tlie  Uiceps.    By  Henry  Hancock,        Successful  Application  of  Mesmerism  to 

^9^  burgeon  to  the  Charing-Cross  a  Suigical  Operation 212 

KjMtal.     Treatment   ^    "    "    '    -  196  The  Wonders  of  Electricity  -    -    *    -  213 
KeducHon  of  Dislocation  of  the  Scalpu-        Statistics  of  Insanity   -..--.  214 

^*-  ^**7''0"*^»an  Toogood,   E8q,M.         Letter  to  the  Editor 214 

U,  Bridgevvater  -    -     -    -    .     .     ,197  Letter  to  the  Editor 215 

Un  the  Cure  of  Hydrocele  Encysted  Tu-        Magnetic  Sleep -    -    -  21i) 

mours,  and  Fistula  in  Ano,  without        The  Hydrarchos,  or  Great  Fossil   Sea- 
Operation.    By  Dr.  Alfred  A.  Harvey,  Serpent -  216 

v.«S5?l:  /  /t  ♦'  /  .'    ;   A  ^    -  ^^^  Motion  of  the  Magnetic  Machine  -     -  223 

Acw  Method  of  Introducing  the  Caflleter  198  Le  Roy  Sunderland '223 

Ueosote  m  Naeus  Maternus  -     -    -    -  198  Clairinativeiiess 224 


r 


THE   DISSECTOR. 


vol..  III. 


JAVT7ART,  1846. 


NO.  I. 


PALLAOISS  OF  THE  FA0Xn«T7. 

Ltctures   delivered  at  the  Egyptian  Hall, 
Piccadilly,  London,  1840. 

BY    S.   DIXON,  M.   D. 

LECTURE  VIII. 

THB    SSNSE8. 

Animal  UagncUsm,  The  PaMions,  Baths,  Exercise, 
HomooiMithy. 

Gjbktixhen, 

The  Causes  of  Disease,  we 
have  already  said  and  shown,  can  only  affect 
Ibe  body  through  one  oi  more  of  the  vari- 
ous modiiications  of  nervous  perception. 
No  disease  can  arise  independent  of  this — 
no  disease  can  be  cured  without  it.  Who 
ever  beard  of  a  corpse  taking  the  Snuill-pox? 
or  of  a  tumor  or  a  sore  being  healed  iu  a 
dead  body  ?  A  dreamer  or  a  German  nove- 
list might  imagine  such  things.  Even  in  the 
jiving  subject,  when  nerves  have  been  acci- 
dentally paralysed,  the  most  potent  agents 
have  not  their  usual  inflaence  over  the  parts 
which  such  nerves  supply.  If  you  divide 
the  pneumo-gastric  nerves  of  a  living  dog — 
nerves  which,  as  their  name  imports,  connect 
the  Biain  with  the  Lungs  and  Stomach — ar- 
senic will  not  produce  its  accustomed  effect 
on  either  of  these  organs.  Is  not  this  one 
of  many  proofs  that  an  external  agent  can 
only  influence  internal  parts  banetully,  at 
least,  by  means  of  its  electric  power  over 
the  nerves  leading  to  them  ?  Through  the 
same  medium,  and  in  the  same  manner,  do 
the  greater  number  of  our  remedial  forces 
exert  their  salutary  influence  on  the  human 
frame.  But  whether  applied  for  good  or  for 
evil,  all  the  forces  of  nature  act  simply  by 
attraction  or  renulsion.  The  Brain  and  Spi- 
nal Column — the  latter  a  prolongation  ol  the 
former — are  the  grand  centres  upon  wbich^ 
every  medicine  sooner  or  later  tells,  and 
many  are  the  avenues  by  which  these  cen- 
tres may  he  approached.    Through  each  of 


TB£  FiV£   S£N8£S, 

the  Brain  may  be  either  beneficially  or  bane- 
fuUy  influenced.  Indeed,  take  away  these, 
where  would  be  the  joys,  sorrows,  and 
more  than  half  the  diseases  of  mankind  f 

We  shall  first  speak  of  Sight.    The  view 
of  a  varied  and  pleasant  country  may,  of  it- 
self, improve  the  condition  of  many  invalids 
— ^while  a  gloomy  situation  has  too  often  had 
the  reverse  effect.    There  are  cases,  never- 
theless, in  which  pleasant  objects  only  pain 
and  distract  the  patient  by  their  multiplicity 
or  brightness.    Kight  and  darkness,  in  sucH 
circumstances,  have  afforded  both  mental  and 
bodily  tranquility.  The  presence  of  a  strong 
light  afiects  certain  people  with  headache ; 
and  there  are  persons  to  whom  the  first  burst 
of  sunshine  is  troublesome,  on  account  of 
the  fit  of  sneezing  it  excites.     A  flash  of 
lightning  has  caused  and  cured  the  palsy. 
Laennec  mentions  the  case  of  a  gentleman 
who,  when  pursuing  a  journey  on  horseback 
suddenly  arrived  at  an  extensive  plain.     The 
view  of  this  apparently  interminable  waste 
affected  him  w^ith  such  a  sense  of  suffocation 
that  he .  was  forced  to  turn  back.     Fi?r!ing 
hinjbelf  relieved,  he  again  attempted  to  pro- 
ceed ;  but  the  return  of  the  suffocative  feel- 
ing forced  him  to  abandon  his   journey. 
The  common  effects  of  gazing  from  a  great 
height  are  giddiness,  dimness  of  sight,  with 
a  sense  of  sickness  and  terror ;  yet  there  are 
individuals  who  experience  a  gloomy  joy 
uf)on    such    occasions;  and    some  become 
seized  with  a  feeling  like  what  we  suppose 
inspiration  to  be— a  prophetic  feeling,  that 
leads  them  to  the  utterance  and  prediction 
of  extravagant  and  impossible  things.    Oth- 
ers again,  under  such  circumstances,  have 
an  involuntary  disposition  to  hurl  themselves 
from  the  precipice  upon  which  they  stand. 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  Count  Robert  of 
Paris,  makes  Ursel  say,  "  Guard  me,  then, 
from  myself,  and  save  me  from  the  reeling; 
and  msane  desire  which  I  feel  to  plunge  my- 
seif  in  the  abyss,  to  the  edge  of  whicli  you 
have  guided  me.'*    Every  kind  of  motion 


2 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


upon  the  body  may  affect  the  brain  for  good 
or  for  evil ;  and  through  the  medium  of  the 
eye,  novel  motion  acts  upon  it  sometimes 
very  curiously.     You  have  all  experienced 

§iddiness  from  a  few  rapid  gyrations.  Every 
ling,  in  the  room  then  appears  to  the  eye, 
to  turn  around.  If  you  look  from  the  win- 
dow of  a  coach  in  rapid  motion  for  any 
length  of  time,  you  will  become  dizzy.  The 
same  thing  produces  sickness  with  some. 
Many  people  become  giddy,  and  even  epi- 
leptic, from  looking  for  a  length  of  time  on 
a  running  stream;  with  others,  this  very 
stream  gazing  induces  a  pleasurable  reverie, 
or  a  disposition  to  sleep.  Apply  these  facta 
to  Animal  Magnetism — compare  them  with 
the  effects  of  the  manipulations  so  called, 
and  you  will  have  little  difficulty  in  arriving 
at  a  just  estimate  of  their  nature  and  mode 
of  action.  VVh«»t  is  animal  magnetism  ?  It 
consists  in  passing  the  hands  up  and  down 
before  the  eyes  of  another  slowly,  and  with 
a  certain  air  of  pomp  and  mystery;  now 
moving  them  this  way,  now  that.  You 
must,  of  course,  assume  a  very  imperturba* 
ble  gravity,  and  keep  your  eye  firmly  fixed 
upon  the  patient,  *in  order  to  maintam  your 
mental  ascendancy.  On  no  account  must 
you  allow  your  features  to  relax  into  a 
smile.  If  you  perform  your  tricks  slowly 
and  silently  in  a  dimly-lit  chamber,  you  will 
be  sure  to  make  an  impression.  What  im- 
pression ? — Oh  !  as  in  the  case  of  the  stream 
gazer,  one  person  will  become  dreamy  and 
entranced ;  another,  sleepy ;  a  third,  fidgetty 
or  convulsed.  Who  are  the  persons  that, 
for  the  most  part,  submit  themselves  to  this 
mummery? — Dyspeptic  men,  and  hysteric 
women — weak,  curious,  credulous  persons, 
whom  you  may  move  at  any  time  by  a  straw 
or  a  feather.  IWA  up  your  fm^er  to  them 
and  they  will  laugh ;  depress  it,  and  they 
will  cry !  So  far  from  being  astonished  at 
anything  I  hear  of  these  people,  I  only  won- 
der it  has  not  killed  some  of  them  outright 
— poor  fragile  things !  A  few  years  ae;o  I 
took  it  into  my  head  to  try  this  kind  of 
pawing  in  a  case  of  epilepsy.  It  certainly 
had  the  effect  of  keeping  ofi*  the  fit;  but 
what  hocus-pocus  has  not  done  that?  I 
have  often  done  the  same  thing  with  a  stamp 
of  my  foot.  In  a  case  of  cancer  upon 
which  I  tried  the  "  passes,**  as  these  manipu- 
lations are  called,  the  lady  got  so  fidgetty,  I 
verily  believe,  if  I  had  continued  them 
longer,  she  would  have  become  hysterical  or 
convulsed !  That  effects  remedial  and  the 
reverse,  however,  may  be  obtained  from 
them,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied.  Nor  do  I 
mean  to  deny  that  in  a  few — a  very  few  in- 
stances, these,  or  any  other  monotonous  mo- 
tions, may  produce  some  extraordinary  ejQkcts 


— effects  which,  however,  are  the  rare  excep- 
tion instead  of  the  general  mle.  Whatever 
any  other  cause  of  Disease  may  produce  on 
the  human  body,  these  manipulations  may 
by  possibility  occasion —  Somnambuliim, 
Catalepsy,  or  what  you  please.  There  itf  no 
more  dimculty  in  believing  this  than  there  is 
difficulty  in  believing  that  the  odor  of  a 
rose,  or  the  sight  of  a  cat  will  make  certain 
people  swoon  away.  This  much  then  I  am 
disposed  to  admit. — But  when  the  animal 
magnetiezrs  assert  that  the  senses  may  be 
transposed, — that  the  stomach  may  take  the 
office  of  the  eye,  and  render  that  beautiful 
or^n  with  all  the  perfect  but  complex  ma- 
chinery by  which  it  conveys  light  and  sha- 
dow to  the  Brain,  a  work  of  supererogatiot 
on  the  part  of  the  Creator,  I  turn  from  the 
subject  with  feelings  of  invincible  diaouL 
If  it  be  objected  that  the  magnetizera  bare 
produced  persons  of  both  sexes  who  widi 
their  eyes  closed  and  bandaged  read  a  book 
placed  upon  their  stomach  by  means  of  that 
organ,  through  waistcoat,  boddice,  and  hea- 
ven knows  what  all !  —I  reply,  that  the  char- 
latans of  all  countries  every  day  perfona 
their  tricks  with  a  swiftness  that  altogether 
eludes  the  unpractised  eye.  Thousands  of 
peraons  have  seen  the  Indian  juggler  ^iant  a 
a  mango-stone  in  the  ground,'  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  minutes  do  what  nature  can 
only  do  in  the  course  of  years,  make  it  suc- 
cessively produce  a  plant  with  leaves,  blos- 
soms, and  lastly  fruit !  How  this  trick  » 
done,  the  witnesses  who  describe  it  know  oo 
more  than  I  how  the  magnetizera  peifona 
their  juggleries ;  but  few  who  have  seen  the 
Indian  trick  believe  in  the  reality  of  anyone 
of  the  various  transformations  with  whicl 
their  eyes  have  been  cheated.  GentlenKft 
the  transposition  of  the  senses,  is  only  tf 
old  whimsy,  newly  dressed  up  under  ife 
name  of  "  clairvoyance."  We  read  in  fl«- 
dibras  of 


— Rosicracian  virtoosU 


Who  SM  with  £an  and  hear  whh  Notts ! 
The  greater  part  of  the  influence  ol  exter- 
nal impressions  upon  the  eye,  as  upon  od* 
organs,  depends  upon  novelty  solely,  fa 
pomp  and  pageantry  affect  the  actors  and  Ae 
spectators  in  exactly  opposite  ways  With 
what  different  feelings,  for  example,  the  cour- 
tier approaches  his  Sovereign ,  from  a  peia» 
"  newly  presented."  The  one,  all  coohwBi 
looks  only  for  an  opportunity  of  improving 
his  advantages,  whflc  the  other's  only  can 
is  not  to  make  a  fool  of  himself.  How  dif- 
ferent the  effect  of  a  punishment  parade upob 
the  raw  recruit  and  the  old  soldier.'  w* 
regiment  of  veterans,  a  thousand  strong,  ^ 
a  man  will  move  from  hts  place— not  i 
countenance  shall  change  iti  cast  or  hffb 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


while  iash  follows  laah,  and  the  blood  flows 
in  streams  from  the  back  of  the  •colprit. 
The  same  scene  enacted  before  a  body  of 
sewly  enlisted  lads  of  equal  numerical 
strength,  will  alter  the  expression  of  every 
lace ;  nay,  a  dozen  or  more  will  drop,  some 
i^nttor,  some  vomiting,  some  convulsed  and 
epiieptie.  A  medical  student  of  my  acquai n - 
taooe,  the  first  time  he  saw  an  amputation, 
not  only  fainted,  but  lost  his  sight  for  nearly 
liaif-aB'hour;  yet  the  same  student  after- 
wards became  celebrated  for  his  manual  dex- 
terity, and  the  coolness  and  steadiness  with 
which  he  performed  his  amputations.  To 
use  a  vulgar  phrase — familiarity  breeds  con- 
tempt How  awkward  most  persons  feel 
when,  for  the  first  time,  they  experience  a 
ship's  motion  at  sea.  The  young  sailor,  like 
Ihe  young  surgeon,  soon  gets  cured  of  his 
aqueamishness ;  for  the  disposition  to  be  sea- 
sick vanishes  after  a  voyage  or  two.  Now 
ail  this  ought  to  convince  you  of  the  neces- 
sity of  changing  your  remedies  in  disease ; 
for  what  will  produce  a  particular  effect  one 
day  wiQ  not  always  do  it  another  With 
the  body,  as  with  tJie  mind,  novelty  and  sur- 
prise work  wonders. 

Bo  you  require  to  be  told  that  you  can  in- 
f  uence  the  whole  corporeal  motions  through 
the  organ  of  Hearing  ?  I  have  stopped  the 
commencing  epileptic  fit  by  simply  vocifiera- 
ting  in  the  ear  of  the  patient.  The  atoms  of 
the  brain^  like  the  atonis  of  other  parts,  can- 
not do  two  things  at  once ;  they  cannot,  at 
one  and  the  same  moment  of  time,  maintain 
the  state  of  arrest  which  constitutes  attention 
and  the  state  of  motion  on  which  the  epi- 
leptic convulsions  depend.  Produce  cere- 
bral attention  in  any  way  you  please,  and 
there  can  be  no  epilepsy.  In  this  way  a 
word  may  be  as  efficacious  as  a  medicine. 
Certain  sounds,  on  the  contrary,  set  the 
teeth  on  edge. 

The  influence  of  melody  upon  the  disea- 
ses of  mankind  was  so  fully  believed  by  the 
ancients,  that  they  made  Apollo  the  god 
both  of  medicine  and  music;  but  sweet 
sounds,  like  other  sweets,  are  not  sweet  to 
every  body.  Nicano,  Hlpnocrates  tells  us, 
swooned  at  the  sound  of  anute ;  what  would 
he  have  done  had  he  been  obliged  to  sit  out 
an  opera?  Many  people  are  melancholy 
when  they  hear  a  harp;  yet  the  melancholy 
of  Saul  was  assuaged  by  Pavid's  harping. 
Some  persons  become  fuhous  when  a  fiddle 
plays. 

And  others  -when  the  bagpipe  sings  i'  the  noie, 
Cannot  contain  their  mine,— ^or  Affecttoni 
Mistresa  of  Pasuoa.  sways  ii  to  the  mood 
Of  wfafltitlikesor  loathes.— BBAKSPBAftS. 

Everybody   has   heaid  of   the   wonderful 
effects  ol  the  Ranz  des  Vaches^-that  air 


which,  according  to  circumstances,  may 
either  rouse  the  Switzer  to  the  combat,  or 
stretch  him  hopeless  and  helpless  upon  the 
sick-bed  from  which  he  shall  rise  no  more. 
Oh !  these  national  airs  have  marvellous  ef- 
fects with  many  people  :  I  have  known 
them  produce  and  cure  almost  every  disease 
you  can  name ;  but  their  influence  in  this 
case  greatly  depends  upon  association. 
Captain  Owen  had  more  faith  in  an  old  song 
as  a  remedy  for  the  tropical  fever,  from 
which  his  crew  suffered,  than  in  all  the 
physic  prescribed  for  them  by  the  ship's 
surgeon.  The  singing  of  a  long  remembered 
stanza,  he  assures  us,  would,  in  a  minute, 
completely  change  for  the  better  the  chances 
of  the  most  desperate  cases.  Upon  what 
apparently  trifling  things  does  not  Life  itself 
often  turn  ! — 


,  • It  may  he  a  sound, 

A  tone  of  music,  summer's  ere  or  spring — 
A  flower,  the  wind,  the  oceao^  which  sliall  wound, 
fitrildng  the  Electric  Chain  with  which  we  are  dark- 
ly bound.— By&on. 

How  strangdy  some  people  are  affected  by 
Smell.  Who  that  had  never  seen  or  expe- 
rienced it,  would  believe  that  the  odor  ot  the 
rose  could  produce  Fainting.'  or  that  the  he- 
liotrope and  the  tuberose  have  made  some 
men  asthmatical .'  There  are  persons  who 
cannot  breathe  the  air  of  a  room  containing 
ipecacuan,  without  suffering  from  asthma. 
The  smell  of  musk,  so  grateful  to  many  peo- 
ple, sickens  some.  An  odor  in  certain  cases 
may  be  as  good  a  cordial  as  wine :  every  old 
woman  knows  the  virtue  of  hartshorn  and 
burnt  feathers. 

1  am  almost  afraid  to  speak  of  Taste,  for, 
you  know,  de  gustibus  non  est  disputandum. 
Might  not  the  Red  Indian,  when  taunted  for 
devouring  vermin,  retort  upon  the  "Pale 
Face"  for  his  mite-eating  propensity  ?  The 
Esquimaux,  who  rejects  sugar  with  disgust, 
esteems  train-oil  a  luxury ;  but  though  he 
prefers  a  tallow  candle  to  butter,  he  has  as 
perfect  a  taste  for  whiskey  as  any  Irishman 
among  us — ^that  is,  before  Father  Matthew 
and  Temperance  Societies  became  the  rage. 
How  you  would  stare  if  you  saw  a  man  in 
his  senses,  chewing  quick- lime;  yet  I  have 
seen  some  hundreds  at  a  time  doing  that. 
I  allude  to  the  practice  of  the  Asiatics,  who 
first  wrap  up  a  little  portion  of  lime  in  a  be- 
tel-leaf, and  chew  both,  as  our  sailors  do  to- 
bacco. Now,  that  very  tobacco  chewing 
has  always  seemed  to  me  an  odd  tastd,  and  I 
do  not  wonder  that  fine  ladies  have  sickened 
at  the  sight  of  a  quid.  Was  there  ever  such 
a  fancy  as  that  of  the  Chinese,  who  eat 
soup  made  of  birds  nests !  Morbid  in  the 
first  instance,  such  tadtes,  like  other  diseases 
spread  by  imitation  or  contagion.    In  th« 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


West  Indies,  the  negro  is  liable  to  a  peculiar 
ferer,  called  Xrom  the  avidity  with  which  he 
devours  clay,  Mai  d'  Estomac.  His  whole 
sensations  then  are,  doubtless,  more  or  less 
deranged.  What  extraordinary  likings  and 
longings  ladies  In  the  family  way  occasion- 
ally take!  Some  will  eat  cinders,  some 
have  a  fancy  for  rats  and  mice,  and  some, 
like  Frenchmen,  take  to  frog-eating!  I  re- 
member treading  ot  a  lady  who  paid  fifty 
pounds  for  a  bite  of  a  handsome  baker's 
shouller ;  the  same  lady  went  into  hysterics 
because  the  poor  fellow  would  not  jYermit 
her  to  take  another  bite,  at  any  price.  If 
you  smile,  and  look  incredulous  at  this,  how 
will  you  receive  what  I  am  now  ^ing  to 
tell  you  ?  Willie  I  was  myself  studying  at 
Paris,  some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago,  a 
woman  was  tried  for  decapitating  a  cnild. 
When  asked  her  motive  for  a  crime  so  hor- 
rible, she  replied,  "  I'envie  d'une  femme 
grosse." 

Well  now,  I  ttunk  we  have  had  quite 
enough  of  Tastes — we  shall  therefore  say 
something  of  Touch.  You  will  tell  me, 
perhaps,  not  to  trouble  you  on  that  subject ; 
— ^no  great  ^ood  or  ill  can  happen  from  a 
touch,  you  will  say.  But  here  you  are  mis- 
taken :  many  curious  and  even  dangerous 
aifections  may  originate  in  touch  simply, 
provided  it  be  of  a  novel  or  unusual  kind. 
Touch  the  white  of  the  eye,  however  lightly 
with  your  finger,  or  a  feather,  and  you  shall 
have  pain  that  may  last  an  hour.  The  ap- 
plication of  either  the  one  or  the  other  to  the 
throat  or  fauces  ma)r  vomii  you  as  effectually 
as  tartar  emetic  or  ipecacuan ;  every  nurse 
knows  that.  A  bristle  introduced,  in  the 
softest  manner,  into  the  nose  or  ear,  has 
ttirown  some  people  into  fits.  Then  what 
extraordinary  effects  may  ^vifnetimes  follow 
the  most  pamless  touch  oi  iiu?  bladder  by  a 
catheter  or  a  bougie.  I  do  i  ot  know  what 
other  medical  men  have  seen,  but  I  have 
over  aud  over  again  witnessed  ague,  epilep- 
sy, faint,  vomit,  and  diarrhoea  ail  from  the 
mere  introduction  of  the  catheter  or  bougie ; 
and  I  have  even  traced  rheumatism  and  erup- 
tions to  the  same  operation.  You  all  know 
the  effect  of  tickling.  Now  what  is  tick- 
ling but  a  succession  of  short  touches  I 
And  see  how  wonderfully  it  affects  most 

nle  ! — oh,  you  may  drive  some  men  mad 
.  Though  it  has  been  carried  so  far,  in 
some  cases,  as  to  have  produced  convulsions 
and  even  death  itself,  Mr.  Wardrop  actually 
found  it  efficacious  in  some  convulsive  af- 
fections. I  have  already  given  you  instances 
where  the  mere  application  of  a  ligature  to 
the  arm  or  le?  arrested  the  fit  of  mania,  epi- 
lepsy, &c«  Now  the  influence  of  that  appa- 
rently trilling  application  depends  upon  the 


cerebral  attention  which  it  excites  through 
the  double  influence  of  sight  and  touch.  As 
I  hinted  to  yOu  before,  the  lancet  has  often 
got  the  credit  for  the  good  effects  produced 
by  the  bandage.  Fear  of  the  operationmaj 
also,  on  some  occasions,  have  aided  its  effi- 
cacy. How  many  virtues,  were  at  one  time 
attributed  to  a  king*s  touch  !^how  many 
more  are  still  believed  to  attach  to  the  touch 
of  relics— the  bones,  rags,  and  other  rattle- 
traps of  saints !  Priests  and  Princes,  you 
have  by  turns  governed  mankind— justly 
and  well,  sometimes— -more  frequently  yoa 
have  deluded  and  deceived  them.  If  the 
credulity  and  weakness  of  the  masses  hare 
in  most  cases,  been  your  strength,  here  at 
least  the  dupe  has  not  always  been  a  loser 
by  the  deceptions  you  practised.  '  The  emo- 
tions of  Faith  and  Hope,  which  your  mutt- 
mery  inspired,  by  exciting  new  revolutiou 
in  the  matter  of  the  biain,  have  assuredly 
alleviated  and  even  cured  the  suffering  of 
the  sick.  Strange  infatuation  of  mankind, 
—with  whom,  where  truth  fails,  impostnre 
may  succeed !  In  what  does  the  aduJt  differ 
from  the  infant— gullible  man,  who  giwa 
his  gold  for  an  echo,  from  the  child  who 
careflses  its  nurse  when  telling  liesto  ptaoc 
it  ?  Ignorance  in  degree  makes  the  only 
difference.  Gentlemen,  let  us  nowioqaiiv 
into  the  manner  in  which  the  human  fnone 
may  be  influenced  through  the  mediom  of 

Thjb  Passions. 

What  are  the  passions  ?  Grief,  Fear  and 
Joy— what  are  these  ? — are  they  entitiea  ot 
actions— the  workings  of  demons  within,  or 
corporeal  variations  caused  by  impresdoiB 
from  without  ?  Have  not  the  Passions  aS 
something  in  common,  some  features  cr 
shades  oi  feature  so  precisely  the  same  as  to 
form  a  bond  of  unity  by  which  they  mayh 
all  linked  together  ?  Are  not  the  resemloD- 
6es,  in  many  instances,  so  very  close  that 
you  could  not  tell  one  from  another?  i 
person  is  pale  in  the  face,  his  lip  quivers,  lus 
whole  frame  trembles  or  becomes  convaW 
Is  this  fear,  rage,  love,  or  hate  ?  May  it  not 
be  the  effect  of  a  change  of  tempetatan 
simply  ?  fiailly  when  on  the  scaffold,  vas 
taunted  by  the  bystanders  for  trembling- 
Yes  he  replied,"  but  it  is  with  Cold.'*"  Vaa 
are  pale.  Sir,  your  fears  betray  you."  **^ 
I  am  pale,  it  is  with  astonishment  at  being 
accused  of  such  a  crime  ?"  <*  You  blush, 
Madam,  you  are  ashamed  of  yourself' 
"  Pardon  me.  Sir,  it  is  your  audacity  btinfS 
the  redness  of  rage  to  my  cheek."  Vou  see 
then,  how  like  the  passions  are  to  each 
other,  and  how  difficult  it  is  to  guess  at  the 
causes  ot  them  from  mere  appearance. 

Like  the  various  diseases  of  which  «« 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


5 


hare  had  occasion  to  speak,  the  MentaJ 
Emotions,  or  rather  the  corporeal  actions  so 
called,  have  all  been  associated  with  particu- 
lar organs  and  secretions.  Their  very  names 
liave  changed  with  the  changes  in  medical 
doctrine.  Who  among  yon  would  dream  of 
placing  grief  in  the  liver?  That  the  ancients 
did  so,  is  evident  by  the  name  they  gave  it. 
Melancholy  literally  signifies  *'  black  bUe.*" 
Envy  or  Spite  we  still  call  the  **  Spleen," 
and  when  a  person  is  enraged  we  say  **  his 
Bite  is  up.'*  Europeans  place  courage,  be- 
nevolence and  fear  in  the  heart — the  heart 
which  has  quite  enough  to  do  in  the  perform- 
ance of  its  own  proper  office,  namely,  that  of 
a  Teasel  to  circulate  the  blood  through  the 
system ! — ^The  Persians  and  Arabs  associate 
fear,  courage,  and  benevolence  with  the  liver: 
•«  White-liver"  is  their  term  for  a  coward. 
Shakspeare  uses  the  word  lily-livered  in  ihe 
same  sense. 

People  often  speak  of  Temperament,  and 
professors  of  philosophy  tell  us  there  are 
lour  kinds.     If  a  man  is  hasty  or  violent,  his 
temperament  is  sai4  to  be  choleric  or  bilious; 
if  mentally  depressed,  melancholic  or  black 
bihous ;  if  of  a  joyful  and  happy  turn  of 
miod,  he  is  of  a  sanguineous,  or  full-blooded 
temperament;  if  apathetic  or  listless,  the  tem- 
jMjrament  is  phlegmatic — a  word  son^ewhat 
difficult  to  translate,  inasmuch  as  it  origi 
nated  in  a  fanciful  phantom,  ^vhich  the  an 
cients  believed  to  be  an  element  of  the  hody, 
and  which  they  termed  "  phlegm."    Some 
add  another  temperament  which  they  call 
lenco-pblegmatic,  or  white  phlegm.    I  won- 
der they  never  took  the  sahva  to  distinguish 
a  temperament ;  surely  the  *<  salivous  tem- 
perament' would  be  quite  as  rational  as  the 
**  bilious."     What  then  are  all  these  tem- 
peraments— so  far  at  least  as  their  nomen- 
clature gpeSf  but  pretty  gibberish  ? — mere 
sounds,  in  fact,  invented  by  ignorant  kna- 
Tery,  to  cheat  stiil  more  ignorant  folly ;  or 
in  the  words  of  Home  Tooke*  •'  an  exemp- 
lar of  the  subtle  art  of  saving  appearances 
and  of  discoursinj^  deeply  and  learnedly  on 
a  subject  with  which  we  are  perfectly  unac- 
quainted P'    It  never  occurred  to  the    so- 
,]uusts  of  the  schools  that  man's  mental  dis- 
positions, like  his  corporeal  attributes,  are 
every  day  altered  by  time  and  circumstance. 
Need  I  tell  you,  that  disease  has  made  the 
bravest  man  quake  at  his  own  shadow,  and 
turned  the  most  joyous  person  into  a  moody 
and  moping  wretch  ?    When  the  doctrines 
of  the  Humoral  School  prevailed,  the  word 
tomperament  gave  way  to  humor,  and  good 
and  bad  hiunor  took  the  place  of  cheerful 
and  sulky  temper.    We  are  in  the  daily 
habit  of  speaking  of  "  the  spirits."    We  say 
"  low  apirits,"  and  "  high  spirits;'*  which 


forms  of  expression  may  be  traced  to  the 
period  when  physicians  were  so  ignorant  as 
to  suppose  that  the  arteries,  instead  of  car- 
rying blood,  contained  air  or  "  spirits,"  from 
Spiritus  the  Latin  for  breath  or  air.  That 
was  the  reason  why  these  blood-vessels 
were  nrst  called  aer-teries.  The  confusion 
which  pervades  all  language  has  materially 
impeded  our  knowledge  both  of  the  physical 
and  moral  man.  Locke  must  have  felt  this 
when  he  said,  **  Vague  and  insignificant 
forms  of  speech,  and  abuse  of.  language, 
have  so  long  passed  for  mysteries  of  sci- 
ence, and  hard  or  misapplied  words,  with 
little  or  no  meaning,  have,  by  prescription, 
such  a  right  to  be  mistaken  for  deep  learn- 
ing and  height  of  speculation,  that  it  will 
not  be  easy  to  persuade  either  those  who 
speak  or  those  who  hear  them,  that, they  are 
but  the  covers  of  ignorance  and  hindrances 
of  true  knowledge." 

"  We  cannot  entertain  a  doubt,"  says  Sir 
H.  Davy,  ««but  that  every  change  in  our 
sensations  and  ideas  must  be  accompanied 
with  some  corresponding  change  in  tne  or- 
ganic matter  of  the  body.  Through  the  me- 
dium of  one  or  more  of  the  iive  senses  must 
some  external  circumstance  first  operate  on 
that  part  of  it  called  the  Brain,  so  as  to 
change  the  existing  relations  and  revolutions 
of  its  atoms,  before  there  can  be  what  we 
term  a  Passion.  Whatever  shall  alter  the 
cerebral  atoms  must  alter  the  actions  of  every 
part  of  the  body — some  more,  some  less. 
According  to  the  prominence  and  locality  of 
one  set  of  actions  or  another,  do  we,  for  the 
most  part  name  the  passion.  The  jest  that 
will  make  one  man  laugh  may  enrage 
another.  What  are  the  features  common  to 
all  passions  ? — ^Tremor,  change  of  tempera- 
ture, change  of  secretion.  Do  not  these 
constitute  an  ague-fit?  Shakepeaie,  vnth 
his  accustomed  penetration,  "  speaks  of 
this  ague-fit  of  fear,"  and  he  stretched  the 
analogy  even  to  the  world  around  him :— - 

"Some  say  the  earth  was  fever'd  and  did 
shake.* 

Hat£  and  Love  are  equally  remarkable  for 
their  ague-like  changes.  You  remember  what 
Hudibras  says  of  Love — ^that  it  is  only  an 
agufr-fit  <<  reversed."  The  same  may  be 
said  of  Hope,  Joy,  and  Bage;  for  in  all  these 
passions  the  **  hot  fit  takes  the  patient  first." 
That  at  least  is  the  general  effect  of  them,  but 
in  particular  instances»as  in  the  real  ague, 
coldness  and  pallor  usher  in  every  one  of 
those  passionate  fits.  I  care  not  what  be  the 
nature  of  the  Passion,  joy,  grief,  or  fear— the 
constitutional  circle  of  actions  is  still  the 
same;  differing,  where  they  do  difier,  in 
shade,  place,  and  prominence  solely— but  in 


6 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty, 


no  greater  degree  than  one  fever  differs  from 
another.  Moreover,  there  is  no  constitutional 
af^ction  which  these  passions  may  not  excise 
or  cure.  In  this  respect*  aJso»  they  resemble 
the  Ague,  that  type  of  every  disturbed  state, 
whether  of  man  Oie  microcosm,  or  the  globe 
he  inhabits.  We  have  already,  to  a  certain 
extent,  demonstrated  the  influence  of  particu- 
lar passions  in  the  production  of  certain  dis- 
eases. We  have  further  r roved  that  the 
same  morbid  actions  which  we  recognize  un- 
der so  many  different  names,  when  arising 
from  a  blow  or  a  poison,  may  be  equally  the 
result  of  a  mental  impression :  we  have  es- 
tablished their  absolute  identity  by  curing 
them  with  the  same  physical  agents.  The 
history  of  medicine,  on  the  other  hand,  pre- 
sents us  with  innumerable  instances  of  the 
beneficial  agency  oi  these  very  passions  in 
every  kind  of  disorder,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  nature  of  the  primary  cause.  Faith, 
Confidence,  Enthusiasm,  Hope,  or  rather  the 
causes  of  them,  are  as  powerful  agents  in  the 
cure  of  the  sick,  as  any  remedies  we  possess. 
Not  only,  like  Bark  or  Wine,  do  they  often 
produce  a  salutary  excitement,  or  mild  fever, 
sufficient  lo  prevent  the  access  of  the  most 
malignant  diseases — but,  like  these  agents, 
they  have  actually  arrested  and  cured  such 
diseases  after  they  had  fairly  and  fully  com- 
menced. A  stone,  or  ring  with  a  history  real 
or  supposed,  a  verse  of  the  Koran  or  the  Bible 
sewn  in  a  piece  of  silk — these  worn,  now  on 
one  part  of  the  body,  now  on  another,  have 
inspired  a  mental  firmness  and  induced  a  cor- 
poreal steadiness  which  have  enabled  the 
wearer  to  defy  the  united  influence  of  Epi- 
demic and  Contagion.  If  the  Arabs  hare  still 
their  talismans,  and  the  Indians  their  amu- 
lets, the  Western  nations  have  not  ceased  to 
vaunt  the  cures  and  other  miracles  eflfected 
by  their  relics,  their  holy  wells  and  holy  wa- 
ter. When  we  boast  of  the  success  of  a  par- 
ticular measure,  we  say  it  acted  like  a  Charm. 
What  is  a  charm  ? — whence  its  origin  ?  It 
is  a  corruption  of  the  Latin  word  Carmen — 
song  or  verse.  In  all  times  and  in  all  coun- 
tries, there  have  been  men  who  have  found 
their  advantage  in  playing  upon  the  igno- 
rance of  their  fellow-men;  he  that  would 
appear  wiser  than  another  has  always  had 
recourse  to  some  kind  of  imposture ;  and  as 
priest,  poet,  prophet  and  physician  were 
often  united  in  one  person,  it  was  not  won 
derful  that  such  person  should  clothe  his 
mummery  and  mysticism  in  verse.  To  be 
able  to  read  or  spcU  was,  at  one  time,  a  mark 
of  superior  wisdom,  and  he  who  could  do  so, 
had  only  to  mutter  his  **  spell"  to  cure  or 
kill.  From  the  earliest  antiijuity,  we  find 
charms  a  part  of  medical  practice ;  Homer  in 
his  Odyssey,  introduces  the  sons  of  Autoly- 


cus  charming  to  stanch  blood ;  the  phyBicianf 
of  Eg:ypt  and  India  are  to  this  day  charmen; 
the  Northmen  composed  Rhunic  rhymes  to 
charm  away  disease.  Indeed,  with  the  Nor- 
wegians and  Icelanders  verse  or  son^  wbs 
supposed  to  be  all-powerful:  one  of  their 
poets  thus  expresses  the  belief  of  his  time 
and  country  in  this  respect.  <*I  know  a 
song  by  which  I  can  soften  and  Enchant  the 
arms  of  my  enemies,  and  render  their  weap- 
ons harmlesd.  I  know  a  song  which  I  need 
only  to  sing  when  men  have  loaded  me  with 
bonds ;  for  the  moment  I  sine  it,  my  chains 
fall  in  pieces,  and  I  walk  forth  at  liberty.  I 
know  a  song  useful  to  all  the  children  of 
men ;  for  as  soon  as  hatred  inflames  them  I 
sing  it,  and  their  hate  ceases.  I  know  a  m% 
of  such  virtue,  that  I  can  hush  the  "winds 
with  it,  and  subdue  the  storm  to  a  breath." 
Such,  Gentlemen,  was  the  origin  of  Enchant- 
ment, or  Incantation,  terms  oorrowed  from 
the  Latin  verb,  Canto,  I  sing.  With  the  Jews, 
the  simple  enunciation  of  their  m}rstical  word 
Abracalan,  was  sufficient  to  inspire  the  con- 
fidence that  baffied  disease;  nay,  Qnintss 
Severinus  Simonicus  vaunted  his  success  id 
the  cure  of  the  hemitritip  fever,  by  prononn'' 
ing  mysteriously  the  word.  Abracadabra,  a 
phonic  combination  of  his  own  invention! 
At  this  very  hour,  the  Caflfree  rain-maker, 
the  Cingalese  devil-dancer,  and  the  Copper 
Indian  sorcerer,  with  their  charms  and 
chaunts,  are  enabled  to  work  changes  in  the 
bodies  of  their  several  countrymen  that  pnt 
the  boasted  science  of  the  schoolmen  to 
shame.  That  these  act  by  inspiring  Confi- 
'dence  simply,  may  be  seen  from  what  took 
place  in  1625,  at  the  Siege  of  Breda.  *'  That 
city,  from  a  long  siege,  sui&red  all  the  mi*' 
ries  that  fatigue,  had  provisions,  and  distretf 
of  mind  could  bring  upon  its  inhabitaBta 
Among'  other  misfortunes,  the  scurvy  vak 
its  appearance,  and  carried  off  great  numkcn 
This,  added  to  other  calamities,  induced  tbe 
garrison  to  mcline  towanU  a  surrender  of  the 
place,  when  the  Prince  of  Orange,  anxiowto 
prevent  its  loss,  and  unable  to  relieve  thepr- 
rison,  contrived,  however,  to  introduce  lett«» 
to  the  men,  promising  them  the  most  ep^ 
assistance.  These  were  accompanied  wi» 
medicines  against  the  scurvy,  said  to  be  w 
great  price,  but  of  still  greater  efficacy;  nanv 
more  were  io  be  sent  them.  The  effects  of 
the  deceit  were  truly  astonishing.  Thwj 
small  vials  of  medicine  were  piven  to  etch 
physician.  It  was  publicly  ^ven  out  that 
three  or  four  drops  were  sufficient  to  impaj 
a  healing  virtue  to  a  gallon  of  water  [Maifc 
this,  HomoBopalhists!]  We  now  display* 
our  w^onder-working  balsams  Nor  even 
were  the  commanders  let  into  the  secret  of 
the  cheat  upon  the  soldiers.    They  flocked 


Fallacies  of  the  Factdty. 


in  crowds  about  as,  every  one  soliciting  that 
part  may  be  reserved  for  bis  use.  Cheerful- 
ness again  appears  in  every  countenance, 
and  an  universal  faith  prevails  in  the  sove- 
reign virtues  of  the  remedies.  The  effect  of 
this  delusion  was  truly  a^^tonisbing;  for  many 
were  quickly  and  perfectly  recovered.  Such 
as  had  not  moved  their  limbs  for  a  month  be- 
fore, were  seen  walking  the  streets  with  their 
limbs  sound,  straight,  and  whole!  They 
boasted  of  their  cure  by  the  Princess  reme- 
dy."— [I veb' Journal,  1744.]  "And  what  was 
this  remedy  ? — a  mere  sham  medicine,  Gen- 
tiemen !  After  this,  do  I  require  to  caution 
you,  when  you  visit  your  patients,  not  to 
put  on  a  lugubrious  or  desponding  look  be- 
fore them.  Such  conduct,  on  the  part  of  a 
medical  man,  is  unpardonable;  yet  there  are 
practitioners  so  base  and  sordid  as  to  make  it 
a  part  of  their  policy  to  represent  the  malady 
of  every  patient  as  dangerous.  These  find 
their  profit  \n  croaking;  for  it  is  a  course  of 
conduct  that  ahnost  infallibly  contributes  to 
tecp  !ip  disease.  To  God  and  their  con- 
aeiences  I  leave  these  men. 

Such  of  you  as  might  be  disposed  to  ques- 
tion the  depressing  influence  of  a  long  face 
npon  the  sick,  may  read  the  history  of  Lord 
Anson's  voyages  with  profit.  There  you  will 
find  it  recorded,  "  that  whatever  discouraged 
the  seamen,  or  at  any  time  damped  their 
hopes,  never  failed  to  add  new  vigor  to  the 
distemper,  (the  scurvy),  for  it  usually  killed 
those  who  were  in  the  last  stages  of  it,  and 
eonfined  those  to.  their  hammocks  who  were 
before  capable  of  some  kind  of  duty.*'  And 
this  is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  obser- 
vation of  Solomon,  that  **  a  merry  heart  doeth 
good  like  medicine,  but  a  broken  spirit  drieth 
rac  bones." 

Let  me,  therefore,  counsel  you  not  only  to 
assume  a  cheerful  look  in  the  presence  of  the 
aick,  but  endeavor  at  the  same  time  in  By- 
ron's words, 

To  reader  with  your  Prtup'a  ten 

Th*  ■am  of  haman  wretchednen,  ' 

And  BTRBNaTBCM  man  with  Hia  own  msD. 

What  are  all  your  trumpery  Pathology  and 
Dissecting-Room  knowledge  compared  with 
this?  You  may  dissect  dead  Dodies  for 
twenty  years  and  never  be  one  whit  the  wi- 
ser on  the  mode  of  influencing  the  motions  of 
Ae  living.  Now,  this  brings  to  my  mind 
certain  lines  of  a  contemporary  poet,  the  ce- 
lebrated Berangcr ;  but  as  some  of  yon  may 
not  understand  the  French  language,  I  shall 
ofcr  no  apology  for  giving  yon  bis  senti- 
ments in  my  own  not  over  poetical  English : 

Wa«  evrr  inch  an  ass  as  that         ^ 

Mr'bo  hopad  by  ftltcinfc  niottnn-fat. 

And  polfinc  candle  wick*  lo  pieces, 

Ta  u(l  rrhyXAght  khonld  »prinj(  frnm  GrtOMea^ 

Tea,  ooa-*that  aiill  mora  pracioos  fool, 


Who  in  the  anatomic  school 
Expected  with  disscctiof  knife 
To  learn  from  Death  the  laws  ofLtft! 
Ha !  ha !  I'd  rather  beg  tome  old 
Pome* tip  none  to  cure  my  cold, 
Th^n  trust  to  such  pedantic  brain 
To  wake  my  lamp's  low  flame  again! 

But  seriously,  gentlemen,  I  have  known  a 
great  many  first-rate  anatomists  in  my  time ; 
yet  there  are  old  women  who  never  saw  the 
inside  of  a  dead  body,  whom  I  would  sooner 
consult  in  my  own  case  than  any  of  these 
hair  splitting  gei^try.  These  men  are  mere 
geographers,  who  will  point  out  rivers  and 
towns,  if  I  may  say  so, — corporeal  hills, 
dales,  and  plains,— but  who  know  nothing 
of  the  manners,  customs,  or  mode  of  influen- 
cing the  animated  atoms  constantly  entering 
into  and  departing  from  ihem.  If  any  such' 
mechanical -minded  creature  presume  here- 
after to  mystify  you  on  this  point,  tell  him 
to  watch  the  wounded  of  contending  armies, 
and  ask  him  to  explain  to  you  why  the  same 
description  of  injuries  which  heal  with  rapi- 
dity when  occurring  in  the  persons  of  the  vic- 
tors, too  often  prove  intractable,  or  even  fa- 
tal, to  the  vanquished  !  He  mieht  dissect 
their  dead  nerves  as  clean  as  he  pleased,  and 
never  find  out  that  the  living  body  of  jflan 
may  be  either  weakened  or  strengthened 
through  the  medium  of  his  own  mmd. 

The  depressing  power  of  grief  is  familiar 
to  every  body ;  but  there  are  cases  where  a 
reverse  eflect  may  take  place  from  it — and 
Shakspeare,  with  bis  usual  accuracy,  ex- 
plains the  reason  of  this. 

^  In  Poison  there  is  Physic — and  these  news. 
Having  been  wbll,  that  woald  hare  made  me  sici^ 
Being  8ick,have  in  some maasute  made  me  Walt; 
And  as  the  wretch  whose  fever- weakened'Imibs, 
Like  stiengthleiis  binges  buckle  under  life, 
Impaiicnl  of  his  fit,  bieaks  like  a  flra 
Out  of  hisheepai's  arms,  even  so  my  limbs, 
Weakened  with  Grief,  being  now  Enraged  with  Grief, 

Are  THBIGB  THBMaBLVfca." 

The  strength  Imparted  to  the  constitution 
in  cases  of  this  nature,  has  a  relation  to  the 
novel  atomic  revolutiomi  caused  by  Despk- 
RATiON ;  or  that  determination  to  act  in  an* 
energetic  manner,  which  so  often  comes  upon 
a  man  in  his  extremity.  Such  reaction  re- 
sembles the  glow  that  suoceeds  the  sudden 
shock  of  a  cold  shower-bath.  There  are 
persons  whom  a  slow  succession  of  petty 
misfortunes  would  worry  to  death  ;  but 
who,  on  sudden  and  ppparently  overwhelm- 
ing occasions,  become  heroes. 

It  will  be  readily  admitted,  by  all  who 
have  profited  by  their  experience  of  life,  that 
one  half  the  world  live  by  taking  advantage 
of  the  passions  and  prejudices  of  the  other 
half.  The  jwirenl  of  prejudice  is  Ignorance  ; 
yet  there  is  no  man  so  ignorant  but  who 
knows  something  which  you  or  I  may  not 
know.  The  wisest  judges  have  playetl  the 
fool  sometimes  from  ignorance ;  they  hfeVtt 


8 


Fallacies  of  the  Facully. 


allowed  themselves  to  be  gulled  by  individu 
als  of  a  class  they  desp'se.  Poor,  decrepid, 
ill-educaled  females,  calling  themselves 
Witches,  have  imposed  upon  the  ablest  and 
most  learned  men  of  a  nation.  Lord  Bacon 
and  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  for  example,  believ- 
ed in  witchcraft ;  nay,  the  latter  judge  went 
60  far  as  to  sentence  to  death  wretches  sup- 
posed to  be  convicted  of  it,  and  they  were 
executed  accordingly.  Samuel  Johnson  was 
a  believer  in  ghosts  and  the  second-sight. 
Where,  tnen,  is  the  country  so  enlightened 
that,  upon  some  points  the  wisest  and  best 
may  not  be  mystiiied.'  If  such  a  country 
exists,  it  must  be  England  at  the  present  mo- 
ment ;  if  there  is  a  profession  in  \vhich  de- 
ception is  never  practised,  it  must  be  Medi- 
cine. Happy  England  !  happy  ISIedicine  ! 
where  all  is  perfect  and  pure — where  the 
public  are  neither  cheated  by  an  echo,  nor 
led  by  a  parly  for  party  interests.  Here  col- 
legiate corruption  is  unknown,  and  corporate 
collusion  a  mere  name ;  here  we  have  no 
diplomas  or  certificates  to  buy — no  reviewers 
to  bribe — no  humbug  schools — no  venal  pro- 
fessors :  here,  having  no  mote  in  our  medical 
eye,  we  can  the  better  distinguish  and  pluck 
out  that  of  our  neighbors.  Who  will  doubt 
our  superiority  in  this  respect  over  all  the 
other  nations  of  the  earth  ?  Or  who  will 
question  me  in  what  that  excellence  princi- 
pally con.sists?  Scapegrace,  sceptic,  read 
br.  Hawkins — read  Dr.  Bisset  Hawkins' 
Continental  Travels— and  you  will  there  find 
it  recorded,  that  the  brightest  feature  oi  Bri- 
tish medicine — the  most  distinguishing  point 
of  excellence  in  English  treatment— is  the 
copiouH  blood-lettings  we  p.ractise.  "  The 
neglect  of  copious  blood-lettings,*'  quoth 
Hawkins,  **  is  the  great  error  of  the  conti- 
nental Hospitals !"  Let  us  laugh,  then,  at 
the  dp-little  "  medecine  expectante"  of  the 
French,  ridicule  the  do-nothing  homoeopathy 
of  the  Germans,  and  turn  up  our  lip  in  deri- 
sion at  the  counter-stimulant  doctrine  of.  the 
Italians.  What  are  the  greatest  medical  pro- 
feseors  of  the  Continent,  in  comparison  with 
oar  own  meanest  apothecaries  even — to  eav 
nothing  of  our  leading  surgeons  and  physi- 
cians— presidents  and  vice-presidents  of 
learned  societies  ;  Only  look  at  the  number 
of  scientific  bodies  to  which  these  little  great 
men  belong— you  will  find  their  names  en- 
rolled in  %vexy  (so  called !)  Literary  and  Sci- 
entific institution  throughout  the  country — 
Astronomical  — ^Botanical — ^Geological— An- 
tiquarian— Royal !  Amiable  and  respectable 
persons !  worthy  of  the  carriages  in  which 
you  ride,  and  the  arms  you  bear :  you  are 
gentlemen — friendly  and  disinterested" gentle- 
men ;  you  owe  your  elevation  to  your  own 
industry ;  you  preserve  your  position  by  your 


incorruptible  honesty;  you  recommend  your- 
selves,  and  each  other,  neither  by  letter  nor 
affection,  but  upon  the  scoie  of  talent  and 
integrity  solely ;  you  are  all  honorable  men. 
Unlike  the  **  honorable  members"  of  a  certaiu 
honorable  place,  who  have  been  purchased, 
you,  the  members  of  an  equally  "  honorable" 
profession ,  a  re  v  npu  rchaseable  ?  This,  your 
colleges  and  coteries  declare— this,  the  dia- 
criminating  world  believes  and  echoes.  Who 
but  the  reptiles — the  few  that  never  think, 
never  reflect -would  answer,  **  all  is  not 
gold  that  glitters !"  Gentlemen,  what  is  die 
difiereiice  betwixt  a  guinea  and  its  counterfeit? 
Do  not  both  sparkle  with  equal  brightness.' 
Have  they  not  the  same  metallic  impress, the 
same  form,  the  same  exterior  color?  Can 
the  eye  detect  the  imposture  ?  No !  it  i» 
only  by  a  comparative  tiial  of  their  respective 
weight  and  ring  that  you  can  make  out  the 
difference.  Do  you  think  mankind  are  to  be 
judged  in  any  other  way  than  this  ?  Is  it 
not  as  necessary  for  a  person  to  be  a  success- 
ful cheat,  that  he  should  borrow  the  exterior 
of  worth  and  integrity,  as  it  is  for  the  coun- 
terfeit guinea  to  bear  the  name  and  hvery  of 
the  coin  it  purposes  to  be,  before  it  can  pass 
for  genuine.  Be  not,  then,  satisfied  with  fine 
names  and  appearances  only ;  do  not  take 
men  for  what  they  pretend  to  be  solely  )>y 
their  manner  or  title — because  they  are  doc- 
tors of  this  college,  or  professors  of  that  uni- 
versity. What  is  a  professorship  but  a 
Place  ?  **  He  who  has  the  best  talents  for 
getting  the  office,  has  most  commonly  the 
leaAt  tor  filling  it ;  and  men  are  made  moiali 
[medical]  and  mathematical  teachers  by  the 
same  trick  and  filthiness  with  which  they 
are  made  tide-waiters  and  clerks  of  the 
kitchen."— Siyrfwey  Smith.  Depend  upon  it, 
professors  thus  elected  will  always  stand  bj 
each  other — right  or  wrong,  they  will  al- 
ways support  the  same  system'  In  thisi 
they  do  no  more  than  the  members  of  the 
swell- mob,  who  work  together  by  cotene 
and  collusion  Like  these  professors  too, 
they  are  all  very  respectable  in  their  appear* 
ance,  some  of  them  doing  business  in  a  car- 
riasre  even !  ..• 

Where  is  the  individual  that  has  not  bis 
moral  as  well  as  his  physical  weaicnefis? 
Upon  this  point,  at  least,  we  are  all  liable  to 
be  overreached.  Here  we  are  evety  one  of 
us  imbecile  as  the  infint ;  for  we  are  placed 
as  completely  at  the  mercy  of  the  Charlatan, 
as  the  child  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  tJarent, 
whose  mental  ascendancy  he  acknowledges 
Speak  to  the  prattler  of  the  "  haunted  cham- 
ber," his  countenance  instantly  fails.  Vvitn 
the  adult,  assume  an  air  of  mystery,  mutter 
darkly  and  indefinitely,  and  mark  how  oia 
bram  will  reel.    Is  he  sane  ?  he  becomw 


FaUaciea  of  the  Faculty. 


9 


t 


your  tool.  Has  he  come  to  you  in  his  sick- 
ness !  you  eull  him  and  guide  him  at  your 
pleasure.  But  how  cau  you  wonder  at  the 
efect  of  this  kind  of  agency  on  individuals, 
when  you  have  seen  a  whole  nation  similar- 
ly hood-winked  hy  a  coterie  of  doctors  ?  i 
allude  to  what  was  done  when  the  Cholera 
first  appeared  in  England.  The  influence  of 
Fear,  in  disposing  to  spread  an  epidemic,  you 
know ;  the  effect  of  Confidence  in  strength- 
ening the  body  against  its  attacks,  you  also 
know.  What  was  the  conduct  of  the  Col- 
I  lege  of  Physicians  when  the  Cholera  broke 

out  ?     Did  they  try  to  allay  the  alarm  of  the 
inasses  r  did  they  endeavor  to  inspire  them 
r         with  confidence  and  hope,  that  their  bodies 
i         Bight  be  strengthened  through  their  minds  ? 
No  I  they  pubhcly,  and  by  proclamation, de- 
f  clared  the  disease  to  be  Contagious ;' without 

i         a  particle  of  proof,  or  the  shadow  of  a  shade 
of  evidence,  they  solemnly  announced  that, 
I  like  the  small  pox,  it  was  communicable 

from  man  to  roan !    That  was  the  sienal  to 
X  up  their  Cholera  Boards ;  and  Unolera 
•uUetins,  forsooth,  must  be  published.     1 
[  had  just  then  returned  from  India,  where, 

I  though  I  had  seen  more  cases  of  Cholera 

than  all  the  Fellows  of  the  College  put  to- 
gether, 1  never  heard  of  Cholera-Contagion ; 
no,  oor  Cholera-Boards.      In  the  barbaric 
£8st,  the  authorities,  civil,  military,  and  me- 
dical, acted  with  firmness ;   what  they  could 
not  arrest  the>  awaited  with  fortitude;  they 
placed  themselves  and  those  committed  to 
their  care  at  the  mercy  of  the  great  Disposer 
oi  events ;   while  in  'Elngland,  enlightened 
England,  the  leading  law-givers,  under  the 
influence  of  the  leading  medical  men,  intro- 
4         duced  acts  that  disgrace  the  Statute  Book, 
i.         and  permitted  medical  jobs  to  be  got  up  that 
did  any  thing  but  honor  to  ihe  medicad  pro- 
fession.    A  new  tax  was  actually  levied  to 
defray  the  salaries  of  theii  Cholera-Boards ! 
J         The  consequences  of  these  measures  might 
,         have  been  foreseen.    Throughout  the  coun- 
try universal  panic  was  spread,  and  univer- 
,         sal  gloom  prevailed.    The  rich  shut  them- 
selves  uir  in  their  houses,  each  in  terror  of 
his  neighbor's  touch ;   the  middling  classes 
suffered  from  the  geneial  stagnation /vhich 
^         ensued  in  consequence,  for  every  trade,  but 
I         the  drug-trade,  languished  or  stood  still ;  and 
I         the  poor,  when  taken  ill — for  the  disease 
I         was  chief  y  confined  to  that  class — were,  by 
!         act  of  Parliament,  dragged  from  their  homes, 
'         and  conveyed  to  Cholera  Hospitals, — where, 
if  they  did  not  perish  of  the  prostration  in- 
duced .by  their  removal,  Ihey  had  salt  and 
water  injected  into  their  veins  by  the  medical 
Badmen  in  charge !    Debarred  the  society  of 
tncir  nearest  and  dearest  relatives,  and  tortu- 
.         led  in  every  possible  way  by  their  pedantic  I 


doctors,  was  it  wonderful  that  few  of  these 
unfortunates  should  escape  from  the  pest- 
houses  in  which  they  had  been  so  inhuman- 
1  v  immured  ?  All  this,  the  leading  men  of 
the  country.  Peers,  Judges,  and  Members  of 
Parlian^nt,  saw  and  permitted,  from  a  pue- 
rile dread  of  the  phantom  Contagion,  which 
the  ignorance  or  cupidity  of  the  College  of 
Physicians  had  conjured  up.  When  acted 
upon  by  intimidation,  to  what  miseries  will 
not  the  feeble  submit,  if 

Even  the  wImsi  and  the  hardiest  qDail 
To  anjr  goblin  hid  behind  a  veil. 

Is  not  this  a  subject  for  deep  reflection ! 
To  some  it  may  suggest  a  feeling  like  shame. 
Let  me  speak  of  8Ham£.  Generally  speak- 
ing,  this  is  a  depressing  passion,  and  under 
its  influence  men  sometimes,  and  women 
daily,  commit  suicide.  I  will  give  you  an 
instance  where  it  had  the  reverse  effect.  The 
girls  of  Miletus,  a  town  in  Greece,  were 
seized  with  a  mania  that  led  them  to  believe 
self-destruction  an  act  of  heroism ;  and  many 
accordingly  destroyed  themselves.  Physic 
and  aigument  having  been  alike  ineflTectually 
tried,  the  authorities,  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  this  fatal  rage,  ordered  the  bodies  of  the 
suicides  to  be  dragged  naked  through  the 
streets  of  the  city.  From  that  moment  the 
man ia  ceased.  But  every  thi ng  depends  u pon 
a  contingency,  whether  a  particular  passion 
act  as  a  depressant  or  a  tonic  in  disease.  Jn 
the  case  of  Shame,  the  past  and  the  future 
make  a  great  deal  oif  difference. 

Some  of  you  may,  perhaps,  feel  inclined 
to  remind  me  of  the  efllcacy  of  Fear  in  the 
Cure  of  diseases ;  but  in  this  case  the  fear 
must  neither  be  a  dread  of  the  disease  nor  its 
event,  but  a  dread  of  some  circumstance  com- 
pletely unconnected  with  it.  Thus,  Sir  John 
Malcom,  in  his  History  of  Persia,  tells  us  of 
a  certain  Hukcem  who  cured  ag|ue  by  the 
bastinado.  Jn  this  case  the  Persian  doctor 
availed  himself  of  the  double  influence  of 
fear  and  pain,  neither  of  which  were  contin^ 
^nt  upon  the  disease.  The  eflect  of  Terror 
in  removing  tooth-ache  is  familiar  to  many 
who  have  knocked  at  a  dentist's  door.  The 
gout,  too,  has  been  cured  and  caused  by 
every  passion  you  can  name.  There  does 
not  pass  a  day  but  we  hear  of  people  being 
frightened  into  epileptic  HXb;  yet  Boerhaave 
terrifled  away  an  epilepsy  from  a  school 
where  it  prevailed,  by  threatening  to  bum 
with  a  red-hot  poker  the  first  bov  that  should 
have  another  paroxysm.  I  have  known 
asthma  cured  oy  Rage,  and  also  by  Grief ; 
yet,  if  we  may  believe  what  we  hear,  people 
occasionally  choke  of  both !  Few  medical 
men  will  dispute  the  influence  of  a  passion 
in  the  cure  of  Ague.    Mention  any  mental 


10 


PcUlacies  of  the  Faculty. 


impression,  such  as  Faith,  Fear,  Rage,  or 
Joy,  as  having  succeeded  in  this  affection, 
and  they  doubt  it  not ;  but  superadd  to  the 
patient's  state  a  palpable  change  of  volume 
or  structure,  such  as  an  enlarged  gland  or 
ulcer,  and  they  smile  in  derision  at  the  effi- 
cacy of  a  charm.  Extremes  in  seepticism  and 
credulity  are  equally  diseases  of  the  mind. 
The  healthy  brain  is  ever  open  to  conviction, 
and  he  who  can  believe  that  the  Obi-charm, 
or  the  magic  of  a  monarch's  touch,  can,  so 
operate  on  the  nervous  system  as  to  inter- 
rupt; or  avert  the  mutations  of  motion  and 
temperature  constituting  an  ague-lit,  should 
pause  before  he  denies  their  influence  over 
an  ulcer  or  a  tumor,  which  can  only  be  de- 
veloped or  removed  by  or  with  change  of 
temperature.  Indeed,  from  what;  we  have 
already  said,  it  is  impossible  for  any  indi- 
vidual to  be  the  subject  of  any  mental  im- 
pression without  experiencing  a  chill  or  a 
heat,  a  tremor  or  a  spasm,  with  a  creater  or 
lesstihange  in  the  atomic  relations  of  every 
organ  and  secretion.  Baron  Alibert  gives  the 
case  of  a  Parisian  lady,  who  had  a  large 
wen  in  the  neck— a  goitre — which,  from  its 
deformity,  occasioned  her  much  annoyance. 
That  tumor,  which  had  resisted  every 
variety  of  medical  treatment,  disappeared 
during  the  Reign  of  Terror — a  period  when 
this  lady,  like  many  others  of  her  rank,  ex- 
perienced the  greatest  mental  agony  and  sus- 
pense. The  agony  and  suspense  in  that  case 
referred  to  a  contingency  altogether  uncon- 
nected with  her  disease  The  mere  act  of 
dwelling  upon  sickness  will  keep  it  up; 
wh>Je  whatever  withdraws  the  mind  from  it 
is  beneficial.  In  my  own  experience,  ab- 
scesses of  considerable  magnitude  have  been 
cured  both  by  fear  -and  joy.  Few  surgeons 
in  much  practice  have  been  without  the  op- 
portunity of  satisfying  themselves  that  puru- 
lent ^wcinngs  may  recede  under  the  influ- 
ence of  fear.  They  have  assured  them- 
selvels  of  the  presence  of  matter — they  pro- 
pose to  open  the  tumor — !he  frightened  pa- 
tient begs  another  day,  but  on  the  morrow  it 
has  vanished. 

Akin  to  Terror  is  Disgust,  or  that  feeling 
which  a  person  naturally  entertains  when, 
for  the  first  time,  he  handles  a  toad  or  an 
asp.  This  passion  has  worked  wonders  in 
disease,  The  older  physicians  took  advan- 
tage of  it  in  their  prescriptions;  for  they 
were  very  particular  in  their  directions  how 
to  make  broth  of  the  flesh  of  puppies,  vipers, 
snails,  and  mili pedes.  The  celebrated  Mo- 
haw^k  Chief,  Joseph  Brandt,  while  on  a 
march,  cured  himself  of  a  tertain  ague,  by 
eating  broth  made  from  the  flesh  of  a  rattle- 
snake! Here  the  cure  must  have  been  alto- 
gether the  e£fect  of  Disgust,  lor  in  reality. 


the  flesh  hi  a  rattle-snake  is  as  perf^Hy 
innocuous,  and  quite  as  nutritious  as  the 
flesh  of  an  eel.  Mr  Catlin,  in  his  Letters 
and  Notes  on  the  North  American  Indians, 
tells  us  that  when  properly  broiled  and 
dressed  he  found  the  rattle-snake  to  be  "  the 
most  delicious  food  of  the  land."  But  when 
you  come  to  think  of  the  living  reptile  and 
the  venom  of  his  fang,  who  among  yoa 
could  at  first  feed  upon  such  fare  without 
shuddering,  shivering,  shaking — without  in 
a  word,  experiencing  the  horrors  and  honip- 
ulationsof  ague!  Spider-web,  soot,  moss 
from  the  dead  man's  skull,  the  touch  of  a 
dead  malefactor's  hand,  are  at  this  very  hour 
remedies  with  the  English  vulgar  for  many 
diseases.  With  the  Romans  the  yet  wann 
blood  of  the  newly  slain  gladiator  was  es- 
teemed for  its  virtues  in  epilepsy.  Even  at 
this  day,  in  some  countries  of  Europe,  the 
lower  orders  cure  the  same  disordw  bv 
drinking  the  blood  as  it  flows  from  the  neck 
of  the  decapitated  crimi nal.  In  the  last  cento- 
ry,  a  live  toad  hung  round  the  neck  was 
much  esteemed,  hy  the  same  class  of  people, 
for  its  efficacy  in  stopping  bleeding  at  the 
nose.  Now  that  the  toad  is  known  to  "be  / 
free  from  venom,  it  might  noTbe  so  succeas-  • 
ful  as  it  once  \^as  in  this  instance.  Aov 
temporary  benefit,  real  or  supposed,  which 
has  accrued  from  the  employment  of  the 
Leech  has  appeared  to  me  to  be  in  many  in- 
stances the  effect  of  the  Horror  the  patient 
very  naturally  entertained  for  the  reptile. 

A  consideration  of  the  power  by  whicfc 
the  Passions  cure  andVause  diseases,  afford 
at  once  the  best  refutation  of  medical  eiror, 
and  the  most  perfect  te«t  of  medical  truth. 
By  this  test,  I  am  willing  that  my  doctrines 
should  stand  or  fall.  Take  the  infiuenoe  of 
Fear  simply — what  disease  has  iiot  ihii 
passion  caused  ? — what  has  it  not  cuwl? 
The  mode  of  its  action,  then,  establishes  b^ 
yond  cavil  not  only  the  unity  of  disease,  but 
the  unity  of  action  of  remedy  and  cause. 
What  does  the  proper  treatment  of  all  dis- 
eases come  to  at  last,  but  to  the  coounon 
principle  of  revecping  the  existing  motion 
and  temperature  of  various  parts  of  the  body? 
Do  this  in  a  diseased  body,  and  you  have 
health — do  the  same  in  health,  and  you  re- 
produce disease.  ^Whatever  will  after  mo- 
tion will  cure  or  cause  disease.  This,  then, 
is  the  mode  in  which  all  our  remedies  net 
Just  observe  the  effect  of 
Baths. 

In  what  disease  have  not  Bath>  ^^'-en  re- 
commended .'-—and  in  what  marn**r  .Miitbey 
cure  or  ameliorate,  butbychanire  «"  temper- 
ature— by  change  of  motion  ?  I  jt  J^ 
hand  into  ice-water— does  it  nof  sHrink  and 
become  diminished  in  size  ?    Piace  it  m  wa- 


FaUades  of  the  Faculty. 


11 


tei  89  hot  88  you  can  bear— how  it  swelJs 
aad  enlarges.  You  see,  then,  that  change 
of  temperature  aecessarily  implies  change  of 
motion; — and  that  change  of  motion  pro- 
duces change  of  temperature,  you  have  only 
to  run  a  certain  distance  to  be  satisfied;  or 
you  may  save  yourself  the  trouble,  by  look- 
-  ing  out  of  your  window  in  a  winter  morning, 
when  you  will  see  the  hackney  coachmen 
striking  their  breasts  with  their  arms  to 
warm  themselves.  Depend  upon  it,  they 
would  not  do  that  for  nothing.  Heat,  then, 
80  far  from  being  itself  a  material  substance, 
as  Black,  and  other  ^chemists  assert,  is  a 
mere  condition  of  matter  in  motion — it  is  no 
more  a  substance  than  colour,  souiid,  or 
fluidity,  like  all  these,  it  is  a  motive  con- 
dition merely,  or  an  association  of  matter. 
What  can  be  greater  nonsense  than  an  im- 
ponderable substance — as  heat  and  light 
hare  been  sometimes  called  ?  That  only  is 
matter  or  substance  which  can  be  weighed 
and  measured'-and  this  may  be  done  with 
iiivisible  as  well  as  visible  things^ — in  the 
case  of  a  Gas  for  example. 

I  am  aften  asked,  what  baths  are  safest, 
88  if  every  thing  by  its  fitness  or  unfitness 
is  not  safe,  or  the  reverse.  The  value  of  all 
baths  depends  upon  their  fitne^ ;  and  that, 
in  many  instances,  can  only  be  known  by 
trial.  It  depends  upon  constitution,  more 
than  upon  the  name  of  a  disease,  whether 
particular  patients  shall  be  benefited  by  one 
bath  or  another.  Generally  speaking,  when 
the  Bkin  is  hot  and  dry,  a  cold  bath  will  do 
good;  and  when  chilly,  a  hot  bath.  But 
the  reverse  sometimes  happens.  For  exam- 
ple, L  have  seen  a  shivering  hypochondriac 
dash  into  the  cold  plunge  baOi,  and  come  out, 
in  a  minute  or  two,  perfectly  cured  of  all 
his  aches  and  whimsies.  But  in  cases  of 
this  nature,  every  thing  depnnds  upon  the 
glow  or  leaption,  which  the  bath  produces ; 
and  that  has  as  much  to^do  with  surprise  or 
shock  as  with  the  temperature  of  the  bath. 
I  have  seen  a  person,  with  a  hot  dry  skin, 
go  into  a  warm  hath,  and  come  out  just  as 
refreshed  as  if  he  had  taken  a  cold  one.  In 
in  that  case,  the  perspiration  which  it  exci- 
ted mutft  have  been  the  principal  means  of 
relief. 

So  far  as  my  own  experience  goes,  I  pre- 
fer the  cold  and  tepid  shower-baths,  and  the 
cold  plunge-bath  to  any  other;  but  there  are 
cases  in  which  these  disagree,  and  I,  there- 
fore, occasionaMy  order  the  warm  or  vapor 
balh  instead. 

In  diseases  termed  **  inflammatory,"  what 
measure  so  ready  or  so  efficacious  as  to  dash 
a  few  pitchers  of  cold  water  over  the 
patient — Cold  Affusion,  as  it  is  called? 
When  I  served  in  the  Army,  I  cut  short,  in 


this  manner,  hundreds  of  inflammatory 
fevers — fevers  that,  in  the  higher  ranks  of 
society,  and  under  the  bleeding  and  starving 
systems,  would  have  kept  an  apothecary, 
and  physician — to  say  nothing  of  nurses 
and  cuppers — visiting  the  patient  twice  or 
thrice  a-day  for  a  month,  if  he  happened  to 
live  so  long. 

Gentlemen,  with  the  cold  dash,  you  also 
may  easily, 

"  While  others  meftnly  laVe  whole  mont^  to  ilay," 
Piodace  a  cure  in  half  a  tnmm^t**  daj.*      ^ 

That  being  the  case,  do  yon  wonder  that 
prejudices  should  still  continue  to  be  artfully 
fostered  against  so  unprofitable  a  mode  of 
practice  ?  Why  do  not  the  gullible  public 
examine  for  themselves?  Why  will  they 
continue  tq  bribe  their  medical  men  to  keep 
them  ill  ?  In  their  shops  and  out  of  their 
shops,  the  people  of  this  world  generally 
enact  two  very  different  characters.  There 
they  take  advantage  of  theif  customers  in 
every  possible  way ;  but  the  moment  they ' 
leave  tneir  counters,  the  same  persons  drop 
the  knave,  and  become  the  dupe.  The  mer- 
chant and  shop-keeper,  who  buy  cheap  and 
sell  dear— the  landowner  and  farmer,  who 
keep  up  the  com- laws  by  every  possiplc 
sophijjtiy, — the  barrister  and  attorney,  wno 
rejoice  and  grow  fat  on  the  imperfections 
and  mazes  of  the  law — the  clergyman  and 
fiis  clerk,  whose  gospel  knowledge  and 
psalm-singing,  are  generally  in  juxtaposition 
with  tithes  and  burial  fees — become  all  per- 
fect lambs  when  they  leave  their  respective 
vocations — each  ^ving  the  others  credit  for 
a  probity  and  disinterestedness  in  their  par- 
ticular line,  which  himself  would  laugh  at 
as  sheer  weakness,  were  any  body  to  prac- 
tise in  his  own !  With  the  most'  childish 
simplicity,  people  ask  their  doctor  what  he 
thinks  of  this  practice,  and  what  he  thinks 
of  the  other — ^never  for  a  moment  dreaming 
that  the  man  of  medicines  answer,  like  the 
answer  of  every  other  man  in  buisncss,  will 
be  sure  to  square  with  his  own  interests. 
Instead  of  using  the  Eyes  that  God  has 
given  them,  they  shut  them  in  the  most  de- 
termined manner,  that  their  Ears  may  be 
the  more  surely  abused.  **  What  a  delight- 
ful person  Dr  Such-a-one  is,"  you  will  hear 
persons  say;  «*  he  is  so  veiy  k  nd,  so  very 
anxious  about  me."  Just  as  if  all  that  afTecl- 
ed  solicitude,  and  all  that  pretty  manner  of 


•  I  have  staled  in  a  former  note  that  "  Hydro- 
ralhy  "  on  a  right  principle,  i»  an  mccellent  Chrono- 
iherinal  remedy.  Bnl  in  reite  cf  the  wrong  principJ* 
on  which  it  is  practined  by  Priewnitz,  I  am  bound 
to  declare  that  I  think  aomo  of  the  modmcations  of 


hie  application  of  cold  water,  not  only  onjsinal  an< 
inMnioua,  but  also  exceedingly  lerviceable  m  man; 
dlMfiKee     Their  is   no  ifuestion  of  their  nuJily  Ji 


many 


pOLrlicnlar  cases. 


12 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


his,  were  not  part  and  parcel  of  the  good 
doctor's  stock  in  trade.  Silly,  simple  John 
Bull !  why  will  you  pin  your  faith  to  fall- 
ible or  fallacious  Authority,  when  you  may 
ret  the  truth  so  easily  by  a  little  personal 
Examination  ! — ^1  b  be  able  to  discriminate 
in  the  choice  of  a  physician,  and  to  guard 
against  medical  imposture,  would  not  cost 
you  half  the  time,  or  any  thing  like  the 
trouble,  of  mastering  the  inflections  of  ver- 
liero,  or  Amo,  amare !  Which  kind  of 
knowledge  is  of  most  use  in  life  I  leave  to 
pedants  and  philosophers  to  settle  between 
them.  Meantime,  I  shall  beg  your  attention 
to  the  subject  of 

Exercise. 

The  effetts  of  mere  motion  upon  the  body 
are  sometimes  very  surprising.  Only  think 
of  Horse-exercise  curing  people  of  Consump- 
tion !  A  case  of  this  Kind,  you  remember, 
I  gave  you,  on  the  authority  of  Darwin.  J 
'knew  a  gentleman  who  was  affected  with 
habitual  asthma,  but  who  breathed  freely  when 
in  his  rig.  I  know,  at  this  moment,  another, 
afflicted  with  giddiness,  who  is  immediately 
"  himself  again,"  when  on  horseback.  A 
dropsical  female,  who  came  many  miles  to 
consult  me,  not  only  felt  corporeally  better 
when  she  got  into  the  coach,  but  her  kidneys 
acted  so  powerfully  as  to  be  a  source  of  much 
inconvenience  to  her  during  the  journey. 
This  corporeal  change  she  experienced  pvery 
time  she  came  to  see  me  The  motion  of  the 
circular  swing  has  cured  mania  and  epilepsy, 
But  what,  as  we  have  repeatedly  shown,  is 
good  for  one  patient  is  bad  for  another.  You 
will  not,  therefore,  be  astonished  to  find  cases 
of  all  these  various  diseases,  where  aggrava 
tion  may  have  been  the  result  of  horse  exer 
cise,  and  the  other  motions  we  have  men< 
tioned. 

£xercise  of  the  muscles,  in  any  manner 
calculated  to  occupy  the  patient's  whole  at- 
tention, will  often  greatly  alleviate  every 
kind  of  chronic  disease.  Dr.  Chevne  was 
not  above  taking  a  useful  hint  on  this  point 
from  an  Irish  charlatan.  "  This  person,*' 
says  Dr.  Cheyne,  « ordered  his  (epileptic) 
patients  to  walk,  those  who  were  not  en- 
feebled, twelve,  fifteen,  or  even  twenty 
miles  a-day.  They  were  to  begin  walking 
a  moderate  distance,  and  they  were  gradu- 
ally to  extend  their  walks,  according  to  their 
ability,  [n  some  of  the  patients,  a  great  im- 
provement took  place,  both  with  respect  to 
digestion  and  muscular  strength ;  and  this 
was  so  apparent  in  a  short  time,  that  ever 
since  this  luminary  shone  upon  the  metropo- 
,lis  of  Ireland,  most  of  our  patients  affected 
"With  epilepsy,  have  been  with  our  advice 
peripatatics."    Exercise,  then,  is  one  of  our 


best  remedial  means.  Moreover,  it  txAlj  be 
turned  to  very  great  advantage  in  our  com- 
mon domestic  matters.  Were  I  to  tell  you 
all  at  once,  that  yo'U  might  keep*  yourselves 
warm  by  a  single  Ipg  of  wood  all  the  win- 
ter over,  you  would  think  I  was  jesting,  but 
really  the  thing  may  be  done.  1  believe  we 
owe  the  discovery  to  our  friends  across  the 
water,  the  Americans;  and  I  may  as  well 
give  you  the  recipe : — "  Take  a  log  of  wood 
of  moderate  size,  carry  it  to  the  upper  gar- 
ret, and  throw  it  from  the  window  into  the 
street,  taking  care,  of  course,  not  to  knock 
any  body  on  the  head ;  this  done,  run  down 
stairs  as  fast  as  ybu  can ;  take  it  up  again  to 
the  garret,  and  do  as  before.  Repeat  the 
process  until  you  are  sufficiently  warm- 
when — you  may  lay  by  the  log  for  another 
occasion  !*' 

«*One  of   OUT    reverend  bishops   (who 
Syndenham  tells  us,  was)  famous  for  pru- 
dence and  learning,  having  studied  too  hard 
a  long  while,  fell  at  length  into  a  Hypochon- 
driacal disease ;  which  afflicted  hin)  a  1ob(^ 
time,  vitiated  all  the  ferments  of  the  body, 
and    wholly     subverted    the   concoctions. 
[Such,  Gentlemen,  was  the  jargon  of  tlfe 
eminents  of  Syldenham*8  time.]    He  (the 
bishop)  had  passed  through  long  steel  cour- 
ses more  thaA  once,  and  had  tried  almost  all 
sorts  of  mineral  waters,  with  ofteii  repeated 
puiges  and  antiscorbutics  of  all  kinds,  and 
a  great  many  testacious  powders  which  are 
reckoned  proper  to  sweeten  the  Blood  (?) 
and  so  being  in  a  manner  worn  out,  pertly 
by  the  disease,  and  partly  by  Physic  vad 
continually  for  so  many  years,  he  wasatlart 
seized  with  a  colliquative  looseness  which 
is  wont  to  be  the  forerunner  of  death  in  con- 
sumption and  other  chronical  diseases  when 
the  digestions  are  wholly   destroyed.     At 
lenrth  he  consulted  me ;  i  presently  consid- 
ered that  there  was  no  more  room  for  medi- 
cine, he  having  taken  so  much  already  with- 
out any  benefit :  for  which  reason  I  advised 
him  to  ride  on  horseback,  and  that  first  he 
should  take  such  a  small  journey  as  ^ 
agreeable  to  his  weak  condition.    Had  he 
not  been  a  judicious  man,  and  one  that  con- 
sidered things  well,  he  would  not  have  been 
persuaded  so  much  as  to  try  such  a  kind  of 
exercise.    I  entreated  him  to  persist  in  it 
daily,  till  in  his  own  opinion  he  was  well» 
going  daily  farther  and  farther,  till  at  Icnfjh 
he  went  so  many  miles,  as  prudent  aad 
moderate  travellers  that  go  a  long  journey 
upon  business,  use  to  do,  without  ^YJ^ 
gard  to  meat  or  drink,  or  the  weather,  Mu 
that- he  should  take  everything  as  it  happen* 
like  a  traveller.    To  be  short,  he  continuea 
this  method,  increasing  bis  journey  by  de- 
grees, till  at  length  he  rode  twrenty  or  thirty 


r 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


13 


miie^  daily,  and  when  he  found  he  was 
much  better  in  a  few  days,  being  encoura- 
ged by  such  a  wonderful  success,  he  fol- 
£[>wed  this  course  for  a  pretty  many  months, 
in  which,  as  he  told  me,  he  rode  many  thou- 
aand  miles ;  so  that  at  length  he  not  only  re- 
covered, but  also  regained  a  strong  and  brisk 
habit  of  body.    Nor  is  this  kind  of  exer- 
cise mpre  beneficial  to  hypochondriacal  peo- 
ple than  to  those  that  are  in  a  Consumption ; 
whereof  some  of  my  relations  have  been 
cured  by  riding  long  journeys  by  my  advice ; 
for  I  kne  S7  I  could  not  care  them  better  by 
medicines  of  what  value  soever,  or  by  any 
other  method.    Nor  is  this  remedy  proper 
only  in  small  indispositions,  accompanied 
witn  a  frequent  cough  and  leanness,  but 
also  in  consumptions  that  are  almost  deplo- 
rable when  the  looseness  above  mentioned 
accompanies  the  night  sweats,  which  are 
wont  to  be  the  forerunners  of  death  in  those 
that  die  of  a  consiunption.    To  be  short, 
how  deadly  soever  a  consumption  is,  and  is 
said  to  be — two-thirds  of  it  dying  who  are 
spoiled  by  chronical  diseases —yet  I  sincerely 
assert  that  mercury  in  the  French  pox,  and 
the  Jesuits  bark  in  a^ues,  are  not  more  ef- 
fectual than  the  exercise  above  mentioned  in 
curing  a  consumption,  if  the  patient  be  care- 
foi  and  the  sheets  well  aired,  and  that  his 
journeys  are  long  enough.    But  this  must  be 
noted,  that  those  who  are^  past  the  flower  of 
their  age,  must  use  this  exercise  much  lon^r 
>^han  those  that  have  not  yet  arrived  at  it ; 
and  this  I  have  learned  by  long  experience 
which  scarce  ever  failed  me.    And  though 
jidine  on  horseback  is  chiefly  beneficial  to 
people  that  have  a  consumption,  yet  riding 
journeys  in  a  Coach  is  sometimes  very  bene- 
ficial." 

The  poet  Coleridge,  while  at  Malta,  was 
in  the  habit  of  attending  much  to  those 
about  him,  and  particularly  those  who  were 
cent  there  for  pulmonary  disease.  "  He  fre- 
onenlly  observed  how  much  the  invalid,  at 
first  iandinjg,  was  relieved  by  the  climate, 
and  the  stimulus  of  change,  but  when  the 
novelty  arising  from  that  change  had  ceased 
the  monotonous  sameness  of  the  blue  sky, 
accompanied  by  the  summer  heat  of  the 
dime,  acted  powerfully  as  a  sedative,  ending 
in  speedy  dissolution."  Is  not  this  a  proof 
of  the  correctness  of  my  previous  observa- 
tion, that  in  chronic  disorder  remedies  re- 
quire to  be  frequently  changed  ?  The  bene- 
nt  to  be  derived  from  Travelling,  often  great 
in  chronic  disorders,  is  partly  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  change  of  motion,  and  partly  to 
change  of  air  and  scene.  Like  every  mode 
of  treatment  presenting  frequent  noveliy, 
trayelling  therefore  ofiers  many  advantages  to 
the  invalid  in  ^very  kind  of  chronic  or  ha- 


bitual disease.  How  often,  alas!  do  wjs 
find  it  recommended,  as  a  last  resource,  un- 
der circumstances  where  it  must  inevitably 
hasten  the  fatal  catastrophe.  The  breath 
that  might  otherwise  have  fanned  the  flame> 
now  omy  contributes  to  its  more  rapid  dis- 
solution. How  much  the  success  of  a  mea- 
sure depends  upon  time  and  season  ! 
I  must  say  a  few  words  about 

Plasters,  Ointments,  &c. 

The  beneficial  influence  obtained  from  all 
such  local  applications  depends  upon  the 
change  of  temperature  they  are  capable  of 
producing.  Their  results  will  vary  with 
constitutions.  Most  patients,  who  suffer 
from  chronic  disease,  will  point  to  a  particu- 
lar spot  as  the  locality  where  they  are  most 
incommoded  with  "cold 'chills"  This  is 
the  point  for  the  application  of  thegalbanum 
or  other  '*  warm  plaster."  A  plaster  of  this 
kind  to  the  loins  has  enabled  me  to  cure  a 
host  of  diseases  that  had  previously  resisted 
t^txy  other  mode  of  treatment.  Ihe  same 
application  to  the  chest,  when  the  patient 
complained  of  chilliness  in  that .  particular 
part,  has  materially  aided  me  in  the  treat- 
ment of  many  cases  of  phthisis.  In  .both 
instances,  where  heat  was  the  more  general 
complaint,  cold  sponging  has  been  followed 
by  an  equally  beneficial  effect. 

The  ingredients  of  plasters,  ointments, 
Iptions,  &c. — what  are  they  but  combinations 
of  the  agents  with  which  we  combat  fever? 
Their  beneficial  influence  depends  upon  the 
change  of  motion  and  temperature  which 
they  produce  by  their  electrical  action  on  the 
nerves  of  the  part  to  which  they  are  direc- 
ted. Every  one  of  the  chrono-thermal  agents 
may  be  locally  employed  in  certain  cases, — 
sometimes  with  more  and  sometimes  with 
less  advantage  than  when  given  internally. 

Gentlemen,  I  shall  employ  what  remains 
of  our  time  to-day  in  a  orief  notice  of  the 
doctrines  of  Hahnemann,  the  founder  of  the 
Homoeopathic  School.  His  pamphlet,  enti- 
tled, "  The  Spirit  of  the  Homoeopathic  Doc- 
trine," commences  thus : — *•  To  know  the 
essence  of  Diseases,  and  the  hidden  changes 
which  they  effect  in  the  body,  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  human  understanding." — Which 
proposition  he  contradicts  by  the  following 
para£;raph  :  "  It  is  necessary  that  our  sen- 
ses should  be  able  clearly  to  discern  what  it 
is  in  each  malady  that  must  be  removed  in 
order  to  restore  health,  and  that  each  medi- 
cine should  express,  in  a  distinct  and  appre- 
ciable manner,  what  it  can  cure  with  cer- 
tainty, before  we  can  be  m  a  condition  to 
employ  it  against  any  disease  whatever." 
From  this  you  perceive  that  Hahnemann, 


14 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


like  Dr.  Holland  and  the  humoral  schoolmen, 
looks  upon  disease  as  a  fanciful  something 
to   be    *«  removed,"  instead  of    a  state  to 
change ;  and  as  he  uses  the  phrase,  to  "  ex- 
pel disease"  in  another  part  of  his  work,  it 
IS  evident  he  does  not  know  in  what  Disor- 
der consists.     A&;ain, — '*  The  material  sub- 
Btances  of   which  the  human  organism  is 
composed,  no  longer  follow,  in  their  living 
combinatiof(,  the  laws  to  which  matter  is 
subject  in  the  state  of  non-life ;  and  they  ac- 
knowledge only  the  laws  proper  to  vitality 
-^they  are  then  animated  and  living,  as  the 
whole  is  animated  and  living.     In  the  orga- 
nism reigns  a  fundamental  power»  indefina- 
ble yet  every  where  dominant,  which  de- 
stroys every  tendency  in  the    constituent 
parts  of  the  body  to  conform  themselves  to 
the  laws  of  pressure,  of  concussion,  of  vis 
inertise,  of   fermentation,  of    putrefaction, 
&c.,  which  subjects  them  exclusively  to  the 
wonderful  laws  of  life,  that  is  to  say,  main- 
tains them  in  the  state  of  sensibility  and  ac- 
tivity necessary  to  the  conservation  of  the 
living  whole — ^in  a  dynamic,  almost  spiritual 
state."    Gentlemen,  what  is  the  sum  of  all 
this  ?     Nothing  more  nor  less  than  that  if 
you  press  the  soft  parts  of  the  body,  they 
will  not  yield  to  a  resisting  substance — that 
you  cannot  be  shaken  by  concussion,  or 
have  the  bone  of  the  leg  or  arm  broken  by 
external  agency — that  you  are  in  a  "  dyita- 
raic    state" — a  state    "almost    spiritual!" 
What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  dynamic  ? 
Il  signifies    "moviHg  power."    This  you 
can  understand ;  but  when  our  author,  ap- 
parently dissatisfied  with  his  own    term, 
would  further  explain  it  by  the  words  «*  al- 
most spiritual,"  a  phrase  perfectly  indefinite, 
you  see  he  has  only  a  vague  conception  that 
he  various  parts  of  the  body  are  in  motion. 
But  that  the  material  atoms  of  the  living 
frame  do  follow  the  laws  to  which  all  Mat- 
ter is  subject,  under  the  particular  circum- 
stances in  which  the  matter  composing  them 
is  placed,  is  undoubted.    A  piece  of  amber 
or  sealing  wax  when  rubbed,  first  attracts 
silk  and  then  repels  it,  producing  alternate 
motion  altogether  independent  of  mechan- 
ics.   Though  not  life,  this  phenomenon  is 
at  least,  a  type  of  it ;  for  the.  organic  and 
other  motions  of  an  oi^nism  termed  lite, 
even  in  the  highest  grade  of  animals,  when 
analyzed,  will  be  found  to  be  only  modifica- 
tions of  alternate  attraction  and  repulsion. 
What  are  the  successive  conversion  of  the 
food  into  blood,  of  the  blood-into  the  matier 
of  tissue  and  secretion,  but  so  many  mstan- 
ces  illustrative  of  this  propo>;ition  ? — what 
the  alternate  inspiration  and  expiration  of  the 
lungs  ? — the  equally  alternate  contraction  at  d 
dilation  of  the  heart— sleep  and  wsJceful- 


ness,  love  and  hate,  ambition,  and  worldly 
disgust,  but  80  many  modifications  or  eflects 
of   attractive    and    repulsive    influences! 
When  the  magnet  attracts  iron,  it  (^o^s  that 
not  contrary'  to  the  law  of  Gravitation,  but 
in  obedience  to  the  more  comprehensive  law 
of  which  gravitation  is  a  part— namely.  Elec- 
tricity or  Galvanism.    But  Electricity,  IDce 
Elective  Attraction,  is  only  a  fragment  of 
the  great  doctrine  of  LIFE.  The  word  Ln, 
when  applied  to  animals  in  their  healthy 
condition,  is  an  abstract  term  expressive  of 
the  sum  total  of  effects  produced  by  the  prin- 
cipal forces  in  nature,  when  acting  toother 
with  a  perfect  harmony  of  movement  m  one 
body.    Gentlemen,  galvanism,  or  electricity, 
chemistry,  magnetism,  mechanics,  play  ail 
periodically  their    respective  parts  in  the 
nappy  combination  of  forces  we  call  lifei 
Lite,  then,  is  Electricity  in  its  highest  sense, 
even  as  the  attraction  of  gravitation  is  cle^ 
tricity  in  its  lowest  sense.    The  attraction  of 
the  magnet  is  an  electrical  step  in  advance 
of  gravitation, — chemical  change  one  step 
more, —the  alternate  attraction  and  repnlsion 
of  amber  is  a  still  higher  link  in  the  elecm'* 
cal  chain .     Galvanism  and  Electricity,  strict- 
ly so  called,  embrace  all  the  subordinate 
links,  while  Life  or  Vital  ELEcraicnr, 
comprehends  the  whole.     Mere  mechanical 
motion,  though  it  belongs  to  all  animal  life, 
in  reality  only  grows  out  of  it.    There  is  no 
mechanical  movement  in  the  foetal  germ,  nor 
is  such  movement  necessary  to  the  life  of  the 
plant.    Vital  Electricitt,  then,  prodnctt 
changes  in  every  way  analogous  to  the  chan- 
ges    that    take     place     in     organic  bo- 
dies, but  iy)t  the  same  changes, — for  no  elec- 
tricity shoit  of  the  highest  or  Vital  kind  can 
produce  the  electrical  and  chemical  changes 
constantly  going  on  in  a  living  body,  no 
more  than  the  power  of  gravitation  or  the 
magnet  could  produce  the  higher  movements 
of  common  chemistry.    The  chemist  who, 
like  Liebig,  expects  by  the  destructive  chemi- 
cal anaJysis  of  dead  organs  in  his  laboratory, 
to  be  able  to  produce  or  explain  the  veiy  op- 
posite transformations  that  take  place  in  the 
oi^ns  of  the  living,  will  no  more  improve 
medicine  than  the  mere  anatomist  who  sepa- 
rates them  tissue  by  tissue  with  his  scalpeL 
However  similar  his  chemistry  and  bis  elec- 
tricity may  be  to  vital  electricity  and  viW 
chemistry,  however  analogous  the  results  of 
both  be  to  the  attractive  and  repulsive  mo- 
tions that  constitute  vitality,    yet  are  the 
transformations  not  identical,— curiously  re- 
.sembling  them  certainly,  but  still  so  diferent 
that  they  never  even  approach  to  organiam. 
The  electricity  and  chemistry  of  man  bo 
more  could  produce  a  worm,  or  a  leaf  even, 
than  the  inferior  intellectual  power  ol  tie 


FaU<icw9  of  the  Faculty. 


16 


dog  or  the  elephant  could  produce  the  Iliad. 
The  same  harmony  of  motion  that  we  behold 
in  animal  life  we  equally  find  in  the  life  of 
the  ve^<itahle ;  but  the  forces  employed  are 
feiirer  in  number,  aod  more  feeble  in  their 
action.    The  extremes  of  ve^lable  and  ani- 
mal  life  approach  each  other.    In  the  zo- 
ophyte or  plant-animal  we  have  the  connect- 
ing link  of  both.    Both  are  made  up  of  in- 
<Mganie  matter, — metals,  minerals,  air,  earth, 
and  every  other  material  thing  successWely 
become  anatomically  organized  and  living 
in  Hieir  turn.    Man,  who  stands  his^hest  in 
the  scale  of  animated  beings,  is  a  microcosm 
or  little  world  in  himself ;  yet  what  is  he 
bat  a  Parasite  on  the  globe's  surface — ^the 
globe  itself  but  an  Atom  in  the  LIFE  of  the 
UNIVERSE!      But  listen  to  Hahnemann: 
**  The  Life  of  man,  arid  its  two  conditions, 
health  aod  sickness,  cannot  be  explained  by 
any  of  the  principles  which  serve  to  explain 
other  objects.    Life  cannot  be  compabed  to 
any  thin^  in  the  world  except  itself — ^no  re- 
lation suDsists  between  it  and  an  hydraulic 
OT  other  machine — a  ch'>mical  operation— a 
decomf  oaition  and  production  of  gas,  or  a 
galvanic  battery.    In  a  word,  it  resembles 
nothing  which  does  not  live.    Human  life, 
in  no  respect  obeys  laws  which  are  purely 
phjfljcai,  which  are  of  force  only  with  inor- 
ganic substances."    V/e  apprehend,  gentle- 
men, that  the  whole,  or  nearly  the  whole,  of 
this  statement  is  assumption,  and  if  there 
be  truth  in  nature,  that  tnis  assumption  is  a 
fallacy.     If  you  compake  the  ossification  of 
the  skull  with  mechanical  inventions,  you 
will  find  it  to  be  an  exemplification  of  the 
most  perfect  Carpentry.    The  joints  of  the 
body  embrace  every  principle  of  the  Hinge ; 
— ^the  muscles,  tendons,  and  bones,  are  so 
many  Ropes,  Pulleys,  and  Levers ;  the  lun^s 
act  in  Bellows-fashion,  alternately  taking  m 
and  givinj^  out  Gas  ; — the  intestinal  canal  is 
a  containing  Tube.    Then,  in  regard  to  the 
vascular  system,  the  heart  and  blood-vessels 
are  to  a  great  extent  a  Hydraulic  apparatus, 
as  you  may  prove,  by  tying  an  artery  or 
compressing  a  vein ;   the  blood,  in  the  first 
instance,  being  arrested  in  its  course  from  the 
left  chamber  of  the  heart ;   in  the  second, 
being  stopped  in  its  proeress  to  the  rij^ht  side 
of  it.     What  are  assimilation,  secretion,  ab- 
sorption, the  change  of  the  matter  of  one  or- 
gan into  another — of  the  fluids  into  the 
solids,  and  vice  versa,  but  operations  of  vital 
Chemistry,  and  the  Brain  and  Nervous  Sys- 
tem but  ^t  Vital  Galvanic  or  Electric  appa- 
ratus bv  which  these  operations  are  effected  ? 
lliat  tne  human  body  obeys  laws  purely 
physical,  Is  still  further  e.Yemplified  by  the 
fracture  of  a  bone  or  the  rupture  of  a  tendon 
the  reunion  of  both  is  the  result  of 


secretion  under  the  influence  of  thi^  Klectri- 
city  through  the  nerves  supplying  those 
parts.  If,  during  childhood,  the  great  nerve 
of  a  limb  te  paralyzed,  the  growth  of  that 
limb  becomes  arrested,  not  only  in  its  breadth, 
but  length.  The  nerves,  then,  are  the  mo- 
vine  power**,  and  if  you  cut  or  divide  them, 
neither  a  broken  bone  nor  a  ruptured  tendon 
can  re-uiiite,  so  as  to  become  useful.  And 
do  we  not  see  analogous  effects  taking  place 
in  every  kind  of  matter  under  the  influence 
of  the  galvanic  wire  ?  By  that  we  produce 
the  decomposition  and  recomposition  of  bo- 
dies— various  changes  of  motion  and  tempe- 
rature— of  attraction  and  repulsion  of  atoms 
— which,  if  we  break  the  chain  of  the  wire's 
continuity,  immediately  cease  to  take  place, 
but  which  le-commence  the  moment  the 
wires  are  again  brought  into  contact.  That 
a  living  man  can  in  an  oven  defy  a  degree  of 
heat  that  would  broil  a  piece  of  dead  flesh, 
is  perfectly  true ;  but  to  what  is  this  owing, 
but  to  the  greater  power  of  attraction  which 
the  particles  of  his  body  maintain  to  them- 
selves in  their  living  than  dead  state.  Ne- 
vertheless, the  degree  of  heat  may  be  so  rais- 
ed as  to  decompose  portions  even  of  the  liv- 
ing body,  and  finally  reduce  the  whole  to  a 
state  incompatible  with  life.  And  may  not 
the  electric  state  ol  all  bodies,  gold  and  sil- 
vef  for  example,  be  similarly  influenced  and 
altered.'  How,  then,  can  the  phenomena 
embraced  by  the  term  Life  be  said  to  "  re- 
semble nothing  which  does  not  live  !"  They 
resemble  everything  of  which  our  senses  can 
take  cognizance — we  can  destroy  but  we 
cannot  imitate  them.  **  There  is  no  agent 
or  power  in  nature,"  says  Hahnemann,  <*  ca- 
pable of  morbidly  afiecting  man  in  health, 
which  does  not,  at  the  same  time,  po5S3ss 
the  power  of  curing  certain  morbid  states," 
But  what  is  this  but  another  mode  of  ex- 
pressing Shakspeare*s  words :  "In  poison 
there  is  physic r  ''Now,"  continues  Hah- 
nemann, *<  since  the  power  of  curing  a  dis- 
ease and  that  of  producing  a  morbid  affection 
in  persons  in  health,  are  inseparable  from 
each  other  in  all  medicines,  and  that  these 
two  powers  proceed  manifestly  from  one  and 
the  same  source,  that  is  to  say,  from  the  pro- 
perly which  medicines  have  of  modifying 
dynamically  the  state  of  man ;  and  that  con- 
sequentlv  also,  these  cannot  act  on  the  dis- 
eased after  any  other  inherent  natural  law 
than  that  which  presides  over  their  action  on 
individuals  in  health ;  it  follows  from  this, 
that  the  power  of  the  medicine  which  cures 
the  disease  in  the  sick  is  the  same  as  that 
which  causes  it  to  excite  morbid  symptoms 
in  the  healthy."  That  the  strictly  Medicinal 
substances  all  kill  and  cure  upon  one  and  the 
same  principle  few  will  dispute  who  have 


16 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


listened  to  these  Lectures.     But  «*  the  pro- 

Serty  which  medicines  have  of  modifying 
ynsunically  the  "  state  of  man"  is  merely  a 
Greek  expression,  signify in^  that  they  pos- 
sess a  moving  principle.  In  this  there  is 
nothing  new,  for  Shakspeare,  as  we  have 
seen,  said  the  same  thing  in  good  English 
two  centuries  before  Hahnemann  was  bom. 
In  the  course  of  my  next  lecture,  gentlemen, 
I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  demonstrating  to 
you  that  medicinal  substances  can  only  dis- 
turb the  existing  temperature  and  motion  of 
any  organ  or  atom  of  the^body,  by  the  elec- 
trical or  galvanic  force  which  they  exert  upon 
it  through  a  nervous  medium.  Of  this  truth 
Shakspeare  and  Hahnemann  were  equally 
ignorant. 

«*  As  soon,"  proceeds  Hahnemann,  "  as 
we  have  under  our  eyes  the  table  of  the  par- 
ticular morbid  symptoms  produced  in  a 
healthy  man  by  different  medicinal  substan- 
ces, it  only  remains  to  us  to  have  recourse  to 
pure  experiments,  which  alone  are  capable 
of  dtermining  what  are  the  medicinal  pymp- 
toms  (or  the  symptoms  produced  by  the  me- 
dicine in  the  healthy  subject)  which  always 
arrest  and  cure  certain  morbid  symptoms  (i. 
e.  diseases)  in  a  rapid  and  durable  manner, 
in  order  to  know  beforehand  which  of  these 
medicines,  the  particular  symptoms  of  which 
have  been  studied,  is  the  surest  method  of 
of  cure  in  each  given  case  of  disease." 

So  here  we  have  only  over  again  the  ex- 
ploded doctrine  of  specifics  or  remedies 
"which  always  arrest  and  cure"  certain 
morbid  symptoms !  The  whole  sentence  is 
somewhat  confused  and  paranthetical,  but 
from  it  and  other  passages  you  may  never- 
theless see  that  while  Hahnemann  obtained 
'  a  glimpse  and  a  glimpse  only,  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  unity  upon  which  remedies  act,  not 
only  was  he  ignorant  of  the  real  nature  of 
their  power,  but  also  of  the  utter  impossibi- 
lity of  predicating  in  any  one  case  of  disease, 
what  remedy  would  certainly  achieve  ame- 
lioration, iar  less  a  cure.  This  sentence  he 
never  could  have  written,  had  he  known 
that  every  medicinal  power  being  a  repulsive 
force  in  one  individual  and  an  attractive  force 
in  another,  may  act  inversely  iti  any  two  ca- 
ses of  the  same  disease.  If  there  be  a  truth 
more  sure  than  another  in  physic,  then,  it  is 
this,  that  until  we  have  absolutely  tried  a  me- 
dicinal agent  in  an  individual  case,  we  can- 
not possibly  tell  whether  it  be  a  remedy  or 
an  aggravant  in  that  particular  case.  No, 
gentlemen,  the  ague-patient  may  come  be- 
fore you ;  but  whether  arsenic  or  bark,  opi- 
um or  prussic  acid,  shall  arrest  his  disease, 
you  can  no  more  with  certainty  predicate 
than  you  can  determine  beforehand  whether 
harsh  or  soft  measures,  or  cither,  will  re- 


claim a  refractory  child,  or  subdue  an  ungo- 
vernable steed.  Trial  ^nd  experience' axe 
your  only  guides.  This  much,  hovrevei, 
you  may,  in  the  majority  of  cases  of  any 

given  disease,  predict,  that  such  agents  as 
ave  generally  a  definite  power  for  good  or 
for  evil  over  definite  parts  of  the  body,  aie 
the  class  from  which  you  are  to  expect  most 
benefit  in  a  disease  of  such  parts — butwhich 
of  them,  the  experience  of  that  case  itself 
can  only  tell  you ;  for  how  can  you  know 
without  such  experience  that  opium  will 
vomit,  rhubarb  excite  epilepsy,  or  ipecacuaa 
cause  asthma  in  particular  cases  ?  all  of 
which  you  are  aware  they  sometimes  do. 
When  you  order  cold  bathing,  caii  you  tell 
beforehand  whether  your  patient  shall  come 
out  all  in  a  glow,  happy  and  comfortable,  or 
chilly  and  snivering,  and  not  to  be  comfort- 
ed ?  Till  you  can  do  this,  yoa  cannot  witb 
certainty  tell  by  what  given  means  you  ate 
to  achieve  a  cure  in  any  given  case  of  disease. 
So  far  the  art  of  physic  is,  and  ever  will,  1 
fear,  remain  im^ierfect. 

The  principle,  Similia  similibus  curentuff 
or  like  cures  like,  which  Hahnemann  assumes 
as  his  own  discovery,  was  known  not  only 
to  medical  men  long  before  he  was  born,  m 
was  acted  upon  by  the  vulgar  time  immemo- 
rial A  passage  which  Shakspeare  puts  ia 
the  mouth  of  Benvolio  in  Romeo  and  Juliet, 
is  a  proof  that  it  was  practised  in  his  days. 

Tat  man !  one  fire  bams  oat  cnother'a  banuig, 
One  pain  is  lessened  by  another's  ang uidi, 

Torn  giddy,  and  be  holpied  by  backward   torniiigi 
One  desperate  grief  cures  with  another's  laagniA; 

Take  thou  some  new  inreclion  to  tiiine  Eye, 
And  the  rank  poison  of  the  old  will  die. 

To  the  same  purpose  he"  says  in  Hamlet:  — 

■     ■      Diseases  desperate  grown, 
By  desperate  appliances  are  relieirM. 

What  is  all  this  but  similia  similibus  cur- 
entur?  You  see,  then,  that  Hahnemano, 
instead  of  being  a  great  discoverer,  as  be 
wishes  to  make  out,  is  only  at  the  moet  a 
Reviver  of  an  old  principle.  Yet  upon  this 
principle,  strange  to  say,  neither  he  nor  bii 
followers  act !  They  say  one  thing  and  do 
another ;  for  while  they  declare  their  readi- 
ness to  cure  by  powers  having  precisely  the 
same  action  as  the  causes,  now  can  ll^y 
reconcile  with  that  statement  their  practice 
of  treating  grave  disease — disease  proceeding 
from  a  grave  agency,  by  the  dissimilar 
agency  of  infinitesmal  physic!  What  v 
inlinitesmal  physic  ?  It  is  the  division  of  a 
grain  of  opium,  not  into  quarters,  sixteens, 
or  sixties— no,  nor  into  hundreds  nor  thou- 
sands even, — but  into  millions  and  ten  mill- 
ions! And  rules  and  regulations  for  its 
proper  divisions  into  such  parts  arc  actually 
given  in  Homceopathic  books !  A  grain  of 
opium,  or  the  common  dose  of  this  arop,  a 
to  be  converted,  forsooth,    into    medicw* 


i'hllacies  of  the  Faculty. 


17 


enough  for  ten  tboueand  men;   and    upon  the  case,  u  it  he  u  physxai  ageiit.     in  uhtch 
the  same  principle,  doubtless,  a  loaf  of  bread !  light  infinitesimal  physic  is  to  be  vie\ved,you. 


may  be  made  a  dinner  foran  army !  Gravely 
to  argue  the  case — if  grave  disease  could  be 
caused  by  the  millionth  or  decillionth  part 
of  a  grain  of  our  common  medicinal  sub- 
stances, what  apothecary's  apprentice,  who 
must  be  constantly  rubbing,  shaking,  and 
inhaling  medicines  in  this  comminuted  state, 
Goald  possibly  enjoy  a  day's  health  ? — and 
yet  it  is  by  such  doses — if  opake  matter  re- 
dnced  to  invisible  minuteness  can  be  termed 
such —that  diseases  are  to  be  cured !  W  here, 
then,  is  the  Similarity  of  remedy  to  cause  in 
the  Homceopathic  treatment  ? 

In  his   "  Organon,"  Hahnemann  tells  us, 
that  almost  all  chronic  diseases  aie  the  result 
of  a  morbific  miasm,  which  he  calls  the 
Psoric,  or  the  itch  principle,  and   this,   he 
flays,  and  two  other  evil  miasms,  the  Syphi- 
litic and  the  Scrofulous,  may  be  looked  upon 
as  the  parents  of  all  the  diseases  of  man  !— 
Mere  phantoms.  Gentlemen,  of  an  excited 
imagination — mere  crotchets  of  a  mind  c'oud- 
ed  with  the  ghosts  and  goblins    of    those 
nurseries  for  grown-up  children, — the  Ger- 
man Universities.     Of  his  utter  ignorance  of 
the  tiue  motions  and  chanjtes  of  the  orphan  ic 
joatter  of  the  body,  whether  in   health    or 
disease,  and  of  the  thousand  morbific  causes 
visibie  and  invisible  that  daily  occur  in  life, 
there  could  he  no  greater  proof  than  this  an- 
nonncement ; — you  who  are  no    longer    in 
the  dark  have  only  to  hold  up  the  torch  of 
troth  to  dash  his  day-dream  to  the  dust. 

When  1  first  hpard  of  the  Homceopathic 
doctrine  of  infinitesimal  physic,  1  felt  tempted 
to  believe  that  the  whole  was  a  weak  in- 
vention of  those  enemies  to  medical  truth, 
the  medical  reviewers,— knowing  as  I  do 
the  trickery  and  misrepreseiitatioiT  in  which 
these  gentry  indulge  when  acting  on  behalf 
of  the  professional  tradesmen,  whose  mer- 
cenaries they  are.  His  own  volume  has, 
however,  undeceived  me ;  his  own  Organon 
deveio)ies  the  number  of  shakes  and  rubs  by 
which  the  millionth  part  of  a  grain  of  qui- 
nine may  hecome  one  of  the  deadliest  poi- 
sons, and  the  ten  millionth  part  of  a  grain  of 
opinm,  a  medicin  e  to  cause  you  to  sleep  your 
last  sleep  I  But  Hahnemann  is  a  disciple  of 
liesmer — ami  he  tells  you  to  watch  the  mira- 
cles effected  by  Animal  Magnetism.  Do 
that,  he  says,  and  you  will  no  longer  doubt 
the  cures  which  may  be  achieved  by  infi- 
nitesimal physic.  Now,  so  perfectly  ready 
am  1  to  believe  what  he  or  his  disciples  may 
tell  me  upon  this  point,  that  it  is  a  medical 
maiim  of  mine,  *'Any  thi*  g  may  do  any 
thing,"  according  to  the  ignorance  and  cred- 
ulity of  the  patient,  if  it  be  a  charm  ;— or  ac- 
cording to  tne  constitution  and  exigencies  of 


Gentlemen,  may  decide  at  your  leisure. 

What  but  Fafih  or  a  Fancy  to  try  could 
induce  people  to  put  themselves  umier  the 
hands  of  a  homoEO|jathic  practitioner  ?    The 
influence  which    Confidence,   simply,   may 
produce  on  the  body,  we  have  proved   by 
what  took  p'ace  at  Breda  in  1625.     During 
the  siege  of  that  city,  three  or  four  drops  c3 
a  hocuspocus  medicine  were  said  to  be  kuIT- 
ciently  powerful  to  impnrt  a  healing  virtue 
to  a  gallon  of  water!    Ihe  thii.g  was  Le- 
lieved,  and  the  sick    immedaiely   took  up 
their  beds  and  walked.     To  tell  the  sensible 
part  of  mankind  that  you  can  cure  any  dis- 
ease with  the  millioiith  or  decillionth  part  of 
a  ^in  of  opium,  bark,  or  aconite,   would 
only  excite  their  ridicule  ;  but  you  know  how 
liltle  will  influence  the  minds  of  the  multi- 
tude, who,be:ng ignorant, are natuia!l\  weak 
and  credulous.     You  remember  what  1  told 
you  at  my  last  lecture.    The  same  n  pa  ative 
power  of  nature  by  which  a  cut  finger  is 
healed,  will  cure  nineteen   out  of    twenty 
cases  of  most  diseases,  without  the  a8,sisJdhce 
of  any  physic  at  all.     Such  cases,  when  treat- 
ed homoeopathicalJyj  that  is,  wiih  ho)  e  and 
humbug,  are  of  course  set  down  as  wonder- 
ful cures;  and  wonderful  th<y  an-,  ind<'id, 
when  compared  with  theresnitsof  the  n)>oihe- 
cary.sy^tem, — a  system  I  y  which  evci  >  simi- 
lar disorder,  for  the  most  parr,  is  nggia\  jited 
through  the  interference  of   the    r(jutini>ts, 
who,  partly  by  p'aying  on  the  feais  of  the 
patient,  and  partly  by  making  his  stomach  an 
apothecary's  shop,  generally  contrive  lo  pro- 
long the  ca.«e  so  long  as  the  pubjert  of  it  will 
continue   to  act  according  to    their    ru'es. 
Here  the  homoBopathic  doctor  may  safe  y  re- 
tort on  the  old  practitioner.     With  the  mass 
of  mankind  the  honicepathic  has  only  to  af- 
fect a  superior  knowledge  of  the  visible  and 
invisible  world,  speak  confidently   of    the 
cures,  real  orsupposed,  effected  by  his  treat- 
ment, and  talk  mysteriously  of  the  rnbs  and 
shakes  by  which  he  imparts  a  magical   or 
magnetic  virtue  to  his  infinitesimal  physic. 
Should  a  doubt  lemain,  he  may  hint  at  the 
wonders  of  Eleciiicity  or  Galvanism,  for  a 
litie  mixture  of  truth  will  make  his  mum- 
mery go  down  be^ter—jusl  as  a  little   ap- 
parent candour  will  make  you  more  readily 
?ive  credence  to  a  calumny  or   a    scandal, 
n  both  cases  a  comp'ete  wnnt  of  principle 
is  the  chief  element  of  success  on  the  j.art  of 
the  impostor — and  faith    the   weakness  or 
strenj^lh  of  the  dupe.     If  the  former  on  y  gi  t 
ihe  latter  10  li.-ten  lo  hlin,  he  m^y  inocnhite 
him  with  a  fancy  to  try— that  of  il^ell  im-. 
plies  faith.     HcAvever  small  at  firsi,  it  will 
be  sure  io  increase  by  thinking  unJ  ta  kin 


18 


The  late  Epidemic  of  Puerperal  Metritis. 


about  the  new  method.  A  little  opposition 
is  a  good  ihinff  sometimes — the  patient  gets 
heated  up  by  it.  If  he  has  a  tendency  to  im- 
prove, he  will  improve  the  faster — if  he  finds 
himself  deceived,  he  will  conceal  the  fact,  as 
he  would  be  sorry  that  others  should  not  be 
as  great  fools  as  himself.  Patients  of  the 
class  who  consult  Homceopathic  practitioners, 
generally  collect  together,  talk,  discuss,  and 
Sieorize  till  they  work  themselves  into  a 
Ifind  of  fever— such  fever,  or  rage,  by  exci- 
ting and  animating  them,  will,  in  maiiy  cases, 
be  infinitely  more  beneficial  to  their  consti- 
tution, than  the  draughts  and  mixtures  inflic- 
ted, usually  not  so  much  on  account  of  the 
necessities  of  the  patient  as  the  needy  condi- 
tion of  the  routine  practitioner.  Having  once 
become  partizans  and  disciples,  they  next  find 
a  pleasure  in  making  converts,  they  have 
now  what  they  had  not  previously — an  ob- 
ject before  them ;  and  they  work  body  and 
mind  in  the  cause.  Can  you  wonder  they 
Bhou  d,  in  many  cases,  get  well  by  the  new 
mode  of  life  to  which  they  have  taken  f 
This,  Gentlemen,  is  the  secret  of  any  success 
obtained  in  the  course  of  the  Homoeopathic 
treatment.  Like  the  French  "medicine  ex- 
pectanle,"  it  is  a  system  of  placebo.  What 
18  new  in  it  is  not  true ;  what  is  true  is  not 
new.  Savage  Landor  says  rightly,  "  most 
disputants  drive  by  truth  or  over  it."  In  the 
case  of  similia  similibus,  Hahnemann  has 
done  both— he  adopts  it  as  his  motto,  but 
practises  on  a  principle  the  reverse.  What 
does  it  mean?  Power  opposes  power. 
Did  we  require  to  be  told  this  by  Hahne- 
mann ?  The  doctrine,  like  cures'like,  was 
80  obvious  as  to  be  a  popular  axiom  in 
every  age — but  it  is  only  the  minor  of  a  ma- 
jor proposition,  or  a  fragment  of  the  great 
Abstract  Law — any  given  power  applied 

IN  A  PARTICULAR  DEGREE  AND  AT  PARTIC- 
ULAR PERIODS,  MAY  CURE,  AGGRAVATE,  OR 
ALLEVIATE  ANY  GIVEN  FORM  OF  DISEASE,  AC- 
tJORDING  TO  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  PAR- 
TICULAR PATIENT. 

[On  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of 
this  work,  the  Hoinoeopathists  accused  me  of 
not  understanding  their  principles.  My  an- 
swer to  that  wa.«,  that  I  had  at  least  read  their 
own  books,  and  if  I  was  such  a  fool  as  not  to 
be  able  to  understand  their  writings,  they  were 
greater  fools  not  to  write  more  intelligibly. 

**  Tour  irne  no-meaning  pazzlet  more  than  senw !" 

Since  ihe  publication  of  the  second  edition 
tbey  have  chanp:ed  their  tune,  and  say  I  have 
borrowed  from  Hahnemann — to  which  I  re- 
ply—the rich  se'dom  borrow,  and  I  have 
never  myself  done  so  without  acknowledg- 
ment. If  the  homcppalhislBwill  be  so  ^ood 
as  to  put  in  print  the  instances  in  which  I 
hare  nef^lected  this,  1  will  very  much  thank 
ihem  for  reminding  me  of  what  is  right.] 


The  Late  Epidemic  of  Puerperal  Metritis  in  the 
Paris  Hospitals. 

The  Gazette  Mediccde  contains  an  inter- 
esting account,  by  vM.  M.  Bldault  and  Ar- 
NOULT,  internes,  of  a  very  fatal  epidemic  of 
pl&rperai  fever,  which  reigned  in  the  Paris 
hospitals  in  1843  and  1844.  The  opportu- 
nities  for  observation,  of  these  gentlemen, 
extended  over  three  hospitals,  those  of  Saint 
Louis,  the  Hotel  Dieu,  and  the  Hotel  Dien 
Annexe,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  small 
ward  devoted  to  midwifery  Epidemics  of 
peurperal  fever  have  been  common  of  late 
years  in  Paris,  in  the  midwifery  establish- 
ments, especially  at  the  Maternite,  the  large 
obstetric  nospital,  at  which  it  reigned  with 
great  violence  at  the  time  that  it  was  observ- 
ed by  MM.  BiDAULT  and  Arnoult.  At  the 
Hotel  Dieu,  the  epidemic  reigned  in  Janaarj, 
February  and  March,  1843.  There  weie 
eleven  deaths  in  forty-five  deliveries,  in  the 
three  months,whereas  there  had  not  been  ooe 
death  in  the  hundred  and  forty  deliveries 
which  had  occurred  during  the  previous  nine 
months  of  the  preceding  year ;  at  the  Hotel 
Dieu  Annexe,  out  of  sixty-seven  women  d^ 
livered,  sixteen  were  attacked,  and  fourteen 
died.  The  epidemic  occurred  in  the  monihs 
of  November  and  December  of  the  same  year, 
(1843.)  The  patientshad  been  drafted  from 
the  Maternite,  on  account  of  the  exisiencein 
that  hospital  of  a  very  fatal  epidemic  The 
Saint  Louis  epidemic  took  place  in  the  months 
of  September,  October  and  November  1844, 
Some  isolated  cases  had  occurred  in  the  year, 
but  it  was  only  during  the  period  mentioned, 
that  the  fever  assumed  the  epidemic  form. 
Out  of  forty- four  deliveries,  there  were  nine 
deaths. 

Generally  speaking,  the  morbid  symptom 
manifested  themselves  at  the  period  of  the 
milk  fever,  from  the  second  to  the  third  daf. 
In  one  case,  thejr  appeared  a  few  hours  onij 
after  delivery ;  in  some  few,  only  four  or 
five  days  after.  Nearly  always,  the  aitaci 
commenced  by  rigors,  of  greater  or  less  di- 
ration,  followed  by  febrile  reaction.  In  some 
instances,  the  rigors  were  absent  febrile  heal 
of  the  skin,  frequency  of  pulse,  restl^ss"^ 
and  abdominal  pain,  openine  the  scene,  iw 
pulse  always  became  very  frequent,  it?  ?«• 
sations  rising  to  1 10  or  120,  and  its  strengH 
depending  on  the  freedom  of  the  general  f«- 
action  after  the  rigors.  At  the  same  time, 
there  was  cephalalgia,  redness  and  injection 
of  the  face,  brilliancy  of  the  eyes,  anortf* 
frequent  and  laborious  brcaihm^,  a  !<*»" 
state  of  the  tongue,  which  rapidly  be««« 
dry,  bilious  vomiting,  diarrheea,  orconanp* 
tion.  At  Saint  Louis  obstinate  constipat^ 
was  present  in  every  case,  and  no  ""^^^Ir 
lesions  were  found  after  death.    At  the  m- 


The  late  Epidemic  of  Puerperal  Metritis. 


19 


tel  Dieu,  diarrhoea  was,  on  the  contrary, 
equally  universal,  and  the  follicles  of  Brun- 
ner  were  constantly  found  hypertrophied. 
There  wasgeneraily  abdominal  pain  from  the 
commencement;  sometimes  the  pain  was 
slight,  sometimes  very  severe.  The  uteras 
remained  voluminous,  and  there  was  more 
or  less  abdominal  tympanitis,  especial- 
ly when  the  affection  assumed  at  an  early  pe- 
riod the  typhoid  character.  The  lochia!  dis- 
charge was  nearly  always  diminished,  but 
seldom  entirely  suspended  The  breasts  be- 
came flaccid  if  the  milk  had  previously  ap- 
peared, if  not,it  was  not  secreted.  The  urinary 
secretion  was  diminished,  and  the  excretion 
was  somtimes  difficult.  Indeed,  in  some  ca- 
ses, the  bladder  had  to  be  emptied  occasion- 
ally by  means  of  the  catheter. 

The  second  period  of  the  disease  was  char- 
acterized by  symptoms  of  still  greater  gravity. 
Ail  reaction  ceased.  The  face  became  deep- 
ly altered,  the  eyes  were  sunk  in  the  orbits, 
and  surroundcii  by  a  black  circ'e,  the  lips 
livid,  the  nostrils  dry,  and  filled  with  parti- 
des  of  dust  Extreme  prostration  of  strength 
accompanied  these  symptoms,  along  with 
great  anxiety  of  countenance.  The  abdomi- 
nal pains  disappeared,  the  tympanitis,  at  the 
same  time,  increasing  considerably.  The 
lespimiou  was  difficult  and  laborious,  as 
naay  as  forty-five  or  fifty  respirations  being 
made  in  a  minute ;  pulse  1 40  or  150,  small, 
irregular,  depressible  ;  alvine  evacuations, 
involuntary;  fluids  rejected  by  ingurgitation  ; 
tongue  dry,  and  covered  with  a  dark  fur ; 
breath  foetid  ;  extremities  cyanosed.  Death 
geoemlly  followed  on  the  fifth  or  sixth  day 
of  the  attack,  the  patients  retaining  theii  in- 
tellectual faculties  to  the  last. 

In  some  few  cases,  there  was  an  appar- 
ent remission,  which,  however,  lasted,  gen- 
erally speaking,  for  a  short  time  only.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  hours,  the  disease  re- 
samed  its  fatal  progression.  With  the  small 
number  of  patients  who  recovered,  the  symp- 
toms continued  gradually  to  improve.  The 
respiration  became  easier,  the  pulse  fuller 
and  slower,  the  thirst  less  intense,  &c.  The 
convalescence  was  tedious,  and  necessitated 
several  months'  residence  in  the  hospital  In 
some  patients  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  Annexe,  and 
with  all  at  Saint  Louis,  there  was  an  intense 
bronchial  catarrh. 

The  body  of  the  uterus  was  always  found 
more  voluminous  than  it  ought  naiurally  to 
have  been  at  the  period  of  death.  Its  cavity 
contained  grey,  ^anions,  foetid  fal.-^  mem- 
branes ;  on  washing  them  away,  the  surface 
which  they  coverel  was,  however,  found 
white  and  apparently  healthy.  The  Implaii- 
jation  of  the  placenta  was  marked  by  sma'l 
ciagula.    The  tissue  of  the  uterus  was  finn 


and  healthy.  There  was  none  of  the  gan- 
grene or  putrescence  (putrescentia  tUeri) 
which  has  been  described  by  German  writers. 
There  were  not,  either,  any  abcesses.  The 
peritoneum  covering  the  uterus  was  often  in- 
flanied  and  covered  with  false  membranes. 
No  uterine  veins  were  ever  found  diseased, 
but  the  uterine  lymphatics  were  inflamed 
ad  filled  with  pus,  in  a  great  propor- 
tion of  the  cases.  At  the  Hotel  Dieu  Annexe, 
the  inflammation  did  not  extend  beyond  the 
lymphatics  of  the  uterus.  At  the  Hotel 
Dieu,  in  some  cases,  and  at  Saint  Louis  in 
all,  a  great  number  of  inflamed  ]ymphatics,fill- 
ed  with  pus,  were  found  in  the  lateral  lig. 
aments,  and  on  the  surface  of  the  ovaries. 
These  inflamnd  lymphatics  terminated  in  the 
pelvic  ganglions,  which  were  sometimes 
themselves  softened  and  filled  with  pus ;  the 
efferent  vessels,  however,  were  never  found 
diseased.  The  lateral  ligaments  were  cover- 
ed with  false  membranes;  the  ovaries,  also, 
were  enlarged,  and  infiltrated  with  pus;  the 
Graafian  vesicles  on  being  incised  were  often 
found  filled  with  pus.  At  the  Hotel  Dieu, 
and  at  the  Hotel  Dieu  Annexe,  where  the 
symptoms  of  peritoneal  inflammation  Kere 
more  marked  from  the  onset  than  at  Saint 
Louis,  the  peritoneum  was  also  found  more 
extensively  inflamed.  The  peritoneal  cavity 
contained  a  considerable  quantity  of  puru- 
lent serosity,  in  which  floated  detached  fdse 
membranes,  and  the  intestinal  folds  and  late- 
ral ligaments  were  united  by  false  mem- 
branes. In  some  cases,  there  was  a  sub-se- 
rous injection  on  the  intestinal  folds.  At 
Saint  Louis,  where  the  typhoid  symptoms 
predominated,  the  peritoneum  merely  con- 
tained a  white  lactescent  effusion,  without 
false  membranes  or  adhesion  of  the  intestines. 
The  peritoneum  was  pale,  without  any  in- 
flammatory injection.  In  these  cases,  there 
was  purulent  infiltration  of  the  sub-peritoneal 
cellular  tissue  of  the  pelvis,  and  suppuration 
of  the  lymphatics  of  the  lumbar  region.  The 
stomach  contained  an  enormous  quantity  of 
a  greenish  fluid,  but  presented  neither  inflam- 
mation  nor  softening.  The  folliclesof  Brun- 
ner,  to  the  alteration  of  which,  in  pueperal 
fever,  much  attention  has  been  paid  of  late, 
were  only  found  «liseased  at  the  Hotel  Dieu. 
They  presented  the  appearance  of  a  papular 
eruption,  with  a  white  ane.v.  Whenever 
they  were  met  with,  diarrhoea  had  existed. 
At  Saint  Lf»uis  where  the  intestinal  mucous 
membrane  always  appeared  healthy,  there 
was  no  diarrhopa,  but,  on  the  contrary,  ob- 
stinate constipation.  The  liver  was  never 
diseased.  The  spleen  was  sometimes  larger 
and  softer  than  usual,  hut  not  otherwise  af- 
fected. The  parenchyma  of  the  lungs  wa« 
ganendly  healthy ;  hypostatic  engorgement 


20 


Tracts  on  Consumption, 


was  8t)iiietimes  met  with,  and  appeared  to  be 
similar  to  that  of  typhus  fever.  There  were 
no  pariial  pneumoniae  or  metastatic  abcesses. 
At  S.iiiit  Luoi^,  the  small  bronchi  weie  oh- 
structed  by  irmcup  in  some  cases  At  ih- 
Hotel  Dieu  Annexe,  plenretic  effus'ons,  sin- 
gle or  double,  were  common  ,  No  lesions 
were  m3t  with  in  the  heart  or  pericardium 
In  a  few  instances  in  which  delirium  haJ 
been  prese'sl,  the  membranes  of  the  brain 
were  found  sliEchtly  injected,  as  also  the  sur- 
face of  some  few  cerebral  convolutions;, 
otherwise,  there  wece  no  lesions  of  the  ner- 
vous sy?tem. 

Thes3  epidemics  manifested  themselves, 
a3  is  usually  the  case,  without  any  apprecia- 
ble cause.  It  may  be  remarked,  however, 
that  they  all  three  occurred  during  the  cold 
months  of  the  year.  It  would  appear,  that 
it  is  generally  duiing  the  cold  season  tha^ 
cp  demies  of  puerperal  fevers  man ifestlhem- 
selve-'  in  Paris.  The  fever  cannot  have  been 
occasioned  by  unusual  crowdine^  of  the  pa- 
tients, as,  at  Saint  Louis,  the  number  deliv- 
ered  was  stna  ler  than  usual,  and  at  rhc  Ho- 
tel Dieu,  not  greater.  A  circumstance  worth 
noticing  is,  that  of  sixty-seven  women  de- 
livered in  the  special  midwifery  ward  at  the 
Hotel  Dieu  Annexe,  fourteen  died  ;  wherea**, 
out  of  twenty-one  women  dispersed  in  the 
medical  waris,  and  therein  delivered,  durins: 
the  same  interval  of  time,  only  one  dieJ.  It 
must,  however,  he  mentioned,  that  the  sixly- 
Feven  fema  es  alluded  to,  had  been  drHfied 
from  the  Mjiiernite,  where  puerperal  fever 
exiBteJ,  and  there  they  ha  I  resided  for  eome 
time.  They  may  therefore  have  brought  with 
them  a  kind  of  predispot^ititm.  Various  cir- 
cum>tances  occurred  during  the  epidemic 
which  seem  to  favor  the  idea  of  contngion 
Thus,  at  Saint  l-ou:8,  for  some  time,  all  the 
women  placed  into  two  small  nwmsweie 
attacked.  A  woman  o|K»rated  upon  for  ute- 
rine polypus,  and  placel  in  one  of  thf  niid- 
wifery  rooms,  was  seized  two  days  after  the 
operation  with  the  same  symptoms  as  the  oth- 
er women,  and  died.  On  examinatioi,the  only 
lesion  found  was  the  lactescent  effusion  into 
the  peritoneum.  The  uterus,  as  a'so  the 
veins  and  lymphatics,  were  perfectly  healthy. 
Ancient  aitlhors— Van  Sweiten,  for  inbtHnce, 
con.siderd  non-lactation  as  a  predisposing 
cause.  Most  of  the  women  attacked  during 
the>e  epidemics  were  notsutklinar. 

The  principal  means  resoitel  to,  were 
bleeding,  general  and  local,  mercu«y,jidmin- 
istereJ  interna' ly  an  J  externally,  the  essen- 
tial oil  of  turpentine,  ipecacuanha,  and  the 
tincture  of  aconilum.  (General  bleeding  which 
was  trieJ  when  ihe  reaction  wan  energ«  tic, 
the  pulse  full  anl  res  st  ng,  was  not  att^-nd- 
el  with  beneficial  results.     The  pulse  soon 


cal  blee.iing,  by  leeches  applied  totheparie- 
tes  of  theahdom«.n,  always  gave  relief,  but  . 
the  amelioration  was  only  momentary,  ihe 
pains  were  returning.  Caiomel  was  admin- 
istered  internally  twenty  or  thirty  grains  be- 
n^  given  in  six  doses  in  the  course  of  the 
day.  It  nearly  always  acted  on  the  bowels, 
but  did  not  occasion  salivation  As,  however^ 
it  was  seldom  possible  to  continue  it  suse  more 
than  two  or  three  days  owing  to  the  short 
duration  of  the  diseahe,  this  is  not  surpris- 
ing. At  the  same  time,  mercurial  ointment 
was  rubbed  into  the  thigh  in  some  cases.  Id 
two  instances,  two  pounds  were  rubbed  in 
within  twenty-four  hours  without  prevent* 
ins:  a  fatal  termination.  Turpentine  was 
given  to  three  patients  without  success.  Ipe- 
cacuanha, which  was  administered,  apjir- 
ently  with  great  success,  by  Douchet  in  an 
epidemic  of  puerperal  fever  at  the  Hotel  Diea, 
at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  was  also  l^ 
sorted  to  in  the  first  sia^^e.  It  appeared,  is 
i<ome  few  cases,  to  produce  slight  ameliora- 
tion for  a  few  houis,  i)ut  the  disease  soon  re* 
sumed  its  former  intensity.  In  the  only  tws 
ca:?es  that  were  saved  at  the  Hotel  Dien  An- 
nexe, the  treatment  consisted,  at  the  onset  is 
antiphlogistic  measures,  and  substqueotly, 
in  the  use  of  mercury,  internally  and  exter- 
nally, and  in  the  administration  of  lhetirl^ 
ture  of  aconitum ;  at  first,  one  dracfaoi.aod 
afterwards  two,  in  a  four  ounce  mixtuie 
during  the  twenty-four  hours.  jLond.  Im> 

(For  tb«»  l>iii»«clnr.) 

IBAOTS  ON  OONSUMFTIOV. 

^UMBl:R    TWO. 

On  some  New  Pathological  Vlewa  of  TtJantt^ 

lar  Phthisis. 


By  J- 


M.  D. 


CI    wiui   lfClirili;iai    nr*uii.-i.        *  wc  pmcyc    «»»fii      '.'w  ..w......^  ...  w.    ..,.^..    a  L ^ 

fell,  and  extreme  proKraiion  followed.    Lo-  Consumption  can  be  successlul ;  ana  u 


The  literary  history  of  onsumption,  dw- 
ing  the  last  thirty  years,  presents  many  in- 
portant  acquisitions  to  our  knowledge  of  its 
patholoey,  whichr  whether  of  value  or  bo* 
to  the  sufferers  fiorn  this  destructive  difca«e» 
have  been  highly  inteiesting  to  the  profes- 
sion. If  it  be  decided,  as  it  must  be,  that 
their  utility  has  not  kept  pace  with  thelalg^ 
ness  of  their  promise,  it  must  seem  extraor* 
dinaiy  that,  notwithstanding  their  supportd 
perfeciiiui,  the  treatment  of  consumption 
con  d  derive  little  more  advantage  from  tbeffl 
than  when  its  contributary  aids  werepuif'J 
conjei  tiiial  1  he  reaK)n  fir  ih.s  unformnate 
anomaly  must  either  be,  that  tbe«?  improw- 
meiits  aie  less  perfect  than  they  arc  coinnipfl- 
ly  considered,  or  that  they  have  not  b^en 
properly  connected  with  practical  mediciiM*- 
It  is  quite  obvious  that  if  there  be  error 'ij 
eiihtr  of  these  respecti*,  it  is  imp<»PJ^in '<'"»; 
•he  treatment  of  such  a  disease  uh  Tubuia. 


Tracls  on  ConstwipUon. 


21 


bif^hly  probable,  inUee  ■,  it  may  be  satd  to  be 
certain,  that  both  of  theoi  present  phenome- 
na that  are  Dot  in  accorilancc  with  a  pbilo- 
« >phical  view  of  the  injury ,  or  the  rational 
means  of  remedying  it. 

The  progress  of  medical  science  begins 
clearly  to  indicate  that  the  whole  of  the  facts 
connected  with  it  must,  soimer  or  later,  be  in- 
cluded in  some  high  and  simple  generaliza- 
tion in'plnce  of  the  comp  ex  hypotheses,  by 
which  they  are  at  present  grouped  together. 
It  points  to  the  identity  of  the  viul,  chemical, 
electrical  and  general  physical  forcss;  and 
though  it  is  not  sufficiently  clear  and  distinct 
•to  command  the  assent  of  ail  those  who  are 
competent  to  consider  the  subject,  it  is  equal 
to  the  purpose  of  producing  a  general  im- 
pression of  Its  truth. 

Influenced  by  this  glimmering  view  of  a 
iandamental  truth,  ii  has  become  fashionable, 
with  ha^ty  and  ambitious  generalizers,  to 
lorm  elaborate  but  crude  hypotheses  of  life 
and  disease,  and  to  attempt  to  identify  them 
with  the  fixed  laws  of  physical  science: 

**  for  ever  ntnring  to  attain. 
By  ahadowuig  out  iha  unaiuinable.'' 

The  temporary  duration  of  the  vast  major- 
ity of  tbe^  conjectures  is  sufficient  evidence  of 
lliesieniier  foundation  on  which  tliey  are  con- 
structed ;  white  they  authorize  the  inference 
that  it  will  be  many  years  before  we  shall 
be  justified  in  dispensing  with  the  props  and 
supports  by  the  assistance  of  which  the  fal>ric 
of  medical  science  has  been  elevated  to  its 
present  height  and  dimensions.  Convinced 
of  this  truth,  I  have  continued  to  apply  the 
term  tubercular  phthisis  to  consumption  ;and 
(hough  I  consider  the  importance  that  has 
been  attached  to  the  existence  of  tubercles 
may  have  no  real  existence,  I  have  endeavor- 
ed to  speak  of  them  in  conformity  with  the 
common  theories  regarding  them,  and  as  if 
they  produced  the  phenomena  which  have 
proved  .ho  destructive  in  this  disease.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  resist  or  to  avoid  acting  upon 
the  belief,  that  in  proportion  as  facts  have 
accumulated  in  this  disease,  have  we  been 
able  to  dimmish  the  number,  and  to  simplify 
the  explanation  of  its  theories.  Towards 
th's  simplification  it  has  received  much  aid 
from  the  tabors  of  Dr.  Sherwood :  and,  thus, 
by  comporting  with  our  observations  of  facts 
in  every  science,  it  has  been  enabled  to  con- 
cur in  alvancing  the  prospect  of  connecting 
with  one  general  origin  all  physiological  and 
physical  science,  not  e.Ycepting  he  vital  func- 
tions and  the  universal  force  of  gravity  itself. 

Consumption  is  generally  recognized,  at 

the  present  ilay,  as  having  its  origin  in  a 

morbid  state  of  the  whole  animal  system. 

Its  external  symptoms,  though  variously  in- 

•.fluenced  by  the  age,  temperament,  texture  of 


ine  ^klll,  aiu  other  circumstances  of  the  in* 
dividual,  are  distinct  and  suiiicie.itiy  recog- 
nizable  by  the  experienced  prait.tioner.    But 
in  what  the  internal  diseased  condition  con- 
sists is  not  understood ;  and  yet  it  exerts  so 
important  an  influence  over  the  disease,  that 
accurate  knowledge  of  it  is  indispensable  to 
its  treatment  on  sound  principles.     What- 
ever may  be  the  light  in  which  we  may  look 
at  the  character  of  its  i  emote  or  predisposing 
cause,  it  may  be  safely  alleged  that  its  phe- 
nomena are  explicable  onty  by   regarding 
them  as  dependent  on  general  morbid  changes 
of  the  whole  animal  economy.     The  univer- 
tHility  of  this  peculiar  condition,  necessarily 
modifies  the  structure  of  every  part,  the  na- 
ture of  every  fluid,  and  the  qualities  of  every 
secretion  ;  but  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that 
one  jiart  is  affected  moie  than  another.    Of 
all  the  constituents  of  the  human  body  the 
tdood,  from  its  quantity,  from  itscomplcated 
formation,  and  from  its  peivading  and  enter- 
ing into  the  composition  of  every  part  ol  the 
frame  must  be  considered  not  only  most  lia- 
ble to  morbid  change,  but  as^ necessarily  ex- 
erting the  greatest  reciprocating  influence 
over  the  other  tissues  of  the  6y:>tem.    This 
important  fluid  has  been  subjected  to  many 
laborious  chemical  analyses  with  a  view  to 
ascertain  the  secondary  and  ultimate  elements 
into  which  it  may  be  divided  ;  and  enquired 
into  pathologically  to  determine  its  quantity 
and  composition  as  it  exists  in  the  diflerent 
parts  of  the  arterial  and  venous  systems  un- 
der various  circumstances  of  disease.    Ex- 
amined according  to  these  modes,  it  is  stated 
by  Andral  to  be  redundant  in  serum,  and  de^ 
ficient  in  fibrin  and  coloring  matter,  and  to 
exist   in   a    con  jested    state  in   tubercular 
phthisis.    Other  physiological  chemists  re- 
present it  as  abounding  in  fibrin  as  well  as  in 
serum,  and  to  be  deficient  in  power  to  trans- 
fer nutriment  to  the  tissues. 

It  is  probably  very  difficult  to  fix  on  any 
state  of  the  blood  which  is  absolutely  essen- 
tial to  the  pathological  condition  constituting 
the  phthi>ical  diathesis ;  yet  there  is  one  point 
of  view,  both  in  it>«  healthy  and  diseased 
state,  from  which  it  has  hitherto  escaped  ob- 
servation, from  which  it  ought  to  be  examin- 
ed, and  which  is  unquestionably  of  im- 
poi lance  enough  to  demand  our  special  at- 
tention. I  allude  to  the  different  <'lectrical 
^tates  which  venous  and  arterial  blood  inva- 
riably bear  towards  each  other.  That  these 
fluids  should  stand  in  a  negative  and  positive 
electrical  relation  to  each  other,  is  in  confor- 
mity with  the  universal  law,  >o  far  as  exam- 
ined, that  all  bodies  possessine:  diflFewnt  qual- 
ities, bear  this  relation,  and  ^it  is  easily  de- 
terminable by  experiment.  From  the  nature 
of  the  subject,  as  well  as  the  disadvanta^^eol 


22 


Tracts  an  Consumption, 


residence  and  otherwise  under  which  the' 
writer  labors,  he  has  been  able  to  prove  thia! 
fact,  by  direct  experiment,  only  on  healthy  I 
blood  ;  but  as  the  efiect  of  remedies  is  an  ac- 
knowledged criterion  for  aiding  in  ac^rtain- 
ing  pathodo^^ical  conditions,  it  will  be  shown, 
hereafter,  from  this  source,  that  the  electri- 
cal relations  of  venous  and  arterial  blood 
are  more  exalted  in  phthises  than  in  health. 
Although  1  readily  admit  that  this  is  an  in- 
direct, and  ma>  seem  a  far  fetched  mode  of 
ascertaining  a  fact,  yet  it  must  be  conceded, 
that  the  progress  of  physic  as  a  science,  as 
well  as  its  advancement  as  a  practical  art,  is 
materially  dependant  upon  oui  knowledge  of 
the  effects  of  remedies. 

To  demonstrate  this  fact  experimentally,  1 , 
in  the  presence  of  another  physician,  poured 
(in  the  absence  of  more  appropriate  appara- 
tus) into  two  leyden  jars,  mounted  as  usual, 
equal  quantities  of  fresh  venous  and  arterial 
blood,  obtained  from  the  jugular  vein  and 
carotid  artery  of  a  lamb.  Upon  bringing  the 
lalls  of  the  connecting  rods  in  proximity  to 
agalvanometer^  it  was  found  to  be  senisbly 
affected.  When  to  each  of  the  fluids  an 
equal  weight  of  common  salt  was  added,  so 
as  to  increase  their  energy  without  altering 
their  relative  properties,  a  much  greater  de- 
flection of  the  needle  took  place.  Which  of 
these  is  the  negative  fluid,  and  which  the 
positive,  it  would  not  be  difficult,  by  a  suita- 
ble modification  of  the  apparatus,  to  deter- 
mine ;  but  which,  from  the  inadequacy  of 
means  within  my  power,  I  am  compelled  for 
the  present,  to  leave  a  subject  of  inference. 
If  in  resting  on  the  conclusion  I  have  drawn, 
1  should  seem  to  deviate  from  the  strict  path 
of  demonstrable  fact,  I  must  repeat,  what  in 
a  future  communication  will  be  more  dwelt 
upon  and  explained,  that  I  am  borne  out  by 
a  practical  experience  of  the  result  of  reme- 
dies. The  experiment  advances  us  one  step 
in  physiological  science,  and  affords  ground 
for  the  hope  that  by  this,  and  other  processes 
conjoined,  we  may  be  able  to  detect  in  the 
blood  those  changes  which  indicate  the  tu- 
bercular diathesis,  and  through  them  a  certain 
remedy  for  consumption. 

The  most  promment  phenomenon  in 
phthisis  pulmonalis  is  the  production  of  the 
morbid  growth  termed  tubercle.  The  pathol- 
ogy of  this  extraordinary  substance  has  so 
often,  of  late  years,  been  investigated  and 
brought  under  notice  that  detailed  enquiry 
into  the  subject,  except  so  far  a»  it  may  seem 
to  require  views  different  from  those  general- 
ly adopted,  would  be  quite  superfluous.  But 
careful  and  minute  as  here  been  the  re- 
searches into  the  morbid  nature  of  tnbucle, 
it  is  still  a  subject  on  which  there  appears 
to  be  a  great  diversity  of  opinion,  and  to  ofiei 


much  light  for  further  elucidation.  Not- 
withstanding the  ambiguity,  and,  indeed,  ob- 
scurity which  involves  their  origin,  lam  of 
the  opinion  of  a  large  number  of  pathologists 
from  Sylvius  de  la  Bos  to  Broussais,  that 
they  commonly  arise  in  phthisis,  io  a  stia- 
mous  decenerescence  of  the  minute  lympha- 
tic glands  of  the  lungs.  Considered  in  a 
general  point  of  view  this  origin  is  in  con- 
formity with  analogy  ;  for  it  is  far  more  in 
accordance  with  morbid  actions  in  the  animal 
system  to  enlarge  natural^bodies  than  to  cre- 
ate new  growths.  The  opinion  is  supported 
by  the  character  and  state  of  the  constitution 
in  which  tubercular  consumption  and  scrofu- 
la  occur ;  whieh  seem  io  be  not  simply  con- 
generous but  identical.  Like  the  strumous 
knots  on  the  lymphatics,  which  may  so  fre- 
quently be  felt  on  the  side  of  the  neck  of 
scrofulous  subjects,  the  tubercles  of  consump- 
tion do  not,  at  commencement,  uecessarilj 
produce  any  symptoms  of  disease;  ooris 
their  subsidence  or  removal  a  check  to  the 
course  of  either  disease.  The  analogy  of  the 
morbid  process  in  both  maladies  is  likewise, 
in  favour  of  the  view  that  both  diseases  be- 
long to  one  class.  Finally,  the  posilioo  k 
strengthened  by  recurring  to  that  process  of 
reasoning  deducible  from  the  effects  of  lefflfr 
dies,  and  indispensable  to  a  perfect  knowl- 
edge of  many  departments  of  patbolo^; 
by  which  we  find  that  the  most  sncceslnl 
treatment  of  scrofula  is  that  which  has 
been  found  to  have  the  most  salutary  effect 
in  controlling  consumption. 

Tubercles,  though  a  disease  oi  the  glandu- 
lar system,  seem  to  arise  in  those  of  the  se- 
rous membranes  far  more  frequently  than  ia 
those  of  any  other  tissue.  They  arc  some- 
times found  in  mucous  membranes;  ba^i* 
this  case,  it  would  seem  that,  in  the  majority 
of  instances,  their  formation  is  connected  wiA 
and  dependent  upon  the  serous  envelopes  of 
the  lymphatic  glands  pervading  the  taeat 
It  Is  not  intended  to  deny  that  the  pecalaj 
matter  constituting  tubercles  may  be  poow 
out  upon  the  free  surfaces  of  both  serous 
and  mucous  membranes ;  but  we  should  say 
that  its  deposition  on  these  membranes  is  al- 
ways the  result  of  some  extraordinary  cich 
ting  cause,  such  as  bronchitis,  pneumonia, 
pleurisy,  rheumatism,  or  sometimes  common 
inflammation.  Under  such  circunostances, 
occrirring  in  a  tubercular  diathesis,  it  isjw^ 
sible  for  either  tissue  to  become  the  seat  «• 
the  deposition.  Its  general  prevalence  in  *• 
rons,  and  its  occafdonal  occurrence  in  mn- 
cous  tissues  may  form  a  gnmnd  for  a  new 
division  oi  phthisis  into  two  kinds— theon« 
with  tubercles  of  serous  tissues,  the  olOiv 
with  tubercles  of  mucous  mcrobranca--^ 
with  a  different  origin  and  requiring  «  difltf- 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


2^ 


\       ent  mode  of  treatment,     it  as  is  probable 
the  tubercular    matter  is    separated    from 
the    blood,  and  deposited   in   the  glands, 
as  also  in  the  free  surfaces   of  serous  and 
mucous  membranes,  may  it  not  follow  that 
its  presence  in  one  tissue,  and  its  absence  in 
another  depends  on  the  attraction  induced  by 
the  electrical  states  of  these  tissues  ?  That 
there  should  be  a  distinction  in  disease  based 
upon  this  condition  of  these  membranes  is 
rendered  probable  from  the  curious  research- 
es of  M.  Donne,  who  states,  as  the  result  of 
experiment,  that  mucous  membranes  are  de- 
cidedly electro-negative,  and  serous  mem- 
branes electro- positive,  and  that  these  rela- 
tions are  sometimes  changed  by  disease  * 
According  to  this  view  the  chemical  nature 
of  the  secretions  may  alter  in  the  same  tissue, 
and  in  consequence  must  necessarily  react 
on  and  modify  the  different  functions  of  the 
•Tstem.    In  the  tubercular  diathesis  when 
tne  one  membrane,  which  is  commonly  the 
serous,  is  in -the  state  most  favorable  for  at- 
tiacting  from  the  blood  tubercular  matter  it 
"wVU  be  deposited  upon  it;  when  the  other  is 
in  this  state  it  will  equally  command  the 
preference.    Considered  merely  in  this  elec- 
trical point  of  view,  it  is  not  iinpossible  that 
we  may  ^od  the  only  explanation  that  the 
mubject  admits  for  the  localization  of  the  dis- 
ease in  one  tissue,  and  its  absence  in  the 
others.  Certainly  if  M.  Donne's  experiments 
are  correct  there  is  unquestionable  ground  for 
supposing  that  foreign  matter  in  the  blood, 
may  be  more  readily  determined  to  and  pre- 
cipitated upon  one  membrane  than  another, 
while  peculiar  electrical  states  of  the  mem- 
brane or  the  blood  may  reverse  the  operation. 

I  Remote  from  ordinary  apprehension  as  this 
explanation  may  se^m,  it  is  one  of  many  phe- 
nomena in  phthisis  that  can  be  made  clear 
only  on  physical  principles,  while  it  will  be 
seen  hereafter,  that  this  mode  of  explanation 
affords  important  practical  indications. 

In  whatever  organ  tubercles  originate, the 
serous  tissue  occupies,  in  our  experience,  the 
prevailing  situation,  both  as  regards  the  e>.- 
tent  and  the  frequency  of  their  deposition 
I  have  dwelt  upon  this  fact  because  it  forms 
a  circumstance  which  is  of  great  value  in  a 
diagnostic  and  therapeutic  point  of  view. 
It  must  not  be  overlooked  that  the  minute 
ramifications  and  the  frequent  proximity  of 
both  serous  and  mucous  membranes,  may 
and  do  render  it  difficult  to  determine  anato 
mically  to  which  of  the  tissues  the  presence 

f  of  tubercular  matter  belongs  ;  or,  if  there  are 
occasional  complications,  in  which  it  preoon- 
derates.  To  be  able  to  decide  between  them 
is  o\  importance,  because  the  influence  of 

*  Ree  Motive  Power  of  the  Human  System.     B7  H. 
L  H.  Bhenrood,  BL  V.  Page  36^  aiMl  DiaMCtor,  Vol.  lit, 

^         Pe«e  164. 


our  peculiar  therapeutic  agents  is  limited  to 
tubercles  and  the  serous  tiseue,  and  the  evi- 
dence of  disease  of  these  structures  is  the 
only  indication  for  their  employment.  Thia 
decision,  we  have  shown,  in  our  preceding 
number,  can  be  made  with  unerring 
accuracy  by  means  of  the  diagnostic  symp- 
tom am)rded  by  painful  sensibility  to  pres- 
sure in  the  spinal  region  when  serous  mem- 
branes are  di.seased,  and  its  absence  iu  all 
affections  of  the  mucous  membranes. 

Tubercles,  then,  to  which  so  much  impor- 
tance has  been  atrached  that  they  have  given 
name  and  character  to  Consumption,  are  but 
a  secondary  effect —the  result  of  a  cetain  dis- 
eased, and,  in  all  probability,  fixed  electrical 
condition  of  the  system,  in  which  a  peculiar 
matter,  forming  them,  is  repelled  from  the 
extreme  vessels,  and  attracted  to  the  glands 
of  the  organs,  the  serous  and  sometimes  mu- 
cous tissues  of  the  body.  Though  their  re- 
mote or  predisposing  cause  is,  manifestly,  a 
diseasad  state  of  the  general  system,  their 
immediate  production  is  as  certainly  depen- 
dent on  some  abnormal  action  of  the  vessels 
of  the  part  in  which  they  hre  deposited. 
The  nature  of  this  action,  like  the  condition 
of  the  general  system,  can  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge  only  be  conjetcured, 
and  yet  they  are  both  so  important  that  the 
first  steps  towards  treating  the  disease  upon 
sound  principles  should  be  to  ascertain  their 
precise  state.  In  a  strictly  pathological  view, 
few  or  no  diseases  can  be  apparent  without  an 
evident  implication  of  the  capillary  vessels; 
and  it  is,  therefore,  impossible  without  a 
knowledge  of  their  condition  to  establish 
any  principle  on  which  os^ht  to  be  based  the 
application  of  therapeutic  means.  This 
knowledge  is  not  easily  attained  in  phthisis ; 
but  much  that  is  accurate  may  be  deduced 
from  the  appearances  in  morbid  dissections 
contrasted  with  the  phenomena  connected 
with  the  functions  of  the  parts  in  health. 

In  order  to  understand,  with  an  approach 
to  truth,  a  subject  so  remote  from  the  illus- 
trations of  common  experience,  as  the  actions 
of  a  capillary  vessel,  whether  in  a  healthy 
or  diseased  tissue,  it  is  necessary  to  adopt 
some  hypothesis  with  regard  to  the  n:\ture  of 
its  powers,  or  the  subtle  influence  by  which, 
it  manifests  its  vital  properties  Nearly  all 
physiologists,  acting  upon  this  necessity, 
have  adopted,  as  a  clue  to  guide  them  in  aa 
explanation  of  the  phenomena  of  capillaries, 
the  opinion  that  they  are  endowed  with  the 
power  of  contracting  on  and  expelling  their 
contents;  and  have  as  generally  denied  to 
them  any  opposing  force,  such  as  that  of  ex- 
pansion, &c.  The  condition  which  enablea 
them  to  be  refilled  with  their  natural  fluid,  is 
considered  one  of  simple  relaxation.    Now» 


24 


Tracts  on  Consumption, 


it  is  quite  obvious  that  the  latter  condition 
as  applied  to  capillary  vessels,  cannot  exist : 
and  if  it  could,  it  is  hip;hly  probable  thai, 
even  conjoined  with  contraction,  it  wouhJ 
not  presiMit  us  with  the  real  process,  or  me- 
chanism of  capillary  action. 

In  this  instance, -as  in  so  many  others  of  a 
similar  nature,  the  human  mind,  in  its  effort 
after  knowledge  has  overstepped  the  true 
point  of  wisdom,  by  attempting  to  refine  too 
much  on  the  supposed  simplicity  of  nature. 
The  physical  axiom  that  in  reasoning  upon 
natural  causes,  we  aie  to  a«?sl»;n  no  more 
than  aie  sufficient  to  explain  the  phenomenn 
is  undoubtedly  true ;  but  from  lis  tendency 
to  make  us  lake  too  limited  a  view  of  causes, 
it  has,  in  many  instances,  acted  in  retarding 
insteail  of  advancing  knowledge.  Recent 
reiftearches  have  renjlcred  it  highly  probable 
that  Newton  himself  was  misled  by  the  over- 
weening propensity  of  human  nature  to  sim- 
plify.* Though  Brewster,  in  his  life  of  this 
illustrious  man,  has  furnished  some  evidence 
that  he  shrewdly  suspected  motion  must  be 
the  result  of  two  constantly  acting  forcfs— 
the  attractive  and  repulsive — this  error  of  our 
nature  led  him  to  a  general  explanation  of 
its  phenomena  by  the  supposed  l?ws  of  one. 
It  is  true,  that  in  accounting  for  his  centrifu- 

fdX  motion,  it  presented  such  difficulties,  that 
e  wa^  compelled  to  call  in  the  aid  of  a  pri- 
mary impulsion,  and  that  of  so  wildly  con- 
jectural a  character  as  scarcely  to  entitle  it  to 
be  cla«iscd  with  the  emanations  of  a  phylo- 
sophical  mind.  In  an  analogous  department 
of  physical  science,  Franklin  was  led  aside 
from  the  true  path  of  knowledge,  by  an  over 
effort  at  simplicity  in  reducing  the  two  forces 
of  electricity  to  one— in  a  plus  or  minus 
state.  The  idea  of  a  single  fluid  or  force 
which,  when  accumulated  in  excess  in  bodies, 
tends  constantly  to  escape,  and  seek  a  resto- 
ration of  equilibrium,  by  communicating  it- 
self to  any  others  where  there  may  be  a  de- 
ficiency, is  thar  which  occurs  most  naturally 
to  a  mind  charged  with  the  notion  that  cause 
is  necessarily  a  unit,and  the  natural  condition 
of  bodies  a  state  of  rest.  But  the  phenome- 
na accompanying  the  motion  of  electricity 
Jrom  body  to  body,  and  the  state  of  equili- 
Irium  it  affects  under  various  circumstances 
appear  to  require  the  admission  of  two  dis- 
tinct forces  antagonist  to  each  other,  each  at- 
tnictina:  the  other  and  repelling  itself.  This 
view  of  electricity,  it  has  been  proved  by  M. 
M.  Coulomb  and  Poisson,  admits  the  appli- 
cation  of  strict  mathematical  reasoning  to 
the  conclusions  we  would  draw  from  it-— a 
character  which  must  give  superior  value  to 
every  theory,  and  in  lispensahle  to  the  perfect 

*  Bm  Uinector.  Vol.  Ut,  P^ge  136,  «i  Sequels. 


proof  of  one  in  any  department  of  physical 
■science.  On  the  other  haml  M.  Prevosls' 
iheoiy  of  the  radiation  of  heat,  which  con- 
ceives that  this  effect  of  caloric  goes  ou  at  all 
limes,  and  from  a' I  substances,  whether  their 
temperature  be  the  same  or  different  from 
that  of  surrounding  objects,  has  avoided  the 
error  of  Newton  ai^id  Franklin,  while  it  af- 
forils  a  beautiful  illustration  of  the  constant 
operation  of  the  two  forces  of  repulsion  and 
attraction.  Though  the  peculiar  actions 
which  we  are  called  upon  to  contemplate, 
by  an  examination  of  the  above  theories, 
may  be  refeiable  to  other  powers  inherent  in 
matter,  yet  M.  Prevosts  theory  furnishpsa 
far  belter  explanation  of  the  action  of  attrac- 
tion and  repulsion  on  matter,  as  wel!  as  all 
the  phenomena  connected  with  the  radiatioft 
of  heat,  than  the  supposition  ofa  single  force, 
whether  attractive  or  repulsive. 

If  the  most  profound  phi'osopher?  baij 
been  led  into  doubt  or  error  in  regard  to  the 
primary  laws  of  a  department  of  science 
which  is  considered  so  Kim  pie  and  compre- 
hensive as  that  of  natural  philosophy,  huw 
much  more  difficult  must  it  be  to  trace  villi 
accuracy  the  operation  of  thobC  apparently 
Subtle  mysterious  principles  of  motion  vhici 
regulate  the  actions  of  animal  life.  Linnj 
mailer  exhibits  all  the  physical  properties 
which  are  found  in  inanimate  sub^inces, 
and  pays  implicit  obedience  to  the  same  laws; 
but  in  addition  to  them,  it  is  t<uperadded.lhej 
are  endowed  with  a  set  of  properties  too 
complicated  and  intangible  to  admit  of  the 
principles  of  inductive  philosophy  being  ap-, 
plied  to  their  investigation.  To  these  proptf- 
ties  have  been  applied  the  vague  tenus,  yi- 
tal  principles,  vital  actions,  powers,  facul- 
ties or  forces.  In  a  .«*imply  philosophical 
point  of  view  the  chief  difference  betircea 
organized  and  inorganic  badies  is,  that  the 
laws  of  the  former  have  never  been  subjected 
to  the  rules  of  calculalion-^a  process  to  which 
thel  attcr  have  been,orare  .susceptible  of  Deiiig' 
Obscure  and  inexact  as  the  subject  unqutf- 
tionably  is,  the  philosophical  mind  cannot 
doubt  but  that,  if  it  could  be  divested  of  the 
intricacy  with  whioh,  from  our  confuwd 
method  of  looking  at  it,  it  appears  endowed, 
it  would  be  found  as  dependent  on  predse 
and  comprehensive  laws  as  those  of  gravi- 
tation, heat,  electricity  or  galvanism.  Id* 
deed,  the  late  rapid  advance  of  phisiological 
science  seems  to  countenance  the  opiiM<* 
that  our  ability  to  take  this  simnle  vi*;*  « 
the  subject  is  fast  approaching.  In  confortt- 
ity  with  this  view  it  is  expected  that  vital 
laws  will  be  found  to  be  nothing  more  than 
a  combination  of  those  that  give  motion  to 
matter  in  general.  If  we  can  once  trace  a 
connection  betwen  the  vital  principles  aw 


Comtnunication  for  the  Dissector, 


25 


physical  and  chemical  lawB,  \ye  shall  have 
attaineJ  (iata  by  which  we  may  arrive  at 
Bufficientty  accurate  knowle(l<;e  of  circum- 
stances to  predict  a  result,  subject  the  phe- 
nomena of  the  functions  to  calculation,  and 
thus  subvert  the  only  important  difference  be- 
tween the  laws  of  organized  and  unot^an- 
ized  matter.  It  would  be  essential  to  the 
solution  of  the  question  this  enquiry  involves, 
to  determine  whether  vital  motion  consists 
in  the  simple  principle  of  contractility,  or 
depends  upon  two  forces  ^ihe  ctntnpetal 
and  centrifugal,  contraction  and  expansion, 
attraction  and  repulsion  qmcunque  nomim- 
bu$  gaudes. 

On  the  ground  of  mere  probability  it  is 
certainly  a<t  reasonable  to  suppose  that  there 
is  a  vital  expanding  force  as  that  there  is  a 
Tital  contracting  one,  while  it  receives  as 
much  support  from  every  known  fact  con- 
nected with  the  motions  of  a  living  body. 
Nor  am  I  aware  that  there  are  any  in  opposi* 
tion  to  a  function  which  atford  an  easier  ex- 
planation of,  and  seems  to  be  necessary  for 
inl&Ung  the  duties  of  the  living  state.  If  it  be 
8ud  that  there  are  thus  two  theories  by 
which  physiologists  may  explain  the  facts 
connected  with  living  phenomena  with  equal 
probability t  and  that  consequently  neither  of 
ibem  can  be  true,  "we  must  then  direct  our  at- 
tention to  the  discovery  of  some  other  and 
probably  more  simple  law.  by  which  with- 
out the  intervention  of  either  media,  the  ac- 
tions of  the  animal  functions  may  be  under- 
stood. But  until  this  is  discovered  we  must 
continue  to  employ  the  ideas  and  use  the 
terms  which  constitute,  at  present,  the  sci- 
ence of  physiology. 

The  evidence  of  the  operation  of  a  vital 
expanding  force  is  perhaps  most  apparent  in 
the  motions  of  the  heart.  It  is,  mdeed,  so 
evident  that  the  laws  of  expansion  and  con- 
traction act  upon  this  organ,  that  many  phy- 
a  'logists,  who  are  otherwise  advocates  for 
a  unity  in  vital  action,  have  been  compelled 
to  acknowledge  their  existence.  A  number 
of  physiologists  have  shown,  by  direct  ex- 
periment on  living  animals,  that  positive  ef- 
fort, and  not  simple  relaxation,  is  exerted  at 
the  time  of  the  dilitation  of  the  cavities 
Who  that  has  taken  into  his  hands  the  heart 
of  an  ox,  after  removal  from  the  body,  and 
ielt  it  dilate  under  his  pres-sure,  can  doubt 
that  it  has  an  active  power  ol  expansion  ? 
In  a  case  of  monstrosity,  reported  by  Dr 
Robinson,  the  evidence  of  this  force  was 
striking' y  shown  in  the  human  system  ;  for 
he  found  that  the  power  exerted  in  the  dias- 
tole of  the  heart  was  equal  to  if  not  greater 
than  that  of  the  systole.* 

(To  be  continued.) 


*  Dang lison's  Phrsiology,  VoL  2^  Page  163. 


(Communicitled  for  the  DitMClor.) 

Thomaiviile,  Geo,  Nov,  27//i,  1845. 
Dr.  Sherwood, 

In  the  October  number  of  the  N.  Y.  Dis- 
sector, a  letter  to  the  Editor  was  noticed  from 
De  Roy  Sunderland,  containing  an  assertion 
relative  to  the  alleged  Revelations  of  Eman* 
uel  Swedeiiborg,  ho  entirely  opp(  sed  to  the 
real  opinions  ot  all  receivers  ol  hisdoctrines, 
that  it  would  seem  to  require,  that  a  fair 
statement  should  follow,  containing  some  of 
the  views  of  this  class  of  christ.ai.s  on  the 
subject,  which  are  undoubtedly  entitled  to 
respect.  W.  H. 

Sw£D£NBORO  KOT  A  CLAIRVOYANT. 

That  many  even  among  the  learned,  should 
have  considered  the  illustrious  Swedenboi^g 
as  a  gifted  Clairvoyant ,  is  the  natu."al  conse- 
quence of  imperfect  knowledge  or  unjust  ap- 
preciation ol  the  real  nature  of  his  mission. 

Hence  it  is,  that  the  extraordinary  claims 
of  that  great  and  good  man  have  been  so  dis- 
regarded, and  his  wonderful  relations  of 
Heaven  and  Hell  classed  in  the  same  catego- 
ry with  the  dreaming,  delusions  of  French 
Prophets,  Mormotis  and  other  impostors  of  a 
like  character. 
But  with  those  who  are  more  deeply  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  his  writing,  who  have 
felt  the  force  of  the  truth  of  his  «*  beautiful 
theories,"  among  whom  are  to  be  found  sev- 
eral of  the  profoundest  thinkers  of  the  age, 
a  wide  distinction  between  the  6ta:e  of^nis 
mind,  and  that  of  a  mere  clairvoyant  or^m- 
nambulist,  is  clearly  perceived.  For,  the 
duties  of  the  station,  which  his  followers 
from  the  evidences  afforded,  are  induced  to 
believe  he  was  called  to  fulfil,  as  the  herald 
of  a  new  dispensation  of  Divine  Truth,  are 
seen  to  require  a  far  more  exalted  state  than 
it  is  possible  for  a  mere  clairvoyant  ever  to 
arrive  at. 

'Tie  true,  that  a  conviction  of  the  truth  of 
Swedenborg's  statements,  as  to  the  source 
from  which  be  claims  to  have  derived  his 
knowledge  of  Spiritual  and  Divine  things, 
(ihe  possibility  of  which  disclosure  will  not 
here  ne  touched  upon,)  requires  to  be  ration- 
ally admitted,  in  order  to  obtain  a  full  and 
perfect  understanding  of  his  doctrine.  It  be- 
ing of  importance  that  as  correct  an  idea  as 
possible,  should  be  entertained  of  the  psy- 
chological state  into  which  Swedenborg  was 
brought,  in  order  to  his  reception  of  the  dis- 
closures vouchstifed  him,  a  few  extracts  from 
his  writings  shall  here  be  appended,  contain- 
ing his  own  statements  on  this  head,  which 
have  never  been  disproved,  and  are  undoubt- 
edly entitled  to  attention. — «  1  am  well  aware 
that  many  who  read  the  following  pages,  and 
the  Memorable  Relations  annexed    to   t**^ 


26 


Communication  for  the  Dissector. 


chapter?,  will  believe  that  they  are  fictions 
of  the  imagination :  but  I  protest  in  truth 
that  they  are  not  fictions,  but  were  truly 
done  and  seen  ;  not  seen  in  any  state  of  the 
Diind  asleep,  but  in  a  state  of  luli  wakeful- 
ness ;  for  it  has  pleased  the  Lord  to  manifest 
hiinself  to  me,  and  to  send  me  to  teach  the 
things  relating  to  the  New  Church,  which  is 
meant  by  the  New  Jerusalem  in  the  Revela- 
tion ;  for  which  purpose  he  has  opened  the 
interiors  or  my  mind  and  spirit  ;  by  virtue  of 
which  privilege  it  has  been  granted  to  me  to 
be  in  the  spiritual  world  with  angels,  and  at 
the  same  time  in  the  natural  worM  with  men, 
and  this  now  for  twenty-live  years."  Con- 
gugal  Love,  1. 

Again,  in  a  letter  to  the  King, — "  The  Lord 
our  ^^aviour  manifested  himself  to  me  in  a 
pensible  personal  appearance,  and  has  com- 
manded me  to  write  what  has  already  been 
done,  and  what  T  have  still  to  do  i  and  he 
-  was  afterwards  graciously  pleased  to  endow 
me  with  the  privilege  of  conversing  with 
spirits  and  angels,  and  to  be  in  fellowship 
with  them.  It  is  not  in  my  power  to  place 
others  in  the  same  stale  in  which  God  has 
placed  me,  so  as  to  be  able  to  convince  them, 
by  their  own  eyes  and  ears,  of  the  truth  of 
those  deeds  and  things  I  publicly  have  made 
known.  I  have  no  ability  to  capacitate  them 
to  converse  with  angels  and  spirits,  neither 
to  work  miracles  to  dispose  or  force  their  un- 
derstandings to  comprehend  what  I  say. 
When  my  writings  are  read  with  attention 
and  cool  reflection  (in  which  many  things 
are  to  be  met  with  as  hitherto  unknown,)  it 
18  easy  enough  to  conclude,  that  I  could  not 
come  to  such  knowledge  but  by  a  real  vision, 
and  by  conversing  with  those  who  are  in  the 
spiritual  world.  This  knowledge  is  given 
to  me  from  our  Saviour,  not  from  any  par- 
ticular merit  of  mine,  but  for  the  mat  concern 
*  of  all  christians'  salvation  and  happiness." 
One  extract  from  the  work  on  Heaven  and 
Hell  shall  be  given.  "  For  the  sake  of  il- 
lustrating the  fact  of  man's  being  a  spirit  as 
to  his  interiors,  I  will  relate  a  case  from  ex- 
perience, as  to  the  manner  in  which  man  is 
withdrawn  from  the  body,  while  in  the  na- 
tuial  world.  The  case  is  this:  Man  is 
brought  into  a  certain  state,  which  is  a  mid- 
dle state,  between  sleep  and  waking,  and 
when  he  is  in  this  state  he  cannot  know  any 
other  than  that  he  is  altogether  awake,  all 
his  senses  being  awake  as  in  the  highest 
wakefulness  of  the  body,  both  the  sight  and 
hearing,  and  what  is  wonderful,  the  touch, 
which,  on  this  occasion,  is  more  exquisite 
than  it  is  possible  to  be  in  the  wakefulness 
of  the  body  ;  in  this  state  also  spirits  and 
angels  are  seen  altogether^ as  to  the  life; 
they  are  likewise  heard,  and,  what  is  won- 


derful, touched,  as  in  this  case,  scarcely  any 
thing  of  the  body  intervenes :  this  is  the  state 
which  is  called  being  withdrawn  from  ike 
body,  and  of  which  it  is  said  by  one  who  ex- 
perienced it.  that  he  knew  not  whether  he  vas 
in  the  body  or  vut  of  the  body.  Into  this  state 
I  have  been  let  only  three  or  /our  times,  that 
1  might  just  know  what  was  its  quality,  and 
at  the  same  time  that  spirits  and  angels  en- 
joy every  sense,  as  doth  man  also  as  to  his 
spirit  when  he  is  withdrawn  from  the  body." 
H.  &  H.  N.  439— '40. 

Hence  says  a  distinguished  writer,  "  The 
state    above    described,    is    so   strikingly 
analogous  with  that  produced  by  Mesmerism, 
that  it  can  scarcely  be  regarded  otherwise 
than  as  an  actual  developement  of  the  inte- 
rior condition  brought  about  by  that  myste- 
rious agency.    This,    however,  is  merely 
o  e  of    hundreds  of   intimations  scattered 
throgh  the  writings  of  Swedenborg,  going  to 
show  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the 
phylosophy  of  that  remarkable  class  of  phe- 
nomena, though  the  name  was  of  course  an- 
known  to  him.  as  he  died  several  years  be- 
fore Mesiner  went  to  Paris  to  divulge  his  dis- 
coveries.    The  coincidence  referred  to  baa 
led  many  to  suppose  that  Swedenboni's  oini 
state  was  merely  that  of  a  gifted  Uairvo^ 
ant,  and  thus  implied  notbine  supematorsL 
Bat  his  own  words  assert  a  clear  di$tiDCtion, 
as  this  was  a  state  into  which  he  was  only 
occasionally  **let"  that  he  might  learn  its 
nature,  his  ordinary  state  being  altogetbcrof 
a  higher  character.    i>uch  an  imputation  is 
a  virtual  disparagement  of  his  claims,  which 
his  followers  unanimously  repudiate.   At 
the  same  time  they  readily  admit  that  the 
Mesmeric  trance  is  a  sufficiently  near  ap- 
proximation to  his  to  prove    its  possibility 
as  a  psycbological  fact,  and  they  gratefully 
accept  the  evidence  which  the  Lord's  dirine 
providence  is  thus  unexpectedly  affording, to 
the  very  senses  of  men,  that  neither  they 
nor  their  illustrious  teacher  are  merely  dream' 
ing  of  an  impossible  intercourse  with  the 
spiritual  world.     If  multitudes  are  so  stag- 
gered by   the  simple  fads  of  Meinncrism, 
what  will  be  their  surprise  should  the  truth 
finally  turn  out  to  be,  that  the  design  of  these 
marvellous  manifestations  is  no  other  than 
to  pave  the  way  for  the  universal  admission 
of  Swedenboi^s  claims  ?'* 


"  In  their  structure,  warts  differ  altcigctber 
from  corns,  as  they  arise  directly  from  the 
true  skin,  and  appear  to  be  composed  of  aa 
elongated  bundle  of  its  papillae*  enclosed  in 
sheaths  of  cuticle,  whereas  corns  are  a  disor- 
der of  the  epidermis  alone.'* 


.1 


Swedenberg's  Animal  Kingdom. 


37 


On  the  Ooincid«noe  of  Tubercle  and  Oancer. 
It  has  been  stated  that  tubercle  and  cancer 
mutually  exclude  each  other.  Libert,  how- 
ever. Has  not  only  met  with  a  certain  num- 
ber ot  cases  where  the  two  diseases  existed 
together,  but  has  convinced  himself  that  one 
in  no  way  arrests  the  march  of  the  other.  In 
poof  of  this  he  communicates  the  following 

1  A  child,  aged  four  years  had  encephaloid 
tumours  in  the  right  kidney,  and  was  also 
affected  with  cerebral  and  pulmonary  tuber- 
cles. 

2.  A  woman,  sixty  years  of  age,  had  schir- 
rhous  tumours  in  the  mammary  glands,  in 
the  liver,  and  in  the  lunes.  At  Ihe  same  time 
she  had  softened  tubercles  at  the  summit  of 
the  left  lung. 

3.  The  lungs  of  a  woman,  a^ed  sixty-two 
years,  contained  tumours  in  various  stages, 
and  even  several  cavities  in  the  superior  lobe 
of  the  riffht  lung.    In  the  peritoneum  existed 
encephaloid  masses,  together  with  numerous 
tubercles.    The  cancer  had  all  the  form  of 
encephaloma.    The  tubercle  had,   through- 
out, the  form  of 'the  yellow  or  caseous  infil- 
tration.   The  microscope  enabled  him  readi- 
ly to  distinguish  the  corpuscles  of  tubercle 

mm  tboee  of  the  encephaloma,  and  to  deter- 
mine the  evidence  of  their  existence.— Mul- 
Icr's  Archives,  1844,  Hift.  2. 

Dr.  Martin,  of  Munich,  has  more  recent^ 
ly  related  the  following  case: — A  woman, 
aged  fifty-four,  died  in  the  Poly-Clinic,  of 
ascites.  The  summit  of  the  right  lung  was 
occupied  by  a  tubercular  cavern.  The  apex 
of  the  left  lung  contained  several  calcareous 
tubercles,  the  size  of  peas  and  beans.  The 
cavity  of  the  abdomen  was  distended  with  a 
turbid  flocculent  scrum ;  the  omentum  was 
thickened.  Externally,  it  was  covered  with 
masses,  of  exudation;  internally,  it  was  yel- 
lowish, pultaceous,  and,  under  the  micro- 
scope, it  presented  the  characteristic  appear- 
ance of  tubercle  in  its  different  stages.  The 
intestines  and  walls  of  the  abdomen  were 
more  or  less  united  together;  the  greatest 
portion  of  the  uterus  was  composed  of  a 
whitish  mass,  the  size  of  a  man's  fist ;  some 
portions  of  it  were  of  cartilaginous  consis- 
tence, others  soft  and  fungoid,  and  its  centre 
.  -was  more  or  less  diffluent.  Under  the  mi- 
croscope, it  presented  caudated  cells,  with 
nuclei  and  nucleoli,  numerous  oil  globules, 
round  c^ls  with  and  without  nuclei,  and 
crystals  of  cholesterine.— Allgeimeine  Zeit- 
ung  fur  Chirurgie,  &c.,  1844,  No.  51. 

These  arc  examples  of  tuberculosis  in 
which  the  disease  of  the  lymphatic  system 
has  in  some  places,  extended  to  the  contigu- 
ous tissues  and  developed  the  cancerous  de- 
generatiou. — Ed.  Dis, 


BWiiDENBOBG'S  iiNIM.AL  KI19GD0M. 

Introductory  Remarks  by  the  Ti  an  slater , 
James  John  Garth  Wilkinson, 

Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons 
of  London.  « 

[Continued  from  page  204.] 

Thus  in  the  living  body  sense  and  motion 
are  universal,  and  mutually  suppose  each 
other,  just  as  is  the  case  in  the  mind  with 
the  will  and  the  understanding.  The  de- 
privation of  anyone  of  the8B,predicates  in  any 
part  of  its  own  sphere,  amounts  to  the  death 
of  that  part,  and  either  involves  its  elimina- 
tion, or  the  death  of  the  whole  system. 

But  as  every  part  of  the  body  is  a  free  in- 
dividual, dependent  upon  the  whole,  and  yet 
independent  in  its  own  sphere,  so  the  body 
itself,  although  sustained  generally  by  the 
external  universe,  in  its  interiors  is  altogeth- 
er exempt  Irom  the  power  and  jurisdiction  of 
the  lat.er.  It  is  so  far  under  the  mundane 
law  of  gravitation,  that  we  are  forced  to 
make  our  dwelling-place,  bnild  up  our 
abodes,  and  institute  our  communities,  upon 
the  soil  of  the  earth :  but  intrinsically  the 
microcosm  dominates  over  the  macrocosm. 
The  substances  and  fluids  in  its  interiors  do 
in  fact  gravitate,  although  not  to  the  centre 
of  the  |)lanet,  but  to  that  of  the  particular 
motion  in  whose  current  they  are  involved. 
This  centre  of  motion  may  be  either  upward 
or  downward,  speaking  according  to  those 
relations  as  existing  in  the  surrounding 
world;  for  in  the  body  the  centre  of  motion 
is  always  the  upward  ;  for  the  body  ity If  is 
nothing  but  a  stupendous  series  of  motions, 
in  whose  everlasting  currents  its  solids  are 
ranged  and  its  fluids  are  fluent.  When  any 
substance  has  attained  one  centre  of  motion, 
it  is  then  at  rest  in  the  viscus  or  organ  in 
whose  sphere  it  was  moving :  but  that  very 
centre  is  only  a  point  in  the  circumference  of 
another  sphere,  to  the  centre  of  which  the 
substance  is  now  again  drawn  and  impelled ; 
and  so  forth.  In  short,  all  things  in  the 
bodily  system  are  tending  from  centre  to  cen- 
tre, and  do  not  begin  to  tend  to  the  centre  of 
the  planet,  until  they  arrive  in  the  last,  lowest, 
and  most  general  centre  of  motion  of  the  mi- 
crocosm, where  a  mixed  action  commences 
between  it  and  the  macrocosm,  as  is  the  case 
in  the  bladder  and  the  rectum.  In  illustration 
of  this  multiple  centripetency,  the  fluids  in 
the  gyrating  intestines  lend  first  to  their  par- 
ietes,  and  then  into  their  cellular  coat,  which 
is  their  centre  of  motion :  this  centre  of  motion 
is  the  circumference  of  the  mesenterj',  which 
now,  by  its  attraction,  draws  the  fluids  to 


28 


Sivedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom, 


Its  most  quiet  station  -or  centre  of  motion, 
namely,  to  the  receptaculum  chyli.  Heie 
again,  in  reasoning  from  the  exlemal  world 
to  the  internal,  we  may  see  the  u^e  of  culti- 
vating in  the  mind  a  principle  ot  flexibility, 
which  will  enable  us  to  modulate  from  the 
order  of  one  sphere  into  that  of  another;  for 
€ach  individual  subject  has  its  own  essence 
and  peculiarities  which  must  never  bu  over- 
looked, and  although  formed  on  the  model 
of  the  universe,  derives  its  determinations 
from  its  own  principles  as  much  as  the  uni- 
verse does  from  its  own  principles.  All 
things  are  under  the  law  of  gravitation,  but 
the  gravitation  ot  one  is  not  the  gravitation 
of  another,  because  the  motion  is  not  the 
«ame,  nor  the  end  for  which  the  motion  is 
instituted. 

Thus  in' the  body  we  have  a  perpetual  il 
lustration  of  the  law,  that  fluids  always  tend 
from  unquiet  to  more  quiet  stations ;  analog- 
ous to  the  rule  in  physics,  that  fluids  always 
find  their  level ;  and  to  the  principle  in  thi 
«piritual  world,  that  every  man  gravitates,  ' 
per  varios  ca?us,  per  tot  discrimina  rerum,' 
to  the  flnal  state  of  his  ruling  love. 

This  may  give  us  some  idea  of  the  body 
as  a  machine  of  ends,  in  which  there  is  not 
the  least  point  but  flows  from  a  use,  and 
tends  to  a  use,  and  so  through  perpetual  revo- 
lutions. For  every  part  of  the  organism  is  a 
centre  in  itself,  in  that  the  whole  body  con- 
spires to  supply  and  maintain  it;  and  a 
circumference,  since  being  only  a  part,  it 
yields  its  uses  primarily  to  the  whole,  and 
only  secondarily  to  itself.  The  external  uni- 
verse, in  all  \\»  spheres,  communicates  with 
the  body  by  a  similar  law.  These  centres, 
arranged  according  to  the  laws  of  forms, 
order,  decrees,  and  series,  constitute  diameters 
and  circumferences,  in  a  word,  make  up  the 
human  frame,  which  therefore  is  a  world  of 
centres,  or  speaking  generally,  is  the  central 
work  of  creation.  For  there  is  nothing  in 
nature  but  man,  to  which  all  things  can  min- 
ister a  use. 

The  body  is  exempt  not  only  from  the 
gravitation  but  from  the  chemistry  of  the  cir- 
cumimbient  world.  It  has  its  own  heat, 
of  which  there  are  various  degrees,  and  which 
is  as  distinct  from  the  heat  that  vivifies  exter- 
nal nattire.  as  its  gravitation  is  distinct  from 
the  gravitation  of  nature.  It  has  its  own  dis- 
tinct imponderable  fluids,  its  own  atmos- 
pheric elements,  its  own  fluids,  and  its  own 
solids.  It  has  its  own  complete  organic 
chemistry,  in  which  organization  is  the  only 
end.  No  chemical  changes  that  occur  in  the 
exlrernesofi he  system,  (where  a  mixed  ac- 
tion commences,  of  the  microcosm  and  thf 
macrocosm,)  no  chemical  analysis  of  the  ex- 
crements or  the  excretions,  no  experiments 
on  the  dead  fluids  or  tissues,  empowers  us  in 


the  si  ghtest  degree  to  reason  to  similar  chem- 
ical effects  in  the  interiors  of  the  body.  The 
organs  of  the  body  themselves  are  the  only 
workmen,  appliances,  and  laboratories,  by 
which  and  in  which  organic  chemistry  is  per- 
formed; the  contemplation  of  those  oigaos 
and  their  products  by  the  rational  mind  istbe 
only  path  to  the  knowledge  of  such  chem- 
istry. In  this  chemistry  there  is  indeed  de- 
composition or  decombination,  but  instead  of 
a  destmction  r  f  form  and  series,  S  purifica- 
tion  from  those  elements  that  mar  their  har- 
mony, and  in  the  decombination,  an  evolu- 
tion of  higher  forces,  and  an  elevation  into  a 
more  perfect  order  similar  io  that  of  the  com- 
pound ;  and  last  of  all,  invaribly  a  recombi- 
nation. But  to  take  a  part  or  product  of  an 
organic  being,  and  subject  it  to  destractive 
analysis, — such  a  procedure  can  only  be 
termed  disorganic  chemiBtry,  as  expressing 
that  it  is  the  very  reverse  of  what  goes  on  io 
the  body.  For  this  process  is  analogous  to 
putrefaction,  and  not  to  formation. 

Throughout  nature  every  general  is  made 
up  of  its  own  particulars.  These  particulan 
are  its  unities,  and  constitute  the  limits  of  its 
series.  For  instance,  the  pulmonary  refr 
ides  are  the  unities  of  the  lungs,  or  the  «• 
sential  parts  from  which  the  pulmooaiy 
series  commences :  the  ve^ J^els  and  mt^^ 
that  cons  ruct  these  vesicles  are  not  the  uni- 
ties of  the  lungs,  because  they  are  not  pecu- 
liar to  the  lungs,  but  form  the  groundwork 
of  the  whole  body.  Men  and  women  are  the 
unities  or  atoms  of  human  society,  not  that 
they  are  indivisible,  but  that  they  aw  ^ 
simplest  forms  of\their  own  series.  The  uni- 
ties of  each  oigan  in  the  body  arc  so  many 
little  organs  homogeneous  with  their  com- 
pound :  the  unities  of  the  tongue  are  little 
tongues;  those  of  the  stomach  are  little 
stomachs ;  those  of  the  liver  are  little  live»; 
and  so  forth.  These  leasts  or  unities  are  not 
necessarily  identical  with  tbeir  compounds ij 
form,  but  only  in  function  ;  for  in  the  fiw 
of  leasts  (in  campo  rainimorum),  Bimiiitwe 
of  use  determines  homogeneity,  and  siinili- 
tude  of  shape  is  of  no  consequence.  Af 
every  general  is  the  sum  of  itsparticulais* 
a  form,  so  il  is  also  as  a  power,  force  orcao* 
The  function  represented  by  an  organ  i>ptf* 
formed  more  freely,  perfectly,  and  efBcieiilly* 
by  its  unities  or  leasts,  than  by  its  commoa 
form.  For  the  leasts  are  the  subjects  j« 
higher  inflnences,  they  are  more  proximaWT 
related  to  the  series  above  them  from  wnicft 
the  power  of  the  whole  is  deriyed,  more eafr 
ly  exempted  from  .the  laws  of  giavitv.  >» 
more  gently  and  distinctly  recipient  o[^-^*'' 
nal  forces.  Thoy  are  nearer  to  the  ^^^^ 
of  substances,  and  as  it  were  more  difine- 
Thev  are  the  all  in  all  of  their  ovrn  aenff . 
the  essences   of  which  the  general  «  » 


^j 


Sioedenborg's  Animpl  Kingdom. 


29 


i 


form  ;  the  actives  of  which  the  compound  is 
the  passive.  In  the  expreSvsive  language  of 
Svretlenhorg,  *'  all  power  resides  in  the  least 
things,"  and  again,"  nature  is  greatest  in 
-what  is  least,  and  least  in  w*hat  is  greatest.** 
The  field  of  leasts  is  the  field  of  universality, 
where  an  action  communicated  pervades  the 
entire  sphere  as  though  it  were  but  a  point 
of  space ;  for  the  more  internal  the  sphere, 
the  more  intense  the  association.  The  stream 
of  creative  influx  enters  the  compound 
through  the  gate  of  its  leasts.  The  diffeience 
between  the  latter  and  the  former  is  as  be- 
tween the  ideal  and  the  real;  the  ideal  being 
represented  m  the  leasts;  the  real,  with  its 
complications,  and  subservience  to  secondary 
laws  and  external  6irctimstances,  in  the  com 

Eound.  Let  us  recur  for  an  example  to  the 
i^hest  and  simplest  instance ;  to  the  case  as 
existing  between  an  individual  man,  and  a 
fociety  or  a  nation.  In  the  individual,  the 
body  is  the  very  manifestation  of  the  mind  ; 
the  servant  is  the  obedient  and  accurate 
image  of  the  master.  The  will,  as  the 
^Toatid  of  activity,  flows  through  a  series  of 
intellectual  means  evoked  from  itself,  with 
the  8-^allesl  diminution  of  force  and  eflSciency 
into  the  bodily  actions,  there  being  no  sepa- 
rate or  self  interest  to  absorb  it  either  m  the 
understanding  or  the  body :  and  thus  the 
monarchy  of  the  first  principle  is  pervading, 
absolute,  and  complete.  But  how  different 
are  the  actions  of  a  society  or  compound  in- 
d'rvidual ;  its  interests  how  divided ;  its  instru- 
ments how  insubordinate ;  how  great  the  dis- 
tance between  its  legislative  and  executive, 
its  will  and  its  actions ;  through  what  inept 
meditations  the  former  must  pass  into  the 
latter ;  what  an  absorption  is  there  of  the  first 
force  m  the  passage  ;  what  a  refraction  and 
dispersion  oi  the  intentions  of  the  government 
before  they  can  ultimately  be  applied  to  the 
governed.  Now  the  same  is  true  with  tlie 
simples  and  compounds  of  every  series  in 
creatioD,  as  with  the  simples  aiid  compounds 
of  humanity. 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  formation 
of  the  body,  which  takes  place  by  a  gradual 
descent  from  the  higher  to  the  lower  forms, 
or  by  ibe  perpetual  nerivation,  composition, 
arid  convolution  of  simples.  Speaking  in 
gcenerals,  the  spiral  form  may  illustrate  the 
progression.  For  this  purpose  let  us  assume 
the  primary  fibre  of  the  brain,  without  goinpj 
deeper,  oi  to  trie  spherules  of  which  that  first 
fibre  is  composed.  This  fibre,  named  by 
Swedenborg  the  fibre  of  the  soul,  involves 
tbe  spiral  form  and  force,  and  carries  the  on i- 
mal  spirit  By  its  evolution,  or  what  a- 
mounts  to  the  same  thing,  its  circumvolution 
into  a  new  spina),  it  forms  the  nervous  fibre, 
which  carries  the  true  purer  blood;  or  ner- 
vous fluid;  and  this  again  (for  it  likewise  is 


a  spiral  force),  by  its  circumvolution  gene- 
rates the  blood-vessel,  which  carrifs  the  fluid 
of  the  third  degree  or  sphere,  namely,  the 
red  blood.  Hence  every  artery  involves  a 
triple  series  of  circulations,  wonderfully  al- 
ternating with  each  other.  For  the  nervous 
Rbre,  in  its  expansion  and  constriction,  is 
precisely  alternate  with,  or  the  iuveise  of, 
the  primary  fibre ;  and  the  same  relation  of 
harmonious  discord  subsists  again  between 
the  blood-vessel  and  the  nervous  fibre. 
Thus  the  cause  of  expansion  in  the  one 
sphere,  is  the  cause  of  constriction  in  the 
.sphere  above  it :  to  convert  the  expansion  of 
the  blood-vessels  into  constriction,  the  nerves 
are  approached  by  an  expansile  agent  adapted 
to  their  own  subtle  and  active  nature  ;  for  by 
the  law  of  inversion,  the  expansion  of  the 
one — the  constriction  of  the  other.  The 
play  of  this  inversion,  in  its  perfect  form,  is 
a  condition  of  health;  but  in  man's  present 
state  the  equilibrium  is  too  often  lost,  there 
being,  in  the  words  of  Swedenborg,  **  a  per- 
petual battle  and  collision  between  the  three 
spheres  of  the  body,  namely,  between  the 
blood  and  the  spirits,  and  between  the  spirits 
and  the  soul." 

The  last  subject  on  which  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  say  a  few  words  in  this  depart- 
ment of  our  remarks,  is  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  life  before  birth,  and  the  life  after 
birth  In  the  foetus,  nature,  that  is  to  say, 
the  soul,  as  an  end  and  formative  power, 
alone  rules,  and  all  things  proceed  in  natural 
order,  from  the  highest  or  innermost  sphere 
to  the  lowest  or  outermost,  by  the  synthetic 
way,  or  a  priori  ad  posteriora.  But  after 
birth,  the  will  niles  over  nature,  and  drives 
her  from  her  throne,  and  all  operations  pro«> 
ceed  in  inverse  order,  by  the  analytic  way, 
or  a  posteriori  ad  priora.  These  opposite 
states  require  a  medium  to  reconcile  between 
them,  which  medium  is  supplied  by  the 
opening  of  the  lungs ;  the  animations  ot  the 
brains  being  synchronous  with  the  respira- 
tions after  birth,  but  with  the  pulsations  of 
the  heart  during  uterine  life.  In  the  foetus, 
the.  higher  spher  's  act,  and  the  lower  react ; 
whereas  after  birth  the  lower  act,  and  the 
higher  only  react.  Tn  the  former  case  all 
operations  are  universal  and  most  individual, 
conspiring  by  intrinsic  harmony,  and  in  per- 
fect freedom,  and  proceed  outwards  from  the 
brains ;  in  the  latter  they  are  in  the  first  place, 
general,  and  proceed  inwards  to  the  sphere 
of  particulars  through  the  coverinps,  mem- 
branes, or  bonds,  of  the  body  and  its  organs. 
But  the  reader  will  not  acquire  a  satisfactory 
understanding  of  this  wonderful  doctrine  hj 
anything  short  of  an  attentive  study  of  Swc- 
denborg  himself. 

There  are  certain  organs  in  the  body  which 
have  always  been  looked  upon  as  the  oppro-^ 


30 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kiftgdom. 


bria  of  physiologists,  who  indeed  appear  to 
fail  wherever  nature  does  not  speak  by  an 
ultimate  fact ;  that  is  to  say,  wherever  there 
is  a  clear  field  for  the  understanding:  as  apart 
from  and  above  the  senses.  The  absence  of 
an  excretory  duct  is  sufficient  to  consien  an 
organ  in  perpetuity  to  the  limbo  of  doubt. 
Surmise  indeed  respecting  its  functions  is  still 
allowed,  but  proof  is  considered  impossible 
We  might  as  well  pretend  to  know  the  na- 
ture of  the  world  of  spirits  as  to  know  the 
functions  of  the  spleen.  We  should  be  as 
rank  visionaries  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other,  since  we  should  be  placing  an  implicit 
dependence  upon  reason,  in  a  matter  where 
the  bodily  senses  give  no  direct  information. 
Swedenborig  did  pretend  to  know  both,  and 
ill  he  fared  in  consequence  with  the  scientific 
world,  and  with  the  first  reviewer  of  his 
**  Animal  Kingdom"  in  the  "  Acta  £ruditor- 
um  Lipsiensia.'*  They  said  he  was  "  a  happy 
fellow,"  and  laughed  outright  V/itbout 
stopping  to  do  more  than  direct  the  reader's 
particular  attention  to  his  doctrine  of  the 
epleen,  the  suprarenal  capsules,  and  the  thy- 
mus gland,  as  being  satisfactory  and  irre- 
fragable, it  may  be  wondered  why  the  phys- 
iologists shou'd  single  out  those  ojgans  as 
especial  subjects  whereon  to  make  confess- 
ion of  ignorance.  There  is  modesty  in  their 
confession,  but  it  ought  in  justice  to  have 
embraced  more.  These  organs  are  closely 
connected  to  others,  and  ignorance  respecting 
them  involves  ignorance  respecting  the  others 
also.  Connexion  of  structures  in  the  body 
is  also  connexion  of  functions,  forces,  modes, 
and  accidents.  If  the  function  of  the  spleen 
be  unknown,  so  precisely  to  the  same  extent 
are  the  functions  of  the  pancreas,  the  sto- 
mach, the  omentum,  and  the  liver ;  if  the 
function*  of  the  succenturate  kid^ieys  be  un- 
known, so  are  the  functions  of  the  dia- 
phragm, the  kidneys,  the  peritonaBum,  and 
indeed  of  the  whole  body ;  for  the  body  is  a 
continuous  tissue,  woven  without  a  break  in 
nature*s  loom.  To  be  ignorant  of  a  part,  is 
to  be  ignorant  of  something  that  pervades  the 
whole.  The  disease  that  affects  the  spleen, 
affects  the  whole,  for  the  spleen  is  in  all 
things,  and  all  things  are  in  the  spleen. 
To  recur  to  the  liver:  what  is  the  amount  of 
knowledge  respecting  its  functions?  Pre- 
cisely this,  that  the  hepatic  duct  proceeds 
from  it,  and  carries  bile  into  the  duodenum. 
The  bile  and  the  duct  are  the  sum  and  sub- 
stance of  the  modern  physiology  of  the  liver ; 
it  is  prorsus  in  occulto  why  either  bile  or 
duct  should  exist.  The  truth  then  is,  that 
there  is  as  much  known  about  the  liver  as 
about  the  spleen,  and  no  more  ;  in  the  one 
case  it  is  known  that  there  is  an  excretory 
duct,  in  the  other  that  there  is  none.    Alas ! 


the  scientitic  mind  is  steeped  in  the  senses* 
and  is  the  drudge  of  theii  limited  sphere. 

Swedenborg*8  analysis  is  professedly  sup- 
ported upon  the  foundation  of  the  old  anat- 
omists, who  flourished  in  the  Augustan  b^ 
of  the  science.    At  his  time  nearly  all  the 
great  and  cer;tain  facts  of  anatomy  were  al- 
ready known  ;  such  for  example  as  the  cir- 
culation of  the  blood,  and  the  existence  of 
the  lymphatics  and  the  lacteals.    Anatomy, 
too,  had  long  been  cultivated  distinctly  in 
the  human  subject,  and  was  to  a  great  exteot 
purified  of  the  errors  that  crept  into  it  at  first 
from  the  habit  of  dissecting  the  lower  ani- 
mals.   Many  of  the  old  anatomists  were  men 
of  a  philosophic  spirit,  who  proposed  to 
themselves  the  problem  of  the  universe,  and 
solved  it  ill  their  own  way,  or  tried  to  solve 
it.    They  were  the  first  observers  of  naturel 
speaking  marvels  in  the  organic  sphere,  and 
described  them  with    feelings    of  delight, 
which  shewed  that  they  were  receptive  of  in- 
struction from  the  great  fountain  of  truth. 
They  worked  at  once  with  the  mind  arid  the 
senses  in  the  field  of  observation.     There 
was  a  certain  superior  manner  and  artistic 
form  in   their  treatises      They  believed  in- 
stinctively in  the  doctrine  of  use.    They  ex- 
pected nature  to  be  wonderful,  and  snfpoeei 
therelore  that  the  human    body   iiiyolred 
much  which  it  required  the  distinct  esercife 
of  the  mind  to  discover.     Hence  theii  belief 
in  the  existence  of  the  animal   spirits;  a  be- 
lief which  they  based  upon  common  eense, 
or  what  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  npoo  the 
general  experience  of  eSecis ;  at  the  same 
time  that  they  recognized  its  object  a.*«  beyond 
sensual  experience,  and  not  to  be  confirmed 
directly  by  sight.*     They  used  the  micro- 
scope to  assist  and  fortify  the  eye,  and  not  to 
substitute  it,  or  dissipatt*  its  objective  sphert 
Even  the  gieatest  among  them,  whoaddicied 
himself  to  the  bare  study  of  structure  andthe 
making    of    illustrative     preparations,  ex- 
pressed a  noble  hope  that  others  would  com- 
plete his  labors,  by  making  as  distinct  a  studf 
of  uses.f 

But  the  picture  is  not  without  its  darker 
side.  Although  they  had  strong  instincts 
and  vivid  glimpses  of  truth,  yet  when  they 
attempted  to  carry  their  perceptions  oul.tliey 
degenerated  into  mere  hypotheses,  and  sys- 
tems of  hypotheses.  They  did  not  ascend 
high  enough  before  they  again  descendftit 
nor  did  they  explore  nature  by  an  iniegm 
method ;  and  hence  ihey  had  no  meansw 
pursuing  analogies  without  destroyingthe 
everla!»ting  distinctions  of  things.  They 
stopped  in  that  midway  where  sceptinjm 
easily  overtook  them,  and  where,  when  that 


8m  lloftilrar. 


tRoficfc. 


i 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


31 


r 


€nemy  of  the  human  intellect  had  once  p*ie- 
traled»  there  was  no  possibilily  of  maintain 
Li^  themselves,  but  the  fall  to  the  sensual 
sphere  was  inevitable.  The  reason  of  this 
was,  that  they  had  not  conceived  the  laws 
of  order,  and  th«refore  could  not  claim  the 
support  which  nature  ^ivesto  all  her  truths. 
Nay,  it  was  so  impossible  that  they  should 
proceed  further  without  the  tincture  of  a  uni- 
versal method,  that  their  minds  came  to  a 
stand  still ;  the  truths  already  elicited  were 
rendered  unsatisfactory,  and  mere  progress 
demanded  their  fall.  They  fell  therefore, 
and  a  race  which  knows  them  not  is  dwelling 
DOW  in  tent  and  hut  among  their  mighty 
ruins. 

At  the  very  crisis  of  their  fate,  Sweden- 
boig  took  the  field  for  the  end  that  has  been 
already  mentioned,  and  at  once  declared,  that 
unless  matters  were  carried  hi^hei,  experi 
mentai  knowledge  itself  would  perish,  and 
the  arts  and  science.^  be  carried  to  the  tomb, 
adding  that  he  was  in«ch  mistaken  if  the 
world's  dsstinies  were  not  tending  thither- 
wards. The  task  that  he  undertook  was, 
to  build  the  heaps  of  experience  into  a  pal- 
ace in  which  the  human  mind  might  dwell, 
and  enjoy  security  from  without,  and  spirit- 
ual prosperity  from  within.  He  brought  to 
that  task  requisites,  both  external  and  inter- 
na/, of  an  extraordinary  kind.  He  was  a 
naturalized  subject  in  all  the  kingdom  of  hu- 
man thought,  and  yet  was  born  at  the  same 
time  to  another  order  and  a  better  country 
To  the  various  classes  of  schoolmen  he  ap- 
pears never  to  have  attached  himselt,  excep- 
ting for  different  purposes  from  theirs.  He 
pursued  mathematics  tor  a  distinctly  extrane- 
ous end.  As  a  student  of  physiology  he 
belonged  to  no  clique  or  school,  and  had  no 
class  prejudices  to  encounter.  In  theology 
he  was  almost  as  free  mentally,  as  though 
not  a  single  commentator  had  written,  or 
system  been  formed,  but  as  though  his  hands 
were  the  first  in  which  the  Word  of  God  was 
p/aced  in  its  virgin  purity.  Add  to  this  that 
he  by  no  means  disregarded  the  works  of 
others,  but  was  learned  in  all  useful  learning. 
He  had  a  sound  practical  education,  and  was 
employed  daily  in  the  actual  business  of  life 
for  a  series  of  years  He  was  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  mechanics,  chemistry,  math- 
ennatics,  asiionomy,  and  the  other  sciences 
known  in  his  time,  and  had  elicited  univer- 
sal truths  in  the  sphere  of  each.  From  the 
banning  he  perceived  that  there  wa?  an  or- 
der in  nature.  This  enabled  him  to  pursue 
his  own  studies  with  a  view  to  order.  He 
ascended  from  the  theory  of  earthy  substan- 
ces to  the  theory  of  the  atmospheres  and 
from  both  to  the  theory  of  cosmogony,  and 
came  gradually  to  man  as  the  crowning  ob- 


ject of  nature.  He  brought  the  order  of  ma- 
crocosm to  illustrate  the  order  of  the  micro- 
cosm. His  dominant  end,  which  he  never 
lost  sight  of  for  a  moment,  was  spiritual  and 
moral,  which  preserved  his  mind  alive  in  a 
long  course  of  physical  studies,  and  empow- 
ered him  to  see  life  and  substance  in  the  oth- 
erwise dead  machinery  of  the  creation.  He 
was  a  man  of  uncommon  humbleness,  and 
never  once  looked  back,  to  gratify  self- 
complacency,  upon  past  achievements,  but 
travelled  onwards  and  still  onwards,  "  with- 
out fatigue  and  without  repose,"  to  a  home 
in  the  fruition  of  the  inhnite  and  eternal. 
Such  was  the  competitor  who  now  entered 
the  arena  of  what  had,  until  this  time,^  been 
exclusively  medical  science;  truly  a  man  of 
whom  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  he  pos- 
sessed the  kindliest,  broadest,' highest,  nr^ost 
theoretical  and  most  practical  genius  that  it 
has  yet  pleased  God  to  bestow  on  t^e  weary 
ages  of  civilization. 

Swedenborg  perceived  that  the  permanence 
of  nature  depends  upon  the  excellence  of  its 
order ;  that  all  creation  exists  and  subsists 
as  one  thing  from  God ;  that  divine  love  is 
its  end:  divine  wisdom,  its  cause;  and  di- 
vine order,  in  the  theatre  of  use,  the  simulta- 
neous, or  ultimate  form  of  that  wisdom  and 
\ov^.  He  also  perceived,  that  the  perma- 
nence of  any  human  system,  whether  a  phil- 
osophy or  a  society,  depends  upon  the  coinci- 
dence between  its  order  and  the  order  of  cre- 
ation ;'  and  that  when  this  coincidence  exists, 
the  perceptions  of  reason  have  a  fixed  place 
and  habitation  on  the  earth,  from  which  it 
will  be  impossible  to  dislodg  them  by  any- 
thing short  of  a  crumbling  down  of  all  the 
faculties,  both  rational  and  sensual ;  a  result 
which,  iif  the  human  heart  be  imdrovinir,  the 
belief  in  a  God  forbids  us  to  anticipate.  But 
Swedenboi]^  did  not  rest,  as  the  philosophers 
do,  in  a  mere  algebraical  perception  of  the 
truth,  or  in  recognizing  a  want  without  sup- 
plying it ;  but  like  a  good  and  faithful  servant 
he  actually  expounded  a  system  of  principles 
at  one  with  nature  herself,  and  wnich  will 
attest  their  order  and  their  real  Author  by 
standing  for  ages  of  ages. 

But  his  still  email  voice  commanded  no 
attentioA,  and  what  he  predicted  took  place : 
the  sciences  were  carried  to  the  tomb,  where 
they  are  now  buried,  with  the  mini!  their  sub- 
ject, in  the  small  dust  of  modem  experience. 
This  brings  us  to  say  a  few  words  oi  the 
physiology  of  the  day 

Facts  are  the  graid  quest  of  the  present 
time,  and  these,  particular  facts:  < general 
facts  are  less  recogniz^d  now  than  they  were 
at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century;  for 
short-sightedness  has  so  incrcBsed  upon  us, 
that  we  must  look  close  in  order  to  see  dis- 


32 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom, 


linclly,  anil  hence  extended  surfaces  do  noi 
fall  under  our  vision.  The  physiologist 
defers  reasoning  until  the  accu:nulat:on  o1 
facte  is  sufficiently  i^real,  to  suggest  reasons 
out  of  lis  own  bortom.  This  is  a  step  beyond 
ordinary  materialism.  The  individual  ma- 
terialist considers  that  matter  must  be  organ- 
ized into  the  form  of  a  brain  before  it  can 
think  and  will  \  but  that  compound  materiai- 
ist,  the  scientific  world,  expects  dead  matter 
to  open  its  mouth  and  utter  wisdom,  without 
any  such  previous  process.  It  thinks  that 
at  present  there  is  not  matter  enough,  or  this 
result  would  ensue ;  little  dreaming  that  there 
is  a  fault  in  itself,  and  that  the  larger  the 
Btor^  it  possesses,  the  more  impossible  it 
will  be  to  evolve  their  princrples,  or  to  mar- 
shal them  under  a  theory  The  common 
facts  of  the  body  having  been  pretty  well  ex- 
plored, the  physiologists  aro  inwards,  and 
gatLer  further  facts.  Without  wailino;  to 
ascertain  the  import  of  these,  they  sunmit 
them  to  the  microscope,  and  as:ain  decom- 
pose them  ;  and  so  on,  to  the  limits  prescrib- 
ed by  nature  to  the  optician,  and  by  the  op- 
tician to  the  scientific  enquirer.  But  this  is 
the  field  of  leasts. more  easy  to  discern  than 
that  of  compounds ;  or  if  we  cannot  read  na- 
ture's secret  in  her  countenance,  can  we  ex- 
pect to  divine  it  from  her  very  br.iins  ?  The 
truth  is,  that  the  mo.lern  state  of  physiology 
is  la  universal  dispersion  of  even  sensual 
knowledge :  its  pretended  respect  for  facts  is 
not  real ;  otherwise  it  would  enquire  into 
their  general  significance  before  resolving 
them  into  further  elements.  It  perpetually 
illustrates  the  principle  that  facts  cannot  be 
dn'y  respected  unless  they  are  seen  as  agents 
of  use.<,  and  results  of  ends  and  causes  ;  and 
that  if  they  are  not  so  regarded,  they  become 
mere  playthings,  to  which  novelty  itself  can 
lend  scarcely  a  momentary  charm. 

But  as  every  end  progresses  through  more 
means  than  one,  so  science  is  undergoing 
dispersion  in  another  direction  also  Not 
only  are  the  generals  of  anatomy  forgottei 
fonts  particulars,  but  the  human  frame  itself 
is  in  a  great  measure  deserted  for  compara- 
tive anatomy.  The  sn  called  human  pnysi- 
ologint  pursues  his  diffuse  circle  from  ani- 
mal to  animal,  from  insect  to  insect,  and 
from  plant  to  p'ant.  Man  is  confounded  with 
the  lower  and  lowest  things,  as  if  all  the 
spheres  of  creation  were  in  one  plane  of 
orJer  The  con.-^ummation  of  this  tendency  is 
already  more  than  indicated  above  the  hori- 
zon, when  the  lowest  range  of  existence 
will  he  the  standard  of  all,  and  then  the  cHaos 
of  on^nic  nature  will  become  the  lesritimate 
properly  of  the  chemist*,  to  be  by  them-  re 
B  >lve  1  into  g-ascs  and  dead  materials  of  the 
earth. 


Another  characteristic  of  the  limes  is  th^ 
almost  total  breach  of  continuity  between 
the  present  an  '  the  past.  The  terminolofry 
of  science  is  so  much  altered  that  it  is  im* 
possible  to  read  the  older  works  with  benefit, 
unless  after  a  course  of  study  something  like 
that  requisite  for  learning  a  dead  language. 
In  consequence,  the  mere  anatomical  value 
of  the  fathers  of  anatomy  is  not  at  all  under- 
stood ;  their  rich  mines  of  observation  are  no 
longer  worked,  and  their  forgotten  d  scov- 
eries  are  now  and  then  again  discovered, 
with  all  the  pains  of  a  first  attem( .,  by  their 
ill-informed  successors.  Can  anything  be 
less  human  than  th  s, — that  the  parents 
should  transmit  so  little  to  the  children,  or 
rather  that  the  children  should  be  willing  to 
receive  so  little  from  the  parents?  It  ex- 
changes the  high  destiny  of  man  for  the  fate 
that  attends  the  races  of  animals,  in  which 
each  generation  lives  for  itself  alone,  and 
again  and  again  repeats  the  same  limited 
series,  without  improvement  or  the  posei- 
bility  of  evolution. 

In  the  midst  of  this  humiliating  condilioo, 
what  loud  sounds  do  we  not  hear  of  '*  marcb 
of  intellect"  and  "  progress  of .  the  frprtiea,' 
— so  many  discharges  from  the  impotenl  «/• 
tillery  of  self-conceit.  This  inde«J  «  tie 
last  and  worst  sign  of  a  decadent  tatnct. 
The  poor  sick  sufferer  is  delirious,  awl  pos- 
sesses for  a  moment  supeihunian  sirengti  in 
his  own  exhaustion. 

The  present  cultivators  of  science  boait 
themselves  followers  of  Bacon  in  ihe  induc- 
tive method,  apparently  grouudingtheirclaiB 
on  the  fact,  that  they  dwell  in  effects  or  in 
proximate  causes  to  the  exclusion  of  final 
causes.  It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance, 
that  each  age  since  Bacon's  time  has  consid- 
ered itself  especially  as  his  followei,  and 
that  the  present  age,'  besides  laying  thiaw*' 
tion  to  its  soul,  denies  the  ^enuinetiessof  il>( 
Baconianism  of  all  preceding  ajres.  Meai- 
while  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  if  Bacoi 
himself  were  to  publish  his  works  nov  to 
the  6r8t  time,  he  would  be  ranked  among  tiie 
mesmerists,  the  phrenologists,  and  the  odtf 
poor*genti!es  who  Are  banished  by  cotmnoa 
consent  to  the  far  islands  of  the  scientific 
world,  and  would  he  exterminateil  from  it  al- 
together if  they  were  not  preserved  in  wj* 
mysterious  way, — perhaps  by  having  tw 
truth  on  their  side.  Bacon  himself  wot»» 
belong  to  these  gentiles ;  but  would  their  an- 
tagonists then  lay  an  exclusive  claim  to  w» 
phylosophy  ?  We  apprehend  not.  ^^f '"* 
ductive  method  would  be  far  from  fashiona- 
ble if  its  larger  tendencies  were  setn,  o'  » 
the  scientific  beliefs  to  which  Bacon  himwi 
was  led  by  it,  could  be  currently  n^^ 


The  Radical  Cure  vf  Hernia. 


8» 


Would  it  not  freeze  a  Royal  Society  to  the 
very  marrow,  to  be  identified  Id  any  way 
with  a  man  who  believed,  sa  the  great  Lord 
fiacon  did,  in  witchcraft,  and  the  medicinal 
virtaes  of  precious  stones  ? 

Notwithstanding  the  unpromising  state  of 
things  in  science,  the  natural  theologians 
^  have  adventured  to  deduce  from  it "  the 
power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God  as 
manifested  in  the  creation."  Truly  the  cre- 
ation is  an  effluence  and  argument  of  divine 
wisdom.  But  in  the  present  range  of  scien- 
tific insight,  it  is  not  seen  to  do  more  than 
approximate  to  the  works  human  skill.  The 
mechanics  ol  the  watch  are  more  wonderful 
to  man  than  the  mechanics  of  the  eai  or  eye ; 
the  arch  is  the  antetype  of  which  the  convex 
skull  is  but  the  type.  Natural  theology 
baaed  on  such  science,  can  attribute  nothing 
to  Grod  which  does  not  belong  in  a  superior 
degree  to  man  Its  discoveries  are  not  worth 
making,  because  they  are  so  infinitely  tran- 
scended bv  the  perceptions  of  common  sense 
in  all  nations  and  ages.  Now  Swedenborg, 
in  bis  scientific  works,  was  a  natural  theo- 
logian, but  he  began  where  human  skill  ter- 
ramates,  and  by  the  application  of  guiding 
doctrines,  followed  the  ever-expanding  order 
of  creation  inwards  to  the  point  where  me- 
chanics and  geometry  are  realized  in  more 
«nivenaJ  laws  of  wisdom  and  providence ; 
and  where  at  last  the  human  mind  itself  re- 
cc^nizes  the  very  source  of  life  in  its  hu- 
auliaton  before  the  throne  of  God. 

But  it  would  be  far  from  the  present  line 
of  argument,  to  maintain  that  the  modems 
are  performing  no  useful  function  in  the 
*'  progress  of  the  species*"  Such  a  proposi- 
tion would  be  incompatible  with  what  we 
know  of  the  divine  economy,  in  which  hu- 
man d^eneracy  itself  is  converted  into  a 
new  point  in  the  circle  of  uses  Nay,  the 
moderns  have  their  direct  value ;  in  the  first 
place,  they  have  enlarged  the  catena  of  ob- 
aervation  in  many  departments.  In  the  se- 
cond, they  have  corrected  innumerable  mi- 
nute errors  in  their  predecessors,  who  were 
more  intent  upon  general  than  particular  ac- 
curacy. And  thirdly  and  chieny,  although 
hi  this  respect  no  credit  attaches  to  them, 
they  have  gone  so  low  in  their  enquiries, 
that  as  it  is  even  physical  I  v  impossible  to. 
go  lower,  so  by  the  law  of  the  contact  of  ex- 
tremes a  revolution  may  now  take  place, 
and  the  ascending  passage  be  commenced,  as 
it  were  from  the  skin  to  the  brain,,  or  from 
the  lowest  sphere  to  the  highest. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  suc- 
cessive stages  by  which  the  physiology  of 
the  ancients  declined  into  t&nt  of  the  mo- 
derns, to  review  the  grounds  on  which  great 
doctrines  were  given  up,  and  to  test  the  suffi- 


ciency of  the  reasons  which  were  adduced 
for  the  change.  The  state  delineated  in  the 
well-known  Jines — 


**  I  do  not  ]ik«  Uiee,  Dootor  Fell, 
The  reason  why,  I  cannot  tell  ,* 
Bat  this  alone  I  know  fall  well, 


.  do  not  like  thee,  Doctor  FelV^ 

— this  Slate  was  the  moving  cause  of  it.  In 
short,  it  was  a  change  in  tne  human  will* 
and  not  primarily  in  the  underatanding, 
which  faculty  appears  to  have  been  caU^ 
upon  subsequently,  to  confirm  the  new  turn 
of  the  inclinations.  Such  at  any  rate  we 
know  to  be  the  case  with  the  doctrijie  of  the 
animal  spirits,  which,  as  Glisson  said,  was 
in  his  time  believed  in  "  by  nearly  all  phy- 
sicians, and  by  all  philosophers."  It  mi^ht 
have  been  supposed  that  the  animal  spirits 
were  demonstrated  out  of  existence  by  some 
beneficent  gt^nius  who  substituted  something 
better  in  their  place ;  at  least  that  they  fell 
honorably  in  a  well  fought  field  of  aigument. 
No  such  thing;  they  fell  by  the  treachery 
of  the  human  heart  loving  the  sensual  sphere 
more  than  the  intellectual.  Is  such  mere 
waywardness  as  this  a  part  of  the  "  progress 
of  the  species  ?"  The  ancients  believed  in 
the  existence  of  the  animal  spirits  without 
pretending  that  they  could  become  objecs  of 
sight.  **Tam  subtile  sit  concipiendum 
[nuidum  hoc  subtilissimum],"  says  Ueister, 
*' .  .  .  ut  instar  lucis  velocissime  se  ditfudat ; 
quod  profecto  non  oculis,  sed  ex  efTectibus 
et  phaenomenis, . .  .  ope  judicii  sive  mentis 
oculis  cognoscendum .  .  .  .  Ita  aerem,  ani- 
mam,  et  multa  non  videmus,  que  tamen  ex 
e^ctibus,  <juemadmodum  spiritus  animates, 
esse  et  existere  intelligimus."*  But  the 
moderns  reject  whatever  they  do  not  see, 
and  will  credit  the  existence  of  nothing  thiit 
absolutely  outlies,  and  must  in  its  conditions 
for  ever  outlie,  the  senses.  ,It  is  needless  to 
say  that  a  state  like  this  is  based  upon 
neither  reaons  nor  sensatons,  but  is  purely 
negative  or  sceptical,  and  must  be  referred 
to  sheer  will  without  any  admixture  of 
wisdom. 

Th«  Radical  Owe  of  Hernia  by  Ii^eotioB. 

We  find^in  the  British  and  Foreign  Review^ 
as  an  extract  from  Dr.  Pancoast*s  Operative 
Surgery,  the  following  description  of  an 
operation,  which,  if  not  altogether  new,  is 
not  practised  in  this  country  The  results 
are  such  as  to  claim  for  it  the  attention  of  our 
operative  surgeons : — 

"  The  contents  of  the  hernia  must  be  com- 
pletely returned  into  the  cavity  ol  the  abdo- 
men, for  the  process  is  only  appropriate  to 
cases  of  reducible  hernia,  and  those  which 
are  not  of  large  size.    The  apparatus  re- 

*  Cemp.  4iiat,  n.  901,  aot.  a. 


34 


Phosphorus  Paste  for  Rats  and  Mice. 


quired  is  a  minute  trocar  and  can u la,  a  small 
graduated  syringe,  capable  of  containing  a 
drachm  of  fluid,  well  hiled  to  the  end  of  the 
canula,  and  a  good-fitting  truss  for  the  pur- 
pose o\  making  compression.  The  patient 
18  to  be  placed  on  his  back ;  the  viscera  are 
then  to  be  reduced,  and  the  truss  api«liedover 
the  external  ring  for  the  purpose  of  keeping 
them  up,  as  well  as  to  prevent  the  possibility 
of  the  small  quanity  of  fluid  thrown  in  from 
getting  into  the  cavity  of  the  ahdomeii. 
The  surgeon  then  presses  with  the  finger  at 
the  external  ring  so  as  to  displace  the  cord 
inwards  and  bring  the  pulpy  end  of  the  fin- 
ger on  the  spine  of  the  pubis.  At  the  outer 
side  of  the  finger  he  now  enters  with  a  dril- 
ling motion  the  trocar  and  canula  till  he  feels 
the  point  strike  the  horizontal  portion  of  the 
pubis  just  to  the  inner  sule  of  the  spine  of 
that  bone.  The  point  is  then  to  be  slightly 
retracted  and  turned  upwards  or  downwards; 
the  instrument  is  then  to  be  further  intro- 
duced till  the  point  moves  freely  in  all  direc- 
tions, showing  it  to  be  fairly  lodged  in  the 
cavity  of  the  sac.  The  point  of  the  instru- 
ment should  now  be  turned  into  the  inguinal 
canal,  for  the  purpose- of  scarifying  freely 
the  inner  surface  of  the  upper  part  of  the  sac, 
as  well  as  that  just  below  the  internal  ring. 
The  trocar  is  now  to  be  withdrawn,  and  the 
surgeon,  again  ascertaining  that  the  canula 
has  not  heen  displaced  from  the  cavity  of 
the  sac,  throws  in  slowly  and  cautiously 
with  the  syringe,  which  should  be  held  near- 
ly vertical,  half  a  drachm  of  Lugol's  solution 
of  iodine,  or  half  a  drachm  of  the  tincture  of 
cantharides,  which  should  be  lodged  as  near- 
ly as  may  be  at  the  orifice  of  the  external 
ring.  The  canula  is  now  to  be  removed, 
ana  the  operation  is  completed.  A  compress 
should  be  laid  above  the  upper  margin  of  the 
external  ring,  pressed  down  firmly  with  the 
finger,  and  the  truss  slid  down  upon  it.  The 
patient  is  to  be  kept  from  changing  his  posi- 
tion during  the  application  of  ine  truss,  and 
should  be  confined  for  a  week  or  ten  days  to 
his  bed,  with  his  thighs  and  thorax  flrxed, 
keeping  up  steadily  as  much  pressure  with 
the  truss  as  can  be  borne  without  increa.««ing 
the  pain,  in  order  to  prevent  the  viscera  from 
descending  and  breaking  up  the  new  adhe- 
sions while  they  are  yet  m  the  forming  state, 
or  avoiding  the  risk  of  their  becoming  stran- 
gulated or  being  rendered  irreducible  by  the 
lymph  effused  into  the  cavity  of  the  sac. 

**  The  author  has  practised  this  operation 
in  thirteen  different  cases,  in  but  one  of  which 
there  was  any  peritoneal  soreness  developed 
that  excited  the  slightest  apprehension,  and 
in  this  case  it  subsided  under  the  application 
of  leeches  and  fomentations.  In  several  of 
tb«se  eases  a  single  operation  appeared  to  be 


perfectly  sxiccessful.  In  others — where  th« 
sac  was  larger,  or  the  patient  was  less  care- 
ful in  keeping  the  truss  steadily  applied  du- 
ring the  first  week,  or  from  a  cautiousneas 
in  introducing  in  the  first  cases  a  more  lim- 
ited amount  of  fluid— the  effect  was  merely 
to  nariow  the  sac,  rendering  a  repetition  of 
the  process  necessary  for  the  cure.  Of  the 
permanency  of  tbe  cure,  during  atverd  yean 
after  the  operation,  the  author  is  unable  to 
speak,  most  of  the  patients  operated  on  being 
temporary  residents  of  the  Philadelphia  Hos- 
pital, and  passing  after  a  few  months  beyond 
the  reach  of  enquiry.  While  under  the  cog- 
nisance of  the  author,  they  were  employed 
without  a  truss  as  labourers  on  the  farm  at- 
tached to  the  institution,  and  in  no  one  of 
the  cases,  during  this  period,  had  the  beraial 
tumour  recurred." 

Phoiphonis  Paste  for  the  Deetr notion  of  Httf 
and  Mioe. 

By  M.  Simon,  of  Berlin 

The  Prussian  government  issued  an  ordon- 
nance  on  the  27th  of  April,  1843,  directing  the 
following  composition  to  be  substituted  for  ar- 
senic, for  destroying  fats  and  mice,  enjoining 
the  authorities  of  tbe  different  provinces  to 
communicate,  at  the  expiration  of  a  year,  the 
results  of  the  trials  made  with  it,  with  the 
view  of  framing  a  law  on  this  subject 

The  following  is  the  lormuh  for  thip  paste, 
as  published  in  the  Berliner  lf«dicmt«fc« 
Zeiun^.— 

Take  of  phosphorus,  eight  parts,  utmf 
it  in  180  parts  of  iuke-warm  water,  pour  tbe 
whole  into  a  mortar,  and  add  immediately  180 
parts  of  rye-meal;  when  cold,  mix  in  180 
parts  of  butter  melted,  and  125  parts  of 
sugar.  . 

If  the  phosphorus  is  in  a  finely-divided 
state,  the  ingredients  may  be  all  mixed  at 
once,  without  melting  them. 

This  mixture  will  retain  its  efficacy  w» 
many  years,  for  the  phosphorus  is  prcserred 
by  the  butter,  and  only  becomes  oxydized  oi 
the  surface. 

Rats  and  mice  eat  this  mixture  with  aw 
ity,  after  which  they  swell  out  and  soon  me. 

TM.  Simon  has  emt>loyed  this  mixture  for 
many  years,  with  constant  success,  by  ptar 
cing  it  in  places  frequented  by  those  aniiM* 
According  to  him,  the  phosphorus  is  lejj 
dangerous  than  arsenic,  for  supposing  the 
mixture  to  be  badly  made,  and  the  pbosDW- 
rus  imperfectly  divided,  the  oxydation  wbjcfl 
would  take  place  in  a  few  days  would  ren* 
der  it  nearly  inactive;  and  it  would  be  ai* 
most  impossible  to  employ  it  for  the  in^ 
tional  poisoning  of  human  beings— M»'^ 
de  Chmie  Medicale, 


Professor  Mott's  Clinique. 


35 


i 


PUBLIC  REWARDS  FOR  NEW 
MEDICINES. 

To  tJi«  Editor  of  Thb  Lamobt. 

Sir, — Iq  connection  with  those  portions 
of  medical  polity  which  require  reform,  there 
18  one  point  yet  unnoticed,  which,  though  it 
may  be  considered  of  minor  import,  should 
not,  I  think,  escape  attention. 

According  to  the  present  state  of  the  law, 
any  discovery,  or  special  improvement  in  the 
arts,  may  be  protected  and  secured  for  the 
advantage  of  the  individual  from  whom  it 
has  emanated.  It  has  been  attempted  to  ex- 
tend the  same  principle  to  medicines,  but  in  a 
different,  and  erroneous,  manner ;  pretended 
discoveries  in  the  shape  of  medicinal  compo 
sitions  being  at  once  protected  and  recom 
mended  by  a  government  stamp,  without 
regard  to  intrinsic  merits.  Thus  the  pub- 
lic is  cursed  with  the  monstrous  evil  of 
quack  medicines,  of  varied  denominations; 
and  ignorant  and  unprincipled  individuals 
fatten  on  the  credulity  and  misery  of  their 
victims.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  a  new 
and  useful  simple  remedy  is  to  be  introduced 
to  the  profession,  or  any  important  modifi 
cation  of  an  old  one  suggested,  what  will  it 
avail  the  originator .'  A  chemist  may  fairly 
retsdn  his  secret,  though  perchance  he  can 
turn  it  to  little  advantage ;  but  odium  and 
discredit  will  accrue  to  the  professional  man 
who  attempts  to  retain  the  fruit  of  his  men- 
tal labour  to  his  own  benefit.  Philanthropy 
is  compulsory  on  him,  and  he  must  give  up 
the  produce  of  his  mind  with  but  little  chance 
of  any  return  accruing  to  him,  in  the  shape 
of  emolument,  or  even  of  reputation,  which 
may  be  titched  from  him  by  those  whose 
position,  or  fictitious  professional  rank, 
enable  them  to  turn  the  discovery  to  advan- 
tage, and  who,  themselves,  possesing  no 
original  ideas,  are  apt  to  make  free  with  those 
of  others,  and  kindly  adopt  them  as  their 
own. 

Should  a  Board  of  Health  constitute  an 
element  in  the  future  re- organization  of  the 
profession,  might  it  not  be  empowered  to 
recognise  and  reward  such  medicinal  discov- 
eries as  should  be  deemed  of  sufficient  value. 
I  am.  Sir, Your  obedient  servant, 

Butler  Lan£,  Surgeon. 

FROM  A  CORRESPONDENT. 

Mr.  Power,  dentist,  Stephen's  Green, 
Dublin,  has  found  it  desirable,  in  the  course 
of  his  professional  duties,  after  the  extraction 
of  a  tooth,  that  the  gum  should  not  be  closed, 
as  the  natural  spreading  of  the  adjoinihe  teeth 
on  either  side  of  the  tooth  which  has  been 
extracted  is  thereby  prevented.  When  the 
jaw  has  received  injury,  in  the  course  of  a 
rude  operation,  it  is  judicious  to  bring  the 
parts  into  contract 


FBOF.  MOTTS  OLIHIQirB. 
At  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Univer* 

sityofN.  F.,  Saturday,  Sept  6th,  1845, 
SPINAL  IRRITATION. 

1st  Case  was  a  female,  stat  30,  unmarried, 
said  that  about  sixteen  years  ago,  when 
walking  very  fast,  she  suddenly  felt  a  severe 
pain  in  tier  back,  (lumbar  region,)  down  the 
thigbs,  and  about  the  public  re«pon,  which 
has  continued  ever  since  Her  general 
health  is  pretty  good  most  of  the  time.  There 
appeared  to  be  no  uterine  derangement.  The 
case  seemed  to  partake  more  of  spinal  irrita* 
tion  than  any  thing  else,  although  the  diag- 
nosis was  rather  obscure.  Recommended 
counter  irritants  to  the  spine. 

ANGULAR  PROJECTION  OF  THE 
SPINE. 

II  Boy,  aetat  4,  general"  health  pretty 
good,  has  had  disease  of  the  spine  about 
three  years,  angular  projection,  Maladic  de 
Pott  of  the  French.  ITie  Professor  cave  an 
interesting  history-  of  the  disease,  and  of  Dr. 
Potts"  discovering  the  mode  of  treating  it  by 
issues,  by  mere  accident,  in  observing  a  case 
in  which  there  was  a  spontaneous  issue 
formed  by  nature,  whereby  the  patient  re- 
covered. He  spoke  very  much  against  the 
practice  which  soir.e  physicians  are  in,  of 
appl3ang  pressure  on  the  angular  projection, 
a  disease  totally  different  from  cuivature  of 
the  spine,  and  hence  a  different  mode  of 
treatment  must  be  pursued.  Spoke  of  the 
importance  of  explaining  fully  tne  nature  of 
the  disease  to  parents  of  such  children,  as  are 
afflicted  with  this  most  tedious  and  trouble- 
some disease ;  never  promise  too  much. 

In  the  present  case  he  recommended  a  ge- 
nerous diet,  and  keeping  the  patient,  as  much 
as  possible,  lying  on'  his  abdomen,  and  a  pea 
issue  to  be  applied  on  one  side  of  the  projec- 
tion at  first,  and  in  a  little  time,  put  one  on 
both  sides  and  keep  them  constantly  dis- 
charging. All  patients  having  this  disease 
are  of  a  scrofulous  diathesis,  which  must 
always  be  kept  in  view  in  the  treatment. 
HIP  JOINT  DISEASE. 

III.  Little  girl,  aetat.  6,  -has  incipient 
morbus  coxalgia.  She  first  complained  of  a 
pain  in  her  right  knee,  some  two  or  three 
weeks  since,  which  has  been  so  severe  at 
times,  that  she  couW  not  stand  or  walk  on 
that  limb;  she  said  nothing  of  any  ailment 
of  the  hip,  which  is  usual  in  such  cases. 
The  affected  thigh  appears  longer  at  first, 
and  by  pressing  on  the  anterior  part  of  the 
capsular  ligament,  by  raisins  up  the  limb, 
causes  pain.  Prognosis  ramer  uncertain. 
Recommended  three  leeches  to  be  applied 
just  back  of  the  trochanter  major,  and  three 
near  the  groin.    R.  Mag.  SulpL  Mag.  Cal. 


36 


Professor  Motfs  Clinique. 


in  small  doses,  and  counter  irritants  here- 
after about  the  hip  joint 

Prof*  Parker's  Ollnlqv*. 
At  ike  ColUge  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
Monday,  Sept.  f^tk,  1845. 
Bjcro&E  commencing,  the  Doctor  exhibited 
a  truss,  which  he  said  possessed  some  ad- 
yantages  over  most  others,  it  havinj^  a  ball 
and  socket  joiiit  to  hold  the  pad,  which  was 
eonrex.  The  truss  was  invented  in  New 
Orleans,  quite  recently,  and.  has  not  got  into 
general  use  yet. 

SCROFULOUS  ABSCESS. 

II.  Female,  aetat.  28,  married, — has  an 
abscess  in  the  calf  of  the  leg,  of  one  year's 
stafiding.  Patient  is  of  a  scrofulous  nabit, 
general  health  delicate, has  considerable  irri- 
tation of  the  stomach,  enlarged  lymphatic 
glands,  &c.,  with  the  usual  symptoms  of 
scrofula. 

The  sore  presents  something  of  a  syphili- 
tic taint, — indurated  and  ragged  edges,  and 
partakes  a  little  of  a  cancerous  appearance, 
but  the  Professor  thought  it  was  neither ;  it 
being  merely  a  scrofulous  abscess  in  the 
skin  and  cellular  tissue,  about  the  size  of 
the  top  of  a  tea-cup.  There  was  a  similar 
one  on  the  other  leg,  although  it  had  never 
softened  down  like  this.  She  has  taken  a 
great  variety  of  medicine.  The  Professor 
recommended  constitutional  and  alteratire 
treatment,  but  if  there  was  any  tendency  to 
disease  of  the  lungs,  avoid  the  use  of  mercu- 
rials; use  lod,  potass,  lod.  ferri.,  rumex. 
and  taraxacum.  He  does  not  think  there  is 
much  virtue  in  sarsaparilla.  Use  as  a  lotion 
either  black  or  yellow  wash.  Exercise  by 
riding,  but  avoid  walkinj^  as  much  as  possi- 
ble,—use  a  generous  diet.  The  prognosis 
was  somewhat  doubtful. 

FISTULO  INANO. 

III.  Boy.  aet.  7, — has  been  troubled  with 
it  since  he  was  two  years  old.  The  Profes- 
sor made  an  examination,  but  could  not  de- 
tect any  ulceration  into  the  gut ;  concluded 
to  defer  an  operation ;  and  recommended 
keeping  the  bowels  free.  The  Professor 
made  some  remarks  about  S  r  Benj.  Brodie*s 
paper  of  a  few  years  since,  which  says  that 
such  cases  always  commence  from  an  ulcer 
on  the  inside  of  the  gut. 

ABSCESS  OF  THE  RIGHT  MAMMA. 

IV.  This  was  a  very  interesting  case,  in 
as  much  as  such  cases  are  exceedingly  rare. 
The  subject  is  nearly  forty  years  of  age,  and 
is  now  in  her  sixth  month  of  pregnancy. 
About  two  years  since,  she  hsui  an  abscess 
in  the  axilla  of  that  side,  whiah  she  refers 
to  baying  sawed  wood ;  it  opened  of  itself 


and  discharged,  after  which,  she  ss^s  there 
came  a  "  lump  in  her  breast,**  which  was 
opened  and  healed  up.  Now  since  there 
ha9  been  a  new  action  excited  iq  the  parts 
by  her  present  condition,  the  former  difficult 
returns  Treatment;  recommended  poulti- 
cing for  a  few  days  and  then  open  it,  and 
after  a  little  time,  he  thought  best  to  draw  in 
a  seton.  He  thought  that  by  careful  treat- 
ment, she  might  te  enabled  to  get  along 
without  further  difficulty  of  the  kind. 
OSTEO.  SARCOMA. 

V.  Patient,  aet   28, — has  been  a  man  of 
intemperate  habits,  had  the  venerial  diaesK 
two  or  three  times,  and  has  been  trouUed 
with  pains  in  the  different  joints  for  two 
years,  but  for  the  last  fifteen  months  tbe 
pain  has  settled  down  into  his  left  knee. 
Patient  has  thought  his  disease  rheumatic 
and  resorted  to  various  kinds  of  treatmeot 
for  it,  hone  of  which  has  done  him  any 
good.    The  pain  has  been  so  intense  fori 
short  time  past,  that  he  has  been  obliged  lo 
take  large  doses  of  laudanum.    There  is  no 
discoloration  of  the  skin  about  the  knee, 
although  there  appears  to  be  some  little 
efiusion  about  the  igint.    The  line  of  demar- 
kation  could  be  distinctly  felt  aboot  two 
inches  from  the  knee  joint  on  the  femur;  the 
bone  being  a  little  enlarged.    The  FrdeuN 
advised  the  patient  to  have  the  limb  amputa- 
ted; but  an  he  declined  that,  the  doctor 
recommended  the  free  application  of  TincL 
iodidi,  daily,  but  gave  it  as  his  opinion,  that 
the  leg  would  have  to  be  amputated  sooner 
or  later. 

DOUBLE  INGUINAL  HERNIA. 

VI.  Double  inguinal  hernia  in  a  cbiU 
eight  months  old.  Professor  deferred  tke 
case  for  a  while,  on  account  of  age. 

There  were  several  other  cases,  but  aj 
they  were  of  so  little  importance,  we  win 
not  give  them.  A  large  number  of  petieati 
were  in  waiting  to  tale  their  turns,  but» 
the  hour  had  expired,  they  were  prescribe 
for  in  the  back  room. 

Prof.  Mott's  OlfnlqM. 
Saturday,  Sept,  27th,  1845. 
HAEMOPTYSIS. 
1st  Case.    Patient  was  bom  in  Oaa^ 
aet.  22,— has  had  shooting  pains  tbrojp 
the  chest,  and  some  cough,  for  four  or  fiw 
years  past,  but  quite  recently  he  has  m 
several  attacks  of  bleeding  from  *cIiu>P' 
followed  by  an  increase  of  coueh.  "^JP^* 
eral  health  appears  quite  good.    ^^^ 
recommended  him  to  go  south  if  be  couw 
make  it  advantageous,  in  a  pwoniary  way,-- 
uae  a  generousVegelable  diet,  to  iMtain  tw 


J 


Prafesaor  Parker's  Clinique 


ST 


general  system,  and  have  an  issue  applied  to 
the  chest.  'He  spoke  of  the  old  American 
practice  of  asing  calomel,  squill  and  opium, 
m  such  cases  where  there  was  much  bron- 
chial afiection.  The  practice  is  peculiar  to 
this  country,  although  the  English  are  be- 
ifinning  to  adopt  it.  In  this  case,  he  advises 
small  doses  of  calomel,  to  be  given  as  an 
alterative,  but  not  to  go  so  far  as  to  salivate 
him. 

CONJUNCTIVITIS, 
n.  A  little  girl,  aet.  8, — has  had  the  dis- 
ease for  some  weeks  past.  Ordered  three 
leeches  to  be  applied  to  each  temple,  and  an 
dSusion  of  poppy-heads  to  bathe  the  eyes 
daily  Keep  the  bowels  free  by  the  use  of 
Mag,  SuJph. 

STAMMERING. 

III.  A  boy  was  brought  from  the  country 
to  be  operated  on  for  stammering,  but  after 
hearing  an  explanation  of  the  operation,  and 
not  receiving  much  encouragement  as  to  the 
result,  he  declined  it 

It  may  be  well  for  us  to  state  that  the 
Doctor  does  not  perform  the  operation  for 
stammering,  as  often  as  he  did  soon  after  his 
return  from  Paris.  The  operation  does  not 
prove  as  successful  as  was  thought  at  first, 
aJthough  there  have  never  been  any  bad 
results  from  it  to  bur  knowledge  — Ed. 
.  AN  UNUSUAL  ENLARGEMENT  OF 
THE  LYMPHATIC  GLANDS. 

IV.  Patient,  aet.  47,  blacksmith  by  trade, 
— has  been  a  very  hard  working  man,  but 
sometimes  indulged  iu  intemperate  habits. 
The  disease  commenced  about  five  years 
ago,  and  the  glands  of  the  neck,  axilla,  and 
groin,  have  continued  to  enlarge  gradually 
xip  to  the  present  time ;  they  are  now  about 
the  size  of  a  hen's  eg^,  on  an  average,  but 
some  are  larger,  particularly  those  of  the 
axilla  and  groins. 

There  has  been  of  late,  a  little  tendency 
to  anasarca,  although  the  general  health  is 
pretty  good.  Patient  said  he  had  always 
Deen  remarkably  healthy,  and  his  children 
also  were  very  healthy. .  The  Doctor 
tbouffht  it  a  scrofulous  aflection.  Recom- 
mended the  external  use  of  Tine,  lodi,  and 
lod,  potass.,  to  be  taken  internally,  in  a  de- 
coction of  yellow  dock.  The  disease  was 
quite  too  extensive  to  think  of  operating. 
SPONTANEOUS  PARAPLEGIA. 

V.  Patient,  aet.  57,  bom  in  Scotland, — in 
the  early  part  of  his  life,  followed  mining. 
The  disease  came  on  about  eight  years  ago, 
and  has  remained  about  the  same  ever  since; 
he  has  no  use  of  the  lep :  bowels  costive 
and  the  usual  inconvemence,  attendant  on 
such  cases.    Recommended  an  issue  in  the 


lumbar  region,  electro-magnetism,  and  the 
use  of  the  Rhus  toxicodendron. 

The  use  of  this  remedy  seems  lately  to 
have  been  revived  m  the  treatment  of  para- 
lysis.— Ed- 

ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  LYMPHATIC 
GLANDS 

VI.  Female,  aet.  25,  married, — has  en- 
largement of  the  lymyhatic  glands  of  the 
neck,  which  commenced  about  two  years 
ago,  during  her  accouchment,  and  have  some- 
what increased  since  The  disease  is  purely 
scrofulous.  Recommended  generous  living, 
and  a  tonic  course  to  be  pursued. 

Bs.  Tinct.  cinchon.  f.  ^  viij. 
Hydrar.  bichlorid.  gr.  iv. 
Dose,  a  tea-spoon  full  three  times  a  day. 
R.  Hydrar  bichlorid,  gr.  vj. 
Adipis,  5  j. 
M.  ft.  ung. 
Rub  the  enlarged  glands  morning  and  eve- 
ning, with  the  ung.,  and  apply  oiled  silk. 
STRABISMUS. 

VII.  Patient,  female,  aet.  about  20, — she 
has  had  converging  squint  since  she  was  a 
year  and  a  half  old.  Tjie  Professor  operated 
successfully. 

Proff  Purker'a  011nlqii«. 

Mooday,  &p.',  29, 1845. 

SPINA  BIFIDA. 

IsT  Casje.  An  infant,  four  weeks  old,  well 
formed  and  healthy ;  has  a  tumor  about  the 
size  of  a  large  hen's  ege,  situated  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  dorsal  vertebrae.  Hie 
base  of  the  tumor  is  of  the  natural  color  of 
the  skin,  but  the  top  has  a  diaphanous  ap- 
pearance. The  Professor  made  some  re- 
marks about  the  disease  in  general.  It  is 
called,  spina  bifida,  because  the  vertebrae  are 
not  able  to  unite  on  account  of  the  watery 
tumor.  We  more  frecjuently  see  them  in  the 
sacral  or  lumbar  region,  but  they  do  occur 
at  all  parts  of  the  spine,  and  sometimes  in 
the  whole  length  at  once ;  but  very  seldom 
in  the  cervical  region.  The  pathology  of 
the  disease  is  a  hydropic  condition  of  the 
parts,  arising  from  congenital  hydrocephalus. 
The  water,  descending  from  the  brain,  along 
the  spinal  canal,  before  the  arches  of  the 
vertebrae  are  formed,  accumulates,  and  thus 
a  tumor  is  produced.  The  foetus  is  subject 
to  many  other  diseases  in  utero,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  convulsions  which 
are  probaoly  the  cause  of  congenital  club 
foot 

Treatment:  various  kinds  of  treatment 
have  been  tried  in  the  disease,  but  commonly 
they  all  fail;  compression  would  cause  con- 
yalsions  and  kill  the  patient;  ligation  has 


38 


Violent  Chorea  St.   Viti. 


been  tried,  and  sometimes  successfully,  but 
there  is  a  great  objection  to  it  on  account  of 
the  bundle  *»f  nerves  which  is  id  ways  pre- 
sent, and  is  liable  to  be  involved  in  the  liga- 
ture. Acupuncturation  is  another  mode  of 
treating  them,  which  is  the  most  approved 
of,  now-a-days;  it  is  done  by  taking  a  fine 
needle  and  puncturing  the  tumor  thirty  or 
forty  times,  and  letting  the  water  off,  which 
causes  inflammation  and  thickening  of  the 
walls  The  operation  must  be  repeated 
several  times,  or  as  often  as  the  water  accu- 
mulates. 

STRABISMUS. 

II  Patient,  boy,  aeta.  7, — Professor  ope- 
rated successfully.  He  made  some  remarks 
about  the  operation  having  been  bro  ight 
into  disrepute,  by  beine  done  by  those  who 
do  not  understand  it  fully, — it  is  much  more 
of  an  operation,  than  many  suppose.  The 
operation  may  fail,  if  done  in  the  best  man- 
ner, owing  to  the  paralysis  of  the  opposite 
recti  muscle.  The  operation  sometimes,  has 
to  be  repeated  several  times  before  the  eye  is 
fully  straightened. 

TUBERCULATED  TONSILS. 

in.  Patient,  female,  aetat.  28, — general 
health  good.  On  first  examining  the  tonsils, 
they  pre.^nted  the  appearance  of  having  had 
nitrate  of  silver  applied  to  them,  but  upon  a 
more  close  examination,  they  were  found  to 
contain  hard  cheesy  matter.  The  Professor 
took  away  a  portion  of  th«  matter  with  the 
forceps,  and  ordered  the  throat  to  be  gargled 
with  some  of  the  mineral  acids,  either  the 
nitric  or  muriatic  diluted. 

SECONDARY  SYPHILIS. 

IV.  Patient,  aet  41, — been  married  nine- 
teen years,  has  not  had  the  primary  disease 
since  he  was  married.  About  two  years  ago, 
he  had  pains,  which  he  thought  were  rheu- 
matic, and  have  continued  since  they  first 
begun,  in  the  shafts  of  the  bones  iiistead  of 
the  joints,  and  across  the  forehead.  There 
is  an  eruption  about  the  nose,  and  ulcers 
about  the  ankles. 

Syphi lytic  rheumatism  may  be  distinguish- 
ed from  common  rheumatism,  by  the  pains 
coming  on  in  the  afternoon  between  three 
and  five  o*clock,  and  also,  from  ifs  being  in 
the  shafts  of  the  bones  instead  of  the  joints; 
whereas,  in  the  latter  disease,  the  pain  gen- 
erally comes  on  after  the  patient  goes  to  oed, 
and  is  confined  to  the  joints  generally.  Pre- 
scribed good  full  diet,  keep  the  bowels  free, 
and  put  him  on  the  use  of  Hydriod.  potass., 
cicuta,  rumex  and  taraxicum. 

DISLOCATION  OF  THE  SHOULDER. 

V.  Patient,  ©t.  34, — is  a  carpenter  by 
tnAti  and  is  a  strong  athletic  man ;  says  he 


has  had  it  out  of  place  an  hundred  times 
within  a  year  past;  it  slips  out  freauently 
when  he  is  at  work  at  his  trade  He  very 
commonly  secures  the  arm  in  his  work  vice, 
and  puts  the  bone  in  the  place.  There  is 
considerable  soreness  about  the  joint,  which 
is  owing  to  some  inflammation ;  probably  a 
portion  of  the  lower  part  of  the  capsolar 
ligament  is  torn  away,  and  hence  the  head 
of  the  bone  slips  out  of  the  socket  so  easily. 
The  Professor  put  it  out  and  in  its  place, 
two  or  three  times,  to  fully  satisfy  himsielf  as 
to  its  nature.  Ordered:  cupping  over  the 
joint,  and  bathing  it  in  warm  water  for  a  few 
days,  and  then  use  the  cold  douche. 

ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  TONSILS. 

VI.  Patient,  aet.  12,-7Constitution  delicate, 
has  had  enlargement  of  the  tonsils  for  a  year 
or  more,  without  much  diminution  in  size 
from  the  first.  Enlarged  tonsils  in  children 
should  always  be  attended  to  early-~thc 
enlargement  obstructs  the  breathing,  and 
often  gives  rise  to  pulmonary  disease.  Sucb 
children  frequently  are  "pigeon  breasted,* 
owing  to  their  position  in  sleeping,  throwing 
the  thorax  forward,  head  back,  and  ^oQtE 
open.    The  Professor  removed  a  part  of  ih» 

f;land,  with  an  instrument  for  that  purpose 
t  is  always  better  to  use  the  tonsil  msiin' 
ment  in  children;  but  in  an  adult,  a  commoa 
bistoury  and  hook,  will  do  equally  as  well. 
NECROLIS  AND  SEPARATION  OF  THE 
LOWER  JAW. 
VII  Patient,  ajt.  50,— had  been  In  the 
Hospital  in  Montreal,  Canada,  three  months 
where  he  was  profusely  salivated,  but  did 
not  seem  to  know  for  what  plirpose,  or  even 
why  he  went  to  the  hospital  at  all,— appeaw 
to  be  a  very  worthless  fellow.  He  came  onl 
of  the  Hospital  in  Montreal,  about  six  weeki 
since,  and  is  now  suffering  from  the  efiectaof 
ptyalism. 

The  inferior  maxilla  is  divided  at  the  sym- 
physis, and  one  of  the  inci.'ssor  teeth  has  been 
taken  out  at  this  point.  The  Professor  re- 
commended him  to  go  to  tfie  hospital,  as  be 
had  no  home;  but  said  he  should  merely 
have  the  fissure  injected  with  some  of  the 
diluted  mineral  acids. 

T)m  Xr«w  York  Hospital. 
Attendance  of  Dr.  John  H.  Drmon. 
VIOLENT  CHOREA  ST.  VITI;— CURED 
BY  STRICHNINE. 
The  subject  of  the  following  history,  pre- 
sented-the  most  violent  case  of  St  Vitus' 
Dance  we  have  ever  seen.    It  will  be  recol- 
lected by  many  students,  and  others  vM 
witnessed  it,  as  having  been  characterised  hy 
the  peculiar  jactitation  of  the  extiwnities, 


Professor  Parker's  Clinique. 


39 


L 


particularly  the  lower,  when  walking,  from 
which  it  was  called  the  "  Polka  case." 

Eliza  Holstappen,  aged  19,  born  in  Ger- 
many, single.  Kntered  July  24,  1845.  Is 
of  large  frame  and  robust  appearance. 
Has  had  amenorrhea  four  months,  but 
otherwise  has  enjoyed  good  health,'  until 
about  three  weeks  since  her  friends  noticed 
a  twitching  of  muscles.  This  increased  un- 
til there  was  involuntary  motion  of  all  her 
limbs  Upon  admission,  she  was  unable  to 
remain  in  bed,  so  that  she  was  obliged  to  be 
kept  on  the  floor.  Her  bowels  being  open- 
ed, she  was  put  upon  Fowler's  Solution,  gtt. 
lY.  ter  in  die.  Tnis  was  increased  to  every 
two  hours  by  the  fourth  day,  but  her  motions 
became  more  frequent  and  strong,  so  that  sUe 
could  not  be  restrained  on  the  mattress,  and 
tore  her  clothes  from  her  body.  Her  nights 
were  sleepless,  and  she  constantly  screamed, 
although  perfectly  sensible. 

On  the  2d  of  August,  she  was  put  upon 
Carb.  Ferri,  which  was  continued  for  three 
4a,y%,  the  patient  being  at  the  same  time 
freely  purged  with  Croton  and  Castor  Oil. 
This  did  not  produce  much  benefit.  As 
soon. as  evening  came  on,  her  motions  be- 
came more  and  more  convulsive,  and  her 
screams  ioud  and  incessant.  For  several^ 
m'ghts  in  succession,  she  was  obliged  to  be 
tied  hand  and  foot  to  the  bedstead,  perfectly 
oaked,  as  no  covering  could  be  kept  on  her. 
During  the  day,  she  was  more  pacific. 

On  the  12th,  we  began  the  use  of  Pil. 
Strychnine,  gr,  1-16,  ter  in  die.  The  effect 
of  this  was  almost  immediate  and  very 
marked.  It  was  continued  four  days,  in  the 
above  quantity  with  evident  improvement, 
her  nights  being  more  quiet,  and  some  sleep 
obtained. 

On  die  16th,  the  pill  was  increased  to  1-12 
gr.  This  night  she  slept  for  an  hour  or 
more  together,  in  a  chair. 

17th,  Last  night  she  slept  in  bed,  quietly 
for  several  hours,  and  this  morning  toas  able 
to  sew.  She  walks  about,  although  her 
motions  are  still  violent.  Has  been  on  the 
use  of  the  medicine  just  one  week. 

19th»  The  last  two  nights  the  patient  has 
slept  perfectly  well  during  the  whole  night, 
\^thoat  any  noise ;  walks  now  tolerably 
straight;  and  visits  the  other  n^ards.  Her 
appetite  is  very  great.  During  the  whole  of 
the  attack,  her  mind  has  been  entirely  free 
from  any  delusion.  She  still  continues  the 
Strychnine  3  gr.  ter  in  die,  with  progressive 
improvement.  During  the  last  two  days  she 
has  occasionally  complained  of  headache. 

Sept.  1st.  Olir  patient  rapidly  improved 
under  this  treatment,  continued  until  within 
a  few  days,  when  she  being  apparently  well, 
it  was  stopped,  and  no  symptom  of  a  relapse 


appearing,  she  was  to  day  discharged  cured. 
The  pathology  of  Chorea,  is  amone  the 
mysteries  of  the  science.  The  arsenicm  and 
ferruginous  preparations,  and  drastic  purga- 
tives, which  have  either  ^ne  or  the  other, 
generally  succeeded  in  relieving  the  symp- 
toms, having  in  this  case  entirely  failed,  the 
determination  to  try  the  Strychnine  was 
made  on  the  supposition  of  the  condition  of 
the  nerves  in  this  disease  being  analogous  to 
that  in  Paralysis.  In  the  latter  case,  there  is 
a  total  loss  of  power  over  the  muscles,  in  the 
other  a  partial  loss  only.  If  the  rapid  and 
felicitous  result  of  the  use  of  Strychnine  in 
this  case  should  lead  to  its  further  adminis- 
tration in  Chorea,  some  light  may  perhaps  be 
thrown  on  the  pathology  of  the  disease. 

Chorea  St.  Viti  is  tubercular  disease  of  the 
Cerebellum  as  determined  by  the  magnetic 
symptoms,  in  which  the  processus  vermicu- 
laris  or  organ  of  motion  in  the  median  line  of 
the  cerebellum,  and  consequently  the  mus- 
cles are  involved. 

The  above  case  is  interesting  from  the  fact 
that  the  disease  was  acute  or  inflammatory, 
or  one  that  is  rarely  seen.  If  it  had  been 
one  of  chronic  disease,  the  strichnine  would 
have  had  little  or  no  effect,  as  its  power  has 
been  often  tested  in  these  cases. 

PROF.  PARKER'S    OLIITXQTTB. 

At  the  Oollege   of  Physicians  and  SnrMona, 
Monday,  Not.  B4th,  1M5. 

REPORTED  BT   GEO.  A.  PETERS. 

On  Thursday  of  last  week,  the  Doctor  re- 
moved two  large  polypi  from  the  nasal  fossa 
of  a  young  man  who  presented  himself  be- 
fore the  class.  He  remarked  at  the  time, 
that  nasal  polypi,  when  they  exist,  will  al- 
ways be  found  attached  to  the  tuibinated 
bones  and  never  to  the  vomer ;  this  fact 
should  be  borne  in  mind,  and  a  proper  direc- 
tion given  to  the  forceps  when  introduced. 
The  patient  was  much  relieved  by  the  ope- 
ration. 

Case  I.  This  was  the  young  man  from 
whose  neck  a  tumor  was  removed  last  Mon- 
day, before  the  class.  Union  by  flrst  inten- 
tion Lad  taken  place  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tant. The  sutures  were  removed,  and  adhe- 
sive straps  re-applied. 

II.  Male,  St.  35,  (Ireland.)  This  patient 
has  been  suffering  from  a  severe  attack  of 
gonorrhceal  ophthalmia,  from  which  he  has 
but  just  recovered.  Tlie  power  of  vision  is 
not  at  all  impaired  in  the  left  eye,  but  upon 
examining  the  right  eye,  we  find  that  fibrin 
has  been  extravasated  somewhat  deeply  into 


40 


Professor  Parker's  Clinique. 


the  sabstance  of  the  cornea,  constituting  that 
variety  of  opacity  known  as  albugo.  We 
often  observe  this  condition,  as  a  sequence 
of  violent  acute  ophthalmia. 

GonorrhcBal  ophthalmia  is  one  of  the  most 
violent  forms  of  inflammation  to  which  the 
eye  is  subject,  often  destroying  it  entirely  in 
twenty-four  or  forty-eight  hours.  It  requires 
the  most  active  anti-phlogistic  treatment. 

Albugo  is  more  difficult  to  cure  in  propor- 
tion to  its  duration  and  to  the  age  of  the  in- 
dividual ;  the  activity  of  the  absorbents  being 
greater  in  youth. 

As  there  seemed  to  be  no  inflammation  ex- 
isting in  this  case,  the  Doctor  recommended 
the  use  of  gentle  stimulants  to  excite  absorp- 
tion. A  solution  of  argent  nit.  iv.,  to  ^  j, 
of  water,  or  the  insufflation  into  the  eye,  of 
calomel  and  loaf  sugar  iinely  levigated.  If 
these  should  fail,  he  recommended  that  trial 
should  be  made  of  the  solution  of  the  sul- 
phate of  cadmium,  in  the  quantity  of  a  grain 
to  two  grains  to  an  ounce  of  water, 

in.  Female,   aet.  42,  widow,  (Ireland.) 

This  was  a  well  marked  case  of  carcinoma 
of  the  right  mamma.  Has  had  two  children, 
the  youngest  is  now  fifteen  years  of  age. 
Has  been  in  this  country  thirteen  years. 
Her  husband  died  about  two  years  since. 
Her  courses  are  regular,  and  she  says  that 
«he  has  never  suffered  from  any  disorder  of 
the  menstrual  function  She  is  not  aware 
that  any  of  her  relatives  have  ever  suffered 
from  cancer.  Several  years  since  she  re- 
ceived a  blow  upon  the  breast  from  a  rocking 
chair,  which  caused  at  the  time  a  little  pain 
and  uneasiness  in  the  part.  About  a  year 
after  this  she  first  observed  the  tumor,  the 
pain  became  more  severe,  accompanied  by 
an  occasional  slight  discharge  of  blood,  from 
the  nipple. 

Upon  examining  the  part  yon  will  feel  a 
globular  tumor,  occupying  the  right  mamma, 
of  stony  hardness,  and  irregalar  and  unequal 
in  its  surface.  It  has  now  passed  into  the 
second  stage  of  the  disease,  the  superimpo- 
sed integument  has  assumed  a  dusky  or  livid 
hue;  &e  nipple  is  also  retracted.  The 
glands  in  the  axilla,are  enlarged  and  harden- 
ed, thus  showing  that  they  have  become  in- 
volved in  the  disease. 

Cancer  of  the  breast  is  a  disease  more  fre- 
quently occurring  among  women  who  have 
never  borne  cdlldren,  than  among  mothers, 
who  are  more  likely  to  suffer  from  that  dis- 
ease attacking  the  uterus. 

The  only  hope  of  a  radical  cure  in  cancer, 
consists  in  extirpation  with  the  knife,  or  by 
destroying  the  part  by  cauterization.  The 
knife  is  by  far  the  least  painful  of  the  two 
remedies.  I  can  by  no  means  promise  a 
radical  cure,  even  if  the  breast  be  extirpated. 


but  as  in  this  case  the  disease  appears  to  be 
of  local,  and  not  constitutional  origin,  I  , 
should  consider  the  prognosis  favorable,  if 
she  would  submit  to  an  operation.  At  any 
rate,  it  would  probably  prolong  her  life  for 
several  years. 

Patients  frequently  live  several  years  after 
the  operation,  and  then  the  disease  returns  in 
the  cicatrix,  or  attacks  some  other  organ.  In 
one  case  in  which  I  operated,  the  woman 
lived  ten  years,  when  the  disease  returned, 
attacked  the  liver  and  she  died.  The  BuSer- 
ing  attending  its  attack  upon  internal  organs 
is  not  so  severe  as  when  it  exists  externally. 
The  Doctor  strongly  urged  upon  the  woman 
the  importance  of  an  operation,  as  her  only 
hope  of  cure,  and  advised  her  by  no  means 
to  resort  to  external  applications,  except 
those  of  the  mildest  kind.  The  patient  was 
not  prepared  to  submit  to  the  operation  to- 
day, but  promised  to  come  s^in. 

IV.  Male,  set.  40.    Fistum  in  ano.    This 
person  is  a  mason  by  trade  ;— has  at  various 
times  suifered  much  from  constipation  of  the 
bowels.    He  suffered  for  three  weeks  in  the 
month  of  July  last,  from  dysentery,  follow- 
ing which  attack,  he  first  t>bserved  a  small  ab- 
scess pointing  a  short  distance  to  the  left  of 
the  anus,  this  was  opened  with  a  lancet,  its 
contenrs  discharged,  and  the  opening  stii/ re- 
mains fistulous.    A  probe  was  passed  into  it, 
and  it  was  found  to  communicate  with  the 
rectum.     Patient  says  thatgas  from  the  bow- 
el frequency  passes  through  it.    An  opera- 
tion is  the  only  treatment  which  offers  any 
nrospect  of  success.    The  man  is  poor  and 
aoes  not  reside  in  the  city,  and  as  it  is  impor- 
tant that  it  should  be   properly  dressed  at 
suitable  intervals,  after  the  operation,  he  was 
advised  to  apply  for  admission  into  the  Hos- 
pital. 

V.  Girl,  set.  3.  This  vna  a  case  of  aero- 
f  ulous  synovitis,  affecting  the  left  knee,  which 
commenced  about  five  months  ago.  The 
joint  was  not  injured  by  external  violence. 
Child  evidently  lof  a  scrofulous  diathesis, 
her*  mother  is  said  to  be  a&cted  with  tober- 
cles  in  the  lung«. 

Upon  exposing  the  limb,  the  knee  was 
found  to  be  evidently  increased  in  size,  the 
muscles  above  and  below  the  joint  were 
atrophied,  and  the  temperature  was  much 
higher  than  that  of  the  other  joint.  Con- 
plained  bitterly  when  motion  of  the  part 
was  attempted. 

The  child  has  been  reared  in  an  ill-venti- 
lated apartment,  situated  in  a  crowded  part  of 
the  cifjr,  its  appetite  for  candies  and  oW 
sweets,  also  for  gravy,  has  been  gratjiiia, 
The  Professor  remarked,  that  so  lonr  as  m 
course  of  life  was  followed,  the  child  w«iM 
never  recover    He  would  allow  the  ehiM 


Professor  Parker's  Clinique. 


41 


bi'«ad  and  milk  for  breakfast,  meat»  potatoes, 
aod  other  vegelables  for  dinner,  and  t)read 
and  mUk  again  at  evening.  Tea  and  coffee, 
aleo  sweets  of  all  kinde,  eboald  be  interdict- 
ed. By  farnisbing  the  Btomach  with  nutri- 
tious food,  good  healthy  chyle  w6ii)d  be 
daborated,  awl  thaa  the  blood  would  be  sup- 
plied with  plenty  of  tibrin.  The  child  ought 
also  to  be  remoTed  to  the  conn  try.  Abhi- 
tioa  with  salt  water  night  and  moming,  fol- 
lowed by  friction  all  over  the  mrface  ot  the 
body,  shoald  also  be  resorted  to.  Rhubarb, 
the  bicarbonate  of  soda,  and  bine  mass  in 
small  doses,  should  be  administered  occa- 
sionally at  night,  to  be  followed,  if  necessa- 
ry,  by  castor  oil  in  the  morning.  Decoct, 
sarsa.  comp.  will  also  be^found  (H  advantaffe. 
As  there  stitl  exists  considerable  heat  in  the 
part,  the  scarificator  should  be  applied  freely, 
ami  the  bleeding  encouraged  by  warm  poul- 
lices.  After  heat  and  pain  has  subsided, 
three  or  four  issues  should  be  established 
aboot  the  joint. 

The  joint  should  be  kept  perfectly  at  rest 
by  means  of  the  tin  splint,  which  I  have  so 
often  recommended  to  you  in  such  cases. 

Vl.  Boy.  £nlargement  of  both  tonsils  of 
one  gear's  standing.— The  Doctor  removed 
them  by  means  of  the  forceps  and  bistoury. 

Yll  Child,  set  2.  Talipes  varus  affect- 
ing both  feet.  Doctor  P.  divided  the  tendo* 
Achiiiis  and  the  tendon  of  the  tibialis  anti- 
cos.    The  child  is  to  wear  Scarpa's  shoe. 

VIII.  Boy  St.  9.  The  patient  had  stra- 
bismus convergens  affecting  the  right  eye. 
The  internal  rectus  muscle  was  divided,  and 
the  ey6  came  into  good  position ;  he  was 
directed  to  apply  cold  water  freely,  and  pre- 
sent himself  for  inspection  next  Monday. 
Dr.  Parker  operated  for  strabismus  upon  a 
sister  of  this  boy  two  weeks  ago ; — she  pre- 
sented herself  before  the  class  to-day ;— the 
operation  has  proved  successful,  her  eye  now 
benig  perfectly  straight.  A  small  fungus 
flrrowth  has  appeared  in  the  situation  where 
2ie  wound  was  made  throuich  the  conjunctiva, 
this  the  Doctor  snipped  on  with  the  scissors, 
aod  applied  stick  of  nitrate  of  silver.  It  will 
probably  give  her  no  farther  trouble. 

IX.  Female,  »t  17  This  girl  has  been 
laboring  under  spinal  irritation  for  several 
iiionths,for  which  fhe  has  been  blistered.along 
tbe  spine,  and  had  a  seton  introduced,  but 
-without  ejsperiencing  much  relief.  Upon 
qaestioiiing  the  mother  of  the  girl,  we  learn 
Uiat  her  daughter  commenced  to  menstruate 
at  the  age  of  tliirteen  years  and  that  her 
courses  are  now  regular  as  to  the  p'feriod  of 
their  return,  but  are  acconipauied  by  great 
pain,  and  that  there  is  a  paucity  of  the  dis- 
charge. For  several  years  past  she  has  re- 
side '  in  the  country  and  beea  accustomed  to 
hajd  worky  during  which  time  she  never 


experienced  any  of.  this  «pinal  irritation  from 
which  she  now  suffers.  Last  May  she  re- 
moved to  tbe  city,  since  which  time  ehe  has 
been  attending  school  and  heading  a  sedenta-  % 
ry  life.  Upon  examination,  you  will  observe 
that  she  complains  when  pressure  is  made 
over  any  point  of  the  s^dnat  column  ;  indeed, 
by  merely  passing  the  fingers  lightly  along 
its  course,  you  perceive  how  she  shrinks 
from  the  touch.  There  is  no  curvature  ex- 
isting, neither  is  she  at  all  emaciated.  She 
sufTers  much  from  palpitation,  and  complains 
of  cold  hands  aikd  feet.  Thetongue  is  some- 
what furred,  and  the  papilla  are  very  long 
and  prominent,  indicating  a  high  degree  of 
nervous  excitation. 

From  the  hitUDty  of  the  case,  and  from  the 
examination  tnhiik  «*e  haw  made,  tee  mtut 
conclude  that  there  is  no  disease  existing  in 
the  spinSf  but  that  thts  irritaiion  is  merely 
sympathetic,  depetuiing^umm  disease  existing 
in  some  other  organ.  T%s  girl  evidently  af- 
fected iffith  dysmenorrhaa,  and  this  irritation 
is  merely  stjmpaihetic  tpfth  that  disease,  ne 
connection  between  the  uterus  and  spinal  mar^ 
row,  is  established  through  the  medium  of 
those  nerves  which  are  oj  spinal  origin,  and 
indirectly  through  the  filaments  derived  from 
the  sacral  ganglia  which  inosculate  with  the 
anterior  branches  of  the  sacral  nerves. 

In  the  treatmeut  of  this  case,  we  find  that 
she  has  experienced  but  httle,  if  any  relief, 
from  the  counter  irritation  which  has  been 
employed.  The  true  way  is  to  treat  the  die- 
ease  upon  whidi  the  irritation  depends,  and- 
when  you  have  removed  the  cause  the  effect 
will  cease.  Several  years  ago  it  was  muck 
the  fashion  to  treat  all  cases  of  spinal  irrite^ 
tion,  by  fntiion  along  the  (^ine  with  ung. 
ant.  tart.,  hut  this  practice  is  now  pretty  much 
abandoned. 

The  cold  bath,  nieht  and  moming,  would 
be  found  serviceable  in  this  case,  also  the 
warm  douche  and  friction  to  the  spine.  She 
should  be  warmly  clothed  with  flannel. 
The  bowels  should  be  kept  in  a  e^Iuble 
state;  leeches  applied  to  the  vulva  or  upon 
the  inside  of  tbe  thighs.  In  fact,  she  should 
be  treated  for  dysmenorfhcea. 

X.  Female.  1  his  was  a  case  of  hard  tu- 
berculous swellrag  upon  the  calf  of  the  rigiit 
Jeg,  involving  the  skin  and  cellular  tisfue 
beneath,  which  had  existed  about  four  years. 
She  was  advised  to  try  the  emp.  liydraig. 
ammon.  with  compress  and  roller  bandage. 


NkW  METHOD   OF   FILLIKO   TEKTH. — MlX 

thirteen  parts  of  finely  powdered  caustic 
lime,  with  twelve  parts  of  anhydrous  phos- 
phorrc  acid.  This  powder  is  moist  during 
the  mixing,  and  while  in  that  condition  is  To 
be  introduced  into  the  decayed  tooth. 


42 


Professor  Motfs  Clinique. 


"Df,  Motts  OUnioal  Lecture. 
Saturday f  Dec,  6,  1845. 
^  Dr.  Mott  remarked  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Lecture,  that  nnlees  more  of  his  friends 
came  in  during  ita  proneas,  than  had  yet 
made  their  appearance,  ne  should  be  able  to 
experience  the  delightful  reflection  that  he 
had  cured  them  almost  all,  if  it  was  not  the 
cold  weather  that  had  done  it  Before  the 
close  of  the  usual  hour,  however,  he  had  to 
acknowledge  that  neither  himself  nor  the 
cold  had  cured  all  the  ailing,  for  a  sufficient 
number  came  in  to  supply  the  occasion  with 
its  usual  interest. 

The  iirst  case  was  that  of  a  woman  who 
has  already  been  several  times  befoie  the 
class,  and  has  been  meantime  subjected  to 
saccessful  treatment  for  foul  ulcers  of  the 
nose,  and  caries  of  the  roof  of  the  mouth 
from  syphilitic  disease.  Dr.  M.  remarked 
that  it  was  a  case  of  never  ceasing  inierest, 
from  various  circumstances;  among  them, 
from  the  frequently  baffling  obstinacy  of  this 
disease  in  its  secondary  forms,  and  the  variety 
oi  treatment  which  it  may  require  in  the 
different  stages  of  its  prepress,  and  for  the 
difierent  success  which  di&rent  practitioners 
of  equal  skill,  or  the  same  one  at  different 
times,  will  meet  with.  Thus,  one  may  direct 
the  remedies  that  are  employed  as  specifics, 
and  which  are  most  relied  upon  for  its  cure, 
when  from  the  action  of  those  remedies,  as 
causes  of  irritation  upon  an  already  debilita- 
ted system,  the  disease  is  rather  aggravated 
than  benefitted,  and  the  general  deoility  is 
increased.  A  second  practitioner,  of  no 
greater  skill  or  ability  tW  the  first,  when 
consulted  in  such  a  case — and  these  cases 
aie  apt  to  pass  through  the  hands  of  a  variety 
of  doctors — and  learning  the  history  of  the 
oaae  and  its  previous  treatment,  advises  to 
omit  the  medicine  that  has  been  U8ed-~al- 
Utough  it  is  the  remedy  of  all  others — the 
<*  Samson"  of  the  Materia  Medica-^in  the 
control  of  these  diseases,  and  to  resort  to 
tonicsl  and  tbis  change  in  the  course  of 
treatment  is  followed  by  immediate  amend- 
ment. In  such  a  ca^e,  oy  no  mieans  an  un- 
frequent  one,  though  they  may  be  equally 
worthy,  the  last  doctor  gets  all  the  credit  and 
the  first  all  the  blame;  and  from  such  we 
must  learn  to  shift  our  course,  when  any 

r'cular  one  fails  of  its  object,  from  speci- 
to  tonics  and  perhaps  anodynes,  and 
from  these  back  again  to  specifics,  keepii^g 
up  the  strength  «nd  the  patience,  till  time 
Boall  have  wrought  a  cure. 

IL  Girl.  Strumous  disease  of  the  Meibo- 
mian glands,  causing  the  eye  lashes  to  fall 
off,  &c.  Dr  Mott  prescribed  ao  article  which 
he  said  he  would  designate  by  its  old  famil- 
iar name  without  any  chemical  elucidation, 


viz:  '*  tutty,'*  to  be  applied  to  the  edges  of 
the  lids  in  the  form  of  an  ointment.  Let  the 
*'  tutty"  be  finely  pulverized  and  nixed  with 
spermaceti  ointment,  two  scruples  to  the 
half  ounce. 

IIL  Man,  ace  45 :  has  the  appenaoce 
of  being  much  older.  Has  two  or  three  ab- 
scesses, evidently  containing  a  fiuid,  upon 
the  chest,  probably  from  the  poutiog,  patu- 
lous aputum  of  an  open  nicer  there,  connect- 
ed wiui  a  portion  of  dead  bone.  It  has  ex* 
ceedingly  the  appearance  of  syphilitic  ^ 
ease,  but  from  bis  statement  with  the  appear- 
ance of  honesty  that  he  never  had  the 
**  disease  of  gentleman  at  large,"  it  is  con- 
cluded to  be  scrotulous:  and  it  is  certain 
that  in  some  of  their  forms  the  fruits  of  tbeec 
two  eachetiac  are  won^rfuUy  alike.  As 
there  is  fiuid  here  it  should  be  early  dischar- 
ged by  an  artificial  opening;  for  if  retained 
it  can  do  no  good,  and  maj^  do  harm.  He 
should  be  put  upon  a  nutritious  diet;  lor  I 
do  not  believe  that  strumous  disease  was 
ever  cured  or  even  benefitted  by  depletioo,  or 
even  by  the  antiphlogistic  regimen.  For 
medicine  let  him  have  the  hydriodata  of 
potass*  and  vellow  dock  root  tea. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  similarity  there  is 
between  struma  and  syphUig;  there  iaalso 
another  disease  which  is  intimately  ooaoeci- 
ed  with  the  latter.  I  mean  tne  present  temie 
disease  of  the  East,  leprosy.  If  tliia  is  aot 
identical  with  tua  venerea^  it  certainly  ba^  a 
monstrous  similarity  to  it.  When  tiaveLliag 
in  those  countries  as  an  invalid,  or  ralher  as 
a  convalescent,  I  was  greatly  ioteiested  in 
every  thing  pertaining  to  the  profeaaion,  and 
therefore  zealously  availed  mvself  of  the 
abundant  opportunities  which  1  enjoyed  d 
observing  the  Grecian  leprosy  and  the  An- 
bian  leprosy  on  their  own  ground,  in  Greeei 
and  Egypt ;  and  as  the  result  of  that  ote> 
vation  I  have  to  declare  my  fuU  convidioi 
of  their  complete  identity.  The  leprous  son 
throat  has  the  same  character,  th^ukcn 
have  the  same  thickened,  hardened,  aad 
everted  edges,  as  the  syphilitic  sore  thioil 
with  which  we  have  to  deal,  and  1  anst 
declare  myself  utterly  unable  to  distingiiab 
between  tliem.  The  pretended  histories  of 
/t(e5,  assigning  to  it  a  comparatively  recant 
origin,  are  idle  tales.  I  believe  it  has  alvan 
existed,  and  every  where,  even  ainoe  the 
human  family  peopled  (he  earth.  How 
soon  it  was  introduced  after  our  firat  pareois 
were  driven  from  their  supposed  residence  it 
the  Garden  of  Eden,  I  cannot  tell;  bat  I 
think  it  may  be  conclusively  shown  frojn 
the  sacred  volume  itself,  that  some  of  the 
patriarchs,  even  good  old  Jacob,  H  they  had 
not  it,  at  least  had  something  veijr  bad.  I 
look  upon  it  as  the  great  progenitor  of  •<> 


Professor  MotCs  Clittique. 


43 


these  foims  of  disease.  They  have  aJso  in 
die  East  along  with  the  leprosy,  other  and 
mild^and  they  are  wonderfully  mild— forms 
of  syphilitic  disease. 

4.  Little  girL  Strumoua  Conjuuetivitis 
of  several  months  continuance.  The  obsti- 
nacy of  the  disease,  and  the  extreme  intole- 
nnee  of  light,  which  causes  her  to  keep  her 
•yea  constantly  covered,  and  pertinaciously 
to  resist  every  attempt  to  examine  them,  in- 
dicale  with  sufficient  distinctness  the  charac- 
ter of  the  disease.  It  will  be  the  best  corn- 
hatted  by  remedies  addressed  to  the  constitu- 
tion; for  example,  twogrs.  pcrehloride  of 
neicnry  dissolved  in  three  ounces  tincture 
^  Peruvian  bark :  dose,  a  teaspoonful  twice 
or  three  timea  a  day. 

5.  Man.  Syphilitic  pencravit<»;  remedy, 
Jiydnodate  of  potassa. 

6.  Yoonff  man,  native  of  Ireland.  Has 
strumous  enlaigement  ol  the  glands  of  the 
neck,  which  have  been  three  years  in  pro- 
nesB.  Complaints  also  of  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing by  turns  about  an  hour  every  night,  loss 
of  appetite,  nisbt  sweats,  and  pains  in  the 
lower  part  of  nis  back.  He  may  be  consider- 
ed as  a  fair  candidate  for  consumption — for 
atramous  disease  of  the  lungs.  The  pains  in 
the  bock  however  indicate  a  tendency  of  the 
dlaeaae  to  locate  in  that  region,  in  which  case 
it  would  assume  the  form  oi  psoas  or  lumbar 
abeceaa.  The  difficulty  of  breathing,  sup- 
fomn%  it  to  be  caused  by  the  incipient  disease 
in  the  psoas  muscles,  may  be  explained  by 
the  anatomy  of  relation.  Those  muscles  lie 
directly  upon  the  cnua  of  the  diaphragm. 
When  the  latter  through  its  proximity,  par- 
takes of  the  disorder  of  the  former,  the  f  unc- 
$km  of  respiration  which  is  dependant  upon 
it,  is  necessarily  impeded.  This  case  has 
been  treated  by  cuppmg  and  leeches,  which 
were  all  wroag ;  he  requires  tonics,  not  de- 
pletion. Revulsion  however,  by  issues, 
would  be  proper ;  and  a  course  of  the  hy- 
driodaie  of  potassa,  with  a  view  rather  to 
give  tone  to  the  system  than  to  operate  di- 
rectly on  the  disease.  As  for  the  tumors  on 
the  neck,  cover  them  with  a  piece  of  mi  silk, 
and  let  them  alone :  it  will  do  injury  rather 
than  good  to  attempt  to  disperse  them ;  there- 
fore put  nothing  on,  unless  you  can  find  a 
aeventh  son ;  let  him  rub  them  as  much  as 
you  please. 

7.  Girl.  Hip-joint  disease.  Commenced 
with  pain  in  the  knee,  which  has  abated 
since  the  hip  b^aa  to  swell,  a  ^ood  illustra- 
tion of  the  truth  that  suppuration,  which  is* 
now  evident  by  fluctuation,  iri  the  most  effi- 
cient means  to  relieve  the  prominent  symp- 
toms, and  the  same  holds  true  whether  the 
suppuration  be  natural  or  artificial.  The 
cnsa  has  been  negisctad,  it  is  now  in  the  se- 


cond stage,  and  has  not  been  medically  treat- 
ed at  all.  Revulsion  would  now  do  no 
good,  for  the  suppuration  which  that  mea- 
sure is  designed  to  divert  from  within  out- 
wards, has  already  taken  place  in  the  joint, 
and  its  progress  cannot  now  be  arrested.  All 
that  we  can  do  at  present  is  to  support  her 
strength,  and  let  the  process  go  on.  Give 
her  plenty  of  food  and  that  which  is  good, 
and  the  following  medicine :  Super  sulphate 
of  quinine  one  drachm,  aromatic  sulphuric 
acid  two  drachms,  water  or  ginger  syrup  two 
ounces.    Take  a  teaspoonful  twice  a  day. 

8.  Young  man.  Palsey  of  the  left  wrist 
from  lead.  Has  had  lead  choHc  three  times, 
and  now  exhibits  the  blue  line  on  the  gums — 
the  recently  discovered  symptom  of  this  dis- 
ease. We  will  try  Dr.  Pemberton's  plan  \>f 
support  by  means  of  splints,  and  at  the  same 
time  rob  the  palsied  muscles  with  an  oint- 
ment of  stryclmine  ten  grs.  to  the  ounce, 
and  administer  the  same  remedy  in  doses  of 
one  twelfth  of  a  grain  internally. 

9.  Man.  Syphilitic  and  varicose  ulcera- 
tion of  the  leg.  Directed  to  he  treated  with 
the  yeUow  wash  externally,  and  the  hydrio- 
date  ol  potassa  internally,  and  to  abstain 
from  intoxicating  liquors. 

10.  Girl.  Tonsils  veiy  much  enlarged. 
One  of  them  was  removed  by  the  bistonry, 
which,  I>r.  M.  remarked,  was  the  quickest 
and  best  mode  of  operation  in  adults  and  in 
children  who  are  laige  enough  to  hold  still. 
In  smaller  children,  an  instrument  devised 
for  the  purpose,  and  so  contrived  as  not  to 
inflict  any  wounds  in  consequence  of  their 
struggles,  must  be  etnployed.  Such  an  in- 
strument— the  invention  of  a  surgical  instru- 
ment maker  ot  this  city,  in  all  respects  very 
well  got  up — 1  now  exhibit  before  you ;  but, 
1  must  say,  that  an  operation  performed  with 
any  instrument  of  this  kind  will  be  verv  like- 
ly to  prove  an  unsatisfactory  one.  in  op- 
erating with  the  bistonry,  care  must  betaken 
not  to  cut  too  deep :  the  carotid  artery  lies 
close  on  the  outer  side  of  the  gland,  and  I 
have  heard  of  its  having  been  cut  The 
gland  must  be  well  pulled  out  from  thepAnr- 
ynx  while  it  is  cut. 

t2.  Man.  Lost  one  eye  seven  years  w>, 
from  a  blow  with  a  pound  weight.  The 
sight  of  die  remaining  eye  began  to  fail 
about  two  years  since,  and  is  now  lost  for 
all  valuable  purposes.  The  peculiar  features 
principally  to  be  noticed  are,  that  the  pupil 
18  small  and  irregular ;  tfas  cornea  is  preter- 
naturally  convex,  and  he  has  a  good  deal  of 
headache  and  dizziness.  On  the  wholes  it  is 
a  very  unpromisine  case  Insert  an  issue  in 
the  back  of  the  neck. 

13.  Girl.  Nebulosity  of  the  cornea.  She 
has  been  here  before,  and,  as  directed  theot 


44 


Professor  Parker^s  Clinique. 


has  applied  molasses  to  the  eye,  from  which 
she  has  derived  benefit.  The  direction  is,  to 
go  on  with  the  trealinenl — a  very  sweet  case. 
Molasses,  used  in  this  way,  in  slight  opacities 
of  the  cornea,  is  often  attended  with  decided 
benefit,  and  I  had  ratiier  trust  to  it  than  to 
the  nitrate  of  silver.  Let  a  single  drop  be 
put  into  the  outer  canlhus  of  the  eye,  morn- 
ing and  evening. 

14.  Infant.  Pemphigus,  First  appeared 
two  weeks  since.  Make  no  external  applica- 
tion whatever,  but  give  internally  one  twen- 
ty-fourth of  a  grain  of  the  perchloride  of  mer- 
cury in  tincture  of  bark,  twice  a  day« 

15.  Man.  An  anomalous  state  of  the  el- 
how  joint,  the  result  of  injury,  in  which  he 
is  unable  to  rotate  the  haud>  or  to  flex  or  eX' 
tend  the  fore  arm,  except  to  a  very  limited  eji- 
tent  As  it  was  not  ascertained  what  the 
precise  difficulty  was,  no  remedy  was  pro< 
posed  but  the  using  the  arm  actively,  labo- 
riously and  perseveringly. 

Dr.  Parker's  OHalcal  Lecttur*. 
Monday,  Dec.  6th,  1845. 
1.  Man.  Age  26  yeajB.  Had  a  small  ab- 
scess gather  and  bteak  on  the  inside  of  the 
cheek  six  months  ago,  gradually  extending 
downwards  to  the  corner  of  the  mouth,  and 
involving  the  lips,  particularly  the  upper  one. 
which  is  much  thickened  and  has  several 
ulcers  upon  it,  of  a  phagadunic  character — 
The  disease  was  preceded  by  no  injury  that 
he  recollects,  and  his  health  was  previously 

rl.  He  has  been  treated  with  Sarsaparil- 
and  locally  the  caustic  potash.  The 
edges  of  the  ulcers  are  hard,  irregular,  and 
everted ;  attended  with  no  pain  in  the  part 
itself  but  excessive  pain  in  the  region  of  the 
temple  and  side  of  the  face,  sympathetic, 
from  the  implication  of  some  branches  of  the 
fifth  pair  of  nerves  in  the  disease.  Now  we 
have  to  determine  the  character  of  the  dis- 
ease, hoth  with  reference  to  the  treatment 
and  to  the  prof^nosis.  The  lip  may  be  the 
seat  of  either  of  the  following;  cancer,  lupus, 
scrofula,  syphilis  and  noH^me-tavaere;  one 
of  these  it  must  be ;  let  ua  see  which.  In 
cancer,  the  most  dreaded  and  the  most  formi- 
dable of  them,  there  is  a  burning,  stinging 
pain,  which  he  has  not  experienced;  the 
lymphatic  glands  in  the  vicinity  are  enlar- 
ged, but  here  they  are  not;  it  makes  its  ap- 
pearHiice  at  a  more  advanced  period  of  life, 
at  40,  50,  or  70  years,  and  seldom  or  never 
so  early  as  thirty.  The  probability  is  then 
that  it  is  not  cancerous.  It  has  not  the 
scabby  appearance  of  lupuSt  and  moreover, 

Jjarts  that  were  destroyed  by  the  caustic 
lave  been  restored.  He  has  not  the  slightest 
taint  of  syphilis,  ao  far  as  can  be  discovered. 


nor  have  the  ulcers  the  syphilitic  character. 
In  hoU-metangere,    as  iu  name   implies, 
there  is  very  great  sensibility,  which  is  want- 
ing  here.    'J  he  conclusion  is  forced  upoo  us 
then  that  it  must  be  scrofulous,  for  that 
alone  remains.    Why  scrofula  should  fix 
upon  this  particular  part,  and  develope  iteelf 
in  this  manner,  I  confess  myself  unable  to 
say ;  we  have  the  fact  before  us.    It  is  bet- 
ter to  have  this  than  cancer,  and  it  is  worthy 
of  note  that  the  two  never  co-exist ;  a  per- 
son cannot  have  both ;  the  patient  who  is 
sufSbring  from  either  one  of  them  is  bullet- 
proof against  the  other.    It  should  be  treat- 
ed with  the  wood  decoctions  and  small  dosei 
of  the  puchloride  of  mercury  or  bydrtodate 
of  potash,  and  locally  with  superficial  scari- 
fications. 

2.  Man :  here  last  week  with  inflamma- 
tion of  the  wrist ;  has  since  been  in  the  caie 
of  one  of  the  class.  The  limb  was  scarified, 
and  poulticed ;  the  patient  himself  subJKtad 
to  the  an ti -phlogistic  regimen,  low  diet,&Cr 
and  this  treatment  has  been  attended  with 
very  great  improvement.  It  diould  now  be 
showered  with  warm  water  morning  and 
evening,  and  nibbed  with  a  liniment  of  soap, 
opium,  spirits  of  turpentine  and  origaouiD. 
it  should  also  be  kept  at  rest  for  a  fortnigJit 
longer. 

3.  Boy^^Enlarged  tonsils  removed. 

4.  A  Man,  aged  33  years— Complela 
amaurosis  of  the  hj^ht  eye,  and  obficuntion 
of  the  left,  pioceeding  from  suppuniion  of 
the  anteum  highmorianumt  states  that  he 
had  bad  cholic,  from  working  in  while  lead 
mills  two  years :  that  he  then  took  a  good  deal 
of  medicine,  had  his  mouth  made  soie,  asd 
his  teeth  loose.  He  recoveied  his  health  and 
continued  well  till  last  April,  when  be  took 
a  severe  cold  in  the  head,  which  settled  prin- 
cipally in  the  right  side.  This  was  followed 
by  a  severe  pain  in  his  teeth  andcums,  and 
extending  thence  to  all  that  aide  of  the  bead, 
leaving  the  left  side  entirely  free.  It  was  » 
beating  pain,  and  was  particularly  severed 
night.  In  May  he  had  two  teeth  extracted 
which  were  loose,  but  perf«>ctly  sound,  with* 
out  relief,  since  that  time,  two  more.  The 
eye  began  to  be  affected  about  three  montbi 
smce,  with  an  obscurity  of  the  vision  which 
steadily  increased  till  he  became  entirely 
blind.  The  left  eye  began  to  be  affected  m 
the  same  way  six  weeks  since.  Two  weeks 
since  an  opening  was  made  into  the  cavi^ 
by  Dr.  Wallace,  and  a  large  quantity  of  tm 
purulent  matter  discharged,  with  immediate 
relief.  Matter  continues  to  be  discharfei 
through  the  opening  which  is  maintained  for 
that  purpose,  and  through  the  adjoining  »«»■ 
tril.  He  continues  to  have  pain  in  the  otrn 
and  occasionally  has  had  deep-seated  pvA  i* 


Medical  Science  in  New  York. 


45 


th«  eye,  and  the  visual  sense  of  clouds  float- 
ing  before  it.  The  treatment  has  been  sy- 
ringing the  cavity  daily  with  soap  and  water, 
and  every  other  day  with  nitrate  of  silver  : 
and  the  eye  plied  with  aconitine.  The  treat- 
ment is  judicious,  let  it  be  continued.  There 
is  some  hope  to  be  entertained  of  the  lestora- 
tioQ  of  the  sight. 

5.  Younsj  woman.  Epiphorce.  She  re- 
ceived a  blow  upon  the  cheetc  bone  last  April, 
which  is  the  only  cause  she  can  assign  to 
the  complaint,  rrobably  the  increased  se- 
cretion of  tears  is  the  result  of  sympathy  of 
those  branches  of  the  fifth  nerve  distributed 
upon  the  eye,  with  those  upon  the  part 
which  received  the  injury.  There  is  no  ap- 
pearance of  fistula  lachrymalis,  except  the 
now  of  tears  upon  the  cheek,  from  which 
it  woaid  be  very  likely  to  be  pronounced 
that  disease.  No  operation  is  required. 
Electricity,  or  showering  with  cold  water 
would  probably  benefit  by  strengthening  the 
debilitated  nerves.  The  veratime  ointment 
would  also  be  useful. 

7.  Woman,  aged  70  years.  Came  here 
three  weeks  ago  with  two  large  wens  upon 
the  head,  one  of  which  had  ulcerated,  and 
wore  the  appearance  of  a  large  rose  cancer, 
or  bloody  fungus— thnt  has  been  removed 
by  iigatare.  The  other  remains  to  be  remo- 
ved by  the  knife.  It  is  to  be  especially  re- 
marked that  the  scalp  will  not  yield,  like 
the  skin  of  other  parts  of  the  body,  so  as  to 
.supply  the  place  of  any  that  has  l^een  remo- 
ved. Another  consideration  of  general  ap- 
plication and  of  great  importance,  is  to  be 
noted  in  regard  to  encysted  tumours ;  that 
every  portion  of  their  sac  must  be  removed, 
•or  the  reputation  of  the  operator  will  suffer^ 

THE  DISSECTOR. 

JANUARY  I.  1846. 


MBDIOAL  SOIENOB  IN  NBWTORK. 

We  publish  in  this  number  of  our  Journal 
several  of  the  recent  Clinical  Lectures  of 
Professor  Mott,  at  the  University  Medical 
College,  and  of  Professor  Parmb,  at  the 
Old  Medical  College,  because  they  afford  as 
full  and  fair  a  view  of  the  theory  and  prac- 
tice taught  in  these  schools,  especially  in 
chronic  diseases,  as  can  probably  be  present- 
ed within  a  compendious  compass. 

The  first  point  in  them  that  will  strike  a 
reader  of  this  Journal,  protrudes  very  promi 
nently  in  the  lecture  of  Professor  Parker, 
delivered  November  24th,  commencing  page 
41 ,1)eing  the  9th  case— that  of  a  female  aged  J 


17.    It  is  first  gravely  described  as  a  case 
of  "spinal irritation,**  with  the  latitudinari- 
anism  of  which  favorite  and  convenient  but 
unmeaning  phrase,  our  readers  are  too  fa- 
miliar not  to  be  highly  amused.    But  it  ap- 
pears very  speedily,  from  the  Professor's  own 
showing  and  admissions,  to  have  been  an 
organic  disease  of  which  the  tenderness  along 
the  spine  was  merely  symptonmtic  and  indi- 
cative.   Nevertheless  this  poor  girl  had  been 
blistered  and  cupped  and  setoned  along  the 
spine,  as  all  others  have  been  and  still  are, 
under  the  old  practice  and  theory.    What 
then  led  this  astute  and  learned  Professor  to 
discover,  in  advance  of  the  whole  array  of 
the  profession,  from  the  examination  which 
he  had  made,  and  which  merely  consisted  in 
detecting  a  general  irritation  along  the  spine, 
that  **  there  is  no  disease  existing  along  the 
spine,  bat  that  this  irritation  is  merely  sym- 
pathetic, and  dependent  upon  disease  exist- 
ing in  some  other  organ  ?**  What  led  him  to 
arrive  at  so  novel  a  conclusion,  and  one  not 
only  palpably  a  nati  sequitur  from  the  facts 
as  stated,  but  flatly  opposite  to  the  whole  theo- 
ry and  practice  of  his  predecessors  and  con- 
temporaries ?  We  are  somewhat  curious  to 
know  what  would  be  his  honest  answer  to 
this  plain  question.    Certainly  he  has  afford- 
ed us  no  clue  to  it,  in  stating,  as  he  subse- 
quently does,  that  **  the  connection  between 
the  uterus  and  spinal  marrow  is  established 
through  the  medium  of  those  nerves  which 
are  of  spinal  origin,  and  indirectly  through 
the  filaments  derived  from  the  sacral  ganglia 
which  inosculate  with  the  anteriorbranchesof 
the  sacral  nerves  :"  for  this  single  fact  is  not 
better  knowu  or  received  by  the  profession 
in  general,  than  the  foregone   conclusion 
which  this  admission  evidently  involves,  of 
the  existence  of  a  similar  connection  between 
a// the  organs,  inclusive  of  the  muscles,  and 
the  ganglia  of  the  posterior  spinal  nerves. 
What  then  becomes  of  the  present  theory  and 
practice  ?  And  again  we  ask  how  comes 
Professor  Parker  in  possession  of  such  am 
immensity  of  superior  illumination  ?     But 
for  the  modesty  to  be  sacrificed  in  such  a 
solution,  we  might,  to  be  sure,  explain  the 
whole  mystery  by  merely  adverting  to  the 


46 


Medical  Science  in  New  York. 


notorious  fact  that  this  is.the  doctrine  which 
we  have  published,  and  the  oue  upon  which 
we  have  practiced  for  the  last  thirty  years — 
during  the  last  ten  of  which,  under  the  very 
noses  of  those  professors,  in  this  city. 

Now  we  presume  that  Professor  Parker, 
even  under  the  zeal  of  a  new  convert,  would 
scarcely  claim  a  connection  between  the  ute- 
los  and  the  gangha  of  the  dorsal  or  cervical 
Tertebre,  but  would  very  properly  rest  con- 
tent with  the  irritation  of  the  ganglia  of  the 
lumbar,  or  what  he  is  pleased  to  call  the 
sacral  vertebre,afl  iDdieative  of  uterine  dis- 
ease. What  then  becomes  of  the  irritation 
which  he  describes  as  exieting,  in  this  case, 
along  the  whole  extent  of  the  spinal  column  ? 
What  was  the  meaning  of  all  this  ?  If  the  ir- 
ritation of  the  lumbar  ganglia  were  indica- 
tiTe  of  uterine  disease,  of  what  was  the  irri- 
tetioB  of  the  dorsal,  and  the  cervical  ganglia 
indicative  ?  Taking  the  statement  as  strictly 
eomet,  that  the  patient «  complained  when 
piesaare  was  made  over  any  point  of  the  spi- 
na) column  f*  indeed*  that  she  shrunk  from 
the  touch  even  when  the  fingers  were  pads- 
ad  lightly  along  its  course— we  are  forced 
to  the  eoBclusion  that  all  the  organs  of  this 
patient  w«re  more  or  less  diseased,  including 
the  Bttscles.  Making  all  allowance,  how- 
ever, for  a  probably  hasfy  and  imperfect  ex- 
amin^on  of  all  the  ganglia  in  regular  and 
distinctive  order,  we  may  safely  conclude, 
from  this  general  account  of  the  case,  that 
organic  disease  prevailed  extensively,  and 
was  by  no  means  limited  to  the  uterus,  and 
dyamenorrboea.  Indeed,  from  the  palpitation 
mentioned,  and  the  coldness  of  the  hands  and 
feet,  it  is  evident  that  the  heart  was  aftcted 
as  well  as  the  muscles.  In  short,  from  the 
atatement  before  us,  it  admits  of  no  doubt  that 
the  case  was  one  of  tuberculoma  or  tubercu- 
lar disease,  in  which  all  the  organs,  as  well 
as  the  muscles,  were  more  or  less  involved. 

Thus  much  for  the  theory,  and  now  for 
the  practice  of  Professor  Parker,  in  cases 
d  ^is  kind.  He  says,  <*  In  the  treatment  of 
"dtis  case,  we  find  that  she  has  experienced 
butlittleif  any  relief  from  the  counter  irri- 
tation which  has  been  employed.**  Of  course 
not;  but  he  ought  to  have  added,  from  his 


own  observation,  that  such  cruel  and  boba' 
rous  applications  in  variably  tend  to  prostrate 
the  nervous  energy  of  those  on  whom  they  are 
inflicted,  and  ultimately  to  aggravate  the  dis- 
ease. He  pithily  proceeds  to  6ay>  that  *<  the 
trne  way  is  to  treat  the  disease  tipon  viiuh 
th€  irritation  depends,  and  when  you  have 
removed  the  cause  the  effect  will  cease.*' 
We  refrain,  for  a  moment,  from  adverting 
to  the  treatment  by  which  he  proposes  to  ac- 
complish this  most  laudable  object,  to  quote 
his  very  noticeable  remark  given  in  connec- 
tion with  the  above  oracular  maxim. 

It  is  this — '*  Several  years  ago  it  was  much 
Xht  fashion  to  treat  all  cases  of  spinal  iirita- 
tion  by  friction  along  the  spine  with  ung, 
ant,  tart,  but  this  practice  is  now  pretty 
much  abandoned."    Now,  we  must  take  the 
liberty  to  say  that  we  consider  this  one  of 
the  severest  thrusts  at  the  profession  in  gen- 
eral, and  at  Professor  Mott  in  particular,  thai 
could  have  been  dealt  by  any  hand,  how- 
ever hostile.    Upon  Dr.  Mott  itiVs  like  the 
poignard  of  Brutus,  for  in  the  lecture  of  tliis 
celebrated  Professor,  delivered  at  the  Uai- 
verisity  September  6,  which  wegiveatpive 
35,  there  is  a  case  exactly  similar  to  tb«  ooe 
which  called  forth  Professor  Parka's  fiatri- 
ddal  steel,  in  which  Dr.  Mott  directly  lecom- 
mends  precisely  the  veiy  treatment  which  Dr. 
Parker  condemns^condemna !  do  weeay  ?— 
nay,  worse  than  that  pronoiincefl  unfa^m- 
able  f  What !  is  it  come  to  this?  Dr.  Bfott 
an  un/asMonabie  physician  ? 

Amisaa  padicitia,  quid  crit  alrnm  mulitri! 

Dr.  Mott  briefly  describes  the  case  as  one 
'*  which  seemed  to  partake  more  of  spinal 
irritation  than  any  thing  else,  although  the 
diagnosis  was  rather  obscure.  Becommend- 
ed  counter  irritants  to  the  spine." 

We  leave  these  learned  gentlemen  to  act- 
tie  this  dispute  about  the  fashions  between 
themselves ;  but  we  think  it  due  to  Ph)fes- 
sor  Parker  to  say,  that,  whencesoevcr  he  may 
have  derived  his  new  light  upon  this  impor- 
tant subject,  and  however  ungenerous  and 
disingenuous  we  may  deem  his  neglect  to  ac- 
knowledge its  true  source,  we  think  him  en- 
titled to  great  commendation  and  enco1Irag^ 
ment  for  the  moral  courage  he  has  displayed 


Behind  the  Age. 


47 


in  piomatgatingso  vitally  momentous  a  doc- 
trine, in  the  midst  of  so  high  and  so  highly 
pcejudiced  a  medical  school.  It  is  at  the 
same  time  equally  due  to  others  to  state  that  he 
18  not  the  Urst  among  the  medical  Professors  of 
this  country  who  have  shown  an  exalted  in- 
trepidity in  this  matter ;  many  distinguished 
nedkal  men  in  this  and  other  states  having 
for  some  time  past  openly  adopted  both  the 
doctrine  and  treatment  which,  for  many 
years,  was  advocated  and  practiced  exclu- 
sively by  the  conductor  of  this  Journal,  in 
fact  the  Professors  have  been  driven  rather 
than  Jed  into  these  reluctant  admissions  and 
avowals,  by  the  numerous  examples  which 
have  arisen  around  them,  in  an  attitude  bor- 
dering upon  derision. 

By  way  of  an  amusing  conclusion  to  this 
too  serious  commentary,  we  must  not  omit  to 
awDtion  Professor  Parker's  proclaimed  treat- 
ment of  the  ease  upon  which  we  havp.  re- 
marlced.  The  readers  of  the  lecture  will  per- 
ceive tbat  it  Is  limited  to  bathing,  friction.flan- 
Del,  and  the  application  of  leeches !  The  habit- 
ual readers  of  this  Journal,  however,  are  too 
well  instructed  upon  this  subject  not  to  know 
that  such  treatment  of  this  or  of  any  other  of 
the  cases  of  tuberevdoeu  occurring  in  these 
iectares,  must  be  utterly  futile,  and  that  the 
patients  must  Inevitably  go  to  (heir  graves 
unless  the  appropriate  remedies  for  tubercu- 
lar disease  are  applied. 

«  BSHniD  TSB  AOB." 
The  students  of  Medicine  who  come  to 
this  city,  from  all  parts  of  the  Union,  to  pur- 
sue their  studies  in  our  Medical  Colleges, 
Lave  an  undoubted  and  reasonable  right  to 
expect  from  their  Professors  and  Lecturers, 
such  information  concerning  the  progress  of 
medical  science  aad  discovery  as  will  at 
least  enable  themflo  keep  pace,  in  the  general 
march  of  intelligence,  with  unprofessional 
leaders  of  medical  literature.  Otherwise,  on 
their  visits  to  home  in  vacation,  they  are  very 
likely  to  find  their  fathers  and  brothers,  and 
perchance  even  their  mothers  and  sisters, much 
better  informed  on  such  matters  than  them- 
selves. How  far  thiols  likely  to  be  the  case 
under  the  inveterateiy  conservative  system  oi 


instruction  still  predominant  in  our  medical 
schools,  may  be  judged  from  the  following 
example,  quoted  from  Froiessor  Parker's  Lec- 
ture at  the  Old  Medical  College,  December 
8th,  which  we  publish  at  page  43.  Speak- 
ing of  a  case  of  tuberculosis,  manifesting  it- 
self in  a  scrofulous  tumefaction  of  the  upper 
Up,  he  reiterates  the  following  venerable  but 
decrepid  dogma: 

"  It  is  better  to  have  this  than  Cancer,  and 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  two  never  co^ 
exist ;  a  peison  cannot  have  both ;  the  patient 
who  is  suffering  from  either  one  of  these  is 
bullet  proof  against  the  other." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  how  perniciously 
delusive  this  maxim  may  become  among 
medical  students,  in  case  it  be  falaclous  and 
contrary  to  fact ;  and  it  requires  but  a  brief 
notice  to  prove  that  it  is  as  erroneous  as  any 
one  of  the  thousand  other  absolute  dicta  of 
medical  authorities  long  since  exploded. 

In  the  course  of  our  own  practice,  we 
have  found  scrofula  and  cancer  to  co-exist, 
in  the  same  person,  in  a  great  number  of 
palpable  and  unequivocal  cases;  and  we 
challenge  the  projection  of  any  rational  the- 
ory why  both  may  not  exist  at  the  same 
time.  But  besides  our  own  repeated  obser- 
vations of  the  stubborn  fact,  we  have  that  oi 
Libert,  in  Mullers  Arcliives,  Nos.  2  and  3, 
1844,  as  quoted  b  a  late  number  of  the 
Lcmdcm  Lancet ^  In  the  April  number  of  this 
Journal,  (page  92,)  and  in  various  other 
works.  Libert  theie  says,  "Tubercles 
and  cancer  do  not  exclude  one  another,  or 
even  interfere  with  their  separate  march. 
Both  morbid  processes  can,  at  the  same,  run 
through  their  stages  of  development  In  the 
same  person.'* 

In  further  evidence  of  the  vulnerability 
of  Professor  Parker's  "  bullet-proof**  protec- 
tion, we  beg  to  refer  the  reader  to  the  article 
"  On  the  Coincidence  of  Tubercle  and  Can- 
cer,** page  27  of  this  number  of  the  Dissecicf, 
which  we  quote  from  the  Allgeimeine  Zei' 
tung  fur  chirurgie.  No.  51,  1844. 

In  truth  it  has  long  been  the  doctrine  of 
the  ablest  medical  men  of  this  country,  if  not 
of  Europe,  that  scrofula  and  cancer  may  and 
do  CO- exist,  as  now  asserted  and  proved  by 
these  eminent  German  authorities.  In  our 
work  on  the  *<  Motive  Power  of  the  Hunnoi 


48 


Cancer  of  the  Lip, 


System,/'  8th  edition,  page  87,  (Wiley  and 
Putnam,  N.  Y,)  the  reader  will  find  a  case, 
strictly  similar  to  the  one  adduced  by  Pro- 
fessor Parker,  which  occurred  in  our  own 
practice  so  early  as  the  year  1817,  and  in 
which  the  knife  was  about  to  he  applied. 
We  shall  be  excused  for  republishing  it 
here,  because  it  is  directly  peitinent  to  the 
question  which  Professor  Parker  has  revived, 
and  calculated  to  be  useful  to  patients  simi- 
larly afTected  :— 

tJanotr  of  the  Itip. 

Miss  M.  H ,  of ,  aged  17  years. 

Called  early  in  the  morning  to  see  her,  in 
April,  1817;  and  was  requested  to  examine 
her  under  lip,  which  was  swollen  and  ulce- 
rated, and  to  give  my  opinion  of  its  charac- 
ter, and  after  examining  it  and  the  lymphatic 
glands  of  the  neck,  which  were  tuberculatcd 
on  both  sides,  I  pronounced  it  a  case  of 
sorofulous  cancer.  I  was  then  requested  to 
9ay  whether  I "  could  cure  it  -.vithout  cutting 
it  out,"  and  readily  answered  in  the  afirma- 
tive,  and  was  then  told  by  the  female  attend- 
ant, that,  that  was  all  they  wanted  of  me, 
and  that  I  was  at  liberty  to  return  home  as 
0oon  as  I  pleased.  Accordingly  I  bade  her 
food  morning,  and  returned  home,  perfectly 
in  the  dark,  however,  as  regarded  what  was 
meant  by  this  quixotic  adventure.  The  next 
day,  I  was  called  a^n,  and  informed,  in  ex- 
planation, that  a  celebrated  surgeon  had  been 
attending  the  patient  about  two  months,  and 
as  the  lip  continued  to  get  worse,  and  had 
become  very  painful,  he  had  advised  them,  a 
few  days  before,  of  the  futility  of  all  reme- 
dies, but  the  knife,  and  had  set  the  time  of 
ten  o'clock  of  the  day  before  to  perform  the 
operation ;  but  they  had  dismissed  him,  and 
Bent  for  me  to  perform  the  cure  without  it 

She  was  of  the  middling  size,  light  and 
ruddy  complexion,  eyes  rather  large  and  pro- 
minent, a  id  form  of  face  approaching  that  of 
the  Roman,  and  with  perfect  symmetry  of 
body  and  limbs,  was  what  may  be  called  a 
scrofulous  beauty,  bating  only  this  horrible 
lip.  Prescribed,  magnetic  pills  and  plaster. 
In  live  weeks  from  this  time  the  cure  was 
perfect,  and  the  tuberculated  glands  in  the 
neck  had  gradually  become  smaller,  and 
soon  after  disappeared. 

This  case,  and  the  following  one  of  the 
uterus,  were  apparently  cases  of  scrofulous 
cancer.  I  have  had  a  few  other  cases  of  the 
lip  of  the  same  character,  and  many  of  a 
similar  nature,  a&cting  the  uterus,  which 


were  cured  with  these  remedies,  but  which 
have  apparently  little  or  no  effect  on  the  dis- 
ease in  this  form,  when  affecting  any  other 
part  of  the  body.  U  have  imputed  their 
effects,  in  the  cases  of  the  lip  and  uterus,  to 
the  strong  power  of  contraction  which  they 
possess,  from  the  fact  that  the  same  results 
are  obtained  in  cases  where  strong  compres- 
sion can  be  applied  at  the  same  time  ss  in 
the  case  given  of  Mrs.  H.,  of  Union,  Butlei 
Co.,  Ohio. 

The  case  here  referred  to  is  the  following: 

Tabercvla  6f  th«  Ufrvm^  t«niilnatiB(  ia  Ou> 
cer. 

Menorhag'ta  terminating  in  Cancer. 

Miss  P.  F ,  of ,  of  full  habit  and 

light  complexion,  aged  22  years ;  called  to 
see  her,  May  16, 1812.     She  has  menorrha- 

fia,  which  commenced  four  months  afi;o. 
prescribed  the  usual  remedies  for  many 
months,  during  which  time,  as  before,  she 
had  been  constantly  conBoed  to  her  bed:  bat 
all  to  no  purpose,  and  it  now  became  neces- 
sary to  abandon  the  patient  or  commence  a 
new  treatment. 

She  had  from  the  first  complained  met 
of  pain  and  weakness  in  the  small  of  the 
back ;  which  was  attended  with  leucorrhaa 
I  proposed  now  to  examine  her  back,  and 
applied  pressure  on  and  around  the  lun^ 
vertebrBB,  and  this  produced  violent  paioi 
which,  on  every  repetition  of  the  pressure, 
darted  into  the  uterus,  and  they  appeared  to 
be  the  same  darting  pains  we  find  in  cancer 
of  the  breast. 

1  now  prescribed  the  magnetic  piUfl  and 
plaster.  The  plaster  over  the  smaO  of  toe 
back,  or  lumbar  vertebrae,  with  iniectioM 
into  the  uterus  of  a  strong  solution  of  acetate 
of  iron,  by  means  of  a  catheter  and  small 
pointed  syringe. 

Her  symptoms  b^n  to  improve  slowly 
from  this  time,  and  in  about  three  moDtbs, 
a  very  thick  membrane  separated  from  the 
inside  of  the  uterus,  and  was  discharged  from 
it,  rolled  up— round— half  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter, and  two  inches  in  length,  which  was 
presented  to  me  in  a  paper,  and  on  unrollirj 
and  spreading  it  out  on  a  stand,  it  presented 
two  tumors  or  bunches,  of  dark  colored 
fungi  near  the  middle  or  centre  of  it,-oncol 
which  was  near  the  size  and  8d*P«  °'  ? 
pea,  and  flattened  on  the  sides  that  adhered 
to  the  membrane,  and  at  a  distance  from 
each  other  of  half  an  inch. 


Paralysis  in  Magnetic  Sleep. 


49 


These  fuugi  were  on  the  outside  oi  the 
membrane,  or  that  next  the  uteras,  and  ad- 
hered to  and  sunk  deeply  into  it ;  and  there 
arose  out  of  their  tops  and  sides  small  whitf" 
or  light  coloied  substances  of  the  size  and 
appearance  of  small  threads,  and  from  a  line 
to  a  fourth  of  an  inch  in  length.  On  exam- 
ining the  other  side  of  this  membrane,  small 
holes  or  chinks  were  found  opposite  to  these 
fmigi. 

In  a  few  weeks  after  this,  her  health  was 
restored.  She  married  about  a  year  alter, 
1»ut  has  had  no  children. 


**  HCAOVBTIO  SLEEP." 
Among  the  extraordinary  phenomena  of 
magnetic  sleep,  is  the  insensibility  of  the 
■kin,  or  ejctemal  surface  of  the  body,  and 
the  establishment  and  exaltation  of  sensiDil^ 
ity  in  the  mucons  or  internal  surfaces,  in 
which  the  natural  order  of  the  magnetism  of 
the  human  system  is  rerersed. 

A  solution  of  these  phenomena  is  found 
in  (he  fact,  that,  in  the  natural  state,  the 
skin  or  external  surface  of  the  body,  as  Ave II 
as  the  external  surfaces  of  the  organs  and 
facia  of  the  muscles,  excrete  a  serous  or  ne- 
gative matter  that  gives  out  the  positive  force 
which  attracts  and  contracts,  and  is  conse- 
quently endowed  with  sensation  ;  whil^  the 
mucous  or  internal  surfaces  of  these  struc- 
tures excrete  a  mucous  or  positive  matter 
that  gives  out  the  negative  force  which  re- 
pels and  expands,  and  is  consequently  des- 
titute of  sensation. 

Now  the  magnetiser  reverses  this  order  un- 
consciously, int  he  process  of  magnetising,  by 
repelling  \he  positive  forces  from  the  surface 
to  the  centre,  and  attracting  the  negative 
forces  to  the  surface,  and  this  reversal  of  the 
order  of  the  magnetism  of  bodies  is  accord- 
ing to  a  law  of  these  forces,  and  is  therefore 
founded  in  nature  and  easily  imitated. 

If  a  round  iron  or  steel  plate,  or  disk,  with 
a  hole  in  the  centre,  representing  a  middle 
horizontal  section  of  the  body,  is  placed  or 
the  positive  pole  of  a  Galvanic  Battery,  un- 
der a  moderate  power,  it  presents  the  phe- 
nomena represented  in  the  following  figure 


or  a  negative  internal  antl  a  jiosilivu  exter- 
nal isui  face  ;  but  if  ne  now  place  the  plale 
Oil  ihe  rifii^iiiive  pole  of  the  same  battery,  the 
Dfilfr  of  the  niLignetism  of  the  [ijale  will  he 
reveipei]  as  repre^Ttled  in  tliis  fieure. 


-shcju  ing  in  the  lir?it  figure  ihe  natuial  oritur  of 
ihe  niRj2;fietisni  of  the  body,  and  in  the  se- 
cond, the  induced  order,  in  iLc  magnetic 
fileep. 

FABALTSI3  IN  MA&HBTlq  SLBEP. 
On  a   SunJijy  evening  in  August  last,  a 

young  wotjiati,  nameil  Emma  W' -,  about 

2-1  years  of  a^e,  who  hail  long  been  a  Clair- 
voyani,  ami  who  hail  at  lenjjth  acquired  the 
power  ni  p tilling  herself  into  the  magnetic 
sleep,  without  the  aid  of  a  maf^nelisfer,  was 
at  the  office  of  the  Editor  of  this  work,  dur- 
ing his  absence  on  professiojial  duties,  await- 


60 


Paralys%$  in  Magnetic  Steep. 


ing  his  return.  A  friend  of  his  who  was 
also  staying  to  see  him,  thinking  this  a  good 
opportunity  to  elicit  the  phenomena  of  clair- 
Yoyance  with  less  liability  of  interruption 
than  might  have  been  afforded  on  a  business 
day,  requested  the  lady  to  put  herself  into 
that  state,  and  inform  him  concerning  the  na- 
ture of  the  luminous  atmosphere,  spots,  and 
opaque  body  of  the  sun.  She  replied  that 
she  feared  it  was  rather  a  dangerous  experi- 
ment, and  had  heard  of  several  clairvoyants 
who  had  suffered  severely  in  attempting  it 
She  nevertheless  consented,  saying  that  she 
would  endeavor  not  to  venture  tpo  far. 
In  the  course  of  five  or  six  minutes,she  man- 
ifested all  the  usual  symptoms  of  a  complete 
magnetic  sleep,  and  apprised  her  interrogator, 
with  some  slight  degree  of  irresolution,  that 
she  was  ready  to  attempt  an  inspection  of  the 
solar  orb..  Shortly  afterwards,  she  evinced 
a  highly  nervous  shrinking,  as  if  from  a  sense 
of  awe,  and  said,  in  answer  to  an  enquiry^ 
that  she  felt  the  solar  influence  to  be  too 
powerful  for  her  to  persist,  and  was  afraid  she 
would  lose  her  senses — in  her  own  words, 
she  feared  "  that  her  whole  mihd  would  be 
consumed.'*  She  was  accordingly  requested 
to  venture  no  farther,  but  remain  if  possible, 
in  the  position  she  bad  acquired,  and  describe 
what  she  saw.  She  then  said  that  she  had 
now  a  view  of  the  dark  body  of  the  sun — 
that  it  was  back,  but  highly  lustrous,  like 
'<  black  shining  melted  metal ;"  she  was  con- 
fident it  was  highly  metallic,  though  she 
oould  look  at  it  no  longer,  as  it  was  again 
closing  up  in  a  degree  oi  brightness  which 
she  could  not  endure. 

Whilst  obtaining  these  answers,  the  gen- 
tleman in  communication  with  her,  perceived 
that  her  left  arm  was  greatly  paralyzed,  and 
the  hand  became  so  tightly  clinched  that  he 
could  with  difficulty  rescue  his  fingers  from 
the  painful  grasp.  Speedily  she  announced 
that  she  was  absolutely  paralyzed  on  tbe 
whole  of  her  left  side,  and  was  fearful  that 
she  would  be  convulsed  all  over.  She  added 
that  <*  if  she  had  continued  «o  near  the  sun 
a  minute  longer,  the  influence  would  have 
killed  her  ;**  and,  as  it  was,  she  knew  not 
how  she  could  recover  from  the  convulsions 


she  felt  approaching,  unless  some  powerful 
magnetizer  could  be  obtained  to  awaken  ber. 
Shortly  after  this,  her  convulsions  became  so 
violent  and  alarming  as  to  induce  the  gen- 
tleman who  was  with  her  to  call  for  assis- 
tance to  hold  her  in  the  chair.  She  becaoie 
unable  to  speak  or  hear ;  she  breathed  only 
ai  long  intervals  and  with  great  labor ;  her 
right  hand  was  kept  so  forcibly  on  ber  heart 
that  it  could  not  be  moved  with  tbe  united 
strength  of  two  or  three  penons ;  and  tbe  as* 
tion  of  the  heart  itself  seemed  to  be  almoet 
entirely  suspended.  The  pulse  were  fright- 
fully intermittent,  and,  for  long  intervalB, 
wholly  imperceptible  ;  tbe  eyes  were  opes, 
with  the  pupils  half  buried  beneath  the  lov- 
er lids,  and  greatly  dilated. 

In  this  state,  varied  only  by  eonvulsim 
paroxysms  of  greater  or  less  intensity,  shs 
continued  nearly  four  hours,  when  the  vn* 
ter,  who  had  been  detained  much  beyond  bn 
usual  time,  returned.    He  found  her  eat* 
rounded  by  his  family  and  medical  asnetanto, 
together  with  a  magnetizer  and  a  male  clair- 
voyant who  had  been  sent  for  to  relieve  ier. 
Their  efforts,  however,  had  prodnced  on/y 
slight  and  transient  effects  in  mitigating  ber 
condition,  and  the  writer  judged  it  proper  to 
attempt  to  establish  a  communication  with 
her,  as  the  only  means  oi  awakening  ber, 
and  with  this  view  commenced  making  the 
long  magnetic  passes,  and  then   rereieed 
them.    The  effect  of  these  was  very  strikingi 
even  from  the  ftrst :  producing  sudden  bWHi 
followed  by  greater  freedom  of  respiraticB, 
and  some  degree  of  relaxation  of  the  mnsclA 
The  male  clairvoyant  present  being  in  a  nag* 
netic  state,  recommended  that  as  soon  aaktf 
arms  became  sufficiently  relaxed,  her  kaiii 
should  be  kept  in  a  basin  of  cold  water,  m 
the  passes  continued ;  adding  that,  under  thii 
process  she  would  awake  in  twenly**" 


minutes,  although  it  would  reqmrea 


laack 


longer  time  for  her  to  recover  from  whalM 
described  as  her  "  rash  attempt,"  the  eM 
of  which  upon  her  brain  and  nervous  ?y8<«" 
he  minutely  and  lucidly  described. 
As  soon  as  her  hands  could  be  ] 
the  water,  several  watches  were  o\ 
and  the  assigned  twenty-fivc-minnlee  ca- 
riously  awaited  by  the  spectators.   Pwc**' 


fbserrei 


A  Word  on  Magnetic  Machines. 


it 


ly  at  the  end  of  this  period*  ehe  awoke  and 
flpoke»her  whole  left  side,however,which  had 
ibrstbeea  attacked,  still  remaining  perfectly 
paralyzed,  not  excepting  even  the  left  arm 
which  had  been  so  directed  as  to  reach  the  ba- 
an  of  water.  To  remove  this  state  of  paralysis, 
the  writer  found  it  necessary  to  resort  to  the 
Magnetic  Machine.  It  was  used  three  times 
a  day,  and  on  the  third  day  the  paralysis  dis- 
appeared, and  she  was  able  to  return  to 
her  home. 

We  publish  this  case  as  a  caution  to  mag- 
netizers  and  clairvoyants  against  gratifying 
the  curiosity,  so  frequently  evinced  by  per- 
flons  ignorant  of  the  dangerous  nature  of  the 
experiment,  of  instituting  clairvoyant  explo 
Tations  of  the  sun.  This  is  but  one  out  of 
many  well  authenticated  instances  which  we 
might  report,  in  which  the  attempt  has  near- 
ly prorred  fatal.  The  planets,  however, 
may  l>e,  and  frequently  arc  examined  by  good 
clairvoyants,  with  perfect  safety  and  success. 

A  Word  oa  Magaotio  Maobls^s. 

The  Magnetic  Machines  first  generally  in- 
troduced among  the  medical  profeRsion  m 
this  country,  accompanied  with  careful  di- 
rections for  their  use  in  a  scientific  and  efiec- 
tual  manner,  were  manufactured  under  the 
■inspection  of  the  editor  of  this  Joamal,  ac^d 
those  directions  were  in  accordance  with 
personal  observations  and  experimenfs,  made 
in  the  couree  of  an  extensive  and  varioas 
pvactiee.  We  were  induced  to  commence 
the  manufacture  of  them,  not  only  because 
we  saw  that  we  could  make  those  improve- 
ments in  their  construction  and  efficiency 
which  we  have  introduced,  and  by  which 
our  instruments  immediately  became  striking- 
ly distinguished,  but  also  because  we  deeply 
felt  the  importance  of  the  consideration  that 
those  who  might  be  induced  to  try  this  new 
earative  inflaenee.  and,  among  these,  medi- 
cal men^in  particular,  shouM  be  in  po8ses.<«ion 
of  an  instrument  upon  which  they  could  rely, 
and  not  become  discouraged  or  prejudiced 
with  regard  to  the  influence  itself,  on  account 
of  the  defectiveness  or  inadequacy  of  the 
machinery  emptoyed. 

We  soon  had  the  happiness  to  observe 


that  the  improved  machines  of  our  own 
manufacture,  accompanied  by  a  Manual  of 
Directions  for  Use,  gave  great  satisfaction, 
and  accomplished  our  highest  expectations, 
both  in  professional  and  domestic  practice. 

Their  superiority  and  efficiency,  however, 
soon  incited  a  host  of  merely  mercenary  imi- 
tators, and  a  multitude  of  miserable  imita- 
tions, the  distribution  of  which,  unaccompa- 
nied by  experienced  and  scientiiic  instruc- 
tions, has  already  caused  great  disappoint- 
ment, and  thus,  to  a  certain  extent,  superin- 
duced the  very  mischief  which  it  was  our 
first  and  strongest  motive  to  prevent  We 
are  thus  compelled,  in  self-defence,  as  well 
as  in  defence  of  a  source  of  human  relief 
and  health,  demon^tmbly  of  inestimable 
value,  to  continue  the  manufacture  of  our 
own  instruments,  and  to  caution  the  public 
against  the  worthless  imitations  to  which  we 
have  referred,  and  the  unscrupulous  quack- 
ery with  which  they  are  accompanied.  One 
of  the  most  barefaced  (though  not  on  that 
account  the  most  pernicious)  of  these  exam- 
ples, is  the  following,  which  we  copy  iron 
a  Philadelphia  paper : — 

Profttsor  Grants  Premium  Electro 

Magnetic  Machines. 

Th«M  MackiMt  k«T« 
|])u  year  obtained  lb* 
lllGHBflTPREMlUlf 
n  warded  to  Electro 
Magnetic  Machines,  at 
I  he  Fair  of  ihe  Frank- 
lin  InHitule;  and  to 
sbow  that  tbieav  ard  is 
m  leel  of  the  high  merit 

__ df  iheee  Macbinee,  it 

ma^  be  mtnitondd  thai  itt«  wtiB  placed  in  comrgi- 
tion  with  ihipiii  ihr  Firs  I  PicTOium  Macnm«'»  oTvr. 
Soutb,  j**i«4i;-y  tii,-*  i^  l^u  ^i  tbe  American  iDsti- 
lute  in  NewYoik,  which  there  look  the  FTemitim  over 
Shetwood't,  Pike'e,  tnd  otber*,end  alto  Maebmeafiem 
thr  best  man ofacturers  in  Philadelphia. 

The  pecaljar  merit  of  thete  Mac  hinea,  eonM»l*i»  the 
inleasiiT  of  the  Ulecuo  Magnetic  current  exhibited. 
Thai  ihisiniensityis  aqaalityewential  lo  the  ntihlyof 
ihe  Machine,  may  be  moved  by  ihe  fact  that  more  enrea 
have  been  accnniplikhed  by  these  inftlruments,  than  by 
all  other  Macbinee  conjointly. 

More  than  four  hundred  referencesand  certificates  of 
cures  performed  within  ihe  past  year,  can  be  prodneed, 
•    •  ^  *^     lbe»e  Ma- 

„„^.. ^.„^. ^^ ave  utterly 

failed. '  All  kinds  of  Chronic  Dis«acee  are  removed  br 
ihese  applications,  when  persevering' y  continued. 
Eveiy  PhyMcian  should  be  supplied  wiih  one.  and  also 

" •!_     1- -> '-l^    *_    — .•i_Il    aikA«H«*At««*a 


where  cures  have   been  accomplished  bv  t 
chines,  when  all  other  medical  appliances  nave  utterly 
j-_.i-j      >•!  i-.-__i_  _**>.- — !_  ,^z emnved  bj 

continued. 

^  .  _^ ^.  le.  and  all 

eveiy  Family,  who  wish  to  avaTl  themselves  of  thisi 
valuable  i^pecific  for  all  the  ills  that  fle^h  is  heir  to. 

They  ate  put  up  in  neat  mahc^ny  boxes,  at  a  pnca 
varying  from  tlO  lo  #16.  The  tlO  Machines  aie  wat- 
rantad  to  act  at  efficiently  as  those  »old  elsewhere  at 
•16.  They  may  be  obtained  at  JOHN  C.  PARR'S 
Jewelry  Establishment,  No  112  Chesnat  street.  I'bUft. 


delphia,  and  at  the  Manufactory  of  MR.  BRUSH  Al^ 
fnnrth  story  of  the  aame  building.  Sole  Agcnu  and 
MMofMiarer*  lar  tha  Uaited  Slatts. 


62 


New  Discovery  in  Medicine* 


tQf'  TheT  will  be  Mnt  for  a  cash  nrder  lo  any  p:rt 
of  the  World,  noAily  packed  upj  and  accompanicfd  by  a 
pamphlet,  with  fnil  diteciions  lor  their  qm. 

It  is  here  most  impudently  asserted  that 
'< Sherwood's,"  meaning  our  Magnetic  Ma- 
chine, was  placed  in  competition  with  those 
of  Mr.  (not  Dr.)  Smith,  and  Mr.  Pike,  at  the 
late  Fair  of  the  American  Institute  of  this 
city ;  and  that  as  the  said  Mr.  Smith'sMachine 
took  the  First  Premium  orer  ours  and  Mr. 
Pike's,  on  that  occasion,  so  this  Professor 
Grant's  Machine  took  the  First  Premium 
over  all,  at  the  subsequent  Fair  of  the  Frank* 
lin  Institute,  in  Philadelphia.  It  is  unfortu- 
nate  for  this  arrant  climax  of  pretension  that 
it  rests  entirely  upon  an  unscrupulous  false- 
hood ;  the  exposure  of  which,  must  throw 
the  whole  fabric  to  the  ground.  No  ma- 
chine of  ours  was  at  that  Fairoi  the  Ameri- 
can Institnte;  and  consequently  no  other 
took  the  Premium  over  it.  We  are  content 
that  it  should  continue  to  be  considered  as  the 
best  by  the  medical  profession,  who  are  the 
best  judges,  and  have  never  sought  to  endow 
it  with  a  factitious  and  mere  clap- trap  noto- 
riety. We  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  several  machines  of  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Pike,  and  also  with  tiiis  boasted  one  of 
Grant's ;  and  have  not  a  moment's  hesitation 
in  saying  thateithei  of  the  two  former  is  in- 
finitely superior  to  the  latler— Hi  though  infe- 
rior to  our  own.  It  will  be  seen,  that  the 
above  advertisement,  chims  it  as  the  "pecu- 
liar merit"  of  Grant's  Machine  that  it  exhi- 
bits a  greater  intensity  of  power:  and  this 
merit  will  certainly  appear  to  be  "  very  pe- 
culiar" when  we  state  that  two  of  these  seif- 
flame  machines  have  been  sent  to  us,  direct 
from  Philadelphia  to  increase  their  power, 
and  to  substitute  our  metallic  buttons  for  the 
sponges  with  which  the  forces  of  this  kind 
of  machine  are  applied.  One  of  these  ma- 
chines, in  fact,  is  now^  in  our  office,  and  open 
for  comparative  inspection  and  trial. 

And  here  we  deem  it  proper  to  remark,  in 
reference  to  this  machine  of  Grant's,  and  to 
all  others  in  which  sponges  are  used  instead 
of  metallic  buttons,  that  the  sponge  is  highly 
objectionable  on  account  of  its  evident  liabili- 
ty to  communicate  disease  from  one  patient 
to  another,  and  from  one  part  of  the  body  to 
another.  It  is  evident  that  a  moist  sponge, 
under  any  circumstances,  after  being  used 


on  a  sore,  or  any  diseased  part,  is  well  cal- 
culated to  convey  disease  from  part  to  pait, 
or  person  to  person ;  and  that  this  liability 
is  greatly  enhanced  by  its  connexion  vridi 
a  magnetic  wire,  and  the  forces  which  pan 
through  it,  is  hut  too  obvious  It  is  well 
known  that  water  is  one  of  the  best  eondiu- 
tors  of  these  foices,  and  that  the  sensible 
power  of  the  machine  is  greatly  increased 
by  the  medium  of  a  wet  sponge ;  hence  the 
use  of  this  material,  and  hence  also  the  (^ 
portunity  afforded  of  passing  ofi  machines  of 
really  inferior  power  and  cost  of  manoiM- 
ture  as  equal  or  superior  to  othe»  of  iocom* 
parably  greater  real  force  and  substantial 
value.  If  a  patient,  under  any  peculiir 
fancy,  should  wish  to  try  how  much  of  the 
sensible  force  of  a  machine  he  can  bear,  he 
can  readily  be  accommodated,  if  not  exadlf 
gratified,  by  wetting  the  metallic  buttons,  or 
the  part  to  which  they  are  applied,  with  pare 
water,  and  thus  dispense  with  the  ofksmt 
and  very  possibly  dangerous  use  of  fbe 
sponge;  besides  avoiding  the  iropoaitioB 
upon  himself  of  a  bad  Magnetic  Macliine 

for  a  good  one.        

K«w  DUoovcry  in  If edkiae* 

The  newspapers  have  given,  vifbin  toe 
last  few  days,  some  eloquent  ckseriptioBi  of 
a  new  and  wonderful  medicine»  iBv«nl0lar 
discovered  by  an  Italian  chemist,  aad  esllad 
after  his  name.  If  all  the  accoanfs  are  cor- 
rect which  have  been  given  of  Ihia  n^wdi^ 
covery,  it  is  a  perfect  philoaopber^ilce^" 
the  long  looked  for  elixir  of  life* 

According  to  these  accoonti,  thif  nevlf 
diacovered  medicine  consiataof  aliqpidff* 
traeted  from  vegetable  prodiicta,  whieh,b«iB| 
applied  to  wounds  or  cuts,  even  of  the  cirt- 
tid  artery,  causes  an  immediate  sospenalfla^ 
hemorrhage,  and  heals  the  parts  i>  *  ^ 
minutea*  It  is  aaid  to  be  a  perfect  cure  >v 
all  aorts  of  diaordera,  from  the  begUioiaf  o> 
the  alphabet  to  the  end.  The  aeeomiti  gir* 
of  experiments  made  in  Paris,  before  (be 
whole  circle  of  physicians  and  mrstoai 
there,  are  of  a  remarkable  character.^  TIm* 
experimenta  were  made  npon  certain  nath 
cent  aheep,  whose  throats  were  iabiwsBj 
cut  to  teat  the  elBcacy  of  the  nedicioe,  aaj 
were  probably  afterwarda  eaten,  as  reryifOO" 
mutton,  by  thoae  who  made  the  experlBej* 

The  first  account  of  thia  extraordiaaiy  «• 
covery  in  the  art  of  healing,  has  been  PJ*J 
to  the  world  by  a  certain  Chevalier  atticW 
to  the  French  newspaper  published  to  »■ 
city.  Whether  he  ia  a  lineal  desceDilMt« 
Baron  Munehauaen  we  do  not  know;  ^Jjj 
toinly  the  atory  looks  very  moch  like  it  TBi 
famona  Moon  hoax  waa  not  more  inproty 
than  thia  atory  of  the  Em  BrMtrir-^^ 
York  Hfidd,  Joman  fi>  1^46.  i 


Dr.  lAebig  an  Animal  Chemistry. 


bZ 


REVIEWS. 
Anmol   Chemistry,  or  Organic  Chemistry 
in  its  applitation  to  Physiology  and  Pa- 
thology. By  Justus  Li£Bi6,  MO. 
&c.      LoDdon:    Taylor   and 
Watson,  1842,  pp.  354. 
The  position  which  Liebig  now  holds  as 
a  European  chemist  may  certainly  be  said 
to  be  the  highest ;  even  Sir  Humphrey  Davy, 
lauded  and  caressed  as  he  was  on  all  sides, 
did  not  enjoy  a  greater  share  of  popalarity 
with  scientific  men  in  general,  and  more 
particularly  with  the  public  in  this  country, 
than  does  the  present  Professor  ot  Chemis- 
try iu  a  hitherto  obscure  German  university. 
Nor  win  this  be  wondered  at,  if  we  look 
back  upon  the  history  of  this  extraordinary 
man.     Whilst  yet  a  youth  of  nineteen  years 
of  age,  he  published  his  paper  on  the  C3fanic 
and  Fulminic  Acids,  a  work  which  bore 
apon  it  the  stamp  of  genius,  and  proved  in- 
ooatestably  that  the  author  was  then  not 
only  a  good  practical  chemist,  but  also  en- 
dowed with  great  acumen  and  uncommon 
powers  of  analysis.    From  that  time  until 
the  present,  he  has  never  ceascKl  to  pursue 
his  researches  with  most  praisew(>rthy  zeal, 
and  year  after  year,  nay,  month  after  month, 
has  borne  testimony  to  the  successful  research 
and  patient  industry  of  our  author.    His 
papers,  several  of  them  written  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Wohler,  merit  the  highest  praise 
We  need  only  mention  his  celebrated  one  on 
Ae  radical  of  the  oil  of  bitter  almonds,  to 
remind  our  chemical  readers  of  the  impulse 
^ven  to  the  investigation  of  the  compound 
radicals  by  its  publication,  which  indeed  now 
bears  its  fruit  by  the  hands  of  previously 
eminent  chemists,  and  of  others  formerly 
unknown  to  science,  but  who  now,  reared 
in  the  school  of  Giessen,  enjoy  a  reputation 
more  than  respectable,  amongst  the  cultiva- 
tors of  the  science  of  chemistry.    The  work 
now  before  us  has  been  in  the  hands  of  our 
readers  for  a  considerable  time,  and  none,  we 
may  safely  say,  of  modern  authorship  has 
produced  a  more  vivid  excitement  in  the 
scientific  world.    Its  publication  has  effected 
immense  good,  by  directing  the  attention  of 
medieal  men,  previously  too  little  devoted  to 
chemistry,  to  a  careiul  study  of  that  science 
Medieal  journals,  which  ten  years  ago  teem- 
ed with  papers  the  most  puerile,  and  which 
often    indicated  the  grossest  ignorance  of 
chemistry,  are  now,  following  the  general 
rule  of  running  into  extremes,  filled  with 
papers  so  recherche,  that  we  have  chemical 
explanations    not   only  of     the    processes 
through  which  the  aliment  v^e  swallow  pass- 
es, but  even  of  the  action  of  the  condiments 
and  medicinal  substances   consumed  atong 
with  it,*-«ihe  whole  confirmed  by  a  chemical 


analysis,  of  course  not  to  be  disputed,  of 
teiiiiis  of  grains,  and  of  the  ratio  that  the 
constituents  of  these  bear  to  some  important 
secretion  weighing  ounces! 

Thfcse  are  circumstances  that  give  ps  infi- 
nite pleasure;  and  we  sincerely  trust  that 
the  authors  of  these  multifarious  papers  will 
hold  us  in  no  disesteem,  if,  in  the  course  of 
the  following  remarks,  which  our  duty,  as 
jourr  alists,  compel  us  to  make  on  the  work 
of  their  master,  we  should  appear  to  hold  a 
doubtful  opinion  as  to  the  merits,  importance, 
and  even  scientific  trutti  of  what  he  and 
they  have  asserted.  The  consideration  of 
the  organic  chemistry  is,  however,  to  be  ap- 
proached in  no  light  spirit,  but  merits  our 
attentive  perusal  and  careful  examination. 
Some  of  the  doctrines  enumerated  by  Liebig 
and  his  disciples  are  so  startling,  and  are 
apparently  supported  by  facts  so  incontro- 
vertible, that  the  whole  work  wears  an  air 
of  plausibility,  and  engages  the  attention  by 
a  pleasing  simplicity  of  arrangement,  which 
must  prove  exceedingly  captivating  to  all 
who  are  desirous  of  information  on  the  che- 
mistry of  physiology.  It  is  not  our  intention 
to  attempt  a  minute  critique  on  the  whole 
work  of  the  author,  as,  to  do  justice,  in  all 
its  details,  to  a  subject  of  this  nature,  would 
require  a  space  which  our  limits  cannot 
allow  We  would,  however,  as  much  as 
possible  direct  the  attention  of  our  readers  to 
those  parts  of  it  most  intimately  connected 
with  medicine ;  and  as  these,  if  not  entirely 
new,  are  at  least  for  the  first  time  brought 
forward  in  a  formal  manner,  they  are  well 
deserving  of  it. 

The  organic  chemistry  is  divided  into 
three  parts, — the  Jfr*/,  is  devoted  to  the  ex- 
amination of  the  chemistry  of  nutrition; — 
the  second,  to  the  subject  of  the  metamorpho- 
sis of  the  tissues ;- -and  the  third,  to  the 
phenomena  of  motion,  &c.  The  first  part 
commences  with  some  very  judicious  re- 
marks on  the  subject  of  vitaJity;  but  at  the 
second  page  we  nnd  a  statement  }rhich  we 
cannot  conceive  to  exnress  well  what  the 
author  means.  It  runs  thus ; — ••  The  animal 
organism  reouires,  for  its  sup])OTt  and  devel- 
opment,  hignly  organized  atoms."  This  is 
a  very  loose  and  inaccuiate  manner  of  say- 
ing that  animals  require  for  nutrition  a  more 
complex  class  of  chemical  compounds  than 
those  formed  by  the  ordinary  inorganic  reac- 
tions. We  may  infer  from  this,  and  many 
similar  oversights,  that  Liebig  has  not  very 
clear  notions  of  the  terms  of  vitality  and 
life;  for  a  few  pages  farther  on,  we  find 
expressions  which  plainly  show  that  these 
are,  in  his  opinion,  identical.  P.  11  : — 
♦•  Certain  phenomena  of  motion  and  activity," 
says  he,  "  are  perceived ;  and  these  we  call 
^ife  or  vitality."    This,  we  confess,  appear* 


64 


Dr.  Liehig  on  Animal  Chemistry. 


to  U8  to  sonnd  mtfaer  contradictory  when 
placed  in  juxtaposition  with  the  firbt  sentence 
mthe  book,  where  vitality  is  distinctly  stated 
to  be  the  force  which,  acted  on  by  external 
stimuli,  produces  the  above  described  pheno- 
mena of  motion.  We  find,  in  the  succeeding 
pages,  some  interesting  general  remarks  on 
the  proportion  of  oxygen  consumed  at  differ- 
ent temperatures,  and  on  the  necessity  of  an 
increased  amount  of  carbonaceous  aliments 
at  low  degrees  of  heat;  with  illustrations 
from  the  fact,  that  natives  of  northern  dis- 
tricts can  consume  with  impunity  much  lar- 
St  quantities  of  flesh  and  stimulating  drinks, 
an  inhabitants  of  the  tropics.  Without 
denyine,  in  Mo,  what  Liebig  has  said  on 
this  sttDJect,  we  would  merely  throw  out  a 
hint  as  to  how  far  these  so  called  carbonace- 
ous articles  of  diet  of  northern  people  do  act 
in  the  manner  he  describes;  and  would  ask, 
whether  the  desire  for  such  food  is  not  to  be 
ascribed  as  much  to  its  stimulating  nature, 
as  to  its  merely  chemical  constitution  ?  Can 
here  be  any  doubt  that  the  natives  of  India, 
tthrive  well  on  a  most  carbonaceous  diet 
whilst  European  residents  die  from  various 
causes,  and  amongst  them,  from  the  abuse  of 
highly  azotized  and  stimulating  articles  of 
aliment  ?  It  requires  that  a  person  should 
have  seen  but  once  the  enormous  quantity  ol 
rice  and  ghee  consumed  by  a  Hindoo  at  a 
single  meal,  to  satisfy  himself,  that  the  con- 
clusions of  our  author,  however  plausible 
they  may  appear,  are  still  to  be  received 
with  caution.  The  experiments  of  Pepys, 
made  many  years  ago,  were  conclusive  to 
the  point,  that  the  same  person  under  the 
influence  of  intoxicating  liquors,  exhaled 
less  carbonic  acid  than  when  not  subjected 
to  it, — a  fesult  directly  the  reverse  of  what 
we  should,  according  to  our  author's  views, 
have  expected  to  take  place.  In  stating  this, 
however,  we  quite  agree  with  the  general 
conclusion  to  which  he  has  come,  that 
there  is  no  support  to  the  opinion  that  there 
exists  m  the  animal  body  any  other  unknown 
source  of  heat,  besides  the  mutual  chemical 
action  between  the  element  of  the  food  and 
the  oxygen  of  the  air. 

Glancing  hurriedly  at  the  many  topics 
which  engage  the  attention  of  our  author  in 
this  the  first  part  of  his  work,  we  have  only 
space  to  call  attention  to  some  statements 
more  marked  than  others;  and  we  cannot 
pass  over  the  one  at  p.  39,  Without  express- 
ing our  doubt  of  its  correctness.  "  Exercise 
and  labour,"  says  he,  "  cause  a  diminution 
in  the  quantity  of  the  menstrual  discharge ; 
and  when  it  is  suppressed  in  consequence  of 
disease,  the  vegetative  life  is  manifested  in  a 
morbid  deposition  of  fat.*'  Now.  as  far  as 
our  experience  goes,  and  we  ghould  say  that 


of  most  practical  medical  men,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  suppression  of  diis  important 
secretion,  symptomatic  as  it  for  the  most 
part  is  of  a  derangement  of  the  very  fnnctiooi 
which  constitute  the  so-called  vmtative  life, 
is  inimical  to  the  deposition  of  fat.  Hut 
increased  bulk  freqoently  lecults  from  it  we 
do  not  deny;  but  that  this  depends  on  serous 
deposits  in  the  cellular  tiesae,  &c ,  is  too 
obvious  to  require  more  than  a  mere  com- 
ment on  the  cirenmelance.  The  charter 
which  has  given  rise  to  these  reoMrk8,is 
exceedingly  interesting,  and  concludes  with 
a  cladsification  of  the  articles  of  diet  in  a 
twofold  division ;  i.  e.  plastic  elements  of 
nutrition,  and  the  elements  of  respiratkn. 
For  further  information  on  theee  points,  ve 
must,  however,  refer  our  readers  to  the  woik 
itself. 

The  Second  Chapter  is  headed,  *<  On  tU 
Metamorphosis  of  tbe  Tissues  ^  *^  ^^ 
the  extensive  practical  knowledge  of  ov 
author  is  exhibited.    But  here  facts  area) 
mixed  up  with  hypotheses,  that  we  are  fre- 
quently at  a  k)sa  to  know  what  abatements 
are  true,  and  what  merely  assumptwns.  At 
page  lU,  in  speaking  of  the  oiiantilieB  of 
air  which  reach  the  etomach  with  themiiva* 
he  states,-^'  The  fact,  that  nitrogen  is^rai 
out  by  the  skin  and  lungs,  is  e.xpl«io«i  by 
the  property  which  animal  membwn*  ?*• 
sees,  of  allowing  all  gases  to  pemoie  tbco, 
a  property  which  can  beshewntotti[<"y 
the  most  simple  experiments."  Theafollowa 
an  account  of  the  well-known  lad  ot  ue 
permeability  of  dead  animal  mefflbiane  to 
gases:  " and  that  it  is  a  mechanical  propo^ 
common  to  all  animal  tissues,  and  is  fpi» 
in  the  same  denee  in  the  iiviac  v  >f  7 
dead  tissue."    Now,  we  are  all  ?»»"? 
aware,  that  such  penneability,  as  a  o****'^ 
cai  property,  exists  in  the  dead  tissues    W. 
as  physiologists,  we  are  compelled  tDCh«- 
tate  before  we  can  designate  it  as  ;e"q 
such  in  the  living  membrane.    4  ^"ST 
lating  strongly  against  this  doctrine  ifc"» 
different  gases  when  introduced  into  a  tiei» 
are  not  aheorbed  with  the  same  rapidity  jn** 
in  cases  of  emphysema,  the  oxyaen  fW 
penrs  long  before  the  nitrogen,  and  tbia  » 
of  itself  ia  sufficient,  were  oihem  ^••^"Jvr 
shew  that  this  iasomething  more  iha«*««*^ 
ly  mechanical  cause  in  operation,  beinc. 
deed,  but  a  result  in  conlbnnity  witn  w 
general  law,  that,  within  certain  Inn'**  V* 
more  stimulating  the  substance  the  moi«nr 
idly  is  it  absorb^.  ,. 

The  paragraph    immediately  ■"  V*^ 
eives  an  explanation  of  the  mode  ^^^^ 
duction  of  traumatic  emphysema,  wHkAcobj 
drms  our  impreaeion  of  the  ^«P'^'y*. 
Uebig'a  ideaaon  ittl)iecti»pMt  w»«**^ 


Dr  Liebig  on  Animal  Chemisti^. 


6B 


try.  Itroiid  thus: — "It  is  known  that  in 
cases  of  wounds  of  the  lungs  a  peculiar  con- 
dition is  produced,  in  which,  by  the  act  of 
inspiration,  not  only  oxygen,  but  atmos- 

gierical  air,  with  its  whole  amount,  four- 
ths of  nitron  penetrates  into  the  cells  of 
the  lungs,  liie  air  is  caried  by  the  circula- 
tion to  erery  part  of  the  body,  so  that  every 
part  is  inflated  or  puffed  up  with  the  air,  as 
with  water  in  dropsy.*'  To  assume  that  the 
air  is  absorbed  by  the  blood,  and  again  de- 
posited tn  the  tissues,  is  most  illogical,  besides 
Deing  quite  opposed  to  ail  fact.  The  air,  as 
aU  surgeons  know,  is  forced  into  the  cellular 
tissue  sui rounding  the  wounded  costal  pleura, 
and  is  in  the  ratio  of  the  size  of  the  wound 
of  the  pleura  and  of  the  force  of  the  inspira- 
tions. Were  the  explanation  given  by  Liebig 
correct,  we  should  find  emphysema  as  one  of 
the  results  of  the  poisoning  of  the  feather 
white  wine,  the  noxious  qualities  of  which 
he  explains  on  the  supposition  that  the  car- 
honic  acid,  so  abundantly  generated  in  the 
stomach  after  drinking  it,  permeates  the 
stomach,  the  diaphragm,  and  both  the  layers 
of  the  pleura,  although  it  seems  to  make  no 
stay  between  these,  but  proceeds  at  once  to 
the  air-cells,  to  suffocate  the  unfortunate 
drankard ;  and  the  proof  that  this  is  the  fact, 
is  found  in  the  circumstance,  that  the  inhala- 
tion of  ammonia  is  recognized  as  the  best 
antidote  s^inst  this  kind  of  poisoning.  This 
hasty  conclusion  is  not,  however,  at  all  jus- 
tifiable. Such  a  mode  of  procedure  on  the 
part  of  the  carbonic  acid  is  open  to  nume- 
rous objections :  and  although  it  is  not  eas^ 
to  say  what  is  the  cause  of  death  iu  the  poi- 
soning by  this  wine,  it  is  much  more  rational 
to  suppose  that  it  may  be  produced  by  such 
a  rapid  accumulation  of  eas  as  to  produce 
asphyxia,  by  suspension  of  the  action  of  the 
diapnragm,  knowing,  as  we  do,  the  effects 
that  result  from  spasm  of  this  muscle  in  an- 
gina pectoris ;  or,  again,  supposing  the  gas 
18  eructated  with  great  force  and  rapidity,  it 
may  cause,  what  carbonic  acid  when  pure 
immediately  does,  spasm  of  the  glottis,  which 
must  be  rapidly  fatal.  The  relief  afforded 
by  the  ammonia  may  be  explained  on  grounds 
other  than  chemical,  and  is  much  more  likely 
to  arise  from  its  stimulant  effects  on  the  ner- 
Tous  system,  than  from  its  forming  a  salt  in 
the  air  tubes  and  cells,  as  poisonous  in  that 
situation  as  the  original  carbonic  acid  would 
have  proved. 

The  whole  of  this  part  of  the  chapter  is 
in  the  same  style,  consisting,  for  the  most 
part,  of  assumptions  without  proof,  and  con 
tortions  of  phenomena  to  suit  particular  hy- 
potheses of  the  author. 

In  the  opinion  of  liebig,  theine,  cafierine, 
theobromine,  may  be  considered  as  the  food  of 


the  liver  ;  for,  by  the  addition  of  oxygen  and 
water  to  the  two  former,  a  constituent  of  the 
bile-  -taurine — ^may  be  formed ;  and,  by  the 
same  addition  to  the  elements  of  theobromine, 
taurine  and  urea,  or  taurine  and  uric  acids 
may  be  produced.  Two  and  eight-tenths 
of  a  grain  of  caffeine  can  give  to  an  ounce 
of  bijte  the  nitrogen  it  contains  in  the  form  of 
taurine.  And  he  infers  from  this,  that  the 
reason  of  these  substances  having  become  in 
their  use  so  univessal,  as  articles  of  diet,  is, 
that  thoe^who  chiefly  live  on  vmtablestake 
them  instinctively,  as  it  were,  lot  the  pur- 
pose of  supplying  azote  to  the  bile,  which 
must  otherwise  have  come  from  the  waste  of 
the  tissues.  The  quantity  of  theine  and 
caffeine,  contained  in  the  infusions  we  drink, 
is,  however,  so  extremely  small,  that,  al* 
though  we  may  admit  their  action  to  be  as  he 
describes,  yet,  practically  speakine,  it  is  as 
ni/,  compared  to  the  amount  of  biliary  secre- 
tion. We  must  look  for  an  explanation  of 
the  desire  for  these  articles,  other  than  any 
dietetic  purpose  they  can  serve,  in  the  prop- 
erties they  j)03se8s  of  acting  ns  stimulants  on 
the  nervous  system.  In  no  other  way  can 
we  understand  how  green  tea  acts  with  such 
energy,  cotfipared  with  coflee,  when  the 
quantity  of  caffeine  in  the  latter  far  exceeds 
that  in  the  former,  than  by  assuming  that 
the  action  is  dynamic,  and  not,  as  Liebig 
would  infer,  chemical. 

The  attempt  to  explain  the  mode  of  action 
of  organic  medical  agents,  on  the  hypothesis 
that  these,  being  azotized  bodies,  produce  a 
peculiar  change  in  the  chemical  constitution 
of  the  nervous  tissue,  is  exceedingly  unsat- 
isfactory ;  for,  were  it  so,  the  objection  which 
Liebig  himself  states  is  fatal,  seeing  that  the 
poisonous  properties  of  these  bodies  is  not  in 
the  ratio  of  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  they 
contain;  picrotoxine,  which,  if  it  contains 
any,  at  alt  events  very  little,  of  that  element, 
bein^  exceedingly  poisonous,  whilst  caffeine, 
duinine,  &c  ,  are  not  so. 

«'  The  acton,"  he  says,  *'  of  these  bodies  is 
commonly  said  to  be  dynamic,  that  is,  it  ac- 
celerates, or  retards,  or  alters,  in  some  man- 
ner, the  phenomena  of  motion  in  animal  life. 
If  we  reflect  that  this  action  is  exerted  by  sub- 
stances which  are  material,  tan^ble,  and 
ponderable ; — that  they  disappear  m  the  or- 
eanism ; — that  a  double  dose  acts  more  power- 
fully than  a  single  one ; — that,  after  a  time, 
a  fresh  dose  must  be  given  if  we  wish  to  pro- 
duce the  action  a  second  time ;  all  these  con- 
siderations, viewed  chemically,  permit  only 
one  form  of  explanation, — ^the  supposition, 
namely,  that  these  compounds,  by  means  of 
their  elements,  take  a  share  in  the  formation 
of  new,  or  the  transformation  of  existing, 
brain  and  nervous  matter." 


66 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


The  common  view,  thatlhe  action  is  dy- 
namic, is  in  want* of  other  proof,  duile  ai» 
probable  as  the  chemical  view  taken  of  the 
matter  by  Liebig,  and  explains,  equally  satis- 
factorily,  the  necessity  of  increased  dose  to 
produce  the  previous  effect ;  and,  in  the  pres- 
ent state  of  chemical  analysis,  is  likely  to 
hold  its  ^ound  against  the  doctrines  here  in> 
culcated.  The  dynamic  theory  renders  quite 
clear  to  our  mind  the  effect  of  immaterial 
agencies  in  disturbing,  exciting,  or  exhaus> 
ting,  the  susceptibihties  of  the  nervous  tis- 
sue, which  the  chemical  one  of  addmg  to,  or 
abstracting  from,  the  inorganic  components 
of  the  tissue  cannot  do. 

We  shall,  in  our  next,  resume  the  subject, 
and  examine  the  contents  of  the  Third  Chap- 
ter,  which  contains  **  The  Phenomena  of 
Motion  in  the  Animal  Oreanism, — the  Theo 
ry  of  Respiration, — and  the  Theory  of  Dis 
ease 


HBREDITIRT   DI8S18E. 

One  of  the  families  of  this  village,  (Tru- 
man Judson,  by  name,)  consisting  of  nine 
members,  have  all  been  sick  with  a  malig- 
nant form  of  typhus  fever.  O^il  of  this 
number  five  have  died — the  father  and  mo- 
ther, one  son  and  two  daughters.  It  has 
been  remarkable  that  the  sickness  had  been 
confined  exclusively  to  this  house,  and  al- 
thoa^h  apparently  of  the  most  malignant 
character,  and  for  weeks  there  have  been 
from  four  to  six  watchers  day  and  nieht,  no 
other  person  in  the  town  has  taken  tne  dis- 
ease. But  the  most  peculiar  fact  is.  that  just 
twenty-one  years  ago  this  same  sickness  ap- 

£  eared  in  the  family  of  the  mother  of  this 
ousehold,  which  family,  as  this,  was  com- 
posed of  nine  members,  and  out  of  these 
nine  the  same  number  as  now.  five,  were 
carried  to  their  graves.  As  now,  no  other 
persons  of  the  town  then  took  the  fever. 
Perhaps  this  fact  might  be  considered  by 
physicians  in  some  way  instructive. 

Letter  from  Woodbury,  Ct. 


The  Giant  Aoaix. — The  skeleton  found 
50  feet  below  the  suiface  of  the  earth,  jam- 
med between  the  rocks,  is  now  exhibiting  in 
Nashville,  having  been  uut  together  as  well 
as  could  be  with  several  bones  broken  It 
prei*entB  the  appearance  of  a  human  skeleton 
measuring  16  leet  from  the  top  of  the  skull 
bone  to  the  bottom  of  the  ankle  bones.  Such 
wonderful  men  must  have  been  formed  to 
match  the  extraordinary  mastadon  found  in 
thai  neighborhood.  It  is  impossible  to  say 
when  they  existed.  If*  Y.  Sun, 


Ob  Ineision  of  tb«  Tnniea  AlboffliiMi  in  o«im 
of  Inflammation  of  tha  Snbstanca  of  thcTaatiele. 

Infiamroationof  the  substance  of  the  testicle 
is  often  attended  by  intense  pain,  wbich  it 
seems  rational  to  attribute  to  a  kind  of  stran- 
gulation produced  by  the  unyielding  natuie 
of  the  tunica  albuginea.     When  this  pain 
continues  long,  is  of  an  intense  nature,  and 
obstinately  resists    the    usual    therapeutic 
means,  suppuration  of  the  testicle  is  to  be 
dreaded.     With  the  view  of  relieving  these 
intense  pains,  and  preventing  the  termination 
in  suppuration,  M.  Vidal  exposes  the  testicle 
and  carefully  divides  iha  tunica  albugineahy 
a  longitudinal  incision.    He  has  already  per- 
formed this  operation  fifteen  times  success- 
fully :  and  in  answer  to  any  supposed  per- 
manent injury  which  the  testicle  might  be 
supposed  to  receive  Irom  injury  of  the  seme- 
niferous  canals  by  the  incision,  or  from  the 
testicle  becoming  fixed  in  consequence  of 
union  with  the  cicatrix,  M.  Vidal  answers.-^ 
1.  The  mfiammation  of  the  testicle  ends  In 
resolution    after    the    operation.     2.    The 
wound  of  the  tunica  albuginea  becomes  con- 
founded with  that  of  the  serous  and  other 
membranes,  and  the  whole  form  a  single 
cicatrix.     3.    The  cicatrix  becomes  linear, 
and  then  the  testicle  is  found  to  be  but  slight- 
ly adhering  to  the  other  membranes.   4. 
Lastly,  the  testicle  recovers  its  entire  free- 
dom, its  ordinary  volume,  and  normai  con- 
sistence.— Edin,  Med.  and  Surg.  Jour. 

The  Debria  fnrniahad  by  ParexMatf . 
It  is  slated  by  Mr.  Thorn,  a  contractor, 
that  the  mud  on  s^  Macadamised  road  \s(iiJ» 
times  as  much  as  on  ordinary  paventent; 
whilst  the  accumulation  on  SLtcooden  road  is 
not  more  than  one-third  of  that  on  pavement 
Mr.  Whitworth,  the  inventor  of  the  machioi 
for  cleansing  streets,  and  which  has  been  for 
some  time  used  in  a  few  districts  in  London, 
and  generally  in  Manchester,  states  that  at 
Manchester,  he  has  agreed  to  sweep  the 
street  twice  as  often  as  under  the  old  pysten, 
and  at  a  saving  to  the  town  of  £500  per 
annum.     Some  idea  of  the  e^ciency  of  this 
plan,  which  is  applicable  to  every  kind  of 
street  surface,  may  be  formed  from  the  fact, 
that  whilst  a  man  can  on  the  average  sweep 
not  more  than  1500  square  yards  daily*  the 
machine  worked  by  one  horse,  sweeps  from 
16,000  to  24,000  square  yards  per  diem. 
The  economy  of  labor  on  the  whole  is  so 
great,  that  one  machine  will  do  the  voik  of 
36  men.    Mr.  Whitworth  states  that  he  is 
engaged  in  preparing  a  hand -sweeping  ma- 
chine for  courts  and  alleys,  an  amelioratioa 
which,  if  properly  carried  out  by  the  autho- 
rities, will  be  an  unspeakable  benefit.— A/«' 
Chir.  Bev 


THE   DISSECTOR: 


Vol  HI. 


H£W  TOBX,  JLPSZL,  1846. 


Vo.  n 


PALLAOIBS  OF  THE  FAOULTT. 
XcefMrw  d«Uv$nd  at  thM  JBgffpiiam  HaU^  PicadiUjf, 


Bt  S.  Dixon*  M.  D. 
>  1 

LECTURE  IX. 

phtuc  asd  poison  identicaii — ^r£m£oul 
heaks  isci.udjb  xv£ry  thing  in  na- 
ture— action  of  medicinal  substances 
proved  to  be  electrical— particular 
remedies,  and  wut  they  effect  par- 
ticular parts. 

Gentlrmen, 

From  the  History  of  Medicine  we 
learn,  that  after  Charms  came  Simples.  To 
the  list  of  our  remedial  means,  chance  and 
experience  successively  added  Poisons  — 
**yfl.  herefore"  3»ke(\  Pliny,  "has  our  mother, 
the  Earth,  brouejht  forth  so  many  deadly 
drugs,  but,  that  when  wearied  with  suffering, 
'we  may  employ  them  for  suicide  ?"  If  such 
vas  the  opinion  of  tne  polished  Roman,  can 
you  wonder  at  the  belief  of  the  rude  Carib, 
and  the  still  ruder  Boschman,  that  poisons 
•were  sent  them  for  the  destruction  of  their 
jiatfnna!  enemies  ?  The  friends  of  the  Chro- 
no-thermal  system  see  the  matter  in  anolhei 
Jight.  In  common  with  the  believers  of  the 
Chrl»4tian  creed,  they  asBume,  that  the  bene- 
ficent Creator  of  all  thinjjs  sent  nothing  into 
the  world  for  the  destruction  of  his  creatures. 
By  the  motion  of  men's  hands  the  Pyra- 
mids were  produced.  The  same  motion, 
acting  reversely,  might  make  them  vanish 
from  the  plains  where  they  have  stood,  the 
wonder  of  centuries.  If  the  identical  power, 
then,  which  may  render  a  temple  or  a  lower 
a  heap  of  ruins,  applied  in  another  far^hion 
to  the  materials  composing  it,  first  erected 
the  fabric— why  may  i4ot  the  motive  power 
of  a  physical  agent,  which  wronjjly  admin- 
istered, hafl  destroyed  the  life  of  man,  be  em- 


ployed, in  a  right  direction,  to  preserve  his 
existence.  ? 

