^■IIS1 % ' SURGEON GENERAL'S'OFFICE LIBRARY. ANNE& Section X- 3 A A No. 113, Afo W. D.S.G.O. .UlkA^ '■ \ "A ;. ft ;^T^ 3—513 W'/A y .» m> ^ far N* .;© • ; \ v-v sfcf ^« V » ^ •te^$ SUB lk4S2 r *a »-'■ \«J >&£&' Vji»' \ 4 * '" -••.I 1 ^s \ 2n • W | ^ ^S^ji- / ' vj \ mj • V ©•V e£\$: A . .A' 5«*. /; '• THE -fc£.c MEDICAL COMPANION: TREATING, '/ ACCORDING TO THE MOST SUCCESSPUI. PRACTICE, ' 1. THE DISEASES COMMON TO WARM CLIMATES AND ON SHIP BOARD. 2. COMMON CASES IN SURGERY, AS FRACTURES, DISLOCATIONS, ETC. 3. THE COMPLAINTS PECULIAR TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN. WITH A DISPENSATORY AND GLOSSARY. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, A BRIEF ANATOMY OF THE HUMAN BODY; AN ESSAY ON HYGIEINE, OR THE ART OF PRESERVING HEALTH AND PROLONGING LIFE; AND ✓ AN AMERICAN MATERIA MEDICA, INSTRUCTING COUNTRY GENTLEMEN IN THE VERY IMPORTANT KNOWLEDGE OF THE VIRTUES AND DOSES OF OUR MEDICINAL PLANTS. THE FIFTH EDITION—GREATLY JMAlO^ED.. BY JAMES E WELL, /, u PHYSICIAN IN WASHING ION, FORMERLY OF SAVANNAH, " I have always thought it a greater happiness to discover a certain method of curing, even the slightest disease, ths>n to accumulate the largest fortune ; and whoever compasses the former, I esteem not only happier, but wiser and better too." Sydenham. PHILADELPHIA--PRINTED FOB THE AUTHOB* District of Pennsylvania, to wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the seventh day of Ma^ [SEAL.] in the fortieth year of the Independence of the United States of Ame- rica, A. D. 1816, James Ewell, M. D. of the said district, hath de- posited in this office tlie title of a book, the right whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit : " The Medical Companion: treating, according to the most successful practice, I, The diseases common to warm climates and on ship board ; II. Common cases in surgery, as fractures, dislocations, &c. III. The complaints peculiar to women and children. With a Dispensatory and Glossary. To which are added, a brief anatomy of the human body; an essay on Hygieine, or the art of preserving health and prolonging life; and an American Materia Medico, instructing country gen- tlemen in the very important knowledge of the virtues and doses of our medicinal plants. The fifth edition—greatly improved. By James Ewell, physician in. Washington, formerly of Savannah. " I have always thought it a greater hap- piness to discovufr a certain method oj curing, even the slightest disease, than to accumulate the largest fortune ; and whoever compasses the former, I esteem not only happier, but wiser and better too." Sydenham.'" In conformity to the act of the congress of the United States, intituled " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein men- tioned." And also to the act, entitled "An act supplementary to an act entitled 'An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned* and extending the benefits thereof to tlie arts of designing, engraving' QitflWching historical ana other prints." D. CALDWELL, Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania RECOMMENDATIONS. IN testimony of the merits of this work, the following conir mendations, by some of the most distinguished medical characters of the United States, are inserted. Philadelphia, December 31, 1807. Dear Sib, n I have read your book entitled " The Medical Companion," with pleasure, and think it worthy the attention of the citizens of the United States. W. SHIPPEN, M. D. P, ofessor of Anatomy! Dr. James Ewell. Philadelphia, December 31,1807. Pear Sir, I have carefully perused your work, " The Medical Companion" and take much pleasure in expressing my entire approbation of the plan, and of the utility with which you have conducted your inquiries. Your book cannot fail to be a very acceptable present to the public in general, and especially to our own coun- trymen I really am of opinion, that you are entitled to much praise for the pains which you have taken in furnishing us with a work, the want of which has l»ng been experienced among us. Your friend, &c. B. S. BARTON, M. D. Professor of Materia Medica, Natural History and Botany. Dr. James Ewell. December 28, 1807. I have read " The Medical Companion," by Dr. James Ewell, with satisfac- tion It is a book containing a variety of matter in a small compass. The prac- tice which he recommends in diseases, is modern and judicious, and the work cannot fail of being useful in all families in the United States. JAMES WOODHOUSE, M. D. Professor of Chemistry in the University of Pennsylvania Dr. James Ewell. iv Recommendations. Dear Sir, I have looked over your " Medical Companion," with pleasure. Tlie ar- rangement of the various parts is judicious, the language plain and perspicuous, and the sentiments happily condensed; the modes of treatment grow out of the most improved state of our science, and may serve as a safe and useful guide to every family cut off from the services of able physicians. Accept the homage of my regard. JOHN R DAVIDGE, M. D. Professor of Anatomy, Surgery, &c. in the College of Medicine of Maryland. Baltimore, Feb. 19, 1808. Dr. James Ewell. Dear Sir, We have perused your "Medical Companion" with much satisfaction, and strongly recommend it to the attention of those families who cannot with conve- nience procure medical aid. We think it the best publication we have ever read on the domestic treatment of diseases, more especially as it regards those of our climate. We are very respectfully, sir, your most obedient servants, BROWN & MACKENZIE. Baltimore, March 4, 1808. Dr. James Ewell. * Sir, I have read your book on Domestic Medicine with pleasure. The practice recommended in it is judicious, and being-from the pen of a native physician, has great advantage over the publications of Buchan and Tissot. JOHN SHAW, M D. Professor of Chemistry in the College of Medicine of Maryland- Dr. James Ewell. Dear Sir, Charleston, May 7, 1808. Your "Medical Companion''' contains much useful knowledge in a small com- pass, and is particularly adapted to these states. Families remote from medical aid, will find their account in possessing a book which describes disease plainly, and prescribes for them so judiciously, as bid fair to save valuable which otherwise might be lost. Your most obedient servant, Dr. James EwelL DAVID RAMSAY, M ) Charleston, S. C. May 12,1 Dear Sir, The perusal of your "Medical Companion" has given me the greatest faction. Such a publication has been much wanted, and I think the plan a ecution of your work must answer the most valuable purposes. Yours very truly, ALEX. BARRON, M. _ Dr. James Ewell. Charleston, May 14, 1808. Dear S/r, I have with great pleasure perused your " Family Physician." I find it to be a well digested compend of the most modern and approved modas of treating diseases, especially those to which our country is most exposed. You have sub- joined a dispensatory, judiciously calculated to obviate those errors which too' frequently ensue from the exhibition of medicine, where the aid of the practi- tsoner cannot be obtained. Yours, &c. PHILIP G. PRIOLEAU. Dr. James Ewell. Recommendations. y Washington, March 1, 1808. Sir, I return you my thanks for the copy of " The Medical Companion" you have been so kind as to send me, and must particularly express my sense of the fa- vourable sentiments expressed towards me in the beginning of the work; espe- cially too, where it recals to my recollection the memory of your respectable fa- ther, who was the friend and companion of my youth, and for whom I retained through life an affectionate attachment. The plan of your work is certainly ex- cellent, and its execution, as far as I am a judge, worthy of the plan It brings within a moderate compass whatever is useful, levels it to ordinary comprehen- sion, and as a manual, will be a valuable possession to every family. I pray you accept my salutations and assurances of esteem and respect, TH. JEFFERSON- Dr. Ewell. Philadelphia, August 13, 1816. Dear Sir, I have looked over with some care, the copy of the Third Edition of the "Medical Companion" which you did me the favour to present to me. By the additions and revisions given to this new impression of the work, it is" not only enlarged, but exceedingly improved. After stating so much, I need hardly repeat an opinion, which I publicly ex- pressed on a former occasion, that I consider it, as indisputably, the most useful popular treatise on medicine with which lam acquainted. Compared with the European Books of the same nature, it has, especially in relation to the treatment of the diseases of our own country, a very decided su- periority. I trust that the success of this literary enterprise may be equal to your very, generous and benevolent disposition. With great respect, I am, dear sir, yours, &c. N. CHAPMAN, M. D. Professor of the Institutes and Practice of Medicine and Clinical Practice, in the University of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, Aug. 13th, 1816. Dear Sir, have derived much satisfaction from a perusal of the third Edition of youp " Medical Companion." The additions and improvements which it contains, as compared with the two- first editions of the work, are extensive and important. To families in the country, remote, not only from medical aid, but from places where common medicinal articles are to be procured, your Materia Medica alone, disclosing to them the healing resources of their own farms and forests, will be of high value. Nor, provided they be true to their best interests, and avail them- selves of the advantages placed at their disposal, will your rules and directions for the preservation of health, be less useful to them. In addition to these two important branches, now introduced into the Medical Companion for the first time, it contains a large amount of new miscellaneous matter, which cannot fail to be interesting to the reader. On the whole, if I be not greatly mistaken in my estimation of the character of your work, it is well calculated to prove extensively useful, and to place you in the midst of the permanent benefactors of your country. That you may receive, in reputation and wealth, your full reward, is the sin- cere wish of Dear sir, yoor very humble And obedient servant, CH. CALDWELL, M. D, Dr. James Ewell. VI Recommendations. The following Revievi is from that celebrated work the New York Medical Repository. Manuals of health, or popular publications on medicine, have become so fre- quent as to have excited the censure of some grave and oracular members of the profession. They consider their publishing brethren as unnecessarily divulging the arcana of the art, as depreciating its credit and estimation, and as teaching the common mass of readers to know as much as themselves. This communica- tive disposition they conceive to be carried to a very faulty extreme. For when the secrets of the healing faculty are promulgated by its members, with such consummate knowledge and success, what is left for distinguishing the regularly initiated from those who are without the pale? The propagation of the Escula- pian mysteries is viewed to be faulty on another account; inasmuch as in dimi- nishing the importance, it lessens the profits of the practisers, and thas, for the gratification and emolument of one tell-tale author, the whole fraternity is dis- paraged. Let us, however, do justice to those sons of physic who are thus accused of faithlessness, in uttering abroad those matters which ought to be viewed as under the restriction of closed doors. Contrast their conduct with that of another class of medical personages, who forever deal in nostrums, and are incessantly boast- ing of their wonder-working powers; who assure the credulous world they can cure every possible disease of mind and body; but with a cunning equal to their effrontery, permit no mortal to become acquainted with their remedies. Com- pare the conduct of him who withholds nothing from his fellow citizens, with that of him who keeps every thing to himself. There can scarcely be a stronger exhibition of generous communication on the one part, and of selfish conceal- ment on the other. Whatever may be pleaded in behalf of the persons who re- fuse to make a magnanimous publication for the good of mankind, of Mich valu- able means of cure as they may possess, or who secure the profits of them under the statute of patents, there certainly is a chsracter of greater disinterestedness and philanthropy, and a temper of a brighter mould and finish in him, who, without fee or price, offers to his fellow creatures all he knows that will be be- neficial to them. We know it has been said, that a smattering in the knowledge of the animal economy, and of diseases, multiplies the number ofpatients, and encourages the practice of physic. Books on such subjects, addressed to the people at large, are peculiarly calculated to alarm their fears whenever they are unwell, and, therefore, impel them to seek assistance from those on whose skill they rely. It has been surmised too, that ihe disciples of Buchan, Willich, and their coadju- tors, have often been led, from superficial and conceited knowledge, to become prescribers to others, and have, by their blunders, rendered the attendance of the regular physician more needful than ever. Hence it has been argued, that publications of this kind fail to promote the plausible object of their composition, and in reality, produce a mischievous, and not a beneficial effect. It has even been urged against them, that they are of no service to any person but the wri- ter, who may diffuse his fame and increase his wealth in proportion to the circu- lation of his book, and the consequent disturbance it works in society. Whatever may be the merits of this controversy among those who are toiling night and day in the service of the infirm and disabled, or in the compilation of volumes, for our own parts, as reviewers, we feel favourable to the general dis- tribution of knowledge. We are not attached to monopolies of any kind, and less lhan any, to that which confines to a particular ordpr, the information which will teach man how to prevent sickness and pain, and to remove these ills when they invade. He who publishes wholesome precepts and directions, cannot be denied the merit of good intention; and it would be hard to refuse him the additional credit of having done substantial good to those who have followed his advice. Having indulged these prefatory reflections, we advance to the consideration of the work before us. The author has prefixed to it a dedication to the President of the United States a preface explanatory of his design, and a number of recommendatory epistles' from his friends. Then follows a chapter of preliminary observations, of which we were inclined to offer an extract, for the gratification of our readers; but our limits forbade. Recommendations^ vii The body of the work is devoted to the consideration of the principal diseases Which assail the human frame at different times of life. They begin with fevers, and end with rickets; without, however, observing any strict method or nosolo- gical arrangement. Each section stands by itself, and has little or no connexion with the preceding or subsequent matter. But a table of contents and index are two good keys to the subjects discussed. The diseases are severally considered in short and generally appropriate terms. After a definition, the observations are mostly comprised under the head of symptoms, causes, treatment, and regimen; to which, in some instances, are added, paragraphs on prevention. And it is hut justice to observe, that the author has manifested a careful and discriminating mind in condensing so much valua- ble instruction into such a moderate compass. The sententious, and, at the same time, intelligible manner of conveying his directions, is at once calculated to give the reader a clear idea of his meaning, and favourable opinion of his understanding. Besides the observations that are strictly medical, the work contains a variety of directions upon surgical subjects. To render his compilation more generally useful and acceptable, the author has annexed to it a Dispensatory. This consists of two parts : the first comprehends! a table of medicines for family use, with their doses and qualities annexed; and the second contains a collection of recipes for the principal part of the compound medicines recommended in the course of the work. And this part of the publi- cation is executed in a manner that justifies the opinion we hinted before, of Dr. Ewell's sagacity $nd skill. ^ TO HIS EXCELLENCY THOMAS JEFFERSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, I beg leave to present this book to Mr. Jefferson, not because he is President of 1807, but because he was the patriot of 1776; and still more, because, through the whole of a long and glorious life, he has been the philosopher and friend of his country: with all the ingenuity of the former, exposing the misre- presentations of illiberal foreigners; and with all the ardour of the latter, fanning the fire of American science, and watering the roots of that sacred olive which sheds her peaceful blessings over our land. To whom then, with equal propriety, could I dedi- cate a book, designed at least to promote health and longevity ? And to whom am I so bound by the ten- derest ties of affection and gratitude, as to Mr. Jef- ferson? The early classmate and constant friend of my deceased father, and instrumentally the author of my acquaintance with the first characters in the state of Georgia; among whom, with peculiar pleasure, I would B X mention the houourable names of Milledge, Troup, Bullock, and Flournoy. That you may long direct the councils of a united and wise people, steadily pursuing health, peace and competence, the main pillars of individual and national happiness, is the fervent prayer, of your Excellency's Much obliged, and Very grateful servant, JAMES EWELL. PREFACE. ON the important subject of domestic medicine, many books have been written, which, though excellent in other respects, have greatly failed of usefulness to Americans; because they treat of diseases which, existing in very fo- reign climates and constitutions, must widely differ from ours. The book now offered to the public has, therefore, the great advantage of having been written by a native American, of long and successful practice in the southern states, and who, for years past, has turned much of his at- tention to the composition of it. The professed object of this book is to treat, in the most clear and concise manner, almost every disease to which the human body is subject—to give their common names and surest symptoms—to point out the cau.ses whence they originate, and the most approved method of treatment— and, lastly, to prescribe the suitable regimen and means of prevention. A publication like this cannot but be exceedingly useful to all, but especially to those who live in the country, or who go to sea, where regular and timely assistance cannot al- ways be obtained. Amon2; the many and great services, to be rendered by such a book, we may fairly state its tendency to prevent that dangerous officiousness of ignorant persons, and, that equally pernicious neglect of the patient, at the onset of the disease, whereby so many lives are lost. These, with many xii Preface. other evils resulting from the want of such a work, constitu- ted the motives which first fed the author to offer this pub- lication to his countrymen. It is not for him to determine, whether it be happily executed or not; but, whatever may be the general opinion as to its merit, he has the high satisr faction to know, that it not only flows from the purest mo- tives, but also contains a faithful relation of facts, collect- ed principally from his own experience, and, in part, se- lected from authors of the greatest celebrity. As to language, he has not, he confesses, been over-stu- dious of ornament. Having made it his prime object to con- vey instruction, he has employed the style which to him ap- peared the most familiar and intelligible; so that in all cases of disease, the patient might be directed in the plainest manner possible to the appropriate remedies. The reader will find, in the latter part of the work, a ta- ble of such medicines most constantly called for in families, with an adaptation of the doses to the age of the patient, to- gether with directions to prepare and administer them. To have those articles always in readiness, would save not only a great deal of time and expense by sending on every trivial occasion to a distant physician, but afford, to a tender parent or master, an infinite satisfaction, because of the very great advantage it gives him over a disease, which he can meet with a suitable remedy at the first mo- ment of its attack. For there Can be no doubt, that thou- sands have perished, not because there were no remedies, but because the remedies were so distant that the patient was lost, before they could be procured. It is a well known fact, that the hero of Stony Point, the brave general Wayne, after his defeat of the Indians on the Miami, was suddeuly taken off by a gouty spasm in the stomach, which might easily have been removed, could a Preface. xiii single pint of French brandy have been procured. What numbers have died miserably of lockjaw, and cholera mor- bus, for lack of a vial of laudanum, with proper directions to use it? How many fond mothers have hung distracted over their children, strangling under the croup, or swollen with the poison of serpents, when the former might so easily have been cured by an emetic, and the latter by caus- tic volatile alkalis. But it were an endless task to enume- rate all the heart-breaking tragedies that have taken place in families, merely for the want of the appropriate reme- dies for sudden and alarming diseases. It were therefore a godlike act in all persons, in tolerable circumstances, to keep a medicine chest, not only for the benefit of their own families, but of their sick and indigent neighbours, who of- ten suffer, and sometimes perish, for want of proper medi- cines seasonably administered. As it is impossible entirely to banish technical phrases when writing on medicine, the reader is presented with a Glossary, explaining the medical and scientific terms una- voidably employed in this work. To conclude; the author, animated by the extraordinary success of the "Medical Companion,'' has greatly im- proved and enlarged it by a synopsis of the anatomy and physiology of the human body; essays on air, food, exer- cise, sleep, evacuations, and passions; and a Materia Me- dica of the United States. With these improvements, he flatters himself the "Me- dical Companion" will not fail to be acceptable to his fel- low-citizens; and under this pleasing impression, he sub- mits it to their generous patronage. // / TABLE OF CONTENTS. ADMONITORY hints to ladies PAGE 485 Apoplectic fits 392 Asthma 408 Bites of musquitoes 446 —— venomous animals 447 Bleeding at the nose 372 Blood-letting 480 Chicken, or swine pox 380 Chilblains 450 Cholera morbus i 415 Cold 341 Collection and preservation of ve- getable substances 653 Colic 412 Common ulcers 459 Consumption 384 Convulsive fits 525 Costiveness and wind 520 Cramp 404 Croup, or hives 528 Deafness 368 Diarrhoea, or looseness 416 Discharge from the vagina 523 Diseases of children requiring ex - ternal treatment 513 Diseases of children requiring me dical treatment 517 Dislocations 470 Dislocation of the jaw 472 ----—— of the shoulder 472 -------of the elbow 473 -------of the thigh 474 Dispensatory 656 Dropsy 418 Dysentery 390 Earach 367 Epidemic 358 Epileptic fits 394 Eruptions of the skin 434 Fainting fits 395 Falling of the palate 351 Fevers in general 311 Intermittent, or ague and fever 314 Nervous fever 330 Remittent, or bilious fever 320 Fracture of the ribs 479 Gleet 426 Glossary 681 Gonorrhoea 424 Gout 420 fliiinpn wnrm 449 PAGE Headach 367 Hernia, or rupture 452 Heartburn 409 Hiccup, 407 Hydrophobia 448 Htgieine, or the art of preserving health 72 Of Air 73 Food 90 Exercise 107 Sleep 117 Evacuations 131 Of the Passions 133 Love 134 Hope 167 Joy 172 Grief 178 Fear 186 Anger 200 Hatred 214 Envy 228 Avarice 233 Intemperance 238 Gaming 252 Vanity 255 Modesty 261 Dress 270 Cleanliness 277 Patriotism 281 Religion . 286 Hypochondriac disease 399 Hysteric fits 396 Incontinence of urine 387 Indigestion, or weakness of the sto - mach 410 Infantile jaundice 518 Inflammation of the bladder 366 364 Inflammation of the kidnies 365 ■----of the liver 360 ■3fi9 Injuries of the head, and fractures of the limbs 476 Intoxication 442 Issues 483 Itch 436 Jaundice 439 Looseness, or cholera infantum 521 Management of childbed 504 -------of infants 508 Materia Medica 533 Measles - - 379 Menstruation 487 xvi Contents. Mortification Mumps Night mare Obstruction of urine 468 351 408 427 Palpitation of the heart 406 Palsy - - 398 Peripneumony, or inflammation of the lungs - 357 Phrensy, or inflammation of the brain - - 339 Piles - - 389 Pleurisy - - 354 Poisons - - 445 Pox - - 428 Pregnancy - - 490 Preliminary observations 17 Progress of rabour - 496 Prolapsus ani, or falling of the fun- dament - - 454 Putrid sore throat - 347 Quinsy, or inflammatory sore throat 344 Recovering persons apparently drowned - 444 Recovering persons apparently kill- ed by lightning or noxious va- pours - - 445 Red gum - 519 Rheumatism - 370 Rickets - - 532 Saint Anthony's fire - 381 Scalds and burns Schirrus, or cancer Scrofula, or king's evil Scurvy Sea sickness Seminal weakness Small pox Snuffles Sore eyes Spitting of blood Sprains and bruises Structure of the human machine Suppression and difficulty of urine Swallowing of pins Table of medicines for family use Teething Tetany, or locked jaw Tetter, or ring-worm Thrush Tinea, or scald-head Toothach Tumours, or boils Vaccine disease, or cow-pox Venereal disease Warts and corns Watery head White swelling Whitlow Whooping Cough Worms Wounds 451 45% 438' 433 442 427 377 518 352 383 470 29 388 449 657 526 405 437 520 437 369 456 373 524 455 52$ 440 455 530 52* 462 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. CONTEMPLATING the numberless diseases to which man is liable, and which may cause him to drag out a protracted life of distress, or suddenly cut him off in the bloom of his existence and amidst his useful- ness, we must adore that divine Excellence which has given us in medicine the means of counteracting their dreadful effects. As might have been expected, the attention to an art, which rises in importance over all others, has ever kept pace with the general progress of intellectual im- provement, commanding for it the respect and encou- ragement of every enlightened people. With the Greeks, especially, the wisest and most polished of all the ancient nations, medicine was held in tlie highest estimation. Its votaries were cherished and revered by them while living, and in some in- stances carrying their enthusiasm so far as to deify them after death. It is not indeed easy to conceive a more noble character, than a great and amiable practitioner of medicine, who has expanded his mind to the utmost extent by the brilliant attainments of science, and mel- lowed the, dispositions of his heart by the habitual ex- ercise of benevolence towards the afflicted objects of his care. How exemplary are Physicians of this de- scription } Such was Hippocrates, the father of medi- cine. Such was the pious, the enlightened Sydenham. Such was the benevolent Jones of Savannah. Such was that " brilliant star," the enlightened Rush ; and C 18 Preliminary Observations. su'drare many others who have emulated their virtues ajfo rivalled their fame ; among whom, I have the high ^satisfaction to enumerate of my particular friends, the ./■ late Drs. Craik of Alexandria, Weems of Georgetown, and Stevenson of Baltimore, and Dr. Chapman of Phi- ladelphia. But unhappily, all those who profess our art do not resemble those bright examples. Medicine, more than any other good thing, is subject to abuse and debase- ment, by the sordid and mischievous 6i tricks and de- vices" of empiricism. Like noxious weeds these im- postors rise up at first, from the rank soil of their own effrontery; but they owe much of their subsequent growth to the protection which they derive from the want of that information widely diffused, whicji would at once detect, and "laugh into scorn" their idle claims, and arraign to conviction their dangerous tendencies. They live but by tolerance. The slightest examina- tion of their pretensions would drive the herd into their holes and hiding places, and consign their widely spreadfame to utter oblivion. It is strange, "it is passing strange," that so little popular curiosity prevails with regard to medicine, particularly when the public mind is so actively alive to subjects certainly of less moment. Talk to the gen- erality of mankind about property and you would sup- pose they were all lawyers, they reason so sensibly on the various points of meum et tuum: but touch them about that which is of more worth than all property, I mean health, and they are as silent as mutes. Did not experience evince the fact, we should think it impos- sible that in things of such high concern, men could be so preposterously deceived! so careful of the dross and yet so negligent of the gold. What can he more deeply interesting than the inves- tigation of that beautiful organization which has em- phatically, been pronounced " God's master work ?" What more important than acquiring the knowledge of preserving this admirable mechanism ? And what more pleasant and useful than to investigate the medical Preliminary Observations. 19 plants of our extensive country, whereby we may re- medy those painful maladies which assail the human frame ? Half the attention and the time devoted to the minor politics arising out of our party dissensions, assisted by very little of that overboiling zeal given to the acqui- sition of property, would, if appropriated to medical studies, enable any person of tolerable capacity to prac- tice with safety and advantage in those cases of sim- ple disease, which are most common to our climate, and to determine between the "arrant quack" and the modest, well-educated, and judicious physician. Assuredly, some care might he profitably directed to medicine. Why will not the intelligent citizens, who are scattered throughout the country, dedicate a part of their "liberal leisure" to it? Of all the sciences it is the most inviting, and that which opens the largest treasures to its cultivators. No one can lend his mind to it without receiving " usurious interest." Medicine is the digest of human knowledge. It is the great re- servoir into which every stream of science pours Us tribute, which in return spreads its fertilizing water over every field that brings forth its "ripe and abun- dant harvest." The want of a popular medical education, we have remarked, promotes the success of empirics. To what else can the amazing increase of these creatures be as- cribed? Would they dare to quit the shades of their native insignificance, if they thought they were to en- counter the blazu of criticism, or to be inspected and scrutinized by the torch of truth ? No : the terrors of such a process, were it practised, would exterminate the race, or leave to them only a " beggarly account of empty boxes." We repeat, that empirics are nurtured and sustained exclusively by the prejudices of mankind in their fa- vour, arising from their inability to judge rightly of their merits. For, can it be presumed that any one, acquainted with the subject, would repose the slightest confidence in the nostrums of the most stupid, illite- SO Preliminary Observations. rate, dishonest, and vagrant of society, who are con- fessedly destitute of even the elements, the mere al- ph.i' et. of medicine. Who can helirie, that these nostrums, as,is general- ly asserted by their proprietors, are applicable equally to a variety of diseases, as opposite to each other as the poles, and that loo. under every difference of age, con- stitution, temperament, habit, reason, and climate? Is it to be credited that skill can be possessed in a profession the must complex, without any preparatory devotion to it? Reason and experience combine to as- sert the impossibility. The powers of eloquence or poetry may be an inhe- ritance; but. medicine is not intuitive. Whoever ac- quires it, that is, that thorough knowledge of it, which confers ''surpassing skill." must undergo a slow, toil- some and arduous probation. Its temple is raised on the summit of the loftiest eminence, and the path which leads to it winds in te- dious tortuosity, narrow, intricate and perplexed ; but strewed, at its different stages, with flowers to tempt, and hung at its termination with fruits to reward. Few, very few, have ever reached it. The majority of those who set out on the enterprise become soon discouraged, and either linger by the way, or are lost in its mazes. The energies of genius, assisted by unwearied dili- gence, can only hope to surmount the difficulties and to gain the prize. But candour must still allow that the empiric strengthens, in some degree, his credit with the public, by sometimes performing great and imposing cures. Such instances, however, of occasional success, bring with them no solid claims to confidence. They are indeed calculated to excite distrust when properly viewed. Their cures, which are admitted to be few, are alone registered and promulgated. Nothing is ever said of the failures or the deaths produced. No regu- lar and impartial account is kept, nor any striking ad- justment of balances : but, what must be the fatality of a practice conducted in a way so rash and indiscriminate, Preliminary Observations. 21 without the guide of either principle or experience? The nostrums employed are uniformly composed of in- gredients of the greatest activity, principally of the mi- neral poisons, as arsenic, corrosive sublimate, calo- mel, &c. and which can never be neutral in their ope- rations. Whenever administered they assume a side in the pending contest, and exert all their might either for the patient or the disease, till one or the other yields. The preceding is a faithful picture of empiricism-— of its swaggering pretensions; of its danger, and its uncertainties ? " a plain and unvarnished tale, in which nought is extenuated or set down in malice." But with the too prevalent inclination for nostrums, we regret the strange aversion that exists, and which proceeds from the same neglect of medicine, to some of the most efficacious remedies. Tartar is denounced as a certain destroyer of the stomach; mercury, be- cause it lodges in the bones ; arsenic, as rancorously poisonous, &c. &c. Thus are those powerful and sa- lutary agents, when in the hands of a judicious Phy- sician, stigmatised by the false views of vulgar preju- dice. It has been wisely and truly declared by high authority, "that all medicines in large doses are poi- sons, and that poisons in small doses are the best me- dicines." This is no paradox. The efficacy of a re- medy must be proportioned to its force, provided it be administered with discretion, and its operation properly restrained. On the contrary, the weakest medicine becomes poisonous when given in an undue quantity. In the use of medicines we should be careful to adapt them to the nature of the disease, and the con- dition of the patient's system at the time. For the sa- utary properties of a remedy are not positive, but en- tirely relative to the peculiar circumstances of the case. A remedy, therefore, may do harm, or prove benefi- cial, according to the degree of judgment exercised in its employment. This position might easily be illus- trated and enforced by a variety of examples. We shall mention, however, only a few most pertinent. %& Preliminary Observations. What then is more sanative in its effects than the Peruvian bark in the treatment of intermittent fever or gangrene; or more deleterious if given in an excited system ? Where is there a readier cleanser of a foul stomach than emetics? yet, in inflammations of that organ, nothing would prove so pernicious. The same remark applies to cathartics, " nature's scavengers of a gorged alimentary canal." With regard to the lancet: What could we do with- out it ? How quell those dreadful insurrections of acute disease which every where ravage our country? But indispensable as it is in such cases, yet there is, per- haps, no remedy, which is more mischievous when wrongly applied. Who has not experienced the soothing restorative operation of opium, that divine medicine, which has not with too much force been called, " magnum Dei do- num," the great gift of God ; and who has not known its demoniacal influence when imprudently employed ? In this way we might proceed through every class of the Materia Medica, deriving proofs to fortify our. reasoning, and to warn us of the danger of abusing remedies. Enough, however, has been said : we trust the admonition will not be neglected. To apply, as we have indicated, the various medi- cines of which we are possessed, is the secret of suc- cessful practice, and constitutes the wide difference between the discriminating physician and empiric. The practice of the one is governed by principles slowly and cautiously deduced from the contributions of long experience and diversified observations; that of the other is the result of daring experiment, sanc- tioned only by the chances and calculations of the lot- tery. In the revolutions of the wheel, and amidst a thousand blanks, a prize may come out! Thus, an im- portant cure by an empiric, like an enormous prize, seizes public attention, and is sounded abroad by the "clarion of fame," while the evidence of the murder- ous practice, like the blanks of the lottery, are hushed in silence or buried in forgetfulness. Preliminary Observations. 23 It may be proper to observe here, that, in using all active medicines, we should begin with the smallest doses, increasing them gradually, until the quantity suited to the strength of the constitution be discovered: For there are instances of constitutions on which one fourth, and even one tenth, of what would not affect ethers, will act powerfully. As the system speedily accommodates itself to the action of medicines, we should never continue one me- dicine too long at a time. When we find it is losing its efficacy, it should be changed for some other of the same class, and after a short interval the patient may, if he choose, return to his first medicine. By thus va- rying the remedies, as the system becomes accustom- ed to their action, we shall be enabled to cure dis- eases which otherwise would not have yielded; as in obstinate intermittents, where I have frequently em- ployed the bark without effect: but on changing it for either the solution of arsenic, or vitriolic pills,* a cure has generally taken place, and when it did not, by exciting a slight mercurial action in the system and immediately following it with one or the other of the above medicines, I have pretty constantly succeeded. On this account medicines should never be made too free with, as preventives of disease, unless there be evidently a morbid predisposition lurking in the sys- tem : for, by thus wantonly familiarising ourselves to medicine when there exists no necessity for it, we shall stand a very good chance to be disappointed of its pro- per effects, in the season of our need. Bitters, those especially made with spirits, like other cordials, have no doubt their use at times, as in damp weather whieh hangs so heavily on the springs of life: but to use them, or mint slings, or drams, as some do every morning, even the brightest, when dumb na- ture herself is smiling and every bird and beast are uttering their artless joy, is a species of suicide. It is a most" wicked attempt to substitute artificial joys in * Vid. Dispensatory. 24 Preliminary Observations. place of those most pure and natural. Such an impi- ous fighting against God and Nature, generally ends as might be expected. The wretched self-destroyers seldom live out half their days. For the same delight- ful exhilaration, produced by one antifogmatic last year, requires two this year, and in that increase, till the habit of intemperate drinking is confirmed. How melancholy is it that rational beings should act so mad- ly, and that the all bountiful Creator cannot intrust us with his good things, without our shameful abuse of them ! Thus it is, that men turn into poisons those pleasant beverages given for cordials, to raise their de- pressed spirits, to invigorate their flaccid nerves, and to enable nature to repel the various attacks of a hu- mid or infected atmosphere. Among the. many remedies of disease, none perhaps holds a higher place than the bath, in its different forms. The cold bath, by its sudden shock, is peculiarly fit- ted to invigorate the system, and to re-animate its cir- culations and secretions. Hence its acknowledged re- putation in all cases of weak and relaxed habits, par- ticularly those of the studious and sedentary. It ought however to be remembered, that, like eve- ry other remedy, it belongs but to one set of diseases. In affections of the viscera, obstructions and inflamma- tions, it is hurtful. If after leaving the bath, the pa- tient do not feel a kindly glow on the surface, he has good cause to fear that the angel of health was not there before him " to move the waters.77 On going into the plunging hath, as it is called, it were better to dash in at once head foremost. The shock in this way is more instantaneous and the distribution of the blood more salutary than when it is driven, as by wet- ting the feet first, from the extremities to the head. It is on this principle that the shower bath possesses ad- vantages superior to the plunging. Immediately on coming out of the bath the body should be rubbed dry with flannel or coarse cloths, and moderate exercise taken. Besides the advantages of frequent cold bathing, its Preliminary Observations. 35 ac- com- partial use is no less salutary in all cases of local tiou. In periodical headache, and indeed in most c«m plaints of the head, the affusion of cold water, though a simple, is a very effectual remedy. If persons subject to the quinsey and sore throat, in- stead of muffling their necks, would bathe them two or three times a day in cold water, they would find their account in it. When the healthy resort to the cold hath, on account of its purifying and pleasant effects, they may continue in it for some time : hut to strengthen and give elasticity to the solids, every thing depends up- on the sudd-n -hock. The time of day for bathing is a matter of indifference, provided it be not immediate- ly after a full meal, or when the body is warm and in a state of free perspiration. The warm bath, about the temperature of the blood, has nearly all the advantages of the cold bath, without being liable to so many objections. Some indeed tell us, that it weakens the body, but so far from doing so, it may justly be considered as one of the most pow- erful and universal restoratives with which we are ac- quainted. Instead of heating, it cools the body, dimi- nishes the pulse, and takes off its unnatural quick- ness/according to the length of time the bath i* con- tinued. Hence tepid baths are of great service, when the body has been overheated, from whatever cause, whether by severe bodily or mental exercise. In all these cases, its happily composing and recuperative virtues seem to be owing to its tendency to promote perspiration, and to relax spasm. Warm bathing can hardly be sufficiently commend- ed, for its sovereign effects in promoting cleanliness, and consequently for curing all diseases of obstructed perspiration from foul skin. , It is much to be lamented, that so many pool chil- dren should become the victim* of their parens^lazi- ness, and neglect of the most sweet and healt uI w.- tue, cleanliness. For would they devote a htt e ot Se r mispent time and money to the more w, And let it sweetly teach thy who^fcne laws j " How best the fickle fabric td sup^rt "Of mortal man -, in healthy body how " A healthful mind the longest to maintain." Ahmstroito. As soon as an infant enters the world, the air rush- es into its lungs, the circulation of the blood through that organ commences, and its life from that moment depends " on the breath that is in its nostrils," which is incessantly taken in and thrown out of the lungs. While the child remained in the womb, it required no external air, because it existed in the blood which was received from its mother through the. umbilical cord, or navel string. But as soon as the infant is born, the air is inhaled and the circulation is determined through the lungs, which ever after continues in that way—and hence the necessity of breathing, which can never cease but with life. Since then air is the main instrument of vitality, both to man aild all creattuj^, it certainly must be a most pleasing and profitat^J wly to acquire correct ideas of this great element. ^^^ of Preserving Health. 73 By the unlettered part of mankind, the vast atraos- phere which surrounds our globe, to the depth of two and thirty miles, is supposed to be one simple, colour- less, invisible mass, without any essential difference of qualities, and without weight. But it is a gross mis- take ; for instead of being a simple uniform element, it is composed of several parts, some of which are wide- ly different from each other. We have, too, number- less proofs of its weight; like other bodies falling to the earth, and becomiug more dense as it approaches its centre. Every one knows that air on the tops of high mountains is much thinner than it is below in the valleys : but the weight of air is susceptible of demon- stration by positive experiment. Having exhausted a thin glass flask, and suspended it at one end of a balance, which being nicely counter- poised by weights in the other scale ; this done, admit the air into the fl^^, into which it will rush with a noise, and though^K flask was balanced before, it will now, upon admission of the air, preponderate. If the flask hold a quart, it will be found that the weight of tlie air it now contains, is about seventeen grains, so that a quart of ah weighs about seventeen grains. We will mention another experiment, easily put into practice. Some water being poured into a saucer, burn a bit of paper in a tea-cup, which by rarifying, will exhaust and make a vacuum in.the cup. Then while the paper is yet burning, turn it hastily down, paper and all, into "the saucer, and the air without will press the water up from the saucer into the cup. The water will stand within the cup in a column; and if the cup were thirty-two feet high, and the air within it per- fectly exhausted, the water would rise to that height m it, as we have said before. This satisfactorily accounts for the rising of water in pumps, or the standing of the quicksilver in the barometer. If further proof be necessary to show the weight of that great ocean of air, whiclg|Dnstantly surrounds us, let a man take a thick gla*flp, such as is put over lamps, and place it upright (uia table having a small 74 On Hygieine, or the art hole in it for an air pump. Then let him place his hand closely over the top of the tube, while a friend with the pump extracts the air, and he shall find that as the air on the inside is removed, the air on the out- side will press his hand down with much violence. Nor will he be surprised at this pressure of the air, when he comes to learn, that a column or pillar of air, of only one inch diameter, and thirty-two miles high, which is the depth of the atmosphere from its top above the clouds to the ground, weighs about fourteen pounds. If the hand of the person, which covers the top of the tube, measure ten inches square, the pressure on it will be about one hundred and forty pounds—sufficient in all conscience to crush every bone in the hand. By the same token, a square foot of such* for long fasting is hurtful at any stage of life. All great and sudden changes of diet are uni- versally dangerous, particularly from a rich and full diet to a low and sparing one. When, therefore a change becomes necessary, it ought always to be made by degrees. When a person has suffered so much from extreme hunger, much food must not be given him at once. By full feeding, thousands long starved at sea, have been destroyed at once. Such persons should be supplied with liquid food, and that sparingly. As soon as the food has entered the stomach, the important office of digestion begins. The vigour of the organs exerted on this occasion, ought certainly not to be abridged by violent exercise ; but muscular and ro- bust people feel no inconvenience from gentle motion about one hour after the heaviest meal. But as the whole process of digestion is of much longer duration than is generally imagined, the afternoon hours cannot be employed so advantageously to health in any labour requiring strong exertions. In violent exercise, or an increased state of perspi- ration, the fluids are propelled to the external parts, and withdrawn from the stomach, where they are in- dispensable to assist the proper concoction. Exclusive of the quantity and quality of food, great attention is due to the kind of it in particular constitu- tions. Animal food in general is more nourishing than vegetable, and when fresh, is likewise more easy of digestion. On this account, it generally agrees best with delicate and weak constitutions. But the flesh of young animals, with a proportionate quantity of well boiled and wholesome vegetables, is of Preserving Health. 101 the best diet adapted to our system. In summer it is advisable to increase the proportion of vegetable food, and to make use of acids, such as vinegar, lemons, oranges, and the like. With regard to our food, how- ever, in quantity and quality, it should be properly proportioned to our exercise. The labourer, who is perpetually toiling from morning till night, could not subsist on food appropriated to those who pursue not the severer exercises of the body ; his diet must be of the coarser kind, such as salted meats or fish, cheese, corn bread, potatoes, onions, and peas, and these in pretty large quantities. On the whole, it will be found to be the safest both in health and sickness to regulate our diet with sim- plicity, ever bearing in mind that a preference is to be given to such articles as our personal knowledge has demonstrated to he the most congenial to our constitu- tions and habits: Nature has appointed milk for the food of children ; because on account of their growth they require much nourishment. From this circumstance we may also conclude, that milk is easily digested by healthy sto- machs, since at the early age of children the digestive powers are but feeble; and hence it is of service to persons enfeebled by dissipation or disease. Yet milk is not a proper food for the debilitated in all cases; nay, under circumstances, it may even be hurtful. It does not, for instance, agree with hypochondriacs; asitoc casions cramp of the stomach, heart-burn, colic, or diarrhoea. Febrile patients, whose weak organs of di- gestion do not admit of nutritious food, and whose pre- ternatural heat would too easily change the milk into a rancid mass, must abstain-from it altogether. With these exceptions, milk is an excellent species of diet, generally of easy digestion, insomuch, that per- sons much reduced in bodily vigour, have been cured by eating milk only. Buttermilk, when new and sweet, is cooling and re- freshing ; so is bonny-clabber. iOS On Hygieine, or the art Cheese, being made of the tough parts of milk, is difficult of digestion; and should be used with caution, except by the hearty and laborious. Eggs, when fresh, and soft boiled, are as whole- some as they are delicious; but when hard boiled are indigestible; and when corrupt or tainted, have occa- sioned violent purging, vomiting, and putrid fevers. Fish in general are less nourishing than other ani- mal food, though they are not difficult of digestion while in a fresh state. Salt water fish are perhaps the best of any, as their flesh is more solid, more agreeable and healthy, less exposed to putrescency, and less viscid. Fresh water fish should lie in strong salt and water, an hour or two before they are dressed; otherwise the mud flavour is very apt to nauseate weak stomachs. Crabs and lobsters, when quite fresh, are excellent food, but if tainted, are no better than poison. The inhabitants of inland towns cannot be too cautious in the use of them. Oysters, when raw, are easily digested, and may be eaten with great advantage even by the weak and con- sumptive. If eaten in any quantity, they produce laxa- tive effects; hence they afford an excellent supper to those liable to costiveness. » Poultry, as chickens and turkeys, furnishes a most valuable aliment. Venison, and every variety of game, form a light and wholesome food, and extremely useful to delicate stomachs. Beef, pork, and bacon, yield a copious and per- manent nourishment; and when taken in moderate quantities, agree well with all stomachs and constitu- tions. of Preserving Health. 103 Sausages are a substantial kind of nourishment, but require strong stomachs to digest them. The same may be said of blood-sausages, usually called black puddings. Bread, the staff of life, is very properly eaten with animal food, to correct the disposition to putrescency; but is most expedient with such articles in diet as con- tain much nourishment in a small bulk, because it then serves to give the stomach a proper degree of expansion. To render bread easy of digestion, it ought to be well fermented. To persons troubled with flatulency and indigestion, all pastry whatever is un- wholesome, frequently producing dangerous colics and incurable obstructions. Fruit, in general, possesses strongly resolvent pow- ers, and is the more beneficial as it comes to maturity at a time when the body is relaxed by the heat of sum- mer, and when the blood has a strong tendency to in- flammation. It is besides of great service in attenuat- ing the thick bilious impurities collected during the summer, and evacuating them by its laxative virtues.— The acid contained in most kinds of fruit, is as useful to quench thirst as to resist putrefaction. In weak stomachs, however, or such as are filled with impuri- ties and slime, it is apt to ferment and occasion some inconvenience ; but this may be avoided by a temperate use. It is most wholesome when eaten on an empty stomach, which can exert all its power to expel the air disengaged from it, and to remove it before it begins to fermeut. Boiling, as well as drying, corrects the flatulenUeVidency of fresh fruit; so that thus prepared, it will agree with almost all stomachs. By either of these methods it is deprived of its superfluous humidi- ty, as well as of its fixed air; whence it becomes more nourishing, but less cooling thau in the fresh state. In our alimeut, an essential part is drink, the use of which is indispensable to the digestion of food. 104 On Hygieine, or the art Water, the basis of our drinks, should be carefully obtained in its highest purity. Passing, for the most part, through subterranean channels, it is often im- pregnated with metals or miuerals of a nature injuri- ous to the constitution ; and such impregnation may be known by the sensible qualities of the water. The best water is that which is pure, light, and without any particular colour, taste or smell. Where water cannot be obtained pure from springs, wells, rivers or lakes, care should be taken to deprive it of its perni- cious qualities, by boiling and filtering, but most effec- tually by distillation. Any putrid substances in the water, may be corrected by the addition of an acid. Thus half an ounce of alum, in powder, will make twelve gallons of corrupted water pure and transparent in two hours, without imparting a sensible degree of astringency. Charcoal powder has also been found of great efficacy in checking the putrid tendency of water. To the same purpose vineger, and other strong acids, are well adapted. Whatever kind of drink is used, it ought to be taken always in a moderate quantity. Too much drink, even of water, innocent as it is, tends \o oppress and weak- en the stomach, of course to generate acidities and flatulence. Some advise us never to drink without eating some- thing, but he who drinks only when nature requires it, has no occasion to eat every time he drinks. Per- sons, on the contrary, once accustomed to drink more than is necessary, or to make use of hot, stimulating, and intoxicating liquors, would do well always to eat some bread, or other solid food, along with them. An undue proportion of drink renders the mass of blood too thiu and watery, arlfl occasions a general de- bility of the body. On the other hand, too little drink renders the blood thick and viscid, and weakens the digestive powers. Light and well fermented beer, is a wholesome, and at the same time, diluent species of nourishment. With persons already plethoric, the lightest beer generally agrees best. Thick and nourish- of Preserving Health. 105 ing beer, is of service to wet nurses, and the debili- tated. Sweet beers are only nourishing, but the bitter kinds are strengthening also. The latter are benefi- cial in a weak state of digestion, and to people trou- bled with acid in the stomach ; yet sweet beer is more wholesome for daily use, and at the same time less ex- posed to daugerous adulterations. Cider, when properly fermented and pure, is also a pleasant and wholesome liquor. On the contrary, when it is new or tart, we cannot recommend it as a salubrious beverage. Wine, when pure, aud used in moderation, certain- ly conduces to health, especially in weak and languid habits. See Vine. Mat. Med. Ardent Spirits, when properly diluted, are likewise an excellent beverage and antiseptic. These liquors are of considerable service in preventing the bad ef- fects of a moist and cold atmosphere, pestilential va- pours, damp military camps, unclean occupations, and, occasionally too, of a temporary abstinence from food. But as the infusion of too great a quantity of oil im- mediately extinguishes the lamp, the light of reason, and the lamp of life itself, are frequently suffocated, and put out for ever by an imprudent use of either wine or spirits. It was a custom amongst the Romans to drink down the evening, and to drink up the morning star: and another of their common practices was, to drink so many cups and healths, as there were letters in the names of their mistresses : Six cups to Ncevia's health, seven to Justina be, To Lycas five, to Lyde four, and then to Ida three. Martial. A young officer meeting with several of his old ac- quaintances, and being induced by them to follow the 106 On Hygieine, or the art example of the Romans in this respect, was so over- come, that he laid himself down to sleep, upon a bench near to an open casement, where his face was beat upon all the night long, by a heavy snow. In the morning he had a strange writhing in his mouth; his right cheek, which lay nearest to the vviudow, was fixed, nor was he able to move the eye-brow, or any of the muscles on that side of the face, in consequence of a partial stroke of the palsy. Some riotous Students, at a famous University, were entertained by Mr. R. a bachelor, at his chamber, who intending to treat them to the height of intemperance, had so gorged himself with toddy and wine, that he was fast asleep at the table he sat by; in which pos- ture his associates left him, A candle stood upon the table near him; and in his sleep he had turned him- self so, that it burnt his breast, and the parts about it, in such a manner, that his entrails might be seen, which however, was not perceived by him buried in wine. In the morning he was called on and awakened by his fellow toss-pots, and invited to take a glass of mint cordial, when he complained of insufferable tor- ments. The most skilful physicians were immediately sent for; but in vain did they endeavour to afford relief. In horrid torments, upon the third day following, he concluded his miserable life; having first warned his companions, with tears, to beware of intemperance. Tea is considered by some as being highly injuri- ous, while others have either asserted its innocence, or even ascribed to it extraordinary virtues. When taken in a large quantity, or very strong, and at a late hour, it often produces watchfulness ; but if used in modera- tion, it greatly relieves an oppressed stomach, and pains of the head. It ought, however, to be made of a moderate strength, otherwise it certainly affects the nerves. Hypochondriac and hysteric people arc much deceived in their opinions of the efficacy of tea; for all of Preserving Health. 107 the evils arising from weak stomachs and flatulency, of which they complain, are certainly increased by tea, especially if taken in large and strong quantities. The cold stomach which they propose to warm by it, is a mere phantom of the brain; for this sensation of cold, is nothing but relaxation, which, instead of being re- moved by hot liquors, is assuredly increased by them. Coffee promotes digestion, and exhilarates the animal spirits; but an excessive use of it, like tea, affects the nerves, occasions watchfulness, and trembling of the hands. As possessing excellent antispasmodic virtues, it is a favourite beverage with the hypochondriac and hysteric. Chocolate is nutritious and wholesome, if taken in small quantity; but to the corpulent and weak, par- ticularly those with whom a vegetable diet disagrees, it is generally hurtful. OF EXERCISE. ________________________By health the peasant's toil Is well repaid ; if exercise were pain Indeed, and temperance pain. By afts like these Laconia nursed of old her hardy sons; And Rome's unconquered legions urged their way, Unhurt, through every toil in every clime. Toil and be strong. By toil the flaccid nerves Grow firm, and gain a more compacted tone ; The greener juices are by toil subdu'd, Mellowed, and subtilis'd; the vapid old Expell'dj and all the rancour of the blood. Begin with gentle toils, and, as your nerves, Grow firm, to hardier by just steps aspire. The prudent, even in every moderate walk, At first but saunter; and by slow degrees Increase their pace. This doctrine of Uie wise, Well knows the master of the flying steed. ArmstroSo. It was a common saying among the ancients, that acute diseases are from heaven and chronic from our- 108 On Hygieine, or the art selves. To die, says Dr. Johnson, is the fate of man; but to die with lingering anguish, is generally his own folly. Inactivity never fails to induce an universal re- laxation of the contractile fibres. When these fibres are relaxed, neither the digestion, the circulation, nor the. peristaltic motion can be duly performed. It is absolutely impossible to enjoy health where the perspiration also is not duly carried on ; and that can never be the case, where exercise is neglected. Action is essential to the well being of the body The universal experience of mankind attests this truth. Those exempted from the necessity of labour by wealth, seek exercise in sports or games. " Love labour," cried a Philosopher, " if you do not want it for food, you may for physic." The idle man is more perplexed what to do, than the industrious in doing what he ought. Action keeps the soul in con- stant health; but idleness corrupts and rusts the mind. A gentleman under close confinement in the Bastile seven years, amused himself in scattering a few small pins about his chamber, gathering them up again, and placing them in different figures on the arm of a great chair. He often told his friends, afterwards, that he verily believed he should have lost his senses, but for this exercise. "Pray, of what did your brother die?" said the Marquis Spinola, one day, to Sir Horace Vere. " He died, Sir," said he, " of having nothing to do."— "Alas! Sir," said Spinola, "that is enough to kill any general of us all." Indolence often originates from a mistaken educa- tion, in which pleasure or flattery is made the immedi- ate motive of action, and not future advantage, or what is termed duty. This observation is of great value to those who attend to the education of their own chil- dren. I have seen, says Dr. Darwin, one or two young of Preserving Health. 109 married ladies of fortune, who perpetually became un- easy, and believed themselves ill, a week after their arrival in the country, and continued so uniformly du- ring their stay ; yet, on their return to London or Bath, immediately lost all their complaints. 1 was led to as- cribe this to their being surrounded in infancy with meuial attendants, who had flattered them into the ex- ertions they then used; and that, in riper years, they became torpid for want of this stimulus, and could not amuse themselves by any voluntary employment; re- quiring ever after either to be amused by other people, or to be flattered into activity. Dr. Johnson says, " whenever chance brings within my observation a knot of young ladies, busy at their needles, I consider myself as in the school of virtue ; and though I have no extraordinary skill in plain work or embroidery, I look upon their operations with as much satisfaction as their governess, because I regard them as providing a security against the most dange- rous insnarers of the soul, by enabling themselves to exclude idleness from their solitary moments, and with idleness, its attendant train of passious, fancies, chi- meras, fears, sorrows, and desires." If sedentary employments be intermixed with a due quantity of exercise, they will never injure health. Weak fibres are the constant companions of inactivi- ty. Nothing but daily exercise in the open air can brace and strengthen the powers of the stomach, and prevent an endless train of diseases, which proceed from a relaxed state of that orsjan. We seldom hear the active and laborious complain of nervous diseases; which are rc-servcd for the sons of idleness. Many have been completely cured of these disorders by being reduced, from a state of opulence, to labour for their daily bread. This plainly points out the sources whence nervous diseases flow, aud the means by which they may be prevented. 110 On Hygieine, or the art ------------Weariness Can snore upon the flint; when resty sloth Finds the downy pillow hard. The shades descend, and midnight o'er the world Expands her sable wings. Great nature droops Through all her works. How happy he whose toil Has o'er his languid powerless limbs diffused A pleasing lassitude. He not in vain Invokes the gentle deity of dreams. By toil subdued, the warrior and the hind Sleep fast and deep.—Their active functions soon With generous streams their subtle tubes supply Ere morn, the tonic irritable nerves Feel the fresh impulse, and awake the soul. Armstrong. Idleness is a servile, weak, and degenerate habit; that of the mind being worse than that of the bo- dy. Wit, without employment, is a disease, the rust and canker of the soul, a plague, a hell itself; for, as in a standing pool, worms and nauseous creepers mul- tiply, so do vicious thoughts in an idle person. An idle body, knowing not how to employ itself, contracts innumerable diseases. As the idle dog will grow mangy, so an idle man will not escape gross humours of body, crudities, wind, with heavy, dull, phlegma- tic indisposition, and discontents ; for so long as he is idle, it is impossible to receive pleasure, knowing not when he is well, or whither he would go; but tired out with every thing, displeased with all, and even weary of life itself, because he will not industriously dispose of the time that lies upon his hands. The god of sloth, say the poets, is a negligent, careless deity. His leaden limbs at gentle ease are laid, With poppies and dull nightshade round him spread. of Preserving Health. 111 No passions interrupt his easy reign, No problems puzzle his lethargic brain; But dull oblivion guards his peaceful bed And lazy fogs bedew his thoughtless head. Thus at full length the pamper'd monarch lay, Batt'ning in ease, and slumbering life away. Gar. The Sybarites so pleased themselves with an affect- ed sluggishness, and were so willing to continue in it, without any kind of molestation, that, laying their drowsy noddles together to find out a method to secure their quiet, they at length hit upon this stratagem, viz. by a severe edict they banished all artificers and han- dicraft tradesmen, who in working made any kind of noise, that without disturbance they might take their full and free repose in the morning; to which one said, " that to have made the silence complete, they ought to have hung padlocks upon the mouths of their wives also." A gentleman states, that, as he was sitting with some friends before the door of the Capitol, a beggar pre- sented himself, who with sighs, tears, and lamentable gestures, expressed his miserable poverty, saying withal, that " he had about him a private disorder, which shame prevented him from discovering to the eyes of men." They, pitying the case of the poor man, gave each of them something, and he departed. One amongst them sent his servant after him, to enquire what his private infirmity might be, which he was so loth to discover? The servant overtook him, and de- sired that satisfaction ; and having diligently viewed his face, breast, arms, &c. and finding all his limbs in good plight, "1 see nothing," said he, "whereof you have any such reason to complain." "Alas!" said the. beggar, " the disease that afflicts me, is far different from what you conceive of, and is such as you cannot see. It is an evil that has crept over my whole IIS On Hygieine, or the art body; passing through the very veins and marrow of me, in such a manner, that no one member of my body is able to take proper exercise, or do any work. This disease by some is called idleness." The servant hav- ing left him, returned with this account; which not a little amused his master and friends. As idleness is the rust and bane of all human vir- tues, so, on the contrary, industry and diligence in bu- siness are conquerors of all difficulties; sweetening la- bour and pains, and giving satisfaction as well as pro- fit, in the accomplishment of what is undertaken. When men work at their play, and play with their work, they invert the order of nature, as well as the divine command, and must expect in the sequel to come, home by Weeping Cross, because they have la- boured in vain, and played the fool with themselves in neglecting to secure to themselves a comfortable sub- sistence. Among the Athenians and ancient Romans, there was a law exacting an account from every man how he maintained himself and family ; and if unable to give a satisfactory answer, he was immediately ban- ishedijwith reproach, as a vermin that devoured what he had no right to, in being an unprofitable excrescence, contributing nothing towards the tranquillity of the pub- lic. It is true, we have no such law executed among us ; and yet the idle are punished as severely ; for, when men see others feed high, wear good clothes, and have neither estate or employment to support it, they fly tooth and nail upon their reputations, and lay them irrecoverably under the suspicion of cheats, thieves, robbers, or coiners. All men must, (say they) have some way of living, and where a good one is not visi- ble, an ill one will he presumed ; whereas industry is always attended with a generous character. An industrious Roman, named Cresin, who lived at a more plentiful rate, and had better crop* than his neighbours who lived on the same soil, was accused by the poorer sort of enchanting his grounds, fields. of Preserving Health. 113 and gardens ; for otherwise, said they, it is impossible he should have a more plentiful increase, than we have, who sow the same seeds, and employ the same ground, and yet live in extreme poverty. Cresin made but a short defence for himself, and that was in shewing an able bodied daughter, inured to pains and labour, and all his carts, ploughs, oxen, and utensils of husbandry, saying: " Here, most noble, judges, are all the magical arts and enchantments used by Cresin ; and if my neighbours and accusers would take the same care and pains in employing their creatures and implements, that my daughter and I example was followed by several others. Hope, with a goodly prospect feeds the eye, Shews from a rising ground possession nigh ; Shortens the distance, or o'erlooks it quite; So easy 'tis to travel by the sight. Drvden. A certain Rhodian, for his over freedom in speech, was cast by a tyrant into a cage, and there kept as a of Preserving Health. 171 wild beast, to his great pain and shame : for his hands were cut off, his nostrils slit, and his face deformed by several wounds upon it. In this extremity, he was advised by some of his friends to shorten his life by a voluntary abstinence from all food. But he rejected their counsel with great indignation ; and told them, " While a man is alive, all things are to be hoped for by him." Cease, every joy, to glimmer on my mind, But leave—oh! leave the light of Hope behind! What, though my winged hours of bliss have been, Like angel-visits, few and far between! Her musing mood shall every pang appease, And charm—when pleasures lose the power to please! Campbell. But Hope ill-grounded does often trick and bubble the owner, as it did the Spanish woman that, coming with three of her sons a-begging to a French shoema- ker thaUived in Spain, he said to her one day, "Good woman, I will ease thee of some part of thy charge; for if thou leave one of thy sons with me, I will breed him up in my trade, and make him capable of living like a man, and to be helpful to his parents also." "God forbid," said the woman, " that I should cast away my child to a stranger, and bring him up to so pitiful a mechanic trade as a shoemaker, since I live in hopes that the eldest will be Viceroy of Naples, the second of Mexico, and the youngest of Sardinia. Hope, Fortune's cheating lottery ! Where, for one prize, a hundred blanks there be. Fond archer, Hope ! who tak'st thy aim so far, That still, or short or wide, thy arrows are. Thin empty cloud ! which th' eye deceives With shapes that our own fancy gives : A cloud, which gilt and painted, now appears, But must drop presently in tears. 178 On Hygieine, or the art Brother of Fear ! more gaily clad ! The merrier fool o' the two, but quite as mad. Dryden. OF JOY. Pleasures are ever in our hands or eyes; And when, in act, they cease, in prospect, rise; Present to grasp, and future still to find, The whole employ of body and of mind. All spread their charms, but charm not all alike ; On different senses, diff'rent objects strike; Hence diff'rent Passions more or less inflame, As strong or weak, the organs of the frame j And hence one master passion in the breast, Like Aaron's serpent, swallows up the rest- Pop i. Joy is that state of mind, in which it feels extraor- dinary pleasure. The activity of the whole machine is enlivened; the action of the heart and arteries is in- creased ; the circulation of all the fluids is more vigor- ous and uniform; it prevents the formation of disease, and facilitates the cure of such as are formed. There are several degrees of joy, as various cir- cumstances may intervene; so may we distinguish va- rious differeuces of the passion itself; for there is no pleasure or good that may not be mixed with some ill or inconvenience. Our extremest pleasure has still some air of groaning and complaining in it, unless it be discreetly moderated. When Philip, king of Macedon, was overcome in fight, and all Greece was assembled at the Isthmian games, T. Q. Flaoiinius caused silence to be made by sound of trumpet, and then words to be proclaimed to the people by the crier, viz. "The senate and people of Rome, and Titus Quinctius Flaminius, their gene- ral, out of their special goodness, clemency, and fa- of Preserving Health. 173 vour, do give liberty and freedom to all the cities of Greece, formerly under the jurisdiction of king Philip, and do hereby restore them to all their immunities, privileges, and properties." At the first hearing these unexpected words, the people were all so confounded in perfect silence that they were not able to speak or express their satisfaction by any kind of gesture, but stood like men who had been born deaf and dumb: But, when the crier pronounced the same words, a second time, they broke out into such strong and loud acclamations of joy, that the birds flying over their heads were struck dead with the noise, and fell down among them. The games were all neglected, and their minds so intent upon what they heard, that this one joy took away the sense of all other pleasures. Ptolemeus Philadelphus had received the sacred volumes of the law of God, newly brought out of Ju- dea; and, while he held them with great reverence in his hands, praising God upon that account, all that were present made a joyful exclamation; and the king himself was so overjoyed, that he broke out into tears. Nature having so ordered it, that the expression of sorrow should also be the follower of extraordinary joys. Pope Julius the second, receiving information of aux- iliary forces that were coming to him from the king of Spain, to make an end of the Farrarian *war, was so exceedingly rejoiced at it, that he was presently re- lieved of a fever, with which he was afflicted for some time. Askew, a wealthy and facetious farmer of Cornwall, was afflicted with a most alarming imposthumation, of which he appeared to be on the very point of suffoca- tion. Concluding, from his agonies, that he had but a few moments to live, his servants, an ungrateful crew to such a generous master, began to plunder. One seized his gold watch, another laid violent hands on 174 On Hygieine, or the art his plate; and the third, more daring still, broke his bureau, and began to finger his gold. A monkey, who was present, seeing what they were about, and think- ing he might as well take a hand in the game, laid hold of his master's wig, and with his gold-headed cane, made him a low bow, and began to walk about the room as a man of great consequence. The stately step- pings and self-assumed dignity of Jacko, so tickled the fancy of Mr. Askew, as to excite a most immoderate fit of laughter. The imposthumation burst, the puru- lent matter was thrown up—and, to the eternal confu- sion of his servants, Mr. Askew perfectly recovered his health. The Egyptian Temples, they say, were exceeding- ly beautiful and fair in the frontispiece, but foul and filthy inwardly. So this affection of joy, which seems outwardly so pleasant upon us, and which furnishes our hearts with much pleasure and delight, proves fa- tal to us in the excess of it, and serves us much after the manner of ivy, which seemeth to adorn the tree whereunto it cleaveth, but indeed sucketh out and steal- eth away the sap thereof. A gentleman, at a sermon, saw a woman fall from her seat half asleep; at which most of the congrega- tion laughed; but he was so much moved, that for three days he did nothing but laugh, by which means he was much weakened, and continued in an infirm state of body for a long time after. Cardanus, in the fifth book of Wisdom, gives an instance of the danger of this passion when it exceeds its due bounds, in a smith of Milan, a fellow citizen of his, who being highly commended for refining an in- strument called the colea, heretofore made use of by Archimedes, out of extreme joy ran mad, Heracliotis, the most celebrated painter of his age, having drawn the picture of a very old hag of a woman, of Preserving Health. 175 and delineated it to the life, he sat him down to con- sider his handy work; and, pleasing himself with the ridiculous aspect and posture he had put her in, he fell into a sudden and violent laughter; and not being able to check it, his breath failing, he died upon the place. Philemon, a comic poet, beholding an ass eating some figs that a boy had laid down ; when the boy re- turned, " Go now," said he, " and fetch the ass some drink;" the old man was so tickled with the fancy of his own jest, that he died laughing. In the same man- ner, and much upon the same occasion, died Chrysip- pus. The same is related of one of the Popes, who, when he was ill, saw a monkey at his bed side put on the holy tiara. Philippides, a comic poet in Athens, being arrived to a great age, when in the contest and trial of poets, he, beyond all his hopes, had the victory adjudged to him, and not able to bear the great joy it excited, he suddenly fell down and died. An honourable and beautiful lady of the island of Naxos, named Polycrite, when her city was in danger of being taken and destroyed by the Ethreans, was humbly besought by the chiefs of the town to under- take an embassy, in order to procure them peace; to which she readily consented, and, being mistress of a very fine tongue, so prevailed on the prince Diognetes, the general of the siege, that he granted them peace, and marched away; which, being known to the peo- ple, they ran out of the town to meet her, with loud acclamations; some strewing her way with flowers, others with garlands, and all returning her thanks as their sovereign preserveress. The lady apprehended so much joy in the expressions of their gratitude, instant- ly expired in the midst of her honours, at the city gate; and, instead of being carried to the throne, was *76 On Hygieine, or the art carried to her tomb, to the inexpressible sorrow of her whole country. Captain Coucy, a gallant gentleman, of ancient ex- traction, in France, and governor of Coucy castle, fell in love with a young lady, and courted her. There was reciprocal love between them ; but her parents understanding it, by way of prevention, shuffled up a forced match between her and one Mr. Fayel, who was heir to a great estate. Hereupon, captain Coucy quitted France in discontent, and went to the vvars in Hungary against the Turks, where he received a mor- tal wound near Buda. Being carried to his lodgings, he languished four days : but a little before his death, he spoke to an ancient servant, of whose fidelity and trust he had had ample experience, and told him he had a great business to trust him with, which he con- jured him to perform; which was, that after his death, he should cause his body to be opened, take out his heart, put it into an earthen pot, and bake it to pow- der; then put the powder into a handsome box, with the bracelet of hair he had long worn about his left wrist, which was a lock of Madame Fayel's hair, and put it amongst the powder, together with a little note which he had written with his own blood; and after he had given him the rites of burial, to make all the speed he could to France, and deliver the box to Ma- dame Fayel. The old servant did as his master com- manded him, and so went to France ; and coming one day to Monsieur Fayel's house, he suddenly met him with one of his servants ; who, knowing him to be cap tain Coucy's servant, examined him; and finding him timorous and to falter in his speech, he searched him, and found the said box in his pocket, with the note which expressed what was in it; then he (Vismissed the bearer, with menaces that he should come no more thither. Monsieur Fayel going in, sent for his cook, and delivered him the powder, charging him to make a well relished dish of it, without losing a jot, for it was a very costly thing; and commanded him to bring it of Preserving Health. 177 in himself after the last course at supper. The cook, bringing in his dish accordingly, Monsieur Fayel com- manded all to avoid the room, and began a serious dis- course with his wife; " That ever since he had mar- ried her, he observed she was always melancholy, and he feared she was inclining to a consumption, there- fore, he had provided a very precious cordial, which he was well assured would cure her," and for that reason obliged her to eat up the whole dish. She af- terwards much importuning him to know what it was, he told her at last, "she had eaten Coucy's heart;" and so drew the box out of his pocket and showed her the note and bracelet. In a sudden exultation of joy, she, with a deep-fetched sigh, said, " This is a pre- cious cordial indeed ;" and so licked the dish, saying, " It is so precious, that it is a pity ever to eat any thing after it." Whereupon she went to bed, and in the morning was found dead. This sad story is painted in Coucy castle, and remains fresh to this day. When the Romans were overcome by Hannibal at the battle of Thrasymene, and the news of that cala- mity was brought to them, the anxious and solicitous multitude flocked to the gates, as well women as men, to hear what became of their friends: various were the affections of inquirers according as they were certified of the life or death of their relations; but both the sor- row and joy of the women exceeded that of the men. Here it was that one woman meeting at the gate with her son in safety, whom she had given up for dead, died in his arms as she embraced him. Another hear- ing, though falsely, that her son was slain, kept herself within doors in great sorrow and perplexity : when unexpectedly she saw him come in; this first sight of him caused such excessive joy as to deprive her im- mediately of life. If we have anticipated any joyful event, the body is gradually prepared to undergo the emotions con- nected with it. For this reason we ought to fortify our- 178 On Hygieine, or the art selves with the necessary share of firmness, to meet joyful as.well as disastrous tidings. Habitual jo.v arising from the perfection, rectitude, and due subordination of our faculties ; and their live- ly exercise on the most worthy objects,jr.s the love of God, and the practice of virtue; constitutes mental or rational happiness. A soul in commerce with her God, is heav'n; Feels not the tumults and the shocks of life ; The whirls of passions and the strokes of heart. A deity believed, is joy begun; A deity adored, is joy advanced ; . A deity beloved, is joy matured. Young. OF GRIEF. It is the great art of life to manage well The restless mind. For ever on pursuit Of knowledge bent, it starves the grosser powers: Quite unemployed, against its own repose It turns its fatal edge, and shaVper pangs Than what the body knows, embitter life. Chiefly where solitude, the# nurse of care, To sickly musing gives the pensive mind, There madness enters; and the dim-eyed fiend, Sour melancholy, night and day provokes Her own eternal wound.------- Armstrong. Grief, like a poison, corrodes the powers of the mind and body; it enfeebles the whole nervous sys- tem ; the heart beats slower; the circulation of the blood, and other fluids, become more inert; the appe- tite and digestion become vitiated, and thus arise ob- structions and other distressing complaints. Tears are of Preserving Health. 179 the anodynes of grief, and ought, therefore not to be restrained. They have a tendency to prevent the dan- ger to be apprehended from grief, by diminishing the spasmodic motions in the breast and head; and byre- storing regularity in respiration, as well as in the cir- culation of the blood. A widow lady was left in narrow circumstances with a boy and girl, two beautiful and lively children, the one six, and the other seven years of age ; as her cir- cumstances allowed her to keep but one maid servant, these two children were the sole attention, employ- ment, and consolation of her life : she fed them, dress- ed them, slept with them, and taught them herself: they were both snatched from her by the gangrenous sore throat, in one week ; so that she lost at once all that employed her, as well as all that was dear to her. For the first three or four days after their death, when any friend visited her, she sat upright with her eyes wide open, without shedding tears, and affected to speak of indifferent things. Afterwards she began to weep much, and for some weeks talked to her friends of nothing else but her dear children; but did not for many years, even to her dying hour, get quite over a gloom which was left upon her countenance. The following illustration will show that some anti- dote has been found against the violent effects of grief. A matron of Ephesus, after the death of her husband, not contented with the usual expressions of grief in fol- lowing bim to his grave, but actually followed his corpse into the very vault, and there continued lament- ing whole nights and days together, against the power of the magistrates, and the persuasions of her friends ; all people lamenting the severity she imposed upon herself, being there five days without any kind of sus- tenance, or any company but her servant maid, who as- sisted her sorrows, and repaired thither as occasion served, insomuch that the whole, city thought her the nonpareil of her sex in conjugal affection. While this 180 On Hygieine, or the art doleful scene was acting, the governor of the province had commanded some notorious thieves to be crucified near that dormitory, and appointed a soldier to watch there day and night, that their friends might not take them down from tint cross, and bury them. The soldier, perceivingalightamong the tombs, descended the vault, and seeing a beautiful woman sitting by her husband's corpse, in a very mournful posture, carried his supper into the vault, and used such words to abate her sor- row, and give her comfort, as are commonly employed on such doleful occasions; but she was rather exaspe- rated, and, tearing off her hair, laid it upon the breast of her dead husband. The soldier continued to give her consolation, and her maid joining with him, at length prevailed with her to eat; then he made love to her, and obtained her favour. During this love affair, the relations of one of the crucified thieves, seeing they were very negligently watched, took down their rela- tion and buried him. The soldier, seeing that one of the thieves had been stolen from the cross, grew des- perate, upon the thoughts of being hanged up in his place, and therefore to punish his negligence, told the woman he would kill himself with his own sword, be- seeching her to let him, after death, find a place in that vault by her husband. The woman commisera- ting her friend, and being altogether as compassionate as she was chaste, and, unwilling, after she had dried her eyes for a husband, to fall into a second mourning for a friend that had brought her out of her first melan- choly, told him, "she had rather part with a dead husband than occasion the death of a living friend;" and immediately commanded her husband's body to be taken out of the coffin, his nose to be cut off, to disfi- gure his face, and gave him to supply the place of the thief stolen away. The soldier, admiring the woman's wit, that had found out an expedient to save his life, went about his work immediately, and, havin°- filled the empty place, left the people to wonder by what means the thief was got upon the cross a"*ain. of Preserving Health. 181 When any cause of deep grief is presented to the mind, it frequently gains such a force as almost totally to exclude all thoughts, except those that are connected with it. Hence the whole imagination is, by degrees, obscured, and the most usual consequences of it are the deepest melancholy, succeeded by insanity—and sometimes, that speedier dissolution, "a broken heart." A rich Bishop of Salisbury being spoiled of his goods, aud thrown out of his castle, was so immerged in grief, that he rati perfectly mad, and remained in that situatiou for several years until his death. Governor Alvarado married Lady Beatrice, and he dying, his wife abandoned herself to all the excesses of grief; and not only dressed her house in black, and abstained from meat and sleep, but in a mad impiety said, " God could now do her no greater evil." Soon after happened an extraordinary inundation of waters, which on a sudden assailed the Governor's house, and caused this impotent Lady now to bethink herself of her devotion, and betake her to the Chapel, with se- veral of her maids ; where, leaping on the altar, and clasping about an image, the force of the water carri- ed away the Chapel, and she with her maids were drowned. Charles, Duke of Burgundy, being discomfited at the battle of Nancy, passing over a river, was over- thrown by his horse, and in that state was assaulted by a gentleman, of whom he craved quarters ; hut the gen- tleman being deaf, slew him immediately : yet after- wards, when he knew whom he had slain, he died within a few days of grief. Homer had sailed out of Chios to Io, with a pur- pose to visit Athens : here it was, that being old, he fell sick, and so remained upon the shore, where there landed certain fishermen, whom he asked "if they had taken any thing ?" They replied, " what we caught 182 On Hygieine, or the art we left behind us; and what we could not catch we brought with us ;" meaning, that when they could not catch any fish, they had loused themselves upon the shore, killing what they took, and carrying with them such as they could not find. When Homer was not able to solve this riddle, it is reported that he died With grief. When the Turks came to raise the siege of Buda, there was amongst the German captains a nobleman called Rayschachius, whose son, a valiant young gen- tleman, having got out of the army without his father's knowledge, he behaved so gallantly in fight against the enemy, in the sight of his father and of the army, that he was highly commended of all men, and especially of his father, who did not know he was his son ; yet before he could clear himself he was compassed in by the enemy, and, valiantly fighting, was slain. Rays- chachius, exceedingly moved by the death of a brave man, ignorant how near it touched himself, turning about to the other captains, said, " This worthy gen- tleman, whosoever he be, deserves eternal commenda- tion, and to be honourably buried by the whole army." As the rest of the captains were with like compassion approving his speech, the dead body of the unfortunate son was presented to the most miserable father, which caused all who were present to shed tears; but such a sudden and inward grief surprised the aged father, and struck so to his heart, that after he had stood awhile speechless, with his eyes fixed, he fell down dead. Uvipertus, elected bishop of Rauburg, went to Rome to receive the confirmation thereof from the Pope,; when finding himself neglected and rejected by him, upon the account of his youth, the next night for grief all the hair of his head was turned grey, whereupon he was received. The melioration of grief by time, and its being at length even attended by pleasure, depends on on: of Preserving Health. 183 retaining any distinct idea of the last object, and for- getting for a time, the idea of the loss of it. This plea sure of grief is beautifully 'described by Akenside. ---------Ask the fa jthful youth Why the cold urn o[ her whom long he lov'd So often fills his avnis: so often draws His lonely footsteps at the silent hour To pay the mournful tribute of his tears? Oh ! he will tejl thee, that the wealth of worlds Should ne'er seduce his bosom to forego That sacred hour; when stealing from the noise Of care aud envy, sweet remembrance soothes With Virtue's kindest looks, his aching breast, And turns his tears to rapture. Whilst, f'ne great genius of physic, Hippocrates, drove away maladies by his precepts, and almost snatched bodies out of the hands of death, one Anti- phon arose in Greece, who, envious of his glory, pro- mised to do upon souls, what the other did on bodies ; and proposed the sublime invention, which Plutarch calls the art of curing grief, where we may truly say, he used more vanity, promises, and show of words, than he wrought effects. Certainly it were to be wished that all ages, which are abundant in misery, should likewise produce great comforts to soften the calamities of humau life. 0! canst thou minister to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Rase out the written troubles of the brain; And, with some sweet oblivious antidote, Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart ? Shakspeabe. In the Pagan religion, the power of dying was the great consolation in irremediable distress. Seneca says, 184* On Hygieine, or the art "No one need be unhappy, unless by his own fault." —And the author of Telemachus begins his work by saying, that Calypso could not console herself for the loss of Ulysses, and found herself unhappy in being immortal. But to the Christian, this one suggestion, I know that my Redeemer livet.h, affords a richer cor dial to the fainting soul, than alA the volumes of Hea- then Philosophy. Many are the sayings of the wise In ancient and in modern books enroll'd, Extolling patience as the truest fortitude : And to the bearing well of all calamities, All chances incident to man's frail life. Many are the consolatory writs form'd With studied argument, and much persuasion; But with th' afflicted in his pangs such sounds Little prevail, or rather seem a tune Harsh, and of dissonant mood from his complaint: Unless he feel within Some source of consolation from above, Secret refreshings, that repair his strength, And fainting spirits uphold. Milton. When the heart is oppressed, every former comfort at that moment usually goes for nothing. Life is be- held in all its gloom. A dark cloud seems to hang over it; and it is too often reviewed, as no other than a scene of wretchedness and sorrow. But this is to be unjust to human life, as well as ungrateful to its au- thor. Only consider how many days, how many months, how many years you have passed in health, ease and comfort; Jiow many pleasurable feelings you have had; how many blessings, in short, of different kinds, you have tasted; and you will he forced to acknowledge, that more materials of thanksgiving present themselves than of lamentation and complaint: these blessings, of Preserving Health. 185 you will say, are past; but though past, ought they to be gone from your remembrance ? Do they merit no place in the comparative estimate of goods and evils of your state? Did you, could you expect, that in this mutable world, any temporal joy was to last for ever? Has gratitude no influence to form your mind to a calm acquiescence in your Benefactor's appointments? What can be more reasonable than to say—Having in former times received so many good things from the hand of God, shall £ not now without despondence, re- ceive the few evils which it hath pleased him to send? If we are deprived of friends, whom we tenderly lov- ed, are there not some still remaining, from whom we may expect much comfort? If our bodies are, afflicted with sore disease, have we not reason to be thankful that our mind continues vigorous and entire? that we are in a situation to look around us for whatever can af- ford us ease ; aud that after the decay of this frail and mouldering tabernacle, we can look forward " to a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." In the midst of all distresses, there remains to every sincere Christian, that mixture of pure and genuine consolation, which springs from the promises and hopes of a future life. Consider what a singular distinction this makes in your situation, beyond the state of those who, under the various troubles of life, are left without hope; without any thing to look up to, but a train of unknown causes and accidents, in which they see no light nor comfort. Thank the Father of Mercies, that into all the evil he sends, he in fuses joyful hope, that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in the end to the virtuous and good. Have we sustained the greatest of all losses ? it is his gain that he yet liv- eth, that this life is but the threshold, the portal, the entrance to a better place, and that his happiness is as complete as our misery is great. Let us turn our eyes from earth to heaven, from the perishable body to that which endureth forever; and, even whilst we are hea- vy with affliction, let us smile with our eyes turned up- 186 On Hygieine, or the art wards, and say, " It is thy will, I submit.—He is hap- py. I would not wish him back to a troublesome world. __I soon shall follow after him. The mortal hath put on immortality—We shall then meet, never, never, to be separated more." Think, then, ye mourning parents, nor complain For breathless children, as ye weep in vain. Why should you be in lamentations drown'd, While your young babes with victory are crown'd, Before the sword was drawn, or cruel strife Had shed its venom on the ills of life ? Perhaps Almighty God foresaw some vile, Some tempting evil should them beguile ; Of sore adversity, a dreadful storm, Or of dire wickedness, a monstrous form. How then in words which nothing can avail, Against that kind precaution dare you rail ? Remember, that of them you're not bereav'd, But from " the coming evil they are sav'd." Anketell. OF FEAR. Timorous self-love, with sick'ning fancy's aid, Presents the danger that you dread the most, And ever galls you in your tender part. Hence, some for love, and some for jealousy, Have lost their reason : some for fear of want, Want all their lives; and others every day, For fear of dying, suffer worse than death. Is there an evil worse than fear itself ? And what avails it, that indulgent Heaven From mortal eyes has wrapt the woes to come, If we, ingenious to torment ourselves, Grow pale at hideous fictions of our own > Armstrong. Fear has its origin in the apprehension of danger, and is kindly placed in man as a sentinel for self-pre- of Preserving Health. 187 servation. But, like every other passion, the excess of it is pernicious. If it be raised to the degree of terror, the hairs are raised on end, and the whole body put into Jiorror and trembling. With some individuals it is apt to occasion diarrhoea; and in others, an involunta- ry discharge of urine. If the passion continues, the spirits are put into confusion, so that they cannot exe- cute their offices ; the usual succours of reason fail; judgment is blinded; the powers of voluntary motion become weak; and the heart is insufficient to maintain the circulation of the blood ; which, stagnating in the ventricles of the heart, causes swooning, aud sometimes sudden death. It always begets a terrible astonishment and confu- sion during the fit. We omit the vulgar sort, to whom it one while represents their great grandsires risen out of their graves in their shrouds; another while hob- goblins, spectres, and chimeras ; but even among sol- diers, it often makes flocks of sheep appear like armed squadrons, and reeds and bulrushes like pikes and lances. , 0 Fear, I know thee by my throbbing heart; Thy withering power inspir'd each mournful Hue : Though gentle Pity claim her mingled part, Yet all the thunders of the scene are thine. Collins. Augustus Caesar, Caius Caligula, and Pope Alexan- der III., though otherwise men of courage, were so intimidated at the noise of thunder, that the first of them carried abont him a charm against it; the other would quake at the very discourse of it, was ready to run in a mouse-hole when it happened; and the last ran from prayers in the church to hide himself in a vault. Don Diego Osorius, a Spaniard of a noble family, being in love with a young lady of the court, had pro- {88 On Hygieine, or the art vailed with her for a private conference under the sha- dy boughs of a tree, that grew within the gardens of the king of Spain : but, by the unfortunate harking of a little dog, their privacy was betrayed, and the young gentleman seized by some of the king's guard, was imprisoned. It was a capital crime to be found in that place, and, therefore, he was condemned to die. lie was so terrified at the hearing of his sentence, that one and the same night saw the same persou young, and all turned grey, as in age. The jailor, moved at the sight, related the accident to king Ferdinand, as a pro- digy ; who, thereupon, pardoned him; saying, a violent storm arose, aud the vessel was in so much danger, that the captain urged all to prayers. It was then that Colonel Gardiner first seriously consi- dered the follies and crimes he had been guilty of; that he was not sent into the world for nought; that he had neglected the part assigned him; had degraded his own nature; and, instead of being useful, had been hurtful among those with whom he had acquaintance. What accouut had he. to give to his Maker? Self-con- demned, polluted by so many crimes, how was he-to find mercy in the sight of God ? Hence an overwhelm- ed and dejected mind; hence that wounded spirit, which who can bear? His prayer was long and fer- vent, and troubled with many tears. The mercy of God was again shown him, but among his giddy and dissolute companions, he soon afterwards endeavoured to excuse himself the scandal of " having prayed." Some time after, having made an assignation with a married lady, to kill time he went to a neighbour's house, and the master being suddenly called out, he stumbled upon a book which was called the Christian Soldier; as the hour was not yet arrived, he took up this book, and from the title had the curiosity to dip of Preserving Health. 