"Philosophy,  wisdom  and  liberty  support 
each  other ; — he  who  will  not  reason  is  a 
bigot — he  who  cannot  is  a  fool— and  he  who 
dares  not  is  a  slave  !— [Sir  William  Drum- 
mond]  The  base  and  selfish,  of  all  ages 
have  ruled  mankind  by  terror.  By  this  the 
priest  has  trampled  down  reason ;  the  des- 
pot, the  rights  of  a  people.  To  this  pas- 
sion the  charlatan  appeals,  when  he  sneer*' 
ingly  speaks  of  particular  substances  as  poi- 
sons, the  better  to  distinguish  them  from  his 
own  nostrum  of  universal  and  absolute 
safety?  What  is  the  real  meaning  of  the 
word  poison  ?  In  its  popular  sense,  it  signi- 
fies any  thing  in  nature,  that,  in  a  compara- 
tively small  quantity,  can  shorten,  or  other- 
wise prove  injurious  to  life.  It  is,  then  a 
term  of  relation — a  term  depending  entirely 
on  degree,  volume,  or  scale.  But  what  is 
there  under  heaven,  when  tried  by  this  test, 
that  may  not  become  a  poison  ?  Food,  fire, 
water,  air,  are  these  absolutely  inocuous? 
The  glutton  dies  of  the  meal  that  gorged 
him  ;  is  that  a  reason  why  we  should  never 
eat  ?  The  child  is  accidentally  involved  m 
the  flames  of  a  furnace ;  must  we,  on  thai 
account,  deny  ourselves  the  warmth  of  the 
winter-hearth  ?— Air  has  chilled  and  water 
drowned  ;  must  we,  therefore,  abandon  air 
and  water  ?— Yet,  this  is  the  mode  in  which 
certain  wiseacres  reason  on  medicine !  We 
must  cease,  according  to  these  praters,  to  use 
opium  medicinally— opium  which,  in  one 
degree,  has  so  olten  ^iven  relief  to  suffering; 
because  the  suicide,  m  another,  has  settled 
his  eailhly  account  with  it!  We  must  re- 
pudiate the  curative  effects  of  arsenic  in 
Ajjue ;  because,  with  a  thousand  times  the 
quantity  adrqunte  to  thai  desirable  end,  the 
cut-throat  and  the  poisoner  have  despatched 
their  victims  by  arsenic !  We  mu.st  linger 
life  away  in  the  agonies  of  gout  and  ihett- 
matism,  instead  of  resorting  to  colchicum. 


58 


FaUacies  of  the  Faculty. 


which  has  so  often  cured  both;  because 
people  have  been  accide  tally  destroyed  by 
colchicum  in  a  volume,  never  given  for 
either  rheumatism  or  gout!  How  many 
diseases  has  not  prussic  acid  cured  or  allevi- 
ated ;  yet  we  must  abjue  its  benign  influ- 
ence in  this  way,  forsooth ;  because  love- 
sick maidens,  and  men  maddened  by  mis- 
fortune, have  ended  their  lives  with  prussic 
acid,  in  a  quantity  which  no  body  ever 
dreamt  of  giving  for  any  disease  whatever! 
By  the  same  enlio;btened  Philosophy,  we 
must  not  pat  a  child's  head,  because  a  blow 
might  knock  it  down  !  Gentlemen,  need  I 
tell  you,  that  the  \^hole  of  these  agents,  in 
their  medicinal  doses,  are  as  safe  as  rhubarb 
in  its  medicinal  dose ;  and  safer  than  wine 
to  some  people,  in  tlie  quantity  usually 
taken  at  table.  But  granting  that,  even  i|i 
their  medicinal  doses,  they  all,  in  common 
with  every  thing  in  existence,  occasionally 
produce  the  temporary  inconvenience  of  dis- 
agreeable feeling — is  thai  any  reason  why 
we  should  abandon  their  use,  in  the  cure  of 
diseases  attended  with  feelings  for  the  most 
part  more  sensibly  disae^reeable  !  What  on 
earth,  worth  accomplishing,  was  ever  accom- 
plished without  a  similar  risk  ?  We  cannot 
cross  a  thoroughfare  without  the  risk  of 
being  jostled— er&^o,  we  must  never  cross  a 
thoroughfare !  Gentlemen,  ubi  virus  ibt 
virtus,  IS  as  true  in  most  things  as  in  medi- 
cine !  Poison  and  physic  are,  in  truth,  one 
and  IDENTICAL  for  any  earthly  agent  may  be 
come  both,  by  turns,  according  as  it  is  used 
or  abused.  A  German  poet  rightly  ob- 
serves — 

Divide  the  thunder  into  single  notes, 
And  it  is  but  a  lullaby  for  children  ; 
But,  pour  it  in  one  volume  on  the  air, 
And  the  intensity  makes  lieaveu  to  shake. 

The  same  rule  holds  good  in  physic. — 
Everything  depends  on  the  scale  or  degree 
in  which  you  app1)ragiven  substance  to  the 
body,  and  the  particufar  circumstances  and 
condition  of  the  body  at  the  time,  whether 
such  substance  be  a  remedy  or  a  poison. — 
What  is  there  that  pertains  to  earth  or  air, 
that  we  may  not  usefully  employ  ?  If  Man, 
in  his  ignorance  or  depravity,  turn  a  particu- 
lar power  to  evil  account  instead  of  to  good, 
shall  blame  be  imputed  to  the  Almighty,  who 
bestowed  it  on  him  as  a  boon  ?  Let  bab- 
blers beware  how  they  commit  themselves 
in  this  matier ;-  -let  them  fully  understand, 
that  when  they  decry  any  agent  in  nature  as 
bein?,  in  the  abstract,  a  dangerous  medicine. 
or  a  poison,  they  not  only  arraign  God  foi 
his  goodness,  but  expose,  at  the  .same  time, 
their  utter  ignorance  of  his  laws.     Wher.- 


men  haye  not  examined,  surely  it  were  only 
policy  to  be  silent.  Do  medical  practitiooers 
ever  prate  in  this  language  of  imbecillity  ? 
Too  frequently,  Gentlemen :  -but  in  ib^ 
case,  it  generally  proceeds  less  from  a  want 
of  knowledge  of  the  subject,  than  from  a 
wish  to  disparage  a  professional  competitor. 
Sordid  practitioners  know  that  there  is  do 
readier  mode  of  influencing  the  sick,  than 
liy  playing  upon  thwr  fears.  Not  a  week 
passes,  but  I  am  told  by  some  patient—  "Oh, 
I  showed  your  prescription  to  Dr.  So-and-eo 
and  he  said  it  contains  poison  !** — Bless  my 
life !  I  generally  answer,  what  a  wonderful 
thing.  Why,  then,  does  not  Dr.  So-and-so 
get  the  College  of  Physicians  indicted  for  the 
introduction  of  such  substances  into  their 
medicinal  pharmacopeia  ?  Why  does  he  not 
gravely  arraign  them  for  the  processes  which 
they  have  uevieed  for  the  preparation  of 
"  medicinal"  arsenic,  "  medicinal"  opium, 
"medicinal"  prussic  acid, — and  tell  "them 
boldly  and  at  once  that  these  are  all  so  many 
concentrated  essences  of  death  and  destruc- 
tion, which  no  skill  can  render  valuable,  no 
scale  of  diminution  adapt  to  the  relief  or 
cure  of  their  suffering  f el  low- creatures.— 
Only  let  Dr.  So-and-so  put  down,  in  writing, 
that  any  of  these  substances  ever  poisoned 
any  body,  in  the  dose  and  at  the  age  for 
which  1  and  others  prescribe  it,  and  f  shall 
have  the  pleasure  of  publi>hing  the  fact  to 
the  professional  world,  for  iheir  futire  edifi- 
cation. To  whisper  away  an  boDorable 
man's  reputation  in  a  corner  where  be  has 
no  opportunity  of  reply,  though  a  pitiful 
thing  to  do,  is  nevertheless  a  thing  very  often 
and  very  successfully  done; — to  write  oi 
reason  down  the  ^anie  manV  character  un- 
fairly, on  paper,  is  nnore  difficult.  Can- 
tions— doubts — insinuations — these  are  the 
weapons  by  which  you  will  be  secretly  sup- 
planted in  practice.  Yes,  Gentlemen,  indi- 
viduals who  call  themselves  physicians,  and 
who,  without  a  scruple,  would  pour  out  a 
pint  of  your  heart's  blood  at  a  time,  will  ef- 
fect to  start  at  the  sixteenth  part  of  a  trrain 
of  strychnine,  and  shrug  their  shoulders 
significantly,  at  two  drops  of  prussic  acid! 
"How  easy  to  put  such  men  down,"  I  ban 
been  told.  You  have  only  to  ask  «hem,  if 
they  ever  knew  an  adult  die  of  either  medi- 
cine in  these  doses  .'—and  dare  them  toaaTi 
that  they  have  not  themselves  killed  hur)<[- 
redh,  by  takinj^  away  a  less  quantity  of 
blood  than  a  pint !"  Both  of  these  1  have 
certainly  done— but  cui  bono  ? — Keason  and 
sense  were  on'  my  side,  it  is  true ! — but  what 
will  either  reason  or  sense  avail  him  who 
stands, as  I  stand,  Alone — when  hisenfmiea 
have  a  party  to  back  them,  with  the  patieufl 
prejudices  and  feara  in  their  favor  besides  ^ 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


69 


The  practitioners  of  whom  I  speak,  are  all 
to  many  links  of  an  extensive  chain  of  se- 
cret and  systematic  collusion ;  they  are  all 
bound  to  support  and  keep  by  each  other ; — 
they  have  sie^ns  and  counter-signs,  and  a 
common  story  to  tell ;  these  men,  like  false 
dicers,  do  deeds  "never  dreamt  of  in  your 
philosophy."  In  a  word,  so  far  as  medicine 
and  medical  practice  are  concerned,  the  Eng- 
lish public  are,  at  this  moment,  very  much 
in  the  same  blissful  state  of  ignorance  as  the 
Emperor  Constantine  was  with  the  doings 
of  his  guards— "But  still — but  still,"  said 
Sebastes  of  Mytilene,"were  the  Emperor  to 
discover — "  "Ass?*  replied  Harpax,  "he 
cannot  discover,  if  he  had  al!  the  eyes  of 
Argus's  tail !  Here  are  twelve  of  us,  sworn, 
according  to  the  rules  of  our  watch,  to  abide 
in  the  same  story" — [Count  Robert  of  Paris] 
If  such  and  similarly  constituted,  be  the 
medical  coteries  of  England,  what  honora- 
ble physician  can  hope  to  rise  in  his  profes- 
sion, until  the  eyes  of  the  public  be  opened 
Sir  James  Mackintosh  was  not  the  only 
man  of  talent  who  left  it  in  disgust — Locke, 
Crabbe,  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  the  present 
l^aster  of  the  Rolls  Lord  Langdale,  and 
hundreds  of  others,  have  done  the  same.— 
Depend  upon  it,  in  these  days,  it  is  only  the 
quack  and  the  unprincipled  piuctiiioner 
who  makes  fortunes  by  physic. 

But  to  return  to  me()icines  and  their  doses. 
What  substance  in  the  Materia  Medica 
would  be  worth  a  rush,  if  it  were  absolutely 
innocuous  in  every  dose  and  degree  ?  You 
all  know,  that  rheuhard  and  magnesia  may 
each  be  given  medicinally,  to  the  extent  of 
many  grains ; — but,  may  not  both  be  so  ad- 
Tancedin  the  scale  of  quantity,  as  to  become 
equally  fatal  as  strychnine  or  arsenic — were 
strychnine  or  arsenic  to  be  taken  in  the 
UKual  dose  of  rheubarb  or  magnesia .'  May 
not  oar  deadliest  drugs,  on  the  other  hand, 
be  80  reduced  in  volume  as  to  become  as  in- 
nocuous, to  an  adult  at  least,  as  twenty 
rrains  of  rheubarb  would  be  to  an  infant  ? 
Surely,  there  is  not  one  of  you,  whether  sick 
or  well,  would  object  to  an  infinitesmal  dose 
of  araenic —  the  millionth  or  dicillionth  part 
of  a  grain,  for  example !  Ah,  these  homceo- 
pathists !  I  question  if  they  idways  keep  to 
anch  doses ;  for,  when  a  man  makes  up  his 
own  medicines,  he  may  gull  bis  patients  as 
he  pleases.  But,  be  that  as  it  may,  there 
can  be  no  surer  test  of  imposture,  than  to  be 
told  you  may  take  any  medicine  in  any 
quantity  ?  Can  food  itself  be  thus  taken  ? 
II  it  could,  where  would  be  the  necessity  of 
cautioning  gluttons  about  their  diet?  In 
truth  yon  can  scarcely  mention  any  one  edi- 
ble sufistance,  that  will  a^ree,  even  in  a 
moderate  quantity,  with  all  patients.    One 


person  cannot  eal  oysters,  without  becom- 
ing the  subject  of  a  rash.  Another,  the  mo- 
ment he  eats  poultry  or  veal,  gets  sick  at 
stomach,  thouarh  mutton  and  beef  have  no 
such  effect  on  him.  See,  then,  Ihe  truth  of 
the  old  proverb. — What  is  one  man's  meat  is 
is  another  man's  poison."  Chesteriield  says 
it  is  vulgar  to  quote  proverbs ;  but  Chester- 
field was  a  lord,  and  a  man  of  fashion — and 
as  f  have  no  ambition  to  be  either,  you  wiU 
pardon  me  for  preferring,  with  Cervantes,  to 
strengthen  my  argument  with  their  pith  and 
point—not  only  because  there  is  no  proverb 
that  is  not  true,  but,  because  they  ar6  all 
sentences  drawn  from  Experience,  the  mo- 
ther of  the  sciences. 

In  further  illustration  of  this  subject,  I 
pass  to  the  lower  animals ;  and  here  again 
you  will  find  that  no  earthly  agent  has  been 
given  us  for  absolute  evil,  inasmuch  as  sub- 
stances which,  in  comparatively  small  quan- 
tities, may  poison  one  class  of  beings,  are 
food  to  another.  In  a  volume  comparatively 
large  The  sweet  almond,  for  example,  so 
nutritious  to  man,  is  deleterious  to  the  fox, 
the  dog,  and  domestic  fowl.  The  hog  may 
be  poisoned  by  pepper,  the  parrot  by  parsley, 
stramonium,  or  thorn-apple,  which,  when 
we  prescribe  it  in  physic,  we  do  cautiously, 
and  in  small  quantities,  is  greedily  devoured 
by  the  pheasant  with  impunity ;  fowl  enjoy 
the  darnal — hogs,  the  deadly  night-shade. — 
i  he  water-hemlock,  which  is  poison  to  all 
three,  in  common  With  man,  is  a  most  nutri- 
tious food  to  the  stork,  sheep,  and  goaL — 
And  the  wolf  is  reported  to  take  without  in- 
convenience a  quantity  of  arsenic  which 
would  destroy  the  horse.  You  see,  then, 
bow  completely  the  word  poison  is  a  teim 
of  relation.  ^ 

The  infinity  of*  substances  which  hare 
been  snccessfulljr  applied  to  remedial  purpo- 
ses, whether  derived  from  the  an'mal,  vege- 
table, or  mineral  kingdom,  like  the  various 
Causes  of  the  Diseases  for  which  we  ad- 
minister them,  will  all,  upon  investigation, 
be  fo«nd  to  have  the  most  perfect  unity  in 
their  mode  of  action.  Their  influence  relates 
solely  to  their  motive  power,  differing  from 
each  other,  where  they  do  differ,  merely  in 
their  capability  of  changing  in  this  way,  the 
atomic  relations  of  a  particular  locality  or 
tiF«ue  rather  than  another,  but  in  no  other 
wav  presenting  a  doubt  or  difficulty  as  to 
their  modus  operandi  What  John  Hunter 
said  of  poisons,  applies  of  course  to  reme- 
dies ;  they  *<  take  their  place  in  the  body  as 
if  allotted  to  them."  Thus,  Mercury  and 
Iodine,  in  whatever  manner  introduced  into 
the  system,  IK  ill  still  manifest  iheir  action, 
chiefly  by  changes  in  the  motion  of  the 
glands  and  their  secretions ;  while  Strychnine 


60 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


and  Bracine,  on  the  other  hand,  will  as  con- 
stantly prodnce  their  effects  on  the  motire 
condition  of  the  muscles.  Through  the  me- 
diam  of  the  nerves  of  a  part,  the  greater 
number  of  medicinal  substances,  even  when 
•  directly  introduced  into  the  veins,  will  pro- 
dace  their  particular  effects,  good  or  bad,  ac- 
coiding  to  circumstances,  upon  that  part. 
When  thus  administered.  Antimony  will 
prove  equally  emetic,  as  when  introduced 
into  the  stomach,  Rhubarb  equally  purgative 
and  Opium  as  certainly  soporihc.  Is  not 
this  the  best  of  all  proofs,  how  surely  these 
agents  were  intended  by  the  Deity  for  the 
use  of  man  ? 

If  you  ask  a  teacher  of  medicine,  why 
opium  sets  you  to  sleep,  his  answer  will  be 
— ^•«  from  its  Narcotic  towci  .*•  What  can  be 
more  satisfactory  ?  Nineteen  out  of  twenty 
students  at  least,  are  satisfied  with  it— they 
are  delighted  when  told  in  Greek,  that  it  does 
set  them  to  sleep!  Why  does  rhubarb 
purge  ?  "  From  its  Cathartic  power,*'  you 
will  be  told ;— what  does  that  mean  ?  simply 
that  it  purges!  A^n  you  demand  how 
does  antimony  vomit— Main  you  get  the 
dreek  reply,  "  from  its  Emetic  power  ;'*  in 
plain  English  it  vomits !  Such  is  the  mode 
m  which  the  schoolmen  juggle :  instead  of 
an  answer  they  give  you  an  echo!  Had 
these  logomachists — these  word-monger*, 
been  as  well  acquainted  with  the  motions  of 
living  things  as  with  the  inflections  of  dead 
Jangni^i^es,  and  the  anatomy  of  dead  bodies, 
they  would  long  ago  have  jireferred  reaso- 
ning to  mystification.  But  for  the  last  ten 
centuries  at  least,  professors  have  been  doing 
little  else  but  splitting  straws,  blowing  bub- 
bles, and  giving  a  mighty  great  degree  of 
gravity  to  feathers !  We  shall  endeavor  to 
develope  what  their  answers  show  they  are 
utterly  ignorant  of— the  Unity  of  Action  of 
all  Remedies. 

What  are  the  forces  which,  by  their  har- 
monious movement  in  a  material  body,  make 
the  sum  total  of  the  economy  of  the  life  of 
that  body.'  Vital  chemistry,  electricity, 
magnetism,  mechanics.  By  these  forces  are 
all  the  internal  movements  of  a  man  periodi- 
cally produced,  and  by  the  analogous  exter- 
nal forces  only,  can  the  material  of  all  ani- 
mal life  be  sustained,  mid  otherwise  influ- 
enced from  without.  When  rightly  consid- 
ered, every  force  in  nature  will  be  found  to 
resolve  it^^elf  into  a  cau;<e  of  motion  simply 
— motion  forward,  or  motion  backward — 
notion  outward,  or  motion  inward.  Chein 
istry.  Electricity,  Magnetism,  Mechanics, 
can  each  of  them  do  no  more  than,  by  their 
attractive  power,  brinj;  things  or  their  atoms 
into  closer  proximiiy ;  or  place  them,  hy  the 
force  of  repulsion,  at  a  greater  distance  fiom 


each  other.  Attraction  and  Repulsion  then, 
are  the  two  grand  forces  by  which,  not  the 
motions  of  man  only,  but  the  motions  of  the 
Universe,  are  kept  in  control ;  and  by  these 
forces,  and  no  other,  can  animal  life  be  influ- 
enced either  for  good  or  for  evil,  whatever 
be  the  nature  of  the  material  agent  by  which 
they  may  be  called  into  play. 

Remedial  Means. 

may  include  every  description  of  force :  The 
Bandage,  Splint,  and  Tooth- forceps  are  fa- 
miliar examples    of  the  Mechanical  kind; 
while  to    Chemistry,  among  other  thiDfn, 
medical  men  owe  the  Alkalis  and  Earths 
they  use  as  palliatives  in  the  treatment  ol 
acidity  of  the  stomach.    But  the  purely  Me- 
dicinal agents — what  is  the  mode  of  action 
of  these  ?    How  do  opium,  strychnine,  arse- 
nic, and  prussic  acid  act?     Chemicali]f  it 
cannot  be, — for  they  produce  no  chemical 
change, — no  visible  decomposition  of  the 
various  parts  of  the  body  over  which  tbcy 
exert  their    respective  influences.     What, 
then,  is  their  action  ?  no  man  in  his  senaH 
would  suppose  it  to  be  Mechanical.    One  of 
two  things  it  must  be   then.  Electrical  or 
Magnetic— for  these  are  the  only  other  for- 
ces in  nature  to  which  we  can  apply  for  an 
explanation.     But,  Grentlemen,  are  not  these 
two  forces  one  ?  nay,  under  the  term  Elec- 
tricity >  do  not  practical  philosophers  iocink 
chemistry  also  ?    No  person  in  the  least  con- 
versant with  the  physical  sciences  would 
now  dispute,  what  Mr    Faraday  waa  the 
first  to  prove,  that  all  three  are  io  lealU^ 
mere  modifications  of  one  great  source  o! 
power.     For  not  only  can  the  clecirijal 
force  be  so  managed  as  to  produce  attraction 
and  repulsion  in  all  bodies,  without  in  aoy 
way  altering  their  constituent  nature,  but  it 
can  also,  in  most  cases,  be  so  applied  to 
every  compound  body  as  to  ca\)ae  a  tnia 
chemical  decomposition  of  its  uitinate  prin- 
ciples.   By  the  same  univeisal  power  we 
can  either  make  iron  magnetic,  or  deprive  it 
of  the  magnetic  viitue.     We  can,  moreover, 
reverse  by  its  means  the  polarity  of  the  nee- 
dle of  a  ship's  comiiass.     Is  electricity,  thea 
the  source  of  Medicinal  agency — ^tbc  ►oorce 
of  power  by  which  opium  and  arsenic  kill 
and  cur**?    Before  the  question  can  beiat- 
isf.ictofily  answeied,  we  must  firM  know  the 
effect  of  the  direct  application  of  electricity 
to  animal  life.     What  is  its  action  when  di- 
recxly  ajip  ied  to  living  man  ?    Gentlemen* 
it  has  caii'^ed.  cured,  and  aggravateii  almoat 
eveiy  disease  you  can  name,— whether  it 
has  come  in  the  shape  of  the  tbunderstrrm, 
or  been  artificially  iiiriuci'd  by  the  far  !«• 
energetic  combinations  of  human  invention. 
If,  as  in  the  ta^^^c  of  the  magnetic  phenome- 


FtUtaeies  of  th»  FamUty. 


61 


flia,  it  can  produce,  take  away»  and  reverse 
the  polarity  or  motive  power  of  the  needle, 
«o  also  can  it  give,  take  away,  and  reverse 
every  one  of  the  particular  functional  mo- 
tions of  the  various  parts  of  the  living  body 
to  which  it  may,  under  peculiar  circurostan- 
<e8,  be  applied.  It  has  cured  palsy,  and 
'Caused  it  also ;  but  has  not  strycnnia  done 
I  the  same  ?    In  common  with  arsenic,  it  has 

made  the  stoutest  and  bravest  shake  in  every 
limb ;  and  like  the  same  agent,  it  has  cured 
the  aeae.    In  what,  then,  does  its  action 
,  differ  from  arsenic  here  ?    If  it  has  set  one 

I  man  to  sleep  and  kept   another  wakeful, 

i  opium  has  done  both.    Electricity  has  cured 

i  cramp  and  caused  it ;  so  have  prussic  acid 

^  «Bd  nitrate  of  silver.      Do  we  not  prove 

I  then,  beyond  the  possibihty  of  qaestion,  that 

»  the  action  of  these  medicinal  substances  is 

i  purely  electrical  ?     By  precisely  the  same 

i  power,  mercury  salivates,  antimony  vomits, 

li  4U]d  rhubarb  purges.    By  the  very  same  pow- 

i  er  they  may  all  produce  reverse  effects.    The 

i  primitive  agency  of  the  purely  Medicinal 

f  substances,  then,  is  one  and  the  same,  name- 

f  ly,  the  power  of   electrically  moving  the 

I  m>dy  in  some  ol  its  various  parts  or  atoms, 

I  inwards  or  outwards,  according  to  the  previ- 

ous state  of  the  vital  electricity  of  the  brain 
of  the  different  individuals  to  whom  they 
nay  be  administered.  For,  through  the  me- 
dium of  the  Brain  and  Nerves,  do  all  such 
BubAtances  primarily  act.  The  ultimate  and 
apparently  unlike  results  of  the  action  of 
<iifikrent  substances,  depend  entirely  on  the 
apparent  dissimilarity  of  the  functions  of  the 
otgahs  they  respectively  influence.  As  al- 
ready stated,  the  temperature  of  the  part  or 
organ  of  a  living  body  thus  motively  influ- 
enced, becomes  in  every  case  correspondingly 
altered.  If  it  be  asked  m  what  manner  opi- 
um or  antimony  can  alter  the  temperature  or 
I  motion  of  any  organ  through  its  nerves,  I 

can  only  refer  to  the  an^ogous  changes 
which  take  place  in  chemistry,  through  the 
medium  of  the  electric  chain  or  galvanic 
wire.  When  acted  upon  by  either,  bodies 
which  were  previously  cold  become  instan- 
taneously heated,  and  vice  versa,  motion  be- 
ing the  equally  instantaneous  effect  in  both 
cases.  And,  according  to  the  degree  and  du- 
I  lation  of  the  electrical  foice  applied,  do  such 

i  bodies  become  simply  electrified — preserving 

I  still  their  usual  appearance  an(V  nature, — or 

I  chemically  decomposed  in  some  of  their  con- 

adtuent  principles — their  atoms  in  either 
case  being  repelled  or  attracted  in  a  novel 
msinner.  In  a  manner  perfectly  analogous, 
do  every  and  all  of  our  purely  Medicinal 
substances  act  on  the  living  organism.  On 
the  dead,  if  they  exercise  any  influence  at 
all,  it  can  only  be  by  preventing  the  putre- 


factive process,  or  by  chemically  decompo- 
sing the  various  parts.  The  older  writers 
were  right  when  they  said  "  Medicina  non 
agit  in  cadaver"* 

If  you  again  demand  how  a  given  sub- 
stance shall  influence  one  part  of  the  system 
lather  than  another,  I  must  again  recur  to 
chemistry.  Have  we  not  ectective  affinity, 
or  a  disposition  in  inorganic  bodies  to  com- 
bine wim,  and  alter  the  motions  or  modes  ol 
particular  bodies  rather  than  others .'  By  an 
eclective  vital  affinity  precisely  similar,  do 
opium  and  strychnia,  when  introduced  into 
the  hying  system,  produce  their  respective 
effects;  they  manifest  a  similar  choice  of 
parts — the  elective  power  of  the  one  sub- 
stance being  shown  by  its  influence  on  the 
nerves  of  sense,  and  that  of  the  other  by  its 
effect  on  the  nerves  of  the  muscular  appara- 
tus But  here  a^in,  you  may,  with  the 
most  perfec  t  propriety,  ask,  why  the  influence 
of  opium  on  the  brain  should  set  one  man 
to  sleep,  and  keep  another  from  sleeping? 
and  why  strychnia,  by  a  similar  difi^rence  of 
cerebral  aption,  should  paralyze  the  nerves 
of  motion  in  one  case,  and  wake  to  motion 
the  nerves  of  the  pamlytic  in  another  ?  The 
answer  is  simple,  and  it  affords  a  fresh  illus- 
tration oi  the  truth  of  this  Electrical  doe- 
trine.  The  atoms  of  the  specific  portion  of 
brain  of  any  two  individuals  thus  oppositely 
influenced  in  either  case,  must  be  in  opposite 
conditions  of  vital  electrici'y — negative  in 
one,  and  positive  in  the  other.  And  what 
but  opposite  results  could  possibly  be  the 
effect  of  any  agent  acting  electrically  on  any 
two  similar  bodies,  whether  living  or  dead, 
when  placed  under  electrical  cirtumstances 
so  diametrically  opposite  ?  In  common  with 
all  medicinal  substances,  opium  and  strvch- 
nia  may  produce  inverse  motions-ymotions 
outward  or  motions  inward,  according  to  the 
particular  electrical  condition  of  the  Itying 
body  to  which  they  may  be  applied.  And 
in  this  instance  again,  they  only  harmonize 
with  everything  we  know  of  the  great  uni- 
versal force  to  which  we  ascribe  their  medi- 
cinal influence.  Their  ultimate  agency  de- 
pends on  attraction  and  repulsion.  Here 
then,  Gentlemen,  you  have  the  most  satis- 
factory explanation  of  an  infinity  of  facts 


*  Arsenic,  oxymariate  of  mtrcnrf,  and  alcohol  ill 
minute  doses,  act  electrically  on  the  living  stomacll, 
vrheiher  for  ifood  or  for  ctiI.  In  large  doses  all  three 
act  chemically  upon  the  same  organ  ;  for  thoy  the& 
invariably  decompose  it ;  but  the  same  doses  applied 
to  the  dvad  stomach  preserve  it  from  (the  pntrelactive^ 
decomposition.  The  miiteml  acids,  when  property  di- 
lated, act  electrically  npon  the  living  economy.  In 
their  concentrated  state  ihey  decompose  every  part  ef 
the  body,  whether  living  or  desd,  to  which  they  may 
be  applied.  The  poisons  of  the  cobra  and  rattlesnake, 
so  deadly  to  ethei  animals,  have  no  visible  effect  open 
hleir  respective  species.  What  bat  electiicity  in  tto 
vaiiooB  modifieauoiM,  con  expioiamU  tl&ial 


62 


Fallacies  of  the  FaeuUy. 


which,  from  their  sappoaed  confliction,  have 
up  to  ibis  hour,  puzzled  every  teacher  and 
piofeasor  that  ever  endeavored  to  grapple 
with  the  subject.  The  merit  of  this  expla- 
nation I  exclusively  claim ;  and  T  state  my 
right  to  it  thus  distinctly,  that  no  F.  R.  $  ,  no 
Queen's  Physician  Extraordinary,  or  other 
flpreat  official,  may  hereafter  have  any  excuse 
lor  attempting  to  snatch  it  from  me — whether 
through  ignorance  or  foigetfulness  of  my 
name  and  writings  he  venture  to  predict  its 
future  discovery,  or  deal  it  out  bit  by  bit  to 
his  readers,  in  the  equally  novel  shape  of 
question  and  suggestion !  Yes,  Gentlemen, 
1  exclusively  claim  the  electricsd  doctrine  of 
medicinal  agency  as  mine—a  doctrine  which 
affords  an  eas^  solution  of  the  greater  num 
ber  of  difficulties  by  which  our  art  has  hith 
erto  been  surrounded.  By  following  out  it? 
principles,  you  see  at  once  why  colchicum, 
mercury,  and  turpentine,  can  all  three  cause 
and  cure  rheumatism — why  acetate  of  lead 
can  produce  and  relieve  salivation — why  cu 
bebs  and  copaiba  have  relieved  gonorrhoea  in 
one  man,  and  aggravated  the  same  disease  in 
another — why  musk  may  excite  and  stop 
palpitation  of  the  heart — why  the  Fevers  of 
puberty,  pregnancy,  and  small-pox,  have 
each  cured  and  caused  every  species  of  dis- 
order incident  to  the  respective  subjects  of 
them — and  why  the  Passions  have  done  the 
same.  Now,  what  better  proof  could  you 
have  of  the  real  nature  of  the  passions  than 
this  ?  What  belter  evidence  tbat  rage,  terror, 
ioy,  surprise,  are  each  and  all  of  them  indu- 
bitable fevers,  than  that  each  and  all  of  them 
have  cured,  caused,  aggravated,  and  allevia- 
ted almost  every  human  disease— every  ache 
and  ailment  to  which  man  is  liable,  from 
a^ue  to  epilepsy— from  toothache  to  the  gout! 
Lake  opium  and  quinine,  every  one  of  these 
passions  has  a  double  electrical  an;ency — in 
one  case  reversing  the  particular  cerebral 
movements  on  which  existing  symptoms  de- 
pend— ^in  which  case  it  alleviates  or  cures; 
— in  another,  calling  them  up,  or  only  ad- 
ding to  their  rapidity  when  present— in  which 
case  it  causes  and  aggravates  simply. 

But  we  have  yet  to  account  for  certain  ap- 
parently anomalous  effects  of  all  medicines 
— ^we  have  still  to  explain  to  you  why  opium 
for  example,  instead  of  producing  its  usual 
•omnolent  or  insomnoient  influence  upon 
particular  individuals,  acts  upon  him  in  the 
same  manner  as  antimony  or  ipecacuan — and 
why  these  particular  medicines,  instead  of 
producing  their  usual  emetic  effect  in  individ- 
nal  cases,  only  puixe  the  patient : — or,  (as  I 
have  occasionally  found  them  do)  set  him  to 
sleep  more  surely  than  henbane  or  opium 
Gentlemen,  did  opium  or  antimony  uniformly 
■ffect  the  identical  portion  of  brain  in  all 


persons,  either  medicine  could  never  do  i 
than  one  of  two  things  in  any  person,  namely 
aggravate  or  atricliorate  the  particular  symp- 
toms which,  in  all  healthy  persons,  it  then 
most  certainly  could  never  fail  of  producing. 
But  in  common  with  all  medicines,  the  elec- 
tive affinity  of  each  of  these  particular  sab- 
stances  may  be  different  in  diflierent  persons, 
from  difference  of  constitution.  Ihe  same 
medicines,  then,  do  not  always  influence  the 
same  cerebral  parts.  The  usual  elective  af- 
iinity  of  opium  and  antimony  may  be  quite 
reversed  in  particular  patients.  Now,  as  all 
medicinal  agents  act  solely  by  changing  the 
cerebral  movements  of  the  {mrt  ^ver  whkji 
they  exercise  their  respective  influence,  anti- 
mony and  opium,  by  changing  their  unul 
places  in  the  system,  change  their  respective 
characters  accordingly  Antimony,  then, 
either  becomes  a  narcotic,  or  keeps  the  pa- 
tient wakeful.  Opium  in  like  manner,  either 
becomes  an  emetic,  or  the  reverse  of  aa 
emetic — whatever  that  be.  See  then,  how 
cautious  you  ought  to  be  in  every  new  caie 
of  disease  lor  which  you  may  be  consulted, 
—and  how  necessary  it  is  to  exercise  all 
your  powers  of  circumspection  in  practice. 
When  you  prescribe  medicine  of  any  kind, 
you  ought  to  feel  your  way  with  the  smallert 
available  dose — the  smal  lest  dose  from  which 
you  might,  from  your  experience,  expect  an 
appreciable  effect  whether  for  good  or  Ux 
evil — for,  remember,  not  only  do  all  Dedi- 
cines  occasionally  manifest  a  difierentelecliTe 
affinity  from  that  which  they  usually  exei- 
cise ;  but,  even  when  they  act  in  their  noie 
ordinary  course,  they  have  ttill  the  doable 
power  of  attraction  and  repulsion— the  pow- 
er of  aggravating  or  alleviating  the  ^p- 
toms  for  which  you  prescribe.  Indeed,  by 
these  two  powers  and  no  other— attracliw 
and  repulsion, — we  are  compelled  to  cxpWB 
every  variety  of  change  which  the  body  a*- 
sumes,  whether  in  health  or  disease.  Byi^ 
traction,  the  fluid  matter  of  a  secretion  be- 
comes consistent  and  organised,  again  to  be 
thrown  off,  by  the  same  oi^n,  in  the  vm 
form  of  secretion  by  repulsion. 

If  this  be  true,  Gentlemen,  change  of  ttfB- 
perature,  of  itself,  ought  to  produce,  in  hf- 
ing  bodies,  every  constitutional  and  local 
chanpje — every  vitiation  and  variatioj, 
whether  in  gland  or  muscle,  nerve  or  blood- 
vessel, that  ever  formed  the  subject  of  medi- 
cal investigation.  That  it  can  do  so.  mm 
be  proved  from  every  thine  we  know  of  lift, 
and  the  laws  of  life.  What  disease  haft 
not  cold  and  heat  produced  .'—What,  m  tae 
shape  of  the  warm  and  cold  baths,  hate 
they  not  cured  1  Look,  apin  at  the  eflc« 
of  heat  upon  the  egg.  Even  when  artiB- 
dally  applied,  we  see  this  apparently  ««" 


FaUaeiea  of  the  Faculty. 


68 


body  converted,  by  thermal  influence,  into 
bone,  skin,  and  muscle,  with  their  proper 
apparatus  of  blood-vessels  and  nerves !  You 
"Will  tell  me,  the  ^g  was  predisposed  to  such 
changes.  True ;  and  change  of  temperature 
can  only  act  upon  all  things,  according  to 
their  original  predisposition.  Is  not  this  the 
Teason  why  a  chill  will  produce  rheumatism 
in  one  man,  and  consumption  in  another? 
Through  thermal  influence,  the  wool  of  the 
sheep  and  the  feathers  of  the  hen,  may  in 
successive  generations  be  replaced  with  hair ; 
— certain  viviparous  animals  may  even  be 
made  oviparous  in  this  manner.  The  aphis 
and  the  wood-louse,  for  example,  may  be 
made  to  bring  forth  either  eggs  or  live  young 
at  the  pleasure  oi  the  experimenter,  by 
simply  varying  the  tempelature  in  which  he 
keeps  them.  Then  again,  look  at  the  effects 
of  temperature  upon  the  vegetable  world! 
If,  in  the  middle  of  winter,  you  introduce  the 
branch  of  a  vine,  which  happens  to  grow  by 
your  window,  into  your  warm  chamoer,  and 
keep  it  there  a  few  weeks,  it  will  put  forth 
leaves  and  blossoms.  See,  then,  the  wide 
and  omnipotent  influence  of  temperature  on 
every  living  thing,  from  man,  who  only  at- 
tains the  maturity  of  his  growth  in  the 
course  of  successive  summers,  to  the  gourd, 
that  .^rings  up  and  perishes  in  a  night ! 

Having  premised  this  much,  we  shall  now 
Gentlemen,  enter  upon  a  consideration  of 
particular  medicines.  And  first,  let  us  speak 
of  such  as  have  a  general  constitutional  in- 
fluence, with  an  afllnity,  more  or  less  marked, 
for  particular  organs.-— Of  these,  the  most  im- 
portant are — 

£»fi:TiC8. — When  the  various  doctrines, 
which  attributed  all  diseases  to  acrimonies, 
peccant  humors,  crudities,  &c.,  prevailed  in 
the  schools.  Emetics  were  among  the  princi- 
pal remedies  to  which  physicians  very  natu- 
rally resorted,  as  a  preliminary  means  of 
cure.  The  beneficial  eflect  observed  to  take' 
place  after  vomiting,  in  (he  early  stage  of  al- 
most all  disorders,  was,  of  course,  urged  in 
confirmation  of  theories,  which,  even  in  the 
present  day,  are  not  without  therr  influence 
on  the  minds  of  medical  men.  The  primary 
action  of  emetics  we  hold  to  be  CerebiaJ, 
and  the  act  of  vomiting,  not  so  much  a  cause 
of  the  other  constitutional  symptoms  which 
accompany  it,  as  one  of  many  eflfects  produ- 
ced by  change  in  the  atomic  revolutions  of 
the  Brain.  Whatever  will  suddenly  influ- 
ence the  brain,  in  any  unusual  or  novel  man- 
ner, by  changing  its  temperature  and  atomic 
motion,  must  necessaril)?  change  the  whole 
corporeal  state,  whether  it  be,  at  the  time,  in 
health  or  disease.  Have  we  not  this  famil- 
iarly exemplified,  in  the  motion  which  cau- 
Ms  sea-sickness— in  the  sickness  product 


by  the  rotatory  chair,  and  in  the  morning 
vomitings  of  early  pregnancy?  Anything 
that  can  withdraw  the  brain's  attention  from 
the  stomach,  such  as  a  passion,  a  blow  on 
the  head,  loss  of  blood,  or  a  division  of  the 
nerves  that  supply  it,  may  produce  vomiting. 
Experience  every  day  shows  us,  that  the 
shivering  or  shudder  liable  to  be  occasioned 
by  one  cause,  may  be  aveited  or  cut  short 
by  agents,  which,  undei  different  circumstan- 
ces, can  of  themselves  produce  such  muscu- 
lar tremor.  It  is  thus  tnat  the  emetic  exerts 
its  salutary  influence  in  disease.  No  man 
can  take  a  vomit,  without  every  ])art  of  the 
body  undergoing  some  change  during  its  op- 
eration. A  creeping  sensation  is  immediately 
felt  in  every  part— a  sensation,  demonstra- 
tive of  the  rapid  revolution  and  change  of 
relation  of  every  corporeal  atom.  Under  the 
mfluence  of  such  an  agency,  you  may  see 
the  reddened  and  swollen  eye,  or  testis,  be- 
come, in  a  few  minutes,  of  nearly  its  natural 
appearance, — nay,  a  complete  abatement  of 
pam  in  either  organ,  may  be  an  equally  rapid 
result.  Who,  then,  will  tell  me,  that  the 
same  eflect  may  not  take  place  from  the  em- 
ployment of  an  emetic,  in  what  are  termed 
mflammations  of  the  lungs  or  bowels?  Oh, 
"  all  experience  is  against  it,'*  I  have  been 
told — All  experience! — whose  experience? 
I  have  asked ;  but  I  never  got  an  answer, 
for  nobody  had  ever  tried ! 

But,  for  a  period  now  of  five  years.  Staff, 
Surgeon  Hume,  in  his  Military  Hospital, 
has  treated  his  pleuritic  and  enteritic  patients 
in  this  manner :  during  all  that  time  he  has 
not  bed  or  leeched  one  patient  for  any  diseasl 
— he  has  used  emetics  instead — and  his  prac- 
ice  has  been  beyond  all  precedent  successful 
Now,  that  I  call  a  Fact — a  fact  worth  all 
the  hypothetical  assumptions  of  all  these 
doctors,  whose  gains  depend,  not  so  much 
on  speedy  cure,  as  on  protracted  sickness ! 
There  is  no  pait  of  the  body  that  you  may 
not  influence  by  an  emetic ;— the  old  physi- 
cians knew  it — the  physicians  of  ar^  age 
gone  by.  They  gave  emetics  in  the  case  of 
Typhus  even — Typhus  in  a  royal  patient. 
"  Louis  XIV.,"  says  Mr.  James,  "  was 
seized  with  symptoms  of  illness,  and  all  the 
marks  of  Typhus  Fever,  of  the  most  malig- 
nant kind,  soon  discovered  themselves.  The 
whole  court  was  in  consternation,  the  queen 
in  despair,  and  Mazarin  in  a  state  of  anxiety 
and  apprehension,  which  deprived  him  of  all 
the  resources  of  that  art  which  usually  con- 
cealed his  emotions.  Foreseeing  that  his 
rule  would  terminate  with  the  life  of  Louis, 
he  took  every  precaution  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  his  treasures  out  of  France ;  but  he 
began  to  pay  court  also  to  those  who  were 
about   the   person  of  the  king's  younger 


64 


Fallacies  of  the  Faeuiiy. 


brother,  and  even  to  several  of  that  prince's 
attendants  whom  he  had  mal- treated  on  for- 
mer occasions.  The  young  king  was  car- 
ried to  Calais  in  his  carriage,  as  to  a  more 
healthy  spot;  but  the  disease  only  became 
worse  every  hour :  the  physicians  declared 
that  the  case  was  beyond  hope ;  and  Bussy 
assures  us  that  a  number  of  the  courtiers 
even  went  and  congratulated  the  young  Duke 
of  Anjou  on  his  accession  to  the  throne. 
Louis  himself  docs  not  seem  to  have  lost  his 
senses  or  his  presence  of  mind ;  he  spoke 
with  calmness  of  his  approaching  fate ;  and 
sending  tor  Mazarin,  he  said  to  him,  *  You 
have  always  been  one  of  my  best  friends 
the  queen,  my  mother,  loves  me  too  much  to 
tell  me  the  danger  in  which  I  am ;  do  not 
flatter  me  in  the  least ;  speak  to  me  only,  in 
order  that  I  may  look  into  my  own  con 
science,  and  make  preparation  for  death.* 
He  spoke  in  the  same  strain  several  times, 
showing  no  weak  clinging  to  the  temporal 
crown  that  seemed  about  to  pass  away,  but 
looking  forward  from  the  brink  of  the  grave 
into  eternity  with  that  calm  firmness  which 
might  well  do  honor  to  a  kin^.  Mazarin  was 
too  much  agitated  and  terrified  to  use  any 
concealment ;  with  fears  and  sighs,  he  ac- 
knowledged to  Louis  at  once  the  danger  in 
which  he  was;  and  the  young  monarch  openly 
seemed  grateful  to  him  for  not  having  con- 
cealed hissituation.  A  physician  of  great 
repute,  however,  was  at  length  brought  from 
Abbeville,  and  declarinz  that  the  King's  case 
was  by  no  means  hopeless,  he  obtained  per- 
mission to  administer  to  him  a  remedy,  which 
there  is  t^very  reason  to  believe  was  merely 
antimonial  wine.  Louis  was  so  much  re- 
heved  by  the  first  emetic,  that  he  willingly 
took  a  second  dose,  and,  from  that  day,  the 
fever  abated,  and  health  gradually  returned. 
Joy  and  satisfaction  spread  throughout 
France." — [Jame's  Life  and  Times  of  Louis 
XIV.-] 

A  medical  officer,  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany's service,  sent  for  me  at  midnight,  and 
you  may  imagine  the  pain  he  was  suffering, 
when  I  tell  you  that  I  heard  his  groans  be- 
fore I  reached  his  chamber.  Shortly  after 
leaving  a  crowded  theatre,  he  had  impru- 
dently taken  his  place  on  the  top  of  one  of 
the  night  coaches,  where  he  had  not  been 
long  sealed  before  he  was  seized  with  re- 
peated shivering,  followed  by  fever,  and  ex- 
quisite pain  In  the  back  and  loins—in  medi- 
cal phrase,  lumbago.  When  I  saw  him  he 
had  all  the  symptoms  which, in  the  Schools, 
are  termed  high  inflammatory  fever,  and  he 
complamed  01  agonizing  pain  in  his  back. 
His  wish  was  to  be  bled,  but  I  prescribed  an 
emetic  instead,  and  this  relieved  him  in  the 
briefest  space  imaginable     From  the  mo- 


ment he  vomited,  his  back  beeame 
and  in  a  few  minutes  he  was  ()uile  free  from 
pain — a  result  equally  pleasing  and  astoor 
ishing  to  the  patient,  who,  on  a  previous  oc- 
casion, had  been  confined  six  weeks  to  bed 
with  a  similar  attack,  notwithstanding  re- 
peated bleedings,  leechinge,  and  blisters. 
Another  gentleman  who  shortly  after  came 
under  ray  care,  e.xperiencedalike  relief  from 
the  use  of  an  emetic  in  nearly  the  same  cir- 
cumstances. In  the  first  case,  I  followed  op 
the  emetic  with  hydrocyanic  acid ;  in  tliye 
second,  I  prescribed  quinine  and  sulphuric 
acid — the  latter,  my  more  general  mode  of 
treatment  in  acute  disease.  Cases  without 
number  could  J  give  of  the  beneficial  influ- 
ence of  this  practice  in  acute  opthalmia, 
sore-throat,  pleunsy,  rheumatism,  ic,— dis- 
eases which,  under  the  usual  or  orthodox 
measures,  would  have  kept  the  physician  in 
attendance  for  weeks,  and  then,  perhaps, 
have  defied  both  his  aid  and  his  art  With 
the  same  practice,  I  have  had  equal  succen 
in  the  treatment  of  h»morrbages,  eruptive  fe- 
vers, &c. ;  and  I  might  here  give  cases  cor- 
roborative of  my  assertion,  were  I  not  bonie 
out  by  many  of  the  older  writers,  particularly 
Heberden  and  Parr,  v/ho  found  emetics,  fol- 
lowed by  Bark,  to  be  the  best  primary  treat- 
ment of  disorder  generally.  John  Huoler 
says,  he  has  '*seen  Buboes  (collections  of 
matter  in  the  groin)  cured  by  a  vomit,  afitej 
suppuration  had  been  coasiderablv  advancwi,'' 
— and  he  has  "  known  a  large  bubo,  which 
was  just  ready  to  break,  absorbed  from  a  fev 
days'  sickness  at  sea."  He  attests  tbecure  ot 
"White-swelling"  or  knee  consumption  by 
emetics— and  the  value  of  the  same  class  of 
medicines  in  pulmonary  consumption,  hu 
been  strongly  insisted  upon  by  many  writeR. 
In  physic,  as  in  everything  else,  there  is  & 
fashion ;  but  the  "  great  men"  of  our  day, 
notwithstanding  their  reiterated  assertimto 
the  contrary,  would  do  well,  in  more  in- 
stances than  these,  to  imitate  the  old  practice. 
The  principal  substances  used  as  emetics 
are  Antimony,  Ipecacuan,  Zinc,  and  Copper, 
— but  a  great  many  others  might  be  adM 
— tobacco,  squill,  and  colchicum  in  Uip 
doses,  to  say  nothing  of  luke-warm  water, 
which  last,  from  its  relation  to  temperature, 
will  readily  occur  to  you  as  the  best  expo- 
nent of  the  mode  of  action  oi  all.  With 
some  people  opium  will  vomit,  where  jPfi*' 
cuan  would  tail.  There  are  individuala 
whom  no  known  agent  can  vomit,  and  othen» 
in  whom  the  common  emetics  act  always  as 
purgatives.  This  you  cannot,  of  coune, 
know  before- hand ;  so  that  the  experience 
of  every  individual  ease,  is  the  only  lula  by 
which  such  case  is  to  be  treated.  We  mest 
now  speak  of 


FaUaeiegefihe  Faculty. 


66 


Purgatives,  or  those  medicines  which  in- 
f  nence  the  inteslmaJ  secretions.  Like  most 
remedies  these  all  act  through  the  medium  of 
the  Brain—  but,  from  ignorance  of  their  mode 
of  action,  practitioners  have  too  frequently 
converted  them  into  a  cause  of  disease  and 
death.  The  man  who  proceeds,  day  by  day, 
to  purge  away  "moi bid  secretions,"  "pec- 
cant humours,"  &c.,  is  a  mere  humoralist, 
who  neither  knows  the  manner  in  which  his 
medicines  operate,  nor  understands  the  nature 
of  the  wonderful  machine,  whose  disoidered 
springs  he  pretends  to  rectify.  Do  not  lei 
me  be  understood  to  deprecate  purgative 
medicines  — ^As  a  remedial  means  they  are 
inferior  to  emetics; — when  combined  with 
these,  they  are  amongst  the  best  medicines 
With  which  to  commence  the  treatment  of 
disease  generally,— that  is,  where  the  patient 
has  not  been  previously  reduced  by  protracted 
sufiering.  It  has  been  my  fate  to  witness  no 
inconsiderable  amount  of  mischief  induced 
by  a  mistaken  perseverance  in  purgative 
measures.  Will  nothing  open  the  eyes  of 
gentlemen  of  the  hnmoral  school  ?  Surely 
they  will  be  staggered  when  told,  that  in  an 
evil  hour  the  exhibition  of  a  purge  has  been 
followed  by  a  paroxysm  of  gout !  Yet  no- 
thing is  more  true  or  better  avouched  "  Rea- 
soning upon  this  simple  fact,"  Dr.  Parr  savs, 
'*  the  liumoral  theory  of  gout  is  altogether 
untenable."  And  so  is  Dr.  Holland's  hypo- 
thesis of  its  beine  caused  by  a  «•  morbid  in- 
fredient  in  the  blood  "  When  I  say  I  have 
nown  fatal  fevers  produced  by  medicines  x)f 
this  class,  some  may  be  sceptical ;  but  few 
will  doubt  their  power  to  produce  Dysenter}', 
which, in  the  words  of  CuUen,  is  an  "  inward 
fever." — «*A  dose  of  rhubarb,*'  says  Dr. 
Thomson,  "  has  produced  every  symptom  of 
epilepsy,  and,  in  an  instance  within  my  own 
observation,  the  smallest  dose  of  calomel  has 
causeu  the  most  alarming  syncope'*  or  faint. 
—  Let  us  use,  not  abuse,  purgative  medicines  I 
MsRCURT. — The  frequency  with  which 
mercury  and  its  preparation  Calomel,  enter 
into  medical  prescription — its  beneficial  and 
baneful  influence  in  the  practice  of  our  art, 
render  a  knowledge  of  the  true  action  of  this 
metal,  and  the  proper  mode  of  its  exhibition, 
matters  of  no  ordinary  importance. 

What  are  the  forms  of  disorder  in  which 
mercury  is  supposed  to  be  most  useful  ?  The 
records  of  the  profef^sion  answer,  fever,  iritis, 
erysipelas,  dysentery,  rheumatism,  cutane- 
ous, osseous,  and  glandular  disturbances. 
To  the  same  records.  I  appeal  for  testimony 
to  the  truth  of  my  statement,  that  it  has  too 
frequently  produced  those  very  maladies  in 
all  and  every  of  their  forms  and  variations. 
Its  influence  extends  principally  over  ihe 
i;landular  and  assimilative  systems;  it  has 


consequently  a  great  efiect  on  secretion.  I 
have  know  mercury  in  small  doses  cure  what 
is  termed  scrofula  hundreds  of  times;  yet 
according  to  Sir.  Charles  Bell,  and  I  can  bear 
him  out  in  the  fact,  when  wrongly  applied 
mercury  has  set  up  <*  a  scrofulous  diathesis 
in  the  very  best  constitutions.*'  *1  have 
seen  a  person,"  says  Dr.  Graves,  "labouring 
under  mercurial  irritation,  seized  with  com- 
mon fever,  which  afterwards  became  Typhus, 
and  proved  fatal  in  five  days.  Still  you  will 
hear  persons  say,  that  if  you  get  a  fever-pa- 
tient under  the  influence  of  mercury,  you 
will  cure  the  disease,  and  that  mercurial  irri- 
tation will  protect  a  man  against  fever.  I 
have  known  Jaundice  to  appear  during^  a 
course  of  mercury" — Jaundice,  for  which 
some  say  it  is  a  specific !  When  you  hear 
a  man  talking  of  specifics  you  may  well 
laugh  at  him !  The  value  of  all  medicines 
has  moie  or  less  relation  to  the  quantity  pre- 
scribed. Upon  this  subject,  I  think  it  mate- 
rial to  speaK  regarding  mercury ;  for  in  con- 
sequence of  the  enormous  doses  which  have 
been  exhibited  by  certain  pseudo-physicians 
— certaiu  writers  on  Iniantile  and  Tropical 
disease — this  substance,  instead  of  being  a 
blessing  to  humanity,  has  recently  become 
one  of  the  chief  agents  in  man's  destniction ! 
You  daily  see  medical  men — men  who  never 
reflect  upon  the  eflfect  of  any  medicine — pre- 
scribing four,  five,  and  six  grains  of  calomel 
to  children — to  infants!  Can  you  wonder 
at  the  frightful  number  of  deaths  that  take 
place  under  seven  years  of  age?  Look  at 
the  bills  of  infantile  mortality ;  and  if  you 
consider  the  quantity  of  calomel  that  children 
take,  you  will  assuredly  be  compelled  to  de- 
clare, not  how  little  medicine  has  done  for 
the  prolongation  of  life— but  how  much  it 
has  done  to  shorten  it !  Oh  !  you  may  de- 
pend upon  it,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  mis<chief 
done  by  the  profession ;  that  is  the  reason 
why  the  people  go  to  the  qracks  and  the 
HomoBopathists.  The  latter  are  the  least 
mischievous,  for — if  they  actually  give  their 
medicines  in  the  ridiculous  doses  they  pre- 
tend—they do  little  more  than  hocus  their 
patients  with  words,  while  the  quacks  and 
the  medical  men  kill  them  wholesale  by 
physic — physic  wrongly  applied.  Many 
years  have  now  passed  since  Mr.  Abernethy 
first  advocated  the  employment  of  mercury 
in  moderate  doses.  More  recent  writers  have 
demonstrated  the  value  of  calomel  in  doses 
so  minute  as  the  twelfth  and  even  sixteenth 
part  of  a  grain.  Combined  with  equally 
minute  quantities  of  quinine,  1  have  been  for 
years  in  the  habit  of  prescribing  it  in  such 
doses,  in  all  diseases  of  children,  and  I  have 
found  it  invaluable  in  most.  If,  with  such 
minute  doses  of  mercury,  then,  the  practi- 


66 


FUlacies  of  the  Faetdiy. 


tioner  may  obtain  the  roost  excellent  effects' 
what  shall  we  say  to  the  exhibition  of  four 
and  five-grain  doses  of  calomel  to  infants  ? 
What  lanjruage  can  be  sufficiently  strong  to 
denounce  the  equally  daring  practice  ot  or- 
dering scruple-doses  of  the  same  poJ^erful 
mercurial  for  adults  ?  That  indivuiuais  oc- 
casionally recover  from  serious  disease,  after 
the  unsparing  use  of  calomel  in  such  doses, 
is  no  more  an  argument  in  favor  ol  such  a 
mode  of  treatment,  than  that  many  a  man 
has  been  knocked  down  by  a  blow,  and  lived 
to  laugh  at  a  description  of  accident  to  which 
others  have  succumbed — To  reason  in  this 
manner  is  to  argue  that  blows  are  good 
thin^.  In  saying  this  biuch  [  do  not  mean 
to  raise  objections  to  calomel  as  a  pui^tive, 
—in  which  case  a  larger  dose  is  necessary. 
But  how  often  do  you  see  this  mercurial 
given  in  enormous  and  repeated  doses,  with 
the  view  of  correcting  morbid  secretions, 
which  inquiry  might  have  satipfactorily  traced 
to  the  previous  mal-administration  of  calo- 
mel itself.  Calomel,  like  every  other  reme- 
dial means,  is  a  medicine  or  a  poison,  accord- 
ing to  the  quantity  of  the  agent,  and  its 
fitness  or  unfitness  for  the  constitution  of  the 
patient.  This  last,  as  we  have  previously 
ninted,  depends  upon  the  electrical  state  of 
the  individual  body,  and  can  only  be  known 
by  trial.  You  cannot  tell  that  a  given  piece 
OT  steel  is  magnetic  or  not  till  you  try ;  no 
more  can  you  tell  the  electrical  state  of  the 
living  body.  It  is  only  by  experience  you 
can  know  it.  Calomel,  then,  has  no  exclu- 
sive relation  to  nomenclature;  yet  you  will 
hear  practitioners  say,  "  It  is  not  proper  for 
this  disease,  but  it  is  proper  for  that ;"  -**  it 
is  good  for  jaundice,  but  bad  for  consumption. 
All  this  is  mere  scholastic  folly,  based  upon 
"the  baseless  fabric"  of  a  hypothesis!  There 
is  no  disease,  however  named,  where  the  ad- 
ministration of  mercury,  in  some  of  its  pre- 
parations, may  not  be  advantageously  em- 
ployed or  t^e  reverse,  according  to  particular 
doses  and  constitutions.  How  is  it  that  the 
oxymuriatc  Of  mercury,  formerly  so  much 
extolled  by  physicians,  is  now  so  seldom 
prescribed  ?  A  more  effective  rex.edy  for 
numerous  forms  of  disease  is  scarcely  to  be 
found  in  the  Materia  Medica  I  have  more 
particularly  experienced  its  valuable  aid  in 
the  treatment  ot  dropsy,  dyspepsia,  paralysis, 
and  eruptions.  Very  analogous  to  mercury 
in  its  mode  of  action  is 

Ioi)CN£. — Its  influence  on  glandular  parts, 
and  consequently  upon  secretion,  is  very  re- 
markable But,  Gentlemen,  like  every  other 
remedial  agent  Iodine  cuts  two  ways— atomi- 
cally  attracting  or  lessening  volume  and  se- 
cretion in  one  case,  atomiuQly  repelling  or 
^ncreasing  both  in  another — accoming  to  the 


electric  state  of  the  individual  body  for  which 
it  may  be  prescribed  Now,  the  fact  that 
iodine  can  cause  as  well  as  cure  glandalai 
diseases  is  not  known  to  the  profession ;  at 
least,  I  have  not  seen  it  noticed  in  the  coum 
of  my  reading.  It  behoves  me  therefore  to 
state,  that  I  have  been  ftequently  obliged  to 
countermand  its  exhibition  in  the  treatment 
of  bronchocele  and  other  enlarged  glands, 
from  the  obvious  increase  of  these  tumoarB 
under  its  use.  In  such  cases,  patients  have 
told  me  they  were  not  so  well  in  themselves, 
that  they  had  shivering  fits  or  suffered  from 
inward  fever ;  for,  like  mercury,  iodine  has 
also  a  general  febrile  effect  upon  the  system, 
for  good  in  one  case,  for  e^  il  in  another.  As 
regards  my  own  practice,  I  have  foond 
quinine  more  generally  successful  in  the 
treatment  of  glandular  affections  than  iodine. 
In  a  case  of  ^itre  that  resisted  both,  a  very 
great  diminution  of  the  swelling  took  place 
after  a  short  trial  of  arsenic.  But  here  I 
may  observe,  that  a  remedy  which  may  be 
found  to  be  generally  well  adapted  to  the 
treatment  of  a  particular  type  of  disorder  is 
one  locality  may  be  found  to  be  as  generally 
prejudicial  when  applied  to  the  same  type  in 
another.  This,  to  a  certain  extent,  majr  ac- 
count for  the  encomiums  which  individoal 
medicines  receive  from  the  profession  one 
day,  and  the  contempt  with  which  they  are 
very  often  treated  the  next.  With  iodine  I 
have  cured  osseous  and  cutaneous  com- 
plaints ;  and  I  have  also  found  it  useful  in 
the  treatment  of  phthisis  and  dropsy. 

LEAD.—The  acetate  of  Lead  isavaJnable 
agent  in  good  hands,  and  was  long  celebrated 
as  a  remedy  for  consumption.  I  have  cared 
eruptions  by  it,  eruptions  that  resisted  every- 
thing else!  could  think  of.  "Onceflectof 
the  continued  use  of  acetate  of  lead,**  say* 
Dr.  A,  T.  Thomson,  "  is  the  excitement  w 
ptyalism  (salivation,)  but  notwithstandlij 
this  effect  it  has  been  recommended  by  Mi. 
Daniels  for  the  purpose  of  allaying  viol«t 
salivation,  in  doses  of  ten  grains  to  a  scnipkj 
in  conjunction  with  ten  g^^ins  of  compoBW 
powder  of  ipecacuan ;  how,"  asks  Dr.  Thom- 
son, "  are  these  contending  opinions  to  k 
reconciled  ?'*  How,  but  by  the  rule  that  tte 
power  which  can  move  one  way,  may  losfn 
the  other,  according  to  the  electrical  condition 
of  the  individual  brain.  This  question, 
coming  from  a  professor  of  mateiia  medica, 
shows  you  how  much  professors  have  yet  ^ 
learn  about  the  action  of  medicines. 

Tar— Creosote, — From  innumerable  tn- 
als  of  Tar,  and  its  preparation  Cicosote. J 
am  enabled  to  speak  satisfactorily  of  iw 
remedial  power  of  both.  In  small  doit8» 
creosote  produces  a  mild  fever,  often  b»e- 
ficial  in  dyspeptic  and  hysteric  easef,  thoqg^ 


FaUaeies  of  the  Faculty. 


67 


in  some  instances,  like  every  other  a^ent  in 
natare,  it  occasionally  disagrees.  1  have 
heen  obliged  sometimes  to  discontinue  its  use 
from  the  vomiting  of  which  the  patient  com- 
plained after  taking  it,  though  where  vomit- 
ing was  a  pre^ous  symptom,  I  have  suc- 
ceeded in  slopping  it  by  creosote.  Generally 
speaking,  I  have  found  creosote  an  excellent 
remedy  in  dropsy,  rheumatism,  and  cutaneous 
disorders.  I  once  cured  with  it  a  case  of 
amaurotic  blindness  of  both  eyes,  where  the 
disease  was  of  considerable  standing.  The 
remedy  was  pushed  as  high  as  twenty  drops 
for  a  dose ;  I  commenced  with  two  drops. 
The  efficacy  of  tar- water  in  the  treatment  of 
all  kinds  of  disease  was  the  universal  belief 
of  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century.  The 
celebrated  Bishop  Berkley  wrote  a  treatise 
which  contributed  greatly  to  brin^  it  into 
fash  ion.  "  From  my  representing  tar- water," 
he  says,  "  as  good  for  so  many  things,  some 
perhaps  may  conclude  it  is  good  for  nothing; 
out  charity  obligeth  me  to  say  what  I  know 
and  what  T  thmk,  howsoever  it  may  be 
taken.  Men  may  censure  and  object  as 
much  as  they  please,  but  I  appeal  to  time 
and  experiment :— effects  misirapoted— cases 
wrong  told— circumstances  overlooked — per- 
haps, too,  prejudices  and  partialities  against 
truth  may,  for  a  time,  prevail  and  keep  her 
at  the  bottom  of  her  well,  from  whence, 
nevertheless,  she  emerges  sooner  or  later, 
and  strikes  the  eyes  of  all  who  do  not  keep 
them  shut."  The  Bishop  sums  up  the  cata- 
logue of  its  virtues,  by  saying,  «*  It  is  of  ad- 
mirable use  in  fevers." 

SuLPiiVK  —though  no^y  seldom  used,  ex- 
cept for  diseases  of  the  skin,  was  long  exten- 
sively employed  in  physic.  With  the  vulgar, 
it  is  still  a  remedy  for  ague.  Like  creosote, 
it  produces  a  mild  febrile  effect,  which  may 
be  turned  to  account  in  numerous 'disorders, 
especially  in  dyspepsia,  hysteria,  and  also  in 
rheumatism,  which  last  I  have  often  cured 
with  it,  after  every  other  remedy  usually  em- 
ployed for  that  distemper  had  successively 
railed.  The  most  generally  influential  agent 
in  rheumatism,  is 

CotcnicuM,  OR  Meadow  SArraoN,  the 
medicinal  principle  of  which  is  an  alkali, 
termed  veratria,  or  veratrine,  and  an  admira- 
ble medicine  it  is,  when  carefully  and  cau- 
tiously administered.  Now  colchieum,  like 
sulphur,  has  cured  the  ague ;  and  its  efficacy 
in  this  case  depends  upon  the  mild  febrile  ac- 
tion, which,  like  hope,  or  joy,  it  has  the 
power  of  producing  If  it  has  relieved  pain 
and  swelhne  in  many  cases,  so  also  can  it 
produce  boin;  a  reason  why  you  should 
watch  its  eflfect:*,  for  where  it  fails  to  improve, 
it  commonly  aggravates.  Like  all  other 
medicina]  agents,  it  is  a  motive  power,  and 


if  it  fail  to  move  matter  the  right  way,  it 
must  occasionally  move  it  the  wrong.  The 
mildest  remedial  substance,  when  taken  by 
a  person  in  perfect  health,  if  it  act  at  all, 
must  act  prejudicial.  What  is  the  action  of 
colchieum,  in  such  casas  ?  According  to  the 
journals  of  the  day,  pains  of  the  joints  and 
feet  were  among  the  symptoms  produced  by 
it  when  accidentally  taken  in  poisonous  quan- 
tities by  previously  healthy  persons — tha 
very  pains  for  which  we  find  it  available  in 
practice ! 

Squill,  Digitalis. — Are  physicians  aware 
that  both  of  these  substances  have  the  power 
of  suspending  as  well  as  of  increasing  the 
Secretion  from  the  kidneys  f  They  are  often 
continued  too  long  in  dropsy,  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  patient,  from  practitioners  being 
ignorant  of  their  double  action.  But  in  this 
respect  they  only  harmonize  with  all  known 
agents  The  electrical  state  of  the  body, 
which  cannot  be  known  but  by  an  experience 
ol  their  effects  upon  it,  determines  whether 
squill  or  digitalis  prove  aggravant  or  re- 
medial. 

Stramonium,  or  Thornapple  is  used  by 
the  Asiatics,  in  their  treatment  of  mania— a 
disease  which  it  has  produced.  It  can  also 
produce  eruptions  in  the  skin,  a  fact  which 
led  me  to  try  its  effect  in  cutaneous  disease. 
Combined  with  beltadonnat  I  have  cured 
some  very  obstinate  eruptions  with  stramo- 
nium. I  have  also  employed  the  same  com- 
bination advantageously  in  pulmonary  con- 
sumption. The  general  action  of  both 
remedies  in  small  doses,  is  mildly  febrile. 
Their  use  sometimes  produces  a  temporary 
dimness  of  sight,  whicn  goes  off  when  the 
remedies  are  stopped. 

Tobacco,  Lobelia  Inflata. — Tobacco  is 
a  valuable  remedy,  when  properiy  prescribed, 
and  it  may  be  administered  internally,  as  well 
as  externally.  I  have  found  its  internal  use, 
in  the  shape  of  tincture,  efficacious  in  dropsy 
and  asthma.  Heberden  cured  a  case  of  epi- 
lepsy, by  applying  a  cataplasm  of  tobacco 
to  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  The  lobelia  ivflata, 
or  American  tobacco,  is  a  good  diuretic,  and 
has  cured  asthma.  Like  the  common  tobacco, 
it  produces  sickness,  in  large  doses. 

The  Balsams  and  Gums. — Copaiba,  tur- 
pentine, and  guaiac,  powerfully  influence 
mucous  surfaces,  in  one  case  increasing  se- 
cretion, in  another  suspending "  it.  They 
have  all  produced  and  cured  rheumatism. 
With  turpentine,  I  have  cured  cases  of  Iritis, 
which  resisted  mercury  aud  quinine.  Co- 
paiba in  some  constitutions  produces  cuticular 
eruption  so  like  small-pox,  that  even  medical 
men  have  supposed  it  to  be  that  disease. 
Others  putting  this  rash  down  to  a  fanciful 
cause  called  Syphilis,  have  gravely  proceeded 


68 


Swedettborg^^  Animal  Kingdom. 


to  ruin  their  patients'  constitutions  with  mer- 
cury, to  cure  what  they  were  pleased  to  call 
"  secondary  symptoms !" 

Camthakibes  or  Spanish  Fly — This  is 
principally  used  as  a  blister;  but  the  tincture 
of  Spanish  fly  is  an  admirable  internal  re- 
medy for  gleet  and  leucorrhcea,  and  it  is  also 
amonj  our  best  diuretics;  remember,  how- 
ever, it  can  produce  strangury,  an  ofjposite 
effect.  1  am  m  the  habit  of  combining  it  with 
quinine  and  prussic  acid,  in  the  treatment  of 
dyspeptic  cases,  and  I  find  it  useful  also  in 
cuticular  disease ;  though  in  the  case  of  a 
gentleman — a  colonel  of  the  army — a  blister 
to  the  side  had  twice  the  effect  of  blistering 
him  all  over ! 

The  Earths  and  Alkalis  have  all  par- 
trcular  effects  upon  the  body,  according  to 
the  mode  and  degree  in  which  they  are  ad- 
ministered. Besides  their  constitutional  in- 
fluence, each  has  more  or  less  affinity  to 
special  organs.  Lime  and  Barytes  influence 
the  secretions  of  the  stomach ;  Soda  and 
Potash  those  of  the  lungs,  kidney,  and  Mad- 
der ;  Ammonia  or  hartshorn  affects  the  sali- 
vary glands — each  for  good  or  for  evil,  ac- 
cording to  its  dose  and  fitness  for  particular 
constitutions.  The  earth  called  Alum  is  a 
favorite  with  the  common  people,  in  the  cure 
of  ague.  What  is  its  mode  of  action  ?  Its 
power  of  astringency  or  attraction  simply — 
the  same  power  by  which  it  arrests  the  mor- 
bid increase  of  secretion,  called  leucorrhoea. 
How  does  it  do  that .'  By  its  attractive  in- 
fluence over  the  atoms  of  the  spine  and  the 
nerves  proceeding  from  the  spine.  Well, 
then,  that  is  the  way  in  which  it  cures  the 
ague.    The  greater  number  of 

The  Acids  have  been  usefully  employed 
in  medicine.  Acetic  acid,  or  vinegar,  is  an 
old  remedy  for  hiccup,  and  might  be  effica- 
cious in  other  spasmodic  diseases.  Dilute 
sulphuric  acid  has  cured  the  ague,  among 
other  disorders.  With  dilute  nitric  acid,  I 
have  arrested  and  increased  almost  every  se- 
cretion of  the  body,  according  to  varying 
circumstances.  For  a  gentleman  who  was 
affected  with  vertigo  and  tremor,  I  prescribed 
dilute  nitric  acid,  which  cured  him ;  his  wife, 
by  mistake,  took  his  medicine  for  her  own, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  after  she  was  affected 
ivith  a  tremor,  that  lasted  for  nearly  an  hour ! 
You  see,  as  a  general  rule,  then,  that  what- 
ever can  move  one  way,  can  move  the  other. 

Gentlemen,  the  medicines  of  w^hich  I  have 
given  you  some  account  to-day,  are  the  prin- 
cipal SYMPTOMATIC  mcdicincs  which  I  employ 
in  my  own  practice,  combining  or  alternating 
them,  as  1  have  already  stated,  with  the 
chrono-thermal  remedies.  But  there  are 
thousands  of  other  agents,  which  may  be 
usefully  employed  in  this  manner,  and  a  great 


number  are  mentioned  in  our  books  of  Ma- 
teria Medica.  What  1  have  said  on  the  ac- 
tion of  remedies  generally,  will  apply  to  all 
At  our  next  lecture,  I  shall  give  you  some 
account  of  the  principal  chrono-thermal 
agents — and  conclude  the  cburse,  by  a  ^ei\^ 
rai  summary  of  the  chrono-thermal  doctrine. 


SWEDEKBOBa'S  AITIMAL  EIiraDOK. 

Introductory  Remarks  by  the  Trandolw, 

James  John  Garth  Wilkinson, 

Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Sofgeom 
of  London. 

[Continued  from  page  33.] 

We  promised  at  the  outset  to  speak  of  the 
relation  .in  which  Swedenboig*s  philosopbf 
stands  to  the  science  of  the  day,  but  it  will 
now  be  seen  that  there  is  no  direct  relation 
between  the  two,  but  a  plenary  repugnancy. 
For  the  one  is  order,  the  other  is  «Jiaos;  ttt 
one  is  concentration,  the  other  is  infinite 
division ;  the  one  enlarges  its  limits  in  (hat 
interior  world  where  creation  exists  in  all 
its  spiritual  amplitude,  the  other  loses  ib 
limits,  and  its  distinct  life  along  with  them, 
in  the  great  vacuities  of  space  and  time;  the 
one  is  a  rod  and  staff  giving  the  mind  a  prac- 
tical support  in  the  exploration  of  naforels 
fields ;  the  other  is  a  mist  of  hypotheses 
crawling  along  the  ground,  and  making  eTCxy 
step  uncertain  and  perilous. 
.  The  science  of  the  moderns  (ends  to  boiy 
physiology  more  and  more  within  w 
schools ;  that  of  Swedenborg  will  ultimtte- 
ly  shed  it  abroad  as  a  univer.«»al  light  which 
like  that  of  the  sun  belongs  in  justnen  to 
all  mankind.  In  this  respect  sience  is  sitw- 
ted  precisely  as  theology.  There  is  no  diffi- 
culty io  either  but  what  man  himself  in- 
duces. The  whole  scheme  of  true  theologf 
is  so  simple  that  the  humblest  capacity  mg 
understand  it;  and  so  coherent,  that  tlie 
memory  may  retain  even  its  details  withoot 
the  slightest  difficulty.  So  in  a  meaaiie 
will  it  be  with  a  true  science.  The  appourt- 
ed  professors  of  the  true  theology  ^^Vj 
amenable  to  a  com  icon  kno'.vledee  therem 
existing  in  the  understandings  of  their  flocO 
and  congregations.  So  must  it  he  at  W 
with  the  professional  bodies  appomtnl  te 
preside  over  a  true  science.  In  a  word,  nn' 
der  the  influence  of  the  New  Church,  a  pry 
testant  state  must  come  over  science  itscu; 
the  bible  of  nature  must  be  opened  to  tw 
public  as  well  as  to  the  professioos ;  andt* 
professions  themselves  must  be  content  to 
accept  their  position,  from  standiflff  la  * 


Suedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


69 


dear  and  recognized  connexion  with  the 
common  sense  of  mankind,  as  brought  into 
play  upon  their  own  subjects. 

The  relation  in  which  Swedenborg  stands 
to  the  philosophers  may  be  briefly  charac- 
terized. The  analysis  and  classification  of 
{he  conditions  and  states  of  the  mmd  is  a 
subject  which  he  has  only  touched  on  inci- 
dentally in  the  <*  Animal  Kingdom.**  He 
maintains  that  the  influx  of  the  soul  into  the 
body  is  truly  synthetic,  or  a  priori  ad  pos- 
Uriora,  but  that  the  instruction  and  infor- 
mation of  the  rational  mind  is  necessarily 
analytic,  o  'posteriori  ad  priora ;  not  thai  the 
senses  generate  the  mind,  but  that  they  sup- 
ply it  with  materials,  and  externally  excite 
it  to  activity;  the  soul  similarly  exciting  it 
internally.  With  respect  to  that  mental  ism 
which  has  been  introduced  since  Sweden- 
borg*s  time  by  Kant  and  his  followers,  the 
writings  of  Swedenborg  distinctly  involve 
it,  but  then  our  author  adds  to  its  forms  life 
and  substance,  and  displays  a  world  co-ordi- 
nate with  each  prane  of  the  human  facul- 
ties, without  which  man  would  not  exist  in 
nature.  By  virtue  of  this,  what  are  mete 
abstract  categories  and  ideas  in  the  one,  are 
organic  causes  in  the  other,  ( Sweden borjir 
^vs,  "all  causes  must  be  formed  organical- 
ly,") and  the  mind  is  allied  to  the  body 
fhroo^b  the  whole  scale  of  its  ascent.  But 
there  is  one  department  of  metaphysics  or 
ontology  which  finds  no  countenance  in 
Swedenborg;  viz.,  the  two  schemes  of  ma- 
terialism, and  immaterialism,  or  as  it  is  false- 
ly called,  spiritualism,  as  opposed  to,  and 
opposing,  each  other.  The  controversy 
between  these  two  he  declares  to  be  "a  bat- 
tle of  worJs,"  a  play  of  ''shadowy  soph- 
ism?,"*  a  "'game  at  chess  in  the  high  city  of 
literature;**  and  he  refers  the  whole  mis- 
understanding to  Ignorance  of  the  dortrinep 
of  forms  and  decrees.*  For  thFs  war  re- 
specting the  substance  of  which  things  are 
inaiie,  tends  to  divert  t^e  mind  from  the  sue 
cessive  onler  of  nature,  and  to  p'unge  it  at 
one  leap  in  the  occult;  consequently  to  in- 
duce It  to  omit  all  the  series  of  forms  that 
intermediate  betwe^-n  the  body  and  the  soul 
The  words  mind  and  matter  in  this  cape 
stand  for  two  sith.<«tances  under  one  form 
and  it  is  not  easy  io  see  how  the  one  can  le 
preferable  to  the  other,  or  how  thought  can 
be  influenced  by  either  of  them.  As  sys- 
tems of  causation  thereff  re,  the  rule  of  use 
protests  ae^ainst  tliem  both.  The  main  areu 
ment  of  Bishop  B»*rke'y,  that  his  hypoihe- 
siB  causes  no  difierence  to  our  sensations. 


must  be  admitted,  and  it  is  conclusive 
against  immaterialism.  Why  introduce  an 
element  that  confessedly  piays  no  part  in 
our  affairs  ?t  Both  these  schemes  are  es- 
sentially controversial  or  negative,  and  if 
either  of  them  could  be  substracted,  the 
other  would  no  longer  be  capable  of  an  ex- 


•  h'ee  the  *^Keor€iwy  of  the  Animal  King^- 
dom,'*  (r.  ii..  n.  31 1;  and  the  <«>\onhip  and 
I«ove  of  God.**  n.  53,  note  (p.) 


t  If  it  be  alleged  that  immaterialism  pro- 
duces philosophical  results,  and  is  capable  of 
being  expanded  into  a  systemj  we  reply  to 
this,  that  wherever  such  results  appear  to 
follow  it,  they  arise  in  reality  i^om  the  lacit 
ietermingling  of  some  organic  element  of 
thought  in   the  premises,  the  presence  of 
which  element  is  not  perceived.    It  would 
be  easy  to  lUustnte  this  by  a  critieism  of  any 
of  the  philosophical  and  religious  consequen- 
ces which  are  supposed  to  flow  f^om  imma« 
terialism,  and  to  prove  that  those  coosequen* 
ces  are  not  the  fruits  of  the  immaterialism^ 
but  of  other  grounds  co  existing  with  it  in 
the    mind.     But   the  demonstration  would 
carry  us  beyond  the  design  of  the  present  re- 
marks.   With  respect  to  substance,  it  may  be 
expedient  to  observe,  that  the  word  is  com- 
monly used  in  two  meanings,  both  of  whieh 
are  true,  and  must  coneor  to  a  complete  idea 
of  the  thing.    Firstly,  it  is  used  in  a  univer- 
sal, generative  and  active  sense,  as  the  ele- 
mental ground  of  matter,  and  as  the  spiritual 
ground  of  the  natural  world,  in  which  par- 
tial sense,  substance  is  spiritual,  and  its  ope- 
ration purely  synthetic.    Secondly,  it  is  used 
in  a  general,  formative,  and  passive  sense, 
as  the  complex,  continent,  and  basis  of  inte- 
riors and  universale,  in  which  partial  sense, 
substance  is  material,  and  its  operation  pure« 
ly  separative  or  analytic.    Bui  the  complete 
idea  of  substance  is  the  result  of  the  union 
of  these  two  senses;  in  other  words,  of  the 
tirtUnary     notions  of   both    substance    and 
foun;    which    although    two    elements    in 
th<iught,  are  not  two  in  reality,  but  «<distinct- 
ly  one."    Swedenborg  clearly  shows  both  in 
his  philosophical  and  religious  works,  (which 
indeed  are  perfectly  at  one  on  this  subject,^ 
that  we  must  take  a  bodily  as  well  as  a  men- 
tal view  of  sntMtance.    ft  may  be  suflleient  to 
eita  the  following  passage  from  his  work  on 
*«Heaven  and  Hell."    <*Man,"  says  he  "can* 
n  t  exereisetboughtaod  will  atal  I  unless  there 
be  a  subjecf,  which  is  a  substance,  from  and 
in  which  he  exerts  those  faculties.     What- 
ever is  imagined  toexist,  and  yet  to  be  des- 
titute of  a  substantial  subject,  is  nothing  at 
all.    This  may  be  known  from  the  fact,  that 
man  cannot  sec  without  an  organ  as  the  ^8ut>- 
ject  of  sight,  nor  hear  without  an  orgain  at 
the  subject  of  hearing     Without  such  organ^ 
s  f^hi  and  hearing  are  nothing,  and  have  no 
existence.    It    is    the  same  with    thought^ 
which  is  internal  sight,  and  with  apprehen- 
sion, whieh  is  internal  hearmg;  unless  these 
existed  in,  and  from,  9ub§lnnce9,  vhkhcre  or^ 
ganie  forms, — ^tbey  could  not  exist  at  a*l,"  &«• 
(n.  434.) 


70 


Swedenborg^s  Animal  Kingdom. 


pression.  Both  of  them  tacitly  deny  the 
order  of  nature,  and  therefore  they  can 
never  minister  at  the  altai  of  true  science. — 
Matter  and  substance  may  be  opposites,  but 
this  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  of 
the  existence  of  matter.  The  mind  ib  a  sub- 
stance* but  this  likewise  in  no  way  touches 
the  existence  of  matter.  The  question  of 
the  existence  of  matter  is  perfectly  distinct 
from  the  question  of  its  substance.  What 
then  is  the  definition  of  a  substance  ?  It  is 
evident  that  a  substance  is  the  ground  of  a 

§  articular  existence;  and  equally  so,  that 
le  only  ground  for  which  anything  exists 
is  the  end  or  use  that  it  will  subserve  in  the 
creation.  The  particular  end  or  use,  then 
of  each  thing  is  its  fvnbstance.  But  ends 
and  uses  in  themselves  nre  spiritual.  In 
order,  therefore,  that  this  end  or  use  may 
institute  a  series  in  nature,  it  must  put  on  a 
natural  form ;  and  the  first  form  that  it  so 
assumes,  the  form  of  the  first  degree,  is  the 
substance  or  unit  of  the  whole  series,  as  be- 
ing all  and  all  throughout  the  subsequent 
de^ees:  it  is  the  universal  of  the  series,  as 
being,  by  virtue  of  the  properties  of  ith 
form,  universally  present,  potent,  active,  &c., 
in  the  entire  prf  pression  of  the  ih>ng  that  it 
constitutes.  It  is  the  relation  that  this  unit 
bears  to  order,  degrees  and  series,  that  makes 
it  into  a  substance  and  not  into  an  accident. 
Hence  it  is  order  that  determines  substance, 
and  hence  too  every  substance  is  an  organic 
form,  as  being  the  initiami'nt  of  all  thciforms 
of  its  series.  Mental  admissions  of  sub- 
■tance  which  do  not  involve  forms  analogous 
to  those  of  the  natural  creation,  are  mere 
terms  without  ideas :  views  of  mind,  thought 
or  aflfection,  which  contemplate  these  subjects 
otherwise  than  as  prototyiies  of  the  human 
body,  are  vacant  of  meaning :  metaphysics 
witfiout  they  rest  upon  the  order  of  phypics, 
are  a  soul  without  a  body,  and  belong  neither 
to  this  world  nor  to  the  next.  Whatever  de- 
flects the  understanding  from  order,  as  the 
question  of  questions,  deflects  it  equally  f  lom 
ooth  mind  and  matter,  and  consigns  it  pro- 
portionably  to  the  *<  shadowy  sophisms**  of 
materialism  or  immaterialism.  In  the  high- 
est sense  God  is  the  only  substance,  and  yet 
in  a  true  sense,  each  degree  is  a  subFtance  to 
that  proximately  below  it.  All  finite  differ- 
ences  are  in  reality  variiitions  of  form  deter- 
mined by  uses  in  their  order.  Each  rie^rree 
involves  the  repetition  in  itse'f  of  all  the 
three  degrees,  of  end,  cause,  and  effect;  and 
hence  nature  itself  is  full  of  substances -of 
bodies  possessing  real  trine  dimen»>on, — and 
mattn  a'so  involves  as  many  substances  ns 
it  ha^  distinct  forms.  If  \%e  huppose  ihnt 
Aatuie  is  a  mere  surfaop,  we  manifestly  in 
dispose  the  mind  for  aJmittmg  a  doctrine  of 


forms,  consequently  we  detain  ilin  thelasl 
degree,  and  in  the  lowest  plane  of  imagery, 
and  when  this  is  the  case  we  must  look  upou 
science  as  something  which  exists  by  courte- 
sy, a  record  of  appearances  and  superficiali- 
ties  which  are  only  presented  to  us  to  be  De- 
gated.  Thus  the  spiritual  violates  the  natih 
ral,  instead  of  leaning  upon  it,  as  a  bouse 
upon  Its  foundation.  But  let  no  logic  disturb 
our  foundations  thus :  the^  principle  of  use, 
and  the  test  of  results,  furnish  a  more  con- 
clusive experiment  of  ideas  than  any  syllo- 
gistic process;  for  they  scrutinize  ibe  end, 
and  not  only  the  means.  This  principle  and 
test  declare  to  us,  that  in  the  investigation  oi 
nature,  we  are  to  keep  our  minds  in  the  idea 
of  order,  as  manifested  in  successive  degrees 
of  forms,  forces,  operations  and  uses,  and 
that  then  we  are  legitimately  studying  the  na- 
<ure  of  substance  in  the  only  meaning  that 
it  has  for  finite  beings.  Other  substance  dtas 
this  is  a  figment,  which  is  rendered  necessary 
by  nothing  in  the  theory  of  causation,  be- 
cause it  will  legitimately  account  fornolhiDg. 
It  has  no  function  in  the  new  state  of  things 
but  belongs  essentially  to  the  acbolastidsm  of 
a  past  church. 

Having  now  briefly  indicated  the  rclatiott 
between  Swedcnborg'6  science  and  philoso- 
phy, and  that  of  his  own  and  the  present 
time,  we  have  still  to  ppeak  of  a  few  points 
which  more  particularly  belong  to  the  Work 
before  us. 

The  reader  may  probably  be  led  jo  enquire, 
how  far  the  **  Animal  Kingdom"  embodies 
d«K:trine&  which  were  current  at  Sweden- 
horg's  day,  and  how  far  its  deductions  W 
peculiar  to  our  author.  To  this  it  may  be 
answered,  that  many  doctrines  to  be  met 
with  in  the  Work  are  by  no  means  pccnbar 
to  Swedenbore,  hut  were  the  common  intel- 
lectual property  of  his  contempoTarics  aw 
piedecessois.  We  have  seen  tnat aborts 
writers  held  the  doctrine  of  the  animal  spinto- 
It  was  also  no  uncommon  belief  that  tber 
were  elalioraied  by  the  cortical  subetaucesol 
the  brain,  and  c  rculated  through  the  nerrtt. 
VIeussens  held  that  there,  were  distinct  d^ 
erees  of  them  Brunn  propounded  the  ^ 
loctripe  as  Sweden borg  respecting  the  pilttj- 
tary  gland;  and  numeious  instances  to  the 
Si^me  effict  might  readily  be  a'ducedfron 
other  w  r  tere  Perhaps  the  best  means  to  m 
ertified  on  this  head,  will  be  by  the  perusal 
of  Boerhaave's  «•  Institutiones  Medice,"-* 
work  where  the  theories  of  ages  arc  con- 
len.«€d  into  an  «»clectic  system.  It  apj'ea'* 
as  though  SwcdMiborg  freely  availed  bim* 
<p|f  of  the  treasures  that  were  accumnWed 
around  him  -and  before  him,  and  was  alto 
gHtber  de<»titnte  of  that  paFsion  foronginalttf 
which  has  been  the  besetting  sin  of  so  mmy 


Swedenbarg^9  Animal  Kingdom. 


n 


01  the  learned.  He  distinctly  states  that  he 
has  relied  upon  his  own  experience  to  but  a 
small  extent,  and  that  he  has  deemed  it  wiser, 
for  the  most  part,  to  "  borrow  from  others."* 
So  also  where  he  found  true  doctrines  and 
deductions, — ^these  likewise  he  borrowed, 
and  thia,  with  generously  grateful  acknow- 
ledgment. But  what  he  really  brought  to  the 
task  were  those  great  principles  of  order  to 
which  we  have  he/ore  alluded,  and  which 
I  touched  nothing  they  did  not  universalize 
I  and  adorn ;  nay,  which  built  the  materials  of 
i  experience  and  the  deductions  of  reason  into 
I  a  elorions  palace  that  truths  could  inhabit. 
I  It  16  as  the  architect  of  this  edifice  that  Swe- 
i  denboig  is  to  be  viewed,  and  his  merits  are 
t  to  he  sought  for  not  so  much  in  its  separate 
I  atones,  as  in  the  firrand  harmonies  and  colos 
i  aa)  proportions  of  the  whole. 
:  After  thi^  statement  it  is  scarcely  necessary 

i       to  observe,  that  Sweden boig  is  not  to  be  re- 
I       sorted  to  as  an  authority  for  anatomical  facte. 
It  is  said,  indeed,  that  he  has  made  various 
t       discoveries  in  anatomy,  and  the  canal  named 
I        the  "foramen  of  Monro"  is  instanced  among 
these-t     Supposing  that  it  were  so,  it  would 
be    dishonoring    Swedenborg    to    lay  any 
strew     upon    a     circumstance    so  trivial. 
Whoever  discovered  this  foramen  was  most 
probably  led  to  it  by  the  lucky  slip  of  a 
probe.     But  other  claims  are  made  for  our 
author  by  his  injudicious  friends.     It  is  said 
I        that  he  anticipated  some  of  the  most  valuable 
novelties  of  more  recent  date,  such  as  the 
phreno'ogical  doctrine  of  the  great  Gall,  and 
the  newly  practised  art  of  animal  magnetism. 
This  is  not  quite  fair :  let  every  benefactor 
to  mankind  have  his  own  honorable  wreath, 
DOT  let  one  leaf  be  stolen  from  it  for  the  al- 
ready laureled  brow  of  Swedenborg.    True 
it  ia  that  all  these  things,  and  many  more,  lie 
in    ovo  in  the  universal    principles  made 
known  through  him,  but  they  were  not  de- 
Teloped  bv  him  in  that  order  which  consti- 
totes  all  their  novelty,  and  in  fact  their  dis- 
tinct existence.    For  in  the  first  place  it  is 
innpo^sible  for  the  human  mtnd  to  anticipate 
JkcfB;  these  must  always  be  learnt  by  the 
aenaeB :  and  secondly,  Swedenborg  was  too 
mnch  a  man  of  business  to  turn  aside  from 
Ihe  direct  means  to  his  end,  or  to  attempt  to 
develope  anythmg  beyond  those  means.     His 
philosophy  is  the  high  road  from  the  natural 
world  to  the  spiritual,  and  of  course  has  in- 
noihepable  lateral  branches  leading  to  the  se- 
veral fair  regions  of  human  knowledge :  but 
throngh  none  of  these  by- ways  had  :^weden- 
hotf^  time  to  travel ;  nay,  could  he  have  done 

•  <<  Rconomy  of  the  Animal  Kingdom" 
Ir.  !.,  n.  18. 

t  flee  «<  Animal  Kingdom/'  vol.  1,  P*  850, 
n.  190,  note  (r.) 


so,  there  is  nothing  to  shew  that  he  would 
there  have  discovered  what  hits  succ^^ssors 
have  done.  He  had  his  mission,  and  they 
have  theirs.  His  views  are  at  harmony  with 
all  that  is  new  and  true,  simply  because  they 
are  universal,  but  in  no  fair  sense  do  they  an- 
ticipate, much  less  supersede,  the  scientific 
pecuiium  of  the  present  century.  Sweden- 
borg, therefore,  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  an 
Aristotle  fi[oveming  the  human  mind,  and  in- 
disposing it  to  the  instruction  designed  to  be 
gained  from  nature ;  but  as  a  propo under  of 
principles  the  result  of  analysis,  and  of  a 
method  that  is  to  excite  us  to  a  perpetual 
study  in  the  field  of  effects,  as  a  condition  of 
the  progress  of  science, 

The  anatomical  knowledge  possessed  by 
Svvedenborg  was  undoubtedly  very  extensive. 
He  appears  to  have  studied  more  by  plates 
than  by  actual  dissection,  as  almost 
any  one  would  do  who  had  in  view  the  same 
end  as  himself.  This  will  be  regarded  as  an 
unpardonable  vice  by  physiologists.  But 
why  should  the  knowledge  of  the  human 
frame  be  limited  to  the  dissecting-room  ? 
Why  should  it  he  the  appendage  of  one  craft, 
and  not  an  inheritance  of  universal  hu- 
manity ?  W  hy  should  the  truths  of  the  body 
be  the  exclusive  property  of  physicians,  any 
more  than  the  truths  of  the  soul  the  exclu- 
sive property  of  the  clei^y  ?  Have  we  not 
all  souls,  have  we  not  all  bodies.'  Now 
good  and  accurate  plates,  corrected  and  gene- 
ralized during  several  ages,  are  far  more 
valuable  and  available  as  a  basis  of  general 
education,  such  as  the  New  Church  must 
ultimately  desire,  than  either  dissections  or 
preparations.  It  is  something  that  they  carry 
none  of  the  adjuncts  of  death,  disease,  or 
putrefaction;  that  they  do  not  hinder  the 
mind  from  recollecting  that  life  and  motion 
are  the  import  and  lesson  of  the  body.  It 
is  something  that  they  may  be  placed  within 
the  reach  of  all.  Swedenborg  has  set  the 
example  of  what  may  be  done  by  studying 
them,  and  his  readers  must  follow  the  same 
course  if  they  wish  to  profit  by  his  instruc- 
tions* 

The  professional  reader  of  the  **  Animal 
Kingdom**  will  not  fail  to  discover  that  the 
author  has  fallen  into  various  anatomical 
errors  of  minor  importance,  and  that  there 
are  occasionally  marks  of  haste  in.  his  per- 
formance. This  may  he  conceded  without 
in  any  degree  detracting  from  the  character 
of  the  wo  k.  These  enors  do  not  involve 
matters  of   principle.      The  course  which 

•The  beautiful  little  book  by  Erafimas 
WUson,  entitled,  <<The  Anatomist's  Vade 
Meeum,*'  may  be  recommend<'d  to  the  readers 
o^  the  « Animal  Kingdom/'  for  the  numberi 
of  exeeUent  plates  that  it  eontalns. 


7B 


Skoedenberg's  Animal  Kingdom. 


Swedenborg  adop  ed,  of  founding  his  theory 
upon  general  experience,  and  of  only  resort- 
ing to  particular  facts  as  confirmations,  so 
equilibrates  and  compensates  all  mistalements 
of  the  kind,  that  they  may  be  rejected  from 
the  result  as  unimportant.  To  dwell  upon 
them  as  serious,  and  still  more  to  make  the 
merit  of  the  theory  hing;e  upon  them,  is  wor- 
thy only  of  a  "  minute  philosopher,'*  who 
has  some  low  rule  whereby  to  judge  a  truth, 
instead  of  the  law  of  use.  Such  unhappily 
was  the  rule  adopted  by  the  reviewer  of  the 
«« Animal  Kingdom"  in  the  *«  Acta  Erudito- 
rum  Laiwiensia"  (1747,  pp.  607-  614;)  the 
book  was  despised  by  this  critic  b^use 
Swedenborg  had  committed  an  error  in  de- 
scribing the  muscles  of  the  tongue,  and  be- 
cause he  had  cited  the  plates  of  Bid  loo  and 
Verheyen,  which  Heister  and  Morgagni  had 
then  made  it  a  fashion  to  disparage;  and  for 
other  equ  illy  inconclusive  reasons.  All  they 
amounted  to  was,  that  Swedenbor?  had  not 
accomplished  the  reviewer's  end,  however 
thoroughly  he  had  performed  his  own. 

But  fortunately  such  criticisms  aie  never 
decisive;  a  single  truth  can  outlive  ten  thou- 
sand of  them.  The  «•  Animal  Kingdom"  ap- 
peals to  the  world  at  this  time,  a  hundred 
years  since  the  publicativtn  of  the  original, 
as  a  new  production,  having  all  the  claims 
of  an  unjud^ed  book  upon  our  regards. 
For  during  that  hundred  years  not  a  single 
writer  has  appeared  in  the  learned  world, 
who  has  in  the  slightest  degree  compre- 
hended its  design,  or  mastered  its  principles 
and  details.  The  reviewer  to  whom  we 
have  more  than  once  alluded,  judged  it  by 
a  standard  which  vras  suited  only  to  an 
anatomical  manual  and  text-book.  Haller 
bestowed  a  few  words  upon  it  in  his  invalu- 
able "  Brbliotheca  Anatomica,"  but  he  knew 
nothing  of  S\vedenborp:'s  views;  and  his  no- 
lice  of  the  "Economy  of  the  Animal  King- 
dom," contains  errors  too  numerous  not  to 
invalidate  his  censure,  had  he  bestowed  it, 
which  however  he  has  not  done  directly. 
Sprensel  in  his  **  History  of  Medicine,*'  has 
offered  a  few  lines  upon  ihe  work,  but  these 
merely  of  a  bibliographical  import.  The 
past  therefore  has  found  no  fault  in  it,  and  it 
comes  before  the  reader  with  an  uninjured 
character,  and  demands  as  a  pood,  true,  and 
useful  book  to  be  taken  into  his  service,  and 
to  receive  a  full  trial  at  his  hands.  The 
modern  physiolotdsts  have  no  theory  of  their 
own,  have  no  reference  to  it,  nor  until  they 
quit  their  present  ground  can  they  be  allowed 
to  have  an  opinion  on  the  subject.  Their 
censure  would  not  be  more  relevant  than 
won  III  the  opposition  of  a  Red  Indiao  to  the 
proMeiSH  of  (he  mathematira. 

But  it  may  fairiy  be  asked,  what  are  the. 


piospects  that  the  "  Animal  Kingdom,**  a&4 
the  pcir  ntific  works  of  Swedenborg  generally, 
will  be  received  at  this  day,  when  tbey  refer 
to  an  order  of  facts  almost  forgotten,  wbea 
they  involve  a  scientific  terminology  which 
has  become  partially  obsolete,  and  especiallj 
when  it  is  considered  that  theie  never  per- 
haps was  an  age  so  well  satisfied  with  iti«lf 
and  its  own  achievements  as  the  present  one; 
Their  prospects  in  the  high  places  of  scicMS 
are  not  indeed  encouraging :  it  would  be  ? aia 
to  build  up  hopes  in  mat  quarter,  or  to  ad- 
dress expostulations  to  it.    A  commimion  oi 
any  Royal  Academy  in  Christendom  wouki 
soon  decide  our  claims  in  the  negative.    Bat 
fortunately  there  are  abundant  signs  of  a 
breaking  up.' 

The  scientific  world,  and  specifically  the 
medical  worid,  which  is  always  the  bigfaeit 
exponent  of  the  state  of  science,  is  in  a  stale 
of  intestine  revolution ;  nay,  what  is  sayii^ 
much,  it  is  nearly  aa  full  of  dissension  af 
the  church  itself.  It  would  be  exoeediagly 
unpalatable  to  dwell  upon  its  diviaioos,  to 
specify  the  sects  which  nave  separated  fron 
th«t  maternal  body,  and  to  shew  the  irrecon- 
cilable nature  of  the  differences  tbatsubsisl 
between  orthodox  medicine  and  her  refractoiy 
children.  The  future  historian,  standii^, 
upon  the  grave  of  once  venerated  institutiooi 
may  do  this  with  impartiality,  and  not  vidi- 
out  a  feeling  of  piiy.  Meanwhile  it  »  our 
privilege  to  rejoice,  that  amid  the  drcadeoes 
of  science  new  ground  is  being  broken,  and 
new  spirits  raised  up,  to  some  of  whom  tbe 
new  truth  may  be  accommodated  and  de- 
lightful. 

We  u.se  tbe  phrase  •*  new  truth,"  aUboojb 
the  works  which  contain  it  have  been  bancd 
in  the  dost  for  a  whole  century;  hot  in  >o 
doing  we  simply  allude  to  the  principles  in- 
volved in  those  works.  The  confirmaloiy 
facts  by  which  these  principles  were  bronfM 
into  relation  with  the  science  of  Swedenboqi^ 
day,  may  doubtless  from  to  time  be  supenied(4 
by  better  attestations:  particular  facts  are  but 
the  crutches  of  a  new  theory,  and  arc  not 
stnctly  speaking  its  basis ;  for  the  basis itMli 
is  spiritual,  since  it  is  the  order  and  tenor  of 
effects  that  form  it,  and  not  the  matter.  Tbe 
principles  themselves  are  eternal. t^lth^—A« 
»<ame  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever.  They 
are  not  attached  for  more  than  a  time,  or  lor 
any  end  but  necessity  of  use,  to  *ny  one 
range  of  fact**,  or  to  the  books  of  any  ooe 
Huthor,~no,  not  even  of  a  Swedenboig. 

There  are  cycles  in  all  thing:*,  and  even 
now  thpre  are  some  indications  of  a  rerival 
of  medical  learning.  The  weakness  of  tl>e 
preseni  state  of  things  is  perreive»l  by  tbo« 
who  have  no  appreciation  of  its  barrenrnf^l 
the  temper  of  the  public  is  an  unmisiakabli 


Swedenhorg'a  Animal  Kingdom. 


73 


demonstration  to  this  effect     Hence  many 
begin  to  revert  to  the  past, ana  laying  aside  for 
a  moment  the  vociferation  of  *«  march  of  in- 
tellect** and  «*  progress  of  the  species,'*  they 
are  content  to  march  and  progress,  like  the 
erab,  backwards  and  to  claim  Hippocrates  and 
Galen,  and  Sydenham  as  their  fathers.    This 
is  at  any  rate  so  far  eood,  that  it  shews  how 
a  forgotton  range  of  facts  and  an  antiqua- 
ted terminology  may  be  re-acqnired  as  soon 
as  there  is  a  sufficient  motive :  nay,  it  nour- 
ishes the  hope,  that  under  the  pressure  from 
i        without,  the  large  body  of  dependents,  if  not 
i        the  feudal  lord  of  science,  may  come  to  even 
i        greater  and  more  unexpected    results  than 
these.     Who  shall  say  (hat  they  may  not 
ultimately  see  that  it  is  their  irterest,  as  prac 
I         titioners  of  medicine,  to  deposit  their  cloke 
I         of  mystifications,  to  bring  to  market  some- 
t         thing  which  is  intelligible  and  useful  to  hu- 
I         manity,  to  go  wherever  truth  leads  them, 
even  though  that  truth  be  ••  stranger  than 
(         fiction,"  and  to  come  to  our  Swedenborg  in 
his  double  character,  and  acknowledge  with 
k         humble    thankfulness    that  a  greater  than 
Hippocrates  is  here,— a  man  who  has  mar- 
ried practice  to  theory,  who  has  dissected  the 
living  body  without  destroying  it,  and  has  m 
opened  the  science  of  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology, that  they  must  sooner  or  later  become 
branches  of  human  education,  in  which  caee 
the  medioal  profession  will  have  a  solid  basis 
^         in  the  social  world,  and  he  as  a  golden  crown 
of  wisdom  and  practice  resting  securely  up- 
on the  correct  knowledge  and  common  sense 
of  nnankind. 

To  all  those  who  are  in  possession  of 
truths  which  are  not  recognized,  or  are  re- 
'  jeeted,  by  the  systems  of  the  day,  the  wri- 
tings of  Swedenboiy  may  be  perfectly  in- 
valuable. Those  wntings  will  prevent  them 
irom  being  dependent,  in  any  department  oi 
reason,  upon  the  old  state  of  science.  They 
will  furnish  a  high  rallying  point  where  a 
oumher  of  such  distinct  truths  ma^  be  com- 
bined, and  derive  that  strength  which  is  the 
result  of  onion,  and  especially  of  the  union 
of  tralhs.  They  will  put  weapons  of  offence 
and  defence  in  the  hands  of  causes  which 
are  now  repressed  almost  into  nothingness, 
and  give  power  to  those  which  are  strong  in 
spirit,  yet  weak  in  body.  They  will  add 
force  to  faith,  and  sustain  the  earnest  soul 
throngb  the  day  of  small  things,  and  mean- 
-  while  yield  it  a  peaceful  delight  prophetic  of 
a  glorious  future  To  all  such  persons  these 
writinjrs  ought  to  be  as  glad  tidings,  and 
should  be  received  with  hearty  thankfulness, 
and  a  determination  to  lose  no  time  in  con- 
verting them  to  use. 

Bat  it  is  on  the  New  Church  itse'f  that 
8wedenborg*s  scientific  works  have  the  high 


est  claim.  They  were  written,  indeed,  to 
convince  the  skeptic,  yA  perhaps  their  chief 
end  may  be  to  confirm  the  believer.  They 
disclose  the  intellectual  use  of  nature,  as 
being  a  theatre  of  instruction  where  man 
may  learn  the  highest  truths  in  the  lowest 
form,  and  from  which  he  may  mount 
upwards,  on  the  ladder  of  divine  order,  until 
the  intellect  merges  in  the  moral  sphere. 
They  proclaim  that  in  this  course  of  true 
instruction  there  is  nothing  to  be  unlearnt, 
either  in  this  life  or  in  that  which  is  to  come, 
but  that  our  limits  are  to  be  successively 
enlarged,  and  all  that  is  real  and  positive 
ever  carried  forwards  into  the  proximately 
succeeding  state.  For  these  works  are  thor 
roughly  congruous  with  the  theology  of  the 
New  dhurch.  The  order  which  they  show 
to  exist  in  nature,  is  the  very  mirror  of  the 
order  that  leigns  in  the  spiritual  world. 
They  mark  the  successive  stages  through 
which  Swedenborg  was  led  by  the  Divine 
Providence,  until  he  was  capable  of  that  in- 
terior state  in  which  his  spiritual  eyes  were, 
opened,  and  the  inner  world  disclosed  to  his 
view ;  and  as  they  were  therefore  the  means, 
so  were  they  in  unison  with  the  end.  The 
doctrines  which  they  set  forth  respecting  the 
human  body  are  reiterated  with  scarcely  an 
omission  in  his  theological  treatises,  and 
particularly  in  his  "  Arcana  Calestia,**  where 
they  serve  as  the  ground-work  of  his  stu- 
pendous descriptions  of  the^ife  of  man  after 
death,  when  he  is  associated  with  his  like, 
according  to  the  laws  of  order  and  degrees, 
and  if  he  be  capable  of  it,  becomes  a  part  of 
the  grand  human  form  of  heaven.  It  is 
therefore  at  once  edifying  and  delightful  to 
examine  the  scientific  evolution  of  those  doc- 
trines in  the  *'  Animal  Kingdom,*'  and  to 
observe  how  wonderfully  coherent  they  are, 
and  how  firm  they  stand  in  nature.  At  the 
same  time,  far  be  it  from  us  to  admit,  that 
Swedenborg's  Theology  was  the  outgrowth 
of  his  science.  This  has  been  stated  to  be 
the  case,  and  it  is  an  assertion  easily  made, 
a  proposition  which  the  sceptic  will  be  too 
ready  to  conceive.  But  we  give  it  a  direct 
negative;  it  is  the  offspring  of  a  double  ig- 
norance,—of  an  ignorance  of  both  the  pre- 
mises. Those  who  are  best  acquainted  with 
the  writmgs  of  Swedenborg  know  full  well 
that  it  has  not  a  glimmer  of  probability  to 
support  it. 

Nevertheless  it  may  be  confidently  affirm- 
ed, that  it  is  impossible  to  affix  a  meaning 
to  much  that  Swedenborg  has  said  of  the 
human  body  in  his  theological  writings, 
without  a  study  of  his  scientific  works.  In 
this  respect  the  former  presuppose  the  latter 
as  containing  ^body  of  elucidations  that  can« 


74 


TrecUmeni  of  Cynanche, 


not  be  obtained  from  the  views  of  any  other 
pbysiologifft. 

But  these  works  not  only  support  and  elu- 
cidate Swedenbore's  theological  writings,  but 
they  also  afford  the  members  of  the  New 
Church  an  opportunity  of  descending  from 
the  spiritual  sphere  into  the  natural,  and 
there  gathering  confirmations  from  the  broad 
field  of  creation.  In  proportion  as  this  is 
rightly  done,  or  done  for  spiritual  ends,  there 
Will  be  a  re^neration  of  the  sciences,  and 
the  ascending  or  analytic  method  will  be- 
come sabservient  to  the  influx  of  spiritual 
power  and  truth  from  above. 

The  order  of  nature  will  be  more  and 
more  seen  to  be  at  one  with  the  order  of  hea- 
ven.   The  sciences  through  which  nature  is 
viewed  in  different  aspects,  will  become  easy 
of  comprehension  and  recollection,  because 
all   their    details    will    be  ranged  on  the 
electric  spirals  of  order.    The  oigjanic  sci- 
ences especially  will  be  schools  in  which 
ihe  rreat  lesson   of  society  is  learnt,  and 
tiie  laws   of   government  and    intercourse 
lepresented.    Tftie  human  imagination  will 
be  limited  by  the  truth,  and  will  admit  that 
all  that  outlies  its  sphere,  is  a  monstrosity, 
and  an  outrage  against  the  universal  prin- 
ciples of  art;  and  that  without  rational  truth 
there  can,  at  this  day,  be  no  true  art,  as  there 
can  be  no  heroic  action.    The  understanding 
will  no  longer  love  the  occult,  or  dwell  in 
quiddities  and  logical  formulas,  but  in  the 
recognition  of  ends  and  uses  in  substantial 
fonns.    Man  will  see  the  omnipresence  ot 
God  in  nature,  because  he  will  contemplate 
a  moving  order  perpetually  tending  from  ends 
to  ends,  and  thtis  involving  an  infinite  intel- 
ligence and  love  in  every  point  of  its  pro- 
gression.     There  will  no  longer  be  faith 
done,  nor  charity  alone,  nor  works  alone. 
The  natural  world  will  not  be  divorced  from 
the  spiritual,  nor  the  body  from  the  soul ;  for 
there  will  be  uo  hostility  between  the  differ- 
ent faculties  of  the  mind,  but  the  spiritual 
man  will  rest  on  the  rational,  and  the  rational 
on  the  sensual,  which  last  will  then  become 
the  enduring  basis  of  the  heavenly,  and  the 
ultimate  theatre  of  its  life  and  fructification. 
"In  that  day  there  shall  be  a  highway  outol 
Egypt  to  Assyria,  and  the  Assyrian  shall 
come  into  Egypt,  and  the  Eeyptian  into  As- 
^ma,  and  the  Egyptians  shall  serve  with  the 
Assyrians.    In  tnat  day  Israel  shall  be  the 
third  with  E^ypt  and  with  Assyria,  even  a 
blessing  in  the  midst  of  the  land,"* 

But  until  this  prophecy  is  accomplished, 
science  must  be  dead.  For  the  Egypt,  As- 
syria, and  Israel  of  the  Word,  are  not 
places,  lying  under  a  particular  latitude,  or 
confined  to  one  planet,  for  the  divine  truth  is 

•&!«&  Six.  88,24. 


omnipresent,  and  transcends  the  condition  of 
space  and  time ;  but  they  are  general  states 
within  every   man  that  is  born  into  the 
world.    The  Egypt  of  divine  truth  is  bia 
scientific  mind ;  the  Assyria  is  his  rational 
mind ;  and  the  Israel,  his  spiritual;  and  the 
prophecy  here  describes  the  true  order  of  tba 
influx  and  circulation  of  mental  states  and 
principles,  in  either  an  individual,  a  aociety, 
or  the  human  race  at  large.    This  is  the  or- 
der to  which  we  believe  power  will  ulti- 
mately be  given  by  Him  who  has  all  poww 
in  heaven  and  on  earth.    For  we  know  that 
until  it  is  established,  (pinion  must  be  aalbe 
shifting  saod;  human  systems  must  be  so 
mortal  that  the  mere  flux  of  time  issufficiaat 
to  destroy  them ;  the  scientific  state  of  each 
age  must  be  at  the  merey  of  any  strow;  man 
with  an  energetic  will  and  an  equal  faculty 
of  persuasion;  since  without  a  Derttansnt 
reference  to  true  order,  intellectual  feats  can 
be  measured  by  no  standard  but  daring  ai^ 
determination.    But  a  better  time  is  at  hmd, 
and  a  better  state  than  man  deserves,  or  than 
be  himself  could  originate.    The  new  era 
has  commenced  already.    The  truths  of  a 
New  Church  have  been  revealed  in  thc^- 
tings  of  Swedenborg;  and  in  those  trntto 
and  those  truths  alone,  may  science  drinJc  oi 
the  waters  of  immortality. 


PRACTICAL  REMARKS 
On  the  Tf •atmcat  of  OjnaMch0p  i» 
By  Charles'  Trovers  Maddn,  Esq.,  A-  ^* 
Battersea, 
Allow  me  the  favor  of  inserting  »f^ 
cureory  remarks  on  a  disease  of  ooni»ano^ 
currence,  apparently  simple  ui  ^^"^^^ 
in  the  indications  to  be  foUw<»TTrS 
of  all,  by.reason,  not  of  the  hints, but  of  tt« 
positive  directions,  for  its  mansgei»cn'  *" 
Sown  for  our  guidance  and  instrection  l^ 
Dame  Nature.  We  shaU,  howeva,J»e  tW 
it  may,  through  contingencies  whicJi «  w 
needless  to  enumerate,  become  a  sowtt  « 
imminent  danger,  and  as  w^^^'?!*'!^^ 
demand  (it  would  seem)  a  pam^  opflW" 
for  its  relief,  and  that,  too,  at  the  hands  « 
our  elder  brethren  of  Ae  profession. 
In  a  recent  Lancet  is  a  case  of  cy»f  J^ 
Before  proceeding  further,  I wonWww 
it  to  be  distinctly  understood,  that  1  oBwru- 
following  remarU  not  for  the  f^^^ 
of  criticism,  but  with  a  view  of  ^J^J^^j , 
far  as  my  liinited  POT«T?t^'^if'^X» 
mode  of  practice  in  similar«a»^w»2!L 

•  Case  of  the  Rev.  ^^ohnV^^^^J^ 
berts,  read  at  ttie  Mtdieal  Society  of  ^-""^ 
^Jaanaiy  N«.y  page  79» 


Treatment  of  Oynanche. 


75 


ctriet  analogy  to  the  princiDles  which  guide 
Vfl  in  our  management  of  inflammatory  a&o 
tions  in  other  farts  of  the  frame,  will,  I  have 
but  little  doabt,  avert  the  necessity  of  having 
recourse,  in  cynanche,  to  laryngotomy,  or 
any  other  final  altenative  of  surgery. 

i  will  first,  make  a  short  summary  of  the 
casein  question;  secondly,  I  will  venture  a 
few  observations  on  it — ^taking  it  on  its  own 
nerits,  and  as  I  find  it  recorded ;  and  lastly, 
1  shall  hazard  both  comment  and  criticism 
by  giving  my  own  ideas  of  the  line  of  prac- 
tice to  M  followed,  Bupportinff  my  opmion 
"  with  a  few  of  such  cases  as  have  ocourred 
in  my  own  practice. 

A  patient  is  seized  with  soreness  of  the 
duoat,  on  the  14th  of  September,  accompa- 
nied by  the  usual  constitutional  disturbance. 
He  18  relieved  by  **  appropriate  measures/ 
On  the  18th  he  experiences  a  recurrence  of 
the  same  symptoms,  aggravated  in  intensity, 
the  left  side  oi^the  throat  being  now  attacked 
Dificalty  of  deglutition  is  the  most  promi< 
nent  local  symptom,  from  the  18th  up  to  five 
o'clock  on  Uie  19th.  (Dyspncea  not  being 
mentioned,  I  presume,  does  not  exist  at  this 
stage.)  He  now,  from  the  engoigement  of 
the  muoous  membrane  of  the  nares,  becomes 
unable  to  respire  through  the  nostrils.  At 
noon  on  the  20th,  dyspnoea  manifests  itself 
ioT  the  first  time. 

The  then  existing  state  of  the  throat  is 
thus  described — 

**  The  velum  pendulum  palati  was  much 
saddened  at  its  lower  base.  The  tonsils  could 
not  be  properly  inspected,  but  did  not  seem 
to  be  swollen  in  proportion  to  the  difficulty 
oi  dedutition.  At  fk^ve  o'clock,  the  same 
day,  there  is  impending  asph3rxia — "  semi- 
oonflciousness**  sucoeeoi,  and  laryngotomy 
ia  performed. 

The  particnlarsof  the  treatment  are  rather 
ambiguous.  In  the  first  attack,  **  appropriate 
ncasnresf*  were  followed  by  relief.  On  a 
recurrence,  leeches  and  fomentations  were 
used  unavailinely.  When  difficulty  of  breath- 
ing supervened  on  dysphagia,  a  blister  was 
applied,  and  belladonna  administered  without 
benefit ;  and,  acc<N^ng  to  the  maxim,  **  Le 
fin  couronne  I'ouvrage,*'  laryngotomy  is  had 
recourse  to,  and  the  patient  recovers. 

It  must  be  at  once  conceded,  that  this  case, 
takiiuF  it  as  related,  was  one  of  cynanche. 
It  will  likewise  be  noted,  that  on  the  20th 
Sept.,  or  about  forty-eight  hours  from  the 
commencement  of  the  second  and  more  se- 
rious attack,  the  difficulty  in  breathine,  with 
flibilation ,  waa  first  noticed.  The  conclusion , 
then,  is  plain,  that  impeded  respiration  was 
secondary ;  and  we  must,  therefore,  naturally 
infer» 

l0t  That,  ftom  continuity  of  tissue,  the 


inflammation  extended  from  the  parts  prima- 
rily attacked  to  the  summit  of  the  larynx 
and  the  surface  adjoining  thereto.  Hence 
the  ultimate  necessity  for  operation. 

2nd.  That  the  standard  treatment  proved 
insufficient  to  check  or  impede  its  progress 
in  any  degree  whatsoever. 

These  premises  granted,  we  will  take  a  ge- 
neral view  of  the  indications  of  Nature  for 
the  reparation  of  inflamatory  affections,  from 
whatever  cauM  they  derive  their  origin. 

The  first  of  her  intentions  is  eviden L  Mo- 
tion of  the  inflamed  part,  tissue,  or  otpn^ 
must,  for  obvious  reasons,  check  the  repara- 
tory  process.  She  therefore  wisely  ordains 
that  the  punishment  (or  warning  lor  future 
occasions)  shall  follow,  clobe  as  shadow 
does  the  substance,  any  infringement  of  her 
directions  in  this  respect  Hence,  increase 
of  pain  is  the  immediate  and  invariable  re- 
sult-increase of  inflammation  the  indirect  and 
frequent  consequence.  We  follow  her  in- 
junction thus ;  if  a  joint  be  affected,  we  re- 
lax the  muscles  acting  on  it,  set  it  at  rest, 
and  keep  it  so.  If  any  intermediate  portion 
of  a  limo  be  inflamecf,  we  change  not  oar 
principle,  stilf  bearing  in  mind  her  commands, 
which  require  no  interpretation.  Dame  Na- 
ture acts  without  a  depu^,  by  exercising  her 
control,  without  our  help,  over  intern^  or- 
gans when  inflamed. 

If  the  bladder  require  her  assistance  to 
prevent  motion,  it  is  at  hand,  and  the  motion 
of  distention  is  rendered  agonizingly  painful. 
The  urine,  by  her  care  lessened  in  quantity, 
is  void^as  fast  as  secreted. 

If  the  kidneys,  secretion  is  regarded  or 
checked  altonther.  If  the  stomach,  the 
movement  of  distention  is  summarily  stopped 
by  the  immediate  ejection  of  medicines  and 
ingeeta.  If  the  peritoneum,  respiration  is 
generally  thoracic,  the  diaphragm,  abdominal 
muscles,  and,  consequently,  the  subjacent 
membrane  in  question  being  left  in  qniet. 
The  bowels  are  also  costive  and  i^uiescent, 
until  unwillingly  roused  into  action  by  a 
turpentine  injection.  If  the  costal  pleura, 
respiration  is  abdominal,  the  intercostal  mus- 
cles and  ribs  quiescent. 

It  is  unnecssary  to  multiply  examples.  If 
the  eye  or  any  of  its  membranes  be  inflamed* 
we  interdict  and  prevent,  as  far  as  we  can, 
motion  or  use.  if  the  brain  or  its  mem- 
branes, we  proscribe  all  sources  of  excite- 
ment.  But  if  the  throat  be  inflaimed,  we  ful- 
fil. th6  foregoing  plain  indications  after  a 
fashion,  by  administering  gargles,  diluents, 
and  necessary  medicines,  thus  setting  the 
parts  in  nearly  constant  motion  which  Na- 
ture tells  us  to  prohibit;  plainly  erring  from 
her  directions,  and  our  principles  of  treat- 
ment founded  on  the  same.    ~ 


76 


Treatment  of  Cynanche. 


A  little  farther  yet,  let  us  pursue  this  train 
of  reflection. 

There  is  an  impediment  to  the  coui-se  of 
the  circulation  through  a  tissue  in  a  state  of 
inflammation.  The  circumjacent  arteries  pro- 
pel  their  contents  with  increased  force  to 
overcome  it.  If  they  succeed  in  effecting 
this,  resolution  is  the  consequence.  If  not, 
how  does  the  vis  medicatrix  unload  the  yes- 

.  sels  of  the  part  in  question  ?  By  eflusine 
the  thinner  portion  of  their  contained  fluid 
into  the  extravascular  parenchyma.  Tume- 
faction and  tension  are  increased,  and  the  in- 
dication thus  offered  is  plain  as  the  sun  at 
noon.  Well,  then,  we  pursue  the  unerring 
instructions  of  our  monilress  hy  abstracting 
blood  from  the  seat  of  discharge.  This  rule 
is  not  carried  out,  though  perfectly  practicable 
in  inflammatory  affections  of  the  throat.  Hence 
we  are  sometimes  compelled  to  have  recourse 

-  to  laryngotomy — "  an  operation,"  says  Aber- 
neth^,  « which  is  a  tacit  reproach  to  the 
healing  art,  for  it  is  a  candid  acknowledg- 

.  ment  of  our  inability  to  cure." 

If  leeches  be  applied  outside,  the  inner 
structures  are  influenced  but  little.  As  the 
swelling,  which  is  attended  with  danger  to 
life,  is  tlie  swelling  of  the  inner  aspect  of 
those  structures,  and  as  the  abstraction  of 

•  blood  from  the  interments  can  only  influ- 
ence the  outer  portion  of  the  parts  in  ques- 
tion, it  follows  that  the  tendency  to  spread  is 
not  counteracted  where  counteraction  miffht 
be  practised  with  facility  and  probable 
success. 

Having  for  some  time  past  adopted  a  plan 
of  treatment  in  all  cases  of  cynanche  pre- 
sentiof  themselves,  and  having;  noted  the  re- 
sults, both  immediate  and  inairect,  I  offer  it 
with  some  degree  of  confidence.  The  mode 
I  pursue  is  simple  and  obvious  enough,  al- 
Ihottgh  I  beleive  rarely  practised.  It  would 
also  seem,  from  the  f>erusal  of  Mr.  Robart's 
case,  the  discussion  which  ensaed,  and  the 

,  remarks  of  the  president,  that  the  plan  which 
I  now  proceed  to  describe  is  not  generally 
known. 

Free  incisions  of  the  tumefled  parts  within 
the  throat,  I  have  never  yet  seen  fail  of  giv- 
ing instant  relief.      I  do  not  mean  mere 

.scratches,  but  one  or  more  bold  incisions, 
varying  in  depth  and  extent,  according  to 
the  urgency  of  symptom  and  tumefaction  of 
structure. 

The  operation,  if  it  can  be  called  such,  is 
easily  performed  by  any  one  possessed*of  the 
average  amount  of  dexterity.  The  follow- 
ing wilt,  I  believe,  be  found  the  easiest  me- 
thod : — ^The  blade  of  a  long* hand  led,  round- 
pointed  scalpel  is  covered  with  adhesive 
plaster  to  within  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
of  its  extremity.    The  index  finger  of  one 


hand  is  used  to  depress  the  root  of  the  tonm 
(this  must  be  done  firmly,  as  the  tonsil  fre- 
quently swells  most  in  a  downward  direction, 
causing  dysphagia  to  a  greater  degree  than 
if  alone  increa^  by  swelling  in  the  tram- 
verse  diameter.)  The  instrument  being  then 
introduced,  its  edge  directed  upwards  and  in- 
wards, one  or  more  free  incisions  are  macte, 
commencing  below,  and  carried  in  a  curve 
convex  outwards  and  upwards  along  the  ton- 
sil and  velum,  to  the  base  of  the  uvula. 
The  time  occupied  is  not  more  than  two  or 
three  seconds.  The  pain  is  inconsiderable, 
the  relief  always  immediate,  and  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases,  permanent  The  bleeding  b 
encouraged  by  gently  gargling  the  throat  widi 
any  warm  fluid.  The  depth  of  the  incisions 
must  of  course  be  r^ulated  by  the  amooit 
of  swelling  and  urgency  of  symptoms.  It 
is,  however,  advisable,  in  every  case,  to  di- 
vide the  mucous  membrane  effectually,  and 
even  penetrate  a  short  way  into  the  substance 
it  invests.  The  flow  of  blood  I  have  gene- 
rally found  to  be  inconsiderable,  when  com- 
pared with  the  relief  experienced.  Whether 
ulceration  be  present  or  not,  I  have  never 
hesitated,  if  the  concurrent  symptoms  seened 
to  demand  such  interference,  at  onoe  to  cot 
through  the  ulcerated  part  if  it  lay  in  the 
line  marked  out  by  the  eye  for  incision.  Opt 
of  some  dozens  of  cases  treated  by  me  in 
this  manner,  during  the  last  twelve  inontbi, 
none  have  proceMed  to  the  f ormatioo  of 
matter.  I  can  call  to  mind  many  which 
have  been  attended  with  superficial  oken- 
tion,  previous  to  my  being  consulted,  hvt 
none  which  ukerated  after  incision  wis 
practised.  I  have  observed  that  tbevisdd 
secretion  poured  out  by  the  structures  in 
question  when  in  the  state  of  inflammation, 
has  been  materially  increased  in  quanti^ 
soon  after  the  division  of  the  congested  mem- 
brane. The  reason  beine  obvious,  need  not 
be  here  mentioned.  With  regard  to  (prg^ 
I  have  latterly  discontinued  their  adminisliB- 
tion  believing  that  any  benefit  derivable 
therefrom  is  extremely  problematical ;  whiid 
during  their  use,  motion  of  parts  which  oogfat 
to  be  wholly  at  rest  is  unavoidable.  The 
diet  should  be  li()uid,  and  taken  at  as  long 
intervals  as  possible.  On  the  medicines  ne- 
cessary for  cure,  secundum  artem,  I  have  no- 
thing to  say,  save  that  it  is  to  be  borne  in 
mind  that  jdeglutition  is  difficult  and  painfal. 
Mr.  W.,  a  moderately  stout  voung  man, 
of  good  general  health,  has  had  hypertrophy 
of  both  tonsils  for  some  years  p»st ;  the  pM- 
sage  betweeti  is  at  all  times  exceedingly  nar- 
row ;  he  is  liable  to  frequent  attacks  of  cy- 
nanche; dyspncea  and  dysphagia  at  soch 
times  productive  of  great  distress.  On  the 
27th  of  April,  I  was  called  to*  attend  him  for 


On  Constipation. 


77 


tbe  first  time.  On  examining  the  throat,  the 
half  arDhes  of  the  palate  were  found  to  be 
ail  but  filled  ud  by  the  protuberance  of  either 
tmiail,  the  uvola  and  yeluro  stroagly  injected, 
to  the  extent  of  three-fourths  of  an  inch  from 
tbe  free  margin  of  the  latter.  Headache,  fe- 
yer,  great  pain  on  attempting  to  swallow, 
sibilaiion;  Toice  nasal;  mcisions  followed 
by  relief;  bleeding  and  discbarge  of  mucus 
considerable. 
■  On  m^  visit  the  following  day,  I  found  a 
marked  improvement. 

On  September  22nd,  a  sister  of  the  gentle- 
man just  mentioned  was  seized  with  the 
same  malady;  slight  swelling  of  both  ton-^ 
sila,  with  an  insignificant  degree  of  inflamma^ 
tion  about  the  margin  of  the  velum ;  some 
feverishness ;  incision  not  permissible;  ni- 
trate of  silver  objected  to ;  blisters  politely 
declined,  "as  they  mi^ht  leave  a  mark" 
Gargles  to  be  used  frequently  were  pie- 
scribed  with  the  usoal  appropriate  medicinea 
The  case  remained  neany  in  statu  quo  from 
that  dale,  up  to  October  7th,  when  it  declined 
gradually. 

.  July  28th»  a  stout,  middle*aged  man.  The 
usoal  appearance  of  cynandae;  ordered  a 
brisk  purgative  and  an  astrinflent  ^BUrgle; 
29tb,  mudi  worse;  incision  fieely,  in  the 
uraal  manner;  instant  relief,  and  on  calling 
sezt  day,  found  no  further  occasion  for  at- 
tendance. 

Mn.  C,  twenty-seven  years  of  age. 
Hysterica]  temperament;  appearance  deli- 
cale ;  general  health  indifferent.  On  Novem- 
ber 10th,  was  seized  with  rigor,  pain  in  the 
head*  and  soreness  of  left  side  of  throat ;  some 
difficulty  in  swallowing;  redness  and  swell- 
ing of  tonsil  and  velum ;  incision  practised 
in  usual  manner.  Aperioit  medicine,  and 
in|nnetions  to  avoid  the  act  of  deglutition 
more  than  mieht  be  absolutety  required;  1 2th: 
liCft  side  of  throat  presenting  usual  healthy 
ajipeeiance;  disorder  transferred  to  right 
rnide  in  aggravated  foitt;  incision  propoeed 
and  objected  to ;  apply  six  leeches.  Seven 
p«  m.  wors^ ;  repeat  leeches,  and  apply  ni- 
trate o!  silver  in  substance.  At  eleven  the 
name  night  1  was  sent  for  to  stop  the  bleed- 
ing from  the  leech-bites ;  found  bet  faint  and 
gMtly  exhausted  from  loss  of  blood ;  throat 
worse';  deglutition  now  impossible;  some 
dypsaoea;  ftp]>ly  a  blister.  13th:  Throat 
worse ;  more  difficulty  in  breathing :  a  fresh 
Ulster  to  be  applied.  14th;  No  improve- 
ment ;  dress  blister  with  ung.  hydrarg.  Ibih; 
Beller.  Nov.  18th ;  To-day  I  have  taken 
my  leave  of  the  case.  The  left  tonsil  is  of 
its  natural  size  and  appearance.  Tbe  right 
is  still  considerably  enlaiged,  and  will  most 
likely  reomin  so.  All  inflammation  has  now 
snkaided. 


1  have  selected  the  foregoing  few  cases 
from  my  note-book  as  they  tend  to  ehow  the 
results  of  different  modes  of  treatment  in  the 
same  disorder. 

I  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  on  my  mind, 
but  that  prompt  incision  of  the  inflamed  tis- 
sues will  be  attended  with  sucoess  in  the 
va^  majority  of  cases.  As  far  as  my  expe- 
rience goes,  it  has  never  failed  of  relief,  and 
that  almost  direetlv.  Without  in  the  most 
remote  degree  wishing  to  derogate  from,  the 
merit  so  justly  due  to  Mr.  Kobaria,  1  must  be 
excused  if  I  express  a  small  doubt  as  to 
whether  cynanche,  be  it  dubbed  erratic,  ery- 
thematic,  tonsillar,  or  pharyngeal,  would,  m 
one  out  of  a  thousand  cases,  proceed  to  such 
a  height  as  to  require  laryngotomy,  were 
the  parts  primarily  affected  by  the  malady 
freely  divided  by  the  scalpel  ere  asphyxia 
left  us  no  alternative. — London  Lancet. 

Nov.  18th,  1845. 


OM 

Ooattipatloiii  from  Indoltnoe  of  the  Bow«lS| 
aad  its  Treatment. 

Dr.  Teissier,  assistant-physician  to  the 
Hotel  Dieu,  at  Lyons,  has  published,  in  the 
last  number  of  the  Jowmal  de  Medecine  of 
that  town,  an  interesting  article  on  the  treat- 
ment of  constipation  from  indolence  of  the 
bowels.  This  form  is  undoubtedly  the  one 
most  frequently  met  with  in  practice.  It  is 
a  frequent  cause  of  ailments,  which,  when 
misunderstood,  in  the  end  seriously  afiect  the 
health.  Hie  disease  is  rery  frequently  met 
with  among  persons  advanced  in  age,  and 
among  the  hypochondriacal,  in  females,  par- 
ticulariy  those  affected  with  chlorosis,  or  dis- 
ease of  tbe  uterus ;  in  individuals  who  do 
not  taJce  sufficient  exeTcise,and  in  those  who 
devote  themselves  especially  to  literature.  It 
accompanies  almost  invanably  all  serious 
afiections  of  the  nervous  system,  and,  above 
all,  paralysis.  Its  consequences  are,  head- 
ache, indigestion,  painful  hemorrhoidal,  tu- 
mours, displacement  of  the  uterus,  sanguine- 
ous disehaige  from  that  organ,  and  leuocorr- 
boea,  in  females,  and  in  extreme  cases  may 
lead  to  marasmus.  It  is  most  important, 
then,  to  foe  able  to  recognize  the  sort  of  con- 
stipation of  which  we  speak,  and,  above  all» 
to  Know  the  most  efiectual  means  to  remove 
it. 

The  directions  given  by  most  authors,  for 
this  last  purpose,  are  in  general  of  little  use ; 
sometimes  they  are  even  hurtful  and  dan- 
gerous. In  fact,  the  means  most  frequently 
recommended  are,  oily  enemata,  or  simple 
lavements  of  decoction  of  mallow,  of  bran, 
&c.,  at  the  temperature  of,  from  80^  to  86^  F. : 
and  later,  when  these  lavements  fail  to  im- 


78 


On  ConstipcUion, 


load  the  bowels,  manna,  senna,  tamarinds, 
rhubarb,  castor  oil,  seidlitz  water,  scammony, 
in  short,  all  sorts  of  lazatires,  or  even  the 
most  drastic  purgatives,  are  recommended. 

Now  it  is  at  present  recognised  as  a  fact 
among  all  practitioners  of  experience,  that  in 
the  sort  of  constipation  here  treated  of,  the 
use  of  warm  injections  is  hurtful,  becauBe, 
as  it  depends  on  a  sort  of  atony,  or  indolence 
of  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  bowels,  the 
more  you  inject  warm  water  into  them,  the 
more  tne  muscular  fibres  are  lengthened,  dis* 
tended,  softened,  and  deprived  of  their  con- 
tractile, power.  It  is  known,  also,  that  the 
use  of  puigatives,  far  from  being  beneficid 
in  this  sort  of  constination,  is,  on  the  con- 
trary, very  prejudicial,  inasmuch  as  they 
blunt  the  sensibility  of  the  coats  of  the  bow- 
els, which  at  length  become  insensible  to  the 
stimulus  of  faecal  bolus ;  besides  this,  their 
continued  use  may  violently  irritate  the 
bowels.  But  this  is  not  all,  for,  as  Teissier 
remarks,  the  authors  who  most  strongly  ad- 
vocate the  use  of  purgattives  in  this  disease, 
acknowledge  also  the  inconvenience  arising 
from  the  use  of  soeh  snbstatiMs  in  a  great 
many  cases. 

Beyond  these  means,  it  might  truly  be  said 
that  no  resource  remains.  But  science  is  not 
80  powerless  as  mi«;ht  at  first  be  supposed : 
nay,  numerous  useittl  means  exist,  of  which 
the  three  principal  are,  nux  vomica,  cold 
lavements,  and  astringents,  which  Dr.  Teis- 
sier, on  the  recommendation  of  some  authors, 
has  employed  in  several  cases,  and  with  ap- 
parently happy  eiiects. 

Schmidtmann  was  the  first  to  recommend 
the  use  of  nux  vomica  in  cases  of  sluggish 
digestion,  with  flatulence,  distention  of  the 
bowels,  and  constipation .  Teissier  cites  four 
caees  wbith  show  that  this  substance  has 
been  equally  succesful  in  his  hands  under 
like  circumstances.  In  the  first  case,  a  fe- 
male, the  sluggishness  of  the  bowels  was 
caaaed  by  the  existence  of  syphilitic  excfes* 
canoes  at  the  anus,  with  thickening  of  the 
rectum  in  its  whole  circumference,  wuich  for 
more  than  a  year  caused  great  difficulty  ia 
defoBcation.  After  the  venereal  affection  was 
cured,  the  constipation  continued,  and  re- 
sisted all  the  means  used  to  overcome  it 
Dr.  Teissier  having  remaij^ed  that  the  intro- 
daetion  into  the  anus  of  tents  (meches)  for 
several  successive  days,  and  cold  lavements, 
had  in  some  decree  relieved  the  constipation, 
was  led  to  think  that  these  means  had  only 
acted  by  rousing  the  contractile  power  of  the 
large  intestine,  and  that  that  end  would  be 
more  tully  obtained  by  administering  the  nux 
▼oiaiea.  He  aecordinf^ly  gav«  his  patient, 
eyety  morning,  in  a  pili«  nearly  the  fifth  of 
a  jMiB  (one  oentigramne)  of  the  extract  oli 


this  substance.    Under  the  use  of  the  nux 
vomica,  in  this  dose,  for  nearly  a  foitnight, 
the  constipation  entirely  disappeared,  and  4 
year  has  now  nearly  passed  away  witboat 
any  relapse.     From  time  to  time,  meiely, 
when  the  bowels  are  inclined  to  beeoine 
sluggish,  the  patient  takes  one  of  the  pills 
as  a&ve,  and  the  next  day  the  usual  evacua- 
tion takes  place.    In  the  second  case,  ths 
constipation,  which  was  of  lonr  standing, 
was  complicated  with  disorder  oi  the  stom- 
ach, referred  to  supposed  gastritis.    The  pa- 
tient was  at  first  put  on  low  diet,  gam  water, 
emollient  injections,  and  the  white  meatSt 
which  only  increased  the  slugnshness  of  the 
bowels.    Recourse  was  thenhad  to  varioai 
other  means,  which    relieved    the  gastrie 
symptoms,  without  entirely  curing  then,  bat 
had  no  effect  on  the  constipation.    Dr.  Teis- 
sier, seeing  the  little  success  attending  this 
mode  of  treatment,  had  recouree  to  full  diet, 
and  the  use  of  the  extract  of  nux  vomics, 
in  the  dose  of  the  fifth  of  a  grain,  daily. 
In  less  than  fifteen  days  the  constipation  M 
the  other  symptoms  had  almost  entirely  di«* 
appeared,  and  in  less  than  a  month,  oonttd- 
escence  was  complete,     in  the  two  otktt 
cases  the  result  was  the  same.    It  most  no^ 
however,  be  supposed  that  the  remedy  is  in- 
fallible ;  the  Doctor  admits  that  he  has  SMt 
it  &il  in  the  case  of   nervous  individoaii 
suffering  from  obstinate  constipation.    A 
thinks  It  is  particularly  indicated  ifi  ^o*^ 
cases  where  there  is  reason  to  suspertap* 
neral  want  of  tone  in  the  bowels,  as  i&  «* 
paralytic,  or  in  old  peraons,  or  wh«rt  ^ 
may  euspect  a  want  oi  toae  of  the  muffultf 
coat  of  the  int<^tine,  in  conaequenot  of  gM^ 
and  long-continued  distention,  or,  in  dboit» 
when  the  constipation  can  be  referred  to  an 
undue  secretion  of  gaa,  which,  of  itutf,  ^ 
causing  distention  ot  the  bowels,  diminifliMf 
liheir  contractile  power. 

Injections  of  cold  water,  better  knowi 
than  nux  vomica,  constitute  likewise  a  fah* 
able  resource  against  constipation  from  wait 
of  tone.  Of  late  years  they  have  been  moeh 
vaunted ;  but,  nevertheless,  they  are  as  Jtt 
but  little  used  in  practice.  They  act  som^ 
what  in  the  same  way  as  the  nux  vomi<i 
in  rousing  the  sensibility  send  Ae  contrail 
power  of  the  intestine.  Oar  author  does  ool 
nowever,  consider  that  two  remedies  oigtt 
to  be  used  indiscriihinately  under  the  saM 
eircnmstances;  he  thinks  die  cold  InjeclitMit 
particularly  suitable  to  persons  of  a  nervMii 
nighly  irritable  temperament;  to  the  bi^ 
^hpndriacal,  and  to  femaias  snffeiiBr  mm 
irritation  or  engorgement  of  the  wonu. 

Females  who  have  contracted  the  psni* 
eions  habit  of  taking  a  warn  enema  ^^» 
and  who  have  thus  lost  the  power  of  i^ 


On  Constipation. 


79 


atijiff  tbe  botrelt  by  the  sole  efforts  of  nature, 
ougnt  to  substitute  cold  for  warm  water; 
they  would  thus  more  easily  attain  the  en  a 
Ibey  have  in  view,  and  aroid  the  inconve- 
Bience  of  diminishing  more  and  more  every 
day  the  eontractiie  force  of  the  muscular 
films  of  the  bowels,  and  thereby  increasing 
the  degree  of  constipation.  In  general,  cold 
injections  are  very  narmless  and  very  well 
home ;  they  produce,  however,  in  some  in- 
dividuals, an  uncomfortable  sensation  of 
eoM  in  tiie  bowels  and  loins,  which  may 
eontinne  for  an  hour  or  two.  Sometimes 
tihey  produce  pain  in  the  bowels,  and  slight 
diarrbcea ;  In  tnis  case,  all  that  is  requirea  is 
to  discontinue  them  for  a  time,  and  to  use 
them  only  evenr  third  or  fourth  day,  instead 
of  daily.  In  ue  case  of  patients  m  whom 
tliere  is  littie  reaction  against  cold,  it  is  better 
not  to  prescribe  water  at  the  ordinary  tem- 
perature at  once,  but  to  begin  with  it  at  the 
degree  68  Fabr.,  gradually  coming  down  to 
64^,  SP*",  and  53^,  till,  at  length,  water  of 
Ae  natural  temperature  may  be  used. 

Astringent  injections  are  also  highly  use- 
ittl,  under  certam  circumstances,  in  relieving 
consttpation.  Bretonneau  was  the  first  to 
MtaUish  this  new  and  important  fact,  which 
has  been  s^ain  brought  forward  by  Trous- 
seau and  Pjdoux,  in  their  <*  Treatise  on  The- 
lapentics,**  but  without  its  having  been  as 
yet  eenerally  adopted  in  practice.  One  can 
teadny  imagine  the  reluctance  some  medical 
teen  have  to  recommend,  in  constipation,  in- 
jections containing  the  substances  tney  are  in 
die  habit  of  prescribing  in  diarriuBa— such  as 
cateebu,  kramiria,  alum,  ftc.  But  if  we  re- 
ileeted,  that  in  persons  who  have  long  suffered 
ffom  constipation,  particularly  females,  Ae 
tectum  forms  nbove  the  sphmcter  a  pouch, 
sometimes  of  considerable  size,  in  conee- 
tfftence  of  the  distention  from  accumulated 
neees,  to  which  the  coats  of  the  bowels  have 
been  subjected,  we  should  be  less  surprised 
that  the  idea  has  occurred  to  have  recourse 
to  die  injection  into  the  rectum  of  tonic  and 
astringent  substances,  with  ^e  view  of 
^Causing  corrugation  of  the  muscular  fibres 
t>f  the  bovirels,  which,  by  corrugating,  be- 
icome  shorter,  and  thus  diminish  the  enlarge- 
meatof  tfaecul  de  sac  now  spoken  of. 

Astringent  injections  are  particulariy  suita- 
ble in  cases  where  there  is  reason  to  suspect 
an  i^normol  ^ilitation  of  the  lower  portion 
ef  the  rectum ;  for  instance,  in  oonetipation 
from  tbe  presence  of  a  mechanical  obstacle 
al  the  anus,  caused  by  hemorrhoidal  tumours, 
irwellings  of  a  venereal  or  cancerous  charac- 
ter, or  contraction  of  the  sphincter  with  or 
Without  fissure,  l^ese  injections  are,  more- 
over, snltable,  for  the  same  reason,  to  fe- 
«a1««  in  whom  constipation  ezistB,  aloag 


with  engorgement  or  retroversion  of  the  ute- 
rus, and  to  all  those  persons  who,  having 
their  bowels  relieved  only  once  in  eight  or 
ten  days,  void,  after  painful  efforts,  which 
can  be  compared  to  nothing  but  a  sort  of 
parturition,  an  enormous  mass  of  hardened 
and  dry  faces.  In  all  these  cases,  it  is  of 
consequence  to  rouse  the  tonic  action  of  the 
muscular  bands  of  the  large  intestine,  and 
this  indication  is  well  fulfilled  by  astringent 
injections. 

The  ingredients  of  these  injections  may  be 
infinitely  varied ;  they  may  be  composed  of 
red  roses,  krameria,  oak  bark,  bistorta,  cate- 
chu, alum,  &c.  The  following  is  Tesseir's 
mode  of  proceeding :— He  begins  with  the  sim- 
ple infusion  of  roses,  dbld,  and  at  the  end  of 
a  few  dscys,  he  adds  to  each  injection  from 
fifteen  to  thirty  grains  of  the  extract  of  ra- 
tanhy.  He  thinks  that  in  obstinate  cases  a 
minute  portion  of  the  extract  of  nux  vomica 
— one-seventh  or  two-sevenths  of  a  arrain, 
for  instance — ^might  be  added,  with  aavan- 
tage,  to  each  enema.  He  considers,  also* 
that  they  measure  ten  or  twelve  ounces,  so 
that  they  may  not  be  retained  many  minutes ; 
that  their  action  may  be  of  short  duration, 
and  that  the  muscular  fibres  of  the  bowels 
may  be  allowed  readily  to  ccn'ract  them- 
selves. The  nux  vomica,  the  cold,  and  the 
astringent  injections,  are  not  certainl]r  the 
only  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  practitioner 
in  the  constipation  we  are  now  Ueating  of ; 
but  they  are  those  of  which  our  author  has 
had  most  experience,  and  from  which  he  has 
derived  most  success.  We  must  not  foiget 
here  the  means  proposed  lately  by  Fleuiy— . 
viz.,  the  introduction  of  tents  into  the  rec- 
tum, which  acting  as  a  foreign  body,  stimu- 
late the  bowel  by  their  contact,  and  rouse  its 
contractile  power;  nor  the  shampooine  of 
the  rectum,  proposed  by  Recamier;  nor,Ta«t- 
ly,  inspissated  ox-gall. 

To  all  these  means  must  be  added,  as  aux- 
iliaries, drinks  composed  of  vegetable  bitters, 
a  tonic  diet,  the  use  of  black  meats,  Bordeaux 
wine,  active  exercise  in  the  open  air,  &c. 
These  are  useful  auxiliaries,  much  more  ben- 
eficial certainly  than  the  use  of  white  meats, 
(veal  and  chicken,)  relaxing  vegetables,  sudi 
as  sorrel,  spinach,  chicory,  cooling  lemon- 
ades, juice  of  prunes,  bouillon  aux  her- 
bes,&c. 

Boulogne,  Nov.  15tk,  1845. 


His  Majesty  the  King  of  Prussia,  by  a 
Cririnet  order  of  the  f^th  September,  has 
been  pleased  to  order  the  eetanlishment  at 
Berlin,  of  a  homceopathic  hospital  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  government — Aligemnne  flb- 
maopathMu  ZnTung. 


80 


On  the  Pathology  and  Therapeutics  of  Asthma. 


On  the  Pathology  and  Therapevtlcs  of  Atthma- 
BY  M.   GEMDRIN. 

The  following  valuable  clinical  remarks* 
by  M.  Gendrin,  on  the  nature  and  rational 
treatment  of  asthma,  which  we  extract  from 
the  medical  section  of  the  Epoque,  are  de- 
serving of  attention.  They  are  a  good  spe- 
cimen of  the  high  power  of  eeneralizs^ion, 
and  of  the  extended  views  of  the  La  Pitie 
physician.  M.  Gendrin'jj  pathological  and 
therapeutical  opinions  offer  a  strong  contrast 
to  the  narrow,  limited,  local  doctrines  of  the 
Broussarian  school,  of  which  he  has  always 
shown  himself  an  enlightene  1  and  able  an- 
tagonist We  are  ^lappy  to  say,  that  a  re- 
turn to  a  sound,  comprenensive,  generaliza- 
tion of  the  causes,  and  phenomena,  and  the- 
rapeutic indications  of  disease,  of  which  we 
now  give  an  example,  is  daily  becoming 
more  apparent  among  French  pathologists 

The  patient  lying  at  No.  8,  of  the  St 
Anne's  Ward,  will  enable  me  to  say  a  few 
words  to  you  respecting  asthma— a  disease, 
the  immediate  cause  of  which  modern  patho- 

X'  iiB  are  endeavoring  to  find  in  an  oiganic 
tion  of  the  lungs.  We  must  first,  how- 
ever«  rapidly  examine  the  history  of  this 
poor  woman.  She  is  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
and  being  a  washer  woman,  is  daily  exposed 
to  the  influence  of  atmospheric  variations, 
and  to  that  of  the  cold  ana  moist  air  of  the 
river,  where  she  washes  in  a  boat.  She  was 
first  attacked  with  asthma  three  years  ago, 
and  since  then  has  had  a  fresh  attack  every 
third  or  fourth  month.  Each  accession  has 
lasted  one,  two,  or  thrue  )veek8,  and  on  dis- 
appearing has  left  behind  a  certain  amount  of 
'  dyspncea,  which  gradually  diminishes.  She 
is  now  under  the  influence  of  one  of  her  at- 
tacks. Her  respiration  is  alow,  shoit,  acce- 
lerated ;  inspiration  requires  ^eat  eflforts,  the 
simultaneous  action  of  all  the  inspirator  mus- 
cles ;  expiration  is  frequent,  and  accompa- 
nied by  a  sibilant  sound,  which  is  heard  at 
the  bedside  of  the  patient  She  can  only 
breathe  when  sitting  up.  Her  features  ex 
press  deep  anxiety.  The  state  of  dyspnoea  is 
not  quite  continuous;  it  is  aggravated  b] 
paroxysms,  especially  at  night  At  interval 
she  is  seized  with  fits  of  coughing,  during 
which  she  brings  up  a  quantity  of  glairy 
'mucous,  transparent,  and  mixed  with  air. 
Often  in  the  midst  of  the  coughing,  vomiting 
comes  on,  and  the  excretion  of  the  mucous 
from  the  bronchi  appears  to  be  thereby  faci- 
litated. The  state  or  agony  in  which  tms  wo- 
man then  appears  to  be,  and  the  semi-convul- 
sive agitation  which  induces  her  rapidly  to 
raise  herself  upright,  in  order  to  favor  respi- 
jiition>  give  a  very  good  idea  of  the  suffimngs 
.  of  .asthmatic  patients.  The  en  tire  organiza- 
tion is  disturbed ;  the  pulse  is  frequent ;  the 


systoles  of  the  heart  are  energetic,  the  jugn- 
lar  veins  distended,  and  the  skin  of  the  face 
and  neck  covered  with  perspiration. 

On  examining  the  chest,  its'iorm  is  fowid 
modified;  it  is  ovoid  at  the  base,  on  both 
sides,  in  front  and  behind ;  the  parietes  of 
the  chest  are  prominent,  vaulted  as  it  were, 
and  percussion  is  attended  with  an  abnonnal 
degree  of  sound  ;  it  seems  as  if  a  bladder 
distended  with  air  were  struck;  the  sound  of 
the  expansion  of  the  pulmonary  vesicles  ia 
no  longer  beard  on  auscultatiqg ;  a  sibiloos 
sound,  nere  and  there  hunud,  coincides  with 
the  expiration.  This  si bi lance  may  be  ap- 
preciated by  the  hand,  which,  on  being  pla^ 
ced  over  the  chest,  feels  a  trembling  crepita- 
tion, isochronous  with  the  motions  of  expi- 
ration. The  heart,  the  large  arteries,  a!od 
the  abdominal  organs,  show  no  indications 
of  disease.  Such  is  asthma  in  its  paro>ysii». 
An  analysis  of  the  phenomena  shows  the 
prescence  in  the  bronchi  of  a  mucous  fluid, 
which  obstructs  them,  and  which  the  efforts 
of  coughing  are  destined  to  expel.  The  ex- 
cessive dyspnoea  of  the  patient  is  the  result 
of  the  occlusion  of  the  air- tubes  by  the  pro- 
ducts of  secretion,  and  also  of  the  emphysfe- 
matous  condition  of  the  air-cells  of  the  liuigB» 
as  indicated  by  the  tympanitic  condition  of 
the  thorax. 

Such  are  the  ^mptoms  which  bare  in- 
duced some  ]iathoiogists  to  consider  astiiflis 
as  bronchitis,  accompanied  by  an  uAontl 
secretion  of  mucous;  others, as  emphjiWDi 
of  the  lufllgs;  and  others,  as  a  disesae  attri- 
butable to  spasmodic  motions  of  the  apinr 
tory  and  inspiratory  muscles ;  as  if  hm^ 
spasms  could  explain  the  unusual  secretiot 
of  mucous,  and  the  stagnation  of  air  is  the 
cells  of  the  lungs.  To  consider  asthma  oaly 
in  the  phenomena  of  its  attacks,  is  oniy  to 
see  a  part  of  the  disease,  one  of  its  periods. 
Such  a  doctrine  can  only,  at  the  mo8t»  lead 
to  the  cure  oi  asthmatic  attacks.  The  fit  of 
asthma  is  only  a  part  oi  the  disease.  If  ^ 
consider  it  alone,  we  kwe  s^ht  of  tbecaiM 
which  reproduces  the  attack  for  years,  dar- 
ing a  part  of  the  life  of  some  persons.  !■ 
Older  to  understand  the  disease,  the  attacks 
must  be  reduced  to  what  they  really  are— 
that  is,  phenomena  of  a  morbid  state  whicb 
persists  m  the  organization  continuoosly  for 
a  longer  or  shorter  time,  and  which  annoaB* 
ces  its  prescence,  at  intervals,  by  attacks  of 
dyspnoea,  of  which  the  abnormal  secietioi 
01  mucous  is  the  first  symptom.  If  we  takt 
this  view  of  the  subject,  it  becomes  easy  to 
understand  the  appearance  of  asthma  as  tie 
result,  in  one,  offfouty  cachexia ;  in sootMr 
of  the  herp^  diathesis;  in  a  third,  ei« 
metastatic  oisease,  owmg  to  the  suppresaioB 
of  chroAic  suppuration*  «c.     We  can  con* 


On  the  Pathology  and  T%frapeuiies  of  Asthma, 


81 


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if 
If 

i 


prehend  also  asthma  being  transmitted  here- 
ditarily, or  being  the  result  of  erroneous  ir- 
regular regimen  or  habits.  Lastly,  this 
mode  of  viev;in^  the  etiolo^  of  ^thma 
gives  valuable  indications  for  treatment, 
which  is  the  most  important.  If  asthira  re- 
Aists  nearly  always  the  curative  methods 
adopted,  it  is  because  these  methods  are  only 
directed  to  the  cure  of  the  attacks,  and  are 
not  deduced  from  the  nature  of  the  diseajse. 
It  is  not,  certainly,  an  easy  thing  to  establish 
a  system  of  medication  drawn  from  the  ^tudy 
of  the  entire  economy,  and  from  the  rational 
appreciation  of  the  causes  which  produce  the 
disease;  and  this,  perhaps,  explains  why 
cures  are  so  rare.  But  when  medicine  is 
considered  in  a  philosophical  noint  of  view, 
when  we  cease  to  search,  aioiig  with  the 
empirics,  for  a  remedy  the  nature  of  which 
18  not  known,  for  a  disease  the  nature  of 
which  is  still  less  known,  then  it  becomes 
^dispensable  to  look  for  the  rules  of  treat- 
ment in  the  nature  of  the  disease,  and  not  in 
the  lesions  to  which  it  dves  rise,  and  which 
after  all,  are  only  it^  phenomena. 

Yon  must  not,  however,  think  that  1  wish 
to  draw  your  attention  from  the  consideraton 
of  the  local  phenomena  of  diseases,  and  that 
I  do  not  attach  importance  to  their  study.  It 
would  be  a  serious  omission  to  neglect  the 
local  lesions,  and  not  to  takeinto  consideration 
local  phenomena,  as  it  wotdd  prevent  our 
apprec>ating  exactly  all  the  elements  of  the 
morbid  state. 

'  J  have  prescribed  an  emetic  to  the  patient 
whose  case  is  before  us.  It  will,  in  all  pro- 
hability,  modifv  the  bronchial  secretion,  and 
lavor  the  expulsion  of  the  excreted  products 
which  clog  toe  aerial  tubes.  I  expect,  also, 
that  through  the  spasmodic  expiratory  move- 
ments which  it  will  occasion,  it  will  emp^ 
the  emphysematous  air-cells  of  the  lun^s.  U 
this  fortunate  result  is  obtained,  (as  chnical 
experience  tells  us  will  probably  be  the  case,) 
you  will  see  the  dyspncea  cease,  as  likewise 
tile  chronic  asthmatic  excretions.  One  day 
will  perhaps  suffice  to  bring  the  patient  to 
the  end  of  the  attack  which  has  occasioned 
her  to  enter  the  hospital. 

'  If  we  do  not  cure  ihe  attack  so  rapidly, 
we  shall  at  least  obtain  a  diminution  in  the 
symptoms,  which  will  lead  to  their  disaip- 
pearance,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  days, 
mider  the  influence  of  a  slight  sedative  medi- 
cation, or  under  that  of  a  renewal  of  the 
emetic. 

Supposing  this  result  obtained,  in  what 
state  will  the  patient  be  after  the  attack  has 
been  cured  ?  Il'  the  repetition  of  the  attacks 
el  afthma  has  gjiven  rise  to  true  emphyBema 


of  the  lungs,  with  rupture  of  air-cells,  there 
will  remain  a  certain  degree  of  shortness  of 
breath,  and  the  physicu  symptoms  of  em- 
physema. But  these  symptoms  will  be  much 
less  marked  and  less  extensive ;  there  will 
be  no  orthopnoea,  properly  speaking,  no  fits 
of  coughing,  and  but  a  very  shght  mucous 
expectoration.  If,  however,  the  lungs  are 
not  injured  in  their  texture—as  we  may  hope 
is  the  case  with  our  patient,  who  is  still 
young  and  of  a  vigorous  constitution — the 
respiratory  functions  will  become  completely 
re-established.  You  will  no  longer  hear, 
on  auscultating,  the  sibilant  rhonchus  pro* 
duced  in  the  bronchial  tubes  by  the  mucous 
which  fills  them ;  you  will  no  longer  find, 
on  percussion,  the  tympanitic  sound  to  which 
the  air  that  dilates  and  obstructs  the  vesicles 
of  the  lungs  give  rise;  and  you  will  hear 
the  vesicular  expansion  murmur  at  the  basis 
of  the  thorax,  where  you  now  look  in  vain 
for  it. 

The  prognosis  thus  laid  down  will  enable 
you  at  once  to  understand  the  very  di&rent 
states  in  which  asthmatic  persons  are  in  the 
interval  of  their  attacks.  If  the  patient  is 
still  young,  of  a  good  constitution,  and  has 
only  had  a  small  number  of  paroxysms ;  you 
will  not  perceive,  in  the  thoracic  organs,  the 
slightest  trace  of  organic  lesions  or  of  func- 
tional disturbance  in  the  interval  of  the  at* 
tacks;  the  repletion  of  the  bronchial  tubes 
bv  viscid  mucous,  the  emphysema  which  is 
observed  during  the  attacks,  all  will  have 
disaj}peared  with  the  dyspncea — the  cou^h, 
the  sibilant  rhoncus,  the  tympanitic  soaoreily 
and  the  bulging  of  the  thorax.  The  patient 
is  not,  however,  cured,  for  the  attacks  will 
return  sooner  or  later.  Allow  these  attacks 
to  be  frequently  repeated,and  then  examine  the 
same  ]»tient  in  the  interval  of  his  paroxysms  j 
you  will  find  his  respiration  short,  frequent, 
and  disturbed  by  a  dry  cough,  whilst  the 
physical  sign^  of  more  or  less  extensive  em- 
physema are  present.  The  repetition  of  the 
attacks  has  given  rise  to  permanent  oivanic 
lesion  of  the  lungs,  and  to  a  functional  dis- 
turbance of  the  respiration,  which  becomes 
exasperated  in  the  attacks,  and  persists,  dur- 
ing meir  interval,  with  a  gradually  increas- 
ing intensity.  During  the  first  period  of  the 
disease,  the  asthma  existed  without  pulmon- 
ary lesions,  only  reproducing  the  lesions  dur- 
ing the  paroxysms,  and  as  phenomena  de- 
pending on  their  manifestation.  In  the  se- 
cond period,  the  asthma  is  not  represented  by 
the  organic  and  functional  lesions  of  the 
lungs.  It  merely  exasperates  and  aggravates 
them ;  and  the  paroxysmatic  affection  is  com- 
plicated with  organic  lesions  and  functional 
disturbance,  to  which  it,  the  permanent  dis- 
ease, has  progressively  given  rise. 


88 


Reviews. 


BBTIBWS. 

Animal  Chemistry,  or  Organic  Chemistry  in 
its  application  to  Physiology  and  Pathxh 
logy.  By  Juvrus  Lmno,  M.  D., 
sc.  London;  Tajlor  and 
Walton,  1842,  pp.  345. 
(Continued  from  p.  56.) 
The  starting  point  of  our  author,  in  the 
consideration  of  this  subject,  is  the  enuncia- 
of  the  existence,  in  the  liTinf  body,  of  a 
distinct  force^the  yital,— whioi  is  stated  to 
be  the  cause  of  growth  in  the  mass— of  re- 
flitftance  to  external  agencies — as  a  cause  of 
motion  and  of  change ; — an  exciter  of  decom- 
position— a  changer  of  the  direction  of  chemi- 
cal forces — a  destroyer  of  the  mechanical 
force  of  cohesion — as  an  attractive  force  ; 
^d  that  its  existence,  is  an  unequal  intensity 
in  parts,  comprehends  not  only  an  nuequal 
capacity  for  growth  in  the  mass,  but  an  une- 
qtial  power  of  orercoming  chemical  resis- 
tance. This  is  in  direct  opposition  to  what  he 
has  stated -in  the  prerioQs  part  of  his  work ; 
but  as  meoical  men,  in  this  country,  seem  but 
too  prone  to  recognise  in  Liebig  a  great  phy- 
^ological  authority,  it  may  be  as  well  that 
We  inquire  into  the  truth  of  what  he  here  so 
dogmatically  asserts.  '*The  manifestations 
of  a  vital  force,*  says  he,  "  are  dependent 
OB  a  certain  form  of  the  tissue  in  which  it 
resides,  as  well  as  on  a  fixed  composition  in 
the  substance  of  the  living  tissue."  If  the 
manifestations  are,  of  course  the  force  is 
Hkewise  dependent,  for  it  is  by  the  manifes- 
tations alone  that  we  can  become  coenizant 
of  the  existence  of  such  a  force ;  and  if  de- 
pendent, how  is  it  at  one  time  a  cause,  at 
another  time  an  eiTectf  Nothing,  surely, 
can  be  more  absurd  than  pompously^ to  an- 
nounce the  existence  of  a  thing,  and  then 
iranediately  to  state  that  it  is  inaidequate  for 
the  purpose  it  is  assumed  to  fulfil.  <«  In  in- 
Of^ic  nature,  do  we  reqiiire  to  assume  the 
existence  of  distinct  entities  to  explain  the 
l^nomena  of  attraction,  combustion,  &c? 
We  know  not  how  or  why  a  certain  aggre- 
gation of  matter  called  phosphorus  should 
M  capable,  when  exposed  to  certain  agents 
under  favorable  circumstances,  of  exhibiting 
tile  )>henomenon  of  combustion  ;  or  why  a 
eertain  other  aggregation  of  matter,  called 
ivonr,  should  be  capable,  when  struck  by  a 
hard  substance,  of  displaying  those  of  sensi- 
ble motion.  But  we  kQow  fliat  they  do  so  ; 
and  we  satisfy  ourselves,  in  these  instances, 
with  stating  that  the  phosphorus  is  qaa  phos- 
fborus,  combustible,  and  the  ivory,  qua 
ivory,  elastic,  without  ascribing  to  them  any 
substantial  principle  of  combustion  or  of  sen- 
sible motion.  In  like  manner  we  know  not 
how  or  why  a  certain  aggregation  of  matter, 
called  oigaDi2ed»  sboala  be  capable,  when 


acted  on  by  certain  appropriate  powers,  of 
manifesting  the  phenomena  of  life.  But  we 
know  that  it  does  so— that  the  more  perfect 
the  oiganism  is,  the  more  remarkable  are 
these  phenomena — and  that  any  change  in 
the  former  produces  a  corresponding  cunge 
in  the  latter  ;  and  what  other  proof  can  we 
require,  or  possess,  that  oi^ganized  inatter  is, 
qua  oi]pnized,  endowed  with  vitality,  and 
that  it  is  not  upon  any  substantial  principle 
of  life  that  these  phenomena  depend  r*  It 
gives  us  pleasure  to  notice,  in  the  reoeat 
work  of  Mulder  on  Organic  Chemistry,  that 
he  has,  with  much  acuteness,  although  in  a 
form  of  argument  formerly  used  by  Then- 
son,  exno^  the  fallacy  of  the  vital  princi* 
ciple  school,— one  in  which  Liebig  aspires 
to  be  a  leader,  although  he  appears  to  be  ig- 
norant of  the  real  force  or  meaning  of  toe 


words  he  employs. 


«<No  idea  (tnat  oft 
vital  force)  can  be  less  distinct  than  tbii. 
llie  existence  of  such  a  force  in  the  fnllf 
formed  oiganism  is  assumed  as  govemin|  tte 
whole.    Kespiration,  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  the  functions  of  the  nerves,  &c,  an 
efiected  by  one  force,  which  is  called  Vital 
Force.    This  vital  force  causes  respiiatioa 
here,  digestion  there,  the  secretion  of  the 
saliva  and  of  the  pancreatic  jmice  in  otfatf 
parts  of  the  body,    it  maintains  at  once  ite 
substance  oi  the  bones— of  the  muscle*-^ 
the  bcain.    It  is  supposed  that  thia  tsm 
force  is-modified,  with  reference  to  tbeiif- 
ferent  organs  which  it  influences.  Wbat 
would  remain  of  the  pr«inary  idea  of  foitei 
if   we  saw   force — ^hcre  '  causing  ofltioOi 
there  effecting  a  chemical  alteration-^b^ 
where  producing  feelings  or  scnsitiona  ?  B 
seems  to  me  that,  in  its  ordinary  aignito- 
tion,  the  term  vital  force  expresses  an  idet 
as  incorre«;t  as  if  we  supposed  that  we 
simple  force,  difierently  modified,  op*"^ 
in  a  battle  fought  by  thousands— a  force  tW 
acted  so  as  to  fire  cannon  and  muskets,  cw 
with  swords,  transfix  with  bayonets,  sonw 
trumpets,  and  keep  men  and  horses  in  con- 
stant agitat  on,  &c.    The  army  am)ca«  as  • 
substantial  whole,  and  produces  F^^'5!2^ 
The  oiganism,  composed  of  the  most  diflff- 
ent  parts,  also  appears  as  a  substantw 
whole,  and  produces  phenomena,    u  J 
assume  for  the  latter  a  single  fofce,  ca» 
ently  modified  as  the  oigane  vary-*  "W 
vifail  force  by  which  the  whole  is  awinw* 
then,  to  be  consistent^  we  should  s/sm»m 
existence  of  a  fighting  f«ce  in  a  Wtlf.-^ 
A  careful  perusal  of  this  chapter  wiU  «J^ 
hie  the  reader  to  see  that  Li*ig»7^ 
excellent  he  may  be  in  the  practkjc  of  cn«- 
istry,  loses  himself  in  a  sea  of^onwy 

•  Flatehs^  tadloMals  offlifakileflrt  ^  ^ 


Reviews. 


83 


lioDS ;  and  that  the  ideas  he  poeeessee  of  all 
fonseB  are  exceedingly  unlike  those,  which 
W6  should  have  expected  in  one  enjoying 
aach  a  reputation  as  he  does  for  philosophi- 
oal  argument. 

It  might  he  as  well  that  we  should  here 
iaqmire  what  is  the  true  meaning  of  foroe. 

*«  When  we  speak  of  attraction  and  repul- 
Bion,'*  says  John  Fletcher,  <'we,  indeed, 
B^cm  to  he  (^peaking  of  simple  forces  produ- 
cing certain  actions:  but  we  are,  in  fact, 
■peBiking  of  the  actions  themselves,  those  of 
attracting  and  of  repelling,  the  forces  being, 
in  both  cases,  quite  distinct  from  these  ac- 
tkms,  and  consisting  of  a  property  of  being 
atttacted  or  repelled,  on  the  one  hand,  and  a 
:  power  of  attracting  or  repelling,  on  the 
i  other.**  And  again,  nere  is  Mulders  expla- 
i  nation  of  the  term  foroe.  *'  In  the  natural 
(;  sciences,  force  is  assumed  to  signify  an  assn- 
i  med  cause  of  obserred  phenomena ;  we  do 
:  wtti  therefore,  observe  forces,  but  suggest 
1  thair  existence  lo  ourselres;  and  we  da  so 
t  in  eonlormity  with  sound  nrindple,  for  the 
t  phanomena  constrain  us  to  believe  that  such 
\  lerees  exist.  No  cautious  inquirer  into  na- 
I  tBK  eoes  fardier  than  this  in  the  present  day. 

1  Wa  do  not  introduce  forces  to  which  we  as- 

I  sign  properties,  but  we  form  the  idea  of  some 

jMHtJimiar  force,  after  the  necessity  for  its  ex- 
istence has  been  demonstrated  by  the  obser- 
vvtion  of  natural  phenomena.  The  idea  of 
fosoe  is,  tkerefore^  a  concrete  one,  by  which 
every  specialty  in  the  jrfienomena  is  embra- 
ced, and  unity  is  given  to  the  whole.**  Here 
then,  we  think  we  hare  a  proper  definition 
of  the  term  foroe;  which  is m  sttong  contra- 
dlstiaction  to  the  illogical  application  of  it 
made  by  LieMg,  who  assigns  to  his  vital 
foioe  a  series  ol  properties,  with  which,  if 
it  is  endowed,  it  becomes  a  distinct  entity. 
PUasophically  speaking,  we  might,  with  as 
iBSUsh  propriety,  assign  to  the  force  of  gravi- 
tation a  series  of  properties,  consisting  of  all 
tlie  modes  of  being  which  giavitant  matter 
aflsaames. 

So  far  as  we  have  gone,  we  find  that  Lie- 
b^  has  employed  the  term  in  a  tw<rfold 
eenae, — first,  in  his  <•  vital  force,**  which  is 
eapresnve  of  a  distinct  antity ;  secondly, 
aa  a  property  distinctive  of  an  organized 
tiflsae;  but  what  can  be  thought  of  the 
ctearaeas  of  oar  authoi^  views  when  he 
adds  a  third  applica^n  of  the  term,  and 
fURd  his  statements  we  are  left  to  infer  that 
it  ia  only  a  mode  of  the  being  of  matter. 
'*  The  amount  of  motion,*'  says  ne,  «<  is  the 
flUmentum  of  fovea.* 

liebig  has,  however,  furnished  us  with  as 
eacellant  an  illustration  of  our  views  as  we 
coald  hava  desired.  It  is  as  follows :  «  As 
tha  maailiafations  of  chemical  forces  (the 


momentum  of  force  in  a  chemical  compound) 
seem  to  depend  on  a  certain  order  in  which 
the  elementary  particles  are  united  together, 
so  experience  shews  us  that  the  vital  phe- 
nomena are  inseparable  from  matter;  that 
the  manifest  actions  of  the  vital  force  in  a 
living  part  are  determined  by  a  certain  form 
of  tmit  part,  and  by  a  certain  arrangement  of 
ito  elementary  particles.  If  we  destroy  the 
form,  or  alter  the  composition  of  the  organ, 
all  manilestations  of  vitality  disappear."  ft 
is  not  long,  however,  before  our  author  con- 
tradicts mmself,  as  the  following  sentence 
will  shew :  "  It  is  obvious  that  a  certain 
amount  of  vital  force  must  be  expended  to 
retain  the  elements  of  the  complex  azotized 
principles  in  the  form,  older,  and  structure, 
which  belongs  to  them  :**  although,  as  the 
former  sentence  announces,  this  "  form,  or- 
der, and  structure,*'  is  the  cause  of  the  vital 
force.  The  efiect  is  thus  made,  illogically 
enough,  to  have  some  share  ia  the  productioa 
of  the  cause. 

His  explanations,  if  such  they  can  be 
called,  altnough  evidently  by  him  intended 
to  be  so,  of  certain  inexplicable  phenomena, 
are,  to  say  the  least  of  them,  very  unsatis- 
factory. We  are  told,  for  instance,  that  the 
cause  of  the  decadence  of  plants,  and  of  the 
limitetion  to  the  duration  of  life  in  plante 
and  animals,  depends  on  this,  that,  after  tha 
establishment  oi  an  equilibrium  betwixt  the 
vital  and  chemical  forces,  a  lurther  increase 
of  the  latter  takes  place,  which,  continuinr 
to  increase,  finally  destroys  the  other.  SSuco 
a  statement  brings  us  not  one  whit  nearer 
to  the  knowledge  of  how  this  is  caused,  or 
how  this  assumed  equilibrium  is  disturbed. 
Science  has  gained  nothing  by  the  communi- 
cation of  the  dogma ;  and  if  it  had  been  sta- 
ted that  all  we  know  of  the  matter  can  only 
be  expressed  by  saying  it  is  an  ultimate  fact 
that  ^anto,  &c.,  die,  it  would  have  been  a 
less  pretending,  but  not  less  intelligible  state- 
ment. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  a  consideration 
of  the  theory  brought  forward  by  our  author 
on  the  cause  of  motion  in  animal  bodies. 

For  the  purpose  of  illustrating  his  subject 
and  brinidng  us  step  by  step  to  a  compreh6tt« 
sion  of  the  views  he  entertains  on  it,  he  pro- 
ceeds to  trace  the  forces  exhibited  by  chemi- 
cal action  in  the  galvanic  pile,  which  are, 
according  to  him,  transferred  to  a  distance, 
and  transformed  into  a  new  force,  the  me- 
chanical in  producmg motion.  Now,  we  are 
not  at  idl  convinced,  however  pleasing  and 
simple  it  may  appear  to  be,  that  any  such 
thing  as  transference  of  chemical  force  takea 
place  here;  and  we  would,  so  far  as  we 
know  of  a  subject,  whidi,  for  the  preeeaty 
must  remain  in  profound  obscurity,  teAm 


84 


Reviews, 


adopt  a  riew  more  material,  and  look  apOD 
the  electrical  cairents  proceeding  alon^  a 
wire,  aa  a  proof  of  the  elimination  daring 
chemical  action  of  aomelhin^  really  existing. 
For,  did  we  not  prefer  thia  new  of  the  sub- 
ject, we  flhonld  be  apt,  like  onr  author,  in 
tracing  the  analog  between  the  ^vanic 
carrent  and  the  Tital  agent,  to  fall  into  the 
error  which  he  eridently  embraces,  when  he 
inferentially  states  tbat  the  vital  force,  if  not 
identical,  is  closely  allied  to  electricity  in  its 
natore ;  and  the  •  way  this  oondnsion  is  ar* 
nred  at,  is  simple  enough.  He  sees  galvanic 
phenomena  resulting  from  the  decomposition 
of  water  by  zinc,  an  absorption  of  oxygen, 
and  a  power  produced  in  the  direct  ratio  oi 
the  oxygen  consumed,  and  capable  of  trans- 
mission to  any  distance.  In  the  human 
bodv,  again,  he  finds  that  oxygen  is  consu- 
med, that  tissues  become  e&te  and  are  thrown 
fjA,  and  that  power  appears  to  be  produced 
in  proportion  to  the  oxy^n  absorbed. 
'<Mnscn!ar  substance  is  oxidated,  as  the 
zinc,  in  the  part,  force  is  generated,  which  is 
distributed  by  the  nerves  to  different  parts; 
when  it  is  in  excess  in  one  organ,  it  is  con- 
vened to  other  parts  where  deficient**  From 
dus  decided  relation  between  the  change  of 
matter  in  the  animal  body,  and  the  force 
oonanmed  in  mechanical  motion,  no  other 
conclusion  can  be  drawn  but  this,  that  the 
active  or  available  vital  force  in  certain  living 
parts  is  the  cause  of  the  mechanical  phe? 
Bomena  in  the  animal  oiganism."  Now, 
we  admit  the  facts,  that  all  living  action 
must  consist,  like  ordinary  chemical  prooes- 
aes,  in  a  series  of  actions  and  redactions, 
which  we  only  become  cognizant  of  by 
witnessing  them;  but,  for  Liebig  to  imagine 
that  he  has  simplified  the  matter,  or  thrown 
any  new  li^t  on  it,  by  assuming  that  the 
force  of  motion,  or  motion  occurring  in  chem- 
ical changes,  is  transferred  or  transformed, 
on  the  one  hand,  into  electrical  phenomena, 
or,  on  the  other,  iato  mechanicskl,  or  in  the 
third  phu«,  into  vita*  phenomena*  we  feel 
constrained  to  deny.  Tlie  verv  term,  traqs- 
ferenoe  of  force  is  unsound,  it  is  only  that 
which  is  substantial,  as  Mulder  remarks, 
that  can  be  communicated. 

And  in  truth,  all  that  we  know  of  the 
matter,  or  are  likely  to  know .  is  this,  that  the 
living^  body  is  composed  of  various  tissues, 
in  other  words,  vital  compounds,  each  en- 
dowed with  its  own  special  propertiea,  capa- 
ble of  being  acted  on  by  other  compounds, 
and  again  re-acting  on  them,— of  giving  rise 
to  phenomena — to  actions  (in  which,  truly 
^Making,  consists  life,)  that  these  properties 
as  in  the  case  of  the  action  of  an  acict  onan 
alkab,  are  exhaust^ ;  that  for  the  purpoae 
of  being  renewed,  and  the  actions  again  re- 


s,  that  the  oxyren  of  tbsat- 
Dore  energeticdiy  on  the  lir* 
of  oonne  more  motion  ibsi 


peated,  they  require  the  deposition  ol  faeik 
nutriment,  otherwise  life,  which,  as  we  hive 
just  staled,  consists  bat  of  these  adioni 
must  cease  And  it  may  be  snouned  op  ia 
this,  that  of  the  nature  of  these  vital  forces 
we  know  nothing ;  but  this  we  certunly  do 
know,  that  they  are  neither  the  electrical  sor 
the  chemical,  becaase  the  phenomena  they 
present  are  not  those  of  either  of  the  latter. 
But  when  we,  as  jrfiyaiologists,  admit  that 
of  them  we  know  nothing,  we  are  not  a  whit 
more  in  ignorance,  than  is  the  chemist  or 
mechanical  philosopher,  of  the  nature  of  the 
properties  which  cfaaraderize  inoiguie 
matter.  A  few  pithy  remarks  follow  op  die 
ch^ter  on  aoimal  motion,  and  these  are  en* 
titled  Iheory  of  Disease.  This  subject  is 
very  summarily  disposed  of  byouraatbor, 
who  states,  that  disease  occure  when  the 
sum  of  the  vital  force  is  weaker  than  the 
acting  cause  of  disturbance.  £very  csbm 
is  thai  assumed  to  be  mechanical  or  cheni- 
cal,  and  acting  as  such,  by  producing  a  £§- 
turbance  in  the  proportion  of  waste aiadsap- 
ply.  A  deficiency  of  resistance,  we  tie 
then  told,  means,  that  the  oxycen  of  the  at- 
mosphere acts  more  t 
ing  tissue,  and 

normal  is  produced.  The  sup 
force  is  then  oondacled  awnjr  by  the  dhvb^ 
and  an  acceleration  of  the  mvolualarya^ 
tions,  with  an  increase  of  temparatnie^tiiM 
place.  Thiaconstitatea  a  febnle  piroiT"^ 
nothing  can  be  aimpler;  and  the  pnriMli 
cause  of  fever,  which  haa  pnislii  the 
brains  of  physicianafrom  Hippocntesdm* 
wards,  is  deader  shewn  forth  to  be  ao*!^ 
more  than  a  qmcker  burning  of  the  lanp  « 
life.  The  remediea  would  seem,  bowenr, 
to  be,  to  a  certain  axtaal,  homeenathic;  kf 
a  cure,  it  is  stated  is  effected  by  theactkMO^ 
blisiere,  sim^isma,  &c.,  which  act  by  cne> 
ting  a  more  intense  disturbance  or  covbae* 
tion  of  tissue  in  a  previously  uoafleded  pert 
than  exists  in  the  diaeaaed  one.  Whei^ 
however,  the  lighting  of  a  neighboring  in 
does  not  extii^^uish  the  other,  the  physidai 
we  are  told,  acts  with  wonderful  ss|^a^ 
indirectly,  when  he  diminishes,  by  ha 
bloodletting,  the  oxygen  carriers,  whea,  of 
course,  the  fin  goes  out  of  ilaelf.  Pity  that 
the  doctrine  is  not  followed  out  by  the  aA- 
miren  of  Liebig,  and  a  practical  exhibiiioB 
made  of  the  excellence  of  the  disoove^^ 
Formerly,  the  inhalation  oi  dtfhhf^^iam 
air,  or  of  nitrons  oxide,  was  viewed  by  the 
en^ttsiast  of  half  a  century  ago  as  a  peot« 
cea  for  all  the  ills  that  flesa  is  heir  to;  bit 
as  the  worid  glows  oMar,  we  grow  wieir, 
and  the  proper  course  now  would  >PiMff  ^ 
be  the  very  opposite;  and  there  can  now  be 
no  diffieolty  in  amothciiog  the  fever,  byai*- 


r 


Ccises  in  Midwifery. 


86 


king  the  patient  inhale  hydrogen  gas,  provi- 
ded it  should  not  smother  himself.  It  is 
scarcely  possible  to  read  this  chapter  without 
a  feeling  of  wonder  at  our  author's  style  of 
cool  assumption.  No  difficulty  occurs  to 
jiim, — no  exceptions  to  his  generalizations 
ever  appear  to  have  entered  his  mind,  but 
he  goes  on  ploddingly  with  the  most  un- 
matchable  gravity,  dealing  forth  his  formule 
of  disease  with  all  the  precision  of  an  alge- 
braist For  instance,  sympathy  is  defined  to 
be  the  transference  of  diminished  resistance 
to  more  distaot  parts,  a  mode  of  expression 
too  iialpably  absurd  to  require  any  comment. 
The  chapter  on  respiration  is  interesting  in 
a  chemical  point  of  view,  but  presents  no* 
thiog  worthy  of  special  notice  m  a  physio- 
logical sense,  as  it  is  a  subject  still  sub  ju- 
di»e.  But  even  chemically,  the  whole  doc- 
trine is  open  to  many  objections ;  and  the  as- 
BCTtion,  that  the  iron  in  the  globoles  is  the 
main  oxygen  carrier,  is  doubled  both  by  Si- 
Bon  and  Mulder,  who  believe  it  to  be  m  the 
metatiic  state;  and  that  the  color  of  the 
blood  depends  on  the  degree  of  oxidation  is 
certainly  not  true,  as  the  coloring  matter  has 
been  obtained  by  Simon  perfectly  free  from 
inm.  The  inference  drawn  then  by  Liebig, 
of  the  cause  of  the  fiightful  efleets  of  prus- 
flic  acid  and  sulphuretted- hydrogen,  by  their 
joady  action  on  the  compounds  of  iron, 
when  alkalies  are  present,  must  fall  to  the 
.giound. 

We  have  devoted  the  utmost  care  to  a  pe- 
nsal  of  this  work,  and  we  rise  from  it  with 
the  conviction  that  Liebig,  so  far  as  he  states 
lads  connected  with  nutrition  of  tissues, 
amoant  of  food  necessary  for  production  of 
motion,  &c.,  may  be  chemically  correct;  but 
that,  departing  from  his  weights  and  his 
balance,  he  aspires  to  be  a  philosophical 
physiologist,  and,  to  explain  causes  of  which 
fie  is  necessarily  ienorant,  that  he  departs 
«iot  only  from  his  legitimate  sphere,  which 
he  is  so  well  qualifiM  to  occupy,  but,  from 
agnorance  of  what  othera  have  done  and 
vrrilten  before  him,  he  entangles  himself  in  a 
■Mze  of  contradictions,  and  confuses,  by 
constantly  shifting  his  principles,  those  who 
■wy  seek  information  from  his  work ;  and 
hefe  we  are  sorry  to  say,  that  the  difficulty 
-of  dealing  fairiy  with  him  arises  less  from 
tbe  nature  of  the  subject,  than  from  the  il- 
logical and  heterogeneous  ideas  he  seems  lo 
^entertain,  at  one  time  appearing  as  truisms, 
clothed  in  the  technical  language  o'  the  la- 
lK»ratory,  at  another,  in  the  use  of  words 
which,  however  special  they  may  be  in  tbe 
Tocaholary  of  those  who  have  previously 
oladied  physiology,  are  by  him  used  fre- 
•onently  in  a  sense  which  may  mean  every- 
uk\n%  or  nothing. 


In  our  next  we  shall  devote  a  few  pa^ 
to  the  consideration  of  tbe  relation  which 
organic  chemistry  in  general  bears  to  physi- 
ology, and  more  especially  to  Homoeopathy. 
Britith  Jour.  Horn, 

FEOULZAB    OASBB    ZH    MIDWIFBHT. 
By  Thomas  Torrance,  Esq,  Surgeon  Andre. 

In  a  late  Lancet,  I  observed  a  case  of  ex- 
pulsion of  the  entire  ovum,  at  the  full  period 
of  gestation.  The  two  following  cases  have 
ing  occurred  in  my  practice,  a  record  of  them 
in  the  same  journal  may  prove  interesting 
to  the  profession. 

Case  1.— 1  was  called,  about  mid-day  of 

the  22nd  May,  1 837,  to  a  Mrs.  T. ,  aged 

twenty  years,  wife  of  a  mechanic,  in  labour 
for  the  nret  time,  of  a  slender  make,  but  hav- 
ing a  large  capacious  pelvis.  After  an  easy 
labour,  she  w.is  delivered,  about  7  o'clock, 
P.  M.,  of  a  full  sized,  well  formed,  male 
child.  Having  tied  the  umbilical  cord,  and 
handed  over  the  child  to  the  nuree,  I  tunied 
my  attention  to  the  mother.  Upon  placing 
my  hand  over  the  uterine  region,  and  mak- 
ing gentle  traction  with  the  cord,  she  gave 
a  ^roan,  and  by  one  expulsive  effort  a  second 
child  was  bom,  enveloped  in  the  membranes 
together  with  both  placente  attached.  I  lost 
no  time  in  separating  the  membranes,  and 
exposed  the  child,  aJso  a  male,  but  much 
smaller  than  the  former,  and  which  survived 
only  a  few  days.  I  have  been  in  attendance 
several  time?  upon  the  mother  at  subsequent 
confinements,  but  have  seldom  been  forward 
in  time,  her  labor  being  too  expeditious. 

Casb  2. — Mrs.  W ,  the  wife  of  a  far- 
mer, and  tbe  mother  of  several  children,  was 
taken  in  labor  during  the  night,  in  the  mondi 
of  August,  1839:  I  was  called  about  seven 
in  the  morning,  and,  upon  my  arrival,  found 
tbe  nurse  with  one  child,  a  male,  upon  her 
knee,  which  had  been  born  about  fifteen 
minutes.  Upon  my  going  to  the  mother,  who 
was  in  bed,  I  was  told  by  her  thai  all  had 
come  away,  but  had  not  been  removed. 
Upon  introducing  my  hand  under  the  bed- 
clothes, I  found  something  unusually  bulky 
which,  upon  examination,  turned  ont  to  be 
a  second  child,  enclosed  in  the  membranes 
together  with  both  the  placentae  attached. 
I  need  scarcely  add,  that  this  second  child, 
which  was  a  female,  was  dead. 

Expulsion  of  the  second  child,  enveloped 
in  tbe  membranes  with  the  placentae,  in  twm 
cases,  ]  believe  is  not  at  all  a  rare  occurrence 
at  the  full  period  of  gestation,  at  which  time, 
however,  1  have  never  met  with  it  in  cases 
of  single  births,  though  frequently  in  cases 
at  the  seventh  month,  particularly  when  the 
child  was  dead. 

Lancet, 


86  , 


BmuBopaihy. 


XOICCEOFATHT 

May  be  considered  a  heresy  in  medicine, 
between  whose  votaries  and  the  orthodox 
school  a  warfare,  as  bitter  as  it  is  ungentle- 
fnanly,has  hitherto  been  waeed.  Because 
its  enemies  do  not  tell  the  tratn  about  it,  and 
because  every  thing  vitally  conceming  hu- 
man life  and  health  is  matter  of  deep  mo- 
ment to  aJl;  the  writer  proposes  to  state 
briefly  and  correctly  what  the  claims  of  bo- 
moDopath^  are,  to  the  favourable  notice  of 
the  public.  In  doing  this  he  feels  that  his 
position  is  much  like  that  oi  GaJUleo*  when 
advocating  the  Copernican  theory  of  the 
world.  He  is  broaching  doctrines  which, 
though  true,  are  unfortunately  calculated  to 
fltrike  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  as  be- 
ing utterly  abmrd.  The  idea  that  the  sun 
was  fixed,  and  the  earth  moved,  was  so  di- 
rectly opposed  to  every  man's  senses  and  ex- 
perience, that  it  was  then  unanimously  re 
jected,  thoueh  it  has  since  come  to  receive 
the  univers^  assent.  So  it  is  with  homoeo- 
pathy; those  who  look  beneath  the  surface 
of  tbings>  and  have  sufficient  industry  and 
ability  to  investigate  and  compreheud  its 
great  truths,  know  that  its  doctrines,  though 
now  rejected  by  the  unreflecting  multitude, 
are  destined,  ultimately,  to  be  universally 
received,  and  to  confer  inestimable  benefits 
on  the  human  race.  **  Truth,  though  crushed 
to  earth,  will  rise  again."  Unfortunately, 
too,  for  homoeopathy,  as  with  almoft  every 
other  new  discovery,  its  worst  enemies  are 
its  inexperienced  and  Incompetent  advocates 
and  practitioners.  Its  great  lights  cannot 
now,  however,  b^  extinguished  by  all  these 
difficulties  and  embarraewoents,  but  must  ul- 
timately work  an  entire  revolution  in  the 
principles  and  practice  of  medicine. 

1st.  Homoeopathy  claims  to  have  disco- 
vered the  true  principles  on  which  saediciaes 
should  be  given,  and  to  have  first  established 
their  true  curative  powers  in  all  diseases,  by 
the  Baconian  method  qf  induction,  (Thajiks 
once  more  to  the  neat  lord  Veralum  )  By 
experimenting  with  all  medicine^  upon  the 
healthy,  their  true  curative  powers  on  the 
sick  are  spread  out  to  view,  as  it  were,  in  a 
solar  microscope,  their  minutest  eflect  on 
every  portion  of  the  human  organism  being 
shadowed  forth  in  clear  magnified  perspec- 
tive. The  great  law,  discovered  and  pro- 
mulgated by  Hahneman,  "  Stmilia  Simili^ 
bus  curanter,**  is  as  true  as  the  Copernican 
system  of  the  world,  and,  like  that  system, 
with  gravitation  added  by  Newton,  it  is  des* 
tinc^  to  brio^  order  oiU  of  chaos,  in  the  sci- 
ence of  medicine.  The  chaotic  darkness, 
uncertainty,  and  never-ending  fluctuation, 
pervading,  till  then,  all  medical  sciencet  has 
given  place  to  a  beautiful  order,  infallible 


:1 

iia     \ 


while  the  world  stands.    It  has  owntedia 
the  medical  world  little  less  than  the  omnip- 
otent fiat,  **  let  theie  be  light,**  once  did  u     | 
the '  natural  world.    This  disooreiy  of  tbe 
great  Hahneman  is  fully  eimal  to  the  dii-     i 
coveries  of  Copernicus  and  Newton,  and  is    | 
destined  to  carry  bis  name  down  to  postai^,    ' 
as  one  ei  the  greatest  luminaries  of  saence, 
no  less  than  the  benefactor  of  his  ncs; 
whilst  the  petty  sneers  of  those  whose  misds    j 
are  either  too  eontamptible  to  comprehend  fais    i 
discoveries,  or  too  diahmest  to  give  \m 
credit  for  them,  will  be  buried  in  deserrsd 
oblivion. 

The  second  discoviry  of  Hahntmc, 
scarcely  less  in  importance  than  the  fint,  is, 
that  all  medicines  given  in  infinitesiBil 
doses,  are  moie  prompt  and  powerful  in  their 
remedial  efieds,  than  when  exhibitsd  in  ses- 
sible  quantities ;  and,  indeed,  that  they  nerv 
do  produce  their  l^itimate  curslive  cfaisi 
upon  the  constitution,  except  when  theyaie 
thus  diluted,  and  bf  a  frouu  uiutk  (Mr§» 
them  at  the  s&m$  ime  iutk  kmman  deOn- 
magnetism.  When  they  are  attennsled  id 
this  manner,  so  as  to  become  what  ve  mj 
term,  a  "  subtle  medkated  magnOism,"  aid , 
are  dissolved  upcm  the  tongue,  they  Hoqb 
incorporate  with  the  nervous  fluid  ^t^V' 
tem,  and  produee  their  egexX  diredlymm 
vittd  poums  of  Itfe^  removing  their  isoiM 
condition.  That  this  discovery  is  saoAm 
great  truth,  is  as  certain  as  the  NewtoBiaB 
theory  of  gravitation.  It  is  one  ef  f^  der- 
not  principles  of  nature^  connedad  vil^  ui- 
man  life,  as  fixed  as  the  revolutions  <n^ 
planets.  Those  who  have  any  ooscon  «sh 
healing  the  sick,  and  do  not  imow  tboe  m 
great  principlea  to  he  true,  are  lilwisifcg 
ignorant  of  what  in  this  day  they  nip 
loiow.  . 

When  these  great  priineipieB  aie  Boaw 
ally  carried  out  in  their  application  to» 
treatment  of  diseases,  their  beneficial  cv 
on  the  health  and  langevity  of  the  hia* 
race,  vnll  be  a  very  high  per  eantags  dsf 


penor  t — ^ 

pox,  scarlet  fever,  meaalsst  croup,  cho» 
typhus  fever,  ophthnlmia,  and  skin  diseasHi 
even  in  the  hands  of  the  most  bungling  jp» 
titioner,  are  facts  that  the  communitii  p^ 
rally  have  a  right  to  kruno.  That  it  is  mf^ 
rior  in  the  treatment  of  all  diseases,  >^  * 
well  as  chronic,  in  the  hands  of  a  sW» 
practitioner,  no  good  hommopathist,  whi 
versed  in  both  systems,  can  doubt  1v 
those  pretended  homoaopathists  who  an  toe 
indolent  to  investigate  diseases  and  ^^'^V^ 
crasies  thoroughly,  and  who  use  the  km  o* 
lutions  on  all  occasions,  because  they  are  lo* 


r 


Use  of  Sabina  in  Uterine  HtBrnorrhage. 


87 


Jazy  to  prepare  the  higher,  do  not  always 
saoceed,  is  veiy  true.  But  it  is  sinning  a^nst 
the  good  gifts  of  heaven  and  the  light  of  eter- 
Bity,  to  charge  these  failures  to  homoeopa- 
tfay,  instead  of  charging  them  to  the  culpa- 
Kle  negligence  and  indolence  of  those  who 
pretend  to  practise  what  they  do  not.  No 
one  who  does  not  legitimately  carry  out  the 
doctrines  and  discoveries  of  homoeopathy, 
should  be  permitted  to  dishonor  it  by  as- 
suming the  name.  The  stupid  and  senseless 
UimderinK  of  blockh^uis,  in  the  name  of 
homoBopatny,  ought  not  to  prejudice  sensi- 
ble people  against  the  great  truths  of  the 
■denee.  These  truths  are  fixed  and  eternal, 
m4  willremain  so  long  after  they  are  for- 


with  heroic  medication.  Emetics,  cathartics, 
calomel,  qninine,  and  bloodletting,  are  now 
unnecessary.  We  have  discovered  an  ea- 
sier, safer,  and  better  method  of  curing  all 
the  diseases  that  can  possibly  afflict  man- 
kind. Our  medicines  never  weaken  or  in- 
jure the  most  delicate,  while  they  are  more 
powerful  in  arresting  disease,  than  the  strong- 
est doses  that  can  be  ^iven.*'  These  asser- 
tions are  not  put  forth  m  the  spirit  of  a  quack 
advertisement,  to  deceive  you,  and  get  yomr 
money  without  any  consideration,  out  to  do 
you  good  We  come,  like  the  good  Samari- 
tan, with  oil  and  wine  for  your  wounds.—* 
Sf .  Louts  Magnet 


A  word  as  to  the  different  effects  of  medi- 
cines in  a  crude  state,  and  when  prepared  ho- 
nueopathically*  Mercury  and  sareaparilla, 
for  instance,  medicines  that  occupy  a  promi- 
nent place  in  Allopathy,  meet  but  few  indi- 
cations in  homoeppathy,  and  those  far  from 
being  important.'  The  indications  of  medi- 
cines in  the  two  systems,  indeed,  are  very 
generally  different,  and,  in  many  cases,  dia- 
metrically  opposite.  Homoeopathy  has  a 
list  o!  thirty  alterative  medianes,  a  large 
proportion  of  which  are  more  powerful  than 
Boercuiy.  A  curious  fact  developed  by  ho- 
jiUBOpathy  is,  that  those  substances  com- 
posing the  great  proportion  of  the  mass  of 
our  earth,  are  found  to  be  the  greatest  medi- 
cines for  chronic  diseases  generally.  Such 
are  silex,  carbonate  of  lime,  carbon,  sulphur, 
sulphate  of  lime,  &a ;  these,  together  with 
graphites  and  common  salt,  are,  in  their  crude 
state,  almost  inert,  but  when  attenuated  and 
magnetized  homceopathically,  they  are  made 
some  of  the  most  powerful  medicines  we 
have. 

Homoeopathy  has  been  diarged  with  being 
inefficient  in  the  treatment  of  intenmttenC  fe- 
vcffs.  The  writer  has  not  found  it  so  in  np- 
vaids  of  thirty  cases  which  he  has  attended 
the  present  year.  It  is  true  that  great  labor 
is  lequiied  in  discriminating  symptoms,  and 
in  discovering  previous  Allopathic  treatment 
in  cases  of  relapse,  but  this  carefully  done, 
and  homoeopathy  is  bound  to  triumph  in  the 
treatment  of  this  scourge  of  the  Western 
country.  The  easy  and  safe  manner  in  which 
isver  and  ague  can  be  gradually  but  perma- 
Bisntly  dislodged,  by  homoeopathy,  from  the 
system,  leaving  it  sound  and  uninjured,  are 
such  as  to  be  highly  satisfactory  to  its 
fdends. 

In  conclusion,  homoeopathy  says  to  suffer- 
ing humanity, — "Cease  ruining  yourselves 
with  dru£S.  Do  not  injure  your  constitu- 
ionsy  and  shorten  your  days,  any  longer, 
t 


Oa  ihm  Uve  of  fUbiua.  ia  Utt rias  HmgnerrJuK*. 
Bt  Dr.  ARikN, 
Qfth0Bi>ttlJ>im. 


This  neglected  medicine  has  been  ktely 
much  recommended  by  Dr.  Aran,  who  pub- 
lished the  following  cases  .*— The  first  was 
that  of  a  woman  of  bilious-sanguine  tem- 
perament, and  strong  constitution,  who  was 
attacked  with  hemonhaee  in  consequence  of 
a  fatiguing  journey  on  toot.  Besides  fever- 
ish symptoms,  she  had  dragging  pain  in  the 
hypoeastrium ;  the  hjemorrhaee  was  not  vio- 
lent, but  long  continued.  Cold  applications 
to  the  abdomen,  the  horizontal  posmre,  and 
blood-letting,  (!)  diminished  the  discharge 
slightly,  but  it  returned  in  the  evening, 
when  1  gramme  and  25  centigrammes  of 
Pulv.  Sabin.  were  administered,  which  ef- 
fected a  complete  cure.  Another  woman, 
who  had  been  quite  regular  in  regard  to 
menstruation,  was  attacked  with  violent  ute- 
rine haemorrhage  at  the  time  when  the  men- 
ses ought  to  have  ceased.  She  neglected  it ; 
and  when  die  applied  for  aid,  a  very  copious 
discharge  had  continued  for  a  fortnight. 
She  got  a  bolus  of  Pulv.  Sabin.  After  die 
patient  had  taken  eight  doses,  with  an  inter- 
val of  two  hours  between  each  dose,  the  dis- 
charge had  subsided.— [Gazette  Med.  de 
Paris,  1844.  N.  17.]  Since  the  time  of  Ga- 
len, Sabina  has  been  a  celebrated  enamena- 
gogue.  Mdlurenheim  relates,  that  a  woman 
who  wished  to  abort,  took  an  -infusion  of 
Sabina  After  some  day's  severe  pain,  abor- 
tion, with  violent  uterine  hsemorrhage,  fol- 
lowed by  death,  ensued,  (Versuche,  vol  ii., 
p.  245.)  Home  found,  that,  when  taken  to 
the  extent  of  half  a  drachm,  it  increased  the 
menstrual  discbarge,  (Clinical  £xpt.,p.  419) 
(Wibmer,  vol  iii.,  p.  191) 


88 


Tracts  en  Consumption. 


Oantharide*  in  Eczema  and  PaorfaaU, 

By  Dr.  Sick. 

Dr.  Sick  reports  four  cases  of  Eczema, 
and  two  of  Psoriasis,  in  which  the  tinc- 
ture of  cantharides  proved  most  beneficial. 
The  first  of  the  patients,  a  sailor,  had  suf- 
fered from  Psoriasis,  which  affected  chiefly 
the  thigh,  for  above  a  year,  and  had  tried  va- 
rious remedies  in  the  different  sea-  ports  he 
touched  at.  The  second,  a  tailor,  had  suf- 
fered for  four  years  with  the  disease  upon 
his  face  and  limbs.  The  disease  was  half  a 
year's  standing  in  the  other  two.  The  tinc- 
ture of  cantharides  was  ordered,  beginning 
with  &ree  drops  for  a  dose,  and  increasing 
by  a  drop  daily.  The  disease  was  immedi 
ately  arrested,  and  disappeared  in  all  the 
three  cases  within  seven  weeks.  Of  the  pa- 
tients a£fected  with  Psoriasis,  the  first  was  a 
young  girl,  who  had  suffered  with  it  for  three 
years  to  such  an  extent  that^  there  was 
scarcely  any  part  of  the  skin  not  covered  by 
the  eruption.  After  using  the  tincture  of 
cantharides  for  three  weeks,  the  skin  was 
perfectly  sound.  In  the  case  of  the  other 
twOi  who  were  twenty-three  years  oLl,  the 
eruption  was  attended  with  intolerable  itch- 
ing and  profuse  sweat,  that  broke  out  even 
when  they  were  at  perfect  rest.  After  taking 
the  tincture  of  cantharides  a  few  days,  they 
were  better,  and  in  the  course  of  some 
months  they  were  perfectly  cured. — ^Archiv 
des  Koniglichen  dan.  Gresundheit's  CoUeg. 
und  (Ester.  Med.  Wochenschrift.— 1844.-* 
No.  25. 


(For  Uka  Diuector.) 

TBAOTS  ON  OONSUMPTION. 

NUMBBft  TWO. 

On  f  ome  Vew  Pathologloal  Viewa  of  Tnbenv- 
lar  Oonamnptiott* 


(Coitdfitded.) 

By  J — 

The  muscles  possess  the  pro])erty  of  con- 
tractility in  a  more  eminent  degree  than  any 
other  animal  tissue,  and  are  generally  ad- 
duced as  affording  evidences  that  vital  action 
consists  of  this  single  power.  But  while  the 
phenomenon  of  muscular  motion  presents 
appearances  that  seem  to  have  no  analogy 
with  any  mere  physical  process,  and  has  hith- 
erto been  found  altogether  too  recondite  for 
human  research,  there  are  many  of  its  ef- 
fects that  can  be  explained  only  on  the  sup- 
position of  an  expanding  force.    Careful  ob- 


servation  shews,  contrary  to  the  opinions  ol 
writers  on  the  subject,  that  in  the  motions  of 
the  muscles  for  flexion  and  extension  they 
undergo  no  diminution  of  tension— the  fonn 
of  the  muscles  are  changed,  the  tension  is 
altered  with  the  force  exerted,  but  the  feel- 
ing of  hardness  or  softness  remains  the  same 
for  ihe  same  degree  of  exertion — a  condition 
that  could  scarcely  exist  if  one  of  the  mo- 
tions depended  on  simple  relaxation.  If 
muscular  action  were  the  result  of  one  force, 
we  ought  to  perceive  in  the  act  of  extending 
the  fore  arm,  for  instance,  besides  a  sohnefli 
of  the  biceps  flexors,  a  corrugation  of  iti 
fibres,  in  order  to  dispose  of  the  instant  tea- 
dency  of  the  muscle  to  increase  its  lengdi 
upon  the  cessation  of  the  contractile  fotte. 
Certainly  no  such  changes  take  place  Again, 
in  the  experiments  made  to  determine  whether 
the  bulk  of  muscles  are  augmented  or  dimin- 
ished by  their  action,  no  change  has  been 
observed  This  could  not  be  the  case  if  one 
set  of  muscles  were  contracted  and,  it  muit 
follow,  condensed,  while  the  other  remained 
simply  passive;  and  it  must  demonstrably 
be  tne  result  if  the  one  is  expanded  as  ti^ 
other  contracts.  Researches  >nto  the  rela- 
tions existing  between  the  primary  phjBical 
forces  and  vjtal  action,  show  that  galvanim 
is  capable  of  exciting  a  muscle  to  its  appi- 
rently  ordinary  actions ;  but  to  do  this  tte 
muscle  must  not  be  detached  from  its  eooge- 
ner.  The  opinion  that  expansibilily  of  R* 
pulsion  is  a  vital  property  ol  muscles,  is  m»( 
wholly  new  to  physioljgists.  Brehat  re- 
garded the  change  that  a  muscle  undergo^ 
from  a  state  of  contraction  to  extension  as 
in  part  an  active  force,  or  at  least  something 
more  than  the  meie  cessation  of  contraction; 
and  Bartbex  maintains  the  very  probsUe 
opinion  that  the  relaxation  is  produced  by  a 
nervous  ac'ion  the  reverse  of  that  which  oc- 
casions its  contraction ;  the  will  relaxing  ai 
well  as  contracting.  Dimlv  as  we  are  cos* 
pelled  to  view  the  subject,  it  is  impoKibleli 
resist  the  impression,  that  it  is  neceasaxy  to 
the  motions  both  of  extension  and  flexioD  ia 
muscles,  whether  the  motion  be  |»odaced 
naturally  or  excited  artificially,  that  tiien 
should  be  two  antagonist  forces  of  repulskNi 
and  attraction,  whica  must  act  coetaneonsly. 
The  question  whether  expansibility  ia  • 
vital  property  receives  an  additional  impor- 
tance  when  we  come  to  consider  it  in  con- 
nection with  the  functions  and  motions  of 
capillary  vessels.  This  system  of  vesaeto 
undoubtedly  penetrates  every  part  of  tbt 
animal  frame,  and  though  it  cann*  t  consti- 
tute the  ultimate  structure  of  tissues,  it  ia 
the  last  to  be  distinctly  traced  by  our  means 
of  observation,  and,  in  consequence,  demands 
a  high  consideration  in  both  a  physiologica 


Dracts  on  Consumption. 


89 


and  pathological  point  of  view.  Though 
£Btinct  from  the  matter  of  tissues,  yet,  in 
fhis  system  of  vessels,  aided  by  the  action  of 
its  nervous  fibrils,  their  bases  must  arise,  and 
in  connection  with  them  the  developement 
of  all  observable  pathological  phenomena. 
It  is  a  direct  and  justifiable  conclusion  that 
disease  of  the  capillaries  cannot  exist  .with- 
out change  or  suspension  of  their  action, 
and,  consequently,  without  materially  inter- 
fering, and,  in  some  cases,  abolishtng  the 
fnncfions  of  any  oigan  to  which  they  may 
belong.  It  is  therefore  apparent  that  the  ju- 
dicious treatment  of  every  disease  must  have 
reference  to  the  condition  of  the  capillary 
system ;  and  it  is  certainly  desirable,  in  look- 
ins  for  our  therapeutic  agents,  to  consider 
vrnether  our  object  is  to  increase  a  contrac- 
tile or  to  lessen  an  expansile  action  in  these 
vessels. 

It  seems  to  be  conceded,  at  least  by  many 
physiologists,  that  the  capillary  circulation 
js  independent  of  any  impulsion  of  the  heart 
The  doctrine  embracing  this  subject  was 
taught  as  early  asStahl  and  Van  Helmont;  and 
the  adequateness  of  the  capillaries  to  main- 
tun  their  own  circulation  was  clearly  shown 
and  enforced  in  the  Zoonomia  of  Darwin. 
Physicians  are  indebted  to  Bichat  for  the 
beauty  with  which  he  illustrated,  and  the 
force  with  which  he  called  their  attention  to 
a  renewed  consideration  of  the  subject. 
Broussais  not  only  maintained  the  independ- 
ence oi  the  capillary  circulation,  but  attri- 
buted the  venous  circulation,  chiefly,  to  the 
impulsion  given  to  the  blood  in  this  system 
of  vessels.*  In  this  country  the  belief  in 
the  capillaries  as  organs  of  propulsion,  with 
its  necessary  accompaniment,  a  vital  prop- 
erty of  expansibility,  has  been  embraced  by 
Professor  Smith  of  Yale  College,  by  his  son, 
Professor  N.  R.  Smith  of  Baltimore,  aud  by 
Dr.  Hodge  of  Philadelphia.  But  to  no  one 
18  science  more  indebted  for  a  bold  elucida- 
tion of  expansible  and  contractile  forces,  as 
Tital  principle,  than  to  Dr.  H.  H.  Sherwood 
of  New  York.f  It  thus  appears  that  the 
doctrines  of  a  force  antagonist  to  that  of  con- 
tractilitjT,  with  the  perfect  independence  of 
the  capillary  circulation,  and  an  actual  influ- 
ence exercised  by  it  over  the  general  circu- 
lation, have  been  long  since  promulgated  and 
entertained  by  a  numerous  class  of  physiolo 


Capillary  motions  being  exceedingly  mi- 
nute and  essentially  vital  and  organic,  they 
admit  of  but  little  demonstrative  proof,  and 

«  American  Jooraal  of  the  Medical  8ei- 
cneet.  No.  4,  p.  484. 

t  Motive  Power  of  the  Human  System. 
PsHija. 


like  other  operations  of  the  kind,  may  never 
receive  a  clear  exposition.  It  is  adduced  as 
a  proof  of  the  independence  of  the  capillat- 
ries  of  the  heart,  that  the  pulsation  of  the 
latter  organ  becomes  imperceptible  in  the 
smaller  arteries  before  reaching  the  former 
system  of  vessels,  and  hence  that  in  them  its 
force  must  be  entirely  spent.  A  higher  evi- 
dence is  afforded  in  the  existence  of  a  capil- 
lary circulation  in  those  classes  of  animals — 
as 'the  vermes — in  which  no  heat  exists. 
The  experiments  of  Fabre  on  the  mesentery 
of  frogs,  show  that  slight  stimulations  will 
change  the  generally  monotonous  regularity 
with  which  the  blood  passes  from  the  arte- 
ries through  the  capillaries  into  the  veins. 
By  irritating  this  membrane  he  found  the 
blood  and  other  fluids  rush,  for  some  mo- 
ments, towards  the  point  irritated ;  and  after 
accumulation  there,  the  elobules  have  been 
seen  to  take  a  different  direction,  and  even 
to  traverse  the  vessels  that  conveyed  them  in 
an  opposite  course.  The  idea  of  an  expansi- 
ble capillary  force  has  an  equal  foundation 
in  the  fact  that  capillary  circulation  can  be 
carried  on  without  a  heart,  and  is  proved, 
experimentally,  by  excitants  having  been 
seen,  by  Hastings,  Wedemeyer  and  others* 
to  occasion  not  only  contraction  but  dilata- 
tion of  the  capillaries.  In  addition  to  the 
proof  afforded  by  this  experiment,  the  phe- 
nomena observed  in  the  erectile  tissues,  have 
been  considered,  though  upon  insufficient 
foundation,  to  favor  the  hypothesis.  I  have 
wished  to  make  this  subject  clear,  because, 
notwithstanding  its  foundation  in  natural  or- 
ganic laws,  and  the  most  demonstrative  ex- 
perinients,  the  heart  has  never  ceased  to  be 
considered,  by  the  mass  of  physiologists,  as 
the  sole  mover  of  the  circulation ;  and,  very 
recently,  some  physical  experiments,  vrim 
water,  on  the  dead,  relaxed  and,  perhaps,  dis- 
organized vessels  of  an  animal  have  been  tri- 
umphantl]^  adduced  as  proofs  that  the  capil- 
laries are  inactive  in  the  circulatory  process. 
From  the  above  inquiry  it  is  manifest  diat 
a  distinct  action, — consisting  of  an  exertion 
of  both  iht  contractile  and  expansible  forces — 
of  the  capillary  vessels,  is  the  agent  by  which 
the  blood  and  other  fluids  are  propelled 
througl^  them.  Admitting  this  as  an  obvi- 
ous matter  of  fact  It  remains  for  us  to  ascer- 
tain, both  for  its  value  as  a  physiological 
truth,  and  as  a  basis  from  which  to  apply 
remedies  in  disease,  what  is  the  specific 
cause  by  means  of  which  this  action  is  ac- 
complished. In  this  inquiry,  it  must  be 
confessed,  we  can  derive  but  little  assistance 
from  the  researches  of  the  anatomist,  and 
the  physiologist  must  therefore  look  for  its 
eluadation  from  other  branches  of  science. 
The  experiments  and  the  reasoning  which 


90 


Trads  on  OmsumpHon. 


these  afford,  when  cautiously  applied,  hav® 
frequently  enabled  us  to  arrive  at  physiolo- 

e^cai  traths,  which  we  perhaps  could  not 
lye  attained  by  any  other  method,  and 
-which  m^y  have  been  beyond  the  reach  of 
actual  observation. 

I  have  already  adverted  to  the  fact  that 
the  blood  of  the  two  great  circulatory  sys- 
tems— venous  and  arterial — bear  towards 
each  other  different  electrical  relations ;  and 
in  this  circumstance  I  am  disposed  to  look 
for  light  by  which  we  may  be  able  to  under 
stand  the  precise  nature  of  the  vital  powers 
of  the  capillaries,  and  the  process  by  which 
they  maintain  their  circulation.  In  the  ab- 
oence  of  command  over  any  of  those  deli- 
cate instruments  which  have  been  devised 
ioi  ascertaining  the  electrical  states  of  bod- 
ies* I  have  been  unable  to  determine,  by  di- 
lect  experiment,  which  is  the  negative  and 
which  the  positive  fluid;  but  for  reasons 
which  will  be  rendered  more  obvious  in  a 
iuture  communication.  I  have  concluded 
that  the  arterial  is  the  positive,  and  the  ve- 
opus,  the  ne^ive.  Reasoning  upon  both 
the  fact  and  tne  conjecture,  we  mav  further 
suppose  that  the  blood,  in  the  healthy  con- 
dition of  the  system,  leaves  the  heait  with 
its  electrical  eciuilibrium  slightly  disturbed  in 
fa^or  of  the  positive  state.  The  arterial 
side  of  the  capillaries,  deriving  their  nutri- 
9^  from  the  unaltered  arterial  blood,  mu&t 
he  in  a  similar  state  of  excitation,  and  upon 
the  approach  of  the  blood,  will,  in  confor- 
mity with  the  universal  law  that  similar  elec- 
tricities expand  and  repel,  become  enlaiged 
ia  their  calibre,  and,  at  the  same  time  tend 
tQ.  repel  the  blood.  But  this  fluid,  beine  im 
neUed  forwards  by  the  vU  a  tergg  of  the 
Seart  and  arteries,  is  compelled  to  enter  as 
the  capillaries  are  comj;>elled  to  receive  it 
it. is  well  known  that  in  this  intermediate 
{Motion  of  the  sanguiferous  system  the  blood 
updeigoes  that  important  alteration  which 
cbspges  it  from  arterial  to  venous.    In  the 

S;pcess  br  which  this  alteration  is  effected 
e  blood  becomes  carbonatedi  and  the  func- 
^Qsm  of  secretion,  nutrition,  and  some  de- 
gree of  calorification  are  effected.  It  is  im- 
possible to  conceive  of  so  material  an  altera- 
twn  in  the  physical  properties  of  any.  sub- 
Stance  taking  place  without  inducing  a  vary- 
ing relation  in  its  electrical  condition ;  and 
ascordingly  we  find,  by  experiment,  that  ve- 
nous blood  has  its  electrical  equilibrium  dis- 
turbed, and,  we  may  suppose,  on  the  side 
of  the  negative  state.  As  a  consequence  of 
this  change  and  of  the  common  electrical 
law,  that  opposite  electricities  attract  and 
Cffiotnct,  the  capillaries  will  now  be  excited 
to  contraction,  and  their  contents  wUI  be 
foiced  into  the  veins.    I  have  given  thisi 


part  of  my  subject  but  a  hasty  examinatloiki 
and  yet  it  appears  to  me  that  it  afibrdia 
simple  and  proi)ably  true  way  of  explsiniiu; 
how  the  capillary  circulation  is  maintaiiiei 

I  have  hitherto  considered  the  fanetioni 
of  the  capillaries  in  connection  with  the  sci- 
ence of  physiology,  but  their  agency  io  dis* 
ease  is  an  object  of  more  importance  to  the 
physician.  EnUugement  of  the  caplHaries, 
with  diminished  or  irregular  action,  is  one 
of  the  most  common  proximate  causes  of  dis- 
ease, and  more  particularly  of  chronic  afiiw- 
tions.  [f  the  capillary  circulation  be  inde- 
pendent of  the  action  of  the  heart,  this  en^ 
iargement  of  capillary  vessels  cannot  be,  ss 
commonly  supposed,  the  result  of  simple  rs* 
laxation,  and  dilatation  by  the  injecting fom 
of  the  heart.  It  is  evident  that  mr  this  con- 
dition of  the  vessels  to  exist  there  must  be  a 
deviation  from  a  natural  slate;  and  it  ap- 
pears to  me  more  philosophical  as  wdl  v 
more  in  accordance  with  experimental  m- 
soning,  to  suppose  that  this  has  ari9en  froR 
a  subversion  of  an  exact  balance  betwwd 
the  vital  force  of  conitr&ctility,  and  an  op- 
posing force  of  expansibiliqr,  than  ixmt 
simple  mechanical  relaxation. 

llie  interest  which  this  subject  inspim 
derives  increased  impprtance  from  its  am- 
nection  with  the  formation  and  growthrf 
tubercles.  It  has  already  been  remsrtod 
that  these  adventitious  substances  are  tM 
result  of  a  certain  diseased  conditioao/  tne 
system,  which  it  is  highly  probable  hwjj 
saUent  point  in  a  derangement  of  the  blood. 
Their  immediate  precursor  is  a  tuigeaceiee 
oi  the  lymphatic  glands,  or  of  the  vfaole  oc 
a  part  of  the  tissue  of  the  organ  in  whiA 
they  fare  formed ;  and  it  may  be  lufcired, 
from  post  mortem  appearances,  in  80B« 
cases,  that  this  simple  tuigescence  may  i^ 
suit  mortally,  or  pass  away  with  the  iwov* 
ery  of  the  patient,  without  the  supervcntios 
of  tubercles.  In  order  that  the  turgescena 
may  be  followed  by  tubercle,  it  would  see* 
to  be  necessary  that  it  should  extend  to  that 
degree  that  all  power  of  contraction  in  the 
capillary  vessels  is  lost,.and  consequently  to 
an  ability  to  empty  themselves  of  the  con- 
tained fluic^s.  In  this  state  the  fluids  cosgn- 
late,  and  a  new  morbid  process  is  set  up; 
changes  occur  in  the  vessels  theroseltes,  «• 
well  as  in  the  cellular  texture  surroundiBf 
them. 

The  process  by  which  tubercles  are  fonnei, 
it  is  conceded,  may  go  on  to  a  very  conside- 
rable extent  without  any  accompanying  in- 
flammation, while  it  is  ascertained  that  the 
condition  of  the  capillaries,  supplying  tb«> 
with  nutriment,  undergo  the  change  in  nug- 
nltude  which  has  been  consideredthe  cbsr- 
acteristic eflfect of  iofiunmalion.    li'tBci^ 


Traeia  m  Cm^mfiion, 


M 


utmost  importance,  in  a  practical  point  of 
view,  to  distinguish  this  apparent  resem- 
blance, and,  at  the  same  time,  pathological 
difference  between  the  proces^f  inflamma- 
tion and  that  by  which  tubercle  is  formed : 
the  one  from  the  other. 

Inflammation,  according  to  tbe  views  of 
those  who  confine  their  belief  to  a  single  vi- 
tal principle,  is  generally  considered  depend- 
ent on  a  diminution  of  contractile  force,  and 
consequent  relaxation  of  the  vessel*  with  di- 
latation from  the  injecting  force  of  the  heart 
That  this  cannot  be  the  true  explanation  of 
the  phenomena,  even  as  understood,  is  evi- 
dent from  its  incompatibility  with  another 
acknowledged  doctrine,  that  a  larger  quan- 
tity of  blo(Kl  passes,  in  the  early  stage  of  in- 
flammation, through  these  veij  vessels.  The 
increased  capacity  of  the  vessels  for  transmit- 
ting fluids  implies  that  their  iunctiou  instead 
of  oeing  passive  must  be  more  active — a 
state  entirely  inconsistent  with  the  view 
that  inflammatioa  depends  upon  relaxation 
of  tonicity  in  the  extreme  vessels.    It  would 
be  more  in  accordance  with  a  reasonable  de- 
duction from  facts  to  consider  that  in  the  ear- 
lier and,  perhaps,  real  sta^  of  inflammation, 
there  is  an  active  expansion  of  the  extreme 
vessels,  sufficient  to  admit  of  the  state  char- 
acterised as  hypericeinia,  and  analogous  to 
that  known  to  take  place  in  the  heart  during 
its  diastole,  but  more  permanent    This  ac- 
tion of  the  expanding  force*  or  Uurgar  wialisf 
of  the  capilmies  fsuls  short  of  that  degree 
which   would  subvert  contnutilitjTi  but  is 
sufficient  to  modify  or  even  to  stimulate  it 
to  increased  but  unequal  exertion.    laflam^ 
nation,  according  to  this  view,  consists,  at 
least  in  its  forming  and  active  stage,  ia  an 
increased  action  of  the  two  vital  forces  of 
contractility  and   expansibility,  with,    per- 
haps, a  prepondeiaoce  on  the  sida  ol  the  lat* 
ter.      . 

lu  the  formation  of  tubenle  another  pro- 
cess in  the  capillaries  takes  place.  Their 
growth  aad  enlargement  depend  uj^on  the 
vilal' power  of  expansibility,  in  these  vessels, 
having,  a  slowly  formed  but*  such  a  certain 
ascendancy  that  the  opposing  force  of  con* 
tiactility  is  diminished,  subdued,  or  ceases 
to  act  In  this  state  of  moderate  but  perroa- 
;pgi|.4il4tation  o{  .the  capillaries  aa.  Dudue 
afflux  of  morbid  but  white  fluids  takes  place 
in  conformity  with  simple  physical  laws. 
The  expansion,  in  all  probability,  depends 
upon  an  increased  repulsion  between  the  flu- 
ids and  walls  of.  the  vessels,  arising  from  an 
increase  of  electrical  excitation  in  both  fluids 
and  vessels.  As  upon  hydraulic  princijdei 
the  motion  of  fluids  through  pipes  dimin 
ishes  with  the  increase  of  their  calibre,  so 
tfie  flrst  effect  of  the  expanded  capillaiies, 


whether  in  the  tuigid  tissue  or  affected  glan4^ 
must  be  simply  a  slower  motion  of  ita  fluids 
than  in  healthy  vessels.  In  the  earliest 
stage  and  simplest  form  of  the  disease ;  this 
may  be  the  whole  pathological  condition; 
but  as  soon  as  the  balance  and  harmony  be^^ 
tween  the  two  forces  in  the  capillaries  is  se- 
riously disturbed,  tLeir  fluids  cease  to  circu- 
late, become  stagnant,  and  their  various  con* 
stituents,  which  were  maintained  in  abysnv^ 
geneous  state  by  constant  motion,  begin  to 
decompose  and  undergo  separation  by  pre* 
cipitation.  In  place  of  the  yital  trvisuda- 
tions  into  the  secretary  tubes  of  the  lympha- 
tic glands,  by  which  the  proper  secretions 
are  formed,  tne  increased  quantity  of  fluid* 
and  the  slowness  or  entire  absence  of  its  rnp* 
tion,  admit  of  those  changes  and  sti;uctur^ 
which  constitute  the  substance  of  tubercle. 
Chemical  or  electrical  laws  take  tbe  place  of 
the  simply  vital,  and  the  efiused  fluids,  stag- 
nant  and  insusceptible  of  oiganization,  aih 
sume  a  solid  and  crystalline  arrangemeat 
The  forms  of  tubercles,  induced  under  these 
circumstances,  are  modified  by  Uie  mecha* 
nical  resistance  of  the  stnicturesin  which 
they  are  produced,  but  have  sufficient  geaa« 
ric  resemblance  to  show  that  th^y  are  qjMicr 
the  control  of  one  general  law. 

Tubercle,  as  thus  explained,  iaa  non-vita) 
or  foreign  body,  cafaAe  of  undeigomg  no 
change  mat  is  not  induced  in  it  by  external 
agenils*  but,  by  its  irrita^on  causinjg  the  sur* 
roundina  tissues  to  pour  out  fluids  which 
soften,  dilute  and  dissolve  it  This  soften- 
ing commences  at  the  circumfeienoe,  and  is 
a  consequence  of  the  changes  excited  in  the 
living  tissues  in  which  this  matter  is  de- 
posited. The  parts  in  immediate  contact 
with  the  tubercle  poqr  out  serocity,  and  take 
on  the  ulcerative  action,  by  which  the  tuber- 
cle is  not  only  softened,  but  is  gradually 
transmitted,  by  continuous  ulceration,  to  the 
bronchia;  whence  it  is  expectorated.  These 
processes  are  the  eflbrts  by  which  nature  re- 
iMves  itself  of  an  exhausting  irritation,  and 
attempts  a  cure  of  the  disease.  After  their 
disohaige,  if  the  curative  powers  of  nature 
retain  suffieient  force,  a  new  raettbrane  or 
lining  invests  the  resulting  cavities,  and  the 
patient,  with  a  diminished  respiratory  appa- 
nttus,  may  b6  enabled  to  live  on,  and  even  to 
attain  good  health.  This  fortunate  result; 
long  since  foretold  by  Laennec  and  others, 
recent  anatomical  investinitious  have  so  far 
demonstrated  to  be  true,  that  no  practical  pa- 
thologifit,  ttuon  fully  ooneidenog  the  subject* 
caa  doul^  Urnt  tubeccular  phthisis  is  a  cum* 
ble  disease. 

The  paihology  of  tubercles,  then*  accoidt- 
ing  to  the  views  of  (he  writer,  consists  in  aa 
exi«tiided  stale  of  the  extteme  Ttsiels^  pn>- 


PcUAology  of  the  TStbercuhsis, 


duced  by  electrical  force,  and  causing,  by  a 
penrersion  of  the  nutritive  process,  the  form- ' 
ation  of  new  products,  chiefly  in  the  lympha- 
tic glands  of  the  serous  tissues.  This  may 
be  considered  as  manifested  by  their  increased 
size,  experiments  on  the  electrical  relations 
between  venous  and  arterial  blood,  the  char- 
acter of  their  composition,  their  general  lo- 
cation, and,  as  explained  in  our  preceding 
number,  by  their  susceptibility  to  pain,  upon 
pressure  on  the  sympatnetic  ganglions  of  the 
spine.  They  are  a  secondary  effect  of  a  pe- 
eoliar  depraved  state  of  the  system.  Though 
the  precise  state  of  the  depravation  preceding 
and  accompanying  tubercles  is  unknown,  yet 
it  seems  to  be  ascertained  that  it  is  independ- 
ent of  any  kind  of  inflammation — ^the  usual 
source  of  morbid  growths  in  the  animal  eco- 
nomy— and  reason  has  been  afforded  for  con- 
sidering that  it  probably  arises  in  a  morbid 
state  of  the  blood,  imparting  to  the  arterial 
portion  a  more  exalted  electrical  relation. 
The  effect  of  this  electrical  excitation  is  to 
stimulate  the  capillaries  to  expansion,  to 
cause  an  interruption  in  their  accustomed  ac- 
tions, to  allow  their  fluids  to  stagnate,  and  to 
induce  a  suitable  condition  in  the  part  af- 
fected for  the  action  of  physical  and  chem- 
ical laws.  Tubercles  thus  becoming  non- 
Tital,  matters  in  the  system,  excite  enorts  of 
nature  for  their  expulsion.  The  irritation  in- 
duced by  them,  as  foreign  bodies,  produces 
an  effusion  of  fluids  from  the  snrroun  iing 
tissues — (by  which  they  are  sooner  or  later 
dissolved) — and  inflammation  and  ulceration 
in  the  direction  of  the  nearest  surface,  by 
which  the  now  liquid  matter  may  escape, 
commonly  through  the  bronchial  tubes. 


On  the  Pathology  of  tht  Taborcnlosis. 
By  Dr.  GEew,  Practinng  Phj/ndan  at  Stuttgard 

In  this  essay  the  author  treats  of  the  oc- 
conrence  of  tubercles  in  these  several  organs. 

The  lAitiKi,  Here  tubercules  are  so  fre- 
auent  that  Louis  established  the  primaples, 
that,  in  every  case  in  which  .tubercles  are 
found  in  other  oigans,  they  exist  in  the  lungs 
also ;  that  tuberculosis  in  the  lungs  is  always 
much  further  extended  than  anywhere  els^ ; 
and  that  in  consequence,  the  presence  of  tu- 
bercles in  the  lungs  would  appear  a  neces- 
sary condition  of  their  devdopment  in  any 
other  part. 

Recently,  however,  exceptions  to  this  have 
been  not  unirequently  observed. 

Amongst  152  cases  of  adults  suffering  from 
tubercle,  that  were  examine  by  the  author 
(where  tubercles  were  present  either  in  the 
peritoneum,  the  pleura,  or  in  the  bronchial 
and  mesenteric  glands  simultaneously.)  he 
found  six  where  me  lungs  were  free  from  tu- 
J>ercle8 ;  also  in  some  special  cases  the  tuber- 


culosis was  more  important  and  further  ex- 
tended in  some  other  organs  (the  peritoneuoL 
and  l3rmphatio  glands,)  than  in  the  lungs. 
Yet  the  rule  ever  remains  standing,  that  in 
the  great  majority  of  cases,  tuberculosis  of 
the  lunes  forms  the  predominating  affection, 
althongn  frequently  during  the  life-time,  dis- 
ease in  the  other  organs  appears  the  more 
intense. 

In  childhood,  however,  tubercles  of  longs 
do  not  seem  to  predominate,  but  rather  tu- 
bercles of  the  bronchial  ^  and  mesenteric 
glands.  Nevertheless,  the  observations  of 
the  author  and  of  Barthez  and  Rilliet  tell  for 
the  contrary.  With  children ,  as  well  as  with 
adults,  the  lungs  mnst  be  held  to  constitute 
the  chief  seat  of  tubercles,  save  that  with 
them  the  exceptions  are  somewhat  more  nu- 
merous than  with  adults. 

The  author  further  found,  in  more  than 
three-fourths  of  the  cases  which  he  examin- 
ed, tuberculosis  simultaneously  spread  over 
several  oigans.  The  number  of  cases  of  io- 
i«iilated  tuberculosis  in  childhood  is  reiy 
small ;  the  tendency  towards  general  diffusion 
being  strong.  The  author  rarely  found  one 
lung  only  affected  with  tubercles ;  when  thai 
did  occur,  it  was,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  right  lung  which  suffered,  that  being  also 
when  both  were  diseased,  the  one  most  ex- 
tensively affected.  This  observation  refcra 
equally  to  children  and  to  adults.  Id  unm^ 
of  the  adult  cases  observed  by  the  author,  the 
tuberculosis  of  the  lunes  advanced  to  the  for- 
mation of  vomics ;  tnis,  however,  ocmrred 
less  frequently  in  children.  Barthez  and 
Rilliet  found  them  in  not  auite  one-third  of 
the  cases  which  fell  under  their  notice.  It  i> 
chiefly  the  acute  tuberculosis  which  causes 
death  before  the  ripening  of  the  tuberdes,  and 
this  is  with  children  by  far  more  frequent 
than  with  adults ;  yet  chronic  phthisis  often 
exists  without  ever  arriving  at  the  forntftion 
of  vomicae:  Death  occurs  with  children  moie 
frequently  by  the  intercurrence  of  other  dis- 
eases (particularly  acute  hydrocepbalos). 

As  concerns  the  seat  of  tubercles  in  the 
lungf ,  they  begin  usually  in  the  apex  and  in 
the  upper  lobe,  and  spread  from  thence  to 
other  portions  of  the  organ.  It  is  but  seldom 
that  an  exactly  equal  degree  of  intensity  ani 
development  of  tubercles  is  observed  at  the 
same  time,  in  both  the  upper  and  lower  lobe 
(and  when  it  is  so,  it  is  usually  a  concomi- 
tant of  the  miliary  form).  In  some  cases* 
indeed,  the  author  found  the  seat  of  the  tu- 
bercles in  the  lung  to  be  exclusively  in  the 
lower  lobe,  but  then  the  tubercles  were  ia- 
significant  and  secondary :  more  frequently^ 
indeed,  in  a  complete  case  of  pulnoonary 
phthisis  the  disease  was  found  to  have  bees 
confined  to  ^  upper  long  nntil  tis  lenDiAif 
stage. 


Pathology  of  the  TuberculooiSr 


OS 


Bronchial  Glands,  Amone  152  cases  of 
^ult  bodies  with  tubercles  which  he  exami- 
ned, the  author  found  eight  only  with  tuber- 
culosis in  the  bronchial  glands.  These  eight 
arrange  themselves  into  three  classes:  Ist. 
Those  accompanying  the  more  diffused  tuber- 
culosis; these  were  four  in  number.  2ndly. 
Those  accompanying  tuberculosis  of  the  lung 
without  considerable  diffusion  of  the  disease 
io  anyother  omn;  including  two  cases. 
3dly.  Th«e  in  which  it  was  the  only,  or  at 
least  the  prevailii^  affection ;  they  also  were 
two  in  number.  None  of  these  individuals 
were  above  thirty  years  of  age. 

It  is  an  established  fact,  that  with  children 
the  bronchial  glands  are  very  frequently,  and 
by  far  more  frequently  than  with  adults,  the 
seat  of  tubercles.  I^me  writers  have  how- 
ever ffone  too  far,  in  asserting  that  the  phthi 
sis  of  children  is  chiefly  or  alone  a  conse- 

aaence  of  bronchial  tuberculosis.  The  au- 
lor  never  found  tubercles  in  diese  glands 
alone,  but  always  accompanied  by  simulta- 
neous affections  of  other  organs. 

Barthez  and  Rilliet  maintain  that  very  few 
cases  of  insulated  bronchial  tuberculosis  are 
met  with,  but  that  thej  are  generally  united 
with  corresponding  afiections  of  the  pleura 
and  lungs.  Bertin  also  assigns  a  secondary 
Dlace  to  bronchial  phthisis,  and  according  to 
him  the  tuberculosis  of  the  bronchial  glands 
dinunishes  in  frequency  from  one  decade  of 
years  to  another,  and  never  occurs  after  the 
dose  of  the  third  decade.  Barthez  and  Ril- 
liet knew  no  important  difference  in  the  fre- 
quency of  the  occurrence  of  bronchial  tuber- 
cles in  the  several  ages  of  childhood,  or  at 
most  observed  a  very  small  preponderance  in 
young  children,  while  Bertin  remarked  the 
disease  three  times  as  frequently  between  the 
ages  of  two  and  eight  years,  as  between  nine 
ajid  fourteen  years. 

^  Vie  tgrynx  and  the  Trachea.  Patholo- 
^stB  are  at  variance  upon  the  nature  oi  ul- 
ceration of  the  larynx  and  of  the  lining  mem- 
brane of  the  trachea  in  phthisical  patients ; 
Louis  declares  that  he  never  in  o  :e  single 
case  found  tubercular  granulation  in  these 
organs ;  he  therefore  attributes  the  origin  of 
the  ulcers  almost  always  to  a  simple  inflam- 
matory process,  occasioned  by  the  irritation 
of  the  expelled  matter  frequently  resting  on 
its  way ;  yet  it  has  recently  been  placed  be- 
yond all  doubt  (by  Rokitansky  and  Hasse,) 
that  a  third  part  of  the  ulcers  found  there, 
are  really  of  tubercular  origin,  while  certain- 
ly the  erosions  so  frequency  observed  seem 
to  be  the  product  of  a  simple  inflammatory, 
catarrhal,  or  apthous  process.  Theauthpr 
also  in  many  cases  convinced  himself  in  the 
JBQosf  decided  way,  of  the  tuberculous  nature 
of  these  ulcers,  yet  he  found  some  where  no 


tuberculous  formation  was  to  be  discovered. 

Deep  ulcerations  appear  most  frequently  to 
be  seated  in  the  larynx ;  and  superficial  ul- 
cers are  more  frequently  found  in  the  epi- 
glottis  and  trachea. 

Amongst  the  cases  observed  by  the  author, 
not  a  single  one  appears  where  the  tubercu- 
losis or  iQceretion  of  the  larjmx  and  of  the 
trachea  formed  the  primary  and  predomina- 
ting affection ;  it  was  always  secondary  and 
attendant  upon  the  simultaneous  disease  of 
the  lungs. 

According  to  Louis,  ulcerations  of  the  lar* 
ynx  and  trachea  are  twice  as  frequent  in  men 
as  in  women ;  and  according  to  Uasse  they 
occur  most  ohen  between  the  twentieth  and 
twenty-fifth  years  of  age.  In  childhood  these 
ulcerations  are  very  rarely  found. 

PUwra  and  Peritoneum.  Tubercles  m  se- 
rous membranes  are  ordinarily  r^;arded  as 
signs  of  tuberculous  inflammation  (pleuntis» 
peritonitis,  and  tuberculosis ;)  but  a^true  in- 
flammatory process  is  not  always  connected 
therewith.  This  tuberculosis  is  with  phthi- 
sical patients  of  rather  frequent  occurrence, 
and  attacks  all  ages  from  early  infancy  to  ad- 
vanced years :  but  it  is  perhaps  with  children 
more  frequently  than  with  adults. 

If  with  adults  the  pleura  is  more  frequent- 
ly affected  than  the  peritoneum,  vet  tubercles 
of  the  peritoneum,  when  they  do  occur,  aie 
more  general  and  more  productive  of  serious 
after  consequences;  so  also  the  symptoms 
produced  by  tubercles  of  the  peritoneum  ap- 
pear with  more  intensity  and  virulence. 

Chronic  peritonitis,  when  not  produced  by 
organic  disease  of  some  of  the  abdominal  or- 
gans, is  founded  almost  without  exception  on 
tuberculosis  of  the  peritoneum,  and  very  fre- 
quently a  simultaneous  affection  of  the  lungs 
is  more  or  less  and  sometimes  altogether 
masked  by  the  appearance  of  peritoneal  dis- 
ease. Tubercles  ofthe  pleura  and  peritoneum 
present  themselves,  it  is  true,  most  frequent- 
ly as  secondanr  afiections,  and  principsuly  as 
the  product  of  intense  universal  tubercular 
dyscrasia ;  yet  they  do  occasionally  appear  , 
as  primary,  and  even  as  the  only  tuberculo- 
sis. So  also  the  author  observed  upon  the 
pleura,  broad,  flat,  confluent  tubercles,  single 
and  insulated ;  the  same  upon  the  peritoneum, 
where  he  idso  remarked  a  peculiar  appear- 
ance of  the  tubercular  matter.  Each  single 
tubercle  was  at  its  base  surrounded  by  a 
black  or  blue-black  ring,  formed  by  melano- 
tic segment ;  sometimes  a  red  border  around 
the  tubercles  of  the  peritoneum  and  pleum, 
was  also  seen. 

According  to  the  observations  made  bv  the 
author,  the  peritoneum  and  mesenteric  glands 
are  seldom  affected  with  tubercles  at  one  and 
the  same  time ;  indeed,  a  high  degree  of  tV  


PtMohgff  of  ^  ThAeteiMsb. 


\  in  the  one,  appears  almost  entirely  to 
trfeM  cir  preTent  it  in  the  other.  This  was 
established  byBerthezand  Rilliet;  ImtRo- 
kjlaoflky  asserts,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  re- 
sult of  taberculosis  of  the  peritonenm  is  usu- 
ally tubercalotts  of  the  alMominal  and  lym- 
phatic glands. 

Heart  and  Periatrdium,  TtrbercTes  on 
Ihe  pericardium  range  amon^  pathological 
rarities,  and  do  not  easily  attiun  to  a  serious 
and  excesdve  degree.  According  to  Rokitan- 
sky  they  usually  arise  out  of  the  tubercular 
ttetampi]^hoses  of  an  inflammatory  exuda- 
tion ;  this,  however,  in  one  case  observed  by 
the  author,  was  not  confirmed. 

With  children,  tubercles  in  the  pericardium 
«nd  upon  the  serous  membranes,  occur  more 
frequently  than  with  adults.  The  author 
aftver  saw  tubercles  in  the  muscular  tissue 
of  the  heart ;  they  do  indeed  present  them- 
S^es  there  very  rarely,  and  thence  spread. 
Upon  the  endocardium  and  upon  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  vessels,  according  to  Roki- 
tansky,  they  never  appear. 

Intestinal  Canal,  Tubetculosis  of  the  in- 
testinal canal  appears  in  two  states ;  as  sub- 
mticous  taberoniat-graoulation  and  infiltra- 
tion; and  as  ulcer.  (Probably  many  en- 
largements of  the  mucous-follicles  and  ero- 
nons  are  mistaken  for  mbercutosis.) 

The  author  found  in  88  cases  (tlmt  is,  in 
more  than  the  half  of  those  which  be  ob- 
'served,)  that  the  small  intestine  was  affected; 
and  in  about  a  fourth  part  of  them  (namely, 
37)  he  found  the  laige  intestine  also  suffer- 
ing. Louis,  on.  the  contrary,  obsenred  with 
five  out  of  six  of  his  phthisical  patients,  ul- 
cers in  the  small  intestine. 

Tuberculosis  of  the  intestinal  canal  is  of 
frequent  occurrence  at  all  ages.  It  is  found 
^e  least  often  in  extreme  old  age,  and  in  the 
earliest  periods  of  childhood.  It  js  to  be  re 
marked,  that  in  the  experience  of  the  author, 
the  occurrence  of  tubercles  in  the  intestine 
was  less  frequent  between  the  30th  and  40th 
years  of  life  than  in  any  other  period,  whilst 
in  the  preceding  and  following  decenniums 
with  two  thirds  of  the  tuberculous  subjects, 
tubercles  were  found  in  them.  Of  these  two 
thirds,  it  appeared  that  between  the  ages  of 
30  and  39  the  half  were  diseased  in  that  or- 
gan. 

As  concerns  the  affection  of  the  large  in- 
testine, it  appears  that  between  the  20Ul  and 
30th  years  of  life  there  is  strong  disposition 
in  this  disease  to  seat  itself  there,  since  more 
ftauk  the  half  of  the  whole  cases  in  which  it 
was  found  there  occurred  in  this  period.  In 
tt6  single  case  of  tuberculosis  of  tne  intestine 
did  the  author  find  the  disease  existing  there 
«lone ;  neither  did  he  ever  find  it  predominant 
and  inclined  to  spreading  when  there  waa 


simultaneously  existing  tuberculosb  d  the 
other  organs.  It  consequently  appears  Ihtt 
it  never  nere  exists  as  an  isolated  or  prinn^ 
affection. 

The  author  only  once  found  ulcere  in  fife 
stomach  and  esophagus ;  Barthez  and  MM, 
on  the  contmry,  remark  that  the  stomichs  df 
young  children  appear  to  be  more  frequently 
affected  than  those  of  older  pcrsoris,  the  n- 
verse  of  which  is  observed  w'lth  regard  to  tt 
small  and  large  intestines. 

Ulcers  in  the  duodenum  are  very  lardv 
found ;  but  when  present,  according  to  (ra 
observation  of  the  author,  they  most  frequent- 
ly commence  near  the  lower  portion. 

As  concerns  the  afiiection  of  fiie  lar^  in- 
testine, it  is  most  commonly  found  existing 
simultaneously  with  that  of  the  small  intes- 
tine, though  it  is  indeed  in  some  exceptional 
cases  found  where  the  small  intestine  remainft 
healthy. 

The  caecum  and  ascending;  colon  are  fre- 
quently attacked  by  tuberculosis ;  the  fnrifatt 
downwards  the  less  frequent  the  affection; 
the  author  never  found  it  reaching  betowtbe 
descending  colon. 

Whilst  the  tuberculosis  of  the  large  intes- 
tine is  of  more  rare  occurrence  than  tluttol 
the  small  intestine,  yet,  in  some  indiTidnall 
cases,  the  former  reachee  an  intensity  nevff 
observed  with  the  latter. 

Mesenteric  Olandt,  In  these  gfands  M& 
Louis  and  the  author  found  tcrberculoss  mil 
fourth  part  of  their  phthisical  patients,  m 
at  all  apes ;  yet  they  appear  more  Kabte  to 
attack  m  advanced  asie  than  in  the  piime  n 
life.  They  were  selaom  affected  m  ^JJ^ 
ponderating  de«ee  between  tbe  30th  and  ^ 
years  of  Kfe,  wnilst  during  the  preceding, «» 
still  more  during  the  following  deeenninm» 
the  proportionmuy  largest  number  of  .ctfv 
was  presented.  Wim  children,  how«rtf, 
the  tuherculosis  of  the  mesenteric  gtandiap- 
peafs  to  be  somewhut  more  frequent  dot 
with  adults  of  middle  ages  (but  with  dust 
it  seldom  presented  isolated  or  in  prepondt* 
rating  degree,  and  mostly  only  as  the  accttf  • 
panrment  of  a  general  and  diffused  tubero^ 
sis),  fiartfaez  and  Rilliet  found  indeed  dil 
existence  of  tubercles  here  in  almost  the  hal 
of  their  cases ;  but  only  in  one  of  22  childrtj 
were  they  of  any  serious  extent  They  fonM 
also  that  in  these  glands  they  seaicely  ev^ 
appear  before  the  third  year. 

The  author  thinks  that  it  is  wifiioat  m- 
son  that  these  glands,  tocher  with  those  tf 
the  bronchia,  mive  obtained  so  profflineBti 
degree  of  attention  in  our  days,  amonf^ 
ehSfldren'B  diseases.  The  tcfo  eoDspicii0» 
rank  given  to  them  is  caused  by  a  mlstak^ 
opinion  respecting  fiie  enlaiged  bellies  Oi 
childTea,  to  which  this  chaiaeter  hu  brto 


Paik0k^ilftk§  Tubereulon9. 


^tm ;  thete  «iil8igMat&tB»  htmeret,  are  of - 

Sn  tdto^thfir  iiMkjieDdtnt  of  toberculoBU  or 
•HMrdegenemtion  of  the  meflenteric  glands. 
So  far  as  coneemB  the  coaoectioa  of  the 
Mwottleeis  of  these  glaaiift  with  ftait  of  oth- 
er (Oigans,  it  a|»pean  oaly,  in  gebemU  asso- 
ciated trith  farther  developed  deposits  in 
j  other  oigaas,  as  the  sign  of  a  high  degree  of 

[  tnherculoos  dyacrasia,  and  holds  only  a  se- 

\  tmdcry  and  subordinate  place.    That  organ 

in  which  tabeiralosis  most  frequently  ascom- 
I  |nnies  tabercolosia  of  the  mesenteric  glands, 

I  la  die  intestinal  canal ;  yet  tnbercles  in  die 

^  ifiteeirteric  elands  are  nererthdess  independ* 

mtt  of  the  formation  of  okers  in  the  intesti- 
}  Mai  canal.    The  latter,  frequently  occasions 

^  liHiple  redneee  and  swelling  of  those  glands. 

^  Mesenteric  and  peritoneal  tnbercles  are 

^  iddom  fonnd  sinniltaneoady.    In  one  case, 

g  Indeed,  the  author   found   fally^dereloped 

ttesenteric  tnbercles  (with  deposition  oi  bone- 
i)  earth)  in  a  female  patient  aged  41 ,  who  died 

i  of  pulmonary  phthisis.    The  lun^s,  with  the 

I  bronchial  and  mesenteric  glands,  are  the  only 

f  organs  in  which  the  author  has  observed  the 

pocess  of  earthy  deposition. 
I  Liver.    In  adult  aee  this  organ  is  one  of 

I  those  most  rarely  atta<xed  by  tubercles,  whkh 

,  when  they  do  occur  scarcely  ever  progress 

,  very  extensively.    The  tuberculosis  stands 

here  fn  strong  contrast  with  carcinoma,  whose 
especial  seat  is  in  the  liver.  With  children, 
however,  tubercles  of  the  liver  ate  more  fre- 
quent. Barthez  and  Rtlliet  found  their  exist- 
toce  in  this  onran  in  one  fourth  of  the  cases 
of  chlldiien  a&oted  wHh  tuberculosis,  but 
j^nerally  in  a  secondary  and  subordinate  de 
I  ptt  SB  compared  with  their  preseaoe  in  other 

\  organs. 

iS^e^.  With  adults  tubercles  aite  here 
also  seldom  found,  and  scarcely  ever  do  they 
arrive  at  any  extended  development  or  occar 
in  large  masses.  But  it  is  otherwise  with 
ehildren,  with  whom  Barthez  and  Rilli^t 
found  them  present  in  rooie  than  a  third  part 
of  dieir  cases;  and  in  intensity  exoeedineon 
tile  average  that  of  the  other  organs.  Tu 
berdes  in  the  spleen  are,  according  to  the 
author,  not  only  very  frequent  with  children, 
but,  if  we  except  the  lungs  and  the  serous 
membranes,  in  no  other  organ  do  they  ep 
often  appear.  The  volume  of  the  spleen  is 
tbereby  usually  increased;  it  sometimes, 
bowever,  is  observed  that  the  spleen  is  quite 
diyveted  whh  them  and  yet  retains  ite  ordi- 
nary size,  the  parenchyma  being  sometimes 
iK>ftened  and  at  other  times  of  natural  con- 
•istence. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation  (hat,  notwith- 
ifetttding  the  frequency  and  intensity  of  tu- 
hitteuloeis  of  thfe  sp^  in  childhodd,  yet  it 
iMfver  appean  as  a  pnmary  or  inbukt^d  phe- 


nomenon. In  the  majority  of  cases  tubeiclts 
of  the  spleen  are  the  concomitants  of  ^- 
fused  ana  general  tuberculous  disease.  Never 
during  life  atfe  they  known  by  any  separate 
or  snecial  symptom. 

The  author  has  often  observed  the  com- 
mencement of  the  softening  process  of  tuber- 
cles of  the  spleen,  but  never  their  actual  and 
entire  liquefaction  accompanied  with  the  for- 
mation of  vomics. 

The  disposition  of  the  spleen  to  tubeteu- 
iosis  does  not  appear  (as  is  the  case  with  the- 
bionchial  glands)  to  be  entirely  lost  with  old 
age. 

Kidney,  Here  tubercles  are  presented  at 
every  age;  they  are,  however,  decidedly 
more  frequent  in  children  than  in  aduhs,  yet 
they  are  with  them  also  subordinate  to  oner 
a£Eections,  and  seldom  obtain  an  intenee  de- 
gree. 

The  parenchyma  of  tuberculous  kidneys 
has  always  been  found  by  the  author  in  a 
perfect  condition,  with  the  exception  of  oae 
case,  where  it  was  found  coasidenibly  con- 
gested. In  the  mater  number  of  cases,  Ae 
tuberculosis  of  the  kidneys  was  almost  en- 
tirely unaccompanied  during  life  by  anv  a|>- 
pearaaee  of  disease  propeedmg  from  it.  With 
some  adults  in  the  last  stage  of  nhthisia,  dia- 
betes msipidus  appealed,  which,  however, 
the  author  regarded  only  as  a  symptom  of 
ffeneml  wastinr,  and  independent  of  tht)  tu- 
berculosis of  the  kidneys  (amdogous  to  Ike 
coUiquatkm  of  diarrhosa,)  since  in  the  last 
stage  of  phthisis  and  with  unaffected  kidneys 
he  repeatedly  observed  the  same. 

With  a  boy  of  12  years  old,  in  whom  the 
tuberculosis  of  kidney  had  reached  die  bigg- 
est degree,  the  urine  was  strongly  albunri- 
nous,  without  the  kidneys  presenting  any 
appearance  of  granular  degeneration  (Brighls' 
disease.) 

Ulertu,  Failopi^n  tube^  and  wfary.  The 
tnbercukur  degeneration  oi  the  internal  geni- 
tal oigans  of  women  has  received  too  utde 
attention.  The  author  obsi^ved  it  six  times ; 
and  it  is  by  no  means  oi  infrequent  occur- 
rence, though  Rokitansky  ariserted  that  ta- 
bercles  are  never  found  in  the  ovary. 

The  author  saw  tuberculosii  of  the  uterus 
under  three  foraw:  1st  Aetubereledepoeltad 
in  the  substance.  2tl.  As  resting  upon  tbe 
inner  snperfioies.  3d  As  convertmg  the 
whole  substance  into  tubercular  matter. 

In  all  cases  of  tuberealosis  of  the  genltali, 
there  also  existed  dmultaneously  the  sattt 
disease  in  the  aiHaeeat  regions  of  the  b^^ 
and  bowels,  but  the  former  mppmsed  CfiAfm 
secondary,  and  as  the  expression  of  a  hMi 
degree  of  Mbercuhr  dysovaeia.  CofttfMl- 
ous  symptoms  Aa^ed  the  iJhction  oiiqrib 
one  cas^  $  in  tiis  its  similarity  with  thoeii''- 


96 


Pathology  of  the  Thibercuhsia. 


cancer  of  the^utenis  was  worthy  of  obsenra- 
tion. 

At  all  ages»  and  also  before  pubertj,  the 
author  foand  the  tuberculosis  in  the  parts 
indicated.  Rokitansky  observes,  of  the  tu- 
berculosis of  the  uterus,  that  it  nerer  extends 
beyond  the  os  uteri  internum,  and  that  it 
never  attacks  the  vaginal  portion  (in  which 
it  difiers  from  cancer.) 

Brain  and  its  membranes.  The  French 
pathologist  first  observed  the  so«named  tu- 
berculosis of  the  arachnoid,  wnich  is  impor- 
tant on  account  of  its  relation  to  ht^roc^ffM- 
lus  acutus. 

The  author  found  arachnoidal  tubercles  in 
five  children,  between  the  ages  of  8  months 
and  11  years,  and  with  the  exception  oi  one 
•ase,  the  affection  was  always  associated 
with  acute  hydrocephalus.  In  all  these 
cases,  tubercles  existed  in  the  lungs,  and  in 
most  of  them,  in  other  oigansalso.  Barthez 
and  Rilliet  once  found  tuberculosis  of  the 
meninges  isolated. 

Tubercle  of  the  arachnoid  easily  escapes 
observation,  for  it  is  frequently  obscure  and 
of  no  great  extension.  Tubercles  here  are 
always  found  on  the  outer  side  of  this  mem- 
brane, between  that  and  the  pia  mater,  never 
upon  the  inner,  whilst  this  is  the  case  with  Uie 
omer  serous  membranes.  These  observa- 
tions are  quite  m  accordance  with  the  appear- 
ance of  the  simple  normal  serous  effusion,  as 
well  as  of  the  product  of  inflammation  of  the 
,  arachnoid  being  only  to  be  found  on  the 
outer  side. 

Valleix  has  described  tubercular  arachnitis 
in  adults,  and  affirmed  that  it  is  present 
wherever,  in  adults,  inflammntion  of  the 
membrane  of  the  brain,  or  effusion  from  hy- 
drocephalus exists.  The  author  contradicts 
this  last  assertion. 

Arachnitis  with  purulent  effusion  and  hy- 
drocephalus, are  certainly  often  present  with 
adult  tubercular  subjects,  without,  however, 
being  necessarily  accompanied  with  tubercu- 
larjrranulation  in  the  arachnoid. 

labercle  in  the  arachnoid  holds  certainly 
a  secondary  place  amongst  the  other  diseased 
products  of  tne  brain. 

Tubercles  in  the  substance  of  the  brain  are 
by  no  means  infrequent  with  children.  Ac* 
cording  to  Green  they  occur  most  between 
the  ages  of  3  and  7  yean.  Sometimes  one 
single  tubercle  is  found  there,  and  sometimes 
also  they  are  more  in  number.  This  seat  is 
more  frequently  in  the  hemispheres  of  the 
cerebrum,  than  in  those  of  the  cerebellum. 
Aooording  to  Green,  in  no  case  were  tuber- 
cles exclusively  confined  to  the  brain,  but 
they  always  existed  simuiianeously  in  the 
canties  of  the  chest  or  abdomen,  yet  the 
greater  devebprnent  of  the  ceiebral  tuberdea 


induced  the  presumption  that  the  dieeaM  hii 
originated  there,  tfarthez  and  RiUiet  o^ 
served  two  cases  of  isolated  tubeiciikMis  of 
the  brain.  According  to  the  fore-nameA  ai- 
thors,  the  coincidence  of  cerebral  and  anui- 
noidal  tubercle  was  frequent.  This,  bow- 
ever,  was  not  confirmed  by  the  author. 

Lymjfh4Uic  glands.  With  diffuse  Uiberai- 
losis  it  is  not  infrequent  that  the  glands  ol 
the  neck,  shoulden,  abdomen,  &o ,  pmmt 
degenerated  tubercle;  also  in  that  case  dia 
subcutaneous  cellular  texture  is  not  inira- 
quently  the  receptacle  of  tuberculous  natter, 
which  then  produces  ulceration  of  the  akia. 
Mfueles,  boneSf  and  joints:  Aithougl 
mention  has  scarcely  ever  been  made  of  te- 
bercles  in  the  muscles,  yet  the  author  twiis 
found  them  in  the  case  of  children  sufieriif 
under  the  highest  decree  of  scrofulous  <k  ti- 
bercular  dyscrasia  (tney  were  existing  in  the 
muse.  so(eus,  gluteus,  and  in  the  teode 
achilles.)  in  both  cases,  tubercular  disea* 
of  bones  was  found  ii  the  neighborhood  of 
the  affected  muscles.  The  tubercles  were  ec 
roundish  form,  and  fro«a  the  size  of  miUet 
nains  to  that  of  hemp  seed,  of  whitish  jo- 
low  color,  and  mostly  solid,  but  Bomd 
them  hatf-liquified,abfl  resembling  pus.  Bs- 
kitansky  denied  the  appearance  of  tubereiei 
in  muscle  in  the  form  of  original  grey  tuber- 
cles ;  acccNTding  to  him  they  an  no  more  tliao 
tubercular  exudations.  .  . 

Tuberculosis  of  the  bones  is  in  a  najonty 
of  cases  the  cause  of  pain  in  the  boMB  m 
scrofulous  and  phthisical  subjects.  1w 
tubercles  also  occasionally  appear  vojm 
and  without  the  simultaneous  aiectioD  of  in- 
ward parts.  Even  with  adults,  tubercalar 
affections  of  the  bones  sometimes  appear. 

In  the  joint  itself  also,  and  in  it^  son  paiti> 
the  author  once  found  tuberculous  degecen* 
tion,  (namely,  in  the  stemo-clavicnlar  arti- 
culation,) and  at  the  same  time  the  ends « 
the  bones  were  carious  and  impregnated  witt 
tubercular  matter. 

The  author  has  never  found  tuberdaii 
the  thyroid  gland,  in  the  pancreas,  in  the  mr 
vary  or  in  the  mammary  glands.  The  le*- 
monyof  Bokitansky  supports  his  experieno^ 
that  in  these  organs  they  are  never  preaentei 
On  the  contrary,  tubercles  in  the  testicle  aie 
often  spoken  of  by  wiiten.  Rokitansky  alio 
mentions  them,  and  says,  "  they  not  loh*- 
Guently  appear  there  firet,  and  spread  inM 
mence  to  the  other  saxual  and  uriAtfT 
organs." 

The  frequency  with  which  the  several  or- 
gans subject  to  tuberculosis  are,  in  the  caal 
of  adults,  liable  to  the  disease,  is  in  the  fol- 
lowing  pioportion :  Lungs  146,  small  intai- 
tines  83,  mesenteric  elands  38,  Jajge  intestinei 
36,  peritoneum  18,  ^nra  13,  larynx  and  tia- 


Autograph  Letter. 


97 


ehea  10,  biottcfaial  glands  6,  external  iym- 
pfaatie  glands  6,  female  parts  of  generation 
5,  spleen  4,  kidneys  4,  bones  and  joints  3, 
liTer  2,  membranes  of  the  biain  1,  pericardi- 
um 1 ;  all  together  152. 

The  proportion  as  given  for  childhood 
would  be  very  difierent,  and  in  advanced  age 
«]0o,  pHTticular  exceptions  occur. 

The  Inngs  at  every  period  of  life  are  tbe 
most  liable  to  tabercnlosis,  bat  the  cases  in 
vhldi  the  luAgs  remain  soand,  whilst  other 
organs  are  attacked,  am  yet  more  scarce  in 
«dalt  age  than  in  childhood ;  and  the  differ- 
ence between  the  frequency  of  tubercles  in 
the  lungs,  and  their  frequency  in  the  oig^an 
«tanding  next  in  liability  to  attack,  is  with 
aiiults  much  more  considerable  than  with 
children. 

In  childhood,  next  after  the  lungs,  the 
bronchial  glands  are  most  exposed  to  this 
disease ;  bnt  with  adults  its  occurrence  there 
M  nue,  and  almost  unheard  of  after  the  30th 
year. 

In  like  manner,  the  presence  of  tubercles 
in  the  mesenteric  glands  is  more  frequent  in 
childhood  than  in  adult  age,  vet  the  differ- 
ence here  is  not  great ;  and  the  affection  of 
these  elands  is  secondary  in  importance  to 
that  en  the  bronchial  glands.  With  them, 
liowever,  liability  to  tabercular  degeneration 
does  not  appear  to  be  lost  with  advanced  age. 

Hie  liver,  spleen,  and  kidneys  are  more 
frequently  affected  with  tubercle  in  children 
than  in  adults.  Of  these  three  organs,  the 
spleen  is  with  adults  the  most  rarely  a  tacked. 

Cases  of  tuberculosis  in  the  serous  mem- 
bnuies,  aie  also  in  childhood  more  numerous 
than  in  adult  aee ;  especially  in  the  arach* 
Doid»  and  in  the  Drain  itself. 

On  the  other  hand,  adults  are  most  liable 
to  tuberculous  disease  in  the  intestinal  canal. 
Taberculosis  of  the  larynx  and  of  the  trachea 
appears  particularly  to  occur  between  the 
20th  and  40th  years  of  life.  With  children 
it  is  very  rare,  and  it  is  infrequent  also  in 
old  age. 

Tbe  internal  genital  parts  of  females  may 
be  attacked  at  any  age ;  yet  such  affections 
•re  less  frequent  in  cmldhood  than  in  adult 
yeara. 

The  question  whether  a  physiological  law 
may  somewhere  be  established  according  to 
which  the  development  and  distribution  of 
tuberculosis  in  the  several  oigans  ma)  be 
ranged,  can  hardly  yet  be  answered.  The 
assertion  of  Hasse,  that  **  the  development 
of  tubercle  in  the  difierent  owans  happens 
most  freouentlv  simultaneously  with  their 
greatest  pbysiofoeical  activity,"  is  easily  con- 
futed by  matter  of  fact. 

Widi  regard  to  the  difference  of  tuberculo- 
sa in  childhood  and  in  adult  age*  so  much 


may  perhaps  be  explained,  that  with  a  fixed 
tubercular  dyscrasia  in  the  organs  of  children, 
the  specific  matter  of  the  disease  is  deposited 
with  greater  ease,  and  in  larger  abundance  in 
the  different  organs,  on  account  of  the 
changes  of  tissue,  and  of  the  freedom  of  the 
function  of  nutrition  and  circulation  at  that 
period  of  life.  Doubtless  these  circumstances 
nave  their  effect  as  respects  the  tendency  of 
individual  organs  to  tuoercalar  affection,  or 
the  contrary. 

That  tuberculosis  has  in  childhood  a 
greater  tendency  to  gepenl  difiusion,  than 
later  in  life,  is  an  established  fact  Amonnt 
the  children  who  fell  under  his  notice,  the 
author  found  only  one  case  in  seven,  wheie 
the  disease  was  confined  to  one  organ  or  one 
cavity  of  the  body ;  whilst  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  with  one-fourth  spread  over  all  their 
cavities. 

With  adults  as  with  children,  tuberculoeb 
manif^s  a  tendency  to  general  diffusion ; 
bat  the  disposition  is  more  strongly  marked 
in  childhood.  In  one>fourth  only  of  his 
adult  cases  did  the  autiior  find  the  affection 
confined  to  one  organ,  and  with  more  than 
two-thirds  it  had  established  its  seat  in  all 
the  three  cavities  of  head,  chest,  and  belly. 

This  tendency  of  tuberculosis  to  ^nerml 
diffasion  in  many 'organs,  and  to  difiusion 
also  amongst  the  whole  human  race,  is  the 
essential  and  proper  characteristic  of  the  dis- 
ease, and  has  procured  for  it  the  character  of 
being  the  most  universal  of  all  diseases. 


AMcsrtfh  Mat  qf  tt«  King  ^  Pnmta  t»  atqirPUtT 
HdimDr.JiiarmiMtUar^  Vimma. 

Chaklottekburg,  3d  January,  1842. 

"  I  am  gratefully  obliged  to  you  for  tbe 
confidence  with  which  you  have  recom- 
mended the  homoeopathic  system  to  my  pro- 
tection, and  attach  much  value  to  the  recom- 
mendation of  this  important  subject  by  a  man, 
who  like  you,  has  practised  Homoopathy 
successfully  Ifor  so  many  years.  I  shall, 
with  pleasure,  continue,  as  I  have  hitherto 
done,  to  give  the  system  every  protection 
which  can  favor  its  free  develonment.  I 
have  already  approved  of  the  establishment 
of  a  homoBopathie  hospital  at  the  expense  of 
tbe  Treasury,  and  also  intend  to  grant  to  ho- 
mfleopathic  physicians,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, the  right  of  dispensing  their  own  medi- 
cines. 


<  I  remain,  &c. 


*'  FMEDBmCH  WlLHELM." 

[Ledger  Zeitung. 


98 


JPr^.  Jl0S'«r'«  iMtwrn. 


\ 


Pir«fMMr  Bofcr's  Ltetvres  aad  Bxptiiacatt 

The  last  of  these  highly  interesting,  amn- 
sing  and  instructive  entertainments,  took 
place  at  the  large  saloon  of  the  Mercer 
county  court  house  in  South  Trenton,  on 
Saturday  evening,  the  14th  inst.  That  spa- 
cious apartment  was  crowded  to  overflowing 
with  the  laicest  and  most  intellfrent  audi- 
ence which  oas  attended  any  public  lecture 
in  this  city  during  the  past  winter.  There 
wtoe  present  a  k^  pn»oftion  of  the  leem- 
here  of  both  booses  of  the  legislalure  of 
New  Jeisey,  many  of  the  most  ratipectable 
laWyeiB,  physicians,  and  clergymen  of  this 
of  science. 


eiiy,  men  of  science,  ladies,  merchants,  ar- 
tiats,  mechftniesand  other.  Theexperiments 
wtee  of  the  moet  surpriatng  and  iateiesUng 
character,  and  hiehly  gratifying  in  their  re- 
WiUb.  '<  Miss  Afimha,"  daughter  iA  Prof. 
Loomis  of  Philadelphia,  who  usually  ac- 
eonpanies  her;- -whose  exhibitions  of  chiir- 
VDyance  had  pteviottily  ^cited  gtettt  adrai- 
lation,  was  thrown  into  the  "meaiairic 
itate*'  by  Piofeaaor  Rodgers,  and  alter  her 
cyea  bad  been  most  carefaliy  btindfolded,  by 
a  committee  of  geatJemen  selected  by  the 
audience,  she  iciu  a  iafge  number  of  news' 
pi^MTS  furnished  by  persoiis  present,  also  de- 
ngaated  the  time  by  various  watches  handed 
to  her,  told  the  denomioalion  of  various  bank 
Botes  and  the  names  of  the  banks  by  which 
they  were  issued,  aad  pointed  out  the  differ* 
ent  flowers  in  a  boquet,  and  told  with  accu- 
racy the  names  and  eotors  of  all  of  them. 
These  experiments  were  very  surprising,  and 
axeited  general  wonder  aald  adaiifalMm. 

A  young  lady,  suftriiig  severely  from  a 
diseased  tooth,  was  then  placed  upon  the 
stage,  and  mesmerised.  A  committee,  com- 
posed of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Kitchell  ol  Morris, 
the  Hon.  B.  Hamihon,  Senator  from  Sussex, 
£dwani  I.  Gfaat,  M.  D.,  and  the  Hon.  Mr. 
Halsted  of  Trenton,  and  Geoige  W.  Smyth, 
fisq.t  of  Warren,  aad  Mr.  Qustin,  of  South 
Trenton,  w^re  appointed  to  superintend  the 
4xmriment,  being  the  same  persons  who 
bandaged  tiie  feyes  of  <*  Miss  Martha.*'  Dr 
▲.  H.  Armour,  Surgeon  Dentist,  of  Trenton, 
was  called  from  the  aadieaee  to  ej^tract  the 
laath.  He  aad  the  committee  concurred  in 
iing  the  tooth  much  diseased,  but 
in  the  jaw,  difficult  to  pull,  and  that  it 
liad  not  been  nr^iouslytaaipered  with.  The 
doctor  proceeded  to  eztiaet  the  tooth,  which 
caused  a  copious  flow  of  blood ;  but  the  pa- 
tient gave  no  symptoms  of  pain  or  suffering, 
and  made  not  the  sligbtfest  movement  of  any 
kind.  SlM>rrty  alterwaid,  when  restorsd  to 
consciousness,  by  upward  passes,  she  staled 
that  she  did  not  feel  the  operation  at  all,  and 


had  no  knowledge  of  any  thing  whkh  kd 
passed.  The  aiMience  was  filled  with  plm* 
sure,  and  not  a  little  astonishmeot  at  ths  eft- 
tire  success  of  this  most  renarkaUe  expai- 
ment. 

Professor  Rodffers  next  proceeded  to  ope- 
rate on  some  half  dozen  well  known  eitizeai 
of  Trenton,  who,  on  former  occasions  bid 
been  publicly  mesmerized  by  him.    This  ex- 

Eeriment  was  also  entirely  eucoessful.  T^ 
mbs  ol  all  those  subjecte  weie  paialiaid 
and  rendered  rig^  at  will,  relaxed,  or  excilid 
into  the  most  violent  action,  at  the  pleasaie 
of  the  operator.  Some  were  made  to  dane 
and  sing  in  the  liveliest  and  moet  vioieat 
manner.  Others  seemed  in  deep  devotios, 
and  chaunted  low  and  solemn  tunes,  wbUe 
others  brandished  their  clenched  fists,  as^ 
manifested  all  the  symptoms  of  infuriate 
rage.  The  audience  were  by  times  ovtt- 
whelmed  with  wonder  and  reverential  awi; 
and  anon  convulsed  with  inepressible  kil- 
ter. 

On  motion  of  George  W.  Smyth,  Esq.,  the 
following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  Con- 
mitteeto  prepare  and  report  ResolutioDSlK- 
pressive  of  the  sentiments  of  the  audieooe  ai 
reference  to  Prof.  Ko^ere,  his  Lectures  «d 
Experhnents;  viz:— lie  Hon.  Willisaiftrf- 
sted  of  Trenton,  the    Hon.  Mr.  Kitcbel  «f 
Morris,  the  Hon.  S.  W.  Phillips  of  Middk- 
sex»  the  lion.  B.  Hamilton*  Senator  to 
Sussex,  the  Hon.  J.  Shotwall  from  Waii«t 
£  I.  Grant,  M.  D.,J.  B  James,M.D.,A 
H.  Armour  Dentist,  S.  Hotchkiss  M.  IX, 
Thomas  Gordon,  William  P.  ShermMhMr 
Grim,  Jr.,  William  Grant,  JohnR.  DilU^ 
seph  Hammet,  John  B.  Andeiwm,  liacsv 
R.  Titus  and  Mr.  Gustin,  Eaqaiies ;  towkiB 
was  added  Geo»e  W.  Sm^,  Esq.,  of  War- 
ren County.    This  committee  ha? inc  wiv- 
diawn  for  a  short  time,  retimed  and  rqpt^ 
ted  through  the  last  named  gentleaiaiii  lh» 
following  Preamble  aad  Resolutions,  vii; 

Whxttas,  Profesaor  Rodgere  has  delive^ 
during  the  last  three  years,  no  less  than  v- 
teen  lectures  before  large  and  respectable  tf- 
sembties  of  the  citizena  of  Trenton  ijd 
South  Tretrton,  and  the  Yicinity,  on  the  flW- 
ject  of  Animal  Magnetism,  PhreoolQgt* 
and  Clairvoyance ;  on  all  which  oceaaooi 
be  has  successfully  magnetised  some  tiiiM 
two,  and  several  times  aa  many  as  three  ftw 
four,  and  once  ten  of  the  audienee,  pcrsom 
of  good  character  and  incapable  of  ente^ 
into  any  collusion  or  fraud  to  deceive  tkar 
fellow  citizens,  on  all  of  whom  tery  attj' 
ishing  and  amusing  experiments  were  exhib- 
ited, such  as  panUyzing  the  limbs,  excifit 
the  organs  of  tune,  beneT6lence,acq<fiitilt- 
ness,  Bfttf-esteem,  combativenesa,  etc^si&t 
and  whefriai,  on  two  ocoMions  aWy  mv- 


S6ftBlMM&US  Is€^IVf» 


99 


Sag  severily  with  diseased  teef  h,  accompanied 
urith  abfloesB  and  extensiTe  inflammation, 
was  ipabHely  ma^^^aed,  and  had  each  thne 
«  uknar  tooth  drawn,  t^e  one  by  Dr.  Hotch- 
kiw,tbe  dther  b^  "Dr.  Armour,  redpectable 
Bentista  of  tUs  dty,  and  in  the  presence  of 
Mndry  practising  pbjrsicians  of  hish  charac- 
ter; on  which  occasions  the  aaia  lady  ap- 
f«ued  to  be  whoHy  naconscions  of  pain  or 
sMfering  from  the  operation :  Aitd 

Whereas,  This  lady,  aa  well  as  all  the 
ber  citizens  of  this  place  who  haTe  been 
lasgnetiaed  by  Prof.  Rodgers,  invariably  pro- 
teat  that  there  was  no  collusion  or  deception 
in  the  experiments  performed  upon  them,  re- 
•pactirely,  and  that  fhey  ware,  at  the  time 
m  diese  experiments,  wholly  uneonsdoua  of 
Wluit  they  were  doing  aa  well  as  of  what 
wks  dooe  to  them ;  and  to  the  tnrth  of  which 
'■latements  they  expran  a  witlingnesa  to 
naks  soieBAu  affidavits — ^Therefore, 

Reeoivedy^  That  this  aadienca  is  forced,  by 
the  we^ht  of  irrenstible  evidenee,  to  con- 
chide  that  there  is  reality  in  what  is  denom- 
imad  ••Animal  Magnetism,*' or  ••Mesme- 
nim,"  and  that  by  the  gaze  of  the  eye  and 
aortain  manipulationa,  properly  employed, 
pdraom  can  be  thrown  into  the  so-called 
•«  magnetic  state,"  in  whidi  the  mind  and  ac- 
IIoAb  of  the  patient  axe  subject  in  a  great  de- 
gree, to  the  Will  of  the  opeivtor:  and  aa  in 
natural  somnamboliam,  the  person  magneti- 
zed may  do  many  things  and  nay  be  sub- 
jedled  to  many  operations  and  experiments 
e<  which  he  ot  ske  will  retain  no  reeoliec- 
iian  or  conadoosness  when  rsatored  to  the 
nalnnil  oondition.    And 

Whereas^  '*  Miss  .Martha"  has,  on  seven! 
^tfferent  oceasions  after  being  magnetized  by 
FsoL  Bod^ers»  had  her  eves  efieetually  ban 
Aagrd  witn  gloves  and  haadkeiehiels  con 
fioed  at  the  top  and  bottom  with  tape  by  a 
eoBBoiitlee  of  raldliffentaad  scientific  gnntie- 
nmn  appointed  hy  the  andieaee,  and  not  nn- 
fraQaeatly  ehostti  on  anXHint  of  their  skep- 
liem;  and  when  thus  blind-folded  to  toe 
entire  aitisiaction  of  the  committee  and  the 
.andiiBooe,  with  sontely  «any  exception,  she 
hmriag  promptly  read  the  heading  of  news- 
jiaipera  aadhandbilta,  and  told  the  denomina- 
tiOB  of  bank  notes,  and  described  mctnres 
and  aundry  other  articles  furnished  indiaerim- 
inately  by  the  audieaee,  and  in  most  cases 
privately  brought  as  a  test  of  her  powers, 
and  shown  to  no  one  but  the  committee;  and 
neither  Prof.  Rodgers  nor  any  other  person 
who  could  Dossibly  be  in  collusion  with  him 
or  ••  Misa  hfartha,"  being  allowed,  previ- 
(Attl]f ,  to  examine  the  same.  And  she  hav- 
Htf ,  in  many  instances,  witti  great  prompti- 
tnde  and  accuiacy,  tdd  in  Inke  manner  the 
tune  indicated  by  watches,  which  had  been 


privately  set  by  their  owners ;  the  commfttte 
carefully  watching  in  the  mean  time  to  s^e 
that  die  bandage  was  in  no  wise  disturbed  so 
as  possibly  to  admit  of  her  seeing  with  h^r 
eyes : — Therefore, 

jReso^Md,— That  «•  Clairvoyance"  as  wdl 
as  ••Animal  Magnetism'*  is  mcontestibTy 
proven  by  th^se  experiments,  whi^h  demon- 
strate the  interesting  and  all  important  feet 
that  the  human  soul  can  act  independent  of 
the  body,  and  receive  ideas  and  impressions 
independently  of  the  external  senses,  that  it 
is  immaterial  in  its  nature,  and  endowsd 
with  powers  analogous  to  thoae  of  its  Al- 
mighty Author. 

Resolved, — That  we  have  great  pleasure 
in  recommending  Professor  Rodger's  lecturea 
and  experiments  to  the  liberal  patronage  Of 
all  earnest  and  unprejudiced  enquirers  after 
truth  in  mentidphiloBophy. 

Aeso^i^iai,— That  the  thanks  of  this  com- 
munity are  due  to  ProfesBor  Rodgers  for  his 
generous  and  patriotic  donation  of  th'e  pro- 
ceeds of  two  of  hiis  lectures  at  the  Court 
House,  in  behalf  of  the  *'  Trenton  Monu- 
ment Association,"  the  amount  of  which  is, 
of  couree,  less  a  criterion  of  the  liberality 
and  public  spirit  of  the  Professor  than  of  the 
citizens  of  Trenton. 

The  foregoing  preambles  and  resolutions 
havmg  been  read,  were  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  vast  concourse  present,  with  the  live- 
liest manifestation  of  satisfaction.  Where- 
upon it  was  unanimously 

Re80lved,--ThBX  the  various  editors  ol 
newspapers  in  this  city  be  requested  to  ndb- 
lish  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting. — State 
Gazette,  Trent<m,  N.  /. 

DraamUf  m  Tritaslvtioa. 
A  French  savant,  at  Dijou,  went  one 
ni^ht  ouite  exhausted  to  bed,  after  long  and 
vain  ellbrts  to  make  out  the  sense  of  a  pas* 
sage  in  a  Greek  poet.  On  falling  asleep,  he 
seemed  to  himself  to  be  transported  in  spirit 
to  Stockholm,  where  he  was  conducted  idto 
the  palace  of  Queen  Christina,  u^exed  into 
the  royal  library  and  placed  before  a  com- 
partment, in  which  he  distinguished  a  smidl 
volume  that  bore  a  title  new  to  him.  He 
opened  the  vohime,  and  in  it  found  the  sohi- 
tion  of  the  grammatical  difficulty  which  hid 
so  perplexed  him.  The  joy  which  he  felt 
at  this  discovery,  awakening  him,  he  struck 
a  l^ht  and  made  a  memorandum  of  what 
he  had  seen  in  his  dream.  The  dark  pas- 
sage he  now  found  perfedtly  cleared  vf. 
The  adventure,  however,  was  too  stranae  to 
suffer  him  to  rest  satisfied  without  taking 
some  steps  to  ascertain  how  far  the  itxipTeii- 
sions  of  his  noetumal  journal  donespondtJd 
witii  the  reality.— Deseanea    wa^  at  tluit 


100 


Miscellaneous  Hems. 


time,  at  Stock jiolm»  and  our  savant  wrote  to 
Chanut,  the  French  Ambasrador  to  the  Swe- 
dish Court,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted, 
requesting  him  to  ask  the  philosopher 
whether  the  royal  library  had  such  and  such 
peculiarities,  (which  he  described,)  and 
whether,  in  a  certain  compartment,  a  certain 
volume  of  such  a  size  and  form,  was  not 
there  to  be  found,  on  such  and  such  a  page 
of  which  stood  ten  Greek  verses,  a  copy  of 
which  the  savant  subjoined.  Descartes  an- 
swered the  ambassador  that,  unless  the  que- 
rist had  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the  li- 
brary for  the  last  twenty  years,  he  could 
scarcely  have  described  its  arrangement  more 
accurately;  the  compartment,  the  volume, 
the  ten  Greek  verses,  all  tallied  exactly  with 
the  descripu'on. 

A  counterpart  to  this  story  is  related  by 
Wangenheim : 

The  son  of  a  Wirtemburg  jurist  was  stu- 
dying at  Gottingen»  aiid  having  occasion  for 
a  book  which  he  could  not  fuKun  the  library 
there,  and  which  be  remembered  to  have 
seen  at  home,  wrote  to  request  his  father  to 
send  him  the  same.  The  father  searched  the 
library  for  the  book  in  vain;  it  was  not  to 
be  found,  and  he  wrote  to  his  son  to  thi« 
eSect,  Some  time  after,  as  he  was  at  work 
in  his  library,  and  rose  from  his  seat  to  re- 
place a  book  which  he  had  done  with  on  its 
shelf,  he  beheld  his  son  standing  not  far 
from  him,  and  in  the  act,  as  it  seemed,  of 
reaching  down  a  book,  which  stood  at  a 
considerable  height,  and  on  which  the  out- 
stretched hand  of  the  figure  was  already 
laid.  **  My  son  !"  cried  the  astonished  fa- 
ther, "  how  came  jou  here  ?'*  As)he  spoke 
the  apparition  vanished.  The  father,  wnose 
presence  of  mind  was  not  disturbed,  imme- 
aiately  took  down  the  book  on  which  the 
hand  of  the  figure  had  seemed  to  be  laid,  and 
behold,  it  was  the  very  one  the  son  had  writ- 
ten for  He  sent  it,  by  that  day*s  post  to 
Gottin^en,  but  soon  after  received  a  letter 
from  his  son,  written  on  the  very  morning  on 
which  he  had  seen  the  apparition,  and  sta- 
ting the  exact  spot  where  the  writer  was 
confident  the  book  was  to  be  found.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  »ay  that  it  was  the  jety 
spot  which  the  apparition  had  already  indi- 
cated. 

aOMVtmiOATIOH'S. 
C.  M.  S.  is  a  remarkable  clairvoyant,  and 
has  bad  much  experience  illustrating  our 
spiritual  relations.  She  was  hourly  expec- 
ting[  the  death  of  a  young  friend  about 
which  event,  she  for  personal  reasons  was 
peculiaiiy  anxious.  It  is  a  custom  of  the 
town,  to  announce  a  death  by  tolling  the 
bell.'    The  first  sound  caused  her  to  faint. 


and  it  required  much  effi)rt  to  reetore  htr. 
After  this,  she  made  remarks  showing  tfati 
she  was  not  aware  of  his  death,  but  still  in 
consequence  of  the  effect  produceid  before  thi 
friends  dared  not  tell  her.  When  she  west 
to  her  room  some  time  after,  she  eaw  on  be 
wall  in  bright  characters  of  a  reddish  cut, 
"  He  is  Desul."  As  it  accorded  witbsevenl 
other  incidents  of  a  similar  character,  ebe 
knew  it  to  be  a  spiritual  communication,  and 
was  ^rf  ectly  calm.  She  called  her  mothen 
and  Bisters,  and  they  saw  it  distinctly,  end  it 
remained  there  something  like  an  hour,  viii- 
ble  to  any  one.  W. 

S.  F.  was  mesmerized  at  mi  study,  Fn- 
day,  P.  M.,  and  on  being  left  to  hoself, 
looked  for  the  reason  why  a  friend  who 
lived  oumy  miles  distant,  had  not  made  her 
a  Tiflit  that  week  as  was  expected.-— Sooa 
she  was  noticed  to  be  in  the  greatest  aai 
most  distracting  grief;  and  after  soioetiDei 
on  coming  into  oommanication,  said  kr 
friend  was  dead—- that  he  died  at  8  o'clock, 
P.  M.  the  Tuesday  previous,  that  before  Ui 
death,  he  requested  nis  father  to  ^^ritetokr 
and  that  he  had  so  wrirten,  and  the  letla 
was  on  the  way,  and  would  be  in  the  oitt 
in  one  hour,~a  friend  went  to  the  oicei 
and  found  that  there  was  no  letter  fkM 
then,  but  it  was  received  at  the  eodof  aa 
hour. 

An  extraordinary  fact  connected  with  tuft 
case*  was  that  S.  F.  at  the  very  boarvfan 
her  friend  died  many  miles  from  btfi  an 
(die  never  having  had  an  intimatioD  oi  ^ 
sickness,  but  expecting  him  daily  to  m) 
was  passing  to  her  chamber,  and  met  this 
friend  at  the  head  of  the  stairs.  She  M 
perfectly  conscious  of  shaking  band8,-HH 
asking  how  became  there, and  of  hisai- 
ewering,  and  then  pasei  ig  down  sK^rs,  laj 
opening,  and  closing  tlL<s  ioor  as  he  piM 
out.  The  next  thing  of  which  she  wascoi- 
scious,  was  of  sittini^  on  the  next  fii^Jf^ 
staifs,  being  unconscious  of  having  paw 
the  length  of  the  entry; 

Some  will  say  this  was  aswoonorrisiA 
or  something  of  that  kind ; — bat  the  W 
that  this  happened  at  the  hour  of  his  dew 
etiJl  remains  wonderfult  and  to  be  atlribm 
to  some  cause.  W. 


Da.  Sherwood: — 

I  have  read  with  ereat  interest  the  oob- 
munication  of  W.  H.  in  the  last  numberof 
the  Dissector,  in  answer  to  a  letter  of  Mr. 
Sunderland  in  a  former  number,  Althoup 
I  have  but  little  sympathy  with  Mr.  S.  i« 
his  views,  I  cannot  come  to  the  same  conda* 
sions  as  W.  H.    I  have  no  disposition  to 


Miscellaneous  Items. 


101 


abate  anything  from  the  claims  which  are 
made  for  him,  **  as  the  herald  of  a  new  dis- 
pensatioQ  of  divine  truth.*' 

At  least  so  far  as  this  question  is  con- 
cerned, I  shall  admit  all  his  followers  claim. 
It  is  said  by  Sweden borg  that  the  facts  rela- 
ted by  him,  **  were  truly  done  and  seen,  not 
In  a  state  of  the  mind  asleep,  but  in  a  state 
of  full  wakefulness.*' 

If  I  understand  his^writinge,  he  saw  these 
things  pertaining  to  the  spiritual  world  by 
means  of  his  spiritual  yision,-»i.  e.,  by  the 
same  powers  through  which  he  now  per- 
eeives  the  realities  with  which  he  is  at  this 
moment  surrounded.  This  I  suppose  to  be 
the  eeneral  idea  entertained  by  the  members 
of  the  **  New  Church,"  most  oi  whom  I 
suppose  will  maintain  that  Swedenborg  was 
«•  specially  inspited"  to  <*  herald  the  new  dis- 
pensation,'' though  he  says,  "The  Lord 
opened  the  interiors  of  my  mind  and  spirit." 

From  Swedenborg's  own  "revelations," 
we  understand  that  all  human  beinj^s  will 
have  essentially  the  same  spiritual  faculties 
or  organs,  but  only  becoming  active  or 
available,  to  most  men,  after  the  death  of 
the  natural  body.  The  outward  organs  are 
the  instruments  through  which  the  spirit  re- 
ceives impressions  from  the  natural  world. 

Now  will  your  correspondent  deem  it  im- 
poesibJe  or  improbable  that  any  other  man 
shall  ever  have  "  the  interiors  of  his  mind 
and  spirit,"  so  opened  while  yet  in  the  natu- 
lal  body  as  to  nerceive  some  things  in  the 
spirit  world  ?    I  trust  not. 

In  this  connection,  then,  we  give  it  as  our 
opinion  that  hj  the  will  of  a  second  person 
the  physical  in  some  individuals  may  he  so 
hM  in  abeyance  as  to  admit  of  the  action  of 
the  spirit  precisely  as  it  will  act  aftw  death, 
and  precisely  as  Swedenborg's  spirit  (?id  act 
witboat  the  intervention  of  a  second  person. 
We  wiH  not  say  it  will  act  to  the  same  ex- 
tent, bnt  in  the  same  manner.  We  have  had 
facta  occur  in  our  ex])erience  settling  this 
matter  to  pur  entire  satisfaction,  and  helpina^ 
na  to  very  clear  ideas  couceminff  the  spirit 
"world  and  spiritual  faculties  and  relations, 
before  "we  had  ever'seen  a  word  of  Sweden- 
boig'B  on  the  subject.  We  have  been  led  by 
this  to  8|ndy  Swedenbor^s  writings,  and 
have  not  yet  found  anythins  to  lesu  us  to 
change  from  our  former  conclusions. 

We  are  compiled,  however,  to  distrust 
the  revelations  of  those  whose  mercenary 
disposition  would  lead  them  to  show  the 
most  sacred  developements  before  a  curious 
and  scoffing  crowd.  The  best  clairvoyant 
by  saeh  a  course  as  this,  would  soon  be  ru- 
ined for  such  experiments  as  led  us  to  our 
eoncliision.  It  is  a  ttse  of  the  most  sacred  of 
the  powers  of  man,  and  they  should  only — 


aye  more !  they  can  only  be  used  by  those 
who  have  a  true  and  enlarged  faith,  and  who 
use  them  for  pure  and  holy  purposes. 

If  your  correspondent  is  a  true  disciple  of 
Swedenborg,  and  he  should  ever  have  a 
clairvoyant  having  full  faith  in  the  ideas  en- 
tertained by  "  Tne  herald  of  the  New 
Church,"  and  he  should  from  pure  and  holy 
motives  seek  communion  with  the  spirit 
world,  he  would  be  led  to  see  that  the  phe- 
nomena in  some  of  the  more  advanced  states 
of  the  clairvoyant  are  more  nearly  allied  to 
the  experience  of  Swedenborg  than  he  at 
present  conceives  possible. 

If  these  conclusions  into  which  we  have 
been  led  are  correct,  what  wonderful  conse- 
quences shall  result  to  the  world  as  they 
shall  come  t6  be  generally  understood.  It  is 
in  view  of  these  consequences  that  I  have 
been  led  to  offer  this  communication  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  do  something  to  lead  to 
high  conceptions  of  one  of  the  most  valua- 
ble and  sacred  developements  of  science. 
Yours,  &c.. 

An  Admirkr  of  Swsdsnboro. 

New-York,  March  17th, 


f}rom  Dr.  Black' 9  Treatise  on  Uu  PrinMea  and  Prae» 
Hce  of  BonUBopat^^p  176. 

*•  The  first  extract  then  we  give  is  one  at- 
tested by  Hufeland,  which  is  a  sufficient 
guarantee  for  its  impartiality  and  authenti- 
city. (Hufeland's  at  Jatrognomick,  Berlin, 
1829.**) 

"The  success  of  a  hora<Eopathist,  Dr. 
Stap,  in  cunng  Egyptian  ophthalmia  among 
the  soldiers  in  the  garrisons  of  the  Rhine* 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Prussian  Minis- 
ter of  war,  who  solicited  him  to  visit  Berlin, 
to  take  charge  of  its  military  hospitals,  Laza- 
teth  and  La  Charity.  He  accepted  the  invi- 
tation and  officiated  to  the  entire  satisfaction 
of  the  minister.  Hufelani),  who  introduced 
Stap  to  the  assembled  company  of  La  Cha- 
rity, then  paid  him  a  deserved  personal  com- 
pliment, and  at  the  same  time  expressed  these 
impartial  views  respecting  the  nomoeopathic 
system : 

**  *  HoDKBopaAy  seems  to  me  particularly 
valuable  in  two  points  of  view — first,  because 
it  promises  to  leieid  the  art  of  healing  back  to 
the  only  true  path  of  quiet  observation  and 
experience,  aod  gives  new  lile  to  the  much 
neglected  subject  of  symptomatology;  and 
secondly »,  because  it  furnishes  simplicity  in 
the  treatment  of  disease.  The  gentleman, 
whom  I  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you,  is 
not  a  blind  worshipper  of  his  system ;  he  is, 
I  have  learned  with  joy,  as  well  acquainted 
with  the  entire  science  of  medicine,  and  as 
classically  educated  as  he  is  well  informed 
in  the  new  science." 


l»« 


On  Hooping  C&u^h. 


Treatment  of  Indurated  Tonsil  Glands  by 
Compression. — Professor  Hass  of  Stockholm, 
has  employed  the  following  method  with 
success.  He  introduces  the  index-fiuger 
into  the  mouth,  and  compresses  the  indura- 
ted gland  with  its  extremity  for  several  mi 
nates  at  a  time.  This  is  repeated  three  or 
four  times  a  day.  After  some  days  of  this 
treatment,  the  professor  states  that  the  gland 
becomes  softer,  absorption  commences,  and 
the  surface  of  the  tonsil  is  evidently  relaxed 
and  wrinkled.  When  this  condition  has 
been  attained,  stimulating  gaigles  may  be 
employed.  The  author  remarks  that  this 
treatment  should  always  be  tried  in  those  ca- 
ses in  which  excision  is  contemplated. 

Gazette  de  Hopitaux. 

Dise^ises  of  the  Pancreas.— \n  «*  Caspar's 
Wochenscrift,"  No.  17,  Di,  MelioQ,of  Fieu- 
densthal,  has  published  an  ess^y,  with  the 
object  of  giving  more  precision  to  the  diag- 
nosis  of  pancreatic  diseases.  Four  cases  a|-e 
recorded,  in  two  of  which  be  was  able  to 
verify  his  observations  by  post-mortem  exa- 
minations. The  symptoms  were  pain  in  the 
epigastric  region,  vomitinj^  of  albuminous 
fluids,  constipation  alternating  with  diarrhcea, 
fixed  pains  iu  the  loins  and  shoulders,  rapid 
emaciation,  and  great  mental  depression.  In 
the  first  fatal  case,  the  pancreas  was  found 
adherent  to  the  liver  and  stomach,  and  was 
of  a  cartilaginous  hardness ;  in  the  second, 
the  organ  contained  a  cavity  in  its  centre, 
filled  with  an  ichorous  fluid.  [It  is  to  be 
(eared  that  in  the  catalogue  of  symptoms 
above  mentioned,  there  is  none  which  can  be 
considered  as  in  the  sUghtest  dmee  aiding 
the  author's  object.  Dr.  Dick  (JV&ical  G^. 
zette,  October,  1^45,)  is,  beyond  doubt,  per- 
rect  in  the  statement  that  there  is  no  singiLo 
symptom  strictly  indicative  of  pancreatic  dis* 
ease,  and  that  no  system  of  treatment,  lh«re« 
fore,  can  be  laid  down.]  M.  Ceprio*  Ivw 
noticed  the  connection  between  pfuicreattc 
disease  and  spermatorrboea. 

OBT  HOOPma-OOUOH. 

By  Dr.  jCasucaiik  of  Lich,  in  the  Grand 
Duchy  of  Hesse.! 
Since  C  began  to  practice  homoeo{»thlcally, 
I  have  seen  several  epidemics  of  this  disease, 
and  the  results  I  have  obtained,  force  upon 
me  the  conviction,  that  we  cannot  boast  of 
flo  much  certainty  in  this,  as  in  many  other 
diseases,  the  cause  of  which  seems  to  depend, 
partiy  at  least,  on  some  peculiar  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  disease.    For 

^  • 

*  li  RaecogUion  Ifiedico,  and  GtMUe  Mo(ikal«i 

t  £xln«ted  from  the  Ifygea.  vol;  x. 


not  to  mention  many  other  things,  \7ere  ^ 
actually  in  possession  of  a  better  knowledee 
of  remedies,  so  diverse  are  the  shades  of  me 
accompanying  symptoms,  that  tbeir  elndih- 
tion  is  oAen  a  matter  of  difficulty ;  for  we 
seldom  or  never  see  the  children  during  a  fit: 
and  as  in  many  the  severe  fits  occur  only  at 
night,  we  are  deprived  of  all  opportunity  for 
observing  them.  As,  however,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  ascertain  the  symptoms  with  extreme 
accuracy,  in  order  (o  determine  the  choice  d 
a  remedy,  it  will  be  found  extremely  difficult 
to  do  this  here,  for  most  children  are  unable 
to  describe  their  sensations,  and  the  parents 
or  friends  are  not  always  gifted  wim  good 
powers  of  observation ;  they  are  indeea  of- 
ten very  careless,  many  things  completely 
escaping  their  notice:  they,  consequently, 
give  bit  a  superficial  history  of  the  case,  not* 
withstanding  the  most  careful  examination. 
But,  althougn  I  would  not  relinquish  the  lio* 
mopopathic*  practice  for  any  other,  aldioi^ 
1  have  met  with  some  success,  and  have  in- 
deed obtained  some  speedy  and  favorable  re- 
sults, still  my  mind  is  not  yet  perfectly  at 
rest,  for,  under  similar  circumstances,  mainr 
patients  have  been  little  or  not  at  all  relieve^ 
and  the  disease  has  run  its  course  unabated. 
I  am,  consequently,  forced  to  express  a  irfibi 
that  ere  lon^  we  shall  attain  to  greater  oo^ 
tainty  on  this  subject 

Were  it  true  that  the  proximate  cause  of 
hooping-cough  consistain  a  cataniai  y^' 
matory  irritation  of  the  oigans  of  re«pnit»n» 
then  there  might  be  a  possibility  that  Aco- 
nite would  be  of  good  service,  but  the  posn- 
bility  would  never  rise  to  a  certainty;  fwi^ 
is  far  from  true,  that  Aconite  is  applicalik 
to  all  diseases  dependent  on  inflammation  Ql 
inflammatory  irritation.  On  the  contrary, 
inflammably  affections  of  different  orgjw 
seem  to  demand  different  remedies.  Wi^ 
out  at  all  denying  the  extensive  applicabSijf 
of  Aconite,  we  may  say,  that  its  sphere^ 
action  seems  to  lie  principally  in  the  arteiis 
circulation;  and,  hence,  it  appears  to  ^ 
most  specifically  indicated  in  the  inflamnir 
tory  diseases  of  those  organs  which  perfom 
an  important  part  in  the  circulation.  All 
who  have  properly  exercised  the  homceo^" 
thic  method,  are  familiar  with  the  excdleat 
effects  of  this  remedy  in  such  9a6es;  but  all 
likewise  know,  that,  in  other  cases,  it  » 
only  power  to  moderate  the  vascular  excite- 
ment, without  aflfecting  the  form  of  thedi»- 
ease  to  which  it  does  not  correspond.  Bat 
Aconite  does  not  always  deserve  the  pnsfer- 
ence  in  all  cases  where  there  is  evidence  o( 
vascular  excitement.  Such  a  mode  of  pro* 
cedure  indicates  a  certain  degree  of  supefd* 
ciality;  for  the  vascular  excitation  roayb* 
subdued  without  the  intervention  at  thii 


On  Hooping^  Cough. 


103 


nwdicine,  by  means  of  a  remedy  which  is 

r'fio  to  the-  whole  case,  as  is  proved  by 
|fficacy  of  Belladonna  in  many  irritated 
conditions  of  parts  in  which  the  nervous  sys- 
tem is  jpredomtnant     Were  the  action  of 
Aconite  m  inflammatory  conditions  tinboand- 
ed>  as  some  falsely  suppose,  hardly  a  single 
acute  contagious  disease  would  get  leave  to 
develop  itself,  if  only  Aconite  were  adminis- 
tered early  enough;  for  all  such  diseases 
ate  preceded  by  a  state  of  inflammatory  irri- 
tation,— ^belladonna  and  other  prophylactics 
would  be  thrown  into  the  shade ;  but  it  is 
well  known  that  in  this  respect  there  is  still 
n^uch  to  be  desired.    In  the  sometimes  so 
violent  excitations  of  the  vascular  system 
which   frequently  precede  typhoid  fevers, 
even  such  as  are  hot  infectious,  Aconite  is 
far  from  proving  always  of  service ;  and  in- 
deed, I  have  latterly  found  Belladonna  much 
more  useful  in  such  cases  than  Aconite,  to 
which  I  formerly  trusted  too  much.    Every 
contagious  disease  has,  however,  its  focus 
in  some  particular  organ ;  and  as  hooping- 
cou^  may  also  claim  to  be  a  contagious 
(strictly  a  miasmatical  contagious)  disease, 
it  would,  at   its   commencement,   demand 
jnemedies  of  a  more  specific  character ;  and 
in  reference  to  its  probable  seat  in  the  pneu- 
qiogastric   nervous   apparatus,   Belladonna 
would  appear  to  be  not  tmfreqiTently  indi 
cated,  if  tiie  cough  at  the  beginning  be  of  a 
spasmodic  nature.    In  the  catarrhal  stage, 
however,  and  as  long  as  the  cough  continues 
simple,  and  without  any  tendency  to  a  spas- 
jfKfiie  character,  I  im^ine  I  have  warded 
off  the  stadium  contuuivum  by  means  of 
nux  Tomica.    This  is,  however,  a  ticklish 
qoestion.      Frequently,  in   many  epidem- 
ics almost  invariably,  there  is  present  an 
inflammatory  chest-afiection ;  and  in  theae 
cases  it  \b  not  easy  to  dispense  with  Aconite. 
It  is,  moreover,  remarkable,  that  this  remedy 
is  ssdd  to  be  indicated  by  the  essential  na- 
ture of  the  disease,  by  persons  who  hold  out 
hopes  of  a  successful  treatment  of  this  dis- 
ease only  by  the  strictest  individual isation. 
Bat  is  it  true  that  the  essential  nature  of 
hooping-congb  is  as  varied  as  the 'numerous 
Dorbid  symptoms  which  accompany  this  dis- 
ease?   or  are  these  only  accidentally  con- 
nected with  it,  and  is  the  laree  number  of 
remedies  recommended  for  it,  directed  rather 
against  the  concomitant  symptoms.'    This 
dMase,  like  several  others,  seems  to  nrove 
that  where  many  remedies  are  vaunted,  the 
true    reme<ly   still    remains    undiscovered; 
whereas  we  have  fewest  remedies  for  those 
diseases   which  are  treated  with  the  most 
brilliant  results. 
Every  bomceopathic  physician  has,  doubt- 


medicinea  selected  in  this  manner,  the  con- 
comitant symptoms  disappear,  bnt  the  hoop- 
ing-cough itself  does  not  always  undergo  a 
change.  Thus  I  have  often  (not  always !) 
succeeded  in  subduing  the  violent  nocturnal 
attacks  by  means  of  conium,  without  thereby 
producing  any  alteration  in  the  diurnal  fits ; 
chtiroomilla  has  relieved  the  concomitant 
diarrhoea  of  greenish  matter,  but  the  attacks 
of  cough  remained  unaltered.  In  one  child 
which  had,  in  addition  to  vomiting  during 
the  severe  attacks,  great  diarrhoea  of  a  pale 
yellow  color,  and  which  passed  its  stools 
during  every  violent  fit,  veratrum  removed 
the  diarrhoea  almost  completely  in  a  veiy 
short  time,  but  thefcough  underwent  little 
change,  in  a  case  of  frequent  vomiting  ipe* 
cacimnha  proved  serviceable ;  and  although 
this  remedy  frequently  acted  very  ad  van- 
tageously  on  the  attacks  of  hooping-cough, 
yet  this  was  not  always  the  case.  Where 
the  sputa  were  tough  and  expectorated  with 
difliculty,  Bryonia  made  them  looser,  but 
produced  amelioration  only  in  so  far  as  the 
violence  of  the  attack  depended  on  this  symp- 
tom, for  the  sfoif  rum  convulsitfum  pursued  its 
course  unabated.  The  greater  or  less  se« 
verity  of  the  attacks,  as  also  the  diftrent 
stages,  seem  to  constitute  the  chief  indica- 
tions. The  other  srymptoms,  however,  ap- 
pear to  be  worthy  oi  particular  notice,  only 
in  so  far  as  they  are  of  themselves  impor- 
tant, and  thereby  endanger  life  or  the  oigan- 
ism.  Laughter,  weeping,  crosses,  overload- 
ing of  the  stomach,  &c.,  occasion,  in  every 
case  a  renewal  of  the  attacks,  because  tfaejr 
act  on  the  part  of  the  nervous  system  aj< 
fected;  these,  therefore,  are  little  fitted  to 
serve  as  indications  for  treatment. 

Among  the  remedies  which  possess  the 
power  of  relieving  the  stadium  confmisimtm 
(the  most  important  stage,)  I  have  found 
from  experience,  that  belladonna  and  ipecac- 
uanha answered  best  in  this  yeai's  epidemic. 
Cnpmm  I  found  serviceable  only  in  cases  <rf 
sumxating  fits  during  the  cough.  Beltedon- 
na  appeared  to  act  nest  in  the  commence- 
ment of  the  stadium  eonvulsivum  ;  ipecacu- 
anha at  a  more  advanced  period  of  the  same 
stage,  when  there  was  frequent  vomiting  of 
foxra.  In  the  case  of  a  girl  of  3  years  of 
age,  belonging  to  this  town,  who,  for  8  days, 
had  frequent  attacks  of  the  characteristic  pa- 
roxysms of  coughing,  each  time  with  vomit- 
ing 6i  mucus  and  food,  along  with  frequent 
alvine  evacuations  and  colic,  and  in  whom 
laughter,  weeping,  crosses,  large  meais,  &c., 
brought  on  attacks,  thesi*  became  slighter  af- 
ter the  first  two  doses  of  ipecacuanha,  the 
colic  and  diarrhoea  disappeared,  and  in  14 

_^ ^ days  the  cough  was  quite  away.    In  one 

remarked  itmt,  by  the  employment  of]  solitary  case  of  a  child  of  18  weeks  old» 


1 


104 


On  Hooping  Cough. 


which,  after  three  weeks  of  ordinary  cough, 
eot  the  real  hooping-cough,  against  which  I 
nad  employed  cuprum  without  effect;  and 
where  tnere  were,  at  the  same  time,  retching 
and  slimy  evacuations,  China  proved  very 
speedily  of  service;  for,  after  the  second 
dose,  the  attacks  lost  their  intensity  and  fre- 
quency, and,  after  a  few  days,  nothing  re- 
mained but  a  simple  cough.  In  so  youn^  a 
child,  there  can  be  no  question  of  an  abortive 
form  of  hooping-cough.  I  could  adduce 
several  similar  instances  with  regard  to  bel- 
ladonna. In  one  case,  conium  and  cuprum 
were  employed  without  the  slightest  relief, 
not  even  were  the  severe  nocturnal  attacks, 
with  vomiting,  &c.,  moderated  after  conium ; 
whereas  belMonna  changed  the  state  of  mat- 
ters so,  that  the  powder  which  was  calcu- 
lated for  twelve  doses  was  not  all  required. 
The  boy  had  no  third  stage,  and  continued 
quite  well. 

( administered  all  the  remedies  in  low  di- 
lations, 6  to  12  drops  in  sugar  of  milk ;  and 
prescribed  about  the  twelfth  part  to  be  taken 
after  every  severe  paroxysm,  generally  about 
every  4  hours,  seldom  only  twice  or  thrice 
a  day. 

I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  it  is  only  in 
the  commencement  of  the  stadium  convulsi- 
vum  that  we  may  occasionally  succeed  in 
chaiizing  the  character  of  the  cough,  and 
checking  the  further  development  of  the  dis- 
ease, if  this  stage  have  already  existed 
some  length  of  time,  and  reached  a  certain 
height,  the  severity  of  the  paroxysms  may 
indeed  be  moderated,  but  the  disease  con- 
tinues to  pursue  its  course,  thus  presenting 
an  analogy  to  the  acute  exanthemata.  1 
doubt,  however,  whether  there  would  be  any 
particular  disadvantage  in  subduing,  or  to- 
tally extinguishing,  by  the  specific  method, 
the  paroxysms  of  cough  themselves,  in  their 
hiffhest  stage  of  development. 

We  labor  under  a  disadvantage  in  the 
treatment  of  infants  at  the  breast,  which 
makes  us  less  successful  than  we  might  be, — 
I  mean  the  influence  of  the  nurse ;  for  I  have 
frequently  distinctly  remarked  the  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  attacks  of  coughing  by  the 
health  of  the  nurse ;  so  that  a  cold  caught 
by  the  latter  often  causes  the  fits  of  cough- 
ing, which  were  on  the  decline,  to  return  in 
all  their  severity.  Auctions  of  the  mind  in 
the  nurse,  and  the  occurrence  of  catamenia 
during  nursing,  were  always  accompanied 
with  violent  paroxysms  of  cough.  Several 
infants  at  the  breast,  even  of  the  most  tender 
age,  suffered  from  hooping-cough, — some 
even  who  never  came  in  contact  with  other 
children,  and  had  no  brothers  or  sisters.  It 
is  not  to  be  denied,  that,  under  homoeopathic 
treatment,  the  last  stage  runs  a  more  rapid 


course,  just  as  acute  exanthemata,  under  the 
same  treatment,  are  attended  by  fewer  coa- 
secutive  diseases. 

This  year's  epidemic  was  often  compli- 
cated with  croup,  or  inflammatory  aSktboM 
of  the  chest.  Croup  frecjuently  came  txA^ 
and  was  followed  immediately  by  hooping- 
cough  ;  so  that  the  premonitory  catarrhal 
symptoms  contained  the  germ  ot  both  dis- 
eases. It  is  possible,  that  the  germ  of  hoojh 
ing-cough  was  first  planted,  and  that,  in  its 
catarrhia  stage,  the  croup  was  joined  to  it; 
that,  however,  the  fully  developed  croup 
made  its  appearance  before  the  characteiistic 
symptoms  of  hooping-cough,  because  the 
latter,  prol^bly,  demand  a  longer  latent 
stage.  We  see  something  analogous  to  this 
in  the  class  of  exanthematous  diseases. 
When  an  inflammatory  chest  affection  d^ 
veloped  itself  during  the  hooping-cough,  a 
few  doses  of  Aconite,  administered  in  ra^ 
succession,  sufficed  to  subdue  the  febrik 
symptoms  to  such  an  extent,  that  belladonna 
could  then  be  administered  as  applicable  to 
both  affections,  and  generally  acted  splei- 
didly.  To  this  remedy  I  attribute  the  re- 
covery of  a  scrofulous  girl,  who  was  preW- 
ously  in  a  bad  state  of  aealth,  and  wbo,bj 
this  complication,  was  so  severely  afiectetf. 
that  her  parents  had  no  hope  of  saving  lier. 
In  many  instances,  this  medicine  does  not 
require  ue  aid  of  Aconite ;  when,  for  exam- 
ple, the  cough  is  not  dry,  and  the  iniianuna- 
toiT  fever  not  very  violent. 

Whether  belladonna  and  ipecacuanha  aie 
deserving  of  particular  attention  in  the* 
cases  in  whicn  there  is  a  regular  type;  or 
whether  they  are  applicable  to  such  cases 
alone,  is  a  Question  which  I  must  lean  to 
be  decided  oy  experience ;  but  I  wish  b« 
to  call  attention  to  the  subject.  In  a  littk 
child,  tne  paroxysms  occurred  n^ltftj 
every  two  hours ;  but  I  was  forced  to  en- 
ploy  means  to  combat  too  many  other  sp^ 
toms,  to  allow  me  to  draw  any  conclosioo 
from  this  case. 

The  close  connection  between  hooptBg* 
cough  and  measles  was  again  wdl  exenph* 
fied  in  this  epidemic ;  for,  whilst  the  hoop- 
ing-cough was  pretty  general  here,  the  mea- 
sles prevailed  m  Giessen,  which  is  dislanl 
about  9  miles  (as  I  am  informed  by  a  ph]^ 
cian  of  that  town. )  I  witneraed  a  case  vhidt 
fully  proved  that  porriginous  skin  diaetftf 
are  not  positively  opposed  to  the  contagioi 
of  hooping-cough.  Co-:existin^  with  the 
porrigo,  the  hooping-cough  attained  a  con- 
siderable development  ;  and  it  was  only  when 
the  latter  reached  its  acme,  that  the  exanthe- 
ma dried  up,  which  it  had  previously  ff^ 
^uently  done ;  but  it  broke  out  again,  dtir- 
ing  tlie  stadium  nervwium  pertuau^ 


JZffmatic  Diseases. 


lOS 


The  last  stage  is  seldom  observed  by  the 
physician,  as  the  medicinal  means  are  gene- 
rally discontinued  as  soon  as  the  paroxysms 
have  lost  their  frightful  character;  but,  as 
far  as  I  could  leam,  it  was,  after  my  treat- 
ment, very  short,  in  comparison  with  that 
of  patients  treated  in  a  dinerent  manner.  A 
child,  undec  a  year  old,  had  the  hooping- 
cough  long  and  severely ;  it  was  frequently 
quite  comatose.  I  obtained  some  evident 
amelioration,  notwithstanding  many  compli- 
cations ;  but  affections  of  the  mother  always 
did  away  with  all  the  benefit  obtained.  Ai- 
tei  the  cessation  of  tbe  cbaracteristic  parox- 
ysms, I  gave  a  few  doses  of  sulphur  for 
florae  irritation  of  the  skin ;  and  the  child 
had  only  for  a  short  time  longer  some  mu- 
cous expectoration :  whereas  other  children 
otherwise  healthy,  had  to  undergo  a  long 
consecutive  stage,  although  they  had  been 
previously  much  less  severely  affected.  In 
some  instances  there  was  no  appearance  of  a 
thiid  stage ;  in  those,  namely,  m  which  the 
paroxysms  were  early  subdued. 

The  mortality  was. small;  for  till  now 
((he  3d  of  April,  1839,)  only  a  few  children 
have  died  (under  other  treatment,)  I  believe, 
by  suffocation  during  the  fits.  It  has  hith- 
erto been  my  good  luck  not  to  lose  any  pa- 
tient in  hooping-cough. 

The  prevalence,  for  some  time  back,  of 
east  and  north-east  winds,  seems  to  have 
caused  a  decline  of  the  hooping-coueh ;  and 
instead  of  it  we  have  croup,  of  which  dis- 
ease I  have,  within  the  last  few  days,  had  a 
greater  number  of  cases. 


ZmOTIO  DIBBASfiS— FBYER. 

Typhus  and  typhoid.— The  French  Acade- 
my has  for  a  considerable  period  since  the 
date  of  our  last  Report  been  occupied  by  dis- 
cussions respecting  one  or  two  points  of  great 
importance  in  the  pathological  history  of  fe- 
ver. The  questions  of  essentiality  or  non- 
essentiality,  of  its  dependence  or  non-depen- 
dence upon  inflammation  of  the  Peyerian 
glands,  have  at  length  ceased  to  be  agitated, 
and  in  their  place  we  have  that  of  the  iden- 
tity or  non- identity  of  typhoid  with  typhus 
fever,  and  of  its  contagious  nature.  The 
discuasion  on  these  points  originated  in  the 
presentation  of  a  memoir  by  M.  Gaultier  de 
laubry,*  in  which  both  propositions  were 
distinctly  affirmed.  M.  Rochoux,  who  open- 
ed the  debate  which  ensued,  denied  the  iden- 
tity of  tbe  two  diseases  on  these  several 
grounds.  1.  That  typhus  was  contagious, 
typhoid  fever  not  so.    2.   That  the  former 


•BevneMedieale^aiidArthives  Gen.,  Jail- 
let,  1845. 


attacks  at  all  ages,  the  latter  rarely  occurs 
before  15,  or  after  40.  3.  That  tbe  peculiar 
delirium  and  eruptions  of  typhus  are  not  ob- 
served in  typhoid  fever;  and  lastlv,  that  the 
duration  of  tne  two  affections  is  difierfcnt,^be- 
ing  in  the  one  case  from  ten  to  fifteen  days, 
in  the  other,  from  twenty  to  thirty. 

This  confessedly  intricate  question  is  ex- 
tremely well  reviewed  by  a  writer  in  the 
Dublin  Journal,*  who  discusses  the  objections 
of  M.  Rochoux  seriatim,  after  the  following 
manner : — 

The  first  point  of  difference  which  M.  Ro- 
choux seeks  to  establish,  is  the  circumstance 
of  contacion.  This  argument  the  author  of 
the  article  alluded  to  shows  to  be  of  little 
vaJne,  as  the  typhus  of  Ireland  is  not  always 
contagious,  any  more  than  the  typhoid  fever 
of  Paris.  As  a  proof  of  this,  he  states  that 
out  of  9-588  cases  of  fever  admitted  into  the 
Belfast  Hospitsd,  no  trace  of  contagion  could 
be  discovered  in  2-342. 

A  second  ground  of  distinction  much  in- 
sisted upon,  is  the  different  ages  at  which  the 
two  diseases  occur.  This  is  opposed  by  the 
author  for  two  reasons :  1st  That  much  er- 
ror is  committed  in  estimating  age,  from  the 
omission  to  notice  the  fact,  that  as  it  is  the 
custoiD  for  the  youth  of  both  sexes  to  con- 
gregate in  Paris  from  all  parts  of  the  French 
dominions,  the  majority  of  patients  of  all 
classes  must  necessarily  be  near  the  age  of 
puberty.  2d.  That  the  reason  why  typhoid 
fever  is  said  never  to  occur  in  children,  is 
that  the  French  pathologist  is  apt  to  deny 
the  existence  of  the  disease,  unless  he  has 
an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  diseased  bow- 
els, which,  as  children  comparatively  spik- 
ing seldom  die  of  fever,  he  has  but  little  op- 
portunity of  doing.  But,  as  the  author  ob- 
serves, the  objection  is  completely  reversed 
by  the  fact,  that  cases  are  on  record  in  which 
the  rose  colored  spots  of  fever  were  visible 
even  at  birth.  On  the  other  hand  he  re- 
marks, that  the  true  typhus  of  Ireland  is 
equally  rare  among  children  with  the  typhoid 
fever  of  France,  and  equally  uncommon 
among  aged  persons,  since  of  1 1 ,209  cases 
admitted  mto  the  Belfast  Hospital,  301  only 
were  under  6  years  of  age,  and  171  only 
were  over  60.  The  other  objections  of  M. 
Rochoux  meet  with  the  same  opposition  at 
the  hands  of  the  author,  who  therefore  con- 
cludes that  there  are  no  just  grounds  for  re- 
siding the  two  diseases  as  distinct  affections, 
but  that  the  most  which  can  be  said  is  that 
they  are  varieties  of  the  same  ty|)e  of  fever. 

The  contagiousness  of  typhoid  fpver  as- 
serted by  M.  Gaultier  de  Gaubry  is  likewise 


*  September^  1S45. 


106 


Zymotic  DiseMes. 


.y-.. 1  by  M.  Jacques,*  and  M.  Patry.f 

Jae  former  of  whom  affirms  that  the  disease 
leaver  quits  a  house  until  every  person  has 
been  attacked  who  is  predisposed  ;  and  that 
it  is  extremely  rare  to  see  the  inhabitants  of 
the  same  lodging,  down  with  the  fever  at 
separate  times,  with  an  interval  of  more  than 
a.fortn'j;ht,  the  usual  limit  oi  the  period  of 
incubation. 

In  the  treatment  of  fever  we  might  gain 
but  little  information  from  the  writings  of 
the  last  few  months.  The  plan  pursued  by 
M.  Jacques,  is  the  combination  of  emetics 
and  puigatives,  with  the  constant  applicaUon 
of  cold  to  the  head  and  abdomen.  The  same 
treatment  is  likewise  recommended  by  Pro- 
fessor Huss,|  with  the  addition  of  frequent 
ablution  with  chlorine  water,  and  the  exhi- 
bition of  opium,  musk,  and  phosphoric  acid. 
The  latter  medicine  was  found  particularly 
serviceable  in  the  adynamic  forms  of  the  dis'- 
ease,  and  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the 
professor  takes  the  same  symptom  as  an  in- 
dication for  the  employment  of  this  medi- 
cine, which  is  mentioned  by  Dr  Graves  as 
indicating  the  necessity  for  wine,  namely,  a 
feebleness  of  the  first  sound  of  the  heart,  and 
its  approach  in  character  to  the  introduction 
of  the  second  t^ound. 

9.  Tuphtu  material, — It  is  a  favorite  the- 
ory with  the  German  physicians,  that  during 
the  progress  of  typhus  fever,  a  certain  mor- 
bid material,  said  by  Rokitansky  to  resem- 
ble medullary  sarcoma,  is  poured  out  from 
the  blood  into  the  texture  of  various  organs. 
yogel,§  aroon^  others,  has  paid  much  atten- 
tion to  the  point,  and  has  published  observa- 
tions which  have  recently  been  translated  by 
our  talented  reporter  on  anatomy  and  physi- 
ology, Mr.  Kirkes.  It  would  seem  that  the 
parte  most  liable  to  become  the  seat  of  the 
above-mentioned  material  are  the  mucous 
membranes,  but  it  may  also  appear  in  the 
sttbstante  of  the  denser  organs.  The  action 
which  precedes  the  deposition  of  the  typhus 
materiaJ,  is  said  to  be  inflammatory,  and  to 
affect  especially  the  solitary  and  aggregate 
glands  of  the  small  intestines.  The  most 
important  transformation  undei^gone  bj  the 
typhus  material  after  its  deposition  is  its 
conversion  into  a  brownish  slough,  which 
apon  separation  leaves  the  tfrphus  ulcer.  The 
nmterial  examined  by  the  microscope  is  seen, 
according  to  VogeU  to  consist  of  an  amor- 
phous granular  product  of  a  brownish- white 

''''~~~~""~^^~^— — — — — — — r— ^— — — — 

•Raported  in  Arahives  Ctai.  de  Med., 
Arn^  1845. 

t  Gaaette  Medieale,  No.  21, 1846. 

t  Gazette  Medicale,  No.  21. 

§  SrlaateruBgitafeU  sor  Pathologisehan 
Itistologie»  and  Med.  Oasetto,  Oct.  31. 


color,  and  containing  cells  of  l-SOOllioia 
line  diameter ;  some  nucleated. 

The  subject  of  the  typhus  material  has 
also  been  taken  up  by  Engel.*    This  author 
has  observed  it  under  two  foim8,a  fluid  and 
a  solid,  usually  combined ;  the  fluid  matter 
is  viscid  and  opaque,  and  when  allowed  to 
rest,  throws  down  an  abundant  sediment  of 
epithelial  cells  and  phosphate  drystals*,  the 
solid  matter,  as  observed  bjr  Vogel  and  Ro- 
kitansky, is  chiefly  found  in  the  intestinal 
follicles.     The  processes  of  ulceTatioa  and 
reparation  are  faithfully  described  by  En- 
eel,  as  well  as  certain  anomalies  to  which 
tne  diseased  product  is  occasionally  sub- 
jected; for  a  detailed  description  of  thcee, 
we  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  original. 

10.  Yellow  fever.— The  pathology  of  this 
severe  malady,  which  has  lately  been  in- 
vested with  unusual  interest  from  its  ap- 
pearance on  our  shores,  is  ably  treated  of 
in  a  communication  from  the  pen  of  Br- 
Nott,t  of  Mobile,  giving  the  parUculars  of 
several  epidemics  witnessed  by  him  in  that 
locality,  in  seeking  to  determine  the  noso- 
logical status  of  this  fatal  disease,  he  comes 
to  a  conclusion,  of  the  truth  of-  which  little 
doubt  can  be  entertained,. namely,  that  it  is 
a  special  fevei,  and  like' other  fevers,  subject 
to  considerable  variations  in  its  leading  char- 
acters, according  to  the  local  or  individoal 
circumstances  under  which  it  arises.  1^ 
author  eulogizes,  as  every  candid  reader 
must  do,  the  philosophical  researches  of 
Louis  upon  the  disease  as  it  occurred  io  Gib- 
raltar, but  finds  it  necessary  to  differ  iioa 
him  in  some  particulars.  Louis,  as  may  be 
remembered,  considers  the  leading  character- 
istic of  yellow  fever  to  be  a  *<  peculiaily 
anemic  and  friable  condition  of  the  Utct, 
giving  to  it  the  color  of  butter."  This  ap- 
pearance was  not  found  by  Dr.  Nott  ass 
general  rule,  being  present  in  only  onc-thirf 
of  his  cases.  It  may  be  observed,  howerer, 
that  Dr.  Imray^  to  whom  we  are  also  in- 
debted for  an  essay  on  the  fever  in  question. 
sides  with  Louis. 

Dr.  Nott  has  examined  with  great  mintilt- 
ness  the  condition  of  the  blood  and  secietioos 
in  yellow  fever.  As  in  other  fevers,  the 
blood  was  found  to  be  dark  and  gnimous, 
and  exhibited  but  little  disposition  to  coagu- 
late. The  peculiar  and  fs^  symptom,  the 
black  vomit,  is  decided  by  actual  experi- 
ment to  be  blood,  modified  by  admixture 
with  the  acids  of  the  stomach. 

•  Schmidt's  Jahrbucher,  No.  7, 184d^  aa^ 
Med.  Gazette,  Oct.  31. 

t  American  Journal  of  Medieal  Scienecsr 
ApriJ^  1845. 

t  Cdin.  Medieal  and  Surgical  Jounil,  Oe- 
tober,  1845. 


Evidences  on  the  Range  of  Tuberculosis 


lor 


The  canses  of  yellow  fever  are  diacuseed 
both  by  Dr.  Nott  and  Dr.  Imray ;  the  for- 
mer, however,  goes  no  further  than  to  ad- 
mit, what  cannot  in  the  present  day  be 
doubtful,  that  it  is  a  poison  which  by  some 
means  or  other  gains  admission  to  the  blood, 
and  then  propagates  itself  by  zjrmotic  action. 
He  does  not  pretend  to  decide  whether  the 
poison  is  of  animal  or  vegetable  origin.  Dr. 
imray  examines  the  question  upon  a  more 
\  extended  basis,  and  discusses  toe  opinion 

i  held  by  some,  that  the  exciting  cause  is  of 

^  malarial    origin,  difiering   only  from  that 

^  which  originates  the  intermittents  and  re- 

*  mittents  of  tropical  climates,  in  the  degree 
!•  and  concentration  of  its  effects.  He  consid- 
ers this  opinion  to  be  a  fallacy,  since  there 
B  aie  many  localities,  as  the  iskmds  of  Domi- 
nica and  S.  Lucia  for  instance,  in  which  cir- 
(  cumstances  necessary  to  the  development  of 

1  malaria  exist  in  a  high  degree,  without  the 

production  of  yellow  fever,  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  the  neij^hboriog  island  of  Bar- 
i;         badoes,  to  which  intermittent  fever  is  com- 
t         paratively  a  stranger,  yellow  fever  forms  a 
(  fearfully  large  item  in  the  bills  of  mortality. 

Another  reason  which  he  considers  to  mili- 
\  tate  a^nst  the  identity  in  origin  of  yellow 

I  with  uitennittent  fever,  is  the  fact  that  the 

I  former  does  not  appear  to  be  influenced  ei- 

!  ther  by  season  or  temperature,  being  equally 

fife  in  wet  seasons  and  dry ;  when  the  tem- 
I  oeiature  was  high,  and  when  it  was  low. 

in  this  he  is  quite  borne  out  by  the  observa- 
tions of  Rufz.* 

11.  Intermittent  fever, — ^M.  Piorry  has 
lately  adopted  the  strange  opinion  that  ague 
is  not,  as  it  is  eenerallv  neld  to  be,  the  cause 
of  the  enlarged  condition  of  the  spleen  with 
which  it  is  associated,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
that  the  hypertrophy  of  this  organ  is  the  ex- 
^tin^  cause  of  the  febrile  paroxysm.  True 
to  his  belief,  he  has  lately  recorded  a  case 
which  proved  rebellious  to  quinine,  and 
which  was  at  length  cured  by  the  applica- 
tion of  a  bandage  preventing  the  descent  of 
the  enlarged  spleen.  The  paroxysms  are 
flfapposed  by  him  to  depend  upon  traction 
exercised  upon  the  splenic  plexus  of  nerves.! 
At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Academie  de  Medi- 
cine,} M.  Savielle  denied  the  influence  of 
miasmata  in  the  production  of  intermittent 
fever,  and  attributes  the  disease  to  the  sole 
agency  of  cold  and  damp ;  the  opinion,  as 
might  be  expected,  met  with  decided  opposi- 
tion from  the  majority  of  the  members  pre- 
Bent.    In  the  treatment  of  ague,  M.  Trons- 

•  Oftzette  Medicale,  No.  37,  et  leq. 
t  QtoMtXe  Medicale. 

t  France,  Sept.  16,  reported  in  Med.  Tim«% 
Sept  27,  1846.  


seau*  advises  the  exhibition  of  quinine  in  a 
single  large  dose,  rather  than  in  repeated 
small  doses ;  he  states  that  he  has  known 
an  obstmate  case  which  had  resisted  an 
ounce  of  quinine  given  in  the  ordinary  way, 
to  yield  at  once  to  a  single  dose  of  fifteen 
grains.  The  same  opinion  as  to  the  eflUcacy 
of  laiige  doses,  it  may  be  remarked,  is  held 
by  Dr.  Elliotson  (vide  Watson's  Lectures, 
vol.  i.,  p.  747,)  and  has  recently  been  ac- 
knowledged by  Dr.  Chambers,!  of  Colches- 
ter. The  Achillea  millefolium  has  also  re- 
cently been  employed  with  success  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  quinine,  by  an  Italian  physician. 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


APRIL    1,    1846. 


N«w  BTidtno*  oa  tlM  BxttaiiT*  Bang*  of 
Tabercolosii. 
In  nothing  is  the  progress  of  Medical  Sci- 
ence, at  the  present  time,  so  strongly  marked 
and  impressively  distinguished,  as  in  the  new 
evidence  now  rapidly  accumulated  and  clearly 
presented,  of  the  wide  range  and  dominion 
of  tuberculosis  in  the  human  system.  In- 
deed so  vast  in  amount,  and  so  forcible  in 
undeniable  proof  is  this  evidence,  that  it 
must  of  necessity,  within  a  brief  period, 
render  a  new  classification  of  diseases  abso- 
lutely imperative  upon  the  profession.  As 
^ur  nosology  now  stands,  this  disease,  when 
occurring  in  different  organs,  is  classified  as 
different  diseases,  requiring  different  treat- 
ment. The  new  evidence  demonstrates  that 
tuberculosis  is  one  and  the  same  disease  in 
whatever  organ  or  part  of  the  system  it  may 
be  found,  and  consequently  requires  essen- 
tially the  same  treatment.  Another  most  im- 
portant and  influential  fact  is  that  tuberculosis 
is  specifically  and  exclusively  a  disease  of 
the  serous  surfaces  or  membranes ;  and  that 
whilst  it  is  found  in  each  and  every  portion 
of  these,  the  mucuous  membranes  and  sur- 
faces are  exempt  from  its  attacks,  and  hare 
their  own  peculiar  and  distinctive  claseT  of 
maladies.  Every  day  con  tributes  substantial 
foundations  for  this  bold  and  novel  conclu- 


•  Joum.  da  Med.,  Mars,  1846. 

t  Provincial  Medical  Jonmal,  Oct  29. 


108 


TVue  Science  vs.  Young  Physic. 


sion,  and  the  time  can  now  scarcely  be  re- 
note  when  it  will  become  so  firmly  and 
broadly  established,  in  the  sight  of  the  whole 
world  of  science,  as  to  demand  a  grand  sim- 
plification of  all  diseases  into  the  dual  divi- 
sion 1  Serosis,  and  2  Mucosis,  each  of  these 
requiring  but  the  equally  brief  and  simple 
subdivision,  of  1  Acuiet  and  2  Chronic  Ssro- 
818;  and  1  i4cute,and  2  Chronic  Mucosis. 

It  is  well  known  that  we  discovered  this 
fact  in  comparatively  early  life,  and  have 
adopted  and  practised  upon  this  simple  classi- 
fication for  a  great  number  of  years,  during 
many  of  which  we  stood  alone  beside  the 
altar  of  this  great  truth,  the  solitary  minister 
of  its  flame,  waiting  in  patience  and  ho^)e,  un- 
til the  morning  of  greater  light  should  come. 
We  now  happily  see  it  brightly  dawning, 
and  doubt  not  its  advancement  to  meridian 
day. 

To  the  able  and  unanswerable  papers  upon 
tuberculosis  from  eminent  French,  Grerman, 
English,  and  American  authorities,  which 
we  have  republished  in  this  journal  and  in 
our  other  medical  works,  we  have  now  the 
pleasure  of  adding  one,  "  On  the  Pathology 
of  Tuberculosis,"  by  Dr.  Cless,  of  Stuttgard, 
and  commend  it  to  the  close  and  candid  pe- 
rusal of  our  readers.  It  is  so  luminous  and 
generally  unexceptionable  as  to  call  for  no 
special  remark,  except  in  reference  to  the 
following  paragraph : — 

«*  The  question  whether  a  physiological 
law  may  somewhere  be  established  according 
to  which  the  developement  and  distribution 
of  tuberculosis  in  the  several  organs  may  be 
ranged,  can  hardly  yet  be  answered." 

We  here  deem  it  a  duty  not  less  to  ourselves 
than  to  the  interests  of  truth  and  humanity 
to  state,  that  this  question  ,is  already  an 
swered,  and  the  law  here  sought  already 
found  and  established,  in  our  own  method  o/ 
detecting  tuberculosis,  in  the  several  organs 
and  limbs,  by  pressure  on  the  posterial  spi- 
nal ganglia,  in  the  intervertebral  spaces,  and 
of  determining  the  precise  seat  of  the  disease, 
by  the  pain,  more  or  less  severe,  which  that 
pressure  excites.  The  symptoms  by  which 
this  law  is  established,  we  have  published 
ill  detail  in  this  and  various  other  works ; 
as  yet  we  have  found  no  exception  to  them, 


in  an  extensive  daily  practice  of  more  than 
thirty  years,  and  have,  therefore,  no  expecta* 
tion  that  any  such  will  hereafter  be  found. 


The  Magnttio  Machine  in  Intermittent  Ferert. 
We  have  already  described  the  prompt  and 
efficient  action  of  this  machine,  in  subdain; 
the  most  violent  ^paroxysms  of  fever,  but 
were  not  at  that  time  aware  of  it^  equal  effi- 
cacy in  the  cold  stage  of  intermittent  levers. 
We  can  now,  on  the  authority  of  a  number 
of  physicians  as  well  as  private  individuals, 
confidently  recommend  its  use  in  thiscaae, 
as  the  cold  chills  are  mitigated  immediately, 
and  cease  altogether,  in  a  few  minutes  after 
the  commencement  of  the  action  of  the  ma- 
gnetic machine.  We  are,  moreover,  assured 
that  the  chills,  and  consequently  the  ferer, 
very  rarely  return,  this  circumstance,  then- 
fore,  is  well  worthy  of  the  attention  of  phya* 
cians  in  the  Western  and  Southern  States,and 
indeed  wherever  this  disease  is  prevalent 


True  Science  Tersna  **  Yonny  Phfiio.'' 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Tribune  : 

Being  a  constant  reader  of  the  TiSiaiiit 
my  attention  has  been  attracted  to  the  Tad- 
ous  articles  on  the  subject  of  medical  sei* 
ence,  and  the  several  modes  nowinTogne 
for  treating  diseases.  The  Chrono-Theimal- 
ist,  the  Homceopathist,  the  Hydropathi8t,die 
No-pathist  and  the  Every-pathist,  vith 
JDoUor  Brandreth,  Dr.  Kelly,  Dr,  Tayloi, 
Dr  Chrystie,  and  the  whole  race  of  anti- 
Allopaths,  seem  to  have  united  their  foicei, 
and  employed  the  Tribune  as  their  organ,  to 
crush  the  truth,  as  it  is  found  in  tbe  old  and 
still  regularly  and  steadily  pursued  theory 
and  practice  of  medicine.  I  do  not  wish  to 
find  fault  with  you  for  your  course  in  Ibii 
respect,  for  you  have  as  a  man  an  undoubtad 
rignt  to  express  your  opinion  on  anymatttfi 
however  unacquainted  you  may  be  with  id 
true  nature,  and  you  aave  a  nght  also  to 
permit  others  to  use  your  columns  for  fiie 
purpose.  But  I  question  the  wisdom  of 
making  the  Tribune  or  any  other  ordinary 
newspaper  a  Medical  Journal,  even  under 
the  pretence  of  enabling  the  people  to  decide 
what  is  true  science  and  what  is  not  M 
when  the  writers  of  these  articles  occupy 
your  reading  columns  with  puis  of  them- 
selves and  their  systems,  and  especially 
when  they  throw  out  silly  and  unjust  main- 
nations  about  the  *<  ind^tminaU  use  of  tbt 
lancet,  calomel  and  their  riolent  alUes,"  Ite 


TVue  Science  vs.   Young  Physic. 


109 


ftc-^when  the  opinion  of  some  great  writer 
abroad,  who  perhaps  never  looked  beyond 
the  title  of  a  meaical  book,  or  of  some 
learned  divine,  or  eminent  lawyer,  who 
never  took  a  dose  of  medicine,  is  quoted  in 
derogation  of  the  labors  and  studies  of  truly 
scientific  men,  and  in  favor  of  these  nume- 
rous, half- fledged, "  Young  Physic"  systems, 
I  think  I  have  a  right  to  complain,  and  at 
least  to  ask  room  tor  an  attempt  to  put  the 
matter  right  before  the  public.  In  doing  so, 
1  would  not  endeavor  to  defend  the  science 
of  medicine ;  it  is  far  from  needing  it.  Its 
investigation  and  improvement  are  pursued 
with  steadiness,  and  an  ardor  unsurpassed 
in  any  former  time ;  and  as  well  may  we 
look  for  an  overturning  of  the  truths  of 
Christianity  by  the  spread  of  Mormonisin,  as 
for  a  prostration  of  the  science  of  medicine 
by  any  of  the  new-fangled  notions  of  the 
day,  or  all  of  them  combined.  And  why .' 
Simply  because  it  h  based  upon  weil  frwed 
principles.  The  people,  ignorant  of  the 
truths  of  medicine,  may  be  induced  to  say 
to  the  reeular  practitioners,  *  You  are  hum- 
bugs, and  we  will  take  no  more  of  your  big, 
disgusting  doses — ^we  intend  in  future  to  be 
cured  by  some  one  of  the  more  modem  and 
fashionable  swtems  of  medicine!'  but  wiU 
that  destroy  tne  truths  of  physiology,  pa- 
thology, or  therapeutics,  as  they  have  be- 
come established  by  long  years  of  research 
and  experience  ? 

The  most  serious  effect  of  these  attempts 
lo  weaken  the  confidence  of  the  public  in 
the  true  science,  and  to  build  up  the  fortunes 
of  their  projectors,  is,  that  by  a  withdrawal 
of  the  support  which  is  needed  by  its  vota- 
ries to  prosecute  their  studies  and  to  increase 
their  experience,  they  become  discouraged 
and  their  investigations  are  retarded.  Every 
dollar  put  into  the  hands  of  Charlatanism,  is 
BO  much  taken  from  the  support  and  en- 
couragement of  science.  The  Charlatan  only 
is  benefited  in  person — while  true  science 
loses  its  means  of  improvement. 

But  who  is  to  decide  what  is  true  science 
and  what  is  not?  Amid  the  conflicting 
claims  of  all  these  isms  (not  foigetting.Thom- 
sonianism,  once  the  hottest  of  all,)  who  is 
entitled  to  sit  in  judgment  and  decide  which 
is  right  ?  You  will  perhaps  reply  the  public, 
who  are  most  interested  in  the  result  But 
are  not  those  who  have  devoted  their  whole 
time  to  these  studies  the  most  capable  of 
judging  between  truth  and  error  in  their 
own  art?  As  well  might  the  science  of 
geology  or  chemistry  be  submitted  to  the 
popular  vote.  As  well  might  a  physician 
woo  never  looked  into  a  law  book,  sit  upon 
the  Bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  as  a  law 


yer  or  mechanic  who  knows  not  the  differ- 
ence berween  ipecac  and  rhubarb,  or  is  un- 
able to  di&tinff uish  the  Jungs  from  the  stom- 
ach, be  askea  to  decide  that  Allopathy,  Ho- 
mceopathy.  Sic.  are  all  wrong,  and  Chrono- 
Thermali^'m  is  all  right.  Were  I  a  prose- 
lyte to  either  oi  these  notions,  I  would  not 
give  a  straw  for  the  favorable  opinion  of  any 
non-medical  man,  except  I  could  make  money 
by  iff  which  is  the  principal  object  of  those 
who  seek  it. 

But  I  go  farther,  and  say  that  the  public 
is  not  alone  interested  in  knowing  which  is 
the  best  and  traest  mode  of  medical  practice. 
The  aim  of  medical  science  is  to  cure  dis- 
eases in  the  speediest  and  surest  manner,  and 
it  is  the  duty  and  interest  of  the  physician 
to  discover  that  mode. 

Every  far-sighted  practitioner  knows,  and 
has  lately  been  made  to  feel,  that  it  would 
be  for  his  pecuniary  advantage  to  join  in  the 
popular  cry  aeainst  the  old  and  well  estab- 
lished principles  of  medicine,  and  in  favorof 
the  Homoceopathic  System;  but  1  r^nd  it 
as  in  the  highest  degree  honorable  td  the 
profession  that  so  few  of  them  have  been 
weak  enough  tft  forsake  the  truth,  for  a  pre- 
sent temporary  gain.  While  they  are  anx- 
iously seeking  all  possible  light  to  guide 
them  in  their  duty  to  the  sick,  the  public 
should  feel  that  the  profession  has  no  inte- 
rest beyond  their  benefit,  and  that  if  either 
Homoeopathy,  Chrono-Thermalism,  Hydro- 
patliy  or  Thomsonianism  were  proved  true, 
or  even  reasonable,  the  enlightened  men  of 
the  Profession  would  at  once  see  it  so,  and 
adopt  it.  But  they  alone  are  the  proper 
judges  of  the  right  in  these  nuitters. 

These  inflammatory  and  disingenuous  ap- 
peals to  the  prejudices  of  the  public  through 
the  daily  press,  are  therefore  highly  disrepu- 
table and  mjurious  to  the  pubUc  welfare  and 
can  be  made  for  no  other  purpose  than  ben- 
efiting the  pockets  of  those  who  make  them. 
If  their  authors  are  honest  in  their  opinions 
and  are  members  of  the  profession,  let  them 
expend  their  logic  in  such  a  way  as  will ' 
convince  practical  physicians  of  the  truth  of 
the  opinions  they  hold.  The  medical  press 
is  open  to  them,  and  that  alone  is  the  proper 
place  for  such  discussions— provided  they 
write  and  act  as  the  truly  honest  seeker  sif- 
ter the  right  should.  By  appealing  to  the 
public,  who  are  manifestly  incapable  of  giv- 
ing an  enlightened  opinion  on  such  profound 
matters,  they  exhibit  their  weakness,  unless 
they  merely  wish  to  profit  by  popular  preju- 
dice, which  is  prima  facie  evidence  oi  their 
want  of  an  honest  disposition  for  scientific 
improvement.  M.  D. 


no 


Tme  Scienoe  vs.  Ymtng  Physic. 


Remarks  by  the  Editor  of  the  Tribune, 
Having  ^iven  M.  D.'s  phillippic  verbatim, 
we  claim  the  privilege  ol  telling  him  what 
we  think  of  it.  And  first,  we  find  it  exactly 
paralleled  by  a  Pharisaic  inquiry  and  de- 
nunciatory assertion  in  John's  Gospel,  vii. 
48 :  "  Have  any  of  the  nUers  believed  on 
him?  [Christ.]  But  this  people,  which 
knoweth  not  the  law,  are  cursed  ?**  Next,  we 
will  state  our  strong  conviction  that  the  ad- 
vocates of  Homoeopathy,  Hydropathy,  and 
other  ladicai  innovations  on  the  old  system 
of  medicine,  have  \not  **  the  medical  press 
open  to  them,*'  and  would  not  be  allowed  to 
explain  and  advocate  their  views  freely  and 
fully  through  the  more  orthodox  and  popu- 
lar channels  of  medical  discussion.  Neither 
is  the  mind  of  the  medical  faculty  generally 
open  to  the  reception  of  truths  which  sweep 
away  a  foundation  on  which  their  several 
superstructures  of  fame  and  fortune  are 
erected.  Our  missionaries  to  paffan  lands 
rarely  think  of  beginning  the  work  of  con- 
Tetsion  on  the  chief  priests  of  the  countries 
they  work  in,  however  learned  these  may 
he  in  science  and  theology.  It  wafl  no  emi- 
nent lawyer  but  a  thorough  soldier  who  in 
the  *  Code  Napoleon'  effected  the  mightiest 
le^  reform  the  world  has  seen  fiut  space 
fails  us.  Suffice  it  that  we  allow  the  advo- 
cates of  relative  novel  theories  of  healing  an 
occasional  and  generally  hrief  hearing 
through  our  columns,  because  we  believe 
they  cannot  obtain  a  fkir  hearing  otherwise. 
To  each  new  thought  which  our  time 
evolves,  we  are  dispoi^  to  say,  *  As  a  stran- 
ger, give  it  welcome !'  If  it  be  an  error,  that 
will  soon  be  made  manifest;  and  we  choose 
not  to  treat  inhospitably  any  of  the  disguised 
angels  which  a  Paternal  Providence  is  con- 
tinually sending  for  the  guidance  and  bless- 
ing of  our  Kace. 

To  the  above  just  and  candid  remarks  of 
the  independent  editor  of  the  Tribune,  It  may 
not  be  inappropriate  to  add,  that  the  present 
panic  outcry  of  the  regular  profession  against 
the  quacks,  and  of  which  the  above  letter  of 
M.  D.  is  merely  a  natural  and  irrepressible 
specimen,  will  be  made  in  vain,  through  all 
\he  moods  and  tenses  of  indignation,  until 
the  former  discover  the  true  cause  of  that 
success  and  popularity  of  the  latter,  which 
fio  highly  excites  their  apprehension  and  ire. 
That  cause,  we  hesitate  not  a  moment  to  de- 
clare, is  to  be  found  only  in  the  want  of 
knowledge  and  skill,  and  consequently  of 
success,  in  those  by  whom  this  hopeless  out- 
cry is  raised.     Quackery  flourishes  more 


rankly  thaa  ever,  not  in  the  incieasing  igno- 
rance of  the  popular  masses — for  that  is  in- 
contestibly  diminishing  every  day— bat  in 
the  non-advancement  of  the  regular  profes- 
sion, which  is  so  flagrantly  behind  the  age. 
In  many  respects,  it  is  even  ludicrously  and 
contemptibly  so ;  and  in  almost  every  de- 
partment, except  the  distinctly  surgical,  the 
multitude  have  found  by  experience  that 
the  audacious  quack  effects  as  many  cores 
as  the  pompous  professor,  and  at  less  cost 
The  great  secret  is  now  discovered,  and  oni- 
versally  proclaimed,  that,  in  nine  cases  oat 
of  ten,  however  diversified  in  character  or 
degree,  the  regular  practitioner,  who  calls  in 
his  carriage,  prescribes  cathartics,  as  a  con- 
jecturally  safe  and  comprehensive  foooda- 
tioQ  for  further  experiments  and  a  fatnie 
bill ;  and  it  is  equally  well  known  that  the 
quacks  do  precisely  the  same  thing,  wi4 
rival  if  not  superior  success.  The  physi- 
cian's general  prescription  is  usually  abnoit 
idenlical  with  the  quack's  general  compoand; 
and  the  skill  and  judgment  exercised  in  the 
generalization  of  the  latter,  are  at  least  equal 
to  the  learned  discrimination  and  redectioD 
which  are  presumed  to  dictate  thefoontr. 
But  the  quack  has  this  manifest  advanta^ 
his  cathartics,  anodynes,  or  tonics,  are  al- 
wfiys  ready  at  hand,  nicely  and  even  (^ 
gantiy  prepared,  and,  above  all,  thorooghly 
recommended  by  the  voluntary  and  giatefol 
testimonials  of  huudreds  of  persons,  real  lir- 
ing  beings,  of  unimpeachable  cfaaxadtf, 
whom  these  self-same  quack  remedies  faare 
essentially  relieved  or  cured.  And  vhit 
has  the  regular  practitioner  to  say  to  these 
things.'  Literally  nothing,  to  any  efici: 
he  may  sneer,  and  scoff,  and  rail,  until  the 
whole  circle  of  his  patients  and  iriends  b^ 
come  convinced  that  his  emotions  are  Teiy 
different  from  those  of  mere  contempt ;  bat  Ik 
cannot  rail  such  testimonials  from  ihe  n^ 
cold,  nor  recovered  health  from  obosrvatioi 
and  experience. 

The  fact  is,  and  the  truth  may  as  well  be 
spoken,  the  great  majority  of  the  regular 
profession,  are  aa  utterly  ignorant  of  the  tiae 
symptouB  and  treatment  of  a  r&f  wide 
range  of  chronic  diaeases,  and  of  Ae  adnuD- 
istration  of  the  true  iemedief>  as  the  kmtti 


Remarkable  Phenomenon. 


Ill 


quack  that  nerer  read  a  book  nor  heard  a 
lecture.      Ib  it  any  wonder,  then,  that  the 
mere  quack  who  has  so  extensive  a  scope 
lor  the  application  of  his  general  panaceas, 
80  wide  a  field  from  whence  to  call  testiroo- 
nialB  to  their  efficacy,  should  leave  the  medi- 
cal tortoise  far  behind  in  the  race  for  popu- 
larity and  fortune  ?    The  prosperity  of  the 
quack,  is  the  reproach  of  the  profession.    If 
I        the  educated  physician  were  really  learned 
I        and  skilful  in  his  profession,  according  to 
\        his  exclusive  claims  and  pretensions — ^if  he 
I        really  kept  pace  in  his  practice  with  the  pro- 
r        gress  of  science  and  discovery — if  he  were 
I        as  docile   in  learning   as   be  is  conceited 
{        and  intolerant  in  teaching — quackery  would 
I        wither  and  vanish,  or  at  least  be  confined  to 
{        the  entirely  illiterate  and  unreflecting  portions 
^        of  the  community,  instead  of  attracting,  as 
T        it  now  does,  the  attention  and  respect  of  the 
I         most  liberal  and  enlightened,  and  deriving  its 
J         most  lucrative  support  from  the  wealthy  and 
,         influential.    It  is  not  the  people  but  the  pro- 
fession who  are  responsible  for  the  preva- 
lence and  paJminess  of  quackery,  and  for 
the  retardation  of  true  medical  science  from 
whence  it  springs  and  which  it  tends  to  per- 
petuate.    If  medical  men  were  really  what 
they  pretend  and  claim  to  be,  patients  would 
no  more  think  of  resorting  to  the  quack,  than 
they  would  apply  to  a  blacksmith  to  repair 
a  watch,  or  to  a  stone  mason  to  set  a  diamond. 

Ed.  Dis. 


with  a  little  olive  oU,  the  transparency  be- 
comes augmented,  and  he  was  enabled  to  fol- 
low the  process  of  (digestion!) 


A  cQmmunication  has  been  made  to  the 
Paris  Academy  of  Sciences,  by  Mr.  Eseltze, 
relative  to  some  experiments  with  the  electro- 
galvanic  light  obtained  by  finnsen's  appara- 
tus. The  writer  states  that  he  causes  this 
Jj^fat  to  enter  a  dark  room  through  an  open- 
ioff  in  a  screen  or  shutter,  and  then,  with  the 
aid  oi  powerful  reflectors,  is  able  to  distin- 
cnisb  the  internal  parts  of  the  human  body. 
The  yelns,  the  arteries,  the  circulation  of  the 
blood,  and  the  action  of  the  nerves,  are,  he 
aays.  eeen  by  him  with  perfect  distinctness; 
and,  if  the  light  be  directed  towards  the  re- 
gion  of  the  heart,  he  is  able  to  study  all  the 
mechanism  of  that  important  organ  as  if  it 
were  placed  before  him  under  a  glass.    The 


antbor  even  asserts  that  he  has  ascertained ^^ 

the  existence  of  tubercles  in  the  lungs  of  a  were  nmde  wid  mentioned 
oonsomptive  patient,  and  gives  a  dnwmg  of  Ude  of  the  body  which  appears  to  *^uTre 
themMtlitoyi4>peared.    On  rubbing IheAiir  this,  sometimes   attractive,  but  more  frc- 


REMARKABLE  PHENOMENON. 
The  following  narrative  deserves,  and 
will  from  the  thoughtful  receive,  the  greatest 
attention,  authenticated  as  it  is  by  the  names 
engaged  in  the  investigation.  The  name  of 
Arago  precludes  all  suspicion  of  quackery, 
credulity,  or  inaccuracy .  The  facts  are  of  a 
class  which  claims  daily  more  and  more  at- 
tention and  seems  to  promise  light  as  to  Vi- 
tal Dtmahics — those  motive  causes  which, 
because  so  closely  interwoven  with  all  our 
thoughts,  have  hitherto  almost  wholly 
eluded  the  cognizance  of  the  Intellect  We 
have  not  been  able  to  get  a  point  of  view 
distant -enough  from  our  habits  and  preju- 
dices to  see  irom. 

Translated  for  the  N,  York  Daily  Tribune 
from  the  Courier  des  Etats  tlnis. 
The  Academy  of  Sciences  was  much 
moved,  at  its  sitting  on  the  16th  of  February, 
by  an  account  of  the  most  extraordinary  phe- 
nomena. This  recital  was  given  to  the  il- 
lustrious assembly  by  M.  Arago,  with  the 
spirit  and  courage  of  a  man  who  does  not 
fear  being  misunderstood.  We  repeat  the 
facts  for  our  readers.  Angelica  Cottin,  a 
child  of  13  years,  is  a  villager  of  the  de- 
partment of  Finistere  and  works  in  a  manu- 
factory of  ladies  thread  doves.  She  knows 
how  to  read  and  write,  though  of  only  medi- 
ocre intelligence.  In  the  early  part  nf  Janu- 
ary last  she  was  winding  silk  with  her  work- 
shop companions  when  suddenly  the  cylin- 
der which  she  turned  was  thrown  to  a  dis- 
tance. Not  knowing  how  to  explain  that 
accident  the  young  girls  replaced  the  cylin- 
der and  recommenced  their  labor.  But  the 
same  event  recurred  and  they  soon  perceived 
that  Angelica  Cottin  was  the  cause  of  the 
extraordinary  occurrence.  General  terror 
was  communicated  to  the  entire  village. 
They  ran  to  the  curate  who  iexorcised  tne 
young  girl  and  pronounced  the  "  Vade  retro 
Satanas,**  (Get  thee  behind  me,  Sa^an.)  But 
the  curate  having  thrown  away  his  holy  wa- 
ter and  his  Latin,  was  obliged  to  conclude 
that  Satan  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  phe- 
nomenon, consequently  the  physician  suc- 
ceeded to  the  curate.  Accompanied  by  the 
physidari  and  her  father  and  mother,  Angeli- 
ca came  to  Paris.  She  was  conducted  by 
M.  Arago  to  the  observatory,  and  it  was  in 
his  presence  and  before  Messieurs  Laugier 
and  G^ujon  that  the  following  observations 
"       '  '     It  is  the  left 


1 


112 


Animal  Electricity. 


quently  repulsive  property.  A  Aeet  of  pa- 
per,  a  pen  or  any  other  light  body  being 
placed  upon  a  table,  if  the  youne  girl  ap- 
proach her  left  hand,  even  before  she  touches 
It,  the  object  is  driven  to  a  distance  as  by  a 
^ust  of  wind.  The  table  itself  is  over- 
tnrown  the  moment  it  is  touched  by  her 
hand  or  even  by  a  thread  which  she  may 
hold  in  it.  This  causes  instantaneously  a 
strong  commotion  in  her  side  which  draws 
her  toward  ihe  table,  but  it  is  in  the  region 
of  the  pelvis  that  this  singular  repulsive 
force  appears  to  concentrate  itself.  As  had 
been  observed  the  first  day,  if  she  attempted 
to  sit,  the  seat  was  thrown  far  from  her  with 
such  force,  that  any  other  person  occupying 
it  was  carried  away  with  it.  One  day  a 
ehest  upon  which  three  men  were  seated, 
was  moved  in  the  same  manner.  Another 
day,  although  the  chair  was  held  by  two 
v^ty  strong  men,  it  was  broken  between 
their  hands.  These  phenomena  are  not  pro- 
duced in  a  continued  manner.  They  manifest 
themselves  in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  and 
from  time  to  time  during  the  day,  but  they 
show  themselves  in  their  intensity,  in  the 
evening  from  7  to  9  o'clock.  Then  the  girl 
is  obliged  to  continue  standing  and  is  in 
great  agitation.  She  can  toucn  no  object 
without  breaking  it  or  throwing  it  upon  the 

f round.  All  the  articles  of  furniture  which 
er  garments  touch  are  displaced  and  over- 
thrown. At  that  moment  many  persons 
have  felt,  by  coming  in  contact  with  her,  a 
true  electrical  shock.  During  the  entire  du- 
ration of  the  paroxysms,  the  left  side  of  the 
body  is  warmer  than  the  right  side.  It  is 
affected  by  jerks,  unusual  movements  and  a 
kind  of  trembling  which  seems  to  communi- 
cate itself  to  the  hand  which  touches  it.  This 
young  person  presents  moreover  a  peculiar 
sensibility  to  the  action  of  the  magnet. 
When  she  approaches  the  north  pole  of  the 
magnet  she  feels  a  violent  shock,  while  the 
south  pole  produces  no  effect,  so  that  if  the 
experimenter  changes  the  poles,  but  without 
her  knowledge,  she  always  discovers  it  by 
the  difference  of  sensations  which  she  expe- 
riences. M.  Arago  wished  to  see  if  the  ap- 
proach of  this  young  girl  would  cause  a  de- 
viation of  the  needle  of  the  compass.  The 
deviation  which  had  been  foretold  was  not 
produced.  But  perhaps  the  phenomena  did 
not  exist  at  that  moment  in  their  greatest  in- 
tensity. The  electrical  fishes  themselves 
exercise  no  action  upon  the  magnetic  needle, 
excepting  by  the  aid  of  particular  precau- 
tions. The  general  health  of  Angelica  Cot- 
tin  is  very  good.  We  must  nevertheless 
consider  her  as  being  in  a  diseased  state. 
The  extraordinary  movements,  the  parox- 
ysms observed  every  evening,  resemble  what 
one  observes  in  some  nervous  maladies.   An- 


^lica  feels  herself  violent  commotionB  every 
time  that  a  discharge  of  the  influence  takes 
place.  Her  wrist  is  subjected  to  a  sort  of  ro- 
tation upon  itself  and  she  is  in  a  state  of 
great  suffering  during  all  the  continuance  of 
the  attack.  M.  Arago  has  requested  the 
Academy  of  Sciences  to  appoint  a  coouniA- 
sion  to  examine  Angelica  Cottin.  The  Aca- 
demy have  named  a  commission  composed 
of  [MM.  Arago,  fiecquerd,  Babinet,  Kayer 
and  Pariset. 


ANIMAL  ELEOTRIOITT. 

In  the  muscles  of  living  animals,  as  well 
as  of  those  recently  killed,  an  electric  cur- 
rent exists,  which  is  directed  from  the  inte- 
rior of  each  muscle  to  its  sarface.  The 
duration  of  this  muscular  current  correspoods 
with  that  of  conti-actility :  in  cold-blooded 
animals,  therefore,  it  is  greatest;  iu  mam- 
malia and  birds  it  is  very  brief.  Tempera- 
ture has  a  considerable  influence  on  tlie 
intensity  of  the  curnuit,  a  small  amount  d 
electiicily  beinc  developed  in  a  cold  mediam, 
a  larger  one  when  the  medium  is  moderately 
warm.  The  muscular  current  appears  to  lie 
quite  independent  of  the  nervous  system.  It 
is  uninfluenced  by  narcotic  poisons  in  modr 
erate  doses,  but  is  destroyed  by  large  doses, 
such  as  kill  the  animal.  The  development 
of  th  s  muscular  current  seems  evidently  to 
depend  on  the  chemical  action  constaDtJy  ta- 
king place  as  an  effect  of  the  cban^  ac- 
companying nutrition;  these  organic  chan- 
ges, in  short,  give  rise  to  an  electric  currait, 
just  as  do  the  chemical  changes  attending 
the  mutual  reaction  of  inorganic  materials, 
such  as  the  reaction  between  a  plate  of  metil, 
and  an  acidulated  fluid  in  the  ordinaiy  ^* 
taic  pile. 

That  considerable  chemical  changes  it- 
tend  the  process  of  nutrition  in  muscle,  seen* 
evident  when  we  consider  the  constant  sbik 
ply  and  waste  of  material  of  which  it  is  tk 
seat,  and  the  evolution  of  senable  betf 
which  accompanies  its  contraction;  is  tiiii 
way  the  generation  of  electricity  can  bt 
readily  accounted  for;  the  muscular  &^ 
represents  the  metal  acted  on  in  the  anan^ 
mei^t  of  the  voltaic  apparatus,  and  the  tftC' 
rial  blood  corresponds  to  the  acidulated  flaii 
The  surface  of  the  muscle,  which  is  more  or 
less  tendinous,  and  therefore  differaiit  in 
structure  and  in  function  from  the  intedaTt 
represents  the  second  plate  of  metal  used  in 
the  voltaic  apparatus,  which  does  not  soifiy 
chemical  action,  but  which  only  servet  10 
form  the  oircuit.  The  direction  of  the  mw* 
cular  current,  therefore,  from  die  interior  to 
the  surface  of  the  muacle  is  just  such  ■■ 
mif ht  be  expected,  rappoeing  it  to  be daeto 
a  chemical  action  taking  plaM  in  tbt  i~ 
of  the  muscle. — Matteucci, 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


▼M.  m. 


VEW  TOBK,  JUZrT,  MM. 


Ho.  nxt 


WAXJMnB9  OF  THB  FAOXTLTT. 

Lttttam  ddwered  at  ike  Egyptian  Hail, 

Piccadilly  London,  1840. 

ST  «.  SIZONy  M.  D. 