2M into it. Some passages struck his attention, and hi read on till he fell asleep. He dreamt he saw an un- usual blaze of light poured upon the book, and he afterwards had a strong visual representation of the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, surrounded on all sides with glory, who addressed him "as an ungrate- ful sinner, despising the numerous mercies shown him." When he awoke, the impressiou was so vivid, that he could scarce conceive it had been a dream; he then looked back with horror on his past life ; he would fain have kneeled down and asked pardon of God, but he thought he was a monster as yet too vile to suppli- cate Heaven. He never once remembered the assigna- tion, but went home, and passed this and the three succeeding nights without the refreshment of sleep, in fasting and prayer. His mind was continually taken up in reflecting on the Divine purity and goodness; the grace which had been proposed to him in the Gos- peCand which he had rejected; the singular advanta- ges he had enjoyed and abused: the many mercies he had received and despised; with the vain folly of that career of pleasure which he had been running with desperate eagerness : all roused his indignation against the great Deceiver, by whom, to use his own expres- sion, " he had been so wretchedly befooled !" Thus the whole frame, and disposition of his soul was new- modelled and changed ; and he became, and continued to the last, a most pious and exemplary Christian. Repent, believe, and mourn your errors past, And live each day as though it were your last. Rural Christian. 0 Temperance! support and attendant of other virtues! Preserver and restorer of health! Maintainer of the dignity and liberty of rational beings, from the wretched, inhuman slavery of Sensuality, Taste, Cus- tom, and Example! Brightener of the understanding and memory! Sweetener of life and all its comforts ! 252 On Hygieine, or the art Companion of reason, and guardian of the passions! Bountiful rewarder of thy admirers and followers! how do thine excellences extort the unwilling com- mendations of thine enemies ! and with what raptur- ous delight can thy friends raise up a panegyric in thy praise! OF GAMING. THE love of gaming is the worst of ills; With ceaseless storms the blacken'd soul it fills ; Inveighs at Heaven, neglects the ties of blood; Destroys the power and will of doing good; Kills health, pawns honour, plunges in disgrace, And, what is still more dreadful—spoils your face. Yodng. While gaming keeps within the bounds of innocent diversion, to recreate the body,, or compose the mind, and is not tainted with covetousness or passion, the most strait-laced casuist will not censure, or con- demn it as a crime; but, when it breaks the limits of moderation, and transports men into heats, swearing, cursing, reproaching, and lying; or is taken up as a trade to live by, and pushed on by a covetous desire to enrich ourselves by the loss and ruin of one's neigh- bour, it is absolutely unlawful, carefully to be avoided, and utterly abominated, as the certain procurer of re- pentance, sorrow, grief, disease, derision, beggary, and contempt. To play sometimes to entertain com- pany, says the Marquis of Halifax, or to divert your- self, is not to be disallowed; but, to do it so often as to be called a gamester, is to be avoided, next to the things that are most criminal. It has consequences of several kinds not to be endured ; it will engage you into a habit of idleness and ill hours, draw you into bad company, make you neglect your business, bring you of Preserving Health. 253 to poverty and disgrace, cause sleepless nights, and destroy health. What fool would trouble Fortune more, When she has been too kind before; Or tempt her to take back again What she had thrown away in vain, By idly venturing her good graces To be dispos'd of by umes-aces; Or settling it in trust, to uses Out of his power, on trays and deuces; To put it to the chance, and try, I' th' ballot of a box and die, Whether his money be his own, And lose it, if he be o'erthrown; As if he were betray'd, and set By his own stars to every cheat, Or wretchedly condemn'd by Fate To throw dice for his own estate. Butler. It is true, as it is lamentable, in the age we live, there are too many of all qualities and conditions ex- cessively addicted to this abominable vice; by which many respectable families have been reduced from affluence to extreme poverty. But the evil does not stop here; it must be fresh in every memory, of the most diabolical acts having been perpetrated by per- sons who enlisted under the banners of a gambler and squandered away their estate. Let the following me- lancholy catastrophe, which I have from the best au- thority, not long since took place, prove a warning to others. Mr. A. S----, who had a very comfortable support, was enticed to associate himself with gamblers, and in a short time lost all that he possessed, at cards and 254 On Hygieine, or the art dice, which ought to have been treasured up for the subsistence of his family. Reflecting on the foolish manner in which he had thrown away his money, and beholding his children cry about him for victuals, so diseased his mind, that taking advantage of his wife's absence, he cut the throats of his three children, and then hung himself. His wife, on returning home, being so much affrighted at the sight of so barbarous a tra- gedy, fell dead upon the spot. An old ruined gamester, in hopes to make a bubble or prey of a young gentleman that came to town with his pockets full of money, took him to a gaming-house, and there, to encourage him to play, shewed him se- veral topping sparks that were born to no fortune, who by play had purchased great estates, and lived in pomp and splendour, by success in shaking their elbows. "You shew me," says the young gentleman, "the winners, but I pray what has become of the losers ?" To which the old prig making no reply, a third per- son, overhearing their conversation, told the young gentleman, that since the other was silent and con- founded with shame at the question, he would oblige him with an answer—" Many of the losers," saith he, "taking the highway to repair their losses, have been hanged; others are gone to sea to earn their bread; some have taken up the trade of being bullies to baw- dy-houses; others that have not hid themselves as ser- vants under a livery, are begging or mumping about the streets, or starving in jails for debt, where you will be ere long, if you follow that rascal's counsel." "The punishment," says the young gentleman, "is fit for the sin, when men, possessed with great sums of their own money, will play the fool to make it another man's; and, if this be the humour of the town, I will return again to the country, and spend my estate among my neighbours and tenants, where you, Sir," speaking to the gentleman that dealt so plainly with him, "shall be very welcome." of Preserving Health. 255 OF VANITY. SO weak are human kind by Nature made, Or to such weakness by their vice betray'd ; Almighty Vanitv ! to thee they owe Their zest of pleasure, and their balm of w6. Youwg. Vanity consists of an agreeable reverie; and is well ridiculed in the story of Narcissus, who so long contemplated his own beautiful image in the water, that he died from neglect of taking sustenance. On the green margin sits the youth, and laves His floating train of tresses in the waves; Sees his fair features paint the streams that pass, And bends for ever o'er the watery glass. Darwin. As the vain found their claims on qualities which they do not possess, they frequently meet with mortifi- cations; while their extreme solicitude for distinctions they are not entitled to, can never allow them any re- pose ^ hence vanity is an enemy to health. Observe a lady at a ball, anxious to be thought the finest woman in the assembly, and doubtful of success. The pleasure, which it is the purpose of the assembly to enjoy, is lost to her. She does not for a moment ex- perience such a sensation ; for it is totally absorbed by the prevailing sentiment, and the pains that she takes to conceal it. She watches the looks, the most trivial niarks of the opinion of the company, with the attention of a moralist, and the anxiety of a politician; and wish- 256 On Hygieine, or the art ing to conceal from every eye the torments she feels, her affectation of gaiety at the triumph of a rival; the turbulence of her conversation when that rival is ap- plauded ; the over-acted regard which she expresses for her; and the unnecessary efforts which she makes, betray her sufferings and her constraint. Grace, that su- preme charm of beauty, never displays itself hut when the mind is perfectly at ease, and when confidence pre- vails. Uneasiness and restraint obscure those advan- tages which we possess; the countenance is contracted by every pang which self-love occasions. We very soon discover the change ; and the vexation the disco- very produces, still augments the evil which it is desi- rous to repair. Vexation increases upon vexation, and the, object is rendered more remote by the very desire of possession. In this picture too, which, we should think, ought only to remind us of the caprices of a child, we recognise the sufferings of maturer age, the emotions which lead to despair, and to a detestation of life. If we take the whole sex together, we shall find those who have the strongest possession of men's hearts, are not always eminent for their beauty. As pride de- stroys all symmetry and grace, so affectation is a more terrible enemy to fine faces than the small-pox. Audit will always be found, that the lady who has an humble opinion of herself, will have every body's applause, because she does not expect it; while the vain creature loses approbation through too great a sense of deserving it by her own affectation. If a beautiful, proud, and gay woman, would bot se- riously reflect on what a loathsome carcass she, must ere long become in the grave, amidst worms and cor- ruption, it would tend to mortify her pride, lessen htr vanity, and teach her to be humble. Ye proud, ambitious, wealthy, young, and gay, Who drink the spirit of the golden day, * of Preserving Health. •157 And triumph in existence, come with me, And in the mould'ring corpse your picture see, What you, and all,.must soon or later be. Solitary Walks. Dominicus Sylvius, Duke of Venice, married a gen- tlewoman of Constantinople. She plunged into sensu- ality with so much profusion, that she could not endure to lodge but in chambers full of delicious perfumes; she would not wash herself hut in the dews of heaven, which must be preserved for her with much skill: her garments were so pompous, that nothing remained but to seek for new stuffs in heaven, for she had exhausted the treasures of earth : her viands were so daintj', that all the mouths of kings tasted none so exquisite; nor would she touch her meat but with golden forks aud precious stones. God, to punish this pride and super- fluity, cast her on a bed, and assailed her with a malady so stinking and frightful, that all her nearest kindred were forced to abandon her; and none stayed about her but a poor old woman, thoroughly accustomed to stench and death. The delicate Seniora was infected with her own perfumes in such a manner, that from all her body there began to drop a most stinking humour, and a kind of matter so filthy to behold, and so noisome to the smell, that every man plainly perceived that her dissolute and excessive daintiness had caused the in- fection in her. Pride, well placed and rightly defined, is of ambigu- ous signification, says the late incomparable Marquis of Halifax: one kind being as much a virtue as the other a vice. But we are naturally so apt to choose the worst, that it has become dangerous to commend the best side of it. Pride is a sly, insensible enemy, that wound,s the soul unseen, and many, who have resisted other formidable vices, have been ruined by this sub- tle invader; for, though we smile to ourselves, at least ironically, when flatterers bedaub us with false enco- Kk 25& On Hygieine, or the art miums ; though we seem many times angry, and blush at our praises; yet our souls inwardly rejoice ; we are pleased with it, and forget ourselves. Some are proud of their quality, and despise all below it; first, set it up for the idol of a vain imagination, and then their reason must fall down and worship it. They would have the world think, that no amends can be made for the want of a great title. They imagine, that with this advantage, they stand upon the higher ground, which makes them look down upon merit and virtue as things inferior to them. Some, and most commonly wo- men, are proud of their fine clothes ; and when they have less wit and sense than the rest of their neigh- bours, comfort themselves with the reflection that they have more lace. Some ladies put so much weight upon ornaments, that, if one could see into their hearts, it would be found that even the thought of death was made less heavy to them, by the contemplation of their being laid out in state, and honourably attended to the grave. The man of letters is proud of the esteem the world gives him for his knowledge ; but he might ea- sily cure himself of that disease, by considering how much learning he wants. The military man is proud of some great action performed by him, when possibly it was more owing to fortune than his own valour or con- duct : and some are proud of their ignorance, and have as much reason to he so as any of the rest; for they be- ing also compared with others in the same character and condition, will find their defects exceed their ac- quisitions. 0, sons of earth ! attempt ye still to rise, By mountains pil'd on mountains to the skies? Heaven still with laughter the vain toil surveys, And buries madmen in the heaps they raise. Pope. A gentleman of distinction who was educated in one of the English universities, and from thence went to qf Preserving Health 2#fe the academy at Paris, in France, became so great a proficient io logic, that be carried the fame from the rest of his collegiates. He had a great memory, as great elocution, and knew all things hut himself; but, for want of that, was so blown up with pride, that a judg- ment followed it. At once he lost his memory and judg- ment, walked up aud down without reason of speech ; he scarce knew one thing from another, and, instead of speaking, made a noise like the howling of a dog. A French count, who had much more vanity than fortitude, being a volunteer in Turenne's army, desired the honour to command a party to attack some Ger- mans that appeared in view of the French, and seemed to brave them ; which being granted, he advanced to- ward the enemy, but soon retreated to the general, who demanded " why he did not charge the Germans?" The Monseignour told his excellency, " that he came back to request him to order as many hags as there were Germans, for he resolved to make him a present ot every one of their heads." The general, smiling, said, " he need not give himself that trouble, for if he killed them, or forced them to fly, it was sufficient." Where- upon the count made another advance a little nearer the Germans, but returned with greater speed than he ad- vanced, upon which the general said, " What, Mon- seignour, are you afraid of them ?" " No, Sir," repli- ed the count, " but I am ashamed of them, for they are such a company of tattered scoundrels, it would be a disparagement to my honour, and the grandeur oftny family, to fight with such a ragged party; but if they will appear fiue, and dress a la mode de France, I will engage them all myself." •' Go, and tell them so," said the general. Upon which he advanced alone; and the officer that commanded the Germans thinking he came to picquire, rode to meet the Frenchman, who coining almost within pistol-shot, retreated as before; but the German pursuing, shot him dead as he was running away. 260 On Hygieine, or the art Pride was not made for men : a conscious sense Of guilt, and folly, and their consequence, Destroys the claim, and to beholders tells, Here nothing but the shape of Manhood dwells. Alcibiades had his mind exceedingly puffed up with pride, upon the account of his riches and large posses- sions in land ; which, Socrates observing, he took him along with him to a place where was hung up a map of the world, and desired him to find out Attica in that map; which being done, "Now," said he, "find me out your own lands :" and when he replied, that "they were not all set down ;" " How is it then," said So- crates, " that thou art grown proud of the possession of that which is no part of the earth." A person of infinite wit, speaking of what might pre- cisely be called a proud and vain man, once said, " When I see him, I feel something like the pleasure of seeing a happy couple ; his self-love and he live so happily together." I once, saw, says Dr. Darwin, a handsome young man, who had been so much flattered by his parents, that his vanity rose so near to insanity, that one might discern, by his perpetual attention to himself, and the difficulty with which he arranged his conversation, that the idea of himself intruded itself at every comma, or pause of his discourse. I dreamt that, buried with my fellow clay, Close by a common beggar's side I lay; And as so mean an object shock'd my pride, Thus like a corpse ofconsequencelcried : " Scoundrel, begone ! and henceforth touch me not, More manners learn, and at a distance rot." " Scoundrel, then," with haughtier tone, cried he, "Proud lump of earth, I scorn thy words and thee: of Preserving Health. 261 Here all are equal, now thy case is mine, This is my rotting place, and that is thine." Dodd. The cure of vanity may be attempted by excess of flattery, which will at length appear ridiculous, or, by its familiarity, will cease to be desired. I remember, says Dr. Darwin, to have heard a story of a nobleman, in the court of France, who was so disagreeably vain in conversation, that the king was pleased to direct his cure, which was thus performed. Two gentlemen were directed always to attend him; one was to stand be- hind his chair, and the other at a respectful distance before him : whenever his lordship began to speak, one of them always pronounced, " Lord Gallimaufre is go- ing to say the best thing in the world." And, as soon as his lordship had done speaking, the other attend- ant pronounced, "Lord Gallimaufre has spoken the best thing in the world." Till, in a few weeks, this noble lord was so disgusted with praise, that he ceased to be vain, and his majesty dismissed his keepers. OF MODESTY. Ha.ii, Modesty! fair female honour hail! Beauty's chief ornament, without whose charms Beauty disgusts, or gives but vulgar joys. Thou giv'st the smile its grace ; the heightened hiss Its balmy essence sweet! Armstrong. Modesty is to virtue, what a fine veil is to beauty. It is one of the most distinguishing and attractive cha- racteristics of the female sex. It comprises the beau- ties of the mind, as well as those of the body; and it not only heightens the desire of the male, but deters him from rudeness and improper behaviour. It is, 26S On Hygieine, or the art therefore, the interest of the men to cherish, and nof to injure, by indelicacy, a quality from which they de- rive so much pleasure and advantage. Naked in nothing should a woman be, But veil her very wit with modesty: Let man discover, let not her display, But yield her charms of mind with delay. Young. I remember, says a female author of great distinc- tion, the count M-----, one of the most accomplish. ed young men in Vienna, when I was there; he was passionately in love with a girl «f peerless beauty. She was the daughter of a man of great rank and in- fluence at court; and, on these considerations, as well as in regard to her charms, she was followed by a mul- titude of suitors. She was lively and amiable, and treated them all with an affability which stil! kept them in her train, although it was generally known that she had avowed a predilection for the count, and that preparations were making for their nuptials. The count was of a refined mind and delicate sensibility; he lov- ed her for herself alone ; for the virtues which he be- lieved dwelt in her beautiful form ; and, like a lover of such perfections, he never approached her without timidity ; and when he touched her, a fire shot through' his veins that warned him not to invade the vermilion sanctuary of her lips. Such were his feelings, when, one night, at his intended father-in law's, a party of young people were met to celebrate a certain festival; several of the young lady's rejected suitors were pre- sent. Forfeits were one of the pastimes, and all went on with a grateful merriment, till the count was com- manded, by some witty Mademoiselle, to redeem his glove by saluting the cheek of his intended bride. The count blushed, trembled, advanced to his mistress, re- treated, advanced again—and at h.st, with a tremor that shook every fibre in his frame, with a modest of Preserving Health. 263 grace, he put the soft ringlets, which played upon her cheek, to his lips, and retired to demand his redeemed pledge, in evident confusion. His mistress gaily smi- led, and the game wej|t on. One, of her rejected suit- ors, but who was of a merry, unthinking disposition, was adjudged by the. same indiscreet crier of the for- feiis, to snatch a kiss from the lips of the object of his recent vows. A lively contest between the lady and gentleman lasted for a minute! hut the lady yielded, though in the midst of a convulsive laugh. And the count had the mortification, the agony, to see the lips, which his passionate and delicate love would not allow him to touch, kissed with roughness by another man, and one whom he despised. Without a word, he rose from his chair, and left the room, and the house—and never saw her more ! Thus, by that good-natured kiss^ the fair boast of Vienna lost her husband and her lover. Although T consider this act of the count as ridicu- lously fastidious, yet I cannot but think it may prove a good hint to my fair readers. Certainly the sensitive plant cannot shrink more coyly than should the love- ly virgin from the slightest touch of the immodest. " Learn, then, ye fair, to keep the person sacred : ■-----------------------like the pure mind, Be that array'd in modest dignity : Nor e'en its beauties flauntingly expose— Thus may ye keep the heart your charms have won." The attractive grace aud powerful charm of Modes- ty. cannot be better illustrated, than by relating the following interesting narrative. Charlotte Corday was tall and well-shaped, of the most graceful manners and modest demeanour; there was in her countenance, which was beautiful and enga- ging, and in all her movements, a mixture of softness and dignity, which were evident indications of a hea- venly mind. She came to Paris, and under a feigned 264 On Hygieine, or the art pretext gained admission to that republican tyrant. Ma rat, in whose, breast she plunged a dagger, acknow- ledged the deed, and justified it, by asserting that it was a duty she owed her country and mankind, to rid the world of such a monster. Her deportment during her trial was modest and dignified. There was so en- gaging a softness in her countenance, that it was diffi- cult to conceive how she could have armed herself with sufficient intrepidity to execute the deed. Her an- swers to the questions of the tribunal, were full of point and energy. She sometimes surprised the audience by her wit, and excited their admiration by her eloquence. Her face sometimes beamed with sublimity, and was sometimes covered with smiles. She retired while the jury deliberated on their verdict; and when she again entered the tribunal, there was a majestic solemnity in her demeanour, which perfectly became her situation. She heard her sentence with attention and composure, and left the court with serenity, her mind being long before prepared even for the last scene. It is difficult to conceive the heroism which she displayed in the way to execution. There was such an air of chastened ex- ultation thrown over her countenance, that she inspi- red sentiments of love, rather than pity. The specta- tors, as she passed, uncovered their heads before her, and others gave loud tokens of applause. She ascended the scaffold with undaunted firmness. When the exe- cutioner informed her that her feet must be tied to the fatal plank, she submitted with a smile. When he took off her handkerchief, the moment before she bent un- der the fatal stroke, she blushed deeply ; and her head, which was held up to the multitude the moment after, exhibited the last impression of offended modesty. Such an instance of a young female, given up to de- struction, and yet so tremblingly alive to modesty, that even in her last moments she resents the slightest in- sult to that, more than she dreads the executioner's axe, is a display of the charm, as well as the force of virtue triumphant over death, that deserves to be pre- served in everlasting remembrance. Its effects on the of Preserving Health. 265 crowd beggared all description. Admiration held the gazing thousands mute. And though, while gazing on her cheeks yet divinely enriched with the blush of deathless modesty, they shed their tears over her un- timely fate ; still their joy-glistening eyes seemed to thank her for such a proof of the divinity of virtue, and the birth-right of innocence to heaven. One of the spec- tators, a young man, by the name of Lux, had his feel- ings wrought to such an adoration of her virtues, that he proposed, in a pamphlet published the day after, to erect a monument to her honour, and to inscribe it with these words :—GREATER THAN BRUTUS.— He was instantly sentenced to the guillotine. He re- ceived the news with joy, and died exulting that he had the honour of being offered up at the same altar with the immaculate Charlotte Corday. As lamps burn silent, with unconscious light, So modest ease, in beauty, shines most bright: Unaiming charms with edge resistless fall, And she who means no mischief, does it all. Hill. Modesty is one of the chiefest moral virtues in itself, and an excellent stock to graft all others on. Other qualifications have their abatements agreeable to their use designed, and the opinion the world has of their owners; hut modesty is a virtue which never feels the weight of censure; for it silences envy by meriting esteem, and is beloved, commended, and approved wheresoever it is found. It is the truest glass to dress by, the choicest director of our discourses, and a sure guide in all our actions. It gives rules in forming our looks, gestures, and conversations; and has obtained such an esteem among the judicious, that though mode or art be wanting, it will either cover, excuse, or sup- ply all defects; because it is guarded by an aversion to what is criminal, an utter dislike of what is offen- sive, and a contempt of what is absurd, foolish, or LI *60 On Hygieine, or the art ridiculous. It is the great ornament of both sexes ; for those who have forfeited their modesty, are reckoned among the worthless, who will never come to any thing but shame, scandal, and derision: and indeed the de- formity of immodesty, well considered, is instruction enough, from the same reason, that the sight of a drunkard is a better sermon against that vice, than the best that was ever preached upon the subject. The Milesian virgins were in times past taken with a strange distemper, of which the cause could not then be found out; for all of them had a desire of death, and a furious itch of strangling themselves: many finishing their days this way in private. Neither the prayers nor tears of their parents, nor the consolation of their friends prevailed ; but, being more subtle and witty than those set to observe them, they daily thus died by their own hands. It was therefore thought that this dreadful thing came to pass by the express will of the gods, and was greater than could be pror vided agaiust by human industry. At last, according to the advice of a wise man, the council set forth this edict: " That every such virgin as from henceforth should lay violent hands upon herself, should, dead as she was, be carried stark naked along the market- place." By which means not only they were restrained from killing themselves, but also their desire of dying was utterly extinguished. A strange thing, that those *who tremble not at death, the most formidable of all things, should yet, through au innate modesty, not be able to conceive in their minds, much less endure, a wrong to their modesty, though dead. Plutarch observes, that as thistles, though noxious things in themselves, are usually signs of an excellent ground wherein they grow; so bashfulness, though many times a weakness and betrayer of the mind, is yet generally an argument of a soul ingenuously and virtuously inclined. of Preserving Health. 867 We read of many, who, through modesty and fear, when they were to speak publicly, have been so dis- appointed, that they were forced to hold their tongue. Thus Cicero writes of Cario, that being to plead in a cause before the senate, he was not able to speak what he had premeditated. Also, Theophrastus being to speak before the people of Athens, was on a sudden so de- prived of memory, that he remained silent. The same happened to the famous Demosthenes in the presence of king Philip. Nor are we ignorant that the like mis- fortunes have befallen many excellent persons in our times. Archytas was so modest in his speech, as well as in all the actions of his life, that he would carefully avoid all words that bordered upon indecency and obscenity; and if, at any time, he found himself under a necessity of using words that he. thought might be an offence to chaste ears, or defile his own mouth, he would be si- lent, or else write upon the wall the words that should have been spoken; but by no persuasions could he be brought to pronounce them. A gentleman being asked how it came to pass that he, being a man of extraordinary natural parts, and those improved by an University education, foreign travel, diligent study, and the knowledge of most Eu- ropean languages; Jbesides, being well born, and hav- ing many friends to recommend him, missed a consi- derable employment in the government, at a time when there were so many vacancies? The gentleman an- swered, "The reason is plain; 1 have too much mo- desty, and too little impudence, to be preferred, where a higher value is put upon the latter than the former. The friends you mention are the people that do me the greatest injury; for they, representing me a scholar, put me in danger of being thought wiser than my mas- ter ; or else the whole office conspire to keep me out for fear it should discover their own imperfections; and therefore say 1 am a bashful man, and consequent- 268 On Hygieine, or the art ly unfit for business that requires a greater stock of confidence than learning, and impudence than inge- nuity." Get that great gift and talent, Impudence; Accomplish'd mankind's highest excellence; 'Tis that alone prefers, alone makes great, Confers alone wealth, titles, and estate, Gains place at court, can make a fool a peer, An ass a bishop, can vil'st blockhead rear To wear red hats, and sit in porphyry chair. Oldham. An Athenian, of decrepid age, came into the theatre at Athens, on a public night, when it was very much crowded. He went to that part of the house where his young countrymen were sitting, but instead of making room for him, they closed their ranks. By chance he came to the place where sat some young Lacedemoni- ans of the first distinction, who, moved with the age of the man, in reverence to his years and hoary hairs, rose up, and placed him in an honourable seat amongst them; which, when the people beheld, with a loud applause, they approved the modesty of another city. At which one of the Lacedemonians said, " It appears that the Athenians do understand what is to be done, but they neglect the practi&e of it." «*» V*^J: These young Lac*e3emonians were-iB&thens. How devoutly were it to be wished, that all young Chris- tians would copy so fair an example, and learn to treat seniority with a respect equally amiable and endearing. When once men have bid adieu to modesty, there is nothing so unmanly, indecent, or reprehensible, but the brazen brow will venture upon; and nothing so high or great that his impudence dares not pretend a title to. of Preserving Health. 26.9 For he that has but impudence, To all things has a fair pretence; And put among his wants but shame, To all the world may lay his claim. HUDIBRAS. A courtier who was noticed for nothing but his impu- dence in begging, desired Archelaus, king of Mace- don, as he was sitting at supper, to give him the gold cup out of which he drank himself. The king admi- ring at the insolence of him, who had no merits to re- commend himself to any royal favour, commanded one of his servants in waiting to take the cup and give it to Euripides, who sat at the table with the king; and, casting an eye of disdain on the impudent person who had begged it, said, " As for your part, Sir, you de- serve to go without my bounty, because you asked it; but Euripides deserves to be rewarded, though out of modesty he asks nothing of me." That was a modesty worthy of eternal praise, of Godfrey of Buillon. By the universal consent of the whole army he was saluted king of Jerusalem, upon the taking of it out of the hands of the Saracens. There was also brought him a crown of gold, sparkling with jewels, to be set upon his head; but he put it by, say- ing, " it was most unfit for him, who was a mortal man, a servant, and a sinner, to be crowned with gems and gold, where Christ, the Son of God, who made heaven and earth, was crowned with thorns." &70 On Hygieine, or the art OF DRESS. If the rude verse that now detains your ear, Should to one female heart conviction bear ; Recal one genller mind from Fashion's crew, To give to Nature what is Nature's due ; —Whilst others mount the arduous heights of fame, To wake your feelings be my nobler aim : No-- yet unblest, if, whilst I fail to move, The fond attempt my kind intention prove. Roscoe. Pliny, one of the most celebrated naturalists of an- tiquity, pathetically laments, "that whilst Nature has given various clothing to the. brute creation, and even fenced plants and trees with bark against the injuries of the cold and heat, she should have cast man into this world naked, unprovided against the inclemency of different climates and seasons." But, instead of agreeing with that philosopher, that Nature has, in this particular, acted more like a cruel step-mother, than a kind and indulgent parent to man, we cannot sufficiently extol her providence and wisdom. It was no more than consistent with equity to provide the ir- rational part of her works with clothing suitable to their circumstances; but man, whom she endued with the transcendent faculty of reason, she hath very wisely left to accommodate himself to the difference of season and climate, and to clothe himself, accordingly, with the fleeces and skins of animals, and the products of various plants and trees. Midwifery was first practised by women. Hence the dressing of children became an art which few could at- tain. Each midwife strove to outdo all others in this pretended knowledge. These attempts were seconded by the vanity of parents, who, too often desirous of ma- king a show of the infant as soon as it was born, were of Preserving Health. 271 ambitious to have as much finery heaped upon it as possible. Thus it came to be thought as necessary for a midwife to excel in bracing and dressing an infant, as for a surgeon to be expert in applying banda- ges to a broken limb; and the poor child, as soon as it came into the world, had as many rollers and wrap- pers applied to the throat and body, as if every bone had been fractured in the birth; and these often so tight, as not only to gall and wound its tender frame, but even to obstruct the motion of the organs necessary for life. Nature knows no other use of clothes but to keep the body warm. And the pressure of the abdomen by rollers or laced jackets, impedes the action of the sto- mach and bowels, and the motion necessary for respi- ration ; and consequently the just circulation of the blood. Hence a train of dreadful disorders ensues. The shape God has given, is too often attempted to be mended by dress, and those who know no better, believe that mankind would be frights without its as- sistance. The hones of growing persons are so cartila- ginous, that they readily yield to the slightest pressure, and easily assume the mould in which they are con- fined. Hence it is that so many girls, in proportion to boys, are mis-shapen. A lady, who had no girlshut were mis-shapen, though her family was numerous, consulted the celebrated an- atomist, Mr. Cline, on the prevention. " To have no stays,—and to let the next girl runabout like the boys," was the excellent advice of this gentleman ; which be- ing complied with, none of the future children were af- terwards marred by the ill-placed attention of the igno- rant mother, It has been said, observes a celebrated female au- thor, that the love of dress is natural to the sex ; and we see no reason why any female should be offended with the assertion., Dress howrever must be subject (o gys On Hygieine, or the art certain rules, be consistent with the graces, and with nature. By attending to these particulars is produced that agreeable exterior which pleases, we know not why; which charms, even without that first and pow- erful attraction, beauty. " A beauty, carelessly array'd, Enamours more, than if display'd. All woman's charms were given, And o'er the bosom's vestal white, The gauze appears a robe of light, That veils, yet opens, heaven.'1 Fashion, in her various flights, frequently soars be yond the reach of propriety. Good sense, taste, and delicacy, then make their appeal in vain. Her despotic and arbitrary sway levels and confounds. Where is delicaey? where is policy? we mentally exclaim,when we see the fair inconsiderate votary of fashion expo- sing, unseemly, that bosom which good men delight to imagine the abode of innocence and truth. Can the gaze of the voluptuous, the unlicensed admiration of the pro- fligate, compensate the woman of sentiment and purity, for what she loses in the estimation of the moral and just? But, delicacy apart, what shall we say to the blind conceit of the robust, the coarse, the wanton fair one, who thus obtrudes the ravages of time upon the pub lie eye? Nature having maintained a harmony between the figure of a woman, and her years, it is decorous that the consistency should extend to the materials and fashion of her apparel. For youth to dress like age, is an in- stance of had taste seldom seen. But age affecting the airy garment of youth, the transparent drapery of Cos, and the sportiveness of a girl, is an anachronism, as frequent as it is ridiculous. Virgin, bridal Beauty, when she arrays herself with taste, obeys an end of her creation; that of increasing her charms in the eyes of some virtuous lover, or the of Preserving Health. 273 husband of her bosom. She is approved. But when the wrinkled fair, the hoary-headed matron, attempts to equip herself for conquest, to awaken sentiments which, the bloom of her cheek gone, her "rouge can never arouse ; then we cannot but deride her folly. There is a mediocrity which bounds all things, and even fixes the standard which divides virtue from bombast. Let us, therefore, in every concern, endeavour to observe this happy temperature. Let the youthful female ex- hibit without shade, as much of her bust as shall come within the limits of fashion, without entering the bor- ders of immodesty. Let the fair of riper years appear less exposed. To sensible and tasteful women, a hint is sufficient. Such can never lose sight of that fine sen- timent which is so happily expressed by the inimita- ble Thomson: ----------------------------Loveliness Needs not the foreign aid of ornament; But is, when unadorn'd, adorn'd the most. Aspasia, who was looked upon as the loveliness of innocence, employed none of the little female arts to set her off to greater advantage ; for as she wanted none of those embellishments, so she despised them. She was descended from poor, but honest parents, and took care to keep herself as chaste as she was beautiful; so that by her modest demeanour, and unstudied graces, she won the affections of king Cyrus, who married her; and after his decease she espoused Artaxerxes, the suc- ceeding monarch of Persia. It is worthy of remark, an unaffected beauty carries with it a respect and superiority that proceeds from the impulse of nature, and not from the artifice of those -that have it. "Taste," says Dr. Knox, "requires a congruity between the internal character, and the external ap- pearance." Another author, the discriminating Ches M m 2r74i On Hygieine, or the art terfield, observed, that " a prepossessing exterior is a perpetual letter of recommendation." Hence we see that the desire of exhibiting an amia- ble exterior is essentially requisite in women. It is to be received as an unequivocal symbol of those quali- ties, which we seek in a wife; it indicates cleanliness, sweetness, a love of order, and universal propriety. What, then, is there to censure, in a moderate consi. deration of dress? Nothing. We may blame, when we find extravagance, profusion, misappropriation; the tyranny of fashion; slavery to vanity; in short, bad taste! Fashions like manners, still from courts descend, And what the great begin, the vulgar end. Honour's a mistress all mankind pursue; Yet most mistake the false one for the true: Lur'd by the trappings, dazzled by the paint, We worship oft the idol for the saint. Courted by all, by few the fair is won; Those lose who seek her, and those gain who shun. Naked she flies to merit in distress, And leaves to courts the garnish of her dress. There are persons who neglect their dress from pride, and a desire to attract by a careless singularity; but wherever this is the case, depend on it, something is wrong in the mind. Lavater has observed, that per- sons habitually attentive to their attire, display tho same regularity in their domestic affairs. Young wo- men, he continues, who neglect their toilet and mani- fest little concern about dress, indicate a general dis. regard of order; a mind but ill adapted to the details of housekeeping; a deficiency of taste, and of the qualities that inspire love : they will be careless in eve- ry thing. The girl of eighteen, who desires not to please, will become a slut or shrew at twenty-five. of Preserving Health. 275 Although we cannot suppose prodigality in dress would recommend the wearers to persons of sense; yet we consider that a decent habit, proportioned to one's quality and business, is essentially necessary. Philopsemon, commonly called the Great, was a per- son of a very mean aspect, and one that took no care to set himself off with decent apparel, by which means he was often affronted by such people as could not dis- tinguish the man from his clothes. He sent notice to one of his friends in Megara that he would take a sup- per with him, who went immediately to market to pro- vide an entertainment, and requested his wife, in the mean time, to right up the house that it might be fit to entertain so noble a guest. Philopaemon, it seems, made greater haste than his attendants; and the wife of the house, by the meanness of his dress, taking him to be a servant, employed him in cleaviug wood for the fire, which he was busy at when his friend returned from the market, who being astonished at the sight, said, " Why does my great friend Philopsemon disho- nour himself and me. by stooping to so mean an office?" The great man, with a cheerful and smiling counte- nance, answered, " I am taking penance for my home- ly face and bad apparel." Though we cannot hope entirely to escape the un- pleasant sensations, or altogether to ward off the fatal effects, occasioned by the sudden changes of our cli- mate ; yet, considering properly the nature of clothing, we may avoid much of the danger. If ladies are sub- ject to catch cold' more frequently than men, it is not alone their delicacy of constitution, or their being more Confined within doors; but the frequent changes they make in the quality and quantity of their garments, and sometimes, however fearful of a partial current of air, because they expose those parts of the body that a lit- tle before had been warmly clad. If a greater propor- tion of females fall victims to consumption, is it not be- cause, losing sight more than men of its primary pur- 276 On Hygieine, or the art pose, says Dr. Beddoes, they regulate their dress sole- ly by fantastic ideas of elegance? After the high encomiums bestowed upon flannel by so many respectable authors, both ancient and mo- dern, and by persons who, from long experience, have ascertained its heneficial effects, it is surprising that any individual should be whimsical or hardy enough to dis- pute its general salubrity, merely with a view to esta- blish a favourite hypothesis. It has been objected, that flannel worn next the skin is debilitating, because it tao much increases perspira- tion; but this is not founded on truth, since perspira. tion, as long as the skin remains dry, never can he hurtful. In answer to another objection against the wearing of flannel, it is certain that a flannel shirt may preserve the body as clean, and much cleaner, than linen, if as frequently changed. To cold or phlegmatic temperaments; to all who lead a sedentary life; to individuals subject to catarrhs, or frequent colds, goiit, diarrhoea, and partial conges- tions of the blood; to all nervous patients and conva- lescents from severe chronic disorders; to persons who are too susceptible of the impressions of the atmosphere; and, lastly, in such climates and pursuits of life, a9 are exposed to frequent and sudden changes of air, the wearing of flannel next to the skin is certainly a salu- tary dress. It will also be found a better preventive of contagion than any other; because, while it encoura- ges perspiration, it at the same time removes the in- haled poisonous particles. It is a mistaken notion that flannel is too warm a clothing lor summer. I have ne- ver found the least inconvenience from wearing it du- ring the hottest weather; but, on the contrary, have experienced the greatest advantage. A celebrated au- thor's favourite recipe for health was, "to leave off flannel on mid-summer day, to resume it the day folr lowing." To keep an animal in health, beside the retaining of a due degree of animal heat, there must be a continu- al generation of new juices, and a perpetual discharge of Preserving Health. 277 of the old. Without the due quantity of perspiration, which, with us, depends very much on our clothing, neither the vegetable nor animal can continue in health. A plant, whose perspiration is stopt, becomes sickly and dies: even an egg, whose shell has been covered with a varnish, and the perspiration stopt, will pro- duce no animal. OF CLEAlStpiNESS. The grand discharge, the effusion of the skin, Slowly impair'd, the languid maladies Creep on, and through the sick'ning functions steal j. As, when the chilling east invades the spring, The delicate Narcissus pines away In hectic languor ; and a slow disease Taints all the family of flowers, condemned To cruel heav'ns. But why, already prone To fade, should beauty cherish its own bane ? O shame ! O pity! nipt with pale quadrille, And midnight cares, the bloom of Albion dies. Ahmsthonq. Cleanliness may be considered the grand secret of preserving beauty, as well as promoting health ; and, therefore, is applicable to all ages and sexes. It main- tains the limbs in their pliancy; the skin in its soft- ness ; the complexion in its lustre; the eyes in their brightness; the teeth in their purity; and the constitu- tion in its fairest vigour. The frequent use of tepid baths is not more grateful to the sense, than it is salutary to health, and to beauty. By such ablution, all impurities are thrown off; cuta- neous obstructions removed; and, while the surface of the body is preserved in its original brightness, many threatening disorders are put to the rout. Indeed, so important is this regimen, that every family should 278 On Hygieine, or the art make a bathing vessel as indispensable an article in the house as a table. Against the rigours of a damp, cold Heaven, To fortify their bodies, some frequent The gelid cistern; and, where nought forbids, I praise their dauntless heart.--------- With us, the man of no complaint demands The warm ablution, just enough to clear The sluices of the skin ; enough to keep The body sacred from indecent soil. Still to be pure, ev'n (fid it not conduce, As much it does, to health, were greatly worth Your daily pains. 'Tis this adorns the rich; The want of this is poverty's worst wo ; With this external virtue, age maintains A decent grace; without it, youth and charms Are loathsome. This the venal graces know; So, doubtless, do your wives; for married sires, As well as lovers, still pretend to taste; Nor is it less, all prudent wives can tell, To lose a husband's than a lover's heart. Armstrong. Cleanliness is certainly agreeable to our nature. It sooner attracts our regard than even finery itself, and often gains esteem where that fails. It is an ornament to the highest, as well as the lowest situation, and can not be dispensed with in either. I had occasion, says the author of the Spectator, to go a few miles out of town, some days since, in a stage- coach, where I had for my fellow-travellers, a dirty beau, and a pretty young quaker woman. Having no inclination to talk much, I placed myself backward, with a design to survey them, and to pick a specula- tion out of my two companions. Their different figures of "Preserving Health. 279 were sufficient to draw my attention. The gentleman was dressed in a suit, the ground whereof had been black, as 1 perceived from some few spaces that had escaped the powder whieh was incorporated with the greatest part of his coat; his periwig, which cost no small sum, was after so slovenly a manner cast over his shoulders, that it seemed not to have been combed since the year 1682; his linen, which was not much concealed, was daubed with plain Spanish, from the chin to the lowest button; and the diamond upon his finger, which naturally dreaded the water, put me in mind how it sparkled amidst the rubbish of the mine where it was first discovered. On the other hand, the pretty quaker appeared in all the elegance of cleanliness. Not a speck was to be found upon her. A clean, oval face, just edged about with little thin plaits of the purest cambric, received great advantage from the shade of her black hood ; as did the whiteness of her arms from that sober-coloured stuff in which she had clothed herself. The plainness of her dress was very well suited to the simplicity of her phrases ; all which, put together, gave me an ex- alted sense both of her good taste and her pure inno- cence. This adventure occasioned .my throwing together a few hints upon cleanliness, which I shall consider as one of the half-virtues, as Aristotle calls them, and shall recommend it under the three following heads: As it is a mark of politeness ; as it produces regard; and as it bears analogy to purity of mind. First, it is a mark of politeness. It is universally agreed upon, that no one unadorned with this virtue can go into company without giving a manifest offence. The easier or higher any one's fortune is, this duty ari- ses proportionally. The different nations of the world are as much distinguished by their cleanliness, as by their arts and sciences. The more any country is ci- vilised, the more they consult this part of politeness. We need but compare our ideas of a female Hottentot 280 On Hygieine, or the art and an English beauty, to be satisfied of what has been advanced. In the next place, cleanliness may be said to be the foster-mother of love. Beauty, indeed, most commonly produces that passion in the mind, but cleanliness pre- serves it. An indifferent face and person, kept in per- petual neatness, has won many a heart from a pretty slattern. Age itself is not unamiable, while it is pre- served clean and unsullied; like a piece of marble constantly kept clean and bright, we look on it with more pleasure than a new vessel that is cankered with rust. We might observe farther, that as cleanliness ren- ders us agreeable to others, so it makes us easy to our- selves ; that it is an excellent preservative of health, and that several vices, destructive both to mind and body, are inconsistent with the habit of it. We find, from experience, that through the prevalence of cus- torn, the most vicious actions lose their horror, by be- ing made familiar to us. On the contrary, those who live in the neighbourhood of good example, fly from the first appearance of what is shocking. It fares with us much after the same manner as to our ideas. Our senses, which are the inlets of all the images convey- ed to the mind, can only transmit the impressions of such things as usually surround them. So that pure and unsullied thoughts are naturally suggested to the mind by those objects that perpetually encompass us, when they are beautiful and elegant in their kind. of Preserving Health, 281 OF PATRIOTISM. Max, through all ages of revolving time, Unchanging man, in every varying clime, Deems his own land, of every land 'he pride, Belov'd by Heaven o'er all the world beside ; His home a spot of earth supremely blest, A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest. MoNTOOMEHr. Patriotism, properly defined, is the love of the laws aud of the commonwealth. It is a sentiment which makes us prefer the interest of the public to our own. At the very name of country, the wise and brave feel an enthusiasm which renders them invincible. Patriotism also contributes greatly to the promotion of good morals; and hence to health, and every other blessing, both private and public. Rome, Athens, and Lacedseraon, owed all their glory to patriotism ; and their nothingness to their forgetfulness of their country, their laws, and morals. Happy if these awful lessons, read to us in the ex- amples of the great republics of antiquity, could but avail to kindle among ourselves that divine patriotism which once exalted them to such glory among the na- tions. Among innumerable other blessings, health would then be promoted. For the noble virtues of the soul constituting patriotism, as magnanimity, disin- terestedness, valour, and consciousness of doing our duty, would diffuse through the heart that habitual complacency and joy most friendly to health ; which would be still further promoted by that simplicity of manners, and activity of life, which belongs to He- publicans. Whereas, on the contrary, in proportion as national patriotism decays, health becomes enerva- ted by luxury and other vices, which are sure to over- Nn 882 On Hygieine, or the art Bfcread a nation that has lost the animating fire of pa- triotism. John II. king of Portugal, who, for the nobleness of his mind was worthy of a greater kingdom, when he heard there was a bird called a pelican, that tears and wounds her breast with her bill, that with her own blood she may restore her young ones to life, when left as dead by the bitings of serpents, this excellent prince took care that the figure of this bird, engaged in this action, should be added to his other royal devices; that he might hereby show, that he was ready, upon occasion, to part with his own blood for the welfare and preservation of his people and country. Pity it is to conceal their names whose minds have been, in this respect, as pious and princely as his, not fearing tore- deem the lives of their fellow-citizens at the price of their own. Themistocles, the Athenian general, after liis many famous exploits, was banished the country, and sought after to he slain; he chose, therefore, to put himself ra- ther into the power of the Persian king, his enemy, than to expose himself to the malice of his fellow-citizens. He was by him received with great joy; insomuch, that the king, in the midst of his sleep, was heard to cry out thrice aloud, "1 have with me Themistocles, the Athenian." He also did him great honour, for he allotted him three cities for his table-provisions, and two others for the furniture of his wardrobe and bed. While he remained in that court with such splendour and dignity, the Egyptians rebelled, encouraged, and also assisted by the Athenians. The Grecian navy was come as far as Cyprus and Cilicia; and Cimon, the Athenian admiral, rode master at sea. This caused the Persian king to levy soldiers, and appoint com- manders, to repress them. He also sent letters to The- mistocles, then at Magnesia, importing that he had given him the supreme command in that affair, and that he should now be mindful of his promise to him, of Preserving Health. 283 and undertake this war against Greece. But Themis- tocles was no way moved with anger against his un- grateful countrymen, nor incited to wage war with them by the gift of all his honour and power; for, after hav- ing sacrificed, he called about him his friends, and, having embraced them, he drank a strong poison, and chose rather to close his own life, than to be an in- strument of evil to his native country, which yet had deserved so ill at his hands. Thus died Themistocles, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, most of which time he had spent in the management of the republic at home, or as the chief commander abroad. At the siege, of Turin by the French army in 1640, a sergeant of the, Piedmonte.se guards signalised him- self by a singular example of patriotism ; this sergeant guarded with some soldiers, the subterraneous parts of a work of the citadel: the mine was charged, and no- thing was wanting hut what is called a sausage or pud- ding, to blow up several companies of grenadiers who served in the work, and posted themselves in it. The loss of the work would have accelerated the. surrender of the place. The sergeant, with great resolution, or- dered the soldiers he commanded to retire, begging them to desire the king his master to protect his wife and children. He then set fire to the powder, and pe- rished for his country. On the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, in the Ame- rican war, the Loyalist of 23 guns, then in the Che- sapeake, became a party in that disastrous event; her crew were conveyed to the Count de Grasse's fleet— of that fleet the Ardent, captured off Plymouth, made one, but was then in a very leaky condition. The Count being informed that the carpenter of the Loyal- ist was a man of talents, and perfectly acquainted with the nature of the chain pump, of which the French were ignorant, ordered him on board the Ville de Pa- ris, and addressed him thus : " Sir, you are to go on board the Ardent directly ; use your utmost skill, and 2S4i On Hygieine, or the art save her from sinking, for which service yoti shall have a premium, and the encouragement due to the carpen- ter of an equal rate in the British nav^ ; to this 1 pledge my honour; on refusal, you will, during your capti- vity, be fed on bread and. water only." The tar, sur- prised at being thus addressed in his own language, boldly answered ; " Noble Count, I am your prisoner —-it is inyourpowerto confine me; but never let it be said that a British sailor forgot his duty to his king and his country, and entered voluntarily into the ser- vice of the enemy; your promises are no inducement for me, and your threats shall not force me to injure my country." There is a land, of ev'ry land the pride, Belov'd by heaven o'er all the world beside; Where brighter suns dispense serfner light, And milder moons emparadise the night; A land of beauty, virtue, valour, truth, Time-tutor'd age, and love-exalted youth. 'Where shall that land, that spot of earth be found?' Art thou a man ?—& patriot ?-—look around ; 0 thou shalt find, howe'er thy footsteps roam, That land thy country, and that spot thy home ! Montgomery. As Americans, we feel the love of country, not mere- ly because it is the land where we were born, but the land where we enjoy freedom, equal rights, and every blessing that can sweeten life, and gild it over with glory. Hence we need not have gone back to ancient times to show what men have dared from patriotism. No, thank God ! we have, in our own country, and in our own days, names as bright as ever adorned the annals of time The memory of my exulting reader is already flying before me to a host of heroes, who even courted wounds and death for their country to Law rence, whose last words were, " Don't give up the of Preserving Health. 265 ship!"—to Burrows, who, when desperately wound- ed on the deck, said, "J won't be carried below; prop me up that I may see my brave men at their guns!"—to Lowry Donaldson, who cried, " My gal- lant countrymen, I die, but don't let the cause of free- dom die with me!"—to Daviess, who, on the field of Tippecanoe, smiling in the arms of fate, exclaimed, " Thank God, I die in the best of causes !"—to a com- mon sailor, who, while below, dressing for a mortal wound, and hearing his companions on deck shouting for victory, snatched away the shattered stump of his arm, saying, " Let me go, doctor ; 1 know I am dy- ing; but I must give one huzza more for my country!" —to Pike, Covington, Gibson, Wood, Holmes, Stod- dard,Beasley, Mead, Spencer, Wattles, Hoppuck,Jack, Bradford, Armistead, Vanhorn, Olmstead, Middleton, Woolfolk, Smith, M'Donough, Blaney, Legate, Yates, Jackson, O'Fling, of the army—to Allen, Ludlow, Wilmer, Funk, Bahbit, Hamilton, Howell, Stansbury, Gamble, Cowell, Williams, Brookes, Bush, Broome, of the navy—to Davis, Allen, Lauderdale, Henderson, Graves, Hickman, Hart, M'Cracken, Hooper, Pace, Buel, Hamilton, Evans, Quarles, Brown, Belknap, Blakesley, Clagget, Clemm, Rosevelt, Poe,ofthe mi- litia—and a thousand other Martyrs of Liberty, who all rushed into the battle as if animated by the im- mortal Washington's injunction,—"Remember, that you are going to fight for liberty !" and who all died rejoicing that they had shed shed their blood to ce- ment her holy Fabric. " To live with fame the gods allow to many ; but to die with equal lustre, is a gift which Heaven selects from all the choicest boons ojfate, and with a sparing hand on few bestows." 286 On Hygieine, or the art OF RELIGION. Yet, though kind Heav'n points out th' unerring road. That leads through nature up to bliss and God ; Spite of that God, and all his voice divine, Speaks to the i.eart, or teaches from the shrine, Man, feebly vain, and impotently wise, Disdains the manna sent him from the skies; Tasteless of all that virtue gives to please, For thought too active, and too mad for ease, From wish to wish in life's mad vortex tost, For ever struggling, and for ever lost; He scorns Relig on, though her seraphs call, And lives in rapture, or not lives at all. Cawthors. Some of my readers may perhaps be surprised, that in a book which professes to treat of Health, I should so far forget the text as to introduce the subject of Re- ligion. But I trust they will cease to wonder when they consider that health is the physical result of nicely balanced appetites and passions, and that there exista no power on earth, that can so attune these into har- mony, as Religion. Cast your eye around you, and say whence have sprung most of the diseases, both mental and corporeal, but from lack of this divine guardian of man, Religion. By this great name, I do not mean that hypocrisy which consists in gloomy faces, nor that narrow bigotry which rests on particular forms; the one only shows that religion is very galling to their feelings ; the other is but too often false and treache- rous, deluding those who behold them, into the opinion of their superior sanctity and virtue. Nor can I en- tertain a more favourable opinion of those who make a profession of religion and exhibit too much levity. It is a maxim among politicians, " that those who know of Preserving Health. 287 not how to dissemble, know not how to rule." But this will not hold in religion, where virtue is at all times to be the guide of our actions. And the wretch who would dissemble before God, is an abominable hypocrite—worse than the Atheist—nay, worse than the beast of the earth. Oh man ! degenerate man ! offend no more ! Go, learn of brutes thy Maker to adore ! Shall these through every tribe his bounty own, Of all his works ungrateful thou alone ! Mark how the wretch his awful name blasphemes, His pity spares—his clemency reclaims! Observe his patience with the guilty strive, And bid the criminal repent and live; Recal the fugitive with gentle eye, Beseech the obstinate he would not die ! Amazing tenderness—amazing most The soul on whom such mercy should be lost! Boyle. lleligion has too often been the mask of dissimula- tion and hypocrisy, by which many innocent persons have been deluded, then oft"goes the disguise, and the devil appears in his own likeness. Oliver Cromwell was a hypocrite in perfection; for though he had more than ordinary sense and courage, yet he would whine and cant to admiration, when he found that it would better advance his designs among the fanatics. He was of no one faction in religion, and yet by his deep dissimulation, kept himself the su- preme head of them all. He cajoled the Presbyterians, flattered the Independents, caressed the Anabaptists, and kept them in continual jar with one another, that they might have no leisure to unite against him; and thus accomplished his diabolical desigu, of placing himself at the head of the government. 288 On Hygieine, or the art In the year of our Lord, 448, in the reign of the emperor Theodosius the Younger, a certain Jewish impostor appeared in the insulary kingdom of Candia, who said he was the prophet Moses; and promised the Jews, who were in great numbers in that kingdom, to lead them through the Red Sea dry-footed, with- out the help of vessels, as he had done their forefa- thers, under the reign of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and delivered them from servitude. He said he was the same prophet, Moses, whom God had sent from hea- ven, to be their conductor, to repossess them of the an- cient and pleasant land of their inheritance. These things he daily inculcated, and assigned a time for their departure out of that island into Palestine ; by which artifice he got great sums of money from them. When the prefixed time of their departure was come, he led them to the, sea side, and commanded those that were nearest the sea to cast themselves intuit; and such was the folly and blindness of many of them, that they obeyed him, and threw themselves into the waves; some of which were charitably saved by fishermen that took them into their vessels ; who called to the rest that were ashore not to precipitate themselves into ru- in, by which the rest of these miserable creatures were saved. The impostor stole away, and made his escape. However, this impostor so opened the eyes of several of these deluded people, that they embraced Christi- anity. There are some sectarians who are so illiberal as to express a belief, that those only of their persuasion are in the right road to heaven ! Strange infatuation ! Can this be consistent with the Scriptures or reason? The pure spirit of the gospel of Christ breathes forth a ho- ly religion, founded on meekness, charity, kindness, and brotherly love; but bigotry or any thing like fa- naticism has quite a contrary effect. It is of the utmost importance to guard against ex- tremes of every kind in religion, lest by seeking to of Preserving Health. 28$ avoid one rock we split upon another. It has been long the subject of remark, that Superstition and Enthusiasm are two capital sources of delusion. Su- perstition, on the one hand, attaching men with im moderate zeal to the ritual and external points of reli- gion, and Enthusiasm, on the other, directing their whole attention to internal emotions and mystical com- munications with the spiritual world; while neither the one nor the other has paid sufficient regard to the great moral duties of the Christian life. But running with intemperate eagerness from these two great abuses of religion, men have neglected to observe that there are extremes opposite to each of them, into which they are in hazard of precipitating themselves. Thus the hor- ror of superstition has sometimes reached so far as to produce contempt for external institutions; as if it were possible for religion to subsist in the world with- out forms of worship or public acknowledgment of God. It has also happened, that some who, in the main, are well affected to the cause of goodness, observ- ing that persons of a devout turn have at times been carried away by warm affections into unjustifiable ex- cesses, have thence hastily concluded that all devotion was a-kiu to enthusiasm ; and separating religion to- tally from the heart and affections, have reduced it to a frigid observance of what they call the rules of vir- tue. These extremes are to be carefully avoided. True devotion is rational and well-founded; and consists in the lively exercise of that affection which we owe to the Supreme Being, comprehending several emotions of the heart, which all terminate in the same great object. Blest is the man, as far as earth can bless, Whose measur'd passions reach no wild excess; Who, urg'd by Nature's voice, her gifts enjoys, Nor other means than Nature's force employs. While warm with youth the sprightly current flows. Each vivid sense with vig'rous rapture glows ; Oo £90 On Hygieine, or the art And when he droops beneath the hand of age, No vicious habit stings with fruitless rage. Gradual his strength and gay sensation cease, While joys tumultuous sink in silent peace. Zimmerman. In mental illusion, Imagination, when she first be- gins to exercise her powers, seizes on some fact, of the real nature of which the mind has but an obscure idea, and, for want of tracing it through all its connexions and dependencies, misleads reason into the darkest paths of error. The wild conjectures, and extrava- gant opinions which have issued from this source, are innumerable. The voice of the calm inquirer, Rea- son, is incapable of being heard amidst the tumult; and the favourite image is animated and enlarged by the glowing fire of the Passions. No power remains to coutroul or regulate, "much less to subdue, this men- tal ray, which inflames the whole soul, and exalts it into the fervour of Enthusiasm, hurries it into the ex- travagance of Superstition, or precipitates it into the furious frenzies of Fanaticism. The growth of fanaticism, whether religious or po- litical,.is not confined exclusively to any age or coun- try ; the seeds of it have been but too plentifully sown in all the regions of the earth; and are equally bane- ful and injurious in whatever soil they spring. Every bold, turbulent, and intriguing spirit, who has suffi- cient artifice to inflame the passions of the inconstant multitude, the moment he calls the demon of Fanati- cism to his aid, becomes troublesome, by producing fermentations highly detrimental to the peace of soci- ety, and frequently dangerous to the government un- der which he lives. The fire of fanaticism is, indeed, so subtilely power- ful, that it is capable of inflaming the coldest minds. The rapidity of its progress certainly depends, in a great degree, on the nature of the materials on which it acts: but, like every dangerous conflagration, its first of Preserving Health. 291 appearances should be watched, and every meaus ta- ken to extinguish its flames. The extinction is perhaps, most happily and readily effected by those counter- actions which the common occupations and daily du ties of life produce on the mind, when judiciously op- posed to the flagrant evil. Of the advantages, at least, of this resource, a circumstance in the history of the late. Dr. Fothergill affords a remarkable example. This celebrated physician, says Dr. Zimmerman, possessed the greatest tranquillity of mind, and had obtained so complete a dominion over his passions, that he declared to a friend, recently before his death, that he could not recollect a single instance, during the whole course of his life, in which they had been im- properly disturbed. This temper, which was perfectly suited to the character of the religion he professed, the tenets of which he strictly practised, he maintained on all occasions; nor was there any thing in his genenal conduct or manner that betrayed to his most familiar friends the least propensity towards enthusiasm; and yet,, distant as the suspicion must be, under these cir- cumstances, that he should ever be under the influence of superstition, it is well known, that while he was a student at Edinburgh, where he was distinguished for the mildness of his manners, and the regularity of his conduct, he one day, in an eccentric sally of fanati- cism, ran almost entirely naked through the streets of that city, warning all its inhabitants of the impending wrath of heaven, and exhorting them in the most so- lemn manner, to avert the approaching danger, by humbly imploring the mercy of an offended Deity. But this religious paroxysm was of short duration. He was at this time in habits of intimacy with the great characters who then filled the professional chairs of the University, and ardently engaged in the pursuits of study ; and the exercises which his daily task required, together with the company and conversation of these rational, well-informed, and thinking men, preserved his reason, and soon restored him to the full and free 2Q2 On Hygieine, or the art enjoyment of those faculties, from which both science and humanity afterwards derived so many benefits. In the course of my practice as a physician, adds Dr. Zimmerman, I was called upon to attend a young lady, whose natural disposition had been extremely cheerful, until a severe fit of sickness damped her spi- rits, and rendered her averse to all those lively plea- sures which fascinate the youthful mind. The debility of her frame, and the change of her temper, were not sufficiently attended to in the early stages of her con- valescence. The anxiety of her mind was visible in the altered features of her face ; and she was frequent- ly heard to express a melancholy regret, that she had consumed so many hours in the frivolous, though in- nocent, amusements of the age. Time increased, by almost imperceptible degrees, these symptoms of ap- proaching melancholy; and at length exhibited them- selves by penitential lamentations of the sin she had committed with respect to the most trifling actions of her life, and in which no shadow o > offence could pos- sibly be found. At the time I wjss called in, this su- perstitious melancholy was attended with certain indi- cations of mental derangement. The distemper clearly originated in the indisposition of the body, and the gloomy apprehensions which disease and pain had in- troduced into the mind during a period of many months. This once lively, handsome, but now almost insane fe- male, was daily attacked with such violent paroxysms of her complaint, that she lost all sense of her situation, and exclaimed, in horrid distraction and deep despair, that her perdition was already accomplished, and that the fiends were waiting to receive her soul and plunge it into the bitterest torments of hell. Her constitution however, still fortunately retained sufficient strength to enable me, by the power of medicine, gradually to change its temperament, and to reduce the violence of the fever which had been long preying on her life. Her mind became more calm in proportion as her nerves recovered their former tone; and when her in- of Preserving Health. 398 tellectual powers were in a condition to be acted on* with effect, I successfully counteracted the baleful ef- fects of Superstition by the wholesome infusion of real Religion, and restored, by degrees, a lovely, young, and virtuous woman to her family and herself. Oh ! would mankind but make fair Truth their guides And force the helm from Prejudice and Pride, Were once these maxims fix'd, that God's our friend, Virtue our good, and Happiness our end, How soon must reason o'er the world prevail, And Error, Fraud, and Superstition fail I None would hereafter, then, with groundless fear, Describe The Almighty cruel and severe; Predestinating some, without pretence, To heaven; and some to hell for no offence ; Inflicting endless pains for transient crimes, And favouring sects or nations, men or times. Zimmerman, • It is that fervent love of God and man, constituting the heart-gladdening religion of Christ, which I mean. This teaches us to deny ourselves, and follow in the exercise of all virtues, wherein consists the life of re- ligion, laying aside all idle quarrels, self-interest, and needless debates about circumstantials; for this re- ligion is not in words but in works ; not in opinions but in assurances ; not in speculation but in practice. It is this religion all men ought to love for their own sakes, because a holy life, which it teaches, gives a comfortable death, and a happy eternity. Could we forbear dispute, and practise love, We should agree as angels do above. Where love presides, not vice alone does find No entrance there, but virtues stay behind : 394 On Hygieine, or the art Both faith, and hope, and all the meaner train Of mortal virtues, at the door remain. Love only enters as a native there, For, born in heaven, it does but sojourn here. Waller. The man who loves God, enjoys that first of felici- ties, the consciousness of having placed his affections on the only object that truly deserves them. O ! how amiable is gratitude ; especially when directed to the Supreme Benefactor. It is the most exalted principle that can actuate the heart of man. When a good man looks around him on this vast world, where beauty and goodness are reflected from every object, and where he beholds millions of crea- tures in their different ranks, enjoying the blessings of existence, he looks up to the Universal Father, and his heart glows within him. And in every comfort which sweetens his own life, he discerns the same in- dulgent hand. Thus it is that gratitude prepares a good man for the enjoyment of prosperity ; for not only has he as full a relish as others of the innocent pleasures of life, but, moreover, in these he holds communion with God. In all that is good or fair he traces his hand. From the beauties of nature, from the improve- ments of art, from the blessings of public or private life, he raises his affections to the great Fountain of all the happiness which surrounds him, and this widens the sphere of his enjoyments, by adding to the plea- sures of sense, the far more exquisite joys of the heart Transcendent Power! sole arbiter of fate! How great thy glory! and thy bliss how great 1 To view from thy exalted throne above, (Eternal source of light, and life, and love) Unnumber'd creatures draw their smiling birth. To bless the heav'ns, or beautify the earth : of Preserving Health. 2Q5 While systems roll, obedient to thy view, And worlds rejoice—which Newton never knew. Boyse. Adversity is the grand test of what is true and what is false among the different objects of our choice; and our loVe of God, tried by this, will soon discover its infinite value and excellence. Persons of every cha- racter are liable to distress. The man who loveth God, and he who loveth him not, are alike exposed to the stroke of adversity. But on the bad man adversity- falls with double weight, because it finds him without defence and without resource. But to the man whose soul rejoices in his God, adversity has nothing gloomy and terrible. Believing every thing in the world to be under the administration of God, and looking up to that God as to an all-wise and benevolent Father and Friend, he welcomes every thing that comes from him. If this goodness of God is so admirably seen in the works of Nature, and the favours of Providence, with what a noble superiority does it even triumph in the ministry of redemption. Redemption is the brightest mirror in which to contemplate the most lovely attri- bute of the Deity. Herein God manifests his love for poor sinful mor tals, in so exalted a manner, that it is beyond parallel; beyond thought; above all blessing and praise.-—In comprehensible love ! May it henceforward be the fa- vourite subject of my meditation; more delightful to my musing mind, than applause to the ambitious ear! May it be the darling theme of my discourse; sweeter to my tongue than the dropping of the honey-comb to my taste ! May it be my choicest comfort through all the changes of life, and my reviving cordial even in the last extremities of dissolution itself! Redemption! oh thou beauteous mystic plan. Thou salutary source of life to man 4 &9'6 On Hygieine, or the art What tongue can speak thy comprehensive grace ? What thought thy depths unfathomable trace ? O ! blest Redeemer, from thy sacred throne, Where saints and angels sing thy triumphs won! From that exalted height of bliss supreme, Look down on those who bear thy sacred name; Restore their ways, inspire them by thy grace, Thy laws to follow, and thy steps to trace ; Thy bright example to thy doctrine join, And by their morals prove their faith divine! Boyse. Religion, as is justly observed by Dr. Dodd, is such a sense of God on the soul, and our obligation to, and dependence upon him, as to make it our principal stu- dy to do that which we think will be pleasing in his sight, and to avoid every thing which we think will offend him. As he is the fountain of goodness and justice, of course religion must be the foundation of evry Christian and moral virtue---to do good to all, and to avoid giving offence to, or injuring wil- lingly, even those who are enemies and persecutors. The meek and humble soul approaches nearest to original innocency, and is most God-like when he re- sembles him in doing good, and shewing mercy, which is as beneficial to themselves as others. They cannot hate, because they esteem all as worthy of love as them- selves ; they cannot fear, because they do no wrong; and grief can find no entrance in their breasts, because they have given none to others. He that alone would wise and mighty be, Commands that others love as well as he. Love as he lov'd—How can we soar so high ? He can add wings when he commands to fly. Nor should we be with this command dismay'd; He that examples give will give his aid: of Preserving Health. 297 For he took flesh, that when his precepts fail, His practice, as a pattern, may prevail. Waller. Religion is so far from debarring us of any inno- cent pleasure or comfort of human life, that it purifies our enjoyments, and renders them more grateful and generous; and besides this, it brings mighty pleasures of its own; those of a glorious hope, a serene mind, a calm and undisturhed conscience, and thus makes us habitually cheerful. Thou, Cheerfulness, by Heaven design'd To swaj' the movements of the mind ; Whatever fretful passion springs, Whatever wayward fortune brings To disarrange the power within, And strain the musical machine; Thou, goddess, thy attempering hand Doth each discordant string command, Refines the soft and swells the strong, And, joining Nature's general song, Through many a varying tone unfolds The harmony of human souls. Akenside, Cheerfulness is consistent with every species of vir- tue and practice of religion. It is an implicit praise and thanksgiving to Providence, under all its dispen- sations. It is a kind of acquiescence in the state wherein we are placed, and a secret approbation of the Divine Will in his conduct towards man. As I was betwixt sleeping and waking, says a sub- lime author, I perceived one of the most shocking figures imagination can frame, advancing towards me. She was dressed in black, her eyes deep sunk in her head, and her complexion pale and livid as the coun- tenance of death. Her looks were filled with terror and 29g On Hygieine^ or the art unrelenting severity, and her hands armed with whips and scorpions. As soon as she came near, with a horrid frown, and a voicethat chilled my very blood, she bade me follow her. I obeyed, and she. led me through rag- ged paths, beset with briers and thorns, and a deep solitary valley. Wherever she passed, the fading ver- dure withered beneath hersteps; her pestilential breath infected the air with malignant vapour**, obscured the lustre of the sun. and involved the fair face of Heaven in universal gloom Dismal how lings resounded through the forests; from every baleful tree the night raven croaked his dreadful note; and the prospect was filled with desolation and horror. In the midst of this tre- mendous scene, she addressed me in the following manner: " Retire with me, O rash, unthinking mortal, from the vain alhiremenis of a deceitful world, and learn that pleasure was not designed the portion of human life. Man was born to mourn, and to be wretched; this is the condition of all below the stars, and who- ever endeavours to oppose it, acts in contradiction to the will of Heaven. Fly then from the fatal enchant- ments of youth and social delight, and here consecrate the solitary hours to lamentation and wo. Misery is the duty of all sublunary beings, and every enjoy- ment is an offence to the Deity, who is to be wor- shipped only by the mortification of every sense of pleasure, and the everlasting exercise of sighs and tears." This melancholy picture of life quite sunk my spi- rits, and seemed to annihilate every principle of hap- piness within me. I threw myself beneath a blasted yew, where the winds blew cold and dismal round my head, and dreadful apprehensions chilled my heart. Here I resolved to lie till the hand of death, which I impatiently invoked, should put an end to the miseries of a life so deplorably wretched. In this sad situation, 1 espied on one hand of me a deep muddy river, whose heavy waves rolled on in slow and sullen murmurs, When I found myself suddenly surprised by the sight of Preserving Health. 299 of the loveliest object I ever beheld. The most enga- ging charms of youth and beauty appeared in all her form ; effulgent glories sparkled in her eyes, and their awful splendours were softened by the gentlest looks of complacency and peace. At her approach, the frightful spectre, who had before tormented me, vanish- ed away, and with her all the horrors she had caused. The gloomy clouds brightened in cheerful sunshine; the groves recovered their verdure; and the whole re- gion looked gay and blooming as the garden of Eden. I was quite transported at the unexpected change, and reviving hope began to glad my thoughts, when, with a look of inxpressible sweetness, my beauteous deliverer thus uttered her divine instructions: " My name is Religion. I am the offspring of Truth and Love, and the parent of Benevolence, Hope, and Joy. That monster, from whose power I have freed you, is called Superstition ; she is the child of Discontent, and her followers are Fear and Sorrow. Thus, different as we are, she has often the insolence to assume my name and character, and seduces un- happy mortals to think us the same, till she at length drives them to the borders of despair; that dreadful abyss, into which you were just going to sink. " Look around, and survey the various beauties of the globe, which Heaven has destined for the seat of the human race, and consider whether a world thus exquisitely framed, could be meant for the abode of misery and pain. For what end has the lavish hand of Providence diffused such innumerable objects of delight, but that all might rejoice in the privilege of existence, and be filled with gratitude to the beneficent Author of it? Thus, to enjoy the blessings he has sent, is virtue and obedience ; and to reject them mere- ly as means of pleasure, is pitiable ignorance, or ab- surd perverseness. Infinite goodness is thfc source ol created existence; the proper tendency of every ra- tional being, from the highest order of raptured seraphs, to the meanest rank of men, is to rise incessantly from lower degrees of happiness to higher. They have 3qq On Hygieine, or the art each faculties assigned them for various orders of de- lights." <» What!" cried I, " is this the language of Reli- gion P Does she lead her votaries through flowery paths, and bid them pass an unlaborious life!" "The true enjoyments of a reasonable being," answered she, mildly, "do not consist in unbounded indulgence, or luxurious ease, the tumult of passions, the languor of indulgence, or the flutter of light amusements. Those are often raised into the greatest transports of joy, who are subject to the greatest depressions of melancholy: on the contrary. Cheerfulness, though it does not give the mind such an exquisite gladness, prevents us from falling into depths of sorrow. Mirth is like a flash of lightning, that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment. Cheerfulness keeps up a kind of day-light in the mind, and fills it with a steady aud perpetual serenity." Were men sensible of the happiness that results from true religion, the voluptuous man would there, seek his pleasure, the covetous man his wealth, and the ambi- tious man his glory. An ! what is life ? with ills encompass'd round, Amidst our hopes, fate strikes the sudden wound: To-day the statesman of new honour dreams, To-morrow death destroys his airy schemes ; Is mouldy treasure in thy chest confin'd ? Think all that treasure thou must leave behind ; Thy heir with smiles shall view thy blazon'd hearse, And all thy hoards with lavish hand disperse. Should certain fate th' impending blow delay, Thy mirth will sicken, and thy bloom decay; Then feeble age will all thy nerves disarm, No more thy blood its narrow channels warm. Who then would wish to stretch this narrow span, To suffer life beyond the date of man ? The virtuous soul pursues a nobler aim, And life regards but as a fleeting dream : of Preserving Health. 30i She longs to wake, and wishes to get free, To launch from earth into eternity. For while the boundless theme extends our thought, Ten thousand thousand rolling years are nought. Gay. Religion, like the treasure hid in the field, which a man sold all he had to purchase, is of that price that it cannot be had at too great a value. Since without it the best condition of life cannot make us happy, and with it, it is impossible we should be miserable even in the worst. Let the affections of a man be once softened and dul- cified with Divine love, and he is ever secure from the sudden apoplexies of the passionate, the poisonous cups of the drunkard—the murdering pistol of the duellist —the assassinating dagger of the jealous—the loath- some diseases of the harlot-—and the wasting hectics of the gambler. - In vain we seek a Heaven below the sky; The world has false, but flatt'ring charms : Its distant joys show big in our esteem, But lessen still as they draw near the eye ; In our embrace the visions die : And when we grasp the airy forms, We lose the pleasing dream. Watts. Though justice and judgment are called the work of God, yet his mercy, as more natural to him, is said to rejoice against judgment; but these, his attributes, have their alternate courses; for the presumptuous boldness of man grows often to such an excessive height, as to extort a vengeance from his unwilling hands, that by this wholesome severity others may be cautioned against secure sinning, upon the foolish confidence of Heaven's inadvertence, or impotency to punish. 30& On Hygieine, or the art A man having spoken slanderous words against a gentleman, who had it in his power to punish him, when accused of the falsehood, to justify himself, said, " If he spoke them, he desired God to send an imme- diate token of his wrath upon his body, and in case he should defer to do it, he wished the devil might." Immediately he fell down in an apoplectic fit, which he never had before. Three wicked suborned wretches, falsely accusing Narcissus, the pious Bishop of Jerusalem, of inconti- nence, whose virtues were so conspicuous, that no- body gave credit to their allegations, though upou oath, to gam credit before the judges, confirmed what they had said by dreadful imprecations upon themselves in the close of their evidence. The first added, " If what I have said be not true, 1 pray God I may be burnt to death;" the second, *« May 1 perish by some loathsome disease if there be any thing false in my deposition ;" and the third, " I wish I may be struck blind by some judgment from Heaven if the whole in my affidavit be not true." This scandalous impeach- ment, though none gave credit to what they so confi- dently avouched, had such an effect upon the devout and blameless prelate, that he retired out of his dio- cese and betook himself to a solitary life. But his perjured accusers were pursued and overtaken by the justice of Heaven in their exemplary punishment. For the first, agreeably to his wish, having his house on fire by some unknown accident, he and bis family were consumed in the flames; the second languished to death under an incurable disease; and the third, see- ing the dismal fate that attended his brethren in ini- quity, confessed the whole contrivance, and wept so excessively for the injury they had done the good Bi Shop, that he utterly lost the use of his eyes. If men, so prodigal in scattering imprecations and curses upon all tbey are displeased at, would take time to consider what they are about before they dis- of Preserving Health. 606 gorge them, they would certainly be ashamed of the folly of such a practice, because nobody is hurt by it but themselves ; for curses, like arrows shot against Heaven, fall upon the heads of those that throw them out, but can never injure the persons or things level- led at. Again, what can be more foolish than for men, in common discourse, to make imprecations upon them selves, to confirm the truth of their assertions, which does no more than give a handle to their auditors, sus- picion ; for good men will be believed without them, and scorn to use them ; and bad men can never gain credit, but disparage themselves, by so frequently vent- ing them; because, by such bitter asseverations they seem to suspect their own reputations. It is also for want of consideration, and too easy a compliance with a scandalous and vicious custom, that men of sense in other matters, upon very slight, and sometimes no occasion in the world, expose themselves to the wrath of Heaven, by calling upon God to damn them if what they say be false, when, at the same time, they know there is no truth in it, and wish they may perish eter- nally, if they don't do what they never intend when they speak it. . What use of oaths, of promise, or of test, Where men regard no God but interest? What endless war would jealous nations tear, If none above did witness what they swear ? Sad fate of unbelievers, and yet just, Among themselves to find so little trust! Were Scripture silent, Nature would proclaim, Without a God, our falsehood and our shame. Boyse Though it is an ill man's interest there should be no God, because then there could be no punishment for sin, and though this interest passes into argument, yet it is never so conclusive as to pass into an entire satisfaction ; for we cannot believe any person, with 60 h On Hygieine, or the art the use of his rational faculties, and who gives himself the liberty of thinking, can deny the existence of a deity, both as to creation and providence. Then, if every man believes there is a God, not to live in obe- dience to his precepts, is to enhance one's guilt, and bring conscience as a witness to convict the offender of wilful transgressions. " 'Tis the first punishment of sin, That no man does absolve himself within." There are many wicked men who will speak unbe- coming things of God in a humour of bravado amidst company, but will tremble before him iu solitude, and shuduer at the approach of death. Man makes a death which nature never made, Then on the point of his own fancy falls, And feels a thousand deaths in fearing one. Young. A man living in the town of Bedford, of a quick wit, and fluent tongue, but of a loose and debauched behaviour, boldly affirmed that he did not belive there was either God or devil, Heaven or hell. Not long afterwards he was apprehended, and, for a notorious crime, was condemned to be hanged. A day before his execution, an acquaintance visited him, on purpose to know if the thoughts of approaching certain death had made any alteration in his former Atheistical prin- ciples ; and, had the satisfaction to find an entire change was wrought in him, for, with many tears he bewailed his former delusions, and said, " that a pri- son, and the serious thoughts of death, had opened the eyes of his understanding; and, that, when he former- ly exclaimed, there was no God, yet he did not then believe what he said ; but that he being of a lewd and wicked life, thought it necessary to blind his conscience, and outbrave the world, with a pretence that it was of Preserving Health. 306 his principle, but that now he most sincerely re- pented. Voltaire, a man who, after having long and too just- ly been considered the patron of infidelity, and after having shown himself equally the enemy to every re- ligious establishment, at length, to the astonishment of all serious minds, and at the close of a long life of near eighty years, embraced the Christian religion. If a veteran in the cause of infidelity thus closes his life and his works, does it not greatly behove those who have been deluded and misled by his writings, seri- ously to look to themselves, and bring home this stri king example to their hearts, lest they fall into the condemnation which their master seeks thus meanly at the end to avoid ? 0 then, while penitence can fate disarm, While ling'ring justice yet withholds its arm ; While heavenly patience grants the precious time, Let the lost sinner think him of his crime; Immediate, to the seat of mercy fly, Nor wait to-morrow—lest to-night he die! Boyse. Amongst all the nations, there are none so barbarous and cruel, none so utterly lost to all the sentiments of humanity and civility, but have embraced and conti- nued amongst them the notion of a Deity, or some Be- ing entitled to their adoration. This is a principle so deeply engraven in the very nature of man, that no time, nor change, nor chance, hath ever been able to obliterate it; so, that rather than have nothing to wor- ship, men have often been contented to adore as gods, even the works of their own hands. And, indeed, herein their ignorance and folly is chiefly to be lamented, that they have still made choice of any thing, rather than the true God, to pay their homage and veneration. In the mean time, they shame some of us, in having been 306 On Hygieine, or the art more zealous in their superstition, than we are in the true religion. The Athenians consulted the oracle of Apollo, de- manding what rites they should make use of in matters of their religion. The answer was, " The rites of their ancestors." Returning thither again, they said, " The manner of their forefathers had been often changed;" they, therefore, inquired, " what custom they should make choice of in so great a variety ?" Apollo replied, " The best." First to the gods thy humble homage pay; The greatest this, and first of laws obey: Perform thy vows, observe thy plighted troth, And let religion bind thee to thy oath. The heroes next demand thy just regard, Renown'd on earth, and to the stars preferr'd, To light, and endless life, their virtue's sure reward. Due rites perform, and honours to the dead, To every wise, to every pious shade. With lowly duty to thy parents bow, And grace and favour to thy kindred show: For what concerns the rest of human kind, Choose out the man to virtue best inclin'd ; Him to thy arms receive; him to thy bosom bind. Pythagoras. So great a reverence for religion had the Ethiopian kings in the time of Ptolemy, king of Egypt, that whensoever the priests of Jupiter, who worshipped in Meroe, declared to any individual that his life was hateful to the gods, he immediately put an end to his days. Nor was there any of them found to have had a more tender regard to the safety of his own life, than he had a reverence for religion, till king Argenes, who, lest the priests should tell him he should die, began with themselves, put them all to death, and thereby abolished the custom. of Preserving Health. 3G7 The Christians were to build a chapel in Rome, wherein to perform service to Almighty God; but they were complained of, and the ground challenged by certain inn-holders in that city. Tlie matter was brought before the emperor, Alexander Severus, who thus determined : " The things," said he, " that con* cern the gods, are to be preferred before the concerns of mau ; and, therefore, let it be free for the Christians to build their chapel to their God, who, though he be unknown to us at Rome, ought, nevertheless, to have honour done unto him, if but for this respect alone, that he beareth the name of a God." When the Duke of Saxony made great preparations for a war against a pious and devout bishop of Magde- burgh, the bishop, not regarding his defence, applied himself to his episcopal function, in the visiting and well-governing of his church; and when it was told him that the duke was upon his march against him, he replied, " I will take care of the reformation of my churches, and leave unto God the care of my safety." The fluke had a spy in the city, who, hearing of this answer of the bishop, gave his master a speedy ac- count thereof. The duke having received this informa- tion, did thereupon dismiss his army, and desisted from his expedition, saying, " he would not fight against him who had God to fight for him." While the colleagues of Constantinus, the Roman emperor, were persecuting the Christians with fire and sword, he politicly pretended to persecute them too; and declared to such officers of his household, aud go- vernors of provinces, as were Christians, that he left it to their choice, either to sacrifice to the gods, and by that means preserve themselves in their employments, or to forfeit their places and his favour, by continuing steady in their religion. When they had all declared their option, the emperor discovered his real sentiments; reproached, in the most bitter terms, those who had renounced their religion; highly extolled the virtue 308 On Hygieine, or the art and constancy of such as had despised the wealth and vanities of the world; and dismised the former with ig- nominy, saying, that those who had betrayed theirGod, Would not scruple to betray their prince; while he re- tained the latter, trusted them with the guard of his person, and the whole management of public affairs, as persons on whose fidelity he could firmly rely, and in whom he might put au entire confidence. The great Lord Burleigh used to say, " 1 will never trust any man not of sound religion *,for he that is false to God, can never be true to man." Of all the singular virtues which united in the cha- racter of Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, that which crowned the whole, was his exemplary piety to God. The following is related of him when he was once in his camp before Werben. He had been alone in the cabinet of his pavilion some hours together, and none of his attendants at these seasons durst interrupt him. At length, however, a favourite of his, having some important matter to tell him, came softly to the. door, and looking in, beheld the king very devoutly on his knees at prayer. Fearing to molest him in that sacred exercise, he was about to withdraw his head, when the king espied him, and bidding him come in, said, "Thou Wonderest to see me in this posture, since I have so many thousand subjects to pray for me : but I tell thee, that no man has more need to pray for himself, than he who, being to render an account of his actions to none but God, is, for that reason, more closely assault- ed by the devil than all other men'beside." When the town of Landshut, in Bavaria, surrendered to him at discretion, the principal inhabitants of it fell down upon their knees before him, and presented him with the keys of their town. " Rise, rise," said he : " it is your duty to fall upon your knees to God, and not to so frail and feeble a mortal as I am." of Preserving Health. 309 It was the daily practice of that eminent physician, Dr. Boerhaave, throughout his whole life, as soon at he arose in the morning, which was generally very early, to retire for an hour to private prayer and me- ditation on some part of the Scriptures. He often told his friends, when they asked him how it was possible for him to go through so much fatigue, that it was this which gave him spirit and vigour in the business of the day. This, therefore, he recommended, as the best rule he could give: for nothing, he said, could tend more to the health of the body, than the tranquillity of the mind; and that he knew nothing which could support himself or his fellow-creatures, amidst the va- rious distresses of life, but a well grounded confidence in the Supreme Being, upon the principles of Chris- tianity." From the very respectful mention which I have so frequently made of Religion, some of my readers may be charitable, enough to conclude, that I am religious in a high degree. Would to God I were. From my soul I wish that my devotedness to religion had all my life been equal to the exalted opinion which I entertain of it. But, though like most of the human race, I have too often neglected my duty in this respect, yet can 1 say, before my God, that I look upon religion as the only true glory and happiness of man ; and though worlds were thrown into the opposite scale, yet would I not relinquish the joys, imperfect as they are, which I de- rive from it. And from this circumstance I have often been led to think, that if I derive so much comfort from the little religion which I possess, how truly enviable, how superlatively happy must they be, whose whole lives are devoted to her service, and whose hearts are perpetually enjoying those sublime pleasures which her unclouded smiles can impart. Arise, my soul, on wings seraphic rise, And praise th' Almighty Sov'reign of the skies: 310 On Hygieine, or the art In whom alone essential glory shines, Which not the heaven of heav'ns, nor boundless space confines. While this immortal spark of heavenly flame Distends my breast, and animates my frame; To thee my ardent praises shall be borne On the first breeze that wakes the blushing morn: The latest star shall hear the pleasing sound, And nature in full choir shall join around. When full of thee my soul excursive flies Through air, earth, ocean, or thy regal skies; From world to world new wonders still I find, And all the God-head flashes on my mind. When wing'd with whirlwinds, vice shall take its flight To the deep bosom of eternal night, To thee my soul shall endless praises pay; Join, men and angels, join th' exalted lay ! Blaoklock. 