LECTURE,  X. 

mVOXPAJ*  QBMOmo^TSBMMAJU  HBMB 

PZB8. 
flMMMTX  of  1km  OhroA^lliflnDftl  Dsetiia*  of  DiaMM* 
GSMTLKBIXK, 

We  now  come  to  consider 
the  Jnode  of  action  of  the  Cbrono-Thermal 
agents^  or  those  substances  so  ^nerally  ef- 
ieotaal  in  prolonging  that  remission  of  symp- 
tom which  we  have  proved,  beyond  ques- 
tion, is  a  law  of  all  disease.  Whatever  be 
the  nosological  name  of  a  distemper — ^Ague, 
JEpileps/f  or  Eruption — the  physician  will 
more  surely  accomplish  his  purpose  of  cure 
hf  takiBg  advantage  of  this  penod  of  immu- 
nity than  by  any  measures  to  which  he  may 
laaort  daring  the  paroxysm.  The  moc&  per- 
ftctly  periodic  the  paroxysmal  return,  the 
mora  am«nable  will  the  disease  for  the  most 
«art  be  to  the  chrono-thermai  medicines ;  but 
iowerer  imperfect,  irregular,  or  brief  the  re- 
■lissioBSt  there  is  no  case  of  disorder  that 
ttayaot  be  beneficially  influenced  by  these 
jeonediea — ^whether  they  be  alternated  with 
baths  and  emetics,  ot  be  perscribed  in  combi- 
aation  with  such  symptomatic  medicines  and 
iocal  meesores  as  the  features  of  the  case, 
Iron  place  or  prominence,  may  appear  to  de- 
mand. IiSt  as  commence  the  consideration 
af  the  Chrono-Thermal  agents  with,  a  lew 
observations  on 

Tax  FeauvuN  BAas.--To  the  value  of 
this  Bark  as  a  remedy  for  many  diseases,  the 
calebiaSed  CuUen,  among  others,  bean  his 
laequiTocal  testimfmy :  what  does  he  say 


are  the  ailments  in  which  be  found  it  most 
useful  ?  Rheumatism,  Gout,  Scrofula,  Scur- 
vy, Smallpox,  Dysentery,  Gangrene,  Diseases 
of  the  Bones,  Convulsions,  Hysteria,  Hypo- 
chondria, Haemorrhages.  Is  not  this  a  pret- 
ty comprehensive  association  of  apparently 
liferent  diseases,  all  eured  or  relieved  by  a 
single  substance  i  And  yet  never  seemed  to  ^ 
enter  the  head  of  any  previous  medical  wri-  ^ 
ter,  that  these  diseases  have  each  somethinj^ 
in  comipon — each  some  pnncipal  of  conti- 
nuity which,  amid  all  their  apparent  variety 
establishes  thor  Unity  of  type.  One  remedjr 
alleviates  or  cures  them  all— and  yet  physi- 
cians either  cannot  or  will  not  see  that  tne  ac- 
tion of  that  remedy  is  one  and  one  only,  viz., 
motive  power.  What  better  evidence  of  the 
absurdity  of  Cullen's  own  Nosological  Sys- 
tem— a  system  that  so  far  from  exp]ainin|^  the 
perfect  continui^  that  pievades  tne  chain  of 
all  morbid  motion,  separated  the  links  so 
widely  asunder  that  the  stndent  could  not  for 
the  life  of  him  believe  them  to  be  any  thing 
else  but  so  many  distinct  and  unlike  disor- 
ders, each  of  which,  forsooth,  required  a  se- 
parate treatise  to  understand  it!  What  a 
beautiful  piece  of  work  for  the  quacks! 
what  an  admirable  method  of  darkening  the 
world,  that  bad  men  might  the  better  pursue 
their  game  of  imposture ! 

An  accomplished  French  physician,  Baron 
Alibert,  speaks  thus  of  the  Bark  and  its  in- 
fluence in  disease,  ^"1  have  been  able  to 
pursue  and  appreciate  the  salutary  results  of 
the  employment  of  this  substance  in  Cance- 
rous afieetions,  in  Scrofulous  tumours  of  the 
Glands,  according  to  the  recommendation  of 
Ford;^oe  in  many  Cutaneous  diseases,  and 
principally  in  Lepra,  Elephantiasis,  and  m 
certain  cases  of  Jaundice,  arising  from  dimi- 
nished tone  in  the  secretary  oreaas  of  the 
bile— in  the  alterations  efiecting  tiie  Osseous 
system,  such  as  Ricketts,  Spina  Bifida,  &c.. 
With  the  Bark  we  s^ay  also  advantageously 
ocmh^t  oettaiii  dieordsn  of  ihe  Nervoos  sys- 


114 


Fallacies  of  the  FacuUy. 


tern,  sucb  as  Epilepsy,  Hypochondria,  Hys- 
teria, &c.  Many  authors  recommend  it  in 
Hooping- Cough,  and  the  various  convulsive 
coughs.  No  remedy,  accordine  lo  them,  is 
so  efficacious  in  strengthening  the  organs  of 
respiration,  and  in  preventing  the  state  of 
debility  induced  in  the  animal  economy  by 
the  contractile  and  reiterated  movement  of  the 
lungs.  The  most  part  of  those  who  em- 
ploy it  in  like  cases,  are  nevertheless,  of 
opinion,  that  the  administration  of  it  is  im- 
prudent without  some  previous  preparation, 
according  to  the  particular  stage  of  disease. 
These  practitioners  (influenced,  doubtless  by 
their  hypothesis  of  a  humour  in  the  blood) 
would  m  some  sort  mitigate  the  ferocity  of 
the  paroxysms  by  sweeteners  and  temper- 
ants — often  even  by  evacuants,  such  as  eme- 
tics and  bleedinffs.  To  prevent  irritation, 
they  wait  until  the  strength  has  been  abso- 
lutely struck  down.  But  upon  this  point, 
the  celebrated  Murray  differs  from  these  prac- 
titioners in  ioto.  The  Peruvian  Hark  accor- 
ding to  that  physician,  is  equally  adapted  to 
the  cure  of  Uonvulsive  and  Penodic  Coughs 
M  to  the  cure  of  Intermittent  Fevers.  He 
witnessed  an  Epedemic  in  which  these  mala- 


dies were  efficaciously  met  by  this  powerful 
remedy  from  the  commencement  He  has 
therefore  proved  that  there  is  no  advantage 
in  retarding  its  administration ;  and  that  lo 
permit,  in  the  first  place,  so  great  a  waste  of 
the  vital  powers,  only  renders  the  symptoms 
more  rebellious,  and  their  consequences 
MORS  fatal!" 

Gentlemen,  1  am  not  now  giving  you  opi» 
nions,*— 1  am  not  now  dealing  in  hypothetic 
disquisitions — I  state  facts  simply,  facts 
powerfully  attested ;  for  Murray  in  his  day 
was  celebrated  over  all  Europe,  and  Alibert 
only  a  few  years  ago,  was  second  to  no  phy 
Bician  in  France.  Both  have  now  passed 
from  die  scene  of  life;  but  their  writings 


great  body  of  English  practitioners,  whil 
encomiums  would  the^  not  heap  tipon  the 
schools  to  whos#  regiments  of  lancen  and 
ieechers  the  world  is  so  indebted  for  keeping 
down  a  surplus   population !    But  let  not 
people  suppose  that  possessed  of  a  remedy  so 
powerful,  and,  so  far  as  nomenclature  is  con- 
cerned, one  so  almost  universally  applicable 
as  the  Bark,  the  phybician  has  an  infallible 
elixir — a  remedy  adapted  to  all  constitutions. 
The  most  perfect  ague-fit  within  my  own  re- 
membrance, appeared  to  me  to  be  the  effect 
of  two  grains  of  quinine,  prescribed  for  an 
asthmatic  patient    Dr.  Thompson  mentions 
the  case  oi  a  patient  of  his,  in  whoiii  tbk 
medicine  brought  on  an  attack  of  asthma: 
"When  he  was  getting  well,  after  seven  or 
eight  days,  I  again,"  he  says  "began  the  sol- 
phate  of  quinine,  and  the  same  attack  was 
the  result."    A  lady,  after  taking  it,  became 
subject  to  intermittent  fainting-fits.    Now 
some  would  be  glad  lo  lay  hold  of  diisaia 
reason  why  you  should  never  use  quinine.— 
But  the  smell  of  the  rose  has  produced  faint- 
ing fits— the  smell  of  ipecacuan  asthma:- 
mustwe,  therefore,  never  smell  a  rose,  or 
keep  ipecacuan  in  our  houses  ?    What  agent 


in  nature  is'absolutely  innocuous  ?— RhnM* 
in  a  very  minute  dose,  has  produced  conml- 
sions  with  some  people— but,  according  * 
some  people,  should  we  never  pencriberhn- 
barb  ?  W  hen  quinine  disagrees,  ^  com- 
mon complaints  are  tremor,  faintness,  head- 
ache, vertigo,  nervousness,  cramps,  aad**afl- 
overishness."  Ratier,  in  his  Hospital  Bfr 
ports,  amon^  its  deleterious  effects  mentiow, 
"nervous  agitations,"  which,  I  fancy,  migm 
be  as  well  translated,  "shiyering-fit8,"-Jf. 
what  say  you  to  "ague,"  Gentlemen,  Oh! 
you  may  depend  upon  it  whatever  can  cor- 
rect a  morbid  motion,  majr  cause  it ! 
Like  many  other  medicines,  the  PeniTtti 

, „    Bark  is  termed  bywriters  on  Materia  Medi» 

may  be  still  read  with  advantage  by  every  a  tonw.  All  medicines  are  tonics,  when  thsT 
one  who  takes  any  interest  in  medicine. —  improve  the  health  of  the  patient ;  but  when 
The  value  of  the  Bark  in  all  diseases,  both  |  on  the  contrary,  weakness  or  neryousnesss 
authors  distinctly  state.  You  have  also 
heard  what  they  say  of  the  sanguinary  prac- 
tice. Nothing  can  be  stronger  than  the  tj.- 
pression  of  tbeir  united  evidence  against  that 
pracfice ;  yet  in  the  teeth  of  that  evidence — 
in  the  teeth  of  common  sense  even,  which 
says  that  whatever  reduces  the  vitality  of 
the  whole,  must  more  surely  confirm  the  he- 
reditary or  other  weakness  of  a  part, — the 
medical  herd  of  this  country  still  go  on  like 
their  Ignorant  fathers  before  them,  bleeding, 
leeching,  and  purging  to  death,  or  all  but 
death,  every  unfortunate  creature  who  falls 
into  ^eir  hands.  Did  the  disciples  of  Mai- 
thus  only  know  how  admirably  their  mas- 
ter's system  has  bwn  carried  oat  by  the 


the  result  of  using  them,  who  will  say,  tfc^ 
in  that  case  they  are  anything  but  dews- 
tant  ?  Bark,  like  an  emetic,  or  a  pu!ge,Biy 
cause  both  one  and  the  other  To  go  «. 
then,  day  after  day,  prescribing  thissn** 
stance,  and  what  are  termed  "  strcngtWi- 
ers,"  without  manifest  amelioration,  or  ww 
positive  retrogression,  is  not  giving  *  com« 
of "  tonics,**  but  a  succession  of  eihaurtmg 
or  debilitating  agents ; — ^itis  to  prescribes 
name  for  a  name.  . 

What  then,  is  the  mode  of  o^ftnAon  « 
the  Peruvian  Bark  when  its  action  pw»w 
salutary  ?  This  I  conceive  to  be  the  W 
explanation.  Whether  it  be  admiai^ 
during  the  RausBion  or  Puoxym,  the  h»« 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty* 


116 


Hke  eyery  other  medicinal  agent  capable  of 

influencing  the  corpofeal  io^ity,  must,  if  it 

act  at  all,  do  one  of  two  tlings,  namely, — 

Being  a  saperadded,  power ^  it  must  either, 

with  more  or  less  force,  continue,  or  with 

more  or  ieaa  force  RcvxRSE  the  direction  of 

the  existing  order  of  corporeal  movement, 

according  to  the  attractive  or  repulsive  roan- 

t  ner  in  wnich  it  may  exercise  its  motive  in- 

i         iuence.    Now,  as  this  difierence  of  result 

\         depends  upon  whether  the  patienfs  brain  be 

k         negiOMy  or  potitivety  electric,  a   thing 

I         which  can  only  be  known  by  trial,  it  must 

I         he  clear  to  every  reflecting  person ,  that  where 

I         the  chances  are  equal  in  favour  of  the  pres- 

I         enee  of  either  electrical  state,  it  is  better  to 

I  pKaeribe  the  medicine  during  the  remissional 

0  movement  of  body,  when  so  far  as  continu- 
if         anoe  goes,  it  must  act  to  a  certain  extent  at 

1  an  obvious  advantage.  In  common  with 
)  every  material  agent  capable  of  influencing 
i  matter  in  motion,  the  power  of  the  bark,  un- 
f  der  ordinary  circumstances,  mu^t  be  more 
li  effective  in  continuing  than  in  reversing  ex- 
I  isting  motion.  To  reverse  generally  sug- 
I  eests  opposition,  difliculty,  disadvantage. 
{  To  continue  what  is  already  begun  as  gene- 
I  lalljr  implies  a  coarse  of  action  that  can  be 
I  adTaDta«;eou8ly  undertaken.  The  chances, 
I          then,  being  so  much  in  favor  oi  continuance, 

it  no  longer  remains  a  question,  which,  state 
I  of  body  should  be  selected  for  ihe  exhibition 
I  of  the  bark, — ^the  Paroxysm  or  the  Remis- 
ffion.  Which  of  these  two  periods  has  most 
leaemblance  to  Health  ?  The  term  Remisaion 
at  once  sugKests  the  answer;  that  then  is 
the  proper  period  for  the  administration  of 
this  particular  remedy.  And  experience  has 
confirmed  what  exact  reasoning  might  have 
anticipated ;  for  when  exhibited  to  the.  pa- 
tient during  the  Paroxysmal  movement,  the 
Vark,  for  the  most  part,  not  only  renders 
that  movement  more  intense,  but  prolongs 
"With  equal  frequency  the  duration  of  its  pe- 
riod. A  Kke  effect  follows  its  administra- 
tion during  the  movement  of  Remission,  for 
not  only  in  most  instances  does  it  prolong 
this  period,  hot  adding  force  to  the  existing 
order  of  movement,  it  brings  it  iitlast  to  that 
demrable  standard  which  it  only  previously 
approached;  namely,  the  standard  of  Health. 
Numerous  instances,  of  course,  have  occur- 
red where  a  contrary  elfoct  has  followed  the 
exhibition  of  the  bark,  both  in  the  case  of  the 
paroxysm  and  remission.  But  the  general 
result  of  its  employment  determines  us  in 
the  hne  of  practice  we  should,  under  ordi- 
.nary  circumstances,  pursue.  80  long,  then, 
as  we  can,4iy  the  bark  or  any  other  agency 
keep  vp  the  movement  of  remission  in  as 

Kat,  or  even  greater  force  than  before,  so 
gdoweseeoieoarpatientfiomarecanence 


of  the  previous  paroxysmal  movement,  in- 
volving, as  the  latter  must  do,  the  identical 
corporeal  matter  of  the  movement  of  semis- 
sion.  Whatever  be  the  name  or  nature  of 
the  disease,  the  remissional  movement,  in 
most  instances,  though  a  shade  or  two  be- 
neath that  of  health,  may,  as  we  have  al- 
ready said,  by  the  increase  of  force  effected 
by  the  bark,  be  brought  at  last  to  the  healthy 
standard;  nay,  in  some  cases,  by  a  too  long 
continuance  or  an  excess  of  the  medicinal 
force  applied,  it  has  itself  been  actually  con- 
verted into  a  new  febrile  paroxysm  of  more 
or  less  intensity.  But  in  that  case  the  par- 
oxysm of  the  old  disease  has,  with  e<}uai 
certainty,  been  prevented  from  recurnng. 
Still,  however  mild  and  subdued  the  move- 
ment kept  up  by  the  bark  may  appear,  in 
comparison  with  that  of  the  previous  parox- 
ysm, if  it  only  be  continued  for  a  sufficient 
time,  it  generally  becomes  at  last  so  habitual 
as  entirely  to  supersede  the  original  disease, 
and  to  destrov,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the 
constitutional  memory  upon  which  the  re- 
currence of  the  old  paroxysm  depended. 
Such  constitutional  memory  French  writers 
term  "roemoire  raachinale."  It  is  by  this 
that  all  the  motions  of  health  are  neriodi- 
caUy  reproduced — and  by  the  same  law,  all 
morbid  motions  take  on  a  habit  of  return. 
Whatever  will  put  the  brain  on  a  new  course 
of  thought  or  action,  will  confuse  this  memo- 
ry. Hope,  joy,  faith,  and  enthusiasm  act  in 
that  manner.  W  hat  are  these — what  are  all 
passions  but  mild  fevers  ?--and,  as  no  two 
fevers  can  affect  the  body  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  inasmuch  as  no  ^ven  ooporeal 
atom  can  move  in  opposite  directions  at  the 
same  Bioment--<the8e  fevers,  however  mild 
in  themselves,  are  sufficiently  powerful,  ia 
many  cases,  to  avert  the  return  of  the  mom 
dangerous  morbid  motions^  Like  the  fevers 
of  pregnancy,  puberty,  &c.,  they  may  cure 
or  arrest  every  kind  of  disease  you  can 
name,  from  toothache  to  pulmonary  con- 
sumption ;  like  the  same  fevers,  they  have 
produced  all!  according  to  constitutional 
predisposition. 

The  Chrono-thermal  medicine  next  in 
value  to  the  Bark,  is 

pRussic  Acid. 

The. College  of  Physicians  have  given  a 
formula  for  tne  preparation  of  this  acid  lor 
medicinal  purposes;  but  I  prefer  that  of 
Schcele,  and  I  believe  most  other  practition- 
ers do  the  same.  The  concentrated  acid 
cannot  be  prescribed  in  practice.  It  must, 
then,  be  given  in  a  diluted  state.  **  Diluted 
prussic  acid,"  says  Magendie,  '*  is  employed 
with  success,  in  all  cases  of  morbid  irritabil- 
ity (weakness .')  of  the  pulmonary  oigana. 


116 


Fallacies  of  the  Faadip. 


It  may  be  advantaMooaly  used  in  the  treat- 
ment of  nerrons  and  chronic  coughs.  Asthma, 
and  Hoopinff  cough ;  and  in  the  palliative 
treatment  of  Pulmonary  Consumption ;  in- 
deed, a  great  number  of  observations  induce 
the  belief,  that  it  may  efiect  a  cure  in  the 
early  stage  of  the  latter  disease.  In  Eng- 
land it  has  been  administered  with  success 
in  Dyspepsia,  and  also  in  Uectid  cough  sym- 
pathetic of  some  other  afiection.  [Why 
sympathetic  of  another  affection  ?  When  a 
man's  health  is  wrong  throughout,  some 
prominent  symptom  is  seized  upon,  and  con- 
sidered to  be  the  cause  of  all  the  othen !]  )Dr. 
Eiiiotson,  both  in  hospital  and  private  prac- 
tice, hAB  frequently  employed  medicinal 
pmssie  acid,  jprepared  after  the  manner  of 
Vauquelin.  Me  has  leeocded  more  than  forty 
cases  of  Dyspepsia,  with  or  without  vomit- 
mf^  and  accompanied  with  considerable 
pain^  in  the  epigaslxic  region,  and  with  py- 
rosis, (water-brash,)  which  were  cured  by 
this  acid.  The  same  physician  quotes  a  case 
of  colica  pictonum  (spasm  of  the  colon)  in 
which  Dr.  Prout  gave  the  acid,  and -procur- 
ed instantaneous  relief.  Dr.  Eiiiotson  also 
administered  hydrocyanic  acid,  in  a  great 
number  of  Pectoral  affections ;  and  has  al- 
most invariably  succeeded  in  allaying  the 
troublesome  cough.  [Why  will  people  use 
this  word  **  invariably  P — what  agent  in  the 
Materia  Medica  acts  invariably  in  the  same 
manner?  such  medicine  would  be,  indeed, » 
specific  1  but  that  we  shall  never  discover !] 
Applied  externally  in  lotions,  in  difforent 
diseases  of  the  skiji,  it  has.  not,  in  Dr.  £1- 
liotson's  practice,  jHoduced  any  decided  ef- 
fect. Dr.  Thomson,  however,  asserts,  that 
he  has  employed  it  in  lotioas  with  constant 
Bucccss  [here  again,  *<  constant  success !"] 
in  diminishing  the  itching  and  the  heat  so 
annojring  in  cutaneous  diseases,  and  has 
cured  several  species  of  herpes.*' 

^  M*  J.  Bonchenel  has  published  an  in- 
teresting memoir  on  the  employment  of  pros- 
sic  acid  in  the  treatment  of  chronic  Pulmo- 
nary Catarrh.  He  mentions  four  cases  in 
which  this  remedy  proved  efiectual.  He 
oondudes  by  urging  that  prussic  add,  when 
given  in  a  small  dose,  is  not  more  inconve- 
nient than  an  ordinary  cough  mixture.  M. 
fiouchenel  has  also  employed  prussic  add  in 
a  ease  of  eonsimption,  but  he  only  fnioceed- 
ed  in  allaying  the  cough  for  a  timet  which 
leada  him  to  doubt  the  fact  of  its  having 
nally  efieeted  the  cure  of  confirmed  con- 
tumptioD.  1  do,  however,  assert  and  main* 
tain,"  says  Magendie,  "that  with  prussic 
add  I  have  otrrnxD  individuals,  having  all  the 
flvrnptoms  of  indpient  phithisib;  ai^  tven 
taose  in  a  more  advanced  stage. 

•<  In  Italy,  the  medidnai  hydroeyaaic  add 


has  been  used  to  allay  excesave  inibiUlily 
of  the  womb,  even  in  caaes  of  CJancar."  **Pnh 
fessor  Brera  extols  its  happy  effects  in  |neiip 
monia:  he  recommends  it  dso in  Bheiumtie 
cases,  and  as  a  wonn-medicine.    Since  this 
professor  has  employed  it  in  disesses  ol  tk 
Heart,  Dr.  Macleod  has  administered  it  in  the 
same  diseases.     He  has  found  it  allay  mi* 
vous  Palpitations,  especially  those  whicb 
seemed  to  depend  on  derangemeot  of  the  di- 
gestive organs.    [How  common  this  enoi 
of  accusing  one  symptom  of  being  the  cams 
of  another !]    He  has  also  employed  it  is 
some  cases  of  Aneurism  of  the  Heart   Di. 
Frisch,  of  Nybouig,  in  Denmark,  has  allay* 
ed  the  intolerable  pain  caused  by  Canea  d 
the  Breast,  which  had  redsted  all  the  aali- 
spesmodics,  by  washing  the  ulceiated  sur- 
face with  diluted  prusdc  acid.    He  has  aim 
successfully  employed  the  remedy  in  sevenl 
cases  of  Phthisis.    Dr.  Guerin,  of  Mamen, 
has  obtained  beneficial  results  from  its  c» 
ployment  in  two  cases  of  Brdn  Fever." 

Thus  far  I  have  given  you  the  exjerieaw 
of  others,  with  this  add  as  detailed  in  Mi- 
oENPiE's  FoKMULAmy ;— let  me  now  addi 
few  observations  of  my  own  in  its  fcTWj* 
Ck)mbined  with  the  tincture  of  lobdiaii» 
ta,  I  have  found  it  one  of  the  most  gencidhr 
effectual  remedies  for  Asthma,  with  whidil 
am  acquainted.  The  same  oombinatim  m 
enabled  me  to  cure  Spasmodic  Strieiareof 
the  urethra;  and,  generally, speakia^ I »« 
obtained  suocesafui  reanlts  from  the  adiiun» 
tration  of  pmsdc  add  in  eramp  and  «•!■• 
wheiesrer  devdoped.  In  the  low.hdiiw 
Fever,  whether  misname^  dyspepsis,  hy» 
na,  or  hypochondria,  I  tlave  found  it  }f^ 
cularly  valuable.  I  have  also  expenencd 
its  curative  influence  in  the  trealmept  « 
Dropsy ;  more  especially  when  complieala 
with  difficult  breathing. 

In  Palsy,  I  have  found  pmsdc  acid  mm 
generally  successful  than  strychnia.  I  ^ 
here  again,  however,  mention  that  it  i»  "^ 
custom,  in  the  treatment  of  disorder  geMOr 
ly,  to  combine  one  or  more  chrono-tbtfaa 
powers---quinine,  hydrocyanic  add  ^^j'^ 
nio — ^with  one  or  more  symptoniafie  M^ 
dues,  poesesaing  marked  local  inflneace.*^ 
Thus,  one  or  more  of  the  divono-tbenij 
a^^ts  may  be  advanlageood^  eombad 
with  iodine,  in  glandular  and  skm  aftt^ioi^ 
with  coldiieum  or  guaiac  in  liievmstiA- 
squill  or  dicitdis  in  dropsy—- cantbaridtstf 
copaiba  in  TeucorriiflBa  and  ^eet— with  sjda 
in  catarrh — ^with  purgatives  when  eoiW» 
iMos  is  a  symptom ;  wd  ao  in  like  BnM 
according  to  tae  most  prominent  laamw  d 
a  cans.  Ckxibined  in  tnis  way  with  iim<»* 
of  ginger,  eaidamoms.  &c,  I  have  fay 
pnudc  add  aiftemdy  valaaUB  in  the  INi^ 


FkUaeies  of  the  Faculty. 


117 


\  of  flatuleaey  and  acidity  of  the  atom- 
acli.  In  a)l  these  discmleni,  howerer,  this, 
and  aU  other  remedies  will  be  found  to  be 
adyanta^ns  only  in  so  far  as  they  contri- 
bote  to  improre  the  temperatare,  and,  cop- 
aequently,  the  circulation  of  the  subjects  of 
them.  Yonr  patients,  when  obtaining  their 
beneficial  e&cts,  will  tell  you,  *'  I  have  not 
had  those  beats  and  chills  which  used  to 
tnnible  me,** — or,  «  my  hands  and  feet  are 
not  so  cold  or  so  buining  as  formerly."  If 
yoa  poifloa  a  certain  number  of  rabbits  with 
prassic  acid — say  a  dozen,  and  pour  cold 
waiter  in  a  stieam  over  six  of  them,  these  six 
will  lecoyer,  while  all  the  others  will  die. 
This  has  been  done  over  and  oyer  again  with 
tlie  same  result  You  see,  then,  how  dearly 
tiie  influence  of  this  agent  depenot  upon  its 
power  of  controlling  temperature. 

We  have  seen  that  prussic  acid  maj  be 
successfully  employed  m  the  most  obstinate 
agues ;  yet  I  remember  the  ca^e  of  an  Irish 
barrister,  who,  from  the  same  medicine,  ex- 
perienced severe  shivering  and  chilliness, 
with  cramp»  nain  of  the  stomach,  and  slight 
difficulty  of  oreathing ;  the  very  symptc^ms, 
you  will  remark.  Gentlemen,  for  ^whicb  it  is 
80  often  available  in  practice.  The  electric 
condition  of  the  cerebral  part  influenced,  de- 
termines whether  a  given  remedy  shall  pro- 
duce attractive  or  repulsive  motions;  and 
this,  we  have  repeatedly  stated,  can  only  be 
known  by  trial. '  From  such  trial,  no  greater 
barm  than  a  little  temporary  inconvenience 
can  take  place,  when  prussic  acid  disa^'ees, 
if  prescnbed  and  watched  by  a  judicious 
physician-  Rhubarb  or  magnesia  may  do 
the  8ame>  for,  like  prussic  acid,  both  act  elec- 
trically. 

From  Prussic  acid,  I  now  pass  to 

Opium,  and  its  salts  of  Mobfhu. — 
nese,  like  the  Bark,  may  be  advantageously 
Moployed;  as  we  have  already  stated,  in  pro- 
longingthe  interval  of  remission  in  every 
Joim  of  disease.  Opium,  indeed,  like  every 
other  remedy,  possesses  more  or  less  influence 
oyer  the  whole  system,  but  its  more  obvious 
tfiect  is  the  control  which  it  exercises  over 
Ae  n«ryes  of  sense.  With  these  we  asso- 
siali)  Memory— 4md  as  every  part  of  Uie 
body  has,  through  the  brain,  a  power  of  re- 
aembnmce,  wmitever  will  confuse  or  sus- 
pend the  action  of  the  senses,  will  often 
oqnslly  suspend  and  confuse  memory,  and 
eonaequentfy  conduce  to-  the  suspension  or 
imsmption  of  any  habitual  or  periodic  ac- 
tien  of  any  part  of  the  body.  A  minute  dose 
of  opium  genexaliy  heightens  the  perceptive 
powcors,  wlule  a  large  dose  as  generally  di. 

'  '  *    I  them.    Butalaige  dose,  after  all. 


would  poison  a  horse,  may  be  .a  moderale 
dose  to  the  habitual  opium  eater ! 

I  do  not  know  a  disease  in  which  I  have 
not  found  opium  useful.  In  dropsical  cases, 
when  administered  at  that  particular  peiiod 
of  the  day  when  the  patients  have  confessed 
to  amelioration  of  their  feelings  generally,  it 
has,  in  my  experience,  been  frequently  fol- 
lowed by  a  copious  flow  of  urine  after  every 
diuretic  had  completely  failed.  By  giving  it 
in  a  large  dose  during  the  remisnon,  I  haye 
kept  several  consumptive  patients  alive  for 
months,  and  some  for  years  evAi,  whose  ex- 
istence must  assuredly  have  been  shortened 
but  for  the  beneficial  influence  of  this  drug. 
Ther^  are  persons,  however,  whom 

Not  poppy,  nor  mandagora, 

Nor  all  the  drowsy  syrups  of  the  world 

would  medicine  into  slumber — ^but  upon 
whom  the  cold  affusion  would  instantly  pro- 
duce that  effect  Behold  again,  how  much  all 
things  depend  on  temperature !  With  some 
people  opium,  as  I  have  already  mentioned, 
acts  like  ipecacuan — ^who  can  tell  what  may 
be  the  eflect  of  any  remedy  till  it  be  tried  ? 
It  is  only  impostors  who  never  fail!  As  a 
proof  of  the  influence  of  opium  as  a  preven- 
tive s^nst  disease,  we  are  informed  by  Dr. 
M'Pher6on,of  the  Madras  army,  in  his  book 
on  China,  that  •*  the  peculiar  active  principle 
in  opium,  the  narcotic,  has  of  late  been  em- 
ployed with  considerable  success  in  Bengal, 
as  a  substitute  for  Quinine.  It  may  also  be 
mentioned,  tiiat  at  the  time  feyers  prevaiied 
so  extensively  am<mg  onr  troops  at  Hong- 
Kong,  but  comparatively  few  or  the  Chmese 
suffered,  though  exposed  throughout  to  the 
same  exciting  causes."  And  tnis  Dr.  Mc 
Pherson  attributes  to  their  habit  of  opium 
smoking.  Travellers,  who  have  witnessed 
the  effect  of  this  drug  in  the  East,  mention 
tremor,  fever,  dropsy,  delirium,  and  restless- 
ness, as  the  consequences  of  the  habitual  use 
of  opium.  It  has,  nevertheless,  contributed 
to  the  cure  of  all  these  symptoms  when  pro- 
duced by  other  causes.  In  practice,  we  find 
it  giyes  repose  in  one  case  and  preclude  all 
sleep  in  another.  It  has  caused  mania,  and 
cured  it 

Very  analogous  to  opium  in  their  mode  of 
action  are 

Alcohol,  Wimb,  and  Malt  Liquors; 
but  like  eveiT  other  medicinal  agent,  they  act 
upon  the  body,  beneficially  or  the  reverse,  in 
no  other  manner  than  by  changing  the  exis- 
ting temperature  of  the  brain.  If  a  glass  of 
brandy  has  arrested  the  unie-fit  and  its  sbnd* 
der,  the  army  soigeon  will  bear  testimoay  to 
the  « honors"  and  tremblings  which  the 
abuse  of  Btron|^  liauors  too  fieqnenfly  indn- 


ai«il]r  nidfltiye  tom^lor  tlu  quantiiy  tiiatjces  in  the  preyumdy  healthy.    An  not  the 


118 


Fallacies  of  the  Faeultp. 


^ 


chill,  the  shiver,  the  fever-fit,  the  epileptic^ 
asthmatic,  icteric,  strictural,  and  other  spas- 
modic paroxysms  daily  produced  by  potation  I 
How  often  have  we  known  dropsy  brought 
on  by  gin-drinking: — ^yet  is  not  gin  daily 
prescribed  with  the  best  effect  for  the  dropsi- 
cal ?  See  how  differently  alcohol  affects  dif- 
ferent men  !  One  it  renders  joyful  or  gentJe 
*-4inother  sullen  and  morose — in  a  third,  it 
^ves  rise  to  wit,  while  a  fourth,  under  its 
influence,  loses  the  wit  he  previously  possess- 
ed. I  remember  the  case  of  a  man  of  the  1st 
Raiment  of  Foot,  who  grew  mighty  religious 
^a  took  to  psalm-singing  every  time  he  got 
drank.  But  this  spurious  kind  of  godliness, 
as  you  might  have  expected,  generally  eva- 
porated with  the  fumes  of  his  liquor.  That 
excess  of  religious  feeling  or  veneration  (as 
the  Phrenologists  call  it)  does,  however,  de- 
pend upon  the  temperature  or  motive  condi- 
tion of  some  cerebral  part,  there  cannot  be  a 
doubt;  and  that  it  takes  place  by  fits  or  pe- 
riods, Shakespeare  well  knew,  for  he  makes 
one  of  Clarence's  murderers  say :  **  I  hope 
this  holy  humour  of  mine  will  change ;  it 
was  wont  to  hold  but  while  one  would  teU 
(count)  twenty,** 

Wine  will  make  the  brave  man  timid  and 
lachrymose — the  coward  capable  of  actions, 
the  mere  thought  of  which,  in  his  sober  mo- 
ments, would  nave  iuspired  him  with  terror. 
One  man  will  first  show  the  effects  of  drunk- 
eanesB  in  his  speech — another  in  his  dimin- 
ished powers  of  prehension — some  indivi- 
duals wiU  not  betray  the  influence  it  has  ob- 
tained over  them  until  they  try  to  walk; 
dieir  limbs  may  then  fail  them,  though  nei- 
ther hand  nor  tongue  show  any  signs  of  ine- 
briety. Now  all  this  is  done  by  me  change 
of  temperature  which  wine  induces  on  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  cerebrum  of  particular  indi- 
viduals. It  throws  them  into  a  state  of  fever ; 
and  the  same  phenomena  may  be  witnessed 
in  the  course  of  fevers  produced  by  cold  or  a 
blow.  Dr.  Jenner,  in  describing  the  effects 
of  excessive  cold  on  himself,  says,  '*  I  had 
the  same  sensations  as  if  I  had  drunk  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  wine  or  brandy^and  my 
spirits  rose  in  proportion  to  this  sensation.  I 
felt,  as  if  it  were,  like  one  intoxicated,  and 
Goidd  not  forbear  singing,"  &c. — [Baron's 
Life  ofJenner.'\  Take  the  converse- of  this 
— ^A  man  shall  get  as  *<drunk  as  a  lord,"  and 
immediatelv  become  sober  under  the  influence 
of  a  cold  shower,  or  plunge  bath.  Does  not 
this  unity  of  result  argue  unity  of  mode  of 
action  ?  We  prove,  then,  by  every  possible 
maoner,  that  the  effect  of  wine,  whether  for 
Ipood  or  evil,  like  that  of  every  other  power 
innatuie*  relates  to  the  influence  it  exerts 
over  the  temperature  of  om  or  more  portions 
of  the  Brain. 


Musk,  Valkruk,  CiiiPHim,  AflBArarBtt, 
have  each  and  all  of  them  cored  tbe  a^ 
Were  it  not  for  its  expense,  Mo&k  would, 
doubtless,  be  more  extensively  used  in  the 
practice  of  medicine.    For  myself,  I  plsoe 
it  in  the  same  rank  with  quinine  aud  atsenie 
in  the  treatment  of  what  are  tenned  the 
pniely  nervous  affections.    It  is  genasUy 
recommended  in  books  to  begin  with  tn 
grains ; — ^in  my  hands  a  much  smaller  don 
has  been  attended  with  the  best  efieeto  ia 
numerous  cases.    But  a  great  deal  depesdi 
upon  the  purity  of  the  drug.    I  lately  siK- 
ceeded  with  musk  in  a  case  of  interauttcnt 
squint,  which  successively  resisted  qainiM, 
arsenic,  prussic  acid,  and  iron. 

A  married  lady,  who  always  when  preg- 
nant became  the  subject  of  epilepsy,  hot  hai 
no  fits  under  other  circumstances,  consoted 
me  in  her  case :  I  tried  every  remedy  I  could 
think  of  without  any  advantage  whatever; 
I  then  gave  her  musk,  which  at  once  stopped 
the  fits.  The  dose  in  this  case  was  four 
grains. 

We  have  constant  disputes  whether  a  par- 
ticular  remedy  be  stimulant  or  sedative. 
Opium,  musk,  and  prussic  acid,  have  bj 
turns  become  the  subject  of  discuBsion.  One 
theorist  will  take  one  side,  another  anolbff, 
and  each  will  bring  you  facts  of  equal  co- 
gency. Both  are  right,  and  both  are  wmg. 
To  reconcile  this  seeming  paradox,  we  bavs 
only  to  observe  that  £^11  Remedies  are  either 
stimulant  or  sedative  according  to  the  dose 
and  the  constitution  of  the  patient 

Strtchmia  can  both  interrupt  and  produce 
fever.  In  an  experiment  upon  a  horse  suf- 
fering from  "  lockjaw,"  a  watery  solntion  d 
nux  vomica— the  well-known  source  of  the 
strychnia — produced,  when  injected  into  the 
veins,  a  shivering  fit  of  some  duration.  I 
have,  nevertheless,  'found  the  sulphate  of 
strychnia  of  great  service  in  obstinate  ag«*i 
and  in  many  chronic  diseases  in  whidi  chil> 
liness, .vertigo,  and  hallucination  or  phanla^ 
were  symptoms.  In  the  case  of  a  fenw 
affected  with  nervous  blindness,  for  wboal 
successfully  prescribed  sulphate  of  stiychaiit 
the  remedy  deprived  her,  for  about  an  hofl^ 
of  the  use  of  her  limbs.  The  nooretf^ 
her  sight,  under  its  exhibition,  amply  oo» 
pensated  for  this  temporary  accident  1  bK** 
found  it  confuse  the  vision  in  a  similar  latf* 
ner  when  prescribed  for  muscular  palM 
In  the  treatment  of  epilepsy  and  many  othtf 
spasmodic  affections,  this  substance marbt 
advanta^ously  combined  with  the  sol^ala 
of  quinine.  1  have,  notwithstanding  tUii 
on  several  occasions,  been  obliged  io  iBttt- 
mit  its  use,  from  the  psoDB  of  which  ^  F*" 
tients  complained  while  taking  it,— «Bii  »■ 
led  me  to  make  trial  of  the  ronedy  in  ik** 


Fallacies  of  the  F\ieuliy. 


119 


matiam*  whidi>  in  some  instances,  it  cured. 

Silver. — ^A  consideration  of  the  occasion- 
al beneficial  influence  of  Nitrate  of  Silver  in 
-epilepsy,  led  me  to  try  its  eflects  in  other  dis- 
orders  of  the  sfiasmodic  kind,  such  as  asth- 
ma, cramp,  &c  ,  and  I  am  glad  to  have  it  in 
woj  power  to  bear  testimony  to  its  very  great 
Tuae  in  all  of  these  affections.  It  is  a  power- 
ful Cfarono-thermal  medicine — and  like  every 
medicine  of  this  class,  it  can  produce  the  dis- 
eases it  can  cure. 

We  have  seen  that  tremor,  spasm,  palsy, 
differ  but  in  degree.  In  all  these  disorders, 
silver  may  be  advantageously  substituted  for 
boltk,  prassic  acid,  &c.  While  engaged  in 
prosecuting  my  researches  upon  the  merits 
and  demerits  of  silver,  I  found  it  to  be  one 
of  the  most  powerful  diuretics  in  the  Materia 
.Medica ;  a  circumstance  not  altogether  unob* 
served  by  the  older  authors,  particularly 
Boerhaave,  who  was  accustomed  to  prescribe 
it  with  nitre  in  dropsy.  It  has,  nevertheless, 
the  power  to  su8i)end  the  urinary  secretion. 
There  is  an  affection  to  which  young  women 
are  remarkably  subject — a  periodic  pain  of 
the  side— or  stitch.  This  disorder  has  been 
maltreated  under  a  variety  of  names,  accord- 
ing to  the  notions  entertained  by  attending 
practitioners,  as  to  its  origin  and  nature.  If 
.  practitioners  would  only  take  the  trouble  to 
ask  the  patient  whether  the  affected  side  be 
-  colder  or  hotter  than  natural,  I  do  not  thiikk 
they  would  be  do  forward,  as  they  usually  are, 
to  order  leeches  and  cupping-glasses.  In  ninety 
cases  out  of  a  hundred,  the  sufferer  will  tell 
Tou  that  that  side  is  always  chilly !  This  at 
least  might  convince  them  Inflammation  is 
not  the  **  head  and  front  of  offending."  Such 
pain  is  the  result  of  spasm  of  one  or  more  of 
the  intercostal  muscles — ^which  jpain,  when 
the  patient  is  told  to  inspire,  will  assuredly 
increase.  Beware  of  adding  to  it  by  blood- 
letting I  In  numerous  cases,  it  will  yield  to 
half-min  doses  of  nitrate  of  silver — failing 
.which,  prassic  acid,  quinine,  or  arsenic,  may 
he  successively  tried ;  and  to  one  or  other  of 
these,  it  will  prove,  for  the  most  part,  ame- 
nable. In  pain  of  stomach  after  eating — also 
a  disease  of  the  spasmodic  kind— I  have 
found  silver  particularly  valuable.  In  ail 
varieties  of  cough  and  catarrh,  I  have  derived 
advantage  from  its  employment ;  and  I  am 
snre  it  has,  in  my  hands,  contributed  to  the 
eare  of  indubitable  phthisis.  Let  it  be  at  the 
same  time  remembered  that  I  do  not  exclu- 
sively rely  upon  this  medicine,  in  any  one 
form  of  disease ; — for,  unless  it  be  sulphur 
forpsora,  I  do  not  know  a  specific  in  physic ! 

There  is  a  disorder  to  which  aged  indivi- 
duals and  persons  who  hove  suffered  much 
from  mental  anxiety  are  liable— a  disposition 
to>btntand/a/^-*often  mistaken*  and  fatally 


mistreated,  under  the  name  of  *'  tendency  to 
apoplexy."  The  employment  of  silver  in 
this  afiection  has,  in  my  practice,  been  very 
generally  successful.  I  have  found  it  also 
decidedly  advantageous  in  vertigo,  and  in 
many  cases  of  menial  confusion. 

Nitrate  of  silver  has  a  great  influence  over 
the  spine  and  spinal  nerves;  for  patients 
sometimes  complain  of  pains  like  lumbago, 
sciatica,  and  rheunuitism  while  taking  it.  I 
have  occasionally  known  it  produce  shiver- 
ing and  fainty  sensations,  bat  these  inconve- 
niences were  merely  temporary,  going  of 
upon  the  discontinuance  of  the  medicine.  It 
has  cured  them  all  when  procured  by  other 
causes.  You  are  aware  that  blueness  of 
skin  is  an  occasional  eflect  of  nitrate  of  sil- 
ver ;  and  1  must  here  explain  to  you  the  rea- 
son. Many  of  you  have  seen,  doubtless,  the 
pictures  produced  by  hght  on  paper  saturated 
with  nitrate  of  silver.  Before  the  nitrate  of 
silver  could  turn  the  human  face  blue,  the 
skin,  as  in  the  case  of  the  paper  employed 
in  that  process,  must  be  completely  saturated 
with  the  preparation — ^for  how  otherwise 
could  the  light  affect  the  face  in  that  manner. 
Though  1  have  myself  prescribed  nitrate  of 
silver  thousands  of  times,  I  never  witnessed 
the  slightest  tinge  from  its  use — nor  would 
any  other  practitioner  have  to  complain  of  it 
in  this  respect,  hut  such  as  had  employed  it 
in  too  large  doses,  or  too  eontmuously. 
Who,  then,  would  reject  a  valuable  remedy, 
because  its  abuse  has  produced,  in  rare  in- 
stances, a  peculiar  color  of  akin — seeing  that 
every  remedy,  if  improperlv  applied,  may 
occasion  die  far  greater  cauumty  of  death 
itself? 

CopBEB,  like  silver,  is  now  seldom  used 
but  in  epilepsy.  Fordyce,  nevertheless, 
thought  so  highly  of  it  as  a  remedy  for  ague, 
that  he  ranked  it  with  the  Peruvian  baric. 
Boerhaave,  Brown,  and  others,  esteemed  it 
for  its  diuretic  power ;  and  accordingly  thej 
prescribed  it  in  dropsy.  In  the  same  disease, 
and  in  asthma,  I  have  had  reason  to  speak 
well  of  it,  and  I  can  also  bear  testimony  to 
its  salutary  influence  in  chronic  dysenteiy — 
a  form  of  disease  so  frequent  in  the  East  In- 
dies, that  while  serving  there,  I  had  many 
opportunities  of  testing  Dr.  EUiotson's  favo- 
rable opinion  of  its  value.  That  it  can  pro- 
duce aU  these  disorders  is  equally  true :  for 
where  it  has  been  taken  in  poisonous  doses, 
"  it  excites,"  according  to  Parr,  «  a  pain  in 
the  stomach,  and  griping  in  the  bowels,  te- 
nesmus, ulceration,  bloody  stools,  difBicult 
breathinff,  and  contraction  of  the  limbs."  A 
universal  or  partial  shiver  will  be  found  to 
precede  or  accompany  all  these  symptoms. 
Copper  was  a  favonte  febrifuge  wiu  the 
older  practitioners. 


190 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


Iron  is  a  very  old  remedy  for  a^ae — per- 
haps the  oldest  Stahl  particularly  dilates 
upon  its  yirtues  in  this  ainection.  Mach  of 
the  efficacy  of  a  medicine  depends  upon  the 
constitution  of  the  season  and  climate — much 
upon  the  constitution  of  the  patient  This 
metal,  like  every  other  remedy,  has  conse- 
quently had  its  supporters  and  detractors  in 
every  form  of  disease.  It  is  at  present,  one 
of  the  principal  remedies  for  Hysteria,  and 
other  female  disorders — disorders  which  we 
have  already  shown  are  mera  yariat'.ons  of 
remittent  fever.  The  water  in  which  hot 
iron  had  been  qoenched  used  to  be  prescribed 
by  the  ancient  physicians  as  a  bath  for  gout 
and  palsy.  In  skin  diseases  and  cancer, 
ricketts,  epilepsy,  urethral  stricture,  &c,  iron 
has  been  vaunted  b^  numerous  modem  prac- 
titioiiers.  The  ancients  recommended  it  in 
diarrhiBBi,  dysentery,  dropsy,  hectic,  vertigo, 
and  headache.  Now,  in  all  these  affections, 
it  has  served  me  much  like  other  pawers — 
ameliorating  or  aggravating  the  condition  of 
the  patient,  according  to  peculiarity  of  consti- 
tution. Some  pseudo-scientific  physicians 
have  amused  themselves  with  witticisms  at 
ra^  expense,  on  the  subject  of  iron.  Finding 
it  m  some  of  my  prescriptions  for  Phthisis, 
they  haf>e  accused  me  of  mistaking  this  dis- 
ease for  dyspepsia.  How  long  will  men  de- 
ceive themselves  with  such  puerile  absurdity? 
When  will  tiiey  learn  that  the  human  body, 
in  disease,  as  wdl  as  in  health,  is  a  totjlli- 
TT, — not  a  thing  to  be  mapped  into  parts  and 
portions,  like  a  field  of  noeorcoin!  Let 
them  take  a  lesson  from  St.  Paul,  who,  in 
his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  has  these 
remarkable  words :  —  "  And  whether  one 
member  suffer,  all  the  members  suffer  with 
it :  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  mem- 
ben  rejoice  with  it."    With 

Zinc  and  Bisicuth  I  have  occasionally  suc- 
ceeded in  prolonging  the  remission  in  many 
cases  of  disease,  where  the  other  principal 
'Chrono-thermal  medicines  had  been  ineffec- 
tually tried.  Generally  speaking,  however, 
they  are  less  to  be  relied  upon  for  this  pur- 
pose, than  those  I  have  had  so  frequent  oc- 
casion to  mention  in  the  course  of  these  lec- 
tures.   The  successful  employment  of 

Arscnic  by  the  natives  of  India,  first,  I 
believe,  induced  European  practitioners  to  try 
its  effects  in  ague,  and  also  in  diseases  of  the 
skin.  The  happy  effects  of  this  medicine  were 
found  not  to  be  confined  to  these  disorders. 
Not  only  has  its  judicious  administration  been 
aXtended  with  success  in  epilepsy,  and  nume- 
tous  othAr  forms  of  convulsive  disorder,  but 
it  has  been  advantageousfy  employed  in  the 
treatment  of  structural  change.  Like  every 
other  remedy,  arsenic  has  its  advantages  avd 
disadvantages.  Enquire  of  minen»  exposed  ta 


the  fumes  of  this  metal*  and  you  will  Jbd  that 
fever,  tremor,  spasm,  palsy  and  sons,  com- 
pose almost  the  sum-total  of  their  sa&nnp. 
In  the  EdinbuJKh  Medical  and  Suigiol  Jov- 
nal  there  is  a  relation  of  %;vt  cases  of  poiaaB- 
ing  by  arsenic.  Among  the  symptons  nm- 
tioned  by  the  narrator,  ^Ir.  Manhall,  ms 
vomiting,  pain,  and  burning  of  thestomadi 
thirst,  crural  and  abdomiiud  speflms,  mi- 
gings,  headache,  dimness  of  sight,  intdtt- 
ance  of  light,  palpitation,  chills  and  flwbH, 
epilepsy;  all  of  which  proceeding  ho« 
other  causes,  I  have  successfully  tieafed  br 
arsenic.  The  first  case  of  epilepsy  in  vbicti 
I  ever  derived  benefit  from  any  remedy,  nm 
Cured  by  this  metal ;  the  disease  was  priad- 
pally  brought  on  by  hard  drinking,  and  the 
fit  came  on  at  a  particular  hour,  every  allv- 
nale  night  Now  it  is  worthy  of  leoaifc, 
that  after  an  attempt  at  suicide  by  anenie, 
detailed  by  Dr.  Roget,  periodic  epilepsy  im 
among  the  eflects  produced.  The  subject  of 
it,  a  girl  of  nineteen,  had  also  chills  ad 
heats,  which  if  you  please,  yon  may  cdl 
Intermittent  or  Remittent  Fever,  or  any-tlmg 
^\ait  you  can  f  ancy—- f  or  it  is  not  my  ciuIgb 
to  quarrel  about  names ! 

As  a  remedy  for  skin  disease,  I  haveevof 
reason  to  spoik  highly  of  arseaic  em 
when  complicated  with  much  stradml 
change.  Some  cases  in  which  it  had  i«7 
f^X  effect,  1  will  d^ail  to  you.  Tben^ 
jects  of  them  were  80903^8,  or  Indiaaidldiw 
who  had  suffered  in  the  Bancoon  wir,  ina 
climate,  defective  food,  and  me  usoil  pim' 
tions  of  men  in  the  field.  Theeepraeib 
were  under  my  care  for  a  fortnight  eair; 
and  to  drat  period  the  treatment  refers,  il 
of  them»  be  it  remembered,  had  had  thi 
Fever. 

Case«  l.--Jan  Khan,  havildar,  (Natin 
Sergeant,)  had  diseased  thickening  of  thi 
skin  of  the  1^  and  aims.  His  nosem 
enormously  enlaiged,  and  his  whole  *PP^ 
ance  unhealthy.  He  ate  and  slept  Dm 
and  his  tongue  was  foul  and  {^imL  Af* 
ter  the  operation  of  an  emetic  theliqunrtf^ 
senicaiis  i^as  administered  in  six  drops  tbnee 
a-day.  At  the  end  of  a  fortnight,  the  alio)' 
ation  in  his  general  appearance  waswoDdtf| 
ful.  The  nose  had  then  become  nesdya 
the  natural  size,  and  the  disease  of  dieiiw 
had  gradually  lessened.  He  then  slept  sm 
ate  well,  and  expressed  himself  mack  jdesr 
sed  with  the  improvevwBt  he  had  icoeifM 
from  his  medicine.  . 

Case  2.— Baud  Khan,  sepoy,  had  psitttf 
the  bones  and  joints,  white  patches  all  ow 
his  skin,  and  an  initahle  son  of  the  sci|^ 
turn,  from  which  a  fangua,  about  thesiw^ 
a  chesnut,  sprang  up.  fie  eomplaiaed  al^ 
ol  abutniAganisatioQaihiAMt.    WIeal 


PaUaeies  of  the  FacuUy. 


121 


int  «aw  him,  he  wsa  so  weak  he  coald  not 
riae  from  the  floor  without  assistance,  and 
his  countenance  indicated  extreme  wretched- 
SMS  and  debility.  Having  detached  the  fun- 
gus with  a  pair  of  scissors,  the  lunar  caustic 
was  applied,  and  arsenic  administered,  as  in 
Ibe  previous  case.  In  a  week,  there  wai^ 
great  amendment  of  the  sore.  The  patient 
•ince  then,  rapidly  gained  ground;  of  the 
fains  of  the  bones  he  no  longer  complained, 
and  th6  eruptions  on  the  skin  giadnally  dis- 
appeared ;  the  ulcer  at  the  same  time  closed, 
and  I  expected  he  would  soon  be  fit  for  duty. 

Case  3. — Setarmm,  sepoy,  had  large  sores 
<lf  the  leg,  sloughy,  ill  condition^,  and 
apreadinj;  in  different  directions.  He  had 
also  cnticular  eruptions,  like  the  last  men- 
tioned patient;  and  his  appearance  and 
atren^b,  thoogh  not  so  wretcned,  were  yet 
aofliciently  miserable.  Pure  nirnc  acid  was 
applied  to  the  whole  sniface  of  the  sores, 
and  a  poultice  ordered.  The  arsenic  w.is 
aii^n  as  above.  On  the  separation  of  ibe 
dead  matter,  the  leg  was  supported  by  Bayn- 
lon*s  bandage.  The  sure  gradually  hea'eJ — 
the  eruptions  disappeared— and  the  patient 
Rgained  complete  health  and  sttength. 

Case  4— Subryah,  sepoy,  had  had  his 
le^  thrice  amputated,  the  )ast  time  in  the 
middfe  of  ttie  thigh,  but  the  bone  had  been 
left  With  only  a  covering  of  skin.  The 
stamp,  was  in  an  ulcerated  state  when  I  first 
saw  him— and  the  prube,  upon  being  passed 
through  one  of  the  sores,  found  the  bone  ca- 
riotis,  (abraded)  and  denuded  as  far  as  it 
could  reach.  The  patient's  health  was  alto- 
gether wrong,  not  one  function  being  pro- 
perly perf'Tined.  ft  was  proposed  to  ampu- 
tate at  the  hip  joint,  as  it  was  not  believed 
that  any  other  treatment  could  do  good.  To 
this  step,  however,. he  would  not  submit. 
A  trial  was  given  to  aisenic,  and  the  sores, 
beyond  expectation,  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight 
bcA  nearly  healed.  The  patient  then  slept 
aqd  ate  well,  and  looked  comparatively 
strong  and  healthy. 

Ca«  5. — Vencatasawmy,  sepoy,  had  dis- 
ease of  the  skin,  and  anilf-lookingsore  over 
llie  sternum,  (breast  bone,)  which  bone  was 
perfectly  carious,— the  probe  could  be  pa^^sed 
through  it  to  *he  depth  of  three  inches  in  the 
direction  of  the  mediastinum.  The  patient 
was  weak  and  irritable,  and  could  neither 
cat  nor  sleep  \  his  )  ube  was  rapid  and 
aaiall,  and  his  appearance  altogether  misera 
bfe.  Arsenic  was  re?>orted  to  as  before 
The  ring  worm,  under  its  use',  disappeared-* 
ihe  sore  began  to  look  c!ean — tne  prol^e, 
when  he  went  from  my  hands,  only  passed 
to  the  depth  of  an  inch,  and  the  patients 
%ealth  was  rapidly  improving. 

These  case»  vsia  inirasted  to  mf  rare  by 


Dr.  Gibb,ol  the  Madras  Medical  Staff,  while 
he  himself  was  on  *<  sick  leave,'*  and  were 
afterwards  reported  by  him  to  the  Medical 
Board  of  that  Presidency. 

Do  I  now  require  to  tell  you  the  principle 
npon  which  arsenic  proved  so  tmcacious  in 
the  treatment  of  these  various  structural 
changes  ?  It  acted  simply  by  its  power  of 
controlling  Remittent  Fever,  under  a  chronic 
form,  of  which  these  unfortunate  sepoys 
were  all  suffering — the  structural  changes  be- 
ing mere  features  or  developements  of  the 
general  derangement. 

Grentlemen,  we  have  now  established — in- 
disputably established — even  by  the  cases  of 
the  schoolmen  themselves,  that  Fear,  or  any 
other  given  passion ,'~Bark,  or  any  other 
given  chrono-thermal  medicine,  has  each 
cured  a  host  of  maladies,  which  the  authors 
of  nosological  systems  not  only  put  down 
as  separate  and  distinct  disorders,  but  to 
which  the  profession  usually  ascribe  a  dif- 
ference of  cause  and  nature ; — some,  accor- 
ding  to  their  views,  being  diseases  of  debili- 
ty,— some,  nervous — some,  inflammatory. 
Now,  connecting  this  with  the  fact,  that  the 
subjects  of  all  these  apparently  different  ail- 
ments have  Fits  and  Intermissions,  and  have 
each  a  greater  or  less  number  of  the  symp- 
toms or  shades  of  symptom  constituting  the 
particular  type  of  disorder,  so  well  known 
to  the  vulgar  by  the  term  Ague ;  for  which 
the  same  vulgar  are  aware,  there  are  no  pow- 
ers so  generally  applicable,  as  Bark  and  the 
passion  Fear ;  to  what  other  conclusion  can 
an  unpiejudiced  person  come,  than  that  all 
disorders  are  variations  of  this  one  type^ 
that,  abstractedly  speaking,  therais  but  One 
Disease!  If  this  then  oe  true— and  its 
truth  may  be  easily  tested  in  every  hospital 
in  Kurope — am  I  not  justified  in  believing 
that  the  notions  (for  I  will  not  call  them 
principles)  which  have  hitherto  guided  or 
rather  misgiffded  physicians  in  their  treat- 
ment of  disease,  are  a  mere  romance  of  the 
schools ;  that  their  views  of  its  causes  have, 
for  the  most  part,  been  as  erroneous  as  their 
modes  of  cure  are  de/ective ;  and  their  nom- 
enclature and  nariations  throughout,  little 
better  than  an  vnw^can'ng  jargon  ! 

Grentlemen,  1  shall  conclude  these  Lectures 
with  a  brie/  summary  of  the  doctitnes  which 
have  occupied  us  durirg  the  coyrse.  Their 
importance  to  the  human  race,  if  true,  can- 
not for  a  moment  be  doubted  ; — if  proved 
to  be  false,  1  shall  be  the  first  to  acknowledge 
my  error ;  but,  as  I  Faid  in  the  outset,  1  will 
only  apiieal  to  rehults — to  nature.  I  have 
proved,  nowever,  I  hope  to  the  satisfaction 
of  most  of  30a,  that 

1.  The  phenomena  of  perfect  health  con- 
sist in  a  regular  series  of  alternate  motiooa. 


128 


F^lhciBM  ^  th^  JF^awMfly* 


or  erents^  each  embneiag  aspecUU  period  of 

2.  Diaea^e.  under  all  its  modifications,  is 
in  the  first  place  a  simple  exaggeration  or 
diminatioD  of  the  amount  of  the  same  mo- 
tioBB  or  evehts,  and  being  universally  alter- 
Dative  with  a  period  of  comparative  health, 
strictljr  speaking,  resolves  itself  into  Fever, 
— remittent  or  i  ilermittest,  chronic  oi  acute. 
Every  kind  of  ftiiuctural  disoriranizatioD, 
from  Tooth  Decay,  to  Pulmonary  Ooof ump- 
tioD,  and  that  decomposition  of  the  knee> 
joint,  familiarly  known  as  White  Swelling, 
oeing  merely  *'  developments"  in  its  course ; 
— ^Tooth  Consumption,— Lung  ConsumpiioD, 
— Knee  Consumption 

3.  The  tendency  to  disornnization  usually 
denominated  acute  or  inflammatory,  differs 
from  the  chronic  or  scrofulous  in  the  mcie 
amount  of  motion  and  temperature ;—  the 
former  being  more  remarkably  characterized 
by  eicess  of  both,  consequently  exhibits  a 
more  rapid  progress  to  decomposition  or 
cure ;  while  the  latter  approaches  its  rrspec^ 
tive  terminations  by  more  subdued,  and 
therefore  slower  and  less  obvious  altema- 
tions  of  the  same  action  and  tempeiature. 
In  what  does  consumption  of  a  tooth  differ 
fiom  consumption  of  the  lungs,  except  in  the 
difiEerence  of  tissue  involved,  and  the  degree 
of  dang4>r  to  life,  arising  out  of  the  nature  of 
the  respective  offices  of  each. 

Disease,  thus  simplified,  will  be  found  to 
be  amenable  to  a  piinciple  of  treatment 
equally  simple.  Partaking,  throughout  all 
its  modifications,  of  the  nature  of  Ague,  it 
iprill  be  best  met  hy  a  practice  ii\accordance 
iprith  the  proti|r  principle  of  treatment  of  that 
distemper.  When  the  doctrine  of  the  Con- 
coction of  Humours  held  its  baneful  sway 
over  the  mind  of  the  physician,  it  was  con- 
sidered the  greatest  of  medical  errors  to  lepel 
narozvsm— «fach  fit  being  supposed  to  be  a 
iriendly  effort  of  nature,  for  the  expulsion 
of  a  peccant  or  morbid  humor  from  the  body. 
Like  the  jiopulai  enor  of  our  own  day,  so 

Srevalent  in  regard  to  "the  Gout,"  it  was 
eemed  to  be  a  salutary  trial  of  the  consti- 
tution. An  ague  in  spring  was  said  to  be 
good  for  a  king !  That  monarchs  occasio- 
nally became  its  victims  at  this  season,  had 
no  particular  share  in  the  revolution  which 
has  since  taken  place  in  medical  opinion 
So  late  as  the  time  of  Boerhave,  a  pbvMcian 
asserted,  that  if  he  could  oroduce  a  hyet  as 
easily  as  he  could  cure  it,  ne  should  be  wel^ 
satisfied  with  his  own  skill  I  The  conse- 
quence of  such  notions  wa8»  that  the  practi- 
tioner exerted  his  utmost  to  inciease  the 
heat  of  the  body  during  the  paroxysm,— 
but  the  fearful  mortality  attending  the  prac^ 
tice  had  no  other  effect  upon  the  mass  of  the 


profession,  than  to  make  them  redeaUr 
their  exeitions  in  tbo  diseevery  of  netm 
of  inereasing  this  heat,  thst  they  ni^t 
thereby  assist  the  imknown  process  which 
morbid  matter  was  supposed  to  undetfa! 
One  hundred  years  have  scarcely  ebaM 
.^ince  the  fever  patient  was  wnf«peo  in 
blankets,  his  chamber  heated  bv  laige  in§t 
and  door,  window,  and  bed-cartain  ckwi. 
Dpon  him  with  the  most  scrupulous attentioa. 
llie  few  that  escaped  this  terrible  ovM^ 
were  said  to  be  cured— and  theee  cores,  lika 
isnes  fatui,  only  served  to  delude  and  blind 
I  he  practitioner  to  the  awful  mortality  whkh 
followed  the  piaciice. 

Like  the  present  treatment  of  the  tymptemft 
still  absurdly  called  Syphillis,  the  practice 
proved  infinitely  more  destructive  to  life 
than  the  disease  itself— but,  so  far  from  opea* 
ing  men's  eyes,  the  seniors  of  the  profci- 
sion,  when  the  invaluable  Bark  was  DEitia> 
troduced  to  their  notice,  opposed  it  with  ari* 
olence  and  a  virulence  only  since  paralleleJ 
by  the  resistance  offered  to  the  intiodoctioD 
of  the  variolous  and  vaccine  inoculatiott 
To  bring  forward  any  sweeping  or  asefil 
measure  in  Medicine,  requires  a  moral  cov* 
age  and  perseverance  that  fall  to  the  Jot  of 
few.  Toe  man  who  wishes  to  gain  a  rei^ 
notorietv,  has  only  to  puff  off  some  inert  or 
mystical  mode  of  treatment,  and  hisHCce* 
is  certain.  He  must  beware  of  coiniiit  be- 
fore the  public  with  a  remedy  to  wbieb  tke 
stigma  of  poison  can  be  attached.  Docs  sot 
the  qu4ck  constantly  boast  of  the  absolite 
safety  of  his  remedy ! — see  with  what  p- 
tinacity  he  contrasts  his  vegetable  inediciiie 
with  the  words  mineral  poison,  which  W 
he  uses  for  a  bugbear,  as  if  the  ▼cp^^ 


what  are  termed  the  educated  puUie-Hl 
those  can  be  really  educated  who  wob» 
swallow  opium  and  hemlock  in  any  quantitlF 
because  they  are  ventables,  and  wnosppjtf 
not  to  know  that  tabte-f«lt  is  a  mineral— w 
cpal  or  carbon  is  a  mineral — that  iron  and  ta* 
are  miperais,  and  that  all  of  these  minew 
substances  actually  enter  more  or  less  Itijfr 
ly  into  the  economy  of  their  own  liv«< 
frames  !  To  sum  up  the  whole,  every  ▼*• 
gelable  substance  is  the  product  of  the  eaitljj 
and  if  there  be  truth  in  scripture— if  there  « 
a  ttatement  in  the  sacred  writings  more  de 
Berving  of  the  attention  of  the  P^'J^Sf 
than  another,  it  is  that  contained  in  the  38ta 
chapter  of  the  Book  of  Ecclediasticms  w"*- 
ly,  that  •*  The  Lord  hath  created  mediciBej 
out  of  the  earth,  and  he  that  is  wi>e  wil'f«' 
abhor  them !"— Can  the  man  be  a  Cbn^tiaB 


Fallacies  f^  the  FacuUy. 


133 


whOy,  alter  this,  would  dare  to  rave  agaiost 
BUOfi^  medjcinea  ? 

i^  now  practised  in  Englaod,  Medicine  is 
little  better  than  a  copy  of  the  exploded  na- 
Tigatipp  of  the  ancients.  Taking  his  bear- 
ingffe  Jess  by  the  obseryations  of  the  fixed 
atar8»  than  by  every  little  eminence  and  prom- 
inent locality,  the  ancient  mariner,  cautiously 
if  not  timidly,  crept  along  shore.  With  the 
uneiring  compass  for  his  guide,  the  seaman 
now  steers  his  bark  boldly,  upon  the  bonnd- 
ksfS  ocean  I)e8pising  the  localism  that  for- 
merly guided  his  sail,  he  njw  /completes  his 
yojdisa^  to  the  distant  port,  in  as  many  days 
fts  It  formerly  occupied  him  weeks  or  months. 
Kefipjng  in  view  the  principles  here  laid 
doi^n^the  physician,  may  in  like  manner, 
"with  a  few  rare  exceptions,  entirely  dispense 
with  the  common  anatomical  landmarks  ol 
bis  art — if  he  be  not  startled  with  the  novel- 
ty of  the  liebt  by  which  we  have  endeavored 
to  dispel  the  darknem  that  has  hitherto 
doBM  the  field  of  medicine.  Taking  cor- 
poi]ieaI  unity  and  totaUty  for  his  radder  and 
compaiK — the  brain  and  neives  for  the  ocean 
and  seas  on  which  he  is  to  act — temperature 
and  remlttency  for  his  tide  and  season ;  con- 
otitQtion  and  habit  for  the  rule  by  which  he 
must  occasionally  change  his  tack ;  he  may 
Bovr  rapidly  accomplish  ends  which,  by  gro- 
ping among  the  intricacies  of  nomenclature 
or  by  a  vul^  attention  to  mere  localities, 
he  cap  only  impeifectly  attain  by  the  reitera- 
tion of  long  and  pafnful  processes;  he  may 
thus,  with  ease,  obviate  difficulties  which  he 

£reviously  believed  to  be  insurmountable, 
et  hijn  not  question  whether  or  not  the 
adoption  of  this  will  best  serve  his  own  in- 
terest. As  physic  is  for  the  public,  not  the 
public  for  physic,  he  may  rely  with  certainty 
that  notwithstanding  the  present  or^r-crow- 
ded  state  of  the  profession,  the  supply  of 
medical  aid  will  sooner  or  latei>  adjust  itself 
to  its  own,  as  well  as  to  the  j;eneral  weal. 

It  was  one  of  the  boasts  of  the  eccentric 
Badclifie,  that  he  could  vfn\%  the  practice  of 
physic  on  half  a  sheet  of  paper :  the  whole 
m^t  b^  comprised  in  hall  a  line — attention 
to  temperature  I  This,  you  may  be  sure, 
was  Radcliffe's  chief  secret — for  he  was  one 
of  the  earliest  physicians  who  first  introdu- 
ced what  is  called  the  codling  system  in  fe- 
Ter.  When  the  Duke  of  Beaufort  was  taken 
ill  of  the  small-pox,  «•  the  doctor,*'  says  Pot- 
ti^  "  was  sent  for,  and  lound  his  grace's 
windows  shut  up  in  such  a  manner,  by  the 
old  lady  duchess,  his  grandmother's  order, 
that  not  a  breath  of  air  could  come  into  the 
room,  which  almost  deprived  ibe  duke  of  ibe 
y^fy  means  of  respiration.  This  method 
had  been  observed  by  the  physicians  (!)  in 
h^^race's  youthful  days,  and  this  she  was 


resolved  to  abide  by,  as  the  most  proper  la 
this  conjuncture,  beinfj;  fearful  that  her 
rrandson  mi^ht  otherwise  catch  cold,  and» 
0^  means  of  it,  \os%  a  liie  tflat  was  so  pre- 
cious to  her  and  the  whole  nation.  She  had 
also  taken  a  resolution  to  give  her  attendance 
upon  the  duke  in  person  during  his  sickness, 
and  was  in  the  most  violent  consternatioa 
when  Radcliiie  at  his  first  visit  onfered  the 
curtains  of  the  bed  to  be  drawn  open,  and 
the  h'ght  to  be  let  in,  as  usual,  into  his  bed- 
room. "  How,"  said  the  duchess,  "  have 
you  a  miiul  to.  kill  my  grandson  ? — Is  ihia 
tlie  tenderness  and  affection  you  have  al- 
ways expressed  for  his  person — 'tis  most 
certain  his  grandfather  and  I  were  used  after 
another  manner,  nor  shall  he  be  treated  oth- 
erwise than  we  were*  since  werecovered, 
[escaped,  truly !]  and  lived  to  a  great  aga. 
without  any  such  dangerous  experiments'' 
"  All  this  may  be,"  replied  the  doctor,  with 
his  wonted  plainness  and  sincerity,  "  but  I 
must  be  free  with  your  ^race,  and  tell  you, 
that  unless  you  will  give  ine  your  word 
that  you'll  instantly  co  home  to  Chelsea,  and 
leave  the  duke  wholly  to.ioy  care,  1  shall 
not  stir  one  foot  for  him ;  which,  if  you 
will  do,  without  intermeddling  with  yottc 
unnecessary  advice,  my  life  for  his,  that  he 
never  miscarries,  but  will  be  at  liberty  to 
pay  you  a  visit  in  a  month's  time."  Wbej^ 
at  last,  with  abundance  of  difficulty,  that 
great  lady  was  persuaded  to  acquiesce  and 
give  way  to  the  entreaties  of  the  duke  and 
other  noble  relations,  and  had  the  satisfac- 
tion to  see  her  grand«>on,  in  the  time  limited, 
restored  to  perlect  health,  Bhe  had  such  an 
implicit  belief  ol  the  doctor's  skill  after- 
wards, that  though  she  was  in  the  eighty- 
fifth  year  of  hec  age  at  that  very  time,  she 
declared  it  was  her  opinion  that  she  should 
never,  die  while  he  lived,  it  being  in  his 
powei  to  give  length  to  her  days  by  his 
never-faUing  medicines." 

W^i,  Gentlemen,  the  proper  medical 
treatment  of  all  diseases  comes,  at  last,  to 
attention  to  temperature,  and  to  nothing 
more.  What  is  tne  proper  practice  in  Inter- 
mittent Fever  ?  To  apply  waimlh,  or  ad- 
minister cordials  in  the  cold  stage;  in  the 
hot  to  reduce  the  amount  of  temperature  by 
cold  affusion  and  fiesh  air ;  or,  for  the  same 
purpose,  to  exhibit  according  to  circumstan- 
ces, an  emetic,  a  purgative,  or  both  in  com- 
bination. With  quinine,  arsenic,  opium. 
&c.,  the  interval  of  comparative  health— the 
period  of  medium  temperature,  may  be  pro- 
longed to  ^  indefinite  period,  and  in  thai 
manner  may  health  become  established  in 
all  diseases— whether,  from  some  special 
local  developement,  the  disorder  be  dcnorot- 
nated  mania,  epilepsy,  croup,  cynanche,  the 


lU 


Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. 


gout,  the  influenza !  In  the  ear]y  elages  of 
disease,  to  arrest  the  ferer  is,  in  most  instan- 
ces, safficient  fo(  the  reduction  of  every 
kind  of  local  developcment  A  few  rare 
cases  excepted,  it  is  only  when  the  dipordcr 
has  been  of  lon^  standing  and  habitual,  that 
the  physician  will  be  compelled  to  call  to  his 
aid  the  various  local  measures,  which  have 
a  relation  to  the  greater  or  less  amount  of 
the  temperature  of  particular  parts. 

The  Unity  of  Disease  was  first  promul- 
gated by  Hippocrates,  and  for  centuries  it 
was  the  ancient  belief.  In  modern  times  it 
found  an  advocate  in  the  American  physi- 
cian Rush— but  except  in  this  instance  of 
nnity,  betwixt  the  respective  doctrines  of 
both  authors  and  my  doctrine  of  disease 
there  is  not  a  single  feature  in  common 
For  while  the  first,  from  his  observation  of 
the  resemblance  of  disorders  one  to  another, 
inferred  that  one  imaginary  humour  must 
be  the  cause  of  all  complaints— the  doctrine 
of  the  second  was  that  all  disorders  consis- 
ted in  one  kind  of  excitement.  The  princi 
pie  of  Hippocrates  led  him  to  pur^e  and 
•weat; — that  of  Rush  to  bleed,  leech,  and 
starve.  In  practice  and  in  theory  1  am 
equally  opposed  to  both.  Other  physicians 
doubtless  nave  held  the  idea  of  a  unitv  of 
disease,  but  neither  in  the  true  theory  of  the 
nature  of  morbid  action,  nor  in  the  principle 
of  the  practical  application  of  medical  re- 
sources have  I  as  yet  found  the  chron  ther- 
mal system  anticipated.  The  opponents  of 
my  doctrines,  and  those  who  embrace  them 
by  stealth,  have  alike  searched  the  writins^s 
of  the  ancients  in  vain  to  discover  a  simila- 
rity to  them  in  either  respect  If  ]t  be  urged 
against  the  author /of  the  chrono-thermal 
system  of  medicine,  that  he  has  availed 
himself  of  facts  collected  by  others — and 
that  therefore,  all  is  not  his,  which  his  sys- 
tem contains — 1  answer.  Facts  when  ais- 
jointed  are  the  mere  bricks  or  materials  with 
which  the  builders  of  all  systems  must 
work.  And  to  deny  to  any  man  the  merit 
of  being  the  architect  of  a  great  Edifice  of 
Truth  on  that  account,  would  be  just  hp 
Tea«onable  as  to  ascribe  the  merit  of  St. 
Paiul's  Cathedral  to  the  donkeys  and  other 
beasts  of  burden  Sir  Christopher  Wren  ne- 
cessarily  employed  in  fetchinc:  the  marble 
and  mortar  composing  it.  **  Merely  to  co  - 
lect  facts  is  an  easy  and  mindless  task,  that 
any  common  being  can  perform ;  it  requirei* 
eyes  and  hands,  and  almost  dispenses  with  a 
brain;  it  is  the  work  of  a  toiling  wretch, 
who,  like  the  miser,  is  incapable  of  usinjr 
what  he  pa^eesses.  Mere  facts  lie  around 
even  the  aavap:e,  but  he  knows  not  what  he 
•ees-and  such,  precisely  such,  is  the  case 
with  the  mere  learnere  of  the  namee  of 


thin^,  the  collectors  of  littie  facts,  the  na- 
discrinr.inalinf;  triflers,  who  think  they  ace 
cultivating  the  sciences." — [AlexawierWalk' 
er  ]    It  is  of  these,  nevertheless,  that  om 
medical  clubs  and  coteries,  are  chiefly  com- 
posed, and  it  is  with  the  conglomerating  ef- 
fusions of  these  that  the  editors  of  the  med- 
ical press  chiefly  contrive  to  keep  the  d&v- 
light  of  medical  truth  from  the  eyes  of  tne 
student.      *«  Microscopial    observations,"— 
stiaw  splittings,  and  other  little  facts  yoi 
have  from  their  hands  in  abundance-^at 
facts  properly  arranged  and  systeniized  into 
a  whole  or  great  fact;  not  only  do  you  never 
find  in  their  writings — but  when  you  preseat 
such  great  facts  to  their  eyes,  they  ei  bet 
comprehend  them  not,  or  if  they  do  so.  they 
immediately  endeavor  to  steal  or  stifle  the 
discovery.    Out    upon    such   contemptible 
creatures,  fit  only  to 

Suckle  foolt,  and  ehronicla  momII  b«erl 

What  was  the  first  reception  of  the  cb">" 
no-thermal  system  by  medical  men  ?  No 
not  speak  of  its  reception  by  the  amaiiU  of 
the  profession— the  twaddling  intri^ruing  sy- 
cophants of  country  towns — 1  mean  its  re- 
ception by  the  meilical  aristocracy,  as  the 
Court  doctors  call  them«elves  Immediately 
after  its  publication,  one  of  these  court  gentiy 
(James  Johnson)  misrepresented,  ridicoIwL 
and  denieJ  it— three  years  after  that  anolhei 
court  physician  (Holland)  attempted,  asyott 
have  seen,  by  a  side-wind  to  steal  it— three 
years  more  passed  away  and  a  third  court 
doctor  (Forbes)  by  those  meanest  arts,  mis- 
statement and  misquotation,  did  his  little  ea- 
deavoT  to  i^tifle  it.  If  such  was  the  candid 
and  genileman-like  conduct  of  the  town  doc- 
tors, what  had  the  chrono-thermal  system  of 
medicine  to  v^pect  at  the  hands  of  the  phy- 
sic-selling pro\ession  in  the  country  ?  What 
could  these  intiiguing  little  gossips  do  bat 
follow  in  the  wale  of  their  town  masters, 
the  court  physicians  ?  Now  they  ridiculed 
it— now  they  denied  it— bnt  all  the  while 
they  had  no  hesitatioa  to  practice  it  by 
stealth,  some  in  one,  soma  in  another  of  its 
fragments.  This  moment  it  was  partially 
true,  but  not  new ;— the  next,  the  ncwnesi 
was  admitted,  the  truth  denied.  But.  Gentle- 
men, up  to  1836,  wnen  I  first  published  tbi 
heads  of  that  system,  the  profession  to  a  maa 
were  utterly  ignorant  of  the  very  nature  oi 
disease.  Its  periodicity  in  the  case  of  agoe* 
and  in  a  few  othei  disorders,  they  knew— 
the  periodicity  of  all  animal  movement,  whe* 
ther  in  health  or  disease,  they  knew  iiotbirv 
at  all  ahout^--and  of  the  mode  in  which  re- 
medies act  they  were  hist  aa  ignomnl  Aj 
to  blood-letting,  whtcn  tbefcrea^  majority  ot 
them  now  admit  they  did  cany  loo  far.  IM 


r 


Tracts  on  Ctmsumption* 


126 


exelittuon  of  jt  from  the  cbrono- thermal  sys- 
tem. 00  far  from  being  its  principal  feature, 
as  some  of  them  pretend,  is  only  a  fragmen- 
lal  part  that  of  necessity  foIJowed  its  disco- 
"very.  I  have  never  taken  credit  for  being 
the  first  opponent  of  the  lancet.  But  one 
thing  in  r^ard  to  this  matter  I  do  claim  credit 
for — I  claim  credit  for  being  the  fiist  man 
"who,  by  a  strong  array  of  mcts,  and  some 
force  of  reasoning,  produced  an  impression 
€tt  the  public  that  all  the  facts  and  all  the 
arguments  of  former  opponents  of  the  lancet 
never  beforfi  produced  on  the  Profession ; 
namely,  an  impression  of  the  dangerous  na- 
ture of  the  remedy ;  and  whether  they  like  to 
be  told  of  it  or  not.  I  claim  to  have  either 
convinced  or  compelled  the  profession  mate- 
rially to  alter  their  practice.*  In  all  the  late 
medical  reviews  of  my  writings,  the  subject 
of  blood-letting,  which  afforded  so  much 
mirth  to  my  early  critics,  has  either  been 
kept  entiiely  in  the  back-ground,  or,  if  noti- 
ced at  all,  my  strictures  on  it  are  declared  to 
be  a  mere  echo  of  the  present  opinions  of  the 
profession !— but  wheiner  they  be  so  or  not, 
the  astute  editors  of  these  publications  deter- 
mine that  no  merit  attaches  to  me  for  my  en- 
deavors to  put  it  down,  inasmuch  as  it  had 
been  equally  opposed  and  decried  by  some- 
body of  some  place  or  another  in  Greece,  who 
Jived  before  the  time  of  the  Messiah  I  Gren- 
tlemen,  to  say  blood-lettincc  is  a  bad  remedy 
tB  one  thing ;  to  fmrne  it  to  be  bad  is  another ; 
of  force  the  world  to  believe  and  act  upon 
joui  arguments  against  it,  in  the  teeth  of  the 
opinion  of  the  wond,  is  a  still  greater  achieve- 
ment That  merit  I  distinctly  claim.  The 
silence  and  admissions  of  the  medical  press 
on  that  head  eauaily  attest  the  fact ;  while 
the  recent  bare- faced  attempt  of  Dr.  Lavcock, 
ander  the  disguised  (?)  name  of  "  Vital  Peri- 
odicity,*' to  purloin  my  doctrine  of  the  Peri- 
odic movement  of  all  Vttdiiy^  whether  in 
health  or  disease,  is  as  much  a  compliment 
to  the  genius  of  its  real  discoverer  as  it  is  a 
pioof  of  the  worth  of  the  discovery.  On  that 

•  Even  upon  the  labjeet  of  ApopUxiff  it  is 
amvsiDg  to  tee  the  maimer  in  which  those 
who  formerly  advocated  ttie  lancet  in  that 
disease  now  end  avor  to  get  oat  of  their  diA- 
colty.  Sir  C.  Bell,  Dr.  C'ltttterbnek»  Dr  Mar- 
shall Hall,  Mr.  Wardrop,  fcc,  in  veent  re- 
viarks  npon  the  treatment  of  apoplexy  give  to 
BMUiy  doubts,  CMiliOM.  and  rtHirvaiUmt  as  all 
bat  to  amount  to  a  complete  prohibition  of 
the  laaeet  in  this  disease— not  one  of  them, 
however,  having  the  boldness  to  oppose  it 
entirely  In  direct  words,  or  virtue  enough  to 
aeknowledge  to  whom  he  owes  the  new  light 
that  has  so  lately  come  upon  him  in  this  m  t- 
Isr.— <:  Awftil  is  the  doel  between  M ja  sad 
Iha  Aaa  hi  which  he  Uvssl"— JMint. 


discovery  is  based  the  whole  chrono-thennal 
system  of  medidne. 

Before  concluuiug,  I  will  just  make  a  re- 
mark upon  the  subject  ol  the  do^es  of  all 
medicines.  Perceiving,  as  ^ou  must  have 
(lone  by  this  time,  the  utter  impossibiiitv  of 
fc  retelling,  in  many  cases,  especially  of  chro- 
nic disease,  the  particular  agent  by  which 
you  are  to  obtain  amelioration  or  cure, — and 
as  in  almost  every  case  where  an  agent  does 
not  act  favorably,  it  does  the  reverse — yon 
must  sec  the  necessity  of  commencing  your 
treatment  with  the  smallest  available  doses 
of  the  more  potent  remedies ;  of  feeling  your 
way,  in  short,  before  you  venture  upon  the 
doses  prescribed  by  the  schools  Let  me 
not,  for  a  moment,  be  supposed  to  counte- 
nance the  homoeopathic  nonsense.-The  12th 
part  of  a  grain  of  calomel,  for  example,  is  a 
proper  medicine  to  give  to  an  infant ;  but 
such  dose  has  no  more  relation  ,to  the  mil- 
lionth or  decillionth  part  of  a  grain  of  the 
same  substance,  then  the  twelfth  part  of  a 
bottle  of  wine — one  glass— has  to  a  drop  of 
that  liquid.  The  one  nas  power  to  influence 
the  whole  body ; — the  other  is  utterly  inap- 
preciable beyond  the  taste  it  may  impart  to 
the  tongue,  the  only  organ  it  can,  by  any 
possibility,  even  momentarily  influence. — 
Gentlemen,  pity  the  Homoeopathists !— shun 
the  Pathologists  and  Bloodsuckers— and  fol- 
low only  that  best  guide  of  the  physician- 
Nature  !  not  in  the  confined  sense  of  our 
mortal  economy,  but  in  every  department  of 
her  works. — One  great  principle  binds  them 
together— Goo,  in  nis  Unity,  prevades  them 


(For  tfM  DiMector.) 

TBA0T8  ON  OORBtrMPTXOV. 

NUMBER  THRKE. 

On  th«  Oaass  and  Pr«v<ation  of  Tvhsronlar 
Fhthisis. 

By  J G •  M  D. 

The  term  Phthisis,  being  that  of  Hippo- 
crates, imports  the  high  antiquity  of  acerUuB 
disease,  and  the  interpretation  given  of  it  by 
Arctaeus  shows  that  it  is  the  same  which  is 
so  alarmingly  frequent  and  fatal  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  and  characterised  as  Consumption. 
T>  e  aid  which  the  study  of  the  origin  and 
cauffc  obviously  contributes  to  the  accurate 
knowledge  of  all  the  departments  of  disuse 
must  have  made  an  enquiry  into  this  subject 
coeval  with  the  first  observations  of  Cbn- 
,  I  sumption.  Moral  and  physical  evils  coexist 
}  with  and  exert  an  agency  in  producing,  per- 


126 


Tresis  on  ^mstimption. 


liaps,  every  form  of  ditease,  and  this  con 
nezion  being  obvioas  to  the  flenses  and  the 
understanding  thef  earl^  formed  a  branch  of 
Medical  Science,  that  mcJades  many  of  its 
essential  principles.  The  importance  of  this 
eonnezion  is  perceived  to  be  snch  that  it  may 
he  said*  in  proportion  as  the  medical  prac- 
titioner is  acquainted  with  the  jnst  relations 
between  its  various  parts,  so  will  he  be  ena- 
bled to  prevent  the  existence,  or  to  treat  with 
•Qccess  the  diseases  which  may  come  under 
his  care.  The  species  into  which  Hippo- 
crates divided  Consumption,  embracing  as 
they  do  tbe  varieties  of  good  classifications 
of  the  present  day,  show  that  he  had  dili- 
gently endeavored  to  investigate  it ;  and  his 
book  De  Aribus  affords  evidence  that  the 
physical  evil  whence  it  springs  had  engaged 
nis  serious  attention.  Apparent  as  it  then 
is,  that  the  cause  of  consumption  did  not 
escape  the  enquiries  of,  the  earliest  cultiva- 
tor of  medicine,  it  still  does  not  appear  that 
he,  any  more  than  the  countless  devotees  to 
medical  science  who  have  followed  in  his 
steps,  discovered  any  thing  in  relation  to  its 
true  nature. 

Investi^tions  into  the  origin  and  nature  of 
Phthisis  Pnlmonalis  have  given  authority  to 
the  opinion  that  two  things  are  necessary  to 
its  production— a  cause  which  nets  on  the 
lungR,  and  a  disposition  in  the  lungs  to  be 
acted  upon ;  or  in  the  language  of  medical 
men,  a  predisposing  and  an  exciting  cause. 
The  first  of  these  may  be  regarded  as  the 
cause  which  induces  the  morbid  state  of  the 
constitution,  giving  the  name  and  character 
of  tubercular  diathesis ;  and  the  second  that 
which  determines  the  local  deposition  of  tu- 
berculous matter.  The  difference  in  the  ope- 
ration of  the  two  causes  may  be  illustrated  by 
considering  that  a  person  little  exposed  to 
the  exciting  cause  may  have  the  constitu- 
tional afifection  long  before  any  local  disease 
becomes  manifest ;  while  no  degree  of  expo- 
sure to  exciting  causes  will  determine  the  lo- 
cal disease  when  the  constitutional  affection 
does  not  exist.  Of  the  predisposi^ir  causes 
the  most  prominent  is  considered  a  certain 
feebleness  of  constitution,  the  result  of  he- 
reditary predisposition  to  tuberculous  fofma- 
tions.  Indeed,  the  great  importance  given 
to  hereditary  influences  in  the  Causation  of 
the  disease,  and  the  small  share  which  it  is 
believed  external  agents  possess,  when  he- 
reditary taint  is  not  also  prenent.  is  the  stri. 
king  peculiarity,  in  the  views  of  consuinp- 
tion  entertained  by  medical  men  of  the  pres- 
ent  day  •    Besides  this  cau.-e,  several  others 

•  Od  this  subject,  so  painful  to  the  feelings 
Of  parentu,  it  is  highly  probable  pbystciaDS 
liavft  ganeraiisea  too  largely.    ObservaUon 


are  added,  as  interference  with  the  tfnehti* 
tritiou  of  the  body,  from  dfefidetat  or  imjAb* 
per  diet,  absence  of  sufficient  exercitelo 
insure  the  proper  growth  and  developilRlQt 
of  the  body,  or  its  check  from  the  exMdM- 
ing  and  debilitating  effects  of  exceseimW- 
bor;  an  imperfectly  protected  state  Df  the 
body  from  inadequate  clothing;  inattentKm 
to  cleanliness;  gluttony  and  the  abntt  of 
spirituous  liquors ;  and  intense  aflbctiods  of 
the  mind,  viewed  as  predisposing  caitt^ 
this  enumeration  of  evils  Is  as  appOcaUeto 
any  other  disease  as  consumption ;  arid,'at 
any  rate,  they  have  been  fully  at\d  eta!bo* 
rately  treated  of,  and  with  all  the  importance 
due  to  them,  in  monograph  treatises  ou  the 
disease.  As  my  object  is  not  to  repeat  what 
has  been  said  on  Consnmption,  but  to  endea- 
vor to  find  out  what  oug:ht  to  be  said,  I  shall 
dismiss  this  subject  with  the  remarks,  that 
the  terms  predisposing  and  exciting  have 
been  found  useful  in  facilitating  an  undier- 
standing  of  the  disease ;  but  if  we  can  deter- 
mine the  true  cause  of  the  effect— discover 
that  efficient  source  of  the  disease  wbidi, 
when  present  may  be  and  is  followed  by  it, 
and  which  being  absent  it  cannot  exist— 
the^e  terms  may,  without  disadvantage,  be 
banished  from  medicine. 


shows  that  wh  Je  no  temperament,  cdaplex- 
ion,  or  frame  of  body  confers  immunity  fton 
Consiimptioo ;  and  it  is  frequently  otaertvd 
to  originate  in  the  healthy  otftpring  of  b«l- 
thy  parents,  the  infimcy  and  yon. fa  of  lbs 
chtiilren  of  tubereuJous  parents  are  very efte 
eharftcterized  by  as  full  a  deTelopmentoftke 
organs  and  general  systeni^  andasactivsa 
state  of  the  iunctiona,  as  in  those  who  are 
considered  free  from  the  supposed  taint; 
while,  equally  with  them,  they  may  die  ia 
old  age  without  the  superyention  of  the  dh- 
ease.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  Impan 
nutriment  whieh  the  fotus  derives  from  As 
abnormal  state  of  the  blood,  and  the  istati 
from  the  milk  of  a  tnbereuJoas  mother,  mtf 
reasonably  be  regarded  as  the  loarocs  of  Hit 
disease  when  it  exists  at  these  early  perioth 
of  life.  But  as  tubercular  consnmption  is  far 
the  most  frequently  deTelopcd  after  pdbtetf, 
and  after  the  efaanges  of  eonsdtutioa  tatn 
shown  that  the  effects  of  ..iseased  flBtal  er  la- 
fantile  nutriment  faaveftnr  a  long  tlmeMhied 
to  act,  and  l>een  superseited,  We  must  Mc 
for  its  cause  in  some  more  general,  cousiBit 
and  independent  source.  It  is  possible  4o 
coneeire  that  au  impulse  to  the  UiseaMliiiT 
be  present  in  Che  materials  furnished  bysas 
or  both  parents  at  a  feeundatiog  eopoHiitieo; 
but  it  is  impossible  to  undetstand  how  it  sao 
remain  latent  for  an  indefinite  'naart>er  t»f 
years,  or,  as  tMlieved,  for  one  or  mors  fiis- 
rations.  The  diseovery  ami  applieatiosof  a 
eofwa  rer»  will  obviate  the  neeeaUty  offf^- 
ing  these  «QffleoltiM. 


TVmC*  '9n  OtnmtmpHon. 


ifer 


Ulii*  mill  cAMe  of  Conrampticm  is  u»  be 
icMrfctd  for  in  ft  TiiiatiDn  of  the  atmoephere. 
The  Mmiftfle  tboto  prodooeU  kj  this  dement 
«||0W  that  it  hfts  «  powerfol  ft&d  eiidariqg 
iniiieieeoiKer'dieterreitrial  creation.  It  is 
MMfpoisedas  tlw  chief  agent  ia  producing 
4mbA  18  the  gland  recipient  of  a  laij^  propor- 
tioo  of  natom's  operatioas.  It  is  the  perpe- 
itdaUy  workiaj;  iaboralory,  in  which  4^nta 
fteona  diatiUation,  eubKination,  composition 
wid  deeompofiition  parsne  their  eternally  re* 
cttrfing  revdltttioRa.  In  addition  to  the  well 
kaofra  chemical  elemeots  of  its  eompoaition, 
ita  contents  are  the  mineral  vapors  from  the 
4MrCh,the  ptroduets  of  eomhastion  and  reapira 
tiicm  and  of  the  irolatile  exarift-^whether 
f;afleotts  or  flaid-M>f  animal  and  vegetable  de- 
^wnposition.  Besides  these  vaporoas  and 
gafeeoas  prodnctions,  -we  now  know  .that  the 
alRiosphere  is  feeighled  with  coontlefis  mtUti- 
tndes  of  insect  ovula  and  vegetable  s^mina, 
which,  on  meeting  with  a  proper  nidus,  are 
lialcfaed  and  developed  into  or^nised  matter. 
This  is  clear  to  the  naturalist,  when  be  ob- 
flerres  that  stagnant  water,thoiigh  purified  by 
distillation  and  confined  in  a  marble  basin, 
will,io  a  short  lime,  become  loaded  on  its  snr- 
&ee  or  abont  its  sides  with  various  species  of 
confetras,  while  the  interior  will  be  peopled 
with  microscopic  animalcules.  To  this 
tfaiokly  inhabited  state  of  the  atmosphere 
has  'been  satisfactorily  traced  the  cause  of 
the  npid  and  wonderful  effects  of  what,  in 
common  language,  is  called  a  blight  upon 
'plantations  and  gardens;  and  of  the  appear- 
ance of  lichens  and  mosses  which,  in  a 
ainffle  night,  wili  line  the  surface  of  floors 
and  brick  walls.* 

Importance  has  been  given  to  this  subject 
hf  many  physicians,  and  particularly, the  dis- 
ciples of  the  Litinean  School,  hairing  con- 
mered  organic  matters  floating  in  the  air,  as 
tbe  direct  cause  of  nearly  all  tne  diseases  to 
which  both  animals  and  vegetables  are  sub- 
ject. More  cecently  Hahnemann,  in  his-or- 
gaoon,  tells  us  that  almost  all  chronic  disea- 
«es  are  the  result  of  a  morbific  aniinar  miasm 
•w4ich  he  calls  the  psnri  or  iich  principle.- 
^eeoidin^  to  Dr.  fiaron  all  tubercular  dis- 
eaie,  originates  from  vesicular  worms,  ^ene- 
fated  in  minute  serous  cysts.  This  opii)ipn 
lias  received  a  degree  of  support  from  the 
leeuarches  and  assertions  of  Dupuy;  who 
atates  that  he  has  traced  tbe  conversion  of « he 
Cysts,  containiag  these  animals  into  collec- 
tions of  tuberculous  matters.  It  is  some  fur- 
ther corroboration  of  these  views,  as  appli- 
cable to  consumption  to  find  that  animalcules 
can  always  be  discerned  in  the  Sputa  of  its 
^rietira^,  while  vegetable  organizatitMis  have 

.'  ^Qood's  Sla^ of  Medicia%  vol.  i^  p.l97. 


been  found  connected  with  thematterelAited 
into  the  textures  in  tuberculous  constita* 
tions. 

Although  (he  atmosphere  acts  wKh  mat 
energy  upon  the  inorganic  materials,  and  the 
microscopic  productions  of  our  planet,  its 
influence  over  the  two  great  visible  classes 
of  animal  and  vegetable  lile  is  more  conspi- 
cuously discerned.  To  animal  life  it  is  ob- 
served to  be  more  particularly  indispensibte ; 
without  it,  respiration  is  impossible;  all  its 
other  functions  must  cease,  and  death  be  in- 
evitable. But  this  fluid  so  essential  to  Vi- 
tality, «tbis  most  excellent  canopy,  tiiis 
brave  overhanging  firmament,  this  majei^c 
roof,  fretted  with  golden  fire,**  is  the  direct 
source  of  the  greater  position  of  *'  ibe  ills 
that  flesh  is  heir  to.*'  Whether  organic 
or  inorganic  mafters  be  tdis  source  of  dete- 
rioration we  may  be  unable  to  determine ; 
but  enlightened  observation,  in  various  parts 
of  the  earth,  shows  that  human  health  can- 
not be  maintained,  without  a  certain  degitee 
of  chemical  purity  in  tbe  elements  of  the  at- 
mosphere. From  the  reasons  already  men- 
tioned, it  is  evident,  the  portion  of  its  con- 
stituents essential  to  this  purity  rarely  exists; 
and,  though  we  do  not  well  understand  in 
what  the  impurities  consist,  or  tbe  principles 
on  which  tbey  act,  yet  their  influence  in  in- 
ducing, at  least,  those  general  diseases  term- 
ed eimemical  and  epidemical,  is  generally 
acknowledged. 

Uncertain  as  we  are  as  to  the  precise  na- 
ture of  the  morbid  changes  of  the  respirable 
medium  which  induce  disease,  yet  they  have 
been  always  supposed  to  arise  from  onet>f 
two  causes :  *'  either  some  temporary  pecu- 
liarity in  the  constitution  of  the  atmosphere 
itself,  or  a  mixture  of  adventitious  deleteri* 
ous  matters  with  it  '*  Illusive  ts  the  diflbr- 
ence  between  these  two  causes  has  been  ta 
the  researches  of  philosophers,  it  is  of  '3i.« 
questionably  great  importance,  as  well  at  taj 
determination  as  to  which  is  the  true  one, 
because  it  involves  the  dearest  interests  of 
the  human  family.  If  diseases  are  depen- 
dent on  tbe  former,  it  is  scarcely  possible -to 
conceive  that  they  admit  of  control,  while, 
if  they  are  generated  by  the  latter,  they  may 
he  prevented  by  a  simple  application  of  hu- 
man agency.  But  tbe  subject  in  all  its  hear- 
ings is  one  of  the  most  difficult  to  elucidate 
that  can  be  pr«*8ented  hj  any  science,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  impassable  nature, 
or  apparent  variety  of  the  causes  themselves, 
but,  also,  because  of  the  mysterious  action 
which  tbey  exert  on  tbe  living  systt^m.  Its 
obscurity  ^ves  importance  to  tbe  investiga- 
tion, and,  while  it  justifies  the  labor,  requites 
that  it  should  be  examined  in  detail. 

in  ihe  eariy  agen  of  medicine,  and  .before 


tea 


TVacis  an  CansumptUm. 


chemistry  existed  as  a  science,  the  general 
suffrage  of  physicians  seemed  to  be  in  favor 
of  the  opinion  that  some  undefined  change 
in  the  properties  of  the  air,  independent  of 
the  mixture  with  any  accidental  impur'ties, 

SEive  rise  to  all  endemical  and  epidemical 
iseases.  And  it  is  the  general  opinion,  at 
this  day,  that  certain  states  or  vicissitudes  of 
the  atmosphere,  particularly  in  its  tempera- 
ture or  h}d  ometric  condition,  may  produce 
■|>oradic  ailments,  if  not  some  of  general 
prevalence.  Consumption  in  particular,  has 
leen  considered  not  only  dependent  for  its 
predisposition  on  a  cold,  damp  and  variable 
climate ;  but  as  in  an  especial  manner  deter- 
mined by  this  cause  to  its  local  manifestation 
in  the  lungs.  The  direct  and  constant  expo- 
sure of  the  lungs  to  this  element,  would  na- 
turally surest  It  as  the  probdble  source  of 
ail  their  sulments.  In  corroboration  of  the 
apnaient  truth  of  this  opinion,  we  find  remo- 
val from  such  a  climate,  as  above  mentioned, 
to  one  which  is  warm,  dry  and  more  equable 
IS  well  known  to  be  productive  of  the  roost 
beneficial  effects  to  phthisical  invalids,  where 
other  therapeutic  s^nts  are  of  little  avail. 
**  U  we  take  into  account  also  the  effect  of  the 
continual  action  a  bland  atmosphere  on  the 
extensive  surface  of  the  respiratory  organs 
both  as  abating  irritation  of  the  lungs,  and 
enabling  them  more  effectually  to  prcnluce 
those  changes  in  the  blood  that  are  essential 
to  health,  we  have  an  apparently  satisfactory 
explanation  of  the  results  observed."  And 
ipvhen,  on  the  other  hand,  we  observe  a  change 
from  tbe  latter  to  the  former  climate,  is  as 
frequently  attended  by  a  contrary  state  of  tbe 
functions  and  of  the  circulation,  with  a  de- 
terioration of  health,  we  car.  scarcely  avoid 
attributing  the  evil  consequences  of  consump- 
tion, to  these  states  of  the  atmosphere.  But 
it  may  be  said, in  modification  of  these  views, 
that  there  is  reason  for  believing  that  con- 
Bumption  is  limited  to  no  climate,  and  scarce- 
ly to  any  country.  It  is  particularly  prevalent 
over  the  temperate  regions  of  Europe  and 
Northern  America,  it  extends  over  tbe  istes 
of  the  oceans ;  pervades  the  northern  tropics ; 
and  according  to  recent  statistical  reports  ex- 
erts its  most  destructive  influence  in  the  West 
Indiea.  If  there  is  any  portion  of  our  earth 
exempt  from  the  direful  efects  of  this  terrible 
disofder,  it  is  the  southern  hemisphere ;  and 
certain  facts  render  it  very  donbtful  whether 
it  prevails  endemically,  or  in  that  common 
form  of  our  division  that  affects  the  serous 
tissue,  in  any  part  of  that  region.  Tbe  dif- 
ferent mafcnetical  or  electridiil  condition  of 
that  hemisphere  justifies  the  inference  that  a 
disease,  which  we  shall  show  has  a  direct 
lelation  to  this  state  of  the  earth  cannot  pro- 
•  WUy  originate  in  it    ThiBConjeeture  is  sus- 


tained by  reference  to  the  medical  reponseE 
the  British  army,  which  show  that  at JW 
cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  in  Aasualia,tbi 
mortality  from  this  disease  is  smaller  thtt 
in  any  part  of  the  northi^  heroisphcie,  it 
which  the  subject  has  been  eunined  will  t 
view  to  determine  this  fact  In  regard  to  tbis 
proof  of  tbe  existence  of  the  dlMSse  ia  the 
southern  portion  of  the  woild,  it  moit  be 
considered  that  the  estimate  is  taken  fiom  ac- 
counts illustrating  its  prevalence  aiaoag 
strangers,  and  who,  in  all  probability, brought 
with  them  the  disposition  to  it  Other  medi- 
cal statistics  assert  that  the  disease  does  not 
originate  in  Peru,  Quito,  or  Buenos  Ayrea 
Oiir  information  respecting  the  infUieaet 
which  the  di£ferent  electrical  states  of  the 
hemispheres  exerts  over  tuberculous  dlacsse 
is  too.  limited  and  imperfect  to  enable  os  to 
decide  how  far  they  are  causes  of,  or  famish 
exemption  from  the  disease.  But  tbe  freedoa 
of  intercourse,  which  a  long  peace  and  the 
extension  of  commerce  have  been  the  means 
of  producing,  throughout  the  different  parts 
of  the  world,  has  subjected  all  regions  and 
climates  to  the  acquaintance  of  accurate  and 
intelligent  observers;  and  it  may  be  reason- 
biy  calcu'ated  that  the  data  will  soon  be 
multiplied  from  which,  upon  comparisoa  of 
one  country  with  another,  the  real  cauMsof 
di^aae  may  be  ascertained.  No  subject  is 
more  worthy  of  full  examination,  or  voold, 
in  all  probability,  be  attended  widnnorein- 
portant  results. 

But  since  the  discoTerien  oi  <bemiiA7» 
and  more  particularly  of  hydro^n,  and  the 
other  ^ases  by  Cavendish  and  his  follo«ei>i 
the  opinion  is  more  probable  that  atflM>qlh^ 
ric  heat,  or  moisture,  acting  alone  er  to- 
gether, and  even  though  aJtemaling  w 
cold,  is  not  capable  of  producing  an  epidenib 
an  endemic,  or,  perhaps,  any  one  of  those 
forms  of  disease  which  are  commonlyaeerihed 
to  these  causes.  To  effect  such  a  result  sow- 
thing  roust  be  superadded  to  the  oidioafj 
constitution  of  the  atmosphere— it  is  Mm- 
sary  that  there  should  be  a  m<Nrbid  conditioB 
of  the  air  we  breathe,  independent  of  either 
mere  temperature  or  moisture,  -  That  allef- 
nations  or  fluctuations  in  these  phenMNit 
exercise  a  great  influence  in  tbe  developocBl 
of  diseases  admits  of  no  doubt ;  bat  akne 
they  can  only  act  as  predisposiDg  csMsa 
Besides,  obeervatjon  and  feseareh  as  well  as 
reasoning  assure  us  that  daring  the  px^ 
lence  of  both  endemics  and  epidcmialhe 
atmosphere  sdways  receives  some  eiime«- 
ouB  aeoesBionB,  other  than  either  betl  oi 
moistuie.  By  takiiy  this  compieheBBVt 
view  of  the  caosea  oi  diflease,  we  act  •«« 
in  harmony  with  the  tme  system  of  pbii<*^ 
phixing»  iaaBomdi  a*  it  refen  to  ai^'^**^ 


TrandB  M  CoMsumpium. 


129 


t  9wi  pftlf  able  rdation  between  ihe  efiect  and 
a  cave,  and  by  directing  oar  attention  to, 

■  enabJee  w  to  approach  nearer  to  the  diaco- 
veiy  of  tbe  nature  of  atmospheric  deteiioia* 

tiOD. 

Though  no  doobt  can  be  entertained  of 
the  agency  of  atmospberical  influences  in 
toe  Droduction  of  many  diseases  and  partic- 
vfauly  Consumption;  yet  the  manner  in 
which  it  acts  is  not  easily  proved.  Whe- 
ttei  the  deteriomtionsact  diiectly  on  the  ner- 

-  Toos  system,  or,  as  I  have  found  reasons  for 
•upp^nsT,*  produce  their  effect  primarily  on 
the  blood,  and  through  it  on  the  solids  of 
the  body,  or  whether  they  are  all  acted  upon 

•  together  and   simultaneously,  remains  for 

-  further  eonsideraiion  and  reseaich  It  is 
eertsun  that  chemical  analyses  of  the  atmos- 
phere, rarely,  or  never  present  it  to  our  sen- 
ses as  formed  simply  of  those  gaseous  ele- 
ments considered  essential  to  its  composition. 
Acting  upon  every  species  of  mineral,  upon 
every  kind  and  state  of  animal  and  v^eta- 

-  ble  bodies, — the  receptacle  of  myriads  m  or- 
ganised substances; — ^the  air  we  breathe, 
eomes  to  us  loaded  with  various  heterogene- 
ous matters,  which,  though  imperceptible  to 
the  analytic  chemist,  may  be  supposed  to  in- 
dude  every  form  and  species  of  gaseous 
combination  known  to  us,  and  others  which 
liarc  yet  eluded  the  researches  of  the  most 
patient   investigators.      These   extraneous 
aubstances  so  far  as  known,  are  most  gene- 
lally  compounds  of  carbon  and  hydrogen, 
walphnrand  hydro^n,  probably  all  the  com- 
pounds of  metals  with  hydrogen,  selenit^m 
and  hydrogen,  cyanogen,  or  other  compounds 
of  carbon  and  nitrogen^  ammonia,  animal- 
cules and    microscopic  vegetation.     Some 
specific  .combination  of  these  gaseous  and 
organic  products,  possessing  peculiar  quali- 
tiea,  and  imparting  a  peculiar  vitiation  to  the 
aJT,  Tfl  undoubtedly  the  cause  of  both  ende- 
tnical  and  epidemical  diseases.    The  evidence 
of  this  appears  in  the  similarity  of  soil,  and 
general  elements  of  climate  necessary  to  the 
production  of  diseases,  as  well  as  in  the 
analogy,  or  identity,  all  over  the  earth,  of 
the  several  forms  of  disease  referred  to  viti- 
ation of  the  atmosphere  for  their  origin. 
But  as  these  combinations  undergo  constant 
decomposition,  and  form  new  compounds  as 
ioon  as  dissolved,  even  under  the  procew  of 
anaNzalion,  it  is  impossible  with  our  pre- 
sent knowledge,  and  may  always  be  so  to 
define  the  kinds  or  quantities  of  matters  ne^ 
eesMiry  to  produce  the  variety  of  ailments 
dependent  upon  vitiation  of  the  atmosphere 
UnflMiflfacforv  as  have  been  antecedent  dis- 
covcHes,  or  future  may  continue  to  be,  it  is 


•«••  MooJier  2,  Page  K  ot  tMs  Yolame. 


still  useful  to  be  abletoevtablish  the  position, 
that,  from  the  contemporaneous  existence  of 
most  diseases,  with  peculiar  conditions  of 
the  atmosphere,  they  are  undoubtedly  con- 
nected with  extraneous  aerial  absorptions. 

But  though  atmospheric  impurities  are  a 
very  great,  and  the  chief  source  of  the  dis- 
eases to  which  the  human  frame  is  liable; 
yet  it  is  not  by  their  direct  action  on  anjr 
part  of  the  system,  that  they  produce  their 
deleterious   operation.      No  one  of   these 
gases,  nor  an^  combination  of  them  admi- 
nistered art.ficialiy  will  produce  an  intermit- 
tent fever,  the  influenza,  or  consumption. 
It  is  true  that  efiects  somewhat  similar  have 
been  observed  to  arise  from  the  respiration  of 
particular  gases ;  but  however  analogous  in 
appearance  they  cannot  be  considered  iden- 
tical ;  resembling  diseases  of  particular  names 
in  many  of  their  phenomena,  but  still  so  dif- 
ferent as  to  be  unlike  both  in  nature  and  ecu- 
sequences.    It  is  by  the  electrical  states  in- 
duced in  the  atmosphere  by  combination  of 
gases,  vapors  and  organized  substances,  too 
complex  for  human  ingenuity  to  imitate; 
that  the   rf>spiratory  organs,  and  through 
them  the  blood,  and  through  that  fluid  the 
energy  of  all  parts  of  the  system  is  afiected, 
and  the  phenomena  of  disease  become  appar 
rent.    If  we  consider  that  the  facts  connec- 
ted with  animal  life,  accumulated  by  modern 
physiologists,  point  to  and  authorise  the  opi- 
nion that  vitality  is  but  an  exalted  electrical 
slate,  in  which  electricity  as  known  to  the 
ex|)erimenta1  philosopher,  galnnism,  mag- 
netism, chemisUy,  and  the  common  physical 
laws  of  matter  are  subordinate  and  contribu- 
tory,-we  shall  not  hesitate  to  recognize  the 
probability,  that  the  presence  of  an  agent, 
partaking  of  the  same  character,  and  exist- 
ing in  undue  quantities,  mnst  modify  i's  ac- 
tion, and  thus  form  the  tjue  and  uitmate 
source  of  diseases. 

The  energy  of  electridty  and  its  known 
influence  over  organized  matter,  whether 
animal  or  vegetable,  must  convince  us  that 
any  deficiency  or  redundancy  of  it  in  the  air 
we  breathe  cannot  be  long  endured,  espe- 
cially by  the  feeble,  without  the  most  inju- 
rious consequences.  When  the  constitution 
is  enervated  and  possesses  that  character 
which  is  denominated  the  tubercniar  diathe- 
sis, all  the  parts  of  the  economy  partake 
of  the  debility,  and  any  defect  in  what  is 
essential  to  the  due  elaboration  and  p>  rfec- 
tion  of  the  animal  fluids,  and  to  the  energy 
of  the  nervous  power,  as  of  electricity,  is 
felt  with  greater  force,  and  is  productive  of 
much  more  iniury  than  in  sound  health.  A 
redundancy  of  the  vivifving  influence  of  elec- 
tricity must  favor  the  formation  and  devel- 
opment of  morbid  accumnlaions,  like  tuber- 


ISO 


rjfVBsAf  '#A  Cot^sttUfriiirtu 


'«lMia  «he  tyttoHi  ^  Ibr  it  is  refidtreJ  vlinost 
'cntMii  hfy  sTarietfof  faettthftt  the  proper 
perfeta»Bce«f  the  foiUBtions  in  the  toman 
•OodjrreqaiMs  a  ijced  qtisuitity-  ai  this  fluid. 
Tins  lias  been  pnivid  if  Dr.  VVUton  Phil'^ 
9mA  otfaen  in  nameroat  ezperimeotB  on  ani* 
Mais,  ttKMigfb  it  taiiut  be  admitted,  not  so 
Nearly,  or  to  the  same  eztetit,  as  in  its  well 
■aiked  elbetson  the  gmwth  aad  properties 
of  piaitlg.  it  has  been  distinetly  observed 
that  aader  its  action 'the  anioKii  fanettonaaie 
•diaehaffged  wiiii  iacraaMd  vigor,  nrtieniarl;) 
'Hiie  oircttblion  of  the  blood,  and  the  cuta 
nsoimaecrttion.  Obaerrations  each  as  these 
'aad  man]^  Others  «f  a  aimilar  deeeriptfoa, 
wfaioh  ought  be  quoted,  demonstrate  very 
oompleteiy  that  the  animal  taaciuoe  is  sen- 
•sibly  affificted  by  electricity;  and  there  is 
nothfBg'nnprobable  in  the  conjecture  that  its 
varying «tate8  in  the  atmosphere  is  theeauae 
of  the  salubrity  or  insalubrity  of  particular 
^ietrietsand  seasons,  the  existence  and  charac- 
ter of  epidemic  and  endemic  diseases,  and 
hense  may  be  iafeired^  is  the  cause  of  all 
diseases. 

Recent  researches  into  the  laws  of  elec 
trioity  show  that  it  is  developed,  and  its 

nitity  modified  by  every  change  in  the 
I  and  composition  of  substances.  The 
combustion  of  charcoal,  dydrogen,  alcohol, 
oil  aad  other  imflammables  imparts  positive 
elcctrijity  in  abundance  to  the  portion  of  air 
with  whicb  its  products  is  mixed.  '  The 
Tolatilization  of  metals,  and  even  the  evap- 
oration of  water,  at  least  from  substanccts 
ausoepiible  ol  chemical  change,  are  sources 
Irom  which  the  atmosphere  becomes  charged 
with  an  excess  of  electricity.  Indeed,  the 
lesearcbes  of  Becquerei  and  others  authorise 
the  conclusion  that  electricity  is  evolved  in 
all  oases  of  chemical  solution  whether  by 
lifsftdsor  aeriform  fluids^  and  it  is  even  con- 
tended that  variations  of  atmospheric  tem- 
piaSure,  and  barometrical  pressure  develope 
It.  When  these  are  the  ascertained  facts 
arising  from  means  so  simple  on  a  scale  so 
limited,  we  may  reasonably  suppose  that  the 
changes  of  fonn  and  chemical  composition 
which  take  place  from  the  decomposition 
and  volatilization  of  the  immense  yailety  of 
substances  on  which  the  atmosphere  acts,  or 
is  the  receptacle,  must  be  productive  of  much 
more  energetically  electrical  etfeots.  In  the 
northern  hemisphere,  and  with  an  hydro- 
metrical  state  of  the  atmosphere  admitting  of 
the  use  of  our  instruments,  it  always  indi- 
cates positive  electricity,  and  Mr  Daniel 
states  that  it  has  been  ascertained  its  inten- 
sity is  subject  to  regular  variations.  These 
yariations,  it  is  believed,  are  found  to  cor- 
respond with  those  periods  of  the  day  in 
which,  Irom  tipe  action  ol  thesun,  theemao- 


ations  from  thaeaith  larrifa  a 
tnam  and  minimom  attheatmosf^eM « 
tion  in  wbich  the  cxperimeat  ia  — ie  fla- 
periflieRts  oa  this  iotefestiiig  bianolh  ai  •a- 
ence  must  be  multiplied  before  we  caa  lac- 
qnre  data  on  which  we  oaa  teumm  with 
absolute  precision;  aadcertainir  ao  i ohfact 
holds  oat  a  prospect  ol  results  that  wooMO 
more  ^mtifying  to  the  ^yaician,  m  mm% 
beneficml  lo  mankiad. 

The  flnctoations  in  iateaeity  of  Ihas^ftei- 
tive  electrical  slate  of  the  atawapheaa,  kj 
acting  on  and  aiodilyiug  the  vital  ekwfcicaty 
of  the  aiamal  system*  |»oduce  coniiBpn  adin^ 
chaages  in  it,  and  thus  indoee  the  ioHaaiias 
variety  and  modificaiiiaB  in  iadividtiala  ol 
those  dissaaes  which  are  isonsidered  ( 
dent  lor  their  existence  on  atmospherio  in 
ence.    Its  long  continued  action  aiast^aaoas 
or  later  affect  the  who4e  mass  of  the  bloed, 
and  thus  cause  that  oaohectic  state  coaalila- 
tin^  the  lubeicohu'  diathesis,  from  which 
springs  the  poeitive  and  expanded  conditioa 
of  the  capillaries  in  the  lungsor  other  weak- 
ened organs,  and  which,  it  has  been  abowa 
is  the  proximate  cause  of  tubercles.    Aadif- 
ferent  elements  of  soil,  plants  and  aniaaif 
exist  in  different  climates  and  difiiereal  paits 
of  the  world,  so,  no  doubt,  their  decomposi- 
tion and  volatilization  genemte  differaat  elec- 
trical states  of  the  atmosphere,  but  alanrys 
maintaining  a  greater  or  less  confonaity  with 
the  local  circumstances.     Consomptiea  ia 
one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  die 
originating  in  and  influenced  by  the  al 
p|iere,  is  connected  with  and  dependent  i 
an  electro- positive  state  of  that  elemeat.' 

This  view  of  the  cause  ol  Consumptioa  u 
strengthened  by  the  known  electrical  coadi- 
tion  of  the  atmosphere  in  some  couatries— 
as  in  England — in  which  it  is  'peculiady 
prevalent ;  by  a  rational  consideration  of 
many  of  its  characteristics ;  and  as  has  1 
referred  to  before,  by  the  eAects  of  iobm 
in  subduing  it.*  To  the  comparatively  Btg^ 
tive,  or  at  least,  difiereat  electrical  atals  of 
the  air  over  marshy  parts  of  a  cooatiy, 
where  intermittent  and  remittent  levenare 
irequent,  we  may  reasonably  attribute  the 
less  liability  of  their  inhabitaots  to  Coa- 
sutnption,  as  well  as  the  advantages  each 
situations  possess  over  the  air  of  mouataias 
for  consumptive  invalids.  And  to  some  each 
operation  we  must  look  lor  an  explaaalioa 
of  the  singular  and  salutary  efiect  excited  bT 
a  hurricane  at  Barbadoes,  in  1780,  which 
produced  such  a  change  upon  the  air  that 
(according  to  Sir  Gilbert  Blane)  some  who 
were  laboring  under  incipient  coosumptieii 
were  cured  by  it,  while  others,  who  had 
reached  a  more  advanced  stage,  were  deci- 

*  number  2,  page  ISt 


SSrm9l$tm  Cwmnnmfilbn. 


181 


'MljrTOlieTsdtaMd  fmed  itomJmkof  of  th^ir 


Tlie  vwwni  An  MiuwtofcoiimimpfCon  <vre 
^ksvaiMftoplMJU  IM  'More  cdm  within  tbe 
^cope  «f  inaAfad  Mmiifle;  Imt  tiM  Mb^t 
"his  t»ta  tomideied  to  infantible  ttethow- 
vwintonBtni^vs  KBeieoti&  fut  itsexis^ 
Mace  may  te,  it  has  been  deemed  ineueoepti 
%la  of  piactieal  application.  Tboagh^  in 
imtfa,  no  diaevvery  m  awdicine»  nor4n  natote 
ao«M  he  of  note  Taive  to  the  ihteMete  of 
'•kmuuuAf  Aaa  to  be  abJeto  idcatify  tfaecanse 
oi  oonemnption  with  a  certain  eteetrieal  Mate 
x>f  the  ataraaphere,  the  auggeatiiinof  the  pos- 
mbihtyof  enoh  a  eoaeeetion  hae  been  dis- 
VHBaed  ae  a  froitieeB  conjeetare.  Oplmone 
m  this  respect  have,  howefer,  leoentfy  un- 
'deigone  a  chaai;;e.  ImproTehients  in  the 
coaatraction  of  electrical  apparatus  hairefu  r- 
niahed  ns  with  meanaof  researeh  safieiently 
^Mieate  to  enable  Qs  to  obKrre  tbe  varia- 
•bOTs  in  the  electrical  slate  of  the  atmosphere 
^Mk  as  mnch  accuracy  as  these  which  occur 
to  ita  temperature  anid  preesurp;  and  they 
will  BO  dovbt,  henceforth,  be  registered  with 
as  much  diligence  ss  those  phenomena  have 
faeretofcie  been.  But  in  examining  the  cause 
i^Fith  a  view  to  the  prevention  of  consump- 
'  tian«  it  is  fortanatel]^  of  comparatively  littte 
ifliponmce  for  practical  purposes,  whether  it 
wnsiBts  in  the  forces  of  matter,  or  in  matter 
iMif-'>organic  or  inorganic — because,  in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowledge,  we  can  only 
act  upon  imttter.  The  removal  of  the  caose 
of  consumption,  and  consequently  the  means 
of  ^venting  it  are  dependent  apon  our 


ktioRB^and  tharelectrical  state  which  acts 
InJurioaAly  on  the  Tital  powem. 

A  review  of  the  history  of  eonsumption  in- 
dlaeeSiiResislibly,  the  morlifying  conclusion 
»^faat  there  is  no  disease  over  which  medica) 
«rt  has  exercised  less  power,  that  in  fact  all 
nodical  treatment,  if  not  positively  injurious, 
has  been  of  no  avail^and  that  all  its  reputed 
aalatafy  eflfects  have  been  imaginary  or  de- 
ceptive. £xperipnce,  the  great  test  of  the 
aaefol,  has  rendered  the  4>pinion  general, 
that  any  control  over  it,  eiereised  by  the 
physician,  has  consisted  more  in  abolishing 
pernicions  practices  than  in  ascertaining  any 
.poaitive< methods  of  lessening  its  fatality.  If 
'there  is  an  exception  to  this  sweeping  charge 
of  the  inutility  of  tbe  physician,  it  consists 
in  his  power  to  correct  that  derangement  of 
the  digestive  functions  which  sensibly  modi- 
ies  and  perhaps  is  modified  by  tbe  disease, 
and' which,  being  the  result  of  an  uadae  in- 
dulgeace  of  the  apfMtltes  and  nassioos,  like 
the 'agency  employed,  is  artinoial»  and  the 


proper  sabject  for  honan  control.  Bat 
though  the  beneiiBihl  efleds  of  tfeatnteal  oa 
this  fl-ineipie,  in  Jeeeenrng  s«fiering,i8  iiade- 
aiabie,  it  has  no  teadenoy  io  care'  the  diaease. 
If  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  beaUeelear- 
ly  to  disoerv  and  to  andershmd  What  it  is,  in 
every  .malady  that  mast  be  remaved  -or 
chanj^d  in  older  to  teaisre  hsalth^  hear-caa 
we  justly  pRtead  to  remedy  coaswapCwn 
when  its  palhokpy  is  so  tpMaliefadsiy  end 
unsettled  ttat  nothing  can  beeonceivedlaere 
coatradietory  than  the  ivrioas  views  that 
have  been  given  to  the  worM  ?  instead  of 
an  ORdoobted,  well  regvhited,  or  even  plaa- 
sible  theory  of  the  tree  stale  of  the  My, 
on  which  we  have  been  attemntiag^to  opetate 
with  our  Tcoiedies,  we  have  been  left  to  the 
fallacious  guidance  of  a  nniltitade  of  oneon* 
vincing  coi^tdres.  ^stly  ooniideBt  of  the 
utility  of  their  prafesaion,  as  physicians 
generally  are,  and  pioud  as  Hmny  of  them 
may  be  of  their  individual  skill,  all  must  ac- 
knowledge, that  consumption  has  hitheito, 
mocked  ahke  the  scientifie  efibrts  of  the  en- 
i^htened  physician,  and  the  presumptuous 
laboreof  the  empiric.  The  unmanageable 
sjrraptoms  of  Ifans  disease,  phin^  the  meet 
learned  and  experienced  physician,  called 
upon  to  treat  them,  into  doubt  and  despon- 
dency ;  while  its  univeieal  termination  in 
death,  has,  in  this  enqutfing  age,  created  in 
both  the  medical  and  iton-medical  pnbhe,  a 
demand  for^some  mode  of  managing  it, 'radi- 
cally difTerent  from  those  in  practice. 
This  urgent  want  of  a  means  by  which 


the  mortality  from  this  dreadful  malady  bhiv 
be  diminished,  has  incited  physicians  to  look 
to  prevention  as  the  moet  probable  agent  by 
which  they  can  attain  this  object.  Preven- 
tion of  disease  is,  indeed,  independent  of  re- 
lief from  the  suffering,  which  m  a  greater  <or 
less  degree,  accompanies  every  malady,  of 
greater  consequence  to  society  than  its  cure. 
*'  That  must  be  a  decided  improvement  in  the 
art  of  medicine  which  provides  the  means 
of  preventing  diseves,*"  and,  we  trust,  the 
time  wHI  soon  arrive  when  the  attention  of 
medical  men  will  be  turned  as  much  to  the 
former,  as  in  all  past  time  it  has  been  directed 
to  the  hitter.  On  the  progress  which  BMiy 
yet  be  expected  in  this,  in  connexion  with 
the  former  line  of  enquiry  comprised  in  this 
article,  in  both  of  which  our  success  has  been 
hitherto  very  limited,  depend  our  chief  hopes 
of  the  increasing  usefulnees  and  efficacy  of 
the  medical  art  in  the  treatment  of  consump- 
tion. The  investigation  and  discovery  of  its 
cause  will  teach  us  the  nature  of  tbe  influence 
under  which  tbe  vital  properties  of  tbeioids, 
and  tbe  vital  actions  of  the  solids  of  the 
body  become  liab'e  to  deviations  from  their 
aatttiml  and  healthy  state,  and  will  suggest 


182 


the  only  principles  on  which  a  hop«  of  care 
can  be  oa^ed ;  while  the  application  oi  the 
means  of  prevention  may  be  made  to  inter- 
cept the  diseased  actions  of  which  the  body 
is  susceptible  in  this  disease. 

Under  the  head  of  prevention,  in  systema 
tie  treatiees  on  Consumption,  arresting  the 
caases  of  the  disease  is  the  avowed  principle 
of  action ;  hut,  in  defining  them,  we  find 
that  the  predisposing  have  been  confounded 
with  the  cstMs  vera,  and  even  with  exciting 
causes.  Influenced  by  this  error,  writer* 
have  been  profuse  in  their  directions  regard 
ing  the  means  and  importance  of  securing: 
athletic  health  to  parenu;  of  maintaining 
the  health  of  the  mother  during  pregnancy ; 
of  a  proper  regulation  of  the  food,  cJolbing 
and  residence  of  infants  ;  of  suitable  dress, 
exercise  and  education  of  youth,  &c.  All 
the  minute  attention  and  advice  which  have 
been  directed  to  this  subject,  are  not  only 
useful  to  those  predisposed  to  consumption, 
but  acting  upon  them  would  undoubtedly 
produce  a  beneficial  effect  upon  society  at 
large.  They  are,  however,  better  caiculatfHl 
to  make  a  book  than  to  prevent  a  single  case 
of  consumption.  But  we  contend  that  as  ii 
may  be  considered  an  ascertained  fact  that 
consumption  is  directly  dependent  on  a  viti- 
ated state  of  the  atmosphere,  therefore,  it 
must  be  equally  maintained,  that  by  r hang: 
ing  this  sUte,  iubiata  anaa  toiliiur  effeUus. 
in  that  portion  of  atmosphere  employed  in 
supplying  the  respiratory  necessities  of  man 
we  must  prevent  its  existence.  Vast  as  the 
evil  is,  and  wholly  as  it  has  heretofore  been 
beyond  the  control  of  man  there  is.  in  this 
pnnciple,  an  undoubted  means  of  preventing 
consumption,  the  truth  and  practicability  of 
which  it  will  be  the  object  of  this  portion  of 
our  communication  to  demonstrate. 

As  the  only  rational  means  of  preventing 
maladies  must  be  founded  on  some  plan  for 
preventing  the  generation  of  their  cause,  or 
of  turning  it  aside,  we  propose  to  show  how 
the  cause  of  consumption  may  be  rendered 
innocuous,  and  cnn8(:quently  how  the  dis- 
ease itself  may  be  anticipated  and  superced 
•■i  The  discovery  of  the  precise  nature  of 
this  cause  is  essential  to  a  perfect  knowledge 
of  the  subject,  though,  perhaps,  not  indis- 
pensib'e  to  the  successful  application  of  odr 
principle  for  obviatipg  the  disease.  Although 
the  process  we  propose  to  use  for  preventing 
consumption  is  also  better  adapted  than  any 
previous  devise  for  enabling  us  to  ascertain 
all  the  chemical  properties  of  the  atmosphere 
and  through  them  its  electrical  state,  and 
thence  its  cause,  we  have  atieady  shown 
that  we  cannot  pretend  to  have  determined 
them.  Even  if  our  invention  be  fully  ade- 
foate  to  sol  ve  the  subtle  and  recondtle  ques- 


Trmfi9  «ffi  OmattmiptUm. 

tion,  we  have  not  vet  had  time  orcoevai. 


ences  for  making  the  requisite  cxpniBeMi 
All  the  dreumstancea,  at  present  knouB, 
connected  with  oonsnmptian,  eoaew  iaci. 
taUishin^,  while  no  one  can  be  mi^  to  be 
in  opposition  to  the  view  we  have  tskci, 
that  It  is  dependent  opon  an  etedro-poMie 
state  of  the  atmosphere ;  and  thus  it  filii 
the  fundamental  condition  of  a  theory,  or  in 
other  words  of  a  tmth.  But  whether  thii 
electrical  state  is  induced  by  one  or  iDanii> 
porous  or  gaseous  solutions  in  the  atnoi- 
phere«  by  organized  substances  floatiiiji;  ii  il 
or  by  the  assemblage  and  mutual  aetioa  o( 
the  whole,  must  still  be  classed  amongthflt 
arcana  oi  nature,  which  will  only  revni. 
themselves  to  time  and  an  adequate  mew 
of  investigation.  We  know  the  terrible^ 
fects  ol  this  cause,  and  we  know  thai,  a 
in  all  similar  phenomena,  an  arcnraie  len- 
(iny  of  these  eflS>cts  must  pre&sde  snyafc 
reasoning  or  useful  experiments  on  its  oataL 

To  subvert  the  original  cause  of  oonfiiBp> 
tion  it  is  only  necessary  to  put  forth  u 
amount  of  industry  nnd  intimity  ia  the 
construction  of  our  habitations,  and  tbeir 
adaptation  to  domestic  comfort  eqnai  lolliit 
employed  for  the  simple  but  indispeuikk 
puipose  of  warming  tnem  in  cold  clinHa 
But  instead  of  building  for  the  porpoaed 
counteracting  the  cold  of  winter  almoet  a 
cJusively  in  view,  we  must  pay  equal  ills' 
(ion  to  our  comfort  iu  summer,  and,  by  pn- 
viding  an  adequate  supply  of  pure  air,  aafct 
all  subservient  to  the  security  t>f  betM, 
The  ends  to  be  attained  by  these  greHflb- 
iects  are  embraced  in  our  remedy.  I^oa 
houses,  in  every  climate,  be  built  wiib  i 
thorough  regard  to  insulation,  and  aneidi- 
sion  of  the  external  impan;  stsioqikM 
with  its  excesses  of  tempemture,  awi  kti 
labor  and  expense  like  that  for  eleTalia(;W 
internal  temperature,  be  incurred  is  k>Miii( 
temperature,  and  freeing  air  from  mw*" 
moisture  and  extraneous  exhalationa, » 
thus  rendering  itiespirably  pure,  and  tke» 
ca  pants  would  incur  little  or  no  risk  oi  c» 
sumption.  By  applying  a  process,  wim 
will  be  explained  as  we  advance  is  oir  a- 
bors,  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  air, «» 
joined  with  the  means  of  moderaliin  teapfr 
rature  in  summer  and  aiding  in  ^^^!M^ 
winter,  maybe  obtained— *  process  wUA 
if  at  present  overlooked,  or  from  itsfiaj*' 
city  deemed  inadequate  to  etifect  the  obpi 
in  view,  will,  we  feel  confident,  sooner  w 
later  receive  the  suffrages  of  mankind. 

The  testimony  in  regard  to  Con»o»iwi 
abundantly  shows  that  atmospheric  ooiittf|- 
nation  arising  from  exfmneoos  ii?^||i^|J!V' 
the  original,  or  at  least,  an  i>''^*'''pj| 
ooH>peiaiin§  canae  of  the  ^mm\  •*'  ^ 


Traeis  on  Consumpiian.. 


133 


Biwt  he  equally  obrious  that  ita  puriHcalicm 

is  mlli«ieiit  to  preTent  or  pot  an  end  to  the 

prodseiinn  of  this  caofie»  and  it  follows  of 

eourae  to  the  disease  itself. 

I         The  means  by  which  we  propose  to  coun* 

^     tuaet  the  eTils  of  an  impure  atmosphere,  so 

i     as  to  prerent,  or  at  least  moderate,  the  lia* 

t     hiKt^  to  so  terrible  a  disease  as  Consumption, 

I     eonaists  essentially  in  sabjecting  the  portion 

K     of  atniosphete  employed  in  respiration  to 

■    Be^ahica!  condensation.    Physical  science' 

I    iMtfhes  us  that  mechanical  pressure  is  one 

f    of  the  best  means  ol  divesting^  air  of  conden- 

0  «hle  vapors.  It  is  well  known  that  equal 
t  Tolames  of  air,  whatever  may  be  their  re- 
ri  opeetive  densities,  the  tempeiaiare  being  the 
H  oasne,  have  equal  capacities  for  vapor;  so 
a  that  a  eobic  yard  of  air,  under  a  prea^^ure  of 
>  fdwr,  eight,  or  an jT  number  of  atmospheres, 
i    m'4U  €a€teri»  parilnu^  bold  no  more  watety 

1  ▼apor  in  solution  than  one  under  the  ordi- 
g  nary  pressure  of  a  single  atmosphere.  By 
f  «oaldensing  fonr  cubic  yanis  of  air  into  the 
{I  apace  of  one,  its  capacity  for  reUiintng  water 
I  in  aoiution,  the  temperature  remaining  the 
I  aaaie,  mnst  be  diminished  to  one  fourth  its 
I  previous  power,  and,  coiisequentiy,  if  before 
i  saturated,  it  must  precipitate  three  fourths  of 
,  the  water  it  contains.  The  same  law  nn- 
f      doobtadly  holds  with  regard  to  all  other  va- 

ponms  solutions,  and  it  is  probable  has  a 
aimilar  operation  u|ion  solid  matters,  in  the 
air,  retained  in  suspension. 

The  atmosphere,  in  its  ordinary  condition, 
always  contains  aqueous  moisture,  and  a 
variety  of  other  impurities,  which  have  ai- 
Tcady  been  mentioned.  It  would  seem  to  be 
a  provision  of  nature  that  all  the  exhalations 
from  the  earth,  capable  of  acting  injuriously 
on  the  human  system,  should  be  condensible 
by  pressure ;  and  therefore  removable  from 
tba  mass  of  respimble  air  by  human  agency. 
If  we  force  into  a  reservoir  a  lar^e  quantity 
of  hiffhiy  condensed  atmospheric  air,  and 
then  drdin  from  the  hottom  the  moisture  that 
had  been  precipitated  by  the  condensation,  it 
ia  evident  that  by  this  process  air  may  be  as 
thoroughly  depurated  of  vaporous  solutions, 
M  water  of  solid  matters,  by  filtering  or  by  dis- 
tillation. Even  that  adventitious, though  con- 
atant,  and  for  the  purpose  of  respiration,  prob- 
ably deleterious comtKJoentof  the  atmosphere, 
carbonic  acid  eas,mHy  be  condensed  into  a  li- 
•quid,  by  a  very  high  degree  ol  pressure,  and 
withdrawn  Irom  a  mass  of  air  employed  in 
iwipiration.  Air  thus  freed  from  injurious 
admixtures  may,  in  or>)er  to  impart  to  it  a 
fioper  degree  of  hvgeometric  moisture,  be 
•exposed  to  pure  in  the  place  of  the  impure 
water  previously  held  in  solution— the  quan- 
tity f»f  which  it  is  arable  of  absorbing  must 
I  to  that  it  lost  ia  ila  coadaaaatioa. 


Extraneous  matters  in  the  atmosphere  are 
not  in  any  circtimslances  esseiitial  to  ita 
healthful  composition.  On  the  contrary* 
they  impart  to  it  properties  resembling  their 
own,  which,  in  proportion  to  the  quantities 
in  which  they  exist  m  it,  are  injurious  to  the 
animal  system.  None  of  these  extraneona 
riubstances,  so  far  As  known  or  suspected* 
lequire  so  great  a  mechanical  pressure  for  ita 
condensation  as  carbonic  acid,  and  tberefor0» 
if  this  gas  can  be  separated  from  atmosphe- 
ric air  by  mechanical  agency,  we  can  have 
no  difficulty  in  rendering  adequate  4|uantities 
of  it  respirably  pure.  The  ^paration  of  tha 
liquid,  or  perhaps  solid  and  organic  substan- 
ces that  are  diflfused  through  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  knowledge  of  their  properties  that 
may  thereby  be  obtained,  will  atibrd  juat 
ground  for  determining  the  minute  constitu- 
ents of  the  air,  the  quantities  and  nature  ol 
its  detetiorations,  the  mode  by  which  they 
operate  in  the  production  of  diseases,  and 
hence  the  certain  n  eans  of  preventing  them« 
Heretofore,  the  physician,  in  seeking  for  tha 
cause  of  distempers,  could  argue  only  from 
effert«<,  but  with  the  means  of  divestinc  thou- 
Rands  or  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cubic 
yards  of  air  of  its  impurities,  in  his  posses- 
sion, he  may  compel  the  cause  of  disease  to 
put  on  a  tangible  hhape,  and  by  developing 
its  secret  power,  teach  us  to  demonstrate  and 
neutralize  its  effects  on  the  animal  economy. 

To  determine  the  value  of  any  scheme, 
we .  must  ascertain  the  full  extent  of  the 
means  that  are  required  to  effect  its  objects, 
and  whether  it  is  within  our  power  to  reach 
the  end  to  be  attained.  It  would  be  useless 
to  devise  a  procef^s  for  even  preventing  a 
mortal  disease,  if  it  could  not  be  ac  ed  upon 
without  an  expense  which  would  render  the 
plan  unattainable,  and  it  would  be  of  dimin- 
inhed  practical  utility  in  proportion  as  it  did 
not  admit  of  being  applied  to  general  use* 
In  a  plan  for  preventing  a  disease  arising 
from  tne  respiration  of  impure  air,  we  must 
take  into  consideration  the  quantity  oi  causa 
necessary  to  produce  the  ellect,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  amount  of  pure  air  that  must  ba 
substituted  to  prevent  it.  All  are  aware 
that  the  respiration  of  pure  air  is  essential  to 
iLe  preservation  of  good  health,  and  that  its 
purity  and  salubrity  depend,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure, upon  its  freedom  from  foreign  matters, 
and  a  due  proportion  ol  oxygen  gas.  Wb 
know,  loo,  that  air  may  be  more  suddenly 
and  destructively  contaminated,  where  the 
procefses  of  respiration  and  combustion  are 
<oing  on,  than  by  the  most  abundant  produc- 
tion of  animal  and  vegetab'e  decomposition. 
To  maintain  it  in  its  purty,  under  any  off 
these  circnmstai«ces,  frequent  change  is  ne- 
cessary.   Thia  change,  it  ia  true,  maj  be 


134 


TtmtU.am  OenswmptimL 


(onmd.  to  a  fuftbec  eiteat  tban  is  ne^soary , 
or  «yea  ealujary ;  it  may  be  administered, 
li]ce  any  othei  fnedicanent,  too  copipueiy ; 
and  aa  we  pcopoee  to  efiact  purification  as 

walJ,  as  change  o(  air,  which  cannojt  be  done  _^ 

bat ajt  some  coi^,  we  have  no  desire  of  carryijig  j.iji^(el«een  the  land 

To  m/ake 


theoi  beyood  the  point  of  utility 
01V  Bieaning  more  evident  it  is  necessary  to 
Teci|>italate  some  facts  thai,  though  they 
iii^,app«ai(  to  have  but  a«  indi];ect^  have  an 
impuii^nt  connexion  with  the  prAocipl^e  on 
whkh.  the  pmpoaed  means  o|  prevent^i^, 
CoAfHinption.  a«e  ioui>ded.  They  are  ali  oe- 
eeeeartiy  based  upon  the  quantity  ol  aUnos- 
pherkai^r  used  ia  human  respiiation. 

The  quantity  of  pure  air  requisite  for  Abe 
lespiniion  of  an  individual  cannot  ^e  accu- 
rately detennioad,  since  it  varies  accordine 
to  hia  coasftitttUon,  the  temperalute.  of  the 
air,  tha  eondition  of  hia  stomach  as  ^egard» 
IniiM'tB  or  depletion,  and  numerous  other  ex- 
traoQPua  cifcumstsncea  that  must  always  r^- 
•gulata  the  quantity  which  it  is  desirable  to 
aappjy.  In  systematic  works  on  ventilation, 
tie  estimates  greatly  exceed  the  amouat  thai 
it  would  be  necessary  or  even  desirshieto 
provide  for  the  respiration  of  inva^ids^or 
healthy  persons  not  in  exeicise.  Contnuy 
to  the  repreeeniaiions  that  have  been  uni- 
iomly  made  on  this  subiect,  it  is  possible 
asalready  intimated*  tocariy  ventilation  to  an 
injurious  extreme,and  to  shorten  rather  than 
proionff  life  by  too  much  fresh*  and  even 
pure  air.  Startling  and  paradoxical  as  thi^ 
position  may  seem,  it  is  borne  out  by  many 
analogies  in  nature.  The  composition  of  the 
atmosphere,  as  well  as  the  whole  process  of 
respiration,  shows  that  but  a  limited  quan- 
tity of  oxygen  is  necessar>  for  the  healthy  ex- 
ercise of  that  iunctioa.  Oxygen  exists  ia  the 
atmosphere  in  the  proportion  of  but  one  to 
four  of  ail  the  gases ;  and  the  quantity  of 
nitrogen  and  carbonic  acid,  which  remain  in 
the  mngs  after  each  expiration,  show  that 
these  gases  are  not  absoiutety  injurious, 
whiJa  they  authorise  the  inference  that  air 
may  be  too  pure  as  well  as  top  impure  for 
respiration.  Dr.  Liebig,  in  his  animal  chem- 
istry, demonstrates  that  oxygen  exerts  such 
an  affinity  for  all  parts  of  the  animal  frame, 
that  it  would  inevitably  consume  it,  unless 
its  utmost  demands  were  so  pp  lied  by  food ;  and 
as  there  is  a  limit  to  the  power  of  assimilating 
food,  it  is  clear,  on  this  view  of  the  subject, 
that  the  admission  of  oxygen  into  the  lungs 
may  be  carried  to  an  injurious  exeeM.  As 
a  candle  in  the  ordinary  and  quiet  state  of 
the  atmosphere,  burns  with  a  mild  and  suffi- 
cient Uicht,  giving  to  it  the  duiation  called 
for  by  the  demands  of  economy,  while  if  im- 
mersed in  oxyf^en  gas,  it  is  rapidly  oonsamed 
in  surpassing  splemlor,  and  even  ia  frequent 


change  o£  tb^  air  aanouidiBg  it  1 
so  tbtt  human  frupe  in  thia  ges,  or  is  tat 
great  supply  of  Iresh  air*  must  have  m^ 
ergies  more  actively  exerted,  but  te  mb 
rapidly  exhaosled.  There  is  a  pro|icra» 
dium  between. the  lund  flame  and  the  a^ 
did  light^tba  feeble  chaise  of  tbesjr^ 
from  an  insuffideocy  of  reapiiatioD,  and  iti 
rapid  consumption  f «om. .  excess— wbidh|4fir 
attainable,  would  give  tha  proper  bq|»H0F«< 
air ;  bat  as  the  nquisile  quantity  tsemia- 
rviag,  even  in  the  seme,  individaals,  vilh 
cnanging  circums(anoM»  it  is  hopelem  In  ts- 
pjBct  that  aay  fixed  atandaid  can  beat^fMBsi 

It  is  oidinaniy  calculalad  that,  a  basHa 
adait  empiova  in  resfii ration  an  averaaeaf 
aHout  four,  hundred  cttbie  inches  of  air  a 
minute,  and  consaquently  nearly  foaitMi 
cubic  f^  ia  an  hour*  or  about  twelve  eil» 
j-ardsadav.  This*  then,  is  the  miaiaMa 
quantity  of  pore  air  that  ought  to  be  i«- 
iiished  tQ  kin  dail^.  But  he  also  aa^anla 
a  oedain  quantity  with  aM)iatuie«and  na4ia 
it  unfit  for  abaorbing  anora*  aad  as  a  wnm 
nuy  dadnetion*  for  one  of  the  porpoaeiflf 
respiration^  Therefons*  in  additioa  19  ik 
amount  each  adult  lequirea  for  daily «» 
Kumptiott*  it  is  desintUe  to  change  as  mk 
of  toe  air  in  his  leaidence*  as  the  niMiin 
given  off  by  the  lunga  and  by  ealiBeom 
transpiration,  would  satuiate  in  tk  mm 
lime.  If  we  consider  that  as  sowiiw 
air  we  respire  becomea  difiused  tbraoi^md 
attains  the  same  tempetature  aa  tbeiUmi' 
phere,  a  portion  of  its  vapor  becomes  nte- 
dant,  aaa  must  be  precipitated  or  otb^rwiie 
dischaiged,  we  shall  probably  find,  diM 
as  the  accurate detaraunatioD  of  tbefKt«| 
be,  that  the  moisture  given  of  ia  tbii  "J 
doea  not  require,  at  the  most,  more  than  ■> 
a  cubic  foot  of  dry  air  a  minute  to  abaoi^il' 
Hence  it  may  be  caleulaled  that  not  m» 
than  aeven  hundred  and  twenty  cakie  M 
or  tweaty-six  cubic  yardaofporeaadii! 
air  can  be  required,  daily,  for  all  the  pap^ 
see  of  respiration  by  eacn  adult  that  aay  * 
in  a  habitation.  Now  the  power  of  vmw^ 
ting  a  house  or  room  should  be  proportioati 
to  the  number  of  persons  that  occapjrtj 
but  It  is  obvious  that  a  calculation  wwa 
Aupposes  the  avenge  number  of  sdolt  tnka- 
bitants  that  remain  in  a  habitation  cooliM' 
ously,  throughout  the  twenty-four  hoaia, to 
be  ten,  and  allows  twenty-six  cubic  jtm 
of  pure  air  for  the  respiration  of  eacb  lau-i 
vidual,  must  be  amply  sufficient  It  wiUw 
ohown  hereafler  that  by  our  meaaa  w 
a'ill  be  no  difficulty  in  producing  \hi$p^ 
tity,  or,  if  desirable  and  not  iojnnovs,  t«^ 
four,  eight,  or  more  times  that  mucb  to  ei«7 
person  that  usually  inhahils  a  bouse.       . 

Beaidea the parificatioA  of  airwh«b«»^ 


7Vactei«Mi  GcffmimptiMh 


m. 


I       mtB  Inm  ii0  comprassion  and  draining  off  its 
defoaites,  thv%  are  the  aecompanying  ad- 
Taaia^ea  of  an  evolution  of  beat  from  the 
!       coapraMkon,  and  a  ^nention  of  coH  from 
its  aabeequent  expansion,  both  of  which, 
and  particttiarly  the  latter,  may  be  applied  to 
moderate  the  tempeiatare  o|  a  (iweUing. 
I       The  elementn  of  ph^rica  teach  us  that  con- 
I       dcnaation  is  an  invariable  eoiuve  of  heat,  and 
I      eriffy  stadenf  of  the  pcienoe  knows  that  the 
I      compivfleion  of  the  gases  fnmishea  it  in  con- 
I      aidemhie  qnantiiy.     h  is  evident,  then,  that 
I      there  is  in  the  principle  of  mechanical  con- 
p      denaation  a  means  oy  which  heat  may  be 
I      obminedwithont  fuel  from  air;  ahd,byin- 
I      eraasing  the  pressnre  and  qoaatity,  to  any 
,1      extent  we  may  pli^.    Little  important  as 
I      thia  fact  is  in  a  practical  point  of  view,  from 
t      tha  cheapness  of  fuel  all  over  the  world,  we 
g      shall  hereafter  show  that  the  result  can  be 
k      curtained  by  a  oomnaratively  small  consnmp- 
I      tion  of  mechanical  power,  and,  aaa  oooae* 
I      qpienee,  ol  expense. 
M  Whenever,  or  wherever,  air  which  has 

p  been  condensed  is  allowed  to  escape,  it  will 
H  cx]pand  into  the  volnme  it  occupied  previons 
I  to  its  condensation,  and,  in  the  process,  the 
I  quantity  of  beat  which  was  previously  ex- 
I  traeted  from  it,  will  lie  absorbed  from  All 
I  anrronnding:  snbstancf  8  and  rendered  latent. 
It  is  a  matter  of  indifF*rence  whether  the  ex- 
pansion lake  place  rapidly  or  slowly,  at  one 
temperature  or  another,  the  amount  of  heat 
absorbed  by  equal  expansions  of  eonal  vo- 
lumes, is  a  conMant  quantity,  the  onlj  diflfer- 
cnce  betnfc  that  the  amount  absorbed  is  taken 
up  in  unequal  times.  The  importance  to  in- 
valids, of  a  diminished  summer  heat  is  not 
leas  than  an  increase  of  winter  temperature 
and  we  propose  to  obtain  the  former  of  these 
ends  by  the  rarefaction  and  distribution  of 
air  throughout  the  rooms  of  a  house,  asy- 
Inm,  &c.,  of  atmospheric  air,  previously  suh 
jeeted  to  mechanical  condensation. 

H%h  atmospheric  air  is  acknowledfred  to 
liave  a  powerful  effect  in  predisposinfi;  to 
consumption.    This  condition  of  the  atmos- 

5 here  with  its  invariable  accompaniment — a 
immtshed  supply  of  ox^^en,  and  an  increa- 
aed  quantity  of  moisture  in  the  volume  of  air 
used  in  Tespiration,  act  injuriously  upon  the 
constitution  of  the  Caucasian  race,  and,  if 
lonjr  contintied,  induce  that  feebleness  which 
mbjeets  the  human  system  to  the  liability  of 
falling  an  e^sy  prey  to  the  csufc  of  con- 
anmpiion.  Upon  the  inhabitants  of  very  hot 
countries,  as  the  Malays  and  Nerroes,  this 
effipct  is  more  mnrked.  Tn  confirmation  of 
this  opinion,  if  may  he  cited  that  both  these 
races  are  well  known  to  be  much  more  pub- 
jea  to  tuberonlona  dlseaae  than  Europeans, 


when  exposed  (q  the  same  causest*  Th^ 
languor  and  debility  which  invaiiablv  aiiol 
all  the  varietieaof  the  human  ratse*  amectod 
to  the  over-etimiUation  of  long-o^tin  uej  hig^ 
states  of  the  thermoroelev,  deraiim  soomer 
or  later,  all  the  functions  s  and  if  they  are. 
not  restored  to  their  healthy  action  by  4|  rsn 
miasioin  of  heat,  oc  the.  withdrawing  of  an 
equivalent  stimalns  ^  other  kind,  they  wiU 
be  liable  to  he  destroyed  by  the  slighteiBt  ex*- 
temal  influen  ce.  The  vi^lue,  then,  of  a  prin- 
ciple which,  besides  rendering  aii  respiraUy. 
pure,  proposes  to  modify  terpeiature  to  ouv 
comCeirl  as  well  as  aecurity.  can,  if  phyaical 
e0ects  are  invariably  dependeut  on  ph}afGal 
causes,  be  readily  appseciated. 

The  quantity  of  caloric  evolved  hy  tha 
condensation  of  a  column  of  air,  and  cone^ 
quentiy  the  quantity  ajbaorbed  by  ita  expaa- 
sion,  IS  the  next  su^ect  to  which  we  most 
give  conaideraiion,  in  order  to  determine  tha 
valae  oi  our  scheme  both  as  a  prppl^lactie 
and  as  a  source  of  refrigeration.  A  variety 
of  experiments,  conducted  by  the  moat  emi* 
nent  philosophers,  have  beeii  made  with  a 
view  to  resolve  theee  qn<atiooa  in  physic^ 
science.  For  the  purpose  before  ut,  tbeaa 
investigations  are  of  much  importance,  ba> 
cause  upon  tbeii  result  depends  the  valueol 
our  researches  into  the  means  of  renderii^ 
a  sufficient  portion  of  the  attnospheie  for 
practical  purposes,  reapiiably  pure.  We 
confess  that  to  solve  these  and  their  conse* 
quent  problems  with  accuracy ,  is  exceeding- 
ly difficult,  and,  on  this  account,  the  various 
experiments  undertaken  with  the  view  are 
by  no  means  found  uniform  in  their  results. 
Air  may  be  condensed  and  dilated  an  indefi- 
nite number  of  times,  and  there  will  be  a  si- 
multaneous and  proportional  diffusion  or 
absorption  of  its  heat ;  and  in  a  quantity  as 
well  as  iniertsity,  which  probably  admits  ol 
being  e<)ual  in  both  instances,  certainly  in  the 
production  of  cold,  to  the  greaU'St  degree  that 
they  are  capable  of  being  nnerated  by  art 
But  though  the  heat  evolved  by  condensation 
and  absorbed  b^  the  rarefaction  of  air  i« 
equal  and  invaiiable,  the  experiments  to  de* 
monstrate  these  facts  require  a  narticular 
manner  of  performance  to  make  toe  results 
apparent  and  uniform.  In  consenuence  of 
this  difficulty  (of  which  it  does  not  belong  to 
this  Journal  to  treat)  the  (juantity  of  caloric 
assigned  to  the  condensation  of  air,  or  the 
quantity  absorbed  by  its  rarefaction,  bos  not 
yet  been  ascertain!^  with  any  results  ap- 
proschiug  to  undoubted  certainty.  The  de- 
ductions from  such  experiments  as  have  been 
made,  show  a  variance  so  large  as  in  the 
proportion  of  one  to  ^ye  or  upwarda     It  ia 


*  Clarke  on  Consumption,  p.  157. 


136 


Tracts  on  Ccnmmpfion. 


I  experimenting 
ing  has  not  been  uniform.  Different  phitora- 
phers  have  employed  different  meand  of  in- 
Te8ti;cation ;  but  this  affords  only  additional 
evidence  of  the  uncertainty  that  must  attach 
to  the  apparent  results.  The  instrument 
which  we  have  devised  for  purifying  and 
lefrigeratini^  the  air  we  breath,  has  a  pecu 
liar  fitness  for  aiding  us  in  determining  this 

S[uestion  with  great  accuracy;  and,  at  some 
Qture  day,  we  intend  to  institute  a  series  of 
experiments  necessary  for  the  attainment  of 
this  desirable  object,  the  result  of  which,  we 
•hall  give  to  the  public  through  the  rolumns 
of  this  journal.  A  powerful  one,  well  plan- 
ned for  illustrating  the  principle  has  already 
been  made,  but  owing  to  errors  and  defects 
in  its  construction  incidental,  ])erhap8,  to 
every  new  engine,  and  to  a  novitiate  inter- 
course with  working  mechanics,  it  requires 
alterations  to  enable  it  to  be  nsni  with  r11 
the  advantages  i^  isc»pable  of  affording.  The 
result  of  a  number  of  experiments  that  have 
been  made  with  it  accords  with  the  testimony 
furnished  by  other  experiments  that  air  iniins 
and  loses,  at  least  180**  F,  for  every  time  its 
volume  is  reduced  to  one  half  or  rarefied  into 
two  volumes;  while  it  is  probable  that  the 
laryj^e  amount  of  280<*,  for  the  same  changes, 
assigned  to  it  by  Guy  Lussar,  does  not  ex- 
ceed the  reality.  The  smaller  of  these 
amounts  would  be  sufficient  to  establish  the 
utility  of  employing  condensed  air  for  cool- 
ing, and  ventilating  houses. 

This  engine  is  simple  in  its  construction, 
requires  but  a  small  expense  of  power,  ad- 
mits of  being  complete  in  its  operation,  and 
its  parts,  if  well  made,  are  not  liable  to  get 
out  of  order,  or  to  be  injured  by  wear.  It 
consists,  essentially,  of  two  double  acting 
force  pumps — one  for  condensing,  and  the 
other  for  rarefyitigair — both  connected  with 
a  common  beam  or  axle — and  an  air  ma?a 
sine  or  receptacle  for  condensed  air.  By  this 
principle  of  construction,  the  pressures  on 
the  pistons  in  the  cylinders,  when  the  ma- 
chine is  in  operation,  are  made  to  oppose 
each  other,  and  the  power  consumed  in  the 
former  is  reclaimed  in  the  latter,  and  made, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  repr>Nluce  the  original 
eflect.  This  method  of  working  the  machine 
is  important  for  the  production  of  refrigera- 
tion ;  by  no  other  known  m?ans  than  such 
as  admit  of  the  mechanical  effect  of  expand- 
ing air  being  obtained,  can  the  cooling  pow- 
•or  of  dilatation  be  made  apparent  under  all 
circumstancea  The  machine  may  be  p'aced 
in  any  part  of  a  house ;  but  it  is  obvious  that 
for  supplying  it  with  cooled  air,  the  nearvr 
the  roof  the  better.  By  such  an  arrangement 
the  heat  Mjueexed  out  of  the  condensed  ar, 
viMld  uaile  witli  the  air  round  it,  and,  from 


its  levity,  ascend  in  the  atmosphere  aboft 
the  height  to  affect  human  comlort;  wUk 
the  heat  absorbed  by  the  expanding  air,  u 
it  descended  by  its  giavity,  must  be  derired 
from  the  objects  which  it  is  desirous  to  cool. 
To  put  the  apparatus  in  opemtion,  it  wdl 
be  necessary  to  pumn  air  into  the  retertoir 
to  the  pressure  at  which  it  is  intended  to  be 
worked,  say  two,  four,  eight  or  sixteen  it* 
mospheres.  When  this  point  is  tfttaimi, 
the  condensing  pump  is  made  to  force  aao- 
ther  of  its  measures  of  air  into  the  reeervoir. 
As  this  latter  vessel  is  constructed  with  a 
balance  valve,  at  a  point  wheie  it  oomnui- 
cates  with  the  expanding  pump  accurately 
loaded  with  a  weight  equal  to  the  preMure 
of  air  within  it,  oi,  what  is  much  better,  fur- 
nished with  ail  accurately  adjusted  cot  of 
it  allows  as  much  air  to  e^pe  into  the  ex- 
panding pump,  as  the  reservoir  receives  froa 
the  condensing  cylinder.  In  the  expanding 
cylinder  the  air  received  will  tend  todiialt 
into  the  volume  it  occupied  under  the  almos* 
phertc  piessuie,  and,  arcoidiog  to  tbe  lav 
discovered  by  Boyle,  will,  in  the  act,  eiot 
he  same  mechanical  force  that  was  required 
to  condense  it.  With  every  succeeding  mo- 
tion of  the  piston  in  the  condensing  pamj», 
its  measure  of  air  must  be  found  in  tbe  re- 
servoir, and,  at  the  same  time,  an  equal 
quantity  must  flow  through  the  balance  ralrt 
with  or  by  means  of  the  cut  off,  with  aie- 
petition  of  its  mechanical  effect  on  the  ^ 
ton.  into  tbe  expanding  pump. 

The  quantity  of  air  condensed  and  expan- 
deil  and  consequently  the  extent  of  refrigeii- 
tion,  produced  by  an  engine  of  this  descrip- 
tion, depends  upon  the  area  of  the  cylinders, 
tbe  length  of  the  stroke,  and  the  number  of 
stn*kes  in  a  given  time  and  the  tension  at 
which  it  is  worked.  As  -the  size  of  tk 
pumps  can  be  proportioned  to  any  denMod 
for  air,  a  due  consideration  of  the  circvfl- 
stance  may  enable  us  to  adapt  tbe  encia^ 
not  only  to  dwe'ling  houses,  but  also  toW 
pitfils,  asylums  for  the  predisposed,  scboohi 
large  manufactories,  cnurches,  prisons,  ot 
fortresses.  The  dimensions  deemed  faily 
snfficient  for  a  house  of  an  ordinary  size  ai« 
as  follows : — The  diameter  of  the  cylinden 
should  be  four  inches,  and  the  length  of  tbe 
stroke  about  two  feet.  Pumps  of  this  ai« 
will  have  a  capacity  of  about  three  hundred 
cubic  inches;  and  if  we  consider  tbein  aa 
making  sixty  double  strokes  a  minute,  tbey 
will  condense  and  expand  about  twenty  cu- 
bic feet  of  air  a  minute,  forty-five  caWc 
yartfs  an  hour,  and  Ufiwanls  of  a  thoaAnd 
cubic  yards  a  day.  Workiiig  at  a  teoskMi  of 
two  atiiospheres  they  would,  theorrticallyt 
furnish  one  thouninii  cubic  yatds  of  air  a 
day  cooled  at  teat  160  d^MsF  Mow  Ihl    , 


i2«Mharc&Mi  0^  MagvfiU*'^ 


ur 


jMUural  temperature,  or  would  produce  a 
qoantity  of  cold  equiralent  to  the  production 
ci  about  six  hundred  and  forty  pounds  of  ice. 
Practically  they  have  been  found,  woijciiig 
at  the  aboTe  tension,  and  with  a  mechanicsd 
foice  equivalent  to  that  of  two  men,  with 
the  atmosphere  temperature  at  80  deig;rees  F, 
to  pour  out  air,  at  tne  rate  of  a  thousand  cu- 
bic yards  a  day,  cooled  down  to  10  degrees 
T  below  zero.  According  to  either  the  tneo- 
letical  or  practical  datum,  and  after  making 
large  allowances  for  the  conducting  power 
of  the  walls  of  a  house,  for  the  animal  heat 
generated  by  the  inhabitants,  and  for  erery 
other  usual  source  of  heat,  it  must  be  eyident 
that  there  is  in  this  principle  of  refrigeraiion 
Vid  ventilation,  the  means  of  commanding 
under  Summer,  even  if  tropical  heat,  the 
most  desirable  mean  tempenture.  It  is  pro- 
jper  to  remark  that  though  the  process  of  rea- 
iooiqg,  by  which  the  best  plan  for  cooetmct- 
i^g  the  machine  was  arrived  at  was  simple, 
j9t  the  effects  were  not  obtained  without  re- 
peated trials  and  failures;  whil^  there  are 
inany  appliances  besides  the  essential  prin- 
ciples ilieady  mentioned,  requisite  to  give 
complete  efficiency  to  it,  which' it  is  not  ne- 
cessary at  this  time  to  describe. 

Sucn  are  the  only  measures  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  writer,  are  calculated  to  pre- 
rent  that  particular  morbid  state  of  the  con- 
stitution on  which  the  terrible  disease  char- 
acterized as  tubercular  phthisis  depends. 
Beading  this  constitutional  state  as  origi- 
liatiQc  in  an  electrical  condition  of  the  at- 
inospoere,  dependent  upon  the  presence  of 
extraneous  impurities,  it  is  obvious  that  if 
this  be  true,  and  we  can  subvert  tlus  condi- 
tion, we  must  be  able  efiectualjiy  to  prevent 
tbe  disease.  Our  plan  provides  the  means 
by  which  atmospheric  air  may  be  divested  of 
aoMons  moisture,  and  ail  condeanble  gases, 
'While  the  process  may  be  made  to  aid  in  ele- 
vating the  natural  teinneiature  of  winter,  or 
of  modeiating  that  of  summer  in  a  limited 
space  like  that  of  a  dwelling  house,  a  hos- 
jntal,  or  a  public  school.  It  will  possess  to 
the  invalid  more  than  the  advantages  of  mi- 
giation  to  a  dimate  reported  to  m  most  h' 
Toiable  to  hia  condition,  while  it  may  be 
made  to  enable  the  native  of  either  the  tropi- 
cal or  frigid  zones  to  breathe  in  any  climate, 
an  atmosphere  having  an  approximation  to 
the  temperature  of  his  own.  And  all  these 
efects,  ejccept  the  elevation  of  temperature, 
can  be  made  to  comport  with  the  measure  of 
oar  wants  as  easily  and  at  as  moderate  ex- 
pease,  as  the  natural  temperature  of  cold 
climates  can  be  raised  to  an  equal  degree  in 


The  machine  we  have  alluded  to,  may  be 
worked  by  mimuali  hone,  w^ter,  or  steam 


power ;  but  in  order  that  its  effects  may  be 
obtained  at  the  least  possible  expense,  the 
preferable  power  would  be  the  wind.  Hori- 
zontal sails  capable  of  receiving  from  the 
wind  a  mean  force  equivalent  to  the  power 
of  two  men  and  applied  to  the  eneine,  would 
be  adequate  to  condense  with  all  the  attea- 
dant  frictions  and  losses  of  power,  a  thou- 
sand cubic  yards  of  air  a  day,  under  a  ten-  - 
sion  of  two  atmospheres;  nor  on  the  priu- 
ciple  of  construction  adopted  would  an 
increase  of  tension  materially  increase  th^ 
demand  for  power.  Such  sails  would  he 
so  small,  and  could,  by  a  slight  modification 
of  the  present  means  of  constructing  roofs, 
be  so  easily  screened  from  view,  that  they 
would  present  no  unsightly  object.  In  re- 
gard to  the  expense  attending  its  opentiai^, 
if  we  consider  that  the  materials  employed 
ajre  simply  air,  or  air  and  water,  and  tnat  tfie 
mechanical  agent  is  the  wind,  the  only  coft 
will  be  that  of  the  machine  and  the  oil  and 
labor  it  will  take  to  lubricate  it.  The  cost 
of  the  engine  and  the  appliances  for  making 
the  necessary  distribution  of  aix,  would  not 
be  greater  tnan  for  fireplaces,  gmtes,  and 
chimneys  of  a  well-built  modern  dwdling. 
As  an  enterprize  of  benevolence,  or  as  a  pe- 
cuniary speculation,  constructing  an  asvlum 
for  the  reception  of  consumptive  invalids,  or 
the  predisposed  to  that  diseiase,  mi^ht  in  this 
age  of  difficult  investment  of  capital,  be  an 
object  of  consideration.  The  natural  laws 
on  which  this  schema  for  preventing  Con- 
sumption is  based,  certainly  exist,  and  there- 
fore if  we  can  at  this  small  expense  obtain 
a  rational  hope  of  modifying  or  subverting 
them,  so  as  to  render  them  innocuous,  it  is 
yrorthy  of  the  assent  and  practical  adoption 
of  mankind,  or  at  least  its  careful  examina- 
tion. If  it  shall  have  the  effect  of  superse- 
ding the  cruel,  absurd  and  homicidaiprac-  - 
tice  of  sending  pulmonary  invalids  to  a  fo- 
reign land  and  a  nurried  gmve,  it  will  have 
conferred  incalculable  benefits  on  mankind. 

icAaiTBTiinra  mbdxoxvBi  triuicps  « 
or  loxBiroa. 

The  following  article  is  extracted  from  a 
Londcm  publication  eatitlad  •*  The  Popular 
Record  of  Modem  Sdeaee.**  The  book  from 
which  the  extracts  are  taken  is  written  by 
Professor  Gregory,  of  Edinburgh,  a  genii?, 
man  held  in  high  estimation  for  his  scienti- 
fic acquirements,  and  a  son  of  the  celebtated 
Dr.  Gregory. 

PBfBAXORBI  OV  MAaVSTIB^* 

A  contribution  to  sicience  pf  far  more  thfui 
ordinary  interest,  has  ihlB  week  beea  fur- 
nished oy  Professor  Gregory,  of  the  uniyAr- 


138 


Researches  on  Mttgnetism, 


sity  of  Edinburgh,  in  a  comprehensive  state- 
ment of  the  researches  of  Baron  Von  Reich- 
enbach  on  *<  Magnetism  and  certain  allied 
su  bjects."*  It  appears  that,  wh ile  travelii  ng 
on  the  continent  last  summer.  Dr.  Gregory's 
attention  was  directed  to  a  detail  of  baron 
VonRcichenbach's  experiments,  just  publish- 
ed in  the  "  Annalen  der  Chemie  und  Phar 
macie,"  a  periodical  of  the  highest  rank, 
conducted*  by  Baron  Liebeg  and  Professor 
Wohler.— The  conclusions  to  be  derived  from 
tiiese  experiments  were  of  the  most  startling 
character ;  but  Dr,  Gregory  being  aware  of 
Reichenbach's  character  for  minute  accuracy 
and  untiring  perseverance,  and  of  his  repu- 
tation among  chemists,  in  consequeiice  of 
his  laborious  and  successful  researches  on 

'  the  tar  of  wood  and  of  coal,  which  made 
us  acquainted  with  creosote  and  many  other 
new  compounds,  could  not  for  one  moment 
hesitate  to  receive  the  facts  on  which  they 
rested.  He  felt  anxious,  therefore,  on  his 
return  to  Scotland  in  October  last,  that  these 
experiments  should  be  made  known,  and 
while  preparing  a  translation  of  Reicben- 
bach's  statements,  he  took  the  opportunity 
of  describing,  in  two  lectures  to  a  numerous 
audience,  a  considerable  part  of  the  results 
obtained.  The  fame  of  these  lectures  spread 
to  London,  and  coming  as  it  did  at  a  time 
when  discoveries  by  Faraday  and  Hunt  had 
already  excited  the  public  mind  upon  the 
subject,  the  greatest  interest  was  felt  for  fur- 
ther information.  This  information  is  now 
supplied,  and  it  is  of  a  character  to  awaken 
the  liveliest  ^ratification,  as  opening  up  a 
new  and  inexnaustible  field  for  philosophi 
cal  inquiry. 

Baron  Von  Reichenbach's  experiments 
originated  in  his  having  the  opportunity  of 
studying  a  patient,  Madlle.  Nowotny,  a^ed 
25,  suDJect  for  eight  ^years  to  increasmg 
headaches,  and  latterly  affected  with  catalep< 
tic  fits,  accompanied  with  spasms.  She  pos- 
sessed a  remarkable  acutenees  of  the  sen- 

^sest  could  not  endure  the  daylight,  and  in  a 
dark  night  perceived  her  room  as  well  lighted 
as  it  appeared  to  others  in  the  twilight,  so 
that  she  could  even  distinguish  colors.  She 
was  also  very  sensitive  in  various  ways  to 
the  inflaence  of  the  maepet  Struck  with 
these  thinffs,  and  remembering  that  the  au- 
rora boieafis  appears  to  be  a  phenomena  con- 
nected  with  terrestrial  magnetism,  or  electro- 


•  AbBtraet  of  <^  Researches  on  Magnetism 
and  on  certain  allied  subjecti»"  includlnip  a 
suppoied  new  impoadezable.  By  Baron  Von 
Reichenbach.  Translated  and  abridged  from 
the  German,  by  William  Gregory,  M.  D.,  F. 
R.  S.  £.,  H.  R.  I.  A.,  Professor  of  Chemis- 
try.    EdinbttTKh.    1846. 


magnetism,  it  occurred  to  him  that  possibly 
a  patient  of  such  acuteness  of  vision  ml^t 
see  some  luminous  phenomenon  about  me 
magnet.  Dr.  Voii  Eisenstein,  (thej>hyflici8a 
in  attendance  ?)  afforded  every  facility,  and 
experiments  were  accordingly  commenced. 

*•  The  first  trial  was  made  by  the  palienfs 
father.  In  [profound  darkness,  a  horse-shoe 
magnet  of  nine  elements,  capable  of  cany-  ^ 
ing  eighty  pounds,  was  presented  to  the  pa- 
tient, the  armature  being  removed ;  she  saw 
a  distinct  and  continued  luminous  appear- 
ance, which  uniformly  disappeared  when 
the  armaturis  was  applied. 

"  The  second  experiment  was  made  as 
follows,  on  her  recovery  from  a  cataleptic 
attack,  when  the  excitability  of  her  senses 
was  greatest.  The  room  being  artificially 
darkened,  and  the  candles  extinguished  be- 
fore the  fit  was  ended,  the  magnet  was  pla- 
ced on  a  table,  ten  feet  from  the  patient, 
with  the  poles  upwards,  and  the  armature 
removed.  None  of  the  bystanders  could  see 
anything  whatever,  but  the  patient  saw  two 
luminous  objects,  one  at  each  pole,  which 
disappeared,  on  joining  the  poles,  and  re-ap- 
peaied  on  removing^  the  armature.  At  the 
moment  of  breaking  contact,  the  light  was 
somewhat  stronger.  The  appearance  was 
the  same  at  both  poles,  without  any  appa- 
rent tendency  to  unite.  Next  to  the  nebl 
she  described  a  luminous  vapor,  surrooided 
by  rays,  which  rays  were  in  constant  shoot- 
ing motion,  lengthening  and  shortening  them- 
selves incessantly,  and  presenting,  as  she 
said,  a  singularly  beautiful  appearance. 
There  was  no  resemblance  to  an  ordinary 
fire ;  the  color  of  the  light  was  nearly  pua 
white,  sometimes  mixed  with  irideKe&t 
colors,  the  whole  more  like  the  li^ht  of  the 
sun  than  that  of  a  fire.  The  ught  was 
dense  and  brighter  towards  the  middle  of  the 
edges  of  the  ends  of  the  magnet,  than  to- 
wards the  corners,  where  the  rays  formed 
bundles,  longer  than  the  rest  1  snowed  die 
patient  a  small  electric  spark;  this,  she  said, 
was  more  blue,  and  left  on  the  eye  a  painfal 
and  lasting  sensation,  like  that  caused  by 
looking  at  the  sun,  when  the  ima^  of  tk 
sua  is  afterwards  seen  on  every  object" 

These  experiments  were  repeated,  and 
sometimes  with  a  weaker  magnet,  nothing 
being  said  to  the  patient,  who  then  saw  only 
two  luminous  threads;  the  first  appearan- 
ces, however,  alwaiys  returning  wncn  the 
original  magnet  was  substituted.  As  she  re- 
gained strength,  her  impressibility  diminish- 
ed. After  some  time  she  saw  nothing  mon 
than  a  kind  of  flash  when  the  armature  was 
removed,  an4  eventually  her  recovery  puttf 
end  to  further  experiments. 

Dr.  Lippith,  dinieal  profcawr,  now  o»- 


R$^arche9  om  Magneiimnu 


13d 


tained  for  the  Baron  the  means  of  ezperi 
aoenting  with  Madlle.  Sturman,  a  patient 
aged  19,  su&ring  from  consumption,  and 
subject  to  the  lower  stages  of  somnambu- 
lism, with  attacks  of  spasms  and  catalepsy, 
and  she  proved  still  more  sensitive  than 
Madlle.  Nowotny.- 

"  When  the  magnet  (capable  of  support- 
ing eiehty  pounds)  was  placed  six  pees 
from  the  feet  of  the  patient,  (then  in  bed,) 
in  the  darkened  ward  and  the  armature  ze- 
moTed;  the  patient,  then  quite  conscious, 
gave  no  answer,  haying  instantly  fallen  into 
a  state  of  spasm  and  unconsciousness.  Af- 
ter an  intenra),  she  cauie  to  herself,  and  de- 
clared that  the  moment  when  the  armature 
was  withdrawn,  she  had  seen  fire  rise  from 
the  magnet,  which  fire  was  the  height  of  a 
small  hand,  white«  but  mixed  with  red  and 
Uue.  She  wished  to  examine  it  more  closely, 
but  the  action  of  the  magnet  (the  circuit  be- 
mg  then  not  closed)  instantly  deprived  her 
of  consciousoetf.  On  account  of  her 
health,  the  experiment  was  not  repeated." 

A  lad,  subject  to  frequent  conviilsions, 
was  the  person  next  experimented. upoui  and 
with  somewhat  similar  results.  The  next 
was  Madlle.  Mair,  aged  25,  su&ring  from 
paralysis  of  the  lower  extremities,  with  oc- 
casional spasms,  but  exhibiting  no  other  de- 
xaDgement  of  the  nervous  functions.  As 
often  as  the  armature  was  removed  from  a 
Uuge  magnet  in  the  dark,  she  instantly  saw 
the  luminous  appearance  above  the  poles, 
about  a  hand's  breadth  in  height — Her  sen- 
sitiveness increased  when  she  was  affected 
with  spasms,  and  she  then  not  only  saw  the 
light  at  the  poles  much  laiger  than  before, 
but  she  also  perceived  currents  of  light  pro- 
ceeding from  the  whole  external  surface  of 
the  magnet,  weaker  than  at  the  poles,  but 
leaving  in  her  eyes  a  dazzling  impression 
"which  did  n6t  for  a  long  time  disappear. 
This  was  the  fourth  confirmation  of  the  ex- 
istence of  the  magnetic  light.  The  sensi- 
bility of  the  next  patient  was  still  more  re- 
markable and  distinct 

"  This  was  MadUe.  Barbara  Beichel,  aged 
tweaty-nine,  of  stout  buil^.  At  the  age  of 
seven,  she  had  fallen  out  of  a  window  two 
stories  Jiigh,  aud  since  that  time  she  had 
suffered  nervous  attacks,  passing  partly  into 
lunacy,  partly  iAtosomnambulism,and8peak- 
ittg  in  her  sleep.  Her  disease  was  intermit- 
ting, often  with  very  long  intervals  of  health. 
At  this  time  she  ha^  just  passed  through  se- 
vere spasmodic  attacks,  and  retained  the  en- 
lire  sensitiveness  of  her  vision,  the  acute- 
nees  of  which  was  singularly  exalted  du- 
ling  her  attacks.  She  was  at  the  same  time 
in  fuU  vigor,  perfectly  conscious,*  looked 
weU  txtemally»  and  went  alQae  throi:^h  the 


crowded  streets  of  Vienna  to  visit  her  Na- 
tions in  their  houses.  The  author  invited 
her  to  his  house,  and  she  came  as  often  as 
be  wished  it,  so  that  he  was  enabled  to  em- 
ploy her  extraordinary  sensitiveness  to  ths 
magnetic  influence,  in  researches  with  such 
apparatus  as  could  not  conveniently  bo 
brought  into  other  houses, 

**This  person,  although  strong  and 
healthy,  saw  the  magnetic  fight  as  strong  as 
any  sick  individual ;  she  could  move  about 
freely,  and  was  very  intelligent,  and  in  ad- 
dition to  these  rare  advantages,  although 
highly  sensitive,  she  could  bear  the  approach, 
of  magnets,  and  experimenting  witn  them, 
far  better  than  sensitive  peasons  generallj 
do." 

"This  patient  saw  the  magnetic  light,  not 
only  in  the  dark,  but  Jalso  in  such  a  twilight 
as  permitted  the  author  to  distinguish  objects 
and  to  arrange  and  alter  the  experiments^ 
The  more  intense  the  darkness,  the  brighter 
and  larger  she  saw  the  flaming  emanations, 
the  more  sharp  and  defined  was  their  out- 
line, and  the  more  distinct  the  .play  of 
colon." 

"  When  the  magnet  was  laid  before  her 
in  the  dark,  she  saw  it  giving  out  light,  not 
only  when?  open,  but  also  when  the  pole^ 
were  joined  by  the  armatures ;  but  the  lu- 
minous appearance  was  different  in  the  two 
cases.  With  the  closed  magnets,  there  were 
no  points  where  the  light  appeared  concen- 
trated, as  was  the  case  when  the  (magnet 
was  open ;  but  all  the  edges,  joinings,  an(| 
corners  of  the  magnet  gave  out  short  flame- 
like lights,  uniform  in  size,  and  in  a  con- 
stant undmlatory  motion.  In  the  case  of  the 
magnet  of  nine  elements,  capable  of  carry- 
ing eightjr  pounds,  these  were  about  as  long 
as  the  thickness  of  a  little  finger." 

<*  When  the  armature  was  removed,  it 
presented  a  most  beautiful  appearance.  Each 
arm*  of  the  magnet  was  about  eight  and  a 
half  inches  long,  and  the  light  rose  almosjt 
to  an  equal  height  above  the  magnet,  being 
rather  broader  than  the  bar.  At  each  de- 
pression, where  two  plates  of  the  magnet 
are  laid  together,  there  appeared  smuler 
flames  ending  in  points  like  sparks,  on,  thfs 
edges  and  corners.  These  small  flaJnes  ap- 
pear blaei  the  chief  light  was  white  below, 
yellow  higher  up,  then  red,  and  green  at  top. 
It  was  not  motionless,  but  flickered>  undula- 
ted, or  contracted  by  starts,  continually,  with 
an  appearance  as  of  rays  shooting  forth.  But 
here,  as  in  the  case  of  Madlle.  Nowotny, 
there  was  no  appearance  of  mutual  attraction 
or  mutual  tendency  towards  each  other  of 
the  flames,  or  from  one  pole  to  the  other ; 
and,  as  in  that  case,  both  poles  presented  the 
same  appearance.**  * 


IK) 


R§9eard^M  on  MpgneHmn. 


:  •« 'EzperiBienlB  performed  on  a  nxth  pa- 
fient,  Madlle.  Maria  Atzmannsdorfer,  aged 
twenty,  who  had  headaches  and  epesmii,  and 
%lJked  in  her  sleep,  led  to  retulta  confirma- 
fory  of  the  preceding.  The  light  dazxled 
her  etes  hy  its  brilliancy.* 

*<From  the  above  facta  it  appears,  tiiat 
|he  foregoing  six  sensitive  individuals,  each 
according  to  the  degree  of  sensitiveness 
iir  to  the  diseased  state  of  the  body,  saw, 
more  or  less  vividly,  a  luminons  appearance 
like  a  moving  flame,  at  the  poles  of  power- 
fol  magnets.  These  individuals  were  highly 
iensitive,  although  of  unequal  sensitiveness ; 
and,  although  unacquainted  with  each  other, 
And  with  each  other's  observations,  their  ac- 
counts  sgree  in  all  essential  (joints,  and  were 
{n  eech  ease,  uniformly  consistent,  not  only 
with  themselves,  but  with  the  known  laws 
id  electricity  and  magnetism.  The  author, 
having  no  reason  to  doubt  the  perfect  hon- 
esty of  those  persons,  and  feeling,  at  all 
ivents,  confident. of  his  own  caption,  aocu- 
)acy  and  bona  fides,  had  no  hesitation  in  ad< 
mittijw  the  reality  of  the  phenomenon,  al< 
though  invisible  to  ordinary  men;  and  he 
eonsiders  the  fact  of  the  existence  ot  such 
luminous  appearances  at  the  poles  of  pow- 
erful magnets  as  fully  established  as  the  re< 
aearches  of  one  man  can  establish  a  fact 
He  confidently  anticipates  confirmation  from 
other  observers,  since  sensitive  persons,  al- 
though not  numerous,  are  readily  found  in 
amall  towns,  and  quite  easily  obtained  in 
large  cities." 

'  But  in  order  to  prove  that  the  impressions 
Upon  these  peroons  were  the  result  of  actual, 
light,  Baron  Von  Reichenbacb  instituted  the 
ioliowing  experiment : — 

*'A  very  sensitive  Daguerreoty]^  plate, 
being  prepared,  was  placed  oppomte  to  a 
magnet,  the  armature  of  wnich  was  remtf- 
▼ed,  in  a  closed  box,  surrounded  with  diick 
bed-clothes,  so  that  no  oidtntty  light  could 
enter.  After  sixty-four  hoursP  exposure, 
-the  plate,  when  held  over  mercurial  vmpor, 
iras  found  fully  affecte'l,  as  by  light,  on  the 
whole  surface.  In  a  parallel  experiment, 
made  without  a  magnet,  the  plate  was  found 
entirely  unaffected.  This  proves  that,  unless 
oithtr  imponderables,  such  as  magnetism,  act. 
on  ^e  prepared  plates  as  light  does,  theem- 
•anation  from  the  magnet  is  of  the  nature  of 
light,  however  feeble  and  slow  in  its  aetion 
on  the  Dsguerreotyne." 

This  beautiful  and  satisfactory  experiment 


*  Hr.  Gregory's  pamphlstooatains  well  ex- 
aeoled  lithogiaphie  repreasntaiioas  of  tka 
i^peanmea  of  the  various  flames  and  itreami 
of  lii^hty  from  drawings  made  by  the  pa- 
tients. ■  '         ^ 


was  followed  by  another  eQualiy  remtika* 
ble.  By  means  of  a  lens,  the  magnet  wis 
made  to  produce  a  focal  image  on  the  val, 
and  whenever  the  experimenter  raovrd  the 
less,  Madlle.  Reicfaei  was  able  to  point  to  the 
situation  of  the  light 

Thus  much  with  regard  to  the  Innnnow 
appearances.  We  now  come  to  the  mecht- 
nical  force  exerted  bv  the  magnet  en  tfat 
human  frame.  Dr.  Fatelin,  of  Lyons,  ind 
other  observers,  having  formerly  stat^  in- 
stances of  the  attraction  of  the  amnan  bsnd 
by  a  magnet,  and  of  the  power  of  some  m* 
tients  to  distinguish  water,  along  which  a 
magnet  had  been  drawn,  resolved  fiomititiite 
experiments  in  this  directioh. 

'•The  sidhesion  of  a  Kffne  hand  to  i 
magnet  is  a  fact  miknown  in  pbyiiQiorr  u 
in  physics,  and  few  hare  seen  it:  it,  tber^* 
fore,  requires  explanation.  Biladlle.  N.  1m* 
ing  in  catalepsy,  insensible  and  motietfeai 
but  free  from  spasms,  a4ioiie-sbee  nsgut 
of  twenty  pounds  power  was  brought  neir 
to  her  hand,  when  the  hand  attaeheii  itself 
io  to  the  magnet,  that  whidicver  wvjf  tin 
magnet  was  moved,  the  hand  fdlowed  it« 
if  n  had  been  a  bit  of  iron  adhering  toil 
She  remain^  iasensihie ;  but  the  attndioe 
was  so  powerful,  that  when  the  Ba|;iMt  mi 
removeo,  in  Ae  direction  of  Ikt  feet,  Mhtt 
than  the  arm  could  reach,  she,  still  fSMM- 
ble,  raised  herself  in  bed,  and  with  Ae  M 
followed  the  magnet  as  far  as  she  fCsaUy 
could,  so  that  it  looked  u  if  she  had  b«B 
seized  by  the  hand,  and  that  membffdnggijl 
towards  the  feet,  ff  th^  magnet  was  iw 
further  removed,  she  let  it  go  unwilliafiff 
but  remained  fixed  in  h&  actual  positim- 
This  was  flaily  seen  by  the  author  Wwaa 
six  and  eighth*.  M.,  when  her  attacks  ome 
on,  in  the  presence  ci  eight  or  ten  p«ww» 
mediod  and  scientific  men."  At  other  pm* 
ods  of  tne  day,  when  ^e  was  quite  c^ 
Bctous  the  nhenofsena  were  the  same,  w 
described  the  sensation  as  an  irresistibii^- 
traction,  which  she  fdt  compelled  a^iatf 
her  will,  to  obey.  The  eensltion  ^ 
agreeable,  aocompeAied  with  a  gentle  eoon| 
aura,  streaming  or  fiowhig  down  from  •» 
magnet  to  the  hand,  which  felt  as  if  tisdam 
drawn  with  a  fliousand  fine  threads  to  m 
magnet.  She  was  not  acquainted  with  UIJ 
similar  sensation  in  ordinary  life ;  itwaiis- 
describaMe,and  inehided  an  iBftaitelyRfM- 
ing  and  pleasuraUe  sensation  when  the  a^ 
net  was  not  too  strong.** 

Similar  results  were  ohiMied  with  Msd^ 
moiseUe  and  MadUe.  Strnman,  aad^ 
statement  of  the  varioos  modes  is  wta* 
the  veracity  of  the  patients  and  dM  asom* 
cy  of  the  experimenta  were  teated.  is  iw 
as  IS  inspire  ttie  most  uniessrTed  eoaadmce 


JSeiemrehm  oft  MagnsUi^. 


Ul 


IB  the  exptfritMUtcr.  Mr.  Baumgvtitr,  the 
^Mtiiigiuihcd  BattMd  ^nlofopher,  wu  one 
M  time  wlio,  alMnnt  dfaefs,  tested  in  m 
-WTingwiioiv  wi^  3m  abon  pfaenooMDa- 

Witk  regaid  to  munetiaed  wmter.  Baron 
¥oB  RoelieiihMk,  altboiigh  «lRmriy  pieju- 
dKced  igaiiMt  tkie  <<  nesnenc  idea,*  wae 
^compelled  to  admit  tint  •  palfaldeeftct  wae 
produeed. 

«*-He  saw  daily  tiiat  liis  pifient  could  ea* 
iilj  dBtiBniiiBh  a  alaai  of  "water*  along 
which  a  Magnet*  uaxnovni  to  her^  had  been 
dMwn,  fiOB  an^r  others ;  and  this  without 
fiulnie  or  kesitalion.  He  foond  it  impossi* 
Ue  to  Appoae  a  fact  tikie  tMa  by  aigunenfs; 
hot  when  he  saw  tfaa  same  leimlt  tn  aMny 


other  patients,  he  eeasod  te  straggle  against 
dnt  which,  wfaetlnr  he  understood  it  or  net, 
was  obrioasly  a  fact  He  ihcia  perceiTed 
Ihatit  wasabre  lationai  to  admit  the  fact, 
.atel  lo  wait  with  patience  kst  the  expiaa» 
lion." 
The  nxpenmenier  then  detenuned  to  see 


wl»ther  bodies  besides  water  eould  be 
netisedtsoaa to  produce  similar efiwts. 
paaaed  te  magnet  not.mily  over  aU  sorts  of 
micnralB  and  dnssi  biit  ^lim  indisoilminale 


Dt.oniY  over  aU  so 

nd  dn^gps^ 
objects,  and  they  all  aiectsd  the  patient 
BMn  or  kai  powexfuHy.  Bat  although  all 
ware  eqaally  magnetised^  the  results  were 
dJ^reot,  some  substances  prodnciiq;  a  strong 
and  othem  only  a  slight  impression.  It  was 
therefore  clear,  that  the  diflerent  results  must 
liave  been  caused  by  an  inherent  difference 
of  power  in  the  varioitt  kinds  of  matter, 
and  he  resolved  to  test  if  this  difference 
^ould  manifest  Itsilf,  when  the  sitbstances 
^i^«re  applied  m  Uteir  nattutd  eoadition.  To 
Ms  astonishanent  they  sliU  acted  on  the  ^- 
Itent,  and  with  a  pow«#  Kyften  litde  inferior 
to  Am  which  they  had  when  magnetised. 

Amoncsi  the  vai>iOui  sabstanees  tiied, 
(of  wbi<m  a  well  atfamged  list  is  citen)  die* 
ixnct  sofifiry  crystals  wire  lonlid  to  act  in 
itktt  strongest  manner. 

*<  In  trying  the  e^ct  of  drawing  the  point 
•of  roek  ctystal,  7  inehes  long,  and  l  3-4 
thick,  fNMn  the  wrist  to  the  points  of  the 
Ktigers,  aiid  bade,  as  in  nmgnatiiin^,  the  an* 
tiior  found  that  the  amstktion  expeitenced  by 
the  patient,  was  the  same  as  wnn  a  Smgnetic 
n«edle  or  bar,  nearly  five  inches  long,  one* 
afetth  inch  broad,  and  one4hirtfeith  inch 
thick,  weighjitag  nearly  180  gmins,  and  sap* 
fmrtin^  about  8*4  oz.  Tha  patient  lek  an 
aipreeme  cool  «am  ia  both  eases,  when  the 
afystal  or  magnet  itas  dia#n  Inim  the  wnst 
to  the  point  of  the  middli  finger ;  if  dmf#n 
ia  am  opposite  direttion-,  tlM  sensation  wt» 
dissgrceaWe  and  sppaarsd  trarm.  A  cryitel 
ttarloo  the^sine  atf  tha  ftnrt,  piodacikUwhan 
4tasra4oMrMsiads^thtMiiaieiictpMi  taagt- 


net,  supporting  two  pounds  of  iioi ;  aal 
when  drawn  the  onposite  wav,  a  spasmodis 
condition  of  the  wBole  ana,  lasting  several 
minates,  and  so  violent  that  the  experimailt 
could  not  well  be  repeated." 

It  was  found  that  this  peoidiar  fotte  imtt 
ding  in  crystals  was  analogous  to  electricilr 
and  magnetism,  inasmuch  as  it  was  eraam 
of  acting  through  opaqUe  bodies,  and  somilk 
ted  also  of  being  transferred  to  other  suhstanK 
cea  A  lane  rock  crystal,  placed  so  tUit  iH 
point  rested  on  a  glass  of  water,  produced 
water  as  strongly  magnetised  as  a  horse-shoa 
magnet.  It  was  further  ascertained  that  tha 
power  thus  transferred,  was  capablb  of  be^ 
mg  retained  for  a  short  time  (in  no  ioasa^ 
however,  longer  than  for  t^n  mimvtes;) 

In  Madile.  Nowotny,  flw  hand  was  afr 
tneted  by  a  laiae  crys^,  exactly  as  by  A 
maguet  of  midaling  size.  Ciystals  also 
nve  forth  the  same  luminous  appearance  at 
me  mi^gnet,  only  more  singular^  beautiM 
in  color  and  form. 

StM^  proceeding  steadily  in  his  researchcil 
and  calling  to  mind  the  many  effects  analog 
gous  to  those  of  the  magnet,  alleged  tohasi 
been  produced  on  sick  persons  by  the  humsm 
hand,  Reichenbach,  while  he  avoided  aiE 
sto^  of  the  literature  of  animal  magnia 
tism,  in  order  to  retain  an  tmihtterM  jvda» 
Bpient,  laaoived  to  ascertain  **  whether  aa»» 
mai  amgnetism,  like  the  crystalline  foras^ 
might  not  be  subject  to  physical  laws  ?  Aa 
eiyataliization  seems  to  mark  the  tnmsilieA 
from  oiganic  to  inorganic  nature,  he  veiltnt^ 
ed  to  hope,  that  by  expenment,  ha  solight 
diseoT^  a  point  of  connection  between  anif 
mal  BHffnelism  and  physics,  or  perhaps  dvsA 
obtain,  for  animal  maenetism,  tlwt  firmfna* 
dation  in  iihysics,  which  had  so  long  besA 

Qghlforin  vain." 

And  hem  the  phDosophical  cautioa  of  Hia 
practised  observer  is  strikiagly  displayed 

In  order  that  his  experiments  miditbe  Irai 
from  every  distorbi^  cause,  iieiefi  itriaaai' 
thd,  previouiily,  to  ascertain  ihe  part  idudi 
terrestrial  magnetism  plays  in  rslhtioi  to  ha^ 
man  sensations.  If  a  macnat  or  ciyatal  ftm 
duces  marked  efiEeets,  it  ih  certain  that  Haf 
magnetism  of  the  earth  mnstdxest  ap6wer- 
fal  action,  and,  therefore,  it  tacame  i 


dary  for  him  to  asesttain  the'caadrtioaa  .of 
this  action,  to  enable  him  tocatimalethe  di» 
gree  in  which  tiiensults  of  the  aaw  ei^ 
risMnts  might  beamdified  <by its .infiumUA 
The  inquiries  instituted  wldi  thi^  i9tm^ 
led  to  the  diseovciy  of  «  sAtgalhr  ias^ 
aaandy,  that  pcAonssensitiito  to  As  floaM^ 
■atic  inflosnos  <Bt  laast»  m  tfas  narthaJk 
hamisphere^)  find»  whan  itf  a  tteambsiid 
Mta,  avery  oiher  poaitioB  exaept  that  ton 
with  to  sooth  highly  ~  ..     ..r^ 


142 


Researches  Of»  Magn^ism. 


from  west  to  east  bciDg  in  particular  almost 
intolsrable. 

*«0n  examining  the  position  of  Madlie. 
Nowotnj»  she  was  found  lying  almost  ex- 
actly on  the  magnetic  meridian,  her  head  to- 
wards the  north.  She  had  instinctively  cho- 
len  this  direction ;  and  it  had  been  necessary 
to  take  down  a  stove  to  allow  her  bed  to  be 
placed  as  she  desired  it  to  be.    ^e  was  re- 

guested,  as  an  experiment,  to  lie  down  with 
ar  head  to  the  south.  It  took  several  days 
to  persuade  her  to  do  so,  and  she  only  con- 
sented in  consideration  of  the  weight  which 
the  author  attached  to.  the  experiment.  At 
last,  one  morning,  he  found  her  in  the  de- 
sired position,  wnich  she  had  assumed  very 
shoitly  before.  She  very  soon  began  to  com 
plain  of  discomfort,  she  became  restless, 
flushed,  her  pulse  became  mote  frequent  and 
lullert  a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head  increased 
Ihe  head-ache,  and  a  sensation  of  nausea 
floon  attacked  the  stomach.  The  bed  with 
the  patient  was  now  turned,  but  was  stopped 
halfway,  when  she  lay  in  a  magnetic  paral- 
lel, with  the  head  to  the  west.  This  posi- 
tion was  far  more  disagreeable  than  the  for- 
Bier,  indeed,  absolutely  intolerable.  Tnis 
Was  at  half  past  eleven,  A.  M.  She  felt  as 
U  she  would  soon  fiiint,  and  begged  to  be 
lemoved  out  of  this  position.  This  was 
done ;  and  as  soon  as  she  was  restored  to  the 
original  position,  with  the  head  to  the  BOTth, 
all  disagreeable  sensations  diminished,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  were  so  completely  gone, 
that  she  was  again  cheerful." 
.  Further  singular  corroborations  are  quoted 
in  confirmation  of  this  view ;  and  Reichen- 
bach  thinks  it  sufficient  to  account  fpr 
many  of  the  errors  and  contradictions  which 
have  occurred  in  animal  magnetism  from  the 
time  of  Theophrastus  and  Mesmer  to  our 
own  day.  '*  tor  if  the  same  disease  were 
treated  magnetically,  in  Vienna,  in  the  posi- 
tion north  to  soudi;  in  Berlin,  in  that  of 
east  to  west ;  and  in  Stuttgard,  in  that  of 
aouth  to  north;  totally  diftrent  results 
would  be  obtained  in  the  three  cases,  and  no 
asreement  in  the  experience  of  the  diferent 
^ysidans  could  be  obtained." 

«Nay,  if  the  same  physician^  at  different 
times,  or  even  at  the  same  time  in  different 
places,  were  to  treat  the  same  disease  with 
tike  same  magnetic  means,  while  accciden- 
tally  the  beds  of  his  patients  were  placed  in 
different  positions,  he  must  necessarily  see 
quite  different  results,  so  as  to  be  entitely 
suzzled  with  magnetism  and  with  himself. 
He  most  oonchide  it  to  be  laU|Of  caprioe  and 
change;  and  finding;  it  impossible  to  foresee 
ttjid  regulate  its  action,  reject  nu^etism  al- 
together as  an  unmanageable  instrument 
wieh  has  heen,  ia  husw  the  sad  history  ol 


magnetism.  From  the  earliest  timei,  often 
taken  up,  and  as  often  cast  aside,  it  oovr  ties 
almost  unemployed,  and  yet  is  so  distifigiiiik- 
ed,  so  penetrating,  nay,  we  may  say,  so  ia- 
oompaiable  a  means  of  relief  in  cases  vheie 
man  has  hitherto  been  unable  to  aflbxd  any 
benefit.  Nervous  diseases  are  still  the  scan* 
dale  medicorum.  Ix  may  be  confidentiy  a* 
pected,  that  ere  long  an  improvement  will 
be  effected.  The  au-powertol  inflaence  of 
terrestrial  magnetism  will  be  measuied  vA 
calculated,  and  the  whole  subject  of  magns* 
tism  will  now  admit  of  being  regolady  stVp 
died  in  reference  to  medicine.  Progress  will 
be  made ;  experimenters  will  mutually  ua* 
dersland  each  other ;  and  the  world  at  length 
hope  to  derive  some  actuid  benefit  from 
those  extraordinary  things  which  have  so 
long  excited  expectation  without  satisfyint 
it  Having  thus  established  the  existenoed 
a  powerful  inflaence  exerted  by  the  esith^s 
magnetism  on  the  magnetic  phenomena  in 
sensitive  persons,  all  subsequent  magnetic 
experiments  were  made  with  the  patients  in 
the  position  from  north  lo  south,  which  ii 
considered  by  the  author  to  the  normal  jo* 
sition  for  the  living  body,  sensitive  or  affec- 
ted with  nervous  maladies.** 

The  e^riments  then  instituted  wgM 
in  convincing  Rdchenbach  that  a  sifflihr 
force  to  that  which  he  had  detected  io  thf 
magnet,  and  other  bodies,  resides  in  the  hu- 
man hand. 

The  most  singular  experiment  is  that  wilh 
a  glass  of  water. 

«'  If  it  be  grasped  from  l)eiow  by  the  fia- 
gersof  one  hand,  and  from  abpvfe  by  thou 
of  the  other,  during  a  few  minutes,  it  on 
now  acquired  to  tiie  sensitive,  the  tori*. 
smelU  and  all  other  singular  and  sarpiisus 
properties  of  the  sp^called  magaedsed  wi- 
ter.  *  Against  this  statement,'  s^ys  the  as* 
thor,  *aU  those  may  cry  out  who  halt 
never  invesjizated  the  matter,  and  to  Us 
number  of  whom  I  formerly  belonged;  wl 
of  the  fact,  all  tjioee  who  have  submitted  to 
the  labor  of  investigation,  and  hate  sea 
the  effects  I  allHde  to,  can  only  speak  w 
amazement*  This,  water,  which  is  qaw 
identical  with  that  treated  with  the  waff» 
or  with  the  .crystal,  in  all  its  esscnti^  Ijo- 
perties,  has,  theieford^,  received  from  the  »• 
gert  and  hand  an  |d>ttndant  chaige  of  m 
peculiar  forfse  residing  in  them,  and  i^"JJ 
this  charge  ior  some  time,  and  with  torn 
force.  It  was  found  that  aU  vM^ 
whatever  were  capable  of  receifing  w 
chaice,  which  the  sensitive  pstieDts  m  w 
biy  detected.  The  inevitable  coodwioj 
is,  that  the  inflnenoe  residing  in  A«;""T 
haadjnayhsoeUiirtsa  is  4»lher  bodia^  <• 


Curative  Effects  of  Mesmerism. 


143 


the  same  way,  and  the  same  extent,  as  the 
inflnence  residing  in  crystals." 

But  in  ascertaining  thus  much  we  hare 
BOt  arrived  at  all  the  sources  of  this  force. 
'Some  of  Reichenbach's  most  interesting  and 
striking  researches  go  to  establish,  in  the 
jnost  unquestionable  manner,  that  it  resides 
also  in  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  moon, 
and  the  stars;  that  it  is  developed  likewise 
in  chemical  action,  (especially  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  digestion  and  respiration,)  and 
a^n  by  electricity.  These  are  its  ascer- 
tained  and  peculiar  sources;  but  it  seems, 
from  the  experiments  subsequently  detailed 

aBeichenbach,  that  there  is  scarcely  an 
ject  in  the  collective  material  world 
through  which  ft  may  not  be  manifested  in 
lelation  to  fieculiar  indiosyncrasies.    . 

Towards  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks, 
the  author  gave  some  very  interesting  state- 
ments of  the  relative  developement  of  the 
magnetic  force  in  individuals,  at  specified  pe- 
riods of  lour  and  twenty  hours,  and  be  sug- 
gests manjr  applications  of  these  facts  of 
great  practical  value  in  the  preservation  of 
health.  He  promises  also,  within  two 
months,  to  publish  the  results  of  extended 
inquiries. 

On  the  whole,  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to 
assert,  thet  a  more  interesting  series  of  ob- 
servations in  relation  1o  physical  science 
has  rarely,  been  presented  to  the  world. 
Those  who  will  take  thd  trouble  to  enter 
into  the  statements,  of  which  little  more 
than  an  outline  has  here  been  presented, 
^ill  meet  siigfi;estions  sufficient  to  give  di- 
rection to  a  whole  life-time  of  thought  and 
observation.  The  phenomena  observed  and 
narrated  bear  with  almost  equal  force  upon 
every  branch  ol  inquiry-^rystaJiograpny, 
mineralogy,  geolpgy,  botany,  anatomy,  phy- 
siology, medicine,  astronomy ;  in  short,  the 
'whole  circle  of  the  sciences.  It  opens  up 
a  field  of  inquiry,  to  which  every  student  of 
Nature  must  direct  his  steps,  and  to  which 
all,  no  matter  how  vaned  their  pursuits,  may 
bring  their  labor  with  a  certainty  of  re- 
ward. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  proper  to  mention  that 
one  very  gratifyioc  circumstance,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  publication  of  these  research- 
es, consists  in  their  having  diawn  forth  the 
adinirabie  remarks  of  Processor  Gregory,  by 
which  the  publication  of  them  is  accompa- 
nied. It  is  also  a  matter  of  congratulation, 
that,  in  a  letter  dated  from  Vienna  the  7th  of 
the  present  month,  nublished  in  the  appendix 
and  addressed  by  B^ron  Yon  Reichenbach 
to  Professor  Gregory,  the  followtng  para- 
gmph  is  to  be.fottid.: 


"  Berzelius  has  expressed  himself  in  the 
same  way  as  you  have  done ;  and  carries  on 
with  me  a  friendly  and  brisk  correspondence 
on  the  subject  of  my  researches,  on  which 
we  may  shortly  expect  a  report  from  him,  to 
be  laid  before  the  Swedish  Academy  of 
Sciences." 


OUBATIVB  BFFS0T9  OF  UBIMBBISM. 

A  young  lady  of  Ohio,  about  18  years  of 
age,  who  nab  l>een  for  some  time  at  school 
at  Hartford,  Conn.,  received  an  injury  in  the 
lower  part  of  her  spine  in  November  last,, 
from  a  fall  which  rendered  her  unable  to 
bear  even  the  sb'ghtest  elevation  toward  an 
erect  position,  and  kept  her  in  continual 
pain.  She  was  attended  by  the  most  skilful 
physicians  without  benefit,  but  at  len^. 
under  the  advice  of  a  physician  of  this  city, 
she  was  placed  on  a  bed  constructed  for  the 
purpose,  and  brought  here  by  railroad  and 
steamboat,  with  the  view  of  trying  the  ef- 
fects of  mesmeric  treatment  under  nis  direc- 
tion. She  arrived  here  on  the  3d  inst 
(April,  1846)  accompanied  by  her  brother-in- 
law  and  sister,  and  put  up  at  Judson's  Ho- 
tel, Broadway.  The  following  evening  the 
physician  introduced  Mr.  Oltz,  a  distinguish- 
ed magnetizer,  and  recommended  him  to 
make  the  nroper  mesmeric  nasses  along  the 
spine  for  the  purpose  of  allaying  the  high 
nervous  excitement  under  which  she  was 
laboring,  and  which  had  continued  without 
intermission,  from  the  time  of  the  accident 
The  passes  were  quite  effectual,  and  that 
night  she  enioyed  sound  and  refreshing 
sleep  which  she  had  not  obtained  for  the 
previous  five  months. 

The  next  morning,  the  magnetizer,  by 
means  of  the  mesmeric  passes  alone,  gradu- 
ally raised  her  to  an  erect  position,  in  which 
she  remained  about  a  minute.  In  the  even- 
ing he  operated  again,  and  she  was  aj^ain 
enabled  to  sit  erect  The  doctor  then  direc- 
ted him  to  raise  her  upon  her  feet,  which  he 
did  with  a  few  passes ;  and  supported  by 
the  magnetizer  and  the  physician,  she  found 
herself  able  to  walk  seveial  times  acionthe 
room.  After  resting  about  fifteen  minutei» 
in  an  easy  chair,  where  her  expressions  oi 
wonder  and  gratitude  were  deeply  fervent 
and  aflfecting,  she  repealed  her  wauc  around 
and  across  Uie  room,  and  retiring  full  of  joj 
and  hope,  again  passed  the  night  in  tranquil 
sleep. 


Qn  the  following  morning,  flie 
passes  proved  so  eiectual  that  she  was  con- 
sidered sufficiently  restored  to  undertake  a 


144 


Thibereulitr  DiBiuufe  oftkc  Orgatti  ahd  MtucUs* 


k>arney  to  Pbiladelplita,  ^t  afternoon,  on 
ner  way  to  ber  family  m  Ohio.  Mr.  Oltz 
Accompanied  her  to  the  depot  in  Jerse^r  City, 
dknd  baring  seated  her  comfortably  in  the 
sar,  and  stowed  away  ber  previous  trarel- 
Hng  coach  upon  the  top,  transferred  his  mes- 
neric  power  over  her  to  ber  brother-hi-iaw 
and  saw  ber  start  on  ber  unexpected  jour- 
ney. The  following  are  extracts  of  a  letter 
from  the  sister  who  accompanied  her.  to  her 
nbysician  in  this  city,  dated  Harrisbuigh, 
Peon.,  April  13tb,  184^  : 

•<  I  fear  our  neglecting  to  write  from  Phil- 
adelphia will  lead  ydii  to  think  we  do  not 
appreciate  the  kind  interest  you  took  in  sis- 
tsfB  case.  Be  assured  we  do  and  evsr  i^all 
nanember  you  with  gratitude.  *  *  Our 
kind  fritod  Mr.  OHz,  (to  whom  you  will 
please  remember  us)  doubtless  told  you  bow 
W^ll  we  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  cars. 
Mr.  B  wis  able  to  continue  the  influence  to 
imeh  A  degree  as  to  keep  her  very  easy  for 
about  two  hours,  when,  owing  to  some  re« 
kxation  of  effort,  she  became  sick  at  the 
stomach.  We  gave  her  the  ff  Jobules  [  Ipeca- 
cuanha]  which  soon  relieved  that,  and  then, 
notwithstanding  the  noise  and  motion  of 

the  cars,  Mr.  B succeeded  in  putting  her 

into  a  sounder  sl#ep  than  ever  she  badbeen 
in  before,  and  sbe  awoke  from  it  quite  re- 
freshed. For  two  days  after  our  arrival  in 
Philadelphia  sbe  felt  too  weary  for  exertion; 
but  on  the  third  night,  after  being  magneti- 
««d,  she  sat  up  for  more  than  two  hours  and 
Walked  about  the  room  for  nearly  an  hour ; 
rife  stent  well  for  tbat  night,  and  was  next 
day  quite  comfortable.  We  left  Philadel- 
phia  at  half-past  seven  in  the  mominjr,  and 
ttide  nine  hours  over  ^  roughest  rau-road 
in  the  country,  but  under  the  magic  influence 
•he  was  k^t  quietly  asleep  most  of  the 
time.  She  leels  much  fatigued  and  sore  to- 
day, but  is  in  good  spirits  at  the  idea  of 
■tuiing  and  theoomparative  case  with  which 
the  rest  of  M Joumey  will  be  pwformed." 
— Asw  Y&rk  TribuM, 

Besides  the  ordinary  jeflbds  of  an  injury 
^m  a  fall  in  this  case,  there  was  great  de 
ningement  at  her  magnetic  organization 
infhkh  required  the  power  of  the  magnetizer 
to  restore  to  its  proper  condition  and  normal 
action,  and  hence  omr  confidence  in  the  sue- 
cess  of  the  experiment  and  the  rationale  of 
Uiiesiilts. 

Tabtroolir  Oissass  of  ths  Organs  aad  Una 

dSi. 

Mls^  M.  S.  of  Providence.  R.  I.,  aged 
t5  tears.  This  young  lady  bad  been  out  of 
health  about  seven  years*  when  she  was 


placed  under  my  care  in  May,  1^5.  Ski 
presented  the  external  appearsnce  o(  tbi 
moft  roburt  health ;  yet  thm  was  one  of  (he 

>rst  eases  of  tnbereabar  disesse  I  cm 

Bv;  for  OB  an  examination,  I  foand  sHdi 
her  organs,  including  the  eersbram,  eenM* 
ium  and  uterus^  as  well  as  all  the  BBsds% 
in  a  very  advanced  stage  of  tuberenlsr  di» 
ease ;  accompanied  often  on  retiring  Is  M 
with  the  most  violent  and  prolonnd  spans» 
terminating  in  insensibihty  and  cobs  at 
sleep.  The  muscles  of  the- body  and  iiariis 
prevented  everywhere  the  same  elastic  sii 
yaSy  state  seen  in  the  common  white  swril* 
mgs  of  the  joints  and  Umbs.  There  wal 
also  great  sensibility  to  pressure  the  whole 
length  of  the  spine. 

A  clairvoyant  ezaminatioB  of  this  caa^ 
confirmed  the  above  diagnosis,  and  besidei 
locked  the  disease  in  the  cerebrum  in  the  or* 
gans  of  imitation,  marveiiousaees,  hope,aai 
conscientiousness  of  the  left  hemiqihen; 
a  matter  ot  great  importance  in  directing  tbi 
passes  in  mesmerising  and  in  the  amilicatioe 
of  the  buttons  in  magnetisins.'=~PreecriM 
the  magnetised  gold  pills  and  {daster,  bm* 
merism  and  the  action  of  the  magnetic  m^ 
chine. 

The  following  letter  from  this  tdeiM 
younj;  lady  will  diow  the  result  of  dui 
practice: 

Prmndtnu,  Marfk  Mli  IM 

Dk.  Srkrwood,  Sir: 
I  feel  it  a  duty  devolving  upon  ine,  to  wiifi 
you  at  this  time.  As  regards  my  meal 
state  of  health,  I  can  say,  I  am  well.  De- 
ring  the  past  winter  my  constitution  NeM 
to  nave  undergone  a  change ;  which  chtn^ 
cannot  be  attributed  to  any  other  floorce 
than  strictly  adhering  to  your  practice.  1 
consider  it  a  case  worthy  of  note ;  for  aflff 
having  spent  my  **  living  upon  pbyBieiaBli 
and  was  nothing  bettered,  but  rather  grew 
worse,"  and  all  tbat  were  ever  cmpjoyei 
gave  me  no  encouragement  of  ever  fiiuy  le- 
covering,  after  having  experimented  vpo* 
me  until  my  patience  was  worn  oat 

Under  my  present  stste  of  health  w 
whole  creation  seems  <created  anew.  I W 
begin  to  realize  bow  many  years  I  be»e 
spent  In  a  disordered  state  of  health,  enj^ 
ifltf  naught  of  life  or  its  charms,  f  ^^ 
able  to  attend  any  prblic  assembly  iritbcj 
apparent  inconvenience :  my  head  feejaye; 
clear  the  next  day  as  beifore.  The  prifW 
I  think  I  know  how  to  prize.  My  aleg» 
sweet  and  refreshing ;  none  of  tboae  b* 
dreaded  nights,  and  anxious  watcfaingi  im 
feara.  My  gratitude  f  can  never  expreaMJ 
being  led  to  persist  in  your  method  of  *««► 
ment. 


l^tUhiHibatKt  ExpetitMkti. 


14» 


I  #01  )Bikll^t6r  to  ttate  as  nigb  &s  I  can 
tt*  ori]gin  md  prigtMS  of  the  fisttule.  fn 
ti»  apring  of  1S8«,  my  health  be^tt  fo  give 
Mty  a  g«n«ral  weakireee  seemed  to  p«rrade 
i^l^fcitoo*  and  in  te  month  of  May  was 
ytHe  reduced  with  distresnag  pains  in  the 
up^n  part  of  my  back,  accompanied  with 
Mimodie  affections ;  employed  a  phyiuciatt 
who  uimediately  pronottneed  it  a  seTere  case 
of  spinal  imtatioo,  and  was  put  upon  a  mode 
of  treatment  general  to  their  clique ;  no  relief 
FM  gained  excepting  short  periods  of  repose 
wh^  the  disease  seemed  to  be  preparing  to 
break  out  anew,  until  it  seeiQed  to  extend  to 
^ptarts  of  my  systen,  and  for  seren  years 
1  haTe  been  going  on  in  this  way,  employing 
pjher  physicians,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
When  I  recall  the  nights  and  di^  of  suffer- 
jny  with  my  head,  it  is  more  a  wonder  that 
mind  has  k^  her  throne.  I  say  not  that 
my  mind  has  not  sufiered  from  the  shock, 
hut  enough  of  reason  is  left  to  know  from 
what  source  1  at  last  found  relief. 

I  have  stated  what  was  then  considered 
the  source  of  so  much  trouble,  but  since  ap- 
plying to  you,  find  that  an  oigaoic  affisction 
in  the  lower  part  of  my  body  must  have 
been  the  primary  cause  of  so  much  pain  in 
my  back  and  head. 

I  commenced  the  use  of  your  remedies  the 
}»rJy  |>Mt  of  May,  1845,  and  used  two 
hoxes  of  pjlls,  and  the  mmetic  machine 
Md  plaster,  aud  am  now  enjoying  more  of 
bfe  and  better  health  than  I  had  preTionsly, 
tor  eight  yean ;  this  w  not  only  my  testis 
iBOfiy»  but  of  frimids  who  have  seen  me 
most,  aiid  it  is  a  wonder  to  them  drnt  I  am 
where  I  am.  I  am  now  26  yean  oi  ags, 
•ndfselyonn^rthanldidatlS.  1  know 
my  recovery  is  attributable  to  the  thoroi^h 
use  of  your  remedies;  and  sf  my  recovery 
can  be  of  anj  assistance  to  othem  simihirly 
•wcted,  use  It  as  far  as  you  think  proper. 


Baroa  B«iolMnbMh's  Bap^riatati. 

iVe  were  made  awHre,  borne  time  ago, 
•W  *  Y«*ito  periodical,  devoted  to  chemis- 
^'Ji^,  pfes^nted  last  summer,  a  long  and 
•awfully  prepared  paper,  detailing  certain 
upenrneats  of  the  Baron  Reichenbach  of 
▼i»iit.  respecttag  hitherto  tfhdeseribed  phe- 
ijotoena  eonnected  with  magnetism.  We 
were  mformed  that,  conducted  as  they  had 
WMB^  a  rigidly  scientiilc  investigator,  and 
Me  wlioss  wHtuigte  Were  trfsuidly  but  state- 
imrts  <^  dry  facts,  ikty  mi^ht  be  considered 
Ji  mititled  to  respitetfaf  notice ;  aid  yet  they 
ws!w  of  smA  a  nathiie  sis  We  have  been  ac- 
Mbtoili^  to  riigshl  with  the  greatest  suspi- 
■*^     %»t  fcppwtol,  in  sht^  as  tending 


towards  the  domain  of  animal  marnetiam, 
and  yet  as  nromising  to  brinj;  that  tneine  of 
marvels  within  the  scope  of  exact  science. 
This  is  a  subject  iA  eourse,  on  which  ouri* 
osity  wUl  be  greatly  excited;  and  we  an 
therefore  glad  to  obtsin  an  opportunity  <^ 
conveying  some  account  of  it  to  our  readen 
in  consequence  of  a  very  readable*  abstract 
of  Reichenhach's  papere  in  the  <*  Dublin 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Medical  Science." 

The  writer  Sets  otK  as  follows,  strictly 
following,  we  believe,  the  statements  of  tble 
Viennese  chemist,  but  condensing  his  laa* 
guage ;  (« If  the  poles  of  a  strong  msgnet 
capable  of  supporting:  the  Weicht  of  about 
ten  pounds,  be  passed  over  the  Bodies  of  fif • 
teen  or  twenty  ^raons,  there  will  always  be 
found  some  individuals  amoi^  them  who  are 
afiected  by  it  in  a  very  peculiar  way.  Tho 
number  of  such  persons  is  much  greater 
than  is  generally  BU[^KMPed.  Of  the  abovis 
number,  there  will  be  three  or  four  at  least 
The  nature  of  this  impression  on  sensitive 
persons,  who,  in  other  respects,  may  be 
looked  u])on  as  ^rfectlv  healthy,  is  not  ea- 
sily described,  beins  rather  disagreeable  than 
pleasant,  joined  witti  a  slij;ht  sensation,  now 
of  cold,  now  of  heat,  as  if  the  person  were 
blown  upon  by  a  cold  or  lukewarm  current 
of  air.  Sometimes  they  feel  contractions  it 
the  musdes,  and  a  prickly  sensation,  as  if 
ants  crawled  over  the  body ;  and  many  per" 
sons  even  complain  of  sudden  headaches. 
Not  only  women,  but  even  young  men,  are 
sensible  to  this  influence ,  and  in  young  chil- 
dren the  sensation  is  very  strong."  Susccjp* 
tibiiity,  however,  amongst  the  healthy,  is 
8tron||pest  in  sedentary  persons,  and  those 
sufiering  from  secret  grief  and  deranged  di« 
gestive  organs  Persons  affected  by  nervous 
complaints,  as  epilepsy,  catalepsy,  hysteria 
and  paralysis,  are  peculiarly  sensitive ;  and 
still  more  so  are  lunatics  iuid  somnambu* 
lisU. 

To  puraue  the  abstract  of  our  Dublin  co- 
temjjorarj^ — << Actually  or  apparenflv  healthy 
sensitive  individuals  discover,  in  their  rela- 
tion to  the  magnet,  nothing  besides  the  sen- 
sation just  described.  But  the  case  is  veify 
different  with  the  sick  sensitive.  Its  action 
on  them  is  sometimes  agreeable,  sometimes 
unpleasant — often  disagreeably  painful  to 
such  a  degree,  that  fainting,  cataleptic  fits, 
and  spasms,  at  times  violent,  and  sometimes 
dangerous,  ensue,  according  to  the  nature 
and  degree  of  their  disease.  In  this  latter 
class,  to  which  the  somnambttlisfs  also  be- 
long, an  extraordinarv  increase  takes  place 
in  the  sensitiveneu  of  the  senses.  The  pa- 
tient sees,  tastes,  and  feels  better  than  otheffe 
and  often  htitn  what  is  said  in  the  AM 


U6 


ReichenbacKs  Experiments. 


room.    This  is,  however,  a  fact  well  known 
and  is  not  by  any  means  unnatural." 

'*  The  hypothesis  that  the  aurora  borealis 
is  an  electrical  phenomenon,  produced  by 
the  magnetism  of  the  earth,  the  real  nature 
*  of  which  is  at  present  unknown,  owing 
to  our  not  haying  been  as  yet  able  to  detect 
an  emanation  of  light  from  the  magnet,  led 
Reichenbach  to  try  whether  persons,  in  a 
Btate  in  which  the  senses  were  thus  sharp- 
ened, could  detect  such  an  emanation  from 
the  poles  of  a  magnet.  He  was  enabled  to 
make  trial  on  a  younf;  woman  named  Vo- 
wotny,  a^ed  twenty-five,  who  suffered  from 
continued  headache,  ac€ompanied  by  cata- 
lepsy and  spasms.  So  sensitive  was  she, 
that  she  could  distinflniish  all  the  things  in 
her  room,  and  even  mt  color  of  objects,  on 
a  dark  night.  The  magnet  acted  on  her 
Tvith  extraordinary  force;  and  though  by  no 
means  a  somnambulist,  she  was  equally  sen- 
sitive with  one  " 

*<  The  experiment  was  made  in  a  perfectly 
dark  room.  At  the  distance  of  about  ten 
feet  from  the  patient  was  placed  a  horse 
shoe  magnet  of  nine  plates  [a  magnet  of 
Dine  plates  of  alternate  metals,  bent  into  a 
horse- shoe  form,  so  as  to  make  the  ends  pr 
poles  approach,]  and  weighing  about  eighty 
pounds,  with  its  poles  duected  towards  the 
ceiling.  Whenever  the  armature  of  this 
magnet  [a  piece  of  iron  clapped  upon  the 
poles  of  the  magnet]  was  removed,  the  girl 
law  both  poles  of  the  magnet  surrounded  by 
a  luminosity,  which  disappeared  whenever 
the  armature  was  connected  with  the  poles. 
The  li^ht  was  equally  large  on  both  poles, 
and  without  any  apparent  tendency  1o  com- 
hine.  The  magnet  appeared  to  be  immedi- 
ately encircled  by  a  fiery  vapor,  which  was 
&rain  surrounded  by  a  brilliant  radiant  light. 
Tne  rays  were  not  still,  but  continually 
flickered,  producing  a  scintillating  appear- 
ance of  extreme  b^uty.'* 

*'  The  entire  phenomenon  contained  no- 
thing which  could  be  compared  to  a  common 
fire ;  the  color  was  much  purer,  almost 
white,  sometimes  mixed  with  irridescent 
colors,  and  the  whole  being  mpre  similar  to 
the  light  of  the  sun  than  to  that  of  a  coin- 
mon  fire.  The  rays  were  not  uniformly 
bright;  in  the  middle  of  the  edges  of  the 
horse -shoe  they  were  more  crowded  and 
brilliant  than  at  the  angles,  where  they 
were  collected  into  tufts,  which  extended 
farther  out  than  the  other  rays.  The  light 
of  the  electric  spark  she  considered  much 
bluer.  It  left  an  impression  on  the  etre  simi- 
lat  to,  but  much  WMker  than  that  left  by  the 
Ban»  and  which  did  not  disappear  for  several  j 


hours,  and  was  transfc^rred  to  all  substuoes 
upon  which  she  looked  for  some  time  in  a 
painful  manner." 

Reichenbach  endeavored  to  verify  theM 
results  by  trials  upon  other  persons,  particQ- 
larly  upon  a  woman  named  Reichel,  wbo 
was  rendered  sensitive  in  consequence  of  so 
accidental  hurt  but  was  nevertheless  healthy^ 

Tn  her  case,  **the  appearance  of  the 
light  along  the  four  longitudinal  edges  of 
each  plate  composing  the  magnet  was  ex- 
tremely curious,  even  where  the  edges  of 
two  contiguous  plates  fitted  one  another  ex- 
actly ;  and  where  one  would  think  rays  of 
light  given  off  from  each  plate  must  neces- 
sarily meige  into  one  another  at  their  basis, 
they  could  be  distinguished  with  great  ac- 
curacy." Reichenbach,  "in  order  to  be  cff- 
tain  that  there  was  actual  light  given  ofi  ii 
these  cases,  made  some  very  careful  expen- 
ments  with  the  daguerreotype;  the  result  of 
which  was,  that  an  iodized  plate  was  acted 
upon  when  placed  opposite  the  poles  of  a 
maenet.  He  was  also  able  to  concentrate  it 
with  a  lens;  but  the  focal  length  was  fomMl 
to'be  fifty-four  inches,  while  ror  a  candle,  it 
was  only  twelve  inches.  He  could  dtseoret 
no  action  of  heat  with  the  most  delicate  thcr-  . 
moscope.  In  some  cases  the  patients  decis* 
red  they  could  see  the  surrounding  obfeeli 
by  means  of  this  light,  and  that  any  avb- 
stance  stopped  its  passage,  as  it  wovld  oidi* 
nary  light:  thus,  for  example,  whei  tte 
hand  was  laid  before  the  poles,  it  strained 
throi^^h  the  fingers.  From  the  similarity  o{ 
this  light  in  many  respects,  to  the  auron  bo- 
realis, Reichenbach  considers  them  ideoti- 
cal."  We  may  here  add,  from  anotlw 
source,  that  the  Baron  contrived  to  sobjetf 
his  patients  to  an  effectual  test  in  these  letf 
experiments ;  for  he  caused  the  lens  to  K 
shifted  about,  and  the  theoretically  proper 
place  for  the  focus  on  th^  opposite  wall  wtf 
invariably  and  at  once  pointed  out" 

Continuing  his  abstract,  the  Dublin  jour- 
nalist says :  "  From  the  observations  oi  F^ 
telin,  made  at  Lyons  in  1788,  and  ^Hu0 
were  afterwards  verified  by  many,  othfl* 
we  know  that,  in  catalepsy,  the  hand  is  ci* 
pable  of  being  attracted  by  a  powerful  mr 
net,  just  like  a  piece  of  iron ;  and  as  MeePtf 
observed  that  water  over  which  a  magp* 
has  been  several  times  passed,  can  bedisbii* 
guished  from  ordinary  water  by  ^na^ 
patients.  Reichenbach  has  fullv  nam 
these  facts  in  a  lam  number  of  ptf*** 
He  found  that  this  e&ct  took  place  not  017 
during  perfect  catalepsy^but  even  afterwim 
when  tne  persons  were  in  full  possesBOi" 
their  senses.  Mist  Vowotny  deieriM  m 
sensation  to  him  aa  an  imsiBtible  1 


ReichmbacKs  Exp€Timeni9. 


147 


which  she  felt  obliged  to  obey,  though 
against  her  will ;  that  it  was  a  pleasant  feel- 
iM  combijied  with  a  cool,  gentle  aura, 
wnich  flowed  over  the  hand  from  the  mag- 
Bet,  the  former  feeling  as  if  tied  and  drawn 
to  the  latter  by  a  thousand  fine  threads ;  and 
that  she  knew  nothing  similar  to  it  in  ordi- 
Bary  life,  it  being  a  peculiar  indescribable 
feeling  of  refreshing  and  extraordinary  plea- 
sure, particularly  if  the  magnet  attracted  the 
light  hand,  and  waB  not  too  strong. 

"  He  did  not,  however,  verify  Thilorier's 
obieryation,  that  nervous  patients  can  con- 
rert  needles  into  magnets ;  and  he  considers 
in  fact,  the  attraction  of  the  hand  by  the 
magnet  to  be  of  a  totally  difierent  nature 
from  that  between  iron  and  the  magnet 
This  opinion  we  shall  see  verified  further 

OB. 

.  "  We  have  had  no  instance  hitherto  of 
tl^e  ionn  or  arrangement  of  the  molecules  of 
a  biody  rendering  it  capable  of  exerting^  force 
on  other  bodies  at  a  distance ;  but  Keichen- 
bftch,  by  a  series  of  experiments  on  mag- 
Betic  water — that  is,  water  over  which  a 
viagnet  had  been  several  times  passed — was 
led  to  suppose  that  other  bodies  could,  in  all 
probability,  be  also  rendered  xnagnetic.  This 
pe  soon  found  to  be  the  case  in  a  greater  or 
leas  degree ;- bat  he  jalsp  observed  that  many 
sabetaivces,  which  were*  never  in  contact 
with  a  mfignet,  affected  the  nerves ;  and  by 
extending  his  experiments,  M  arrived  at  the 
law  that  amon^hous  j)odies  possess  no  pow- 
«C  similar  to  that  poesessed  by  the  magnet, 
bmt  that  cigrstals  are  capable  of^  producing 
all  the  phenon^eiia  lecuhing  from* the  action, 
of  ^  magnet  ob  cataleptic  patients  i  This  is 
trtte,JtOweFer,  only  of  singly  perfect  crys- 
^pld,  a^  pojt  of  an  i||g;gloiperation  of  crystals 
4Bch>as  lun^p  sugat.  Thus,  for  instance,  a 
lacge  prism  of  ipck  crystal,  placed  in  the 
l^d  (u  a  nervous  patieait,  affects,  the  fingers 
ao  as  to  make  them  grasp  the  cryptal  invoU 
iptariiy,  and  shut  the  fist, 
i  '*The  power  is  not  equally  distributed 
over  every  part  of  the ,  surface  of  the  crys- 
tal, but  is  found  to  congentrate  itself  in  two 
poiqts  or  poles  corre^poinding  to  the  princi- 
pal az^es  of  the  crystal.  Both  poles  were; 
-ieu^d  to  ad  simiiarly ;  but  one  was  gene- 
laflv  aotnewhat  .stronger  than  the  other, 
"with  the  exception  that  one  gave  oat  a  cool, 
wofi  the  other  a  luke-warm  gentle  ai^ra." 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  resemblaace 
of  the  magnetic  powev  in  cryetals  to  ordi- 
^otY  magaetism,  lU-ichenbach  satisfied  him* 
adf  that  there  i«  a  di&rence ;  because  he 
loaod  that  ciystab  do  not  attract  iron  filings 
or  zfkcX  the  compass  or  needle.  It  ajmears 
that  the  ordinary  mt^etie  ix>wer  is  of  two 
kMi »  oae  ol  which  ia  this  pecnliar  ]pow«r 


resident  in  crystals,  and  in  the  living  body. 
The  learned  chemist  also  found  that  a  charge 
of  this  power  can  ;be  communicated  to 
bodies,  as  is  the  case  with  a  charge  of  elec- 
tricitjT.  "  The  readiness  with  which  the 
situation  of  the  poles  could  be  detected  by 
those  sensible  to  their  influence,  was  stri- 
king. Many  of  the  patients  could  detect  all 
the  ores,  even  in  the  most  complicated  crys- 
talline forms,  with  unerring  acci\racy,  by 
their  effects  on  them ;  as  of  course  it  is  un- 
necessary to  observe  they  could  have  no 
Icnowledge  of  crystallography.  By  extend- 
ing his  experiment,  he  soon  found  that  the 
poles  of  a  crystal  «ive  out  light  exactly  as 
the  magnet  does.  Miss  Sturman  described 
it  as  a  tulip  formed  flame,  blue  at  the  base* 
passing  into  perfect  while  at  the  top,  with 
scattered  rays,  or  stripes  of  a  reddish  color, 
passing  upwards  from  the  blue  towards  the 
white.  Ilie  flame  scintillated  and  flickered* 
and  threw  on  the  support  on  which  the 
crystal  rested,  for  a  space  of  about  eighteen 
inches  all  around,  a  certain  degree  of  bright- 
ness. Miss  Reichel  describes  the  flame 
similarly ;  but,  in  addition,  she  saw  a  pecu- 
liar star^ike  light  in  the  interior  of  the  crys- 
tal; which  evidently  resulted  from  reflection, 
produced  by  the  structure  of  the  mineral. 

It  may  lie  necessary  to  remark,  that,  in 
order  to  observe  these  phenomena,  the  room 
must  be  perfectly  dark,  and  the  crystal  very 
large;  not  less  at  least  than  eight  inches 
thick,  and  proportionately  long.  Smaller 
crystals  will,  however,  answer  with  exceed- 
ingly sensitive  persons. 

'« The  curious  results  produced  on  catalep- 
tic patients,  which  we  have  already  mention- 
ed, excited  some  attention  in  the  last  century, 
and  it  wa6  soon  found  that  similar  results 
could  be  produced  without  a  magnet,  by  the 
hand  alone.  It  was  impossible  from  the  then 
st^te  of  physical  science  to  show  the  con- 
nection between  these  phenomena  and  the 
oidinarf  physical  ones  of  the  magnet ;  and 
tha  subject  was  therefore  passed  over  by  phi- 
losoj^hcrs,  andgraiiually  ^ew  into  disrepute, 
pnncii^ally  from  the  ufie  made  of  it  by  moun- 
tebanks, and  from  the  unsuitable  name- 
animal  magnetism — ^which  it  received.  From 
the  similantj^  of  some  of  the  phenomena  ob- 
served bv  Keichenbach  with  those  described 
by  the  elder  magnetisers,  he  was  led  to  think 
they  might  be  the*  result  of  the  same  cause. 

•<  As  a  magnet  affects  the  hum  an  body  he 
thought  thlit  the  magnetism  of  the  earth  can- 
not M  without^  some  influence  of  a  similar 
kind ;  and  in  this  he  was  not  mistaken  ;  for 
he  found  that,  of  all  positions  in  which  a 
nervous  invalid  can  lie  or  sit,  the  best  is  ia 
the  magnetic  meridiaa,  with  the  head  to- 
ward^ Uie  aorth;  the  opposite  direction  ia 


MS 


iMchetOMie^  B±pm9tm»^ 


not  quife  wo  good ;  Imt  the  worst  poMible  is 
at  rirht  angles  to  the  itegndtie  mertdiaHi  with 
the  head  towards  the  w^st.  He  found  that 
patients  placed  in  the  same  position  slept  bet- 
ter at  night,  suffered  less  ftotn  headsches, 
and  in  general  found  thems^lTes  much  bet- 
ter ;  while,  with  the  head  towards  the  west, 
the  same  patients  suffered  greatly ;  their  pulse 
increased  m  frequency,  hectic  fev^r  often  re- 
sulted, and  catalepsy  wss  sometimes  occa- 
sioned ;  but  the  moment  the  patiettt  was  re- 
stored to  the  first  position,  all  these  sVmp- 
totfis  ceased,  and  were  in  general  replaced 
by  an  agreeable  feeling  of  Well-being.  In 
some  of  the  cases  which  wti'e  tried,  the  most 
extraoTdinarv  effects  were  produced  on  the 
patient  by  this  change  of  position ;  and  he 
hence  concluded  (hat  the  yarioas  and  contni- 
£ctory  effects  which  hate  b^n  attributed  to 
Ihe  application  of  electricity  and  magnetism 
to  the  cure  of  diseases,  have  arisen  from  the 
neglect  of  the  influence  exerted  by  the  mag- 
netism of  the  earth  on  the  patients ;  and  to 
the  same  cause  he  also  attributes  tiie  little 
Success  which  has  hitherto  attended  the  treat- 
ment of  nervous  diseases. 

*<  In  extending  his  experiihents,  he  found 
tliat  soft  iron,  which  loses  its  magnetism 
When  removed  from  the  inductive  poWer  of 
a  magnet,  does  not  lose  the  power  of  acting 
Oh  the  nerves ;  and  he  hence  concludes  that 
iia^netism,  piV>^riy  so  called,  is  perfectly 
distinct  froih  this  new  power,  as  we  have 
hiready  seeh  in  other  instances,  when  speak- 
ing of  the  crystal.  We  have  already  men- 
tioned that  bodies  placed  in  contstl  with  a 
ciyMal  or  maghet,  such  as  water,  &c.,  became 
possessed  of  the  same  power  of  affecting  the 
iterves  as  those  bodies*  and  could  be  distin- 
guished from  portions  of  the  same  substan- 
ces not  magnetised.  But  we  haVe  now  to 
leam  that  the  same  properties  can  be  com- 
ihunicated  to  the  human  body ;  or,  in  other 
Words,  that  a  man  rubbed,  or  in  mere  contact 
With  a  magnet  or  crystal,  is  capable* of  pro- 
ducing the  same  effect  'on  the  nerves  as  those 
bodies:  nay,  more,  that  a  man  has  these 
properties  even  when  he  has  not  touched  a 
magnet  or  crystal ;  in  lact,  that  we  are  a 
Source  of  this  peculiar  power  ourselves.  Tt 
is  unnecessar}'  to  give  here  the  mode  in 
which  he  arrived  at  this  remarkable  conclu- 
aion,  as  the  experiments  are  «dl  similar  to 
those  made  with  the  magnet  and  crystal— a 
man  being  merely  substituted  for  these  lat- 
ter. Like  them,  the  hand  produces  an  aura, 
littitets  the  limbs  of  cata1epu*c  patients,  and 
^Bonimunicatesa  chaigif  toother  Iradies  which, 
As  in  th^  ease  of  magnet  and  chrystal,  disapi> 
(Mrs  agait)  in  a  short  time,  and  is  capable  of 
passing  througli  all  bodies,  ito  littla  mfluien- 
^0sd  by  the  magiteiiMn  oi  tiss  «tfth,  ai^  Mt 


thsm,  is  p<^r,  the  priacipsll  axisbnsssSNM 
the  body,  the  Sods  of  fhs  fisgsM  bust  tta 
poles.  The  head  aad  g^tak  vayfik^ 
form  seeonda^  poltto. 

But  the  most  esitmnOkmrf  {MVt «( if 
whole  ittvestiration  is,  that  llMr  top  of  ^ 
fingen  off  healthy  men  t^  off  fafliaf  ligll^ 
jttst  as  the  pole  of  diryilafe,  while  thMl  Si 
womea  give  off  acne,  or  at  most  meistf  i|M 
pear  dighOy  Imninoaa;  Tli*  patidSIS  m 
were  able  to  observe  theis  phenomsaa,  ^ 
scribed  the  flame  as  being  Irma  one  Is  ibv 
inches  kmg,  aocokding  aa  Ihey  weie  ikr»  «I 
less  senaitm,  and  of  ^  attrtesly  bsSsM 
appearaaoe. 

Baron  Rdehenba^  ha«  also  attained  nM 
he  oonsideis  as  condusiite  tfTidenoe,ttlk 
inagoetismaxista  in  the  son's  ii|ht  Attbo' 
dies  exposed  for  a  time  to  sunlight,  retaii<i 
magnetic  light  for  some  tifte  afMr.  Ontd 
his  experiments  ia  so  euyious  that  we  ibtf 
give  It  here:  To  a  piece  of  thick  eomsl 
wire,  about  thirty  feet  long,  he  fttfesslt 
piece  of  shest  copper  aboctnihe  iaoM 
square.  '  The  end  of  tiiis  wire  was  pliMii 
in  the  patients  hand,  and  the  plate  &fM 
to  the  direct  rays  <^  Ihe  sun  outside  the  vii* 
dow;  this  was  seaieeljf  done  wheaaait' 
clamatioa  <tf  intense  pmstra  was  hssri  Mi 
ibp  patient;  she  instmifltr  felt  the  pssitti 
serisatfon  oC'wanhth,  wliiah  gradosl^Vnif 
froih  her  arm  to  her  haad.    Bat,  hi  aHiUiii 


to  thisi  she  des^hed  ao«OAsr  sad  biMM 
totally  anknoWB  seaaation,  auaiely.  ftM* 
in«  of  extreai^  well  hsiing,  sis  the  piM 
aaid,  sliMlair  to  the  aenaaition  ptad)^csd  hf  i 
gentle  May  breeae.  It  flowad  froM  thsal 
of  the  wire  to  tha  arm,  andspMadittsK^ 
the  whole  body,  produdng  a  seassiiBS  dt 
coolness,  the  patient  fMingalthesaisftliii 
atiangthened  and  refreshed.  In  some  of  Hi 
experiments  ReichenbaohattbMitatei)  niM 
bodies,  aad  amonjr  theaaa  aiaa,  lor  the  pM 
of  copper,  aad  stiU  oblaiiMd  the  same  ism 
What  IS  extremely  curioue,  the  yeUdW  pi* 
of  the  ray  of  Ikht  produces  the  agNsiUi 
and  refreshing  feeling,  while  the  vioktpil 
causes  the  disagrecsd^le  feeing  sonedmes  e^ 
perienced  from  the  action  A  ^  au^c^l 
and  this  violent  part  we  know  to  be  that  4 
which  the  greatest  chcoiicai  Mti<M^  ^ 
place.  In  heat,  friction  and  arfificid  m 
the  Baron  found  various  modificatioasoi  W 
same  sarprising  ^eiets. 

It  equally  appeals  that  «« in  every  esse  « 
chemical  action,  even  where  it  coasirtij} 
nothing  moitK  tlian  the  cotibiaatioa  ^"^ 
of  crystaliaatiott,  wifli  a  salt  or  *«•  •* 
tionofa  body  in  some  aoH«ai,  fhis  poM 
is  sat  free.-  "H  we  reeonsat,*  sy  oM 
jouhiaiiats,  ••  how  majsifold  sua  the  wg; 
at  ania  w^^ 


i{M4A«i^<MA'«  Mixpfiriam^' 


M? 


j^MC  on  the  fi^i^  w«  will  be  able  to  see 
what  an  inexhaustible  source  of  this  power 
'  there  must  be.  Id  the  animal  boy  there  is 
H  series  of  such  change  eontiBaally  going 
on ;  w«.eat  food*  il  is  digested  in  the  stom* 
1^,  and  coarerted  intp  blood,  which  is 
again  fnrther  changep  mto  muscle,  fat,  &c., 
'and  these  in  turn  are  again  decomposed  to 
yjeld'luel  for  animal  heat  and  motive  power. 
lite  eontkiQed  chemieal  action  is,  therefore 
Jtbe  geneiator  ol  the  peculiar  ioiee  which  we 
^nd  developed  in  man»  as  in  the  magnet  and 
cTyBtal.  But  not  only  does  the  chemical  ac- 
tion going  on  in  the  living  body  eenerate 
Wt  )>ower,  but  the  d^compoeitkni  wnieb  en- 
«MS  immediately  alter  death  iaaleoanabun^ 
idfAt  source  of  it  Beichenbech*  on  going 
jjntp  <;hurch-yards  oa  dark  nights  with  some 
of  his  patients,  discovered  that  graves  were 
i^waya  covered  with  a  lurid  phosphoTescent 
Ig^ow,  abont  mx  or  ekht  inches  lug h ;  and  in 
one  ease  Misa  Beiehei  saw  it  four  feet  ia 
height  in  a  grave  yard  in  Vienna,  where  a 
laive  number  of  persons  were  daily  buried, 
Wnen  she  walked  thxouffh  this  mve-yard, 
<lhe  U^t  reached  up  to  hpr  nedc,  and  the 
m\M^  akee  a|»pcared  eoverad  wilh  tose, 
;9usty,  lomineus  fqg.  This  the  baioa  con- 
,c^ves,  explains  in  a  very  satisfactory  man- 
ner the  appearance  of  light  and  ghosts,  &c., 
Vhich  have  been  from  time  to  time  observed 
<of»r  fraves.** . 
.  Aner  thus  discovering  several  sources  of 
the  jK)wer,  Reichenbach  was  led  to  the  de- 
tection of  it,  in  a  certain  measure,  in  all 
bodies  whatever.  From  this  flowed  some 
obaewations,  the  curious  nature  of  which 
must  be  our  apology  for  borrowing  so  jaxge- 
iy  from  our  con  temporary.  '•  Every  pne," 
Mid  he,  **  is  aware  that  then  is  a  large  num- 
ter  of  ptraoas  upon  whom  certain  subetaa- 
eea  have  a  certain  peculiar  efiect,  geneially 
of  a  disagreeable  kind,  which  sometimes  ap- 
pears to  be  absurd  and  ridiculous,  and  m 
often  attributed  to  eccentricity ;  thus  there 
an  sons  who  cannot  bear  to  touch  fur. 
Others  who  do  not  like  to  see  feathers;  nay, 
aoooe  who  cannot  bear  the  look  of  butter. 
The  invariable  nature  of  this  feeling,  and  the 
aimitarityof  cireumstances  attending  itsexis- 
tooeo  among  the  rooetdiierentjraces,  and  in 
the  anost  distant  countries  Jed  £eichenba<;h  to 
examine  it  closer ;  and  he  found  that  these 
antipathies  occurred,  for  the  most  part,  among 
persons  apparently  heolthj,  but  more  or  less 
aeiMiliTe,  and  that  they  increase  in  degree 
4MBoording  aa  persons  suffer  from  nervous- 
Aeaa,  &c.,  and  that,  hence,  there  was  evi 
dently  some  connection  between  these  sen- 
ealions  and  the  eflbcts  which  he  had  ia  so 
■May  inilaneae  looad  to  Atlind  the  aelion  of 
sagaetta  cryalals  and  on  aimiiar  penoaa. 


"  We  have  already  seen  that  in  certain 
cases,  the  action  of  the  crystal  was  attended 
by  a  disagreeable  feeling,  which  sometimes 

Eroduced  painful  spasmodic  affections  of  the 
mbe ;  and  that  this  pioperty  could  be  cpm? 
municated  to  various  bodies,  though  in  dif- 
ferent degrees ;  and  that  it  is  never  totally 
absent  from  bodies  which  form  perfect  crys^ 
tals.  On  this  subfect  w?e  have,  however, 
ak^y  said  enough;  and  it  only  remains  ^ 
\j  a  lew  words  on  the  sensations  of  appa- 
rent diflerence  of  temperature,  the  disaareea** 
ble  feeling,  as  it  were  of  disgust,  and  the  ap*- 
paient  mechanical  agitation  of  darting  pains 
through  the  body,  sometimes  produced  by 
most  sdisimilar  substances. 

«  Some  of  thes^  sensationa  were  fult  \q 
healthy  persons,  but  highly  sensitive  indi*- 
viduals  lelt  them  all  more  or  less  strongly, 
according  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  meir 
disease. 

<*  On  making  a  number  of  experiments  oa 
Ae  most  deferent  subetanoee,  he  anived  at 
dM  conclusion  ihat  all  amorphoua  bodiea 
which  do  not  possess  the  jpeculiar  pow^ 
resident  in  crystals,  possess,  in  different  de- 
grees, according  to  the  nature  of  the  body  and 
with  a  great  d^;Tee  of  constancy,  the  ]»optf- 
ty  oi  giving  nse  to  disagieeable  sensations^ 
sometimsf  aeoompanied  hy  heat,  and  some^ 
times  by  a  feeling  of  coolness.  In  the  crys- 
tal, we  had  a  power  depending  on  the  state 
of  aggregation  or  form ,  while  in  the  case 
before  us,jthe  nature  of  the  substance  is  the 
determining  cause  of  some  dynamical  e&et 
of  another  xind." 

Many  curious  observations  remain,  but 
our  space  is  exhausted.  Most  readers  will, 
we  think,  join  us  in  wishing  that  the  experi- 
Qsents  of  the  Vienneas  phiiosophershouid  be 
repealed,  aad.subjected  to  every  imaginable 
test;  as,  in  the  first  place,  they  seem  worthy 
of  this  pains ;  apd  in  the  second,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  receive  such  extraordinary  matters 
into  the  book  of  science  without  the  strong- 
est of  attainable  proofs.  It  would  now,  we 
think,  be  wrong  to  treat  such  things  wilh  the 
indiflierence  of  mere  incredulity.  It  is  far 
from  likely  that  so  many  persons  as  have 
testified  to  peculiar  effects  of  a  zoo-niagaetic 
nature,  should  have  been  entirely  mistaken, 
or  altogether  possessed  by  a  spirit  of  decep-* 
tion. 

Nor  is  there  any  improbability  that  we  are 
tending  towards  the  discovery  of  some  new 
fonn  of  the  imponderables,  in  which  the  ho- 
man  ornsnization  is  atrangely  concerned,  and 
which  uerefore  promises  to  possess  medica- 
tive power,  where  a  prospect,  however 
shadowy,  holds  out  so  much  temptation* 
men  will  vsentate  to  follow  it,  and  surely  it 
were  well  for  a  few  geniiae  men  of  ^science 


~^ 


160 


Remarks  by  the  Author* 


to  go  into  inquiry,  if  only  to  pierent  the 
multitudes  of  the  unlearned  from  breaking 
their  heads  upon  it.  It  sometimes  appears 
to  us  as  if  the  spirit  of  increduL'ty  over- 
reached itself ;  and  perhaps  there  is  an  in- 
stance here.  Forty-six  years  ago,  many 
cures  by  magnets,  called  *<  metallic  tractors  * 
were  announced.  They  were  suddenly 
quashed  by  two  physicians,  who  stimulated 
tne  applications  by  using  bits  of  wood  and 
iron,  disguised  as  tractors  instead.  What, 
however,  if  it  should  prove  that  the  cures 
were  real  cures  in  both  cases,  only  produced 
by  «  cause  different  from  the  tractors,  and 
which  resided  In  the  bodies  of  the  operators, 
and  connected  with  an  earnest  exertion  of 
the  will  in  both  cases  ?  Things  as  strange 
have  happened. 


RBMAEKB  BT  TKB  AUTHOR. 
An  attentive  perusal  of  the  preceding  arti- 
cles will  naturally  induce  the  reader  to  re* 
rert,  with  an  additional  degree  of  curiosity 
at  least,  if  not  of  confidence,  to  what  has 
been  said  in  the  successive  chapters,  and  va 
nous  appended  lartides  of  this  work,  on 
the  subject  of  Magnetism,  as  the  motive 
power  of  the  human  system,  and  also  the 
curative  power  of  the  author's  peculiar  re- 
medies.   Even  the  routine  practitioner  of  the 
Bchools,  hedged  in,  as  he  may  be,  by  habi- 
tual prejudices,  and  by  an  equally  habitual 
deference  to  stationary  medical  authorities, 
not  a  whit  more  advanced  in  science  than 
himself,  may  be  led  to  suspect  the  possibility 
of   magnetizing  other    substances    besides 
iron,  to  which  his  knowledge  may  hitherto 
have  been  limited,  and  he  may,  if  not  alto 
gether  invincible  to  the  approaches  of  mod- 
em science,  even  exert  his  mental  courage  so 
far  as  to  speculate  upon  the  possible  magne- 
tization of  substances  adopted  in  the  prac- 
tice  of  medicine.    We  do  not  expect,  of 
course,  that  he  will  permit  his  speculations 
to  become  so  daring  as  to  take  even  a  glimpse 
at  the  idea  that  all  medidnes,  of  every  kind 
whether  having  their  natural  properties  en- 
hanced by  artificial  magnetism  or  not,  oper- 
ate, either  for  good  or  evil,  by  the  magnetic 
forces  alone,  for  this  would  be  akin  to  the 
grand  conclusion  that  all  the  forces  of  na- 
ture in  all  substances  whatever,  are  identical 


reads  the  conclusion  of  the  inqoisitire,  caa- 
tious,  and  philosophical  Reichenbach,  n- 
published  and  respected  as  it  is  by  the 
learned  and  eminent  Profenor  Gregory,  of 
Edinburgh,  that  not  only  water,  butailBorli 
of  minerals  and  drugs,  were  not  only  siucep* 
tible  of  being  magnetized,  but  also  capaUa 
of  imparting  to  his  patients  the  sngnetiMi 
they  had  acquired ;  when  he  further  reads, 
on  the  same  authority,  that  Reichenbach 
found  that  all  substances  whatever  were  ca- 
pable of  receiving  a  magnetic  chaiga  iioii 
the  human  hand,  and  that  sensitive  patieali 
"  invariably  detected**  the  magnetism  thu 
imparted,  be  may  be  led  to  think  that  then 
are  greater  absurdities  in  the  world  than  tki 
doctrine  of  magnetised  medicines,  and  ^ 
even  "Sherwood's  Magnehc  Remedies,*' 
after  astonishing  and  confounding  the  medi- 
cal faculty  of  the  United  States  for  more  tlw 
thirty  years,  may  admit  of  an  explanatifla 
in  perfect  consistency  with  the  demonstiaUe 
principles  of  magnetism.  It  must  Ik  t 
rather  disagreeable  transition  of  feeliof*  ^ 
dare  say,  for  the  too  confident  and  airpgtut 
sneer  of  derision  to  subside  and  change  iato 
the  involuntary  assent  of  grave  aad  lespeet- 
ful  conviction;  but  thousands  have  been  com- 
pelled to  experience  this  queer  sensation,  aad 
every  day  is  rapidly  mcreaaing  the  DODbtf. 

It  it  is  difficult  for  the  author  of  this  vod^ 
to  advert  to  the  preceding  notices  of  the  reoat 
work  of  Reichenbach,  without  expofl^ 
himself  to  the  charge  of  egotisni,  whik 
merely  sustaining  his  just  and  honeat  p* 
tensions  to  precedence  in  this  field  ol  mg' 
netical  enquiry.r  In  a  matter,  bowefff* 
which  may  hereafter  afiect  the  claims  of  Ui 
country  to  a  just  position  in  the  hiatoiyoi 
the  science  of  the  present  age,  all  cooaidenr 
tions  relative  to  himself,  whether  of  hoMT 
or  of  reproach,  are,  with  him,  of  infcn* 
moment  On  thi^  account,  therefore,  be  ^ 
cheerfully  incur  the  risk  of  the  imputatioaof 
personal  vanity,  by  chuming  thai  it  was  as 
American  physician  who  first  not  oalytf- 
serted  and  demonstrated  the  practicability  d 
magnetising  .medicines,  but  established,  ia 
the  course  of  a  kMig  praetiee* 


with  those  of  magnetism,     fiut  when  Me  j  mount,  indeed  eaw^tunw^aKjf.  in  an 


Remarks  by  the  Author. 


151 


mre  range  and  heretofore  supposed  wide 
dnrersity  oi  h^man  maladies,  for  which  sci- 
ence had  previoasiy  discovered  no  appropri- 
ale  nor  reliable  cure.    He  fearlessly  asserted 
that  his  remedies  were  magnetic,  not  upon 
the  general  principle  that  all  remedies  act 
nagnetically,  but  upon  particular  and  strict- 
ly chemical  principles,  at  a  period  when  he 
i        well  knew  that  his  supercillious  brethren  in 
I        the  profession  would  ridicule  the  idea,  and 
I       «Ten  before  magnetism  was  distinctly  recog- 
f       iiised  as  a  chemical  agent  at  all.    He  thus, 
I       for  ihe  sake  of  holding  forth  a  humane  and 
I       guiding  light  of  truth  in  advance  of  the  age, 
I       and  when  his  country , young  even  in  national 
I       exiateaoe,  had  bat  comparatively  few  preten- 
I       aions  to  the  honor  of  original  discoveries  in 
i       science,  voluntarily  and  delibefately  incurred 
I       the  envious  hostility  of  a  profession,  jealous 
I       and  implacable  to  a- proverb,  towards  any  of 
I        its  members  who  shall  dare  to  step  beyond 
I        the  hard,  conventional  limits,  prescribed  by 
I        previous  authorities. 

^  He  not  only  adopted  magnetic  medicines, 

hat  he  magnetised  them  himself,  in  a  chemi- 
cal process  necessarily  and  unavoidably  too 
elaborate  to  be  entrusted  to  the  jmprincipled 

I  recklessness  of  quacks  on  the  one  hand,  or 
to  the  illiterate  mass  of  the  profession  (in 
this  respect  but  little  higher  than  quacks)  on 
the  other ;  and  thus  had  to  encounter  another 
and  more  plausible  source  of  reproach,  sus- 
tained only  by  sound  convictions  of  pruden- 
tial necessity.  He  has  truly  informed  many 
mambers  oi  the  profession  concerning  the 
composition  of  his  medicines,  and  has  con- 
cealed from  none,  that  their  basis  is  a  per- 
ehJoride  of  gold,  exalted,  by  a  process  of 
mai^etic  chemistry,  above  any  other  chlo- 
ride that  can  be  produced  either  in  this  coun- 
try or  in  Europe ;  and  he  has  frankly  im- 
parted even  this  process,  so  far  as  it  can  be 
made  without  actual  observation  and  explan- 
ation of  every  detail  in  the  laboratory Jtself ; 
and  it  has  been  as  frankly  conceded  by  all 
who  are  capable  of  forming  a  sound  judgment 
vpon  the  subject,  that  it  could  not  with 
safety  be  entrusted  in  any  written  iormulsB, 
ttther  to  the  profession  in  general,  or  even  to 
4he  bast  phamnceutical  cheniits,  ignorant  of 


the  peculiarly  critical  operations  upon  which 
a  valid  result  depends.  To  do  so,  would  not 
only  be  to  risk,  but  to  inevitably  ensure  in  a 
great  majority  of  cases,  the  manufacture  of  a 
spurious  production,  and  thus  eventually 
consign  to  neglect  and  disrepute  a  remedy 
now,  and,  we  trust,  hereafter,  a  rescue 
to  thousands  from  hopeless  and  fatal  dis- 


In  this  Journal,  the  author  has  advan- 
ced jand  defended  the  opinion  that  the  great 
secret  of  Homceopathy,  or  of  the  extraordi* 
nary  efficacy  of  infinitesimal  quantities  of 
medicinal  substances,  consists  in  their  being 
actually  magnetised  by  the  triturating  and 
other  attenuating  processes  by  which  they 
are  prepared.  In  other  words,  that  the  ho- 
moeopathic medicines  are  magnetic,  and  that 
this  is  the  sole  explanation  of  effects  at  once 
undeniable  and  hitherto  ridiculed,  only  be- 
caose  they  a]^)eared  inexplicable.  In  his 
little  work,  *<A  Manual  for  Magnetising 
with  the  Rotary  and  Vibratory  Magnetic 
Machines,"  the  author  has  given  Hahne- 
mann's directions  for  magnetising  medicines, 
by  trituration  and  shaking.  On  page  166  of 
the  Motive  Power  of  the  Human  System,  he 
has  given  extracts  from  Hahnemann  on  the 
subject  of  certain  preparations  of  gold,  as 
possessing  **  great  remedial  virtues,  which 
cannot  be  replaced."  This  explanation  of 
homoeopathy  was  received  with  little  favor 
at  first,  by  some  of  its  professors  in  this 
country,  although  fully  and  decisively  sus- 
tained by  Hahnemann's  own  language  as 
quoted,'  notwithstanding  his  somewhat  mys- 
tical dialect  Many  of  the  objectors,  how- 
ever, upon  more  mature  reflection,  have  as- 
sented to  the  force  of  the  evidence  adduced, 
and  we  think  that  the  experiments  of  Reich- 
enbach  will  now  leave  but  little  doubt  upon 
the  matter,  in  the  minds  of  any  who  care- 
fully investigate  it. 

On  the  subject,  too,  of  the  magnetic  or- 
ganization of  the  human  system,  first  advan- 
ced by  the  author  of  this  work,  and  for 
some  time  regarded  as  a  mere  imaginative 
vision  of  real  or  pretended  clairvoyance, 
Reichenbach  will  be  found  to  have  eltctad 


152 


iVali^4  Tefi^irary  J^vmostaiies. 


Bferon^ly  confiriBatorj  eridence  ar.d  elucida- 
tion, although  as'  yet  his  experiments  have 
left  this  exceedingly  curious  and  important 
branch  of  science  in  a  cruder  condition  than 
he  might  hare  found  it  in  this  and  other 
works  long  since  published  by  the  author  in 
this  country.  Thus  he  appears  to  b.ave 
supposed  that  the  ms^'or  magnetic  axis  of 
the  human  body  is  across  it,  and  that  the 
principal  poles  are  in  the  hands  at  the  ends 
•of  the  fiageM;  whereas  ,the  author  has 
dearly  4elMmuied,  by  experimenls  equally 
legitimate,  and  much  loQger  rtptated,  that 
the  major  axis  is  a  longitudinal  one,  and  &e 
principa]  poles  are  in  the  brain,  the -solar 
plexus  and  the  genitals ;  those  in  the  fiageinhi 
although  as  luminous  iknd  eouttiTa  as  he 
describes  them,  being  merely  amoag  the 
great  number  of  minor  or  secondary  poles. 
The  author,  neyertheless,  caniM)t  but  eoa- 
giatttlate  himself  and  his  readers  upon  this 
substantially  conclusive  conoboiation  or  a 
discovery  which,  when  first  advanced,  was 
deemed,  even  by  many  of  his  friends,  as  too 
bold  and  startling  to  be  prudently  offered  to 
•Ihe  public.  Scientific  caution,  however, 
has  been,  and  may  be  carried  to  the  excess 
of  frivolous  fastidiousness  and  timidity;  and 
moral  courage  in  discovery,  when  pioperly 
sustained  by  evidence  satisfactory  to  all  rea. 
Bonable  minds,  is  a  quality  much  more  use- 
ful to  the  cause  of  truth  and  the  advance- 
ment of  science. 

Ocy*  While  Mr.  Sunderland  was  giving 
lectures  last  February  in  the  Tremont  Tem- 
nle  in  this  city,  he  was  applied  to  by  Capt 

W of  the  U.  S.  A.,  to  magnetise  his 

daughter  for  the  puipose  of  rendering  her 
insennbU  while  a  cancer  tumor  should  be 
cut  from  her  left  breast.  The  lady  was  S3 
^ais  of  age  and  weighed  about  180  jjounds. 
The  tumor  had  been  examined  some  eighteen 
months  before,  by  a  number  of  our  first 
physicians,  who  all  agreed  that  it  should  be 
taken  out  with  the  knife.  One  of  them  pro- 
nounced it  fibrous^  and  another  cancerous. 
It  caused  her  much  pain,  and  about  three 
months  before  she  came  to  Mr.  S.,  her  at- 
tending physician  put  a  diachylon  plaster 
upon  It ;  but  took  it  offaffain  in  twenty-four 
hours,  as  he  said  it  "only  made  it  worse." 
In  about  17  days  Mr.  Sunderland  succeeded 
in  secttriiig  the  tpdl  upcm  her  system,  so 


that  she  was  utteriy  uncenmoiii.  Boriat 
this  time  she  was  visited  bv  ber  m^^ 
but  the  tumor  was  not  particaiariyezaniBei. 
Feb.  12,  at  10  A.  M.  was  the  houftni 
upon  {or  the  sivgiqil  opeiatioo  to  bepif* 
formed. 

The  night  previous  was  spent  almoiit 
without  steep  by  the  anxious  hurisuid  asd 
parenU.  The  patient  herself  had  not  te 
made  acquainted  with  the  design,  and  al  tk> 
sppoii^tea  moment  she  was  tpSU-hotfM  int 
state  of  utter  «ncoM«c»otuii€»,  with  ber  l^ 
arm  stretched  over  her  head  in  a  state  of 
rigidity  resembling  death.  The  opentiit 
suiffeoa  came  piedaely  at  1«,  sceoiapaMM 
with  thi^  othec  fuigeoBii;  and.  aft« «^ 
rangii^  his  instruments,  w?ixiAg  his  thieel 
&c.,  he,  with  die  attending  surgeons,  en^ 
ned  the  breast  for  the  space  of  naif  an  hov. 
aad,-^fiiially  decided  lAot  AerssoatadlMRV 
tk4n/  During  the  tin^  she  had  bm  »«' 
natised,  the  pain  and  t^mor  had  dut^pwti 
0$  by  magtc  .' — Boston  Paper, 


Oi^  INtVf  •'■  Temporary  Sftmostatlef. 

BY  C.  H.  HALLKT,  ESQ., 
AMttttant  Demmmnlar  qf  Amatamif  «•  (TiiMMrai^ 


PmrsioLoeisTS  and  suigeons  bsfv  haf 
baen  agreed  about  Nature's  hamiMi»ii9 
the  case  of  lesions  of  the  external  parts  of 
the  body.  They  have  described  two  claa« 
of  these,  the  temporary  and  the  pennanent, 
and  four  conditions  combining  to  the  j^v* 
tion  of  tl^e  fcMmer-r-iiamely,  letiadiaB  aai 
contraction  of  the  coats  of  the- injured  v^ 
sels,  the  formation  of  cgagula,  and  a  ten- 
dency to  syncope.  TTie  two  first— the  dfe* 
of  the  action  of  the  vital  propeitiea  of  At 
vascular  texture--act  by  diminishiag  the » 
pidity  of  the  flow  of  blood  through  thi(^ 
orifices,  and  thus  favor  the  supterventicttv 
the  third — the  formation  of  coagola  ^ 
fourth,  or  tendency  to  syncope,  contnlAki 
materially  to  these  lesohs.  «  These  mfi- 
taat  chanises,"  says  Professor  Miller,*  *"» 
contribute  to  b)r  the  natural  result  oi  lo« 
of  blood  in  considerable  quanti^i  a  glov- 
ing faintness  and  tendency  to  syncope,  p* 
heart's  action  abating,  and  the  geoeial  6i^ 
lation  becominar  moie  and  more  feebiSt  w[ 
contraction  of  uie  arterial  orifice  is  favosBji 
as  also  the  formation  of  coa^ula.**  AlUtoap^ 
coinciding  fully  in  the  opinions  which  aie 
universaiiy  held  respecting  the  extoit  to 
which  these  several  oonditions  act  in  ana^ 
ing,  or  conducing  to  the  arrest  of,  ^^^^ 
rhage.  I  believe  we  must  take  into  conaideii- 


•Pfiiwiples  of  fluifinr. 


On  Nit/un!*-  Temgwwry  Sbtmmtatus* 


lat 


lioD  a  flflh  and  noBt  ijnpjrtant  dement-*- the 
aekUlviaJv  iocreaMd  amoiant  ol  fibrin  in  the 
Vooa  lolJowiiig  oa  its  JoMk 

Weiiara  beSa  for  aoaie  tima  aware  that 
tba  ]o«a«f  Uood  cauiics  a  dtma^  in  tha  re- 
laliTe  anoant  ol  its  principal  conMitaents  j 
a4imiQution  of  red.CDrpaacle0»  and  increase 
of  fibrin.  Now,  as  the  coegnlation  of  the 
Uood  depends  on  the  fibrin,  we  should  na* 
larally  be  Jed  to  expect  the  accession  of  that 
jibenomeiioo  to  be  accaieiatad  by  the  abstrac- 
tion of  the  vital  fluid.  Such  is  really  the 
caae.  **  Thus,  if  a  iai^ge  quantity  of  blood 
be  withdrawn  frcn  the  vef^AeU  c»f  t^^  »iiiit*«i 
at  one  time,  oc  within  short  intervals, .  the 
port  ons  that  last '  ow  coaauiate  much  .more 
lapidly,  butmuch  less  firflajy,  than  those  first 
obtained.'**  A  familiar  example  will  suffice 
to  iliostrate  diis.  A  nojiNlical  practitioner  de- 
termines  to  phlebotomize  a  patient,  and  de- 
sirous ol  observing  the  state  of  the  blood, 
causes  it  to  flow  into  a  nomber  of  small  re- 
ceplacJes— say  teacups  successively.  On 
mrrestinip  the  flow  of  blood,  be  proceeds 
to  exanu^0  that  which  he  \im  designedly  ah- 
atiacted  from  the  patient's  system,  and  ob« 
aarves  that  the  last  cupful  has  coagulated  as 
aoon  as  the  first;  in  fact,  haa solidified  im- 
nediatdy  on  removal  from  the  vessels. 

Such  an  Important  chai^  in  the  coastitu- 
lion  of  the  hlood,  and  such  aa  aui^entauon 
of  one  of  its  most  remarkable  properties^ 
cannot  but  be  of  gieat  service  as  a  h«moslatic. 
The  phenomenon  is  so  striking  as  to  be  wor- 
thy the  attention  of  the  profession^  In  fact, 
the  advantage  to  be  derived  in  one  form  of 
iueaorrhage — that  accompanied  and  oomplir 
cated  by  the  hsmorrhagic  diathesis — from  an 
increased  fibrinous  state,  and  consequent 
lieigthened  coagulability  of  the  blood,  haa 
been  bruucht  prominently  before  the  profes- 
aioQ  by  fVofessor  Miller.  He  writes,  (op. 
cit,  p.  513,)  •«  We  shall  endeavor  to  increae 
the  blood's  power  of  coagulation,  more  es- 
pecially its  power  of  forming  a  dense  coagn- 
lum.  if  possible,  we  would  incvease  tlie 
proportion  of  fibria."  But  the  iactpfha- 
morrhage  indociag  not  only  a  direct  eflect 
on  the  powers  of  the  pystem,  but  also 
a  change  in  the  blood  favourable  to  its  own 
ariestmeot,  seems  not  to  have  attracted  tba^ 
attention  which  I  am  led  to  believe  it  deatrves. 
The  formation  of  coaguia  curing  syncope,  or 
a  state  approaching  it,  is  well  known.  Thus 
Druitt  (''  6nrgeon*s  Vade-Mecum,"  p.  280) 
aays :  *•  Now  if  a  very  lai]ge  artery,  nvch  as 
ibe  femoral  or  subclavian,  is  .wounded,  and  if 
the  apertuee  in  it  is  large,  and  if  the  flow  of 
blood  is  in  no  manner  opposed,  the  loss  of 
blood  will  b«  so  rapid  as  to  occasion  death 
almost instantaneooalv.  But  if  the  wound  in 


*  Carpenter's  Pny  tiology^  p.  476. 


theasleryisvery  small,  it  may  be  closed  fiiOK 
ly  by  coagulated  blood  during  syneope,  and 
the  patient  may  survive."  He  does  not  ^Vf^ 
any  explanation  why  the  coagulum  foi  ma  du- 
ring syncope,  but  appears  to  ascribe  it  to  the 
occurrence  of  syncope,  not  to  the  change  in 
the  blood,  as  the  following  sentence  will 
show.  **  Foanhly,  the  faintnef^s  induced  by 
hamorrhage  both  checks  the  cut lent  of  the 
blood  from  the  heart,  and  gi V4  s  it  an  increased 
disposition  to  coagulate."  A  stat<  ment  op^ 
IKfsed  to  all  wc  know  on  the  subject 
When  avessel  has  been  divided,  1  considsi 

restilts  of  'occlusion  of  its  orifice,  and  arrest 
of  hamorrhage,  to  be  as  follow : — On  the 
immediate  occurrence  of  the  injuiy,  the  coats 
of  the  vessel  retract  and  contract,  an  efic«t 
which  lessens  the  diameter  of  the  arterial 
orifice,  retards  the  current  of  blood  throi^^ 
it,  leaves  a  space  between  the  vessel  and 
sheath,  in  wh.ch  they  staanate,  and  exposes 
a  rough  surface  on  which  the  blood  may  be 
entangled  as  it  flows  past,  and  nuclei  formed 
afeund  which  the  blood  may  coagulate ;  a 
result  to  which  these  various  states  tend. 
The  wound  being  ^mall,  or  other  conditions 
being  favourable,  these  may  be  adequate  to 
the  puroose ;  but  if  they  should  fail,  the 
hamorrnage  will,  of  coure,  continue,  and 
another  series  of  actions  will  be  brought 
into  force.    Nature's  local  powers  having 
proved  insuflicient,  she  calls  the  whole  sys- 
tem, to  her  aid.    A  faintness  or  tetdency  to 
syncope — ^syncope  itself  in  extreme  cases—  is 
induced ;  and  the  blood  is  become  more  fi- 
brinous.   Both  these  conditions  operate  es- 
sentially in  the  same  manner  as  retraction 
and  contraction  of  the  vessel,  that  is,  retard 
the  current  of  blood  through  the  arterlul  ori- 
fice, and  favour  by  this,  and  by  increaeed  co- 
agulability of  the  blood— the  leeuh  of  the 
latter  condition^the  formation  of  occluding 
coaguia,  although  these  would  be  less  firm, 
and  therefore  more  liable  to  be  broken  up  by 
the  returning  force  of  the  circulation  than 
those  formed  by  the  first  set  of  conditions. 
In  the  nftoie  severe  cases,  as  haotorrhage 
from  wounds  of  vessels  of  the  first  or  second 
magnitude,  even  these  may  prove  inetuflicient, 
and  the  issue,  unices  the  surgeon  is  oppor- 
tunely able  to  prevent  further  loss  by  the 
exercise  of  his  art,  mnst  necessarily  prove 
fatal. 

The  chief  elements,  it  will  be  observed, 
in  Natafe's  temporary  hamostalics,  ia  the 
presence  of  coaguia  within  this  sheath  and 
open  extremity  of  the  vessel.  To  procure 
these,  I  conclude,  from  the  foregoing  obser- 
vations, that  two  consecutive  senee  of  aux- 
iliaries are  brought  into  play  by  Nature : 
these  I  shall  name,  for  the  sake  of  distinc- 


IM 


8euHn*s  Siareh  Bandage 


tioo,  tlie  priimiry  and  tecondtry  series.  Each 
eeries  will  be  foand  to  luiTe  the  same  action, 
at  least,  tend  to  the  same  resalts, 

To  retard  the  current  of  blood,  we  have 
the  retraction  and  contraction  of  the  vessel 
ia  the  primary  series,  the  sedative  resatt 
on  the  neart^s  action  from  the  loss  of,  its 
wonted  stimolus  in  the  secondary  To  as- 
sist these  in  the  formation  of  coafola,  we 
have  the  roug^h  surface  of  the  sheath  to  en- 
tangle the  blood,  and  the  sjiace  between  the 
■heath  and  the  vessel  in  which  the  blood 
may  be  at  rest  in  the  primary ;  the  change 
in  the  rpfatiye  amount  of  the  constituents  of 
the  blood,  cansed  by  the  previcms  excessive 
depletion,  and  causi'ngan  increased  amonnt  of 
libtin,  and  hence,  increased  tendency  to  coag- 
ulation of  the  blood  in  thesecondarv.  The  on- 
1t  distinction  which  seems  capable  of  being 
mwn  between  the  two  is,  that  the  primary 
aeries  depends  on  local,  the  secondary,  on 
constitutional  changes. 

In  ordinary  slight  cases  of  haemorrhage, 
die  primary  ts  always  the  i|rincipal  agent  in 
causing  occlusion  of  the  injured  vessel.  In 
more  severe  cases,  the  secondary  is  indubi- 
tably the  more  efficient,  since  tbe  primary 
has  failed  in  its  attempts  to  achieve  a  salu- 
tary effect  Still,  it  must  be  remembered, 
that  the  action  of  the  latter  cannot  possibly 
exist  without  the  former,  except  where  the 
temorrhagic  diathesu  is  present ;  for  here 
the  primary  is  almost,  if  not  wholly,  ia 
abe3fance,  whilst  the  secondary  is  Nature*s 
chief  reliance  in  the  hour  of  tieed.  With 
this  exception,  therefore,  we  observe  that 
Nature  has  both  series  in  action  when  the 
secondary  has  been  induced  at  one  and  the 
same  time. 

This  would  appear  to  lead  to  the  conclu- 
sion tliat  the  secondary  was  only  accessory 
to  the  primary  series.  But  the  phenomena 
are  so  sinking, ;the  relation,  as  pointed  out 
between  the  two,  so  close,  their  or Jer  of  oc- 
currence so  natural  and  so  regular,  their  re- 
sults so  similar,  that  I  am  led  to  place  the 
secondary  on  the  same  footing  with  the  pri 
mary,  even  higher  in  the  scale  of  importance, 
in  severe  cases,  and  to  consider  it  as  Nature's 
greatest  safeguard  in  those  severe  cases 
where  the  primary  has  failed.— lonc/on 
Lanc€t, 


A  t&w  Obs«nrattoas  9U  Hm  Um9  6i 
nor.  SEUTIN'S  btaboh  bavdaob, 

Ia  the  TraataMit  of  Tnmimm. 
BTALFaXOMABEWICK,  StSGXOV,  liONDOM. 

In  the  treatment  of  fractuics*  any  appaia- 
tos  callable  of  fulfilling  tbe  chief  indicatton 
--aamely,  that  of  maiataiaiog  the  axtnani- 


ties  of  the  fractured  bor.es  in  exact  apposi- 
tion,  and  which  at  the  same  thne  penaiti  of 
progression— «inat  undoubtedly  be  t  nry 
valuable  one  to  the  surgeon.  NumeiOQf 
apparatus  have  been  invented  for  thti  pQr< 
pose,  smee  the  time  of  Htppocntet;  thl 
principal  ones  now  had  recourse  to  are,  ths 
common  apparatus,  with  splinta  DeMaaltH 
long  splint,  with  Boyei*s  modification  of  it^ 
for  fractures  of  the  tnigS ;  the  double  inc& 
ned  planes  of  Mae  Intyre,  Lislon  and  Ad» 
bury;  Green  how's  apparatus ;  the  Iradoie 
box ;  the  appareiif  inamoviblm  of  Larry  tfi 
Rmile  Lacroix,  the  former  consistiag  of— 
Istly,  a  linen  cloth  several  tines  double; 
2ndly,  two  cylinders  of  junks  formed  of 
fftraw,  bound  tightly  together  with  twine; 
each  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  aol 
rathf'r  shorter  than  the  cloth ;  3rdly,  one  or  ! 
two  bags  or  cushions,  staflM  with  chaff,  o( 
sufficient  thickness,  and  of  the  same  lenctl 
as  the  junks;  4thly,  a  conical  pad,  sttdM 
with  tow,  six  inches  long;,  three  wide,  anl 
two  thick  at  its  base ;  5tbly,  three  six-taiM 
compresses;  6th ly,  a  long  compress,  ctHrf 
the  stirrup;  7thly,  the  «'tibiale~,  a  big^ 
piece  of  linen  cut  to  the  shape  of  the  appa- 
ratus :  8thly,  fixtures  five  or  six  in  aunber: 
dlhly,  tbe  resolvent  liquid,  a  miztaie  d 
camphorated  spirit,  Goolard  water,  asd 
white  of  egg,  beaten  together  in  water;  aoJ 
the  latter,  which  is  frnjuently  empbyvl  by 
DiefiR»nbach,  of  a  solid  case  of  phuter  of 
Paris,  procured  by  ponrini^  into  a  coflveoieflt 
sized  wooden  box,  containing  the  fractoni 
limb  covered  with  oil  or  cerate,  a  sofficieflt 
quantity  of  semi*fluid  gypsum ;  the  affBxd 
kyponarthrmque,  or  "a  suspension,**  pro- 
posed by  Sauter,  of  Constance,  in  1813.  sal 
adopted  with  certain  modifications,  by  Mty* 
or,  of  Lausanne,  and  Chelius,  of  Heidelbot 
ItconsisU  of  a  flat  piece  of  board,adii 
cushion,  and  ligatures  for  fixing  the  limb; 
the  whole  is  suspended  by  attaching  a  cord, 
passed  through  a  hole  in  each  comer  of  ^ 
board,  to  a  pulley,  fixed  either  lo  the  ceiliig 
or  the  top  of  the  bed ;  the  moulding  taUeb 
of  Mr  Smee,  prepared  by  copiously  bnvh- 
ing  over  one  side  of  a  piece  oi  coarse  nbeef- 
ing  with  a  thick  solution  of  gum,  and  after- 
wards corerin^  it  with  a  eompoeition  mads 
by  rubbing  whiting  with  muciUur,  cootma- 
ally  adding  the  powder,  Uatii  the  whole  ii 
of  the  consistence  of  thick  paste;  a  seooad 
piece  of  sheeting  is  then  rubbed  over  on  oil 
side  with  the  aolntion  of  gum,  and  theiaoiil- 
ened  side  applied  upon  the  oompositios  wilk 
which  the  piece  of  sheeting  has  been  eov«^ 
ed;'*  the  apparatus  invented  byJobert,of 
the  Hopilai  St.  Louis,  Pans,  which  oonM 
of  a  leather  sock  or  bnwdet  fastened  to  the 
foot  of  the  bed,  fornakiivaiteiisioa»ftl«f 


Se^tm*»  Stmreh  BantUigt. 


iM 


metrically  Of»po0ito  surfaces  of  the  bandafje; 
hence  it  la  eaey  to  conclade  that  the  moaett- 
lar  contractiona  themaelveswill  be  uoabifrto 
produce  any  change  in  the  reiatioa  bet^veen 
the  fractured  surfacet^*  since*  on  the  oos 
band,  the  contraction,  requiring  a  certain  Ja* 
teral  space  for  the  development  of  the  libres. 
can  but  imperfectly  take  place,  and  on  tho. 
other,  although  it  might  be  freely  effected, 
the  ditfplacement  would  be  rendered  impos*. 
aible  by  the  coiitentive  means."*    The  com*' 
preseion  also  which  the  bandage  exercises, 
considerably  suppresses  the  suppuration  oc« 
curruig  in  compound  fractures  which,  from 
its  frequently  being  very  excessive,  greatly 
reduces  the  strength  of  the  patient  and  eon-> 
sequendy  protracts  his  recovery.    It  JiJce- 
wiae  secluies  the  purulent  matter  from  the 
free  contact  of  air,  and  thus  renders  its  ab-* 
sorption  much  less  dangerous.    In  gun-shot- 
fractures  of  the  articulating  extremities  of 
bones,  in  which,  when  amputation  has  not 
b«en  imm  'diaceiy  pei  formed,  a  cure  can  only 
he  obtained  by  ankylosis,  the  starch  bandage 
affords  an  excellent  means  for  securing  this 
desirable  termination,  by  preventii^  ail  mo- 
tion of  the  joint ;  2ndly,  that  of  ada}iting  it- 
self when  properly  applied  to  all  elevations 
and  depressions,  consequently  it  exercises 
an  equal  degree  of  pressure  on  aU  parts,  and 
is  therefore  not  liable  to  produce  eongestioa- 
or  moitificatton ;  on  the  contrary,  it  acts  an-> 
tipbl(^i8tically  b}  givmg  tone  to  the  vessels, 
reHeving  the  inflammation,  and  by  prevent- 
ing any  unnecessary  afflux  of  the  fluids  to- 
ward»  the  fractured  limb,  allows  this  to  re- 
ceive only  sufficient  for  the  repair  of  the  so- 
lution of  continuity;  3rdly,  that  it  does  not 
become  deranged,  but  remains  in  the  same 
position  as  when  applied ;  4thly,  that  it  ad- 
mits of  progression  and  enables  the  patient 
to  be  removed  to  any  part  without  danger; 
thus  the  adult  patient  who  has  been  accus- 
tomed to  a  life  of  activity,  is  no  longer  un- 
ler  the  necessity  of  remaining  in  bed  during 
the  formation  and  consolidation  ot  the  callus, 
there  to  become  exhausted  and  cachectic  by 
a  long-continued  decubitus,  and  a  prey  to  his 
bitter  reflections,  but  is  able  to  change  bis 
position,  get  up,  and  even  walk  about  oa 
crutches,  and   bv  this  means  reciuit  bis 
««tiength,  relieve  his  mind,  and  facilitate  and 
hasten  his  recovery.    Those  severe  and  dis- 
tressing cases  of  ulceration  and  gangrene 
which  are  so  commonly  met  with,  especially 
in  old  people,  and  which  are  consequent 
on  remaining  long  in  the  recumbent  posture, 
are  of  very  rare  occurrence,  if  not  entirely 
unknown  to  those  who  employ  the  **  appa* 
reilamovo-inamovible;"  6thly,  that  of  the 


thA  folded  and  paaaad  over  the  opposite 
aide  ol  the  body,  and  fixed  to  the  head  of 
1km  bed,  for  prodoeing  oounter-eixtenston, 
and  another,  it  required,  placed  acioas  the 
liaab,  for  ooanlefaeting  the  action  of  the 
maeles,  on  the  upper  extremity  of  tlie  frac- 
twad  bone;  and  lastly,  the  i^ippmnd  ami- 
dbf»^e,  or  starch  banda^,  which  lonaa  the 
aohioBt  of  the  preaent.  paper. 
The  prineipal  advantages  of  this  bandage, 
,  which — ^from  the  facility  with  which  it  is 
fll^il,  thus  coaatituting,  at  will,  a  moveable 
and  iouooreable  apparatus — hsA  been  term- 
ad  also  bv  its  inventor,  the  amparnl  amowh 
tiMMMoi6b,  a<e»  1st,  that  of  eoectaally  pre- 
vooting  any  motion  between  the  fractured 
OKtiemitiesof  the  bones;  this  is  eviden:ly  of 
tho  atmost  importance  in  the  treatment  of  all 
aplatioas  of  continuitv  in  the'oaseons  tissue, 
aa»  milefls  coapt  ition  be  maintained,  not  only 
wilt  irritation  and  inflammation  be  excited, 
«m1  the  pain  and  suffering  of  the  patient 
greatly  prolong^,  but  also  the  formation  of 
ue  callus  considerably  retarded,  if  not  en- 
tirely prevented ;  for  children  and  infants, 
also,  whoae  restless  nature  is  a  source  of 
conaidetable  anxiety  to  the  aurgeon,  in  con 
aeqneflce  of  the  difficulty  thereby  experien* 
oed  in  maintaining  perfect  immobility  of  the 
fnctored  bonea,  the  starch  bandage  is  an  in- 
vsluahle  apparatus.   All  othera,  independent 
ol  their  total  inability  to  maintain  perfect 
coaptation,  become,  in  cases  of  fracture  of 
the  lower  extremity,  constantly  saturated  by 
the  alrine  and  urinary  excretions     Thev 
therefore  require  to  he  frequently  changed, 
in  order  to  prevent  the  irritation,  excoriation, 
and  fmtor,  which  would-otherwise  be  occa^ 
aionad     But  thia  frequent  changing  must 
evidently  cause  considerable  pain  to  the  pa- 
tient, as  well  as  greatly  retard  the  formation 
ol  the  callus,  by  allowing  the  fractured  ends 
ol  the  bones  to  rub  against  each  other. 
ThiM,  it  will  be  perceived,  that  by  remedy- 
ing one  evil  the  surj^n  creates  another. 
In  the  delirium  occurnng  m  cases  of  com- 
poond  fracture  from  extensive  laceration  of 
thoaoft  parts,  injury  of  the  nervous  filaments, 
hct  no  apparatus  will  so  efiectuiEilly  prevent 
the   fragments  producing  that  disturbance 
npoB  which  the  delirium  in  many  cases  de- 
peada     It  farms,  with  ^he  fractured  limb  a 
whole,  which  cannot  move  without  the  con* 
eooraa  of  its  constituent  parts.    Hence  the 
impoosibility  of  any  partial  movement  takin^r 
place,  or  the  occurrence  of  any  displacemeni 
of  the  broken  bones,  the  whole  limb  beiiifr 
ohUged  to  move  in  the  direction  of  any  im 
]iolae  given.    **  Nei  ther  can  there  be  free  mo 
Ikm  in  any  articulation;  for  supposing  » 
boiao  was  aolicited  to  move  on  another,  it 
wlU  be  prevented  fiom  doing  ao  by  two  din- 


•Sauthi  d«  fiaadaga  AnOdonne,  p.  7U 


I^v^ 


HetOuifif  8tt»reli  BtMtage^ 


Aaleriar  of  which  it  is  oompoecd  being  eco- 
iimiimI  and  easily  proeured:  6tbly»  that  it 
ia  equaUy  applicable  to  all  kinds  of  frac- 
ivea ;  Tlnly,  that  it  admits  of  the  limb  bein^; 
sed-  either  in  a  slate  of  ilexion  or  exten- 
B,  of  pronation  or  sapinatton;  or  of  ab- 
duction or  adduction ;  8thty,  that  it  is  more 
«Mily  remoYed  and  moie  speedily  applied 
than  any  other  apparatus ;  9thlv,  that  from 
the  faoiuty  with  which  itmay  be  divided,  it 
Itmns,  as  its  name  impites,  a  moYabJe  and 
imnovable  appareil,  at  will.  These  advan- 
tsgts  are  certainly  not  triTial,  and  when  they 
ase  considered  together  with  the  success 
with  which  it  has  htta  attended  in  the  hands 
ol  aeveral  distinguished  suigeons,  in  the 
treatment,  not  only  of  both  simple  and  com 
pound  fractures,  but  also  of  dislocations, 
juptured  tendons,  caries,  and  other  afl^ctions 
of  the  ioints,  &o.,  ftc.,  it  is  a  matter  of  sur- 
prize that  this  bandage  has  not  been  more 
nvorably  reoeivad  and  more  generally  adop- 
tad  by  the  profession  in  this  country. 

On  the  ftwde  qf  applwUion. --The  neces- 
sary requisites  are  one  of  8cultetU!>'s  ban- 
dages or  a  common  roller,  two  or  three  old 
linen  bandaoes,  of  conyenient  length  and 
breadth  for  the  Jfracluied  limb»  some  paste- 
board,  of  sufficient  stiffness  and  firmness, 
torn  which  splints  are  to  be  torn  rather  than 
cat  of  the  proper  size,  in  order  that  their 
edges  may  be  so  levelled  off* as  to  lie  evenly 
on  the  limb,  instead  of  being  sharp  and  an* 
galar,  and  thus  produce  an  injurious  pres 
sure  on  certain  parts,  and  some  fresh  well- 
laade  starch;     These  things  having  been 
previously  prepared,  the  surgeon  immediate- 
ly proceeds  to  reduce  the  fracture.    When 
this  is  accomplished,  and  while  the  bones 
are  being  maintained  in  apposition  by  an  as- 
sistant, a  bandsigs  is  to  be  applied  first  round 
the  toes,— for  instance,  supposing  it  to  be  a 
fracture  of  the  leg;,  taking  care,  however,  to 
keep  their  extremities  free,  as  an  index  to 
the  condition  of  the  remainder  of  the  limb. 
*Those  parts  which,  from  tl»eir  prominence. 
•  are  likely  to  receive  too  great  a  degrett  oi 
pressure,  and  by  this  means' become  i'^flamed 
and  gangrenous,  such  as  the  ankles,  the  ten 
don  of  the  tibialis  antices,  the  Fpiue  and  tu- 
berosities of  the  tibia,  the  head  of  the  fibula, 
and  the  condyles  of  the  femur,  are  then  to 
be  guarded  with  wadding  or  amadon,  pre- 
▼ious  to  the  application  of  the  first  roller. 
This  is  then  to  be  passed  round  the  footaftd 
leg,  as  big  has  the  knee  or  to  a  short  distance 
above  it,  according  to  the  situation  of  the 
fracture,  and  afterwards  slightly  starched  for 
the  purpose  of  fixing  its  edges ;  if  more  be 
applied,  it  will  penetrate  through  to  the  in- 
ternal surface  of  the  roller,  which  will  in 


to  the  skttt.     The  paelarier  epKit,  INK 
whieh  a  settiidrevlsr  piece  hasbeen  tmUr 
allow  of  a  spaes  for  iha  heel,  hiviiir  Wm 
softened  in  watti,  starohed  and  pkMili 
now  to  be  applied  and  Mcwred  with  the  la* 
coDd  roller,  which  must  be  well  starched  W 
means  of  a  brush,  or  the  pain  of  die  baaa 
The  lateral  splints,  pirpared  astbe  psilnNr 
one,  are  next  appfied,  and  over  thentkr 
thiid  bandage^  which  sbouU  nceive  a  good 
coating  of  starch.    If  prefened»  the  w«#  • 
splints  may  be  applied  at  tlie  same  fine  ar 
the  posterior  one.    However,  i  ikiak  nsit 
firmness  is  obtained  by  applying  then  as  I 
faffre  stated.    If  mote  solidity  shodM  be  w 
quired,  a  fourth,  and  even  a  fifth vbaiidi||9 
may  be  applied.    It  is  advieaUe,  previsttK 
to  the  application  of  tbebandi^,  the  inrt^ 
however,  excepted,  to  dip  their  extttniliil 
into  the  starch ;  by  this  means  the  edges  t» 
come  fixed  as  the  oandage  is  anroUed.   1W 
end  of  the  last  bandage  should  also  be  foil' 
ed  in  and  placed  in  a  conspicuous  plifli' 
In  cases  of  compound  fractures, the •pfa- 
ratus  must  be  so  applied  as  to  allow  a  fM» 
exit  to  the  secreted  fluids;  thus,  the  e^ 
of  the  rollers  must  either  he  tuned  wk 
from  the  solutions  of  continuity,  or  hoieicit 
in  those  situations  corresponding  ts  tto 
and  the  splints  either  notched  or  peital*^ 
A  commutiication  can  then,  if  necewiy*^ 
established  .  between  two  openings  sm  a 
free  discharge  promoted.     The  woan^  cit 
also,  by  this  contrivance,  be  dressed  loeo*' 
ing  to  circumstances.     Metal  splints  ^ 
sometimes  requisite  to  give  support  to  tki 
fractured  limb  when  the  apparatus  beoiaMi 
softened  by  an  abundant  suppuration.  Ki* 
tension  and  counter-extension  should  n 
kept  up  until  the  bandace  is  perfectly  itf 
An  old  shape,  resulting  from  a  previonrf 
treated  fracture,  is  an  excellent  additioa  It 
secure   coaptation  during   its  desiccilioi>i 
which  may,  in' some  cases,  be  pionoied  W 
hot  bricks,  bottles  of  hot  water,  bigs  " 
healed  sand,  or  by  exposing  the  linb  to  * 
fire  or  the  «un'srays.     In  fractures  of  w 
lower  extremity  in  children,  the  bsstet 
should  be  covered  over,  when  dry,  vHi 
white  of  egg  or  some  kind  of  vaiiiisb,orai- 
veloped  in  a  piece  of  oiled  skin,  in  o^^J* 
prevent  its  being  soiled  and  softened  by  ihi 
excretions. 


consequence  be  reiHlered  harsh  and  irritating  [the  abaoiptioii  of  that  already  emsA  tfi 


The  period  at  which  the  bandage  sko^ 
e  applied  has  been  and  still  ia  a  poial  » 
muck  controversy.  Pkvfesaor  Seulin  '»^ 
favor  of  its  immediate  application,  wheOtft 
tumefaction  be  present  or  not,  and  siale| 
that,  instead  of  ita  being  followed  by  any  <li 
eflects,  it  lessens  the  traomatic  iBfiamawtici 
by  diminishing  the  affiox  of  blood,  pron^ 


f^ncU^  Mkhnf^^ 


bf  its  fioafieMtoii 
whkh  9hom\A  be  f»i|de  wd  eqial. 

-Qlkim  iigm  tlmtif  ^  bandage  i«  m\iti 
^tm  tbaii  ii  mttcb  tiimefaetioD^and  before 
Jus  Im8  Hrrtved  at  ita  -betgbU  either  stcaDgu- 
Won  will  be  the  eoneeqieeBe,  or  elee  tbei 
^melkftg  wili  deweeee  and  leave  a  vacaam 
Jwlwm  itm  aoriaee  of  the  Member  and  the 
teadage,  the  leeuit  of  whieb  would  be  a 
ef  jHOfier  eip^ft  to  the  fractuied 

The«B  are  certainly  objectioof,  bat 

I  of  little  nmgbt  It  ie  true,  etian* 
fniJation  woold  be  oecaaiooed  if  the  swelling 
•hnuli  moreaee  after  the  applieatiOD  of  the 
.but  this  ,woald  not  be  the  caee 

ihe  apparatus  were  prpperiy  ap- 
»(M.  I  beheve  the  following  reaiark  of  M. 
Melfeanin  be  perfectly  just,  and  found^  on 
aliiaealafasenralion-^that'^if  there  is  no 
iMaefaeim,the  bandage  will  ptevent  its  le- 
•nrrence.;  and  if  Oiere  is,  and  Ibe  pressure 
h*  ireil  m  le,  it  will  disappear."  When- 
ever the  swelling  ie  •eonstderable»  1  should 
tesDmnend  thenrat  lolldr  to  be  wetted  in 
pinapke«r doahird  emter  previous  to  its  be 
mg  applied.  This  would  lead  to  leduee 
the  idajefacthro.;  hpt  should  euoh  not  be  the 
efMe..apMe  wunkl  howemr  be  giiFen  for  its 
I— east  by  Ihe-espamon  of  the  bandage  in 

It  is  true,  also,  'that  the  baadnge 


dryii^. 

aD'kiageF  affiitds  the neoosfluy  sapj^  to 
thanlrastured  haib  whaa  aa  jernpty  spaee  be* 
eanssilstmed  between  it  and  the  lattet,  in 
aMMnenea  of  tha^sabsi^nceof  theswell- 
ioqg.  But  this  will  beef  btrit  sheet  duration, 
aa  it  aadaftnent  whea  the  yacutte  is  but 
Irfibg.toeBften  it  with  waters  then  aould  it 
eD*lheishape  of  the  fmeluned  meaiber.and 
ftAatiytiiflecttve  it  by  >at  starched  .roller;  or 
Uike  «aeiram.iHcoi«Mteiable,  toaplit  up  the 
haada^  with  the  sciasorawbiflh  Mr.  6eatin 
lias  invented  for  that  pnrpaee,  andiiesM>vea 
4i  iaBpv  if  neeesaaty^iof  ihe  requisite  width, 
and  then  bring  it  ta|Q»tfaer  again  wkh  a 
■larefaed  nller.  The  eeelioii  of  the  appa 
nUae  isof  the  atmoit  impoitanoe;  Jt  enables 
ehtsargeenito  nMke  acanefal  examination. 
of  the  limb,  to  remedy  any  improper  pres- 
arite  or  defect,  and  to  ascaMain  the  position 
«f  Ahaifnu^utediioneB.  It  should  alwayi^ 
ba^ione  on  the  foUosring  day  or  the  day 
aitor.  Iteauses  no  pain  or  disphuxment, 
apudiBii^  be  repeated  as  often  ae  requtied 
without  any  danger  of  letardinj;  the  forma- 
liBii  of  the  ealhis,  as  the  posterior  surface  ol 
4>f  the  bandage  gives  the  necessary  unpport 
it  ia a  ^ood  phm,  when  applying  the  **  band • 
afa'amidonnet"  to  ptaee  a  pieoe  of  tape  ii» 
dheisitaatiMi  where  the  section  will  have  to 
§»aM'le,so  as  lo  sirve  as  a  guide  lo  the 
ieiasoie.  -'Lomilenr  LamH. 
fatt^hua^plaee,.Fdb.  1«46. 


A  ttst«li  sf  ths  Beistioa  of  tte  a^laal 

Mssrow  ts 

PABTtrBITZOV  JOtJ}   FBACtlOSJL  JMBBK 

WlFJiBY. 

BT  W.  TTLSa  SMrrU,  M.  D.   LOHD. 

Lecturer  on  Midwifery  at  t**t  Chml^e-ttr^ 

Sehooi  if  Medicine, 

The  Uterus  is  a  moscle, — the  largest  and 
Tiost  important  muscle  of  the  animsu  econo- 
my, it  supports  the  race  in  the  same  way 
that  the  stomach  and  the  heart  support  the 
individual.  It  is  the  organ  of  nutrition  and 
circulation  to  the  species.  Parturition,  the 
chief  function  of  the  uterus,  is  performed 
like  the  functions  of  other  mdseles,  und^ 
the  direction  of  the  nerves  by  which  itii 
supplied.  '  These  nerves  have  been  beauti- 
fully made  out  by  Dr.  Robert  Lee;  and  am 
derived  efaieiy  from  the  third  and  fourth  s»- 
cnil  nerves,  and  hypogastric  ganglia. 
Through  its  nervous  endowments  the  ulterua 
has  the  powerof  ilssocmitin^  with  itself  offaifr 
musofea,  in  a  ceitain  definite  order,  for  the 
safe  and  efficient  performance  of  parturition. 
But  the  act  of  parturition  never  had  been, 
and  aiever  eouid  be,  aladied  properly,  mm 
motor  fanetkto,  uatil  ,the  discovery  eJF  ^ 
physiology  af  the  sphufl  amrrow  .by  iDi. 

The  iSpiiiid  iMamw  is  the  eenlka!  oigaa 
piasidifl||ovBr|be  antoraetiunffof  Ihe  utema. 

AU  te  xUhf  fkjitidngieei  atonna  aioM 
actions  aia  rj^M  in  dieir  nature. 

.Other  causes  of  uterine  eontiaatioa  ai% 
dvmt  or  tentre  spinal  siction,  the  inienei 
of  ematien^  and  anneuisr  irriMbtHtv. 

Contiadiaa  of  the  uterus  fronk  nritirtiaa 
of  mamaryeioitoi  aenres,as  in  the  socking 
of  a  child,  or  from  irritation  of  the  cutane- 
ous nerves  of  the  abdomen,  as  by  the  asper- 
sion of  cold  water,  axe  pure  instances  of  r«» 
flex  epinal  action.  In  either  case  Ihe  direc- 
tion ol  the  motor  influences  is  from  iha 
extremities  of  the  i.icident  exciter  nerves 
through  the  spinal  marrow,  and  then  to  the 
motor  organ. 

Contraction  of  the  uterus  from  fear 
s  an  instance  df  the  influence  of  imo* 
tion.  Emotion  mny  be  induced  by  external 
objects,  as  from  ihe  sti^ht  of  instrumeme ;  or 
it  may  arise  within  (he  mind,  as  fromi  tM 
remembrance  of  former  suffering.  In  thea^ 
respects  there  is  sotne  analogy  between  re- 
flex action  and  the  action  of  emotion  or  vo- 
lition ;  but  emotion  and  volition  a^  ps^e^- 
oi/,  excito-motion  ispAyticii/.  Thisconsti^ 
tiites such  immense dmtenee, adiietenee  ro 
prepondemtte^  over  -the  analogfes  refe^rei 
tf),  that  fbere  is  danger  tt(  great  coi^fusioft  iK 
physiokigy.  If  the  tern  t^etHinediMm 


188 


PraeHeal  Midwifery y  ^. 


(proposed  by  Dr.  Laycock)  Miouid  come  to 
be  )se>ifraliy  ap^ilied  to  notioni  dependent 
eithtf  on  emotion  or  Tolition. 

The  wat  of  firi'Uion  id  not  yMaw^rtiiine^. 
but  it  acts  ikrough  the  tpinal  muTow  and 
the  spinal  mutor  nerves,  as  wouJd  appear 
from  the  facts  that  emotitmal  movements  te- 
main  Ml  npr»<i  entirely  paraJyseed  to  ceiebrai 
Tolnntary  mot'on. 

Contraction  of  the  uterus  from  the  applica- 
tion of  galvanism  is  an  instance  of  uterine 
action  from  vasaUar  mitabUity.  Here,  the 
stimulus  directly  affects  the  muscular  fibres 
of  the  uterus. 

VoHtian  may  increaat  the  actions  of  the 
•xpiiatory  muscles  after  the  dilatation  of  the 
OS  uteri,  or  it  may  bring  into  action  before 
.this  part  of  labor  is  completed ;  but  the  mo- 
tor lurces,  dependent  on  the  will,  are  acc«- 
S9ry,  and  ernntiol  to  the  process  of  parturi- 
tion ;  delivery  may  take  place  in  cerebral 
paralysis  with  total  loss  of  voluntary  motion, 
the  actions  dependent  on  r^fUx  action^  or 
smUicn^  and  on  mtiseWar  irniability^  ail  re- 
maining perfect 

Delivery  may  take  place  in  piofowMl  eo- 
aut—many  such  cases  are  on  rscord ;  or  tn 
paraplegia  from  diseaKe  in  the  middla  por- 
lionp  of  f  h^  spinal  marrow,  as  in  a  ease  re- 
lated by  Ollivier,  when  both  yolitional  and 
cmcitioitai  action  are  suhttaclsd,  but  labour 
proceeds  by  virtue  of  the  reflex  actioD  and 
tile  museubur  irritabilihr  whieh  lenain.  It 
should  be  mentioned,  that  in  simple  eomm, 
only  emotion  and  volition  an  withdrawn; 
but  in  paraplegia  from  disease  in  the  middle 
of  the  spinal  marrow,  there  is  also  the  ab- 
sence of  the  expiratory  reflex  action,  the  ab- 
dominal muscles  are  now  inactive. 

In  parapl^ia  from  disease  involving  the 
whole  lower  nortion  of  the  spina!  marrow, 
labour  either  does  not  take  place,  or  proceeds 
'With  extreme  inertia,  as  in  a  case  related  by 
II.  Brae  bet;  here  volitioo,  emotion,  and  all 


thesietionof  tlieexpinliiymaMwt,inHb 
is  undoubtedly  reflex  in  its  aataie. 

The  fHoie  off  uterine  aetion  kftMly 
peristaltic ;  perisudtie  aelM  hss  bNs  eb^ 
served  by  Mullerin  the  otems  of  the  14; 
and  in  the  ovidoet  of  the  tnrde;   IntkW 
man  females  theeoBtrastioasappiar,sfieff^ 
ing  to  Michaelas  and  Wigsnd,  to  iosiwmi 
at  the  cervix,  to  extend  from  theneetolhs 
fundus,  and  then  to  pats  downwaris  ^m 
towards  the  os  uteri     This  is  aaalofow  1» 
what  takes  place  in  odier  organs  powMwig 
peristaltic  action ;  the  heart  bcjpss  toew* 
tract  at  the  auricle,  the  oonlmctioa  tianmi 
to  the  apex,  and  then  returns;  in  the  ils> 
mach  also,  on  the  authority  of  Mafftsdii^ 
coiitreetion  begins  at  the  pylons,  piocMdi 
to  the  cardia,  and  then  sweeps  back  inm 
left  to  right    .The  objects  to  be  obtained  bf 
this  double  aetion  in  the  uteras  would  seal 
to  be  the  prevention  of  the  descent  of  thi 
nmbilica]  coid,  the  ascent  of  the  arms  of  tki 
child  at  the  coBunencenent  ol  the  ]wa,ii 
cases  when  they  hang  down,  and  in  thii 
way  'o  prevent  arm  or  shoulder  p^mntafii^ 
andt' 


the  prevention  of  in vanion  of  the « 
Intussusception  of  the  upper  part  of  Ik  » 
gan,  and  enmplete  invanKMi,  wouM  piwlaMy 
be  fieoaent  if  contractkm  uMfomly  ^m 
meneed  at  the  fundus. 

The  perisiahie mode  oi  action  affcinto 
depend  on  the gsagljoiiie  nerves.  TbifBii* 
tion  may  be  askedf.  is  perislahk  adisatii^ 
thing  more  than  the  araaealar  irrilibiliVif 
pmts  supplied  by  the  ganglioiiic  vptimi 
The  uterus  contracts  so  an  to  expel  Aieo^ 
tents  after  death.  In  the  swayhy 
like  the  uterus,  is  cndowad  both 


4a/f»eaction  and  r^^Eeflc  spinal  motion, fit 
has  observad  distinct  conlH 


the  reflex  actions,  are  absent,  and  muscular  ?'  •*"•  ^^^^  teng^  o*  the  pwiwient  csaA 
imtabthty  alone  remains     F^tients  in  this'  P"  ^  fundus  uteri  to  the  eoostikler  is* 


Biaishall  Hall  1 

tion  after  death;  I  hava  also  obaeived  *i 

same  phenomenon. 

'Theexdtois  of  tlia  rsAaz 
in  the  uterus  ars  nusaaioos. 
First  in  importance  are  the  inddeati 


state  have  nevertheless  been  delivered  by  the  '"j**.     .  ^ 

st'T"»ilus  of  galvanism  applied  fo  the  uterus      ""^tion  of  the  ineideot  nerves  of  flu 
itself. 

Uhus  the  motor  actions  concerned  in  na- 
tural parturition  admilof  an  interesting  syn- 
thesis  and  analysis;  obMelrician  should  be 
as  familiar  with  the  simple  and  compound 
forms  of  muscular  action  as  the  chemist 
yib  elementary  bodies  and  their  combina- 
tions. 


The  type  of  uter  ineaction  is  rhythmic ;  the 
pains  succeeding  each  other  at  regular  inter- 
vals.    The  rh^  is  probsbly  dependent  on 


ovariaand  of  the  maoiBMs,  the  cnti 
nerves  ol  the  abdomen  and  feneial  surhmb 
the  nerves  of  the  stomach,  hludder,  and  let* 
tum,  all  excite  reflex  niertne  adJoa  darim 
labour. 

A  definite  order  is  ohaerved  in  the  ph^ 
nomena  of  labour. 

With  respect  to  that  giviit  problem  is 
physiology  and  obstetrics — oaanely ,  theeaask 
of  the  coming  on  of  labour  at  the  sad 
ol  the  tenth  lunar  month  of  geataho^ 
nothing  definite  has  hitherto  btcn  said,    la 


lue  spiBal  manow,  being  syMchronous  with  j  the  earliest  part  of  the  paiturient  froMi» 


PrtfOieml  MH^tnh  4^ 


m 


vbieh  in  m  j  iMiam  I  bave  bam  accttftoia- 
•d  to  call  IM  foremanitorff  Uagi  there  w  an 
equable*  cootinuoos  comtiaetiQik  ol  the  uteroA, 
wbidi  exiait  for  mhd6  time  before  tbe  ap- 
j^aamnca  ol  tbe  periodical  coatiactione .  Tbi» 

2uabk  contfaction  uigea  the  b«adof  tbe 
ild  firmly again«t  tbe  oa  ateri.  Wbat  ia  tbe 
canaaof  tbia  iqiiable  contraetioa  ?  We  must 
Jock  beyond  tba  utania  for  tbe  anawer;  for 
the  ateroa  atiempts  to  act  in  extra-uterine 
pregiuuicy.  I  beliere  tbe  oTaria  are  tba  ex- 
fiitoraof  tbe  firat  motor  action  of  the  uterua. 
it  ia  well  known  that  tbe  majority  of  casea 
of  abonitin  occur  at  wbat  would  have  been 
menstrual  periods,  and  it  is  equally  well 
known  that  tbe  entirety  of  tbe  phenomena 
of  manstmatioa  depend  upon  tbe  oTajria  as 
Iheir  cause.  In  tbe  human  female,  labour 
comes  on  at  tbe  tenth  menstrual  period  from 
the  time  of  conception ;  in  aninuds  also,  as 
"lar  as  my  observations  bare  extended,  the 
term  of  grfitation  is  some  multiple  of  an 
•dtrnal  period.  Now  the  manatrual  periods 
o£  the  human  female  and  the  cstrual  periods 
of  animals  are  alike  in  tbia ,  that  in  tbe  one 
caaa  ota  are  diiefly  prepared  at  these  epochs, 
in  tbe  other  $oUlu.  Farther  than  this  tbe 
analog  cannot  fairly  be  pressed.  It  ia  too 
JBnch  to  speak  of  any  moral  similarity  be- 
tween the  human  female  and  the  lower  ani- 
jnaJs  in  tbia  respect  I  consider,  then,  that 
fartnritioo  in  the  buoian  female  is  essentially 
%  menstrual  period ;  but  that  instead  of  an 
mftt^  being  thrown  olf  from  tba  orary,  an 
oovan  is  expelled  from  the  uterua,and  I  oom- 
sare  the  locbial  to  tbe  menstrual  discbaige 
In  aniBBals,  the  piHrnomena  of  parturition 
are  more  strikingly  simibtf  to  thoseof  astru- 
ation ;  there  is  evidence  that  a  similar  state 
ol  the  ovaria  obtains.  For  instance,  the 
l^nea  pig  and  the  rabbit  will  admit  tbe  male 
immediately  after  deiivery.and  conception 
iprill  follow  tbe  congn>ss.  In  the  mare  also, 
%,  few  davs  after  foaling  is  the  time  chosen 
for  tbe  admission  of  tbe  male.  On  these  and 
other  gmunds  I  believe  tbe  ovana  to  be  the 
exeitora  of  the  first  coiitmction  of  the  uterus 
in  parturition,  but  I  am  engaced  in  testing 
ilbe  matter  experinentaily.  T  shall  excise 
the  oviuia  in  animals  which  have  conceived, 
and  note, the  results. 

Tbeefiectof  the  equable  contraction  of 
the  uterus  first  induced,  is, as  I  have  said,  to 
ur^e  tbe  bead  of  the  child  against  the  os 
meri.  This  is  the  most  excitabte  part  of  the 
uterus,  and  after  a  time,  irritation  of  tbe  os 
and  cervix  call  forth  the  pains  which  consti- 
tute, the  commencement  of  actual  labour. 
Xbe  efiecis  of  irritation  of  tbe  os  uteri  aie 
ahown  in  cases  of  premature  labour  induced 
by  irritation  in  this  situation,  as  by  tbe  in* 
|miitteii»o  of  a  plugt  and  by  certain  cases 


wheie,  fiott  the  pendoloos  stele  of  the  ult- 
ms,  the  head  cannot  be  biongbt  in  appoti- 
tifin  with  the  oe  uteri,  and  labour,  in  conse- 
quence, is  put  ofl  until  this  cause  of  inertia 
ia  reasoved  by  an  abdominal  bandage,  or  th^ 
prone  poeiiion.  Irritalioa,  then,  of  tbe  oa 
uteri  must  b«>  looked  oo  as  a  cause,  though, 
in  ordinary  cases,  a  secondary  cause,  of  the 
coming  on  of  labour.  1  believe  the  ovariaa 
nerves  and  the  nerves  of  the  os  uteri,  are  aa 
much  the  excitora  of  the  motor  actions  of 
parturition,  aa  tbe  pneumogastric  and  the 
trifacial  are  the  excitora  of  toe  motor  part  of 
respiration 

After  tbe  peraistence  of  tbe  premonitory 
stage  of  labour  for  a  certain  time,  actual  la- 
bor peine  eommence.  The  obj«*tt  now  to  he 
attained  ia  the  dilatation  of  the  os  uteri,  and 
[  therefore  propose  to  call  this  the  sTafiv  cf 
dUaUdioH.  Thioughout  this  stsge,  the  body 
and  fundus  contract  periodically.  The  con- 
tractions of  the  uterus  in  this  stage  are  net 
so  violent  as  they  subsequently  becoae. 
This  is  owing  to  the  contact  of  the  mem- 
branee  and  the  amniotic  fluid  with  the  oe 
uteri.  At  the  same  time  the  os  uteri  and  the 
vagina  dihite.  This  dilatation  is  eflected 
partly  by  the  meehanical  preesure  of  the 
membranes  and  the  advancing  bead  of  the 
fmtue,  but  the  os  uteri  possesses  a  foiiiive  m 
well  aa  a  pasnve  power  of  dilatation— a  di- 
latation similar  to  the  dilatation  of  tbe  car- 
dia  in  vomiting  or  deglutition.  This  pod- 
live  diiatation  is  shown  by  the  extreme  s«d- 
dennees  with  which  it  takea  place  after  the 
existence  of  previous  contraction,  and  by  the 
sudden  contraction  which  sometimes  occun 
immediately  after  tbe  birth  of  the  child,  aa 
encysts  i  paoenta.  The  perinaum,  in  the 
dilatation  of  which  is  jwattis,  never  contracts 
10  this  way.  It 's  also  shown  by  the  for^i 
of  tbe  hamorrbage  in  placenta  previa;  after 
the  separation  of  a  poition  of  tbe  placenta, 
bamorrbage  is  increased  during  tbe  pains ; 
if  tbe  dilatation  were  from  mere  pressure,  the 
hamorrhage  oufcht  to  cease  during  the  pains, 
and  come  on  in  the  intervals.  The  direction 
in  which  tbe  motor  force  is  exerted  in  the 
stage  of  dilatation  is  dowmrardi  and  back- 
wardst  m  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the  |*el- 
vic  inlets  In  this  stase  of  labour  the  motor 
actions  are  purely  of  a  reflex  kind,  tbe  ex- 
cilor  bein^  the  internal  surface  of  tbe  uterus, 
and  particularly  tbe  os  uteri  Tbe  centre  of 
the  nervous  arcs  involved  in  tbe  uterine  ao* 
tions  is  in  the  lower  part  of  tbe  spinal  mar- 
row. In  natural  cases,  emotion  doe.»nctat 
all  influence  this  stage  physiologically. 

During  the  itage  ^dilciaticn^  various  ex- 
tra uterine  reflex  actions  occur.  Tbe  actions 
of  the  bowels  and  of  the  bladder  are  excite^, 
and  in  many  cases  voimting  takes  pbice.  At 


^160 


PrmetiM  mkfiM^^  4^ 


lb«timeioftheooapl«tiMiol  iIm  dilaaition 
^tb»os  Qteri,  mfettl  rigora  Mfltcting  tht 
"Whole  muMular  flyittm  are  fi^qnMtly  ex- 
'periMic^.  Detecatioo  and  mictontion  luive 
;f  videiitly  a  beaeAcial  pirpoM  in  «nlai|tittg 
llie  capacity  of  th^  p^lria ;  the  natMea  and 
▼omtting  promotes  the  diJatation  of  the  oe 
^vleri,  and  is  a  preparation  lor  the  sxpimlory 
taction  of  the  next  stage. 

Inthe  next  stage  of  laiNmr,  the  head  of 
the  child  advances  through  the  vagina  to  the 
oe  exlernani;  this  I  propose  to  call  ihp 
ITagv  of  propulsion.  In  this  stage,  the 
whole  of  the  uterus  contracts  upon  the  child, 
Imt  new  motor  powers  are  now  brought  into 
play.  Irritation  of  the  os  uteri  only  excited 
'veftex  motor  action  in  the  nteras  itself,  hut 
irritation  of  the  vagina  excites  both  the  ute 
7I1S  and  the  respiratory  mnscles.  The  con- 
tmctions  are  also  more  violent,  because  the 
-Iiq«or  amnji  has  now  escaped,  and  the  bard 
;h«ad  and  body  of  the  child  are  in  direct  eon- 
••tt  with  the  excitor  surfaces.  A  t  the  com- 
iag  on  of  each  pain,  a  deep  inspiration  is 
IHken.  and  during  the  pain,  expiration  is 
protracted  as  mnch  as  possible  where  the 
pains  are  long.  They  consist,  as  far  as  the 
(Mfspiratory  system  is  concerned,  of  sfevcral 
aildden  and  deep  insptrations,  fotJowed  by 
-f rolonged  expimlfona.  At  the  height  6f  a 
pain  in  this  staire,  the  glottis  and  cardia  are 
ihmi,  the  abdominal  and  other  expiratory 
-msoles  contmoted,  and  the  diaphragm  inert, 
••s  in  vy)miti<iig.  All  obstetric  writers  have 
inaght  the  contraction  of  the  dtaphrwm  &n 
•»hig  thp.  iiains  of  this  staee ;  but  If  It  U  con^ 
««ider«*d  for-a. moment  that  the  diaphragm  is 
«  moecle  o(  inepirationy  while  the  parturient 
action  is  e^piialorr.  the  fallacy  of  such  a 
Tiewwill  be  evident  ft  is  true  that  the 
loor  of  the  diaphnurni  renfin^ns  plain  during 
the  eflbrt  at  expiration,  with  the  glottis  par- 
^fiallv  or  entirely  closel.  bnt  this  is  from  the 
JlMehanical  distension  of  the  chest  by  the 
'vontaioed  air,  not  from  active  contraction  of 
th^  mascle  itself. 

It  -will  be  seen,  that  in  the  sta^e  of  pro- 
vulsion  the  direction  in  Which  the  motor 
-Iwce  is  exerted,  is  diftrent  from  what  it 
-was  in  the  stage  of  dilatation.  "niediTec- 
tion  the  head  of  the  child  has  now'to  take  is 
dtwnwards  and  fonoardt,  instead  of  back- 
'Wafda  It  has  to  pass  through  the  lower 
Mf  of  the  peivic  segment  of  the  circlet^ 
Ciros,  in  the  direction  of  the  axis  of  the 
pelvic  outlet.  Obvionsly,  a  new  direction 
^f  the  motor  force  was  necessary  to  effect 
this,  and  it  is  supplied  by  the  addition  of 
the  expiratory  action  at  this  time.  The  ac- 
tion of  the  ab.lominal  mnscles  uixes  the  fnn- 
ias  uteri  backwards  against  the  spinal  co- 
'1^MBfi»  and  aasiala  la  giving  the  head  the 


pi  U|IUr  wITWUUII  vWllV  VWUKnip(  •QlvHa  W 

pelvis.  The  aeehaiiical  aiafltatictt  ttf  thb 
fioetal  head  to  fltis  progress' has  t^ftca^Ma 
dwelt  opon.  Another  object  tftcMl  kj  the 
expiratory  ttction  is  the  eompresnoQ  mihi 
utertM,  which  is  therehy  excited  Id  adntiaa- 
al  contraction 

In  this  stage  of  labonr,  the  nemNn  tro 
concerned  have  tbek  eerttfes  psrtly  in  tht 
lower  nodiHes  of  the  spinal  marrow,  and 
partly  in  the  medal  la  oblongata.  Tbeie  ii 
this  analogy  iietween  the  medulla  obfongifli 
and  the  lower  spinal  marrow,  that  in^  the  one 
are  congre^cd  the  keya  of  the  motor  vei 
of  respiration,- de^lmition,  and  their  varioai 
morbid  actions ;  in*  the  other,  the  centres  of 
the  motor  arcs  of  parturition,  deteeatimi, 
mictu ration,  ejaculatmn,  and  conception,  ai 
far  as  the  pelvic  viscera  are  concerned.  It 
cannot  but  be  considered  wonderfoK  that  th 
dilatation  of  the  os  titeri  should  only  exdH 
the  nervous  arc  concerned  in  vomitiift 
while  the  dihnation  of  the  vagma  »bovM 
only  excite  the  respiratory  arcs,  fi  Al 
stage  of  dilatatkin  the  motor  actions  an 
chiefly  reflex ;  bat  both  volition  aitJ  ew> 
tion  intervene  in  the  stage  of  popolnoi. 
The  patient  desifee  to  press  her  tret  nM 
some  fixed  body,  and  to  grasp  wili  *i 
bands,  io  ^<i  to  inctease  the*  power  of  As 
expimtoty  eflbirts.  When  the  \ma  «» 
moderate,  the  woman  utters  only  a  frakNf- 
ed  and  hitenn<ttent  groan,  owing  to' the  cm- 
tracts  state  of  the  ^ttis ;  but  Wbes  ftt 
saflering,  prodncAl  from  Hie  ^diMeiiticn  tl 
the  vagina,  is  excessive  and  anbesrabh,  tsi 
utters  a  toad  cry.  This  cry  is  -a  awHxifr 
tion,a'powerfal  expiratioa,  exerted  l«jrlit 
emotion  of  ihtense  suffering;  it  opens  tMi 
g'ottfs  widely,  and  ImaMdial^ly  wMi 
from  the olernie  s}titem  all  the extftntcftt 
piessvre.  Thas,  the  glottis  aisy  becomp* 
ed  to  a  safftyvalve  "which  is  opened  if 
emotion  whenever  the  pressoie  becomes  Mt 
powerful  to  be  borne  -with  safety. 

In  the  next  stage  the  child  is  hm,  ml 
have  caHed  this  the  sfffge  ofttpt^lMftm,  Tw 
birth  of  the  child  is  effected' by  the  p«»«t"W 
action  of  the  expiratory  imtsdes,  WiHi» 
glottis  and  cardia  closed,  and  by  siischjjj 
ous  contraction  of  the  uterus  ana  the  wW* 
parturient  canal.  At  the  moment  ^J^ 
the  vagina  is  retracted  over  the  hr^  «  «J 
Child  by  the  action  of  the  levatores  asi.  WJ 
positive  ditetatioo  %A  the  sphincter  aiil  •« 
sphincter  vesifM  oocars.  The  ditatatJOB  « 
these  sphincters  is  partly  pmdaced  by  ew^" 
tion,  and  partly  by  reflex  action.  "^'^^ 
a  most  impoffant  provision  for  ^^^^^^ 
the  perineum.  At  the  momeitt  ^•' Jf 
part  is  subject  to  the  greatest  awoantof^ 
tantion*  ihCM  two  sphtetait  mMm^^"^ 


IfrwMefil 


i>4«> 


«Ml 


ilNifott  and  JwUod  it.  We  m^  thw«9e« 
xeason  for  the  situation  of  tbeTuma  between 
'the  orifleea  of  the  ttcWm  and  bladder.  La- 
ceration occiin  generaJly  in  firat  hdxmrs,  and 
St  >hia,fotnt  .primjwiwwa  wowea  alien  wtfki^ 
'ivom  leelingii  of  deijoacy.  They  should  al- 
wafs  he  pre]mied  beforehand  for  involunta- 
«i)r«^ion  of  the  boweb  at  this  juncture,  and 


with  the  proprienr  «f  not  pierent- 

ing  it  by  volition  which  olheiwire  they  are^, 

^om  motives  of  delicacv,  prone  to  exert  af 

Retina.    A  napkin  snonid  be  placed  tcj 

:Meai««  aqy  tecal  matler  that  may  be  dts-j 

«chaqpL    The  rc^alation  of  the.gUctie  hjt 

emottoD  is  another  provision  for  the  defence 

of  the  mother  from*  laceration  at  this  period^ 

>At  the  moment  of  birth,  the  woman,  cdTectedl 

'anttmnoontfoUaMe-aftdtty,  mea  a  hmd  cryi 

^wbiah  by  oipening  theifloltis  widaly«  rrieas- 

es  the  uterus  from  aJJ  ezpiiatory  pressuie. 

'  This  completes  the  process  of  actual  la- 

'hoar.    The  phenomena  wh'ch  follow  are  so 

in  dfAisat,ihat  I  propose  to  treat  of  them 

.aaa  mtfiiUmet^  d^gi. 

When  the  body  of  the  child  is  born»  the 
contracting  uterus  follows  it  in  its  descent, 
tmd'the  action  of  the  uterus,  produced  by  the 
ifMtteaiilatieAoftheTeaina,  is  such,  that 
^iWNiy^caflfB  itaidwe  ttrowa  oft'  the  pla 
cenia*  md  lodffea  it  in  tho  apper  aart  of  the 
Tagina.  When  this  is  the  case,  the  presence 
of  the  placenta  in  the  va|cina»  and  the  irrita- 

Koi  thflraarlMtt'liDtti  whiah  tha  placenta 
bean  torn,  ue.gantnily  anlkiaat  to  an- 
•ure,  by  reflex  action,  the  contraction  of  the 
tttams,  and  topre  vent  hemorrhage.  The  ma- 
<imal'a»otiopi  also  tend  to  accomplish  this 
<flDd.  Tha  aeiiad  6f  tha4*ild^  voiee  aflM^ 
the  nation  of  the  uterus.  It  the  pfaMsenta 
doca  not  separate  immediately,  sliirht  irrits- 
^$km  thfamf^  the  looae  abdominai  walK  or 
jptntlalraatioa  of  tha  oont,  is  soifinrnr  to 
.<aiiM  its  expulsion.  Denman  recommended 
UlAt  the  placental  mass  fihould  be  allowed  to 
'iMMmi  a  conmderable  time  in  the  va^'na 
4H»aiiiipoaed  that  eoa|«alatioH  «f  the  blood, 
<fMW#ntat  ihe  moHMat  of  the  separation 
•of  tha^plaeeota,  was  thus  iavomdt.and  aftpr- 
pttna  diminished  as  a  consequence.  But 
this  plan  would  also  act  by  exciting  reflex, 
|iotion,.and  Iha  pefmanent  contiactioa  of  the 
utenia.  At  this  time  a  bandage  is  applied  to 
iha  aHJomen,  and  furnishes  another  gpuaran- 
tM^against  biemorrbage. 

The  vterus  haa  now  loat  its  areiit  exettor, 
^  tha  delivery  of  the  telwi,  hat  it  is  neeea- 
aary  that  the  uterus  should  be  stimulated  for 
H  conaiderable  time  in  order  to  promote  its 
velum  as  naariy  as  pcHtsthle  to  Its  pre-im- 
•J^rmated  atale.  This  is  provided  for  in  na- 
vm,  ^The  stomach  has  an  intimate  reflex 
^iMinlMitrith  the  atania  ti  all  timea,  hut 


iaMiie^iliiyatur  daHpv«f  y  Aia  is  mtj  Mueh 
incnaaed ;  vntiry  thing  the  patient  rfriafca 
nowexeitea  vterine  tontraetiona.  The-re^ 
flex  connection  between  themamma  and  irte^ 
laa  ia  imaeaaed  to  a  atHl  greater  dej:ree. 
The  nera  eight  of  the  chrM  will  sometimes 
auffice  to  cveala  the  eensatian  of  **tha 
draught?  in  te  breasts,  and  this  fe-aeta 
upon  Uie  utem&  Drinking  flaids  lilso  esD- 
eites  thednuigbt,  and  thus  the  stomach  ex* 
erts  an  indirect  action  on  the  uterus  besidaa 
its  proner  reflex  action.  Still  more  powes* 
ful  18  tne  act  of  suckling  the  child ;  distinct 
uterine  action  is  exacted  on  each  occasion* 
and  when  after-nains  are  present,  a  distinct 
pain  -is  regularly  produced  every  time  tha 
infant  ia  applied  to  the  breast.  These  dif- 
ferent sources  of  excitation  continue  for  soma 
time  after  delivery,  and  are  sufficient  to  re- 
store the  ulenis  to  the  istza  imtiNal  to  the 
unimpre^nated  state  in  women  who  have 
borne  children. 

No  oaa  can  refrain  from  admiring  the  site- 
cesaive  onjer  in  whiahtarioiis  excitor  po«^ 
ers  come  into  operalion  during  the  promea 
of  labour.  First,  according  to  my  belief,  the 
ovaria  evette  the  uterus,  while  this  organ  ia 
defended  from  the  ifvltatkm  of  the  foetus  t^ 
tha  liquoftiamaii,:  a  flnidi  of  itftoam  lempan- 
ture»a  medium  least  of  all  capable  of  exeip 
ting  tbat  reflex  action  of  which  the  uterus  ia 
so  susceptible.  Ne?  t,  the  head  of  the  child 
ia  brought  fn  apposition  whh  the  os  uteri» 
shielded;  haw«re%  iaaame  awaaam,  by  tha 
liaiiar  amnii,  «atil  tha  aa  ia  anfieieatly  dil*' 
ted  to  permit  it  to  pass ;  then*  the  nahad 
bead  and  body  of  the  chjid  come  in  contact 
with  the  highly  excitor  surface  of  the  vagi- 
aa  and  the  os  axtaitium  aaccessiv^ly.  After 
the  foetus  has  been  expaNed,  the  p3aof«ta 
takes  up  tha  train  of  excitation,  and  this  ia 
followed  by  the  gastric  and  mammary  suc- 
cession of  stimulus  and  action.  Not  less 
axtraordinafy  ia  the  gradaal  aainneatation  of 
motor  action,  from  the  simpla  equable  coo- 
traction  of  the  uterus  the  day  or  two  before 
labour,  to  the  grand  combination  of  muscu- 
lar actions,  which  marks  the  final  throes  that 
estpel  the  chiM. 

The  motar  power  of  the  uteraa  itself,  tha 
number  of  motor  oixans  involved  as  auxil^ 
iaries,  and  the  different  foims  of  muscular 
action  brought  into  action  during  its  pro- 
giaes,  mark  the  act  of  parturition  as  the  moat 
comprehensive  of  all  the  motor  functions  of 
the  animal  economy.  Taking  muscular 
irritability  as  the  basis,  wa  have  reflex  ac- 
tion, emotion  and  volition,  every  power,  in 
facti  which  exists,  whether  for  the  execation 
of  contraction  or  dilatation,  all  extensively 
and  simultaneously  engsged ;  the  end  of  au 
baingtha  safe  aecomptiahment  of  Mhrary. 


IM 


LaUnd  (Mtnmw€9  4fihe  S^me. 


claim— >•  iB«lead,  therefore,  of  dc^Murisg, 
»od  thiokiog  tbey  are  aboBdoiMd  in  & 
Jiour  of  their  dintresfi,  all  women  should  be* 
lieTe  and  find  comfort  io  the  leiection,  that 
they  are  at  thoce  times  under  the  peculiai 
care  of  Providence»  and  that  their  safety  in 


mtfaral  |ioeition  and  wonld  be  naiDfiUfisI 
there  under  the  healthy  and  natnial  action  ol 
the  musdee. 

We  hare  had  more  tfian  a  hmdrtd  turn 
ol  latere!  cnrratnre  of  the  spine  dutiog  tbi 
last  three  years,  every  one  of  whicb  wm 


childbirth  is  ensured  bv  more  numeroua  and  ;  '77'^  ^,T*  ™.,         7~  ^ 

oili«.r  I  connected  with  a  white  sweliiDf  on  the  poiip 


powerful  resourees  than  under  any 
cireumibtances»  though  to  apiiearance 

dangcroofl." 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


JULY  1, 1846. 


La«MBl  0«rvat«re«  of  the  tpiae. 

Miss  E.  L  H.,  aged  19  yeare  called  upon 
us  OD  the  16lh  of  March»  1846,  with  a  lat- 
eral curvature  of  the  f«piue.  The  posterior 
part  of  the  upper  and  princyn]  curve  in  the 
the  spine,  lay  under  the  right  scapula,  and 
its  deviation  there  from  the  median  line 
waa  an  inch  and  a  half.  It  waaabout  eight 
yeare  since  the  curve  commenced,  which  was 
now  imbedded  in  a  veritable  white  swelling 
of  the  scapula,  and  which,  by  the  expansion 
nf  the  mnseiea  gradually  drew  the  apine 
from  the  median  line  to  its  present  position, 
We  prescribed  the  msgnetized  gold  pills  and 
plaster  to  reduce  the  white  swelling,  and  di- 
rected her  to  go  home  and  use  these  reme- 
dies, and  return  here  on  the  firet  of  June, 
when  I  would  commence  magnetizing  thr 
spine. 

On  an  examination  at  the  end  of  this 
time,  we  found  the  white  swelling  greatly 
lessened  and  the  curve  reduced  one  half. 
We  now  commenced  magnetizing  the  spine 
once  a  day,  and  on  the  third  day  brought  i: 
up  to  its  place,  and  on  the  fourth  it  passed 
the  centre  under  the  action  of  the  machine, 
and  began  to  curve  to  the  left  side. 

We  magnetized  this  case  twelve  timep 
only  when  the  curve  being  reduced  to  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch,  we  directed  the  young  la 
dy  to  go  home  and  resume  the  use  of  the 
pills  and  plaster,  and  to  continue  their 
use  until  the  white  swelling  was  entirely 
reduced,  when  the  spine  would  resun^e  its 


leas  erior  side  of  the  curve. 

The  true  cause  of  lateral  curvatuiesoi  the 
spine  is  not  aaderalood  by  the  piofcisioa; 
tbey  are  alwtyi  caaea  of  tubereuhir  diNHl 
of  the  ifluscies  of  the  spine.  The  tnberco- 
latjons  or  white  swellings  are  always  on  &i 
posieiior  aide  of  the  curve*  and  ppodacs  tk 
deviationa  ol  the  tcrlebiv.  The  obfiM 
treatment,  therefore,  is  first  to  reduce  th^  ti- 
herculations,  when  the  vertebnD  mil  retan  H 
their  propei  place  of  their  own  aoeoi^ii' 
the  muscles  thus  reliefved  aad  resloied  «i 
retain  them  in  their  true  position.  Tettk 
regular  quacks  of  our  profession  conlinoeto 
recommend  that  aueh  patieala  be  1 
with  cuahioaa  aadapUata;  but 
them  aa  worae  dUm  uaeless,  we  sNsyi  n- 
move  them. 

The  importanoe  of  the  we  of  tbewCM^ 
i«ed  gold  piria  and  plaster  in  the»vu»^ 
be  seen  in  the  following  case  which  we  tidt* 
ed  and  published  before  vre  iatrodeoed  Ai 
use  of  the  magnetic  amchine  as  aaxiliiiy* 
the  cure. 

Miea  £.  B.,  of  Stretfoid,  Cone.,  W^ 
twelve  ytcra.  I  called  to  see  her  is  T^ 
!83f ,  and  on  an  examination  foumi  alittf* 


curvature  of  the  dorsal  vertebr«,aportioDa 
which  extended  under  and  laiaed  the  li^ 
.<4houldtt  blade.  The  right  hip  wis  Aj 
raised  above  the  left,  and  her  healdi  «■« 
strength  much  reduced. 

Prescribed  the  ihagnetic  remedies.  1^ 
plaster  lo  extend  the  whole  length  of  tie 
spine.  The  weight  of  her  body  wa»  "J* 
directed  to  be  snspended  by  her  ■"»»  J^ 
any  simple  contrivance,  as  by  taking  b* 
of  a  stick  puspended  from  a  ceiliflg,**** 
minutes,  five  or  six  times  a  day. 

I  called  to  see  her  again  the  laM  p«rt  «| 
April,  J840,when,  on  examinatioaei  *• 


wal  positioii,  and  her  health  and  strength 
iprae  perfectly  restored. 

jHi(BetM  lBMknM**n  #  toaded  uBpftoTwnMits> 

.  Id  answer  to  many  correapondents  who 
ask  oar  opinion  as  to  the  leality  and  impor- 
tance of  the  pretended  improvements  upon 
tte  Tihratory  magnetic  machine,  as  set  forth 
in  the.  advertisements  and  pnfis  of  certain 
yarties,  we  heg  to  say  that  thc^e  alleged  im- 
ytovements,  having  no  actual  existence,  are 
of  importance  only  to  the  pretenders  who 
get  credoloos  victims  to  believe  in  themw 
Therv  has  been  no  improvement  what* 
over  made  in  magnetic  nmefaines,  either  at 
llome  or  abroad,  since  we  introduced  the  vi- 
hfatory  instead  of  the  rotaiy  movement  in 
the  ooe  maaofactured  under  our  superin- 
iMidanee,  and  which  maintains  an  vndimin- 
ishcd  reputation  and  unriv^illed  sale.  If  any 
ieal  improvement  should  be  discovered,  our 
irieoda  and  patients  may  rest  aasured  that 
vreMialt  adopt  it,  at  the  earliest  moment; 
hut  nothing  of  the  kind  has  occurred  or  ap- 
pears even  in  prospect  We  have  no  doubt 
that  oar  machine,  which  is  always  manu- 
iKtaisd  of  superior  materials,  and  in  the 
heat  maoher,  conveys  a  greater  anraunt  of 
ihe  magnetic  forces  into  the  system  in  better 
adjusted  proportions,  and  with  less  iocon- 
lenienca  to  the  patient,  than  any  other  that 
koabeen  Mentationsly  fabricated  to  rival  it; 
and  the  infomriatioii  which  we  are  receiving. 
by  almost  every  mail,  of  its  almost  miracu 
louis  efiects,  in  a  far  greater  variety  of  cases 
than  it  was  originally  supposed  to  be  appli 
eahle  to,  fully  convinces  up  that  its  sphere  of 
Usefulness  is  widening  every  day,  and  wil 
extend  in  proportion  as  the  instrument  itselt 
hseomes  known  and  experimentally  tested. 

Similar  inquirietf  are  frequently  addresse 
to  us  concerning  the  rings,  bands,  and  belts 
teiittd  **  Galvanic,**  and  sold  in  connectioi 
with  a  bottle  full  of  liquid  called  "  The  Mag 
netic  Fluid  !»*  We  have  .alreafly  expresset. 
our  deliberate  opinion  of  these  nostrums,  an 
Bowt  repeat  that  t^y  have  no  other  effer 
than  that  which  (hey  may  derive  from  thi 


genial-  inagioalieiiaoi  ^loaewhoaM tlMU 
These  rings,  hands,  etc.,  are  compoeed  el 
small,  thin  pieces  of  zine  and  copper,  but  it 
is  well  known  that  these  ipetala  evolve  no 
foreea  until  they  are  acted  on  by  a  corrosive 
acid,  as  in  the  galvanic  battery.  Ringaof 
steel,  permanently  magnetized,  and  mail* 
tainingan  action  through  the  finger,  enn  or 
body,  between  the  opposite  poles,  have  a 
slight  eiect  ia  highly  sueeeptible  suhjceta; 
and  even  copper  and  zinc,  if  connected  at  the 
same  time  with  the  two  opposite  surfaces  of 
the  body,  namely,  the  mucous  and  serous, 
would  also  exert  an  action ;  but  when  hoik 
ate  applied  to  the  same  surfaee,  sa  is  the 
case  with  these  rings,  galvanism  is  evident* 
ly  out  of  the  question. 


Ooasvaptloa. 
We  would  again  direct  the  attention  of 
the  readers  of  this  Journal  to  the  importance 
of  the  use  oi  the  magnetic  machine  in  the 
treatment  of  tubercular  consumption,  aa  our 
experience  of  its  effects  in  Buwe'  than  350 
cases  of  this  disease  leaves  no  doubt  hut  it 
irreatly  assists  the  action  of  other  remedies 
in  reducing  tubercular  disease  of  the  lungs. 

These  cvies  were  all  distinguished  by  the 
magnetic  symptoms,  which  never  err;  and 
the  state  of  the  tubercnlations  was  often 
observed  through  clairvoyance  during  the 
progress  of  the  treatmrnt,a8  were  the  changes 
in  the  appearance  of  the  tubercles  from  the 
action  of  the  instrument. 

Of  164  cases  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  who 
visited  our  rooms  in  1844,  in  all  the  dif- 
ferent stages  of  the  disease,  we  lost  only 
Heven ;  and  of  203  who  visited  our  rooms  in 
1845,  we  have  lost  only  nine.    In  two  of 

hese  the  tuberculations  were  reduced  aa 
<«hown  by  the  magnetic  symptoms  and  by 
:lairvoyance,  but  both  died  of  mucous  die- 
'ase,  in  the  then  feeble  slate  of  the  lungs, 

n  consequence  of  colds. 

All  the  cases  were  fron  the  commence- 
nent  of  the  treatment,  under  the  action 
jf  the  magnetized  gold  pills  in  conjmnctkm 


EUcirical  EfecU  defmhf9d*lt^tMvmne  Battery. 


Mjoiitgr  of  the  c«mni  tlie  iiiBgn«tiM(d  faster 
!VnM> uasd  0t  the  «aai»tiiiie.  No  otkier  medi- 
<kim  were  «eed  in  Iheee  «Mise  ekeept  oeca- 
«ioiili1>7^dmreirt  aitideetapaliate  the  oough, 
«nfd  in  a  fe#  cam  the  Hardwood  Tar  6y rap, 
^itke  pill  eonpoeed  of  Hard  Bal.  Copa 
4eoM»  and  Sxl.  Uy«B ,  where  Ibe  tabercula- 
4idtM  wereaecompaaiBd  wltb  tfiatb  oittconft 
iheeaeetgenenUty'fltmi  eolite  After  (lie  tuber- 
«ie0'had  nearly  dieappeai«d. 


eOtt  eeme  Wkmnkmk  Bflbeie  D«f»lop«d  eUeay 

BT  OBOAOB  p.  T.  HILI.,  ICSQ  ,  FILBT. 

On  sending  a  carreot  of  electricity,  bj 
means  of  the  galvanic  batteir,  through  fine 
metallic  wires,  the  mo^t  refractory  mtftale 
are  fased  with  facility,  and  become  incande- 
ffieiit  ifthiu  melaUk  leasee  be  eaiplayed, 
Ihey.burn  wiih  great  .briiliftncy»  being,  disei- 
fated  into  vapor.  Now,  on  the  supposition 
that  the  space  between  the  ultimate  atoms  of 
a  body,  jjfidependeat  df  Ufe  several  forces 
that  imay'  be  rvuMgai  towud  them  are  en- 
lirejjr  oGCHpitti  b^^ heal,  I  think  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  lattei  substance,  as  exemplified  in 
the  above  cases,  may  be  satisfactorily  ac- 
counted for.  As  a  consequence  of  the  law, 
tbtat  no  two  bojies  ^n  occupy  the  same 
tpaoe  at  the  same  time,  we  inay  suppose 
tool  fhe  addition  of  electricity  to  a  aiib- 
fftanee  eaasea  ila  iieat  of  cooshinatiM  to  be 
•volvadtAndlhastobeooiwaaenKihle.  Ot^- 
arwise,  whence  arises  this  great  increase  of 
temperature?  The  caloric  must  obviously 
te  Kupplied  through  the  meJiuifi  of  one  or 
other  of  the  bodies  employed ;  and  if  we 
grant  this,  the  inquiry  naturally  presents  it- 
Mtfas'to  what  causes  its  evohttion.  Sup- 
fime  M  to  repie^ieai  a  body,  and  B  the  heat 
^  combiaalion  arranged  all  arouiid  it  Now, 
£f  we  add  to  this  a  portion  of  electricity,  C, 
on  the  supposition  that  this  is  materia', a  dis- 
phioement  of  part  of  the  specific  heat,  B, 
Mist  take  place  or  the  bodybe  oonaidenibly 
eulaiged.  We  fuid  tbattait  is€volved,«md 
must,  I  conceive,  consider  the  specific  beat 
of  the  bojly  to  have  been  lessened,  for  any 
ether  source  from  which  this  rise  of  temper- 
ature could  have  been  deui^  is  unknown. 
The  form  of  the  body  remains  unchan^d, 
lor,  a»  the  specific  heat  is  replaced,  atom  for 


takaflAoa.  Tke<«vDl«eiliJMet  win 
its  action  upon  the  body,  which,  as. iaeiA- 
nary  circumstances,  assumes  the.  Uqoidkxv, 
and  becomes  incandeicent    . 

In  these  experiments  we  find  goaatiljref 
electricity  to  be  the  aole  cei|Bisae.  Xte 
large  battery  of  Children,  though  capable  of 
fusing  aevei^l  leet  of  piatiaum  win, had 
an  intensity  so  feeble  as  not  sea^f  to 
cause  a  divergence  of  the  gold  leaves  of  thi 
electrometer.  This  is  p^fectly  in  accoid- 
ance  with  the  above  theory,  fnr  it  is  deit 
that  the  laiger  the  addition  of  elecMcity,  thi 
greater  the  dimination  of  speciiifr  Itttk 
whether  the  tension- be  high  or  kiv.  M 
the  evolved  heat  proceed  from  the  electiae 
fluid  Itself,  we  should  cf  coume  expect  tbit 
intensity  as  well  as  quantity  would  ^  i» 
quired  for  the  prodnotion  of  theaa  dfon 
this  we  know,  not  to  be  the  case,  i^*^ 
consider  the  circumstance  stated  by  DalMi 
that  the  specific  heats  of  bodies  are  greiltf 
at  high  than  low  temperatures,  to  fe  afl 
obfltaoie  to  the  reception  ol  the  aboie,Mf 
to  use  an  expreaaion  of  the  lata  Or.  TiM 
these  phenomena  •*  have  been  investigW 
only  for  matter  when'i'n  its  ordinary  rttti 
%?id  probably  do  not  apply  in  cases  ef  eitt' 
trie  esciteBBeat''  On  the  oAer  haaAJA- 
creaaeof  specific  heat  oauaasan  etoMMl 
electricty.  Harris  detected  ekctrid^^l^o^fP 
in  exceedingly  minute  quautity,  in  tbe  tn^ 
oration  of  distirteri  water  from  platinott  ««• 
aekf,  when- the  ptesenoe  of  any  ehea**** 
tkm  .waa  out  of  tha  qMatioa.  li  «fc»«J 
have,fhenoneaa  diiecUy.cy^poeed^ta  tbe|M- 
mer,  but  I  think  they  may  be  considered* 
more  anomalous  than  the  fact,  that  vaJg 
vapdr  should  be  decomposed  by  mero 
iron,  heated  10  pedneaa ;  and  that  &»  t*« 
thuagenerated  ahoidd  in  its  tnfii«be m^ 
posable  hy  a  atream of  hydrqgeagas.  ^^r 
prebend,  then  that  there  are  other  caW* 
operation  which  modify  the  effects  of  twij 
most  subtle  and  dMheive  bodies,  heat  m 
ielectricity.  In  the  eondeaaation  af  "9^ 
vapor,  the  objects  in  contact  with  it  hl^M 
show  signs  of  electric  excitement  F*  * 
I  portion  of  vaj)or  contains  mote  dpeciBC  v» 
and  iess  specific  e^ectT^city,  than  the  !•■• 
when  liquid*  and,  thei«fon»  before  ^'^j^ 
sume  this  form,  it  must  receive  electiiWT 
from  aurrottndiog  objotts,  Whi^  lhai«- 
hibit  signs  of  its  emisaioB. 

No  heat  is  evolved  when  a  cnnwteifjjj 
itive  or  negatave  electricity  only  is  |»i«* 
(along  a  bo(ly,  for  in  this  case  the  wp*"* 
fof  the  panicles  confines  the  fluid  to  *«  ■Jf' 
jface  alone,  where  it  cannot  laiaenet  !■•»• 


•Uoincity,  no 


ma  poMibigr 


la  we  speemc  neat  is  replaced, atom  lor  i*-*^  ••""^.  ^«^.^  .•  ^.... --._  ^1^ 

vor  lather  voliMM  lor  volnme,  by  the  jteni^anmngereentaof  thacoBdnciae.-^w 


fUm 


r 


Ditmum^  OkHinm. 


im 


Ob  lk«  S«MMSftil  Tr«»tm«At  of  Orariaa 
Dropsf, 

BY  WIUIAV  SOOLBS,  UOi, 

mS«BMi  V«  TBS  MtAI.  MMIB  aoSKTAft,  LOHBOH. 

1  have  lately  had  a  patient  who  had  been 
mhjected  to  Mr.  fiiown'a  treatment,*  and,  in 
ili«tice  10  XhM  geottemea,  I  rnaat  sajr  that  1 
belleye  he  has  lleen  aoccesefal  in  curing  her. 
I  mention  it,  briefly,  at  this  time,  becaiiM 

Eblic  clamour  appears  to  be  directed  against 
I  doctrines;  and,  moreoyer,  in  common 
iainiesB  he  ought  himself  to  have  the  oppor- 
tanitj  o!  stating  the  case,  as  doubtless  he 
will,  in  detail. 

The  patient  was  a  manied  lady,  about 
thirty  years  of  age,  who  had  bad  two  chiid- 
nn  and  one  miscarriage.  She  first  consulted 
llie  in  the  spring  of  last  year«  having  previ- 
dnsf  J  been  under  the  judicious  care  or  Mr. 
Knags9,  of  Camden  Town.  When  she  pre- 
iented  herself  to  me  sbe  had  considerable 
abdominal  enlargement,  general  emaciation, 
and  great  depression  of  spirits.  An  altera- 
tive course  of  treatment  was  suggested  and 
adopted,  but  without  any  beneficial  effect. 
Dr.  Blundell  was  consulted,  as  also»  subse- 
quent!?, was  Dr.  Henry  Davies  The  opin- 
ion or  both  these  gentlemen  was,  that  the 
disease  was  ovarian  dropsy ;  but  no  special 
treatment  was  recommended.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  December  last  I  was  requested  to 
meet  Mr.  Brown.  His  opinion  was,  that  it 
was  a  case  in  which  his  mode  of  treatment 
would  be  successlul.  I  confess  T  was  some- 
what sceptical  upon  this  point;  but  in  the 
ahsence  of  all  experience  of  his  plan,  I  could 
not  so  much  as  venture  an  opinion  respect- 
ing it.  The  treannent,  however,  wa»forth- 
with,  commenced ;  mercurial  frictions,  diu- 
retics, and  tight  bandaging  of  the  abdomen 
with  a  flannel  roller,  were  the  means  ap- 
plied. In  ten  days  ptyalism  was  produced, 
and  the  size  of  the  abdomen  was  reduced 
from  thirty-four  and  a  half  to  thirty  two 
Inches.  1  am  not  satisfied,  in  my  own  mind, 
that  this  rfHiuction  in  size  resulted  from  di- 
minution of  the  cyst  as  Mr.  Brown  believes. 
I  would  rather  attribute  it  to  the  absorption 
of  the  tissues  caused  by  the  salivation,  and 
consequent  loss  of  nutriment ;  these,  how- 
ever, are  matters  which  may  be  passed  over. 
Tapping  was  now  performed,  and  nine  pints 
and  a  half  of  fluid  were  drawn  off ;  the  ab- 
domen was  again  very  tightly  bandaged,  an^ 
the  diuretic  medicines  continued. 

The  case,  at  this  time,  seems  to  be  per- 
fectly cared.  The  lady  pronounces  herself 
to  hie  in  better  health  than  she  has  been  in 
for  yean;   sbe  is,  consequently,  in  high 


apirfts*  can  w»ik  ahoit'with  eva,  ani  i» 
daily  gaining  ifesb.  I  hava  said»  the  casfr 
seems  to  be  perfectly  eared ;  hot  I  am  not 
insensible  that  thaw  are  early  days  to  aniye 
at  such  a  conclvMoa.  What  I  meui  is,  that 
at  present  there  is  not  the  sliffhtest  appear^^ 
ance  of  the  le-accomalation  oifluid.  I  shall' 
watch  the  case  narrowly^  and  if,  at  the  end* 
of  six  or  twelve  months,  there  should  be 
any  indication  of  a  ralurn  of  the  disease,  I* 
will,  if  yon  will  allow  me,  pvblish  the  f^ 
in  the  pageaof  The  Limobt.  I  would  beg 
leave,  in  conclnsion,  to  recommend  to  my 
profeAAional  brethren  th#»  admion  of  th?a 
mode  oi  treatlne  ovarian  dropsy,  so  that  the 
merits  of  the  plan  may  be  fairfy  tested.  In 
any  cases  that  may  occnr  in  my  own  prao* 
tice,  I  shall  most  assuredly  have  recourse  to 
it,  and  I  will  trouble  you  with  a  faithful  re^^ 
cord  of  the  results,  feeling  certain  that  your 
pages  will  always  be  open  to  the  discussion 
of  matters  of  so  practical  a  natnie.— /6. 


Diss 


•f  OliiMrsB. 


^Tide  Case,  oa^. 


In  the  January  rumber  of  the  Cltniqvm  dm 
Uofitauxda  £i\fan$i  we  find  various  inter- 
esting articles,  of  whjch  the  following  is  the 
analysis : — 

11.  OasrssBt  on  tfM  Iniasiiee  of  Baohltls  on 
Vraoiwos  la  Olittdisn* 

From  statistical  researches  founded  on  a 
medium  of  eighty  cases  of  fracture,  yearly, 
we  have  remarked  that  about  a  third  of  the 
fractures  which  we  observe,  occur  in  rach- 
itic children.  The  circumstances  which  pre- 
dispose them  to  fractures  are  two- fold  ;  the 
anatomical  structure  of  the  rachitic  bones, 
and*  the  great  weakness  of  rachitic  children, 
which  exposes  them  to  frequent  falls.  The 
structure  of  rachitic  bones  varies  according 
to  the  period  of  the  disease.  In  the  first  pe* 
riod  the  spongy  tissue  is  gorged  with  blood, 
more  especiflJly  in  the  extremities  of  the 
long  bones.  In  the  second  stage,  the  vascu- 
lar system  is  still  more  developed,  the  com- 
pact tissue  softens,  the  mednllary  canal  be* 
comes  larger,  and  the  bones  bend  in  various 
directions.  In  the  third  priod  the  disease 
remains  stationary,  and  improves,  the  cel- 
lular structure  becoming  less  vascular,  and 
the  bones  regaining  a  certain  degree  of  hard- 
ness The  predominant  feature  in  these  va- 
rious states  IS  extreme  fragility  of  \he  bones. 
This  fragility  however,  is  fortunately  com* 
pensa*ed  by  the  thickness  of  the  pe/iosteum 
in  children  generally,  and  more  especially  in 
rachitic  children. 

The  symptoms  of  fracture  in  rachitic  chil- 
dren are  very  different  from  those  which  are 
met  with  under  other  circumstances.    Them 


MA 


Mi8cdUm$9U$  B^m$. 


i»  no  erepitetion,  owniK  to  \\m  witiieM  of 
the  bones ;  ciften  oo  defoimitT,  on  account 
•f  the  perioetic  coreiing ;  and  when  defor- 
mitj  exiffte  there  is  nooieane  of  distinguish- 
ing it  from  the  ennraturts  that  are  so  fre 
gaent  in  rachitic  childfen.  These  are  the 
onljf  symptoms  which  enable  us  to  recog- 
ognise  the  fracture : — Ist.  Abnormal  mobu- 
itr  of  the  bones  modified  by  the  resistance 
01  the  penosteun;  2nd.  Flexibility  of  the 
^mb  at  the  seat  of  fracture,  if  the  ex- 
istence of  fracture  is  not  recognised,  or 
if  a  lengthened  period  elapses  before  the  sur 
fson  is  called  in,  the  |ieriosteum  may  be 
raptured,  and  then  the  sicns  of  fracture  be- 
come mom  appaient.  There  is  then  defor- 
mity riding  of  the  fragments,  and  eyen 
crepitation,  when  the  gpueral  rachitic  af- 
fection is  not  too  advanced. 

The  svmptoms  of  fracture  persiet  a  long 
while  after  the  accident,  e?en  when  it  is 
treated  properly.  Fifteen  days  afterwards, 
the  fragments  are  generally  at:  II  found  move- 
able,  whereas  in  a  healthy  child  at  that  time, 
consolidation  has  alwajrs  taken  place.  Con  - 
solidation  is  thus  always  tardy,  and  the 
more  so  the  more  severe  the  general  disease 
In  addition  to  the  direct  unfavorable  influ- 
ence of  rickets,  there  are  other  nMbid  in- 
fluences to  which  the  patients  are  often  ex- 
posed. Thus,  they  are  frequently  attacked 
with  pneumonia,  bronchial  catarrh,  and 
eruptive  fevers,  to  which  ricketty  children 
are  extremely  predisposed,  these  diseases 
always  lengthening  the  treatment  of  t|ie 
fracture. 

M  Guersant  reduces  the  treatment  of 
these  fractuie«»  to  the  mere  application  of  a 
roller-bandage  applied  to  the  limb,  and  three 
or  four  small  splints  placed  at  the  seat  «f 
flie  fracture,  the  whole  being  again  kept  in 
place  by  another  circular  bandage.  The 
splints  must  not  be  allowed  to  rest  on  the 
osseous  protuberances,  le^^t  excoriations 
should  follow ;  this  is  the  more  important, 
as  the  extremities  of  the  long  bones  are 
morbidly  swollen.  The  entire  apparatus 
must  be  surrounded  with  a  piece  of  oil-skin, 
if  it  is  one  of  the  inferior  limbs  ibat  is  frac- 
tured, owing  to  the  circumstance  of  very 
young  children  often  wetting  tbeir  beii  JVl. 
Guersant  does  not  approve  of  any  other 
forms  of  apparatus,  all  kinds  of  padding  or 
cushions  being  sooj  destroyed,  and  the 
starch  bandage  being  softened,  by  the  con- 
tact of  the  urine. 

The  general  treatment  ought  to  consis* 
pricipa11y,asin  simple  rachitis, in  agoodand 
tonic  alimentation  Some  writers  have  lat- 
terly asserted  that  a  substantial  diet  is  not 
beneficial  in  rachitis ;  but  this  is  an  error 
which  may  be  explained  by  the  circnmslance 


of  substantial  food  being  sometimei  pvea 
too  suddenly  to  children  who  have  prrvi- 
ously  been  living  on  very  tow  dieL  Tte 
change  should  be  gradual,  so  «  b  tUow 
the  stomach  to  became  aocustomed  to  tbt 
difierence  in  the  food. 


M.  Bri«kM«a«  on  th«  Antagoalim  of  A|M. 
aad  •t  FnlxBOBBf  7  OonsomptioB. 

This  question  has  been  much  discaesed  of 
ate  by  French  medical  practitioners,  as  oar 
readers  are  well  aware.  M.  Bricbetesnr 
physician  to  the  *•  Hospital  Necker,*'  anal- 
yzes the  various  communications  that  have 
appeared  on  the  subject,  includin(c  dora- 
ments  from  diilerent  parts  of  AlKeria,  fmn 
Bourdoanx,  Strasbourg,  Lyons,  the  depart- 
ment of  the  Ain,  Rochefort,  Rome,  &c  .--ill 
localities  in  which  intermittent  fever  is  rifsi 
--and  appears  to  come  to  the  conclosioa 
that  there  cannot  be  said  to  be  anlagonisa 
between  the  two  diseases— that  i8,exclMioi 
of  the  one  by  the  other;  althoueh  the  cir- 
cumstances which  favor  the  developementof 
intermittents  may  be,  and  in  all  prolitiMlIty 
are,  unfavorable  to  the  developement  oif 
phthisis.  M.  Bricheteau  thus  concludes  bit 
remarks : — 

**  Although,  on  examining  the  etiok^ 
of  these  diseases,  we  do  not  find  ineoopati- 
bility  between  the  causes  of  phtkisiti  and 
intermittent  fevers,  itia  impossible  imA  to le- 
cognise,  either  in  the  climate  of  mardby  dis- 
tricts or  in  the  influence  of  marshy  miasaola 
over  the  economy,  conditions  favorable  to 
tubercular  patients.  Our  knowledge  of  tbii 
/act  is  to  be  referred  to  the  aathors  of  tbe 
labors  which  we  have  enumerated.  Bnlia* 
stead  of  calling  to  our  assistance  some  ob- 
scure antagonizing  tendencies,  would  it  uk 
he  possible  to  account  for  this  kind  of  pn^ 
phylaxy,  by  attributing  it  to  the  moist  nni- 
form  heat  which  reigns  in  some  marshy  dis- 
iiicts,  and  which,  by  favoring  the  develop- 
ment of  fever,  may  imjped«  that  of  pulmona- 
ry tuberculization.  Does  no^  this  appear 
proved  by  what  takes  place  at  Stra^boiuXi 
where  the  climate  being  both  damp  and  coMf 
the  town  is  ravaged  by  intermitteot  ferer 
and  by  phthisis;  whereas  the  more  soolhert 
flepartnients  of  L'Ain,  La  Ni4vre,  Le  Tar. 
&c ,  are  decimated  bv  intermittent  feffWr 
^ut  offer  very  few  phthisical  patients?  We 
fUay  also  add  that  it  is  ipi possible  to  deoj 
that  in  all  countries  intermittent  fevers  pre-, 
serve  from  other  affisctions.  The  Dutch  ap- 
pear to  be  awaie  of  this  fact,  as  Boerhaare 
informs  us,  that  they  are  m  the  habit  « 
congratulating  themselTes  on  the  refora  » 
their  fevers.  The  same  Boffhaave.  slog 
with  HoffiiMDQ,  Laneiai,  aad  C|ds.iM», 


MiMdtoHeous  iltmt. 


wr 


^Ki^ght  that  loterinitteat  fevera  freed  us  from 
firtoosdisk^ses^aad  even  predi«poMUtolon 
gerity :  *  Febre8intirinittente8,ni8i  malignc. 
•d  longeritatem  disponunt,  et  depumnt  ab 
inveteratfs  mails.'  Some  reoeal  writers 
think  thai  typhus  fe^er  is  rarely  met  with 
in  countries  iava§ed  by  endtmic  latennit- 
tents.*' 


^••••••s  ia 


th«  ]«ivMS    UlMffaiiMief  tlie 

XatMtlaas. 
Mr.  R.  W.  Smith  presented  a  speeimeii 
of  abecesMs  of  the   iver^  which  were  uOi 
iadicaled  by  symptoms  during  life,  at  least 
ao  far  as  the  history  of  the  case  was  kriown. 
The  subject  was  a  man  who  had  been  a  pa- 
tient in  the  Talbot  Dispensary,  was  after- 
wards  in  the  Jbrris-street  Uoepital,  and  last- 
ly in  the  Whitworth  Hospital.     During  th« 
last  three  months  he  wa^i  constantly  Mfhnng 
from  gastritis  and  gastro-enteritis.    He  had 
incontrollable  dysentery,  but  Toided  no  blood ; 
frequent  vomiting,  pain  in  the  epigastriam, 
hot  nerer  complained  of  pain  in  the  hy po- 
chon'r.um,  nor  in  the  shoulder;  had  no 
kuindice,  no  rigors,  nothing  which  could 
lead  to  the  belief  that  hepatic  disease  had 
existed.    The  dysenter)r  resisted  all  remedial 
jneaiia.    He  Kradualiy  oecane  worae ;  sin* 
gultns  came  on,  and  death  took  place.    On 
exanoining  the  abdominal  viscera  it  was 
found  that  the  great  intestine  was  ulcerated 
extensively.    The  ulcera  were  of  various 
sizes,  and  occupied  the  mucous  coat  in  the 
whole  extent  of  the  periephery  of  the  canal. 
Some  had  an  erysipelatous  aspect,  some  an 
ash-colored  surface.    In  the  stomach  there 
were  signs  of  chronic  gastritis.    The  mu- 
cous membrane  was  vascular  and  softened. 
The  liver  was  full  of  abscesses;  a  -very 
large  one  was  on  the  right  lobe.    This  was 
lined  with  a  strong  dense  membrane,  foi- 
ming  the  sac  of  the  abscess.    In  the  left 
lobe  were  three  ab6eniB«*s.    The  first  of 
these  that  was  cut  into  had  no  sac,  but  was 
sanounded  by  the  substance  of  the  liver  with 
-wbif  h  the  purulent  matter  was  in  contact 
TfaB  second  also  was  without  a  distinct  sac 
The  third,  which  might  be  termed  a  dissect- 
ing abscess,  was  bounded  by  the  diaphragm 
juiteriorly,  and  by  the  stomach  posteriorly, 
mad  had  separated  the  peritoneal  from  the 
<othef  coats  of  the  stomach.    The  formation 
of  abscesses  in  the  liver,  without  symptoms 
off  hepatic  disease,  has  been  lately  noticed 
in  ea^esof-ilysentery.* — DMin  Paifiolog- 
iesi  Society,  ApM,  1844. 


the spinchter.  In  twocases ta  whidi  hem* 
cently  adopted  this  tnatmsat,  the  opeialioii 
was  followed  by  a  prompt  cure. 

M.  Marchal  (de  Calvi)  has  lately  per- 
formed the  same  operations  on  a  man  labors 
ing  under  cancer  of  the  rectum.  His  pa- 
tient  suffered  intense  agony  at  the  time  xA 
.lefecation.  which  M.  Marchal  attnbated 
as  much  to  spasmodic  stmctum  of  the  anus 
as  to  the  piesence  of  the  cancerous  massw 
The  operation  was  followed  by  great  relief. 
^GazetU  (k$  Eo$piiaux, 


.  VaUela  « the  Tk«atmeat  «f  ]H«Mdt  Dea- 
tttloa. 

M.  Yalliex  relates  a  case  in  which  a 
young  girl  died  after  suffering  during  three 
weeks  from  symptoms  which  cou'd  only  be 
referred  to  difficult  dentition.    Her  consti* 
tuion  was  strong  and  her  health  bad  previ- 
ottidy  been  very  sood,  but  the  four  molar 
teeth  which  complete  the  second  dentition 
develrped  themselves  simultaneously, giving 
rise  to  intense  inflammation  of  the  gum  at 
the  angle  of  each  jaw.     M.  Yalleix  excised 
the  gum  which  covered  the  teeth,  but  only 
when  convulsions  had  already  appeared, 
and  without  any  beneficial  efkct    He  thinks 
that  the*  operation  ought  to  have  been  per- 
formed sooner,  and  that  whenever  there  are 
many  teeth  forcing  their  way  through  the 
gums,  and  the  general  reaction  is  severe,  it 
oui>:ht  to  be  resorted  to  at  once,  without 
waiting  for  the  appearance  of  serious  symp- 
toms, such  as  obstinate  vomiling,  abundant 
diarrhoea,  or  high  fever.    The  pain  of  the 
operation  is  trifling  compared  to  that  occa- 
sioned by  the  teeth  themselves,  and  when 
performed  early  it  wiil  often  disperse  a  host 
of  alarming  symptoms.    In  the  above  case, 
obstinate  bilious  vomiting  existed,  and  the 
state  of  the  stomach  soon  became  such  that 
the  smallest  quantity  of  fluid  was  rejected. 
This  symptom,  when  carried  to  such  an  ex- 
tent, is  always  serious,  and  is  generally  fol- 
lowed by  convulsions     The  appearance  of 
convulsion  was  preceded  during  several  days 
by  general  agitation,  strabismus,  swelling  of 
the  right  eye,  dilatation  and  immovability  of 
the  pupils.    The  convulsions  lasted  three 
davsand  ended  in  death,  notwithstanding 
the  most  energetic  treatment  — Lancet. 


M.  BieSrd's  Treatm«at  of  Indurated  Lympliat* 
ie  OaaflioBs. 
All  surgeons  know  how  difficult  it  is, 
generally  speaking,  to  bring  about  the  reso- 
lution of  lymphatic  gunglions  in  the  treat- 
Dlttslea  of  the  SpUaoter  in  ment  of  syphilitical  diseases;  the  measures 
Anal  riaswo.  usually  adopted  ~  leeches,  blisters,  and  re- 

11  Blandin  has  b*tterlyopereted  in  fissure  I  solution  ointments,  often  failing.    M.  Ri- 
dif  the  antu  by  the  siib-ciitaneoas  section  oil  cord  employs  at  the  hospital  a  much 


Ml 


MueelUmmuM^  Memm, 


•MVgctic  tMatflient,  destrovinsprogressiTely 
Ibe  fani^ioiiic  ohm  by  the  Vienna  paste, 
(potasea  fusa-and  quick  lime.) 

A  layer  of  the  cauKtlc  paste  is  ffrst  ap- 
plied to  tlw  taiDor.  When  theeaehar  falU 
aiHitlier  layer  ia  applied,  aiid  so  od  until  the 
hasifrol  the  tumor  is  approximated;  The 
thiokoesa  of  the  layer  must  then  be  dimin- 
ished, in  order  that  it  amy  not  attack  the 
atthjacenl. parts;  at  the  g^in,  for  instafvce, 
a  eaieJesa  operator  might  open  the  craral  ar- 
teiy.  There  are  always  futtlents  in  M.  Ri- 
cord's  wardit  uudei^going  this  treatment.  The 
caaAticaiiMmtoaciiB.!tvfo  waya;  k  de» 
atroys  a  part  of  tha  ganglionic  mans,  and 
];romotea  the  reaolutiou  oi  the  rest  by  eleva- 
ling  its  yiialily. 

M.  Marchai  (de  CalTi)  has  adopted  this 
node  of  treatment  at  the  Val  de  Grace,  in  a 
considerabJe  numberof  cases,  and  with  greal 
auecess.  When  it  does  not  appear  to  him 
applicahle,  he  combines  with  the  ordinary 
treaUnent  by  leeches,  b listers,  and  resolutive 
fhctionft,  the  daily  administralioB  of  from 
twelve  to  twenty-live  drops  of  the  tincture 
of  iodine.  He  does  not  iind  that  tha  iodine 
of  poUisium  produces  any  perceptible  iaflu 
aoce  on  these  ganglionic  indunuiona.-— 6^ 
zeUe  da  HopiUuuh 


Oa  th«  Contagions  Nature  of  Puerperal  Fovtr, 
and  its  Oonncotion  with  other  Diseases. 

Under  this  title.  Dr.  Peddie  details  in  the 
Edinburgh  Medical  and  SwgiuU  Jowmai, 
several  cases  which  occurrvd  in  bis  practice, 
and  which,  illustrating  the  highly  contaga* 
gtous  character  of  puerperal  fever,  show 
now  unwittinaJy  the  physician  may  be  made 
to  scatter,  in  his  progress,  the  seeds  of  de- 
struction and  death.  Independently  of  the 
facts  which  are  by  all  admitted,  Dr  Peddie's 
cases  confirm  the  experience  of  a  more  lim- 
ited number,  which  shows  that  puerperal 
fever  may  ori  inaie  Irom  the  contagion  of  a 
different  dl^ease, — in  this  inf^taiice,  erysipe- 
las,— and  they  morov«r  show  that  the  con* 
tagion  of  puerpsrai  fever  may  give  rise  to  a 
different  disease,  in  this  instance,  al^,  ery- 
sipelas. Mr.  iStorr,  of  Doncaster,  illustra- 
ted this  subject  in  the  Provincial  Joumait 
(No.  166,)  and  adduced  a  host  of  evidence 
from  his  own  painful  experience,  and  that 
of  several  other  practitioners.  The  follow- 
ing are  Dr.  Peddie's  conclusions.  One  in 
reference  to  treatment  is  omitted.  The  ob- 
servations are  not  judicious. 

*'l.  That  a  specific  vims,  of  an  animal' 
nature,  is  produced  under  certain  circum 
stances,  and  in  turn  generates  a  peculiar 
form  of  fever  ia  the  pueiperal  state. 


•«2.  Thai  that  viras  f lequently  origi^atai 
from  erysipelatous  inflammiktion. 

•«  3.  That,  when  once  generated, itnajf  W 
common ieated  fixim  one  lying-in  puientto 
another  with  extraordinary  viralepcc,  quilt 
independently  of  locality,  either  by  diKCl 
intereoafse,  or  through  the  medftoi  of  a 
third  person ;  and  that  ibis  is  more  likely  U> 
happen  when  the  piedispositions  of  a  mak 
tyedy  and>a  depressei  mtnd  exist. 

*•  4  That  it  may  produce  disease  of  «iri- 
ous  kinds  ia  non^pnerperal  individud8,moie 
especially  df  an  erysysipeiatous  and  {[bl^ 
heme  character. 

«<  5.  That  the  principal  concern  of  a  med* 
icai  man,  seeing  that  a  cure  is  bo  diificull 
and  so  very  caie,  should  be  ta  adopt  everj 
conceivable  precaution  a^nst  the  occur- 
rence of  a  single  case  cti  it,  or  to  iesBMi  the 
risk  of  its  propagation,  when  once  ests^ 
lisbed.  And  to  attain  these  ends,  pstieoli 
in  child  bed  should  either  not  be  attended  i( 
the  same  period  with  cases  of  mali|nai)toc 
severe  erysipelas,  or  that  proper  caotla 
should  he  observed  asto  ablutions, &c,iBOit 
e*^^pecially  after  contact  with  any  disdiais* 
from  them ;  and  that  when  a  pueipcnt  f^ 
%'er  cape  doea  occur,  leat  it  iihould  be  to» 
thing  more  than  sporadic,  chlorinaied  altli' 
ttons  and  change  of  garments  an  tat  n- 
quired>;  and  then,  should  a  second  cbk  oc^ 
cur,  it  would  be  the  safest  plan  for  the  prac- 
titioner to  abandon  the  practice  of  midwife- 
ry for  a  time— two  or  three  weeks,  if  po*- 
sible— and  in  the  interim  attempt  by  reoO' 
val  into  the  country,  warm  batbs,  and  otba 
alternative  and  purifying  nveans,  and  by  Ae 
exposure  of  the  dotbea  fo  a  free  atmo^p** 
or  to  a  high  temperature,  (ISO^drybeiU 
as  Dr.  Henry  recommends,  to  rid  himself  d 
the  subtle  virus  which  adheres  to  himwK- 
naciottsiy.** 


HOMIEOPATHT, 
Testimony  ef  Dr.  S.  KsnpkrfSf  Vt*«* 

*«  After  1 
upon  the 

last  5  years  1 ^ ^ . 

ced  the  New  Hamceopatbic  System,! doi» 
hesitate  to  recommend  it  as  a  most  ^^ 
peditiouM  and  certain  method  of  cnmg^ 
ease.  And  i  do  farther  assars  the  psw^ 
that  homa»pathy  is  no"  humbug,"* '*q""* 
cry"  or  ^»  emaiMitiott  of  a  disonleied  bisiiw 
as  alledged  by  its  interested  and  nscoP 
opponents— but  a  true  science  bwed  wpoM 
principal  or  law  of  nature,  a  discovriy^ 
an  invention,  an  immaiablopi<ncip}e,cocnj 
with  magnetism,  electncity,  or  the  law  • 
yegetable  liife.*^  K.  BvMjmn 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


Tol.   III. 


^HfiW-TOBZ,  OCKTOBEB,  1M0. 


'^ 


(jfm  tk«  DiMMtor.) 

TBAOTS  OH  OOHSUMPTZON. 

MUMBSR  FOUR 

Oa  Hm  KnabUttf  and  TrMt^cat  ol  Taker- 

oilar  Pkthlsls* 


By  J- 


.,M.D. 


Hitherto  it  has  been  our  chief  object  to 
point  oat  the  means — diagnostic  and  patho- 
logical— by  which  the  praciitioner  may  as* 
certain  the  condition  of  his  patient's  lungs 
in  Consumption ;  and  now  we  most  endea- 
vor to  show  how  be  may  make  this  know- 
Jedge  available  to  his  welfare.  In  presenting 
to  the  notice  of  physicians  a  new'  principle 
of  treatment  for  this  almost  hopeless  afiec- 
tion,  the  writer  trusts  to  be  able  to  sive  such 
leasons  for  its  introduction  as  will  sc^et^n 
him  from  the  imputation  of  empirical  ipie- 
samption  This  principle  calls  for  a  new 
application  of  remedies,  in  claiming  more 
tban  common  efficacy  for  which,  he  hopes  he 
may  not  be  considered  nndei  the  influence' 
of  mere  personal  vanity.  While  he  deems 
it  a  daij  to  give  publicity  to  carefully  exam- 
iaed  opinions  and  the  results  of  experience, 
he  is  anxious  to  escape  being  classed  with 
those  who  are  captivated  with  a  novelty  be- 
fore ther  have  examined  it,  and  who,  in 
their  enthusiasm  at  a  few  cases  of  real  or 
fancied  success,  place  no  limits  in  their  im« 
agination  to  the  importance  of  the  agents 
tued.  It  is  lather  his  wish  to  be  considertd 
among  those  who  view  novelties  in  medi- 
cine with  an  eye  of  skepticismT^-who  ex- 
amine their  properties  by  the  severest  rules 
of  reason,  and  who  satisfy  themselves  ol 
their  value  by  numerous  trials  before  advo- 
cating, or  even  admitting  their  utility  The 
administration  of  the  article  of  the  materia 
aedica  on  which  he  places  bis  chief  reli- 
ape^  did  not  originate  with  him ;  it  l)as  been 
long  used  yfith  apparent  soeceBS  by  an  emi- 


nent practitioner  of  New  York ;  but  he  haa 
had  sufficient  personal  evidence  of  its  power 
over  this  intractable  disease  to  be  satisned  of 
itsm^its.  IStill,  knowing  the  pronen^esof 
physicians  to  be  dsceiTedin  rmrd  to  the 
virtues  of  a  medteine  that  they  have  either 
intro(hiced  or  advocated,  and  acting  in  eon^ 
formity  with  the  principles  of  medical  duty, 
above  referred  to,  he  has  refrained,  for  sefve- 
rai  years,  from  urging  its  employment  wiilf 
that  high  toned  confiiWDoe  which  usually  afr* ' 
companies  a  favoiite  and  important  remedy. 
Aware  thai  it  has  heretofore  been  found 
every  proposed  reaedy  for  oonmmption  hav- 
proved  unsuccesafnl  m  the  hand^  of  other 
physicians  than  those  who  originally  ased 
It,  or  a  few  blind  adniifers  ami  fdiowen* 
and  un wilting  to  renew  such  a  result,  or  ta- 
plaoe  too  much  reliance  on  his  own  cfr  any 
single  judgment,  he  has  suggested  the  use  of 
his  remedy  to  several  of  his  professional 
brethren  placed  above  the  feelings  aikided 
to  In  their  hands  his  experimeiitB  have 
been  -repeated,  and  with  a  ooneunence  ia 
opinion  as  to  their  value  highly  gretifyingto 
his  leehngs  £xpres6in|^  these  optnione 
with  moderation  they  uniformlv  afj^ree  that 
the  introduction  of  his  remedy,  into  &e, 
treatment  of  Tubeicalar  Phthisis,  is  an  ae* 
quisition  to  the  healing  art,  siaee  its  use  id- 
ways  produces  beneficial  eflecu— remofin^ 
the  disease  in  its  early  stages,  and  when  it 
is  too  far  advanced  for  a  care  to  be  eibeled, 
checking  the  progress  of  tubetcles,  ailevia» 
ting  exi^ctoration  and  prolonjpng  life. 

This  new  plan  of  tiealuig  tuberealar 
(dithisis  is  so  far  from  superccthag  the  gene- 
ral principles  of  medicine  thhu  it  reeoins  a 
comprehensive  view  of  the  whole  disorder 
Ahould  be  taken,  and  an  adaptalioD  of  known 
remedies  to  particular  modifications  of  it 
should  be  employed.  Looking  to  the  state 
oi  the  een«titQtibn:aatliewbiMBe  aril  .ta  be 
remedied,  it  considers  the  local  aftction  a 


iro 


IVtids  on  Consumption. 


compuatirely  nniaiportant  consideration. — 
Gorrectnew  of  diagno9i»v  m>  essential  to  ihe 
jodieioiis  management  ef  any  distase,  is  in- 
ditpensible  to  tlus  eificacy  of  this  irealment 
because  it  is  found  lo  exert  no  salutary  con- 
trol oyer  aimuiated  consfimplion,  or  any  of 
the  ailments  wbicb  so  frequently  accompany 
and  complicate  (be  genuine  disease 

In  a  diaeaaer  wbicb,  like  consumption, af- 
fects tbe  system  generally,  and  has  many 
attendant  diaorders,  it  ia  not  to  be  expected 
tbat  tbe  use  of  any  medicine*  or  combina- 
tion of  medicines  can  afford  well  grounded 
bope  of  ramoWng  it  under  all  circumstan- 
ces. Useful  as  oar  remedy  unquestionably 
is»  it  will  be  found,  if  administered  on  tbe 
principle  of  a  specific — Kke  all  other  medica- 
ments so  conaidaied-^-to  produce  frequent 
disappointments.  Discrimination  must  be 
Qiaa  10  selecting  tbe  proper  stam  as  well 
aa  the  proper  cases  lor  ita  exbibitioB  ^  for, 
aa  in  every  other  disorder,  the  nature  and  ex 
tant  of  tbe  injury  must  guide  us  in  its  ad 
niniatiBtion  as  tney  wiu  form  tbe  meatfore 
of  its  efficacy.  It  has  been  our  endeavor  to 
ahoWf  tbioiighoQt  the  whok  tendency  of  our 
remarks,  that  we  are  not  unaware  of  Ihe 
fmeially  inflexible  and  mortal  character  of 
coii8amption»  atill,  we  believe  in,  and  shaJl 
iim  to  inculcate  the  possibility  of  continu- 
ing life  ander  ita  existence,  and  even  of  ef- 
iMittgf  in  a  lan»  proportion  ol  cases,  a  per- 
maoent  eara.  We  consider  tbat  as  certainly 
■a  morbific  poiaona  act  aa  pbyaieal  causes 
upoa  and^ impair  the  functions,  or  induce 
diflOfgaaixations  of  tiasues^  so  certainly  do 
madbinas,  by  aqaaHr  physical  agencies,  ro- 
atora  ibe  foriner»  and  put  a  stop  to  tbe  lat- 
tsr.  Tbat  there  is  within  tbe  scope  and 
raaipe  ol  the  materia  medica,  suMtances 
which  act  directly  on  the  morbrd  process  in 
coimamptioiir  so  aa  to  modify  tbe  constito- 
tioD  as  well  aa  check  the  increase  of  tuber- 
cles, is  a  position  aupported  by  numerous 
analogies*  and  confirmed  in  our  opinion  by 
a  close  and  somewhat  extensive  observe 


The  uniform  results  of  this  observation 
muthorise  the  assertion  that  where  consump- 
tion has  not  extended  beyond  itssimfrfe  con- 
atittttional  state,  tbe  principle  af  treatnient 
wa  advocate  will,  in  all  instances,  exert  a 
aaliUary  and  permanent  control  over  it. — 
And  when  the  accompanying  local  ininrv 
does  not  extend  beyond  tbe  presence  of  tu- 
bercles in  one  rcfpon  of  a  single  lung,  or,  as 
it  WAj  be  illostrated,  is  not  a-  greater  source 
of  initataon  and  auppaiation  than  tbat  ari- 
sing Icom  a  sword  thrust,  or  the  presence  of 
a  musket  bullet  in  tbe  lungs,  tbe  employ- 
ment of  our  remedies  wiU  always  wanant 
Ihe  hope  of  caring  the  disease.  Experience 
Indher'jwHito  tfaaMttf  that  4heaa  itme- 


dies  will  frequently  put  a  stop  to  tibercQlar 
giowth,  after  the  softening  and  de^truciive 
process  has  attained  a  considerable' extent; 
while  by  their  aid  the  sy^ieiD  may  be  freed 
fron»  tbe  iiiilatir}g  fluid,  and  tbe  patient  with 
a  diminished  respiratory  apparatus,  be  ena- 
bled to  live  in  tbe  enjoyment  of  a  certain  de- 
sjree  of  health.     Bwt  we  do  not  mean  to  im- 
ply that  when  the  whole  organ  of  the  hings 
is  extensively  di^organiied  by  the  presence 
of  tnbeicles^when  the  portion  remaining 
healthy  i«  not  sufficient  for  the  decarboniza- 
tion  of  the  little  blood  that  maybe  leltinan 
attenuated  body — it  would  not  be  unreason- 
able to  expect  a  cure.     In  siKb  QircumRtan- 
ces  a  favorable  result  ought  to  be  as  unlooked 
for  as  a  restoration  of  sight  when  tbe  orga- 
nization of  tbe  eye  is  dest  roved , or  "tbe  fuB<- 
lions  of  the  brain,  when  the  substance  of 
tbat  organ  is  reduced  by  disease  to  a  palta- 
ceous  mass."  And  yet,  it  is  to  t)e  consid'^red 
that  a  simple  affection  of  the  lungs,  how* 
ever  extensive,  is  seldom  tbe  cause  of  death 
in  coitsun»ption^  there  are  generally  super- 
added other  organic  lesions^  which,  though 
secondary,  are  nevertheless,  often  more  im- 
mediately fatal  than  the  primary  affection  it- 
self.      Thus,    tbe    colliquative  diairtof 
which  almost  always  attends  consumptionf 
and  is  tbe  resak  of  tubercular  stippuratioa 
and  irritative  inflammation  in  the  alimeDtiiy 
canal,  is  less  within  control,  and  indocey 
death  more  rapidly,  than  tbe  most  exteosT^ 
suppuration  in  tbe  longs.    The  affection  ol 
the  lutigs  may  be  participated  in  by  tbe  la- 
rynx, the  mesenteric  glands,  and  the  vari- 
ovs  jparenebymata,  constituting  a  generaltn- 
befcular  phthisis,  which,  of  course  must  fie 
more  beyond  tbe  power  of  medicines  lofltb- 
dne,*  than  if  con^ned  to  any  one  organ.— 
ECa^b  of  these  conrplications  adds  to  tbe  dif- 
ficulty of  treating  the  disease— increases  the 
mortality  of  its  character,  but  forms  no  ar- 
gument against  the  possibility  of  ctiriDf 
simple  palmonary  phthisis. 

The  difficulty  of  commanding  credena 
for  the  existence,  and  of  vindicating  the  tt- 
tle  of  medicaments  to  control  so  impnurnca- 
ble  a  disease  as  tubercntar  consumption  » 
universally  considered,  will  probably  be  as 
yreat  as  finding  the 'remedies  tbemselvw. 
While  the  sanahility  of  chronic  bronchitis, 
chronic  pleurisy,  and  the  other  imitations  of 
consumption  is  generally  admitted,  ft  is  con- 
tended tbat  the  disease  on  which  tbe  pro- 
cess of  tubercular  softening  depends  has 
never  yet  been  amenable  to  art  And  yet 
tbe  researches  of  Laennec  have  shown, 
what  the  experience  of  ever}'  day  since  brs 
time  has  tended  more  and  more  to  connnn, 
tbat  phthisis  not  nnfrequentlj  uodeiyowi 
spontaneons  cure.  Pstbological  cxtmisij 
i|ons  contisiially  nvmI  tfaa  appeafwii « 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


171 


crdtaceoQs  remains  which  can  only  be  regar- 
ded as  evidences  of  the  fornrter  existence  of 
tubercular  depoMtes;  while  the  investment 
of  pulmonary,  cavities  by  new  membranes, 
or  their  obliteration  by  cicatrices,  where  tu- 
bercular syinptoms  were  apparent  in  life, 
must  be  looked  upon  as  conclusive  proofs  of 
the  same  fact  it  may,  indeed,  be  said  that 
in  every  asJoi  chronic  phthisis  an  attempt 
at  cure  is  made  by  nalure,  and  in  most  estab- 
lished, the  £nai  success  of  which  is  only 
limited  by  the  extejit  of  new  disorganiza- 
tions exceeding  that  of  the  reparatory  pro- 
cess. To  aid  the  vital  recuperative  powers 
in  so  desirable  a  proceeding  it  would  be  only 
necessary  to  apply  sufficiently  early,  a  medi- 
cament which  should  so  neutialize  the 
morbific  cause  as  to  induce  a  change  in  the 
constitution  iticorapatible  with  the  further 
ptoeTCBs  of  the  disease.  This  may  not  be 
easily  accomplished,  but  it  ought  not  to  be 
deemed  beyond  the  reach  of  art. 
Modern  investigations  of  disease  show  that 
the  blood,  of  all  the  constituents  of  the  body, 
forms  the  moet  important  part  in  the  produc- 
tion and  continuance  of  morbid  cnanges, 
and  they,  also,  prove  that  it  can  be  modified 
in  its  character  by  aliments  and  other  agents 
— ^both  of  which  we  are  in  the  practice  of 
regulatiiig  and  administering  with  this  view. 
Equally  distinctly  recognized,  at  this  day, 
are  the  vital  and  plastic  properties  of  this 
fluid,  and,  it  follows,  the  extension  of  its 
office  beyond  the  supply  of  materials  for 
the  secretions,  to  the  production  of  such 
formations  as  tubercles.  The  knowledge  of 
these  important  facts  has  directed  the  atten- 
tion of  physicians  to  modifications  of  the 
physical  properties  and  inherent  qualities — 
vital  or  electrical — of  this  Duid  as  the  real 
causes  of  a  great  variety  of  diseases  Among 
morbid  affections  there  is  none  in  which  the 
phenomena,  indicating  alterations  in  the 
blood,  are  more  apparent  than  in  consump- 
tion. Hence,  there  is  not  only  no  necessary 
reason  for  despairing  that  such  a  change  may 
be  produced  in  it,  and  its  accompanying  dia- 
thesis by  medicaments,  as  may  effectually 
cut  off"  the  source  of  tubercles,  but  the  con- 
siderations above  mentioned  present  much 
ground  for  hope  that  these  effects  may  be 
easily  attained.  Indeed,  it  may  reasonably 
be  inferred,  from  the  comparative  diminution 
of  deaths  from  this  terrible  malady,  as  exhi- 
bited in  recent  tables  of  HiOrtality,  that  this 
change  and  a  subsequent  rure  takes  place 
more  frequently  than  the  public,  or  even  the 
generality  of  physicians  are  aware— the  lat- 
ter too  often  regarding  recoveries  from  repu- 
ted cousumption  as  evidences  of  error  in  di- 
agnosis, it  is  certain  that  if  the  blood  be 
puce  ebansed,  and  the  fonnatlon  of  matter 
checked,  tnere  is  nothing  in  (he  sfructure  of 


the  lungs  denying  to  the  lymphatics  or  i 
an  ability  to  remove  by  absorption  that  pie» 
viouslv  existing,  or  to  prevent  the  cavatiM 
foimed  by  expectoration  fro«n  healing.  *«  Ail 
that  we  know  of  the  action  of  the  absorb* 
ents  leads  us  to  believe  that  they  are  capable 
of  removing  tubercles;  and  toat  sttcn  aa 
operation,  to  a  certain  extent,  does  itailir 
take  place,  is  proved  by  the  dumges  whien 
that  substance  undergoes  in  its  progress  l» 
the  cretaceous  formation.'* 

It  has  been  shown,  in  a  previous  nimhcf' 
that  the  blood,  in  its  arterial,  exists  in  a  dif* 
ferent  electrical  r&ation  from  that  of  its  ve* 
nous  state,  and  several  reasons  were  given 
for  considering  that  the  difference  between 
them  attained  a  higher  exaltation  in  phthisis. 
In  the  same  number  f  it  was  contended  that 
in  the  process  bywhich  a  tubercle  was  formed 
the  capillaries,  which  pour  out  the  maltei 
constituting  it,  are  enlarged  from  an  increased 
expansible  force,  the  result  of  a  subversion 
of  the  ordinary  equilibrium,  or  chance  ci 
healthy  proportion  of  the  electrical  ffnid,  im- 
parting an  undue  preponderance  of  positive 
force.  Based  upon  tnie  discovery  in  regard 
to  the  blood,  we  have  bvilt  up  the  imer« 
structure  of  the  electrical  pathology  of  tuber- 
cular phthisis. . 

Now,  it  is  a  fundamental  law  of  eleetridtf, 
as  at  present  understood  and  explained,  that 
all  bodies  siroilarlv  electrified  repel  each 
other;  and  it  is,  farther  found  that  tnty  com** 
municate  the  proprrties  they  possess  to  in* 
tervening  simtances.  When  two  euiTCBts 
of  electricity  possessing  the  same  kind  ol 
eneiKy  are  brought  into  coirtacttfaey  not  only 
repel  each  other,  but  intervening  substances* 
as  a  feather,  partake  <A  the  repulsion,  and 
each  of  its  component  fibres  becomes  sdf*re-> 
pulsive,  and  in  fact,  expanded.  So  in  mag- 
netism,  if  similar  poles  be  brought  together 
they  not  only  repel  each  other,  but,  there 
can  be  no  doubt,  that  if  the  force  of  cohesion  in 
the  magnets  could  be  overcome,  every  mole- 
cule would  exert  this  repulsion  to  every 
other  molecule ;  and  it  is  easily  demonstmble 
that  if  iron  filings  be  interposed,  they  will 
manifest  this  repulsion  by  occupying  a  grea* 
ter  space,  or  as  in  the  case  of  the  feather,  by 
expanding.  Bodies,  then,  be  sides  being  len* 
dered  inductively  magnetic  or  electric  are  ex* 
panded  by  these  forces.!  The  opposite  phe- 
nomena of  attraction  and  contraction 
which  appear  on  the  appraaeh  ofbediia 
dissimilarly  electrified,  the  proximity  ol 
opposite  poles  of  magnets,  or  of  theposi- 


•  Number  2,  page  22. 
t  Ihid  2,  page  90. 

•  Sherwood's  a^ie  pow^r  ol  the  Hmaa 
System,  page  1^ 


172 


Tracts  on'  Consumption. 


tive  and  negatire  poles  of  a  galvanic  battery 
•d  bodies  having  free  motion,  are  pretty  well 
known  to  common  observation,  or  manifest- 
\f  follow  from  the  converse  of  the  previoup 
law.  These  properties  are  common  to  all 
kinds  of  matter,  and  can  be  made  apparent, 
at  least  in  all  aubstances  having  free  motion. 
It  IS,  therefore,  no  more  necessary  that  ani- 
mal tissaes  should  consist  of  any  particular 
•tructore  to  be  endowed  with  contracti  ity 
aad  expansibility  than  any  other  matter;  the 
arteries,  for  instance,  may  possess  these  pro- 
perties in  an  eminent  degree  without  their 
eoats  bein^  necessarily  muscular,  and  the 
aiUBcles  without  their  substance  bein ^  elas- 
tic. Upoh  these  universal  laws  we  found 
our  ideas  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  con- 
sumption and  the  application  of  medicines  to 
its  cure. 

It  was  also  stated,  in  our  second  number, 
diat  as  the  elements  of  nutrition  are  supplied 
to  the  capillaries,  in  common  with  every 
other  part  of  the  body,  by  the  blood,  unal- 
tered from  its  arterial  state,  it  must  be  obvious 
that  not  only  the  capillaries  but  all  the  tis- 
•oM  must  partake  of  the  nature  of  that  fluid 
The  blood,  again,  deriving  its  properties 
from  the  air  we  breathe,  and  the  ali(nents  we 
take  must  be  modified  by  the  conditions  of 
these  sources  of  vitality.  If,  from  the  un 
ivitable  state  of  these  elements  to  the  wants 
of  our  system,  a  redundancy  of  electricity 
flow  into  the  circulation, the  proportion  which 
exists  in  the  healthy  state  of  the  blood  must, 
of  course,  be  altered,  and  a  corresponding  ef- 
feet  will  be  produced  on  the  several  tissaes 
to  whose  ViUtrition  and  various  functions  it 
is  subservient.  In  health  we  may  suppose, 
the  quantity  of  electricity  received  into  the 
system,  and  essential  to  the  process  by  which 
the  tissues  are  maintained  and  renewed, 
bears  an  exact  ratio  to  the  <]uantity  dischar- 
ged in  the  operation  by  which  the  d«bris  of 
the  same  tissues  is  eliminated  from  the  sys- 
tem. The  molecules  of  matter  which  are 
deposited  by,  or  repelled  from,  one  set  of 
vessels  in  the  former  process,  are  attracted 
and  removed,  in  their  turn,  by  another  set  in 
the  latter,  and  thus  an  equilibrium  is  main- 
laiaed.  But  cietaneously  with  the  presence 
of  disease  this  equilibrium  is  subverted— 
there  is  either  a  preponderance  of  action  on 
the  part  of  the  serretories  or  of  the  absorbents: 
though  it  is  proper  to  admit  that  in  some  dis- 
eases there  may  be  a  deficiency  of  action  in 
ailher  or  both  of  these  structures.  We  have 
praseoted  several  considerations,  for  our  be- 
lief that  a  chanffe  in  the  electrical  condition 
of  arterial  blood,  ^ivin^  to  it  a  higher  state 
of  positive  excitation*  )s  the  first-  and  most 
important  link  in  the  chain  of  phenomena 
constituting  consumption.  If  this  be  true  it 
is  tliii  neeessi^  aa^  obvidas  aparae  of  the 


force  which  gives  rise  to  the  cxpanwon  o^ 
the  extreme  vessels,  whence  tubercleBspriag. 
The  general  effect  of  this  change  or  i^sturb- 
ance  is  to  impart  a  preponderance  of  action 
to  the  function  of  secretion  in  the  organs 
chiefly  affected ;  and,  it  would  seem,  an  in- 
crease of  absorption  pervades  every  other 
part  of  the  system. 

It  will,  probably,  be  con^^ered  vorlh 
while  to  enquire  whether  the  condition  of 
the  capillaries  implied  in  the  last  aentenee 
be  true,  and  whether,  if  true,  it  admits  of  a 
satisfactory  explanation  on  our  principles. 
There  is  certainly  in  every  case  of  consomp. 
tion  a  formation  of  morbid  products  in  m 
lungs,  and  a  general  waste  of  every  other 
part  of  the  system.  The  whole  tenor  of  our 
essay  shows  that  we  consider  the  formers 
consequence  of  an  expansion  of  the  capilla- 
ries enabling  them  to  transmit  more  than  the 
healthy  proportion  of  fluid.  According  to 
our  view  a  preponderance  of  electricity  in 
the  blood,  acting  as  a  morbific  cause,  uptf* 
ates  to  accelerate  the  secreting  fanction  in 
the  organ  to  which  it  is  specially  atlncted, 
and  we  consider  this  a  satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  the  first  effect.  But  in  what  wayii 
the  colliquative  diarrhea  and  profuse'sweit- 
ing— forming  the  sources  of  the  vaile 
which  are  as  distinguishing  characteiiM 
of  consumption  as  the  presence  of  tabefcole 
— produced  ?  Are  they  the  result  d  lie 
same  cause,  or  is  there  a  different  and  oppo- 
site one  )>roduced  from  the  attradioa  un 
absorption  of  the  electrical  energy  in  itB«- 
tfon  on  the  secretory  function  ?  We  shdl 
have  occasion  to  notice  this  subject  again ! 

Another  equally  important  though,  pff* 
haps,  more  explicable  question  is,  yrhja 
particular  tissue  or  tissues  come,  in  preier- 
ence  of  all  others,  under  the  infloence  of  a 
cause  which  appears  to  attack  the  whole 
system  through  so  general  a  channel  as  the 
ctrcuiation  ?  This  is  one  of  those  areanaol 
nature,  belonging  no  more  to  consumptioa 
than  to  any  other  complaint,  but  which  it 
has  been  thought  as  impossible  to  reveal  at 
the  fact  is  considered  certain.  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  supposed  in  explanation  of  it  that 
as  the  blood  is  both  the  common  pabohot 
for  the  supply  of  all  the  tissues,  ami  the  f^ 
hide  which  conveys  the  cause  oi  disease  H» 
those  tissues,  particular  relations  nay  ■"• 
between  the  agents  so  conveyed,  and  the  dif- 
ferent seats  of  disease.  In  consumption^ 
morbifie  electrical  blood  may  pass  through 
the  capillaries  of  various  tissues  in  a  stale  as 
far  opposite,  in  regard  to  electrical  tension, 
that  no  disturbance  of  function  or  derante- 
ment  of  properties  may  be  produced.  W 
when  arrived  at  a  structure  with  the  profsr* 
ti^s  of  which  they  hear  a  peculiar  elednw 
affinity  they  may  txoilfa  diataitoeewliid|» 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


173 


commencing  in  a  slight  change  of  function,  i 
becomes,  by  long,  continued  action,  a  .<eiious . 
lesion  of  structure.     But,  in  truth,  it  is  not, 
the  case  in  consumption,  nor,  in  any  other  | 
disease,  that  any  one  tissue  is  nlfectcd  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  others     The  glandular  sys- 
tem and  serous  tissues  may  be  more  pro:r  j. 
nenlly  involved  in  this  disease,  but  the  ner- 
vous power  ,the  digestive  mucous  membranes, 
(he  skin,  and  even  the  bones  partici))ate  in 
the  general  ruin.     Still,  there  is  a  manifest 
preference  given  to  a  particular  tissue,  but 
no  more  than  its  chemical  construction,  or 
particular  function,  would,  cause  to  result 
I        from  the  presence  in  the  blood  of  a  morbitic 
I        matter  for  which  it  had  an  affinity. 
I  In  ofiering  this  brief  opinion  respecting  the 

I        mode  of  operation  of  actions  so  minute  and 
obscure,  we  shall  be  satisfied  to  be  consider- 
ed as  making  an  approximation  to  a  rational 
explanation.    The  importance  oi  the  subject 
justifies  every  plausible  attempt  at  its  eluci- 
dation ;  for  whipn  we  shall  be  enabled  to  de- 
termine the  nature  of  the  attractions  that 
constitute  disease,  we  shall  have  advanced 
far  towards  an  ability  to  explain,  with  the 
certainty  that  attends  a  physical  fact,  the  ori- 
gin of  disease,  and  even  to  predict  its  pro- 
gress.   The  quantity  of  morbific  energy  re- 
qnired  to  produce  disease,  the  actions  and 
changes  it  induces,  the  kind  and  quality  of 
an  article  required  to  cure  it  will  follow. 
The  sources  of  this  knowledge  have  been 
overlooked,  or  have  been  supposed  to  be  be- 
yond the  reach  of  investigation,  but  with  the 
delicate  and  improved  electrical  instruments 
of  the  present  day  in  our  hands  we  need  not 
apprehend  failure  in  undertaking  the  analy- 
sis of  the  most  minute  physiological  or  pa- 
thological processes.     It  is  a  knowledge  to 
be  attained  by  careful,  and  no  doubt  elabo- 
I       rate  experiments  on  the  electricity  developed 
by  the  atmosphere  we  breathe,  and  by  the 
^      changes  aliments  undergo  in  the  process  of 
,       nutrition,  and  by  noting  their  effects  on  the 
different  tissues,  guided  in  all  our  efforts  by 
a   sound  physiology.    Nor  is  the  subject, 
great  as  it  is,  to  be  considered  so  vast  and 
complicated  that  the  genius  and  industry  of 
man — of  a  Liebig  for  instance — may  not  be 
adequate  to  reduce  all  the  phenomena  to  the 
simplicity    of   the    plainest    physiological 
facts. 

If  OUT  view  of  the  pathological  state  of 
consumption  be  correct,  it  is  clear  that  the 
j|[rand  principle  of  thempentics  must  consist 
in  restoring  a  health^r  equilibrium  to  the  ca- 
pillary system.  While  the  preponderance  of 
positive  electricity  continues  in  the  blood— 
tbiA  constituting  the  prime  morbific  cause  of 
the  disease;  no  approach  can  be  ma(*e  towards  < 
this  efiiict,  it  is,  tnereiore,  indispensibJe  to  a 
ma^cfiB^ivkX  treatment  of  consumption*   that^ 


this  ^rKit  fact  should  be  understood  and  its 
existence  counteracted.  All  medical  reason- 
ing proves  that  living  parts  are  endowed  with 
a  tendency  to  re'ieve  themselves  from  the 
operation  of  disease,  and  to  repair  the  dam- 
age it  may  have  effected,  provided  the  excit- 
ing or  morhitic  cau&e  be  removed.  The 
whole  power  and  scope  of  remedies  jjubably 
consist  in  simply  neutralizing  the  m(irbi(ic 
causes  of  diseases,  and  thus  f  nahling  the  af- 
fpcied  vessels,  or  other  structures,  to  recover 
thpir  natural  and  healthy  condition  by  hav- 
ing remove  I  from  them  all  stimulus  to  extra- 
ordinary action.  In  acute  diseases  this  ma^ 
take  p'ace  very  soon  after  the  excitement  is' 
withdrawn,  hut  in  chronic  ailments  a  long 
conliniK'(!^expan?ion  of  the  vessels  imparts 
to  them  new  habits  which  may  prevent  their 
recovering  their  natural  properties  long  after 
the  cause  i<s  neutralized  Consumption  being 
the  effect  of  a  protracted  and  continuous  ex- 
posure to  a  cause,  in  all  probability  constant- 
ly operating,  it  is  evident  that  the  disturbance 
of  equilibrium  in  the  forces  acting  upon  the 
capillary  system,  must,  if  it  cannot  be  chec- 
ked by  counteracting  agents,  go  on,  contin- 
ually adding  to  the  original  evil,  till  it  comes 
to  a  fatal  termination.  The  vessels  which 
form  the  tubercles  may  be  the  natural  capil- 
laries of  the  tissues,  but  modified  by  the 
cause  which  determines  the  character  of  the 
structure  they  are  intended  to  supply,  or 
they  may  be,  also,  a  prolongation  and  new 
growth --caused  by  the  redundant  expand- 
ing forces  brought  into  operation ;  and  by 
this  modification  or  new  growth  the  identity 
of  the  tubercles  is  preserved  and  nourished. 
The  creation  of  these  new  formations  forms 
the  stage  of  the  disease  which  is  understood 
as  tubercular  phthisis;  it  posseses  a  character 
entirely  different  from  that  which  constituted 
the  disease  at  its  oriirin,  and  which,  under 
the  term  tubercular  cachexia,  consi.sted  simp- 
ly in  derangement  of  the  blood  and  other 
fluids,  with,  perhaps,  a  very  slight  expansion 
of  the  capillaries.  Though  occupying  the 
secondary  station  in  the  relation  of  cause  and 
effect,  this  stage  assumes  the  position  of  the 
actual  disease  permanently  established  as  a 
part  ol  the  living  structure. 

As  the  predominance  of  morbid  action  in 
Ct>nsiimption  is  to  the  side  of  expansion, 
with  its  consequences  of  local  tuigescence 
and  the  deposition  of  new  substances  it  is 
obvious  that  the  therapeutic  indication  is  to 
administer  medicaments  which  will  neu- 
tralize or  annihilate  a  preternatural  state  ol 
the  blood,  be  attracted  to  the  diseased  parts, 
and  there  act  on  the  capillaries  as  lesseners 
of  fxpiiiisible  force.  The  same  principles, 
of  treatment  will  apply  to  the  new  forma- 
tions, because  it  is  the  character  of  all  such 
depositioni.to  be  stamped  with  (h«  properties 


174 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


of  the  immediate  tissue  in  wh'ch  they  origi- 
nafe,  or  rather,  by  the  condition  ot  the  blood 
in  the  capillaries  supplying  that  tissue-  If 
the  elec»rical  state  of  the  med'ciments  em- 
ployed be  one  opposed  to  the  electrical  state 
of  the  blood  they  must,  upon  entering  the 
circulation,  tend  to  neutralize  that  slate ;  and, 
it  follows,  if  received  into  it  in  sufficient 
quantity  they  may  chan'^e  it  to  eve )  an  op 
posite  condition  Neutralizing  or  changing 
the  properties  of  the  original  morbific  agent 
may  constitute,  in  fact,  the  sole  remedial 
agency  of  a  medicament ;  but  if  we  conceive 
its  action  as  further  directed  to  the  expanded 
and  enlarged  capillaii^sthatfurnishthe  matter 
of  tubercle,  we  can  readily  understand  that 
it  must  dispose  them  to  contract,  they  being 
also  in  an  opposite  electrical  state,  and  re- 
sume their  natural  size  and  healthy  func- 
tions. By  diminishing  or  cutting  off  the 
supply  of  diseased  fluids  to  a  tubercle,  its 
growtti  must  not  only  be  stopped,  but  at  the 
sane  (ime  its  constituents  must  be  placed  in 
a  state  favorable  to  decomposition,  and  thus 
brought  within  the  sphere  of  action  of  the 
absorbents 

The  facts  and  arguments  that  may  be  ad- 
<luced  in  support  of  the  opinions  that  there 
are  medicines  which  have  this  mode  of  ac- 
tion, and  that  it  depends  upon  their  electrical 
relation  to  the  diseased  structure,  appear 
quite  as  conclusive  as  those  brought  m  proof 
of  any  other  explanation  of  the  operation 
of  medicines.  We  see  from  the  action  of 
tartar  emetic  in  restraining  hemoptysis,  and 
the  acetate  of  lead  in  controlling  uterine 
hemorrhage,  that  these  salts  must  be  carried 
to  the  capillaries  of  diseased  organs,  and 
there,  by  diminishing  their  expansion,  stop 
the  discnarge,  8tren|then  the  tissue  and  cure 
the  disease.  Antimony  is  universally  re- 
cognized, by  the  profession,  as  possessing  the 
power  of  being  determined  to  the  capillaries 
generally,  ana  of  exerting  a  local  effect  in 
diminishing  the  targescence  of  inflammation 
and  congestion.  But  mercur^^with  less  evident 
e&ct  on  the  general  circulation  acts,  perhaps, 
even  more  on  the  capillaries,  and  with  appa- 
rently greaterpower  of  determination  to  dis- 
eased parts.  To  the  class  of  medicines  which 
enter  the  circulation,  and  are  capable,  by  a 
local  determination  and  certain  electrical  af- 
finities, of  diminishing  the  expansion  of 
diseased  capillaries,  iodine  unquestionably 
belongs.  The  property  by  which  this  pow- 
erful  medicament  removes  enlargement  of 
the  thyroid  gland  and  scrofulous  tumours, 
18  undoubtedly  by  diminishing  the  calibre  of 
their  capillaries,  and  thus  cutting  of!  the 
supply  of  fluids  by  which  the  diseases  are 
maintained.  By  contracting  the  expanded 
absorbents  in  dropsicai  aflectiens,  it  brings 
ihtra  into  a  healthy  condition,  and  imparta' 


the  tone  that  fits  them  for  renewing  the  ap- 
projiriate  function  that  was  lessened  or  sus- 
pended by  their  unnatural  dilatation.  Tbat 
it  is  simply  by  restoring  the  natural  size  and 
healthy  tone  to  the  absorbents,  and  not  as 
commonly  supposed,  by  stimulating  ibem  to 
extraordinary  action  that  iodine  ads  in  pro- 
moting the  absorption  of  tumors,  abscesses 
and  dropsical  fluids  is  a  fair  inference  from 
the  trivial  fact  that  many  persons  get  fat  un- 
der its  remedial  operation. 

The  evidence  that  medicaments  exert  a 
special  effect  on  the  capillaries  has  beeo  ren* 
dercd  stronger  by  the  demonstrations,  recent 
experiments  of  chemists  have  afforded,  that 
many  of  them  can  be  detected  in  the  blood, 
the  urine  and  in  the  saliva  of  persons  \vho 
have  taken  them,  it  must,  indeed,  be  rt 
garded  as  a  fundamental  principle  of  thera- 
peutics, one  on  which  is  oa-sed  the  utility  ol 
the  physician,that  every  medicine  has  a  nk- 
cial  action  on  some  tissue,  and  this  eSect 
though  modified  by  idiosyncracy,  or  saoie 
equally  inexplicable  circumstance,  is  appa- 
rent in  every  individual,  and  whether  ad« 
ministered  through  the  stomach,  byiojecDoii 
into  a  vein,  or  by  absorption  from  the  suiface. 
This  general  action  of  a  medicament proTCS 
that  it  jy  not  the  result  of  mere  sympailij. 
mechanical  action  or  local  irritation,  but  ih»l 
it  arises  from  a  specific  physical  cause  pro- 
ducing a  necessary  and  unavoidable  efed  in 
the  diseased  part  it  acts  upon.  What  more 
rational  explanation  of  this  influence  can  be 
offered  than  to  consider  that  theie  exists  an 
electrical  affinity  between  the  properties  « 
the  medicine  anS  those  of  the  capJllafiM* 
structure  whose  functions  it  is  administeiw 
to  modify  and  does  modify  ?  This  manner 
of  considering  the  modus  agendi  of  medicines 
may  bring  together  substances  which  ha« 
heretofore  been  considered  as  having  no  «i- 
finity  of  action,  as  well  as  separate  sudi « 
hj^ve  been  closely  allied.  But  though,  il  the 
principle  were  adoptei,  this  might  be  a  an* 
of  temporary  confusion,  it  will  be  found  on 
examination  to  substitute  simplicity  for  coo* 
plexity. 

This  view  of  the  operation  of  medicintt 
affords  a  plausible  if  not  a  satisfactory  ex- 
planation of  that  enigma  in  their  action  w 
which,  after  mixing  with  the  whole  maaot 
the  blood,  they  are  attracted  to  one  of]pB  is 
preference  to  all  others.  In  every  disei« 
there  is  an  inevitable  ebange  of  function,  ot 
greater  or  less  change  of  structure  of  one  or 
more  tissues  or  one  or  more  organs,  whid 
change  must  produce  altered  chemical  stalesi 
and  consequently  a  different  electrical  relalioo 
from  what  existed  in  health,  or  exists  in  the 
rest  of  the  body.  Let  us  sappose  thai  the 
extreme  veaaela,  or  the  minute  paieocbyat' 
torn  athxetoit  of  a  diseased  organ  presenti* 


] 


r 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


175 


preternatural  electro-positive condition.Tf  now 
we  introuuce  into  the  circulation  a  highly 
electro-negative  subs'ance  as  a  medicine,what 
will  be  its  relation  to  the  disease  ?    Unques- 
tionably there   will  be  a  very  great  mulual 
attraction  between  the  diseased  tissue  or  or- 
gan and  the  medicine- -a  strong  affinity  for 
each  other,  which  will  continue  till  each  is 
satisfied,  neutralized,  and,  if  the  electrical 
deviation  from  the  natural  state  of  the  part 
'       constitute  the  disease,  till  it  he  cured?    Like 
the  special  determination  of  the  causes  of 
'       disease,  medicaments  may  pass  through  the 
'       capillaries  of  various  tissues  without  pro- 
I       ducing  any  action  upon  them,  but  when  ar- 
'      rived  at  one  for  the  properties  of  which  they 
*       have  a  special  affinity,  a  new  action  will  be 
^       aet  up  which  must  be  either  beneficial  or  in- 
I       jurious.    But  when  the  two  opposite  elec- 
tricities of  a  disease  and  a  remedy  meet  in 


the  same  organ,  a  mutual  change  of  eleclriral 
properiiea  in  the  two  species  of  matter  must 
take  place,  which  ought,  upon  the  general 
principles  of  electricity,  to  be  accompanied 
by  movements  tending  to  restore  both  the 
functions  and  structure  of  the  diseased  part 
to  a  state  of  health.    This  view  of  the  state 
of  the  fluids  and  vessels  in  disease,  and  of 
the  action  of  medicines,  may  be  too  electri- 
cal for  those  who  imagine  it  to  be  impossible 
to  explain  the  phenomena  without  a  special 
power  like  a  vital  force,  but  it  certainly  ac- 
counts for  the  recognized  and  unexplained 
fact  that  certain  medicines  have  specific  de- 
terminations to  diseased  organs.    Tne  subject 
ifl  an  important  one,  and,  as  it  is  obviously 
a  fruitless  labor  to  seek  for  an  explanation 
of  it  in  the  mysteries  of  vital  action,  it  is 
worthy  of  further  examination  on  our  prin- 
ciple.    When  ouf  knowledge  respecting  thp 
manner  in  which  medicines  acton  the  differ- 
ent tissues  becomes  accurately  known,  we 
sfaall  be  able  to  lay  down  positive  rules  for 
their  administratio:^  and  with  a  confidence 
that  we  can  predict  unerring  results.  Already 
has  the  view  we  have  taken  of  their  action 
in  tubercular  disease  aided  in  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  a  more  minute  and  accurate  know- 
ledge of  its  pathology,  and  established,  in  the 
niinds  of  a  few  individuals,  a  more  rational 
and   consequently  more  effectual  mode  of 
treatment  than  has  heretofore  prevailed. 

Heretofore  the  principle  on  which  physi- 
cians have  acted  in  attempting  to  cure  dis- 
eases, has  consisted,  chiefly,  in  eliminating 
from  the  system,  by  gradual  but  hifi:hly  ex- 
hausting means,  the  supposed  morbific  cause. 
Bleeding,  in  addition  to  some  reputed,  but 
-raguely  understood  properties  of  relieving 
the  vascular  system,  is  considered  a  power- 
ful agent  by  which  portions  of  roorbinc  poi- 
son may  be  abstracted.  Purging,  with  a  si- 
BBilar  dfectoo  the  Teiieb,  apelf  it  from  the 


iving  body,  by  stimulating  its  excretory 
functions,  and  dischatging  the  products  of 
its  increased  action  through  the  natural  emun- 
ctories.  Emetics  and  diaphoretics,  and  indeed 
the  whole  class  of  stimulant  remedies,  are 
viewed  as  relieving  the  system  in  a  similar 
way.  It  is  only  in  a  few  diseases,  as  in 
syphilis  or  psora,  that  sp<^cific  remedies  are 
administered  with  a  view  to  neutralize  a 
poison  supposed  to  exist  in  the  blood;  and 
of  their  mode  of  operation  no  explanation 
has  been  offered,  with  the  exception  of  OQe 
by  Hahnemann  and  his  followers,  worthy  of 
a  moment's  consideration. 

The  knowledge  that  these  classes  of  medi- 
cines are  capable  of  removing  morbid  phe- 
nomena has  been  arrived  at  solely  by  obser- 
vation and  experience,  and,  therefore,  exclu- 
sively upon  empiiicat  principles.  Upon  these 
sources  of  information  phpicians  are  still 
dependent  for  their  perception  of  the  proper- 
ties of  remedial  agents,  and  their  effects  re- 
spectively on  the  animal  system.  The  diffi- 
culties attending  the  determination  of  the 
value  of  medicines  administered  on  this 
principle  aie  acknowledged  to  be  great ;  and 
they  are  unfortunately  considered  insur- 
mountable. There  is  nothing  in  the  known 
physical  qualities  of  substances  administered 
as  medicines  which  would  indicate  their  ef- 
fects on  the  living  body ;  nothing,  for  in- 
stance, that  would  assure  us  of  the  purging 
properties  of  Jalap  or  Rhuba/b;  and  still  less 
(hat  would  explain  the  manner  in  which  they 
produce  this  efifect,  or  foretell  the  relations 
to  the  tissues  by  which  they  remove  disease. 
Equally  indeterminate  must  be  the  know- 
ledge of  the  quantity  oi  purging  effect  re- 
quired to  elimina  :  rfrom  the  system  the  nox- 
ious poison  constituting  a  disease.  But  if  we 
satisfactorily  ascertain  that  disease  consists 
essentially  in  an  extraordinary  electrical  state 
of  the  blood,  or  of  a  particular  tissue,  there 
can  be  little  difficulty  in  determining  apriori, 
upon  the  general  electrical  relation  of  a  sub- 
stance, the  action  it  will  have  on  the  blood, 
the  particular  tissue,  and  the  whole  animal 
economy.  Looking  at  this  subject  with  the 
greatest  amplitude  of  view,  it  comes  within 
the  probable  range  of  science  to  be  able  to 
subject  the  whole  phenomena  to  calculation, 
and  to  fortell  the  precise  quantity  of  a  given 
substance  recjuired  to  cure  a  disease. 

In  the  arbitary  division  of  the  elements  of 
matter  into  electro-negative  and  electroposi- 
tive,  adopted  by  chemists,  nearly  every 
medicament,  which  has  been  fodnd  or  even 
thought  to  be  useful  in  the  treatment  of  tu- 
bercular consumption,  belongs  to  the  former 
divi.sion.  It  must  be  regarded  as  a  stron|; 
confirmarion  of  our  view  of  the  electro-post- 
tive  character  of  the  disease,  and  of  the  ac* 
tioQ  of  remcdieii  tbat  siiDpie  ezperisDce  or 


176 


Tracts  on  Consumption, 


chance  should  have  directed  physicians  lo 
this  choice.  The  whole  subject  of  the  em- 
pirical treatment  of  consumption  olFers  such 
momentous  strength  to  the  positions  we  have 
assumed,  that  it  is  desirable  a  survey  of  the 
facts  that  can  be  adduced  in  their  support 
nhould  be  taken,  and  we  shall,  therefore,  de- 
Tote  some  space  to  an  examination  of  the 
more  important  articles,  belonging  to  the 
class  of  negative  electrics,  which  have  been 
administered  as  remedies  in  consumption.  It 
is  proper  to  remark  that  some  of  the  articles 
are  considered  negative  elecliics  from  ihe  ne- 
gative character  of  their  chemical  e  e.ne'it.^ 
rather  than  from  its  having  been  i*\j)^ri men- 
tally ascertained  that  that  is  the.r  tru-  con- 
dition. 

Oxygen.  Pneumatic  medicines  arij  a  i  lass 
from  which,  reasoning  a  prion  we  should 
be  disposed  to  look  for  consiiierabie  bene'ii 
in  phthisis  ;  and,  accordingly  tht-y  have  been 
much  employed.  At  the  head  of  the  li»t, 
and  of  electro- negative  substances,  is  oxygen 
gas.  As  the  respiration  of  an  impure  atmos- 
phere is  the  grand  cause  of  tuberculous  dis- 
ease, 80  the  respiration  of  oxygen  gas 
would  seem  to  be  the  natural  remedy.  In 
practice,  however,  it  has  not  been  found  ad- 
vantageous, and  consequently  its  employ- 
ment has  long  smce  fallen  into  disuse.  Ad- 
ministered alone,  or  even  largely  diluted  with 
coD.mon  air,  it  has  proved  so  uniformly  too 
s'imUant,  and  so  much  increased  some  un- 
favoraSle  symptoms,  that  though  it  has 
seemed  to  occasion  relief  in  others,  its  use 
could  never  be  persevered  in  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  determine  all  its  efiects  on  the  dis- 
ease. From  the  general  qualities  of  the  gas 
and  the  use  it  is  known  to  subserve  in  the 
function  of  respiration  it  might  reasonably 
be  inferred  that  it  would  excite  inflammatory 
symptoms  in  the  lungs  of  consumptive  pa- 
tients already  too  rapidly  consumed  under  the 
natural  process  of  lespiration.  In  conformi- 
ty with  this  reasoning  it  is  found,  experimen- 
tally, that  the  most  obvious  effects  of  its  res- 
piration are  inf!rea«ied  activity  in  the  aortic 
and  pulmonary  circulation,  succeeded  by 
languor  and  extreme  debility.  Although  it 
is  necessaiy  in  phthisis  to  moderate  the  posi- 
tive-electrical state  of  the  blood,  it  seems  also 
equally  necessary  that  its  general  arterial 
qualities  should  be  lessened,  or  be  desangui- 
fied,  and  it  is  obvious  that  this  latter  effect  is 
not  to  be  obtained  by  the  inhalation  of  oxy- 
gen gas.  The  respiration  of  pure  air  is  in- 
oispensable  to  the  treatment  of  consumption 
but  it  would  seem  that  increase  in  the  quan- 
tity of  oxygen  does  not  impart  this  purity ; 
mid  hence  the  inference  that  no  more  ought 
to  be  used  than  exists  in  the  natural  state  of 
(he  atmosphere.  Freein^j;  this  element  from 
ezfraneous  impurities,  m  tiie  manner  we 


have  explained  under  the  bead  of  **Catttt 
and  Prevention  of   Consumption,"*  but  le- 
taini ng  it3  usual  proportion  of  oxygen,  and 
its  other  respirable  consdtuents,  is  tbe  kst 
way  of  purifying  the  atmosphere  and  affonU 
the  best  form  in  which  oxygen  gas  can  be 
taken  into  the  human  system.    Atmospheric 
air,  rendered  artificially  pure,  and  modified  in 
temperature  to  the  wants  of  the  patient,  in 
the  waf^  we  have  described  would,  undoubt- 
edly, be  in  the  most  favorable  stale  for  pre- 
venting the  disease,  as  well  as  be  a  powerful 
auxiliary  to  remedial  means.    It  is  probable 
much  advantage  might  be  derived  itom  the 
administration  of  oxygen  into  the  stomach, 
in    a  form  which  would  admit  of  its  fiee 
evolution  after  entering  the  circulation. 

CVi/o)  m<r— This  gas,  like  oxyireo,  has  of 
late  years,  frequently  been  administered  in 
rons'imption,  and,  apparently,  with  a  larpi 
jnomise  ol  advantage  than  any  other  remefy 
of  this  character.  Its  inhalation,  lai]^y 
diluted  with  common  air,  generally  relieves  ^ 
the  dyspnoea,  and  not  uncorannonly  albji 
the  cough ;  but  it  is  subject  to  the  objectiM 
which  has  caused  the  abandonment  of  oij- 
gen,  of  often  irritating,  instead  of  sootiiij 
the  enfeebled  and  excitable  bronchial  api* 
ralus  But  its  occasionally  injurioos  ap- 
plication, though  an  argument  against  p- 
severing  in  its  improper  use,  is  noDei^iB* 
its  trial  where  it  may  probably  be  fteneficjal. 
The  diversity  in  its  properties  and  atUon, 
does  not  admit  of  its  taking  the  place,  tici* 
rlously  of  oxygen  in  the  uinction  of  iwF* 
ration,  and  requires  that  it  should  be  adBin- 
istered  with  great  caution.  Like  oiygw » 
might  have,  and  indeed,  has  been  found  to 
exert  a  better  influence  over  consuBJW 
when  administered  through  the  stomaeB  a 
a  solid  form,  in  combination  with  asubstia* 
for  which  its  affinity  ie  so  weak,  that  it  e» 
be  easily  disengaged  after  entering  (be  cuo* 
lation.  .  . 

Io<fm«,— The  inhalation  of  iodine,  la* 
gaseous  form,  has  been  found  to  hafew 
advantages  and  disadvantages  o!  chloi» 
Its  action  in  consumption  as  an  alteraj^ 
through  the  circulation,  will  be  conaidflw 
hereafter. 

Bromine  from  its  analogy  *®.'^^**,JJ 
early  tried  in  the  diseases  in  which  the  W* 
had  been  found  efficacious,  and  the  ww 
has  demonstrated  that  it  poewesses  vaiat  * 
a  therapeutic  agent.  Like  iodine  it  » * 
marked  alterative  action,  and  acts,  in  ci*» 
adapted  to  its  use,  by  imparting  ««itrae!ioi 
and  healthy  tone  to  the  vessels  of  Ibe  Ij"' 
phatic  system ;  and  thus  promoting  absorp- 
tion, which  it  is  thought  to  do  witi  oo« 
energy.    It  does  not  appear  that  it  has  bee 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


177 


employed  in  consumption,  but  baviog  been 
found  useful  in  bronchocele,  scrofula,  hy- 
pertrophy of  the  heart,  and  other  congeneric 
diseases,  it  would  probably  prove  a  valuable 
adjuvant  in  that  complaint. 

Arsenic  has  been  employed  in  phthisis  in 
the  way  of  inhalation.  lis  relation  to  other 
bodies  as  a  highly  electro- negative  substance 
would  have  caused  it  to  be  spontaneously 
suggested,  to  one  holding  the  opinions  of  the 
wnter,  as  probabty  useful  in  consumption, 
and  it  has  been  found  on  other  views,  to  be 
decidedly  advantageous  in  the  disease.  M. 
Trousseau,  who  advises  its  employment,  doee 
not  pretend  that  it  will  absolutely  cure  pul- 
monary tubercles,  but  he  thinks  the  general 
Smptoms  may  be  so  far  modified  bv  it,  as 
ways  to  produce  improvement  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  patient. 

It  may  be  remarked  of  arsenic,  as  of  the 
whole  class  oi  substances  used  in  inhalation 
that  unless  thev  enter  the  circulation  and  as 
flimiJate,  or,  at  least,  mix  with  the  blood  like 
oxygen,  they  can  have  but  little  influence 
over  a  disease  of  so  general  a  character  as 
consumption.  However  useful  as  local  me- 
dications in  laryngitis,  and  the  various  affec- 
tions of  the  air  pa8sa6;es,  they  for  obvious 
reasons,  can  have  little  salutary  influence, 
over  parts  with  which  they  do  not  come  in 
contact  Most  of  them  are  so  repulsive  to 
the  respiratory  apparatus  that  they  cannot 
be  admitted  to  the  lungs,  unless  largely  dilu- 
ted with  common  air,  and  thus  reduced  to 
quantities  too  minute  for  any  beneficial  ef- 
feci  over  such  a  disease ;  and,  besides,  there 
is  no  evidence  that  anv  of  them,  with  the 
exception  already  set  forth,  are  capable  of 
entering  the  circulation.  For  the.se  reasons 
we  have  forborne  to  notice  many  articles 
that  have  been  employed  in  consumption, 
though  most  of  them  are  electro-negative  in 
their  chemical  characters— such  as  fumiga- 
tion with  tar  vapour,  watery  and  medicated 
vapors  of  various  kinds — because  they  have 
not  been  found  sufficiently  efficacious  to  pre- 
Tent  their  falling  into  disuse. 

Hydrocyanic  Acid. — This  powerful  seda- 
tive has  been  given  in  phthisis.  Like  many 
other  of  the  remedies  employed  in  this  de- 
structive disease,  it  seems  to  have  failed  to 
obtain  desired,  perhaps  unreasonable  results, 
and  after  a  few  trials  by  eminent  men  in  va- 
rious coimtries,  it  has  been  generally  proscri- 
bed as  too  dangerous  from  its  poisonous 
Sualities,  and  too  inert  in  its  medical  action. 
>ut  its  acknowledged  eminently  sedative 
qualities,  its  influence  in  diminishing  irrita- 
bility, its  power  of  reducing  the  pulse,  and 
of  calming  many  of  the  symptoms  of  fever 
have  prevented  its  falling  into  entire  disuse. 
Its  use  is  certainly  indicated  in  ti^oaefompli- 


cations  of  phthisis  which  are  attended  with 
an  excessive  or  morbid  sensibility,  and  those 
depending  on  a  highly  irritable  state  of  the 
nervous  system.  Granville  considered  it  al- 
most a  specific  in  tracheal  phthisis ;  and  in 
chronic  oronchitis  undoubted  proofs  of  its 
efficacy  have  been  recorded.  Magendie  as- 
serted that  he  employed  it  with  success  in 
all  cases  of  morbid  irritability  of  the  pulmo- 
nary organs ;  and  Elliotson  says  he  has  al- 
most invariably  succeeded  in  allaying  the 
troublesome  cough  of  a  great  number  of  pec- 
toral affections.  Dr.  Frisch  of  Denmark 
has  been  quoted  as  successfuUv  employing 
the  remedy  in  several  cases  of  phthisis ;  and 
finally,  Magendie  asserted  and  maintained 
that  with  prussic  acid  he  had  cured  indivi- 
duals, having  ail  the  s3nnptoms  of  incipient 
phthisis,  and  even  those  in  a  more  advanced 
stage.  Amidst  the  conflicting  testimony  re- 
garding its  properties,  we  cannot  consider  it 
as  entitled  to  any  extraordinary  reputation 
in  pure  phthisis  pulmonalis,  yet  it  has  been 
so  often  supposed  to  act  beneficially  in  the 
hectic  connected  with  it,  at  the  same  time 
modei-ating  the  force  of  the  circulation,  sus- 
pending the  night  sweats,  and  diminishing 
the  hardness  and  frequency  of  the  cough, 
that  we  have  no  doubt  it  may  be  advantage- 
ously used  as  a  general  palliative  in  almost 
every  case  of  the  disease. 

Cod  Liver  Oil. — Independent  of  the  elec- 
tro-negative character  of  the  principle  con- 
stituents of  this  article,  it  has  been  found  to 
contain  appreciable  portions  of  iodine  and 
bromine.  It  has  long  been  popularly  used 
in  Europe,  in  scrofula  and  consumption,  but 
has  only  within  a  few  years  attracted  the 
general  notice  of  physicians  either  in  Europe 
or  America.  It  has  been  much  lauded  in 
Germany  and  Switzerland  as  a  remedy  in 
these  diseases,  and  has  been  given  in  this 
country,  it  is  asserted  with  advantage. 

Naptha — has  been  latelv  brought  forward 
with  a  good  deal  of  confidence  as  a  remedy 
in  consumption.  Its  introducer  reported  that 
he  had  successfully  treated  a  number  of  cases 
by  its  means,  but  like  every  other  remedy 
for  consumption,  it  has  failed  in  the  hands  of 
other  persons.  Though  upon  some  chemi- 
cal considerations  a  hope  might  be  indulged 
that  it  could  effect  other  results,  yet,  upon 
others,  we  can  hardly  feel  surprised  that  it 
has  failed. 

Digitalis. — ^We  have  classed  this  power- 
ful article  of  the  materia  medica  among  elec- 
tro-negative bodies,  but  whether  accurately 
or  not,  we  are  at  present  unable  to  deter- 
mine. Concerning  its  virtues  as  a  remedy 
in  consumption,  medical  writers  have  differ- 
ed more  than  in  regard  to  any  other  medi- 
cine ;  6ome»  even,  hAving  gone  «o  far  as  to 


178 


TVacts  on  Consumption. 


aMign  to  it  the  properties  of  a  specific  in 
this  dreadful  disease,  while  others  nave  de- 
nounced it  as  pernicious.  Equal  diversity 
of  opinion  has  existed  in  regard  to  its  mode 
of  operation ;  it  having  been  considered  by 
some  a  direct  sedative,  and  by  others  a  pow- 
erful  stimulant;  though  little  doubt  exists, 
among  the  generality  of  practitioners,  at  the 
present  day,  that  it  belongs  to  the  former  di- 
vision. Its  utility  in  haemoptysis,  in  the 
febrile  excitement,  and  in  the  nervous  irrita- 
bility that  accompany  and  complicate  con- 
sumption is  generally  acknowledged.  The 
testimony  is  so  general  in  favor  of  its  free- 
dom from  any  injurious  effects  on  consump- 
tion, that  there  are  few  cases,  especially  in 
the  advanced  stage  of  the  disease,  in  which 
its  sedative  virtues  may  not  be  applied  as  a 
means  of  reducing  increased  action  of  the 
heart,  thereby  tending  to  abate  inflammation 
of  the  lungs,  and  lessen  a  general  excitement 
of  the  system ;  while  in  all  cases  it  may  be 
occasionally  used  advantageously  as  a  palli- 
ative. 

Antimony. —  According  to  Dr.  Good,* 
some  pathoWists  had,  at  the  time  he  wrote, 
lately  adopted  the^  practice  of  giving  very 
small  doses  of  antimony,  in  its  soluble  pre- 
parations, dissolved  in  a  venr  large  quantity 
of  water,  and  continuing  it  for  an  ahnost  in- 
definite period  of  time.  Viewed  as  an  elec- 
tro-ne^tive,  or  alterative  in  its  action,  and 
administered  in  doses  to  produce  a  corres- 
ponding efiect  on  the  system,  instead  of  an 
eme*ic  or  nauseating  operation,  it  is  proba- 
bly worthy  of  a  hign  consideration.  "The 
once  celebrated  anti -hectic  of  Poterius,  con- 
sisted of  oxide  of  antimony,  and  tin."  Where 
fever  runs  high,  or  bronchial  inflammation 
is  a  eoncomitant  of  consumption,  antimony 
administered  on  ordinary  principles,  may  be 
considered  a  valuable  aidjuvant  to  more  im- 
portant means  of  correcting  the  tubercular 
diathesis ;  but  it  ought  to  be  given  in  min- 
ute doses,  on  account  of  its  tendency  to 
produce  depression  of  the  vital  powers. 

Quinia — The  analogy  between  the  remis- 
sions and  exacerbations  of  consumption  and 
those  of  malarial  fevers  long  since  suggest- 
ed the  propriety  of  giving  pcruvian  bark  in 
the  former  as  in  the  latter  disease.  Quinia 
possessing  all  the  anti-intermittent  power  of 
the  bark,  and  at  the  same  time  concentrating 
its  general  negative  electric  qualities,  may 
be  better  capable  of  exerting  all  the  peculiar 
influenoe  of  that  medicine  as  an  alterative 
and  tonic,  as  well  as  a  neutraliser  of  electro 
positive  morbific  influence,  and  therefore  be 

nttadj  of  Medicine,  Yol.  2,  p.  610. 


better  adapted  to  the  treatment  of  ooneomp- 
tion.    Administered  in  a  suitable  stese,  at 
proper  times,  and   in   appropriate   doses, 
there  is  no  medicine  more  efficacious  in 
strengthening  the  organs  of  respiration,  and 
in  counteracting  the  debility  induced  in  the 
anim^  economy  by  the  lone  continued  irri- 
tation of  diseased  lungs,    lumbers  of  phy- 
sicians ^ve  reported  cases  of  consomptioQ 
which   the^  believed  have  been   cured  by 
this  medicine  simply  conjoined    with  nu- 
tritious diet ;  and  it  accords  with  our  ohser- 
vation  to  allege  that  several  cases  have  been 
arrested,  and  even  cured,  in  veiy  advanced 
stages,  by  alternating  quinia  with  hydrocya- 
nic acid  and  some  otner  medicines  that  will 
be  hereafter  mentioned. 

Cicuta. — The  value  of  small  doses  of 
narcotics,  frequently  repeated,  in  all  Ghiouc 
ailments  is  well  known  to  the  professioiL 
They  are  peculiarly  important  in  all  aifcc- 
tions  of  tne  lungs  of  this  character,  and 
they  act  upon  this  organ  with  a  particolarij 
kindly  influence,  for  the  well  known  Rssoa 
that  tne  respiratory  nerves  are  more  aUktsd 
than  any  others  oi  the  system  bv  them.  It 
seems  too,  that,  at  least,  some  of  them  hive 
a  more  sensible  electric  effect  on  the  aninsl 
frame  than  any  other  class  of  mediciBCs; 
for  when  acetate  of  morphia  is  administered 
in  full  doses,  the  patient  is  attecked  with 
shocks  like  those  from  an  electrical  ma- 
chine.* In  the  inflammations  of  the  cseiln- 
lar  and  parenchymatous  substance  of  the 
lungs,  in  chronic  pneumonia,  and  in  the 
phleemasia  of  the  mucous  tanembrancs, 
whidi,  as  in  chronic  bronchitis,  aonetiBei 
accompany  tubercular  phthisis,  narcotics  aie 
indispensible.  The  exhausting  irritation  o^ 
casioned  by  the  tubercles  themselves,  d^ 
mands  some  narcotic  which  may  dimkiik 
the  sensibility  of  the  nervous  system,  dhf 
pain  and  promote  sleep.  By  lesseninrtk 
morbid  'sensibility  in  the  ulcerated  mmces 
connected  with  the  tabercles»  as  weM  asii 
the  membrane  of  the  bronchia,  narootici 
aid  the  alterative,  tonic,  and  otiber  acdoa  d 
the  remedies  in  which  we  place  oor  chief  I^ 
liance  for  the  amelioration  and  cure  of  te 
former,,  as  well  as  the  operation  of  the  as; 
propriate  remedies  directed  to  ^e  latter,  u 
this  class  of  medicines  the  salts  of  morplii 
have  the  best  eflect  in  a  number  of  cases» 
but  we  have  generally  preferred  the  cicnti, 
partly  on  account  of  its  supposed  efficacy  ii 
allaying  irritation  and  curing  ulceration  con- 
nected with  a  8cr6fu]ous  taint,  and  pardf 
because  it  seems  to  relieve  the  pain  beOtf* 
and  diminishes  the  discharges  of   phtkisif 

•Cyclopedia  ef  Pnetieal  UedieJM»  VoL 
3,  p.  3fi7. 


TVacts  an  Consumption. 


179 


more  than  any  other  narcotic,  while  it  is  free 
(rom  a  constipatia^,  and  some  other  of  their 
bad  effects.  Admmistered  with  due  resard 
to  the  stage  of  the  disease,  habits  of  life, 
temperament  and  idiosyncracy  of  the  indi- 
Tidual  it  has  none  of  the  uncertainty  in  its 
ojpeiation  which  has  been  frequently  assip- 
ed  to  it^  while  it  exerts  a  very  salutary  e&ct 
in  diminishing  the  force  and  frequency  of 
the  pulse  and  allaying  the  violence  oi  the 
coogn.  It  may  be  safely  said  that  if  we  as- 
certain by  experience  the  condition  of  the 
system  in  which  cicuta  has  no  untoward  ef- 
fect, and  keep  it  in  view,  we  shall  be  able  to 
prescribe  and  continue  the  use  of  it  in  con- 
Bomption  with  a  generall]^  useful  effect. 

Mercury  is  the  lowest  in  the  list  of  electro 
negative  substances,  for  which  any  well 
founded  claim  of  efficiency  in  the  treatment 
of  tubercular  phthisis  can  be  established. 
In  the  form  of  the  chloride,  the  occasional 
use  of  mercury  enables  us  to  relieve  the 
bowels  from  the  morbid  accumulations 
which  so  frequently  collect  in  tuberculous 
cases,  and  to  restore  to  the  liver  the  healthy 
action  from  which  it  has  such  a  constant 
tendency  to  deviate  in  this  disease.  In  that 
Tanet3r  of  phthisis  in  which  it  is  complica* 
ted  with  an  enlarged  and  indurated  liver, 
and  perhaps  of  other  abdominal  viscera^  and 
whicD  is  known  by  Dr.  Wilson  Phillip's 
term  of  dyspeptic  phthisis,  it  may  have  been 
found  a  valuable  remedy.  Mercury  was 
much  employed  and  strongly  recommended 
by  Dr.  Rush  and  some  other  physicians,  in 
every  form  and  stage  of  the  disease.  In  re- 
cent times  there  are  no  decided  testimonies 
in  proof  of  its  success ;  and  though  it^may 
promise  relief  in  the  cases  refened  to  by 
X)i.  Phillip,  yet  even  in  these,  except  when 
a  purgative  is  required,  a  much  better  effect 
may  De  obtained  from  the  article  we  are 
about  to  mention. 

Gold. — ^The  medicines  which  experience 
hsLB  shown  have  the  most  decided  effect  in 
diminishing  the  expansion  of  the  extreme 
-weeeeU — ^particularly  those  of  the  glandular 
system — and  therefore  promise  the  greatest 
advantage  in  tubercular  phthisis,  are  the 
preparations  of  gold. 

The  oxides  and  salts  of  this  mineral  have 
experienced  the  influence  which  caprice  aad 
iastion  exercise  over  medicines ;  for  they 
liave  been  alternately  employed  with  high 
popularity,  and  dismissed  as  undeserving  of 
any  reputation.  Like  countless  numbers  of 
therapeutic  agents,  they  have  been  brought 
into  notice  by  high  encomiums  on  their 
value  in  disorders,  over  which  they  either 
jMMJ  no  tnflnence»  or  one  no  more  powerful 
IbaA  cheaper  and  more  available  means,  and, 
eoiiBequently,  alter  u  ^phemend  reign,  they 


have  passed  into  neglect    Properties  have 
been  attributed  to  them  of  which  they  are  . 
quite  devoid,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
are  endued  with  therapeutic  virtues  which 
they  have  not  been  considered  to  possess. 
As  in  the  use  of  every  other  medicine, 
which  cannot  lay  claim  to  the  character  oi 
an  absolute  specific,  the  activity  of  the  pre- 
parations of  gold  depend,  greatly,  on  the 
condition  of  the  system  into  which  they  are 
introduced.    Besides,  in  examining  the  pro- 
perties of  a  remedy,  it  must  be  remembered 
there  is  no  one  that,  however  useful  in 
the  majority  of  individuals,  may  not,  from 
what  is  understood  by  the  vague  term  idio- 
syncracy, (but  which  shoi^d  rather  be  called 
a  misunderstood  relation  between  the  remedy 
and  the  affected  tissue)  be  inactive  or  even 
injurious  in  the  smaller  number ;  and  this  is 
sometimes  the  case  with  the  medicine  we 
are  now  examining.   Manifesting  a  salutary, 
peculiar  and  decided  effect  in  ninety-nine 
cases,    a   hundredth   would  occur    which 
would  deem  to  be  unsusceptible  of  its  remedial 
action.    Moreover,  the  expense  of  the  ma- 
terial has  been  always  a  weighty  objection 
to  its  use,  and  a  frequent  source  of  failure ; 
for  it  induced  the  fraudulent  to  announce 
preparations  as  containing  gold,  which  had 
none,  and  thus  the  absence  of  effect  was 
assigned   to  the  inaction  of   the  remedy. 
Notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  the  de- 
ductions of  science,  confirmed  by  the  obser- 
vations of  several  physicians,  have  revealed 
to  us  that  gold  possesses  qualities  for  subdu- 
ine  complaints,  in  which  its  fitness  has  been 
wholly  overlooked,  or  considered  as  present- 
ing but  feebly  claims  upon  our  attention. 
This  has  been  found  the  case  in  the  terrible 
disease  which  forms  the  subject  of  these 
tracts.     The  important  truth  conveyed  in 
this  deciatation  we  do  not  expect  to  be  at 
present  Acknowledged.     Until  the  evidence 
in  relatioii  to  the  therapeutic  proverties  of 
cold  becomes  een^alljr  known  to  pnysidans 
It  is  not  probable  it  will  receive  that  fair  and 
public  trial  to  which  its  promise  of  utility 
m  phthisis,  and  its  congenerie  class  of  affec- 
tions, acknowledged  to  be  beyond  the  con- 
trol of  an>  other  remedial  agent,  intitles 
it 

We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  Chrestien  of  Mont- 
pelier,  aslfae  earliest  among  modem  physi- 
cians, for  inviting  the  medical  faculty  to  a 
re-investigation  of  the  properties  of  gold  as  a 
remedial  ageiit.  He,  however,  limited  his 
enquiries  to  its  applicability  to  the  treatment 
of  syphilis,  and  a  few  other  lymphatic  dis- 
orders. Since  he  published  his  essay,  the 
attention  of  the  medical  public  has  been 
called  by  Eberle,  Neil,  Lenand  and  other 
physicians  to  a  more  extended  applicability 


1 


180 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


of  the  salts  of  Gold  to  the  treatment  of  dis- 
eases. They  show,  with  much  reason,  that 
the  preparations  of  this  mineral  may  be 
used  with  great  advantage,  not  only  in  the 
diseases  in  which  it  was  employed  by  Mr. 
Chrestien,  but  in  the  treatment  of  scrofula, 
particularly  when  it  affects  the  soft  parts  of 
the  human  frame,  as  the  skin,  the  serous 
membranes,  and  more  especially  the  lympha- 
tic glands  both  external  and  internal.  The 
analogy  between  tubercular  depositions  and 
scrofulous  consolidations  could  not  fail  to 
suggest  to  a  philosophical  liiind  that  there 
was  probably  some  common  agent  which 
would  be  found  possessed  of  properties  cal- 
culated to  modify  the  state  of  the  blood  from 
which  both  diseases  arise.  And  the  disco- 
very of  the  efficacy  or  gold  in  the  latter 
class  of  ailments  would,  naturally,  upon  rea- 
soning on  the  fact,  based  upon  experience, 
that  the  medicines  which  have  been  found 
the  most  successful  in  their  control,  afford  the 
best  groundwork  for  the  treatment  of  phthi- 
sis, ^ive  rise  to  the  belief  that  it  might  be 
serviceable  in  that  disease.  Accordingly  it 
has  been  introduced,  with  this  view,  by  Dr. 
H.  H.  Sherwood  of  New  York.  Physicians 
in  this  country,  are  much  indebted  to  him 
for  the  diffused  notice  he  has  given  of  its 
efficacy,  administered  on  electrical  or  mag- 
netical  principles,  in  the  treatment  of  the 
whole  class  of  tuberculous  ailments,  and 
more  particularly  of  tubercular  phthisis.* 

The  generalfeffects  of  the  preparations  of 
gold,  in  moderate  doses,  are  to  improve  the 


*  Dr.  Dickson  the  vain  and  egotistic  author 
of  a  novel  and  ingeniooi  publication  on  the 
theory  and  practice  of  medicine,  which  he 
•alls  the  chrono -thermal,  claimsy  as  '*  exelu< 
sively  his  own,  the  electrical  doctrine  of 
medieinal  ag^eney.^'  When  this  writer  first 
made  and  gave  his-ditcovery  to  the  world  we 
do  not  know,  but  the  republication  of  his 
work  in  this  country,  afibrds  no  evidence 
that  it  was  anterior  to  1836.  Now,  it  may 
be  safely  said  that  there  has  not  been  for  the 
last  forty  years,  a  reflecting  physician  in 
either  £arope  or  America,  who  has  not  sur- 
mised, at  least,  that  the  action  of  medicines 
depended  u^on  their  electrical  properties; 
and,  for  a  large  part  of  that  period,  Dr.  Sher- 
wood has  expressly  taiight,  in  numerous  pub- 
lications, the  importance  of  considering  the 
action  of  medicines  on  the  human  system  as 
ezdasively  dependant  on  the  evolution  of 
their  magnetical  or  electrical  foroei,  (See 
Motive  Power  of  Human  System,  by  H.  H. 
Sherwood,  M.  D.,  Page  62.)  Besides,  it  ap- 
pears  to  the  writer,  there  is  nothing  in  Dr. 
Dickson's  application  of  his  exclusively 
eleetrical  doctrine,  different  from  what  has 
been  fbr  many  years,  explained  in  Treatifes 
on  Therapeutics.       . 


appetite,  produce  a  sensation  of  warmth  in 
the  system,  and  give  increased  fulness  with- 
out adding  to  the  frequency  of  the  pulse. 
In  addition  to  these  a  prominent  effect  ap- 
pears to  be  an  increase  of -the  various  seen- 
tions;- commonly  the  urinary  discharge  is 
largely  augmented,  as  well  as  the  cutaneous 
transpiration,  and  there  is  an  increase  of  the 
i ntestinal  and  salivary  secretions.  From  the 
decidedly  styptic  taste  of  most  of  these  prepi- 
rations,  the  sensible  and  peculiar  impressiai 
they  produce  on  the  fauces  and  salivair 
glands,  they  must  be  regarded  as  astringeoli 
VVhen  introduced  into  the  system,  whetke 
by  application  to  the  gums,  an  abraded  sc- 
face,  or  through  the  stomach,  they  seem  t 
be  specially  determined  to  the  glaodnx 
system,  and  if  their  capillaries  are  exptai- 
ed,  give  them  tone  to  contract ;  possibly  off 
unlike,  regarded  either  in  cause  or  effect, tb; 
operation  of  a  simple  astringent  applied  fi 
an  external  sore. 

The  salts  of  gold  are  all,  in  large  qjaui- 
ties,  decidedly  poisonous.     According  to  the 
experiments  of  Or£Ia,  when  giTen  to  ui- 
mals  with  this  object,  their  deleterious  efrdi 
are  manifested  by  a  direct  action  on  die 
lungs.f    He  found  that  a  very  small  qoaa- 
tity  of  the  chloride  of  gold  injected  into  the 
sanguiferous  system  proved  speedily  faal 
from  its  action  on  that  organ  ;--<icath  beiii| 
preceded  by  difficulty  and  ratth'ng  ia  breath- 
ing, cough  and  symptoms  of  sufiocatioa 
On  dissection  immediately   after  death,  die 
lungs  are  found  injected,  and  the  arteral 
blood  of  a  brownish  red,  almost  black  cokr 
— shewing  that  it  is  in   fact  desangniSeJ 
and  analogous  to  the  ef^t  produced  on  it  If 
diminishing  or  cutting  off  the  volume  of  iIe 
respired.      Bichat  found  in  experiment  it 
dertaken  with  this  object,  tliat  while  the  ta- 
chea  was  left  open,  the  blood  of  the  caiQbt 
artery,  laid  open,  flowed  of  the  natmal  ts- 
million  color;    if   half   closed    it  beoai 
brownish ;  if  wholly  stopped  black     Hh 
under  the  moderate  use  of  gold,  we  mar  a- 
pect  the  blood  to  assume  the  appearance  aii 
character  of  that  in  an  animal,  which  do« 
not  breathe  a  sufficient  quantity  of  air.  9d 
in  excess  to  induce  as  complete  aaphyxsi  is 
if  deprived  of  air.    The  effects  of  agentis 
potent,  when  pushed  too  far  remediSly,  ht. 
short  of  absolutely  poisoning,  are,  bariir 
those  on  the  blood,  oppression  in  the  icgw 
of  the  stomach,  nausea,  vomiting,  paias  ft 
the  abdomen  and  diaphragm,  a  metaDkM 
in  the  mouth,  augmented  secretions  of  sb^- 
va,  excited  pulse  and  oppressed  hrcatync 
all  affording;  evidences  of  local  detenaiai- 
tion  to  particular  oigans.    Then  may 

t  TojJiotaogiMQcmit^ 


Tracts  on  Consumption. 


181 


besides,  inilammation  of  some  organ,  com- 
moDly  the  lungs ;  and  a  general  irritation 
and  true  febrile  condition  may  be  developed 
— vindicating  that  it  is  capable  of  a  general 
action  on  the  system. 

The  consideration  of  the  way  in  which  a 
medicine,  entering  the  general  circulation, 
acts  upon  one  tissue  in  preference  to  all 
others  has  been  already  referred  to,  and  well 
be  reverted  to  hereafter.    But  as  it  is  regar- 
ded as  one  of  the  enigmas  of  medical  sci- 
ence, the  cause  of  which  admits  of  no  more 
flatisfoctory    explanation  than  that  of  the 
motions  of  the  planets  in  their  orbits,  we 
shall  be  excused  for  taking  some  notice  of 
it  on.  the  present  occasion    Embarrassing  as 
this  important  secret  has  been  to  physicians 
in  all  ages,  it  appears  to  admit  of  the  fol- 
lowing simple  solution— at  least  in  regard 
to  f^old  administered  in  phthisis  pulmonalis. 
It  has  been  a  principle  object  of  oui  labors 
to  show  that  tubercles  arise  from  an  expan- 
ded state  of  the  capillary  vessels  causing 
their  engoisement,  and  a  deposition  of  albu- 
minous fluids.*  This  condition,  we  have  con- 
tended, is  dependant  upon  an  increase  of 
electro-positive  excitation  in  arterial  blood. 
The  administration  of  a  medicine  in  an  elec- 
tro negative  state,  must  obviously  tend  to 
neutralize  the  state  of  any  part  or  any  fluid 
in  the  human  body,  in  an  oppositely  electri- 
cal condition.     Now,  according  to  the  divi- 
sion of  the  elements  of  matter  by  Berzelius, 
already  referred  to,  gold  stands  at  the  bottom 
of  the  electro-positive  class,  and  united  with 
chlorine,  as  it  commonly  is  in  medicine,  it 
occupies  a  stiD  more  decidedly  negative  po- 
sition.    The  condition  of  the  blood  and  the 
pulmonary  capillaries,  in  a  phthisical  patient 
are,  then,  in  an  opposite  relation  to  that  of 
the  remedy,  and  therefore,  it  must  be  clear 
to  every  reflecting  mind,  they  must  attract  and 
neutralize  each  other.      Admitted  into  the 
circulation,  the  electro- negative  gold  must 
alter  the  opposite  state  of  the  mass  of  the 
blood,  and  thus  counteract  the  diathesis  in 
-which  the  disease  arises :    and  its  approach 
to  the  organ  or  tissue  in  which  the  capilla- 
ries are  expanded  and  diseased,  must,  upon 
recognized  electrical  principles,  cause  a  ten- 
dency in  them  to  resume  their  natural  and 
healthy  action.     Perseverance  in  a  remedy, 
acting  upon  this  principle,  and  administered 
with  a  proper  consideration,  in  regard  to 
quantity,  to  the  living  structure  it  has  to  act 
upon,  must,  sooner  or  later,  brinj  the  blood 
and  the  capillaries  to  the  standard  of  health, 
and  thereby  afford  the  circumstances  that  are 
not  only  favorable  to,  but,  if  fatal  disorea- 
nizations  have  not  taken  place,  will  certam* 

•  Tract  No.  2,  pag^e  91. 


ly  admit  of  the  natural  recuperative  process 
repairing  the  local  injury. 

It  is  not  intended  to  limit  the  action  of 
gold  to  Its  electrical  operation,  or  to  deny 
that  It  may  have  what  ia  commonly  under- 
stood by  an  alterative  effect.  While  exert- 
ing the  special  effect  due  to  its  elecuical  en- 
^^y  Jt  probably  has  some  separate  general 
acUon  on  the  various  parts  of  the  animal 
economy.  That  it  has  an  influence  indepen- 
dent of  Its  electrical  relation  to  the  diseased 
structure  is  further  probable  from  the  consi- 
deration that  its  salutary  effects  are  greater 
than  that  of  substances  of  higher  dectro- 
negative  powers.  U  there  be  such  a  class 
of  medicines  as  the  alterative,  the  influence 
which  the  preparations  of  gold  exert  over 
many  of  the  secretions  and  excretions,  and 
over  the  nervous  system  itself,  constitute 
them  one  of  a  most  efficacious  kind.  In  no 
disease  is  there  more  need  of  a  means  of  al- 
tering or  checking  actions,  because  if  suffer- 
ed to  pursue  their  natural  course,  they  must 
certainly  produce  structural  changes  inevita- 
bly terminating  in  death.  Examined  on  the 
common  principles  of  therapeutics,  the  mo- 
dus operandi  of  no  article  of  the  materia 
medica  promises  more  towards  effecting  these 
results  m  phthisis,  than  the  oxides  and  salts 
of  gold,  and  their  combination  with  other 
substances  to  be  hereafter  mentioned,  having 
a  similar  mode  of  operation. 

Notwithstanding  these  admissions,  it  is 
proper  to  remark  that  we  are  not  satisfied 
gold,  in  any  of  its  forms,  has  any  other  ef- 
fect on  the  blood  in  phthisis,  than  to  change 
its  electrical  state ;  nor,  perhaps,  is  any  other 
needed; — the  undue  positive  slate  of  that 
important  fluid  constituting  the  essential  fea- 
ture of  the  disease. 

Equally  beneficial  is  the  action  of  this 
medicine  over  some  of  the  forms  of  disease 
that  are  considered  independent  of,  but  fre- 
quently complicate  tubercular  phthisis.— 
Though  it  is  not  our  intention  to  notice  in 
detail  these  various  affections,  yet  there  is 
one,  in  which  the  use  of  gold  as  a  remedy 
has  so  salutarv  an  effect,  that  it  would  not 
be  proper  to  pass  it  wholly  unmarked. 
This  consists  in  a  depraved  condition  of  the 
digestive  organs,  and  particularly  of  the  ali- 
mentary tube.  It  is  not  only  a  complication 
of  extreme  frequency,  but  exercises  so  great 
an  influence  over  the  progress  of  tubercu- 
lous phthisis,  that  it  is  considered  almost  as 
important  to  recovery  that  it  should  be  re- 
moved as  that  the  lungs  themselves  should 
be  healed.  The  colliquative  diarrhoea 
which  is  its  final  consequence,  may  be  con- 
sidered as  inducing  death  more  rapidly  than 
the  most  extensive  suppuration  of  softened 


182 


SeuiMs  Starch  Bandage. 


tubercles  in  the  langs — the  complication,  in- 
deed, constitutes  tiie  galloping  consumption 
of  the  public,  and  the  acute  or  rapid  con- 
sumption of  medical  writers.  Though  con- 
sidered by  some  physicians  nearly  as  fre- 
quent a  cause  of  phthisis,  as  the  aflfection 
called  tubercular  cachexia,  and  it  may  pre- 
cede it,  still  it  is  almost  always  secondary 
to  the  tuberculization  of  the  lun^s.  At 
whatever  time  it  may  originate,  it  is  an  al 
most  certain  indication  of  tubercular  disease 
of  the  glands  in  some  portion  of  the  diges- 
tive tube ;  of  the  upper  portion,  as  of  the 
stomach  and  duodenum,  when  the  symptoms 
are  those  of  common  dyspepsia ;  of  the 
lower,  as  of  the  ileum  and  colon,  when  di- 
arrhoea is  present.  The  evidence  of  this 
condition  ol  the  intestines  may  be  found  by 
pathological  examinations,  but  it  is  equally 
certainly  known  during  the  life  of  the  pa- 
tient, by  the  constant  supervention  of  the 
peculiar  spinal  sensibility,  (which  we  have 
described  as  the  great  diagnostic  symptom  of 
tubercular  disease,)  over  the  regions  of  the 
nervous  ganglia,  which  inosculate  with  the 
roots  of  the  great  sympathetic  arising  in  the 
various  digestive  organs. 

Our  view  of  this  intestinal  afiection  is  not 
new,  but  it  has  been  so  slightly  recognized 
by  medical  men,  while  it  is  so  important  to  any 
plan  for  curing  consumption,  that  it  should 
be  attended  to,  that  it  is  not  improper  to  give 
it  a  full  consideration  Indeed,  its  impor- 
tance is  so  great,  that  it  may  be  said,  while 
simple  tuberculization  of  the  lung  is  a  com- 
paratively curable  disease,  its  complication 
with  severe  irritation  and  depraved  functions 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels,  is  almost  cer- 
tainly mortal.  Over  this  form  of  disease  of 
the  digestive  apparatus — and  whether  exist- 
ing with  or  independent  of  pulmonary  affec- 
tion— the  preparations  of  gold  have  an  influ- 
ence which  must  be  looked  upon  as  one  of 
their  most  precious  attributes.  This  control 
is  almost  certain  and  facile ;  and  being  ex- 
hibited over  a  frequent  concomitant  of  con- 
sumption possessing  a  form  which  by  inter- 
rupting nutrition,  and  prostrating  strength 
exercises  a  most  fatal  influence  on  its  pro- 
gress, it  entitles  the  medicine  to  a  high  con- 
sideration. 


depends  rather  upon  an  alteration  of  Uie 
whole  system  than  a  sudden  anest  of  dis- 
ease.   The  aflinity  of  gold  for  laiwr  pro- 
portions of  chlorine  than  for  any  other  elec- 
tro-negative element  renders  this  combina- 
tion less  easily  decomposable,  while  its  me- 
dicinal properties  for  the  object  in  view,  are 
more  active,  and  therefore,  it,  or  the  similar 
preparation  of  the  ter-chloride  of  gold  and 
sodium,  is  the  form  we  have  most  commonly 
employed.    We  are  aware  that  the  diversity 
of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  activity  of  the 
ter-cnloride  of  gold ;  one  writer,  at  least, 
contending  that  it  is  not  mofe  powerful  than 
the  mild  chloride  of  mercury,  and  others 
that  it  is  more  virulent  than  the  corrosive 
sublimate.     We  have  inclined  to  the  latter 
opinion,  because  on  that  view,  however  in- 
appreciable may  have  been  its  sensible  ef- 
fects, we  have  always  found  its  perscTeiiaf 
use  possessed  of   sufficient  energy;  and, 
therefore,  have  never  given  it  in  lar^r doses 
than  the  eighth  or  tenth  of  a  grain.  Toallay 
the  irritation  which,  in  phthisis,  as  in  all 
diseases,  accompanied  with  new  formations 
always  prevails,  the  addition  of  cicuta,  or 
some  other  narcotic  may  be  useful,  on  tie 
principle  of  checking  the  disturbance  of  tte 
nervous  system— the  removal  of  which  dis- 
turbance is  of  secondary  importance,  onlj', 
to  the  alterative  action  of  the  gold  on  the 
morbid  structure  itself.     But  when  goM  is 
administered  with  the  object  of  obtaining 
its  exclusive  effects  we  have  made  it  into 
pills  according  to  the  following  formula  :- 
viz: — 

R 
Ter  Chloride  Auri. — grs.  ij 
Chloride  Sodii,— 3  j 
^Amyli,— 3ij 
Gum  Arabici,— 3  j 
Aque  dietillatae  q.  s.      m 
The  mass  is  to  be  divided  into  16  or  2d 
pills,  one  of  which  may  be  given  t^  « 
three  times  a  day,  and  gradually  but  dow^ 
increased.    On  account  of  their  tendacy  » 
deliquescence  and  decomposition,  they  mn» 
be  kept  in  a  well  stopped  vial,  and  in  a  dir 
place. 

(TO  BE  CONTINUED.) 


The  preparations  of  gold  are  very  uni- 
form in  their  medicinal  properties,  and  nearly 
equally  active  in  the  same  dose;  and,  there- 
fore, the  observations  proper  for  one  prepa- 
ration will  apply  to  all.  in  all,  their  opera- 
tion in  the  proper  doses,  i^  slow,  and  re- 
quires a  cpnsidecable  time  and  perseverance 
lor  their  f  iiU  development ;  they  are,  on  this 
account,  the  better  adapted  to  constitutional 
chronic  ailments,  and  such  whose  removal 


▲DDrnONA.L  REMARKS  ON 
PaOF.  SBITTIV'S  STAHOK  BAVDAOB. 
More  Particularly  in  reference  too  "Cer- 
tain Modificati<m  of  U.** 

BY  ALFRED  M ARKWIGK,  SITROEOKi  WHWI. 

Ir  I  hare  been  guUty  of  leaving  a  bM 
in  my  paper  "  On  thelJsEof  the  Starch J»»- 


Seutin^s  Starch  Bandage, 


183 


age  in  the  treatment  of    Fractures,***    in 
consequence  of  not  having  aJIuded  to  Mr. 
Cbvistophers'  "  modification ,"t  I  fear  I  shall 
be  considered  equally  culpable    by  MM. 
Vejpeau,  Mayor,  Laugier,  Lafartuede,  St. 
Emiiion,  and  Van  Meerbeck,  for  Tkaving  ta- 
ken no  notice  of  theirs. 
My  communication  was  intended  to  point 
^        out  the  importance  and  adTaotages  of  Pro- 
^        feasor  Seuten's  Bandage*  and  his  alone  in 
'        the  treatment  of  fractures,  believing  as  1  do, 
^        that  all  modifications  of  it,  or  additions  to  it, 
*       are  both  useless  and  umiecessary,  and  open 
^       to  far  more  weighty  objections  than  have 
t       at  ianv  time  been  raised  against  the  original 
i       It  will  not  be  necessary  tor  me  to  substan- 
ti        tiate  this  statement  inasmuch  as  Mr.  Chris* 
V        tophers  has  himself  already  done  so  in  that 
i        portion  of  his  papjer  taken  from  Dr.  Pige- 
f        oIet*s  «  £squisse  Historique  sur  ie  Bandage 
f        Amidonne." 

f  ft  is  true,  no  objection  has  been  raised, 

!       either  by  Professor  Seutin  or  Dr.  Pigeolet, 

I        to  JVIr.  Christophers*  "Indian -rubber  straps,'* 

I       and  therefore  I  ought,  perhaps,  in  this  gen- 

f       tleman's  opinion,  to  have  made  some  allu- 

I        sion  to  them.    I  would  have  gladly  done  so 

{        had  1  considered  that  they  were  in  any  way 

(        essential  or  indispensible  to  the  construction 

I         of  the  bandage  amidonne.    Had  they  been 

so,  M.  Seutin  would  have  been  the  first  to 

immediately  avail  himself  of  them.    Now  I 

can  confidently  assert  that  during  the  whole 

time  I  was  in  attendance  at  Ihe  Hopital  St. 

Pierre,  at  Brussels,  I  never  once  witnessed 

their  application,  and  I  may  refer,  for  con- 

finnation  of  this  fact,  to  Professor  Seulin's 

writings  subsequent  tothe'publication  of  JVIr. 

King's  paper  in  the  Medical  Gazette,  in 

which  Mr.  Christophers*  "  modification  '*  is 

made  known,  for  in  these  we  find  that  no 

mention  whatever  is  made  of  them.    1  may 

however,  for  this  gentleman*s  satisfaction, 

quote  the  following  paragraph  from  Dr.  A. 

Didot*s  article  in  the  Abem  Medicate  for 

July,  1844,  p.  155 ;  Et  je  dois  avouer  que 

je  ne  vois  pas  le  moindre  inconvenient  a  ce 

que  leurs  idees,  (those  of  Messrs.  King  and 

Christophers,)  soient  adoptees  dansle  traite- 

ment  des  fractures  lorsque  I'opportunite  se 

presentera.    But  this  does  not  show  that 

the  <*  straps  *'  are  an  indispensible  addition 

to  the  perfection  of  the  bandage  in  question ; 

and  I  can  but  think  that  had  they  been  of 

that  importance.  Dr.  Pigeolet  would  have 

done  more  than  merely  mention  them.    He 

would  undoubtedly  have  characterized  them 

as  a  valuable  innovation,  free  from  objection, 

aad  would  have  recommended  them  as  an 


*  Juiia  LanoeC,  page  541. 
}  July  Lancet  page  44. 


effectual  means  for  remedying  a  defect  which 
the  starch  bandage  certainly  (but  for  a  very 
short  time  only)  possesses. 

These  "  straps  "  are  intended  to  enable  the 
apparatus  to  adapt  itself  to  all  the  variations 
in  size  which  the  injured  limb  is  liable  to 
undetgo.  But  it  appears  to  me,  that  in  em- 
ploying them,  we  avoid  Scylia  to  fall  into 
Charyhdis,  as  I  shall  by  and  by  attempt  to 
prove.  And,  moreover,  we  possess  more 
effectual  means  (those  recommended  by  Pro- 
fessor Seutin  himself)  for  obviating  the  eviL 

In  his  reply  to  the  following  objection  to 
his  bandage,  made  by  M.  Mayor — namely, 
that  **  it  forms  a  case  so  resisting  that  it  can 
neither  dilate  nor  contract  on  the  limb  du- 
ring its  alteratiop  in  volume,*'  Dr.  Seutin 
says,  (p.  195,  loc.  a/.,)  "  How  is  it  that  af- 
ter all  1  have  said  in  order  to  show  that  the 
starch  bandi^e  is  remarkably  dUaiabUt  and 
that  it  may  be  dravm  in  at  pleasure, — that 
after  having  proved  that  its  application  per- 
mitted of  the  parts  being  daily  inspected 
with  the  utmost  facility,  when  such  an  in- 
spection became  necessary, — how  is  it,  I 
say  that  after  all  this,  my  bandage  is  repre- 
sented as  a  kind  of  case  which  must  invin- 
cibly preserve  its  jirimitive  form,  without 
being  able  to  adapt  itself  to  the  development 
or  the  diminution  in  size  of  the  contained 
organs  ?  I  can  only  account  for  this  singu- 
lar circumstance  by  admitting  that  M.  May- 
or has  not  read  the  different  memoirs  which 
I  have  published  on  my  method  of  treating 
fractures,  and  by  afterwards  supposing  that 
the  cases  he  has  seen  have  given  him  a 
false  idea  of  the  true  principles  by  which 
my  invention  has  been  directed.'*  •  ♦  • 
♦  •  •  "  If  an  apparatus  would  permit 
us  to  constantly  maintain  the  fragments  in 
the  same  position,  from  the  commencement 
ta  the  end  of  the  treatment,  and  is  also  ca- 
pable of  being  tightened  or  slackened  and 
will  enable  us  at  the  same  time  to  inspect 
the  soft  parts,  and  apply  to  them  such  reme- 
dies as  their  condition  may  require,— if,  1  say 
an  apparatus  permits  all  this,  we  shall  then 
be  at  liberty  to  state  that  it  fulfils  all  the  in- 
dications that  are  furnished  by  sound  the- 
rapeutical notions  on  the  subject  of  fract- 
uies."  *•  These  are  precisely  the  qualities 
by  which  my  bandage  is  distinguished." — 
At  pages  141  and  142  of  the  same  work,  he 
says, "  One  of  the  greatest  advantages  of 
my  staich  bandages,  and  one  which  decided- 
ly distinguishes  it  from  the  apparatus  of  the 
French  sur^on,  (alluding  to  Laney,)  con^ 
sists,  then,  in  my  opinion,  in  the  fadlitj 
one  has  notwithstanding  its  employment,  for 
foUowing  step  by  step,  as  it  were,  the  pro- 
gress of  the  injuries  of  the  soft  parts,  with- 


184 


SetUMs  iStarck  Bandage. 


oot  the  coaptation  in  the  least  deme  suf- 
fering. Strong  scissors  which  1  hare  bad 
constmcted  expressly  for  this  purpose,  ena- 
ble me  to  cut,  without  difficulty  the  anterior 
Boriace  of  the  apparatus,  which  for  this  rea^ 
eon  I  take  care  to  render  oi  as  little  thick- 
nese  as  possible.  I  thus  obviate  the  defects 
of  slight  compression  if  it  is  badly  exercised; 
I  suppress  it  if  it  appears  to  augment  the  lo- 
cal stupor,  or  if  it  cannot  overcome  the  vio- 
lent reaction  which  ensues;  on  the  contrary 
I  continue  it  if  I  find  on  inspecting  the  limb, 
that  the  patient's  complaints  arise  either  from 
his  puftiiianimity  or  apprehension.  If  local 
therapeutic  remedies  are  thought  necessary, 
I  make  use  of  them,  and  then,  in  some  cases 
apply  a  piece  of  linen  on  the  internal  sur- 
&kce  of  the  apparatus  in  order  to  prevent  it 
from  being  soiled  by  the  applications  em- 
ployed; I  afterwards  bring  the  two  valves 
together  by  means  of  an  unstarched  roller. 
By  removing  this  every  day,  the  dressings 
can  be  applied  as  often  as  it  is  thought  neb- 
^sary."  •  •  •  •  •  "When  the  in- 
cision is  made  and  the  limb  is  found  to  re- 
quire no  topical  application,  the  two  valves 
are  united  by  means  of  a  starched  roller,  and 
the  original  solidity  thus  becomes  re5tored. 
When  the  swelling  has  disappeared,  and  the 
bandase  has,  in  conseauence,  become  too 
large  for  the  member,  I  remove  with  my 
scissors,  from  its  anterior  part,  a  longitudin- 
al band  of  greater  or  less  width.  After 
moistening  it  a  little,  T  mould  the  pasteboard 
on  all  the  inequalities  of  the  limb,  by  the 
aid  of  a  starched  bandage.** 

Jn  another  place,  (see  Abeille  Medicale, 
far  August,  1844,)  when  speaking  of  its  ad- 
vantages in  cases  of  compound  fracture 
complicated  with  delirium,  he  says,  "  If  the 
modus  operandi  of  our  bandage  is  known, 
the  .security  it  gives  under  these  circumstan- 
ces will  be  understood.  By  its  methodical 
compression  it  puts  a  permanent  obstacle  to 
the  contraction  of  the  muscles ;  by  forming 
with  the  leg,  the  thigh,  and  the  pelvis,  a 
continuous  whole;  and  by  exactly  and 
firmly  embracing  these  parts,  it  prevents  the 
movements  of  the  rest  of  the  body  from  be- 
ing commuicated  to  the  solution  of  contin- 
uity, and  if  we  have  that,  it  cannot  become 
deranged ;  we  shall  have  the  principal  con- 
ditions for  securing  such  a  state  of  immo- 
bility of  the  fragments,  that  should  the  pa- 
tient by  chance  get  out  of  bed  and  walk  a 
few  paces  on  the  injured  limb,  few,  if  any, 
accidents  would  be  the  result."  Again,  *«  It 
(the  starch  bandage)  compresses  the  muscles 
throughout  their  whole  length,  and  moment- 
arily deprives  them  of  the  greater  portion  of 
their  contractile  force.  By  embracing  the 
whole  extent  of  the  limb  and  its  sinuosities,  it 


aA>rds  to  every  part  of  it  leeistiDg  suiaoes 
which  prevent  the  displacement  that  is  likely 
to  be'pioduced  by  the  icmainder  of  the  m!is- 
cnlar  action,  and  the  natural  elasticity  oi  the 
tissues,  and  keeps  up  a  degree  of  extensioa 
and  counter-extennon,  which,  in  oppootioa 
to  that  of  other  apparatus,  we  will  call  yur 
sive.  In  short,  by  its  drcular  contentiTe 
action,  it  forms  reaistii^  splints,  which  en- 
circle the  pelvis,  extend  over  the  limb  iner- 
ery  direction,  and  cannot  allow  of  any  £s- 
placement  either  in  its  natural  direcfioD  or 
in  its  diameter."  **  Its  compression  it  kes 
than  in  any  other,  asteris  pvibus,  when  it  is 
intended  only  as  a  contentive  means,  becaose 
it  is  more  in  harmony  in  its  distribution  with 
the  phvsiological  and  palholo^cal  condi- 
tions of  the  organ,  and  because  it  more  di- 
rectly counteracts  those  forces  which  tend 
to  destroy  coaptation,  and  moreover,  there 
is  economy  in  its  employment  It  isgradn- 
ated — that  is  to  say,  that  in  twenty-fou 
hours  after  the  application  of  the  bandage, 
this  is  transformed  by  the  longitudinal  8e^ 
tion  into  an  exact  mould  of  the  limb,  which 
is  at  once  suppple,  elastic  and  ie8i8tiDp;,ud 
ot  which  we  are  always  able  to  detennine 
the  degree  of  compression.** 

In  alluding  to  the  space  left  between  the 
limb  and  the  internal  surface  of  the  huAp 
by  the  desiccation  of  the  latter,  M.  Deioa- 
baix  makes  the  following  remarks :  "Noth- 
is  so  common  as  to  see  the  incoDTcnieDce 
that  is  sometimes  caused  in  certain  parts  by 
the  compression  of  the  newly-applied  appi- 
ratus,  insensibly  disappear  at  the  end  (rf 
twelve  or  twenty-four  hours.  These  farts 
seem  to  deprive  the  bandage  of  one  of  its 
prerogatives,  by  showing  its  compresMj 
properties  to  be'  at  an  end  tbe  moment 
it  oecomes  completely  dry.  But  ii 
Seutin  has  had  the  ingenious  idea  of  coo- 
structing  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  it 
represent  a  kind  of  bivalve  apparatus,  the 
sides  of  which  though  firmly  united  mayner- 
ertheless  be  brought  nearer  together  by  c^' 
tain  means,  until  tneir  primitive  relalioos  be- 
come completely  re-established.  Thismoditi- 
cation  appears  sufficient  to  restore  to  it  the 
properties  which  its  desiccation  has  caused 
it  to  lose,  and  to  definitively  maintain  teei- 
cacy  until  the  end  of  the  treatment  ITw 
manner  in  which  the  starch  bandage  efieets 
the  restoration  and  tbe  retention  of  tbe  frag- 
ments in  their  proper  relative  positions,  vixf 
be  considered  as  composed  of  two  very  dis- 
tinct modes  of  action  t  the  first  comprehends 
the  compression  of  the  ruptured  bones;  the 
second  consists  of  a  double  effort  of  exten- 
sion and  counter-extension.  The  compits- 
sion  of  the  fragments  presents  an  adapti* 
tion  of  the  remedy  to  the  evil— a  security  m 


TretUment  of  Chronic  Disease  of  the  Skin. 


185 


its  results  which  would  be  sought  for  in 
▼ain  in  the  other  apparatus  to  which  I  have 
alluded.  It  is  no  longer  as  is  the  case  with 
splints,  that  vague  and  uncertain  property 
cil  producing  coaptation  that  is  assign- 
ed to  one  or  more  solid  bodies  which  ap- 
pear to  cause  the  disappearance,  on  one 
side,  of  the  abnormal  bony  projections,  onlj 
to  allow  them  ^o  reappear  in  another.  Nei- 
ther is  it,  as  in  the  method  *  a  suspension,' 
that  contentive  force  attributed  to  a  flat  sur- 
face, which  is  to  support  a  round  body  in 
an  invariable  position,  and  which,  as  it  does 
not  act  itself,  cannot  maintain  the  reduction 
any  longer  than  during  the  time  the  limb  re- 
mains in  contact  with  it  by  virtue  of  its  own 
weight  On  the  contrary,  its  action  is  uni- 
iorm,  regular,  and  constant,  adapted  by  it^^ 
circular  quality  to  the  shape  of  the  organs 
which  are  about  to  receive  it,  and  produced 
by  a  force  which  seems  to  have  calculated 
all  possible  displacements  in  order  to  oppose 
them  on  all  sides  at  once."  •  ♦  ♦  •  • 
"  The  projections  and  depressions  are  alike 
nnder  its  influence,  because  the  starch  band- 
age is  able  to  present  depressions  to  the  for- 
mer and  elevations  to  the  latter.  The  mus- 
cles being  compressed  on  all  sides  with  the 
same  intensity,  and  in  a  perpendicular  man- 
ner, experience  an  obstacle  to  their  contrac- 
tion, which  would  tend  to  produce  displace- 
ments, and  yet  cannot  in  any  way  avoid 
the  action  of  the  compressing  means!  They 
remain  motionless  because  tney  can  find  no 
place  towards  which  to  direct  themselves,  in 
order  to  exercise  their  functions  with  more 
freedom  " 

MM.  Simonart  and  Pourcelet  make  the 
following  observations,  bearing  on  this 
point.  «*  If  the  shrinking  of  the  fractured 
limb  has  left  too  large  a  space  between  it 
and  the  bandage,  (a  fact  to  be  ascertained  by 
percussion  of  the  starched  case  producing  a 
clear  sound,  by  inspection,  and  by  the  in- 
troduction of  fhe  finger  between  the  soft 
parts  and  the  apparatus,  &c. ,)  or  if  the  vac- 
uum is  trifling,  tne  port-ons  of  the  bandage 
intervening  between  the  pasteboard  are  to 
be  softened  w*th  water,  and  then  by  well- 
directed  manipulations,  to  be  adapted  to  the 
shape  of  the  parts;  assistants  contribute 
with  their  hands  to  the  contraction,  which 
the  surgeon  completes,  and  maintains  by 
means  of  a  starched  roller  more  or  less 
tightly  applied.  If,  on  the  contrary,  the 
diminution  in  the  size  of  the  liipb  is  consid- 
erable, the  longitudinal  section  of  the  band- 
age ought  to  be  preferred ;  in  that  case  re- 
move from  one  or  both  valve^  a  piece  cor- 
les^diiiff  to  the  hollow  that  exists,  or  else 
beril  off  the  borders,  each  in  an  opposite  di- 
rectioD ;  moisten  with  warm  water  the  parts 


of  the  apparatus  intervening  between  the 
splints,  and  make  the  thinnea  edges  lap  one 
over  the  other.  The  solidity  and  even  the 
immobility  of  the  bandage  may,  if  necessary 
be  restored  by  applying  a  starched  roller 
round  the  hardened  case,  after  it  has  been 
covered  with  a  coating  of  starch.*' 

In  Dr.  Pigeolet's  "  Kxqaisse,"  we  find  the 
followiiiff  paragraph,  quoted  from  a  thesis 
by  M.  Thomas :  "  Sur  la  rompression  de 
I'appareil  inamoviblc." — ^Perfect  contention 
of  toe  fragments,  immobility  continued  until 
the  cure  is  completed,  solidity  in  the  ap- 
paratus, by  which  the  patient  is  enabled  to 
move  about,  simplicity  in  its  composition, 
economy  in  time  to  the  surgeon,  and  ex- 
pense to  the  patient — such  are  the  aovanta- 
ges  of  the  appareil  inamovible  amidonne. — 
In  simple  fracture  unattended  either  by  lacer- 
ation of  the  integuments  or  injury  to  any  im- 
portant vessels  or  nerves,  if  the  bones  are 
not  comminuted,  and  the  soft  parts  are  not 
reduced  to  a  pulp,  one  of  the  best  means 
for  preventing  the  inflammation,  or  for  ar- 
resting it  at  its  commencement,  is  an  uni- 
form compression  of  the  injured  part." 

These  extracts  will,  I  think,  be  sufficient 
to  prove  the  importance  and  the  capabilities 
ot  the  starch  bandage,  and  to  show  the  fa- 
cility with  which  it  can  be  made  to  fulfil 
every  indication. — Lancet. 


Efnict  of  El«otro«Macn«tiHn  on  tho  Aotion 
~  tho  Heart, 


of  1 


Let  an  electric  stream,  by  means* of  a 
magnetic -electric  rotation  apparatus,  pass 
through  the  medulla  oblongata  of  a  frog, 
when  the  palpitations  of  the  heart  will 
cease  as  long  as  the  rotation  is  in  action ; 
and  it  will  begin  again,  in  the  same  way  as 
before  the  experiment,  a  few  seconds  after 
the  rotation  has  ceased.  This  experiment 
produces,  in  fact,  tetanus  in  the  whole  of 
the  body.  When  any  other  part  of  the  spi- 
nal marrow  is  exposed  to  the  same  electric 
stream,  tetanus  is  equally  produced ;  but  the 
heart  continues  its  movements  without  in- 
lerniplipn.  Finally,  when  the  whole  skin 
of  the  fro§  is  subjected  to  this  stream,  so 
that  one  wire  lies  close  to  the  heart,  tetanus 
in  the  whole  body  is  produced,  but  without 
affecting  the  heait.  Directing  the  stream 
upon  the  ramis  intestinalis  nervi  vagi,  lying 
before  the  lunes,  produces  the  same  effect  as 
upon  the  medulla  oblongata. — Lancet. 

On  Tho  Trestmont  of   Ohroaio  Diseases  of 
the  Skin. 
BT   TB01U6  HUNT,  £8Q.,  M.R.C.0.   £N0., 
•    HSRNKIUT. 

Oritr  VIL^Tvbercula, 
This  dtder  comprises  nine  genera,  six 


186 


Tr^cUment  of  Chrome  Di8ea$es  of  the  Skin. 


of  which —  viz  :  Phyma,  (boils,)  Ferrwcco,  j 
(warts,)  Molluscom,  (a  very  rare  disease,) 
VertUigo,  Elephuntiasis,  and  Frambmsia, 
(diseases  of  foreign  climes) — require  no  far- 
ther  notice.  The  three  remaining  genera-— 
namely,  Acnty  Sycosis  and  Lupus,  deserve  a 
separate  consideration. 

Acne. 
Acne  is  is  a  disease  of  the  sebaceous 
glands,  consisting  of  a  process  of  sluggish 
inflammaUon  in  these  organs^  tending  slow- 
ly to  suppuration.  It  commences  with 
clusters  of  small  elevations,  or  pimples, 
with  conidal  summits,  which,  having  slow- 
ly completed  their  suppurative  course,  dis- 
chaige  their  contents,  die  away,  and  give 
place  to  others.  Willan  speaks  of  four  va- 
rieties—-4cn€  Simplex,  Acne  Punctata,  Acne 
Indurata,  and  Acne  Rosacea.  The  first 
three  more  correctly  describe  the  different 
stages  of  acne  complex  than  different  spe- 
cies. The  latter  (acne  rosacea)  has  a  dis- 
tinct character.  ' 

Acne  Simplex  commences  with  small  ele- 
vation in  the  cutis  of  a  red  color,  on  an  in- 
flamed base,  which  slowly  secrete  a  purulent 
matter.  Clusters  of  these  pimples,  with  con- 
oidal  acuminated  summits,  varying  in  color, 
red,  yellow,  or  black,  are  often  seen  disfig- 
uring the  face  of  young  persons  at  the  age 
of  puberty.  The  disease  is  generally  con- 
fined to  the  face,  neck,  and  shoulders,  and  is 
most  common  on  the  forehead  land  chin. — 
The  eruption,  if  left  to  itself,  gets  better  and 
worse,  but  generally  lasts  from  two  to  seven 
years,  commonly  disappearing  at  mature 
age,  but  occasionally  continuing  for  several 
years  beyond.  Nor  has  it  always  been 
found  an  easy  task  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
the  unwelcome  visitor.  Lotions  of  a  stim- 
ulating kin^,  such  as  a  weak  solution  of 
the  bichloride  of  mercury,  appear  servicea- 
ble for  a  time,  but  rarely  prove  of  perma- 
nent benefit. 


Case  of  Acne  Simplex  on  the  face,  Cured  by 
Arsenic. 

A.  B ,  a  pretty  servant  girl,  aged 

nineteen,  has  been  for  the  last  three  or  four 
years  disfigured  by  an  eruption  of  acne  sim- 
plex, in  its  various  stages,  on  the  forehead, 
chin,  upper  lips,  and  cheeks.  Her  general 
health  is  excellent.  Arsenic  was  prescnbed 
for  her  on  the  30th  September,  1845. 

October  21st,  1845.— She  has  taken  five 
minims  of  the  liquor  potass®  arsenitis  thrice 
a  day  with  her  meals,  steadily  for  three 
wjeeks,  and  her  face  is  now  quite  clear  of 
pimples,  excepting  one  or  two,  which  have 
not  nad  time  to  run  their  usual  course.  No 
fresh  elevations  have  appeared  for  a  weeL 
The  conjunctiva  is  not  anected. 
Case  of  Acne  IndwnUa  on  the  Shwldirh 
Cured  by  Anemic, 

j^ss  N ,  aged  twenty-one.  has  an 


Tlie  perils  attending  the  usual  mode  of 
administering  arsenic  have  hitherto  present- 
ed a  suflicient  objection  to  its  use  in  a  dis- 
ease attended  with  no  danger  and  little 
inconvenience.  But  a  long  experience  of 
the  absolute  safety  of  decreasing  doses,  and 
of  the  power  of  the  medicine  over  cutane- 
ous affections  generally,  suggested  to  the 
writer,  a  short  time  ago,  the  propriety  of 
testing  its  efficacy  in  acne  simplex.  The 
few  opportunities  of  trial  which  have  since 
presented  themselves  have  inclined  him  to 
the  opinion  that  acne  may  always  be  cut 
short  by  persevering  in  small  doses  for  a 
few  montns,  provided  the  system  be  other- 
wise in  health.  The  foibwing  saees  will 
aflbid  a  sample  of  the  geoenl  resuhs:^ 


extensive  eruption  of  solid  elevations,  sui- 
mounted  by  black  points  and  pustules,  m- 
swering  to  the  appearance  described  by 
Willan  as  marking  the  variety  called  acoe 
indurata,  on  the  skin  coverirg  the  deltoid 
muscle  in  each  arm,  aiid  extending  partially 
across  the  back.  The  pustules  are  occa- 
sionally sore,  and  irritated  by  the  dre58,an(l 
are  always  unsightly.  The  disease hasex- 
isted  nearly  seven  years.  She  is  in  g«» 
health.  The  face  is  clear  and  the  compltt- 
ion  healthy.  _^  .     . 

November  25th.  1844.— The  erupUoa  is 
copious  on  both  shoulders.  Five  minims 
of  the  solution  of  arsenic  were  prescnbed  to 
be  taken  three  times  a  day  with  the  meals, 
with  an  occasional  purgative,  her  bowels 
being  constipated.  This  was  persevered  m 
for  three  months,  without  inconvenience  on 
the  one  hand,  or  visible  improvement  on  iw 
other.  ■  , 

March  10th,  1845.— She  has  nowt^cn 
the  medicine  for  three  months  and  a  fort- 
night; and  a  great  improvement  is  visible 
during  the  last  fortnight.  No  new  pustiUes 
have  formed,  and  the  old  ones  look  indo- 
lent and  fading.  The  conjunctiva  is  inflam- 
ed. The  arsenic  to  be  continued  m  redu- 
ced doses,  and  alotionof  birchloride  of  mer- 
cury applied  sparingly. 

May  6th.— She  continues  to  unpro^'e.- 
The  pimples  are  small,  and  appear  to  par- 
take more  of  the  character  of  eiJaiged  papa- 
Is  than  of  pustules. 

July  2nd.— Quite  well ;  the  shoulders  are 
as  smooth  as  other  parts  of  the  surface. 


The  appearance  of  acne  in  young  fe«^ 
haebeen  sappoMdto  indicate  some  atoo^ 
mal  condition  of  the  uterine  •ecwtwn.  !«• 
ezperienee  of  the  writer  has  not  tMoa^a  w 


Treatment  of  Chronic  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 


187 


confirm  this  opinion.  In  both  of  the  cases 
ahoTe  detailed,  the  menstruation  was  perfect 
and  re|ular  throughout,  and  the  first  appear- 
ance of  the  discharge  seemed  to  have  nu  in- 
fluence over  the  eruption. 

Acne  Rosacea. 

Acne  rosacea  is  an  inveterate  form  of  acne 
simplex,  but  it  differs  much  from  that  dis- 
ease in  some  particulars.  Instead  of  ap- 
peaiiug  at  the  ase  of  adolescence,  it 
belongs  rather  to  tbe  decline  of  life,  com- 
mencine  at  tbe  middle  period ;  and  in- 
Btead  of  spontaneously  disappearing  after  a 
time.it  usually  gets  worse  and  worse,  unless 
checked  by  medical  treatment,  till  death. 
The  locality  of  acne  rosacea  is  also  peculiar. 
Instead  of  appearing  in  the  forehead  and 
chin,  its  seat  and  centre  is  almost  invariably 
the  point,  or,  more  rarely,  the  alae  of  the 
nose, horn  which  it  radiates  laterally,  grad- 
ually extending  over  the  cheeks,  and  affect- 
ing the  adiacent  skin  in  all  directions.  The 
point  of  the  nose  first  becomes  redder  than 
natnial,  especially  after  meals,  or  on  expo- 
sure to  cold  or  heat ;  the  veins  of  the  part  be- 
come visible,  then  pustules  form,  and  slowly 
progressing  through  their  stages,  leave  the 
skin  permanently  thicker  than  natural,  and 
puckered  with  small  cicatrices.  In  its  ad- 
vanced stages,  the  disease  sometimes  disfig- 
ures the  face  to  a  frightful  extent;  and  be- 
ing, in  a  few  cases,  the  penalty  of  dram- 
dnnking,it  becomes  particularly  afflictive  to 
the  temperate,  in  whom  however,  it  is  at 
least  as  common.  Like  other  forms  of  acne, 
it  attacks  both  sexes,  and  occasionally  oc- 
curs as  a  degeneration  of  acne  indurata  of 
long  standing.  But  the  subjects  of  acne 
simplex  are  more  generally  exempt  from 
acne  rosacea. 

The  treatment  of  acne  rosacea  has  been 
hitherto  unsatisfactory  in  its  general  results. 
Rayer  says,  the  disease  "almost  always 
returns  aifter  medicines  are  abandoned, 
with  a  rapidity  and  regularity  that  in- 
duce  dispair,"*  This  is  strong  language, 
and  from  a  man  of  Bayer's  experience,  most 
discouraging.  IndeeJ,  so  general  is  the  im- 
pression that  it  is  incurable  that  patients 
rarely  seek  medical  advice  for  this  disease, 
and  still  mote  rarely  do  regular  practitioners 
undertake  the  cure  in  a  methodical  or  per- 
scrcring  manner.  Certainly,  among  the  nu- 
merous and  ill-defined  varieties  of  this  dis- 
ease there  are  two,  the  recovery  of  which 
cannot  be  reasonably  expected.  1.  The 
disease  is  in  some  cases  hereditary,  and,  per- 
haps, likewise  congenital.    £arly  in  lifi  the 

«  Rayer^  <«  Treatise  on  Diseases  of  the 
'   P     English  Tranilation,  p.  476. 


nose  is  slightly  affected  by  the  disease,  and 
by  degrees  becomes  incurably  hypertrophied 
and  deformed.  The,writer  has  more  than  once 
known  it  complicated  with  an  irritable  con- 
dition of  the  rectum  and  with  chronic  hoem- 
orrhoidal  affections,  the  irritation  oscillating 
from  one  extremity  of  the  intestinal  tube  to 
the  other.  These  disorders  can  be  olleviaM 
by  medical  treatment,  but  there  is  something 
originally  wrong  which  probably  can  never 
be  rectified.  2.  The  acne  rosacea  of  (he  drunk- 
ard, connected  frequently  with  visceral  dis- 
ease, is  placed  by  the  habits  of  the  patient  out 
of  the  control,of  medical  art.  With  these  two 
exceptions,  the  varieties  of  acne  rosacea  pre- 
sent nothing  which  justifies  an  unfavorable 
prognosis,  much  less  despair. 

The  following  «*  very  instructive  case," 
as  Dr.  Chambers  described  it,  furnishes 
a  proof,  which  cannot  be  impugned, 
of  file  therapeutic  powers  of  arsenic  in  this 
disease. 

Case  of  Acne  Rosacea  in  a  middle  aged  lady. 
Cured  by  Arsenic, 

Mrs.  N ,  a  lady  of  temperate  habits, 

clear  complexion,  and  good  general  health, 
had  been  complaining  for  some  weeks  of 
languor,  lassitude,  headache,  hysterical  glo- 
bus, and  chronic  diarrhcpa.  These  symn- 
toms  were  treated  variously,  but  with  little 
success  for  a  time.  At  length,  on  the  ri^ht 
ala  of  the  nose  a  small  number  of  accumm- 
ated  pustules  appeared  elevated  upon  an  in- 
flamed base,  and  having  the  genuine  charac- 
ter of  acne,  but  more  closely  crowded  to- 
gether than  they  usually  are  in  that  disease. 
These  soon  became  covered  with  a  purulent 
incrustation  ;  other  pustules  appeared  in  the 
neighborhood,  until  at  length  the  whole  ala, 
with  a  continuous  portion  of  the  cheek,  be- 
came occupied  by  the  disease,  and  presented 
an  ugly  and  hypertronhied  appearance.  As  a 
portion  of  the  crast  became  separated,  other 
pustules  appeared  underneath,  and  a  second 
crust  was  formed,  which,  when  detached, 
discovered  other  formations,  on  a  larger  base 
and  involving  a  deeper  portion  of  the  sub- 
cutaneous tissue.  There  was  no  pain  or  itch- 
ing, and,  except  on  apnroaching the  fire,  no 
sensation  of  heat.  The  crusts  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  small  areola  of  a  dull  red  col- 
or, rather  inclined  to  a  brown  shade,  but 
never  exhibiting  the  livid  color  of  lupus, 
which  disease  it  nevertheless,  in  some  re- 
spects resembled. 

Dr.  Chambers  saw  the  case  within  two 
or  three  months  of  its  commencement  He 
pronounced  it  acne  rosacea,  gave  a  e;uarded 
prognosis,  and  prescribed  arsenic,  of  which 
the  first  dose  was  taken  on  the  third  of  Jan- 
nary,  1844,  and  continued  on  the  plan  de- 


188 


Treatment  of  Chronic  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 


tailed  in  the  preceding  cases,  for  three 
months,  bj  which  time  the  disease  had  en- 
tirely vamped,  and  the  hyperlrophied  celln- 
]ar  tissue  was  reduced  to  its  normal  condi- 
tion. Any  doabt  which  might  have  been 
entertained  concerning  the  agency  of  the  ar- 
senic in  the  cure  woold  have  been  dissipated 
by  the  nltimate  history  of  the  case.  The 
patient  now  left  her  home  "  for  a  week  " — 
was  actually  absent  five  weeks»  n^lected 
her  medicine,  and  returned  home  with  an- 
other tuberculous  incmstation,  which,  com- 
mencing on  the  original  spot,  had  now 
spread  more  horizontally  over  the  cheek, 
and  seemed  to  take  a  more  superficial  hold 
of  the  internments  than  the  former  attack. 

May  lOtb. — The  arsenic  was  now  resu- 
med, and  taken  steadily  till  the  middle  of  Ju- 
Iv.  Before  the  end  of  May,  however, 
the  disease  had  again  disappeared.  The 
medicine  was  persisted  in  for  two  months 
subsequently,  with  a  view  to  preveni  a  re- 
turn ;  notwithstanding  which  precaution,  the 
disease  was  only  kept  at  bay  for  twelve 
months,  not  radically  cured ;  for  in  the  fol- 
lowing July,  (1845,)  the  old  enemy  reap- 
peared, evidently,  however,  in  a  milder  form 
than  heretofore ;  for  now  the  arsenic  put  him 
to  flight  in  ten  days,  and  was  steadily  per- 
severed in  for  two  months  afterwards.  At 
present  there  appears  no  probability  of  a 
relapse.  A  considerable  indentation,  like  a 
bad  variolous  scar,  was  left  by  the  first  at- 
tack ;  the  latter  attacks  left  no  scar. 

The  diarrhfea,  headaches,  and  hysterical 
affections,  retired  as  soon  as  the  arsenic  had 
hold  of  the  system ;  and  the  patient  has  en- 
jojred  excellent  general  health  since  the  ter- 
mination of  the  nrst  course.  The  conjunc- 
tiva became  affected  as  usual,  synchronous- 
ly with  the  subsidence  of  diseased  action, 
both  local  and  constitutional.  No  external 
application  was  used,  nor  any  potent  inter- 
nal medicine,  after  the  first  exhibition  of  the 
arsenic. 

The  reader's  attention  is  particularly  so- 
licited tto  three  observations  suggested  by 
this  interesting  case  :-^l.  The  decline  of  the 
disease,  on  three  distinct  occasions,  under 
the  steady  use  of  arsenic  alone,  independent 
of  exter.ial  applications,  changes  in  diet,  or 
other  circumstances  of  regimen  ;  its  repeat- 
ed relapses  after  neglecting  the  medicine  for 
a  few  weeks,  and  its  (probably)  final  disap- 
pearance after  such  a  protracted  course  of 
reduced  doses  as  seemed  to  destroy  the  very 
tendency  to  mobid  action :  these  circumstan- 
ces demonstrate  the  absolute  control  which 
this  wonderful  medicine  exercises  over  tu- 
bercular diseases  of  the  skin,  and  holds  out 
a  strong  encouragement  for  its  lengthened 
trial  in  cases  of  Jongcr  standing     2.  The 


morbid  condition  of  the  nervous  system,  sad 
the  extreme  irritability  of  the  intestiaal  a- 
nal,  in  circumstances  which  would  general- 
ly be  held  interdictory  of  the  use  of  aiMoic, 
were,  in  this  ca^e,  not  less  clearly  relieTcd 
by  the  araenie,  than  the  cutaneous  afiectioa 
itself.    3.  The  resemblance  of  this  case  to 
lupus,  both  in  the  locality  primarily  aficeted, 
and  in  some  similaiitjr  of  eeneial  appearance 
and  history  not  easily  described,  seems  to 
suggest,  if  not  establish,  some  r^alion  be- 
tween this  disease  and  certain  forms  of  acne 
rosacea,  and  if  it  throws  no  light  on  their 
cause  and  origin,  it  indicates  a  morbid  con- 
dition of  the  general  system,  susceptible  of 
successful  treatment  by  a  similar  alterative 
plan.    The  writer  has  further  the  satisfac- 
tion to  state  that  he  has  had  an  opportuni- 
ty of  carrying  out  this  indication  with  the 
most  entire  success,  in  a  case  of  lupus  ez- 
edens,  of  many  years'  standing.  v 

The  two  varieties  of  acne  which  have  now 
been  discussed  belong  properly  or  principal- 
ly, to  two  distinct  and  distant  periods  of  life, 
respectively — viz.,  acne  simplex,  to  puber- 
ty ;  acne  rosacea  to  the  meridian  or  decline  of 
hfe.  There  is  a  third  species,  perta'ning  to 
the  intermediate  years,  and  seldom  met  with 
either  in  the  morning  or  the  evening  of  ho- 
man  li  fe.  And  whereas  the  principal  seat  of 
acne  simplex  is  the  forehead,  and  of  acneio- 
saeea,  the  nose,  the  variety  now  under  re- 
view occupies  only  those  parts  of  theke 
which  in  tne  male  subject  are  covered  by  tbe 
beard.    It  is  known  by  the  iiame  of 

Sycosis,  or  Mentagra. 

This  disease  has  all  the  characters  ot 
aone.  It  is  described  as  confined  to  the 
male  ecx  ;  but  the  affection,  is,  in  fact,  more 
commonly  met  with  in  the  female,  being  in 
the  fair  sex  generally  described  as  acne.  U 
is  usually  more  severe  in  men,  for  obvious 
reasons.  The  irritation  constantly  inflicted 
by  the  razor,  and  often  mistaken  for  the 
original  cause,  the  augmented  development 
of  the  hair  follicles  in  men,  which  become 
implicated  in  the  disease,  and  the  incrusta- 
tion resulting  from  the  adherence  of  the  dis- 
charge to  the  beard,  which  beconjes  an  in- 
cidental source  of  inflammation,-— all  these 
circumstances  contribute  so  much  to  the  se- 
verity of  the  disease,  that  it  often  becoines 
truly  formidable,  presenting  a  hideous  mix- 
ture of  pustules,  tubercles  and  incrustations. 
"  Arrived  at  this  stage,"  says  Rayer, "  sy- 
cosis is  always  an  obstinate  disease,  the 
cure  of  which  is  never  obtained  but  with 
great  difficulty."  Compared  with  this,  it  i« 
mild  in  the  female,  but,  nevertheless  very 
annoying  and  disfiguring.  The  descriptioii 
already  given  of  me  rise  and  progress  of 


Treatment  of  Chronic  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 


189 


acne  simplex  applies  accurately  to  sycosis, 
excepting  that  the  latter  disease  is  confined 
to  the  chin,  cheeks,  upper  lip,  and  submax- 
illary region,  and  the  resolution  of  the  pus- 
tules is  usually  attended  with  a  feeling  of 
heat  and  tension  in  the  parts  they  are  to  oc- 
cupy. The  writer  has  not  been  able  to  meet 
with  any  recorded  case  in  which  arsenic  has 
been  administered  in  this  disease.  Indeed, 
it  is  generally  regarded  as  originating  in  ex- 
ternal causes^;  the  cure  has  (therefore  been 
attempted  by'  local  means  alone,  of  which 
the  most  essential  is  the  plucking  out  of  ev- 
ery single  hair  of  the  beard  in  the  affected 
parts.  This  is  surely  a  mistake.  The  cause 
of  sycoffls  is  always  constitutional,  altliough 
its  aggravations  may  be  dependent  upon  lo- 
cal sources.  Arsenic  rightly  administered 
will  rectify  the  constitutional  disorder ;  and 
if,  at  the  same  time,  the  local  disease  be 
treated  with  that  attention  to  cleanliness 
and  external  management  recommended  by 
all  writers  on  the  skin,  the  disease  will  prove 
as  tractable  as  the  other  varieties  of  acne. 
The  following  cases  illustrate  the  sufficien- 
cy of  arsenic  alone  when  the  disease  occurs 
iu  the  female: — 

Cage  of  Sycosis  in  a  iady,  complicated  with 

Neuralgia ;  both  affections  cured  by 

Arsenic. 

Miss  S ,  aged  twenty-five,  (or  up- 
wards,) a  brunette,  of  naturally  clear  com- 
plexion»  had  suffered  from  frequent  attacks 
of  neuralgia  in  the  facial  nerves.  Early  in 
the  summer  of  1844,  she  experienced  a  re- 
turn of  her  old  malady,  which  destroyed 
her  rest  except  when  procured  by  opiates. 
The  chin  and  lower  part  of  the  face  gener- 
ally became  affected  with  a  sense  of  heat, 
tension  and  pruritus,  which  sensations  were 
in  a  day  or  two  succeeded  by  an  eruption  of 
small  red  points,  tending  to  suppuration 
aomewbat  more  rapidly  than  usually  occurs 
in  acne  simplex,  but  yet  presenting  an  ap- 
pearance exactly  similar  to  that  disease,  the 
dark  points  appearing  here  and  there,  and 
the  subcutaneous  integuments  beinff  very 
flore,  and  more  or  less  involved  in  Uic  in- 
ffammatory  process. .  The  forehead  and  the 
nose  wholly  escaped  the  disease. 

June  21st,  1844.— The  eruption  has  ex- 
isted about  three  months,  and  has  continaed 
by  successive  crops  to  this  time,  gradually 
getting  more  troublesome.  The  patient  is 
weak  and  thin,  and  is  suffering  from  extra- 
neous causes  of  anxiety ;  but  the  general 
health  is  otherwise  good,  and  there  is  no  in- 
terruption of  any  natural  function.  She  this 
day  consulted  the  writer  on  account  of  the 
jMuralgic  affection.  No  external  application 
waa  osed,  bat  the  following  medicine  was 


Srescribed — viz..  Fowler's  solution,  one 
rachm;  distilled  water,  seven  drachms i 
mix  Forty  minims  to  be  taken  thrice  a  day 
in  the  beverage  usually  taken  at  meals. 

June  30th. — The  pain  has  left  her.  She 
sleeps  well,  and  is  looking  better.  The 
eruption  is  fading,  and  the  skin  is  paler 
and  less  occupied  by  red  points.  Slight  con- 
junctivitis. The  dose  of  arsenic  was  redu- 
ced to  four  and  afterwards  to  three  minims 
of  Fowler's  solution. 

August  1st. — TheeruDtioD  has  quite  dis- 
appeared. She  has  had  no  relapse  of  the 
neuralgic  pain,  and  is  in  perfect  health. 

Case  of  Sycosis  in  a  female,  complicated  with 

Dyspepsia ;  both  diseases  yielding  to 

Arsenical  treatment. 


Miss  T ,  aged  twenty-seven.    The 

eruption  in  this  case  was  so  exactly  similar 
to  the  one  just  described,  (except  that  it  was 
confined  to  the  point  of  the  chin,)  as  to  ren- 
der further  delineation  unnecessary.  The 
dyspepsia  was  treated  with  aperients  and  al- 
kalme  tonics  for  a  fortnight,  and  a  diluted 
solution  of  bichloride  of  mercury  applied  to 
the  face,  without  any  amendment  becoming 
apparent  in  the  eruption,  and  with  but  little 
improvement  in  the  dyspeptic  symptoms. 

The  arsenical  treatment  was  commenced 
on  the  11th  of  Augnst,  1845,  and  in  little 
more  than  a  week  the  stomach  had  resumed 
its  healthy  tone,  and  the  skin  was  nearly 
well ;  but  she  neglected  the  medicine,  and 
before  the  following  Christmas,  both  com- 
plaints returned,  and  are  again  yielding  to 
arsenic. 

Both  of  these  patients  were  of  mature  age, 
and  had  been  free  from  the  cutaneous  affec- 
tion at  the  age  of  puberty.  The  skin  of  the 
forehead  was  sound,  and  the  disease  was 
somewhat  more  acute  in  its  character  than 
acne  simplex.  It  commenced  too  early  in 
life  for  acne  rosacea;  besides  which,  the 
nose  escaped  entirely.  The  disease  was 
therefore  mentagra,  or,  more  probably  acne 
menti.  In  both  cases  the  disease,  with  its 
respective  complications,  yielded  readily  to 
arsenic.  Not  a  doubt  can  be  entertained  of 
the  constitutional  origin  of  this  disease; 
and  calm  reflection  on  the  primary  charac- 
ters of  sycosis  in  the  male  sex,  will  lead 
the  observer  not  only  to  identify  the  disease 
with  acne,  but  to  perceive  the  necessity  of 
prescribinff  an  alterative  course  in  connection 
with  local  applications.  The  writer  re- 
grets that  he  has  not  as  yet  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  giving  this  kind  of  treatment  a  trial 
in  that  aggravated  form  of  the  disease  which 
is  peculiar  to  men,  but  he  cannot  entertain  a 
doubt  as  to  the  issue. 


190 


Treaimeni  ef  Ckrcnic  Disease  of  the  Skin. 


Lupus. 
Lapofl  it  flie*ikext  genus  in  the  order  ta- 
bercuk.  Tlus]  duease  ham  maoy  names ; 
and  the  cogaomen  Lopas  is  applied  by  an- 
thors  to  two  or  three  very  difloeot  diseaaes. 
Bayer  describes  two  varieties  aamely,  lu- 
nus exedem 9ailupus  non^^xedens,  to  which 
M.  Biett  adds  a  third— /ifptu  leilh  hyper- 

The  first  oi  these  ulcerates  irom  the  sor* 
iadb  inwards,  and  leaTes  deep  excaTalioas; 
the  aaccMid  apceads  and  utceiates  horizontr 
ally ;  the  thud  raielv  ulcerates  at  alL  The 
two  latum  are  tubercauff  diseaaerfknd  are  com^ 
paratiyely  rare  in  this  country.  The  former, 
(upusexedensy  or  noli  me  tangere,  is  a  fright- 
ful disease,  difficult  of  tme,  and  when 
cured,  leaTing  behind  it  more  or  less  of  de- 
fonnity.  To  this  disease  the  writer  will  at 
present  confine  his  observations.  He  is  dis- 
posed to  a$^ree  with  Mr.  Plumbe  in  doubting 
whether  this  form  of  lupus  is  strictly  of  tu- 
bercular origin.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  chronic  cu- 
taneous indanunationof  a  peculiar  character 
at  once  indolent  and  irritable,  but  often  lor 
a  time  devoid  of  pain ;  of  a  livid  color,  com 
mencing  generally  in  a  small  portion  of  the 
ala  of  the  nose  or  the  circumference  of  the 
nostril,  and  speedily  tending  to  pha^enic 
ulceration.  The  ulcen  are  covered  by  dir- 
ty-looking adherent  scabs,  which  on  des- 
quamation, discovered  a  surface  moistened 
by  a  glutinous  exudation,  soon  drying  into  a 
new  scab ;  and  this,  on  its  separation,  dis- 
closing deeper  excavations,  until  not  only 
the  sub'CUtaneouB  tissues,  but  eventually 
the  cartilannous  structure,  of  the  nose  is  eat- 
en into.  The  disease  commonly  extends  to 
the  upper  lip,  and  the  gums  of  the  upper 
jaw.  The  whole  of  the  nose,  upper  lip, 
gums,  and  incisors  of  the  upper  jaw,  and 
even  portions  of  the  bone,  have  been  known 
to  be  sacrificed  to  the  ruthless  invader.  The 
lower  eyelid  and  the  conmiissures  of  the 
lips  are  sometimes  respectively  the  seat  of 
lupus  exedens,  the  Iravages  of  which  pro- 
duce suffering  and  deformity  not  less  deplo- 
rable than  lupus  of  the  nose. 

The  causes  of  this  horrible  disease  are  ut- 
terly unknown.  Its  subjects  are  commonly 
young  and  previously  healthy  women,  from 
the  age  of  sixteen  to  thirty.  The  diagnosis 
is  not  difficult ;  but  through  the  too  general 
neglect  of  the  study  of  cutaneous  diseases, 
and  the  consequent  ignorance  of  the  symp- 
toms of  weli-aefined  and  specific  diseases, 
thi  repulsive  malady  has  very  often  been 
most  inexcusably  confounded  with  sjrphilis, 
and  the  disease  has  been  aggravated  by 
mercurial  salivation.  In  syphilis  there 
can  always  be  traced,  at  least,  a  concatena- 
tion of  secondary  symptoms  previously  de- 


veloped, and  the  disease  usually  mmmmrw 
from  within,  the  cartiilages  su&ring  fiat; 
and  the  ulceration,  when  it  appeus,  has  a 
character  of  its  own,  quickly  ^psec^ted  by 
the  experienced  eye.  In  lupus,  on  the  eos- 
trary,  the  disease  appean  m  persons  who 
have  generally  enjoyed  good  nealtfa,and  in 
iidiom  neither  primary  nor  serondary  sjmp- 
toms  have  ever  appeared :  it  first  anpean  m 
the  skin,  which  is  not  copper-coined,  bst 
livid.  The  prognosis  is  ^oiexallv  as  md- 
ancholy  as  the  disease  is  honiole.  Tbe 
writer  has  sousht  in  vain,  both  in  boob 
and  hofif»itaIs,  tor  a  single  case  inwbich 
its  ravages  have  been  actually  and  per- 
manently arrested;  although  here  and 
there,  allusions  to  cures  are  found  in  books. 
Precepts  for  its  treatment  are  snfficioitly 
plentiful ;  but  dononsiration  of  theirutili^ 
IS  lacking. 

The  following  case  will  show*  however, 
that  the  disease  may  not  only  be  arrested 
and  reproduced  at  pleasure,  durine  a  cotun 
time,  but  permanently  and  radically  cored: 
Catc  of  Lupus  exsdens  of  nine  year's  iasi- 
ingy  Cured  by  Arsenic, 

Mrs.  S ,  ared  thirty-two,  the  wife 

of  an  agricultural  laoorer,  had  been  tbe  so^ 
ject  of  lupus  exedens  for  nine  years,  win 
she  first  requested  the  advice  of  the  vrifcr. 
The  disease  had  probably  been  mistakes  kt 
syphilis,  for  she  had  twice  been  saSnted, 
(of  course  without  benefit,)  and  had  sotiiit- 
ted  to  escharotic  applications,  and  a  vanetj 
of  treatment,  both  in  hospital  and  privite 
practice,  without  the  idightest  advaslKe. 
She  had  been  under  the  care  of  Mr.  ^m 
in  St  Bartholomew's  Hospital,  for  twen^- 
two  weeks,  and  reports  that  she  was  trei» 
with  sarsaparilla  and  caustic 

Jan-  5th,  1837.— The  tipi  both  ale Mda 
part  of  the  septum  of  the  nose,  aie  aJreijly 
eaten  away.  A  portion  of  the  upper  iip 
and  of  the  gums  of  the  upper  jaw  have 
disappeared,  and  the  four  incisors  of  tbe  ip- 
per  jaw  have  been  sacrificed  to  the  w- 
racions  enemy.  The  remaining  poitiOB 
of  the  extremity  of  the  nose,  the  uway* 
fnenum,  and  gums,  are  in  a  state  of  nte* 
tion,  and  the  parts  exposed  to  the  air  in 
covered  with  a  dirty,  dark-looking  injrw^i 
tion,  the  edges  of  which  are  of  a  dull  liTid 
color.  The  breath  is  offensive,  indicating 
deep  seated  mischief ;  she  has  a  naal  W 
of  voice,  and  there  is  reason  to  »"*P^r* 
existence  of  a  greater  extent  of  dwease  tMH 
is  obvious  to  the  eye.  She  complains  «  «" 
vere  burning  pain  in  the  seat  of  the  djs««j 
and  is  "  treubled  to  get  any  rest"  &w» 
emaciated  and  weak,  but  <^«r^*  "!,J2l 
health.  The  parts  were  ordered  io  be  diet- 
ed with  a  pledget  of  pure  frwh  — "•"' 


Treatment  of  Chronic  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 


191 


cente,  thinly  spread  upon  fine  lint,  simply 
lo  protect  them  from  the  oxygen  of  the  at- 
mosphere, and  from  sudden  changes  of  tem- 
perature, no  other  application  bein^  used. 
Five  minims  of  the  liquor  arsenicalis  were 
ordered  to  be  taken  with  the  meals,  thrice  a 
a  day,  which  dose  was  persisted  in  with  ex- 
act regularity  for  three  months,  when  the 
conjunativa  oecame  afibetad.  The  dose  was 
then  and  afterwards  reduced  as  occasion  re- 
quired. This  plan  was  uninterruptedly  pur« 
sued  for  two  whole  years,  the  disease  mean- 
while, advan<;ing  as  heretofore,  but  she  at 
length  experienced  some  alleviation  of  the 
pain.    The  action  of  arsenic  is  slow  but 


January  30th,  1639. — She  has  now  lost 
all  pain,  has  regained  her  flesh,  spirits  and 
food  looks,  and  has  undisturbed  rest,  but 
mere  is  no  appieciable  improvement  in  the 
ulcerated  surf  aces.  The  disease  has  com- 
mitted visible  ravages  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  arsenical  treatment,  but  the  pa- 
tient fancies  it  has  been  ^<  at  a  stand  still " 
for  the  last  few  weeks. 

January  12th,  1840.-«She  has  now  stead- 
ily persevered  in  the  arsenic  for  three  years. 
The  conjunctiva  has  been  more  inflamed 
*<  latterly,'*  but  the  skin  of  the  nose,  lips  and 
gums,  is  perfectly  whole  and  sound.  No 
traces  of  ulceration  or  scaliness  aie  visible, 
but  there  are  uely  cicathces  and  scars,  with 
greatlossof  substance,  and  the  contamina- 
ted breath  suggests  the  idea  of  disorganized 
cartilaginous  structure. 

March  2nd. — There  is  no  visible  trace  of 
existing  disease  in  the  nose,  lip,  or  (rums, 
-  but  the  breath  is  still  ofiensive.  She  Uiinks 
she  has  taken  col^,  and  complains  of  a  pain 
in  the  chest,  dyspoena,  and  hard  dry  cough. 
There  is  a  croupy  hoarseness,  as  wdl  as 
a  nasal  intonation  in  her  voice.  Pulse  96, 
firm;  skin  hot  and  dry.  Fourteen  ounces 
of  blood  were  taken  from  the  arm  ;  aperi- 
enti, BaKnes,  and  low  diet;  discontinue  the 


April  10th.<~Quite  well,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  foul  breath,  and  nasal  tone  of  voice. 
No  nedicine  prescribed. 

August  ^Sro. — She  has  taken  no  arsenic 
for  five  months^  There  is  a  slight  return  of 
ulceration  in  the  right  side  of  the  nostril, 
hut  the  livid  apearance  of  the  skin,  and  the 
foul  unhealthy  character  of  the  ulcer,  are 
not  so  obvious  as  before.  A  small  tubercu- 
losa elevation  also  appeared  on  the  left  cheek 
near  the  nose,  which  nealed  over  after  being 
touched  with  lunar  caustic.  The  arsenic 
was  now  resumed  in  small  doses,  and  con- 
tinned  regularly  for  a  month. 

Sept.  5th.^The  skin  is  again  healed,  and 
baa  a  normal  sorfaee. 


January,  1841. —She  has  continued  in 
excellent  health  for  four  months,  and  taken 
the  arsenic  to  this  time,  it  was  now  con- 
sidered safe  to  dispense  with  it  altogether. 

July.— She  has  taken  no  ajwnic  for  the 
last  SIX  months.  Slight  return  of  ulceration 
in  the  nose.  Resume  the  arsenic  in  doses 
of  two  minims  of  Fowler's  solution  three 
times  a  d|iy.  The  ulcerated  portion  of  skin 
healed  in  ten  days,  and  the  arsenic  was  or- 
dered to  be  taken  for  six  months  longer, 
which  order  was  faithfully  obeyed. 

January,  1844, — She  has  now  abandon- 
ed the  arsenic  for  nearly  two  years.  There 
is  no  return  of  the  disease,  but  the  breath  is 
still  offensive. 

September,  1845. — She  remains  well ; 
less  UBtor  in  the  breath, 

After  this  patient  had  taken  the  arsenic 
about  twelve  months,  a  brown,  dirty,  and 
mottled  appearance  of  the  rete  mucosum 
was  obserTable,  first,  on  the  legs  and  thighs, 
then, at  the  end  of  the  second  year,  on  the 
trunk  of  the  body,  and  ultimately  on  the 
arms  and  neck,  the  face  only  escaping.  This 
disappeared  gradually  without  desquamation, 
after  the  medicine  was  abandoned.  The 
writer  is  not  aware  that  this  efieet  of  arsenic 
has  ever  before  been  recorded. 

In  this  extraordinary  and  highly  satisfac- 
toiylcase,the  controlling  power  of  the  arsenic 
is  so  perfectly  demonstrated  by  repeated  ex- 
periments,-—the  disease '  uniiormly  advan- 
cing when  the  medicine  was  withheld,  and 
as  uniformly  receding  under  its  influence, 
until  the  very  tendency  to  diseased  action 
was  absolutely  destroyed  under  its  continu- 
ed [use, — that  no  comment  can  add  any 
force  to  the  facts.  The  concurrent  testimo- 
ny of  writers  on  the  skin  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  ulcers  of  lupus  under  the  topic- 
al use  of  arsenic,  is  worthy  of  notice,  in 
connexion  with  this  case.  The  object  for 
which  arsenical  applications  are  recom- 
mended is  to  check  the  destructive  process 
of  the  ulceration  by  exerting  a  new  action 
on  the  surface.  Is  it  not  more  probable  that 
the  temporary  benefit  derived  from  the 
dressing  is  attributable  to  the  absorption  of 
arsenic  .'  Mr.  Plumbe  seems  to  be  aware 
of  the  influence  of  the  internal  use  of  arse- 
nic in  lupus,  but  he  does  not  tell  us  that  he 
ever  succeeded  in  curing  the  disease  by  it. 
The  cause  of  his  failure  is  unconsciouslj 
confessed  in  the  followlnc;  sentence :  "  It  is 
proper  to  increase  the  £ae  graduallyy  till 
some  manifestation  of  tendency  to  disorder 
of  the  stomach  and  bowels  occurs,  when  it 
should  be  entirely  withheld,  and  purgatives, 
{with  opium,  substituted,  till  such  symptoma 


192 


Treatment  of  Chronio  Diseases  of  the  Skin. 


have  subsided."*  1  have  marked  in  italics 
certain  words  in  the  preceding  extract,  to 
indicate  the  rock  on  which  practitioners 
generally  split  in  the  administration  of  this 
medicine.  The  writer  has  administered  ar- 
senic in  hundreds  of  cases,  but  has  never 
observed  the  slightest  tendency  to  disorder 
of  the  stomach  or  bowels,  because  he  has 
invariably  reduced  the  dose  before  it  has 
done  any  mischief;  and  probably  mixing  the 
medicine  with  the  food  has  protected  the 
stomach  and  bowels  from  injury.  It  is 
strange  that  some  writers  advise  it  to  be  ta- 
ken on  an  empty  stomach.  It  may  not  be 
unadvisable  to  repeat  (bat  the  curative  prop- 
erties of  arsenic  will  always  be  fonnd  to  le- 
side  in  doses  too  small  to  be  mischievous. 

The  diseases  comprehended  in  the  eighth 
order  of  Willan,  mactUa,  (if  diseases  they 
may  be  called,  being  simply  deviations  in 
color,)  do  not  fall  under  our  notice. 

Concluding  remarks. — lu  reflecting  upon 
the  uniform  success  which  has  attended  the 
right  use  of  arsenic,  in  the  treatment  of  a 
great  variety  of  diseases,  apparently  so  un- 
like, one  is  naturally  led  to  inquire—how 
does  the  medicine  act  ?  and,  what  points  of 
coincidence  are  apparent    in    this  motley 
group,  which  may  be  supposed  to  indicate 
uniformity  of  treatment  ?    To  those  ques- 
tions full  of  interest  as  they  are,  the  writer 
does  not  feel  himself  in  a  position  to  hazard 
a  reply.     His  present  object  is  to  direct  the 
attention  of  the  profession  to  a  series  of 
facts,  rather  than  risk  their  value  on  the 
hazard  of  a  speculative  theory.    It  is  cer- 
tain however,  that  there  must  l>e  something 
in  all  these  cases  constitutionally  wrong, 
which  the  arsenic  has  the  power  to  rectify. 
In  several  of  them  there  was  no  manifest  de- 
Tiation  from  health,  functional  or  structural, 
in  any  oi]B;an  save  the  skin.    It  may  there- 
fore be  inferred,  as  a  cprollary  from  the 
above  results,  that  local  diseaes  may  and  of- 
ten do,  indicate  a  cachectic  condition  of  the 
circulating  fluids,  where  there  is  neither  any 
apparent  deviation  from  healthy  vascular 
action,  nor  any  palpable  abnormal  tone  in 
the  nervous  system.    Beyond  this  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  carry  our  enquiries.    It  is  hazard- 
ous to  deduce  pathological  conclusions  from 
therapeutical  facts,  especially  from   those 
which  are  limited  to  a  confined  range.  But  the 
field  is  open  for  further  experi(nent.    It  n;ay 
turn  out,  at  last,  that  arsenic,  though  all- 
sufficient,  is  not  essential  to  the  cure  of 
these  diseases.    There  are  other  alteratives, 
probably  of  equal  power,  if  not  of  equal 
promise, which  have  never  yet  been  tned  me- 


•  Plumbe  on  DImuos  of  the  Skin, 
•dltion,  p.  65. 


Third 


thodically,  or  with  sufficient  care  to  test  their 
value.  To  this  end  it  is  necessary  to  try  a 
medicine  alone,  rejecting  the  aid  of  external 
applications  and  artificial  diet  Without  this 
there  can  be  no  advance  in  our  knowledge  of 
the  materia  medtca,  whatever  we  may  learn 
of  the  general  principles  of  pathology,  oiu 
very  natural  and  laudable  anxiety  to  do  the 
very  best  we  can  for  the  relief  and  restoia- 
tion  of  our  patients  too  often  tempts  us  to  a 
course  of  conduct,  which,  on  thefint  ap- 
pearance of  difficulty,  finds  us  at  fault  If  a 
man  would  know  the  value  of  a  remedy,  he 
must  use  it  as  he  would  an  instrument  de- 
termined to  try  its  ]K>wer  and  temper,  and  to 
operate  with  it  unaided  and  alone,— not  he- 
roically or  re^rdless  of  danger,  but  ming- 
ling discreet  vigilance  with  a  resolute  deter- 
mination not  to  abandon  it. 

.  It  is  now  many  years  since  the  writer  re- 
solved to  try  what  could  be  accomplished  bj 
arsenic  in  the  treatment  of  the  moie  anmaa- 
ageable  disorders  of  the  skin,  and  be  confess- 
es himself  astonished  at  the  result.    Hel»s 
little  acqaintance  with  other  remedies  beyond 
his  knowledge  of  their  general  ioeflkieocy. 
He  has  abjared  medicated  baths,  oiotmenff, 
and  lotions,  and  excepting  for  the  purpose  of 
reducing  inflammatory  action  where  it  existed 
he  has  placed  no  restriction  upon  diet  More- 
over, he  has,  in  almost  every  protracted  case, 
allowed  the  arsenical  course  to  be  intermnt- 
ed  a^ain  and  again,  and  generally  found  he 
could  check  the  disease,  or  allow  it  to  ad- 
vance at  pleasure.    In  this  way  he  has  had 
the  satislaction  of  establishing  the  value  of 
this  one  medicine  beyond  the  possibility  of 
doubt  and  the  reach  of  cavil,  and  by  illas- 
tratine;  the  efficacy  of  ^  small  doses,  and  thus 
securing  for  the  medicine  an  innocuous  op- 
eration, he  has  removed  the  only  valid  ob- 
jection to  its  use  ^namely,  its  dangerous 
properties.     Still   nothing  would  «ve  the 
writer  more  pleasure  than  to  hear  mat  any 
one  of  his  brethren  had  discovered  by  sure 
induction,  a  remedy  less  objectionable  than 
arsenic,  but  equally  potent  in  its  control 
over  these  disorders.      This,  however,  is 
scarcely  to  be  expected.    A  medicine,  irhicb 
besides  being  almost  certain  in  its  opera- 
tion, is  safe,  cheap,  and  tasteless,— whicb 
can  be  taken  at  meu  times,  through  a  whole 
life,  if  necessary;  generally  without  creating 
disgust  or  nausea, — which  interferes,  in  cn- 
rative  doses,  with  no  healthy  function,— 
which  gives  no  pain  and  inflicts  no  ineonye- 
nience, — has  surely  recommendations  which 
are  not  easily  surpassed. 

There  are  two  or  three  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  history  of  the  preceding  ca* 
ses  which  ouebt  not  to  be  overlooked. 
1.  Especial  care  should  be  taken  to  en- 


Liabilities  of  the  Muscle  in  Disease. 


193 


sure  the  purity  of  the  medicine.    The  neces- 
sity  of  attention  to  this  point  is  more  palpa- 
ble than  may  appear  at  first  sight.    One 
would  think   that  a  medicine  so  cheap  as 
arsenic  would  scarcely  be  adulterated,  and 
that  [its  well  known  poisonous  properties 
would  always  secure  a  careful  and  accurate 
preparation  of  its  fonnulae.    It  is  a  fact,  how- 
ever, that  the  arsenous  acid,  (oxide  of  Arse- 
nic,) sold  in  powder,  is  very  commonly  ad- 
ulterated with  sulphate  of  lime,  and  although 
it  is  difficult  to  make  the  Fowler's  solution 
of  such  materials,  (inasmuch  as  the  gypsum 
being  insoluble  in  the  solution  of  carbonate 
of  potash,  the  former  will  always  appear  as 
a  precipitate ;)  yet,  that  the  solution  is  some- 
^         times  prepared  in  this  way,  or  otherwise  ad- 
(         ulterated,  is  more  easy  to  believe  than  that 
such  enormous  doses  are  taken  with  impu- 
f         nity  as  are  said  to  have  been  administered.* 
I        The  solution  used  in  all  the  preceding  cases 
c        was  procured  from  Apothecaries'  Hali,  and 
I        its  operation  has  been  found,  at  l^ast,  as 

uniform  as  that  of  medicines  in  general. 
!  2.  The  cases  were^  for  the  most  part, 

I        treated  by  the  sea-side.    Whether  the  inHu- 
I        ence  of  a  marine  atmosphere,  or  of  mere 
I         change  of  air,  may  account  in  part  for  their 
successful  termination,  must  be  left  an  open 
question;  to  be  decided  by  future  experiment^ 
but  it  is  right  to  mention  that  most  of  the 
patients  were  so  circumstanced. 
Lastly.  Having  poinded  out  an  ehgible  meth- 
od of  bringing  to  a  happy  termination  these 
annoying  and  loathsome  maladies,  the  au- 
thor feels  that  there  is  yet  an  ulterior  and  very 
momentous  question  to  be  decided,  befoie 
these  results  can  be  contemplated  with  eru 
tire  satisfaction. 

There  prevails  in  the  profession,  as  well 
as  among  the  public  at  large,  a  suspicion^ 
(to  aay  the  least)  that  some  of  these  diseas- 
es cannot  be  safely  cured  at  all ;  that  mor- 
bid affections  of  me  skin,  though  severely 
afflictive,  sometimes  exercise  a  salutary  in- 
fluence upon  the  system  at  laige,  acting  as 
wholesome  and  natural  drains,  or  safety. 
▼aires,  to  the  vascular  apparatus,  and  thus 


*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  writer 
has  ascertained  that  it  was  formerly  very 
common  for  wholesale  druggists,  in  makiag 
Fowler's  solution,  to  meet  with  a  precipitate 
of  white  powder,  which  was  supposed  to  be 
a  residaum  of  arsenic  remaining  after  the 
saturation  of  the  solution.  The  practice  was  to 
poor  off  and  bottle  the  clear  liquor,  and  throw 
away  the  residuum.  Whether,  or  to .  what 
extent  this  practice  prevails  at  present,  is  a 
question  to  which  her  Majesty's  ministers 
are  probably  very  indifferent,  albeit  their 
lives  may  one  day  depend  on  it* 


by  their  timely  or  continuous  action  prevent- 
ing the  accession  of  still  more  serious  forms 
of  disease,  probably. involving  the  vital  or- 
gans and  sometimes  even  endangering  life. 
It  is  impossible  to  do  justice  to  the  merits  of 
this  really  important  and  somewhat  knotty 
question,  in  the  limits  allotted  to  this  paper ; 
but  with  the  editor's  permission,the  point  will 
be  fully  discussed  in  a  future  number.-2x27?cet. 


from  the  London  Lancet. 
Liabilitlas  of  the  Muscle  in  Disease. 

Of  epidemic  influences  that  disturb  the 
general  health,  the  voluntary  muscles  take 
early  and  constant  notice ;  for  of  life,  in  all 
its  varieties  of  of  action,  they  are  the  truest, 
readiest,  and  most  delicate  exponents. — 
Rheumatism,  influenza,  diarrhcea,  illness,  of 
whatever  kind,  that  is  "  going  about,"  pre- 
vail, by  acknowledged  symptoms  in  the 
locomotive  structures  of  the  body.  All  the 
animal  blights,  electrical,  contagious,  or  mi- 
asmatic, are  necessarily  muscular  in  their 
development.  Observe  your  patient,  then, 
from  first  to  last,  as  he  stands,  walks,  sits, 
or  lies ;  note  well  his  changes  of  posture ; 
see  what  he  does  with  his  hands;  watch  his 
features  at  their  several  periods  of  action 
and  repose ;  compare  them  in  their  separate 
play.  Nothing,  oe  assured,  is  more  truly 
clinical  than  such  indication,  by  impaireMi 
contractility^  of  disorder  in  the  nesh.  Re- 
member, without  disparagement  of  the  med- 
icine that  works  by  dissection,  analysis,  and 
the  microscope,  that,  while  engaged  in  the 
contemplation  ofj  these  muscular  symptoms, 
we  have  before  us  nothinff  less  than  the  ac- 
tual visible  operations  of  disease.  Obser- 
ving them,  we  have  under  our  wide,  natur* 
al  eye,  not  thQ  mere  segments  of  perverted, 
fast  decaying  structures,  not  the  shadowy, 
lenticular  spectra  of  a  discharged  and  dam- 
aged fluid,  but  organs,  living  and  complete, 
in  active  relation,  through  their  function, 
with  the  blood  and  all  else  that  is  vital 
in  the  body.  '  Here,  in  the  Queen's  ward,  is 

a  woman,  (Mary  Mc  B ,)  who  tells  us 

plainly,  though  not  in  words,  of  fast  im- 
provement and  recovery.  Near-sighted  as  1 
am,  I  see  already,  as  we  approach  her  bed, 
that  smce  yesterday,  she  is  better.  I  see  it, 
and  at  once  in  the  shape  of  her  features ;  I 
know  it  by  the  very  **  wag  of  her  eyelid." 
In  this  case,  the  buccinator  and  the  levator 
palpebrc  muscles  express  as  nuch  of  encour- 
agement as  could  be  spoken  by  the  mouth 
and  larynx.  Try  and  remember  this  patient 
as  we  knew  her  on  March  11,  when  she 
was  first  admitlei,  scarcely  conscious,  ex- 


194 


Abscess  with  Fistula  in  the  Female  Breast. 


bausted,  inarticalatei — how  she  lay,  and 
whined,  and  stared.  Day  after  day  we 
found  her  etretched,  as  if  by  palsy,  on  her 
hack;  her  knees  were  never  bent;  her 
hands  moved  but  seldom  from  her  side. 
In  this  unnatural  repose  of  all  voluntary 
muscles,  we  could  not  fail  to  recognise  the 
character  and  intensity  of  the  disorder.  The 
influence  that  operated  to  the  prejudice  of 
the  contractile  function,  was,  in  this  instance 
atmospheric,  and  of  the  season.  It  is  a  case, 
now  convalescent,  of  the  spotted  epidemic 
fever.  J.  A.  W. 


A  late  number  of  the  LMin  Hospital 
Gazette  contains  an  interesting  lecture,  by 
Dr.  O'Ferrall,  on 

Abscess  with  Fistula  in  the  Female  Breast 
Treated  bf  a  simple  method  of  Oompxession 

The  single  superficial  abscess  is  a  matter 
of  daily  occurrence,  and  requiring  but  little 
management  for  its  successful  treatment. 
The  cases  to  which  Dr.  O'Ferrall  applies 
his  remarks  are  very  different,  and  are  thus 
described  by  him  : — 

*<  The  breast  is  enlarged,  discolored,  and 
disfigured  by  a  number  of  fistulous  open- 
ings, discharging  purulent  matter.  The 
magnitude  of  the  part  is  different  in  different 
cases,  but  is  sometimes  such  as  to  exceed  two 
or  three  times  that  of  the  opposite  breast.  Its 
figure  is  irregular,  presenting  numerous  prom- 
inences and  depres8:on8,giving|to  the  organ  an 
unsightly  and  mis-shapen  appearance  The 
color  of  the  integuments  is  unequally  dis- 
tributed, patches  of  a  reddish  hue  appearing 
irregularly  mingled  with  the  natural  tint  of 
the  skin.  A  number  of  fistulous  openings 
are  visible  on  the  surface,  each  discharging 
purulent  matter.  I  have  counted  as  many 
as  fifteen  distinct  orifices  in  a  case  of  this 
kind.  The  pus  discharg^  is  general  ly  what 
15  termed  healthy — that  is,  uniform  in  color 
and  consistence.  Occasionally  a  tinge  of 
blood  is  mingled  with  the  discharge,  if  the 
part  has  been  subjected  to  much  handling  ot 
pressure.  The  orifices  near  the  nipple  have, 
m  some  instances,  yielded  a  milky  fluid 
mingled  with  the  pus." 

The  pain  is  generally  very  distressing, 
pressure  made  in  particular  situations  imme- 
diately causes  an  mcreased  discharge,*  and  a 
probe  may  be  passed  to  a  great  depth,  indi- 
cating the  existence  of  sinuses  in  various  di- 
rections. The  treatment  hitherto  nursued 
has  been, — Ist,  that  recommended  oy  Mr. 
Hey — namely,  to  lay  open  the  different  fis- 
tulous canals,  a  most  painful  and  often  a  for- 
midable operation ;  and  2ndly,  that  by  pres- 
«ure  directly  over  the  breast,  or  antero-pos- 


terior,  as  called  by  the  author.  He  objects 
to  this  proceedinfi",  on  the  ground  that  many 
of  the  sinuses  become  obstructed  by  the 
pressure  thus  made,  and  that  new  and  more 
extensive  burro  wings  take  place.  He  adopts, 
and  with  apparent  success,  the  foIlowiDg 
method  instead : — 

"  Having  carefully  pressed  out  the  matter 
from  all  the  fistuls,  direct  your  assistant  to 
grasp  the  breast  gently  in  both  hands,  and 
draw  it  forwards  as  far  as  possible  without 
causing  pain.  A  breast  greatly  enlarged, 
will,  in  this  manner,  admit  of  a  remarkable 
degree  of  elongation.  While  the  organ  is 
held  in  this  position,  you  are  to  pass  a  strap 
of  brown  soap  plaster,  an  inch  and  a  quar- 
ter broad,  round  the  part  nearest  to  the 
chest,  beginning  underneath,  and  making  (he 
straps  cross  eacn  other  on  the  chest  Other 
straps  of  plaster  are  to  follow  in  successioB 
each  covering  a  portion  of  the  one  preceding 
until  you  reach  the  anterior  part  of  the  mam- 
ma, wherf  a  space  is  to  be  left  for  the  dif 
charge  of  the  matter  through  the  fistulous 
ope n ings.  Yo u  are  next  day  to  apply  small 
compresses  over  the  situations  where  yon 
had  previously  felt  depressions  correspond- 
ing to  the  depots  within ;  over  these  com- 
presses a  few  more  straps  of  plaster  are  to 
be  applied. 

«*  Vou  now  take  a  Mouble  headed  rol/er, 
and  pass  it  from  below  upwards,  so  as  to 
make  it  cross  on  the  chest,  and  passiDg  un- 
der the  arms,  return  over  the  shoulders  to 
the  breast  again.  This  roller  is  not  to  be 
applied  with  any  degree  of  force.  It  is « 
sling— a  support  to  the  elongated  nwnBi. 
and,  when  properly  adjusted,  affords  imoe- 
diate  comfort  to  the  patient.  When  spew- 
ing of  it  in  the  hospital,  I  term  it,  in  contia- 
distinction  to  the  antero-posterior  mode,jg^ 
cular  compression  of  the  breast  The  hew 
is  compressed  in  the  manner  so  often  bei* 
ficial  to  the  limbs." 

COMPABATIVS  PROPORTIONS  OF    KmUiaSt 
IN  ORGANIC  AILMENTS. 

Messrs.  Schlossberger  and  Kemp.  ^ 
ing  the  views  of  Liebig  as  to  the  distmctifl" 
between  the  elements  of  food  used  for  «■ 
production  or  growth,  and  those  for  i^ 
ration,  have  prepared  a  table,  which  cxfluh 
its  the  nutritive  power  of  different  alimestig 
substances,  the  test  of  this  power  beingw 
quantity  of  nitrogen  which  those  subiwwj 
respectively  contain.  The  P«>P<»JJ^ 
this  element  contained  in  human  «»•*]?: 
at  21 2o  Fahrenheit,  being  taken  at  IOO,W| 
degree  of  nutritive  power  of  other  a|J«*^ 
ry  substances  may  be  expressed  bvthenj- 
hers  placed  next  to  them.  We  select  a  i^ 
of  the  principal. 


Abscess  with  Fistula  in  the  Female  Breast. 


195 


•*  Vegetable, — Kice,  81 ;  potatoes,  S4  ; 
rye,  106;  wheat  119  to  114;  maize,  100  to 
125 ;  oats,  138  $  white  bread,  142;  carrots, 
150 ;  brown  bread,  166 ;  peas,  239 ;  haricot 
beans,  283;  bean:^,  320. 

"Animal. — Human  milk,  100;  cow's 
milk,  237  ;  oyster,  305  ;  yelk  of  egg,  306 ; 
cheese,  331  to  447;  eel  lulled,  428;  pork- 
ham  boiled,  807 ;  salmon  boiled,  610 ;  por- 
table soup,  764;  white  of  an  egg,  845; 
skate,  boiled,  956;  herring  boiled,  808; 
haddock  boiled,  816;  pigeon  boiled,  827; 
mutton  boiled,  852  ;  veal  boiled,  911 ;  beef, 
boiled,  942. 

**  Purified  muscular  fibre  from  various 
animah. — Fibre  of  eel,  908 ;  of  salmon, 
962;  of  herring,  914;  of  haddock,  988; 
of  pigeon,  775;  of  lamb,  916;  of  sheep, 
928 ;  of  calf,  993 ;  of  ox,  935 ;  of  sow, 
893. 

"  Proximate  principles  of  animals  calcvia- 
led  from  the  Quantity  of  nitrogen,  as  deter- 
mined by  Mulder. — Pure  proleine,  1006; 
pure  albumen,  996  ;  pure  fibrine,  999  ;  pure 
caseine,  1003;  pure  gelatine,  1128;  pure 
cbondrine,  910" 

It  should  be  observed,  that  this  is  a  pure- 
ly chemical  way  of  considering  Ibequestion. 
The  facility  with  which  these  different  sub- 
stances submit  themselves  to  the  digestive 
process,  dependent  on  various  circumstances, 
must  greatly  modify  the  nutritive  power. — 
Edin.  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal. 

ON  THE  USE  OF   ERGOT   OF  RYE  IN   UTERINE 
HiEMORRHAGES. 

At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Dublin  Obstertri- 
cal  Society,  Dr.  Beatty,  read  a  communica- 
tion on  the  subject. 

•'Having  stated  the  beneficial  effects  of 
er^ot  given  after  haemorrhage  had  set  in,  he 
alluded  to  the  injury  likely  to  be  produced 
by  the  mdiscriminate  and  premature  admin- 
istration of  opium  in  these  cases,  and  point- 
ed out  the  different  times  at  which  the  ergot 
of  rye  and  opium  are  to  be  given  with  ad- 
vantage, the  former  in  the  eany  sta^e,  when 
'we  want  to  induct  uterine  contraction ;  the 
latter  in  the  last  stage,  when  we  wish  to  ra- 
store  the  exhausted  vital  powers  and  ner- 
vous energy.  He  recommended  the  employ- 
ment of  ergot  in  cases  where  there  is  reason 
(from  experience'in  former  deliveries)  to  ex- 
pect hsmorchage,  so  as  to  prevent  the  occur- 
rence of  this  formidable  accident.  He  pre- 
f tares  an  infusion  of  one  drachm  of  eiigot  in 
our  ounces  of  boHing  water:  when  the 
child's  head  has  cleared  the  external  orifice, 
he  gives  one  half  of  the  dose,  including  the 
powder,  and  when  the  child  is  entirely  ex- 
pelled, the  remainder  is  given.    Dt,  Beatty 


gave  the  details  of  several  cases  in  which 
this  practice  was  followed  by  comple  suc- 
cess. The  placenta  was  thrown  off  in  all 
without  any  difficulty,  and  in  none  did  hae- 
morrhage appear,  although  in  former  labors 
the  greatest  danger  to  life  had  been  experi- 
enced. 

**  He  alluded  to  the  power  possessed  by 
the  ergot  of  restraining  after-pains,  and  men- 
tioned some  cases  in  which  he  had  given  the 
medicine  with  this  view,  and  with  the  best 
effect. 

**  He  concluded  by  bearing  strong  testimo- 
ny to  the  value  of  this  medicine  in  cases  of 
very  obstinate  menorrhagia  when  given  in 
doses  of  five  grains  three  times  a  day ;  and 
he  mentioned  having  witnessed  on  some  oc- 
casions, when  the  medicine  had  been  thus 
given,  the  production  of  severe  cramp-like 
pains  in  the  hips,  and  upper  part  of  the 
thighs," — Dublin  Hospital  Gazette. 


RECURRENCE  OF  MENSTRUATION    AT  AN  AIV 
VANCED  AGE. 

MM.  Murynck  and  Klutsens  relate  two 
cases  in  whicn  menstruation  recurred  several 
years  after  it  had  ceased,  and  continued  to  a 
very  advanced  age.  The  subjects  of  both 
cases  were  nuns,  f  n  one,  menstruation  had 
ceased  at  the  age  of  fifty- two,  recurred  at  the . 
age  of  sixty- two,  and  continued  when  the 
case  was  recorded,  at  the  see  seventy- three, 
with  perfect  regularity.  What  is  curious, 
the  patient  was  attacked  on  the  cessation  of 
her  menstrual  discharge  with  gastralgia, 
which  persisted  in  spite  of  various  remedies, 
until  the  recurrence  of  the  discharge,  when 
it  left  her  and  her  health  became  perfect.  In 
the  second  case,  the  menstrual  discharge 
ceased  at  the  age  of  fifty- two  also ;  it  recur- 
red at  the  age  of  sixty,  and  had  continued 
up  to  the  date  of  the  report,  when  the  patient 
was  ninety  years  of  age.  This  patient  was 
attacked  on  the  cessation  of  the  menstrua- 
lion  with  violent  colics,  followed  by  tic 
douloureux,  which  resisted  all  treatment, 
but  ceased  on  the  recurrence  of  the  menstru- 
al dischai^ge,  and  the  patient  at  the  age  of 
ninety,  was  in  the  enjoyment  of  health  with 
all  her  faculties  perfect,  and  with  the  tastes 
and  ideas  belonging  to  youth."— I>u6/m 
Hospital  Gazette. 

THE  SHAPE  OF  THE  EXTERNAL  EAR  IN  RELA- 
TION TO  MENTAL  DISEASE. 

Dr.  Conolly,  in  one  of  his  admirable  let- 
ters on  French  lunatic  asylums,  makes  the 
following:  remarks : 

«  M.  Foville  has  made  curious,  and,  I  be- 
lieve original  observations  on  the  shape  of 
the  ear  in  different  forms  of  insanity,  and  has 
noticed  an  analogy  or  resemblance  between 


196 


Abscess  with  FisttUa  in  the  Female  Breast. 


tbe  development  of  different  portions 
of  this  organ  and  the  brain  of  the  patient. 
Of  these  views  he  was  so  obliging  as  to  give 
me  some  explanation,  illustrated  by  an  ex- 
temporaneous diagram,  and  afterwards  by 
corroborative  examples.  In  some  of  the  ca- 
ses of  dementia,  or  of  the  lowest  degree  of 
intelligence,  the  flatness  and  defective  form 
of  the  helix,  anti-helix,  and  tragus  and  the 
disproportionate  enlargement  and  pendulosi- 
ty  of  tbe  lobe  of  the  ear,  and  rounded  clum- 
sy shape  of  tbe  outer  edge  of  the  auricle, 
were  very  striking.  Subsequent  observa- 
tions have  led  me  lo  believe  these  views  to 
be  exact  as  well  as  curious ;  and  they  ex- 
emplify the  abundance  of  external  evidence 
available  to  the  physician  in  relation  to  in- 
ternal disorder." 

In  support  of  the  view  here  proposed,  he 
relates  the  following  anecdote : 

**  Not  very  long  ago,  M.  Foville  was  call- 
ed upon  by  an  intelligent  and  philanthropic 
person  who  appeared  to  take  much  interest 
in  the  management  of  lunatic  asylums ;  and 
he  was  greatly  struck  with  a  conformation 
of  ears  in  this  gentleman  which  he  had  nev- 
er previously  observed,  except  in  cases  of 
mental  irregularity  or  disorder.  I  happen 
myself  to  know  that  tbe  individual  who  was 
the  subject  of  this  observation  has  had  sev- 
eral attacks  of  insanity,  and  although  now 
at  large,  and  exhibiting  considerable  mental 
activity,  has  repeatedly  been  in  confine- 
ment ;  circumstances  of  which  M.  Foville 
had  no  knowledge  when  he  remarked  what 
seemed  to  him  to  bean  anomalous  peculiari- 
ty."— British  and  Foreign  Review. 

THS  AGE  AT  WHICH  INSANITY  IS  MOST  PREV- 
ALENT. 

«*  To  determine  the  period  of  life  which  fur- 
nishes the  greatest  number  of  insane  persons 
it  is  sufficient  to  bring  together  the  records 
made  up  under  different  circumstances.  One 
of  them,  made  at  the  Bicetre,  where  poor 
tooor  men  only  are  received ;  another,  at  the 
Salpetiere,  an  hospital  destined  for  poor  wo- 
men ;  tbe  third,  at  an  establishment  devotea 
to  the  wealthy.  From  these  reports  we 
may  conclude ; — 1st,  that  the  age  which  fur- 
nishes tbe  greatest  number  of  insane,  is,  for 
men,  that  from  thirty  to  forty  years ;  whilst 
for  women,  it  is  that  from  fifty  to  sixty  years ; 
2nd,  that  the  ages  which  furnish  the  least, 
are,  for*  both  sexes,  childhood,  youth,  and 
advanced  age;  3rd,  that  among  women, 
insanity  appears  earlier  than  among  men— 
indeed,  from  twenty-nine  to  thirty  years  of 
age;  4th,  that  the  rich  are  afflicted,  in  com- 
parison with  the  total  number  of  insane  per- 
sons, in  a  greater  proportion  than  tbe  poor." 


THE   SYMPTOMS   AND    DUGNOSIS    OF    AMXUK- 
ISMS  OF  BONES. 

Symptoms. — Sometimes  tbe  pain  and  un- 
easiness of  this  disease  is  long  in  establish- 
ing itself,  but  for  the  most  part  ii  comes  oft 
suddenly,  with  a  sense  of  cracking  near  the 
joint.  After  continuing  two  or  three  months, 
a  tumor  is  perceived.  This  is  at  first  very 
small,  and  may  escape  notice;  but  after  a 
while  becomes  prominent,  the  skin  over  it 
then  becomes  violet  colored,  and  transparent, 
so  as  to  exhibit  the  numerous  sub-cutaneous 
veins.  On  examining  the  tumor  we  find 
it  connected  with  the  bone,  and  presenting 
different  degrees  of  consistency  at  various 
points.  Frequently,  on  pressing  the  more 
resisting  portions,  we  are  sensible  of  a  sea- 
sation  wnich  has  been  compared  to  the 
cracklingr  of  parchment,  or  the  breaking  of 
an  egg-snell,  a  sign  dependent  upon  the  de- 
pression and  re-elevation  of  the  thin  osseous 
shell  of  the  bone.  One  of  the  most  charac- 
teristic symptoms  consists  in  well-marked 
pulsations  synchronous  with  those  of  the 
heart,  and  which  are  suspended  when  the 
principal  vessel  leading  to  the  part  is  com- 

Sressed.  There  is  no  h-uit  de  sofiffiet.  Tbe 
isease  has  always  been  observed  in  young 
persons  or  adults,  and  has,  in  difierent  cases, 
Deen  attributed  to  various  acts  of  exleinal 
violence,  although,  doubtless,  the  changes  ia 
the  bone  had  already  commenced.  Thepro- 
gress  of  the  disease  is  generally  slow.  There 
IB  no  authentic  example  in  which  rupture 
has  occurred,'for  the  ulcerations  and  haemor- 
rhages spoken  of  by  some  authors  probably 
arose  from  pulsating  cancerous  degenera- 
tions. 

Diagnosis. — An  aneurism  of  a  bone 
may  be  confounded  with  one  of  the  soft 
parts,  the  symptoms  of  the  two  being  so 
very  similar ;  and  before  post  mortem  ex- 
aminations had  explained  the  true  nature  of 
these  cases,  the  mistake  was  inevitable.  In 
the  cases  treated  by  Pearson,  Scrapa,  and 
Lallemand,  the  disease  was  supposed  to  be 
an  aneurism  of  the  articular  arteries  of  the 
knee,  or  of  the  anterior  tibial.  The  osseous 
aneurism  forms  one  body,  as  it  were,  with 
the  subjacent  bone,  a  thin  shell  of  which 
imparts  a  sense  of  crepitation ;  when  the 
tumor  is  reduced  by  slow  pressure,  we  per- 
ceive the  loss  of  substance  in  the  bone. — 
The  aneurisms  unconnected  with  the  bone 
are  more  mobile,  and  impart  the  bruit  de 
soufflet  to  the  ear.  A  malignant  pulsating 
tumor  is  distinguished  with  greater  difficul- 
ty. The  chief  points  are,  that  it  cannot  be 
partially  reduced  by  pressure  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  an  aneurism,  while  it  usually  gives 
the  bruit  de  soufflet  in  auscultation." — Jfcf«i- 
ico-Chix,urgic9l  Review. 


Abscess  of  the  Heart. 


19r 


REMABKABLE   CASE  OF 
▲B80SSS  OP  TKB  HEABT. 
Pain  in  the  Leg  the  only  Symptmn  of  dis- 
ease during  Life. 

BT  T.   HOWITT,  £SQ.,  SURGEON. 

Observing  in  the  Lancet*  the  history  of  a 
"  rare  case  of  abscess  of  the  heart,"  by  Mr. 
Chance,  I  am  induced  to  send  the  particulars 
of  the  subjoined  case.  I  have  transcribed  it 
just  as  It  was  entered  in  my  note-book  at  the 
period  it  occurred.  I  still  possess  the  mor- 
Did  specimen ;  and  as  it  appears  from  Pro- 
fessor Owen's  statement  to  Mr.  Chance,  that 
there  is  not  one  similar  in  the  museum  of 
the  College  of  Surgeons,  I  purpose  to  depos- 
it it  there. 

On  November  18th,  1833,  at  eight  P.  M., 
I  was  requested  by  my  lamented  friend, 
Mr.  John  Merriman  (then  house  surgeon  to 
the  Lancaster  Infirmary)  to  visit  Samuel 

P ,  eight  years  of  age.    1  found  him 

suffering  from  most  acute  pain,  which  he  de- 
scribed as  deeply  situated  towards  the  cen- 
^tre  of  the  calf  of  the  right  leg,  having  com- 
menced suddenly  about  twelve  hours  previ- 
ously. So  far  as  we  could  learn,  it  had  not 
l>een  produced  by  any  external  agent,  he 
havine  had  neither  blow  nor  fall.  Upon  a 
careful  examinatron  of  the  part,  we  could 
detect  neither  swelling  nor  redness,  nor  any 
symptom  indicative  of  inflammation,  neither 
was  there  any  spasmodic  action  of  the  mus- 
cles to  account  for  it.  Occasiondly  the  pain 
remitted  in  severity.  When  he  complained 
of  violent  throbbmg,  our  examination  did 
not  appear  to  cause  any  increased  pain ;  his 
howels  had  been  relieved  by  a  dose  of  cas- 
tor oil  exhibited  by  Mr.  Merriman  this  mor- 
ning; no  headache,  no  pain  in  the  chest  or 
abdomen,  no  thirst,  pulse  110; — in  fact, this 
pain  in  the  leg  was  the  only  complaint  the 
Doy  had  to  make. 

Supposing,  from  the  history,  that  matter 
might  be  about  to  form  under  the  perioste- 
nm,  we  directed  six  leeches  to  be  applied 
over  the  seat  of  the  pain,  and  small  doses  of 
calomel  and  opium  every  four  hours. 

19th — Nine  A.  M.'  No  relief;  the  pain 
as  acute  as  yesterday,  yet  no  swelling  or 
redness,  except  around  the  leech  bites,  which 
had  bled  pretty  freely.  Having  during  the 
night  voided  two  lar^e  lumbrici,  he  was  or- 
dered a  turpentine  injection,  and  the  calo- 
xael  and  opium  to  be  continued;  pulse  120. 

20th.— Nine  A.  M,:  The  pain  in  the  leg 
titill  continues ;  his  general  condition  is  much 
-the  same,  but  he  appears  a  little  dull  and 
stupid,  not  answering  questions  very  readi- 

*  Angoft  No.>  p.  158* 


ly,  though  quite  correctly ;  pulse  130,  more 
feeble.  The  mouth  not  being  at  all  affected 
by  the  calomel,  we  imagined  the  dulness  he 
evinced  to  be  the  effect  of  the  opium,  and 
mercury  with  chalk,  combined  with  rhubarb 
was  substituted  for  the  calomel  and  opium. 
The  bowels  had  been  *wice  relieved  by  the 
turpentine  enema,  and  three  more  lumbrici 
voided. 

81st. — Nine  A.  M.:  No  mitigation  of  the 
pain  in  the  leg,  nor  any  further  evidence  as 
to  its  cause ;  the  limb  preserves  its  natural 
heat  and  size.  I  directed  it  to  be  well  rub- 
bed with  hot  turpentine,  and  then  enveloped 
in  a  warm  poultice.  In  other  respects,  little 
variation  from  yesterday.  Pulse  130,  fee- 
ble.— Eight  P.  M.:  Decided  symptoms  of 
coma  now  making  their  appearance.  Pulse 
140;  pupils  contracted;  tne  patient  lyin? 
upon  his  back,  constantly  moaning ;  witn 
difficulty  roused,  but  wnen  roused,  quite 
sensible,  and  still  complaining  of  his  leg. — 
Ordered  a  smali  blister  to  the  nape,  and  a 
teaspoonf ul  of  wine  to  be  given  occasional- 
ly.   Bowels  relieved  by  an  enema. 

22nd.— Nine  A.  M.:  Rallied  a  little;  less 
stupor;  perfectly  sensible,  and  answered 
questions  more  readily ;  blister  discharging ; 
pulse  130.  No  cessation  of  the  pain  in  the 
leg.  Wine  to  be  continued. — Eight  P.  M. : 
Much  the  same,  but  in  addition  he  com- 
plains of  pain  in  the  bowels,  which  have 
been  relieved,  and  are  soft  upon  pressure. 

23rd. — Nine  A.  M. :  Considerably  more 
stupor ;  when  roused  he  answered  a  ques- 
tion correctly,  but  instantly  relapsed.  From 
this  time  he  gradually  sanK,  becoming  quite 
insensible  to  all  stimulants;  tongue  and 
mouth  dry ;  lips,  gums,  and  teeth,  covered 
with  sordes ;  he  lay  upon  his  back,  con- 
stantly uttering  a  low  moan ;  his  legs  and 
arms  occasionally  convulsed  until  the  even- 
ing of  the  24th,  when,  death  closed  the 
scene. 

The  case  being  one  which  had  interested 
me  a  good  deal,  and  being  anxious  to  inake 
out,  lif  possible,  the  origin  of  the  severe  pain 
which,  throughout,  had  been  the  only  symp- 
tom of  any  disease  whatever,  until  the  su- 
pervention of  coma,  with  some  difficulty  1 
prevailed  upon  the  parents  to  allow  an  in- 
spection. 

Poet-mortem,  sixteen  hours  after  death. — 

Our  attention  was  first  directed  to  the  seat 
of  the  pain—the  calf  of  the  right  leg,  where 
we  could  discover  nothing  abnormal,  there 
not  being  the  slightest  alteration  in  any  of 
the  tissues,  nor  any  indication  of  inflamma- 
tion in  the  bone,  periosteum,  nerves,  vessels, 
or  muscles.  Abdomen :  the  intestines  free 
from  any  trace  of  disease;  kidneys  and 
bladder  healthy;  but  all  the  mesenteric 


199 


Remarkable  Mesmeric  Cure. 


elands  coQBiderably  enlarged,  some  of  the 
fargest,  when  cut  into,  containing  a  cheeky 
matter;  the  mesenteric  vessels  goiged  with 
dark  venous  blood ;  pancreas  indurated ; 
liver  and  spleen  healthy.  Upon  opening 
the  chest,  the  pericardium  instantly  attracted 
our  attention  as  appearing  very  much  dis- 
tended ;  and,  on  cutting  into  it,  there  ^sh- 
ed out,  as  near  as  we  could  guess,  a  pmt  of 
grumous  fluid  and  pus,  contamin^a  number 
of  curdy  flakes,  the  whole  interior  surface 
being  lined  with  a  layer  of  cheesy,  scrofu- 
lous-looking matter,  apparently  soft,  coagu- 
lated lymph,  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in 
thickness.  The  pericardium  investing  the 
heart  was  covered  with  the  same  matter,  and 
to  the  same  degree  of  thickness.  On  exam- 
ininff  the  external  surface  of  the  heart  more 
particularly,  we  discovered  a  rounded  emi- 
nence, situated  just  at  the  junction  of  the 
richt  auricle  with  the  right  ventricle,  and 
which  was  darker  In  color  than  any  other 
portion.  Upon  making  a  crucial  incision 
into  this  prominence,  there  flowed  out  about 
a  tea-spoonful  of  ill-conditioned  pus,  with  a 
lew  curdy  flakes.  This  small  abscess  com- 
municated, internally,  by  a  small,  ragged 
opening,  with  the  right  auricle,  which  con- 
tained a  mixture  of  pus  and  blood ;  there 
was  no  communication  with  the  sac  of  the 
pericardium ;  the  lungs  were  perfectly  sound. 
Head  not  examined. 

The  above  case  has  frequently  been  nam- 
ed by  me  to  many  of  my  professional  breth- 
ren, as  a  most  anomalous  one ;  yet  in  many 
respects  it  bears  a  striking  similarity  to  the 
one  detailed  by  Mr.  Chance.  The  publica- 
tion of  such  cases,  although,  perhaps,  lead- 
ing to  no  very  useful  practical  result,  (in  the 
present  state  of  our  knowedge,)  demonstrate 
to  us  what  very  formidable  disease  may  be 
progiessing  in  a  vital  organ,  even  to  the 
rapid  destruction  of  the  life  of  an  individual, 
without  the  manifestation  of  any  symptom 
likely  to  lead  to  the  detection  of  so  fatal  and 
insidious  an  enemy— a  fact  1  have  sev- 
eral times  seen  exemplified  in  disease  of  the 
brain.  Are  we  in  the  present  case  to  con- 
sider the  pain  in  the  leg  as  sympathetic  of 
the  diseased  heart }— Lancet. 


BEMARKABX.E  MB8MBBI0  OTTBB. 
At  a  lecture  given  at  Derby,  on  Wednes- 
day week,  Mr.  S.  T.  Hall  related  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  case :— It  is  that  of  a 
young  lady  of  whose  mind  and  disposition, 
to  say  the  best  1  could,  would  be  no  compli- 
ment ;  but  whose  bodily  powers  were  so 
worn  down  by  a  grievous  internal  disease 
and  a  natural  delicacy  of  constitution,  thaj 


some  years  ago,  she  was  unable  properly  to 
balance  herself  when  walking,' and  so  Idl 
from  the  top  1o  the  bottom  of  a  fcght  of 
stairs,  aererely  bruising  the  back  of  her 
head,  and  various  portions  of  her  spine,  step 
after  step,  during  the  entire  descent    From 
the  description  1  have  heard,  the  paroxysms 
and  tortures  to  which  she  became  subject, 
must  have  been  most  awful.    Notwithstand- 
ing her  previous  debility,  so  powerful  weie 
the  convulsions  she  afterwaids  for  some  time 
underwent,  that  it  often  required  the  cflbita 
of  two  or  three  strong  men  to  prevent  her 
being  thrown  by  them  oflf  the  bed.    To  m 
relief  of  these,  nature  came  at  length  with       j 
an  attack  of  paralysis,  which  entirely  pros- 
trated her,  and  for  neariy  three  years  she  lav 
unable  to  help  herself,  as  it  was  even  with 
difficulty  she  could  be  helped  by  others,  since 
the  slightest  application  of  a  camel  hair  jjcn* 
cil  to  the  region  of  the  spine,  was  BuffioMi 
to  occasion  tlie  most  exciutiating  pain.  The 
best  advice  that  could  be  obtained,  afar  or 
near— every  remedy  that  medical  autboritf 
could  suggest  to  her  kind  and  anxious  friends 
-  -had  been  tried,  and  had  left  her  little  tet- 
ter  than  it  found  her ;  and  when  I  was  fa* 
introduced,  she  was  not  only  suffering  im 
exceedingly  acute  pain,  but  appeared  tobe 
as  weadc^'and  as  inert  as  an  infant   The 
results  of  my  visits  have  since  been  altn^- 
ted  by  some  of  our  opponents,  to  theewrf 
of  a  powerful  imagination.    But  as  eva        | 
since  the  cessation  of  her  convulsions,  oac 
of  the  young  lady's  legs  had  become  penna- 
nently  foreshorted,  so  that  when  she  wtf 
made  able  to  stand,  she  could  not  bring  tue 
heel  within  two  inches  of  the  ground;  and 
as  this  physical,  and  not  imaginary  contrafr 
tion,  has  now  been  entirely  remoyed—lai' 
ther,  as  a  constant  and  anxious  medical  fnewi 
of  the  family  had  such  faith  in  the  paUents 
integrity  and  sound  judgment,  that  he  m 
declared  long  before,  if  mesmensm  coim 
produce  any  effect  upon  her,  be  should  m 
believe  her  report  of  it— such  an^J^T'";?' 
tion  is  as  preposterous  and  pitiful  as  w 
spirit  that  dictates  it.    Whatever  the  a«Dr 
between  my  passes  and  her  frame,  or  wiai- 
evername  it  maybe  called  ^y-^^'Z 
rose  by  any  other  name  would  smeii » 
aweet'— this  truth  is  dear  to  all  who  wow 
her,  and  though  her  sufferings  had  been  att 
and  more  than  I  have  described,  ap;o.H*^ 
commencement  of  my  present  series  of  vi^ 
to  Derby,  and  though  my  treatment  has  ma 
without  the  aid  of  drugs  of  any  kind,  she  tf 
not  only  now  comparatively  free  from  f^        j 
but  goes  freely  about  the  house,  enj<>y'"fT        ' 
society  of  her  delighted  friends,  and  9^ 
sionafly  walks,  unsupported,  in  thejareeD. 


gathering  flowers  witjk  her  Qwa 


Calculi  of  the  Prostate  GlandL 


199 


thankinlly  reaping  additional  health  from 
Buch  a  renewal  of  her  acqaaintance  with 
nature."  We  believe,  says  the  DeAy  Re- 
porter, that  we  are  perfectly  in  order,  rn  say- 
ing that  the  patient  thus  far  restored,  is  Miss 
Longdon,  of  Friar  gate,  well  known  in  Der- 
by as  a  kind  and  rotelligent  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends,  whose  parents,  and 
others  of  the  family  connexion,  were  present 
at  the  lecture,  and  concurred  in  all  that  was 
advanced  in  relation  to  the  case  by  Mr.  Hall. 
— Bath  Herald^  England. 


TIm  T>«atiB«&t  of  Ohronle  Bnlargemoat   of 
tho  Bwrsa  PateUiB. 

Dr.  Adams  submitted  to  a  recent  meeting 
of  the  Dublin  Pathological  Society  (Dublin 
Hospital  Gazette)  several  casts  and  speci- 
mens illustrating  the  pathology  and  treat- 
ment of  this  troublesome  affection.  Much 
condensed,  his  observations  are  to '  the  fol- 
lowing effect  :■—  . 

*«  E.  B -,  aged  twenty-two,  was  admit- 
ted into  Bichmond  Hospital,  under  the  care 
of  Dr.  Adam  A,  having  a  chronic  ealargement 
of  the  bursa  over  the  right  patells,  ffom 
which  she  experienced  so  much  inconve- 
nience, that  she  was  anxious  to  be  relieved 
of  it  by  any  means  thought  advisable.  The 
tnniour  was  about  ther  size  of  a  hen's  egg ; 
the  skin  covering  it  had  a  natural  appear- 
ance ;  fluctuation  was  evident,  and  small 
foreign  bodies  could  be  distinguished  in  the 
fluid. 

On  the  second  day  after  her  admission, 
Dr.  Adams  opened  the  tumour  by  airee  lon- 

Sitadinal  incision,  extending  from  above 
own  ward,  throughout  Ihe  whole  extent  of 
the  enlarged  bursa.  A  fluid  of  an  oily  ap- 
pearance escaped,  carrying  with  it  numerous 
small jpipin -shaped  bodies  of  a  whitish  col- 
or. The  interior  of  the  cyst  was  examined, 
and  some  few  small  bodies  were  found  ad- 
herent by  slender  pedicles  to  the  interior  of 
the  cyst ;  these  were  detached  from  the  lin- 
ing membrane  of  the  bursa  and  removed :  an 
oiled  dossil  of  lint  being  introduced ;  light 
compresses  and  bandage  were  applied.  On 
the  eighth  day  suppuration  was  established 
and  a  poultice  applied.  No  infl  immation 
nor  constitutional  disturbance  whatever  were 
excited.  Granulations  were  thrown  out 
irom  the  bottom,  and  the  cyst  gradually  be- 
came obliterated.  On  the  twentieth  day  the 
g»nulations  were  so  much  raised  (o  the 
vel  of  the  skin  as  to  need  the  application 
of  nitrate  of  silver.  She  was  discharged  on 
the  twenty-fifth  day  from  that  of  the  incis- 
ion having  been  made,  and  for  the  last  ten 
days  she  has  been  walking  about  without 
ieelingany  inconvenience. 


Excision  of  the  bursa,  which  is  situated 
over  the  i^tella,  when  in  a  state  ot  chronic 
enlargement,  has  been  recommended  as  the 
best  mode  of  proceeding.  Dr.  Adams  has 
known  this  to  nave  been  done ;  and  although 
he  admitted  that  there  might  be  some  cases 
in  which  9uch  an  operation  may  be  judi- 
cious, still  he  believed  that  such  caises  should 
form  the  exception,  and  that,  as  a  general 
rule,  the  operation  bv  a  free  incision  was 
preferable.  He  has  observed  thb  dissection 
to  be  a  very  painful  proceeding,  and  in  very 
large  tumours,  if  not  conducted  with  caution, 
the  knee-joint  might  be  endangered.  For 
example,  put  a  case  in  which  the  enlarged 
bursa  measured  in  its  circumference  thirteen 
inches,  projecting  from  the  patella  seven 
inches^  and  consequently  completely  cover- 
ing it  above,  below,  and  laterally.  T>. 
Adams  remarked,  that  while  a  free  incision 
from  above  downwards  could  be  made  in  a 
few  seconds,  with  but  little  pain  to  the  pa* 
tient,  and  without  any  immediate  danger  of 
injuring  any  of  the  subjacent  parts,  excision 
of  such  a  tumour  would  be  a  most  severe 
operation,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the 
synovial  membrane  of  the  knee-joint  might 
be  opened ;  whereas  the  incision  is  quickly 
and  easily  done,  is  infinitely  less  painful, 
and  in  those  cases  Dr.  Adams  had  lately 
under  his  care,  ^uite  satisfactory — the  de- 
formity which  might  be  supposed  to  remain 
after  the  operation  of  the  incision,  from  the 
thickened  cyst  which  remains,  being  found 
by  experience  to  be  really  nothing.  He  pre* 
fers  the  operation  of  free  longitudinal  inciso 
ions  to  punctures,  injection  or  seton ;  be^ 
cause  altnough  these  last  means  may  excite 
suflicient  inflammation,  so  as  to  produce  a 
radical  cure,  they  are  by  no  means  so  cer- 
tain ;  and  he  thinks  that  any  operation  which 
leaves  "foreign  bodies  behind,  is  likely  to  fail 
in  radically  curing  the  disease, because  when 
these  foreign  bodies  are  pressed  upon  while 
the  patient  is  kneeling,  new  irritation  and  in- 
flammation arise,  with  a  consequent  recur.- 
rence  of  the  disease. 

Another  great  advantage  is  this,  that  there 
is  no  constitutional  disturbance  following 
the  operation.  There  is  less  .novelty  in  the 
practice  here  recommended,  than  justice  in 
the  argument  by  which  its  propriety  is 
urged. 


Oalonll  of  tho  Prostate  Gland. 

A  discussion  which  occurred  recently  at 
the  "  Societe  de  Chiruigie,"  on  prostatic  cal* 
cnli,  and  which  is  reported  by  the  Gazette 
des  Hopitaux,  elicitea.^e  following  remarks 
on  the  subject:— 


200 


Use  of  Starch  Bandage  in  Surgical  Diseases. 


M.  Leaoir  stated  that  a  patient,  fifl^-fiye 
years  of  ase,  had  been  addressed  to  him  by 
a  provincial  surgeon,  under  the  impression 
that  he  was  laboring  under  vesical  calculus. 
On  introducing  the  sound,  he  found  an  ob- 
stacle which  gave  a  clear  sound,  and  which 
he  thought  was  a  vesical  calculus,  but  on 
examining  digitally  by  the  rectum,  he  failed 
to  recognise  its  presence.  On  exercising 
pressure,  however,  on  the  prostate,  he  caus- 
ed the  escape  of  about  fifteen  small  calculi. 
They  were  of  a  dark  yellow  color,  and  pre- 
sented facet  surfaces;  burnt,  they  gave  a 
decided  animal  odour.  The  patient,  who, 
when  he  entered  the  hospital,  had  all  the 
symptoms  of  serious  vesical  catarrh,  left 
nearly  well.  A  few  months  later  he  was 
again  sent  to  Paris,  under  the  idea  that  he 
was  laboring  from  vesical  calculus,  and  a 
number  of  small  stones  were  again  emitted, 
by  pressure  of  the  prostate.  Vesical  catarrh 
was  present  as  on  the  first  occasion.  M. 
Lenoir  thought  that  the  calculi  were 
formed  in  the  ejaculatory  ducts,  and  that  it 
was  because  they  occupied  the  orifice,  that 
these  produced,  when  touched  with  the 
sound,  the  sensation  of  a  stone  in  the  blad- 
der. 

M.  Nelaton  bad  met  with  a  case  at  the 
Hotel  Dieu,  similar  to  the  one  of  M.  Lenoii. 
The  friction  of  the  sound  over  a  hard  sub- 
stance in  the  region  of  the  prostate  had  led 
him  to  recognise  the  presence  of  prostatic 
calculi.  He  managed  to  withdraw  severed 
)>y  means  of  lithotritic  instruments,  and  the 
patient  left  apparently  cured.  Two  months 
afterwards  he  returned  with  the  same  symp- 
toms, indicating  prostatic  calculi,  and,  in  ad- 
dition, with  a  vesical  calculus.  He  was  not 
able  to  lay  hold  of  the  latter,  in  order  to 
crush  it,  and  was  obliged  to  perform  the  op- 
eration of  lithotomy.  On  scratching  the 
surface  of  the  incised  prostate  with  his  nail, 
he  managed  to  make  several  calculi  fall, 
similar  to  those  described  by  M.  Lenoir. 
The  patient  was  cured.  M.  Michon,  M. 
Guersant,  and  M.  Laugier,  thought  that 
prostatic  calculi  were  not  rare ;  M.  Mal- 
gaigne  was  of  a  contrary  opinion. 


Oat*  of  nicer,  Aocompanlod  with  Varicose 

Yelns  of  the  Leg, 

Treated  toUh  Cajeput  OiL 

John  C ,  aged  32,  admitted  an  in- 
patient, under  the  care  of  Mr.  Hancock,  5th 
March,  1S45,  with  ulcer  on  the  right  Ic^. 
States  that  he  has  had  a  sore  on  the  rieht 
tibia  since  1831 ;  be  had  it  first  in  Jamaica, 
where  he  was  in  the  habtt  of  drinking  large- 


the  leg  for  three  years.  When  admitted  the 
ulcer  was  two  inches  long  by  one  inch  wide, 
and  the  surface  of  the  sore  without  any  ap- 
pearance of  granulation ;  above  the  woand 
was  a  considerable  swelling,  caused  by  en- 
lai]^ed  varicose  veins.  He  su&red  so  much 
pain  that  he  could  not  put  his  heel  to  the 
ground.  Ordered,  cajeput  oil,  tweoty-foor 
minims ;  syrup,  two  drachms ;  distilled  wa- 
ter, eight  ounces.  Mix.  An  ounce  three 
times  a  day.  tSore  to  be  dre«ised  with  water- 
dressing,  and  patient  to  remain  in  bed. 

March  9th.— Swellirg  has  disappeared; 
sore  granulating  veins,  much  diminished  in 
size:  quite  free  from  pain;  passes  more 
urine  than  usual.  Says,  that  although  he 
has  frequently  rested  the  limb  before,  he 
never  observed  such  a  diminution  in  the  size 
of  the  vessels. 

20th. — Has  gone  on  improving  np  to 
this  date;  the  ulcer  is  now  very  neady 
healed.  The  veins  have  resumed  the  natu- 
ral size,  and  the  swelling  above  the  ulcer, 
caused  by  the  collection  of  varicose  reifls, 
has  entirely  subsided. 

Discharged  cured. 


Uee  of  the  Starch  Bandage  in  variow  Sd|<* 
cal  Diseases. 

BY  ▲.  MABKWICK,  ESQ.,  M.  R.  C.  S.,  LOXDOl. 

In  a  paper  lately  published  in  Tm  Ub* 
CET,  I  called  the  attention  of  its  readers  to 
the  use  of  the  starch  bandage  in  the  treat- 
ment of  fractures,  and  attempted  to  prove 
that  its  advantages  were  due  to  the  great  so- 
lidity and  support  it  gave  to  the  fractured 
limb;  to  its  preventing  the  displacement  of 
the  bones ;  to  the  facility  with  which  it  ca» 
be  spilt  open,  for  the  purpose  of  examiniog 
the  state  of  the  injured  member,  and  apply- 
ing such  remedies  as  the  case  may  reqaire; 
and  though  last,  not  least  in  importance 
— to  its  enabling  the  patient  to  leave  his  bed, 
and  move  about  from  place  to  place,  and  at- 
tend to  his  accustomed  avocations,  wilhoot 
either  risk  or  danger,  in  the  majority  of 
cases :  his  strength  being  by  this  means  kept 
up,  while  those  cachectic  and  debilitated 
states  of  the  constitution  consequent  on  a 
prolonged  decubitus  are  prevented. 

In  the  present  communication,  1  propen 
adverting  to  its  application  in  those  case* 
in  which,  as  in  fractures,  the  chief  indication 
is  to  keep  the  part  motionless.  These  are- 
dislocations,  sprains,  and  other  injoriea  « 
the  joints;  diseases  of  these  parts;  ruptow 
of  the  muscles  and  their  tendons;  re-sectMoa 


Use  of  Starch  Bandage  in  Surgical  Diseases.  201 


of  bones;  necrosis  and  caries;  certain  de- 
formities, either  congenital,  or  acquired,  or 
from  vicious  cicatrization ;  aneurisms ;  vari- 
cose veins;  hernia;  indurated  testicle,  &c. 
I  shall  consider  each  of  these  in  the  order  in 
which  they  are  here  ^iven. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  enter  into  a  full 

description  oi    every  species  of  luxation  :  I 

shall  continue  my  remarks  to  the  subject  of 

treatment,  and  more  particularly  to  that  por- 

I  tion  of  it  which  more  directly  concerns  us 

f  in  this  paper. 

There  are  some  dislocations  in  which  it  is 
I  almost  impossible  to  prevent  a  repetition  of 

the  displacement  by  the  ordinary  means — as, 
I  for  instance,  in  the  dislocation,  forwards,  of 

\  the  sternal  end  of  the  clavicle     Now  with 

\  the  starch  bandage  we  can  effectually  over- 

I  come  this  difficulty. 

The  indications  in  this  accident  arc,  to 
I  keep  the  shoulder  outwards  and  fo^^va^ds, 

I  and  the  sternal  end  of  the  clavicle  in  its 

I  proper  situation.     The  best  apparatus  for 

(  lulnlling  these  indications  is  a  starch  ban- 

I  dage,  consisting  of  a  combination  of  a  por- 

tion of  DessauTt's  bandage  for  fractured  cla- 
vicle and  the  anterior  ngure-of -8- bandage. 
The  former,  which  bhould  only  be  sufficient- 
ly starched  to  prevent  it  from  getting  slack, 
will  keep  the  shoulder  outwaras  by  means 
of  the  axillary  pad,  while  the  latter  will 
bring  it  forwards  and  keep  the  sternal  end  of 
the  Done  in  its  place  by  its  firmness  and 
soL'dity — properties  that  are  due  to  the  starch 
with  which  it  should  be  abundantly  covered, 
especially  over  the  sterno- clavicular  articu- 
lation. Should  more  firmness  be  required  to 
efiect  this  object,  a  piece  of  paste- board  or 
stiff  leather,  previously  soaked  in  warm  wa- 
ter, and  starcned,  may  be  applied,  and  secu- 
red by  a  second  figure-of-8  bandage.  The 
arm  is  then  to  be  supported  in  a  sling.  As 
tlie  axillary  pad,  by  pressing  on  the  vessels 
of  the  arm,  has  a  tendency  to  produce  (ede- 
ma, it  is  always  advisable  to  commence  by 
passing  a  roller  round  the  limb,  from  the 
nnffers  upwards.    ^ 

This  example  will,  I  think,  sufficiently 
show  the  importance  of  the  starch  bandage 
in  the  treatment  of  luxations.  .  1  may,  how- 
ever, state  that  it  does  not,  as  in  fractures, 
constitute  a  distinct  apparatus ;  on  the  con- 
trary, the  contentive  means  and  mode  of 
treatment,  in  each  particular  case,  remain 
the  same,  the  only  difference  being  in  the 
starch  with  which  the  banda^  is  covered, 
ior  the  parpose  of  increasing  }ts  solidity  and 
atrength«  and  preventing  it  from  becoming 
Joose^ 

8fT(4n9and  other  injuries  of  the  joints 
confltitnte  the  next  class  of  cases.  When 
called  to  a  case  of  sprain  inamediately  after 


it  has  happened,  the  first  thing  to  be  done  is 
to  elevate  the  limb,  end  place  it  in  the  most 
easy  and  comfortable  position  for  the  patient, 
and  then  to  adopt  such  measures  as  are  cal- 
culated to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  occur- 
rence, or,  at  all  events,  to  check  the  violence 
of  the  inflammatory  action.  The  immediate 
application  of  cold,  and  persevered  in  for  a 
suffioient  length  of  time,  seems  to  be  the 
most  effectual  means  of  preventing  the  af- 
flux of  the  fluids  towards  the  part  upon 
which  the  inflammation  depends.  When 
the  (inflammatory  period  has  passed,  no  time 
should  be  lost  in  placing  the  joint  in  a  starch 
bandage,  which  is  to  be  applied  in  the  man- 
ner directed  in  the  first  paper,  with  or  with- 
out the  pasteboard  splints,  as  the  case  may 
be.  This  apparatus,  by  accurately  mould- 
ing itself  on  all  the  inequalities  of  the  artic- 
ulation, forms  for  it  a  continuous,  perma- 
nent, and  immovable  splint,  which  not  only 
keeps  it  perfectly  free  from  all  motion,  but 
likewise  gives  it  that  support  by  which  the 
patient  is  enabled  to  get  about  much  sooner, 
and  with  far  ereater  safety,  than  he,  by  pos- 
sibility, can  do  when  a  moveable  apparatus 
is  employed.  If,  instead  of  being  sent  for 
immediately  after  the  accident,  as  I  have 
supposed  to  be  the  case  in  the  foregoing  par- 
agraph, we  do  not  see  the  patient  until  some 
time  afterwards,  when  there  is  considerable 
tumefaction  and  ecchymosis,  the  same  pre- 
cautions are  necessary  with  respect  to  the 
perfect  quietude  of  the  joint ;  but  the  em- 
ployment of  cold,  which  was  so  beneficial 
in  the  preceding  instance,  is  here  more  inju- 
rious than  useful.  Recourse  should,  in 
these  cases,  immediately  be  had  to  either 
general  or  local  blood-letting,  or  both  to  the 
extent  retjuired  by  the  seventy  of  the  injury, 
and  the  size  of  the  joint  affected,  followed 
by  warm,  emollient,  sedative  fomentations, 
and  poultices,  and  then,  when  the  inflam- 
mation has  been  subdued  by  these  means, 
the  application  of  the  starch  bandage  should 
be  forthwith  proceeded  with.  If  the  case 
has  become  chronic,  and  there  is  effusion  of 
serum  into  the  synovial  membrane,  together 
with  considerable  stiffness  and  weakness  of 
the  articulation,  then  the  remedies  recom- 
mended as  applicable  to  the  preceding  stages 
must  be  replaced  by  others  of  a  stimulating 
character,  such  as  friction  with  camphorated 
and  ammoniated  liniments,  blisters,  &c.,  with 
a  view  to  promote  the  absorption  of  the  ef- 
fused fluid,  and  the  joint  placed  as  quicklv 
as  possible  in  a  starched  bandage,  which 
wil^  in  the  majority  of  cases,  be  found  the 
most  powerful  and  effectual  resolutive  means. 
In  this  staee,  the  ligaments  are  considera- 
bly relaxed  and  weakened,  and,  iif  order  to 
regain  their  strength  and  firmness,  require 


202 


Use  of  Siurch  Bandage  in  Surgical  Dieeasa. 


to  be  kept  perfectly  quiet  and  well  support- 
ed. Nothing  can  be  better  suited  for  this 
purpose  than  the  starch  bandage,  from  the 
uni/orm  pressure  it  produces,  and  the  solid- 
ity and  immobility  it  possesses. 

PxUpy  thickening  of  the  synovial  mem- 
brane.— From  the  nature  of  this  afi'ection  it 
is  evident  that  perfect  rest  must  constitute 
the  only  means  upon  which  we  can  at  all 
calculate  for  producing  any  benefit.  Mr. 
Scott  employs  lor  this  purpose  strips  of  plas- 
ter, but  they  are  not  sumciently  efficacious, 
and,  moreover,  are  not  free  from  disadvanta- 
ges. One  of  these,  is  iheii  great  tendency 
to  produce  excoriation,  and  hence  to  necessi- 
tate their  frequent  removal ;  and  another,  if 
possible,  stilJ  greater  is,  that  when  abscesses 
are  present,  they  prevent  the  free  escape  of 
the  matter,  and  become  filthy  and  offensive 
in  consequence.  The  starch  bandage  is  an 
admirable  remedy  in  these  case»,  as  it  can  be 
to  applied  as  both  to  produce  the  efiect  desir- 
ed, and  to  allow  a  free  discharge  of  all  pur- 
ulent matter,  and,  at  the  same  time  to  check 
its  further  accumulation. 

Ulceration  of  the  cartilages,— Ab  ulcera- 
tion cannot  be  put  a  stop  to,  but  on  the  con- 
traiy  is  aggravated  by  friction,  it  is  clear  that 
the  only  means  by  which  we  can  arrest  or 
check  its  progress  is  to  keep  the  joint  in  a 
most  perfect  state  of  immobility.  This  con- 
stitutes the  most  important  part  of  the  treat- 
ment, and  must  not  be  nejjiected.  By  adopt- 
ing this  course,  we  someUmes  succeed  in  en- 
tirely curing  the  disease,  provided  we  are 
called  upon  to  treat  it  at  a  sufficiently  early 
period.  But  if  our  advice  has  not  been 
souffht.  until  the  process  of  destruction  has 
farther  advanced,  and  caries  has,  in  all  prob- 
ability, commenced  in  the  heads  of  the  bones, 
then  we  have  but  little  if  any  chance  of  ef- 
fecting a  perfect  cure ;  and  we  must  endeav- 
or, by  every  possible  means,  to  stop  the  fur- 
ther progress  of  the  disease,  so  as  to  bring 
about  ankylosis.  The  starch  bandage  is  the 
best  apparatus  that  L  know  of  for  restoring 
the  joint  in  the  first  stage,  and  for  arresting 
the  ulceration,  and. securing  the  termination 
by  ankylosis  in  the  second.  It  may  be  ap- 
plied either  entirely  round  the  joint,  or  open- 
ings may  be  left  in  it,  for  the  purpose  of  ap- 
plying such  remedies  as  the  nature  of  the 
case  may  require,  or  for  the  escape  of  the 
matter  from  the  various  sinuses.  Nothing 
can  be  more  congenial  to  the  patient,  or 
mote  likely  to  produce  beneficial  results, 
than  the  moderate  but  equal  pressure  which 
this  bandage  produces  on  ail  parts  of  the 
joint.  *<it  will,"  as  Sir  B.  Brodie  says,  when 
speaking  of  pressure  in  scrofulous  diseases 
01  the  j«ints,  *'  promote  the  healing  of  the 
sinuses,  and  by  more  completely  preventmg 


the  motion  of  the  joint,  will  leeaeu  the 
chance  of  fresh  suppuration,  and  favor  the 
union  of  the  ulcerated  bony  surfaces." 

White  Suelltng.^—Tt\»  disease  W  Ha 
origin  in  the  concellated  structure  of  the 
bones,  consequently  is  generally  met  with 
in  those  situations  in|which  thistissudiBthe 
most  abundant — viz.,  in  the  knee  and  elbow 
joints,  and  in  the  small  bones  compoeii^ 
the  tarsus  and  corpus.  The  tarsus  and  m 
knee  are  the  most  frequently  a&cted. 

The  treatment  in  this  affection  is  much  the 
same  as  that  required  by  the  last-mentioned 
disease,  the  indications  at  the  commence- 
ment being,  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  nl* 
ceration  and  prevent  the  other  stnictnrei 
from  becoming  affected ;  and,  at  a  more  ad* 
vanced  period,  when  these  have  become  dia- 
eased, and  abscesses  have  formed,  to  endeav- 
or to  save  the  limb  by  promoting  ankykms. 
Absolute  repose,  therefore,  of  the  afieded 
joint  is  of  the  uUnost  necessity,  a«  the 
slightest  motion  irritates  the  diseased  botta. 
accelerates  the  ulceiation  in  them,  and  hast- 
ens its  extension  to  the  adjoining  parts.- 
The  starch  bandage  will  prove  an  lAvaliulile 
apparatus  to  the  surgeon  in  these  cases.  It 
readily  admits  of  the  application  of  extennl 
remedies,  such  as  issues,  blisters,  or  otbff 
counter-irritants,  and  also  of  the  frccciita 
tlie  discharge  produced  by  these,  or  lesnltiBg 
from  the  abscesses  that  may  have  for- 
med ;  while  at  the  same  lime  it  gives  to  the 
joint  the  necessary  support,  and  preventewl 
motion  between  the  articulating  sorfacwa 
the  bones.  In  cases  where  large  abscesses 
have  formed,  it  will  be  found  of  great  «• 
vice,  by  the  uniform  pressure  which  it  pw* 
duces,  m  dispersing  the  purulent  malia 
which  they  contain,  and  in  suppressing  iH 
further  secretion,  and  by  this  means  bni«* 
ing  the  parts  into  the  condition  necessary  ta 
the  production  of  ankylosis. 

For  the  therapeutic  treatment  of  the  dis- 
eases of  the  joints.  I  must  refer  to  the  yaj- 
ous  surgical  works,  and  especially  to  Sr  » 
Brodie's  elaborate  treatise,  in  which  it  is  far 
ly  described. 

Rupture  of  the  muscles  and  tendons.--^ 
the  perfect  restoration  of  the  use  of  |w 
limb  will  depend  on  the  close  approximatioo 
of  the  lacerated  parts,  it  follows  that  m  w 
treatment  of  these  injuries,  the  member  morf 


•  White-swelling  is  a  term  that  hasbs* 
applied  by  various  authors  lo  veiy  ^^^ 
diseases,  such  as  iBllammatioa  of  the^BOVSl 
membrane,  pi^pj  ttiickening  of  the  •■J*il 
ceration  of  the  cartilagM,  and  eari«oi  m 
heads  of  bones.  It  is,  however,  to  tlie  !■ 
that  it  U  th«  most  s^iplieaUa,  fnwa  Ih^ 
cunstanca  that  the  color  oC  Iha  i" 
thai 


Us^  cf  Starch  Bandiige  in  Surgical  Disease9, 


2oa 


be  placed  in  eoch  a  positioD  as  will  perfect- 
ly relax  the  ruptured  muade  or  tendon,  and 
Dring  its  several  extemides  in  close  apposi- 
tion, and  a  suitable  apparatus  must  be  em- 
ployed to  maintain  tbem  in  this  condition. 
The  starch  bandage  will  be  found  the  most 
efficacious  one  foi  this  purpose.  It  retains 
the  limb  in  the  requisite  state  for  the  perfect 
coaptation  of  the  ruptured  surfaces,and  pre- 
vents the  contraction  of  the  muscles,  upon 
which  a  separation  frequently  depends. 

Let  us  take,  by  way  of  illustrating  its  ad- 
rantages,  one  of  the  most  serious  of  this 
class  of  accidents—viz.,  a  case  of  rupture 
of  the  tendon  of  the  rectus  femoris  muscle. 
In  Ibis,  there  is  generally  considerable  sub- 
sequent weakness  and  lameness  of  the  limb, 
owing  to  the  inability  of  the  ordinary  reme- 
mes  to  keep  the  parts  in  a  necessary  state  of 
extension.  Now  if  a  starch  bandage  be  em- 
ployed, it  will  overcome  every  difficulty,  and 
fulni  everjr  indication.  During  its  applica- 
tion, the  limb  must  be  completely  extended, 
and  the  coaptation  made,  by  depressing  the 
upper  portion  of  the  muscle,  and  raising  the 
patella  by  means  of  graduated  compresses. 
The  starch  bandage  will  also  be  found  of 
great  service  in  cases  of  spa-smodic  aflections 
of  the  muscles,  as  in  chorea,  &c. 

Jie-mtum  of  the  headi  of  Aon«».— This  op- 
awtion  is  had  recourse  to  when  we  wish  to 
remove  the  disease  in  them  without  sacrifi- 
cing the  limb.  It  must  therefore  be  perform- 
ed before  the  surrounding  soft  structures  be- 
oonae  implicated,  and  before  the  patient's 
health  is  seriously  affected.  After  the  ope- 
ration,  when  the  wound  has  nearly  or  quite 
healed,  the  joint  requires  to  be  confined  in  a 
certain  position,  and  kept  perfectly  quiet  for 
aome  time,  during  the  formation  of  the  fib- 
TOUB  tissue,  by  which  the  bones  eventually 
become  united  The  starch  bandage  in  these 
caaes  is  a  very  useful  apparatus. 

In  caries  and  necrosis  of  the  bones  also, 
and  in  the  inflammation  which  precedes  them 
the  firm  and  equnble  pressure  which  this 
bandage  produces  will  be  of  great  service  in 
checking  the  accumulation  of  matter,  and  in 
securing  liie  perfect  repose  of  the  limb,  by 
which  means  a  considerable  degree  of  irrit- 
ation will  be  prevented. 

Congenital  Deformities.— The  first  of 
these  that  I  shall  mention  is  spina  bifida. — 
The  treatment  consists  in  evacuating  the 
fluid  of  the  spinal  tumor,  then  replacing  and 
maintaining  the  protruded  membranes  with- 
in the  vertebral  cavity.  The  advantage  of 
jftreasure  and  puncture  in  these  cases  was 
XttUy  exemplified  by  the  success  the  lata  Sir 


Astley  Cooper  obtained  from  it  ia  two  in- 
stancea* 

Alhough  1  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of 
witnessing  the  effects  of  the  starch  bandage 
in  the  a&ction  under  consideration,  1  can 
but  think,  that  if  properly  applied,  and  care 
is  taken  to  protect  the  integuments,  covering 
the  .tumor  with  some  soft  material,  in  order 
to  prevent  inflammation  and  excoriation,  it 
would  prove  an  exceedingly  useful  and  ef- 
fectual  apparatus.  It  certainly  recommends 
itself  ior  trial. 

Another  frequently  congenital  deformity 
is  club-foot,  of  which  there  are  three  varie- 
ties. In  these  cases,  the  object  in  the  treat* 
ment  is  to  overcome  the  inordinate  contrac- 
tion of  the  muscles,  by  which  the  different 
varieties  are  produced.  This  can  be  effected 
in  many  instances,  when  the  child  is  not 
too  old,  by  apparatus,  which  both  restrain 
the  further  action  of  the  muscles,  and  tend 
forcibly  to  bring  the  foot  into  its  normal  po- 
sition. In  some  cases  it  is  necessary  previ- 
ously to  divide  the  tendons.  Most  of  the 
mechanical  contrivances  that  are  employed 
for  this  purpose  are  costly,  and  consequent* 
ly  beyond  the  reach  of  the  poorer  classes. — 
In  the  starch  bandage  we  have  a  cheap  and 
convenient  remedy,  one  equally  efficacious^ 
and  therefore  equally,  if  not  more  valuable. 

There  are  certain  other  non -congenital  de- 
formities, produced  either  by  the  permanent 
contraction  of  the  muscles  or  by  the  short- 
ening and  rigidity  of  the  fascse,  or  by  the 
^dual  contraction  of  the  cicatrices,  result- 
ing from  bums  or  extensive  ulceration,  for 
which  the  starch  bandage  will  be  equally  ap- 
plicable, after  an  operation  has  been  per- 
formed, for  the  purpose  of  overcoming  either 
the  contraction  of  muscles  or  of  the  cicatrices, 
or  counteracting  the  gradual  shortening  of 
the  facis.  To  this  class  belong  contracted 
finders  and  various  kinds  of  spurious  alky- 
losis,  8s  of  the  knee  and  elbow  joints. 

The  deformities  arising  from  burns  are 
frequently  very  considerable,  and  often  per- 
fectly irremediable.  Thus  the  bones  have 
been  known  to  be  disiocatetl,  the  joints  firm- 
ly flexed  or  bent  back  wards,  the  head  drawn 
on  one  side,  the  chin  united  to  the  inte|;u- 
ments  covering  the  sternum,  and  the  thigh 
to  the  abdomen.  It  is  always  advisable  to 
prevent  these  sad  results  as  much  as  possi- 
ble, by  the  application  of  bandages  during 
the  process  of  cicatrization,  so  as  to  keep  u^ 
a  constant  extension  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  that  in  which  the  deformity  is  about 

•  For  a  detailed  aocount  of  these  cases,  see 
the  second  volume  of  the  <<  Medieo-Chiror- 
gioal  Tranaaetiensy*'  and  Oooper't  <^ietlon- 
aiy, ''  artloli^  sphw  bifida. 


n 


204      On  Trichopathy  and  Chemical  Pathology  of  the  Hair. 


to  be  produced.  I  know  of  no  apparatus 
that  will  be  found  so  effectually  to  attain  its 
object,  and  with  so  little  inconvenience  to 
the  patient  or  the  practioner,  as  the  bandage 
under  consideration.  It  may  be  applied  over 
the  ordinary  dressings. 

In  aneurisms  and  varicose  veins  ix  is  ex- 
tremely useful.  In  the  former,  its  even,  but 
firm  pressure,  equalizes  the  circulation 
through  the  limb,  and  by  lessening  the  im- 
petus with  which  the  blood  is  sent  into  the 
aneurismal  sac,  prevents  its  dilatation,  and 
promotes  the  coagulation  of  its  contents, 
and  its  subsequent  obliteration.  In  the  lat- 
ter, the  support  it  gives  to  the  limb  prevents 
any  undue  accumulation  of  blood  in  it,  and 
enables  the  dilated  and  distended  veins  to 
contract  on  their  contents,  and  propel  the 
blood  onwards  towards  the  heart,  while  its 
firm  and  unyielding  nature  effectually  se- 
cures them  from  all  external  injury. 

In  umbilical  and  ventral  hernia  there  is  no 
more  certain  means  of  preventing  the  protru- 
sion of  the  bowel  than  the  starch  bandage. 
It  is  applied  in  the  following  manner: — 
The  little  patient  being  suspended  in  the 
air,  in  the  horizontal  position,  by  two 
assistants,  the  surgeon  proceeds  to  return  the 
intestine  into  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen,  and 
having  done  so,  places  over  the  hernial  aper- 
ture the  apex  of  a  graduated  compress, 
upon  which  firm  pressure  is  made  bv  an  as- 
sistant. He  then  takes  up  a  fold  of  the  in- 
teguments on  each  side  of  the  graduated  pad, 
wnile  another  assistant  passes  round  the 
body  a  linen  band,  six  or  seven  inches  wide. 
The  whole  then  is  firmly  secured  by  a  well- 
starched  roller. 

The  application  of  this  bandaj;e  may  be 
extended  to  other  herniae,  both  in  children 
and  in  adults. 

In  indurated  testicle  its  advantages  are  ve- 
ry apparent.  It  produces  much  more  firm 
and  equal  pressuie  than  any  strapping  can 
do,  and  does  not  cause  that  painful  excoria- 
tion of  the  skin  which  this  does  invariably. 

f  might  mention  several  other  cases  m 
which  It  would  be  beneficial;  butl  have  al- 
ready given  sufficient  examples  to  show  its 
value  and  importance. — Lancet, 


PRACTICAL  REMARKS 

On  some  points  of  Triohopathf  and  the  Ohoml- 
oal  Pathology  of  the  Human  Hairi 

By  Thomas  Cattdl,  Esq,,  M.  jD.,  M.  R,  C, 
iS\  E.f  Sfc,  Brauiiston, 

No  reply  having  yet  been  furnished  to  the 
wish  ofk  subscriber  expressed  in  the  Lancet 
of  March  28th  last,  as  to  the  ingredients 


used,  and  the  practices  adopted,  in  dyeiug  the 
hair,'*  I  am  induced  to  enter  upon  some  con- 
sideration of  the  subject. 

In  this  are  necessarily  involved,  tricho- 
dyschroia,  decoloration ;  tricho-crosolqw, 
coloration ;  and  the  general  pathology  of  the 
hair.  The  only  other  tllchopatbical  afk- 
tions  to  which  I  shall  here  refer  are,  aUopc- 
cia,  canities,  and  calvities,  or  baldness,  m,- 
riness,  and  fall  of  the  hair. 

Tricho-dyschroia  is  a  pathological  coiufi- 
tion  of  the  hair,,  which  may  arise  from  oon- 
stitutional  changes  induced  by  inadequate 
diet,  or  disease,  the  influence  of  emolioosot 
passions,  hereditary  influences,  &c.  Then 
is,  however,  no  cause  so  manifest  as  that  of 
chemical  reagency  in  decolorizing  the  hair; 
for  example,  if  the  hair  of  a  person  be  kt 
some  time  exposed  to  gaseous  chlorine,  ik 
natural  color  disappears,  and  there  is  per- 
ceived the  presence  of  a  bitter  adhesive  cob- 
pound  That  systematic  changes,  ushertd 
m  by  the  constant  use  of  a  diet,  deficient  ia 
the  elements  of  the  hair  may  alone,  or afr 
sociated  with  physical  affection,  stand  as  tie 
proximate  cause  oi  tricho-dyschroia,  isa 
point,  to  say  the  least,  which  theory  jos^ 
us  in  supposing.  In  corroboration  of  l» 
supposition,  that  tricho-dyechroia  is  d^ 
Induced  by  the  direct  and  powerful  inflneflce 
of  emotions  and  passions,  there  are  oA 
wanting  the  record  of  many  strikio^WDCi- 
dences.  „ 

It  is,  I  beleive,  generally  admitted,  th^» 
affe  is  an  es'^entially  ]>roximate  <*"*^j,?!' 
cho-dyschroia  and  canities.  But  to  **™J 
the  hypothesis,  it  is  necessary  to  pioTetW 
such  is  uniformly  the  case.  To  8U?po« 
otherwise,  is  to  suppose  this  essentiality  * 
essentiality,  which  is  a  contradiction.  J*J 
cannot  speak  of  the  cause  of  a  phya* 
chang^e  as  essentially  proximate,  unless  a 
admit  the  uniformity  of  this  cause.  Toat- 
firm,  therefore,  that  old  age  is  the  proiuM* 
cause  ot  either  tricho-dyschroia  or  cawtitt 
is  to  affirm  what  is  directly  contraTewd»I 
the  evidence  of  mumerous  facts;  stillirtj' 
perplexing  to  offer  a  solution  of  ihfi  «^"* 
cause  of  that  change  which  so  often  occbb 
in  the  extremes  of  apparent  juvcnihtyaw 
real  decrepitude.  We  are,  however,  wj^ 
dent  that  the  effect  is  the  same,  ^^^^^Jv 
occur  in  the  ascension,  meridian,  or  dew- 
nation  of  life,  as  the  chemical  pathoOTf 
each  will  give  us  no  room  to  <io"^."  * 
scarcely  necessary  to  observe,  that  heieditg 
influence  greatly  modifies  the  color  ol  w 
hair.  .      -(i« 

With  this  slight  reference  to  the  eatt» 
which  operate  in  producing  changes,  ▼«** 
ties  of  color,  and  conditions  of  ^fr^J^ 
is  here  incumbent  that  we  sbooM  inquw 


On  Trichopathy  and  Chemical  Pathology  of  the  Hair.       206 


what,  in  a  chemical  view  of  the  case,  con- 
stitutes the  nature  of  such  changes,  varie- 
ties, and  conditions. 

Vauquelin  asserts,  that  the  varieties  in  the 
color  of  the  hair  depend  on  the  presence  of 
a  colored  fatty  matter ;  but  such  notion  ap- 
pears to  be  controverted  by  the  fact,  that 
black  hair  chiefly  recognises  for  its  color  the 
existence  of  iron  in  a  state  of  suiphuret.   If 
this  colored  fatty  matter  be  the  proximate 
caas6  of  all  the  varieties  in  the  color  of  the 
1       hair,then  it  is  evident  that  of  what  color  soevr 
er  this  fatty  matter  is,  so  must  be  the  color  of 
I       the  hair.  Besides,  the  supposition  is  opposed 
i    •  to  too  much  factorial  evidence.  For  example, 
1       if  we  take  hair,'  exhibiting  the  diflferent  va- 
1       rieties  of  black,  aubtirn,  red,  or  brown,  and 
I       by  chemical  reagents  deprive  it  of  its  sul  • 
I       phur  or  iron,  we  deprive  it  of  these  colors 
i       or  varieties.    How  could  this  be,  if  the  col- 
I       or  in  all  its  varieties  depended  entirely  on 
I       the  presence  of  the  fatt^  matter.    Again,  if 
I       we  apply  to  the  hair  stains  of  lead  or  silver, 
i       or  silver  with  iron,  we  immediately  recog- 
I       nise  a  change  of  color.    What  is  the  cause 
I       of  this  change  ?    If  it  be  dependent  on  the 
I       fatty  matter,  then  must  this  fatty  matter  as- 
I       ainulate  the  new  color,  and  produce  such  a 
\       change.  But  such  cannot  be  the  case,  though 
"we  suppose  the  sulphur  which  combined 
with  the  me talic  oxide  existed  in  the  fatty 
matter. 

It  is,  then,  I  think,  the  existence  of  suL 
phar  in  the  hair,  and  hot  the  presence  of  any 
supposed  colored  fatty  matter^  that  may  be 
considered  the  cause  of  all  the  varieties  of 
its  color.  And  this  probably  not  on  the 
mere  fact  of  the  existence  of  sulphur  in  the 
liair,  but  from  a  variation  of  its  quantity  in 
difierent  hair. 

Besides,  this  opinion  mav  receive  addi- 
tional corroboration  from  evidence  negative 
as  "svell  as  positive — that  is,  suppose  we  de- 
prive the  hair  by  any  means  ot  its  sulphur, 
,  or  suppose  the  sulphur  non-existent  in  the 
hair,  of  what  color  would  it  be,  or  of  what 
mility  would  it  be,  to  apply  in  any  case 
stains  of  silver,  lead,  or  silver  with  iron  ? 

The  supposition,  that  the  relative  quantity 
of  the  sulphur  of  the  hair  to  the  metallic 
oxide  constitutes  the  proximate  cause  of  all 
its  natural  varieties  of  color,  is  moreover, 
"warranted  by  the  fundamental  principles  of 
chemistry ;  for  if  all  substances  comoine  in 
definite  proportions,  and  if  the  color  of  the 
hair  be  dependent  on  the  presence  of  a  me- 
tallic suiphuret,  may  we  not  rightly  pro- 
nounce, that  in  proportion  to  its  relative 
quantity  and  diffusion  will  be  variety  or  de- 
^gree  of  color? 

Tricho-crosology  is  a  compound  Greek 
tAXva»  which  I  have  devised  appositely  to  ex 


press  the  chemical  processes  employed  in 
reducing  some  of  the  unseemly  varieties  of 
color  to  which  the  hair  is  subject,  to  a  sup- 
posed standard  or  standards  of  natural  or 
ideal  beauty.  These  embrace  the  formation 
of  paste,  pommade,  and  liquid. 
1. — Phumaform  hair  dye. 

1.  Oxide  of  lead,  three  ounces;  carbon- 
ate of  lime,  two  ounces;  mix  into  a  proper 
consistence  with  hot  water,  and  apply  if  to 
the  hair,  enveloped  in  oil-skin. 

2.  Carbonate  of  lead  in  the  place  of  ox- 
ide of  lead,  and  proceed  as  in  the  other  case. 
The  efficacy  of  this  stain  depends  on  the 
formation  of  a  plumbite  of  lime. 

11. — Steariform  hair  dye 

Nitrate  of  silver,  a  drachm ;  nitric  acid« 
two  drachms;  irou  filings,  two  drachms: 
mix.  After  the  lapse  of  a  few  hours,  pour 
the  supernatant  liquor  on  two  drachms  of 
oatmeal.  Lastly,  well  mix  with  three  ounces 
of  lard. 

111.— Chulosiform  hair  dyes. 

1.  Silver,  two  drachms ;  iron  filings,  half 
an  ounce;  nitric  acid,  one  ounce;  water, 
eight  ounces :  mix.  When  the  metallic  sub- 
stances  are  dissolved,  pour  off  the  superna- 
tant liouor  which  constitutes  the  dye. 

2.  Nitrate  of  silver,  eleven  drachms ;  ni- 
tric acid,  a  drachm ;  distilled  water,  twenty 
ounces ;  soap,  {sap,  viridu,)  three  drachms ; 
gum-arabic,  a  drachm  :  well  mix. 

3.  Nitric  acid,  a  drachm ;  nitrate  of  silver, 
ten  drachms;  soap,,  {sap.  viridis,)  nine 
drachms;  mucillage,  five  drachms;  water, 
thirty-seven  ounces  and  a  half:  mix.  This 
differs  from  the  foregoing  only  in  proportions. 

4.  Lead  filing,  two  ounces;  hartshorn 
shavings,  an  ounce;  oxide  of  lead,  two 
drachms ;  camphor,  a  drachm ;  water,  a  pint 
Boil  for  half-an-hour,  and  when  fine,  pour 
off  the  supernatant  liquor  on  di-acetate  of 
lead  and  rosemary  leaves,  of  each  one 
drachm.  AjB:ain  boil,  and  when  sufficiently 
fine,  pour  off*  the  supernatant  liquor  which 
constitute^the  dye. 

Of  these  preparations,  as  stains  for  the 
hair,  none  claims  so  decided  a  preference  as 
the  last.  It  can  proiluce  injury  to  neither 
the  hair,  skin,  or  brain,  and  possesses  the 
advantage  of  communicating  a  beautifql 
color  and  curling  property  to  the  hair. 
Whatever  objection  there  may  be  to  the  use 
of  dyes  containing  the  nitrate  of  silver,  irom 
their  liability  to  darken  the  skin,  still  I  re- 
gard them  preferable  to  the  employment  of 
caustic  earths,  owing  to  the  depilatory  action 
of  the  latter. 

Before  the  application  of  any  liquid  stain, 
it  is  necessary  tnat  the  hair  be  freed  from  all 
greasy  matter.  A  close  brush  ancNi  comb 
are  aU  the  requisites  in  staining  the  hair. 


206 


Cases  of  Varecocele  Treated  by  Pressure* 


Conr.ected  with  the  general  pathology  of 
the  hair,  the  only  two  points  to  which  I 
shall  now  refer  are  allopecia  and  calvities — 
baldness  and  the  fall  of  the  hair. 
.  Allopecia  may  arise  from  any  cause  de- 
stroying the  vitality  of  the  bulb  of  the  hair — 
as,  vapous  fevers,  the  wearing  of  silk  hats, 
the  existence  of  what,  in  common  parlance, 
is  called  worm  at  the  root,  neglect  in  cleans- 
ing the  head,  &c. 

Calvities  follow  precisely  analogous 
causes,  and  merely  difier  from  allopecia  in 
degree. 

To  remedy  these  affections,  it  would  ap- 
pear, by  our  daily  advertisements,  that  every 
advertiser  had  discovered  some  secret  process 
— had,  in  fact,  ransacked  the  whole  arcana 
of  science.  But  leavin?  these,  and  the  vic- 
tims that  use  them,  I  wDl  mention  a  general 
remedy  or  two  which  will  be  found  uniform- 
ly efficacious,  and  infinitely  more  satisfactory 
in  their  results  than  bears'- grease.  Macassar 
oil,  or  any  other  advertised  preventative  or 
curative : — 

1.  Rosemary,  maiden-hair,  south ?rn- wood, 
myrtle-berries,  hazel  bark — of  each  two 
ounces.  Incinerate,  and  with  the  incinera- 
ted substance  make  a  strong  ley,  with  which 
to  wash  the  hair  at  the  roots  every  day, 
Keep  the  hair  cut  short. 

2  Carbonate  of  potash,  (perl ash,)  two 
drachms ;  water,  a  pint :  use  as  the  prece- 
ding. The  efficacy  of  both  these  remedial 
applications  depend  upon  theii  alkalescent 
character. 

But  where  a  greasy  substance  is  required 
for  the  hair,  T  would  suggest  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  elaine  of  olive  oil;  though  ex- 
pensive, it  will,  in  many  cases,  well  repay 
the  use,  as  it  never  thickens,  engenders  scurf, 
or  in  any  way  produces  detriment  to  the  hair, 
like  common  oil  or  pommade. 

The  only  other  greasy  matters  which  I 
would  suggest  as  substitutes  for  the  elaine 
are  ox-marrow,  well  agitated  in  a  mortar, 
and  castor-oil,  freed  from  all  i%  adhesive 
matter. 

1  trust  that,  for  the  future,  professional 
men,  and  not  nostrum-mongers,  will  take 
charge  of  the  diseases  aud  afections  of  the 
hair. — Laiicet. 


Cases  of  Varicocele  treated  byPreeenre  with 
Obeervatlona. 

BT  T.   B.    CURLING,  LECTURER  ON   SURGERY, 
&C.,  LONDON   HOSPITAL. 

The  author  states  that,  three  years  ago,  a 
case  of  varicocele,  cured  b^  the  application 
of  pressure  to  the  spermatic  veins,  came  aR« 
der  his  notice,  and  being  struck  with  tbf  j 


peculiar  adaptation  of  this  plan  of  treatment 
to  counteract  the  injurious  effects  of  the  di- 
lated veins,  he  determined  to  give  it  a  trial. 
He  has  since  treated  many  cases  of  varico- 
cele by  pressure,  and  as  a  sufficient  period 
has  now  elapsed  to  enable  him  to  form  a 
just  opinion  of  the  value  of  this  plan  of 
treatment,  and  of  its  advantages  over  other 
methods,  he  ventures  to  submit  the  results 
of  his  experience  in  the  management  of  this 
complaint  to  the  consideration  of  the  fellows 
of  this  Society. 

The  author  details  three  ca5;eii  of  varico- 
cele cured  by  pressure ;  the  first,  at  the  end 
of  nineteen  months;  the  second  at  the  end 
of  seven  months;  and  the  third  a  case  of 
double  varicocele,  in  ten  months.  He  also 
alludes  to  four  other  cases,  in  which  this 
plan  of  treatment  was  successful  in  curing 
the  disease.  He  remarks,  thst  in  these  ca- 
ses the  dilation  of  the  veins  had  taken  place 
at  a  comparatively  early  period  of  life,  was 
neither  excessive  nor  of  long  duration,  but 
was  productive  of  incon'^nience  and  unea- 
siness, which  could  be  only  partially  reme- 
died by  the  suspender ;  they  were  precisely 
the  cases  in  which  it  was  presumed  that 
pressure,  by  relieving  the  veins  of  the  super- 
incumbent weight  of  the  blood,  would  ena- 
ble their  coats  to  recover  their  proper  size 
and  tone. 

Two  other  cases  are  related  in  which  great 
and  immediate  relief  of  the  distressing  symp- 
toms occasionally  attendant  on  varicocele 
was  afforded  by  pressure,  but  the  parents 
had  not  remained  under  treatment  a  suffi- 
cient period  to  enable  him  to  judge  of  the 
ultimate  results. 

The  author  remarks,  that  little  aitentionis 
paid  to  constitutional  treatment  on  varicocele 
which  is  commonly  regarded  as  exclusively 
a  local  disease.  In  the  class  of  cases  ia 
which  the  benefit  derived  from  pressure  is 
most  apparent,  the  patients  are  persons  be- 
tween eighteen  and  thirty  years  of  a^e,  of 
weak  frame  and  constitution,  and  subject  to 
dyspepsia,  and  whose  venous  system  aad 
circulation  are  feeble.  In  these  cases  ibe 
operation  of  local  remedies  may  be  aided 
materially  by  general  treatment 

After  noticing  the  liability  of  this  disease 
to  relapse,  and  for  this  reason  recommend- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  truss  for  some 
time  after  all  symptoms  of  the  afifection  are 
removed,  the  author  adverts  to  another  dass 
of  cases,  in  which  the  application  of  pres- 
sure is  capable  oi  giving  considerable  relief, 
though  not  of  curing  the  disease.  They  are 
cases  met  with  at  a  somewhat  advanced  pe* 
riod  of  life,  in  which  the  plexus  of  dilm 
veins  is  of  lai^ge  size  and  of  long  standing, 
but  productive  of  only  ali^t  incooTenieBce, 


On  the  Initmal  Structure  of  the  Hutmtm  Kidney.  207 


which  may  be  remedied  by  the  suspender. 
The  application  of  pressure,  however  not 
only  removes  the  slight  uneasiness  but  also 
counteracts  the  tendency  to  further  dilata- 
tion, and  prevents  the  wasting  of  the  testi- 
cle, thoug;h  the  enlargement  is  too  great  to 
admit  of  the  vessels  being  reduced  to  their 
former  size. 
1  From  these  observations,  the  author  con- 

siders the  treatment  by  pressure  to  be  appli- 
i  cable,  either  for  the  cure  or  relief  of  the 
majority  of  cases  of  varicocele  occurring  in 
t  practice,  and  Its  simplicity,  freedom  from  all 
\  risk,  and  efficacy,  in  his  opinion,  render  it 
i  superior  to  every  other  method  of  treatment 

\  that  has  hitherto  been  tried,  in  all  the  ca- 
I  ses  which  he  has  treated,  he  has  employed 

\  the  mocmain-lever  truss,  which  seems  better 

i  adapted  to  make  the  necessary  pressure  at 

\  the  abdominal  ring  than  any  other  instru- 

t  ment  that  he  knows  of.    Tn  general  the  truss 

i  need  be  worn  only  during  the  day.  When 
(  the  scrotum  is  pendulous,  or  the  plexus  of 
\  dilated  veins  considerable,  he  advises  the 
1  addition  of  the  silk-net  suspender. 

Mr.  Lloyd  was  always  able  to  relieve 
1  varicocele  without  employing  a  truss.    Di- 

latation of  the  veins  alone  in  varicocele  did 
not  cause  pain  or  inconvenience,  any  more 
than  a  simple  varicose  condition  of  the  veins 
ol  the  leg  produced  suffering.  It  was  when 
inflammation  came  on  that  Uie  pain  and  in- 
convenience were  experienced-  Allay  that 
inflammation,  and  you  relieved  your  pa- 
tient. 

Mr.  Curling  in  answer  to  a  question,  said 
that  be  had  seen  one  case  in  which  the  use 
of  the  truss  had  been  discontinued  for  four 
months,  and  there  had  been  no  return  of  the 
coraplaint.  In  answer  to  Mr.  Lloyd,  he  ob- 
served, that  the  treatment  recommended  in 
the  paper  had  reference  only  to  those  cases 
in  which  the  patient  really  suffered  from  the 
disease.  These  suflerings  might  exist  inde- 
pendent of  inflammation,  as  the  sense  of 
weight  &C.9  experienced  by  patients  in  this 
dioesse,  and  the  means  taken  to  prevent  it, 
would  testify.     * 

Mr.  Solly  referred  to  the  case  of  a  hard- 
working smith,  who,  after  wearing  a  truss 
for  six  months  had  been  cured. 

Mr.  Coulson,  though  he  had  not  employ- 
ed a  truss  in  his  own  practice  had  known 
instances  in  which  varicocele  had  been  re- 
lieved by  such  application.  When  varico- 
cele became  troublesome,  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  drawing  the  scrotum  through  Wor- 
mald's  "  scrotal  ring,"  by  which  means  the 
testicle  was  drawn  up  close  to  the  abdomi- 
nal rin^,  and  this  with  a  suspender,  succeed- 
ed in  aSbrdinj^  relief.  The  apparatus  was 
removed  at  night. 


Mr.  Partridge  had  seen  a  gentleman  who 
suffered  from  varicocele  cotnplicated  with  a 
hernia,  which  it  was  difficult  to  return,  and 
in  whom  the  scrotum  was  so  painful  that  he 
could  not  bear  even  the  pressure  of  a  sus- 
pender. The  hernia  was  so  difficult  to  re- 
turn, that  he  was  ordered  to  lay  in  the  re- 
cumbent position  for  six  months.  The 
hernia  was  then  reduced  ;  he  wore  a  truss, 
and  the  varicocele  had  since  much  diminish- 
ed in  size. 

Mr.  Streeter  alluded  to  the  remark  of  Sir 
C.  Bell,  to  the  effect,  that  he  had  known 
varicocele  much  relieved,  when,  having 
bepn  mistaken  for  hernia,  a  truss  had  been 
applied  to  it. 


ON  THE  INTERKAL  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  HU- 
MAN KIDNEY,  AND  ALL  THE  CHANGES 
WHICH  ITS  SEVERAL  COMPOUND  PARTS  UN- 
DERGO IN  "  BRiGHT's  DISEASE."  By  Jo- 
seph Toynbee,  Esq.,  Senior  Surgeon  to 
St.  Geoige's  and  St.  James  General  Dis- 
pensary. 

This  paper  contains  the  result  of  the  au- 
thor's researches  into  the  structure  and  into 
the  nature  of  Bright's  disease  of  the  kidney, 
since  1838,  during  between  two  and  three 
jrears  he  was  engaged  in  pursuing  investiga- 
tions in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Bright,  but  as 
a  variety  of  circumstances  prevented  the 
publication  of  a  work,  the  result  of  their 
joint  labors,  the  author  details  but  the  prin- 
cipal facts  which  have  been  elicited.  Feel- 
ing how  much  is  due  to  the  assistance  and 
cooperation  of  Dr.  Bright,  at  whose  expense 
the  greater  part  of  the  extended  series  of 
drawings  elucidating  the  paper  were  made, 
the  author  states,  that  it  is  not  without  some 
degree  of  diffidence  that  he  prefixes  his  name 
to  the  comma nication. 

In  the  division  of  the  paper  on  the  "  An- 
atomy oj  the  Kidney,"  the  author  succes- 
sively diescribes  minutely  the  result  of  the 
examination  into  the  parenchyma,  the  tu- 
buli  uriniferi,  the  arteries,  veins,  and  nerves 
of  the  organ,  in  each  of  which  departments 
views  are  advanced,  varying  considerably 
from  those  of  modern  and  former  anatomists. 

In  the  pathoIoe:ical  observations,  the  au- 
thor adheres  to  the  opinion  advanced  by  Dr. 
Bright,  and  lately  so  ably  advocated  by  Dr. 
G.  Robinson,  that  a  congested  condition  of 
the  organ  precedes  the  important  changes 
which  subsequently  occur  in  the  three  sta- 
ges of  disease.  Tne  author  then  proceeds 
to  demonstrate  that  the  arteries  first  become 
diseased  and  that  the  tubuli  veins  and  pa- 
renchyma of  the  organ  follow. 

The  three  stages  of  the  disease  are  illus- 


208 


On  the  Action  qf  Imperceptible  Agents. 


tialed  by  an  elaborate  series  of  drawings  in 
which  the  yariouB  snccessiye  changes  are 
indicated,  and  the  paper  concludes  by  point- 
ing to  the  variouB  plans  which  should  be 
carried  out  lor  the  prevention  of  this  disease 
at  present  so  formidable  in  all  classes  of  so- 
ciety. 

Dr.  C.  J.  6.  Williams  said  that  at  that 
late  period  of  the  evening,  and  of  the  session 
be  would  not  intrude  long  on  the  attention 
of  the  Society ;  but  before  noticing  the  sub- 
ject of  the  last  paper,  he  could  not  but  ex- 
press his  regret  at  the  embarras  de  rUhesses 
with  which  they  had  been  overwhelmed  to- 
night ;  almost  each  one  of  the  interesting 
papers,  of  which  only  either  abstracts  or  the 
titles  had  been  read,  might  have  afiorded  a 
sufficient  scope  lor  an  evening's  digestion 
and  discussion ;  as  it  was  (no  doubt  unavoid- 
ably), the  subjects  were  scarcely  intelligible, 
and  the  valuable  pathdogical  drawings  and 
specimens  were  rendered  useless. 

The  last  paper  treated  of  a  most  impor- 
tant subject ;  and  admitting  as  he  did  the 
great  value  of  Mr.  Toynbee»B  researches,  he 
would  not  lose  the  opportunity  of  express- 
ing dissent  Irom  the  concurrence  which  Mr. 
Toynbee  expressed  with  the  views  ol  Dr. 
Johnson,  as  conveyed  in  a  paper  read  at  the 
commencement  ol  the  session.  He  (Di. 
Williams)  not  only  did  not  consider  that 
latty  deposit  in  the  kidney  to  be  the  first 
stage  of  Bright's  disease,  but  he  could  not 
admit  that  it  is  an  essential  part  of  the  dis- 
ease at  all.  Further  he  would  state  as  the 
result  of  careful  microscopic  investigation  by 
Dr.  Richard  Quain,  confirmed  by  his  own 
examination  of  numerous  specimens,  that 
the  deposit  in  this  disease  is  not  confined  to 
the  urmiferous  tubes,  but  appears  on  their 
exterior  interstices  between  the  vessels. 
This  corresponds  with  the  views  which  he 
had  long  held  and  published  on  the  subject, 
that  the  deposit  consists  of  albuminous  mat- 
ter like  that  effused  from  vessels  affected 
with  inflammation  or  a  certain  amount  of 
congestion,  and  may,  like  such  fibrinous  ef- 
fusions, present  considerable  varieties  in  its 
mechanical  and  chemical  condition.  This 
deposit  mostly  consists  of  granular  matter ; 
but  the  granules  in  one  case  are  contained 
in  cells,  resemblinf  exudation  corpuscles 
rather  than  the  proper  epithelium  cells  of 
the  uriniferous  tubes,  and  are  seen  without 
the  tubes  as  well  as  within  them,  and  there- 
fore cannot  be  a  multiplication  of  these  cells. 
The  distinction  may  be  further  seen  on  con- 
trasting a  healthy  kidney  wiih  one  diseaf^ed; 
but  here  he  begged  to  observe,  that  it  is  a 
rare  thing  to  find  a  perfectly  healthy  kidney 
in  the  oead  body  in  this  metropolis.  A 
change  of  structure,  the  extreme  of  which 


constitutes  Brigfal's  disease,  is  in  slight  de- 
grees exhibited  in  a  large  majoiity  of  the 
kidneys  of  adults  examined  in  hospitals. 
But  if  we  contrast  the  healthy  hidney  oC  a 
young  subject,  we  see  in  its  beaatifal  regu- 
lar, oval,  nucleated  epithelial  cells,  an  ap- 
pearance quite  different  from  the  huge  round 
grenular  cells  which  stuff*  the  tubes,  ani 
block  up  the  parenchyma  in  the  early  sta^ 
of  Bright's  disease.  It  is  this  stuffing  and 
otstruciing  that  interrupts  the  functioii  of  the 
kidney,  and  eventually  alters  its  structure. 
In  the  more  advanced  forms  of  the  disease, 
the  eranular  matter  is  seen  without  its  cell 
walls,  and  sometimes  interwoven  with  fila- 
mentous tissue.  The  facts  which  he  (Dr. 
Williams)  would  adduce  against  the  notion, 
that  the  deposit  is  of  a  fatty  naturet  are  d^ 
rived  from  its  optic^  and  its  chemical  prop- 
erties. Although,  occasionally,  fat  globnla 
in  considerable  numbera  may  be  seen  in  it, 
this  is  an  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 
The  granular  matter,  in  most  instances,  is 
far  less  refractive  than  oil  globules  arei  sock 
for  example,  as  are  commonly  seen  in  tfce 
cells  of  the  liver,  as  may  be  made  obyioM 
bv  comparing  ihem  in  the  same  field.  The 
chemical  reaction  of  the  matter  also  diftis 
from  that  of  fat,  for  the  granules  resist  tte 
action  of  caustic  potash  and  of  Kther,  spj*- 
rate  or  combined,  whereas,  acetic  acid  m- 
tially  dissolves  them,  a  fact  mentioned  iflUie 
abstract  of  Mr.  Busk's  paper  read  to-nyit. 
He  (Dr.  Williams)  was  aware  that  MrGj^ 
liver  and  others  entertained  the  opinion  that 
the  molecular  base  of  all  nucleated  cells  is 
of  a  fatty  nature,  but  that  was  a  subject  for- 
eim  to  the  present  question,  which  wis 
whether  or  not  the  morbid  deposit  in  Brignft 
disease  is  chieflv  fat,  like  that  in  fatty  de- 
generation of  the  liver.  This  question  he 
would  answer  in  the  negative,  and  condMe 
by  the  additional  amiment,  that  it  is  by  do 
means  low  in  specific  gravity. 


Oa  th*  aotioa  of  Zmperooptiblo  Agmts  os  *• 
LiTing  Bodr 
ST  PROFESSOR  D' AMADOR. 

The  «bove  is  the  title  of  a  paper  read  hy 
the  distinguished  Professor  of  Pathol(^  la 
the  University  of  Montpelier,  before  the 
scientific  Congr^s  at  Nimes.  Professor 
D'Amador  though  occupying  the  Pathologi- 
cal chair  in  an  Allopathic  University,  is  a 
declared  adherent  of  Homoeopathy;  ^^^ 
European  reputation  which  his  profound 
learning  and  brilliant  talents  have  gained  hin. 
render  peculiarly  interesting  any  thing  Pro- 
ceeding from  his  pen.  Want  of  space  for- 
bids us  giving  more  than  a  brief  analysis 


On  the  Action  of  Imperceptible  Agents. 


209 


of  the  memoir  whose  title  we  have  given 
above ;  bat  a  careful  perusal  of  the  original, 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  2nd  vol.  of  the 
<<  Bulletin  de  la  Society  Homoeopathique/'  p. 
131,  will  amply  reward  all  who  take  an  in- 
terest in  the  truly  scientific  developement  of 
Homoeopathy. 

The  author  commences  by  asserting,  that 
all  actions  and  impressions  whatever  in  a 
living  body  are  entirely  vital  or  dynamic. 
Hence,  food,  poisons,  viruses,  miasms,  and 
all  the  different  kinds  of  stimulants  that  are 
applied  to  the  economy,  as  well  internally  as 
externally,  cannot  have,  and,  indeed,  have 
none  other  than  a  dynamic  action ;  and  hence, 
almost  all  that  has  hitherto  been  attributed 
to  abaorj^tion,  is  destitute  of  foundation,  and 
on  examination  is  found  to  be  false. 

In  proof  of  this  assertion  he  cites  various 
facta  from  the  domains  of  hygiene,  physi- 
olpgy,  toxicology,  and  pathology.  It  may 
be  said  that  light,  heat,  water,  and  oxygen, 
— that  is  to  say,  all  that  is  most  subtle,  most 
ethereal,  and  least  material  in  creation,  are 
the  true  aliments  of  life.  Not  to  mention 
those  extmordinary  but  authentic  cases 
-where  life  has  been  prolonged.during  months 
and  even  years  of  total  abstinence,  other  and 
more  familiar  examples  of  this  fact  are  not 
wanting.  The  develonement  of  the  chick, 
strictly  secluded  from  all  external  influences ; 
the  production  of  a  beautiful  flower  from  the 
bulb,  which  receives  no  other  nourishment 
than  the  vapour  of  water ;  the  growth  of 
Yegetables,  on  cloth,  in  well  wasned  sand, 
in  litharge,  in  flowers  of  sulphur,  in  un- 
glazed  leaden  shot,  supplied  with  no  other 
nourishment  than  distilled  water ;  but,  never- 
theless, presenting  on  analysis  all  the  con- 
stituent parts  of  the  same  vegetables  growing 
in  the  richest  soils,  as  shown  in  the  experi- 
ments of  M.  Braconnot,  are  striking  illustra- 
tions  of  this  fact;  and  the  observation  of 
them  drew  from  M.  Braconnot  this  remarka- 
ble expression  :  "  Oxyeen  and  hydrogen — 
that  is,  water  aided  by  the  heat  of  the  sun, 
appear  to  be  the  only  elementary  substances 
whence  the  universe  was  formed." 

The  function  of  digestion,  apparently  the 
mo^t  material  and  most  chemical  of  all  func- 
tions, is  the  most  purely  vital  in  its  causes. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  quantity  of  tlie  nutritive 
substance  is  often  the  least  important  part, 
and  that  attention  should  be  more  particularly 
paid,  to  its  exciting  quality  and  stimulating 
pswer.  The  dynamic  effect  of  fluid  aliments 
is  still  more  evideM,  their  result  is  rapid,  of- 
ten instantaneous.  Set  before  a  person  worn 
oat  with  fatigue,  the  most  substantial  viands, 
he  will  scarcely  touch  them,  and  will  not  at 
first  experience  any  benefit  from  them ;  but 
give  him  the  smallest  quantity  of  brandy. 


and^tii  an  instant  he  feels  its  beneficial  effects. 
The  subject  of  fecundation  furnishes  our 
author  with  a  fruitful  source  of  illustrations 
for  his  doctrine;  and  the  experiments  of 
Spallanzani  with  the  ova  of  the  frog,  the 
impregnation  of  women  where  the  hymen 
was  still  perfect,  the  observations  of  Harvey, 
with  respect  to  the  fecundation  of  bitches 
and  ^rabbits,  in  whose  wombs  no  trace  of 
semen  could  be  discovered,  are  successively 
adduced. 

And  again,"  he  asks,  *•  what  are  rela- 
tive greatness  and  smallness  in  the  case  of 
the  seeds  of  vegetables,  but  a  mere  lusus  na- 
turce  ?  Who  could  believe  that  invisible 
seeds  of  plants  are  continually  suspended  in 
the  atmosphere  ?— that  those  of  mosses,  fun- 
gi, of  lichens  elude  our  eye,  and  float  invi- 
sible in  the  circumambient  air .'  Who  could 
beheve,  if  experience  did  not  prove  it  to  us 
every  day.  that  witliin  the  case  of  a  seed, 
which,  from  its  minuteness,  cannot  be  per- 
ceived by  the  microscope  itself,  there  is  con- 
tained tbe  power  which  shall  one  day  pro- 
duce a  vegetable  ?  Who  could  believe,  in 
fine,  that  in  the  embryo  of  the  acorn  there 
exists,  in  inflnitely  little,  the  largest  tree  of 
the  forest,  which  only  stands  in  need  of  de- 
velopement ?  According  to  Dodart,  an  elnx 
can  produce,  in  a  single  year,  529,000  seeds; 
Ray  counted  32,000  on  a  stalk  of  tobacco. 
If  all  these  seeds  should  come  to  perfection* 
it  would  only  require  a  few  generations,  and 
a  very  small  number  of  years,  to  cover  the 
whole  surface  of  the  habitable  globe  with 
vegetables.  If,  then,  atoms  can  produce  an 
entire  being,  why  should  we  tax  them  with 
impotence  when  the  question  is  about  merely 
modifying  a  being  ?  If  an  atom  ^ives  life,  is  it 
more  di£cult  to  conceive  that  it  may  change 
the  mode  of  being  ?  When  the  greater  ex- 
ists and  starts  up  oefore  us  in  the  processes 
of  nature,  why  should  the  less  be  declared 
impossible  ? 

From  the  department  of  toxicology  tbe 
learned  Professor  instances,  in  support  of  his 
views,  the  violent  effects  of  a  drop  of  prus- 
sic  acid ;  the  arsenical  preparation  celebrated 
in  the  16th  and  17th  centuries,  under  the 
name  of  Aoua  toffana^vrhich  killed  with  the 
rapidity  of  liehtning ;  the  poison  of  the  wasp, 
hornet,  and  bee,  the  smallest  atom  of  which 
placed  on  the  tongue  burns  it  as  severely  as 
the  most  concentrated  mineral  acids ;  the  vi- 
rus of  the  scorpion,  of  certain  spiders,  and 
of  serpents ;  the  fresh  water  polypus,  which, 
of  all  poisonous  animals,  possesses  the  most 
active  venom.  The  experiments  of  Fontana 
show  that  the  thousandth  part  of  a  grain  of 
the  poison  of  the  viper,  inserted  in  a  muscle, 
suffices  to  kill  a  sparrow.  Some  plants  fur- 
nish poisons  whicn  surpass  in  their  effects 


210 


On  the  Aciion  ef  Imperceptible  Agents. 


the  most  corrosive  melallic  poisons.  De  la 
Brosse  in  kis  Voyage  aux  regions  intertrnpi- 
coles,  has  these  words :—"  There  arrived 
seven  or  eight  negroes  in  palanquins,  the 
principal  personages  of  Lowango,  who  pre- 
sented their  hands  to  be  shaken  by  the  French 
and  English  officers.  These  negroes  had 
previously  rubbed  their  hands  with  an  herb, 
which  is  so  exfremelypoisonous  that  it  takes 
effect  in  a  moment  They  succeeded  so  well 
in  their  nefarious  designs,  that  five  captains 
and  three  surgeons  fell  dead  on  the  spot." 
De  la  Brosse  does  not  mention  how  the  ne- 
groes preserved  themselves  from  the  effects 
of  the  deadly  poison  they  bad  in  their  hands. 

The  effluvia  exhaled  by  certain  plants,  the 
dew  or  drops  of  rain  that  fall  from  the 
leaves,  can  produce  injurious  effects,  as  is 
said  to  be  the  case  with  the  mancinilli  and 
the  rhus  toxicodendron 

From  pathology  the  Professor  cites  the 
fbilowing  facts: — ^The  minute  quantity  of 
matter  from  the  malignant  carbuncle,  and  of 
saliva  from  the  rabid  dog,  whidh  are  suffi- 
cient to  transmit  these  diseases;  the'  imper- 
ceptible nature  of  the  miasms,  which  pro- 
duce respectively  syphilis,  small-pox,  the 
plague,  coolera,  and  the  instantaneous  man- 
ner in  which  they  infect  the  organism ;  for 
although  the  morbid  state  is  not  manifested, 
it  may  be,  until  after  the  lapse  of  a  con- 
flieerable  time,  this  only  proves  that  internal 
disease  requires  that  time  to  ripen  and  fruc- 
tify, in  the  same  manner  as  the  flowering  of 
the  vegetable  announces  its  maturity,  or  the 
development  of  the  foetus  shows  that  con- 
ception has  taken  place. 

The  comparison  of  the  disease  to  the  flow- 
ering of  a  plant  has  given  rise  to  some  use- 
ful practical  reflections  by  Piofessor  D* Ama- 
dor, which  we  shall  here  quote : — 

'*  An  individual  is  affected  to-day  with 
some  morbific  germ,  but  the  products  of  the 
infection  do  not  appear  externally  until  after 
the  lapse  of  four,  six,  eight,  fourteen  days, 
or  even  a  month.  The  interval  which  elap< 
ses  between  the  moment  of  infection  and 
that  in  which  the  disease  manifests  itself,  is 
the  period  of  the  germination  and  growth  of 
the  inoculated  germ :  it  corresponds  exactly 
to  the  latent  and  unnoticed  stage  during 
which  the  seed  buried  in  the  earth  undei]^oes 
a  fecundating  incubation.  The  eruption 
and  all  the  other  symptoms  are  but  the  de- 
velopment of  the  morbid  germ,  as  the  flow- 
ering and  fructification  ot  the  plant  lepre- 
eent  the  visible  evolution  of  tne  germ. — 
Hence  I  affirm,  that  vhat  modern  pathology 
regards  as  the  root  of  diseases — e,  g.,  tne 
exanthemata,  is  the  veritable,  the  sole  cause 
of  the  terrible  ravages  they  commit  on  man- 
kind.   What  should  we  say  of  the  agricul- 


turist who  in  order  to  modify  the  life  of  the 
tree,  should  direct  his  atleDtion  to  the  flow- 
ers and  fruit,  and  neglect  the  roots  ?  The 
therapeutists  of  the  present  day  dd  this ;  and 
[  shall  leave  it  to  your  sagaciQr  to  say  what 
will  be  the  ultenor  consequence  of  such 
conduct 

In  truth,  the  destruction  of  its  flowers  or 
fruit  does  not  cause  the  death  of  the  vegeta- 
ble ;  and  thus  it  is  with  syphillis,and  psoia, 
and  other  eruptive  diseases.  To  caaterize, 
dry  up,  or  otherwise  forcibly  destroy  chan- 
cres, is  but  to  give  new  strength  to  the  dis- 
ease ;  as  plants  acquire  fresh  vigor  from  be- 
ing pruned,  and  m  the  following  spriig 
shoot  forth  more  luxuriant  flowers.  After 
the  material  destruction  of  their  external 
signs,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  produd 
of  fructification,  they  send  forth  new  flow- 
ers,  which  medical  men  have  the  simplicitf 
to  regard  as  a  new  disease." 

The  above  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  facts 
presented  to  our  attention  in  the  paper  of 
Professor  D'Amador ;  but  its  chief  interest 
lies  in  the  conclusions  to  which  the  aathor 
arrives,  which  although  somewhat  opposed 
where  theoretical,  to  our  own  physiologsl 
faith,  can  hardly  fail  to  attract  the  attentioii 
and  convince  the  understanding  of  the  na- 
merous  adherents  of  the  Montpelier  or  dy- 
namic schools,  which  boasts  of  folloviog 
out  the  principles  of  Hippocrates,  and  wiiose 
ablest  exponent  finds  in  tiie  writings  of  flih- 
nemann  the  complement  of  the  doctrines  of 
the  sage  of  Cos. 

After  adducing  the  well  known  facts  (ft 
the  chemical  purity  of  the  air  in  locahtitt 
where  ague,  the  plague,  the  cholera,  or  epi- 
demic diseases  are  committing  their  ravaga; 
after  observing  that  the  contents  of  the  pois- 
on-bag of  the  viper  resembles  in  chemical 
composition  sweet  almond  oil ;  that  the  pas 
of  tne  pestiferous  bubo,  the  lymph  of  the 
vaccine  pustule,  differ  not,  save  in  their  ef- 
fects, from  ordinary  pus  and  lymph;  he  in- 
fers that  the  material  we  subject  to  our  an- 
alysis is  but  the  vehicle  in  which  an  imma- 
terial ethereal  virus  resides,  analogous  in  this 
respect  to  the  vivifying  principle  of  the  or- 
ganized being.  But  we  shall  give  his  own 
eloquent  words  : 

"  What,  gentlemen,  can  we  conclude  froo 
all  this,  but  that  pathology  resembics  other 
branches  of  our  science .'  what  can  we  con- 
clude, if  not  that  a  morbid  cause  is  a^^JJ 
and  under  all  circumstances,  the  prodnct  of 
a  force,  and  that  a  material  form  in  which  it 
presents  itself  to  our  view,  is  but  th«  groa 
covering  that  conceals  it  from  us ;  that  ex- 
ternal forces  only  act  on  our  oipans  when 
they  meet  with  forces  in  us  on  which  thef 
can  act :  hence  the  invisible,  the  inslantaM- 


On  the  Action  of  Imperceptible  Agents. 


211 


0U8  character,  the  celerity  of  pathogenetic 
actions^  whether  of  contagious,  or  of  epi- 
demics, or  of  the  natural  or  artificial  inocu- 
lation of  dieeaaeA.  In  all  cases  it  is  forces 
which  meet,  combat,  combine,  repel,  neu- 
tralize each  other,  or  mutually  refl^ulate  one 
another.  Our  health,  disease,  death,  our 
▼ery  existence,  is  but  the  result  of  these  for- 
ces. Thus  it  is  that  nature,  in  the  immense 
scale  of  being,  has  sketched,  as  it  were,  an 
entire  system  of  forces,  and  that  passing 
Irom  forces  which  are  not  precipient  to  those 
that  are,  from  inanimate  to  living  forces,  she 
has,  by  gradually  progressive  shades,  at  last 
developed  in  man  the  supreme  type  of  forces, 
and  the  most  elevated  degree  of  existence. 
In  man,  indeed,  life  does  not  exist  solely  in 
sensible  and  irritable  organs,  in  the  involun- 
tary motions  they  execute,  nor  in  the  con- 
nected chain  produced  and  maintained  by  the 
combined  actions  of  life.  In  man  true  life 
consists  in  thought,  in  that  intellectual  some- 
thing which  gives  us  consciousness  of  our 
existence,  and  in  that  power  of  will  which 
lenders  us  masters  of  ourselves.  Such  is 
life  at  its  culmniating  point,  force  par  excel' 
lence,  the  greatest,  the  moi>t  profound,  the 
most  inexplicable  of  all  mysteries.  Life, 
which  not  only  gives  us  the  enjoyment  of 
ourselves,  but  which  attaches  us  to  all  that 
surrounds  us.  It  is  by  means  of  it  that  the 
^rand  spectacle  of  nature  attracts  our  atten- 
tion, that  our  ideas  dart  from  pole  to  pole 
more  rapidly  than  lightning ;  it  is  by  means 
of  it  that  thought  embraces  in  its  grasp  in  a 
moment  of  time  the  whole  expanse  of  worlds, 
all  the  vast  extent  of  the  universe,  and  loses 
itself  in  infinity. 

"There  is,  then,  in  every  science,  and 
particularly  in  medicine,  both  sensible  facts 
which  are  seen,  and  invisible  facts  which 
can  only  be  conceived,  both  demonstrable  and 
inductive  facts,  both  facts  which  are  appar- 
ent, and  such  as  are  more  concealed,  which, 
-without  being  seen,  regulate  and  govern  the 
other  facts.    It  is  these  invisible  and  only 
essentia]  facts  that  alone  are  important,  for 
they  are  the  generators  of  other  facts  ;  and 
ill  every  case  that  which  is  not  seen  governs 
that  which  is  visible.    These  facts  are  the 
various  forces  of  nature.      TheseJ  forces 
are  at  the  bottom  of  all  visible  phenomena, 
they  produce  them,  they  modify  them  for 
good  or  for  evil,  and,  since  they  are  the  true 
causes,  if  we  modify  them  we  shall  modify 
the  phenomena  themselves.    *  For  the  true 
springs  of  our  organization,*  as  BufTon  re- 
marks, '  are  not  those  muscles,  those  veins, 
those   arteries,  which  are   described  with 
such  exactness  and  care.    There  exist  in  or- 
l^nized  bodies  internal  forces,  which  do  not 
follow  the  gross  mechanical  laws  we  imag- 


ine, and  to  which  we  would  reduce  every- 
thing.' This  thought  has  been  expressed  m 
different  terms,  by  a  man  as  great  in  the  as- 
tronomical, as  Bufibn  was  in  the  physical  sci- 
ences, whose  name  corresponds  in  France  to 
that  of  Newton  in  England.  « Beyond  the 
limits  of  this  visible  anatomy,'  says  Laplacsi 
<  commences  another  anatomy  whose  phe- 
nomena we  'cannot  perceive ;  beyond  the 
limits  of  this  external  physiology  of  forces, 
of  action,  and  of  motion,  exists  another  in- 
visible physiology,  whose  principles,  effects, 
and  laws,  it  is  of  greater  importance  to 
know.'  And,  we  may  add,  that  beyond  the 
limits  of  these  material  and  voluminous  the- 
rapeutics, there  are  other  therapeutics  far 
more  important  to  know,  and  far  more  use- 
ful to  practice. 

«*Thus  the  greatest  men,  of  whom  the 
sciences  usually  opposed  in  spirit  to  medi- 
cine can  boast,  are  unanimous  in  the  admis- 
sion of  a  vital  dynanism ;  and  I  imagine, 
gentlemen,  I  have  a  fair  title  for  obtaining 
your  assent  to  this  great  dogma,  by  placing 
it  under  the  oegis  of  these  illustrious  names. 
"  I  have  thus,  I  conceive,  proved  to  you 
that  the  most  active  agents  in  nature  are  im- 
perceptible entities,  which,  like  electricity, 
magnetism,  heat,  and  light,  have  neither 
odor,  savor,  color,  volume,  dimensions,  de- 
terminate shapes,  nor  definite  proportions ; 
which  pervade  all  thing^s  without  being  any 
where  perceptible ;  which  govern  all  things 
without  being  seen  themselves ;  which  pen- 
etrate every  where,  but  whose  essence  we 
cannot  penetrate.  Agents  of  life,  of 
health,  of  death,  and  of  disease,  nature  has 
disseminated  them  every  where  throughout 
the  immensity  of  space,  under  the  graceful 
form  of  flowers,  in  the  fluids  which  are  ap- 
propriated or  rejected  by  animals  and  plants. 
To  these  invisible  agents,  to  these  forces  we 
owe  our  earliest  breath ;  to  them  also  is  due 
our  latest  sigh ;  from  them  alone  is  derived 
the  continuance  of  our  existence,  and  they 
are  the  source  of  the  derangements  we  are 
subject  to.  Physiology,  hygiene,  toxicolo- 
gy, and  pathology,  in  other  words,  the  sci- 
ences of  life,  of  hodth,  of  death,  and  of  dis- 
ease, are  all  dependent  on  the  same  princi- 
le ;  for  it  is  a  force,  a  breath,  that  creates, 
ills,  preserves  us,that  produces  our  diseases, 
and  occasions  our  sufferings. 

**  It  remains  to  be  proved,  gentlemen,  that 
the  therapeutics  are,  and  ought  to  be,  simi- 
lar to  the  other  departments  of  our  art, — 
I  hat  it  is  also  a  breath,  a  force,  that  cures 
and  relieves  our  disorders.  It  remains  to  be 
proved,  in  order  to  trace  the  complete  scien- 
tific circle,  that  the  therapeutics  of  forces, 
the  dynamic  therapeutics,  the  vitalist  thera- 
peutics, (for  they  are  all  the  same,)  are  like- 


212 


On  the  Action  of  Impereeptibie  Agents. 


wise,  of  all  posnUe  therapenticfl,  if  not  the 
only  true,  at  least  the  speediest,  the  sorest, 
the  most  appropriate,  and,  in  the  yast  ma- 
jority of  cases,  the  most  efficacious  oi  all 
therapeatics ;  that  they  are  the  most  ration- 
al in  theory  and  the  most  saccessf  id  in  their 
practical  application  ;  that  they  alone  ought 
to  he,  that  they  alone  are,  able  to  realize  the 
three  grand  conditions  that  Celsus,  even  at 
the  eaily  period  when  he  flourished,  de- 
manded ol  all  useful  therapeatics,  to  cure 
diseases  quickly,  certai  nly,  and  agreeably. 
In]  a  woid,  it  remains  to  be  proYod  that  if 
there  be  a  dynamical,  a  Tital  physiology, 
hygiene,  toxicology,  and  patholon^,  there 
ought  to  be  therapeatics  of  a  similar  char- 
acter." 

After  quoting  some  facts  from  Allopathic 
obsenrers  to  prove  that  such  is  the  case, 
among  others  the  experiments  of  M.  La- 
farge,  who  has  always  succeeded  in  produ- 
cing an  eruption  of  a  specific  character  by 
the  inoculation  of  the  most  minute  portions 
of  laudanum->l-500th,  1-lOOOth,  1 -2000th 
of  a  grain,  and  the  observations  of  M.  Seu- 
heiran  with  resnect  to  the  efficacy  of  ex- 
tremely minute  doses  of  a  certain  furrugin- 
ous  preparation,  our  author  goes  on  to  say : 

«  But  it  will  be  said,  these  facts  may  be 
true,  but  they  are  repugnant  to  common 
sense.  Gentlemen,  if  the  action  of  imper- 
ceptible agents  is  opposed  to  common  sense, 
that  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  experience  is 
opposed  to  it;  but  as  common  sense  aud  ex- 
perience are  not,  and  cannot  be  contradicto- 
ry, if  common  sense  refuses  to  believe  in  the 
action  of  imperceptible  agents,  common 
sense  stands  in  need  of  a  thorough  reform, 
which  experience  will  be  able  to  effect. — 
Science,  which  is  nothing  else  than  the  re> 
flection  of  experience,  has,  in  this  manner, 
reformed  common  sense  several  times.  Com- 
mon sense  believed  for  centuries  that  the 
world  was  fixed,  and  astronomical  science 
corrected  common  sense,  and  brought  it  to 
its  own  way  of  thinking.  The  virtue  of 
vaccine  was  repu^ant  to  common  sense,  at 
the  period  of  its  discovery :  but,  now-a-days, 
experience  has  so  completely  demonstrated 
it,  that  any  one  who  doubted  it  would  be 
held  to  be  destitute  of  common  sense.  In 
fine,  common  sense  rebelled  and  with  some 
reason,  against  the  frightful  doses  of  the 
Italian  school.  It  could  not  be  comprehend- 
ed how  twenty  grains  of  tartar  emetic  would 
not  ^produce  vomiting,  when  two  grains 
caused  copious  evacuation ;  but  here  again, 
as  elsewhere,  science — that  is  to  say  expe- 
rience, has  advantageously  put  common 
sense  to  rights. 

"  And  should  we,  with  this  before  us, 
treat  with  contempt  a  system  of  the  thera- 


peatiGB  which  is  bat  the  apphcafion  of  one 
of  oar  most  certain  maxims .'   To  the  dis- 
eased vital  forces  let  us  oppose  the  foica  of 
natural  substanoes,  hot  divested  of  all  mate- 
rial covering ;  these  forces  will  thus  be 
brought  face  to  face ;  they  will  act  directlj 
on   each   other,  without   any  iDterpoone 
agent ;  and  hence  will  ensue  more  rapid, 
more  certain,  and  more  agreeable  cures.    * 
•    •    •    •    Observe,  finally,  gentlemeo, 
that  the  vital  ther^Kutics  of  which  I  spok 
are  to  medicine  what  the  study  of  electricity 
and  the  imponderables  has  been  to  chemistiy, 
—what  the  study  of  motive  powers  has  been 
to  mechanical  art    •••»••   Far 
from   overthrovring   Hippocratism,  or  the 
true  vitalism  of  Montpeher,  our  modem  fha- 
rapeutics  confirm,  comj^ete,  extend,  and  »• 
ply  it,  add  what  was  wanting  to  it  and  sapm 
Its  deficiencies.    The  Divine  Old  Man  W 
queathed  to  us,  so  to  say,  the  code  of  medi- 
cine, in  which  its  great  laws  were  laiddova, 
its  principles  reeistered,  its  fundamental  dog- 
mas established ;  the  work  of  ages  is  ani 
ever  shall  be  to  deduce  from  these  premises 
the  most  remote  consequences ;  to  oring  iD 
the  great  facts  which  subsequent  disoorer- 
ies  may  reveal  and  produce  within  the  Hip' 
pocratic  domain.    Some  of  these  discoTeoes 
nave  been  already  gathered  in,  and  can  ae 
ver  more  be  lost ;  others  have  been  a^^i 
and  as  yet  exist  but  in  the  germ ;  batnM^ 
can  blast  this  germ;  on  the  contniyit^ 
grow,  and  the  free  will  yield  its  frail  io  « 
and  to  all  posterity." 


Ouot  of  thft  Fathogenetio  Action  of  Mpkir 
and  Oantharidei. 

The  following  two  interesting  cases  weie 
observed  at  the  Liverpool  Homosopaduc 
Dispensary : 

CANTHARIDES. 

F.  T.,  aged  17,  had  been  all  day  eo^ 
in  making  the  "Emplastrum  CantbaruBs" 
of  the  shops.  He  had  been  standiflf;  /^(^ 
the  pan  in  which  the  material  was  boilitfi 
but  toward  the  dose  of  the  day  he  was  «• 
fected  with  the  foUowine  symptoms :  Grest 
dimness  of  sight,  attended  with  smartiDeaad 
burning  round  the  eyelids,  and  round  the 
balls  of  the  eyes;  constant  lachrymatioB; 
the  eyes  turned  towards  the  nose ;  twitchiflj 
of  tlie  eyelids ;  he  could  not  close  his  eytf 
without  great  pain,  from  smarting  of  tv 
lids  chiefly;  there  was  considerable  itdnessi  | 
and  an  apparent  distress  from  the  inffaiw"*' 
tion  of  both  eyes.  | 

On  hearing  how  he  had  been  engaged,  tlie 


Principal  Articles  in  the  present  Number 


213 


soffering  was  at  once  attributed  to  Canthari- 
des ;  bat,  whether  he  had  been  aflected  by 
the  mere  effluvium^  or  any  particles  of  the 
powder  had  got  into  his  eyes,  he  could  not 
tell. 

Some  drops  of  the  strong  camphor  tinc- 
ture were  at  once  giyen  him. 
'  The  next  morning  every  thing  appeared 
to  him  to  be  yellow.  The  nose  was  also 
considerably  affected;  some  swelling  with 
redness  and  heat,  within  as  well  as  without, 
with  the  appearance  of  suffering  from  very 
seyere  coryza.  He  took  spirits  of  camphor 
eyery  hour. 

The  third  day  his  eyes  were  quite  well ; 
the  dimness  and  haziness  of  sight  bad  giyen 
place  to  the  usual  clearness  of  vision ;  slight 
appearances  of  the  affection  of  the  nose  only 
remained  The  day  following  he  returned 
to  his  usual  occupations. 


John  Kerney,  aged  21,  had  severe  tooth- 
ache ;  and  having  read  in  a  newspaper  that 
smoking  Sulphur  was  a  certain  cure  for 
tooth-acne,  he  smoked  three  pipesful  in  ra- 
pid succession ;  he  then  went  to  bed,  and 
fell  asleep,  but  awoke  in  an  hour  in  great 
fright  and  distress ;  his  symptoms  were  dysp- 
ncea  to  a  sense  of  suffocation,  with  severe 
constriction  of  the  chest,  extreme  faintness, 
vehement  palpitation  of  the  heart,  and  hor- 
ror a!  instant  death.  There  were  universal 
tremors;  his  head  seemed  to  him  distended, 
with  loud  noises  in  the  ears ;  he  distinguish- 
ed especially  a  boring  pain  over  the  left  eye; 
bis  bowels  were  obstinately  obstructed  for 
fear  days,  and  no  action  could  be  produced 
by  various  aperients  which  he  took.  The 
day  after  smoking  the  Sulphur  he  had  intol- 
erable itching  over  the  whole  body ;  this  was 
followed  in  a  day  or  two  by  the  appearance 
of  reddish  blotches  over  the  trunk  and  ex- 
tremities; he  had  severe  pain  across  the 
loins. 

He  was  seen,  as  a  dispensary  patient,  for 
Uie  first  time,  on  the  18th  September,  1845. 
At  that  time,  his  face  was  very  pale,  and 
coUapsed  with  an  expression  of  great  anxie- 
ty ;  there  was  still  vehement  palpitation,  the 
pulse  feeble  and  very  irregular ;  considerable 


dyspncBa,  with  sense  of  constriction ;  intense 
head-ache,  with  sensation  that  his  head  and 


"were  stuffed ;  loud  noise  in  the  ears ; 
tremor  of  the  limbs,  with  considerableitching 
of  the  arms  and  legs,  but  no  eruption  wa« 
to  be  seen ;  he  complained  of  pains  through- 
out the  body.  Pulsatilla  3  was  given  every 
four  hours,  and  this  medicine  was  continued 
throtu^  the  treatment,  (with  the  exception 
of  a  few  doMs  of  Aconite.) 


September  27.  No  symptoms  remaining, 
except  a  very  slight  uneasiness  on  taking  a 
deep  inspiration.  He  was  allowed  to  return 
to  his  employment. 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


NEW-YORK,  OCTOBER  1,  1846. 

The  Priaoipal  Articles  In  the  Present  Nam* 
ber. 

In  this  number  of  the  Dissector,  we  have 
the  pleasuie  of  presenting  our  readers  with 
several  articles  of  unusual  interest  and  val- 
ue. In  the  three  original  "  Tracts  on  Con- 
sumption" which  have  enriched  the  previous 
numbers  of  the  present  volume,  we  now 
add  the  fourth  and  most  practically  interest- 
ing. These  remarkably  able  and  learned 
papers  have  commanded  great  attention  and 
won  for  their  unobtrusive  author  a  high  de- 
gree of  respect  from  many  minds  of  an  ex- 
alted order.  They  are  distinguished  not  less 
for  the  originality,  completeness  and  co- 
gency of  their  method  of  investigation,  than 
for  the  perspicuity  and  general  terseness  of 
composition.  The  reader  will  be  gratified 
to  perceive  that  they  are  to  be  continued  in- 
to a  portion,  at  least  of  the  next  volume  of 
this  Journal. 

Among  the  other  articles  which  we  con- 
sider worthy  of  special  consideration  is  the 
one  extracted  from  the  British  Journal  of 
Homoeopathy, "  On  the  Action  of  the  Im- 
perceptible Agents  on  the  Living  Body."— 
The  paper  does  not  assume  to  be  an  elabo- 
rate and  thorough  development  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  it  would  not  be  difficult  to  furnish 
a  multitude  of  additional  and  more  striking 
illustrations  even  of  its  main  positions.  But 
it  afibrds^most  gratifying  and  exhilarating 
evidenee  of  the  curiosity  which  this  most 
profound  and  comprehensive — nay,  sub- 
strative  field  of  philosophy  is  enkindling  in 
iutelleetual  Europe. 

With  this  number  of  the  DmeUor  closes 
its  third  volume.  The  friends  of  untram- 
meled  inquiry  into  the  principles  and  prac- 
tice of  medicine  and  the  collateral  flcienoe8» 
which  this  Journal  was  established  to  ex- 
emplify and  promote*  wUL  be  gratififld  to 


914 


HmtMBopaiky. 


learn  that,  erea  in  the  otter  neglect  of  the 
nflual  artificial  and  business  e&>rts  to  ensore 
the  snccess  of  a  new  periodical,  and  not- 
withstanding the  professional  hostility  which 
it  has  rather  courted  than  evaded,  it  has  ac- 
quired a  support  and  influence  which  jus- 
tify its  continued  publication  under  pros- 
pects of  increasing  its  sphere  of  usefnlDess 
to  a  most  flattering  extent  And  the  Editor 
Tentures  to  hope  that  the  improvements 
which  he  contemplates  making  in  the  diver- 
sity and  originality  of  its  matter,  wiU  render 
it  more  deserving  of  the  unwonted  and  truly 
cordial  support  it  has  received. 


llatmtrlc  Sargerj. 
On  Tuesday  morning  last,  at  40  Hudson 
street,  a  boy  nine  years  old,  was  put  in  the 
mesmeric  sleep,  and  the  operation  for  Ara- 
bismus  performed,  without  his  evincing  any 
sensibility,  until  nearly  through,  and  then 
but  in  a  very  slight  degree.  During  the  ope- 
ration, the  boy  was  lying  on  the  table  with- 
out any  restraint,  and  made  not  the  slightest 
movement,  and  after  waking  up^  was  whol- 
ly unconscious  of  the  operation  having  been 
performed. 

The  boy  was  put  in  the  mesmeric  state 
and  operated  upon  by  Bro.  Dr.  James  Ash- 
ley, before  quite  a  number  of  gentlemen. 


Another  Mesmeric  Snrgieal  Operation. 

We  have  been  rather  sceptical,  heretofore, 
regarding  those  mysteries  of  mesmerism, 
but  expect  now  a  strong  disposition  to  be- 
lieve. An  operation  for  strabismus  (squint- 
ing) was  performed  on  Monday,  14lh  Inst., 
at  40  Hudson  street,  upon  a  girl,  while  in  the 
mesmeric  sleep,  with  admirable  success. — 
She  knew  nothing  of  the  operation  until  it 
was  over.  Several  medical  gentlemen  were 
present  who  appeared  to  be  much  gratified. 

The  operation  was  performed  with  admi 
mble  science  and  skill,  'by  Dr.  James  Ash 
ley,  a  young  physician  and  surgeon  of  great 
talent  and  industry,,  and  ardently  devoted  to 
his  profession.    His  office  is  No.  40  Hudson 
HixeeU^  Golden  Ride. 

We  were  present  at  the  last  of  the  above 
operatlsns,  and  although  the  girl  knew 
nothing  of  the  operatiou  until  it  was  over 
and  she  was  informed  of  it  when  in  her  nat- 


nial  state,  yet  she  retained  her  lenwbiWity 
in  the  magnetized  state  as  many  othca  ^ 
and  felt  the  operation  severely  in  that  sirte. 


HOMCEOPATHT, 

The  following  case  is  extracted  bm  tie 
American  Journal  of  Homceopathy,  of  Aug. 
15, 1846,  p.  101. 

AOA8B. 
Mrs.  B.,  aged  63,  of  a  sanguine,  nerrow 
temperament,  had  been  sick  for  thwe  yean. 
One  year  ago  a  record  was  made  of  ^  ***» 
and  seemingly  the  most  ^ptopriate  dn^ 
administered,  with  only  an  occasional  ptf- 
tial  mitigation.  The  attacks  became  sefCRi 
and  were  wearing  out  one  of  the  best  eon- 
stitutions.  This  lady  is  intelligent  and  one 
of  the  firmest  advocates  of  HomoBopalhy, 
notwithstanding  she  could,  herself,  procwe 
no  relief  from  it  The  law  of  aire  she  knew 
to  be  true;  but  the  remedy  was  wanting. 

Lately  another  record  was  takes  of  tbf 
case,  which  was  as  follows : 

Pkin  on  the  top  of  the  head  in  the  own- 
ing, swimming  in  head  when  stooping  or  n- 
sing,  cloudiness  of  the  eyes,  soreness  m 
mouth  and  throat,  dry  cough  in  the  tuoivog, 
attacks  of  tearing  pain,  sometimes stjrpJK 
and  sharp,  commencing  in  the  stomich  vA 
extending  to  the  sides,  and  shouMeis  a» 
nape  of  the  neck,  with  stiffness;  distitsBia 
stomach  like  a  weight,  mitigated  by  eating; 
sense  of  fulness  in  stomach ;  wind  onstoo- 
acb,  eructations ;  cannot  bear  the  pfeaa« 
of  even  light  clothes.  Pain  in  the  bowe& 
bearing  down  or  pressing  pain;  P^"\ 
left  side,  as  if  something  adhered  to  tbe  low- 
er ribs.  Constipation;  sense  of  draffii^"* 
falling  in  abdomen ;  pain  as  if  in  the  boo«, 
like  rlbeumatism  ;  jerking  of  the  fectintne 
evening.  Numbness  of  the  arms,  witt 
pricking  in  the  fingers.  Sleep  disturte^ 
frequent  wakings ;  pain  in  the  ^stomacb  » 
night.  Fatigue  from  walking;  ^^f^ 
debility ;  sufferings  aggravated  on  change 
of  weather.  The  pains  are  tearing,  stngiig 
pressing  and  shifting— sometimes  on  w 
left,  and  sometimes  on  the  right  sides;  ^ 
then  on  both  sides  at  thft  same  time ;  some 
of  them  aggravated  by  movement,  and  om- 
ers  mitigated  by  lying  down  and  rest 


The  atiacks  had  occurred  daily  at  fi« 
o'clock,  P.  M.,  and  almost  invariablT  « 
night,  awaking  her  from  sleeping,  Uwre  "■ 
been  no  intermission  for  moniha. 

As  T  had  been  trjinarhm  mdicms  on  By- 
self  for  some  weeks,  I  was  struck  wiU  «» 


Medical  and  Statistical  Report. 


215 


peculiar  stinging,  pricking  pains  of  Ihis 
case  as  corresponding  to  those  I  had  experi- 
enced in  my  own  person  by  the  above  drug. 
On  the  26th  of  June  last,  at  4  o^clock  P.  M., 
1  gave  her  three  globules  of  the  third  dilu- 
tion of  rhus  radieans.  She  had  no  attack 
that  day,  nor  has  had  any  since  ;>-her  health 
improved,  and  it  is  now  good. 

S . 

The  above  is  a  plain  case  of  chronic  tu- 
bercnla  of  the  muscles,  (chronic  rheumatism) 
and  is  invariably  distingaished  in  an  instant 
by  the  pain  produced  by  presMure  with  the 
thumb  and  fingers  on  the  back  of  the  neck. 
This  would  not,  however,  answer  for  the 
liom<Bopathist.  He  must  make  a  minute  rec- 
ord of  every  old  astrological  symptom 
lie  can  find  in  each  case,  and  then  commence 
a  search  in  his  books  for  the  medicine  which 
IB  homoBopathic  to  them,  or  produces  the 
same  symptoms  in  a  state  of  health.  It  will 
uniformly  require  from  three  to  four  hour's 
search  to  find  the  medicine,  and  in  the  mean- 
time the  wind  has  often  changed,  and  the 
STmptoms  of  which  the  doctor  has  made  a 
record  have  also  changed  entirely  with  the 
wind,  as  every  old  woman  knew  they 
would,  before  the  record  was  made,  and  this 
waa  the  reason  why  the  '*  seemingly  most 
appropriate  drugs  were  administered  with 
only  an  occasional  partial  mitigation."  The 
doctor,  however,  had  fortunately  been  try- 
ing thus  radicans  on  himself,  and  was  struck 
with  the  peculiar  stinging,  pricking  pains  of 
this  case,  as  corresponding  to  those  he  had 
experienced  on  his  own  person  in  a  healthy 
state,  by  the  above  drug,  and  gave  the  lady 
three  globules  of  the  third  dilution  when  the 
disease  disappeared — **  her  health  improved, 
and  it  is  now  good,"  or  in  other  words  the 
disease  was  cured  with  07ie  homoeopathic 
dose  of  rhu$  radicans. 

On  reading  this  case,  we  sought  for,  and 
luckily  obtained  a  few  doses  of  the  precious 
drug,  and  soon  prescribed  it  in  ten  cases  of 
chronic  rheumatism,  with  the  "  peculiar  " 
or  "  stinging  and  pricking  pains."  In  six  of 
these  cases  the  symptoms  were  apparently 
palliated  temporarily,  but  in  the  other  four 
•»  no  effect  whatever  was  observable. 


We  could  give  a  great  number  of  cases  of 
chronic  tubercula  oi  the  organs,  and  also  of 
chronic  mucosis  of  the  oigans  and  musclec* 
which  have  been  under  the  treatment  of  the 
most  distinguished  bomoeopathists  from  Ihrat 
months  to  three  years,  with  no  other  effect 
than  that  of  an  occasional  partial  mitigation 
of  the  symptoms.  Yet  the  homttpathie 
treatment  oi  diseases  is  greatly  superior  to 
the  old  allopathic  practice  in  curing  acuts» 
and  mitigating  the  symptoms  in  chronic  dis- 
eases. 


BISlONORAlt  LTZMa«ZV  MOIPITAXm 

Medical  and  SUiM^uxd  Report* 

BY  J.  M.  WASDT,  M.  D., 

London,  M.  JR.  C.  iS.,  Senior  Surgeon  to  ike 
HoepUaL 

Before  entering  on  the  following  statistics* 
it  is  well  to  remark,  that  as  the  benefits  of 
the  charity  are  limited  to  married  women* 
many  injurious  complications  of  labor  are 
to  a  great  degree  avoided ;  but  the  class  of 
patients  attended  upon  are,  for  the  most  part» 
poorly  fed,  clothed,  and  lodged,  and  many 
of  them  are  employed  in  manufactories,  and 
exposed  to  circumstances,  of  a  moral  and 
physical  nature,  extremely  detrimental  to 
their  health  and  comfort 

The  early  age  at  which  some  marriages 
appear  to  have  taken  place,  will  strike  the 
reader ;  but  the  freedom  of  intercourse  be- 
tween young  persons  of  both  sexes  employ- 
ed in  factories,  especially  at  meal  times,  and 
after  work  is  over  in  the  evenings,  tends  to 
the  early  development  of  sexual  inclinations, 
and  often  induces  early,  ill-assorted,  and 
compulsory  marriages.  These  early  mar- 
riages are  extremely  prejudicial  to  health — 
are  embittered  by  constant  disappomtments, 
and  are  often  associated  with  extreme  pov- 
erty and  wretchedness.  No  wonder,  then, 
if  in  persons  thus  circumstanced,  labor 
should  often  prove  tedious,  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous, and  the  offspring  weak  and  sickly, 
having  in  birth  the  germ  of  future  ill-health 
and  premature  old  age,  and  the  promise  of 
an  early  grave. 

The  marriage  of  factory  giris  with  ap- 
prentices, whose  low  wa^es  are  'scarcely 
suflicient  to  procure  subsistence  for  them- 
selves, and  which  are  quite  inadequate  to 
the  support  and  proper  maintenance  of  a 
family,  produces  very  often  scenes  of  misecy 


216 


Medical  and  Statistical  Report. 


«ad  wretchedness,  surpassing,  in  their  cold 
reality,  the  woes  of  fiction.  Such  scenes 
rarely  lea^e  their  yictims  untainted  in  mo- 
rals, never  unprejudiced  in  health ;  and  it  is 
a  subject  wortny  the  attention  of  Uie  states- 
man, to  find  a  remedy  for  a  ^stem  so  bur- 
dened with  social  enJ,  and  which,  whilst  it 
continues,  must  in  many  instances  constitute 
an  almost  impenetrable  barrier  to  the  recep- 
tion of  moral  and  religious  truth. 

In  Manchester,  and  in  many  other  of  our 
Jarge  manufacturing  towns,  the  nature  of  the 
employment,  together  with  the  great  number 
of  hands  employed,  are  such  a^i  to  admit  of 
a  system  of  strfct  moral  discipline  being  en- 
forced, with  a  proper  separation  and  classi- 
fication of  the  sexes.  This  however  cannot 
be  done  to  any  great  extent  in  the  number  of 
small  manufactories  with  which  Birmingham 
and  its  neighborhood  abound.  The  foTjow- 
ing  are  some  of  the  results  which  presented 
themselves  in  the  practice  of  the  hospital 
during  the  last  year : 

TABLC  I. 

A^€  of  Marriage.^Ol  528  females,  I  had 
married  at  fourteen  years  of  age;  4  at  fifteen; 
13  at  sixteen ;  44  at  seventeen ;  85  at  eight- 
een ;  81  at  nineteen  ;  97  at  twenty ;  76  at 
twenty-one ;  55  at  twenty-two ;  36  at  both 
twenty-three  and  twenty-four;  and  33  at 
twcnty.five ;  beyond  which  age  the  number 
of  marriages  greatly  diminished,  and  only  1 
married  respectively  at  the  ages  of  thirty-two, 
thirty-four,  thirty-seven  and  thirty-eight 

Of  574  males  in  Birmingham,  it  was  also 
ascertained  that  1  had  married  at  fifteen  years 
ofPage ;  3  at  sixteen ;  12  at  seventeen;  28  at 
eighteen ;  42  at  nineteen ;  84  at  twenty ;  52 
at  twenty-one;  60  at  twenty-two;  52  at  twen- 
ty-three ;  51  at  twenty-four ;  44  at  twenty- 
five  ;  34  at  twenty-six ;  and  31  at  twenty- 
seven ;  beyond  wnich  period  there  was  a 
material  diminution ;  and  only  1  married  re- 
spectively at  the  ages  of  thirty-nine,  forty, 
forty-two  and  forty-four. 

TABLE  II. 

Age  at  the  commencement  of  menstruation, 
— Of  623  females,  in  1  the  catemania  occur- 
red at  nine  years  of  age ;  2  menstruated  at 
ten;  15  at  eleven ;  46  at  twelve ;  87  at  thir- 
teen; 130 at  fourteen;  115  at  fifteen;  105  at 
sixteen;  67  at  seventeen;  43  at  eighteen ;  10 
at  nineteen ;  and  2  at  twenty. 

TABLE  m. 

Ages  of  708  women  registered  for  attend* 
once  during  confinement,  (at  the  drawing  out 
of  the  table.  )~One  at  sixteen  years  of  age ; 
2  at  seventeen;  4  at  eighteen;  6  at  nineteen; 
27  at  twenty;  21  at  twenty-one;  3S  at  twen- 


ty-two ;  36  at  twentjr-three ;  45  at  twenty- 
/our;  37  at  twenty-five;  38  at  twenty-six; 
35  at  twenty-seven;  41  at  twenty-eight;  34 
at  twenty- nine ;  52  at  thirty;  28  at  thuty- 
one;  27  at  thirty-two;  39  at  thirty-three;  40 
at  thirty-four;  31  at  thirty -five;  23  at  thirty- 
six ;  and  2§  at  thirty-seven;  beyond  which 
age  a  marked  diminution  in  the  numbesB 
took  place,  except  that  at  forty  years  21 
women  were  registered. 

TABLE  IV. 

Previous  labors, — Of  641  of  the  above  wo- 
men registered,  38  were  priraiparous;  104 
had  had  one  child ;  94  two  children ;  70 
three ;  75  four ;  77  five  ;  53  six ;  28  seven; 
43  eight;  25  nine;  20  ten;  7  eleven;  S 
twelve ;  2  thirteen  ;  1  fourteen ;  and  1  six- 
teen children. 

TABLE  v. 

Previous  abortions. — Of  268  women,  32 
had  aborted  at  two  months;  139  at  three 
months:  48  at  four  months;  22  at  five 
months ;  12  at  six  months ;  and  15  at  sevoi 
months. 

TABLE   VI. 

Intervals  between  deliveries. — Of  275  wo- 
men, 3  had  an  interval  between  their  con- 
finements of  ten  months;  1  of  eleven  mooths; 
51  of  a  year;  100  of  a  year  and  a  half;  156 
of  two  years ;  87  of  two  years  and  a  half ; 
51  of  three  years;  16  of  Uiree  years  and  a 
half ;  19  of  four  years ;  6  of  four  years  aod 
ahalf;  5of  five  years;  8  of  five  years  and 
a  half;  one  of  eight  years;  and  2  respective- 
ly of  ten,  twelve  and  thirteen  years. 

TABLE  TIL 

Duratioti  of  labor.— Oi  470  labors,  10  had 
terminated  in  an  hour  from  their  commencfr 
ment;  32  in  two  hours;  34  in  three  houre; 
63  in  four  hours ;  51  in  seven  hours;  26  la 
eight  hours;  28  in  nine  bourn;  18  in  ten 
hours;  17  in  eleven  hours;  27  in  t^^f9 
hours;  17  in  thirteen  hours;  8  in  fourteea 
hours;  12  in  fifteen  hours;  2  in  sixteen 
hours;  2  in  seventeen  hours;  3  in  cighteea 
hours;  5  in  nineteen  hours;  3  in  twenty 
hours ;  3  in  twenty-two  hours ;  8  in  twenty- 
four  hours;  1  respectively  in  twenty-three, 
twenty-seven,  thirty-three,  and  forty-war 
hours ;  and  5  in  forty-eight  hoors. 

TABLE  vm. 
Presentations.— Ol  487  presentatfoM,  <« 
were  of  the  vertex,  in  six  of  which  the  lace 
was  towards  the  pubis ;  in  five,  P^^"*?*;^ 
the  funis  occuired,  in  three  of  whicn  me 
children  were  stiU-bom,  and  the  hand  pre- 
sented with  the  head  in  two  in»*"^vS[ 
were  shoulder  or  aim  pweentatkms.m^'"" 


Remarkable  Case  of  Purpura. 


217 


four  of  the  children  were  still-born; 
aizteen  were  breech-presentations^  in  which 
eases  five  children  were  still-bom,  and  five 
'wese  footling  cases. 

The  vectis  was  used  once,  and  the  forceps 
twice — once  in  impaction  of  the  head,  and 
once  in  a  retarded  labor. 

TABLK  IX. 

Time  of  expulsion  of  the  placenta. — In  334 
cases,  this  happened  in  nve  minutes  after 
the  birth  of  the  child  ;  in  22  in  ei^ht  min 
utes;  in  85  in  ten  minutes;  in  51  in  fifteen 
minutes;  in  18  in  thirty  minutes;  in  4  in 
forty  minutes ;  in  3  in  an  hour ;  in  1  in*an 
hour  and  a  quarter ;  in  2  in  an  hour  and  a 
baU ;  and  in  1  in  four  hours,  (this  patient 
died  witb  puerperal  mania.) 

Four  placentae  were  decomposed ;  five  ad- 
herent, of  which  one  was  extracted  in  half 
an  hour;  two  in  an  hour  and  a  half,  with- 
out haemorrhage ;  and  two  in  three  hours, 
witb  haemorrhage. 

TABLK  z. 
Intervals  between  menstruation  and  con- 
finement. — ^In  11  cases,  there  was  an  inter- 
val of  six  months;  in  6  of  seven  months;  in 
42  of  eight  months ;  in  110  of  nine  months; 
in  70  of  ten  months ;  in  2  of  eleven  months; 
and  in  two  of  twelve  months.  Ten  patients 
had  not  menstruated  since  their  previous 
confinement;  three  menstiuated  up  to  the 
period  of  quickening ;  and  two  menstruated 
daring  their  entire  pregnancy. 

In  one  case,  in  the  first  year's  practice  of 
the  hospital,  convulsions  took  place  three 
weeks  before  labor ;  the  patient  was  relieved 
by  bleeding,  &c.,  and  did  well. 

Poerperai  convulsions  occurred  in  two 
patients. 

Two  cases  of  monstrosity  occurred,  and  a 
child  was  born  with  but  one  ear. 

Death  took  place  in  one  child  from  hsm- 
orrbage  from  the  funis,  which  had  been 
carelessly  tied  by  a  midwife. 

Severe  haemorrhage  occurred  in  four  cases; 
hour-glass  contraction  in  one  instance. 

Slight  haemorrhage  in  three  patients;  hae- 
morrha^e  before  birth  in  one. 

A  child  was  suddenly  expelled,  amd  labor 
quickly  terminated  by  a  severe  rigor. 

One  patient  died  a  few  weeks  after  child- 
birth, from  the  combined  effects  of  haemorr- 
hage and  starvation ;  from  beine  an  affec- 
tionate mother,  she  gave  her  children  what 
sbe  ought  to  have  had  herself. 

One  patient  walked  to  the  hospital,  a  dis- 
tance of  four  miles,  during  her  labor,  and 
was  safely  delivered  within  ten  minutes  af- 
ter her  arrival. 

One  female  has  had  seven  pretematnral 
presoilationa,  and  only  one  cianial.    Two 


of  her  sisters  lost  their  lives  by  cross  births^ 

Labor  commenced  in  one  instance,  with  a 
severe  rigor,  lasting  two  hours ;  rupture  of 
the  membranes  cured  the  rigor,  and  the  child 
was  bom  with  one  long  continued  pain. 
This  woman  has  had  six  children,  all  bom 
in  the  same  manner. 

In  one  case,  a  tumor  occupied  the  pelvis ; 
but  receded  prior  to  the  birth  of  the  child. 
In  another  case,  a  tumor  situaUed  apparently 
in  the  uterus,  was  attached  to  the  panetes  of 
the  abdomen.    Both  women  did  well. 

One  woman  suckled  three  months ;  ano- 
ther four  months;  and  a  third  during  the 
whole  term  of  pregnancy ;  but  in  the  last 
case  the  infant  was  very  feeble,  and  died 
within  a  few  hours  of  its  birth. 

One  woman  had  great  obliquity  of  the 
uterus,  and  the  pains  were  suspended  for 
twenty-four  hours  after  its  full  dilatation. — 
Er^ot  was  given,  and  the  labor  terminated 
rapidly  and  favorably. 

Among  the  deaths  were,  one  from  phthisis; 
one  from  typhoid  pneumonia,  during  the 
presence  of  which  delivery  took  place ;  one 
from  puerperal  mania,  (this  patient  had  pre- 
viously been  afflicted  with  insanity;)  and 
one,  as  mentioned  above,  from  the  effects  of 
haemorrhage  and  starvation. — Lon,  Lancet. 


MEDICAL  SOCIETY  OF  LONDON.  ^ 
Mr.  Demdt,  Prxsidbnt. 
Mat  4,  1846. 
Bomarkablo  Gate  of  Fvrpnra. 

Dr.  Clutterbuck  had  lately  seen  an  extra- 
ordinary case  of  purpura,  which,  from  the 
extent  of  the  disease,  might  almost  be  called 
"  morbus  niger."  The  patient  was  a  Belgi- 
an, 19  or  20  years  of  age,  and  a  few  days  be- 
fore the  appearances  on  the  skin  presented 
themselves,  was  afflicted  with  pains  in  the 
limbs ;  the  surface  then  became  studded  with 
purple  spots,  which  spread  over  the  entire 
surface  of  the  body.  The  patient  was  in- 
clined to  dosie,  but  was  sensinle  when  rous- 
ed. The  a£fected  parts  were  padnful  to  the 
touch,  but  gave  no  evidence  of  increase  of 
heat,  and  there  was  no  swelling.  There  had 
been  nothing  in  the  habits  or  mode  of  life 
of  the  patient  to  explain  the  unusual  disease 
which  presented  itself.  He  had  never  been 
so  attacked  before.  The  mouth  inside  .was 
affected  with  livid  spots.  The  treatment  at 
first  had  been  that  usoally  employed  for 
scurvy,  as  VMetable  acids,  &c.;  but  thia 
faUinff  to  afford  rehef,  and  free  acid  being 
found  in  the  urine,  alkalies  were  substituted 
and  he  (Dr.  Clutterbuck)  believed  with  good 
effect    He  had,  however  only  Men  the  caM 


218 


Tubercular  Meningitis. 


for  a  few  minutes,  and  could  not  speak  more 
authoritatively  respecting  it;  he  had  seen 
it  merely  as  a  curiosty,  which  it  certainly 
was.  In  a  subsequent  part  of  the  evening, 
in  answer  to  various  questions.  Dr.  CluUer- 
buck  said  that  the  disease  began  in  the  le^s 
and  more  distant  parts ;  it  first  appeared  in 
the  shape  of  elevated,  hard,  inflamed  pim- 
ples, about  as  large  as  peppercorns,  and  these 
spread  laterally,  until  the  entire  surface  be- 
came one  black  mass.  The  pulse  was  feeble, 
the  patient  lay  prostrate,  and  exhibited  the 
usual  symptoms  of  low  spotted  fever. 

The  President  remarked  that  the  headache 
in  this  case  tended  to  show  that  the  disease 
was  associated  with  venous  congestion,  as 
supposed  by  Dr.  Hartry  and  others.  Upon 
this  principle,  that  practitioner  had  employed 
bleeding  and  drastic  purgatives  with  the  best 
eflfect  Connected  with  this  congestion,  no 
doubt  there  was  some  change  in  the  circula- 
ting fluid  itself,  the  crasis  of  which  had  been 
broken  up,  so  that  it  became  like  the  mere 
liquor  sanguinis. 

In  reference  to  the  nature  of  purpura  gen- 
erally, Mr.  Hilton  had  recently  found  it  as- 
sociated with  a  low  condition  of  the  system, 
and  reduced  quantity  of  the  blood.  Treat- 
ment to  improve  tiiis  condition  was  usually 
beneficial.  He  had  seen,  however,  one  or 
two  cases  in  which  there  was  a  large  quan- 
ttyof  blood  in  the  system.  These  were 
benefited  by  depletion,  generally,  but  were 
exceptions  to  the  rule. 

Mr.  Roberts  did  not  believe  there  was  any 
analogy  between  purpura  and  scurvy;  in 
purpura  there  was  no  sponginess  of  the 
gums. 

Mr.  Dendy  made  some  remarks  to  show 
that  apparently  opposite  modes  of  treatment, 
as  adopted  by  various  practitioners  in  this 
disease  with  equal  success,  might  be  explain- 
ed by  the  facts  of  these  modes  tending  to 
produce  the  same  result— viz.,  an  improved 
state  of  the  secretions,  by  which  the  general 
health  was  improved. 

A  member  mentioned  some  cases  that 
were  cured  by  small  repeated  bloodlettings, 
which  tended  to  show,  as  the  President  had 
formerly  remarked,  that  the  disease  depen- 
ded on  congestion. 

Dr.  L.  Stewart  mentioned  a  case  of  malig- 
nant small  pox  which  proved  fatal  in  thirty- 
eight  hours.  The  pock  did  not  maturate, 
and  the  entire  surface  assumed  a  purple  hue 
like  that  present  in  purpura, 
f  Mr.  Barlow  believed  that  facts  were  against 
he  suggestion  that  purpura  depended  on  ve- 
Dons  congestion,  inasmuch  as  anasarca  and 
other  results  of  obstructions  to  the  veins 
were  not  associated  with  purpura. 


Tnberonlar  Manincltlt. 

Dr.  Willshire  laid  before  the  Society  pof 

tions  of  white  matter  of  each  hemisphwe  of 


the  brain  of  a  young  girl,  containing  a  tuber- 
cle,and  made  the  following  remarks  upon 
the  case.    When  first  seen  by  him,  she  com- 
plained of  great  pain  at  the  top  of  the  bead, 
the  sufering  often  being  very  intense;  puQ 
also  along  the  neck,  left  side,  and  at  the 
epigastrium ;  the  hands  hung  listlessly  at  hex 
side,  and  she  was  continually  sighing ;  evciy 
now  and  then  she  was  seized  with  violent 
trembling ;  the  countenance  was  exceedingly 
anxious^  and  expressive  of  much  suffering. 
The  tongue  was  foul,  the  bowels  wereMj^ 
^tive,  the  pulse  was  feeble,  and  the  child 
somewhat  emaciated.    There  had  been  yom- 
iting  also.    On  inquiry  of  the  mother,  it  ap- 
peared she  had  sought  advice  for  her  child  a 
week  before,  as  she  then  had  diarrhea  and 
severe  cephalalgia;  she  was  told  that  tlie 
girl  had  slight  lever,  of  which  she  woidd 
soon  recover.    In  her  opinion  however  we 
had  been  daily  getting  worse.     The  head 
was  now  ordered  to  be  shaved,  and  rum 
night  and  morning  with  compound  iote 
ointment;  a  blister  was  applied  behind «a 
ear,  and  dry  cupping  at  the  nape  of  the  nedt 
She  was  directed  to  take  eight  ff^^ 
aloes,  and  five  of  the  sulphate  of  poMi 
night  and  morning;  and  one-sixth  of  a  gwB 
of  iodine,  with  two  grains  of  iodidcofpot*- 
sium  in  distilled  water  every  four  hom- 
From  this  period  until  the  day  of  ^f^ 
nineteen  days  afterwards,  though  gradually 
getting  worse,  the  symptoms  constantljR- 
mitted;  stupor,  slight  delirium,  dilated  pa- 
pils,  apparent  blindness,  difliculiy  of  swl- 
lowing,  coma;  slight  convulsions, bowery 
finally  closing  the  pcene.     In  addition  to  w 
therapeutic  measures  already  alluded  to,it 
was  found  necessary  to  blister   the  scalp 
which  was  afterwards  dressed' with  tartar, 
emetic  ointment,  and  the  iodine  being  onalr 
ted,  nitrate  of  potash  was  civen  in  med«s 
doses  instead;  injections  of  turDenlmeaM 
castor-oil  were  ordered  to  be  adminisiew- 
On  inspection  of  the  contente  of  the  cranioo. 
twenty-four  hours  after  death,  the  ^o"?J"J 
pathologic  conditions  were  observed:  SljW 
congestion  of  sinuses  and  veins,  very  d* 
tinct  flattening  of  convolutions  and  raisj 
of  the  sulci ;  on  pressure  the  brain  fell/ej 
firm.     Along  the  edges  of  the  conyexititfW 
the  hemispheres  lymph  was  depo«  w^awj 
with  numerous  yellow  granular  tubeiclea 
No  increased  vascularity,  no  cpng«^«^ 
the  pia-mater,  or  of  the  cerebral  «»M*Jf 
itself,    in  the  white  substance  of ««»  ■T 
isphere,  rather  superficially,  was  a  taW» 
of  the  size  of  a  pea,  in  a  soft  erctaeeow  c»- 
dition,  sunounded  by  a  sMt  of  cyaL    '•^ 


Ovarian  Diseases,  ^c. 


219 


trieles  mocii  distended,  containing  not  less 

Aan  eight  ounces  of  fluid,  perhaps  more. 

No  soilenin^  of  the  central  portions  of  the 

biain.    At  its  base,  from  the  junction  of  the 

medulla  spinalis  with  the  pons  varolii  to  the 

aommissure  of  the  optic  nerves,  was  a  con- 

1  anlerable  amount  of  yellowish-ereen  gclati- 

mfonn  serosity.    At  one  part  of  the  edge  of 

1  mis  latter  were  numerous  granular  tubercles. 

I  The  skull  was  not  sjrmetrically  developed 

I  round  its  axis.    Dr.  WiUshire  remarked  tW 

I  th«  case  offered  the  following  points  of  in- 

I  tarest  --i  st  The  cephalalgia  not  being  fron- 

i  V  '  /®  ^*  '**"*'  ^^  tuberculous  meningitis, 

I  but  felt  at  the  vertex.    2nd.  The  disease  put- 

I  ting  a  stop  to  the  diarrhcea,  and  costiveness 

*  aupervening  as  illustrative  of  some  cases  re- 

I  corded  by  Gerhard,  Pilt  and  Green,  in  which 

(i  torrhffia  was  arrested  by  the  supervention 

ii  of  meningitis.    3d.   In  agreeing  with  the 

i  statement  of  Rilliet  and  Barthez,  that  tuber- 

j'  cles  of  the  brain  proper  are  more  frequently 

P  found  in  the  hemispheres.    4th.  That  yel- 

j  lowish-green  gelatiniform  serosity  in  luber- 

,  CTlous  meningitis  is  more  common  at  the 

5  base.    The  great  trembling,  the  sighing  res- 

^  piration,  the  peculiar  expression  of  the  child, 

,  denoting  severe  cerebral  disorder,  Uie  absence 

of  certain  lesions  of  motility,  which  in  these 

J  eases  are  common,  were  also  alluded  to  as 

pointB  for  discussion. 

'  J  ^*  ^'  ^^^  inquired  whether,  previous  to 

death,  the  lungs  had  been  exammed  in  this 
case,  and  if  so,  whether  there  were  dulness 
!  under  the  clavicle,  or  any  other  sign  of  tu- 
'  bercular  disease.  Such  sign  was  often  a 
valuable  assistance  in  our  diagnosis  of  tuberr 
cle  of  the  brain ;  dyspnoea,  or  even  orthop- 
noea,  was  often  present  in  these  cases ;  was 
it  so  m  the  present  instance  ?  He  inquiied 
also  as  to  the  presence  of  reflex  action. 


Dr.  Willshire  alluded  to  a  peculiar  sigh- 
ing present  in  this  case,  and  analogous  to  the 
•'  cerebral  breathing  »  of  Dr.  Graves.  There 
were  no  reflex  phenomena.  He  had  exam- 
ined the  chest,  not  with  the  view  of  deter- 
mining the  presence  of  tubercular  disease, 
which  in  general  was  not  sufliciently  advan- 
ced to  aid  us,  by  its  physical  signs,  in  diagnos- 
ticating tubercular  meningitis,  but  rather  with 
the  view  of  determining  whether  pnuemonia 
were  present.  There  was  however  no  sign 
of  that  disease. 

Mr.  Barlow  enumerated  three  circamstan- 
eas  which  were  observable  in  this  case,  and 
iwbich  Jed  him  at  once  to  suspect  serious 
mischief  of  the  brain.  The  first  was  the  pe- 
culiar character  of  the  pain,  the  second  re- 
peated sighing,  and  the  third  an  extreme  dis- 
I  oi  cottntenance. 


Some  discussion  afterwards  took  place 
between  Mr.  Unecar,  Dr.  Bird,  and  others* 
respecting  the  connexion  which  the  tubercu- 
^  ar  deposit  bore  to  the  symptoms,  and  wheth- 
V  r  it  was  really  a  cause  or  effect  of  them. 

May  n. 

Oopaiba  In  Inflammation  cf  the  MnoonaMam- 

branaa. 

Mr.  Roberts  related  a  case  of  nephritis, 
in  which,  after  bleeding,  and  the  ordinary 
treatment  of  that  disease,  some  inflammatory 
symptoms  still  remaining,  and  suppression 
of  urine  more  particularly,  he  exhibited  co- 
paiba in  ten  drop  doses  three  times  a  day» 
with  the  effect  of  restoring  the' secretion. 

Dr.  Wiltshire  redded  the  practice  in  this 
case  as  a  fresh  fact  in  favor  of  the  use  of  bal- 
sams. In  America  it  was  glVen  with  good 
effect  in  the  acute  stage  of  gononhea ;  emi- 
nent surgeons  had  given  it  in  sub-acute  cys- 
tisis.  In  Dublin,  turpentine  was  adminis- 
tered with  benefit  in  cases  of  chronic  in- 
flammation of  the  air  passages. 

Some  discussion  took  place  respecting  the 
use  of  balsam  of  copaiba  in  the  acute  stage 
of  gonorrhoea. 

Mr.  Linnecar  never  employed  it  until  af- 
ter antiphlogistic  remedies  had  been  resorted' 
to,  as  it  had  a  tendency  to  produce  a  metas- 
tasis of  the  inflammation  to  the  neck  of  the 
bladder,  owing,  as  he  believed,  to  its  extreme 
diuretic  power. 

Mr.  Middleton  remarked  that  there  was 
no  doubt  the  balsam,  when  given  in  the 
acute  stage  of  the  disease,  immediately  re- 
lieved the  pain ;  but  whether  the  practice 
was  a  good  one,  was  another  question. 

Some  conversation  afterwards  took  place 
respecting  affections  of  the  air  passages  in 
which  several  members  took  part. 


May  18. 
Ovarian  Diiaaia  ;  Oclloid  Matter  in  the  Ofatj 

Dr.  Waller  detailed  the  particulars  of  a 
case  of  ovarian  disease  occuringin  a  woman 
flfty-two  years  of  age,  in  which  all  the  symp- 
toms and  signs  of  the  affection  were  well 
marked.  It  was  eventually  determined  to 
drew  off  the  fluid,  tbut  on  introducing  the 
trocar  for  that  purpose,  no  fluid  whatever 
came  away,  and  only  a  small  quantity  of  a 
substance  resembling  calves»-foot  jelly.  It 
was  evident  that  the  tumor  was  full  of  this 
substance.  It  was  agreed,  after  a  consulta- 
tion with  Mr.  Waine,  to  remove  the  tumor 
entire — ^a  proceeding  not  before  contempla- 
ted in  coneeanence  of  the  very  depraved 
state  of  health  of  the  patient  Before  this 
operation,  however,  could  be  lesorted  to,  in- 
flammation of  the  cyst  and  peritonsBiim  came 


220 


Statistics  of  Consumptisn, 


on,  and  the  natient  died.  On  examination 
after  death,  the  cyst  filled  almost  the  entire 
abdomen,  and  contained  a  jelly-like  fluid,  in 
a  quantity  so  large,  as  to  nil  a  pail.  There 
were  adhesions  to  the  left  side  of  the  abdo- 
men, bat  none  above  or  below.  Would  this 
patient  have  survived  an  operation  earlier 
performed .'  He  (Dr.  Waller)  believed  that 
she  would  not,  and  was  glad  no  such  step 
had  been  resorted  to. 

Dr.  6.  Bird  had  seen  more  than  one  such 
case,  and  several  had  occurred  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  brother.  Dr.  F.  Bird.  The  mass 
filling  the  tumor  was  of  colloid  character 
and  pinkish  hue,  intersected  by  a  thin,  hya- 
loid-like membrane,  containing  a  jelly  simi- 
lar in  substance  to  the  vitreous  humor  of  the 
eye.  There  were  no  means  of  distinguish- 
ing this  substance  from  the  fluid  whilst  in 
the  abdomen.  Dr.  F.  Bird  had  a  notion  that 
this  class  of  cases  was  peculiarly  adapted 
for  operations,  and  that  they  usually  did 
well.  He  (Dr.  G.  Bird)  referred  to  a  very 
interesting  case  of  the  kind  lately  exhibited 
to  the  Society,  and  reported  in  The  Lancet. 

Dr.  T.  Thompson  made  some  remarks  on 
the  treatment  of  ovarian  dropsy  by  medi- 
cines, and  believed  that  he  had  seen  benefit 
in  this  disease  from  the  administration  of  al- 
kalies in  long  and  continued  doses.  He 
brieflv  referred  to  two  or  three  cases  in 
which  during  the  ui>e  of  the  solution  of  pot- 
ash, ovarian  tumors  disappeared.  He  thought 
the  potash  did  not  act  simply  as  a  diuretic, 
but  nad  a  specific  property  in  these  dis- 


Dr.  Waller  and  Dr.  G.  Bird  believed  that 
no  kind  of  medicine  had  any  efiect  in  ovari- 
an disease. 

("Dr.  Theophilus  Thompson  gave  some  par- 
ticulars of  a  case  of  cancer  of  the  lung,  in 
which  all  the  signs  and  symptoms  of  the 
disease  were  clearly  doveloped,  but  no  post- 
mortem  examination  could  be  obtained. 

Mat  26. 
Statiftios  of  Ooatvmptloa. 
Dr.  Theophilus  Thompson  eave  a  short 
report  of  some  particulars  which  he  had  ob- 
served, during  the  last  twelve  months, 
as  visiting  physician  to  the  Hospital  for 
Ck)n8umption  and  Diseases  of  the  Chest — 
The  number  of  patients  treated  by  him  da- 
ring the  year  was  760,  of  which  286  were 
phthisis,  in  various  degrees  of  advancement. 
Amongst  seventy-seven  cases  of  advanced 
phthisis,  fifty-six  were  men,  only  twenty- 
one  women ;  but  of  the  cases  of  incipient 
phthisis,  the  number  of  males  and  females 
was  nearly  equal — a  fact  leading  to  the  eon- 
elusion  ^that  the  apparent  preponderance  of 
the  fonner  was  attributable  to  the  unwil- 


lingness or  inability  of  women  to  leave  their 
homes  under  circumstances  of  advanced  dis- 
ease. He  remarked  on  the  imnortance  ol 
prolonged  expiratory  murmur,  wnen  uncon- 
nected with  bronchitis  or  emf^ysema,  as  au 
early  indication  of  phthisis,  and  a  sign, 
which,  when  once  established,  rarely  disap- 
pears. He  also  particularly  noticed,  as  a 
phenomenon  of  great  interest  and  practical 
importance,  the  "  inspiration  saccadee  "*  of 
some  French  authors— not  the  jerking  res- 
piration of  spasmodic  asthma,  nor  the  inter- 
rupted inspiration  of  diffused  pleurisy,  but 
the  division  of  the  inspiratory  murmur,  as 
though  the  entrance  of  the  air  into  the  cells 
required  several  successive  efibrts.  He  had 
occasionally  observed  this  sign  at  the  back, 
as  well  as  the  front  part  of  the  chest.  It 
sometimes  disappeared  under  treatment; 
but  there  was  reason  to  think  it  charat^leris- 
tic  of  a  condition  of  the  lungs  which  fre- 
quently immediately  proceeded,  or  accomp- 
anied, tubercular  infiltration.  It  was  re- 
markable that  of  ten  cases  recorded  during 
the  year,  the  phenomenon  had  been  in  nine 
instances  confined  to  the  left  side.  He  had 
during  the  last  twelve  months,  taken  notes 
of  eight  cases  in  which  a  murmur  was  beard 
in  the  second  intercostal  space,  on  the  left 
side  only,  and  was  probably  referrible  to  the 
pulmonary  artery.  In  two  of  these  patieols 
the  murmur  disappeared  under  the  use  of 
iron ;  but  in  most,  it  was  succeeded  by  more 
or  less  distinct  manifestations  of  tubeicabi 
disease.  He  deferred  any  comments  on  ca- 
ses of  heart  disease,  bronchitis,  and  other 
pectoral  afiections,  and  concluding:  by  men- 
tioning the  results  of  his  observations  regard- 
ing ccM-liver  oil,  which  he  had  admini^Seied 
in  thirty-seven  of  the  recorded  cases.  In 
three,  the  medicine  was  discontinued  in  con- 
sequence of  the  distressing  nausea  which  it 
occasioned;  in  twelve,  the  reduction  of 
strength  appeared  to  be  slightly  retarded; 
in  twelve,  tnere  was  no  perceptible  efiect ; 
in  ten,  the  increase  of  strength,  nlumpneeSk 
and  energy  was  remarjcable.  When  the  fat- 
tening process  was  established,  it  eenerally 
became  obvious  within  a  fortnight  Tlw 
author  did  not  attribute  to  the  oil  any  nie- 
cific  influence  on  the  local  disease ;  but  be- 
lieved it  to  be  singularly  efilcacious  in  promo- 
ting nutrition.  He  had  found  it  most  useful 
to  the  pallid  and  phlegmatic,  and,  in  private 
as  well  as  public  practice,  had  observed 
more  decided  amelioration  under  its  employ* 
ment  than  could  be  referred  to  any  other /•- 
medial  means  with  which  be  was  oonfer- 
sant 

This  being  the  last  nichtof  the  mmitm^ 
the  Society  adjourned,  after  a  short  addiMi 
from  the  President,  until  September  next 


lEiman  Magneiiam. 


821 


From  the  Tranicript. 
HUMAN  MAGNETISM. 


ICr.  Editor  - — As  this  all-absorbing  theme 
appears  to  be  the  order  of  the  day  at  present, 
-we  hope  it  will  not  be  out  of  order  to  submit 
a  few  thoughts  upon  the  subject,  for  public 
consideration,  through  the  medium  of  your 
paper,  together  with  some  £acts  which  oc- 
curred a  few  evenings  since  under  our  own 
obserration.    A  namber  of  young  gentlemen 
of  this  city^  on  one  evening  of  last  week  as- 
sembled for  the  purpose  of  witnessing,  pri- 
vately, an  exhibition  of  some  of  the  wonders 
of  the  above    science.      The  experiments 
were  conducted  by  a  Mr.  Eeely,  who  has 
been  engaged  for  the  past  week  in  public 
leetnring  and  demonttrating  on  Human  Mag- 
Mr.  E.,  by  the  way  appears  to  be  a 
1  of  considerable  intelligence,  and  much 
•f  a  gentleman  in  his  deportment.    Each  of 
<he  gentlemen  assembled,  was  requested  to 
gttbmit  to  a  trial  of  the  process  by  which  the 
Professor  brings  about  this  mysterious  influ- 
ence.    After  consent  had  been  given  the 
magic  coin  was  distributed,  one  piece  being 
placed  in  the  bauds  of  eaeh  individual,  and 
his  eyes  fixed  closely  upon  it  according  to 
direction.    He  only  succeed^,  however,  up- 
on two  of  the  persons  present,  one  a  resident 
of  this,  and  the  other  of  a  neighboring  city. 
Upon  the  latter  of  whom  I  shall  endeavor  to 
S^ive  briefly  the  results  of  the  experiments, 
which  were  truly  astonishing,  and  looked 
upon  with  a  great  deal  of  interest. 

The  gentleman  in  question  was  a  firm  be- 
liever in  the  truth  of  the  science,  in  its  early 
and  more  undeveloped  forms,  as  presented 
by  those  who  first  agitated  it.  He  has  also 
been  frequently  operated  upon  by  clairvoy- 
ance demonstrators,  but  averred  most  posit- 
ively his  conviction,  that  he  could  not  be  ope- 
rated upon  in  the  manner  proposed  by  Mr.  E,, 
assigning  as  a  reason  that  his  manner  of  ope- 
rating was  in  direct  opposition  to  an  estab- 
lished and  Ihndamental  principle  of  the  sci- 
ence, viz :  That  the  natural  senses  of  the  sub- 
ject (while  under  the  influence)  were  entire- 
ly destroyed,  and  that  he  only  saw,  heard, 
tasted,  &c.,  through  the  senses  of  the  opera- 
tor, consequently  the  subject  could  not  see 
any  person  or  things,  which  the  operator  did 
not  first  picture  vividly  in  his  imagination. — 
After  gazing,  however,  a  few  minutes  upon 
the  coin  placed ^in  hand,  Mr.  E.  pronounced 
him  fully  under  the  magnetic  influence.  He 
requested  him  to  rise  to  his  feet  and  observ- 
ed, that  when  he  (Mr.  E.)  counted  two,  he 
would  be  compelled  to  open  his  eyes,  and 
that  he  would  be  fully  aroused  mentally, 
bet  that  his  physical  system  would  remain 
entirely  under  his  control,  which  effect  took 


place  immediately  after  counting.  He  then 
went  through  his  usual  course  of  experi- 
ments, illustrating  the  fact  that  he  thus  held 
such  control;  such  as  requiring  his  hands  to 
be  thrown  upon  his  head  and  fastening  them 
there,  until  he  willed  their  relief,  and  numer- 
eus  other  experiments  of  the  same  character. 
Mr.  E.  then  wished  to  know  if  he  desired  to 
see  any  friend,  he  replied  he  did,  and  named 
two  relations,  both  of  whom  were  brought 
immediately  before  his  imagination,  and  a 
near  one  who  had  been  absent  for  five  years.- 
The  scene  which  opened  up  at  this  imaginary 
meeting  was  indeed  thrilling,  we  shall  not 
attempt  to  describe  it,  as  it  would  occupy  too 
much  space.  The  subject  was  then  aroused 
but  still  avered  that  he  was  not  convinced  as 
to  the  point  in  controversy,  i.  e.,  that  Mr.  E. 
could  not  bring  vividly  to  his  mind  any  per- 
son or  scene,  unless  he  (Bfr.  E.)  first  pictor- 
ed  clearly  and  distinctly  such  person  or  scene 
in  his  own  (Mr.K.'t)  imncfnation  he  was  not  convin- 
ced fiom  the  fact  that  Mr.  K.  knew  hie  relatiTea.  Mr. 
K.  then  reqaeeted  him  to  give  his  conMnt  to  be  plaeed 
again  nnder  the  inflaenee.  declaring  that  he  would 
convince  him  beyond  the  poselbility  of  a  reasonable 
donbt.  The  gentieman  reiased  at  first,  assigning  as  a 
reason,  that  he  felt  nnwell  and  that  he  did  not  wish  to 
go  thiongh  the  first  process  of  lookins  at  the  coin  as  it 
was  very  fatiguing.  Mr.  K.  remarked  that  althongh  he 
felt  perfectly  relieved  and  fully  aroused,  yet  his  phys- 
ical as  well  as  mental  powers  were  still  nnder  his  con- 
trol, here  anothei  controversy  arose,  and  to  settle  the 
point,  Mr.  K.  requested  him  to  look  him  fully  in  the 
face ;  when  he  should  command  his  hand  to  be  fissted 
upon  his  head,  and  in  spite  of  all  the  power  and  reao- 
luuon  he  could  sum  up  to  resist  it.  He  did  so.  Ha 
then  required  that  after  be  should  have  eonnted  fonr 
the  subject  should  pass  fully  under  the  influences— 
which  he  did,  closing  his  eyes.  He  then  reouired  that 
his  eves  should  be  opened  and  fixed  upon  his,  which 
was  done  forthwi th.  He  then  asked  him  if  he  had  any 
friend  in  any  quarter  of  the  world  that  he  desired  to 
see.  He  replied  he  had,  and  after  naming  him  was 
immediately  introduced  to  one  of  the  company  as  that 
friend  by  Mr  K.,  who  declared  very  impressively  as 
he  introduced  him,  that  it  was  the  person  named.    He 


he  introduced  him,  that  it  was  the  person  named,  lie 
immediately  approached  him  shaking  hands  in  the 
most  familiar  manner,  exhibiting  most  sttikingly  and 
true  to  nature,  all  those  agreeable  emotions  awakened 
by  the  unexpected  meeting  of  the  warmest  friends  af- 
ter a  long  absence.  He  conversed  freely  and  famil- 
iarly for  berbaps  fifteen  minutes,  passine  all  the  usual 
congratulations  upon  such  occasions,  made  numeroua 
enquiries  in  relation  to  his  business— wished  to  know 
if  he  had  seen  any  old  friends  while  absent,  the  indi- 
vidual replied  he  had  not  However  in  the  coarse  of 
the  conversation,  the  name  of  an  old  friend  was  mea- 
tioned  as  the  subject,  upon  which  Mr.  K.  immediately 
draws  his  attention  and  introduced  him  to  another 
person  as^such  friend.  He  approached  him  in  the 
same  manner  and  conversed  as  before.  These  •^pen- 
ments  were  repeated  with  the  most  perfect  satisfac- 
tion, until  he  had  introduced  him  to  every  person  in 
the  room.  He  expressed  the  utmost  pleasure  and  sat- 
isfacuonat  meeting  so  unexpectedly  the  many  friends 
that  surround  him.  There  were,  I  think,  twelve  gen- 
tlemen in  the  room.  Then  in  conclusion  as  a  cap 
sheaf  to  the  entertain  menu,  Mr.  K.  was  requested  to 
draw  his  attention  from  the  crowd  for  a  short  ume,  and 
see  if  he  could  be  biought  back  into  it,  and  single  out 
each  individual  by  their  respective  names,  as  he  had 
been  introduced  to  them.  Mr.  K.  zemaiked  that  he 
was  not  absolutely  certain  that  the  result  would  be 
perfectly  satisactory,  as  it  was  a  class  of  experiments 
now  to  him,  as  well  as  to  us,  but  ths  t  he  was  well  con- 
vinced that  satisfaction  would  be  given,  merely  from 
inductions  from  well  ascertained  facts  and  other  ex- 
periments, in  the  course  of  his  practice,  it  was  tned 
and  the  subject  succeeded  in  every  instance  to  the 
satisfaction  of  all 

AN  INVESTIQATOR. 


INDEX 


TO  THE 


THIRD  VOLUME. 


1846- 


Page. 

Fallacies  of  the  Faculty.  Lectures  de- 
livered at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Pica- 
diily,  London,  1840,  by  S.  Dixon, 
M.  D.  Lecture  VIII.  The  Senses 
— Animal  Magnetism— The  Passions 
— Baths— Exercises— Homoeopathy.       1 

The  late  Epidemic  of  Puerperal  Metri- 
tis in  the  Paris  Hospitals 18 

Tracts  on  Consumption,  No.  2— On 
some  new  Patholgical  Views  of  Tu- 
bercular Phthisis.  By  J G , 

M.D 20 

Communication  for  the  Dissector- Swe- 
denborg  not  a  Clairvoyant 25 

Sweden borg*B  Animal  Kingdom. — In- 
troductory Remarks  by  the  Transla- 
tor, James  John  Garth  Wilkinson, 
Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Sur- 
geons of  London.  [Continued  from 
pu[e  204 27 

The  Kadical  cure  of  Hernia  by  Injection 

Phosphorus  Paste  for  the  Destruction 
of  Rats  and  Mice,  by  M.  Simon  of 
Berlin 34 

Public  Rewards  for  New  Medicines. . .     36 

Prof.  Molt's  Clinique,  at  the  Medical 
Department  of  the  University  of  N. 
York  ,  Saturday,  Sept  6th,  1845. ...     35 

Prof.  Parker's  Clinique,  at  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  Mon- 
day, Sept.  8th,  184» 36 


Prof.  Motrs  Clinique,  Saturday,  Sept 
27th,  1845 ^* 

Prof.  Parker's  Clinique,  Monday,  Sept. 
29th,  1845 ^ 

The  New  York  Hospital— Attendance 
of  Dr.  John  H.  Griscom.  Violeot 
Chorea  St,  Vitti ;  Cured  by  Strich- 
nine ^ 

Prof.  Parker's  Clinique,  at  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  Monday 
Nov.  24th,  1845 * 

Dr.  Mott's  Clinical  Lecture,  Saturday, 
Dec.  6th,  1845 ^ 

Dr.  Parker's  Clinical  Lecture,  Monday, 
Dec.  8th,  1846 « 

Medical  Sciences  in  New  York ^ 

BehindtheAge f 

Cancer  of  the  Lip *' 

Tubercula  of  the  Uterus,  terminatiDg 
in  Cancer— Meoorhagia»  terminating 
in  Cancer *• 

Magnetic  Sleep j 

Paralysis  m  Magnetic  Sleep jj 

A  Word  on  Magnetic  Machines « 

Prof.  Grant's  Premium  Electro  Magne- 
tic Machines • ^ 

New  Discovery  m  Medicine ** 

Reviews ?• 

Hereditary  Disease ^ 

The  Giant  again ^ 


Index, 


Page. 

Incision  of  the  Tunica  Albaginea,  in 
inflammation  of  the  Substance  of  the 
Testicles 56 

The  Debris  furnished  by  Pavements. .  •     56 

Fallacies  of  the  Faculty. — Lectures  de- 
livered at  the  Egyptian  Hall,  Picadil- 
ly,  London,  1840,  by  S.  Dixon,  M. 
tj, — Lecture  IX.  Physic  and  pois- 
on identical — Remedial  means  in- 
clude everything  in  nature- -Action 
of  medicinal  substances  proved  to 
be  Electrical^-Particular  Remedies, 
and  why  they  affect  Particular  Parts.  59 
^wedenborg's  Animal  Kingdom. — In- 
^  troductory  remarks  by  the  Transla- 

l  tor,  JiLMEs  John  Gakth  Wilkinson, 
Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Sur- 
geons of  London.  [Continued  from 
page  3d 68 

Practical  Remarks  on  the  Treatment  of 
Cjrnanche,  with  cases,  by  Charles 
Tk AVERS  Mackin,  Esq.,  M.  D.  Bat- 
tersea 74 

On  Constipation,  from  Indolence  of  the 
Bowels,  and  its  Treatment t7 

On  the  Pathology  and  Therapeutics  of 
Asthma  by  M.  Gondrin 80 

Keviews. — Animal  ChemiWry, or  Orga- 
nic Chemistry  in  application  to  Phy- 
siology and  Pathology,  by  Justus 
LiEBiG,  M.  D.,  &c„  London ;  Taylor 
&  Waston,  1842,  p.  1845.  Continu- 
ed from  p.  66 82 

Peculiar  Cases  in  Midwifery,  by 
Thomas  Torrance,  Esq.,  Surgeon, 
Andre 85 

Homoeopathy 86 

On  the  use  of  Sabina  in  Uterine  Ha- 
morrhage,  by  Dr.  Aran,  of  the  Ho- 
tel Dieu 87 

Cantharides  in  Eczema  and  Psoriasis, 
by  Dr.  Sick 8S 

For  the  Dissector. — Tracts  on  Con- 
sumption, No.  .2,  On  some  New 
Pathological  Views  of  Tubercular 
Consumption.  (Concluded.)  By 
J 6 ,  M.  D 88 

On  the  Patholo^  of  Tuberculosis,  by 
Dr.  Cless,  Practical  Physician  at 
Stuttgard 92 

Autograph  Letter  of  the  King  of  Pros- 
Bia 97 

Professsor  Roger's  Lectures  and  Expe- 
riments on  the  subject  of  *<  Animal 
Magnetism "  or  «« Mesmerism," 
"Clairvoyance,"  &c 98 

Dreaming  a  Translation 99 

Communications 100 

Miscellaneous  Items 101 


Page. 

On  Hooping  Cough,  by  Dr.  Easeman, 
of    Lich,  in   the  Grand   Duchy  of 

Hesse « 102 

Zymotic  Diseases — Fever 105 

New  Evidence  on  the  Extensive  Range 

of  Tuberculosis 107 

True  Science,  vs.  "  Young  Phytic  ". . .  108 

Remarkable  Phenomenon Ill 

Animal  Electricity 112 

Fallacies  of  the  Faculty — Lectures  de- 
livered at  the  Egyytian  Hall,  Picadil- 
ly,  London,  1840,  by  S.  Dixon,  M. 
D. — ^Lecture  X.  Principal  Chrono- 
Thermal  Remedies,  Summary  of  ihA 
Chrono-Thermal  Doctrines  of  Dis- 


113 


For  the  Dissector. — Tracts  on  Con- 
sumption, Number  3.  On  the  Cause 
and  Prevention  of  Tubercular  Phthi- 
sis.    By  J G ,  M.  D 125 

Magnetising    Medicine. — Triumph  of 

Science 137 

Researches  on  Magnetism 1 37 

Curative  Effects  of  Mesmerism 1 43 

Tubercular  diseases  of  the  Organs  and 

Muscles 144 

Baron  Reichenbach's  Experiments  ....   145 

Remarks  by  the  Author 150 

On  Nature's  Temporary  Haemostatics. 
By  C.  H  Hallett,  Esq.,  Assistant 
Demonstrator  of  Anatomy  in  Univer- 
sity College,  Edinburgh 1 52 

A  few  Observations  on  the  use  of  Pro- 
fessor Seutin*s  Starch  Bandage,  in 
the  Treatment  of  Fractures. — By 
Al£R£d  Marewick,  Esq.,  Surgeon, 

London 154 

A  Sketch  of  the  relation  of  the  Spinal 
Marrow  to  Parturition  and  Practical 
Midwifery— By  W.  Tyler  Smith, 
M.  D.,  London — Lecturer  on  Mid- 
wifery in  the  Charlotte  street  School 

of  Medicine 157 

Laternal  Curvatures  of  the  Spine 1(>2 

Magnetic  Machine— Pretended  Im- 
provements    163 

Consumption 163 

On  some  Electrical  Effects  Developed 
chiefly  by  the  Galvanic  Battery. — By 
George  P.  T.  Hill,  Esq.,  Filev.. . .  164 
On  the  successful  Treatment  of  Ovari- 
an Dropsy. — By  Willum  Eccles, 
Esq.,  Surgeon  to  the  Royal    Free 

Hospital,  London 165 

Diseases  of  Children 165 

M.  Guersant  on  the  Influence  of  Ra- 
chitis on  JP'ractures  in  Children 165 

M.  Bricheteau  on  the  Antagonism  of 

Ague  and  Pulmonary  Consumption.  166 
Abscesses  in  the  Liver— Ulceration  of 
the  Intestines 167 


Index. 


Sub-Cataneoos  Diyision  of  the  Sphinc- 
ter in  Anal  Fissure 167 

M.  Yalleix  on  the  treatment  of  Difficult 
Dentition 167 

M.  Ricord'B  Treatment  of  Indurated 
Lymphatic  Gangiiona 167 

On  tne  Contagious  Nature  of  Puerperal 
Fever  and  its  connection  with  other 
Diseases 168 

Homoeopathy. — Testimony  of  Dr.  E. 
Humph  rys,  Utica 168 

For  the  Dissector. — Tracts  on  Ck)n- 
Sumption.  Number  4.  On  the  San- 
abili^r  and  Treatment  of  Tubercu- 
lar Phthisis.    By    J G , 

M  D 16» 

Additional  Remarks  on  Prof.  Seutin's 
Starch  Bandage.  More  pariicularly 
in  reference  to  a  '<  Certain  Modifica- 
tion of  it."  By  Altred  Markwick» 
Surgeon,  London 182 

JBfiect  of  Electro-Magnetism  on  the  Ac- 
tion of  the  Heart 185 

On  the  Treatment  of  Chronic  Diseases 
of  the  Skin.  By  Thomas  Hunt,  Esq., 
M.  R.  C.  S.  Eng.,  Heme  Bay.  Or- 
der VII.— Tubercda 185 

Acne 186 

Case  of  Acne  Simplex  on  the  face,  Cu- 
red by  Arsenic 186 

Case  of  Acne  Indurata  on  the  Should- 

ders.  Cured  by  Arsenic 186 

Acne  Rosacea 187 

Case  of  Ache  Rosacea  in  a  middle  aged 

Ladj,  Cured  by  Arsenic 187 

Sycosis  or  Mentangra 188 

C^use  of  Sycosis  in  a  lady,  complicated 
with  Neuralgia ;  both  affections  cu- 
red by  Arsenic 189 

Case  of  Sycosis  in  a  female,  complica- 
ted with  Dyspepsia;  both  diseases 
yielding  to  Arsenical  treatment 1 89 

Lupus  ..••«• 190 

Oase  of  Lupus  ezedens  of  nine  yean 
standing,  cured  by  Arsenic 190 

From  the  London  Lancet — Liabilities 
of  the  Muscle  in  Disease 193 

Abscess  with  Fistula  in  the  Female 
Breast  Treated  by  a  simple  method 
of  Compression. 194 

Comparative  proportions  of  nutriment  in 
Oiganic  Ailments 194 

On  the  use  of  Ergot  of  Rye  in  Uterine 
Haemorrhages 195 

Recurrence  of  Menstruation  at  an  ad- 
vanced age 195 

The  shape  of  the  external  Ear  in  rela- 
tion to  mental  Disease 195 


The  Age  at  which  Insanity  is  most  pre- 
valent  iw 

The  Symptoms  and  Diagnosis  of  An- 
eurisms of  Bones 196 

Remarkable  case  of  Abscess  of  the 
Heart  Pain  in  the  Leg  the  only 
Symptom  of  Disease  during  life.  By 
T.  HowiTT,  Esq.,  Sujgeon 197 

Remarkable  Mesmeric  Cure 198 

The  Treatment  of  Chronic  Enlargement 
of  the  Bursa  Patells 199 

Calculi  of  the  Prostate  Gland 19$ 

Case  of  Ulcer,  accompanied  with  Vari- 
cose Veins  of  the  Leg,  Treated  widi     ^ 
CajeputOil WMT 

On  the  use  of  the  Starch  Bandage  in 
various  Surgical  Diseases,  by  A 
Mabkwick,  Esq.,  M.  R.  C.  S.  Lon- 
don  2» 

Practical  Remarks  on  some  points  of 
Trichopathy  and  the  Chemical  Pa- 
thology of  the  Human  Hair.  By 
Thomas  Cattsll,  Esq.,  M.  D.,  }t 
R.  C.  S.  E.,  &c.,  Braunston 20i 

Cases  of  Varicocele  treated  by  Pressure 
with  observations-  By  T.  B.  Cui- 
Li>'0,  Lecturer  on  Surgery,  &c.,  Lon- 
don Hospital ^ 

On  the  Internal  Structure  of  the  Hu- 
man Kidney,  and  all  the  Changes 
which  its  several  Compound  piite 
undergo  in  "  Bright's  Disease."  By 
Joseph  Totmbes,  Esq.,  Senior  Sur- 
geon to  St.  George*B  and  St  ivauf 
General  Dispensary ^ 

On  the  action  of  Imperceptible  Agents 
on  the  Living  Body.  ByProfcaBor 
D*  Amador ^ 

Cases  of  the  Pathogenetic  Action  of 
Sulphur  and  Cantharides ^1? 

The  Principal  Articles  of '  the'Pregcnt,^ 
Number «* 

Mesmeric  Suigerjr ..••  *^J 

Another  Mesmeric  Surgical  operation..  21^ 

Homoepathy 2^* 

Birmingham  Lying-In  Hospital.  Mfidi- 
cal  and  Staistic^  Report " 

Medical  Society  of  London,  May  4, 
1846.— Mr.  Dent,  President.  Be- 
markable  Case  of  Purpura. ^" 

Tubercular  Meningitis •  •  ^'' 

Copaiba  in  inflammation  of  the  mucoM 
Membranes *" 

Ovarian  Disease  ;  Colloid  Matter  in  !be 
Cyst 2 

Statistics  of  Consumption * ^'^ 


Human  Magnetism . 


»l 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


▼OL.  !▼. 


JAVUABT,  1847. 


NO.  I 


THEORY  OF  PATHETISM. 

BT  LA  HOT  SUNDXRLANO. 

iFira  Published  in  1843.] 
L 

ComctovmssB  is  the  foundation  of  all 
knowledge,  and  it  may  be  divided  into  two 
daprees  or  kind$j  both  of  which  are  inaU  in 
living  organiamfl. 