0-F FEVERS IN GENERAL, f v TENDER this head are comprehended all fevers whatever, by which the human frame is affected; but, as they arise from a great variety of causes, and affect persons of very dissimilar constitutions, they must of course differ in their nature, and require a very distinct treatment. Two very opposite states of the human body are sup- posed to give rise to fevers, and to form their great and fundamental distinctions. The one is called the phlo- gistic diathesis, or inflammatory disposition ; wherein the heart is excited to rapid and strenuous exertions, manifested by great strength in the action of the ves- sels, while the blood itself exhibits a more florid hue and denser texture than usual. In the other, the brain and nervous system are more directly affected, their energy seems impaired, the force of the heart and vessels is diminished, the blood is of a looser texture, and the fluids tend to dissolu- tion. ^ In the first state, when the inflammation originates from external causes, as wounds, contusions, or burns, C612 Of Fevers in general. the fever follows the local affection, and is in propor tion to the degree of inflammation in the part affected, Such fevers are called symptomatic. This is also the case in certain disorders of the lungs, and other viscera, which arise, not from external inju- ries, but from some vice in the part, which gradually brings on inflammation and fever. If the local inflam- mation be removed, the fever is removed also; if it cannot be subdued, but increase gradually, destroying the organization of the part, the patient dies sometimes by the violence of the fever, and sometimes merely be- cause an organ essential to life is destroyed.* Cold is found, by uuiversal experience, to give a dis- position to inflammatory disorders: and heat to those called putrid.* During the winter, and,early in the spring, pleurisies, peripneumonies, quinsie|p»rheuma- tisms, and inflammatory fevers prevail. Towards the end of summer, and particularly in autumn, fevers of a different nature, with dysenteries and putrid ulcerous sore throats, make their appearance. . Although it is true in general, that cold occ&ions a disposition to diseases of an inflammatory nature, and heat to those supposed putrescent, yet, persons who take violent exercise in sultry weather, or who acciden- tally fall asleep on the ground, exposed to the beams of the mid-day sun, are sometimes seized with fevers of a highly inflammatory and dangerous quality; the in- flammation directly'affecting the brain itself, or its membranes. * The time, in which intermittents and remittents are most prevalent, is the end of summer and beginning of autumn, when heat and moisture, combine to hasten the corruption of animal and vegetable substances, and fill a false view of what reailyhappens in those fevers, Recent experiment lvhi raflo We continue this term in obedience to custom, only. For it conveys reail and more accurate observation, have demonstrated, that putrefaction never takes place in a living bod*. The process which sbmf times goes on in these malignant fevers, has some of the appearances of putrefaction; but it is, in fact, totally dis Of Fevers in genejral. 3iS the asmosphere with miasmata. These considerations reduce it next to a certainty, .that something essentially connected with a marshy soil produces fever, and we can suppose nothing with so much probability, as the effluvia of stagnant water and corrupting animal and vegetable, substances. And if a suddeu stoppage of perspiration, from the cold of autumn, after the body is relaxed by the heat of summer, be sufficient of itself to produce fever in dry and well ventilated countries, where there is no reason to think that marsh miasmata prevail, we cannot be sur- prised to find them far more universal and more obsti nate in low and marshy soils, where the first cause con- curs with the second. A still more active source of fevers is the effluvia from theliving human body, which, when long con- fined, becomes in the highest degree acrimonious, and gives rise to diseases the most dangerous and malignant. Whenever numbers of people are crowded together, 4 ike airmust soon be deprived of its vital ingredient, by repeated respiration, hence this infectious matter will be formed, but with most rapidity in gaols/in hospitals, in the holds of ships, and in dirty dwell- ings, where its virulent tendency is hastened by nas- tiness, by unwholesome food, by desponding thoughts, or by the effluvia coming from bodies in a diseased state. It communicates its infection not only to those who approach the places in which it is generated, and the human body from which it flows, but also will re- main long entangled in beds, blankets, aud other arti- cles, having been in contact with the patient's body, retaining its activity, and capable of infecting others at a considerable distance of time and place, if, unhap- pily, those contaminated materials are carried abroad. In this manner, one person who is not himself infect- ed, may infect another: the first person, in such cases, being less predisposed to the disease than the second. Although the infection arising from the living human body, is not perceived to act at a great distance from its direct source; vet it seems most probable that it Ri 314 Intermittent, ot does not immediately lose its virulency; but after it is diffused in the atmosphere, continues in some degree to act in conjunction with the miasmata of marshes, with heat, obstructed perspiration, and the other causes of fever, and, according to the various proportions of those causes, combined with the circumstances of season, climate, and the constitution of the patient, the nature of the fever is determined. INTERMITTENT, OR AGUE AND FEVER. Symptoms. Is that fever which has, periodically, a clear intermission alternating with a return of its paroxysms. From the length of time between the fits, the species of the fever are distinguished and namid. Thus, if the fit returns every day, it is termed a quo- tidian; if every third, a tertian; if every fourth, a quar- tan. The ague commences with weakness, frequent stretching, and yawnings, succeeded by sensations of cold in the back and extremities, which increase, until the limbs as well as the body become agita^|d with|> frequent and violent shivering. This continues for some time, during which a violent pain of the head and back, and a sensation resembling a stricture across the stomach, frequently distress the patient; and the sense of coldness is so great, that no endeavours to obtain warmth are of the least avail. These symp- toms, subsiding by degrees, give way finally to warm flushings, which increase, until redness and heat, much greater than natural, are extended over the whole body; the patient at length burning with such extreme heat, as to be now as solicitous for the refreshing sen- sation of cold, as he was before anxious to mitigate, its violence. After these symptoms have existed for some time, they gradually decline; the thirst goes off, the skin is relaxed, and a moisture breaks out on the head, which soon becomes general and profuse; then it slowly abates, till it entirely ceases. This is the general progress of a regular paroxysm of a well formed intermittent; the patient is often left, apparently, free of disease, until the next attack Ague and Fever. did Causes. The remote causes of ague or autumnal fever are, first, the effluvia which arises from marshes or moist grounds acted on by heat. Secondly, cold, especially when accompanied by moisture, which will necessarily act with more certainty, if a predisposition to the disease exists. This predisposition may be in- duced by living too sparingly, or on trashy food, ex- cessive fatigue, impeded perspiration, preceding dis- ease, indulgence in spirituous liquors, and in fine, by whatever tends to weaken the system and impoverish the blood. Hence the poor are more subject to the disease than the rich; For health consists of spirits and of bloodj And these proceed from generous wine and food. Pope Treatment. In the cure of an ague, whether quo- tidian, tertian, or quartan, much the same plan maybe followed, which is, as far as possible, to prevent the dis- ease from being habitual; for the longer it continues, the more it weakens the constitution, and disposes the glandular viscera, as the liver, spleen, &c. to obstruc tions, and often prepares the habit for dropsies and other chronic diseases. So that although this disease be not very alarming in its appearance, yet, if injudi- ciously treated, or neglected, it often draws after it the most serious consequences; and hence merits particular attention. The cure of the disease therefore calls for an eme- tic, or a dose of calomel and jalap, or salts, senna and manna, to free the bowels of their offending contents; and if the patient be of a full habit, with headach and flushed countenance, the pulse hard and quick, show- ing an inflammatory disposition, blood-letting will be highly necessary. Having by these means prepared the system, strength- ening remedies should next be employed. Of these, the Peruvian bark is the most celebrated, and may be used with safety in the time of intermission, provided there 316 Intermittent, or* exists no swelling or hardness of the viscera. In that event the bark must be withheld, until these symptoms are rendered milder by the administration of gentle laxatives, blisters, and diaphoretic medicines, as the cathartic and saline mixtures, (see Recipe 11. and 1%) whose good effects will be greatly aided by diluent drinks and abstinence from solid food. As soon as the system is properly prepared for the use of the bark, it may then he given in such doses as the stomach will bear, and at such intervals, that six or eight doses may be taken during the intermission. Should it disagree with the patient in substance, give it in some other form, as the cold infusion, decoction, or tincture. (See Recipe 37- 36. and 53.) In the mean time, strict attention must be paid to the habit of body: for in vain shall we expect to cure intermittcnts, if the bowels be not kept open an-', the •kin moist. When, therefore, the Peruvian bark produces cos- tiveness, five or six grains of rhubarb, or some mild purgative, should be added to each dose; and in case of cold phlegmatic habits, witb-a dry skin, the addition of ten or fifteen grains of Virginia snake-root is peculiarly proper. In some constitutions the bark produces severe and copious purging. This debilitating effect may be pre- vented by adding five or six drops of laudanum to each dose. And when the patient is- troubled witn sourness on the stomach, flatulence and pain, take the bark in lime water, or conjoin with each dose, eight or ten grains of salt of tartar, or magnesia. Some patients are subject to profuse sweats, from debility. In such cases the bark should be united with a few grains of the rust of steel, or ten or fifteen drops of elixir vitriol, and taken in wine. But when these evacuations proceed, as they often do, from an imper- fect cure, accompanied with great and intense heat, during their prevalence, we must immediately resort to the preparatory remedies, as blood-letting, cathartics and diaphoretics. Sometimes the fever will not yield to Ague and Fever. 317 the bark, even when all the usual preparatory medicines have been employed. In such cases we may justly sus- pect the liver to be diseased, particularly if the coun- tenance be either livid, or pale, or of a yellowish cast; and in that event, the use of the bark should be sus- pended until those obstructions be removed. For this purpose one of the mercurial pills (see Re- cipe 2%) should be given night and morning, until pty- alism, that is, a soreness of the mouth with increased spitting, is produced, which will generally succeed; and when it fails, the nitric acid diluted, and given in its usual doses, (see Recipe 16) maybe depended on. After a ptyalism is effected, recourse must be had to one or other of the strengthening remedies, to give tone to the system. From the tenor of these observations it follows, that the Peruvian bark is notva remedy to be employed in every case of intermittent fevers, but that much caution is necessary in the use of it, lest it be turned .into abuse. For unless the system be properly prepared by suitable remedies, the administration of bark, or any other tonic, is an error fraught with the most se- rious mischief. The Peruvian bark being so costly and not always to be had pure, it must afford much pleasure to the be- nevolent, to learn that the black oak bark of America possesses the same virtues of the Peruvian, as has been verified by repeated experiments, not only in the cure of intcrmittents, but other diseases hitherto treated with the Peruvian bark alone. It may be taken in the same manner, only in rather larger doses. In substance it is most efficacious, and if well pulverised it will be found more palatable than the Peruvian bark, and not so apt to excite vomiting. Another mode in which this remedy may be employ- ed to great advantage, from its abundance in our conn- try, is by bathing twice or thrice a-day in a strong de- coction of it; which to children, and patients whose stomachs will not retain medicine, will prove exceed- ingly beneficial. When the black oak bark is not con- 318 Intermittent, or venient, the red oak bark, though less efficacious, should be substituted, as 1 have often witnessed the happiest effects accruing to debilitated persons bathing in a strong decoction of it, about lukewarm, particularly in the last stage of fevers. Hence this remedy well deserves the attention of the planter. Professor Barton assures us that he has employed the bark of the Spanish oak in gangrene, with the happiest effect, and that he considered it, in powder, equal to the best Peruvian bark. See Oak. Materia Medica. The common dog-wood bark, of our country, is also an excellent substitute for Peruvian, particularly in the cure of intermittents; so is the bark of the wild cherry-tree, and of the lyriadendron tulipifera, or American poplar, all of which may be given in the same forms and doses, as the Peruvian bark. See Materia Medica. The columbo root, an admirable corrector of bile, is a most useful medicine in this complaint, and will often be retained by the stomach, when the bark, in every form, has been rejected. It is likewise an excellent remedy, joined with steel, as in the form of the tonic powders or pills, (see Recipe 4 and 23,) for patients disposed to be dropsical, or who have a swelling and hardness of the spleen, called ague cake; especially if a purge or two have been previously employed, and some mercurial action excited in the system, by one or two grains of calomel, taken every night and morning for a few weeks. Another valuable medicine in the cure of agues, and which has frequently succeeded when the bark failed, is white vitriol. But like other tonic medicines, it re- quires that the stomach and bowels should be freed of their morbid contents, before any good effects can result from its use. Therefore, some evacuating medicine is always necessary; after which, one of the vitriolic pills (see Recipe 2-h) may be given every three or four hours during the intermission of fever, gradually repeating the dose, or increasing it, as the system becomes habi tuated to its action. Ague and Fever. 319 But among the remedies of intermittents none is more infallible than the solution of arsenic, (see Recipe27,) which may be given with perfect safety to persons.of every age, beginning with the smaller doses, and pro portioning them to the age of the patient. Stimulants administered before the fit, by inducing a salutary change in the system, have frequently over- come the disease. It is in this way that emetics are considered useful in the coming on of the fit, so is active exercise, and other stimulants. I have frequently, in obstinate intermittents, prevent- ed the recurrence of the,fit, by giving a large dose of laudanum or aether about an hour before the expected paroxysm. Dr. Kellie, an ingenious surgeon of the British navy, spates, that many instances have occurred of the good effects of compression by tourniquets or bandages ap- plied so as to obstruct the circulation in two of the ex- tremities. The plan pursued by him was to apply the instrument on one thigh, and on one arm, of opposite sides, at the same time. In two minutes after the appli- cation of the tourniquets, the shaking and other symp- toms of the cold stage entirely ceased, a mild hot stage was immediately induced, and the patient found him- self quite relieved. After suffering the instruments to remain on for about fifteen minutes, they were removed, andthe cold symptoms did not return. He further states, that, if the tourniquets be applied previous to the ac- cession of the paroxysm, the cold stage will entirely be prevented; and that, where the cold stage of an ague is either thus shortened, or altogether prevented, the fol- lowing hot stage will be rendered both milder and of shorter duration. As agues are liable to recur, one excellent mean of prevention, as well as cure, is to wear flannel next to the skin, and to exchar.ge the situation where the dis- ease was contracted, for another, even though not of a healthier air. This alone has often effected a cure. In like manner a change of medicines is as uecessaryasa diauge of air, that the body may not become habituated 330 Remittent, or to any one mode of treatment. Therefore, it ought to be remembered, that neither bark, nor any other tonic medicine, should be continued longer than a fortnight at a time, but should be changed for another article whose virtues are nearly the same. After a week or two, the former may be resumed, iucase the disease should prove obstinate; and to bring about the necessary changes in the constitution, larger doses should be given. Regimen. As to regimen in the cold fit, very little more is necessary than warm camomile tea. In the hot fit, the drink may be barley water, mint or balm tea, lemonade, toast and water, or cold spring water, taken often, but in small quantities at a time. When the sweating begins, the drinks just enumerated may be enlivened with wine, and if the patient be able to take it, he maybe allowed a little nourishment. During the intermission, the diet should be as nutritious as the pa- tient's appetite and digestion will allow. Every thing that tends to keep up a gentle perspiration, and to give tone to the vessels, is useful; hence moderate exercise is singularly proper, since nothiug more conduces to these beneficial effects. The exercise should be of that kind to which the patient has been most accustomed; and taken in the open air, unless wet weather, or a damp situation forbid. But the utmost care should be taken, that exer- cise be not pushed to fatigue, which, by inducing de- bility, carries thousands, particularly foreigners, to un- timely graves. REMITTENT, OR BILIOUS FEVER. Symptoms. In this fever there is a remission or abate- ment of its violence, hut not a total cessation. Like other fevers, it commences with a sense of coldness and shivering, accompanied by vioUnt pains in the head and back, great dejection of spirits, sickness at the stomach, giddiness, loss of strength, and difficulty of breathing. The cold stage is succeeded by a considerable degree of beat, the pulse, which in the cold fit was small and Bilious Fever. 3&i quick, becomes full, but abates not of its quickness.—- The pain of the head and back increases, and the nau- sea is augmented, frequently terminating in copious vomitings of bile. These symptoms continuing, the skin, which had hitherto been hot and dry, becomes moist. Soon after this, the symptoms abate, and some- times cease entirely. The patient flatters himself with the hopes of health speedily returning; but, alas! these pleasing illusions are soon dissipated by another attack, which comes on with increased violence. And if the fe- ver ba not opposed by means early employed and suf- ficiently powerful, a constant delirium and restlessness take place; the discharges become very offensive, suc- ceeded by twitchings of the tendons, profuse clammy sweats, and convulsions, which soon terminate in death. Causes. Remittents are produced from the same causes which induce intermittents, but acting herein a more powerful manner. Like these, they are most pre- valent in the months of August, September, and Octo- ber, when heat and moisture combine to hasten the corruption of animal and vegetable substances, and im- pregnate the air with noxious exhalations. Treatment. In the cure of this fever, all our ef- forts should be made to bring the remission to a com- plete intermission; and this is to be effected by bleed- in°-, cathartics, emetics and diluents, with such medi- cines as have a tendency to solicit the circulation of the fluids to the surface. Hence, on the commencement of the disease, bleeding will generally be found neces- sary, and should be often repeated, when there exists much pain in the head, with a hard and quick pulse. But to evacuate the first passages of their impure con tents is always necessary; and this is best done with calomel and jalap, or salts, senna and manna, (see Recipe 38,) and when circumstances do not prohibit the use of emetics, they may also he employed. The extent to which these means are to be carried, can only be directed by the symptoms present, the habit of body, and other considerations. It will in many m% Remittent, or cases be proper to exhibit an emetic at the very first attack, but this may sometimes be forbidden, by great irritability of the stomach, or the appearance of in- flammation. For frequently in diseases of the same ori- gin, and in persons very nearly similar, with respect to age, sex, and temperament, one will frequently be accompanied with an inflammatory diathesis, whilst another will be more of the low, irritable species; and consequently the treatment must be varied, in propor- tion to the nature and violence of the disease. For among fevers, we see all the intermediate degrees and varieties, from common agues to those of the most violent and infectious kinds. If the patient be of a strong plethoric constitution, with a hard and quick pulse, a deep seated pain in the eyes, a burning heat at the stomach, and flushed countenance, indicative of a strong inflammatory dis- position, bleeding is absolutely necessary, and should be repeated every ten or twelve hours, or oftener, until the inflammatory symptoms subside. The necessity of diligently evacuating the intestinal canal, must be obvious to every person. And it is not always by one or two brisk cathartics that this com- plaint is to be cured; but the operation must be con- tinued until the whole of the bilious matter is evacuated, which may be known by the faeces changing their color, and putting on a natural appearance. When thu irrita- ting matter is thoroughly evacuated, mild laxatives, as the cathartic mixture, (see Recipe 11,) or castor oil, answer very well in the course of the disease to keep the body gently open; but in desperate cases calomel is most to be depended on. And if a ptyalism, or a slight salivation be excited by the calomel, the patient has no cause of alarm, but rather of joy, as this is a certain in- dication of recovery. How desirable then must it he in high stages of bilious fever, to have this effect produced as early as possible, by giving calomel, and rubbing in mercurial ointment, and dressing the blisters with the same. Besides the aforesaid evacuants, glysters of warm Bilious Fever. 32S soap-suds, or molasses and water, to which may be added a little vinegar, should be employed; as they are not only useful in removing from the larger intestines any offending matter present, but also in producing the good effects of fomentations. Attention having been paid to the state of the bowels, which is always necessary, because of the constant dis- position to accumulate bile, such medicines as tend to determine the fluids to the surface, are next to be re- garded. Of this class are the saline mixture, minder erus's spirit, febrifuge, and antimonial powders, (see Recipe 14. 15. 3. and 1.) Either of these may be exhi- bited in their usual doses, every two or three hours, but in desperate cases the antimonial powders with calomel, or calomel alone, in small doses, are most to be relied on. The warm bath also admirably promotes insensible perspiration, by relaxing the skin, and taking off the stricture of the vessels; it consequently should always, when practicable, be used, and if a bathing vessel can- not be procured, the extremities should be immersed in warm water at least once a daj\ The temperature of the bath, should be regulated by the feelings of the patient, and that which affects these most agreeably, should be preferred. The cold affusion, by throwing cold water over the patient, or sponging the body with vinegar and water, has been attended with the best effects in warm climates, particularly if the application be made during the height of the paroxysm, when the head is generally affected. After the inflammatory disposition has ceased, bark will add considerably to the cure; but if incautiously used at the outset, as it frequently is, will render every symptom more violent. However, if the patient sud: denly becomes giddy, feeble and languid, the bark and wine must be had recourse to, and given freely on the remission; otherwise, it will degenerate into a true ner* vous fever. But you must not mistake the debility which arises from oppression, requiring evacuants, for an exhausted state of the system; as in that case the use of tonics would be. but little better than butchery- $21 Remittent, oc Another medicine of great importance in this disease is^he columbo root, which readily checks the vomiting, so frequently an attendant, and supports the patient's strength during the use of such medicines as are requi- site to abate the febrile heat, and to carry off the bile. After unloading the stomach and intestines, by two or three brisk purges, and diminishing the arterial ac- tion, by bleeding if requisite, a wine glass full pf the infusion of columbo, (see Recipe 39.) or ten or fifteen grains of the powder may be given in a cup of mint tea, every two or three hours, either conjointly or alternate- ly, with some gentle opening medicine, as rhubarb, magnesia, cream of tartar, or salts, to remove the re- dundant bile by keeping the bowels open. Salts, though a nauseous medicine, may be rendered much less so by adding a little sugar, acidulated with lemon juice or sharp vinegar, as in the form of the ca- thartic mixture; and this is an excellent aperient, to be exhibited in small doses after the vitiated bile has been removed by calomel. A solution of salts in seltzer water, is a form still more agreeable. During this general treatment, particular symptoms will require attention. The headach for example, which so frequently accompanies this fever, is to be treated by applying to the head cloths wrung out of cold water, or vinegar and water often repeated, until the malady is removed; besides which a blister should be applied between the shoulders. As to the vomiting, that depending on the peculiari- ties of habit, is to be variously treated. In some 1 have found the saline mixture orinfusion of columbo, answer very well; in others a spoonful or two of new milk, or equal parts of milk and lime water, given every hour, have had the happiest effects. A spoonful of sweet oil and molasses has proved equally .beneficial, when vomiting is accompanied with a burning sensation at the pit of the stomach. To others, porter has afforded immediate relief. Never was there a more welcome ot wonderful illustration of this, than in the case of Mrs Carroll, consort of Daniel Carroll, Esq. of Dud- ington* Bilious Fever. 328 It was my good fortune to attend this very amiable lady under a most violent attack of the bilious fever, with incessant vomiting. All the usual remedies were employed, without any good effect, which excited con- siderable alarm. She being in a state of pregnancy, and recollecting that Nature sometimes snatched a cure be- yond the rules of our art, I asked her if there was any article of drink to which her appetite particularly led her. " Yes, Sir, (replied she) I have been craving to drink some good London porter for two days past, but 1 would not mention it, being under the impression you would forbid my taking it." Learning that Dr. Thorn- ton had some of that description, I immediately obtained a few bottles, and giving her a glass of it, diluted with a little water, it acted like a charm, and, in a few weeks, I had the very great satisfaction of seeing my fair patient perfectly restored to health. The warm bath, or local applications, such as flannels wrung out of a warm decoction of camomile flowers, or mint leaves stewed in spirits, or equal parts of sweet oil and laudanum rubbed on the stomach, have done much good; and when these fail,a large blister, or a cataplasm of mustard-seed, ought instantly to be applied over the region of this organ. When the stomach is in a very ir- ritable state, the patient may frequently moisten his mouth and throat with cold water, but should drink as little as possible of any liquid. Wakefulness, or inability to sleep, will often yield to the warm bath and blisters, and when they fail, a glass or two of porter or the camphoretted julep may be given, which also failing, a dose of laudanum is proper at bed-time, provided there exists no considerable in. flammatory diathesis. The pain in the bowels is mostly relieved by the warm bath, or a moderate bleeding and emollient injections, to which occasionally may be added twenty or thirty drops of laudanum; if these produce not the desired effect, and the fundament is scalded from the evacuations, give glysters of milk and lime water, composed of half a pint of each; these failing, inject every hour with cold water, and apply cloths wrung out of it, to the belly. m Remittent, or If a delirium come on in the first stage of the dis: ease, it is to be treated by bleeding, purging, and the means prescribed above for violent headach ; but should it occur at a later period, the pulse weak and irregular, with a great propensity to sleep, besides making cold applications to the head, the body should be frequently sponged with cold vinegar and water, or equal part9 of vinegar and spirits. And should not the recollection in a few hours become more improved, and the pulse fuller and more uniform from this mode of treatment, it will be proper to apply a blister to the head, and sinapisms or blisters to the extremities ; besides which, wine or some cordial must be allowed; and if there be a cold Sweat, or coldness of the extremities, flannels wrung out of hot spirits, or spirits of camphor, ought to be applied often around the arms, legs and thighs. On the decline of this fever, patients are sometimes troubled with night sweats, to relieve which, gentle ex- ercise in fresh air, and the tonic powder or pills, (see Recipe 4 and #3,) or bark and elixir vitriol will be proper. Regimen. With respect to regimen, the food and drink should be varied, and adapted to the taste of the patient. Nature, perhaps, generally takes care that no error shall be committed in that way, during the con- tinuance of this disease. The patient is seldom per- suaded to swallow any thing but liquids, during the prevalence of the fever, and if by accident he should have an inclination for something more solid, arrow root, sago, corn, or rice, gruel, mush, panado, custards, roas- ted apples, oranges, grapes, or other mild ripe fruits are all that should be allowed. To allay the thirst, barley or rice water, apple water, tamarind water, molasses and water, toast and water, or cold spring water, lemonade, raspberry or currant jelly, dissolved in water, mint or balm tea, acidulated with lemon juice, or other pleasant acids, may be given with great benefit, in frequent, but small quantities. These cooling drinks not only quench thirst, but also tend to excite perspiration. Bilious Fever. $27 Washing the face and hands of the patient from time to time with vinegar and water, is always refreshing. The room should be somewhat darkened, and kept moderately cool, by a constant succession of fresh air; taking care, however, that the current of wind is not immediately directed on the patient. The covering of the bed ought to be such as is found most comfortable, and the body kept, as nearly as possible, at rest. When the fever subsides, and the patient regains a desire for food, it will be best, in addition to the mild articles of diet already mentioned, to begin with puddings of va- rious kinds, new-laid eggs boiled soft, soups with vege- tables, raw oysters, &c. resuming his usual diet gradu- ally, as he finds his health return. To keep up the tone of the system, a moderate use of genuine wine, or porter diluted, or brandy, or rum and water made weak, will be proper, at the same time pay- ing due attention to air, cleanliness, and exercise. Thus have I detailed, in the clearest manner, accord- ing to my experience, the best curative means of this the most prevalent and dangerous of all our Southern maladies. It is however much easier to prevent than cure diseases ; and in order to the first, I will point out the general means which have been found conducive to this great end, and which constant experience has sanctioned. Prevention. To obviate the attack of summer and autumnal fevers, we should intercept their causes, or guard the habit as much as possible against their in- fluence. Therefore, on visiting a warm climate where any epi- demic prevails, the first step is to prepare the system as much as possible, for the unavoidable change it is about to undergo; and this preparation consists in living tem- perately, and taking every other night, or oftener. one or two grains of calomel, or chewing rhubarb, or drink- ing molasses and water, or using sulphur in such doses as to increase the discharge by the bowels, without de- bilitating the system. If there prevail a fulness of habit, 'i2h> Remittent, or the loss of teu or twelve ounces of blood will also be a useful precaution. In the mean time, an imprudent exposure to the heat of the sun, or night air, should be strictly avoided. Hard drinking is another cause of disease, which should be carefully guarded against in warm climates, particularly by seamen, who of all others are, perhaps, the most inattentive to health. The same admonition applies to their sleeping on deck during the night, and cold bathing when overheated, or in a state of intoxi- cation, which, by suddenly checking the copious per- spiration, seldom fails to bring on disease. . Cold moist air is a frequent cause of disease in warm climates; hence too much attention cannot be paid to comfortable fires, and suiting the dress to the changes of the weather. Flannel worn next to the skin is one of the chief pre- servatives of health. Many people, indeed, clamour against it as tending to debilitate, because it creates perspiration. But this is altogether a silly prejudice; as mild perspiration, or a soft skin, so far from being hurtful, is the very habit of health. It preserves a pro- per medium of temperature, by absorbing the excessive moisture from the body during the day, and by pre venting the effects of the cold damp air at night. Cleanliness, both in our persons and apartmeuts, is so essential to health, as to form a leading consideration in all our views to that first of blessings. The neglect of this not only renders a man loathsome and offensive to himself, hut gives rise to many of our most inveterate and fatal diseases. Among the various means used for the prevention of diseases, and for the preservation of health in general, none is perhaps more beneficial in warm climates, than good wine prudently used. It increases the circulation of the fluids, promotes both the secretions and excre- tions, and invigorates all the functions of the body. How much is it then to be lamented, that so valuable a ordial canuot always be got pure ; from the avarice of selfish men, who at a low price purchase tart or half- Bilious Fever. 329 spoiled wines, and, to render them saleable, adulterate them with the most poisonous ingredients; so that they become the most insidious foes to health. The, common red wines are most generally adulter- ated, and artificially coloured, as manifested by a red sediment in the glass, as well as in the bottle. But the most pernicious of all adulterations of wine, is that of sugar of lead, or lead itself, which gives it a sweet taste: and therefore it ought to be remembered, that every wine of a sweetish taste, accompanied with as- tringent qualities, may justly be suspected to be adul- terated with that noxious mineral.* When genuine wine cannot be procured, good old spirits are of considerable service, especially when taken in small quantities, and much diluted. These pleasant preventives, whether under the name of grog or toddy, must, in consequence of their gentle stimu- lant qualities, be peculiarly beneficial to persons whose lot is cast in low situations and moist air. But they should never forget, that no where is the great virtue of self-government more necessary, than in their use. For if indulged to excess, they seldom fail, whenever a pre- disposition to any particular disease lurks in the system, to rouse it to action. In like manner, we must have regard to a proper re- gulation of diet, which consists in preserving the happy mean between long fasting on the one hand, and immo- derate eating on the other. Vegetables are peculiarly adapted to warm climates, and consequently should * To detect wine adulterated with lead: take two drachms of cream of tartar, and one drachm of dry liver of sulphur, which must be put in a two-ounce vial, filled with distilled or soft water. The vial must be kept well corked, and occasionally shaken for about ten minutes; when the powder has subsided, decant the clear liquor, and preserve it in a well-stopped bottle for use. From sixteen to twenty drops of this liquid are to be dropped in a small glass filled with the wine suspected to have been adulterat- ed : and if the wine turn btackish or muddy, and deposit a dark- coloured sediment, we may be certain it is impregnated with sugar of lead, or some other preparation of that metal, equally destruc- tive T* 330 Nervous Fever. constitute the chief part of our diet. Sweet oil, wheu pure, is perfectly wholesome; but rancid oil, butter, fat, or meat the least tainted, must be wholly rejected. To those of weak habit and bad digestion, much be- nefit will result from a glass of the infusion of columbo, or camomile, or cold water, every morning, on an empty stomach. Such are the general means for preserving health, and preventing diseases in a southern climate. The chief point is to avoid the exciting causes, and keep the bowels always moderately lax. NERVOUS FEVER. The fevers already described, and indeed all dis- eases attended with a considerable degree of morbid heat, affect in some measure the nervous system; but in this particular species, the nervous system is more immediately and more violently affected, than in any other. When a fever is once produced, from whatever cause, it seldom fails, by long continuance, to occasion all the symptoms which appear in the nervous or ma- lignant fever. This fever has been described by different authors under various names; the typhus or nervous fever, the slow fever, the gaol fever, the hospital fever, the ship fever, the petechial fever, the putrid fever, and the ma- lignant fever. The first appellation it receives from its attacking the brain and from the effects it produces on the nervous system. The second, from the slow and gradual man- ner in which it sometimes attacks. The third, fourth, and fifth, from their being apt to arise in gaols, hospi- tals, and ships, when numbers of men are crowded to- gether, and when sufficient care is not taken to have such places well ventilated and cleansed. The sixth, from certain spots which sometimes appear on the skin of the patients labouring under this disease; the se- venth, from a putrid state, or tendency supposed to take place in the fluids; and the last, from the dangerous Nervous Fever. 331 nature and malignity of the fever: but they are all one and the same disease; variously modified, according to the violence of the symptoms, and the different consti- tutions of the patients. Symptoms. The symptoms are commonly more various in this, than in any other fever. It sometimes creeps on in such a slow insidious manner, that the pa- tient will have suffered the disease to make considera- ble progress, before he thinks it necessary to use any remedies. On other occasions it comes on with a great degree of rapidity, and with many of the symptoms common to all fevers. Thus, it commences with alternate sensations of heat and cold, a want of appetite, nausea, and occasional vo- miting. These are followed by some confusion of the head, a sense of weakness, dejection of spirits, tremor of the hands, and frequent sighing without knowing the cause. At this stage the pulse is irregular, sometimes a little quicker, at other times about the natural standard. A dull and heavy pain, with a sense of coldness, pos- sesses the back part of the head in some, and others, a pain in the orbit of one eye. These symptoms gradually increasing, the pulse be- comes smaller and at the same time quicker, while the arteries of the temples and neck beat with additional force. The patient is generally more restless towards night, the breathing is somewhat difficult, and very lit- tle refreshment is obtained, from his short and disturb- ed slumbers. During these symptoms, the patient often utters vague and unconnected sentences, and not un- frequently deafness supervenes. As the disease advances, the hands tremble so as to prevent his guiding them to his mouth; the fingers are in constant motion; the tongue becomes dry, of a dark colour, and trembles when attempted to be put out; and sometimes the gums and lips arc covered with a dark viscid substance. To these succeed stupor, cold clammy sweats, with a foetid smell, hiccup, and twitching of the 332 Nervous Fever. tendons, together with an involuntary discharge of the excrements. Causes. This fever is occasioned by impure air, and putrid animal and vegetable effluvia. We are there- fore not surprised to find it often originate in gaols, ships, and dirty dwellings, where numbers are crowded together, and where it is not possible to have sufficient ventilation. Though human contagion, and the effluvia arising from putrid animal and vegetable substances, are the most frequent and active causes of this disease, yet they cannot be considered as the only ones; for we some- times meet with instances in a country neighbourhood, of persons being seized with the disease in all its ma- lignity ; where it is not epidemic, nor can it be traced to any place where the human effluvia could be suppos- ed to be confined in any uncommon degree. Hence nastiness, a moist atmosphere, much fatigue, cold depressing passions, low scanty diet, excessive study, too free use of mercury, immoderate venery, profuse haemorrhage, or whatever weakens the nervous system, may be enumerated among the causes. Treatment. With regard to the cure, where the inflammatory symptoms appear to run very high, bleed- ing may be cautiously used. But it will be generally safest, to resort to a pretty active evacuation of the alimentary canal. Therefore, on the first appearance of the symptoms, twenty or thirty grains o'f ipecacuanha, or four or five grains of tartar emetic, may be dissolved in a pint or more of weak camomile tea; of which the patient may drink a gill every fifteen or twenty minutes, until it excites vomiting, which ought to be assisted by drink- ing freely of warm water. If this medicine prove only emetic, the intestines should beevacuated the following day by a dose of rhubarb, cream of tartar, or cathartic mixture, (see Recipe 11.) The saline mixture (see Recipe 14,) given in a state Nervous Fever. 333 of effervescence, every two hours, readily abates thirst, and removes the increased irritability of the system. In like manner, a table-spoonful of yeast, given every three or four hours, affords much relief, and has alone, often proved an effectual remedy. Whatever may be the mode of action of yeast in ty- phus, the fact appears to be indisputable, that fixed air takes off that extreme debility of the stomach so con- spicuously marked in disorders of this nature ; and in proportion as that subsides, the pulse rises, becomes slower and fuller, the burning heat on the skin disap- pears, and a truce is gained for the reception of nour- ishing supplies. The most agreeable mode of admi- nistering yeast, is to add two table spoonfuls of it to a quart of beer or mild porter, of which a wine glassful may be taken every hour or two. According to the practice of Drs. Thomas, Currie, and Jackson, as well as other eminent practitioners, the affusion of cold water is one of the most powerful and efficacious means which we can make use of in typhus fever. Its effects will be more salutary, in proportion as it is adopted early, or during the first stage of the dis- ease. Such being an indisputable fact, established upon the firmest basis, we ought always to employ it, very soon after we have evacuated the contents of the ali- mentary canal. In the early stage of the disease, cold water may be poured in considerable quantity from a height, or dashed forcibly from a pail on the patient. But aspersion or ablution of the body, by means of a sponge, will be more eligible and safe in the advanced periods. The effects produced by both modes are grate- ful and refreshing to the patient, and they usually bring about an abatement of fever, followed by more or less of a diaphoresis, and this again by a refreshing sleep. Dr. Currie states, f^hat the cold affusion may be used at any time of the day when there is no sense of -chill- ness present: when the heat is steadily above what is natural; and when there is no general or profuse per- spiration. During the cold stage of the paroxysm of 334 Nervous Fever. fever, while there is any considerable sense of chilln&ss present, or where the body is under profuse sensible perspiration, this remedy ought never to be employed, as we might extinguish life by it. In the advanced stage of fever, when the heat is reduced, and the de- bility great, some cordial, such as wine warmed with an addition of spice, or even brandy, should be given immediately after it. As the danger of this fever, is in proportion to the debility, the great point is to keep up the strength by a liberal use of bark with wine, which should be given on the remission, in such forms as might best agree with the patient: a nourishing diet at the same time should be used, suited to the taste of the patient; tak- ing care to produce an evacuation daily by glysters: and when these are not effectual, a small dose of rhu- barb, cream of tartar, or some gentle purge, may occa sionally be given. By this general plan, a cure will for the most part be effected ; but in the progress of the disease, particular morbid symptoms will require especial treatment. Thus affections of the head, with stupor and delirium, will sometimes be relieved by shaving the head, and fre- quently applying cloths wrung out of cold vinegar and water to it. But if these affections, notwithstanding, should continue, a blister to the head, and sinapisms to the feet, will be required. When a diarrhoea or looseness occurs, three or four drops of laudanum, or double the quantity of the ano- dyne sudorific drops, (see Recipe 17,) should be given in a little mulled wine, and repeated as may be found necessary. In case of watchfulness, the camphoretted julep or porter and water will generally succeed. When how- ever, these means fail, and there is great prostration of strength, followed by stupor, and a train of the most distressing symptoms, wine should be exhibited in large quantities, and it will be found that the patient will show a relish for this valuable cordial, after refusing medicines and every kind of nourishment in a solid Nervous Fever. 