I.  The  first,  and  hii^heet  comcioumess  is 
ifae  knowledge  which  the  mind  takes  of  it- 
«alf,  and  the  power  by  which  it  distinguish- 
es between  itself  and  the  objects  of  its 
-  knowledge :  knowledge  is  the  conscious  per- 
eeptioii  ol  the  nature  and  relations  of  things. 
The  funetwons  of  consciousness  and  knowl- 
•edge  appertain  to  the  highest  nekvous  ohga- 
Jiiafsoi  living  bodies ;  and  are  usually  exci- 
ted br  agencies  operating  upon  them 
tknmgb  the  external  setuee. 

The  highest  decrees  of  eonsetoftmest  and 
tttwwied^  apjpertatning  to  mnimal  existence, 
are  manifest  in  the  human  spkcies,  where, 
mho  we  find  the  highest  deveiopmeuts  of 
nerooiu  organismt. 

ComdoHsness  may  exiet  in  various  de- 

S:reea,in  ditferent  persons,  and  in  different 
egrees  in  the  same  person  at  different  times, 
accoiding  to  the  size  of  the  brains,  and  the 
proportionate  size  and  activity  of  the  differ- 
«nt  mental  organs.  It  exists  in  the  highest 
dcigree  in  those  brains  where  the  cerebral 
^velopments  are  the  nearest  to  perfection 
ns  it  r^rds  the  size  and  quality  of  the  ner- 
Tons  matter.  Tt  is,  therefore,  evident  that 
knowledge  must  be  highest  in  those  brains 
that  are  of  a  determinate  size,  and  wbich 
liaTe  been  excited  sufficiently  with  a  healthy 
action.  We  must,  hence  admit  the  com- 
jfeUncy  of  such  minds,  when  in  a  normal 
waking  state,  to  judge  of  any  given  propo- 
rtion whether  it  be  true  or  false,  and  also 
^what  mind  or  class  of  m\n^  as  a  general 
rale,  it  is  the  most  safe  to  follow : 

1.  The  brains  should  be  perfectly  devjtl- 
«ped,  that  is,  all  the  organs  should  corres* 
pond  in  their  different  degrees  of  power. 


2.  They  must  have  been  sufficiently  ex- 
ercised, or  educated.  The  person  must  have 
bad  the  necessary  opportunities  for  informa 
tion  upon  the  subject  for  which  his  opiiioi 
is  to  be  taken,  and  he  must  have  made  usi 
of  them. 

8.  He  must  be  free  from  all  those  a$$ncioL' 
lions  which  would  have  a  tendency  to  pre- 
vent a  just  and  accurate  judgment. 

4.  His  brains  and  ail  his  organs  must  be 
in  a  healthy  condition. 

T[.  The  second  kind  of  Consdoueneu  is 
manifest  in  the  spontaneous  action  of  the 
nervous  functions^  without  observation  or 
experience,  which  constitutes  Instxkct  Im- 
TUiTfON  or  Clatrvoyance. 

11. 
Mind— Sonl-SpiHt. 

Mind^  SoulvT  Spirit  are  synonymous  terms 
and  signify  the  aggregate  of  all  the  /unc- 
tion»  of  the  nervous  system.  Hence,  mtfKf 
is  neither  material  or  immaterial,  but  func- 
tional. Mind  is  excited,  draum  out,  nurtwr^ 
ed  and  manifested  through  the  external  sen- 
ses, and  when  either  o!  these  senses  is  want- 
ing, in  so  much  the  mind  itf^If  hi.  wanting. 
Mental  manifestations  depend  "lipon  the 
qualities,  size,  composition,  devdopments,  age, 
and  conditions  of  the  cerebral  system,  inclu- 
ding the  external  senses.  The  organisms 
peculiar  to  himd,  are  located  in  two  distinct 
tNrains,  and  are  made  up  of  a  congeries  of 
groups,  the  exercise  of  whose  fumctioms 
constitute  thought  and  nil  the  sensations, 
emottons,  conceptions,  and  feelings  common 
to  animals  and  to  men.*    And  thus,  while 


*  The  best  work  on  PHasiroLOOT,  whloh 
teaches  the  science  of  the  mind,  is  that  by 
George  Combe,the  greatest  of  mental  philos- 
ophers living.  With  the  exception  of  the 
immortal  Oall^  to  no  one  person  is  the  world 
so  mnoh  indebted  for  an  exposition  of  the 
tma  aoieace  of  the  mind,  as  to  Mr.  Combe. 
JkaA   his  Phrenologieal  writings,  together 


2 


Theory  of  Pathetisnu 


we  become  conscious  of  the  connection  be- 
tween tbe  mental  functions,  by  which  they 
constitQle  one  aggregate,  we  perceive  and 
act  upon  the  reality  of  our  own  personal 
idmtity,  though  some  of  tbe  faculties  in 
both  of  the  brains,  may  and  often  do,  (espe- 
cially in  cases  of  disease)  act  independently 
of  each  other. 

There  are  just  as  many  mental  suscepH- 
MUietUkA  faculties  as  there  are  functions 
lathe  combined  nsrvous  oroahisms.  The 
onans  pimiy  mental  exist  in  corresponding 
pairs  and  rroups  in  both  brains,  and  the 
ittnetions  of  some  antagoniss  each  other  as 
nay  be  seen  in  the  o/terruittf  exercise  of 
Ccmbaiivenimand  Sfnpatkji ;  Firmness  and 
^ii6ffitt»aon  ;  Adhestveness  and  Aversion ; 
Love  and  Hatred ;  Joy  and  Ghrief;  DestrucU 
I  and  Conurvaiivenesst  ^c,  ^. 


III. 
AmSmaX  Llft-*rimctloiis— BvMtptibUitlofl. 

The  essential  nature  of  Animal  Lives,  it 
may  not  be  possible  for  the  human  mind  to 
comprehend.  Life  is  manifested  from  cer- 
tain aseoeiationst  and  it  controls  matter,  sus- 
pends tbe  laws  of  chemical  affinity,  and  ex- 
tends its  power  oTer  each  of  the  impondera- 
ble fluids,  known  under  the  terms  of  Mag- 
Betism,  Electricity  and  Galvanism.  It  car- 
ries on  a  series  of  revolutions  in  the  animal 
and  mental  economy  which  correspond  with 
the  alternative  forces  or  states  of  everything 
else  in  nature.  Hence  we  have  the  alter- 
nations of  the  *<  Breath  of  Lives,"  by  which 
«<  Man  became  a  living  soal.*'*  The  air  in 
breathing,  generates  tne  heat  which,  by  ex- 
^msion,  produces  the  circulation  of  blood. 
The  action  of  the  blood  on  the  lining  mem- 
bmnes  of  the  heart,  excites  the  alternate  ex- 
pansion and  contraction  of  that  oigan,  by 
which  its  valves  open  and  shut  tor  the  pas- 
nge  of  the  blood  back  and  forth  through  the 
■Tstem.  In  this  way  the  current  of  the 
blood  is  assisted,  the  same  as  tbe  waves  may 
assist  in  the  passage  of  a  stream  of  water. 
The  application  of  cold  air  to  the  surface  of 
the  body,  assists  in  driving  the  blood  back 
again  through  the  veins,  and  in  these  alter' 
noli  conditions  of  motion  and  rest,  cold  and 


with  hit  **  Constitution  of  Man/'  and  '<  Mor- 
al Philosophy  "  should  be  read  and  studied 
Ij  all  who  would  make  any  proficiency  in 
aaihropology.  Hueh  has  been  published 
on  Phrenology  in  thit  country,  of  late  and 
many  discoveries  are  tofd  to  have  been  made, 
correcting  the  labors  of  Gall,  Sperzhiem  and 
Oombe  s  but  I  have  seen  nothini^  of  thli  kind 
which  is  worth  a  moment's  attention  from 
any  one. 

•OeaesUt:  7. 


heat,  sleep  and  tcakefviness,  life  and  dutk ; 
vre  have  a  perfect  correspondence  with  the 
other  phenomena  of  nature,  and  the  coniti- 
tution  of  things. 

Life,  together  with  the  assodatiom  which 
constitute  the  nature  of  things,  give  to  tke 
nervous  system  in  every  case  its  detenaa- 
ate  size,  qualities,  and  consequent  powtn. 
And  widi  the  quantity  of  the  grey  merem 
matter,  and  the  comparative  size  of  thedil- 
fereet  cerebral  organs,  (other  things  bwif 
equal,)  the  nuntal  or  intdlectual  power  ail 
manilestations,  will,  invaiiably  be  ioia^  to 
agree. 

IV. 
V«rw«s  Cnerfy. 

The  essential  nature  of  the  nenrooicw- 
gy,  the  mind  may  not  have  any  facoltyftr 
connprehending  any  moie  than  it  hsskt 
knowing  what  life  is.  It  is  a  fMuHeei 
power  supplied  by  the  vital  fortes,  ml  B 
modified,  increased,  or  diminished  is  tkr 
system  or  its  various  parts,  by  theair,M 
cold,  heal,  light,  darkness*  sooiid,  oolflit 
odor,  bodily  and  mental  exercise,  mm 
ttons,  and  m  a  word, by  evervthiog  is  «• 
tore,  real  or  imaginary,  wnich  wt^  ^ 
brought  in  contact  with  the  body,tf  oiapf 
the  mind.  Impressions  are  convejaiiT^ 
brations  from  one  nerve  to  anolkt»thioi|fc 
the  various  associations  between  tla&lMl 
nerves,  ganglia,  and  the  parts  wfaidi  ftif 
supply. 


Ssalth-^lMSM. 

When  the  due  amount  of  nervmeufil 
is  communicated  at  the  proper  tiocv 
heart  dilates  and  contracts  reyiliriy;^ 
voluntary  and  other  muscles  obey  witi«il 
obstruction,  the  several  wants  of  the  variw 
organisms,  which  call  them  into  actioa- 
The  various  secretions  are  made  at  the  pnf 
er  period,  the  vital  forces  predominale « 
their  tendencies  to  prcfierve  all  paria  of  »• 
system  against  the  destructive  power  of  ^ 
ygen  which  tends  to  break  them  down,  ■■ 
thus  the  balance  of  power  is  duly  mainlaii^ 
ed  between  the  breathing,  circuliUing*  ^ 
simulating,  absorbing,  and  excreting  faj 
lions.    This  we  call  a  state  of  perfect  healA 

Disease  is  a  disturbance  in  the  narr oaa  * 
ergy ;  when  more  or  less  is  coiniBUDiciii| 
to  any  pari  than  is  necessary  to  wpp'y,* 
natural  wants  of  the  system,  fhedrcnlattf 
assimulating,  absorbing  and  excretinj  J^ 
cesses  are  interrupted,  and  'nflanimat»M' •J 
congestion  ensues :  one  part  is  ***!V  j[ 
the  want  of  a  due  supply,  and  an  ottM 
enlarged  with   onbealthy  dtpodu.    ?» 


Theory  of  PaiAeiiam. 


temperaftire  is  now  increased  or  diminislied, 
«nd  hence  a;i  health  consists  in  a  feguJar  se- 
ries 6f  allernaling  conditions  or  motions, 
«aeh  embracing  a  special  period  of  time,  so 
dtaeaae  in  all  cases,  must  be  nothing  more 
'Qor  less  than  an  increase  or  diminution  of 
the  amount  of  the  same  motions  or  condi- 
tions, and  is  universally  alternative  with  a 
period  of  comparative  health.  And  the 
«naoant  of  motion  or  temperature  makes  the 
4lifl^en€e  in  chronic  or  acute  diseases. 

VI 
Xat«ltiaa--GlairTef  aaoe  -.lastiae  t 
Whim  either  of  the  moral  or  intellectual 
organs  are  constituted  with  a  certain  amount 
of  the  grey  nervous  matter  and  reach  a  deter- 
minate size,  the  knowledge  appropriate  to 
Hio#c  faculties  is  intuitive,  and  but  little 
or  no  mental  labor  is  necessary  for  its  ac- 
ifiiirement.*  A  purely  instincUve  action  is 
fiot  determined  by  experie.nce or  observation; 
it  is  perfect,  and  not  susceptible  of  any  im- 
provement The  instinctive  power  in  man  is 
(in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge)  superce- 
^led  by  the  development  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  through  the  external  senses.  But 
In  certain  states  of  the  nervous  system  when 
tfce    external    senses  are   suspended,  this 

rrer  becomes  active,  and  is  then  what  is 
ominated  clairvoyance.  Some  mental 
metions  are  of  a  mixed  character,  combining 
•Mietfaing  of  instinct  and  the  exercise  of  the 
mind  through  the  external  senses. 

Hie  first  and  highest  susceptibility,  short 
of  consciousness,  is  that  quality  of  living 
oiganisms  which  is  operated  on  by  the  ap- 
propriate agencies,  when  they  are  excited  to 
fteUon;  as  that  quality  of  the  optic  nerve 
which  is  affected  by  lieht,  and  by  which  we 
Moone  conscious  of  the  presence  and  na- 
tye  of  objects.  It  is  in  the  stomach,  and 
•iected  by  food ;  in  the  ear  and  afiected  by 
«ptind.  And  in  the  difi&rent  organs  of  the 
Jiring  body  which  renders  them  susceptible 
to  changes,  from  the  relations  which  exist 
tttween  theai»  or  from  certain  external 
agencies. 

Each  of  the  external  sentes  are  coAdition- 
M  upon  that  quality  of  the  nervous  system 
which  ^ves  the  sense  of  feeling,  it  is  the 
madatjon  of  instinct  and  consciousness, 
«nd,  hence,  when  either  sight  or  hearing, 
<aite  or  smell,  are  suspended  or  inactive,  as 
m  tomnaiahttlism,  catalepsey  and  trance, 
wt  sense,  «o  generally  diffused  over  the 
•yrtem,  becomes  highly  exalted  and  acts  for 
••ch  of  the  others.    In  this  may  we  account 


for  presentiments  and  prophetit  dreama ;  and 
by  this  power  somnambulists  are  often  able 
to  distinguish  the  nature  and  the  diibieMg 
m  objects. 

VII. 
TamperaBMnts, 
The  depees  in  which  we  find  the  difcr- 
ent  qualities  of  the  nervous  matter,  appor- 
tioned in  each  system,  together  with^ 
quahtjes  and  quantities  of  the  fluids,  mue- 
cles,  bones,  and  the  digesting,  circulating, 
absorbing,  and  breathing  organs  determine 
what  we  call  the  temperament  <x  idiosyn- 
crasy, :n  each  case.    From  this  it  will  be 
seen  that  there  may  not  be  any  two  persons 
of  precisely  the  same  temperament,  and  the 
reasons,  also,  why  one  person  is  more  easi- 
ly affected  from  any  given  cause  than  an- 
other. 

VIII. 


•That  we  aeconnt  for  prodigies,  sueh  as 
*•«  CQibom,  Elihn  Burritt^  Ole  BaU^Veux 
^«pi,  SlTori^  Swedenborg,  and  others. 


Hental  Infinenoe. 
The  influence  which  one  person  or  thinf 
may  have  upon  another,  depends  upon  the 
temperaments  or  the  constitution  of  man, 
and  the  nature  of  things.  In  chemistry, 
certain  results  follow  the  association  of  two 

known  properties,  as  an  acid  and  alkali. 

But  no  two  minds  may  be  constituted  pre» 
cisely  alike.    That  is,  there  is  a  diflerenoB  in 
their  temperaments,  the  fluids,  the  nerves  and 
nriuscles  of  no  two  persons,  may  be  appor- 
tioned just  alike.    Hence  no  two  are  pre- 
cisely alike  in  the  different  degrees  of  their 
different  susceptibilities.    Each  has  the  same 
number  of  mental  organs,  but  in  their  qunt- 
ities,  maturity,  size  of  the  organs,  education, 
and  many  other  things  which  go  to  make 
up  the  idiosyncrasy  of  each  person,  there 
will  be  a  variety  of  diflerences,  which  tend 
to  make  them  unlike,  and  rive  one  an  influ- 
ence over  the  other,    il  is  from  these  eontim- 
rieties  that,  as  a  general  thing.  Uie  two  aeite 
have  more  power  over  each  other,  than  either 
can  now  have  over  another  of  the  same  sex. 
From  this  may  be  seen  upon  how  many  dif- 
ferent considerations  does  the  influence  which 
one  mind  has  over  another,  depend.    The 
comparative  size  of  the  brains,  the  size  of  the 
different  organs,  the  views  of  the  person,  the 
skill,  tact,  intelligence,  firmness,  time,  place, 
circumstances,    luotives,  and   many  other 
things  are  to  be  taken  into  the  account  be* 
fore  It  can  be  determined  how  much  power 
nemind  would  be  able  to  exert  o?er  an- 
other. 

IX. 

AstotUtioBt. 
Minds  aflect  each  other  by  aaiociations. 
By  eatnbliahing  an  agreeable  aasociatioa  er 


Thmry  of  PaiheHsm. 


leftation  between  two  penons,  the  mind  of 
one  may  thereby  control  the  susceptibilities 
of  the  other ;  or  by  applying  the  hand  of 
one  to  any  part  of  the  other,  difierent  ment- 
al and  physical  changes  may  be  produced. 
Hence  it  follows  that  the  only  influence  ex- 
tended from  one  mind  or  body  to  another, 
depends  upon  the  kind  of  relation  establish- 
ed between  them,  and  the  same  is  true  with 
regard  to  any  influence  felt  by  the  living 
body,  from  any  other  cause. 

Associations  are  often  formed  and  con- 
troled  by  the  mind,  between  itself  and  real 
or  imaginary  things  or  beings ;  so  that  the 
mind,  and  consequently  the  nervous  system, 
is  affected  one  way  or  another  by  the  views 
or  the  belief  entertained  of  persons  or  things. 
When  the  mind  has  been  once  impressed 
with  an  anticipation  of  an  influence  from 
any  cause,  it  takes  cognizance  of  this  law 
of  association,  and  in  cases  of  high  suscep- 
tibility, it  does  sometimes  either  create,  or 
transfer  it  from  one  substance  or  agent  to 
another ;  and  hence  the  system  is  aflectea 
precisely  according  to  the  anticipations  of  the 
mind  ,and  not  according;  to  the  real  qualities 
of  those  things  to  which  the  association  has 
been  transferred. 

A  peculiar  association  or  connection  be< 
tween  two  minds  or  two  functions  which 
are  not  precisely  alike,  produces  a  positive 
or  sympathetic  relation,  by  which  one  mind 
affects  the  condition  of  the  other.  When 
the  mind  or  organs  are  precisely  alike,  the 
telation  is  negative  and  no  results  are  pro- 
duced except  a  state  or  feeling  of  antipathy, 
and  when  two  roinds,bodies,or  substances  are 
brought  together  which  do  not  come  aj)  to  a 
•  certain  degree  of  diflereiice,  in  quality  or 
Junctions,  a  neutral  relation,  or  a  state  of 
apathy,  is  the  result 

Where  the  association  between  two  dif- 
ferent nervous  organisms,  is  sufllciently 
atrong,  one  may  become  lost  in  the  suscep- 
tibilities of  the  other,  so  as  not  to  be  really 
or  normally  conscious  of  anything  except 
the  stales  of  the  mind  or  power  by  which  it 
has  become  fascinated  or  spell-bound. 

The  nature  of  the  relations  or  associa- 
tions between  two  or  more  substances,  or- 
gans, or  entities,  depends  upon  the  difl^r- 
ence  or  likeness  in  their  qualities  or  func- 
tions, and  the  difference  in  the  natnre  or 
qualities  of  things.  This  accounts  for  the 
difference  in  the  susceptibilities  of  different 
persons,  to  be  influenced  by  any  given  sub- 
stance or  agency  which  is  associated  with 
the  mind,  or  any  part  of  the  body  (as  the 
stomach)  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  about 
a  change. 

By  changing  the  associations  we  may  by 
4eaiga  or  incidentally  change  the  mental  or 


physical  powers  and  thus  bj  exeitiii|  qm 
sense  we  may  saspend  each  of  the  oikiiii 
neither  two  of  the  senses  can  be  eieiteito 
a  certain  degree  at  one  and  the  naic  tine. 
Hence  it  is,  that  the  thought  or  ides  of  a 
state  or  condition  of  the  mind  or  body.wlMt 
flxed  in  the  mind  for  a  sufficient  length  of 
time,  suspends  the  senses  and  brings  oa  that 
very  change  or  state. 


Sympathf. 

The  laws  of  aaaociation  or  sympathy  bf> 
tween  the  vital  organs  and  the  sahfltaoccf 
which  noorish  the  system,  sach  as  air,  umI 
food,  keep  up  the  phenomena  of  life.  Tkir 
disturbance  produces  disease,  and  their  4» 
traction,  death. 

The  muscles,  Jimba^  and  oigans.arecoi' 
trolled  by  the  brain  on  the  opposite  eiderf 
the  body ;  that  is,  the  right  braia  con» 
ponds  with  the  left  side,  and  the  left  bM 
with  the  right  side',  and  the  muscles  an  Bfl* 
ved  through  these  asaociatioas  or  rclitioa 
which  exist  between  different  portisniof  tki 
same  muscles,  and  also,  between  these  ai 
the  sympathetic  nerves  whose  activity  c* 
stitutes  the  mind.  From  which  it  folloia 
that  there  is  a  reciprocal  influence  betvttt 
the  different  nerves  and  the  other  tmM^ 
the  entire  system ;  and  hence  it  ii  tlat  tbi 
state  of  one  organ  or  part  is  chanj^  Vy  the 
state  of  another,  with  which  it  »  """"^ 
ted. 

These  sympathetic  relations  or 
tions  exi6t  between  the  mental  organiaod m 
nerves  and  muscles  of  the  face ;  ibey  rt^   \ 
the  features,  and  thus  lay  the  foondatioD w    i 
all  that  may  be  known  of  PbyaiogDoaj;    | 
they  give  the  contour  to  the  entire  ayilA 
so  that  associations  may  be  traced  bdwed 
all  the  mental  and  ^physical  developiM^ 
and  from  corresponding  points  of  eyDm 
throughout  the  body,  the  dilieteat  ccfehii 
oigans  may  M^  excited  and  controlled  bf  i^ 
external  agencies  which  may  be  hfoofat* 
to  association  with  their  aueceptibiliMi  m 
that  purpose. 

XI. 
The  WUL 
The  Human  will  is  the  aggregate  of  A> 
mental  facu]ties,acting  in  the  same  asReetW 
the  mind  or  heart,  is  the  aggre^  of  ^ 
faculties.  The  wants  of  the  mind  asd  w0 
of  the  animal  economy  grow  out  of  the  J 
ceptibiliiies  with  which  man  is  ^^^JJjJ 
One  faculty  disposes  to  the  receptioa  ofM 
— another  to  worship— another  ^.'■^ 
and  understand  the  causes  and  leleW" 
things.  The  exercise  of  anyone  *J»v 
affords  mon  or  to  satiafktios;  av^ 


Thewy  of  PaiheHsm. 


Mtttest  aatisfactioii  is  enjoyed  when  the 
Snsest  number  of  t^ie  facnlties  are  mtified 
in  harmony  with  each  other.  The  nighest 
organs  in  the  brains  are  those  whose  func- 
tions take  cognizance  of  moral  relations  and 
^pose  to  the  performance  of  moral  duties. 
The  intellectnai  organs  perceiTe  and  show 
the  reason  why  duties  should  be  perfor- 
med, why  we  should  worship  one  being 
rather  than  another.  Hence  it  is  that  man 
16  most  satis6ed  when  he  is  governed  by  the 
highest  or  moral  organs,and  the  whole  of  his 
organs  are  gratified  in  harmony,  together. — 
It  18  then  he  fulfils  all  the  relations  he  sus- 
tains to  God  and  man.  It  is  then  he  enjoys 
the  greatest  satisfaction  of  which  his  nature 
is  susceptible,  and  best  answers  the  great 
end  of  his  existence. 

XII. 

Moral  Obligation— Happinefft-^Miserj. 

Moral  power,  when  affirmed  of  moral  be- 
ings is  co-existant  with  moral  obligation, 
«nd  both  are  conditioned  on  certain  suscep- 
tibilities, and  relations.  Duties  to  the  Deity 
are  conditioned  on  the  relations  we  sustain 
to  Him ;  duties  to  country,  family  and  neigh- 
bors, are  conditioned  upon  the  relations  we 
sustain  to  each,  and  the  relations  themselves 
are  traceable  to  the  mental  and  physical  fac- 
ulties by  which  each  has  it  in  nis  power  to 
do  the  most  intrinsic  good  to  the  greatest 
number. 

Moral  law  is  in  harmony  with  physical 
and  organic  law,  and  the  greatest  good  is 
secured  when  each  of  these  laws  are  obey- 
ed— from  which  it  follows,  that  sin  is  the 
-want  of  conformity  to  the  moral  law,  and 
misery  is  the  necessary  consequence  of  a 
violation  of  either  moral,  physical  or  orga- 
nic laws. 

XIII. 
MsBtai  Phonomoiia. 
Mental  phenomena  may  be  diyided  into 
four  classes: 

1.  Those  which  occur  from  states  of  dis- 
•ase  or  the  constitutional  tendencies  of  cer- 
tain minds.  Dreams,  visions,  insanity,  and 
many  other  traits  of  character  are  originated 
in  this  way. 

2.  Those  which  occur  incidentally  from 
snaocialions  and  causes  not  apprehended  at 
the  time,  but  which  affect  certain  tempera- 
aie&ts  and  produce  the  changes  which  oc- 
«ar. 

t.  Those  which  are  self«indueed,  such 
^B  ileep,  trance,  somnambulism,  and,  in  a 

^ord,  each  and  all  those  changes  which 
-«oiiie  within  the  range  of  faith,  hope,  and 

tlM  power  of  the  human  will.  There  is  no 
.^atete  of  the  mind  but  which  may  be  self-in- 
^tteed»  whtra  then  am  no  disturbing  causes 


or  previous  associations  strong  enough  to 
prevent  the  attention  from  becoming  suffi- 
ciently fixed  upon  the  result. 

4.  There  are  phenomena  which  are  in- 
duced by  certain  associations  or  means,  de* 
signedly  used  for  the  purpose  by  one  per- 
son in  operating  upon  the  mind  or  neivoua 
system  of  an  other. 

The  pathology  of  incubus,  somnambu- 
lism, trance,  second  sight,  insanity  and 
dreaming,  is  the  same,  or  so  nearly  so  that 
the  pathology  of  one  of  these  states  will 
readily  suggest  or  explain  the  pathology  of 
each  of  the  others.  In  each  case,  the  bal- 
ance of  power  between  the  alternating  states 
or  periods  of  activity  and  rest,  is  suspended 
or  destroyed,  and  hence  the  extremes  into 
which  the  mind  or  some  of  its  faculties  bis 
driven,  without  the  power  of  self-cootioi 
peculiar  to  a  healthy  waking  state. 

XIV. 
Sleep. 
Sleep  is  one  of  the  alternating  staiM  of 
life,  and  it  bears  precisely  the  same  relatioa 
to  wakefulness,  that  inhaling  and  exhaling 
air  bear  to  each  other,  and  the  ebbing  add 
flowing  of  the  blood.  As  we  have  seen,  ail 
the  phenomena  of  life,  alternate  and  are  pe« 
riodical ;  and  when  the  lungs  become  peri*' 
odically  exhausted,  they  leave  a  larger  quan* 
tity  of  venous  blood  in  the  cerebrum  which 
is  the  physiological  cause  of  sleep. 

XV. 
Dreaming. 

Dreaming  is  a  state  of  partial  activity  in 
the  mental  organs,  between  sound  sleep  and 
wakefulness.  Whatever,  thereforct  tends 
to  increase  the  circulation  and  to  destroy  the 
balance  between  the  periods  of  activity  and 
rest  peculiar  to  the  circulating  system*  in- 
creases the  mental  states,  analagous  and  ps» 
culiar  to  a  state  of  dreaming. 
XVI. 
Generation. 

Intellectual  and  physical  qualities  are 
transmitted  from  parents  to  oflspring.  As 
the  nervous  organisms  are  generated, the  acti- 
vity of  whose  functions  constitute  mind,  the 
mind  itself  is  affected  and  modified,  as  the 
case  may  be,  by  all  those  states  and  circum- 
stances which  tend  to  affect  the  health,  hab- 
its and  mental  condition  of  parents,  and  es- 
pecially of  mothers  during  the  period  of 
gestation. 

XVII. 
Death— Betnrreetioa. 

Death  is  the  alternation  of  life,  and  the  re* 
surrection  of  the  human  body  is  the  alterna- 
tion of :  death.  We  can  trace  man  no  fu^ 
ther  than  death  without  a  divine  revc^tion. 
and  from  the  bible  we  learn  that  by  the  goe- 
peiof  Jesus  Christ «  Life  and  immortality 
are  brought  to  Ught" 


Heroic  Treatment. 


BBROIC  VaaASllKBlfT. 


A   SYNOPSIS, 

OoRtminiog  a  short  abstract  of  the  most  pneti- 
Cftl  articles ;  and  showing  at  a  glance,  the 

y.  most  important  indications  of  treatment  by- 
different  writers,  published  within  the  last 
half-year. 

Disorders  affectinc  the  By-stem  geaorally. 
FEVERS. 

T^pkiu. — ^The  great  indication  of  treat- 
ment ij  to  produce  iibrlne,  i.  e.,  to  separate 
t^  BUcleuB  (the  true  representative  of  hbrine) 
inrai  the  envelope  of  each  blood  corpuscle. 
Bjr  giving  chlorine  (muriatic  acid)  and  am- 
■onia,  alternately,  this  is  accomplished. 
Xbe  MiTelope  is  decomposed,  the  nucleus  re> 
■aine  nndiaeolved.    (Dr.  Richter,  p.  32.) 

IXlate  the  system  with  nitrogenised  mat- 
ters, from  the  lact  oi  ammonia  or  nitrogen 
lieiBi^  dificient  in  the  system  in  typhus.  Ai- 
terj^vinff  a  full  dose  of  castor  oil,  give  10 

Kns  ol  carbonate  of  ammonia  every  six 
rs  nniil  the  return  of  cerebral  action,  and 
iken  gi^e  aperients  and  quinine.  Goo^  beef 
tea  well  seasoned  with  spices  and  salt.  Plenty 
•I  water  and  diluents.  Port  wine  when  the 
pobe  will  bear  it.    (Mr.  Grantham,  p.  29.) 

When  the  circulation  requires  it,  give  wine 
under  all  circumstances  of  derangement  of 
the  functions.  Two  drachms  of  ether  in  the 
form  of  injections  every  two  hours,  when 
swiJlowing  is  difficult.  Blisters  in  succes- 
•loft  over  the  surface  every  six  hours,  over 
ehest,  abdomen,  thighs,  and  legs,  as  stimu- 
lants to  excite  the  capillary  system.  (Dr. 
Corrigan,  p.  SO.) 

Jgiie. — Large  doses  of  quinine  (from  10  to 
60  grains  a-day)  for  four  successive  days, 
and  intermitting  it  fhe  six  following  days, 
tiivs  embracing  the  interval  comprehended  in 
three  fits;  or 

A  laige  dose  of  quinine  as  soon  as  a  fit 
threatens  or  takes  place,  and  then  omitted 
dil  another  paroxysm  comes  on .  Doses  from 
15  to  30  grains  each  day,  increased  some- 
times to  60  g[rains.     (Dr.  Graves,  p.  25  ) 

Before  giving  quinine,  relieve  congestions 
ol  internu  organs,  which  may  occur  even  in 
anasmic  subjects;  and  then  give  a  large  dose 
of  quinine*  followed  by  small  doses,  in  or- 
der to  keep  u])  its  stimulating  or  tonic  effects 
on  thecapillaries.    (Dr.  R.  Chambers,  p.  26.) 

£rtry  sufficient  dose  of  quinine  or  bark 
loses  power  by  fractioning  it,  like  a  dose  of 
wine ;  therefore  give  a  large  or  full  dose  dur- 
iag  or  just  after  a  fit,  and  also  during  the  in- 
termission: the  second  dose  to  be  given  on 
any  day  from  the  first  to  the  sixth  mterval, 
thea  to  be  repeated  after  intenrak  of  7, 8>  9, 


10, 12,  14,  16,  18,  22,  and  30  days.  Beit 
time  for  the  dose  immediately  amrtli|^t 
dinner,  and  the  first  doee  just  alter  an  sttek. 
A  dose,  from  15  to  20  grains  of  solphate  of 
quinine,  or  3  or  4  drachms  of  dnchooa  will 
keep  off  the  fit  for  about  eight  days.  (&«!• 
onneau,  p.  28.) 

Scarlatina. — As  soon  as  the  efflomnee 
appears,  and  when  the  faoees  are  red,  apply 
a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  to  the  iniaand 
parts  in  the  throat  (10  grains  to  theoaeoe;) 
apply  the  camphor  liniment  combined  witk 
laudanum  externally ;  and  to  a  child  ol  three 
years  old,  give  half  a  diachm  of  dilated  dis- 
tilled vinegar,  in  syrup  and  water,  weiy 
three  hours;  after  fifteen  years,  give  tw© 
drachms  to  a  dose.  The  solution  of  mtnUe 
of  silver  should  be  applied  once  or  twice  i 
day,  by  means  of  a  bit  of  sponge  at  the  ead 
of  a  lead  pencil.    (Mr.  Brown,  p.  35.) 

When  there  is  dropsy,  with  albuminooi. 
urine  after  scarlatina,  the  epithelium  eeps- 
r^tes  from  the  mucous  surface  of  the  kidney, 
and  there  is  a  desquamation  similar  to  M 
on  the  skin.  Cutaneous  action  should  be 
kept  up  until  the  renal  secretion  is  rertwedi 
or  all  the  consequences  of  BrighPs  dieeaei 
may  occur,  and  the  patient  die  from  tbe  » 
tension  of  urea  in  the  83rstem.  It  ii  ia  Al 
mild  forms  that  dangerous  sequels  a»  to  te 
apprehended,  the  poison  having  beeoiaper* 
fectly,  or  not  at  all,  eliminated  throof^^ 
skin.    (Dr.  Todd,  p.  124.) 

CANCER.— Use  methodic  compwaka, 
as  recommended  by  Mr.  Young.  Iprt' 
perfectly  smooth  disks  of  agaric,  laid  offf 
each  other,  and  retained  in  situ  by  a  rdla 
(Recamier.)  Use  a  laminated  plate  of  leedi 
modelled  to  the  tumour,  surmounted  by  gisd* 
uated  compresses.  (M.  Begin.)  Dr.  Arnoltl 
plan  of  applying  pressure  by  means  of  9k 
air  cushion  and  spring,  is  the  best,  as  it 
makes  equal  ajui  r^ular  pressure  on  tbe  to* 
mour,  and  is  applicable  whenever  a  bony  er 
other  solid  support  exists  behind  the  growAi 
where  a  point  for  counter-pressure  caa  k 
had.  (p.  168.)  Give  the  following  inter- 
nally ;  R.  Arsenici  iodureti,  mr.  i. ;  ext  coaui 
3  i  J. ;  M.  in  pil.  xvi. ;  dividend,  j.  bi«  ^  •« 
Diet  should  be  light  and  nutritious,  and  eze^ 
dse  moderate.    (Dr.  Walahe,  p.  169.) 

ScRoxuLA.. — Givemiuriateof  baiylMtBd^ 
ses  of  from  half  agratn  to  three  giaina  Wbtt 
^iven  to  infants,  add  a  syrup  to  diminish  di 
irritant  efiects,  and  if  there  be  spasm,  co«- 
bine  it  with  some  ariMDatieor  >4i^<^*''i|^^ 
The  following  is  a  good  fonirala:  Mani* 
of  barytes,  muriate  of  iron,  of  each  batfa 
diachm ;  water  distilled,  ayrup  of  <MB* 
peel,  of  each  half  an  ounce.  Or  gw«  j»*»  ■ 
grain  of  barytes  in  a  tea-capfal  of  muam 
of  hop,  or  some  bitter  ^uifoflion,  €mf  *•- 


Heroic  TVeatment. 


sing  fasting,  gradually  increasing  the  dose. 
Or  give  it  in  pill,  the  best  way,  in  doses  of 
one-twelfth  of  a  grain  three  times  a  day, 
iDcreasiDg  the  frequency  of  the  doses,  rather 
than  the  quantity  in  each.  Barytas  does  not 
supersede  iodine  in  these  cases,  but  some- 
times iodine  does  no  good,  or  it  does  good 
only  to  a  certain  point,  and  then  proves  nox- 
ious ;  it  is  here  that  barytes  is  of  the  great- 
est serrice.— -Dr.  Walshe,  p.  170. 

Scrofulous  Tumouis. — Consecutive  to  in- 
flammation and  suppuration  of  the  lymphat- 
ic glands,  apply  the  following  ointment : — 
Oil  of  cod  livers,  15  parts;  liq.  of  subacetat 
of  lead,  8  parts ;  yolk  of  egg,  12  parts :  make 
into  a  homogeneous  ointment 

Serofnions  Ophthalmia. — Smear  the  mar- 
gins of  the  eye-lids  with  cod  liver  oil,  twice 
or  thrice  a  day,  by  means  of  a  camel-hair 
brush,  or  feather.^ Dr.  Brefeld,  p.  171. 

BHEUMATISM.— Give  colchicum,  but 
should  the  fever  run  very  high,  add  bleeding 
and  mercurial  puigatives ;  if  the  pain  be  of 
«  nervous  character,  eiye  opium  or  morphia. 
The  colchicum  acts  by  eliminating  morbid 
natter  from  the  system.  The  urine  becomes 
Increased  in  quantity,  or  specific  gravity,  or 
both ;  there  may  be  a  sediment,  or  this  may 
be  eliminated  as  dissolved  urea,  and  ihen 
tbsRis  no  deposit  Continue  the  colchi- 
eun  lor  a  week  or  ten  days  after  the  pain 
has  subsided,  to  get  rid  of  rheumatic  matter ; 
combine  it  with  a  mild  tonic,  iodide  of  po- 
tassiuDiiy  and  a  good  diet — ^Dr.  Williams,  p. 
166. 

Acute. — Give  one  or  two  grains  of  opium 
every  second  or  third  hour,  or  ten,  twelve, 
or  more  grains  in  the  twenty-four  hours. — 
The  opium  is  to  be  increased  in  dose,  both 
as  to  frequency  and  quantity,  until  there  is 
decided  relief,  and  kept  at  that  dose  ur.til  the 
complaint  is  steadily  subsiding. — Corrigan. 

Bleed,  once  or  twice,  in  the  robust  only, 
and  give  gr.  v.  to  gr.  x,  of  calomel,  with  gr. 
iss.  or  gr.  ij.  of  opium,  every  night,  and  a 
puii^tiTe  next  morning.  Give  also  the  fol- 
lowing draught,  three  times  a  day:— vin. 
colcliici,  mx.  ad.  xx. ;  pulv.  ipecac,  co, ;  gr. 
T. ;  mist  salini,  3x.;  syrupi,  3j. ;  M.  Be- 
twean  the  second  and  fourth  day,  and  soon- 
ct,  if  tenderness  of  the  gum  occurs,  omit  the 
..calomel,  and  continue  one  grain  of  opium  at 
liedtime,  and  in  some  cases  at  noon,  as  also 
<  tbm  colchicum  draught  and  morning  senna 
^  jpttfge.  [Dr.  Hope.]  When  sore  mouth  su- 
-  jfienreMS,  insteaa  of  continuing  the  opium. 
^i  itbieiie  .be  not  much  pain  left,  give  quinine 
and  iodide  of  potassium.  Disease  of  the 
-iiectft  k  rare  under  either  Dr.  Corrigan's  or 
I>r.  Hope's  plan  of  treatment;  if  it  does  oc- 
45iur»  giy»  laijga  and  repeated  doses  of  calo- 
ftl  and  ojunm.     If  the  disease  becomes 


chronic,  or  the  attendant  ferer  is  of  a  beetle 
character,  give  quinine  or  hydriodate  of  pot« 
ash,  in  full  doses. — Dr.  Griffin,  p.  1612. 

Chronic— Give  the  clear  cod-liver  oil,  »n 
doses  of  a  tea-spoonful,  and  gradually  aup* 
ment  the  dose  to  a  wine-glass  full,  nigDt 
and  morning.  Do  not  give  this  oil  where 
dyspeptic  symptoms  co- exist  The  best  ve- 
hicle is  a  thin  infusion  of  linseed,  flavored 
with  lemon  peel,  and  sweetened  to  please 
the  palate. — Dr.  Bradsbaw,  p.  163. 

Muscular.—"  Fire*'  the  parts  with  the  in- 
strument used  by  Dr.  Corrigan.  [See  Paral- 
ysis, p.  56.] 

Gouty  Neura]gia.-~This  affection,  often 
called  sciatic  gout  from  its  seal,  is  cured  bf 
an  attack  of  regular  gout.  Give  a  mild  mM" 
curial  course,  with  salines,  especiadly  all»« 
line  diuretics;  occasional  moderate  detias- 
tion  of  blood,  either  generally  or  locally ;  a 
light  and  lowly  animal ized  diet;  and  a  most 
rigid  abstinence  from  all  fermented  liquoxs, 
especially  porter  and  aleo.  The  clothiniff 
should  be  warm ;  and  give  colchicnaiu-**Br. 
Robertson. 

In  gouty  inflammation,  apply  leecbes»and 
keep  up  a  gentle  oozing  from  the  bites  bj 
warm  fomentations ;  then  keep  the  part  cov* 
ered  and  apply  a  lotion  made  of  one  part  of 
spirit,  three  of  camphor  mixture,  and  a  litde 
vinegar.  Give  colchicum  to  stimulate  aori 
increase  the  secretion  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  bowels  and  to  eliminate  litbia 
acid  and  other  nitrogenized  elements  from 
the  system. — Med.  Cbir.  Reviewer,  p.  162. 

Rheumatic  Gout — Mix  phosphate  of  am- 
monia, say  ^ss.,  in  ^vi.  or  distilled  water; 
and  give  half  an  ounce  of  this  either  com- 
bined with  small  doses  of  musk  or  not.  It 
decomposes  the  insoluble  hthale  of  soda  sup- 
posed to  exist  in  the  blood,  and  forms  twp 
new  soluble  compounds,  phosphate  of  soda 
and  lithate  of  ammonia  Give  it  for  a  con- 
siderable time  where  thickening  of  the  white 
tissue?  exists ;  it  deprives  the  blood  of  Uie 
lithic  acid  and  soda,  and  creates  a  demand 
for  them,  which  leads  to  absorption  of  these 
elements  from  the  tissues  where  tbev  ha?e 
been  deposited.  This  remedy  is  not  intend- 
ed to  supersede  the  use  of  the  lancet,  and 
other  remedies  in  acute  rheumatism.—- ]C^ 
Buckler,  p.  154. 

'  AihttoxA  of  the  Ntnroms  ■rtttm. 
...  TETANUS. 

Traumatic. — Give  large  doses  of  tinctmn 
of  aconite  prepared  according  to  Dr.  Flem- 
ing's formula.  Watch  the  case  very  atten- 
tively. Dr.  Fleming  would  not  exceed  a 
second  dose  of  5  minims  2  hours  after  the 
first.  In  traumatic  tetanus  this  will  not  be 
suflSdent    Give  18  or  19  minims  ia  ^^^ 


8 


Heroic  Treaiment. 


boars ;  the  second  day  increase  the  dose  to 
32  minims  in  fourteen  hours;  third  day, 
25  minims  in  seven  hours;  and  fourth  day, 
20  minims  in  two  hours.  Watch  these 
doses  unceasingly,  and  diminish  them  ac* 
cording;  to  circumstances. — Mr.  Pa^,  p.  60. 

Idiopathic. — Do  not  depend  so  much  on 
stimulants,  but  support  the  strength  on  nu- 
tritious diet,  such  as  animal  jellies.  Give 
opium  in  large  doses  with  hydrocyanic  acid ; 
also  a  well -sustained  course  of  purgatives, 
ms  colocynth  pills  with  castor  oil ;  cupping 
over  the  spine;  turpentine  glysters. — Dr. 
Watson,  p.  57. 

Try  the  hydropathic  method  of  treatment. 
Enrelope  the  patient  in  a  cold  wet  sheet ; 
OTer  this  place  three  or  four  good  blankets ; 
keep  the  patient  in  this  condition  for  an 
hour,  by  which  time  the  temperature  of  the 
flheet  will  probably  be  100«.  Then  remove 
fte  coverings,  and  plunge  the  patient  into 
a  cold  bath ;  rub  him  quite  dry,  and  envel- 
ope him  a||;ain  in  blankets  for  six  hours. — 
Repeat  this  operation  if  the  symptoms  do 
not  abate. — Mr.  Preshaw,  p,  60. 

HYDROPHOBTA.— Employ  large  doses 
of  the  tincture  of  aconite,  as  recommended 
in  traumatic  tetanus.— [See  Tetanus,  Trau- 
matic] 

DELIRIUM  TREMENS.— Give  opium 
and  emetic  tartar.  Antim.  potass,  tart  ^r. 
iv. ;  tincturaopii.  3j. ;  mist  camphorae,  ^viij. 
Mix,  and  give  two  table  spoonfuls  for  first 
dose,  and  one  every  half  hour  afterward, 
until  delirium  abates  or  drowsiness  comes 
on. — Dr.  Graves,  p,  96. 

When  morphia  and  other  narcoctics  fail, 
and  the  case  is  extreme,  blister  the  back  be- 
tween the  scapuls,  peel  off  the  cuticle  to 
the  extent  of  three  inches  by  two,  and  cover 
the  part  over  with  a  layer  of  pure  extract  of 
belladonna.  Within  ten  minutes  there  may 
be  twitching  of  the  facial  muscles,  intox- 
ication, pupils  dilated,  and  drowsiness ;  im- 
mediately remove  the  belladonna,  or  even 
sooner. — Mr.  Flood,  p.  39. 

Asthenic  Form. — The  object  is  to  support 
the  strength  and  allay  irritation.  Give  stim- 
ulants and  opium.  The  attack  has  come  on 
gradually,  and  the  patient  has  lived  on  stim- 
ulants, without  proper  food ;  the  system  is 
impoverished.  Give  broth  and  nutritious 
diet,  with  moderate  quantities  of  good  wine, 
and  full  doses  of  opium. 

Sthenic  Form  — The  patient  has  been  in- 
temperate for  a  short  time  only,  during  an 
election,  &c. ;  he  is  otherwise  robust;  the 
ease  borders  on  inflammation.  Do  not  give 
opium:  apply  leeches  to  the  epigastrium  or 
head;  cold  lotions.  Do  not  commence  by 
•timulating,  nor  by  giving  narcoctics;  al- 

"^  one  or  both  of  these  methods  may 


be  ultimately  required. — ^Or.  Cortigan,  {».  41. 
MiNU  (Mental  £xcitement)--Ii  csms 
with  great  action  or   excitement  withovt 
power,  the  great  object  is  to  sobdae  the 
cerebral  excitement  by  procuring  sleep.  For 
this  reason  give  occasionally  tinct  hTOs> 
ciam.  mxxx. ;  tinct  homuli,  3ij. ;  ctmpboc, 
gr.  V.  to  X.    Or,  relieve  visceral  congotios 
by  leeches  to  the  rectum ;  or^ve  afdl  doie 
of  opium.    In  anaemic  cases,  it  is  often  nec- 
essary to  give  a  stimulant,  or  good  natritoiu 
food  before  a  narcotic    A  combinatioii  of 
opium  and  tartar  emetic;  or  calomel  and 
opium;  or  the  infusion  of  opium  with  a 
bitter;  or  the  hydrochlorate  of  morphia;  or 
an  opiate  enema  may  be  tried.    Rub  thne 
or  four  tea-spoonfuls  of  laudanum  over  the 
stomach ;  or  rub  the  shaved  head  with  iini* 
ment,  camph.  fort  combined  with  opiom. 

Apply  a  blister  to  the  back,  peel  offi 
small  portion  of  the  cuticle,  and  apply  thi 
pure  extract  of  belladonna  for  nine  or  In 
minutes.  [See  Delirium  Tremens.]  Wbei 
mania  is  periodic,  give  arsensic,  tinct.  feni 
ses^uichlor.,  zinc,  copper,  or  tonics.  Ar< 
seme  seems  to  alter  the  sensibility  of  tlM 
brain.  It  is,  perhaps,  better  to  keep  the  beii 
regularly  cold,  than  to  apply  the  dooche.— 
Dr.  J.  Williams,  p.  35. 

Puerperal. — Give  opium  and  tartar  end- 
ic,  as  recommended  in  the  treatment  of  deli- 
rium tremens. — Dr.  Graves,  p.  96. 

PARALYSIS.— In  caaes  where  there  ii 
no  organic  lesion  in  the  central  oi^tnit 
fire"  the  patient  every  day,  if  permissibb. 
along  the  spine,  thighs,  and  legs,  or  other 
parts.  Mode  of  application. — "The  iroi 
consists  of  a  thick  iron  wire  shank,  two  it- 
ches long,  inserted  in  a  small  wooden  hand- 
le, having  on  its  extremity,  which  is  sligfatij 
curved,  a  disc  or  button  of  iron,  a  quarter  a 
an  inch  thick,  aud  half  an  inch  in  diameter. 
The  face  of  the  disc  is  flat,  not  spberieal. 
like  the  French  ones.  Hold  the  button  oier 
the  flame  of  a  small  spirit  lamp,  keepioe  the 
fore-finger  about  half  an  inch  from  the  oe^ 
ed  button.  As  soon  as  the  finger  feels  nn- 
comfortably  hot,  withdraw  the  button,  loi 
apply  it  as  quickly  and  lightly  as  possible, 
at  intervals  of  half  an  indi  over  the  whole 
of  the  affected  part,  bringing  the  flat  surface 
of  the  disc  fairly  in  contact  wtdi  the  skii.— 
A  whole  limb  or  the  back  may  thas  be  fiic4 
in  a  hundred  places,  if  necessary,  in  one 
minute.  By  looking  sideways  at  the  fpot^ 
the  skin  should  look  firat  of  a  i^isteiiiat 
white,  and,  in  a  abort  time,  ol  a  brigkl  wL 
— Dr.  Corhgan,  p.  55. 

When  there  is  no  oi|r«mc  lesion,  bat  onhr 
a  want  of  nervous  ener^,  in  cases  of  tow 
and  not  general  i>araly8is,  as  when  a  si^ 
muscle  of  a  certain  dass  of  mnselctaitv- 


Her&ie  Treatment. 


ieeledt  as  by  tbe  action  of  lead,  make  use  of 
aaagnetic  electricity. — Dr.  Neligan,  p.  43. 

In  cases  depending  upon  cold,  poisons, 
molecular  changes  in  the  brain  and  nerves, 
giTe  strychnine  in  doses  from  one-eighth  to 
«  quarter  of  a  grain  three  times  a  day.  Do 
not  exceed  three  quarters  of  a  grain  three 
times  a  day,  and  cease  on  the  appearance  of 
poisonoas  effiscts. — Dr.  Favell,  p.  55. 

EPILEPSY. — One  great  difference  be- 
tween epilepsy  and  apoplexy  is,  that  in  the 
former  the  respiratory  moTements  are  eyen 
more  active,  im])eded,  indeed,  by  the  spasm 
of  tbe  glottis  which  often  exists,  whereas  in 
apoplexy  respiration  is  impaired ;  hence  the 
coma  of  apoplexy  is  more  dangerous ;  not 
•o  witb  epilepsy,  in  which  respiration  is 
even  exalted.  This  may  be  owing  to  the 
ciieofaitioo  through  the  cerebrum  beine:  im 
Mded,  and  by  means  of  the  circle  of  Willis, 
olverted  to  the  medulla  oblongata;  hence 
the  exaltation  of  the  medullary  functions  in 
hysteria,  epilepsy,  &c.  Hence  also  the 
greater  liability  to  convulsions  during  sleep, 
ue  superior  hypnotic  influence  of  moderate 
doaes  of  opium,  which  exalt  the  medullary 
lihile  they  impair  the  cerebral  functions, 
and  the  wakefulness  caused  by  prussic  acid, 
inrhich  impairs  the  medullary  functions. — 
The  g[reat  object  of  treatment  is  to  equalize 
the  circulation;  not  to  allow  one  part  to 
monopolize  the  blood  at  the  expense  of 
another.  Bleeding  is  very  exceptionable, 
as  the  cases  often  occur  in  ansmic  subjects. 
iDQpTove  the  vigor  of  tbe  circulation,  and 
even  increase  the  quantity  of  blood.  Apply 
cold  to  the  head  and  spine,  and  heat  to  oth 
er  parts ;  purge,  give  diuretics,  counter-irri 
tate.  Advise  regular  exercise,  warm  cloth 
ing.  Subdue  the  action  of  the  heart  by  hy- 
drocyanic acid,  digitalis,  henbane,  valerian. 
Improve  the  general  tone  of  the  system; 
aive  nitrate  of  silver,  zinc,  copper,  chaly 
Deates,  mineral  acids,  bark,  quinine.  Per 
haps  the  best  is  the  muriated  tincture  of 
iron.— Dr.  C.  J.  B.  Williams,  p.  49 

APOPLEXY.— When  caused  by  intravas- 
calar  congestion,  plethora,  or  hypenemia, 
deplete :  when  caused  by  extravascular  ef • 
iasion,  the  system  is  under  the  influence  of 
abock,  and  does  not  bear  depletion  well. — 
Row  shall  we  know  the  latter  case  ?  Ver- 
ti^  is  a  good  characteristic,  coming  on  in 
t&  act  of  stooping,  sudden  change  of  posi- 
tion, &e.  But  the  best  plan  is  to  feel  our 
-way  by  a  small  blood-letting,  and  watch 
iheeiect  When  caused  bjr  hyperaemia  or 
iaftnition,  restore  the  equilibrium  of  the  cir- 
^afaiHon  hj  good  diet,  and  improving  the 
Siealth ;  quinine,  iron.  In  this  case  tbe  re- 
lief from  depletion  il^  transitory. — Dr.  M 
XUl,  p.  46. 


Neuralgia — **  Fire"  the  parts  affected,  and 
do  it  repeatedly,  if  nece6^ary. — Dr.  Corri-  ' 
gan,  p.  55  :  see  Paralysis. 

Give  three  grains  of  sulphate  of  quinine, 
with  one- eighth  of  a  grain  of  sulphate  of 
morphia,  an  hour  before  each  expected  at- 
tack, and  then  give  five  drops  of  tincture  of 
Indian  hemp  three  times  a  day,  and  rub 
some  cajeput  oil  on  the  part  afiected.  Con- 
tinue the  quinine  three  times  a  day,  and  in- 
crease the  Indian  hemp  to  seven  and  ten 
drops  three  times  a  day  till  relieved. — Mr. 
Hai]^rave,  p.  66. 

Give  colchicum»  either  alone  or  combined 
with  other  remedies,  especially  in  cardiac 
neuraleia;  and  in  this  case,  apply  ^e  to- 
bacco leaf  externally  over  the  seat  of  pain : 
it  should  be  slightly  moistened,  and  removed 
on  any  symptoms  of  giddiness  or  sinking 
appearing. — Dr.  Fife,  p.  67. 

Make  a  liniment  with  one  drachm  of  tinc- 
ture of  aaonite  of  the  shops,  and  seven 
drachms  of  fresh  palm  oil,  or  with  two  . 
ounces  of  camphor  liniment  Rub  half  a  . 
drachm  or  a  drachm  of  the  former,  or  double 
tbe  quantity  of  the  latter,  into  the  part  af- 
fected, twice  or  thrice  a  day,  according  to 
its  effects.  It  must  be  watched  attentively* 
as  tbe  medicine  is  cumulative,  li  its  poi- 
sonous effects  appear,  ^ve  a  stimulant,  as 
wine,  or  get  the  patient  into  the  fresh  air. — 
Mr.  Kirby,  p.  65. 

[See  Retr(  spect,  Part  Xll.,  Art.  9,  for  Dr, 
Fleming's  interesting  paper  on  this  medi- 
cine; and  for  his  formula  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  his  tincture  of  anconite,  see  the  same 
article,  page  41,] 

Facial.     (Orbital.)— Give  half  a  grain  of 
valerianate  of  zinc  every  eight  hours,  com-  , 
bined  with  two  grains  ol  extract  of  hyoscia- 
mus.    Follow  this  with  gentle  purgatives. 
—Dr.  Bell,  p.  62. 

Periodic— Give  large  doses  of  sulphate 
of  quinine,  from  a  scruple  to  half  a  drachm 
daily.  Combine  it,  if  necessary,  with  Fow- 
ler's solution  oi  arsenic ;  but  omit  the  arsen- 
ic unless  unsuccessful  with  quinine  and 
other  remedies.— Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  62. 

When  the  sulphate  of  quinine  fails,  give 
the  tannate  of  quinine  in  the  same  doses  as 
the  sulphate. — Dr.  Hauff,  p.  65 

SCIATICA.— Apply  a  blister  to  the  hip, 
peel  off  the  cuticle  and  dress  the  part  twice 
a  day  with  oae  grain  of  hydrochlorate  of 
morphia.  Repeat  the  blister  and  morphia 
when  necessary.  Give  also,  three  times  a 
day,  two  ounces  of  guaiacum  mixture,  with 
40  minims,  or  one  drachm  of  tbe  tincture  of 
guaiacum ;  and  apply  some  stimulating  lin- 
iment. If  these  fail,  try  the  internal  use  of 
turpentine.— Dr.  Taylor,  p.  61. 

•«  Fire"  the  parts  along  the  t¥:sne  of  pain. 


10 


Heroic  Treatments 


aQd»alsa»if  necessary,  across  the  loins. — 
Do  it  repeatedly,  if  requisite.  — Dr.  Corrigan, 
p.  55 :  see  Paralysis. 

Affectlont  of  th«  Olrcnlatory-  SyBtem. 
Anjemia, — Improve  the  general  health  and 
strength,  and  tbe  quantity  and  quality  of  the 
blood.  Iron  forms  the  chief  part  of  the  hae- 
n^atosin  which  is  contained  within  the  ex- 
ternal envelope  of  the  red  globules ;  there- 
fore, this  is  one  of  the  most  important  medi- 
cines by  which  to  increase  the  quantity  of 
globules.  It  IS  better  to  give  iron  m  smadl 
quantities  for  a  long  time,  than  in  large  do- 
ses for  a  short  time.  The  first  organ  to  be 
attended  to  will  often  be  the  stomach  and  di- 
ffestive  organs.  If  the  stomach  will  bear  it. 
begin  with  mist,  ferri.  co.  or  with  tinct  ferri. 
sesquichior.  in  a  bitter  infusion :  or  give  the 
sulphate  of  iron  combined  with  ext.  gent, 
or  wiih  ext.  hyosciam.,  and  a  little  aloes  or 
rhubarb.  When  there  is  oedema,  combine 
the  potassio  tartrate  of  iron,  with  bitartrate 
of  potass.  The  iodide  of  iron  is  also  an  ex- 
cellent preparation.  Sometimes  iron  cannot 
be  borne  at  first :  in  this  case  give  the  bitter 
infusions,  or,  if  the  stomach  be  irritable  and 
neuralgic,  give  hydrocyanic  acid,  with  a  lit- 
tle muriate  ef  morphia,  or  the  oxide  of  sil- 
ver :  in  this  case  a  belladonna  plaster  over 
the  stomach,  and  even  one  third  of  a  grain 
of  extract  of  belladonna,  three  limes  a  day, 
may  be  tried,  it  is  impossible  to  anticipate 
all  the  symptoms  which  appear  in  anaemia: 
the  case  must  be  treated  accordingly.  (Dr. 
Tumbull,  p.  69.) 

Heart. — (Functional  Diseases.) — Palpi- 
tation,—0  wine,  1st,  to  a  distended  stomach; 
and  thus  interfering  with  the  descent  of  the 
diaphragm,  and  confining  the  heart's  motions: 
2nd,  a  distended  colon  pressing  on  the  aorta, 
causing  fullness  of  blood  on  the  left  side  of 
the  heart :  3rd,  a  distended  stomach  and  co- 
lon pressing  on  the  ascending  cava,  and 
causing  a  deficiency  of  blood  on  the  right 
side  of  the  heart:  4lh,  hepatic  disease. 
Sach  of  these  states  will  require  its  particu- 
lar treatment.     (Dr.  Belli ngham,  p.  77.) 

Aneurism. — (Compression  in  the  treat- 
ment of.)— Such  an  amount  of  compression 
is  not  necessary  as  to  cause  inflammation  and 
adhesion  of  the  opposed  surfaces  of  the  ves- 
sel, nor  should  the  circulation  in  the  artery 
at  the  point  where  it  is  compressed  be  entire- 
ly intercepted.  To  apply  it  successfully,  the 
velocity  of  the  current  should  be  diminished, 
and  the  amount  of  blood  In  the  sac  be  di- 
minished, so  as  to  encourage  the  deposition 
of  fibrine,  until  the  sac  is  quite  filled.  It  has 
this  advantage  over  the  cure  of  aneurism  by 
ligature,  that  the  artery  is  obliterated  at  the 
seat  of  the  aneurism,  by  which  the  chances 


of  gangrene  are  diminished.  The  ene  is 
also  more  e^ctual,  as  the  sac  and  ilso  tbe 
artery  leading  from  it,  become  )i//e(^  withfio 
brine,  whereas,  after  ligature,  a  loose coagu- 
lum  remains  which  does  not  fill  the  ae.  • 
(Dr.  Bellinghank,  p.  209.) 

It  is  not  unfrequently  found  that  tht  arte- 
ry and  its  accompanying  vein  have  become 
adherent,  which  is  a  great  source  of  embu' 
rassment  to  the  operator,  when  tying  tbe  ar- 
tery ;  this  is  avoided  by  adopting  toe  treat- 
ment by  compression.  A  moderate  degree  of 
pressure  is  all  that  is  necessary  througboat, 
so  as  not  entirely  to  intercept  the  current  of 
blood  through  the  vessel.  (Dr.  Foitei,  f 
211.) 

Aneurism  by  Anastomosis,  or  Nsviu  Ma* 
tern  us. — Tie  the  tributary  arteries  in  tie 
neighbourhood  (Palletan,  Wadrop.  Dr.  hk 
Lauchlan,)  Tie  ,the  arteries  supplying  the 
tumour,  and  then  remove  it  hj  knife,  secnr* 
ing  the  bleeding  vessels  with  ligatnro. 
(Syme.)  Cut  off  the  supply  of  bloodtothe 
tumour  by  making  incisions  around  it, » 
cure  the  bleeding  vessels,  and  place  pledg* 
of  lint  between  the  cut  surfaces  to  pieveiA 
union  taking  place.  (Di.  Gibson.)  U« 
galvano-puncture  for  ten  minutes  at  a  tine, 
with  15  pairs  of  plates.  The  pins  intiodi- 
ced  into  the  tumour  should  be  DunerDBS, 
and  cross  each  other  at  right  angles*,  aff^ 
ice  after  the  operation.     (Dr.  Petrequin.) 

NiEVi. — Apply  lint  steeped  in  liq.  plnnK, 
or  solution  of  alum,  and  strap  it  over  the 
part  with  a  bandage ;  wet  the  lint  witbwrt 
removing  it,  and  keep  it  so  applied  forseTtr- 
al  weeks.  Should  this  fail  cut  out  tbe  ta- 
mour,  if  no  larger  than  a  crown  piece,  lo^ 
close  the  edges  of  the  wound  by  twisttd 
suture,     (p.  231.) 

Subclavian  Artekt. — (D'gaturc  of.h 
When  there  is  extensive  swellmg  and  «(• 
puration,  after  the  lesion  of  an  artery,  its 
not  advisable  to  cut  down  upon  it,  to  tie  it 
at  the  seat  of  injury  ;  and  when  tbisistbe 
case  alter  the  wound  of  the  subcJaviao,iti> 
better  to  secure  the  artery  beneath  ihe  acak* 
nus,  before  it  approaches  the  tubercle  of  Ik 
rib ;  It  is  much  higher  and  more  acceaaibii 
there.     (Dr.  Warren,  p.  222.) 

Posterior  Tibial  Artirt.— (Womd 
and  Ligature  of.)— Take  the  wound  as  * 
centre,  and  cut  down  upon  the  vessel,  «id 
tie  it  both  above  and  below  tbe  seat  o(  infl- 
ry.  (Amott)  If  it  be  a  case  of  secondarf 
haemorrhage,  and  there  is  a  good  deal  of  ea- 
agulum  in  the  parts  surrounding  the  tsmL 
it  will  be  advisable  to  tie  the  femoral  aiteiy. 
When  there  is  a  wound  in  the  calf  of  tbe  kf> 
with  sufficient  bleeding  to  wanast  abajm 
that  the  posteiior  tihimi  artery  is 


Heroic  TVeatment. 


11 


aepamte  the  soieus  from  its  attachment  to  the 
tibia»  cutting  through  the  deep  fascia,  and 
.  •«ciire  the  veefiel.  (Mr.  B.  B.  Cooper,  p.  217,) 
HiCMORRHAGic  DiATHESis.— Apply  to  the 
bleeding  part  pads  soaked  in  acetate  of  lead 
l»ixiiire>  and  cover  it  also  with  pulverized 
uatlco.  Grive  the  following  mixture:  R. 
Btembi  BDper  acet.  3^- :  acid  acet.  dii.  ^ss. 
mp,  riuBBd.  |ss. ;  aquas  ^  v.  M.j  sumat  cochl. 
ij.  magn^  omn.  tertia  hora.  If  the  acetate  of 
iead  Mgins  to  affect  the  system,  substitute 
lot  it  the  sulphate  of  soda.  You  mast  rely 
fijpDii>  fionstittttional  treatment.  (Dr.  Ciay, 
p.  234.) 

fipisTAxn. — OiTe  the  oxide  of  silver  inter- 
nally.   (Mr.  B.  Lai)£,  p.  108.) 

JUV»«llMu  of  tht  R«spiratoiT  Syvtta. 

Broncb[iti». — (In  Infants.) — If  very  se- 
vere make  use  of  the  warm  bath,  and  give 
4HM  grain  of  calomel  and  two  o£  ipecacuanha 
with  «.  little  eompoQJid  tragaoaqth  powder, 
<«fery  £o<ir  hours;  if  less  severe,  three  times 
«  day,  axd  lengthen  Ike  period  as  improve- 
ment takes  place.  After  the  first  or  second 
<lofle,  the  ipecacuanfaa  does  not  act  as  an 
«metic  When  necessary  to  apply  a  blister 
to  an  infant,  place  a  piece  of  tissue  paper 
between  it  and  the  skin,  or  dip  a  piece  of 
blotting  paper  into  acetum  cantharidis ;  ap- 
ply it  to  the  part,  and  in  ten  or  fifteen  mi- 
nates  you  wili  have  a  blister.  (Mr.  Miller, 
p.  88.) 

Chooaic  or  Subacute  — Cause  the  patient 
to  inhale  the  fumes  of  ammonia    (p.  90.) 

pKEVMONtA. — (Chfonic.) — Cause  the  pa- 
tient to  inhale  the  fumes  of  ammonia,  in  or- 
<ler  to  stimulate  the  pa^ts.    (p.  89.) 

AtTTHMA. — Dip  a  charpie-pencil  into  pure 
liquid  ammonia  and  then  into  water,  and  ap- 
ply it  to  the  velum,  uvula,  and  upper  part  of 
the  <£8ophagtis.  Do  not  let  it  remain  too 
long  in  contact  with  the  soft  parts,  nor  carry 
jt  too  deeply  into  the  throat;  where  there  k 
emphysema,  one  application  will  be  suffi- 
cient. The  absorption  of  ammonia  by  the 
fitomach  will  probably  produce  the  same  re- 
»ull,  if  given  in  sumcientiy  large  doses,  or 
its  inhalation  when  diffused  in  the  atmos- 
pheric air. — (M.  Guerard,  p.  89.) 

Aphonia. — (Loss  of  Voice.) — Inhalation 
of  fumes  of  pure  ammonia,    (p.  90.) 

Asphyxia. — ^Use  cold  affusion,  and  when 
^«8piii^tion  is  fttUy  established,  open  a  vein. 
<ldr.  Noyee,  p.  238.)  Cause  the  patient  to 
wUale  the  fumes  of  pure  ammonia,  (p.  89.) 
-  OuMEHA. — (Of  the  Glottis.)— When  suf- 
.fimiBliiin  threatens,  perfonn  the  operation  of 
Amiynpytomy,    (Mr.  Drookes,  p.  3t8. 

TAitGHsaroHT.— In  children :  lay  hold  of 
.^JMtiRieheawithahook,  and,  having  drawn 


it  forwards,  cut  out  a  portion  with  a  pair  of 
scissors;  cr  use  Mr.  Millikin's instrument, 
by  which  you  can  both  fix  and  hook  the  tra- 
chea, and  then  cut  outa  circialar  portion  from 
the  cartilaginous  rings.  Mr.  Read's  impro- 
ved instrument  is  a  very  good  one ;  the  cut- 
ting part  forms  a  curve  or  obtuse  angle  with 
the  handle.     (Mr.  Carmichael,  p.  1236.) 

Perform  the  operation  early.  If  you  can- 
not avoid  the  thyroid  veins,  cut  straight 
through  them ;  the  hemorrhage  ceases  on  the 
introduction  of  the  canula.  If  the  case  be 
not  very  urgent,  keep  the  edges  of  the  wound 
apart  by  some  instrument,  for  a  short  time 
before  introducing  the  canula,  in  order  (o 
allow  of  false  membranes  being  ezpiclled. 
You  may  expedite  ^is  by  dropping  water 
into  the  bronchi,  and  sponging  the  trachea. 
If  the  canula  become  obstnicted,  remove  it 
immediately  and  empty  it,  and  wiien  the  ca- 
nula ie  withdrawn,  introduce  Xkfs  dilator. 
After  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  diminish  tbe 
siize  of  the  canula,  and  by  the  thirtieth  day, 
it  may  be  dispensed  with.  Drop  into  the  ak 
passages,  fifteen  or  twenty  drops  of  a  solu- 
tion ol  nitrate  of  «iiver  (gr.  v.  to  ^j.),  and 
cleanse  the  tmchea  with  a  sponge  dipped  in 
the  same  solution.    (Trout$seau,  p.  237.) 

Paracentjesis  Thoracis. — Do  not  allow 
air  to  be  admitted  through  the  canula  if  it 
can  be  avoided.  It  may  re-kindle  inflamma- 
tion, or  convert  the  adhesive  into  the  suppu- 
rative inflammation.  Unless  the  lung  is  ca- 
pable of  free  and  full  expansion,  do  not  at- 
tempt to  draw  off  all  the  fluid :  remove  only 
so  much  as  the  expanding  lung  and  the 
surrounding  compressed  organs  are  capable 
of  replacing.  Watch  the  opening  carefully, 
especially  during  inspication  and  coughing, 
and  when  the  stream  begins  to  fail,  turn  the 
patient  on  his  punctured  side  till  there  is  an 
alternate  flow  and  stoppage  of  the  stream 
during  inspiration  and  expiration,  then  imme- 
drately  withdraw  the  canula.  Apply  a  flan- 
nel bandage  with  moderate  firmness  around 
I  he  chest.  Precautions. — 1.  Always  intro- 
duce an  explorii.g  needle  first,  to  know  if 
the  diagnosis  be  correct.  2.  Do  not  punc- 
ture one  side  before  it  i«  presumed  that  the 
other  is  sound  enough  to  carry  on  lespira- 
tion.  3.  Draw  off  the  fluid  slowly  through 
as  small  a  canula  as  the  density  of  the  fluid 
will  admit  4.  Only  draw  off"  the  fluid  till 
the  air  seems  to  threaten  to  be  admitted. (Dr. 
Hughes,  p.  S6  ) 

AlTectloxui  of  the  Alimentary  Canal. 

Hare  Lip. — [Operation  for.] — Make  the 
incision  from  above  downwards,  nearly  as 
far  as  the  red  margin  of  the  lip,  and  stop  be- 
fore you  have  detached  the  cut  piece ;  then 
direct  the  incision  at  a  right  angle  towaiir 


^8 


Heroic  Treatment. 


the  meridian  line.  Do  the  same  on  the  op- 
posite side,  and  then  unite  the  two  margins 
in  their  whole  extent,  except  towards  their 
free  horders :  the  flaps  formed  by  directing 
the  incisions  towards  the  median  line  are  to 
be  approximated.  [Mr.  Smith.]  If  the  child 
Iw  strong  and  healthy,  and  the  fissure  only 
affects  the  lip  and  not  the  bon^s,  the  opera- 
tion should  be  performed  a  few  days  after 
birth.  [Dubois]  When  the  features  are 
enlaxgedf  there  is  more  ground  to  work  upon, 
therefore  defer  it  until  the  first  set  of  teeth 
have  appeared.    [Liston,  p.  239.] 

Franum  Lingua. — (New  Instrument  for 
Dividing.) — This  resembles  a  pair  of  scis- 
•ors  i  its  blades  are  perfectly  blunt  and  curv- 
ed, and  do  notclose  completely,  thus  leaving 
Ml  interval  for  the  reception  of  the  freenum. 
(Dr.  Beatty,  p.  245.] 

Cum    Pi.LlTE  AND   StAPHTLORAPUT. — 

Dissect  the  soft  tissues  from  each  side  of  the 
teare  in  the  palate,  to  such  an  exteut  as  to 
aiake  a  flap  broad  enough  to  join  its  fellow 
of  the  opposite  side  in  the  mesial  line,  aud 
atitch  the  whole  between  the  uvula  and  the 
anterior  extremity.  Re-union  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  takes  place,  and  towards  the  in- 
ner margin  of  the  bones,  and  also  on  the  up- 
per surface  of  the  soft  portion  in  the  middle, 
there  will  be  a  cicatrix  analogous  to  mucous 
membrane.    [Warren.] 

The  soft  velum  ought  to  remain  in  a  state 
of  perfect  repose,  and  for  this  purpose  the 
kvator  pahiti,  the  palato-pharyngeus,  and 
the  palato-glossus  muscles  should  be  divided. 
This  cuts  off  all  motor  influence  in  an  out- 
Yrard,  upward,  or  downward  direction.  For 
this  purpose  use  a  knife  with  a  blade  like 
the  point  of  a  lancet,  the  cutting  edge  being 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  extent,  and  the 
flat  surface  being  bentsemi-circnlarly.  Make 
an  incision  half  an  inch  long  on  each  side 
of  the  posterior  nares,  and  divide  the  leva- 
tor palati  muscle  on  both  sides,  just  above 
its  attachments  to  the  palate ;  then  pare  the 
edges  of  the  fissure,  and  with  a  pair  of  long 
blunt-pointed  scissors,  divide  the  posterior 
pillar  of  the  fauces,  and,  if  it  seems  neces- 
sary, the  anterior  pillar  too,  the  wound  in 
eacb  part  being  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  ex- 
tent: then  introduce  stitches  by  means  of  a 
curved  needle  set  in  a  handle,  the  threads 
being  tied  so  as  to  keep  the  cut  edge  of  the 
fissure  in  exact  contact.  The  first  incision, 
that  for  the  division  of  the  levator  palati, 
should  be  made  midway  between  the  hard 

Salate  and  the  posterior  margin  of  the  soft 
a^,  just  above  the  thickest  and  most  promi- 
nent part  of  the  mai]gin  of  the  cleft.  You 
may  comm<^nce  cutting  either  at  the  end 
nearest  vou,  as  you  stand  behind  the  patient, 
or  that  farthest  ofi,  as  may  leem  most  con- 


venient For  ligatures,  those  of  gkmtayu 
or  flaxen  thread,  are  the  best ;  and  it  iio{  th» 
greatest  importance  that  a  stitch  be  mi 
close  to  the  lower  end  of  the  uvula,  u  tbue 
is  a  great  tendency  to  sepazation  theie.  TIa 
after-treatment  the  same  as  after  oidtwqr 
operations,  except  that  the  parts  an  to  be 
kept  at  rest  as  much  as  poasible,  and  aalri- 
ment  to  be  given  by  means  of  eneatta  of 
gruel  and  soupe.    (Mr.  FeigusiOD,  p.  MO.) 

PALATE.^Operations  on.)— In  cases  ef 
small  holes  in  the  soft  or  hard  palate,  peaci 
their  borders  several  times  a-dav  withacoa- 
centrated  tincture  of  cantbarides.  Inikia- 
mation  and  granulation  come  on  and  ckxe 
the  opening.  Laiige  openings  are  to  be  cIop 
eed  by  suture,  after  paring  the  edges;  and 
leaden  wire  is  said  to  be  prefenMe  to  «lk, 
for  ligatures,  as  it  keeps  the  edges  ckxe  to- 
gether, and  does  not  cut  through  the  textnna 

When  there  is  adheaoa  between  the  vta 
palati  and  posterior  wait  of  the  pbar]ni«' 
casioninji^  deafness,  and  stopping  the  eo» 
munication  between  the  naves  and  air-piMp 
ges,  the  adhesion  must  be  divided  tnuvo* 
ly,  by  means  of  a  loog  scalpel,  aboat  bilf 
an  inch  below  the  adherent  border  of  tfaei» 
lum.  The  edge  must  be  fixed  by  a  booi 
and  drawn  from  the  wall  of  the  phaiysii 
then,  with  a  lancet-formed  knife,  tMffite 
oi  which  is  curved,  directed  upwania,  tha 
velum  is  to  be  loosened,  and  the  is|aa^ 
completed  by  scissors,  also  curved  opoo  fbdr 
flat  surface.  The  upper  adhesions  aietobe 
destroyed  by  passing  a  blunt  curved  iroaii- 
Atrument,  like  a  very  snudl  spatula,  aktff 
the  inferior  nares.  Next  prepare  a  ligatuc 
with  a  small  curved  needle  at  each  end ;  wiA 
one  of  the  needles  transfix  the  velum,  a  fev 
lines  from  its  edge,  and  bring  it  out  at  a  high 
point  on  the  anterior  surface  of  the  palate; 
the  other  needle  must  be  used  In  tbe  eatt 
manner,  a  short  distance  from  the  side  of  tk* 
other;  and  tbe  edge  of  the  velum  must  be 
brought  about  half  an  inch  from  the  palalt 
All  mechanical  means  for  cloeine  tbe  fiflsur- 
ed  palate,  are  not  only  injurious  out  danpr* 
ous ;  but  if  the  size  of  the  cleft,  or  oti»er 
circumstances,  render  an  operation  unadna* 
ble,  then  it  may  be  covert  with  a  gold  ptt' 
ate,  fixed  to  the  teeth.  In  cases  ofbolwii 
the  palate,  tbe  edges  of  which  are  so  callw* 
that  an  operation  would  be  unsuccessful, !■« 
opening  may  be  stopped  by  wearing  a doakte 
piece  of  Indian  robber,  witbont  war  of* 
being  enlarged.  Two  pieces  of  Inditt  i»* 
ber,  the  thickness  of  pasleboaid,  aie  ff^ 
about  four  or  five  times  larger  than  ihaoftt* 
ing,  and  between  them  a  small  raand  piM 
and  they  are  to  be  transfixed  by  wMw 
thread ;  thus,  one  plate  liea  oa  the  *^^' 
'hp  other  on  the  poamior  side  d  lht|wB^ 


Heroic  Treatment. 


13 


I 
I 
\ 
I 
I 
f 

a 
i 

It 
li 
F 

if 


and  the  saiall  middle  strip  in  the  opening. 
The  patient  can  apply  it  himself,  and  it  should 
be  taken  out  to  be  cleaned  once  a  week. 
[Dieffimbach,  p.  244.] 

CnfAMGHB. — Make  free  incisions,  varying 
then  in  depth  and  extent  according  to  the  case 
Id  the  following  manner :  Take  a  long  round- 
pointed  eealpel,  and  having  covered  the  blade 
with  odhesive  plaster  to  within  three  quar- 
1M«  of  an  inch  of  the  point,  firmly  press 
down  the  root  of  the  tongae  with  the  index- 
te^r  of  the  left  band,  and  makeone*or  more 
hwioions  in  a  direction  upwards  and  out- 
wards along  the  tonsil  and  velum  to  the  bnse 
of  the  nviila.  The  throat  to  be  mgled  with 
warm  water  to  encourage  the  bleeding ;  in 
other  respects  gargles'are  useless,  since  they 
cause  motion  in  parts  which  ought  to  be  kept 
at  lesL    [Dr.  Makin,  p.  9 1 .] 

BowKLs — [Acute  Inflammation  of] — 
Where  local  or  general  depletion  has  been 
used,  or  where  they  cannot  be  resorted  to, 
give  two  grains  of  opium,  and  then  one-grain 
loses  every  two  hours,  until  about  32  grains 
have  been  taken ;  watch  the  state  of  the 
bladder,  and  open  the  bowels  with  mild  pur- 
g&tWes,  combined  with  henbane.  If  the  en- 
teritis be  intense,  deplete;  and  should  the 
•jrstem  resist  opium,  give  calomel,  butsub- 
fltitute  opium  for  it  as  soon  as  the  symptoms 
give  way.  Do  not  give  it  in  small  doses,  for 
toan  it  checks  the  diarrhoea,  but  does  not  re- 
fieye  the  infiammation.  If  dysentery  exists, 
combine  it  with  ipecacuanha.  ]Dr.  Gnffin, 
p.  94.] 

DTSPErsiA.— "When  dependent  on  or  com- 
plicated with  hypenematic  or  sub-inflamma- 
tory condition  of  the  mucous  membrane, 
direct  the  use  of  herbacceous  aliment,  as 
grapes,  apples,  strawberries,  pomegranates, 
Ac. ;  give  them  about  an  hour  before  break- 
fsst,  and  in  the  intervals  of  meals.  Should 
flatulence  and  fsecal  accumulation  arise,  treat 
the  former  with  soda  and  ginger,  and  the  lat- 
ter with  hi  pill  of  aloes,  capsicum,  and  qui- 
nine. (Dr.  Dick,  p.  96.)  Or,  give  oxide  of 
silver  in  half -grain  doses  twice  a  day,  in  con- 
junction with  aperients  and  alteratives.  In 
gpaatralgia,  oxide  of  silver  acts  well  as  a  se- 
dative. 

Ptaosis. — Give  half-grain  doses  of  oxide 
of  silver  in  a  pill  twice  a  day ;  where  there 
19  deep-seated  pain,  apply  leeches  to  the  epi- 
gaatnnm  first    (Mr.  Butler  Lane,  p.  107.) 

CoiwnPATiOM. — Where  there  is  no  recog- 
nised atricture,  strangulated  hernia,  or  ab- 
dominal tumours,  make  use  of  an  oleaginous 
enema,  to  five  pints  of  which  add  an  ounce 
(»f  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  a  table  spoon- 
f  al  of  common  salt  In  giving  the  injection, 
lat  tlM  pelMiit  lie  on  bii  right  side,  with  the 


pelvis  considerably  elevated ;  it  should  be 
administered  slowly,  so  that  the  intestines 
may  be  filled  before  it  is  distended,  and  when 
it  contracts  may  force  away  the  feculent  mat- 
ter  mechanically.  Use  well-boiled  oatmeal 
gruel  with  common  salt  and  butter.  (Dr. 
Hall,  p  97.) 

When  it  arises  from  obstruction  near  the 
junction  of  the  ileum  with  the  ccecum,  inject 
air  into  the  bowels.     (Dr.  Todd,  p.  103.) 

When  dependent  on  indolence  of  the  bow- 
els, warm  water  injections  are  injurious. 
Give  a  pill  containing  one-fifth  of  a  grain  of 
the  extract  of  nux  vomica  every  morning ;  it 
acts  by  rousing  the  contractile  power  of  the 
intestine.  It  is  particularly  of  service  to  the 
paralytic,  or  where  the  muscular  tone  of  the 
intestine  is  lost  by  over-distension,  injec* 
tions  of  catechu,  krameria,  and  alum  are 
useful,  as  they  corrugate  the  muscular  fibres 
of  the  bowels,  and  diminish  the  size  oi  the 
pouches  which  may  be  formed  in  the  intes- 
tines by  accumulated  faeces,  particularly  that 
in  the  rectum  just  above  the  sphincter.  These 
astringent  injections  may  be  varied  ;  thev 
may  be  made  of  the  red  rose,  krameria,  oak 
bark,  bistoria,  catechu,  alum,  rbatany,  nux 
vomica,  &c.  They  should  only  be  smail» 
10  or  12  ounces,  and  not  retained  many  mi- 
nutes, so  that  the  muscular  fibres  may  readi- 
ly contract. — Or,  introduce  tents  into  the  rec- 
tum. (Fleury.)  Or,  champoo  it  (Reca- 
mier.)  Or,  give  ox-gall ;  as  auxiliaries,  add 
drinks  of  vegetable  bitters,  a  tonic  diet,  and 
exercise  in  the  open  air.  (Dr.  Teissier,  p.  100.) 

CoHSTiPATioN  DURING  Pregnanct. — In- 
ject into  the  rectum  a  drachm  of  the  inspis- 
sated ox-gall,  dissolved  in  a  pint  of  warm 
water.  [Dr.  Allnatt.]  This  may  be  repeat- 
ed every  four  hours  until  relief  is  produced, 
[Dr.  Aldis,  p.  102.] 

DuRRH(EA. — [Chronic] — Give  half  grain 
doses  of  oxide  of  silver,  twice  a  day.  [Mr. 
Butler  Lane,  p.  103.] 

DiARRHSA  IN  Young  Infants.— Give 
castor  oil  with  yolk  of  egg,  and  if  necessary, 
add  an  opiate.  Prescribe  as  follows,  for  an 
infant  of  from  two  to  four  months  old :  I);. 
01,  ricini,  ^j  to  3iss. ;  vitelli  ovi  semis;  aq. 
aneth.  feneculi,  a.  a.  ^j.  ft,  emuls.  sumat 
coch.  parv.  bis  die.  Fiom  two  to  six  drope 
of  laudanum  may  be  added,  but  this,  as  well 
as  its  amount  and  frequency,  must  vary  with 
tbe  case.    [Dr.  Thomson,  p.  104,] 

UxRNU. — [Radical  cure  of.] — Tbe  means 
to  be  used  are,  excision  of  the  testicle,  inci- 
sion  of  the  sac,  excision  suture,  and  cauteri- 
zation of  the  sac,  ligature  of  the  sac  after 
incision  of  the  integuments,  acupuncturation» 
and  insertion  of  gold-beater's  skin  in  tbe  sac 
These  means,  however,  do  not  ^yeat  • 


u 


Heroic  Treatment. 


fresh  hernial  descent,  although  they  destroy 
the  sac.  The  best  means  for  procuring  cJo- 
8ure  of  the  hernial  aperture,  are  trusses,  lig- 
ature of  the  eac,  and  its  envelopes,  and  the 
cutaneous  plug.  Trusses  should  not  pre^s 
too  powerfully  on  the  abdominal  parietes,  or 
they  may  produce  inflammation  or  iiritation 
of  the  parts,  or  the  walls  of  the  abdomen 
may  become  atrophied ;  or  if  the  pad  be  very 
small  and  convex  it  may  produce  elongation 
of  the  aponeurosis  and  muscle,  and  thus 
weakens  the  parts.  The  operation  by  liga- 
ture Is  attended  with  considerable  pain,  and 
even  loes  of  life.  There  are  two  ways  of 
introducing  the  cutaneous  plug — the  first, 
to  detach  a  piece  of  integument  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  ring,  and  introduce  it 
into  the  aperture :  the  second  is  ejected  by 
drawing  the  loose  scrotal  integument  into 
the  inguinal  canal,  and  to  cause  adhesive  in- 
flammation between  the  invaginated  integu- 
ment and  the  walls  of  the  canal.  M.  Gerdy 
retains  the  invaginated  integuments  in  situ 
by  one  or  more  sutures.  Mr.  B.  Cooper,.  In 
performing  M.  Gerdy's  operation,  stitched 
the  invaginated  skin  to  the  tendon  of  the  ex- 
ternal oblique  muscle,  and  brought  out  the 
needle  an  inch  and  a  half  above  Poupart's 
ligament ;  the  needle  was  again  passed  into 
the  canal,  and  brought  out  through  the  ab- 
clominal  parietes  as  before,  about  four  lines 
distant,  and  the  skin  between  the  two  ends 
of  the  ligature  was  thus  included  and  tied 
over  a  piece  of  bougie.  [Mr.  Teale,  p.  247.] 
STRANGULAT£D.-ln  Order  to  determine  whe- 
ther ihe  intestine  be  still  living  or  not,  wait 
a  few  moments  after  dividing  the  stricture, 
and  see  whether  the  discolouration  becomes 
less  intense ;  or  press  the  blood  out  of  the 
distended  veins  and  see  if  they  become  rapid- 
ly refilled.  If  no  evidence  of  circulation 
exist,  cover  the  intestine  with  integuments, 
or  with  a  moist  sponge,  and  wait  a  little 
while ;  the  surface  of  the  intestine  may  then 
be  carefully  and  slightly  scarified  with  the 
point  of  a  lancet,  and  perhaps  a  slight  ooz- 
ing of  blood  will  take  place,  if  so,  however 
discoloured  it  may  be,  the  intestines  may  be 
returned  into  the  abdomen.  Carefully  press 
oat  the  contents  of  the  intestine  and  then  re- 
place it  in  successive  portions ;  then  pass  the 
6nger  within  the  abdomen  to  determine  that 
no  portion  of  the  intestine  is  engaged  within 
the  sac,  and  also  to  determine  that  the  pro- 
truded knuckle  of  the  intestine  is  not  invagi- 
Bated  within  a  neighbouring  portion  of  the 
intestinal  canal.  When  gangrene  has  taken 
place,  and  is  general,  make  an  incision 
through  the  whole  length  of  the  gangrenous 
portion,  and  leave  it  to  slough  away.  This 
opening  allows  the  contents  of  the  upper  part 
of  iJie  canal  to  pass  away :  but  if  this  does 


not  take  place  without  dividing  the  sUietner 
this  must  be  done  with  as  little  distaiWue 
as  possible.  The  wound  must  be  left  open, 
to  facilitate  the  fiee  discharge  of  matletB,anl 
simply  dressed  with  wet  linen,  frequently  re- 
newed. Mr.  Travers  does  not  recomiiiepd 
division  but  dilatation  of  the  stricture.  Sit 
A.  Cooper  divided  the  stricture  geneoUf. 
Mr.  Key  also  advises  it  Brasdor's  |incui 
of  excising  the  gangrenous  parts  and  unitiai 
the  divided  extremities  by  sutare  is  aoiww 
sally  abandoned .  Recent  adhesions,  if  dMn 
be  no  gangrene,  are  to  be  destroyed  by  tb 
finger  or  nandie  of  a  scalpel — adbeiieMof 
two  coils  of  intestine  is  also  to  be  tnatod  it 
this  way.    [Mr.  Teale,  p.  249.] 

It  is  recommended  by  some  practitioDen; 
as  Mr.  Key,  &c.,  to  return  the  bowel  viA- 
out  cutting  into  the  sac,  as  there  is  less  daa* 
ger  of  peritoneal  inflammation  aftenranhi 
The  objection  to  this  practice  is  the  possiUi 
gangrenous  condition  of  the  bowel,  many  of 
the  symptoms  of  which  are  equivocal,  m 
that  it  is  the  best  practice, after  all,to  opea^ 
sac.  The  great  mortality  attending  these o^ 
eratlons  has  been  increased  by  improptrv* 
ter-treatment,  as  the  early  exhibition  oif  pv* 
gatives.  [Mr.  South,  p.  251.] 
£nterotomt  aftjer  opERATrox  FOB  Snii* 
GULATED  Hernia. — It  sometimes  iitppent 
that  after  the  operation  for  strangulated  Iter- 
nia,  and  after  the  intestine  has  beentetuniedr 
symptoms  of  strangulation  remain ;  the  part 
of  the  intestine  is  incapable  of  resamiDg  iH 
functions,  and  tympanitis  comes  on.  Sepa^ 
rate  the  edges  of  the  incision,  pass  the  finger 
into  the  abdomen,  find  the  distended  coil  <if 
the  bowel,  seize  it  wilh  a  pair  of  forceps, and 
by  means  of  probe-pointed  sci^soi^,  m^ea 
opening  into  it,  through  whicit  the  coateoti 
ot  the  intestinal  canal  may  escape;  many  a 
life  may  he  seved  by  these  means.  [M  Ms** 
soueuve,  p.  254.] 

Anus. — [Artificial  ]— After  the  bowel  l# 
been  strangulated  so  long  that  gangrene  of  i 
portion  has  taken  place,  and  an  ariifidi' 
anus  is  formed,  either  by  the  knife  or  hf 
sloughing,  and  the  stools  are  passed  oat « 
the  opening,  try  the  ingenious  method  adop* 
ted  by  Mr.  Trant,  of  Dublin,  which  conastt 
of  introducing  a  small  silver  tube  [made  by 
Mr.  Millikin,  of  Dublin,]  and  prewing  Ws 
thi  intermediate  portion  oi  the  intestine  lyiac 
between  the  abdominal  and  anal  positwa  « 
the  artificial  opening,and  thus  bring  the  ptfti 
into  such  relation  that  tlie  stools  can  f«» 
into  the  natural  channel.  In  this  way  w 
opening  may  be  gradually  dosed,  and  w 
functions  of  the  part  restored  to  the  aonui 
state.     [Mr.  Trant,  p.  262.J 

Fistula  im  Amo.— Pa»  a  Ugalnn  ik^t^ 


Heroic  Treatment. 


15 


a 
I 
H 
til 
■1 

M 

ii 
ti 


4be  fistula,  bringing  it  out  at  the  anus  and 
rgradnaliy  tightening  it  upon  the  included 
part ;  uae  a  catheter  wire,  about  as  thick  as 
«mall  twine.     [Dr.  ColTan,  p,  261.] 

H^MMORBHoiD — Where  the  case  is  re- 
cent, and  the  protruded  piles  not  large,  tbe 
bleeding  small,  and  the  constitution  not  af- 
fected, give  a  lew  grains  of  blue  pill  and  rhu- 
barb at  ni^ht,  and  a  little  inf  us.  rosae  and  ep- 
•ODi  Baits  in  the  morning,  for  a  few  days ; 
after  which  give  the  ordinary  electuary  of 
■senna,  sulphur,  cream  of  tartar,  and  mel  ro- 
«8B,  or,  wlmt  is  better,  treacle,  as  the  mel  ro- 
ws often  gripes.  Also  inject  into  the  rectum 
a  pint  of  cold  water  with  a  drachm  of  nitre 
dissolved  in  it;  enjoin  steady  exercise,  and 
moderation  in  diet  In  thin  delicate  subjects, 
give  tonics,  particularly  mist,  ferri  aromatica ; 
:aad  if  there  be  any  serious  organic  mischief, 
particularly  of  the  chest,  interfere  with  the 
files  as  little  as  possible.  When  the  patient 
03  becoming  debilitated  from  the  pain  and  ir- 
2itation»  as  well  as  from  bleeding,  then  re- 
move the  protruded  haemorrhodiad  portions 
of  the  bowel,  having  secured  them  by  liga- 
tme.    [Mr.  Hamilton,  p.  257.] 

Intsrnal  Blexoino  ILemoerhoids. — In- 
ject after  every  alvine  evacuation,  solution  of 
acetate,  of  lead  3j.  to  ^viij  of  distilled  water ; 
use  two  ounces  of  the  solution  for  each  in- 
jection ;  zive  an  occasional  blue  pill,  follow- 
ed by  a  dose  of  castor  oil  and  extract  of  ta- 
raxacum. To  remedy  the  constipation  usual 
in  these  cases, give  the  following  confection : 
'Common  resin,  well  powdered,  one  ounce ; 
clarified  honey,  five  ounces ;  half  an  ounce 
lof  balsam  of  copaiba  renders  it  more  effica- 
^ioas,  but  is  apt  to  disagree  with  the  sto- 
mach.    [Dr.  Watson,  New- York,  p.  257.] 

Livjca.  [Congestion  of.] — In  diminished  se- 
cretion, with  pale  or  white  stools,  give  mer- 
cury. In  excessive  secretion,  increase  the 
suDOunt  of  oxygen  inspired,  and  thus,  during 
i^espiration  there  will  be  consumed  materials 
-tbat  would  otherwise  be  left  for  the  liver  to 
•excrete ;  lor  while  the  carbon  of  the  lungs 
ie  united  to  oxygen,  and  excreted  in  a  non- 
combustible  state,  the  carbon  of  the  liver  is 
9ion*oxygenized,  is  still  combustible,  and  is 
intended,  not  tor  excretion,  but  absorption, 
limit  the  supply  of  food  which  contributes 
to  form  bile,  as  spirituous  liquors,  butter, 
<ream»  fat,  sugar,  &c.  The  patient  ought 
not  to  sleep  immediately  after  a  full  meal, 
mor  lake  suppers.  [Dr.  Budd,  p.  106.] 
AAetlotii  of  tht  Urinarr  Orgmna. 
•Uarv ART  DxposiTS. — Apparatus. — A  mi- 
•dOfloope*  with  a  power  of  300  diameters; 
test  glasses ;  phials  containing  nitric  and  ace- 
-fic  adds,  water  of  ammonia,  and  potash; 
«ome  slips  of  blue  and  reddened  litmus  pa- 
ipetw  uul  an  uiiaometer. 


Diagnosis, — Notice  whether  it  be  color* 
less,  amber,  safTron,  red,  &c.,  transparent  or 
turbid ;  ascertain  by  litmus  paper  whether  it 
be  acid,  alkaline,  or  neutral ;  note  its  spec>* 
lie  gravity ;  set  it  aside  to  see  if  it  depo.*«it  a 
sediment,  or  throw  up  a  cream  to  the  sur- 
face, or  crystallize  on  the  sides  of  the  vessel. 
The  urine  should  be  recent,  and  if  tbe  patient 
have  leucorrhcea  or  be  menstruating,  should 
be  drawn  ofi  by  a  catheter ;  take  care  to  have 
the  vessel  clean. 

Urates  are  in  excess  when  the  urine  is 
acid,  deposits  on  cooling,  a  red,  pink,  buff- 
colored  or  white  precipitate,  covering  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel  with  an  even  powdery 
deposit,  usually  copious,  and  dissolving  by 
heat ;  viewed  by  the  microscope,  a  powdery 
appearance;  dissolved  in  nitric  acid  by  a 
gentle  heat,  evaporated  to  dryness,  and  held 
over  the  fumes  ol  ammonia,  murexide  of  a 
beautiful  red  color  is  formed. 

Uric  Acid. — ^Urine  highly  acid,  and  de- 
posits on  cooling,  a  red,  pink  or  bufif-colored 
sediment,  adhering  to  the  sides  of  the  vessel 
in  hard  crystalline  grains,  having  the  ap- 
pearance by  the  microscope  of  diamond- 
shaped  plates  or  prisms ;  the  precipitate  is 
generally  scanty ;  forms  murexide  the  same 
as  the  urates,  with  nitric  acid  and  ammonia. 

When  the  urine  is  acid,  alkaline  or  neu- 
tral, but  turbid  on  emission,  and  deposits  a 
white  or  yellowish  sediment,  and  is  not  ren- 
dered transparent  by  heat,  there  will  be  pres- 
ent, phosphates,  oxalate  of  lime,  crystine^ 
mucus,  pus  or  blood ;  if  the 

Phosphates,  it  is  rendered  apparent  by  ace- 
tic acid;  tbe  earthy  phosphates  appear  as 
amorphous  powders  by  the  microscope,  the 
ammoniaco-magnesian,  as  triangular  prisms. 

Oxalate  of  Lime. — ^Not  affected  by  acetic 
acid  or  ammonia,  but  rendered  transparent 
by  nitric  acid ;  deposit  when  viewed  by  the 
microscope  consists  of  octohedral  crystals. 

Cystine. — ^Rendered  transparent  by  solo* 
tion  of  ammonia ;  viewed  by  the  microscope 
it  consists  of  five-sided  plates,  clouded  in  the 
centres. 

Pus  <yr  Mucus. — The  sediment  is  whitish* 
and  not  dissolved  by  any  of  these  agents; 
viewed  by  the  microscope  it  consists  of  mi- 
nute, irregular,  spherical  bodies  with  granu- 
lated surfaces. 

Blood. — Sediment  red,  and  not  dissolved 
by  nitric  acid,  heat  or  acetic  acid ;  by  the 
microscope  it  consists  of  minute  yeUowish 
bodies,  the  shape  of  a  shilling. 

The  dissolved  constituents  in  diseased 
states  of  the  urine,  are : 

Bile,^Ho  detect  it,  drop  the  urine  and 
nitric  acid  a  short  distance  from  it  on  a  plate 
of  glass :  as  they  meet  examine  them  with 


16 


Heroic  TreatmmU* 


an  achromatic  microscope,  and  if  bile  be  presr 
ent,  a  green  color  will  be  produced. 

Albumen, — Sp.  gr.  1,014,  or  lower;  beat 
coagulates  the  albumen,  and  this  cannot  be 
redissolved  by  nitric  acid ;  nitric  acid  coagu- 
lates the  albumen. 

Sugar. — Sp.  gr.  1,026,  or  above;  taste 
•weet ;  boil  the  suspected  urine  with  an  equal 
bulk  of  water  of  potash,  if  sugar  be  present 
the  liquid  will  assume  a  deep  porter  er  beer 
color. 

Trkatmint  I'-Litkic  Acid  depo9its,^-Gi7e 
cr.  z.  or  3j.  of  bicarbonate  of  botash  or  so- 
2a,  three  times  a  day,  and  if  the  deposit  be 
in  the  form  of  rhombic  prisms,  indicating 
gout,  give  colchicum,  using  local  antiphlo- 
gistic measures,  if  the  urine  be  sanguinolent 
or  albuminous,  and  there  be  pain  in  the 
loins.  If  the  deposit  be  amorphous,  there 
18  either  exeessive  secretion  of  the  solid  con- 
stituents of  the  urine,  or  a  deficiency  in  the 
secretion  of  water.  In  the  former  case,  the 
sp.  gr.  is  increased  in  proportion  to  the  quan- 
tity ;  give  iodide  of  potassium  three  times  a 
day  in  doses  of  5  or  10  grs.  In  the  latter, 
the  quantity  of  urine  is  decreased,  there  will 
be  fever  either  idiopathic  or  symptomatic, 
which  must  be  removed,  or  dyspepsia,  in 
this  case  give  a  scruple  of  alum  three  times 
a  day  in  half  a  pint  of  water.  If  the  sedi- 
ment have  a  pink  color,  attend  to  the  biliary 
functions. 

Weakly  Acid  or  neutral  urine. — This 
shows  that  the  kidneys  are  inflamed.  If 
acutely,  use  general  and  local  depletion,  and 
exhibit  emollients  and  contrastimulants; 
give  3j.  doses  of  iodide  of  potassium.  If 
the  inflammation  be  chronic,  use  local  de- 
pletion and  counter-irritation;  setons  are 
very  useful ;  occurring  during  typhus,  apply 
blisters  to  the  loins,  and  give  wine. 

Oxalate  of  Lime  deposits. — At  first  give 
tonics,  the  mineral  acids,  vegetable  bitters, 
astringents,  &c. ;  and  after  some  time  give 
alkalies  largely  diluted.     Alternate  these 

gans,  and  persist  steadily  in  their  use.  The 
llowing  is  a  good  tonic  in  these  cases : — 
Infus.  cascarill.  |vj  ;  potass,  nitrat  3j. ; 
acid,  nitrici  dil.  3iss. ;  tinct.  opii  3j.  M.  su- 
mat.  cochl.  duo  ampla  ter  in  die. 

Albuminous  (Trine. — Use  active  depletion, 
both  local  and  general ;  give  nauseating 
doses  of  tartar  emetic,  and  hydragogue  pur- 
gatives ;  use  the  warm  bath ;  give  alkalies 
Persevere  in  this  treatment,  but  should  the 
fl^ngth  fail,  and  a  cachectic  state  come  on, 
depend  on  active  counter-irritation,  espec- 
ially by  setons.    (Dr.  Aldrldge,  p.  134.) 

jUbuminous  Urine  after  Scarlatina. — If 
seen  early,  adopt  antiphlogistic  measures; 
and  when  active  is  succeeded  by  passive 
congestion,  give  two  or  three  grains  of  ace- 


tate of  lead  three  times  a  day,  to  prevent  the 
insidious  drain  on  the  system,  and  then  give 
muriated  tincture  of  iron,  to  repair  the  an»* 
mic  state  of  the  system.  (Dr.  OFerr<dll,  p. 
124.) 

Diabetes  Mellitus. — ^The  sofax  in  this  dis- 
ease is  formed  not  only  in  pnmary  but  also 
in  secondary  assimilation  from  the  tissues* 
as  the  emaciation  proves ;  hence  the  rigor^ 
ous  exclusion  of  non-azotized  6ubstanc«s  m 
not  advisable,  as  it  forces  the  diseases  to  at* 
tack  the  living  tissues,  therefore  ^low  «t 
least  farinaceous  food.    (Dr.  Dick,  p.  122.> 

Exalt  the  tone  of  the  secreting  capillaries 
of  the  kidneys  by  balsams,  ammonia,  strTch* 
nia,  and  other  excitants,  when  the  perspiim^ 
tory  secretion  is  suppressed;  If  it  be  not; 
give  chalybeates,  alum,  sulphate  of  zinc,  or 
other  metallic  astringents :,  give  a  modeialo 
portion  of  animal  food,  porter,  &c.,  bat  do 
not  enjoin  a  strictly  animal  diet 

Diabetes  Insipidus. — Give  anti-spasmodics 
and  mineral  tonics,  and  apply  stimulating 
liniments  to  the  spine. 

Pttrnlent  Deposits  in  Urine — Give  tonics^ 
to  subdue  the  asthenic  inflammation  of  the 
mucous  membranes ;  decoction  of  the  leaves 
of  chimaphila  corymbosa,  diosma  crenata, 
arctospaphylos,  uva  ursi,  or  the  root  of  cis^ 
sampelof  pareira,  combined  with  Dineral 
acids ;  also  give  chalybeates. 

Hcematuria. — Treat  this  disease  in  the 
same  way  as  other  vicarious  dischai^ges; 
give  astringents,  as  tannin ;  or  styptics,  as 
oil  of  turpentine ;  when  you  give  the  latter 
be  on  your  guard  against  nephritis.  (Dr. 
Aldridge,  p.  13d.) 

B right's  Disease,  or  Albuminuria. — En- 
join a  general  tonic  regimen,  avoid  as  arti- 
cles of  food,  fat  and  other  highly  carbonised 
materials,  attend  to  the  functions  of  the  skin 
and  bowels,  relieve  congestion  of  the  gland, 
and,  if  necessary  use  small  bleedinga  (^Dr. 
Johnson.)  Make  use  of  cautious  small 
blood-lettings  in  the  early  stages,  particu- 
larly if  acute ;  give  hydragogue  cathartics, 
and  improve  the  general  health ;  do  not  de- 
plete where  the  disease  is  chronic  (Dr. 
Williams.)  In  the  veiy  early  stages  change 
the  mode  of  life  and  habits  of  the  patient, 
enjoin  pure  air  and  careful  attention  to  diet 
and  exercise ;  in  this  stace  application  for 
relief  is  seldom  made,  in  the  second  and 
third  stages,  relieve  congestion ;  promote  tb« 
flow  of  urine  and  the  action  of  the  akfii, 
and  prevent  the  disposition  of  fatty  matters 
by  a  diet  which  contains  neither  fat,  nbr 
butter,  nor  any  of  those  non-azotized  svIh 
stances  nearly  allied  to  it,  as  starch,  aagar* 
potatoes,  &c     (Dr  Todd,  p.  110.) 

In  the  acute  form,  remove  conmtioa  ol 
the  kidneys  by  blood-lettiag,  rq;Qktad  m^ 


Heroic  Treatment. 


17 


cording  to  the  intensity  of  the  disease  and 
the  patient's  strength ;  restore  the  function 
of  the  skin,  by  keeping  the  patient  in  a 
warm  atmosphere,  giving  mild  diaphoretics, 
and  the  use  of  the  warm  or  vapor  bath. — 
Dr.  Barlovr  gives  tartar  emetic.  Next,  re- 
move the  dropsy,  by  diuretics  and  purga- 
tives, nitrate  of  potash,  in  doses  of  two 
scruples  or  more,  with  digitalis  and  cream 
of  tartar;  the  nitrate  should  be  lan;ely  dilu- 
ted. 

In  the  chronic  form,  first  attend  to  the 
function  of  the  skin  by  warm  clothing,  dia- 
phoretics, and  the  warm  bath.  Give  tinc- 
ture of  cantharides  in  doses  of  from  four  to 
twelve  drops,  in  some  emulsion  (Dr.  Bright ;) 
Dr.  Wells  and  M.  Monneret  advise  thirty  to 
fiixty  drops  in  twenty-four  hours ;  or  give 
ioduret  of  iron  (M.  Gutbrod ;)  or  hydriodate 
oi  potash,  and  use  iodine  ointment  [M.  Ai- 
ken ;]  or  give  chalybeate  tonics,  saline  pur- 
gatives, and  nutritious  diet  [Dr.  Keese ;]  or 
eaual  parts  of  tinct  of  cantharides  and  tinct. 
01  sesquichloride  of  iron  [Dr.  Copeland.] 

Treat  the  dropsy  with  cream  of  tartar  and 
digitalis  [Dr.  Chri6tison,give  from  a  drachm 
to  a  drachm  and  a  half  of  the  former  three 
tin.e6  a  day,  and  at  the  same  time  a  pill  con- 
taining one  or  two  grains  of  powdered  digi- 
talis, or  twenty  drops  of  the  tincture  in  cin- 
samon  water ;  give  a  blue  pill  [grs.  5]  every 
night  for  four  or  five  nights.     Diuresis  may 
often  be  established  by  an  emetic  of  ipecac. 
and  tartar  emetic,  or  by  a  hydra^ogue  ca- 
thartic; should  these  fail,  8;ive  squills,  broom, 
spirit  of  nitn'c  ether,  or  Hollands  and  water, 
or  carbonate,  nitrate,  or  acetate  of  potash ; 
or  decoction  of  horse  radish  [Rayer],    Diu- 
Tetics  do  not  cure  the  disease,  they  can  only 
Telieve  the  dropsy. 

Try  Seidlitz  or  Pullna  water;  cream  of 
tartar  in  half  ounce  doses  [Rayer] ;  give  five, 
seven,  or  nine  grains  of  gambo/e,  once  every 
two  days,  triturated  with  hi  tartrate  of  pot- 
eah,  to  prevent  griping.    Combat  the  con- 
comitant affections  of  the  digestive  organs 
xrith  creosote  [Dr.  Chrislison];  ^ive  it  as  a 
pilJ»  one  drop  of  creosote,  two  grains  of  rhu- 
barb, and  one  grain  of  extract  of  gentian, 
jTor  the  mass ;  or  with  the  sedative  solution 
<yt  opium;  or  with  extract  of  opium  and  ni- 
trate of  silver,  half  a  grain  of  each  in  a  pill. 
A.pp1y  sinapisms,  turpentine  epithems,  or  a 
ca.ntharides  blister,  externa' ly ;  sprinkle  the 
blistered  surface  with  muriate  of  morphia ; 
ebeck  diarrhoea  by  chalk,  astringents,  and 
opiates ;  or  give  acetate  of  lead  with  opium, 
or  strychnine  with  opium.— Dr.  Wood,  p. 
120. 

Ikcx>ntin£nck  of  Urine— (the  result  of 
tftrictare.) — ^Endeavor  to  remove  or  relieve 
lite  stricture  by  bougies  or  catheters ;  when 


these  fail,  the  lancetted  stilette,  Mr.  Staf- 
ford's, may  be  sometimes  resorted  to  with 
advantage.  It  is  a  dangerous  instrument, 
and  should  be  used  with  great  caution.  It 
should  be  firmly  pressed  against  and  ihen 
through  tlie  stricture,  and  after  it  be  with- 
drawn a  catheter  should  be  introduced,  Law- 
rence. The  lone  of  the  bladder,  after  reten- 
tion of  urine,  may  be  restored  by  giving  er- 
got of  rye  in  two-scruple  or  drachm  doses, 
twice  a  day,  about  an  hour  or  two  before 
the  bladder  begins  to  feel  uneasy  from  the 
accumulation  ol  water. — Braithwaite,  p.297. 

LiTHOTRiTT. — The  best  instrument  for 
performing  this  operation  with,  is  the  two- 
branched  curved  instrument  of  fiaroU  Heur- 
teloup.  A  new  instrument,  by  means  of 
which  a  large  calculus  may  be  ground  to 
powder  in  a  few  minutes,  by  oscillatonr 
movements,  it  is  worthy  of  attention. — M. 
Leroy,  p.  273. 

Prepare  the  patient  for  the  operation  by 
enjoining  a  light  diet,  abstinence  from  fer- 
mented liquors,  clear  out  the  bowels,  and 
order  the  hip-bath ;  if  the  urine  be  acid,  give 
alkalies  combined  with  uva  ursi  or  Peruvian 
bark,  if  alkaline,  give  the  mineral  acids; 
and  if  mucous  depo6i:s,  infusion  of  Pareira 
brava ;  enjoin  absolute  rest,  and  use  occa- 
sionally an  anodyne  enema.  The  urethra 
is  to  be  gradually  dilated,  if  necessary; 
when  preternatural  contraction  of  its  orifice 
exists,  divide  it.  Introduce  the  catheter  fre- 
quently, as  it  allays  the  irritability  of  the 
bladder  and  urethra.  The  objects  of  the  op- 
eration are  to  reduce  calculi  within  the  blad- 
der to  such  a  size  that  the  portions  may  be 
removed  or  discharged  through  the  natural 
passages,  to  effect  this  by  such  means  as 
shall  excite  no  dangerous  irritation  in  the 
urinary  organs,  and  to  free  the  bladder  from 
the  small  fragments  which  remain.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  that  the  case  be  a  suit- 
able one  for  the  operation «  as  in  some  cases 
cystotomy  must  be  preferred.  Lithotrity 
may  be  performed  where  the  bladder  is  per- 
fectly healthy  and  the  stone  is  small ;  and 
it  is  decidedly  advantageous  where  there  is 
phthisis  or  albuminuria.  \X  is  a  ^reat  and 
valuable  addition  to  chirurgical  therapeia, 
but  cannot  be  considered  as  a  substitute  for 
cystotomy,  since  there  are  numerous  cases 
in  which  the  last  operation  will  prove  the 
safest  and  most  effectual. 

Cystotomy,  for  example,  is  preferable  in 
boys  before  the  age  of  puberty :  it  is  so  sim- 
ple and  the  urethra  is  so  small  as  not  to  ad- 
mit of  the  lithotrite.  Cystotomy  is  also 
preferable  in  the  female;  also  where  the 
calculus  has  attained  a  very  large  size ;  also 
where  the  prostrate  gland  is  enlarged,  unleai 


18 


Heroic  TVeatment. 


the  calculus  be  of  rery  small  size.—  Sir  P. 
Crampton,  p.  266. 

Prostate  Gland — Enlargement  of. — 
Charge  a  bougie  with  iodine,  or  iodide  of 
potassium,  and  then  dip  it  into  melted  tal- 
low, so  that  a  coating  may  be  formed  upon 
it;  then  introduce  it  up  tne  urethra  to  the 
part  desired,  and  let  it  rest  upon  it  until  the 
tallow  melts,  and  the  iodine,  &c.,  comes  in 
contact  with  the  diseased  part.  The  prepa- 
ration of  iodine  must  at  first  be  very  mild ; 
a  grain  of  iodide  to  the  drachm  of  lard, 
grulually  increased  in  strength  as  the  pa- 
tient can  bear  it,  to  two,  three,  four,  five, 
and  even  ten  grains,  or  a  scruple  to  the 
drachm;  after  this,  add  iodine  to  it,  half  a 
grain,  gradually  increased.  The  bougie  must 
be  introduced  with  great  care. — ^Mr.  iStafford, 
p.  273. 

Affections  of  the  Organi  of  Generation. 

Stphilitig  Affections.— (Chancre) — 
Wash  the  part  well  with  warm  water,  and 
then  apply  the  solid  nitrate  of  silver ;  it  will 
completely  destroy  the  affection,  if  not  more 
than  three  days'  standing.  If  it  be  a  pustule, 
evacuate  its  contents,  and  the  wails  of  the 
pustule  are  to  be  well  cauterised.  When 
there  is  a  chancre  of  the  frenum,  it  is  more 
readily  healed  by  dividing  it,  and  cauteriz- 
ing the  .whole  of  the  divided  surface.  To 
check  discharge,  apply  a  solution  of  pure 
tanin. —  two  grs.  to  the  ounce  of  water;  or 
sulphate  of  zinc  solution,  in  private  practice, 
as  the  former  tells  tales  by  staining  the  linen. 
The  caustic  should  be  reapplied  as  soon  as 
the  eschar  is  removed,  or  about  once  in  twen- 
ty-four hours.  If  lint  have  been  applied 
after  the  caustic,  take  care  to  soak  it  well  be- 
fore you  remove  it,  or  the  eschar  may  be  de- 
tached, and  the  part  made  to  bleed.  If  the 
case  be  seen  early,  one  or  two  burnings  will 
suffice;  if  at  a  more  advanced  period,  it  must 
be  repeated  at  intervals  of  twenty-four  hours 
— for  a  week  or  ten  days,  or  as  long  as  we 
consider  any  virus  is  secreted  by  the  sore, 
which  is  known  by  the  ulcers  remaining  sta- 
tionary, and  the  surface  being  covered  with  a 
yellow  pellicle;  when  becoming  healthy, 
granulations  spring  up  and  the  sore  heals. 
Caustic  is  not  so  efficacious  when*  the  chan- 
cre is  situated  on  the  fraenum,  orifice  of  the 
urethra,  around  the  prepuce,  er  on  the  four- 
chette  in  the  female ; — enjoin  rest  and  strict 
attention  to  cleanliness,  and  avoid  rupturing 
the  cicatrix.  (Acton,  p.  274.) 
J&0BOES.-Apply  a  blister  the  size  of  a  crown 
for  twenty-four  hours,  then  raise  the  cuticle, 
and  apply  a  pledget  of  lint  of  corresponding 
size,  well  saturated  with  a  solution  of  bich- 
loride ol  mercary,  (a  scruple  of  the  salt  to 
Oils  oQDOSof  spt.  yini  rectif ,) ;  keep  it  in  situ 


from  two  to  four  hours,  and  then  apply  ooU 
applications  for  some  hours;  an  eacharis 
formed,  which  will  be  thrown  off,  and  the 
tumour  will  be  dispersed.  (Malapert,  p. 
283.) 

GoNORRH(EA. — Inject  the  uretha  with  a  so- 
lution of  copaiba.     (Ricord,  p.  294.^ 

Chordee. — Give  from  25  to  50  minimB  of 
the  vin  sem.  colchici,  for  several  succettiTe 
nights,     (p.  295.) 

Or,  vin.  colchici,  3ij. ;  magnes,  carb.  3i.; 
iodide  of  pottassium,  3s8. ;  aqux,  ^vss.  M. 
3j  quartis  hons  sumend.  Or  give  a  combi- 
nation of  iodide  of  potass  and  decoct  sane 
comp.    (p.  295.) 

Gleet. — Apply  the  following  ointment, 
which  answers  much  better  than  the  nitnk 
of  silver:  kino,  ten  parts ;  sulphate  of  zinc, 
one  part ;  lard  twenty  parts.  (Dr.  Laoj, 
p.  290.) 

Stricture. — DiLATATiON.---Thcrc  « 
three  modes  of  performing  dilatation.  1  Sow 
or  permanent ;  the  catheter  is  left  in  tbeor^ 
thra  and  changed  every  three  or  four  dayi 
2.  Continuous  or  sudden;  changing  the  «- 
theter  every  six  or  seven  houra  3.  TempD* 
rary  or  progressive ;  retaining  the  catheter  or 
bougie,  from  five  minutes  to  one  hour.  Ne»- 
er  employ  force  in  introducing  a  booijie,  a«l 
when  you  increase  the  size  do  not  do  it  fro*  1 
day  to  day,  but  at  the  same  situng,  i.  *•»  ' 
commence  with  that  which  passed  freely  the 
day  before. 

When  a  bougie  cannot  be  passed,  bit  the 
urine  flows  off,  use  Dr.  Leroy's  apparatus  for 
keeping  the  pressure  of  a  bougie  con.staDtly 
against  the  part ;  or  press  the  end  of  the  in-     i 
strument  against  the  obstacle  for  a  qoailtf  *     < 
half  an  hour  daily,  and  after  each  aittiiigf     I 
try  to  pass  a  small  bouffie :  when  these  mcMi 
fail,  apply  the  caustic  bougie. 

When  the  stricture  produces  complete  re- 
tention of  urine,  endeavor  to  pass  bougiesa 
conjunction  with  bleeding,  baths,  &c:  l^j 
the  application  of  tobacco  smoke;  show 
these  fail,  press  a  small  catheter  against  w 
obstacle  for  an  hour.  Cut  down  upon  w 
urethra  posterior  to  the  obstacle,  but  show 
a  calculus  be  there  detained,  cut  through  the 
rectum.  If  necessary  to  puncture  t^«  ^ 
der,  do  it  through  the  rectum.  M.  W* 
mand  cuts  down  on  the  strictured  part  itaelt 
(Dr.  Leroy  d'ttiolles,  p.  286.) 

Secomdary  form  or  Stphilis.— Give  the 
proto-iodide  of  mercury,  and  should  it  occf 
sion  irritation,  in  the  bowels  with  diaiTh«>» 
combine  it  with  opium.  Let  the  diet  beij»- 
pie,  avoiding  all  stimulants  whether  ecW« 
fluid ;  the  4iet,  however,  shouW  epi  he  *«• 
itaiingbntiMrtritioui.    Cold  end  «»p«r» 


Heroic  Treatment. 


19 


Tery  injurious  ,  fresh  air  is  highly  necessa- 
ry.    (Ricord,  p.  280.) 

Tertiary  form  of  Stphillis. — The  char- 
ficterisiic  of  these  symptoms,  is  their  not  be- 
ing transmissible  hereditarily.  They  are 
manifested  chiefiy  in  the  subcutaneous  or 
submucous  cellular  tissue,  in  the  fibrous,  os- 
seous, cartilaginous,  muscular  or  nervous  tis 
sues,  and  in  organs  in  their  locality.  The 
remedy  most  to  be  depended  upon  is  mercu 
ry.     (Ricord,  p.  280.) 

Parturition,  and  diseases  of  Women. — 
Placental  Presentation. — Whenever  the  con- 
dition of  the  mother  permits,  turn  the  child, 
and  extract  the  placenta.  The  placenta 
should  never  be  detached  first,  unless  the 
danger  to  the  woman  is  so  great  from 
exhaustion,  as  to  render  turning  hazardous  ; 
or,  unless  there  exists  some  obstacle  to  the 
extraction  of  the  child,  either  from  distor- 
tion of  the  pelvis  or  froTj  tumours. 

Neither  delivery  by  turning,  nor  detach- 
ing the  placenta,  ought  ever  to  be  attempted, 
until  the  cervix  and  os  uteri  will  safely  al- 
low the  introduction  of  the  hand.  Until  this 
is  the  case,  strict  rest,  the  application  of  cold, 
and  the  use  of  the  plug,  will  be  required. 

Detaching  the  placenta  will  be  found  the 
best  \mt  of  practice,  1st,  in  severe  cases  of 
unavoidable  hemorrhage,  with  placenta  pre- 
via, complicated  with  an  os  uteri  so  insuffi- 
ciently dilated  and  undilatable,  as  not  to  al- 
low of  turning  with  salfety ;  2nd,  in  many 
of  the  cases  in  which  placental  presentation 
is  connected  with  premature  labor,  and  im- 
perfect development  of  the  os  and  cervix 
uteri ;  3d,  when  the  uterus  is  too  contracted 
to  allow  of  turning ;  4th,  when  the  pelvis  or 
passages  of  the  mother  aie  organically  con- 
tracted; 5th,  in  cases  of  such  extreme  ex- 
haustion of  the  mother,  as  forbid  immediate 
turning  or  forced  delivery ;  6th,  when  the 
child  is  dead,  and  when  it  is  premature  and 
not  viable.  (Drs.  Simpson,  Kadford,  &c., 
p.  316.) 

Galvanism. — This  powerful  agent  may 
1)e  used  to  induce  or  increase  uterine  action 
in  cases  of  haemorrhage,  before,  during,  and 
after  labor ;  in  cases  of  placenta  previal 
vrhere  it  is  inexpedient  to  rupture  the  mem- 
branes and  turn ;  in  internal  haemorrhage, 
depending  upon  uterine  inertia.  Its  effects  are 
instantaneous  and  much  more  1o  be  depend- 
ed upon  .than  ergot,  although  it  is  advisable 
to  try  the  secale  first,  and  it  will  be  found 
especiaiijr  useful  in  those  cases  where  ex- 
liaustion  is  so  great  as  to  render  it  dangerous 
to  deliver  the  child  in  the  ordinary  way. — 
(Mr  .Dorrington.) 

In  cases  of  accidental  hemorrhage,  in  the 


blood  cannot  be  arrested  by  ordinary  means 
and  more  especially  if  there  be  uterine  iner- 
tia, galvanism  will  be  useful.  In  applying 
galvanism,  one  conductor  should  be  parsed 
up  the  vagina  lo  the  os  uteri,  in  which  a 
moistened  sponge  is  introduced,  and  the  oth- 
er to  the  abdominal  parietes,  over  the  fundus 
in  order  to  pass  the  currcjit  through  the  long 
diameter  of  the  uterus,  or  they  may  both  be 
applied  externally  in  the  short  axis.  The 
galvanic  action  should  not  be  continued  too 
long,  and  should  be  interrupted,  so  as  to  al- 
low the  uterus  intervals  of  rest,  and  so  to  im- 
itate nature's  operations.  {Di,  Radford,  p. 
334.)  Galvanism  may  also  be  used  as  a  der- 
nier resort  in  hemorrhage  during  the  first 
months  of  pregnancy.  [Mr.  Wilson,  p.  886.] 
Electro-magnetism  may  be  applied  m  cases 
of  uterine  inertia  during  labor.  [Mr.  Clark, 
p.  337.] 

Uterine  Hbhorrhagc. — When  danger 
to  life  is  imminent,  give  opium  freely ;  five 
grains  for  the  first  dose,  and  two  or  three 
every  hour  or  half  hour  afterwards,  until  the 
pulse  becomes  distinct,  the  breathing  easier, 
and  the  tossing  about  in  bed  allayed.  At 
the  same  time,  give  warm  wine  and  brandj, 
and  apply  heat  to  the  extremities.  [Dr.  Grif- 
fin, p.  338.] 

Uterine  Hemorrhage  after  delivery. 
— In  cases  where  on  previous  occasions, 
there  has  been  hemorrhage  after  the  birth  of 
the  child,  prepare  an  infusion  of  secale,  3j. 
to  ^iv.  of  boiling  water,  and  when  the  child's 
head  has  just  cleared  the  external  orifice, 
give  half  of  it  [along  with  the  powder] ;  and 
when  the  child  is  entirely  expelled  give  the 
remainder.     [Dr.  Beatty,  p.  338.] 

Give  ergotine  in  doses  of  two  trains  eve- 
ry two  hours.  It  has  been  found  servicea- 
ble in  cases  of  uterine  hsmorrhage,  whether 
acute  or  chronic,  and  dependent  on  a  dyna- 
mic or  an  organic  cause. — ^Ebers,  p.  339. 

When  hemorrhage  becomes  alarming  af- 
ter the  expulsion  of  the  placenta,  turn  the 
patient  on  her  back,  and  grasp  the  uterus 
firmly  with  the  hand,  through  the  abdominal 
parietes,  until  it  contracts ;  then  take  a  small 
bowl  or  basin  capable  of  holding  twelve  or 
fourteen  ounces,  having  a  thick  smooth 
edge,  and  invert  it  over  the  body  of  the 
compressed  uterus,  taking  care  that  the 
whole  of  it  is  compressed  within  the  cavity 
of  the  basin,  which  is  to  be  confined  in  situ 
with  the  bandage.— Mr.  Harvey,  p.  339. 

Mr.  Pretty  has  invented  an  apparatus  by 
which  he  applies  pressure  to  the  abdomen  to 
avert  hemorrhage  after  delivery ;  it  consists 
of  a  central  and  two  side  pads,  fastened  by  a 
strap,  and  tightened  by  means  of  a  torni- 


]atter  months^of  gestation,  where  the  os  uteri  quet;  it  is  portable  and  easy  of  appl|catiD 
is  rigid  and  neany  cJoisd,  and  the  flow  of  |-*-Mr.  Pret^»  p.  340. 


Heroic  Treatment. 


Transfusion.— This  should  be  adopted 
afl  a  last  resource  when  ihe  patient  is  sink- 
ing. Mr.  Brown  reports  a  successful  case 
in  which  he  performed  it,  where  there  was 
the  most  alarming  prostration,  but  no  extra- 
ordinary discharge  of  blood. — p.  341. 

Forceps,  application  or,  in  Occifito- 
FOSTERioR  Positions.— In  these  cases  the 
forehead  should  be  made  to  rotate  back- 
wards, and  the  occiput  forwards;  i.  e.,  the 
extraction  of  the  head  with  forceps  should 
^bc  an  exact  imitation  of  the  mechanism  of 
the  expulsion  ol  the  head  by  nature.— Dr. 
Simpson,  p.  343.  , 

Forceps,  How  to  Apply. — Having  as- 
certained the  exact  position  of  the  head,  in- 
trodace  the  hand,  well  smeared  with  lard, 
within  the  os  uteri ;  search  for,  and  pass  the 
fingers  over  the  ear,  so  as  to  guide  the  blade 
overthator«ran,  whatever  may  be  its  posi- 
tion.    WUien  the  instrument  is  locked  do  not 
tie  up  the  handles  with  tape,  as  it  keeps  a  de- 
gree of  pressure  on  the  child's  head  not  con- 
silient with  its  safety.    In  acting  with  the 
forceps,  always  bear  in  mind  the  different 
axes  of  the  pelvi?,  viz.,  of  its  brim,  cavity, 
and  outlet ;  thereiore  keep  the  handles  of 
the  instrument  back  to  ihe  perineum,  till 
some  part  of  the  occipital  bone  has  cleared 
the  arch  of  the  pubis,  and  when  this  occurs, 
gradually  bring  the  handles  towards  the  pu- 
bis, when  the  chin  will  pass  over  ihe  per- 
ineum.   The  three  powers  of  the  forceps  are 
brought  into  operation,  viz.,  compression, 
traction,  and  leverage;     but    compression 
ought  never  to  be  made  beyond  diminishing 
the  child's  head  to  three  inches,  indeed,  in- 
struments are  seldom  constructed  to  admit 
of  more.— Dr  Wilson,  p.  349, 

Uterus,  Inversion  of,  from  short  Fu- 
nis.— When  this  occurs,  lose  no  time  in 
neparating  the  placenta  from  its  attachments, 
and  with  clenched  hand  replace  the  ulerus ; 
taking  care  not  lo  withdraw  the  hand  until 
the  uterus  contracts. — Mr.  Smith,  p.  359. 

Prolapsus  Uteri.— Mr.  Eagland,  surgi- 
cal instrument  maker,  of  Leeds,  has  con- 
Btructed  a  very  efficacious  instrument  for 
keeping  the  prolapsed  womb  in  position. 

Speculum  Uteri. — Dr.  Protheroe  SmitlVs 
new  speculum  uteri  consists  of  a  glass  cyl- 
inder filled  to  an  outer  one  of  metal,  within 
which  it  slides.  The  inside  of  the  metalic 
tobe  is  highly  polished,  the  reflecting  pow- 
ers of  which  are  increased  by  the  glass  cyl- 
inder; the  edge  of  the  smaller  or  uterine  ex- 
tremity, is  4»refuily  rounded  into  a  smooth 
ling,  which  projects  slightly  from  the  inner 
surface.  In  its  side  is  cut  an  oval  aperture 
of  about  three  inches  in  length  and  two  in 
breeidth,  extending  to  within  half  an  inch  of 
the  end  of  the  cyGnder.    it&  other  extemity 


consists  of  a  rim  which  projects  about  a  line 
from  the  extemal  surface  of  the  tube,  hav'mg 
its  surface  blackened  for  the  absoiplion  of 
any  rays  of  light,  which  might  otherwise  be 
reflected,  and  ^impede  the  view  by  the  daz- 
zling effects.  There  is  also  a  correspoiiding 
rim  to  the  glass  tube,  by  which  it  is  more 
conveniently  withdrawn  from  the  metalic 
cylinder.— Dr.  Smith,  p.  352. 

Dr.  Adam  Warden  has  invented  a  new 
speculum    uteri,    particularly  adapted  for 
examining  the  posterior  lip  of  the  os  uteri, 
p.  353. 

Mr.  Ferguson  of  King's  College,  has  also 
recommended  a  speculum  uteri,  in  which  the 
reflecting  surface,  which  is  very  brilliaiit, 
cannot  be  tarnished  with  any  dischaiigcs  or 
lotions.  It  is  a  very  cheap  in8trument-356. 
Ricord's  speculum  uteri  consists  of  two 
valves,  united  about  the  middle  point,  allow- 
ing  both  extremities  to  be  widely  opened ; 
the  narrowest  part  is  thus  placed  at  the  m- 
va.  To  each  valve  a  handle  is  attached, 
by  which  means  space  is  gained,  and  the 
light  falls  upon  the  interior  uninleinipted|f, 
and  pressure  upon  them  causes  a  dilatation 
of  the  two  extremities  which  can  he  maifl- 
tained,  diminished  or  increased  by  means  of 
a  screw. — p.  481. 

Menorrhagia.— Give  oxide  of  silw  « 
half  grain  doses  twice  or  thrice  a  day.  « 
will  be  of  the  mosJ  use  wh^n  the  h«^ 
rhage  is  of  a  secretive  character,  occanoaw 
by  local  excitement,  and  not  from  the  mp- 
lure  of  blood-vessels.— Mr.  BttUerUne.p 

103.  ,       .      . 

Give  nitrate  of  silver  internally.  Aiga^ 
nit.,  gr.  iij.;  aquae  distillaL  I'j;  f^^^r* 
Give  ten  drops  three  times  daily,  and  gnda- 
ally  increase  the  dose  to  fifteen  drops.-w- 
Ditterich,  p.  361.  .        , 

Pruritus  Vulv^.— Apply  thnce  a  W 
lo  the  aflected  parts,  by  means  of  a  piea « 
sponge, the  following  lotion;  Sod«  boiat, 
?o8. ;  morphiae  sulphat.,gr.  vj.;  aqn«n)» 
dislillat,  ^viij.  M.  ft.  sol.    p.  361. 


AffBctloai  of  Jolnff. 

Knee  Joint.— Inflammation  of  ^V^, 
Membrane.- Keep  the  joint  perfectly  at  n*. 
for  this  purpose,  when  the  disease  w«iroo*. 
apply  splints  of  thick  leather,  one  on  e^j 
side  of  the  joint,  keeping  them  m  p  a«  wp 
a  bandage.  Steep  the  leather  wdlinj«- 
water,  so  as  to  make  it  «actJy  fiMlie  pw. 
When  the  cure  is  nearly  completed,  toe  p 
lient  should  wear  an  elastic  *»?»¥*•  fJL:. 
to  allow  of  a  little  motion,  wilhm  cemw 
limits,  and  the  heel  of  bis  shoe  aboiiMw 
raised  a  litUe,  to  keep  the  kn«^«^'f.iJX 

In  the  acute  disease,  use  r 


Heroic  Treatment. 


21 


gifitic  measures,  as  well  as  the  local  abstrac- 
tion of  blood.  After  giving  a  brisk  purga- 
tive, then  give  twelve  minims  of  vin.  colchi- 
ci  in  a  saline  draught  three  times  a  day ;  in 
two  or  three  days  stop  its  exhibition,  and  af- 
ter an  interval  of  a  day  or  two  give  it  again  ; 
it  is  most  useful  when  there  is  a  gouty  dia- 
thesis, with  lithates  in  the  urine ;  an  occa- 
sional purgative  is  necessary  during  the  ad- 
ministration ot  the  colchicum,and  also  small 
doses  of  blue  pill  to  keep  up  the  secretion 
of  bile  which  colchicum  diminishes.  Give 
mercury  so  as  to  aiiect  the  system ;  this  may 
be  done  not  only  in  the  gouty  diathesis,  but 
also  where  there  is  rheumatic  inflammation, 
and  combine  it  with  opium,  as  in  iritis. 

In  chronic  inflammation  the  same  meas- 
ures as  in  the  acute,  only  not  quite  so  active; 
leeches ;  bl'sters,  apply  them  in  succession, 
or  keep  one  open  with  savine  cerate ;  give 
colchicum  as  an  alterative,  two  grains  oJ  the 
extract  with  as  much  blue  pill,  every  night, 
and  an  aperient  every  third  or  fourth  morn- 
ing ;  or  give  the  acetous  extract,  with  calo- 
mel and  comp.  ext.  of  coloc,  every  second 
or  third  night.  Give,  also,  iodide  of  potas- 
ttum  in  small  doses,  combined  with  alkaline 
remedies.  In  slight  cases,  use  liniments 
to  the  joint,  lin.  vol.  camph.  and  sp.  tere- 
binth.;  orolei  olivs  ^jss. ;  acid  sulph.,  3j 
and  sp.  terebinth,  ^ss. ;  or  paint  the  knee 
with  a  solution  of  iodine.  When  ulceration 
of  the  cartillages  is  going  on ;  give  mercury 
so  as  to  affect  the  system,  calomel  and  opi- 
um two  or  three  times  a  day ;  mere  alterative 
doses  will  not  do ;  in  a  few  days  ihe  pain 
^11  be  quite  relieved. — SSir  B.  £rodie,  p. 
185. 

Abscess. — Make  a  free  opening,  and  keep 
the  joint  in  a  state  of  absolute  repose,  by 
means  of  leathern  splints,  or  by  support- 
ing it  with  pillows  and  cushions.  The  ar- 
tieuiar  cartilages  will  have  become  absorbed, 
and  recovery  by  anchylosis  is  the  result; 
the  joint  during  recovery  must  be  support 
with  learthern  splints :  or  if  the  leg  be  bent 
on  the  thigh,  use  the  screw  instrument,  with 
splints  at  the  posterior  part  of  the  leg  and 
thigh.— Sir  B.  Brodi.e,  p.  188. 

Gout)r  Inflammation  of. — Some  of  the 
-  smaller  joints  are  affected  first,  and  there  is 
seldom  much  effusion  within  the  joint. — 
Oive  a  grain  of  acet.  ex.  of  colchicum,  a 
^rain  of  blue  pill,  and  three  grains  of  ext. 
of  hop,  every  night,  with  a  gentle  aperient 
every  third  or  fourth  morning;  after  giving 
these  pills  for  a  fortnight,  stop  them  for 
two  months>  and  then  give  them  a  fortnight 
again,  and  so  on  ;  give  also  a  grain  and  a 
half,  or  two  grains  of  iodide  of  potassium, 
with  ten  or  twelve  grains  of  bicarbonate  ol 
potuh  twice  a  day,  for  six  or  eight  weeks 


at  a  time.  This  system  must  be  continued* 
with  occasional  intermissions,  for  one  or 
two  years,  or  even  longer.  This  chronic 
gouty  atfection  is  not  in  itself  dangerous, 
but  it  shows  a  bad  constitution,  and  the 
person  thus  affected  is  liable  to  other  dis- 
eases.— Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  185. 

Scrofulous  Disease  of. — Never  abstract 
blood,  nor  make  use  of  counter- irritation. 
Here,  as  in  all  diseases  of  joints,  a  state  of 
perfect  repose  is  necessary ;  use  the  leather 
splints.  As  soon  as  the  digestive  organs 
are  brought  into  a  proper  state,  give  tonics, 
particularly  chalybeate  tonics.  To  children 
give  the  vinum  ferri  of  the  old  Pharmaco- 
pceia,  for  three  weeks,  and  then  omit  it  for 
ten  days,  and  so  on  for  several  years,  so  as 
to  improve  the  weak  constitution.  If  fever 
be  produced,  decrease  the  dose,  or  omit  it 
altogether  for  a  while ;  or  ^ive  the  tinct. 
ferri.  mur. ;  or  the  syrup  of  iodide  of  iron  ; 
or  the  latter  and  the  vin.  ferri  alternately. — 
When  you  have  a  patient  with  whom  no 
form  of  iron  will  agree,  then  give  quinine, 
bark,  or  alkaline  solution  of  sarsaparilla ; 
the  latter  is  very  useful  to  delicate  children. 
Change  of  air  is  highly  beneficial,  the  sea- 
side ;  when  the  joint  has  become  stiff,  do 
not  use  force  to  straighten  it ;  it  should  be 
done  gradually,  by  means  of  a  screw  appa- 
ratus ;  if  an  abscess  forms  in  the  joint,  con- 
tinue the  use  of  the  splints ;  but  have  them 
lined  with  oil-silk.  If  the  disease  have 
been  neglecte<i,  or  it  has  been  found  impos- 
sible to  save  the  joint,  amputate  as  soon  as 
possible.  If,  by  examination  with  a  probe, 
it  is  found  that  there  be  a  piece  of  dead 
bone  within  the  joint,  so  that  it  cannot  ex- 
foliate, the  sooner  the  limb  is  amputated  the 
better.  Bony  anchylosis  takes  years  for  its 
completion,  so  that  if  the  limb  be  bent  there 
will  be  plenty  of  time  to  get  it  into  its  prop- 
er place  — Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  190. 

Primary  Ulceration  of  the  Cartilages. — 
Keep  the  joint  perfectly  at  rest,  and  use  se- 
tons,  issues,  blisters,  and  counter-irritants. 
The  great  remedy  is  mercury  ;  two  grains 
of  calomel  and  one-third  of  a  grain  of-  opi- 
um, three  times  a  day,  until  the  gums  are 
affected.  Where  mercury  cannot  be  borne, 
give  sarsaparilla  and  iodide  of  potassium ; 
sarsaparilla  should  also  be  given  after  the 
course  of  meicury.  Ung.  hydiarg.  may  be 
rubbed  into  the  thighs  where  it  cannot  be 
borne  internally  —Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  191. 

Morbid  Alteration  of  Structure  of  the  Sy- 
novial Membrane. — Appply  pressure  by 
means  of  ficveral  alternate  layers  of  diachy- 
lon plaster  and  bandage;  and  afterwards 
by  leathern  splints,  and  a  firm  bandage;  at- 
tend also  to  the  general  health.-— Sir  B. 
Brodie,  p.  192. 


22 


Heroic  Treatment, 


Loose  Cartilages  in  the  Knee. — Remove 
them  by  operation ;  get  the  cartilage  fixed 
over  the  outer  or  inner  condyle,  and  while 
it  is  retained  in  that  situation,  divide  slowly 
the  skin,  cellular  membrane,  fascia,  liga- 
ments, and  synovial  membrane ;  hold  the 
knife  with  a  loose  hand,  or  the  cartilage 
will  be  pressed  into  the  joint ;  lay  hold  of 
it  with  a  tenanculum,  but  should  it  recede 
within  the  joint,  never  grope  for  it,  but 
bring  the  edges  of  the  wound  together,  and 
perform  the  operation  at  some  other  time. 
A  valvular  operation  has  been  proposed. — 
Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  193. 

Hip-JoiNT,  Inflammation  of. — Put  the 
patient  under  meicurial  influence.  Before 
commencing  treatment  determine  the  proba- 
ble duration  of  the  disease,  as  the  efficacy  oi 
the  action  of  mercury  depends  much  on  the 
stage  in  which  it  is  used. — Dr.  OFerrall,  p. 
194. 

Dislocations. — Instead  of  using  ex- 
tension by  the  hands  of  assistants  in  reduc- 
ing dislocations,  make  use  of  a  little  click 
wheel,  fixed  to  the  wail,  and  a  rope  attach- 
ed to  it;  the  extension  is  not  only  made 
more  easily,  but  much  more  gradually. — 
Mr.  Terrey,  p.  202. 

Compound  dislocation  of  the  Astragalus. 
— When  it  is  necessaiy  to  remove  the  aslra- 
ealus,  or  saw  off' the  end  ot  the  tibia,  in  or- 
der to  return  the  bones  to  their  place,  never 
make  a  fresh  incision  to  eflFect  it,  if  there  is 
already  an  extensive  wound  in  another  di- 
rection ;  rather  amputate  the  limb  at  once, 
the  chances  of  recovery  will  be  so  much 
greater.  [Sully.]  The  late  Mr.  Colles,  of 
Dublin,  was  opposed  to  amputation  in  com- 
pound dislocation  of  the  ankle  joint ;  and 
when  advisable,  he  thought  it  best  to  wait 
until  the  symptomatic  fever  had  subsided. 
p.  200. 

Immobility  of  the  Lower  Jaw. — Keep  up 
mechanical  extension  for  a  considerable  pe- 
riod, gradually  increasing  it.  An  excellent 
instrument  for  this  purpose  has  been  con- 
structed by  Mr.  Gay,  of  Leeds,  under  the 
direction  of  Mr  Teale.  [See  wood  cut.] — 
Mr.  T.  P.  Teale,  p.  197. 

Affaotloni  of  the  sobsos. 

Etx,  Inflammation  of — Acute. — Bleed  and 

J;iye  nauseating  medicines,  paigatives,  aud 
ow  diet,  and  stimulate  the  liver,  kidneys, 
and  skin,  to  rid  the  fluids  of  pernicious  in- 
gredients. In  the  second  stage,  to  prevent 
or  arrest  the  consequences  of  inflammatory 
action,  give  mercury  oi  iodine,  bark,  colchi- 
cum,  turpentine,  kc.  In  the  third  stage, 
when  the  inflammatory  action  has  subsided, 
apply  belladonna,  and  gire  mercury  or  io- 
dme  in  smaller  do8ef»  and  for  longer  period* 


with  local  stimulation  and  cutaneous  inita- 
tion. 

When  the  disease  has  been  treated  \Tith 
mercury,  and  returns,  try  depletion  and  an* 
timonials,  with  confinement  to  bed,  and  low 
living,  for  two  or  three  days  before  yea 
again  resort  to  that  remedy.  Gire  tartrate 
ot  antimony  or  James's  powder,  so  asat  fint 
to  cause  nausea,  and  afterwards  diaphoresia. 
Mercury  is  the  sheet  anchor,  given  bom 
just  to  efiect  the  gums ;  at  first,  give  three 
grains  of  blue  pill,  three  grains  of  compound 
colocynth  powder,  and  one-eighth  or  one- 
tenth  of  a  grain  of  tartrate  of  antimony  three 
times  a  day,  for  a  couple  of  days ;  Ihen  five 
grains  of  blue  pill,  with  the  same  quantity 
of  antimony,  for  tw^o  days  more ;  and  finally 
five  grains  of  blue  pill  three  or  four  times  a 
day.  If  it  affect  the  bowels,  add  a  little 
opium  to  it.  This  produces  a  mercurial  ef- 
fect upon  the  system  in  seven  or  eight  daya 
Or  two  grains  of  calomel  and  a  quarter  of  a 
grain  of  opium  may  be  given  every  fonror 
six  hours,  if  we  wish  to  affect  the  systai 
sooner.  The  length  of  time  we  are  to  con- 
tinue the  mercury  must  be  decided  by  iti 
effects. 

Iodine,  turpentine,  colchicum,  and  bart 
are  valuable  where  the  inflammation  is  mod- 
ified by  specific  disease,  or  constitutional  d^ 
rangement,  or  where  mercury  haa  alraily 
been  given,  or  cannot  with  safety  be  awd. 

From  the  very  commencement  of  aa  t^ 
tack  of  iritis,  extract  of  belladonna  shonlA 
be  used.  Mix  it  with  water  until  it  ae- 
quires  the  consistence  of  cream,  and  ptint 
the  eyelid,  brow,  and  upper  part  of  tbe 
cheek  with  it;  let  it  dry,  and  then  apply  it 
again,  and  cover  it  with  a  little  damp  lioen, 
and  keep  it  moist  by  applying  a  lotion  made 
'  with  two  drachms  of  ihe  extract  to  ei^ 
ounces  of  the  water.  If  its  application  M 
not  found  comfortable,  it  need  not  be  ap- 
plied more  than  once  or  twice  in  twenty-lbir 
hours.  When  its  application  to  the  skin 
does  not  affect  the  pupil,  drop  a  little  of  the 
solution  upon  the  conianctiva,  even  during 
the  inflammatory  attack ;  its  effects  soon  paas 
off.  It  is  best  to  apply  it  in  the  morning.— 
Dr.  Jacob,  p.  308. 

In  the  external  forms  of  opfathaimisi  ap- 
ply an  ointment  of  oxide  of  silver,  a  drachn 
to  the  ounce.  This  is  very  aoaloffous  to 
Mr.  Guthrie's  black  ointment— Mr.  B.  Lane, 
p.  103. 

Accidental  Cataract— Two  modea  of  tiwl- 
ment;  1st.— To  allow  absorption  to  w 
place ;  the  inflammation  to  be  reducedW 
leeches  and  mercurials,  as  in  internal  ^ 
thalmia;  apply  belladonna  «o  as  to  diitii 
the  pupil. 

3i— BamoTt  tht  fluid  memd 


Heroic  Treatment. 


23 


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Ji 
« 
is 

EI 


a 
s 
t 

i 

i 

0 
;i 


by  extraction  of  the  lens  through  a  small 
incision  in  the  cornea,  (Barton  and  Gibson) ; 
make  the  puncture  at  the  temporal  margin 
of  the  cornea  with  the  cxtraction-kniie,  or 
with  Mr.  Walker's  instrument,  which  com- 
bines the  properties  both  of  scoop  and  knife, 
and  carry  the  point  of  the  instrument  into 
the  pupil,  when  the  lens  will  be  discharged 
with  the  aqueous  humor. — Mr.  Walker,  p. 
314. 

Depression  of  the  Crystalline  Lens. — The 
lens  should  be  disengaged  from  iU  capsule 
in  depressing  it.  To  accomplish  this,  in- 
troduce the  cataract  bistoury  through  the 
coats  of  the  eye,  about  a  line  and  a  half 
from  the  maisin  of  the  cornea ;  it  penetrates 
the  vitreous  numor,  and  forms  a  breach  in 
it,  at  the  proper  place  for  the  reception  of 
the  lens  when  depressed ;  the  point  of  the 
instrument  directed  towards  the  lens,  is  to 
be  pushed  across  the  eye  to  its  opposite  side, 
then  penetrate  the  posterior  part  of  the  cap- 
flule,  and»  by  drawing  it  outwards,  incise  it 
across  its  middle;  then  push  the  point  of 
the  needle  between  the  lens  and  the  iris,  its 
flat  side  placed  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
lens,  and  press  it  backwards  and  upwards, 
then  shift  the  point  of  the  needle  forwards 
upon  the  lens,  and  this  presses  it  backwards 
into  the  breach  of  the  vitreous  humor,  from 
whence  it  does  not  rise. — Dr.  Watson,  p. 
314. 

Wounds  of  Eyelid.— If  a  large  piece  of 
skin  be  lost,  and  the  edges  cannot  be  united, 
subsequent  ectropium  is  avoided  by  making 
an  incision  a  quarter  of  an  inch  from  the 
edge  of  the  wound,  which  then  allows  the 
edges  to  be  united. — p.  313 

Fistula  Lachrymal  is. — Dilate  the  nasal 
dact  by  means  of  Morgan's  sound  and  cath- 
eter ;  pass  the  sound  along  the  floor  of  the 
nose,  directing  its  point  outwards,  until  it 
lies  fairly  below  the  inferior  turbinated  bone, 
then  direct  the  point  of  the  instrument  up- 
-wards,  and  move  it  gently  backwards  and 
forwards  along  the  inferior  surface  of  the 
turbinated  bone,  until  a  little  cartilaginous 
ridge  is  felt — this  is  the  orifice  of  the  duct ; 
depress  the  handle  of  the  instrument,  and  its 
point  glides  into  the  duct.  No  force  must 
be  used,  as  the  bony  structures  are  very  del- 
icate ;  repeat  it  daily  until  the  resistance  is 
overcome,  and  then  keep  the  passage  clean 
bv  injections  of  warm  water.  W^hen  well, 
the  patient  should  be  taught  to  pass  the  in 
strnment,  to  clear  away  collections  of  mu 
ens.  This  instrument  supersedes  the  use 
of  the  style. — p.  312. 

SxiK  DisxABKi  — Chronic  Eczema  of  the 
Face. — Give  three  or  four  drops  of  liq.  ar- 
seiucalia  three  times  a  dav,  and  cover  the 
part  day  aad  night  with  lint  spread  with 


zinc  ointment,  or  with  ung.  hyd.  precip. 
alb. ;  or,  give  five  grains  of  Plummer's  pill 
every  second  night,  and  a  saline  draught 
twice  a  day,  giving  at  the  same  time  a  course 
of  Harrogate  waters ;  regulate  the  diet,  avoid- 
ing all  stimuli.  Where  the  tempeiament  of 
the  patient  is  irritable,  arsenic  and  cantha- 
rides  aggravate  the  disease. 

It  oiten  attacks  the  ears  of  young  females 
in  whom  menstruation  is  irregularly  per- 
formed ;  this  fuctiou  must  be  established  by 
the  usual  means;  apply  bread  and  water 
poultices  to  the  part  during  the  night,  and 
cover  it  with  ra^s  spread  over  with  zinc 
ointment  during  the  day ;  and  give  ten  grains 
of  nil.  aloes  c.  myrrh,  every  second  night  at 
bea  time.  After  using  these  means  for  a 
week  or  two,  give  five  minins  of  tinct  of 
cantharides,  and  thirty  of  liq.  potass,  twice 
a  day.— Mr.  Erichsen,  p.  297. 

Eczema  of  the  Scrotum,  Penis  and  Anun. 
— Cover  the  parts  with  lint,  wet  with  lead 
lotion,  and  enclose  them  with  oil-silk,  in 
order  to  keep  olF  the  air,  and  to  prevent 
urine  getting  upon  the  part.  Give  a  small 
dose  of  hydr.  c.  creta  at  night,  and  a  dose  of 
castor  oil  in  a  morning;  in  a  few  days  sub- 
stitute zinc  ointment  for  the  lotion,  and  give 
small  doses  of  liq.  potasss,  and  five  grains 
each  of  calomel  and  magnesia,  twice  a  day. 
If  it  be  of  long  standing,  enjoin  a  strict  diet, 
abstinence  from  fermented  liquors,  salted  and 
heating  articles  of  food,  and  give  20  minims 
of  liq.  arsenici  et  hydranr.  iodidi  twice  a 
day,  with  iiv^  grains  of  Plummer's  pill  at 
bed-time,  and  apply  a  mixture  of  zinc  oint- 
ment and  the  unj;.  plumbi  ace  tat,  to  the  parts 
by  means  of  a  piece  of  lint  cut  to  the  proper 
shape.  The  treatment  must  be  persisted  in 
for  a  length  of  time.  A  little  extract  of  bel- 
ladonna rubbed  down  with  the  ointment,  of* 
ten  succeeds  in  allaying  the  irritation. — Mr. 
Erichsen,  p.  299. 

Eczema  of  the  Scalp  —If  occuring  to  a 
child,  otherwise  healthy,  about  the  period 
of  dentition,  be  careful  how  yon  check  the 
eruption.  Cut  the  hair,  apply  bread  and 
water  poultices,  and  subdue  irritation  b^the 
application  of  rags  dipped  in  olive  oil,  or 
smeared  with  zinc  ointment ;  or  sprinkle  the 
part  with  the  nurse's  milk.  Give  small 
doses  of  hydraig.  c.  creta  and  castor  oil,  and 
lance  the  gums,  if  necessary.  Fluid  mag- 
nesia is  often  useful.  If  it  becomes  invet- 
erate, wean  the  child  on  beef-tea,  broth,  and 
a  nutritious  diet,  and  give  mild  tonics,  a  few 
drops  of  tincture  of  ammon -chloride  of  iron, 
or  iodide  of  iron,  twice  a  day  (from  half  a 
grain  to  two  grains  of  the  latter) ;  a  great 
part  of  the  treatment  consists  in  keeping  the 
scalp  so  covered  as  to  prevent  the  acccsi  of 
air. 


24 


Heroic  TVecUment. 


When  it  becomes  chronic  and  inactive, 
and  presents  a  furfuraceous  appearance, 
have  recourse  to  getitle  stimulants ;  a  lotion 
composed  of  from  one  to  two  drachms  of 
sulphuret  of  potass,  either  alone  or  combined 
with  an  equal  quantity  of  the  carbonate  of 
the  same  alkali,  in  a  pint  of  plain  or  of  lime 
water;  wash  the  head  with  this  lotion  thiee 
times  a  day ;  at  the  same  time,  every  night 
after  the  last  application  of  the  lotion,  apj)ly 
an  ointment  composed  of  from  a  scruple  to 
half  a  drachm  of  carbonate  of  potass  to  an 
oance  of  lard,  or  one  of  creosote  in  the  same 
proportion,  or  of  white  precipitate ;  or  use 
the  ung.  hydr.  nit.  dil.,  or  the  sulphur  oint- 
ment, or  a  mixture  of  this  and  tar  or  creo- 
sote ointment.  Do  not  use  the  oiled-silk 
cap ;  it  confines  the  perspiration  and  sod- 
dens  the  skin,  producing  a  state  of  passive 
congestion  which  we  wish  to  get  rid  of. — 
Mr.  Erichsen,  p.  801. 

Chronic  Eczema  of  the  Hands. — In  the 
early  stages  apply  water-dressing  by  means 
of  oiled-silk  gloves  or  finger  stalls,  and  at  a 
more  advanced  period,  a  solution  of  nitrate 
of  silver  (grain  j.  to  the  ounce),  instead  of 
the  water  dressing;  or  a  solution  of  car- 
bonate of  soda,  (grain  ij.  to  iv.  to  the 
ounce) ;  or  the  following  lotion :  acid  hy- 
drocyan,,  3s8.;  zinci  oxidi,  3j. ;  aquse  ro- 
eaB,  |viij. ;  or  cover  the  hand  with  tne  ung. 
h]^drar^.  precip.  alb. ;  either  alone  or  mixed 
with  citrine  ointment. 

If  the  disease  only  occupy  a  small  patch, 
cover  it  with  a  slice  of  lemon.  Its  spread- 
ing may  be  checked  by  applying  the  solid 
nitrate  of  silver  around  the  part.  Constitu- 
tional treatment  must  also  be  adopted :  re- 
move any  gastric,  intestinal,  or  uterine  dis- 
turbance, and  give  vegetable  bitters,  nitric 
acid  diluted,  or  small  doses  of  bichloride  of 
mercury ;  the  two  latter  may  be  given  in  in- 
fusion of  bark.  If  the  disease  be  of  very 
long  standing,  eive  Fowler's  or  Donovan's 
solution.  The  hands  should  be  kept  at  rest. 
— Mr.  Erichsen,  p.  304. 

Chronic. — Apply  tar  exteraally;  give  it 
also  internally  in  capsules.—p.  305. 

Pityriasis. — External  applications  of  a 
soothing  nature;  baths  medicated  with  mu- 
cilage of  linseed,  milk,  yolk  of  egg,  &c. ;  at 
the  same  time  give  demulcents,  diuretics, 
&c.,  to  increase  the  renal  secretion.  Cover 
the  parts  over  with  glycyrrhine ;  it  remains 
flaiu,  and  resists  evaporation  under  any  tem- 
perature to  which  the  body  is  exposed.  It 
IS  abundant  in  the  refuse  of  the  soap-maker. 
— Mr.  Startin,  p.  306; 

Itch  — Immerse  the  hands  of  the  patient 
in  an  alcoholic  solution  of  stavesacre  for  half 
an  hour  together,  two  or  three  times,  and 
the  acaius  scabiei  will  be  destroyed.    [Dr. 


Burgess]  Vab  a  lotion  made  of  an  ottoee 
of  sulphate  of  copper  to  a  pint  of  walec, 
wash  off  the  scabs  before  using  it.  It  is  aa 
almost  certain  cure.  [Mr.  Lloyd.]  Use  a 
lotion  of  iodide  ofpotassmmin  tbeday.and 
sulphur  ointment  at  night;  a  cure  maybe 
expected  in  seven  days.  The  lotion  should 
be  3i  of  iodide  to  ^^iij.,  or  ^xvj.  of  fluid. 
—Dr.  Ward,  p.  307. 

Warts. — Apply  hydrochlorate  of  ammO' 
nia  dissolved  in  water,  or  hydrochlorate oC 
lime;  persist  in  their  application  for  some 
time. — p.  308. 

Syphilitic  AlopoBcia.— Cut  the  hair  close, 
and  use  warm  baths;  and  then  apply  tbe 
following  liniment :  Equal  parts  of  rectified 
spirit,  Eau  de  Cologne,  and  castor  oil;  or 
equal  parts  of  honey- water  and  tincLof  can- 
tharides.  Should  little  red  spots  or  blisten 
be  produced,  cease  the  application  fora short 
time. 

Lichen,  Lepra,  Psoriasis,  Impetigo, fee- 
Frequent  warm  baths,  taking  care  to  teak 
the  head  well ;  and  cover  the  spots  pigbt 
and  morning  with  olive  oil,  ^s8.;c}tnBe 
omit.  3i. ;  M.  Make  a  liniment,  or  use  thi 
following  ointment:  purified  beef  mairow, 
sixteen  parts;  sulphur  ointment,  siiteei 
parts;  tnrpeth  mineral,  two  to  fourpsiU; 
essence  of  lemons  sufficient  to  sccBtit— 
Ricord. 

Mucous  Tubercles. — ^Use  a  dilute  mIb- 
tion  of  chloride  of  sodium ;  dry  the  puts 
and  sprinkle  them  over  with  calooeL— 
Great  cleanliness  is  necessary;  do  DOtflse 
ointments. 

Eczema  Impetiginoides. — Cut  the  biir 
close,  and  apply  water  dressing,  or  lint  dip- 
ped in  an  aqueous  solution  of  opium ;  do 
not  apply  ointments.  It  should  be  a  nk 
never  to  apply  greasy  substances  to  any 
eruption  attended  with  oozing  of  fluid, siiw 
it  mixes  with  the  secretion,  becomes  randd, 
forms  a  crust,  the  edges  of  which  becooe 
excoriated,  and  what  was  an  eflfect  becoflWi 
a  cause  of  irritation.  Paint  gummata  w 
nodes  with  tincl.  of  iodine :  it  may  also  he 
applied  to  unhealthy  tertiaiy  ulcers. 

Give  internally,  in  secondary  iomsd 
syphilis,  iodide  of  potassium  or  merca^; 
some  piefer  the  former,  as  Dr.  William*,  j 
others  the  latter,  as  Sir  B.  Brodie,  The 
following  should  be  our  guide  in  giring  tbe 
iodide  of  mercury :  Secoudary  symptoms  oc- 
curring after  a  course  of  mercury,  will  to 
benefitted  by  a  course  of  iodide  of  po^ 
sium.  Secondary  symptoms  occurring  wh«j 
mercury  has  not  been  used,  will  not  jm 
to  the  iodide,  but  will  to  mercury.  In  ower 
to  prevent  the  iodide  from  caushig  pain  at 
the  pit  of  the  stomach,  or  heat  at  the  »« 
of  the  throat  soon  after  swaaowiog  lU  ^ 


Heroic  Treatment. 


28 


Bolve  two  drachms  in  three  ounces  of  water, 
and  let  the  patient  take  a  teaspoon/ ul  of  this 
solution  night  and  morning  in  a  large  cup  of 
tea,  and  the  same  quantity  in  half  a  pint  of 
beer,  or  other  fluid,  at  mid-day ;  the  dose  to 

*  be  continued,  and  increased  according  to 
circumstances.  It  is  of  no  use  increasing 
the  dose,  or  Indeed  of  continuing  this  reme- 
dy beyomi^a  week  or  ten  days,  if  no  amend- 
ment 18  yisible.  If  mercury  has  not  been 
fjiyeji^pr  the  primary  symptoms,  begin  with 
It  immediately  when  secondary  symptoms 
appear.  Ricord  gives  the  pure  mineral,  but 
the  hydr.  c.  creta  will  answer  best.  Jf  the 
organs  of  digestion  be  impaird,  use  friction ; 
direct  the  size  of  a  horse  oean  of  ung.  hydr. 
to  be  smeared  on  the  inside  of  each  calf  of 
the  leg  every  night ;  do  not  rub  it  in,  as  you 

,  iiritate  the  hair  bulbs  by  doing  so,  and  you 
ptoduce  subsequent  tenderness.  Direct  your 
patient  to  sleep  in  old  drawers,  so  as  to  keep 
the  bed  clean.  Do  not  use  the  ointment  to 
the  thighs,  as  is  usually  recommended ;  it 
gets  between  the  thigh  and  the  scrotum, 
piodacing  eczema;  it  also  dirties  the  pa- 
tient'* linen,  and  excites  the  attention  of  the 
vasheiwoman.  Get  the  patient  firmly  un- 
der its  influence,  before  you  discontinue  the 
UMoimercoiy. — Acton,  p.  274. 

Tozioolo^. 

PoisoKs. — ^Purified  Animal  Charcoal,  an 
Antidola  to  all  Vetegable  and  some  Mineral 
Poisons. — ^This  substance  may  be  used  as 
an  antidote  to  opium  and  its  active  priuci- 
l^lee,  morphia,  &c. ;  nux  vomica  and  its  ac- 
tive principles,  strychnia  and  brucia ;  hen- 
Imne,  deadly  nightshade,  bitter-sweet,  thorn 
apple,  tobacco,  hemlodc,  bitter  almonds,  prus- 
flle  acid,  the  aconites,  kc,  &c.,  in  fact  to  all 
Vegetable  poisons ;  to  animal,  also,  as  can- 
Aarides.    The  carbo  animaiis  puriflcatus  ot 
Ae  pharmacopceia  should  be  used,  and  in 
the  proportion  of  half  an  ounce,  to  a  grain 
€>f  morphia,  strychnia,  &c.      it  combines 
'vrith  and  renders  inert  vegetable  and  animal 
snbataoces,  and  absorbs  some  mineral  poi- 
SOD0,  especially  arsenic,  and  renders  them 
luurniees,  and  exerts  no  injurious  eflccts  on 
tke  body. 

It  should  be  rubbed  in  lukewarm  water, 
90  as  to  form  a  fluid  of  sli;rht  consistency, 
juHd  thus  given  in  quantities  of  from  one  to 
fofHT  oances.  Emetics  also  should  be  given ; 
ipecacuanha,  however,  will  not  do,  as  the 
eiiarcoal  renders  it  inert.  Give  sulphate  oi 
zinc  in  scruple  or  half  drachm  doses,  ur  use 
the  stomach  pump,  and  then  give  more  oi 
life  charcoal. 

J^i^ht  not  this  substance  he  tried  to  pre- 
vent Uie  injurious  etii^cts  of  anmial  poisons, 
atacit  HH  rabies,  syphilis^,  poison  oi  bcrpents. 


&c.,  applied  in  the  form  of  poultice  to  the 
parts  .'—Dr.  Garrod,  p.  142. 

Prussic  Acid,  Poisoning  by. — Dash  cold 
water  on  the  patient ;  apply  ammonia  to  the 
nostrils,  and  heat  to  the  spine  and  feet ;  eive 
an  injection  containing  tincture  of  assaSeti- 
da,  use  friction  with  a  flesh-brush  to  the 
skin ;  and  as  soon  as  the  jaws  hecome  re- 
laxed, and  the  patient  can  swallow,  give 
an  emetic,  and  afterward  some  weak  brandy 
and  water,  and  strong  coffee. — Dr.  Gray,  p. 
145. 

Cause  the  patient  to  inhale  the  fumes  of 
ammonia,  when  he  has  ceased  to  be  able  to 
swallow. — Mr.  Hicks,  p.  146. 

Opium,  Poisoning  by. — After  the  etomach 
has  been  well  evacuated,  should  the  vital 
energies  sink,  make  use  of  electro-magne- 
tism; pass  the  current  through  difkient 
parts  of  the.  body,  and  gradually  increase  its 
power  until  it  reaches  its  maximum  inten- 
sity. Continue  its  use  for  a  considerable 
period,  until  sensibility  is  not  only  evident 
but  complete. — Mr.  Colahan,  p.  153. 

Materia  Medic  a  and  Oeneral  Thorapeatios. 

Aquje  Copaiba  vkl  Cubebjb. — 1.  01. 
copaibsd,  or  cubebs,  two  ounces ;  water,  &?% 
gallons  and  a  half:  draw  over  from  three 
to  four  gallons.  2.  Oil  of  copaiba,  or 
cubebs,  two  ounces;  magnesia  carb.,  six 
drachms;  rub  together,  and  add  four  ny- 
lons or  less  of  water ;  filter. 

Saccharised  Caustic  Solution  of  the  Oils 
of  Copaiba  or  Cubebs. — Oil  of  copaibs,  or 
cubebs,  one  drachm ;  caustic  potash  or  soda, 
half  an  ounce ;  white  sugar,  six  drachms. 
Twenty-four  ounces  of  water  to  be  added 
gradually. 

Saponiform  Solution  of  these  Oils. — Oil 
of  copaibie  or  cubebs,  two  ounces ;  caustic 
solution  of  potash  or  soda,  one  ounce.  Rub 
together  in  a  mortar,  and  add  water  as  may 
be  required. 

Thtsc  forms  are  not  attended  with  the 
gastric  and  nej)hriiic  irritation  usually  met 
ivith  while  ndniinisiering  copaibas  or  cubebs. 
—Dr.  Cattell,  p.  294. 

Bromine,  a  substitute  for  Iodine. — Where 
it  is  wislied  to  substitute  bromine  for  the 
tincture  oi'  iodine,  use  bromine  one  part, 
dIstiiUd  water  forty  part.s,  and  give  from 
five  to  six.  drojjs  in  some  aqueous  vehicle 
three  or  lour  tiiurs  daily  ;  for  external  use, 
make  the  bolulioii  four  times  as  strong  as 
this. 

Uromide  of  rota>3ium.— Dose  from  four 
U)  pipiit  j^iiaius  three  times  a  day;  for  an 
oiuiuK'nt,  luu  four  purls  with  thirty -two 
(taris  ui'  lard. 

l>roniide  ul'  r»arium.— l)o^e  from  one  to 
live  uMaiiio  ihuc  Ijuics  a  <iay. 


26 


Beview. 


Bromide  of  Calciam. — Doee  from  three  to 
ten  grains  in  a  pill  with  coDserve  of  roses. 

Bromide  of  Iron. — Dose  from  one  to  three 
grains  in  a  pilU  wirh  conserve  of  roses  and 
gum  arable. — ^p.  172. 

DiGiTALiNE. — This  substance  may  be 
given  wherever  digitalis  is  indicated ;  its  ad- 
vantage is,  that  It  can  always  be  exactly 
luiown  what  quantity  of  active  principle  is 
Wing  employed.— p.,  173. 

Strahomium  Cioaas  are  said  to  be  a 
good  remedy  for  a8thma.->p.  174. 

Amputation  at  the  Middle  of  the  Leg. — 
The  mortality  attending  the  operation  per- 
formed just  below  the  knee,  is  much  greater 
Ibm  that  lower  down ;  it  is  also  much  more 
^nf ul  and  not  so  easily  performed ;  whilst 
m  the  latter  case  there  is  insured  to  the  pa- 
tient the  use  of  the  knee-joint.  The  two 
hest  methods  of  amputating  the  leg  below 
the  knee,  are  by  the  double  circular  and  an- 
terior and  posterior  iiap  operation.  In  do- 
ing either,  take  care  to  leave  sufficient  mus- 
cle to  cover  the  bones;  and  in  the  latter  op- 
eration, the  anterior  flap,  composed  entirely 
of  skin,  should  be  at  least  half  a  diameter 
in  length,  and  the  projecting  ridge  of  the 
#bia  SDouId  be  pretty  deeply  sawn  off  in  a 
ilanting  direction.  The  middle  of  the  leir, 
6r  just  b^ow  it,  is  the  best  point  at  wbicn 
tiie  bones  can  be  sawn. — Dr.  Lawrie,  p  S02. 

Venous  Hoemorrhage  during  Amputation. 
— ^Apply  a  bandage  from  the  extremity  of  the 
limb  nearly  to  the  point  at  which  it  is  to  be 
amputated ;  it  must  be  applied  carefully  and 
exactly,  and  with  all  bearable  firmness. — 
Dr.  Hannay,  p.  205. 

Circular  Amputation — Let  an  assistant 
dissect  back  the  skin  on  one  side,  whilst  the 
operator  does  the  same  on  the  other ;  this 
shortens  materially  the  most  painful  and 
imseemly  part  of  the  operation. — Dr.  Han- 
nay, p.  206. 

Sutures  after  Amputation.— If  the  parts 
will  not  meet  without  dragging  or  putting 
cm  the  stretch,  do  not  use  sutures,  and  never 
pass  them  through  the  muscular  structure. 
— Dr.  Hannay,  p.  206. 

First  Dressing  after  Amputation. — Give 
thirty  or  forty  minims  of  laudanum  before 
the  first  dressing  after  amputation,  particu- 
larly of  a  large  extremity ;  it  alleviates  the 
shock  which  the  nervous  system  is  sure  to 
receive;  give  it  half  an  hour  before  the 
dressing. — Dr.  Hannay,  p.  206. 

Ulcsr. — To  an  irritable  ulcer  apply  ox- 
ide of  silver  in  the  form  of  ointment  of  pow- 
der.—Mr.  Butler  Lane,  p.  103. 

Sore  Nipples. — ^Apply  ung.  argenti  ox- 
idi,  3i.  to  the  ounce. *Mr.  Butler  Lane,  p. 
lOS. 


(For  tbs  M.  T.  DhMtot.) 

REVIEW. 

"  Mbsmkr  and  Swkdxnborc  ;  or  the  Bela* 
tions  of  the  Developements  of  Mmbmi- 
ism  to  the  Doctrines  and  Disdosuies  d 
Swedenborg.  By  Geoige  Bush,  New* 
York.  Published  by  ioka  Allen.  19 
Nassau^t.  1847."  , 

Theposition  assumed  in  this  work  is  ikii: 
'*  If  Mesmerism  ia  true  Swedenboigjpuan 
is  true."  I  am  a  believer  in  MemienMW 
but,  as  I  cannot  admit  the  daims  put  ioiib 
in  this  work,  with  your  permissioa  I  will 
state  a  few  of  my  objections;  and,  io  d«M 
this,  1  propose  to  show,  that  Proieisor  Bui 
has  misapprehended,  not  only  what  be  celb 
the  **  Mesmeric  phenomena,"  bat,  Sweden 
borg  himself,  and,  consequently  the  isfai* 
ences  he  draws  from  the  latter,  wfaen  coi' 
trasted  with  Swedenborg*s  sUde,  ait  n- 
founded,  and  likely  to  mislead  thoM  wb 
believe  what  he  has  said  about  them  ia  thii 
work. 

1.  As  to  the  state  of  Emanuel  Swete* 
borg.  The  Baron'e  own  account  of  iMtf 
is  as  follows : 

"  There  are  two  kinds  of  visioMiM^ 
ing  from  those  which  an  oidinably  eM" 
eneed,  and  which  I  was  let  into,  oairnvj 
might  know  the  nature  of  them,  andwftitii 
meant  by  its  being  said  in  the  word  iitl^ 
were  taken  out  of  the  body,  and  tbrti^ 
were  carried  by  the  spiiit  into  another  f^ 
As  to  the  first,  viz.,  the  being  takes ertti 
the  body,  the  case  is  this:  manisnM 
into  a  certain  state,  which  is  mediilB  ki* 
tween  deeping  and  waking;  wbea  ht'^'f 
this  state  he  cannot  know  bat  that  b>v 
wholly  awake,  all  his  scoaca  beiag  **  "i^ 
awake  as  in  the  most  perfect  slate  of  bow 
wakefulness,  not  only  those  of  s^  ^ 
hearing,  but  what  is  wonderfnl,  thiMi 
touch,  sdso,  which  is  then  more  .c>9^ 
than  it  is  possible  for  it  to  be  in  boA 
wakefulness.  In  this  state,  also,  spiiiii  m 
angels  are  seen  to  the  life,  and  are  ^ 
heard,  and  what  is  wonderful,  aie  towM 
scarce  an^  thing  of  the  body  then  islirftt' 
ing.  This  is  the  state  described  m^H 
« taken  out  of  the  body,**  and  in  whicklki^ 
know  not  whether  they  are  i»  the  loij^ 
out  of  the  body.  I  have  oaly  been  lit  ii^ 
this  state  three  or  four  tines,  just  in  ew 
that  I  might  know  the  nature  of  it,  sad  w 
spirits  and  angels  enjoy  every  muk,  t^i 
touch,  in  a  more  petfea  and  exqoisilM*' 
me  than  that  of  the  body.  As  to  tbe  oW 
kind,  viz,  the  being  earned  by  the^pintt* 
another  place,  the  nature  of  tM  *^^|* 
shown  me,  by  lively  evperienoe,  ^^JJJ 
twice  or  three  times.    I  wiU  mattjnm^ 


JZ0VJ6t0« 


B7 


HMrzperienee  Walkinr  through  the  streets 
of  the  ckT,  «nd  thiongn  the  ccmntry*  and 
bmf  at  IM  same  time  in  discourse  with 
flpiiito,  1  waa  not  aware  but  that  I  was 
•qoally  awake  and  seeing  as  at  other  times, 
consequently  walking  without  mistaking 
mj  way.  in  the  meantime,  I  was  in  vis- 
km,  seeing  groves,  rivers,  palaUses,  houses, 
■M&9  and  other  objects ;  but  after  walking 
Chiis  for  some  hours,  on  a  sudden  I  was  in 
iiodily  Tision,  and  observed  that  I  was  in 
WMMlier  place.  Beiiu'  greatly  amazed  at 
liik,  I  perceived  that  I  £eul  been  in  such  a 
date  as  they  were  of  whom  it  is  said,  that 
tbey  were  carried  by  the  spirit  to  another 
place.  It  is  80  said,  because,  during  the 
continuance  of  this  state  there  is  no  reflec- 
tion on  the  length  of  the  way,  were  it  even 
many  miles ;  nor  on  the  lapse  of  time,  were 
it  many  hours  or  days;  nor  is  there  any 
Mnae  of  fatigue;  the  person  is  also  led 
tlttoui^  ways  which  he,  himself,  is  igno- 
imat  of,  until  he  comes  to  the  place  intend- 
ed. This  was  done  that  1  mieht  know, 
also,  that  man  may  be  led  by  the  Lord  with- 
out his  knowing  whence  or  whither. 

**  Bat  these  two  species  of  visions  are 
cstsaflidinary,  and  were  shown  me,  only 
widi  this  iatcan,  that  I  might  know  the  na- 
tOM  and  qualitv  of  them.  But  the  views 
<d  the  spiritual  world,  ordinarily  vouch- 
calsd  me,  are  all  such  as,  by  the  divine, 
merey  of  the  Lord,  are  related  in  the  first 
fmtt  oi  the  present  work,  beins  annexed  to 
the  heginning  and  end  of  each  chapter. — 
Tbeae,  however,  are  not  visions,  but  things 
paaa  in  the  most  perfect  state  of  bodily 
mridkefiilneas,  and  now  for  several  years." — 
A-  C.  1882-1885. 

From  the  above  it  is  plain — 

1.  That  Swedenborg  means  to  be  under- 
flrtood  that  his  ordinary  state,  in  which  he 
wmjB  he  conversed  with  spirits,  was  his  nor- 
MMyVrakinff  stale. 

«.  That  he  wa8«letinto,'»and«*ou<oP' 
two  other  states,  which  were  both  **  extm- 
oNlaary,*'  and  in  both  of  them  be  had  not 
the  Qse  of  bis  **  perfect  consciousness,"  as 
in  the  waking  state.  He  says,  in  one  of 
tiMfli,  he  was  «<  reduced  into  a  certain  state 
-which  is  mediate  between  sleeping  and  wak- 
ingf*  and  in  which  he  did  •<  not  know"  but 
ttat  he  was  *<  wholly  awake,"  and  when  he 
^tid  «*  not  kaow  whether  he  was  in  the  body 
or  o«t  of  the  body." 

Alpeaking  of  the  other  '*  extraordinary" 

He,  he  says  he  was  ignorant  of  its  nature 

the  time ;  he  *<  was  not  aware  but  that  he 
equally  awake,"  and  be  waa  "led 
tlMovgh  places  of  which  he  himself  was 
igpttonnt  of,"  till  he  came  to  the  place  in- 


From  the  above  it  is  evident,  that  Swe- 
denborg, according  to  his  own  account,  was 
some  five  or  six  times  in  an  abnormal  state,  . 
in  which  he  was  not  in  the  **  perfect  pos- 
session" of  his  waking  *<  consciousness."—- 
These  states  I  suppose  to  have  been  som- 
nambulate,  or  so  very  much  like  those  states 
denominated  **  mesmeric,"  that  it  would* 
perhaps,  be  impossible  to  show  any  differ- 
ence between  them,  especially  when  the  som- 
nambulic or  transic  state,  comes  on  sponta- 
neously, as  we  know  it  often  does. 

The  conceptions  that  Swedenborg  sayb 
he  had  of  the  spirit  world,  in  his  normal 
waking  state,  are  to  be  accounted  for  by  a 
knowledge  of  the  inate  and  constitutional 
tendencies  of  hie  own  mind.  His  organs  of 
"  wonder**  were  enormously  large,  as  may 
be  seen  from  his  busts,  and  the  portrait^ 
published  of  him.  in  addition  to  tnis,  there 
are  conclusive  reasons  for  believine  that 
these  organs  were  not  only  abnormally  de- 
veloped, but  they  were,  consequently  abnor- 
mally excited,  and  henoe  he  dwelt  so  con- 
stantly in  the  regions  of  the  *'  wonderful, 
and  made  so  frequent  use  of  this  term  in  de- 
scribing the  things  which  he  says  he  "saw 
and  heard."  That  the  phenomena  of  difter- 
ent  minds  are  to  be  accounted  for  in  this 
way,  see  the  writer's  "  Theory  of  Pathe- 
tisnf  published  in  the  present  No.  of  the 
New-York  Dissector. 

Now,  that  Professor  Bush  has  misappre- 
hended, and  consequently  misrepresented 
the  case  of  Swedenbore^  the  following  ex- 
tract from  his  book  willshow  : 

"  The  point  at  issue  can  only  be  deter- 
mined by  presenting  the  ordinarv  charac- 
teristics of  the  mesmeric  state  by  the  side  of 
those  which  distinguished  the  case  of  Swe- 
denborg. His  state  was  not  a  state  of  sleep 
—nor  was  it  marked  by  the  least  absence 
of  recollection  upon  coming  out  of  it,  if  in- 
deed there  was  any  such  thing  as  coming 
out.  On  the  contrary,  he  was  in  the  per- 
fect possession  of  his  consciousness  during 
the  whole  time.  Unlike  the  magnetic  seers 
who  are  in  a  state  of  internal,  but  not,  at  the 
same  time,  of  external  consciousness,  Swe- 
denboig  was  in  both  at  once.  His  preroga- 
tive was  the  opening  of  a  spiritual  sight 
which  left  him  still  in  the  full  enjoyment  of 
his  natural  sight.— Page  23-24. 

The  reader  will  see  in  the  above,  a  flat 
and  palpable  contradiction  of  the  account 
whicn  Swedenborg  has  given  of  his  own 
state. 

1.  The  Professor  asserts  that  Swedenborg 
was  not  in  a  state  of  "  sleep"  at  all.  Swe- 
denboig  says  he  was  "  reduced  into  a  cer- 
tain state  which  is  mediate  between  sleep- 
ling  and  waking." 


m 


Reiney>. 


2.  Prof.  B.  thinks  there  was  no  "  such 
thing*'  as  "comine  out"  of  any  peculiar 
state*  with  Swedeuborg.  The  Baron  him- 
self speaks  of  being  '<  let  into"  certain  tslate^, 
and  of  coming  out  of  them,  for  afterwards, 
he  says  "  he  perceived  that  he  had  been  in 
each"  states. 

3.  Prof.  B.  says,  on  the  part  of  Sweden - 
borg,  "there  was  no  absence  of  recollec- 
tion." The  Baron  affirms  to  the  contrary, 
when  he  says,  he  had  "  no  reflection,"  and 
did  not  recollect  whether  he  was  "  in  the 
body  or  out  of  the  body." 

4.  Prof.  B.  says  Swedenborg  was  in  the 
**  perfect  possession  of  his  consciousness 
during  the  whole  time."  The  Baron  says,  of 
himself,  that  he  was  some  of  the  time,  half 
sleep,  as  it  were,  in  a  state  that  was  "  me 
diate  between  sleeping  and  waking,"  a  state 
in  which  he  was  not  *<  conscious,  whether 
he  was  in  the  body  or  out  of  tlie  body." 

6.  Prof.  Bush  contradicts  himself  in  the 
farther  accounts,  which  he  gives  of  Swe 
denbor^s  states.    He  says  : 

"  It  IS  obvious,  that  Swedenborg's  extatic 
state  was  of  a  vastly  higher  order  than  any 
that  come  under  the  ordinary  denomination 
of  Magnetic  or  Mesmerism." 

**  Swedenborg  recognizes  an  immense  dif- 
ference between  the  power  with  which  he 
"was  gifted,  and  that  which  is  developed  in 
the  case  of  ordinary  clairvoyance.  He 
speaks  with  the  knowledge  of  one  who  had 
experienced  both ;  for  he  tells  us  that,  al- 
though he  was  three  or  four  times  "let  into' 
what  was  virtually  the  magnetic  state,  it  was 
only  that  he  might  know  the  nature  of  it, 
while  his  ordinary  state  was  incomj[>arably 
more  elevated." 

Thus,  it  will  be  seen,  the  Professor  not 
only  contradicts  Swelenborg's  account  of 
himself,  but  he  contradicts  his  own  account 
of  him  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  he  asserts  a 
philosophical  absurdity  or  impossibility,  in 
what  he  says : 

(1)  If  Swedeuborg  was  "let  into"  fhc 
mesmeric  state,  then  the  l\ofcssor's  ri'jjre- 
seniation  that  there  was  "  no  such  thing** 
as  bis  passing  into,  or  "  (»ut  of"  it,  is  not  to 
be  reconciled  with  the  above  atlmis&ion. 

(2.)  He  represents  iSwcndenborg  as  hav- 
ing been  in  two  diil'crent  and  piMiixt  states, 
at  one  and  the  same  liine.  Ho  was  iu  "  both 
at  once  1"  How  could  one  mind  be  in  two 
perfect  states,  at  one  and  the  same  lime  ? 

6.  Profes.sor  Bush  is  at  fault,  also,  when 
he  represents  Svvedenbor<i;'s  htate  as  being 
"vastly  higher"  than  those  of  »*  ordinary 
clairvoyance."  No  iav  from  this,  it  is  not 
true,  that  one  of  Swedenborg's  so  callet 
*•  visions'*  has  the  leslimony  of  a  single  wit- 
ness, (o  prove  its  reality.     But  I'rot.  B.  has 


given  numerous  cases  of  claiifoyaivee,thil 
are  proved  by  multitudes  of  cooipetentvit* 
nesscs  who  were  present,  and  tested  in  va^ 
rioiis  ways,  the  truth  of  the  chiirvoyaiit  <!»• 
scriptions. 

The  mesmeric  clairvoyant  desctiptionf 
(not  of  spirits  but)  of  real  objects  of  seiMb 
without  the  use  of  tlie  eye,  quoted  by  Pn>L 
Bush,  are  proved  by  competest  witnoM 
who  were  present  at  the  time;  but  not  m 
with  Swedenborg's  "  visions  f*  and  henoe, 
instead  of  Swedenborg's  state  being  '*  vasllf 
higher,"  it  was  far  below  that  of  any  wn 
attested  case  of  clairvoyance. 

iSo  much  for  the  Professor's  acooantd 
Swedenborg.     1  now  proceed  to  show— 

II.  That  Professor  Bush  is  equally  at 
fault  in  his  assumptions  with  regard  l» 
"  Mesmeric  Phenomena." 

His  assumptions  with  regard  totbeflcphi- 
nomena  are  thus  set  forth  in  his  own  wordi: 

"  The  reports  of  clairvoyaots  whcnefW 
they  touch  upon  the  marvellous  Xhmad 
the  spirit-world,  are  usually  found  to  beii 
marked  analogy,  so  far  as  th*ygo,w* 
what  Swede nboix  himself  says  in  regard  !• 
the  same  class  of  subjects. — Page  23. 

"  Persons  thrown  into  the  Mobw 
trance,  invariably  make  the  same  leport,* 
far  as  their  perceptions  extend,  tktf  S*^ 
denborg  does  in  regard  to  the  lawsiad  «■• 
ities  of  the  spiritual  sphere,  however  p^ 
rant  beforehand  of  his  disclo8ares."-r»- 
lessor  Bush's  Statement  of  Reafloni|te> 
page  73. 

On  the  above  I  remark: 

1.  That  the  only  way  in  which  Profc«J 
B.  could  demonstrate  the  troth  of  what  k 
here  asserts,  would  be,  by  collecting  «•* 
rate  rei)ort8  ol  a  majority  of  all  the  •»•• 
meric  reports  that  have  ever  been  n«*5[ 
the  so  called  "  spiritual  sphere."  T^z 
has  not  done,  and  1  venture  to  say,  it  > 
what  he  will  never  attempt  to  do,eT«* 
the  thing  were  supposed  to  be  poittW*-'" 
And,  if  he  were  to  collect  a  niajjtiiytg 
even  a  small  proportion,  of  such  "**!■*] 
which  have  been  made  in  ihlferent  parti » 
the  world,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  oreia 
pmhable,  that  they  would  bear  hia  <«*  ■ 
his  assumptions. 

2.  As  the  case  now  stands,  none  of  A* 
cuses  quoted  by  Prof.  B.  can  help  h«* 
all,  because  i»  has  been  shown  that  be  hi* 
self  does  not  rightly  apprehend  Swedeaioi^ 
state  or  stiites;  and  hence,  he  <aniMrt«l»* 
how  far  the  "  mesmeric  phenomenaf**  agwfc 
or  disagree  with  Swedenborg^s  slates. 

3.  Asa  matter  of  fact,  it  is  by  no  vMtf^ 
true,  that  |>rrsons  in  the  *•  mesmeric  ttaaj^ 
"  invariably  make  the  same  rwrts,"  » 
"  Swedenborg  does  in  regard  to  tw  ^itw* 


Review. 


89 


sphere."  My  own  observation  is  decidedly 
agaiBst  this  representation.  Out  of  some 
toiee  thousand  natural  somnambulists  and 
*<  mesmeric  subjects"  whom  1  have  exam- 
ined more  or  less,  I  have  not  found  any  two 
who  inyariably  made  reports  alike,  about 
any  other  state  of  existence  besides  the  pre- 
•ent  When  they  speak  of  another  state  of 
«]dsteiice,  they  give  various  accounts,  which 
are  changed,  from  one  time  to  another,  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  the  patient's  brains, 
•ad  Uie  surroonding  circumstances  at  the 
tine. 

4.  The  "  reports"  of  Jackson  A.  Davis, 
<who,  as  Professor  Bash  himself  asserts, 
''posaeaaes  both  physically  and  mentally,  in 
an  eminent  degree,  the  requisites  for  a  clalr. 
▼oyant  of  the  highest  order,")  do  not  agree 
with  Swedenborg's  so  called  *<  disclosures.*' 
Speaking  of  Davis,  Professor  Bush  says : 

"  In  this  state,  I  do  not  perceive  that  there 
ia  any  definable  limitation  to  his  power  of 
imparting  light  on  any  theme  of  human  in- 
quiry. The  range  of  his  intuitions  appears 
to  be  well  nigh  boundless !  Indeed,  I  am 
satisfied,  that,  were  his  mind  directed  to  it, 
lie  coald  solve  any  problem  in  any  science." 

Now,  it  is  susceptible  oi  the  clearest  de- 
■Bootteation,  that  this  same  remarkable  and 
4DO0t  e?(traordinary  clairvoyant,  contradicts, 
Jiot  only  what  Swedenborg  has  taught  in  re- 
Jalion  to  "  life,"  the  human  "  mind"  and 
'*  ritai  heat,"  but,  also,  the  account  which 
0wedenborghas  given  of  the  spirit  world. 

A  pamphlet  has  been  published,  contain- 
ing what  purports  to  be  "  All  the  Mysteries 
>Qf  Haman  Magnetism  and  Clairvoyance  ex- 
plained," in  four  lectures  "  by  the  celebra- 
ted Jackson  Davis."  These  lectures  pur- 
port to  have  been  uttered  by  Davis  in  a 
state  of  clairvoyance.  A  few  quotations 
•will  show  wherein  he  contradicts  Sweden- 
borer.  Page  1 6,  he  says,  "  Mind  is  the  prin- 
cip^  of  all  life  and  animation."  Sweden- 
borg says,  (intercourse  soul  and  body,  21,) 
that  •*  love,  together  with  wisdom,  is  life." 
Davifi  says,  (page  21),  that  "  Magnetism  is 
anrmal  heat."  But  Swedenborg  says,  (Int. 
Soul  and  Body,  page  11,)  that  "vital  heat 
'  el  men  is  from  no  other  source,  than  from 
love. 

Davis  says,  (page  16,)  that  the  "  breath 
of  lifer^  which  God  breathed  into  man,  is  his 
•<  mind." 

Swedenborg  says,  (lb.  p.  23,)  that  the 
.  bmnan  mind  is  constituted  by  "  understand- 
ings and  the  will." 

Davis  says,  (page  1 5,)  the  "  breath  of  life" 
conathuted  the  living  soul." 

Swedenborg  says,  (lb.  p.  14,)  « the  soul 
IS  not  Jile  in  itself." 

The  above,  with  numerous  other  contra- 


dictions of  Swedenborg,  may  be  found  in 
Davis's  book,  and  which  were  uttered  in  a 
"  state  of  cJairvoyance,"  a  state  of  which 
Davis  himsolf  says,  (page  36)  "  when  in  the 
state  (of  cljiirvoyance)  that  I  now  am,  1  am 
master  of  the  general  sciences — can  speak 
all  languages — impart  instructions  upon 
those  deep  and  hidden  things  in  nature, 
which  llie  world  [not  excepting  Swedenborg 
of  course,]  have  not  been  able  to  solve,  as 
I  have  done  in  these  lectures,  can  name  the 
different  organs  in  the  human  system — poiot 
out  their  office  and  functions;  and,  as  I 
have  often  done,  tell  the  nature,  cause,  and 
symptoms  of  disease,  and  prescribe  the  lem* 
edies  that  will  effiact  a  cure." 

And  here  let  it  be  remembered  that  Pro* 
fessor  Bush  has  endorsed  for  the  pretensiona 
of  Mr.  Davis;  he  is  «' satisfied,"  he  tells  ua, 
**  that,  were  his  mind  directed  to  it,  he  eonW 
solve  any  problem  in  any  science  !**  Very 
well !  We  have  seeq  how  his  mind  has  been 
**  directed"  in  a  «« state  of  clairvoyance,"  to 
a  few  things  in  natural  science,  and  in  which 
he  contradicts  Swedenborg ;  and  I  will  now 
show  that,  according  to  Professor  Bush's 
own  account,  in  his  book,  Davis  has  had 
his  mind  *<  directed"  to  Swedenborg,  and  has 
given  an  acconnt  of  him,  which  flatly  con- 
tradicts Swedenborg's  representations  of  the 
spirit  world ! 

Swedenborg  says  that  the  spirits  or  angels 
were  once  men,  (A.  C.  4227,)  and  hence 
Swedenborg's  spirit  is  now  an  "  angel."— 
He  has  further  said,  (H.  &  H.  237,)  "  That 
it  is  impossible  for  the  angels  to  utter  oa^ 
word  of  human  language  "    "  Angelic  laa- 

fuage  has  not  any  thing  in  common  with 
uman  language." 

Now,  on  turning  to  Professor  Bush's  work 
we  find  more  than  fifty  of  its  pages  devoted 
to  the  exhibition  of  what  he  represents  as  a 
"supernatural"  communication,  which  he, 
(Prof.  B.)  received  from  Davis,  in  which  ha 
(D.)  gives  an  account  of  an  interview  be 
says  he  had  with  the  spirit  of  Swedenborg 
on  the  15th  of  June,  1846.  In  this  inter- 
view,  he  addressed  Swedenborg  in  the  En- 
glish language,  and  he  also  received  "  im- 
pressions" from  Swcdenborg's  spirit,  which 
are  stated  in  English.  Davis  not  only  ad- 
dressed Swedenborg  in  English,  but  he  tells 
him  how  his  "  eye"  looked,  and  describes 
what  Swedenborg  had  taught  in  some  of  his^ 
writings,  which  he  (D.)  says  he  never  read. 
Without  attempting  to.  show,  as  I  might  do, 
that  Davis  may  have  read  Swedenborg*8 
writings  when  he  was  in  an  abnormal  state, 
and  consequently  not  be  able  to  re<iollect 
any  thing  about  it,  it  will  be  sufficient  to  re- 
fer to  the  fact  above  shown,  that  in  this  as- 
sumed **  supernatural  revelation"  of  which 


30 


Review* 


Prof.  B.  makes  so  much,  Daris  has  com- 
pletely overthrown  Swedenbor{i;'s  "  disdos- 
ares*'  about  the  Jaws  which  govern  the  an- 
gehc  world,  because  the  communications 
which  Davis  says  passed  between  himself 
and  Swedenborg,  were  in  "  human  language," 
and  hence  Swedenborg's  representations, 
that  angels  could  not  converse  in  **  human 
language,"  is  not  true !  From  this  conclusion 
there  is  no  escape. 

5.  It  remains  for  me  to  show  that  Profes- 
sor Bush  begs  the  question  from  beginning 
Id  end,  in  what  he  says  about  "  phantasies" 
beiog  "  transferable"  from  one  mind  to  ano- 
ther, precisely  in  the  manner  stated  in  Swe- 
dMiboig's  writings.  The  Professor  knew 
that  many  of  what  are  called  the  **  mesmeric 
fihoiomena,"  are  mere  phantasies,  mere 
cnations  of  the  fancy.  These,  of  course, 
woald  not  prove  the  truth  of  Swedenborg's 
visions;  and  so  the  Professor  takes  it  for 
wanted,  that  these  vagaries  of  a  disordered 
orain  are  accounted  for  in  what  Sweden^ 
boi^  says  of  devils  in  another  world ! — 
Nay,  that  when  Swedenborg  describes  dev- 
ils throwing  serpents  and  binding  with  cords, 
he  had  in  view,  precisely,  what  has  often 
taken  place  in  the  form  of  *<  mesmeric  phe 
noooena  I" 

It  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  ProL 
Bush,  that  his  numerous  quotations  from 
Swedenboig  and  writers  on  Mesmerism, 
would  amount  to  just  nothing  at  all,  till  he 
liad  first  proved  that  Swedenborg  did  ever 
leaily  see  one  devil,  and  that  he  ever  ac- 
taaily  saw  the  devils  do  all  he  describes ! — 
And  had  he  done  all  this,  t  would  then 
sJtow  that  there  is  another — a  far  better 
way  for  accounting  for  cerebral  action,  and 
the  mental  phenomena  that  follow,  than  by 
attributing  them  to  devils,  as  Swedenborg 
did  his  toothache. 

But  it  would  swell  this  article  to  an  undue 
length  to  notice  all  the  objectionable  features 
in  this  book.  W itb  a  certain  cUss  of  minds, 
like  that  of  Swedenborg  and  the  Seer  of 
Provorst,  it  will  doubtless  gain  admirers, 
while  those  who  are  at  the  trouble  to  test 
its  claims,  in  the  light  of  un perverted  reason, 
will  agree,  I  doubt  not,  in  classing  it  with 
the  pure  offsprings  of  **  wonder  ,'*  which  have 
appeared  and  disappeared  in  preceding  ages 
of  the  world. 

LA.  ROY  SUNDERLAND. 

New-York,  Dec  11, 1846. 


Oa  tht  Intsmal  use  of  Umo  in  Fractnro*, 

.with'  IliBTAMCES    OF    ITS    SUCCESSFUL   XM- 

PLOYMENT. 

Sir : — Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  in- 
sert the  following  account  of  the  use  of  lime 
in  fractures  ?    Slwuld  you  or  any  of  the  pro- 


fession wish  for  further  inlormation,  I  ahd 
be  most  happy  to  give  it;  and  if  asy  are ift» 
duced  to  tiy[  the  remedy,  shall  feel  oblignl 
by  their  letting  me  know  the  result 

1  am.  Sir,  yoors  respectfully, 

T.  S.  f  LBICBflU 

The  following  accident  first  gave  rise  to 
my  using  lime  in  fractures :— -A  favorite  Gi^ 
nary  had  its  leg  broken,  and  this  brought  It 
my  recollection,  that,  when  a  boy,  I  aaw  g 
a  farm-house  some  eggs  without  shells,  ui 
was  told  they  were  laid  by  a  fowl  withi 
broken  les;  and,  as  it  was  natural  ton^ 
pose  the  lime  went  to  supply  the  findmi 
instead  of  forming  the  shell,  i  was  indooi 
to  give  the  Canary  a  good  supply  of  liiMb 
(egg-shells,)  hoping  it  would  faalitile  tkl 
bony  deposit  It  exceeded  my  utmost  ex* 
pectations ;  for  after  having  been  toU  byt 
bird-fancier  that  it  would  be  three  wedn 
before  union  could  take  place,  I  fooniai 
the  sixth  day  after  the  accident,  the  biid  lid 
not  only  ^t  the  leg[  loose,  but  feathendoi 
scratched  its  head  with  it  It  required  t  fit 
more  days  before  it  oould  stand  on  the  fa» 
ken  leff,  and  feather  itself  with  iheawd 
one.  Since  then,  I  have  given  lime  is  Jne> 
tares,  in  the  form  of  bomt  bone,  jvpni 
chalk,  and  lime-water.  Of  the  bunt  hai 
and  prepared  dialk  I  gave  a  scmphitte 
times  a  day,  in  the  form  of  chalk  niM 
and  the  lime-water  as  acomaondriak,^ 
ted  and  flavored  with  lemon-peel.  1  km 
found  chalk  and  burnt  bone  equally  tics* 
cious. 

The  following  are  among  die  caM  it 
which  I  have  used  Jime : — 

Cask  1.— Geoi^geS ,agedeichtyii» 

fracture  of  the  upp^er  arm  by  a  fall  oa  ™ 
elbow  when  running.  In  eight  dtyih 
could  move  the  arm,  so  as  to  satisfy  any  flit 
that  union  had  taken  place ;  and  in  foutHi 
days  it  was  suJ3icienliy  firm  for  him  to  n* 
and  support  the  arm.  In  five  other  ca«sa 
fracture  of  the  forearm,  I  have  used  ,b"» 
with  equal  success— the  ages  of  thepatitt* 
varying  from  ten  to  thirty. 

Cask  7.— -Levi  J ,  Sjged  ten,  l>«*«*j 

leg  at  the  lower  third  by,  jumping  off  s  «J 
wall.  In  eight  days  he  could  rotate  theto* 
and  get  about  with  splints  on ;  and  is  w"^ 
teen  days  he  could  raise  it,  and  bear  Iw 
weight  of  the  foot. 

Case  8.— William  C  — ,  aged  twig 
eight,  had  a  compound  fractoreJMtw* 
the  ankle-joint,  from  the  huislinr  ofa» 
non.  On  the  tenth  day,  he  couM  .«»•■*": 
foot,  on  the  sixteenth  he  could  rM*"»fr 
on  the  twenty-eight,  he  was  at  woik^p" 
in  the  shop  as  a  nailer. 


The  Stwpifying  Oas. 


31 


Gmb  ^. — ^Richard  fl ,  aged  forty- 

tigfal,  broke  hie  leg  at  tbe  lower  third  by 
mAing  down  some  steps  with  a  tub.  On 
the  tenth  day  he  could  rotate  the  foot,  and 
with  the  splints  on,  could  move  it  about, 
•Ad  on  the  twenty-first  could  raise  it 

Cabx  10. — ^Richard  D ,  a  boat-boy, 

aged  sixteen.  Fiacture  of  the  thigh  from 
HkB  kidr  of  a  horse.  Was  twenty-one  days 
leioM  he  eoaM  rotate  the  Jeg,  and  thirty  ere 
lie  could  raise  it.  I  attribute  the  length  of 
Ane  Inquired  in  this  case  to  his  being  a  poor 
Miette  boy,  in  a  very  bed  state  of  health. 

Cask  11. — ^Thomas  M ,  aged  ten. — 

t'racture  of  the  thigh,  by  falling  ofi*  a  bank 
•with  a  boy  on  his  t)ack.  He  was  in  very 
good  health,  and  in  seven  days  could  rotate 
file  limb,  and  in  fourteen,  raise  it 

Casx.  12 B ,  aged  fifty-two.— 

CoDijpound  fracture  of  the  1^,  about  the 
jniddle  of  the  calf,  by  the  falling  over  of  a 
lailway  engine.  There  was  a  wound  of 
4bottt  four  inches  on  the  inner  side,  and  one 
of  an  inch  on  the  outer  side  of  the  leg.  He 
was  also  much  crushed  about  the  pelvis  and 
f^omen,  and  infiammation  oi  the  bowels 
follow^  on  the  second  day.  This  prevent- 
ed the  use  of  lime  during  the  first  week. — 
Be  afterwards  took  it,  and  on  the  seven- 
teenth day  from  the  time  of  the  accident, 
conld  rotate  tibe  foot,  and  in  twenty-eight, 
could  raise  it-— Lancet. 


Th«  StvpUying  Gs«. 
{  ¥'or  some  years  past,  n  umbers  of  surgeons 

(chiefly  those  of  the  Dental  Art,)  have  oc- 
.        mwonally  used  a  number  of  the  gases,  for 
raadering  their  patients  insensible  to  pain. 
\        At  first,  I  believe,  nothing  more  than  the 
tuirou$  aayde  was  used,  but  as  this  generally 
I        produces  exk^rating  ^cts,  another  kind 
!        was  sought  by  which  persons  could  be  itu- 
^        ptftedp  suficiently  to  render  them  insensible 
'        to  pain,  while  surgical  operations  were  per- 
^        formed  upon  them.    Mr.  Wells  of  Hartford, 
^        Conn,  and  Mr.  Flagg  of  Boston,  Mass.,  af- 
firm, that  they  have,  lor  some  time,  been  in 
t        the  habit  of    using  sulphuric  ether,  with 
^        great  success  for  the  above  purpose. 
I  Various  reports  have  appeared,  recently, 

^        in  the  papers,  in  relation  to  the  claims  of 
I         discovery  put  forth  by  Mr.  Morton  of  Bos- 
ton, in  which  he  assumes  to  have  originated 
t         ia  connection,  with  Dr.  Jackson  of  the  same 
I         city,  the  use  of  a  gasseous  compound,  which 
he  osdls  '*  Morton's  Letheon,*'  and  by  which 
Tery  good  results  are  said  to  have  been  pro- 
docef    Mr.  Wells,  however,  of  Hartiord, 
tells  us,  that  he  used  the  same,  **  long  time 


ago,"  and  that  he  communicated  this  fact  to 
Messrs  Jackson  &  Morton  long  before  they 
pretended  to  any  such  discovery.  And,  Mr. 
Fla^,  also,  has  published  accounts  of  hie 
having  operated  with  pure  sulphuric  ether, 
before  Mr.  Morton  made  his  discovery,  and 
he  supposes  that  Mr.  Morton  uses  the  same, 
and  nothing  else.  Quite  a  number  oi  cases 
have  been  reported,  in  this  city,  in  which 
this  gas  has  been  used,  it  is  said,  with  moie 
or  less  success.  From  all  that  I  have  wit* 
nessed,  myself,  and  heard  on  this  subject,  I 
come  to  the  following  conclusions : — 

1.  In  a  large  number  of  cases,  sai|dnirie 
ether,  may  be  used  with  good  reeehs  in  oe» 
dinary  surgical  operations.  Bet,  it  ie  set, 
and  cannot  be  made  available,  in  a  fafff^ 
number  of  cases,  than  thatinflnence  gencell- 
Iv  known  under  the  term  of  *'  MeeneriaM." 
When,  for  want  of  time,  or,  for  other  tm^ 
sons,  mesmerism  cannot  be  applied,  the  gae 
may  be  used. 

2.  There  is,  as  a  general  thing,  as  mech 
if  not  more,  uncertainty,  in  the  results  pro- 
duced by  the  gas,  than  can  be  affirmed  ol 
mesmerism.  I  have  seen  the  gas  adminis- 
tered to  six  difierent  persons,  only ;  and  in 
every  one,  it  was  a  decided  failure. 

In  each  of  the  reports  I  have  eeoi  m  the 
{lapers,  cases  are  mentioned,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  about  one  third,  which  were  faihueSL 
And,  when  the  gas  is  represented  as  havieg 
been  perfectly  successful,  it  is  said,  the  pa- 
tients were  more  or  less  conscious,  all  the 
time,  though  not  sensible  of  pain. 

3.  It  would  seem  quite  impossible  to  es^ 
cure  a  slate  of  insensibility  for  any  lenglhi 
of  time,  by  the  gas,  alone.  Its  force  is  ex- 
hausted in  a  very  short  time.  Hence  its  use, 
might,  in  some  cases,  be  attended  with  dan- 
ger, because,  the  patient  might  come  back  to 
a  conscious  state,  before  the  sni^cal  opoa- 
tion  was  half  completed. 

From  the  above  it  is  plain,  that  in  cases 
where  •*  Mesmerism**  can  be  applied  sec- 
cessfully,  it  is  far  preferable,  and,  for  obvioee 
reasons. — 

(1.)  In  cases  where  mesmerism  is  avail- 
able, patients  may  be  rendered  wholly  an- 
conscious,  while  difficult  and  protracted,  sw* 
gicai  operations  are  performed  upon  th«n.  1 
have  had  more  than  five^  hundred  cases  of 
this  kind,  mostly  extracting  teeth,  when  the 
patients  were  unconscious,  during  the  whole 
of  the  operation,  and  so  much  so  that  no 
change  could  be  noticed  in  the  pulse. 

(2.)  The  gas  cannot  be  depended  upon,  la 
cases  of  protracted  operations.  Itsforeeie 
spent  in  a  few  minutes,  and  should  a  patioat 
come  to  consciousness^  after  being  stupified 
with  the  gas,  while  under  the  knife,  it  mi^ 
be  at  the  peril  of  life !  But  this  danger  could 


3S 


Treatment  of  Gonorrhoea  toUh  NUrate  of  Silver. 


scarcely  occur  in  a  case  where  the  patient 
was  properly  magnetised. 

(3.)  Another  reason  which  places  magne- 
tism before  the  gas,  is,  the  latter  does  some- 
times, leave  the  system  in  a  disturbed,  un- 
pleasant condition.  A  gentleman  took  it  in 
Brooklyn,  a  few  days  ago,  and  he  has  been 
indisposed  ever  since,  and  I  have  known  of 
other  cases  where  persons  have  been  injured 
hj  it,  while  I  have  never  known  or  heard  of 
a  case  where  any  one  was  injured,  in  the 
least  by  magnetism,  when  it  was  applied  for 
rendering  peraons  insensible  to  pain. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  how  ready  some 
of  the  medical  faculty  appear  to  be,  in  wel- 
ooniug  the  use  of  the  gas,  who  have  so  stren- 
Qoasly  opposed  the  practice  of  mesmerism. 
Tl»  «« gas"  they  hail  as  a  great  discovery, 
and  some  of  the  papers  are  quite  ready  to 
publish  accounts  of  the  surgical  operations 
performed  on  persons,  who  had  taken  it ; 
but,  these  same  papers,  scout  the  idea,  of  a 
person's  being  rendered  insensible  to  pain,  by 
mesmerism. 

Finally,  1  have  no  doubt,  but  that  the  stu- 
pifying  gas  will  have  a  «*  good  run,"  for  a 
while, when  it  will  fall  into  comparative  neg 
lect,  and  be  used  in  a  few  cases,  only,  espe- 
cially where  magnetism  is  well  known.  In 
deed,  thus  far  I  believe  it  will  be  found,  that 
the  gas  has  been  successfully  applied,  only, 
in  those  cases  where  the  patients  were  of  that 
temperament  which  renders  them  the  most 
SQBceptible  of  the  mesmeric  influence ;  and 
in  such  cases  w^e  know,they^may  be  render- 
ed insensible  to  pain,  much  better  without 
ike  gas  than  with  it. 

LA  ROY  SUNDERLAND. 
j^.  Y,  i>tfc.  23(1. 1846. 


On  the  Treatment  of  G-onorrhoBa  with  Nitrate 

of  SUver. 

BY  C.  D.  ARNOTT,  M.  D.,  M.R.C.S.,  &  L.S.A., 

OORLESTON. 


m 


My  paper,  published  some  months  since 
••  The  Lancet,"  on  the  "  Ectrotic  or  Abor- 
tive Treatment  of  Gonorrhoea,"  has  been  no- 
ticed by  Mr.  M' Donald,  of  Bristol,  between 
whom  and  myself  there  appears  to  be  com- 
plete accordance  in  the  principal  fact,  viz. 
the  efficacy  of  nitrate  of  silver  as  a  remedial 
agent  in  gonorrhoea.  On  two  points,  how- 
ever, we  differ,  namely,  "  the  cases  in  which 
this  remedy  is  most  efficacious,"  and  "  the 
best  mode  of  its  exhibition." 

in  the  paper  alluded  to,  I  advocated  the 
employment  of  a  strong  injection  of  the  salt 
for  the  attainment  of  a  particular  object,  that 
of  arresting  the  disease  while  yet  in  its  cre- 
scent stages,  and  so  preventing  the  acces- 1 


sion  of  purulent  urethral  dischaxge,  wUck 
constitutes  true  gonorrhoea.  Experience  bad 
taugiit  me  that  the  remedy  possoaed  soeh 
power;  experience  and  theory  conjointlj 
£>trongly  dictated  the  propriety  of  Itmitatiot 
of  the  remedy  within  this  range  of  applies 
bility,  and  I  accordingly  stated,  that  the  m- 
peivention  ot  purulent  discharge  most  iA& 
cate  the  inapplicability  of  the  iajectioD«  aaA 
the  propriety  of  consigning  the  ease  tothi 
ordinary  tedious  treatment. 

The  disease  having  advaeced  SD  far  h 
copious  purulent  elimination,  lenders  ¥l»> 
sis  unwaiTantable.  Sudden  arrestof  thedi^ 
charge,  far  from  being  expedient,  is,  of  aH 
things,  most  likely  to  prove  untoward;  to 
eliect  it,  therefore,  should  certainly  never  be 
attempted.  If  it  occur  spontaneoasly,  moie 
especially  if  it  be  artificially  coerced,  aggn- 
vation  oi  the  original  mischief  is  innnineol, 
indeed  almost  certain ;  some  of  the  sereier 
complications  of  the  malady  can  scarcely  Ul 
to  supervene ;  orchitis  of  a  most  intense  type, 
or  it  may  be  cystitis,  and  this  extending  up- 
wards, producing  nephritis,  appear  a  mete- 
tasis  of  the  inflammatory  action  having  oc- 
curred with  the  implication  of  parts,  ibvoIt' 
ing  the  question,  not  of  convenience  or  ii> 
convenience  merely,  but  it  may  bc,ewnfll 
life  or  death. 

A  gradual  declension  only  from  tke  in- 
flammatory height,  when  this  has  bees  at 
tained,  is  safe ;  and  this  ie  to  be  adueni 
by  the  agency  of  the  ordinary  anttphkip^ 
means  of  known  efficiency.  A  partial  iBb> 
sidcnce  being  effected,  nitrate  of  silvaagaia 
becomes  most  useful ;  not  to  be  empbyA 
however,  as  previously  advised,  to  aSortli* 
disease,  but  as  a  most  effectual  slimalantto 
relieve  the  existing  abnormal  congestron  rf 
the  urethral  lining,  and  impart  to  it  natnnl 
tone  and  function.  For  this  purposca  soli- 
tion  of  three,  four,  or  five  ffrains  of  the  alt 
to  the  ounce  of  water  will  be  found  of  safr 
cient  strenj^th,  highly  beneficial,  and  incapa- 
ble of  producing  those  aggravatioas  to 
which  the  strong  injection  would,  at  thii 
period,  be  most  liable. 

With  reference  to  the  supposed  dan|erof 
urethral  injection,  a  word  .of  explanation  is 
necessary.  Mr.  M' Donald  approves  rathef 
of  the  use  of  ointment,  introduced  by  ncana 
of  a  bougie ;  thus,  as  he  believes,  more  can- 
pletely  averting  the  danger  of  noxious  Blat- 
ter entering  the  bladder,  and  there  produciflj 
serious  results.  The  force  of  sucb  appre- 
hensions is  materially  lessened  by  bearing  ia 
mind  that  the  urethra  is^not  normally  a  pa- 
tulous canal,  but  one  offering  coDsdcraWe 
resistance  to  the  backward  passage  ^^^ 
at  all  tiniis  more  than  sufficient  to  resist  m 
propeliinjLT  power  oi  the  ordinary  ii*«y  * 


Bf(Ki$  «f  Aiwkal  M»  the  Animml  Prmmt. 


md  wben,  in  «Milion,  the 


.„^«  .w^ile  and  eonpl«te  oedwion  insured 
by  the  advised  methraJ  compffeseioD  be  taken 
ioto  account,  the  force  of  the  apptefaension 


»,  in  niY  belief,  altogether  annalled.  I  miMt 
plBSSltH  Ktain  my  immession  of  the  advan- 
teges  of  iDJedion.  I  caanot  eoaeede  any 
imter  ones  to  ointment.  lajectioii  posses- 
SM  these  qaalilies :  equability  of  admixture. 


case  and  eileieDcy  in  aj^lieation  and  opera- 
tion^aad,  in  my  experience,  coaopletehnmu* 
nity  fiom  danger.  Ointment  can  boast  the 
possession  of  no  more.  The  inference  deda- 
cible  from  the  whole  is  the  great  efficacy  of 
the  mtreto  of  silrer  as  a  remedial  agent  ia 
gonoiriuBB,  in  different  stages  of  its  eoaise. 
when  applied  judieiously  and  with  discia- 
tion.— -XofMef. 


ANATOlfiCAL  PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  HEABT  AND  SPLEEN. 

Mr.  Jackson  presents  his  compliments  to  the  editot  of  the  Laneel»  and  wall  sstaiai  it  a 
favor  if  he  will  permit  the  enclosed  to  appear  in  an  early  number  oi  his  yaiaable  aad  ably- 
condncted  perioaical. 

Melton  Uowbiay. 

A  CONTRAST. 

HXAKT — ^AaTEET. 


1.  The  soluble  and  nutritious  portion  of  I.  The  soluble  nutritious  portion  of  die 
As  faad|BSi6a  from  tha  digostiTe  tuba  iato  food,  as  well  as  the  drink,  passes  from  the 
Ike' befieal*,  and  tluoQ(;h  the  mesenteric  tube  into  the  intestinal  capillaries,  and 
^■ada  aad  thaeack  duet  into  the  left  lubGla-  through  the  mesenteric  veins  into  the  mid- 
Tain  vein,  die  of  the  trunk  of  that  great  vein  whose 

roots  are  in  the  spleen  and  whose  branches 

are  in  the  liver. 

1  It  is  a  large  artery  which  takes  &e  *  2.  It  is  a  large  vein  which  takes  the  blood 
HMd  tolliahingB. 


3.  Tothisaitaryahaartispiefixad. 

4.  Itilothe  heart  large  renous  roots  go-^ 


5.  Outof  tha  heart  comes  as  aitary,  the 
yoliitonary  or  canfia-pulmonic. 


6.  Hie  rererasoreoDtraiy  of  the  artery  is 
Ite'vaui. 

IXametricany  difoent  anatomical  causes  produce  diametrically  different  physiological 


to  the  liver. 

3.  To  this  vein  a  spleen  is  prefixed. 

4.  Into  the  spleen  small  arterial  branches 
go— the  branches  of  the  splenic  artery. 

5.  Out  of  the  spleen  comes  a  reinftthe 
spenic  or  splenohepatic. 

6.  The  reverse  or  contrary  of  the  heart  is 
the  spleen. 


7*  Tha  bhsod-vessel  going  to  tiie  longs,  7.  The  blood-vessel  going  to  the  liver, 

ronaiating  of  a  heart  and  an  artery,  produces  consisting  of  a  spleen  and  a  vein,  nroduces 

SI  constant  and  rapid  motion  of  the  blood  an  intermittent  and  slow  motion  of  the  blood 

tfuongh  the  capillaries  of  the  lungs.  through  the  capillaries  of  the  liver.— ii^. 


KAots  of  Aleohol  on  Um  Aalmal  7ram«. 

When  alcohol  is  introduced  into  the  cir- 
calstioft,  its  elements  combine  with  the  ox- 
wg€ii  of  the  arterial  blood ;  and  the  globules, 
beooniing  thereby  deprived  of  thisvivifyine 
pvinciple,  no  longer  assume  a  floral  red  col- 
•r*  The  animal  becomes  asphyxiated ;  and 
.if  tim  fliiaatit]f  of  akohol  be  large,  it  diea 
a»  wgmmiy  aa  if  it  had  vbeen  pln^^  into 
am  stmosphere  deprived  of  oxygen.    Car- 


nivorous animals,  as  the  doe*  which  has 
a  large  stomach,  compared  witn  the  rest  of 
the  sJimentary  canal,  are  very  easily  a&ct- 
ed  by  alcohol,  and  may  be  destroyed  by  a 
moderate  dose ;  for  the  liquor  is  rapidly  ab- 
sorbed, and  is  not  carried  beyond  the  duo* 
denum.  Herbivorous  rodentia,  as  rabbits, 
are,  in  like  manner,  easily  killed  by  small 
quantities  of  alcohol  and  is  not  founa  in  the 
intestines.  Granivorous  birds,  such  as  cbiek- 


u 


Maefneik  lAfhi  md  iimgtmtic  Poh». 


•D8,  will  bear  comparatively  laiger  dosea  of 
alcohol.  The  inner  cavity  of  their  slomachB 
ii  of  limited  extent,  and  the  omn  itaelf  is 
formed  of  powerfal  muscles.  When  alco- 
hol is  injected,  it  is  soon  expelled  from  this 
cavity  and  is  found  ia  the  intestines;  it  is 
thence  canied  to  the  liver  by  the  vena  por- 
ta, and  reaches  the  great  mass  of  the  curcu- 
Jation  slowly.  Fish  will  live  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  41  degrees  in  water*  which  contains 
one  half- hundredth  part  of  alcohol. — Dublin 
Miedical  Prets,  from  the  Comptes  Rendut. 


l>Mtni«tlv«  eAots  of  Otmplior  on  the  Teeth. 

Sir. — ^It  may  be  interesting  to  your  cor- 
respondent in  the  last  Lancet,  and  proba- 
bly to  some  others  of  your  numerous  rea- 
ders, to  know  that  the  action  of  camphor 
upon  the  teeth  has  been  noticed  by  another 
observer.    Mr.  Tearne  states  that  he  has 
consulted  many  eminent  professors  of  the 
dental  art  on  the  subject,  but  none  (one  ex- 
cepted) had  noticed  this  fact.    However  this 
may  be,  my  attention  was  first  called  to  the 
subject  about  seven  years  ago  by  observing 
in  a  family  the  prevalence  of  decay  in  the 
teeth  at  mat  part  of  the  tooth  where  the  en« 
amei  terminates  and  the  protection  of  the 
gum  commences.    Now  it  is  well  known 
tnat  the  enamel,  as  it  approaches  this  point, 
is  gradually  attenuated,  until  it  termmates 
almost  imperceptibly ;  and,  as  a  necessary 
consequence,  the  eSsct  of  any  menstruation 
or  agent,  would  be  more  readily  displayed 
there  than  at  any  other  part  of  the  tooth.  In 
the  cases  in  question,  the  enamel  was  ex- 
tremely friable  throughout  the  entire  series 
of  the  teeth,  (but  more  particularly  in  the 
molares,  and  easily  shattered  and  removed 
with  the  slightest  touch  of  the  point  of  an 
instrument.    On  inquiry,  the  parties  were 
found  to  be  vigorous  employers  and  defend- 
ers of  camphor  in  the  form  of  dentifrice  and 
lotion  kfor  the  teeth.    Now,  an  hereditary 
or  constitutional  tendency  to  this  form  of 
decay  of  the  teeth  may  be  suggested  as  a 
probable  explanation  of  the  circumstance 
in  this  case ;  and  I  should  have  thought  so 
too,  had  I  not  from  that  time  to  this  noticed 
frequently— I  had  almost  said  constantly— 
these  results  go  pari  passu  with  the  applica- 
tion of  camphor ;  so  much  so  that  f  cannot 
consider  the  coincidence  otherwise  than  as 
cause  and  eflect 

There  is  another  way  in  which  camphor 
displays  its  disorganizing  effects  on  enamel. 
In  the  case  of  aching  teeth  which  have  for 
some  time  been  treated  with  a  solution  of 
camphor,  (a  common  domestic  remedy,)  in 
the  hope  of  avoiding  extraction,  it  commu- 


oieatea  siioh  bn  ttleness  to  the  tooth  as  §Mt« 
ly  to  increase  its  liability  to  be  crushed  ili^ 
nng  the  operation,  when  no  longer  to  it 
postponed. 

In  conclusion,  I  cordially  agree  with  Mi) 
Tearoe,  thai  "  society  should  be  caatiooi4 
against  the  use  of  camphor  as  a  deDtifiici;" 
and  I  recommend  those  who  enleitiin  lav 
strong  penchant  for  its  eroployincot,  aaa 
have  nad  recourse  to  it  for  any  length  c( 
time,  to  examine  their  teelh  at  the.  poiili 
above  indicateil ;  and  they  will  find  at  lent 
such  intimation, of  dsmger  as  wiU  iadioi 
them  to  substitute  a  less  stimulatiog  and  de- 
structive agent,  if  not  abundant  resson  for 
recourse  to  the  dentist  lamMr.  Edilor, 
your  obedient  servant, 

William  Htnnr. 

Yeovil,  Somersetshire,  Sept  1846. 


THE  DISSECTOB. 


NEW  YORK,  JANUARY  1, 1M7. 


Magaetio  Llcht  and  KagBttlt  M«f. 

In  magnetizing  with  the  viimlQiya^ 
netlc  machine,  we  become  luufiir  wtt 
magnetic  light—  with  its  color,  ifid  ifiloft- 
ty»&c  Its  color  is  that  of  the  sttiBiite 
intensity  increases  from  the  smalkit^ 
mering  to  the  greatest  brilliancy,  wi&te 
increase  of  the  strength  of  the  f(ki  ffl  tki 
magnet  and  piston,  and  consequestlj  will 
the  power  of  the  instnunfiit  This  ^ 
does  not  emanate  from  a  process  of  eoiAi^ 
tion  requiring  oxygen  to  support  it,  but  ii 
equally  brilliant  when  enveloped  in  vilVi 
or  in  an  exhausted  receiver,  and  is  the  lij^ 
which  is  seen  by  dairvoyantB  to  issoe  ^ 
the  greatest  intensity  from  the  poles  of  o^ 
nets,  and  the  poles  of  the  organs  and  in» 
des,  &c.  Clairvoyants  see  with  tbe  ^ 
which  emanates  ^m  the  great  pole  in  tli 
centre  of  the  brain,  and  they  see  the  rsMoA 
parts  of  fanimals,  and  of  the  hnman  bod^i 
lighted  up  with  the  light  from  the  polei  rf 
the  organs  and  muscles^  && 

The  organs  and  muscles  are  thus  «»« 
the  most  clear  and  distinct  maoner  is  tbar 
healthy  state,  hut  when  they  a»  diiBBaA 
the  Ught  becomes  dim  in  proportkm  to  » 


MagneHc  Light  and  Magnetic  Poles. 


3S 


tetemity  of  the  disease,  and  in  sone  ex- 
treme cases  becomes  extinct  in  an  orgBH  or 
Hmb,  with  the  strength  of  their  poke,  accor 
diiil^  to  the  eoncnnent  testimony  of  clairvoy  • 
«rtB>aid  the  kuA  that  these  organs  and 
linibs  are  teble,  in  proportion  to  the  de- 
crease of  light,  and  are  paralysed  when  it  is 
extinct,  IS  strongly  confirmatory  of  this  tes- 
timony. 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  mze  of 
these  poles.  The  largest  in  the  human  sys* 
tem  is  that  in  the  centre  of  the  brain,  and  i^ 
«f  course  of  the  firet  magnitude.  There  is 
<me  in  the  hc^w  of  each  foot,  of  the  second 
magnitude,  and  one  in  the  palm  of  each 
iauid,  o(  tile  third.  Those  in  the  organs  of 
casuality,  and  amativeness — in  the  lungs, 
iMMt,  stomach,  kidneys,  testicles,  ovaries, 
smd  vagina,  ate  of  the  fourth  magnitude. — 
Those  in  the  liver,  spleen,  pancreas,  solar 
ftlcKiia,  uiems,  and  ileo*c«ecal  valve  are  of 
Ckft  £fth  magnitude  Those  in  the  joints  of 
dm  iimhsans  of  the  sixth,  and  those  in  the 
«yes»  in  the  pAirenc^ical  oigans,  ganglions, 
,ci  the  spinal  nerves,  and  in  the  angles,  or 
€xmv«>kitioDs  of  the  intestines,  of  the  seventh 
■Mgnitude,  and  those  in  the  skin  of  the 
eighth  magnitude. 

'  These  poles  in  the  organs,  joints,  mus- 
cles and  akin,  &c.»  show  radiations  from  a 
•centre  or  nidus,  like  those  from  the  poles  of 

,  and  are»  like  them,  oonoected  with 
axes  and  interlacings,  and  thus 
i«  magnetio  or  spiritual  fonn,  like  the 
Immaii  loim,  on  which  matter  is  laid  in  the 
oonstmction  of  the  human  system.    These 

)  endowed  with  motion,  power,  light, 
on,  incUoation,  and  consciousness,  as 
t#  ieep  mad  demonstrated  in  the  clearest  man- 


The  lollowiBg  engraving  is  intended  to 
ywent  a  view  of  the  great  pole  in  the  centre 
.#C  the  biain,  as  seen  by  clairvoyants.  It 
occnpiea  the  whole  space  between  the  circle 
^  small  poles  of  the  phrenological  organs 
it  is  very  light,  especially  the  nidus  in  the 
Centre  and  summit,  which  has  the  same  in- 
tensity as  the  son,  and  is  always  in  motion, 
€xespthigitt  natural  sleep,  when  it  is  in  a 
quiescent  state.    The  form  in  a  situation 


corresponding  to  that  of  the  spinal  marrow,  a 
is  a  continuation  of  the  nidus,  or  nest  of 
magnetic  forms,  and  the  small  poles  on  each 
side,  are  those  of  the  ganglions  of  the  pos- 
terior spinal  nerves  in  the  intervertebral 
spaces,  which  gives  them  sensation.  This 
great  pole  is  surrounded  with  six  great  cir- 
cles, and  six  small,  intermediate  circles  of 
light,  and  the  other  large  poles,  from  the 
first  to  the  fourth  magnitude,  are  surrounded 
with  a  certain  number  of  similar  circles  of 
light,  as  those  of  the  lungs,  heart,  and  stom- 
ach, &c. 


1 


96 


CSminmjftmt  PmMts. 


CLAIRTOTANT  POWat. 

A  gpreat  diSerenc^  in  the  clainroyant  pow* 
era  of  different  peraons  in  the  magnetic  state 
liaa  often  been  noticed,  and  is  the  conse- 
qnenoe  of  Tarione  causes.  Among  these  is 
a  di&rence  in  the  organization  of  the  biain 
— ^in  the  phrenological  oigans,  and  in  the 
t  relative  quantity  of  gtey  or  cortical  substance 
around  these  oigans.  Besides,  some  are  in 
the  lower  or  first,  second,  or  third  degrees, 
while  others  hare  been  raised  to  the  fourth, 
or  fifth  degrees.  Another  cause  of  difference 
is  that  of  a  difference  in  their  education ;  and 
another,  that  of  a  difference  in  the  education, 
mindtf  and  the<»ie8  of  their  magnetisen,  or 
those  who  conduct  the  examinations  of  the 
different  subjects  presented  to  them,  and  this 
last  cause  of  difference  may  often  produce 
the  most  discordant  results. 

The  only  manner  of  obviating  these  dif- 
ferences in  the  cases  that  are  remediable,  is 
to  educate  them,  or  at  least  to  give  them  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  arts  or  sciences  to 
which  their  attention  or  business,  as  clair- 
voyants, is  mostly  devoted,  and  this  object  is 
easily  affected  by  teaching  them  in  the  mag* 
netic  state,  as  they  remember  when  in  it,  and 
rarely  forget  what  they  once  learn  in  that 
state. 

Those  devoted  to  the  practice  of  medicine, 
should  be  taught  anatomy,  physiology,  and 
magnetism,  with  the  magnetic  organization 
of  the  human  system,  and  the  two  great 
divisions  of  diseases,  or  those  of  the  serous 
and  mucous  surfaces,  and  their  magnetic  or 
duodynamic  treatment,  or  with  the  magnetic 
machine  and  magnetised  medicines.  And 
this  is  a  matter  of  great  importance,  as  there 
is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  the  effects  of 
medicine,  whatever  they  may  be,  is  the  con- 
sequence of  the  action,  of  imponderable,  or 
imperceptible  agents  condensed  in  them, 
upon  the  nervous,  ^iritual,  or  magnetic  or- 
ganization of  the  system. 

Besides  the  common  dairvoyants  who 
literaliy  see  things  as  they  appear  to  them 
in  their  natural  state,  and  besides,  have 
intuitions  of  the  past  and  future,  there  aie 
others  who  do  not  see  literally,  but  have  im- 


more  or  less  vivid,  thattliagi « 
objects  appear,  and  aie  as  Ihey  terite 
them.  Jackson  Davis  is.  sneiai^W,  Of  SM 
of  diose  who  have  impmniioBu,  inslni  si 
liltrai  sight  m  the  magnetic  stale,  aa4  m 
know  other  examples  of  the  sbbs  knd  k 
this  dty.  Some  few  dairvoyants  rcoUmI 
in  their  natural  state,  very  distinctly,  wif 
of  the  objects  they  see  in  the  magnetie«M% 
and  some  of  the  impressionists  xscoUsct,  m 
the  natural  stale,«many  of  their  impmiiam 
in  the  magnetic  state,  and  on  a  fuU  iovvli- 
gation  of  the  subject,  there  appears  to  be  m 
doubt  but  dairvoyants  see  litoaUy,  aad  tk 
impressionists  have  impressions  or  intailioii 
common  to  both,  wxtbont  literd  sight,  «r 
clairvoyance.* 

The  present,  past,  and  latve  ksueh^fi 
daily  displayed  by  a  great  nnany  penoni  ii 
the  magnetic  state,  leaves  no  rooai  to  Mk 
but  they  have  an  intuitive  knowledge  iatU 
state,  which  is  more  or  less  peileot,  beoii 
the  knowledge  they  obtain  from  liwl  ifk 
orelairvoyanoe,  and  the  evidtnceisa  i* 
subject  having  been  frafoenfly  diiflM 
and  often  observed  by  a  great  noakvif  Ike 
most  intelligent  persona  in  almost  ci«f 
community,  it  is  deemed  a  vsaUmtii^^ 
enumerate  them  hero.  It  would  abeie 
useless  to  ennmento  the  ovidaneai  d  ii 
great  sapeiiority  of  olairvoyaalB  Is  BeM» 
pressionists,  as  it  mwt  he  seII<eviM  H 
every  sane  mind;  beai«toa  the  Incidllf  «i 
acenracy  of  the  lomer,  and  the  iMimamtmi 
phantasies  often  displayed  by  the  km  m 
proverbiaL 

On  an  examination  of  thesnifsetoltel 
intuitions,  or  of  inmiediale  knowls^gs  wti" 
out  the  deductions  of  leoscm,  1h^aie|liblf 
seen  to  be  the  natural  emanations  irom  ^ 
exalted  organs  of  dm  Bu^^iietisBi  taaim  tf' 
not  from  snpemalnnl  agency,  utaggttd 
by  the  marvelloua    They  aie  not,  ii  M 


*We  recolleet,  dlsHnedyy  mtay  <y^ 
a  tee  in  the  magnatae  atete^  and  kaovM 
we  see  thean  literally  as  wedio  wifli  oer  4** 
in  the  natural  waking  atate^  andwa  hSTsbe* 
in  the  hahit  of  tbne  a— hag  flism  dat€  ^ 
last  ten  years,  and  eaanel  pearib^feeari^ 


Oairpajfoni  BsmmmaHons  of  Diseaaea. 


3T 


tto  fmtaaoB  i&tlw  magnette  state, 
I  to  many  penonsin  the  oat- 
^ndring  aMs,  nuaieroiM  examples  of 
wMoii-  wt%  funnULt  $o  petwNis  of  obsenra- 


CZ.AXRVOTAin'    JEXAMINATI01I8    07    DISEASJES. 

Thete  IB  raiely  anything  presented  to  the 
nund  of  «  physktaa  which  is  so  unintelligi- 
ble as  the  reported  examinations  of  diseases 
hf  ehfrroyanls  when  those  examinations 
hare  been  conducted  by  persons  who  hare 
little  or  no  knowledge  of  diseases,  anatomy 
«r  i^ystofogy,  and  they  are  consequently 
unable  to  form  an  opinion  of  the  good  or 
ted  efleots  that  may  be  expected  from  the 
prescriptions  of  clairvoyants  in  such  cases, 
yet  it  Is  the  opinion  of  many  well-informed 
persons,  that  these  prescriptions  are  gener- 
ally more  saccessful  than  those  of  the  best 
physicians.  When,  however,  these  exami- 
nations are  conducted  by  physicians,  they 
are  generally  very  satisfactory,  and  in  a  great 
Taiiety  of  cases  are  very  useful,  and  in 
ttany  others  indispensable  to  forming  a  true 
diagnosis  as  well  as  a  correct  prognosis  of 
4iiea0es.  The  prescriptions  of  clairvoyants 
«j|der  such  circumstances  are  generally  well 
taderstood,  and  their  value  duly  apprecia- 
ted. As  an  example,  we  may  refer  to  the 
cases  of  deafness*  the  causes  of  which  in 
aay  flven  case  is  almost  alv^ays  unknown, 
4Uld  would  always  remain  so,  without  a 
KUaroyukt  or  post  mortem  examination. — 
TkiB  Mutation,  or  auditory  tube,  through 
-which  the  sound  passes  from  the  ear  to  the 
tliroat,  may  be  obstructed  by  hardened  wax, 
%  J  tobercuJations,  or  by  lalse  membranes,  or 
the  dea/aess  may  be  the  consequence  of  par- 
adyiU  (aoie  or  less  complete)  of  the  audito- 
wy  serve.  Now  it  is  easy  to  be  aeeu  that 
$h%  linatm#nt»  to  be  sncc^sful,  must  be  dif- 
iaiant  in  each  case,  for  the  hardened  wax 
■aael  be  removed,  or  melted  with  steam,  the 
^bera^ationa  must  be  reduced  with  the 
reaMdies  for  tubercula,  the  false  membranes 
eanat  bahioken  up  with  an  instrument,  and 
iIm  paralysis  must  be  removed  by  the  reme- 
dies loc  ouicosis  or  atrophia,  including  the 
\  oi  the  magnetic  machiae,  and  heece 


the  great  importance  of  clainroysat  c 
tions  in  these  cases. 

Although  we  can  determine  in  an  instant 
the  character  of  the  disease  of  an  organ  or 
limb  by  the  magnetic  symptoms,  yet  we  can- 
not always  tell  how  hx  the  disease  has  ad- 
vanced, whether  it  is  curable,  or  too  late  to 
be  cared  without  a  clairvoyant  examination, 
and  this  is  often  a  matter  of  great  impor- 
tance. It  is  also  often  a  matter  of  great 
importance  to  observe  by  clairvoyance  the 
changes  that  occur  in  the  appearance  of  a 
disease  during  the  process  of  core  from 
changes  of  temperature,  from  colds,  and 
from  various  other  causes.  Clainroyanca  is 
also  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  females 
— ^in  diseases  peculiar  to  their  sex,  and  in 
enabling  ladies  to  avoid  the  most  revolting 
examinations  with  the  most  perfect  safety, 
and  with  credit  to  themselves  and  their  fam- 
ilies. Besides  the  examination  of  patients 
when  they  are  present,  clairvoyants  examiae 
patients  at  great  distances  from  them,  and  in 
fact  in  any  part  of  the  world,  and  generally 
with  the  same  accuracy  as  if  they  were 
present.  It  is  the  magnetic  forms,  or  gpiriU 
of  these  clairvoyants  that  travel  over  any 
pait  of  the  world,  and  are  present  wi^ 
those  patients  when  they  examine  them. — 
We  know  that  their  spirits  travel,  and  are 
present  with  the  patients  in  these  examina^ 
tions,  from  the  fact  that  they  have  (he  fuQ 
exercise  of  all  their  senses  while  travelling 
to  different  places,  and  during  the  examina- 
tions of  these  patients.  They  see  the  coun- 
try and  towns  they  pass  through,  feel  the 
changes  in  temperature  and  climate,  hear 
any  uncommon  or  strange  sounds,  as  the 
blowing  of  horns,  the  noise  of  steamboata* 
or  the  roaring  of  the  falls  of  Miagaca.  kc4 
notice  uncommonly  pleasant  or  disagreeabli 
odors,  visit  places  of  amusement,  and  have 
a  sense  of  fatigue,  hunger,  and  thirst  Be- 
sides, if  one  of  these  patients  have  a  pandy* 
sed  limb,  a  corresponding  limb  of  ika 
clairvoyant  becomes  paralysed  the  same  ai 
if  the  patient  was  present  and  having  hold 
of  thehand  of  the  clairvoyant.  Such  are  M 
well  ascertained  facts,  and  such  is  the  eti- 


38 


Examinations  of  Disoaoeo  at  great  dioianeoa. 


dence  on  thb  subject,  which  is  deemed  per- 
fectly conclusive,  no  matter  bow  extraordi- 
nary it  may  appear  to  those  who  are  not 
initiated  into  the  mysteries  of  the  magnetism 
of  the  human  system.* 

When  c1airyo3rants  are  tired,  unable  or 
unwilling  to  travel  to  the  places  where  pa- 
tients reside,  the  magnetisers  can  direct  the 
magnetic  forms,  or  spirits  of  these  patients 
to  appear  before  them,  when  they  do  so  ap- 
pear with  their  diseases,  and  in  the  proper 
form  and  dress,  or  costume  of  these  patients 
where  they  are  examined  with  the  same  ac- 
foracy  they  are  under  the  other  circumstan- 
ces before  described,  and  are  then  directed  to 
tetnm  to  their  several  places  of  abode,  when 
they  soon  disappear.  Such  are  the  well- 
ascertained  facts  in  these  cases,  and  such  is 
the  power  of  the  human  will.f 

We  have  been  engaged  in  the  ezamina. 
tion  of  patients  by  clairvoyants  about  four 
years,  and  in  the  daily  practise  of  it  during 
the  last  two  years,  and  have  during  all  this 
time,  examined  a  great  many  hundred  cases, 
and  cannot  possibly  be  mistaken  in  any  of 
the  facts  above  mentioned. 

The  great  and  universal  accuracy  of  these 
examinations  has  uniformly  elicited  the  most 
flattering  commendations,  as  well  from  per- 
sons residing  at  great  distances  as  from  those 
of  this  city  and  vicinity,  and  among  these 
there  are  many  who  rank  with  those  of  the 
Ughest  order  of  intellect  These  results  of 
these  examinations,  with  the  success  of  the 
practice  founded  upon  them,  has  so  increas- 
ed our  correspondence  as  to  make  it  a  mat- 
ter of  some  importance  to  us  in  the  saving  of 
labor,  to  explain  these  mysteries  in  this 


•  The  mignetiieri  must  always  oondoct 
the  elatrvoyants  home  before  they  deiaagne- 
Hi*,  or  wake  them,  bat  if  they  should  forret 
lo  do  so,  they  must  magnetise  them  agun, 
jmd  then  conduct  them  home. 

t  The  magnetiser  must  always  be  careAil 
to  direct  the  spirit  of  the  patient  to  return  to 
Hs  plaee  of  abode,  and  see  that  it  departs  be- 
§m%  he  demagnetises  or  wakes  the  olairvoy- 
aat»  but  if  he  ihould  forget  to  do  so,  he  will 
soon  learn  his  mistake,  as  the  clairvoyant 
wtti  probably  be  very  mueh  frightened,  and 
iny  go  into  convulsions,  and  he  should 
therefore  magnetise  the  clairvoyant  again  as 
soon  as  possible. 


work  for  the  benefit  of  our  coirespmuknlii 
and  to  enable  them  to  furnish  ns  with  thi 
means  for  examining  patienli  at  giest  dis* 
tanoes  with  great  ftieilify,  or  in  theslMlMl 
time. 

EXAKIKATIONS  OF  DI8B18B8  AT  QUIT 
DISTANCES. 

When  we  wish  to  examine  a  patiest  n* 
siding  at  a  great  distance  from  as,  we  on 
put  a  person  present  who  has  been  at  tk 
abode  of  such  patient  in  communicatioo  witk 
the  clairvoyant,  and  direct  that  penon  k 
conduct  the  clairvoyant  to  the  patient,  or  it 
the  absence  of  such  person,  we  can  pbcc  i 
letter  from  the  patient,  or  from  a  penon  ii 
the  family  of  the  patient,  in  the  haodiof 
the  clairvoyant,  with  directions  to  find  tk 
patient,  when  a  light  starts  off  in  the  fom 
of  the  great  pole  in  the  centre  of  tlie  Ml 
with  its  train  of  small  poles,*  foUowol  hf 
the  spirit  of  the  dainroyant,  which  sm  i 
narrow  strip  of  country,  or  of  water,  wki 
passing  over  it,  and  in  passing  throi^  Ai 
streets  of  towns  and  cities,  often  mt  Iftt 
houses  on  either  side  of  a  street  ^  k 
guiding   light  shining  upon  them.  Afhr 
having  found  and  examined  the  pitieit,  i 
returns  home  in  the  same  manner,  ui  Or 
ters  into  its  place  of  abode.    SUeh  ii  ike 
concurrent  testimony  of  clainroyaiHi  ni 
such  are  the  extraordinary  facts. 

We  are  aware  that  it  may  be  said  ditf  Ai 
constant  presence  of  the  ^arit  of  the 
clairvoyant  is  necessary  to  mainteia  lifci 
and  as  the  chiirvoyant  does  not  i^ 
the,  spirit  does  not  travel  in  the  wut 
ner  described,  because  it  is  imposaibli  ki 
it  to  be  in  two  places  at  the  same  tiae.  I 
should,  however,  be  remembered  Ibettti 
clairvoyant  was  magnetised  (no  anHer  he*) 
and  that  to  magnetise  a  body  is  io  nab  a 
magnetic  form  or  spirit  in  that  body,  as  ii 
easily  demonstrated,  and  this  spirit  aiT 
and  does  maintain  the  body  of  the  daiffaf 
ant  in  a  healthy  state  in  the  absence  of  di 
own  spirit. 

As  the  examinations  of  patients  io  lli 
manner  above  described  is  a  legitimste  lot 


•  flee  eat  OB  page  35. 


Exammationi  of  Diseases  at  great  distances. 


~n 


Ow8  of  gnat  importaoee  to  the  oommunity, 
italumid  not  be  mixed  up  with  and  degra- 
ded with  Tain  experimenla  that  are  foreign 
Id  it,  and  injarioos  to  the  sight  of  clairroy- 
aate.  They  ehoald  not  therefore  be  requir- 
ed to  answer  qneetione  on  the  subject  of 
flBch  azpeiiments,  but  should  leave  them  for 
tiM  flfdution  of  the  daiiroyants  of  prinUe 
paitiea. 

In  finding  and  examining  patients  with  a 
letter,  every  facility  should  be  afibrded  by 
tlM  patient,  or  friend  of  the  patient  residing 
in  the  same  house,  where  the  letter  should 
be  written,  as  the  spirit  of  the  clairvoyant 
will  always  go  directly  to  that  house.  The 
wpme  of  the  patient  should  be  examined  in 
the  manner  deecribed  in  <*  The  Motive  Pow> 
er  of  the  Human  System,"  page  43  and  the 
lemk  slated  in  the  letter,  and  besides  if  there 
en  any  swellingsof  the  joints,  limbs,  or  any 
etkerpartof  the  body,  or  any  uleerations, 
ekey  ahovld  be  mentioned,  as  they  might  be 
Of«looked  in  the  examination. 

If  then  is  any  pain  or  tenderness  from 
pKasaia  along  the  spine,  we  shall  know  that 
It  if  a  ease  of  tnbercula,  and  if  the  number 
and  situation  of  the  painful  or  tender  spots 
en  stated  as  near  as  may  be,  we  shall  know 
if  the  ^iiit  found  the  patient,  or  some  other 
peiaon,  and  if  some  other  person,  we  can  di- 
leet  the  continuation  of  the  search  until  the 
patient  is  found. 

If  on  examination  there  is  no  tenderness 
found  along  the  spine  of  the  patient  it  should 
be  so  stated,  when  we  shall  know  it  is  a 
case  of  mucosis  or  mucous  disease,  but  we 
should  not  know  what  organ  was  diseased, 
mnd  it  should  consequently  be  mentioned  in 
the  letter.* 

On  having  the  information  fwe  have  de- 
ecribed, which  is  easily  furnished,  we  can 
easily  know  by  means  of  clairvoyance,  how 
far  the  disease  has  advanced  in  each  case, 
and  whether  they  are  curable  or  incurable, 
or  as  well  as  we  could  if  we  had  the  body 
of  the  person  open  before  us.  All  the  cases 
aze  curable  in  the  first  stages  of  the  disease. 


^There  are  about  fifty  cases  of  tubcrcula 
to  erne  of  ameotis. 


and  about  ninety-five  oat  of  every  hundred 
in  the  last  stage,  including  tubercular  con* 
sumption  and  white  swellings  of  the  joints 
and  limbs,  as  we  have  demonstrated  in  the 
clearest  manner,  and  we  shall  continue  to 
undertake  the  cure  of  the  curable  cases  pre- 
sented  to  us  for  that  purpose,  and  have  the 
fullest  confidence  that  with  the  means  in  oar 
power,  we  shall  continue  to  cure  chronic 
diseases  in  the  above  mentioned  proportioa 
to  the  whole  number  of  cases. 

Such  is  the  result  of  the  duodynamie  or 
magnetic  practice.  Now  it  is  well  known 
to  those  who  are  initiated  into  the  mysteiiei 
of  the  practice  of  medicine,  that  there  is  mei 
more  than  about  five  per  cent,  or  five  carai 
out  of  every  hundred  cases  of  chtoak 
diseases,  by  the  old  astiologtoal  or  comtton 
practice,  and  the  number  of -cures  out  of  era^ 
ry  hundred  by  the  HomcBopathic  pnustiee  ie 
about  the  same,  or  fi^'e  or  six  out  of  evaijr 
hundred  cases. 

The  remedies  we  use  in  these  cases  aria 
magnetic  and  specific,  and  are  perfectly  sale 
for  persons  of  all  ages  and  conditions^  and 
are  forwarded  to  any  part  of  the  Union  and 
the  Canadas,  by  mail,  express,  or  otherwiaH^ 
according  to  order,  free  of  postage  or  ez» 
pense,  with  lull  directions  for  their  use.^ 

*  Temporarf  remedies}  as  bleeding,  hijik 
tering^  emetics,  catharties,  low  dlet^  &c.  fce., 
are  prescribed  by  alapathists,  or  old  school 
physicians,  and  aconite,  bryonU,  rhiistox« 
belladonna,  &c.>  by  the  homcBopathists  la 
acute  ,or  inflammatory  diseases,  ivhich  proh 
dace  i^den  derangements  in  the  system,  and 
run  through  their  course  in  a  few  daya  or  a 
few  weeks,  and  these  prescriptions  are  oltea 
necessarily  and  very  properly  changed  every 
day,  or  every  one,  two  or  three  weeks;  when 
the  disease  has  run  through  its  course,  and 
the  patient  either  cured,  dead,  or  the  dis- 
ease has  become  chronic }  but  no  man  who 
deserves  the  name  of  a  physician  ever  pre«- 
scribes  In  this  manner  to  cure  chronic  dl^ 
eases,  which  come  on  very  slowly,  and  grad* 
aaUy  changes  the  old^  and  forms  newpanufii- 
ic,  or  other  unnatural  structures  as  tubercles 
and  white  swellings  of  the  serous  and  mucoas 
surfaces,  &c.,  as  the  plainest  common  seaas 
would,  and  does  teach  him  to  learn  and  pff^ 
seribe  the  specific  remedies  that  will,  aet 
slowly  and  safely  on  the  old  and  natural 

I  forms  of  the  system,  and  gmdually  reducf  ^^ 
a  few  months  or  more,  the  parasitic  or  outer 
unnatural  structures,  and  thus  restore  thegea- 


40 


ExamUnmHcns  of  IX$9a998  ai  great  dUianees. 


Wh«D  it  19  known  that  oar  time  is  neecs- 
Miily  occupied  eTery  day,  from  morning  un* 
till  night,  with  the  examination  of  patientu 
hy  clairvoyance  and  otberwiae,  in  our  of- 
fice»  or  in  this  city,  and  that  we  are  conee- 
qoantly  compeilei  to  examine  patients  at 
fieat  distances  in  the  evening,  it  is  hoped 
■ad  beiieYed  that  snch  patients  and  their 
friends  will  reflect  upon  onr  situation  and 
have  so  much  meiey  upon  as  as  to  give  ns 
as  much  information  in  regaid  to  each  case 
(BO  natter  what  it  is)  as  to  enaUe  ns  to-dis- 
lingaish  and  find  the  patient  with  as  little 
May  as  possible,  so  that  we  may  get 
Ikfo^  with  the  examinations  of  snch  eases 
im  time,  each  night,  to  hare  some  rest  from 
enr  labors. 

It  may  also  be  nsef  ul  to  obserre  here  that 
the  examinations  of  the  letters  from,  patients 
is  conducted  in  the  most  secluded  and  confi- 
dential aaanner,  and  the  notes  of  the  dair?oy< 
ant  examinations  of  the  cases  taken  down  at 
tfn  time  of  such  examinations,  and  the  letters 
Munpered  as  soon  theieaf  ter  as  possible. 

The  claiiToyant  will  yisit  and  re-examine 
iMse  patients  under  our  direction,  once  in 
ter  or  fire  weeks,  and  as  she  always  reeol' 


•fal  health.  Nothing,  therefore,  lo  much 
distinguishes  the  accomplished  physician  as 
(he  readiness  with  which  he  distinguishes 
and  prescribes  for  acute  and  chronic  diseases, 
and  on  the  contrary  there  is  nothing  that  so 
iiuch  diitiagnishes  the  ass  or  Ignoramus  as 
the  firequent  ehani^es  in  his  prescriptions,  in 
ehronle  ss  in  acute  diseases,  and  these  rules 
are  arbitrary  and  admit  of  no  exceptions,  and 
sre  equally  applicable  to  physicisas  and 
tlaU'Vo^amU,  When,  therefore,  reputed  clair- 
ropati  change  theirprescriptions  in  chronic 
as  in  acute  diseases,  or  even  once  in  3,  4,  5, 
or  6  weeks,  it  is  conclusive  evidence  that 
they  have  no  dairvoyanee  on  the  subject, 
but  are  governed  by  impressions  transferred 
iltom  the  brain  of  some  miseellsneous  per- 
sonage, and  these  impressionists  may  also  be 
known  by  the  miscellaneous  character  of 
their  prescriptions  in  chronic  diseases,  as 
•f  catnip,  sage,  bip,  and  pond  lily— white 
pine  and  vrild  ehexry  bark,  sqnaw-yine,  gol- 
den seal  and  spikenard— cohosh,  skunk-cab- 
bage prickley-ash,  ver  vain  erowsfoot^  and 
sbiMimon's 'Seal,"  etc. 

Nbwsuch  preseriptiont  of  reputed  elair- 
iroyents,  are  not  only  legitimate  sources  of 
amusement  to  physleiaw,  but  they  haye  a 
streng  tendency  to  make  new  end  oonton 
old  skeptici  is  their  skepticiim. 


leeta  the  previoos  examinttioas  mi.tm^ 
pares  thai  with  the  last,  il  is  a  mMbi  st 
great  importsoce  in  enahliag  us  toknoirthe 
progress  of  the  cum  in  each  eascHdte 
correspond  with  any  patieii«n  the  saliicit, 
if  it  shovld  besome  necessary  to  da  ee. 

in  the  aieantime  patients  shoaU  sobmi' 
nicate  to  as  freely  aay  inforamtioa  uppumi 
to  be  OTerlooked  or  unknown  to  m,  mi 
deemed  of  great  importance  ia  the  mmm 
ful  treatment  of  any  paiticulaK  esse. 

We  shall  employ  a  dsirvoyaat  sf  it 
greatest  power,  and  c^  a  high  ordir  e£iali» 
iect  for  the  pxammalion  of  patienlssi  kmt 
or  abroad,  who  will  often  give  oar  pstimli 
fine  specimens  of  {the^  all-seeing  eyes  isi 
spiritual  powers  ol  the  msgnetmsd  bnia 

The  f oUowiag  is  m  specimsa  of  CWnof 
aace  which  occnired  a  few  iimniniw  «■» 
When  we  had  got  tfasoogh  with  dm«ms» 
ation  of  letters  from  patients,  on  thetmif 
of  the  8th  inst,  and  at  about  S  #ctoek,«» 
requested  the  clairvoyaat  lo  look  eii  M 
a  there  was  any  moneiy  coming  on  tte  viy 
in  the  mails  for  us,  and  in  two  or  tki(rmi» 
utes,  she  answered  yes  I  I  see  a  ttf  i^ 
lar  bill  for  yon  in  a  letter,  andfhekflffh 
in  a  bag  coming  from  the  west.  An  yM 
not  mistaken  in  the  amount  ?  No,  it  is  fi^ 
bat  it  is  not  a  bill  but  a  draft  Look  and  m 
if  it  is  not  70  instead  of  SOdollan.  No,ilii 
60.  Why,  how  fast  it  comes  f— whi2?-Ri» 
coming  on  the  railroad !  The  cars  anini 
here  between  10  and  1 1  P.  M. 

We  were  expectingta  draft  from  New  (k- 
leans  of  70  dollars,  but  instead  of  thstfOtf 
clerk  on  returning  from  the  post-office  sa  Ai 
morning  of  the  9th  inst,  brought  us  a  kos 
from  a  gentleman  in  Pittsburgh  iodosbgt 
draft  for  50  dollars. 

On  the  evening  of  the  10tbin6t.,ai(erbtv- 
iDg  again  got  through  with  the  eiamisstian 
of  letters  from  patients,  I  directed  the  90»' 
tion  of  the  clairvoyant  to  die  eubj^ct  of  tfce 
above  draft,  and  inquired  whether  she  knew 
from  mere  intuition  it  was  a  draft  of  60  dol- 
lars for  me  and  coming  in  ths  maO  os  til 
railroad  from  the  west,  or  saw  it  lil«ial|y.^ 
When  she  answered  that  she  i 


tsBwitliM'- 


Animal  DUij  ^u 


41 


•]y,  as  she  nw  tkisgs  yn&k  h&  eyes  in  her 
L  vakiiig  state. 


4k«r.  &ft  Sot  flvftdMlaBd  tad  Ids  Ybtorf  of 


We  hare  published  in  this  nnmber  of  our 
Journal,  Mr.  Sunderland's  Theory  of  Pkith- 
dism,  a  new  name  with  which  he  has  chris- 
tened Mesmerism,  or  plain  Animal  Magnet- 
iasL  He  performed  these  rites  in  this  city 
•in  1843,  and  described  the  eeremonies  and 
the  reasons  for  their  performance  In  a  book 
-ti  247  pHges,  called  Pathettsm. 
'  Mr.  S.,  soon  after  the  publication  of  his 
'l^ok,  went  to  New  England  and  commen- 
ted lecturing  on  Mesmerism  under  this  new 
and  strange  name  and  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing audiences  at  his  call,  which  was  un- 
iieeded  in  this  city  a  few  months  before, 
'When  he  repeatedly  invited  its  citizens  to 
liear  him  lecture  on  Mesmerism  or  Animal 
Magnetism. 

Mr.  Sunderland's  success  in  obtaining  au- 
£enees  opened  a  fine  field  for  the  sale  of  his 
book  at  the  door  of  his  lecture  room  to  his 
marrelons  hearers,  and  he  soon  began  to 
feel  the  most  substantial  benefits  of  his  new 
enterpiise,  and  satisfied  himself  if  not  his 
audience  of  the  great  importance  of  chang- 
ing the  name  if  not  the  facts  of  Animal 
Magnetism. 

In  his  Theory  of  Pathetism  he  commences 
first  with  consciousnus — of  which  be  tells 
the  reader  there  are  two  kinds.  <*  The  first 
and  highest  consciousness,"  he  says,  **  is  the 
knowledge  which  the  mind  takes  of  itself 
and  the  poirer  by  which  it  distinguishes  be- 
tween itself  and  the  objects  of  its  knowl- 
edge.^ «« The  second  kind  of  consciousness 
Is  manifest  in  the  spontaneous  action  of  the 
nerrous  functions  without  observation  or 
experience,  which  constitutes  instinct,  in- 
TuinoN»  or  cXiimvoTAiica." 

We  should  observe  here  that  conscious- 
ness is  the  mere  perception  of  what  passes 
'  In  the  mind — of  wakefulness — of  our  exist- 
ance,  without  certain  knowledge ;  and  that 
knowledge  is  certain  perception,  learning, 


infonnation,  and  skill  in  anything.  'QoRr 
scionsness  is  not  there  ore  knowl^e  or 
power,  and  ought  not  to  be  thus  cpitifound- 
ed. 

Instinct  is  a  mere  natural  desire  or  avcf* 
sion  not  deterrai&ed  by  reason,  while  iatai»> 
tion  is  immediate  knowledge  ofataiBeii  with- 
out  the  deduction  of  reason,  and  eiairvoy» 
ance  is  seeing  in  the  magnetic  itete,  with 
magnetK  light  as  we  see  with  our  eyes  by 
the  light  of  the  sun  in  our  natural  etiUe,  yet 
Mr.  S.  confounds  them  all  together,  like 
consciousness,  knowledge  and  power,  and 
what  be  says  upon  these  subjects  is  there* 
fore  manifestly  without  knowledge  and  con- 
sequently deserving  no  more  attention  than 
the  most  common  twaddle. 

**  MIND— SOUL— spmrr." 

**  Mind^  soul,  or  spirit^  are  sifvoiiTMOOs 
terms,  and  signify  the  aggregate-  ci  all  'the 
funt^iena  of  the  nerwue  eyUem,^ .  Hence, 
mind  is  neither  malertal  or  Immale&ift,  hot 
functional."  This  is  another  specimea  ol 
Mr.  6.*B  habit  of  confounding  facts  and  fie- 
tions. 

Now  the  spirit  of  a  man  is'a  living  spir- 
itual form  in  the  likeness  of  the  man  fbat 
acts  and  is  acted  upon  by  its  system,  call- 
ed the  nervous  system,  and  is  nottherefoi^ 
a  mere /vncf  ton ;  action  or  nonentity  as  rep- 
resented by  Mr.  S,  but  is  endowed  with 
sensation,  inclination,  motlort,' power,  con- 
sciousness and  knowledg«^.  Its  vital  forces 
and  physical  power  is  represented  in  the 
muscles,  and  its  mental  power  in  the  mind. 
The  mind  is  not  therefore  synonymous  with, 
but  a  function  of  the  spirit. 

ANIKAL  LIFE,  ETC. 

'<  Life  is  manifested  from  certain  associa- 
tions, and  it  controls  matter,  suspends  the 
laws  of  chemical  affinity,  and  extends  its 
power  over  each  of  the  imponderable  fluids 
known  under  the  terms  of  magnetism,  elec- 
tricity and  galvanism,  it  carries  on  a  se- 
ries of  revolutions  in  the  animal  and  mental 
economy  which  correspond  with  the  alter- 
nate forces  or  states  of  everything  else  in  na- 


42 


Menial  Phettamena. 


tkira.**  Chemical  affinity  depends  upon  the 
BBgaetism  in  inanimate  matter  and  it  is  a  fact 
that  life  controls  the  unoiganised  magnetism 
in  inanimate  matter,  bat  it  is  a  fiction  to 
mppoae  that  it  also  controls  the  organised 
magnftism  in  animate  matter;  for  limmg 
nagnetisa  carries  on  a  series  of  reroktions 
in  the  animal  and  mental  economy,  which 
cortespood  with  the  altoiwte  f oroes  or  states 
ol  eveiythiflg  else  in  nataie»and  these  are 
well  known  to  be  the  magnetic  foiees,  and 
slates  depending  on  them. 


urrurrioir — cLAXRvorANCc — ^instikct, 
«<The  instinctiye  power  in  man  is  superce- 
ded by  the  development  of  the  intellectual 
faculties,  through  the  external  senses.  But 
in  certain  states  of  the  nenrous  system  when 
the  external  senses  are  suspended,  this  pow- 
er becomes  active,  and  is  then  what  is  deno- 
minated ckurroyance.** 

Wa  are  told  here  that  uufmef  or  a 
n«r«  natniml  dmre  or  avermn  in  cer- 
tain states  of  the  nerrons  system  when  the 
txtsmal  senses  are  suspended  is  clarvoyance, 
and  this  is  Mr.  S.,  theory,  or  the  theory  of 
pathetism. 

MBHTAL  IKFLVXNCE— TBMPXaAatKHTS. 

«'  The  influence  which  one  person  or  thing 
may  have  upon  another,  depends  on  tempe- 
imments  or  the  constitution  of  man,  and  the 
nature  of  things.  That  is,  there  is  a  diifer- 
enee  in  their  temperaments,  the  fluids,  the 
nerves  and  muscles.  Hence  no  two  are  pre- 
cisely alike  in  the  different  degrees  of  their 
diflerent  susceptibilities." 
The  magnetism  of  one  person  is  as  necessa- 
rily different  from  another  as  their  tempera- 
ments or  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the  fluids 
and  solids  in  their  systems,  and  hence  thecause 
of  the  diflerent  degrees  of  their  different  sus- 
ceptibilities. Inanimate  or  unorganized  mat- 
ter or  unorganised  magnetism  in  inanimate 
niatter,  does  not  act  on  organised  or  magnet- 
ised matter  in  its  normal  state,  but  magnet- 
ised matter  acts  upon  other  magnetised  mat- 
ter as  one  person  acts  upon  or  influences 
another.  This  action  is  that  of  the  magnet< 
ic  or  vital  forces  which  radiate  great  distan- 
ces in  every  direction  from  magnetised  bod- 
ies, and  are  called  the  magnetic  spheres  of 


OUT  bodies.  These  spheres  an  odoriifNV 
and  the  odor  of  each  is  as  diftnntaiw 
faces,  and  these  odors  are  often  leoopuMi 
at  great  distances  by  man  and  other  iBiMk 
Besides  the  m4im»  of  the  f  ones  in  Qn«|ii 
other  animals,  and  those  made  by  bmb  ud 
other  ^n?«>«l«,  are  beyond  all  doubt  idntie- 
al  with  those  of  the  magnetic  forces. 

ASSOCUTIONS— SYMPATHY. 

Mr.  S.  gives  us  another  hash  of  fsctiai 
fictions  under  these  captions.  Tke  **»• 
ing  paragreph  is  one  example* 

"  A  peculiar  association  or  coonectioa  W 
tween  two  minds  or  two  functions  wW 
are  not  precisely  alike,  [bat  oae  Bflgrf* 
and  the  other  positive]  produces  a  posiin 
or  tympatketic  relation,  by  wbicb  onei 
[or  one  mind  and  body]  affects  the  i 
of  the  other.  When  the  mind  or  oip» 
[or  the  body]  are  precisely  alike,  [or  k* 
negative  or  both  positive]  the  relatk»  ii«r 
ative  and  no  results  are  produced  ewft* 
feeling  of  aniipathyt  and  when  tio  wok 
bodies,  or  substanees  are  broiqfkt  tq^w 
which  do  not  come  up  to  a  c9Xtm^^ 

BCti0M.»M«» 


difference,  in  quality  or  functions,** 
relation,  or  a  state  of  apathy  is  the  «•*•* 
We  have  italicised  a  fcwwoid»ia*» 
paragraph,  and  we  have  added  the  vfl*» 
brackets— the  rest  is  twaddle— lor  ilii»» 
that  a  positive  or  sympathetic  reUtioany 
be  and  is  often  established  between  peno" 
who  are  unlike  or  of  opposite  ^<»"*  * 
that  one  may  affect  the  condition  of  the**" 
er,  and  it  is  also  a  fact  that  in  case  the  l«» 
persons  are  precisely  alike  or  both  are  u^ 
tive  or  positive  no  results  arc  produced,  W 
it  is  a  fiction  to  suppose  that  ***J* 
itive  and  negative  results  arc  from  any  » 
cause  than  that  of  the  action  of  «f8"*^ 
in  the  first  case,  and  its  non-action  in  4e« 
in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  these  lore* 

MENTAL  PHBHOMXHi- 

"  Those  which  are  aclf-indueed,  •■^ 
as  sleep,  trance, somnamboliffli, ««4*f 
word,  each  and  all  those  changes  *■ 
come  within  the  range  of  iaHh,  hop^* 
the  power  of  the  human  wiiJ.   1W»** 


Lateral  Curvatures  of  the  Spine. 


43 


)  of  the  aaind  but  which  may  be  self-in- 
duced, where  there  are  no  disturbing  causes 
or  previous  associations  strong  enough  to 
prevent  the  attention  from  becoming  suffi- 
ciently fixed  upon  the  result" 

Mr.  S.  has  unfortunately  often  proved 
Chat  the  converse  of  this  statement  is  true, 
as  he  has  always  failed  in  his  lectures,  as 
others  have,  in  magnetizing  any  considera- 
ble portion  of  his  audience,  notwithstanding 
Ida  untbisg  and  tegious  efforts  to  do  so.  In 
jaet  he  has  only  succeeded  in  magnetising  a 
Tery  few  only  of  the  moftt  susceptible  per- 
sons in  Ids  audience,  and  besides  has  in  fact 
«o  little  confidence  in  his  own  ability  to  suc- 
ceed always  in  magnetizing  even  one  person 
jalus  andience.asto  induce  him  to  take  the 
piacautioiis  to  prevent  such  an 
I  failure  in  the  histKwy  of  Pathe- 


**  The  pathology  of  incubus,  somnambu. 
lism,  trance,  second  sight,  insanity  and 
dreamiag,  is  the  same,  or  so  nearly  so  that 
the  patiK>logy  of  one  of  these  states  will 
readily  suggest  or  explain  the  pathology  of 
each  of  the  others." 

Mr.  S.  must,  we  think  have  written  this 
aentence  of  fictions  in  a  state  of  incubus  or 
night-mare,  as  he  has  not  given  the  reader  a 
aolitary  fact  in  the  sentence  or  in  any  way 
eonaected  with  it,  to  support  his  assertions, 
or  make  his  usual  hash  of  facts  and  fictions 
The  sentence  consequently  appears  in  alj 
the  deformity  depicted  by  the  evil  spirit  who 
praekdes  ia  incubus,  and  who  disappears  in 
an  instant,  the  moment  its  victim  is  joged. 

DCATH — R£SURRKCTI0N. 

•*  Death  is  the  alternation  of  life,  and  the  re- 
aarreetion  of  the  human  body  is  the  alterna- 
tion of  death.  We  can  trace  man  no  far- 
ther than  death  without  a  divine  revelation, 
mnd  from  the  bible  we  learn  that  by  the  gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ  *<  Life  and  immortality 
1^  brought  to  light' " 

Tlis  paragraph,  like  the  last  sentence  we 
hare  quoted,)ippearB  also  to  have  been  dicta- 
49^  hj(jan  evil  spirit,  for  we  have  already  nn« 
aattrous  revelations  on  death  aa4  the  reaar- 
.lactiopf  in  which  man  is  traced  farther  ^lan 
4|pp^b*Md  ia  one  of  which  it  is  saidt  <*  so 


also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  There 
is  a  natural  body,  and  there  is  a  ipMuaZ 
body.  It  is  sown  a  natural  body,  it  is  raised 
a  spiritwd  body,**  but  this  did  not  accord 
with  the  theory  of  Pathetism,  and  conse- 
quently a  new  revelation  was  required. — 
Such  are  the  absurdities  of  this  theory 
Mr.  Sunderiand  knows  very  little  of  the 
magnetism  of  the  human  system,  or  of  its 
phenomena  excepting  its  phantasies  which 
he  studies  and  developes  in  his  lectures  for 
the  amusement  of  his  audience. 

LATBRAL  OURVATURIS  OP  THB  SniCI. 

William  W.  Kinne,  M.  D.,  of  Tlromaaf- 
borgh,  Tompkins  Co.,  N.  Y.,  has  been 
treating  lateral  curvatures  of  the  iqpiae  an! 
also  distortions  of  the  spine  and  of  the 
limbs,  during  the  last  year  (1840)  with 
great  success.  The  Doctor  took  plaster 
casts  of  the  curvatures  and  distortions  be. 
fore  he  commenced  the  treatment,  and  alsd 
at  different  periods  during  its  progress  and 
at  its  termination.  The  foUowing  engra- 
ving. Fig.  1,  is  from  a  drawing  by  C.  Muyr» 
of  the  first  cast  of  Miss  Mary  B.  B.,  of  Ith- 
aca, N.  Y.,  aged  16  years. 
Fig.  1. 


44 


Distortions  of  the  Spine,  ^c. 


The  curvature  commenced  seven  years 
before  the  cast  was  taken,  and  at  tbe  end 
of  four  and  a  half  months  thereafter,  ano- 
ther cast  was  taken  of  Miss  M.  B.  B.,  show- 
ing a  very  great  improvement  in  the  case, 
as  seen  in  the  engraving.  Fig.  2,  and  leaving 
little  doubt  but  that  in  a  month  and  a  half 
more,  or  six  months  from  the  time  of  the 
commencement  of  the  treatment  the  spine 
would  be  straight  and  the  form  perfect 

We  ha^  e  also  a  cast  of  a  lateral  curva- 
ture, taken  by  the  Doctor  at  the  commence- 
ment of  tbe  treatment  of  Miss  M.  P.,  of 
He6ti»»  N.  Y.,  aged  17  years.  The  curve 
eommenced  when  she  was  between  four  and 
five  years  old,  and  grew  with  her  growth. — 
The  cast  shows  it  to  be  a  very  bad  caae, 
and  the  spine,  at  its  greatest  canre,  an  inch 
and  a  half  from  the  median  line.  The  sec- 
ond cast  ol  this  ease  taken  after  nine  months 
treatment  shows  the  spine  straight 


A  cast  of  lateral  curvature  of  the  Spine, 
which  the  Doctor  took  of  Miss  M.V.  S.,o( 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  aged  13  years,  and  of  three 
years  standing  shows  a  deviation  of  the 
spine  of  one  inch  from  the  median  fine,  i 
very  bad  form  and  poor  health  Another 
cast  taken  after  eight  weeks  treatment  of  the 
same  case  shows  a  straight  spine,  improud 
health  and  a  perfect  form. 


There  was  in  all  of  thsse  cases,  lib 
every  other  of  lateral  curvature,  a  contri- 
tion and  thickening  of  the  muscles  orToit- 
able  white  swellings  on  the  ontade  of  Ih 
curves.  They  are  all  cases  ol  tnbeieils 
disease  of  the  muscles,  and  it  is  tbe  oontrM* 
tions  of  the  muscles  on  the  outside  ol  ii 
curves  and  consequent  atrophia  of  Aceeti 
the  inside  that  mikm  the  deviatioBihoiii 
median  line. 


Fig.  2. 


The  white  swelling  of  the  right  scapula  or 
shoulder-blade  in  the  case  of  Mas  M.  B. 
B.,  Fig.  2,  which  produced  the  deviation  in 
her  spine,  is  not»  it  will  be  seen*  enftirely  re* 


dnced,  and  consequently  the  $pM  hM^ 
entirely  lesmned  its  natuilpoiitioo. 

The  course  the  Dbrtor  aiplrf  *>  «*• 
these  corvattues,  wai  tot  i»  !•*■* 


Dist&nions  of  the  Spine  ^e. 


4» 


white  swellings  with  the  specific  remedies 
for  tubercala  and  the  action  of  the  mag- 
netic  machine,  when  the  spines  Teeumed 
their  natural  positions,  and  this  is  the  only 
philosophical  and  only  successful  practice  in 
these  cases. 

In  doosequeqce  of  thegieat  increase  of  the 
bveineee  of  xeducing  lateral  curraturee  of 
ths  spiBe»aiid  distortions  of  the  spine  and 
liaib8»  Dr..Kione  has  been  Inrited  to  estab- 
lish himeeH  in  thiecity,  and  in  a  letter  irom 
kiiftftlewdayssiBce  (Dee.  12),  he  informs 
lift  that  he  hae  cooeloded  to  accept  the  invi* 
tfttion»  and  will  haf  e  rooms  in  this  city  to 
aftOOftUBOdate  his  patients,  in  the  course  of 
the  month  of  March  next. 


.  DlBTO|lTlbN8  OF  THE  8PIMB  AND  CARIS8 
OP  THE  VBRTEBRiB. 

:  f%.  3  is  the  feim  of  a  cast  taken  by  Dr. 
KiAie,  at  the  coBunencement  of  the  treat- 
•MDt,  of  Almond  Beach,  of  Cuba,  Allegha- 
ny Co..  N.  Y.,  aged  13  years.  The  distor- 
tion commenced  when  he  was  five  years  old, 
and  grew  with  his  growth.  Fig.  4  is  the 
Ibim  of  a  cast  taken  from  the  boy  after 
thne  months'  treatment,  and  Fig.  5  is  the 
lonn  of  a  cast  taken  from  the  same  boy  af- 
In-  foor  and  a  half  months*  treatment 

Fig.  3. 


Fro.  4. 


There  is  a  very  great  and  progressive  im- 
provement in  this  case  for  the  time  it  has 
been  under  treatment,  which  will  astonish 
every  physician  who  is  unacquainted  with 
the  magnetic  practice  by  which  such  eztra« 
ofdinacy  lesults  are  obtidned. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  ad  figure  and 
form  of  the  first  east  from  this  boy  shows 
the  most  extreme  atrophia  of  the  moedeif 
with  very  great  distortion  of  the  spine,  and 
thjst  in  fignriM  4  and  5  the  atrophied  mus- 
cles are  progressively  developed  in  the 


46 


DUimiunu  of  the  Spine,  4*e. 


Mime  proportion  with  the  reductioiv  of  the 
distortion,  and  these  changes  have  prog^ress- 
ed  in  the  same  manner  in  all  the  cases  we 
have  treated.* 

We  see  the  same  progressive  changes  and  in 
the  same  order,  in  lateral  cunratores  of  the 
the  spine,  as  seen  on  a  comparison  of  Fig. 
1  with  Fig.  2,  and  of  the  other  casts  in  onr 
possession,  before  described,  and  these  chan- 
ges have  also  progressed  in  the  same  or- 
der  in  all  the  cases  we  have  treated ;  and  in 
all  of  which  allopathy,  homoeopathy,  hydro- 
pathy, chronopathy,  and  all  other  pathies, 
are  equally  and  entirely  at  fanlt  .And  now  it 
should  be  remembered,  and  never  be  forgot- 
ten, that  the  magnetic  or  duodynamic  prac- 
tice reduces  in  the  most  safe  and  prompt 
manner,  the  enlarged,  thickened,  swelled, 
hypertrophied,  or  tuberculated  portions  of 
the  organs  in  the  same  order  as  in  the  above 
cases  of  tuberculated  and  atrophied  muscles 
in  lateral  cunratures  and  distortions  of  the 
spine,  as  we  have  demonstrated  in  the  clear- 
est manner  time  out  of  mind.  Yet  the  pro- 
fessors of  our  medical  colleges  continue  to 
teach  the  old  antiquated  astrological  pmctice 

Fig.  7. 


and  the  people  are  apparastly  doo«Md  tote 
drugged  to  death  like  their  iathen  in  ill  ii« 
ture  time ;  but  the  study  of  anstonj  u4 
physiology  is  being  introduced  m  our  priUf 
ry  schools,  and  the  manikias  and  nagndie 
machines  are  abroad  with  the  iectuRn  oa 
the  magnetic  symptoms  and  tieatment  of  dis- 
eases, and  the  magoetizers  are  nisiiigthBr 
signs  in  tofwn  and  country,  and  sie  tm^ 
diseaaes  in  a  prompt,  safe  and  satiifMlay 
manner,  in  the  meanthae  the  people  m 
obtaining  a  general  knowledge  of  aaaloaf, 
physiology,  and  of  the  magnetic  ly^tei 
and  tieatmeot  of  diaeases,  and  wfll  iMi 
learn  the  profeasors  of  thaae  eoHcgeslhsas* 
cessity  of  keeping  pace  with  the  iBfaif^ 
ments  in  the  practice  of  medicine. 

DiiToaTroMa  of  tbe  urns. 

Fig.  6  is  the  form  of  a  east  of  tbe  low 
part  of  the  leg,  foot  and  ankle,  of  a  fiii 
aged  11  years,  taken  by  Dr.  Sjniie,at  Ikt 
commencement  of  the  treataeRt;  waAH^f 
is  the  form  of  a  cast  taken  fiom  dteaai 
leg,  foot  and  ankle  at  the  end  of  uini$ 
thereafter. 

Fig.  6. 


The  girl  used  the  limb  many  years  ia  the 
form  and  manner  seen  ia  Fig.  6;  aad  the 

*  We  have  always  on  hand  eases  of  distor* 
tion  of  ^e  sphie  and  caries  of  the  vertebns. 
We  bad  16  cases  hi  1844»  aged  from  one  to 
eight  year%  and  they  are  now  aU  wall  and 
their  spines  straight,  exeeptbig  2  who  were 
too  ht  adTaacedla  the  disease  to  be  eured. 


Doctor obaerrea  that,  •'in  tlM  trtaloiinlrf 
the  foot  with  which  I  presealed  yoa  ca*i 
one  taken  six  wedES  after  tbe  other,  with- 
out  any  cutting  of  teodoas,  or  other  open- 
tion,  we  relied  entinly  upoa  tbe  mapmi^ 
machine  and  irictkma  lo  reilore  tte  aetiaa 
of  the  paralysed  muade*.* 


JSunderlatuPs  Review  ef  Prof.  Bush  an  Mesmerism^  ^c.       if 


USt.  SUNBBBZJiVD'l  BSTXBIT 
<y  ProfU$or  Buih'9  work  on  M$im$ri9m  mid 
$u>€d€nborg  J  or  ths  relatioM  of  tho  doveiop- 
menu  of  Metmoritmtotkodoariaei  mtddU- 
4Joiwr$i  tf  SwidmOiorg,  pogo  26  qfthis  Jbur^ 
mal. 

We  have  read  IhiB  review  very  carefully, 
asd  have  compared  the  quotations  with  the 
pn^al  works,  and  we  must  say  that  the 
obiections  to  the  conclusions  drawn  by  Pro- 
lessor  Bush  are  well  taken  and  are  fatal  to 

Ibeoi. 

;    The  Professor  has  been  grtuWy  deceived, 
mnd  especially  unfortunate  in  the  selection 
of  his  oracle,  Davis,  who,  instead  of  being 
as  the  Professor  represents,  "a  person  of  re- 
markable clairvoyant  powers  in  the  investi- 
gation of  disease,"  and  possessing,  ••  both 
physically  and  mentally,  in  eminent  degree. 
the  requisites  for  a  clairvoyant  of  the  high- 
eat  order,"  is  in  truth  and  in  fact  no  dair- 
«oyin/  at  all,  but  a  mere  impressioniit,  or  a 
yeison  who,  in  the  magnetic  state,  has  im- 
pressions  or  intuitions  more  or  less  perfect, 
hut  not  literal  sight  or  clairvoyance,  and  un- 
fortunately these  facts  are  '<  well  known  to  a 
wide  drde  "  in  which  u  our  pro/eseor,  as  will 
1>6  seen,  who  says  (page  174)  that "  early 
in  June  last  Mr.  D.  while  in  the  midst  of 
one  of  his  lectures  came  to  a  sudden  pause, 
and  remarked  that  he]  received  no  farther 
tmprettiofM— the  uiual  language  in  which 
he  speakeoi  his  intenud  eommunieations— 
(ftot  of  what  he  sees,)  saying  at  the  same 
tine*  that  he  perceived  that  he  must  go  im- 
nediatdy  to  Poughkeepsie,  and  that  some* 
thing  very  extraordinary  was  goiiigto  hap 
pen  to  him  there.    What  it  was  he  was  un 
aUe  to  say,  but  observed  that  it  would  be 
knewn  in  New  York  in  three  or  four  days, 
and  that  his  aseociatee  might  freely  inform 
others  of  the  fad.  but  it  must  be  kept  from 
mm  while  in  the  waking  state,  as  it  wonld 
afoduce  an  undue  exeitement  in  his  mind 
which  he  must  carefully  avoid.    His  wishes 
in  this  respect  were  strictly  complied  with, 
and  accoidingly  shortly  after,  when  in  the 
astural  state,  he  announced  the  purpose  of 
starting  the  next  day,  (Saturday)  for  Pough- 
keepsie.   On  Saturday  he  left  the  city  in 
company  with  Dr.  L.,  his  constant  compan- 


ion, am)  on  the  Wednesday  following— the 
fourth  dof  from  the  announcement,  I  re- 
ceived  unexpectedly  the  ensuing  letter 

The  following  are  extracts  from  the  let- 
ter, dated 

*<  Poughkeepsie,  June  16th,  1846. 

Dtar  Sir : — Yesterday  morning  after  eat- 
ing breakfast  at  No.  49  Washington  street,  I 
went  down  to  the  bookstore,  to  get  some  pa- 
per to  write  a  Utter  to ;  soon  I 


had  a  desire  to  go  down  to  the  river— what 
caused  it  I  don't  know — but  went  down.  I 
soon  lost  all  knowledge  where  I  was — recoU 
led  of  being  about  the  river,  and  also  as- 
cending a  hill,  and  being  in  the  mountain 
opposite  Poughkeepsie  about  4  miles.  I  am 
conscious  of  meeting  the  same  person  that  I 
had  seen  in  the  grave  yard  in  Hyde  Park.  I 
also  remember  conversing  with  him  and  tak- 
ing out  my  pencil,  and  writing  all  the 
thoughts  given  me.  I  remember  him  leav- 
ing me  suddenly  and  I  came  out  of  the  state. 
I  was  surprised  to  find  myself  wet  with  rain, 
the  paper  on  my  lap,  and  dry— the  paper 
had  not  been  wet  The  very  moment  I 
came  into  the  natural  state,  I  felt  you  should 
have  the  paper  immediately,"— q/*  course. 

This  was  certainly  a  very  natural  feeling 
or  inclination,  as  he  undoubtedly  went  up 
to  the  mountohi  for  the  express  purpose  of 
making  a  revelation  for  the  Professor  from 
that  elevated  position. 

The  Professor  supposes  that  the  commu- 
nication, as  v^itten  is  addressed  to  what  \^t 
(Davis)  regarded  as  the  spirit  of  Swedenboiy, 
but  still  has  his  doubts  about  it.  We  have 
however  no  doubt  at  all  but  it  was  really 
the  epirit  of  the  Professor,  and  none,but  he 
read  from  the  Professor's  mind  through  his 
spirit  before  him,  whatever  part  of  the  reve- 
lation was  really  written  by  him  in  the  mag- 
netic state,  and  not  by  his  "  (wwfio/«."*— 
Neither  have  we  any  doubt  but  that  when 
his  impressions  ceased  upon  the  subject  on 


•  Persons  in  the  magsetie  state  can  easily 
bring  the  «p(ftt»of  other  persons  before  them 
whenever  they  choose  to  do  so,  and  especia- 
ly  those  fai  dose  communion  with  them  as  In 
tbisi 


«8 


Prftf.  Bush  and  the  Marvels  qf  Davis. 


which  he  had  been  speaking,  and  he  '*  per- 
ceived "  that  he  muFt  go  or  be  taksn  up  into  a 
htgh  mountain,  he  gottbat  perception  from  the 
mind  of  the  Professor,  and  this  accounts  for 
his  haste  to  be  off,  and  also  in  sending  his 
revelation  to  the  professor  as  soon  as  it  was 
possible  to  do  so.  It  is  besides  a  fine  exam- 
ple of  what  the  Professor  calls  the  influx  of 
what  passes  in  one  mind  into  that  of  an- 
other and  nothing  else. 

We,  hope  that  the  doctrines  of  Swedcn- 
botg  and  those  of  other  christianswill  nev- 
er require  such  support. 

Jn  the  meantime  it  should  be  observed 
that  the  Professor's  knowledge  of  magnet- 
ism is  very  limited,  and  that  he  is  conse- 
quently liable  to  have  gross  impositions 
practised  upon  him  by  speculators  on  the  sub- 
ject who  make  periodical  announcements  of 
their  marvels  in  present  and  future  prospect, 

We  should  also  observe  here  that  we  have 
read  attentively  the  whole  of  the  Professor's 
Jong  account  of  Davis'  marvels,  to  which  he 
imputes  supernatural  agency,  than  which 
nothing  could  be  more  ridiculous,  as  there 
is  nothing  in  them  but  what  is  cqmmon  to 
impressionists  as  well  as  to  clairvoyants,  and 
they  are  all  easily  as  well  as  satisfactorily 
accounted  for  on  the  most  simple  and  natur* 
al  principles,  as  every  one  knows  who  is  fa- 
miliar with  these  magnetic  phenomena.— 
Even  the  discovery  of  the  new  planet,  or 
that  it  was  in  process  of  discovery  as 
pretended  is  nothing  new  or  really  marvel* 
lous,  as  that  planet  had  not  only  been  dis- 
covered by  many  clairvoyants  long  before  it 
is  pretended  to  have  been  discovered  by  Da- 
vis, but  the  number  of  its  moons  were  also 
discovered  and  the  time  not  only  given  and 
eorrectly  too,  when  the  planet  would  be  dis- 
covered by  astronomers,  but  the  time  that 
would  elapse  before  the^  would  make  mc- 
cesaive  discoveries  of  Its  moons. 


DECLINATION  AT  THE  CITY  HALU 

N.  Y. 

6S  56',  34"  West  declination  at  the  City 
Hall,  New  York,  January  1, 1847,  Latitude 
40\  42',  40". 


THE  MAGNETIC  MACHINL 
The  interest  the  medical  profesfioa  slid 
the  public  generally  have  evinced  in  this 
machine  is  still  on  the  increase,  and  is  tin 
strongest  evidence  of  the  great  estiooatioa 
in  which  it  is  held  in  the  treatment  of  £^ 
eases.  Its  extraordinary,  prompt  and  oftn 
apparently  magical  eflfects  in  a  great  nnmbcr 
and  variety  of  diseases,  both  acute  and  chro- 
nic, are  of  daily  occurrence  in  almost  ewq 
part  of  the  country;  and  the  introdudioaof 
the  magnetic  symptoms  of  diseases,  wifk 
the  magnetic  machine,  is  marking  eroy 
where,  in  an  indelible  manner,  the  coitf- 
mencement  of  a  new  era  in  the  practice  d 
medicine,  and  of  the  reign  of  science  M 
a  mournful  interregnum  of  more  than  tvo 
thousand  years. 

We  should  here  again  caution  physiciui 
and  others  against  purchasing  the  Tuiov 
imitations  of  our  magnetic  machines  wdlr 
whatever  nanut  as  they  will  be  found  of  fi- 
tie  or  no  value,  and  will  soon  be  laid  sail 
as  useless  lumber,  as  experience  hasilm^ 
shown. 

PROF.  BUSH  AND  THE  MARVHiOF 
DAVIS. 

We  copy  the  following  vory  juat  Koaib 
on  these  marvels  from  the  New  York  Ote»> 
verof  the  Idth  of  December,  1844k 
arose  D«l««i«]t  or  Ha^iiMi- 

Those  who  are  in  the  habit  of  obseffisK 
the  movements  of  the  present  day,aieaMte 
that  there  is  al  this  motnent  a  most  povtf* 
f  ul  efibrt  in  progress  to  unsettle  the  fonndi- 
tions  of  christian  faith,  and  introdnce  a 
semi-infidel  philosophy  in  the  place  of  a* 
vine  revelation.  In  this  work  twodaiiji 
of  men  are  engaged.  The  one  indodp  W 
open  enemies  of  the  truth,  the  other  eni» 
ces  those  who  have  been  deceived  by  tfia 
glare  of  these  new  doctrines,  and  aie  iww» 
efficient  and  succeasfnl  in  the  work  cl  ■■• 
chief,  than  they  who  avow  thtwd^m  m 
their  objects. 

Impelled  by  a  strong  conviction  thatdsg 
requires  us  to  expose  the  tendency  of  "g* 
various  doctrines  we  have  devoted  o'M'JJ' 
able  space  to  the  word  during  the  7^1^ 
and  notwithstanding  the  present  inditoaoe 
to  the  subject  on  the  part  of  the  rel^ 
community,  wo  rutend  to  follow  it  np.   n 


Enlargement  of  the  Liver,  Spleen,  ice. 


If 


Ae  pwwtanee  of  this  work,  we  pabliehed  a 
eommunication  two  weeks  ago  signed  "  T. 
L."  demonstrating  that  the  case  of  Davis,  a 
yiretended  clairvoyant,  is  one  of  the  most 
lemvkahle  instances  of  delusion  or  impos- 
ture ever  exhibited.  Professor  Bnsh,  hav- 
faigMsaroed  to  be  the  endorser  of  Davis, 
ifBTj  properly  feels  that  his  moral  or  mental 
•BRity  is  involved  in  tie  matter,  and  desires 
lo  be  heard  in  reply.  We  have  therefore 
allowed  him  his  own  space  for  that  purpose 
and  en  the  loarth  page  of  this  paper  we  give 
Hie  professed  reply  to  the  article  of  our  cor- 
wiipondeiit. 

We  «ek  oer  intelligent  readers  to  peruse 
that  article  with  attention,  and  admire  with 
!        iM^theeatireabeence  of  all  proof  oi  the  pofit- 
f        tions  which  "  T  L.,"  had  assailed.    Frof. 
j         9«  cammenoes  by  oaying  that  he  does  aoi 
:         ncret  that  an  occasion  has  arisen  for  him  to 
axhibit  the  evidence  on  which  he  relies. — 
'        And  then  he  proceeds  through  two  columns, 
aiying  «<  1  ^nn  it  then  as  a  fact,**  *- 1  af- 
f        iirm  it,"  &c.,  while  there  is  not  the  slightest 
,        flhadow  of  evidence  presented  from  the  be- 
tfinnin^  to  the  end  of  his  article ;  nor  does 
Uie  writer  pretend  to  offer  any  proof  that  the 
man  Davis  has  not  gathered  from  books, 
1        pegisdicalfl,  lectures,  &c.,  the  <'  snatches"  of 
**  revelations"  which  he  aitsumes  to  make. 
The  testimony  is  nothing  more  than  the  na- 
ked assertion  of  a  man  that  he  has  not  read 
the  books  from  which  he  professes  to  make 
exQtu^,  while  the  extracts  which  he  does 
ttake  have  been  shown  to  be  within  his 
iteach,  and  the  rhapsodies  which  are  called 
acientific  lectures  and  claimed  to  be  original, 
a^  mere  incoherent  jar]^n,  unworthy  of  the 
Slightest  regard.    This  is  proved  by  the  tes- 
ttmony  of  scientific  men  who  have  heard  his 
vttemncea. 

There  is  one  assertion  made  by  Professor 
Bttsh  which  enables  the  reader  to  form  a 
proper  estimate  of  the  value  of  his  testimony 
IB  tiiis  matter.  In  his  book,  p.  171 ,  he  says 
of  Davis : 

'  ^  I  can  also  testify  that  having  been  occa- 
MOnally  present  at  some  of  these  Lectures,  I 
Imve  heard  him  quote  with  the  utmost  ac- 
cnraey,  from  the  Hebrew,  Greek  and  Latin 
languages,  of  none  of  which  has  he  the 
l4ast  knowledge  in  his  normal  condition. — 
He  has  also  quoted  long  extracts  from  the 
Sanscrit,  the  suostance  ofwhich  I  have  been 
able  to  verify  from  a  French  translation  of 
the  Vedas.  Whether  the  same  thing  exists 
in  an  English  version  I  have  not  learned." 
In  this  passage  the  impression  is  clearly 
flight  to  be  made  and  is  made  that  Profes- 
TV  Bosh  has  heard  Davis  quoting  with  the 
txtmost  accuracy  from  the  Hebrew  and  other 
l^ngu^es.    But  "  T.  L."  showed  th»t  Ihis 


pretended  quotation  from  these  languages  wae 
nothing  more  than  the  repetition  of  one  word 
which  ne  might  have  picked  up,  and  evea 
in  the  case  of  the  Greek  that  the  words 
were  anglicised  and  of  common  use  in 
newspaper  reports.  And  now  Prof.  Bush 
says  **  It  is  true  that  I  did  not  myself  heat 
the  utterance  of  but  one  Hebrew  word  '* — 
what  then  must  be  our  opinion  of  Professor 
Bush's  state  of  mind,  when  after  hearing  a 
man  repeating  a  Hebrew  word,  often  seen 
in  English  Tetters,  he  says  that  he  baa 
"  heard  him  quote  with  entire  accuracy  froiii 
the  Hebrew  language,*'  and  on  such  evi- 
dence he  builds  the  pretension  that  the  man 
receives  his  Hebrew  revelations  froni  the 
spiritual  world.  We  were  induced  to  allow 
Prof.  Bush  to  make  his  defence  in  our  col*' 
umns  that  it  might  be  shown  as  it  is  now/ 
and  will  be  more  luUy  next  week,  that  he^ 
has  been  deluded  without  the  least  shadow^ 
of  reason,  and  when  put  on  the  defence  has 
not  even  the  appearance  of  an  argument  on 
which  to  build. 


BlfLAItOEHfiNT  OF  THE  LIVER  kVD  BPUnR,' 
WrrH  DI8BA0E  OP  THE  M.OOD. 

Tn  the  same  journal.  Dr.  Fuller,  giveaal. 
length  the  histor}-  of  this  case,  and  the  prin-, 
cipal  points  of  interest  are*— 1st.  That  thej 
blood  being  microscopically  inspected  before 
and  after  death  had  taken  place,  presented* 
in  addition  to  the  natural  blood-globules*  the 
appearance  of 

<*  A  number  of  abnormal  gIobuIes»  spheri-J 
cal  in  form,  finely  granular  in  appearance, 
colorless*  and  apparently  possessed  of  no 
investing  membrane  or  nucleus.  These, 
globules  varied  greatly  in  size ;  some  were 
about  the  size  of  ordinary  blood  corpuscles, 
but  the  greater  number  of  ihem  were  much 
larger,  some  of  the  largest  measured  varying 
fro.-D  1-1500  to  1-2000  of  an  inch  in  diame-. 
ter,  the  blood  globules  in  their  immediate  - 
vicinity  having  a  diameter  of  of  1-4500  of. 
an  inch.  They  were  so  numerous  as  to. 
constitute  about  one  fourth  or  even  a  larger 
portion,  of  the  entire  globules  of  the  blood.  . 

"  The  mass  of  the  blood  after  death  pre- 
sented very  abnormal  characters.  The 
splenic  veins  and  arteries  were  greatly  en- 
larged, and  it  was  found  that  all  the  veina. 
constituting  the  portal  system  were  enor- 
mouslv  dilated,  and  distended  with  semi«« 
coagulated  blood,  of  the  consistence  of  that 
substance  which  may  be  squeezed  out  of  ^ 
soft  pulpy  spleen,  but  of  a  peculiarly  grey**- 
ish  purple  color.  Some  of  the  omental 
veins  were  so  dilated  as  to  equal  the  femo- 
ral in  size,  and  their  coats  were  remarkably 
thiu.  Further  ezaminatiop  proved  th^t  al\ 
the  vessels  contained  in  the  abdomen  were" 


M 


Treatment  of  Bursal  Disease  of  the  Knee  Joint. 


greatly  dilated,  and  filled  with  this  same 
grumous  blood." 

The  writer  speculates,  without  arriving 
at  any  positive  conclusion,  as  to  the  origin 
and  pn^ress  of  this  chance,  and  he  usefully 
indicates  the  propriety  of  ascertaining  how 
far  a  similar  condition  of  the  blood  exists  in 
all  cases  of  enlarged  liver  and  spleen. 

0»  THE  T&KATMKNT  OF  BURSAL  DIS£AS£  OF 
THi:  KNKE-JOINT. 

In  a  communication  to  the  same  journal, 
Mr.  Skey  describes  the  practice  wnich  he 
has  found  useful  in  the  inconvenient  and 
painful  malady  known  as  housemaid's  knee. 
Counter-irritation  by  blisters  he  believes  an 
inefficient  mode  of  treating  the  disease,  and 
excision  barbarous  and  unnecessarv.  His 
practice  may  be  learned  from  the  following 
paragraph  :— 

*•  If  such  amount  of  inflammation  be  ex- 
cited in  a  diseased  bursa  as  will  produce 
suppurative  action,  an  abscess  will  fonn, 
which  may  be  brought  to  a  grisis,  if  neces- 
•ary,  bj^  puncture;  but  in  soft  cr  fluid 
bom  tms  crisis  is  not  requisite.  The  efiect 
of  a  thread  passed  through  the  sac  a§  similar 
to  that  of  the  same  agent  in  the  case  of  hv- 
droceYe  or  ranula — viz :  the  secretion  is  ab- 
sorbed without  being  discharged  by  a  wound 
and  the  cavity  is  obliterated.  But  in  the 
bard  and  consolidated  form  of  the  disease, 
the  effect  of  the  thread  is  that  of  producing 
suppuration.  The  hard  mass,  as  it  were, 
breaks  down  into  a  common  abscecs,  which, 
when  punctured,  discharges  its  contents,  and 
heals.  In  this  manner,  I  have  treated  dis- 
eased burss  for  many  years.  A  common 
thread  of  silk  should  be  passed  through  the 
centre  of  the  tumour,  especisdiy  so  in  the 
hard  form,  in  order  to  insure  its  including 
the  central  cavity,  for  this  I  believe  to  be 
necessary.  The  time  it  should  be  allowed 
to  remain  will  depend  entirely  on  the  effect 
produced.  Occasionally,  the  tumour  shows 
g[reat  indifference  to  its  presence;  at  other 
times,  and  in  other  persons,  smart  inflamma- 
tion follows,  accompanied  with  considerable 
pain,  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  two.  The 
inflammation  may  extend  over  the  front  of 
the  joint.  The  thread  should  then  be  remo- 
ved, and  the  knee  fomented  or  poulticed; 
and  from  that  period  the  disease  may  date 
its  onward  march  towards  a  final  cure- 
Nothing  can  be  more  satisfactory  than  the 
steady  progress  these  cases  generally  make. 
When  the  bursa  is  large  and  hard,  the 
thread  should  remain  until  a  good  deal  of  in- 
flammation is  produced,  even  tboueh  suupu- 
lation  be  established,  which  will  be  inoica- 
tad  by  the  oozing  of  pus  from  the  punctures. 
TIte  thrtad  being  then  removed,  either  the 


abscess  wiU  become  mote  matared,aB4fc* 
maud  relief  (rom  the  lancet,  or  the  vboli 
mass  of  the  disease,  now  become  flaid,  wA 
undergo  gradual  absorption.  I  have  cand 
many  cases  in  the  early  stage  io  three  wcd^ 
but  they  more  frequently  require  a  mentkoi 
five  weeks,  particularly  when  theabaorpdoi 
of  a  laige  mass  of  lymph  forms  a  necemiy 
part  of  the  process  of  cure.** 

When  the  bursa  is  too  deep  to  allow  d 
the  application  of  the  thread,  Mr.  iSkejm- 
ommends  injection  and  pressure.  The  ia* 
jection,  it  may  be  inferred  from  Mr.  Skefi 
desultory  style  of  writine,  is  to  be  comffm 
of  a  weak  solution  of  sulphate  of  zinc 

AHALTSIS  or  UDMKT  IN  BaiOHT^  BBIMi; 
Vnr  UTTLK  FAT,  BUT  AH  KXaW  IT 
AUKriONOVS    AHO     FIBRlllOVi      MAHS 

roumi>. 

"Dr.  Black  read  an  account  of  a  chenucd 
analysis  of  Bright*s  kidney  in  the  adtanMd 
sta^.  The  kidneys  were  larger  than  k 
health,  and  mottled,  and  to  the  naked  eji 
presented  well-marked  appearances  of  vM 
oad  been  called  granular  kidney ;  on  in^ 
tion  with  the  microscope,  however,  oalf 
very  few  oil-ovules  could  be  seen. 

<*  355.5  grains  of  the  kidney,  after  nofh 
pressure  between  between  iolds  daae^ 
were  cut  into  very  small  and  thin  pieces,  ud 
subjected  for  two  hours  to  boiling  is  vileff 
in  a  Florence  flask.  He  obtained  in  ikii 
manner  a  milky-looking  fluid  of  tlKipt 
grav.  1009  a  62*,  which  was  filtered. 

"  147.7  grains  of  firm  lesidoom  reaiiw 
upon  the  filter,  showing  that  207.8  gtaiHfli 
the  portion  of  kidney  subjected  to  boiliig 
bad  been  taken  up  in  solution  orsospeattft 
by  the  water. 

"  No  fat  or  oil-ovules,  beyond  »  ■* 
tnce,  appeared  on  the  milky  looking  m 
which  was  neutral  in  its  leartioo  oo  tf^ 
paper. 

"  Half  of  this  fluid  was  evaporated  to 
dryness,  and  thirty  grains  of  dry  reaidwm 
were  obtained,  which  residoum  was  sot  ij 
all  soluble  in  ether,  but  entirely  Uttdm 
in  liquor  potasss.  . 

«« The  other  half  of  this  fluid  wa«  treaW 
with  nitric  acid,  which  threw  down  a  cloudy 
flocculent  precipitate. 

«« The  firm  matter,  weighing  147.7  graiBI 
which  had  resisted  the  action  of  boiuilg 


water,  was  dieested  in  pure  liquor  ^ 
a  thick  brownish  colored  solution  waa  W 
obtained,  which,  on  being  filtered,  left  t«> 
grains  of  dense  and  thready  animal  fih»  ■?• 
on  the  filter. 

"  After  filtration,  the  roltttion  wai  pfg^ 
itatcd  by  hydrochloric  add ;  sad  the  ««• 


Dr.  Forbes  en  Mesmerism. 


n 


doadj  precipitate,  when  diy,  weighed  thirty 
ipainf. 

<*  As  the  principal  results  of  his  analysis, 
J>r.  Black  ascertained  that  one  thousand 
parts  of  the  diseased  kidney  were  composed 
as  follows; — 

AlbumiDoufl  and  fibrinous  matters       28 1 .6 
HydrogenooB  constituents    .    .     ) 

Salts [    718.3 

Vne  oil-OYulea— a  trace  .    .    .     )     

1000 

**He  was  disposed  to  apportion  40  per 
taut  of  thealbaininous  and  fibrinous  matters 
aa  dia  Imltby  constituents  of  the  renal 
atraetare,  whilst  he  believed  the  remainder 
iNmld  represent  the  adventitious  albumen 
laaahiag  from  the  pathological  state. 

"  Dr.  Black  spoke  of  this  as  being  the  first 
al  a  series  of  analyses  of  the  kind  which  he 
ia  about  to  undertake." 

We  take  the  above  extract  from  the  pro- 
<aading8  of  the  Manchester  Pathological  6o- 
ciatT.  The  conclusions  of  Dr.  Black  are 
Ugfaly  interesting,  and  quite  opposed  to  the 
Tiew  which  has  been  lately  taken  of  the 
ftataie  of  Bright*s  disease— viz :  that  it  is 
Ika  resalt  of  an  increase  of  the  fatty  ele- 
■lefils  of  the  kidney.  Dr.  Black  shows  ex- 
perimentally, that  this  deposit  is  absent ;  it 
verefore  cannot  be  the  cause  of  the  dis- 
aase:  the  same  experiments  show  the  pres- 
enea  of  an  excess  of  albuminous  and 
Abrinous  matter.  These  observations  con- 
firm, in  a  remarkable  manner,  those  made 
by  Dr.  Quain  on  this  disease,  and  published 
im  this  josiaal  some  time  ago.— I^ancft. 


DR.  FOEBES  ON  MESMERISM. 
Tha  Ostober  number  of  the  British  and 
Vbtaign  Medical  Review,  published  in  Lon- 
don»  quarterly,  by  Dr.  Forbes  (author  o^ 
ToQog  Physic),  **  Physician  in  Ordinary  to 
kar  Majesiya  Household,  Physician  Extra- 
•fdinary  to  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  A.1- 
bert,"  contains  a  long  review  of  Dr.  EsdfuPs 
•*  Mesmerism  in  India,  and  its  pratical  Ap- 
plication in  8nrgery  and  Medicine***  Dr.  F 
im  mmuk  hr  adranoed  ia  life,  and  is  placed 
tj  coouaoii  consent  at  the  very  head  of  the 
Madlcal  Professioo.  Up  to  the  commence- 
aafiit  ol  this  year»  he  haa  been  considered 
■lifn  mpliial  in  mferenoa  toall  new  things, 
in  the  January  number,  1846,  he  made  a 
clean  breast  of  his  views  upon  Medicine,  and 
tha  system  (Allopathy) 


he  had  all  his  life  pursued.  In  the  number 
before  us,  he  intimates  to  the  professional 
brethren  that  the  evidences  in  favor  of  Mea* 
merlsm  can  no  longer  be  "  philosophieallf 
disregarded."    We  give  an  extract : 

« Having,  however,  fully  admitted  tha 
high  probability  of  some  of  Dr.  Esdail'a 
statements  concerning  the  painless  character 
of  the  surgical  operations ;  and  being,  indeed 
from  many  circumstances,  well  convinced 
that  a  ^reat  depression  of  outward  sen- 
sibility, if  not  its  temporary  abolition,  will 
in  some  constitutions,  result  from  practice  of 
the  Mesmeric  art,  we  will  now  proceed  to 
the  consideration  of  what  we  deem  to  ba 
reasonable  corollary,  from  this  admission  on 
our  part  We  conceive,  then,  that  the  evi* 
dence  attesting  the  fact  of  certain  abnormal 
states  being  induced  by  Mesmerism,  is  now 
of  such  character  that  it  can  no  longer  ba 
philosophically  disregarded  by  the  memben 
of  our  profession,  but  that  they  are  bound  to 
meet  it  in  the  onl^  way  in  which  aiieeed 
facts  can  satisfactorily  be  either  verified  or 
confuted — by  observation  and  experiment. 
When  it  is  positively  afllrmed  that  the  Mes- 
meric  processes  will  sometimes  render  a  pa- 
tient utterly  insensible  to  the  surgeon's  knife, 
when  detailed  illustrations  of  this  fact  are  ttt 
corded  almost  every  day.  how  can  we  fairly 
reject  such  statements,  unless  we  go  to  Na- 
ture, observe  for  ourselves,  and  demonstrate 
the  source  of  the  monstrous  fallacy  that  is 
deluding  members  of  the  profession  and  the 
public  ^ike  ?  Indeed,  we  hesitate  not  to  as- 
sert that  the  testimony  is  now  of  so  varied 
and  extensive  a  kind,  so  strong,  and  in  a 
certain  proportion  of  cases  so  seemingly  un- 
exceptionable, as  to  authorize  us,  nay,  ia 
honesty  to  compel  us  to  recommend  that  an 
immediate  and  complete  trial  of  the  practice 
be  made  in  sui^ical  cases.  If  experience  like 
that  which  Dr.  Esdail  relates  to  us  be  bat 
true  in  one-tenth,  nay,  one-hundredth  of  ila 
particulars,  we  hold  that  a  case  is  made  out 
demanding  searching  inquiry.  If  Mesmer- 
ism, even  in  its  huinbler  pretensions,  be  ab- 
solutely untrue,  let  it  be  proved  to  be  so.  If 
careful  observation  and  repeated  experiment 
lead  to  the  detection  of  some  hitherto  hidden 
cause  of  error  and  mistake  that  has  deluddl 
and  mystified  tbe  more  honest  class  of  Mee* 
merists,  what  a  service  will  be  rendered  to 
humanity  and  to  truth  if  this  can  be  pro- 
claimed on  perfectly  just  and  ade^nata 
grounds.  In  how  much  better  a  position 
shall  we  be  after  investigation  for  oonfutiiy 
the  imposture,  if  such  it  shall  turn  out  Qlti» 
mately  to  be.  than  in  continuing  to  treat  th# 
subject  with  contemptuous  disregard  !  Of 
one  thing  let  us  rest  assured,  not  only  th^ 


0 


On  ElecteicUt/. 


public,  but  the  more  sober  thinking  of  the 
froieesion  will,  ere  long,  hold  thoee  at  a  die- 
if)¥antage,  who,  in  opposition  to  facts,  ap- 
pulBiitly  mU  anthenticated,  can  or  will  bat 
uddoce  mere  uoaupported  aigament*  oc  ridi- 
cole. 

"  There  would  appear  to  be  to  conditions 
aftachlng  to  any  novel  practice  in  medicine, 
independently  of  the  authority  by  which  it 
comes  recommended,  that  should  influence 
itls  title  to  a  fair  trial ;  first,  the  extent  of  the 
anticipated  benefit,  and,  second,  the  degree  of 
possible  mischief  attending  its  employment, 
flow,  the  promised  advantages  of  Mesmerism 
n  surgical  operations  correspond  with  these 
r^uirements  in  an  eminent  degree.  If  the 
•tatements  be  corroborated,  and  if  insensibili- 
ty can  be  produced  artificially,  surely  the 
immense  acquisition  both  to  operator  and  pa- 
tient is  obvious  at  once ;  and,  according  to 
all  the  evidence  that  exists  upon  this  sub- 
ject, mischief  very  rarely  follows  the  prac- 
tice of  Mesmerism  in  the  event  either  of 
•Qcee^s  or  failure.  "  I  beg  to  state,"  says 
Br.  Esdail,  **  that  I  have  seeu  no  bad  con- 
sequences whatever,  ensue  from  persons 
being  operated  on  in  the  Mesmeric  trance. 
Cases  have  occurred  in  which  no  pain  was 
felt,  tven  subsequent  to  the  operation,  and 
the  wounds  healed  by  the  first  intention 
fend  in  the  rest  I  have  seen  no  indication  of 
any  injurious  consequences  to  the  constitu- 
tion. On  the  contrary,  it  appears  to  me  to 
have  been  saved,  and  that  less  constitutional 
disturbance  has  followed  than  under  any 
ordinary  circumstances.  If  then  good  is 
possibly  to  ensue,  and  mischief  is  but  little 
to  be  feared  from  the  experiment,  why  not 
candidly  make  it!  Assuredly  experiments 
in  therapeutics  are  constantly  made  on 
grounds  far  less  reasonable.  If  a  single 
pracHtioner  of  any  eminence  recommend 
BOme  novel  and  heroic  treatment  In  serious 
disease,  multitudes  are  ready  to  try  it;  how 
ever  perilous  to  the  patient  the  trial,  a  prio- 
ri may  appear.  Although  at  the  present 
day,  it  is  pretty  well  made  out  that  pneumo- 
nia, in  many  instance,  will  come  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue  with  little  depletion  some 
dozen  years  since  laij^e  numbers  of  the 
profession,  especiallf  in  France,  did  not 
besitate,  on  the  recommendation  of  M. 
Bduillard,  to  bleed  coup  eur  coup;  and, 
mbottttwentv  years  atfo,  when  Dr.  Arm- 
strong bled  largeljr,  and  administered  heroic 
ifoses  of  calomel  in  the  incipient  stage  of 
fever,  many  jiersons  felt  themselves  author* 
ized  in  adopting  the  treatment  experimen- 
lalljr.  Yet,  in  these  instances,  a  degree  of 
mk  to  the  patient  was  incnrred  in  the  at- 
tainment of  the  posfiible  benefit,  and  there 
waa»  noidOTer»  an  nact rtainty  in  deciding 


upon  the  exact  nature  of  the  Rnlt,irbicL 
as  regards  Mesmerism  in  surgery,  wow 
not  be  experienced,  Aiain,  we  a^r»  let  t 
be  tried  upon  patients  about  to  be  whaitlii 
to  the  knife ;  if  true,  let  us  have  the  beaeft 
of  it,  and  if  false  let  the  falsehood  be  denofit 
sUated." 


ON  ELECTRraxy 

CONSIDERED 
A«  a  Aivtfologflcal  and  B«at-Prodneiiic  Agvi 
TVkspttrpoMt  oMwerMl  b^  jbod  Uimm»m 
ayBhm,  and  tke  J{^^H«ir«Nsg4i|flM8ii 
of  BiUfiratim^ 

BT  J.  W.  LAMM,  £SQ.,  HOUBMB. 

As  the  theory  oi  animal  tempetat&re  d 
remaine  one  of  those  points  ia  pbyiiolc^ 
not  yet  clearly  demonstrated,  the  folMV 
suggestions,  explanatory  of  this  phanoBeMi 
may  not  prove  unaeceptaUe. 

A  long  course  of  obeervatioa  hM  turn 
me  to  arrive  at  the  conelttMon  that  (sna 
operation  of  nature*  both  in  the  cn^ukm 
inoiganic  kingdoms^  ia  occasioned,  eitiMt» 
rectly  or  indirectly,  by  that  power  or  10^ 
already  known  to  us  under  the  tendij 
tricity;  that  this  subtle  ^^indple  stl^ats 
were,  as  the  link  connecting  these  ftfcMi 
with  the  fiat  oi  the  Creator.  Taliv  w 
enlarged  view  of  that  mystenMi  pc^ 
which 

*'  LiTM  throncli  all  life,  aztands  tkraofk  ■&  *>i^ 
Spreads  andiridcd,  oparatet  luupeau"— Fan 

I  have,  by  identifying  i^witii  heatia  ^ri» 
ganic  kingdom,  been  enabled  to  throw  win 
additional  light  on  many  of  the  phjnofiV' 
ical  functions.  But  for  the  identificita- 
Sir  David  Brewster  has  proved  to  « <» 
tharoare,  in  the  northam heBiiifiittn W^ 
poles  of  extreme  cold,  and  that  ttees  P«* 
are  also  the  magnetic  poles  or  spots  •^'•[■jj 
the  needle  assumes  a  perpendicular  pew* 
He  has  shown  also  that  lines  dravn  eq» 
distant  rooad  these  poiaa,  are  iaotiMnM^t^ 
lines  of  equal  temperatnia.  Agwa:  m 
magnetic  equator  does  not  correspond  iNi 
the-  terrestrial  equator,  and  the  isothca* 
line  follows  the  course,  not  of  the  tewttlni 
but  of  the  maji^lM  eqnotor.  Who^ea^ 
donht  the  intimata  nlation  aiaittegkMlB 
heat  and  electricity  ?  and  if.  co^M  9« 
this,  we  regard  the  sun  as  the  sonreef 
both,  we  have  the  eonvidion  of  their  li* 
tity  atill  daemr  JasprvHed  vilhfBiia  *> 
more  than  tiiia»^  Derhecii  hat  ^fif^jZ 
how  to  convert  heat  into  daatri^jly 
Peltier  has  taught  us  how  to  convert  <i«t 
aityintoheat  What nwwtfcaa sad  155 
can  ba  wiantiai^  to  eoBViaoa  i 


On  Eleetrkity 


it 


4ftllbit  beat  and  eleetiieity  an  one  and  the 

4Mfte  agent  ?    And  if  we  are  at  present  un- 

•Mt  to  determine  the  exact  Jaws  which  ^oy- 

^effn  its  access  in  these  varied  states,  it  is  a 

|iiroof|  not  that  these  Jaws  do  diot  actually 

«zi0t,  bat  rather,  that  oar  ienontnce  and 

misdirected  research  have  hitherto  been  a 

iMftierto  their  discovery.    Still,  however, 

an  it  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  sta- 

Viiity  of  the  theory  I  am  about  to  propose, 

litoA  tbts  identity  should  be  completely  and 

mdeiiably  established,  I  will  farther  tres- 

fMi  upon  attention  to  add  what  1  might  al- 

■MMrt  term  a  mathematical  proof  of  the  fact. 

For  iiistaiioe.  let  us  take  a  pound  of  water 

adtbe  ordinary  temperature  of  the  atonos-^ 

ykere ;  by  the  passage  of  a  stream  of  elec- 

teieity  this  water  is  conrerted  into  a  certain 

Imlk  of  the  mixed  gasses,  which  we  must 

MfffeaeBt  by  water,  the  electricity  consumed 

itt  its  transformation.    If  we  combine  these 

gMsea  80  as  again  to  form  water,  we  find 

•o  traee  of  electricity  nven  off,  but  their  re- 

luiioo  is  accompanied  by  an  intense  degree 

of  heat.    Now,  as  heat  and  eleclricity  are 

flfeita  agents*  which  can  neither  be  created 

MOt  de^yed,  the  questions  to  be  solved 

am   Where  has  the  electricity  gone  to  ? — 

Wbcie  did  the  beat  come  irom  ?    ft  is  clear 

tliat  the  electricity  absorbed  in  the  decompo- 

iftioii  of  the  water  has  been  again  given 

^«t  aa  heat  on  the  reunion  of  the  gasses ;  in 

•liort,  we  have  it  as  an  establi^ed  fact  that 

'•leetrichy  and  heat  are  identical.    Now  it  is 

hf  a  eonrersion  of  electricity  into  heat  that 

I  intend  to  aocountfor  the  phenomenon  of 

«iiiiiMl  temperatnre,  and  it  will  therefore 

be  neeessary  for  me  first  to  show  that  the 

tedyia  oontmoally  receiving  a  supply  oi  that 

It  is  sn  admitted  fact  in  physiology,  that 
4te  pantides  which  farm  our  bodies  are  con- 
^nUy  vndeneoiag  a  change ;  and  although 
aba  aoAer  portions  are  more  frequently  re- 
•eiwad  than  bone  and  cartillage,  yet  an  at- 
Mnpt  has  beea  made  to  fix  the  average 
ImM  ol  tine  lor  such  change  to  be  effected, 
madmim  low  eaicolation  seven  years  is  the 
timt  &ced  upon<-that  is,  it  is  computed  that 
in  aeven  yem  we  shall,  by  means  of  the 
iMttialiinent  darired  from  our  food,  have 
4bfawd  an  eutifeir  new  body.  But  during 
ifeiil  poiod,  we  shall  have  consumed  on  a 
ionr  calculation,  between  4000  and  5000 
ttt.  of'solid  food.  Now  the  average  weight 
«f  a  man,  inckiding  ftndB,  is  160  pouAds, 
and  yet,  to  iaimaiiew  body,  be  must  eon- 
mnmnmAy  a  coBple  of  tona  ol  solid  food, 
muhmwe  vi  iiouids,  every  particle  of  which 
In  fl^ttU»Qf  Ming  eomrertad  into  animal 
Itii  «(«Uent»  Aen,  thst  while  food 
tbeMNMitbt 


some  other  great  purpose  answered  hy  it,  or 
nature  must  have  been  very  remiss  m  her 
workmanship.  The  size,  too,  of  the  ther* 
acic  duct,  the  channel  by  which  nutriment 
is  received  into  the  system,  bears  a  very 
small  proportion  to  the  bulk  of  food  neoea* 
sary  to  appease  the  sensations  of  hunger.—- 
it  is  clear,  then,  that  while  nutrition  is  m 
very  necessary  function,  it  is  yet  only  se^ 
ondary  to  some  other  great  end  which  the 
bulk  of  food  is  destined  to  answer.  For  if 
we  refuse  to  admit  this  mode  of  argument, 
if  we  consider  nutrition  as  the  only  service 
derivable  from  food,  and  then  see,  as  is 
above  shown,  that  a  man  must  take  thirly 
ounces  of  food  to  supply  one  ounce  of  waste 
—do  we  not  perceive  at  once  a  great  appar- 
ent departure  of  nature  from  the  admirable 
and  economic  system  in  which  all  her  opera* 
tions  are  conducted  ?  Are  we  not  compell- 
ed to  exclaim  with  the  poet — 

«  RMaoninc  I  ofl  adiDfaw, 
Bow  Natare,  wIm  and  migal  could  conuBit 
Bach  diiproponiona*"— Milton. 

Now  as  electricity  is  elicited  by  chemical 
decomposition  and  as  chemical  decomposi* 
tion  of  the  food  occurs  immediately  it  is  re- 
ceived into  the  stomach,  in  the  process  call- 
ed  digestion,  there  is  every  reason  to  sup* 
pose  that  the  purpose  whicn  a  bulk  of  food 
IS  destined  to  serve,  is,  to  afibrd  by  its  de- 
composition a  sufficient  supply  of  animal 
electricity ;  and  this  seems  to  be,  in  a  great 
measure,  borne  out  by  observation.  ^  Food 
is  very  variable  in  its  nature.  Spirits  af- 
ford a  large  amount  of  heat  while  bnrning-- 
a  proof  that  their  chemical  decomposition  in 
the  stomach  affords  a  lar^e  amount  of  elec- 
tricity. Meat  and  ail  kinds  of  stimulating 
and  animal  food  afford  a  mich  greater  sup-  . 
ply  of  this  agent  than  does  a  braid  or  vejget- 
able  diet.  Hence  we  find  that  a  great  drink- 
er is  but  a  little  eater ;  and  why  ?  He  sup- 
plies a  sufficiency  of  electricity  from  spiritu- 
ous liquors,  and  be  therefore  only  requires 
a  small  amount  of  solid  food  to  answer  the 
purposes  of  nutrition.  A  person  living  on 
a  good  supply  of  animal  food  requires  mucb 
less  bulk  than  those  compelled  to  subsist 
wholly  on  vegetable  diet.  The  bulk  of  a 
good  meat  meal  is  very  disproportionate  to 
the  mess  of  oatmeal  porridge  consumed  by 
the  Highlander,  or  the  potatoe  diet  of  the 
Irishman.  Food,  then,  is  intended  to  aerra 
the  mat  parpoee  of  keeping  alive  the  vital 
spark,  by  supplying  the  subtle  went  on 
which  its  existence  depends;  and  mis  car- 
ries with  it  the  conviction,  that  it  is  the  elee- 
triety  thus  eliminated  that  constitutes  the 
nervous  agent,  and  that  it  is  a  diminution  of 
tliia  anbtic  principla  in  our  ayatcn  Iktt  oc- 


M 


Ok  ElectrieUjf. 


cisions  the  sensation  of  hanfl|er;  for  we 
cannot  suppose  for  a  moment  tnat  fhis  mo- 
nition arises  from  any  wasting  of  the  body 
iMttinng  reparation,  whiJst  the  languor  and 
debility  occasioned  by  abstinence,  and  the 
aoaUrevivine  inyigoration  produced  by  rer 
Inehroent,  clearly  point  out  that  muscula- 
debility,  and  not  muscular  diminution,  was 
the  cause  of  hunger,  and  that  it  was  a  freeh 
flspply  oi  animal  spirit,  and  not  animal  fab- 
ric, that  was  needed. 

We  hare  the  stomach,  then,  as  the  labor- 
atory in  which  the  vital  agent  is  eliminated, 
and  we  must  view  the  brain,  not  with  Dr. 
Amott,  in  the  light  of  a  galvanic  batterj^, 
hut  merely  as  a  receptacle  or  reservoir,  in 
which  this  agent  is  received,  and  from  which 
il  is  dispensed— the  par  vagum,  or  pneumo- 
gastric  nerves,  being  the  medium  of  commu- 
nicatton.  This  view  will  readilv  explain  to 
«•  why  a  state  of  collapse,  or  deficiency  of 
nervoas  energy  should  be  occasioned  by  a 
Uow  upon  the  stomach,  as  also  the  unpleas- 
nnt  sensations,  termed  headach,  produced  in 
the  brain,  when,  by  means  of  spirits  or  high 
seasoned  food  received  into  the  stomach,  too 
creat  a  quantity  of  the  vital  agent  has  been 
directed  to  it.  Now,  with  regard  to  animal 
temperature,  space  will  not  permit  me  to  al- 
lude individually  to  the  various  theories 
which  have  been  put  forward  explanatory 
of  this  phenomenon ;  but  classing  them  as 
those  which  refer  the  source  of  heat  to  the 
changes  occurring  in  the  lungs  during  respi- 
ntion,  and  as  those  which  refer  it  to  the 
contractions  and  dilatations  of  the  heart  and 
arteries,  I  will  briefly  endeavor  to  prove  their 
fallacy. 

Respiration  Is  essentiallr  a  cooling  process 
Witness  the  respiration  of  a  dog,  who  pers- 
pires ahnost  solely  by  the  tongue,  and  whose 
quick  panting  respiration  is  the  chief  means 
pf  cooling  its  overheated  body.  I  do  not  for 
a  moment  deny  that  the  decarbonization  of 
tlM  blood  is  attended  by  an  evolution  of  heat; 
bat  I  assert  thai  the  hhat  thus  pioduced  is 
insufficient  even  to  raise  the  bulk  of  air  in* 
ttired  from  the  temperature  of  the  atmos- 
]ikere  to  that  of  the  lungs,  and  as  the  expired 
air  ii  of  a  temperature  equal  to  that  of  the 
body,  it  follows  that  at  every  expiration  heat 
mast  be  carried  off,  and  that  the  Drocess,  eo 
in  from  imparting  heat,  is  one  of^the 


by  which  the  cooling  of  our  bodies  is  efiec- 
tA.  Another  class  oftheorists  suppose,  with 
Dr.  Winn,  that  the  alternate  contiactiona  and 
dilatations  of  the  heart*B  arteries  piove  an 
tiBcient  source  of  animal  temperatnce,  in  the 
mnub  omnner  aa  that  a  piece  of  caootchone 
becomes  heated  when  aoddenly  strstohed. 
Bat  aii  these  theorists  aware  that  heat  is  a 
iult  agent,  and  most  have  a  soorce?    That 


if  this  contraction  and  dilatstion  pndoeil 
heat,  in  the  absence  of  any  chemical  ebup 
taking  place  in  the  parts  themselfcs,  thi 
heat  must  be  derived  from  the  samKmdiiif 
parts,  and  therefore  this  process,  while  il 
might,  perhaps,  elicit  heat,  could  not  in  ny 
way  be  considered  as  its  generator. 

The  only  theory  worthy  of  considentioa 
is  that  proposed  bv  that  emineat  physiolo- 
gist. Sir  Benjamin  firodie,  whoK  eiperimenli 
have  clearly  proved  that  snimal  tempenton 
is  dependent  entirely  upon  the  nerrom  ip* 
tern.  But  increased  neruous  exdtentot  b 
attended  not  only  with  increased  tenpeitliii 
but  also  with  increased  circulation  asd  iih 
creased  respiration ;  and  this  aocoonts  for  tis 


tical  with  the  nervous  agent,  thefoUcfvin|I 
conceive  to  be  the  modus  operandi  of  * 
heat-producing  properties  ;-wefittd  thresgl* 
out  the  system  thai  the  necessary  appotb 
for  carrying  on  organic  life  consists  m  atea 
an  artery,  and  a  nerve.  The  nerve  eonwy- 
ing  the  peculiar  principle  of  vitality,  exotl 
a  decomposing  property,  and  efiEewt^^ 
composition  of  the  {mrtsto  which  it  iidiiW' 
ted,  the  results  of  which  are  taken  ap^ 
veins,  which  here  act  the  part  of  ^^^^ 
of  the  body,  while  the  arteries  iamiitoi 
matter  to  be  converted  into  aninnl  W^ 
and  it  is  the  chemical  combinations  vw 
here  take  place  that  prove  the  effideiitsinc* 
of  animal  neat.  This  I  consider  to  be « 
modus  operandi  of  the  healthy  state  ^ 
the  production  of  heat  in  fever  appem  b 
arise  from  a  different  source,  and!  dwM 
conceive  it  to  be  in  great  measors  d^o^fl^ 
upon  the  immediate  conversion  of  ibt  ■>» 
vons  agent  into  heat,  arising  from  the  aam 
being  too  highly  charged,  m  thesanenf 
thata  wire  becomes  red  hot  if  it  be  iM» 
eient  to  conduct  the  amount  of  eicctridty  » 
tempted  to  be  passed  alonff  it  ^^l^fl!?^ 
quesrion  arises— Where  does  *«***2?^ 
originaliy come  from?  In  feveis  ao™* 
taken.  Thoogh  in  the  healthy  sWt»  » 
stomach  is  the  chief  source  of  sapf*yt«; 
there  are  odier  channels  by  wWehttoi^JJ 
can  be  recetvad  intoAe  system— the  psjilis 
fibres  of  the  hair,  for  inslancei  ^^!5£ 
ing  the  good  cffi»u  leMlliBg  Inm*^ 
the  head,  and insakting  it  by  an  wOmm 
with  the  ose  of  evaporating  lotka*  ij* 
aU  prove  aoeb  sarncaaUe  lemadjssjaUt"^ 

TercrlonDaaf  !*«•  "i***"?:  ^  ^ 
Now  if  nanroM  inflocate  be  w  "^ 
of  bcst»  mental 


aboold  also  exert  an  iafiono  o^irtteli^ 
ptntare  of  the  body,  aad  we  Ii*  ■•^ 


Pathologieal  Sodeijf  of  London. 


5f 


sodden  flash  or  a  death-like  chillneea  are  the 
eflecte  of  the  exciting  or  depressing  passions. 
For  instance,  in  the  case  of  extreme  fright 
there  is  generally  a  loss  of  heat,  accompa- 
Bied  with  contractions  of  ihe  muscles,  and  a 
bristling  sensation  of  the  bair.  Painters  in 
depicting  this  emotion,  have  ic variably  done 
to  by  these  characteiistics !  and  Shakspeare, 
«Be  of  the  greatest  observers  and  analvzers 
ol  man  that  has  appeared,  e6|>ecially  alludes 
lo  them. 

IcmiM  a  tal«  onfold,  'WhoM  lightMt  "word 

WMMhanMrnpthraoaT:  fncwtbyyooRf  blood! 

Aad  in»k»      ■  ■ 

Sach  indiTidaal  bair  lo  stand  on  «nd, 

(Lika  qailis  apon  tb«  fretlalfOMvpiaa. 

.  Now,  in  this  bristling  aensation,  the  veri- 
fft  tyio  is  electrical  acience  cannot  fail  to 
ohfltrve  aa  elecrrical  phenomenon^  the  es- 
eape  of  eleotricitv  by  the  pointed  fibres  of 
the  hair,  whilst  the  loss  of  heat  indicates  the 
loss  of  electricity,  and  the  contraction  of  the 
noflcles  indicates  its  passage.  This,  too, 
0oids  a  convincing  proof  that  the  mental 
and  physical  agents  are  the  same.  Here 
mendu  emotion  produces  physical  disturb- 
anee;  in  that  physical  disturbance  we  recoff- 
Bise  electricity,  and  therefore  we  conclude 
that  this  agent  is  productive  alike  of  our 
menial  and  coiporeal  faculties;  that  the  hu 
jQan  mind  is  mysteriously  connected  with 
U  i  in  short,  that  electricity  is  the  vital  pnin 
ciple.  That  electricity  is  the  vital  agent  is 
an  idea  by  no  means  new  or  originsd ;  but 
the  canses  which  have  presented  a  more 
cl»i  demonstration  of  the  fact  have  been 
the  limited  views  which  philosophers  have 
taken  of  this  midiity  agent  The  snap  and 
the  spark  have  oeen  too  much  regarded  as 
the  sole  test  of  its  presence,  and  therefore 
"when  they  have  recognised  it  in  the  rolling 
ihoadec  and  withering  lightning  of  the  tem- 
pest they  have  failedto  discern  it  ia  the  se- 
cret Dower  that  j;overns  the  reins  of  the 
'whirlwind,  or  in  Us  milder  character,  as  the 
instromental  means  of  tempering  and  regu- 
lating climate,  and  as  producing  by  its  varied 
action,  all  that  is  delightful,  mournful,  or 
teirrble  in  Nature.  Tbey  bave  traced  it  as 
the  silent  agent,  which,  deep  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  is  productive  of  mineral  iorma 
tion ;  but  they  have  forgotten  to  follow  its 
workings  through  the  various  grades  of  ve- 
getable and  animal  life,  till  they  should  ar- 
nre  at  the  crowning  feature  of  creative  skill 


wOoniMxien  exqvitita  of  distant  trorldt  I 
Biilinfaiab'd  Jink  in  bsiag's  andleas  chain  I 
.  MiAwvf  fron  aotbing  to  iB«  Uaity."— Toniro. 

To  stady  man  aright,  he  must  be  constd- 
«red»  not  as  a  machine,  complete  and  perfect 


in  itself,  but  as  a  being  connected  with  ezter* 
nal  objects,  ant!  influenced  bv  external  cau« 
ses^  as  a  part,  in  short,  of  that  creation,  of 
which  it  is  happily  said,  that 

^  One  eommon  sool 
Inspires,  and  f«adS|  and  aaimatas  iba  wbola"— 

DmvMML 

This  is  the  view  which  a  philosopher 
must  take  of  creation,  before  he  can  ccnk* 
prehend  its  my8tenes;  this  is  the  only 
means  by  which  he  wiii  be  enabled  to  pene* 
traie  into  the  secret  recesses  of  Nature;  and 
although  the  possession  of  the  Frometheaa 
fire  must  ever  be  ranked  with  the  impossa* 
bilities  of  the  elixir  vita  and  philosopher** 
stone,  yet  Nature,  viewed  in  this  l^ht,  wiU 
open  up  to  us  new  themes  for  our  adiQim* 
tion,  new  wonders  for  our  aooazement*  and 
as  the  great  scheme  of  creation  becomea 
more  unfolded  to  our  view,  we  shall  eiwlaiai 
in  the  impassioned  language  of  Byion* 

<*  Art  net  Iba  mountains,  waves,  and  skiss,  a  p«t 
Ofma,aMtorn7so«J,«aIoftb«m1» 

HoLSKACH,  Oct.  1846. 


PATHOLOGICAL  SOCIETY  OFLONSOIT. 
DR.  C.  J.  B.  WILLUMS,  PaxSIDBIT. 

ocfb9tfioth,mk 
This  was  the  fint  meeting  of  the  new  8o* 
ciety.  The  looms  (No.  21  Regent-street) 
were  crowded.  Among  the  gentlemen  pre- 
sent we  noticed,  Drs.  Copland,  Bahtcglon* 
Clendinning,  Benco  Jones»  Roget,  Owim 
Rees,  Barlow,  Bennett,  Ramsbotfaam,  Lever* 
Hughes,  Golding  Bird,  Johnson,  Peaeoek— 
Meesis.  AmotI,  Ltston,  Benjamin  PhiUipst 
Partridge,  Macmurdo,  Kingdon,  Hilton,  Si* 
mon.  Cock,  Hewett,  Fuller,  Crisp,  Crltchett« 
Dalrymple,  Poland,  Busk,  &c. 

The  President  opened  the  proceedings 
with  the  following  address  .*— 

Gentlimbn,— In  openinz  the  public  pro* 
ceedings  of  the  Pathological  Society  of  Lon- 
don, in  this  first  year  of  its  existence,  I  can- 
not but  feel  the  painful  disproportion  be- 
tween the  vastness  and  importance  of  the 
objects  which  are  contemplated  in  its  forma- 
tion and  my  power  to  do  them  due  justice. 
But  the  obvious  merits  of  our  cause  set  aside 
all  personal  considerations,  and  confiding  in 


M 


Faikological  Society  ttf  London. 


fheir  own  flpreatness  and  strength  r  rather  than 
in  my  feeble  advocacy  of  them  on  this  occa- 
aioM.  I  beg  to  submit  to  your  attention  a  few 
lemarks  on  the  uses  and  difficulties  of  the 
study  of  pathology,  and  the  modes  in  which 
the  proceedings  of  this  Society  are  calcula- 
ImI  to  advance  it. 

Tnat  practical  medicine,  as  a  science,  and 
U  an  art,  is  a  most  intricate  and  dit&cult  sub- 
ject, will  be  admitted  by  all  who  have  con- 
scientiously engaged  in  its  pursuit, — from 
the  zealous  student,  who,  wnen  he  leaves 
the  comparatively  easy  and  pleasant  paths 
of  the  introductory  sciences,  struggles  in  the 
fliicketsof  the  practical  department  to  the 
▼clenui  practitiooei,  who  alter  much  toil  and 
dMmpointment  in  trying  to  thread  the  laby- 
nnth,  has  been  compdled  to  work  his  way 
by  some  short  cut  of  empirical  routine. 

That  practical  medicine  is  unsatisfactory, 
as  well  as  difficult,  is  obvious,  not  only  from 
the  notorious  popularity  of  emniricism,  in 
any  new  form,  but  also  from  toe  avowed 
seepticism  in  its  utility,  of  many  who  stand 
bign  in  the  profession,  and,  1  lament  to  add, 
frown  the  desertion  from  its  ranks  of  some 
few  estimable  men  into  the  ermtic  bands  of 
homoeopathy,  h^fdropathy,  mesmerism,  or 
some  such  specious  chimera. 

It  would  detain  you  too  long  were  I  to  go 
thioi^h  all  (be  steps  of  the  argument,  by 
which,  as  I  think,  it  may  be  proved  that  one, 
if  not  the  great  reason  why  the  study  of 
medicine  is  so  difficult  and  so  unsatisfactory 
is  because  it  has  hitherto  been  taught  and 
twstsd  too  metaphysically,— too  much  by 
closet  speculation, — too  much  by  book  de- 
scription, mystified,  or  cramped,  as  this  often 
is,  by  a  vague  or  Procrustean  phraseology. 
derived  from  ages  in  which  it  would  be  vain 
|o  expect  language  commensurate  with  the 
advanced  knowledge  of  the  present  day. — 
Too  little  hns  been  done  by  physical  demon- 
tfliation — ^too  little  by  appeals  to  the  senses 
«-4oo  little  by  direct  observation  and  expert* 
BMnt— tool  liule  by  habits  of  that  careful 
and  accnrate  investigation  of  phenomena,  to 
which,  alone.  Nature  discloses  her  truths. — 
Hence  the  knowledge  obtained  by  the  stu- 
dent is  that  of  abstract  kind  that  Mps  him 
little  at  the  bedside  of  the  patient  It  has  not 
apon  it  the  sramp  of  Nature ;  he  finds  much 
more  or  much  less  than  what  he  expects 
from  the  description  of  others,  and  his  sen- 
ses are  nnpracUsed  to  discern  for  himself.— 
Herefrom  arise  confusion,  vacillation,  and 
'foiJure  in  practice ;  and  distrusting  all  sci- 
entific medicine,  he  either  falls  into  a  narrow 
FDtttine  of  empiricism,  or  becomes  a  readv 
advocate  for  anj  partud  hypothesis  which 
»plies  some  universal  remedy,  or  easy  line 
^  titatment  to  all  diseases. 


We  want  then  the  means  of  rendering  the 
study  and  science  of  medicine  more  perwnil 
and  practical,  more  a  subject  of  individual 
observation  and  demonstiution  ;  and  fcr  this 
end,  we  look  first,  to  elinieaJ  flKdreine»aDd 
guided  by  the  experience  and  applied  skill 
of  former  observers,  our  imderstanding  ea* 
lightened  bv  the  standard  truths  of  analoaif 
and  physiology,  our  senses  sharpened  tak 
aided  by  all  that  optics,  acoustics^  hydiaal* 
ics,  mechanics,  and  chemistry  ca»  do  lor  w^ 
we  examine  signs  and  symptoms,  and  maka 
ourselves  acquainted'with  disease  ia  the  liv* 
ing  body,  mt  our  research  stops  not  hcR; 
we  pursue  disease  even  to  the  fidd  oL  ila 
triumph  in  death ;  aod  there  in  the  sad  hfr> 
voc  which  the  destroyer  has  made  in  tike  er* 
ganizatioHrwe  find  out  the  node  of  Ui 
warfare,  trace  out  his  weapons  and  plans  e# 
attack,  and  thns  prepared,  seek  for  means  st 
counteracting  them  m  due  time. 

Such  appears  to  be  the  pioper  method  el 
study;  but  we  soon  find  new  diificaltieB  m 
carrying  it  out  Those  encountered  ia  dis^ 
cat  medicine  I  pase  by,  and  proceed  biieiy la 
notice  the  chief  difficulties  in  the  stady  el 
pathological  anatomy. 

One  great  caaseof  thedifficnltjslBHPr 
tering  morbid  anatomy  is  its  |^reat  lai ' 
and  the  want  of  meanfr  to  iilastnite  it  by 
monstralion.  No  one  qaestioaa  the 
ty  of  demonstrations  and  actual  dh 
in  order  to  obtain  a  due  kaowledce  of  haft* 
thy  »natomy»  and  much  time  aid  I  ~ 
properly  bestowed  on  these  stndieeL 
one  healthy  body  dissected  is  a  type 
It  is  quite  different  with  morbid  ai 
disease  and  its  results  present  infiirite 
ties,  which  yet  require  to  be  seen  la  be 


YM 


erly  understood ;  and  no  one  eas    Imw  t» 
obtain  a  comprehensive  knowle^  of  tm 


anatomy  of  disease  without  witnessifif^  j 
mortem  examinations  for  a  series  of  71 
The  ordinary  career  of  a  student  at  »1 
pital  enables  him  to  see  but  a  tithe  ei  t 
extensive  subject;  and  even  hospital  plij 
cians,  with  years  of  experience^  are  freqi 
ly  encountering  something  new.    1 
myself  been  at  the  work  a  qaaftar  of  a 
tury,  and  have  assisted  in  the  exanaiz 
of  more  than  two  thousand  bodies,  y«t  \ 
now  I  rarely  attend  one  without  findin 
something  that  is  new  and  instiaetive. 
little  chance  is  there,  then,  for  piaetif  * 
to  become  conversant  with  this  most  if 
tive  branch  of  medical  science,  with 
scanty  opportunities,  reduced,  too»  as  tliey 
are,  by  want  of  time  and  inelinatien  Icur  iW 
pursuit,  and  by  the  difiicohies  r^ —  ^^ 
popular  prejudice !— l^sacrf. 


THE   DISSECTOR. 


VOL.  XV. 


APRIL,  1M7. 


NO.  a. 


ALLOPATHY: 

OR,  OLD  PRACTICE  OF  MEDICINE. 

A  8TN0P8I8, 
Containing  •  ahort  abitract  of  the  most  practioai  arti- 

clef ;  fend  showing  at  a  glance  the  most  important 

indications  of  treatment  oy  different  writers,  within 

the  last  six  months  of  the  year  18441. 
Diseaae*  Affeotiag  the  System  generally. 

PEVER»—TypAttf.— Besides  light,  ventila- 
tion, and  good  air,  shave  the  head ;  apply  four 
or  six  leedies  to  ^e  temples,  which  will  not  be 
contra-indicated  even  with  general  debility,  re- 
qairing  the  exhibition  of  vnne;  do  not  apply 
intense  cold.  If  insomnia  persist,  this  local  de- 
pletion acts,  as  in  some  forms  oi  ophthalmia, 
£7  relieving  the  distended  capillaries,  while 
tonics,  at  the  same  time,  give  them  and  the 
^neral  circnlation,  strength.  If  you  decide  on 
applying  cold  instead  of  ice,  take  a  single  fold 
ot  linen,  dipped  in  cold  lotion.  Do  not  continue 
the  use  of  opium  unless  it  procure  sleep,  or  it 
"Will  act  injuriously  upon  the  nutritive  func- 
tions, both  secretion  and  excretion.  If  the 
tongue  be  moist,  and  urine  abundant,  give 
op^um  if  required ;  but  if  it  become  drv  and 
brown  in  the  centre,  urine  high  colored  and 
scanty,  and  the  nutritive  and  secretive  func- 
tions be  deranged,  opium  will  act  as  a  poison, 
and  mask  your«diagno6is.  Hyosciamus,  as  it 
does  not  interfere  with  these  functions,  will  be 
more  advisable.  In  the  coma,  without  strong 
vascular  action,  use  blisters  rather  than  persist 
in  bleeding;  the  blistering  plaster  may  be  cut 
in  strips  of  an  inch  wide  and  applied  from  ear 
to  ear.  Counter-irritation,  also,  by  means  of 
croton  oil  and  ung.  hydrarg.  mixed,  maybe 
used.  Look  well  to  the  bladder ;  do  not  trust 
to  nurses,  and,  when  necessary,  introduce  the 
catheter.  Mark  well  the  crisis,  as  shown  by 
the  secretion  of  urate  of  ammonia,  or  urea,  or 
by  long  sleep  and  perspiration;  where  the 
latter  is  too  profuse,  about  the  sixteenth  or  sev- 
enteenth' day,  there  is  mach  risk.  In  common 
injflammatory  fever,  it  is  advantageous  about 
the  second  or  thira  day,  but  in  typhus  it  de- 
presses the  system  to  extreme  exhaustion. 
Dr.  Oorrigan,  p.  1.) 

Diarrho^  should  not  be  stopped  too  soon. 
Ijet  the  bowels  be  well  cleansed!  Give  a  little 
magnesia  or  lime  water,  or,  after  repeated  de- 
jections, the  cretaceous  remedies,  with  opium, 
if  too  violent,  stop  it  by  calomel  and  opium;  a 


? 


erain,  half,  or  Quarter  doses  may  be  given  at 
mtervals,  according  to  circumstances.  If  there 
be  attendant  tenesmus  or  dysentery,  give  an 
opium  enema;  and  in  the  worst  cases  it 
may  be  composed  of  three  or  four  grains  of 
aceL  of  lead,  and  a  half  or  one  erain  of  acet  of 
morphia,  with^in  ounce  and  a  half  of  aq.  dis- 
tillata.  For  the  typhoid  fever  after  diarrhoea, 
the  best  treatment  is  the  e^qpectant.  Allow 
plenty  of  fresh  air.  and  cool,  simple  diluents  to 
drink.  Change  the  bed  linen  frequently,  and 
often  sponge  or  dowse  the  skin  all  over  with 
cold  water,  if  practicable.  Consider  it  a  rule, 
that  what  is  agreeable  to  the  patient  is  useful, 
and  allow  him  in  reason  what  he  likes.  If 
head  symptoms  be  present,  use  the  cold  douche : 
wrap  the  patient  up  to  his  neck  in  a  blanket, 
and  pour  three  or  four  pitchers  full  of  water 
from  a  height  of  a  few  feet  upon  the  head  three 
or  four  times  a  day.  Apply  counter-irritants  to 
the  neck,  or  behind  the  ears,  in  extreme  cases. 
Arrest  any  irritation  of  the  bowels  which 
proves  debilitating,  with  the  cretaceous  mix- 
ture, 3j.,  every  three  or  four  hours.  Where 
there  is  aphthas,  wash  the  affected  parts  with  a 
lotion,  composed  of  two  grains  of  the  nitrate  of 
silver,  a  few  drops  of  nitric  acid,  and  eight 
ounces  of  distilled  water.  For  the  diarrhoea 
which  supervenes,  give  small  doses  of  snlphate 
of  quinine,  sulphuric  acid,  and  one-sixtn  gr. 
doses  of  sulph.  copper,  dissolved  in  any  suitable 
vehicle ;  or  acetate  of  lead  combined  with  opi- 
um, or  acetate  of  morphia  in  pills,  made  with 
bread-crumb.  These  also  may  be  adminis- 
tered in  enemata.    (Dr.  Laycock,  p.  32.) 

Iron  in  fever  may  be  given  in  form  of  mist 
ferri.  c,  made  with  the  sesqui-carbonate  of  am- 
monia instead  of  carbonate  of  potash,  in  cases 
of  urgent  debility,  as  soon  as  gastric  disturbance 
will  admit,  and  where  an  adynamic  condition 
of  constitution  and  sinking  of  the  vital  power 
is  threatened,  which  is  evinced  by  a  dull  or 
dusky  color  of  the  eruption,  and  a  cool  state  of 
the  sfcin.  The  iron  may  also  be  combined  with 
the  valerian.  If  coma  supervene,  turpentine 
internally,  or  by  enema,  as  recommended  by 
Dr.  Copland,  is  valuable.  Symptoms  of  inflam- 
matory fever  contra-indicate  tne  use  of  iron. 
(Mr.  TuckweU,  p.  40.) 

ScROPULA.— Iodide  of  iron  in  syrup,  four  grs. 
in  twenty-four  hours,  continued  not  longer  than 
a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  at  a  time,  then  give 
aperients,  and  resume  the  iodine.    The  hydri- 


58 


AUopathy. 


odate  -of  potash  may  be  given  more  freely. 
Chloride  of  barium  is  very  useful  in  cases  of 
tallow-like  complexions,  pale  tongue,  and  lan- 
guid circulation,  with  irritability  of  the  mucous 
surfaces.  Make  a  solution  of  one  gr.  to  3j.  dis- 
tilled water,  and  ten  drops  of  tinct.  gent,  c,  then 
take  half  oz.  twice  a  day,  and  increase  the  dose 
if  necessarv  to  three  strains  daily. 

Hydrochlorate  of  nme,  3i.  to  3xx.  aq.  dist., 
and  give  a  teaspoonful  in  milk  two  or  three 
times  a  day.  The  dose  may  be  increased  to  two 
teaspc>onfuls.  It,  as  well  as  the  alkalies  and 
burnt  sponge,  is  of  doubtful  value. 

Cpd-liver  oil  is  useful  by  improving  digestion 
and  nutrition,  rather  than  by  the  specific  value 
of  the  iodine  or  bromine  it  may  contain.  (M. 
Phillips,  p.  121.) 

In  Scrofulous  abscesses^  white  swelling,  chro- 
nic eczema,  goitre,  ulcerated  ganglia,  herpes, 
lichen,  ulcerated  lupu^,  maculae,  opnthalmia 
(chronic)  complicated  with  ulcerating  keratitis, 
Vve  received  much  benefit  bv  treatment  with 
the  new  triple  compound  of  chlorine,  iodine,  and 
mercury.  "  lodhydrargirite  de  chlorure  mercu- 
reux."    (M.  Rochard,  p.  13i.) 

Gout.— Mr.  Donovan  strongly  recommends 
Sir  Everard  Home's  formula  for  the  procura- 
tion of  the  most  active  and  best  effects  of  the 
powers  of  colchicum.  He  directs  two  pounds 
of  recent  bulbs  to  be  macerated  with  twenty- 
four  ounces  of  sherry  wine  in  a  gentle  heat  for 
six  days.  He,  however  (with  Professor  Ctuadri). 
•thinks  the  use  of  the  proximate  principle,  colchi- 
cina,  would  be  the  most  invariable  in  streni^ 
and  therapeutic  effect  If  Sir  £.  Home's  iot- 
mula  should  be  adopted,  it  should  be  kept  in  two 
states,  one  with  the  deposit  and  the  other  with- 
out it.  He  savs,  colchicum  bulbs  contain  both 
extractive  ana  mucilage:  when  the  vinous  so- 
lution is  strained  and  allowed  to  stand,  a  con- 
siderable deposit  is  soon  separated.  This  de- 
posit, he  ados,  is  not  only  active,  but  virulent, 
as  six  grains  given  to  a  dog  produced  twenty- 
four  hours'  vomiting  and  purging.  It  operates 
in  every  respect  like  the  eau  medicinal,  in  re- 
moving the  pains  of  the  gout.  It  may  be  ^ven 
in  small  doses  first,  and  increased  to  90  £rops. 
The  seeds  beaten  into  a  mass  with  mucilage, 
ana  divided  into  pills,  act  as  a  brisk  cathartic, 
and  give  complete  relief  in  facial  neuralgia. 
The  acetum  colchici,  neutralized  with  ougnesia, 
and  combined  with  some  sulphate  of  magnesia, 
is  considered  by  Sir  C,  Scudamore,  the  best  for- 
mula for^out,  as  it  is  inoffensive  to  the  stomach, 
and  certain  in  its  effects  on  the  bowels.  Dose 
.  3s&  to  3iss.    (Mr.  Donovan,  p.  135.) 

Land  Scurvy. — ^Dr.  McNab  employs  mine- 
ral and  vegetable  acids ;  preparations  of  iron ; 
bitters,  as  cinchona,  chyraetta,  wine,  beer,  Ac. 
fie  says  the  only  curative  is  change  of  air,  and 
that  death  is  nearly  certain  without  it.  It  is  tbe 
<*  ultima  et  unica  remedia."    (p.  ISNS.) 

MkS^ftUxmui  of  Ijlhe  If enrovs  Syvtcna. 

Tetanus.  T^mkmaiic, — In  the  early,  stage 
gire  calomel  and  opium ;  which  faiUng  to  re- 
lieve, calomel  three  grs.,  tartarised  antimony 
half  a  g^.^  opium  two  gr.,  every  three  hQurs,  and 


a  double  dose  every  night    An  enemt  in  the 
morning.    (Mr.  Greenhow,  p.  51) 

Owing  to  an  attempt  to  extract  a  tootL  \l 
was  broken  when  the  patient  had  hardly  reeor- 
ered  from  the  menstrual  state ;  it  recaned,  knr- 
ever,  before  the  tetanus  subsided,  but  th^  vai 
not  complete  freedom  from  it  until  the  menstn- 
ation  ceased.  On  the  3d  day  blistered  fpm 
the  temple  to  the  chin,  and  the  blister  dieand 
with  an  ointment  of  ung.  hydi«K,  and  morpL 
mur.  Bags  of  ice  were  applied  to  the  wbok 
track  of  the  spine,  and  one  gr.  of  morph.  mv. 
was  given  every  hour  until  stertorous  breathiB§ 
was  induced.    (Dr.  M'Girr,  p.  52.) 

Trismus  NASCENTiUM.—Asmuchoneoftbe 
opprobria  medicorum  as  ever,  both  as  to  its 
patholo^  and  its  treatment  Post  mortem  a- 
amination,  with  the  consideration  of  tbe  pecu- 
liar relationships  of  the  exeito-motot  systoacf 
nerves,  can  alone  lead  to  a  just  estimate  of  iis 
true  cause,  and  point  to  its  proper  treatmat 
Curling  found  *'  increased  vasoilarity  in  dK 
Substance  of,  and  in  the  membranes  enrelopjog 
the  upper  part  of  the  spinal  cord."  So  abo  Dl 
Thompson  of  Philadelphia.  BiUaniieittd"in 
effusion  of  a  quantity  of  coagulated  Uood  it 
the  spine,  from  a  rupture  of  the  minute  veaNis 
of  the  medulla — a  spinal  apoplexy."  Dr. 
Sinus  points  out  a  renoarkable  irregularitr  in 
the  feeling  of  the  bones  -.—The  child  liad  m, 
during  the  whole  of  its  illness,  exactly  ia  oie 
position,  the  weight  of  the  head  resting  wJullir 
on  the  OS  occipitis ;  the  latter  pushed  in  ops 
the  brain,  being  overlapped  for  a  qoaneraf  aa 
inch  or  more  along  tKe  whole  cpmseofd^ 
lambdoidal  suture,  by  the  edges  of  tbeooaptri- 
etalia ;  the  superficial  posterior  veael  m  of 
black  blood,  and  a  coagulum  ooCBpyini  Uie 
whole  lengtn  of  the  cord,  enveloDoe  Ff^^^ 
the  medulla :  spinal  veiju  full  d  ui^  Uood.- 
Treatment  to  consist  in  the  removal  oC  ilwn^ 
diate  or  remote  causes  of  the  congBstioa,  ^ 
care  as  to  the  position  of  the  child's  l^i.^ 
placing  it  on  its  side^  so  as  to  take  off  the  vogU 
of  the  body  from  the  occipitis*  (Dr.  Sin^ 
p.  51.)  ^ 

Htdrocbphalus. — ^The  external  applicM 
ot  mercury  may  be  ordered  to  be  rabbediaff 
smeared  on  the  1^  (inside)  every  twel^boos^ 
and  covered  with  a  stocking  maoe  to  tieligw9 
above  the  knee.  Small  doses  of  iodide  of  po- 
tassium (one  gr.  every  three  or  four  boats)  nMf 
also  be  given.    (Braithwaite,  p.  133.) 

Dblibium  Tremens.— Whilst  thctoorueaafl 
mouth  are  moist,  and  urine  abundant,  doD*i  be 
afraid  of  giving  opium  for  the  puipose  of  pj 
curing  sleep  when  needed ;  but  be  careful  h 
tiiese  ^mptoms  are  not  pstaeenL  (Dr.  C«l^ 
gan,  p.  ^.) 

pAaAi^Tsis.— Besides  other  modes  of  JJS 
ment,  make  use  of  electra-magnetifiiB>  vvot 
may  be  useful  in 

Ist— Partial  paralysis  from  oonpfWJ 
Time,  friction,  change  or  air,  fittychaJMj* 
restoration  of  the  general  health,  maysocwwJ 
or  electro-magnetism,  applying  one  of  tlie  c«j- 
ductors,  covered  with  wet  unen^  over  w«  "J* 
of  the  largest  nerre  of  d^aflfected  part,  and  »J 
othar^  simiUrly  pi^pare^  over  (v  n&^  ^ 


Jillopaiky. 


.fle 


The 


the  palsied  muscle,  for  some  minutes, 
pemody  may  be  continued  for  some  time. 

9d.— ParaljTsis  of  muscles  supplied  by  the 
portio  dura. 

3d. — Local  paralysis,  involving  the.  whole  or 
part  of  a  limb  from  exposure  to  cold.  *One  cbn- 
auctor  to  be  jplaced  over  thtf  lower  cervical  spi- 
nal region,  the  otherpassed  down  the  arm. 

4A. — ^Paralysis  afiecting  one  side  of  the  body 
or  a  single  limb,  the  result  of  exhaustion.  This 
case  was  a  lady  of  week  and  strumous  diathesis, 
and  was  exhausted  by  nursing,  the  left  arm  be- 
coming palsied.  Under  generous  diet,  weaning 
and  electro^magnetism,  the  paralysis  was  cured 
5th. — Paralysis  from  haemorrhage  or  ener- 
vation. 

6th.— Rheumatic  paraplegia.  One  conduc- 
tor being  pressed  against  the  sacrum,  the  other 
placed  in  a  basin  of  salt  and  water,  in  which 
the  feet  are  immersed. 

7th. — ^Paraplegia  Irom  sitting  too  long  in  the 
bent  Dosition,  as  at  the  desk,  or  any  cause 
which  keeps  the  body  bent  forwards.  Due 
nourishment,  rest  in  the  recumbent  position, 
iron  or  zinc,  and  electro-magnetism,  sutee- 
quently^  will  generally  succeed. 

Cau^i/m5.— Electro-magnetism  acts  most  ef- 
fectually in  cases  of  recent  attack.  In  old 
standing  cases,  the  remedy  must  be  persever- 
ingly  applied,  or  no  benefit  will  accrue.  Do 
not  use  this  remedy  because  paralysis  exists. 
In  truly  organic  lesion  it  may  often  be  mis- 
chievous, especially  where  there  is  subacute 
inflammation,  or  a  "highly  irritable  state  of  the 
spinal  marrow.    (Dr.  G.  Bird,  p.  55.) 

In  obstinate  paralysis  after  apoplexy  give 
brucine,  a  centimmme  (MM  gr.  Pr.=  l-6th 
ge.  avoir.)  in  inmsiion  of  amiea;  increase  the 
aose  one  centigramme  daily,  until  its  efltcts 
are  evident,  and  then  proceed  discretionally. 
(M.  Bricheteau,  p.  59.) 

Aw*:sTHEsiA. — Treated  by  electro-magne- 
tism, and  cured  by  the  application  twenty-two 
times,  from  an  hour  and  a  half  to  iven  hours 
sitting  each  time.  The  current  passed  down 
the  whole  spine  half  an  hour;  then  from  each 
side  of  the  sacrum  to  each  foot  for  half  an 
hour;  then  irom  the  spine  to  the  abdomen  for 
half  an  hour.    (Mr.  Cnristophers,  p.  58.) 

Epilepsy. — Iodide  of  potassium  throe  grains 
three  times  a  day,  and  the  mouth  to  be  aifccted 
by  blue  pill.    (Dr.  White,  p.  65.) 

Sciatica. — Treated  with  moxas.  Tincture 
of  guaiacum  and  aconite  was  prescribed,  and 
the  dose  increased.  Aconite  piaster  over  the 
•cat  of  pain.  Cupping  over  the  part,  and  af- 
terwards two  grs.  calomel  and  one  gr.  opium  j 
then  a  mixture  of  vin.  colchici  and  tinct.  aco- 
nite :  lastly,  six  moxas ;  since  which  the  case 
has  done  well.    {Dr.  A.  T.  Thomson,  p.  59.) 

Nedraloia. — Apply  a  blister  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible to  the  trunk  or  the  nerve,  and  sprinkle 
upon  the  surfhce  from  half  a  grain  to  a  grain 
01  morphia  every  morning.  Attend  to  the  gen- 
eral health  at  the  same  time,  giving  internally 
ererr  night  pil.  hyd..  nil.  aloes,  ext  acet.  col- 
chld,  aa  gr.  iij.,  and  five  gmins  of  Iodide  of 
potaofum  thrice  a  day  in  any  conv^ent  vehi- 
cle.   This  endermic  mediod  has  succeeded 


wh^  leeches,  blisters,  moxas,  beUadonaa,  ar- 
senic, iron,  iodine,  turpentine,  and  gaaiaenai 
have  entirely  foiled.    (Dr.  White,  p.  61.) 

When  other  treatment  (as  valerianate  of 
zinc  and  quinine,  dtc.)  ftdls,  try  a  very  strong 
decoction  of  cofi^ee  at  the  commencement  « 
each  paroxysm  of  pain.    (M.  Piony,  p.  63^) 

Chorea.— As  the  causes  are  various^  so  the 
treatment  must  be  according  to  the  ditsom- 
stances  of  each ;  for  the  weaik  and  delicate,  ill- 
fed,  and  ill-clothed,  half  a  dr.  rhubarb  maeent- 
ed  twelve  hours  in  por|  wine ;  and  in  quanti- 
ty, given  according  to  the  age  of  the  patient, 
three  times  a  day.  If  a  loaded  condition  of  tlie 
bowels,  or  worms,  or  improper  aliment,  purga- 
tives and  a  strict  attention  to  dietaiy.  u  con- 
nected with  absence  or  deficiency  of  catame- 
nia,  cupping  on  the  loins,  hip-bath,  aloetic  pur* 
gatives,  and  a  combination  of  steel,  ammonia, 
and  aloes.  If  an  inflammatory  afifection  of  the 
pericardium,  antiphlc^stics,  cupping,  leeches, 
Dh'sters,  calomel,  antimony,  opium.  If  fhmi 
inflammatory  thickening  of  the  spinal  theca,  or 
disease  of  the  brain,  local  and  general  treat- 
ment on  common  principles.  The  mineral 
tonics  appear  to  possess  nearly  equal  advanta- 
ges, but  tne  cases  for  their  application  must  be 
peculiarly  chosen,  and  then  the  benefit  will  be 
enhanced  by  combination  with  the  vegetable 
tonics  and  purgatives.  Electricity  is  of  very 
doubtlul  efficacy.    (Dr.  Hughes,  p.  290.) 