335 form. At first it is better relished mulled; but after- wards, the patient will take it freely in its pure state, and in the quantity of one or two quarts a-day, without intoxication. The proper rule to be observed in the use of wine is to give it until the pulse fills, the delirium abates, and a greater degree of warmth returns to the extre- mities. And upon the smallest appearance of the stupor returning, the pulse quickening, and sinking, for they usually go together, the wine must be resumed, and continued in that quantity which is found sufficient to keep up the pulse, and ward oft* the other bad symptoms. When wine cannot be had, rum or' brandy diluted with milk, or water sweetened, will answer, and with some patients is better relished. The friends of the sick should never be disheartened too soon, for here, if any where, we may say " while there is life, there is hope." And 1 can truly aver that I have often seen the patient raised, as it were from the dead, by the determined use of generous wine alone, especially old Madeira. As soon as the patient is able to take nourishment, such as panado, arrow-root, &c. the quantity of wine must be gradually diminished. For although it be ab- solutely necessary to take it so liberally, during the con- tinuance of this fever, yet, as soon as that shall have left the patient, much caution becomes necessary in the use of it: since the third part of what formerly had proved a salutary cordial and restorative, would in this state of convalescence, occasion a dangerous intoxi- cation. When the patient is able to resume the bark, it may be given in such doses as the stomach will bear; and in case of aversion to it, an infusion of camomile flowers, columbo, or pomegranate bark, may be substituted. (See Materia Medica.) Blisters, as well as sinapisms, are serviceable, by their stimulating effects; but they should uot be con- tinued on long at a time: and when a blister is raised in this disease, the sore should be frequently washed with an infusion of bark; and nothing ought to be ap- 336 Nervous Fever. plied to the part which may tend to increase the dig- charge ; for that, by debilitating the system, would prove injurious. In the course of the disease, if the lips and teeth are covered with a dark crust, attended with ulcers in the mouth and throat, the detergent gargle (see Recipe 42,) should be frequently used. In every malignant case, this fever tends fatally on or before the seventh day: but more frequently those who die, be carried off about the middle or towards the end of the second week. When the patient survives the twentieth day, he usually recovers. When the fever terminates favourably before, or at the end of the, second week, the crisis is generally obvious; but when that happens at a later period, particularly if after the third week, the favourable turn is less evident; and some- times several days pass, during which the disease goes off so gradually, that the most experienced are in doubt whether it abates or not. At length, however, it be- comes evident by a warm moisture on the skin, by the dark-coloured gluey substance which adheres to the gums and lips, growing less tenacious, and being more easily removed; by the stools regaining a natural colour; by the urine being made in greater quantity, and depo- siting a sediment; by a return of appetite, and by the pulse becoming slower than it was before the com- mencement of the disease. Regimen. In addition to the mild articles of diet enumerated in the bilious fever, bread and milk, with a little water, sugar, and the pulp of a roasted apple, form a most grateful and uutritiuus food; and for the sake of variety, cider, perry, porter, or any other drink which the patient covets, should always be allowed. It has been observed, that this fever often originates from corrupted air, and of course must be aggravated by it; great care should therefore be taken, to prevent the air from stagnating in the patient's chamber. When that is small, and cannot be well ventilated, the patient should be carried into the open air, and allowed to sit there two or three hours every day in mild weather Nervous Fev.er. 337 When this cauuot be conveniently done, every means in our power to ventilate the room should be employed. Strong-scented herbs ought every day to be strewed about the room, and vinegar frequently sprinkled about the bed clothes, and some evaporated, by pouring it on a hot iron. The bed clothes ought to be in no greater quantity than is agreeable to his feelings, and when he can sit up, with his clothes loosely put on, it is often a refreshing change of posture and situation. The patient should have his linen and bedding changed often, and the stools removed as early as possible; for nothing re- freshes the sick more thau cool air and cleanliness. In the early stage of this disease, when there is much preternatural heat, washing the face and hands ofleu in cold vinegar and water, and wiping the body with wet cloths,, will be highly refreshing; and in the more advanced stage of the disease, when there is less febrile heat, bathing daily in*a strong decoction of black or red oak bark, about milk warm, cannot fail to pro- duce the happiest effects. (See Oak. Materia Medica.) In all cases where the fever is unusually protracted, and leaves the patient in excessive weakness, the recovery is slow and precarious; and the greatest care is required to preveut any error in diet, during the convalescence, as a very small degree of excess at this time, will pro- duce very troublesome consequences. Food of easy digestion, taken in small quantities and often repeated; gentle exercise when the weather is favourable; atten- tion to prevent costiveness^ by some mild laxative; and the use of bitters to assist digestion, or the rust of steel, when there is any prevailing acid on the stomach, are the most certain means of reinstating health. Having in the preceding chapter enumerated the dif ferent means for the prevention of diseases, 1 shall now point out such as are most suitable to arrest the pro- gress of contagion when commenced. When a contagious fever makes its appearance, the first precaution is to separate the sick from the healthy, and thus to cut off, as much as possible, the intercourse between them. The next step should be, to purify both Uu 338 Nervous Fever. beds and clothes from every particle of filth. The chambers must be often fumigated, by burning good sharp vinegar or tar, and the floor washed daily \xt*h ley or the solution of pot-ashes, or strong soap-suds. A cloth wetted in lime water and hung up in the room, and replaced as often as it becomes dry, is also a great mean of purifying infected air. When a contagious disease originates on ship board, quicklime should always be added to the water which is used for common drink, in the proportion of one pound of quick lime, to a hogshead of water; but if the water be impure, a larger quantity of lime will be ne- cessary; and some of it should be put also into the ship's well, to prevent the putrid and foul air arising thence. When these means are ineffectual to stop the pro- gress of any contagious disorder, fumigatiou with the nitrous • vapour, will undoubtedly succeed: and the method of preparing it, is to put half au ounce of vitriolic acid into a cup; warm it over a shovel of coals, adding to it, by little and little, about the same quantity of powdered saltpetre, and stirring it occasionally with a slip of glass, as long as the vapour arises. The vessel is then to be carried about the room, the doors and windows being close shut, and put in every corner and place where it can be suspected there is any foul air; the fumigation to be continued for one or two hours every day, or oftener, until the contagion is destroyed. If the vapour should irritate the lungs, so as to ex- cite much coughing, fresh air should be admitted, by opening the door or windows of the room. However, after a little familiarity with it, this vapour will not offend the lungs, but on the contrary will prove highly grateful and refreshing. The vapour of muriatic acid has also been success- fully employed in purifying infected air, and destroying contagion. It is made use of in the following manner. Put one pound of common salt into an earthen vessel, aud pour over it, from time to time, a small quantity Phrensy. 339 of sulphuric acid, till the whole salt is moistened. If the air be foul, and peculiarly offensive, apply a gentle heat under the vessel, to extricate a larger quantity of vapour; but in general, the simple addition of the acid to the salt will be found sufficient, unless the apartment be very large. An eminent physician of the marine barracks of Brest, states, that previous to visiting the hospital, he was in the habit of introducing into his nostrils sponge cut in a proper size and shape, and moistened with some essential oil. He also kept in his mouth apiece of orange-peel; and from this simple method he, escap- ed several putrid and pestilential diseases, which in one year killed eleven physicians and one hundred and thirteen students. Where any one is apprehensive of having caught in- fection, which may be suspected by a bad taste of the mouth, and want of appetite, an emetic should be given towards the evening, and on the patient's goiog to bed he may be allowed a little mulled cider, or wine whey, with a small dose of the anodyne sudorific drops, (See Recipe 17.) The warm bath, if such a luxury can be command- ed, would here be found exceedingly refreshing and beneficial. PHRENSY, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE BRAIN. Symptoms. A deep seated headach, redness of the eyes and face, violent throbbing or pulsation in the arteries of the neck and temples, incapability of bear- ing light or noise, a constant watching or delirium with picking the bed clothes. The pulse, although some- times languid, is generally hard, tense and strong. The mind chiefly runs upon such subjects as have be- fore made a deep impression upon it, and sometimes from a sullen silence the patient becomes all of a sud- den delirious aud quite outrageous. 340 Phrensy. Causes. Exposure of the head to the scorching rays of the sun; to deep and long-continued thiuking; excessive drinking; suppression of usual evacuations; concussion of the brain, and whatever may increase the afflux of blood to the head. Treatment. Blood-letting is the " anchor of hope" in this disease, which should be employed copiously on its first attack, and repeated as the symptoms and strength of the patient will permit. Immediately after bleeding, a large dose of salts, or some cooling purge must be given. Ice pounded and put into a bladder, or folds of cloth wet with vinegar or cold water, should constantly be applied to the head, and if the symptoms prove obstinate, it ought instantly to be shaved, and the whole of the scalp covered with a blister. When the pulse has been reduced by blood-letting from the arm, if the pain in the head continue severe, let cups or leeches be forthwith applied to the temples, fore- head, and back of the head. Bathing the feet and legs in warm water, or wrap- ping them up in flannel wrong out of hot water, is also of great service, by producing a revulsion of blood from the head. With the same view sinapisms should be employed. . One of the antimonial camphorated powders, (see Recipe 1 and 3) given every two hours, or large por- tions of nitre dissolved into the patient's drink, will be useful. If the disease be occasioned by a sudden stoppage of evacuations, every means to restore them must be tried. In all inflammatory affections of the head, a copious discharge from the intestines will be found highly beneficial, by diverting the humours from the head; and when we cannot employ purgatives, laxative clysters should be used. To assist also in diminishing the determination of the blood to the head, the patient should be kept as near the erect posture as can easily be borne. Cold. 341 Regimen. The diet should be of the lightest kind, as ripe fruits, with diluent drinks, such as cold water, tamarinds and water, &c. freely used. The patient to be kept in a dark room, as cool and quiet as possi- ble, avoiding all irritating causes, and breathing a cur- rent of fresh air.* COLD, Is a disease of the inflammatory kind, which occurs more frequently on sudden changes of the weather, and attacks persons of all constitutions, but especially those of consumptive habits. It is also at times epidemic, when it is known by the name of influenza, and has been erroneously consider- ed as depending upon a specific contagion for its cause. The influenza generally pays us a visit every six or seven years. The season of its visitation is the middle or latter end of autumn, after a long spell of dry wea- ther, as was verified in 1815. It would appear to be no respecter of persons, knocking equally at the door of the rich and the poor, and attacking the young no less than the aged. Symptoms. Its first symptoms are a stoppage of the nose, dull pain, with a sense of weight in the forehead; stiffness in the motion of the eyes, and soon after cough, hoarseness, an increased secretion of mucus from the * It was of this disease, generally termed a stroke of the sun, that the brave General Greene, an officer second only to Wash- ington, died at Mulberry Grove, his country seat near Savannah. As a true Republican he delighted in exercise, particularly that of gardening, of which he was so fond as sometimes to continue it under the meridian blaze. It was in this garden that the last summons found him. His honourable friend, E. Telfair, Esq. had often cautioned him against imprudent exposure to the Georgia suns: but believing that he possessed the same nerves as in the hot field of Monmouth, he still pursued his favourite exer- cise. But while busily adorning the soil which his own valour had so gloriously defended, a sun-beam pierced his brain, and in a short time translated to heaven as noble a spirit as ever fought under the Standard of Liberty. 842 ■Cold. nose, and tears from the eyes, attended with more or less fever, and sometimes sore throat. Cause. This disease is generally the effect of cold, which by obstructing the perspiration, throws the re- dundant humours upon the nose, fauces and lungs; or to those great physical changes which give rise to epidemics. Treatment. The treatment of this disease, as of all others of an inflammatory nature, consists of the an- tiphlogistic, or cooling remedies. Where it is slight, little else will be necessary than to live abstemiously; avoid cold, and whatever may increase the feverish habit. Bathe the feet and legs before going to bed, in lukewarm water, and drink freely of diluting li- quors, as flaxseed, balm or ground ivy teas, weak wine whey, barley water, &c. thereby exciting perspi- ration ; and taking care afterwards to avoid a sudden exposure to cold or damp air. Attention must at the same time be paid to keeping the bowels open, by the occasional use of castor oil, or some cooling cathartic. When the disease is more violent, blood-letting in a larger or smaller quantity should be employed, and repeated as the symptoms may require, in conjunction with the preceding remedies. And in case of pain, apply a blister as near as possible to the affected part. If the cough, which is often troublesome, be not removed by diluent drinks, or flaxseed syrup, (see Flaxseed. Materia Medica) or by chewing liquorice- ball, or by taking now and then a tea spoonful of sweet oil and honey, opiates, after the inflammatory symp- toms have abated, may be given at bed time with suc- cess. Sixty or eighty drops of paragoric, for exam- ple—or thirty or forty of laudanum, or the anodyne sudorific draught or bolus in warm tea. (See Recipe 18 and 20). The steam of hot water, or vinegar and water, inhaled, also greatly alleviates this symptom, as well as the hoarseness so commonly prevalent. When the cough is very frequent, the fever considerable, and Cold. 343 the breathing intercepted by transient pains, or tightness of the chest, the cooling course above recommended, such as bleeding, purging, blistering, with diluting drinks, must be early employed; otherwise inflamma- tion of the lungs will succeed, which, if not speedily removed, may terminate in consumption. The frequency of this disease, from the sudden changes of weather to which our climate is subject, aud the slight degree of alarm generally excited by what is called " only catching a cold," too often occa- sions that neglect, which gives rise to the most distress- ing maladies, such as quinsy, pleurisy, inflammation of the lungs, rheumatism, &c. Fully satisfied that numbers fall victims to the sup- posed insignificance of this insidious enemy, I have thought it my duty thus to warn the inattentive. Prevention. To guard against this disease, the utmost attention should be paid to a due regulation of the clothing; which ought to be neither too thin, nor so irregularly disposed, as to leave one part of the body naked, whilst the rest is burthened, and too warmly clad; an error frequently committed among children and young persons. Warm rooms and impure air may weaken the body, but warm clothing can never be injurious in cold weather. The use of flannel cannot be too highly recommended as a preventive of this dis- ease; and if an objection should be made to wearing it next to the skiu, on account of the irritation it occa- sions, it may be worn over the linen. Putting on wet clothes, or lying in damp sheets, or sitting in wetted rooms, are so well known to be inju- rious, that it is hardly necessary to admonish people against such obvious improprieties. The common pru- dence of shunning, when heated, a torrent of cold air from the crevice of a door or window; or throwing off the clothing immediately after taking exercise, are so obvious, as not to be required to be enlarged on. Equal danger arises from too suddenly passing out of an at- 341 Quinsy, or mosphere of a very cold temperature, to one of a much warmer. Thus, when any part of the body has been exposed to cold, it is liable to be much more affected by heat, than before the exposure. Of this, the method of treat- ing frozen limbs in cold countries, affords a beautiful and decisive proof. Were a frozen limb to be brought before the fire, or immersed in water, a violent in- flammation would come on, and speedily terminate in mortification. They therefore rub the parts benumbed with snow, and then very gradually expose them to a warm temperament. Hence it will evidently appear, that strong drinks, both before and after exposure to severe cold, must be highly dangerous; and it should always be remembered, that when the body has been either chilled or much heated, it must be brought back to its natural state by degrees ; and again, after being exposed to wet weather in summer, the clothes should be changed as soon as possible, and the body kept quiet and cool for some time. By attention to these precautions, those inflammatory diseases, for which cold only prepares the system, may be easily avoided. QUINSY, OR INFLAMMATORY SORE THROAT. Symptoms. Is distinguished by a sense of heat, pain and tightness in the fauces and throat, accompanied by a difficulty of swallowing, particularly fluids. In gene- ral, the inflammation begins in one tonsil, a gland on each side of the palate; then spreads across the palate, and seizes the other tonsil. When the inflammation possesses both sides, the pain becomes very severe, and swallowing is performed with extreme difficulty; but if it attacks the upper part of the wind-pipe, it creates great danger of suffocation. Inflammatory Sore Throat. 345 Causes. Cold—wet feet—throwing off the neck- cloth-—or diinkiug cold water when overheated. Treatment. The same rules are to be observed, as in all cases of disease highly inflammatory, such as bleeding, purging, and other cooling means. The ex- tent to which these are to be used, can only be ascer- tained by the violence of the disease, and the constitu- tion of the patient; but from the danger of this com- plaint, they should he early and freely employed, par- ticularly if there exist any fever. Local applications have also their good effects, and in slight cases, are often sufficient to remove ^he inflamma- tion. Receiving the steams of warm water, or vinegar and water, through a funnel or spout of a tea-pot, will give great relief. Much benefit may be derived from the use of gargles, commencing with the common, and after the inflammation is considerably abated, using the as- tringent gargle. (See Recipe 40 and 41.) At this stage of the disease, gargles of port wine, or brandy and water, answer every purpose, to restore the tone of the fibres, relaxed from over distension. External applications are, likewise, of great use. In slight cases it will be sufficient to have the neck rubbed twice or thrice a-day with the volatile or camphorated liniment, (see Recipe 64 and 65,) and apply a piece of flannel. The embrocation will be rendered still more stimulating by adding a small portion of the tincture of cantharides. But in those cases where the inflammation is considerable, the early application of leeches, or a blister or cataplasm of mustard around the neck, is most to be relied on; which by exciting external in- flammation, will lessen the internal. Onions (see Materia Medica,) are also excellent when applied externally in this disease. In addition to those remedies, the antimonial mixture (see Recipe 6) or decoction of rattlesnake root, (see Materia Medica,) given in such doses as will excite perspiration, is much to be depended on, when the in- flammatory symptoms run high; and before the febrile 346 Quinsy. symptoms are any way violent, the timely exhibition of an emetic often proves extremely useful, and some- times checks its complete formation. Should these means prove ineffectual, and there ap- pears a tendency to suppuration, it ought to be pro- moted by frequently taking iuto the fauces the steams of warm water, or applying warm poultices to the neck. As soon as a whitish tumour with fluctuation of matter is discovered, it should be opened by the lancet, and then the detergent gargle (see Recipe 42) should be used. If in consequence of the largeness of the tumour the patient cannot swallow, he must be sup- ported by nourishing clysters of broth, gruel or milk. If persons as soon as they discover any uneasiness in the throat, were to use nitre as already recommended —bathe their feet in Warm water—apply flannels moistened with one of the above liniments, and keep comfortably warm, this disease would seldom proceed to a great height. Regimen. With respect to the regimen, it must be of the cooling kind, except the application of cold. Barley or rice water, flaxseed tea, and such like, ren- dered agreeable to the palate by the addition of jelly or honey, should be often taken, although difficult to swal- low; for the pain consequent on swallowing, is more owing to the action of the inflamed parts, by which de- glutition is performed, than by the passage of the liquid which is swallowed. Prevention. For the prevention of this disease, the directions should be adverted to, which have been given under the head of cold. Where it becomes habi- tual, an issue behind the neck does often succeed in preventing its recurrence.* * Well knowing how deep an interest the world always takes in great men, I trust it will not prove unacceptable to my country- men, to learn, that the above malady, the Quinsy, was the mes- senger, whereby God was pleased to introduce into his dwn pre- Putrid Sore Throat, Ml PUTRID SORE THROAT. This is a contagious disease, and appears more ge- nerally in autumn, after a hot summer. It oftener at- tacks children, and persons of relaxed habits, than those of vigorous health. Symptoms. It generally comes on with a sense of giddiness, such as precedes fainting, and a chilliness or shivering like that of an ague fit, soon followed by a grea4; heat, interchangeably succeeding each other during some hours, till at length the heat becomes con- stant and intense. The patient then complains of an sence the soul of that purest of human beings, George, Wash- ington. On the afternoon of the 13th December, 1799, riding out to one of his farms, he was caught in a driving rain, which soon turning into a snow storm, deposited a considerable quantity of snow be- twixt his cravat and neck. Long accustomed to brave the incle- mencies of weather, he paid no regard to this circumstance; but having brushed off the snow on his return, he supped and went to bed as usual. Some time before day, he was awakened with the sore throat, and difficult breathing, with constitute quinsy. A faithful domestic, who always carried a lancet, was called up and bled him, but without affording any relief. About day break my near relative and honoured firecefitor, Doctor James Craik, of Alexandria, the inseparable friend and physician of Washington, was sent for, who reached Mount Vernon about ten o'clock Alarmed at the general's symptoms, he communicated his fears to Mrs. Washington, who immediately despatched servants for Doctors Dick and Brown. Nothing was omitted that human in- genuity and skill could do for a life so dear, but all in vain. It ap- peared in the result, as the illustrious sufferer previously declared, that his hour ivas come. To oblige Mrs. Washington, he continued to take the medi- cines offered him, till the inflammation and swelling obstructed the power of swallowing; when he undressed himself and went tt) bed, as he said,"/o die." About half an hour before he died, he desired his friends to leave him, that he might spend his last mo- ments nvith God. Thus, after filling up life with glorious toils, he went to rest, " in a good old age, ladened with riches and honour^ "Let the poor witling argue all he can, It is religion still that makes the man," 348 Putrid Sore Throat. acute pain in the head, of heat and soreness in the throat, stiffness of the neck, anxiety and nausea, with vomiting and delirium. On examining the mouth and throat, the uvula and tonsils appear swelled, and are of a deep red, or shining crimson colour; soon after covered with white or ash-coloured spots, which in a 6hort time become ulcerated. This appearance of the fauces seldom affects deglutition, or gives pain, as might have been expected, by being generally attended either with a fcetid diarrhoea or acrid discharge from the nose. The patient often complains of an offensive putrid smell affecting the throat and nostrils, sometimes occasioning nausea, before any ulcerations appear. On the third day, or thereabouts, a scarlet eruption is thrown out on the skin; first, on the face and neck, and then over the whole body and extremities. Causes. The same which give rise to the nervous or putrid fever, as bad air, damaged provisions, &c. &c. Treatment. The indications of cure are similar to those of the nervous or malignant fever, as it is analo- gous in soma esseutial circumstances to that disease: to which we must add the healing of the ulcers. Therefore, on the first attack of the putrid sore throat, an emetic may be given, which may be repeat- ed on the next day, and followed by a mild cathartic. Afterwards it will be uecessary to recruit the patient with bark and wine, or milk toddy. The ulcers in the throat, demand early and constant attention, as a loss of substance here cannot but Ihreat- ed much danger to life, or injury to the parts, if the patient should survive: hence the use of garbles must be obvious to every one. When the disease is of a mild aspect, the common and astringent gargles, (sea Recipe 40 and 41) frequently used, are often sufficient: but when the symptoms are urgent, the tendency to putrefaction great, the sloughs large, and the breath offensive, the detergent gargle, (see Recipe 42) must Putrid Sore Throat 349 immediately be resorted to. Independently of gargling the throat, it is essential that some of the same liquid be injected into the fauces, with a small syringe. In young subjects, this method is the more necessary, as they do not always know how to manage a gargle to any purpose, did the soreness of the parts permit them to do it. According to Dr. Currie, the effusion of cold water is also beneficial in this disease. It was his practice, after a copious effusion, to have his patient wiped dry and put into bed, and given about eight ounces of wine, if an adult, and so in proportion to children; which plan it appears was very successful, for in fifty out of sixty-two cases, where he had adopted it at the com- mencement of the disease, be succeeded. Dr. Thomas states, that, when he was in the island of Saint Christophers, in the year 1787, this disease prevailed as a universal epidemic among children, and a vast number of them fell martyrs to it, in spite of the utmost endeavours of the profession to save them; when at last the most happy effects were derived from the use of a remedy, the basis of which was Cayenne pepper, The medicine was prepared by infusing two table- spoonfuls of this pepper and a tea-spoonful of salt in half a pint of boiling water, adding thereto the same quantity of warm vinegar. After standing for about an hour, the liquor wa^s strained through a fine cloth, and two table-spoonfuls were given every half hour. The speedy and good effects produced by the use of this medicine, in every case in which it was tried, evi- dently points out the utility of giving warm aromatics, which will bring on a timely separation of the sloughs, as well a9 other antiseptics, to correct the tendency in the parts to gangrene. Since the period above men- tioned, many practitioners bear testimony in favour of Cayenne or red pepper, (see Materia Medica) in the putrid sore throat. The grand objects to be kept in view, in this malig nant disease, should be, to check or counteract the sep- tic teudency which prevails, to wash off, from time to 350 Putrid Sore Throat. time, the acrid matter from the fauces, and to obviate debility. Should a diarrhoea arise in the progress of the disease, which is a very dangerous symptom, I can re- commend, from my own experience, charcoal (see Re- cipe 5) as a valuable remedy, in doses of a table-spoon- ful every hour or two to adults, in a cup of cinnamon or ginger tea. It is sometimes necessary to give a dose of rhubarb, conjoined with an equal quantity of pow- dered ginger, or some aromatic, with a tea-spoonful of prepared chalk, and to make use of the uak bark. (See Materia Medica.) Regimen. Medicine will prove of little efficacy, if the animal powers be not supported by proper nour- ishment: the attendants must, therefore, constantly supply the patient with arrow root, sago, panado, gruel, &c. to which may be added such wine as is most agree- able to the palate. Ripe fruits are peculiarly proper, and fermented liquors, as cider, perry, &c. should Constitute the chief part of the patient's drink. But previous to taking any nourishment, gargles and injections should be very carefully employed, for cleansing away the sharp, acrid humour from the mouth and throat, to prevent as much as possible its being swallowed. The patient should be so placed in his bed, that the discharge may freely run out at the corners of the mouth; and great atten- tion should also be paid to cleanliness. The feelings of a tender parent, who views the pro- gress of the disease on a beloved child, cannot but ex- cite our tenderest sympathy. Too often, from an ill- judged tenderness to the child, the parent will not suffer this dreadful disease to be checked by medicines. But it should be remembered, that although the pain is for a moment increased by these harsh, but necessary means, yet the quantity of pain must, on the whole, be much lessened, and besides, which is the sweetest consideration of all, a precious life thereby saved. Prevention. The same means as devised in the Falling of the Palate.—Mumps. 351 nervous fever, to correct infectious air, must strictly be attended to here, and especially with a view to prevent the progress of this disease. FALLING OF THE PALATE. The falling down, or elongation of the palate, is at. tended with a sense of tickling in the fauces, and sore- ness at the root of the tongue. If fever accompany this affection, bleed and give cooling purgatives, using nothing but a vegetable diet. Treatment. Avoid speaking, and gargle the throat with the astringent gargle, (see Recipe 41) or apply salt and pepper by means of the handle of a spoon MUMPS. A contagious disease, affecting the glands and muscles of the neck externally. Symptoms. Slight fever, which subsides upon the appearance of a tumour under the jaw, near its extre- mities: sometimes only on one side, but more frequently on both. It increases till the fourth day, and then declines gradually. Treatment. This disorder is often so slight as to require very little more than to keep the head and neck warm, with spare diet, and a laxative state of the bowels. If, however, there be much fever and pain in the head, it will be necessary, in addition to the above, to bleed, blister behind the neck, and take freely of diluting drinks, as flaxseed tea, barley or rice water. There is a singular peculiarity now and then attend- ing this complaint; for sometimes the swelling of the neck subsides, the testicles of the male, and breasts of the female, are affected with hard and painful tumours, and frequently when one or other of these tumours has suddenly been repressed, a delirium of the milder sort 652 Sore Eyes. occurs. In this event, bleed moderately, apply a blis- ter between the shoulders, give a dose of calomel, and endeavour to reproduce the swelling by warm fomen- tations and stimulating remedies. When these tumours are painful, every precaution should be used to prevent suppuration from ensuing, by bleeding* cathartics, antimonial powders, (see Recipe 1) diluent drinks, and by cooling and disculieut applications, as cloths wet with lead water (see Recipe 35) and cold vinegar and water. SORE EYES. A disease so well known as to render all descrip- tion of it unnecessary. Causes. External violence done to the eye-lids, or to the eye itself—extraneous bodies under the eye- lids, as particles of dust and sand-:—acrid fluids or va- pours—exposure of the eyes to a strong light, and night watching, especially sewing, reading or writing, by candle light. Inflammation of the eyes may also be the conse- quence of had humours in the system, or may accom- pany other diseases of the eyes, and of the neighbour- ing parts; such as the turuing inward of the eyelids, or styes growing on them. Treatment. When the disease is moderate, and the exciting cause no longer exists, the cure is perfect- ly easy, requiring little more than external applica- tions, such as washing the eyes frequently with warm milk and water, mixed with a little brandy, or using for a lotion, mucilage of sassafras, (see Materia Me- dica) simple rose water, or about eight grains of white vitriol dissolved in a gill of spring water. But in more severe affections, bleeding, blistering behind the ears, on the temples, or nape of the neck, with gentle purgatives, and the cooling regimen, will be found eminently useful. The greatest benefit will Sore Eyes. 353 also result from soft linen bandages wet with cold wa- ter, applied to the eyes, and frequently renewed until the heat and inflammation have subsided. Soon as this is effected, use the anodyne eye-water, (see Recipe 34) or two or three drops of laudanum dropped into the eye, or bathe the eyes in cold water, or brandy and water, to restore the tone of the parts. In all inflammations of the eyes from common causes, the remedies above specified will generally succeed ; only we should be careful not to use any of the more stimulant applications, till the inflammation begins to abate of its violence, otherwise they will rather increase than subdue the malady. In obstinate cases, there is no remedy so effectual as a blister plaster immediately over the eye. For this very important discovery, I am indebted to the adjunct Professor of Surgery, Dr. Dorsey, whom, on his own polite invitation, I accompanied to the hospital, where he showed me a case in point. A man, whose inve- terate ophthalmia, after obstinately resisting all the usual applications, was completely cured by a single blister about an inch aud a half in circumference, em- ployed in this novel way. When this disease is occasioned by morbid humours in the habit, as the scrophulous or venereal, we must use the remedies pointed out in the treatment of those complaints. If dirt or foreign matter be lodged in the, eye, it may soon be removed by passing a small hair pencil between the eyelids, and the ball of the eye. The defending of the eyes from the light by confine- ment in a dark room, or wearing a piece of green silk over them, is a caution, which, though too obvious to be pointed out, is too important to be omitted. Prevention.* To persons liable to this complaint the following instructions may be useful. When the eyes are weak, all painful and fatiguing exertions of them should be carefully avoided, such as looking at the sun, sewing or reading by candle light, or sitting in a smoky room. 354 FleurTsy. If there be well-grounded suspicion that the inflam- mation of the eyes originates from the suppression of any of the customary evacuations, those evacuations should, as soon as possible, be restored; and until then, an issue or blister on the neck should be kept running, as a necessary substitute. PLEURISY. Symptoms. An acute pain of the side, which reaches to the throat, in some to the back, and others to the shoulders, but in general, is seated near the fleshy part of the breast, with a high fever, hard and quick pulse, difficulty of breathing, and a teazing cough, sometimes moist, but most frequently dry. The seat of the in- flammation, and consequently of the pain, may vary in different cases, but this is not of much importance, as the same mode of treatment is required in inflammations of the viscera contained iii the cavity of the chest, as the membrane which invests them. Causes. The pleurisy, like other inflammatory dis- eases, proceeds from whatever obstructs the perspira- tion, as exposing the body to the cold air when over- heated. It may likewise be occasioned by whatever increases the circulation of the blood, as violent exer- cise, or an imprudent use of ardent spirits. Treatment. In the cure of pleurisy or inflamma- tion of the viscera, our success depends on subduing the violent action of the vessels, by bleeding, blistering, and employing such remedies as are calculated to keep the bowels open, and to determine the fluids to the surface. Hence, at the onset of this disease, a large bleeding is always necessary, succeeded by a dose of salts, senna and manna, castor oil, or some cooling purge, and so long as the blood exhibits a sizy crust on its surface, when cool, and the violence of the symptoms continue, the lancet should be used once or twice a day, with this Pleurisy. 355 exception, that after a free expectoration has com* menced, it will be less necessary. A blister over the pained part, after the pulse has been reduced by bleeding, is by no means to be omit- ted; and if the pain be obstinate, when the blister on one side ceases to discharge freely, apply another on the other side. When blisters cannot immediately be ob- tained, warm cabbage leaves, or cloths wrung out of a hot decoction of emollient herbs, or a bladder nearly filled with warm water, applied to the affected side, and repeated as often as it becomes cold, will some- times afford a little relief. During this treatment, the patient should take freely of warm diluted drinks, as flaxseed, balm, or ground- ivy teas, barley or rice water, to which may be added a little of the juice of lemons. The decoction of pleurisy root, or seneka or rattle- snake root, (see Materia Medica) exhibited in doses of one or two table spoonfuls every two or three hours, abates the febrile heat, and produces expectoration. The antimonial powders or mixture, or camphorated powders (see Recipe 1, 6, & 2) also produce these be- neficial effects. When these medicines are not at hand, portions of nitre dissolved in the patient's common drink, and ipecacuanha exhibited in such doses as will keep up a nausea at the stomach, without vomiting, will answer every purpose. Inhaling the steam of hot water from the spout of a tea-pot, or applying a large sponge dipped in warm vinegar, to the mouth and nostrils, will be beneficial. Flaxseed syrup (see Materia Medica) is a valuable medicine in this complaint, in allaying the cough, a symptom exceedingly distressing. In the advanced stage of the disease, when the inflammatory symptoms are almost wholly abated, and the cough proves the chief cause of pain and loss of sleep, then opiates may be given with the greatest advantage. It should be observed in the exhibition of opiates, that if they be. administered in the commencement of inflammatory disease, before the necessary evacuations 356 Pleurisy. are made, they increase the inflammation, and conse quently injure the patient; bnt if given near the close of such maladies they are of the greatest service, and com- plete the cure. When perspiration is obstructed, they should be coupled with some emetic drug, as in the form of the anodyne sudorific draught or bolus, (see Recipe 18 and 20) but when this is not the case, opium or lau- danum alone should be administered, and that in small doses, when the patieut is much debilitated from pre- vious evacuations. A half grain of opium, or fifteen drops of laudanum, or thirty drops of paregoric, given about an hour before the evening exacerbation, alle- viates the symptoms, and if repeated for a few evenings, gradually increasing the dose, ensures the-cure. If the pulse sinks and becomes languid, blister the extremities, and give six or eight grains of volatile salts every three hours with mulled wine. The bowels, in the course of the disease, must be kept moderately open, by emollient injections or mild laxatives, as castor oil, or the cathartic mixture, (see Recipe 11). Regimen. In no disease is a strict abstinence more necessary than in this, since in proportion to the nou- rishment taken, will be the increase of the blood, and consequently of fever. Nothing but diluent drinks, as toast aud water, barley water, bran, or flaxseed tea, ought to be allowed, until the violence of the disease is subdued; and these liquids should be taken often, but in small quantities at a time, and never cold. When nourishment is required, the lighter kinds only should be used, as arrow root, sago, panado, &c. After reco- very, great care must be taken to prevent a relapse; the sparest diet should therefore be used; the incle- mencies of the weather carefully guarded against; mo- derate exercise employed, and the chest protected from the action of cold, by wearing flannel next to the skin. In this state of convalescency, a prudent use of wine with bark or columbo, will assist digestion, and give tone to the system generally. 357 PERIPNEUMONY, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. Symptoms. Febrile affections, succeeded by diffi- culty of breathing, cough, and an obtuse pain under the breast bone, or betwixt the shoulders, increased on inspiration. A sense of fulness and tightness across the chest—great anxiety about the heart, restlessness, loss of appetite and sleep—the pulse quick, sometimes hard, and seldom strong, or regularly full—the breath hot, the tongue covered with a yellowish mucus, and the urine turbid. From the obstruction to the free passage of blood through the lungs, the veins of the neck are distended, the face swollen, with dark red colour about the eyes and cheeks. The pain in the chest is generally aggravated by the patient lying on the side most affected, and very often he can lie only on his back. Causes. Cold, obstructing perspiration and thus producing a morbid determination to the lungs, or vio- lent efforts, by over-distension. Treatment. Such is the delicate structure of the lungs, that they will not sustain inflammatory attacks many hours, before their important functions are de- stroyed, or so much mischief produced, as to lay the foundation of consumption. The antiphlogistic plan, therefore, as advised in the pleurisy, for the resolution of the disease, the only sa- lutary termination, should be put into immediate ope- ration; and not by degress, as is often the case, by which many lives are lost, but should be carried to the utmost extent, particularly the taking away of blood in considerable quantities from the arm, without atten- tion to the state of the pulse, if the respiration be not relieved. 858 EPIDEMIC. The attention of the medical gentlemen of our coun- try, was drawn to a disease, wliich during the three last winters, pervaded every state in the Union, and in most of them, according to the statements of the phy- sicians, assumed every variety of shape, and required do little diversity of treatment. In some places the lan- cet was used freely, and in others, remedies highly sti- mulant were administered. In spite, however, of the very different practice pursued, the disease continued its ravages, which in many places resembled those of the plague, sweeping whole families into the grave. Extreme debility appears to have been the charac- teristic feature of the disease, for all accounts agree, that in whatever form it commenced, there ensued a great, and sometimes a very sudden prostration of strength. This alarming pestilence did not appear in the city of Washington, until the winter of the year 1815, and even then not so destructively as in many other places. Most of the cases which I saw, resembled very much the bilious pleurisy of our country. They commenced with chill and fever, accompanied by pain in the side and chest, with a dry skin and rather laborious respiration. But the cough was by no means so frequent and dis- tressing, as in pleurisy or peripneumony. The eyes were wild and red, and the countenance uniformly in- dicated great anxiety and distress. In some instances, the throat and head were very much affected. The pulse was full, though soft and readily compressible; indeed it sometimes indicated so much action that a practitioner not conversant with its peculiarity of type, would be very apt to treat the complaint as an inflam- matory affection. This counterfeit character, however, did not continue long, for in a very short period it as- sumed the typhoid form. Of the causes of the disease, little has been ascertain- ed. In common with other epidemics, its origin is in- Epidemic. 359 volved in obscurity. As yet, we know only that it com- mences in cold weather, and is generally dissipated by the warmth of spring. In the treatment of those cases which came under my care, I generally commenced with an emetic, and if this had no effect on the bowels, it was followed by a dose of salts, or an infusion of salts, senna and manna. Dur- ing the operation of the cathartic, I sometimes found it necessary to support the patient, by having wine added to the gruel with which the medicine was to be work- ed off. As the cure of this formidable disease depended principally on exciting perspiration, 1 lost no time after the operation of the medicine, in having sudorifics ad- ministered; and of this class 1 found nothing superior to the Seneka and Virginia snake-root. (See Materia Medica.) In the incipient stage of the disease I directed a strong decoction of the former to be taken in doses of a tea-cupful every hour or two, and as the disease ad- vanced, or the pulse began to sink, the latter was ad- ministered in the same manner. In addition to this, mulled wine or cider highly spiced, or hot toddy, was given very freely in those cases which indicated great prostration of power. It was also my uniform practice to have a blister applied as speedily as possible on the breast or side, over the pained part. If the head were most affected, the blister was put between the shoul- ders ; and when the throat was complained of, a cata- plasm of mustard or garlic (see Materia Medica) was applied around the neck. Flannels wrung out of hot spirits, in which mustard-seed or red pepper had been steeped, were constantly applied to the extremities, and assisted greatly in producing the desired effect. As the disease advanced, bark conjoined with Vir- ginia snake-root proved a useful auxiliary in facilita- ting the cure. Dr. Cutbush pursued a very similar plan in the treatment of his patients, with the same fortunate result. Many other practitioners bear testimony in favour of this mode of practice. The ingenious and learned pro 360 Inflammation of the Liver. fessor Chapman, in his very interesting lecture on this epidemic, which I had the pleasure of hearing, stated, that in no instance did any patient die under his care, after perspiration was induced. It was his practice also, to combine with the diaphoretics, the most cordial sti- mulants; and of this class of remedies, he spoke highly of volatile alkali, in freqnent and large doses. As malignant as this disease was, it appeared to pay some, respect to persons. For the rich, or rather those who lived generously, were seldom attacked with it; while the poor, and the intemperate, in those places where its ravages were most destructive, hardly ever escaped. INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER Is of two kinds, the acute and chronic, and conse- quently requires variation in the mode of treatment. Symptoms. The acute is marked by a pungent pain of the right side, rising to the top of the shoulder, something like that of the pleurisy; attended with con- siderable fever, difficulty of breathing* dry cough, and often bilious vomiting. Causes. Violent and repeated shocks from vomits— sudden changes in the weather, but especially cold nights after very hot days—sitting in a stream of air when overheated—drinking strong spirituous liquors, and using hot spicy aliment. Treatment. In this, as in all other cases of visceral inflammation, the same, means to take off inflammation, as advised in the pleurisy, should be carefully observed. And as it is an object of the first importance to prevent the formation of matter, we should adopt these means as early as possible to produce resolution, the only sa- lutary termination. Scarcely any complaint requires such prompt and copious blood-letting, as acute inflam- mation of the liver. After the acute stage is over, we Inflammation of the Liver. 361 may consider the affection of a chronic nature, and the mode of treatment must be regulated accordingly. The chronic inflammation of the liver, is usually ac- companied with a morbid complexion. The symptoms are sometimes very obscure, and confined rather to the common marks of stomach complaints, as flatulence and frequent eructations. The appetite in consequence fails, and occasional uneasiness or pain is felt in the region of the liver extending to the right shoulder, the charac- teristic of the disease. An obscure fever prevails, which is generally worse at night, inducing languor, want of sleep, and much oppression. The patient has generally clay-coloured stools, and high-coloured urine, depositing a red sediment, and ropy mucus. In the progress of the malady, the countenance seems livid and sunk, and the eyes of a dull white or yellowish hue. Under these symptoms the body becomes gradually emaciated, while in the region of the liver is felt a sense of fulness, with a slight swelling and difficult breathing, attended with a hoarse, dry cough, particularly aggra- vated when the patient lies on the left side. As the disease advances, dropsical symptoms ac- companied with jaundice supervene, and under these complicated maladies the sufferer sinks. Sometimes an abscess opens externally, which, if it do not effect a cure, at least prolongs the life of the patient. Treatment. In this species of the disease, the stimulant purgative pills (See Recipe SI) may be em- ployed with advantage. The cure, however, depends principally upon mer- cury, or the nitric acid exhibited in small doses. The mercury may be introduced in the system, either by taking one or two of the mercurial pills (see Recipe 25) night and morning, or by rubbing as frequently on the part affected, the ointment about the size of a nut- meg, continuing the one or the other, until a ptyalism is produced, or the disease is subdued. During this course, the use of the tonic powders, or pills (see Recipe 4 and 23) or bark and snakeroot, when Z z 862 Inflammation of the Stomach. febrile symptoms have abated, will greatly hasten the cure. The nitric acid, with patients who are scorbutic, or much debilitated, is far preferable to the calomel, on account of its antiscorbutic and tonic powers. It should be given to the extent of one or two drachms daily, diluted with water, in tlie proportion of one drachm of the acid to a quart of water. At first it ought to he given in small doses, and frequently repeated, and the dose gradually increased as circumstauces require. This medicine, like calomel, must be continued until the mouth becomes affected, the salivary glands enlarg- ed, and their secretion increased; and when this takes place, the disagreeable symptoms will be removed, and the patient, from being debilitated, becomes healthy, vigorous and cheerful. My own experience of the efficacy of the nitric acid in chponie affections of the liver, induces me to speak well of it; and I r.m happy to add, it was a favourite remedy of that celebrated anatomist, and distinguished physician, professor Wistar, in this distressing disease, particularly when there was an enlargement of the liver. Obstructions and indurations of the spleen, bear some resemblance to a diseased liver, and are very prevalent in low, marshy and aguish situatious. Their treatment consists in the use of the same means recommended for the cure of this disease. Regimen. The food should be easy of digestion, such as veal, lamb, fowls, Or fresh beef. Watercresses, garlic, and other pungent vegetables are useful. A change of climate, and moderate exercise in the open air of the country, is both agreeable to the patient, and very salutary. INFLAMMATION OF THE STOMACH. Symptoms. Acute pain in the stomach, always in- creased upon swallowing even the mildest drinks. In- expressible anxiety, great internal heat, something like Inflammation of the Stomach. 363 heart-burn, constant retching to vomit—and, as the disease advances, the pulse becomes quick and inter- mitting—frequent hiccups, coldness of the extremities, and the patient is soon cut off. Causes. Acrid or hard and indigestible substances, strong emetics, or corrosive poisons taken into the stomach, or drinking extreme cold liquors while the body is in a heated state. It may also be occasioned by external injury. Treatment. Unless the inflammation can be re- solved in the very beginning, it rapidly terminates in a mortification. Therefore, a violent pain in the region of the sto- mach, with sickness and fever, should always be very seriously attended to. Copious and repeated bleedings, not regarding the smallness of the pulse, are absolutely necessary, and is almost the only thing that can be de- pended on. In no inflammation is the immediate use of the warm bath so necessary as in this, which attacks at once the " throne" of life. If a better bathing vessel cannot be had, a barrel or half hogshead filled with warm water, about blood heat, will do. Let the patiant be instantly put in it, covering the top with a blanket. Keep him in as long as he can bear it, and when taken out, and wiped dry with warm cloths, he should im- mediately have a large blister over the stomach. The application of cups on the region of the stomach is highly useful. The bowels must be kept open by the mildest glysters, as water gruel, or weak broth with the addition of a little salt-petre, and sweet oil or sugar. These injections answer the purpose of internal fomen- tations, and also nourish the patient, who is often una- ble to retain any food, or even drink, upon his stomach, Regimen. When the stomach will admit of nou- rishment, only that of the lightest kind should be al- lowed; barley water, and mucilage of gum arabic mo- derately warm, are the most suitable drinks. Every d64 Inflammation of the Intestines. thing of a heating and irritating nature must be care fully avoided for some time after the attack. INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES. Symptoms. Tension of the belly—obstinate costive- ness—great internal pain, external soreness, especially about the navel, and so severe as scarcely to bear the slightest touch—great debility—hard, small, and quick pulse. Causes. The same, generally, that iuduce the preceding disease. It may also be the sequel of other diseases, as rupture, colic, dysentery, worms, &c. Treatment. Whatever may be the cause, wc must endeavour to bring about, as quick as possible, resolution, lest mortification be the consequence. The treatment of inflammation of the stomach will also be proper here, as copious bleedings, emollient glysters frequently repeated, the warm bath, and immediately afterwards a blister on the belly. Cupping on the belly is also useful. Such is the nature of this complaint, that we cannot be too cautious in the administration of medicines or diluents by the mouth. But the frequent use of emol- lient injections will in great measure supersede their necessity, and at the same time act as fomentations to the parts. Fresh olive-oil, in the dose of a table- spoonful, is perhaps the. only medicine that can be ad- mitted with safety. When the violence of the disease shall have considerably abated, we may venture to give some aperient medicine by the mouth, as castor oil, not rancid, calomel, or cathartic mixture. (See Recipe 11). In this stage of the disease, laudanum may be employed with great advantage, particularly by way of injection. When the disease is combined with spasmodic colic, the application of cold to the abdomen, either by means of pounded ice, cloths wetted with very cold water, or Inflammation of the Kidneys. 