Cleanse  the  bowels,  and  give  me  followia^: 
— R.  Ferri  subcarb.  sacch.,  sodae  bicarb.,  aa.  gr. 
ij.  pulv.  aromat.  gr.  j.  ft.  polv.  ter  in  die  su- 
mendus.  Use  the  tepid  shower  bath,  and  if  the 
above  powder  does  not  what  is  ei^>ected,  \xy 
oxidi  zinci,  sacx^hari  albi,  aa.  gr.  iij. ;  M.  ter  m 
die  sumendas,  and  increase  the  dose  if  necessa- 
ry.   (Dr.  Bellingham,p.  62. ) ; 

Hysteria.— uften  accompanied  with  reten-^ 
tion  of  urine  from  spasm  about  the  neck  of  the 
bladder.  Evacuate  the  lare;^  intestines,  by  aa 
injection  of  turpentine  and  assafoBtida.  tJse 
the  cold  hip-batn,  and  cold  douche.  Regulate 
the  catamenial  function,  and  then  give  stimu- 
lating tonics,  good  diet,  warm  clothing,  and 
exercise.     (Dr.  Todd,  p.  63.) 

Give  the  pil.  galb.  co.  when  the  large  inte»^ 
tines  are  disordered,  as  shown  by  pain  in  tlie 
leftside.    (Dr.  Mnnk,  p.  63.) 

Give    valerianate    of   rinc.     (Dr.   Levtr,    • 
p.  64.) 

Spina  Bifida,  Operation f or. ^Tht  base  of 
the  tumor  may  be  compressed  between  two  rode 
of  wood  directed  in  the  line  of  the  vertebral  col- 
umn,  and  at  first  brought  into  single  apposi- 
tion ;  then  punctured  with  the  trocar,  and  aa 
the  cyst  empties,  the  pieces  of  wood  maybe 
more  approximated,  so  as  to  bring  the  two  mir- 
(kces  of  the  serous  membrane  into  contact. 
The  rods  may  be  removed  on  the  tenth  day, 
and  on  the  fifteenth  the  second  ligature  may" 
probably  fall  ofiT.  (M.  LatU  de  Timecour, 
p.  159.) 

As  some  constimtional  symptoms  iVeqnently 
supervene  upon  operations  for  spina  biffla,  too 
much  piecaution  cannot  be  taken  to  secure  iSbt 
evacuation  of  the  sac  as  mdually  smd  in  ts' 
constant  a  manner  as  possible;  ana  the  open* 


60 


AUopaihy. 


tio&  which  appean  the  most  saitable  for  ||ttam- 
ing  the  ena  should  be  adopteiL  and,  above 
all,  timely  pot  in  practice.  (Adur.  Diunville, 
p.  160.) 

TooTRACHB ;  New  Remedy  for, — Cold  satu- 
laled  solution  of  camphor  in  ether,  to  which  a 
few  drops  of  liquor  ammonia  are  added.  (M. 
Cottereau,  p.  334.) 

Caries  of  the  7>e/A.— Scrape  out  the  entire  of 
die  softened  carious  put,  and  rub  its  anterior 
with  a  saturated  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver,  or 
with  pulverized  nitrate  made  wet.    (p.  197.) 


*     Aflfsetions  of  th«  OlrQolatorj  System. 

Arteries,  Wounds  of. — On  treatment  of 
wounds  of  arteries,  observe  as  follows : 

1st — ^No  operation  to  be  done  upon  a  wound- 
ed artery  unless  it  bleeds. 

3d. — That  no  operation  is  to  be  done  for  a 
wounded  artery  in  the  first  instance,  but  at  the 
spot  injured,  unless  such  operation  be  imprac- 
ticable. 

Brachial. — If  compression  do  not  suffice, 
bare  the  vessel,  and  place  a  ligature  above  and 
below  the  wound.  If  above  the  edge  bicipital 
aponeurosis,  cut  down,  place  one  ligature  just 
anove  the  seat  of  injury ;  do  not  open  the 
aneurismal  sac,  nor  look  for  the  vessel  below 
it;  use  moderate  pressure  along  the  sac;  ob- 
serve the  horizontal  position,  and,  if  necessary, 
deplete. 

ulnar,  trunk  of,  upper  third.— Cut  boldly 
down  upon  it  through  the  muscular  structure, 
and  apply  a  ligature  above  and  below.  In 
wonndB  of  the  ulnar  in  the  hand,  secure  always 
by  ligalnre. 

Radial-— Tie  where  practicable ;  where  not, 
try  compression;  but  if  swelling  of  the  hand 
prevent  this,  tie  the  radial  above,  and  compress 
the  ulnar  or  the  brachial  itself  from  time  to 
time,  or,  as  a  last  resource,  the  ulnar  may  also 
be  tied.  If  bleeding  still  recur,  do  not  ampu- 
tate, but  cut  carefully  down  to  the  metacarpal 
bone  and  finger  to  give  more  room,  and  let  am- 
putation be  your  last  resource. 

Treat  wounds  of  the  foot  on  the  same  prix^ci- 
plea. 

Band  or  Foot — Dilatation  of  the  external 
Iround,  and  ligature  above  and  below,  if  not 
practicable,  then  use  compression  on  the  prin- 
cipal trunk,  and  a  gracluated  compress  and 
bandage  on  the  wound. 

Antwrismal  Varix^  or  Varicose  Aneurism. — 
When  obliged  to  perform  the  operation,  either 
from  great  increase  of  swelling  or  anxiety  of 
the  patient,  cut  freely  down  ro  the  artery,  and 
place  upon  it  a  ligature  above  and  one  below. 

l}yi%g  of  Arteries.— I.  When  the  axiOary 
artery  is  injured  below  the  giving  ofi*  the  sub- 
scapular and  p.  circumflex,  branches,  place  a 
ligature  below,  but  not  immediately  below,  the 
latter  branch.  Where  il  occurs  -from  a  slough- 
ing state  of  stump,  tie  the  artery  in  the  first  in- 
stance, and  if  that  prove  unsuccessful,  ampu- 
k  tate.  3.  If  tromfemoralj  judge  well  the  part 
(torn  which  the  bleeding   comes;  mark  the 


shortest  distance  ihnn  the  &ce  of  the  stmnp  at 
which  compression  arrests  the  hasmorrhage,  and 
there  applv  the  ligamre,  but  if  it  be  just  above 
the  a.  prorunda,  amputate,  if  the  strength  of  the 
patient  will  admit  3.  If  tf/ler  mmpuiatiou  of 
the  shoulder  jointy  cut  down  through  the  great 
pectoral  muscle,  and  place  the  ligature  any- 
where below  the  clavide.  The  same  princi- 
ples are  alike  applicable  where  danger  arises 
by  oozing  from  the  sorfiice  of  the  stump,  not 
carable  of  being  suppressed  bv  piware. 
4.  Where  a  small  vessel  (the  brancn  ol  a  much 
larger)  bleeds^  take  up  the  branch,  and  not  the 
trunk,  if  possible.  5.  Where  the  bleeding  arte- 
ry can  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of  the  wound,  cut 
down  upon  it,  and  place  a  ligature  aroond  it, 
both  above  and  below  the  artery.  6.  Hesitate 
before  tying  the  external  Uiac  for  wounds  of  the 
femoral;  ajid  keep  in  view  the  general  princi- 
ple of  tying  arteries  as  near  as  possible  to  tbe 
bleeding  points.  If  bleeding  recur,  the  opera- 
tion must  then  be  boldly  executed,  even  if  the 
iliac  artery  had  been  previously  tied.  7.  Tbe 
operation  of  applying  a  ligature  upon  the 
az'dlary  artery  itself,  at  the  part  injured  (m 
all  cases  of  wounds,  and  in  all  cases  of  recent 
circumscribed  or  diffused  aneurismal  sw]ellings, 
the  consequence  of  wounds),  is  the  sobslitals 
which  ought  in  all  cases  to  suoersede  that  cf 
ligature  upon  ihR  subdavian,  8.  UibRfemerd 
artery  be  divided  by  a  fracture  of  the  femur, 
operation  will  generally  be  required,  and 
alwajTs  so  if  the  fracture  be  a  conuninuled  one. 
If  puncture  made  by  such  fracture  giverisp  to 
aneurism,  treat  first  the  fracture  and  thm  the 
aneurism.  '* 

If  consequent  mortification  proceeds  ■»- 
checked,  and  there  be  much  constitutioDal  dis- 
turbance, arrest  it  first,  and  let  the  Une  oC  «pa- 
ration  be  well  observed.  Where  ihae  is 
much  weakness,  or  irritability  of  constiratka, 
defer  the  operation,  particularly  if  there  be  hope 
of  the  patient  becoming  stronger  and  more  tran- 
quil. If  mortification  has  once  stopped,  and 
again  begins  to  spread,  amputation  wU]  ^vt  a 
chance  ot  life.  9.  Never  apply  the  toiuniquet 
for  aneurism,  or  wounded  artery,  bat  compress 
it  with  the  hand.  10.  To  promote  coUatenl 
circulation  after  a  large  arte^  has  been  tied, 
rub  the  part  below  gently  with  the  hands  for 
several  hours,  or  for  three  or  four  days,  relax- 
ing during  sleep.  11.  U'  the  external  woond, 
which  has  reached  the  artery,  has  healed  for 
weeks  or  months,  give  rise  to  a  difi%iaed  or  cir- 
cumscribed aneurism,  treat  it  as  an  anenriaai 
occurring  from  an  internal  cause,  but  with  this 
difierence,  that  as  the  artery  is  sound,  the  ope- 
ration may  be  performed  close  to  the  tumor. 
(Mr.  Guthrie,p.  159—169.) 

Aneurism.— On  this  subject  we  notice  tike 
accidental  discovery,  by  a  patient  of  Dr.  Har- 
rison, of  the  application  of  a  number  of  clampe 
(such  as  used  by  joiners  and  calnnet>maken^ 
to  secure  their  glued  wood-work),  akm^  the 
course  of  the  artery,  prpving  it  not  to  be  neces> 
sary  completely  to  arrest  the  pulsatioii  in  the  to- 
mor :  but  by  causing  a  lessened  current  of  blood 
through  it,  produce  coagulation  and  a  con- 
traction of  the  sac.    (Mr7WiWe,p.  ITiL) 


I 


Allopaihy. 


61 


Dr.  Bellicg^m  applies  two  compressing 
instruments  upon  separate  parts  of  the  limb,  one 
tightened,  the  other  not;  and  by  thus  alter- 
nating the  pressure,  producing  the  same  e£fect 
aa  if  constant  compression  were  maintained  at 
<me*pGint,  the  patient  beins^  enabled  to  bear  it 
for  a  much  longer  period  than  other  instm- 
mencs.    (p.  I'TS.) 

Ltgatwe  of  Arteries,  wUkoui  dividing  •  the 
Miidk  and  IrUemal  Coo/^.— Chelins  considers 
it  nnnecessaiy  to  draw  the  ligature  so  tight  as 
is  commonly  recommended,  but  only  so  much 
80,  that  the  whole  of  the  internal  coat  be 
bronghi  in  close  contact,  and  that  the  ligature 
shoctid  indent  the  external  coat  of  the  vessel. 
(CheUu8,p.  167.) 

T\frsion  of  Arteries,  Effects  </.— Torsion,  by 
producing  otditeration  of  the  vessel,  either  by 
coagulation,  and  simultaneous  assimilation  of 
all  me  three  coats  at  the  spot,  or  by  the  slow  and 
inaenaible  contraction,  as  by  li^ture,  converts 
the  arterial  tube  into  an  impervious  curd.  It  is 
adapted  to  small  arteries  of  the  fourth  or  fifth 
Older,  radial,  ulnar,  tibial,  intercostal,  cervical, 
thoracic,  external  pudic,  spermatic,  digitals. 
Seize  them  with  forceps,  close  the  instrument 
and  twist  in  the  fingers,  three,  four,  or  six 
times  in  the  same  direction,  and  then  abandon 
them,  or  return  to  the  operation  if  not  sufficients 
ly  twisted.  Cars  must  be  taken  to  seize  the 
whole  calibre  of  the  vessel ;  to  take  sufficient 
kold;  not  to  include  the  surrounding  textures; 
and  80  to  twist  them  that  the  proper  coats  are 
ruptured,  but  not  so  much  that  the  cellular  coat 
is  also  broken.  Its  advantages  are  simplicijty 
and  celerity,  no  assistance  being  necessary, 
and  its  not  leaving  foreign  bodies  in  the  wound. 
(Dr.  Porta,  p.  ITt.) 

Oalvano-inineture  in  AneuriMi.— The  galvanic 
current  should  be  directly  transmitted  through 
the  blood  itself  by  two  opposing  points.  ^  Employ 
fine  steel  neexlles,  three  inches  loag,  and  as  they 
fonm  or  cauterize  the  sld^i,  or  lose  their  elec- 
tricity, coat  them,  before  am>licalion,  with  gum 
lac,  or  cutler's  varnish.  The  extremities  of  the 
needles  should  cross  each  other  in  the  tumor, 
and  wlien  the  latter  is  of  large  size,  multiply 
the  points,  so  that  the  nuclei  of  coagulation 
may  pass  into  one  common  clot  They  should 
pass  mto  the  tumor  obliquehr  or  nerpendiaular- 
Ij,  opposed  to  the  cunent  oi'^blooo.  The  appli- 
cation of  the  galvanic  current  may  be  made 
each  time  ten  or  twelve  minutes;  by  this  time 
tke  tumor  will  feel  hard,  and  the  pulsation 
cease :  after  this,  supply  compression,  or  a  blad- 
der of  ice,  to  complete  the  cure.  It  is  suggest- 
ed for  the  cure  also  of  varix,  erectile  and  con- 
sanguineous tumors,  &c.  (M.  Petrequin,  p  182.^ 
Mr.  Hamilton  has  tried  it  in  a  case  of  carotid 
aneurism.  He  passed  fine  gold  needles  coated 
with  shell  lac,  an  inch  long,  through  the  inner 
jmd  outer  sides  of  the  tumor,  and  made  them 
to  touch  in  the  centre ;  then  used  Smee's  battery, 
with  twelve  pairs  of  plates,  gradually  applied. 
AAer  fifteen  minutes,  pulsation  became  less,  the 
tnmor  firmer,  and,  at  the  end  of  twenty  minutes, 
complete  eoaWulation  was  evident,  as  the  tumor 
was  solid  ana  the  pulsation  Fas  imperceptible. 
(Hamilton,  p.  164.) 


Simf^  Puncture  vrith^mt  Electrieityj-^Bj 
simply  passing  needles  through  the  tumor . 
(aranraxing)  and  leaving  them  in  twenty-four 
hours.  With  one  needle  a  fibrinous  coagulum 
was  formed,  attached  to  the  side  of  the  artery| 
which  Dr.  Naimais  thinks  would  have  changed 
into  a  solid  cord,  and  filled  the  interior  of  the 
vessel,  if  the  animal  (a  horse)  had  lived  long 
enough.  He  thinks  the  needle  caused  a  slower 
motion  of  the  blood  at  the  part  where  the  needle 
passed  through  the  tumor,  and  collected  around 
It  the  deposit  of  filnrine.  Its  facility  and  sim- 
plicity are  its  recommendations  over  galvano- 
pnncture,  &c.    (Dr.  Giacinto  Namais,  p.  186.) 

IdgtUure  of  Left  SnbeUevian  loithin  tke  Scale' 
nus  Muscle.-^Lay  the  natient  on  a  low  bed, , 
with  the  head  andshoulaers  raised,  and  the  fac^ 
turned  to  the  right  side.  Make  an  incision 
three  and  a  half  inches  long,  on  the  inner  edge 
of  the  mastoid  muscle,  terminating  at  the  ster- 
num, and  dividing  the  integuments  and  platys- 
ma  myoides. 

Make  a  second  incision  from  the  last,  horizon- 
tally, towards  the  sternal  extremity  of  the  clavi- 
cle, two  and  a  half  inches  long.  Dissect  the 
flap  of  int^uments  and  platvsma  upwards  and 
inwards,  so  as  to  lay  bare  tne  stemo-mastoid. 
Pass  a  oirector  under  this  muscle,  and  divide 
the  sternal  and  half  the  clavicular  attachments 
with  a  bistoury.  Turn  these  portions  op,  so  as 
to  show  the  stemo-hyoid  and  stemo-thyroid  mus- 
cles, and  the  jugular  vein  beneath  the  fascia : 
also  a  portion  (in  this  case)  of  the  aneurismal 
sac,  strongly  pulsating.  Divide  the  ftiscia  with 
the  handle  ot  the  scalpel  and  fingers,  and  pass 
down  the  innerside  ofscalenus  anticus,  careful- 
Iv  avoiding  the  internal  jugular  vein,  thoracic 
duct,  and  phrenic  nerve,  until  the  finger  reaches 
the  artery  and  recognises  well  its  pulsation.  De- 
tach the  artery  very  deliberately,  so  as  to  avoid 
wounding  the  thoracis  duct  and  pleura,  and 
pass  the  aneurismal  needle,  in  this  case  Sir 
Philip  Crampton's,  under  it,  with  the  point  and 
ligature  upwards.  Catch  and  secure  the  ligar 
ture,  tying  it  securely  with  the  point  of  the  fore- 
finger, in  the  bottom  of  the  wound,  and,  to  be 
satisfied  that  the  artery  is  secured,  take  care  to 
examine  the  distal  part  of  it  for  the  cessation  of 
all  pulsation.    (Dr.  Rogers,  p.  188.) 

Aneurism  by  Anastomosis  on  tke  Fortkead-^ 
TVeatTneni  by  numerous  Operations.^!,  Liga- 
tures placed  upon  the  temporo-frontal  and  two 
temporo-parietal  arteries  or  the  right  side,  and 
upon  the  temporal  arterv  in  the  frontal  region 
and  the  temporo-parietal  of  the  left ;  these  made 
by  needles  passed* under  the  arteries  and  com* 
pressed  by  a  thread  wound  like  8.  3.  Destruo- 
tion  of  morbid  structure  by  caustics.  3.  Exci- 
sion:  and  4.  Compression.  (Dr.  Warren^ 
p.  167.) 

Nfvus  Matbrnus.— Extending  over  one 
side  of  the  face,  as  far  as  the  eye,  to  the  lower 
lip  and  chin,  and  downwards  upon  the  neck  to 
a  little  below  the  clavicle.  Application  of  a 
ligature,  1st  To  die  left  external  carotid:  9d. 
A  ligature  on  the  right  carotid,  a  month  after 
thefirst:3d.  Breaking  up  the  atrcieture  of  the 
lipaffectedi  with  a  cataiact  needle:  4th.    The. 


6£ 


MIopcUhy. 


removal  of  a  V  ihaped  solid  portion  of  the  lip, 
two  inches  long.    (Dr.  Warren,  p.  167.) 

Tr0(i$m£iU  by  Gmutu;.— Introduce  a  narrow 
knife,  one^iglith  of  an  inch  wide,  into  the  mid- 
d]A  of  the  nseyos,  and  moye  it  in  different  direc- 
tions, 80  as  to  disintegrate  its  vascular  structure. 
Then  apply  a  small  caustic,  or  a  probe  armed 
with  it  (by  being  dipped  into  the  nitrate,  melted 
in  a  platina  or  silver  spoon),  into  the  puncture 
made  with  the  narrow  Knife,  and  move  it  about 
so  that  wherever  the  knife  has  divide^  the  blood- 
vessels, the  caustic  may  freely  penetrate.  £lx- 
timd  the  operation,  if  not  effectually  done  by 
the  first  application.    (Sir  6.  Brodie,  p.  169.) 

JntemMjug%tlair^  FFbwwrfj  <?/;— May  be  tiini  by 
paasipg  a  tenaculum  through  the  cut  edges,  and 
>   drawing  them  together  without  destroying  the 
continuity  of  the  vessel. 

Partial  IHviswn  of  the  Coals  of  an  Artery. -^ 
•  Place  a  ligature  both  above  and  oelow  the  divi- 
sion, and  do  not  trust  to  the  vis  medicatiix. 

Wounds  of  the  Throat  with  Heemorrhage, — 
First,  if  necessary,  tie  the  external,  and  if  it 
should  not  cease,  and  the  wound  be  not  in  the 
internal  carotid,  then  tie  the  common  carotid. 

Moles. — Wash  with  soap  and  water,  and 
rub  until  the  blood  fills  the  delicate  branch^  of 
th&  erectile  tissue.  Make  the  skin  tight,  and 
then  cover  with  a  paint  made  of  stiff  white 
lead  and  carmine,  and,  having  transpierced  a 
cork  with  three  needles,  so  that  their  points  pro- 
ject sufficiently,  puncture  the  surface  and  texture 
of  the  mole.     (Chelius,  p.  190.) 

Varicose  Veins,— Having  marked  the  veins 
to  be  cured  with  ink,  apply  a  small  caustic,  of 
five  parts  quick  lime,  and  four  pans  potassa 
nvized  up  with  spts.  wine  (Vienna  paste),  over 
each  projecting  vein.  When  in  the  horizontal 
position,  insulate  each  place  of  application  of 
the  caustic  with  a  circle  of  plaster  three  or  four 
'  hicknesses,  the  internal  space  bein^  not  more 
than  one-quarter  or  one- third  of  an  inch  in  di- 
ameter. Remove  the  caustic  in  half  an  hour, 
and  dress  in  the  usual  way.  applying  a  bandage. 
From  six  to  twelve  appliea  at  one  time  will  be 
sufficient.    (Mr.  Skey,  p.  190.) 

HiEMORRHAOE  from  tke  Nose.— Introduce  the 
little  finger  into  the  nostril,  and  press  upon  its 
floor  until  the  bleeding  stops ;  then  take  a  dossil 
of  lint,  and  roll  it  upon  powdered  alum,  and 
press  it  upon  the  floor  of  the  nostril  with  the 
'  litrle  finger.  Introduce  pieces  of  lint,  in  this 
way,  until  the  roof  of  the  nostril  supplies  the 
pressure  of  the  finger.    (Dr.  Oke,  p.  192.) 

ffamorrhagefroTn  Leech  BUes. — Wipe  the  ori- 
fice with  a  bit  of  lint  of  fine  linen,  and  when 
nearly  dry,  seize  a  small  portion  of  integument 
around  the  bite  with  the  thumb  and  finger,  and 
make  moderate  pressure,  until  the  haemorrhage 
is  com^etely  suppressed,  which  will  be  from 
five  to  nfleen  minutes.    (Dr.  Marshall,  p.  193.) 

'Or  take  a  small  pinch  of  down  from  a  beaver 
hat  and  pile  it  tq)on  the  orifice ;  and  then  put 
oiver  the  down  a  piece  of  thin  muslin,  and  draw 
it  ttffhtly.  If  blood  oozes  through  both,  dry  it, 
until  the  hemorrhage  ceases,  and  in  a  short 
time  the  down  and  muslin  will  have  become 
matted  with  coagulum.  All  superfluous  down 
^  beettt  off,  uid  in  two  days  the  orifice  will 


have  healed,  and  the  matted  matter  willMqC 
(Dr.  Houston,  p.  194.) 

Or,  apply  a  piece  of  lint  dipped  ia  a  stnog 
solution  of  alum,  or  apply  to  the placetobaooo, 
such  as  is  used  for  smoking.  (Mr.  Gciria, 
p.  194.) 

Venkskction  from  the  Foot.— Immerse Ihe 
foot  in  hot  water  to  swell  the  veins.  Put  <a  a 
bandj^se  an  inch  above  the  ankle.  In  poDCtor- 
ing  eiUier  of  the  veins  before  the  maUcpli,  be 
careful  not  to  touch  the  bone  before  with  the 
point  of  the  lanceL  If  the  vein  bleed  in  t 
stream,  catch  the  blood  in  a  vessel ;  but  if  it 
only  dribble,  the  foot  should  be  put  into  the  \iA 
water,  and  judge  of  quantity  ^by  the*  color. 
(M.  Malgaigne,  p.  193.) 

AJTeeilons  of  t|ie  Respbrmtory  SyitoM  j 

Croup.— In  croup,  scarlatina  malignA,  &&, 
where  great  prostration  exists,  the  rtomack 
seems  insensible  to  ordinary  emetics,  whickoDir 
purge,  and  increase  the  prostration.  In  m 
cases,  try  the  turpeth  mineral  (subsolphsie  of 
mercury).  To  a  child,  twelve  years  old,  gtw 
five  grains  every  fifieen  minutes,  aooomniBie^ 
with  mustard  whey,  till  vomiting  is  pnxiocei 
The  second  dose  will  generally  be  sufficioL 
It  vomits  for  an  hour  or  two  without  caosii; 
purging,  or  subsequent  prostrttioBi.  It  may  be 
repeated  twice  or  thrice  in  twenty-foai  h^y*' 
(Dr.  Hubbard,  p.  134.) 

Antiphlogistic  treatment  is  sometimes  osdov 
if  not  burttul.    Emetics  useful  by  acting  v- 
chanically  ?     Mercury  may  be  girtt  oi^* 
Local  applications  may  comprise  dilute  nsn- 
atic  acid,  alum,  and  nitrate  of  silver,  tk  tm 
latter  used  in  a  solid  or  liquid  state.   In  vi>K 
caustics  be  careful  to  hold  the  child's  bead  «» 
dy,  and  have  the  caustic  firmly  fixed,  and  not 
far  from  the  port-caustfque.    Or,  it  may  be  osed 
by  means  of  a  piece  of  sponge  fiistened  to  tbe 
end  of  a  piece  of  whalebone,  like  the  spon^ 
probang,  bent  to  an  obtuse  aiigle,  or  edrred; 
care  being  taken  to  cleanse  t£e  sniiaee  vtU. 
This  may  be  done  three  or  ibor  times  a  day. 
Tracheotomy  is  the  last  resource.    This  treats 
ment,  however,  is  more  applicable  to  Hfki^er^ 
than  to  croup.  In  diphtherite  the  fhlse  membrane 
often  forms  first  on  the  fauces  and  back  of  the 
mouth,  and  mav  be  arrested  by  the  above  a^ 
plications.    (M.  Guersent,  p.  75.) 

Bboncbitis,  dbc. — Use  the  turpeth  miaenl 
(sub-sulphate  of  mercury),  in  five-grain  doa^ 
every  quarter  or  half  hour,  till  it  causes  vomit* 
ing,  instead  of  tartar  emetic,  in  those  cases  where 
we  fear  the  prostrating  efifects  of  Ihe  aniinwoy 
(See  Croup).    (Dr.  Hubhaid,  p.  134.) 

Pneumonia. — ^The  treatment  consists  ol,  lA 
Subduing  inflammatory  acuon  bv  moderna 
Weeding  (sixteen  to  twenty  ounces^  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  attack,  followed  by  three  or  fiwr 
grs.  of  calomel /and  one  gr.  opium,  and  ifCTe* 
pitant  rftle  persist,  repeat  the  Ueeding,  and  give 
tartar  emetic  in  full  doses,  viz.,  one  kx  one  and 
a  half  grains  every  three  or  knu  hour^  makiiv 
the  interval  afierwards^  ^  or  e«ht  houis. 
Give  the  bitter  almond  emulsioQ  as  a  aediirv^ 


AHopatky. 


d8 


or  hvdrooyuiie  aeid  Sd.  Prev^enting  deposi- 
tion  hy  excidng  the  eapillaries,  by  giving  hjd, 
c  creta,  gr.  ir.  rel  ▼.  or  calomel,  gr.  j.  in  eadi 
interval  or  the  antimonial,  so  as  to  inrodtlce  a 
fidr  eonistitatioiial  impression  short  or  pCjralism. 
BUaler  with  caution,  dd.  Guard  againat  relapse 
on  well-known  principles.  (Dr.  A.  T.  Thomson, 
p.  71.) 

HoopiKo-CouoH.— .Pm^tion  with  calomel  j 
if  febrile  symptoms,  calomel  and  antimony: 
ao  occasional  emetic,  and  small  and  repeated 
doses  of  carbonate  of  potassa,  or  the  following 
formula:  Potassae  carb.  3j.;  coccus  cacti,  gr. 
JLi  aq.  ferrent  q.  s.  The  dose  according  to 
age ;  for  an  infknt,  a  teaspoonfUl  thrice  daily. 
(Dr.  Allnati  p.  74^ 

Dr.  WacMl,  of  Vienna,  recommends  the 
ammoniated  tincture  of  cochineal,    (p.  74.) 

In  the4rst  stage  mild  antiphlogistics.  daily 
emetics,  and  strict  confinement  to  the  nouse, 
except  in  summer  months.  In  the  latter  stages 
give  the  following :— Tincture  of  cantharides, 
tlncL  of  opium  comn.  aa  3S8. ;  tinct.  cinclt  co. 
3V8S.  A  teaspocmful  to  be  talfen  three  times 
a  day  in  a  little  boiling  water;  the  dose  to  be 
increased  if  no  strangury  is  produced.  Be 
careful,  however,  at  all  times,  not  to  give  opium 
if  it  can  be  avoided.  (Drs.  Graves  and  M'Gre- 
r^  p.  74). 

Phthisis.— Subjects  of  phthisis  expire  a  much 
leas  ouantity^  of  air  than  when  healthy,  and  it 
mav  be  possible  by  the  spirometer  to  distinguish 
phthisis  at  a  mucn  earner  period  than  by  any 
other  means.    (Mr.  Hutchinson,  p.  69.) 

Asthma,  Spasmodic. — Take  a  piece  of  blot- 
tftig  paper ;  dip  it  in  a  saturated  solution  of  the 
nitrate  of  potash,  and  dry;  place  the  dried  pa- 
per on  a  common  plate,  and  ignite,  allowing 
Che  fumes  to  be  diffused  in  the  room  of  the  pa- 
tient   (p.  T3.) 

Aphonia,  GiroiMV.— Emetics,  aperients,  mer- 
curials, iodine  and  potassium,  cinchona,  and 
acidulated  astringent  gargles  were  given  for 
five  months  unsuccessfully,  and  it  was  after- 
Wards  cured  in  three  weeks  by  the  inhalation 
of  iodine  from  a  Woulff's  bottle  for  fifteen 
minutes  twice  a  day,  and  a  sulphate  of  quinine 
mixture.    (Mr.  Monks,  p.  132.) 

Asphyxia,  by  StranguUUum, — bumeditUe 
T\-eatmenL—'rhe  ligature  having  been  re- 
moved, watch,  and,  if  natural  respiration  con- 
tinue, do  not  interfere.  If  respiration  has 
c^sed,  use  artificial  assistance  immediately. 
When  normal  respiration  is  established,  desist 

If  coma  remain,  or  respiration  again  cease, 
commence  again ;  secure  a  pair  of  bellows  (if 
scientific  means  are  not  at  nand),  or  a  tube  of 
anjr  kind  (a  roll  of  paper  or  elastic  catheter), 
which  insert  into  the  nostrils,  and  with  your 
own  lun^  a  fair  substitute  will  be  made  >— but, 
tat,  Avoid  un(^e force  in  inflation;  2d.  Inflate 
at  regular  intervals,  imitating  natural  respira- 
tion; 3d.  Warminff^or  oxygenating  the  air  are 
unnecessary:  4th.  Expose  the  chest  to  the  full 
play  of  the  lungs;  5th.  Do  not  open  the  trar 
Chea,  unless  the  lar>'nx  be  obstructed;  6th. 
dose  the  useless  nostril  and  mouth ;  7th.  Press 
die  larynx  against  the  vertebrae  to  prevent  in- 
flating the  stomach;  Electricity  and  galvan* 
ism  are  unnecessary. 


After  TVMtm^f.— If  congesticxi  supervene 
from  reaction,  abstract  blooi  cautiously,  and 
keep  the  patient  in  a  moderately  warm  tempera- 
ture.   (Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  77.) 

Throat,  Wounds  of. — ^In  those  where  the 
skin,  superficial  muscles,  and  vessels,  are  divid- 
ed, use  sutures  cautiously,  and  observe  a  relaxed 
position  of  the  parts. 

When  an  opening  is  made  either  into  the 
fhuces,  pharynx,  larynx,  trachea,  or  cesophagns, 
inquire  as  to  the  extent  of  haemorrhage ;  secure 
every  dangerously  bleeding  artery ;  remove  all 
loose  fragments ;  keep  the  wound  free,  the  head 
raised;  avoid  all  imtation,  eating,  speaking, 
and  especially  sutures,  or  mental  excitement ; 
use  an  elastic  tube  introduced  into  the  nostril, 
or  through  the  glottis  (when  there  isoBdematoua 
state  of  the  mucous  membrane)  when  necessaiT; 
keep  the  apartment  well  ventilated;  use  the 
simplest  dressings,  as  water  or  poultice,  and  if 
there  be  much  d&charge  a  piece  of  soft  spongt 
to  absorb  it 

If  inflammation  or  constitutional  fever  supa^ 
vene,  use  local  or  general  bleeding,  antimony, 
mercurial  purgatives,  &c. 

Violent  dyspnoea  in  consequence  of  excro»- 
cences  or  granulations  in  the  glottis  or  air- 
passages,  may  be  overcome  by  tracheotomy. 
(Mr.  McWhinnie,  p.  194.) 


Afl^ottom  of  the  AUnwatsiy  OanaL 

6LossiTi8.-<~U8e  purgatives  of  calomel  and 
jalap ;  leeches,  and  a  blister  to  the  throat,  and 
nitrate  of  silver,  gr.  20,  aq.  dist  3j-i  to  be  applied 
with  a  camel-hairbrush  three  or  four  times 
a-day.    (Dr.  England,  p.  196.) 

Aphtha. — Take  honey,  fifteen  parts,  diluted 
sulphuric  acid,  one  part,  by  weight;  brush  the 
ulcerated  surface  with  a  camel-hair  pencil  dip- 
ped in  this  liniment;  repeat  it  occasionally. 
(Prof  Lippich,  p.  90.) 

Peritonitis. — Do  not  force  the  peristaltic 
action  of  the  intestines  by  violent  purgatives, 
and  chiefly  subdue  the  inflammatory  action 
which  is  the  cause  of  constipation,  by  leeches, 
blisters,  and  mercury.  Where  you  have  reason 
to  think  accumulations  of  fcBcal  maUer  are 
present,  introduce  Dr.  O'Beirne's  intestinal 
tube  once  or  twice,  but  it  is  worse  than  useless 
to  force  the  discharge  of  the  contents  of  ih». 
intestines.    (Dr.  Corrigan,  a  90.) 

Stomach,  Affections  of. — in  irritability  of  the 
stomach,  with  the  deposit  of  earthy  phosphates, 
arising  from  derangement  of  the  functions  01 
the  spinal  cord,  and  evinced  by  emaciated 
countenance,  burning,  gnawing,  pain  in  scrob. 
cordis,  and  heavy  pain  across  the  loins,  tongue 
clean  and  red,  pulse  ouick  and  sharp,  skin  dry 
and  impesspiraole,  with  vomiting  after  meals; 
try  strychnia,  as  in  the  following  formula  :-^ 
Strychnia  gr.  j.,  acidi  nitrici  dil.  si.,  aquas  3xij. 
solve,  ut  sumat  ffiser,  fiat  3j.  ter  in  die,  and  rub 
the  scrob.  with  a  liniment  of  Croton  oil ;  milk 
dietary,  consisting  of  eighteen  ounces  of  brea^ 
one  ounce  of  butter,  and  two  pints  of  milS 
daily.  The  medicine  to  be  taken  fifteen 
minutes  after  each  meal.  The  strychnia  acta 
particularly  on  the  spinal  marrow ;  and  it  is 


64 


AUopathy. 


supposed  that  when  alkaline  urine  is  secreted, 
inaependently  of  the  character  of  the  ingesta, 
there  is  always  some  lesion  of  this  part    (Dr. 


Unfermented  bread  is  said  to  be  useful  where 
there  is  habitual  headache,  acidity  of  stomach, 
flatulence,  eructations,  sinking  at  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  and  pain  after  meals ;  in  iact,  in  con- 
firmed indigestion,  add  to  all  who  axe  subject 
to  gout  and  gravel,    (p.  138.) 

Cholera  (Ano^).— Three  objects  are  to  be 
observed  in  its  treatment,  viz.,  1,  To  moderate 
the  morbid  action  established  for  expelling  the 
poison,  by  replenishinfir  the  fluids.  Give  the 
patient  a  fluid  for  drink,  consisting,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  of  similar  elements  to  the  serum, 
as  albumen,  muriate  of  soda,  and  carbonate  of 
soda  in  a  very  dilute  state ;  give  also  efierves- 
cing  salines.  2.  To  prevent  local  engorge- 
ments, particularly  of  the  liver  and  vena  portae, 
remove  a  quantity  of  Uood  proportionaDle  to 
the  exigency  of  the  case,  ana  the  organ  con- 
gested. 3.  To  promote  healthy  secretion,  and 
allay  pain,  irritation,  and  spasm.  Give  calo- 
mel and  Dover's  powder  freely,  until  the  vomit- 
ing and  purging  are  restrained.  (Mr.  Clark, 
p.  83.) 

Take  thir^  grains  of  sesqui-carbonate  of 
soda  or  bicarbonate  of  potash,  put  it  into  a 
tumbler  glass,  and  add  a  wine  glass  of  water 
and  a  little  sjrrup.  Then  dissolve  twenty  grains 
of  tartaric  or  citric  acid  in  half  a  wine  glass 
of  water,  and  let  the  patient  drink  it  off  imme- 
diatelv.  Lemon  juice  may  be  substituted  for 
the  citric  acid.  The  carbonic  acid  is  said  to 
act  as  an  antidote  to  the  poison  in  the  system. 
(Dr.  Parkin,  p.  84.)       • 

Loss  of  power  in  the  heart  is  said  to  be  one 
important  lesion  in  cholera,  and  nature  there- 
fore endeavors  to  remedy  the  disease  in  four 
wajTS,  which  we  ought  to  study,  viz.,  1.  Vi^ 
reus  muscular  pressure— by  cramps— which 
^  propel  the  tarry  blood  towards  the  heart.  3.  The 
absorption  of  the  water  restores  the  blood  to  its 
natural  or  liquid  condition.  3.  Nausea,  by 
causing  general  relaxation  of  the  system,  di- 
minishes the  obstruction  to  the  passage  of  blood 
in  the  vessels.  4.  Retching,  or  vomiting,  as- 
sists mechanically  in  driving  fbrward  the 
Uood  in  the  distant  congested  vessels.  (Mr. 
French,  p.  85.) 

First  give  calomel,  rhubarb,  aloes,  aa.  gr.  z. 
ft.  bolus:  then  liq.  ammon.  m^xv.. and  repeat 
in  half  nour  doses  if  rejected.  Effervescing 
draughts,  soda  water,  liq.  ammoniae  externally 
over  the  chest,  abdomen,  and  upper  and  lower 
extremities  as  a  rubefacient,  vinegar  and  water 
to  the  head.  Convaksctnt  TYeatmefU,—A  lax- 
ative after  the  second  or  third  day,  and  tonics 
for  a  week  afterwards.  Use  opium  cautiously. 
For  the  spasms  or  cramps,  stretch  the  lower 
extremities,  taking  hold  of  heel  and  toes,  and 
bend  the  toes  and  loot  towards  the  patient  as  he 
Hes,  gently  and  repeatedly.  Use  abo  shampoo- 
ing.   (01Iapod,ofMadras,p.86.) 

DiARRHCEA.— Try  acetate  of  lead  for  obsti- 
nate and  peculiar  diarrhoea,  aooompanjring 
uterine  phlebitis  and  peritonitis.  This  medi- 
cine seems  to  act  by  checking  the  peristaltic 
action  of  the  intestines,  and  ulaying  pain  by 


•ecale. 


blunting  the  sensibility  of  the  mnooas  i 
brane.    (Dr.  Smyth,  p.  8&) 

Dtsentert.— Battiejr's   solution  of 
one  drachm;  tinct  of  muriate  of 

,  drachm ;  water,  six  ounces.    Mix,  and  give  a 

i  quarter  part  every  four  hoon,    (Mr.  Gervis, 

i  P-  87.) 

I  Hernii.— New  mode  of  applying  the  taziSy 
viz.,  drawing  back  the  protrusion  into  the  cavi- 

I  ty,  instead  of  pushing  it  back.  Flex  the  thighs 
on  the  pelvis,  also  the  loins,  dec.,  so  that  the 
body  may  be  coiled  up.  Seize  with  oae  hand 
the  hernial  tumor  at  its  base,  and  compress 
slightly,  and  with  the  other  hand  bring  the  ab- 
dominal parietes  as  much  towards  the  ingni* 
nal  aperture  as  practicable,  and  by  a  simoUa- 
neous  movement  of  both  hands,  prodnoe  trac- 
tion on  the  hernial  contents.  Z 

i  ~  This  plan  is  to  imitate  the  jxactice  in  olden 

,  time,  which  was  to  place  the  patient's  head 
downwards,  and  by  the  position  of  the  intes- 
tines, shaking  him  up  ana  down,  to  induce  the 
viscera  to  gravitate  back  into  the  abdomen : 
and  it  often  succeeded  after  the  failure  of  wA 
other  means.    (M.  Grynfeltt,  p.  197.) 

Stranoolatbd  {Eariy  operation  ini, — Try 
the  following  plan  of  treatment : — 1.  Fressoie 
for  a  short  time  is  indispensable.  3.  BU 
under  cautious  restrictions  is  advisable. 
The  warm  bath  may  be  used  in  mild  cases,  but 
in  bad  strangulations  they  are  worse  than  use-  . 
less.  4.  Cold  may  be  tolerated  in  the  caiir 
stage,  but  if  too  long  used,  or  used  too  coU, 
may  produce  gangrene.  &.  Tobacco  is  ODoer- 
tain  and  dangerous:  useless  il'weak,  aaddu- 
gerous  if  strong.    6.  Opium  in  fall  doses  is 

I  useful,  causing  muscular  relaxation.  7.  Par- 
gatives  are  pernicious.  8.  BeUadonna^mfliag 
with  Uie  life  of  the  patient 

SuMMARV.—In  bad  strangulation,  wbeiepua, 
tenderness,  and  firmness  of  the  tumor  are  gresot, 
and  where  there  is  much  constitutional  distnrb- 
ance,  after  cautious  use  of  Uie  taxis— 1st,  ^eed 
to  faintness.  and  when  the  necessary  relaxation 
is  produced,  9d,  further  attempts^  very  ean- 
tiously  used,  may  be  employed  to  efiect  redno- 
tion,  but  by  no  means  exhaust  too  long  the 
time  and  strength  of  the  patient  by  the  otlcr 
accessory  means  mentioned  above,  bnt  at  once, 
3d,  proceed  to  tiie  operatiorL  Of  the  ntitity  and 
practicability  of  dividing  the  strictnre  wuhoat 
opening  the  hernial  sac,  there  can  be  no  donht 
when  the- cases  are  cautiously  choeeh ;  and,t 
may  be  genei-ally  attempted,  except  where  gan- 
grene is  feiriv  suspected,  when  the  sac  most  be 
opened  to  allow  the  gangrenous  parts  to  sens- 
rate  ;  or  when  the  strictnre  is  in  the  neck  cf^t 
sac  itself,  whether  at  the  upper  or  lower  riuga^ 
which  is  not  very  frequent  (Dr.  Warren,  SOI.) 
HasMORRBoiDs  (^cfperotion  hy  coMlervy. — ^Tlie 
tumors  may  be  brought  do^ip  as  usual,  opened 
throughout  their  whole  length,  and  the  filbos 
caustic,  i.  e.,  potassa  c  calce,  well  cubbed  in, 
so  as  to  destroy  Uie  structure.  Afterwards  give 
injections  to  remove  loose  particles  of  canstiCi 
and  use  a  hip-bath  afterwards.  (M.  Am««qi> 
p.  204.)  ^ 

Anus,  FSstwrts  of^  wUk  i)omAfUma. — ^lliis 
was  a  most  satisfkctory  and  efficient  core  of  n 

i  most  troublesome  afl^ctioa  by  nitrate  of  silra^. 


AUopathy. 


65 


A  daily  application  was  made  <^  the  solid  ni- 
trate, from  the  S9th  of  May  to  the  19th  of 
June,  when  the  case  was  cored  of  both  the  fis- 
sures and  the  condyloma.  ^  (Dr.  Hargrave, 
p.  905.)  , 

FissuRC  or  THE  Anus  in  Childexn. — Give 
an  enema  dally  for  six  or  eight  days,  composed 
of  extract  of  rnatany,  one  scrapie:  and  water 
three  oonoes.    (Trousseau,  p.  Sm.) 


AAottons  of  the  Urinary  dguui. 

KiiyfETs,  'jyeatmeni  of  Diabethr-CRtucom- 
ri«,—I>M<.— Strictly  forbid  all  farinaceous 
substances,  as  those  into  which  starch  in 
any  way  enters.  Qluten  bread  is  of  great 
value ;  it  satisfies  the  crayings  of  the  ai^tite. 
Animal  food,  with  eggs,  milk,  butter,  and 
cheese,  are  proper;,  AIjbo  the  following  yege- 
tables:  Soinage,  endive,  lettuce,  sorrel,  as- 
paragus, haricots  verts,  cabbage  of  all  kinds, 
along  with  fat  pork  or  salt  bacon;  cresses 
with  oil,  and  hard-boiled  eggs.  Fresh  ghiten, 
with  butter,  and  cheese  grated  upon  it,  is  an 
excellent  dish.  For  dessert,  allow  olives,  al- 
monds, filberts,  and  walnuts;  occasionally, 
and  in  small  quantities,  allow  apples,  pears, 
cherries,  currants^  gooseberries,  raisins,  and 
gne-apples.  Dnnks:  The  French  wines, 
Bourgogne  and  Bourdeaux,  about  a  pint 
in  the  twenty-four  hours;  they  are  astrin- 
gent ;  -sometimes  the  quantiQr  is  to  be  increased, 
but  the  least  approach  to  inebriety  is  injurious. 
N.  B.  Some  patients  are  made  worse  with 
wine.  Beer  is  injurious.  Coffee  is  good,  and 
should  be  taken  without  sugar,  or  the  quantity 
of  sugar  should  be  very  small.  Lemonade 
and  drinks  of  this  class  are  very  injurious. 
doiking !  Protect  the  body  fiom  sudden  chills, 
by  clothing  it  in  flannel.  Exercise  should  be 
carefully  regulated ;  the  patient  should  engage 
in  those  exercises  in  which  he  takes  pleasure ; 
but  fatigue  is  to  be  avoided.  Baths  are  not  of 
much  use;  occasionally  a  tepid  bath  may  do 
good;  swimming  in  the  sea  has  been  found 
very  usefVil. 

Medical  TVm^mtfiit.— Carbonate  of  ammo- 


nia, T7  grains ;  rum,  310 ;  water,  1650  grains. 
One  third  to  be  taken  half  an  hour  before  each 
meal;  or  give  it  as  a  bolus  (eight  grains), 
with  treacle,  nrom  two  to  ten  to  oe  given  every 
night 

Give  yichy  water.  The  alkaline  bicarbo- 
nates,  particularly  soda,  are  very  useful. 

Dover's  Powder  and  Opiates.-^The  former  is 
very  useful;  ten  grains  at  bed-time.  Crude 
opium  and  morphia  often  disorder  the  sto- 
mach. 

Theriaca  divina,  ^ss.  to  si.,  every  night : 
a  drachm  contains  one  min  of  opium. 

CAalfbeaies  and  Tomcs.^When  there  is  de- 
cided pallor  of  skin,  resembling  chlorosis,  nve 
tonic  Ditters  with  iroiL  The  pulverized  iron, 
or  iron  reduced  by  hydrogen,  is  the  best  form 
of  chalybeate. 

Evacuanis, — Commence  the  treatment  by 
giving  an  emetic  and  af^^rwards  a  purgative, 


to  clear  away  anything  injurious  in  the  primas 
vie.  Evacuants  are  of  no  use  afierwardB, 
except  to  combat  certain  symptoms. 

Lime  water,  calcined  magnesia,  alkalies,  ni- 
tric, phosphoric,  and  sulphuric  acids,  aluuL  tan- 
nin, and  other  astringents,  are  cf  little  if  any 
use. 

JBleeding.-^enenl  bleeding  is  always  inju- 
rious. Leeches  or  cupping  to  different  parts,  as 
the  stomach  or  anus  (as  symptoms  indicate), 
will  be  found  useful,  viz.,  where  there  is  epigas- 
tric tenderness  or  suppressed  haemorrhoids. 

The  ckief  reliance  must  be  placed  on  dietetic 
and  hygienic  means.    (M.  Bouchardat,  p.  103.) 

Hjbmaturia. — If  the  patient  be  young,  vigor- 
ous and  plethoric  (not  otherwise),  generad  blMxi- 
letting.  If  the  kidneys  are  afiected,  cup  over 
the  loins ;  if  the  bladder  is  painful,  apply  leeches 
to  the  groins  or  perineum.  In  renal  cases,  de- 
p^dent  on  subacute  inflammation^  use  counter 
irritation,  by  means  of  antimonial  ointment 
Do  not  apply  blisters.  If  the  pain  seems  to 
arise  from  the  presence  of  calculi  in  the  kidney, 
apply  morphine  ointment,  or  apply  a  belladonna 
plaster  to  the  loins.  Wncn  the  cireulation  is 
mcreased,  and  there  is  no  sickness,  give  tartar 
emetic  If  there  is  sickness  give  digitalis. 
In  order  to  restrain  the  haemorrhage,  give  ace- 
tate ot  lead  and  opium,  or  sulphate  of  alom 
with  hyoscyamus.  If  the  pain  is  decidedly 
connected  with  the  bladder,  use  anodyne  sup- 
positories. Ergot  of  rye  is  very  efficacious  m 
stopping  the  haemorrhage,  and  it  produces  no 
unpleasant  effects ;  eive  it  in  doses  of  from  ten 
to  fifteen  grains,  with  a  little  carbonate  of  soda 
or  potash,  and  at  intervals  of  from  four  to  six 
hours.  Should  it  disorder  the  stomach,  add  a 
few  grains  of  ginger  or  comp.  cinnamon  pow- 
der. Any  of  the  mineral  acids  may  be  given 
according  to  the  individual  case.  In  chronic 
cases,  give  copaiba  and  turpentine ;  also  parei- 
ra  brava,  and  uva  ursi ;  and  improve  the  p:en- 
eral  health  with  iron  and  iodide  of  potassium. 
Cold  should  be  applied,  ahd  cold  water  injec- 
tions used  as  auxiliaries  to  restrain  the  haemor- 
rhage.   (Dr.  Fife,  p.  88.) 

Alkaline  Urine. ^TJae  strychnia  when  the  al- 
fection  follows  injury  or  lesion  of  the  spine,  as 
recommended  by  Dr  Gk>lding  Bird.    (p.  99.) 

NepkrUis. — Give  copaiba  in  ten  drop  doses, 
three  times  a  day,  in  case  of  nephritis  with  sup- 
pression of  urine,  after  bleeding  and  the  onu- 
nary  treatment  have  failed.  (Mr.  Roberts,  p. 
73J 

BiaDi>KR.-*iittA0^'ty.— This  operation  is 
applicable,  1st,  to  patients  above  paberty,  if 
the  stone  is  not  large,  say  |  to  |  inch  in 
diameter,  or  as  large  as  a  chesnut ;  2d,  when 
the  bladder  and  urethra  are  tolerably  healthy, 
as  shown  by  retaining  the  urine  for  hours, 
and  being  able  to  pass  it  in  a  good  stream, 
and  when  the  bladder  will  admit  of  injection 
and  careful  exploration.    (Liston,  p.  207.) 

Dr.  Arthault's  new  instrument  is  capable  of 
crushing  and  pulverizing  in  three  minutes,  a 
calculus  of  the  size  of  a  pigeon's  egg.  (Gaz. 
Med.  Chir.,  p.  209.) 

LHhoiomi.^l,    Use   the  simplest  instru- 
ments.   2.  bterfere  as  little  as  possible  with 


Allopathy. 


the  lleo-vesical  fkscia.  3.  Know  well  the 
exact  position  of  the  stone,  for  the  use  of 
the  forceps  is  the  most  annoying  part  of  the 
operation.  4.  Dilate  intemaUv,  if  necessary, 
fdr  a  large  stone ;  or  make  a  bilateral  incision, 
bat  it  is  very  seldom  necessary.  5.  In  roducing 
a  gam-elastic  tube  through  the  track  of  the 
wound  into  the  bladder,  to  secure  the  flow  of 
urine  from  it,  and  keep  it  there,  in  children  20 
hours,  in  adults  40  or  50.— (Mr.  LLston,  p.  307.) 

In  performing  the  operation  of  lithotomy  in 
the  female  introduce  a  deeply  grooved  straight 
director  into  the  bladder;  and  then  pass  a 
ptobe-pointed  bistoury  along  it,  and  make  an 
molsion,  about  half  an  inch  in  extent,  towards 
the  tuberosity  of  the  ischium,  the  wound  being 
limited  to  the  anterior  half  of  the. urethra. 
Next  make  a  slight  pick  in  the  (1)  side  of  the 
orifice  of  the  urethra,  and  withdraw  the  director: 
then  gradually  introduce  the  point  of  the  left 
forefinger  into  the  wound,  and  carefully  dilate 
the  posteijor  half  of  the  urethra ;  finally,  seize 
the  stone  with  a  small  lithotomy  forceps.  Mr. 
Fergusson  thinks  that  the  incision  in  the  ante- 
rior part  of  the  urethra  produces  less- injury 
than  dilation.    (Mr.  Pergusson,  p,  209.) 

Dr.  Baker  of  New  York,  on  the  other  hand, 
divides  the  urethra  half  an  Inch  posterior  to  the 
meatus  urinarius,  leavinff  this  'orifice  and  the 
anterior  portion  of  the  urethra  undivided.  (Dr. 
Baker,  p.  210.) 

Urethra.— fiKrirf»«.—M.  Civiale  uses  the 
flexible  sound,  carrying  a  port-caustique  within, 
but  projecting  an  inch  beyond  the  latter.  The 
length  of  the  opposite  end  is  about  eight  inches. 
The  smallest  port-caustiqucs  are  three-quarters 
of  a' line  in  oiameter,  and  are  flexible.  TTie 
conductors  are  elastic  gum,  straight  or  curved, 
according  to  the  situation  of  the  .stricture :  they 
are  seven  inches  long,  and  from  two  to  three 
lines  diameter,  having  a  graduated  scale  at- 
tached. The  anterior  opening  is  proportioned 
to  the  size  of  the  port-caustique,  which  fits 
without  being  tight.  Care  is  necessary  that 
the  extremity  of  the  pon-causdque  is  completely 
introduced  into  the  constricted  part  at  the  mo- 
ment when  it  protrudes  from  the  conductor: 
this  will  be  obtained  by  geotle  traction  on  the 
penis. 

When  the  stricture  is  much  contracted,  so  as 
to  admit  only  a  very  delicate  bougie,  renounce 
or  apply  it  from  before  backwards.  Its  appli- 
cation should  be  confined  to  linear  contrac- 
tions, capable  of  admitting  the  port-caustique, 
and  an  exact  impression  of  the  contraction. 
When  the  melioration  is  not  progressive,  dis- 
continue the  use  of  the  caustic,  and  resort  to 
other  means.    (Dr.  Civiale,  p.  217.) 

Urethral  PistiUa, — When  from  healthy  ab- 
scess, to  be  treated  by  encouraging  granula- 
tions, assisted  by  permanent  catheters. 

When  from  specific  abscess  and  stricture,  to 
be  treated  by  simple  incision  into  the  urethra 
through  the  nerineum,  to  divert  the  urine  for  a 
few  days  before  performing  the  operation,  and 
when  mis  is  healed,  by  using  permanent  caihe- 
ters.    (SegalasandRicord,p.  220.) 

Perineal  Fistula. — ^If  the  application  of  cans- 
*^c  or  the  actual  cautery  fail  to  keep  the  orifice 


raw,  80  that  the  granulations  eaiinot  dm  it,  a 
taliacotian  operation  should  be  tried,  estnodft^ 
fied  by  Dieffenbach,  which  consists  in  Mt 
turning  the  flap  round  or  brinfc|{ng  the  edtes  ^ 
^ther,  but  of  separating  two  little  lateral  flap 
from  the  penis;  at  (he  sides  of  the  fistaloai 
ope^inff. 

IfcaTcnli  are  passing  throogh  theurethrft, 
and  lodge  in  front  of  the  serotam,  endesfor  tB 
draw  them  forwards  to  the  orifice,  which,  by  t 
little  enlaigement,  will  allow  them  to  come 
out  If  not  able  to  be  brought  forwards,  try  to 
pass  them  back*  so  a3  to  oot  on  them  in  the 
perineum  behind  the  scrotum.  (Mr.  Hawkins, 
p.  919.) 

UrifKf  Sxiravasatisn  ef.^-CiaX  down  npoa 
the  part  lay  open  the  urethra,  and  allow  dtf 
pus  and  unne  (o  escape;  then  apply  warn 
poultices  to  fhvor  the  separation  of  the  dooghn 
Support  the  sorotnm,  should  it  be  implicaM, 
and  afterwards  use  astringent  lotions.  Doriog 
the  attendant  fever,  relieve  (he  bowels  with  m 
enema,  and  give  Dover^  powder ;  and,  when 
low  symptoms  come  on,  give  stimulanto  (bnn- 
dy)  and  opium.    (Mr.  Gluain,  p.  fiSl.) 

Hamarrhage  from  Ur&ikHi.^liBetaoirAap 
from  the  urethra,  as  well  as  other  oasn  tf 
hcemorrhage,  may  be  treated  by  solotidn  of  «• 
cale.  Battley 's  solution  of  secale,  3 j. ;  tiMt  tf 
sesquichlor.  of  iron,  3j.;  water,  3vj.  Ma, 
and  give  a  quarter  part  every  four  how 
(Mr.Gervis,p.87) 


AllWotioiis  of  fh»  Oigaas  of  ( 

SvpHiLTs,  Chancre, — If  seen  within  ib« 
days,  apply  nitrate  of  silver  freely,  and  Kooft* 
dary  symptoms  need  not  be  feared,  and  eA 
after  this  time,  in  nine  cases  out  of  lEQ,the 
same  results  wUl  take  place.  There  are  sooe 
indications,  however,  against  the  use  of  caosfiei 
and  these  are  inflammation,  or  great  irriotia 
of  the  part ;  but,  {lerhaps,  the  most  impoitui 
indication  against  its  use  is  induration  of^ 
sore ;  the  constitution  is  sure  to  be  affecw 
when  this  occurs,  and  mercury  mnsi  be  giTCO* 
(Mr.  ActoD,  p.  222.) 

Secondary  Sypiilis. — Pains  in  the  Uh 
BoTies,  <^,— Give  hydriodate  of  potash,  five  l» 
eight,  or  to  fifteen  grains  three  times  a  day,  ana, 
if  not  successful  in  a  few  daya,  then  meremy 
may  be  had  recourse  to.  Wnere  the  secondaiy 
symptoms  are  scaly  eruption,  excavated  oleff 
of  the  tonsil,  swelling  of  the  testicle,  excaraifll 
uleer  of  the  tongue,  acute  ulcers  or  the  ew 
of  the  eyelids,  iritis,  purulent  discharge  of  jhs 
meatus  auditorius  externus,  papular  cniptiA 
without  fever,  desquamating  rabercolar  ana 
pustular  eruj^on,  secondary  nker^  fiasuiw 
tongue,  ulceration  round  the  nail,  poagedcnjc 
ulcers  of  the  skin,  and  foul  sloughy  ulcentioDi 
of  the  pharynx,  they  will  be  benefited  jMiierco* 
rial  fumigations.    (Mr.  Ormerod,  p.  287.) 

M.  Ricord  often  substitutes  the  hfomidew 
the  iodide  of  potassium.  The  dose  is  the  same, 
and  it  has  produced  the  same  tberapeattc  eseta, 
but  more  slowly.  It  is  much  cheaper.  (p-2»i 

Sifpkmtic  7Vi«c&.— CoinWne  the  merconal 


AUapathy. 


67 


treatment  -with  iodide  of  j^otassimnu  Qi^e 
three  qnarters  of  a  grain  of  iodide  of  mercniy 
in  a  pill  eyeiy  night,  and  one  or  two  grains  of 
iodide  of  potassium  twice  or  thrice  daring  the 
day.  Continue  this  treatment  for  some  time 
amr  a  cure  is  efiected.  When  effusion  into  the 
tanica  vaginalis  occurs,  the  Huid  is  generally 
absorbed;  occasionally,  however^  it  remains, 
and  it  is  necessary  to  tap  and  inject  the  sac ; 
before  doing  this  we  should  endeavor  to  procure 
its  absorption,  by  mercurial  frictions  on  the 
serotimi,  or  the  appUcation  of  b^;o  plaster  with 
mercury.  We  should  also  try  compression. 
(M.  Helot,  p.  229.) 

OoNOERHCBA.— uotionhcea  has  six  regions 
aa  its  seat  in  the  urethra.    1.  Balantc,  or  the 

rrtion  within  and  just  behind  the  glans  penis. 
Bpongic,  or  th^  portion  extending  ih)m  the 
ghuui  penis  to  the  bulb.  3.  BnlMc,  or  the 
perticm  situated  about  ^e  bulb,  and  to  the  mem- 
orahous  portion.  4.  Membranic,  the  whole 
membranous  or  museular  portion.  5.  Prosta- 
tic, or  the  part  involved  by  the  prostate  gland. 
6«  Cvstic,  when  the  specinc  poison  affects  the 

Destroy  its  existence  as  quickly  as  possible, 
as  there  is  no  fear  of  stricture,  if  no  phlegmo- 
ncms  inflammation.  Take  six  to  twelve  copaiba 
capsules  daily,  or  one  to  two  oz.  of  cubebs. 
Use  ah  injection  of  ten  to  fifteen  grs.  arg.  nit 
aq.  distiUat  ^'.  Do  not  mix  copaiba  and  cubebs 
in  one  preparation,  or  give  them  together. 

^  Where  there  is  active  inflammation,  use 
active  antiphlogistic  measures,  baths,  and  lax- 
atives, and  when  subdued,  as  above. 

fll  Where  dysuria,  apply  leeches  in  perineo, 
cool  lavements,  general  baths.  If  it  continue 
▼cry  distressing,  use  an  elastic  catheter  of 
moderate  size. 

3.  Open  abscesses  as  early  as  the  matter  is 
wen  formed. 

4.  Vesical  tenesmus;  inject  per  rectum  aq. 
3iv.,  tinct.  opii  30  v.  30  drops. ; 

5.  In  commencing  gleet,  inject  ter  die  aq. 
disL  3vij.  zinc,  sulph.  plumb,  s.  acet.  aa.  9}. 

6.  In  chronic  gleet,  if  no  particular  thicken- 
ing or  stricture,  use  wine,  tannin,  alum,  or 
icdide  of  iron  (aq.  dist.  jviii.,  iod.  ferri.  gr.  ij 
ad  iv.)  injections. 

Injections  with  copaiba  or  cubebs  are  gene- 
rally useless. 

7.  Epididymitis,  or  inflammation  of  epididy- 
mis, use  a  suspensory  bandage.  N.  B.  Be 
careftil  not  to  confound  orchitis  with  epididy- 
mitis.   (M.  Ricord,  p.  213.) 

Enjoin  rest  and  temperate  habits.  Use  astrin- 
gent injections,  as  nitrate  of  silver,  quarter  of  a 
erain  to  the  ounce,  used  only  once  in  twenty- 
lour  hours ;  or  sulphate  of  zinc  or  alum,  from 
ten  to  fifteen  grains  to  the  ounce.  At  the  same 
time  give  the  capsules  of  copaiba  in  large  doses 
an  hour  after  each  meal;  give  a  large  dose 
(tvt  or  six)  at  bed-time.  Direct  the  patient  to 
void  his  urine  every  half  hour  or  so,  previous 
to  which  he  should  inject  a  small  quantity  of 
il^ection.    (Mr.  Brett  p.  215.)* 

Mr.  M' Donald  condemns  solutions  of  nitrate 
eft  silver  because  of  producing  cystitis,  and 
i^eommends  it  in  ointment,  a  drachm  to  an  , 


ocmce  of  lard,  smeared  on  a  bougie,  and  intro- 
duced thrfe  inches  in  the  male,  and  retained 
three  minutes.  The  penis  afterwards  to  be 
bathed  in  warm  water.  (Mr.  M'Donald,  p.  215.) 

Whenever  gonorrhoea  is  followed  by  secon- 
dary sjrmptoms,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  < 
there  originallv  existed  some  83rphilitic  sore  just 
within  the  orince  of  the  urethra,  unobservea  by 
the  surgeon,    (p.  228.) 

Eetro$ic  or  Aoortive  Treatment. — In  the  very 
earlv  stage,  befpre  the  suppurative  crisis,  inject 
a  solution  of  nitrate  of  silver  (grs.  xii.  to  3i.) 
about  two  inches  and  a  half  down  the  urethra, 
by  means  of  a  glass  syringe.  Only  use  it  once 
or  twice,  and  if  it  fail  in  arresting  the  disease, 
then  have  recourse  to  ordinary  treatment. 
(Dr.  Arnott,  p.  213.) 

ScBOTDM..  Hydrocele. '^TresXed  successfully 
by  alcohol,  after  the  puncture  had  been  made 
twice  unsuccessfully.  The  scrotum  was  en- 
veloped with  a  large  compress,  four  times 
doubled,  and  steeped  in  alcohol  of  thirty  de- 
grees, and  kept  on  by  a  suspensory  bandaee. 
This  lotion  was  continued  forty  days.  (M. 
Pleindonx,  p.  934.) 

Discharge  the  fluid  with  a  trocar  or  pocket 
lancet.  Applv  a  warm  vinegar  poultice.  When 
sufficient  inflammation  is  saperinduced  by  the 
poaltice,  apply  poultices  of  bread  and  milk, 
and  give  a  few  smart  doses  of  purgative  medi- 
cine.   (Dr.  Harvey,  p.  234.) 


Faitnxilion  and  Diseases  of  Women. 

Vulva,  FoQieular  Disease  of. — krg.  nit.  and 
nitric  acid  are  of  no  use.  Hydrocyanic  acid 
lotion  is  serviceable,  or  an  ointment  made  of' 
two  drachms  of  prussic  acid  and  a  scruple  of 
diacetate  of  lead,  with  two  ounces  of  cocoanut 
oil.  The  parts  are  to  be  first  wa.<?hed  with  in- 
fusion of  roses,  and  the  ointment  applied  two 
or  three  times  a  day  on  lint. 

Or  try  a  lotion  of  lime  water  with  opium  j 
or  make  a  poultice  of  bread,  saturated  with  a 
decoction  of  conium  leaves,  to  a  pint  of  which 
add  two  drachms  of  the  liq.  plumni  diacet 

When  irritation  is  excessive,  prescribe  vapor- 
baths,  either  simple,  or  medicated  with  sulphur. 
Attend  to  general  health,  order  a  nutritious  but 
unstimulatinR  diet;  avoid  wine  and  porter; 
give  milk  with  lime  water ;  keep  the  patient  at 
rest ;  forbid  sexual  intercourse.  There  should 
be  change  of  air.  Give  the  vegetable  tonics, 
as  cascarilla,  colamba,  cinchona,  sarsaparilla, 
&c. ;  keep  the  bowels  open  with  small  aoses  of 
magnes.  sulph.  in  infusion  of  cascarilla  or 
camomile.  When  the  symptoms  are  decidedly 
abating,  five  a  mild  mercurial  course  witn 
sarsaparilla.    (Mr.  Oldham,  p.  307.) 

Vagtna  AMD  Urethra,  Disease  of. — The 
value  of  the  speculum  is  incalculable  in  all 
cases  where  there  is  reason  to  suspect  disease 
of  the  neck  of  the  uterus. 

Local  Treatment. — In  vulvular  inflammation, 
the  hip-bath  and  poppy  fomentations.  For  the 
itching,  nitrate  of  silver  3j.,  aq.  dist.  3j.^  applied 
three  or  four  times  a-day ;  or  tmcture  of  matico, 


68 


AUqpathjf. 


Both  may  be  applied  either  with  a  camel's  hair 
pencil  or  with  a  stick,  to  which  a  piece  of 
sponge  is  tied.  Lotions  of  the  soluble  salts  of 
lead,  zinc,  mercury,  narcotic  preparations,  bo- 
rax, hydrocyanic  acid,  bread  crumo  soaked  with 
•liquor  plumbi  diacet.,  gelatine  and  bran  baths. 

General  7Vva/m€7i<.— Mild  saline  purgatives, 
rest,  sea-bathing,  alterative  doses  of  mercury, 
as  Plummer's  pill,  gr.  v.,  nocte  maneque. 
Brandishe's  alkaline  solution,  twenty  drops  in 
an  ounce  of  an^  bitter  infusion ;  balsam  copai- 
ba. For  pain  in  the  back  apply  cautery  to  the 
sacrum.    (Dr.  Mitchell,  p.  306.) 

Uterine  Polypi  and  Ulceration,— IS  small,  re- 
over  them  by  twisting,  with  a  Ibrceps.  consisting 
of  a  straight  stem,  eight  inches  long,  having  two 
short  spring  blades,  with  serrated  tips,  upon 
which  slide  a  brace  movable  from  the  handle, 
by  which  they  are  easily  pressed  firmly  toge- 
ther, and  made  to  grasp  very  securely  any  ob- 
ject caught  between  tnem.  Apply  nitrate  of 
silver  to  restrain  bleeding.  Where  it  is  neces- 
sary, in  a  lar^^er  pedunctilated  polypus,  apply 
a  ligature;  Niessen's  double  canula  is  recom- 
mended, and  with  it,  silk  salmon  fishing  line 
soaked  in  linseed  oil,  which  combines  strength, 
perfect  pliability,  and  soflneas,  and  is  unaffect- 
ed by  moisture.  N.  B.  In  persons  of  a  high 
habit,  and  who  are  subject  to  indulgences  in 
dietary,  be  carelul  not  suddenly  to  suppress 
menorrnagic  discharges,  because  of  the  dan- 
gers of  ^termination  to  cerebral  congestion. 
(Dr.  Montgomery,  p  307.) 

Uterus,  Ulcerative  Infiamviaiion  of. — Make 
very  careful  specular  examination.  Local  treats 
ment: — astringent  vaginal  injections,  sulph. 
zinc,  alum,  tannin,  acetate  or  lead,  &c.,  re- 
peated pauterization  of  the  ulcerated  sunace 
with  nitrate  of  silver,  or  acid  nitrate  of  mer- 
cury. The  use  of  the  caustic  is  followed  fre- 
quently by  an  increase  in  the  local  pains  and 
leucorrhcea,  which  may  become  sanguinolent. 
The  exacerbation  may  last  a  few  days,  but  af- 
terwards the  patient  becomes  easier  and  better 
than  before  its  application.  General  treat- 
ment:— continence,  horizontal  posture,  ^d 
such  other  means  as  constitutional  symptoms 
indicate.  When  there  is  debility,  eive  tonics, 
Ac  Leeches,  scarifications,  or  cold  hip-bath 
are  unnecessary.  External  applications  for 
pains  in  the  loins  are  useless,  but  may  be  em- 
ployed a^  a  placebo.    (Dr.  Bennett,  p.  2870 

Irritability  of  Stomach  in  Pregnancy.—Give 
strychnia  in  doses  of  from  one-sixth  to  one- 
tweiflh  of  a  grain  in  a  little  diluted  nitric  acid 
three  times  a  day.    (Dr.  G.  Bird,  p.  98.) 

Vomiting  of  Pregnancy, — M.  Stackler  gives 
three  quarters  of  a  grain  daily,  of  the  black  ox- 
ide of  mercury.  No  unpleasant  efiecis  follow. 
It  is  beneficial  in  hysterical  convulsions  and  ute- 
rine irritation.  [We  suspect  some  mistake  in  the 
statement  of  the  quantity  given. — ^Ed.]  (p.  279.) 

Hjemorrhage  before  Delivery. — 1.  Acciden- 
tal.— If  the  08  uteri  be  dilated  and  the  presenta- 
tion natural,  rupture  the  membranes,  and  leave 
the  case  to  nature ;  but  if  the  haemorrhage  do 
not  cease,  -use  eigot.  If  the  os  be  not  duated, 
plug  and  wait. 

2.  In  unavoidable,  as  placenta  praevia.— If 


the  06  be  dilated  or  dilatable,  introdoce  the 
hand  and  turn  the  child,  but  if  the  placental 
covering  of  the  os  be  only  partial,  treat  as  the 
first  variety.    (Dr.  Mitchell,  p.  280.) 

Uterine  Hitanarrkage  oAer  Delivery. — Mr. 
Higginbottom  reconunends  giving  an  emetic 
dose  of  ipecacuanha,  or  ergot,  in  the  exhaus- 
tion attending  uterine  haemorrhage,  after  the 
delivery  of  the  child  or  separation  of  the  ^* 
centa.  Of  the  eigot.  Mr.  H.  gives  Sssc  betoie 
the  birth  of  the  child,  and  a  like  dose  after 
birth,  and  before  the  separation  of  the  placenta, 
(p.  286.; 

Utenne  Pkkbiiis  and  PeriiinUtis.'-^Qire  ace- 
tate of  lead  in  the  obstinate  diarrhoea  of  uterine 
phlebitis  and  peritonitis.    (Dr.  Smith,  p.  8&) 

PuERPEiuL  Fevee. — EndeavcMT  to  tnrowoff 
the  morbific  specific  matter,  and  sustain  the 
powers  of  life;  give  diaphoretics  and  adma- 
lants  according  to  the  stage  df  the  di^egHe> 
Adopt  every  precaution  against  propagation; 
cease  to  attend  midwifery  at  the  same  time 
with  ca;ses  of  malignant  or  severe  erysipelas; 
observe  rigid  ablution  of  the  hands,  either  wi& 
simple  water,  or  chlorinated;  diange  gar- 
ments, or  expose  them  to  a  free  atmo^lieie  or 
high  temperature,  or  absent  yourself  ao  as  to 
obtain  an  entire  purification,  at  the  same  time 
using  warm  batns  and  other  alterative  and 
puril}'ing  means.  .  (Dr.  Peddie,  p.  43.)     • 

OviUUAN  Dropsy. — ^Puncture  with  a  trocar 
through  the  vaginal  parictes  (the  tomor  beiqg 
situate  between  the  rectum  and  va^^ina),  ife 
canula  being  left  thirty  hours  in  the  puBciBie 
to  permit  the  fluid  to  drain  off.    In  tea  dap  it 
was  dilated  with  a  bistoury,  and  water  iojected 
into  the  sac ;  and  to  keep  the  opening  wmont. 
a  thick  tube  of  tin  was  introduced  and  seeorea 
in  front    In  four  weeks  the  puncture  and  cf* 
were  contracted,  and  the  patient  cured.    Con- 
ditions necessary  to  success : — 1.  No  complka- 
tion,  and  the  tumor  unilocular.    3.  That  the 
cyst  contain  no  more  than  fifteen  lbs.  of  fluid. 
3.  That  the  opening  be  Uree  enough  to  permit 
the  easy  introduction  of  me  finger.     4.  Tim 
the  temperamre  of  injected  water  be  agreeable 
to  the  patient,  ajid  thrown  deep  into  the  aac 
5.  That  the  tube  be  occaaionaDy  withdrawn, 
and  not  entirely  disused,  until  the  opening  has 
contracted   and  the  discharge  become  aoldy 
purulent    (Prof.  Kiwisch,  p.  319^ 

Mbnstroation,  Irregnlar.^'Make  use  of 
cold  water,  as  follows;  Commence  first  wi^ 
the  tepid  and  then  with  the  cold  bath,  twke 
daily,  for  half  an  hour  at  a  time.  This  pro- 
cess exerts  a  double  influence  on  the  lemale 
genital  organs;  the  one  a  strengthening,  and 
the  other  an  attracting  force.  (Dr.  Chmelik, 
p.  316.) 

ChL0R0si8.^There  are  cases  of  chlorosis 
marked  by  an  increase  rather  than  a  diminatiaa 
of  the  total  amount  of  blood ;  it  is  not  a  neces- 
sary condition,  but  it  is  more  certainly  and  fite- 
quently  a  change  in  its  quality.  It  is  identical 
with  anaemia. 

When  there  is  increase  of  Uood,  blood- 
letdi^,  leeches,  or  cupping,  are  recommended. 

When  pain  on  pressure  in  some  region  of 
the  v>inal  cord,  cup  or  apply  leeches^  or  r 


Allopathy. 


69 


ed  bliflten  on  either  side  of  the  spine.  Moderate 
pustulation ;  use  anodynes  sparingly  and  can- 
tioasly,  and  this  may  apply  also  to  the  use  of 
aconite  or  cannabis  Indica.  The  local  appli- 
cation of  these  anodynes  may  be  tried  with 
much  advantage,  by  means  of  soaked  lint, 
eiUier  with  or  without  the  removal  of  the  cuti- 
cle. Sulphate  of  veratrine  9i.  to  jj.  of  axunge 
is  very  efficacious.  Where  the  pains  are  very 
dntinate  and  severe,  firing  lightly  applied  may 
be  tried. 

Where  there  is  p;reat  disturbance  of  the  di- 
gestive functions,  give  warm  cordial  cathartics ; 
one  or  two  drops  of  creosote  in  pill  thrice  daily, 
alone,  or  with  compound  galbanumpill ;  finely 
powdered  charcoal  (of  which  that  from  box- 
wood is  the  best);  or  the  following :— Pine 
charcoal,  calcined  magnesia,  aa.  gr.  x.,  powder- 
ed nutmeg,  five  grs.  Mix.  This,  mixed  cau- 
tiously with,  and  taken  in,  milk  and  water,  two 
or  three  times  a  day. 

The  essential  treatment,  as  it  has  special  re- 
gard to  the  normal  character  of  the  red  particles 
of  the  blood,  must  consist  in  the  administration 
of  iron  (if  no  contrary  indicating  conditions). 
If  idios3rncrasy  prove  a  constitution  intolerant 
Vf  iron,  then  make  trial  of  bismuth,  either 
alone,  or  in  combination  with  carbonate  of 
ammonia,  and  the  salts  of  Peruvian  bark.  If 
iron  can  be  tolerated,  then  the  muriated  tincture ; 
the  acetated  tincture  of  Dr.  Percival,  of  Dublin ; 
vinom  feni ;  or  Bewley's  solution  of  the  super- 
carbonate;  mist  ferri  comp.;  bark,  iron,  and 
ammonia ;  citrate  of  iron  and  quinine ;  com- 

Srand  ferri  pil.  with  sulph.  of  quinine ;  and 
e  saccharine  proto-carbonate. 

When  a  mild  aperient  is  necessary  during 
the  use  of  iron,  the  following  is  recommeuded : 
— SodsB  bicarb,  gr.  xv.;  acid  tartaric  gr.  x.j 
anlph.  ferri  (siccat.)  gr.  j.  ad  gr.  v. ;  sacchari 
albi  3SS.  M.  to  be  kept  dry,  dissolved  in  a 
v^ie-glassful  of  water,  and  swallowed  while 
cfienrescing. 

Dr.  Freke  recommends  the  hydro-sulphuret 
of  ammonia  to  diminish  the  number  of  red 
OGspuscles  in  the  blood,  on  the  supposition  that 
it  appronriates  a  portion  of  that  iron  which 
-would  otherwise  contribute  to  the  formation  of 
the  red  globules.    (Sir  H.  Marsh,  p.  310.) 

Administer  from  eight  to  thirty  grains  daily, 
of  tannate  of  iron,  especially  to  persons  of 
sanguine  temperament  (M.  Benedetti,  p».  315.) 

Ahshorbhosa,  Electricity  and  CkUvanism  in. 
—To  insure  success,  improve  the  general 
health  by  exercise  and  tonics,  and  remove  accu- 
mulations ftom  the  bowels.  Pass  the  shocks  of 
the  Leyden  jar  from  the  nubes  to  the  sacrum, 
beginning  about  a  week  before  the  expected 
period  of  return,  and  repeat  as  often  as  will  be 
thought  necessary.    (Dr.  G.  Bird,  p.  315.) 

Dr.  T.  L.  Ogier  gives  a  teaspoonful  of  a 
strong  tincture  co*  water  pepper,  made  from  the 
leaves,  stems,  and  flowers,  three  times  a  day. 
(p.  316.) 


AAotlons  of  Joints  and  Bones. 

Dislocations,  Hip  Joints  Hedudian  of.— I 
Obtain  two  planks  of  oak,  beech,  or  elm,  eight 


feet  long,  three  feet -wide,  and  three  inches 
thick,  and  joint  these  by  joist^.  3.  Let  these 
rest  o^  chairs  or  tressels.  3.  Drill  boles  in 
opposite  directions,  so  that  when  the  patient  is 
placed  upon  the  board,  the  ilia  and  unaffected 
thig^  may  be  secured  by  two  strong  leather 
straps,  thus  rendering  the  pelvis  fixed,  ^d  ena- 
bling the  effective  means,  viz.,  extension  and 
uplifting  the  head  of  the  affected  bone,  to  be 
used  with  the  greatest  advantage.  In  disloca- 
tion of  the  dorsum  ilii.  instead  of  the  single 
pad  above  the  knee,  suostimte  two  iron  plates 
jiik  above  the  condyles,  one  side  being  fast  by 
a  hinge-joint,  and  the  other  by  two  thumb- 
screws. 4.  At  the  distal  end  of  the  board,  fix 
an  upright  post,  twenty  inches  high  and  three 
or  four  incnes  thick,  and  drill  in  it  a  hole  lor 
the  pulle]^  rope  to  pass;  make  another  hole 
laterally  in  the  post  for  a  stick  or  windlass, 
which  may  be  worked  with  CQgs  or  a  ratchet 
wheel.  5.  Attach  one  of  the  pulleys  to  a  hook 
in  the  front  plate  (of  which  no  description  is 
^ven),  and  tne  other  to  a  strong  screw  staple 
m  the  upright  post.  6.  All  being  now  adjusted, 
extension  may  be  made  in  the  most  gradual 
manner.  Wherever  it  shall  be  required,  ^e 
apparatus  should  be  well  wadded  with  any 
suitable  soft  material,  to  prevent  abrasion  of 
the  skin  and  bruising  of  son  parts.  [A  simple ' 
diagram,  with,  the  apparatus  applicxl  apon  a 
figure,  would  very  much  have  forwarded  the 
objects  for  which  this  paper  is  published.— Ed.] 
(Mr.  Davis,  p.  144.) 

Iodine  Injections  in  the  J^tUs.— Consider  well 
the  situation  of  the  opening,  especially  let  it 
be  at  or  near  where  fluctuation  is  most  evident 
Pinch  up  a  fold  of  the  skin  and  pass  in  the  hy- 
drocele trocar  at  the  base  of  the  fold,  so  that 
when  the  operation  is  complete,  the  internal 
and  external  otening  may  not  correspond, 
which  prevents  the  ingress  of  air.  An  ordmaiy 
trocar  may  be  used.  [M.  Velpeau  uses  a 
hydrocele  trocar.]  Draw  off  six  or  eight 
drachms  of  the  fluid  [M.  Velpeau  dra,ws  the 
whole  off],  or  a  quantity  equal  to  the  iojectlon 
thrown  in.  Use  undiluted  tincture  of  iodine ; 
the  fluid  left  in  the  cavity  dilutes  it.  [M.  Vel- 
peau dilutes  the  injection.]  Allow  the  greater 
part  of  the  fluid  to  remain  in  the  joint.  [M. 
Velpeau  allows  it  all  to  escape.]  N.  B.  M. 
Velpeau's  practice  appears  to  have  be^  the 
most  successful;  it  does  not  excite  so  much 
iuflamination.    (M.  Bonnet,  p.  147.) 

BuR8£,  Diseased. — Make  a  free  longitudinal 
incision  from  above  downwards,  throughout 
the  whole  extent  of  the  bursa;  inspect  the  cyst 
and  detach  any  small  adherent  bodies ;  where 
the  cyst  is  thick  and  capacious,  and  bulges  from 
the  incision,  remove  an  elliptical  portion.  In- 
troduce an  oiled  dossil  of  lint  as  a  dressing, 
and  apply  light  compresses  and  a  bandage. 
When  suppuration  is  fairly  established,  apply 
poultices  it  necessary.  The  advantages  of 
this  method  over  puncture,  subcutaneous  in- 
cision, injection,  seton,  extiipation,  &c.,  are — 1. 
it  is  easily  and  quickly  done.  2.  It  is  less 
painful.  3.  It  produces  little  or  no  constitutional 
disturlyance.  4.  It  is  more  satisfactory  in  its 
results,  producing  a  radical  cure,  and  removes 
all  fixreign  bodies  at  once.   (Dr.  Adams,  p.  153-^ 


70 


Mff^Uh]/. 


In  acutelF  inflamed  bursas,  enjoin  &«« 
leeches,  ana  cold  lotions,  and  when  the 
mation  is  sufficiently  subdued,  pass  a  bit  of 
sewing  silk  through  the  centre  of  the  cyst 
[Mr.  Richard,  p.  154.] 

Krbb-Joiht,  Bursal  Diseate  ^.— When  not 
communicating  with  a  joint,  the^'may  be 
opened  without  danger  in  all  situations  and  in 
every  stage.  The  effect  of  seton  is  like  that 
through  a  hydrocele  or  ranula,  viz.,  the  secre- 
tion is  absorbed  without  being  discharged  by  a 
wound,  and  the  sac  is  obliterated.  In  a  hard 
and  consolidated  form  of  the  disease,  it  br&ks 
down  into  a  common  abscess,  whiclu  when 
punctured,  discharges  its  contents  and  heals. 
Pass  the  thread  (common  silk)  through  the 
centre  of  the  tumor,  and  keep  it  in  until  the  end 
is  accomplished.  If  inflammation  supervene, 
remove  the  thread;  foment,  or  poultice;  when 
sufficient  inflammation  has  been  set  up,  which 
M  indicated  by  the  oozing  of  pus  rrom  the 
punctures,  and  may  be  continued  four  or  five 
weeks.  If  the  morbid  bursa  be  too  deep  for 
the  application  of  the  above  treatment,  injection 
and  pressure  may  be  used. 

For  ganglions  or  adventitious  cutaneous 
cysts,  puncture  with  the  lancet  is  a  less  painful 
and  more  certain  remedy  than  a  blow.  Let 
the  puncture  be  no  lai^er  than  to  evacuate  the 
contents  of  the  cyst  Bind  down  the  part  after- 
wards with  a  paa  of  lint  and  adhesive  plaster, 
to  promote  the  obliteration  of  the  cy'st  [Mr. 
Skey,  p.  151 J 

Diseased  XniUs^ — Position  aft^  Supptfrt.-^lD 
joints  of  the  lower  extremities,  first. calculate 
well  the  position  the  most  af^licable  Jthe 
straight  bemg  the  most  sightly  and  userul]. 
Use  strong  pasteboard  or  undressed  leather  as 
a  splint,  ^apt  it  whilst  wet,  and  pad  with  lint 
or  jeweller's  wool,  and  fit  in' such  a  way  to  the 
.  limb  as  to  be  perfectly  easy  to  the  patient,  at 
the  same  time  giving  steadiness  to  the  limb, 
and  let  it  extend  sufficiently  above  and  below 
the  joint 

CcmvalescerU  TVea^TTMTi^.— Envelope  the  joint 
in  splints  of  leather  undressed  with  oil,  first 
soften  in  water,  and  allow  them  to  remain  on 
so  as  to  form  an  exact  case  for  the  joint,  which, 
when  hard,  may  be  lined  with  soft  wash  leather. 
Jeweller's  wool*  may  now  be  laid  in  various 
places  to  prevent  pressure  of  the  edges  of  the 
splint,  and  a  firm  roller  applied  to  secure  all 
parts  equally.  The  joint  is  now  ready  for 
passive  or  active  motion,  as  may  be  judged 
most  advisable.    [Mr.  Brownless,  p.  149.] 

Pradwres  of  the  Tkigk.^l/Lr,  Bulley,  of  the 
Berkshire  Hospital,  uses  an  apparatus  fat  the 
more  efficient  treatment  of  fracture  of  the  thigh, 
which  makes  the  extensile  power  by  means  of 
a  foot-piece  moving  on  an  endless  screw,  and 
divides  the  traction  eaually  between  the  foot 
and  the  lower  end  of  the  fractured  bone.  Its 
advantages  are— 1st;  Easily-regulated  exten- 
sion. 3d,  Constant  exposure  to  the  eye  of 
the  surgeon.  There  is  a  lateral  splint  also  con- 
nected with  the  upper  part  of  the  apparatus,  so 
aeted  upon,  as  to  prevent  the  bowed  or  ex- 
ourvatea  appearance  so^  frsquenUy  produced. 

(p.  14a) 


Practure.  of  Clavide.-^Th6  maimenaace  of 
the  fragments  immovable,  and  the  obuiaag 
a  reffular  oailos,  are  procurable  1>y  DesayaVi 
ban&ge  rendered  stiff  with  dextrine.  Caie  ii 
to  be  taken  to  guard  the  armpits  and  oikr 
parts  against  this  stiffiieas  by  means  of  oqb- 
presses  or  wadding.  A  tight  flannel  waistcoit 
next  to  the  skin  is  a  good  precaution.  (11 
Blandin,  p.  158.) 

Fracture^  TVeaiTMfU  of. -^To  prevent  paia 
and  sufleriog,  to  place  the  parts  in  die  raoit 
favorable  condition  for  repair,  and  to  pnimpt 
the  normal  shape  and  length  of  the  limb,  an 
the  principles  which  must  guide  the  surgeon  la 
the  treatment  of  fracture;  and  these  India- 
tions.are  fulfilled  by  instant  co-aplation,aBd 
observing  the  utmost  possible  apooskioa 
These  observed,  there  is  no  necessity  ior  local 
loss  of  blood  or  cold  lotions.  Finn  nraot, 
guided  by  the  above  principles,  will  do  all  tbl 
IS  necessary  to  secure  a  sound  limb.  [Mt. 
ListoUi  p.  141.) 


ASocdoBM  of  ths  Sensss, 

SxTN  Diseases,  Porrigo  SoMaia  (t6af 
worm).— Shav«  the  head,  and  apply  one  of  it 
stronger  acids  to  the  part    The  stroBj^aoafc 
answers  the  best    It  may  be  applied  bgr  nna 
of  a  piece  of  sponge  tied  to  a  stick,  andiM 
only  be  used  for   a  few  nunutea  NoAii? 
more  should  be  done  for  a  week  or  la  A^ 
when  the  crust  produced  by  the  add  Mtf  ke 
separated  with  a  pair  of  scissors^  andifdrnk 
any  appearance  of  the  disease  renuiuag,  tke 
acetic  acid  should  be  applied  again;  bai^il 
presents  a  health/  appearance,  let  it  te  «A 
washed  with  soap  ana  water,  and  a  Hole  dim 
oil  applied  every  ni^t    When  all  die  fO* 
ble  onanisms  constitnting  the  diaesie  w^ 
been  destroyed,  then  use  a  stimulating  oii^ 
ment,  as  the  ung.  creosote  jss.  to  ^.lo^ 
ounce  of  lard;  or  amdy  tincture  of  iodini^ 
means  of  a  camel's-hair  Iwnsk;  or  the  ng- 
hyd.  biniodid.,  diluted  with  six  jpaits  of  da 
ung.  picis  liquid. ;  or  a  naixture  or  equal  paiH 
of  sulphur  and  pitch  ointment;  or  the  efli 
of  potass  ointment,  3as.  to  3i.to  the  onncea 
lard.    It  is  olben  useful  to  alternate  nnca 
these  remedies ;  the  head  should  also  be  waiM 
three  or  four  times  a  day  with  a  lotioo  of  tke 
sulnhuret  of  potass,  dissolved  in  hme  water,  or 
witn  earbonaCe  of  potass,  diawlved  in  valo. 
Attend  to  the  general  health;  if  the  child  be tf 
a  delicate  habit  or  scrofulous,  give  iron  aid 
tonics,  quinine  with  infus.  quassiae,  and  a  w 
tritions  diet    All  heating  articles  of  diet  aie 
improper,  also  salted  food;  the  diet  sboald  ba 
plain,  but  nutritious.    (Brichsen  and  WigH^ 
p.  346.) 

Iwig©;— -Avoid  all  nnneoessuy  iiriaiie"i 
as  soap,  cold  lotions,  poultices,  or  narcalie& 
Do  not  shave  the  head,  but  cut  the  hairdoan 
as  close  as  possible  with  scissors,  first  soAendiC 
the  crusts  with  hot  water,  and  aftervaiv 
washing  with  half  the  yoft  of  a  fi(«rb  eg?  ud 

water,  and  drying  with  a  very  soft  drth.   U«e 
a  an^hnotit  odiimient  eoAbtned  wMi  caniibtf 


Alkopathy. 


71 


or' creosote  3)\  to  3j.  of  lurd.  Wear  a  light 
Unfn  or  silk  cap  of  a  washing  kind,  and 
change  the  lininp  of  hata,  bonnets,  &c.,  fre* 
queoUy.  Internal  treatoient  must  be  gnided  by 
oommon  principlea*    {Mi.  Startin,  p.  236.) 

Porriga  PwUihdi.'-^Bke  a  small  bleeding 
liom  the  arm  (8  oz,).  Give  calomel,  gr;  iv ;  ext. 
ooloc.  comp.  gr.  vi.,  statim ;  and  every  four  hours 
tmo  table  spoon  Ails  of  the  following  mixture : — 
Potasses  nitrat,  3}.$  magn.  solph.,  3j.;  miat. 
aph.,  3V}.  M.    Lotio  plumbi  to  be  kept  con 


fltanuy  applied  to  the  vulva.  After  some  time 
the  lead  lotion  may  be  replaced  by  one  of  two 
grs.  to  five  of  bichloride  of  mercury,  and  two 
to  five  minims  of  hydrochloric  acid  to  aqua  3j. 
Observe  well  the  relation  of  the  bowels  and 
dietary.    (Mr.  £vans,  p.  247.) 

Acn^.— When  the  follicles  are  only  loaded, 
use  the  flesh  brush,  but,  if  very  large  and  un- 
sightly, use  meebABical  means,  as  a  needle,  to 
empty  them.  If  the  suppurating  points  are  nu- 
merous, order  the  vapor  douche ;  mercury,  and 
eamj^hor  ointment,  white  precipitate  with  cam- 
phor, or  lime,  3J.,  zinc  ointment,  jj.,  camphor, 
9j.,  or  ioduret  of  sulphur,  gr.  xv.  ad  gr.  xxx., 
lard,  3j.',  or,  hyd.  bichlor.  in  almond  emulsion, 
or  quince  seed  mucilage ;  or,  sodee  h3rposu]pha- 
UBj  3j.  ad  3ij.,  alum  sulpl^t.  3j.  aa  3ij.,  aq. 
ro8.  3viiss.,  aq.  colc^ae  Sss.  for  a  lotion. 

For  the  redness  that  remains  on  the  nose  af- 
ter the  eruption,  apply  nitric  acid,  pharmaco- 
poeia strength,  but  uke  it  off  immediately  with 
tiotting  paper;  or,  yon  mav  use  aoetum  can- 
tharidis ;  both  these  at  ftrtnightly  intervals ;  or, 
pancture  every  vaseular  trunk  with  a  fine 
Ifttvcet. 

Oha)ybeates,  mineral  acids,  vegetable  bitters, 
or  iodine  arsenic,  or  mercury,  if  special  organs 
require  them.  Alcoholic  stimulants,  if  the  sto- 
mftch  require,  good  air  and  exercise.  (Mr* 
Siartin,  p.  240.) 

Syeosts.-^Extract  the  hairs  with  a  pair  of  for- 
ceps; wash  with  yolk  of  egg  and  warm  water, 
or  fomentations  of  decoction  of  poppies,  lin- 
seed, &c.,  with  a  little  sulphur  or  bran ;  or  a 
salphur  vapor  douche,  applied  by  means  of  a 
steam  pipe  to  the  face,  excluding  the  nose ;  or, 
apply  the  following  mild  stimulating  oint- 
ments, viz.,  hyd.  precip.  alb.  gr.  xv.  ung.  hy- 
drarg.  fbrt  3J.;  liq.  plumbi  acet  3S8.;  ol.  palmi, 
recent  3yj.;  M.  Qive  brisk  acidulated  saline 
porgatives,  and  subsequently  chalybeates.  (M. 
Startin,  p.  240.) 

Lepra,  Psaruesis,  I/wpus,  Acne,  Eczema  Ckro- 
niu$y  Impetigo,  Prurigo^  Lichen. — In  the  treat- 
ment of  these  and  all  chronic  affections  of  the 
■kill  which  are  not  venereal,  nor  dependent  on 
local  causes,  first,  reduce  inflammatory  action 
by  depletion  and  antiphlogistic  regimen ;  then 
aiminist^ir  arsenic,  beginning  with  five  minims 
of  the  liquor  potasses  arsenitis  thrice  a  day, 
with  the  meals,  until  the  conjunctiva  is  in- 
' Itemed;  afterwards  reduce  the  dose  to  four 
minims,  keeping  the  eyelids  slightly  sore  and 
-weeping.  The  whole  success  of  this  treatment 
/wliieh  seldom  or  never  fails  in  any  of  the 
mboire  diseases)  dependfei  upon  the  continued 
and  persevering  use  of  the  medicine,  which  is 
fKiftelly  faanmea*,  whea  admhiiMered  with 


vigilance  under  these  restrictions.  (Mr.  Hunt, 
p.  247.)* 

Pitfifriam,  Herpes,  Eczema.^^Vse  a  lotion 
composed  or  one  part  of  alum,  and  sixty-two 
parts  of  water. 

In  the  slighter  forms  of  acne,  lichen,  pityria- 
sis, herpes,  and  even  in  eczema,  use  a  simple 
acidulated  lotion^,  In  impetigo,  after  the  crusts 
have  fallen  off,  use  the  following  application  of 
alumina : — Alum,  eight  grammes ;  infusion  of 
Provence  roses,  five  hundred  grammes.  Qow- 
land's  solution,  or  Bateman's  mercurial  emul- 
sion, however,  answer  very  well.  M.  Caase- 
nave  uses  the  following: — Bichloride  of  mercu- 
Ty,ien  centigrammes;  hydrochiorate  of  ammo- 
nia, ten  centigrammes;  almond  emulsion  %0 
grammes ;  make  a  solution.  In  really  chronic 
eczema  he  uses  the  following  lotion: — ^Acid 
nitric,  twenty-five  drops ;  acid  muriatic,  twenty- 
five  drops;  distilled  water,  three  'hundred 
grammes.  Mix  by  shaking.  (Cazenave, 
p.253.)  /  -6      V 

Ichthyosis  Fortuita. — 1st  Augment  the  action 
of  the  capillaries  of  the  skin,  by  giving  small 
doses  of  the  blue  pill  and  emetic  tartar:  liquor 
arsenicalis  •  cantbarides  in  decoction  or  rumex 
obtusifolius,  made  by  boiling  an  ounce  of  the 
sliced  root  of  the  conmion  dock  in  a  pint  of 
soft  water;  dose  31].  2dly.  Improve  toe  se- 
cretions generally,  by  generous  diet,  as  milk, 
vigorous  exercise  in  the  open  air,  oc.  3dly. 
Aid  the  action  of  the  two  former  by  topical 
means  which  stimulate  the  skin,  and  assist 
the  separation  of  the  diseased  papills  by  warm 
baths,  friction,  &c.  (Dr.  A.  T.  Thompson, 
p.254.)  *^' 

tT/tiVarux.— Where  arising  from  irritating 
ingesta,  give  emetics  and  purgatives.  If  from 
visceral  disorders  of  other  forms,  pay  especial 
attention  to  them.  Where  idiopathic,  and 
without  assignable  cause,  pay  close  attention 
to  the  skin,  £c.:  bleed  when  the  pulse  will  ad- 
mit, and  give  magnesian  aperients,  or  iodide  of 
potassium.  Where  the  case  is  chronic,  use 
liquor  potasses  in  laige,  or  liquor  potassse  ar- 
senitis, in  small  doses.    (Mr.  Startin, p.  248.) 

Eriiypelas. — In  some  cases  the  following 
ointment  mav  be  used  instead  of  the  solid  arg. 
nit.  or  the  solution :  nitrate  of  silver  ointment 
in  three  strengths,  viz. :— Nitfate,  12  parts,  lard 
32  parts ;  nitnite,  8  parts,  lard  32  parts ;  nitrate, 
4  parts,  lard  32  parts.    (M.  Jobert,  p.  264.) 

Stains  from  Nitrate  of  Silver,  to  remove. — 
Moisten  the  spots  several  times  with  a  solution 
of  hydriodate  of  potash,  and  expose  the  part  to 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  The  hydriodate 
converts  the  black  stain  of  the  nitrate  into  the 
white  ioduret  of  silver.  A  trial  of  its  use  inter- 
nally is  alto  recommended  in  those  cases  where 
the  skin  has  been  tinted  by  the  internal  use  Of 
the  nitt^te.    (Journal  de  Medicine,  p.  254.) 

Eye  Diseases,  Syphilitic  Iritis.-^Qire  tur- 
pentine 3j.  three  times  a  day  in  almond  emul- 
sion, using  double  the  quantitv  of  the  confiSfe- 
tion.  Thus  (Mr.  Carmichaers  fbrmula):  R. 
Olei  terebinth,  rectificat.  3j.,  vitelli  unius  ovi 


•  8m  Mr.  Hunt's  papers  on  chronic  di8ea#«i,4)f  th« 

mUm,  LMcst,  im^  p. »,  77,  m,  37i»  aa§,  Ai^  Ajp^.    ^ 


72 


Allopathy. 


simul,  et  adde  gradatim,  etnubionis  amj^. 
3iv.^  syr.  cort.  aurant.,  3ij.;  spt.  lav.  c.  3iij. 
ol.  cinnam.  gtL  three  rel  four.  Misce,  sumat 
cochlearia  larga  dao  ter  in  die.  If  the  in  flam- 
xnation  run  high,  cujp  or  leech  the  temple. 
This  remedy  alone  is  freqaently  successful, 
but  in  obstinate  cases,  mercury  is  the  slieet 
anchor.  (Dr.  Jacob,  p.  261.) 

ConjwnctioUiSj  Jritts^  ^c. — Dr.  Laugierre- 
>commends  a  collyrium — made  in  a  warm 
marble  mortar — of  two  parts  Venice  turpen- 
tine, and  one  part  oil  or  turpentine,  added  by 
degrees  in  conjunctivitis,  accompanied  with 
slight  tarsal  affections,  scrofulous  comeitis,  and 
conjunctivitis  with  comeitis.  He  imstils  three 
or  four  drops  between  the  eyelids  night  and 
morning.  The  oil  of  turpentme  may  also  be 
made  into  an  ointment,  but  he  prefers  using 
the  mixture,    (p.  268.) 

OpkUudmia.  Oonorrhaal. — Apply  the  nitrate 

of  silver  in  suostance  to  the  conjunctiva  by  ex- 

.    posing  the  conjunctival  surface  of  the  interior 

eyelio,  and  drawing  the  caustic,  iwintftd  like 

a  pencil,   lightly   across   it    (Mr.    Walker, 

Ptosis. — Reserve  in  the  use  of  direct  deple- 
tion is  commonly  most  in  accordance  with 
the  principles  of  sound  practice.  But  cupping, 
mercury,  pujigatives,  diet;iry,  blistering,  and 
Bubsequently  tonics,  are  productive  of  most  de- 
cided advantage.    (Mr.  rrance,  p.  265.) 


Tozioologv. 

Poisons,  ^rs«nic.— Magnesia,  not  strongly 
calcined,  is  an  excellent  antidote  to  arsenioos 
acid ;  it  removes  it  entirely  from  a  state  ot  eo-^ 
lution  in  water,  and  forms  an  insoluble  com- 
pound. Magnesia  in  a  gelatinous  state  an-, 
swers  besL  Magnesia  decomposes  emetic  tar- 
tar, the  salts  of  copper,  and  corrosive  sublimate, 
also  the  organic  alkalies,  morphia,  strychnia, 
Ac    (M.  Bussy,  p.  117.) 

Dr.  Christison  recommends  the  light  pure 
magnesia,  which  may  be  obtained  in  a  gelati- 
nous pulpy  state,  by  adding  a  solution  of  caus- 
tic potash  to  a  cold  saturated  solution  of  sul- 
phate of  magnesia,  and  washed  afterwards 
with  cold  water.  The  dense  magnesia  has 
very  little  action  on  arsenic  in  solution.  When 
the  gelatinous  cannot  be  obtained,  then  use  the 
light  calcined,  in  proportion  of  between  thirQr 
and  fiilv  parts  to  one  of  arsenic  taken. 

[As  m  the  hurry  of  these  cases  it  ia  fre- 
quently difficult  to  know  what  quantity  of  ar- 
senic has  been  taken,  it  must  be  left  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  each  practitioner  to  judge  what 
quantity  of  the  magnesia  he  shall  administer 
as  the  antidote.— Ed.]  (Dr.  Christison,  p.  117.) 

Mineral  Poisons* — Universal  antidote : — 
First  give  a  purgative,  then  a  soap  bath,. and  a 
mixture  of  persulphuret  of  iron  and  syrup, 
night  and  morning,  in  such  quantities  as  to  be 
always  in  excess  in  the  intestines  to  prevent 
re-absorption.  ( MM.  Sandras  and  Bouchaidt, 
p.  384.)  ' 

" —      King's  Ya&w.— The  hydrated  peroxide  oi 


iron  acts  as  the  best  chemical  antidote,  caak- 
bining  with  the  arsenic  in  the  stomach  U)  torn 
an  arsenite  of  iron  which  has  little  soloUlitT, 
and  therefore  of  little  energy  as  a  poiMD.  ii 
the  arsenic  may  be  again  set  free  bf  the  secre- 
tions of  the  stomach,  take  care  to  give  the jpa^ 
oxide  in  excess,  and  repeatedly,  until  all  elmi 
subside.    (Dr.  JPatterson,  p.  119!) 

Laudanitm.'^Make  use  of  eleetrcHnagBe- 
tism.  The  wires  to  be  applied  in  tonto  eroj 
part  of  the  body,  and  the  patient  to  be  nnsed 
aiiid  kept  awake.  It  may  be  continued  for  km 
hours,  and  may  graduallv  become  more  s» 
ceptible  and  energetic  in  the  limit  until  the  edi 
of  the  period  stated,  when  there  maybeolii. 
factory  revival.    (Dr.  Barry,  p.  113.) 


Ifirtmla  KMlMi  ud  Q«nnl 

ATROPmA  AND  Bblladokna.— MakeasolB- 
tion  of  one,  two,  or  three  grains  of  atrophia  to 
3j.  of  distilled  water ;  add  a  drop  of  nitric  add 
to  render  it  soluble,,  and  a  dropofspLTini,!) 
make  it  keep.  Introduce  a  drop  of  one  of  thoe 
solutions  between  the  eyelids,*  which  will  ke^ 
the  pupil  dilated  from  £>ur  to  ten  ixp^wa- 
ding  to  the  strength  of  the  solution  used. 

It  may  be  osei^  in  iritis ;  aquo  capraliDs; 
also  when  it  is  wished  to  break  up  recent  adl»- 
sions  between  the  iris  and  lens;  to  vUbdiati 
protruding  iris  from  its  position ;  in  coinl 
cataract ;  or  in  central  o^^acity  of  the  ttaa, 
where  the  pupillary  maigm  is  attacbd  idv 
back  of  the  cornea,  &c.  Its  use  is  lesBun 
when  conjunctivitis  is  present,  tfaa  n  ^ 
healthy  eye,  and  its  effects  are  more  aa» 
cent 

In  ulcers  of  the  cornea,  belladoDiia  i> « 
special  service;  by  it  synechia  anteria,ACi 
may  be  prevented.  In-  cases  of  rtiptore  hw 
ulceration,  with  hernia  of  the  iiis,  9f^  ^ 
solution  ofatropia  close  to  the  eyelids,  an  fc^ 
them  plosed  with  plaster;  smear  the  eve  w 
brow  with  the  extract  of  belladonna,  aiid,if  ba- 
cessary,  use  leeches  to  the  temples,  j«Bt  ^ 
the  malar  bone ;  apply  blistering,  and  use  six* 
constitutional  treatment,  as  is  calcolaied  to 
subdue  inflammation,  and  the  further  ^vead  a 
the  sloughy  or  ulcerating  process 

In  neuralgic  afiections  of  the  eye,  intenniaiBg 
and  unattended  with  inflammation,  or  obnov 
alteration  in  the  structure  or  motion  of  the  o^ 
gan — ^try  belladonna  internally,  from  ooe«x- 
teenth  to  one-sixth  of  a  gr.  in  solutioa  tu«e 
times  a  day.  In  old  and  inveterate  jhoto^ 
bia  or  ophthalmia,  attended  with  vascular  oat' 
nea,  in  discharged  soldiers,  the  internal  me  » 
belladonna  is  marked.    (Mr.  Wilde,  p.  258.) 

AtAvvTATioft  of  the  7%^A.— Mr.Symes*!* 
he  is  now  sati^e^^  ^^^  ^«re  are  dicwaaaaca 
in  which  the  circular  incision  ought  to  be  pta* 
ferred.  The  perfect  condition  of  Ae  Mmf, 
where  there  is  nothing  but  integumeats  to  pro- 
tect the  bone,  as  at  the  ankle,  led  Wm*>* 
elude,  that  if  the  circular  operation  coaJdv 
performed  with  the  certainty  of  proridiBgawi 
a  covering,  it*  might  be  emnloyod  '"'t*"'*?* 
tage  in  the  lower  third  of  the  thigh.   Tbatis 


Allopathy. 


IZ 


plenty  of  skin  and  plenty  of  room  to  employ  the 
tourniquet,  without  impeding  the  incisions  or 
retraction  of  the  muscles  and  the  size  of  the 
wound  is  much  smaller'  tnan  at  the  middle  of 
the  thigh.  Ap^lv  the  tourniquet  close  to  the 
groin ;  use  a  middle-sized  knife,  such  as  is  ea»- 
ployed  lor  the  flap  operation.  Make  the  inci- 
sion of  the  skin  as  near  the  knee  as  possible ; 
not  in  a  circular  direction,  but  so  as  to  form  two 
semilunar  ed^es,  which  may  meet  together  in 
a  line,  from  side  to  side,  without  projecting  at 
the  corners,  and  divide  the  fascia  with  the  in- 
terments. Draw  these  up  by  firmly  clasping 
the  limb,  and  not  by  dissecting  and  turning 
hack.  Divide  the  muscles  by  a  circular  sweep 
of  the  knife -down  to  the  bone,  and  retract  witn 
tHe  utmost  care.  This  should  be  at  least  two 
inches;  and.  before  using  the  saw,  protect  the 
muscles,  and  Ireely  expose  the  bone  by  means 
of  a  split  cloth. 

Mr.  Syme  adds,  as  the  soft  parts  required  to 
fbrm  the  stump  in  amputation  at  the  knee,  are 
apt  to  be  so  deranged  in  their  tezttire,  as  td  de- 
lay, though  not  prevent  recovery,  and  thus  in 
some  measure  coanterfoalance  the  advantage  of 
exposing  the  cancellated  instead  of  dense  bone, 
together  with  the  contents  of  the  medullary 
cavity,  "  I  do  not  persist  in  advocating  amputa- 
tion at  the  knee  now,  when  satisfied  that  the 
operation  by  circular  incision,  if  performed 
with  due  care  on  projjer  principles,  may  be  em- 
ployed at  the  lower  third  of  the  thigh  safely  and 
advantageously."    (Proifessor  Syme,  p.  155.) 

In  amputation,  Mr.  Gtuain  makes  the  flaps 
short  in  the  first  instance,  and  adds  to  their 
length,  subsequently,  by  circular  incisions 
through  the  deeper  muscles.  Modifications 
ate,  however,  required,  according  as  the  parts 
to  be  amputated  are  not  clothed  with  muscle, 
e.  g.)  the  leg  and  fore-arm.  (Mr.  Gtuain, 
p.  158.) 

Flap  Amputation. — The  disadvantages  of 
flap  amputation  are — 1.  It  is  more  painful 
firom  the  extent  of  integument  divided,  and  ob- 
lique division  of  nerves.  2.  More  protracted 
in  its  performance,  in  consequence  oi  the  dififi- 
calty  of  obliquely  cut  arteries  collapsing. 
(Mr.  BuUey,  p.  158.) 

REFLECTiNa  Prism^  and  Tube  for  ExpUiring 
the  Oven  Passages,— used  for,  1st.  The  vagina, 
dec.,  for  polypi  j  for,  ulcerative,  and  other  dis- 
eases, both  of  the  vagina  and  uterus,  and  pre- 
ternatural labor.  ■  2d.  The  rectum ;  for  stric- 
ture, haemorrhoids,  &c.  3d.  Urethra  and  blad- 
der; in  lithotrity,  lithotomy,  and  stricture. 
4di.  The  pharynx,  larynx,  and  eustachian 
tabe ;  for  diseases  oi  these  passages.  5th^  The 
nose;  for  ulcer,  ozGena,  poiypos.  6th.  The 
stomach  itself!  7th.  Gunshot  wounds,  &c.; 
irhere  bodies  lodge  and  require  extraction. 
("Warden  and  Avery,  p.  324.) 

Ulcebs.— Give  turpentine   those  in  ulcers 

6 


which  are  prevented  healing  by  deficient  ac- 
tion, where  the  ulcer  is  sluggish,  surface 
smooth,  without  granulation,  or  of  a  greenish 
foul  appearance;  discharge  serous,  edges 
rounded,  smooth,  and  callous,  and  the  sur- 
rounding skin  is  pink  or  blue.  It  should  not 
be  exhibited  where  the  patient  is  plethoric,  tho 
ulcer  inflammatory,  and  the  pulse  full  and  fre- 
quent, or  where  it  produces  nausea,  or  other 
unpleasant  symptoms ;  in  the  last  case  substi- 
tute cajeput  oil,  three  drops  three  times  a  day, 
or  give  the  capsules  of  Messrs.  Evans  and  Les- 
cher,  each  containing  twenty  to  twenty-five 
drops  of  the  turpentine.  Continue  the  use  or 
the  ttrrpentine  until  good  healthy  granulationa 
appear,  with  the  secretion  of  good  pus.  (Mr. 
Hancock,  p.  321.) 

Moist  Heat,  Application  of, — Mr.  Mark- 
wick,  of  the  Western  German  Dispensaiy, 
has  invented  a  fabric  of  sponge  and  wool, 
which  he  calls  "  Spongio-piline,"  which,  by 
being  impregnated  with  the  required  epithem, 
proves  a  substitute  for  poultices  and  fermenta- 
tion cloths. 

The  "  Impermeable  piline  "  is  another  fabric 
of  wool,  &c..  backed  with  India-rubber,  and 
recommended  where  protection  to  the  skin'and 
joints,  or  increased  diaphoresis,  is  kiecessary. 

Plasters. — New  mode  of  prej)aring  adhesive 
and  strengthening  plasters.-— India-rubber  in 
fine  shreds,  5  lbs.  j  spt.  turpentine,  sufficient  to 
cover,  and  add  as  the  substance  absorbs  it. 
When  dissolved,  press  through  a  fine  sieve. 
Heat  four  ounces  of  Cayenne  pepper  in  a 
^uart  of  spt  turpentine,  and  with  a  portion  of 
it,  grind  1  lb.  of  litharge,  mix  in  the  remainder 
afterwards,  and  add  6  oz.  bals.  Peru.  Then 
melt  1  lb.  of  India-rubber,  and  add  spt  turpen- 
tine until  it  is  thin  enough  to  strain.  FinaUv. 
mix  all  the  preceding  together.  (Chemist,  p.  324.) 
Bed  Sores. — Thicken  the  cuticle,  by  using 
a  stimulating  wash,  as  follows : — Hyd.  bichlo- 
rid.  gr.  ij. ;  sp.  vini  tenui.  ^.  ft.  lotio.  This 
may  also  be  applied  to  the  skin,  against  which 
a  very  powerful  truss  is  to  press.  (Sir  B.  Bro^ 
die,  p.  325.) 

Vapor  Bath.— -Cheap  substitute  for  one 
more  complicated. — Take  a  piece  of  quick 
lime,  the  size  of  the  fist ;  wrap  it  round  with  a 
well  wetted  cloth  or  flannel ;  then,  to  prevent 
its  wetting  the  bed,  with  a  dry  one  doubled  in  , 
folds.  One  may  be  placed  on  each  side,  and 
one  at  the  feet,  and  when  sweatingjs  fully  es- 
tablished, they  may  be  withdrawn.  Hot  fluids 
or  increased  covering  is  unnecessary.  (Dr. 
Serre,  p.  140.) 

MEacuRT,  Mode  of  Administering  to  Ckil' 
<£fe»^— Smear  a  drachm  or  more  of  strong 
mercurial  ointment  on  a  flannel  roller,  and  ap- 
ply it  not  veiy  tight,  roimd  the  knee.  Repeat 
it  daily.  The  motions  of  the  child  proouce 
the  necessary  friction.    (Sir  B.  Brodie,  p.  133.) 


n 


74  Practical  Observations  on  the  Bimmopatiiic  Practice. 


PRACTICAL  OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE 
HOMCSOFATHZO  FRAOTIOE. 

BY  SR.  QUINME88»  DUBLIN. 


Pltwapneinnonla. 

On  Friday,  the  U  of  October,  1846,  Miss  A. 
D.  of  Beaumont,  ^ed  thirteen,  was  attacked 
with  shivering,  headache,  s^nd  other  .febrile 
symptoms,  for  which  I  gave  her 

Tjt  Tinct  Aconiti,  3.  gtts.  iii. 

Aqu»,  5  iv.  M. 

A  tablespoonful  every  second  hour. 

And  at  bedtime   one    dose  of  Belladon- 

B8B,  3. 

She  was  so  much  better  the  next  day,  that 
I  found  her  up  and  dressed,  and  she  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  go  down  to  the  drawing- 
roo^  being  exposed  to  a  draught  of  cold  air 
Iha^vening.  all  her  former  symptoms    re- 
turned, and  her  mother  continued  the  medi- 
cine as  above;  and  on  Monday,  the  5th, 
eight  o'clock  at  night,  her  cough  and  fever  be- 
came so  much  >yor8e  that  [  again  was  sent 
for.    I  found  her  lying  on  her  right  side,  her 
face  and  eyes  very  red,  her  skin  in  general 
burning,  but  particularly  over  chest  and  ab- 
domen ;  raving  at  times ;  headache ;  incessant, 
dry,  hacking  cough;  the  least  stir  increased 
it;  shooting  pains  through  the  chest  occasion- 
ally, when  coughing,  and  pains  in  right  side ; 
pulse  1 30  full ;    her  breathing  oppressed  and 
.    short,  particularly  when  sleeping,  which  is 
much  disturbed  by  the  cough ;  bowels  confin- 
ed;   urine    very   turbid.    Physical   signs: 
dulness  on  percussion  well  marked  over  the 
posterior  and  inferior  part  of  right  lung,  as  far 
as  spine  of  scapula;  bronchial  respiration, 
and  absence  of  vesicular  murmur.    Ordered 
Ijt  Tinct  Bryonia,  3.  gtts,  iii. 
Aqu®,  S  iii.  M.  ,  „        ,  .         , 

A  teaspoonful  at  once,  followed  in  an  hour 

after  with 

Tinct  Aconiti,  3  gtts.  iii. 
•     Aquae,  S  iii.  M.  ,    ,  , 

These  medicines  to  be  repeated  alternately 
dwring  the  night  ,    ^,     ,        „ 

Tietday  marrung,  6th  October.— ner  mer 
didne  had  been  given  regularly  every  hour, 
as  she  was  so  much  disturbed  by  the  cough ; 
akin  much  cooler;  pulse  reduced  30  beats } 
countenance  more  natural ;  eyes  and  face  not 
aearly  so  rod ;  cough  looser,  but  she  gets  up 
very  little  expectoration,  and  sWallows  it  im- 
mediately: urine  and  bowels  as  last  night 
Phpaical  signs  not  altered.  The  Tinct. 
Bryonia,  3.,  and  Tinctura  Aconiti,  3,  to  be 
oontinued,  but  at  intervals  of  two  hours. 

Wedn^  momtng,  Itk  —Passed  a  much 
better  night ;  slept  for  two  or  three  hours  at  a 
time;  pnlae  90;  cough  looeer,  and  not  so 


troublesome ;  pain  in  side  nearly  gone;  feels 
stronger.  She  has  taken  of  lale  ooly  ooU 
water,  whey,  or  barley  water;  urine  Mill 
turbid ;  bowels  not  moved,  but  she  has  &o 
uneasiness ;  directed  an  enema  of  warm  witet 
if  •she  felt  uneasy.  Omit  Tinct  AconilL 
Continue  Bryonia,  3,  every  third  hour. . 

Thursday,  8tA.— Passed  a  much  better 
night;  slept  for  three  or  four  hours  at  a  time; 
no  febrile  sympton  S  physical  symptomamaii 
as  before,  but  there  are  occasiooal  mocom 
r&les,  and  at  times  I  thought  I  observed  some 
moist  crepitus.  To  continue  Bryonia  3,  as 
before. 

Friday  morning,  9tA.— The  fourth  morn- 
ing of  treatment  for  pneumonia,  but  a  week 
since  the  rieor.  Finding  that  though  die 
was  improved,  still  the  physical  signs lemais- 
ed  pretty  much  the  same,  I  gave  her 

Tinct  Phosph.,  3.  gtts.  iiL 

Aiiu8B,giii.  M. 

A  tablespoonful  every  third  hour.  11k 
Bryonia  to  be  discontinued,  and  to  get  a  lilth 
weak  chicken  broth. 

Saturday  morning,  lOth — ^Fifth  day  of 
treatment  for  pneumonia  ;  slept  nearly  levea 
hours  without  awaking ;  feels  quite  weO;  oa 


e    posterior  part  of  the  lidt 
lung,  I  was  much  gratified  to  find  that  v 


examining  the 


sound  yfasmuch  clearer  on  percuasioBiii^ 
there  was  a  distinct  moist  crepitatii^A^ 
with  some  mucus  rales;  no  pain  e  Ae 
chest;  bowels  had  been  well  moved vM 
enema ;  urine  nearly  natural ;  pulse  tt.  » 
continue  Phosphorus  every  four  hom8,m4ts 
sit  up  for  a  little  time,  and  to  haieW 
tea.  |. 

Sunday,  11  A.— Is  up  and  able  to  w 
about  the  room ;  feels  strong ;  polae  70;  to 
move  into  the  drawing-room.  Chickea  m 
dinner.  Continue  Phoaphoms  three  or  w 
times  in  the  day. 

Tuesday,  131^.— My  little  paJiwt,  ^ 
well ;  there  was  a  slight  itchy  crapttw  » 
one  of  her  hands  and  feet  Sulphur,  thm 
trituration  in  water.  A  spoonful  three  tiai* 
daily.  ^  ^ 

This  case  is  interesting,  as,  althongn  » 
febrile  symptoms  and  co^  were  q^lf  «J 
dued  by  the  Bryon.  and  Aconite,  m  i» 
physical  signs  never  gave  way.anU  igaw 
her  Phosph.;  and  it  is  an  additoonal  pwoi « 
the  truth  of  Dr.  Fleischmann's  remark,  t*-' 
«•  I  have  been  quite  convinced,  by  tbeeipg^j 
ence  of  many  years,  that  pneumonia  m^ 
by  no  medicine  so  lapidly  and  certoiniy  w«i- 
out  any  other  aid,  as  with  Phosphonia;  m 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  a  piw»M» 
which  Phosphorus  does  not  cure  is,  «  3^ 
incurable  by  the  Homoeopathic  method. 
scRonjiiOus  canrrsAJMu- 

Jum  8W4,  1846.-.John  Qi»y^  «w^ 


PtacUcal  Observations  on  the  BonuBopathie  practice. 


75 


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Meath,  three  years  old,  had  been  ill  with  this 
disease  twelve  mooths;  varioas  remedies  bad 
been  tried  by  different  physicians  without  snc- 
eess.  He  was  led  into  my  study  with  his 
bead  much  bent  forward,  as  he  coald  not  bear 
the  least  ray  of  light.  I  found  it  qaite  impos- 
aible  to  raise  the  eyelids,  which  were  puf^d, 
and  a  quantity  of  hot  tears  were  running 
from  his  eyes,  also  much  purulent  matter,  his 
face  was  swollen^  pale  and  unhealthy-look- 
ing, his  abdomen  rery  large,  he  was  weak  in 
bis  limbs,  and  hit  appetite  bad ;  he  was  also 
very  low  in  spirits,  and  wished  to  sit  in  the 
dark  by  himself ;  he  had  an  eruption  on  his 
legs.    Ordered.  ^ 

lie  Tinct  Sulph.,  30.  gl.  xx. 

AquaC)  S  '"•  M. 

A  tablespoonfttl  three  times  daily. 

The  following  week  the  child  was  brought 
again,  his  eyes  were  open,  he  was  much  more 
lively,  the  eruption  was  going  off,  and  alto- 
gether he  was  much  improved. 

Vc  Tinct.  Sulph.,  30.  gl.  XX. 

Aqu»,  g  xii.  M. 

A  tablespoonful  three  times  daily. 

Jrdy  9^.^StilI  continues  improving. 

]^  Tinct.  Calcar.,  80.  gl.  xx. 

AqtMB,  g  xii. 

A  tablespoonful  three  times  daily. 

21«<.— Oetting  quite  well. 

]^  Tinct.  Sulph.,  36  gl.  xx. 

Aqu«,  %  xii.  M. 

A  tablespoonful  three  times  daily. 

Aiigusi  Aih, 

»:  Tinct.  Calcar.,  30.  gl.  xx, 
'  Aqu»,  S  xii. 

A  tablespoonful  three  times  daily. 

12tA.— His  father  came  up  from  the  county 
ol  Meath  for  him,  and  was  surprised  at  the 
great  improvement,  as  he  stated  that  he  bad 
Deen  at  much  expense  paying  for  medicine 
and  advice,  without  deriving  any  benefit  1 
ordered  him  to  take  him  home  to  the  oonn^. 

RERNU  BUMORALIS. 

On  the  8th  of  September,  John  Beih  from 
the  county  of  Monaghan,  applied  to  roe  for 
lelief.  Two  months  before  he  contracted 
gonorrhcea  in  England ;  this  was  quite  check- 
ed by  medicine  he  bad  been  taking  (I  believe 
Copaiba).  He  now  complains  of  much  pain 
in  the  left  testicle,  and  a  distressing  dragging 
sensation  in  his  side ;  the  testicle  is  a  good 
deal  swollen  and  tense,  and  painful  to  the 
touch.    He  cannot  sleep  at  night. 

Tinct  Pulsatillas  6. 

A  few  globules  dissolved  in  ei^ht  ounces 
of  wate/.^A  tablespoonful  three  times  daily. 

September  Idth, — Pain  much  less,  testicle 
not  so  much  swollen,  pain  in  side  relieved, 
slept  better,  and  these  is  now  some  discharge 
from  uietbnu 


Tinct  Clematis,  3.  gl.  xii. 

A  qua,  5  vi. 

A  spoonful  three  times  daily, 

12m. — Continues  to  improve. 

Tinct  Clematis,  3.  gl.  xii. 

Aqua,  g  vi. 

A  spoonful  three  times  daily. 

l^ik. — Improving  still.  More  dischaige 
from  urethra. 

Tinct.  Merc.  Sol.,  5.  gl.  xii. 

Aqu8B,  §  vi. 

A  spoonful  three  times  daily. 

18tA— Swelling  of  testicle  nearly  gone. 

Tinct  Merc  Sol.,  5.  gl.  xii. 

Aqua,  S  vi. 

A  spoonful  three  times  daily. 

18^. — Swelling  of  testicle  nearly  gone. 
Continue  Mercury. 

2l5r. — He  is  almost  well 

Sulph.,  30. 

Three  times  daily. 

29£A.-r~Slieht  running  from  urethra ;  swell- 
ing all  gone  long  since. 

Nitric  Ac,  30. 

He  went  home  quite  well. 

H£M0RRH0IJ>S. 

September  ZOth.^John  Byrne,  of  Raheny, 
aged  forty-two,  has  suffered  from  piles  con- 
stantly for  fourteen  years,  frequently  passing 
blood;  has  severe  burning  sensation,  with 
tenesmus ;'  habitual  constipation ;  has  taken 
much  medicine,  and  consulted  a  great  many 
physicians,  without  deriving  much  benefit; 
for  the  last  two  years  has  been  in  constant 
sufiering. 

Tinct.  Arsen.,  3.  gl.  xii. 

Aqua,  §  vi. 

A  uiblespoonful  night  and  morning. 

October  5th. — Bowels  had  been  much  more 
free ;  he  has  passed  no  blood  for  three  days* 
and  feels  mucn  better. 

Tinct  Arsen.,  3.  gl.  xii. 

Aqua,  §  vi. 

A  tablespoonful  night  and  morning. 

9^. — Bowels  quite  regular  ;  no  ^appear- 
ance  of  blood  since ;  tenesmus  gone ;  **  has 
not  been  so  well  for  nearly  two  ycare  ;*•  bis 
appetite  and  strength  improved. 

Tinct  Arsen.,  3. 

Only  to  be  taken  at  bedtime. 

14^ — Continues  quite  well. 

Tinct  Sulph.,  30. 

A  tablespoonful  night  and  morning. 

19th. —Is  quite  well;  expresses  himself 
most  thankful. 

Tinct  Sulph.,  30. 

A  tablespoonful  night  and  morning. 

This  case  attracted  the  notice  of  the  physi- 
cians under  whose  care  it  had  been  pre- 
viously. 

Sejiember  23({.-*Mary  Welch,  of  Doney- 


76 


Practical  Observations  on  the  Homcsopaihic  Practice. 


camey,  aged  18.  This  young  woman  bad 
been  ill  about  tbree  months ;  had  been  order- 
ed a|>erient8  by  the  physician  of  her  parish 
without  relief,  furtMr  than  actine  on  the 
bowels ;  her  bowels  wer/e  not  moved  often  for 
a  fortnight,  unless  by  purgatives ;  she  has  a 
constant  sensation  of  '*  beating  **  in  her  head 
and  vertigo,  and  these  symptoms  are  some- 
times so  bad  that  she  is  forced  to  fp  to  bed ; 
menstruation  irregular;  great  pam  in  her 
back.    Is  suffering  much  from  piles. 

Tinct  Nucis  vomica,  3.  gl.  zii. 

Aquae,  §  vi. 

A  dessert  spoonful  three  times  daily. 

30th. — Bowels  have  been  regular  since; 
piles  much  better ;  her  tongue  is  foul,  and 
he  complains  of  sickness  of  the  stomach. 

Tinct.  Pulsatilla,  6. 

To  be  taken  three  times  daily. 

October  Itk. — Piles  quite  gone;  stomach 
and  bowels  well;  still  has  mnch  pain  in 
head,  and  dimness  of  sight  occasionally. 

Tinct.  Belladonns,  3. 

When  she  feels  the  pain  coming  on. 

lUh. — After  taking  tne  last  medicine  two 
or  three  times,  she  felt  no  further  uneasiness 
of  head  and  sight ;  expects  a  change  soon ; 
in  other  respects  she  is  quite  well. 

Tinct.  Pulsatilis,  6. 

To  be  taken  three  times  daily. 

Shortly  after  this  I  was  told  she  was  in 
perfect  health. 

August  KM^. — Mrs.  Masterman,  Raheny, 
has  been  suffering  from  piles,  with  much 
bleeding  and  pain  occasionally,  for  twenty- 
seven  years.  Complains  of  mnch  weakness 
and  constipation. 

]^  Tinct.  Arsen.,  3. 

To  be  taken  three  times  daily. 

12th. — Some  improvement,  but  still  has  te- 
nesmus and  blood. 

^  Tinct.  Merc.  Sol.,  5. 

To  be  taken  three  times  daily. 

16^. — Tenesmus  and  blood  eone;  bowels 
moved  once  daily;  feels  much  better;  piles 
nearly  gone. 

Qr  Sulph.  30. 
'   To  be  taken  night  and  morning.    Cured. 

"/fovember^  27th. — She  has  remained  in  per- 
fect health. 

-  August  3d.— Ann  Cooney,  aged  thirty- 
five,  has  had  piles  for  thirteen  years.  Con- 
stant sensation  of  sickness  and  load  in  sto- 
mach, much  worse  after  eating ;  epigastric  re- 
gion tender  on  pressure;  bowels  generally 
confined ;  pulse,  sixty. 

{I  Tinct.  Nucis  vom.  3.  gl.  xx. 

Aqua  S  viii.  M. 

A  tablespoonfnl  to  be  tak^n  three  times 
daily. 

ISe/i.— The  report  is*  that  the  piles  are 
^uite  relieved,  and  her  stomach  much  bettert 
*-  *^  Tinct.  SulpL  18.  gl.  xx. 


Aque  §  viii.  M. 

A  spoonful  to  be  taken  night  and  moniBg, 

Cured  her. 

Auf^  I3th.—F.  Martin,  a  laborer,  was 
unable  to  leave  his  bed,  the  piles  protmded 
so  much ;  they  were^  very  dark  and  leiue; 
they  bled  a  great  deal,  and  the  pain  was  nrj 
severe ;  bowels  costive. 

The  same  treatment  as  in  Cooney*8  cm 
was  adopted ;  on  the  l)3th  he  was  mocb  bet- 
ter, and  I  gave  Sulph.  18 ;  on  the  20th  he  was 
at  his  work,  quite  well. 

GLOSSITIS. 

P.  Fitzsimmons,  a  carman,  a^ed  forty,  on 
tOth  June,  1846,  had  a  severe  ngor,  followed 
%  painful  swelling  of  the  tongue  and  thioat 
I  did  not  see  him  until  the  1 1th,  about  tweoty- 
f our  hours  after  the  rigor :  the  whole  ionm'wai 
then  enormously  swollen ;  it  neafly  filled  the 
cavity  of  the  mouth,  so  that  it  was  quite  in- 
possible  to  see  the  throat ;  but  the  tonsils  exter- 
nally felt  enlarged,  and  were  painful  to  the 
touch ;  his  face  very  red  and  swollen,  head- 
ache, pulse  100,  full.  On  asking  him  coald 
he  swallow,  he  shook  his  head,  and  endei- 
vored  tP  mutter  that  he  could  not  Hia  ^ 
stated  that  when  he  attempted  it,  it  aeeond  to 
give  him  great-pain.  Pressiire  on  the  toane 
with  a  spoon  gave  much  pain,  and  the  somci 
of  it,  as  lar  as  I  could  see,  was  coated  vUe; 
but  the  point  and  edges,  and  inferior  aarin> 
were  deep  rfd,  g^lossy,  tense,  and  alutfl 
His  skin  was  burning  hot,  and  he  had  |M 
a  very  restless  night  I  explained  to  )m 
that  he  must  endeavor  to  swallow  a  tea^ooa- 
ful  of  the  bottle  I  was  going  to  give,  r^- 
ly  every  hour ;  and  it  yns  not  ivithout  una 
difficulty  and  pain  that  he  saoceeded  in  doiog 
so. 

9  Tinct  fiellad.  3.  gtts.  iv. 

AquB^ii.  M. 

A  teas{ioonf  ul  to  be  taken  at  ooee,  to  be 
followed  in  an  hour  after  with  a  teaspooo/al 
of  the  following,  and  so  on  alternately  :— 

ft  Tinct  Merc.  Sol.  6.  gtts.  v. 

AqiuB  5  ii.  M. 

Ten  o*clodc,  p.  M.--Twelve  hours  aince  I 
saw  him :  pulse  84,  face  less  red,  swallova 
better,  and  speaks  rather  better.  To  continae 
the  medicines  alternately  eveiy  second  hoar 
during  the  night,  should  he  be  awake. 
Next  morning  I  found  the  swelling  gnath 
reduced,  the  tongue  was  less  red  and  psinfol, 
and  he  could  svrallow  and  speak  much  bcttfl^ 
the  medicines  to  be  continued  altematelyerery 
third  hour.  On  the  next  morning,  foity-egj 
hours  since  I  first  saw  him,  the  swelling  was 
almost  completely  gone,  and  he  could  apw* 
and  swallow  nearly  as  well  as  before  hia  lU- 
ness :  pulse  76,  natural ;  appetite  good ;  ai^ 
well.  He  was  able  to  go  to  his  WoA  a  » 
day  or  two»a&d expressed  himsdl  truly g««^ 


Practical  Observations  on  the  HomoBopathic  Practice. 


77 


fill  for  the  very  rapid  care  of  his  most  distress 
ing  complaiat 

Ihada  similar  case  some  months  before, 
treated  exactly  ia  the  same  way,  which  reco- 
vered as  rapidly.  I  also  had  two  cases  of  the 
same  disease  before  I  knew.  Homcsopathy  :  in 
one  case,  after  adopting  the  usual  antiphlogis- 
tic treatment,  I  was  obliged  to  make  a  deep  in- 
cision into  the  tongae,  ^and  the  patient  reco- 
vered. This  practice  is  strongly  recommended 
by  some  French  saigeons,  particularly  De  La 
Malle,  in  the  fifth  volume,  quarto,  of  the  Mem. 
de  TAcad.  de  Chirurgie.  It  also  appears  that 
many  patients  have  been  saved  from  suffoca- 
tion oy  making  deep  incisions,  notwithstand- 
ing the  ntiphlogistic  treatment  adopted  ;  and 
yet,  in  the  two  last  cases  [  treated,  I  was  en- 
abled, in  a  very  few  hours,  by  the  use  of  Bel- 
ladonna "and  Mercury,  to  reduce  the  severe 
infammation  of  the  tongue,  thus  'saving  my 
patients  the  painful  operation  of  cutting 
mto  the  tongae.  The  other  case,  treated  Al- 
lopathicaily  by  me  (that  is,  liefore  I  studied 
HomoDopathy,)  I  sent  into  a  Hospital ;  finding 
that  the  disease  spread  so  rapidly,  and  the  man 
was  becoming  insensible,  I  wished  for  further 
advice. 


PLACENTA  PRiEVLA. 

TO  TKS  £DIT01t  OF    THE  LANCET  : 

Sir, — I  beg  to  submit  to  your  disposal  the 
followinj^  case,  which  T  consider  both  interest- 
ing and  miportant,  as  it  tends  in  some  degree 
to  elucidate  the  correct  treatment  of  placenta 
prsevia,  which  has  lately  been  the  subject  of 
much  controversy  among  obstetricians.  On 
Monday,  Dec.  7th,  I  was  requested  to  see  Mrs. 
T — ,  aged  twenty-nine,  the  mother  of  three 
children,  and  who  stated  that  she  was  at  full 
period  of  ntero-^estation.  I  found  that  she 
complained  of  shght  pains  in  the  back,  accom- 


panied by  rather  profuse  discharges  of  blood, 
which  she  attributed  to  some  unusual  bodily 
exertion,  to  whicl^  she  had  been  subjected  on 
the  previous  day.  I  therefore  enjoined  rest 
in  the  recumbent  position,  and  prescribed  small 
doses  of  the  tincture  of  opium  with  diluted 
.sulphuric  acid.  On  the  following  day,  I  as- 
certained that  there  had  been  but  slight  returns 
of  the  haemorrhage  and  very  little  pain.  She 
continued  in  this  state^  for  four  days  subse- 
quently to  my  first  visit,  when  I  was  hastily 
summoned  on  the  accession  of  the  more  active 
pains  of  parturition.  I  found  her  in  rather  an 
exhaust^  state ;  thera  was  profuse  hemor- 
rhage, the  blood  trickling  from  the  bedst^» 
and  the  bleeding  increased  considerably  daring 
each  succeeding  pain.  A  raginal  examina- 
tion demonstrated  a  complete  presentation  of 
the  placenta,  with  the  os  uteri  dilated  to  about 
the  size  of -a  crown  piece,  and  thin  and  yield- 
ing. As  the  powere  of  life  were  evidently  oa 
the  decline  from  the  hemonhage  which  had 
occurred,  it  was  evident  that  no  further  time 
was  to  be  lost.  I  accordingly  administered 
half  a  drachm  of  finely  powdered  ergot  ia 
some  brandy  and  water,  and  proceeded  to  the 
extraction  of  the  placenta  before  the  child. 
After  removing  the  placenta  from  tl^  vagina, 
the  haemorrhf^  almost  entirely  ceased,  and 
parturient  pains  became  eneigetic,  the  child 
was  expelled,  under  head  presentation,  en- 
tirely by  the  natural  efibrts.  The  infant  was 
apparently  still-bofn,  but  was,  after  a  time, 
resuscitated  by  the  usual  expedients.  The 
patient  (six  da3rs  after  delivery)  is  recovering 
without  any  unfavorable  symptom,  with  the 
exception  of  debility,  the  natural 'consequence 
of  the  unusual  loss  of  blood.  I  have  seat 
you  the  above  case  as  another  example  in  fa- 
vor of  the  **  new  mode'*  of  treating  placenta 
prsevia,  for  which  I  hope  no  apology  is  neces- 
sary from — Sir,  your  obedient  serviint. 

William  G.  Cokt. 
.  Cannon-street-roed,  Dec,  1846. 


78 


HoTMBopathic  Hospital  Reports. 


HOMOEOPATHIC   HOSPITAL  REPORTS. 


KEPOBT  OF  THE  HOSPITALS  OF  THE  SISTERS  OF  CHARITY  AT  LINZ  AND  KREMSISR. 


LINZ    HOSPITAL. 
From  tlu  Ut  January  mtlumtd  qfDeoemUr,  184S. 


NAMES  OF  DISEASES. 


Apoplexy 

Afcftea 

Arthritli  rbeuniAtio. 
Aortitl  J 

Bnnehitii 

-  chronic ,  ► 


CiTlei  of  bonea  ....,......,,.«.. 

CfttArrh  of  thtr  bowck. .  .*... 

^ of  tli«1ung«,  aeitte 

— ^— —  ckraulc. . ., . 

— — ~— emphjae'    \ 

tnatic. »  I 


— of  tbgitomfbcb. 

Gu2cer  of  the  utenm, ......... 

^ of  the  flEumacb^ 

Cerebml  Imttitioii 

Cblorode. » -« - 

Colic. , 

^—  FMtiHc. .  ....,., 

-^  biQUatTiiftl 

ne^rt'oui .*..,, 

rbeumatlc ...,,,... 

- —  pAiDtcrd' , , 

CooettsiioQ  uf  the  bnin 

Bpinftl  outd . 

CobitujitocLf 

OouTuljsioiiB^ * ' 

Cungefltlon  of  luogrs.  [ 

Cratiip  of  Rtamach^ . . . .  j 

DesqQiunAticrn  c*f  skin ! 

Dluolutiaa  of  the  fluid ■  {Aaflu-  \  ' 

san^ tier Stifte) \\ 

DlRtcitratioa  of  the  shduld^r  joint.. j 
Divf  hoeia.  ■*■ , .  J 


— -  c&btrrhftl  . 
cbrtHiiCH.. 


©•  6 
I  1 
2 
8 


Dyaenler; 

DiAbet«fl  ., ,., 

EDcephnlltU I 

Ei|dwM^Jiitii ..„, ,|  a 

Entrupium -... 

Empjemv.  itcid  pnmltiTit  etTu- 
aton  into  (^eiiCKrdioa...^ . 

Etyriipelu  i:if  foot 

^-- — — ^    of  fare 

Fever,  catarrhal , 

InHjuiiizi&Lu^rj., 

-  gaatric  >.>-»..........,., 

—  f  ntertnlttcDt , , . 

rheuniatlc 


r  ' 


FromesL  iimbi . 


CMTiwirorw«* tmm'm 


10 


1 

3 

n 

4 
3     4 

3 

a 
I 
1 

8 
1 
& 
3 
% 
9 
1 
3 
1 

n 

1 
] 

8 

IB\ 
I 


ha&ies  o^  diseases. 


B  rongbt  fonrtid.  • 

raniDCuli 

GatifirreDe  of  tbrofti,. . . 

Gout.. * 

H«4dftchr,  nerroqa .... 

^ rbeum»ti« ... 

H  jstena.. 

{lerDia,,  ld£tuv$ntcd... 
Heiiatitlj............. 

cbTotnic 

Hetni|]1efla.,., 

Hafinorfj»ia  .-..*.*.*. 
Ijeart  (]iAeafie,oTgaLaLe . 

Hemeralopii 

lutlnminaticin  of  the  i 

bruic 

—  of  fumi 

df  knee  joint . 

of  Ttrtehim. . , 


'} 


Jaundice  . 

] aflneiiKa .. . ....,, . . , .  .^ , 

Lentilln... 

l^neiprrbtSK  ........ ... ........ 

J^Juuicltia < 

Melonebolla 

Medullu?  MTcvma  ftf  the  Hyer. , 

MenoirbBj^ 

Mjelltii 

Oldn^  ,. 

C^hthalniim  tbua  matic. ...   . , . , , 
f«rofaiouf 


,Otitti,... 

CKi1em&,  general  . 
Peinphk'iu  ...... 

Peri^ioltia 


Panntitla  . 
Phlebilifl. 
Fteuritii  , 


nzio 

I 
I 


ebmnic 

Aod  pnemmcmJa . 


Pneumcmlii 

— —  hud  cjititia . 

Fnrpurft , 

PananclQin 

PhQtnpbobb,  Bcrofnlatui. 
Pant jsia  nf  apioe  *..... 

iPleuritic  effuvioa 

I'rolatifaia  iiidia 

uteri 


RhetUKiailflm,  a^ut* 

chronic 

of  the  nerre*.,, 


S14 


Rheumatic  pftLiy,. 

Sdn-bviua 

.Scrtiftiia.....,,,., 
Spleoitia  ..,.,.,.. 

Sp4ai8o4inODiaj[b.. 


Carried  forward. 


t 


i 
0 
.    I* 
a  3. 


1,, 


s 


.Si 


«|»|'t 


Hi 

■i 


I 


ii-di: 

430  irIlO  19*94 


Homasopathic  Hospital  Reports. 


79 


LINZ  HGSPITALr— (OwtiuM*^. 


If  AMES  OF  DISEASES. 


BrouKht  funrardU.  ,,..*..„ , 

t5tr*ng\iry — ,.,,..... 

SwellLug  i*f  tbe  cbeek 

nftbe  axillarj  ?]jutd  l 

inflftiniitatiorj..^^ .  f 

of  the  gntan ^ . .  * . 

— ofthe  knee  joint,  gout  J 

1 — .  of     the      inguiaaJ 

g]laniil«,  syphilitic 
• .fc^  of  the  lower  jaw,  la- 

fiammatory..  .,^« 


Scalilfti...., 

ScarlatioK... 
Spndii ...... 


Carried  forward 27L5J5  .15qJ29  12  is  37 


h 


27 


2|. , 


NAMES  OF  DISEASES, 


3  24 


11 
III 

■J*  1 
05  Ns 


27 


Brought  forward . . , . . 

TuberculrmiB  of  luogi . . , , 

Tu1>er«i]bu«i  dlteue    of   is  tea 

lines , 

dLsea^e  of  tvTXgi  t  ^  » 


(FbtlLlifj 

Tjrphiii.... 

Uleen^  iodoleat , , , 

uf  Btomacbi  perforating. 

eorolbloua..,,^ ..  ., 

Ulcers,  flfpbilitio 

VomLtiiig,  ohronio.  ^ , , ,  * , , 

"     with  puT^ging 

Woundj  ».....,.,... .....,.,», 

Zona „,  ,,**^...„.. 


Total  ..„.,.,.,....,. . ,  '3S,Gt6i 


456 


ST 


i7%Iao 


The  Bumber  of  patients  who  attended  the  Dispensary  in  1845  was  3868. 

DR  REISS,  Ordinary  Physician. 

K.  PLENINGER,  District  Surgeon,  &c,  &c. 


THE   KREMSIER  HOSPITAL. 

From  the  19th  <if  October,  lS45,m*he  end  qfjipnl,  1046, 


HAMBS  or  DISEASES. 


Ab««eBiTljiiiphatie,  of  bmut 

A#elt«fl  .„. .. 

'  Acieurifni  of  aorta , . , , 

ATtbritii , , 

AiLUarca , 

AtifOin«1ouj|  iD«nfitrniktton  . . . . 

Bronctiliiir , , , . , , . , . 

Caiimct.  incipient 

Coogh,  %cnu , , 

— —  chronic » . , . 

-^—  biiuplDg . , , . , 

Ck>] itfj,  gMtrtr? , .,, 

Cramp  r»f  jititrnajsh  , .  - 

CoDCDJition  of  ch«flt... 

■ '  of  braJo. , ,.,.... 

Cjnauche  tonnlllorit 

D»ea«e  ^i^  heart,  organfo. . .  ♦ 

J>rt>]^i«r,  general ..,.. 

rHarrhfJwi    ^. . , , 

I>rnr)4y  of  the  oTarium 

£t3rftipclu  of  face 

— of  fuK^t ..... . .  * . 

Epilepsy ,.., 

Wew€Tt  tjpbai.  * , . . , ♦ . 

— ^ — — ,  taiH • 

I  — — ,  oenebrftl. .  ■ , . . 

— — . — ,  rbeuDiatlo  ..--.  .... 
-^—i ; — ,  interniKteat  ....... 

— ,  goatrtc... 

— ,  eatarrhiJ. , .  *  - . 

G<n]l}ObTtinie 

Curled  Jbrvard.. 


D  P  35 


imm\  73  &u 


NAMES  OF  BISEASES. 


Brought  fnrwQpd..' 
GajiWc  Irritation...... 

Herpetic  eniptioa  , , . . , 

HiLioiatiiria , 

JJa'TuciptyHii. ... .  ,,.,., 

l^oemurrhafe , 

Hepatitis  ............ 

Hemiplegia  ..... .... . 

Inwctineriro  of  urine. . 

terjwrrhcea 

LjirjTigitifl.. 

Ophthalmia, ■  •* 

BcrofaloDB . , 


Orai-itiit  . 

PaKititie . , „ , 

FneainoUia  ..... ■ 

Pleuritij 

Phtbl«La...... , 

PtyafiBiu 

RbenroatiRiii..*.  — 
Swell  iiijjr  {»f  ihe  knet . 
Sp«ck  upi-in  CorDia,., 

S«rofiiia,  generaJ 

TetaiiuA,  traumatic. 
Ulcer  of  foot 

hand  ....... 

Upi... 

back  . 


— ,  BCTttfulOUf.  i . 

VctoiStlnff,  gantrje.. 
Wouoda  ...,.„.., 


Total ...jglfllTSH   6  SIS 


BS§ 


I.,    1 


eil 


I.* 


DR.  SCHWEITZER,  Ordinary  Physician. 


80 


Three  Cures  of  Epilepsy. 


THREE  CURES  OF  FPILEPSY. 

■T  DR   STOaCft,  OF  BATH. 

*<  People  are  a«  free  to  belieye  in  repeal  as  in  mes- 
meriim.  It  i»  treated  aa  a  dream,  which  ooncems 
none  but  the  dreamer."— Mr.  ALbart  Fobblan^oe, 
JBxanUmr,  Nov.  39, 1846.    p.  764.* 

7b  the  Editor  of  the  Zoist : 

Sir, — In  forwarding  the  enclosed  cases,  I 
nmst  remark  that  next  in  importance  to  sur- 
pcsl  operations  without  pain,  of  which  your 
journal  affords  abundant  examples,  stands 
perhaps  the  cure  of  epilepsy,  so  truly  dis- 
tiessing  to  patients  ^d  their  friends.  The 
long  continuance  of  the  attacks,  the  thorough 
incapability  of  pursuing  regular  employment, 
an$i  the  extreme  uncertainty. of  any  known 
medical  means  in  the  shape  of  medicines,  are 
too  well  known  to  need  comment.     1  will  not 

J)retend  that  mesmerism  is  a  specific  in  epi- 
eptic  cases,  but  I  do  say  that  what  it  has  al- 
Mdy  accomplished  should  at  least  open  the 
eyes  of  the  medical  public  and  procure  it  a 
still  greater  trial.     Yours  obediently, 

HENRY  STORER.  M.  D. 
27  Brock  street,  Bath,  ) 
December,  1846.       > 

Case  L— Charlotte  Pearson,  23  years  of 
age,  residing  at  33  Milk  street,  Bath,  was 
sent  to  me  in  March,  1845,  by  General 
White,  a  gentleman  who  takes  great  interest 
in  mesmerism.  The  account  I  received  from 
her  mother  was,  that  she  had  suffered  from 
fits  for  the  last  three  or  four  years, — ^that 
they  occurred  as  frequently  as  five  or  six 
times  a  week,  sometimes  as  often  as  to  this 
amount  in  one  day,  and  so  violently  that  she 
required  two  or  three  persons  to  hold  her ; 
and  that  she  had  frequently  injured  herself 
during  the  attacks  by  falling  suddenly  against 
the  wall,  down  the  stairs,  or  into  the  fire- 
place. 

Up  to  the  very  time  of  my  seeing  her,  she 
had  continued  to  have  these  fits.  The  last 
was  a  most  severe  one,  and  her  fall  greatly 
bruised  her  face  and  temple.  She  had  been 
under  the  care  of  a  great  many  medical  men  ; 
amongst  others,  the  late  Dr.  Barlow,  who 
pronounced  her  case  incurable:  and  so  ex- 
treme did  I  regard  it,  that  I  told  her  friends  I 
could  only  hope  to  relieve. 

From  this  period  I  mesmerized  her  daily 
for  three  weeks,  and  afterwards  three  times  a 
week  for  the  same  time,  together  about  six 


'Mr.  Albany  W.  Fonblanque  iurely  knows  that 
beUeTers  in  mesmenam  are  so  "  free  "  that  they  are 
TiUfled  in  all  the  Engrlish  medical  journals,  and  by  a 
hoit  of  physicians  and  i uzKeona,  and  newspaper  and 
magazine  writers,  who,  like  hlmsel£  are  totally  iirno- 
rant  of  the  subject.  Surely,  too,  when  oaaea  preri- 
onaly  rebelLous  to  art  are  cured,  and  torturing  ope- 
rations are  rendered  painless,  some  others  are  con- 
cerned as  well  as  the  dreaming  mMmetista,  who  effect 
these  bleasugt.— 2Mfl. 


weeks.  The  results  have  been  as  follow. 
During  the  first  fortnight  (he'  fits  were  as  fre- 
quent  as  previously,  but  not  so  aemt.  After 
the  first  fortnight  they  gradually  dnmithii 
in  number,  and  became  much  less  vioUnL 
This  state  of  improvement  continued  oDtil 
the  end  of  the  month.  Since  that  period  ihe 
has  had  kg  return,  now  abovs  a  tsar  ixs 
A  HALF.  Her  general  health  is  much  im- 
proved, bodily  and  intellectually  ;^  iot  At 
was  becoming  fatuitoua  The  contrast  in  te 
daily  pursuits  is  striking  and  gtatifying.  Her 
mother  is  a  charwoman,  and  was  h^qoentlr 
obliged  to  give  up  two  or  three  days  a  wei 
to  attend  on  her.  The  mother  has  since  be- 
come infirm,  and  the  daughter  is  now  able  to 
go  out  and  earn  her  own  living,  and  to  aaait 
towards  the  support  of  her  mother. 

In  the  treatment  of  this  case,  simple  deep 
only  was  produced  or  sought  for.  Sie 
would  remain  for  a  long  time  quite  paseife, 
but  could  easily  be  arousei.  The  odj 
marked^  sensible  effect  in  her  case,  ivas  tke 
state  of  sleep  or  quieseence  which  followed 
during  the  day.  She  has  been  seen  benbjr 
several  parties,  who  have  kindly  inteie«toi 
themselves  in  her  behalf,  and  the  tmfl»  k 
all  respects  hav^  afbrdeii  the  most^atisiactn; 
evidence  of  the  good  accomplished. 

II. — Master  Chapman,  aged  13,  ni 
brought  to  me  by  hig  mother.  naAgi 
Primrose  Hill,  Bath,  February  5, 184&  Sb 
stated  that  he  had  suffered  from  fits  (ipp^ 
rently  epileptic),  more  or  less,  for  th  l*t 
three  years ;  that  the  attacks  had  bodkWS 
continued  for  manj  months  together,  ni 
sometimes  returned  with  little  mtenninioi 
during  a  whole  day,  though  not  so  freqaestiy 
at  present,  but  still  he  generally  had  three  tf 
four  attacks  daily ;  and  that  he  bad  beea  ai- 
der the  care  of  several  medical  men  of  Bift, 
amongst  others  the  late  Dr.  Barlow,  byvkm, 
as  well  as  by  the  rest,  his  case  had  bm 
pronounced  hopeless. 

Previously  to  his  being  brought  to  me,  be 
had  been  seen  by  Dr,  Carter  of  Bath,  wto 
adopted  mesmerism  in  his  case  for  aboit 
three  weeks ;  but  as  that  gentleman  soon  af- 
terwards left  the  place,  the  treatment  wasgim 
up.  » 

Just  before  my  being  consulted,  I  was  in- 
formed that  he  had  several  fits,  iboqgh  not 
quite  so  severe.  I  mesmerized  him  dailv  for 
the  first  fortnight,  then  three  times  a  week  for 
about  two  months,  and  then  only  twice  a 
week  for  a  month.  He  continued  fo  improre 
rapidly;  and  has  had  ko  RtxVKX VfhiattHr rf 
his  Jits.  During  the  excessive  heat  of  Oik 
summer,  he  complained  of  faintness,  but  thii 
feeling  was  soon  removed  by  mesmetitisg 
him ;  and  I  occasionally  mesmerized  him 
during  the  warm  weather. 
There   were   some   peculiarities  ia  tkii 


Speedy  Cures  of  Various  Local  Affections. 


81 


k 

I 

1 

I 

n 

fi 
tr. 
n 

4 
\i 
m 

ft' 
it! 

IK 

i 
I* 
If 

if' 
u . 

l» 

/ 


youth's  case.  At  first,  when  mesmerized,  he 
was  quite  taciturn ;  after  a  short  period  he 
became  so  loquacious  that  it  was  with  diffi- 
culty he  could  be  restrained.  He  was  at  times 
perfectly  insensible  to  pain,  so  much  so,  that 
he  had  a  tooth  extracted  without  sensation,  as 
reported  in  your  last  number  but  one,  p.  214 ; 
at  other  times  he  was  so  highly  sensitive  as  to 
be  impressible  by  every  external  circumstance. 
He  was  also  at  times  perfectly  clairvoyant. 
His  case  was  witnessed  by  t  great  numlJer  of 
individuals  here,  and,  after  the  most  rigid 
testing,  they  have  been  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  reality  of  the  phenomena. 

The  states  of  catalepsy  and  rigidity  also 
-varied  in  this  case,  sometimes  the  one,  some- 
times the  other,  being  extremely -well  deve- 
loped. 

The  most  important  point  in  the  case,  how- 
ever, is  th»  COMPLETS  CESSATION  of  the  fits, 
and  the  general  imiirovement,  bodUy  and  in- 
tdlectuatty,  which  has  taken  place.  So  ^reat 
is  this  improvement,  that  he  has  resumed  his 
school  studies,  which  for  three  years  had 
been  completely  interrupted. 

III. — ^As  a  sequel  to  these  cases,  I  will  now 
add  the  outlines  of  one,  which,  for  the  good 
accomplished,  ought  to  rivet  the  attention  of 
every  conscientious  practitioner. 

A  respectable  mechanic,  a  printer,  was 
seized  with  epileptic  fits  about  three  years 
since.  They  continued  so  long  and  violently 
as  to  compel  him  to  leave  his  occupation ; 
and  himself,  his  wife,  and  three  children, 
were  obliged  to  live  on  three  shillings  a  week 
leceived  from  the  Bristol  Union.  About  this 
period,  Mr.  Lundie,  a  lecturer  on  mesmerism, 
sought  out  some  extreme  cases,  and  amongst 
others  found  that  of  this  poor  man,  and  mes- 
merized him  for  about  a  month.  The  patient 
was  afterwards  occasionally  mesmerized  by  a 
-volunteer,  and  by  myself;  and  the  efiects  were 
most  striking. 

For  ike  last  eighteen  numths  he  has  had  no 
SETURN  whatever  of  his  fits;  and,  insteeui  of 
being  the  recipient  of  three  shillings  a  week 
from  the  Union,  he  has  been  enaMea  to  earn 
for  the  last  sixteen  months  eighteen  shillings 
a  week  in  an  iron  factory. 

I  should  not  report  this  case,  as  the  patient 
"was  not  my  own,  but  that  I  can  vouch  for 
every  particular. 


\*  How  can  Mr.  WakJey  and  his  coadju- 
tor Dr.  ffiarshall  Hall,  Sir  Benjamin  Brodie, 
Pr.  Geofge  Burrows,  Dr.  Chambers,  &c.,  find 
it  in  their  hearts  to  read  such  facts  as  these 
and  continue  to  do  ail  in  their  power  to  make 
the  world  despise  mesmerism ! — Zoisi, 


SPEEDY  CURES  OF  VARIOUS  LOCAL 
AFFECTIONS. 

BT  Mils  BLLlOTSOir,  OP  LAUmEL  LODOE,  CHlLTBItHAM. 

[Communicated  by  Dr.  EUiotson.l 

"  How  much  more  amiable  and  becoming  it  would 
have  been,  if  this  lady  had  nnceasingly  '  minded  her 
knitting,'  instead  of  bothering  her  brain  about  such  a 
aubtletjr  as  mesmerism.  Enough  of  her.  She  (Misf 
Martineau)  has  gone  to  mesmerize  Mehemet  Ali ;  but 
I  can  easily  fancy  the  old  file  saying,  '  Won't  do, 
Miss  Martineau  !  Egyptian  darkness  has  become  en- 
lightenment.' Truly,  this  is  a  quacking  and  miracle- 
loving  age !"  Mr.  F.  S.  Oaslicx,  Mfedical  Practi- 
tioner, 0,  Cheapside,  Halifax ;  Nov.  10. 1S40.— AUiAw 
Guardian. 

I  have-  received  the  following  cases  from 
Miss  Wallace,  whose  undaunted  practice  and 
defence  of  mesmerism  before  all  the  medical 
and  satanical  scoffers  of  her  neighborhood, 
are  beyond  ail  praise. 

Such  cases  appear  to  me  of  the  highest 
importance.  In  the  first  place,  they  prove 
that  not  merely  diseases  of  the  nervous  sys- 
tem, as  is  a  common  case,  but  inflammatory 
and  other  kinds  of  affections,  yield  to  mes- 
merism. In  the  next  place,  they  prove  that 
mankind  have  a  ready  nelp  in  their  own  fami- 
lies in  numerous  accidents  and  ailments ;  more 
ready  than  lotions  and  liniments  and  plasters 
and  leeches  usually  are,  however  excellent 
these  may  be.  Let  not  medical  men  say  that 
tiftir  well-established  methods  would  have 
surpassed  the  easy  mesmeric  means  employed 
by  Miss  Wallace. 


CA8£S. 

I  will  now  detail  the  cases,  in  Miss  Wal- 
lace's own  wdrds. 

I.  Inflammation  of  the  Eye, 

July  5th,  1846. 

Victoria  Harmer,  aged  8,  sufiering  from  an 
inflamed  eye,  blood -shot,  and  having  a  sty  on 
the  eyelid,  was  cured  by  mesmerism  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  The  sty,  the  redness, 
and  the  pain,  which  the  child  compared  to 
running  a  needle  into  her  eye,  had  all  entirely 
disappeared,  and  the  eye  in  evei'y  remeU  look' 
ed  and  fdt  as  well  as  the  other.  ■  The  child 
was  stated  by  her  mother  seldom  to  be  free 
from  this  malady  for  a  fortnight  together,  and 
sometimes  it  continued  several  weeks  without 
intermission.  So  many  weeks  have' elapsed 
without  any  return  of  the  complaint,  her 
mother  hopes  the  cure  is  radical. 

We,  the  undersigned,  were  present  and 
witnessed  the  above  cure. 

Elizabeth  Harmer, 
Sarah  Tomiins. 

2,  PitviUe  Parade,  A^.  27th. 


82 


Speedy  Cures  of  Variam  Local  Affections, 


II.  Inflammation  of  the  Eye. 

August  U  1846. 

Harriet  Gregory  was  attacked  last  January 
with  inflammation  of  the  left  eye,  attended 
with  great  pain  both  in  the  eye  and  over  the 
brow.  When  I  first  saw  her,  the  eyelids  were 
swollen,  the  eyeball  blood-shot,  and  the  usual 
routine  of  leecking,  lotions,  foment^Uions,  &c., 
prescribed  by  Dr.  Alerdice  and  Mr.  Hartley, 
had  failed  entirely  in  giving  her  any  relief. 
Dr.  AJerdice  recommended  salivation,  to  which 
the  patient  refused  to  submit.  Harriet  Grego- 
ry has  been  unable  to  remain  in  service  from 
this  severe  affliction.  When  she  came  to  me 
on  the  1st  of  August,  she  was  suffering  under 
all  the  symptoms  already  described.  Half  an 
hour's  mesmerizing  relieved  the  pain,  but  efiect- 
ed  no  change  in  the  appearance  of  the  eye. 
On  going  into  the  air,  she  suddenly  felt  as  if 
a  great  weight  was  removed  from  the  fore- 
head,  and  found  she  could  bear  the  light,  and 
look  steadily  oJt  any  object  without  pain.  She 
returned  to  tell  me  of  this  decided  improve- 
ment. The  next  day,  the  eye  was  still  red, 
but  the  pain  had  only  returned  over  the  eye- 
brow, and  this  I  removed  in  a  few  minutes. 
I  did  not  see  her  again  for  three  days,  when 
her  eye  was  quite  well,  and  she  told  me  the 
redness  and  inflammation  had  entirely  disap- 
peared in  the  evening  of  the  day  I  last  mes- 
merized her.' 

We,  the  undersigned,  witnessed  this  cure. 
(Signed)  Harriet  Gr^ry, 

Sarah  Tomhns, 
£Blher  Harrington. 

August  5th. 

The  second  time  I  mesmerized  Harriet  Gre- 
gory, I  observed  a  speck  on  the  eye,  which  I 
privately  pointed  out  to  a  gentleman  present, 
out  did  not  name  to  her,'  as  she  bad  not  men- 
tioned it  Mrs.*Harmer  informs  me  she  had 
shown  this  speck  to  her,  and  they  both  saw 
that  it  was  entirely  gone  after  the  third  mes- 
merising.* 

Elizabeth  Harmer. 


m.  Tooth-ache. 

August  nth,  1846. 

Harriet  Haynes,  cook  to  Mrs,  Brooke,  of 
the  Aviary,  came  to  me  suffering  from  ex- 
cruciating tooth-ache,  which  had  deprived  her 
of  all  rest.  I  entirely  removed  the  pain  in  a 
few  minutes  by  mesmerism. 

A  day  or  two  after,  the  pain  returned,  from 


*  Compare  the  caret  of  inflammation  of  the  eye  in 
Vol.  II.,  p.  389 ;  yol.  III.,  pp.  3ft,  83.  834.    For  the 
power  of  meBmeriflm  over  inflammation  in  general, 
^    toeVoLyL,  p.  fil^aadUMremailuiJitt. 


exposure  to  cold,  accompanied  by  swelling  la 
the  che^,  which  drew  the  mouth  and  eys- 
lids  on  one  side.  In  a  few  minutes,  the  pom 
and  swelling  were  entirely  gone,  and  the 
mouth  and  eyelids  restored  to  their 


position.* 


(Signed) 


August  2Sth, 


Harriet  Haynes, 
A.  £.  Andrews* 
A.  M.  Brooke. 


TV.  Severe  Head-aehes. 

August  17tk,  1S46. 

Elizabeth  Wakeley  ,t  aged  28,  sufiered  from 
most  violent  head-aches,  for  ten  yean,  and 
was  in  great  paia  in  her  hiead  when  she  came 
to  me,  and  bad  a  festered  breast  1  mesme- 
rized her,  and  she  went  away  in  twcntf 
minutes  i»erfeetl}r  relieved  from  all  anfieriifg, 
and  remains  quite  well  up  to  the  piesol 
time. 

Catherine  Wakeley,  her  maik.  x 
As  witness,  Mary  Ann  Wiiliama. 

August  2Sth. 

V.  Severe  Rheumatie  Potns. 

John  House,  butler  tcuMrs.  Brooke,  i 
ed  violent  pain  in  his  shoulder,  from  i 
tism ;  was  unable  to  use  his  arm  or  wak  ks 
two  days.  I  mesmerised  him :  all  pBs  i 
removal,  and  the  free  use  of  his  arm  i 
in  about  twenty  minutes.  The  next« 
much  rain  fell,  and  the  pain  retained  in  bis 
knee ;  but  I  again  succeeded  in  remorag  il. 
and  he  is  now  able  lo  do  his  work. 

John  House, 
A.  M.  Brooke. 

The  Aviary.  Cheltenkasiit  August  S7l4. 

YI.  Tooth-aehe. 

Augtfst  19ih,  1846. 
Mary  Ann  Phillips,  sn&ring  from  dittawA' 
ing  tooth-ache,  was  quite  cured  by  hall  ai 
hour's  mesmeric  sleep. 

Mary  Ann  Philli|M. 
August  27th, 

VII.  Severe  Pain  from  a  FaU. 

August  26th^  1846. 
Richard  Phillips,  living  at  No.  8,  St.  JamcA 
street,  need  60,  fdi  from  a  ladder  and  hmt 
the  whole  left  side,  particularly  the  ahoaldcr* 


dram,  Bkm 


•  Compare  Vol.  III.,  p.  814,  for  a  limilar  i 
by  a  penonage  at  hi^  in  the  ehoick  •■  te  ] 
and  philoeopny.— J.  E. 

t  Mr.  Waldey  formerly  ipelt  hit  ; 
the  rest  of  hit  Oloaeettenhire  and 
relaticms  \  bat  we  always  adopt  hit  ] 
We  have  old  littt  in  wliich  hit  u  . 

Why  he  dathed  oat  tha  Hxvt  §  lereial  jean  mgo,  ww 
know  not—ZDwC. 


Speedy  Cures  of  Varums  Local  Ajfections^ 


83 


M)  seyerel  J,  that  he  could  not  be  moved  witfa- 
>at  Buffenne  agony. 

I  found  him  lying  on  his  back*  groaning 
with  pain,  attended  by  Mr.  HeaUy,  of  the 
tioroital,  without  any  good  reAutta. 

The  dighteBt  touch  on  shoulder,  head,  or 
loot,  caused  such  acute  suffering,  diat  I  was 
)bliged  to  ^ve  up  the  idea  of  haWnff  him 
noTed  off  his  back  as  I  wished,  in  order  to 
ipply  local  mesmerism  over  the  injured  parts. 
[  therefore  proceeded  to  make  long  passes 
'rom  head  to  foot,  and  in  about  twenty 
ninutes  he  was  able  to  raise,  and  freely  use, 
lis  arms,  and  shortly  after  he  turned  on  his 
nde,  merely  taking  hold  of  his  wife's  hand. 
i  left  him  free  from  ^in,  and  the  catching 
hat  affected  his  breathing  was  also  removed. 

On  returning  the  next  day,  he  met  me  at 
he  door,  expressed  his  warmest  gratitude  for 
lis  cure,  and  told  me  that  shortly  after  I  left 
iim^  he  was  able  to  rise  from  his  bed,and  sit  up 
wo  hours  ;  and  came  down  stairs  next  morn- 
ng,  feeling  no  pain  beyond  tenderness  in  the 
houlder.  Two  days  after,  he  resumed  his 
rork  as  a  gardener. 

I  remarked  in  this  case,  as  in  almost  all 
others,  that  thoneh  the  patient  could  not  suffer 
he  slightest  touen  from  any  other  person,  the 
>re88ure  from  my  hand  gave  relief  in  place 
»f  pain.  I  first  noticed  this  fact  three  years 
go,  in  a  very  bad  case  of  sciatica,  which  I 
ured ;  and  almost  invariably  I  find  it  repeat- 
d  in  cases  of  tic,  tooth-ache,  rheumatism, 
cc,  &c. 

We,  the  undersigned,  testify  to  the  truth  of 
le  above  cure. 

Richard  Phillips, 
Mary  Phillips, 
M.  Phillips, 
C.  Hajmes. 

Vm  Inflammation  of  the  Eye, 

Au^t  27th,  1846. 
James  Smith  had  expenenced  considerable 
Eun  for  several  days  from  an  inflamed  eye, 
Dcompanied  by  a  sty  on  the  upper  lid.  All 
sun  and  inflammation  waf  subdued  by  my 
vice  mesmerizing;  him.  A  hard  substance 
ill  remains,  arisme,  I  conclude,  from  want 
f  perseverence  in  the  use  of  mesmerism  and 
mesmerized  voter. 

James  Smith, 
Avandale  House. 

IX«  Infammaiion  of  the  Eye. 

Augtui, 
Saia  Philiipps  had  bad  eyes,  ^eatly  infla- 
ted, for  three  months :  was  quite  cured  by 
{▼en  times  mesmerizing. 

Sam  Philiipps,  her  mark,  4- 
Anne  Philiipps,  her  nuuk,  + 


X.  Liver  Complaint 

Anne  Philiipps  had,  as  the  doctors  said,  liver 
complaint  from  the  age  of  7,  and  is  now  12. 
Suffered  ^reat  and  almost  constant  pain  in  her 
side,  which  had  been  much  swelled.  Had 
been  a  dispensary  patient  for  years,  and  de- 
rived no  benefit  from  the  remedies  prescribed. 
Never  had  any  pain  from  the  first  time  she 
was  mesmerized,  three  weeks  ago,  and  thinks 
she-  is  now  quite  cured.  # 

(Signed)        Sara  and  Anne  Philiipps. 

Both  these  cases  continued  well  when  I 
left  Cheltenham,  at  the  end  of  October. 


XL  Scalded  Arm. 

We,  the  undersigned,  certify  that  Iforift 
Haynes  scalded  herself  so  severely,  that  she 
compared  the  pain  she  endured  to  having  her 
arm  <*  from  the  shoulder  to  the  end  of  the 
fingers  thrust  into  the  fire.*'  In  the  presence 
of  Mrs.  Thomas,  Miss  Wallace  entirely  re- 
moved the  pain,  leavinjp  little  remains  of  the 
redness  and  inflammaton  that  followed  the 
accident ;  and  a  complete  cure  teas  effected  in 
about  three  minutes.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
days,  the  skin  came  entirely  off  the  hand  and 
aim,  leaving  a  new  skin  in  its  place. 

Under  ordinary  medical  treatment,  the 
patient  herself,  and  all  who  witnessed  the 
accident,  feel  convinced  her  sufferings  would 
haye  been  severe  and  protracted. 

Jane  Thomas,  Pittville  Villas, 
Sarah  English,  9,  Northfield  Terrace, 
Mary  Ann  Williams,  >  t  .„^,   ,    .^ 
Ellen  Wallace.         'jLa««l  ^^' 
John  House,      ^ 
Harriet  Haynes,  >The  Aviary. 
Ann  Taylor,     A 
Laurel  Lo<%e,  Oct.  8th,  1846. 


XII.  InJIammaiion  of  the  Eye, 

Sbptkmbxr  14th,  1846. 

Caroline  Reeves  suffered  from  violent  in* 
flammation  of  the  eye  for  four  years,  which 
terminated  in  tne  total  loss  of  the  sight  of  one 
eye  about  four  months  ago.  She  had  con- 
sulted Dr.  Selwyn,  Mr.  Cook,  Mr.  Wright, 
and  Mr.  Evans,  without  deriving  any  benefit ; 
and  when  she  came  to  me,  she  feared  she 
was  losing  the  sight  of  the  other  eye.  Some 
of  the  medical  gentlemen  said  the  sight  could 
neyer  be  restored,  as  the  nerve  of  the  eye  was 
destroyed  :  the  pupil  was  nearly  covered  with 
a  speck,  that  appeared  deeply  indented. 

After  the  first  mesmerizing,  the  pain  was 
much  subdued ;  and  after  the  third,  all  red« 
nesfi  and  inflammation  had  disappeared,  nd 


84 


Speedy  Cures  of  Various  Local  Affections. 


both  eyes  felt  stronger.  The  fourth  mesme- 
rizing enabled  her  to  see  a  little  with  the  blind 
eye,  and  in  three  days  more  she  read  a  news- 
paper by  candle-light;  and  her  eyes  have 
BOW  remained  well  for  nearly  a  month,  and 
every  day  they  appear  to  be  gaining  strength. 
Three  weeks  before  Caroline  came  to  me,  she 
applied  to  Miss  Kirkland  for  an  in-door  ticket 
for  thejiospital,  as  she  was  told  that  the  only 
chance  of  saving  her  remaining  eye  was  get- 
ting absolute  rest  for  some  time ;  and,  she 
bein^  a  friendless  orphan,  thin  could  only  be 
obtained  by  admission  into  an  hospital.  Miss 
Kirkland  kindly  tried,  but  without  success, 
to  obtain  the  desired  admission  for  her. 

Caroline  is  servant  to  Mrs.  Olive,  fish- 
monger. High  Street,  who  has  been  very  kind 
in  getting  medical  advice  for  her,  and  sending 
her  regularly  to  me  at  much  inconvenience  to 
herself. 

We,  the  undersigned,  certify  the  above  cure 
to  have  been  effected  as  reported. 
(Sijjned) 
Caroline  Reeves,  her  mark  + 
Mar^  Ann  Williams,  Laurel  Lodfr^, 
Annie  Andrews,  9,   Norwood  Terrace, 
£.  Turty,  Manchester  Walk, 
Sarah  Ensrlish,  9,  Northfield  Terrace, 
S  Baker,  Haynes  Cottage,  Wynchomb  st. 
Ellen  Wallace,  Laurel  Lodge. 

Mrs.  Olive  and  her  daughter  expressed 
their  willingness  to  attest  Caroline*8  restora- 
tion to  siffht,  and  I  left  the  case  for  their  sig- 
natures, out  through  some  neglect  it  has  been 
sent  to  me  without,  and  there  is  not  time  now 
to  apply  for  them.  ' 


XIIL  Deafness. 

Peter  Baker,  4  years  old,  became  deaf  from 
cold.  At  the  request  of  his  father  I  mesme- 
rized him,  and  he  went  into  so  deep  a  sleep 
that  he  was  carried  home  and  put  to  bed 
without  wakine ;  and  the  next  day  his  hear- 
.ing  was  much  better. 

At  the  second  mesmerizing^  he  walked 
about  the  room  -without  awakmg,  and  was 
quite  insensible  to  the  prick  of  a  pin,  pinching, 
sc.,  and  his  hearing  was  entirely  restored. 

Signed  by  the  father  and  mother  of  the 
child, 

Samuel  Baker, 
Ann  Baker. 

Laurel  Lodge,  Oct.,  1846. 

XIV.  Pain  from  a  fall,  and  Scalded  Hand. 

Mary  Bowyer  fell  down  a  flight  of  stairs 
in  the  dark,  striking  her  side  and  back  with 
at   force    against  a  projecting   window- 
ne  on  tbeuuidiiig.    When  telling  me  of 


the  accident  next  day,  she  said  the  shock  aki 
received  was  tremendous,  and  the  bnuei 
were  very  black,  but  she  hoped  they  would 
not  signify. 

Two  days  after  she  told  me  she  g;ieally 
feared  she  had  sustained  some  iotemal  injur;, 
and  that  the  spine  was  hurt,  for  every  tine 
she  came  up  stairs  or  drew  a  deep  breath,  alie 
felt  pain  in  her  back :  adding  that  her  feibir- 
servant  assured  her  he  was  certain  I  oooU 
cure  her,  which  I  did  complaely,  by  a  few 
minutes'  local  mesmerism. 

About  a  fortnight  afterwards,  Maiy  &caUd 
her  hand  very  severely,  and  came  to  me  in 
great  agony,  having  applied  flour  and  nits 
her  hand,  which  formed  a  paste  :  over  this  I 
put  some  cotton  wadding,  and  after  the  appli- 
cation of  local  mesmerism  for  about  to 
minutes,  to  my  great  surprise  she  sank  mtoi 
profound  sleep  which  lasted  about  tn 
hours,  when  she  awoke  perfectly  free  Im 
pain.  Two  hours  after  the  pain  retan)ed,iB 
consequence  of  her  waaliing  off  the  ink  ii^ 
flour.  I  again  put  her  to  sleep  in  a  few  » 
nutes,  and  on  rousing  her  in  about  half  ii 
hour,  she  declared  the  pain  entirely  coR^; 
and  a  very  slight  redness  was  all  that  »• 
mained  of  this  serious  accident  The  next  dij 
I  sent  her  in  to  Dr.  Elliotsoo,  who  tijaad 
much  satisfaction'  with  both  the  cures.  At 
skin  came  off  her  hand  very  gradualljiolk 
course  of  the  following  week. 

The  undersigned  witnessed  the  said  tod 
its  cure. 

Ellen  Wallace, 
Samuel  Baker, 
Mary  Bowyer,  her  inark  + 

Kensington f  Dec.  7,  1846. 

At  the  termination  of  these  narratiTes  If 
Miss  Wallace,  I  must  tell  the  medical  woiU, 
that,  however  they  may  sneer,  do  wt» 
which  they  would  have  employed  could  hi« 
effected  speedier,  or  so  speedy,  curea  No 
disagreeable  drugs  had  to  be  swallowed :  no 

inful  or  irksome  local  measures  had  to  k 


When  in  Switzerland  lately,  I  met  iW 
excellent  man,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pync.  He  toM 
me  that  his  driver,  a  few  days  before,  fell « 
the  box,  and  hurt  his  shoulder  and  arm « 
severely  that  he  could  not  hold  his  whip« 
move  the  limb.  Mr.  Pyne  mcsmerizedtK 
part,  and  presently  the  man  was  iWonishedlJ 
find  he  could  move  the  arm  freely  and  noM 
his  whip.  Subsequently  to  this,  he  "aet « 
gentleman  with  an  agonizing  tooth-acWj 
Mr.  Pyne  said  he  thought  he  conld  bentf' 
him,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  genUew 
found  his  pain  gone  by  local  mesBieniB. 
Was  not  this  as  much  as  the  established  m^ 
dic^  means  would  have  dbeied?    If  ua 


XJwre  of  Fatfdtih  hudmty^  Sfc.  Sfc. 


85 


devil  lent  his  hand  inyisibly  to  Mr.  Pyne  and 
Miss  Wallace,  1  can  only  say  it  was  very 
good  of  him :  and  I  shall  begin  to  likehini. 
John  Eluotson. 


CUB£  OF  FATUITY,  INSANITY,  &c.  &c. 

BT  DR.  XLLIOTBON. 

"John  EllioUon,  M.D.,  has  labored  with  aU  hia 
might  to  ruin  hia  own  prospecta,  and  bring  hia  profea- 
•ion  into  diarepute.  i9or«iy  hat  he  tufferea,  for  the  part 
ha  haa  plajed.  HU  potiiion  u  trretruvabfy  lost.  N0 
man  now  carts  what  Dr.  UUiotton  soft  or  does."  Mr. 
F.  S.  Oaelick,  Medical  Practitioner,  6  Cheapaide. 
Halifkz.    Nov.  10,  IQAS.—HaUfax  Guardian^ 

Im  November,  1842,  Mr.  Moigan,  Soigeon, 
of  Bedford  Aow,  called  upon  me  to  request  1 
would  see  a  poor  child  whom  ke  had  been 
treating  for  four  months  withcui  the  least 
benefit,  and  in  whose  xase  no  measures  of  the 
ordinary  routine  of  medicine  now  suggested 
themselves  to  him  as  calculated  to  be  oi  any 
use.  The  mother  had  heard  of  the  wonder- 
ful case  and  cure  of  Miss  Emma  Melhuish, 
of  Bedford  Street,  opposite  the  Three  Cups 
Yard,  in  which  she  lived,  the  remarkable  and 
most  instructive  details  of  whom  are  given  in 
the  fourth  number  of  The  Zoist  .-f  and  had 
told  him  that,  as  her  daughter  still  lay  in  the 
most  wietched  state,  not  at  all  improved,  and 
he  held  out  no  hopes  to  her  of  being  able  to 
do  any  good,  she  should  be  thankful  if  he 
would  go  to  me  and  ask  me  to  try  to  cure  the 
poor  child  with  mesmerism.  Ms.  Morgan 
did  not  fall  in  a  passion  at  her  '^ignorance" 
and  '*  impudence ;"  he  neither  **  swore"  nor 
•«  bounced ;"  neither  did  he  *'  laugh  at  her  as 
a  fool  ;*'  ^e  did  not  tell  her  that  mesmerism 
was  a  *' complete  humbug,"  and  "wonder 
she  could  believe  in  such  nonsense  :*'  he  did 
not  tell  her  that  I  was  a  *'  quack."  '*  a  very 
clever  man  once,  but  now  a  lost  man,"  **  mad," 
and  that  **  nobody  now  cared  ^hat  1  said ;" 
that  •*  Mr.  Wakley  had  exposed  all  mesme- 
rists and  mesmeric  patients,  and  destroyed 
mesmerism  years  ago, /or  ever  ,■"  that  I  **  had 
been  turned  out  of  University  College  and  its 
Hospital  on  account  of  prescribing  mesme- 
rism ;"  that  Dr.  Forbes  h»l  killed  mesmerism 
after  Mr.  Wakley  had  killed  it,  and  both 
would  kill  it  several  times  yet;  that  my 
**pro9peet$/t  ^eie  ruined;"  that  I  **was 
ruined  and  going  to  leave  £ngland  for  ever ;" 
that  <*  mesmerism  was  a  mostdangerous  thing, 
and  persons  sometimes  could  not  be  awakend 
again,  and  that  it  might  cause  apoplexy,  or, 

*  I  am  not  aware  of  having  dona  anything  to  offend 
Mr  Oarliek,  or  oTan  heard  of  iiii  axiatence  before. 

t  Vol.  I.,  p.  439. 

1  <«Ck>d  bleM  the  maik!*>  after  being  ia  pnotioa 
thirty  yewa. 


perhaps,  insanity  for  life ;"  that  "  the  Okeys 
are  both  in  lunatic  asylums  through  it  ;**  that 
**  the  coma  might  so  overpower  the  system 
and  produce  such  a  shock,  that  the  system 
might  never  rally ;"  that  **  if  the  child  was 
mesmerized,  he,*'  though  he  confessed  he 
could  do  nothing  for  it,  and  was  no  longer 
attempting  to  do  anything  for  it,  <<  would 
never  attend  it  again ;''  nor,  *'  should  the 
mother  have  any  more  family,  that  he  would 
not  attend  her  in  her  confinement,  if  mesme- 
rism was  allowed  to  enter  the  house;"  all 
which  deliberate  falsehoods  and  threats  have 
come  to  my  knowledge  as  uttered  by  modern 
practitioners  of  what  is  absurdly  called  high 
standing  and  of  middle  standing,  royal  practi- 
tioners, titled  practitioners,  graduates  of  Eng- 
lish universities,  fellows  of  colleges,  hospital 
physicians,  and  surgeons,  and  professors, 
and  teachers,  the  middle  orders  tiiking  courage 
at  seeing  their  superiors  act  thus ;  and  also  by 
the  most  miserable  disU'lbutors  of  physic.  He 
did  not  say,  as  the  most  fashionable  ph  vsician 
of  the  hour  did  to  a  baronet,  a  patient  of  mine, 
who  consulted  him  in  my  absence,  on  finding 
that  1  attended  him,  *«  Ob,  that  gentleman  who 
has  always  got  some  crotchet  or  other :  and 
has  now  got  hold  of  mesmerism :"  and  on 
being  then  asked  if  he  had  ever  witnessed  a 
mesmeric  case,  replied,  '*  No ;  and  nothing 
shall  ever  induce  roe."  No;  Mr.  Morgan 
immediately  called  upon  me,  and  made  tha 
request,  honestly  saying,  **  certain  it  is  that 
neither  myself  nor  otoers"  (I  use  the  words  of 
a  letter  subsequently  written  to  me  by  him) 
**  have  produced  the  least  benefit  upon  a  set 
of  symptoms  as  strange  as  I  ever  witnessed, 
and  as  difficult,  to  me  at  least,  to  qnderstand 
or  describe." 

<'  In  the  summer  of  1842  (continues  his 
letter)  I  first  saw  her,  laboring  under  the  fol-, 
lowing  symptoms ;  constant  pain  in  her  head ; 
with  difficulty  roused  to  the  slightest  exertion ; 
bowels  obstinately  costive ;  lying  for  weeks  in  a 
semi-comatose  state,  sometimes  cryine,  again 
laughing;  painfullv  susceptible  to  the  least 
noise,  atone  time  almost  refusing  food,  atano- 
.ther  ravenous,  refusing,  however,  to  eat  before 
any  one,  but  screaming  if  a  basket  kept  in  her 
bed  was  not  constantly  supplied,  not  with  .pro- 
per food,  but  cakes  of  all  sorts,  jellies,  and  new 
bread.  Her  appearance,  pallid  in  the  extreme, 
and  daily  wasting  away.  I  tried  in  vain,  in 
their  turns,  stimuiants,  cordials,  tonics,  local 
bleeding,  purging,  blistering,  constant  cold  ap- 
plications to  the  head.  Some  other  medical 
men  saw  her ;  I  don't  know  their  treatment, 
but  when  I  was  again  called  in,  I  was  at  a 
loss  what  to  do,  and  sent  for  yOu." 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1842,  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  I  accordingly  went 
to  see  the  child.  Her  name  was  Samh  Wilt- 
shire :  and  her  age  eleven  yean.    The  ae- 


86 


Cure  of  FatuUpy  haamty^  Spc  SfC 


eooat  given  by  her  mother  was  the  following. 
She  herself  had  been  attacked  in  the  mews  by 
a  drunken  man,  who  abased  her  in  the 
.  grossest  manner.  The  child  was  terrified, 
seized  With  a  violent  tremor,  screamed  exces- 
sively, and  continued  to  do  so.  At  length 
her  hands  became  clenched,  her  jaws  locked, 
and  she  fell  into  insensibility  which  lasted 
three  days ;  her  head  working  about  all  the 
time ;  and  not  a  parfeicle  of  food  or  drink 
being  swallowed.  Her  sensibility  then  re- 
torned,  and  she  ate  voraciously,  lying  con- 
slantly  on  fur  back,  moaning,  rolling  her  head, 
and  working  her  hands :  and  a  fit  of  scream- 
ing and  rage  took  place  every  lumr  or  two,  in 
which  she  attempted  to  bite  even^fody ;  the 
bowels  were  never  relieved  without  medicine : 
and  she  had  also  a  violent  cough,  like  the 
barking  of  a  dog. 

In  this  state  I  now  beheld  the  child.  She 
could  not  speak,  and  had  not  spoken  from  the 
first,  and  Ae  bowels  had  not  acted  for  nine 
days,  nor  had  she  sucpt  an  hour  at  a  time. 
She  was  pale  and  looked  thin,  sickly,  andfatu- 
itous.  She  could  not  even  sit  up  in  bed .-  thus 
there  was  extreme  general  debility,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  nervous  system  was  in  dis- 
order. She  was  fatuitous  and  maniacal;  had 
ffreal  excitement  of  some  of  the  portions  of  the 
brain  concerned  with  emotion,  and  of  parts 
concerned  with  muscular  action. 

Finding  that  aperients,  like  all  other  medi- 
cal means,  had  failed,  and,  what  was  worse, 
had  always  aggravated  the  symptoms,  I  en- 
treated that  no  aperients,  nor  indeed  any  other 
jrugs,  should  be  given,  whatever  the  length  of 
time  the  bowels  might  remain  torpid.  I  have 
repeatedly  seen  the  cure  of  St.  vitus's  dance 
thrown  back  by  the  use  of  active  purgatives, 
or  by  diarrhoea  excited  by  eating  improper 
things  while  the  disease  was  yielcUng  to  iron, 
with  which  I  have  never  failed  to  cure  the 
dysease  when  I  superintended  its  use  myself. 
Feeble,  nervous,  and  dyspeptic  persons  sufler 
exceedingly  from  similar  injudicious  treatment, 
as  well  as  by  the  prevalent  use  of  mercury ; 
many  such  patients  are  the  better  for  habitiud 
action  but  once  every  second  or  third  day. 

I  made  long  and  slow  passes  at  a  very  short 
distance  from  her,  from  opposite  the  forehead 
to  opponte  her  stomach,  as  she  lay.  At  first 
she  continued  moving  her  head  about  and 
away  from  me,  moamng,  and  very  cross,  and 
she  never  fixed  her  eyes  upon  me  or  anything. 
But  in  twenty  minutes  she  was  faxX  asleep ; 
her  head  ceased  to  roll,  and  the  moaning  was 
no  longer  heard.  On  my  speaking  to  her  she 
was  roused  up,  but  a  repetition  of  the  passes 
ioifive  minutes,  sent  her  back  into  sleep  as 
sound  as  ever,  and  I  left  her  asleep,  silent  and 
motionless.  It  was  now  twenty  minutes  to 
fkYt,  and  I  desired  she  might  be  undisturbed 


and  allowed  to  wake  spontaneously,  and  sbt 
slept  from  that  time  tUl  two  &diKk  tn  ik 
morning — ^above  iiinb  houbs  :  she  wbo  kad 
not  slept  one  hour  together  for  the  preTiooB 
ten  weeks ! 

Was  all  this  sheer  impostare?  was  kr 
disease  imposture  ?  and  was  the  deep  tnooe, 
the  stillness  of  head  and  hands,  and  the  a- 
lence  above  nine  hours,  the  result  of  ima^ 
tion  in  this  poor  violent  and  fataitons  object? 
was  it  Manchester  fatigue  of  her  eyes?  whkk 
were  never  fixed  upon  me.    > 

As  she  lived  too  far  ofi*  for  my  conve&tentt, 
and  out  of  my  usual  course  of  visits,  Mr. 
Wood  visited  her  daily,  and  continued  what 
I  had  begim. 

Nov.  &th.  Sent  again  to  sleep,  and  kft 
sleepy. 

She  has  not  screamed  from  the  time  the 
was  mesmerized  yesterday ;  and,  thoqgh  abe 
was  left  sleepy  ooiy,  slept  well  all  w^ 
She  is  altogether  better.. 

6th.  The  head  was  roiling  about  as  onl, 
but  became  quiet  almost  as  soon  as  neaDefi- 
zation  was  begun,  and  she  was  soon  asleep 

7th.  ISept  from  the  time  she  was  nesMiii- 
ed  yesterday,  at  6  o'clock  P.  M.,  till  4  ia  die 
morning --ten  hours :  when  she  awoke  kit  a 
few  minutes,  and  slept  a«dn  till  6,  ai^ 
twelve  hours.  She  also  slept  on  her  «fc^ 
the  first  time  since  her  seizure,  four  sosth 
•before — the  congh»  which  had  bM  fOT 
troublesome,  was  also  greatly  redoffi  Ste 
had  recovmd  her  speech,  but  it  was  ool!  ^ 
use  bad  and  violent  Janguage  to  all  abootbtt. 
in  the  fits  of  frenzy  which  often  aeized  b^ 
She  was  mesmeiizad  in  the  ailenoon  aad » 
askep. 

8th.  She  slept  from  the  alteraooaof  T» 
teiday,  tUl  8  o*c;|ock  to-day.  Duri^gtheVB- 
merization  U^day,  the  coqgfa  ceaBad,  * 
turned  on  her  leftside,  went  to  sleep,  aad^ 
left  sleeping.  Her  bowels  acted  to^lay  ^ 
taneonsly. 

9th.  She  slept  from  6  o*do(k  hst  evenij^ 
till  7  this  mommg— thirteen  hoois.  Shejg 
no  cough  to-day ;  is  stiooger,  and  deeidfff 
better. 

Soon  mesmerized  to  sleep*  and  leSt^tem 

The  daily  report  was  much  the  flame,  tiu 

15th.  She  had  slept  all  night  as  uraal,  a* 
cept  that  she  woke  about  4  o'clock  inW 
morning  for  a  few  minutes.  She  was  w» 
improved  :  bat,  having  had  no  actiOD  of  W 
bowels  lor  seven  days,a  pngativa  ''•■ffJH 
contiary  to  my  ezpiess  orders  )»»?*  *2 
convinced  its  action  would  be  tDJttrions,  w 
that  the  bowek,  if  left  to  nature,  woaM  ■ 
length  act  spontaneously.  Thepojpjjj 
act^  violently,  tzhausled  her,  ^''^'^^ 
the  cough,  and  iBtenasfy  «»t»  ^^ 
symptom. 


Cure  of  Fatmtyy  buanity,  Sfc.  4^. 


87 


The  mesmerization  influenced  her  less ;  so 
that  she  slept  from  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon 
till  9  in  the  evening  only ;  and  not  so  soondly 
as  before.  The  Its  of  screaming  letumed 
fieqnently. 

16th.  She  was  sent  to  sleep,  but  slept  only 
for  an  hour  after  she  was  left,  and  has  not 
slept  at  9M  since.    Her  symptoms  are  much 

Tivated,  and  she  is  much  weaker, 
often  observe  that  the  eflfects  of  causes 
injurious  to  health  are  felt,  ai  in  this  instance, 
more  afterwards  than  immediately,  or  even 
not  at  all  at  first 

17th.  Slept  for  a  short  time  only  after  she 
was  left  asleep :  and  had  no  sleep  at  night 

She  is  many  asbad€U  before  the  was  mes- 
merized. 

Mesmerism  thos  had  far  less  power  over 
her  now  she  was  reduced.  1  have  often  been 
unable  to  produce  any  appreciable  eflect  upon 
eztiemely  weak  persons,  even  when  their 
complaints  weie  sealed  in  the  nervous  sys- 
tem, and  they  were  exceedingly  nervous.  So 
Ua  is  the  fancy  of  uninfonned  persons  in- 
comet,  that  mesmerism  is  the  influence  of 


merely  a  strong  person  dver  one  less  stione. 
The  irritaUe  condition  which  often  attends 
extreme  weakness  pA)bably  tends  to  prevent 
the  mesmeric  influence.  At  any  (Ste,  weak- 
nass  does  not  favor  mesmeric  susceptibility. 

18th.  She  slept  longer  last  night,  and  is 
nmch  stronger. 

19  to  Dee.  3d.  Slept  weU  at  night:  still 
imwoving. 

Dec.  10th.  Much  better :  hut  8tiU  loUs  her 


Unhappily,  after  being  well  nearly  three 
yean,  she  was  terrified  a  third  time  on  the 
14th  of  last  Jane,  and  sutfered  another  re- 
lapse: and  the  mother  herself  came  to  me 
for  assisttince.  There  was  some  mistake  in 
taking  the  address  of  their  new  abode,  and  1 
did  not  see  her  for  a  week.  She  remained 
without  any  improvement  all  this  time,  and  no- 
thing had  been  done  for  her.  She  was  feeble, 
almost  sleepless,  fiercely  outrageous,  after 
having  been  sullen  for  the  first  three  days. 
The  bowels  did  not  act  lor  the  first  fifteen 
days,  and  during  that  time  she  Jived  upon 
jelly ;  they  had  acted  spontaneously,  however, 
before  my  arrival.  She  could  not  sit  up  in 
bed ;  had  fits  of  insensibility  several  times  a 
day ;  and  sufiered  pain  in  her  head. 

[  easily  sent  her,  who  had  been  so  long 
nearly  sleepless,  into  a  sleep  which  lasted 
from  four  that  afternoon  till  ten  the  next 
morning. 

I  desired  the  mother  to  make  the  passes 
twice  a  day  just  as  she  saw  me  do.  She  fol- 
lowed my  directions  and  regularly  produced 
sleep,  which  lasted  very  many  hours :  and 
she  thus  soon  cured  the  child.  Nothing  dse 
loas  done.  The  bowels  soon  became  regular ; 
and  1  saw  the  ^irl  on  Friday  last,  December 
11,  stout  and  m  perfect  health,  in  Three 
Cups  Yard. 

It  will  be  observed  that  when  she  was 
asleep,  we  left  her.  In  a  former  number  I 
stated  that  if  I  had  my  own  way — had  no 
special  reason  for  deviating  from  a  general 
rule — I  vfould  never  toake  a  patient.  *    The 


16th«  Stronger:  spasmodic eough  gone. 

Jan.  3d.  Pretty  weU.  Is  able  to  walk 
aeioas  the  room.  WiU  now  be  mesmerised 
every  other  day  only. 

20th.  No  symptom  but  a  degree  of  debflity. 
Will  be  mesmerised  but  twice  a  week. 

Feb.  1.  Perfectly  well :  and  walks  about 
as  usual.  To  Ibe  mesmerized  but  onoe  a 
^fpeek.    Her  bow^  always  act  refularbf. 

20th.  Mesmerism  to  lie  diseontmued. 

In  the  autumn,  seven  months  after  her 
core,  she  was  terriM  again  by  the  same 
man  and  mflered  a  relapse ;  which,  however, 
was  soon  removed  by  mesmerism. 

Mr.  Moigan  wrote  to  me  about  Christmas, 
Isurt  jeu.  •«  You  wiU  be  pleased  to  hear  she 
oontinues  quite  well;  has  all  her  Isealties; 
has  assisted  in  teaching  la  a  Sunday  school,* 
much  to  the  aatiafaction  of  the  lady  patron- 
asses.  Her  mother  thinks  her  quite  well, 
and  attributes  her  return  to  health  to  your  ad- 
▼ke  and  atteation.'' 

Her  mother  was  richt:  and  nothmg  but  the 
most  perverM  prejudice  or  duLMSs  could  sug- 
gmt  a  doubt  i^ou  the  point 

*  Satan  UtUa  thought  whenh«  was  onxing  har.  thai 
1Ui«ii«nteMi«teni  would  baoMde  to  h&i.--J.  E. 


longer  the  sleep,  the  greater  ^eialiy  the  be- 
nefit. Still  pstiento  in  their  sleep-waking 
sometimes  tell  us  that  they  should  steep  only 
a  certain  time ;  and  then  we  ought  always, 
where  there  is  no  delirium,  to  follow  their  di- 
rections. Without  such  instructions,  we  may 
discover  that  sleep  beyond  a  certein  time  does 
not  leave  them  so  well.  This  is,  however, 
very  seldom  the  case  Sometimes  they  grow 
uneasy  in  their  sleep,  and  it  is  well  to  wake 
them,  and  generally  to  send  them  to  sleep 
again.  But  if  none  of  these  things  take  place, 
I  should  never  wish  to  wake  a  patient;  nor 
do  I,  except  for  mere  convenience,  as  when 
they  come  to  my  house  and  I  am  obliged  to 
fp)  odtat  a  certain  hour,  or  when  their  avoca- 
Uons  will  not  allow  them  to  sleep  beyond 
a  certaia  time. 

Tkey  are eureto  wake spontaneousty  sooner 
or  later,— as  sure  as  we  are  from  common 
sleep  when  we  go  to  bed.  An  unfounded 
fear  prevails  that  persons  may  never  wake 
again  from  the  mesmeric  sleep,  because  it  has 
appeared  in  the  papen  thaf  particular  patiento- 
could  not  be  awakened.  We  sometimes  can- 
not wake  them  just  when  we  wish.    But  if 


•  ««i,  Vol  m.,i|i.  41. 


88 


Fever  a  Disease  of  the  Spleen. 


we  wait,  we  are  able  after  a  time ;  aod«  if  we 
wait  8tiU  longer,  they  are  sure  to  wake  of 
their  own  accord.  There  was  an  account  of 
a  lad  at  Oeptford  who  could  not  be  awakened. 
In  his  sleep  he  said  he  could  uot  be  awakened 
till  the  next  or  following  day  at  a  certain 
hour.  Nor  could  he.  But  at  the  hour  men- 
tioned, he  awoke  spontaneously ;  and  is  well 
and  thriTing  at  this  moment.* 

The  longer  the  sleep,  the  greater  usually  is 
th^  beneiit  Yet  palienU  ate  every  day  cured 
i^ahotU  Ueep  or  any  other  sensible  effect ;  so 
that  mesmerism  should  have  an  ample  trial  of 
many  months  in  every  case,  although  no  sleep 
take  place.  1  have  never  yet  failed  of  curing 
St  Yitus's  dance :  but  never  yet  sent  a  pa- 
tient in  that  disease  to  sleep.  On  the  otner 
hand,  sleep-waking  may  be  readily  induced, 
and  endless  exquisite  phenomena  present 
themselves,  and  yet  no  improvement  take 
place.  I  mesmerized  three  cases  ol  epilepsy 
lor  three  years  daily,  and  produced  nearly  all 
phenomena  short  of  clairvoyance  and  sym- 
pathy of  sensation,  and  did  not  cure  one  of  the 
three. 

Generally  the  more  experiments  are  made 
with  traction,  rigidity,  &c.,-  though  not  al- 
ways with  mesmerized  water  or  metals,  and 
the  more  cheerful  a  conversation  is  carried  on, 
the  better. 

Generally  the  deeper  the  sleep  can  be 
made,  by  breathing,  continued  passes,  laying 
the  fingers  over  the  eyeballs,  or  the  hand  up- 
on the  head,  tec,  &c.,  the  greater  the  good. 
Not,  however,  always.  1  have  seen  a  few 
patients,  who,  after  they  have  been  mesmer- 
ized some  weeks  or  months,  suffered  if  the 
aleep '  was  made  so  deep  that  they  could  not 
converse.  Some  suffer  at  last  if  they  are 
mesmerized  often :  so  that  those  who  were  at 
first  improved  by  mesmerism  twice  a  day  are 
the  better  for  having  it  only  once  a  day ;  then 
for  having  it  every  other  day,  and  so  on.  f 
When  no  sleep  was  even  induced,  but  passes 
made  for  half  an  hour  with  no  great  sensible 
efiect,  I  have  known  them  at  length  produce 
discomfort  if  continued  as  long  as  at  first,  and 
I  have  been  obliged  to  reduce  the  time,  till  at 
length  I  made  them  for  only  a  minute  or  two, 
and  less  and  less  frequently  in  the  week. 
A  very  deep  sleep  produced  by  metals  or 
water,  or  in  any  other  manner,  may  at  length 
completely  overpower  the  system  and  greatly 
exhaust  its  strength. 

it  will  be  observed  that  this  little  girl  was 
left  asleep.  When  this  can  be  done,  it  is  a 
happy  circumstance,  and  we  ought  always  to 
attempt  it  the  first  time.  But  when  it  is  found 
that  \ht  patient  cannot  be  left  by  the  mes- 
merizer  without  distress,  we  must  remain.  In 
some  instances  this  will  wear  off,  espeeially 
if  others  in  the  mesmeric  state  are  piesent ; 

*  Ztiti,  YoL  L,  p.  4f9.  f  ZpJil,  Vol  I.,  p.  «M. 


for  persons  generally  become  agteeaUe  io 
each  other  in  the  mesmeric  state.  We  ooght 
carefully  to  ascertain,  not  only  that  the  pa- 
tient may  be  left  by  us,  but  that  he  caniallow 
the  presence  or  proximity  of  another.  If  he 
cannot,  and  we  leave  him  in  chan^  of  sooe 
one,  great  mischief  may  be;  occasioned. 

John  Elliotson. 


FEVERADISEAfeEOF  THE 
SPLEEN. (?) 

TO  THE  XOITOR  OF  TH£  LAKCXT. 

MoRK  busied  in  the  '<  sport  of  maaoff 
than  in  the  **  labor  of  thought,"  a  sentence 
in  a  past  number  of  a  contemporary  sogge* 
to  me  the  following  reflections. 

Dr.  WiUiams,  of  University  Coll^H* 
pital,  lecturing  on  tbe  subject  of  intcnDiliat 
fever,  in  noticing  the  "poor,  impowridiei 
state  of  the  blood,**  which  attends  the  dit- 
ease,  adds:  **  It  has  been  a  matter  of  dook 
(question  ?)  among  physiologists,  as  well » 
pathologists,  how  it  is  that  disease  of  the 
spleen  so  peculiarly  producer  this  anaiBui^ 
{Qaz,,  Oct  24, 1846).  In  elucidation  of  ths 
point,  r  may  observe,  that  it  has  been  1^ 
a  matter  of  conviction  with  me  tbtfw 
spleen  is  the  laboratory  •  of  the  hewfjsjj 
of  the  blood.  Harvey,  indeed,  disdoRiboff 
the  blood  is  distributed ;  but  philosopheni^ 
pear  very  generally  to  have  foigollen  tow 
themselves  whence  it  is  got  ?— whee  * » 
made?  The  heart  pumps,  the  vessels  conrqr. 
the  lungs  aerate,  the  liver  and  ^<^P^' 
rate,  and  chyle-milk  renovates,  the  Uom; 
but,  de  novo,  where  is  it  generated  ?—*"*'* 
is  it  originally  derived  ? — where  is  it  tbit  Q* 
chylous  supplies  are  converted  io^J^ 
globules  ?  Moat  certainly,  to  my  appiw* 
sion,  ia  the  passage  through  (he  spleen. 

There  are  those  with  whom  it  nas  bjn  i 
favorite  theory  that  fevers  are  diseisc  of  tli 
blood.  1  believe  that  fevers  are  diseastf  o» 
the  spleen.  Of  this  I  think  there  ^J^ 
quate  evidence.  Of  course  I  do  not »* w» 
symptomatic  or  nervous  "  fevers.*  A  lesnt 
of  the  function  of  the  spleen  vitiates  ii»p»j 
ducts— -i,  e..  vitiates  the  mamifachire  « 
haemaiosine.  I  have  even  an  idea  that  tw 
rigors  of  ague  have  some  rclaUoa  U)  t 
cnsis  of  puruloid  secretion  in  the  ^ww 
apparatus— a  vitiation  of  the  splepc  pfoc» 
of  the  fonnation  of  the  red  pni»a[»le.  » 
would  not  appear  difficult  to  •'xsmta^ 
way  for  the  translation  of  pnro»«»rl^ 
I  have  an  idea  that  the  prodnetioo  of »"» 
heat  takes  place  whenever  and  7'»'J" 
arterial  blood  becomes  ^^^"^f^^ 
capUlary  transit;  and  that  the  sptoc  P^^ 
duct,  the  hamatosine  of  the  blood,  pl«^  " 


Electricity. 


important  part  in  the  process.  If  the  func- 
tions of  the  spleen,  then,  be  those  not  only 
of  the  generation  of  new  globules,  but  also 
of  the  renovation  or  regeneration  of  the 
old,  exhausted,  or  deteriorated  red  particles — 
alike  the  renovation  of  the  old,  and  the  pro- 
duction of  the  new  material  of  the  elementd- 
17  constituent  of  the  blood,  the  hsematosine, 
bsBmatin,  or  cruorin, — it  is  easy  (o  perceive 
in  what  way  "  disease  of  the  spleen  so  pe- 
culiarly produces  anaemia."  By  the  objec- 
tionable term '<*  anaemia,"  an  absence  of  the 
red  particles,  the  radical  constituent  of  blood, 
is  properly  indicated.  In  the  history  of  fe- 
vers, after  a  review  of  the  facts  which  con- 
nect fevers  with  the  spleen  and  the  blood, 
it  will  not  be  difficult  to  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  fevers  are  diseases  of  the  spleen,  in 
reference  to  the  functions  of  that  organ  as  the 
laboratory  of  the  elementary  constituent  of 
the  blood,  the  haematosine. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be.  Sir, 
Yonr  obedient  servant, 
B.  HAYGARTH. 
HamiUoni  Nov,,  1846. 


ELECTRICITY 

Considered  as  to  its  distribution  throngliout  oar  globe, 
with  a  theory  respecting  temperamenl,  and  the 
peculiar  iniluence  of  cGmate  upon  oar  mental 
acuities. 

BY  J.  W.  LAKE,  ESQ.,  HOLBEACH. 

In  a  recent  communication,  I  offered  some  fair 
pound  for  the  assumption  that  electricity, was 
identical  with  the  vital  or  nervous  agent.  As- 
suming tbis  identity,  then,  it  will  be  expected 
that  the  human  body  should  exhibit  the  custo- 
mary electrical  phenomena.  I  have,  however, 
obeerved,  that  man  is  not  an  isolated  being,  but 
that  be  is  intimately,  thongh  mysteriously, 
connected  with  surrounding  objects,  and  there- 
fore, before  we  consider  electricity^  in  its  rela- 
tion to  him,  it  should  first  be  considered  in  its 
relation  to  the  globe  on  which  he  treads.  And 
here  the  question  arises — What  is  electricity .' 
Who  can  define  the  subtle  agent  ?  We  are 
acquainted  with  its  effects,  but  we  are  igno- 
tant  of  the  manner  in  which  those  efiects  are 
produced.  We  can  reduce  it  to  certain  laws, 
but  we  cannot  penetrate  into  the  manner  in 
which  those  laws  are  controlled.  We  view 
it  as  the  great  cause  productive  of  every 
movement  and  operation  of  Nature,  but  we 
are  wholly  unable  to  trace  the  mysterious  tie 
which  connects  it  with  the  fiat  of  the  Great 
Ruler  of  all.  As  a  power,  its  existence  has 
been  known  from  the  earliest  ages ;  it  is  the 
fifth  element  of  the  Hindoos,  by  whose  sa- 
cred Yedas  it  is  thus  described : — "  There 
J8  a  strong  propensity  which  dances  through 
every  atom,  and  attxacts  the  minuteet  par*> 
7 


tide  to  some  particular  object.  Search  this 
universe,  from  its  base  to  its  summit,  from 
dre  to  air,  from  water  to  earth,  from  all  below 
the  moon,  to  all  above  the  celestial  spheres, 
and  thou  wilt  not  find  a  corpuscle  destitute  of 
that  natural  attractability."*  Aa.the  vital  or 
generative  principle  of  Nature,  this  power  was 
worshipped  as  a  God  in  the  earliest  ages  of 
mankind,  the  Greeks  deriving  their  Geo;  from 
the  word  Staoutu — I  contemplate  an  unknown 
cause,  t  In  tne  mythology  of  the  Romans  it 
was  deified  under  the  title  of  Jupiter  Tonans. 
The  two  hands  of  Nature,  whereby  she 
chiefly  worketh,  heat  and  cold,  of  Lord  Veru- 
1am  ;  the  plastic  Nature  oi  Cudworth ;  the 
spirit  of  Nature  of  Dr.  Henry  Moore;  and 
the  ether  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  are  all  concep- 
tions of  that  principle  which  modern  science 
recognises  by  the  term  Electricity. 

One  of  the  most  prevalent  errors  regarding 
this  principle  is  that  which  would  aigue  from 
a  difference  of  effect  a  distinctness  of  agent, 
and  call  upon  us  to  acknowledge  the  ex- 
istence of  two  electricities,  positive  and  nega- 
tive. But  if  the  different  effects  of  positive 
and  negative  electricity  he  adduced  as  an  argu- 
ment ol  their  being  distinct  agents,  I  answer, 
that  this  carries  with  it  no  proof  of  the  fact; 
for  be  it  recollected,  that  a  certain  d^ree  of 
heat  (32^  Fahr.)  turns  fluid  water  into  solid 
ice,  while  another  degree  of  heat  (212<^  Fahr.) 
converts  this  same  water  into  ethereal  steam, 
and  yet,  who  would  venture  to  assert  that  ice- 
heat  and  steam-heat  were  distinct  agents,  or 
that  heat  and  cold  were  not  comparatire  states 
bl  the  same  principle  ? 

Now,  I  conceive  that  electricity,  like  heat, 
has  an  infinite  range  of  intensity,  and  as  heat 
and  cold  are  bi^  comparative  terms,  so  positive 
and  negative  electricity  are  but  comparative 
slates:  for  instance,  a  body  positively  elec- 
trified as  regards  the  earth,  is  negatively  elec- 
trified as  regards  another  substance,  on  which 
a  greater  quantity  of  this  agent  has  been  in- 
duced; so  water  at  SO**  will  be  warm  com- 
pared with  ice,  and  cold  in  comparison  with 
boiling  water.  A^in,  I  conceive  that  the 
range  of  electrical  intensity  within  the  limits 
of  our  experiments  is  very  trifling  in  this  re- 
spect, being  again  analos:ous  to  heat,  and  that, 
therefore,  a  negatively  electrified  body  is  mere- 
ly a  body  containing  a  less  amount  of  elec- 
tricity than  the  surrounding  medium,  or  thft> 
substance  with  which  it  is  compared ;  and  I 
consider  that  it  would  be  as  impossible  to  de- 
prive a  body  of  the  whole  amount  of  its  eleo- 
tricity,  as  it  would  be  to  deprive  a  substance 
of  the  whole  amount  of  its  caloric.  Frozea 
mercury  still  contains  a  lai^e  amount  of  the. 


*  Quoted  and  translated  from,  the  Hindoo  poem  of 
Shirin  and  Ferhad,  hj  Sir  WilUam  Jones.— See  Aiiatio 
Researches. 

t  Mixabaud. 


DO 


Electricity. 


agent-  called  heat ;  so  a  body  in  the  greatest 
Degatively  electrical  state  which  it  was  in  our 
power  to  induce,  would  still  contain  a  large 
amount  of  electricity. 

One  of  the  principal  characteristics  of  this 
/agent  is  the  tendency  which  it  has  to  assume 
a  polarized  position ;  it  is  in  this  condition 
we  find  it  in  the  magnetic  needle,  the  atmo- 
sphere, the  terrestrial  globe;  and  when  we 
come  to  consider  it  as  a  patholodcal  agent, 
we  shall  find  that  this  is  the  condition  it  as* 
sumes  in  man. 

If  we  place  a  bar  of  kon  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  it  is  foufid  that  positive  electrici* 
ty  takes  the  upper  surface,  and  negative  elec- 
tricity the  lower,  and  vice  versa  in  the  soHth- 
em  hemisphere,  "where  negative  electricity 
takes  the  upper  portion,  and  positive  electrici- 
ty the  lower.*  Kite-experiments,  too,  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  have  all  tended  to  prove 
that  every  elevation  in  the  atmosphere  is  posi- 
tive to  all  strata  beneath  it,  and  negative  to 
all  strata  above  it :  and  I  have  no  donbt  but 
that  these  experiments-would,  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  give  the  reverse  results,  and  it 
is  to  be  regretted  that  they  are  as  yet  want- 
ing. However,  this  deficiency  is  in  some 
measure  remedied  by  the  results  obtained  from 
observations  on  the  dipping-needle.  This  in- 
Btrument  is  merely  the  magnetic  needle  sus- 
pended so  as  to  have  free  motion  in  a  vertical 
instead  of  a  horizontal  plane ;  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  the  attraction  of  the  earth  draws 
the  positive  electric,  or  north  pole  of  the 
needle,  in  a  downward  direction,  with  an  in- 
tensity varying  with  the  latitude:  for  in- 
stance, at  a  certain  point  in  the  tropical  re- 
gions, the  needle  assumes  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion ;  and  could  it  be  carried  around  the  globe 
in  a  line  where  this  horizontal  position  would 
be  maintained,  the  line  thus  drawn  would  be 
the  magnetic  equator.f  As  we  approach  the 
pole  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  the  positive 
extremity  of  the  needle  is  attracted  down- 
wards, and  at  the  pole  itself  assumes  a  per- 
pendicular position  {})  \t  ^n  intermediate  pla- 
ces, this  dip  or  declination  varies  with  the 
latitude.  In  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  same 
phenomenon  is  observed,  with  this  exception, 
that  here  it  is  the  opposite  extremity,  or  nega- 
tive pole  of  the  needle,  that  is  attracted. 

These  observations  afford  us  an  insight  into 
the  manner  in  which  electricity  is  distributed 
throughout  our  globe— namely,  that  it  is  found 


*  CQimiBgliam^t  Eisayf  on  Electrioitj  and  Magne- 
tiam. 

t  For  the  form  of  the  jnagnctic  equator,  as  deter- 
sxined  by  Morle  and  Haustem,  see  Noad's  Lectares 
on  ElectrioitT. 

X  We  mast  here  sucgest  that  positive  experiment  it 
%holly  wanting.  The  nearest  approach  of  man  to 
the  north  pole  was  made  in  18^7.  oy  Parrj,  who  did 
not  attain  further  than  lat.  Si''  46^  ;  and  to  the  south 
pole,  we  believe  by  Weddell,  in  1833,  who  reached 
only  to  lat  74o  16/  S.— £o.  L. 


collected  within  the  tropics,  fmm  which  it  k 
polarised  in  a  horizonud  direction ;  there  is 
also  a  vertical  polarization  of  the  terrestrial 
electricity,  the  vertical  direction  being  from 
the  surface  of  the  earth  upwards,  while  the 
horizontal  direction  extends  from  the  equator 
to  the  poles.    With  these  preliminaries,  then, 
we  will  proceed  to  consider  this  a^nt,  more 
especially  in  reference  to  the  physiology  and 
diseases  of  man.     Regarding  electricity  as 
the  vital  agent,  I  propose  to  c^l  that  state  of 
body  characterized  by  energy  of  the  vital 
power,  as  fever;  the  electric,  in  contiaifis* 
tinction  to  that  state  in  which  this  power  ii 
torpid,  as  collapse,  to  which  I  apply  the  lena 
magnetic.    The  temperament,  then,  may  be 
divided  into  four  classes — ^viz ,  the  electric, 
the    electfo-ma^netic,    the   magneto-eiectiic, 
and  the  magnetic    The  electric  tempenment 
is  that  in  which  electric  action  is  in  exceasi 
and  is  characterized  by  a  dark  complexion; 
hair  dark,  and  in  lai]ge  growth ;  warmth  aad 
energy  of  the  various  passions ;  and  mascak 
and    constitutional    strength.     The  electro- 
magnetic temperament  is  that  in  which  elec- 
tricity slightly  preponderates,  and  is  knova 
by  the  same  characteristics  less  evkkntlj 
marked.    The  magneto-electric  tempeiaiaat 
is  an  approximation  to  the  magnetie,  wliiek 
latter  is  characterized  by  a  fair  and  delietf 
complexit)n,  timidity,  and  reserve,  vaStd 
enei^y,  and  a  degree  of  distance  or  ooUeeB' 
The  magnetic  state  is  strikingly  roariadA 
the  latter  stages  of  phthisis,  a  diseue  to 
which  this  temperament  is  especially  soiq^ 
The  temperament  of  climate,  too,i8elfl^ 
cially  deserving  of  attention.    Cootre^  the 
warmth  and  energy  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
southeriy  portion  of  our  hemisphere,  wheie 
electricity  is  more  abundantly  difibsed,  vith 
the  coldness  and  reserve  which  characteiift 
the  inhabitants  of  more  northerly  latitndei. 
Certainly  it  is  evident  that  a  deficieiVT  ^ 
electricity  seems,  in  cold  climates,  aUendid 
with  a  deficiency  of  the  fire  and  vigor  which 
characterize  the  human  passions.    All  the 
sciences  of   the  passions,  such  as  muac. 
painting,  &c.,  clmm  a  southerly  zone  as  theit 
oirth-place,  whilst  the  calm  and  cateolatiai 
coolness  of  philosophy  finds  a  more  seoial 
home  in  the  less  exciting  latitodes  of  cOi 
own  country.  The  civilization  of  the  southeffl 
portions  of  Europe  brought  scolptare,  paint- 
ing, and  poetry,  to  perfection,  yet  P^^^^ 
few  mechanicians,    in  more  modem  timMi 
these  latitudes  have  been  the  cradle  and  m* 
eery  of   music,  while  the  genius  of  the 
mechanician  and  the  logic  of  the  metaphya* 
cian  shine  more  conspicuooaiy  in  the  tempe- 
rate regions  of  the  north.  These  fads,  I  coo* 
ceive,  admit  of  the  following  explanation  •-■ 
Electricity,  or  magnetlam,  k  excess,  ads  ahke 
as  a  aedative  (as  frozen  meroiry  prodaees 


Electricity. 


91 


the  same  effects  on  the  living  tissues  as  red- 
not  iron) ; — witness  apoplexy,  or  the  stupor 
of  drunkenness,  as  an  example  of  the  one, 
and  the  soporific  influence  of  extreme  cold, 
as  an  instance  of  the  other;  but  in  moderate 
quantities,  both  these  agents  (or,  rather,  both 
tnese  states  of  the  same  agent)  act  as  a  stimu- 
lus. Witness  the  exhilarating  influence  of 
alcoholic  liquors,  and  the  bracmg  effects  of  a 
frost.  Now  I  conceive  that  the  functions  of 
our  bodies,  both  mental  and  corporeal,  are  de- 
pendent on  the  electricity  contained  in  the 
Drain  and  spinal  marrow,  and  this  electricity 
is  a^cted  by  climate  in  two  ways — viz.  as 
to  its  quantity  and  as  to  its  polarity— the  first 
occasioiied  by  the  horizontal  polarization  of 
the  terrestrial  electricity ;  the  second  by  its 
vertical  polarization.  The  horizontal  polari- 
zation is  by  far  the  roost  important,  and  it  is 
owing  to  this  that  electricity  is  in  excess  in 
the  torrid,  and  so  deficient  in  the  frigid 
zones ;  and,  as  a  consequence  of  this  excess 
and  deficiency,  the  inhabitants  of  these  zones 
stand  very  low  in  the  scale  of  civilization ;  u 
litetary  negro  or  Esquimaux  would,  indeed, 
be  looked  upon  as  a  phenomenon.  Approach- 
ing from  the  torrid  zone  towards  the  pole, 
-we  arrive  at  a  latitude*  in  which  a  vertical 
polarity  becomes  evident,  and  here  we  find  a 
decree  of  activity  in  the  intellectual  and  physi- 
caj  faculties.  The  vertical  polarity,  however, 
being  slight,  the  intellectual  is  almost  on  a 
par  with  the  physical,  and  this  tends  to  de- 
velope  the  passions  rather  than  the  judgment. 
Approaching  further  north,  we  find  this  ac- 
tivity increased,  and  the  greater  vertical  polari- 
ty of  these  latitudes  occasions  a  determina- 
tion of  electricity  to  the  upper  or  intellectual 
portions  of  the  brain;  hence  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  civilization  in  these  zones  when 
once  the  intellect  was  cultivated,  and  mankind 
taught  to  rely  rather  on  their  mental  than 
their  physical  powers.  It  is  in  these  regions 
(and  our  own  country  is  happily  situated  in 
this  zone)  that  the  intellectual  man  makes  his 
nearest  approach  towards  perfection  ;  for  the 
quantity  of  electricity^,  as  regulated  by  the 
*'  horizontal  polarization"  is  that  best  adapted 
for  the  exercise  of  the  animal  functions, 
whilst  the  *«  vertical  polarization,"  by  causing 
the  cerebrum  to  be  more  active  than  the  cere- 
bellum and  spinal  marrow,  renders  the  pas- 
sions less  energetic,  and  the  intellect  more 
acute.  A  strikmg  proof  in  corroboration  of 
these  remarks  may  be  found  in  the  fact,  that 
all  our  finest  works  of  art  are  executed  by 
southern  artists,  whilst  the  inhabitants  of 
southern  climes  are  compelled  to  have,  re- 
course to  the  superior  skill  and  talent  of  the 
northern  engineer.    In  the  frigid  zone,  the 

•  Italy.  Greece,  the  South  of  France,  and  Turkey, 
BiaybelDolQaediBtUizone. 


great  deficiency  of  electricity  renders  the  cor- 
poreal frame  short  and  stunted,  and  the  pas- 
sians  dull  and  obtuse,  and  merges  the  intellect 
into  a  show  of  reason  little  better  than  in- 
stinct 

These  peculiarities  of  climate  are  evinced 
in  the  variableness  of  our  own  country.  We 
well  know  that  when  suffering  from  intense 
cold  or  oppressive  heat,  otir  intellect  seems  to 
have  deserted  us :  in  the  one  case  we  express 
our  ideas  as  having  frozen,  in  the  other  as . 
bemg  melted.  I  question  whether  an  advocate 
could  do  justice  to  a  cause  if  compiled  to 
plead  it  in  an  atmosphere  of  either  20°  below 
zero,  or  100^  above  it.  These  effects  would 
be  temporary,  but  they  serve  to  illustrate  the 
effects  of  climate  upon  th^  mental  faculties. 

A  question  now  arises  as  to  whether  cli- 
mate will  produce  its  characteristic  effect  upon 
strangers — that  is,  whether  on  removal  to 
another  latitude  the  electricity  present  in  the 
brain  and  spinal  marrow  will  assume  the 
same  polarity  as  exists  at  that  latitude.  This 
I  think  may  be  answered  in  the  affirmative, 
though  an  extent  of  time  may  be  required  for 
the  purpose.  The  removal  of  a  Newton  to 
the  warmer  regions  of  the  south  would  in  all 
probability  have  deprived  the  world  of  his 
mcomparable  "  Principia,"  while  the  depth  of 
passion  exhibited  in  the  poetry  of  Byron  may 
be  traced  to  the  very  cause  which  would 
have  ruined  a  Newton.  Mr.  Dalton,  in  his 
recent  remarks  on  elephantiasis  (a  disease 
decidedly  peculiar  to  climate)  conoboiates  this 
opinion:  he  says — "  Individuals*  coming  to 
live  in  a  country  where  this  disease  is  preva- 
lent, do  not  become  attacked  with  it  at  an 
early  period  of  their  residence;  it  seems  to 
require  a  certain  amount  of  seasoning  to  ren- 
der the  constitution  liable  to  its  innuence." 
Causes  which  affect  the  body  affect  the  mind 
also,  the  one  being  intimately  connected  with 
the  other.  The  fact,  then,  of  climate  exerting 
its  influence  upon  our  physical  condition  is 
a  convincing  proof  of  its  affecting  the  mental 
faculties  also.  The  peculiar  influence  of  cli- 
mate upon  the  physical  condition  of  man 
must  form  the  suoject  of  a  future  communi- 
cation. 

In  the  present  instance  I  have  labored,  and 
I  hope  not  in  vain,  to  prove  my  previous  as- 
sertion of  the  connexion  existing  between  man 
and  the  globe  on  which  he  treads,  my  object 
being  to  induce  medical  men,  by  investigating 
disease  in  its  relation  to  the  vital  or  nervous 
agent, 

<*  Not  merely  to  discern 
Thlnn  bi  their  eauaet,  bat  to  trace  the  wayi 
^    Of  hQfheit  agenU.» 

The  path  before  us  may  be  uKfrequented,  but 
it  is  not  altnether  untrodden. '  The  sugges- 
tions here  olered  are  but  an  extension  of 
ideas  that  flitted  in  the  epeeulative  imagina- 


92 


On  the  Electricity  evolved  in  Respiration. 


tions  of  our  forefathers;  and  though  each 
succeeding  adventurer  may  progress  a  few 
steps  in  advance  of  his  predecessors,  stiJl  this 
is  too  trifling  to  be  considered  in  comparison 
with  the  vast  field  which  yet  lies  unexplored 
before  us.  As  yet  we  are  but  groping  at  ,the 
.foundation;  let  those,  then,  who  seek  honor 
and  distinction  in  natural  science,  gain  it  by 
erecting  the  superstructure;  let  them  unfold 
to  us  the  mysteries  of  that 

.    "  Electric  chain  wherewith  we  are  darkly  bound," 

and  Ijy  practical  demonstration  realize  Pope's 
sublime  idea,  that 

"  All  are  hut  parts  of  one  stupendout  whole, 
Whose  body  Nature  is,  and  Ood  the  soul." 

flo/6«acA,  JVoi;.,  1846. 


ON  THE  ELECTRICITV  EVOLVED 
•    IN  RESPIRATION. 

BY  —  BOW,  M.  D.,  POETOBEILO,  NEAR  EDIN- 
BUROH. 

In  attempts  to  explain  the  changes  effected 
during  respiration,  physiologists  take  no  ac- 
count of  the  electricity  of  the  air,  notwith- 
standing it  is  as  much  a  principle  of  the 
atmosphere  as  either  nitrogen  or  oxygen ;  in- 
deed, it  has  been  surmised,  and  that  on  no 
slight  grounds,  that  to  electricity  does  oxygen 
owe  its  gaseous  state.  This  notion  was  pro- 
mulged  in  an  inaugural  dissertation,  entitled 
'<  DeE£fectibus£lectricitati8  Quibus^am,  1820. 
By  Dr.  Moran,  formerly  of  the  Staff  Corps.** 
I  remember  perusing  this  thesis  at  the  time 
with  ^eat  interest ;  but  had  lost  sight  of  it, 
until  it  recurred  to  me  whilst  reading  the  arti- 
cle on  electricity,  in  The  Lamcjet,  by  Mr. 
Uke. 

Dr.  Moran  quotes  the  experiments  of  Others 
to  prove  that  the  oxygen  of  the  air  is  tx)ra- 
bined  with  electricity,  and  that  it  affords  elec- 
tricity when  its  capacity  for  it  is  diminished, 
as  in  condensation  or  combination ;  and  there* 
fore,  when  the  combination  which  is  effected 
in  the  lungs  takes  place,  electricity  must  be 
liberated.  The  result  of  experiments  insti- 
.M*.ed  by  himself  proves  that  recent  venous 
blood,  subjected  to  negative  electricity,  be- 
comes red,  whilst  arterial  blood,  so  treated  by 
positive  electricity,  becomes  black ;  that  ve- 
nous blood,  subjected  to  galvanism,  becomes,, 
at  the  poative  pole,  blacker  and  thicker,  but 
at  the  negative  pole,  redder,  thinner,  and  spu- 
mous. 

Seeing,  then,  that  electricity  must  be  libe- 
rated  in  the  lungs,  and  that  it  does  redden  ve- 
nous blood,  and  that  as  nearly  all  the  oxy^n 
which  disappears  is  expired  in  combination 
with  carbon.  Dr.  Moran  concludes  that  the 
change  ol  color  is  owing  to  the  entrance  of 


electricity  into  the  blood,  and  the  removal 
from  it  of  carbon.  The  electricity  is  carried 
along  with  the  blood  to  all  parts  of  the  body, 
and  IS  attracted  by  the  nervous  matter  within 
the  cranium,  and  by  the  ganglionic  system, 
and  there  becomes  nervous  power.  By  enter- 
ing the  muscular  fibre,  it  endows  it  with  inita- 
bility ;  and  from  the  union  of  the  Dervom 
power  of  the  nerves  of  the  capillaries  with 
the  electricity  of  the  blood  passing  throu^ 
these  vessels,  animal  heat  is  produced. 

The  above  is  a  short  expoeilion  of  Dr. 
Moran*3  views ;  and  I  think  it  very  difficnlt 
to  disprove  that  oxygen  owes  its  gaseous  fonn 
to  its  junction  with  electricity,  and  that,  ontil 
it  can  be  disproved,  electricity  should  be  con- 
sidered a  principle  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the 
part  it  plays  during  respiration  inquired  into. 
Volta  and  Read  observed,  that  in  expirri 
air  the  quantity  of  electricity  was  constantly 
diminished  compared  with  that  insoired.  But 
listen  to  Sir  Humphrey  Davy:— Oxygen,  ia 
its  elastic  slate,  has  properties  which  arc*v«y 
characteristic ;  it  gives  out  light  by  compw- 
sion,  which  is  not  certainly  known  to  be  the 
case  with  any  other  elastic  fluid,  except  thoic 
with  which  oxygen  has  entered  wilbout  lu- 
dergoing  combustion ;  and  from  the  fire  < 
produces  in  certain  processes,  and  fromiw 
manner  in  which  it  is  separated  by  positi« 
electricity,  in  the  gaseous  state,  from  itsc* 
binations,  it  is  not  easy  to  avoid  the  soppoj* 
tion  that  it  contains,  besides  its  poB&i»* 
elements,  some  very  subtle  matter,  whidi* 
capable  of  assuming  the  form  of  heaia» 
light.  My  idea  is,  that  ihe  common  airift- 
spired  enters  into  the  venous  blood  entire,  a 
a  state  of  dissolution,  carrying  with  it  itseor 
tie  or  ethereal  part,  which,  in  ordinary  cases 
of  chemical  change,  is  given  off;  that  ii  a* 
pels  from  the  blood, carbonic  acid  gas  aw 
azote ;  and  that,  in  the  course  of  the  circola- 
tion,  its  ethereal  part  and  its  ponderable  jaj 
undergo  changes  which  belong  to  laws  thai 
cannot  be  considered  as  chemical,— the  ethe- 
real part,  probably,  producing  animal  beat  aiM 
other  effects,  and  the  ponderable  part  contn- 
buting  to  form  carbonic  acid  and  otber  pro- 
duct«.  The  arterial  blood  is  necessary  to  a^i 
the  functions  of  life,  and  it  is  no  less  connect- 
ed with  the  irritability  of  the  muscles,  and  tie 
sensibility  of  the  nerves,  than  with  the  per- 
formance of  ail  the  secretions.  I  have  nw 
marked  the  above  passages  as  a  quoiatioa 
from  "  Consolations  in  Travel ;  or,  the  Last 
Days  of  a  Philosopher.**  because  I  find  it  on 
a  slip  of  paper  written  some  years  ago,  ana 
not  so  marked.  I  have  not  now  the  volume 
at  command;  but  I  believe  it  is  a  f^mon^ 
and  underneath  I  have  written— Sir  HaDjpfi«7 
is  particularly  cautious ;  he  would  not  nave 
us  to  believe  that  he  thought  this  subtle  n^ 
tcr  to  be  electricity,  and  nothingi  he  «y»»  "■ 


Painless  Removal  of  a  Tumor  Weighit^  112  Pownds. 


93 


l)e  more  remote  from  his  opinion  than  to  con- 
jectnre  the  caase  of  vitality. 

The  modem  doctrine  imputes  the  change  of 
color  to  the  absorption  of  oxygen  gas  by,  and 
the  removal  of  carbonic  acid  from,  the  blood. 
**The  blood,  whilst  circulating  through  the 
capillari  ^  of  the  lungs,  is  divided  into  an  in- 
numerable multitude  of  minute  streamlets, 
each  so  small  as  to  admit  but  a  single  layer  of 
its  corpuscles;  and  in  these,  therefore,  the 
surface  which  is  placed  in  contact  with  the 
air  is  so  enormously  extended  as  to  be  almost 
beyond  calculation.  Hence,  then,  we  can  at 
once  understand  how  a  change  may  be  in- 
stantaneously effected  in  it,  which  would  oc- 
cupy several  hours,  when  the  blood  is  less 
advantageously  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
oxygen."  (Carpenter.)  This  view  would  ap- 
pear much  clearer,  could  we  believe  that  the 
fresh  air  at  each  inspiration  reached  the  cells. 
The  quantity  of  vitiated  air  remaining  in  the 
lan£;s  after  expiration  is  not  less  than  a  hun- 
dred cubic  inches,  and  this  must  occupy  the 
cells;  the  change  of  color  after  each  inspira- 
tion is  instantaneous,  which  must  baffle  all 
attempts  at  explanation  by  the  laws  of  diffu- 
sion of  gases.  No  such  objection  can  be 
nised  to  the  electric  doctrine ;  for  the  separa- 
tion of  the  electricity  from  the  oxygen  may 
lake  place  in  the  bronchial  tubes,  the  electri- 
city passing  readily  through  the  moist  air  of 
tlie  cells  into  the  blood,  which,  from  the  iron 
it  contains,  is  admirably  fitted  to  attract  it. 
The  particles  of  blood,  having  become  similar- 
ly electrified,  repel  each  other,  giving  rise  to  a 
stream  which  necessarily  flows  towards  the 
left  auricle.  Nor  does  this  doctrine  interfere 
with  that  of  the  absorption  of  oxygen.  It  is 
BOW  known  that  the  oxygen  consumed  ex- 
ceeds that  necessary  lor  the  production  of 
carbonic  acid,  so  that  a  part  may  be  absorbed 
by  the  lungs. 

I  agree  with  Dr.  Moran  that  the  electricity 
which  enters  the  blood  in  the  lungs  becomes 
nervous  power,  but  I  would  confine  the  ope- 
ration of  that  pcywer  to  effecting  the  functions 
of  animal  life.  I  agree,  also,  with  Mr.  Lake, 
that  electricity  is  elicited  in  the  body  by  chemi- 
cal decompositions  and  combinations ;  but  not 
that  that  so  elicited  is  carried  to  the  brain,  and 
thence  dispensed.  I  take  it,  that  the  elec- 
tricity from  decomposition  is  of  the  nature  of 
galvanism  or  magnetism,  and  passes  to  the 

Singlionic  system  of  nerves,  there  to  effect 
e  lunctions  of  organized  life.  * 

Some  years  ago,  in  a  communication*  to 
The  Lancet,  I  supposed  that  the  sympathetic 
system  of  nerves  was  composed  of  two  di- 
visions, the  one  furnishing  contractility  to  all 
the  muscles  of  the  body,  the  other  effecting 
the  chemical  changes  in  growth  and  repair. 
Thus  the  muscle  derives  its  contractility  from 
organic  nerves,  bat  the  nerve  conveying  the 


stimulus  to  contraction  comes  from  a  different 
source.  Now,  let  us  see  how  this  nerve  en- 
ters and  traverses  the  muscle :— «•  The  trunk 
of  a  nerve  and  its  first  branches  penetrate 
between  the  muscular  fasciculi  in  a  tortuous 
course,  the  exact  direction  of  which  appears 
indifferent.  But  the  minute  filaments  on  which 
each  branch  ends  are  found  invariably  to  tra- 
verse the  muscular  fibres  at  a  right  angle,  and 
at  short  distances  from  each  otner,  and  then 
either  to  return  to  the  same  nerve,  or  to  join  a 
neighboring  branch.  Thus,  a  nerve  terminates 
in  muscles  by  innumerable  delicate  loops ;  or 
the  nervous  filaments  distributed  transverse- 
ly through  muscular  substance  communicate 
equally  at  either  end  with,  the  brain  or  spinal 
cord.  The  branches  ot  the  portio  dura  are 
found  to  unite  by  slender  twigs  with  those  of 
the  three  divisions  of  the  fifth  nerve  upon  the 
face ;  and  in  the  tongue  the  union  is  equally 
distinct  of  twigs  of  the  ninth  nerve  with 
twigs  of  the  gustatory.  It  is  remarkable  that 
in  many  of  these  familiar  instances  the  junc- 
tion that  takes  place  is  between  sentient 
nerves  and  nerves  of  motion.*' 

In  this  nerve,  which  enters  and  traverses 
the  muscle  in  a  direction  perpendicular  to  that 
of  the  fibre,  and  which  communicates  equally 
at  either  end  with  the  brain  or  spinal  cord,'l 
see  nothinj^  more  nor  less  than  a  conducting 
wire  inducing  contraction  of  the  muscle, 
which,  in  its  turn,  may  be  compared  to  the 
magnet  of  an  electro-magnetic  machine.  By 
the  innumerable  filaments  by  which  the  nerve 
traverses  the  muscle,  the  inducing  force  is 
multiplied  in  the  same  manner  as  we  multiply 
the  electrical  intensity  by  making  our  con- 
ductors into  the  form  of  helices. 

In  the  above  quotation  from  Mayo,  it  is 
said  to  be  remarkable,  that  in  many  of  th^se 
familiar  instances,  the  junction  that  takes 
place  is  between  sentient  nerves  and  nerves  of 
motion ;  but  I  think  it  would  be  remarkable 
were  such  npt  the  case,  for  by  such  junctioa 
we  become  conscious  of  the  state  of  the 
muscle. 

Portobello,  N.  B,,  Dec,  1846. 


PAINLESS  REMOVAL  OF  A  TUMOR 
WEIGHING  112  POUNDS. 

By  the  kiadness  of  Dr.  Ashburuer  I  am 
enabled  to  give  the  following  extract 
from  the  Bombay  Bi- Monthly  Times,  of 
Oct  16— Nov.  1. 

"  The  Committee  appointed  by  Go- 
vern meut  to  report  on  the  value  of  mes- 
merism in  surgical  operations,  have 
handed  up  their  opinion  to  the  authori- 
ties. The  committee  bad  met  fourteen 
times,  each  sitting  being  of  two  hour^ 


94 


Painless  Removal  of  a  Tumor  Weighing  112  Povmds. 


duration,  Appended  to  their  report 
were  minutes  of  all  proceedings,  and  de- 
tails of  the  different  cases  which  had 
been  kept  It  is  to  be  hoped  their  in- 
quiries have  tended  to  prove  the  value 
of  the  science,  and  that  they  will  induce 
Government  to  introduce  its  practice 
into  general  use.  Of  the  value  of  mes- 
merism in  surgical  operations,  Dr.  Es- 
daile  has  supplied  abundant  evidence. 
The  Calcutta  Star,  of  the  15th  of  Oct., 
published  an  account  of  the  removal  of 
a  tumor  the  day  previous  from  a  man's 
body  which  weighed  seven  $tone,  which 
occupied  six  and  a  half  minutes  in  the 
performance;  the  patient  moved  neither 
muscle  nor  limb  during  the  time  it  was  being 
remove,  and  did  not  awake  till  roused  wiw 
a  view  of  being  given  some  wine  and  water  ! 
There  could  be  no  mistake  in  the  matter : 
the  operation  was  performed  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Mr.  Hallid^,  Mr.  Beadon,  Mr. 
Young,  Mr.  Hume,  Dr.  McPherson,  Dr. 
Jackson,  Dr.  Stewart,  Dr.  Burt,  Dr.  R. 
Stuart,  Dr.  Taylor,  and  Dr.  Huffnagle. 

*'  We  subjoin  the  report  of  the  opera- 
tion entire  from  the  Eastern  Star  of  the 
17th  ult.  It  puts  the  question  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  mesmerism  beyond  a  doubt : 

"  •  Report  of  Dr.  Esdail^s  last  Mesmeric 
Operation  at  the  Native  Hospital.— Cdlcutta, 
16th  of  October,  1846.  Hurromundoo 
Laha,  aged  27,  hearing  that  I  was  in 
Calcutta,  came  to  the  Native  Hospital  to- 
day with  an  enormous  scrotal  tumor. 
It  measures  seven  feet  in  circumference, 
and  two  feet  round  its  neck.  The  dis- 
ease began  seven  years  ago  with  hydro- 
cele, and  its  progress  has  been  very  ra- 
pid during  the  last  three  years.  He  has 
monthly  attacks  of  fever,  when  the  tu- 
mor swells,  and  discharges  water.  Al- 
though the  tumor  is  actually  as  large  as 
his  whole,  body  (he  appears  to  be  sibout 
eight  stone  weight),  his  person  is  in  tole- 
rable condition,  and  his  constitution 
does  not  seem  much  broken.  10th.  He 
was  mesmerized  to-day  for  the  first  time 
for  two  hours.  He  slept  profoundly,  and 
was  partially  cataleptic.  11th.  No  mes- 
meric effects  to-day,  on  account  of  his 
svstem  being  deranged  by  fever.  12th. 
The  mesmeric  phenomena  are  less  strik- 
ing than  on  the  first  day.  He  is  still  fe- 
verish. 13th.  This  day  being  excess- 
ively  rainy,  I  did  not  go  to  hospital, 
thinking  the  gentlemen  interested  in  the 
progress  of  the  case  would  not  venture 
to  the  hospital  in  such  bad  weather.  At 
2  o'clock,  p.  m.,  I  received  a  note  from 
aH  amateur  who  had  gone  to  watcir  the 
progress,  informing  me  that  the  patient 


had  that  day  exhibited  the  most  perfect 
catalepsy, '  and  might  have  been  made 
into  "  minced  meat"  without  knowing  il 
14th.  The  same  appearances  being  pre^ 
sent  as  yesterday,  proceeded  to  operate 
on  him,  The  tumor  had  daily  been  tied 
up  in  a  sheet,  to  which  was  attached  & 
rope  through  a  pulley  in  a  rafter.  The 
first  part  of  the  operation  was  perfonncd 
without  disturbing  him,  as  he  lay*;  the 
mattress  was  then  hauled  down  till  his 
pelvis  rested  on  the  end  of  the  bed ;  his 
legs  were  held  asunder,  and  the  pulley 
put  in  motion  to  develope  the  neck  of  the 
mass.  It  was  transfixed  with  a  IcHig  two* 
edged  knife,  and  removed  by  circular 
mcisions,  right  and  left  The  flow  of 
venous  blood  was  appalling,  but  soon 
moderated  under  general  pressure  of 
the  operator's  hand.  The  arterial  bleed- 
ing was  not  formidable,  and  was  not  a 
source  of  dimger.  The  mass,  halfaa 
hour  after  its  removal,  weighed  103  Ibft, 
and  with  the  blood  and  fluid  contained 
in  it,  must  have  been  upwards  of  ti^ 
stone  weight.  Durinff  the  whole  opeit' 
tion,  1  was  not  sensiUe  of  a  qaim  if  di 
fiesh  or  the  slightest  movement  of  his  Ivikv 
body.  Dr.  Duncan  Stewart  held  his  piii» 
all  the  time,  and  had  the  best  opportav- 
ties  of  observation;  he  has  kindij^- 
niched  me  with  the  following  ndKA.-- 
Jas  Esdails,  MD.' 

"  *  The  time  occupied  in  the  opcntt* 
was  six  minutes,  including  the  applica- 
tion of  ligatures  to  the  spermatic  aite- 
ries,  and  three  or  four  other  vessels  that 
spouted.  The  arterial  heraonrhagc  was 
very  small  indeed,  but  the  welling  of 
blood  at  the  movement  of  each  traw 
verse  incision  was  appalling.  The  loss 
could  not  have  been  less  than  10  or  \i 
lbs.  The  patient  remained  throu^od 
most  perfectly  still  and  motionless.  I  heM 
his  pulse  the  whole  time,  and  counted  it 
carefully.  Immediately  on  the  renwval 
of  the  tumor  it  sank  to  zero ;  bis  facj 
became  pale  and  cold,  sweat  bedewed 
his  forehead,  and  it  was  not  till  his  head 
was  lowered  by  the  withdrawal  of  one 
or  two  pillows  that  he  "recovered  from 
the  collapse  caused  by  so  sudden  and 
great  a  withdrawal  of  vital  stimulus 
from  the  heart  and  brain.  The  pulse 
gradually  returned,  and  was  found,  when 
first  counted,  to  be  120,  very  small,  com- 
pressible, and  intermitting,  but  there  was 
not  the  slightest  evidence  of  consdovsness  cr 
pain.  It  was  now  deemed  necessary  by 
Dr.  Taylor  and  myself  to  pour  some 
wine  and  hartshorn  down  his  throat; 
but  as  he  could  not  swallow  in  this 


Removal  of  a  T)umorfrom  the  Neck. 


95 


state,  it  was  allowed  us  to  dash  coldl 
water  in  his  face,  blow  in  his  eyes,  and 
fan  him,  by  which  means  he  awoke 
from  his  trance,  recovered  sufficient  sen- 
sibility to  drink  some  brandy  and  water, 
and  presently  subsided  into  perfect  repose  ; 
the  pulse  however  remaining  very  weak, 
and  settling  at  100.  No  active  hemor- 
rhage ensued  with  this  reaction,  but  two 
or  ftree  more  small  arteries  were  tied, 
cold  cloths  were  applied  to  the  raw  sur- 
face, and  the  patient  was  then  carefully 
removed  to  a  clean  bed.  In  the  course 
of  the  afternoon,  as  I  was  informed, 
8otaie  symptoms  of  collapse  occurred, 
anch  as  vomiting  and  restlessness,  and 
some  seven  or  eight  more  vessels  were 
successively  secured  by  the  assistants, 
who  remained  in  watchful  charge  of 
him.  He  passed  a  good  night;  the 
wound  was  stitched  and  strapped  the 
following  day,  and  on  visiting  him  this 
morning  I  found  him  looking  composed 
and  sleeping  soundly :  the  parts  looking 
well,  and  with  every  promise  of  a  most 
successful  cure. — v.  Stewart,  M.D., 
Presidency  Surgeon^  Calcutta^  Oct,  16^, 
1846.»  " 

On  reading  this,  I  wrote  to  Dr.  Es- 
daile's  excellent  brother,  the  Rev.  David 
Esdaile,  in  Scotland,  requesting  the  lat- 
est professional  news  he  had  received 
from  the  doctor.  The  following  is  the 
reply:— 

"  Manse  of  Rescobie,  Forfar, 
"  18th  Dec,  1846. 

•*  Dear  Sir, — In  compliance  with  your 
request,  I  have  much  pleasure  in  com- 
municating the  latest  intelligence  regard- 
ing my  brother  and  his  mesmeric  doings. 
I  have  a  letter  from  him,  dated  Calcutta, 
18th  October,  in  which  he  tells  me  that 
he  has  come  successfully  through  the  ordeal 
of  the  Mesmeric  Committee,  appointed  by 
the  Government  of  Bengal.  Two  mem- 
bers of  the  seven  composing  this  Com- 
mittee were  selected  on  account  of  their 
*  notorious  opposition  to  mesmerism ;  *  yet,' 
observes  my  brother,  « they  have  signed 
a  report  to  Government,  confessing  to 
have  witnessed  seven  painless  operations  in  a 
fortnight.  I  have  not  seen  the  report, 
but  it  is  favorable,  with  some  attempts 
at  damaging  with  faint  praise,'  and 
doubts  of  its  general  applicability ;  mere 
grimaces  and  helpless  kickings  against 
the  pricks  of  the  doctor-craft,  which  will 
be  duly  disposed  of  when  the  report  is 
printed.  I  am  now  waiting  for  orders 
from  Government.  The  Governor  of 
Bengal  tells  me  that  he  wishes  me  to 
prosecute  the  matter  into  all  its  practical 
details,  and  I  have  asked  for  an  experi- 


mental bospitakfor  this  purpose,  but 
have  no  idea  how  it  will  end. 

"  « Having  finished  with  the  Commit- 
tee, I  gave  a  public  Entertainment,  three 
days  ago,  to  some  of  the  leading  offi- 
cials here,  when  I  abstracted  a  scrotal 

tumor,  EIGHT  STONE  WEIGHT  (THE  WEIGHT 
OF   THE   MAK's    whole    BODY),    without   itS 

owner  knowing  anything  about  it,  and  he 
is  doing  very  well.  Pray  tell  Dr.  Elliot- 
son  that  the  tumor  has  been  voted  to 
him  by  acclamation,  and  is  in  rum,  wait- 
ing his  acceptance.  It  was  proposed  to 
send  it  to  Dr.  Forbes,  but,  on  the  princi- 
ple of  "  detur  digniori,^  Dr.  Elliotson  ^as 
preferred.  I  am  glad  that  he  has  lived  to 
defile  the  graves  of  his  enemies* 

"  In  the  conclusion  of  the  letter  my 
brother  complains  bitterly  of  a  sentence 
of  *  cruel  nonsense,*  published  in  his 
book.  As  the  only  remedy,  I  beg  you 
will  be  so  kind  as  publish  what  he  says 
in  The  Zoist.  *  What  I  wrote  was— 
"  And  may  it  not  be  the  nervous  energy 
passing  off  by  the  organs  of  sense,  the 
lungs,  and  periphery  of  the  body,  retain- 
ing its  vital  properties,  and  remaining 
under  the  direction  of  the  will  for  a 
time,  even  beyond  the  surface  of  the 
body  ?"  There  is  meaning,  if  not  truth, 
in  this  :  as  it  stands,  it  is  mere  verbiage. 
Could  it  not  be  corrected?  I  become 
every  day  better  satisfied  with  my  theo- 
ry, and  am  vexed  to  see  it  so  mauled.* 

"  Trusting  to  hear  of  your  gracious  ao-     % 
ceptance  of  the  rare  gift  presented  as  a 
homage  to  your  talents  and  noble  exer- 
tions in  the  cause  of  science  and  human- 
ity, 

"  I  am,  dear  Sir, 

«*  Yours  sincerely, 

«  David  Esdaile. 

"  John  Elliotson,  Esq.,  M.D." 

As  soon  as  the  mass  arrives,  I  shall 
have  great  pleasure  in  showing  it  to  any 
gentleman  who  may  call  at  my  house  in 
Conduit  Street! 


REMOVAL  OF  A  TUMOR  FROM  THE 

NECK. 
M.  DuRAND,  Professor  of  Philosophy  in 
the  College  of  France,  has  sent  me  the 
following  account  of  another  painless 
operation  in  France  :— 

»« We,  the  undersigned,  inhabitants  of 
Cherbourg,  having  ^witnessed  on  this 
19th  of  September,  1846,  at  half-past 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  an  opera- 
tion just  terminated  with  the  greatest 
success,  by  Dr.  Loyseli,  assisted  by  Jk. 


96 


Removal  of  a  Tumor  from  the  Neck. 


Gibon,  upoD  Miss  Anne  Le  Marchand, 
of  Portbail,  thirty  years  of  age,  placed  in 
a  state  of  mesmeric  sleep  and  perfect  in- 
sensibility,  in  our  presence,  we  attest  and 
certify  to  the  following  facts : 

"  At  forty  minutes  past  two  o'clock  the 
patient  was  mesmerized  to  sleep  by  Pro- 
fessor Durand,  at  the  distance  of  two 
metres  (about  SO  inches)  and  in  less  than 
three  seconds.  The  surgeon,  then,  in 
order  to  satisfy  himself  of  the  insensi- 
bility of  his  subject,  plunged  a  long  sti- 
lette,  such  as  used  by  dissectors,  several 
times  abrClptly  into  her  neck ;  a  bottle  of 
concentrated  ammonia  was  also  placed 
imder  her  nose.  She  continued  iu  a  state 
of  immobility ;  no  sensation  was  per- 
ceived; no  alteration  was  visible  in  her  fed- 
lures  :  not  a  single  external  impression  was 
manifested, 

*'  At  the  end  of  fiVe  or  six  minutes  of 
sleep,  the  patient  was  awaked  by  her 
mesmerizer  in  a  second.  After  a  few 
moments  she  was  re-mesmerized,  as  at 
first,  but  at  a  still  greater  distance.  The 
physicians  were  immediately  informed 
oy  Professor  Durand  that  the  operation 
might  be  commenced  with  perfect  safe- 
ty, and  that  they  might  freely  converse 
aloud  as  to  tlie  state  of  the  patient  with- 
out fear  of  being  heard,  so  deep  and 
perfect  was  her  insensibility. 

"  At  ten  minutes  before  three  o'clock, 
'  the  operator  made  straight  downwar4s, 
behind  and  above  the  mastoid  process, 
aa<  incision  eight  centimetres  in  length 
(above  3  inches).  A  layer  of  muscles 
presented  itself  first.  Then  a  large  gl  and 
came  into  view,  which  was  carefully 
dissected  away  in /our  minxUes  and  a  iialf. 

"  The  wound  was  washed.  It  was 
now  discovered,  what  it  was  difficult  to 
foresee,  that  there  were  two  other  glands  j 
the  superior  extending  its  roots  deep 
into  the  tissues,  and  in  immediate  con- 
tact with  the  carotid,  the  principal  artery 
of  the  neck :  the  other,  less  difficult  to 
isolate^  in  consequence  of  its  connexion, 
and  lying  among  the  muscles  situated 
in  the  side  of  the  neck.  These  two  lat- 
ter glands  were  extracted  in  three  mi- 
nutes. 

"  In  dissecting  the  glands,  a  vein  of 
large  capacity  was  wounded.  The  sur- 
geon tried  to  stop  the  flow  by  causing 
ihe  patient  to  respire,  so  as  to  strongly 
dilate  the  chest.  She  instantly  did  this 
at  the  request  of  her  mesmerizer;  but 
the  effort  being  insufficient,  it  became 
necessary  to  apply  a  ligature. 

"  The  greater  part  of  the  spectators 
^ow  approached  the  patient;    several 


medical  men  introduced  their  fingen 
into  the  gaping  wound,  which  was 
more  than  eight  centimetres  in  depth, 
and  distinctly  fell  the  pulsation  of  the 
carotid  artery. 

«*  During  the  whole  of  the  operation, 
Miss  Le  Marchand  remained  calm  and  tm- 
vassible ;  ru)  emotion  aeitaied  her ;  no  mtitctt- 
tar  contraction  took  place,  not  even  while 
the  knife  was  penetrating  deeply  into 
the  flesh;  she  m  fact  appeared  like  a 
statue ;  for  insensibility  had  become  per- 
fect. No  change  appeared  in  her  frame; 
there  was  no  sign  of  uneasiness,  no  syn- 
cope, no  lethargy  ;  indeed  the  voung 
lady  spoke  several  times.  As  often  as 
she  was  interrogated,  she  rephed  that 
she  felt  exceedingly  well,  and  had  no 

Sain  whatever.    At  the  invitation  of  M. 
•urand,  once  we  even  saw  her  raise 
herself «  and  resume  her  former  position. 

**  The  wound  was  cleansed  again.  ' 
Some  minutes  afterwards,  the  edges 
were  united  with  several  pins,  between 
which  were  placed  strips  of  adhesife 
plaster,  and  above  these  were  perforata 
linen  lint  compresses,  an  external  sup- 
porting bandage,  and  the  other  dressioss 
necessary  in  such  cases. 

"  At  this  period  several  other  peiwtf 
approached  the  patient.  For  a  monieDii  | 
isolation  was  destroyed  by  her  TDts» 
rizer,  and  she  was  enabled  to  hear  th« 
various  questions  addressed  to  her.  Ba 
replies  were  given  with  perfect  case  and  ^ 
remarkable  calmness. 

"  When  everythmg  was  complete, the 
patient  was  restored  to  consciousness  ffi 
two  or  three  seconds.  She  smiled,  by 
degrees  recognised  her  position,  and  j 
perceived  that  the  operation  had  been 
performed.  To  the  questions  put  to  htf, 
she  replied  with  lively  interest,  that  m 
hadfwt  suffered  atoll;  that  ^  had  not  a- 
perienced  the  least  pain,  and  had  no  r^- 
lection  of  what  had  taken  place.  After- 
wards she  retired,  and  every  one  present 
could  clearly  see  in  her  physiognomy 
tranquillity  and  unaffected  cheerfulness. 

•*  An  extremely  remarkable  phenom^ 
non  occurred  in  this  case.  She  om 
only  been  mesmerized  nine  times;  y« 
the  rapidity  with  which  her  mesmerizer 
was  able  to  pass  her,  several  times  in 
our  presence  and  immediately  before  tne 
operation,  from  ordinary  lite  into  uw 
most  absolute  and  insensible  mesm^ 
sleep,  was  almost  incredible.  At  seve- 
ral metres  distance  from  her,  c^*°  * 
glance  of  the  eye,  a  single  loo^^ccm- 
panied  by  a  firm  will,  was  sufficient  to 
plunge  her  into  this  cxtiaordinary  state. 


Removal  of  a  Tontil  by  Mr.  Aston  Key. 


97 


which  is  at  present  so  interesting  to 
science,  extinguishing  as  it  does  all  pos- 
sibility of  sensibility  to  pain.  Her  iso- 
lation from  the  external  world  became 
so  complete  that  she  heard  no  one,  not 
even  hpi  mesmerizer,  when  he  did  not 
tonch  her.  This  isolation  was  promot- 
ed to  the  utmost,  so  that  the  operator 
and  the  medical  men  and  other  nume- 
rous spectators  were  at  liberty  to  talk  at 
their  ease  as  much  and  as  loudly  as  they 
chose  about  what  was  going  on,  without 
any  fear  of  being  heard  by  her,  even  at 
the  height  of  the  operation. 

"  In  conclusion,  the  undersigned  de- 
clare that  they  are  fully  convinced^  after 
ivitnessing  such  a  result,  that  the  mes- 
meric sleep  is  sufficient,  even  in  a  few 
sittings,  to  produce  ihe  most  perfect  in- 
sensibility in  the  organs ;  and  that  it  is 
of  high  value  in  surgical  operations  of 
every  kind,  by  sparing  to  the  unfortunate 
patient  cruel  suffering  ;*  and  what  is,  per- 
naps,  still  more  formidable,  the  distress- 
ing sight  of  preparations,  and  anticipat- 
ed terrors  of  operation. 

•'  Dr.  Obet  remained  constantly  dose  to 
the  patient,  in  order  repeatedly  and  atten- 
tively to  examine  this  interesting  phe- 
nomenon, and  observe  the  state  of  the 
pulse  and  respiration,  which  underwent 
scarcely  any  alteration. 

"  The  present  report  has  been  com- 
pared with  notes,  taken  with  scrupulous 
exadtness,  by  M.  Chevrel,  Member  of 
the  CouAcil  of  the  Arrondissement  and  of 
the  Municipal  Council  of  Cherbourg, 
who  noted  down  with  the  greatest  mi- 
nuteness all  the  circumstances  of  the 
operation  as  they  occurred. 

••  [Here  follow  the  names  of  upwards  of 
fifty  of  the  most  respectable  citizens  of 
Cherbourg,  out  of  which  we  select  the 
following :  -  ] 

"  Messrs.  Lemaistre,  Receiver  of  the 
Public  Taxes,  and  formerly  Under-Pre- 
fect  of  Cherbourg ;  Obet,  M.D.  of  Paris, 
Corresponding  Member  of  the  Royal 
Academy  of  Medicine ;  Gibon,  M.D.  of 
Paris;  Fossey,  King's  Attorney -General, 
at  Cherbourg;  Le  Seigneurial,  Judge  of 
Instruction  to  the  Civil  Tribunal,  Mem- 
ber of  the  Arrondissement  Council ;  Des 
jftives.  Military  Superintendent  at  Cher- 
bourg; Henry,  Merchant,  Commander 
of  the  National  Guard,  and  Membei  of 
the  Municipal  Council;  L'Abbe  Fafin, 
Chaplain  to  the  Civil  Hospital ;  Professor 
Parrington. — &c.,  &c.,  &c." 


*  What  will  Sir  B.  Brodle,  Dr.  Copluid,  and  th«ir 
Exeter  and  HaUfSu:  Mends  think  of  theae  French  block- 
lieeda  f-Zoiet 


"  On  the  23d  of  Sept.  the  wound  re- 
sulting from  the  operation  was  complete- 
\j  cicatrized.  Yesterday  morning,  the 
pins  and  the  bandages  which  surrounded 
it  were  removed,  and  the  young  lady  was 
able  to  walk  about  part  of  the  afternoon." 


The  following  accounts  were  furnished  me 
by  Mr.  Chandler. 

Removal  of  a  Tonsil  by  Mr,  Aston  Key, 

••  ▲  COKTRAST.  , 

**  My  next  case  may,  I  think,  with  mat 
propriety,  be  headed  as  above.  In  The  Zoist 
for  October  is  inserted  a  letter  writtM  by  me 
to  Dr.  Elliotson  describing  the  removal  of  a 
tonsil  from  the  tiiroat  of  a  little  girl  three 
years  and  a  half  old,  by  Mr.  Key,  he  having 
promised  to  permit  me  to  mesmepze  her  prior 
to  the  operation,  but  proceeding  with  it  with- 
out fulfilling  that  promise,  aTtbough  I  was 
present  for  the  purpose  aad  could  have  got 
her  asleep  in  four  or  five  minutes. 

"  I  need  not  again  describe  the  sufferings 
and  fright  of  the  little  patient.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  she  has  not  ceased  to  talk  of  them  to 
the  present  time,  and,  the  other  tonsil  increas- 
ing m  size,  till  its  removal  was  quite  necessa- 
ry, all  her  friends  considered  that  she  would 
not  permit  Mr.  Key  even  to  approach  her. 
He  however  appointed  Wednesday,  Oct.  21st, 
to  make  the  attempt. 

**  Now  mark  the  contrast!— 1  had  but  three 
days  to  renew  the  influence  of  mesmerism 
over  her  as  she  had  been  at  Maigate  since  the 
last  operation.  Nevertheless  I  resolved  to 
try,  and  accordingly  commenced  on  Mon- 
dav.  She  slept  in  ten  minutes  and  remained 
sisleep  an  hour  and  a  half;  Tuesday  she  was 
asleep  in  eight  minutes  and  remained  above 
an  hour,  when  she  was  awaked.  On  the 
Wednesday,  as  Mr.  Key's  appointment  was 
for  twenty  minutes  past  three,  I  mesmerized 
her  at  three  o'clock:  she  slept  in  four  mi- 
nutes, and  on  his  arrival  she  was  very  pro- 
found, and  everything  appeared  quite  favora- 
ble. 

**  With  a  bone  spatula  I  made  several  at- 
tempts to  open  the  mouth  and  depress  the 
tonffue,  the  little  patient  partially  awaking 
each  time,  but  quickly  falling  into  profound 
sleep  again.  At  length  by  usmg  a  litde  more 
force  and  asking  her  at  the  same  time  in  a 
whisper  to  open  her  mouth  (to  which  request 
she  partially  acceded),  the  tonsil  was  exposed 
fairly  to  view,  and  Mr.  Key  seized  it  with  the 
double  hooks,  and  with  a  bistoury  very  ex- 
pertly removed  the  greater  portion  of  it.  The 
little  girl  of  course  partially  awoke,  but  did 
not  Btru^le ;  nor  was  she  aware  that  any- 


98       Conversion  of  the  Medical  Profession  to  the  Solemn  Duty  of 


thing  beyond  a  mere  examination  of  the 
« throat  had  taken  place.  She  displayed  no 
fear  or  surprise.  She  was  allowea  to  swal- 
low all  the  blood,  as  she  has  a  great  horror 
at  its  appearance,  and  she  permitt^  me  to  ex- 
amine the  mouth  immediately  after  the  opera- 
tion, evidently  showing  that  she  was  quite 
unconscious  of  what  had  taken  place.  After 
Mr.  Ke3r  was  gpne,  she  observed  that  *  she 
did  not  dislike  him  this  time,  as  he  had  not  hurt 
her.'  Finding  her  throat  rather  sore  some 
hours  after,  and  havine  seen  the  piece  of  ton- 
sil on  the  table,  she  oecame  suspicious,  and 
said,  *  she  was  sure  Mr.  Key  had  been  cutting 
her  again,*— but  was  quite  satisfied  when  tola 
that  he  had  only  applied  something  to  it. 

«*Mr.  Kej  very  candidly  acknowledged 
that  mesy^nsm  had  been  the  means  of  sooth- 
ing the  httle  patient  and  quieting  her  fears; 
and  I  think  he  will  admit  that  he  could  not 
have  removed  the  tonsil  without  its  aid,  for  he 
told  me  on  our  way  to  the  house,  that  he  did 
not  expect  to  succeed  in  removing  it. 

"  The  contrast  between  the  two  operations 
was  most  striking;  the  first  was  all  noise, 
•  fright,  and  blood,  with  a  deep  cut  on  the 
ton^e,  which  was  very  sore  for  a  week; 
whilst  the  second  was  ul  sleep,  sleep,  sleep, 
and  not  a  spot  of  blood  outside  the  mouth. 
,  *'  What  a  triumph  for  mesmerism ! 

**  T  have  yet  another  case  to  relate  of  great 
interest  on  account  of  its  novelty.  It  is  a 
case*  of  mesmeric  tooth  extraction  in  which 
the  patient  appeared  to  feel  at  the  time,  but, 
when  awaked  a  few  seconds  after  the  opera- 
tion, was  evidently  not  aware  of  having  done 
ao. 

'*  Mrs.  Moss,  et.  25,  applied  to  me  on  the 
19th  of  November,  to  have  three  teeth  ex- 
tracted, asking  at  the  same  time  if  it  could  not 
be  done  in  the  mesmeric  sleep.  I  immediately 
commenced  making  passes,  and,  finding  her 
Very  susceptible  (the  eyes  following  the  hand 
tt  the  very  first  pass),  I  continued,  and  in  25 
minutes  she  slept,  though  not  soundly,  as  she 
did  not  lose  her  recollection. 

<'  The  next  day  she  slept  in  12  minutes,  and 
after  a  few  minutes  more  became  quite  pro- 
found. 

"  2l8t.  Asleep  in  8  minutes.  Loss  of  sen- 
sation in  the  hands  and  feet,  gradually  ex- 
tending to  the  shoulders,  which  it  did  not 
pass;  the  line  of  demarcation  being  accurately 
.  defined  (not  visibly  of  course).  After  awak- 
ing her,  the  loss  of  sensation  remained  to  the 
same  point,  and  was  removed  by  blowing  or 
transverse  passes,  and  was  int^tantiy  renewed 
by  bngitudinal  ones.  I  tested  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  case  very  beautifully  to-day.  Af- 
ter blowing  to  restore  the  sensation  in  the 
hands  without  making  any  remark,  I  restored  it 
to  the  foot  by  a  transverse  pas^.  This  was  the 
first  time  I  used  the  pass  for  that  purpose,  and 


I  may  observe  that  my  patient  had  ne?er  am 
mesmerism, 

"  28th.  She  now  goes  to  sleep  in  two  or 
three  minutes,  and  the  sensation  (though  slill 
lost  gradually  from  the  hands  and  feet  up- 
wards) disappeare  entirely  in  about  a  qnutn 
of  an  hour,  the  last  portion  being  the  top  of 
the  head.  She  has  for  the  last  two  or  Urne 
da}rs  shown  perfect  catalepsy,  which  also  ie< 
mains  after  sne  is  awake. 

<*  She  is  also  re-mesmerized  by  one  pui, 
a  nod,  or  even  a  wink ;  and  when  awakowd 
again,  is  quite  puzzled  (o  know  why  ibe 
again  fell  aisleep.'' 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  MEDICAL  PRO- 
FESSION TO  THE  SOLEMN  DUTY  Of 
PREVENTING  THE  AGONY  OF  SUJl- 
GICAL  OPERATIONS. 

D&.  AsBBuanzR  has  favored  us  with  tbe 
following  extract  from  a  letter  written  in 
America  to  Miss  Edge  worUi,  who  commimkil* 
ed  it  to  him  : 

«  With  us  here  in  Boston  a  new  adaiWioi 
of  gas  from  ether  removes  all  aensibilitjf  !• 
pain  from  the  most  fearful  surgical  operatuo& 
It  is  a  blessing  to  the  human  race  uAeqaaiieB 
since  the  first  application  of  vaccinatiQiL  I 
speak  decidedly,  for  it  has  within  tk  iut 
month  been  so  repeatedly  tested  withoat  fiil- 
ure  in  our  admirable  hospital  by  skiM  m- 
ffeons,  that  it  is  an  accredited  feet  It  is  9^ 
from  ether,  inhaled  through  the  mouth,  ^b» 
produces  a  tranquil  dreamy  state,  an  eotjiein* 
action  of  the  muscular  system,  a  total  inaeD- 
sibility  to  pain,  but  a  slight  perception  « 
sound,  which  entere  into  this  sort  of  diwn 
that  is  passing  through  the  mind.  It  beioS 
necessaiy  to  take  out  two  of  Lizzie's  tap 
double  teeth  three  weeks  since,  I  asked  U>  hate 
this  gas  applied  firet,  having  heard  of  it> 
power  only  a  few  days  before.  They  were 
taken  out  with  an  interval  of  only  fi^e  ^ 
utes,  and  she  was  conscious  of  nothing  bat  l» 
placing  of  the  instrument  and  the  sound  « 
her  fathert  steps  as  he  walked  up  and  down 
the  room.  She  sufliered  no  pain  at  the  time 
or  afterwards.  It  leaves  no  eflect  except  i 
sort  of  drowsiness,  which  passes  off  in  a  few 
moments.  At  Ae  hospit^  laige  tumors  han 
been  removed,  limbs  have  been  a^JP"^ 
the  patient  perfectly  unconscious,  the  fle« 
and  muscles  perfectly  still,  no  twitching.  JJ 
contracting.  In  one  case  of  anfiputalKW»  tne 
woman  began  to  rouse  at  tbe  tvirg  of  the  ia« 
artery,  and  said  she  felt  something  pmcn  jw. 
Another  waking  when  all  was  done,  aswa 
impatiently  why  they  did  not  begin-ww 
they  were  waiting  for.  . 

"  It  was  firet  applied  in  this  jnanoer  oy  a 


Pteventing  the  Agony  of  Surgical  Operations. 


99 


jyractical  aad  yery  skilful  chemist  io  this  town 

of  the  name  of  Jackson,   and  explained  by 

him  to  a  young  dentist,  who  applicMi  for  some 

means  to  manage  a  refractory  patient.    He 

'         tried  it  on  himself  first,  and  was  so  delighted 

'         with  its  effects,  that  he  sent  out  to  hire  some 

one  tb  have  a  tooth  drawn  after  taking  it,  for 

'        fiFe  dollars;  since  then  his  room  has  been 

•         crowded."  ' 

I  understand  that  sulphuric  ether  is  em- 
}        ployed  :  a  piece  of  sponge  soaked  in  it  is 
t        placed  in  an  opening  of  a  bottle  with  two 
openings,  and  the  patient  inhales  through  the 
other  opening,  so  that  the  air  drawn  into  the 
bottle  and  thence  into  the  lunes  is  necessarily 
chained  with  ether.    Insensibility  is  said  to 
occur  general  ly  in  about  three  minutes.    If  this 
t        plan  produces  insensibility  fo  pain  in  more 
;>        instances  than  mesmerism,  and  quit^  as  inno- 
;        cently  and  easily  as  when  mesmerism  succeeds, 
it  will  indeed  be  a  blessing,  and  none  will 
hail  it  more  joyously  than  we  mesmerists, 
who  have  no  other  object  than    the  good 
of  mankind.    It  is  this  consciousness  indeed, 
and  the  noble  self-respect  which  this  produces, 
that  enables  us  with  all  humility  and  thank- 
fulness to  disregard  the  fiendish  malice  of  our 
opponents. 

In  my  Pamphlet  On  Painless  Surgical  Op- 
naltiaM  tn  the  Mewmeric  8ka$,  I,  in  1643,  re- 
corded 1  amputation,  1  removal  of  a  cancer- 
ons  breast,  1  division  of  the  ham-strings,  one 
introduction  of  a  seton,  1  removal  of  an  ex- 
crescence, 1  opening  of  an  abscess,  2  severe 
operations  on  the  jaw,  &c.,  and  32  tooth  ex- 
tnc^ons—foiiy  painless  operations. 

In  The  Zoist  are  recorded  16  amputations ; 
the  removal  of  28  tumors— some  enormous ; 
19  various  operations  by  incisions  of  greater 
or  less  length,  3  applications  of  fire  or  caus- 
tic substances,  3  puttings  away  of  cancer  of 
the  breast,  67  tooth  extractions,  3  cuttings  out 
ol  nails,  1  operation  for  cataract,  3  for  hydro- 
cele, 1  for  polypus,  one  for  squinting,  3  vene- 
sections, 4  introductions  of  setons  and  issues 
^-a  hundred  andfifty-two  painless  operations. 
This  overwhelming  amount  of  facts  in  all 
quarters  of  the  globe  nas  made  no  impression 
upon  the  medical  world.  Not  one  of  these 
operationshas  been  copied  into  the  medical 
journals  from  The  Zoist,  nor  even  the  name 
of  The  Zoist  allowed  to  sully  their  pages.* 
This  circumstance  will  never  cease  to  be  the 
most  astounding  in  the  history  of  our  profes- 
sion when  studied  by  posterity,  not  only  by  the 

*  The  French  case  of  pftinlen  operation  in  Tke 
Zoist  for  July,  p.  199,  waa  copied  by  the  Medical  Qa- 
%etU  from  the  Times^  and  in  the  very  same  number, 
Jane  19,  the  editor  consistently  expresses  his  surprise 
and  regret  that  I  was  appointed  to  dehVer  the  Har- 
Teian  Oration.  "  Considering  the  notoriety  which  the 
orator  elect  has  acqaire4>  as  a  patron  of  mumerUfn^ 
we  should  have  supposed  that  a  more  appropriate 
wleotion  might  haye  been  made."    P.  lOsa 


medical,  but  by  the  whole  reading  public.  It 
will  be  referred  to  as  an  illustration  of  the 
character  of  human  nature  in  this  century. 

Yet,  though  this  mighty  mass  of  prevention 
of  agony  has  been  as  disregarded  by  the  profes- 
sion as  the  treasures  of  the  British  Museum  ara 
by.  the  horses  of  the  cab-stands  in  all  the  sur- 
rounding streets,  I  felt  certain  that,  as  soon  as  it 
was  announced  that  the  same  thing  could  be  ef- 
fected by  inhaling  ether,  all  the  medical  world 
would  be  alive  to  the  importance  of  preventing 
the  agony  of  operation :  that  the  various  poor 
patients  who  showed  no  pain  in  the  ethereal 
stupor,  and  declared  afterwards  that  they  had 
felt  none,  would  not  be  cruelly  reviled  as  im- 
pstors,  but  that  their  undisturbed  state  would 
pe  considered  fuU  proof  of  the  absence  of  su£fer- 
ing,  not  of  concealment  of  suflering:  that  their 
word  would  be  implicitly  respected  as  truth, 
not  scorned  as  falsehood  :  that,  if  they  did  not 
shake  their  left  leg  while  their  right  was  cut- 
ting off,  this  would  not  be  urie^ed  against  them 
as  unphysiological  by  Mr.  Wakley,  Dr.  Mar- 
shall Hall,  Sir  B.  Brodie,  and  a  host  of  unin- 
formed disciples:*  that  the  operators  who 
published  their  painless  operations  would*  not 
be  styled  dupes,  mountebanks,  quacks,  impos- 
tors, deserving  to  be  scouted  by  medical  col- 
leges, and  met  in  consultation  by  no  respectable 
medical  man :  nay,  that  the  most  stupid  ai^ 
dogged  opposera  of  mesmerism  would  be  tol 
first  to  desire  to  alleviate  pain  by  the  new  me- 
thod«  each  hospital  straining  hard  to  be  the  earli- 
est in  the  race.  Such  is  begmning  to  be  the  case. 
The  London  Medical  Gazette^  which  not  only 
has  not  noticed  one  painless  mesmeric  opera- 
tion from  TTie  Zoist,  but  declares  that  no  one 
reads— not  JTie  Zoist,  hated  word  I—the  meS' 
meric  magazine,  except  the  impostors  who   . 
send  their  cases  to  it,t  annnounced  on  Dec. 
18tb,  p.  1085,  the  new  fact,  merrily  heading 
the  article,  "  Animal  magnetism  superseded.** 
Its  authority  was  not,  like  us,  unworthy  of 
respect,  but  "respectable  ;"  the  stupor  was 
not  a  shan^,  but  was  the  '*  most  profound 
sleep  f  and.the  patient  really  went  through  all 
"  without  being  sensible  to  pain,  or  having 
any  knowledge  of  the  proceedings  of  the  ope- 
rator."   Itconsidere  tnatthe  process  «*must 
be  regarded  as  producing  a  state  of  temporary 
poisoning,"  by  which  "  sensibility  may  be  so 
destroyed  that  that  which  jn  the  healthy  state 
would  occasion  severe  pain,  may  be  perform- 
ed without  any  consciousness  on  the  part  of 
the  patient.    The  respectability  of  Jhe  source 
from  which  we  derive  our  information,  prevents 
us  from  doubting  that  the  writer  has  accurate- 
ly stated  what  he  saw."    Truly,  the  house 
of  Longman  &  Co.,  and  their  reputed  editor* 


*  See  my  Pamphlet  On  OperaUoiu  Without  Pom, 
pp.  19.  50. 
t^«i»caiGa»<«s,Aprfll2,1845.   See 2oi*«,  Vol  HI., 


100       Conversion  of  the  Medical  Profession  to  the  Solemn  Duty  of 


Dr.  Alfred  Taylor,  are  very  compllmeDtary  to 
lis  mesmerists. 

Then  the  Lancet  has  no  hesitation  (in  the 
number 'for  Dec.  26,  p.  704)  to  announce  the 
matter :  is  now  struck  with  the  propriety  of 
preventing  a^ony,  and  protests  that  such  a 
discovery,  if  it  stand  the  test  of  experience, 
will  be  an  invaliuible  boon ;  in  the  same  num- 
ber inveighine  against  and  abusing  the  mes- 
meric method  with  all  the  distinguishing 
characteristics  of  the  Wakleyan  tongue. 
Mr.  Wakley  will  not  hear  of  a  patent  being 
taken  out  to  limit  the  benefits  of  the  plan, 
as  the  Americans  propose  on  account  of  the 
possible  abuse  of  it.  He  sees  no  danger, 
makes  no  indecent  objections.* 

The  Medical  TimeSt  which  has  not  pre- 
sented to  its  readers  one  of  the  operations  re- 
corded in  Tke  Zoist,  though  the  editor  reads 
it,  is  fully  convinced  of  the  truth  of  mesmerism, 
and  extracts  so  largely  from  other  journals 
that  a  fruitless  attempt  was  lately  made  by 
Messrs.  Longman  to  arrest  its  extractions, 
announces  that  Mr.  Liston  !  yes,  Mr.  IJston  ! 
has  taken  off  a  thigh  and  torn  away  a  diseased 
toe-nail  in  the  ethereal  insensibility,  and  the 
editor  **  hopes  to  have  further  particulars  on 
this  very  interesting  subject."  We  hear  from 
agentleman  present  that  after  the  amputation 
Mr.  Liston  said  to  the  students,  **  Yoja  see 
just  what  it*s  worth.  At  any  rate  it's  better 
than  mesmerism."  Certainly  it  is,  and  great- 
ly better  in  some  respects, — that  is  if  more 
geners^ly  successful,  as  innocent,  and  as  ca- 
pable of  repetition,  after  the  operation,  to  pro- 
cure ease.  When  mesmerism  takes,  it  has 
this  advantage,  that  it  may  be  easily  repeated 
whenever  the  pain  comes  on  or  the  wound  has 
to  be  meddled  with  ;  that  the  insensibility  may 
be  continued  for  a  length  of  time;  and  4hat 
nights  of  good  repose  may  be  procured.  The 
poor  creature  whose  leg  Mr.  Liston  removed 
painlessly,  shrieked  fearfully  with  agony  af- 
terwards when  something  was  done  to  hihi. 
Besides,  mesmerism  greatly  restores  the 
health  and  is  productive  of  the  highest  bene- 
fit before  the  operation  and  after  it,  and  will 
sometimes  prevent  the  necessity  of  an  opera- 
tion.! 

Mr.  Liston  did  not  scoff  at  the  poor  man  ; 

he  did  not  wonder,  as  he  did  in  the  Medical 

Society  in  regard  to  the  Nottinghamshire  man, 

whether  *'  the  interesting  patient  was  advanced 

enough  in    his  education  to  read  with  his 

belly  :"t — no,    he    felt,    in    common    with 

other  medical  men,  that  the  world  is  now 

beginning  to  see  it  no  longer  doubtful  that 

operations  may  often  be,  and  ought  to  be  if 

possible,  performed  painlessly  in  the  mesmeric 

state :  and  he  and  they  jump  at  any  other 
— i -^^__-_. 

*  Seo  Dr.  EogleduA  farther  on,  p.  60a  —Zoit^ 

t  Sea  Pamphlet,  p.  6,  la 

t  Pamphlet,  p.  66. 


method  of  effecting  the  same  thing.  To  i 
merism  and  mesmerizersall  this  is  really  owing. 
The  idea  of  procuring  insensibility  for  opera- 
tions had,  through  mesmerism,  laid  such  hold 
on  men  that  the  trial  of  inhaling  ether  was 
made ;  and  the  success  of  mesmerism  will  dnwt 
the  profession  headlong  to  try  the  new  method, 
and  too  generally,  as  evidently  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Liston,  out  of  a  desire  to  **  supersede"  mesmer- 
ism.  We  will  contribute  all  in  our  power  to  the 
success  of  the  new  method ;  for  we  prove  all 
things  and  cleave  to  that  which  is  good.  But, 
in  cases  of  operation,  mesmerism,  when  it 
succeeds,  will  have  the  advantages  which  we 
have  just  mentioned;  and  might  properly  be 
added  before  and  after  the  operation  for  theff 
sake.  The  mighty,  the  inestimable  bleaaiBp 
of  mesmerism  in  the  cure  and  alleviation  ol 
disease  ai^  of  greater  extent  than  its  applicatkn 
in  operations,  and  we  see  no  reason  to  imagine 
that  the  stupefaction  by  ether  will  be  foaid 
to  possess  Its  remedial  powers. 

After  all  this  was  written,  t^^eir  appears  k 
The  Times,  to-dav,  Dec.  28,  an  extract  Iroa 
Dr.  Forbes's  forthcoming  number,  containing 
accounts  just  received  from  Ameiica  of  the 
new  discovery. 

One  patient,  it  in  declared, 

*^  Knew  what  the  operator  was  doiif ;  V^ 
ceived  him,  for  example,  take  hold  of  tibeitwtk 
and  draw  it  out,  felt  the  grating  of  the  iutii- 
ments,  but  still  felt  no  pain." 

In  another, 

"  The  features  assumed  an  expveasiaa  tit 
pain,  and  the  hand  was  raised." 

Another, 

"  Flinched  and  frowned,  and  raised  his  hmd 
to  his  mouih." 

But  all,  on  coming  out  of  the  stupor,  de- 
clared they  had  felt  no  pain.  Dt,  Forbes  ws 
present  at  the  amputation  of  the  thigh  by  Mr. 
Liston,  and  says  that  the  man  seemed  paitially 
conscious,  and  declared  that  in  his  sleep  he  hai 
heard  some  words,  and  felt  something  W8S 
being  done  to  his  limb :  but  that  he  had  felt 
no  pain.  Some  have  known  all  that  was 
goin£[  on,  some  have  talked,  and  some  have 
recollected  much  or  all  afterwards. 

What  was  the  conduct  of  the  Medical  and 
Chirurgical  Society  and  of  writers  in  medical 
journals  and  newspapers,  because  the  poor 
man,  whose  leg  was  amputated  without  pais 
by  Mr.  Ward  in  Nottinghamshire,  moaned,  as 
in  a  disturbed  dream,  after  the  leg  was  ol^  and 
on  waking  said  he  thought  he  had  once  beaid 
a  kind  of  crunching,  but  ^^  ^^^^  no  F^Q  «id 
knew  nothing  that  had  passed  I  Why  he 
was  violently  and  coarsely  pronounced  by  ac* 
clamation  a  trained  impostor,  and  his  cape  not 
allowed  to  remain  on  the  minutes.  I  b^  the 
worid  to  read  pages  10,  11,  33,  34,  55,  ol  mj 
Pamphlet 


Preventing  the  Agony  of  Surgical  Operations. 


101 


Tbe  truth,  unsuspected  by  Messrs.  Liston, 
Wakley,  Boott,  and  the  rest  of  the  eager  anti- 
mesmerists,  is,  that  the  state  induced  by  ether 
is  somnambulism — the  very  sami  state  as  the 
inesmm(>— which  varies  from  decfp  coma  to 
more  or  less  partial  activity  of  brain.*  In 
both  ipstances  it  is  induced  artificially ;  but  in 
mesmerism  it  is  induced  by  a  living  frame,  in 
inbalatioD  it  is  induced  by  an  inanimate  com- 
poundf 

My  triumph  has  now  arrived.  The  first 
operation  in  the  sleep- waking  state  thus  arti- 
ficially induced,  has  been  i)erformed  in  the 
hospiud  from  which  mesmerism  was  banished, 
i|nd  by  the  surgeon  who  was  the  most  violent 
against  it  and  leagued  with  Mr*  Wakley. 

In  the  Morning  Chronicle  of  to-day,  Dec. 
28,  is  a  letter  from  Dr.  Boott,  announcing  the 
American  fact  to  the  public,  and  saying  tnat  a 
young  lady  had  gone  through  the  extraction 
of  a  tooth  in  his  house  in  Gower  street  with- 
out being  conscious  of  it :  that  six  persons 
had  gone  through  the  same  at  St  Bartholo- 
mew's Hospital  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  Law- 
rence,—who  behaved  so  unjustifiably  at  the 
time  of  the  Okeys,  and  has  sneered  at  mesmer* 
ism  f  ron?  that  period  oa  all  occasions.  Dr. 
Boott  says, 

**  I  hope  the  fact  will  induce  sureeons  to 
make  trial  of  inhalation,"  and  that  the  inser- 
tion of  his  letter  in  the  Morning  Chronicle 
may  "  encourage  dentists  and  surgeons  to  at- 
tempt the  alleviation  of  human  suffering." 

lie  ansures  us  that  he  immediately  sent  the 
-whole  American  report  to  Mr.  Wakley  and  to 
several  distinguished  surgeons,  and  is  quite 
grieved  to  find  it  anil  not  appear  in  the  Lancet 
for  a  weekt  on  account  of  this  delay  <*  leading 
to  the  infliction  of  winecessary  pain.**    This 
is  very  proper  feeline :  most  commendable. 
But  reflect  a  moment.  Dr.  Boott,  on  the  vast 
amount  of  surgical  pain  and  of  unrelieved 
human  suffering  to  which  you  have  been  ac- 
cessory.    You  are  a  physician:   and  you 
vrere  on  the. Council  of  University  CoUeget 
at  the  time  of  the  genuine  cases  of  the  inno- 
cent Okeys :  when  diseases  were  cured  beau- 
tifally  by  mesmerism,  and  when  a  painless 
operation  vjas  performed  on  one  of  my  pa- 
tients in  the  mesmeric  insensibility,  in  yaur 
haspiialy  by  my  derk  under  my  directions. 
You  were  one  of  the  council  who  forbade  the 
use  of  mesmerism  in  the  hospital,  and  have 
been  on   the  Council,  I  believe,  ever  since. 
Yea  obstinately  refused  to  witness  even  one 
of  the   wonderful  facts,  though  it  was  your 
duty  to  investigate  them.    The  clear  and  in- 
disputable operadons  recorded  in  Ihe  Zoiit, 
have  taken  place  since  then,  and  yet  the  pre- 


vention of  mesmerism  in  the  hospital,  in 
tchich  prevention  you  took  an  active  part  with 
Mr.  Quain  and  Dr.  Sharpey,  has  continued 
under  your  auspices :  you  have  allowed  ago-  ^ 
ny  to  be  inflicted  on  'the  patients  who  came 
under  the  surgeon's  knife,  and  have  felt  not 
for  them  during  eight  long  years :  and  now, 
suddenly,  you  think  a  week  is  too  long  (and  I 
also  say  it  is  too  long)  for  surgeons  to  continue 
to  inflict  pain  !  !  !  When  your  old  anxiety 
to  oppose  and  injure  mesmerism,  and  the  part 
ydu  played  against  it  and  me  as  a  member  of 
\hk  Council,  are  remembered,  your  present 
lively  humanity  and  your  alacrity  respecting 
ether,  with  your  instant  communication  of  the 
new  facts  to  Mr.  Wakley  above  all  other 
journalists,  would  be  laughable,  were  it  not 
melancholy.* 

What  win  Dr.  Copeland  say  to  this  terrible 
innovation  of  preventing  so  useful  a  thing, 
"  so  wise  a  provision"  as  pain  in  operations  ? 
"  patients  being  all  the  better  for  it."t  What 
will  Sir  B.  Brodie  say,  who  told  the  Society 
and  recently  told  the  students  of  St  Geoige*8 
Hospital,  in  his  anxiety  to  crush  all  attempts 
at  preventing  suiigical  agony  by  mesmensm, 
that  patients  who  ap]>ear  not  to  feel  in  what 
is  called  the  mesmeric  state,  do  feel ;  that  a 
lar^e  portion  in  ordinary  circumstances 
scarcdy  complain  of  pain  !  that  it  is  not  very 
uncommon  for  them  to  appear  like  indifferent 
spectators !  and  that  it  is  in  the  power  of  al- 
most every  one  to  sustain  pain  without  any 
outward  manifestation  !%  , 

I  see  clearly  that  the  profession  will  now 
admit  the  truth  of  mesmerism.  The  perform- 
ance of  operations  without  pain,  through  mes- 
merism, caused  men's  thoughts  to  be  occupied 
with  the  point,  and  this  new  mode  was  devis- 
ed. The  possibility  of  artificial  insensibility 
by  the  new  methocl  being  believed  practicable, 
men  will  be  led  to  think  more  calmly  of  the 
mesmeric  method,  and  of  its  many  advantages 
in  soothing  and  .strengthening,  as  well  as  in 
causing  insensibility  in  surgical  cases.  Mes- 
merism at  large  will  then  be  calmly  consider- 


*  I  refer  to  my  Pamphlet,  p.  41,  iq. 
f  Palpable  matter  and  a  oriig.    ( 

X  zoUt,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  a. 


*  Pamphlet,  p.  Sd.  The  feeling  which  animates 
all  these  worthies  to  luch  sudden  and  active  benevo- 
lence, was  absolutely  confessed  by  some  of  the  offi- 
cers of  8t.  Thomas's  hospital.  They  called  on  a 
friend  of  mine,  and  actually  said  they  liked  the  new 
invention,  because  it  would  knock  up  mesmerism. 

At  Bartholomew's,  one  of  the  surgeons  said  last 
week  to  a  man  who  wished  to  have  a  tooth  out,  **  Well, 
do  yon  wish  to  have  it  with  pain  or  without  ?"  '*  With- 
out," was  the  answer.  *'  well  then,  breathe  this." 
After  all  was  over,  the  man  was  not  mocked  and  in- 
sulted, but  directed  to  go  and  tell  everybody  that 
they  perform  operations  there  without  pain.  This  is 
all  right :  but  why  not  have  attempted  it  by  mesmer- 
ism long  ago?. 

t  My  Pamphlet,  p.  M.    Zoitt,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  «. 

X  I  must  refer  to  pp.  36  and  87  of  my  Pamphlet,  finr 
SirB.  B.'s  inability  to  distinguish  between  endnranoa 
of  pain  and  insensibility,  and  his  strange  argument 
that  tiie  Nottinghamshire  man,  who  when  awake  was 
most  sensible  of  pain,  wa«  perhapa  by  nature  uuua- 
I  ceptible  of  pain,  «c. 


102 


Swedenborg  a  Clairvoyant. 


ed,  and  all  the  good  which  it  can  give  in  states 
of  disease,  will  be  sought  after.    The  rapid 


prq^ress  of  mesmerism  is  now  secured. 

The  great  want  of  knowledge  of  the  cha- 
racter of  sleep-waking  in  all  its  modifications, 
and  even  of  common  sleep  and  dreaming,  will 
pass  away;*  for  the  patients'  stupified  by 
ether,  are  evidently  in  a  stkte  of  sleep- waking  or 
somnambulism,  and  this  state  will  become  fa- 
miliar :  and  such  nonsense  as  was  spoken  in 
the  Medical  Society  and  has  been  written  in 
medical  journals  and  newspapers,  will  cease. 

Sir  Benjamin  Brodie  will  not  commit  him- 
self much  longer,  by  mistaking  for  a  piece  of 
deception  the  exquisite  and  genuine  case  of 
sleep- wakinff  near  Bath,  that  is  recorded  in 
the  Philosophical  Transactiotis^ 


THE  DISSECTOR.. 


NEW  YORK,  APRIL  1, 1847. 


Swedenborg  a  Olainroyant. 
SiNCS  by  the  spirit  of  man  is  meant  his 
mind,  therefore  by  being  in  the  spirit,  which 
is  sometimes  said  in  the  word,  is  meant  a 
state  of  the  mind  separate  from  the  body ;  and 
because,  in  that  state,  the  prophets  saw  such 
things  as  exist  in  the  spiritual  world,  there- 
fore that  is  called  the  vision  of  God.    Their 
slate,  then,  was  such  as  that  of  spirits  them- 
selves is,  and  angels  in  that  world,    in  that 
state,  the  spirit  of  man,  like  his  mind  as  to 
sight,  may  be  transported  from  place  to  place, 
the  body  remaining  in  its  own.     This  is  the 
State  in  which  I  have  now  been  for  twenty- 
six  yean,  with  this  diference,  that  I  have 
been  in  the  spirit  and  at  the  same  time  in  the 
body,  and  only  several  times  out  of  the  body. 
—T.  C.  R.,  p.  157. 

The  state  here  described  by  Swedenborg, 
in  which  he  had  been  for  twenty-six  years,  is 
plainly  and  clearly  the  mesmeric  or  magnetic 
state.  It  is  however  said  that  Swedenboig 
denied  this  in  the  following  words :  "  I  fore- 
see that  many,  who  read  the  revelations  of 
the  chapters,  will  believe  that  they  are  the  in- 
ventions pf  the  imagination  ;  but  I  assert  in 
truth  that  they  are  not  iiiventions,  but  were 
truly  seen  and  heard,  not  seen  and  heard  in 
any  state  of  the  mind  buried  in  sleep  or  in  a 
dreamy  Htate,  but  in  a  state  of  fvll  wakeful- 
ness."— T.  C.  R,,  p.  851. 


Zoi»t,  VoL  IV.,  p.  17.       t  PampUet,  p.  w. 


The  first  lines  we  have  quoted  aie  iiom  the 

first   part   of  Swedeaboig's  wotk,  eatiM 

"  True  Christian  Religion,"  and  the  last  will 

be  seen  from  the  point  where  it  wasdoeed, 

apd  expresses  a  commendable  pareotal  aolici' 

tude  for  the  work  in  a  latitudioarian  manoet 

common  to  priests  and  prophets,  and  nodmg 

mpre.    We  should,  however,  obsem  tiiii 

persons  in  the  magnetic  state  often  aay  i 

their  own  accord  that  they  are  not  asleep,  k 

are  in  a  state  of  full  wakefolneas,  and  SBtii 

is  the  fact ;  for  the  magnetic  stale  is  not  ok 

of  sleep,  but  of  wakefvlnesTf^eaSax  thantbi 

of  the  natural  state,  because  they  know  dor 

in  the  former  than  they  do  in  the  latter  slile. 

Swedenboig    was  a  natural  daiironi 

more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  and  had  tk 

faculty  of  magnetizing  and  demagnetizing  hii- 

self  at  will,  as  many  persons  have  at  this  (bj 

He  had  also  the  fa(5ulty  of  opening  his  efs 

and  walking  the  streets  in  the  magoetk  stt? 

like  many  clairvoyants  of  the  present  poioii 

He  also  wrote  a  great  portion  of  60De,iii 

perhaps  of  all  of  his  religions  wort«  in  J^ 

magnetic  state,  and  these  portions  aie  etfiij 

distinguished  from  those  Uiat  weremflnio 

the  natural  state. 

In  his  work  entitled  **  Heaven  ani  HA" 
p.  192,  Swedenboig  says,  *' Ail  piopeaiB 
in  the  spiritual  world  are  made  by  chaDp*«^ 
the  state  of  the  interiors,  so  that  progws* 
are  nothing  else  than  changes  of  stale:  ths! 
also  I  have  been  conducted  by  the  Lori  '^ 
the  heavens,  and  likewise  to  ^thc  earth  in  tk 
universe,  and  this  as  to  the  spirit,  vkk  * 
body  remained  in  the  same  place/* 

Now  when  the  spirits  of  clairvojanli « 
impressionists  are  progressing  to  the  plaMS 
or  to  patients  at  great  distances,  their  bodies 
remain  in  the  same  place  as  did  Sweda- 
boig's,  and  these  acknowledgments  in  reeaidio 
his  state  show  in  the  most  direct  manau 
that  it  was  the  magnetic  stale,  and  are  coochi- 
sive  and  final. 

We  may  now  copy  the  following  ino 
Swedenboig,  as  it  is  mostly  matter  of  soenct, 
as  seen  and  known  to  clairvoyants,  and  tfill 
be  very  interesting  to  many  of  our  readers. 

«  Man  at  this  day,  to  whom  the  intetioB 
are  closed,  knows  nothing  of  those  thing* 
which  exist  in  the  spi ritual  world  orhcaTea 


he  says  indeed  from  tJw  \Vord  and  /nsn  doc- 


Swedenborga  ClaArvoyant. 


103 


trine,  that  there  is  a  heaven,  and  that  the  an- 
gels, who  are  there,  are  in  joy  and  in  glory, 
and  he  knows  nothing  besides. 

<*  Nevertheless  most  persons  do  not  appre- 
hend that  spirits  and  angels  have  sensations 
much  more  exquisite  than  men  in  the  world ; 
namely,  sight,  hearing,  smelling,  something 
analogous  to  taste  and  touch,  and  especially 
the  delights  of  the  affections.  If  they  had 
only  believed  that  their  interior  essence  was  a 
spirit,  and  that  the  body,  together  with  its 
sensations  and  members,  is  only  adequate  to 
uses  in  'the*world,  and  that  the  spirit  and  its 
sensations  and  oigans  are  adequate  to  uses  in 
the  other  life,  then  they  would  come  of  them- 
selves and  almost  spontaneously  into  ideas 
concerning  the  state  of  their  spirits  after  death, 
For  then  they  would  think  with  themselves, 
that  his  spirit  is  the  very  man  himself  who 
thinks  and  who  lusts,  who  desires  and  is  af- 
fected, and  further  that  ail  the  sensitive, 
which  appears  in  the  body,  is  prc^perly  of  its 
spirit,  and  of  the  body  only  by  mflux :  and 
these  things  they  would  afterwards  confirm 
-with  themselves  by  many  things,  and  thus  at 
len^h  would  be  delighted  with  those  things 
which  are  of  their  spirit  more  than  with  those 
which  are  of  their  body.  In  reality  also  this 
is  the  case,  that  it  is  not  the  body  which  sees, 
hears,  smells,  feels,  but  its  spirit;  wherefore 
irhen  the  spirit  is  freed  from  the  body,  it  is 
then  in  its  own  sensations,  in  which  it  had 
been  when  in  the  body,  and  indeed  in  those 
much  more  exquisite;  for  corporeal  things, 
Ijecause  respectively  gross,  rendered  the  sen- 
sations obtuse,  and  still  more  obtuse,  be- 
cause it  immersed  them  in  earthly  and  worldly 
things. 

**  This  [  can  assert,  that  a  spirit  has  much 
more  exquisite  sight  than  a  man  in  the  body, 
and  also  hearing,  and  what  will  seem  sur- 
prising, more  exquisite  sense  of  smell,  and  es- 
pecially sense  of  touch,  for  they  see  each 
other,  hear  each  other,  and  touch  each  other. 
This  also  he  who  believes  a  life  after  death, 
might  conclude  from  this,  that  no  life  can  be 
given  without  sense,  and  that  the  quality  of 
the  life  is  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
sense ;  yea,  that  the  intellecttud  is  nothing 
but  an  exquisite  sense  of  interior  things,  and 
the  superior  intellectual  of  spiritual  things; 
hence  also  the  things  which  are  of  the  intel- 
lectual and  of  its  perceptions  are  called  the 
internal  senses.  With  the  sensitive  of  man 
immediately  after  death,  the  case  is  this.  As 
eooQ  as  man  dies,  and  the  corporeal  things 
TTith  him  grow  cold,  he  is  raised  up  into  life, 
and  then  into  the  state  of  all  sensations,  inso- 
much that  at  first  he  scarcely  knows  other- 
ipriae  than  that  he  is  still  in  the  body ;  for  the 
aeneations  in  which  he  is,  lead  him  so  to  be- 
lieve. But  when  he  perceives  that  he  has 
more  exquisite  sensations,  and  this  especially 


when  he  begins  to  speak  with  other  spirits,  he 
then  takes  notice  that  he  is  in  another  life, 
and  that  the  death  of  his  body  was  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  life  of  his  spirit  I  have 
spoken  with  two  with  whom  I  had  been  ac- 
quainted, on  the  same  day  that  they  were 
buried  and  with  one  who  saw  through  my 
eyes  his  own  coffin  and  bier,  and  inasmuch  as 
he  was  in  every  sensation  in  which  he  had 
been  in  the  world,  he  talked  with  me  about 
the  obsequies,  when  I  was  following;  his  fu- 
neral, and  also  about  his  body,  laying,  that 
they  reject  it  because  he  himself  lives. 

**  But  it  i^  to  be  known,  that  they  who  are 
in  the  other  life,  cannot  see  anythmg  which 
is  in  the  world  trough  the  eyes  of  any  man ; 
the  reason  why  they  could  see  through  my 
eyes  was,  because  I  am  in  the  spirit  with 
them,  and  at  the  same  time  in  the  bodu  with 
those  who  are  in  the  world.  And  it  is  further 
to  be  known,  that  I  did  not  see  those  with 
whom  I  discoursed  in  the  other  life,  with  the 
eyes  of  my  body,  but  with  the  eyes  of  my 
spirit,  and  still  as  clearly,  and  sometimes 
more  clearly  than  with  the  eyes  of  my  body, 
for,  by  the  divine  mercy  of  the  Lord,  the  things 
which  are  of  my  spirit  have^  been  opened. 

"  But  I  am  aware  that  the  things  which 
have  been  heretofore  said,  will  not  be  believed 
by  those  who  are  immersed  in  corporeal,  ter- 
restrial, and  worldly  things,  that  is,  by  such 
of  them  as  hold  those  things  for  an  end,  for 
these  have  no  apprehension  of  other  things 
than  those  which  are  dissipated  by  death.  I 
am  aware  also,  that  neither  will  they  believe, 
who  have  thought  and  inquired  much  about 
the  soul,  and  have  not  at  the  same  time  com- 
prehended that  the  soul  is  man's  spirit,  and 
that  his  spirit  is  his  very  man  which  lives  in  , 
the  body.  For  these  cannot  conceive  any 
other  notion  about  the  soul,  than  that  it  is 
something  cogitative,  or  flamy,  or  ethereal, 
which  only  acts  into  the  organic  forms  of  the 
body,  and  not  into  the  purer  forms  which  are 
of  its  spirit  in  the  body,  and  thus  such  that  it 
is  dissipated  with  the  body ;  and  this  is  espe- 
cially the  case  with  those,  who  have  con- 
firmed themselves  in  such  notions  by  views 
pufied  up  by  the  persuasion  of  their  own  su- 
perior wisdom." — Arcana  Celidia,  4622. 

We  should  now  copy  in  this  connexion 
the  following,  as  it  is  matter  of  science,  as 
seen  and  known  to  clairvoyants. 

"That  nothing  exists  in  nature  but  from  a 
spiritual  principle  is,  because  there  cannot 
anything  be  given,  unless  it  has  a  soul ;  all 
that  is  called  soul  which  is  essence,  for  what 
is  not  in  itself  an  essence,  this  does  not  exist, 
for  it  is  a  nonentity,  because  there  is  no  esse 
from  which  it  is;  thus  it  is  with  nature ;  its 
essence  from  which  it  exists  is  the  spiritual 
principle,  because  this  has  in  itself  the  divine 


104      Facts  and  Fictions, — Magnetic  Machines  a/nd  Consumption, 


esse,  and  also  the  divine  power  of  acting,  ere- 1 
ating,  and  forming,  as  will  be  seen  from  what 
follows:  this  essence  may  also  be  called 
soul :  because  all  that  is  spiritual  lives,  and 
what  is  alive,  when  it  acts  into  what  is  not 
alive,  as^  into  what  is  natural,  causes  it  either 
to  have  as  it  were  life,  or  to  derive  somewhat 
of  the  appearance  thereof  from  the  living 
principle :  the  latter  [is  the  case]  in  vegeta- 
bles, the  former  in  animals.  That  nothing  in 
nature  exists  but  from  what  is  spiritual,  is 
because  no  effect  is  given  without  a  cause ; 
whatever  exists  in  effect  is  from  a  cause; 
what  is  not  from  a  cause,  is  separated ;  thus 
it  is  with  nature ;  the  singular  and  most  singu- 
lar things  thereof  are  an  effect  from  a  cause 
which  is  prior  to  it,  and  "which  is  interior  to 
it,  and  which  is  superior  to  it,  and  also  is  im- 
mediately from  God ;  for  a  spiritual  world  is 
given,  that  world  is  prior,  interior,  and  supe- 
rior to  the  natural  worid,  wherefore  every- 
thing of  the  spiritual  world  is  a  cause  and 
everything  of  the  natural  world  is  an  effect 
Indeed  one  thing  exists  from  another  progres- 
sively even  in  the  natural  world,  but  this  by 
caoses  from  the  spiritual  world,  for  where 
the  cause  of  the  effect  is,  there  also  is  the 
cause  of  the  effeet  sufficient ;  for  every  effect 
becomes  an  efficient  cause  in  order  even  to 
the  ultimate,  where  the  effective  power  sub- 
sists ;  but  this  is  effected  continually  from  a 
spiritual  principle,  in  which  alone  that  force 
is ;  and  so  it  is,  that  nothing  in  nature  exists 
except  from  something  spiritual  and  by  iU" — 
Atkanasian  Creed,  94. 


Facts  and  Ficllons. 
We  are  told  by  Professor  Bush  in  his  rela- 
tion of  the  developments  of  Mesmerism  to  the. 
doctrines  and  disclosures  of  Swedenborg,  that 
**  the  mesmeric  state  is  as  much  distinguished 
by  mental  as  by  physical  phenomena.  Yet  this 
state  is  induced  by  pkysiccU  means,  tliat  is  to 
say,  by  manual  movements,  or  passes  made 
in  a  downward  direction,  and  it  is  removed 
by  passes  made  in  a  reverse  direction.'* — P. 
85.  Now  it  is  a/ac/  that  physical  means,  as 
passes,  are  generally  made  in  inducing  the 
mesmeric  state ;  but  it  is  a  fiction  to  suppose 
that  this  state  is  thus  induced  or  removed  by 
the  passes  alone,  without  the  exercise  of  the 
forces  of  the  brain  at  the  same  time. 

Again  the  Professor  says,  **  And  what  will 
be  (the  objector)  make  of  the  fact,  that  in 
transmitting  this  agent,  which  is  palpably  re- 
moved by  upward  passes  purely  mechanical. 


he  has  transferred  his  own  thoughts  and  voli- 
tions to  the  physical  element  of  the  other 
party?  All  this  is  matter  of  iodabitable 
fact,  coming  within  the  range  of  eve^  day 
experience,  and  we  submit  whether  tbe  tm- 
pie  charge  of  materialism  is  a  sofficieot  reply 
to  the  evidence  of  facts  which  appeal  as  di* 
rectly  to  the  objector's  reason  as  to  ours."— 
P.  86. 

There  is  not,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  a  solita- 
ry/oc/  to  be  found  in  the  above  paiag;iaplL 
The  thoughts  of  the  magnetizer  are  nm 
transferred  to  tlie  other  party  in  the  proeesBof 
mesmerizing,  nor  until  the  other  party  is  oes' 
merized.  Itis  then  only  that  the  thoogkti  of 
the  magnetizer  or  other  persons  can  be  nd 
and  thus  transferred. 

The  work  is  full  of  such  errors,  the  coo- 
sequence  of  the  Professor's  limited  knowledge 
of  magnetism. 


BCagnetio  Maohlnaa  and  OonsaaptiaB- 
Wk  should  again  direct  the  atteDtioa  ct 
physicians  to  the  great  importance  d^^ 
of  the  magnetic  machine  in  the  traoaeitof 
consumption,  as  the  use  of  this  ioiQUtf^ 
with  the  compound  chloride  of  goldcaitt 
every  case  in  the  first  stage  of  the  disease, ad 
more  than  nine-tenths  of^those  in  tbelitf 
stage. 

We  should  also  again  direct  their  atlealifla 
to  the  fact  that  we  first  commenced  tbe  oev> 
scientific,  and  successful  manner  of  toafft 
tizing,  and  were  soon  after  compelled  to  ei- 
gage  in  the  manufacture  of  magnetic  !■»• 
chines  to  obtain  good  instruments  for  magD^ 
tizing,  by  which  the  great  benefits  of  il» 
practice  might  be  extended  and  perpetuated; 
and  that  we  have  sold  and  continae  to  sell  v 
a  very  small  profit  a  great  number  every  y«tf- 
The  great  demand  for  these  instrumeflts  has, 
however,  excited  the  cupidity  of  specolaiwsi 
who  have  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  in- 
ferior imitations  of  our  machines,  and  with- 
out any  knowledge  of  magnetism  or  magDe- 
tizing,  are  foisting  them  upon  the  profesaioo 
and  the  public  with  aU  the  arts  that  are  p^ 
culiar  to  such  geniuses;  and  if  tire  prarticew 
magnetizing  is  not  entirely  ruined  and  aban- 
doned in  a  very  few  years,  it  wOl  not  be  froB 


Lectures  on  Mesmerism. — Polarity  of  the  JSunum  Hand.        105 


any  fault  of  theirs,  for  a  little  practice  soon 
shows  that  no  dependence  whatever  can  bis 
placed  upon  the  action  of  such  machines,  in 
the  cure  of  consumption  or  any  disease. 
'  The  actions  of  the  two  magnetic  forces  are 
opposite,  or  as  difierent  as  black  is  from 
^white,  and  in  magnetizing  it  is  a  matter  of 
great  importance  to  know  which  is^the  posi- 
tive and  which  the  negative  force,  and  where 
to  apply  the  positive  and  where  the  negative 
force ;  yet  neither  the  speculator  who  sells,  nor 
the  person  who  purchases,  knows  anything  on 
these  subjects.  Besides  the  forces  ^frorn  our 
machines  are  really  magnetic,  and  api)ear,  and 
are  ^really,  dififerent^from  those  of  other  ma- 
chines as  seen  by  the^atural  eye  and  by 
clairvoyants.  ^ 


BIsntiQiinti — Z«60tiiros  on* 
DuBiNO  the  last  winter  this  city  has  been 
surfeited  with  the  crude  expositions  of  some 
eight  or  ten  lecturers  on  Mesmerism.  Pro- 
fessor Rodgers  opened  the  discussion  on  the 
philosophy  of  Mesmerism.  Professor  Stm- 
derland  followed  on  its  phantasies ;  and  Pro- 
fessor Dodd  closed  on  its  constant  tendency  to 
pioduce  an  equilibrium. 

The  accompaniments  of  these  lectures  were 
first.  Professor  Sunderland's  Red  Pepper  case ; 
second,  Davis's  Hall  case,  and  third,  Mrs. 
Johnson  and  Dr.  Oatman*s  case. 

Professor  Rodgers  claimed  priority  of  dis- 
covery in  mesmerizing  an  audience ;  Professor 
Sunderland  claimed  to  have  discovered  that 
Mesmerism  is  noting  but  sympathy ;  while 
Professor  Dodd  claimed  to  have  made  the 
grand  discovery  that  the  sun,  earth,  and  pla- 
nets, were  maintained  in  their  positions  by 
the  forces  of  Mesmerism, 


The  following  communication  is  from  the 
Rev.  Samuelj  Griswold,  of  Lyme,  Ct.,  a  very 
accurate  observer,  and  a  very  powerful  mes- 
menzer. 

[F«  Ihe  New  York  DiMeotor.] 
POLARITY  OF  THE  HUMAN  HAND. 

Mr,  Editor: 

Some    facts  were   presented  in  an  early 
number  of  the  Dissector,  in  proof  of  the  po- 


larity of  the  human  hand.  During  the  last 
two  years  I  have  frequently  tried  experiments 
illustrating  the  same  truth. 
?  1.  The  following  is  a  pretty  experiment, 
and  may  be  tried  by  those  who  do  not  under- 
stand the  process  of  inducing  the  somniscient 
state  by  Animal  Magnetism. 

Place  together  the  ends  of  the  thumb  and  of 
all  the  fingers  of  your  right  hand,  so  that 
they  will  all  touch  at  onpe  any  flat  surface, 
as  a  table.  The  magnetic  current  from  the 
poles  in  the  ends  of  the  thumb  and  of  the 
fingers,  will  thus  be  made  to  concentrate  their 
influence  on  a  comparatively  small  surface. 
Let  a  second  person  hold  the  palm  of  his  left 
hand  upward  slM  horizontally,  bringing  the 
elbow  opposite  the  side,  at  a  little  distance 
from  it ;  being  careful  not  po  rest  this  hand 
or  arm  on  any  part  of  himself  or  other  object. 
Then  bring  your  concentrated  thumb  and  fin- 
gers over  the  centre  of  the  palm  of  his  hand 
(the  location  of  the  laige  pole),  holding  it  for 
some  time  an  inch  or  half  an  inch  distant 
from  it.  A  sensation  of  warmth  will  be  felt 
if  both  the  experimenters  are  right-handed,  or 
both  left-handed,  and  both  in  their  nom^al 
magnetic  state.  This  warmth  is  occasioned 
by  the  union  of  the  negative  force  in  your 
right  hand,  with  the  positive  force  in  his  left 
hand,  on  the  principle  flxst  magnetic  forces  of 
opposite  denominations,  on  being  united,  at- 
tract and  contract,  consequently  expel  heat. 

Next  bring  the  thumb  and  fingers  of  your 
right  hand  over  the  right  hand  of  the  other 
person  in  the  same  manner,  as  in  the  first  ex- 
periment ;  and  a  sensation  of  cold,  like  a  very 
slight  breeze,  will  be  produced  by  the  two 
forces,— -on  the  principle  that  magnetic  forces 
of  the  same  denomination,  on  being  united, 
repel  and  expand — consequently  absorb  heat, 
and  cause  the  sensation  of  colic. 

If  you  next  hold  your  left  hand  over  the 
right  band  of  the  other  person  and  then  over 
his  left,  both  being  placed  as  in  the  former 
experiments,  you  will  obtain  the  former  re- 
sult. 

I  have  frequently  discovered,  by  this  ex- 
periment, that  persons  ^were  left-handed,  [as 
the  warm  sensation  was  produced  by  bringing 
nearly  together  both  of  our  right  hands,  or 
both  of  our  left  hands ;  and  the  cold  sensation 


106 


Polarity  of  the  Human  Hand. 


by  the  near  approximation  of  ^the  right  hand 
of  one  to  the  left  hand  of  the  other. 

The  negatiTe  force  being  stronger  than  the 
.  pofitive,  will  be  found  on  the  right  side  of 
persons  who  are  right-handed;  and  on  the 
left  side  of  those  who  are  left-handed. 

In  both  these  cases  the  normal  state  may 
be  reversed  by  local  injuries,  or  partial  pap 
lalysis  of  the  stronger  side. 

Many  persons  have  not  sufficient  suscepti- 
bility to  magnetic  impressions,  to  perceive 
these  sensations.  In  some  cases  also  it  will 
require  considerable  time  for  the  magnetic 
communications  to  be  established  between  the 
two  experimenters; 

Many,  who  have  stoutly  professed  their 
disbelief  in  Animal  Magnetism,  or  even  ridi- 
culed it  as  a  humbug,  have  honestly  declared 
to  me  that  they  very  distinctly  perceived  both 
the  warm  and  cold  sensations  in  the  foregoing 
experiment  But.,their  disavowal  cut  them 
off,  from  any  possible  source  of  explanation 
of  the  phenomena  produced. 

2.  Another  proof  of^the  opposite  polarity 
of  the  two  hands,  I  have  often  deduced  from 
the  somniscient  subject. 

Care  was  taken  not  to  disturb  the  polarity 
of  either  side  by  cross  manipulations.  When 
the  subject  was  declared  by  himself  to  be  in 
the  magnetic  sleep,  I  have  crossed  my  arms, 
00  that  my  right  hand  came  in  contact  with 
his  right  hand,  and  my  left  with  his  left,  and 
have  often  been  surprised  by  the  marked  ef- 
fect. I  have  often  tried  this  experiment  with 
C.  M.  R.,  a  young  lady  of  delicate  constitu- 
tion and  magnetic  sensibility,  whom  I  have 
magnetized  for  her  health.  When  in  the 
somniscient  state  I  have*  often  touched  her 
right  hand  with  my  right  hand,  which  gave 
her  a  powerful  shock,  attended  with  an  un* 
pleasant  sensation.  Even  one  finger  pro- 
duced this  shock.  If  I  took  hold  of  her  right 
hand  with  my  right,  and  her  left  hand  with 
my  left,  she  would  manifest  great  uneasiness, 
and  immediately  change  her  hands,  taking 
my  right  hand  with  her  left,  and  my  left  with 
her  right.  Other  somniscients,  less  sensitive, 
have  perceived  a  diiTerent  influence  from  my 
two  hands  when  applied  to  either  of  their 
^  Vando;  and  have  often  directed  ho«v  tho  two 


hands  should  be  placed  ^iu  reference  to  their 
polarity.  * 

IHFLUSNCE  IN  REUEDIAL  APPUCATIORS. 

A  knowledge  of  the  distinct  polarity  of 
each  hand,  yea  of  the  whole  side,  is  of  great 
practical  importance  in  the  application  of  the 
remedial  influences  of  Animal  MagnetLsm. 

1.  In  producing  clairvoyance,  great  care 
should  be  used  not  to  disturb  the  polarity  ol 
the  two  sides  of  the  subject,  otherwise  nauch 
confusion  may  be  produced. 

2.  Local  inflammat^s  may  be  removed  by 
applying  the  repulsii^and  cooling  influence 
to  the  diseased  or  injured  part. 

While  in  your  office  more  than  a  year  ago, 

with  Dr. — ,  of  strong,  healthy  constita- 

tion,  he  had  a  painful  sensation  and  some  in- 
flammation in  his  right  eye,  produced,  if  I 
rightly  remember,  by  a  small  particle  of  sal- 
phate  of  copper.  I  applied  the  fingers  of  my 
right  hand,  held  at  a  little  distance  from  his 
eye ;  and  he  immediately  felt  the  cooling  ata- 
sation,  mentioned  in  the  foregoing  eipeo- 
ments,  and  very  speedily  both  the  pn  and 
inflammation  were  removed. 

3.  Your  directions  for  magnetizing  wi& 
your  magnetic  machine,  are  equally  a^plica* 
ble  to  the  appliance  of  Animal  Magnetiam 
The  right  hand  corresponds  to  the  n^gatnre 
button,  and  the  left  hand  to  the  poeitiTe  bat- 
ton.  In  magnetizing  for  diseases  of  the  or- 
gans the  right  hand  should  generally  he 
placed  on  the  spine  opposite  the  organ  dis- 
eased, and  the  left  hand  over  the  place  what 
the  pain  is  felt. 

4.  Your  diagrams  and  explanations  of  tfae 
poles  in  the  brain  and  in  the  internal  oigans 
are  of  very  great  importance  to  those  wbo 
magnetize  for  disease. 

Your  much  obliged  friend* 

SAMUEL  GRISWOLa 
Lyme,  Ct.,  Feb,  10, 1847. 


Epilepsy,  Delirium^  Neuralgia,  Vomiting,  SfC. 


107 


Can  of  Epileptic  and  other  fiU,  Delirium, 
Neuralgia,  Vomiting,  and  the  discharge  of 
Arsenic  taken  long  previously,  successfully 
treated  with  Mesmerism,  which  produced  in- 
tuitive knowledge  of  the  internal  state,  the 
future  course  of  the  Disease,  and  the  proper 
treatment.    By  J.  C.  Luxmoore,  Esq.,  of 
Alphington,  Devon. 
I    SHALL   premise  an  account  of  the  case 
before  I  saw  it,  by  Mr.  Parker,  surgeon,  at 
Exeter. 

« In  1833  I  was  requested  by  Dr. to 

attend  Mrs.  Bird  with  him.  She  was  then 
suffering  daily  from  epileptic  Jits,  varying 
from  six  to  eight  hours  in  duration,  and  they 
have  continued  as  long  as  48  hours :  frequent 
delirium :  paralysis  of  the  lefte  arm  and  left 
leg :  the  left  hand  inverted  so  that  the  fingers 
could  not  be  separated  without  great  exertion : 
vomiting  of  nearly  all  her  food,  and  very  fre- 
quently Wood,  even  as  much  as  half  ^  jjint  at 
a  time.  She  had  a  large  painful  tumor  in  the 
left  iliac  fossa,  connected  with  the  uterus, 
from  which  tumor  the  aura  epileptica  always 

groceeded.  She  had  also  a  cough  resembling 
ooping  cough  of  the  most  violent  character. 

«« The  above  sufferings  had  been  treated  by 
one  bleeding,  one  cupping,  leeches,  and  repeat- 
ed salivations.  She  was  once  under  saliva- 
tion for  12  consecutive  months.  The  materia 
medica  had  been  ransacked.  Electricity  and 
galvanism  had  been  also  resorted  to.  But  no 
beneficial  effects  attended  any  of  the  tuatment. 

*•  I  removed  the  tumor  by  the  application 
of  leeches  to  the  os  uteri.  It  frequently  re- 
turned, and  was  as  often  removed  by  the  same 
means.  The  paralysis  of  nearly  three  years^ 
duration  was  quite  cured  by  the  application 
of  moxa,  and  has  remained  well  to  this  day, 
now  nearly  14  years.  The  cough  was  much 
relieved  by  the  same  means.  Tic  douloureux 
was  also  added  to  her  other  ailments. 

*^  All  other  means  having  failed  to  relieve 
her  sufferings,  I  suggested  bleeding  her  from 
the  ann,  which  was  attended  with  such  relief, 
that  I  have  now  bled  her  nearly  six  hukdrxd 
times,  never  taking  less  than  half  a  pint,  and 
more  frequently  more  than  a  pint,  each  time. 
The  treatment  after  a  while  lessened  the  vio- 
lence of  the  fits,  shortened  the  duration  of  the 
delirium,  stopped  the  vomiting  of  blood,  but 
had  no  effect  on  the  He  douloureux  or  the 
vomiting  of  food.  „.  .  , 

«« I  ceased  to  attend  Mrs.  Bird  for  some 
time.  In  1834  I  was  selected  as  her  sole 
medical  attendant,  when  I  found  her  with  her 
face,  eyelids,  lips  and  tongue  much  swollen; 
scarcely  able  to  speak  or  swallow ;  the  inside 
of  her  moxcth  was  covered  with  black  pustules. 
She  had  been  taking  for  some  months  mode- 
rate doses  of  the  solution  <A  arsenic,  which 
Dr  -_—  had  prescribed  for  her  tic  doulou- 


reux,  and  which  is  a  very  ordinary  treatmen 
for  that  complaint.  She  was  at  the  8am< 
time  taking /re^uent  doses  of  lime  water. 

« I  have  never  given  her  a  single  dose 
of  arsenic  or  mercury.  She  has  frequent 
ly  called  my  attention  to  a  watery  erup- 
tion on  her  legs  and  feet,  arms  and  hands 
and  on  eating  salt  or  salt  meat  has  complain- 
ed of  garlic  eructations.  Mrs.  Bird  kept  hei 
bed/or  seven  years,  and  then  gradually  gained 
strength,  until  she  was  able  to  walk  short 
distances  ;  but  the  tic,  fits,  and  vomiting  ol 
food  were  never  subdued, 

<*  The  attendance  on  and  subsequent  deati 
ofher  husband,  in  1845,  again  increased  alJ 
her  ailments.  The  fits  became  more  violent, 
and  the  weakness  gradually  increased;  the 
tic  douloureux  attacked  every  part  of  the  sys- 
tem, particularly  in  the  form  of  angina  pecto- 
ris, which  I  have  frequently  witnessed;  and 
expected  her  death  every  moment. 

"  In  1845  I  recommended  mesmensm,  but 
she  would  not  consent  to  it  until  October  oi 
that  year. '  She  was  now  in  a  deplorable 
state ;  violent  tits  occurring  daily,  QX  .rathei 
nightly ;  tic  douloureux  without  intermission. 
She  could  take  very  little  solid  nourishment 
and  even  that  little  was  nearly  all  rejected 
within  a  few  minutes  of  its  havmg  been 
taken.  From  all  these  symptoms  I  did  nol 
consider  she  would  live  a  month.  Mesmer- 
ism was  now  had  recourse  to,  a  detailed 
account  of  which  is  furnished  by  Mr.  Lux- 
moore in  the  following  pages. 

«  L  B.  Pawubr.- 

On  the  24th  of  October,  1846, 1,  in  compa- 
ny  with  Mr.  Parker,  visited  Mrs.  Bird,  whom 
I  had  never  before  seen.  In  seven  ininutes  1 
succeeded  in  getting  her  into  mesmeric  sleep, 
although  she  had,  on  my  arrival,  assured  me 
she  did  not  think  mesmerism  would  ever 
affect  her.  I  aroused  her  at  the  end  of  hall 
an  hour.  During  sleep  the  left  hand  con- 
tracted in  the  manner  described  by  Mr.  Par- 
ker: blowing  upon  it  caused  relaxation. 

Oct  27th.  Asleep  in  three  minutes,  and 
was  aroused  at  the  expiration  of  one  hour. 

Oct.  2J>ih.  Mesmerized  late  in  the  evening, 
with  the  intention  of  leaving  her  asleep  (she 
gets  no  natural  sleep).'  She  soon  fell  intc 
sleep- waking,  mistaking  me  for  a  particulai 
friend  of  her  late  husband's.  Mesmeric  at- 
tachment now  manifested  itself,  so  as  to 
oblige  me  to  give  up  the  idea  of  leaving  hei 
asleep.  Community  of  taste  and  feeling  wen 
also  very  marked.    Slept  two  hours.        , 

Nov.  1st  Has  suffered  much  from  spasms, 
rigidity,  and  palpitation  of  the  heart;  all 
which  were  much  better  during  sleep-waking, 
and  this  continued  two  hours. 

Nov.  3d.  Found  Mrs.  Bird  in  high  delirium. 


108 


Epilepsy^  Delirium^  JfeuralgiOy  Vomitings  fyc.^ 


declaring  neither  Mr.  Parker  nor  I  should 
come  near  her ;  and  on  my  approach  she  at-- 
tempted  to  bite  and  strike  me.  in  ten  minutes 
she  was  in  quiet  sleep- waking. 

At  the  expiration  of  two  hours  I  aroused 
her,  but,  not  finding  her  collected,  I  again  put 
her  to  sleep ;  shortly  after  which  she  awoke 
quite  comfortable. 

Previously  to  being  mesmerized,  these  fits 
of  delirium  never  lasted  less  than  six  or  eight 
hours,  and  have  continued  six  weeks. 

Nov.  5th.  Feels  much  better.  In  mesmeric 
sleep-waking  two  hours  and  a  quarter. 

Nov.  6th.  All  day  threatened  with  a  fit, 
conscious  of  its  coming  on  just  as  I  arrived. 
Mesmerized,  and  immediately  had  the  fit, 
with  slight  delirium  and  considerable  rigidity: 
aroused  her  in  a  little  more  than  two  hours, 
unconscious  of  wh&t  had  taken  place.  She 
hears  no  voice  but  her  mesmerizer^s,  nor 
can  she  distinguish  the  loudest  mechanical 
sounds. 

Nov.  8th.  General  health  improved,  has 
suffered  scarcely  any  pain  from  tic  since  first 
mesmerized,  although  up  to  that  very  day  she 
had  never  been  free  from  it  for  eleven  years, 
'  and  has  been  in  the  habit  of  rubbing  half  an 
ounce  of  creosote  into  her  face  and  head  every 
fortnight.     Slept  two  hours  and  a  half. 

Nov.  10th.  Mesmerized  two  hours  and  a 
quarter.    Rather  poorly. 

Nov.  11th.  Mesmerized  two  hours,  during 
which  she  suffered  from  a  slight  fit  of  rigidity. 
While  Mrs.  Bird  was  in  sleep-wakmg,  I 
silently  placed  the  kernel  of  a  nut  in  my 
mouth;  she  then  complained  of  a  *< nasty" 
taste,  and  in  one  moment  began  retching 
violently.  I  ascertained  she  had  lately  taken 
a  dislike  to  nuts,  from  having  eaten  a  very 
bad  one. 

Nov.  14th.  Mesmerized  two  hours  and  a 
quarter:  has  had  no  tic  nor  fit. 

Unavoidable  circumstances  prevented  Mrs. 
Bird's  being  again  mesmerized  until  the  22d ; 
in  the  interval  she  had  three  fits,  and  was 
obliged  once  to  use  creosote  to  ease  a  slight 
attack  of  tic. 

Nov.  22d.  Slept  two  hours,  during  which 
she  had  a  slight  fit.  I  to-day  observed  that 
in  sleep-waking  she  was  much  influenced  by 
my  will.  She  pointed  a  finger,  opened  or 
closed  her  hand,  placed  it  on  my  knee  or  took 
it  off,  by  my  silently  willing  her  to  do  so. 

Nov.  24th.  The  old  distressing  cough,  re- 
sembling hoopine-cough,  has  returned,  but  no 
fit.     Slept  three  hours 

Nov.  25th.  Much  more  cheerful,  and 
seems  better,  but  had  a  violent  fit  during  mes- 
merism, extreme  rigidity ;  the  head  and  heels 
onlv  touching  the  sofa,  the  spine  being  arched 
backwards.  It  took  me  neariy  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  to  relax  the  body. 

Nov,  2ath,  Has  suffered  slightly  from  tic, 


cough  very  bad,  voicd;  weak,    slept    three 
hours  and  forty  minutes. 

Dec.  1st.  No  tic.  During  sleep- waking, 
Mr.  Parker  burnt  moxa  on  the  spine  in  hone 
of  relieving  the  cough ;  she  felt  the  pain  loi 
a  moment,  but  it  did  not  produce  a  fit,  as  wis 
the  case  before  mesmerism  was  resorted  to. 
On  arousing  she  was  unconscious  of  having 
been  burnt.  While  asleep  she  said  bJeeding 
would  do  her  good. 

Dec.  2d.  Bled  before  she  was  mesmerized ; 
then  had  a  very  tranquil  sleep.  No  rigidity 
even  of  the  left  hand.  Circumstances  pre- 
vented Mrs.  Bird's  being  again  mesmerized 
until  the  16lh ;  and,  although  a  very  exciting 
circumstance  took  place,  she  had  but  two 
fits  and  no  tic. 

Dec.  16th.  Spirits  low;  slept  three  hoois; 
no  fit  nor  tic.  Mrs.  Bird's  cerebral  organs  as 
easily  excited  by  local  mesmerism:  i  how- 
ever  scrupulously  avoid  touching  them,  onles 
actually  necessary,  as  I  well  know  the  excit»> 
bility  of  her  brain. 

Dec.  19th.  Slept  two  hours ;  but  did  notg^ 
into  perfect  sleep- waking  until  after  a  filutd 
considerable  rigidity.  When  this  was  ora, 
she  said,  **  I  shall  be  ill  on  Christmas  day, 
and  have  a  very  severe  fit  on  the  last  day  of 
the  year ;  it  will  be  the  worst  I  ever  bad; 
but,  if  I  survive  it,  I  shall  be  belief  a&r- 
wards." 

Dec.  20th.    Slept  two  hours  and  a  half; 
during  which  she  had  a  severe  ^i. 

Dec  22d.  Found  Mrs.  Bird  in  high  d&- 
rinm,  beating  herself  on  the  floor.  SooaBea* 
merized  her  into  sleep-waking,  and,  at  the 
end  of  one  hour  and  three  quarters,  I  aroosed 
her,  quite  tranquil ;  she  had  been  much  iiri- 
tated  during  the  day,  which  may  account  for 
her  uncomiortable  feelings. 

Dec.  24th.  Slept  two  hours  and  a  half,  dvr- 
ing  which  Mrs.  B.,  had  two  fits,  but  veiy 
little  delirium ;  she  again  alluded  to  the  attsck 
on  Christmas  day,  and  said,  the  second  woiy 
be  on  New  Year's  day  (not  on  the  3l5t  cf 
December,  as  she  had  before  stated) ;  wai 
added,  "  I  shall  be  very  ill  all  day.  IV 
worst  will  commence  at  6  P.M.,  and,  if  I  aa 
alive,  at  twelve  o'clock  at  night  I  shall  «- 
cover." 

Dec.  26th.  Very  delirious,  and  has  been  » 
all  the  morning.  I  mesmerized  her,  bat  t 
took  two  hours  to  overcome  the  deliriaai ; 
at  the  end  of  three  hours,  I  aroused  her»  ^• 
fectly  tranquil. 

Dec.  26th.  MuchJbelter;  slept  three  boo» 

Dec.  27th.  In  a  very  confused  state  d 
mind  :  mesmerism  soon  reduced  tte  deliriim. 
and  cfti  arousing  her,  she  was  tranquil  aai 
collected. 

Dec.  28lh.  Feels  belter,  slept  three  hours, 
and  had  a  severe  fit.  During  sleep- wakiag 
she  said,  "  I  musf,  on  the  Ist  of  Janoaryt  be 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  Sfc.y  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism.  109 


bled  copiously  after  6  P.  M.,  and  my  feet  kept 
warm ;  give  me  » little  coffee,  if  possible,  after 
I  am  bled :  it  will  be  no  use  trying  to  mes- 
merize me  until  after  5  P.  M." 

Dec.  29lh.  Very  tranquil :  mesmerized 
three  hours :  no  fit,  nor  tic. 

Dec.  30tb.  Has  suffered  from  spasms; 
mesmerized ;  no  fit,  nor  tic 

Dec,  31  St.  Mesmerized  four  hours;  suf- 
fered from  tic,  owing  to  having  been  exposed 
to  a  current  of  cold  air. 

Jan.  Ist,  1846.  Mr.  Parker  and  I  visited 
Mrs.  Bird  in  the  forenoon,  and  found  her  very 
restless  and  ill.  At  a  little  after  5  P.M.  we 
found  her  quite  delirious.  I  commenced  mes- 
merizing her,  but  she  did  not  get  into  sleep- 
waking.  Soon  after  6  o'clock  a  very  severe^ 
epileptic  fit  came  on  ;  her  struggles  and  con- 
vulsions were  frightful ;  she  would,  in  a  mo- 
ment, jump  from  the  reclining  ))osition,  and 
stand  onher  toes  in  that  posture,  become  rigid, 
then  fall  away  relaxed,  and  remain  almost 
inanimate.  Shortly  after  the  commencement 
of  the  fit,  Mr.  Parker  opened  a  vein  in  her 
left  arm,  ajid,  although  the  orifice  was  large, 
scapcely  any  blood  flowed,  and  what  did  come 
.  was  more  like  treacle  than  ordinary  blood: 
another  vein  in  the  same  arm  was  opened, 
and  the  hand  placed  in  hot  water,  &c.,  but 
not  more  than  half  a  pint  of  blood  could  be 
obtained  ;  the  other  arm  was  then  tried,  with, 
for  some  time,  no  greater  success ;  at  last,  the 
blood  changed  color,  and  flowed  more  freely. 
Still  the  fits  returned,  at  very  short  intervals, 
for  nearly  six  hours.  At  three  different  times, 
Mr  Parker,  the  nurse,  and  myself,  all  thought 
her  dying ;  and  at  one  time  we  feared  she  had 
ceased  to  exist  The  disturbance  about  the 
head  and  lungs  was  frightful.  Passes  over 
both  afforded  relief.  I  had  during  the  whole 
time  continued  to  mesmerize,  and  kept  one 
hand  well  wetted,  with  cold  water  on  her  fore- 
head when  her  struggles  would  admit.  At 
12  o'clock  I  saw  her  lips  move ;  she  said,  "  I 
am  better  now ;  I  am  only  a  little  faint ;  I 
shall  be  better  directly."  She  then  took  a 
cup  of  coffee,  remained  partially  faint  for 
some  time,  but  quite  collected.  At  a  litle  af- 
ter 1  o'clock  I  aroused  her,  and  she  seemed 
belter  than  could  possibly  be  expected. 

Jan.  2d.  Very  sore  from  the  effects  of  the 
fit;  mesmerized  into  sleep-waking  in  two 
minates,  when  she  said,  *'  1  told  you  I  should 
be  very  ill  yesterday ;  you  see  I  was  rJKht ;  I 
shall  not  have  another  fit  until  the  9th  of 
June  in  the  evenina;.  I  must,  if  they  wish  me 
to  get  better,  be  bled  every  Thursday  for  five 
weeks;  it  will  weaken  me,  but  I  shall  reerain 
my  appetite,  and  be  able  to  take  solids :"  this 
she  had  not  done  for  a  long  time. 

Jan.  3d.  Suffering  from  slight  head-ache ; 
mesmerized  two  hours  and  a  half,  during 


which  she  took  cofiee  and  plain  cake;  on 
arousing  the  head- ache  had  vanished. 

Jan.  A  little  confused,  but  not  deli- 
rious ;  mesmerized  three  hours.  During  her 
sleep-waking  she  took  coffee,  and  a  small 
quantity  of  animal  food  for  the  first  time  for 
many  weeks.  She  said,  **  I  should  have  been 
better  if  they  had  taken  more  blood  on  the 
first  of  the  month ;  it  would  have  drawn  off 
more  of  the  black  blood  from  the  vessels 
about  th^  brain.  I  shall,  after  my  next  bleed- 
ing, if  Mr.  (Luxmoore)  (it  must  be  remembered 
that  she  does  not  know  me  in  her  sleep- wak- 
ing) puts  me  to  sleep,  be  able  to  eat  a  mutton 
chop  for  supper." 

Jan.  5th.  Better;  had  two  hours  natural 
sleep  during  the  night,  and  retained  her  break- 
fast During  sleep- waking,  which  continued 
two  hours  and  a  half,  she  said,  «  The  first 
thing  that  injured  me  was  being  salivated.  I 
ought  not  to  have  had  any  mercury.  My 
then  medical  attendant  also  gave  me  a  solution 
of  arsenic,  which  I  took  until  my  mouth  was 
all  over  black  spots ;  it  created  inflammation 
in  the  stomach,  which  has  never  subsided."* 

Jan.  6th.  Mesmerized  one  hour  and  three 
quarters ;  says,  *'  A  cup  of  coffee  should  be 
given  me  after  bleeding ;  I  will  tell  you  more 
on  Friday  (Jan.  9)." 

Jan.  7th.  Still  better;  mesmerized  two 
hours.  , 

Jan.  8th.  Not  quite  so  well ;  was  bled  as 
directed;  then  mesmerized  more  than  two 
hours,  and  on  arousing  felt  better. 

Jan.  9th.  Soon  after  she  got  into^leep- 
waking,  she  said,  "  How  beautiful !  I  see  all 
ray  inside."  She  described  the  structure  of 
her  foot,  and  then  went  through  many  other 

Portions  of  her  body  with  (in  the  opinion  of 
Ir.  Parker,  who  was  present)  great  accuracy. 
Jan.  tOth.     Mesmerized  one  hour  and  a 


*  The  effects  on  the  month  and  skin,  were  such  m 
slow  poisoning  by  arsenic  sometimes  produces.  It  al- 
so causes  inflammation  of  the  eyes  and  stomach.  In  a 
Clinical  Lecture  by  Dr  EUiotson,  reported  in  the  Lanut 
for  May  6,  L832,  he  detailed  the  very  slow  poisoning  of  a 
family  near  Chelsea  by  arsenic,  one  haying  died  before  he 
was  called  in,  and  nobody  could  guess  why.  He  imme- 
diately suspected  arsenic  was  the  cause  of  the  waterr 
eyes ,  vomiting,  and  quickness  of  pulse.  On  a  dili- 
gent search,  colors  containing  arsenic  and  copper  were 
found  in  large  quantities  buried  in  the  damp  kitchen 
and  garden  surroundirig  the  house,  left  by  the  previous 
occupier.  As  water  had  free  access  to  the  arsenite  of 
copper,  an  eminent  chemist  had  no  doubt  that  arsenin- 
retted  hydrogen  had  been  formed  and  bad  vitiated  the 
air  of  the  house.  They  all  recovered  by  bleeding.  After 
arsenic  sicallowed  has  been  apparently  all  remored  from 
the  stomach,  inflammation  may  remain  in  the  organ.  A 
case  of  the  kind  is  recorded  by  Dr.  Roget  in  the  Transac- 
tions of  the  Med.  and  Chir.  Society)  vol.  ii.),  where 
bleeding  and  other  anti-inflammatory  means  were  requi- 
site to  cure,  though  stimulants  also  were  required.  Con- 
formable to  all  that  we  observe  of  the  symptoms  and  to 
all  we  know  of   apprt^iiriatn    ultimate   treatment    in 

[)isoning  by  arsenic  is  the  present  wonderful  narrative. 

r.  EUiotson  mentions  a  lady  who  had  spasm,  ^.,  of  her 
stomach  and  pain  of  her  limbs  for  yeazs  after  awallowlDg 


^ 


110 


Epilepsy^  Delirium^  Neuralgic^  Vomiting,  4*^., 


half,  and  aroused  spontaneously ;  say^,  **  Mes- 
merism may  be  omitted  on  Sonday  without 
injury." 

Jan  12th.  Side  (uterus)  very  painful; 
has  a  headache  of  the  description  which  in 
her  case  is  usually  followed  by  a  fit ;  sooth- 
ing; mesmeric  passes  relieyed  her  much. 
Aroused  at  the  end  of  three  hours  by  my  si- 
lently willing  her  to  be  so.  In  her  sleep  to- 
day she  described  a  sort  of  coating  over  the 
inside  of  her  stomach. 

Jan.  13tb.  Side  easy  for  some  hours  after  1 
left  yesterday,  but  the  pain  has  since  returned. 
Mesmeric  passes  again  gave  relief.  After  she 
had  been  in  sleep-waking  some  time,she,  quite 
contrary  to  her  usual  custom,  became  violent, 
attempting  to  strike  me:  I  placed  my  finger  on 
Benevolence  and  subdued  her,  but,  on  my  ceas- 
ing to  act  on  that  organ,  her  angry  feelings  re- 
turned ;  I  at  last  discovered  that  a  kerchief  she 
wears  over  her  ears*  had  slipped,  and  was  press- 
ing on  destructiveness ;  on  removing  it,  all  an- 
ger ceased.  Her  left  hand  was,  as  usual  d  uring 
toe  first  part  of  her  sleep,  contracted,  and  I 
proceeded  to  release  it  hy  blowing,  passes, 
&c.,  when  she  said,  «If  you  place  your 
fingers  just  by  the  side  of  Veneration,  and 
draw  them  down  the  arm  and  beyond  the 
fingers  two  or  three  times,  you  will  get  rid  of 
the  contraction  much  better."  This  proved 
to  be  true,  but  in  most  cases  the  contrary 
would  have  been  the  effect. 

Jan.  14th.  Mesmerized  three  hours ;  side 
again  relieved  by  passes,     i 

Jan.  15th.  Bled  as  directed;  mesmerized 
about  two  hours ;  aroused,  refreshed. 

Jan.  1 6 th .  Better.  In  sleep  •  waking,  which 
lasted  two  hours  and  a  half,  she  said.  "  The 
black  blood  on  the  top  of  the  head  is  much 
reduced  by  last  night's  bleahng."  Appetite 
tolerable,  and  she  retains  most  of  her  food. 
No  tic. 

Jan.  17th.  Mesmerized  three  hours  and 
forty  minutes ;  breathing  difficult ;  posses  with 
the  flat  hand  gave  ease  to  the  lungs.  Breath- 
ing over  the  chest  made  her  start,  and  gave 
the  sensation  of  electric  sparks.  Had  two 
hours'  natural  sleep  during  the  previous  night. 

Jan.  19th.  Has  had  two  hours'  natural 
sleep,  and  seems  better  than  I  have  ever  seen 
her ;  breathing  much  easier.  I  breathed  over 
her  lungs,  then  on  my  own  fingers,  and 
passed  them  (touching  the  dress)  from  the  top 
of  the  shoulder,  over  the  lung,  and  off  by  the 
waist  This  produced  in  her  the  sensation  of 
electricity,  following  my  fingers,  and  passing 
off  like  sparks  as  they  left  her  body.  Her 
hand  also  on  the  same  side  became  as  it  were 
electrified,  so  that  the  tips  of  her  fingers 
touching  any  part  of  her  body  or  mine 
caused  the  feeling  of  sparks  having  been 
drawn  through  them. 


Jan.  22d.  Has  thrown  no  food  from  her 
stomach  for  ten  days.  Is  suftring  fron  a 
slight  cold,  with  dif&culty  of  breathing.  M 
as  directed.  Mesmerized,  and  was  tietter  on 
arousing.  Electric  phenomena  as  o&  Mosdij 
(19th), 

Jan.  23d.  C^neral  health  better,  bat  ik 
painful.  Soon  after  sleep- waking  was  pi 
duced,  she  made  signs  that  her  jaw  m 
locked ;  upon  which  I  inquired  how  I  coii^ 
relieve  it ;  she  took  my  hand  and  oak 
passes  from  the  ear  to  the  moath,  whki 
soon  had  the  desired  efiect 

Jan.  24th.  Side  still  painful,  othciwisete- 
ter ;  appetite  good,  and  retains  most  of  ic 
food ;  mesmerized,  and  said  the  next  tn 
bleedings  would  much  lessen  the  black  blid 
on  the  brain. 

Jan.  26th.  Annoying  circomstaDceseusi 
a  headache.  Mesmerized,  and  wasbcOBi 
arousing. 

Jan.  27th.  Mesmerized  two  horns,* 
and  head  still  painful ;  says  the  tanwr  inj 
former  will  be  relieved  by  a  discharge  wiw 
twenty-four  hours. 

Jan.  29th.  Side  has  discharged,  m* 
directed.  Mesmerized  two  hours,  and  i«* « 
very  comfortable. 

Jan.  31st  Better.  Mesmeriad  tnm 
and  a  half. 

Feb.  2d.  Slight  headache, 
and  said  she  would  give  further  'S'jJ'^f 
to  her  treatment  after  bleeding  (»  law**; 
(Feb.  5).  ^_. 

Feb.  5th.  Has  suffered  from  A*** 
since  Monday.  Bled,  and  then  prt  ^s^ 
I  rendered  her  limbs  rigid,  and  on  i^"? 
them  the  rheumatic  pains  had  l*'^  ^  ^ 
promised,  now  gave  further  ^i^**^*?  "Ju 
ner  treatment,  saying,  "  I  must  not » J" 
again  for  a  month  or  three  weebalw"j 
liest,  unless  I  have  a  fit  The  coatiaga ^ 
stomach,  which  I  mentioned  in  J«°'*^| 
rather  loosened  ;  my  food  should  be  b«»^ 
ing.  If  thip  treatment  is  followed,  1»^ 
sometimes  better  and  sometimes  wo» 
the  9th  of  June,  when  1  shall  1»^  *  7! 
but,  if  proper  precautions  be  taken,  I  * 
from  time  to  time  give  ^li^^^""?!?!! 
treatment.  I  do  not  mean  to  say  1  w*  *] 
until  the  9lh  of  June,  but.  if  I  ^^J^ 
have  named  will  take  place :  life  «w  ' 
are  in  the  hands  of  Ihe  Almighty." 

Feb.  7th.  Rheumatism  has  jwt 
but  she  again  rejects  most  of  her  fool 
merized  three  hours.  11 

Feb.  9th.  Mesmerized  two  boors  »] 
quarter.     Appetite  indiflfeient. 

Feb.  12th.   Better,  but  appetite  M* 
she  retains  but  little  food,  though  r 
gaining  strength:  j.^J 

Feb.  14th.  Was  much  frightened  W  •! 
by  two  drunken  men  entering  hcrpi*«^ 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  4*^.,  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism.  Ill 


knocking  at  her  door ;  this  produced  violent 
palpitation,  and  shortly  her  legs  and  feet  be- 
gan to  swell,  assuming  a  dropsical  appear- 
ance.   Mesmerized. 

Feb.  27th.  Absence  from  home  has  pre- 
vented my  mesmerizing  her  since  the  14th 
instant.    She  has  suffered  slightly  from  tic, 
but  nothing  like  she  did  before  being  mesme- 
rized ;  legs  still  swollen.    During  her  sleep- 
-     waking  to-day  she  suffered  from  rigidity  and 
i     Ibcked-jaw,  which  required  some  perseverance 
to  overcome.     She  said,  **I  have  lost  some 
i     ground  from  being  so  long  without  mesme- 
1     rism."    She  still  vomits  her  food,  and  says 
(      she  shall  continue  to  do  so  until  the  coating 
r      is  removed  from  the  stomach. 

Feb.  28tb.    Mesmerized    three  hours;  at 

I     first  she  su^red  from  lock-jaw  and  rigidity, 

r     which  were  soon    overcome.    She  directed 

that  small  quantities  of  laudanum  should  be 

applied  to  the  stomach  externally,  and  added, 

•'1  shall  be  much  weaker  yet,  and  on  the  7lh 

{      of  March  delirious,  and  should  be  mesmerized 

from  6  to  8  o'clock."     I  to-day  rendered  the 

r      Ankles  and  legs  rigid  several  times,  and  this 

j       reduced  the  swelling. 

March  2d.  Excessive  debility.  Mesme- 
rized into  sleep- waking ;  soon  after  which 
she  had  a  most  violent  ajiasm  about  the  heart, 
which  seemed  to  threaten  life.  After  it  had 
ceased,  she  said,  « 1  shall  have  another  at- 
tack in  about  ten  minutes,  and  another  be- 
tween 7  and  8  in  the  evening.  The  former 
took  place,  and  at  the  end  of  four  hours  1 
aroused  her,  when  she  was  perfectly  uncon- 
scious of  all  that  she  had  suffered.  At  half 
past  6  P.  M.,  I  found  her  rather  delirious,  but 
soon  got  her  into  sleep-waking,  when  she 
told  me  the  attack  would  last  on  and  off  for 
an  hour.  This  proved  correct  The  spasms 
-were  terrific;  her  screams  mi^ht  have  been 
heard  a  long  way  off.  The  violence  of  the- 
attack  on  the  7th  will,  she  says,  commence 
about  6  o'clock,  P.  M. ;  it  will  be  useless  for 
me  to  persevere  in  mesmerizing  her  for  more 
than  three  hours  that  night.  The  swelling  of 
the  legs  has  subsided,  but  the  water  is  gone 
into  her  chest  This,  I  fear,  was  caused  by 
my  drivinjg  it  from  the  feet  and  legs.  The 
dropsical  manifestations  were,  she  thinks, 
produced  by  the  fright  on  the  14th  of  Febru- 
ary, causing  interruption  of  the  circulation  of 
the  blood. 

March  3d.  Rather  more  comfortable,  hay- 
ing had  some  natural  sleep  during  the  night 
Mesmerized  four  hours,  and  suffered  from 
slight  spasms. 

March  4th.  Much  better,  but  has  felt  a 
little  tic.  Mesmerized  three  hours,  and  said, 
••  1  shall  throw,  a  quart  or  three  pints  of 
water  from  my  stomach  within  forty-eight 
hours,  which  will  relieve  the  chest  I  am  in 
a  very  weak  state*  but  on  the  7th  they  most 


not  be  afraid  to  follow  my  directions,  which 
will  prove  beneficial.  I  shall  be  in  a  high 
state  of  delirium  from  inflammation  on  the 
brain,  resulting  partly  from  over  anxiety  and 
partly  from  want  of  free  circulation.  They 
should  take  a  small  quantity  of  blood  from 
the  temporal  artery,  out,  if  this  cannot  be 
done,  more  must  be  taken  from  the  arm: 
then  rub  the  chest  with  laudanum,  and  apply 
mustard  plasters  to  it  and  the  feet.  If  they 
follow  these  directions,  whatever  I  take  on 
Saturday  night  and  Sunday  will  remain  on 
the  stomach.  On  Saturday  after  bleeding,  I 
may  have  a  wine-glass  of  Sherry,  given  in 
small  quantities  at  a  time ;  arrow-root  will  be 

rd  for  me.  I  should  be  mesmerized  at  6 
M.,  and  bled  as  soon  as  I  am  asleep;** 
(she  often  talks  of  being  put  to  sleep,  but 
never  admits  that  she  is  so  when  mesme- 
rized.) **  Let  me  be  kept  as  much  under 
mesmerism  as  possible  for  three  hours;  I 
should  also  have  a  dose  of  morphine  equal  to 
twelve  drops  of  laudanum.  I  shall  then  h&ve 
a  better  night  than  for  some  time.  I  may 
have  a  wine-glass  of  Sherry  on  Sunday.  Pay 
no  attention  to  any  directions  I  give  respect- 
ing myself  on  Saturday  (March  7).  After 
Sunday  I  ^ball  again  reject  my  food." 

March  6th.  Yesterday  she  vomited  nearly 
two  quarts  of  water,  which  much  relieved  the 
chest  Mesmerized;  says,  *'The  turhor  in 
my  side  (uterus)  will  discharge  on  Thursday 
or  Friday.  I  shall  be  very  Weak,  but  bett^ 
on  the  14th.  The  day  before,  on  the  same 
morning  I  vomit  the  coating  from  my  sto- 
mach, f  shall  eject  a  little  blood." 

March  7th.  Mr.  Parker  and  I  visited  her 
rather  before  6  o'clock,  P.  M. ;  she  was  in  a 
high  state  of  delirium,  declaring  she  would 
destroy  herself.  I  placed  her  on  the  sofa  ^ 
and  commenced  mesmerizing  her,  but  was 
obliged  to  put  my  finger  on  Benevolence  be- 
fore she  would  allow  me  to  proceed.  Until  I 
resorted  to  this  expedient,  she  attempted  to 
strike  and  bite  me.  I  could  not  get  her  into 
sleep:  still  mesmerism  had  a  very  soothing 
effect,  and  she  was  sufficiently  under  its  influ- 
ence to  object  to  the  touch  of  any  one  but  her 
mesmerizer.  Mr.  Parker  attempted  to  open 
the  temporal  artery,  but,  owing  to  its  being  in 
her  case  very  deeply  seated,  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed; she  was  therefore  bled  from  the  arm. 
All  her  other  directipns,  with  one  exception, 
that  of  washing  the  chest  with  laudanum, 
which  was  quite  unintentionally  omitted, 
were  strictly  attended  to. 

March  8th.  Found  Mrs.  Bird  in  a  sort  of 

auiet  delirium,  and  was  informed  that,  during 
ie  night  and  since  she  arose,  she  had  been 
constantly  falling  asleep  and  starting  up  again. 
She  was  soon  mesmerized  into  sleep-waking, 
and  the  delirium  passed  off.  She  said,  "  It  is 
a  pity  they  foigot  the  laudanum,  but  it  is  no 


112 


'i  Epilepsy y  Delirium^  NenrcUgia^  Vomiting,  Sfc. 


wonder,  Ihey  had  so  many  difficulties*  to  con- 
tend with.  1  should  have  had  a  better  night, 
but  as  it  is  I  shall  be  weaker  for  it  all  the 
week-.  The  morphine  would  have  quieted 
the  internal  nerves,  and  the  laudanum  the  ex*, 
temal  ones ;  fiut,  the  latter  being  omitted,  I 
felt  sleepy,  but  was  continually  disturbed. 
On  the  12th,  in  the  morning,  I  shall  be  very 
faint ;  I  shall  throw  from  my  stomach  more 
than  a  quart  of  water.  There  will  be  no  de- 
lirium after  to-morrow,  3  o'clock,  until  the 
20th,  and  then  it  will  not  be  much.  On  Sat- 
urday 1  will  p;ive  you  further  directions. 

March  9lh.  Just  as  yesterday.  Mesme- 
rized into  sleep-waking,  and  the  delirium 
ceased.  At  five  minutes  after  3  P.  M.,  1 
aroused  her,  quite  free  from  delirium ;  but  she 
thought  it  was  still  Saturday,  having  lost  the 
time  during  which,  in  her  waking  state,  she 
had  been  delirious. 

March  10th.  Quite  collected  ;  side  painful, 
breathing  oppressed.     Mesmerized. 

M^rch  11th.  Mesmerized  two  hmirs  and  a 
half ;  chest  more  uneasy. 

March  12th.  Mesmerized  four  hours;  feels 
faint,  and  has  thrown  from  her  stomach  two 
quarts  and  half  a  pint  of  water.  During 
sleep- waking,  she  said, '<  I  shall  have  three 
very  severe  spasms  about  the  heart  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour."  They  took  place. 
Mrs.  Bird  also  added,  "  I  shall,  on  the  3d  of 
Auril,  have  a  very  severe  fit  of  tic,  but  1  will 
tell  you  more  about  it  on  Saturday.  If, 
when  I  throw  the  coating  from  my  stomach, 
Mr.  Parker  will  analyse  it,  he  will  find  it 
contains  arsenic." 

March  13th.  Tumor  has  dischai^ged,  and 
Mrs.  Bird  has  thrown  nearly  a  pint  and  a 
half  more  water  from  her  stomach.  Mes- 
merized, and  said,  "  I  shall,  in  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  have  three  severe  spasms  about  the 
heart."  They  took  place ;  her  screams  and 
convulsions  were  frightful.  Mr.  Parker,  who 
was  present,  said  he  never  saw  any  more 
severe.  After  they  were  over,  she  said, 
"There's  an  end  of  the  ill  effects  of  ray 
friend's  forgetting  to  put  laudanum  on  my 
chest."/ 

March  14th.  Mesmerized,  and  seems  better. 
During  the  sitting,  she  gave  the  following  di- 
rections :  •*  Let  me  have  as  much  mesmerism 
as  possible  next  week,  any  time  any  day,  ex- 
cept on  the  20th,  when  it  should  be  in  the 
evening.  I  shall  wander  slightly  on  that 
day;  Saturday  be  exhausted ;  Sunday  poor- 
ly, but  better;  Monday  still  better;  Tues- 
day a  severe  head-ache.  The  tic,  on  the 
3d  of  April,  will  commence  at  10  o'clock, 
A.  M.,  and  end  at  3  P.  M.;  from  2  to 
3i  it  will  be  at  the  worst.  After  the  tic, 
six  violent  spasms;  when  they  are  over, 
Jet  two  teaspoon fuls  of  laudanum  be  rubbed 
on  the  chest  and  stomach.^'  ' 


March  46th  and  17th.  MorecomfottaUe; 
mesmerized  both  days. 

March  20th.  Breathing  bad.  Mesmerized, 
and  said,  **  The  water  is  again  collected  on 
my  chest.  I  must  as  much  as  possible  aToid 
the  recumbent  position,  even  at  night,  and 
have  some  medicine  to  promote  the  ewelliog 
of  my  feet.  I  was  to  have  been  better  to- 
morrow, Sunday  and  Monday,  aad  so  1 
shall,  except  the  breathing,  which  will  be 
worse  on  these  days." 

March  2l8t.  Breathing  still  bad.  Mesme- 
rized, and  said,  «  The  water  in  my  chest  is 
increased ;  the  medicine  and  liniment  bare 
been  of  use;  without  them,  the  increa« 
would  have  been  greater.  Passes  down  the 
back  and  chest  will  be  beneficial."  I  followed 
her  directions. 

March  23d.  Breathing  very  bad.  Soon 
after  she  was  under  the  influence  of  mesme- 
rism, very  distressing  attacks  of  diicalt 
breathing  commenced,  threatening  snlFoei- 
tion.  In  the  first  and  second  she  suffajd 
very  much,  starting  on  her  feet;  in  thit 
state  'became  quite  rigid;  and  in  aminnte or 
two  relaxed,  and  was  left  perfectly  power- 
less. She  then  said,  "  You  must  keep  me 
leaning  forward,  or  I  shall  die ;  you  mustia 
any  force  to  do  it.  I  shall  have  six  more  at- 
tacks ;  do  not  fear,  and'  I  shall  be  safe."  !» 
six  paroxysms  took  place,  and  I  had  to  « 
great  pressure  to  prevent  her  rl^ng.  ^ 
this,  she  said.  "I  shall  throw  walerfiw 
my  stomach  about  5  o'clock  to-morrow  Hwra- 
ing,  and  more  before  iToon.  Mesmciisft^iy 
not  take  full  effect  on  me  on  the  3d  of  Apol, 
until  3  o'clock."  , 

March  23d.  Threw  about  two  quarts  « 
water  from  her  stomach  about  5  o'clock  u 
the  morning,  and  rather  more  than  api"^^** 
10.  .Mesmerized  into  sleep- waking,  aw 
said,  "  I  shall  throw  more  water  from  my 
stomach  before  5  o'clock  this  evening." 

March  24th.  A  pint  more  of  water  wb 
ejected  after  I  left  yesterday.  Feels  weak* 
but  two  hours  and  a  lialf  mesmerizing  «• 
freshed  her. 

March  25th.  Rather  better,  but  suflers  fron 
not  being  able  to  lie  down;  feel  swoUea. 
Mesmerized  four  hours.  .  . . 

March  26lh  and  27th.  Looks  better,  bat  is 
still  weak.     Mesmerized  both  days.       - 

March  28th.  Mesmerized  two  hoars  and  i 
half;  has  a  watery  rash,  which  in  her  sleep- 
waking  she  says  is  on  the  inside  of  ^^ 
mach,  as  well  as  on  the  external  parts  of  m 
body.  1 

March  29th.  Mesmerized  one  hour  ana 
three  quarters.  No  water  in  the  chest;  m 
less  swollen.  ,        .^, 

March  30th.  Rash  still  had.  Mesinenwfl. 
and  said,  "  My  stomach  is  very  much  untai- 

iTobe  concluded  in  the  wxt  nwwcfJ 


THE   DISSECTOR. 


VOL.  IT. 


JtUT,  1M7. 


Has. 


Case  of  EpUpiic  and  other  fitSy  Delirium, 
Neuralgia,  Vomiting,  and  me  discharge  vf 
Arsenic  taken  long  previously,  succesrfuuy 
treated  with  Mesmerism,  whiA.  produced  in- 
txtitive  knoioledge  <f  the  internal  state,  the 
future  course  of  the  Disease,  and  the  proper 
treatment,'  By  J.  C.  LuxupORS,  Esq.,  of 
Alphington,  ifevon. 

iConOmhdJrcmtheAprtlJNd^ 

«d,  and  the  arsenic  acting  on«  the  system  is 
ipoifloning  the  blood,  and  also  the  wsfter  that 
IB  floating  about  me;  this  makes  the  lash  so 
troablesome." 

March  3t8t  Rash  still  troublesome;  chest 
and  stomach  painful.  Mesmerized'  two 
iiours. 

April  1st.  Mesmerized.  Rash  has  paitially 
disappeared,  owing  to  a  slight  chill :  sa^s,  **  it 
will  appear  again  before  the  3d ;  it  is  now 
looking  very  angry  in  the  stomach." 

Apnl  2d.  Ra^  a  litde  nuMe  oat;  slight 
tic.    Mesmerized. 

April  3d.  Tic  came  on  this  morning,  in  ex- 
act accordance  with  Mrs.  Bird's  prediction. 
No  tongue  can  describe  what  she  ajipeared  to 
sufiH*.  At  3  QPclock,  P.  M.,  the  tc  ceased, 
and  I  got  her  into  sleep-wddn^.  Previously 
to  this,  although  I  had  been  with  her  a  long 
time,  ajl  my  endeavon  to  produce  sleep  were 
unavailing.  At  a  quarter  after  3,  the  spasms 
commence;  the  six  occupied  twenty- five 
minutes,  and  were  very  violent  After  they 
"were  over,  she  said,  «1  shall  g^  on  tolerably 
imtil  the  16th  of  tfiis  month,  when  I  shall 
Save  either  seven  or  eight  msms  about  the 
head  and  heart;  they  will  last  nearly  an 
hour.  On  the  l^th  I  should  be  under  mes- 
merism from  12  to  2  o'dock.  After  this  [ 
ahall  have  a  severe  head-ache  for  three  da^; 
if  it  lasts  to  the  fourth,  I  must  have  aperient 
medicine ;  and  if  to  the  fifth,  should  be  bled." 
On  arousing  she  was  quite  free  from  tic,  but 
her  head  and  face  were  sore  from  the  efiects 
of  it. 

April  4tilk.  Free  from  tie,  which  much  sur- 
prised her,  and  quite  unconscious  of  having 
sufifered  from  spasms.  Mesmerized  two  hours. 
9 


April  5th.  Mesmerized  one  hour  and  three 
quaiters,  and  said,  <*  There  is  little  water  in 
my  chest,  the  weather  is  much  against  me* 
(rain  has  fallen  and  there  is  great  dampness 
in  the  air).  '*  On  the  16tb,  the  spasm  \riil 
be  the  worst  I  fear  Mr.  Luxmoore  will  re- 
quire assistance  to  hold  me,  bat  no  one  but 
himself  must  touch  my  forehead  or  over  my 
heart;  it  would  be  dangerous.'*  Chest  mee- 
merically  electrified. 

.  April  6th.  Mesmerized.  Says,  **  The  walsr 
in  my  chest  is  not  much  increased."  f  made,  by 
her  direction,  passes  with  the  flat  hand  from 
chest  to  feet:  this  produced  slight  swelling  ol 
the  feet  Her  chest  was  again  mesmerically 
electrified,  and  she  observed  yelk>w  fire  follow 
the  tips  of  my  fingevs.  The  electricity  of 
yesterday,  she  says,  prevented  the  breaming 
being  as  bad  as  it  otherwise  would  have 
been. 

April  7th.  Breathing  bad.  Mesmerized, 
and  said  the  water  in  the  chest  will  be  thrown 
off  on  Saturday  (April),  at  5  o'clock.  Chest 
again  electrified,  and  she  saw  ribbons  of  fire 
pass  through  the  water,  which  they  seemed 
to  warm. 

April  8th.  Breadiinr  still  bad;  was  fright- 
ened again  last  night  by  two  men  entering 
her  garden.  Passes  with  the  flat  hand  made 
her  feet  swell. 

April  9th.  Breathins  bed.  Mesmerized 
three  hours  and  a  halt ;  says,  **  Whenever 
the  coating  is  removed  from  tlie  stomach,  I 
must  have  a  strong  dose  of  aperient  medi* 
cine,  to  prevent  any  portion  remaining  in  the 
bowels." 

April  10th.  Mesmerized  one  hour  and 
three  quarters ;  feels  better,  except  the  breath* 
ing. 

April  1 1th.  Threw  off  five  pints  of  water 
this  morning:.  Mesmerized, .  and  said,  **I 
shall  throw  off  a  little  more  water  at  5  o'- 
clock to-morrow." 

April  12th.  More  vniter  having  been 
ejected,  the  breathing  is  much  better.  Mes- 
merized one  hour  and  forty  minutes. 

April  13th.  Breathing  stUl  better.  Mes- 
merized, and  said,  <*  I  fear  I  most  be  hied  on 


114 


Epilepsy y  Delirium^  Neuralgia^  Vomiting,  S/^c. 


the  21 8t,  as  the  head-ache  will  not  paw  off 
without  it" 

April  14th  and  15th.    Slight  spasms  while 
'asleep,  otherwise  comfortable.    Mesmerized 
both  days. 

April  16th.  Mr.  Parker  and  I  visited  Mrs. 
Bird  at  ten  minutes  before  12  o'clock;  we 
found  her  on  the  floor  quite  delirious.  In 
less  than  two  minutes  I  mesmerized  her  into 
sleep- waking,  and  she  became  sane  and  trac- 
table. The  spasms  shortly  commenced,  and 
increased  in  violence  to  the  fifth,  which  was 
truly  frightful ;  and  during  which,  she,  not- 
withstanding all  my  e£brts,  assisted  by  Mr. 
Fftrker,  threw  hetseif  on  the  floor,  carrying 
me  with  her,  and  pulling  out  her  hair  by 
handfuls ;  the  next  two  spasms  were  not  so 
bad,  and  the  last  was  very  slight.  Soon  after 
the  spasms  had  ceased,  she  said,  *'  Between 
this  and  the  21st,  mesmerism  must,  on  no  ac- 
count, be  omitted  for  twenty-four  hours  to- 
gether, and,  on  that  day,  I  should  be  twice 
under  its  influence.  I  slmU  have  bad  spasms 
on  the  1st  of  June."  Soon  after  arousing,  a 
severe  head-ache  came  on,  as  she  had  said 
would  be  the  case. 

April  17th.  Head-ache  continues.  Mesme- 
rized four  hours;  says  she  shall  have  spasms, 
daily,  more  or  less  until  the  9th  of  June. 

April  18th.  Head  still  aches.  Mesmerized 
two  nours ;  says  there  is  water  in  the  chest 

April  19th.  Head-ache  and  slight  spasms. 
Mesmerized,  and  then  0kid, «  I  shall  have 
lather  a  severe  spasm  while  under  mesmerism 
this  evening  (she  was  correct).  They  must 
not  attend  to  any  directions  I  may  give  od 
the  21st,  however  plausible  they  may  appear 
to  be.  I  should  be  bled  on  that  dayat  12  o'clock, 
and  not  aroused  from  mesmerism  until  half- 
past  2.  Persons  subject  to  insanity  should 
always  be  mesmerized  by  the  same  operator. 
If  I  were  mesmerized  by  any  one  but  Mr. 
Luzmoore,  I  should  be  insane  until  the  9th  of 
Jirne.  I  shall  be  ill  on  the  2d  of  May,  and 
should  be  mesmerized  in  the  evening.'* 

April  20th.  Took  a  strong  dose  of  medi- 
cine as  directed.  Mesmerized,  and  said  the 
medicine  has  had  the  desired  efiect,  in  re- 
moving an  obstruction. 

April  21st  At  11  A.M.,  I  found  Mre. 
Bird  delirious;  she  had  been  rather  violent 
At  half-past  11,  I  commenced  mesmerizing 
her ;  in  two  minutes  she  was  in  sleep-waking, 
and  the  delirium  had  ahnost  ceased;  she 
might  wander  for  a  sentence  or  two,  but  soon 
detected  herself.  At  twenty-five  minutes  af- 
ter 12  she  was  bled,  and  at  the  end  of  four 
hours  she  aroused  nerfectly  collected,  and  free 
from  head-ache,  in  the -evening  I  asain  sent 
her  to  sleep  for  two  hours,  when  she  said, 
'<  I  shall  throw  water  from  my  stomach  on 
Saturday." 
.   April  22d.    Mesmerized,  and  said,  "On 


the  1st  of  May  [  shall  throw  off  a  little  bbod 
from  my  stomach  ;  on  the  2d,  I  shall  be  feiy 
ill,  particularly  towards  evening;  on  the  3d, 
I  shall  throw  up  something  gritty,  it  will  coo- 
tain  part  of  the  coating  of  the  stomach  I  hn 
before  spoken  of.  Immediately  after  I  bafe 
thrown  up  the  gritty  substance,  I  most  have 
a  dose  of  the  same  sort  of  medicine  I  had  on 
the  20th  of  the  month.  I  shall  throw  off 
three  pints  of  water  on  Saturday  next  (25th), 
at  hve  minutes  before  6  in  the  morning.  After 
the  3d  of  May,  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  le- 
cline."  She  has  not  been  able  to  lie  down 
night  nor  day  since  the  20th  of  March. 

April  23d.  Mesmerized  twoboiin  andi 
half  i  had  one  bad  spasm. 

April  24th.  Suffering  from  sreat  naasea,  and 
is  very  weak.  Mesmerized,  had  a  bad  spani) 
and  the  nausea  produced  retching.  She  said, 
**  The  coating  is  almost  all  fallen  from  the 
stomach,  but  still  it  will  not  be  got  rid  of 
until  the  3d  of  May.  If  I  am  under  meaifr 
rism  to-morrow  between  3  and  4  in  the  ate* 
noon,  I  shall  be  able  to  give  better  directiow 
about  the  9th  of  June  than  at  any  other 
time." 

April  25th.    Water  vomited  thismonia^ 
and  she  feels  very  languid.    Mesmerized  in 
the  morning,  and    again  in   the  aftenoo^ 
when  she  gave  the  following  diiection«  m 
the  1st  and  9th  of  June.    "  On  the  W  « 
June,  the  spasms  will  commence  ^^^^ 
and  be  over  by  4 ;  mustard  shonkt  be  ipP'''^ 
to  the  extremities  for  twenty  or  thirty  minnJo- 
To  be  mesmerized  at  2,  and  arooied  it  5  o'- 
clock.   On  the  9th,  at  10  in  the  inomii«.l 
shall  be  delirious;  but  there  will  be  no daa- 
ger  of  my  injuring  myself  until  10  P.M.  "• 
cold  water  must  be  applied  to  the  bead  oa  ac- 
count of   tic.    After    10  at  night,  viotert 
spasms  of  the  head  and  heart,  which  wiu 
continue  unUl  12  o'clock.    Head  and  heart  to 
be  held  by  Mr.  Lurmoore.    From  12  to  « 
violent  tic;  during  which  let  me  ha^  °? 
cloths  to  my  face.    From  2  to  4,  a  »  • 
great  violence ;  I  should  be  bled  as  woo  w 
3  as  the  struggles  wiU  allow.    If  jwjjj 
open  both   temporal   arteries;  if  not,  w» 
from  both  arms.    If  one  temporal  artery  » 
opened,  and  not  the  other,  bleed  from  the  c^ 
posite  arm.    I  must  be  bled  until  I  J^^    ^ 
and  have  coiiee  soon  after;  then  two  ttt-    i 
spoonfuls  of  laudanum  to  be  m^.^^ 
the  temples,  face,  and  chest    From  4  to  o. 


spasms,  and  the  effects  of  previous  «"*"!<; 
during  which,  mustard  plasteismuat  be  badre- 
course  to,  and  kept  up  for  twenty-five  mmoi* 
I  shall  then  get  into  a  sort  of  half -stupor  onw 


9  o'clock.    After  this. 


Will  bt 


f    aClOCK.      Alter     UWO,  uioomiww—   -—      . 

lieeper  than  it  ever  has  been  in  my  »f-  J 
shall  know  Mr.  Luxmoore,  and  shaU  ttoow 
asleep  (she  does  not  now  consider  ftW" 
asleep  when  meflmerized).    ^murtBOtbea^ 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  Sfc^mccessfnUy  treated  with  Mesmerism.  116 


lowed  fo  put  my  foot  to  the  ground  this  day, 
flor  the  Dext.  1  may  be  aroueed  at  10  o'clock,^ 
but  BhouJd  be  under  mesmerism  again  in  two 
hours." 

April  26th.  Has  unfortunately  given  her 
head  a  blow,  which  caused  a  head-ache. 
Mesmerized  three  hours  and  a  quarter. 

April  27th,  Tolerable  in  the  morning,  but 
during  the  day  circumstances  occurred  causing 
a  misunderstanding  betwixt  Mrs.  Bird  and  the 
person  for  whom  she,  in  her  sleep-waking, 
mistakes  me :  this  caused  her  very  great  dis- 
tress of  mind  4  ahd  as  soon  as  I  mesmerized 
her  into  sleep- waking,  she  became  very  un- 
oomfortable  at  having  the  person  she  mistook 
me  for  with  her.  I  took  a  great  deal  of  trou- 
ble to  quiet  her,  but  all  to  no  purpose ;  so  I 
thought  it  best  to  arouse  her,  and  in  her  wak- 
ing state  assured  her  that  if  she  thought  any 
one  was  near,  or  would  approach  her,  except 
Mr.  FlEirker  and  myself,  it  must  be  a  delusion, 
and  I  begged  her  to  keep  this  idea  strongly 
impressed  on  her  mind  while  passing  into 
mesmerism.  I  had,  however,  to  arouse  her 
several  times  before  I  could  succeed  in  mak- 
ing her  know  me  in  her  sleep-waking^  when, 
however,  this  was  accomplished,  she  became 
reconciled,  and  said  she  must  be  bled  immedi- 
ately, or  she  should  be  insane  for  life,  which 
would  not,  in  that  case,  last  more  than  a  fort- 
night.    She  was  bled,  and  then  felt  better. 

April  28th.  Very  ill  and  depressed ;  but 
during  sleep- waking,  she  said,  "  With  due 
care  you  will  yet  save  me."  Mesmerized 
twice,  and  knows  me  in  her  sleep-waking. 

April  29th.  Mesmerized  in  the  morning, 
when  she  said,  **  If  you  wish  to  save  me,  you 
must  be  with  me  from  half-past  8  to  half-past 

9  this  evening ;  it  will  be  a  struggle  between 
life  and  death."  I  sent  her  to  sleep  at  7 
P.M. ;  soon  after  which  a  spasm  came  on, 
and  she  was  very  ill.    I  kept  ner  asleep  until 

10  o^cIock. 

April  30th.  Mesmerized  in  the  evening, 
and  was  very  comfortable  during  the  first  part 
of  the  sitting,  but  ultimately  became  faint,  ow- 
ing (as  she  said)  to  the  contents  of  the  sto- 
mach beginning  to  ferment.  She  also  direct- 
ed hot  jars  to  be  placed  at  her  feet,  and  sal 
volatile,  two  parts  water  and  one  part  spirit, 
to  be  taken  at  12  o'clock  to-night,  5  to-mor- 
row morning,  12  at  noon,  and  5  in  the  after- 
noon ;  and  a  hot  jar  to  be  placed  at  her 
Aide. 

May  1st  Mesmerized  three  hours ;  said, 
**  I  shall  be  ill  this  evening ;  keep  me  asleep 
as  late  as  you  conveniently  can  to-morrow  eve- 
ning.'* Mesmerized  again  in  the  evening ;  she 
was  delirious,  and  remained  so  for  an  hour ; 
then  became  collected,  and  directed  sal  vola- 
tile, of  the  same  strength  as  before,  between  5 
and  6  o'clock  to-morrow  momine.  She  now 
suffered  horribly  in  the  calves  ofher  legs  and 


stomach ;  the  pain  could  scarcely  be  endured* 
She  has  vomited  a  little  blood.  On  eating 
salt  or  salt  meat,  she  experiences  earlic  eruc- 
tations. All  this,  and  the  rash  she  has  suf- 
fered from,  are,  I  understand,  indications  of 
the  presence  of  arsenic. 

May  2d.  Rather  wandering.  Mesmerized, 
soon  became  collected,  and  said,  "  My  blood 
is  fermenting,  as  if  I  were  in  a  state  o/^saliva- 
tion.  The  reason  I  have  been  oblij^ed  to  be 
so  often  bled,  is  owing  to  the  medicine  I  for- 
merly took."  Mesmerized  again  in  the  eve- 
ning, and  Mrs.  Bird's  sufferings  in  the  legs, 
head,  stomach,  back,  chest,  and  arms,  were 
perfectly  dreadful;  three  times  did  she  fall 
into  such  a  paroxysm,  as  Mr.  Parker,  who 
was  present,  said  he  never  saw  a  person  re- 
cover from ;  her  gasping  for  breath  cannot  be 
described.  After  a  time  she  became  easy,  and 
on  arousing  was  unconscious  Qf  anything  ex- 
traordinary having  taken  place. 

May  3d.  Mr.  Parker  and  I  called  on  Mrs. 
Bird  between  1  and  2  o'clock,  P.M.,  and 
found  she  had  thrown  from  her  stomach  a 
quantity  of  a  gritty  substance,  in  a  little 
bloody  water,  at  d  A.M. ;  on  applying  the  es- 
tablished tests,  the  presence  of  arsenic  was 
indicated.  She  had  taken  the  aperient  medi- 
cine as  directed.  Mesmerized  in  the  evening 
for  two  hours,  and,  with  the  exception  m 

freat  weakness,  was  much  more  comfortable, 
he  said,  **  I  must  not  be  allowed  to  fall  into 
what  I  call  sleep,  during  mesmerism  for 
some  time  (this  is  a  drowsy  stupor,  quite  dis- 
tinct from  mesmeric  sleep;  both  body  and 
mind  are  in  a  state  of  listless  inactivity),  or  I 
shall  awake  an  idiot" 

May  4th.  Much  easier ;  continues  to  take 
sal  volatile  of  the  same  strength;  says  the 
s>*stem  is  so  paralysed,  that  if  it  were  weaker 
it  would  have  no  e£fect.  Mesmerized  two 
hours.  In  the  evening  I  found  Mrs.  Bird  de- 
lirious, but  soon  got  her  into  sane  sleep- 
waking  ;  when  she  said,  *<  It  is  lucky  you 
came  to-night,  or  I  should  have  been  raving 
mad  by  the  morning.  I  did  not  tell  you  of  it» 
as  I  could  not  endure  the  notion  of  encroaching 
so  much  on  your  time ;  but  I  see  I  was  wrong, 
and  will  never  a^n  withhold  any  directions 
I  consider  beneficial.  To-morrow  you  should 
be  with  me  from  8  to  9  in  the  evening.  I 
shall  have  three  severe  spasms  between  12 
to  1  o'clock  to-morrow;  if  I  were  mesmerized, 
it  would  be  better." 

May  5th.  Mesmerized  two  hours;  had 
the  three  spasms.  In  the  evening  found  Mrs. 
Bird  delirious;  mesmerized  from  half-past  6 
to  10  o'clock,  P.M. ;  soon  got  her  into  sleep- 
waking.  She  said,  *<  I  could  not  have  lived, 
if  Mr.  Parker  had  not  bled  me  so  often." 

May  6th.    Quite   collected;   mesmerized 
twice. 
May  7th.    Great  tendency  to  the  stupor; 


116 


EpUepspj  DeKnuMj  Neuralgia^  VomHimg^  SfC. 


mesmerized  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes  in 
the  morning,  and  again  in  the  evening. 

May  8th.  Very  weak.  Mesmerized  two 
hours  and  a  quarter,  and  said,  **  Very  shortly 
after  I  am  mesmerized  this  evening,  I  shall 
cough,  and  shall  wipe  some  more  of  the 
^tty  substance  from  my  mouth.  I  shall 
have  a  spasm  between  7  and  8  o'clock,  this 
evening,  and  should  have  one  ounce  of  Epsom 
salts,  with  a  little  j)eppermint  between  4  and 
5  to-morrow  morning.  I  shall  have  sjiasms 
all  Monday."  In  the  evening  I  £^n  visited 
Mrs.  Bird,  and,  after  having  Silked  to  her  a 
little  time,  sent  her  into  sleep^waking,  when 
she  soon  coughed,  and  I  wiped  from  her 
mouth  a  gritty  substance,  precisely  similar  to 
that  she  had  vomited  on  the  3d ;  this  did  not 
go  out  of  my  sight  until  I  delivered  it  to  Mr. 
Fkrker,  who,  on  testing,  fomd  it  contained 
arsenic.  Had  a  very  bad  spasm  between  7 
and  8  o'clock. 

May  9ih.  Tolerably  comfortable,  but 
weak,  and  bad  a  little  impediment  in  speak- 
ing. Mesmerized  twice;  said,  **l  shall  be 
very  ill  Monday  and  Tuesday  (11th  and 
12th),  and  have  spasms  between  7  and  8 
P.M.,  on  the  latter  day.  I  shall  be  very 
faint"  . 

May  10th.  Mesmerized,  and  said,  "I 
should  be  mesmerized  to-morrow  from'lO  to 
12,  3  to  4,  and  7  lo  8  o'clock.  On  Tuesday, 
from  la  to  12,  and  6  to  half-past  8.  When 
I  faint,  rub  camphorated  spirits  into  the  upper 
pjrt  of  each  side  of  my  windpipe,— -it  will  re- 
cover me  sooner  than  anything  else :  this  will 
be  found  beneficial  in  all  cases  of  fainting.  I 
shall  be  very  ill  on  the  3d  of  July,  but  it  will 
not  be  a  fit.  If  not  mesmerized,  I  shall  not 
fecover." 

May  11th.  In  the  morning  was  tolerable, 
, except  the  tendency  to  faint,  which,  however, 
was  overcome  by  strictly  following  her  direc- 
tions. Mesmerized  two  hours.  In  the  irf- 
temoon  I  found  Mrs.  Bird  much  depressed ;  a 
distressing  message  had  been  delivered  to  her. 
Mesmerized,  and  for  a  time  she  was  just  as 
she  had  predicted;  but  afterwards  became 
raving  mad.  I  sent  for  Mr.  Parker,  who  ap- 
plied mustard  to  the  ankles;  but  with  this 
assistance,  and  all  the  mesmeric  means  I 
could  think  of,  it  took  two  or  three  hours  to 
get  her  tolerably  calm ;  when  she  exclaimed, 
r  «  You  have  overcome  me  again ;  if  you  wish 
to  save  my  life,  bleed  me;  do  not  be  afraid.^ 
This  was  done,  and  before  11  o'clock  we  left 
her  perfectly  sane.  8he  also  said  during 
sleep- waking,  "I  may  lie  down  to-night." 
This  she  has  not  been  able  to  do,  night  nor 
day,  since  the  20th  of  March. 

May  12th.    Better  than  could  be  expected. 

Mesmerized  in  the  morning  three  houn  and  a 

half ;  said,  **■  The  spasm  will,  owing  to  my 

—  hm%  bled  last  evening,  oome  on  between  3 


and  4,  instead  of  between  7  and  8  o'clock,  aa 
I  before  stated,  but  it  will  not  be  so  severe. 
I  shall  wander  on  the  15th,  between  3  and  5 
o'clock."  Mesmerized  again  in  the  afternoon 
for  two  hours;  at  a  quarter  after  3  o'clock 
the  spasm  came  on ;  after  which  she  said,  ■*  I 
must  be  bled  again  on  the  18th.  I  shall, 
from  4  to  9  in  the  evenine,  be  as  raving  as  I 
was  yesterday :  I  should  be  bled  at  a  quarter 
after  8.  1  shsdl  then  be  tolerable  until  the 
23d ;  after  which,  I  shall  be  able  to  give  no 
directions  about  anything  until  the  9th  of 
J  one.  On  the  21st,  I  will  give  yon  all  the 
necessary  directions  until  the  9th.  Between 
the  1st  and  the  9th  of  June,  my  speech  will 
be  very  bad." 

May  13th.  Feels  better.  Mesmerized 
twice,  two  hours  each  time. 

May  14lh.  Tolerably  comfortable.  Men- 
merized  two  hours  in  the  morning,  and  the 
same  time  in  the  evening;  said,  "  To-morrow 
I  shall  wander  slightly,  and  should  be  under 
mesmerism  from  half- past  11  to  half-past  12 
o'clock,  and  again  hi  the  evening." 

May  15th.  Mesmerized,  and  said,  **f 
threw  ofif  two  monthfuls  of  blood  from  the 
lungs  this  morning ;  the  right  lung  is  verr 
bad,  not  only  shrivelled,  but  in  spots  much 
infifuned.  I  shall  have  a  stmggje  to-nighl, 
soon  after  I  am  mesmerized.  (This  pmred 
correct.)  If  I  were  not  mesmerized  it  wooU 
take  place  at  1  in  the  morning,  and  ihen  I 
should  be  violent  To-rooTTow  i  must  be 
mesmerized  from  10  to  1,  and  again  in  the 
evening.  I  shall  have  a  spasm  abont  7  P. 
M.'^  Slept  three  houra  in  the  morning,  and 
two  in  the  evening.  Wandered  slightly  da- 
ring the  day. 

May  16th.  Has  a  slight  cold.  Mesme- 
rized, and  said,  *^I  am  rather  out  of  order 
from  the  cold ;  my  right  lung  is  still  inflam- 
ed, and  will  be  more  so.  Mesmerized  per- 
sons are  electrified  in  a  high  degree;  they 
should  never  sleep  on  iron  bed-steads,  or 
spring  mattrasses."  Mesmerized  again  in 
the  evening,  and  the  spasm  was  violent  abont 
7  o'clock. 

Mav  18th.  Found  Mra,  Bird  tolerahlj 
free  from  delirium,  but  was  told  she  bad 
wandered  a  little  before  I  arrived.  Mesme- 
rized two  hours  and  a  half.  At  ten  minuties 
before  4  P.M.,  Mr.  Parker  and  I  found  Mrs. 
Bird  delirious.  Mesmerized,  and  retched  vio- 
lently, but  soon  became  collected,  and  said  a 
mustard  emetic  would  relieve  her  stomach. 
It  was  administered,  but  a  second  was  re- 
sorted to  before  the  desired  effect  was  suffi- 
ciently produced.  She  now  discovered  that 
there  was  a  small  portion  of  the  gritty  sub- 
stance still  remaining  in  her  stomach,  which 
would  be  thrown  off  within  three  dajn.  Sie, 
after  some  time  (as  she  had  predicted),  be- 
came raying  mad;  fcreaBung,  mn^png,  and 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  ^c^  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism,    117 


laughing  most  violently.  I  still  had  great  in- 
fluence over  her,  although  I  cannot  say  she 
was  asleep.  She  was  oled,  as  she  had  di- 
rected, and  soon  after  became  collected,  and 
remained  so  on  aroasing.  If  duriag  the  ex- 
treme raving  f  took  off*  my  attention  for  a  sin- 
gle moment,  she  was  sure  to  commit  some  act 
of  violence,  either  towards  me  or  herself ;  but 

'  while  I  kept  my  will  strongly  upon  her,  she 

was  quite  tractable,  that  is,  L  could  prevent 
violence. 

May  I9th.  Has  enjoyed  some  natural 
sleep  dtthne  the  ni^ht,  and  is  quite  free  from 

K  delirium.    Mesmerized  twice,  and  said,  ^  I 

have  a  great  deal  of  water  in  the  chest ;  I 
shall  throw  it  off  before  the  25lh,  but  to- 

i  morrow  I  will  tell  you  the  exact  day.    I 

flhall  be  better  to-morrow  than  on  any  day 

i  until  after  the  dth  of  June,  but  my  intellect 

r  will  be  clearest  on  the  21  st." 

r  May  20th.     Mesmerized  twice,  and  after 

:  «he  liad  been  asleep  some  little   time,  she 

f  couched,  and  threw  from  her   stomach   a 

«mall  quantity  of  the  gritty  substance,  sknilar 

[  to  what  had  been  before  qected;  this  also 

!  contained  arsenic.    During  sleep   she  said, 

**  The  sal  volatile  must  not  be,  for  a  few 

f   «         hours,  more  than  half  as  strong  as  I  have 

I  teen  taking  it  (up  to  this  time  it  ms  been  two 

parts  water  and  one  part  spirit),  as  the  sto- 
mach is  lacerated  at  the  parts  from  which 

,  the  gritty  substance  has  last  been  removed.    I 

flhall  have  rather  a  severe  spasm  about  noon 
to-morrow ;  when  it  is  over,  give  me  a  cup 
of  coffee,  li^hall  throw  about  three  pints  of 
water  from  my  stomach  between  2  and  3  o'- 
clock to-morrow  morning ;  after  which  I  may 
lie  down,  but  before  that  I  mast  keep  my 
head  and  chest  up.'* 

May  21  St.  Water  has  been  vomited. 
Spirits  not  so  ^;ood.  Mesmerized,  and  ib- 
peated  her  directions  for  the  9th  of  June,  in 
no  particular  varying  from  what  she  had  be- 
fore said.  She  now  desired  that  a  poultice 
<made  according  to  a  prescription  fihe  gave) 
ahould  be  appl£d  to  the  side  to-night  and  to- 
morrow aignt,  and  the  tumor  would  then  dis- 
charge at  1  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
-SSd.  **  I  shail  (she  said)  feel  ill  to-morrow, 
and  have  a  spasm  at  7  o'clock,  P.M. ;  it  will 
he  over  by  S.  I  should  be  mesmerized  twice. 
On  the  23d,  I  should  have  a  dose  of  salts; 
•on  the  24th,  I  should  be  mesmerized  in  the 
evening,  and  not  awake  until  10  o'clock,  P. 
H.  Cm  the  25th,  1  shall  have  spasms  and 
cramp  through  the  limbs  and  whole  system, 
hoth  in  and  out  of  mesmerism :  ^th  and 
^7th,  dittos  28th,  severe  spasms ;  between  11 
and  12  o'clock  in  the  day  1  shall  be  delirious, 
hut  if  it  comes  to  madness,  bleed  me  sparing- 
ly. I  should  be  mesmerized  at  10  A.M. 
129th,  30th  and  31st,  spasms,  but  not  very  se- 
rene; times  of  mesmerism  immaterial    To 


this  dale  let  me  go  out  as  often  as  the  weather 
will  permit,  except  on  the  28th ;  but  after  the 
31st,  I  should  not  go  out  until  after  the  dth  of 
June.  For  directions  for  the  1st  of  June»  see 
April  25th;  2d,  3d,  4th,  and  5th,  spasms; 
6th,  7th,  8th,  very  ill." 

May  22d.  Last  ni^ht  the  poultice  was 
applied  to  the  side,  which  caused  great  pain. 
Mesmerized  twice.    Spasm  as  predicted. 

May  23d.  Application  to  side  repeated 
last  night,  and  tumor  has  discharged.  Mes- 
merized two  hours  in  the  morning,  after 
which  she  was  taken  into  the  open  air. 
When  I  visited  Mrs.  Bird  in  the  afternoon, 
she  was  much  fatigued;  this  caused  delirium, 
which  it  took  some  time  to  overcome,  but  af- 
ter arousing  she  was  perfectly  collected. 

May  24Ui.  Took  the  salts  yesierdav,  as 
directed.  Mesmerized  twice.  1  aroused  he 
at  a  quarter  after  10,  tolerably  comfortable. 

May  25th.  Suffering  from  cramp  and 
spasms.  Mesmerized  four  hours  and  a  half 
in  the  morning,  and  had  a  long  sleep  in  the 
evening. 

May  26th  and  27th.  Jost  as  yesteiday. 
Mesmerized  twice  on  each  of  these  days. 
Internal  vision,  prevision,  and  clairvoyance 
hav«  all  left  her ;  $he  does  {iot  now  during 
mesmerism  recollect  a  word  she  has  said  du- 
ring lucid  sleep-waking,  nor  has  she  since 
the  21st  instant 

May  28th.  Found  Mrs.  Bird  in  her  ^- 
den, quite  delirioas.,  I  induced  her  to  go  mto 
the  house,  and  soon  mesmerized  her  into  sleep- 
waking,  in  which  for  a  time  she  was  col- 
lected; but  from  half-past  1^  to  11  o'clock 
she  gradually  got  worse,  spasms  began,  and 
then  she  became  perfectly  mad.  Mr.  Parker 
bled  her,  I  having  placed  her  as  erect  as  pos- 
sible in  order  that  faintness  might  be  felt 
with  the  loss  of  little  bkxxi,  and  consequentlv 
half  a  pint  was  sufficient  to  produce  the  ef- 
fect. On  recovering  ehe  was  quite  collected. 
I  kept  her  asleep  nearly  six  hours  at  the  first 
sitting,  and  two  hours  more  in  the  evening. 

May  29th,  30th  and  3l6t.  Weak,  but 
quite  collected.  Mesmerized  twice  each  day, 
and  I  had  great  difficulty  ia  preventing  the 
stupori  slight  spasms. 

June  Ist.  Mesmerized  a  little  before  2  o'- 
clock ;  at  a  ouarter  before  3  she  became 
restless ;  this  feeling  increased  to  3  o'clock, 
when  the  spasm  oommenoed  with  great  vio- 
lence ;  oothing  but  her  prevision,  and  what 
we  had  before  witnessed  in  her  case,  gave 
Mr.  Parker  or  myself  any  hope  of  her  reco- 
very. At  a  quarter  after  3  o^'clock  the  mus- 
tani  was  applied,  and  before  4  she  was  quite 
tranquil.  At  5  I  aroused  her,  and  agaia 
mesmerized  her  for  two  bours  in  the  eve- 
ning. 

June  2d.  Very  languid.  Mesmerized, 
and  joon  after  became  delirioof  ior  t|u«e 


118 


Epilepsy y  DeKriwn^  Newrdlgia^  Vomitingy  Sfc. 


quarters  of  an  hour,  but  it  appeared  to  pro- 
ceed more  from  weakness  than  anything  else, 
and  m'ight  have  been  increased  by  the  exces- 
siye  heat  of  the  weather;  kept  her  asleep 
four  hours,  and  mesmerized  her  aeain  for  two 
hours  in  the  evening ;  suffered  slightly  from 
tic  and  spasms. 

June  3d  and  4th.  Slight  spasms  and  a 
▼ery  little  tic.    Mesmerized  twice  each  day. 

June  5th.  Spasms  rather  more  severe. 
Mesmerized  twice;  great  tendency  to  stupor. 

June  6th.  Feels  ill.  Mesmerized  at  a 
quarter  before  10  o^sloek,  when  a  severe 
spasm  came  on,  causing  delirium,  rigidity, 
and  an  involuntary  action  of  the  muscles. 
Slept  three  hours  and  a  half;  was  again 
mesmerized  two  hours  in  the  evening,  and 
said,  *<  I  think  a  dose  of  salts  would  do  me 
good,  but  I  do  not  know.'' 

June  7th.  Took  the  salts,  and  feels  they 
have  been  beneficial.  Mesmerized  five  hours, 
before  and  during  which  she  had  several 
spasms,  producing  rigidity  and  violent  invo- 
luntary action  of  the  mu.%les.  Was  much 
lefresbed  ob  awakinc. 

June  8th.  Very  ill,  and  slightl^r  delirious. 
Soon  after  I  had  mesmerized  her  iiito  sleep- 
waking,  a  spasm  came  on ;  she  was  quite 
insensiole  and  unmanageable.  Having  read 
Dr.  Gregory's  translation  of  Reichenbach's 
Researches  on  Magnetism,  it  occurred  to  me 
that  placing  Mrs.  Bird's  head  to  the  north 
could  do  her  no  harm,  and  might  be  of  bene- 
fit. I  therefore,  without  assigning  any  rea- 
son, requested  the  sofa  might  be  so  tvmed  as 
to  bring  her,  as  near  as  I  could  judge,  into  the 
desired  position;  and  in  less  than  two  mi- 
nutes a  surprising  change  took  place.  She 
exclaimed,  *<  My  head  is  towards  the  north. 
I  feel  much  more  comfortable.  I  am  suffer- 
ing great  pain,  but  my  spirits  are  better. 
How  bright  things  appear  to  me  !  How  dull 
I  have  been  I  but  now  I  see  clearly.  How 
stupid  not  to  know  that  I  was  to  be  so  very 
ill  to-day,  and  have  so  much  to  go  through  to- 
morrow. You  have  done  very  wel  1  for  me.  I 
shall  remain  lucid  until  after  a  spasm,  which 
will  take  place  about  7  this  evening,  when  alt 
will  again  be  dark  until  the  10th."  She  also 
said,  '"*  If  vou  were  now  to  turn  my  head  to 
the  west,  1  should  be  mad.  I  think  (she  ad- 
ded) if  all  persons  subject  to  insanity  were 
(provided  they  do  not  lie  on  iron)  to  sleep 
with  their  hosuls  to  the  north,  it  would  be 
better.  East  to  west,  or  south  to  north,  is 
not  so  bad  as  west  to  east.'^  I  am  convinced 
Mrs.  Bird  had  never  seen  Reichenbach's 
book,  but  these  assertions  are,  I  consider, 
borne  out  by  experiments.  "  I  am  (she  also 
said)  influenced  as  the  compass,  being  full  of 
a  mesmeric  electricity;  it  is  similar  to  electri- 
city and  magnetism,  but  not  Identical  with 
then.    Some  persons  under  mesmerisii  axe 


not  so  much  influenced  by  this  electricitf  as 
others." 

June  9th.  Although  Mrs.  Bird  was  not  to 
be  mesmerized  until  10  o'clock,  P.M.,  Mr. 
Parker  and  1  visited  her  in  the  morning;  Att 
was  delirious,  and  continued  so  through  die 
day.  At  about  half-past  9,  P.M  •  we  agiii 
saw  Mrs.  Bird,  and  at  a  little  before  101 
commenced  mesmerizing  her:  a  very  bad 
spasm  came  on,  acting  on  her  head  ao^ 
heart ;  then  violent  delirium  with  contional 
spasms,  lasting  until  12  o'clock. 

June  10th.    At  12  o'clock  the  tic  cooh 
menced;  her  agonies  were  most  distressiogto 
witness ;  she  threw  herself  about,  somctiiiiei 
on  the  floor,  and  was  quite  inrane ;  angifl^ 
laughing,  screaming,  and  groaning  ahe^nl^ 
ly.    At  2  o'clock,  we  tic  had  passed  off,  ai^ 
the  fit  commenced  with  great  violence :  hff 
spine  was  arched  forwards,  and  she  injorei 
it,  as  she  had  some  time  previously  predicted 
At  3  o'clock,  A.M.,  on  Mr.  Parker's  alteajpfr 
ing  to  open  her  temporal  arteries,  she  beaaie 
very  violent,  and  for  twenty  minutes  ressfcrf 
all  our  eflforts.     We  at  last   succeeded  ii 
opening  ihe  right  artery,  but  it  caused  for  at 
instant  great  agony,  as    it    implicated  tk 
nerves,  which  were  suffering  from  the  eft* 
of  tic.    After  a  rery  little  blood  had  M, 
she  became  sane,  and  requested  to  be  bWa 
the  opposite  arm,  instead  of  the  other  a^i 
as  the  nerves  were  in  such  an  irritable  ess- 
tion;  this  was  done:  the  artery  and  i* 
were  kept  open  until  yawning  was  pro*f* 
At  4,  A.M.,  the   laudanum  ^ras  apjW 
slight  spasms  came  on  at  intervals,  and  « 
suffered  much  from  the  effects  of  what  ibe 
had  gone  through.    At  half-past  5,  mvm 
cataplasms  were  applied,  and  as  soon  aslKT 
were  taken  off,  she  fell  into  a  sort  of  wB 
stupor ;  this  continued  until  9  o'clock,  wMi 
she  g;ot  into  a  high    state   of  mcfmens^ 
knowing  she  was  asleep,  &c.;  and  said,"! 
have  injured  the  spine  in  two  placM:  i^ 
side  will  never  gather  again,  unless  there  u 
some  active  cause ;  but  this  would  not  M« 
been  the  case,  if  leeches  had  been  appw 
irfstead  of  the  poultice."    Mrs.  Bird;s  pre*- 
tions  in  all  cases  have  been  fully  venficd,  tfj 
we  considered  ourselves  called  opon/«<^ 
out  all  her  directions.    At  a  little  after  m 
aroused  her.     Mesmerized  again  at  noon,  a» 
slept  three  hours,     internal  vision  and  pr^ 
sion  have  returned  in  full  splendor  (sK-Apm 
25,  and  June  10).    At  half  past  7,rJ«^'' 
again  sent  her  to  sleep  for  two  houw  aw 
half,  when  she  said,"!  mwt  bcW«de^ 
Wednesday  for  six  weeks :  the  first  fire  nn» 
in  the  arm,  and  the  last  in  the  left  ^ 
poral  artery.    To-morrow  I  sboaM  M  "J", 
merited  from  11  to  2,  and  7  tol»ocl«t 
The  cough  has  come  on,  and  wdl,  sbt»J^ 
last  six  weeks.    Mrs.  Bird,  !«<««»*'*" 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  4^.,  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism.  119 


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of  February  and  9th  of  June,  had  two  fits ; 
hnt  it  moat  be  recollected,  she  vras  twice 
frightened,  and  often  much  excited.  I  hare 
nulected  to  note  the  dates. 

June  11th.  Better.  Mesmerized  three  hours 
and  a  half  in  the  mominfc,  and  two  hours  and 
a  half  in  the  evening,  during  which  she  said, 
«<  I  tfiall  he  very  unwell  on  the  3d  of  July ;  I 
should  to-morrow  be  mesmerized  twice,  bat 
&e  lime  is  not  important." 

June  12th.  Mesmerized  three  hours,  and 
prescribed  medicine  for  Saturday. 

June  13th.  Very  tolerable.  Mesmerized 
twice.  In  the  afternoon,  and  after  she  had 
got  into  sleep-waking,  a  gentleman  of  Exeter 
came  to  see  Mrs.  Bird.  I  then  called  her  at- 
tention to  his  knee,  which  had  been  seriously 
injured  some  months  before  from  the  kick  of 
a  horse.  After  a  time,  she  said,  «  Your  knee 
18  bandaged  too  tight  (this  no  one  in  the 
room  knew  but  the  gentleman  himself,  who 
instantly  admitted  the  truth  of  what  die 
stated.  He  was  sitting  from  three  to  six  feet 
from  Mrs.  Bird,  and  wore  loose  trousere). 
She  was  now  silent  for  a  little  time,  appeared 
puzzled,  and  requested  me  to  take  the  gentle- 
man's hand;  on  my  doing  which,  she  started, 
exclaiming,  **  He  has  steel  about  him."  She 
for  a  few  moments  felt  uncomfortable. 
When  Mrs.  Bird  recovered,  she  said,  <*  Steel 
is  not  good  for  the  knee,  whalebone  or  ivory 
should  be  used  instead,  and  no  metal  except 
silver  or  gold  be  introduced."  She  recom- 
mended batning,  local  mesmerism,  and  a  lini- 
ment, adding,  «If  the  gentleman  follows 
my  advice,  he  will  be  much  better  than  he  is 
atnretent" 

June  14th.  Feels  sick  from  the  medicine. 
Mesmerized  water  settled  her  stomach,  and 
threw  her  into  a  very  deep  sleep,  in  which 
she  did  not  hear  even  my  voice,  nor  could  1 
get  her  to  pay  the  least  attention  to  me  in  any 
way.  On  again  arousing  (if  I  may  use  such  a 
term)  into  sleep- waking,  she  was  much  re- 
freshed, and  directed  that  she  should  be  mes- 
merized on  the  16th  before  12  o'clock  in  the 
day,  and  between  7  and  9  ia  the  evening. 
Slent  three  hours  and  a  half. 

June  15di.  Better.  Mesmerized  and  slept 
comfortably. 

June  16th.  Still  improving  in  general 
faealQi,  but  the  cough,  which  exactly  resem- 
bles hooping-cough,  is  very  troublesome. 
Mesmeriaed  water  again  produced  what  she 
calls  the  doable  sleep.  In  the  afternoon  she 
had  a  slight  attack  of  diarrhceaKfor  which  she 

Sve  a  prescription   in  case   it  oontiniMd. 
esmerized  twice. 

June  17th.  Head  and  face  swollen ;  mes- 
merized twice.  In  the  evening  all  the  symp- 
toms had  increased.  Bled  as  she  had  direct- 
ed. She  also  said,  **  My  face  should  be 
hathed  with  an  infusion  of  parsley,  marsh 
mallow,  and  feverfew.* 


June  18th.  DiairhcBa  rather  violent.  Mes- 
merized twice,  and  said,  <*  It  will  be  necessary 
to  use  the  prescription  I  gave  the  other  day, 
and  to  have  my  face  bathed."  All  this  waf 
attended  to. 

June  19th.  Mesmerized  at  Mr.  Fftrker's, 
when  a  few  gentlemen  and  ladies  were  ad- 
mitted to  see  Mrs.  Bird ;  she  aroused  at  the 
end  of  five  hours.  Mesmerized  for  two 
hours  in  the  afternoon,  and  aroused,  feeling 
better.    Face  to  be  again  bathed. 

June  20th.  Mesmerized  twice;  cough 
verjr  bad,  producing  a  tendency  to  lock-jaw, 
which  she  said  would  be  avoided  either  m  or 
out  of  mesmerism  by  pressure  of  the  fingers 
just  at  the  hinge  of  the  jaw.  Passes  down 
the  spine  relieve  the  cou^. 

June  2lBt  Health  miproving.  Mesme- 
rized from  a  quarter  before^3  to  6  o'clock. 
For  twenty  minutes  she  was  in  the  deep 
sleep,  and,  on  again  getting  into  sleep- wakinj^ 
she  said,  *<  I  have  heen  examining  my  bram 
to  see  in  what  state  it  will  be  after  the  last 
bleeding,  on  the  22d  of  July  (Wednesday). 
I  shall  be  very  ill  on  the  Monday  and  Tues- 
day, from  cramp  and  violent  cough.  Before 
8  o'clock  on  Wednesday  evening  I  shall  be  quite 
mad;  then  bleed  me  in  the  temporal  artery; 
this  will  get  rid  of  the  madness,  and  I  shall 
get  into  mesmeric  sleep :  I  shall  be  partially 
under  its  influence  before,  but  not  asleep. 
From  this  time  I  shall  get  better,  but  should 
not  exert  myself  too  much,  nor  get  over- 
heated." 

June  22d.  Somewhat  d^ressed,  particu- 
larly after  12  o'clock  (there  was  much  thun- 
der in  the  air).  Mesmerized  twice,  and  says 
her  liver  is  out  of  order,  and  she  should  eat 
water-cress,  and  very  young  onions.  Cough 
still  bad. 

June  23d.  A  severe  thunder  took  place 
last  evening,  during  which  Mrs.  Bird  felt 
a  ver^  curious  sensation  in  the  heed,  spine» 
and  lunbs,  such  as  she  had  never  before  ex- 
perienced ;  there  seemed  to  be  slight  electric 
shocks  passing  through  the  system.  Mes- 
merized twrioe,  and  slept  five  hours. 

June  24th.  Mesmerized  morning  and  eve- 
ning; during  the  latter  sitting,  Mr.  Parkw 
attempted  to  bleed ;  the  first  tnal  was  unsuc- 
cessful. There  is  now  some  difficulty  in 
getting  at  the  vein,  as  she  has  been  bled  more 
than  four  hundred  times  in  the  arm  that  vras 
now  tried.  On  the  second  attempt,  Mr. 
Parker's  fin^r  unfortunately  touched  her 
arm,  which  immediately  became  rigid,  and 
although  the  vein  was  opened,  scarcely  any 
blood  would  flow.*  I  soon  relaxed  the  arm, 
and  placed  her  hand  in  hot  water,  but  all  to 
no  efiect  She  then  said  it  would  be  safer 
after  a  short  time  to  arouse  her  and  open  a 


*  Wlien  Mr.  Parker  bii  bled  Mn.  Blnl  in  the  mm- 
meri«  state,  U  bae  alwajs  sroided  tooobhv  htf,  hariitf 
UMd  mj  haoi  M  a  xeat. 


120 


EpOepsy^  Beliriwn^  Neuralgia^  Yamitiing^  S[C. 


vein  ia  the  waking  state,  a8»  if  a  similar  acci- 
dent occurred  to  the  other  arm,  we  should  not 
be  able  to  bleed  her  for  the  night  This  was 
done,  and  fixteen  oanoes  of  blood  taken; 
after  which  she  was  again  mesmerized  for 
two  hours. 

June  25tb  and  26th.  Mesmerized  twice 
each  day,  and  is  better. 

June  27th.  The  thunder  weather  still 
causes  uneasiness.  Mesmeriated  twice,  and 
■aid,  <*  On  Monday,  the  29th  instant,  i  will 
giye  directions  for  the  following  day,  and  de- 
cide whether  it  will  be  better  to  postpone  the 
bleeding  from  Wednesday,  the  ist  of  July,  to 
Friday,  the  3d,  as  it  would  be  of  great  benefit 
to  me  on  that  day,  when  I  shall  be  so  ill." 

June  2Sth.  Felt  better  for  a  drire  she  took 
last  evening.  JMesmeri2ed  three  hours  and 
fifty  minutes ;  said,  "  I  have  not  quite  got 
over  the  effectsiof  the  stagnation  of  me  blood 
on  Wednesday.  There  is  great  inflammation 
all  up  the  spine,  but  particularly  at  the  lower 
bone.** 

June  29tfa.  Feels  as  yesterday.  Mesmer- 
ized two  hours  and  three  quarters  in  the  mor- 
Bin^,  and  said,  "  The  bleeding  can  be  put  off 
mntil  Friday  (July  X),  if  you  will  mesmerize 
me  every  evening  after  to-morrow  from  7  to  a 
quarter  before  10  o'clock.  On  Ftiday  I  shall 
have  spasms  through  the  day;  indeed  they 
will  commence  the  night  before,  but  the  worst 
will  be  between  7  and  8  P.M. ;  after  a,  bleed. 
In  the  forepart  of  the  day  let  me  have  as  much 
mesmerism  as  you  can.  I  shall  be  rather  de- 
lirious. Daring  the  following  week  I  shall 
be  weak  and  poorly  until  the  last  bleeding ;  a 
lew  days  after  which,  I  shall  be  able  to  do 
without  mesmerism  for  a  short  time." 

June  30th.  Had  enjoyed  many  honrs  na- 
tural sleep  during  the  night  and  feels  better. 
Mesmerized  twice. 

July  1st.  Slight  spasms.  Mesmerized  as 
yesterday. 

July  2d.  Spasms  increased,  but  it  must  be 
lemembered  she  was  to  have  been  bled  last 
night:  the  operation  by  her  directions  was 
postponed  to  to-morrow.    Mesmerized  twice. 

July  3d.  Spasms  rather  worse.  Mesme- 
rized 3  hours  in  the  morning.  At  5  o'clock  in 
the  evening  I  a^in  mesmerized  Mrs.  Bird, 
spasms  stiu  continued,  and  between  7  and  8 
lihree  very  severe  ones  came  on.  As  soon  as 
she  became  collected  after  the  third  spasm 
I  aroused  her,  and  Mr.  Parker  opened  a  vein 
in  her  arm :  it  was  not  done  dwine  sleep  for 
fear  of  a  repetition  of  what  took  place  when 
■he  was  last  Ued.  When  the  arm  was  se- 
cured I  again  sent  her  to  sleep  until  10  o'block, 
when  she  was  aroused  free  from  delirium. 

July  4th.  Suffering  from  reaction  after  the 
blood  letting.  Mesmerized  3  hours  both 
nomin|^  and  evening.  Spine  also  locally 
memnerized  with  the  flat  hand  during  both 
aitUngi;  thia  has  been  done  daily  for  some  \ 


time,  and  it  generally  throws  hei  into  deep 
sleep. 

July  5tb.  Mesmerized  more  than  three 
hours.  To-day  she  could  bear  the  spine  and 
chest  to  be  mesmerically  electrified  by  the 
tips  of  my  .fingers  and  then  soothed  down 
with  the  dat  hand. 

Jury  6th.  Mesmerized  three  Jmnus-  and 
three  quarters. 

July  7tb.  Spine  and  cough  better.  Mes- 
merized twice ;  back  and  chest  electrified. 

July  8th.    Suffering  from  head-ache.   Mea- 
meri2QBd  3  houre  in  the  forenoon.    Id  the 
evening  Mr.  Parker  and  I  visited  Mrs.  Bird, 
and  found  her  much  excited,  a  report  having 
reached  her  (promulgated  of  course  by  an  op- 
poeer  of  mesmerism),  reflecting  on  her  cha- 
racter, insinuating  that  Mr.  Parker  and  I  Tisitei 
her  for  immoral  purposes:  a  more  wicked  or 
false  report  coald  not  have  been  invented. 
Bat  what  will  not  our  opponents  do  !    They 
must  be  beaten  and  they  b^n  to  know  il» 
though  still  trying  to  ward  oft  the  blow  for  a 
time.    They  scrapie  not  to  have  vecomee  ta 
the  most  baise  expedients,  setting  truth  uttedy 
at  defiance.    While  they  only  nmt   aboot 
Satanic  influence,  witchcraft,  humbug,  &c« 
ftc,  &eir  conduct  produces  some  Mmneemeat: 
but  when  they  are  base  enough  to  attack  the 
character  of  a  female,  on  whom  a  woid  of 
reproach  on  that  point  has  never  before  &ea 
breathed,  it  must,  I  think,  be  reprobatotf  by 
all  respectable  persons,  be  their  opinion  at 
mesmerism  what  it  may.    But  to  letum  to  ov 
patient,  who  was  bled  and  sent  to  akep  lor 
three  hours. 

July  9th.  Head  much  relieved,  althom^ 
she  Irets  and  vexes  herself  much,  owic^  to 
the  report  alluded  to  yesterday.  Mesoiensed 
three  hours  in  the  morning  and  not  again  for 
the  day,  owing  to  my  being  saddenly  called 
to  see  a  sick  relation  some  miles  from  fixetes. 

Jidy  10th.  At  half  past  a  PJVl  I  found 
Mr^  Bird  suffering  from  head-ache.  Mea- 
merized  her,  when  she  said,  **  If  meameri^ed 
gold  were  placed  on  nw  forehead  where  the 
pain  is,  I  think  it  would  produce  a  soothiiw 
efieet.  It  may  throw  me  into  a  deep  sleep ;  3 
it  does,  you  had  better  remove  it  sooq  after 
that  takes  place."  I  tried  the  experimcoU 
which  succeeded  admirably.  After  two  houm 
and  a  half,  it  was  convenient  that  she  ahoaki 
be  aroused ;  I  therefore  awoke  her,  and  she 
took  tea;  after  which  I  again  put  her  inio 
sleep-waking  and  repeated  the  experiment 
with  the  mesmerized  gold,  with  a  preeiseljr 
similar  result    Slept  three  hounk 

July  11th.  The  excitement  respeetii^  the 
report  is  much  increased.  Mesmerized  three 
hours>  during  which  she  was  tolerably  com- 
posed. In  the  evening,  when  Mr.  Parker  and 
I  arrived,  we  found  Mrs.  Kid  su&rtng  much 
in  her  head,  and  very  soon  after  I  got  her 
asleep  a  convulsive  motion  of  the  eyes  com 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  ^c.^  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism.  121 


.  aeoeed.  Then  came  several  yioleot 
flj^ng  from  the  head  to  the  heart,  accompanied 
with  great  rigidity  of  the  whole  body,  and  ez- 
ceflsive  difficulty  of  breathings  indeed  such 
were  the  symptoms,  that  had  I  not  known 
the  power  mesmerism  had  over  her,  I  should 
have  despaired  of  her  life.  She  was  very  de- 
lirious, but  after  a  time  became  more  calm, 
although  the  breathing  continued  painfully 
difficult.  I  now  placed  a  highly  mesmerized 
sovereign  in  her  hand ;  she  grasped  it  tight! v, 
and  then  placed  it  on  the  pit  of  her  stomach, 
and  fell  into  a  deep  sleep.  In  five  minutes 
the  breathing  and  wnoie  frame  became  as  tran- 

auil  as  can  well  be  imagined.    On  arousing 
be  felt  exhausted,  but  was  quite  collected. 
July  12th.    Spirits  still  much  depressed, 
i       Mesmerized  twice,  and  said,  she  had  irritated 
!       the  spine  during  last  evening,  which  made  the 
t       cough  worse. 

July  13th.  Spirits  low  and  feels  pressure 
on  the  brain,  particularly  on  the  centre  of  the 
,  forehead.  Mesmerized  three  hours  in  the 
morning,  during  part  of  which  time  she  was 
in  the  deep  sleep ;  on  coming  out  of  which 
she  said,  *<  After  the  bleeding  on  the  22d  of 
this  month,!  shall  feel  weak  and  ill  for  a  few 
days,  then,  if  nothing  unexpected  occurs,  I 
ahall  gradually  eet  better  nntil  the  16th  of 
August,  on  which  day  I  shall  have  very  severe 
spasmodic  affections :  both  hands  will  be  con- 
tracted, particularly  the  left  You  must  re- 
lieve this  by  burning  moxa  on  the  nape  of  the 
neck ;  let  the  arms  be  rubbed  with  campho- 
rated spirits  and  oil,  twice  a  day,  until  they 
gain  strength."  Mesmerized  i^'n  in  the 
evening  for  three  hours,  when  she  directed 
that  she  should  inhale  from  an  infusion  of 
certain  herbs  twice  a  day. 

July  14th.  Headache  rather  worse.  Mes- 
merized twice ;  says,  *<  The  spasms  which 
will  take  place  on  the  16th  of  next  month, 
are  entirely  caused  by  her  fretting  about  the 
leport  affecting  her  character." 

July  15th.  Head  still  bad.  Mesmerized 
three  hours  in  the  morning,  when  she  said, 
«'  The  longs  are  already  l^nefited*by  the  in- 
lialing."  They  are  mesmerically  electrified 
daily.  In  the  evening  she  was  bled,  then 
mesmerized,  and  when  the  first  feeling  of 
faintnesa  had  passed  off,  she  desired  me  to 
throw  her  into  the  deep  sleep,  with  mesme- 
rized gold  on  her  forehead.  This  was  done, 
and,  on  again  getting  into  sleep- waking,  she 
alluded  to  the  16th  of  August,  saying,  **  I 
cannot  see  (my  way  clear;  that  day  looks 
'very  dark  to  me."    Slept  four  hours. 

Jnly  16th.  Very  weak,  but  head  better. 
Mesmerized  twice,  and  said,  <*  The  temporal 
artery  must  not  be  opened  on  Wednesday  until 
about  8  o'clock  P.M.  1  shall  begin  to  be 
Tary  delirious  between  5  and  6  P.M." 
July  17th,    Much  mental  suflering  conti- 


nues. Mesmerized  three  hours  in  die  mor- 
ning. In  the  evening  I  found  Mrs.  Bird' con- 
siderably excited,  having  heard  more  'Of  the 
slanders  that  have  been  so  falsely  reported 
respecting  her.  Mesmerized ;  soon  after 
which  a  severe  spasm  came  on,  was  followed 
by  others,  and  she  became  insane.  1  now 
succeeded  in  getting  her  into  the  very  deep 
state.  Slept  three  hours  and  twenty  minutes. 
On  arousing  she  was  calm. 

July  18th.  Spirits  a  little  better,  bat  the 
spasms  continue.    Mesmerized  twice, 

July  19th.  Still  poorly ;  spasms  continue, 
and  she  has  a  slight  attack  of  St.  Vitns*s 
dance.  Mesmerized  twice ;  says  the  action  of 
the  limbs  will  only  last  for  a  day  or  two. 

July  20th.  Less  spasms,  but  great  debility. 
Mesmerized  8  hours  in  the  morning,  and  it 
hours  in  the  afternoon.    Cramp  and  cough. 

July  21  St  Better,  with  the  exception  of  a 
pain  in  her  head,  which  cannot  be  expected 
to  be  removed  until  blood  has  been  taken 
from  the  temporal  artery  to-morrow  evening. 
Mesmerized  twice.  Still  unable  to  say  how 
the  16th  will  terminate.  Cramp  and  cough 
as  yesterday. 

July  22d.  Head  very  bad.  Mesmerized 
three  hours  in  the  forenoon,  and  at  times  was 
slightly  delirious.  A  little  before  6  P.M.. 
Mr.  Parker  and  I  found  Mrs.  Bird  delirious, 
and  she  soon  became  quite  mad,  attempting  to 
strike  me  and  do  all  sorts  of  mischief.  I 
could  not  get  her  to  sleep,  but  still  by  deter- 
mination and  a  strong  exercise  of  the  willj  I 
kept  her  tolerably  quiet,  provided  I  did  not 
take  my  eye  off  her.  At  8  o'clock  the  tem- 
poral artery  was  opened,  and  before  much 
more  than  a  table-spoonful  of  blood  had 
flowed,  she  was  quite  collected  and  asked 
what  we  had  done.  As  soon  as  the  bandage 
was  adjusted,  I  mesmerized  her  into  aleep- 
waking  and  then  into  the  deep  sleep :  on  re- 
covering from  the  latter  she  said,  *<  I  shall 
onlv  have  one  more  fit  of  coughing,  which 
will  be^  on  Saturday  evening.  On  Friday 
week  the  31st  I  must  take  an  ounce  of  tinc- 
ture of  rhubarb,  and  on  Tuesday  week  I 
should  be  bled.  I  shall  be  cheenul  while 
away"  (Mrs.  Bird  is  goinjg  to  the  sea  side  for 
a  fortnight),  **  but  my  spirits  will  flag  on  my 
return.*'  She  again,  after  speaking  of  the 
spasm  which  will  take  place  on  the  16th  of 
August,  said,  «*  After  the  application  of  moxa 
a  stupor  will  come  on,  dunng  which,  bleed 
until  1  show  some  signs  of  faintnesa ;  then  pat 
my  feet  into  warm  water  with  a  little  mustard 
in  it  for  ten  minutes,  wipe  them  dry  and  pat 
them  on  the  sofa.  If  I  rallv  from  the  stupor 
I  shall  do  well ;  if  not,  one  hour  will  only  be 
left  for  me.  The  suflisringB  of  that  day  tie 
entirely  prodnoed  by  the  unkind  reports." 

July  2ad.    Better  in  every  respect,  bat 


128 


Epilepsy^  Delirium^  Neuralgia^  Vomitings  Sfc. 


weak  from  the  bleedioff.  Mesmerized.  St. 
Vitus'B  dance  has  quite  left  her. 

July  24th.  Appetite  improved,  and  is  al- 
together better.  Mesmerized  three  hoars  and 
a  half  in  the  morning  and  two  hours  in  the 
evening. 

July  25th.  Still  better.  Mesmerized 
twice.  During  the  morning  sitttnjg  a  thunder 
•toim  came  on  and  she  felt  slight  shocks 
through  her  system.  She  heard  the  thunder, 
although  no  mechanical  noise  nor  the  voice  of 
any  one  but  that  of  her  mesmerizer  is  audible 
to  her.  May  not  this  be  owing  to  electricity  ? 
She  again  assured  me,  that  being  without 
mesmerism  until  the  15th  of  August  would 
not*  in  any  way,  affect  the  crisis  on  the  16th. 
Cough  as  predicted. 

July  26th.  Still  better.  Mesmerized  two 
hours  and  a  half. 

Aug.  4th.  Bled  to  sixteen  ounces  while  at 
the  sea-side. 

Aug.  14th.  Has  not  been  mesmerized 
since  the  26th  ultimo.  Mrs.  Bird  took  the 
tincture  of  rhubarb  on  the  31st  ultimo.  The 
changeable  weather  has  given  her  very  slight 
tic.  Mesmerized  three  hours  and  a  half,  and 
said,  "  My  chest  is  nearly  full  of  water"  (her 
breathing  is  very  difficult),  **  I  have  a  slight 
cold,  wluch  has  produced  a  little  inflammation 
through  the  system,  and  the  stomach  is  disor- 
dered oy  it.  I  can  give  you  no  further  direc- 
tions as  to  the  16th.  The  spasms  will  com- 
mence at  5  o'clock." 

Aug.  15th.  Still  feeling  ill.  Mesmerized 
three  hours  in  the  morning,  and  said,  "  I  shall 
throw  the  water  from  my  stomach  before  to- 
morrow morning ;  that  is  something  in  favor 
of  my  recovery.  Your  taking  sal  volatile  or 
wine  after  I  am : bled,  on  the  16th,  will  be  be- 
neficial." On  visiting  Mrs.  Bird  in  the  even- 
ing, I  found  she  had  ejected  three  pints  of 
water,  and  consequently  the  chest  was  much 
velieved.    Mesmerized  again  for  three  hours. 

Aug.  t6th.  Found  Mrs.  Bird  at  10  A.M. 
very  ill.  Mesmerized  her  for  two  hours  and 
a  half,  but  she  could  not  even  now  see  her 
way  through  the  afternoon  attack;  indeed 
there  appeared  to  be  in  sleep- waking  a  very 
strong  impression  that  she  should  not  recover; 
not  that  she  saw  that  would  be  the  case,  but 
all  after  the  stupor  appeared  as  a  blank.  At 
twenty  minutes  after  3  P.M.,  Mr.  Parker  and 
I  found  Mrs.  Bird  looking  and  feeling  as  ill 
as  it  is  possible  to  imagine ;  Mr.  Parker's  im- 
pression  was  that  she  would  not  recover.  I 
mesmerized  her  into  sleep-waking,  and  it  was 
very  beautiful  to  observe  her  perfect  resigna- 
tion, and  touching  to  a  degree  to  hear  her  ex- 
press her  entire  forgiveness  of  all  who  had 
injured  her.  The  gratitude  she  expressed 
towards  Mr.  Parker  and  myself  for  the  atten- 
tion we  had  paid  her,  was  unbounded.  At  5 
oTclock  the  spasms  came  on,  her  screams  were 


dreadful;  before  6,  both  hands  contracted, 
and  Mr.  Parker  gave  me  a  moxa  to  bum  oa 
her  neck,  as  she  had  directed*  Soon  after  it 
b^ean  to  afifect  the  skin,  the  hands  flew  open 
and  were  relaxed.  Her  other  directions  as  to 
hot  water,  bleeding,  &c.,  were  attended  to^ 
She  fell  into  the  stupor,  and  was  to  aU  ap- 
pearance dying.  I  persevered  in  keepipg  her 
as  much  under  the  influence  of  mesmerism  as 
possible,  wetting  her  lips  with  wine,  and 
taking  some  my^lf,  as  well  as  several  doses 
of  sal  volatile ;  this  recovered  her  for  a  mo- 
ment, but  her  tongue  was  convulsively  diawa 
to  the  roof  of  her  mouth ;  lower  jaw  drop- 
ping, limbs  extended,  and  she  was  to  ul 
appearance  sinking.  This  continued  for 
nearly  an  hour,  when  her  breathing  became 
more  easy ;  and  she  told  me,  in  an  almost 
inaudible  voice,  that  she  was  better,  bat  tbtf 
as  the  reaction  of  blood-letting  took  place,  dK 
should  sufler  greatly.  I  proposed  keeping  faei 
under  mesmensm  the  whole  night  This  at 
first  she  was  unwilling  we  should  do,  as  it 
would  fatigue  us.  However,  Mr.  Parker  aad 
I  remained  with  her  until  7  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  She  awoke  spontaneously  tviee 
durinf  me  time,  but  I  soon  mesmerized  kcr 
into  sleep-waking.  At  7  A.M.  I  arouaed  he: 
At  1  P.M.  I  again  gave  her  three  hours  imb- 
merism,  and  kept  her  asleep  the  sane  fiae  k 
the  evening. 

Aug.  18tb.  Thunder  in  the  air,  wUdi 
causes  a  little  oppression  about  the  hnin. 
Mrs.  Bird  last  night  ejected  her  supper ;  with 
one  exception,  this  is  the  only  time  she  bv 
vomited  an  v  food  since  the  early  part  oi  July, 
and  on  each  occasion  she  had  exerted  heiM 
sooner  after  a  meal  than  is  desirable.  Befoie 
being  mesmerized,  she  ejected  her  food  daily 
for  nearly  thirteen  years.    Mesmerized  twke. 

Aug.  19th.  Notwithstanding  the  wealber, 
which  is  very  damp,  Mrs.  Bird  gains  atreagA, 
and  her  general  health  improves.  Mesucr- 
ized  twice,  and  said,  *<  My  stomach  is  a  VsoSt 
out] of  order;  liver  is  inflamed;  right  lair 
dormant,  but  not  much  inflamed ;  nerves  a 
the  brain*rather  excited,  but  that  will 
The  time  of  the  day  at  which  you  < 
me  is  of  no  importance,  until  Tuesday,  the 
25th.  At  4  P.M.  OHxthat  day  I  shall  sofo 
from  cramp  in  the  bowels.  Soothing  passes 
would  be  of  benefit  If  you  were  not  wiik 
me  there  would  be  no  danger,  only  1  sfaoaU 
suffer  more.  I  must  have  one  ounce  of  tise- 
ture  of  rhubarb  that  night" 

Aug.  20th.  Mrs.  Bird's  cold  has  oocaaioD- 
ed  slight  tooth-ache,  but  nothing  worth  the 
name  of  tic.  Mesmerized  twice.  Dnriai 
the  second  dtting  she  said,  **  Wild  sage  tei 
would  do  me  good,  and  a  poultice  of  toan 
and  yeast,  such  as  I  have  before  used.  The 
general  inflammation  through  the  systeoi  m 
much  less." 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  4^.,  successfully  treated  unth  Mesmerism. .  123 


Aug.  2l8t«'  Mesmerized  twice,  together 
six  hours. 

Aug.  22d.  Face  much  hetter.  Mesmer- 
ized three  hours. 

Aug.  23d.  '  Still  hetter;  appetite  good, 
does  not  eject  her  food.  Mesmerized  each 
day  for  some  hours. 

Aug.  25th.  Mesmerized  in  the  momine, 
and  a  little  before  4  in  the  afternoon,  wiSi 
the  cramp  present 

Aug.  26th  and  27th.  Took  rhubarb  on 
the  night  of  the  25th.  Rather  weak ;  mes- 
meriz^  both  days  for  some  hours. 

Au2.  29th,  30th,  and  31st    Mesmerized 
each  day  twice.    Health  improving. 
I  Sept  Ist,  2d,  and  3d.    Mesmerized  each 

day.    On  the  last,  she  said,  "  I  shall,  soon 
I      after  I  am  mesmerized  to-monow,  have  a 
sharp  s{)asm,  which  will  leave  a  head-ache ; 
I      with  this  exception  1  shall  get  on  tolerably 
f      until  Tuesday,  which   day  I  do   not  see 
clearly." 
Sept  4th.    Mesmerized  six  hours.    Spasm 
I      came  on  as  predicted,  and  left  a  head-ache. 

Sept  5th.     Head-ache  continues.     Mes- 
I      merized  twice,  two  hours  each  time;  says 

Tuesday  will  be  an  uncomfortable  day. 
1         Sept.  6th.    Head  worse  (there  is  thunder 
i     in  the  air,  and  this  always  affects  her).    Mes- 
I      merized  once  four  hours ;  says  she  should  be 
bled  on  Tuesday  the  8th,  or  a  severe  spasm 
and  delirium  will  be  the  consequence. 
Sept.  7th.    Mesmerized :  head  bad. 
Sept  8th.   Bled,  and  then  mesmerized  three 
hoars  in  the  afternoon. 

Sept  9th.  Head-ache  gone ;  feels  better, 
but  weak.    Mesmerized  some  hours. 

Sept.  10th.  Still  better :  sleeps  at  night 
Mesmerized  twice,  together  five  hours ;  says 
the  heart  is  now  worse  than  any  other  part. 

Sept  11th  Mesmerized  twice,  together 
^Yt  hours. 

Sept  12th.  Mrs.  Bird  has  a  little  tendency 
to  faint ;  the  heat  of  the  weather  is  intense. 
Mesmerized  twice,  two  hours  each  time. 

Sept.  13th.  Just  as  yesterday.  Mesmerized 
three  hours. 

Sept  14th.  Stronger,  and  able  to  sit  up  a 
longer  time ;  but  exertion  causes  palpitation. 
Mesmerized  four  hours,  and  said,  **  To-mor- 
row, Wednesday  and  Thursday,  will  be  very 
fair  days;  Friday  and  Saturday  oppression 
about  the  head ;  Sunday  I  shall  be  very  ill, 
but  better  on  Monday.'* 

Sept.  15th.    Mesmerized  ^it  hoars ;  says, 
*'  There  is  pain  at  the  bottom  of  the  rieht 
lung :  I  must  rub  into  the  side,  just  over  tnat' 
part,  one-third  of  a  grain  of  opium  in  an 
ointment,  twice  a  day;   and  the  inhalation 
jDOst  be  altered  "  (for  this  she  gave  a  prescrip- 
tion) ;  in  other  respects  comfortable. 
Sept.  16th.    Not  mesmerized. 
Sept  17th.  Comfortable.  Mesmerized  twice, 
togethcT  five  hoois. 


Sent.  18th.  Severe  head-ache,  and  feels 
iU.  Mesmerized  twice ;  spasm  in  the  head; 
says  she  shall  require  bleeding  on  Sunday 
afternoon.  * 

Sept  19th.  As  yesterday.  Mesmerized 
twice. 

Sept.  20th.  Mesmerized  two  hours  and  a 
quarter  in  the  morning,  and  appeared  as  osual. 
At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  Mr.  Parker  and 
I  foand  Mrs.  Bird  very  ill,  eyes  sunk,  aad 
appears  in  a  most  deplorable  state ;  she  was 
bled,  and  then  put  to  sleep.  She  first  got  into 
sleep- waking,  and  then  into  the  deep  sleep ; 
remained  in  the  latter  one  hour  and  a  half, 
and,  on  again  coming  into  sleep- waking,  said, 
"  The  disease  that  is  prevalent  is  not  diarrhcea, 
but  Asiatic  cholera;  it  is  in  a  milder  form 
than  it  was  some  years  since.  I  shall  have 
an  attack  of  it  this  day  fortnight ;  but  if  you 
attend  to  my  directions,  I  shall  recover.  It 
win  come  on  in  the  night  I  should  drink  as 
much  water  as  possible,  have  some  of  the 
medicine  which  I  have  told  you  is  good  for 
that  complaint,  and  bled  at  12  o'clock  at 
noon."  I  kept  her  asleep  upwards  of  three 
hours,  when  she  awoke  much  more  comfort- 
able. 

Sept.  21st  and  22d.  Better.  *  Mesmerized 
twice  each  day. 

Sept  23d.  Has  had  a  slight  fall  in  rising 
from  the  sofa,  and  sprained  her  arm  ana 
ancle,  both  of  which  were  eased  by  local 
rasses  after  she  was  put  into  sleep-waking. 
The  spine  is  also  a  little  injured,  and  causes 
a  slight  Impediment  in  her  speech;  local 
mesmerism  soon  relieved  it 

Sept  24th.  Feels  the  shake,  bat  is  other- 
wise improving.    Mesmerized  twice. 

Sept  25th.  Mesmerized  three  hours. 
Feels  tightness  on  the  chest;  said  during 
sleeping-wakinff,  « I  shall  on  Sunday  and 
Monday  be  tolerable ;  Tuesday  and  Wed- 
nesday, a  sick  head-ache;  Thursday  and 
Friday,  better ;  Saturday  not  so  well." 

Sept  26th  and  27th.  Mesmerized  some 
hoars  each  day,  and  during  sleen-waking 
couched  up  a  considerable  portion  of  phlegm, 
which  relieved  her  chest 

Sept  26th,  27th,  28th,  29th,- and  30th. 
Mesmerized  twice  on  each  day.  Sick  head- 
ache on  the  two  latter. 

Oct  2d.  Rather  uncomfortable.  Mes- 
merized twice,  together  five  hours,  and  said, 
"  On  Sunday  (4th),  as  I  have  told  you,  I  shall 
be  very  ill :  I  must  he  bled  at  12  o'clock,  but 
not  mesmerized  until  5  p.m.,  as  the  bowels  will 
notcease  to  act  until  that  time ;  I  must  take  a 
dose  of  the  medicine  i  have  prescribed  every 
two  hours  until  the  action  on  the  boweis 
begins  to  subside.  I  may  have  a  little  wine 
Monday  and  Tuesday.  I  shall  be  some  days 
better  and  some  worse  until  the  following 
Sunday,  when  I  must  be  again  bled.  I  shall 
then  get  on  aa  usoal  until  the  2lst;  bleed  i 


124 


Epilepsy^  Delirium^  Nsuralgiaj  Vomitings  ifc. 


in  the  evening  of  that  day.  On  the  28th, 
I  shall  be  very  ill  from  spasi^s,.  faintness,  and 
delirium ;  bleed  me  in  the  evening.  On  the 
29th  ai^  30th  I  shall  feel  ill.  On  the  3lBt, 
a  change  will  take  place,  and  I  shall  improve 
daily  to  the  end  of  the  year,  that  is,  if  no 
external  cifcumstance  occurs  to  throw  me 
back.  Let  me  take  every  third  day,  com- 
mencing from  the  last  day  of  October  to  the 
31st  of  December,  half  a  teacup-full  of  iafu- 
sion  of  fnrze-bloBSom  and  sting-nettles,  with 
a  quarter  of  a  glass  of  sherry,  and  ten  drops 
of  essence  of  coriander  or  caraway  seeds ;  it 
must  be  taken  warm  on  going  to  lied.  After 
the  last  day  of  November  I  shall  not  require 
80  much  01  your  attention/' 

Oct  3d.  Feels  poorly.  Mesmerized  twice, 
together  four  hours  and  three  quarters. 

Oct.  4th.  Mr.  Parker  bled  Mrs.  Bird  at 
12  o'clock;  she  was  suffering  from  Asiatic 
cholera ;  her  nails  were  blue  round  the  quick, 
and  blood  glutinous.  The  attack  commenced 
at  4  in  the  morning  (the  medicine  had  been 
left  the  evening  beiore,  with  directions  to  be 
taken  if  the  bowels  were  acted  on;  Mrs. 
fiird  was  of  course  not  told  what  would  take 
place),  with  vomiting ;  soon  after  a  violent 
action  of  th<^  bowels  came  on,  accompanied 
with  severe  cramp.  Evacuations  like  rice 
water.  At  5  o'clock  p.m.,  I  mesmerized  her, 
and  kept  her  asleep  five  hours.  It  will  be 
recollected  she  had  predicted  this  attack  four- 
teen days  before  it  came  on. 

Oct  5th,  6th,  and  7th.  Mesmerized  twice 
each  day,  and  is  better,  but  weak. 

Oct  8th  and  9th.  Better.  Mesmerized 
several  hours  each  day. 

Oct  10.  Not  so  well.  Mesmerized  some 
hours. 

Oct  11.  Poorly.  Mesmerized  twice,  and 
bled. 

Oct  12th,  13th,  14th,  15th,  and  16th 
Some  days  a  little  better  Uian  others.  Mes- 
merized twice  each  day,  except  the  15th. 

Oct.  17th.  Took  an  apenent  draught,  as 
•he  had  directed  on  the  14th. 

Oct.  18th  and  19th.  Mesmerized  some 
hours  each  day,  and  on  the  latter  said,  "  I 
should  not  eat  much  animal  food  for  the 
present    Rice  and  tapioca  are  good  for  me." 

Oct.  20th.  Suffering  from  an  attack  on 
the  bowels,  produced  by  a  slight  cold.  Mes- 
merized twice. 

Oct  21st  Bowels  still  out  of  order.  Mes- 
merized twice,  prescribed  for  myself,  and  took 
the  medicine ;  bled  in  the  evening. 

Oct  2  2d.  Bowels  much  quieter.  Mes- 
merized twcie. 

Oct.  23d  and  24th.  Mesmerized  twic6 
each  day,  and  feels  better. 

Oct  25th.  Just  as  yesterday.  Mesmerized 
onee. 

Oct  26th.  Mesmerized  twice,  together 
four  hours  and  a  half:   said,  <*My  spiiits 


will  be  bad  up  to  Wednesday  night  Bleed 
me  as  soon  as  convenient  after  6  o'clock  on 
that  evening."    Has  a  little  head-ache. 

Oct.  27th.  Head-ache  increased.  Bies- 
merized  twice. 

Oct  28tb.  Fotmd  Mrs.  B.  in  the  eveniiig 
suffering  much  from  head-ache  and  depres- 
sion. Mesmerized  two  hours  and  a  half. 
In  the  afternoon,  about  half-past  4,  Mr. 
Parker  and  I  visited  Mrs.  B. ;  she  was  lcK)k- 
ing  very  ill,  eyes  particularly  dull,  and  she 
was  a  little  incoherent  in  her  conversatioa ; 
this  increased  until  she  became  quite  deliiiousL 
Spasm  as  predicted.  At  6  o'clock  she  w» 
bled,  but  faintness  was  not  produced  until 
twenty  ounces  of  blood  had  been  taken.  Up 
to  this  time  mesmerism  had  not  been  atteoipled. 
Mrs.  Bird  having  told  me  it  would  not  pro- 
duce sleep.  As  soon  as  the  arm  was  second 
I  sent  her  into  sleep- waking,  and  she  saM, 
«<  I  am  very  weak,  but  my  complaints  an 
cured :  I  stiall  after  a  day  or  two  gain  iast 
The  mechanical  injury  I  received  on  the  top 
of  my  head,  when  young,  may  produce  ooea- 
sional  deliriumu" 

Oct  29th.  Mesmerized  twice,  and  is 
suffering  from  reaction  after  blood-letting. 

Oct  30th,  3l8t,  and  Nov.  1st  Meoief- 
ized  each  day,  and  is  better :  but  berspuifi 
are  depressed,  owing  to  the  base  attach  ob 
her  published  in  the  Exeter  papers,  vtoe  she 
is  week  after  week  branded  as  an  hapoetor, 
because  some  of  the  opposers  of  meaaeiisa. 
cannot  understand  the  arsenic  afi^r ;  and  tbcj 
have  not  the  fairness  to  wait  until  the  case  is 
published,  hot  take  hold  of  all  the  sciaps  of 
conversation,  whether  true  or  false,  that  aic 
reported  to  have  fallen  from  any  one  connect- 
ed with  the  case.  They  harp  a  great  deri 
about  arsenic,  enough  to  kill  twenty  men,  and 
say  there  is  a  written  statement  tbiat  1  have 
asserted  this  to  be  the  case.  I  can  only  ssj, 
whoever  has  written  a  statement  to  this  efiec^ 
must  have  mistaken  what  1  said,  as  I  nevei 
even  thought  that  such  a  quantity  of  poisot 
had  been  vomited :  indeed,  how  much  aneok 
the  gritty  substance  contained  I  could  fom 
no  judgment  of,  until  I  received  Dr.  W. 
Gregory's  analysis  in  the  middle  of  Novembe. 
It  may  seem  stranee  for  me  to  speak  of  No- 
vember here,  but  this  part  of  the  case  had  nfll 
been  transcribed  from  my  notes  when  Dr. 
Gregory's  letter  arrived. 

Nov.  2d,  3d,  and  4th.  Spirits  very  low. 
Mesmerized  many  hours  each  day. 

Nov.  5th.  Mesmerized  twice,  and  bad  a 
dreadfully  severe  spasm  through  the  head 
through  fretting. 

Nov.  6th.  Frightfully  ill,  owing  to  ^ 
effects  produced  by  the  continued  published 
attacks  on  her  character.  Mesmenzed  three 
times,  two  hours  each  ;  says  there  will  be  a 
change  one  way  or  another  before  haif-paal 
5  oH^Tock  to^monow  evening.  . 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  ^c.j  successfully  treated  wUk  Mesmerism.  125 


Nov.  7th.  Ill  all  day.  Mesmerized  twice. 
At  a  little  after  5  p.m.,  a  most  severe  spasm 
came  on;  her  convulsions  were  dreadful  to 
witness. 

Nov.  8th,  9th,  and  10th.  Rather  hetter, 
bat  the  spasm  of  the  7th  has  greatly  reduced 
her  strength. 

Nov.  11th.  Vomited  her  breakfast  this 
morning,  owing  to  aeain  exerting  herself  too 
soon  after  eating.    Mesmerized  twice. 

Nov.  12th,  13th,  and  14th.  Mesmerized 
some  hours  each  day,  and  Is  gaining  strength, 
dtbough  slowly. 

Nov.  15th,  16th,  17th,  and  18th.  Mes- 
merized twice  each  day.    Not  much  chan^. 

Nov.  19th.  Mesmerized  twice,  and  said, 
'■The  circulation  of  blood  is  more  free;  I 
should  take  warm  liquids,  but  no  wine.  The 
tea  must  be  omitted  for  the  present  I  should 
iiave  three  frankincense  pills  for  three  nights, 
1  moderate  dose  of  squills  the  following 
nornings,  and  some  magnesia  the  fourth 
light."  Her  directions  were  followed,  as  on 
ivery  other  ooccasion. 

Nov.  20th.  Mesmerized  twice,  gains 
rtrength  slowly. 

Nov.  21st.  Still  better  in  the  morning ;  but, 
iftcr  seeing  a  letter  in  the  Western  Times,  de- 
Haring  her  to  be  an  impostor,  and  stating 
iome  direct  falsehoods  respecting  her,  the 
>rain  became  irritated.  In  the  afternoon  she 
^as  delirious,  and  very  ill.  I  mesmerized 
ler  three  times  to-day,  and  on  the  last  occa- 
don,  after  having  been  some  time  in  the  deep 
deep,  she,  on  again  getting  into  sleep- waking, 
iaid»  «  You  must  soon  decide.  I  nave  been 
ooking  at  myself ;  if  you  do  not  bleed,  I  shall 
)e  insane  for  life ;  and  if  you  bleed,  I  do  not 
mow  that  you  will  be  able  to  recover  m^lrom 
he  faintness."  Mr.  Parker,  who  was  present, 
mmediatei^  opened  a  vein  in  Mrs.  Bird's  arm 
I  having  hrst  aroused  her),  and  bled  to  indi- 
ations  of  faintness.  1  then  again  commenced 
nesmerizing  her,  but  had  very  great  dilSiculty 
Q  recovering  Mrs.  Bird  from  the  faintnesiB ; 
ndeed  she  appeared,  both  to  Mr.  Parker  and 
Djself,  to  be  dying;  her  tongue  was  con- 
rulsed.  breathing  scarcel;^  discernible,  and  in 
he  midst  of  all  this  her  jaw  became  locked ; 
»at  I  soon  relieved  it  by  the  means  I  had 
efore  used.  After  about  half  an  hour  she 
ecoreied  a  little,  and  was  able  to  swallow 
mall  quantities  of  wine.  My  tak'mg  strong 
OSes  of  dilute  sal  volatile,  seemed  to  have  a 
lenelicial  eflect  on  Mrs.  Bird. 

Nov.  22d»  23d,  t4th,  25th,  and  26th. 
Mesmerized  twice  each  day,  except  the  25th. 
Tery  ill  on  the  first  three  diays,  but  has  gained 
ftiength  since,  and  her  spirits  are  improvinj^. 

Nov.  27th  and  26th.  Mesmerized  twioe 
lach  day ;  is  sufiering  from  tic,  but  not  nearly 
o  the  extent  she  did  before  mesmerized. 
klia.  Biid  has  a  severe  attack  of  influenza. 


On  the  latter  day  she  said,  "  I  shall  sufo 
from  tic  during  the  night,  but  it  will  be  better 
by  the  morning.  I  shall  have  a  spasm  in  the 
kidneys  on  Tuesday  between  7  and  8  P-M*** 

Nov.  29th,  30th,  and  Dec.  Ist.  Has  suf- 
fered from  tic.  The  spasm  took  place  as  she 
predicted.  The  influenza  has  caused  great 
weakness.    Spirits  better. 

Mrs.  Bird  has,  during  sleep-waking,  the 
power  not  only  of  looking  through  her  6wn 
system,  but  also  that  of  any  persons  who  may 
be  brought  before  her,  and  can  give  directions 
for  the  treatment  of  their  diseases.  In  no  one 
instance  in  which  her  recommendations  have 
been  fully  carried  out,  have  they,  as  far  as  I 
am  aware,  failed  to  procure  relief :  and  I  am 
authorized  by  Mr  Parker  to  state,  that  she 
has  most  successfully  prescribed  for  many  pa- 
tients by  his  merely  giving  their  symptoms, 
and  that  frequently  after  the  ordinary  medical 
remedies  have  failed,  especially  in  violent 
cases  of  typhus  fever,  diarrhoea,  external  in- 
flammation, consumption,  rheumatism,  and  tie 
douloureux.  Mrs.  Bird  can  also  give  the 
phrenological  development  of  any  person's 
Drain  who  may  be  present,  when  she  is  in 
sleep-waking.  One  case  I  will  mention.  A 
lady,  with  whom  Mrs.  Bird  was  not  pre- 
viously acquainted,  entered  the  room  after 
Mrs.  B.  was  mesmerized,  and  the  lady  herself 
declared  that  Mrs.  B.  had  given  as  correct  a 
description  of  her  character  as  if  she  had 
known  her  twenty  years.  The  lady  wore  a 
thick  dark  bonnet  the  whole  time  she  vras 
present.  There  have  been  several  other 
equally  striking  instances,  but  space  forbids 
my  entering  into  their  details. 

It  may  now  be  asked,  what  benefit  has 
Mrs.  Biid  herself  derived  from  mesmerism,  as 
she  is  still  reported  to  be  a  great  invalid? 
My  reply  is,  that  external  circumstances 
weighing  on  her  mind  are  the  cause  of  her 
present  bodily  sufferings,  as  I  venture  to  as- 
sert (and  in  this  I  am  borne  out  by  Mr.  Par- 
kefs  opinion)  that  a  great  majority  of  the 
spasmodic  afiections  she  has  lately  suflered 
from,  have  been  produced  by  mental  depres- 
sion. Even  conscious  innocence  cannot  bear 
up  a^nst  continued  public  detraction.  It 
will  be  seen  by  reference  to  Mr.  Piker's 
statement,  that  Mrs.  B.  was  (previously  to 
being  mesmerized)  suffering  daily  from  violent 
epileptic  fits.  She  vomited  nearly  all  her 
food,  and  her  agonies  from  tic  were  scarcely 
to  be  endured.  She  has  not  had  a  fit  since 
the  9th  of  June,  and  only  three  since  the  Ist 
of  January.  The  tic  has  been  in  comparison 
(except  when  mentioned  in  the  previous  part 
of  the  case)  next  to  nothing  since  the  first  day 
she  was  mesmerized ;  and  she  has  vomited  food 
but  three  or  four  times  since  the  early  part  of 
July,  and  in  every  instance  has  this  been  occa- 
sioned by  her  moving  too  soon  after  eating. 


126 


Epilepsy^  Delirium^  Neuralgia^  Vopiiting,  <^. 


Mrs.  B.'8  side  (uterus)  now  causes  her  no  in- 
convenience. 

I,  in  conclusion,  hope  tb^t  the  interest  of 
the  case  will  be  sufficient  apology  for  my 

S'ving  it  in  the  form  of  a  diary ;  and  should 
e  perusal  of  these  pages  induce  but  one 
person  to  persevere  in  a  mesmeric  case,  not- 
withstandm^  apparently  insurmountable  diffi- 
culties, it  will  greatly  add  to  the  pleasure  I 
have  received  during  the  progress  of  my 
labors.  Many  cases  I  am  confident  fail  for 
want  of  sufficient  time  being  devoted  to  them. 

Much  has  been  said  respecting  the  sub- 
,8tanee  which  Mrs.  Bird  ejected  from  her 
stomach,  and  of  course  the  antimesmerists  in 
the  neighborhood  cannot  be  induced  to  believe 
one  word  about  her  having  vomited  any  sub- 
stance containing  arsenic.  Some  report  that 
we  assert  she  vomited  pure  arsenic;  others 
insinuate  that  the  substance  which  I  say  she 
vomited  did  not  come  from  her  stomach,  but 
was  placed  in  her  mouth  and  from  thence 
ejected  merely  for  the  purpose  of  deception ; 
and  this  thev  considered  proved,  when  it  was 
discovered  that  Mrs.  B.  had  caused  arsenic  to 
be  purchased  some  little  time  before  she  vom- 
ited the  gritty  substance.  I  was  aware  of  this 
months  before  they  said  a  word  about  it ;  Mr. 
Parker  knew  it  at  the  time  it  was  procured ; 
and  who  will  it  be  supposed  was  our  infor- 
mant ?  Why  Mrs.  Bird  herself !  The  fact 
is,  the  arsenic  was  never  in  her  possession, 
but  was  brought  by  the  chemist  of  whom  she 
purchased  it  Tot  the  purpose  of  his  using  it  in 
her  garden,  mixed  with  salt,  to  destroy  slues. 
The  evening  proving  wet,  he  came  over  the 
next  morning  and  ouried  it  in  the  earth. 
During  the  night  it  was  in  Mrs.  B.'s  house ; 
a  person  at  the  time  staying  with  her  had  it 
locked  away  and  kept  the  key,  so  that  Mrs. 
Bird  did  not  know  where  it  was  placed;  and 
had  she,  there  was  no  means  of  her  getting 
at  it. 

As  I  am  one  of  those  foolish  people  who 
condescend  to  believe  what  they  see,  my  opi- 
nion on  the  subject  would  not  have  been  al- 
tered if  Mrs.  Bird  had  kept  any  quantity  of 
arsenic  in  her  possession.  I  assert  (and  I 
flatter  myself  that  at  least  those  who  know 
me,  and  whose  opinion  I  value,  will  not  doubt 
my  word)  that  on  two  occasions  a  ^itty  sub- 
stance, subsequently  found  to  obtain  arsenic, 
was  in  my  presence  ejected  from  Mrs.  Bird's 
stomach.  Ajb  to  her  having  concealed  it  in 
her  mouth,  that  is  quite  out  of  the  question, 
for  she  could  not,  during  the  time  I  was  with 
her  before  it  was  ejected,  have  spoken  plainly 
had  there  been  anything  in  her  mouth.  Be- 
sides which,  how  was  she  to  ^t  it  into  the 
state  in  which  it  is,  for  anythmg  to  all  ap- 
pABuance  less  like  arsenic  can  scarcely  be  con- 
ceived. In  one  point  of  view  it  is  perhaps 
unfortunate  that  Mrs.  B.  shouki  have  purchas- 


ed arsenic  at  this  particular  time,  as  it  enabia 
uncandid  people  to  insinuate  that  the  eaid  &• 
senic  has  oeen  used  for  the  pnrpoees  o{  decep- 
tion. But  leaving  out  of  view  the  ciicom* 
stance  of  both  Mr.  Parker  and  myself  know- 
ing all  about  her  having  procured  the  aitick, 
Mrs.  B.'s  openly  senmng  for  arsenic  is  I 
think  a  clear  proof  that  no  trick  was  ioteod- 
ed,  and  strongly  confirms  my  statement  tbat 
she,  on  arousing,  recollects  nothing  that  has 
taken  place  during  her  sleep-waking.  An 
impostor  would  net,  I  should  say,  do  wlnt 
would  lead  to  certain  detection.  Added  to 
this,  the  watery  rash,  garlic  eructations,  aod 
pain  in  the  calves  of  the  legs,  are  indicadoos 
of  the  presence  of  arsenic  in  the  svstem.  AH 
these  sne  experienced  and  complained  of  to 
Mr.  Parker,  long  before  mesmerism  was  ew 
named  in  this  neighborhood. 

Once  more ;  must  not  the  system  from  sok 
cause  have  been  much  paralysed,  to  allowed 
very  good  sal  volatile  being  taken  vrith  ooly 
two  parts  out  of  three  water  ?  and  I  have,  at 
the  time  she  prescribed  it  for  herself,  ofia 
seen  her  take  it  of  that  strength.  Ihoptl 
shall  be  excused  this  digression,  as  I  feel,  on 
Mrs.  Bird's  account,  strongly  on  thesobjed, 
she  having  been  branded  as  an  impostor  bf 
those  who  can  know  nothing  of  her  cast^ 

My  friend,  Mr.  Janson,  has  examined  K 
ejected  substance  under  a  powerful  micrvo^ 
and  is  satisfied  it  is  not  a  mechanical Bixtare. 

Mr.  Herapath,  the  eminent  cheniitiw 
published  the  following  letter  in  ibcWrim 
Times : — 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Western  Tiaa.  ' 
"Bristol,  Dec. ad,  18«. 

"Sir,— My  attention  has  been . aJled  tot 
con^versy  which  has  for  aometime"* 
carried  on  in  your  city,  upon  the  rsahty  « 
certain  exhibitions  and  statements  in  R]atM| 
to  mesmerism,  and  I  have  been  solicited  >f 
the  exhibitor  on  one  side,  and  opponenti  ■ 
the  other,  to  express  an  opinion  ui)on  theiM- 
sibility  of  a  Urge  quantity  of  arsenic  ('enong 
to  kill  20  men »)  remaining  in  a  living  stonaffl 
for  many  years,  and  then  of  having  bea 
thrown  up  durinfi;  mesmeric  clairvoyance.  W 
course  in  the  absence  of  more  definite  inv' 
mation  I  could,  in  reply,  merely  state  that  v 
such  case  had  ever  occurred  in  my  expenowe, 
or  within  the  course  of  my  leading-  ^ 
then,  Mr.  Parker,  sui)geon,  of  Exeter,  the  ed|- 
bitor  and  advocate  of  mesmerism,  has  cw 
upon  me  with  the  matter  said  to  be  •Jj*r 
and  having  expressed  a  wish  to  have  all  taa 
&cts  inquired  into,  I  obtained  from  him* 
small  portion  of  each  of  the  two  packete,«* 
of  which  he  said  had  been  caught  and  idantt- 
fied  by  a  gentleman  who  was  present  it  w 
time  of  ejection,  and  the  other  which  had  b» 
been  so  identified.  I  have  sobmitted  those  to 
chemical  inquiry ,  and  I  find  them  to  bf  neanjr 
alike  in  appearance  and  chemical  wnapofr 
tion.    They  are  pulverulent,  and  aiifiiUjt 


Discharge  of  Arsenic^  4*0.,  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism.   127 


glomerated,  the  color  whitish— or  rather  white, 
with  a  shade  of  brown.  The  microscope 
shows  the  stnicture  to  be  crystalline,  and  ca- 
pable of  depolarizing  light  *,  they  contain  one- 
twentieth  part  of  Sieir  weight  of  arsenious 
tcid,  combined  with  lime  as  arsenite  of  lime  ; 
the  remainder  is  crystalline  carbonate  of  lime, 
with  a  little  omnic  matter  of  animal  origin. 
I  did  not  weigh  what  I  saw  in  Mr.  Parker's 
possession,  nor  have  I  any  means  of  knowing 
the  entire  weight  of  what  was  said  to  be  eject- 
ed—what I  received  was  half  a  grain  of  the 
identified,  and  four-tenths  of  a  grain  of  the 
other,  and  I  should  judge  them  to  be  a  tenth 
part  of  what  I  saw.  If  I  am  right  in  this,  the 
total  quantity  of  arsenious  acid  in  it  would  be 
under  half  a  grain— a  quantity  certainly  not 
enouffh  to  kill  an  adult  human  being,  and  es- 
pecially as  it  is  partly  neutralized  by  lime, 
which,  to  a  certain  extent,  destroys  its  poison- 
ous qualities.  The  smallest  quantity  of  un- 
combined  arsenious  acid  which  is  recorded  as 
destroying  life  from  its  action  on  the  stomach 
is  six  grains,  and  that  was  In  the  case  of  a 
eUld. 

"^  Such  a  compound  as  that  I  re&r  to  might 
be  formed  if  '  arsenical  solution,'  arsenite  of 
potassa  and  lime  water,  were  mixed  together 
m  a  neutral  solution  containing  animal  mat- 
ter;* but  I  cannot  understand  how  it  could 
lenaain  in  a  human  stomach  for  years,  know- 
ing as  I  do  that  the  contents  of  almost  every 
stomach  u  add^  from  the  presence  of  free  hy- 
drochloric acid  and  biphosphate  of  lime,  both 
of  which  would  constantly  tend  to  dissolve 
and  decompose  it. 

« I  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  inclination 
to  be  drawn  into  a  controversy  of  such  a  length 
as  this  appears  to  be,  and  I  would  respectfully 
recommend  the  belligerents  to  abandon  the 
mere  expression  of  o{)inion,  and  to  resort  to  the 
application  of  practical  Ust$  to  prove  or  dis- 
prove the  possession  of  the  powers  claimed — 
thus  itrangov  with  diseases  net  appareiU  might 
surely  be  subjected  to  the  clairvoyant  by  dis- 
interested persons.  If  she  judges  rightly  in  a 
majority  of  cases,  a  favorable  opinion  would 
follow,  and  in  the  Exeter  Infirmary  patients 
about  to  submit  to  surgical  operations  could 
be  mesmerized — ^if  only  two  or  three  of  them 
underwent  the  operations  without  feeling  pain 
more  would  be  done  to  establish  mesmerism 
than  by  writing  hnndreds  of  columns  in  news- 
papers. 

"  I  am.  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  HERAPATH." 


regard  to  Mr.  Herapath's  assertion  that  ^ 
canno    understand  how  it  could  remain  ia 
the  human  stomaeh  so  many  years,  &c.,  it 
must  be  taken  with  the  due  consideration 
that,  although  a  most  eminent  chemist,  he  is 
not,  I  believe,  a  medical  man;  and  also  that 
the  question  was  pat  to  him,  as ,  to  arsenic 
enough  to  kill  twenty  men.    I  should  before 
have  stated  that  the  entire  quantity  of  gritty 
substance  ejected  by  Mrs.  Bird  is  about  one 
drachm.    It  has  been   slated   that  Mrs.  B. 
took  but  a  single  half  ounce  of  liquor  arseni- 
calis,  which  would  contain  rather  more  than 
two  grains  of  arsenic.    This  is  not  the  case, 
as  Mr.  Parker  well  knows  from  statements 
received  when  he  in  1834  became  her  sole 
medical    attendant.     The  liquor  aisenicalis 
was  sometimes  procured  by  her  late  husband, 
and  sometimes  by  a  servant.    Mr.  Bird,  being 
in  a  public  office,  was  in  the  habit  of  purchas- 
ing things  at  different  chemists  who  frequent- 
ed the 'office  in  which  he  was  engaged.    I 
mention  this,  as  a  drumst  in   Exeter  has 
stated  that  only  once  dia  be  make  up  a  pre* 
scription  for   Mrs.  Bird  containing  arsenic. 
Her  then  medical  attendant,  from  whom  Mrs. 
B.  received  the  greatest  kindness  and  attention 
while    under    bis   care,  frequently  himself 
brouffbt  medicines  in  his  pocket  for  her ;  but 
whether  that  containing   liquor   arsenicalis 
formed  any  part  of  them,  we  have  no  means 
of  ascertaining. 

I  now  with  ^eat  pleasure  come  to  the  ana* 
lysis  and  opinion  of  Dr.  William  Gregory, 
Professor  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh; 
but  before  doing  so,  I  confess  my  utter  want 
of  language  adequately  to  express  my  sense 
of  the  obligation  we  are  under  to  him  for  the 
unremitted  attention  he  has  paid,  and  trouble 
he  has  taken,  to  determine  the  contents  of  the 
substance  submitted  to  him,  and  also  for  al- 
lowing us  to  publish  so  full  a  report  of  his 
labors  and  opinions.  Dr.  Gregory,  it  will  be 
recollected,  is  not  only  a  chemist,  but  also  an 
eminent  physician,  and  the  translator  of  all 
Liebig*s  works  on  chemistry  known  in  this 
country. 

Dr.  Gregory's  Analysis,  extracted  from  a  Id* 
ter  addressed  to  Mr.  Farker. 


It  \ril]  be  observed  that  Mr.  Herapath  con- 
siders both  the  specimens  given  to  him  by  Mr. 
Parker  **  nearly  alike  in  appearance  and  che- 
mical composition.**  Dr.  William  Gregory, 
to  whose  report  I  shall  hereafter  refer,  coin- 
cides in  this  opinion.  I  therefore  consider  it 
proved  that  the  substance  ejected  in  my  pre- 
sence, and  what  was  before  vomited,  are  es- 
■entially  identical  in  their  contents.    With 


«  <<  The  pasieat  is  odd  to  have  tomMTly  ttksn  tlMse  ss 


**  297  milligrammes  of  the  powder,  about 
4.5  arains,  were  boiled  ten  times  in  succession, 
each  time  with  about  30  grammes  of  disdlled 
water,  and  the  solutions  filtered,  united,  and 
evai)orated  to  dryness  in  the  vapor  bath.  The 
liquid  when  ver^  concentrated  became  covered 
with  a  film,  which  is  the  case  with  a  solution 
of  arsenite  of  lime.  A  little  orgiaic  matter,  of 
a  brown  color,  separated  towards  the  end  of 
the  evaporation,  but  when  dry,  the  residue  was 
nearly  white,  the  oi|;anic  matter  being  masked 
by  the  arsenite  of  hme.  It  weighed,  after  b»- 
ing  heated  for  a  lonji  time  at  2l2«,  45JS  milli- 
granmies.  This  dned  mass  had  all  the  cha- 
ractera  of  a  similar  one  obtained  by  boiling 


128 


Epilepsy^  Delirium^  Neuralgia^  Vomitmg^  ifc. 


anenite  of  lime  with  water,  and  drying  ap  the 
solution.  In  hoth  cases  tne  film  appeared, 
and  if  anj  crystallization  existed  in  tne  dry 
mass,  it  was  very  confused  in  both. 

M  The  mass  was  dissolved  in  boiling  water 
and  filtered  from  a  little  oiganic  matter  which 
had  become  insoluble,  or  at  least  was  not  dis* 
solved  by  this  smaller  quantity  of  boiling 
water.  The  solution  in  both  cases  was  slight- 
ly alkaline  to  very  delicate  test-paper,  indicat- 
ing the  presence  of  basic  arsenite  of  lime.  It 
Eve  a  yellow  precipitate,  with  nitrate  of  silver, 
short,  the  solution  was  a  nearly  pure  solu- 
tion of  arsenite  of  lime.  In  order  to  have  a 
control  for  the  quantit^jr  of  arsenic  present,  I 
acidulated  the  liquid  wi(h  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  precipitated  the  arsenic  by  a  current  of 
sulphuretted  hydrosen  gas.  The  sulphuret  of 
arsenic  was  formed  very  abundantly,  and  of  a 
perfectlv  pure  yellow  color.  After  standing  in  a 
warm  place  tiu  all  the  smell  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen  was  gone,  the  liquid  was  thrown  on 
a  filter,  and  the  sulphuret  of  arsenic  well 
washed.  It  was  then  dissolved  in  ammonia, 
the  solution  dried  up,  and  the  residue,  sulphu- 
ret of  arsenic,  with  a  trace  of  organic  matter, 
after  being  heated  to  312^  for  half  an  hour,  that 
is,  till  it  ceased  to  lose  weight,  weighed  300 
milligrammes,  equivalent  to  24*1  milligrammes 
ofarseniousacid,  or  to  44*9  milligrammes  of 
basic  arsenite  of  lime. 

"  The  matter  dissolved  from  the  powder  by 
boilia|[  water  therefore,  consisted  of, 

Basic  arsenite  of  lime,  44*9  mill. 

Organic  matter  and  loss,         0*6    '* 

45-5 
And  it  contained  24*1  milligrammes,  or  about 
D'372of  a  grain  (1-3  grain)  of  araenious  acid. 

^  That  portion  of  the  powder  which  had  not 
been  dissolved  by  the  boiling  water  contained 
'the  carbonate  of  lime,  colored  bv  organic  mat- 
ter. It  was  dissolved,  as  well  as  what  re- 
mained on  the  filter  through  which  the  boiling 
solutions  had  been  filtered,  in  dilute  hydrochlo- 
ric acid ;  the  solution  neutralized  by  ammonia 
(which  was  added  in  slight  excess,  but  caused 
no  precipitate,  indicating  the  entire  absence  of 
phosphate  of  Ume),  and  precipitated  by  oxalate 
of  ammonia.  The  precipitate  was  collected 
on  a  filter,  well  washed  and  dried.  After  be- 
ing heated  to  212^,  till  its  weight  became  quite 
constant,  it  weighed  340  miUigrammes,  equi- 
valent to  233  milligrammes  of  carbonate  of 
Ume.  I  should  have  said  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  organic  matter  remained  undissolved 
when  the  original  carbonate  was  acted  on  by 
hydrochloric  acid,  but  its  (quantity  was  so 
smidl,  and  it  adhei^  so  tenaciouslv  to  the  fil- 
ter, that  it  was  absolutely  impossible  to  make 
a  determination  directly  of  its  weight  It  gave 
out  when  heated  on  platinum  a  smell  of  burnt 
animal  matter,  and  no  doubt  contained  a  little 
albuminous  or  gelatinous  matter. 

'^  The  result  of  the^hole  analysis,  therefore, 
is  as  follows : 

Cktbonale  of  lime,  933  mill.,  or  3*989  grs. 
Basic  arsenite  of  Ume,   44'9    "  0*372   « 

Ofganicmatterand  loss,  19*1    <*  0-138   '< 


WPH 


4'»K) 


Or  in  100  parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime,  78-4.5 

Basic  arsenite  of  Ume,  1511 

Organic  matter  and  loss,  644 

100-00 
The  proportion  of  arsenious  acid  in  lOOpiiti 
is  therefore  8-11 

"  Before  analysing  the  powder,  I  a^  ex- 
amined various  portions  of  it  under  ^e  mien* 
scope,  and  in  many  instances  I  perceived  some 
irregular  fragments  having  a  aecided  appev- 
ance  of  crystallisation ;  but  the  mess  of  pow- 
der is  amorphous,  under  the  weak  power  whid 
I  employed.  The  crystallized  portioDs  baie 
not  in  any  dep^ree  the  aspect  of  the  powder  of 
arsenious  acid;  they  much  more  reeembk 
grains  of  carbonate  of  lime;  and  theobsem- 
tions  of  Mr.  Herapath,  made  with  a  bigte 
power,  show,  I  have  no  doubt  correctir,  tht 
the  mass  of  the  powder  is  crystalline  caimoiti 
of  lime. 

"  From  all  these  observations,  joined  te 
those  in  my  former  letters,  I  am  decidedly « 
opinion  that  the  arsenious  acid  present  io  tv 
powder  is  entirely  in  the  state  of  aisenilia 
ume,  and  that  it  consequently  has  not  bea 
introduced  into  the  stomach  or  into  the  (|W^ 
der  in  the  form  of  the  powder  of  anenio* 
acid. 

"  Considering  that  your  patient  took  tie  ij 
senic  in  the  form  of  the  liquor  arsenicaliM* 
was  at  the  time  in  the  habit  of  takiof  v| 
water  ([a  very  unchemical  prescriptioitif* 
way),  it  is  quite  easy  to  see  how  •"■'J* 
lime  should  be  formed  in  the  8tomidiu*( 
with  carbonate,  and  once  formed,  its  p»^* 
solubility  would  not  only  account  for  its  wij 
found  there  after  so  lonp^  a  time,  butwonldtt- 
so  explain  how  so  considerable  an  *"**J^ 
arsenic  should  remain  in  the  stomach  witw* 
producing  dangerous  or  even  fatal  eifi^ts.  » 
the  same  time  it  is  quite  possible  that  a  vflT 
small  portion  might  occasionally  be  <ls*|^ 
and  produce  some  of  the  toxicological  efifa 
of  arsenic  as  long  as  it  ramained.  We  mw 
bear  in  mind,  too,  that  the  arsenite  of  liiae,^ 
sides  its  own  insolubility,  was  further  pnteo- 
ed  by  the  presence  of  carbonate  of  M»e« 
large  excess,  and  of  agglutinating  o^°^^,°*l 
ter,  which  must  havedefended  it  from  apw 
action.  That  it  must  have  been  agglutmtfj 
is  obvious,  otherwise  it  could  not  have  ren*"* 
in  the  stomach ;  and  there  can,  I  think,  be  sj 
doubt  that,  from  the  very  peculiariy  nwiw 
state  of  the  stomach  and  digestive  P^^'J^Yt 
solvent  energy  in  this  case  was  '^^^^^^JlJ 
minimum,  and  that,  when  the  patienfi  «•» 
began  to  improve,  and  her  stomach  to  a»ijw 
in  a  greater  degree  its  normal,  po^^^j*  ^ 
agglutinating  matter  was  absorbed,  and  the  is- 
soluble  mass,  thus  disintegrated,  and  mo«  *^ 
posed  to  solvent  action  than  before,  m*y  »" 
excited  vomiting,  and  thus  caused  it"  j""*"; 
jection.  The  physical  appearance  and  cMS^ 
cal  character,  as  well  as  the  composittwi  oiw 
powder,  indicate  very  clearlir  that  it  hsa  «*■■ 
the  result  of  slow  action,  the  o»«»«"C  maW 
being  equally  difl^sed  in  every  part  ittfo» 
of  the  question  to  suppose  th«t jw  PJ'S 
could  have  been  formed  artificially  by  bbwi 


Discharge  of  Arsenic,  ^.,  successfully  treated  with  Mesmerism.  129 


ttsaoiousacid  with  carbonate  of  lime :  for  the 
arBenioue  acid  has  certainly  not  been  intro- 
duced as  a  powder.  I  should  say  it  has  been 
precipitated  in  the  stonoach  by  degrees,  carry- 
ing with  It  some  organic  matter,  as  all  pre- 
cipitates do  in  animal  fluids  j  and  I  look  on 
the  characters  of  this  powder  as  demonstrative 
evidence  that  it  has  been  formed  by  a  slow  pro- 
ceii  in  the  stomach.  *^ 

*^From  what  I  hare  already  said,  yon  will 
perceive  that  I  do  net  see  any  reason  why  such 
a  powder,  enveloped  no  doubt  in  oiganic  mat- 
ter, should  not  have  remained  in  the  stomach 
for  any  length  of  time,  as  long  as  it  formed  a 
coherent  mass,  and  that  without  destroying 
life.    The  arsenite  of  lime  is  so  insoluble  in 
jrater,  and  above  all  ili  cold  alkaline  solutions, 
that  I  should  not  hesitate  to  take  a  considera- 
We  dose  of  it.    I  should  think  a  very  lanre 
^nantity  would  be  required  to  destroy  in  ani- 
mai. and  the expenment  might  be  made:  al- 
ways rememberiof  that  when  enveloped  in  a 
large  excess  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  aggluti- 
Bated  by  orpnic  matter,  it  is  sUli  more  uisolu- 
ble  than  when  pure.    I  do  not  therefore  enter- 
tain  a  doubt,  that  60  grains  of  this  powder, 
contareing  9-06  grains  of  basic  arsenite  of  lime, 
equmlent  to  4  86  grains  of  arsenious  acid! 
might,  under  the  circumstances,  remain  for 
•ny  length  of  time  in  the  stomach  without 
S!?ll""i^?**  •^^^J  although  the  patient 
mi^ht  suffer  m  some  degree  from  its  presence. 
It  is  not  certain  that  4  or  5  grains  of  anenioas 
acid  would  prove  fatal  even  if  pure  and  niy 
combined,  although  it  might  probably  do  rfo. 
But  It  is  probable  that  there  was  origkially 
DQUch  more  of  the  powder,  and  thaC  it  ^s  gra- 
«™*yT»«Wed  to  the  solvent  actions  co  which 
it  has  been  exposed.    The^ymptoiys  observed, 
More  particularly  the  vomiting  «nd  the  garlic 
eructations  occoning  after  Ae  use  of  salt, 
would  seem  to  indicate  ths<  some  portion,  no 
doubt  a  very  minute  portion,  of  arsenic  has 
been  in  some  way  4is^lved,  possibly  by  free 
hydrochloric  acid,  aikl  has  tken  acted  on  the 
system  from  ti^e  to  time;  and  it  is  probable 
that,  had  no  marked  chsiige  taken  place  in  the 
health  of  the  patients  the  same  slow  i)roces8  of 
solution  mi^thav0  continued  for  an  indefinite 
time.    A  suddes  increase  in  the  action  of  the 
absorb^ts  has  apparently  hastened  the  termi- 
nstioii  of  the  process,  and  disintegrated  the 
tfdMiding  mass  or  concretion,  so  that  the  resi- 
dae  of  it  has  been  ejected  from  the  stomach. 

•*  The  question  having  been  specifically  put 
to  me,  whether  the  gritty  powder  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  mixture  recently  made  with  a 
▼ieyv  to  iirposture,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
•aying,  that  it  does  not  appear  to  me  to  possess 
in  any  degree  the  characten  of  such  a  mixture. 
The  crystalline  carbonate  of  lime,  I  think 
mast  have  been  slowly  foiraed  in  a  solution 
contmining  organic  matter,  and  the  nniform 
diffusion  of  the  oiiganic  matter  in  the  powder 
leads  to  the  same  conclusion.  It  seems  to 
rne  exceedingly  improbable  that  an  impostor 
ahoald  have  thought  of  converting  the  arseni- 
one  acid  into  arsenite  of  lime ;  and,  had  the 
Bowder  been  a  mixture  of  the  kind  snggested, 
the  wteiiious  add  in  all  probd^iHuT  would 
10 


have  appeared  in  it  uncombined,  and  in  the 
form  of  white  grains,  of  which  there  is  in  fact 
no  appearance. 

"Even  supposing  an  impostor  to  have 
known  the  mode  of  formation  and  the  chemi- 
cal characters  of  arsenite  of  lime,  I  consider  it 
m  the  highest  degree  improbable  that  he 
should  have  been  able  to  form  such  a  powder 
as  that  which  I  have  examined.  I  am  sure 
that  to  imitate  it  would  be  a  very  difficult 
task  for  the  most  dexterous  chemist 

(Signed)     "  WILLIAM  GREGORY." 

Mrs.  Bird  has  for  years  had  en  ijiRur- 
oiountable  dislike  to  salt  (first  engendered  by 
the  unpleasant  eructations  previously  ailnded 
to),  and  consequently  she  never  takes  any 
with  her  food ;  hence  it  is  more  than  proba* 
ble  that  she  has  less  hydrochloric  acid  in  her 
stomach  than  is  found  in  that  of  most  other 
peisons,  and  this  would  account  for  the  arse- 
nite of  lime  being  so  Me  acted  on  by  the 
gastric  juice.  J.  C.  LUXMOORE. 

Hose  Mowntf  AljMngton^  Devon. 


U*  It-  ^«  impossible  for  us  to  publish  this 
case  «<^ithout  expressing  our  admiiation   of 
Mr  Lttxmoore's  indefatigable  kindness  to  the 
I  dieted  lady.    He  resides  nearly  four  miles 
from  her  house,  is  a  private  gentleman,  and  a 
county  magistrate,  and  his  aniuous  exertions 
were  prompted  solely  by  benevolence  and  the 
love  of  scientific  truth.    Mr.  Parker's  conduct 
IS  likewise  above  all  praise,  surrounded  as  he 
IS  by  brother  medical  men  reviUng  him  and 
mesmerism   from   morning   to    night    The 
case  treated  so  perseverinrly  by  Mr.  Jansom 
and  detailed  in  our  last  nunober,  does  him  infi^ 
nite  honor :  and  the  great  ability  and  untirinc, 
unflinching  courage  with  which  he  has  long 
castigated  the  ignorant  and  venomous  foes  3 
mesmerism  in  the  Exeter  papers,  lays  us  all 
under  deep  obligation  to  him.    He  has  com-* 
polled  them  to  know  and  speak  of  The  Zoist 
which  they  would  fain  not  know,  or  pretend 
not  to  know.    The  medical  body  of  Exeter, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Parker,  as  fiir  as  we 
are  aware,  have  acted  a  sad  part  by  despising 
mesmerism,  tvhich  properly  belonp  to  the 
profession,  and  by  allowing  two  gentlemen  not 
of  the  profession  to  stand  forth  proudly  as  its 
noblest  champions,  cultivators,  and  propaga 
tore  in  their  stead.— 2ois/.  *-    r  ^ 


130 


Extraordinary  Effects  of  Mesmerism  on  a  Gentleman^ 


EXTRAORDINARY  EFFECTS  OF  MES- 
MERISM ON  A  GENTLEMAN,  PER- 
FECTLY  BLIND  FOR  ELEVEN  Y?RS. 


[Comamnieated  by  Dr.  ElUoCsoii.] 
Dr.  Elxjotson  begs  to  forward  the  following 
letter  to  The  Zoist,  from  Dr.  Chandler,  of 
Botherhithe. 

Conduit  Strut,  March  lOtA,  1847. 

To  Dr.  ElliotBon : 

My  dear  Sir : — ^The  foUowiog  very  eurioas 
and  interesting  case  was  introduced  to  my 
notice  by  Dr.  Touimin,  of  Biackheatfa»  who, 
having  witneaeed  eome  of  my  meemen:  cases, 
did  not  hesitate  to  admit  that  he  belieTtd  his 
own  eyes, — ^though  perhaps  he  **  knows  ha- 
man  kind**  qui$e  as  well  as  some  others  who 
■oppose  their  ittine  to  act  as  flattering 
mirrors. 

Of  coarse  this  patiebt  has  been  malingering 
for  the  laM  14  ^rears,  oa  purpose  to  gratify 
any  mesmerist  with  whom  he  might  happen 
to  come  in  contact 

Capt  Peach,  Kt  65,  has  formerly  com- 
manded  laige  East  India  ships,  aiid,  having 
three  times  drcumnavigated  the  gIob%,  has 
oonsequently  been  exposed  to  frequent  sAter- 
nations  of  climate,  which,  together  with  ee. 
Tere  losses  by  a  very  protracted  Chancery 
gait,  have  probably  been  the  cause  of  the  fol- 
lowing severe  and  complicated  diseases  of  his 
nervous  system. 

He  has  been  completely  amaurotic  in  both 
•yes  for  eleven  yean.  This  was  about 
three  years  coming  on ;  one  eye  going  first, 
and  afterwards  the  other.    For  about  eleven 

Stars  be  has  not  been  able  to  distinguish  the 
ightest  light  from  total  darkness,  except  on 
one  or  two  occasions  for  a  few  seconds  only, 
when,  under  the  influence  of  belladonna,  he 
experienced  slight  glimmerings  of  light.  He 
has  suffered  Kom  partial  paralysis  of  the 
lower  limbs  for  about  the  same  time.  When 
flitting,  he  has  the  power  of  moving  the  legs; 
and,  when  placed  upright,  he  can  balance 
himself,  but  cannot  raise  his  foot  from  the 
ffround.  For  about  six  or  seven  years  he 
has  been  constantly  subject  to  the  most  severe 
intermittent  darting  pains  (of  a  Tic  character) 
in  his  limbs ;  these  pains  have  always  been 
capriciously  erratic,  but  never  attacking  the 
trunk  or  head :  he  has  also  had  spasmodic 
tension  of  the  muscles  of  the  lower  part  of 
the  abdomen  frequently  to  a  most  distressing 
degree.  But  the  symptom  which  he  describes 
as  causing  him  the  most  intense  suffering, 
aince  last  June,  has  been  a  gnawing  dull  pain 
hi  the  lower  part  of  the  spine,  occurring  gene- 
i^ly  on  his  awaking  in  the  morning,  of  so 
desperate  a  character  as  to  call  for  his  being 
^    immediately  got  up  and  dressed.    The  altera- 


tion of  position  appears  to  afford  him  sow 
relief.  These  attacks  will  occur  for  sereial 
days  together;  he  then  may  get  a  few  dap 
intermission.  They  appear  connected  vith  a 
very  copious  discharge  of  blood  from  the 
bowels,  that  has  existed  for  three  or  four 
years,  though  the  attacks  and  discharge  are 
now  noticed  to  be  invariably  simuitaneou; 
and  the  latter  has  been  observed  to  be  naeh 
more  copious  since  the  lumbar  pains  hire 
commenced. 

These  protracted  and  severe  afflictions  haw 
at  length  produced  a  high  state  of  nervous  ir- 
ritability, destroying  rest  and  appetite  to  nek 
an  extent  that  he  is  worn  almost  to  a  akele- 
ton.  His  pulse  is  always  100,  and  oftm 
120;  and  he  gets  no  sleep  bat  what  ii 
produced  by  narcotics. 

Mr.  Watsford,  of  Greenwich,  who  baa  at- 
tended him  for  many  years,  has  frequeotif 
told  him  and  several  members  of  his  family, 
that  medicine  could  be  of  no  usetohiai;- 
bnt,  however,  when  the  pains  have  been  ei- 
ceedingly  urgent  (giving  occasion  to  «*«•■" 
which  alarmed  the  neighborhood),  Mr.  W. 
has  been  sent  for,  and  has  always  admini^- 
ed  strong  narcotics,  which,  though  they  ioW 
the  pains  for  the  lime,  left  him  stupid  for  (•» 

or  three  days.  ^ . 

For  several  years  be  has  been  diahww^ 
extreme  flatulence  after  the  smallest  qwB^T 
ot  food^—indicative  of  greatly  impeW  A- 
gestibn.  .. 

Dr.  Tonlnun,  of  Blackheath.  wbolitfH 
hnn  much  dismterested  aitentioa  for  me  lam 
few  months,  and  has  tried  varioosBieaDB,  in- 
cluding belladQDna  and  veratria.  kt.  «** 
me  to  see  him  in  Aug^ast  last,  and  to  ny jH 
thought  mesRieriem  wouM  be  likely  to  beneft 
him.  After  a  careful  irvcstigation  of  the 
case,  I  pronounced  it  to  be  aj^parently  a  teiy 
hopeless  one ;  but,  knowini^  -rbal  wooden 
mesmerism  had  worktd  in  cases  equally  lof* 
lorn,  I  recommended  that  it  aboald  W  tried  ii 
any  one  could  be  found  in  the  neiehbarhood 
who  would  undertake  it  AccoroiBgly  bis 
mother,  an  old  lady  of  more  than  70,  jmdijie 
servant,  an  ignorant  Irish  girl,  commeftced 
mesmerizing  him,  and  produwd,  •'t^^  *^ 
few  trials,  a  most  decidedly  soothing  eWcL 

Shortly  after,  I  had  an  opportuniigr  of  in- 
troducing the  case  to  the  notice  of  Mr.  Hol- 
land, of  New  Cross,  who  is  a  mosf  <«"».»«• 
astic  non-professional  supporter  of  iw«m«n*»| 
and  he  immediately  took  it  in  bw;  anfl,as 
the  wonders  he  has  worked  will  be  WJ^ 
lated  in  his  own  words,  1  be«  towlifW  w 
tf  porta  of  the  case  to  me,  anabndged. 

Uurie  Temee,  New  Cit»,  { 

5th  December,  J846.     ) 

Thomas  Chandler,  Eaq.  ,  ^j^. 

My  dear  Sir,-Your  own  penoDiJ  ob«r 


Perfectly  Blind  for  Eleven  Tears. 


131 


▼ations,  and  our  commanications  from  time  I  lieved  by  a  strong  closing  of  the  lids.     Some- 


to  time,  will  have  made  you  aware,  generally, 
of  the  favorable  impression  which  mesme- 
rism has  ejected  in  the,  otherwise,  desperate 
case  of  your  Biackheath  patient.  Captain 
Daniel  Peach,  so  long  a  martyr  to  a  melan 
choly  complication  of  ills. 

In  compliance  with  your  wish,  I  have  now 
the  gratification  to  communicate  a  connected 
statement  of  my  proceedings  in  this  case,  and 
their  results. 

After  you  had  introduced  roe  at  the  Lon- 
don Hospital,  on  the  26th  August  last,  to  Dr. 
Toulmin,  as   an    amateur   residing   in    the 
"neighborhood"  of  the  patient,  to  wit,  some- 
thing more  than  a  mile  and  a  half  distant,  I 
lost  no  time  in  waiting  upon  that  gentleman, 
at  his  residence  at  Biackheath,  with  the  ob- 
ject of  being  made  acauainted  with  full  par- 
ticulars.   These  were  frankly  communicated, 
and  1  placed  myself  at  his  disposal.    Dr. 
Toulmin  is  the  Captain's  neighbor,  both  figu- 
ratively and  literally,  and  I  need  hardly  add, 
that  the  application  of  mesmerism,  in  this 
case,  has  been  with  his  entire  sanction  and 
approval,  and,  occasionally,  in  his  presence: 
— mdeed,  he  has  stated  to  me  on  our  leaving 
the  patient's  residence  together  that  the  tran- 
quillizing effect  which  he  had  just  witnessed, 
exceeded  what  he  could  have  produced  by  the 
largest  "  safe "  dose  of  opium,  at  the  same 
time  adding  that  he  was  not  a^vare  of  any  or- 
dinary means  by  which  equal  amelioration  of 
the  general  symptoms  could  have  been  ef- 
fected. 

I  commenced  operations  on  the  11th  of 
September  last,  and,  after  six  sittings,  up  to 
the  21  St,  the  following  is  the  spirit  of  the  re- 
marks which  f  find  in  my  notes,  as  regards 
the  amount  of  mesmeric  influence.  A  tran- 
quil state  of  abstraction  is  induced,  with  more 
or  less  of  the  ordinary  consciousness  remain- 
ing, accompanied  by  an  involuntary  closing  of 
the  eyes ;  there  is  also  a  perceptible  dullness 
of  sensation  at  the  surface  (and  most  probably 
deeper),  with  a  continually  increasing  indis- 
position to  motion  of  any  kind.  Towards 
the  end  of  this  series  of  sittings,  the  above  ef- 
fects have  attained  a  species  of  intensity 
which  promises  the  best  results. 

My  mode  of  proceeding  has  been  as  fol- 
lows:— The  patient  being  seated,  I  have 
made  downward  passes,  with  and  also  with- 
out contact,  before  the  face,  tnink,  and  limbs, 
occasionally  pointing  at  the  eves,  or  intently 
looking  into  one  or  other  of  them  (it  must  be 
borne  m  mind  that  he  is  totally  blind).  Much 
to  my  surprise,  I  found,  at  length,  that  the 
look  alone  produced  some  marked  physical 
efiects ;  these,  the  patient  describes  as  follows : 
— ^A  dr^  irritation  in  the  upper  part  of  the  eye- 
ball •  as  if  the  upper  lid  were  raised  and  a  hard 
pe  ncil  passed  ov^r  ths  ovgan ;  then  a  sensation 
»f  wateffini,  as  if  oceanoiisd  t^smoke».aQly  !••  ^ 


times  the  patient  has  fell  as  if  a  fine  pencil  of 
wind,  proceeding  from  a  point,  impinged  upon 
the  centre  of  the  eye-bail,  occasioning  a  feeling 
of  heat  and  mixing  with  the  other  symptoms, 
all  which  continue  to  be  increased  the  longer 
the  process  is  persevered  in,  so  much  so  that  be 
has  more  than  once  exclaimed,  while  strongly 
closing  the  lids,  '*  It  is  very  sharp  to-night ;" 
and  ou  several  occasions  he  has  stated  that 
the  sensations  amountect  to  positive  "  sting- 
ing,'* similar  to  that  produced  by  ^<  mustard,*^ 
by  "  snufiT,"  or  by  an  "  onion."  Fluid  col- 
lects in  the  corner  of  the  eyes ;  or  eye  per- 
haps, if  one  only  is  stared  or  pointed  at. 

After  being  demesmerized,  the  patient  is  as- 
sisted to  an  erect  position,  in  which  I  make 
contact  passes  down  the  spine  and  limbs, 
down  the  latter  before  and  behind. 

I  have  coufinued  similar  proceedings  up  to 
this  date,  about  three  times  in  each  week, 
from  an  hoor  to  an  hour  and  a  half  on  each 
occasion,  with  only  the  foiiowine  slieht  vari- 
ations, of  having  the  patient  placed  at  full 
length  on  a  bed,  instead  of  being  seated  in  a 
chair,  and  my  manipulating  the  spine  and 
limbs  while  he  was  in  the  mesmeric  state, — 
the  latter  mode  was  suggested  by  Dr.  Elliot- 
son  as  more  likely  to  be  heneficial,  the  former 
(the  recumbent  attitude)  had  been  preferred 
all  along  by  Dr.  Toulmin  and  also  by  the  pa- 
tient felected  to  mesmerize  him  sitting  (to 
him  an  uneasy  position,  from  the  weakness 
in  the  lumbar  region),  in  order  to  be  able  with 
certainty  to  distinguish  the  mesmeric  influence 
from  ordinary  sleep,  the  latter  not  being  so 
likely  to  supervene  in  an  uneasy  position  :  as 
soon  as  rigidity  manifested  itself,  there  was 
no  longer  aiiy  necessity  for  this  precaution. 

The  result  of  continuing  mesmerism  has  been 
an  increased  intensity  of  all  the  phenomena — 
great  insensibility  of  mechanical  injury  on  the 
surface — loss  of  either  ordinary  conscious- 
ness, or  of  the  recollection  after  the  mesmeric 
state  is  over  of  the  occurrences  which  took 
place  during  sleep-waking — inability  to  de- 
scribe correctly  in  his  sleep-waking  the  posi- 
tion in  which  his  limbs  may  have  been 
placed,  for  he  is  beautifully  cataleptic,  and 
his  limbs  obey  attraction  as  distinctly  as  the 
limbs  of  patients  whose  organs  of  vision  are 
perfect.* 


'  *  This  exquisite  feet  I  witnessed  myself  on  die  two 
occasions  or  mj  being  allowed  the  Ikvor  ofvlsitijif  tbla 
fentlenaa.  The  whole  affiitr  was  so  striking  that, 
after  my  first  visit  to  BlackBeath,  I  requested  permis- 
sion to  go  again.  On  the  second  oceaslon  I  was  au- 
lons  that  the  meMnerism  might  he  faagiiB  when  thoM 
was  no  poeslbUlty  of  the  patient  being  aware  of  It. 
Accordingly,  while  we  were  all  In  conversation,  Mr. 
Holland  began  to  flji  his  eyes  upon  the  patient,  our  eon- 
venation  contlnntaig  equally  as  before.  Presently  the 
eaptain*s  eye-lids  twinkled ;  he  eidalmed,  "'Are  you 
not  -meoneristng  me  1**  A  dimp  of  Sold  appealed  at  ike 
eoiaar  of  one  eye,  umI  he  was  Mwa  is  ump-wkiom^ 
JoHM  Suwfsni 


132 


Extraordinary  Effects  of  Mesmerism  on  a  Otntleman^ 


Up  to  the  present  moment  the  good  which 
has  been  accomplished  is  as  follows : 

Total  cessation,  since  the  first  week  of  his 
being  mesmerized,  of  that  excruciating  pain 
at  the  bottom  of  the  spine  that  was  wearing 
him  to  a  shadow.  His  shuddering  recollec- 
tion of  this  pain,  which  was  comparatively 
recent,  is  more  vivid  than  that  of  any  other  of 
his  afflictions :  his  mode  of  expressing  him- 
self, in  allusion  to  it,  is  **  No  tongue  can  tell 
the  agony,"  &c. ;  "  it  struck  my  very  Titals,** 
&c. ;  "  if  I  had  the  ability  1  should  have 
made  away  with  myself,"  kc.,  &c. 

The  haemorrhage  from  the  bowels  (the 
consequence  of  internal  hemorrhoids,  in  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Waisford  of  Greenwich)  has 
been  entirely  suppressed,  not  even  a  tinge 
having  manifested  itself  since  the  first  appu- 
cation  of  mesmerism. 

The  tension  at  the  lower  part  of  the  abdo- 
men, as  well  as  the  extreme  flatulence,  have 
entirely  disappeared. 

The  capriciously  erratic,  and  fierce  darting 
pains  (spasms  of  the  "  tic"  character),  whose 
attacks  were  almost  incessant  of  late,  and 
more  or  less  present  for  years  past,  have 
been  very  considerably  ameliorated;  indeed, 
out  of  8^  days  which  have  elapsed  since  he 
was  mesmerized  (from  11th  September  last), 
there  have  only  been  13  on  which  these 
spasms  have  returned — one  relapse  continued 
for  5  consecutive  days,  the  others  were  short, 
with  two  intervals  of  14  and  19  days,  respec- 
tively, on  which  there  was  no  return  of  spasm 
at  all.  Immediately  previously  to  mesme- 
rism having  been  resorted  to,  and  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  preceding  summer  and 
spring,    these    spasms,    together    with    the 

?;nawmfl;  pain  in  the  lumbar  region,  were  so 
rightful,  that  the  patient*s  cries  often  alarmed 
the  neighborhood,  and  attracted  the  notice  of 
policemen  on  duty  near  the  spot. 

On  Friday,  the  27th  ult.,  I  found  him  suf- 
fering from  a  return  of  these  spasms,  and,  as 
the  relief  derived  from  mesmerism,  on  that 
'  occasion,  epitomized  the  whole  case  in  that 

Zrd,  I  add  a  verbatim  extract  from  one 
ly  notes  of  that  evening. 
«*  The  potency  of  mesmerism  strongly  evi- 
denced this  evening — a  return  of  spasm  yes- 
terday morning  (inside  of  left  thigh),  very  se- 
vere throus;h  the  day  and  nig:ht — less  so  since 
tiiifl  morning,  but  quite  sufficiently  marked. 
I  had  to  attack  him  m  the  midst  of  intermit- 
tent s}  ftam,  and  it  was  fall  25  minutes  (in- 
stead of  6  or  8  ordinarily)  before  he  came 
under  the  influence-^the  paroxysm  still  con- 
t'nued  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  more,  as  evi- 
denced by  strong  startings,  but  less  and  less 
violent,  which  did  not,  however,  occasion 
the  usual  contortion  of  the  countenance,  and 
the  ordinary  exclamation.  Finally,  and  for 
the  last  half  hour  up  to  beijig  demeameiized. 


he  had  the  appearance  of  placidity  personi- 
fied, without  the  least  motion  of  any  kind.    1 
dispersed  the  influence,  as  usnal,  by  quiet 
transverse  passes  before  the  face — he  awoke 
very  gradually,    commencing  with    sundry 
very  energetic  gapes,  accompanied  by  various 
grimaces  and  contortions  of  the  muscles  of 
the  face,  as  if  each  stood  in  need  of  being 
stretched  (altogether  indicative  of  the  refresh- 
ing eff*ect  of  deep  sleep) — for  some  time  he 
replied  incoherently  to  my  questions,  appear- 
ing to  be  solely  occupied  with  the  process  of 
awakening,  and  the  first  indication  (to-night) 
of  his  senses  being  collected,  was  his  excla- 
mation,   *  Thank    God,  the   pain   is   gonef 
When  fully  conscious,  his  countenance  and 
manner  were  quite  cheerful,  and  he  entered 
into  the   spirit  of  some  facetious  remarks 
which  ensued.    This  contrast  was    effected 
b}[  mesmerism  in  less  than  two  hours;  he  ad- 
mitted that  he  had  dropped  off  two  or  three 
times  (in  fact,  the  influence  was  very  deep 
this  evening),  but,  as  usual,  asserted  that  he 
was  generally  conscious  of  what  was  pase- 
ing.    In  this  he  was  wron^,  as  he  was  not 
aware  that  1  had  turned  him  on  his  side,  io 
order  to  manipulate  the  spine ;  neither  was  ht 
conscious  that  a  young  lady  had  won  a  ^ 
of  gloves  of  him,  which  she  did  very  preni/y 
at  my  instance.*' 

The  high  state  of  nervous  irritahii/rj  into 
which  his  afflictions  had  plunged  him,  toge- 
ther with  its  ex]ooent,  viz.    a  weak  pulse 
from  100  to  120,  or  even  140,  have  cnLrcly 
subsided ;  his  appetite,  with  slight  excepiiofls, 
continues  good ;  his  spirits  are  improved,  his 
strength  increased,  and  he  usually  resi5  well, 
the  pulse  ranging  from  72  to  85,  or  very 
rarely  90.     He  has  partially  discontinued  the 
use    of    Batley*6    Sedative   Drops    ^wholly 
omitted  on  the  nights  of  being  mesmerizd), 
and  entirely  that  of  stimulants  (ale,  wine, 
spirits.  &c.),  which  Dr.  Tonlmin  had  recom- 
mended  with  a  view  to  counteract  the  u^uden- 
cy  to  "  sinking,"  which  his  kte  distressioc 
symptoms  occasioned. 

The  partial  paralysis  of  the  lower  extremi- 
ties remains  much  the  same,  as  regards  vcioft- 
tary  motion  (or  rather  the  want  of  ii)  in  u 
erect  position ;  nevertheless  a  tendency  to  ia- 
creased  power  is  also  perceptible  here. 

In  ordinary  circumstances,  it  would  be 
"  hoping  apiiist  hoj*,"  to  expect  a  resioia- 
tion  of  vision  in  thisxase, — but  under  the  be- 
nign influence  of  the  agent  employed,  what 
may  not  be  accomplished !  Already  it  has 
produced,  on  very  many  occasions,  short  in- 
tervals of  "glimmer,"  so  much  so  that  the 
patient  has  been  able  to  distinguish  the  letuia 
of  day,  as  well  as  the  *'  diffused  whiieiiefa,* 
or  <«  glare,"  from  the  fire  or  (he  flame  of  the 
candle.  He  has  repeatedly  ino  uiied.  *'  Is 
it  not  a  very  bright  di^r    •*]«  not  ibt 


Perfectly  Blind  for  Eleven  Years. 


133 


fire  very  bright?"  I  presume  that  these 
interruptions  of  the  perfect  blindness  (which 
is  ordinarily  so  complete,  that  I  have  repeat- 
edly, by  means  of  a  lens,  condensed  the  im- 
age of  the  flame  of  the  candle  upon  the  pupii 
of  his  eye,  so  as  exactly  to  fill  it,  of  all  which 
be  has  remained  totally  unconscious)  indi- 
cate merely  functional  debility  in  the  visual 
organs,  without  alteration  in  their  structure ; 
if  60,  let  us  h6pe  on  and  persevere,  looking 
to  our  polar  star,  which,  in  the  teeth  of  ad* 
verse  influences,  has  for  the  last  ten  or  twelve 
years  maintained  its  due  elevation,  and  con- 
tinued to  shine  with  undimned  brightness,  the 
centre  of  an  increasing  galaxy  of  similar  in- 
telligences. 

If  I  could  spare  the  time  to  mesmerize  this 
j^tient  every  day,  I  have  no  doubt  that  mat- 
ters would  move  faster,  and  therefore  more 
satisfactorily.  My  avocations  will  not,  how- 
ever, permit  this ;  and  it  is  clear  that  cases  of 
this  description  could  only  be  met  by  a  public 
establishment,  devoted  to  the  diffusion  of  the 
incalculable  benefits  flowing  from  the  benefi- 
oent  agent  which  we  employ. 

Believe  me  very  truly  yours, 

J.  HOLLAND. 

Laurie  Terrace,  New  Cross,  ) 
6th  March,  1847.       > 
Thomas  Chandler,  Esq. 
^  My  dear  Sir, — I  have  the  pleasure-to  inform 
you  that,  notwithstanding  the  trying  character 
of  the  season  from  which  we  are  now  about 
to  emer^,  our  patient.  Captain  Peach,  has,  by 
the  continued  siid  of  mesmerism,  been  pre- 
served in  a  comparative  state  of  ease,  in  the 
teeth  of  the  debilitating  tendency  of  his  exotic 
mode  of  existence. 

Since  the  27th  November  last,  he  has  had 
but  one  severe  relapse  (spasm),  which  com- 
menced on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  Janua- 
ry last,  and  tormented  him  incessantly  through 
the  whole  day.  I  visited  him  in  the  evening ; 
and,  contrary  to  my  expectation,  he  was  fully 
mesmerized  in  lees  than  one  minute,  advan- 
tage having  been  taken  of  a  temporary  lull. 
On  this  occasion  the  attack  was  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  large  muscle  on  thd  under  side  of 
the  left  thigh,  and  was  proportionally  violent, 
returning  almost  directly  after  he  was  mesme- 
rized. Each  spasm  lasted  from  2  to  4  or  5 
seconds,  and  recurred  at  intervals  of  from  20 
to  40  seconds  (by  my  watch),  with  occasional 
lulls  of  greater  duration.  There  was  the 
ordinary  expression  of  agony,  accompanied 
by  a  suppressed  inarticulate  cry,  but  without 
the  least  tendency  to  rouse  the  patient  from 
the  mesmeric  state;  indeed  his  countenance 
relaxed  into  perfect  placidity  the  instant  the 
several  attacks  passed  off.  I  manipulated 
incessantly,  and  it  was  only  at  the  end  of  the 
first  50  minutes  that  there  was  a  perceptible 


diminution  of  the  symptoms ;  but  at  the  expi- 
ration of  20  minutes  more,  he  was  sleeping 
like  an  infant,  and  continued  so  for  other  20 
minutes,  when  I  left  him,  thinking  that  it 
would  be  more  beneficial  to  suffer  the  influ- 
ence to  exhaust  itself ;  besides  which,  I  dread- 
ed to  awaken  him,  lest  the  attack  should  re- 
turn and  the  labor  have  to  be  recommenced. 
However,  there  has  not  been  any  return,  but 
he  was  very  much  shattered  for  two  or  three 
days ;  still  he  came  round  more  kindly  than 
had  been  his  wont  on  former  occasions  before 
mesmerism  was  resorted  to. 

None  of  his  other  late  complicated  afflic- 
tions have  returned  since  the  date  of  my  former 
letter. 

I  may  mention  that  the  fixed  look  alone 
continues  to  produce  a  highly  irritating  effect 
on  the  patient's  eyes ;  and,  if  continued  for  10 
minutes  or  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  becomes  to- 
tally unbearable ;  they  water  copiously,  and 
put  on  a  highly  inflamed  appearance ;  the 
nasal  passages  also  sympathize.  This  treat- 
ment has  been  repeated  perseveringly  with 
the  object  of  rousing  the  paralysed  optic 
nerve  to  natural  action,  and  J  am  much  disap- 
pointed at  its  not  yet  having  had  that  result, 
more  particularly  as  such  high  susceptibility 
to  nature's  own  stimulus  ought,  one  would 
think,  to  act  in  that  direction.  The  main 
difhcaltv,  no  doubt,  arises  from  the  affection 
having  been  so  long  established,  and  being  so 
deeply  seated.  This  view  is  borne  out  by  . 
the  fact  that  the  late  frightful  pain  in  the  lum- 
bar region,  which  was  of  comparatively 
recent  occurrence,  yielded  almost  instanter 
to  the  mesmeric  influence. 

Independently  of  the  grave  afflictions  men- 
tioned in  my  former  letter,  he  has  suffered 
for  a  long  time  from  various  comparatively 
minor  complaints,  which  have  only  beea^ 
mentioned  to  me,  when  attention  has  been 
drawn  to  them  in  consequence  of  an  ame- 
lioration having  taken  place.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  an  insensibility  (of  very 
long  standing)  in  the  parts  administering  to* 
micturition,  and  also  a  chronic  **  weakness  " 
in  the  inside  of  the  left  thigh.  The  latter 
has  totally  disappeared  for  some  time  past, 
and  the  former  has  been  considerably  re- 
lieved. 

There  is  no  indication  in  the  mesmeric 
state  of  any  exaltation  of  the  senses  or 
faculties  in  this  patient,  nor  indeed  of  any 
other  *^high  phenomena;"  but  it  may  lie 
worth  while  to  state  that,  in  addition  to  the 
induced  rigidity  formeriy  mentioned,  the  sen- 
sation of  thirst  can  invariably  be  brought  on 
by  merely  placing  the  ends  of  my  fingers 
lightly  under  the  patient's  chin.  The  sensa- 
tion IS  always  indicated  by  a  sucking  and 
swallowing  action,  and  viva  rccif  the 
question  be  asked.    That  this  fact  is  not  the 


134       Extraordinary  Effects  of  Mesmerism  on  a  Oentleman^  Sfc, 


result  of  **  association "  or"meDtal  sugges- 
tion,*' was  fully  demonstrated  by  the  follow- 
ing occurrence.  On  the  first  occasion  of  my 
trying  the  experiment,  Mrs.  Peach's  notice 
was  attracted  to  it,  and  a  circumstance  was 
thereby  recalled  to  her  mind,  which  to  her 
had  no  significance  at  the  time.  Some  time 
previously  the  servant  was  mesmerizing  her 
master  (who  was  seated),  in  the  course  of 
which  ordinary  sleep  was  combined  with  the 
mesmeric  influence,  and  his  "jaw  dropped." 
Her  mistress  directed  her  to  "  put  it  up."  In 
performing  this  evolution,  the  captain  called 
out,  *'  What  is  Jane  doing  ?"  &c.,  &c. :  at  the 
same  time  complaining  of  thirst,  and  distinct- 
ly showing  by  the  sucking  and  swallowing 
action,  that  the  salivary  glands  were  excited. 
Some  surprise  was  felt  at  the  time,  but  the  oc- 
currence had  been  altogether  dismissed,  and 
was  only  recalled  from  witnessing  my  ex- 
periment. 

I  cannot  note  any  decided  alteration  as  re- 
gards the  amaurosis,  or  the  partial  paralysis 
of  the  lower  limbs.  Still  the  fitful  *«  glimmer- 
ings "  continue  to  recur,  and  there  is  a  very 
nerceptible  increase  of  strength,  though  vo- 
luntary motion  (in  the  erect  position)  is  not  at 
command.  However,  his  general  health  is 
certainly  improved,  his  spirits  are  better,  and 
his  appetite  is  not  to  be  found  fault  with ;  a 
bad  ni^ht  is  now  the  exception. 

He  IS  making  the  attempt  to  discontinue 
opiates,  and.  hitherto,  has  succeeded  better 
•  than  could  have  been  expected.  His  perse- 
verance has  been  stimulated  by  having  Miss 
Manineau's  case  read  to  him.  This  experi- 
ment was  commenced  on  Saturday,  the  20th 
ull.-,  since  when  he  has  abstained  altogether. 
He  has  had  three  or  four  sleepless  nights  in 
consequence,  accompanied  by  great  restless- 
ness and  craving ;  the  effects  of  which  have, 
invariably,  been  removed  entirely,  by  the 
next  dose  of  **  nature's  sedative,"  instead  of 
•'  Batley's." 

The  patient  has  large  expectations  that  the 
"  advance  of  the  sun  "  will  tell  in  his  favor. 
Hoping  they  may  be  realized, 

1  remain,  my  dear  Sir, 
'  Yours,  very  truly, 

J.  HOLLAND. 

What  can^e  more  beautiful  and  conclusive 
than  this  case  ?  Yet  no  doubt  our  scientific 
(?)  profession  will  find  something  to  cavil  at. 
I  do  not  complain  of  medics^l  men  refusing  to 
believe  mesmerism  from  mere  report ;  it  would, 
indeed,  be  unworthy  of  them  to  do  so.  But, 
when  they  see  some  of  the  first  men,  not  only 
in  oar  own  profession,  but  also  in  the  church 
and  at  the  bar,  openly  and  enthusiastically 
advocating  the  cauete,  [  think  they  might  at 
I  east  eicamine  for  themselves.  And  f  do  not 
hesitate  to  state  that  he  must  be  a  most  unfor- 1 


tunate  individual  who,  taking  five  persoos  in- 
discriminately for  the  purpose  of  experiment, 
does  not  find  at  least  one  of  them  susceptible 
at  the  first  trial.  I  am  quite  sore  the  aTeofe 
is  much  above  this  in  my  own  practice.  I 
may  instance  an  extraordinary  circnnutanoe 
which  lately  happened  to  roe,  by  which  a 
whole  party  became  convinced  of  the  tnith  of 
mesnMirism.  In  January  1  went  to  Derizes 
to  meet  a  party  oi  relations  and  friends  it 
dinner.  Mesmerism  was  of  conrse  talked  of, 
and  many  a  joke  passed  at  my  ezpense,  bnt 
you  shall  see  how  I  turned  the  tables.  Uar- 
m^  offered  to  mesmerize  any  of  the  parly  (bit 
without  pledging  myself  to  be  succee^fal).! 
lady  volunteered.  Her  hiuband  objected ;  I, 
however,  left  him  with  his  wine  and  joinei 
the  ladies.  The  ofiSsr  was  soon  renewed,  and 
I  commenced :  in  ten  minutes  she  became  a 
living  statue,  though  for  the  first  five  ibe 
was  talking  and  laughing  incredulondy;  I 
then  called'  her  htist»nd  and  the  rest  of  tbe 
party  to  see  her,  and  much  enjoyed  their  look 
of  amazement  and  fright;  they  did  notdoobt 
her  being  asleep,  and  tbe  next  question  wa^ 
how  I  was  going  to  awake  her,  for  s)» 
could  not  even  smile  when  her  hosbao' 
spoke  to  her,  though  of  a  very  lively  di5{)09- 
lion.  After  three  quartera  of  an  hoorlc* 
vineed  them  that  1  could  dissipate  the  efttff 
easily  as  I  had  produced  it,  and  im^"^ 
nutes  restored  her  to  her  former  scIL  She 
described  her  sensations  as  having  b«B  bw* 
delightful.  She  had  been  perfectly  coosciow. 
but  could  not  speak  or  move.  Shebeanlber 
husband  cough,  and  wished  to  speak  to  iuB> 
but  could  not  articulate. 

This  lady  is  not  a  young  hysterical  lenale, 
but  the  mother  of  a  laige  family,  aome  of 
them  as  tall  as  herself ;  she  is  well  knovft 
to  the  whole  neighborhood,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  the  affair  will  make  a  little  talk  in  die 
town. 

Cases  of  this  description  make  more  con- 
verts than  public  exhibitions;  indeed  mei-  i 
merism  had  been  much  depreciated  in  the 
town  of  Devizes  some  years  before  by  an 
itinerant  mesmerizer,  who  could  not  of  coqt« 
inspire  that  confidence  in  his  auditors,  with- 
out which  the  most  genuine  phenomeDa  ap- 
pear like  imposition. 

In  reference  to  the  ether  mania,  which  tf 
now  in  course  of  finding  its  proper  level,  it 
may  be  remarked  that  mesmerists  can  hate  no 
objection  to  its  nK)nopolizing  operative  soipt- 
ry.  They  would  only  wish  to  receive  the 
same  justice  as  regards  their  results,  at  the 
hands  of  the  profession,  that  has  been  so  ea- 
gerly accorded  to  tbe  new  agent. 

I  remain  yours,  very  trnlVi    ^ 
THOMAS  CHANDLER 
58  Paradise  street,  Rotherhithe,  > 
March  10th,  1847.         ) 


Cwre  of  SL  Vitus^B  Dance.— Cure  of  Tic  Dotdoureux.  135 


CURE  OF  ST.  VmJS'S  DANCE. 

[ByDr.EngladiM^] 
Dft.  Enolkdue  States  that  be*  has  sent  as 
«*tbe  following  case  of  care  of  St.  Yitas*8 
dance,  not  because  there  is  anything  unusual 
in  the  coarse  pursaed,  bat  beoause  it  is  an- 
other instance  of  the  value  of  mesmerism 
after  the  nsoal  medical  appliances  had  been 
tried  in  yain. 

John  C— — ,  aged  nine  years,  had  been 


for  more  than  a  month  from  St. 
Yitiis's^dance.  His  father  consaited  me  in 
June,  1846.  He  presented  the  usual  appear- 
ances, which  it  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate. 
He  could  neither  walk  nor  feed  himself,  and 
was  in  a  truly  miserable  condition.  After  the 
administration  of  purgatives,  he  was  placed 
under  the  influence  of  iron,  and  this  was  con- 
tinued in  gradually  increasini^  doses  for  six 
weeks,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  he 
was  not  in  the  least  degree  improved,  though 
no  doubt  further  perseverance  would  have 
emred  him.  However,  I  p^reuaded  his  father 
1o  take  the  care  into  his  own  hands,  to  aban- 
don medicine  and  to  try  mesmerism,  having 
witnessed  its  bene/icial  effects  in  other  cases. 
He  acceded  to  my  wish,  and  made  passes  be- 
fore his  son  for  half  an  hour,  night  and  morn- 
ing;. At  the  end  of  a  fortnight  there  was  a 
•light  improvement.  In  three  weeks  this 
was  moch  more  manifest,  and  in  two  months 
he  was  quite  well.  During  the  whole  of  this 
period  he  took  no  medicine.  While  the  dis- 
ease existed  he  did  not  pass  into  mesmeric 
sleep,  bat  so  soon  as  this  disappeared,  his 
father  was  enabled  to  send  him  into  the  trance 
with  the  greatest  ease.  I  believe  this  is  not 
onasaal.  Sleep  is  not  essential.  Although 
in  the  majority  of  cases  it  is  be  looked  for, 
and  to  be  wished  for,  neveitheiess  it  is  not  ne- 
cessary for  the  cnre  of  disease. 
Soathsea*  Hants. 


CURE  OP  TIC  DOULOUREUX.* 

[By  Miss  CoUinsj 

Dr.  Elliotson  bega  to  forward  the  enclosed 
to  The  ZoisL 
Conduit  street,  Jan.,  1847, 

Newark,  Dec.  23, 1846. 
Dear  Dr.  Elliotson. — ^The  accompanying 
case  T  take  the  liberty  of  forwarding  to  you, 
as  I  feel  persuaded  it  will  afford  you  pleasure 


*  The  core  of  this  young  Udy's  contracted  foot  by 
metroerUm,  and  the  history  of  the  beanUfal  phenome- 
■A  of  her  mesroerto  state,  will  aiupiy  repay  the  perasal 
laNecxUandzU. 


to  know  that  mesmerism  has  again  proved  of 
infinite  service  in  a  most  obstinate  complaint, 
the  sufferer  from  which  had  tried  ail  meane 
that  the  faculty  advised  for  her  recovery. 
But  all  was  found  to  be  alike  unsuccessful, 
until  she  had  recourse  to  mesmerism. 
'About  the  same  time  that  Miss  Wols- 
tenholme  was  afflicted  and  deriving  benefit 
from  mesmerism,  a  young  lady,  a  friend  of 
mine,  was  troubled  fearfully  with  the  same 
malady  (tic  douloureux),  when  my  mother 
undertook  to  apply  the  same  means,  and 
which  were  attended  with  equal  success. 
She  was  mesmerized  everjr  day  for  about  a 
fortnight,  when  she  was  quite  cored,  and  she 
has  had  no  return  of  pain  since. 

1  am  happy  to  say  I  am  quite  well ;  and 
with  grateful  remembrances  again  apologizing 
for  the  intrusion  upon  your  time, 
I  am,  dear  Dr.  Elliotson, 
Yours  ever  obliged, 
ELEANOR  COLLINS. 
John  Elliotson,  Esq.,  M.D.,  | 
London.  } 

[SBVXRS  CASE  OV  TIC  DOULOUKSVZ. 

On  the  24th  June,  1846.  Mr.  Wolsten- 
holme,  an  officer  of  Excise,  called  upon  my 
father  to  borrow  an  electrical  machine,  in  or- 
der to  employ  it  for  bis  daughter,  who  ie 
about  24  years  of  age,  and  was  su&ring,  and 
had  suffered  for  several  years,  with  tic  don- 
loureux.    As  the   instrumept   was   not  in 
Newark  at  the  time,  my  father  advised  mes- 
merism to  be  tried,  and  I  am  happy  to  say  it 
was  employed  with  complete  success.    My 
father  an^  I  went  to  her  house  during  the 
afternoon,  and  Miss  Wolstenholme  informal 
us  that  she  had  been  suffering  from  tic  doa- 
lonreux  in  both  sides  of  the  face  for  nearly 
five  years,  and  to  so  great  a  desree  that  she 
dared  not,  dunng  the  whole  of  last  winter, 
venture  into  a  room  where  there  was  a  fire, 
but  was  obliged  to  remain  up  stairs  in  a  cold 
apartment ;  and  her  sufiferings  were  so  ffttaU 
that  her  life,  she  stated,  was  perfectly  misersr 
ble.    She  had  been  under  medical  treatment 
for  two  months,  but  grew  worse  instead  of 
better,   though    everything    that   could   be 
thought  of  had  been  tried  for  her  relief.    I 
saw  her  this  afternoon  for  the  first  time,  in 
company  with  my  father,  who  mesmerized 
her  by  downward  passes  for  half  an  hour. 
In  fourteen  minutes  she  appeared  drowsy,  but 
did  not  go  to  sleep.    At  the  expiration  of  the 
half  hour  the  pain  had  diminished.    My  fa- 
ther then  locally  mesmerized  her,  which  pro- 
duced great  pain  in  her  arms  and  legs,  more 
especially  in  the  right  arm,  as  well  as  pain 
nnder  the  left  ear;  but  all  was  removed  before 
we  had  been  there  an  hour,  and  we  left  her 
feeling  very  comfortable. 


136 


Owrt  of  Tic  Douloureux. 


25th.  The  patient  came  to  our  house  this 
morning  much  better ;  she  had  had  but  little 
pain  in  the  night,  and  very  little  this  morning 
early.  The  effects  by  mesmerizing  her  were 
the  same  as  those  produced  yesterday,  with 
the  addition  of  pain  in  the  neck.  The  gene- 
ral and  local  mesmerization  lasted  for  three 
quarters  of  an  hour,  when  she  said  that  she 
ult  better  than  she  had  done  for  months; 
ami  she  returned  home  quite  free  from  pain. 
She  called  in  the  evening  to  be  mesmerized, 
as  slight  pain  had  come  on  about  five  o'clock. 
JShe  went  away  quite  well. 

27th.  Has  nad  no  pain  in  the  night,  but 
the  had  a  yery  little  in  the  morning  early. 

28th.  Her  health  and  general  appearance 
much  improved,  though  sleep  has  not  yet 
been  produced.  Violent  pain  returned  for  an 
hour  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  for 
ten  minutes  at  half-past  nine. 

29th.  My  father  beins  obliged  to  leave 
home  ior  a  few  weeks,  she  beoune  my  pa- 
tient, and  this  morning  I  mesmerized  her; 
the  would  have  gone  to  sleep  but  for  several 
interruptions.  She  had  no  pain  at  all  on  the 
30th  or  following  day,  and  only  very  little  for 
a  short  time  in  the  evening  at  the  usual  hour 
(five  o'clock).  Whilst  mesmerizing  her  on 
tiie  Jast-menttoned  day,  she  experienced  the 
sensation  of  hot  water  running  down  the  left 
tide. 

July  2d.  Had  no  pain  since  yesterday, 
except  for  a  very  few  minutes  this  morning. 
After  mesmerizing  her  for  twenty  minutes, 
the  fell  into  a  light  and  quiet  sleep,  which 
lasted  for  seven  or  eight  minutes,  and  was 
exceedinffly  sleepy  the  whole  of  the  half 
hour.  Extreme  pain  came  on  for  an  hour  in 
the  afternoon,  which  she  attributed  to  having 
walked  very  quickly. 

3d.  Went  to  sleep  in  a  quarter  of  an 
liour,  and  slept  six  minutes;  experienced 
|reat  stiffness,  and  a  prickly  sensation  in  the 
left  arm  and  hand. 

4th.  She  says  her  pain  daily  diminishes. 
I  made  only  a  few  downward  passes  to-day, 
but  kept  my  fingers  pointing  at  her  eyes, 
Which  made  her  drowsy  in  a  yery  few  mi- 
nutes; she  slept  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
much  deeper  than  she  has  hitherto  done. 
Excruciating  pain  came  on  in  the  neck  and 
head,  which  was  removed  by  breathing  upon, 
and  then  blowing  over,  the  seats  of  the 
.  pain. 

5tfa.  Had  a  deal  of  pain  before  she  went 
to  bed ;  did  not  rest  quite  so  well^  and  suffer- 
ed very  much  till  I  mesmerized  her.  She  at- 
tributed these  uncomfortable  feelings  to  the 
change  of  weather.  I  locally  mesmeri2ed 
her  for  an  hour  and  a  half,  when  she  assured 
me  she  was  quite  easy  again. 

6th.  She  went  into  the  mesmeric  state  in 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  remained  in  it  for 
sixteen  minutes.    She  could  recollect  every- 


thing  when  she  awoke,  but  said  thai  while 
asleep  she  could  hear  yery  indistiactly,  aid 
felt  all  over  as  heavy  as  lead,  and  that  mhm- 
times  she  fancied  she  was  falling  into  sone 
place,  and  at  other  times  that  some  one  want- 
ed her  and  pulled  her  head  to  the  left—to- 
wards the  place  where  I  was  then  atting. 

7th.  I  mesmerized  her  for  half  aa  bov, 
when  .<)he  slept  for  twenty-five  luiiita 
Went  away  quite  well. 

8th.  Had  a  very  good  night,  and  no  ]nio 
since  she  left  me  at  twelve  o'clock  yeitenlay 
morning.  She  went  to  sleep  in  ten  miniles, 
and  slept  for  twenty  minutes.  In  the  el^ 
ning,  though  she  had  had  no  pain,  I  nesM- 
rizetl  her  again ;  she  slept  for  thirteen  w* 
nutes,  when  something  in  the  street  diatotboi 
her;  but  in  fiye  minutes  she  agaiawentH 
sleep,  and  remained  for  a  quaiter  ofn 
hour* 

9th.  Daily  improves,  and  in  tea  minilci 
the  sleep  was  induced,  and  she  renaiiwi  ii 
it  for  twenty  minutes,  and  for  thirty  on  &e 
f ol  lowing  day.  I  locally  mesmerized  Ike  kt 
before  she  went  to  sleep,  and  reowved  &e 
pain  in  two  minutes* 

11th.  Did  not  succeed  in  gettii^  herl» 
sleep,  but  sent  her  home  quite  well. 

12th,  13th,  and  14th.  No  pain  except^ 
a  very  few  minutes.  Went  to  sleep  ii  I* 
minutes  and  slept  for  half  an  hour.  \M 
her  several  questions,  which  she  anawetiii 
a  whisper. 

15th.  Pain  gradualljr  diminiEkin^  !■ 
four  minutes  she  waa  m  a  souad  tisx^ 
which  continued  for  a  qaarter  of  uboir; 
again  in  the  evening  for  twenty  Binilea 
She  had  a  severe  pain  in  her  had.^^ 
was  greatly  relieved  by  local  meBmerin. 

16th.  Had  no  pain  ainea  I  saw  ber  ]f» 
terday. 

17th.  Has  had  nain  in  her  face  aiace yw* 
teiday  afternoon.  1  took  all  pain  away  be- 
fore she  left,  but  it  returned  in  two  bonis  af- 
terwards, and  did  not  leaye  her  till  wmt- 
rized  this  morning,  when  she  west  lo  sleep 
in  five  minutes,  and  slept  for  twenty:  ibt 
went  away  quite  well. 

18th.  Much  better  to-day;  has  bad  M 
pain  since  I  mesmerized  her  last  eveningi  1 
got  her  to  sleep  in  three  minutes,  and  bm 
slept  comfortably  for  half  an  boar.  8w 
fancied,  as  has  been  usual,  lately,  that  btf 
head  was  separated  from  her  body. 

20th.  To-day  my  mother  mesmeriied )» 
for  me.  She  did  not  go  to  sleep,  bat  svd 
she  felt  as  though  hot  water  was  ninui^ 
down  her.  The  pain,  which  comas  oa  W 
occasionally,  now  lasts  but  a  very  it^  ^' 
nutes,  and  then  is  so  slight  as  not  be  woitfi 
naming. 

21si,  22d,  23d.  Three  miaates  m  "^ 
sufficient  to  send  her  to  sleep,  in  wbick  iJJ 
remains  happily  and  aoundJy  for  aboBl  vu. 


Ckises  of  A  ic  Douloureux  and  other  Nervous-  Affections^  Sfc.       137 


an  hour,  when  it  expends  itself  and  she 
awakes  spontaneously.  If  by  any  chance 
she  awakes  before  the  usual  time,  two  or 
three  parses  will  send  her  oflrafl;ain. 

28th.  Very  well  indeed,  and  came  for  the 
last  time. 

Dec.  23d.  I  saw  Miss  Wolstenholme  to- 
day, and  she  informs  me  that  she  has  had 
no  jpain  whatever  since  last  June,  and  that 
she  18  now  quite  well. 

ELEANOR  COLLINS. 

Newark,  Dec.  23d,  1846. 

«  I  have  carefully  read  over  the  above 
statement  of  mj  case,  and  declare  that  every 
part  of  it  is  strictly  correct 

"  MARY  ANN  WOLSTENHOLME." 


CASES  OP    TIC    DOULOUREUX   AND 
OTHER     NERVOUS      AFFECTIONS, 
'    CURED  WITH  MESMERISM. 
(By  Dr.  Sfeonr.] 

27  Brock  street,  Bath,  > 
Dec.  1st,  1846.      ( 

Case  I. — ^A  gentleman,  residing  at  Lans- 
down  Place,  called  in  February  last  to  con- 
sult me  about  his  wife,  who  had  been  suffer- 
ing for  a  long  time  from  acute  pains  and 
restlessness;  she  had  had  do  sleep  for  the 
last  two  or  three  weeks,  notwithstanding 
opiates  had  been  prescribed  by  her  medical 
attendants.  He  wished  to  know  if  mesme- 
rism would  be  of  any  use;  I  told  him  I 
thought  it  would,  and  made  an  appointment 
to  see  her  at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

I  found  the  patient  in  bed,  in  great  pain ; 
she  told  me  candidly,  that  she  only  consented 
to  see  me  to  oblige  her  husband  ;  she  bad  no 
belief  in  mesmerism,  and  therefore  did  not 
expect  any  benefit. 

I  proposed  a  trial,  to  which  she  consented, 
and  though  interrupted  two  or  three  times  by 
her  own  remarks,  I  was  enabled  to  induce 
sleep  in  less  than  twenty  minutes, — by  half- 
past  six.  She  remained  in  this  state  until 
nine  o'clock,  when  she  awoke,  asked  the 
time,  appeared  surprised,  turned  her  head, 
and  again  fell  asleep,  and  continued  in  this 
state  until  the  next  morning,  six  o'clock.  She 
told  her  husband  how  refreshed  she  felt,  and 
how  much  better  she  really  was. 

This  report  I  received  when  1  called  the 
next  day. 

The  patient's  appearance  also  corroborated 
this  statement  as  re^^s  her  looks.  I  then 
proposed  a  second  trial :  she  said  it  was  per- 
fectly useless,  then,  as  she  felt  so  much  bet- 
ter and  refreshed,  that  she  was  certain  mes- 
merism could  not  produce  any  farther  efiect 


i  She  wished  the  operation  postponed ;  I  ui^ged 
the  present  time,  as  it  would  more  decidedlr 
test  its  power.  She  incredulously  consented, 
and  told  me,  whilst  trying  her,  I  was  only 
wasting  my  time ;  but  opposed  to  all  this,  in 
less  than  twenty  minutes,  she  was  again 
asleep, — about  half- past  ten  o'clock.  A  con- 
versation was  held  in  the  room  that  did  not 
disturb  her,  and  I  left  directiona  for  her  to  be 
allowed  to  sleep  on.  This  she  did  until  past 
two  o'clock,— when  being  told  the  time,  she 
made  an  effort  to  rouse  herself, — and  having 
friends  present,  succeeded.  She  awoke  quite  free 
from  pains,  dressed  in  the  afternoon,  and  again 
passed  another  comfortable  night.  I  wished 
to  continue  my  attendance  during  the  week, 
but  a  summons  to  the  country  prevented 
that ;  though  I  was  glad  to  be  informed  some 
time  afterwards,  that  the  pains  and  sleepless- 
ness were  both  removed,  and  her  general 
health  improved. 

Case  II.— A  lady,  residing  at  Camden 
Place,  Bath,  sent  for  me  in  July  last  to  see 
her.  I  was  informed  that  she  had  been  suf« 
fering  from  violent  pains  about  her  head  and 
face  for  the  last  few  weeks ;  she  had  been 
attended  by  two  medical  gentlemen,  who  con- 
sidered the  case  to  be  tic  douloureux,  and 
prescribed  various  remedies,  but  without  any 
good  effects.  A  friend  of  hefs,  who  had 
been  greatly  benefited  by  mesmerism,  ad- 
vised a  trial ;  the  indy  consented,  but  told  me 
she  expected  no  benefit,  having  no  belief  ia 
its  powers. 

I  saw  her  on  Sunday  about  two  o'clock, 
for  the  first  time,  and  found  her  suffering  from 
acute  pain,  particularly  on  the  right  side  of 
the  face  and  temple.  After  a  short  time,  I 
proposed  a  trial  of  mesmerism,  and  in  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  produced  sleep,  with  apparent 
freedom  from  pain.  She  remained  in  this 
state  for  half  an  hour,  when  I  demesmerized 
her.  She  said  she  was  now  certainly  free 
from  pain,  but  she  could  not  believe  that  to 
be  the  effect  of  mesmerism,  inasmuch  as  she 
had  not  been  to  sleep ;  she  however  request- 
ed me  to  see  her  again  soon,  as  about  six 
o'clock  the  pains  were  always  more  violent 
I  returned  about  that  time  ;  she  had  been  bet- 
ter since  1  left,  but  was  evidently  fearing  the 
threatened  attack,  which  was  however  much 
slighter  than  usual.  I  mesmerized  her  in 
less  than  ten  minutes.  There  were,  as  be- 
fore, two  friends  of  her's,  present,  who, 
knowing  her  expressed  denial  of  the  first 
sleep,  now  requested  me  to  adopt  some  plan 
to  satisfy  her  own  mind  when  awake. 

I  moved  the  arms  backwards  and  forwards 
several  times,  and  placed  one  hand  for  five 
minutes  over  her  face.  After  the  half  hour 
I  again  woke  her,  as  her  friends  did  not  like 
my  leaving  her  in  the  mesmeric  state,  which 
I  wished. 


138  Cases  of  Tic  Douloureux  and  dther  Nervous  Affections. 


When  demesmerized,  she  vas  quite  free 
from  pain ;  bat  again  doabted  having  been 
affected,  until  satisfied  by  her  own  friends  of 
what  had  occurred.  Monday  morning,  I  was 
informed  that  the  patient  had  passed  a  quiet 
evening,  had  refreshing  sleep,  and  only  a 
slight  return  of  pain  this  morning  when  she 
left  her  bed-room.  All  her  doubts  had  van- 
ished, and  she  had  been  anxiously  looking 
for  me.  I  again  mesmerized  her  about  ten 
o'clock  and  left  her  to  awake  spontaneously, 
which  she  did  about  one  o*c]ock,  and  remain- 
ed perfectly  comfortable  during  the  day.  I 
saw  her  again  in  the  evening,  and  left  her 
asleep.  On  Tuesday  I  was  told  she  had 
passed  an  excellent  night,  and  had  no  return 
of  the  pain  in  the  morning.  I  mesmerized 
her  about  three  o'clock,  and  though  the  sleep 
did  not  last  very  long,  she  continued  free 
from  pain,  and  passed  n  good  night.  I  con- 
tinued my  visits  during  the  week.  She  had 
no  return  of  the  pains,  says  she  feels  her 
health  generally  improved,  and  intends  next 
week  going  on  a  visit  to  some  friends.  I 
heard  from  this  lady  two  months  afterwards, 
and  she  says  that  she  has  had  no  return 
whatever  of  her  pains,  and  that  if  they 
should  again  annoy  her,  she  will  lose  no 
time  in  having  applied  the  only  remedy  she 
has  yet  found  successful. 

Cask   III. — Most   violent   case   of   tic 

POULOURStJX  GREATLY  RELIEVED. 

Mrs.  West,  setat  50,  residing  at  St.  James's 
Parade,  was  sent  to  me  in  January  last,  by  a 
medical  gentleman  residing  here,  with  an 
opinion  ^om  him  to  the  following  effect : — 
that  it  was  one  of  the  worst  cases  he  had 
ever  seen,  and  that  he  had  exhausted  all  his 
means  without  doing  any  good.  The  poor 
woman  states,  that  she  has  sufllered  severely 
for  the  last  three  or  four  years,  that  sometimes 
the  pain  is  so  severe  as  to  cause  her  to  bite 
her  lips,  that  she  has  frequently  been  with- 
out sleep  for  two  or  three  weeks  together,  her 
eyes  are  constantly  suffused  with  tears,  and 
her  mouth  drawn  aside  by  the  pain.  She 
has  had  several  teeth  removed  with  the  hope 
of  relief,  but  all  to  no  avail.  She  has  been 
under  several  medical  men,  and  her  case  has 
excited  much  commiseration. 

I  willingly  consented  to  try  mesmerism, 
and  thougn  it  was  commenced  during  the 
coldest  part  of  last  winter,  after  a  fortnight's 
mesmerizing  there  was  evidently  induced  a 
remission  of  the  more  severe  symptoms ;  for 
instance,  the  pain  lessened,  she  slept  better, 
she  was  much  more  placid  during  the  mes- 
meric sleep,  though  frequently  awaked  by 
spasm,  and  her  eyes  less  watery.  I  steadily 
persevered  for  about  six  weeks,  and  had  the 
extreme  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  marked 
bange  for  the  better.    From  fear  of  being 


troublesome,  she  unfortunately  omitted  to  ai* 
tend,  and  in  three  weeks'  time  she  became 
worse ;  I  then  resumed  mesmerism,  and  in  a 
few  days  brought  her  round  to  her  previous 
improved  state. 

I  continued  mesmerizing  for  another  month, 
making  fully  three  months,  when  she  was » 
much  improved,  that  some  who  met  ber  did 
not  know  her  for  the  same  person.  She  now 
slept  well,  ate  well,  and  was  altogether  a  dif- 
ferent person.  In  the  summer  she  went  away 
for  two  months,  and  imprudently  silting  oa 
the  grass  after  rain,  caught  severe  rheuma- 
tism, but  her  tic  did  not  afiect  her.  Whea 
she  returned  to  Bath»  finding  her  still  sufieiiaK 
from  rheumatism,  she  was  again  mesnierizd, 
and  in  three  weeks  greatly  relieved.  The  lie 
has  scarcely  returned.  Should  it  do  so,  I 
have  no  doubt  but  that  mesmerism  will  sooa 
relieve  it  She  is  now  very  susceptible  d 
mesmerism,  and  when  I  am  basy  Ma 
Storer  finds  no  difficulty  in  affecbog  her. 

In  such  a  very  extreme  case,  with  a  dispo- 
sition to  rheumatism,  I  can  hardly  hope  Tor 
an  entire  cessation ;  but  the  good  alrealy 
effected  has  gone  beyond  anything  yet  ac- 
complished by  medicine. 

The  gratitude  of  the  poor  woman  is  ex- 
treme, and,  what  is  equally  satisfactoiy.lk 
good  effects  of  mesmerism  have  in  thij  (S* 
been  actnowledged  by  three  diflerenl  aeiSfial 
men. 
Case   IV.— Case   op  great  Nxavotisiii- 

BILITT  AFFECTING  THE  HEAR 

Mrs.  H.,  a  respectable  married  woofflt 
consuhed  me  some  time  since  in  leiiereBcelo 
her  general  health ;  she  complained  of  grot 
ffeneral  debility,  which  she  described  as  mak- 
ing her  feel  quite  exhausted,  with  a  coosiaat 
head-ache,  rendering  her  unequal  to  herda* 
ties  at  home. 

As  she  had  taken  a  eood  deal  of  mediooe. 
and  without  any  benefit,  her  husband  rKtf^ 
mended  her  to  try  mesmerism.  I  found  W 
very  susceptible  to  its  influence*  and  alter* 
few  times  mesmerizing,  her  head-acW 
ceased,  and  her  general  health  became  m«J 
improved.  She  is  very  liable  to  cold,  wlwtt 
generally  affects  the  side,  and  has  nsffloiy 
been  treated  by  depletion ;  but  ber  hnsbaA 
perceiving  the  good  effects  of  mcsmensffl  tf 
the  first  instance,  when  her  next  attack  begij. 
in  July  last,  sent  for  me.  I  found  ber  was 
pains  all  over  her,  particularly  in  the  8ide.w^ 
viewed  the  case  as  pleuritis  with  rhcumausm. 
Knowing  her  susceptibihly,  I  at  once  roeso^ 
rized  her,  and  left  her  asleep;  8»»«cof  "?^ 
in  this  state  for  nearly  three  hours,  and  wnw 
she  awoke,  expressed  herself  much  m 
from  pain.  I  saw  her  in  the  eveiimg.*^ 
put  her  again  to  sleep.  ^        ,  . - 

Her  husband  inforatd  m  the  next  day 


Cure  oflnjwry  of  the  Spine  and  Contraction  of  the  Leg.         189 


that  she  bad  slept  nearly  all  night,  and  that 
in  the  morning  she  was  much  more  free 
from  pain,  and  the  side  also  was  considerably 
better :  I  found  her  up  in  an  easy  chair,  and 
again  mesmerized  her.  She  remained  in  this 
position  for  two  hoars,  and,  when  she  awoke, 
expressed  herself  to  be  nearly  well.  I  attend- 
ed her  for  two  days  more,  making  only  four 
during  the  illness.  She  is  now  quite  well, 
and  looking  altogether  improved.  Her  hus- 
band and  herself  assure  me  that  her  last  at* 
tack  was  precisely  similar  to  her  former 
ones,  and  that  she  has  generally  been  con- 
fined from  two  to  three  weeks,  and  always 
remained  extremely  weak  for  a  considerable 
time,  until  the  present  occasion. 

This  individual  has  been  mesmerized  now 
by  me  a  great  many  times.  Her  case  pre- 
sents, m  a  very  marked  degree,  almost  all  the 
mesmeric  states,  and  on  each  occasion,  after 
mesmerism,  she  expresses  herself  better.  1 
sometimes  avail  myself  of  her  offer,  when  I 
wish  to  give  a  private  demonstration  on  this 
subject,  her  object  being,  as  she  says,  to  ex- 
tend the  knowledge  of  so  valuable  a  remedy. 

P.S.  Note  to  mt  sfileptic  cases  in  no.  xvl 

The  number  of  these  and  similar  cases,  oc- 
curring amongst  the  poor  in  every  city,  is 
very  great,  and  yet  even  a  trial  of  the  most 
simple  and  the  safest  remedy,  mesmerism,  is 
Btill  withheld  from  our  public  hospitals. 

It  was  only  a  short  time  since,  that  a  gen- 
tleman here  recommended  a  poor  epileptic 
youth  to  one  of  the  hospitals,  and,  having 
aeen  the  good  eflects  of  mesmerism  in  sevenu 
cases,  ventured  to  suggest  it  to  the  medical 
officers.  The  written  answer  was,  and  that 
from  one  of  the  leading  (!)  men,  **  That 
none  of  the  men  of  the  Bath  United  Hospital 
understood  the  science  (so  called)  of  mesme- 
rism.*' Another  was  asked  some  time  since, 
why,  in  surgical  cases,  he  did  not  give  the 
poor,  at  least,  the  benefit  of  a  trial ;  his  reply 
was,  because  he  thought  there  was  nothmg 
in  it 

This  same  individual's  attention  was  again 
more  recently  directed  to  the  subject  in  conse- 
quence of  the  many  painless  surgical  opera- 
tions which  had  been  actually  performed.  He 
then  said,  be  should  be  afraid  of  trying  it,  lest 
apoplexy  should  ensue.  What!  apoplexy 
be  induced  by  nothing.  Certainly,  between 
the  two  opinions,  there  is  only  one  step  from 
the  ridiculous  to  the  sublime. 

In  justice,  however,  to  two  or  three  of  the 
medical  gentlemen  connected  with  the  hospi- 
tal, I  beg  to  say  that  ail  are  not  unbelievers, 
and  that  it  is  only  the  existence  of  certain 
prejudices  or  obstnictions  that  prevents  them 
giving  it  a  fair  trial.  J.  S. 


CURE  OF  INJURY  OF  THE  SPINE  AND 
CONTRACTION  OF  THE  LEG. 

[B7  Mr.  H.  Hndwrn.! 
Liverpool,  30th  Dec.,  1846. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Zoist  : 
Dear  Sir, — I  perceive  in  your  publication 
several  accounts  of  cures  effected  by  means  of 
mesmerism,  and  think  it  will  yet  be  made  a 
great  blessing  to  the  community  if  properly 
applied.  1  cured  a  young  woman  in  this 
town  by  means  of  it,  whom  I  providentially 
met  as  I  was  looking  for  a  place  of  worship. 
Perceiving  she  was  quite  lame  and  apparently 
in  much  pain,  I  proposed  to  mesmerize  her. 
fiut  not  understanding  what  that  meant,  she 
did  not  know  what  to  say,  yet  felt  inclined 
to  submit  to  anything  calculated  to  do  her 
good,  but  at  the  same  time  she  said  she  had 
no  money  to  pay  me.  I  told  her  if  I  could 
cure  her  she  would  have  nothing  to  pay. 
Upon  inquiry,  she  informed  me  that  about 
seven  months  since  she  had  fallen  while 
cleaning  the  outside  of  a  window,  and  had 
injured  her  spine;  the  doctors  called  it  a 
bruise  of  the  spine ;  that  she  had  been  in 
York  Infirmary  five  months,  when  she  came 
to  the  one  here,  where  she  underwent  several 
operations  without  receiving  any  benefit 
She  also  said  that  she  had  had  upwards  of 
200  leeches  on  her  bacJc,  and  had  consulted 
about  a  dozen  difierent  doctors,  but  they  could 
none  of  them  do  her  any  good. 

During  that  time  her  left  leg  became  con- 
tracted at  the  knee,  so  that  she  had  to  walk 
on  her  toes,  and  with  great  pain  in  her  back. 
Her  parents  being  very  poor,  she  was  almost 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  going  to  the 
poorhouse,  having  spent  all  her  money,  be- 
sides pledging  her  clothes  for  support.  Her 
mother  was  present  during  our  interview.  I 
desired  the  young  woman  to  sit  down,  and 
was  enabled  to  put  her  in  a  trance  in  ak>out 
four  minutes;  her  mother  thought  she  had 
fainted,  but  telling  her  she  was  asleep,  I 
tried  to  make  her  sing  by  singing  myself* 
when  she  immediately  joined  me.  Having 
desired  her  mother  to  assist  me,  I  took  hold 
of  her  leg  and  brought  it  quite  straight, 
without  causing  her  the  least  pain.  On 
trying  if  she  could  walk  hv  exciting  the 
organ  of  Self- Esteem,  she  did  so  quite  well, 
which  alarxning  her  mother,  she  ran  out 
and  left  the  girl  with  me.  In  a  few  minntea 
her  sister  and  another  person  came  in,  ap- 
parently much  excited  and  alarmed,  and  I 
awoke  ner.  It  took  me  about  four  minutes, 
as  she  was  in  a  very  deep  sleep.  On  ask- 
ing her  to  walk  across  the  floor,  she  got  up 
and  immediately  said,  *'What  have  voa 
been  doing  to  my  leg?  it  is  now  straight,** 
and  then  walked  about  very  well ;  but  I 
perceived  her  heel  waa  not  properly  on  the 


140 


Mesmerism  not  to  be  trifled  with. 


ground.  Haying  asked  her  if  her  hack  was 
still  painful,  she  said  the  pain  was  quite 
gone,  but  it  felt  sore.  I  put  her  to  sleep 
again  that  eyeniDg  and  the  day  following; 
but  the  next  day  being  the  Sabbath,  I  left 
her  till  Monday,  when  I  brought  her  leg 
into  a  rigid  state,  which  stretched  the  sinew 
at  the  back  of  the  heel.  On  waking  her 
she  said,  «<  Thaok  God,  I  have  got  my  heel 
,  to  the  ground  again.''  I  put  her  to  sleep 
several  times.  On  the  Wednesday  follow- 
ing, she  stood  all  day  at  the  wash-tub,  and 
was  perfectly  cured.  This  was  about  four 
months  since.  I  procured  her  a  situation 
with  a  friend  of  mine  (Mr.  R.  N.,  at  Wal- 
lington,  near  Newcastle-upon-Tyne),  where 
she  has  been  ever  since,  without  any  return 
of  her  old  complaint,  and  gives  perfect  satis- 
faction to  her  master  and  mistress.  Her 
name  is  Elizabeth  Harley,  and  she  lived  in 
Edmund  Street  with  her  mother.  She  lived 
last,  when  at  service  (where  she  left  on  ac- 
count of  her  lameness),  at  Mr.  Garthorpe*s 
House  of  Correction,  City  of  York. 

This  case  has  already  been  inserted  in 
the  Liverpool  Mercury,  and  copied  into 
several  other  papers  from  tiiat.  I  have 
mesmerized  several  persons,  and  have  always 
found  it  to  do  good  when  it  takes  proper 
eflfect.  I  will  not  trouble  you  further,  but 
hoping  this  will  meet  with  your  approval, 
I  have  the  honor  to  remain. 

Your  humble  Servant, 

H.  HUDSON, 
Cor.  Sec  of  the  Liverpool  Seamen' 9  Friend 
Society, 

P.S/  We  have  made  careful  inquiries 
respecting  the  above-related  particulars,  and 
have  ascertained  that  she  lived  with  |,Mr. 
Garthorpe;  was  injured  in  her  back,  "and 
dismissed  from  both  infirmary  and  hospital; 
that  she  was  at  Leeds  for  some  time,  and 
sent  to  the  House  of  Correction  at  York, 
with  a  good  character,  and  taken  into  Mr. 
Garthorpe's  service,  remaining  in  some  time, 
and  proving  himself  a  most  excellent  servant. 
On  leaving  it,  she  was  at  York  entrapped 
and  engaged  by  a  woman  who  kept  an  im- 
proper house,  but  no  sooner  discovered  this 
than  she  determined  to  make  her  escape; 
the  woman  refusing  to  let  her  go,  and  keep- 
ing her  in  the  house  by  force.  The  poor 
girl  watched  her  opportunity,  dressed  ner- 
self  in  the  best  clotiies  she  could  lay  her 
hand  upon,  got  out  through  a  window  and 
made  the  best  of  her  way  to  Liverpool,  to 
which  she  was  traced  by  a  police  officer 
and  taken  back  to  York,  and  tried  by  the 
Recorder,  Mr.  Elsly,  who  was  about  to  pass 
sentence  of  transportation  for  seven  yean 

9n  her,  when,  in  her  defence,  she  detailed 
Hole  story ;  and  persons  being  present 


who  could  confirm  it,  her  sentence  wu 
commuted  to  confinement  for  a  short  pciiod 
in  the  House  of  (Correction.  She  vm 
taken  by  Mr.  Garthorpe  again  into  his  ser- 
vice, but  not  liking  ner  confinement  sbe 
attempted  to  escape,  fell  from  a  ladder  and 
injured  her  spine.  She  then  gradually  be- 
came  unable  to  work,  entered  the  York  Id- 
firmary,  and  after  remaining  there  nnre- 
lieved  for  a  length  of  time,  and  finally 
pronounced  incurable  there  and  at  tbe  hos- 
pital, she  went  to  some  friend  at  LiyerpooL 
All  this  information  was  given  by  Mr.  (kr- 
thorpe  himself,  who  declares  she  was  1 
most  excellent  servant,  and  that  he  is  ready 
to  give  her  a  character  to  that  efiect.— ZooL 


MESMERISM  NOT  TO  BE  TRIFLED 
WITH.  THOUGH  IT  KILLS  NOBODY; 
OR,  JAMES  COOK  AUVE  AND 
HEARTY. 

[B7  M.  W.  O.  Smith.  Commanieatad  by  Dr.  Wdam] 
Dr.  Elliotson  forwards  to  The  Zoirt  «i 
authentic  account  which  he  has  receiTeJf' 
a  lad  unexpectedly  sent  to  sleep  withM- 
merism  two  or  three  years  ago,  at  D^M 
and  whom  the  Times  and  other  pifn 
represented  as  incapable  of  being  awakeiei; 
so  that  thousands  now  believe  he  serer 
woke,  and  positively  died,  and  mujthM- 
sands  fear  mesmerism,  lest  the  puty  bm- 
merized  should  never  wake  agaiDiVbcRU 
every  person  who  goes  into  the  aleepvikei 
sooner  or  later  spontaneously. 
Conduit  Street,  March  10, 

2,  DeptfordBridgeJ 
Februaiy,1847..j 
My  dear  Sir, 

In  an  interview  I  had  some  time  siiwe 
with  Mr.  Chandler,  of  Rotherhithe,  hegtn 
me  to  understand  that  various  unpleaawl 
and  ill-founded  reporto  were  in  circuUUOBi 
tending  very  much  to  retard  the  procreseol 
mesmerism  and  produce  a  feeling  of  tenor 
of  it  in  those  who  would  otherwise  aw 
themselves  of  that  great  therapeutic  agent 
These  reporto  are,  **  that  tbe  lad,  hM 
Cook,  mesmerized  by  me,  is  now  deed, «» 
had  died  in  consequence  of  his  being  ««• 
merized,"  I  beg  most  positively  to  denf 
this  statement,  and  thus  publicly  to  dedttt 
that  he  is  alive  and  well,  has  po^  °P* 
fine  young  man,  and  was  never  la  beiw 
health  than  at  the  present  time.  , 

It  is  true  that  his  sleep  wMo/aproIonj» 
character,  and  so  excited  public  attenooa 
that  the  police  deemed  it  necessiry  to  inrei- 


Mesmerism  not  to  he  trifled  with. 


141 


tigate  the  case.     I  was  therefore  visited  at  I  week  I  read  one  or  two  cases,  and  I  asked 
2  a.m.  hy  a  special  commission  of  that  en- 1  myself,  why,  if  those  effects  were  real,  I 


liff^htened  body  (grave  fellows,  by  the  way, 
to  report  on  a  case  of  mesmerism),  consist- 
ing of  an  inspector,  sergeant,  and  private  of 
•  &e  force,  who,  like  Dogberry  of  old,  show- 
ed their  profound  wisdom  in  their  mode  of 
examinatiion,  by  summing  up  the  evidence, 
and  promising  all  parties  a  lodging  in  the 
station-house.    Not  bein%  thoroughly  satis- 
fied whether  they  were    acting   right   or 
wrong,  a  messenger  was  dispatched  for  the 
police  surgeon.    Myself  and  Mr.  Taylor, 
^awaiting  his  return,  sat  in  suspense,  the 
sable  pall  of  night  being  for  a  time  illumin- 
ed with  the  presence  of  these  worthy  func- 
tionaries.    (**We  felt  inclined  to  suspect 
their  places,  and  in  good  faith  to  write  tnem 
down — ").    We  reasoned  for  a  time  upon 
the  imprudence  of  such  a  step,  but  "  they 
knew  the  law"  (they  were  good  and  true 
aabjects).     The  worthy  ^sculapius  came. 
He  very  blandly  and  candidly  assured  us  he 
was  quite  ignorant  of  the  ills  or  benefits  of 
mesmerism.  After  feeling  the  pulse,  gravely 
shaking  his  head,  &c.,  &c.,  he  said  he  should 
advise  the  inspector  to  leave  the  case  in  our 
hands,  for  should  anything  serious  happen 
we  could  easily  be  found.  We  were  pleased 
enough  to  hear  that  decision,  for  the  in- 
spector's impressions  a  few  minutes  previous 
led  us  to  expect  something  worse ;  and  well 
for  all  persons  it  happened  so,  as  the  conse- 
quences of  a  separation  from  the  patient  at 
such  a  time  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  at- 
tended with  serious    results;    and  I  take 
this  opportunity  of  publicly  thanking  Mr. 
Downine,  the  police  surgeon  of  Greenwich, 
for  his  favorable  decision,  and  saving  me 
from  the  ordeal  of  an  examination  before  a 
magistrate. 

It  may  be  well  here  to  narrate  some  few 
particulars  in  reference  to  this  case,  trusting 
It  may  serve  as  a  warning  to  those  who 
would  tamper*  with  this  agency,  esjiecialiy 
the  timid  and  inexperienced,  who  have  no 
idea  of  the  many  inconveniences  in  which 
the  young  experimentalist  is  placed,  when 
he  loses  that  great  essential  to  a  mesmerist 
— confidence,  or  of  the  care  invariably  requi- 
aite  to  prevent  another  person  from  coming 
in  contact  with  his  patient.    ' 

Having  attended  an  experimental  lecture 
in  Greenwich,  by  a  Mr.  Taylor,  and  wit- 
nessed a  youn^  lady  (the  daughter  of  a  much 
esteemed  minister;,  mesmerized,  after  being 
casually  selected  from  the  audience,  at  the 
first  sitting,  in  ten  minntea,  and  some  of  the 
higher  order  of  phenomena  produoed  in  her, 
I  naturally  experienced  a  desire  to  know 
Bomething  more.     During  the  subsequent 


should  not  produce  them  as  well  as  other 
persons?  my  curiosity  awakened,  impulse 
pointed  to  me  a  patient.  I  then  called  James 
Cook,  a  lad  in  mv  father's  employment, 
asked  him  to  stand  before  me  quite  still,  and 
look  m'e  in  the  face.  He  complied  with  my 
request ;  I  placed  him  with  his  back  against 
an  iron  steam  pipe,  which  was  affixed  to 
some  brickwork;  I  passed  my  hands  in  the 
way  I  had  seen  Mr.  Taylor,  and  after 
making  the  dow^nward  pas^/ses  for  two  or  three 
minutes,  his  eyes  closed,  his  breathing  be- 
came accelerated,  he  lost  all  consciousness, 
and  would  have  fallen  had  I  not  caught  him 
in  my  arms. 

This  very  much  alarmed  me,  and  I  called 
to  a  young  man  (one  of  my  father's  work- 
men) to  hold  the  lad  while  [procured  a  seat. 
No  sooner  had  the  man  touched  him  than 
he  went  into  a  state  of  complete  frenzy:  he 
rose,  threw  his  arms  in  all  directions, 
strided  along  the  workshop,  and,  in  a  few 
minutes,  became  quite  furious  and  danger- 
ous to  approach;  he  opened  his  eyes  and 
stared  wildly,  uttering  incoherent  sentences, 
and  fancied  he  was  pursued  by  some  demon, 
saying, «» That  he  had  run  him  through  with 
his  sword,  and  had  him  under  the  draw- 
bridge by  the  castle,"*  and  at  length  sank  on 
the  ground  exhausted. 

At  this  time  I  became  terrified.  My  feel- 
ings it  would  be  vain  to  attempt  to  describe. 
So  completelv  was  I  overpowered  that  I 
allowed  the  boy  to  do  as  he  pleased  for 
some  time  without  making  any  effort  to 
restrain  him,  having  so  completely  lost  my 
power  over  him. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  a  second  lecture 
on  mesmerism  was  to  be  given  that  evening 
in  Greenwich,  by  Mr.  Taylor,  and  to  him  I 
dispatched  the  young  man  who  had  inno- 
cently done  the  mischief,  desiring  him, 
under  no  pretence  whatever,  to  return  with- 
out  Mr.  Taylor.  The  interval  was  to  me 
dreadful.  Imagine,  Sir,  yourself  alone  with 
a  maniac,  and  you  have  a  description  of  my 
I>osition  for  nearly  two  hours.  At  some 
limes  during  this  interval  he  would  narrate, 
with  remarkable  accuracy,  any  event  that 
had  taken  place  in  his  fife,  or  passages  of 
tales  he  had  read ;  he  was  performing  men- 
tal journeys  with  the  rapidity  of  tjxought, 
accurately  describing  places,  as  if  he  were 
present,  that  he  had  never  before  seen. 

Mr.  Taylor,  upon  hearing  the  facts  of  the 
case,  with  a  generosity  and  kindness  I  can 
never  forget,  resolved  to  attend  immediately. 
He  only  stayed  to  explain  to  an  audience  of 
150  persons  his  reasons  for  absenting  him- 


•  M<4iMlm«iwft]MaMf»flttQ9iMfciMllIFthij 


•  Hi  WM  nUMT  Mof  mdttkr  telM  of  «hl?iJij,  whieb 


142 


Mesmerism  not  to  be  trifled  with. 


self  BO  abruptly.  They,  naturally  thinkine 
he  was  playing  them  a  hoax,  questioned 
him,  and  were  clamorous  till  they  heard  the 
name.  As  soon  as  the  name  was  mention- 
ed, a  great  part  of  the  audience  who  knew 
me  accompanied  Mr.  Taylor  and  beset  the 
house.  I  allowed  them  to  enter,  and  num- 
bers who  an  hour  before  were  sceptics,  de- 
parted convinced.  They  communicated  to 
their  friends  what  th^y  had  seen,  who 
doubting  everything  unless  it  was  corrobo- 
rated by  the  evidence  of  their  own  senses, 
begged,  as  a  favor,  to  be  admitted  also. 
Thus,'on  the  first  evening  (though  my  incli- 
nation was  to  keep  the  anair  secret),  a  chain 
of  circumstances,  over  which  I  had  no  con- 
trol, caused  the  reports  to  circulate,which  pro- 
duced an  excitement  and  interestin  the  public 
mind  almost  unparalleled  by  any  other  case. 

When  Mr.  Taylor  arrived,  the  boy  was 
on  a  mental  journey  to  the  Temperance 
Hall,  looking  for  Mr.  Taylor,  and  watching 
the  youne  man's  actions,  and  accuratelv 
described  the  place  and  persons  there.  1  will 
affirm,  previous  to  that  time,  he  had  neither 
seen  the  place  nor  the  lecturer.  The  nume- 
rous persons  continually  pouring  into  the 
workshop,  he  did  not  notice.  Having  men- 
tally travelled  home,  he  cast  his  eyes  about 
the  workshop,  and  pointing  to  Mr.  Taylor 
from  among  a  group  of  persons,  said,  **  That 
is  the  gentleman  Walton  (the  young  man 
who  had  handled  Cook)  was  talking  to  at 
the  Hall."  It  was  impossible  he  could  have 
heard  who  was  Mr.  Taylor,  for  among  all 
the  persons  who  were  continually  arriving, 
there  was  not  a  word  spoken,  except  by 
myself  and  the  boy.  We  adopted  many 
means  of  awakening  him,  but  in  vain :  on 
our  questioning  the  boy  on  his  own  con- 
dition, he  said,  *<  If  I  do  not  wake  in  twenty 
minutes,  you  must  take  me  to  bed,  and,  if  I 
am  not  awake  in  the  morning,  you  must 
send  for  this  gentleman."  Precisely  on  the 
expiration  of  twenty  minutes,  he  seized  my 
hand  and  dragged  me  away  as  quickly  as  he 
could  through  a  dark  room,  avoiding  any 
obstacle  in  the  way,  and  threw  himself  on 
the  bed.  Some  of  the  most  striking  of  his 
eiairvoyant  po^vers  showed  themselves  dur- 
ing the  night;  and  several  severe  and  satis- 
factory tests  were  applied,  convincing  to  all 
who  applied  them. 

After  a  long,  long,  and  wearying  night, 
the  morning  came  at  last;  but  with  it  no 
hope,  no  improvement :  his  eyes  remained 
hermetically  sealed :  he  rose,  washed  him- 
self, and  ate  his  breakfast,  and  could  ob- 
serve the  most  minute  object  with  as  great 
accuracy  as  if  he  were  in  his  normal  con- 
dition. The  whole  of  Friday  passed  in  un- 
successful attempts  to  restore  him.  To- 
wards  the  Utter  part  of  ths  day  he  opened 


his  eyes ;  but  to  me  his  aspect  wis 
distressing  than  before:  his  looks tml 
pity  in  all  who  saw  him.  The  great  eid 
ment  caused  in  the  town  induced  haaM 
of  persons  to  visit  him,  bv  which,  fml 
desire  on  my  part  that  all  by  seeintte 
should  be  convinced,  I  was  little  anl 
was  retarding  his  recovery. 

Nothing  particular  occurred  \\aX  daj:i 
at  night  I  was  honored  with  a  ▼iBitinst 
police,  as  I  previously  narrated.  Wh 
morning  arrived,  the  lad  waAcooaciooR(rfi 
that  had  taken  place,  and  added  that  had  th^ 
taken  us  away  he  would  have  foUoi 
wherever  I  went:  for  separation  f roe  I 
would  have  injured  him. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  Saturday  d 
rous  persons  visited  the  case,  incladiog 
ral  medical  men,  also  a  Mr.  D.Hope, art 
keeping  a  small  chemist  and  druggufsikif 
on  Deptford  Bridge,  but  then  a  medical  ^ 
dent  on    board   the    Dreadnought  Hoip^ 
8hip,  all  of  whom  declared  the  boytoiti 
a  very  extraordinary  state.     In  their  expfr 
ence  they  had  never  seen  such  a  case  beioa 
Mr.  Hope  also  to  test  whether  the  bojti 
insensible  to  pain,  slyly  ran  a  needle  inioii 
foot,  and  declared  before  a  compaojo^^ 
spectable  inhabitants  in  a  neighboring i^ 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting,  thai* 
was  not  the  slightest  manifestation  d^ 
and  from  his  conversation  led  eveiyoa* 
believe  in  the  realit}-  of  the  mesmeric  &>& 
This  Mr.  Hope  was  not  only  exceediirif*' 
terested  in  the  lad,  but  did  all  \ktod^ 
persuade  him  to  take  a  powder  he  kiAF|^ 
pared,  as  there  had   been  no  natntiliw 
from  Thursday  morning  till  Sunday  vnP^ 
But  the  boy  resolutely  persisted  thafiM^ 
cine  would   do    him  no  good."    HowiK 
must  have  been  the  boy's  prevision,  as  «< 
subsequently  shown  by  the  wriitcn  cooifr 
nication  you  so  kindly  forwarded  to  De,a| 
which  in  my  then  critical  sitoafion,  aithoip 
I  had  a  firm  belief  in  the  boy's  oltinaie  R- 
covery,  burst  through  the  dark  clouds  of  i* 
pondency,   diffused  a    bright  ray  of  W\ 
and  cheered  me  in  the  severest  momenttn 
trial  through  which  I  had  afterwards  to  strv 
gle.    At- this  crisis  your  kind  adricc  »>'" 
my  drooping  spirits,  imparted  fresh  vigofjj 
my  exertions,  and  nerved  me  to  the  task  I  hv 
before  me. 

Several  persons  determined,  shoald  aoj* 
thing  serious  have  occurred,  to  have  J*^* 
subscription  to  prosecute  me.  Mr.  Hope  aw- 
wards  wrote  an  untrue  and  impudent  letter* 
the  Times,  and  refused  to  repeat  iiischaigeiff 
deception  before  a  meeting  of  medical  gentle- 
men that  was  coofened;  the  chsujan« 
that  meeting,  Mr.  Atkins,  soifeon.  affiiBJflg 
"  that  there  was  neither  deltwon  nor  colli- 
sion in  the  i 


Owre  of  Deafness  a/nd  Dumbness  of  above  Nine  Years^  Standing,  143 


On  Saturday  afternoon,  my  situation  and 
that  of  my  patient,  became  to  myself  and  all 
concerned,  very  alairoing.  About  this  time, 
sir,  my  mother  called  on  you,  when  you,  in 
the  most  gentlemanly  and  liberal  manner,  gave 
your  valuable  advice,  which  led  to  the  boy's 
restoration,  by  our  complying  with  your  in- 
junctions, much  earlier  than  could  otherwise 
have  been  done.  You  will  recollect,  sir,  you 
requested  no  one  should  touch  the  patient  but 
the  mesmerizer;  that  he  should  also  have 
whatever  he  desired,  provided  it  appeared  not 
decidedly  improper:  but  to  give  him  no 
medicine  unless  he  prescribed  it  himself,  as 
he  would  be  his  own  physician.  These  in- 
junctions were  strictly  adhered  to,  and  after 
the  crisis,  which  appeared  about  10.  30  P.M., 
a  gradual  improvement  took  place,  and  on 
Sunday,  6  P.M.  (as  the  boy  had  predicted^, 
he  returned  to  his  normal  condition,  thouen 
be  labored  under  extreme  nervous  debility  for 
two  or  three  days  afterwards,  and  it  re- 
quired great  care  to  subdue  any  returning 
paroxypm. 

During  the  trance,  he  could  relate  with  as- 
tonishing accuracy  all  the  minutiie  of  the 
coming  pains  and  paroxysms,  the  date  to  the 
very  minute,  and  the  nature  of  the  pain  and 
the  means  to  remove  it;  water  was  his  sove- 
reign remedy,  external  and  internal,  with 
mesmerism,  to  his  ultimate  recovery.  All 
his  statements  were  verified  to  the  letter  in 
the  presence  repeatedly  of  a  numerous  circle 
of  friends,  who  stood  by  me  during  my 
trials,  and  prevented  that  depression  of  spirits 
which  might  possibly  have  occurred  had  I 
been  thoroughly  deserted.  Some  of  those 
gentlemen  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you  at 
one  of  your  mesmeric  demonstrations  some 
short  time  afterwards,  who  could  testify  to 
the  genuineness  of  the  statements  I  now  ad- 
vance, and  whose  names,  a  delicacy  on  their 
parts  prevents  me  from  publishing. 

But  to  return  to  Mr.  V.  Hope,  for  T  cannot 
allow  such  conduct  to  pass  unnoticed,  re- 
flecting as  it  does  on  the  characters  of  all 
persons  concerned.  Mr.  D.  Hope's  letter  was 
inserted  in  the  Times,  and  ail  his  assertions 
stereotyped  in  every  brain  as  facts.  But  how 
was  it  they  were  never  contradicted  ?  They 
were  replied  to  and  flatly  denied  by  me  in  an 
answer  I  wrote.  Not  only  the  editor  of  that 
public  journal  but  the  editor  of  the  Elxaminer 
treated  my  communications  in  the  most 
contemptuous  manner — never  noticed  them ; 
they  published  untruth,  and  denied  me  an 
opportunity  of  replying.  So  much  for  the 
liberty  of  the  press. 

Thus  I  have  furnished  you  with  a  brief 
statement  of  facts  that  occurred  in  connexion 
with  this  extraordinary  case ;  as  I  have  givea 
them  from  memory,  I  have  omitted  a  conside- 


Table  portion ;  for  from  the  excited  state  of 
my  feelings  at  the  time,  and  want  of  rest,,  not 
having  slept  throughout  the  Thursday,  Fri- 
day, and  Saturday,  a  period  of  88  hours,  I 
was  unable  to  take  notes.  The  lad  required 
my  undivided  attention,  nor  con  Id  I  attempt  to 
use  a  pen  in  his  presence,  for  his  curiosity  to 
know  what  I  wrote  was  intense,  and  if  un- 
satisfied would  have  produced  immediate 
paroxysms,  and  yet  I  dared  not  read  anything 
about  his  own  case  to  him.  Some  accounts 
reached  the  newspapers  greatly  exaggerating 
the  leading  features  of  the  case:  many  were 
correct,  but  no  authentic  statement  has  before 
been  published. 
I  do  trust  this  letter  will  remove  the  im- 

Eression  from  the  minds  of  all  who  have 
itherto  been  misled  a/ to  the  efl^ts  produced 
on  the  **  boy  Cook  of  Deptford,"  and  make  it 
^nerally  known  that  mesmerism,  instead  of 
injuring  him,  has,  when  subsequently  pro* 
periy  applied,  contributed  very  largely  to  re. 
store  to  health  a  previously  weak  and  ailing 
constitution.*  I  nave  mesmerized  a  great  deal 
since  in  accordance  with  his  own  wish,  as  he 
continually  was  saying  during  his  trance  that 
he  must  be  mesmerized  a  great  deal  before  he 
"  got  quite  well." 

Thanking  you  sincerely  for  the  interest  you 
have  taken  in  this  case,  and  the  courteous 
and  kind  manner  in  which  you  have  always 
received  me  and  imparted  so  cheerfully  any 
information  I  have  required, 

I  remain,  my  dear  Sir, 

With  respect  and  gratitude, 

•  Yours,  very  sincerely, 

WM.  G.  SMITH. 
To  Dr.  Eluotsom. 


CURE  OF  DEAFNESS  AND  DUMBNESS 
OF  ABOVE  NINE  YEARS*  STAND- 
ING. 

[Bj  M.  L»  Fontaine.] 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Zoist 
Sir, — Having  received  from  my  friend.  Dr. 
Burnett,  the  accompanying  letter  by  M.  La 
Fontaine,  and  believing  that  the  facts  therein 
stated  are  of  great  importance,  I  forward  it  to 
you  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  inserted  in  the 
next  number  of  your  journal. 

I  am,  Sir> 
Your  obedient  servant. 
JOHN  ASHBURNER, 
13  North  Audley  street,  ) 
6th  Nov.,  1846.       ] 


*  He  is  ft  eiiTTlTiflctwin—tlie  iMt  child,  and  luu  * 

subject  to  fits.    The  Ikther  and  mother  and  nearir 

att  the  ilBniij  are  of  highly  aarrMst  ^^ 


144 


Clairvoyance  and  Double  Consciousness. 


Bagn^res  de  Bigore, ) 
Aug.  30, 184e.      J 

Sir,— Yoar  letter  of  July  19  arrived  but 
yesterday ;  I  lose  no  time  in  complying  with 
your  request. 

Miss  Georgiana  Burton,  11  years  old,  be- 
came rfeaf  and  dumb  at  nine  months,  after 
convulsions.  She  had  also  a  paralysis  of  the 
face,  which  was  so  drawn  that  the  left  corner 
of  her  mouth  almost  touched  her  eye.  She 
h^ard  only  when  her  left  ear  was  shouted 
into,  and  then  could  not  distinguish  sounds. 

Drs.  Donellan  and  Mesnier  proposed  an 
operation  in  the  throat ;  but  did  not  promise 
success. 

On  the  29lh  of  January,  1843,  her  family 
brought  her  to  me.  Having  ascertained  that 
her  case  was  what  I  have  mentioned,  I  deter- 
mined to  mesmerize  her  without  sending  her 
to  sleep. 

In  an  hour  there  was  some  effect  on  her 
sensibility,  and  afterwards  she  heard  and  en- 
deavored to  repeat  all  the  vocal  sounds. 

I  continued  to  mesmerize  her  every  other 
day  for  three  months.  At  the  end  of  this 
period,  her  deafness  was  completely  removed ; 
as  were  also  the  palsy  and  contraction  of  her 
features ;  and  by  the  1st  of  May  she  was 
really  a  pretty  child. 

During  the  three  months  of  treatment,  her 
sisters  taught  her  to  read,  write,  and  reckon, 
and  to  speak.  But  for  an  individual  to  learn 
to  speak  who  has  been  deaf  and  dumb,  and 
who  has  been  made  to  understand  in  any 
way,  tequires  much  time  and  patience.  A 
child  is  a  year  old  before  it  is  taught  to  say 
papa,  &c. 

The  last  time  I  saw  her  was  in  June,  1844. 
Her  hearing  continued :  she  did  not  yet  speak 
well.  Her  face  was  natural,  except  when 
she  smiled,  and  then  a  little  contraction 
appeared. 

I  trust,  sir,  that  this  account  will  be  satis- 
factory to  you.  If  you  desire  further  infor- 
mation, I  shall  be  in  Paris  about  the  19th  of 
September,  and  at  your  service. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain,  &c., 

CH.  LA  FONTAINE. 
64,  Rue  Neuve  des  Mathurins,  Paris. 


INSTANCES  OF  CLAIRVOYANCE  AND 
DOUBLE  CONSCIOUSNESS  INDEPEN- 
DENT  OF  MESMERISM,  IN  A  FA- 
THER AND  HIS  GROWN-UP  CHIL- 
DREN. 

By  one  of  the  outias ;  in  a  l«tt«r  to  Mr.  ClMk,  Bvr- 
C«».  ofYork  Place,  Kingiland  Road.] 

July  llth»  1846. 

8ift,— The  piestnt  rery  inteiestiog  Aumber 


of  the  Zoist*  you  have  so  kindly  lent  me  lot 
perusal  has  brought  to  my  recollection  eaaei 
of  double  consciousness  in  my  own  family.* 

In  the  years  1841-2,  my  dear  respected  fi- 
Iber  was  frequently  attacked  with  meotal  de- 
rangemenl,  originating  greatly  I  believe  km 
the  knowledge  of  the  unfortunate  circaimUn- 
ces  in  which  I,  his  beloved  daughter,  was 
placed,  owing  to  the  sudden  death  of  ny 
husband.   . 

The  various  scenes  of  mental  delucioal 
was  called  to  witness,  are  not  uncommoa  to 
gentlemen  of  your  profession.  1  therefore 
pass  them  over  simply  to  relate  his  stnnp 
knowledge  of  events. 

When  he  was  first  attacked,  I  vent  to  m 
him,  but  it  was  only  at  times  that  he  iec<|* 
nised  roe. 

My  attention  was  first  excited  by  the  fol- 
lowing incident.     So  soon  as  the  meat  for 
dinner  was  brought  from  the  butcher's,  of 
which  he  could  have  no  possible  koowiedge, 
being  confined  to  his  bed  and  out  of  the  ma 
of   either  seeing  or  hearing,  he  exciaiBed 
(pointing  to  the  floor  underneath  which  vis 
the  room  it  was  in),  "  What  a  nice  mf- 
steak,  I  will  have  some."    Struck  with  ^ 
manner,  and  also  knowing  that  itwtf  ntf 
our  intended  dinner,  I  repUed,  '*  No,  l^t 
there  is  no  rump-steak ;  we  are  going  lote" 
mutton  chops :"  he  went  into  a  great  ptfiflDt 
declared  that  there  was  rump-steak,  tint  ^ 
could  see  it,  and  described  the  dish.  1  vat 
down  stairs,  and  to  my  utter  astooi^ttsl 
beheld  it  as  he  related. 

In  the  morning,  without  making  Imowb 
my  intention,  I  took  a  basket  and  vent  into 
the  garden  to  cut  some  cabbages  sul  S>u^ 
strawberries.  The  garden  being  at  the  ate 
of  the  house,  where  there  was  no  •jfl' 
dow  to  look  into  it,  it  was  impossible  la 
him  to  see  me  by  ordinary  vision.  Howew, 
he  turned  to  my  sister,  saying.  *'  That  basw 
into  which  Betsey  is  putting  the  cabbages  i» 
strawberries,  had  better  be  moTed  out  of  w 
sun,  or  the  fruit  will  be  spoiled;  telJ  her  8« 
is  not  gathering  strawberries  from  the  W 
bed ;  she  had  better  go  to  the  other,"  WW 
1  was  told  of  it,  I  was  completely  Vf^ 
During  the  time  of  my  visit,  wherever  I  wcbi, 
whatever  I  did  or  thought  of,  was  open  to  W 
view.  My  sister  afterwards  informed  w 
that  his  medical  attendant  lent  her  »« 
books  for  her  perusal;  one  morning  "J 
father  said  to  her,  "The  I>octor  i««^ 
respects,  and  will  be  obliged  for  the  too» 
Supposing  some  message  bad  been  8eot,i"J 
sister  replied. -Very  well.''  In  the  coa« 
of  a  short  time  after,  the  Doctor's  boy  it- 


TWi  (tiw  14th)  M«mb«  <»"^  jjn; 


Clairvoyamce  and  Double  CoHicioustiess. 


145 


ived  with  his  master's  respects,  and  request 
or  the  books.  On  inquiry,  she  found  no 
irevious  message  had  been  sent,  nor  inquiry 
oade  for  them.  We  have  both  come  to  the 
onclusion  that  he  must  mentally  have  tra- 
velled to  the  Doctor's,  and  heard  the  message : 
should  think  the  distance  three  quarters  of 
I  mile. 

Another  time  he  said  to  my  sister,  «  There 
B  a  handsome  youne  man  and  an  old  woman 
omlng  by  the  coacn  this  afternoon,  to  see, 
ae.'*  Sure  enough,  to  her  surprise,  when 
he  coach  arrived,  it  brought  my  brother,  and 
i  nurse  for  my  father.  No  one  had  any 
mowledge  of  my  brother's  coming,  or  of 
lis  bringing  a  nurse  with  him.  The  dis- 
ance  from  whence  they  came  was  eleven 
niles.  1  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
iircumstanoe,  that  here  he  did  not  recognise 
he  parties,  though  both  well  known  to  him|; 
ailing  my  brother  a  young  man  and  the  nurse 
m  old  woman,  instead  of  mentioning  their 
lames. 

When  in  his  senses  he  knew  nothing  of 
vhat  had  transpired,  and  had  no  recollection 
it  my  coming  to  see  him.  He  wasted  away 
0  a  skeleton,  and  died,  mid-summer,  1842,  in 
he  64th  year  of  his  age.  He  never,  until 
he  time  stated,  had  any  mental  derangement, 
hough  he  certainly  was  for  years  very  ner- 
vous. At  that  time  I  knew  nothing  of  phre- 
lology,  so  cannot  give  his  development.  I 
mow  he  was  a  talented  and  very  active  man, 
k  kind  and  affectionate  father. 

My  second  case  is  that  of  my  eldest  sister, 
hough  in  priority  of  time  before  my  father's, 
ret  not  so  interesting.  She  was  m  a  bad 
tate  of  health  some  years,  I  suppose  what 
night  be  called  nervous.  The  circumstance  I 
un  about  to  relate  occurred  during  a  severe 
liness,  in  which  mental  derangement  took 
)lace.  At  one  time  she  would  take  no  food, 
it  another  eat  most  voraciously.  One  day  we 
lad  ribs  of  beef  for  dinner.  How  it  came  to 
ler  knowledge  I  could  never  ascertain,  but  so 
i  did,  and  she  insisted  to  have  some  for  her 
[inner.  I  gave  her  some,  she  wanted  more. 
Tearing  to  make  her  worse,  1  would  not  give 
C  her :  she  declared  she  would  have  it,  but 
oon  after  went  to  sleep.  I  went  quietly 
lown  stairs,  took  the  meat  out  of  the  kitchen, 
arried  it  down  through  the  beer  cellar  into 
he  wine  cellar,  covered  it  over  with  a  tub, 
>ut  a  weight  on  it,  went  up  and  found  her 
oflt  as  I  left  her.  During  the  night,  through 
at^ue,  I  fell  asleep,  and  was  awakened 
vj  her  callmg  to  me.  What  was  my  aston- 
siuaent  when  I  beheld  her  sitting  in  bed 
vith  a  slice  of  this  beef  cut  the  whole  length 
d  the  ribs,  devouring  it  like  a  savage.  I 
Lsked  her  how  she  ODtained  it,  and  she  posi- 
ivelv  declared  that  she  fetched  it  herself 
wmt  I  slept ;  that  while  lying  in  bed  she 
11 


saw  me  go  down,  take  the  meat,  and  she  de- 
scribed evefy  particular.  I  believe  she  never 
left  her  bed  when  I  hid  it;  and  had  she, 
there  were  three  doors  which  I  closed  after , 
me,  and  I  must  have  seen  her.  When  ^e 
recovered,  she  knew  nothing  about  it,  but  on 
a  relapse  told  me  all  the  circumstances  again, 
laughmg  heartily  at  the  trick  she  had  pkyed 
me. 

In  1833  she  died  of  the  cholera. 

My  next  circumstance  is  different,  not  oc- 
curring under  derangement;  but  accurately 
rememoered  to  this  day. 

My  youngest  sister,  when  seriously  ill  a 
few  years  back,  saw  distinctly  the  saucepan 
on  the  fire,  and  the  watch,  and  she  told  the 
time  by  it.  She  was  terrified  at  herself,  and 
mentions  it  now  with  a'sort  of  terror. 

I  leave  iheae  cases  for  your  consideration, 
wishing  I  had  known  formerly  as  much  of 
mesmerism  as  I  now  do.  I  most  certainly 
should  have  made  use  of  its  great  benefits,  I 
should  more  minutely  have  watched  these 
singular  phenomena. 

To  your  professional  friends  you  can 
make  what  use  you  please  of  this  paper ;  I 
am  willing  to  come  forward  before  them  at 
any  time,  but  my  situation  prevents  me 
having  my  name  made  public.  I  do  not  pos- 
sess the  firmness  of  an  Eliliotson,  or  I  |night 
not  care  about  publicity :  my  three  children 
hold  me  back;  the  day  may  come  when  it 
may  not  affect  them,  and  then  I  should  like 
nothing  better  than  to  declare  publicly  what 
mesmerism  has  done  for  me.  I  was  thinking 
this  morning  what  an  infinite  source  of  trou- 
ble I  have  been  to  you  three  years  next  week 
since  you  first  mesmerized  me.  A  wan;on- 
load  of  vagaries  you  have  driven  out  of  mv 
head,  perhaps  saved  me  from  a  miserable  end. 
I  think  I  was  following  in  my  father's  steps. 
My  extreme  excitability  was  awful :  now  I 
have  none  of  it:  I  am  calm  and  take  unto- 
vrard  cireumstances  quietly.  But  had  I  fallen 
into  some  mesmerists'  hands,  they  would  have 
been  sick'  of  me  ere  this.  You  have  perse- 
vered, and  I  have  ^ned  the  benefit  And  , 
what  have  you  for  it  ?  just  what  your  master 
gets  (Dr.  Elliotson,  I  mean),  that  is,  nothing ; 
and  I  have  nothing  to  give  you,  but  my  gra- 
titude. Accept  this  then,  as  all  I  have  to 
offer.  I  remain.  Sir, 

Yours,  respectfully. 


Mr.  Clark  informs  us  that  the  writer  of 
this  account  has  experienced  the  very  same 
affections,  but  in  a  less  intense  decree.  Her 
name  is  attached  to  the  account,  out  we  ol 
course  omitted  it. 

Mr.  Clark  was  a  student  of  Univenity 


146 


Magendieh  Eocperiments, — InhaJcUion  of  Ether. 


College,  an'd  has  for  ten  years  fearlessly  ad- 
mitted the  truth  of  mesmerism,  practised  it, 
and  advocated  it,  and  would  at  this  moment 
fearlessly  cure  by  its  means,  were  he  allow- 
ed, some  remarkable  cases  in  Sboreditcb 
Workhonse,  of  which  he  is  surgeon.  But 
he  is  forbidden  by  the  philosophical  authori- 
ties, and  nothing  is  done  for  the  poor  suffer- 
ers. We  fear  the  Poor  Law  Commissioners 
are  not  without  fault  in  this. — Zoist. 


MAGENDIPS  EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE 
CEREBRO-SPINAL  FLUID. 


The  following  observations  from  Mr.  Pa- 
get's  Report  01  the  Progress  of  Physiology, 
show  on  what  uncertain  data  opinions  are 
sometimes  formed.  They  illustrate  the  ne- 
cessity of  taking  all  facts  into  account,  before 
any  positive  conclusion  as  to  cause  and 
eTOct  — 

**  M.  Longet  has  found  that  the  peculiar, 
unsteady,  tottering  movements,  like  those  of 
drunkenness,  which  M.  Magendie  ascribed 
to  the  removal  of  the  subarachnoid  fluid  of 
the  spinal  cord,  are  really  due  to  the  division 
of  the  muscles  of  the  occipito-atlanlal  region, 
which  is  made  to  form  a  passage,  through 
which  the  fluid  may  be  drawn  off.  When- 
ever M.  Longet  drew  off  the  fluid,  without 
injuring  these  muscles,  the  animal  preserved 
the  power  of  motion  unimpaired ;  but  when 
he  divided  the  posterior  sub-occipital  mus- 
cles (including  always  the  recti  capitis  postici 
minores,  and  the  supra-spinous  ligament  in 
the  animals  in  which  it  exists),  the  peculiar 
defects  of  motion  were  produced,  although 
the  cerebro-spinal  fluid  was  left  untouched, 
and  the  sheath  of  the  cord  unopened.  He 
ascribes  the  impairment  of  motion  in  these 
cases  to  the  falling  of  the  head,  when  its  at- 
tachments to  the  atlas  are  destroyed,  and  the 
consequent  dragging  and  pressure  of  the  up- 
per part  of  the  cord,  and  especially  of  the 
medulla  oblongata  and  pons;  for  the  effects 
of  the  division  of  the  muscles  and  other  tis- 
sues are  completely  prevented,  by  artificially 
supporting  the  animal's  head  in  a  raised  po- 
sition ;  and  in  dilTerent  animals,  the  degree  in 
which  the  movements  are  impaired  is  directly 
proportionate  to  the  amount  of  sepai;gtion 
which  takes  place  between  the  occiput  and 
atlas,  when  their  connexions  (the  occipito- 
atlantal  ligament  excepted)  are  divided.  The 
speedy  recovery  of  the  animal,  which  Ma- 
gendie  ascribed  to  the  rapid  reproduction  of 
the  fluid,  M.  Longet  considers  to  be  due  to 
the  readiness  with  which  the  nervous  masses 
(especially  in  animals)  adapt  themselves  to 


new  and  unnatural  pressure.  He  oM 
striking  analogy  between  the  effedsi 
division  of  these  muscles,  and  those  obi 
by  M.  Flourens  and  himself,  in  consa^i 
of  injuries  of  the  cerebellum;  asdii 
draws  another  evidence,  that  the  fonri 
due  to  the  pressure  and  dragging  of  tht 
and  pons,  with  which  the  crura  of  tkt| 
bellum  are  connected." — Lancet. 


' 


chaster,  ( 
il,  18tT.  I 
s  elapsii 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  INHAUHI 
OF  ETHER. 

[By  Richard  Chunbers,  M.D.,  Physiciaa  to  dfl 
sex  and  Colchester  Hospital.] 

Colchester, 
April 
A  PERIOD  of  four  months  has  elapssli 
the  inhalation  of  ether  as  a  means  of  pol 
ing  insensibility  to  pain,  was  broogb: 
the  notice  of  the  profession  in  this  CDS' 
and  notwithstanding  the  repeated  iriai-* 
had,  no  decided  opinion  has  yet  beenic* 
at,  as  to  its  value  as  a  therapeatia' ^ 
Contrary  to  what  generally  obtains,  ss 
mating  the  value  of  scientific  discovaif* 
occurrence  of  a  few  adverse  cases  b* 
liced  to  counterbalance  the  favorable  ^ 
which  the  safe  result  in  innumerable^ 
ces  ought  naturally  to  have  prodacft.  * 
admitting  that  there  have  been  sows*' 
cases,  may  not  the  result  be  depectf* 
much  upon  the  mal-administratJoEi'-^ 
remedy  as  on  any  inherent  noxious  ?3^ 
it  may  possess  ?  Doubtless,  ether  s  ^  * 
two-edged  sword,  but  not  more  soil**''" 
ral  other  remedies  in  daily  use. 

As  one  of  the  few  fatal  cases  tbstA' 
aware  of  occurred  under  my  own  obsfftC^ 
in  the  Essex  and  Colchester  Hospital. as** 
I  am  of  opinion  that  it  ought  nerer  to  bt^ 
been  adverted  to,  to  throw  discredii  up** 
use  of  this  important  remedy,  /  feeliti*' 
I  owe  to  the  profession  (before  whom  i^ 
been  so  prominently  brought),  to  ^^ 
opinion  on  the  subject.  , 

I  refer  my  readers  to  the  several  n^ 
journals  of  the  last  month  for  the  paitt^r 
of  the  case,  which  have  been  so  ^^f^l 
tailed  by  my  colleague,  Mr.  Nunn;  I J^ 
however,  be  permitted  to  add,  that  the  op 
tion  was  well  and  ably  performed. 

After  having  inhaled  the  ether  i(X^ 
minutes,  the  patient  became  faJiy  M^ri 
influence,  even  to  the  extent  of  sfertoiw 
breathing,  and  the  face  and  lips  P[«*°^^ ! 
livid  hue;  the  nose-spring  w«  ^^^ 
moment  removed,  but  it  wasewtly  re-a]*^ 
and  the  stertorous  breathiog  kept  nP-  '"^ 
the  fiTBt  inhalation  to  the  commenceineDi 


!D-i:ftm ^ — 

r''pe>:.ie  operation,  occupied  a  period  of  ten 
«o:L%?:iJirates,  aud  the  completion  of  the  operation 
faffib  ai  minutes  more.  During  the  first  half  (five 
liii'  ca^iinutes)  of  the  period  occupied  by  the  opera- 
Tiieiicf.:-on,the  patient  was  kept  under  the  full  influ- 
feaocti^ce  of  the  ether,  but  during  the  remaining 
rflich~vc  ™i"^tes  its  use  was  somewhat  relaxed. 
^•j^.)ii  the  whole,  then,  we  may  say  that  the 

ther  had    been    used  for    twenty  minutes. 

.'he   patient   gradually  became  restored    to 
.  onsciousness,  but  at  nrst  he  replied  to  ques- 

ions,  evidently  without  comprehending  their 

neaning  or  his  replies. 
0.\H'  The  operation  was  performed  a  little  after 
£ji|n  wo  o'clock  on  Friday,  and  from  that  time  till 
^  yj  ^iboul  the  same  hour  on  the  following  day, 
er>:kJie  patient  continued  in  a  quiet,  passive 
.  (tate ;  but  about  this  time,  twenty-four  hours 
,^fter  the  operation,  he  was  seized  with  a  se- 
,,  ^Vere  chill,  upon  which  the  very  intelligent 
louse-sureeon,  Mr.  Taylor,  srave  him  two 
'*^^^unces  of  brandy  diluted  with  water.  He 
^J^iontinued  after  this  in  a  quiet  dozing  state, 
^^•when  he  was  visited  by  Mr,  Nunn,  ^who 
•^i^eemed  it  necessary,  in  consequence  of  the 
'^'extreme  prostration,  to  direct  the  free  exhibi- 
'^ion  of  stimulants.  A  consultation  of  the 
-'liospital  staff  was  also  requested  for  the  next 
'^morning,  at  which  we  all  met,  about  forly- 
'-'four  hours  after  the  operation.  It.  only  re- 
■ '^mained  for  us  to  add  our  approval  to,  and 
-■"recommend  a  continuance  of,  the  treatment 
^^' which  was  being  pursued.  The  patient,  not- 
'*  withstanding,  continued  to  sink,  and  died  at 
>■  five  o'clock  the  same  afternoon :  I  happened 
^  to  be  in  the  ward  at  the  time.  A  post-mortem 
>  examination  was  made  in -sixty- seven  hours 
i  after  death.  T  transcribe  from  the  published 
f'  account  the  appearances  observed : — 

«*  Membranous  congestion  of  the  hrain,  hut 
?  no    effusion;  brain    firm;  lungs    permeable 


Inhalation  of  Ether. 


147 


throughout — anteriorly  exsanguineous,  pos 
teriorly  engorged;  heart  flaccid,  of  a  natura 
size,  and  nearly  empty ;  left  kidney  pale,  the 


right  slightly  congested ;  the  bladder  and  the 
adjoining  parts  presented  the  usual  aspects 
after  an  operation.'* 

I  witnessed  the  examination  of  the  brain 
and  lungs ;  but  having  been  called  awav,  I 
did  not  see  that  of  the  other  viscera,  which,  I 
doubt  not,  has  been  accurately  described. 

To  the  foregoing  account  of  the  examina- 
tion, I  wish  to  add,  that  the  substance  of  the 
brain  was  naler  than  natural,  indeed  I  might 
even  say  blanched. 

Considerable  stress  has  been  laid  upon  the 
congested  appearance  of  the  membranes  of 
the  brain,  and  the  engorgement  of  the  poste- 
rior parts  of  the  lungs.  But  when  I  consi- 
der the  total  absence,  during  the  last  hours  of 
life,  of  any  dyspnoea,  or  other  symptom  indi- 
cative of  cerebral  congestion,  I  am  compelled 
(which  I  do  readily)  to  conclude  that  conges- 


tion of  either  oi^gan  had  nothing  whatever  to 
do  with  causing  the  fatal  result.  A  heart  so 
feeble  that  its  sounds  were  only  distinctly  au- 
dible through  the  stethoscope,  could  not,  and 
did  not,  propel  much  blood  to  the  brain,  and 
as  a  consequence  of  the  imperfect  flow  of 
blood  from  the  heart,  the  return  of  blood 
through  the  veins  must  naturally  have  been 
retarded ;  in  addition  to  which,  we  must  make 
considerable  allowance  for  the  influence  exer- 
cised bjr  post-mortem  gravitation,  aided  by 
the  fluidity  of  the  blood,  in  producing  the  ap- 
pearances revealed  by  the  examination.  And 
to  the  same  causes  do  I  solely  attribute  the 
pulmonary  appearances.  Indeed,  the  appear- 
ances were  such  as  the  symptoms  during  life 
would  hkve  led  one  to  expect. 

I  must  allude  to  some  other  circumstances 
in  the  case  that  may  have  exercised  an  injuri- 
ous influence  upon  it.  The  man  was  of  a 
spare  and  timid  habit,  and  of  indifferent  con- 
stitutional powers,  suberadded  to  which,  he 
had  (not  known  till  afterwards,  and  at  all 
times  a  dangerous  prognostic)  a  presentiment 
of  death ;  nor  must  I  omit  to  state,  that  some 
small  vessels  which  were  divided  in  the  ope- 
ration, bled  rather  freely — I  should  say  to 
the  extent  of  a  pint  This,  though  not  in 
itself  of  consequence,  may,  with  the  other 
circumstances,  have  interfered  with  reaction ; 
and  although  I  am  inclined  to  attribute 'the 
death  to  the  secondary  depressing  action  of 
the  ether,  aided  by  the  causes  just  mentioned. 
I  contend  that,  on  the  closest  examination  of 
the  case,  there  is  nothing  to  be  found  in  it 
that  ought  to  militate  against  the  proper  use 
of  the  remedy.  The  same  reasoning  that 
would  be  applied  to  forbid  the  therapeutical 
use  of  ether,  in  consequence  of  the  fatal  resul^ 
in  this  case,  would  likewise  be  applied  to  fpr- 
bid  the  therapeutical  use  of  opium,  prussic 
acid,  or  any  other  powerful  remedy  which 
should  happen  to  cause  death,  when  given  in 
an  over  quantity. 

The  fluidity  of  the  blood  which  existed, 
may  properly  be  atributed  to  the  ether ;  not 
to  any  direct  specific  action  exercised  upon 
the  blood,  but  indirectly  by  interfering  with  its 
supply  of  nervous  influence.  But  neverthe- 
less it  does  not  follow  that  a  moderate  use  of 
ether  would  produce  a  like  effect. 

The  peculiarities  observed  in  the  action  of 
ether  when  inhaled,  depend,  I  think,  upoa 
the  readiness  with  which  it  enters  the  chrcula- 
tion  through  the  medium  of  the  lungs,  and 
the  smallness  of  the  quantity  requisite  to  pro- 
duce its  effects,  rendering  the  latter  of  onl^ir  a 
temporary  character.  Upon  the  latter  point 
its  safety  depends. 

The  efliects  of  ether  are  exhibited  upon  the 
cerebral,  spinal,  and  ganglionic  systems; 
through  the  cerebral  system,  by  inducing  in- 
sensibility;  through  the  spinal  system,  by 


148 


Meeiifie  of  the  Scientific  Association 


causing  stertor,  and  in  some  caaea  stronf  con- 
TulfliTe  action;  and  through  the  ganglionic^ 
by  depressing  the  heart's  action,  fis  primary 
action  is  unauestionably  stimulant ;  its  secon- 
dary action  depressing  and  narcotic ;  but  the 
preponderance  of  ether  is  so  much  influenced 
by  accidental  or  constitutional  peculiarities, 
that  it  is  not  possible,  h  priori,  to  anticipate 
which  may  preponderate.  Its  employment 
is  contra-indicated  in  individuals  of  full  habit, 
or  where  there  exists  any  tendency  to  cerebral 
or  cardiac  diseases.  Its  effects  are  bat  feebly 
exhibited  upon  the  habitual  drunkard,  tencf- 
ing,  I  think,  to  prove  that  the  action  of  ether 
is  allied  to  that  of  ordinary  alcoholic  drinks, 
the  difference  depending  upon  the  different 
modes  by  which  admission  is  obtained  into 
the  circulation. 

After  insensibility  occurs,  the  utmost  cau< 
tion  ought  to  be  observed,  should  it  be  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  patient  for  any  time  under 
the  continued  influence  of  the  remedy;  be 
cause  the  insensibility  is  an  evidence  of  a  cer< 
tain  amount  of  cerebral  congestion ;  and  after 
ihis  every  portion  that  is  inhaled  favors  the 

Sroduction  of  spinal  or  ganglionic  symptoms, 
le  result  of  which  we  can  neither  anticipate 
nor  control. 

In  consequence  of  having  read  Mr.  Nunu's 
account  of  the  case,  a  writer  (Mr.  Becking- 
sale)  in  several  of  the  journals  condemned 
tiie  stimulating  treatment  that  had  been 
adopted,  and  recommended  the  abstraction  of 
blood.  I  think  that,  without  injury  to  his 
modesty,  he  may  have  assumed  that  those 
in  attendance  were  the  most  competent  to  de- 
cide upon  the  adoption  of  the  most  proper 
treatment  I  allude  to  the  matter  more  par- 
ticularly, because  it  appears  to  me  that  his 
advice  was  carried  out  by  the  accidental 
hemorrhage  already  alluded  to,  and  from 
which  I  am  quite  sure  that  no  benefit  was 
derived. 

Although  there  is  a  certain  amount  of  con- 
gestion produced,  it  is  so  evanescent  as  not  to 
call  for  a  remedy  (sublata  causa  tollitur  effec- 
tus) ;  for  I  consider  that  we  are  not  justified 
in  employing  the  remedy  in  individuals  likely 
to  suror  an  amount  of  congestion  that  would 
demand,  nor  ought  we  in  any  case  to  carry 
the  inhalation  to  the  extent  of  justifying, 
the  adoption  of  blood-letting.  From  what  I 
have  seen  of  the  subject,  I  would  recommend 
the  early  adoption  of  stimulants,  should  not 
a  proper  amount  of  reaction  set  in ;  for  my 
observation  in  cases  of  ague  leads  me  to  look 
upon  venous  congestion  as  an  antecedent  to  a 
chill;  and  as  1  nave  already  mentioned,  I 
view  the  venous  congestion  here  as  a  se- 
quence to  the  depressed  action  of  the  heart 

I  feel  assured  that  the  writer  of  the  letter 
before  alluded  to,  vriU  be  the  first  to  regret  its 
publication:  but  before  ^iamfayjng  the  sub- 


ject, I  must  protest,  in  the  name  of  common 
sense,  against  an  individual  attempting  to  in- 
struct otners  upon  a  subject,  of  which  ne  coa- 
fesses  to  have  seen  nothing,  and  (as  it  leailj 
would  appear)  knows  less.  Several  other 
suggestions  have  been  put  forward  with  a  de- 
gree of  confidence  they  little  deserve ;  indeed* 
some  of  them  are  of  a  character  to  induce  me 
to  believe  that  they  were  written  under  a  for- 
getfulness  that  the  fundamental  principle  of 
our  profession  is,  to  savx  ufx. — Lancet. 


MEETING  OF  THE  SCIENTIFIC  ASSO- 
CIATION  AT  OXFORD. 

Sir  R.  H.  Inous  took  the  chair;  and  after  a 
brief  introduction,  delivered  the  following 
address-^ 

THE  president's  ADDRESS. — EXTRACTS. 

I  begin  with  Astronomy. — ^The  progress 
of  astronomy  during  the  past  year  has  oeen 
distinguished  by  a  discovery  the  most  re- 
markable, perhaps,  ever  made  as  the  result  of 
pure  intellect  exercised  before  obeervatioo,— 
and  determining  toithout  observation  the  ex- 
istence and  force  of  a  planet ;  which  extstenoe 
and  which  force  were  subsequently  verified 
by  observation.  It  had  previously  been  con- 
sidered as  the  great  trial  and  triumph  of  Dy- 
namical Science  to  determine  the  disturbances 
caused  by  the  mutual  action  of  '*  the  stars  in 
their  courses,"  even  when  their  position  and 
their  orbits  were  fully  known;  but  it  has 
been  reserved  for  these  days  to  reverse  the 
process,  and  to  inrestigate  from  the  discord- 
ance actually  observed  the  existence  and  the 
place  of  the  wondrous  stranger  which  had 
b^n  silentiy,  since  its  creation,  exerting  this 
mysterious  power.  It  has  been  reservei  for 
these  days  to  track  the  path  and  to  measure 
the  force  which  the  great  Creator  had  given 
to  this  hitherto  unknown  orb  among  the  my- 
riads of  the  air. 

I  will  not  nresume  to  measure  the  claims 
of  the  two  illustrious  names  of  Leverrier  and 
Adams :  of  him,  who,  in  midnight  workings 
and  watchings,  discovered  the  truth  in  oar 
own  country,  and  of  the  hardly  happier  phi- 
losopher who  was  permitted  and  enabfea  to 
be  the  first,  after  equal  workinss  and  watch- 
ing, to  proclaim  the  great  reality  which  his 
science  had  prepared  and  assured  him  to  ex- 
pect I  will  trust  myself  with  only  two  ob- 
servations :  the  one  my  earnest  hope  that  the 
rivalry  not  merely  of  the  illustrious  Levenier 
and  of  my  illustrious  countryman  Adams,  but 
of  the  two.  great  nations  which  tber  rejm- 
sent,  France  and  England,  laspectiTwy,  m§y 


otOseford. 


149 


always  be  confined  to  pursuits  in  which  yic- 
toiy  IS  without  woe,  and  to  studies  which  en- 

Se  and  eteyate  the  mind,  and  which,  if 
dy  directed,  may  jproduce  alike  glory  to 
God  and  good  to  mankind :  and  the  other,  my 
equal  hope,  that  for  those  (some  of  whom  I 
trust  may  now  hear  me)  who  employ  the 
same  scientific  training  aad  the  same  labori- 
ous industry  which  marked  the  researches  of 
Leverrier  and  Adams,  thera  may  still  remain 
similar  triumphs  in  the  yet  unpenetrated  re- 
gions of  space ;  and  that — ^unlike  the  greater 
son  of  a  great  father— they  may  not  have  to 
mourn  that  there  are  no  more  worlds  to  be 
conquered. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  seeing  of 
the  planet  Neptune  was  effected  as  suddenly 
at  Aerlin  by  means  of  one  of  the  star-maps, 
which  has  proceeded  from  an  association  of 
astronomers,  chiefiy  Germans;  such  maps 
forming  in  themselves  a  sufficient  illustration 
of  the  value  of  such  Associations  as  our  own, 
by  which  the  labor  and  the  expense — ^too 
great,  perhaps,  for  any  indiyiduai — are  sup- 
plied by  the  combined  exertions  of  many  kin- 
•dred  followers  of  science. 

It  is  another  result  of  the  circulation  of 
these  star- maps,  that  a  new  visitor,  a  comet, 
can  hardly  be  within  the  range  of  a  telescope 
for  a  few  hours  without  his  presence  being 
discovered  and  announced  through  Europe. 
Those  comets  which  have  been  of  larger  ap- 
sarent  dimensions,  or  which  have  continued 
longer  within  view,  have,  in  consequence, 
lor  more  than  2,000  years  been  observed  with 
more  or  less  accuracy ;  their  orbits  have  been 
•calculated ;  and  the  return  of  some  has  been 
determined  with  a  precision  which  in  past 
ages  excited  the  wonder  of  nations; — but 
now,  improved  maps  of  die  heavens,  and 
improved  instruments  by  which  the  strangers 
who  pass  along  those  heavens  are  observed, 
^carry  knowledge  where  conjecture  lately 
dared  not  to  penetrate,  it  is  not  that  more 
•comets  exist,  as  has  sometimes  been  said,  but 
more  are  observed. 

An  Englishman — a  subject  of  this  United 
Kingdom — cannot  refer  to  the  enlarged  means 
•of  astronomical  observation  enjo3^d  by  tbe 
present  age,  without  some  allusion  to  the 
noble  Earl,  Lord  Rosse,  one  of  the  Vice 
Presidents  of  this  day,  who,  himself  educated 
amongst  us  here,  in  Oxford,  has  devoted 
laiK^  means  and  untiring  labors  to  the  com- 
pletion of  the  most  wonderful  telescope 
which  Science,  Art,  and  wealth  have  ever 
yet  combined  to  perfect ;  and  which  the  Dean 
of  Ely — a  man  worthy  to  praise  the  work — 
pronounced  to  be  a  rare  combination  of  me- 
chanical, chemical,  and  mathematical  skill  and 
knowledge.  Its  actual  operations  have  been 
suspended  hj  a  cause  Bot  less  honorable  to 
Lord  Boaee  in  another  character  than  the 


conception  and  earl^  progress  of  his  great  in- 
strument were  to  hmi  as  a  man  of  science. 
They  have  been  retarded,  so  far  as  he  him- 
self is  concerned,  by  the  more  immediate  and, 
I  will  say,  higher  duties  which,  as  a  ma^- 
trate,  as  a  land-owner,  and  as  a  Christian 
gentleman,  he  owed,  and  has  been  paying,  to 
his  neighbors,  his  tenantry,  and  his  country, 
during  the  late  awful  visitation  which  has  u- 
flicted  Ireland.  Yet  perhaps  my  noble  friend 
wDl  permit  me  to  say,  that  while  we  not  only 
do  not  blame  him — we  even  praise  him  cor- 
dially for  having  devoted  his  time,  his  mind, 
and  his  wodth  to  those  claims  which  could 
not  be  postponed,  since  they  afiected  the  lives 
of  those  wno,  in  Crod's  providence,  surround- 
ed  him — there  were,  and  there  are,  others, — 
two,  at  least,  in  his  own  country,  and  one  his 
most  illustrious  friend.  Dr.  Robinson  (but  I 
speak  without  any  communication  on  ,  the 
subject  from  that  great  observer  and  greater 
philosopher), — who  might  have  carried  on  the 
series  of  observations  which  this  wonderful 
telescope  alone  can  effect,  and  might  thus 
have  secured  for  his  own  division  of  the  em-, 
pire  tbe  discovery  of  the  planet  Neptune. 

The  doctrine  of  the  influence  of  the  moon 
and  of  the  sun  on  the  tides  was  no  sooner  es- 
tablished, than  it  became  eminently  probable 
that  an  influence  exerted  so  strongly  upon  a 
fluid  so  heavy  as  water,  could  not  but  have 
the  lighter  and  all  but  imponderable  fluid  of 
air  under  its  grasp.  I  speak  not  of  the  influ- 
ence attributed  to  the  moon  in  the  popular 
language  and  belief  of  nations,  ancient  and 
modem, — of  Western  Europe  and  of  Central 
Asia,  in  respect  to  disease ;  but  of  the  direct 
and  measurable  influence  of  the  moon  and  of 
the  sun  in  respect  to  the  air.  It  is  now  clear, 
as  the  result  of  the  observations  af  St  Helena 
by  my  friend  Col.  Sabine,  that,  as  on  the 
waters,  so  on  the  atmosphere,  there  is  a  cor- 
responding influence  exerted  hj  the  same 
causes.  There  are  tides  in  the  air  as  in  the 
sea ;  the  extent  is  of  course  determinable  only 
by  the  most  careful  observations  with  the 
most  delicate  instruments;  since  the  minute- 
ness of  the  eflect,  both  in  itself  and  in  com- 
parison with  the  disturbances  which  are  oc- 
casioned in  the  equilibrium  of  the  atmo- 
sphere from  other  causes,  must  always  present 
great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  ascertaining  the 
truth-— and  had,  in  fact,  till  Col.  Sabine's  re- 
searches, prevented  any  decisive  testimony  of 
the  fact  bein^  obtained  by  direct  observation. 
But  the  hourly  observations  of  tbe  barometer, 
made  for  some  years  past  at  the  Meteorologi- 
cal and  Magnetical  Observatory  at  St.  Helena, 
have  now  placed  beyond  a  doubt  the  exist- 
ence of  a  lunar  atmospheric  tide.  It  appears 
that  in  each  day  the  barometer  at  St.  Helena 
stands,  on  an  average,  four  thousandths  of 
an  inch  higher  at  the  two  periods  when  the 


160 


Meeting  of  the  ScienUfic  Association  at  Oxford. 


moon  is  oa  the  meridian  above  or  below  the 
pole,  than  when  she  is  six  hours  distant  from 
the  meridian  on  either  side ;  the  progression 
between  this  maximum  and  minimum  being 
moreover  continuous  and  uninterrupted:— 
thus  furnishing  a  new  element  in  the  attain- 
ment of  physi^  truth ;  and,  to  quote  the  ex- 
pression of  a  distinguished  foreigner  now  pre- 
sent, which  he  uttered  in  my  own  house, 
when  the  subject  was  mentioned,  "  We  are 
thus  making  astronomical  observations  (with 
the  baronoeter'* — that  is,  we  are  reasoning 
from  the  position  of  the  mercury,  in  a  baro- 
meter, which  we  can  touch,  as  to  the  position 
of  the  heavenly  bodies  which,  unseen  by  us, 
are  influencing  its  visible  fall  and  rise.  "  It 
is  no  exaggeration  to  say/' — and  here  I  use 
the  words  of  my  friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robin- 
son,— "that  we  could  even,  if  our  satellite 
were  incapable  of  reflecting  light,  have  deter- 
mined its  existence,  nay,  more,  have  approxi- 
mated to  its  eccentricity  and  period." 

The  extensive  and  diversified  field  of  phy- 
siology presents  so  many  objects  of  nearly 
equal  interest,  as  to  make  it  difficult,  in  a 
rapid  sketch  like  the  present, — and  above  all 
for  one  like  me, — to  select  those  which  may 
least  unworthily  occupy  the  attention  of  the 
Association. 

In  Physiology,  the  most  remarkable  of  the 
discoveries,  or  rather  improvements  of  previ- 
ous discoveries,  which  the  past  year  has  seen, 
is  perhaps  that  connected  with  the  labors  of 
the  distinguished  Tuscan  philosopher.  Mat- 
teucci ;  who,  ou  several  former  occasions,  has 
co-operated  with  this  Association  in  the  sec- 
tions devoted  to  the  advancement  of  the  phy- 
sical and  physiological  sciences.  I  refer,  in 
this  instance,  to  his  experiments  on  the  gene- 
ration of  electric  currents  by  muscular  con- 
Iraction  in  the  living  body.  The  subject  he 
has  continued  to  pursue ;  and,  by  the  happy 
combination  of  the  rigorous  methods  of  phy- 
sical experiment  with  the  ordinary  course  of 
physiological  research.  Prof.  Matteucci  has 
fully  established  the  important  fact  of  the  ex- 
istence of  an  electrical  current — feeble,  indeed, 
and  such  as  could  only  be  made  manifest  by 
his  own  delicate  galvanoscope — between  the 
deep  and  superficial  parts  of  a  muscle.  Such 
electric  currents  pervade  every  muscle  in  every 
species  of  animal  which  has  been  the  subject 
of  experiment;  and  may,  therefore,  be  in- 
ferred to  be  a  general  phenomenon  of  living 
bodies.  Even  after  life  has  been  extinguished 
by  violence,  these  currents  continue  for  a 
short  time ;  but  they  cease  more  speedily  in 
the  muscles  of  the  warm-blooded  than  in 
those  of  cold-blooded  animals.  The  Asso- 
ciation will  find  his  own  exposition  of  the 
action  of  the  electric  current,  in  his  work, 
•<  Lemons  sur  Jes  Phenomdnes  Physiqueft  des 
Corps  Vivants,"  1844. 


The  delicate  experiments  of  Matteucci  oa 
the  Torpedo,  agree  with  those  made  by  ooi 
own  Faraday  (whom  I  may  call  doubly  our 
own  in  this  place,  where  he  is  a  Doctor  of 
our  University)  upon  the  Gymnotus  eleciricus, 
in  proving  that  the  shocks  communicated  by 
those  fishes  are  due  to  electric  currents  gene- 
rated by  peculiar  electric  organs,  which  owe 
their  most  immediate  and  powerful  stimulus 
to  the  action  of  the  nerves — In  both  species 
of  fishes,  the  electricity  generated  by  the  ac- 
tion of  their  peculiar  organized  batteries — ^be- 
sides its  benumbing  and  stunning  efifects  on 
living  animals, — renders  the  needle  magnetic, 
decomposes  chemical  compounds,  emits  the 
spark,  and,  in  short,  exercises  all  the  other 
known  powers  of  the  ordinary  electricity  de- 
veloped in  inorganic  matter,  or  by  the  artifi- 
cial apparatus  of  the  laboratory. 

Ethekization,  a  kindred  subject,— -one  to 
which  deep  and  natural  importance  is  now- 
attached  ,-^may  not  unfitly  follow  the  men- 
tion of  Prof.  Matteucci's  investi^tions. 

It  is  the  subject  of  the  influence  of  the 
vapor  of  ether  on  the  human  frame — a  dis- 
covery of  the  last  year,  and  one  the  valae  of 
which  in  diminishing  human  pain,  h*  been 
experienced  in  countless  instances,  in  every 
variety  of  disease,  and  especially  durii^  tbe 
performance  of  trying  and  often  agonizing 
operations.  Several  experimen ts  on  the  tracts 
and  nerve-roots  appropriated  respectively  to 
the  functions  of  sensation  and  volition,  tave 
been  resumed  and  repeated  in  connexion  with 
this  new  agency  on  the  nervous  system. 
Messrs.  Flourens  and  ^  Longet  have  shown 
that  the  sensational  function  at  first  afiected, 
though  temporarily,  suspended  under  the 
operation  of  the  vapor  of  ether,  then  the 
mental  or  cerebral  powers,  and  finally,  tbe 
motor  and  excito-motor  forces  are  abrogated. 
It  would  seem  that  the  stimulus  of  ether  ap- 
plied so  largely  or  continuously  as  to  produce 
that  eflect,  is  full  of  danger—^nd  that  weak 
constitutions  are  sometimes  unable  to  rally 
and  recover  from  it ;  but  that  when  the  iufla- 
ence  is  allowed  to  extend  no  further  than  to 
the  suspension  of  sensation,  the  recovery  is, 
as  a  general  rule,  complete.  It  is  this  re 
markable  property  of  ether  which  has  led  to 
its  recent  application  with  such  success  as 
may  well  lead  us  to  thank  God,  who,  in  his 
providence,  has  directed  the  eminent  physi- 
cians and  surgeons  amongst  our  brelhien  in 
the  United  States  to  make  this  discover}': — a 
discovery  which  will  long  place  the  name  of 
Dr.  Charles  J.  Jackson,  its  author,  anxH^ 
the  benefactors  of  our  conamon  nature. 

At  the  same  time,  much  careful  observattou 
on  the  modus  operandi  of  this  most  singular 
agent,  seems  still  requisite  before  a  general, 
systematic,  safe,  and  successful  applicatioa  of 
it  can  be  established  for  the  relief  of  r-^  *— 


UTaiitmal  Medical  Convstiiiou. — Cetnefa  m  Dentistry. 


151 


hnmanity.  So  great,  however,  is  the  num- 
ber of  well-recorded  instances  of  its  having 
saved  the  patient  from  the  pain  of  a  sui^ical 
operation  without  any  ill  effect  in  reference  to 
his  subsequent  recovery,  as  to  make  the  sub- 
ject of  the  influence  of  the  vapor  ether,  upon 
the  nervous  system,  and  (he  modification  of 
that  influence  on  different  temperaments  one 
eminently  deserving  the  attention  of  the  Phy- 
siological Section  of  the  British  Association. 


NATIONAL  MEDICAL  CONVENTION. 

Thx  National  Medical  Convention,  at  Phi- 
ladelphia, last  week  adjourned  on  Saturday, 
after  a  session  of  three  days,  to  meet  again  in 
May,  1848,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  Previ- 
ous to  adjournment,  the  following  resolution 
was  proposed  and  adopted — 

"  Resolved,  That  this  Convention  do  now 
lesolve  itself  into  the  <  American  Medical 
Association.' " 

An  election  was  then  gone  into  for  officers 
for  the  ensuing  year,  when  the  following  gen- 
tlemen were  chosen — 

President— Dr,  Nathaniel  Chapman,  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Vice  Presidents — Drs.  J.  Knight,  Connecti- 
cut ;  A.  H.  Stephens,  New  York ;  Moultrie, 
South  Carolina;  Buchanan,  Tennessee. 

Secretaries — Drs.  Stille  and  Dunbar,  Phila- 
delphia. 

Treasure^- — Dr.  J.  Hays. 

The  discussions  upon  the  various  profes- 
sional topics  introduced  during  the  session, 
were  animated,  able,  and  harmonious,  so  that 
the  final  action  upon  almost  every  question 
was  unanimous,  or  nearly  so.  Measures 
were  taken  to  secure  a  higher  order  of  scho- 
lastic education  as  prelimmary  to  the  admis- 
sion of  students  into  our  medical  colleges, 
and  the  standard  agreed  upon  is  nearly  equal 
to  the  requisitions  fur  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  arts  in  the  academic  department  of  any  of 
our  colleges.  The  elevation  of  the  standard 
of  qualifications  for  the  doctorate  was  insisted 
upon,  with  recommendations  of  extending  the 
lecture  term  in  all  medical  colleges  from  four 
to  six  months,  and  a  provision  requiring 
the  students  to  attend  throughout  the  entire 
term,  or  forfeit  credit  for  a  full  course ;  en- 
larging the  curriculum  of  the  college  course ; 
calling  for  seven  years  professors  in  each 
medi(^  school;  demanding  that  three  months 
be  required  to  be  steadily  employed  in  practi- 
cal anatomy,  and  claiming  clmical  instruction 
to  be  included  in  each  college  course. 

The  large  representation  of  the  profession 
present  from  almost  every  part  of  the  country, 


pledged  themselves  to  sustain  these  several 
improvements  in  medical  education,  and  ad- 
vise their  students  to  attend  the  lectures  only 
in  such  colleges  as  show  a  disposition  to  con- 
form to  the  resolutions  just  adopted  for  ele- 
vating the  standard  of  education. 

An  extended  discussion  took  place  on  the 
proposition  lately  urged  in  various  quarters, 
that  there  should  be  a  separation  of  the  li- 
censing from  the  teaching  power  in  medical 
schools,  and  that  an  independent  board  of  ex- 
aminers should  be  appointed  in  every  state, 
by  which  the  doctorate  should  be  awarded, 
and  license  to  practise  physic  and  surgery  ex- 
clusively conierred.  The  most  pacific  and 
conservative  counsels  prevailed  even  among 
those  most  zealous  for  reform,  and  this  whole 
subject,  after  having  been  discussed  in  two 
candid  and  able  reports  of  committees,  was 
happily  disposed  of  by  reference  to  the  appro- 
priate standing  committee,  who  are  to  delibe- 
rate thereon  and  submit  a  plan  to  the  national 
society,  in  May  next. 


CEMENT  IN  DENTISTRY. 

[Communicated  to  the  New  York  Couier  &  Enquirer.] 
Gentlemen — Having  noticed  considerable 
discussion  in  your  paper,  as  to  the  good  and 
bad  Qualities  of  Cement,  as  a  filling  for  de- 
cayea  teeth,  and  having  been  strongly  urged 
by  a  large  number  of  patients  and  others,  to 
express  my  opinion  in  relation  thereto,  I  beg 
leave  through  the  medium  of  your  journal  to 
say,  that  it  has  been  my  uniform  practice. 

First,  to  fill  all  teeth  which  could  be  per- 
manently preserved  with  gold. 

Second,  to  fill  teeth,  the  nerves  of  which 
have  been  destroyed,  and  teeth  greatly  de- 
cayed, with  tin. 

Third,  to  fill  shells  of  teeth,  and  tender 
teeth,  which  would  not  bear  the  pressure  of 
ordinary  filling,  with  cement.  This  cement 
is  composed  of  pure  silver  filings  ground  for 
a  few  seconds  with  a  little  quicksilver,  and 
immediately  forced  into  the  tooth,  where  in 
a  short  time  it  becomes  as  hard  as  a  rock,  and 
is  not  acted  upon  by  the  secretions  of  the 
mouth.  Its  action  is  rather  sedative,  as  is 
proved  by  the  fact  that  aching  teeth  are  often 
relieved  by  the  filling.  I  beg  further  to  ob- 
serve that,  I  have  thus  been  enabled  to  save 
many  hundred  valuable  teeth.  That  I  do  not 
believe  it  can  ever  exert  any  injurious  influ- 
ence. That  it  is  rapidly  coming  into  use 
amon^  the  first  dentists  in  the  country,  as  a 
valuaole  adjunct  in  their  practice ;  and  I  am 
convinced  that  those  who  condemn  its  occa- 
sional use,  do  so  either  from  interested  mo- 


152 


Magnetism  of  ike  Human  System. 


lives,  or  from  a  want  of  knowled^  or  experi- 
ence as  to  the  proper  method  of  its  prepara- 
tion and  use. 

S.  SPOONER^  M.D.. 

106  Liberty  street,  N.  Y. 


MAGNETISM  OF  THE  HUMAN  SYS- 
TEM AND  MAGNETIZING  MEDI- 
CINE. RESEARCHES  OF  BARON 
VON  REICHENBACH  ON  MAGNE- 
TISM. 


[FtoBk  The 


Popular    Record    of- Modem  Science, 
Edinburgh.] 


We  have  examples  of  magnetized  medicines 
in  our  possession  in  which  the  magnetism 
imparted  to  them  has  remained  in  them  many 
years. 

**  The  adhesion  of  a  living  band  to  a  mag- 
net is  a  fact  unknown  in  physiology  as  in 
physics,  and  few  have  seen  it :  it,  therefore, 
requires  explanation.  Madlle.  N.,  being  in 
catalepsy,  insensible  and  motionless,  but  free 
from  spasms,  a  horse-shoe  magnet  of  twenty 
pounds  power  was  brought  near  to  her  hand, 
when  the  hand  attached  itself  so  to  the  mag- 
net, that  whichever  way  the  magnet  was 
moved,  the  hand  followed  it  as  if  it  had  been 
a  bit  of  iron  adhering  to  it.  She  remained  in- 
sensible ;  but  the  attraction  was  so  powerful, 
that  when  the  magnet  was  removed  in  the 
direction  of  the  feet,  further  than  the  arm 
could  reach,  she,  still  insensible,  raised  her- 
self in  bed,  and  with  the  hand  followed  the 
magnet  as  far  as  she  possibly  could,  so  that 
it  looked  as  if  she  had  been  seized  by  the 
hand,  and  that  member  dragged  'towards  the 
feet.  If  the  magnet  was  sml  further  remov- 
ed, she  let.  it  go  unwillingfy,  but  remained 
fixed  in  her  actual  position.  This  was  daily 
seen  by  the  author  between  six  and  eight, 
P.M.,  when  her  attacks  came  on,  in  the  pre- 
sence of  eight  or  ten  persons,  medical  and 
scientific  men. 

**  At  other  periods  of  the  day,  when  she 
was  quite  conscious,  the  phenomena  were 
the  same.  She  described  the  sensation  as  an 
irresistible  attraction,  which  she  felt  comjiel- 
ied,  against  her  will,  to  obey.  The  sensation 
was  agreeable,  accompanied  with  a  gentle 
cooling  aura,  or  stream  flowing  down  from 
the  magnet  to  the  hand,  which  felt  as  if  tied 
and  drawn  with  a  thousand  fine  threads  to 
the  ma^et.  She  was  not  acquainted  with 
anv  similar  sensation  in  ordinary  life ;  it  was 
.indescribable,  and  included  an  infinitely  re- 
freshing and  pleasurable  sensation  when  Uie 
magnet  was  not  too  strong." 


Similar  results  were  obtained  with  Made- 
moiselle Reichel  and  Madlle.  Stormann,  and 
the  statement  of  the  various  modes  in  which 
the  veracity  of  the  patients  and  the  accviacy 
of  the  experiments  were  tested,  is  such  as  to 
inspire  the  most  unreserved  confidence  in  the 
experimenter.  Mr.  Baumgartner,  the  digtio- 
guished  natural  philosopher,  was  one  of  those 
who,  amongst  others,  tested  in  a  very  io^- 
nious  way  the  above  phenemena. 

With  regard  to  magnetized  water,  BaroD  Ton 
Reichent»ch,  although  strongly  prejudiod 
against  this  "  mesmeric  idea,**  wq^  compelled 
to  admit  that  a  palpable  eflect  was  produced. 

<*  He  saw  daily  that  his  patient  could  easilj 
distinguish  a  glass  of  water,  along  which  i 
magnet,  unknown  to  her,  had  beoi  drawn* 
bom  any  others ;  and  this  without  failon  or 
hesitation.  He  found  it  impossible  to  oppoee 
a  fact  like  this  byaiguments;  but  when  be 
saw  the  same  result  in  many  other  patienlSt 
he .  ceased  to  struggle  against  that  which, 
whether  he  understood  it  or  not,  wasobTi- 
ouslya  fact.  He  then  perceived  that  it  v» 
more  rational  to  admit  the  fact,  and  to  wait 
with  patience  for  the  explanation." 

The  experimenter  then  detemiinedtoM, 
whether  bodies  besides  water  could  be  wt 
netized,  so  as  to  produce  similar  efieeta.  He 
passed  the  magnet  not  only  overa//«rfr^ 
minerals  and  drueSt  but  over  diaflBBiiate 
objects,  and  they  aU  affected  the  jkM  m" 
or  less  powerfully.  JBut  although  ^^wa 
equally  magnetized,  the  results  wcndiffett^ 
some  substances  producing  a  strong  ^ 
others  only  a  slight  impression.  It  «<> 
therefore  clear,  that  the  diflerentiesoitsiBBj 
have  beeq  caused  by  an  inherent  diftieDce « 
power  in  the  various  kinds  of  matter,  and  he 
resolved  to  test  if  this  diflference  would  nanj- 
fest  itself ,  when  the  substances  were  appW 
in  their  natural  condition.  To  his  astonab- 
ment  they  still  acted  on  the  patient,  and  wifl 
a  power  often  little  inferior  to  that  whin 
they  had  when  magnetized.  , 

«« Amongst  the  various  substances  tried  (« 
which  a  well-arranged  list  is  given),  dism 
solitary  crystals  were  found  to  orf  «  "* 
strongest  manner.  . 

"  In  trying  the  effect  of  drawing  the  pp» 
of  rock  crystal,  7  inches  long  and  I  3-4  thKfc 
from  the  wrist  to  the  points  of  the  fingers,  aaj 
back,  as  in  magnetizing,  the  author  Ioom 
that  the  sensation  expcnenced  by  u>«r^ 
was  the  same  as  with  a  magnetic  n^  ? 
bar,  nearly  five  inches  long,  one-sixtb  oa 
broad,  and  one-thirtieth  inch  thick,  weigftjng 
nearly  180  grains,  and  supporting,  aw» 
three-quarters  of  an  ounce.  The  patient  teK 
an  agreeable  cool  auia  in  both  ^^aawij^ 
the  crystal  or  magnet  was  drawn  n«n  "* 
wrist  to  the  point  of  the  nwWte  ni** jj| 
drawn  in  the  opposite  diiectioo,  the  t 


T^e  Prmciples  of  NIaiure. 


168 


was  disagreeable  and  appeared  waim.  A 
C378(al,  thrice  ^e  sice  of  the  firat,  produced, 
when  drawn  downwards,  the  same  effect  as  a 
magnet,  supporting  two  poands  of  iron ;  and 
when  drawn  the  opposite  way,  a  spasmodic 
condition  of  the  whole  aim,  lasting  several 
minatee,  and  so  violent  that  the  esqieriroent 
ooald  not  well  be  repeated.^ 

The  most  singular  experiment  is  that  with 
a  glass  of  water 

"  If  it  be  grasped  from  below  by  the  fingers 
of  one  hand,  and  froih  above  by  those  of  the 
other,  daring  a  few  minutes,  it  has  now  ac- 
quired to  the  sensitive,  the  taste,  smell,  and 
all  other  singular  and  surprising  properties  of 
the  so-called  magnetized  water.  'Against 
this  statement,'  says  the  author,  <all  those 
may  cry  out  who  have  never  invest^ted  the 
maCtm,  and  to  the  number  of  whom  I  for- 
merly belonged;  but  of  the  fact,  all  those 
who  have  submitted  to  the  labor  of  investiga- 
tion, and  have  seen  the  effects  I  allude  to, 
can  only  speak  with  amazement.*  'This 
water,  which  is  quite  identical  with  that 
treated  with  the  magnet  or  with  the  crystaJ, 
in  all  its  essential  properties,  has,  therefore, 
received  from  the  fingers  and  hand  an  abun- 
dant charge  of  the  peculiar  force  residing  in 
them,  ana  retains  this  charge  for  some  time, 
and  with  some  force.  It  was  found  that  all 
aabstances  whatever  were  capable  of  receiv- 
ing this  charge,  which  the  sensitive  patients 
invariably  detected.  The  inevitable  conclu- 
flion  is,  that  the  influence  residing  in  the  human 
hand  may  be  collected  in  other  bodies,  in  the 
flame  way,  and  the  same  extent,  as  the  influ- 
t  residing  in  crystals." 


[For  the  Diaflector.] 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  NATURE,  HER 
DIVINE     REVELATIONS,     AND    A 
VOICE  TO  MANKIND. 

[By  and  tbraagh  Andrew  Jeckeon  Davis,  the  "  Ftmi h- 
keepde  Seer  '*  and  Clalnrcyyaat] 

It  must  now  be  confessed  that  we  have 
something «« new  under  the  sun."  We  have 
««  Divine  Revelations"  besides  those  which 
the  world  has  been  wont  to  distinguish  by 
tbat  appellation.  These  are  «  by  and  through 
Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  the  Foughkeepsie 
Seer  and  Clairvoyant."  There  is  something 
Terr  apmoprialie  ht  divine  revelatityns  being 
made  through  the  ignorant,  as  they  were 
formerly  made  throueh  illiterate  fishermen ; 
and  the  authority  of  those  which  are  now 
•«  presented  to  the  world,"  is  pgrtly,  at  least, 
bMed  on  the  ignorance  of  this  modern  *<  seer,** 
.lot  to  waste  words,  we  will  at  once  confess 
12 


that  the  «  boy"  is  ignorant  enough,  too  igno* 
rant  for  one  of  the  age  of  19 ;  and  that  Ming 
the  case,  we  see  nothing  wmdefful  in  his 
revelations.  Such  nonsense  from  any  person 
of  ordinary  intelligence  and  education,  would 
indeed  be  astonishing,  and  we  wonder  what 
sort  of  minds  they  were  who  could  swallow 
and  prepare  such  absurdity  for  the  press. 
See  with  what  an  « air  of  pomposity "  this 
revelator  looks  down  upon  those  who  shall 
presume  to  criticise  and  call  in  question  the 
truth  of  his  revelations,  or  of  what  he  calls 
the  "  Principles  of  Nature."  *•  Man,"  says 
he,  "  who  has  now  appproached  to  some  cte- 
gree  of  knowledge,  feels  sustained  by  snr* 
rounding  beings,  who  wonder  at  his  indul- 
gence  He  assumes  a  spirit  of 

arrogance,  and  with  an  air  of  pomposity 
takes  the  stand  of  a  foolish  critic  .... 
He  will  laugh  at  the  appearances  which  the 
world  manifests,  and  assume  the  ground 
which  nothing  but  ignorance  can  prompt  hnn 
to  maintain—faring  to  sneer  at  the  great  laws 
which  govern  this  and  other  worlds,  when  ia 
reality  he  has  not  the  capacity  to  comprehend 
the  component  parts  of  one  atom  that  goes  to 
compose  the  universe!"  What  wonderful 
stupidity,  indeed,  in  the  "  foolish  crKic,**  not 
to  be  able  to  « comprehend  the  component 
parts  of  one  atom/"  No  wonder  that  he 
should  be  so  ignorant  as  to  **  complain  of 
the  great  laws  which  compose  the  universe." 
(Page  16.)  Here  is  an  intimation  of  a  new 
**  atomic  theory^"  and  to  make  it  still  more  ri- 
diculous, the  emphasis  is  put  on  the*  word 
atom,  and  the  mark  of  exclamation  at  the  end 
of  the  sentence. 

This  A.  J.  Davis,  or  perhaps  we  should 
say,  Nature  through  him,  throws  Lord  Bacon 
with  his  principles  of  induction  entirely  into 
the  shade ;  for  ne  savs  we  must  proceed  first 
from  the  cause  to  the  efiect,  and  not  the  re- 
verse. We  cannot  find  out  the  cause  by  the 
effects,  he  says,  for  we  must  know  the  pnn- 
ciple  before  we  can  know  the  effects  at  all. 
How  then  shall  we  know  what  the  cause  is, 
so  that  we  may  know  the  effect  ?  you  very 
simply  ask.  Why,  go  to  the  oracle  for  it,  of 
course,  and  take  it  for  granted.  Listen  now 
how  he  talks  of  this  mode  of  reasoning  from 
cause  to  effect  (P&ge  26.)  "  I  will  here  in- 
dicate the  order  of  reasoning  ind  investigation 
to  be  pursued.  First,  we  are  to  commence  at 
the  First  Cause,  and  trace  causes  to  their  ef« 
fects,  until  we  reach  the  human  body,  which 
is  an  ultimate  eflect  of  the  Great  Cause.  .  . 
.  .  •  And  this  process  will  be  understood 
by  the  following  familiar  illustration :  The 

germ,  roots,  body,  branches,  limbs,  buds, 
lossoms,  beauty.  Or  this:  Water,  steam* 
ether,  immaterial.  Or :  Fall,  winter,  spring, 
and  summer  in  its  brightness  and  beauty.** 
This  Ib  an  illostiation  of  reasoning  from 


154 


The  Frmc^ks  of  Nakare. 


cause  to  effect  l  The  genn  of  a  tree  losing  it- 
self in  the  qualitj/,  or  Bpiritiial  idea  of  beauiy 
—-water  becoming  first  steam,  then  ether,  and 
then  mMATBRiAL — fall  being  the  caoee  of 
winter,  and  of  all  the  seasons  in  suooession — 
these  are  indeed  philosophical  ideas  beyond 
the  ordinary  comprehension,  and  man  could 
not  leain  them  except  by  a  revelation. 

.To  enforce  the  doctrine  that  the  came  most 
fiiBt  be  admitted,  be  insists  upon  the  positioa 
that "  the  effect  cannot  be  lelied  on  while  the 
cause  is  hidden,"  and  iUustiates  thus,  page 
87 :  **  Again :  A  man  has  a  carious  tooth : 
he  teOs  yott  he  experieaces  a  severe  pain ;  but 
3f0u  doubt  his  won!  and  ask  for  proof.  He 
points  you  to  the  tooth,  which  la  the  object 
laagible.  fiut  doe*  the  evidence  of  which 
your  senses  admit,  convince  yott  that  he  has 
a  pain  ?  The  tooth  is  the  external,  the  uUi- 
nate :  the  pain  is  the  invisible,  but  reality/' 
So  it  seems  that  the  cawe,  which  he  calls  the 
<«  invisible,"  the  "ieality,"is  the  pain,  and 
that  the  e&eUs  which  be  calla  the  "  externa]," 
and  « liltuQate,'*  is  the  tooth.  The  pain  is  the 
cause  of  the  tooth,  and  the  canes  is  no  cause 
or  evidence  of  the  toolh-ache  at  all.  And  yet 
the  language  has  a  sound  of  loeie,  equal  to 
that  of  Dr.  Johnson's  famous  aylTogism,  pio- 
Tins  that  <  *  every  cat  has  three  tails." 

Much  has  be(»i  said  of  Davis's  wonderful 
knowledge  cd  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and 
kindred  branches,  among  other  thines,  in  proof 
of  hia  having  knowledge  infused  into  him 
without  having  gone  through  the  labor  of 
study.  If  names  and  technical  phrases  are 
ttvidenoe  of  medical  or  scientific  knowledge, 
or  of  acquaintance  with  all  languages,  as  i» 
olaimed  for  him,  doubtless  he  surpasses  in 
these  respects  many  learned  professora,  who 
ludged  by  the  same  rule  can  know  but  very 
littte  indeed.  Poor,  ignorant  professors — ^here 
is  something  in  Anatomy  and  Physiology  for 
their  edification,  page  ai :  "  Man  possesses 
two  coatings,  which  are  dasaified  as  serous 
and  mucous  surfaces.  The  serous  covera  each 
oigan,  nerve,  and  fascia  of  the  muscles,  in- 
cluding the  >whole  of  their  surfaces.  The 
mucous  surfaces  constitute  the  inner  of  every 
organ,  nerve,  and  musde,**  How  the  serous 
membranes  can  cover  each  «  nerve  and  fascia 
of  the  muscles,"  and  the  mucous  membranes 
«<  constitute  the  inner  of  every  neive  and  mus- 
de,"  is  difficult  to  comprehend ;  but  it  is  Na- 
ture's ** Divine  revelation"  and  we  must  be- 
lieve it.  *'  The  serous  surfaces  are  suscepti- 
ble of  feeling,  while  the  mucous  surfaces  are 
aot " — and  *'  the  nerves  of  sensation  terminate 
in  the  serous  surfaces,  while  the  nerves  of 
motion  terminate  in  the  mucous  surfaces  " — 
•o  says  A.  J.  Davia  How  did  he  get  his 
medical  knowledge  ?  It  would  be  an  impu- 
tation to  say  that  he  got  it  from  the  mind  of 
wa  magaetizer^tha  doctor,  and  a  still  worse 


imputation  to  say  that  he  received  it  from  tht 
"  Great  Focus/*  by  wkieh  he  means  BiTioiij. 
But  this  oraele  of  the  temple  of  Bdeoee  is 
also    a    Ps^chdogist.    The    "r^kdiou" 
which  objects  *<  cast  upon  the  mind,'  lie  telle 
us,  "  aire  ideas  ;"  and  vibration  of  stuod,  he 
sa^s, '"  undulates  the  portion  of  the  nuiid 
with  which  it  comes  iu  contact,**  and  **t)u5 
vibration  is  the  idea.**    The  mvd  being^in- 
pressed  "  by  reflections,  and  undidetid  bjfa- 
brationsi  and  the   reflections  aad  vibraliou 
being  themselvea  ideas,  the  mind  must  be  ai^ 
teriMf  and  this  ia  precisely  what  be  wodd 
have  ua  believe.    He  speaks  of  water  b^ 
coming  so  evaporated  as  to  be  "  trnmoteriii.'' 
and  this,  if  any,  ie  the  sort  of  immateridii 
which  be  attributes  to  the  sqqL  He  vf 
plainl^r  that "  the  mind"  is  '*  an  ultimate d 
organization,"  page  39  ^  and  **  all  iltimife^ 
to  me,  are  still  matter/*  page  47.   la  this  k 
"out-Herods  Herod."    The  doctnae  of  tk 
materialist  that"  the  mind  isa  fuDCtioDoflk 
brain,"  is  surpassed  hj  the  docthDethatail' 
ler  is  converted  into  mind,  which  is  wbaioir 
philosopher  calls  a  "  raetamorphoaa"  ^Vl» 
ponderable  substances  aie  so  subliiaated  a  to 
become  invisible,  thia  '<  Pougfakeejaie  aff" 
perceives   that   their   atoms  are  des&opr 
and  that  they  become  **  unpartidii  mSff* 
which  of  course  could  have  no  fow  wf«*' 
and  therefore  be  no  M^stonoe.   Ibis  oaftat* 
kded,  this  «  unpartided  matter,"  flu&M<)iij«' 
is  what  Davis  calls  the  mind  of  iobd.  "*  Tk 
natural  senses,"  says  he,  page  46, "  SR  c^ 
nisant  of  corporeal  and  fomuil  iavestnie^ 
when  thin^  paaa  into  their  vaiioss  jn^ 
sive  conditions,  they  are  lost  a^  oi  up 
the  ifoter— whkh,  while  remaining  as  »ocfe,« 
perceived  by  the  senses ;   but,  when  it  !•■* 
into  steam,  air,  and  the  luminoos  ^^'^ 
cornea  lare  and  refined — ^the  natural  nadv 
senses  lose  the  perception  of  it5exIsteBce,ia 
apply  to  it,  as  to  all  unpariicled  matter,  v 
appellation  of  spirit,  for  the  want  of  a  beSs 
term  to  cfefine  its  condition.    To  me,  this  w 
is  known  as  matter  become  laie  and  \mp^ 
cled— asthe  ultimate  oi  matter,  to  vbicM 
applied  the  word  spirit**    ImmedialelT iAk 
this,  he  speaks  of  the  mind  beinga"cttv- 
tion  of  partides  or  substances  ** — w  «mvh 
at  least — saving  that  the  mind  caoaot  bans 
"  absolute  knowledge  "  of «« its  own  cooi^- 
aoce  and  prqgreasioo,*'  but   only  a  WHf 
*'  For  no  collection  of  particles  or  wbaaaca 
of  any  kind,"  says  be,  "  possesses  tbe  poa« 
of  self.analysation.'*    Is  it  possible  that  tv 
persons  who  transcribed,  assisted,  ^^ 
nessed  the  delivery  of  these  fitvaioftoaii  cna 
thus  have  assented  to  the  mateiialiBt*s  crv 
in  its  most  irrational  form  I    -It  is  Ibekva 
Matter**  says  the  iectuier, pi«e  50,  "to pio- 
duce  its  uftimate,  Mml   It  is  tbe  lav  of 
mind  to  pioduce  ita  oocreipODdiiv  piuMiP' 


Remedial  Injbtence  of  Animal  MagnetUm, 


165 


tbvrk,"  Which  is  the  greater,  the  caaee  or 
the  effect?  A.  J.  Davis's  body  or  his  mmd  ? 
His  '*  mind  is  the  ultimatam  of  his  organiza- 
tiOQ,**  and  his  Psychology  is  the  ultimatum  of 
hisicimti/k  knowledge.  These  are  a  thou- 
sandth part  of  the  enors  and  absurdities  con- 
tained in  the  first  50  of  about  800  pa^es  of 
these  «*  Divine  Revelations."  There  is  un- 
doubtedly something  remarkably  ««jpr«co- 
ctotfs"  in  this  lad  of  19,  though  ttiere  is  no 
necessity  for  claiming  for  him  extraordinary 
ignorance  and  lack  of  education.  To  us 
there  is  something  extremely  Ipdicrous  in' 
twik  a  lecturer^  such  kctureSi  and  such  an 
cMcdMfiee,  that  nudces  us  think  of  Goktsmith's 
**  Country  School  Master,"  and  his  auditora 

"  With  viroids  of  Uanud  ttmgthy  and  thwitdaing 

jSmazed  the  listening  rustics  rcmgtd  around; 
And  as  tUy  gazed,  tne  more  the  wonder  grew, 
fiow  one  smiUhimi  could  carry  all  he  kaew." 

R. 


[Fof  the  Dlflseetor.] 

REMEDIAL  INFLUENCE  OF  ANIMAL 
MAGNETISM. 

To  the  Edilar  of  the  N,  Y.  Dissector  : 

Dkj^  Sir — ^In  an  early  number  of  the  Dis- 
sector, you  copied  an  article,  written  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Beecher,  detailing  the  evidences  of  re- 
markable clairvoyance  of  William  Henry 
Child,  and  of  the  curative  influence  of  Animal 
Magnetism  in  his  case.  He  was  a  lad,  ten 
years  old,  the  son  of  Rev,  Eber  Child,  Byron, 
Crenesee  Co.,  N.  Y.  He  had  been  afflicted 
fw  a  lonr  time  with  ezoeedineiy  bad  fits. 
Tor  a  week  together*  he  often  had  fits  most  of 
the  time.  They  were  first  indaced,  1  believe, 
br  some  local  injury  in  one  of  his  legs. 
When  first  maenetizea  by  Rev.  Mr.  Beecher, 
he  became  highly  clairvoyant  He  had  be- 
come very  much  reduced  by  his  fits,  and  was 
easily  maffnetized.  Being  asked  what  they 
should  do  lor  his  fits,  he  replied,  that  should 
tbey  magnetize  him  just  as  the  fits  were 
coming  on,  it  would  prevent  them.  This 
course  was  pursued  by  some  members  of  the 
family,  and  with  complete  success.  His  fits 
were  entirely  broken  up;  and  bis  health 
rapidly  improved,  until  he  became  so  strong 
that  the  family  were  no  longer  able  to  magne- 
tize  him. 

I  called  at  his  father's  residence  in  April, 
1843,  and  having  heaid  of  his  remarkable 
powers  of  ciairvoyancst  I  proposed  to  mag- 


netize him,  to  which  he  consented.  In  five 
minutes  he  was  in  sound  magnetic  sleep. 
His  powers  of  clairvoyance  were  truly  asto- 
nishing; which  I  tested  in  several  wave ;  but 
especially   in    the    examination    of    Mrs. 

6 »  a  lady  of  my  acquaintance,  who 

was  in  a  diseased  state,  and  at  her  own  resi- 
dence six  miles  distant  Her  case  was  de* 
scribed  with  ver^  great  accuracy.  The  detail 
of  this  examination  would  occupy  too  much 
space  in  this  communication ;  it  will  be  de- 
ferred for  the  present ;  but  I  will  endeavor  to 
furnish  it  at  as  early  a  period  as  my  pressing 
duties  in  attending  to  a  sick  family,  and  to 
parochial  labors^  will  permit. 

Some  time  in  July,  1843,  his  father  called 
on  me  and  staled  that  though  his  son  had  no 
fits,  still  he  was  not  perfectly  well ;  and  that 
he  wisjied  me  to  take  him  into  my  family 
and  magnetize  him  for  his  health.  He  came 
by  ray  consent  His  fits  were  cured ;  Imt 
he  still  suffered  severely  from  incubus  and 
palpitation.  He  could  not  walk  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  without  inducing  violent  palpitation; 
and  bis  sleep  and  rest  wen  seriously  dis- 
turi)ed  by  night-mare.  Under  the  magnetic 
treatment  he  improved  rapidly,  and  in  three 
or  four  weekskwaa  quite  well,  and  widked, 
one  day,]^about  seven]  mites,  with  very  little 
fatigue. 

BI.XK&niO  AT  THE  NOSE. 

He  was  often  afflicted  with  bleeding  from 
the  nose ;  and  was  also  cured  of  this  by  mag- 
netism. When  somniscient,  he  directed  me 
how  to  Bsagnetize  him ;  also  to  place  my  fin- 
ger on  a  particalar  spot  in  his  head,  where  he 
said  a  vein  was  uncapped,  which  viras  the 
cause  of  his  bleedlag. 

HBAUKO  or  A  WOUND. 

While  with  me,  he  cut  one  of  his  fingers 
badly,  with  a  wood-saw.  It  was  bound  up 
with  a  dry  bandage,  and  left  magnetiald> 
when  he  was  awakened  from  magnetic  sleep. 
And  though  the  wound  was  bad,  and  had 
been  torn  open,  so  that  it  could  not  heal  by 
the  first  intentioa,  still  he  could  use  it  without 
inconvenience,  at  once,  pressmg  against  the 
wound ;  and  in  a  few  days  it  was  perfectly 
healed,  with  no  other  appliance  than  animal 
magnetism. 

He  remained  with  me  about  seren  weeks» 
and  left  with  health  unusually  good. 

SECOND  CASS. 

Mrs.  E.  F.,  of  Mumfbrdviile,  Monroe  Co.» 
N.  Y.,  was  a  member  of  my  congregation, 
while  I  resided  in  that  place,  in  1842  and 
1843.    During  March,.  1843.  ahe  was  se- 


16& 


Directing  Clairvoyants  to  Distant  Patients. 


Tanly  afflicted  with  Ophthalmia  of  her  right 
eje.  She  had  been  treated  eoine  yean  be- 
fore, for  the  eane  diaeaae,  in  the  Eye  Infir- 
«ary»  in  New  York;  and  for  a  long  tine 
won  a  Bilyer  tube  in  the  Lachrymal  Doct. 

The  recarience  of  this  afiecUon  was  appa- 
leatly  induced  by  a  portion  of  calomel,  or- 
dered by  her  family  physician,  as  she  was 
rather  ill.  She  found  no  relief  from  any  re- 
medial appliance  used;  and  when  brought 
into  a  state  of  insufleiable  anguish  from  ex- 
tieme  nerrous  irritation,  she  sent  to  ime,  re- 
questing me  to  make  the  effort  to  lelieTe  her 
by  animal  ma(|[netism.  I  found  her  in  great 
angnish, — tossing  in  agony  upon  her  bed. 
She  had  had  no  rest  lor  two  or  three  days  and 
nights ;  and  was  truly  a  great  sufferer.  She 
had  disbelieTed  in  animal  magnetism;  and 
was  induced  to  send  for  me,  by  extreme  snf-, 
fering,  from  which  she  could  find  no  relief. 

The  first  application  was  made  by  placing 
the  hand  on  the  oigaa  of  Firmnes8,->-williDg 
a  quiet  state  of  the  nervous  system.  This 
was  affected  in  about  &ve  minutes;  when  she 
became  entirely  eairo  and  quiet  I  then  made 
passes,  magnetizing  the  diseased  eye.  The 
Lachrymal  Duct  was  closed  up;  and  there 
was  a  lump  in  the  inner  comer  of  the  eye, 
about  the  size  of  a  small  flattened  pea.  In 
about  ten  minutes  more,  her  eye  was  entirely 
free  from  anguish ;  and  the  inflammation  much 
abated.  She  rested  well  that  night ;  and  sub- 
sequently, I  believe,  she  was  magnetized  once 
or  twice  more.  In  a  few  days  her  eye  was 
almost  well;  when  her  physician  again >called 
to  see  her,  and  gave  her  another  portion  of 
calomel  to  cleanse  her  stomach.  Soon  after 
taking  this,  her  eye  became  inflamed  again,  and 
was  as  bad  as  when  I  was  first  called  to  see 
'her.  I  magnetized  it  daily  for  a  week,  and 
it  was  nearly  well.  She  went  out  on  a  visit 
April  10th ;  the  air  was  cold  and  damp.  She 
took  cold,  and  was  again  visited  with  ail  the 
afflictive  symptoms  in  the  diseased  eye. 

I  again  called  to  see  her,  but  being  unable 
to  gay  lon^  enough  to  magnetize  her  fully, 
>-I  magnetized  a  piece  of  money,  and  gave 
her  directions  to  magnetize  heiself  with  the 
money.  She  soon  reduced  the  inflammation 
by  holding  the  money  in  one  hand,  looldng  at 
it,  and  making;  passes  with  the  other,  at  the 
same.time  wUing  the  efiisct,  as  she  would  do, 
if  magnetizing  another  person.  In  a  few  days 
she  complete  the  cure,  and  became  quite 


well  by  her  own  efiortt,  without  my  ^ 
sence. 

Your  verv  much  oblised  friend, 

'        SAMUEL  GRISWMJX 

Xyms,  Hanburgf  June  30, 1847. 


tCFertlie  Dissector.] 

DIRECTING  CLAIRVOYANTS  TO  MS- 
TANT  PATIENTS. 

Dn.  Shi3iwoo»  :— »As  ClairvoyantB  are  ofla 
greatly  fatigued  by  tedious  journeys  te  iad 
far-dislant  patients,  and  sometimes  era 
shrink  from  the  toi) ;  it  is  an  object,  as  yn 
have  suggested,  to  relieve  them,  especially  » 
they  will  oe  better  able  to  esamine  the  patieoto 
to  whom  they  are  sent.  And  as  I  bare  piae- 
tised  on  a  plan  more  simfde  thai  asy^- 
gested  in  your  Manual — ninth  edition,  p« 
151.it  is  here  suggested  for  the  beoriilot 
yourself  and  others. 

When  you  put  a  person  into  the  won- 
scient  state  for  the  ex]H«ss  nurpese  of  enjj 
ining  a  distant  patient,  you  have  only  to  w 
him  your  object;  and  will  him  tohcjww* 
with  the  patient  when  he  beconwcltf^' 
ant ;  or  if  already  in  the  somniKJcat  fft 
will  your  clairvoyant  to  be  at  ths  vams 
and  in  the  presence  of  your  distant  patieit 

In  this  way  there  will  be  no  wearin«» 
perienced  in  finding  the  residence  or*tak 
guishing  the  person  of  yourpatieoL  Itw 
be  done  with  perfect  ease  and  ezacMss,'  w 
equally  so,  even  if  yon  are  entiiely ««' 
quainted  with  your  patient,  or  the  ptaw«* 
house  in  which  he  resides. 

Your  much  obliged  friend,  "     _^« 
SAMUEL  GRlSyCU). 

I  noticed  some  typqgrq>hifial  emus  in  wf 
communicatien  on  toe  Polarity  of  the  Bob» 
Hand.  Near  the  close  is  an  impoittttu^ 
take,  as  follows:  **In  magi"*^"! Jf/J 
eases  of  the  (internal)  oigans,  the  i^fF^ 
should  geneially  be  plaoed  on  the  ^mW 
sitetheoigandiseased,»'&c.    Itsboridn^ 

The  Uft  hand  should  generally  be.  P"? 

'•T  on  the  spine,  opposite  the  «g«"^"'''r 
the  right  hand  of«r  the  ptoce  wiw* » 


over 
and 


pain  IB  felt" 


&6. 


Davis^s  RevelatUms. 


137 


THE  DISSECTOR. 


NEW  YORK,  JULY  1, 1847. 


Ihe  Principles  of  Nature,  Her  Dimne  Reve- 
iatiotUy  and  a  Voice  to  Mankind.  By 
and  through  Andrew  Jackson  Davis,  the 
Pottghkeejnie  Seer  and  Clairooyaint.  New 
York:  J.S.Redfie]d.  CiintoaHaU.  1847. 
800  pp.  782. 

Notes  of  preparation  have  often  been  sound- 
ed daring  the  last  two  years,  of  the  advent  of 
these  revelations,  and  they  have  at  last  ap- 
peared. 

The  book  gives  first  an  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  oomposed  from  Da- 
ri8*s  lectures,  by  his  amanuensis  William 
Fishbough,  and  then  a  miraculous  account  of 
the  selection  of  witnesses  to  hear  the  revela- 
tions, whom  Davis  addresses  in  the  following 
language:  "  Being  thus  situated,  surrounded 
by  witnesses  earnest,  desirous,  and  qualified 
to  receive  the  truth ;  a  scribe  spiritually  ab- 
sorbed in  the  things  related ;  and  a  manipula- 
tor to  govern  the  action  in  delivering  these 
things,  I  have  been  impressed  without  obstruc- 
tion, to  present  these  disclosures. 

**  Such,  brethren,  were  the  external  means 
by  and  through  which  this  book  has  made  its 
appearance.  Tour  duty  is  to  search;  and 
after  searching,  ask  nature  and  your  own  su- 
perior judgments  how  much  practical  truth 
there  is  herein  revealed.  In  doing  this,  you 
vrili  display  the  dignity  of  your  natures,  per- 
form your  highest  duty,  receive  the  most  un- 
bounded interior  approbation,  and  obtain 
Mental  Happiness !" 

It  will  be  observed  that  Davis  says  he  has 
been  impressed  to  present  these  disclosures, 
and  he  often  repeats  these  expressions ;  and 
the  question  arises  at  once:  From  what 
source  did  he  receive  his  impressions  ?  He 
answers  this  question  in  the  following  para- 
graph, pp.  43-4:  "The  free  unshackled 
spirit,  then,  should  be  considered  as  the  es- 
sential principle  belonging  to  the  oigani- 
sation,  that  with  one  sympathetic  chain,  en- 
circlmg  all  spheres  of  this  existence,  can  le- 
cei^e    impressions    instantaneously   of  all 


things  desired,  and  with  its  spiritual  8enees» 
communicate  with  spiritual  substances.*  And 
as  all  these  must  be  in  a  sphere  necessarily 
attached  to  ^is  (or  first)  sphere,  it  is  there 
that  I  receive  my  impressions,  Ido  n»t  v^ 
ceive  these  from  the  Great  Supreme  Mind, 
but  from  this  second  sphere,  focus,  or  medium, 
which  legitimately  belongs  to  this  glebe  aUxme. 
When  ymi  ask  me  a  question,  I  am  then  ex- 
isting in  the  medium  or  sphere  of  the  body 
(his  spirit  is) ;  but  investigating  and  finding 
the  answer,  I  pass  to  the  (second)  flphere  (his 
spirit  does),  where  I  can  associate  with  truth 
and  reality,'  or  with  the  spirits  of  the  sec- 
ond sphere,  or  of  second  persons.** 

This  is  precisely  the  manner  in  which 
other  persons  in  the  magnetic  state  obtain  in- 
fonnation  on  any  subject  whenever  they  fifid 
it  difiicult  to  obtain  it  in  any  other  manner; 
for  there  is  nothing  so  easy  for  a  person  in 
this  state  as  to  read  ^e  minds  of  other  pei- 
sons. 

They  will  not  only  copy  with  great  facility 
from  the  minds  of  other  persons,  but  they 
wiU  copy  from  books  much  faster  than  they 
can  read  it  in  their  natural  state,  and  they 
will  often  copy  whole  pages  nearly  verbatim 
from  books  they  never  read  in  their  natural 
state.  Some  of  these  persons  have  been  in- 
duced to  make  speeches  and  deliver  lectures 
in  the  magnetic  state  on  various  subjects  like 
Davis,  and  some  of  these  have  been  distin- 
guished for  delivering  very  superior  lectures, 
and  often  those  that  were  equally  luminous 
on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  same  subjects, 
whether  of  history,  religion,  philosophy,  or 
politics.  They  also  often,  in  deliveriog  tiiese 
lectures,  mix  up  with  or  add  to  the  informa- 
tion obtained  from  second  persons  their  own 
opinions,  and  then  attempt  to  pass  them 
off  for  knowledge  obtained  from  a  higher 
source;  and  finally,  there  are  those  who,  in 
the  magnetic  state,  are  not  only  much  bette' 
speakera  in  that  state,  but  are  much  greater 
liars  than  they  are  in  the  natural  state. 

It  should  be  observed  here  that  Davis,  after 
having  nearly  exhausted  his  powers  of  cir- 
cumlocution  in  delivering  himself  of  the  idea 
that  he  received  his  impressions  from  the  sec* 
ond  sphere,  which  belongs  to  tJiis  globe  alone. 


*  He  eonstanUy  confoandf  spirit  with'  mottir. 


158 


Davis's  Revelations. 


and  not  from  the  Great  Supreme  Mind,  was 
trnprened  by  one  of  hiB  auditois  that  be 
bad  acknowledged  too  much — ^that  it  waa  un- 
deiBtood  to  be  no  gieat  afiair  for  a  person  in 
-  the  magnetic  state  to  read  the  minds  of  other 
persons,  and  ifaen  people  did  not  care  about  the 
minds  of  other  persons, — they  wanted  infor- 
aiation  from  a  higher  source,  when  Davis  was 
•  immediately  impresaed  with  the  necessity  of 
contradicting  what  he  had  before  said  in  re- 
gard to  the  source  from  which  he  received  his 
impressions,  and  he  does  so  in  the  very  next 
]paragraph,  and  in  the  foUowing  words: — 

« It  is  impossible  by  words,  to  convey  a  full 
and  adequate  conception  of  the  manner  in 
which  larrive  at  truth.  I  can  only  employ 
such  words  as  convey  all  the  idea  that  words 
can  convey » of  this  process.  My  infomuUion 
u  nU  derivid  from  any  persons  that  exist  in 
the  sphere  into  vfhich  my  mind  enters,  biU  it  is 
.the  result  of  a  lavj  of  truths  emanating  from 
the  Great  Positive  Mind."  Now  this  last 
expression,  or  Great  Positive  Mind,  Davis 
often  uses  as  synonymous  with  Great  Su- 
preme Mind,  as  he  does  in  this  case. 

There  are  many  other  glaring  contradictions 
in  the  work;  and  besides,  many  of  the 
statements  and  theories  in  it  are  glaring  ab- 
surdities that  are  contradicted  by  the  plainest 
and  well  ascertained  facts.  Mythology  is 
also  often  hashed  up  in  the  work,  with  reali' 
tiefii  in  the  most  delectable  manner. 

The  work  is  divided  into  three  parts,  as 
follows : 

Part  1.— The  Key.  Part  II.— The  Reve- 
lation. Part  III.— The  Application.  We 
Jiave  given  a  few  examples  of  the  Key,  and 
we  will  now  give  an  example  of  the  Revx- 
LATioM.  *<  In  thk  beoinmino,  the  Universe- 
CflBlum  was  one  boundless,  uadefinable,  and 
unimaginable  ocean  of  Liquid  Fibe  !  The 
most  vigorous  and  ambitious  imagination  is 
not  capable  of  forming  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  height,  and  depth,  and  length,  and 
breadth  thereof.  There  was  one  vast  ex- 
panse of  liquid  substance.  It  was  without 
bounds — ^inconceivable — and  with  qualities 
and  essences  incomprehensible.  This  was 
the  ori^nal  condition  of  Matteb.  It  was 
without  forms ;  for  it  was  but  one  form.  It 
had  no  motions;  but  it  was  an  eternity  of 
Motion.    It  was  without  parts,  for  it  was  a 


Whole.  Particles  did  not  exist;  bat  tlie 
Whole  was  as  one  particle.  Thtre  wen  not 
Suns,  but  it  was  one  Eternal  Sun.  It  bad  do 
beginning,  and  it  was  without  end.  It  bad 
not  length ;  for  it  was  a  Vortex  of  one  Eter- 
nity. It  bad  not  circles ;  for  it  was  ooe  infi- 
nite Circle.  It  had  not  disconnected  power; 
but  it  was  the  very  etnence  of  all  Power.  lb 
inconceivable  magnitude  and  constitiitionTrae 
such  as  not  to  develope  foioes,  bit  Oinoipo- 
tent  Power,'*  page  121. 

The  whole  of  the  above  paiagmph  is  » 
glaringly  and  positively  absiud  as  to  pteieBt 
it  from  obtaining  credence  in  the  wnHaA 
minds,  and  does  not  require  further  lenaii 

Origin  of  the  law  of  gmvitationr-Aik 
a  long  and  tedious  story,  we  come  to  Ibe 
origin  of  the  law  of  gravitation.  **  Tbet^* 
nite  mass  of  Matter  developed  heat aodli^l 
by  virtue  of  inherent  fire.  And  Pover  k^ 
positive,  developed  a  negative,  or  the  densl 
law  of  gravitation.  Thus  Motion  vueto- 
nally  established  in  and  throqghootlbeiKt 
material  composition." 

"  The  extension  of  the  atraospben  bm  (be 
Great  Body  was  likewise  infintti  And  die 
(xreat  Centre  or  San  constantly  gam  o&  bat 
and  light,  each  of  which  was  a  develop- 
ment of  Matter,  thrown  off  by  its  Kfi^io^ 
power." 

So  it  seems  after  all,  the  infiniU  bm  ^ 
Matter— of  liquid  fire  which  filled  i^^ 
space,  was  nothing  more  thanaSaD,vboB 
atmosphere  extended  through  infm^V*' 
How  ridiculous! 

"  Thus  an  incomprehensible  and  ioolaii*- 
ble  number  of  Centres  or  Suns  were  ^^ 
by  the  development  of  heat  and  ligbt,  ^ 
their  gradual  condensation.  And  from  tbcse 
were  created  systems  of  planets,  eieb  « 
which  revolved  around  its  controHingceBiR. 
according  to  the  develoianeat  of  the  oicolv 
and  spiral  motions,  and  the  influences  (rf  I* 
traction  and  repulsion,  or  the  laws  of  cento- 
petal  and  centrifugal  forces,"  page  128-8. 

We  have  now  seen  how  the  Suds  tnd  ph- 
nets  were  formed,  and  pat  in  motion,  acasu^ 
to  these  revelatioas,  and  we  may  proceed  to 
the  revelations  on  other  subjects. 

"  The  condition  of  the  earth  at  the  p«W 
now  under  examination,  is  egsin  nrj  diw* 
eot  from  what  it'waa  at  any  previous  j 


Dovif's  Revelations. 


159 


The  many  vicissitudes  of  tbe  seasons  were  bu- 
merous  and  extreme^  rendered  so  by  the  inftu' 
enee  qfthe  lines  of  variation  and  no  variation 
ttpon  the  fluid  xind  ethereal  elements,^  page 
296.    Eveiy  schoolboy  knows  better. 

«*  The  dissimilarity  of  the  temperature  of  the 
poles  at  different  times  is  owing  to  the  T^rying 
conditions  x>i  an  existing  element  in  its  lower 
and  higher  degrees  of  development,  which, 
though  it  is  not  generated  hy  foreign  bodies, 
is  assisted  by  them  to  sustain  a  oonnex- 
tion  with  the  whole  envelope  of  the  earth 
from  the  lower  to  the  higher  state  of  the 
atmosphere."  He  is  entirely  mistaken,  and 
knows  nothing  on  this  subject.  "  The  north 
has  been  considered  as  the  location  of  the 
magnetic  pole,  evolving  mcessantly  attractive, 
electric  fluid,  which  determines  the  direction 
of  the  magnetic  needle.  In  the  torrid  portions 
of  the  earth,  the  particles  thrown  from  tbe 
SUB  (which,  when  decomposed,  produce  light) 
act  upon  the  water  and  atmosphere,  which 
action  results  in  a  constant  sublimation  and 
development  of  heat,  or  the  magnetic  medium. 
it  is  here  termed  magnetic  for  distinction ;  but 
properly  it  is  the  unfolded  heat  contained  in 
the  previously-cold  medium.  Ihe  impercep- 
title  rwking  of  this  current  towards  the  north 
determines  the  direefion  of  the  magnetic  needle, 

*'  There  are  likewise  three  distinct  fluids 
crossing  the  earth  from  the  south  to  the 
north,  and  from  the  north  to  the  south,  by  a 
mutual  exchange  of  elements  from  the  poles. 
There  is  also  an  intersecting  fluid  that  crosses 
each  of  the  otbens ;  and  this  has  been  termed 
the  dia-magnetic  fluid.  The  former  fluids  are 
in  relations  of  equality  to  each  other.  Their 
lerminatioQ  at  the  north  is  the  nucleus  of  the 
magnetic  pole.  The  direction  of  these  fluids 
establishes  the  lines  of  no  variation.  The 
motion  of  their  attending  fluids  deteimiiies  tbe 
lines  of  variation.  These  lines  revolve  from 
east  to  west  half-way  round  the  earth  while 
the  sun  is  parsing  through  one  •f  the  signs 
of  the  zodiac,"  page  288->9. 

Now  observations  hav«  shown  that  the  lo- 
cation of  the  magnetic  poles  determines  the 
direction  of  the  magnetic  needle,  and  in  the 
clearest  and  most  satisfactory  manaer.  Ob- 
4iervations  have  shown,  too,  that  the  lines  of 
no  variation  is  a  great  m^^etic  circle  con- 
necting the  magnetic  poles  in  the  most  direct, 


and  strongest  manner,  and  corresponding  with 
magnetic  axes  between  the  magnetic  poles  of 
iron  or  steel  magnets.  Observations  have 
also  riiown  that  the  magnetic  poles  and  lines 
cf  no  vQxieAixm  perfonn  a  fevolution  around 
the  earth  from  east  to  west  in  666  years,  and 
in  the  clearest  and  most  satisfactory  manner ; 
yet  we  are  told  in  these  revelations  that  Aese 
lines  revolve  halfway  round  the  earth  while 
the  sun  is  passing  through  one  of  the  signs  of 
the  zodiac,  or  in  2133  years. 

It  would  be  very  difficult  to  find  anywhere 
so  much  profound  ignorance  in  so  small  a 
space  as  that  quoted  in  the  above  paragraphs. 
Davis  knew  nothing  about  the  subjects  of 
these  paragraphs ;  nothing  about  the  forma- 
tion of  suns  or  i^nets;  nothing  about  the 
cause  of  the  direction  of  the  magnetic  nee- 
dle; nothing  about  the  cause  of  a  disaimi- 
larity  of  temperature  at  the  poles  in  diflerent 
periods — ^nothing  about  the  ma^etic  polee» 
lines  of  no  variation,  or  their  time  of  levo* 
lution,  and  these  revelations  are  consequently 
humbugs. 

It  is  now  a  well  established  fact  that  ih» 
Tides  are  produced  by  the  action  of  the  sun 
and  moon,  bat  DaviaCs  revelaticHU  say,  '<  That 
this  cannot  be  true ;  Ua  attraction  is  not  aa 
established  principle,  especially  beyond  the 
atmosphere  of  any  body  or  substance,**  page 
244, 

There  is  displayed  here  the  most  coDsoai* 
mate  ignorance  of  the  cause  of  the  tides,  and 
of  the  laws  of  motion ;  and  yet  this  revelator 
has  the  ridiculous  vanity  to  tell  us  that 
"  minds  properly  constituted  and  directed  will 
repose  entire  confidence  in  these  immutable 
teachings  of  Nature,  of  the  Univerae»  of  the 
Divine  Mind,"  page  392. 

Davis  adopts  the  Plutonic  theory  in  the 
creation  of  suns  and  planets,  and  the  theory 
of  the  Vestigee  of  Creation  in  the  creation  ol 
man,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  paxa- 
graph: 

**  The  germ  of  man  has  thus  been  disco- 
vered in  the  lower  fonns  of  the  animal  king- 
dom, and  traced  through  ail  of  its  progressive 
stages  of  development,  rising  from  the  lower 
dq^rees  through  the  great  body  of  the  animal 
creation,  with  its  many  and  divenified 
branches  and  their,  modifications,  up  to  the 
bloommg  perfection  of  the  living  tree*  whoaa 


160 


D(wu?$  Revelations. 


iniit  is  the^  oiganizalion  of  man/'  page 
S28. 

On  the  salqect  of  lelig^oDt  DaTie  adopts 
Tom  Paine  m  his  model,  and  often  refers  to 
Swedenboig  as  a  oo-woriMr  in  new  revda- 
lionfl»  and  says:* 

« I  am  also  impressed  to  lecogniae  the  im- 
portant revelations  made  by  and  through 
Emanuel  l^wedenborg,  the  Swedish  philoso- 
pher and  psychologist/'  page  587. 

In  the  third  part  of  the  work  on  association 
and  the  re-oiganization  of  society,  he  takes 
Fomrier  as  his  model,  and  says :  "" 

**  Hear  ye  not,  when  a  noble  and  expansive 
nind,  Uke  that  of  Charles  Fonrier,  demon- 
strates the  interior  truth,  even  to  yoar  senses, 
that  the  world  U  mankind  is  composed  of 
the  requisite  notes  to  play  a  perfect  tone  of 
peace  arid  harmony. 

^Concerning  this  very  noble  personage, 
and  his  phiiosopky,  more  will  hereafter  be 
related,  especially  when  the  princi|des  of  his 
micnicosmogony  make  their  appearance  pro- 
minently in  the  third  part,  or  application  of 
this  work/^  page  586. 

Davis  commences  the  third  and  last  part  of 
the  woric,  called  "  A  Voice  to  Mankind,^ 
with  an  attempt  to  array  the  working  against 
die  other  classes  of  society,  as  will  be  seen  in 
the  following  paragmph : 

'<  The  Human  Race  is  composed  of  three 
distinct  parte,  classes,  or  societies.  The  poor, 
Ignorant,  enslaved,  oppressed,  and  working 
classes,  constitute  the  lower  stmtum  of  so- 
ciety. The  semi-wealthy,  learned,  enslavers, 
opptessore,  and  dictating  classes,  form  the 
second  or  transition  stratum ;  and  the  rich, 
intelligent,  enslaving,  oppressing,  and  idle' 
classes,  form  the  third  stratum,  and  serve  to 
complete  the  body  of  mankind,"  page  679. 

Having  now  given  a  concise  view  of  the 
three  different  parts  of  this  work,  we  should 
observe  here  that  there  is  no  clairvoyance  in 
it  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  and  that  this 
fact  was,  and  is  well  known  to  Davis,  Fish- 
hough  and  company,  and  the  fact  that  he  was 
not  a  seer,  or  clairvaifant,  as  is  pretended, 
was  not  only  well  known  to  that  company, 
as  will  be  seen,  but  it  was  known  to  other 
persons.  An  attempt  was  consequently  made 
to  avoid  this  important  point  in  the  following 
iB^^iooa  manner. 


<<The  ezpreaeicm  <l  see/  which  I  fre- 
quently use  in  familiar  oouversatioa  dani^ 
examinations  of  various  descriptions,  would, 
litemlly  undentood,  convey  a  wrong  ioprea- 
sion.  1/  I  sfwM  Kje  a;niy  other  term  feu 
would  not  understand  its  signification.  Thi» 
expression  naturally  conveys  the  idea  ol 
visionr^ol  an  optical  knowledge  of  a  ioreiga 
substance.  In  reality  the  expiessioa  aimply 
conveys  the  idea  of  knotring  by  a  pe- 
culiar process ;  for  the  knowledge  of  a  foi- 
eign  substance  is  obtained  through  the  imper- 
ceptible reflection  which  the  substance  easts 
upon  the  retina.  So  it  is  knowledge,  ei^ 
being  simply  a  process  to  convey  inwraid  the 
existence  of  the  outer.  Hence  if  the  expres- 
sion *  I  know,*  were  ordinarily  used  (which 
would  be  correct),  I  would  use  the  same  lo 
give  the  impression  of  what  I  know,  iadb- 
pendently  of  optical  or  other  processes  of 
rudimental  "perception.  Therefore,  *I  see/ 
means  simply  'I  know/"  page  52. 

Davis  thus  labore  to  have  it  believed  that 
dairvoyanis  do  not  see  literaUy,  but  **biem' 
from  imprisons  only  as  he  does.  Saeb  li- 
bora  are,  however,  perfectly  futile,  kx  A  is 
not  only  well  known  to  thousands  of  pexaona 
who  have  been  in  the  daily  habit  of  inveid- 
gating  this  subject,  that  daimoyanis  do  me 
literally  as  in  the  natural  state,  but  it  is 
equally  well  known  that  little  or  no  depend- 
ence can  be  phiced  on  the  dories  of  those  who 
do  not  see  literally  in  the  magnetic  stale,  bat 
have  impressions  only,  and  are  not  therelaR 
clairvoyants^  bat  mere  impieasioBista. 


La  Roy  aandnlaiid  Again. 
Wx  published  Mr.  Sunderland's  theory  ei 
Mesmerism  in  the  January  numlier  of  this 
Journal  at  his  request,  and  we  also  reviewed 
it  in  the  same  number  in  the  most  mihl  and 
tender  manner,  notwithstanding  the  hare  pie- 
tensions  and  glaring  absurdities  by  which  it 
was  everywhere  distinguished.  Mr.  SL  does 
not,  however,  appreciate  in  a  meek  tad  be- 
coming manner  onr  forbearance,  but  poars 
out  from  the  Wooster  Medical  Journal  viab 
of  wiath  upon  us  lo  appease  his  private 
giiefs. 


DaMs  RevetaHans. 


161 


THE  PRETENDED  REVELATIONS  OF 
CIAIRVOYANT  DAVIS.* 

[Fkom  tke  N«w  York  Trae  Sun.] 

One  William  Fishbough  and  a  Dr.  S.  S. 
Lyon,  have  issued  to  the  world  a  book  which 
they  claim  to  be  the  record  of  a  divine  revela- 
tion from  the  spiritual  world— which  ia  equi- 
valent to  a  revelation  from  GK)d--and  nuuie 
through  the  medium  of  a  boy  named  Davis, 
while  in  a  real  or  pretended  abnormal  or  pre- 
ternatural state  that  is  termed  [clairvoyance. 
The  history  of  the  book  is  briefly  this:— 
Some  four  years  ago  a  mesmerizer  lectured  in 
Poughkeepsie,  and  amongst  his  converts  was 
a  certain  tailor  named  Levingston,  who  dis- 
covered in  himself  a  most  wonderful  mesme- 
ric power.  Among  the  acquaintances  of  Lev- 
ingston was  this  Davis,  a  shoe-maker's  ap* 
prentice,  about  17  years  of  age,  and  utterly 
illiterate,  on  whom  the  former  exercised  his 
art  It  was  soon  found  that  the  young  cord- 
wainer  was  in  an  extraordinary  degree  sus- 
ceptible of  the  mesmeric  influence,  and  after 
about  three  months  of  practice,  the  sewer  of 
cloth  and  the  sewer  of  leather  abandoned 
their  trades,  and  set  up  the  business  of  pre- 
scribing for  the  sick — Levin^on  operating  as 
the  mesmerizer,  and  Davis  in  the  clairvoyant 
state  diagnozing  the  disease  and  prescribing 
the  remedies.  These  practitioners  of  course 
took  to  peripatetics,  and  at  Bridgeport,  Ct, 
Davis  became  acquainted  with  Dr.  S.  S. 
Lyon,  and,  at  this  place  or  elsewhere,  also 
with  the  immortal  William  Fishbough.  A 
bargain  was  struck  up  (Davis  all  the  while 
in  the  clairvoyant  state)  between  the  three : 
Dr.  Lyon  was  to  act  as  the  mesmerizer  of 
Davis,  who,  being  put  into  the  clairvoyant 
state,  was  to  enter  the  spiritual  world  and 
bring  back  to  the  natural  revelations  in  sci- 
ence, morals,  and  religion,  while  the  modest 
but  immortal  William  Fishbough  was  to  act 
as  the  scribe  or  reporter,  recording  the  words 
as  they  fell  from  the  oracular  lips  of  the 
shoe-maker's  apprentice.  In  the  meantime 
in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Lyon  (who  it  seems 
bad  cut  out  the  tailor),  Davis  was  to  continue 
the  clairvoyant  practice  of  medicine  in  order 
to  obtain  for  this  trinit^r  of  revealers  grub  and 
garments,  without  which  even  the  spiritual 
explorer  himself  could  not  sustain  his  mis- 
sion. To  facilitate  this  design,  the  city  of 
New  York  was  selected  as  the  scene  of  opera- 
tions, and  here,  accordingly,  for  18  months, 
terminating  last  April,  have  the  three  co- 
workers been  engaged  (aside  from  the  doctor- 
ing business)  in  uttering,  writing,  and  print- 
ing the  **  astounding  revelations"  which  have 


.    *  Revelattost,  fcc,  by  A.  J.  Davis*  the  PoiuhkteiMie 
Clairvoy»iit   Fdr  nle  by  W.  H.  Onham. 


now  been  published  in  the  book  to  which  we 
have  refened. 

The  subject  of  mesmerism  has  of  late  years 
attracted  a  good  deal  of  attention,  and  some  of 
the  extraordinary  phenomena  it  claims  to 
have  presented,  .have  found  many  inteliig^t 
believers.  It  is  but  natural,  therefore,  that 
this  work,  ckdming  to  be  the  record  of  im- 
pressions received  oy  the  mind  in  a  mesmeric 
state — which  impressions  also  are  claimed  to 
have  come  from  the  spiritual  world,  or  from 
heaven,  or  from  God— ehould  be  regarded  as 
worthy  of  examination  by  all  believers  in 
mesmerism.  Prof.  Bash,  a  man  of  Hebrew 
and  Oriental  lore,  whose  mind,  never  well 
balanced,  has  now  been  completely  upset  by 
religious  excitements,  has  also  given  to  the 
pretensions  of  Davis's  associates,  a  notoriety 
and  consequence  they  could  not  otherwise 
have  received.  The  claims  which  he  has 
asserted  for  Davis,  leave  but  little  doubt  that 
his  credulous  mind  has  been  grossly  imposed 
on.  To  cap  the  climax  of  notoriety,  comes 
the  self-constituted  champion  of  anti -innova- 
tors—4he  famous  *<  T.  L." — ^who,  with  more 
bigotry  than  brains,  maintains  that,  if  this 
work  have  not  been  produced  by  human  im- 
posture, then  was  Davis  directly  inspired  by 
the  devil  to  reveal  to  the  earth  the  bible  of 
Hell  in  opposition  to  the  truths  of  science 
and  philosophy,  and  of  the  revealed  Word  of 
God. 

We  have  examined  this  work  of  Fish- 
bough, which  he  calls  the  "  Revelations  of 
Davis,"  and  have  been  **  astonished,"  yea, 
even  "  astounded ;"  not,  however,  at  its  **  mar- 
vellous revellations,"  or  «*  the  ponderousness 
of  its  science,**  but  at  its  wish- washiness,  its 
insipidities,  sometimes  at  its  utter  fatuity,  and 
sometimes  at  its  numerous  school-boy  truisms. 
We  have  seen  but  few  things  in  the  book  we 
would  decidedly  call  falsehoods  or  undoubted 
errors,  and  they  have  excited  in  us  no  sur- 
prise, for  they  are  to  be  found  in  all  scientific 
and  philosophic  works — good,  bad,  and  indif- 
ferent. Speculations  about  Fourierism,  the 
inhabitants  of  Saturn,  the  heavenly  bodies, 
laws  of  nature,  the  animal  kingdom,  Swe- 
denboTgianism,  etc.,  are  simply  fanciful  or 
absurd  (chiefly  the  latter),  and  one  cannot, 
we  think,  properly  predicate  of  them  either 
truth  or  falsehood.  The  book  contains  an 
attack  on  all  revealed  religion  (that  is  Davis's 
or  Fishbough's  alone  excepted),  and  especially 
on  the  Christian  religion.  The  miracles  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles  are  denied,  and  many 
silly  attempts  are  made  to  ridicule  passages  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  indeed  to  ridicule  the 
whole  Bible.  As  a  specimen  of  this  clairvoy- 
ant-wit, we  will  mention  that  of  Fishbough's 
calling  the  Roly  Bible  *' excellent  eofthark.** 
We  see  nothing  specially  alarming  in  the  fact 
that  this  book  is  an  infidel  work.    It  but  re- 


162 


Dams^s  Revelations. 


iterates  the  stale  attaeks  on  Christianity  that 
aie  now  afloat  in  forty  thousand  books. 
There  is  nothing  new  in  this  infidel  philo- 
sophy. Any  ordinary  compiler,  without  the 
incumbrance  of  thinking:  powers  to  lead  him 
aside  from  his  task>  might  have  collected  the 
same  infidei  do^as,  and  woven  them  into  the 
tissue  of  technical  formulas.  He  would  have 
to  rely  somewhat  on  recent  writers,  such  as 
Benjamin  Constant,  De  Wette,  the  Sweden- 
boigians,  the  author  of  *<  Vestiges  of  Crea- 
tion," &e.,  as  well  as  Kneeland  and  Tom 
Paine.  Some  of  the  speculations  in  regard 
to  physical  phenomena  are  absolutely  new, 
and  we  h&ye  something  that  is  really  news 
from  the  inhabitants  of  Saturn.  B«  what 
then  ?  One  might,  without  the  aid  of  Davis's 
sojourns  in  the  spiritual  world,  brins  forward 
a  new  theory  of  the  moon's  inhabitants. 
Suppose  that  we  should  maintain  that  the 
/ttna<tc9  carried  their  heads  in  their  mouths 
instead  of  under  their  shoulders  as  has  been 
heretofore  supposed  by  some.  Such  a  sup- 
position might  also  be  received  as  an  '<  as- 
tounding revelation."  The  greatest  marvel  to 
us  is  that  the  spirit  of  Davis  should,  from  its 
joumeyings  to  another  world,  brinj;  back  so 
many  platitudes,  fatuities,  undeniable  and 
more  than  common-place  truisms,  most  of 
which  even  idiots  would  perceive  and  utter. 
We  aver  that  much  of  the  book  is  true,  and 
we  doubt  whether  any  other  than  a  small 
school-boy  mind  could  write  so  many  truths, 
or  rather  truisms  within  the  same  space.  As 
a  specimen  of  the  greater  part  of  this  work, 
we  elve  one  passage,  the  first  in  the  book, 
which  passage,  at  least,  could  not  have  been 
brought  from  the  spiritual  world  by  Davis,  as 
it  appears  to  have  been  plagiarized  from  the 
first  English  composition  written  many  years 
ago  by  a  small  boy  in  a  district  school  m  Con- 
necticut. The  following  is  Fishbough's  pla< 
giarized  passage: — 

"  Reason  is  a  principle  belonging  to  man 
alone.  The  office  of  the  mind  is  to  investi- 
gate, search,  and  ezi»lore  the  principles  of  Na- 
ture, and  trace  physical  manifestations  in  their 
many  and  varied  ramifications.  Thought,  in 
its  proper  nature,  is  uncontrolled,  unlimited. 
It  is  free  to  investigate,  and  to  rise  into  lofty 
aspirations. 

"The  mind  cannot  be  chained!  It  will 
Jeave  its  resting  place,  and  explore  the  fields 
of  science,  and  not  satisfied  with  the  investi- 

Sttion  of  terrestrial  things,  it  has  soared  to 
e  heavens  and  counted  the  stars." 
The  following  is  the  original  from  which 
the  above  seems  to  have  been  paraphrased 
into  philosophic  technicalities : 

«  man  has  got  a  reason  or  soul,  but  brutes 
have  not  got  any  reason.  The  mind  of  man 
thinks  and  studies,  and  knows  all  about  na- 
ture and  everything  else.    His  thoughts  run 


all  over  creation  and  nobody  can  atop  tbem. 
You  can't  fetter  the  mind  as  you  do  a  horse, 
or  chain  it  up  to  a  post.  It  will  mow  down 
all  die  meadows  of  science,  and  climb  up  to 
the  moon  and  way  beyond  and  go  to  counting 
the  stars.* 

If  we  should  translate  the  vliole  of  this 
work  into  every  day  language,  and  pnUidi  it 
as  the  reflections  of  some  ordinary  man,  we 
believe  it  would  be  regarded  as  a  very  harm- 
less and  very  stupid  book  by  the  very  few 
who  would  give  it  any  attention  whatever. 

But  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  the 
contents  of  the  book,  still  the  following  in- 
quirv  must  be  satisfied.  Was  the  book  dic- 
tated by  Davis  while  his  mind  was  in  an  ab- 
normal state,  termed  clairvoyance  ?  or  ia  sock 
a  claim  for  its  oricin  founded  in  fraud  and  in- 
justice ?  Mr.  Fisnbough  asseils  thai  Davis, 
while  in  the  clairvoyant  state,  selected  three 
witnesses  to  attest  the  delivery  of  hia  lectures, 
as  they  are  termed,  and  that  others  alao  wit- 
nessed their  delivery.  Yet,  by  some  stiaM 
oversight,  not  one  of  the  witneases — by  affi- 
davit, or  even  by  a  single  note  or  word,  ap- 
pears in  connexion  with  the  book,  to  test  ils 
senuineness,  with  the  exception  of  an  exnact 
from  the  manuscript  of  a  man  now  dead ;  we 
have  no  assurance  but  the  "woid  of  Fiah- 
bough,  that  Davis,  with  colluaion  or  deceit 
ever  delivered  these  lectures.  Air.  Fiah- 
bough  claims,  however,  to  possess  the  attes- 
tation of  these  witnesses  in  manoscripL  It  is 
acknowledged  by  Mr.  Fishbongh  that  the 
language  of  the  book  is  his  own,  that  Sivis 
used  bad  English,  and  incoherent  lang 
consequently  he  did  but  deliver  the  sab 
of  the  lectures  attributed  to  him. 

But  admit  the  doctrines  of  mesmerism,  wd 
that  Davis,  in  a  clairvoyant  stale,  did  uoer 
from  his  lips  substantially  the  contents  of  this 
book,  while  Fishbouah  took  down  his  woidB^ 
and  dressed  up  the  i&as  in  tiieir  present  ar- 
rangement ana  style.  Even  then,  by  the  ac^ 
knowledged  philosophy  of  mesmerism,  stiQ 
the  pretence  that  Davis  uttered  a  divine  reve- 
lation from  the  « interior,"  or  **apiritnal* 
world — that  is,  from  God — is  an  impostme. 

There  is  much  evidence— ^md  eTidcno, 
too,  which  many  educated  and  traly  philoss- 
phic  minds  have  acknowledged  as  oonviacu^ 
— that  persons  can  be  pat  into  an  ahoor 
mal  state,  sometimes  termed  the  "mesnaric 
sleep,"  and  that  persons  in  this  condition  aie 
insensible  to  pam.  There  is  also  evidenee 
that  some  patients  in  a  certain  degree  of  this 
mesmeric  state  have  the  power  ol  clair- 
voyance. 

All  the  proofs  we  hare  to  show  the  power 
of  clairvovance  go  to  establish  the  doctrint 
that  the  clairvoyant  can  only  utter  more  fblty 
his  own  thoughts,  and  also  aSer  the  tboi^gfati 
and  ideas  of  persons  with  whom  he  is  pal  ia 


Hamaopaihic  Treatment^  Sfc. 


168 


f>  83nn pathetic  or  mesmeric  connexion.  There 
is  DO  evidence  of  any  other  clairroyant  power 
than  this,  and  inteili^nt  mesmerists  baye 
claimed  no  other.  This  doctrine  will  explain 
the  origin  of  the  lectores,  admitting  DaYis  to 
have  delivered  them.  He  was  put  in  con- 
nexion with  others,  cfai^y  Fishoough,  who 
in  reality  dictated  the  lectures  throup^h  the 
medium  of  the  clairvoyant  state  of  Davis's 
mind.  But  Prof.  Bush  says  there  are  doc- 
trines of  Sweden  b(»g  in  the  lectures  which 
neither  Davis  nor  his  immediate  associates 
could  have  previously  read,  and  ofiers  a  re- 
ward of- $600  to  any  one  who  will  prove  the 
cootrary.  Prof.  Bush  does  not  understand 
this  ,matter.  Dr.  Lyon,  ihe  mesmerizer,  put 
Davis  in  connexion  with  Prof.  Bush,  or  some 
other  Swedenboixian,  and  thus  obtained  what 
Fishbough  did  not  know.  We  have  no 
doubt  that  the  book  from  beginning  to  end  is 
substantially  Fishbongh's,  and  (if  there  be 
truth  in  clairvoyance),  though  he  may  have 
produced  it  through  the  medium  of  the  clair- 
voyant mind  of  Davis,  yet  he  might  have 
written  it  as  well  without,  as  with,  this  mes- 
meric aid.  The  only  advantage  in  employing 
the  clairvoyance  of  Davis,  seems  to  have 
been,  the  enabling  the  authors  of  the  work  to 
practise  the  imposture  of  a  claim  to  have 
made,  through  the  medium  of  this  ignorant 
boy,  "divine  revelations"  from  the  ** spiritual 
world.** 


DR.  G.  SCHMID'S  HOMCEOPATHIC 
TREATMENT  WITH  UNDILUTED 
MEDICINES.* 
IFrom  the  British  Jownal  of  HomoBopathy,  July,  1847.] 
[Thzre  are  few  questions  of  greater  interest 
to  the  Homceopathic  practitioner  than  that  of 
posology,  or  the  proper  doses  to  be  adminis- 
tered in  the  treatment  of  acute  and  chronic 
diseases;  and  none,  we  may  say,  in  which 
there  exists  greater  discrepancy  of  opinion 
amoug  the  disciples  of  Hahnemann ;-— for  it 
offers  free  scope  for  every  variety  of  opinion, 
there  being  two  posolc^cal  extremes,  a  happy 
medium,  and  eclecticisms  without  numoer. 
In  fact,  we  may  almost  say,  there  are  as  many 
opinions  as  there  are  practitioners,  and  each 
is  prepared  to  prove  the  superiority  of  his 
own  by  an  imposing  array  of  cases.  While 
all  are  held  together  by  the  principle  «•  similia 
similibus  curantur^"  each  thinks  the  subject 
of  dose  an  open  question ;  few  (if  any)  abide 
by  Hahnemann's   latest  standard  of  dedl- 


•Fhim  H< 
hencrilMe.    Von 


ihiache  Arzaetbereltang  niid  Oa- , 
O.  Schinid.    Wies,  10M.   P.  ua  I 


lionths ;  those  who  arrogate  to  themselves  the 
appellation  of  orthodox  Hahnemannians,  have 
travelled  far  away,  under  the  guidance  of 
Gross,  into  the  mystic  regions  of  the  200tb, 
800th,  and  10»000th  dilutions,  while  the  sec- 
tion, by  the  former  styled  ipeeiftckers,  have 
^raduaiiy  descended  to  the  lowest  numerals 
in  the  scale  of  dilutions  until  they  have  at- 
tained their  ultima  ^Thvit  in  the  Scbmidian 
tinctures  and  first  triturations.  To  some  this 
variety  of  opinions  and  practice  appears  to  be 
indicative  ot  the  untenableness  of  Hahne- 
mann's dogma,  but  to  us  it  merely  shows 
that,  as  long  as  practitioners  remain  faithful 
to  the  Homoeopathic  principle,  they  will  meet 
with  a  laige  amount  of  success  in  practice 
under  almost  every  variety  of  dose.  That 
there  must  be  some  rule  for  the  dose,  and 
that  this  rule  will  ultimately  be  discovered, 
we  cannot  doubt ;  and  for  the  solution  of  this 
problem  the  best  plan  imdoubtedly  is  to  ex- 
amine the  evidence  of  all  parties;  and  hence 
we  make  it  a  dut^  to  present  to  our  readers  in 
the  pages  of  this  Journal,  eVery  variety  of 
practice  where  the  therapeutic  law  discovered 
by  Hahnemann  is  the  guiding  star.  In  oar 
last  number  we  revealM  the  transcendental 
terminus  of  the  posolo^cal  line ;  and  in  this 
we  display  the  opposite  material  terminus, 
where  we  find  our  old  friend,  6.  Schmid,  the 
very  antipode  of  those  who  avail  themselves 
of  the  aid  of  the  horse- training  Jenichen's 
mysterious  manipulations, — ^in  good  old  style 

— — "  prepared  with  death  to  wrestle, 
Armed  with  a  mortar  and  a  pestle/'J 

and  meting  out  his  doses  by  the  drop,  the 
grain,  and  the  scruple.]— Edits. 


TMTROOUCTOBT  EEUARKS. 

A  few  words  only  are  necessary  on  the 
subject  of  my  doses  in  ^neral.  Of  those 
medicines  which  yield  their  medicinal  virtues 
wholly  or  in  part  to  Spirits  of  Wine,  being 
thus  fitted  for  tincture  or  solution,  I  give  for 
the  most  part,  the  undiluted  tincture,  and  the 
more  or  less  concentrated  solution.  As  the 
vehicle  for  the  medicines  fitted  for  tincture  or 
solution,  I  use  water,  or  milk-sugar,  or 
sweet-sugar:  chiefly  water  for  diseases  in 
which  the  patients  are  confined  to  bed  or  the 
house;  milk-sugar  for  patients  able  to  go 
about ;  and  sweet-sugar  for  children. 

Trituration  of  several  medicines  with  milk- 
sugar,  or  anv  other  indifferent  vehicle  equally 
well  adapted,  has  a  very  great  inflnencte  on 
their  activity.  Although  this  is  chiefly  to  be 
observed  in  medicines  which  exhibit  little  or 
no  activity  in  the  untriturated  state,  yet,  even 
in  the  heroic  medicines,  which,  in  the  undi- 
luted state,  display  powera.dangerous  to  life. 


164 


HamcBopathic  TVeaUnent 


silch  as  Arsenic,  the  influence  of  the  tritara- 
tion  is  essential  and  welcome  in  their  theia- 
peatic  employment,  inasmuch  as  they  are  by 
this  means  brought  into  a  quantitatively  ser- 
viceable dose  for  therapeutic  purposes. 

But  I  think  I  can  best  exhiVit  my  doses 
and  mode  of  treatment  by  the  faithrul  and 
exact  narration  of  some  incUvidual  cases. 

[Before  giving  these  cases,  Dr.  Schmid  re- 
minds the  reader  that  they  are  not  intended  as 
complete  histories  of  cures  of  diseases,  but 
merely  such  parts  as  bear  distinctly  on  the 
subject,  and  illustrate  clearly  the  efiect  of 
tome  indiyidual  medicine  in  a  certain  dose.] 

I. — ^Arnica — (Two  Cases). 

A  girl  of  two-and-a-half  years  old  had 
been  affected  with  diarrhcsa  for  several 
weeks ;  the  stools  were  frequent,  fluid,  frothy, 
acrid,  and  very  foatid,  accompanied  by  much 
flatulence.  The  belly  was  distended;  the 
appetite  small;  frequent  foetid  eructation ;  the 
sleep  at  night  restless  and  interrupted;  the 
temperature  of  the  skin  changeable,  at  one 
time  cold  and  at  another  warm ;  complexion 
earthy,  and  looks  unhealthy ;  the  child  was 
weak  aad  fretful,  and  had  a  frequent  short 
cough. 

On  the  10th  December,  1844,  I  gave  6 
drops  of  the  pure  Tincture  of  Arnica  in  about 
three  ounces  of  water,  to  be  taken  in  six 
doses  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours. 

This  remedy  was  continued  for  three  fol- 
lowing days  with  such  sood  eflfect,  that,  on 
the  15th,  not  only  all  the  functions  were 
natural,  but  the  little  one  was  again  ^strong 
and  cheerful,  playing  about  as  usual. 

n. 

On  the  9th  of  February,  1844, 1  was  con- 
sulted by  a  patient  on  account  of  a  very  trou- 
blesome and  painful  prolapsus  of  the  anus. 
It  comes  on  after  walking  nve  or  ten  minutes, 
and  the  pain  hinders  him  from  going  any  fur-, 
ther,  and  forces  him  to  return  without  delay. 
He  had  formerly  suflered  much  from  hemor- 
rhoids. The  prolapsed  portion  of  the  rectum 
still  displays  flaccid  hemorrhoidal  excrescen- 
ces of  a  bluish  red  color,  after  the  replacing 
of  which  the  pains  instantly  cease.  These 
troubles  have  already  lasted  from  October 
last ;  that  is  now  four  month&  The  reme- 
dies hitherto  used  have  all  failed  to  ^ive  any 
permanent  benefit,  and  the  only  thing  that 
has  given  even  relief  for  the  time  is  washing 
the  whole  body  with  cold  water.  Besides 
this  painful  prolapsus,  the  whole  system  of 
this  patient  is  in  a  weakened  and  relaxed 
state.  The  most  prominent  symptoms  are, 
bad  dieestton  and  occasional  attacks  of  very 
^.jgainf uT  head-aches,  which  are  either  beating 


and  pressing  in  one  or  other  temple,  or  bamiajg 
on  the  crown  of  the  head.  The  head-acbe  is 
accompanied  by  darkness  before  the  eyes  and 
loss  of  vision,  giddiness,  and  incapadfy  /or 
all  exertion.  Every  excitement  of  the  nriod, 
which  is  very  irritable,  aggravales  all  the 
symptoms.  It  is  a  circumstance  to  be  re- 
marked, that  during  the  head-aches  the  ree- 
tum  does  not  fall  down,  and  vice  vers& ;  and 
that,  further,  the  head-ache  is  most  quickly 
and  certainly  removed  by  a  cup  of  ooSea. 
His  state  of  miad  is  most  pitiable,  and  be 
passes  many  nights  sleepless. 

I  gave  Arnica  in  the  concentrated  tincture 
prepared  from  the  fresh  root:  three  drops 
for  a  dose,  five  times  a  day  till  the  2Sd 
February. 

The  action  of  this  remedy  was  snrpriKiielj 
rapid  and  beneficial  en  the  rectum ;  so  trat 
from  this  time  forward  no  further  oomplde 
prolapsus  took  place,  and  the  slight  threaten- 
ings  of  it  soon  also  subsided.  Msides  tfatf, 
during  the  use  of  the  Arnica  the  geDeral  stale 
of  the  patient  was  materially  improved.  At 
tiie  same  time  I  must  add,  that,  for  the  pro- 
gress and  continuance  of  the  improvement, 
other  remedies  were  also  used ;  bnt  these  I 
have  not  particularly  noted.  The  object  of 
the    improvement    was,    however,    so  kr 

S lined,  that  though  in  the  followinig  year 
e  patient  su&red  once  again  from  daxder 
of  the  rectum,  it,  however,  was  not  this  tme 

Srolapsus,  but  arose  from  swelled  hemonhoi- 
al  excrescences,  and  this,  after  same  dis- 
charge of  blood,  completely  subsided  in  a  kw 
days,  under  the  use  of  Aconitum,  in  the  dose 
of  three  drops  of  the  concentrated  tincture  five 
times  a  day. 

The  patient  had  suffered  from  henxxrhoidal 
symptoms  many  years  before,  when  he  was 
in  a  much  stronger  state  of  health  ;  and  he 
was  then  also  stronger,  and  continues  so  till 
the  present  day. 

III.-^Belladonka. 

A  boy  six  yeare  of  age,  who  had  heen  ill 
for  two  montns,  was  seen  by  me  for  the  first 
time  on  the  3d  February,  1844.  Of  a 
naturally  lively  and  cheerful  disposition,  be 
had  become  gradually  cross,  lazy,  w»k« 
and  thinner,  and  looked  very  ill.  His  appe- 
tite is  very  small ;  the  fcBcal  evacuations  ir- 
regular; at  one  time  firm,  scanty,  whitish. 
and  unfrequent;  at  another,  frequent  and 
pappy.  For  the  last  fourteen  days  he  is 
attacked  every  evening  with  heat  and  in- 
creased thirst,  restless  sleep  and  momii^ 
sweating,  frequent  cough,  with  copious  ex- 
pectoration of  tough,  greenish  mucus;  the 
nostrils  are  also  often  filled  with  aimilar 
mucus. 

All  these  symptoms  had  grdually  increased 


with  Undiluted  Medicines. 


165 


to  such  a  degree,  that  he  waa  seized  on  the 
2d  February  with  distinct  feyer,  and  could  no 
longer  remain  out  of  bed.  On  the  forenoon 
of  the  3d,  I  found  the  pulse  above  90,  the 
head  hot,  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  the 
tongue,  and  tonsils  remarkably  pale  and  dry, 
the  last  being  also  swollen,  the  stomach  dis« 
tended  and  sensitive  even  to  slight  touch  and 
to  inspiration;  the  abdonoen  likewise  dis- 
tended, besides  the  above-mentioned  symp- 
toms in  an  increased  degree.  I  gave  Bella- 
donna in  the  dose  of  one  drop  of  the  tincture 
six  times  in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours. 
The  night  of  the  3d  February  was  passed 
in  quieter  sleep,  and  in  the  morning  moderate 
perspiration  came  on.  Next  morning  there 
was  considerable  relief  of  all  symptoms. 
!  The  medicine  was  continued  in  the  same 
dose  and  repetition  till  the  6th  February, 
when  it  was  reduced  to  five  doses  daily,  and 
on  the  9th  to  four  doses.  On  the  12th  the 
I  medicine  was  discontinued,  and  the  boy  was 
I         quite  well  and  all  the  symptoms  gone. 

IV. — Brtomia. 

A  man  near  forty  had  suffered  for  two 
years  from  ciamp  in  the  stomach,  as  he  him- 
self termed  his  disorder.  It  consisted  in  the 
following : — The  stomach  becomes  constricted 
and  squeezed  together,  so  that  the  breathing 
is  thereby  impeded ;  then  an  acrid  corrosive 
fluid  rises  into  the  mouth  (waterbrash)  in 
large  quantity.  Such  an  attack  has  come  on 
for  a  long  time  daily,  at  least  once.  There 
is,  besides,  diminished  appetite  and  bad  di- 
gestion, torpid  and  irre|:ular  bowels,  and  the 
abdomen  distended  with  troublesome  flatu- 
lence. The  patient  had  hitherto  been  treated 
AUopathically,  and  had  used  a  great  variety 
of  medicines,  but  all  without  benefit. 

I  gave  him  Bryonia,  in  the  dose  of  four 
drops  of  the  concentrated  tincture  four  times 
a  day. 

Already  on  the  following  and  immediately 
subsequent  days  the  patient  felt  only  a  threat- 
ening of  his  trouble.  After  that  he  had  no 
further  complaint  during  the  time  he  conti- 
nued the  medicine,  which  he  earnestly  request- 
ed to  be  allowed  to  do  for  several  weeks,  in 
order  completely  to  eradicate  his  disease  of 
two  years'  standing.  At  the  same  time  the 
digestion  and  action  of  the  bowels  returned  to 
their  normal  state.  Ziz 
'  The  patient  has,  up  to  the  present  time — 
already  above  a  year^had  no  return  of  his 
complaint 

v. — Canthabipss. 

A  man  upwards  of  fifty,  whose  physician 
I  have  been  for  the  last  six  years,  had  sufi^r- 
ed,  when  1  first  b^gan  to  treat  him»  fiom  pa- 


ralysis of  the  lower  extremities,  so  that  he 
was  not  only  unable  to  walk  without  assist- 
ance about  the  room,  which  he  had  not  been  f 
out  of  for  four  weeks,  but  was  no  longer  able 
to  stand  upright  without  support.  Up  till  this 
time  he  had  been  treated  AUopathically. 
The  last  medicine  used  was  Corrosive  Subli- 
mate in  the  form  of  pills.  Yeara  ago  the  pa.- 
tient  had  suflered  from  ulcers  in  the  feet, 
which  were  now  healed,  leaving  discolored 
spots  and  cicatrices.  SabadiUa  was  the  me- 
dicine which  in  mj  hands  restored  him  to  the 
use  of  his  legs  again. 

But  the  case  which  I  wish  to  report  is  the 
following: — The  patient '  had  often  since 
the  above  illness,  during  the  night  and  for 
several  nights  in  succession,  paroxysms  of 
violent  pain  in  the  lower  extremities,  some- 
times in  one  spot,  and  sometimes  in  another. 
The  painful  spot  was  neither  swollen,  nor 
red,  nor  hot,  nor  tender  on  pressure,  llie 
pain  was  digging  and  cutting  as  with  a  knife, 
and  often  so  violent  and  continued  that 
he  mostly  passed  the  whole  night .  in  moan- 
ing. Neither  heat,  nor  cold,  nor  mustard 
plasters,  which  the  patient  himself  applied  in 
despair,  gave  even  the  smallest  mitigation  of 
the  pain.  Several  medicines  administered  by 
me  were  also  equally  fruitless.  But  all  the 
more  strikingly  beneficial  and  rapid  was  the 
action  of  Cantharides,^n  the  dose  of  two 
drops  of  the  concentrated  tincture  every  hour 
or  two  hours,  according  to  the  violence  of  the 
pain.  The  result  was,  that  always  in  the 
first  night  of  the  use  of  this  medicine  a  great 
remission  of  the  pain  took  place,  and  on  the 
following  night  there  was  at  most  only 
a  threatening  of  it 

VI.—Cabbo  VEorrABiLis. 

£.,  a  man  of  forty  had  suffered,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1843,  from  an  attack  of  pleurisy,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  report  (it  was  most  likely  an 
inflammation  of  toe  heart  or  pericardium). 
For  this  he  had  been  treated  AUopathically ; 
local  bleedings,  cataplasms,  and  ver^  warm 
relaxing  drinxs  were  used,  with  directions  to 
keep  very  warm,  and  these,  along  with  in- 
ward medicines,  kept  the  patient  in  a  constant 
profuse  perspiration.  Even  before  this  ill- 
ness, since  the  beginning  of  the  previous 
summer  the  patient  had  oeen  for  the  most 
part  out  of  hedth,  though  he  had  never  been 
confined  to  bed.  According  to  his  own  re- 
port, he  had  suffered  from  difierent  disorders 
of  the  abdominal  viscera,  and  from  rushings 
of  blood ;  violent  perspirations  were  brought 
on  by  even  slight  cauees  of  excitement 
Against  these  complaints  he  had  used  a  great 
variety  of  medicines,  without  procuring  any 
material  and  permanent  relief. 

When  the  patient  was  at  len^  freed  from 
the  above-mentioned  inflammation,  which  ha* 


166 


HanuBopathic  Treatment 


lasted  longer  than  usual,  still  he  could  not  re- 
gain his  health  and  strength.  Among  the  re- 
^  maininff  symptoms  it  was  chiefly  the  rush- 
ings  of  blood  that  not  only  annoyed  and 
weakened  the  patient,  but  also,  for  the  most 
part,  depriyed  him  of  rest  at  night  ^This 
vascular  orgasm  was  most  marked  and  visible 
in  the  heart,  by  strong  pulsation  causing 
anxiety  to  the  patient,  r^either  the  vene- 
section employed  on  account  of  it,  nor  the  in- 
ternal remediesr— Aqua  Laarocenisi,  Digitalis, 
Sulph.  Quininee — had  produced  any  improve- 
ment. Even  Muriate  of  Morphia  was  unable 
to  procure  for  the  patient  any  refreshing 
sleep ;  the  feeb'ng  of  weakness  after  the  ni^ht 
was  spent,  was  greater  than  on  the  foregoing 
evening.  Under  the  protracted  duration  and 
even  increase  of  this  disorder,  at  length  wan- 
dering pains  in  the  extremities  came  on, 
against  which  frictions  and  fumigations,  with 
juniper  belies,  had  been  used.  Thereupon 
these  pains,  it  is  true,  ceased;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  came  on  again  such  oppres- 
sion of  the  breathing  and  constriction  of  the 
heart,  that  the  patient,  who  was  in  great  dan- 
ger of  his  life,  was  already  provided  with  the 
consolations  of  his  religion  when  1  entered 
the  sick-room. 

I  found,  besides  the  above  symptoms, 
which  still  persisted,  the  pulse  extremely 
irregular,  intermitting,  very  frequent,  weak, 
andv  empty ;  the  beat  of  the  heart  of  a  corres- 
pondins  character;  prof  use  sweat,  soon  grow- 
ing cold.  The  patient  had  no  cough,  but 
complained  of  great  inward  heat,  of  anxiety, 
and  of  violent  thirst  A  paralysis  of  the 
heart  seemed  to  me  not  improbable.  I  saw 
the  patient  in  the  evening,  and  gave  Arsenic 
in  the  2d  trituration.  The  night  was  passed 
pretty  well,  and  the  patient  was  even  better, 
on  the  whole,  next  morning ;  the  beat  of  the 
heart  and  pulse  were  no  longer  intermittent, 
and  displayed  also  more  energy.  Ausculta- 
^  tion  and  percussion  showed  no  abnormity 
either  in  the  heart  or  the  other  contents  of  the 
thorax.  That  was  (if  I  mistake  not)  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1844,  between  the  24th  and  27th.  On 
the  1st  of  March,  the  symptoms  still  persisted 
in  their  essential  character,  though  better,  and 
I  gave  the  patient  Carbo  Yegetabilis,  in  the 
dose  of  five  grains  of  the  1st  trituration  (2  to 
100)  every  two  hours.  During  the  following 
days,  while  this  medicine  was  continued — six 
of  the  above  doses  in  the  twenty-four  hours — 
the  state  of  the  plHent  was  so  strikingly,  so 
rapidly,  and  materially  improved,  that  1 
visited  him  for  the  last  time  by  the  5th  of 
March,  although  the  medicine  was  still  con- 
tinued for  several  days,  whereupon  Jie  was 
able  to  visit  me. 

The  patient  was,  by  the  use  of  this  medi- 
cine alone,  not  only  freed  from  his  vascular 
■^flwsasm,  palpitation,  oppression  of  breathing, 


&c.,  but  also  the  abdominal  disorders  whidi 
he  had  suffered  from  before  the  above-named 
inflammation,  were  removed.  AmoDg  tbese 
disorders,  more  particularly,  he  had  Be?er 
had  a  regular  evacuation  of  the  bowels  siaoe 
the  summer  of  the  year  before.  The  stools 
were  ash-grey,  mostly  consistent,  but  of  a 
remarkably  small  size.  Carb.  V^.  btouglit 
also  the  stools  to  their  normal  appearance. 

Vn. — Crocus — (Three  Cases.) 

On  the  1st  February,  1844, 1  was  sent  fv 
inthe  night  to  see  a  boy  of  ten  years  old,  who 
had  been  unwell  for  several  days.    Towardi 
the  evening  of  this  day  his  face  became  sud- 
denly much  flushed,  and  then  soon  pole 
again;  and  this  recurred  several  times  at  v- 
regular  intervals.    He  displayed  indiflmsoe 
to  what  was  going  on  around  him,  and  at 
length,  in  one  of  the  attacks  of  flushing,  he 
became  more  abstracted,  and  fell  into  a  sfaorf 
sleep.    On  waking  he  sat  up  in  bed,  and  fto 
stood  up  in  it,  and  made  various  moTemesis 
with  great  rapidity,  without  any  consooas* 
ness  of  what  he  was  about    After  saeh  a 
paroxysm,  there  followed  a  short  season  of 
rest,  in  which  he  came  to  himself,  bat  viih- 
out  any  recollection  of  what  had  beeo  diae 
in  the  paroxysm.    After  the  rest,  caioe  tg^ 
an  attack,  followed  again  by  remissoa,  aad 
so  it  Went  on.    When  I  saw  himhtwa 
quiet,  had  increased  heat  and  redness  d  die 
face,   slow   pulse,    scarcely   sixty  in  ^ 
minute,  and   the  individual   bats  uneqoL 
He  was  unconscious,  but  when  roused,  he 
came   to   himself,  and    recognised  the  by- 
standers and  me  also.    The  eyes  were  m 
and  brilliant,  the  urine  pale  and  scanty,  abdo- 
men retracted,  no  stool  the  past  day.   Nod^ 
sire  for  food  or  drink.     In  former  yean  he 
had  often  suffered  from  copious  bleeding  of 
the  nose,  and  more  lately  from  various  enp* 
lions   on  the  skin.     His  mother  I  had  fre* 
quently  treated  for  hemoptysis,  and  she  had 
first  come  under  my  care  as  a  hopeless  case. 
His  father  died  suddenly  in  a  mad-boose. 
The  patient  received  Crocus:  of  the  po« 
tincture  twelve  drops  in  about  four  ounces  o^ 
water,  to  be  taken  in  six  doses,  one  emy 
two  hours.    The  same  remedy  was  eontiQaed 
for  the  four  following  days,  only  seldooer 
repeated,  because  the  condition  of  the  paa^ 
was  materially  improved  pn  the  next  daj. 
After  the  four  da^ s  ail  functions  were  ag»a 
normal.    Also  since  that  time  the  diooider 
has  not  returned,  and  the  boy  has  not  ibetf 
again^ill  up  to  the  present  day. 


vm. 


On  the  14th  of  Maieb,  1144, 1  was  i 
for  to  a  puerperal  female  who  bad  been 


seat 
de- 


urilh  Undiluted  Medicines. 


167 


liTered  the  day  before.  The  after-pains  and 
the  great  hemorrhage  and  prostration  of 
strength  had  excited  apprehension.  She  com- 
plained of  the  sensation  of  inward  heat  and 
anxiety.  The  pulse  was  feeble  and  inter- 
mittent, and  slightly  increased  in  frequency. 
Foetid  odor  of  the  mouth  and  perspiration, 
tongue  moist  and  dirty,  coated  in  the  middle, 
frequent  eructation,  bowels  torpid.  She  re- 
ceived twelve  drops  of  the  tincture  of  Crocus 
in  about  four  ounces  of  water,  of  which  two 
table-spoonfuls  were  to  be  taken  every  hour. 
Next  day  she  was  quite  well,  and  afterwards 
suffered  ho  further  inconvenience. 

IX. 

A  hemonhoidal  subject,  about  fifty  years  of 
age,  who  had  formerly  been  operated  on  for 
degenerated  hemorrhoidal  excrescences,  and 
whom  I  had  afterwards  once  treated  for  in- 
flamed piles,  suffered  thereupon  from  occa- 
sional icteric  symptoms.  There  followed  up- 
on that  a  disorder  of  a  peculiar  character,  of 
which  the  following  were  the  chief  symp- 
toms:— Fulness  ixA  distension  of  the  sto- 
mach; eructation  and  rancid  heart-bum; 
nausea,  and  at  length  straining  vomiting  of 
variously-degenerated  fluids ;  fine  cutting  pain, 
beginning  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  then 
spreading  to  the  region  of  the  stomach  and 
fixing  there ;  abdomen  retracted,  no  stool  du- 
line  the  attack,  and  clysters  do  not  act  well, 
and  any  artificial  evacnation  of  the  bowels 
afibrds  no  relief ;  pulse  slow,  seldom  above 
sixtv,  and  intermitting;  as  also  the  beat  of 
the  heart  Auscultation  and  percussion  show 
no  trace  Df  any  organic  disease  of  the  heart. 
At  the  height  of  the  attack,  the  patient  is 
seized  with  such  difficulty  of  breathing  that 
he  is  scarcely  able  to  contain  himself. 

I  have  already  treated  this  state  in  the 
same  patient  pretty  frequently,  and  have  had 
much  trouble  with  it.  Many  of  the  medi- 
cines employed,  such  as  China,  Arnica,  Ipec , 
Digitalis,  Colchicum,  Belladonna,  Laurocera- 
sus,  Hyosciamus,  Aurum,  &c,  have  left  me 
more  or  less  in  the  lurch,  and  afforded,  on 
the  whole,  only  slight  and  tardv  aid,  so  that 
this  state  has  severu  times  reached  a  danger- 
ous height,  and  lasted  above  a  week. 

Crocus,  in  the  dose  of  one  to  three  drops  of 
the  concentrated  tincture  eveij  hour,  or  two 
houre,  is  the  medicine  which  alone  has 
hitherto  quickl]^*  and  certainly  relieved  the 
attack.  And  this  has  happened  several  times 
visibly,  so  speedily,  that  not  only  after  it  has 
the  attack  ceased,  bat  immediately  the  appetite 
baa  letumedt  and  the  digestion  and  action  of 
the  bowels  been  restored.  The  first  stools 
are  generally  pappy,  and  of  a  yellow 
color. 
Rmark-^l  have  not  lufieqaently  cozed 


obstinate  cases  of  constipation  with  Crocus. 
Their  fundamental  character  is  indicated  inci- 
dentally by  the  foregoing  case,  and  it  is,  per- 
haps, sufficient  to  add,  that  those  kind^  of 
constipation  which  depend  on  disorders  of 
the  portel  system  of  veins,  such  as  often  hap- 
pens in  new-born  children,  frequently  find 
their  radical  cure  in  Crocus.  In  such  cases^ 
at  least  in  new-born  children,  I  have  often 
seen  the  exhibition  of  one  drop  of .  the  pure 
tincture  of  Crocus  several  times  a  day,  fol* 
lowed  by  natural  evacuations,  and  have  never 
observed  any  bad  effects  from  it. 

X.^DlClTALIS. 

Josephs  N.,aged  30,  had  been  ill  for  aboQt 
two  months,  of  the  following  symptoms, 
which  had  gradually  become  worse : — Waat 
of  appetite ;  inconvenience  after  eating  even  a 
small  quantity  of  the  lightest  food ;  distension 
and  tenderness  of  the  region  of  the  stomach ; 
wandering  pains  in  difierent  parte  of  the  ex- 
tremities, which  at  length  increased  to  a  stifi'- 
ness,  painful,  particularly  on  motion ;  gradual 
decline  of  the  strength  and  natural  heat  of  the 
body;  restless,  unrefreshing  sleep ;  great  de- 
pression of  mind  and  despondency.  The 
painful  stiffness  of  the  limbs  went  away  after 
a  time ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  intense  jaun- 
dice spread  over  the  whole  body.  The  region 
of  the  stomach  became  more  tender  and  dis- 
tended ;  therewith,  disgust  for  food  and  fre- 
quent nausea,  retohing,  and  even  vomiting  of 
small  quantities  of  tasteless  watery  fluid ;  dis- 
tended abdomen,  and  bowels  confined  for  days 
in  succession ;  urine  scanty  and  dark  colored  > 

great  prostration  of  strength,  and  coldness  of 
le   body;  melancholy,  and  disposition    to 
shed  tean. 

I  had  visited  her  on  the  8th  of  February, 
and  given  China  in  the  tincture,  till  the  12th, 
without  any  good  effect.  On  thip  day  I  g^ve 
Digitelis,  in  the  dose  of  four  drops  of  the  con- 
centrated tincture,  seven  times  m  the  coarse 
of  twentv-four  hours.  Thereupon  she  be- 
came sick  and  inclined  to  vomit;  neverthe- 
less, I  let  her  continue  the  medicine  till  the 
16th,  in  the  same  dose  and  intervals  of  repe- 
tition. Even  by  the  14th,  improvement  had 
manifested  itself,  and  on  the  t6th  there  was 
desire  for  food  and  decline  of  the  jaundice ; 
the  urine  already  almost  of  ite  natural  color 
ag;ain;  the  tegion  of  the  stomach  no  longer 
distended  and  tender ;  the  dbdomen  likewise  no 
longer  distended.  On  the  other  hand,  then 
appeared  again  at  times  wandering  pains  in 
various  puis  of  the  body,  and  a  feeling  of 
painful  stiffness  in  the  ahooldera.  The  bodily 
strength  increases,  and  the  disposition  to  weep 
hae  ceased,  and  the  patient  is  even  cheerf  of. 
The  Digitalis  was  eontinaed  till  the  20th«  ia 
the  doee  6L  thiee  diope  five  timee  a  ^  ' 


168 


Homwqpathic  Treatment^  ^c. 


From  this  time  there  was  no  longer  a  trace 
of  jaundice.  1  did  not  see  the  patient  again 
till  the  end  of  March,  and  her  state  of  h^th 
was  then  and  had  been  in  every  waj  quite 
good. 

XI. — ^Htdrabgtrum    mvruticum   mits — 
Calobiel.    (Two  Casks.) 

The  patient  was  a  girl  of  four  years  old»  of 
pale  and  delicate  appearance,  with  a  swelled 
helly*  and  often  suffered  from  irr^rularity  of 
the  bowels.  Towards  the  end  of  November, 
1844,  she  was  attacked  with  diarrhcea,  and, 
according  to  the  report  of  the  father,  it  was  at 
first  accompanied  with  violent  fever,  but  af- 
terwards of  a  slow  character.  The  evacua- 
tions are  preceded  by  pains  which  were  at 
first  violent,  but  now  milder ;  the  evacuated 
matters  are  chiefly  white  and  flocculent.  She 
passes  from  three  to  six  motions  daily.  The 
unae  is  scanty  and  turbid,  with  a  white  mu- 
cous sediment.  The  child  is  shy  and  cross, 
and  disinclined  to  play.  On  the  18th  of  De- 
cember, she  got  from  me  Hyd.  mur.  mite,  in 
the  dose  of  three  grains  of  the  1st  trituration 
(5  gr.  to  300),  five  times  a  day :  continued 
lor  the  four  following  days,  three  times  a 
day. 

On  the  20th,  the  diarrhcsa  had  ceased,  and 
there  was  no  stool  at  all  till  the  23d,  when  it 
returned,  and  has  continued  regular  and  daily 
since ;  the  urine  has  regained  its  natural  ap- 
pearance, and  the  patient  is  in  other  respects 
quite  well 

XII. 

A  boy  of  &Yt  months  old  had  diarrhosa. 
His  mother  was  at  the  time  ill  of  typhus,  for 
which  reason  the  infant  had  been  weaned. 
The  stools  are  mixed  with  matters  like  chop- 
ped eggs,  acrid,  and  excoriating  the  anus, 
and  are  parsed  frequently,  with  much  flatus. 
The  infant  is  w^  and  feverish.  On  the 
25th  December,  I  gave  Hyd.  mur.  mite,  in 
the  above  trituration  (three  grains),  four 
times  a  day.  Next  day  the  diarrhcea  had 
ceased,  and  the  child  was  lively  and  well. 

XIlI.-*IONATU. 

A  woman  above  forty  had  been  ailing  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  summer  of  1844.  As 
she  was  no  friend  to.  physic,  she  would  not 
have  sought  medi<^  aid  lor  her  complaints, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  ajtpeanuices  of  a  new 
ailment.  Which  excited  in  her  serious  appre* 
hensions.  This  disorder  oame  in  paroxysms 
generally  recurrinjg  about  twice  a  day»  and 
was  of  the  foUowins  description : — ^An  anxie* 
ty  and  disqoiet  as  if  she  had  done  aoqaething 
_w*ong»  or  as  if  «  gnat  auafartime  wen  aboot  * 


to  happen,  so  overpowecB  her,  that  she  can 
with  difficulty  refrain  from  weeping.  Daring 
this  she  has  oppression  of  the  breathing,  b«t 
feels  distinctly  that  the  oppression  bieuat 
the  stomach  and  spreads  up  into  the  ^mL 
She  is  during  the  tmie  very  weak,  iDea]id)le 
of  work,  and  disinclined  to  the  eompaoy  of 
others.  The  paroxysm  often  lasts  for  hoDn. 
She  has,  hesides,  no  appetite ;  the  bowels  an 
torpid  and  insuflkiently  moved,  aod  do  not 
act  daily.  This  irregularity  of  the  hovels 
always  accompanies  any  illness  with  ba\ 
but  on  the  day  that  she  has  no  eTaenatiai 
she  always  feels  much  worse,  and  tberefon 
the  action  of  the  bowels  is  a  matter  of  mudi 
moment  to  her.  She  has  no  fever.  Sbe  fint 
consulted  me  on  the  19  th  of  September»lS44,. 
when  these  attacks  had  already  tioaUed  kr 
for  several  weeks. 