365 cold water dashed from a pail immediately over the belly, has sometimes succeeded when all other means have failed in removing the obstruction; producing an increased action of the intestines, from sympathy with the external parts. Regimen. After the disease is subdued, the diet should be, for some time, of the lightest kind, and not flatulent. The patient must be kept quiet, avoiding coid, severe exercise, and all irritating causes. INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS. Acute pain and heat in the small of the back—great numbness along the thigh, and not unfrequently a re- traction of one of the testicles—retching to vomit— voiding the urine in small quantities, sometimes very pale, and other times of high red colour, attended with febrile affections. The patient generally feels great un- easiness when he endeavours to walk or sit upright, and lies with most ease on the affected side. Causes. Excessive exertions, external injuries, vio- lent strains, exposure to cold when heated, and calcu- lous concretion in the kidneys. Treatment. Bleed copiously, keep the bowels open with castor oil and emollient glysters, use the warm bath, or foment the part with a hot decoction of camo- mile or hitter herbs, or hot water alone; give mucilagi- nous and diluting liquors, as flaxseed tea, barley water, and thin gruel, with the camphorated powders (see Re- cipe 2,) or small portions of nitre. A decoction of peach leaves (see Materia Medica) is also beneficial in this complaint. Flannel wetted with spirits, with the addi- tion of a little spirits of hartshorn, may be applied to the small of the back, for the purpose of exciting some degree of inflammation of the external parts. After the 366 Inflammation of the Bladder. inflammation has somewhat abated, the exhibition of laudanum in its usual quantities, either by mouth or glysters, will add considerably to the cure. This dis- ease is often removed by a moderate ptyalism. If the disease have been treated improperly, or ne- glected at the onset, and a suppuration take place, known by a discharge, of matter with the urine, use uva ursi, (see Materia Medica) or balsam capiva, twice or thrice a-day, for a week or two, and afterwards take bark or steel. Regimen. The diet should consist of the most mu- cilaginous substances, as arrow root, sago, milk, but- termilk, custards, flaxseed tea, barley or rice water, &c. In the convalescent state, moderate exercise in the open air is of great service. INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER, Symptoms. Acute pain at the bottom of the belly, which is much increased by pressure—a frequent de- sire and difficulty in making water, and frequent efforts to go to stool, attended with febrile affections. Causes. Calculous concretions, suppression of urine from obstruction in the urethra, Spanish flies taken in- ternally or applied to the skin, wounds, bruises, &c. Treatment. It must be treated as the preceding disease, excepting that, where there is an entire reten- tion of urine, the patient should drink no more than is absolutely necessary. The urine must then be drawn off by a catheter. The lovers of wine and cider should remember that those beverages, however pleasant and exhilarating, have a tendency to aggravate all diseases of the kidneys and bladder, especially when they originate from an acrid state of the fluids. - Headach.—Earach. 867 HEADACH. If a foul stomach be the cause, give an emetic, after which take columbo three times a-day. If from a ple- thoric habit, which is known by a heaviness of the head, and flushed face, bleed and give opening medi- cines. If from rheumatism, apply a blister to the back part of the neck, or between the shoulders, and at bed time bathe the feet in warm water, and take the ano- dyne sudorific draught. (See Recipe 18). If from a weak habit, and where the pain returns at stated pe- riods, as in cases of intermittents, and confined on one side of the head, as over an eye, the cure will generally depend upon the free use of bark and snakeroot, or the solution of arsenic (see Recipe 22) twice or thrice a-day, which seldom fails, especially if preceded by a brisk purge. In this as well as other periodical pains, laudanum exhibited in a pretty large dose an hour or two before the expected fit, wi]l often prevent its coming on. iEther externally applied over the pain on a piece of linen, with a warm hand to confine it, will afford im- mediate relief in headachs attended with cold skin. Cayenne pepper mixed with snuff, by irritating the membranes of the nostrils, has also given much relief in cold or nervous headachs. It is not unfrequent that the partial or nervous head- ach, as it is termed, is produced from a decayed tooth, which, on discovery, should instantly he extracted. Those who are subject to this complaint, should bathe their head every morning in cold water; avoid full meals; lie with their head high in bed; and always keep their feet warm, and the bowels in a regular state. EARACH. Frequently produced from living insects getting into the ear. The most effectual way to destroy them is to blow in the smoke of tobacco, or pour in warm sweet oil. If occasioned by cold, inject warm milk and water 368 Deafness. in the ear, or drop in a little laudanum or volatile lini- ment. If this produce not the desired effect, foment the ear with steam of warm water, and apply a bag of camomile flowers, infused in boiling water, and laid on often, as warm as can be borne. When the inflammation cannot be discussed, a poul- tice of bread and milk or roasted onions may be ap- plied to the ear, and frequently renewed till the abscess breaks; after which, it must be syringed twice or thrice a-day, with Castile soap and water. In this complaint, a blister behind the ear is highly useful. DEAFNESS, Is occasioned by any thing injurious to the ear, as loud noise from the firing of cannon, violent colds, in- flammation or ulceration of the membrane, hard wax, or by a debility or paralysis of the auditory nerves. It also frequently ensues in consequence of long pro- tracted fever. Treatment. It is difficult to remove deafness, but when it is owing to a debility of some part of the organ, or arises in consequence of any nervous affection, sti- mulants dropped into the ear, often prove salutary. iEther dropped into the ear, seems to possess a two- fold effect; one, of dissolving the indurated wax; and the other, of stimulating the torpid organ; but His lia- ble to excite some degree of pain, unless it be freed from the sulphuric acid. No prescription for deafness from indurated wax ever acted more surprisingly— » none, I am sure, more agreeably, to my feelings at least, than the following. In consequence of a violent attack of bilious fever, which degenerated into the nervous, my honourable friend, Col. George M. Troup, of Georgia, was af- flicted with a deafness for a year or two, so entire, that, in congress, when the members were on the floor, he was obliged to place himself close to the orator, and even then frequently failed of the pleasure and profit Toothaih. 369 of hearing his reasonings. Suspecting indurated wax to be the cause of his deafness, I directed the cavities of both ears to be well syringed with warm and strong suds of Castile soap. This was done twice a-day, the ears constantly filled in the interim with pellets of wool dipt in strong camphorated liniment, and sometimes plugs of camphor. In a few weeks, the nerves of hear- ing recovered their sensibility, and as the colonel him- self thought, more acutely, if possible, than before. Finely powdered table salt dropt into the ear is some- times highly useful in this complaint. TOOTHACH, Is best removed by extracting the tooth; but if this cannot be effected, fill the cavity with a little cotton or lint dipped in Turlington's balsam, or laudanum, or any of the essential oils, or with pills of camphor and opium. This unpitied, though often excruciating pain is, in most cases, no more than the just punishment of our neglect of the teeth; surely then we ought to take some care of them, though it were but for the pleasure of having them sound. But this care would be redoubled were we but daily to consider the advantage of good and clean teeth and sweet breath. Some women indeed are blessed with faces so nearly angelic, that not the blackest teeth can entirely defeat their charms, nor the vilest breath drive away their lovers. But how different would be the effect of both, if, through their ruby lips, opened with a smile, we were to see teeth of ivory, white as snow, pure as the fair owner's frame, and ac- companied with breath as sweet as that of infancy. Prevention. To prevent the toothach, and to pre- serve the teeth and breath perfectly souud and sweet, the tooth-brush dipped in warm water, and then in charcoal tooth-powder, (see Recipe 5) should be used constantly every morning. The charcoal powder, an in- vention of the celebrated Darwin, is good for whitening 3 A 870 Rheumatism. the teeth, and admirable in correcting bad breath. The tooth-pick and tumbler of pure water should never be forgotten after every meal. If the calcareous crust or tartar upon the teeth ad- heres firmly, a fine powder of pumice, stone may he used occasionally. When the gums are spongy, they should be frequently pricked with a lancet, and gently rubbed with a powder composed of equal parts of Peruvian bark and charcoal. Young persons who wish to carry fine teeth with them through life, must take care never to sip their tea scalding hot, nor to drink water freezing cold. Such extremes not only injure the tender coats of the sto- mach, but often ruin the teeth, and have caused many imprudent persons to pass a sleepuess night, distracted with pains of the teeth and jaws. RHEUMATISM. Symptoms. Wandering pains in the larger joints, and in the course of the muscles connected with them, increased on motion, and generally worse towards night. When with fever, it is called acute or inflammatory rheumatism, and chronic without. Causes. Sudden changes of weather—application of cold to the body when overheated, wearing of wet clothes. Treatment. In the inflammatory rheumatism, large and repeated bleedings are necessary, as indicated by the fulness of the pulse, especially on the first days, and when there is much pain. With this should be combined a free use of diluent driuks, as flaxseed or balm tea, barley or rice water, with a little nitre dis- solved in each draught, or the antimonial mixture (see Recipe 6) in small doses, to excite slight perspiration, which should be kept up with great care: as in this re- laxed state of the skin, the disease is liable to recur upon the least application of cold. Rheumatism. 371 Bleeding and blistering over the part affected, when the pain and inflammation continue violent, have also their good effects. After the inflammatory symptoms have in a great measure subsided, the anodyne sudorific draught or bolus, (see Recipe 18 and 20) or laudanum alone, may be administered at bed time, with great advantage. During this general treatment, attention must be paid to the state of the bowels, which should be kept open by emollient glysters or cooling medicines, as the cathartic mixture, (see Recipe 11) or castor oil, exhi- bited in small and repeated doses. When the disease has fully attained its chronic state, it then forms a local affection, distinguished merely by stiffness, distension, and considerable immobility in the joint. In this species of the disease, a different plan of cure must be followed. Large evacuations are to be avoided, and external stimulants of the warmest kind should be applied, as the oil of sassafras, spirits of turpentine, opodeldoc, or the volatile liniment; (see Recipe 63 and 6i) and along with this, friction with a flesh brush or flannel over the afflicted joint is not to be omitted. If these means prove ineffectual to rouse the energy of the part, add to an ounce or two of either of the above ar- ticles, one or two drachms of the tincture of Spanish flies. In addition to these remedies, the internal use of the rheumatic tincture, (see Recipe 60) in doses of a table-spoonful twice or thrice a-day in a cup of tea, is much to be depended upon. When these remedies prove ineffectual, we may sus- pect that some peculiar fault exists in the habit, which must be corrected before a cure can be expected. If the patient be much debilitated, of a scorbutic habit, give him bark freely. And if the disease be a conse- quence of a venereal taint, or taking cold from the use of mercury, let him take calomel in small doses, or one of the mercurial pills (see Recipe 25) night and morn- ing until a ptyalism be produced. A strong decoction 37* Rheumatism. of sarsaparilla (see Materia Medica,) is also a useful auxiliary, and sometimes a remedy of itself. In some cases of obstinate rheumatism, I have wit- nessed the happiest effects from taking, for some time, a tea-spoonful of flour of sulphur night and morning in milk or spirit and water. In others again, I found nothing equal to the pokeberry bounce (see Materia Medica.) in doses of a wine-glassful, morning, noon, and night. Compressing the large arteries by means of a tourni- quet or bandage, as mentioned under the head of inter- mittents, is another remedy which has been employed with advantage in some instances of severe rheumatic pains. Rubbing the part affected twice a-day with tartar emetic mixed in water is highly useful. Iu recent cases when the pain wanders from one part to the other, or whenever tlie joints are stiffened and rigid, and the pain upon motion severe, or where the muscles have become contracted, by the length and violence of the disorder, immersing the whole body in a warm bath, or applying it topically, by pouring warm water upon the limb from a kettle, or fomenting the part with a decoction of mullein two or three times a-day, will often soothe the pain, and prove a useful auxiliary to the other means we employ. Two other forms of rheumatism ought here to be mentioned, namely, the lumbago, and the sciatic. The first, attacks the loins or lumbar region, with a most acute pain shooting to the joints of the thigh. This af- fection is nearly related tothe inflammatory rheumatism, and must be treated iu the same manner, only instead of applying blisters over the affected part, they should be applied on the inside of the thighs, and kept running for some time. The second, or sciatic, is a violent or fixed pain, at- tacking the hip joint, and, partaking of the nature of the chronic rheumatism, is most successfully to be treated like that disease. Vaccine Disease, or Cow-pooa. 373 Prevention. Cold bathing, and the use of flannel next the skin, are the most effectual means of prevent- ing the recurrence of both acute and chronic rheuma- tism. Regimen. In acute rheumatism, the patient must be kept on a cool spare diet; but no change whatever will be nececsary in the patient's ordinary mode of living, in chronic rheumatism. In this species, mustard and horse-radish (see Materia Medica) used freely in their natural state, or united with food, will be found very beneficial. Exercise, either of the whole body or of particular limbs, will be highly important. The want of exercise is apt to produce stiffness in the limbs. VACCINE DISEASE, OR COW-POX. " The vaccine discovery may be justly considered as one of the most extraordinary blessings bestowed on man, since it is incontestibly a certain security against the small-pox, a disease distressing in its symptoms, formidable in its appearance, doubtful in event, and to which mankind are generally exposed. The comparative advantages which the kine-pox has over the small-pox are very great and striking. First, it is neither contagious nor communicable by effluvia; secondly, it excites no disposition to other complaints; thirdly, it can be communicated with safety to children at the earliest age, and almost in every situation; and fourthly, it is never fatal. What more can be required to produce a general conviction of its superior utility? The method of performing the inoculation, is to hold the lancet nearly at a right angle with the skin, in or- der that the infectious fluid may gravitate to the point of the instrument, which should be made to scratch the skin repeatedly, until it becomes slightly tinged with blood. The operator must be cautious not to make the wound deeper than necessary, as the inoculated part will be more liable to inflammation, which may destroy the specific action of the virus. 374 Vaccine Disease, or Cow-pox. The most certain method of securing the infection, is to inoculate with fresh fluid from the pustule; but as this is often impracticable, it is advisable to hold the infected lancet over the steam of boiling water to soften the hardened matter. Where the virus has been pro- cured upon thread, make a small longitudinal incision in the arm, and insert in it the affected thread, and de- tain it there by court-plaster, until the disease be com- municated. Matter may also be procured from the scab.. The mode of inoculating from it is the same as from the fluid, taking care, however, previously to moisten it with tepid water, and to use the matter of the inner side of the scab. The scab will frequently retain its virus for months, provided it be kept in a close box. The first indication of the success of the operation is a small inflamed spot where the puncture is made, which is very distinguishable about the third, fourth or fifth day. This continues to increase in size, be- comes hard, and a small circular tumor is formed, rising a little above the level of the skin. About the sixth or seventh day the centre of the tumor shows a disco- loured speck, owing to the formation of a small quantity of fluid, which continues to increase, and the pustule to fill, until about the tenth day. At this time it shows in perfection the characteristic features which distinguish it from the variolous pustule. Its shape is circular, or somewhat a little oval, but the margin is always well defined, and never rough and jagged, the edges rise above the level of the skin, but the centre is depressed, and has not that plumpness which marks the small-pox pustule. As soon as the pustule contains any fluid, it may be opened for future inoculation. About two days before, and two after the eighth day, making a period of four days, is the season when the matter is found in its greatest activity. At the eighth day, when the pustule is fully formed, the effects on the constitution begin to appear. The general indisposition is commonly preceded by pain at Vaccine Disease, or Cow-pox. 375 the pustule and in the arm-pit, followed by headach, some shivering, loss of appetite, pain in the limbs, and a feverish increase of pulse. These continue with more or less violence for one or two days, and always sub- side spontaneously without leaving any unpleasant consequences. During the general indisposition, the pustule in the arm, which bad been advancing to ma- turation in a regular uniform manner, becomes sur- rounded with a circular inflamed margin-, about an inch or an inch and a half broad, and this blush is an indication that the whole system is affected; for the general indisposition, if it occur at all, always appears on, or before the time when the efflorescence becomes visible. After this period, the fluid in the pustule gra- dually dries up, the surrounding blush becomes fainter, and in a day or two dies away imperceptibly, so that it is seldom to be distinguished after the thirteenth day from inoculation. The pustule now no longer increases in extent, but on its surface a hard thick scab, of a brown or mahogany colour is formed, which if not re- moved, remains for nearly a fortnight, until it sponta- neously falls, leaving the skin beneath perfectly sound and uninjured. The above is the progress of the vaccine inoculation in the greater number of cases, from the time of inseiv tion to that of drying up of the pustule, with only the variation of a day or two in the periods of the different changes. The successive alterations that take place in the local affection, appear to be more constant and more necessary to the success of the inoculation than the general indisposition. With respect to this latter the degree is very various—infants often pass through the disease without any perceptible illness—with chil- dren it is extremely moderate—and even with adults, its severity is but for a few hours, and then never dan- gerous. Very little medical care is necessary to conduct the patient through this disease with perfect safety, espe- cially when children are the patients. Adults may take a dose of salts on the eighth day, which will be parti- 370 Vaccine Disease or Cow-Pox, cularly useful in plethoric habits. In general, no ap. plication to the inoculated part will be required, unless the inflammation increase, and the pustule become painful; then the part should be kept moist with cold vinegar and water, or lead water, till the pustule be dried up. To conclude, much attention and discrimination are necessary in the vaccine inoculation, to ascertain whe- ther the infection have fully taken, and whether or not, the disorder be complete and genuine. The regularity, with which the local disease at the place of inoculation runs through its several stages, seems to be the prin- cipal point to be attended to; for the presence of fever is certainly not necessary to constitute the disease, since the greater number of infants have no apparent indis- position. Therefore, when the vaccine inoculation is followed by no local disorder, or only a slight redness at the punctured part, for a day or two, we can have no doubt that the operation has failed. When the pustule ad- vances in very hasty and irregular progress, when the inoculated puncture on the second or third day after insertion, swells considerably, and is surrounded with an extensive redness, the premature inflammation very clearly indicates a failure in the operation, even when the inoculation has advanced for the first few days in a regular manner; but, when about the sixth day, in- stead of exhibiting a well formed pustule and vesicle of fluid, the part runs into an irregular festering sore, the purpose of inoculation is equally defeated, and these varieties require it to be watched with an attentive and experienced eye, since they might readily lead to a false and perhaps fatal idea of security against any sub- sequent exposure to the small-pox. The circumstance, however, which most strikiugly distinguishes the ge- nuine from the spurious disease, is the appearance of the pustule. In the genuine, the pustule has a well- defined elevated margin, with an indentation in its cen- tre, resembling a button mould. The spurious is either pointed like a small common abscess, or is rugged and Small-Pox. 377 irregularly formed, like an ordinary sore. Every other symptom, almost occurs in each disease. SMALLPOX. It would seem unnecessary to take any notice of the small-pox, after having treated so largely of its mild and merciful substitute, the cow-pox; but as that dread- ful disease does sometimes find its way on board of ships and into country neighbourhoods, sweeping whole families in its progress, it may be very proper to sub- join the following history of its symptoms and treatment. The small pox appears under two very different forms, the distinct and confluent. In the first, which is by far the mildest, the pustules fill aud assume a co- nical shape. In the last and most dangerous, the pus. tules run together, and remain flat. Symptoms. A few days prior to the attack, the pa- tient complains of languor and weariness, succeeded by cold shiverings and transient glows of heat, imme- diately before the fever, which is accompanied by vio- lent pain of the head and loins, and frequently with a severe, oppressive pain at the pit of the stomach. The patient is very drowsy, and sometimes delirious. About the third day, the eruption appears like flea bites, first on the face and limbs, aud afterwards on the body. From this period the pustules gradually increase, and on the fifth or sixth day, will begin to turn white on the tops. The throat at this period often becomes painful and inflamed; and sometimes on the seventh day the face is considerably swelled. In the confluent, the spots assume a crimson colour, and instead of rising, like the distinct kind, they re- main flat and run into clusters, and during the first days of the eruption, much resembling the measles, but of \ purple colour. The flow of saliva is constant in this form of the disease, and becomes so viscid as to be discharged with the greatest difficulty. 8.B 37» Small-Pox. Treatment. The cure of small-pox depends ou the general priuciple of the antiphlogistic plan, espe- cially in a free admission of cold air, which may be carried much further in this than in any other disease. Bleeding in the first stage of the disease, or when the pulse is full, may be allowed, but the use of cooling purgatives, with acid and diluent drinks, are indispen- sable. When the eruption makes its appearance in clusters of a dark red colour, the disease is more of a putrid nature, and consequently, instead of bleeding, requires a liberal use of bark and wine to invigorate the con- stitution, as directed in the nervous fever. See Oak, Materia Medica. But besides this general treatment, there are some symptoms which require particular attention. Thus, when convulsions or great restlessness prevail, exposure to cold air, and a dose of laudanum are enjoined. Where respiration is much impeded, or deglutition dif- ficult, blisters may be applied to the breast and neck, and gargles, such as are recommended for sore throats, frequently employed. If the perspiration be obstruct- ed, the antimonial mixture may be used. When this disease finds its way aboard of a vessel, or into a family, all those who have not had it, should immediately be inoculated with the variolous matter, if the vaccine fluid cannot be procured. The benefits which result from inoculation are great, as we have an opportunity to prepare the system by abstinence from animal food, and by taking one or two purges of calomel and jalap before the eruption takes place. But if the subject be of a weak delicate habit, a restorative diet alone will be more proper. In every stage of the small-pox, the bowels should be kept open, either by mild purgatives or clysters. Regimen. The diet is to consist of vegetable sub- stances, as arrow root, panado, milk, rice, &c. and when the eruption is completed, a more nourishing diet may Measles. 37$ he allowed. If the disease be of the putrid kind, wine, cyder, perry, porter or milk toddy, may be given freely. In this as in all diseases connected with putrescen- cy, the advantages arising from cleanliness as well as from frequent ventilation of the chambers, are so ob- vious, that to insist on them is unnecessary. See Nervous Fever. MEASLES. This disease is the effect of a specific contagion, and attacks persons only once in life. Symptoms. Alternate heats and chills, with the usual symptoms of cold. On the fourth day from the attack, eruptions like flea bites arise on the face and body, and in about four days more, those eruptions dis- appear with the fever. Treatment. When the disease is very slight, little more is necessary than to keep the patient's body open. with the cathartic mixture. (See Recipe 11). But should the febrile symptoms run high, with difficulty of breathing, bleed, blister the breast, inhale through the spout of a tea-pot the steam of hot water, and give the antimonial powders or mixture. (See Recipe 1 and 6.) The cough being usually troublesome, it will be proper to take freely of flaxseed syrup, (see Materia Medica) or some demulcent pectoral. After the eruption is completed, the anodyne sudorific draught, (see Recipe 18) paregoric or laudanum, will be serviceable at bed time, to allay the cough. If the spots suddenly disap- pear, immerse the body in warm water, or bathe the legs and feet, and give freely of warm wine whey, un- .til the eruptions return. The consequences attendant on the measles, are of- ten more to be dreaded than the immediate disease, for although a person may get through it, and appear for a time recovered, still pulmonary consumption fre- quently arises, and destroys him, Another bad conse- S80 Chicken, or Swine-Pox. quence of the measles is, that the bowels are often left by them in a very weak state, a diarrhoea remaining, which has sometimes proved fatal. An obstinate oph- thalmia, or affection of the eyes, will also ensue, if proper attention be not paid in managing the disease. Most of these disagreeable symptoms may be prevent- ed by blood-letting, in the first stages of the disease. Should the symptoms manifest a malignant kind of the disease, and a putrid tendency prevail, we must then adopt a very different mode of treatment from what has been advised for the inflammatory. The cure must be conducted on the plan recommended for the nervous fever. Regimen. The diet should be low and proportion- ed to the degree of fever. Barley or rice water, flax- seed tea, or other cooling mucilaginous drinks, with jollies, as arrow-root, gruel, sago, &c. will, in general, be all that is necessary until the feverish symptoms are evidently on the decline. Much caution is necessary that the patient be not suddenly exposed to cold air, which might repel the eruption, and produce fatal ef- fects. CHICKEN, OR SWINE-POX. In this disease, an eruption much resembling that of a very favourable small-pox, appears after a very slight fever. This eruption soon proceeds to suppuration, in which state it remains but a little time, before the dis- ease terminates by the drying up of the pustules, which seldom leaves scars behind. As to the treatment, medicine is very seldom neces- sary, it being generally sufficient that the patient he kept moderately cool, and supplied with diluent drinks and light food. Should there be fever, a cooling purge, and afterwards the antimonial powders or mixtures may be employed. 381 SAINT ANTHONY'S FIRE. Symptoms. An inflammation on some part of the skin, attended with pain and heat; and when extensive, there is considerable fever, accompanied with drowsi- ness. Causes. Imprudent exposure to cold when the body is heated—hard drinking—and sudden stoppage of any natural evacuation. Treatment. When slight, it requires only that the bowels be kept gently open, by an infusion of peach leaves, (see Materia Medica) small doses of cream of tartar and sulphur, or the cathartic mixture, (see Re- cipe 11.) with small portions of nitre in the patient's common drink; but when the attack is violent, and the head affected, then, in addition to the above, bleed, bathe the feet in warm water, apply sinapisms to the extremities, and give the saline or antimonial mixture (see Recipe 14 and 6.) with diluent drinks. The best external applications are flour or starch, gently sprinkled by a puff on the part, or in case of dryness and much heat, cabbage leaves, stripped of their stems and softened in boiling water, and renewed every two or three hours. Cold applications, as cloths wetted with vinegar and water, with the addition of a small quantity of camphorated spirits, has also been employed with great benefit and relief to the feelings of the patient. If, in spite of these means, ulceration should take place, apply bark poultices, frequently renewed, or cloths dipped in the camphorated spirits, (see Recipe 62.) with the usual means of preventing mortification. Should the inflammation become of a purple colour, or the. swelling suddenly subside, attended with internal oppression, anxie;y and weak pulse, apply blisters or sinapisms to the extremities, and give wine or warm 382 Bleeding at the Nose toddy freely, to throw out the eruptions to the skin; and then it is to be treated as the nervous fever. Regimen. The diet should be low, and the drink chiefly of rice or barley water, acidulated with tama- rinds or the juice of lemons. Prevention. Avoid the extremes of heat or cold, abstain from spirituous liquors, and keep the bowels regularly open. BLEEDING AT THE NOSE. In febrile diseases accompanied with pain in the head, flushed countenance, and redness of the eyes, bleeding from the nose in general is salutary, and ought not to be checked, unless the patient is likely to be too much exhausted by it; however, when this dis- charge is too profuse, the patient should have his head raised and exposed to cool air. Beside which, cold acid- ulated drinks should be used, and the patient should either immerse his head in very cold water, or have cloths dipped in cold vinegar and water frequently ap- plied to the face and back of the neck. A piece of me- tal, as a key for example, applied cold to the naked back, is a familiar remedy, and often succeeds. If these should not prove sufficient, a pledget of lint dipt in strong alum water, or a powder composed of flour and alum of equal quantity, should be introduced into the nostrils, with sufficient force to compress the orifice of the ruptured vessels. To keep the feet for some time immersed in cold water, is an excellent remedy in this disease. One of the most powerful styptics which we can use, says Dr. Thomas, is powder of charcoal. It may be applied by means of tents, first moistened with water, and then dipped in this powder; but in slight cases, it will answer by being taken like snuff. After the bleeding has ceased, the patient must be Spitting of Blood. 383 careful not to remove the tents of clotted blood, but should allow them to come away of themselves. SPITTING OF BLOOD. When there is a discharge from the mouth of blood of a florid colour, brought up with more or less cough- ing, preceded by a sense of tightness, weight, and anxiety in the chest, and attended with a saltish taste of the spittle, it is in consequence of a ruptured vessel of the lnngs. Causes. Plethora—violent exercise of the lungs— and frequently a faulty conformation of the chest. Treatment. Give immediately from a tea to a table-spoonful of common salt, which must be repeated every two hours or oftener, in large doses until it is checked. And to prevent a return of the disease, a small table spoonful of the salt must be taken daily for two or three days. Professor Rush employed the com- mon salt with success, in haemorrhages from the sto- mach, accompanied with vomiting, and others have tried it with equal success in discharges of blood from the nose and uterus. The sugar of lead in the form of powder or pills (see Recipe 22,) has also been employed with great advan- tage in this complaint. If the patient be of a plethoric habit or feverish, a , free use of the lancet is absolutely necessary, in propor- tion to the state of the pulse. Besides which, cooling purgatives should occasionally be given; the patient, at the same time adhering strictly to the antiphlogis- tic regimen. The tincture of foxglove (see Materia Medica) exhibited in small doses every three or four hours, by retarding the action of the pulse, will prove a most useful auxiliary in suppressing pulmonic haemor- rhages, particularly in those cases where an inflamma- tory diathesis prevails. Whenever there is fixed pain of the chest, a blister 384 Consumption. applied to the breast or back will do much service. After the pain, cough, and afflux of blood cease, ten or fifteen drops of balsam capivi, or four or five tar pills of common size, prepared by adding bark to the tar, thrice a-day, will be proper to restore the tone of the ruptur- ed vessels. Sometimes a spitting of blood is produced in conse- quence of suppressed evacuation; in this case it is not dangerous, and only requires remedies to restore the vicarious discharge. Regimen. A low diet must be strictly observed and the body kept as quiet as possible. Nothing should be taken warm: flaxseed tea, barley or rice water acidu- lated with the juice of lemons or elixir vitriol, ought to be used as common drinks, and taken as cold as pos- sible. Prevention. Carefully avoid all exertions which detain or which hurry the blood in its passage through the lungs, as singing, loud speaking, running or lifting great weights. Obviate costiveness by the occasional use of mild aperients, and use a spare diet. On expe- riencing any pain in the chest, blister, bleed, and con- stantly wear flannel next to the skin. CONSUMPTION. Symptoms. Those which mark its first stage, are a slight fever increased by the least exercise—-a burning and dryness in the palms of the hands, more especially towards evening—rheumy eyes upon waking from sleep __increase of urine—dryness of the skin, as also of the feet in the morning—occasional flushing in one, and sometimes both cheeks—hoarseness—slight or acute pain in the breast—fixed pain in one side, or shooting pains in both sides—headach—occasional sick and fainty fits—a deficiency of appetite—and a general in- disposition to exercise, or motion of every kind. The first appearance of this disease will vary in dif Consumption. 385 terent cases, but the most constant symptoms which characterise it, are a cough and spitting of phlegm re- sembling matter, of which at length it becomes entirely composed. Causes. Obstructions and inflammation of the lungs, depending most frequently on the existence of small tubercles in the substance, which coming to suppura- tion, burst and discharge a purulent matter. Sometimes it is induced by a general affection of the system, and sometimes it is a consequence of other diseases, as cold, measles, small-pox, pleurisy, &c. &c. Treatment. This must be varied and adapted to each stage and case of the disease. In the first, or in- flammatory stage, moderate bleedings twice or thrice a week, according to the force of the pulse, and habit of the patient, are essential, aided by blisters to the breast and back, and employing at the same time a cooling regimen. Nitre in doses often or fifteen grains, three or four times a-day, and the antimonial mixture (see Recipe 6) in nauseating doses, are serviceable in lessening the arterial action, but greater benefits will result from the use of the foxglove, (see Materia Medica,) which may be given with safety even to consumptive children; but like all powerful medicines, it should be used with much caution in such tender subjects. The most eli- gible mode of using the foxglove, is in a tincture, (see Recipe 5,) beginning with the dose of twenty drops, and gradually increasing it to forty, fifty, or sixty, io an adult, morning, noon and night. In giving this me- dicine, it should be so managed as not to induce vo- miting or violent sickness. But if either happen, the patient must for a day or two omit the medicine, and afterwards resume the use of it in smaller doses. After the inflammatory symptoms have somewhat subsided, laudanum in doses of five or six drops twice or thrice a-day, and a larger close at bed time, may be given with the greatest advantage. Doctor Rush often 386 Consumption. succeeded in curing this disease, by giving small doses of calomel until a slight salivation was excited, but it should not precede the antiphlogistic treatment. Iceland liverwort or moss, has been highly extolled of late in this complaint as a remedy that readily allays cough, facilitates expectoration, abates hectic fever, and quiets the system without constipating the bowels. It is likewise said to strengthen the organs of digestion, without increasing the action of the heart and arteries. Indeed the physicians of Europe have spoken so loudly in its praise, that every patient ought certainly to give it a trial. The most approved method of using it is in the form of decoction; one ounce of the herb to a quart of water boiled for fifteen minutes over a slow fire, to which two drachms of sliced liquorice root may be ad- ded about five minutes before it is taken off. A tea- cupful of this decoction should be taken four times a- day. Another form is by boiling two drachms of the herb in a pint of milk for ten minutes, and taking it for breakfast and supper. If chocolate, be preferred, it may be blended with it, by making the chocolate with a decoction of the moss, without the liquorice, as above directed. Regimen. The diet in the inflammatory state of consumption should he light, and composed of articles that tend to correct acrimony, and diminish inflamma- tion, as milk, butter-milk, rice-milk, arrowroot, sago, fruits of every kind, and vegetables. In the advanced stage of the disease, and when the pulse is weak, a more cordial and stimulating diet, and strengthening remedies are necessary. To prevent weakness, and other ill effects of an empty stomach, patients should take frequently of meat, with wine or toddy: raw oys- ters are thought to he peculiarly proper. With this cordial diet, small doses of balsam capivi or laudanum, or an infusion of the inner bark of the wild-cherry-tree, or hoarhound and bitters of all kinds, have been ex- ceedingly useful, in this state of consumption. Exer- cise when not carried to fatigue, in a dry country air, Incontinence of Urine. 387 often does more good than medicine, and consequently should always be taken. A perpetual blister oraseton on the breast or side, is useful in this complaint. Long journies on horseback, are the most effectual modes of exercise, carefully avoiding night air, and the extreme heat of the day in summer. That exercise be not carried to fatigue, patients should travel only a few miles in a day at first, and gradually increase the distance as they increase their strength. When exer- cise on horseback cannot be supported, sailing and swinging should be substituted, and no effort to cheer the spirits, or innocently to amuse the mind, should be neglected. Great care should be taken to regulate the dress ac- cording to the changes of the weather. The chest in particular should be defended from the cold, and the feet from the damp. In the various stages of this dis- order, the bowels ought to be kept moderately open by emollient glysters, or the mildest laxatives. INCONTINENCE OF URINE. Symptoms. An involuntary evacuation of urine. i Causes. A relaxation of the sphincter of the blad- der—injuries received about the neck of the bladder. —pressure of the womb in a state of pregnancy, &c. Treatment. When the disease proceeds from a relaxation of the sphincter of the bladder, a blister to the os sacrum or lowermost part of the back-bone will be found highly beneficial, and often effects a cure. The cold bath and tonic medicines, as bark, steel, and columbo, are peculiarly proper in obstinate cases of this kind. The tincture of cantharides (see Recipe 56) in doses of ten or twelve drops every three or four hours, is also a good remedy. When it is produced by an impregnated womb, little more can be done, than observing a horizontal position as much as possible. 388 Suppression and Difficulty of Urine. The occasional use of rhubarb in small doses, to keep the bowels easy, tends to alleviate the affection. SUPPRESSION AND DIFFICULTY OF URINE, Arises from a variety of causes, as calculous con- cretions—obstructions in the urethra—blisters—or the tincture of cantharides, taken internally too freely— wounds, bruises, &c. Treatment. If the pulse be full and feverish, bleed and procure stools by emollient glysters and cooling laxatives, such as castor oil, or the cathartic mixture. (see Recipe 11.) Much dependence is to be placed in the free use of demulcent drinks, as barley water, flaxseed tea, mucilage of gum arabic, decoction of marsh-mallows, of parsley roots, or of water-melon seeds, especially if the affection be owing to the can- tharides, or any injury of the bladder. One of the camphorated powders (see Recipe 2) given every three or four hours, in the patient's common drink, will also prove an auxiliary. Great relief will be obtained from the warm bath, used oftener or seldomer as the case may require, or from the frequent applications to the belly of cloths wrung out of hot water, or bladders half filled with it. Opiates are serviceable, but should ne- ver be used in the height of fever. When this complaint is in consequence of calculous concretions or gravel obstructing the urinary passages, which may be known by pain in the loins, sickness at the stomach, and sometimes a discharge of bloody urine, an infusion of wild-carrot seed sweetened with honey is very beneficial. A more powerful medicine, how- ever, for gravel complaints, is the caustic alkali or soap-lees, (see Recipe 33,) but being of an a rid nature, it ought always to be given in mucilaginous drinks, and commenced with small doses, which should be gradually increased as far as the stomach can bear, Piles. 369 and continued for a long time, particularly if there should be an abatement of the symptoms. When the application of blisters causes a difficulty of urine, wash the blistered-part frequently with warm milk and water, or apply sweet oil. In children, a sup- pression of urine is often relieved by a poultice of raw onions or radishes applied to the bottom of the belly. Regimen. During the violence of this complaint the lightest diet only should be used, and mucilaginous drinks taken freely. Those who are often afflicted with it, ought carefully to avoid aliment hard of diges- tion, flatulent, or of a heating nature. PILES. Symptoms. Painful tumours aoout the fundament, or a flow of blood from it. Causes. Costiveness—strongaloetic purges—much riding—or sedentary habits. Treatment. If the patient be of a full habit, bleed and live abstemiously, keep the body gently open with molasses and water, or equal parts of sulphur and cream of tartar, in doses of a tea-spoonful two or three times a-day. When the tumours are painful, set over a steam of hot water, and anoint the part with sweet oil, or wash frequently with lead water, to a half pint of which may be added one or two table-spoonfuls of laudanum. If the tumours will not yield to one or other of these applications, anoint them night and morning with mercurial ointment, to which may be ad- ded opium. The application of leeches to the tumours, is highly useful. If the disease arises from debility, give ten grains of steel thrice a-day. When the piles are of the bleeding sort, apply cloths dipped in cold vinegar and water, or a strong solution of white vitriol or alum, frequently to the fundament, or anoint the part with the hemorrhoidal ointment, (see S90 Dysentery, or Bloody Flux. Recipe 66,) and endeavour to restore the tone of the vessels by the use of bark, columbo, or steel. DYSENTERY, OR BLOODY FLUX. Symptoms. A discharge of mucus by stool often bloody—violent gripings—pain in the loins—a constant inclination to go to stool, without being able to void any thing; and sometimes fever. Causes. Putrid air and aliment—green fruit— strong cathartics—obstructed perspiration, and what- ever increases the natural irritability of the intestines. Treatment. To conduct the patient safely through this disease, the bowels should be evacuated by calo- mel, castor oil or the cathartic mixture, (see Recipe 11,) and if tbe patient be of an inflammatory disposition, or there be febrile symptoms, blood-letting will also be required. After the acrid contents of the stomach and intestines have been evacuated, the anodyne sudorific bolus or draught (see Recipe 20 and 18) may be given at bed time: and on the following day, if there be no evacuation of a natural appearance, one or other of the above aperient medicines must be exhibited in small doses, until the desired effect is obtained. To produce a natural evacuation daily, is a circum- stance of the greatest importance in this disease, and should at all times be kept in view. To neglect this, as my good old friend, Doctor Henry Stevenson of Bal- timore, used often to say, would be like *' Locking the thief in the house to do all the mischief he could." It is sometimes proper, instead of bleeding to give an eme- tic in the beginning of the disease, to persons of weak habits; but where there is a great degree of irritability of the stomach, or obstructions of the liver, vomiting will do more harm than good. When the disease is epidemic, after having premised the necessary evacuations, calomel is most to be de- pended on, in doses of four or five grains, combined Dysentery, or Bloody Flux. 391 with the anodyne sudorific bolus, or with one or two grains of opium alone, exhibited every night. And when the calomel does not produce a natural evacua- tion, it is always proper to give a small dose of castor oil, or one or two wine glasses of the cathartic mixture (see Recipe 11) every morning until the disease begins to yield. If acidity prevails in the stomach and intestines, as marked by oppression, heat, sour belching and vomit- ing, and excoriations about the fundament, besides a liberal use of mucilaginous and sheathing drinks, a wine-glassful of the absorbent mixture, (see Recipe 8,] or a spoonful or two of new milk and lime water, should be given every two or three hours. Frequent injections of flaxseed tea or barley water with a table- spoonful of laudanum are of infinite service when the pain in the bowels and tenesmus are distressing. In obstinate cases, or when there is the least ap- prehension of an inflammation of the bowels, the warm bath or local fomentation to the belly, and afterwards a blister, are indispensable. Cupping here is also use- ful. At the close of the disease, or when it indicates symptoms of a putrid nature, the infusion of bark or columbo is particularly useful with wine, and rhubarb may be administered as a purge. Doctor Mosely of Jamaica states, that in chronic dysentery, unattended with fever, there is not a raofe efficacious medicine than the vitriolic solution, (see Recipe 7) in doses of a table-spoonful every morning, with an opiate at bed time. In preparing this solution, the proportion of either the vitriol or alum may be increased or diminished ac- cording to circumstances; that is, when evacuations are required, the quantity of alum may be diminished), or entirely omitted, and when great astringency is re- quired, the quantity of alum is to be increased and the vitriol diminished. Another simple, though efficacious remedy iu this disease, is a solution of common salt in vinegar or le- mon juice, termed antidysenteric mixture. (See Recipe 392 Apoplectic Fits. 10). This medicine has also been strongly recom mended in bilious fever or putrid sore throat, wheu'the bowels are in an irritable state. Dewberry is likewise a valuable medicine in this distressing disease. (See Materia Medica). Regimen. In the violence of this disease, the diet should consist only of arrow root, sago, panado, or gruel, and the drinks of a cooling and sheathing nature, as barley or rice water, flaxseed tea, or mucilage of gum arabic. But when the disease has existed some time, the diet should be more nourishing, particularly if the patient has been weakened by preceding disease, or is either of a tender or an advanced age. Oranges, and whatever ripe fruit the season affords, may be al- lowed. The room should be constantly fumigated with vine- gar, and well ventilated. The clothing as well as the bedding ought to be often renewed, and all offensive odours, particularly the foeces, should be removed as speedily as possible. Prevention. The same means of prevention are here to be used, as under the head of bilious fever, and as this disease becomes infectious, like autumnal fevers do, by neglectof cleanliness, its further progress through tlie medium of bad air, may be checked by attending to the mode of purifying that element, prescribed under tie head of nervous fever. APOPLECTIC FITS Symptoms. Sudden falling to the ground, with a deprivation of sense and motion, attended by deep sleep and noisy breathing, the circulation remaining unim- paired. Causes. Plethora—hard drinking—too large doses of opium—blows—tight neck-cloths, or whatever in- terrupts the return of the blood from the head. Apoplectic Fits. 393 Treatment. In the cure of a disease threatening such sudden fatality, remedies must be speedily em- ployed. The patient's head should instantly be raised and supported ; and he be placed in a situation where he can respire a cool air. He is to be bled most copiously to the amount of a quart or more, and this must be re- peated after a short time if he is not relieved, especially if the disease occur in a person of robust and plethoric habit. Cup also on the temples. Brisk purges are next to be administered, and when these cannot be swallow- ed, the most stimulating injections should be thrown up. Where the disease depends rather on a depletion of the blood vessels than on too great fulness, which may be known by its attacking old people of debilitated habits, bleeding is sparingly to be resorted to, particu- larly if the countenance appears to be sunk and pallid. In these cases the patient ought to he laid on a bed, with his head elevated, and turned every hour; glysters are then to be given, and as soon as liquids can be swal- lowed, the contents of the stomach and bowels should be evacuated by a brisk purge. Sinapisms and blisters to the extremities should not be neglected. But searing the soles of the feet with a hot iron, will more certainly and suddenly rouse the torpid system. Regimen. The diet should be of the lowest kind, consisting principally, for several days after the attack, of diluent drinks; such as rice or barley water, tamarind water, flaxseed tea, &c. Prevention. In full habits, let the diet be light and sparing, and the bowels kept open. In debilitated habits, the diet should be more nourishing, and the strengthening medicines, as bark, steel, &c. employed to give tone to the vessels. 