Sbe  got  Ignatia:  about  ten  nainsoftbe 
first  trituration— (2-100) — dissolTed  in  fov 
ounces  of  water,  to  be  taken  in  five  doM  in 
twenty-four  hours.  The  action  of  this  wab- 
dy  was  so  strikingly  beneficial  that  dtt 
praised  it  highly  at  my  visit  next  day,  and 
begged  that  it  might  be  repeated.  It  wascoi* 
tinued  for  l^x  or  eight  days,  and  by  the  use  of 
it  alone  she  was  freed  mm  her  disoniefa 
completely  that,  after  a  threatening  of  it  off 
once  on  the  second  and  third  day,  it^ 
never  returned  since.  She  also  cod^M 
no  longer  of  weariness,  recovered  her  Itfib 
and  appetite  and  the  regularity  of  the  bowdf, 
and,  on  the  whole,  her  state  wasaooliaf** 
tory  that  no  further  medical  treatnent  m 
required. 

(To  be  Cktntiniied} ) 


THE  BLUNDERS  OF  PRINTERS. 
Printers  by  leaving  out  some  and  addiif 
other  words  in  a  sentence,  often  make  ai 
author  say  things  he  never  thought  of,  aad 
on  page  152  of  this  number  may  be  sees  as 
example  of  another  kind  of  blunder,  in  whick 
a  note  intended  for  the  end  of  an  ailide 
quoted  from  the  popular  record  of  moden 
science  is  placed  at  the  bead  of  that  article. , 


THE    DISSECTOE. 


VOL.  IV. 


DECEMBER,  1847, 


NO.  C 


CURES  WITH  MESMERISM. 

Core  of  lon^-ff landing  intense  Pains  and  other  Saf- 
feringa,  and  extreme  Debility,  witli  Meamtriam, 
after  the  lailure  of  endless  and  distressing  mea* 
-By  Dr,  BixxoTf  on. 


TowAiUM  the  end  of  October*  1845,  I  re- 
ceived a  riflit  from  Mr.  Morgan,  of  Bed  fori 
Bow,  the  gentleman  who  some  years  before 
had  so  humanely  and  rationally  yielded  to 
the  request  of  a  poor  woman  in  Three  Cups 
Yard,  behind  Bedford  Row,  that  he  would 
apply  to  me  for  mesmerism  to  hercUifd,  who 
was  afflicted  with  insanity,  fatuity,  dumb- 
ness, and  prostration,  and  upon  whom  he 
had  exhausted  all  his  remedies  in  vain,  and 
the  wonderful  mesmeric  cure  of  whom  is  re- 
corded in  the  fourth  volume  of  TKe  Zoist,* 
Mr.  Morgan's  present  object  was  similar. 
Bat  the  rank  of  the  patient  for  whom  he  now 
requested  my  assistance  was  very  differenL 
She  was  a  young  lady  residioff  in  Eaton 
Square,  and  her  father  and  brother  were  in 
Parliament  Some  of  the  most  fashionable 
physicians  had  been  called  in.  A  royal 
physician,  in  ordinary,  and  two  other  royal 
physicians,  had  exhausted  all  their  means 
upon  her  w  fruitlessly  as  Mr.  Morgan  bad 
exhausted  his  upon  the  poor  child  in  Three 
Cups  Yard.  I  accordingly  met  him  at  her 
father's  house,  and  found  the  young  lady 
very  pale,  sickly  and  emaciated,  so  feeble  as 
not  to  be  able  to  sit  upright,  and  suffering 
agonies  in  many  parts  of  her  system. 

After  hearing  the  history  of  the  disease,  I 
examined  her  carefully,  and  finding  no  sign 
of  structural  disease,  though  some  perfectly 
unfounded  fears  had  been  entertained  re- 
specting one  of  her  lungs,  I  declared  that  no 
reason  appeared  why  she  should  not  get 
well,  and  that  mesmerism  would  probably 
cure  her.  According  to  my  custom,  I  le- 
fraiaed  from  bemg  so  presumptuous  as  to 
declare  that  it  would  be  sure  to  cure  her. 
Mesmerists  should  always  remember  that  in 
a  host  of  cases  there  may  be  something  in- 
appreciable by  our  means  of  investigation 
-  -p.  407.  * 


that  will  baffle  all  our  power,  and  that  th6 
most  promising  cases  may  eventually  foil 
us.  Medical  men,  on  the  other  hand,  who 
despise  mesmerism,  should  remember,  when 
mesmerists  are  so  foiled,  that  they  them- 
selves with  iheiT  legitimate  (that  is  the  ortho- 
dox word)  medicine  are  foiled  every  day, 
and  every  hour  of  the  day  if  they  have  an 
extensive  practice,  perhaps  after  prescribing 
the  most  painful  measures,  and  that  this  sad 
imperfection  of  medicine  and  surgery  it  is 
that  makes  patients  fly  to  mesmerism  and 
other  abominations.  For  sick  people  are 
circumstanced  still  like  the  woman  in  the 
gospel  nearly  2000  years  ago,  who  *<  had 
su£tered  many  things  of  many  physicians, 
and  had  spent  a!l  that  she  had,  and  was 
nothing  bettered,  but  rather  worse." 

It  was  therefore  arranged  that  the  young 
lady  should  be  mesmerised,  and  Mr.  Morgan 
goodnaturedly  and  liberally  offered  to  ope- 
rate if  I  would  show  him  the  way.  He, 
however,  lived  at  a  great  distance,  and  fan- 
cied he  produced  no  effect ;  and  the  maid 
tried  and  she  was  thought  to  produce  no 
more.  Seeing  that  the  thing  would  not  be  ' 
done  at  all  unless  I  did  it,  1  ofieied  to  take 
the  case  in  hand  myself,  though  I  very  rare- 
ly do  unless  there  is  likely  to  be  something 
peculiarly  interesting  in  the  phenomena.  1 
premised  that  I  never  had  mesmerised  pio- 
fessionally,  and  never  would,  however  high 
in  rank  a  patient  might  be,  and  that  il  I 
took  the  case  in  hand  1  must  act  entirely  as 
a  friend.  I  really  pitied  the  poor  sufferer, 
and  had  soon  discovered  that  she  had  every 
lady-like  feeling  and  habit,  and  was  not  only 
unafffected,  but  courageous  and  sincere, 
straightforward  and  noble-minded. 

The  following  is  the  account  which  she 
at  once  cheerfully  consented  to  draw  up  for 
me  of  her  case. 

**  Five  years  ago,  I  caught  a  severe  cold» 
and  had  a  cough  which  lasted  for  more  than 
three  months,  and  pulled  me  down  so  much 
that  I  could  hardly  make  any  exertion  with- 
out feeling  so  ezniauited,  depreeaad  and  ill. 


170 


Cure  of  intense  Pains  and  other  suffering's^ 


that  at  night  I  was  forced  to  throw  myself 
CD  the  bed  and  lie  down  for  Bome  time  be- 
fore I  could  be  undressed.  After  trying  a 
great  many  remedies  without  the  least  bene- 
Ht,  i  was  obliged  to  take  to  my  bed  and 
have  a  blister  on  my  chest;  and  was  relieved 
for  a  time ;  but  my  nerves  became  so  dread- 
fully disturbed  that  I  was  hysterical,  and 
the  least  noise  afiected  me  painfully.  About 
this  time  I  heard  of  the  sudden  death  of  a 
great  friend  in  India,  and  received  a  shock 
greater  than  any  one  knew,  and  the  recol- 
lectioa  of  her  haunted  me  day  and  night.  I 
was  continually  fainting  and  had  violent 
hysterical  paroxysms.  My  medical  attend- 
ants— ^a  neighboring  practitioner  and  a  phy- 
sirjan,  thought  that  "  rousing*'  would  do 
me  good,  and  ordered  me  to  be  "  well  talk- 
ed to,"  although  I  was  taking  stimulants 
which  seemed  to  excite  me  more  than  was 
proper.  The  "  rousing"  seemed  only  to 
make  me  much  more  worse,  so  great  was  my 
excitement.  After  a  long  time  I  appeared  to 
rally,  and  was  ordered  to  go  out  if  I  could. 
Bat  I  was  quite  unequal  to  it,  not  having 
left  my  room  for  some  time,  and  the  merely 
going  down  stairs  amongst  my  family  was 
the  cause  of  a  relapse  so  severe  that  I  kept 
my  bed  for  many  weeks.  Dreadful  head- 
aches came  on  with  violent  bleedings  at  the 
nose.  Leeches  were  continually  applied  be- 
hind my  ears,  and  on  the  temples.  The  re- 
lief from  them  was  very  great.  Blisters, 
too,  were  applied  to  the  nape  of  my  neck  ; 
but,  though  they  relieved  my  head,  the 
agony  from  their  irritation  was  so  great  that 
1  could  scarcely  endure  them.  A  large  ex- 
tent of  surface  over  my  spine  was  raw  and 
discharged  exceedingly  for  some  time.  Vio- 
lent hysterical  attacks  were  induced,  which 
BOuietimes  lasted  three  hours.  For  them  I 
was  literally  drenched,  sometimes  for  three 
hours  together,  with  cold  water,  thrown  at 
me  to  **  louse"  me.  I  used  to  sink  down 
thoroughly  exhausted  by  all  I  went  through 
i  had  no  rest  at  night,  and  my  maid  was 
constantly  getting  up  to  try  to  quiet  my  ex- 
cited state,  and  would  remain  with  me  for 
two  hours  at  a  time,  although  really  not 
knowing  what  to  do  for  me,  or  how  to 
pacify  my  truly  wretched  condition.  Every- 
thing was  tried.  I  was  drenched  with  medi- 
cine of  all  sorts;  but  none  did  any  good. 
Tonics  brought  on  such  an  inward  fever 
that  L  was  forced  to  leave  them  off ;  my  lips 
became  parched  and  peeled  through  the 
fever,  which  for  three  weeks  was  so  in- 
tense that  1  lived  on  nothing  but  ice  water. 
This  state  continued  for  more  than  six 
months,  sometimes  a  little  better  and  then 
again  worse.  My  head-aches  were  at  times 
80  bad  that  I  could  bear  no  noise :  any  one 


walling  across  my  room  almost  drana 
wild,  and  really  at  times  I  knew  notwtal 
did,  and  the  subsequent  depression  wai 
extreme  that  for  days  I  have  felt  uoakki 
speak.  I  got  quite  disgasted  with  the  ni 
cal  men  who  saw  me,  and  I  detenninedt 
give  up  all  medicine  for  a  time  and  troi' 
nature.  This  I  did  for  many  weeks,  liioi , 
oUiged  to  have  leeches  continually,  so  n 
lent  were  my  head-aches,  which  notb 
relieved  but  losing  blood.  Not  getlio^i 
any  belter,  I  was  again  inducea  to  m 
physician,  and  did  see  another,  who  ^ 
me  some  quieting  medicine,  which,  liov- 
ever,  proved  of  little  ttse.  The  blcediugi* 
my  nose  were  constant,  and  the  BiORlti 
by  leeching  the  better  I  felt ;  but  J  v«t- 
ways  "  roused"  soon  afterwards  by  liea; 
"  well  talked  to,"  and  the  excitement  wHd 
this  produced  was  quite  dreadful,  so  tkil 
have  rolled  about  my  bed  like  a  wild  10* 
son. 

<*  My  illness  at  time?  seemed  to  clmpi 
the  cough  again  troubling  me,  together  «■ 
great  weakness,  and   my  head-achei  a^ 
being  so  violent.    I  was  under  all  soiii  ^ 
medicine,  at  times  better,  and  then  w« 
Violent  head-aches  came  on,  if  I  ^ 
across  my  room;  and  at  last  I  wascaois 
from  my  bed  to  the  sofa,  and  even  this^ 
bring  on  faintings  and  hysterical  att^ 
which  would  exhaust  me  for  a  long  ^ 
I  continued  the  leeches  for  a  year,  «i**   j 
every  other  day,  and  they  still  gaw»* 
lief,  always  making  me  lighter  ^^^ 
They,  however,  were  the  onlyrcmedy^^ 
did  me  good ;  but  as  this  plan,  of  <^ 
could  not  go  on  for  ever,  i  now  tt^"" 
vice  of  a  third  physician,  and  he  i(M^ 
leeching  unless  nothing  else  would  siBVtt) 
ordered  me  mustard  baths  up  to  tbt  i^ 
and  gave  me  steel  in  an  eflervescing^ 
For  a  time  I  rallied,  but  only  for  a  time.*" 
I  again  began  to  go  back ;  my  headfi^ 
worse,  and  my  nose  sometimes  buistiflg  » 
bleeding  in  the  night,  bo  that  1  wuffl* 
alarmed,  though  the  relief  was  great  to  ■! 
heavy  head.     The  tonic  medicine  1  «• 
taking  I  was  obliged  to  discontinue  a«»* 
came  on  again,  with  sickness  and  retctflj 
and  at  one  time  continued  for  a  ▼^Oj'Jj 
period.     1  was  ordered  salines,  ^^^/^, 
for  some  time  with  great  benefit   1^' 
mined  again  to  do  without  a  doctor,  Bowff* 
tily  tired  was  I  of  all  the  remedies  tww» 
been  tried.    My  sufferings  were  so  lernro 
that  1  have  lain  many  a  day  ^^^^^^ 


cing  any  one,  the  tears  rolling  °^^^|^ 
cheeks  from  agony;  yet  I  fS9]J?^^uj^ 
better  again,  and  tried  a  Bhov^r»^/\*^ 
proved  of  service,  and  I  was  «"5^¥L  L^ 
greee  to  get  about  my  looiSf  ff^  ^^ 


aitiiBsIbr 
ediaosa. 

SKSIift 

m  h 
Ddtkeoa 


1  ffljl» 

!der,aai: 
aaefli.: 

iri.< 

Ml/*" 

;;?' 

d 

I 
i 


trt^A  Mesmerism^'by  Dr.  EUiotson. 


in 


stairs,  and  to  take  a  drive ;  but  yet  could  not 
bear  much,  and  noise  still  distressed  me 
matly.  Yet  on  the  whole,  I  was  decidedly 
Setter,  and  as  the  autumn  was  coming,  I 
was  ordered  to  try  change  of  air,  and  went 
to  Bath  to  stay  with  some  friends,  and 
drank  the  waters.  But  after  a  little  while 
they  seemed  to  disagree  with  me,  as  i  felt 
continually  sick  after  them  and  feverish,  and 
bad  a  noise  in  my  head  and  ears.  By  the 
advice  of  a  doctor  there,  I  gave  them  up. 
He  ordered  me  to  be  careful  not  to  over  ex- 
ert myself,  and  prescribed  salines.  I  un- 
fortunately caught  cold,  and  was  again  trou- 
bled with  cough,  which  reduced  me  sadly, 
and  I  got  into  such  a  weak  state,  that  I  felt 
illness  was  again  creeping  over  me ;  and  so 
bad  did  I  become,  that  L  took  to  my  bed 
and  never  stirred  from  it  for  a  month,  ex- 
cept to  have  my  bed  made,  and  some  days 
not  even  that,  and  my  wretched  head  be- 
came most  troublesome.  Leeches  were 
again  applied  continually,  always  with  a 
great  rehef ;  but  I  became  so  ill,  that  it  was 
an  exertion  to  turn  in  my  bed,  and  my 
spine  began  to  cause  me  such  pain  that, 
-when  I  attempted  to  walk  from  my  bed  to 
the  sofa,  I  was  in  nusery,  and  at  last  could 
not,  but  used  to  slide  across  the  bed  to  it. 
Unfortunately,  the  house  could  not  be  kept 
as  quietly  as  I  wished,  and,  after  much  suf- 
fering, I  was  moved  up  to  London.  The 
I'onmey  was  the  cause  of  great  misery  to  me; 
for  a  week  after  never  moved  out  of  my 
bed.  The  room  was  kept  dark,  as  light 
brought  on  severe  head-ache ;  if  I  were  the 
least  roused,  the  excitemeut  was  dreadful. 
Some  days  have  passed  when  1  have  not 
even  turned  in  my  bed,  and  [  felt  so  ill,  as  if 
I  really  were  dying  gradually.  Ice  was  ap- 
plied to  my  head,  which  had  been  shaved, 
and  cold  lotions  also,  with  relief  for  a  time ; 
but  strll  my  sufferings  I  think  increased,  and 
nothing  but  the  greatest  quiet,  and  leeches 
almost  every  day,  give  me  any  relief  at 
last.  Often  have  I  clenched  ray  hands  and 
beaten  myself  about  for  hours,  wild  with 
pain,  and  then  such  sobbing  fits  would  at- 
tack me,  that  the  bed  has  shaken  under  me. 
My  exhaustion  after  these  attacks  was 
of  coarse  great.  Still  my  room  was  obliged 
to  be  darkened  all  day,  so  painful  was  light 
to  me ;  and  if  any  one  ever  whispered  in  my 
room,  it  drove  me  wild ;  I  never  spoke  or 
took  the  least  notice,  and  felt  gradually 
sinking ;  a  kind  of  exhausted  sleep  came 
upon  me,  which  lasted  for  some  time ;  but  1 
was  generally  disturbed  out  of  it  by  some 
noise,  and  the  frightful  state  of  excitement  I 
was  then  thrown  into,  must  have  been  sad 
to  witness.  To  raise  myself  in  bed  was  im- 
possibie,  or  even  to  put  ny  foot  to  the 


froand,  as  my  spine  gave  me  pain  up  to  the 
ead  by  the  attempt.  / 1  was  a^in  obliged  to 
see  a  physician,  making  the  fourth,  and  he 
ordered  me  to  be  kept  quiet,  but  no^  too  quiet, 
as  1  should  otherwise  never  be  able  to  bear 
noise ;  not  to  have  leeches  every  day,  but 
now  and  then ;  he  gave  me  some  German 
waters,  and  afterwards  iron,  but  I  could  not 
continue  this  for  head-ache ;  and  he  ordered 
water  to  be  thrown  over  my  head  continu- 
ally in  laige  quantities,  and  this  relieved  me. 
Again  I  got  better,  and  was  able  to  be  out- 
side of  the  bed  for  a  little  while,  then  to  be  set 
upon  the  sofa,  and  by  degrees  to  sit  up  much 
longer.  Yet  1  made  no  further  progress,  ex- 
citement coming  on  violently  if  1  was  talked 
to  for  long.  As  my  cough  again  troubled 
me,  my  physician  thought  there  was  some 
internal  change  going  on,  and  examined  my 
chest.  He  said  the  right  side,  or  rather 
lung,  was  sore  and  delicate,  and  that  I  must 
be  careful,  and,  as  soon  as  I  could,  be  moved 
away  for  change  of  air ;  and  he  recommend- 
ed Norwood.  So  I  went  there  and  remained 
two  months,  my  cough  continuing,  and  in- 
cessant, and  I  expectorated  much ;  nothing 
quieted  the  cough,  and  it  wore  me  down 
greatly,  as  well  as  distressing  my  head.  As 
the  winter  was  approaching,  1  returned 
home,  not  worse,  but  yet  not  better.  I  was 
often  obliged  to  keep  in  bed,  my  spine  cau- 
sing me  great  suffering,  particularly  from  the 
coughing,  which  distressed  my  head  as 
well.  My  physician  ordered  me  an  opium 
plaster  down  the  spine  to  soothe  me,  but  I 
could  not  bear  it ;  the  irritation  it  occasioned 
was  so  bad  that  I  was  obliged  to  have  it 
torn  off  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  my  cough 
and  head-ache  still  went  on  for  more  than 
fourteen  months,  and  I  expectorated  a  great 
deal.  My  physician  paid  it  was  useless  his 
coming,  as  he  could  do  nothing  for  me,  and 
directed  us  to  send  for  him  if  1  got  worse. 
Thus  I  remained  for  a  longtime,  some  days 
better,  some  days  worse.  The  whole  spring 
and  summer  passed  away,  and  1  was  unable 
to  move,  except  from  the  bed  to  the  sofa, 
and  even  that  was  a  trouble  to  me.  I  sighed 
for  the  fresh  air,  and  felt  it  would  do  me 
good  it  I  could  breathe  it,  but  T  was  unable, 
as  every  exertion  brought  on  great  pain  to 
my  spine  and  head.  The  winter  was  ad- 
vancing, and  I  was  still  so  ill,  I  again  saw 
the  physician  who  had  last  attended  me ;  he 
advised  me  by  all  means  to  be  moved,  in  as 
easy  a  manner  as  I  could,  to  some  quiet 
house  about  the  Regent*s  Park,  as  the  noise 
of  our  own  house  was  too  much  for  me. 
In  fact,  I  could  no  longer  bear  it,  my  nerves 
were  in  such  a  sensitive  state.  My  nights 
were  dreadful ;  often  my  maid  was  up  with 
me  half  the  night,  to  soothe  my  wretched 


172 


Cure  of  intense  Pains  and  other  sufferings^ 


state,  and  the  following  day  I  was  so  ill,  [ 
could  bear  no  one  coining  near  me.  In 
February  I  was  moved  to  St.  John's  Wood, 
where  1  remained  nine  raonihs.  The  quiet 
was  most  grateful  to  me,  though  at  ftrst  I 
was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  leeches  al- 
most every  day,  and  was  getting  so  bad  that 
I  really  thought  my  mind  must  go.  For 
hours  together  [  was  like  a  wild  person, 
particularly  if  disturbed  after  the  leeches; 
my  bead  got  so  weak  that  I  could  not  bear 
any  noise.  I  felt  that  the  relief  Irom  the 
leeches  was  still  very  great,  yet  they  seemed 
to  be  gradually  injuring  me.  I  saw  my 
physician  again,  who  said  i  must  not  have 
them,  though  he  knew  not  what  to  do  for 
me :  he  thought  I  could  rouse  and  exert  my- 
self more.  But  I  had  not  the  power:  I 
really  could  not.  I  asked  him  if  he  thought 
a  i<eton  would  benefit  me ;  he  said  perhaps  it 
might,  but  he  could  not  say,  and  advised  me, 
if  1  wished  it,  to  try  it.  To  have  the  pros- 
pect of  any  relief  was  so  delightful,  that  1 
determined  to  try  the  seton,  and  by  his  or- 
ders had  one  put  in  the  nape  of  my  neck. 
This  was  kept  open  a  year,  and  for  a  longer 
time  than  anything  else  did  me  much  good ; 
my  head-aches  were  wonderfully  relieved, 
and  by  degrees  I  left  my  bed,  and  was  able  to 
move  about  my  room,  and  at  last  to  get  down 
stairs,  a  thing  I  had  not  done  for  many 
months,  and  as  the  summer  advanced,  I  got 
out  into  the  garden,  but  could  not  walk ; 
and  driving  was  still  painful  to  my  spine 
and  head.  Yet  I  was  belter,  for  1  was  able 
to  see  people  at  times,  but  was  still  obliged 
to  be  quiet,  as  excitement  and  ^reat  exhaus- 
tion were  generally  the  result,  if  I  was  long 
talked  to.  1  was  wretchedly  thin,  and  my 
cough  was  again  becoming  troublesome  and 
weary  to  me.  As  the  winter  was  approach- 
ing, my  own  medical  man  (who  had  attend- 
ed all  our  family  for  years)  induced  me  to 
try  a  winter  at  Hastings,  tor  T  felt  the  cold 
so  much ;  and  in  October  I  was  moved  there 
in  a  bed-carriage,  by  railroad.  After  having 
been  there  some  time,  I  began  to  feel  better, 
and  when  it  was  warm,  I  went  out  for  half 
an  hour  in  the  Bath  chair.  But  the  exertion 
was  very  great,  and  I  could  not  walk  at  all. 
I,  however,  remained  away  from  home  for 
six  months,  and  was  much  better  till  within 
two  months  of  my  leaving,  when  I  began  to 
feel  ill  again,  but  my  complaint  seemed  now 
to  have  assumed  a  different  form.  My  head- 
aches were  very  bad,  though  my  seton  dis- 
charged very  well.  A  sense  of  heavy  weight 
oppressed  me  after  eating,  and  a  kind  of  tor- 
pid state  came  over  me,  so  that  I  felt  1  could 
not  move ;  and  although  1  craved  for  food  I 
have  been  obliged  to  abstain,  so  wretched 
was  the  slatt  wbieli  eating  caused  me.    1 


used  to  feel  in  a  kind  of  dreamy  existence 
directly  after  eating,  with  a  wisn  to  sleep* 
but  if  I  did  it  was  most  disagreeable.  My 
head  felt  heavy,  and  I  was  qaite  anaUe  to 
move  for  a  long  t.me,  and  had  a  great  deai 
of  fever,  and  was  obliged  to  remain  in  my 
bed,  for  I  could  not  move  about  tb«  room 
without  violent  pains  in  my  back ;  the  setoA 
did  not  discharge  as  it  used,  and  it  gave  me 
great  pain,  i  sent  up  to  my  physician  in 
town  to  know  what  to  do ;  ne  said  I  ooght 
by  all  means  to  return  to  town,  as  I  would 
not  have  advice  at  Hastings ;  and  as  soon  as 
1  was  able,  I  did,  in  a  bed-carriage.  The 
next  day  my  doctor  saw  me,  he  thought  me 
extremely  ill ;  I  was  miserably  thin ;  be  said 
my  seton  had  literally  worn  itself  out,  and 
that  it  must  be  closed  up,  as  it  was  only  in- 
juring me :  it  had  been  kept  open  a  year.  Eb 
?;ave  me  some  medicine,  as  I  was  in  such  a 
everish  state,  and  had  a  continual  enawing 
pain  under  my  right  shoulder;  for  the  latter 
he  dry-cupped  me.  He  tried  many  thin^, 
and  thought  I  got  better  for  a  little  while 
under  these  remedies,  yet  it  was  only  for  a 
little  while  I  was  better.  Taking  little  in  the 
way  of  food,  I  was  greatly  reduced ;  I  cooJd 
take  nothing  but  light  puddings,  and  some- 
times not  them,  for  I  was  more  troabJed  by 
sickness  after  eating,  and  pain  at  the  mt  A 
my  stomach ;  [  was  obliged  to  go  many  honm 
without  food,  although  I  longed  for  it,  aa  I 
could  not  keep  in  my  stomach  what  1  took, 
and  I  felt  so  much  easier  and  lighter  when  I 
took  nothing.  But  of  course  this  would  not 
continue.  I  tried  various  remedies  as  my 
stomach  was  so  irritable,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  take  powerful  aperients.  I  continaed  in 
a  most  wretched  state,  never  leaving  my 
bed-room  throughout  the  beautiful  spring 
and  part  of  the  summer  months;  I  was  onJr 
able  to  lie  on  my  sofa,  and  sighed  for  fresh 
air,  I  felt  so  weak  and  sinking.  Nothing* 
however,  seemed  to  do  me  any  good,  and  I 
was  heartily  sick  of  all  the  doctors ;  I  gave 
up  all  remedies  and  resolved  to  trust  to  na- 
ture again,  and,  as  I  at  times  felt  easier,  £ 
resolved  to  try  it  a  drive  for  a  little  while 
would  benefit  me.  The  air  ielt  indeed  tiuly 
delightful,  but  my  bead  sufi*ered  much  from 
the  motion  of  the  carriage,  and  1  therefore 
went  out  but  twice  or  urice,  and  bq^aa  te 
get  so  ill  that  I  knew  not  what  to  do.  My 
limbs  became  affected  with  violent  darting 
and  gnawing  pains ;  I  was  in  my  bed  for 
days,  had  no  rest  at  night,  and  was  com- 
pletely worn  out. 

«  Often  has  the  pain  caosed  me  to  sob  for 
many  an  hour,  and  I  tried  morphine  to  give 
me  sleep ;  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  I  got  so 
bad  and  irritable  I  could  not  bear  myself,  ajid 
felt  as  if  I  must  gradnaUy  die,  at  lime*,  kam 


VfUh' Mestneriinty  by  Dr.  Elliotson. 


173 


my  dreadful  pains  and  excitable  state.  1 
therefore  determined  to  see  our  own  family 
medical  attendant,  who  had  always  been 
most  kind  to  me,  though  from  living  at  a 
distance,  he  had  not  attended  me  through  the 
illness.  He  advised  roe  to  see  some  other 
physician  :  and  about  this  time  I  was  urged 
much  to  think  of  mesmerism,  which  I 
laughed  at  and  ridiculed;  and  I  said,  *  I 
would  not  hear  of  it,  as  it  was  all  nonsense : 
after  four  years  of  such  illness,  and  after 
every  thin^  had  heen  tried,  to  think  of  mes- 
merisin  doing  good  was  absurd ;  and  I  did 
not  like  it  or  believe  in  it.'  1  however  heard 
ail  that  was  said,  and  a  book  was  sent  me 
with  the  case  of  a  lady  who  had  been  ill  for 
fifteen  years,  and  had  tried  everything,  and 
was  told  she  must  die,  when  she  heard  of 
mesmerism  and  tried  it,  and  was  cured.  Yet, 
though  all  this  surprised  me  very  much,  I 
would  not  listen  to  beine  mesmerii^ed.  I 
aftked  the  opinion  of  our  family  medical  at- 
tendant, and  he  said  it  was  a  thing  that  must 
be  left  entirely  to  my  own  decision ;  he  had 
seen  a  remarkable  case  of  a  child,  who  had 
been  cured  by  it;  and,  though  he  did  not 
himself  understand  it,  he  would,  whenever 
I  wished,  call  on  Dr.  Elliotson,  and  ask  him 
to  see  me.  After  thinkina:  over  it  a  long 
time,  I  determined  to  see  Dr.  £lliotson,  and 
ask  whether  he  thought  it  might  in  some 
degree  alleviate  my  sufferings,  although  I 
had  no  faith  in  it,  and  felt  nothing  now 
would  do  good.  My  doctor  called  on  Dr. 
Elliotson,  and  told  him  of  my  case,  and  how 
1  had  suffered  and  was  still  suffering ;  also 
that  one  physician  had  said  my  right  lung  was 
diseased.  Dr.  Elliotson  said  he  must  see  me 
"first  to  judge  for  himself ;  he  had  known 
mesmerism  work  wonders  where  everything 
had  failed,  and  as  I  so  much  wanted  to  be 
•oothed  and  to  ontain  rest,  he  did  not  see 
why  it  should  not  be  tried.  Dr.  Elhotson 
came,  and  after  examining  my  chest  very 
carefully  with  the  stethoscope,  told  me  there 
was  no  disease  anywhere  about  the  lungs ; 
that  my  cough  was  entirely  from  nervous 
irritation  of  the  air  passages ;  and,  after  some 
farther  examination,  he  began  to  mesme- 
rise me.  I  shall  never  for({et  the  effect  it 
had  on  me  the  iirst  day,  it  was  so  dreadful ; 
I  was  all  the  time  in  a  wretched  state  of 
weakness,  and  could  not  sit  up  on  the  sofa 
without  being  bent  double.  As  he  made 
the  passes,  1  became  most  restless  and  start- 
ed np  from  the  sofa,  so  that  my  own  doctor. 
Dr.  Elliotson,  and  my  maid,  were  obliged  to 
hold  me  to  keep  me  quiet.  This  continued 
for  some  time,  and  at  last,  after  great  patience 
on  Dr.  Elliotson's  part,  he  got  me  quiet,  and 
I  burst  into  a  violent  fit  of  sob  bine  and  was 
relieved.    Dr.  Elliotson  remainea  with  me 


nearly  two  hours,  and  was  most  kind.  Af- 
ter trying  to  cheer  me  up,  he  left  me,  and  de- 
sired I  might  ba  kept  very  quiet,  saying  he 
would  see  me  the  next  day. 

"  My  stale  after  he  left  me  was  mo«t 
dreadful.  I  was  again  seized  with  violent 
hysterics,  jumped  up  off  the  sofa,  and  be- 
came quite  unmanageable.  M^  maid  was 
forced  to  hold  me  to  veep  me  quiet ;  and  af- 
ter an  attack  of  two  hours,  i  sunk  down 
perfectly  exhausted,  and  went  to  oed.  But 
no  sleep  came  U[  on  me ;  and  the  next  day, 
though  1  was  up,  I  felt  so  strange  and  ill, 
that  1  wished  I  had  never  tried  mesmerism, 
it  so  completely  seemed  to  have  routed  (I 
may  say)  and  disturbed  my  whole  system. 
However,  Dr.  Elliotson  persevered  every  day 
for  nine  months,  half  an  hour  at  a  time. 
His  great  kindness,  patience  and  perseverance 
1  shall  never  forget  He  was  always  the 
same,  and  unlike  all  my  other  medical  men, 
who  had  seemed  to  imagine  1  mi^ht  get  well 
if  I  tried  ;  just  as  if  I  would  not  if  I  could, 
£lnd  1  have  often  cried  for  hours  to  be  what 
I  once  was.  And  really  I  used  to  wonder 
how  he  could  go  on  from  day  to  day,  for 
there  were  no  visible  effect  for  more  than 
three  months.  Certainly  after  the  first  two 
or  three  days  1  began  to  be  much  quieter 
while  he  was  mesmerising  me,  and  at  last  I 
lay  quite  quiet,  and  felt  no  wish  to  move, 
and  the  cough  left  me.  He  encouraged  me, 
by  telling  me  it  might  be  many  days,  per- 
haps many  weeks,  before  sleep  came  on,  but 
he  thought  that  when  it  did,  my  relief  would 
be  great.  I  still  had  no  faith  m  mesmerismy 
and  often, after  he  has  left  me,  have  1  thought 
to  myself  what  nonsense  it  was  going  on 
with  it,  and  have  longed  to  ask  him  to  give 
me  up.  But  my  maid  persuaded  me  to  per- 
severe, as  she  thought,  though  it  was  very 
slight,  she  could  see  an  improvement  work- 
ing in  me,  and  that  1  was  calmer,  and  not  so 
irritable,  as  when  Dr.  Ii^iotson  first  saw  me. 

**  I  was  taking  violent  aperient  medicine 
every  night,  as  Iwas  obliged.  He  told  me 
I  must  begin  to  leave  it  off  by  degrees,  it  was 
injuring  me  greatly,  and  that  mesmerism 
would  not  take  effect  as  long  as  1  did.  So 
by  degrees  I  left  it  off,  and  at  the  end  of  two 
months  I  began  to  take  only  a  dessert  spoon- 
ful of  castor  oil,  and  that  only  once  in  five 
days;  and  at  last  a  teaspoon ful  was  suffi- 
cient, and  that  once  in  ten  days.  1  now  at 
the  end  of  three  months  began  to  feel  a 
change;  something  different  seemed  really 
now  to  be  taking  place.  I  could  sit  up  bet- 
ter on  my  sofa,  and  my  appearance  got  bet- 
ter, not  so  ghastly  and  worn ;  and  though  the 
improvement  was  slight,  still  I  felt  some* 
thing  which  I  had  never  before  experieneed, 
and  Dr.  Elliotson  himseii  bogan  to  think  I 


174 


Cure  of  intense  Pains  and  other  sufferings, 


wa9  really  mending.  Every  day  1  became 
quieter ;  my  head  was  better,  and  my  limbs 
also.  He  ordered  my  maid  to  mesmerise  my 
limbs  at  night,  to  ease  the  pains ;  and  I  ob- 
tained relief.  My  rest  at  night  improved; 
nightmare,  that  I  used  to  be  horribly  subject 
to,  entirely  left  me ;  and  1  felt  1  was  getting 
on. 

"  When  Dr.  Elliotson  first  attended  me,  T 
was  continually  in  bed  ;  but  gradually  I  was 
able  to  leave  it  oftener  and  longer :  every 
day  for  a  week  or  fortnight  together,  and  so 
on,  until  1  seldom  kept  it  for  a  whole  day. — 
Of  course,  at  times  i  was  not  so  well  ;  but 
when  I  think  of  the  improvement  that  took 
place,  1  am  thunderstruck.  My  depression 
was  not  nearly  so  great,  and  I  could  sit  in  an 
easy  chair  for  some  time,  and  felt  lighter. 
Formerly  I  would  be  for  hours  totally  un- 
able to  speak,  and  so  depressed  that  the  tears 
used  to  roll  down  my  cheeks  from  the  state 
of  exhaustion  and  suffering  that  was  upoij 
me ;  and  no  one  knows  how  utterly  wretch- 
ed I  have  been.  All  this  had  left  me ;  and 
when  mesmerism  had  been  tried  for  four  or 
five  months,  1  began  to  feel  a  different  crea- 
ture. The  spring  too  was  fast  approaching, 
and  Dr.  Elliotson  allowed  me  to  go  out  for  a 
drive  for  half  an  hour.  Though  I  was  car- 
ried up  and  down  stairs,  the  exertion  was 
very  great  to  me,  but  1  persevered  by  his 
directions,  only  being  allowed  to  go  out  at 
first  once  a  week,  thence  twice,  and  so  on  to 
every  day.  The  air  indeed  was  delicious, 
though  my  exhaustion  was  very  great;  but 
nevertheless  I  bore  it  wonderfully  well,  and 
by  degrees  walked  down  stafrs—a  thing  I 
had  not  done  lor  many  months  before  he 
first  saw  me ;  and  after  a  time  1  walked  up 
slowly  as  well  as  down,  and  next  was  able 
to  -drive  to  Kensington  Gardens  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  walk  for  ten  minutes,  and  gradually 
up  to  half  an  hour. 

*<  Mesmerism  now  began  to  take  great  ef- 
fect, and  1  began  to  believe  in  it  most  truly.  A 
sensation  of  torpidity  came  over  me,  so  that 
I  felt  I  could  not  move  off  the  sofa,  even  if 
any  one  had  attempted  to  kick  the  door 
down  in  order  to  get  into  my  room  (as  ^y 
maid  always  locked  the  door  after  Dr.  Elliot- 
son left,  that  no  one  might  disturb  me  )  I 
used  sometimes  to  remain  in  this  stupified 
state  for  two  hours,  feeling  more  like  a  per- 
son, I  should  think,  who  was  dead  drunk  ; 
when  the  effects  went  off,  [  used  to  get  ofi 
the  sofa,  aqd  I  ehali  never  forget  my  lace  on 
looking  at  it ;  1  was  so  altered,  just  like  a 
tipsy  person.  But  by  remamin^  quiet  for 
some  time,  all  this  went  off,  and  in  the  after 
part  of  the  day  I  felt  as  if  I  were  quite  well ; 
so  well  and  exhilarated  I  could  do  anything, 
and  have  done  too  much  for  my  own  strength. 


Indeed,  my  sister  happening  one  evening  to 
see  me  from  a  window  pacing  up  and  down 
my  room,  could  not  believe  it  was  I,  and 
looked  twice  to  convince  herself;  so  sur- 
prised was  she  after  seeing  me  like  a  dead 
person  caring  for  nought  so  long,  that  she 
could  not  comprehend  it.    No  one  indeed 
can  tell  what  a  truly  happy  and  blessed  re* 
lief  was  now  upon  me.    I  never  felt  svcli 
an  exhilarated  feeling  as  from  the  effects  of 
mesmerism.    I  lost  all  nervous  excitement; 
my  whole  appearance  was   improved;   I 
conld  read  now  a  little  and  see  more  people 
without  suffering,  and  began  to  feel  as  if  I 
were  getting  like  my  own  self.    Sleep  came 
gradually  upon  me,  so  that  often  after  Dr. 
Elliotson  had  left  me  I  have  slept  unknow- 
ingly for  more  than  half  an  hour,  and  the 
refresfiment  afterwards  was  like  I  know  n$L 
what,  and  did  me  more  good  than  two  boon 
common  sleep.    I  used  to  wake  up  wonder- 
ing what  had  happened  and  where  f  wis, 
and  was  not  aware  my  maid  had  left  the 
room ;  and  yet  formerly,  not  even  a  pemn 
slightly  whispering  or  working  with  a  nee- 
dle could  be  allowed  in  my  room,  so  great 
was  my  agony  from  the  noise.     In  fact  mes- 
merism was  working  wonders,  and  J  was 
obliged  to  ask  Dr.  Elliotson  to  dirainisb  tbe 
time,  which  he  did  to  twenty  miootes^  as  tbe 
efiect  was  so  very  great  that  I  could  not  re- 
cover for  hours  from  the  stupified  ^tate.    He 
gradually  decreased  it  to  fifteen  minutes,  and 
then  to  ten.    Even  this  now  was  becoming 
too  overpowering,  and  he  fried  five  minutes, 
which  was  enough  ;  till  at  last  three  minutes 
did ;  and  as  he  was  going  to  Switzeriand  in 
September,  he  advised  me  to  leave  it  off,  and. 
not  be  mesmerised  unless  I  felt  ill.     He  had 
shewn  my  maid  how  to  do  it,  and  therefoie 
I  could  always  be  mesmerised  if  necessary. 
I  began  now  to  get  about  like  any  other 
being.     I  never  took  during  the  whole  nine 
months  any  medicine  beyond  aperients,  and 
those  less  and  less ;  I  took  but  little  nooridi- 
ment,  and  only  cold  water  and  light  pud- 
dings, and  often  not  them  ;  so  that  really  1 
may  say  mesmerism  was  my  only  remedy. 
"  I  can  never  cease  to  look  back  with  feel- 
ings of  gratitude  to    Dr.  Elliotson  for  his 
great  thought,  kindness  and  patience ;  and 
what  I  feel  at  my  wonderful  recovery  it  is 
impossible  to  express;  indeed  I  sometimes 
fancy  I  am  dreaming  now,  so  strange  is  it  to 
be  well  and  about.     I  thought  if  mesmerism 
could  even  quiet  my  wretched  state  it  would 
be  a  blessing,  but  certainly  never  expected 
to  be  as  well  as  ever,  and  more  active  than 
ever  I  was ;  and  when  I  reflect  that  every- 
thing had  been  tried,  and  think  over  all  I 
have  gone  through,  and  the  heartless  speech- 
es that  were  made  conoemiQg  my  getting 


mth  Mesmerism  Jby  Dr,  Elliotson. 


175 


well  if  I  chose  to  exert  myself,  wherean  I 
was  never  one  to  give  way,  and  was  always 
nost  active,  I  am  so  astonished  that  I  can- 
not at  ail  comprehend  it.  I  am  now  quite 
well,  and  able  to  take  very  long  walks,  and 
stiJl  drink  nothing  but  water,  and  take  not 
as  much  nouriKhment  as  many  take  who  do 
not  walk  as  1  do ;  and  when  many  people 
who  had  not  seen  me  for  four  years  meet 
me»  they  start  back  and  tell  me  it  must  be  a 
resurrection,  and  that  I  am  a  Jiving  wonder. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  all  this,  I  lear  many 
will  not  believe  mesmerism  has  cured  me,  or 
that  there  is  anything  in  it.  1  only  wish 
they  could  feel  the  efiects  I  bave  fe't  from  it, 
when  gradually  it  worked  upon  my  system, 
at  first  80  uncomfortably,  and  then  so  soo- 
thingly. 1  eannot  bear  to  hear  any  one  for 
a  moment  laugh  at  it,  for  to  it  alone,  I  must 
maintain,  do  1  owe  my  recovery.  As  I  said, 
Br.  Eliiotson's  great  attention  and  kindness 
will  ever  be  remembered  by  me  with  feel- 
ings of  the  greatest  gratitude ;  and  much  do 
I  regret  1  did  not  try  mesmerism  long  before, 
for  I  would  all  along  have  given  worlds  to 
have  recovered,  so  unlike  my  former  self 
was  I  when  in  this  wretched  state  of  suffer- 
ing." 


The 'painful  excitement  which  the  patient 
in  the  preceeding  account  describes  as  the 
result  of  my  first  mesmerising  her  was  pos- 
sibly only  an  hysterical  emotion  at  the  nov- 
elty of  the  measure  and  of  myself,  who  had 
never  seen  her  before.  I  have  known  occur- 
rences of  this  kind  in  other  instances  of  the 
first  mesmerisation.  I  recollect  that  when 
Dr.  Roots  and  myself  allowed  Mr.  Chenevix 
in  1828,  to  make  trials  of  mesmerism  on 
some  of  our  patients  in  St.  Thomas's  Hospi- 
tal, a  female,  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Roots  for 
violent  hysterical  fits,  had  a  sharp  one  al- 
most as  soon  as  the  manipulations  were  be- 
gan the  first  and  only  time,  Dr.  Roots  not  al- 
£>wing  her  or  others  to  be  mesmerised  again, 
and  pronouncing  mesmerism  to  be  injurious, 
and  since  then,  1  understand,  not  entertain- 
ing a  more  favorable  opinion  of  it.  An  epi- 
Ie|»tic  young  man  from  Welchpool  had  a 
Violent  epileptic  fit  when  I  first  saw  him  and 
mesmerised  him  :  but  he  was  mesmerised 
regularly  from  that  day  and  never  had 
another,— becoming  perfectly  cured,  and  his 
case,  with  all  its  interesting  mesmeric  phe- 
nomena, is  detailed  in  the  first  volume  of 
The  Zoitt,  Various  catchings,  pains,  and 
other  annoyances,  even  fits,  when  the  patient 
is  subject  to  them,  may  occur  from  mesmer> 
ism  at  first,  and  recur  at  every  mesmerisation 
for  some  time;  but  I  have  always  found 
these  inconveniences  gradually  and  com- 


pletely disappear  if  mesmerism  was  perse- 
vered with.*  Still  1  cannot  assert  that  these 
are  not  results  of  mesmeric  influence  indepen- 
dent of  emotion. 

For  mesmerism  is  a  much  more  remark- 
able power  than  many  suppose.  The  mes- 
merism of  one  person  will  aflect  a  certain  in- 
dividual difierently  from  the  mesmerism  of 
another ;  and  this  even  in  regard  to  local  ef- 
fects,— when  employed  but  locally ;  and 
where  imagination  cannot  be  conceived  to 
bave  any  influence.  A  variety  of  persons 
will,  for  instance,  induce  a  variety  of  sensa- 
tions in  a  mesmerised  knee  or  arm.  Some 
are  much  more  aflected  by  one  mesmeriser 
than  by  another.  Some  derive  no  benefit 
from  one  mesmeriser,  and  great  benefit  from 
another.  Also  changes  occur.  1  have  a  pa- 
tient whom  1  send  to  sleep  with  one  pass,  or 
indeed  by  merely  holding  my  hand  for  a 
second  before  her  face,  and  whom  1  benefit 
exceedingly.  But  such  is  her  susceptibility, 
that  if  another,  not  to  say  makes  a  pass  be- 
fore her,  but  stands  or  sits  near  her  in  her 
mesmeric  state,  unless  that  person  is  already 
in  the  mesmeric  state,  she  is  rendered  very  ill 
and  exhausted.  The  same  occurs  in  her 
natural  state  if  any  one  but  myself  for  a 
moment  attempts  to  mesmerise  her.  Former- 
ly a  single  pass  from  myself,  even  when  she 
was  in  her  natural  state  made  her  very  ill. 
1  had  long  attended  her,  and  long  did  not 
propose  mesmerism  to  her.  But  the  attempt 
by  myself  or  a  young  lady  who  knew  her 
well  made  her  ill  for  many  days ;  whereas 
her  sister,  who  was  not  like  us  in  good 
health,  sent  her  asleep  for  many  hours  twice 
a  day  with  the  greatest  benefit.  At  length 
her  sister  did  her  no  good ;  and  my  mesmer- 
ism was,  and  now  is,  not  only  borne,  but 
productive  of  the  very  highest  benefit.  A 
mesmeriser  therefore  need  not  feel  hurt  be- 
cause his  mesmerism  disagrees  with  a  par- 
ticular individual.  The  very  person  who 
agrees  with  his  patient  may  disagree  with 
another.  It  is  wrong  to  urge  perseverance 
with  himself  when  he  does  not  suit  a  patient 
By  makinff  the  attempt  but  slightly,  how- 
ever,  and  py  behaving  in  the  very  kindest 
manner,  his  mesmerism  may  at  last  be  borne ; 
and  it  may  be  objectionable  to  make  the  at- 
tempt slightly  at  distant  intervals,  it  is  pro- 
bable,  nay  almost  certain,  that  imagination, 
without  the  patient  being  at  all  aware  of  it, 
may  contribute  to  the  degree  and  character 
of  the  efiects  of  diflerent  u^esmensersin  some 
cases,  t 

The  ultimate  augmentation  of  the  power 
of  mesmerism,  even  to  inconvenience,  that 
occurred  in  the  present  case,  I  have  noticed 


*  ZoUt,  Vol.  IL,  p.  199. 
tZoul|Vol.n.p.49.98. 


ire 


Cure  of  intense  Pains  and  other  sufferings^ 


in  others.  It  was  remarkable  in  the  young 
gentleman  from  Welchpool,  permanently 
cured  of  epilepsy.  Daily  mesmerism  at 
length  produced  head-ache,  inability  to  col- 
lect his  thoughts,  flushing  and  heat  of  his 
lace;  and  it  was  performed  but  every  other 
day  for  a  week;  then  every  fourth  day; 
then  but  once  a  week ;  and  then  omitted  for 
«K>d.*  Mary  Ann,  spoken  of  in  so  many 
Zoists,^  has  been  mesmerised  daily  for  epi- 
lepsy above  four  years.  The  more  she  was 
mesmerised  tbe  better  she  was.  Finding  her 
improve  very  little,  1  not  only  allowed  j^er 
to  sleep  three  or  four  hours  every  morning 
at  my  house,  one  pass  being  sumcient  for 
this,  but  her  father  always  sent  her  into  mes- 
meric sleep  as  soon  as  she  was  in  bed,  and 
this  sleep  was  allowed  to  expend  itself,  as  it 
always  did  in  three  or  four  hours,  running 
into  ordinary  sleep,  the  proof  of  which  was 
her  always  remembering  in  the  mesmeric 
state  the  next  day  all  her  thoughts  and  every- 
thing else  which  had  occurred  during  the 
first  three  or  four  hours  of  her  sleep  the  pre- 
vious night,  and  no  more.  This  additional 
mesmerisation  for  some  time  did  her  good  ; 
and  if  I  deepened  her  coma  by  laying  my 
hand  upon  her  forehead,  this  did  her  good. 
But  at  length  the  additional  quantity  and  the 
additional  degree  did  her  harm ;  rendered  her 
faint  and  leeole  for  perhaps  hours.  If,  in  her 
mesmeric  state,  she  mesmerises  any  one,  or 
touches  for  a  minute  any  one  in  the  mesme- 
ric state,  80  powerful  is  the  effect,  that  she 
always  has  dropped  senseless  and  exhausted. 
But  now,  if  even  another  is  mesmerised  by 
passes  in  the  same  room  where  she  is  in  the 
mesmeric  state,  she  drops  senseless  and  ex- 
hausted, and  her  limbs  can  no  longer  be  stif- 
fened. There  is  not  a  spark  of  affectation  or 
fancy  in  her.  The  effects  I  know  to  be  genu- 
inely mesmeric.  I  now  no  longer  attribute 
to  fancy  the  restleness  and  faintness  which 
I  have  seen  some  persons  exhibit  when  in  a 
room  were  others  were  being  mesmerised. 
In  Mary  Ann  i  now  refrain  from  producing 
deep  mesmeric  coma,  and  from  having  her 
mesmerised  more  than  once  a  day ;  and  she 
is  decidedly  improving.  The  ultimate  power 
of  mesmerism  in  the  young  lady  whose  case 
forms  the  subject  of  this  paper,  and  its  gra- 
dually increasing  production  of  unpleasant 
efkcts,  are  very  remarkable.  Could  I  have 
induced  absolute  coma,  possibljr  she  would 
have  experienced  none  of  that  miserable  con- 
fused state.  But  she  never  went  to  sleep 
while  [  was  with  her;  and  I  could  not  deep 
en  her  heaviness,  for  she  was  made  uncom 
fortable  by  longer  continuance  of  the  down 


•ZoUt,Vol.I.,p.4Se. 
tVoL  11.,  pp.  916.947, 
454.    Vol.  IV.  p.  53. 


38&     yoLni^pp.3S8,374, 


ward  passes  before  her  face  hy  which  I  al- 
ways mesmerised  her,  or  by  placing  the 
points  of  my  fingers  upon  her  closed  eyes  or 
my  hands  upon  her  iorehead ;  and  neither 
metals,  nor  a  very  laige  magnet,  nor  cryelalB 
exerted  anv  power  over  her.  All  thin  holds 
good  with  medicines.  Some  persons  are  lit- 
tle or  not  at  all  affected  by  a  particalar  drug ; 
some  are  exquisitely  susceptible  of  its  efiecle; 
some  are  affected  agreeably,  others  disagree- 
ably ;  and  in  some  a  complete  change  will 
occur.  Persons  insusceptible,  or 
insusceptible,  of  the  effects  oi  a  me 
may  become  very  susceptible  of  them ;  wad 
those  with  whom  a  particular  medicine  al- 
ways did  good,  or  at  least  agreed*  may  ulti- 
mately tind  it  not  merely  useless  bat  pon- 
tively  injurious ;  and  there  is  no  more  evi- 
dence of  imagination  in  the  case  of  mesowr- 
ism  than  of  these  medicines.  Attention  is 
these  points,  and  the  adjusUnentof  the  force, 
is  no  less  indispensable  in  mesmerism  thaa 
in  the  exhibition  of  medicines.  The  mins- 
test  amount  of  mesmerism  may  be  reqniaile 
in  a  case  which  once  required  all  the  hms- 
merism  that  could  be  bestowed. 

Imagination  cannot  be  alleged  as  the  cam 
of  the  cure.    The  patient  had  strong  mm 
and  strong  resolution,  and  a  thoroogJi  as- 
tempt  for  affectation,  fancies,  whiDS,  isd 
the  desire  of  sympathy  and  notice.    It  was 
lon^  before  she  could  be  induced  to  try  mes- 
merism ;  and,  long  after  she  began  to  try  it, 
she  continued  to  regard  it  as  nonsense.   She 
had  no  opinion  of  i!  till,  to  her  surprise,  she 
found  herself  improving.      Exactly  in  the 
same  way,  Rosina,  whose  channing  case  is 
recorded  m  the  second  volume  of  lie  ZoiA, 
submitted  to  be  mesmerised  solely  to  ^^a» 
her  father,  and  regarded  it  as  nonsense  tiU 
she  actually  found  her  fits  were  less  fieqeeBt 
and  her  illness  less  after  each  fiL*    Yet  1 

*  "  She  had  continued  to  coma  to  me  is  ^b^M- 
ence  to  ber  father,  bat  aa  ahe  haa  ainca  told  aa 
■till  regarded  the  all'airaa  a  piece  of  folly,  aoitb»> 
lieving  that  1  ever  aeot  her  to  aleep,  and  detenda' 
ed  not  to  sleep.  She  found,  howerer,  that  her  fik 
were  much  less  treqaeot,  and  that  ahe  aoAreA 
mach  less  after  they  were  orer,  and  tbia  made  ber 
begin  to  think  there  was  something  in  it ;  m»4  w 
wonder,  Tor  she  had,  independently  of  the  niasf 
ric  process  and  state,  bat  three  in  eighteen  daja 
each  milder  than  the  proceeding,  and  the  iMl 
withoat  a  struggle.  Tne  ignorant  argiiment  af 
mesmeric  eflecis  being  all  the  reault  of  imagiaatMa 
was  absolutely  ridiculous  in  her  case.  She  buA 
despised  mesmerism,  and  defied  it ;  and  her  iaa^ 
ligence  and  resolution  are  of  no  ordinary  ama«A 
But  she  could  resist  no  longer,  and  ia  now  aa  di^ 
gusted  with  those  who  talk  tneir  chiJdiah  nonafiw 
against  the  reaiitv  and  utility  of  mesmenaai.  m 
she  was  originally  with  tboae  who  helieved  in 
truth.  Even  a  litUe  sister  who  used  to  ran  oatef 
the  room  when  her  fit  began,  remarked  the  i:» 
provement  in  the  violence  and  number  of  her  fita 
and  said  in  a  week, '  Mother,  what  a  good  thiaf  it  h 
you  took  Rosina  to  that  new  Doctor.  The  ezcilV' 
meat  of  an  attack  by  the  meamaric  praceea  crada- 
ally  declined  "-Vol.  11^  p.  IM. 


toUh  Mesmerism^  by  Dr.  EUioison. 


177 


have  no  doubt  that  iauigiDation  has  great  ia- 
floeoce  over  mesmeric  patients.  1  ieel  cer- 
tain that  there  is  Jint  the  genuine  mesmeric 
influence  transmitted  from  one  person  to 
another,  often  unconsciously  in  regard  to 
one  or  both  partieSt  and  even  transmissible 
by  the  intervention  of  inanimate  substances, 
and  it  is  perhaps  a  modification  of  galvan- 
ism, magnetism,  and  other  powers  of  inani- 
mate matter,  which  may  be  fundamentally 
one  and  fundamentally  the  same  as  that 
which  produces  vital  phenomena  and  the 
mental  phenomena  of  the  brain  or  other  men- 
tal organs,  if  others  there  be.  But  I  am  as 
certain  that,  secondly^  imagination,  sugges- 
tion, emotion,  or  whatever  name  we  choose 
to  employ,  has  a  frequent  share  in  producing 
the  phenomena ;  and  that,  thirdly ^  the  mere 
will  of  another  person  very  often  is  able  to 
produce  them,  though  i  have  never  been 
able  to  make  it  even  probable  in  any  trials  I 
have  made  that  my  will  has  had  any  share 
in  producing  the  phenomena  which  I  have 
e&cted  by  mesmeric  means.  A  very  remark- 
able example  of  the  true  mesmeric  influence 
was  that  of  Mr.  Henry  S.  Thompson  and  a 
lady,  who,  being  both  determined  sceptics, 
resolved  to  play  a  trick  upon  a  party.  It  was 
ananged  that  he  should  make  passes  and  she 

go  to  sleep  and  exhibit  phenomena ;  when  to 
is  utter  astonishment  his  passes  proved  ef- 
fective, and  the  lady  fell  mto  a  true  mes- 
meric coma.* 

The  present  case  affords  an  additional  proof 
that  the  common  idea  of  sleep  or  some  other 
sensible  efiect  being  requisite  to  benefit  from 
mesmerism  is  unfounded.  No  sleep  nor  any 
sensible  eflect  resulted  while  yet  the  cure  hi- 
gan  and  proceeded.! 

It  exhibits  also  the  necessity  for  steady  and 
long  peiaeverance  in  the  absence  of  all  pros- 
pect of  improvement  For  three  months  I 
waa  not  able  to  discern  any  improvement 
nor  any  efiect.  I  confess  I  began  to  feel  a 
little  despair.  But  I  knew  how  slow  are 
many  of  nature's  results ;  1  knew  no  reason 
why  1  should  not  succeed;  and  I  went 
calmly  on  as  1  have  done  in  supporting  mes- 
merism against  the  efibrtsof  nearly  all  the 
profession.  I  have  seen  some  mesmerisers 
give  up  a  case  in  a  few  months,  or  weeks ; 
or  even  not  persevere  if  there  was  no  sensi- 
ble effect  of  some  kind  the  first  or  second 
time  of  mesmerising.  Patients  and  their 
friends  may  be  excused  such  conduct  on  the 
score  of  ignorance  ;  but  those  who  take  no- 
on  themselves  to  practise  mesmerism  should 
Imow  better. 

This  case  proves  the  error  of  a  common 
fancy  that  mesmerism  is  the  effect  of  a  strong 


t  Zoiet.  Vol  I.,  p.  18» ;  Vol.  1II.,]^  9». 

2 


person  upon  a  weaker ;  and  that  the  weak 
are  the  most  susceptible.  I  have  often  at  ' 
once  powerfully  affected  persons  of  fair 
strength  and  health;  and  very  often  have 
persevered  a  very  considerable  time  day  after 
day  without  causing  any  effect  with  persons 
of  extreme  debility,  debility  being  usually  at- 
tended with  irritability  which  probably  re* 
sisted  the  influence.*  While  this  lady  was 
very  weak,  I  was  not  aware  of  any  eflect ; 
and,  as  she  regained  her  strength,  the  power 
of  mesmerism  became  more  and  more  mani- 
fest, and  at  length  became  painfully  great. 
So  in  ordinary  medicine,  during  a  severe 
disease  doses  are  borne  and  required  which 
disagree  as  the  disease  declines*  and  cannot 
be  l^roe  at  all  when  it  ceases.  In  very  low 
fever  and  in  violent  pains,  a  quantity  of 
wine  is  taken  without  inconvenience  and 
with  benefit  that  excites  injuriously  as  the 
health  returns,  and  we  have  gradually  to 
lessen  the  amount 

If  this  case  affords  important  mesmeric  in- 
struction, it  iurnishes  a  grave  lesson  to  those 
medical  men  who  scoff  at  mesmerism.  Here 
was  a  fellow-creature  of  the  gentle  sex  suf- 
fering by  no  fault  of  her  own  the  severest 
torments.  Several  of  the  most  popular  prac- 
titioners in  the  highest  circles  were  called 
in :  and  no  doubt  did  their  best  But  to 
what  did  llieir  efforts  amount }  After  large 
expense,  and  the  actual  exasperation  of  all 
the  sufferings  by  many  of  their  measures, 
she  was  in  the  end  just  as  bad  as  ever ;  and 
1  feel  convinced  that,  had  nothing  been  done, 
she  would  not  have  been  worse  in  the  long 
run,  and  in  niany  respects  would  have  been 
much  better.  They  practised  no  better  than 
the  humblest  general  practitioner  of  the  vil- 
lage  or  the  obscure  street :  no  better  than 
any  prMCtitioner  who  lived  a  thousand  years 
ago.  But  it  they  did  no  better,  they  did  no 
worse  than  others  would  have  done.  They 
practised  according  to  the  present  imperfect 
state  of  medical  science.  Yet  1  must  differ 
from  them  in  many  of  their  measures.  I  re- 
gret the  injunction  to  excite  her  and  distract 
her  with  noise  and  other  harsh  measures* 
while  her  nerves  were  all  agonizingly  sen- 
sitive. This  practice  was  tne  same  as  or- 
dering a  man  with  an  inflamed  eye  to  be  ex- 
posed to  the  Buu  with  his  eyelids  held  open, 
or  as  pouring  brandy  into  an  inflamed  stom- 
ach. The  excessive  leeching,  the  blistering, 
and  strong  physic,  were  all  m<>asures  whicn 
I  would  not  have  employed.  Neither  should 
I  for  a  moment  have  hinted  to  her  or  any 
one  so  unjust  an  opinion  as  that  she  could 
prevent  her  sufferings  and  would  get  well 
when  she  thought  proper.  Such  riews 
appear  to  me  erroneous  in  these  difleaaeeol 

•Zolst{Vdl.I.,f; W;  VHnr.,9(«li. 


178     Cure  of  intense  Paine  and  other  sufferings^  mth  Mesmerism. 


the  neiTous  Bystem.  The  exquisite  sensi- 
tireness  of  various  nerves,  and  the  mental 
agony  in  these  cases,  is  just  as  real  as  the 
pain  of  pleurisy.  The  various  morbid  sen- 
sations of  different  nerves  in  these  cases,  as 
well  as  occasional  strange  inclinations  and 
thoughts  which  we  witness,  are  ail  real. — 
The  inferences  of  danger  which  patients  in 
nervous  diseases  draw  from  their  sufferings 
are  unfounded :  but  their  sufferings  are  as 
real  as  they  represent.  They  may  not  he 
sensitive  to  noise  and  other  things  at  one 
moment,  and  be  very  sensitive  at  another, 
perhaps  the  next,  moment :  but  it  is  just  the 
same  with  the  states  of  the  nerves  that 
cause  the  shootings  of  tic  douloureux  or 
convulsions.  A  patient  may  be  free  from 
these  one  moment  and  agonized  or  distorted 
the  next.  Nervous  patients  are  too  often 
very  cruelly  treated.  When  not  very  bad 
they  may  help  themselves  by  exertion  ;  just 
as  a  madman  near  sanity  may  by  some  ar- 
gument addressed  to  him  shake  off  his  dis- 
eased idea :  but  they  can  no  more  by  effort 
cure  themselves  of  their  agonies  while  in 
full  force  than  the  inmates  of  Bedlam  can 
be  cured  by  reasoning.* 

Some  medical  men  behave  unworthily  to 
their  patients  when  no  better;  stoutly  de- 
claring that  they  are  better,  and  attempting 
to  bully  them  into  a  confession  that  they 
are  better,  while  the  poor  creatures  feel  and 
know  they  are  no  better :  and  I  have  wit- 
nessed this  both  when  the  object  was  to 
continue  attendance  upon  a  private  patient, 
and  in  hospital  practice  from  unwillingness 
to  admit  the  imperfection  of  their  art, — and 
even  when  the  patients  had  no  nervous  affec- 
tion and  were  steadily  approaching  the  grave. 

What  is  the  grave  lesson  to  medical  men 
in  the  innumerable  cases  which  they  know 
by  woful  experience  they  cannot  cure,  or  in 
which,  though  they  have  hoped  to  eifect  a 
€ure,  they  are  baffled  ? 

1  have  always  urged  upon  the  mesmeric 
world  and  upon  patients  that  mesmerism 
should  bs  regarded  as  a  holy  thing —a  thine: 
involving  the  most  solemn  responsibilities 
of  striving  with  all  simplicity  and  earnest- 
ness of  purpose  to  benetit  our  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  of  regarding  ourselves  as  placed 
in  a  sacred  relation,  demanding  perfect  in- 
tegrity and  perfect  purity  of  feeling.  *  The 
person  who  holds  not  these  convictions,  and 
acts  not  entirely  upon  them,  is  unfit  to  mes- 
merise, and  should  be  detested  and  openly 
discountenanced  by  us  all :  equally  with  the 
medical  person  who  forj^ets  his  solemn  re- 
sponsibilities in  the  confidential  intercourse 

*  My  readers  will  remember  the  absurditieii  of 
Mr«.  Chick,  who  connidered  that  poor  Mrs  Dom- 
he  J  had  onlj  to  **make  an  ^fort,"  and  actually 
perished  inr  want  of  haviof  mad*  **  m  ^tri,** 


which  his  profession  allows  him.    But  I 
must  urge  upon  the  medical  world  and  all 
those  who  may  have  influence  over  the 
treatment  of  invalids,  that  they  likewiw 
have  a  solemn  responsibility  in  regard  to 
mesmerism.    Here  is  a  simple  and  tnwKat 
method,  alleged  by  very  numerous  peraoDS 
of  respectability  to  have  eflfected  very  nn- 
merous  cures  of  diseases  which  had  prored 
too  stubborn  for  all  the  established  methodi 
of  medicine  and  surgery  in  the  hands  of  th» 
most  eminent  as  well  as  of  merely  popular 
practitioners,  and  to  have  procured  allevia* 
tion  and  comfort  in  incurable  cases  when 
the  established  methods  had  done  not  even 
this.     Such  endless  cases  are  fully  detailed 
with  every  personal  reference  which  can  be 
desired.    No  facts  in  medical  records  are 
more  satisfactorily  presented.     The  false* 
h(K)ds  of  those  who  have  previously  attend- 
ed the  patients  in  vain,  the  shocking  slan- 
ders of  these  men  and  others  leagued  with 
them,  are  too  gross  to  deceive :  and  the  ftt- 
vious  notoriety  of  the  cases,  and  the  lirii^ 
testimony  of  the  patients  with  thefnll-blowB 
proofs  of  cure  in  their  countenances  and 
persons,  render  impotent  every  attempt  to 
set  aside  the  facts.    Nearly  all  medica/  oen 
profess  to  be  Christiaiii :  many  vent  reli- 
gious sentiments  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
jn  their  lectures  and  their  publicatioDS,  are 
seen  regularly  at  church,  place  leliiS^w 
books  about  the  rooms  into  which  their  pa- 
tients are  shown,  and  unsparingly  pronounce 
those  of  their  profession,  whom  from  merely 
some  bad  feeling  they  dislike,  to  be  ineli- 
^ious,  infidels,  even  atheists,*  or  samethinf 
else,  the  reproach  of  which  they  knowiscal- 
culated  to  do  injury  to  the.  best  man  in  the 
present  ignorant  and  immoral  state  of  so- 
ciety.   And  yet  these  virtuous  men  foigel 
that  religion  is  a  farce,  if  it  values  people 
for  their  mere  opinion  upon  mysteries,  sa- 
pematural,  incomprehensible  matters,  such 
opinions  not  being  the  result  of  proof,  usu- 
ally springing  from  the  feelings  and  external 
influences,  and  requiring    infinitely  more 
knowledge  and  hard  thought  than  fall  to  the 
lot  of  one  person  iu  ten  thousand ;  if  it  does 
not  penetrate  the  whole  frame,  influence  our 
very  smallest  actions,  and  engender  perfect 
good  will  and  commiseration  for  those  whom 
we  think  in  error  and  that  modesty  which 
renders  us  aware  of  our  scanty  amount  of 
knowledge  and  our  disposition  to  proud  in- 
justice; and  if  itdoe«  not  render  us  anxio* 
to  learn  alt  that  can  be  taught  us  which  is 
calculated  to  enable  us  to  be  more  useful  to 
our  fellow-creatures.  I  am  compelled, tfaere- 


*  Not  ooly  were  the  terma  infidel  m^,?*^**?. 
stowed  upon  Newton  and  Locke,  bat  Christ  ni» 
self  is  in  the  list  of  Atheists  pibliihed  f«  W 
DkitimmmrB  dm  AOktm. 


Clairvojfance  independent  of  Mesmerism^ 


179 


fore,  to  regard  those  professing  medical 
Cbiistians  who,  while  gravely  praying  and 
singing  in  the  sight  of  men  at  church,  refuse 
to  examine  into  the  facts  of  mesmerism,  re- 
fuse to  go  and  witness  them  and  experiment 
for  themselyes,  and  insanely  declare  they 
would  not  believe  the  facts  it  they  witnessed 
thjcm,  to  be  such  as  Christ  were  he  on  earth 
again  would  inveigh  against  with  all  severi- 
ty as  he  did  against  the  hypocrites  of  old ; 
and  to  be  most  immoral  and  unrighteous, 
indulging  bad  passions  while  calling  them- 
selves miserable  sinners  and  bestowing  all 
sorts  of  fine  expressions  upon  the  object  of 
their  worship  and  pretending  reverence  for 
his  precepts  of  humility,  justice  and  mercy, 

Had  the  medical  attendants  of  this  young 
lady  made  themselves  acquainted  with  mes 
merism,  and  not  through  unfortunate  preju 
dice  remained  behind  this  knowledge  of  the 
day,  they  would  have  recommended  mes- 
merism in  her  case,  and  spared  her  years  of 
suffering  from  both  the  disease  and  the 
means  employed. 

By  mentioning  the  name  of  one  medical 
man,  her  residence,  and  a  circumstance  or 
two  of  her  family,  I  have  put  it  in  the  pow- 
er of  all  her  friend  to  recognize  the  case  and 
given  all  the  proofs  of  authenticity  which 
the  world  can  desire.  But  though  I  have 
not  given  her  lull  name,  she  nobly  gave  roe 
permi^ion  to  piiut  it :  and  I  cannot  refrain, 
though  without  permission,  to  terminate  this 
account  with  the  note  which  accompanied 
the  hisiory,  «nd  which  displays  the  truth 
fulness,  kindness,  modesty  and  courageous 
independence,  that,  when  combined,  render 
the  lemale  character  so  beautiful. — S^tst. 

<«  Dear  Doctor  Elliotson  :— 

*<  I  have  sent  you  my  case,  which  I  trust 
you  will  be  able  to  make  out ,  and  let  me 
know  if  it  is  as  you  wish.  I  think  I  have 
done  it  as  clearly  as  I  can,  and  all  of  it  is  as 
true  as  it  can  be ;  indeed  I  have  not  said 
half  what  my  sufferings  were,  but  I  do  think 
I  have  said  enough.  If  my  name  would  be 
of  any  advantage  to  you,  pray  by  all  means 
put  it  in,  as  I  feel  I  cannot  be  sufficiently 
grateful  to  you  for  all  your  kindness,  &c., 
and  I  thmk  such  a  recovery  as  mine  deserves 
being  made  public,  though  of  course  1  do 
not  wish  to  make  myself  conspicuous. 

*•  Yours  sincerely, 
<*  Eaton  Square,       «  E B . 

"June  181,1847." 


An  Instance  of  Olairyoyanoe  indapeadant  el 
Mesmariam. 

.     CovatUKICATBD  BT  Ds.  BLLXOtBOlT. 

From  my  early  demonstrations  of  mesmerism 
in  Uuiversiiy  College  Hospital  to  the  present 
time,  I  have  never  ceased  to  remind  the 
world  that  nothing  is  produced  in  the  mes* 
meric  slate  that  does  not  occur  spontaneously 
and  independently  of  it.  1  have  been  favor- 
ed with  the  following  account  from  a  friend. 
J.  Eluotson. 

The  anecdotes  relative  to  the  extraordi- 
nary prophetic  power  possessed  by  a  Brah- 
min of  Bombay  are  extracted  from  the 
«•  Oriental  Memoirs"  of  James  Forbes,  Esq., 
of  whom  a  slight  account  is  prefixed ;  as  a 
relation  so  extraordinary  requires  every 
proof  that  the  relator  is  a  person  on  whose 
veracity  we  may  rely.  ^ 

The  prospective  power  of  the  Brahmin 
is  a  remarkable  contrast  to  the  retrospective 
displayed  by  Zschokke.  H.  S. 

James  Forbes,  Esq.,  author  of  "  Oriental 
Memoirs,"  Member  of  the  Royal  and  Anti- 
quarian Societies,  and  of  the  Arcadian  at 
Rome,  lineally  descended  from  ihe  Earls  of 
Granard,  was  born  in  London  in  May,  1749. 
He  was  educated  at  Hadley  by  the  Rev. 
David  Garron.  Before  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
obtained  an  appointment  to  Bombay.  After 
having  filled  several  important  situations  in 
different  parts  of  India,  with  equal  talent, 
honor,  aud  integrity,  he  returned  to  England 
m  1784.  In  1787  he  married  the  daughter 
of  J.  Gay  land,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  one 
daughter,  married  to  the  Count  de  Montal- 
embert,  peer  of  France.  He  was  a  man  of 
ardent  piety,  unbounded  charily,  and  univer- 
sal  philanthropy,  and  considerable  literary 
attainments.  His  drawings  of  the  natural 
productions  of  the  countries  he  visited,  to- 
gether with  the  manuEcripIs,  fill  a  hundred 
and  fifty  folio  volumes.  He  died  in  1819, 
aged  70. 

Extract  from  Forbes's  "  Oriental  Memoirs.^ 
•  •  •  ♦  «« These  persons  (sooth- 
sayers) abound  in  all  parts  of  India;  but 
there  are  amvng  the  Brahmins  a  small  num- 
ber, who  seem  to  differ .  from  all  the  descrip- 
tions of  people  before  mentioned  ;  they  ap- 
pear also  penectly  distinct  from  the  fortune- 
telling  Brahmins  and  pretended  astrologers, 
who,  like  the  gipsy  tribe  in  Europe,  are 
well  known  in  India.  Those  1  now  speak 
of  seem  to  be  gifted  with  a  talent  possessed 
only  by  a  very  few  of  the  quiet,  retired, 
literary  Brahmins.    To  one  of  these  Iflhall 


180 


Clairvoyance  independent  of  Mesmerism^ 


now  confioft  myself ;  he  was  a  man  well 
known  to  many  of  my  contemporaries  in 
India,  and  I  have  occasionally  met  with  him 
at  tfombay,  Surat,  and  Cambay»  where  I 
believe  he  chiefly  resided. 

**  I  shall  relate  three  anecdotes  in  confir- 
mation of  the  penetrating  spirit,  preternatural 
gift,  or  whatever  term  may  oe  allowed  for 
the  talent  which  this  man  possessed.  1 
know  that  the  predictions  were  made  long 
before  the  events  happened  and  were  liter- 
ally accomplished. 

"  On  my  arrival  in  Bombay  in  1766,  Mr. 
Crommelin,  the  governor  of  that  settlement, 
was  under  orders  to  relinquish  his  situation 
at  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  and 
then  return  to  England.  Mr.  Spencer,  the 
second  in  Council,  was  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor in  the  Bombay  government,  instead 
of  Mr.  Hodges,  chief  of  Surat,  who  con- 
sidered it  as  his  right.  Mr.  Hodges  had  be 
come  acq^uainted  with  this  Brahmin  during 
his  minority  in  the  Company's  service. 

**  This  extraordinary  character  was  then 
a  young  man,  little  known  to  the  English, 
but  of  great  celebrity  among  the  Hindoos  and 
every  other  description  of  natives  in  the 
western  part  of  the  peninsula.  The  Brahmin 
expressed  an  affectionate  r^rd  towards 
him,  and,  as  far  as  the  distinction  of  re- 
ligion and  caste  allowed,  the  friendship  be- 
came mutual  and  disinterested.  The  Brah- 
min was  always  justly  considered  as  a  very 
moral  and  pious  character ;  and  Mr.  Hodges 
was  equally  well  disposed ;  his  Hindoo  friend 
encouraged  him  to  proceed  in  that  virtuous 
path  which  would  lead  him  to  wealth  and 
honor  in  this  world,  and  finally  conduct  him 
to  eternal  happiness.  To  enforce  these  pre- 
cepts, he  assured  him  he  would  gradually 
rise  from  the  station  he  then  held  at  Cam- 
bay  to  other  residences  and  inferior  chief- 
ships  in  the  Company's  service;  that  he 
would  then  succeed  to  the  higher  appoint- 
ment of  chief  at  Tellicherry  and  Surat,  and 
would  close  his  Indian  career  by  being 
Governor  of  Bombay.  Mr.  Hodges,  not 
being  enjoined  secrecy,  spoke  of  these  Brah- 
minical  predictions  among  his  associates  and 
friends,  from  their  very  first  communication, 
and  their  author  was  generally  called  Mr. 
Hodges's  Brahmin.  These  predictions  for 
some  years  made  but  little  impression  on  his 
mind.  Afterwards  as  he  successively  as- 
cended the  gradations  in  the  Company's  ser- 
vice, he  placed  more  confidence  in  his  Brah- 
min, especially  when  he  approached  near 
the  pinnacle  of  ambition,  and  found  himself 
chief  of  Surat,  the  next  situation  in  wealth 
and  honor  to  the  government  of  Boml»y. 

*'  When,  therefore,  Mr.  Spencer  was  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  that  settlement,  and  w. 


Hodges  dismissed  from  the  chiefship  of  S«- 
rat  and  suspended  the  service,  he  eeotior 
his  Brahmin,  who  was  thee  at  Polfiftrre,  a 
sacred  village  on  the  banks  of  the  TapptB 
of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  on  arelin- 
OUB  visit  Mr.  Hodges  received  him  at  the 
chief's  garden-house,  where  he  was  aitliii^ 
in  the  front  veranda.  He  immediately  con- 
municated  to  him  the  events  which  had 
lately  taken  place  to  the  disappoinUnent  of 
all  bis  hopes  and  future  expectationa ;  aad 
slightly  reproached  him  for  a  pretended  pre- 
science and  for  having  deceived  him  vith 
false  promises.  The  Brahmin,  with  an  na- 
allered  countenance,  as  is  usual  with  bis 
tribe  on  all  such  occasions,  cooly  replied, 
*  You  see  this  veranda,  and  the  apaiUnents 
to  which  it  leads;  Mr.  Spencer  has  reached 
the  portico,  but  he  will  not  enter  the  palace ; 
he  has  set  his  foot  upon  the  threshhold,  bat 
he  shall  not  enter  into  the  house.  Notwith- 
standing all  appearances  to  the  contnnri 
you  will  attain  the  honors  I  foretold  and  fill 
the  high  station  to  which  he  has  been  ap- 
pointed.   A  dark  cloud  is  before  him.' 

«*  Thif  singular  prophecy  was  paWidy 
known  at  Surat  and  Bombay ;  and  the  tnti 
or  falsehood  of  the  Bmhmin  was  the  so^ 
ject  of  discussion  in  every  coropaoj,  wJtt 
an  express  arrived  overland  fnw  fiighM 
to  annul  Mr.'  Spencer's  appoinuattt,  end  to 
invest  Mr.  Hodges  with  the  go?ena«t« 
Bombay.    All  which  accordingly  tookj"*- 
Mr.  Spencer  embarked  for  England  in  the 
same  ship  in  which  I  arrived  in  India  a 
December;   and  Mr.  Crommelin  wWa 
January,  leaving  Mr.  Hodges  in  conjiWe 
possession  of  the  governmenL    ^^^^^ 
needless  to  remark  the  ascendancy  of  tw 
Brahmin  over  the  mind  of  Mr.  Hodjesdii* 
ring  the  remainder  of  his  life;  nor  '«^y^ 
wondered  at,  that  the  new  governor  ma- 
look  no  important  step  without  coDsalting 
his  Brahmin." 

The  second  anecdote  relates  to  the  sanie 
Brahmin,  and  was  as  well  known  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Bombay  as  the  former.  W- 
Forbes  had  been  on  terms  of  the  cloiw 
friendship  with  the  parties  to  whom  U  re- 
lates, from  the  first  day  of  his  landing  m 
India.  After  stating  some  circumstances  on- 
nected  with  his  voyage  and  the  t^,^ 
whom  he  was  then  mirodaced  and  witt 
whom  he  remained  for  forty  years  on  m 
terms  of  the  closest  intimacy,  be  «y»7"  , 

"  The  lady  sitting  at  the  head  of  wsf 
friend's  table  when  I  made  my  bashfal  fl»- 
try,  was  a  widow  at  the  time  he  mamea 
her.  Her  first  husband  died  when  8b»  ^ 
very  young,  leaving  two  children,  a  son  ana 
a  daughter.  The  latitr  remained  witoMJ 
mother,  the  form^  was  sent  to  Ea^mw 


Communicated  by  Dr.  Elliotson. 


181 


edncation,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  embarked 
for  Bombay,  with  the  a])pointmeut  of  a  wri- 
ter, some  years  prior  to  my  arrival  there. 
The  ships  of  that  season  ail  reached  the 
island  in  safety,  except  the  one  in  which 
this  yonng  rentJeman  sailed,  which  at  length 
was  deemed  a  miseinff  vessel,  and  her  safety 
despaired  of.  A  mother  could  not  so  easily 
give  up  hope :  her  usual  evening  walk  was 
on  a  sandy  beach,  forming  a  bay  on  the 
I  western  side  of  the  island,  in  full  view  of 

I  the  ocean.    Maternal  solicitude  frequently 

I  cast  a  longing  eye  to  that  quarter  where  the 

]  «hips  from  Europe  generally  appeared.  The 

I  shore  of  that  bay  was  also  the  place  where 

^  most  of  the  Hindoos  erected  the  funeral  pile 

I  and  burnt  their  dead.    This  ceremony  is  at- 

I  tended  by   Brahmins,  and   Mr.    Hodges's 

I  Brahmin,  then  at  Bombay,  was  occasionally 

[  among  them.    Observing  the  mother's  anxi- 

I  ety,  he  asked  her  the  cause ;  the  lady  being 

[  a  native  of  India,  and  well  knowing  his 

character,  inquired  in  his  own  language  why 
ft  man  so  extraordinarily  gifted,  should  t>e 
ignorant  of  the  cause  of  her  tender  solici- 
tude. The  Brahmin  was  affected,  and  said, 
*'  I  do  know  the  reason  of  your  sorrow ; 
your  son  lives:  the  ship  wilFsoon  arrive  in 
safety,  but  ^ou  will  never  more  behold  him.'* 
She  immediately  mentioned  this  conversation 
to  her  friends.  A  signal  was  made  not  long 
after  for  a  ship  from  Europe :  on  the  pilot 
reaching  her,  his  private  signal  indicated  the 
Inissing  ship :  boats  were  sent  off  to  bring 
the  passengers  on  shore.  The  expected  son 
was  not  forgotten;  his  mother's  friends 
went  on  board,  and  were  informed  that  he 
hail  remained  at  the  Brazils,  where  the  ship 
having  been  Ions  detained  for  repair,  the  Jes- 
uits converted  this  promising  youth  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.  Instead,  therefore,  of 
conducting  him  to  his  expecting  parent,  they 
only  delivered  her  letters,  replete  with  af- 
fectionate expostulations  and  entreaties  that 
«he  would  follow  his  example,  and  enter  the 
'  true  church.    A  mother's  disappointment  is 

'  easier  to  conceive  than  describe.    Her  son 

continued  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  occasionally 
'  wrote  to  her,  until  the  suppression  of  the 

Jesuits  in  the  pontificate  of  Clement  the 
14th,  on  which  occasion,  with  many  other 
members  of  that  society,  he  was  sent  from 
South  America  to  the  prisons  of  Portugal, 
and  no  more  heard  of. 

«<  The  unfortunate  mother  came  to  Eng- 
land some  years  afterwards  with  her  hus- 
Innd  and  only  daughter,  who  was  married, 
and  died  soon  after  hei  arrival.  This  was  a 
stroke  her  fond  mother  was  little  able  to  sus- 
tain ;  a  bereavement  which  seemed  to  admit 
of  no  consolation.  The  downy  wings  of 
time^tba  balmy  comforts  of  iel]gion»  aided 


by  every  effort  of  an  affectionate  husband, 
wete  of  no  avail  in  extricating  her  from  a 
state  of  apathy  and  despair. 

"  Not  long  afler  this  event,  an  intimate 
friend  of  the  family  having  remitted  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  from  India  by  bills 
on  Portugal,  went  to  Lisbon  to  recover  them. 
Walking  near  a  prison  in  that  city,  he  was 
supplicated  for  chanty  by  a  voice  from  a 
subterraneous  gate,  and  being  addressed  in 
English  made  it  the  more  impressive.  Not 
content  with  afifording  transient  relief,  he 
entered  into  conversation  with  the  prieoner^ 
and  found  he  was  the  lon^  lost  son  of  his 
disconsolate  mother.  The  intelligence  was 
immediately  conveyed  to  England,  and  ten- 
derly communicated  to  his  sorrowing  parent, 
with  the  addition  that  her  husband  bad  al- 
ready remitted  money  to  Lisbon,  and  exerted 
such  means  for  his  deliverance  that  there 
could  be  no  doubt  6i  his  speedy  restoration 
to  her  material  arms.  This  news  shed  a 
momentary  gleam  of  joy  on  her  countenance, 
but  it  was  soon  succeeded  by  renewed  pangs 
of  sorrow,  and  a  continned  exclamation  of 
**  The  Brahmin  !  the  Brahmin  I* 

<*  The  friend  at  Lisbon,  when  all  was  hap- 
pily accomplished,  lost  no  time  in  informing 
her  son  that  his  mother  lived,  was  married 
to  a  gentleman  of  fortune  and  respectability, 
who  was  waiting  to  welcome  him  to  their 
parental  roof;  and  their  interest  and  libe- 
rality had  procured  his  liberty,  which  he  was 
the  happy  instrument  of  effecting,  and  was 
then  come  to  conduct  him  from  a  scene  of 
misery  to  life,  and  light,  and  joy  !  Although 
the  communication  was  made  in  the  most 
considerate  manner,  he  scarcely  believed^the 
reality  of  his  emancipation  from  those  dreary 
walls,  where  he  had  for  years  been  excluded 
from  the  light  of  the  sun  and  the  fresh  air  : 
for  <  hope  deferred  maketh  the  heart  sick.' 
The  sudden  transition  from  hopeless  despair 
in  the  dungeon's  gloom,  to  the  sight  of  the 
sun,  the  fanning  of  the  breeze,  and  the  sym- 
pathy af  friendships,  were  too  much  for  his 
emaciated  frame ;  he  faintly  uttered  the  effu- 
sions of  a  grateful  heart,  and  expired ! 

««  Thus  was  the  Brahmin's  prediction  to 
his  mother,  uttered  full  thirty  years  before* 
completely  fulfilled! 

**  The  last  anecdote  1  shall  relate  respect- 
ing this  man  is  very  short.  Some  months 
previous  to  my  first  leaving  India,  a  gentle- 
man and  his  wife  arrived  from  England  at 
Bombay.  He,  haying  been  appointed  to  a 
lucrative  situation  at  8urat,  proceeded  thither 
at  an  early  opportunity,  leaving  his  wife  in  a 
friend's  family  until  he  should  have  procured 
a  house,  and  made  suitable  provision  for  her 
reception  at  Surat  They  were  both  young 
and  nad  an  only  child*   In  a  few  weeks  she 


182      CcLses  selected  from  Mr.  Parked s  MesmerU  Experience, 


followed  him  to  Surat.  The  evening  before 
Bhe  embarked,  sitting  in  a  mixed  company  of 
gentlemen  and  ladies,  anticipating  her  ap- 
proaching happiness,  the  same  Brahmin  came 
into  the  verandah,  with  the  gentleman  of  the 
hoase,  who  was  high  in  station  at  Bombay. 
He  introduced  him  to  the  company,  and  in  a 
sort  of  jest  asked  him  to  tell  the  destiny  of 
the  happy  fair  one,  lately  arrived  from 
£urope.  To  the  surprise  of  the  whole  com- 
pany, and  particularly  so  to  the  object  of  the 
inquiry,  he  gave  her  a  penetrating  and  com- 
passionate look ;  and,  after  a  pause,  said  to 
the  gentleman  in  the  Hindoo  language,  *  Her 
cup  of  felicity  is  full  but  evanescent!  A 
bitter  potion  awaits  her,  for  which  she  must 
prepare  !*  Her  husband  had  written  that  he 
should  come  in  a  barge  to  Surat  bar,  to  ac- 
company her  on  shore.  He  did  not  appeal, 
bat  a  friend  of  mine  went  on  board  to  an- 
nounce to  her  his  dangerous  illness :  he  was 
then  in  the  last  paroxysm  of  a  fever,  and 
expired  in  her  arms !  I  came  home  a  pas- 
senger in  the  same  ship  with  the  widow,  and 
another  lady  who  endeavored  to  alleviate  her 
sorrow  by  every  tender  assiduity.  The  name 
of  a  Brahmin  was  never  mentioned  at  table, 
nor  any  thing  relating  to  Hindoo  astrology. 
The  anniversary  of  her  husband's  death  hap- 
pened during  the  voyage,  and  was  indeed  a 
day  of  woe." — Zotst 


CURES  OF  NEURALGIA 

Of  TariouB  parts,  After  Pains,  Abscess,  Ophthal- 
mia, acute  Rheamatlsm.  Deafness,  and  an  in- 
stance of  Prevision,  being  a  few  Cases  selected 
from  Mr.  Parke r'«  Mesmeric  Experience  during 
ths  last  eighteen  months.  By  Mr.  John  B.  Paak- 
KM,  Surgeon,  Exeter. 

L  Neuralgia  of  the  Face. 

'  had  suffered  from  tic  doulou- 


Miss- 

reux  for  six  years,  during  which  time  she 
had  tried  all  the  well-known  remedies  with- 
out any  marked  benefit;  besides  having 
many  of  her  teeth  extracted.  On  my  first  visit 
I  found  her  in  the  greatest  agony ;  the  act  of 
speaking  aggravated  her  suffering  so  much, 
that  she  could  with  very  great  diMculty  arti> 
culate  two  words  in  succession,  and  this  oc- 
casioned great  distortion  of  countenance. 
Six  days  mesmeric  Ireatment  quite  relieved 
her  from  pain.  During  the  past  14  months 
she  has  experienced  two  shght  returns  of 
the  pain :  on  each  occasion  the  complaint 
was  removed  by  one  mesmeric  sitting.  She 
is  now  quite  well. 

U.  Neuralgia, 

Mr.  Davidge,  Milk  street,  Exeter,  had 
saliered  yeiy  severely  from  tic  doaloureux 


for  several  years.  The  various  remedies  re- 
commended for  such  cases  having  eotirely 
failed,  mesmerism  succeeded  in  relieyiog 
him  the  first  application,  and  in  five  days  be 
was  able  to  attend  to  his  business  as  luoil. 

in.  Neuralgia  of  the  Hip. 

Miss having  for  five  months 

suffered  much  pain  about  the  hip,  so  that  she 
could  with  difficulty  and  in  much  pain  walk 
across  the  room,  consulted  her .  ordinary 
medical  attendant  who  pronounced  it  a  hip 
complaint.  The  parents  having  heard  of 
many  of  my  mesmeric  cures,  sent  for  mc; 
when  1  recommended  the  mother  to  mesmfr- 
ise  the  daughter.  In  five  days  she  wa5  guile 
well  and  able  to  walk  three  miles,  and  she 
has  remained  well  to  this,  now  12  months 
since. 

IV.  Abscess  of  the  Lachrymal  Sac 

The  sister  of  this  youn^  lady  bad  beei 
suffering  from  an  abscess  in  the  laduynsl 
sac  for  18  months,  accompanied  with  wj 
distressing  pains  over  the  orbit  aod  cheeL 
She  had  consulted  several  emineat  HUgeou 
in  London  wh«  advised  a  pin  to  be  worn  is 
the  lachrymal  duct.  Leeches  had  heeo pre- 
viously apolied,  and  suppuratioo  o/  H^ 
leech  bites  nad  invariably  followed.  Mes- 
meric treatment  was  had  recoiU8e1o,sMiin 
three  weeks  all  the  distressing  ipt^floa 
subsided. 

V.  Prevision  of  Cwre, 

A  lady  had  a  large  tumour  of  the  ieh 
ovary  of  nine  years  duration  which  has hett 
completely  removed  by  the  application  of 
leeches  to  the  os  uteri.  This  treatment  had 
been  had  recourse  to  by  myself  with  very 
decided  benefit  before  she  had  ever  been 
mesmerised;  but  in  her  mesmeric  sleep- 
waking  her  introvision  was  so  correct  as  to 
tell  me  how  muny  applications  of  ieechs 
would  be  necessary  to  remove  the  whole  oi 
the  tumour;  and  her  prevision  has  been 
most  truly  verified.  The  tumour  of  the  ale 
was  so  large  as  to  cause  the  trunk  to  be 
swerved  on  one  side  to  such  an  ctientasto 
produce  a  very  visible  distortion  of  the 
spine. 

VL  Removal  of  After  Pains. 
April  13,  1847,  Mrs.  C.  wisMrtndd 
her  fifth  child,  after  a  natural  and  shoftlir 
bor,  at  eight  in  the  morning  Tbeafw 
pains  were  very  violent  and  1  ordered  bei 
several  doses  of  morphine  and  nesmerisaj 
The  morphine  was  taken  dmog  the  dayiM 
through  the  night     On  my  visit  a  m 


by  John  B.  Parker. 


183 


morning:,  I  found  her  in  great  distress — the 
pains  constant  and  very  violent.  The  mes- 
merism had  been  omitted.  She  was  then 
mesmerised  in  my  presence,  and  in  twenty 
minutes  the  pains  ceased.  I  requested  the 
operation  to  be  repeated  if  the  pains  returned. 
On  my  visit  the  following  morning  I  found 
,  my  patient  quite  delighted  with  the  wonder- 
ful effects  of  mesmerism ;  there  had  been  no 
necessity  to  repeat  the  operation. 

Vn.  Neuralgia  of  the  Heart, 

Mrs. ,aet.  42,  subject  to  violent 

palpitation  of  the  heart  with  considerable 
pain  of  the  organ,  occasionally  attended  with 
faintness  and  much  pain  on  the  inside  of  the 
left  arm,  much  aggravated  by  going  up  stairs. 
The  pain  was  quite  subdued  by  the  first  ap- 
plication of  mesmerism,  and  in  three  days 
she  was  able  to  resume  the  active  duties  of 
life. 

VIII.  Ophthalmia. 
My  own  little  boy,  ®t.  6,  had  a  very  se- 
vere attack  of  catarrhal  ophthalmia,  for 
which  I  ordered  leeches,  blisters,  aperients, 
soothing  and  astringent  applications,  without 
the  least  relief.  In  fact  the  pain  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  severe.  He  was  then 
mesmerised  twice  daily,  and  from  the  first 
trial,  the  pain  was  much  subdued,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  all  the  symptoms  were 
removed  and  the  eyes  resumed  their  natural 
lustre.  Under  ordinary  circumstances  this 
would  have  become  strumous  opthalmia — 
the  most  troublesome  complaint  at  all  onr 
ophthalmic  institutions.  From  what  I  have 
witnessed  in  this  case,  1  am  quite  satisfied 
that  mesmerism  is  the  true  remedy  for  all 
scrofulous  affections,  as  it  is  certainly  a 
transfusion  of  the  nervous  energy :  and  as 
diseases  may  be  transferred  from  one  indi- 
vidual to  another  without  an  act  of  the  will, 
there  is  much  more  reason  to  believe  that 
health  may  be  transferred  with  the  addition 
al  assistance  of  the  will,  as  is  exhibited  in 
my  daily  experience.* 

IX.  Deafness, 

Ann »t.  23,  had  been  very  deaf  for  3 

'years,  I  could  scarcely  make  her  understand 
a  single  word.  She  was  mesmerised  daily 
for  a  month,  when  her  hearing  was  quite 
restored,  and  she  now  hears  convenatiou  in 
the  lowest  tone. 

X.  Acute  Rheumatism. 

Mr.  C.  for  three  succeeding  years  has  had 

a  severe  attack  of  rheumatic  fever :  each  at- 


*  8«e  cores  of  ophthalmia  and  of  ferofola  in 


tack  commencing  with  more  violence  than 
its  predecessor.  April  16, 1847,  he  sent  for 
me.  He  was  then  suffering  very  acute  pains 
in  the  whole  system.  I  had  bled  him  du- 
ring the  former  attacks  as  well  as  in  this. 
In  the  preceding  attack  his  wife  had  some 
prejudice  against  mesmerism,  and  conse- 
quently he  had  very  little  benefit  from  it.  But 
on  this  occasion  his  wife  mesmerised  him 
when  he  had  any  acute  pain,  and  immediate 
relief  has  invariably  followed  every  mesmeric 
operation.  In  the  former  attacks  he  had 
been  unable  to  move  till  a  month  or  five 
weeks  ;  in  this  attack  he  was  convalescent  at 
the  end  of  a  fortnight.  The  result  of  this 
case  is  the  perfect  confidence  of  the  whole 
family  in  the  remedial  agency  of  mesmer- 
ism.* 

Not  a  day  passes  without  my  being  con* 
suited  for  pains  in  the  face,  ear-ache,  or 
rheumatie  pains;  and  in  the  great  majority 
of  these  cases,  a  single  mesmeric  operation 
is  quite  sufficient  to  remove  all  the  pain. 
Such  a  multitude  of  these  cases  has  now 
passed  under  my  own  observation,  that 
mesmerism  is  resorted  to  in  Exeter  by  the 
industrious  classes  as  a  most  extraordinary 
remedial  agent — Zoist. 


Ooro  of  Shortsightedneis 

And  Tie  DonloareuXt  and  painless  Extractions  of 
Teeth.  By  Mr.  Saboant.  Surgeon,  Reigate,  Sur- 
rey.   Communicated  by  Dr.  Blliotson. 

Last  year,  Mr.  iSareeant,  a  medical  gentle- 
man at  Riegate  in  Surrey,  called  upon  me  to 
enquire  whether  I  thought  mesmerism  would 
be  of  use  in  a  very  extraordinary  case  of 
some  standing  in  which  he  had  lately  been 
consulted.  1  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and 
shewed  him  a  case  or  two  and  the  method 
of  making  the  passes,  since  he  ksew  nothing 
of  the  subject  and  had  viewed  it  as  Mr. 
Wakley  represented  it  in  the  Lancet,  till  of 
late  when  the  constant  abundant  accession 
of  indisputable  facts  compelled  him  to  believe 
that  he  had  been  deceived.  In  five  minutes 
he  was  put  into  the  way  of  mesmerising 
and  demesmerising.  He  returned  home,  be- 
gan mesmerising  his  i>atient,  produced  won- 
derful benefit  and  striking  phenomena,  and 
the  extraordinary  case  will  in  due  time,  I 
trust,  be  placed  among  the  cures  recorded  in 
The  Zoist,  Like  an  honest  and  courageous 
man,  he  resolved  that  his  patients  in  general 
should  benefit  by  mesmerism  whenever  it 
was  possible,  and  o^nly  both  avows  his 
convictions  and  practises  the  art.    The  fol- 


*  See  similar  eases  in  Vol.  II.,  pp.  86^  S57,  384; 
Val.III.,p.9a6.*Z9<ft. 


184      Cure  of  Tic  Douloureux  and  Painless  Teeth  ExtraUum, 


lowing  are  a  few  of  hia  cases  illustrative  of 
the  benefit  of  mesmerism. 

To  me  Mr.  iSargant's  conduct  is  peculiarly 
gratifying,  from  the  course  taken  by  an  old 
practitioner  in  his  neighborhood,  who  ought 
not  to  have  acted  as  he  has  done  in  reference 
to  the  great  subject  of  mesmerism. 

John  Elliotson. 

**  Reigate,  June  4th,  1847. 

*'  My  dear  Sir. — (  herewith  send  you  a 
few  cases,  which,  should  you  think  them 
sufBciently  calculated  to  uirther  illustrate 
that  great  boon — mesmerism— to  suffering 
humanity,  and  to  open  the  eyes  of  those  who 
are  so  blind  that  the  sun  in  its  meridian 
is  darkness  to  them,  I  shall  with  yourself 
and  others  feel  repaid  il  we  can  only  '  con- 
vert one  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  way.' 

«•  Believe  me,  my  dear  Sir,  with  every 
feeling  of  gratitude  for  your  kindness, 
*«  Ever  yours  faithfully, 

*<  JoBXPH  Saeoamt." 
"  Dr.  Elliotson." 

I.  ShortdghUdness. 

Rebecca  S.,  si.  25,  a  servant  for  some 
years  in  a  respectable  family,  was  compelled 
to  leave  her  situation  from  shortness  of 
sight,  in  August,  1846,  the  time  I  was 
attending  the  family ;  and  I  advised  mes- 
merism, to  which  she  very  gladly  con- 
sented, though  at  the  same  time  I  was 
doubtful  whether  any  benefit  would  be  de- 
rived. But  to  my  great  astonishment,  after 
mesmerising  her  eight  times,  her  vision  has 
returned  as  strong  as  when  she  was  a  child ; 
and  she  has  now  been  in  service  for  the 
last  three  months. 

II.  Tie  Douloureux, 

Sarah  B.,  et,  22,  had  sufored  from  tic 
douloureux  for  six  months,  and  had  tried  all 
the  usual  remedies  without  any  benefit  In 
August,  1846,  she  came  to  my  house,  a  per- 
fect stranger,  to  witness  mesmerism,  and 
likewise  to  consult  me  as  to  my  opinion  of 
its  e^ts  upon  her  case.  My  answer  was, 
that  we  had  cases  on  record  which  had  been, 
if  not  cured,  very  greatly  relieved.  After 
witnessing  some  phenomena,  she  sat  down, 
and  in  three  minutes  was  sound  asleep.  1 
then  locally  mesmerised  the  side  of  the  face, 
and  allowed  her  to  remain  for  half  an  hour, 
and  then  awoke  her.  She  left  my  house 
and  walked  home,  went  to  bed,  and  slept 
from  ten  o'clock  until  eight  the  next  morn- 
ing, without  the  slightest  knowledge  of 
pain,  which  she  had  not  done  for  the  last 
•iz  months.    Being  delighted^  she  droMed» 


and,  not  giving  herself  time  for  breiktut, 
ran  up  to  my  house  to  be  meamenied, 
fearing  I  mieht  have  left  home.  1  apin 
mesmerised  her  for  an  hour  as  before,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  day  she  had  a  few 
twinees,  but  slij^ht  compared  to  her  fonner 
attacks.  I  continued  to  mesmerise  her  for  a 
fortnight,  when  she  was  obliged  to  lean 
the  neighborhood,  and  said  should  she  fed 
the  slightest  return  she  should  come  dowa 
to  me.  1  have  heard  from  her  since,  aod 
she  continues  quite  free.  These  cases  oe- 
cnrred  on  the  17th  August,  1846. 

Painleu  Extradions  of  Ttdk 

I.  August  27th,  MissB.,  eL  IS.atak- 
dies'  seminary,  was  sufiering  with  a  ttmt 
tooth-ache.  I  mesmerised  her  and  atntid 
one  of  the  roolares  in  a  very  decayed  M 
without  her  having  the  slightest  knowit^ 
of  the  operation  ;  evincing  not  the  miosM 
feeling  of  pain,  not  so  much  asthedistotioa 
or  movement  of  a  single  moade. 


iphflil 


n.  September  19th.  At  the  i 
extracted  a  decayed  molar  tooth  fran  i 
C,  et.  11,  in  the  mesmeric  slate,  witl 
the  child  beins^  at  all  cDnacious,  rIn  liaviff 
a  ereat  dread  of  the  operation.  JWjvoiui- 
ed,  if  she  would  allow  me  to  iMneDKlNr 
then,  I  would  instantly  awaka  ta,  «te 
she  should  have  her  tea*  and  theabewiM- 
rieed  and  the  tooth  be  extracted.  Bit  w- 
ing,  on  firet  mesmerisiog  her,  she  w  i^ 
soundly  asleep,  I  embraced  the  fii^ofjitf- 
tunity  and  extracted  the  tooth.  Oni«iDB| 
her  to  enable  her  to  cleanse  the  noith,  ihe 
said,  **  Oh  dear,  why  von  ha?e  teba  oil 
my  tooth,  and  I  never  felt  yoo.* 

m.  S.P.,et.l9,cametomybo«8etoliive 
her  tooth  extracted,  and  said,  **  Yoa  •■* 
people  to  sleep  before  yon  take  their  ttm 
out;  don't  you.  Sir.*"  ••Yes,'*  I  nM 
•*  and  I  will  send  you  to  sleep  if  yoa  w' 
She  sat  down,  and  in  six  minotes  she  «» 
sound  asleep.  1  then  desired  her  to  ofn 
her  mou'h,  which  she  did;  lanced  the  gsa 
and  extracted  the  tooth  withoot  her  moniC 
a  muscle,  and  awoke  her  to  cleaoss  « 
mouth.  She  was  quite  surprised.  » 
mother  was  in  the  room,  and  asked  M 

Did  not  you  feel  Mr.  Satgant  poll  y»* 
tooth  out  f"  She  replied,  «  No,  moch*  * 
never  felt  it  all.**— Zout. 


Our»  of  Afectum  of  the  Heart. 


185 


OvLt9  of  Aflfbotion  Of  the  Heart 

Bj  Mr.  Adolphx  Kxsn.    Communicated  by  Dr. 
BlUoUon.  . 

I  BATE  receiFed  the  following  letten  and 
documents  from  Mr.  Majendie. 

•<  Hedingham  Castle,  Jane  7th»  1847. 

«Dear  Sir — I  send  you  the  case  of  Eliza 
Barrett,  in  which  the  benefit  derived  fiom 
mesmerism  seems  to  me  proved  by  most  di- 
rect  evidence.  It  is  most  improbable  that 
the  able  physicians  and  surgeons  of  three 
London  hospitals  should  have  been  mistaken 
in  supposing  disease  of  the  heart  to  exist,  if 
it  were  not  so ;  and  that  Mr.  Hands,  who 
examined  Eliza  Barrett  before  mesmerism 
was  applied,*  should  also  have  been  in  error. 
It  is  most  improbable  that  you,  with  all  your 
experience  m  the  use  of  the  stethoscope, 
should,  on  examination  after  mesmeric  treat< 
ment,  have  failed  to  detect  disease  of  the 
heart,  if  it  still  remained. 

*<  The  so-called  reason! n(r  of  post  hoc  non 
propter  hoct  is  hardly  admissible,  as  it  is 
most  improbable,  that  when,  after  failure  of 
all  other  medical  appliances,  mesmerism 
was  employed  and  benefit  ensued,  the  cur«^ 
should  be  a  mere  matter  of  chance.  If  the 
whole  is  to  be  resolved  into  the  effect  of 
imagination,  the  sooner  doses  of  imagination 
are  prescnbed  according  to  an  orthodox  for- 
mula, the  better  for  suffering  humanity. 
"  Very  sincerely  yours, 

«  ASHHURST  MaJENDU. 

*«  Dr.  Elliotson." 

**  In  the  beginning  of  February,  Mr.  Adol- 
phe  Kiste,  expressed  to  me  the  wish  to  meet 
with  some  sick  person  whom  he  might  en- 
deavor to  benefit  by  mesmerism.  I  mention- 
ed this  to  Mr.  Decimns  Hands,  and  met  at 
his  house  Eliza  Barrett,  a  girl  of  twenty-two, 
who  had  just  left  St  George's  Hospital,  suf- 
fering from  disease  of  the  heart,  considered 
incurable. 

"  1  took  her  to  the  studio  of  Mr.  Kiste,  in 
Great  Marlborough  street,  ^ho  speedily  put 
her  into  the  mesmeric  state,  and  sleep- 
waking  soon  declared  itself. 

'«  She  slept  that  day  about  five  hours,  and 
continued  to  do  so  daily  for  three  weeks.  Mr. 
Kiste  then  desired  nhe  should  pass  twenty- 
four  hours  in  mesmeric  sleep.  I  accompa- 
nied him  to  the  sister's  house  one  morning, 


*  Before  anY  non-medical  mesmerist  takes  a  ease 
Id  hand,  he  should  hare  it  examined  l^  a  medical 
man,  and  the  opinion  prenonnced  apon  it  should 
be  written  down.  Lamentable  experience  makes 
this  necessary.  When  a  fee  cannot  be  given,  no 
mediea]  man  who  is  a  mesmerist  will  reftise  this 
good  olRee.->Z4rfsi. 
3 


when  he  put  her  to  sleep ;  and  he  went  again 
the  next  day  at  the  same  hour*  when  he 
awakened  her. 

*<  The  benefit  which  was  apparent  from 
the  first  day  of  trial,  was,  from  the  time  of 
the  long  sleep,  more  decided.  Dr.  Eliiotson 
kindly  offered  to  exiimine  the  state  of  the 
heart. 

**  Eliza  Barrett  walked  in  the  mesmeric 
state  from  Marlborough  street  up  Blenheim 
Steps,  got  into  a  cab,  and  proceeded  to  Con- 
duit street,  where  she  remained  an  hour.  Dr. 
Eliiotson  examined  her  minutely,  and  found 
no  trace  of  disease  of  the  heart.  She  was 
taken  back  without  being  awakened.  She 
had  been  in  a  most  deplorable  state,  unable 
to  maintain  herself  by  needle- work,  unequal 
to  service  from  the  pain  in  the  side  brought 
on  by  exertion,  and  without  resource. 

**  After  about  six  weeks  she  appeared  to 
be  in  good  health,  and  was  endeavoring  to 
get  a  place  as  housemaid.  But  an  attach- 
ment, which  had  been  broken  off,  as  I  believe, 
on  account  of  the  desperate  state  of  her 
health,  was  renewed.*  She  married  in  the 
month  of  May,  and  Mr.  Kiste  finds  on  en- 
quiry that  she  is  perfectly  well. 

"AsHHURST  Majemdu:.** 

"  To  Adolphe  Kiste,  Esq., 

*<37  Maddox  street 

"  June  26th,  1847. 

•'Kind  Sir. — I  return  you  my  sincere 
thanks  for  the  cure  which,  under  God,  I 
have  received  at  your  hands  by  mesmerism. 
I  can  truly  say,  that  for  more  than  one  and 
twenty  years  of  my  life  1  never  knew  what 
it  was  to  enjoy  health,  and  when  the  phy- 
sicians at  three  hospitals,  and  St.  James's 
Dispensary,  and  many  other  medical  gentle- 
men had,  after  usin^  all  the  means  and 
medicines  they  prescribed,  failed  to  do  any- 
thing more  than  relieve  the  pain  for  a 
time,  1  came  to  you  in  February,  1847,  in  a 
very  weak  state,  utterly  incapable  of  earn- 
ing my  own  living,  then  laboring  under  dis- 
ease of  the  heart,  and  pains  in  the  lunhs. 
The  first  time  I  was  mesmerised  I  received 
benefit  from  it.  When  I  had  been  mesmer- 
ised six  or  seven  times,  five  hours  a  day,  I 
could  lie  down  on  my  left  or  ri^ht  side,  not 
having  been  able  to  he  upon  either  for  some 
time  previous,  without  considerable  pain. 
The*  violent  beatine  of  the  heart,  and  short- 
ness of  breath  then  left  me ;  I  had,  i  believe, 
been    mesmerised  two  and  twenty  times,' 

*  The  patient  at  Bideford,  enredbTMr.  Davev. 
after  being  damb  seven  years,  was,  before  her  iu* 
ness,  engaged  to  a  young  man ;  but  the  marriage 
was  broken  off  Her  cnre  remored  alldiffloalty; 
the  advances  werA  renewed,  and  through  mesmer- 
ism she  became  a  happy  wife.— See  Z0%9t,  Vol. 
IV.,  p.  451. 


186 


Cure  of  Affection  of  the  Heart, 


^hen  T  was  quite  cured.  You  mesmerised 
me  five  times  after  that,  which  made  the  cure 
more  permanent.  1  have  now  enjoyed  per- 
fect health  for  above  three  months,  being 
well  six  weeks  previous  to  my  getting  mar- 
ried, which  was  on  the  9th  of  May.  I  have 
had  mtich  menial  anxiety  and  exertion  of 
body,  without  the  least  return  ot  pain  or  pal- 
pitation. After  suffering  so  much  for  so 
many  years,  I  am  well  able  to  appreciate 
the  cure  which  I  have  received  through 
mesmerism.  With  many  thanks  for  your 
kindness  towards  me,  believe  me  to  remain, 
««  Your  very  humble  servant, 
«  Eliza  Habkis. 
"  No.  4  Duke  street,  Bloomsbury.** 

«  To  Adolphe  Kiste,  Esq. 

"  Sir. — From  the  age  of  one  year  to  fif- 
teen years  I  was  afiicied  with  fits,  abscesses 
and  tumours.  It  was  at  this  age  I  first  suf 
fered  with  palpitation  of  the  heart  and  rheu- 
matism in  my  limbs,  which  caused  them  to 
swell  at  times  very  much.  In  February, 
1845,  being  then  twenty  years  of  age,  I  be 
came  so  bad,  and  having  no  home,  1  went  to 
Middlesex  Hospital  to  try  to  eet  in,  but 
could  not.  1  tnen  went  to  St.  Pancras  In- 
firmary. It  was  here  I  had  the  rheumatic 
fever  and  began  spitting  of  blood.  When  I 
had  been  here  seven  weeks,  suffering  so 
much  from  the  heart,  and  a  complaint  in  the 
throat  which  they  gave  me  a  gargle  for,  and 
getting  no  better,  I  asked  Mr.  Cooper  to  give 
me  an  order  to  go  out,  which  he  did.  I  then 
went  on  the  following  day  to  St,  Thomas's 
Hospital.  Dr.  Barker  ordered  sixteen  leech- 
es over  my  heart  the  day  I  went  in,  and 
salivated  me.  I  was  there  six  weeks,  when 
Dr.  Barker  told  me  he  could  do  more  for  me. 
1  had  no  prospect  before  me  but  to  go  into 
the  workhouse  when  I  left  there,  being  in- 
capable of  earning  my  living ;  1  asked  Dr. 
Barker  to  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  a  note, 
stating  that  I  had  been  under  his  care  and 
what  was  the  matter  with  me.  This  was 
on  Saturday,  the  3d  May,  1845.  On  the 
following  Monday  he  sent  me  one  from  his 
house  by  the  post  to  the  hospital,  stating 
that  I  had  a  disease  of  the  heart  and  what 
kind  of  a  one.  I  then  came  out  of  St. 
Thomas's  Hospital,  and  I  obtained  a  letter 
for  Middlesex  Hospital,  of  Mr.  Bell,  cheir  ist, 
Oxford  street  Tuesday  being  Dr.  Craw- 
ford's taking-in  day,  I  went  there  and  was 
taken  in,  had  a  warm  bath  and  was  put  to 
bed.  The  first  medicine  I  had  there  stop- 
ped the  spitting  of  blood,  and  when  I  had 
been  there  a  week,  Dr.  Crawford  ordered 
me  to  hare  cold  shower-baths  of  a  morning, 
erery  other  day  at  first,  and  then  erery  day. 


i  had  blisters  applied  to  my  side  and  to  the 
back  of  my  neck.    I  had  turpentine  fomeo- 
tations  applied  to  the  stotnacb  and  side,  aod 
the  medicine  I  was  taking  brought  me oot  in 
boils  all  over  me.    They  healed  up  again; 
I  got  so  well  that  I  was  enabled  to  cone 
out  of  the  hospital,  and  haying  no  clothes 
scarcely,  and  my  father  being  ill  in  the  in- 
firmary, I  had  no  one  to  assist  me,  so  I  took 
the  letter  which  Dr.  Barker  gave  me  wilk 
me  to  the  work -house.    This  was  in  Jime, 
1 845,  on  a  Thursday ;  on  Friday  I  was  called 
to  the  board* room  of  the  work-honfie,  Mr. 
Cooper  was  there,  and  Mr.  Lee  the  master 
of  the  workhouse ;  I  gave  them  Dr.  Barkeh 
letter  and  told  them  what  I  had  come  there 
for,  and  that  a  friend  had  got  me  a  situadon; 
and  they  gave  me  some  clothes,  and  1  caoe 
out  and  went  to  place.    1  kept  pretty  wefl 
for  two  months,  and  then  I  had  the  attend- 
ance of  Mr.  Parts,  of  Camden  Town.  It 
was  from  this  time  I  be°^n  taking  ealoiDel 
for  to  ease  the  pain,  and  I  have  takes  it  iH 
along  till  I  got  so  bad  in  November  hat 
Before  I  left  my  place,  a  lady  my  mirttB 
was  acquainted  with  gave  me  a  letter /or  the 
St.  George's  and  St.  James's  Dispensanr.  I 
went  there,  and  saw  Dr.  Dew.   He  oracrd 
me  to  be  cupped  on  the  left  shoulder  and  t 
blister  over  the  heart ;  he  gaTB  me  sane 
medicine  and  ordered  me  rest,  ft  wainot 
convenient  for  me  to  lay  up  atmysitiBlK»» 
and  he  said  he  could  not  get  me  well  ^t^ 
out  I  did,  and  that  I  had  better  go  ioto  ue 
hospital  where  I  could  have  rest  lobiaia- 
ed  a  letter  ior  Middlesex  Hospital,  and  tent 
there  and  saw  Dr.  Crawford  again,  D«a- 
ber  4,  1 846     But  he  told  me  he  coold  act 
possibly  take  me  in  till  the  next  week,  w 
he  put  me  under  Dr.  Latham's  care.  1  ■* 
him  that  day^,  and  he  gave  mesome  ocdicine; 
and  on  coming  home  with  it  I  lost  my  «jM 
and  fell  down  in  Cavendish  ^''^^^j* 
I  came  to,  a  young  woman  kindly  ofcied  to 
lead  me  as  far  as  Mr.  Sommerfield'a,  n 
Marylebone   Lane,  who  aent  his  80'>>j 
home  with  me.    I  was  to  go  to  the  lioi|Mj 
on  the  following  Friday,  and  as  I  goj""® 
worse  my  mother  was  obliged  to  Wj* 
there.      While  I  was  waiting  to  ■»  »• 
Latham  I  was  very  bad,  and  Mr.  Con  cais 
and  spoke  to  me,  and  asked  me  if  I  uow 
like  to  stay  then  and  go  to  bed.   I<»| 
should  like  to  stay,  so  he  ordered  <»« ""J 
nurses  to  take  me  up  into  Queen's  Ware.  A» 
night  I  had  a  warm  bath,  and  I  ''^*"T' 
put  on  my  forehead ;  when  I  had  beenthw 
a  week,  Dr.  Crawford  ordered  me  8liow|J- 
baths  again.    I  had  been  here  rather  WW 
than  a  fortnight,  when  Dr.  Crawfoid  mc» 
should  not  keep  me  there  any  lonter,  n  •• 
thought  1  shoold  be  better  oat  lad  htw  »• 


by  Mr,  Adolphe  Kisie. 


187 


air.  I  waci  no  better  when  I  left,  for  l  no 
Booner  got  down  stairs  and  went  in  the 
board-room  to  return  thanks,  than  I  became 
very  ill  again.  Dr.  Crawford,  when  he  dis- 
chajiged  me,  the  Tuesday  before  Christmas, 
made  me  out-patient  under  Dr.  Latham's 
care.  I  was  seized  with  a  trembling  fit 
whilst  waitii>g  to  see  him.  When  I  reached 
home  I  had  a  worse  attack,  and  I  was  a  week 
getting  worse,  when  1  went  on  the  follow- 
ing Tuesday  down  to  St.  George's  Ho«pttal 
to  see  if  I  could  get  a  letter  for  to  go  in.  1 
was  unsuccessful,  and  1  was  forced  to  give  a 
little  girl  something  to  lead  me  from  Hyde 
Park  corner  to  Bond  street  She  then  left 
me,  and  when  (  had  got  half  way  up  Bond 
Street  I  fell  down  in  a  fit  When  I  came  to 
a  young  man  kindly  offered  from  amidst  the 
crowd  that  was  round  me  to  see  me  home, 
which  he  did.  On  the  next  day  I  went  again 
to  St  Geoige's  Hospital.  I  obtained  a  letter 
at  No.  7,  Belgrare  Square,  and  I  went  and 
saw  Dr.  Jones,  who  immediately  made  me 
an  in-patient.  I  had  two  of  these  trembling 
attacks, and  I  was  taken  up  stairs  to  Holland's 
Ward  and  put  to  bed.  Dr.  Jones,  when  he 
saw  me  again,  sounded  me  a  good  deal,  and 
J  think  he  then  called  mv  complaint  an  affec- 
tion of  the  heart  and  chest  Afterwards  1 
yma  sounded  by  several  other  gentlemen  and 
Mr.  Fuller.  They  changed  my  medicine  a 
good  many  times  and  fomented  the  stomach. 
Dr.  Jones  ordered  me  vapour  baths  for  the 
pains  in  the  limbs,  and  would  not  suffer  me 
to  fj^et  up  at  all.  Mr.  Fuller  sounded  me. 
again  for  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour 
Tnis  was  when  he  found  out  what  the  com- 
plaint was.  Afterwards  Dr.  Jones  sounded 
me  a^n :  it  was  then  he  said  Mr.  Fuller 
was  right  in  saying  it  was  a  chronic  disease 
of  the  heart  The  doctors  all  complained  of 
a  confuMd  murmur  or  grating  sound  ic  the 
heart,  which  they  heard  when  they  sounded 
me.  I  used  to  feel  sometimes  as  though  the 
heart  would  beat  oat  of  the  side,  and  then 
all  at  once  it  would  stop  and  seem  to  take 
my  breath  with  it  To  la^r  upon  my  left  or 
right  side  I  could  not,  and  if  I  laid  upon  my 
back  the  palpitation  was  so  great  that  it 
shook  me  in  my  bed.  I  remained  in  I 
George's  Hospital  four  weeks,  when  Mr. 
Hamilton,  the  nouse-suigeon,  discharged  me. 
When  Dr.  Jones  heard  of  it»  he  said  he  was 
▼ery  glad  of  it,  as  he  was  afraid  that  he 
•hould  have  me  get  worse  again  if  1  stopped 
there,  but  he  would  make  me  an  out-patient 
if  I  liked.  But  I  told  him  it  was  no  use  of 
his  doing  that,  aa  I  could  not  walk  so  far. 
It  was  preyioas  to  this  that  he  said  he  could 
not  tnke  out  my  heart  and  put  me  in  a  new 
one.  They  ga^e  me  eteel  medicine  to  take, 
end  tha  last  medicme  I  took  from  there  was 


ether  and  hartshorn.  Dr.  Jones  ordered  a 
bella-donna  plaster  over  )he  heart  and  a 
strengthening  plaster  round  the  loins.  I  Bent 
for  my  sister  to  fetch  me  home.  When  I 
had  been  home  three  days,  I  saw  Mr.  Hands 
in  the  prayer  meeting  aJon^  with  Mr.  Mil- 
ler. On  the  following  Friday,  Mr.  Hands 
sertt  to  my  sister's  for  me  to  come  down  to 
his  house.  I  went  there,  and  he  then  spoke 
to  me  about  mesmerism,  and  said  he  thought 
he  knew  of  a  gentleman  that  would  under- 
take to  cure  me  if  I  would  make  up  my 
mind  to  be  done,  and  mother  would  give  her 
consent  to  my  being  mesmerised,  which  she 
did  on  the  Saturday  previous  to  my  coming 
to  you  on  the  Monday.  1  blessed  God  that 
ever  I  was  mesmerised,  for  1  have  been  only 
one  and  twenty  times  in  that  state,  and  am 
now  quite  cured :  for  which  I  return  yoa 
my  sincere  thanks. 

«*  I  remain.  Sir, 

Your  very  humble  servant, 
"  March  28th.  "  Eliza  Bawuett." 


There  can  be  no  question  that  the  view 
taken  of  the  disease  by  the  vajions  phy- 
sicians was  correct ;  and  their  treatment  of 
it  sound  and  excellent.  It  was  evidently  a 
case  of  acute  rheumatic  periconditis,  or  in- 
flammation of  the  hearts  covering,  that  be- 
came chronic,  and  probably  induted  after  a 
time  a  degree  of  hypertrophy  or  overgrowth 
of[the  heart ;  and  there  was  the  addition  of 
hysteria.  She  was  treated  by  all  with  the 
greatest  kindness  as  well  as  skill.  But  in 
the  end  her  disease  proved  to  have  been 
ameliorated  only  for  a  time.  Ordinary  medi- 
cal means  could  have  effected  no  more  in 
any  hands ;  and  these  circumstances  render 
the  value  of  mesmerism  the  more  sinking.* 

I  have  seen  her  this  week,  and  she  is  per- 
fectly free  from  all  disease  of  the  heart  and 
from  hysteria,  though  the  troubles  and  bodily 
exertion  she  has  gone  through  lately  have 
been  great  She  tells  me  that  mesmerism 
appears  to  have  changed  her  constitution  al- 
together, for,  from  having  all  her  life  been 
ill  in  some  way  or  other,  she  is  now  per- 
fectly hearty. 

JOHH  ElLXOTAON. 

June  28th. 


*  The  ntilitj  ol  mesmeriua  in  a^ectiou  of  the 
heart  ii  exhibited  in  Vol.  I.  p.  465. 


188 


Neuralgia  of  the  Stomach,  4*^., 


Oas«  of  Vovrslgla  of  th«  Stommch 

With  EzcMslTe  Debility,  Ac  Sec.   By  Mr.  Srtaa, 
Surgeon.  77  Oro«Tenor  street 

Mifls  ,  haying  been  in  rather  delicate 

health  for  a  twelremonth  previously,  was 
BuddenijT  seized  on  the  28th  of  January, 
1843,  with  violent  cramp-like  pains  of  the 
stomach  (gastrodynia)  accompanied  by  dis- 
tressing vomiting,  faintness,  great  flatulent 
distension  of  the  abdomen  with  borboryg- 
mus,  &c.»  coldness  of  the  surface  and  par- 
ticularly of  the  lower  extremities,  extieme 
pallor  of  the  countenance,  &c.    Hot  brandy 
and  water  was  administered,  and  hot  fomen. 
tations  applied  to  the  stomach,  but  it  was 
above  an  hour  before  she  experienced  any 
relief,  she  remained  very  weak  and  languid 
for  some  days  and  then  had  a  recurrence  of 
the  pains,  &c.,  more  severe  even  than  at 
first ;  after  which  the  attacks  returned  more 
and   more  frequently  and   with  increased 
intensity,  lasting  three  or  four,  or  even  five 
hours    at  a    time,  and    producing   some- 
times absolute  fainting  from  excessive  paiin 
and  exhaustion.     She  could  not  take  the 
smallest  particle  of  solid  food,  not  a  single 
crumb  of  sopped  bread,  without  inducing 
one  of  these  distressing  paroxysms,  which 
would  likewise  come  on  from  any  little 
mental  agitation,  and  frequently,  too,  with- 
out any  apparent  cause.    Her  menstruation 
had  always  been  regular  and  with  scarcely 
any  pain,  but  now  her  periods  were  attended 
with  intense  pain  of  the  loins  and  anterior 
region  of  the  uterus ;  and  this  again  would 
invariably  bring  on  a  recurrence  of  the  sto- 
aaach  affection.  After  attending  to  the  alvine 
secretions,  I  ordered  hydrocyanic  acid  three 
times  a  day,  beginning  with  a  small  dose 
and  gradually  increasing  it  to  as  lar^e  a  dose 
as  my  patient  could  bw,  combining  it  in 
turn  with  lime  water,  sesquicarbonate  of 
soda,  and  with  stramonium,  and  afterwards 
also  with  creosote  and  trisnitrate  of  bis- 
muth,  &c.    FuU  doses  of  cajeput  oil  were 
administered  during  the  paroxysms,  &c.,  &c., 
but  with  only  temporary  relief,     in  short  I 
tried  every  medicine  I  could  think  of  as  ap- 
plicable to  the  case,  and  at  length  nothing 
seemed  to  give  the  slightest  alleviation  of 
pain  except  strong  stimulants  combined  with 
large  and  repeated  doses  of  opium  (muriate 
of  morphine  was  the  form  employed)  \)ut 
this  was  followed  with  such   distressing 
head-ache,  sickness,  and  thirst,  that  nothing 
short  of  the  intense  agony   she   suffered 
would  have  iostified  its  exhibition. 

Nine  weeks  had  now  elapsed  since  the 
tommeBcemant  of  these  attacks.  I  have 
flaid  that  my  patient  was  unable  to  take  a 
BjTlr*'^  of  tohd  food,  she  obtained  scaxcely 


any  sleep  at  night,  and  became  weaker  and 
weaker,  until  one  day  she  nearly  faistcd  in 
trying  to  walk  between  two  assistants  fron 
her  bed  to  a  sofa  in  the  same  room ;  ami,  tt 
length,  she  could  scarcelv  bear  to  be  liM 
from  one  to  the  other  to  have  her  bed  made 
without  faintness  or  pain.  1  saw  with  alarm 
that  no  permanent  benefit  was  derived  fran 
any  of  the  powerful  remedies  I  had  pre- 
<«cribed,  and  I  felt  that  my  patient  moil 
shortly  die  unless  some  better  means  oooM 
be  devised.  I  had  long  felt  desirous  of  at^ 
tempting  mesmerism  in  this  case,  bat  know- 
ing that  the  lady's  friends  were  stroo^y 
prejudiced  against  it,  1  had  not  suggested  iti 
adoption,  especially  as  at  that  time  I  bad 
never  seen  a  similar  case  so  treated;  bat,ii 
despair  of  affording  relief  by  any  otber 
means,  I  now  ventured  to  propose  it  1o  the 
mother  as  a  last  resource ;  her  reply  wa^ 
"  Well,  Mr.  8ymes,  you  know  oar  eooi- 
dence  in  you,  and  whatever  yoa  eaf  ii 
necessary  shall  be  done."  I  bad  on  tb! 
occasion  only  a  very  few  minutes  to  spii^ 
but,  determined  to  lose  no  time,  1  at  om 
commenced  mesmerising  m^  iatieot,  ud 
was  pleased  at  seeing  an  evident  e&cfjinv 
dueed  at  the  end  of  ten  minutes,  altiwo^fih^ 
did  not  go  into  the  mesmeric  sleep  :twf^ 
on  the  5lh  of  April.  On  makiif  nj  ra^ 
on  the  following  day,  I  was  highly  p»» 
at  learning  that  she  had  passed  a  tettivp 
than  for  two  months  previously. 

6th.  Mesmerised  her  25  mtnates ;  ibe  Ik- 
came  drowsy  and  could  with  difficulty  keo 
her  eyes  open  but  did  not  sleep,  yet  «beW 
so  much  better  afterwards  that  I  detenio^ 

rn  discontinuing  all  medicine.  Sbe  ]^ 
.  in  her  own  words,  *•  a  most  exceliot     ^ 
night." 

7lh.  Mesmerised  25  minutes.  '^^ 
closed  spontaneously,  but  without  Iobb  oi 
consciousness;  she  felt  however  so  docI 
better  and  stronger  afterwards  that  she  roie 
from  the  sofa  of  her  own  accord  and  waltt* 
across  the  room  without  assistance.  Imj^ 
irave  her  the  yelk  of  an  egg,  raw,  whichw 
bolted  and  retained  on  her  stomach  witboo 
any  ill  effect ;  slept  well  all  night 

8th.  The  eyes  closed  in  spite  of  herself  i 
few  minutes  after  I  commenced  the  pa«* 
and  she  was  unable  to  open  them  until  i 
ceased;  still  she  did  not  lose  consdousneij 
but  was  enabled  to  take  her  yelk  of  egg «» 
walk  ahout  the  room  for  ten  mioutes  ara^ 
wards.  She  passed  another  good  loAU^ 
the  next  morning  attempted  to  ^■^•■J* 
the  room  befor$  being  mesmerised,  bet  «• 
soon  obliged  to  sit  down  fn»^*wnto5 
After  being  mesmerised  half  in  Boor,  J" 
no  other  c3ect  thai  on  the  jwnoas  m* 


by   Mr,  Symes, 


189 


«he  eoald  walk  about  with  impunity  for 
a  qaarter  of  an  hour. 

lOth.  My  patient  had  had  no  recurrence 
of  her  attacks  since  the  first  day  she  was 
mesmerised ;  but  tbii  being  her  mOntbiy 
period,  1  had  looked  forward  to  it  with 
anxiety.  She  complained  of  lassitude  and 
aevere  pain  in  the  back,  but  had  entirely 
lost  this  pain  after  half  an  hour's  mesme- 
lising ;  ate  two  yelks  of  eg^s,  and  walked 
ahout  a  quarter  of  an  hour  without  fatigue. 

11.  The  eves  closed  as  usual,  and  she 
experienced  tbe  usual  benefit. 

12.  Was  discomposed  by  letters  of  a  dis- 
tressing kind,  and  felt  ill  in  consequence. 
Mesmerised  hall  an  hour,  bat  with  httle  ef- 
fect, being  much  disturbed  during  the  time ; 
the  eyes  did  not  close,  she  was  unable  to 
walk  afterwards,  and  passed  a  restless  night. 

13th.  After  halftan  hour's  mesmerism  f 
Tentured  to  allow  her  a  little  chicken,  which 
caused  no  mconvenience ;  she  slept  naturally 
for  an  hour  afterwards  and  awoke  re- 
freshed. 

14th.  The  eyes  closed  as  usual,  she  made  a 
hearty  meal,  and  felt  so  well  that  I  gave  her 
permission  to  lake  an  egg  for  her  breakfast 
the  next  morning. 

16th.  A  violent  attack  of  pain,  vomiting, 
Stc.,  &c.,  was  brought  on  by  eating  the  egg 
hefore  being  mesmerised,  and  left  tne  usuiS 
faintness  and  prostration  of  strength;  but 
after  being  mesmerised  three  quarters  of  an 
hour,  felt  so  much  better  that  she  walked 
about  and  ate  a  hearty  dinner  without  in- 
convenience. 

16th  and  17th.  Felt  as  usual,  weak  and 
listless  in  the  mornings,  but  strong  and  well 
after  the  mesmerism. 

18th.  Went  into  the  mesmeric^  sleep  for 
the  first  time  to-day,  after  which  she  made 
a  hearty  dinner,  and  read  aloud  ereat  part  of 
the  evening  without  fatigue :  a  fortnight  be- 
fore she  could  not  even  endure  a  litUe  con- 
versation. 

Still  mesmerised  half  an  hour  daily,  the 
eyes  always  closing  in  spite  of  any  efforts  to 
keep  them  open,  but  without  her  losing 
consciousness;  felt  so  well  on  the  20th  that 
she  was  induced  to  dine  before  beinz  mes- 
merised; about  twenty  minutes  after  it, 
however,  the  old  symptoms  of  pain,  vomit- 
ing, flatulence,  &c.,  returned,  but  ceased 
entirely  after  the  mesmerism,  and  she  was 
able  to  read  aloud  and  walk  about  all 
the  evening— formerly  after  such  an  attack 
ahe  was  always  obliged  to  go  to  bed. 

Went  on  well  till  the  29th,  when  bome 
cause  of  excitement  occurred  in  the  evening, 
which  kept  her  awake  great  part  of  the 
night ;  and  a  renewal  of  the  anno^^ce  on 
the  following  morning  indaced  a  painful  at- 


tack, which  was  relieved  as  usual  by  mes- 
merism* 

May  6th.  Monthly  period.  Had  con- 
siderable pain  in  the  back,  &c.,  which  was 
entirely  removed  by  mesmerism,  and  the 
sleep  was  induced  for  27  minutes. 

Had  an  attack  on  the  13th  from  the  sud- 
den communication  of  a  family  affliction ; 
and  on  the  1 8th  the  same  symptoms  were 
just  commencing  when  I  paid  my  daily 
visit  Mesmerised  her  three  quarters  of  an 
hour,  prevented  the  attack  from  coming  on» 
and  left  her  quite  comfortable.  With  these 
exceptions  she  went  on  favorably,  the  eyes 
always  closing  during  mesmerism,  but  tbe 
sleep  only  coming  on  occasionally  till  the 
23d,  when  she  went  out  for  a  drive  for  the 
first  time  since  the  commencement  of  her 
illness ;  it  was  a  cold  easterly  wind,  and  an 
hour  after  her  return  she  was  seized  with 
head-ache,  soie  throat,  cough,  and  loss  of 
voice.  After  half  an  hour's  mesmoising 
the  head-ache  was  entirely  relieved  and  the 
throat  better ;  the  voice  did  not  return  for 
several  hours,  and  the  cough  continued 
troublesome  for  a  day  or  two. 

The  mesmerism  was  continued  till  the 
27th,  on  which  day  it  was  omitted ;  she 
passed  a  restless  night  in  consequence,  and 
awoke  next  morning  with  one  of  her  at- 
tacks, which  continued  till  she  was  mesme- 
rised ;  she  bad  also  a  little  pain  on  tbe  31st, 
from  not  being  mesmerised  until  several 
hours  after  her  dinner. 

June  4th.  The  periodic  pain  in  her  back, 
&c.,  removed  by  mesmerism.  Continued  for 
the  next  nine  days,  always  feeling  weak 
and  low  of  a  morning,  but  strong  and  in 
good  spirits  after  the  mesmerism,  which  was 
omitted  on  the  13th,  and  at  bed-time  she  be- 
gan to  feel  unwell.  Took  some  beef  tea, 
but  rejected  it  almost  immediately,  and  was 
restless  and  uneasy  all  night.  A  rather  se- 
vere attack  came  on  her  after  her  breakfast 
the  next  morning,  leaving  her  weak  and  ill 
till  the  afternoon,  when  the  mesmerism  re- 
stored her,  and  she  enjoyed  a  heartv  meal. 

30th.  Went  out  to  spend  the  day,  and 
probably  from  over  fatigue  had  a  slight  at- 
tack in  the  evening,  which  was  soon  sub- 
dued by  mesmerism.  This  was  continued 
daily  until  the  9th  of  June,  when  she  vras 
persuaded  to  go  for  change  of  air  to  stav  at 
the  country-house  of  a  iriend,  and  not  hay- 
ing been  mesmerised  had  an  attack  in  the 
evening,  which  lasted  two  hours. 

10th.  Lay  down  to  sleep  for  an  hour  in 
the  middle  of  the  day,  and  was  most  careful 
of  her  diet,  in  the  hope  of  avoiding  an  at- 
tack ;  but  it  again  came  on  in  the  evening 
even  more  severely  than  on  the  previous 
dav. 


190 


Neuralgia  of  the  Stomachy  4*c., 


1  Ith.  Weak  and  iU,  lay  on  the  sofa  great 
part  of  the  day,  and  went  to  bed  very  early, 
but  a  most  severe  attack  ensued.  Her 
friends  there,  who  had  hitherto  laughed  at 
mesnaerism,  now  confessed  that  she,  at  least, 
could  not  do  without  it,  and  agreed  to  drive 
her  up  to  town  to  see  me  on  Xh%  following 
morning. 

12th.  She  arrived  at  my  house  with  her 
mother,  so  weak  that  .'he  could  wfth  diffi- 
culty step  out  of  the  carriage  into  my  dining 
room.  I  immediately  mesmerised  her  for  an 
hour,  after  which  she  expressed  herself  as 
feeling  quite  well ;  had  a  ravenous  appetite, 
retorned  to  the  country  and  ate  everything 
before  her.  The  young  lady  of  the  house, 
who  had  often  seen  her  friend  mesmerised 
by  me,  and  acknowledged  the  invariable  im- 
provement  in  her  appearance  after  it,  yet  re- 
tained an  unaccountable  antipathy  against 
the  remedy,  and  could  never  be  persuaded 
than  an  hour's  natural  sleep  in  the  course 
of  the  day  would  not  have  an  equally  bene- 
fical  efiect ;  but  seeing  that  no  precautions 
would  keep  away  the  attack,  save  "  the  one 
thing  needful,''  her  natural  goodness  of 
heart  and  sympathy  for  her  friend's  sufifer- 
ings  overcame  her  prejudices  at  this  time, 
and  she  consented  herself  to  apply  the  reme- 
dy. Accordingly  from  the  13th  to  the  20th 
this  lady  mesmerised  my  patient  for  half  an 
hour  daily,  and  there  was  no  return  of  the 
pain  till  the  21st,  when  a  slight  attack  was 
induced  by  a  fright,  which  the  lady  soon  re- 
lieved by  the  usual  means ;  yet 

" true  'tU  Btrange, 

And  passing  strange  'tis  tme," 

her  antipathy  against  this,  to  her  friend,  in- 
valuable blessing,  is  at  this  day  greater  than 
ever ;  nay,  T  am  told  that  she  has  so  far  im- 
bibed the  prejudices  of  a  religious  friend  as 
to  ascribe  the  mesmeric  influence  to  satanic 
agency.  Other  friends  of  my  patient  do  not 
scruple  to  declare  this  same  conviction :  one 
lady  in  particular,  a  near  family  connexion, 
who  has  likewise  witnessed  the  remarkable 
sanative  effects  of  mesmerism  in  this  case, 
and  the  failure  of  all  other  means,  for  she 
was  staying  in  the  house  at  the  time  is 
most  bitter  against  it  and  all  who  practise  it ; 
yet  she  too,  under  the  influence  of  her  bet- 
ter feelings,  has  more  than  once,  on  wit- 
nessing Miss 's  agonizing  pain,  of- 
fered to  mesmerise  her.  Others  again  rude- 
ly laugh  at  her  for  adopting  such  absurdity. 

Miss herself  knew  nothing  about 

the  science  until  applied  to  her  own  case, 
and  her  mother  had  a  feeling  against  it ;  but 
both  have,  front  the  commencement,  been 
deeply  sensible  ol»  and  natef ul  for  the  bene- 
fit conferred,  and  can  anoid  to  laugh  at  the 


folly  of  those  who  have  tried  to  set  thm 
against  it. 

22nd.  My  patient  returned  to  town,  and  I 
recommenced  mesmeriug  her  daily  till  the 
5th  of  August,  when  she  went  into  the 
country,  feeling  quite  well,  and  continoeJ 
so  until  the  13th,  on  which  day  she  awoke 
with  great  pain  in  her  back  from  the  osuel 
periodical  cause.    A  severe  attack  came  on 
after  her  breakfast  and  lasted  two  boon. 
She  could  not  move  off  the  sofa  all  dav,aBd 
took  nothing  but  a  little  chicken  broth,  yet 
another  paroxysm  came  on  in  the  tvmn^, 
leaving  her  very  weak  and  ill  for  days  af- 
ter ;  but  she  had  not  another  attack  till  the 
31st,  when  the  carriage  was  nearly  upset, 
and  she  had  to  alight  and  walk  a  considera- 
ble distance :  this  induced  a  slight  miroxysm, 
and  on  the  5th  of  the  following  September 
an  alBrm  of  Are  produced  another,  whea  the 
young  lady  who  had  formerly  mesmeiised 
her  being  fortunately  present,  kindly  exert- 
ed  her  satanic  (?)  influence,  sent  her  to 
sleei)  in  spite  of  the  pain  within  5  mioufei, 
and  in  twenty  minutes  she  awoke  feeling 
quite  well.    One  must  presume  therefore 
that  Satan  is  tired  of  walking  np  and  don 
like  a  roaring  lion  seeking  whom  be  inj 
devour,  and  prefers  assuming  the  fom  oii 
ministering  angel  aasuaging  (bsiHsdat- 
tality .    Probably  these  ladies  are  not  aware 
that  the  same  absurd  outcry  basbaanised 
against  every    new    remedy— TacdaiJwt* 
bark,  &c.,  &c.,  but  how  they  can  recosdie 
it  to  their  consciences,  under  any  ciitvB' 
stances  to  employ  such  a  remedy,  if  ^ 
really  do  in  their  hearts  ascribe  it  to  6>dt  ft 
source,  £  must  leave  it  to  themselves  to  ex- 
plain ;  "  I  only  know  that"  1  "  wooliw* 
have  done  po." 

Most  of  the  dates  in  the  foreeoingwn^ 
tiveare  taken  from  a  journal  Kept  by  »y 
patient  for  a  sister  who  is  abroad,  butiroa 
some  cause  not  sent  to  her,  and  put  into  ny 
hands  to  •«  make  what  use  I  pleaacdoL* 

Miss escaped  any  attack  for  «•* 

months  after  this,  and  m  her  letter  to  to 
sister,  dated  April,  1844,  says  sheieqo* 
well.  She  was  indeed  restored  to  compaa- 
live  health,  and  1  ana  as  fully  convinced  u 
she  is  herself  that  her  life  was  in  immoaj 
danger  when  I  commenced  the  process,  and 
has  been  saved  by  it.  The  tendency,  bow- 
ever,  to  a  recurrence  of  the  attacks  has  coa- 
tinned:  and  although  sometimes  she  oai 
been  free  from  them  for  many  months  to- 
gether, at  others  she  has  had  them  seyeielyi 
requiring  to  be  mesmerised  very  frequentiy 
afterwards:  thus  in 'November,  and  «p» 
in^December,  1844,  and  several  followi^ 
months,  she  had  some  severe  aflicki. 

his  worthy  •f  DOte  that  ito ^ 


by  Mr.  Symes. 


191 


mother,  an  elderly  gentlewoman,  has  heen 
subject  to  attacks  of  gastrodynia  for  three  or 

four  years  previous  to  Miss 's  illness, 

during  the  whole  of  which  time  they  had 
$lept  together t  and  as  I  afterwards  learnt  they 
had  been  in  the  tAbit  of  sleeping  with  a 
hand  lodced  in  each  other's  hand ;  and  du- 
ring the  whole  of  her  daughter's  illness,  up 
to  this  time,  Mrs.  R.  bad  not  suffered  a  sin- 
gle attack.  I  did  not  for  a  long  time  con- 
nect these  circumstances  with  Miss 's 

illness  farther  than  as  giving  the  hereditary 
predisposition,  and  when  I  did  so,  I  had 
some  difficulty  in  inducing  the  ladies  to  oc- 
cup)r  separate  sleeping  rooms,  but  I  did  at 

last  insist  upon  it,  and  since  then  Mrs. 

has  had  occasional  returns  of  gastrodynia,  al- 
though not  so  severe  or  so  frequent  as  for- 
merly. I  have  now  little  doubt  that  the 
younger  lady's  illness  was  originally  indu- 
ced by  sleeping  in  this  way  with  her  mo- 
ther, and  that  the  obstinate  predisposition  to 
a  recurrence  of  the  attacks,  and  the  debility 
and  lassitude  so  constantly  experienced  of  a 
morning,  are  ascribable  to  the  same  cause. 
In  truth,  the  beneficial  action  of  my  half 
hour's  active  mesmerism  in  the  day  was 
constantly  being  counteracted  by  the  injuri- 
ous tendency  of  the  mother's  eight  or  ten 
hour's  passive  mesmerism,  so  to  speak,  at 
night. 

After  a  time,  Miss went  habitu- 
ally into  the  sleep-waking  state  when  mes- 
merised, and  although  on  this  occasion  I 
have  dwelt  principally  upon  the  curative 
powers  of  the  agency,  different  highly  inter- 
esting phenomena  have  been  indnced.  I  had 
often  great  difficulty  in  awaking  her,  some 
times  for  hours  together;  her  eyes,  too, 
would  remain  clos^  for  some  time  after 
coming  out  of  the  mesmeric  state,  in  spite  of 
her  own  and  my  efforts  to  open  theqi.  On 
one  occasion,  I  tried  ia  vain  to  get  her  eyes 
to  open  for  about  an  hour  after  the  waking, 
but  not  being  able  to  accomplish  it,  I  was 
obliged  to  leave  her,  telling  her  that  without 
doubt  they  would  presently  open ;  but  if  not, 
that  she  might  be  pretty  sure  they  would 
open  when  sne  awoke  in  the  morning  after 
a  night's  rest.  To  my  surprise,  however,  I 
found  them  still  closed  on  paying  my  visit 
the  next  day,  though  the^  opened  readily 
after  I  had  again  mesmerised  her.  But  at 
length  she  was  enabled  in  the  sleep-  waking 
state,  to  instruct  me  how  to  avoid  this  diffi- 
culty in  future.  She  would  also  tell  me 
how  long  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  sleep, 
and  if  I  awakened  her  before  that  time,  she 
"would  be  sure  to  have  an  attack.  If  I  could 
make  her  promise  to  awaken  spontaneously 
at  the  end  of  a  gdven  time,  as  in  twenty- 
three,  or  twenty-five,  or  thirty  minutes  for 
example*  she  would  do  so  precisely  at  that 


time.  Then  she  acquired  the  power  of  fore- 
seeing  to  an  hour  m  how  many  days  or 
weeks  the  next  attack  would  ensue  if  not 
mesmerised;  and  if  I  delayed  ever  so  little 
after  the  time  specified,  I  was  sure  to  find  her 
ill.  But  as  I  have  always  taken  care  to 
mesmeric  her  if  possible  before  an  expect- 
ed attack,  she  has  rarely  had  any,  and  when 
they  have  come  on,  I  could  always  clearly 
trace  them  to  some  imprudence  on  her  part, 
oT  to  mental  agitation,  or  other  exciting 
cause ;  and  they  are  always  readily  subdued 
by  mesmerism.  At  one  time,  however, 
when  she  required  to  be  mesmerised  daily, 
as  was  always  the  case  after  an  attack,  I 
was  undergoing  excejssive  fatigue  and  anxi- 
ety, and  1  lound  myself  hardly  able  to  affect 
her ;  so  my  friend,  Dr.  Eiliolson,  kindly  un- 
dertook to  mesmerise  her  for  me  for  a  week 
or  two.  He  could  produce  the  effect  with- 
out difficulty,  and  when  \  recommenced,  un- 
der more  favorable  circumstances,  I  was 
equally  successful. 

In  November,  1845,  too,  she  nnfortunate- 
ly  had  an  attack  when  I  was  out  of  town, 
and  not  liking  to  trouble  Dr.  Elliotson,  she 
sent  for  a  neighboring  practitioner,  who 
dosed  her  with  powerful  medicines  for 
some  twenty  hours,  without  the  slightest  re- 
lief ;  and  when  I  arrived,  1  found  her  com- 
pletely exhausted  with  pain  and  fatigue. — 
Although  I  could  usually  induce  the  sleep  in 
a  few  passes — I  have  effected  it  by  merely 
gazing  at  her  for  a  second  or  two  at  the  dis- 
tance of  her  drawine-room — it  was  now 
above  an  hour  before  T  could  succeed,  and  in 
her  sleep  she  told  me  it  would  be  necessary 
for  her  to  be  mesmerised  daily  for  two 
months,  unless  she  could  be  kept  in  the 
mesmeric  state  six  or  eight  hours  a  day  for  a 
fortnight;  but  as  she  would  neither  allow 
any  one,  except  the  mesmeriser,  and  those 
who  bad  mesmerised  her,  to  approach  her, 
nor  suffer  her  mesmeriser  to  leave  her  in  the 
mesmeric  state  for  more  than  a  few  minutes 
at  a  time,  I  could  effect  this  only  by  begging 
her  to  come  on  a  visit  (o  my  house  for  a 
fortnight,  during  which  time  1  regularly  mes- 
merised her  night  and  morning  for  au  hour 
or  two,  and  my  wife  for  some  hours  in  the 
middle  of  the  day ;  and  thus  we  got  over 
the  effects  of  this  violent  and  protracted  at- 
tack. 

I  can  excite  in  her  some  six  or  eight  of  the 
phrenological  organs,  as  well  as  the  pheno- 
mena of  traction,  and  alternate  rigidity  and 
relaxation  of  the  limbs,  &c. ;  and  by  making* 
her  promise,  during  the  sleep-waking,  to  do 
any  thing  in  her  natural  state,  she  will  cer- 
tainly do  it,  although  having  no  recollection 
of  anything  that  has  occuned  in  the  meame- 
ric  state. 
I  must  not  omit  to  mention,  that  my  fttieat 


192 


Cure  of  Tic  Dotdottreux^ 


18  now  happily  married,  and  that  1  saw  her 
a  few  days  since  in  excellent  health  and 
spirits. 

The  case  is  highly  interesting  and  instrnc- 
ti7e  in  many  points  of  view.  It  has  served 
thoroughly  to  convince  me  of  what  1  had 
before  bat  a  vague  notion  of,  viz.,  the  great 
impropriety  of  allowing  young  persons  to 
Bleep  with  the  aeed,  especially  when  the 
latter  are  afflicted  with  any  disease,  even 
though  not  of  a  kind  usually  considered  con- 
tagious. Had  I  immediately  on  the  com- 
mencement of  the  malady  insisted  on  my 
patient  sleeping  alone,  and  could  I  have  de- 
voted several  hours  in  the  day  to  mesmer- 
ising her,  or  had  she  been  blest  with 
friends  read^  to  do  so,  and  thus  to  co-oper- 
ate with  me  in  my  anxious  and  strenuous  ef- 
forts to  eflfect  a  cure,  instead  of  thwarting 
me  and  annoying  her,  by  decrying  and  per- 
suading her  to  discontinue  the  only  remedy 
she  found  of  use,  I  feel  assured  her  re- 
covery would  have  been  as  rapid  as  it  was 
protracted.  It  shows,  too,  how  long  it  is 
wjfuetlmBs  neee^sfiry  to  persevere  with  this 
remedy  I  just  as  wilh  any  other  therapeutic 
agei^t,  10  order  to  elfect  one's  object ;  and  it 
may  mrve  m  ii  h&Bim  to  all  of  us  never  to  pre 
atiine  to  give  an  opinion  upon  subjects  we 
a,it  un  acq  I  lain  led  with. 

Tbia  lady  baa  beraelf  effected  several  stri* 
kini;  cure?  by  means  of  mesmerism.  For  ex- 
ample  i  on  vjsjiing  the  cottage  of  a  poor 
vrotnan  in  the  couiary,  she  one  day  saw  a 
ehild  which  had  been  suffering  for  weeks 
from  ophtbalmia^  She  succeeded  in  mes- 
merising the  child.  On,  the  following  day 
the  eye  wad  much  better;  she  repeated  the 
operation,  and  in  two  days  all  traces  of  the 
inflammation  had  disappeared. 

On  calling  at  a  friend's  house  in  town,  she 
found  the  mfant  screaming  in  the  nurse's 
arms,  and  was  told  that  nothing;  would  paci- 
fy it ;  it  had  been  crying  all  night,  and  the 
mother,  quite  worn  out,  had  just  gone  to  lie 
down.  Without  saying  anything  she  took 
the  child  in  her  lap,  mesmerised  it  for  twenty 
minutes,  and  restored  it  asleep  to  the  nurse. 
The  mother  had  no  idea  how  the  change 
had  been  effected,  but  wrote  to  her  the  next 
day  to  say  how  much  better  the  child  had 
been  ever  since  her  visit ;  it  had  slept  so 
much,  and  had  scarcely  disturbed  her  all  the 
night  afterwards. 

Only  a  few  weeks  ago,  spending  the  even- 
ing at  my  house,  1  saw  her  remove  tooth- 
ache in  a  few  minutes,  from  a  gentleman 
who  had  just  before  been  pacing  the  room 
in  agony  with  it. 

Before  concluding  I  may  perhaps  be  per- 
mitted to  mention,  althouch  it  has  nothing  to 
<lo  with  the  above  cafle»  now  highly  I  was 


gratified  a  few  davs  since  at  witnesaing.  Vj 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  Chandler,  the  exuondy 
interesting  phenomena  induced  in  his  bliid 
patient,  Captain  Peach.  The  eentlemanirbo 
usually  mesmeries  Captain  r.  readily  aenl 
him  into  the  sleep-waldne  state  by  a  lev 
passes,  and  then  exhibited  ue  phenomena  of 
traction,  community  of  taste,  &c.    While 
the  Captain  was  still  asleep,  a  lady,  who  is 
also  in  the  habit  of  mesmering  him,  entered 
the  room ;  she  is  said  to  have  greater  mtt- 
meric  power  over  the  Captain  than  any  ok 
else,  and  it  was*  agreed  that  after  be  fw 
awakened  she  should  send  him  to  ileef 
again  without  his  knowing  she  was  preaeal 
She  did  speak  however  after  he  was  awa- 
kened, but  we  went  on  talking  to  theCif 
tain,  and  at  af^iven  signal  she,  sitting  ads- 
tance  of  at  least  six  feet,  commenced  maki^ 
passes  and  pointing  towards  him.    Hitfeya 
presently  began  to  quiver  and  fill  with  \aa, 
as  they  always  do  when  mesmerised,  aid 
his  head  dropped  several  times  upoo  b 
chest,  he  each  time  rousing  himself  wilki 
start,  moving  uneasily  about  upoo  his  Mt, 
and  apologizing  to  us  for  **not  being  lUt 
to  keen  awake."    The  lady  at  leogili  ad- 
vanced towards  him,  and  in  a  few  Dooeais 
sent  him  quite  off,  and  then  readily  iRodBoed 
the  different  phenomena  before  tuiM  ^ 
It  is  indeed  a  most  satisfactoiy  cuct  lad, 
the  usual  effects  occurring  as  tbiy  do  in  a 
gentleman  who  has  been  blind  lo  wiy 
years  and  when  he  could  not  know  vWl 
was  being  done,  it  shows  that  at  least  these 
phenomena  may  be  induced  qaita  iadeptt- 
dently  of  *'  the  imagination." 


Oars  of  Tie  Dovlo«r0U 

Intwodttiagf.    By  Mr.  Hatxaic  Licslls**^ 
torer,  Sidmonth.* 

About  the  middle  of  April,  1845,  Anj 
Llewellyn  came  on  business  to  my  '^^ 
having  heard  1  mesmerised,  ezprttsed awn 
to  be  present  at  one  of  the  sitlines,  tho<# 
much  prejudiced  against  it  from  ^*|j*J^ 
to  be  Satanic.  I  consented,  and  took  "f 
into  the  parlor  where  there  was  a  yoath  a 
the  mesmeric  sleep.  1  began  by  exatij 
the  phrenological  organs,  and  '■'*"8^JJ[t 
ed  Veneration  and  Language,  he  swwf 
rose  from  his  chair,  clasped  bis  **"^  IJ 
upon  his  knees,  and  poured  forth  a  w» 
beautiful  and  affecting  pmyer ;  apon  whtf 
Anne  declared  herself  satisfied,  as  tbe«» 


♦  A  talMeriber  to  the  MetmMk  tatomry,  si* 
acquainted  with  Mr.  D.  Haads^-iSMA 


Chreat  Progress  of  Mesmerism  in  India. 


193 


vrould  never  teach  a  man  to  pray.  She  then 
determined  to  come  to  oie  the  next  day  and 
try  what  could  be  done  for  her.  She  was 
then  about  30  years  of  age  and  bad  been 
Buffering  from  tic  douloureux  ever  since  a 
Mvere  cold  in  1S40.  It  was  accompanied 
by  tightness*  weakness  and  oppression  of 
the  chest*  and  frequent  spasms.  The  nose 
was  much  afiected,  the  tip  scarlet,  burning 
hot  in  acute  pain.  She  haid  consulted  seve- 
ral of  the  medical  profession  in  Exeter  and 
Exmouth,  who  coincided  in  declaring  her  to 
be  in  a  highly  nervous  slate  and  that  medi- 
cine could  not  avail,  though  nature  might 

Anne  came  according  to  her  piomise,  and 
her  sister  and  brother-in-law  came  with  her. 
1  proposed  to  commence  by  mesmerising  the 
man,  and  therefore  began  by  making  the 
passes  over  him  at  the  same  time  that  1 
iorcibly  willed  that  she  should  feel  tbe  effect 
instead  of  him.  After  some  minutes,!  turn- 
ed to  her  and  said,  1  feared  I  could  not  give 
her  much  time,  but  found  she  was  already 
partially  collapsed.  1  took  her  thumbs  and 
in  about  four  minutes  she  fell  back  unconsci- 
ous, but  seemed  to  labor  under  great  oppres- 
sion and  difficulty  of  breathing;  a  few  down- 
ward passes  quickly  relieved  h»-r.  As  1 
made  them  down  the  limbs  and  off  from  the 
feet,  her  countenance  brighleoed,  testifying 
the  comlort  and  pleasure  she  felt.  1  then 
flpoke  to  her  and  so  did  her  sister  and  bio- 
ther,  but  she  did  not  answer.  1  then  excited 
language  and  called  her  by  name,  *'  Anne  " 
**Yes"  "Are  you  comiortable  ?"  *•  Yes; 
but  in  great  pam."  "  In  what  part  ?"  She 
placed  her  hands  on  her  chest  without  speak- 
ing. •<  Do  you  think  1  can  do  you  good  ?" 
••  Ves,  1  know  you  can.'*  "  Tell  me  then 
what  I  am  to  do,  how  to  proceed."  She  put 
both  hands  on  her  forehead,  drew  them 
gently  down,  pressing  on  the  chest  wiih 
her  thumbs; then  down  to  the  hips,  pressing 
there; continuing  to  the  feet:  then  throwing 
off  the  influence,  she  repeated  this  process, 
and  I  clos-  ly  observed  her  directions.  As 
my  finger  accidentally  touched  the  tip  oi 
her  nose>  her  features  sparkled  with  plea- 
sure. I  again  excited  Language,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  sitting  was  filled  up  by 
proving  my  power  over  her.  1  made  her 
^ing,  and  excited  Terror  and  ideality,  when 
I  was  obliged  to  quiet  her :  I  then  demes- 
merised  her.  She  walked  twelve  miles  the 
following  day,  and  two  months  afterwards 
called  on  me  to  show  me  how  well  she 
was.  I  then  tried  to  mesmerise  her  by 
poiotinff,  and  she  exclaimed  I  was  throwing 
fire  at  her,  and  then  at  the  beautiful  colorts. 
She  saw  each  of  my  fingers  as  1  pointed 
forming  a  different  color,  with  sparks  of  fire; 
she  then  said  she  saw  the  interior  of  her 
4 


niesmeriser,  and  described  the  difiereni  arte- 
ries ;  the  circulation  of  the  blood,  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  brain,  &c.,  &c.,  calling  the 
lungs  the  1  igbts.  One  of  my  hands  felt  coid, 
the  other  hot.  All  of  a  sudden  she  became 
very  sad,  and  cried  and  cobbed  out,  "  Oh 
my  husband,  my  husband."  On  being  ques- 
tioned, she  said  she  saw  him,  that  he  had 
been  bled  in  consequence  of  an  accident, 
being  crushed  between  a  waggon  and  a 
wall ;  that  the  hurt  was  in  the  shoulder,  and 
he  had  been  in  bed  four  days  and  was  wish- 
ing for  her,  but  did  not  like  to  send  for  her ; 
he  had  no  bones  broken. 

I  cautioned  the  sister  not  to  f^ay  anything 
of  this  to  her  when  awake,  but  to  go  home 
as  soon  as  they  could.  On  their  arrival  the 
whole  account  was  found  perfectly  correct. 

I  have  seen  her  repeatedly  since,  and  she 
remains  in  good  health  and  has  not  had  any 
return  of  her  complaint  since  April,  1845. — 
Zoist.  June,  1847. 


Dr.  Esdaile's  First  Monthlf  Beport 

or  the  Calcutta  Mesmeric  Hospital  and  hie  Ex- 
perimentH  with  Kther  uned  with  the  ttaine  view 
OS  Mei«inerii<m  in  Surgical  OperatinuH.  Painless 
Operations  at  Madras,  by  Dr.  JobnMnue,  upon  a 
European  lady,  in  the  MeKmeric  state.  Appoint- 
ment of  a  Mesmeric  Committee  at  Madraf  by 
the  OoveromenU— (7omsnmtcat«d  by  Da.  Elx.iot- 

80N. 

Th£  following  is  the  printed  report  which  I 
have  received : — 

"The  Government  having  been  pleased  to 
sanction  the  pub  ication  of  month!}  reports 
from  my  hospital,  as  the  best  means  of  dif- 
lusihg  correci  knowledge  among  the  people 
on  a  subject  ot  practical  iinpnrlance  to  tliem, 
I  shall  in  future  furnish  a  monthly  simimnry 
of  the  cases  treated  in  the  hospital,  that  the 
public  may  know  what  is  doin^,  and  that 
my  htalemenis  may  he  connborated  or  con- 
tiadicteu  on  ihe  spot,  while  the  lacts  are 
fresh  in  the  memory  ot  th(  se  w  ho  vi  itnefsed 
them  It  is  impobsib'e  tor  me  to  give  the 
names  of  the  peisons  w  ho  witntshed  what  1 
relate,  very  few  ot  them  bein^  known  to  me, 
but  I  hope  that  they  will  Ireely,  and  without 
scruple,  coriect  any  statement  (>f  mine  that 
does  not  in  ail  essentials  coi respond  with 
their  own  ohservatjons. 

"  I  regret  that  there  is  no  novelty  in  tbe 
nature  of  the  cases  trpaied  la>t  nonth,  and 
for  this  reason:  in  con.'^equence  of  -he  suc- 
cesi*  1  have  met  with,  in  removing  the  tum- 
ors so  common  in  this  conntiy,  while  the 
patients  were  in  the  mesmeric  traace,  persons 


194 


Great  Progress  of 


afflicted  with  this  disease  resort  to  me  from 
great  distaooes,  and  a  notion  has  gone  abioad 
among  the  people,  that  my  ^ckarm*  is  only 
applicable  to  such  cases';  add  to  this,  that 
the  natives  are  totally  ignorant  of  the  effica- 
cy of  mesmerism  in  medical  diseases,  and  it 
will  explain  the  nameness  of  my  proceeding? 
since  coming  to  Calcutu.  The  field  will 
gradually  open,  however,  and  in  proportion 
a^  the  public  become  familiar  with  the  sub- 
ject, and  its  extensive  application  to  medical 
as  well  as  the  generality  of  surgical  dis- 
eases, I  shall  be  able  to  communicate  more 
varied  and  interesting  matter. 

**  In  recording  last  month's  proceedings,  I 
shall  put  the  reader  in  possession  of  the 
facts,  and  then  make  some  comments  on 
them. 

**  November  9th,  Doahmony,  a  peasant 
woman,  aged  50,  has  come  from  fienares  to 
set  an  inimense  scirrhous  tumor  of  the  right 
brisast  removed,  it  commenced  two  years 
ago,  and  is  moveable,  hard,  and  elastic; 
there  is  no  enlargement  of  the  axillary  glands, 
and  she  does  not  look  in  very  bad  health. 

"  Oil  the  7(h  day  of  mesmerising,  ^he  was 
entranced,  her  arms  were  partially  catalep- 
tic, and  she  wa^  insensible  to  pricking. 
Next  day,  she  was  again  put  to  sleep,  and 
two-ihirils  of  the  tumor  removed  without 
her  moving  oi  appearing  to  feel  it.  She  then 
awoice  up,  and  appeared  to  recover  her  sen- 
ses l)efore  ti.e  openitioii  was  tini*hed.  No 
manual  restraint  was  used  during  the  excis- 
ion of  the  mass,  but  she  became  very  violent 
immcvliately  after,  and  required  to  be  forci 
biy  held  down  while  the  arteries  were  being 
tied. 

•*  The  breast  weighed  7  pounds. 

**  December  29th.  Discharged  at  her  own 
request,  her  friends  having  come  for  her  from 
Benares.    The  sore  is  nearly  healed. 

"  Ramlochun  Doss,  a  weaver,  residing  in 
Serampore,  aged  60.  He  has  got  one  of  the 
usual  tumors  of  30  years'  growth.  Having 
been  entrance.1  for  tive  days  previously,  he 
was  operated  on  the  1st  December. 

**  I  intended  to  save  all  the  parts,  if  found 
to  be  worth  keeping,  but  the  oigan  on  the 
left  side  was  disea.'^ed,  and  was  thereloie 
sacrificed ;  the  other  being  h<»althy,  was  kept. 

**  There  was  not  the  slightest  shrinking 
from  the  knife,  or  the  smallest  movement  in 
the  trunk  and  lower  extremities.  An  indis- 
tinct moaning  was  heard  when  the  cord  was 
cut  across,  but  the  man  lay  perfectly  passive 
and  motionless  during  and  after  the  tying  of 
the  arteries.  His  pulse  being  nearly  insensi- 
ble from  the  great  loss  of  blood,  J  thought  it 
expediant  to  awake  him  to  administer  a  cor- 


<*  He  was  with  considerable  difficulty 
aroused,  and  was  very  unwilling  to  be  dis- 
turbed, but  at  last  opened  his  eyes,  and  in- 
stantly asked,  *  Why  so  many  people  were 
suinding  around  him  .'' 

'*  He  said  tfiat  be  felt  very  well  in  eveiy 
respect ;  that  there  was  a  slight  heat  in  m 
seat  of  h  s  complaint;  this  caused  bio  to 
carry  his  hand  to  the  part,  and  be  then  be- 
came aware  that  the  tumor  was  gone. 

*<  It  weighed  40  lbs. 

"December  31st.  He  has  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  recoveiiug,  and  the  wound  is  nearly 
healed. 

**  December  6th.  Katick  Doss,  a  waeber- 
man ;  has  been  afflicted  with  a  tumor  for  16 
years.  He  was  entranced  on  the  fifth  day 
of  me.<«merising:,  and  was  operated  on  two 
days  after.  Having  injured  my  band,  i  wu 
unable  to  o  pet  ate,  and  Mr.  R  O'Sbaofli- 
nessy  obligingly  took  my  place  Tbedis- 
stctioii  was  tedious  and  severe,  bat  be  laj 
motionless,  till  about  the  middle  of  tbe  op- 
eration ;  he  then  began  to  awake,  and  was 
completely  aroused  before  it  was  over.  He  | 
complained  lor  a  good  wbilo  after,  that  Ar 
could  not  see— this  fact  will  be  met  with 
again  soon.  The  oigans  were  ail  ttred. 
Weight  of  tumor,  30  lbs. 

'*  December  3 1  st.  This  man  baa  beeo  in 
a  very  dangerous  state,  sloughing,  diairbot, 
and  iever  having  ensued,  butlthuktbatbe 
is  now  likely  to  recover. 

"  I  hope  that  tlie  reader  will  fife  the  fol- 
lowing strange  eventful  hiMory  bis  be«t 
attention,  as  in  it  nainre  herself  will  be  nen 
partially  raising  the  veil,  and  admitting  u 
10  a  glimpse  of  the  mysteries  of  the  inner  ^ 
life  of  man. 

"  November  21  st.  Sheik  Manick,  a  bna- 
bandman,  has  come  from  Burwantobanin 
enormous  tumor  removed.  He  is  subject  to 
fever  twice  a  month,  but  his  constiinuon  ( 
appears  to  be  wonderfully  little  imp««J| 
VVe  succeeded  in  entrancing  bim  on  the  tbiid 
day,  and  for  lour  dnys  after,  but  fever,  fol- 
lowed by  diarrhoea  then  attacked  bim,  and 
the  process  was  discontinued.  On  the  4th 
December,  he  was  again  mesmerised,  bnt  it 
was  found  that  we  had  to  commence  deaoflfi 
his  system  having  thrown  off  tbe  meamenc 
influence  in  the  interval.  I  determined  on 
account  of  the  periodic  derangemenia  of 
his  system,  to  operate  on  the  first  oociaios 
that  offered. 

"  December  12th.  His  arms,  which  jwe 
crossed  upon  his  breast,  were  ligidly  nw 
in  that  attitude,  and  could  not  be  extended  j 
pricking  him  all  over  did  not  disturb  hmt  * 
therefore  proceeded  to  operate. 

«<  I  ought  to  have  noted,  that  aftar 


Mesmerism  in,  India. 


195 


htm»  I  Hwoke  him  daily*  to  ascertain  if  be 
had  been  conscious  of  any  annoyance  in  his 
sleep. 

*  The  tumor  wa-s  so  immense,  ibat  no  at- 
tempt could  be  maile  to  wve  the  deep-seated 
organs;  i  therefore  perlonned  the  operation 
in  the  manner  described  by  Dr  Stewart,  in 
a  similar  case  on  which  1  operated  in  the 
Native  hospital. 

"  About  the  middle  of  the  operation,  be 
cried  oat,  and  showed  other  signs  of  suffer- 
ing ;  but  his  exchimatioiis  wt* re  uiiiniellifci- 
ble  or  had  no  reference  to  hie  present  position. 
Soon  after  all  was  over,  he  vumiteil  a  full 
meal,  and  bis  pul^e  became  im|iercepi.ble. 
he  answered  questions  in  a  wild  distracteii 
manner,  and  all  we  could  make  out  was  that 
he  could  not  nee,  although  b:s  eyes  were  widi' 
opea.  When  1  tried  to  give  him  a  cordial, 
his  teeth  were  found  to  be  Hrmly  clenched, 
and  considerable  rigidity  (»till  remained  in 
the  aims.  He  continued  to  complain  inn 
distracted  unintelligible  manner  fur  an  hour, 
that  1  remained  with  him. 

*'The  tumor  weighed  100  Ihs. 

'*  He  was  operated  on  at  12  o'clock  p.  m., 
and  i  returned  to  c»ee  him  at  4  o'clocki  He 
was  sleeping  sound  y,  and  I  awoke  him ;  he 
aaid  that  he  was  in  full  po^^estfum  of  all  hia 
senses,  that  he  saw  very  well, and  he  8poke 
loudly  and  eainepily  as  usual  He  had  ^)ept 
soundly  since  10  o'clock  (his  mesmerising 
time,)  he  said,  and  was  aw*oke  this  moment 
by  me.  I  asked  him  w  hen  he  last  caw  me  ? 
and  he  replied,  *  yesterday  when  you  awoke 
me  as  usual.*  He  had  no  recollection  of  hav- 
ing  been  diaturbetl.and  raid  that  he  certainly 
had  DOt  vomited  to  day.  Being  farther 
pressed  to  remember  if  nothing  had  annoyed 
him  when  asleep,  he  said, « Ah  !  Yes,  now 
I  recollect  being  awoke  for  a  moment  by  the 
ants  biting  mi*,  but  went  to  sleep  agam  till 
yoa  awoke  me  this  moment.' 

*'  He  now  missed  the  weight  ol  his  bur- 
den, and  («at  up  to  l(K>k  for  it ;  on  seeing  the 
altered  state  of  things,  he  expressed  the 
greatest  surprise,  and  said,  *  Why  did  you 
not  teil  me  you  were  going  to  do  it  to  day  ?' 

**  \  desired  him  to  go  over  the  events  of 
the  day  up  to  the  present  moment,  and  he 
did  this  with  the  grcaiest  minuteness  till  10 
o'clock,  his  mesmerising  lime,  but  after  that 
he  only  recollected  being  annoyed  by  the 
ants  for  a  moment,  and  slept  well  till  awoke 
by  me  just  now.  He  rnpeated,  that  he  hail 
not  seen  me  since  yesterday.  1  found  him 
«ntranced  when  f  came  to  the  hospital  to-day, 
and  therefore  was  not  amon^  his*  w*aking 
fecoUectiona— his  existence*  from  10  till  1 
o'clock  was  a  complete  blank.  He  seems 
to  me  to  have  awoke  up  from  the  moat  in 
degree  of  tha  meuMrie  tianoa  into 


somnambulism,  (of  which  the  patient  has 
no  recollection  in  bis  waking  stale)  in  which 
there  was  a  dis'turbanre  of  the  instmclive 
powers  of  life  caused  by  the  sudden  and  pro- 
tuse  loss  of  hlood,  but  the  life  of  volition 
continued  torpid  and  enchained  till  the  mo- 
ment that  1  awoke  him 

"  December  1 3ih.  Th^  wound  was  stitch- 
ed to-day,  and  there  was  no  want  of  mean- 
ing in  his  exclamations;  they  were  most 
emphatic  and  aiproprtate,  and  he  abused 
everybo<ly  in  the  most  expressive  Bengalee 
terms. 

«•  December  28th.  He  ha*  hud  no  difficulty 
in  r^ovenng,  and  has  been  walking  about 
for  several  days. 


"  December  4th.  Sheik  Nemoo,aKhit- 
mutgar ;  aged  30 ;  he  has  got  a  small  tumor. 
He  was  entrai.ced  on  the  8th  day,  and  the 
operation  was  performed  two  (Jays  after. 

**  The  operation  was  very  difficult  and 
sf»vere,  from  the  almost  cartilaginous  bald- 
ness of  the  skin,  and  its  adhering  closely  to 
the  snbjacent  organs. 

**  Towards  the  end  of  the  operation,  he 
exhibited  the  usual  signs  of  pain,  and  af^ked 
for  water  and  a  punkah,  but  on  coming 
thoroughly  to  his  senses,  in  ahont  ten  min- 
utes after,  he  asked  when  and  by  whom  it 
was  done  ?    The  organs  all  saved. 

«« December  31st    Is  doing  well. 

"  From  the  foregoing,  it  will  be  seen  that 
two,  if  not  three,  patients  awoke  into  con- 
sciousness before  the  end  of  the  o|)eration. 
The  extraordinary  case  of  Sheik  Klanirk  I 
consider  to  have  been  as  satisfactory  as  if  he 
had  acted  the  |«rt  of  a  coipse  throughout. 
For  when  the  convulsive  movements  often 
seen  leave  no  memory  of  ihem  in  the  brain, 
and  no  trace  of  suffering  in  any  part  of  the 
system  is  visible  when  the  person  comes  to 
hi8  senses,  such  caf^es  are  surely  for  all 
practical  purposes  paniiess  operations,  Jf  a 
man  has  had  no  apitrehension  of  an  opera- 
tion, and  knows  not  that  it  has  been  per- 
formed when  he  awakes,  what  is  this  to  be 
called  if  not  n  pain  ess  operation  ? 

**  As  a  practicifl  man,  1  am  quite  satiFfied 
if  my  patients  assure  me  that  they  felt  no 
pain,es|)ecially  when  every  look,  word,  and 
action  correspond  with  their  statements  To 
the  careful  observer,  those  vague  convulsive 
movements  are  as  specific  and  characteristic 
of  an  ^traordinary  slate  of  the  system,  as  a 
corpse -like  endn  ranee  of  the  most  crarl  tor- 
ture. When  the  trance  is  only  disturbed, 
but  not  broken,  the  motions  often  seen  are 
as  objectless  as  those  of  a  galvanized  corpse^ 
or  the  fluttering  of  the  fowl  after  its  head 
has  bssn  eat  off;  tba  spinal  nsrrsa  sssm 


196 


Chreat  Progrew  of 


only  to  be  irniated,  without  involving  the 
brain,  or  voiuiitary  part  ot  the  nervous  aye- 
lem,  awl  as  long  as  there  f$  no  volition  t  ikere 
i$  no  sensationt  as  wUl  be  skorlly  seen.  There 
is  no  attempt  to  withdraw  the  part  from  un- 
der the  knife,  the  patients  never  try  to  re- 
move it  With  their  hands,  and  it  is  quite 
evident  that  they  have  no  idea  of  the  source 
of  their  discomtort.  If  the  wdl  had  prompt- 
ed the  moveoaents,  some  memory  of  them 
woul'l  remain,  btU  there  is  usually  none.  I 
think  it  very  probable  that  this  muscular 
irritability  mij^ht  be  generally  extinguiahed 
altojce^ber  by  prolonged  treatment,  but  it  is 
no:  worth  the  ttouble,  for  the  system  suffers 
as  little  a«*  when  there  is  not  a  quiver  of  the 
flesh.  ThiH  I  have  been  long  aware  of,  and 
acted  up  to,  bnt  I  now  come  to  an  eqnally 
practical  fact,  m  woiking  out  which  1  have 
uaefuily  ^pent  a  coiit>iderable  part  of  last 
month. 

"  It  is  no  small  triumph  of  science,  and 
no  trifling  boon  to  humanity,  to  render  men 
inseiiHible  even  to  half  the  horrors  of  terrible 
operations,  but  hitving  been  long  accustom- 
ed to  bave  my  patients  all  knowledge  ot  the 
injuries  i.  fl  cted  ujion  them,  I  wasdiftsaii^tfi 
ed  With  the  half  successes  that  occurred  last 
month,  and  su^^pected  that  there  was  some 
disturbing  influence  at  work  which  had  been 
oveilookeil,  or  that  1  was  ignorant  of,  a^ 
many  imperfect  operations  happened  in  one 
mniith  asi  in  the  la.M  year  and  a  half,  and  1 
resolved  not  to  m(»ve  a  foot  farther  till  the 
disturbing  cause  was  detected. 

**  In  the  hot  weather,  the  patients  are  all 
bnt  naked  and  in  this  state  are  entranced, 
and  operated  on.  Bat  last  month,  they  were 
mesmerised  under  two  blankets  and  a  sheet, 
with  their  laces  only  exposed.  Having  been 
tested  in  the  mesmerising  room,  they  were 
carried  on  their  beds  into  the  operating  room, 
through  which  a  current  of  the  cold  north 
wind  blew,  and  that  every  movement  of  the 
body  might  be  seen,  they  were  exposed  stark 
naked  to  the  spectators.  1  remarked  on  sev- 
eral occasions,  that  a  deep  inspiration,  and 
other  involuntary  movements  immediately 
followed  this  exposure  of  the  body  to  the 
cold  air,  although  the  persons  had  a  moment 
before  been  quite  indifferent  to  the  loudest 
noises,  pricking  and  pinching.  The  demes- 
merising  influence  of  cold,  when  artificially 
applied,  was  familiar  to  me,  as  will  be  seen 
in  my  Mesmeriam  in  India,  and  it  will  ap- 
pear surprizing  that  I  should  not  haVe  been 
more  on  my  guard  against  it  as  a  natural 
agent  I  can  only  plead  in  extenuation,  the 
stupifying  influence  of  a  successful  routine ; 
but  failures,  when  improved,  are  often  more 
instructive  than  complete  success. 

"  Mothoor,  a  Jbearer  jFiom  Cottaek,  ha* 


got  one  of  the  usual  tumors.  He  vas  anit 
to  me  by  bis  brotner,  Bogobun  Doss,  from 
whom  I  removed  a  50  poand  tamorinthe 
trance,  a  year  ago,  at  Hoogbly ;  he  alsomt 
Moral i  Doss,  on  whom  1  operated  in  the 
Native  Hospital,  in  presence  of  the  mes- 
meric committee. 

**  December  27i h.  Motboor  being  entiaiw- 
ed  to-day,  was  subjected  to  the  action  of  the 
electro- magnetic  machine  with  the  centnl 
magnet  in  it,  his  bands  and  body  tremblei 
in  synchrony  with  the  shocks,  bat  his  ooqd- 
tenance  remained  perfectly  placid;  in  about 
ten  minutes,  his  head  turned  convolsively  to 
one  side,  but  his  features  wer6not  distutbei!, 
and  he  slept  on. 

"When  handling  his  arms,  1  saw  a  boil 
on  one  of  thrm,  and  made  a  crucial  incieioi 
into  it,  without  his  shrinking  in  the  leuL 
He  was  then  carried  under  the  blanket!, lod 
his  bed  placed  in  the  north  door  of  the  hos- 
pital; the  blankets  and  sheet  were  snd'leAij 
pulled  off,  and  be  was  exposed  naked  totfe 
cold  air ;  in  about  two  minutes  he  sbivend 
all  ovtT,  his  breathing  became  disturbed, ui 
he  clutched  right  and  left  for  the  bed-clothes, 
but  still  sleeping ;  they  were  supplied  tobiB, 
and  he  huddled  himself  up  under  theoi  with 
the  greatest  satisfaction,  still  sleeping hov* 
ever.  The  bed  was  then  carried  \mkta^ 
medmerising  robm,  and  he  was  imliciajij 
awoke.  He  had  slept  profoundly  withooi 
a  dream,  he  said,  and  awoke  this  wnmX 
from  feeling  cold.  When  shown  the  womd 
in  his  arm,  he  was  greatly  surprized,  ud 
showed  the  usual  signs  of  pain,  Baying, th^ 
he  had  struck  the  boil  against  something  ift 
his  sleep,  he  supposed,  and  it  bad  burst 

*'  December  28th  The  magnetic  \m\m 
awoke  him  to-day  on  the  second  applieatioi. 

"  December  29th.  He  was  more  deeply 
affected  to-day,  and  laj  unmoved  for  serenl 
minutes  in  the  open  airt  he  then  sbnddered 
all  over,  his  breathing  became  irregular,  isd 
he  immediately  awoke  into  the  full  posM* 
sion  of  bis  senses ;  the  cold  had  aTvoke  bin, 
he  said. 

**  Dec.  30lh.  I  covered  the  wound  io  hii 
arm  with  nitric  acid  to-day ;  the  flesh  becane 
instantly  white,  but  he  did  not  shrink  in  tbi 
least ;  a  pin  was  also  thrust  through  the 
flesh  between  his  fingers,  and  left  there,  of 
course  without  his  minding  it  He  was  th« 
exposed  in  the  northern  door- way,  and 
awoke  in  less  than  a  minute  after  being  a- 
po«ed  to  the  air.  The  cold  awoke  hio,  hi 
said. 

"  Th^  pin  sticking  between  his  fingflf 
greatly  perplexed  hire,  and  he  drew  it  orti 
expressing  as  much  pais  as  most  peopv 
would  do  on  having  it  stuck  into  them.  Th* 
whitened  soie  on  his  arm  wm  now  sbaw 


Mesmerisffi  in  India. 


19r 


lo  bim,  and  be  immediately  exhibited  signs 
of  the  greatest  pain,  as  people  always  do 
wben  aiiy  raw  surface  comes  in  contact  with 
the  mineral  acids ;  the  pain  was  so  severe 
that  I  ordered  bis  arm  to  be  fomented  with 
warm  water. 

'*  A  stove  was  ordered  for  the  operation 
room. 

*•  Dec.  31st.  The  room  being  agreeably 
heated  to-day,  I  proceeded  to  operate  on  him 
in  the  presence  of  numerous  spectators,  ex- 
posing only  the  diseased  surface.  The  opera- 
tion was  very  severe  and  tedious  from  the 
hardness  of  the  diseased  mass  and  its  ad- 
hering closely  to  the  delicate  organs  below, 
which  were  all  saved.  No  sound  escaped 
the  man,  theie  was  not  the  slightest  shrink- 
ing under  the  knife,  and  the  only  movements 
observed,  1  was  told,  were  some  slight  con 
tractions  of  the  toes  and  forehead. 

*<  He  awoke  in  about  ten  minutes  after  all 
the  arteries  were  tied,  as  if  from  a  natural 
deep,  stretched  himself  well,  complained 
that  he  felt  his  thighs  and  arms  stiff,  and 
seeing  his  bhai,  Bogobun  Doss,  he  asked 
him  to  shampoo  them  for  him.  He  had  slept 
very  well,  he  said,  nothing  had  disturbed 
him,  and  he  felt  no  pain  in  the  part.  The 
vround  was  at  last  shewn  to  him,  and  he 
expressed  the  greatest  horror  and  alarm,  ex- 
claiming that  it  pained  him  excessively. 
After  a  while,  I  asked  him  if  Bogobun  Doss 
had  told  him  the  truth.  <  On  !  yes,*  be  an- 
swered, *  it  was  done  exactly  as  he  describ- 
ed.' 

••  Dr.  Dickens  from  Cuttack,  visited  the 
hospital  a  few  days  after,  and  was  recogniz- 
ed by  Moihoor. 

*<  Alter  telling  him  all  about  it,  he  confi- 
dentially asked,  <  But  bow  did  the  Dr.  Saheb 
do  it  ?' 

*<  Chand  Khan,  aged  35,  has  got  the  satne 
complaint.  We  commenced  mesmerising  him 
on  the  8th  December,  and  on  the  25tb  be 
was  insensible  to  pricking,  &c. 

«« December  27lh.  He  was  carried  on  bis 
bed,  under  the  blankets,  to  the  north  door. 
I  called  upon  him  loudly  by  name,  and 
plucked  a  pinch  of  hair  out  of  his  moustache 
without  disturbing  him.  I  then  drew  off  the 
bed-clothes;  in  less  than  a  minute  be  shiv- 
ered, sighed  deeply,  like  a  person  after  a 
shower  bath,  and  eagerly  sought  for  the  bed- 
ding, straining  bis  eyelids  to  open  tbem,  but 
in  vain.  He  soon  after  awoke  from  the  cold, 
he  said. 

<*  December  28th.  A^in  exposed  to  the 
cold  air,  after  inflicting  different  tests  of  sen- 
sibility. After  shivering,  and  seeking  for 
coverin^^,  as  yesterday,  but  finding  none,  be 
loUad  himsell  up  like  a  hedge-hog,  and  tried 


to  make  the  most  of  it,  but  soon  awoke,  and 
from  the  cold,  be  said. 

December  30th.  Acted  precisely  the 
same  as  yesterday.  ■ 

December  31st.  1  stuck  a  pin  into  his 
nose,  and  left  it  there  a  moment,  before 
drawing  ofi  the  bedding.  He  awoke  exactly 
an  he  had  done  on  former  days,  and  from 
the  same  cause,  cold. 

*•  When  getting  up  be  rubbed  his  nose 
against  the  bed,  and  the  pin  fell  out  to  his 
great  surprize. 

*<  After  be  got  up,  1  gently  pricked  bis 
nose  with  the  pin  which  he  resented  as  much 
as  any  one  in  the  company  would  have 
done. 

**  Next  day  he  was  operated  on  without 
knowing  anything  aDout  it,  and  although 
the  operation  was  not  the  formidable  one 
expected,  it  was  very  curious,  and  will  be 
related  next  month. 

« From  the  foregoing  facts,  I  consider 
myself  entitled  to  say,  that  it  has  been  de- 
monstrated, that  patients  in  the  mesmeric 
trance  may  be  insensible  to, 

**  The  loudest  noises. 

**  Painful  pricking  and  pinching. 

"  The  cutting  of  inflamed  parts. 

"  The  application  of  nitric  acid  to  raw  sur- 
faces. 

"  The  racking  of  the  electro-magnetic  ma-> 
chine. 

"The  most  painful  surgical  operation, 
and  yet  be  aroused  into  full  consciousness 
by  the  exposure  of  their  naked  bodies,  for  a 
few  minutes,  to  the  cold  air.* 

**  All  the  persons  admitted  last  month  for 
operation  have  been  disposed  of,  except  one. 

**  James  Esdaile,  M.  D. 
"Calcutta,  1st  January,  1847.»' 

In  the  Delhi  Gazette  Overland  Summary, 
for  March  22,  are  the  following  para- 
graphs : — 

"His  Highness  the  Nawab  Nazeem  of 
Moprshedck  ad,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Torrens, 
Mr  Cooper,  and  the  native  gentlemen  in  his 
suite,  visited  the  Mesmeric  Hospital  on  the 
lOtb.  Dr.  Esdaile  offered  to  operate  on  a 
patient  who  bad  been  brought  to  the  proper 
state,  and  the  Nawab  declined  to  be  present, 
but  munificently  presented  the  doctor  with 
500  reals,  to  be  applied  to  the  purposes  of 
the  hospital. 

"  The  Englishman  of  Feb.  23,  is  glad  to 
hear  that  steps  have  been  taken  by  several 
of  his  wealthy  fellow-townsmen  to  give 
greater  publicity  to  Dr.  Esdaile's  proceedings 

*  "  This  will  be  provided  against  in  the  London 
Mesmeric  Hospitaii  no  doal)t- J.  B." 


198 


Greai  Progress  of 


and  successful  cures  amouic  (heir  countiy- 
men  than  it  wouid  beein  they  have  hitheito 
attained." 


The  /olio wing  paragraph  w*]l  amuse  those 
who  have  watched  the  conduct  oi  the  ad- 
Tersariesof  mft<meri»m  in  Kurope. 

*'  The  Hutkaru  f»iaief>  that  Gnvernment, 
on  the  representation  of  the  medical  vifijror> 
to  the  Mesmeric  Uoi«pital,  has  withdrawn 
the  permissicm  wh'ch  u  hud  previously  giv- 
en for  the  puhlicaiioii  of  the  rt* pnris  of  ibi> 
institution.  The  public  will  remember  thai 
Dr.  Esdaile  has  tn>m  the  very  fiiMi  been  anx- 
ious th:U  the  utmost  publiciiy  should  hesiv 
en  to  the  whdie  of  hii  proceed iiig:«,  and  he 
baa  always  courted  the  free  expression  ot 
opinion  regarding  the  nature  of  his  opera- 
tions, confident  that  the  result  of  discussion 
woald  be  the  triumph  of  the  cause  he  hnt* 
espoused.  One  monthly  re|N)rt  as  our  read- 
ers know  waA  published,  and  it  is  impo^si 
ble  not  to  see  the  advajitsi^es  which  arose 
from  its  publicaiion.  Dr  E.sdailecha!lengeii 
any  proof  of  the  ii.accurncy  of  his  state- 
ments, and  this  chaileiiice  brought  lorih  two 
antagonists  in  the  columns  of  a  conteniporaiy. 
One  of  these  writers  boldly  a^eited  ihai  Di. 
£8daile  bad  given  an  inconect  account  ol 
the  month's  proceedinirs ;  ihat  he  had  spo- 
ken of  operations  an  pain  es8,  which  were 
in  reality  not  ho.  Dr.  EMtiaiU  cameforwarti, 
and  vindicated  himve/f  most  satntfactonfy 
from  this  charge,  and  m  the  end  Medtcus  re- 
tired in  discomfiture. 

It  delights  me  to  inform  the  Kuropean 
ptiblic  that  Dr.  Esdaile  has  shown  no  un- 
worthy feeling  respecting  the  inha'ation  ot 
sulphuric  ether,  but  has  had  recouri^e  to  ii 
and  begun  most  dispassionately  to  investi 
gate  its  properties.  Without  any  communi- 
cation with  the  mesmerists  of  Great  Britain, 
he  has  displayed  the  same  pleasute  at  the 
discovery  of  its  powers,  and  not  for  an  in.Htam 
thought  of  ait'mpti ng  to  de|  reciate  them 
The  conduct  of  the  mpHmeric  world  in  thi!« 
particular  ban,  t  fear,  disappointed  their  ad- 
vers»aries.  Tiuih  and  uinversal  benefit  were 
the  sole  objects  ot  ns  here  and  in  India. 
Dr.  Esdaile  printed  the  following  leiter  it* 
the  Engltsfiman  of  March  3rd. 

"THE  INSENSIBILITT    PROCURED  BY  MEANS 
OF  ETHER. 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Englishman. 
*'  Sir,— The  moment  that  the  rumors  of 
the  possibility  of  procnrin^  insensibility  to 
pain  by  the  inhalation  of  the  vapour  of  eiher 
assamed  a  poeitive  shape,  I  made  experi 
ments  with  it  in  my  hospital. 


'*  On  the  2drd  Feb ,  I  caused  two  men  to 
inhale  the  iumen  of  uitnc  ether,  (nut  liaving 
sulphuric  ether  at  hand)  but  only  with  the 
effect  of  making  them  disagreeably  (trunk 
for  several  hours  wiiboui  any  remarkahle 
uiodiiicaiion  of  seiifiibility.  On  the  28tli 
February,  having  procured  sulphunceiber, 
I  put  two  ounces  of  it  into  a  pint  ol  wim. 
and  desired  two  of  the  hof^pitai  cooli<«,ibai 
in  perfect  health,  to  inhale  the  fumes  ftoa 
(he  common  inhaler  used  in  hui^pitalii, in ibe 
way  that  they  smokes  hookah.  It  wadverj 
>il^agleeabie,  and  1  had  some  difficuly  ii 
iCtitting  the  first  man  to  |)ersev«>re  fur  five 
minutes.  He  then  became  very  drunk,  and 
begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  and  l<e  dovn, 
which  he  was  permitted  tu  do.  Up  lo ibis 
t^oJnt  ho  was  8eiisible  to  pricking,  and  oaa- 
ed  the  place  injured. 

**Aiioiher  man  was  made  to  smoke  the 
hookah  for  s^even  minutes,  with  considen- 
ble  inte^mi^8ion.s,  and  when  he  ceaxnl  to  be 
able  to  smoke,  1  held  the  bottleolethfr  un- 
der his  nobe.  At  the  end  of  f«even  minutes  he 
begged  to  be  taken  to  bed,  and  bail  to  be 
supported  lo  it.  Immediately  afier  Ij'm 
iovin,  he  becjime  ill^ellsibletoatlquei4Hlls, 
itnd  lo  pricking  all  over  his  body.  Tbel 
was  (juiie  prepared  for,  knuwiiy  (!>«(  ve 
can  be  made  mioner  in.«en8ible  byiiiei»i« 
than  the  stomach  often,  by  meaito>of  or* 
buiiic  Hcid  gas,  opium,  hhaiig,man)aniun, 
&c.  But  judge  my  surpnze  wbeo liouivl 
him  to  be  as  completely  cataleptic t^^aj 
penon  I  ever  saw  in  the  mesmeric I'swe' 
Not  only  so,  hut  he  exhibited  the  suae  .«|«s- 
tnodic  closure  of  the  eyelids,  and  tremMiiig 
•if  the  eyelashes,  and  his  infieni«ibiltiy  i^QB 
brad  to  foot  was  perfect.  On  forcinft  open 
his  eyes,  the  while  of  his  eye  OMildonlybe 
.•«€en,  and  in  no  respect  cou'd  1  havedi>tii' 
4uished  bin  condition  from  ihat  of  i  {rr^M 
ill  the  most  intense  degree  of  the  maoKne 
coma 

*•  The  pul.«*e  when  he  desired  to  lie  down 
was  small  and  frequent,  but  when  the  com 
wa.H  established,  ii  becamH  lull  and  r«gnlar, 
like  a  healthy  or  mesmeric  sleeper'?, ainl bis 
brealhinjr  wan  quite  tranquil  without  wot* 
int;.  He  was  re<luced  to  this  state  «(  M 
•ni antes  after  I  o'clock  p.  m.  I  prickul  &»• 
most  jieitinaciously  aP  over,  at  inter'rals  fef 
ten  niinules  more,  and  tried  to  awake  bin  bf 
rubbing  his  eyes,  blowing  in  them,  H)ttiiiiif 
waler  into  them,  and  sprinkling  hts  fsceai^ 
chest  with  ctdd  water,  but  all  to  no  porport. 
"His  teeth  were  firmly  clenched,  and  be 
could  not  be  made  to  swallow  a  drop  of  tm. 
The  catalepsy  oontinned  inlensealnbetiot 
At  twenty  five  minut-s  past  I  o*ciock.  1  ij- 
aisted,  and  desiring  him  not  lo  be  diittarM, 
lldrmttothaiiMdical  coU^saufe^C* 


Mesmerism  in  India. 


199 


the  hope  of  finding  Dr.  Mouat,  at  f  wished 
to  have  a  competent  witness  of  the  man's 
condition.  I  found  Dr.  Mouat  at  home,  and 
he  obliginftly  accomfianied  me  to  the  hos- 
pital. We  rrached  it  at  twenty  minutes  lo  2 
o'clock,  and  found  the  catalep^y  to  be  going 
off,  and  the  man  beginning  to  move  The 
Bpasm  of  the  eyelids  continued,  and  the  eye 
ivas  Btill  turned  upwards. 

••  When  urged  by  questions,  he  answered 
preci>ely  like  a  person  in  the  mesmeric  som- 
nambulism, hut  when  pricked  all  over,  he 
said  that  he  felt  iioihing      We  now  attempt- 
ed to  rouse  him  farther,  by  causing  him  to 
inhale  the  fumes  of  carbonate  and  liquor  of 
ammonia,  which  seemed  to  disturb  him  a 
little,  but  he  said  that  he  smelt  nothing,  ami 
Jt  did  not  materially  dissipate  the  torpor  of 
the  senses     Sh-rily,  after,  he  began  to  call 
upon  me  by  name,  begging  me  to  oj)en  his 
eyes,  which  I   tried  to  comply  wjih,  but 
could  not  succeed   in  effecting,  and  still  the 
inst-nsif.iliiy  of  iheskin  continued      At  ten 
miniiies  to  2  o'clock,  he  was  carried  out  of 
doors,  and  seated   on  the  steps  leading  lo 
the  hospilal.    A  bheestie  was  placed  seve- 
ral steps  above  him,  and  was  ordered  to 
empiy  Ills  miissuk  slowly  on  his  head  and 
spii.e.     He  was  asked   if  he  felt  anything  ? 
He  replied,  •  nothing.'    In  about  six  min- 
utes, he  opened  his  e}e8  for  the  fiist  time, 
but  It  was  evident  that  their  sense  was  shut, 
and  he  said  /  was  a  Baboo.    The  cold  affu- 
sion   was  continued,  and  at  2  o'clock  he 
suddenly  jiimped  up;  an  instantaneous  ex- 
pression of   intelligence    spread    over   his 
countenance,  and  he  showed  that  he  was 
restored  to  full   consciousnc-s.  by  getting 
into  a  passion  with  i!.e  bheeslie  for  wetting 
hJm     This  was  the  first  moment  of  con 
sciousness  since  he  had  gone  to  sleep,  and 
as  IS  often  seen   in  mesmeric  sleepers,  he 
had  no  lecolleciion  of  the  means  used  to  put 
him  to  sleep.     In  a  word,  the  state  of  com  i 
and   somricmhulism  was  perfectly  identical 
with  the  parallel  mesmeric  conditions.* 

«♦  How  long  this  man's  state  of  uncon- 
sciousness would  have  continued,  if  not  so 
Violently  dissipated.  1  cannot  pretend  to  say, 
but  I  am  certain  that  he  might  have  been 
flayed  alive  for  fifty  minutes  without  feeling 
It,  for  he  was  quite  insensible  to  externid 
impressions  in  his  half-roused  state  of  som- 
nambulism, or  sleep- waking  rather,  and  in 
this  also  he  resembled  a  mesmeric  sleeper. 


have  done  the  same  thine 
i3 


ISS.!?K  V*  ""^  «>n;n»«ted  the  caulepfiy  ao 
MiDoaiDbu}I»m  caai»ed  by  ether,  wiih  the  name 
■late*  induced  by  menmeriHm.  and  they  coold  not 
bedistingulehed.    The  former  waa  only  more  la- 

Si"*?  ?fi!if*®n  of  cold  water.    But  I  euppoee  the 
e^jrW  effect,  were  red;  aadtlie  meemerieoaM 


«'  The  other  man  did  not  attract  so  much 
of  my  attention  at  first,  as  he  continued  sen- 
sible to  pricliing  Jor  some  time  after  lying 
down,  and  he  only  seemed  very  drunk. 
But  when  I  returned  with  Dr.  Mouat  he 
was  fast  asleep,  and  it  took  much  cuffing 
and  pullit  g  to  get  him  to  answer.  There 
was  no  caulepsy  in  his  aims,  but  on  Dr. 
Mouat  lilting  his  legs,  he  found  them  to  be 
in  a  singulaily  rigid  state— another  mea- 
meric  symptom. 

**  We  continued  to  rouse  him  wiih  am- 
monia, &c  ,  and  got  him  to  speak  plainly, 
and  then  he  complained  of  not  being  able  to 
open  his  eyes ;  the  eyelids  seemed  glaed 
together,  and  while  begging  to  have  his  eyes 
opened,  be  vras  insensible  to  my  pnckiog 
him  assiduously.  It  was  now  upwards  of 
an  hour  since  he  had  smoked  the  ether,  and 
we  could  not  yet  dissipate  its  effects.  He 
also  therefore  was  subjected  to  the  cold  af- 
fusion lor  several  minutes,  of  whose  action 
he  was  quite  unconscious,  although  he  kept 
rubbing  his  eyes  all  the  time  to  open  them, 
and  occasionally  aubwered  questions  cor- 
rectly. He  at  last  suddenly  awoke  into  the 
lull  jiossession  of  his  senses,  and  recollected 
nothing  that  had  happened  since  he  went  te 
sleep. 

"  Here  then  is  a  most  exact  imitation  of 
the  physical  phenomena  witnessed  in  the 
mesmeric  trance,  and  the  sleep,  waking  state 
caused  by  ether  beautifully  illustrates  the 
distinction  between  misation  and  conscious- 
ness  so  often  seen  in  the  mesmeric  state, 
and  which  I  have  insisted  upon  so  frequent- 
ly, with  lillle  effect  I  fear.  These  men  were 
capable  of  talking  and  acting,  and  made  the 
reasonable  request  to  have  their  eyes  opened, 
although  they  were  unconscious  of  a  deluge 
of  water  that  was  failing  on  their  naked 
bodies  from  a  height. 

«•  The  opponents  of  mesmerism  will  pro- 
bably  have  little  difficulty  in  believing  all 
ihi^,  because  it  was  done  'secundum  arim/ 
with  an  orthodoxly  nauseous  drug. 

<*  I  am  satisfied  that  the  man  least  afifected 
might  have  been  operated  on  to  any  extent 
a  most,  not  without  appearing  to  feel  it,  btit 
without  being  conscoiis  of  it  afterwards, 
just  as  is  seen  every  day  in  mesmeric  opera- 
tions. ^ 

"Here  then  is  a  prodigious  engine  for 
good  or  evil,  according  as  it  is  used  or  abus- 
«l,  for  if  the  advantages  are  most  strikinir, 
the  evils  are  not  less  so  in  the  above  elam- 
ples. 

***Eccdo  desiendit  Ether  P  is  no  doubt 
gre  efully  ejaculated  by  the  medical  oppon- 
ents of  mesmerism,  to  whose  aid  it  has  come 
at  their  greatest  need;  but  if  iheirlove  and  gra- 
titude are  not  tempered  with  discretion,  Siey 
may  find  their  new  ally  a  dangereoc  enemy. 


200 


Oreat  Progress  of 


*■  The  speedy  induction  of  insensibility  of 
long  duration  is  most  satisfactory  and  com- 
plete, and  I  apprehend  no  danger  from  pro- 
longed etheriai  coma,  for  the  pulse  was 
natural  dniing  its  greatest  intensity,  and  the 
breathing  not  dit4urc>ed,  nor  did  the  men 
•ufier  afterwards  from  what  they  had  under- 
gone. 

"  1  believe  that  any  amount  of  mere  pain 
mieht  have  been  inflicted  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  patient,  but  I  should  be  ex- 
tremely reluctant  to  perform  a  caoital  opera- 
tion entailing  a  great  loss  of  olood  on  a 
person  in  this  state,  till  1  bad  obtained  more 
command  over  my  too  active  ally. 

•«  In  many  of  my  late  operations  in  the 
mesmeric  trance,  for  example,  the  pulse 
became  inscDsihle  from  the  sudden  and  pro- 
fuse hemorrhage,  and  it  became  necessary 
lo  revive  the  sukine  system  by  restoratives. 
The  patients  were  therefore  awoke  for  this 
purpose,  and  this  can  be  generally  -very 
easily  done.  But  in  the  coma  from  ether  it 
has  been  seen  there  was  no  power  of  swal- 
lowing left  in  one  of  the  men,  and  that 
•timuli  applied  to  the  skin  and  nose  had  no 
decided  eroct  on  the  torpor ;  in  fact  there 
was  no  means  of  getting  at  the  vital  powers. 
Now,  if  this  man's  life  nad  depended  on  our 
being  soon  able  to  restore  him  to  conscious 
ness  and  sensibility  to  ordinary  stimuli,  1  think 
it  veiy  probable,  and  Dr.  Mouat  agreed  with 
me,  that  he  would  have  died  before  this 
could  have  been  done. 

*<  But  let  us  hope  that  we  shall  soon  be 
able  to  regulate  as  easily  as  we  can  set  in 
action,  this  potent  influence.  In  the  man 
most  intensely  affected,  one-ter.th  of  the 
power  exerted  would  probably  have  sufiiced 
for  all  practical  purposes,  and  more  control 
might  therefore  have  been  preserved  over 
the  vital  functions.  By  cautious  and  gra- 
duated doses,  and  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
best  antidotes,  1  think  it  extremely  probable 
that  this  power  will  soon  become  a  safe 
means  of  procuring  insensibility  for  the  most 
formidable  surgical  operations  even. 

*<  All  mesmerists,  who  are  lovers  of  truth, 
«nd  not  mere  traders,  will  rejoice  at  having 
been  the  means  of  bringing  to  light  one 
truth  more,  especially  as  it  will  free  them 
from  the  drudgery  required  to  induce  mes- 
meric insensibility  to  pain,  which,  although 
.the  most  striking,  is  the  least  important 
branch  of  the  subject. 

"  It  is  only  of  late  years  that  the  applica- 
tion of  mesmerism  to  sura^ry  has  been  pro- 
minently brought  forward,  principally  with 
the  view  of  anording  an  ocular  demonstra- 
tion of  the  existence  and  power  of  this  great 
vital  agent. 

"But  the  great  field  for  a  display  of  its 


usefulness  is  in  the  treatment  of  Dsdical 
diseases,  where  it  often  comes  to  oariid 
when  all  other  resources  have  failed,  and  it 
would  take  a  library  to  contain  the  volnmei 
of  well-attested  cures  performed  throng  in 
agency  on  the  Continent,  before  it  was  enr 
heard  of  for  sugical  purposes. 

**  Not  the  least  curious  part  of  this  histo^ 
IS  to  observe  how  the  passions  and  preivdi' 
ces  of  men  have  been  made  not  oaly  to 
establish  known  truths,  but  to  discover  net 
ones. 

"  I  am,  your  obedient  Servant, 
**  James  Esniiii 
"  Calcutta,  1st  March,  1847." 

1  have  received  a  pamphlet  pabliebed  t 
Madras  in  February,  entitled,  Notes  of  i 
Case  of  painless  Surgical  Operation  perfom- 
ed  while  the  patient  was  under  the  infloaa 
of  Mesmeric  Agency,  by  J.  W.  T.  Joiui- 
stone,  M.D.  £din.  Licentiate  of  tbefiojii 
College  of  Sureeons :  late  President  djk 
Royal  Medical  Society;  Member  of  the 
Medico-Chirurgical  Society,  Edinbaig^,&e4 
&c.  Madras:  1847.''  I  make  the foUrv- 
ing  extracts : — 


•«  I  am  at  liberty,"  says  Dr.  /« 
"  to  mention  that  my  patient  in  tta  o«  ■ 
the  lady  of  a  clergyman  of  tbe  dwfA  of 
England.  Both  she  and  her  bosbind  ion 
perused  the  following  notes  in  MS,i«l>* 
*  most  thankful  to  be  able  to  bearteiliiuiT 
to  their  entire  correctness.' 

««  Mrs. ,  European,  of  iwell«g«- 

lated  mind — a  well  formed  fi?'"*"^^ 
system  remarkably  free  from  any  bMj 
nervousness.  Has  been  six  y«"""**  jjj 
in  India.  General  health  good,  wfae 
leaving  England  she  observed  a  tumor  iW 
the  size  of  a  field  bean  over  the  poflW 
aspect  of  the  right  shoulder.  It  contiBW 
to  enlarge  gradually  but  slowly,  andit» 
end  of  five  years  had  attained  tbewftofj 
small  egg.  For  the  last  two  years,  U  » 
increased  much  more  rapidly,  and  ^^^ 
stitutes  a  tumor  of  an  adipose  nature,  low* 
ted,  mobile  and  kidney  shaped.  It  ."•j*? 
about  six  inches  in  length,  fouriocli«B 
breadth,  and  two  and  a  half  inches  in  thi* 
ness  at  ite  thickest  part,  and  stretcheiW* 
the  spinous  process  of  the  seventh  cenntf 
vertebra,  downwards  and  outwards  town* 
the  acromion  and  outer  third  of  the  spine* 
the  scapula,  along  the  upper  bonto  ol» 
trapezius  muscle.  A  scnaation  of  w«ig» 
and  slight  numbness  of  tbenjbt««"' 
the  chief  inconveniences  complaiiwd  ol. 

"  1  recommended  extirpatioBonfif8tfl«Mj 

it,  twelve  months  ago.  but  thi  ]««"« *^ 


J 


Metmeritm  in  India. 


201 


DOl  consent.  Leeches,  discatient  ointments, 
&e.,  were  had  reofurae  to  with  no  good  et 
leet  Seeing  it  thus  inciease,  she  at  Jasi 
made  ap  her  mind  to  have  it  removed.  1 
recommended  her  to  try  the  eflect  of  mesmer- 
ihrn  prior  to  the  operation,  to  which  she  at 
first  ohjecteii,  as  neither  bhe  nor  her  fiiendb 
believed  in  tin  efficacy,  ^he  at  length  con- 
eented,  and  agreed  that  I  should  try  it  on  the 
morning  pxeviuus  to  tne  operatioa." 

Mesmerism  was  begun  on  the  second  of 
I  January,  and  continued  daily  till  the  9th 

The  events  o{  this  day  are  thus  described. 

<•  8M  Memeric  Sittings  January  9th, 

\  **  I  commenced  at  a  quprter  paM  7  a.  m., 

I  and  continued  lor  thrte  hours.    She  felt  no 

drowHiuess,  siGkne^s  nor  langour  after  yes- 
terday's proceediiigi>,  and  again  e^pre^^td 
herself  as  feeling  bette"  than  f^bedid  pievious 
to  the  commencement  of  the  niet>meric  sit- 
tings. Position,  manipuJations,  &c.,  the. 
same  as  )ebterday.  Puibe  80— skin  cool— 
lespiratioii  natural — ears  fiiled  with  cotton 
She  soon  Jell  into  a  de^p  sleep.  Muf^cular 
twitches  weie  well  marked.  At  10  o'clock, 
am.,  the  mesmei  ic  trance  seemed  perfect,  the 
cata  eptic  condiiic»n  was  well  developed,  and 
sensibility  to  pinchiig,  pricking,  loud  noises, 
strong  light  and  ammonia,  eniiieJy  abbent. 
Soon  after  10  am.,  Su|»eriittending  Suigeon, 
D.  S.  Young,  uho  had  been  requested  to  he 
pre^ellt  at  the  operation,  arrived.  Proieshor 
iLey  had  also  been  invited  and  promised  to 
be  pref^ent,  but  was  unavoidably  detained  at 
bis  class  room.  The  state  of  the  patient's 
perfect  ini^ensibility,  and  the  cataleptic  con- 
dition were  shown  to  S.  S.  Young's  entire 
satisfaction.  At  a  quaiter  past  10, 1  turned 
ber  full  upon  her  face,  and  made  other  ne- 
cessary arrangements,  to  proceed  with  the 
operation.  Pulse  80 — ^skincooi — respiration 
slow  and  tranquil. 
I  **  Operation — [  made  two  elliptical  inci- 

'  sions  over  the  tumor,  commencing   about 

(  ba  f  an   inch  8U|>eiior  and  external  to  the 

I  spiiions  process  oi  the  seventh  cervical  vei- 

I  tehra,  and  meeting  about  hall  an  inch  below 

'  the  centre  of  the  outer  half  of  tl.e  spine  oi 

I  the  scapula.    The  length  of  each  iiicision 

was  about  7  inches  3  lines,  consequently 
^  the  extent  of  skin  divided  by  the  knife  equal- 

led 14  1-2  inches.     I  carelulJy  dissected  out 
I  the  tumor,  which   was  slightly  adherent, 

from  below  upwards.  This  occupied  about 
three  minutes  and  a  half.  Three  aiteries  of 
no  great  size  required  iigatuies.  The  bieed- 
ine  was  profuse  at  fiist,  and  seemed  not  to 
differ  in  this  respect  from  an  oidisary  opera- 
t'en.  Tbs  sdges  ci  the  woiud  wsrs  brought 
5 


lOfiether  by  four  stitches,  the  intei  mediate 
distances  being  supported  hy  straps  of  ad- 
hen  veplaister.  S.  S  Young  kindly  as.»iMed 
mc  in  the  operation,  and  It.  Smitn  ansidu* 
ously  ktpi  up  the  mesmeric  pa.«>^eh along  the 
patient's  bak  all  the  time.  The  patient's 
hu^bMnd»  my  apothecary,  and  a  nuise  were 
present. 

"  The  time  of  the  operation,  from  the 
commencement  of  the  liist  iitcision  to  the 
application  of  the  last  loll  o^  bandage,  a- 
inounted  to  eighteen  minutes,  during  all  of 
which  time  not  the  slightest  trace  oi  suffer- 
ing or  sensibility  on  the  part  of  the  patient 
could  be  delected.  1  he  pu^e  continued  un- 
changed at  80,  as  S.  S.  Youn^  Miiisfied  him- 
self, and  the  respiration  peiiecliy  tiai'quil; 
no  moan  or  sigh  ebcaped  her  lip^ — no  alteia- 
lion  in  the  expression  of  h^r  features  was 
observed— no  instinctive  motion  or  wincing 
was  detected  ;  once  only  she  moved  ber 
her  head  instinctively  to  iiee  her  mouth  and 
nostrils  from  a  htile  pool  of  blood  which  bad 
collected  alout  them,  and  wasint^iieiing 
with  her  buaihing.  She  was  easily  de- 
n)ei>mpriFed,  befoie  which  care  was  taken 
to  conceal  as  much  as  possible  all  traces  of 
the  opeiation.  When  she  awoke  the  fol- 
low in,^  dialogue  ensued. 

''  Q.  Welj,  have  you  been  asleep  today? 

*'  J,  Yes,  1  think  1  have. 

*•  Q.  Do  you  think  you  slept  more  sound- 
ly to-day  than  yesterday .' 

•*  A.  1  cannot  say. 

«*  Q.  Did  you  feel  me  turn  you  or  do  any- 
thing to  you  to-day. 

••  A.  IVo,  but  i  feel  something  smarting, 
and  my  face  and  eyes  feel  stiff. 

>•  She  now  put  her  left  hand .  up  to  ber 
shoulder,  as  she  had  often  done  betoie,  and 
perceived  that  the  tunior  bad  been  removed, 
of  which  she  confessed  perfect  unconscious- 
ness. The  htifiness  of  the  eyelitis  and  face 
was  caused  by  dried  blood.  Pulse  80^re- 
Bpiration  natural. 

'•  The  tunior  weighed  3  lbs.  1  dr.  two 
hours  after  lemoval.  The  wound  was  dres- 
sed with  cold  diebsings,  and  a  mobt  tntiiely 
healed  up  by  the  first  intention.  Sbefui- 
feied  no  pain  in  the  wound,  continued  per- 
fectly free  from  fever,  and  was  confiiied  to 
her  room  only  one  day.  The  pu^e  contin- 
ued at  80  for  two  or  thre«^  days  after  the 
operation,  when  it  rose  to  90,  apparently  its 
natural  standard.  She  speedily' recovered, 
and  now  feels  better  than  bhe  did  pievious 
to  the  commencement  of  the  mesmeric  sit- 
tings." 

Thus  Mr.  Yonrg,  the  Superintend  <n|^ 
Suigeon  of  the  Pre^ency,  requested  to  ba 
pnsent  (obsem  the  woid  requetUi^  wmi 


202 


Great  Progress  of  Mesmerism  in  India. 


V  assisted  in  the  operation  :  and  another  medi- 
cal man,  *•  Dr.  2>mith  assiduou^iy  ke|  t  up 
the  parses  aJong  the  paiieui's  back  ai  liie 
ti;i  e  " 

Tbis  was  not  ail.  The  Saperintendins: 
Surgeon  forwarded  Dr.  Juhnsiuiie's  account 
of  tUe  operaiioii  to  the  Medical  Board,  hop- 
ing **  that  the  present  most  iriumjihal  iIIuh- 
tration  ot  the  praciice  may  be  brought  to  the 
notice  of  Governmejit.'* 

**  In  making  tbis  request,"  conntinues  Mr 
Young,  **  i  am  impelled  by  a  sense  of  jus- 
tice to  caJl  the  Boa  d's  especial  attention  to 
the  meiits  of  Dr.  Johiistoue,  a  private  prac- 
titioner at  this  Presidency,  by  who6e  well- 
directed  and  unwearied  bkill  and  persever- 
ance, the  great  work  has  been  achieved  for 
the  first  time  in  the  case  of  an  European  pa- 
tUn:  in  £nti$h  India,  or  indeed  in  the 
eastern  world.  Nor  can  1  cio^e  this  letter 
without  reminding  the  Board  that  Assistant 
Surseon  G.  8inith,  who  so  admirably  second* 
ed  Dr.  Jobnstone'4  eilorts  throughout,  is  the 
same  promising  young  medical  officer  who, 
when  the  cholera  broke  out  in  H.  M.*s  57ih 
Foot  at  Arcot,  elicited  my  warmest  commen- 
dations by  his  humane  exertions,  as  well  as 
a  highly  lavored  report  on  his  professional 
acquirements. 

**  i  have  the  honour,  &c. 

"vSiRned)    D.  S.  Young, 
"  Su-perintending  Surgeon. 
**  SrpT.    Surgeon's  Office,    ( 
Mad) as,  Idth  January,  1847."  ) 

Did  the  Medical  Board  of  Madras  spurn 
the  account  in  imitation  of  the  Medical  and 
Chirurgicai  Society  of  London  ?  No.  They 
ordered  the  following  reply : — 

*<SIr, — I  am  directed  by  the  Medical 
Board  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter,  No.  44,  with  its  inclosure,  a  Report 
of  a  Case  of  '  Painless  Suigical  Opemtim.,' 
under  mesmeric  influence,  performed  by  Dr. 
Johnstone  of  Madrac. 

*<  2.  The  Board  request  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  communicate  their  thanks  to  Or. 
Johnstone  lor  his  very  interesting  communi- 
cation, which  they  consider  highly  cieditable 
to  that  gentleman's  professional  talents  and 
zeal  in  the  pursuit  of  science,  and  it  has 
afforded  them  much  pleasure  to  bring  his 
report  to  the  notice  of  the  Madras  Govern- 
ment 

« I  have  the  honor,  &c.,  &c. 
<«  (Signed)    Geo.  Pkarsb,  M  D. 
««  Secretary  Medical  BoaidV 

The  matter  was  next  laid  before  the  Go- 
vernment in  Cooncil  by  the  Medical  Boaid, 
and  this  was  the  acknoFledgment  :— 


**  The  Most  Noble  the  (Tovernor  in  Coin- 
oil  has  perused  with  much  iiiieie^i  ibe  coin* 
muiiication  above  rt  corded,  and  will  be  glad 
lo  leceive  the  fnither  report:*  outbeBUDt 
snhjfct  promi;Mrd  by  the  ftletlical  Kitard. 

«•  2.  Hi»«  Lonlhhip  in  Cuuiicil  fully  cuocon 
with  the  Mfdical  Board  in  couHdenni;  tbe 
exertions  of  Dr.  Juhnsione  in  the  oun*  no* 
brouicht  lo  notice,  highly  creditable  iolbal 
srenilemaii's  professional  laleuts  and  aMdni* 
ty  in  the  cause  of  science. 
"  (True  Extract.) 

"  (Signed)  C.  A.  Browne.  Lieut-Col. 
**  Secretary  to  GovernmoiL' 

After  reading  all  this,  I  cnnfeMffiysplf  dis- 
tressed on  reflecting  u|j<m  the  sad  conducts 
my  professional  brethren  in  England.  Ivill 
not,  however,  dwell  upon  it,  butmakeou 
more  extract  from  the  pamphlet 

"  I  am  glad  to  learn,"  says  Dr.  Johnston^ 
*'  that  other  medical  men  at  tbis  PiesideiKj 
have  incurred  the  same  risk,  and  i  olueiN 
that  the  subject  has  been  taken  up  at  iki 
Medical  School,  since  the  concorreoce  of 
this  case,   where  the   students  bare  bees 
mesmerising  one  another  under  tbe  sapenii' 
lendence  of  the  surgeon  at  the  bod  oli^ 
institution.     It  is  said  to  have  beeaibtbM 
on  two  native  pupils,  and  then  on  i'^'.^ 
the  appi entices,  and    •  on  the  wbole  '>» 
complete  success  *    I  further  ob§er«ott4» 
*ame  authority  (2n  anonymous  wriierioiK 
Atkenaum  newnjiaiitT)  thai  someofilKFn 
inmates  of  the  Mnlt  Asylum  la^'  ^ 
mesmerised  under  directions  oftlieN"g(^ 
of  that  insti  ution.  where,  it  ijBie»«UOTed, 
'  the  patients  who  bad  been  pieviousljafii^ 
ed  with  internal  diseases  awoke  pedecUf 
recovered.*     Be  this  as  it  may,  the  «*F* 
tact  that  mesmerism   Las  been  tried  ia  il» 
above  institutions,  leads  usto  bopenoch 
interest  is  about  to  be  manifested  in  iisl^o^ 
at  Madras,  and  that  the  least  puccew  'w 
stimulate  to  further  inquiry  in  allin«it»w* 
where  such  opportunities  for  its  iuve8ttg«w» 
present  themselves 

«« It  is  not  my  intention  to  ofer  any«- 
marks  whatevei  on  the  nature,  prcteitfwM. 
&c,  of  the  general  subject  of  mfsmew* 
1  will  merely  mention  that  at  one  time  I  «* 
as  great  a  sceptic  in  its  belief  as  any  o« 
could  be,  regarding  it  asa  subject  so  no»tliB 
its  nature,  and  so  irieconcilable  in  its  jjeww 
conclusions  to  all  past  experience,  that  iifr 
thing  short  of  the  most  complete  indncuit 
evidence,  entirely  incapable  of  being  <xp»*| 
ed  away,  ought  to  be  admitted  in  support « 

' "  In  the  course  of  time,  I  mw  men  oihjl^ 
and  established  ieputayonr-**M'o'*[Jr 
investigate  such  matters ;— »eo  of  scm^' 


Case  of  St.  Vitui  Dance  cured  by  Mesmerism. 


203 


teJji^d  wifldomaiid  probity,  whose  authority 
on  01  her  Auhject:)  wouJU  not  be  tioubted  for 
a  moment,  not  failing:  to  come  forward  and 
add  th<fir  unswerving  testimony  in  support  of 
some  or  the  fa<  ts  of  mi  smerism.  I  was  thus 
Jed  to  the  conclusion  that,  however  encom- 
passed with  error  and  abused  by  imposters 
and  charlatans,  it  no  doubt  deserved  to  be 
regarded  more  as  the  abuse  of  some  great 
truth  than  an  absolute  fiction,  and  that  in- 
«tead  of  treating  it  with  the  ridicule  and 
contempt  wiih  which  it  was  received  at  the 
bands  of  many  of  my  professional  brethren, 
it  better  became  every  candid  observer  to 
endeavour  to  hnd  out  what  part  of  it  was 
true,  and  what  was  false.  With  these  sen- 
timents I  caiefutly  attended  to  alt  well-at- 
tested reports  upon  the  subject,  and  incident- 
ally 'nstituied  a  few  experiments  of  my  own, 
limited  more  from  want  of  opportunity  in 
prosecutmg  them  in  such  a  place  as  a  public 
fiospilal,  than  from  pny  disbelief  in  many  ot 
the  conclusions  arrived  at  by  others,  and, 
partly  by  the  evidence  of  my  own  senses, 
was  compelled  to  acknowleilgc  that  Dr.  El- 
liottfon  was  not  aliogi'lher  wrong  when  he 
declared,  years  ago,  *  that  he  should  despise 
himself  if  he  did  not  declare  his  conviction  of 
the  truth  of  mesmerism  *  *• 

By  the  order  of  Government  a  Mesmeric 
C!ommittee  has  been  formed  at  the  Presidency 
of  Madras,  as  one  was  in  Bengal ;  and  1 
learn  that  Bombay  is  also  wide  awake,  and 
'we  may  soon  except  to  bear  of  a  mesmeric 
hospital  there.  Mr  Clark  vit^iied  Dr  Es- 
dalle's  hospital  before  going  to  Bombay,  and 
'Was  deeply  and  favourably  impressed  with 
the  importance  of  the  subject. 

John  Eluotsoh. 


Oaae  of  St.  Vims's  Dance 

Cored  by  MesmerUm  in  lew  than  a  month,  alter 
seTen  years  of  Maffering.  and  upwards  ot  nine 
monihs  passed  in  several  Hospitals  By  Maduu 
Mabxs. 

Catharine  Hogan  was  sent  to  me  on  the 
4th  of  January,  1847,  with  a  note  from  my 
friend,  Mr.  Briggs,  entreating  me  to  try  w  hat 
mesmerism  would  do  for  her,  and  giving  me 
a  short  account  of  her  case.  It  appeared 
that  seven  years  previous,  when  siie  was 
four  years  of  age,  she  had  been  frightened  on 
her  return  from  market  by  a  boy  snatching 
her  basket  of  vegetables  and  running  off  with 
it,  on  which  occasion  she  wandered  about  the 
streets  for  several  hours,  fearing  to  return  to 
her  mother,  who  at  last  disco  vet  ed  her  and 
took  her  home.  Some  daj's  afterwards  she 
fell  in  with  a  party  of  bojs  and  girls  romp- 
ing, one  of  whom  laid  his  slick  across  her 


sboiilders.  The  consequence  was  a  fit  that 
lasted  three  quaiters  of  an  hour ;  on  recover- 
ing she  was  attacked  with  St.  Vitus's  Dance, 
and  was  taken  to  University  CoUfge  Uospi- 
lal,  where  she  became  an  out-patient  under 
Dr.  Davis.  She  seemed  to  recover,  bnt 
two  years  aftei  wards,  having  a  severe  re- 
lapse, she  went  to  the  Middlesex  Hospital 
as  an  in-patient,  where  she  remained  four 
months.  They  then  made  her  an  out  patient» 
but  the  distance  wa^  loo  great  to  permit  ^er 
attendance.  She  then  was  admitted  into  St. 
Bartholomew's,  and  remained  tbeie  nine 
weeks :  returned  to  the  Middlesex  for  seven 
weeks,  and  Univer^ity  College  Hospital  for 
six  weekb ;  making  in  all  thirty-eight  weeks. 
Middlesex!  16  weeks;  Baitholomew's,  9 
weeks;  Middlesex,  7  weeks;  University,  6 
weeks. 

When  Catharine  came  to  me  she  was 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  1  then  took 
down  her  appearance  and  symptoms  as  fol- 
lows, premising  merely  that  I  was  en- 
couraged to  undertake  the  case  from  the  late 
observations  of  Dr.  EHiotnon  in  the  Janu- 
ary number  of  The  Zoisty  who  there  mention- 
ed his  success  in  curing  the  same  disease  by 
mesmerism,  though  laiiing  in  producing 
sleep. 

On  the  4th  day  of  last  January  \  began 
my  operations  on  her,  and  henceforth  shall 
transcribe  from  my  diary,  commencing  by 
the  state.Tient  of  her  case  and  appearance  aa 
1  firt«t  formed  my  opinion. 

Catharine  Hogan,  age  twelve,  short,  thick 
set ;  temperament  sanguineo- lymphatic ;  hair 
and  eyes  dark,  Ihe  latter  expressing  idiotcy ; 
much  trembling  and  irregular  movements  of 
the  limbs ;  continual  fits  of  hysteric  laugh- 
ter and  crying ;  her  hands  incapable  of  hold- 
ing anything ;  frightened  to  be  alone  or  in 
the  dark ;  suffering  from  frequent  head- 
aches, sickness  of  stomach,  giddiness,  palpi- 
tation of  heart,  much  pain,  bowels  costive, 
not  being  relieved  more  than  once  in  ten  or 
fourteen  daya 

January  4th,  1847.  Mesmerised  Catha- 
rine Hogan  for  about  half  an  hour,  making 
long  pasi«es  from  the  vertex  of  the  head 
downwards,  along  the  chest,  arms,  the  region 
of  the  lungs,  down  the  spine,  breathing  on 
the  occiput  and  the  shoulders.  She  com- 
plained of  faintness  and  sickness,  but  felt 
warm,  whereas  she  was  very  cold  when  she 
came. 

5th  C.  said  she  had  felt  very  drowsy  af- 
ter she  left  me  yesterday,  and  slept  at  night 
better  than  usual. 

6th  C.  says  that  on  her  iftnm  home 
yesterday  she  slept  an  hour,  and  very  sound- 
ly during  the  night ;  she  seemed  to  feel  my 
influence  more  than  usual  to-day. 

7th  and  8th.  I  was  prevented  roeonerinng* 


204 


Cures  qf  varums  Diseases  with  Mesmerism. 


9tb.  I  foand  it  very  difficult  to  fix  her  at- 
tention ;  she  complained  that  I  made  her 
eyeff  smart,  and  my  paMes  were  !ike  pins  and 
needle*  pricking  her;  at  last,  however,  she 
weiu  into  a  sound  sleep,  and  though  she  did 
not  perceive  the  entrance  of  a  stranger  and 
his  departure,  yet  she  did  not  lose  all  consci- 
ousness. She  is  naturally  very  cold,  but  a 
few  passes  are  sufficient  to  excite  warmth, 
and  the  trembling  of  her  limbs  is  quite 
cured;  she  can  now  nurse  the  baby,  and 
hold  anything  in  her  hands ;  her  bowels  act 
daily ;  she  is  no  longer  so  nervous ;  this  day 
on  my  exciting  the  organ  of  color,  she  saw 
blight  li^ht  like  elars. 

10th.  Sunday. 

11th  Catharine  rays  she  went  to  sleep 
several  times  on  Saturday,  for  a  quarter  ol 
an  hour  at  a  time,  but  was  Jaint  and  sick 
yesterday. 

13ih,  Mesmerised  her  and  she  slept  half 
an  hour.  i 

15th.  She  felt  cold,  and  her  left  arm  waF 
very  painful ;  a  few  passes  completely  warm- 
ed her ;  all  her  nervous  trembling  is  now  im- 
perceptible. 

Till  the  20th.  ^o  perceptible  change ;  on 
that  day  she  slept  profoundly  for  a  long 
time,  and  when  she  want  home  slept  again 
for  four  hours.  Whenever  she  experiences 
great  coldness,  i  breathe  on  her  through  mus- 
lin, which  invariably  warms  her,  and  relieves 
the  pain 

February  the  2nd.  Catharine  fell  asleep  in 
three  minuies  by  my  merely  looking  at  her ; 
she  has  been  so  much  improved  that  I  now 
mesmerise  her  twice  a  week  only ;  she  has 
not  had  any  trembling  since  the  first  week 
of  being  mesmerised;  she  has  taken  no 
medicine;  her  nowels  act  regularly;  her 
nerven  are  strengthened,  and  she  does  not 
miiid  being  alone  or  in  the  dark  ;  indeed  she 
voluntarily  visited  a  frend  who  had  die<l, 
and  stayed  wiih  the  body.  The  last  sign  of 
St.  Viius^s  Dance  was  on  the  29(h  of  Janu- 
ary, this  is  the  3il  day  of  September :  from 
the  mouth  of  February  last,  that  is  from  the 
28th,  i  did  not  see  her  till  I  sent  for  her, 
August  24th ;  her  appearance  was  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  was  last  January ;  she 
has  no  pretensions  to  beauty,  but  bad  now 
the  countenance  of  an  intellectual  person. 
Finding  her  delicate  I  proposed  to  resume 
mesmerism,  and  she  was  under  my  influence 
immediatel  y . — Zoiit, 

Maeix. 

22  Thayer  street,  Manchester  Square. 
Sept  7,  1847. 


RMnoTsl  of  Blsidlty  of  th«  Vaek, 

Debility  and  dyi^peptic  diieas*  of  the  H««rt.  irri> 
tatioa  of  the  Bladder,  and  eeTore  Piioa.  Hf 
Mr  H.  S.  TaoxFtoM 

I.  Reiaxation  of  rigidity  of  theMvtdutf 
tluNeck, 

A  POOR  woman  was  severely  burnt  about  the 
neck  and  face  three  years  ago,  in  conas- 
qaence  of  which  the  muscles  had  become  lo 
rigid  that  she  could  not  raise  ber  hnd  of 
move  it  to  the  right  or  left,  and,  from  the 
tinie  of  the  accident  had  never  been  able  to 
masticate  any  iood  that  was  hard  or  solid, 
obtained  immediate  relief  from  ireffmeri^m: 
that  is,  the  muscles  were  all  completely  r^ 
laxed,  she  could  move  ber  head  about  fm- 
ly,  and  could  masticate  anything.  Tbriojmy 
was  so  severe  that  pieces  of  bone  are  coo- 
tinually  exfoliating  and  working  ont;  tbe 
irritation  caused  by  this  reproduces  to  sile* 
gree  the  rigidity  of  the  muscles  of  the 
neck,  but  the  operation  of  mefme rinn  boqo 
relieves  her,  and  renders  her  comfortable  for 
days.  The  relaxation  of  the  moadei  was 
very  extraordinary. 

IJ.  Cure  of  extreme  debility  and  dem§t' 
ment  of  the  Digestive  Orgeni. 

A  case  of  extreme   debility  waft  moch 
benefited  by  the  operation  of  mexnensm.  k 
young  mail,  one  of  my  tenants,  became  rad* 
dpniy  so  weak  that  he  was  not  able  logo 
about  his  usual  avocations.    Tiusdehilitf 
increased  that  it  was  wiih  difficulty  that  be 
could  walk  about.     He  had  constant acbiog 
of  the  limbs  from  the  slightest  exenion,  a 
sense  of  faintness,  cold  sweats,  and  Ion  w 
appetite,    and    his    evacuations  perfectly 
black.    His  sister  was  attacked  in  a  aiinilar 
way  last  year,  and  then  died  of  conromp- 
tion.     It  was  more  than  three  monlba  froa 
the  commencement  of  his  iilness  that  1  fint 
saw  him.    He  had  run  tbe  round  of  pbyait 
and  tonics  by  the  advice  of  his  medical  men, 
hut  had  only  grown  the  weaker.    Tbefirrt 
lime  1  mesmerised  him  he  felt  stronger,  and 
during  the  process  the  aching  sensation  op 
his  limbs  was  removed.    He  rapidly  itt- 
proved.    On  the  third  day  bis  appetite  re- 
turned, his  evacuations  were  natural,  «» 
he  was  able  to  ride  eight  miles.    Icon* 
linued  to  mesmerise  him  almost  daily  for 
three  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  be 
had  nearly  quite  recovered   bis  strenglb. 
being  able  to  ride  any  distance  and  to  wali 
tolerably  well.    The  only  trace  of  weaknew 
that  he  complained  of  was  in  his  leg^  if  « 
walked  any  distance.    As  I  left  home  abont 
that  time  I  sent  him  to  the  sea  for  cbaQgc 
of  air. 


By  Mr.  B.  S.  Thompson. 


206 


IIJ.  Wondeyful  benefit  derived  frwn  Mes- 
merism in  serioue  Dtsease  of  the  Heart. 

The  patient  had  heen  afflicted  several 
years ;  but  the  complaint  bad  advanced  ra- 
pidly during  the  few  last  weekn.  When  I 
saw  her  she  had  been  confined  to  her  bed 
six  weeks,  sufferinff  great  agony  ia  her 
head,  shoulders  and  tiack  ;  constant  "  palpi- 
tation of  the  heart  and  fluitering  in  ibe 
chest ;  a  sense  of  suffocation  so  great  that 
she  W)is  coiistanily  obliged  to  be  raised  ;  her 
legs  and  body  had  been  mnch  swollen  for 
some  weeks;  she  had  been  unable  to  use 
them.  She  was  instantly  relieTed  from  her 
pain,  and  half  an  hour  sufficed  to  restore 
life  to  her  legs;  she  gradually  from  that 
day  improved;  in  a  month  she  was  able  to 
walk  daily  from  her  house  to  mine  and  back 
ag^ain,  which  is  rather  more  than  a  mile — a 
thing  which  she  could  do  with  difficulty  a 
▼ear  ago.  She  enjoys  herself,  can  auend  to 
her  family,  and  seemb  daily  to  ^in  stieni^tb. 
This  case  was  pronounced  by  the  profession 
as  incurable  from  the  first ;  but,  as  we  have 
already  overcome  so  much  that  was  then 
|>ronounced  impossit)le,  1  hope  that  in  a  short 
time  1  may  be  able  to  add  that  she  is  quite 
returned  to  health.* 

IV.  Removal  of  irritation  of  the  Bladder, 

This  is  another  instance  proving  the  use 
of  mesmerism  in  inflammation  of  the  bjad- 
der.  A  friend  of  mine  had  suflered  a  very 
severe  attack,  from  which  he  was  slowly  re- 
covering when  he  was  obliged  lo  go  to  Lon- 
don on  business.  I  cbancal  to  be  there  at 
the  time.  His  journey  brought  back  the 
ovmptoms,  and  he  wrote  to  me  saying  how 
ill  he  was.  i  went  to  see  him :  he  was  suf- 
fering from  constant  irritation,  great  pain, 
and  tenderness  of  the  abdomen  ;  so  much  so 
that  he  rould  scarcely  bear  the  pressure  of 
the  bed-clothes  I  asked  him  to  let  ne  try 
whether  I  could  do  him  any  good.  He  con- 
iMnted,  and  in  half  an  hour  the  tenderness 
and  pain  were  removed.  I  remained  with 
him  two  hours,  during  which  time  he  had 
no  irritation  nor  pain ;  though,  previously 
to  my  visit,  the  irritation  was  constant  and 
the  pain  unvarying.  The  following  day  he 
was  so  much  better  that  he  was  able  to  go 
oat  and  attend  lo  the  business  which  had 
brought  him  to  town,  and  on  the  day  after 
he  was  well  enough  to  retani  hoiiie.t 


*  We  entreat  our  readers  to  compare  this  cane 
with  those  in  Vol.  U  p.  485 ,  and  Vol.  V.,  p.  161.— 
ZaiiU 

t  We  entreat  oar  readers  to  compare  this  with 
genres  in  Vol.  IV.,  pp.flO,  W7;  aadVol.V.,  p. 


V.  RelirfofPain. 

This  is  another  curious  instance  of  the 
power  of  mesmerism  to  relieve  pain.  I  was 
tolu  that  an  old  man  in  the  village  near 
which  I  reside  was  suflering  great  pain.  I 
went  to  see  him.  tie  is  stone  blind.  I  found 
him  on  his  bed,  groaning  and  moaning,  and 
clenching  his  hands  I  asked  him  what 
was  the  matter  w  th  him ;  he  said  his  head 
was  very  painful,  he  c<iu  d  only  bear  it  in 
one  position,  and  thai  he  bad  great  pain  in  his 
legs  and  aims ;  and  added,  •*  I  have  not  an 
easy  spot  about  roe."  tie  spoke  in  a  most 
piteous  voice.  I  did  not  tell  him  what  I 
was  doing,  but  made  passes  over  him.  He 
very  soon  said,  ««  Ah,  that's  nice;  the  pain 
is  all  going.*'  I  continued  making  passes 
for  a  few  minutes,  when  1  asked  him  how 
he  felt.  He  spoke  quite  cheerlully,  sayings 
••  Very  nicely,  thank  you,  Sir.  1  have  no 
pain  now;"  and  in  a  few  moments  he  was 
in  a  sound  sleep.  He  has  had  little  or  no 
pain  since,  and  when  it  does  return,  a  few 
wafts  of  the  hand  remove  it.  tiecannot  live 
long:  he  is  very  old,  and  has  a  constriction 
o(  the  cesophagus,  but  it  is  very  certain  thai^ 
he  can  be  spared  all  pain. 

VI.  Cure  qf  inflammatim  of  the  Eyes,  and 
opacity  and  prominence  vf  the  Cornea, 

Thesiithaod  last  case  that  I  shall  at 
present  send,  is  one  of  inflammation  of  the 
eyes  and  opacity  of  the  cornea :  the  patient 
was  a  lad  twelve  years  of  age.  From  two 
years  old  his  eyes  had  been  defective.  At 
that  age  he  had  serious  inflammation  in 
them,  which  has  never  entirely  left  them, 
being  more  severe  at  times.  The  cornea 
had  become  opaque  and  very  convex.  The 
inflammation,  in  the  course  of  a  few  limes 
mesmerising,  was  gone;  the  eyes  began 
gradually  to  assume  a  natural  and  healthy 
shape,  and  the  only  trace  of  disease  at  pre- 
sent is  the  slightest  film  or  spot  on  each 
eye,  discovrable  only  in  certain  lights.  The 
boy  declares  h?  is  astonished  at  what  be  is 
able  to  see  now.  He  does  not  appear  in  the 
least  short.s?ghted.  He  says  that  he  can 
see  clearly  and  at  any  distance ;  whereas  be- 
fore everything  was  dim,  and  he  could  only 
see  objects  that  were  near  him.  The  film 
seems  gradually  wearing  away.— Zbwf. 

Hoar  STAiToaD  Tbompsov. 
Fairfield  House,  uear  York, 

August,  1847. 


206    A  recent  specimen  of  Professional  Ignorance  and  Bigotry. 


A  Baoaat  Specimen  of  Profestioaal  Ignorance 
ftnd  Bigotry 

WnrLST  perusing  the  half- yearly  abstract  of 
the  medical  ecieuces,  fiom  January  to  June» 
liif47»  by  Dr.  Kankiiig,  of  Norwich,  we 
noticed  the  following: — 

«'  The  introduction  of  a  new  remedy,  or  a 
new  means  of  obviating  tlnMaany  undesira- 
ble eyenli»  contingent  upon  the  practice  of 
medicine  and  surgery,  is  always  regarded  in 
a  different  liieht  by  different  members  of  the 
profession.  There  are  some  among  us,  on 
the  one  hand»  who,  contented  to  move  along 
in  the  mental  *jog  trot' to  which  they  had 
been  long  accustomed,  look  with  8U8j»icioti 
or  dislike  on  any  innovation  upon  the  anci- 
ent opinions  wtih  which  ti.ey  have  enfolded 
themselves.  There  are  the  men  who  ri*ticuled 
and  opposed  the  introduction  of  the  stethos- 
cope, and  who  will  continue  to  ridicule  and 
oppose  everything  wtiich  they  had  not 
*  dreamt  of  in  their  philosophy,'  and  which 
either  threatens  to  interfere  with  the  usual 
routine  of  their  thoughts,  or  neceraitates  a 
greater  amount  of  intellectual  application 
than  they  are  capable  of  devolii*g  to  it  — 
There  is,  on  the  other  hand,  another  equally 
mischievous,  perhaps,  but  far  inoie  interest- 
ing class  of  practitioners,  whose  imagination 
is  apt  to  lead  them  to  expect  something  great 
of  every  chimera  which  a  busy  age  is  con- 
tinually forcing  upon  the  attention.  These 
men  take  up  mesmerism,  homoeopathy,  and 
such  iike  vagaries,  &c/' 

Now  this  is  written  by  a  gentleman  who 
professes  to  give  his  professional  brethren 
the  most  important  and  attractive  portion  of 
the  medical  improvements  and  suj^gesiions 
of  the  past  six  months.  He  thinks  it  right 
and  conscientious  to  sneer  at  mesmerism  and 
the  advocates  for  its  adoption,  but  be  does 
not  think  it  righi  to  place  facts  before  his 
leaders  that  they  may  judge  for  themselves. 
He  does  not  quote  the  **  surgical  reports'* 
from  the  Calcutta  Hospital,  tbette  are  be- 
neath bis  notice^he  does  not  refer  to  th 
Jong  list  of  surgical  operations  performed  in 
Euiope,  Asia,  and  America— be  does  not  in 
bis  physiological  report  notice  the  inexplica- 
ble phenomena  presented  by  the  simplest 
case  of  mesmeric  sleep.  All  this  important 
information  is  not  to  be  found  in  Ine  He* 
Irof/ieet— why?  This  is  the  course  which 
Would  be  followed  b^  the  truth-seeker,  by 
the  philosopher ;  but  it  is  not  the  course  to 
be  pursued  by  the  medical  trader.  The  sale 
of  tiie  book  IS  the  first  consideration,  and  to 
•nsors  tlus»  the  profession  most  only  be 


taught  what  is  palatable,  they  must  only 
have  offered  to  ttieui  what  it  ih  known  thej 
will  buy.  Sir  Benjamin  Brudie  has  Giid 
mesinerifrm  is  **  all  bumtiug;*'  tiow  tbea 
could  Dr.  Ranking  presume  to  refer  to  a  sub- 
ject tabooed  by  the  surgical  luminary  ? 

0 !  ye  men  of  the  world— ye  money-tn* 
ders,  ye  would  be  obstructive:}!  a  mirui- 
pect  of  philosophical  progress  proves  that 
science  will  be  mure  than  a  match  fur  ye. 
i  he  profession  will  become  slowly  eiiligbt- 
ened,  and  amidst  the  contents  of  sonrn*  future 
meiiical  retrospect  wilt  be  found  a  summafT 
ol  mesmeric  proceedings.  We  do  not  ik- 
spairot  Dr.  Ranking  even.  He  will  opei 
the  pages  of  htx  Retrospect  when  it  is  nfe, 
and  tbe  exchequer  is  not  likely  to sufler- 
But  we  have  not  quite  done  with  Dr  Hulk- 
ing. In  the  article  Irom  which  we  ban 
ju»t  quoted,  he  says, 

*<  Pain  is  one  of  the  greatest  evils  vbick 
the  operator  bas  to  contend  with :  mtre|Hit 
may,  l>y  contributing  to  what  weareinibe 
habit  ot  calling  *  >*hock,'  be  ihe  immcditie 
and  sole  cauAe  of  death.  As  a  sinking  ii- 
stance  of  this  fact  we  may  meiitioo  i  cisi 
which  recently  occurred  within  oorovi 
knowledge,  that  of  the  application  of  il«^ 
ture  for  the  cure  of  an  erectile  tumor  o/iAe 
entiie  breast.  I'he  patient,  a  hcalikj  It- 
male,  bore  the  initiatory  steps  of  tbeopffir 
tion  without  a  murmur,  without  fviaicof 
pulse,  and  without  change  of  oooaiefitMS- 
The  instant  the  ligature  was  tigbloieiii  vkm 
it  was  with  the  full  force  of  two  «ig«e«^ 
she  gave  a  yeil  of  agony,  the  |«il«  ke(i«t 
imperceptible,  the  countenance  becaMf^ut* 
ly  pale,  and  in  eighteen  hoimibftvt** 
corpse ! !  ** 

Horrible,  most  horrible!  D».  ^»^ 
says  that  this  operation  occurred  ncwtly— 
And  this  is  the  cause  of  osr  coiniw 
against  the  gentlemen  whp  bad  cbaq^e  a 
the  case.  Assuredly  they  ought  tohaw* 
cenained  whether  theit unfortusatetndcas- 
tiding  patient  could  have  been  placed  is  nj 
mesmeric  sleep.  It  she  had  been,  ibe  yell" 
agony  would  not  have  been  beard,  awd  •• 
may  be  almost  certain  that  tbe  ^ystemwooM 
have  calmly  borne  the  shock  of  tbe  iMtW 
application  of  the  ligature.  Letutcentntf 
the  above  horrible  openilien  with  the  Wj 
lowing  description  by  an  eye-witn«8 « 
three  operations  at  Cherbouig,  perfonwd* 
ring  mesmeric  sleep : — 

"  The  remarkable  calm,  and  the  ijtonf^ 
ment  of  the  patients,  who.  on  «««*"'5t 
suddenly  as  they  bed  been  •««  »  "^ 
weia  aii  sirpnsed  aliiadiiigapiUuu^P^ 


Great  Power  of  Mesmerism  over  Pain. 


207 


A 

U 


(ion  over,  and  who  had  felt  nothmg,  perceiv- 
ed no>hinj;,  and  been  pacHve  and  inutioiilebe, 
while  the  operator  luicibiy  plunged  a  bis- 
toury iiiiu  ihe  iiesh,  di£>:iecie(J  avtay  eiior- 
moiid  poitioiia  ol'  it,  arid  tied  tht*  arteries — 
wa6  certainly  a  moai  extJaordniary  lad,  well 
calculated  to  arie»t  tbs  aiieiitioii  of  physi- 
ologiats  more  aud  more."  (^e  last  uum- 
beroi  TheZoist) 

There  is  no  excuse  for  the  conduct  ol 
Dr.  Kanking*8  friends.  Many  years  ago 
Cloquet  aropulated  the  breast  ol  a  lauy  wiilj- 
out  her  being  conscious  of  the  slightest  pain. 
In  1838,  Dr.  liilliolbon  proved  that  a  selon 
could  be  inserted  without  the  knowledge  oi 
the  patient.  Dr.  Engledue,  in  Augnst,  1842, 
diTiJed  the  bam-Mruig  muscles  without  the 
con>ciousnef'S  of  the  palieut.  In  October, 
18-12,  Mr.  Ward, of  VVelluw,  amputated  the 
kg  ol  a  man  under  the  same  ciicumstances, 
■and  we  have  by  this  time  a  list  ol  upwards 
of  two  hundred  surgical  operations,  all  per- 
formed wiihonisuliering;  and  yet  Dr.  Hank- 
ing, Ide  helfeiecied  editor  of  a  medical  Ke- 
trospeci,  tells  his  brethren  that  *'  pain  is  one 
of  the  greatest  evils  which  ttie  operator  has 
Xo  contend  with,'*  and  at  the  same  time  do- 
.8e.>  his  pages  to  the  description  of  one  ol  the 
lD0^t  iniportaiit  means  by  which  this  pain  is 
•to  be  avoided.  Dr.  Ranking  is  in  a  lalse 
position,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  he  ha:*^ 
to  thank  bis  eoifrere,  Mr.  Waktey,  for  it. 
There  are  many  medical  men  who  siMi  form 
their  opinion  ol  m^^smerism  from  what  the) 
«ee  ui  the  pages  of  the  Lancet.  We  real!) 
feel  Ru  I  prised  when  we  hear  a  peison  quote 
the  Lancet  a«  his  authority  foi  dibbelieving 
natural  facts.  He  little  knows  the  polluted 
source  to  which  be  appeala,  nor  the  dis- 
gracetul  means  which  are  weekly  adopted 
to  bolster  up  the  course  the  unscrupulous 
editor  has  followed  for  so  many  years  — 
Here  is  a  specimen.  Can  any  of  our  read- 
ers form  the  least  idea  to  which  jiage  of  The 
JZoiit  the  wiiter  of  the  following  diareputa* 
bie  paragraph  refers  ? 

<<  M.D.  We  shall  not  allow  Ihe  filthiest 
•of  all  filthy  slanders  contained  in  The  Zotsl 
to  go  uii whipped.  Of  course  the  parties 
^ncerned  in  this  infamous  publication  are 
in  a  stale  of  perpetual  mortihcation  at  their 
fallen  and  degraded  position,  and  therefore 
they  bile  and  rail.  The  leper  roust  be  taken 
with  bis  spots."— Iioncer,  July  aist,  1847. 

This  is  amongst  the  notices  to  correspond- 
ents, and  similar  paragraphs  are  consuintly 
in<'erted.  The  object  of  the  writer  is  clear. 
We  can  quite  uudei stand  an  individual  who 
JMuiAAyer  «eeo  2%«  2oti<»  feeling  somewhat 


sceptical  as  to  the  truthfulness  of  its  con- 
tents alti*r  reading  this  paragrapb  ;  but  then 
he  should  nave  been  taught  by  this  time  not 
to  go  to  such  a  jourifal  lor  an  opinion  on 
disputed  scientific  ^uhjtcts.  We  should  just 
a.H  soon  think  of  tecomuiendingour  friend  to 
apply  to  a  suspected  incendiary  to  protect 
his  property,  as  refer  him  to  the  pages  ol 
the  Lancet  ior  the  purpose  of  gratifying  and 
educatiug  his  moral  aud  intellectual  »cal« 
lies. 

LJEG-E. 


InfttanM  -of  tka  gr^at  poir«r  of  lff«fBi«riMS 

over  Pam. 

By  Mr.  G.  H.  Babtr.    Commatiicattd  in  a  latter 
to  Dr.  Bluutson. 

Great  Parndon,  Essex, 
Sept.  5,  1847. 
To  Dr.  Elliotson. 

Dear  Sir.— Subjoined  are  a  few  capes  of 
the  cure  or  relief  of  ]iain  by  local  mesme- 
lism.  withouj  the  induction  of  sleep  being 
attempted.  They  are  at  your  disposal  for 
publication,  if  deemed  worthy  a  place  in  The 
Zoist,  Mil's  WaliHce*s,  and  siiniiar  cases 
as  lately  published  in  that  journal,  are  valu- 
able ;  they  leach  how  readily  and  easily  hu- 
man suffering  may  he  alleviated  by  mesmeric 
means,  and  carry  a  conviction  of  the  utility 
of  the  process,  which  comes  home  to  ever^ 
unprejudiced  understanding.  Cases  of  this 
class  are  so  simple,  that  they  resolve  them- 
selves into  a  <^iie^tion  of  fact — true  or  not 
true.  If  sceptics  can  detect  imjx)stu»'e  and 
falsehood,  let  all  obloquy  fall  on  the  heads 
of  the  impostors;  if  they  admit  tDe  cases  but 
deny  the  influence,  let  them  teach  us  what 
influence  it  is  which  effects  the  cures.  Those 
who  will  not  admit,  nor  disprove,  nor  in- 
vestigate, should  hold  »heir  tongues  ^met  as 
regards  mesmerism.  W'ithout  investigation 
they  are  not  in  a  condition  to  know,  and 
those  who  prate  about  a  subject  of  which 
they  know  not  an> thing,  are  merely  gar- 
rulous boobies,  whose  convictions  are  uo 
m(ue  than  idle  opinions. 

Wyiiiaid  Fawl,  aged  40,  single  woman, 
cook  in  the  family  of  a  friend  in  this  parish, 
asked  my  advice  on  December  4th,  I8469 
respecting  an  excruciating  pain  in  her  left 
arm  and  shoulder.  It  commenced  every 
evening  in  the  middle  finger,  travelled  up 
the  arm,  and  remained  .all  night,  rendering 
sleep  quite  impossible.  It  abated  a  little  in 
the  morning,  but  sometimes  came  on  early 
in  the  day,  andwaa  so  bad  that,  though  I 


Oreat  Power  of  Mesmerism  aver  Pain. 


might  **  think  her  chiidish,  she  cnuld  not 
help  weeping  with  the  pain.*'  Had  been 
thus  afflicted  seven  or  eight  weeks,  and  hau 
nearly  lost  the  use  of  the  aim ;  could  nu\ 
dress  be  I  self — her  fellow  servant  >Ka;iiobii 
ged  to  lace  and  unlace  her  slayt* ;  feared  ^be 
could  not  continue  in  service,  but  inu.st  ir} 
and  get  into  an  hospital,  as  she  had  no 
friends  who  could  as:»ist  her.  i  desired  hci 
to  wait  until  the  pain  was  exceedingly  bad, 
and  then  come  to  me,  and  1  wnuld  tr) 
what  i  could  do  to  relieve  her.  Called  on 
me  in  the  evening  of  December  6th ;  haiu 
she  had  cried  nearly  all  the  previqjiis  nighi 
with  the  pain,  and  that  the  aim  was  then 
in  great  pain.  The  arm  and  hand  seemed 
slightl)  swollen  and  reddened.  V\  hen  bht 
had  removed  her  bonnet  and  was  seated,  I 
made  a  pa.5sat  iwo  or  three  inches  distanc* 
over  her  head  and  face;  she  desciibed  tbt- 
aensation  as  a  warm  wind  from  my  lingers 
I  tried  it  down  the  arm ;  she  felt  it  distinctly 
through  the  sleeve  of  her  dress,  its  lining 
and  some  flannel. 

A  few  passes  over  the  bead  and  face  told 
me  I  might  easily  have  mesmeric  sle  p  ;  bui 
as  this  was  not  my  object,  1  went  to  work 
on  the  arm,  drawing  from  the  shoulders  to 
the  extre  nilies  of  ihe  tinkers,  and  olt.  The 
pain  graJUiilly  decreased,  until  in  twenty 
minutes  it  was  nut  lelt.  8be  said,  **  onl} 
a  Bori  of  sorenests,  not  anywise  trouble 
some  remained.'*  She  left  me  then,  and  be- 
came so  sleepy  she  could  hardly  reach 
home,  and  had  a  sound  night's  ie9>t,  the  lirsi 
for  many  weeks.  Three  more  similar  ap- 
plications of  mesmerism  rendered  the  reiiel 
permanent.  b>he  now  resides  as  cook  with 
James  Dobson,  Esq ,  of  Harlow,  a  well- 
known  and  long  eaiablished  medical  prac- 
titioner I  have  not  had  any  communi- 
cation with  her  since  shequited  Parndon,  but 
feel  sure  she  will  verily  this  statement  il 
asked  respecting  it. 

Anne  Shipton,  housemaid  at  the  same 
friend's  as  the  above,  got  a  thorn  in  faei 
thumb.  liiHaTimation  and  supuration  en- 
sued, and  a  great  portion  of  the  subcutane- 
ous tissue  or  cushion  sloughed  away,  and  is 
not  yet  renewed.  She  consnited  a  hi»hl} 
respectable  surgeon  of  Harlow,  who  1  ha^e 
no  dout)t  did  all  that  was  proper  (except  try- 
ing mesmerism,)  according  to  the  establinh 
ed  routine  of  practice.  She  went  to  lh}t« 
gentleman  seveial  times.  On  Friday,  the 
18th  of  December  last,  when  he  saw  the 
thumb,  he  shook  his  bead,  said  he  whs 
afraid  she  would  lose  her  thumb,  gave  liei 
the  needful  applications  and  directions,  anu 
instructed  her  to  come  again  on  the  follow- 
ing Monday  or  Taesday.  when  he  woald 


cut  it  off,  or  atraige  for  so  doing,  if  ibis  «« 
necessary.  1  saw  it  at  her  mistre»6*6  n- 
que^t  on  the  Sunday  morning:  the  yoan^ 
woman  had  suffered  so  much  p.tin,  that  lihe 
nad  quitted  her  bed,  and  walked  her  rwtmi 
{leai  pait  of  the  previous  night.  Seiviiois 
sA'ho  work  haid  in  the  day,  donHdotbs 
A  hen  they  can  help  it.  On  removing  ilie 
poultice,  the  thumb  ap(ieaied  swollen,  black» 
tnd  gorged  with  a  thick  purulent  eecnlioa  i 
A'hich  exuded  at  the  orifice  of  an  openiif  i 
A'hich  had  been  previouly  made.  1  seizd 
ihe  hand,  and  squeezed  out  a  quantity  d 

•  hick  fetid  mailer.    The  pain  ibis  cau«d 
made  the  poor  girl  cry ;  so,  as  a  mailer  ci 
aturse,  I  mesmerised  the  thumb :  in  a  fet 
•ninutes  the  pain   was  gone.    I  rquefied 
permission  for  her  Xu  call  upon  meiutfac 
evening;  and  then  more  matter  bail  ioineli 
(lid  the  thumb,  hand,  and  arm,  wete  in  H- 
After  squeezing  out  the  matter,  1  nxsot 
I  i8ed  the  arm  and  hand  half  an  hour.  Ibe 
pain  soon  quilted,  and  did  not  return  i^ 
Her  medical  attendant  saw  it  on  the  /oiloff- 
ing  Tuesday,  some  foity  hours  ifier  the 
mesmeric  operation ;  he  was  much  picassl 
dt  its  altered  appearance;  and  Mid  it  n> 
(Imost  well,  but  he  should  iikeioHf  ii^tt 
more.     Anre  did  not  tell  him  uf  tbe  oe!«^ 
r.hm  ;  feared  I  migh:  not  wi&h  berio  (Jo«J 
ts  1  had  not  given  any  direcii(Mi8  aiweift  1 
lo  not  claim  for  me^meri5m  the  atkd 
^avingthe  thumb,  which  had  goud  forgioi 
ireatment;    but    it    cerUkinly   reiiered  ^ 
patient  from  severe  and  continuing ;»*  '■ 
lact,  for  many  days  afterwanla,  «* '*o"* 
vias deprived  of  sensibilii^;  Aimewiildiiot 
feel  any  difference  l^twixt  a  raiding  ^ 
poultice  and  a  cold  one:  hbe  knwf  ■* 

•  humb  was  on,  because  she  couM  ^  >^ ? ^     . 
:ihe  did  not  leel  any  thumb  on  tbal  hand. 

1  h«ve  met "W lib  sere ral  instances  of  w 
jensiHliiy  of  a  part  being  entirely  obliw* 
iited  for  a  long  time  by  continued  !»*'*!' 
one  direction.  1  me^imerised  a  young  h^ 
in  town  last  year,  and  made  payees  W 
'ome  twenty  minutes  over  her  feel  bclf^l 
obtained  the  resu  1 1  desired.    Amonlhaiw* 

vardssbe  assured  me  she  hail  nem  feitK^ 
leet  since ;  her  words  were,  "  1  know  I  ka** 
leet  because  I  am  standing  on  tbeflu  ^"Jl 

loii't  feel  at  all  below  my  ankles.  neiiW     ^ 
heat  nor  cold :  1  don't  feel  as  if  1  ba<l  ^^ 

Su.«»an  Denni*,  a  blunt  strapping  oW  *•" 
nan  of  sixty  four,  keeps  a  shop  at  Ty-gnj»» 
parish  of  'Netleswell.  1  inesmerirt  W 
laughter  who  has  fits,  and  many  oi^""  J 
ifflictons;  or  i  should  perhap.  m  wj» 
we  are  doing  so  well  I  am  not  «'•/"•[*'! 
will  be  correct:  and  the  oilier  tnwy^^ 
iongbaenconiignsd  totbspsit  Bowem 


By  Mr.  O.  H.  Barth. 


209 


I  called  one  morning,  and  found  Mrs  Den- 
nis in  great  suflfering.  She  said  nothing,  but 
looked  faint  and  white.  1  enquired  the 
cause.  A  boy,  throwing  a  stone  at  a  cow, 
missed  the  cow  and  hit  ihe  woman  on  the 
ahin,  where  the  bone  has  very  liitle  covering. 
She  had  nearly  fainted,  and  described  ilie 
pain  as  haidiy  endaralde.  The  stone  was 
as  large  as  an  ordinary  fist.  "  Puii  ofi  youi 
stocking  and  Hhow  me  your  leg."  Leg  wa^ 
red,  hot,  and  very  much  swelled,  consider- 
ing it  had  not  been  hurt  more  than  an  hour 
Mesmerised  it  live  or  six  minutes,  when  she 
exclaimed,  <'  The  pain  has  gone  away ;" 
stamped  her  foot  on  the  ground,  and  said 
her  leg  feh  quite  well,  only  stiff  Two  days 
afterwards  1  made  my  usual  visit;  "Weil, 
Mrs.  Dennis,  how  is  your  \^^'*  •<  Thank 
you.  Sir,  have  never  felt  any  pain  since  you 
was  here :  the  swelling  has  gone  down,  but 
it  looks  very  black.**  Let  me  see  it, 
wiH  mesmerise  it  a  few  minutes."  The 
front  of  the  \t^  was  discolored  from  the 
foot  4o  the  knee:  so  large  a  blackened -sur- 
face surprised  me.  "  Vou  doirt  mean  to 
tell  me,  Mrs.  Dennis,  that  you  have  had  no 
more  pain  in  that  leg?"  <'  As  true  as  is  the 
God  who  made  me>  I  have  felt  no  pain  since 
you  did  it ;  why  should  I  say  I  duinU  feel 
pain  if  I  did  all  the  while?*'  The  leg  never 
gave  any  more  trouble. 

January  3d,  1847,  Eliza  Pretty,  No.  7 
Evershalt  street,  St  Pancras,  severely  scald 
«d  her  foot.  Her  mis^tre^s  took  me  to  see 
her  an  hour  or  two  after  it  was  done  Found 
her  in  bed  crying.  ••  Don't  cry,  my  girl, 
that  will  do  you  no  good  "  •*  1  can't  help  it, 
Sir,  my  fool  hurts  me  so."  "  Poke  it  out  ol 
the  bed  and  let  me  see  it/'  It  had  au  afipli- 
cation  of  fJour  and  a  soft  linen  cloth  over  it. 
Removed  this;  the  top  of  the  foot  waes  cover- 
/Bd  nearly  by  a  vesica  or  bl  ster,  distended 
with  fluid  some  four  inches  long  by  three 
wide,  I  should  think  ;  two  small  ones  near 
the  ankle,  and  the  remaining  surface  in- 
flamed. Her  mistress  held  a  candle ;  the  girl 
Mt  up  to  see  what  1  was  going  to  do  to  her 
foot  **  Keep  your  head  on  the  pillow,  1 
am  not  going  to  hurt  you ;  never  you  mind 
what  1  do,  tell  me  what  you  feel."  I  feel 
something  warm  move  over  my  foot." 
<<  What  else  do  you  feel?"  "Only  warm. 
Sir;  it  seems  like  wind,  I  may  be  wrong, 
but  I  think  so."  «•  Well,  tell  me  if  you  feel 
anything  else  presently."  I  continued  pass- 
es for  four  or  five  minutes,  when  she  laugh- 
ed heartily  and  loudly  twice,  at  int<  rvals 
Her  mistress  reproved  her,  saying,  "  There 
was  nothing  to  be  laughed  at,  as  we  were 
trying  to  do  her  ^ood."  I  explained  that  she 
could  not  help  it.  This  laughter  was  in- 
6 


voluntary,  a  port  of  hysterical  manifestation, 
frequently  seen  by  mesmerists  when  their 
subjects  feel  the  influence. 

After  a  few  more  passes,  she  said, "  Ifeel 
my  foot  cool  now ;  it  is  like  a  cool  wind." 
"  How  is  the  pain  ?"  I  enquired.  "  I  don't 
know.  Sir,  I  don't  feel  it."  •*  Is  it  gone 
away?  Why!  What  has  become  of  it .^* 
'*  1  am  sure,  Sir,  l^don't  know;  1  can't  feel  it 
just  now."  Nor  did  she  leel  it  any  more  at 
all.  The  fluid  in  the  vesica  was  not  absorb- 
ed in  two  days  afterwards ;  but  she  bioke  it 
by  accident,  and  let  it  out.  A  bit  of  rag,  and 
some  simple  cerate  to  keep  her  stocking  from 
irritating  the  surface  was  put  to  it,  and  it 
was  well  in  a  week.  It  never  occasioned 
the  slightest  pam  after  that  one  mesmeric 
application. 

July  22nd,  1847.  Paid  a  Yisit  this  even- 
ing, and  found  an  amiable  friend  and  neigh« 
bor  inconvenienced  by  a  burn  on  her  hand ; 
a  portion  of  the  external  skin  as  large  as 
a  shilling  was  destroyed,  and  a  watery  se- 
cretion oozed  from  the  denuded  surface. 
Now,  this  was  but  a  trifling  matter,  and  yet 
caused  a  very  uncomlortable  sensation. — 
Those  who  venture  to  doubt,  can  burn  such 
a  place  on  their  own  skins,  and  try  the  ef- 
fect. A  few  passes  totally  removed  the  pain  ; 
aitd  a  few  more  covered  the  wound  with  a 
firm  healthy  scab.  The  lady's  husband  and 
a  friend  stuod  beside  us,  and  watched  the 
growth  of  this  scab,  while  I  made  short  pass- 
es over  the  sore  place.  It  commenced  at 
the  edge  and  spread  to  the  centre;  somewhat 
as  we  see  a  hot  saturated  solution  of  a  salt 
form  its  pellicle  on  cooling  This  little  burn 
gave  r>o  more  Inconveiience.  1  do  not 
think  it  uas  mesmerised  more  than  eight 
minutes.  I  have  seen  healthy  scabs  thrown 
out  very  quickly  an  unhealthy,* raw,  surfa- 
ces, after  local  mesmerism  is  applied,  in  seve- 
ral cases. 

July  27lh,  1847.  EmmaReid,  Great  Parn- 
don,  IS  mesmerised  for  a  disease  of  her  eyes. 
Found  her  this  evening  with  a  severe  burn 
on  her  arm,  portion  of  skin  desirr»yed,  as 
large  as  half  a  crown,  and  surrounding  sur- 
face reddened.  She  declared  it  gave  her 
pain,  and  "  I  believed  her."  I  made  a  few 
passes  over  it,  and  she  said  the  pain  was 
gone,  and  I  again  believed  her.  *«  Credul- 
ous simpleton  I"  exclaims  some  reader  of  the 
Wakleyan  school.  After  inducing  her  cus- 
tomary sleep,  at  the  end  of  an  hour  I 
awoke  her.  The  burnt  place  was  then  pro- 
tected by  a  firm  scab ;  the  surrounding  skin 
puckered  at  the  edges.  It  never  gave  her 
any  more  pain.  ^^ 


210 


Apparent  Clairvoyance 


I  might  add  cases  of  relief  and  cure  by  lo* 
cal  mesmerism  of  goat,  painful  tumors,  neu- 
ralgic and  rheumatic  pains,  Tarious  other 
toublesome  ailments ;  and  loolh-ache  more 
frequently  than  1  can  name,  as  1  make  no 
noied  of  toolh-aches  lelieved  But  these 
lew  may  suffice  to  shew  that  if  mesmerists 
are,  as  some  wise  people  (?)  term  them, 
**  humbugs."  They  are  certainly  very 
agieeable,  useful,  comfortable  **  humbugs," 
▼aluable  **  humbugs,"  to  all  who  are  amict- 
ed  with  pam  and  suffering;  particularly 
when  they  perform  their  **  mountebank 
feasts"  lor  love  and  not  money.  Whenever 
1  may  be  afflicted  with  disease,  I  pray  that  1 
may  be  able  to  secure  the  services  of  "  some 
healthy  and  benevolent  mesmeric  humbug." 

I  have  a  patient,  John  Burton,  of  Ty- 
Green,  who  has  a  lowed  me  several  times  to 
whip  his  hands  and  wrists  soundly  with 
stinging  nettles;  when  the  redness  and  small 
pimples  are  visible,  and  the  smarting  and  ir- 
ritation become  uncomfortably  perceptible, 
H  few  mesmeric  movements  of  my  band  have 
perfectly  and  permanently  removed  the  disa- 
greeable sensation.  1  have  repeated  suc- 
cessfully, on  this  man,  some  of  your  ex|)eri- 
ments  with  metals ;  and  yet,  though  i  mes- 
merised him  daily  for  live  months,  I  could 
not  put  him  to  asleep. 

I  must  not  omit,  dear  Sir,  thanking  you 
for  your  kindly  seeing  Miss  Mary  Mark- 
well,  and  advising  gratuitously  in  her  case, 
(one  of  fits.)  In  accordance  with  your  ad- 
vice I  persevered  with  mesmerism.  8be 
was  mesmerised  twice  daily  for  sixteen 
months,  and  then  once  a  day  for  eight 
mv)iithb  She  certainly  derived  benefit  from 
the  treatment ;  her  fits,  though  they  occurred 
as  frequently  as  ever,  were  so  shgbt  as  to  be 
hardly  worth  naming,  and  never  attacked 
her  excepting  when  in  bed  at  night,  and  then 
lelt  no  subsequent  ill  effects.  She  never  bit 
her  tongue  or  lips  but  once,  after  being  sub- 
jected to  mesmeric  treatment.  She  got  rid 
of  many  nervous  fancies,  and  could  slee{« 
fiounJly  at  night,  which  she  had  not  done 
previously. 

Nevertheless,  I  could  not,  or  did  not,  cure 
her ;  for  if  she  was  worried  or  put  into  a  pas- 
sion in  the  day,  a  fit  came  at  night.  So 
commonly  did  this  occur  that  it  appeared  as 
cause  and  effect.  <*  1  had  a  fit  last  night,  Sir ;" 
**  then  you  have  been  in  a  passion,  Mary ;" 
and  so  it  always  proved.  As  neither  ad- 
vice nor  reproof,  could  abate  the  folly,  (to 
use  a  mild  term)  of  those  who  irritated  her ; 
I  threw  the  case  up  in  disgust,  after  mesme- 
risini;  faithfully,  and  earnestly,  and  eiatui- 
tously  fur  two  years.  It  is  probable  that  in 
eases  of  nervous  disease  when  yielding  to 
^  meameriun,  the  cnn  is  retarded  by  the  in 


judicious  treatment  of  patienrs  friends,  Don 
frequently  thon  the  mesroeriet  suspects. 

As  a  bumble  disciple  of  that  good  caim, 
which  you  have  so  robly  and  successfully 
maintained  against  cruel  ealomny  and  ignor- 
ant and  bigoted  opposition,  1  joyfully  con- 
gratulate you  on  the  now  almost  univeml 
acknowledgment  of  its  troth;  and  am,  dcir 
Sir,  with  warm  admiration  and  respect, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

G.  E  Bum 

ZoisL 


▲ppar«nt  OimixrcffWM9 

Indep«ndent  of  Mesmerism,  but  coniMdedirilh 
Insanity.    Communicated  in  a  lettsr  to  Ol  b* 

LI0T80N. 

Th£  following  particulars  were  sent  ton 
by  a  medical  gentleman  who  has  aliwly 
contributed  with  his  name  to  Jhi  Zoaf,kit 
begs  his  name  not  to  be  disclosed  on  tbepn- 
sent  occasion:  though  I  am  at  libertjlo  ' 
mention  it  to  any  person  privately. 

John  Ellidiwi. 


Dear  Sir.— -The  perusal  of  your  ( 
cases  of  "  double  consciousness^  in  mk 
numbers  of  that  most  instrnctiv(  perioilialf 
The  Zoist,  has  greatly  interested  DicasbM 
also  that  communicated  by  Mr.  Ciarlr,  isf 
30,  No.  XVII.,  for  April,  1847.  i  *«» 
some  personal  analogous  experioee.  Itv 
nearly  nine  years  since  I  took  the  nsm' 
diate  charge  of  a  gentleman  of  denn?^  «- 
tellect,  with  whom  I  reside  in  intimate  »• 
sociation  as  friend.  I  have  often,  psrtio-  { 
larly  in  the  earlier  years  of  my  chaijjei'** 
thoroughly  puzzled  to  account  forlwkiw*; 
ledge  of  circumstances,  perhaps  mere  tn- 
fles,  with  which  we  did  not  wish  bi«  to 
become  acquainted.  I  did  not  deem  tMJ 
worthy  of  note  at  the  time ;  that  is,  1  dwW 
make  any  memorandum  of  tbem ;  and  woiM 
not  now  like  to  true*  my  memory  as  to  [W- 
liculars,  nor  would  they  be  clearly  ap|«- 
bended  without  entering  into  tedions,  pmj 
details.  Suffice  it  that  long  before  I  «■■ 
The  Zoist,  1  had  expressed  to  the  tW  I 
medical  gentleman  who  regularly  viwtt  * 
an  opinion  that "  our  friend  seemed  to  knot 
things  as  if  a  spiritual  inteJlijeoce  ww» 
his  elbow  and  whispered  in  bis  ear;  "«** 
merly  they  would  have  said  he  had  i  f"* 
liar  spirit;'*  know  he  certainly  does,  W» 
how,  I  can't  make  out, •'•and  ^^^j^.J^ 
marks,  showing  my  impression  it  tw  ^"^ 
Our  patient's  mental  condition  b«  g"*^ 
improved,  and  I  do  not  now  «flw  oM«w 


Independent  of  Mesmerism. 


212 


thttse  cariooB  perceptions,  or  they  are  not  so 
nnguJar  or  strong^Iy  marked  as  to  preclude 
tlie  possibility  of  their  being  mattero  of  acci- 
dental coincidence. 

About  three  years  since,  for  a  few  even- 
ings, this  perceptive  power  was  wonderfully 
«eute;  be  was  in  an  argumentative  and 
quarrelsome  humor  at  the  time.  We  sat  to- 
ffetherby  the  fireside  while  our  tea  was  in- 
fusing, seemingly  both  engaged  in  thought, 
when  my  friend  exclaimed,  **  I  dont  think 
that.  Sir ;  I  don't  think  that."  "  I  don't 
believe  it."  "  I  say  I  don't  believe  it."  I 
replied  quietly,  "  Don't  believe  what,  Mr. 

?    I  have  not  spoken;  what  do  you 

allude  to?'*  He  immediately,  without  noti- 
cing my  remark  that  I  had  not  spoken,  re- 
ferred to  the  precise  subject  of  which  I  had 
been  just  thinking,  and  began  to  contradict 
me  respecting  it.  Had  this  occurred  but  once, 
it  might  be  said  I  was  "  unconsciously 
thinking  aloud,"  but  several  similar  mani- 
festations of  perceptive  power  took  place 
about  this  time ;  and  as  I  was  on  my  guard  1 
can  certainly  state,  with  as  firm  a  conviction 
of  the  truth  of  my  averment  as  any  one  who 
confides  in  his  senses  and  memory  can  feel, 
that  I  did  not  speak  my  thoughts,  but  that 
there  was  a  clairvoyant  perception  of  them, 
or  perception  in  some  unaccountable  manner. 
Another  instance  is  well  marked,  and  caused 
as  much  interest  and  wonder  at  the  time. 

Four  and  a  half  years  since  it  became  ne- 
cessary that  M ,  our  house-steward 

and  butler,  should  be  discharged.  As  he 
was  an  old  family  servant,  and  his  dismissal 
might  irritate  our  patient,  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable that  we  should  pay  a  visit  to  the  sea- 
aide  for  a  month,  and  his  removal  be  effected 
during  our  absence.  This  was  exceedingly 
well  managed,  the  secret  well  kept.  With- 
out tedious  explanation,  I  cannot  convey  the 
grounds  of  my  conviction,  but  surely  con- 
vinced am  I  that  our  poor  friend  neither  did 
nor  could  know  anything  of  the  contempla- 
ted change  until  the  day  preceding  that  of 
our  return  home.  He.  was  then  informed  by 
letter  that  M— — -  had,  for  certain  reasons, 


we  should  find  something  good  when  we 
got  home.  I  explained  that  as  the  time  of 
our  arrival  was  uncertain,  a  cold  dinner 
would  be  on  the  table  waiting  us;  that  we 
might  be  sure  our  new  housekeeper,  Mrs. 

^ »  would  take  caie  to  make  us  coiii- 

lortable ;  that  she  was  a  very  respectable 
person— that  we  would  not  consider  her  a 
C(  mmor.  servant,  but  call  her  our  laily  house- 
keeper, &c.,  &c. :  in  the  same  strain,  trying 
to  impress  that  she  was  a  very  superior  per- 
son to  the  one  she  bad  succeeded.  A.«»  I 
finished  we  started;  my  friend  threw  him- 
self back  in  the  carriage  and  did  not  speak 
for  eight  or  ten  minutes,  an<i  then  said,  "  1 

don't  see  that,  Mr. ,  (addressing  roe,) 

I  don't  see  that ;  I  don't  believe  it.     M 

kept  a  grocer's  shop  before  he  came ;  Mrs. 

T kept  a  grocer's  shop  before  she 

came;  one  grocer  is  as  good  as  another; 
both  shopkeepers;  no  difference  in  respecta- 
bility I  think."  This  was  strictly  true;  and 
the  enquiries  which  I  made  to  discover  bow 
our  friend  knew  it  only  tended  to  puzzle  me, 
as  the  attendants  whose  casual  remarks 
might  have  been  overheard,  declared  that 

they  did   not  know  Mrs.  T— was  a 

grocer  until  I  named  it;  and  other  sources  of 
information  there  were  not. 

If  those  who  have  the  opportunity  would 
take  the  trouble  lo  notice  and  commumcaie, 
fome  curious  matter  of  the  above  kind  might, 
I  think,  be  educed ;  such  communications 
could  not  be  otherwise  than  interesting  to  all 
who  are  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  pheno- 
mena of  mind,  or  treatment  uf  diseased  men- 
tal functions. 

Your  most  obedient  servant. 


been  sent  away,  and  a  very  comfortable,  re 

apectable  elderly  person,  a  Mrs.  T , 

insuUled  in  his  place.  We  were  at  breakfast 
when  the  letter  was  delivered ;  he  perused 
and  handed  it  to  me ;  enquired  why  M-^— 
was  gone ;  supposed  he  would  «•  turn  up 
again  some  dav;"  and  made  such  remarks  as 
would  naturally  occur  on  being  for  the  first 
time  apprised  of  the  circumstance.  Next 
morning  we  started  for  home,  a  distance  of 
aixty  milea  Whilst  the  horses  were  being 
changed  for  the  last  stap,  our  friend,  who 
waated  his  dinner,  (having  declined  refresh- 
nent  on  the  road,)  ezprowed  his  hope  that 


It  has  frequently  happened  that  these 
highest  forms  of  clairvoyance  were  connect- 
ed with  insanity.*  Such  high  powers  may 
be  more  readily  called  forth  when  ihe  brain 
is  in  an  exciti»d  and  disordered  state,  and 
perhaps  exist  more  readily  with  a  dispo- 
sition to  disorder  of  the  brain.  "  Great  wit 
^o  madnees  nearly  is  allied."  Indeed  the 
r greater  part  of  alleged  clairvoyants  whom 
we  hear  of  around  us  talk  at  times  great 
nonsense.  We  cannot  be  too  careful  in  at- 
tempting to  distinguish  between  their  clair- 
voyant movements  and  their  periods  of  wild- 
ness.— Zotrt. 

John  £luot8on. 


♦  Soch  were  the  eaeee  related  in  the  last  Bom- 
\i%t  but  one  of  The  Zoist.  p.  30,  occurrljix  in  WTenl 
members  of  the  same  nmily. 


su 


Cure  of  a  singular  Tttnsting  of  the  Bead. 


OUTRB 

Of  a  tliigplar  Twisting  of  the  Head  in  a  young 
man.    Br  Da.  Blliotson. 

"  The  world  haa  had  iu  laugh  at  mesmerism 
Its  mysteries  and  miracles  are  nearly  forgotten." 
—Mr.  Douglas  JArrold.  Uis  Weekly  Newsi»aper, 
Sept  11, 1847. 

Mr.  Douglas  Jkrrold  is  a  daring  man.  He 
snaps  his  fingers  at  our  pteady  and  abundant 
issue  of  solid  facts  every  quarter,  for  some 
years,  to  his  knowledge. 

On  the  2nd  of  last  December  I  was  con- 
sulted by  a  young  man,  thirty-two  years  of 
age,  occupied  in  a  city  banking-house,  on 
account  of  a  complaint  which  bad  existed 
seven  months  and  had  gradually  come  upon 
him.  It  was  a  slow  but  powerful  involun- 
tary movement  of  his  bead  over  to  the  left 
side,  till  the  face  came  nearly  above  the  lett 
shoulder,  in  writing,  in  brushins  his  hat  or 
coat,  and  particularly  in  taking  nis  meals,— 
all  acts  requiring  a  little  stooping  and  motion 
of  his  hand  and  arm.  He  could  read  with- 
out this  annoyance  because  neither  of  these 
two  things  is  necessary  at  that  time.  He 
began  to  write  at  my  request  that  1  might 
observe  the  phenomenon.  His  face  aln.ost 
immediately  turned  slowly  round  to  the  lelt, 
so  that  at  length  he  was  looking  at  the  paper 
with  the  right  eye  only.  The  moment  he 
left  off  writing,  he  could  move  it  back  to  its 
original  position. 

If  watched  by  others  at  the  time,  or  ex- 
cited by  any  cause,  the  head  turned,  he  said, 
the  more  quickly  and  forcibly  to  the  left.  If 
he  persevered  in  what  he  was  attempting* 
the  head  at  length  trembled.  If  he  merely 
raised  his  hand  towards  his  head,  this  wah 
inclined  to  move  to  the  left,  in  handing  a 
paper  to  another  person,  the  head  turned.  If 
he  looked  stead lantly  at  anothtr  person,  and 
was  at  all  excited,  though  his  hands  were 
motionless  before  him,  hie  bead  would  turn ; 
but  not  if  he  held  them  tightly  behind  his 
back. 

"  He  was  naturally  nervous,  but  he  look- 
ed remarkably  well :  and  indeed  his  general 
health  had  improved  of  late,  though,  from 
the  time  his  complaint  began,  he  had  felt, 
and  still  felt,  somewbat  heavy  after  dinner, 
as  welt  ae  in  the  morning  before  rising,  but 
DO  longer  than  he  was  in  bed.  The  ej^citing 
caose  had  been  fatigue  end  anxiety. 

He  tried  Brighton  a  month;  and  Bams> 

SLte  six  weeks ;  and,  though  better  while 
ere,  was  as  bad  as  ever  on  his  return.  He 
had  been  galvanized  for  a  month  and  found 
great  benefit  for  the  first  three  days,  but  no 
longer.  He  had  been  under  a  consulting 
«urgeon  in  the  city,  who  aent  him  into  the 


country ;  and  uuder  a  physician  who  give 
him  slight  aperients  which  reduced  bim,and 
then  better  tonics.  1  considered  that  tomn 
were  the  most  suitable  nedicines  and  iicD 
the  most  suitable  of  tonics.  But  he  took  it 
in  vain.  Mesmerism  was  substituted.  Ht 
brought  a  fnend  whom  1  instructed  io  two 
minutes  how  to  proceed,  just  as  1  instructed 
Mrs  Snewing ;  this  friend  after  a  fertoiglil 
instructed  the  father,  sixty-five  years  ol  age, 
who  mesmerired  him  regularly  and  cored 
him.  None  of  the  parties  had  seen  anything, 
or  indeed  known  anything,  of  roesmeiieiD. 

1  lately  begged  him  to  write  me  out  u 
account,  and  a  is  as  follows: 

•'  Clapham,  Samy, 
•^aOth  August,  1847. 
"  In  the  beginning  of  the  summer  of  IMf 
1  was  attacked  with  a  riolent  nervoiu  tSk- 
tion  in  my  head,  which  prevented  meoffff* 
ing  myself  to  anything  requtnng  my  beilt»  I 
be  steady.  It  gradually  increased  untillw 
compelled  to  resign  for  a  time  my  ami 
duties.  It  produced  an  involuntary  motioi 
of  my  head,  particularly  when  writiij; 
which  was  my  daily  occupatron.  ItilMst 
prevented  me  Irom  cutting  my  own  ibod, 
and,  whenever  I  used  my  Bands,  it  beaM 
worse,  until  1  could  scarcely  sign  mj  Diae 
without  supporting  my  h^  witbnjldl 
hand.  I  believe  it  to  hare  been  brou^toi 
t)y  over- excitement  and  fatigne,  together  vitk 
being  employed  in  aeonfinird  office;  myeoo- 
stitution  not  being  very  strong,  sj  otf^^* 
system  gave  way  under  it. 

"1  first  applied  to  a  surgeon  in- » 

who  told  me  all  1  wanted  wositttuA 
change  of  air ;  he  recommended  me  to  ban 
a  shower  bath  every  morning,  Bsd  be  hii 
no  doubt  but  by. a  long  relaxation  from  Inni- 
ness  I  should  be  once  more  restored  to  per- 
tect  health  ;  be  gave  some  pills  to  take  oe» 
sionally,  and  said  he  could  do  nothing  moie 
tor  me.  1  then  made  arrangements  for  eoieg 
in  the  country,  preriousiy  to  which  ^sppW 

to  Dr. ,  who. quite  agreed  with  iH 

my  previous  medical  adviser  bad  dnDe;k      I 
also  said  it  would  be  a  yery  long  time  be-       ! 
lore  I  got  quite  well  again.    1  then  ''*"'* 
Ramsgate,  and  bathed  every  moming  for  in 
space  of  six  weeks ;  when  out  of  doors  n      ' 
the  air  1  felt  quite  well,  but  immediately  • 
attemptmg  to  write  or  use  my  bands  in  sdT 
way,  the  affection  in  my  head  retoraed.  I 
was  induced  after  spending  a  week  •*^|*JJJ' 
gate  to  apply  to  a  medical  man  of  that  pi« 
(who  I  believe  is  highly  spoken  of  ia  » 
profeemon)   for  advice;   but  he  likewjjj 
seemed  to  think  nothing  could  be  ^'•J  W 
me;  he  gave  some  medicine  to  tike  daivi 
but  was  of  opioioa  that  notbingtat  me  «• 


J 


Cure  of  severe  Head-ache  of  seven  yeartf  standing. 


213 


cbanj^  of  air  vroald  restore  roe.  After  eiz 
"Weeks  stay  at  Kamsgrate,  and  being  very  lit- 
tle better,  1  began  to  despair  of  my  recovery 
I  returned  to  London  and  to  business,  tbink- 
ing  that  employing  my  mind  a  few  hours  in 
the  day  would  prove  beneficial  to  me.  But 
after  having  been  at  business  a  month,  (the 
weather  at  the  time  was  very  hot  and  of 
course  very  trying  to  me,)  1  was  compelled 
once  more  to  resign  my  duties  for  a  time  ; 
the  complaint  returned  much  worse  than  be- 
fore. I  then  went  to  my  physician  again, 
who  told  me  I  must  not  think  of  remaining 
in  business  for  at  least  four  or  five  oronths, 
but  must  remain  quiet  at  home,  as  rest  was 
tbe  only  chance  I  had  of  recovery. 

*<  I  then  tried  galvanism ;  was  operated 
upon  every  morning,  ^undays  excepted/for 
a  month.  The  first  week  I  was  quite  cheer- 
ed at  tbe  effect,  it  seemed  to  make  my  head 
steadier,  and  certainly  tbe  improvement  was 
quite  apparent  to  myself  and  friends.  But, 
alas !  from  that  time  the  improvement  ceas- 
ed, and  the  complaint  gradually  returned  to 
lis  former  obstinate  position.  I  then  again 
began  to  despair,  thinking  I  never  should 
recover ;  but  was  again  recommended  to  try 
once  more  what  sea  bathing  would  do  for 
me.  i  went  to  Brighton  in  tbe  commence- 
ment of  October,  took  a  great  deal  of  exer- 
cise, dieted  myself  according  to  my  medical 
man*8  advice,  and  used  all  the  means  in  my 
power  which  1  thought  conducive  to  my  re- 
covery. After  spending  a  month  at  Brighton, 
I  returned  to  London,  much  better  in  my 
general  health,  although  still  suffering  from 
tbe  affection  in  my  head  on  applying  myself 
to  write  or  use  my  hands  in  any  way. 

**  I  again  consulted  my  physician,  as  to 
whether  be  thought  it  advisable  for  me  to 
return  to  business  in  tbe  state  nay  health  then 
was.  He  recommended  me  to  do  so,  but  he 
thought  a  few  hours  a  day  would  be  all  I 
should  at  present  undertake.  My  employ- 
ers very  kindly  allowed  me  to  remain  at 
business  as  long  as  1  thought  convenient  to 
myself,  but  all  was  of  no  avail :  I  continued 
getting  worse  until  tbe  end  of  November, 
1846.  A  friend  of  mine  advised  me  to  have 
farther  advice.  He  recommended  me  to 
apply  to  Dr  EUiotson,  who  be  said  be  knew 
to  be  Tery  clever  in  bis  profession,  but  was 
much  afraid  be  would  want  to  mesmerise 
me.  I  said  Dr.  EUiotson  might  do  with  me 
what  be  thought  fit ;  that  if  i  went  to  him, 
I  should  place  myself  entirely  at  his  disposal. 
After  a  fortnight's  delay,  being  quite  low 
spirited  at  having  tried  so  many  remedies 
witfaoQt  success,  1  went  to  Dr.  E.,  who  very 
kindly,  took  great  interest  in  my  case.  After 
expkiDing  to  him  the  nature  of  my  com- 
plaint and  the  means  I  had  used  withont 


success,  he  prescribed  for  me,  but  in  vain. 
Mesmerism  was  now  suggested,  and  Dr.  £1- 
liotsoii  offered  to  shew  a  friend  of  mme,  who 
kindly  consented  to  sacrifice  an  hour  every 
evening  for  that  purpose.  I  tried  it  for  a 
fortnight  and  was  certainly  a  little  better; 
but  thought,  as  the  effect  produced  was  so 
slight,  and  as  1  slept  but  little  during  that 
time,  that  my  friend  did  not  perform  the 
operation  properly.  1  went  to  Dr  E.  to  en- 
quire if  he  thought  I  should  continue  it.  He 
told  me  by  all  means  go  on  with  it  at  least 
for  three  months.  1  did ;  was  operated  upon 
every  evening  by  my  father  for  half  an  hour, 
when  in  less  than  a  month  tbe  chan(^  was 
apparent  to  myself  aud  all  around  him.  I 
again  went  to  Dr.  E  to  inforiii  him  of  the 
result,  when  be  again  urged  roe  to  continve 
with  it  lest  the  complaint  should  return : 
and  from  that  time  till  the  middle  of  May  in 
this  year,  [  seldom  failed  bemg  operated 
upon  every  evening,  and  am  thankful  to  say 
am  now  quite  restored  to  my  wonted  healtk 
and  strength.  The  effect  it  produced  was 
sometimes  scarcely  visible,  occasionally  it 
prfKluced  sleep ;  but  at  all  times  it  so  rested 
me  that  for  a  time  after  1  felt  quite  refreshed, 
but  not  at  all  to  interfere  with  my  sleeping 
at  night  in  bed.  1  do  entirely  attribute  my 
cure  to  mesmerism,  and  bless  God  in  his  pro- 
vidence that  I  was  ever  persuaded  to  try  it" 

All  this  time  be  took  no  medicine :  and 
resided  at  home,  going  daily  to  business. 

The  sensible  effect  of  the  process  was  a 
heaviness  and  unwillingness  to  move :  with- 
out unconsciousness :  though  for  a  moment 
perhaps  j  ust  forgeitiug  himself.  1  bis  occur- 
red after  tbe  fiist  few  days,  increasing  for  a 
'short  time,  but  at  length  no  farther,  and  was 
never  followed  by  anything  more.  It  al- 
ways began  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour* 
and  lasted  half  an  hour  after  the  mesmerisa- 
tion  was  finished.  Tbe  great  effect  notice- 
able was  tbe  invigoretion  he  always  ex- 
perienced when  the  heaviness  had  gone  off. 
—Zoist. 


Om  of  Severe  Head-Aehe, 

Of  Seven  Yean'  standing ;  wiib  Cerebral  Sym- 
pathy. Mesmeric  Kxeitemeot  of  Cerebial 
Organs,  and  Clairroyance.  By  Mr.  Hockley. 
Commuiieated  ia  a  letter  to  Mr.  Chaadler. 

16,  Great  James  Street,  Hoxlon» 

27th  August,  1847. 

Djbas  Sni,-*Agiieeably  to   your  reqneiit 

T  beg  to  forward  you  a  short  statement,  the 

daily  notes  of  which  I  also  enclose,  of  the 

of  Elizabeth  Troth,  of  Sidemore, 


814  Clairvoymnce  in  the  ease  of  Master  Chapman. 


firomagrove,  aged  22,  who  had  from  the  age 
of  15  suffered  (though  in  other  respects  in 
robust  hedlth)  most  severely  from  attacks  ot 
bead-ache,  which  becoming  gradually 
worse  (latterly  lasting  two  oi  three  days  in 
each  week)  had  compelled  her  lo  leave  all 
her  situations.  Oii  the  15(b  Feb  ,  1846,  she 
having  sufi'ered  inuch  Irom  head-ache  on 
that  day,  1  commenced  magnetizing  her,  and 
€oiitiuued  about  an  hour  and  twenty  minuieet 
whh  scarcely  any  effect,  she  merely  going 
iaio  a  dozing  state  and  waking  upon  tht 
Slightest  questioning.  I  repeated  the  opera- 
tion on  the  16th,  17th,  and  18th,  for  about 
an  hour  each  evening ;  she  still,  however, 
only  went  into  a  doze  and  woke  whenever 
interrogated,  but  her  head -ache  bad  become 
niich  easier.  On  the  l9th,  she  having  had 
the  head-ache  ail  day,  1  commenced  at  ten 
ninutes  past  8  p.m.  to  magnetize  her :  in 
three  or  four  minutes  she  fell  into  a  doze, 
her  countenance  brightened,  she  said  she 
was  ••  easy  and  very  nicely,"  but  woke  upon 
being  further  questioned.  I  made  a  lew 
pas  es  and  she  went  again  into  a  doze ;  she 
•aid  she  felt  much  easier,  especially  the 
right  side  of  her  head  was  very  comtortable, 
and  she  appeared  very  unwilling  to  be  dis- 
turbed. At  a  quarter  past  nine  I  awoke 
ber;  her  head 'ache  had  entirely  ceased.  J 
continued  the  operation  every  evening  for 
about  an  hour  until  the  13ih  ot  March  ;  hut 
ahedtd  not  experience  irom  the  IPih  Feb. 
up  to  the  26ih  June,  when  she  left  us  to  re- 
tarn  home,  the  slightest  tendency  to  head- 
ache    Her  cure  was  complete. 

As  my  motive  in  subjecting  her  to  the 
magnetic  influence  was  to  alleviate  her  pain, 
I  had  but  little  desire  to  place  her  in  any 
danger  of  a  relapse  by  making  (to  myself) 
useless  experiments.  It  was  not  until  the 
eighth  time  of  magnetizing  her  that  she  pas- 
sed into  the  magnetic  sleep,  when  she  at 
once  became  to  a  considerable  degree  clair- 
voyant and  super^entient,  (as  you  will  per- 
ceive by  the  statement  herewith).  On  27th 
Feb.,  having  two  friends  with  me,  Mr.  W. 
6.  Dixon  and  Mr.  Walmsley,  both  of  Hands- 
worth,  and  exceedingly  sceptical,  I,  shortly 
after  placing  my  patient  in  magnetic  sleep, 
brought  Mr.  Dixon  en  rapport  with  her,  and 
to  prove  to  him  the  reciprocity  of  taste,  Mrs. 
H.  put  into  Mr.  D.'s  mouth  some  vinegar. 
The  patient  immediately  began  tasting,  and 
upon  being  que-^tioned,  said  *<  It  was  sour 
and  she  did  not  like  it;"  upon  his  taking 
some  more  she  again  said  it  was  sour,  and 
by  countenance  shewed  her  repugnance  to 
it  Mrs.  H.  then  gave  him  some  suirared 
milk  and  water.  She  said  it  vras  nice»  it 
was  sour  and  sweet ;  Mr.  Dixon  immediate- 
ly said  that  was  precisely  what  he  ielt,  hay- 


ing some  of  the  vinegar  still  in  bis  moath. 
I  took  a  pin<;h  of  snuff.  She  said  she  **  did 
not  like  it;  did  not  know  what  it  was; 
wouldn't  have  any  more  of  it "  Tried  her 
lucidity ;  asked  what  was  on  the  table, 
which  was  entirely  hidden  from  her.  Stie 
described  the  candlestick,  book,  snufiera. 
i  asked  what  else  She  said  **  Someihing 
round  ;  thought  it  was  money  :  said  it  was 
gold  "  I  lold  her  it  was  silver,  not  thinking 
I  here  was  anything  at  all  of  the  kind.  She 
said,  **  No,  it  was  not;  it  was  gold  "  It 
proved  to  my  surpnse,  to  be  Mrs.  H.*b  gok 
ring  And  upon  closely  pre»8ing  l,er  she 
became  very  irritable.  1  tried  to  excite  Re- 
nevolence,  which  1  could  do  but  slightly. 
Tried  Mirthfulhess  and  Tune,  and  pressed 
her  to  sing.  She  smiled  and  ^aid  **  No,  we 
should  laugh  at  her :"  ihen  said  she  woo  Id 
and  began,  "  Young  Colin,"  &c.  1  asked 
her  if  she  was  asleep :  she  said,  ••  Yes.*  I 
told  her  1  thought  she  was  dreaming  f  and 
her  face  assumed  a  peculiarly  mirthful  in- 
credulous smile.  I  asked  her  bow  much 
longer  she  would  sleep.  She  said.  *' Fif- 
teen minutes."  We  then  left  her  alone  and 
quiet.  Mr.  Walmesley  immediately  looked 
at  his  watch.  At  the  thirteen  minuter  she 
said,  "  I'm  coming,  I'm  coming  f*  and  'm 
two  minutes  more,  "  I'm  comings  Sir,*  aad 
began  to  get  up,  which  woke  her.  Mr.  W. 
said  she  was  precise  to  a  minute. 

Both  Mr.  Dixon  and  Mr.  Wahnesley,  ex- 
pressed themselves  convinced  of  the  saes- 
meric  influence  exhibited. 

It  is  most  curious  that,  although  she  bad 
been  so  long  and  so  severely  afflicted,  she 
expressed  but  little  surprise  at  being  relieved; 
and  when  questioned  by  any  one  about  it, 
merely  replied  that  "  it  was  a  good  job  mas- 
ter had  slept  ^t  away."   Zotst, 

I  am,  Sir,  yours  most  obediently, 

Frxd.  Hockukt. 

ThoB.  Chandler,  Esq., 
&c.,  &c.,&c. 


CLAIRVOYANCE 

TnthscsMof  Ma«t«r  Chspmsn  raeorded  brOr. 
Storar.  in  No.  XVI.  ofTbe  ZoUt ;  and  MeoMiv 
Phenomena  in  a  young  Lady.  By  Lieat  Hant 
R.  N .  Commnncated  in  a  letter  to  Dr, 


6,  Somerset  Pface,  Bath, 

Sept  2, 1847. 

Sn, — Koowing  how  justly  yoa  advocate 

mesmerism,  1  take  the  iiberly  oi  coysmani' 

eating  the  results  of  a  fsw  expeiimiilB  I 

have  made.    Before  Dr.  Stonr  kit  Balb«  ha 


By  Lieut.  Hare,  R.  N. 


215 


frequently  ioYited  me  to  see  his  patients 
under  the  influence  of  mesmerism ;  one  of 
these,  (whose  case  is  given  by  him  in  the 
January  number  for  this  year,  p.  449  ol 
«*  The  Zoisl,")  Edward  Chapman,  interest- 
ed me  much.  His  parents  confirm  Doctor 
Storer's  account  of  his  maJady  and  cure  by 
mesmerism.  After  Dr.  S.  iefi  Bath,  he  felt 
sometimes  a  little  faint,  and  by  the  wish  of 
his  father  and  mother  1  frequently  mesmeri- 
sed him.  He  weat  readily  into  the  sleep- 
waking  in  period.^  varying  from  five  minutes 
to  ten  seconds,  exhibiting  the  change  from 
his  natural  shyness  in  the  presence  of  stran- 
j;ers  to  bold  and  unreserved  loquacity,  mak- 
ing fun  of  persons  present,  and  ridiculing 
an}r  peculianty  of  appearance  or  manner  he 
noticed  in  those  about  him  :  but  upon  being 
awakened  he  seemed  unconscious  of  what 
he  had  done  or  said.  A  proof  of  this  occur- 
red on  one  occasion  when  I  gave  him  a  six- 
}>ence,  which  he  placed  in  hi^  pocket.  Upon 
awaking  his  sisters  asked  him  to  buy  some 
trifle  for  them  in  the  town,  slipping  two 
foarpenny-pieces  into  his  pocket  He  pur- 
chased the  article,  and  gave  the  change,  and 
also  the  sixpence  I  had  given  him,  seeming 
quite  unaware  of  having  bad  any  money 
{pven  to  him.  £ut  the  next  time  he  was 
m  the  mesmeric  sleep  he  related  to  me  the 
trick  his  sisters  had  played  him,  asking  at 
the  same  time  that  the  sixpence  should  be 
returned  to  him. 

I  could  readily  make  his  arms  rigid  by 
will,  or  by  passes  made  at  distances  varying 
from  one  to  forty  feet,  and  could  produce 
the  same  effect  from  a  room  above  or  below 
the  one  in  which  he  might  be.  Upon  these 
(Occasions  the  arm  suddenly  appeared  elon- 
^ted  with  a  sUrt  as  if  electrified.  Upon 
placing  round  rulers  in  each  of  his  hands, 
and  making  the  latter  clasp  them  firmly,  ( 
could  relax  either  by  gazing  intently  at  it  for 
a  short  time.  I  varied  these  experiments  in 
the  presence  of  friends  who,  though  at  first 
sceptical,  confessed  the  power  of  mesmer- 
ism. 

On  the  8th  of  last  June,  Chapman,  whilst 
in  the  slei^p,  predicted  that  on  the  following 
Friday  he  should  soon  after  8  a.  m  be  very 
ill,  have  an  attack,  be  unconscious,  and  that 
during  the  time  it  lasted  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  hold  him  and  keep  things  out  of  his 
reach  or  be  might  do  mischief,  and  that  he 
should  have  a  second  and  third  attack  ;  but 
he  bagged  his  mother  not  to  be  alarmed,  as 
be  should  recover  and  be  in  better  health 
than  before.  1  called  on  Mrs.  Chapman  on 
the  Friday,  and  learned  from  her  that  her 
son  bad  been  attacked  precisely  in  the  man- 
ner be  described,  first  soon  after  8  a.  m.,  and 


a  second  time  during  the  morning  ;  that  he 
was  delirious,  and  attempted  to  get  hold  of 
things  near  him  These  left  him  very  weak, 
and  he  wished  me  to  mesmerise  him  the  next 
day,  which  1  did.  In  the  sleep  there  was  a 
convulsive  movement  of  the  limbs,  which 
be  extended;  the  attack  was  very  slight 
His  mother  suggested  his  being  awakened ; 
but,  upon  my  commencing  reverse  passes, 
he  pushed  me  back,  and  in  a  low  voice  ask* 
ed  me  to  "  send  him  deeper,"  which  I  did. 
He  told  us  this  was  the  third  and  last  attack, 
consuliiig  his  mother  by  telling  her  be  should 
be  better  than  ever.  It  is  only  fair  to  men- 
tion that  his  two  sisters  were  staying  with 
his  mother,  and  that  they  left  on  the  Friday 
morning  early,  which  may  have  made  him 
expect  to  be  excited  and  distressed  at  their 
leaving ;  but  this  does  not  account  for  the 
accuracy  (as  to  time  and  number  of  the  at- 
tacks) with  which  he  predicted  what  would 
happen  to  him,  that  be  would  be  delirious, 
inclined  to  do  mischief,  &c.  After  this  he 
became  better ;  and  when  f  left  Bath  did  not 
complain  of  anything  but  being  a  little  faint 
in  hot  weather. 

A  young  lady  whom  1  frequently  mesmer- 
ised for  debility,  nervonsness,  and  pain  in 
the  side,  occasionally  came  with  Mrs.  Chap- 
man and  her  son.  She  was  far  more  sensi- 
tive ;  a  look  at  her  hand  was  at  any  dme 
enough  to  make  it  rigid,  and  a  few  seconds' 
gaze  would  relax  it.  T  could  produce  the 
s«ime  effect  from  another  room  by  will  or 
passes  I  could  also  deprive  her  for  a  tinie 
of  the  power  of  speech ;  sometimes  whilst 
speaking  to  another  person.  She  never 
«poke  unless  I  touched  her,  or  I  addressed  my 
voice  to  he/hanih  when  a  whisper  was  suf- 
ficient to  make  her  hear  »nd  respond  ;  but 
no  other  person  could  make  her  speak  This 
young  lady  was  thrown  into  the  sleep  with 
a  few  paHses,  but  it  was  always  difl^cult  to 
waken  her.  One  thing  I  have  noticed  in 
many  cases,  viz.,  that  there  is  a  sympathy 
existing  between  the  corresponding  nerves 
of  the  mesmeriher  and  patient  Thus  this 
young  lady  whom  I  could  not  awaken  for 
many  minutes  by  either  transverse  or  reverse 
passes  or  by  fanning,  would  upon  my  shut- 
ting my  eyes  opposite  to  her  and  opening 
them  once  or  twice,  op^n  ber*s  and  awake. 

If  any  of  the  above  experiments  are  worth 
iiisertion  in  The  Zoist  they  are  at  your  ser- 
vice. 1  was  requested  by  a  scientific  friend 
to  communicate  them,  for  he  observed  that, 
coming  from  a  gentleman  who  has  no  inter- 
est to  serve,  who  is  an  amateur  only,  and 
who  can  have  no  object  in  practisint;  decep- 
tion, the  communication  of  facts  he  has  wit- 
nessed would  not  excite  suspicion,    I  am 


216 


Clairvoyaiice, 


aware  there  is  nothing  new  in  what  I  relate, 
at  least  to  a  mesmerist. — Zoist. 

TruMing  you  will  pardon  the  liberty  I 
take  in  writing  to  you, 

I  auj,  Sir,  yours  very  faithfully, 

Richard  Hare.  Lieut.  R.  N. 
To  Dr.  Elliotson. 


For  the  DiMector. 
CLAIRVOYANCE. 

Mr.  Borrom : 

In  my  last  communication,  I  gave  some 
account  of  the  curative  influence  of  Animal 
Magnetism  in  the  case  of  William  Henry 
Child ;  and  made  some  allusion  to  his  powers 
of  Clairvoyance,  with  the  pledge  of  a  future 
communication  on  that  subject  I  had  heard 
that  he  had  exhibited  remarkable  poweis  of 
somniscient  vision,  but  had  never  seen  him 
in  that  state  till  I  ma^^netized  him  at  the  resi 
dence  of  his  father  in  Beii^n,  Genesee  coun 
ty,  N.  Y.,  on  the  6th  of  April,  1843.  He 
Mcame  highly  clairvoyant,  and  at  my  re 
quest,  be  visited  a  Mrs.  Griffing,  a  very  re 
spectable  lady,  residing  in  Bergen,  an  ad- 
jacent town,  six  miles  distant.  He  soon 
found  her  house ;  said  there  was  a  lady  there, 
but  that  it  was  not  Mrs  G.  Reco  lecting 
that  when  I  called  at  her  resiMence  about  two 
hours  before,  Mr.  G.  and  lady  were  at  a  t^ 
vern  >n  the  village,  waiting?  on  a  painter  who 
was  taking  the  portrait  of  a  little  daut^hter. 
I  sent  him  to  the  inn,  where  he  immediately 
found  Mrs.  G  ;  but  soon  9aid  she  had  step- 
ped out.  it  was  about  noon,  and  supposing 
they  had  gone  home  to  dine,  I  directed  him 
back  to  her  residence,  where  he  found  her. 
I  had  seen  but  few  cases  of  Clairvoyance, 
and  bad  been  slow  to  believe,  and  there- 
fore was  very  ri)cid  in  my  investigations 
He  told  correctly  hei  size,  and  said  that  the 
color  of  her  hair  was  auburn.  I  doubted  his 
correctness,  for,  notwithstanding  much  inti 
mate  acquaintance,  I  had  always  supposed  it 
to  be  blacic.  F  asked  is  it  light  auburn  or 
dark?  He  said  dark.  The  following  con- 
▼ei'sation  ensued  : — **  Will  you  look  at  hei 
throat?"  "It  is  swollen."  "Will  you 
look  at  the  inside  ?"  With  a  heavy  sigh  he 
said,  **  It  looks  very  red."  "  Will  you  exa- 
mine her  lungs  ?'*  **  They  appear  to  be  heal- 
th)r.'»  "Her  liver  .>"  "  I  don't  see  but  that 
it  IS  in  a  healthy  condition."  "  Her  heart  ?" 
"  It  is  diseased.  She  has  palpitation." 
••  Will  you  examine  her  spine  very  thorough- 
ly* through  the  whole  length,  beginning  at 


the  head  ?"  "  It  is  diseased  about  fife  inek- 
es  below  the  neck."  "  Is  that  disease  in  her 
spine  ihe  occasion  of  the  disease  of  ttie 
hi  an?"  "  It  IS.  Some  ol  the  nerves  lad 
fioni  that  place  to  ihe  heart,  others  to  tbe 
head.  Ttiat  disease  lu  her  spine  was  oca- 
sioued  by  a  lall  when  she  was  a  small  gid' 
As  a  novice  on  ttie  subject  ol  Clairvoyance, 
my  alteniion  was  again  iiriested,  as  1  bid 
been  inlurmed  that  the  Clairvoydut  could  see 
only  what  the  magnetizer  &aw  oi  kuew. 

Heie  were  twopnints  that  turuished  fair 
tests  in   regard  lo  his  powtrs,  a>  an  met- 
pendent  Clanvoyant.     1.  He  said  itiai  Mri 
G's.  hair  was  auburn,  while  1  fuily  bdiereii 
it  was  black,  having  resided  with  my  faouif 
in  a  part  of  Mr  G\-«.  house  for  six  inouilis, 
on  teims  ol  intimate  acquaintance,  and  bar* 
ing  seen  her  almost  every  day,  during  titt 
time.    2.  He  said  tbe  disease  was  occasios- 
ed  by  a  fall  when  she  was  a  smaii  cii.ld, 
while  1  had  neither  known  or  imagioea  ibe 
cause  of  that  disease,  or  the  time  of  its  cod- 
mencement.     He  went  back  at  least  tweutj- 
live  years. 

1  knew  that  he  was  correct  in  regard  folbe 
disease  of  her  heart  and  ihioaL  Aooui  tbree 
yeais  belore,  bbe  had  taken  white  lead  lor 
soda,  which  very  seriously  a&ckd  bcr 
whole  sy&tem,  especially  her  throat 

A  few  weeks  alter  this  ioieiviev  witk 
Henry,!  visited  at  Mr.  G*s.,  and  to  ascertiii 
whether  he  was  coriect,  J  said  to  Mis.  6. 
*♦  What  color  do  you  call  your  bair.'"  ^ 
replied,  "  Many  have  called  itl>iaet,to/ 
never  did.  1  call  it  auburn"  A'"'?  ^ 
what  was  said  of  her  being  inju«di>^ 
spine  by  a  tall,  when  quite  y«>u»gi»l^''' 
plied  that  she  had  no  recollection  ol  cn^ta 
fall ;  but  alter  awhile,  she  said,  1  do  rcn- 
leci  it.  1  was  quite  a  small  girl— wis  ]*!* 
ing  on  the  fence,  and  lell  aiid8tnick«y 
back  against  a  rail,  h  knocked  the  bitil| 
out  of  ine,  and  it  was  a  long  time  befonj 
could  breathe  again.  They  lookmeupw 
carried  me  into  the  house,  aud  my  back  «• 
sore  a  great  while.  . 

After  Henry  came  to  live  with  ine,i»J 
staieil  in  my  former  communication,  1  »**■ 
him  while  in  the  normal  state,  if  he  e^ 
knew  Mrs  Griffing,  of  Berge/i.  He  ie|J» 
in  the  iiegati ve,  Soon atier,  when cla/rroy- 
ant,  he  was  asked  if  he  recollected  rwuj 
Mrs  G.,  and  promptly  replied  that  he  da 
"  What  did  you  say  was  the  matter  with  w 
spine  ?"  "  She  hurt  it  by  a  fall "  "^ 
was  she  doing  ?"  "  Playing  on  the  «*» 
«  Did  she  gel  up  and  »ro  into  the  hou«. 
•"  She  could  not.  They  took  hff  «P«; 
carried  her  in."  "  How  oW  was  «•• 
"  About  six  years."  •*  How  !««/••  ^ 
back  aoie  ?*    "  Aboat  ten  moBm- 


Clairvoyance. 


217 


I  asked  him  subsequently,  while  in  the 
normal  state,  if  he  ever  heard  of  Mrs.  G.  of 
Bergen.  He  said,  you  asked  me  the  other 
day,  if  1  ever  saw  her.  I  never  heard  of 
her  before. 

In  both  these  conversations,  his  vision 
was  like  an  electric  shock,  and  his  answers 
followed  my  questions  without  any  hesi- 
tation. His  first  remark  about  her  fall  was 
entirely  spontaneous,  not  having  been  eHcited 
by  any  inaUiry  on  my  part  either  real  or 
mental.     • 

August  18, 1843.  While  in  my  study  in 
Covington,  Genesee  county,  N.  Y.,  between 
thirty  and  iforty  miles  south  of  Lake  Ontario, 
I  put  him  into  the  magnetic  state,  and  told 
him  to  examine  the  geological  strata  in  a 
vertical  section,  directly  under  my  residence. 
He  commenced  with  the  superincumbent 
earthly  formations,  and  passed  through  the 
aluminous  and  limestone  shales,  sand  stones 
and  clays,  giving  an  account  of  each  strata, 
its  thickness,  species  of  rock,  or  earth,  with 
its  color,  petritications  or  boulders,  and  this 
with  such  correctness  as  enabled  me  to  fol 
low  him,  and  understand  where  he  was,  and 
what  formations  he  was  describing ;  and  dis 
playing  a  knowledge  of  them,  of  which  he 
could  have  no  conception  in  the  normal  state. 
Eor  though  his  mind  was  naturally  bright, 
yet  owing  to  his  fits,  he  was  very  backward 
in  even  common  school  education. 

When  he  had  passed  far  down  into  the 
'  earth  and  had  reached  the  formations  of 
aluminous  red  sand  stone,  which  border 
Lake  Ontario,  I  told  him  to  go  directly  north 
in  a  horizontal  pathway  to  the  •  Lake.  In 
this  subterranean  journey,  he  passed  through 
several  new  formations  which  he  had  not 
before  reached,  as  the  strata,  though  nearly 
horizontal,  have  a  gentle  dip  in  a  southerJy 
direction.  Each  of  these  he  described  a?  he 
passed  on ;  finally  he  entered  a  bed  of  gra 
vcl,  containing  pebbles  and  boulders,  and 
when  he  emerged  from  this,  he  found  him- 
self in  the  water,  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  shore,  being  as  he  said  62  feet 
from  the  surface  and  50  from  the  bottom. 
Here  he  was  much  frightened  by  something 
which  he  thought  could  not  be  a  fish.  He 
43eBcribed  the  size  of  the  eyes,  the  position 
of  the  mouth,  the  teeth— the  position  of  the 
pectoral  and  candal  fins  and  its  peculiar 
motion,  giving  very  accurately  the  distinc- 
tive characteristics  of  the  lake  sturgeon,  as  1 
found  afterwards  by  having  him  examined, 
while  somniscient,  by  a  gentleman,  a  dis- 
believer in  Clairvoyance,  who  was  very 
rgid  in  his  investigations,  which  he  pursued 
without  asking  any  leading  questions.  He 
affirmed  while  in  the  nomuJ  state,  that  he 


presenting  one.  1  supposed  that  he  was 
describing  the  sturgeon,  but  was  not  then 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  that  fish,  to  de- 
cide accurately,  much  less  to  have  furnished 
him  the  description  by  his  looking  upon  my 
mind.  He  described  it  as  beinjj  about  nine 
feet  and  a  half  long,  and  weighing  500  lbs. 

He  described  two  different  strata  of  sul- 
phate of  lime,  01  plaster,  as  they  occtir, 
mentioning  the  drab-colored  limestone  super- 
incumbent on  the  one  which  is  worked,  for 
the  purposes  of  fertilization.  He  also  met 
with  two  springs  or  streams  of  water,  the 
one  pure  and  tne  other  sulphurous  Many 
things  were  described  by  him,  which  of 
course  I  could  not  test,  as  they  were  not 
withiu  the  reach  of  my  vision.  But  he  so 
described  the  characteristic  organic  remains 
of  the  different  strata,  that  1  could  easily 
trace  him  in  his  hidden  pathway  through  the 
various  formation  of  different  geological 
epochs,  attested  by  their  distinctive  paleon- 
tological  records.  T  might  state  many  other 
tests  by  which  I  proved  the  correctness  of 
his  somniscient  vision.  But  these  would 
render  too  tedious  my  already  lengthy  com- 
munication. I  will  therefore  close  with  a 
few  observations. 

1 .  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that 
clairvoyants  can  see  no  more  than  their 
magnetizers  see  or  know. 

In  this  state,  Henry  isaw  many  things  that 
I  did  not  know.  He  was,  in  this  sense,  in- 
dependent. I  have  produced  a  good  degree 
of  Clairvoyance  in  inconsiderable  number  of 
persons,  and  all  of  them  saw  things  beyond 
my  knowledge.  Those  who  can  see  no  more 
than  their  magnatizers,  cannot  be  depended 
upon,  they  are  very  imperfect. 

2.  A  good  clairvoyant  may  be  of  great 
practical  service  in  many  respecta  He 
might  discover  the  seat  and  cause  of  occult 
diseases,  and  the  appropriate  remedies  indi- 
cated—decide whether,  in  given  localities,  it 
would  be  profitable  to  dig  for  water,  coal, 
plaster,  or  other  mineral  substances — direct 
to  the  recovery  of  lost  articles,  and  stolen 
goods  diat  have  been  secreted — describe  the 
personal  appearance  and  dress,  and  changes 
of  dress  in  the  case  of  thieves,  rolU^ers  and 
murderers,  and  the  course  to  be  pursued  for 
their  detection — and  pursue  manv  other  im- 
portant investigations,  some  of  which  would 
be  of  highly  important  service  in  the  sciences 

3.  Animal  magnetism  deserves  a  patient 
and  thorough  investigation.  After  some  de- 
gree of  such  investigation,  I  am  fully  con- 
vinced of  its  reality,  together  with  its  won-  ' 
derful  phenomena  of  Clairvoyance.  I  have 
never  known  or  heard  of  a  single  individual 
who  has  examined  the  subject  phiMsophi- 


had  never  seen  a  stui^geon,  or  eren  a  cat  r«-|  cally,  by  well  conducted  experiments,  who 


918 


Cure  of  Varioua  Diseases^ 


has  not  been  fally  conyinced  of  its  verity 
and  importance.  It  is  un philosophical  to 
decide  ajgainst  the  truth  and  profitableness  oi 
any  subject,  without  due  investigation.  If 
true,  animal  magnetism  is  vastly  important; 
and  the  wise  and  good  should  well  under- 
stand it  and  employ  it  for  good,  and  not  con- 
demn and  leave  it  to  be  employed  in  the 
mischievous  devices  of  the  wicked. 

4  If  our  men  of  professional  leamihr 
would  examine  this  subject  thoroughly,  I 
have  no  doubt  that  it  would  very  soon  be  re- 
duced to  a  regular  and  beautiful  science. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  as  capable  of 
such  reduction  as  any  of  the  sciences.  The 
learned,  with  very  few  exceptions,  have 
treated  it  as  unworthy  of  their  attention. 
They  have  prejudged  and  condemned  it  with- 
out due  investigation.  And  with  all  due 
deference  to  their  superior  wisdom,  it  is 
suggested  to  them,  whether,  if  they  should 
treat  the  sciences  of  Botany,  Conchology, 
Mineralogy,  Electricity  Mineral  Magnetism, 
and  Galvanism,  as  they  do  Animal  Magne- 
tism, they  would  not  completely  destroy 
their  reputation  ?  Have  not  the  learned,  al 
most  by  universal  practice  frowned  this  sub 
ject  down  ?  Have  they  conducted  a  series 
of  experimenis  on  this  subject,  by  their  per- 
ffonal  investigation — collecting,  arranging, 
and  analyzing  facts,  as  they  do  on  the  sci- 
ences generally .'    If  not,  why  not  ? 

5.  Animal  Magnetism  must  soon  rank 
among  the  sciences.  It  is  destined  no  long- 
er to  be  monopolized  by  the  priest  and  the 
junler  for  oracular  predictions  and  fortune- 
telling.  It  can  no  longer  be  frowned  down. 
This  18  a  thinking  ace.  On  this  subject  men 
will  think,  and  speiUL,  and  write.  Some  pow- 
erful minds  have  taken  hold  of  it;  and  their 
investigations,  when  published,  will  tell  with 
power  upon  the  public  mind ;  and  the  learn- 
ed will  be  compelled  to  investigate,  or  re- 
ceive in  their  turn  the  full  measure  of  scorn 
which  they  have  meted  out  to  others. 

6.  When  it  becomes  a  science  it  will  be 
vastly  important  in  a  moral  point  of  view.  It 
will  be  a  most  powerful  restraint  of  vice 
and  crime.  Men  will  understand  that  they 
can  be^etected,  can  be  known ;  and  cannot 
sustain  a  fair  character,  by  concealing  their 
crimes  under  the  veil  of  secrecy.  It  will  be 
a  powerful  stimulant  to  virtue. 

Samuel  Gribwold. 

Lynie,Oet  6, 1847. 


White  8w«lllBc  of 

Hip  Joint  and  Thigh,  and  Corratore  oftha  Spina. 
also  Tnbercalated  Longv,  cured  by  the  Magnetic 
Practice. 

Alhany,  Nov.Sth,  1847. 

Dr.  John  Fondey. — Dear  Sir. — Our  litti* 
girl  had  scarlet  fever  more  than  three  years 
ago — took  cold — complained   of   her  leg — 
during  the  fall  and  winter  she  wfts  in  great 
pain  night  and  day.    The  knee  swelled  and 
was  drawn  out  of  shape — she  lost  the  qgc 
of  that  leg ;  the  other  knee  then  swelled — 
the  use  of  that  leg  was  also  lost.     She  had  a 
large  swelling  below  the  hip  joint,  aloDf 
the  whole  thigh— there  was  much  pain  in 
the  hip  joint  Her  back  bone  got  very  crook- 
ed— she  could  not  lie  in  bed — we  made  a 
chair  with  wings  and  front  piece — in  ihis  slit 
sat  and  slept  night  and  day  for  two  years — 
she  was  quite  tnin  and  feeble — had  a  very 
grievous  cou^h — her  lungs  seemed   to  be 
much  affected.     She  was  visited  by  maay, 
who  wondered  how  she  could    live  under 
such  racking  pains,  and  thought  it  would  be 
a  miracle  if  she  ever  got  well.     Tongue  can- 
not express  what  she  suffered  for  two  ycaia. 
VVe  used  the  prescriptions  of  the  niost  emi- 
nent physicians,  and  every  thine  we  heard 
of  we  tried,  without  benefit.     We  gave  up 
all  hope  of  ever  seeing  her  well,  or  walk. 
Last  Februarv  you  called   at  my  shop  on 
business;  I  related  the  case  of  my  daiiHiter; 
you  said  that  such  cases  had  been  corra  umh 
der  yonr  plan.    I  could  not  believe  that 
swelled  and  crooked  joints,  and  a  crooked 
back  bone,  and  a  swelled  thigh  like  beia 
could  be  cured,  but  asked  you  to  call  and  see 
her ;  you  did,  and  said  you  believed  she  eould 
be  cured.    I  told  you  yon  might  tiy.  To  o« 
astonishment  she  soon  began  to  imptove — 
your  plaster  drew  the  large  swelling  in  hcf 
thigh  to  one  spot,  and  made  it  break ;  it  dia- 
cbaiged  at  one  time  a  quart  or  mart;  ahe 
cried  when  she  saw  her  hmb  getting  so  dun. 
and  thought  her  thigh  was  all  running  away; 
it  ran  for  three  months.    The  machine  and 
medicine  worked  wonders.    The  knee  joint 
which  was  swelled  and  out  of  ahape.  is  now 
straight,  the  crook  in  her  back  bone  is  gone^ 
it  is  as  straight  as  ever  She  can  walk  aeitMS 
the  floor  without  her  crutches,  and  with  one 
crutch  she  is  as  nimble  as  a  deer.  Her  cough 
is  ^ne — lungs  are  sound — she  has  grown 
quite  fat  aiid  hearty.    Every  one  who  Ins 
seen  her  since  she  got  better,   that  knew 
how  bad  and  hopeless  her  case  was»  thinte 
it  almost  a  miracle  that  she  has  been  le- 
nioied.    We  would  xeoommend  the  afflidMi 
topunne  te  eooraewe  hava  adoptad— if 


By  the  Magnetic  Practice. 


219 


anjTthing  will  heal  disease  we  belieye  that 
will. 

Yours,  respectfully, 
JOHN  FRIDAY,  93  Swan  street, 
Arbor  Hill. 

The  Magnetic  treatment  is  the  most  suc- 
cessful one  in  diseases  of  a  tuberculous  or 
scrofulous  nature ;  consumption  in  its  earli- 
er stages  is  invariHbly  cured  and  often  in  its 
last ;  diseases  of  the  kidneys,  liver,  stomach, 
womb,  heart,  and  the  different  organs,  white 
swellings,  rheumatism,  bronchitis,  dyspeu- 
sla,  opacities  of  the  cornea  (films  over  the 
eyes,)  every  disease  in  fine  of  a  scrofulus 
nature  is  relieved  by  this  treatment.  Dr.  Sher- 
wood, of  Ne^  York,  the  celebrated  inventor 
of  this  treatment,  an  old  and  highly  success- 
ful physician,  has  appointed  the  subscriber 
sole  agent  for  the  sale  of  his  improved  mag- 
netic machines  in  this  city.  He  has  also  been 
fully  authorized  by  bim  to  carry  out  in  prac- 
tice the  principles  of  the  magnetic  treatment. 
He  can  be  consulted  at  his  medical  rooms, 
41  Columbia  street,  Albany. 

JOHN  FONDEY,  M.  D. 


CSlue  of  Rapid  Coiununption  Cored  by  the  Hagnet- 
ic  Practice. 

Albany,  January  28, 1847. 

Dr.  John  Fondet — Dear  Sir :   For  two 

fears  previous  to  my  coming  under  your  care 
had  suffered  constantly  from  pain  in  my 
breast,  with  occasionally  a  hacking  cough ; 
had  for  a  year  more,  almost  constantly,  night 
sweats,  which  weakened  me  much — appe- 
tite poor,  digestion  bad, — had  been  under  the 
care  of  several  physicians  for  about  a  year, 
but  received  no  benefit  from  their  remedies. 
About  October,  1845, 1  caught  a  severe  cold 
which  settled  on  my  lungs ;  from  this  time 
my  health  failed  rapidly,  my  cough  was  in 
cessant — raised  much  tuberculous  matter, 
nighl  sweats  much  worse,  bled  at  the  lungs, 
and  became  so  weak  thSt  I  could  hardly  walk 
across  the  room ;  I  appeared  to  be  in  a  rapid 
consumption,  and  felt  that  my  life  would 
soon  terminate  unless  speedily  relieved. — 
You  visited  me  about  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber; under  the  use  of  your  machine  and 
medicines  1  experienced  speedy  relief  and 
improved  daily,  so  that  in  the  space  of  five 
weeks  I  was  able  to  go  out  and  attend  to 
business — have  been  improving  ever  since — 
lungs  are  now  sound !  I  believe  I  should 
have  been  in  my  grave  long  ago  had  it  not 
been  for  your  peculiar  practice. 

ELBRIDGE  EVERETT, 
696  Broadway,  Albany. 


Case  of  Bronchitis.  Disease  of  the  Heart,  Throat, 
Liver.  LimffB,  and  Kidneys,  cured  by  the  Mag- 
netic Practice. 

Albany,  Febrwiry  1, 1847. 
Da.  J.  FoMDKT— Dear  Sir :  About  five 
years  since  I  found  myself  afflicted  with  a 
disease  hitherto  unknown  to  me,  whicb  grew 
worse  until  August,  1843,  when  1  caught  a 
severe  cold,  accompanied  with  cough,  for 
which  1  used  several  highly  recommended 
medicines  without  the  slightest  effect.  My 
cough  grew  worse,  and  in  the  spring  of  M4, 1 
had  an  attack  of  quinzy,  followed  by  an  oc- 
casional raising  of  blood.  During  the  win- 
ter of  *45  I  suffered  much  from  a  violent 
choking  or  crawling  |)ain  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  throat ;  pain  in  my  chest  and  right 
shoulder;  hacking  cough;  severe  palpita- 
tions of  the  heart  ( which  was  enormously 
enlarged)  accompanied  with  cold  sweats 
which  weakened  me  much ;  my  throat  was 
so  much  affected  by  the  swelling  as  to  create 
a  difficulty  in  breathing  and  eating ;  1  was 
subject  also  to  occasional  attacks  of  hoarse- 
ness ;  my  kidneys,  too,  were  much  diseased, 
so  that  1  had  been  kept  awake  every  night 
for  weeks  by  pain  in  them.  After  trying 
several  physicians,  who  effected  no  cure,  and 
feeling  myself  to  be  already  far  advanced  in 
a  consumption,  I  put  my^If  under  the  care 
of  Dr.  Fondey,  in  September,  *45,  who  ap- 
plied the  £lectro- Magnetic  Machine  and  ad- 
ministered electro-magnetic  medicines.  I 
was  laughed  at  for  my  folly  in  going  through 
this  treatment,  and  was  told  it  would  end  my 
days;  for  the  first  three  weeks  I  found  no 
relief,  but  soon  the  scale  turned  ;  my  strength 
and  weight  increased,  and  in  April,  *46  I 
found  that  the  palpitations  of  the  heart, 
cough,  pain  in  the  side  and  chest  had  entire- 
lyeone;  also  the  distress  in  my  kidneys 
had  departed,  and  that  in  my  throat  was  fast 
subsiding  at  the  lime.  I  am  troubled  with 
none  of  my  old  complaints  except  an  occa- 
sional soreness  of  the  throat  from  changes 
in  the  weather ;  and  this  I  attribute  altogeth- 
er to  the  salivations  I  have  experienced  be- 
fore I  came  under  Dr.  F.'s  care ;  my  consti- 
tution is  daily  improving ;  any  one  desirous 
of  conversing  with  me  about  my  case  can 
call  on  me  at  my  hat,  cap,  &c.,  store. 
J.  C.TUCKER,  No.  635  Broadway. 


Case  of  severs  Tmbercnlar  Disease  of  all  the  Or- 
fans  cared  by  the  Magnetic  Practice. 

ALany,  February  9t/i,  1847. 
DxAR  Sir — I  know  not  how  to  express 
sufficiently  my  gratitude  to  you  for  the  health 
which,aftar  years  of  niffi»iDg,l  now, through 


Cure  of  various  Diseases^ 


the  mercy  of  God,  enjoy.    At  the  age  of  13 
I  enjoyed  comparatively  good  health,  al- 
though from  childhood  sickly ;   however,  I 
caught  cold  and  was  visited  with  fits  which 
came  on  monthly ;  various  skilful  physicians 
were  employed,  but  were  of  no  avail,    i  got 
worse  ;  delirium  set  in,  and  for  nearly  a  year 
I  was  a  lunatic ;  at  length  reason  returned ; 
at  the  age  of  21  I  was  married ;   after  the 
birth  of  a  child  I  suffered  severely  from  a 
womb  complaint,  which  for  eight  years  pre- 
vious had  harrassed  me :  but  now  keen  bear- 
ing down  pains  afflicted  me  so  that  for  weeks 
at  a  time  I  could  scarcely  walk ;    T  was 
troubled  too  with  palpitations  of  the  heart, 
pains  throughout  my  body,  my  bowels,  sto- 
mach, kidneys,  lungs,   liver,   throat,    and 
brain,  were  much  affected.     For  these  com- 
plaints I  was  attended  by  many  skilful  phy- 
sicians in  Albany  and  elsewhere,  having 
been  under  the  care  of  20  or  more  of  them. 
My  case,  however,  seemed  a  hopeless  one, 
and  1  looked  forward  to  a  speedy  termination 
of  my  sufferings  by  death. 

In  August,  1844,  I  applied  to  you,  with 
little  faith  in  your  ability  to  relieve  me; 
but  thanks  be  to  God,  under  your  treatment 
I  was  speedily  raised  from  my  sick  l)ed  and 
daily  mended.  From  the  hour  1  liist  em- 
ployed you,  I  have  improved,  and  my  health 
for  the  last  few  rhonths  has  been  much  bet- 
ter than  it  ever  was  in  my  life ;  much  better 
even  than  when  a  child.  I  cannot  put  in  a 
public  paper  all  the  symptoms  of  ray  dis- 
eases. If  any  female  desires  a  more  par- 
ticular history  of  my  case  I  will  cheerfully 
impart  it.  Yours, 

Mrs.  S.  A.  M.,  N.  Pearl  st. 


from  infancy ;  in  Feb.,  1845,  was  taken 
with  the  hooping  cough  ;  her  lungs  became 
seriously  affected;  our  family  physician  said 
she  could  not  live,  and  that  it  was  useless 
to  give  her  medicine,  as  it  would  weaken 
her,  and  left.  In  October,  1845,  you  took 
her  in  hands,  applied  the  machine  twice  a 
week  for  two  months,  and  adminiBlered 
medicine;  she  has  been  restored  to  healih, 
a  thing  which  she  never  had  before. 

ANN  M.  CLEMSHIRE, 
107  Second  sUeet. 


This  sketch  gives  but  an  imperfect  view 
of  the  case.  The  tuberculous  disorder  in- 
volved every  organ  in  the  system,  and  was 
fast  wearing  away  life.  The  success  at- 
tending the  treatment  of  that  case  affords  tri- 
nmphant  proofs  of  the  superiority  of  Elec- 
tro-Magnetic practice  in  diseases  of  tubercu- 
cnlar  or  scrofulous  nature.  There  is  a  mul- 
titude of  chronic  diseases,  especially  those 
arising  from  womb  complaints  in  females, 
which  would  be  speedily  cut  short  were  the 
Electro-Magnetic  Medicines  and  Machines 
used  in  their  treatment.  Females  thus  af- 
flicted are  invited  to  call  on  the  subscriber, 
who  can  give  them  something  more  than  a 
hope  of  relief.  ^ 

^  JOHN  FONDKY,  M.  D. 


Cane  of  Tubercular  Disease  ol  the  Heart,  Liver, 
LungB,  Stomach,  and  Kidney*,  of  more  thM 
twenty  years  standing,  cured  by  Uie  Ma^tx 
Practice. 

Dr.  John  Fondey,— Over  20  years  since 
I  became  afflicted  with  palpitations  of  the 
heart  and  fainting;  spells ;  il  I  ran  or  did  any- 
thing in  a  hurry  I  would  faint  away;  conlil 
not  work  more  than  an  hour  at  a  lime  with- 
out fainting ;  have  been  troubled  all  lhi« tin* 
with  pain  m  my  stomach  and  side ;  indi«»- 
lion ;  disease  of  lungs  and  kidneys ;  nophf 
sician  has  ever  given  me  any  relief.  "^ 
winter,  on  the  1st  February  I  was  attacW 
with  billions  fever  and  inflammation;  ex- 
pected to  die ;  1  sent  for  you ;  you  broke  up 
the  fever  in  24  hours,  and  in  a  week  I  was 
out ;  you  then  commenced  treating  pe  w 
the  thorough  cure  of  my  old  coinplaiD*'»J 
improved  astonish  in  g:ly  under  the  Dses  or 
youi  Machine  and  Medicines;  I  ha«  no 
more  faint  spells',  no  palpitations;  can  was 
hard  a  day's  work  as  any  one ;  ieri  well, 
and  am  certain  1  shall  get  entirely ndo* 
every  vestige  of  my  former  complaints  oww 
your  treatment. 

Capt.  J.  Wm.  BABCOCK. 
49  Colonic  stre^- 
Albany,  April  6tli,  1847. 


CONSUMPTION  CURED  BY  TKUb:  MAG 
NETIC  MACHINE. 

Albaut,  March  10, 1847. 
Dr.  John  Fondbt:— My  little  girl,  now 
in  her  sixth  year,  was  troubled  with  a  cough 


Case  of  severe  Neuralgia  and  Sick  Headache  w* 
case  of  DUease  of  Heart  and  Lunfi  curw  «iy«» 
Magnetic  Practice. 

AlbjlNF,  February  22, 1847. 
Da.  John  Fondet  :  For  five  mo^^^ 
vious  to  your  attending  me  I  was  aflectefl 
with  neuralgia;  the  pain  commencing w«! 
left  hip  and  darting  down  through  the  mip 
and  leg  to  the  foot ;  the  pain  was  iDca»» 
like  scalding  water.  I  could  not  wotk  » 
hour  all  day,  and  no  day  more  th«'!»f^'^-J 
at  a  time;  the  pain  troubled  me  im  "J 
day;  nothing  relieved  me,  »W^ 
of  the  machine  a  week  or  eo  eniblcd  me  to 


Mesmerism. 


221 


lest  well  at  night  and  I  couid  work  for  a 
longer  time  during  the  day.  You  applied  it 
for  about  five  weeks ;  I  was  affected  too 
with  frequent  attacks  of  sick  headache,  and 
had  not  been  well  for  seven  yeare ;  your 
medicines  have  cured  me  of  this  also ;  my 
headache  and  neuralgia  are  gone,  and  my 
heahh  is  better  than  ii  hiss  been  for  seven 
years.  My  little  boy  had  always  from  birth 
been  sickly ;  was  troubled  with  palpitations 
of  the  heart  and  cough.  For  a  long  time 
he  had  been  failing ;  we  thought  he  was  in 
consumption.  Under  the  urc  of  your  mag- 
netic medicines  lie  was  cured  and  is  now  a 
healthy  child, 

JACOB  SCOTT,  Shoemaker, 

164  S.  Pearl  street. 


Dr.  J.  FoMDEY — Dear  Sir :  I  have  suffer- 
ed for  some  time  past  from  severe  palpitation 
of  the  heart  with  great  distress  in  that  or- 
gan; at  night  I  was  troubled  with  it;  my 
liver  was  very  sore.  For  the  past  year  also 
1  have  been  inclined  to  diopsy ;  these  dis- 
eases were  brought  on  by  working  beyond 
my  strength;  after  a  lone  illness,  about 
three  months  since  I  applied  to  you,  and 
have  been  much  benefitted  by  the  use  of  the 
Galvanic  Battery  and  your  medicines,  and 
regret  that  on  account  of  leaving  the  city,  I 
will  be  obliged  to  give  up  a  course  which 
has  relieved  me  so  much,  and  which  if  per- 
severed in  would,  I  believe,  cure  most  if  not 
all  diseases  that  have  a  nervous  or  tubercu- 
lous origin.  1  feel  grateful  for  the  benefit  I 
have  received,  and  you  are  at  liberty  to  make 
what  use  of  this  you  please,  il  it  will  be 
useful  to  others. 

Mrs.  C.W.,  lOCrossst. 

Albany,Apnl21,1846. 


MEDICAL  ELECTRICITY. 

If  all  we  read  of  Dr.  Sherwood's  success 
be  true,  Electro- Magnetism  is  destined  ere 
long  to  work  a  great  revolution  in  the  medi- 
cal world  as  it  has  already  performed  for  the 
physical.  To  all  appearances  its  power  is 
infinite — there  is  no  saying  where  electricity 
can  stop.  It  surmounts  difficulties  that  once 
seemed  insurmountable — it  severs  mountains 
— drags  our  locomotives — in  an  instant  it 
can  deprive  us  of  life,  and  in  another  instant 

five  it  back  to  us  again — it  causes  the  rain- 
rops  to  fall — it  fashions  vegetation — and 
in  the  hands  of  science  may  yet  deprive 
**  sickness  of  its  sting,  and  consumption  of 
its  frightfulness.'*    We  have  been  led  to 


these  remarks  from  the  perusal  of  a  little 
work  entitled  •*  1  he  Motive  Power  of  the 
Human  System,'*  by  Dr.  H.  H.  Sherwood,  a 
gentleman  who  probably  knows  more  about 
electricity,  galvanism,  and  their  application 
to  the  human  system,  than  any  other  man 
in  the  country. — D.  Knickerbocker y  Albany. 


THE   DISSECTOR. 

NEW-YORK,  DECEMBER  1, 1847. 
MESMERISM. 

JCMNT  LIND,  AND  DR.    BRAID. 
From  the  ManeAuter  Ceurur. 

"On  the  3d  inst.,*  Madlle.  Jenny  Lind, ac- 
companied by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  Schwabe, 
and  a  few  of  their  friends,  attended  a  seance 
at  Mr.  Braid's  for  the  purpose  of  witnessing 
some  of  the  extraordinary  phenomena  of 
hypnotism,  t  There  were  two  girls  who  work 
in  a  warehouse,  and  who  h^  just  come  in 
their  working  attire.  Having  thrown  them 
into  the  sleep,  Mr.  Braid  sat  down  to  the 
piano,  and  the  moment  he  began  playing, 
both  somnambulists  approached  and  join^ 
him  in  singing  a  trio.  Having  awaked  one 
of  the  girls,  Mr.  Braid  made  a  most  startling 
announcement  regarding  the  one  who  was 
still  in  the  sleep.  He  said,  although  ignor- 
ant of  the  grammar  of  her  own  language 
when  awake,  when  in  the  sleep  she  could 
accompany  any  one  in  the  room  in  singing 
songs  in  any  language,  giving  both  notes 
and  words  correctly — a  feat  which  she  was 
quite  incompetent  to  perform  in  the  waking 
condition.  Mr.  B.  requested  any  one  in  the 
room  to  put  her  to  the  test,  when  Mr. 
Schwabe  played  and  sang  a  German  song» 
in  which  she  accompanied  him  correctly, 
givingr  both  notes  and  words  simultaneously 
with  Mr.  Schawbe.  Another  gentleman  then 
tried  her  with  one  in  Swedish,  in  which  she 
also  succeeded.  Next  Jenny  Lind  played 
and  sane^a  slow  air,  with  Swedish  words, 
in  whicn  the  somnambulist  accompanied 
her  in  the  most  perfect  manner  both  as  re- 
garded words  and  music.  Jenny  now  seem« 
ed  resolved  to  test  the  powers  of  the  som- 
nambulist to  the  utmost  by  a  continued 
strain  of  the  most  difficult  roulades  and  ca- 
denzas, including  some  of  her  extraordinary 
sostenuto  notes,  with  all  their  inflections 
from  pianissimo  to  forte  crescendo,  and 
again  diminished  to  thread-like  pianissimo, 
but  in  all  these  fantastic  tricks  and  displays 


*  October,  1847. 

t  Uypnotigm,  This  new  name  for  mMznerism  by 
Mr.  Braid,  is  a  twin  sister  of  PatkcHtm  hj  Mr, 
Sunderlaad. 


Mesmerism. 


of  genius  by  the  Sweedish  nightingale,  even  I 
to  tlie  shake,  she  was  so  closely  and  accu 
rately  tracked  by  the  somnambuliE^t  that  sev- 
eral in  the  room  occasionally  could  not  have 
told,  merely  by  hearing,  that  there  were  two 
individuals  ringing — so  instantaneouslv  did 
she  catch  the  notes  and  so  rerfectly  did  their 
voices  blend  and  accord.  Next,  Jenny  hav- 
ing been  told  by  Mr.  Braid  that  she  might  be 
tested  by  some  other  laneua^e,  commenced 
*  Casta  Diva,'  in  which  the  hdelity  of  the 
somnambulist's  performance,  both  in  words 
and  music,  fully  justified  all  Mr  Braid  had 
alleged  regarding  her  powers.  The  girl  has 
naturally  a  good  voice,  and  has  hud  a  little 
musical  instruction  in  some  of  the  *  Music 
for  the  Million'  classes,  but  is  quite  incom- 
petent of  doing  any  such  feat  in  the  waking 
condition  either  as  regards  singing  the  notes 
or  speakii^;  the  words  with  the  accuracy  she 
did  when  in  the  somnambulist  state.  She 
was  also  tested  by  Madlie.  Lind  in  merely 
imitating  language,  when  she  gave  most  ex- 
act imitations;  and  Mr.  Schwabe  also  tried 
her  bv  some  most  difficult  combinations  of 
sound,  which  he  sa>d  he  now  knew  no  one 
was  capable  of  imitating  correctly  without 
much  practice,  but  the  somnaoibulist  imitat- 
ed them  correctly  at  once,  and  that  whether 
spoken  slowly  or  quickly.  When  the  girl 
was  aroused  she  had  no  recollection  of  any 
thing  which  had  been  done  by  her,  or  that 
she  had  afforded  such  a  hfgh  i^ratification  to 
all  present.  She  ea^d  she  merely  felt  some- 
what out  of  breath  as  if  she  had  been  run- 
ning. 

Such  feats  as  those  above  described  have 
often  and  long  since  been  practised  in  this 
country  in  the  magnetic  state. 

The  following  very  interesting  case  oc- 
curred in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  was  publish- 
ed in  January,  1842. 

<<  An  eminent  lawyer  being  introduced  to 
her,  she  began  with  him  the  discussion  of 
some  legal  question,  astonishing  us  by  the 
clearness  of  her  conceptions,  or  keeping  us 
in  a  roar  of  laughter  by  the  lively  sallies  of 
her  wit  During  this  conversation,  some 
one  behind  her  placed  his  hand  near  her 
head,  without  touching  it.  She  instantly 
evinced  embarrasment,  forgot  the  subject  of 
discussion,  and  could  not  go  on  until  the 
hand  was  removed.  The  magnetiser  then 
placinf|[  his  hand  upon  her  forehead*  her  re- 
collection was  restored  and  the  conversation 
renewed.  The  magnetiser  then  touched  the 
orpin  of  veneration,  when  she  abruptly  ter 
miBated  the  discussion,  assuming  an  attitude 
of  devotion,  and  refused  all  farther  commu- 
nication with  the  physical  world.  Her  de- 
votions being  end^,  she  was  put  in  commu 


nication  with  a  scientific  gentleman,  with 
whom  she  held  a  long  and  interestins;  con- 
versation on  the  subject  of  Animal  Ma«;nei- 
ism ;  boldly  controvertmg  his  arguments  and 
giWng  her  own  view  of  this  extraordiDary 
sciepce  with  great  clearness  of  thought  and 
beauty  of  expression.  And  here  she  seemed 
like  an  ethereal  being — a  being  of  another 
creation— and  in  the  language  of  the  eoiinem 
divine  to  whose  church  she  belongs,  *  abe 
appeared  perfectly  sublimated '  After  this 
she  astonished  all  by  determining  with  won- 
derful accuracy,  the  phrenological  cbaracttf 
of  various  individuals  present,  and  de^cribiqg 
with  most  minute  exactness,  their  several 
diseases,  acute  or  chronic,  incipient  or  con- 
firmed. A  gentleman  present  was  requested 
to  sing  and  play  a  German  song  for  her. 
The  first  note  struck  brought  her  to  the 
piano,  when  during  the  prelude  she  persist* 
ed  in  standing;,  but  the  instant  he  commenc- 
ed the  song,  she  sat  down  by  him,  and  vith 
a  full,  sweet  voice,  accompanied  him  in  thfi 
very  words  he  sung,  although  in  her  naiaial 
state  she  has  no  knowledge  of  that  laniniage. 
She  then  accompanied  a  French  genuenaa 
in  one  of  the  songs  of  his  country,  and  after- 
ward began  again  the  German  son^,  which 
the  pianist  had  been  requested  to  su^  once 
more.  During  the  performance  of  this,  she 
was  demagnetised,  and,  of  course,  discon- 
tinued her  accompaniment  Being  asked  by 
the  writer  why  she  stopped, and  if  she  would 
not  still  accompany  the  other  voice,  she  re- 
plied that  she  knew  neither  the  words  nor 
the  air." 
These  apparently  strange  phenomena  are 

easily  and  satisfactorily  explaiioed*  \»y  the 
well  known  fact  that  persons  in  the  magnet- 
ic state,  read  the  minds  of  other  persons  in- 
stantaneously and  with  the  greatest  and  most 
extraordinary  facility.  In  fact  the  minds  of 
other  persons  often  crowd  upon  the  minds  of 
persons  in  the  magnetic  state  ao  as  to  appear 
to  the  latter  as  their  minds.  Besides  | 
in  the  magnetic  state  are  in  a  spintuai  j 
and  are  in  communication  more  or  lew  with 
the  spirits  of  other  persons,  so  that  the  knowl- 
edge and  language  of  other  persons  beoooses 
more  or  l&«s  the  knowledge  and  language  of 
the  persons  in  the  magnetic  state. 

Battxxskaxx.— Dr.  Lee,  of  Hftrtford,  Coaaectf* 
«ut,  says  he  has  saceessrnlly  treated  seTerml  gmsb 
for  the  bit«  of  ajratUesoake,  with  rum.  bnutdj,sr 
rin  in  doses  of  a  half  piat  every  t^teea  wiiniTtt* 
It  is  said  to  absorb  and  deaden  the  Wros mmd  ut^tit 
intoxicates.  This  is  ^Ison  w  poison  How  morfd 
it  act  QDon  a  hard  drinker  as  an  antidete  f  A  «ai> 
ter  in  the  Washington  Union  dies  eases  oT  a  cn» 
from  the  Mtsof  a  nrttieaaaka  bj  diteldnt  < 
dranf  hti  of  brandy. 


SomnambtUism  Aloft — Clairvoyants.— Magnetic  Machines,  ^c.  223 


SOMNAMBULISM  ALOFT. 

AT  WAB  WITH  TBX  WXATHXH-COCK. 

Thje  most  curious  case  of  soinnabullsm  on 
record  took  place  last  Suuday  night,  about 
balf-past  eleven  o'clock  in  this  city.  A  man 
named  Jesse  Combs,  living  at  No.  609  Wa- 
rer  street,  was  discovered  at  ihe  top  of  the 
liberty  pole  at  the  corner  of  Cherry  and  Gou 
verneur  streets,  turning  the  vane.  He  was 
watched  by  the  police  and  a  number  of 
citizens,  who  had  been  attracted  by  his  fre 
quent  attempts  to  change  the  position  of 
the  vane,  which  was  as  frequently  changed 
by  the  wind,  reminding  many  of  the  look- 
eis  on  of  the  celebrated  fight  between  Don 
Quixotte  and  the  windmill.  After  making 
several  efforts  to  place  the  vane  in  the  po- 
nition  he  seemed  to  desire,  down  he  came, 
and  with  a  nimbleness  that  the  Jack  tar 
might  envy,  on  reaching  terra  firma,  off  he 
•tarted,  and  was  closely  pursued  by  officer 
Martin,  7th  ward,  and  citizens,  when,  after 
a  sharp  run  of  several  blocks,  he  was  cap- 
tured. He  had  on  a  shirt,  drawers,  hat  and 
boots,  and  was  taken  to  the  station  house 
by  the  officer.  Ho  could  give  no  account 
of  what  occurred,  aud  stated  that  he  '*  felt  as 
if  he  had  been  bard  at  work."  His  friends 
and  clothes  were  sent  for.  The  friends  sta- 
ted that  he  went  to  bed  after  6  o'clock,  and 
that  he  must  have  gone  out  of  the  dome 
window,  as  the  doors  were  all  locked.  The 
pole  has  been  measured,  and  stands  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  high  from  the 
ground.  The  man  was  three  quarters  of 
an  hour  in  the  position  in  which  he  was 
first  discovered. — N.  Y,  Herald,  I^ovember 
2,  1847. 

CLAIRVOYANTS. 
ImprattiMilttt,  uid  their  Magnetltwt. 
.    Clairvoyants  in  the  magnetic  state  see  lit- 
erally by  direct  magnetic  light  aa  they  do  in 
their  natural  state  by  reflected  light. 

They  see  through  opaque  bodies  by  the 
light  of  the  magnetism  which  is  innate  in 
thoae  bodies. 

In  order  to  see  objects  at  great  distances 
they  go  to  them — their  spints  do,  and  are 
H^ided  by  a  magnetic  or  spiritual  light  that 
goes  before  them. 

Impressionists  do  not  see  literally  in  the 
magnetic  state,  but  have  impresisions  in  their 
minds,  and  also  from  the  single  and  combin- 
ed minds  of  other  persons,  which  are  some- 
times accurate,  but  often  raiy  erroneous 
like  the  blind  man's  impressions  of  things' 


he  never  saw,  and  besides  they  generally 
pass  for  clairvoyants  and  are  a  fruitful  source 
of  skepticism  in  regard  to  the  reality  of  clair- 
voyance. Original  impressionists  are  rarely 
advanced  as  high  as  the  first  degree,  and 
consequently  know  nothing  of  the  different 
degrees  in  the  magnetic  state  except  what 
they  have  learned  from  books  or  other  sour- 
ces. There  are,  however,  another  class  of 
impressionists  who  were  originally  clairvoy- 
ants, but  who  have  lost  the«r  clairvoyance 
under  the  baleful  influences  of  the  wills  of 
their  magnetisers.  These  magnetisers  hav- 
ing often  and  daily  loilled  them  to  have  tm- 
prtmoM  of  ideal  notions,  of  phantasies  or 
things  that  have  no  real  existence,  they  at 
iast  lose  their  clairvoyance  and  become  mere 
impressionists,  but  continue  to  be  used  as 
mere  decoys  for  making  money.  They  can, 
however,  as  well  as  other  impreesionists, 
be  distinguished  from  clairvoyants  as  easily 
as  blind  men  can  be  distinguished  from  those 
who  see ;  with  this  diflerence— that  impres- 
sionists will  often  read  the  minds  of  the  per- 
sons about  them,  and  thence  obtain  infor- 
mation from  these  and  other  sources,  which 
might  be  mistaken  for  clairvoyance. 


Magnetlo  MaoUnas  mnd  Oontunption. 

We  should  again  direct  the  attention  of 
physicians  to  the  great  importance  of  the  use 
of  the  magnetic  machine  in  the  treatment  of 
consumption,  as  the  use  of  this  instrument 
with  the  compound  chloride  of  gold  cures 
every  £ase  in  the  first  stage  of  the  disease, 
and  nRre  than  nine-tenths  of  those  in  the 
last  stage. 

We  should  also  again  direct  their  attention 
to  the  fact  that  we  first  commenced  the  new, 
scientific,  and  successful  manner  of  magne- 
tizing, which  gives  to  these  machines  all  their 
value,  and  were  soon  after  compelled  to  en- 
gage in  the  manufacture  of  magnetic  ma- 
chines to  obtain  good  instruments  for  magne- 
tizing, by  which  the  great  benefits  of  the 
practice  might  be  extended  and  perpetuated ; 
and  that  we  have  sold  and  continue  to  sell  at 
a  very  small  profit  a  great  number  every  year. 
The  great  demand  for  these  instruments  has, 
however,  excited  the  cupidity  of  speculators. 


224 


Quacks  and  Quack  Medicinei. 


who  have  engaged  in  the  manuiactory  of  io- 
ferior  imitations  of  our  machines,  and  with- 
out any  knowJedge  of  magnetism  or  magne- 
tizing, are  foisting  them  upon  the  profesaon 
and  the  public  with  all  Ihe  arts  thatare  pecu 
liar  to  such  geniuses;  and  if  the  practice  of 
magnetizing  is  not  entirely  ruined  and  aban 
doned  in  a  few  years,  it  will  not  be  from  any 
fault  of  theirs,  for  a  little  practice  soon  shows 
that*no  dependence  whatevec  caa  be  placed 
upon  the  action  of  such  machines,  in  the 
cure  of  consumption  or  any  other  disease, 

The  actions  of  the  two  magnetic  forces  are 
opposite,  or  as  different  as  black  is  from 
white,  and  in  magnetizing  it  is  a  matter  of 
great  importance  to  know  which  is  the  posi 
tive  and  which  the  negative  force,  and  where 
to  apply  the  positive  and  where  the  nega 
tive  force ;  yet  neither  the  speculator  who 
sells,  nor  the  person  who  purchases,  knows 
anything  on  these  subjects.  Besides  the 
forces  from  our  machines  are  really  mag- 
netic, and  appear,  and  are  really  different 
from  those  of  other  machines  as  seen  by  the 
natural  eye  and  by  clairvoyants. 

Physicians  are  not  only  using  these  ma- 
chines in  acute  and  chronic  diseases  with 
great  success,  but  they  are  using  the  magne- 
tized compound,  chloride  of  gold,  in  tuber- 
cular disease  or  scrofula,  including  consump- 
tion, and  are  curing  these  hitherto  intracti- 
ble  cases  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  cases  we 
publish  in  this  number  are  fair  samples  of  a 
great  number  we  have  received  from  distin- 
guished physicians  in  different  parts  of  the 
Union  and  the  Canadas.  —  * 

Quacks  and  Quack  Medicines, 
Few  persons  have  any  conception  of  the 
extent  and  wantonness  of  the  impositions 
that  are  daily  practiced  by  the  venders  oi 
•juack  medicines,  who  advertise  remedies  for 
every  disease,  from  Taylor's  Balsam  of  Liv- 
erwort down  to  Smith's  Torpedo  machines. 
Certificates  and  letters  innumerable  detailing 
the  wonderful  cures  performed  by  these  re- 
medies are  paraded  in  handbills,  pamphlets, 
and  in  whole  columns  of  the  daily  papers, 
at  an  enormous  expense,  and  these  expenses 
are  paid  out  of  the  enormous  profits  from 
^he  sale  of  these  articles  to  the  poor  and 


very  ignorant  portion  of  the  community,  for 
whom  they  are  manufactured. 

Now  it  is  well  known  to  persons  who 
have  examined  the  subject,  that  no  depend- 
ence, whatever,  ean  be  placed  upon  the  cer- 
tificates or  letters  thus  paraded — no  matter  i 
whether  they  are  sworn  to  or  not,  or  a  thou- 
sand dollars  offered  any  person  to  show  they 
are  counterfeit,  and  besides,  it  by  diligent, 
active  and  laborious  search,  one  of  these  cer. 
tificate  makers  or  letter  writers  is  run  down 
or  caaght,  he  is  found  to'be  a  poor  ignorant 
creature,  or  man  of  straw. 

The  following  morceau  from  one  of  Dr. 

Townsend's  pamphlets,  is  a  fair  specimen  of        { 

the  wantonness  constantly  practiced  by  these        *• 

geniuses. 

"  Spikai.  CoafPLAiNTB.    Th©  EngTaTinn  bebir  a 

illustrate  caseti  of  Spinal  ComplamtB  reliered  or 
entirely  cured  by  the  use  of  Dr.  TownsendV  Sirs- 
aparilla.  We  cannot  spare  the  space  to  fire  the 
certificates  which  are  very  interesting,  but  they 
majr  be  had  at  the  office.  This  remedy  ha^  thrs' 
the  blessings  of  Proxddence,  performed  soae  mMt 
astonishing  cures  in  this  most  obstinate  of  all  dis- 
eases." 

There  are  four  "engravings  below,"  or 
following  the  above  article,  all  of  whidiaie 
ours,  and  will  be  very  familiar  to  our  read- 
ers, as  we  published  one  of  them  in  this 
Journal  in  April,  1844;  page  96,  and  in  oar 
Manual,  page  61,  and  the  other  three  in  the 
January  number  for  1847,  andMuoai,  %- 
ures  1,  2  and  4.  Our  readers  will  also  re- 
member the  extraordinary  results  of  oui  \ar 
bors  with  the  magnetic  machine  in  the  first, 
and  the  equally  extraordinary  results  of  Dr. 
Kinne's  labors  in  the  last  There  was  not, 
however, ''  spare  space  to  give  the  certificates 
which  are  very  interesting" — of  course  they 
are,  and  just  as  much  so  as  any  others  he 
may  or  may  not  have.  There  is,  however, 
nothing  really  extraordinary  in  all  this,  as 
these  geniuses  employ  men  daily  to  write 
letters  to  them  puffing  their  medicines,  and 
to  write  certificates  of  cures,  and  prepare 
them  with  accompanying  pufis  for  publica- 
tion, and  these  things  are  so  well  understood 
that  if  any  intelligent  man  should  call  to  see 
one  of  these  letters  or  certificates  in  regard  tO: 
any  particular  case,  he  would  be  esteemed 
very  green,  even  by  the  inmates  of  tha^ 
office  where  such  wonderful  articles  of  med- 
icine are  sold. 


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