3D 394 EPILEPTIC FITS. Symptoms. The patient falls suddenly with a de- privation of sense; while the muscles of the face and every part of the body are violently convulsed. Causes. Excessive drinking—sudden stoppage of the courses—severe fright—injuries of the head—teeth- ing in children—and irritation from worms in the sto- mach and intestines. Treatment. To prevent the patient from injuring himself by the violence of his struggles, he ought im- mediately to be placed on a bed. The clothing should be every where loosened, and Ihe head moderately ele- vated. A slip of wood should be placed between the jaws to prevent their closing on the tongue, and nothing is to be administered in a glass vessel. Should it appear that the patient has been drinking loo freely of spiritu- ous- liquors, or has loaded his stomach with indigestible matter, a strong emetic should be immediately given, which, by cleansing the stomach, will often terminate the paroxysm. If suppressed evacuations are the cause, they must be re-excited by such means as are calculated to restore the course of nature. If the patient complain of pain in the head, a seton in the nape of the neck should not be omitted. If worms be the fault, which may be known by an offensive breath and irregular appetite, they must be removed before a radical cure can be effected. Sometimes an epileptic fit is preceded by an uneasy sensation in some of the limbs or trunk of the body, creeping upwards to the head. In this case, the fit will be prevented by applying a ligature above the part so affected. Many cases have occurred, in which this disease has been cured with the sugar of lead, particularly under the age of maturity. It should be commenced in small doses, beginning with one fourth of a grain, for a half Fainting Fits. 395 grown person, and gradually increased to two grains or more, thrice a day, made into pills with the crumbs of bread. If from using this medicine the bowels are dis- ordered, it should be laid aside until relief is obtained by the use of the warm bath, mild laxatives, and opium in more than usual doses. A small portion of opium combined with the lead, will generally obviate or cor- rect its unpleasant operation. The good effects of nitrate of silver, commonly called lunar caustic, have also been attested by eminent phy- sicians, in doses from one fourth, very gradually in- creased to a grain, twice a-day, made into pills with bread. The flowers of zinc have likewise been highly spoken of, aud are said to have performed permanent cures, in doses of six or eight grains morning and night. The herb cardamine or ladies' smock, has been pre- scribed with advantage, and may be taken to the ex- tent of a drachm three or four times a-day. As there is incontrovertible evidence, that these me- dicines have succeeded in certain cases, they are all deserving of a fair trial, particularly in the treatmeut of a disease in which no plausible remedy should be left untried. FAINTING FITS. Symptoms. The pulse and respiration suddenly be- comes exceedingly feeble, insomuch, at times, as to create a fear of the total extinction of life. Causes. Fright—long fasting—large evacuations- debility, &c. Treatment. The patient should be placed in a re- clining posture, and every part of the clothing which by its tightness is likely to interrupt the free circulation of blood, must be immediately loosened. 1 he doors and windows of the room, especially if the weather be warm, should be kept open, and no more persons ad- 396 Hysteric Fits. mitted than are necessary to give assistance; and these bhould not prevent the free access of the air to the patient. Sprinkle the face, with cold water or vinegar, and apply volatiles, burnt linen, or feathers, to thenostrils; and that the stimulus may with more certainly be in- haled, the patient should be kept from breathing through the mouth, by holding a handkerchief forcibly against it, taking care, however, to leave the nostrils perfectly free. HYSTERIC FITS. This disease more frequently occurs in the unmar- ried or barren woman, and those who lead a sedentary life. It very seldom appears before the age of puberty, or after the age of thirty-five years. The time at which it most readily occurs, is that of the menstrual period. It generally commences with universal languor and coldness of the extremities. The colour of the face is variable, being sometimes flushed and sometimes pale. The pulse becomes unequal and obscure. The stomach is sometimes affected with vomitings, the lungs with difficulty of breathing, and the heart with palpitations. A painful sensation is often felt, like that of a globe or a ball in the left side of the belly, advancing upwards, aud producing the same uneasiness in the stomach, from which it rises in the throat, occasioning by its pressure, a sense of suffocation; when a degree of fainting comes on, and certain convulsive motions take place, agita- ting the trunk of the body and limbs in various ways; after which, alternate fits of laughter and crying occur, aud a remission then ensues. In some patients, a vio- lent beating pain takes place in some part of the head, as if a nail was driving into it. Sharp pains, likewise, attack the loins, back and bladder, and tlie patient makes an unusual quantity of urine as limpid as water; which is one of the most characteristic signs of the dis- ease. The appearances which take place in this affection. Hysteric Fits. 397 are considerably varied in different persons, and even in the same persons at different times. It differs by having more or fewer of those circumstances above mentioned; by these circumstances being more or less violent, and by the different duration of the whole fit. If the patient be young and of a plethoric habit, blood-letting will be required during the fit; but in delicate constitutions this operation is not advisable. Volatiles, singed feathers, and the like, should be ap- plied to the nostrils; and if the patient can swallow, a tea-spoonful of aether, or tincture of assafoetida, or thirty or forty drops of laudanum, may be given, in a glass of cold water, and repeated in a couple of hours, or soon- er if necessary. Glysters of gruel, to which have been added a tea spoonful or two of laudanum, will also have a good effect. The feet and legs should as soon as possible be put into warm water, and well rubbed with the hand. Cold water sprinkled on the face, and the admission of cool air in the room, are likewise pro- per auxiliaries. During the intermission of the fit, the nervous sys- tem should be strengthened to prevent a recurrence, by the tonic powders, pills, or drops (see Recipe 4, 23 and 19) in their usual doses, after having administered some purgative medicine. Upon the approach of any languor, the patient should instantly take a glass of wine, or a tea-spoonful of lavender, or ten or twelve drops of laudanum in a glass of cold water. Regimen. An attention to diet is highly proper for the removal of this disease. A milk and vegetable diet duly persisted in, will have the most salutary effect, especially in sanguine constitutions. The best drink after dinner is water with the addition of a little good wine, or a smaller quantity of old spirits. Tea should be prohibited altogether, or used spa- ringly. Moderate exercise, particularly riding on horseback, is of the greatest service, as are likewise amusements and cheerful company. • 398 PALSY, Is a disease consisting in a loss of the power of vo- luntary motion, but affecting certain parts of the body only, and by this it is distinguished from apoplexy. In the most violent degrees of palsy, the patient loses both the power of motion, and sense of feeling, either of one side, or the lower half of the body. The first is term- ed hemiplegia, the latter paraplegia. When it affects any particular parts only, as the tongue, the lip, eye- lid, &c. it is termed a local palsy. Symptoms. If this disease be not the effect of apo- plexy, it is often preceded by universal torpor, giddi- ness, a sense of weight or uneasiness in the head, dul- ness of compression, loss of memory, and a sense of coldness in the part about to be affected; there is also, sometimes, tremor, creeping, and pain in the part. Causes. Compression of the brain from any of the causes inducing apoplexy—certain poisons received into the body, as lead, arsenic, &c.—injuries done the spinal marrow. It is also produced in consequence of extreme debility, and old age. Treatment. If palsy arises from the causes pro- ducing apoplexy, it must necessarily be treated in the manner recommended for the cure of that disease, by bleeding copiously in full habits, and keeping the bowels in a laxative state for mauy days. When it arises from diminished energy of the ner- vous system, both internal and external stimulants are required. In this state, a table-spoonful of horse-radish scraped, or the same quantity of mustard-seed swal- lowed three or four times a-day, will have a good ef- fect. The volatile alkali is also of infinite service in large doses. At the same time external stimulants must be duly attended to, such as dry frictions over the part affected, with a flesh brush or rough cloths, and the Hypochondriac Disease. 399 flower of mustard, or flannels impregnated with the oil of turpentine, volatile liniment, or oil of sassafras, to which should be added some of the tincture of cantha- rides. Stimulating the part with nettles has produced good effects, as well as electricity, particularly in local palsies. A seton in the neck, particularly if the patient is affected with giddiness, will afford considerable re- lief, and should not be neglected. Cases of palsy have been cured by a salivation. If the disease is in consequence of a curvature in the back bone, compressing the spinal marrow, a perpetual blister or issue over the part affected, or on each side of the diseased portion of the bone, is the only remedy. A local palsy, particularly when it is confined to one muscle, will generally yield to the application of a blister as near to the part affected as possible. Regimen. In plethoric habits the diet should be of the lightest kind, but quite the contrary in debilitated habits. In such cases the diet should be warm and strengthening, seasoned with spices and aromatic in- gredients, and the drink must be generous wine, mus tard whey, ginger tea, or brandy and water. Flannel worn next the skin is peculiarly proper, so is regular exercise, when not carried to fatigue, or used in a cold damp air. HYPOCHONDRIAC DISEASE, ("Commonly called Vapours, or Low Spirits J. This complaint chiefly occurs in the male, and that at advanced life; and it is confined, for the most part, to persons of a sedentary or studious disposition, espe cially such as have indulged grief or anxiety. Symptoms. Languor, listlessness, or want of reso- lution and activity, with respect to all undertakings— a disposition to seriousness, sadness, and timidity as to all future events—an apprehension of the worst or most unhappy state of them, and therefore often, on 400 Hypochondriac Disease. slight ground, a dread of great evil. Such persons are particularly attentive to the state of their own health, and to the smallest change of feeling in their bodies; from any unusual sensation, perhaps of the slightest kind, they apprehend great danger, and even death itself; and, in respect to all their feelings and appre- hensions, there is, for the most part, unfortunately, the most obstinate belief and persuasion. This diseased state of mind is sometimes attended with symptoms of indigestion, hysterical affections, and sometimes with melancholy; but these are merely ef- fects. Causes. Indolence,—violent passions of the mind —the suppression of customary evacuations—obstruc- tions of some of the viscera, &c. ; but its immediate cause appears to be a loss of energy in the brain, or torpid state of the nervous system. It would appear, , however, that these eomplaints proceed from an origi- nal affection of the stomach. Treatment. The cure of this disease seems to de- pend on exciting the nervous energy which is depress- ed, and that particularly by attending to the state of mind. A constant state of motion should therefore be ad- vised, especially by riding on horseback, and making long journeys which presents new objects to the view. Nothing is more pernicious in this disease, than idle- ness; but in avoiding it, all application to former stu- dies are to be prevented. The present emotions must be favoured and indulged; and though an attempt should be made to withdraw the attention of such pa- tients from themselves, yet their confidence ought first to be gained; and since the persuasion of their own opinion is strong, and the infallibility of their own fears and sensations rooted, however absurd these may be, they require a very nice management.* Raillery * Some Hypochondriacs have fancied themselves miserably Hypochondriac Disease. 401 must never be attempted. From this supposed bodily affection, the mind should be diverted by employments suitable to the circumstances and situation in life, and afflicted in one way, and some in another—some have insisted that they were tea pots, and some that they werfc. town clocks—- this that he had a big belly, and that his legs glass—one that he was extremely ill, and another that he was actually dying. But I have never heard of any of this blue-devil class, whose extrava- gance ever yet came up to the following, which was related to me by my noble-hearted old friend, the late Dr. Stevenson, of Baltimore, whose very name always sounds in my ears as the summary of every manly virtue. This Hypochondriac, who by the bye was a patient of Dr. Ste- venson, alter ringing the change on every mad conceit that ever tormented a crazy brain, would have it at last that he was dead, ac- tually dead. Dr. Stevenson having been sent for one morning in great haste, by the wife of his patient, hastened to his bed side, where he found him stretched out at full length, his hands across his breast, his great toes in contact, his eyes and mouth closely shut, and his looks cadaverous. "Well, Sir, how do you do ? how do you do this morning ?" asked Dr. Stevenson, in his blustering jocular way, approaching his bed. " How do I do," replied the Hypochondriac faintly—" a pretty question to ask a dead man." " Dead!" replied the Doc- tor. " Yes, Sir, dead, quite dead. I died last night about twelve o'clock." Quick as lightning Dr. Stevenson caught his cue, which was to strike him on the string of his character, on which the Doctor happily recollected he was very tender. Having gently put his hand on the forehead of the Hypochondriac, as if to ascertain whether it was cold, and also felt his pulse, he* exclaimed in a doleful note, " Yes, the poor man is dead enough—it is all over with him, and now the sooner he can be buried the better." Then stepping up to his wife, and whispering her not be frightened at the measures he was about to take, he called to the servant, " My boy, your poor master is dead, and the sooner he can be put in the ground the better. Run to Mr. C—m, for I know he always keeps New England coffins by him ready made, and, do you hear, bring a coffin of the largest size, for your master makes a stout corpse, and having died iast night, and the weather warm, he will soon begin to smell." Away went the servant, and soon returned with a proper cof- fin. The wife and family having got their lesson from the Doctor, gathered around him, and howled no little, while they were put- ting the body in the coffin. Presently the pall-bearers, who were quickly provided and let into the secret, started with the Hypo- chondriac for the church-yard. They had not gone far before they were met by one of the towns-people, who having been properly 3 E 102 Hypochondriac Disease. unattended with much emotion, anxiety, or fatigue. Company which engages attention, and is at the same time of a cheerful kind, will always be found of great drilled by the facetious Stevenson, cried out, " Ah Doctor! what poor soul have you got there ?" " Poor Mr. B----," sighed the Doctor—" left us last night." " Great pity he had not left us twenty years ago,'' replied the other, "for he was a bad man.'' Presently another of the towns-men met them with the same question. "And what poor soul have you got there, Doctor?" " Poor Mr. B----," answered the Doctor again, "is dead." " Ah! indeed!" said the other. "And so the devil has got his own at last. " Oh villain !" exclaimed the man in the coffin, " if I was not de\d, how I would pay you for that." Soon after this, while the pall-bearers were resting themselves near the church-yard, another one stepped up with the old ques- tion again, " what poor soul have you got there, Doctor ?" "Poor Mr. B----," he replied, "is gone." " Yes, and to h—II," said the other," for if he is not gone there, I see not what use there is for such a place." Here the dead man bursting off the lid of the coffin, which had been purposely left loose, leapt out exclaiming, "Oh, you villain! I am gone to h—11, ami!—Well, I have come back again to pay such ungrateful rascals as you are." A race was immediately commenced between the dead man and the living, to the petrifying consternation of many of the spectators, at sit^htof a corpse, bursting from the cof- fin, and in all the horrors of the winding sheet, racing through the streets. After having exercised himself in a copious perspi- ration by this fantastic chase, the Hypochondriac was brought home by Dr. Stevenson, freed of all his complaints. And by strengthening food, generous wine, cheerful company, and mode- rate exeicise, was soon restored to perfect health. To demonstrate further, the happy effects of possessing quick wit, " to shoot folly as it flies," 1 will cite another case of Hy- pochondriasm, which came under the care of that philanthropic and learned physician, the late Doctor Crawford, of Baltimore, who in every thing amiable and good, was not unlike his intimate friend, Doctor Stevenson. A certain Hypochondriac, who for a long time fancied himself dying of a liver complaint, was advised by Dr. Crawford, to make a journey to the state of Ohio. After an excursion of three months he returned home, apparently in good health: but upon receiving information of the death of a twin brother who had actually died of a schirrus liver, he immediately took the staggers, and fall- ing down roared out that he was dead, and had, as he always ex- pected, died of a liver complaint. Dr. Crawford being sent for, immediately attended, and asked the Hypochondriac how he could Hypochondriac Disease. 403 service. The occasional reading of entertaining books, or playing at any game, in which some skill is required, and where the stake is not an object of much anxiety, if not too long protracted, will further assist in divert- ing the mind from itself. The symptoms of indigestion, and hysteric com- plaints, that so frequently attend this state of mind, al- though the effect, rather than the cause, are objects of practice; inasmuch as they tend to aggravate and real- ise the false apprehensions of the patient. These se- condary affections require the same mode of treatment as recommended for indigestion and the hysteric dis- ease. The warm bath is peculiarly beneficial in this complaint, and when the system becomes somewhat invigorated, the cold bath may be employed with ad- vantage, provided there exists no obstructions in the bowels.—From an acid acrimony generally prevailing in the stomach, the rust of steel, or filings of iron, in doses of ten grains thrice a-day, is the most salutary medicine of all the tonics. Magnesia and lime water are useful on the same account. Regimen. A proper diet constitutes an essential part, in the treatment of this malady. In general, light animal food is what alone agrees with such patients; for there are few, if any vegetables, which do not prove be dead, seeing he could talk. But still he would have it that he was actually dead. Whereupon the sagacious Doctor exclaimed, " O yes, the gentleman is certainly dead, and it is more than pro- bable, his liver was the death of him. However, to ascertain the fact, I will hasten to cut him open before putrefaction takes place." —And thereupon getting a carving knife, and whetting it as a butcher would to open a dead caif, he stepped up to him and be- gan to open his waistcoat, when the Hypochondriac, horribly frightened, leaped up with the agility of a rabbit, and crying out, "Murder! Murder! Murder!" ran off with a speed that would have defied a score of Doctors to catch him. After running a con- siderable distance, until he was almost exhausted, he halted; and not finding the Doctor at his heels, soon became composed. From that period this gentleman was never known to complain of his liver; nor had he for better than twenty years afterwards any symptom of this disease. 404 Cramp. flatulent in their bowels. Acids are particularly inju- rious. All malt liquors, except porter, are apt to excite too high a fermentation iu the stomach; aiul wines, for the most part, are liable to the same objections. If an exception can be made in favour of any, ii is good oid Maderia, if it can be obtained, which not only promotes. digestion, and invigorates the concoctive powers, but acts, immediately, as a generous and wholesome cor- dial. The use of spirituous liquors is not to he recom- mended as a habitual resource, though they may be taken occasionally, in a moderate quantity, diluted with water. Tea and coffee, though hurtful 10 people i'ith bad digestion, are often useful, however, to the hypo- chondriac. Moderate exercise, we have already ob- served, is indispensible in the cure of this complaint; and it cannot be taken any way with so much advan- tage, as in long journies, when convenient, accompa- nied with such circumstances, as may convert them into an agreeable amusement. CRAMP. A painful spasm of the calf of the leg or muscles of the toes, and sometimes of the stomach. Causes. Sudden stretching of the limbs—advanced pregnacy—acidity—indigestion, &c. Treatment. A cramp of the calf of the leg is best relieved by standing up, which simple act, by throwing the weight of the body on the toes, forcibly extends the muscles, and thus takes off the spasm. If the cramp arises from acidity or indigestion, give every night a pill composed of half a grain of opium, with six grains each, of rhubarb and prepared chalk, and administer ten grains of the rust of steel, morning and noon. A cramp of the stomach is best treated by an infu- sion of red pepper, (see Materia Medica,) or a large dose of aether or laudanum, accompnied with friction on the part, either by a flesh brush, or flannel. When Tetany, or Locked Jaw. 405 these fail, a very copious bleeding will sometimes remove the spasm, after which the patient must be purged. Persons subject to the cramp in the leg may prevent it by wearing stockings in bed, and occasionally rub- bing the part with camphorated oil. According to vul- gar authority, sulphur grasped in the hand, is good to cure, and carried in the pocket to prevent cramp. TETANY, OR LOCKED JAW. Symptoms. A rigid and painful contraction of all or several of the muscles. Its first symptoms is a stiff- ness in the back of the neck, increasing to pain, ex- tending next to the root of the tongue, then shooting into the breast, and lastly seizing the back. Causes. Wounds of the head or extremities—-and punctures of the slightest kind, as running a splinter under the nail, or into the toe or finger. It is equally induced from cold or moisture, parti- cularly when sudden vicissitudes prevail, or sleeping on damp ground. Treatment. Give on the first appearance of this disease, two or three tea-spoonfuls of laudanum or three or four grains of opium, to be repeated every two hours or oftener, with a half pint or more of wine or strong spirits and water, between the doses. These remedies should be increased, and carried to the utmost extent, as the symptoms may indicate. If these should fail to relieve the spasm, give from twenty to thirty drops of the tincture of (see Recipe 56) cantharides every hour,until-it produces stranguary or a difficulty of urine. As soon as this occurs, it must be discontinued, and flaxseed or marsh mallow tea, or barley water drank freely, and some of it injected by way of glysters, to which may be occasionally added, a tea-spoonful or two of laudanum. Cold water poured suddenly on the shoulders has 406 Palpitation of the Heart. sometimes done admirable service, and which may al ways be looked for, if the patient, after being wiped dry and put to bed, feel a kindly glow over the system; otherwise the cold bath should be laid aside, and the warm bath in its place, accompanied with diaphoretic medicines, as the anodyne sudorific drops, (see Recipe 17) in larger doses than usual for promoting perspira- tion. On the decline of the spasm, bark with wine and opiates at bed time should he given until the patient's health is reinstated. (See Tobacco, Materia Medica). In every stage of the disease, it is of importance to keep the bowels open, by the usual stimulating purga- tives or glysters. Tetanus has oftentimes yielded to a salivation. When local injuries have been the cause of this dis- order, the wound should be dilated and filled with common salt, Spanish flies, or turpentine, and after- wards dressed with warm poultices until the wound be brought to a state of good digestion. If a wounded finger or toe be the cause of this horrible malady, it ought instantly to be cut off. PALPITATION OF THE HEART. Symptoms. In this disease, the motion of the heart is performed with more rapidity, and generally with greater force than usual, which may not only be felt by the hand, but often be perceived by the eye, and even heard; there is frequently a difficulty of breathing, a purplish hue of the cheeks and lips, and a variety of anxious and painful sensations: it sometimes termi- nates in sudden death. Causes. A morbid enlargement of the heart itself, and of the large vessels—organic affections—an here- ditary disposition—plethora—debility or a morbid condition of the system—mal-confirmation of the chest, and many of the causes inducing fainting. Treatment. The exciting causes must be avoid- ed or removed, if they are within our power. Hiccup. 407 When the disease arises from plethora, and the ac- tion of the heart is violent, bleediug is indispensible, which should be followed by a cooling cathartic, and afterwards the tincture of digitalis, in doses from ten to twenty drops thrice a-day, by lessening the action of the arterial system, will effect a cure. When there is reason to believe this affection is in consequence of debility, the solution of arsenic in its usual doses, taken for some time, is a certain remedy. When the nervous system is affected, small doses of sether or laudanum will be found very serviceable. Those who are subject to a palpitation of the heart should carefully avoid violent exercise, irregular pas- sions, and all circumstances that may tend to increase the action of the sanguiferous system. HICCUP, Is a spasmodic affection of the diaphragm, and sometimes of the stomach, from the irritation of acidi- ty, poisons, &c. Treatment. When acidity is pointed out to be the cause, give the absorbent mixture (see Recipe 8) or twenty drops of hartshorn with a tea spoonful of magnesia in a cup of mint tea, or a spoonful or two of milk and lime water; and to prevent its recurrence, take ten grains of the rust of steel thrice a-day. When occasioned by poisons or improper food, an emetic will be proper. If the spasm continues violent, resort to small doses of jether or laudanum, or the camphorated julep. (See Recipe 12). Preserved damsons have been found of excellent use in this complaint, in the quantity of a tea-spoonful every hour or oftener. In weak stomachs oppressed with indigestible food, a glass of good wine or spirit and water often relieves. iEther applied externally to the stomach on a soft linen rag with a warm hand to confine it, is a good remedy; so is the application of a blister in obstinate cases. A 408 ! Night Mare—Asthma. sudden alarm has often succeeded in curing this affec- tion, after every other means had failed. NIGHT MARE. Symptoms. An alarming oppression of weight about the breast, with dread of suffocation. Causes. Late and excessive suppers—great fatigue —drunkenness, or sleeping on the back. Treatment. If the patient be of a plethoric habit, bleed, purge, and use a spare diet. And when the disease is the consequence of debility and weak nerves, the tonic medicines, as steel, bark or columbo in their usual doses, are proper. Prevention. The patient should sleep on a hard bed, which invites to frequent changes of sides, eat light suppers, which with due exercise, and cheerful- ness during the day, form the best preventive remedies. ASTHMA, Is often hereditary. When attended with an ex- pectoration of phlegm, it is termed moist or humoral; and when with little or none, dry or nervous asthma. Symptoms. It generally attacks at night with a sense of tightness across the breast, and impeded res- piration. The person thus taken, if in a horizontal situation, is obliged immediately to get into an erect posture, and solicits a free and cold air. In violent paroxysms, speaking is difficult and uneasy. Treatment. On the first attack of asthma, bleed- ing is serviceable, if the pain in the chest and difficulty of breathing be considerable ; but less so afterwards, since ,.he disease has a natural tendency to take off the plethoric state of the system. Heart-Burn. 4.Q0 When the fit comes on in consequence of a loaded stomach, an emetic will be found serviceable. A cup of strong coffee has oftentimes afforded great relief; and when the disease proceeds from the irritation of mucus, a spoonful or two of vinegar in a glass of cold water is a good remedy. As in other spasmodic affections, the most powerful antispasmodics, as laudanum and aether, should be re- sorted to. These may be given conjointly or separately, but in large doses, to allay the violence of the fit, or to prevent its accession. Thus half a tea-spoonful of lau- danum, or one of aether, to be repeated in an hour, if necessary, in a glass of cold water, has frequently re- lieved the symptoms, or when taken at the approach of the fit, have suppressed it altogether. In every stage of this disease, the greatest attention must be paid to keep the bowels open by mild laxatives or glysters. According to Dr. Cutler, the emetic weed, (see Ma- teria Medica) is the most certain remedy in this com- plaint. Regimen. A light diet, easily digestible and not fla- tulent, is always proper for asthmatic persons; and du- ring the fit, cool drinks and fresh air are proper. It will always be found serviceable to wear a flannel shirt and to keep the feet warm. Prevention. During the abscence of the paroxysm, tonic medicines and the cold bath, together with mode- rate exercise, will be most efficacious in obviating its recurrence. HEART-BURN. Symptoms. A burning sensation about the pit of the stomach, with acid eructations, flatulence, and some- times retching to vomit. Causes. A relaxed state of the stomach, generating various acidities and acrimonies from food too long de- 3F 410 Indigestion, or tained. As it is often a symptom of indigestion, the cause may be found under the head of the following chapter. Treatment. The first indication is to remove the unpleasant sensations existing, which may be done by taking either a small tea-spoonful of salt of tartar, or a table-spoonful of magnesia in a glass of mint-water or tea, or a wine-glass full of each, of lime-water and new milk; or a tumbler of mucilage of gum arabic or flax- seed tea taken cold, with a small piece of liquorice ball dissolved in it. But to cure the disease effectually, after an emetic, give ten grains of the rust of steel thrice a- dayfor some time, and keep the bowels moderately op*Mi with magnesia or the root of rhubarb chewed occasion- ally, or the tincture of it, (See Recipe 52,) taken in small doses. If acrid bile be the cause of heart-burn, a tea-spoonful of the spirits of nitre in a glass of the infusion of columbo gives ease, and combined with elixir vitriol, in their usual doses, ensures the cure. In this disease, great benefit has been experienced and sometimes a complete cure effected, by the appli- cation of a blister to the pit of the stomach. To render it the more efficacious, the blister should be kept run- ning for at least a week. Regimen. The diet of those who are subject to this eomplaint, should consist chiefly of animal food; and all fermented or acid liquors and greasy aliment must be strictly avoided. A glass of brandy, or gin and wa- ter, after dinner, is the best beverage. Moderate exer- cise is particularly beneficial. INDIGESTION, OR WEAKNESS OF THE STOMACH. Symptoms. Want of appetite—nausea—sometimes vomiting—heart-burn—costiveness—distensions of the stomach, particularly upon taking a small quantity of food—frequent risings into the throat of a sharp acid iicpior, aud eructations of imperfectly digested matter. Weakness of the Stomach. 411 Causes. Errors and irregularities in the mode of liv- ing—cold and moisture—intense study—depressing passions—and abuse of tobacco, opium or spirits. Treatment. If the patient complain of oppressed stomach, with nausea, give a vomit of ipecacuanha; and afterwards the columbo in substance or tincture, in a glass of strong mint-water, three or four times a-day, now and then interposing a dose of the tincture of rhu- barb, (see Recipe 52,) to prevent costiveness. A mix- ture of mustard seed with the columbo is of great uti- lity, particularly when acidity and flatulence prevail; as also lime-water in doses of a wine glass full thrice a-day. If the disease, as is too often the case, has been brought on by hard drinking, its only radical cure is to be found in temperance, cordial nourishment, exer- cise, and the use of elixir vitriol with bark, or the tonic powder or pills (See Recipe 4 & 23.) When the patient complains of a pain in the stomach, resort to the remedies for heart-burn, and use friction with a flesh brush or flannel over the part. Should this fail, give a dose of aether or laudanum; and in case of costiveness, administer an injection/ This treatment will generally palliate the pain, after which endeavour to restore the tone of the stomach by tonic medicines, as bark, columbo, steel, &c. The costiveness peculiar to persons in this complaint, roust be removed by medicines which gently solicit the intestines to a more regular discharge of their contents; and this effect is best obtained by flour of sulphur, mag- nesia, or rhubarb chewed every day, and only the saliva swallowed. Strong purgatives are unfit to correct habits of costiveness, as they weaken the action of the intes- tines, and thereby increase the complaint when the evacuation is over. But nothing can so effectually obviate this affection, as a constant custom most sacredly observed, of going every morning to the privy, although you have not a natural inclination. Should indigestion arise from a deficiency of bile, life Colic. give morning and noon about twenty grains of ox gall, or the same quantity of columbo, when the former can- not be obtained. In some cases, particularly of old age, the digestion is injured by putrid matter, from decayed teeth, con- stantly mixed with the saliva; and thence affecting (be organs of taste, and destroying the appetite. To correct this, wash the mouth frequently with a solution of alum or lime water, or which is preferable, with fine charcoal powder, (see Recipe 5) diffused in warm water. Regimen. The diet should consist chiefly of animal food well chewed, and taken in small quantities, follow- ed with a glass of brandy and water, or good wine.— Frequent friction with a flesh brush or flannel over the region of the stomach and belly will be found exceed- ingly beneficial. After taking a puke, we have known a milk diet, persevered in for several weeks, effectually cure indi- gestion. This article, almost always offends the stomach at first; but, by continuance, becomes agreeable to it, and effects a cure,. The milk should be new, and free from acidity. Early rising and moderate exercise in the morning air can hardly be enough recommended, inasmuch as they contribute so happily to restore the tone of the stomach, as also of the whole system. It is impossible to furnish a plan of regimen adapted to every constitution and habit, but if the patient will but pay due attention to what benefits, and what in- jures him, wisely regulating his mode of living by the information thus obtained, his present maladies will soon disappear, and their future recurrence be for ever inhibited. COLIC. Symptoms. A violent pain in the bowels originating from constriction, attended with costiveness arid some- times vomiting. The pain is commonly seated about the Colic. 418 uavel, and resembles various sensations, as of burn- ing, twisting, boring, or a ligature drawn very tight across the intestines. It comes on without fever, but which soon follows, especially if inflammation take place in the intestine affected, and then all the symptoms become greatly aggravated. Causes. Flatulence—indigestible aliment taken in- to the stomach—acrid bile—hardened faeces—costive- ness—worms—drinking too freely of acids—intermit- tents improperly cured—sudden check of perspiration— and the application of poisons, such as lead, &c. &c. Treatment. When the disease evidently arises from wind (as may be known by a rumbling in the bowels, by pressure on the belly, or by the ease ex- perienced from a discharge of it, or by the patient's ly- ing on the belly,) a glass of brandy, gin, strong mint- water, or tea made of ginger or calamus, will generally give relief. But it is only in colic from wind that these hot spirituous and carminative substances are to be used, for in all other cases they do great harm, and often destroy life. Where the pain is fixed and acute, bleeding is ad- visable, particularly in full habits, to prevent inflam- mation. Next the action of the intestines must be ex- cited by brisk purgatives, such as castor oil, calomel and jalap, or salts, senna and manna, aided by stimu- lating glysters. If these means prove inefficacious, im- mediate recourse must be had to the warm bath, in which the patient should remain as long as he can bear it. Where a bathing vessel cannot be procured, flan- nels wrung out of hot water should be frequently ap- plied over the belly as warm as can be endured. To- bacco glysters, two drachms of the leaves in a decoc- tion, maybe administered; and when the pain continues obstinate, a large blister ought to be applied over the If the above remedies prove ineffectual, opium and calomel iu large doses should be employed. To their 414 Colic. exceeding utility in obstinate colic, I can subscribe, from numberless successful experiments, made by my- self.* Eminent modern physicians advise, that when all other means are despaired of, the patient should be placed erect on the floor, and a pail of cold water thrown on his feet and legs; this, though apparently a droll remedy, yet certainly deserves to be tried in desperate Cases, especially as we are assured from the best au- thority, that it has often succeeded : it acts, as is said, by occasioning an immediate evacuation of the bowels. For the vomiting which often occurs in this disease, common garden mint, peppermint, (see Materia Me- dica) or auy other spices boiled in wine or spirits, and flannels wrung out of it, and laid hot on the pit of the sfomach, are excellent, especially if a little laudanum * How I came in possession of this admirable secret, both jus- tice and gratitude require that I should explain. In the year 1801, I spent several weeks in Georgetown, Co- lumbia district. While there, I was requested to visit a Mr. James Turner, who had long been indisposed with the ague and fever; but then suffering under a severe attack of the colic, accompanied with most obstinate costiveness. For three or four days the best aperients, as calomel, castor oil, salts, senna and manna, and in- jections, with the warm bath, and blisters, were used, but without effect. Being much alarmed about his situation, I stated the c ise to my very excellent friend, the ingenious and learned Doctor John Weems, who advised the immediate use of six grains of opium, with twenty of calomel, in a bolus, and one third of that dose every two hours afterwards, if the first failed to operate. I expressed my fears that so large a dose of opium might do harm. " No Sir," replied he, " 'tis small doses that do harm; give large doses, large enough to take off the spasms, and you save the pa- tient." I still retained my repugnance; however, recollecting his great medical attainments, and the desperate case .of my patient, I ac- ceded to his advice, and scarcely was the second dose swallowed, before it began to operate like a charm. The spasm w^s taken off the intestines—copious foetid evacuations succeeded, and our patient was presently restored. This is but one of many extraordinary cures performed by Doctor John Weems. The citizens of Georgetown and Wash- ington, will long lament the early fate of this gentleman, of whom for ardent friendship, and medical sagacity, I can truly say—his equal I have seldom seen, his superior never. Cholera Morbus, or Vomiting and Purging. 415 be added. If acrid bile be thrown up, the saline mix- ture, or infusion of columbo should be given; and when vomiting is attended with cold extremities, a blister to the back often relieves this symptom. Vomiting in this disease, is also frequently removed by a blister on the pit of the stomach. Regimen. Evacuations being once produced, mu- cilaginous drinks aud light diet should be strictly ad- hered to, and the bowels kept moderately open by mild .purgatives, giving opiates at bed time if necessary, un- til the soreness and distension of the belly go off, and no hardened faeces appearTn the stool. When recovered, the patient should cautiously avoid whatever may lead to a relapse, especially acid and flatulent food, costivenesl, and taking cold. CHOLERA MORBUS, OR VOMITING AND PURGING. Causes. It is generally occasioned by a redun- dancy and acrimony of the bile—indigestible food or such as becomes rancid or acid on the stomach—poi- 80ns—strong acrid purges or vomits—passions of the mind, or a sudden check of perspiration. Treatment. Endeavour as early as possible to expel the acrimonious matter which affects the alimen- tary canal, by large and repeated draughts of chicken water, beef tea, barley or rice water, or thin gruel, &c. which should also be given freely in glysters. After having cleansed the stomach and intestines, give a tea- spoonful of aether, or thirty or forty drops of laudanum, in mint-water or tea, and repeat the dose every hour or oftener, as the frequency of the evacuatious or the ur- gency of the pain may require. If the laudanum be rejected from the stomach, give opium in pills of half a grain, repeated every half hour, It or every hour at farthest, until the disease be checked,, In general this mode of treatment is sufficient; but if the patient be of a plethoric habit, he ought to lose blood immediately; and in case the pain continues vio. 416 Diarrhoea, or Looseness. lent, be placed in the warm bath; should the bathing vessel not be at hand, peppermint stewed in spirit*, or cloths wrung out'of hot spirits or decoctions of camo- mile, hops or lavender, ought to be applied to the sto- mach and belly, and often renewed. If acrid bile be the eause of this complaint, the in- fusion of columbo (see Recipe 39) must be given every half hour or oftener, in large doses; and in case of great heat, a small quantity of nitre in the patient's drink, will be proper. When the disease originates from food, either very acid or putrid, besides plentiful dilution with the above drinks, give castor oil, salts or rhubarb; and if from poisons swallowed, the patient should drink largely of pure sweet oil, melted butter, or mucilaginous drinks, with small portions of salt of tartar. Regimen. As no disease more suddenly weakens the patient, he should take freely of a light but cordial and nourishing diet, occasionally assisting his appetite, if deficient, with elixir vitriol, tincture of bark, or in- fusion of columbo. If he cannot sleep well, an opiate at bed-time may be taken, until his strength and spirits return. DIARRH(EA, or looseness. Symptoms. A purging without sickness or pain, succeeded by loss of appetite. Causes. Acid or putrid aliments—obstructed per- spiration—acrid bile—drinking bad water—worms— violent passions, or a translation of morbid matter of other diseases to the bowels. Treatment. If offending matter be lodged in the stomach, give an emetic, and opiate at bed time; and on the succeeding day, if the disease is not removed, a dose of rhubarb or castor oil, followed by forty drops of laudanum at night. If the disease be in consequence of cold, and the skin be dry, the antimonial mixture (see Recipe 6) exhibit- Diarrhoea, or Looseness. 417 ed in small doses during the day, and the anodyne su- dorific bolus or draught (see Recipe 20 and 18,) repeat- ed at bed-time, with a flannel shirt, will generally effect a cure. When bile is indicated to be the cause, the columbo in decoction or powder, will be found admirable; and if accompanied with sour and debilitated stomach, the tonic powders or pills, (see Recipe 4 and 26) with exer- cise, are the best remedies. Where bad water is in fault, it should instantly be changed or corrected by wine, brandy, or porter; remembering that in all cases of continued evacuation, laudanum may be given at night after the stomach and bowels have been cleared. When worms induce this disease, which may be known from the sliminess of the stools, and bad breath, such medicines as .we calculated to destroy them must be employed. Afterwards a wine-glass full of lime- water, with an equal quantity of new milk, will be proper three times a-day. In obstinate cases, no medicine is superior to the continued use of the vitriolic solution (see Recipe 7) with an opiate at bed-time. The nausea which this medicine produces is very disgusting, but from that circumstance much of its efficacy is derived. Should a common dose fail to nauseate, it should be increased until that symptom is effected. The blackberry, (see Materia Medica) conjoined with a small portion of cinnamon, ginger, calamus, or some aromatic, is also a valuable rem.dy. Regimen. The diet should consist of arrow root, sago, rice milk, and the white meats. The drinks may be of the diluting kind, as already enumerated— genuine wine may also be allowed, if it does not turn sour on the stomach. Moderate exercise is peculiarly useful, and nothing facilitates the cure more thau flan- nel next the skin.* * This was the « Angel in disguise," that opened the prison doors of this uneasy life, and gave happy freedom to my ever- revered father. Colonel Jesse Ewell, of Virginia. My sister Char- *3G 418 DROPSY. A collection of water, in some part of the body. Symptoms. In common dropsies the legs usually swell, and a pit remains for some time after pressing the flesh—the appetite abates—the face is bloated— urine little—thirst great, with slow fever, shortness of breath, and lassitude. Causes. Excessive drinking—poor diet-—protract- lotte celebrated his virtues in an Elegy, the following extracts from which I beg permission of the reader to insert, as a small tribute of gratitude to the best of parents, and but a faint portrai- ture of his worth. " Early he woo'd fair virtue for his guide, And rarely wandered from her guardian side; By him the needy never were denied, He soooth'd their sorrows, and their wants supplied. He mourn'd the contests of the neighbouring poor, And opened wide his peace-restoring door, Where soon his wisdom taught their strifes to cease, Revived their loves, and sent them home in peace. Tlie slaves whom Heaven to his care consigned, Ne'er felt the terrors of a slavish mind, Well fed, warm clad, to moderate labours prest, They loved their fetters, and their bondage blest. As friend—as father—who his praise can tell ? Where first begin, or with due raptures swell ? To check, our wrong, his frowns were ever light, And sweet his smiles whenever we chose the right. And when at length the awful hour drew nigh, To waft his spirit to its native sky, Such in ihat moment as in all the past, " O bless my children, Heaven !" was still his last. Now 'scaped from earth, with God he dwells above, And shares with angels in their feasts of love. Then come, blest faith, come hasten to my aid, Lest grief profane disturb his happy shade ; Te^ch me to bow submissive—^nd adore, The unerring counsels of eternal power, Which gives in love or still in love denies, And makes e'en "crosses blessings in disguise." And thou, fond memory, still my sire recal, Record his virtues, imitate them ail- That joys like his my mortal life may prove, And peace eternal crown my state above." Dropsy. 419 ed intermittents—scirrhus tumours of the abdominal viscera, but particularly of the liver, and in fine, what- ever may occasion too free a secretion of the serous fluids in the cellular membrane, or any cavity of the body, and at the same time diminish the action of the absorbent vessels. Treatment. Like other diseases, the treatment must vary according to circumstances. In every form of dropsy, if there be a hard, full and quick pulse, blood-letting constitutes one of the principal remedies, and must be repeated onee or twice a week, until the action of the arterial system is considerably diminished. Brisk purges, as calomel and jalap in full doses, arc indispensible, and ought always to succeed bleeding, and be given as often as the patient's strength will ad- mit, followed by the anodyne sudorific bolus or draught at bed-time. (See Recipe 20 and 18). While feverish symptoms continue, nitre is extremely useful in this disease, in dnses of ten grains four or five times a-day, or in sueh quantities as the stomach may bear, but should never be continued longer than two weeks, if no good effects result from its use. Another valuable medicine for lessening the action of the pulse, and thereby increasing absorption, is the fox-glove, (see Materia Medica) which may be given in powder, de- coction or tincture. The latter is the most convenient form, and in doses of twenty or thirty drops in a wine- glass of mint water, may be taken twice or thrice a- day, until the water is removed, or the inflammatory disposition taken off. If this quantity do not induce sickness, or produce any evident good effect, the dose must be gradually increased to forty or sixty drops or farther. Cream of tartar, from half an ounce to an ounce dis- solved in a pint or more of water, is a pleasant and useful drink, and this taken early in the morniug has frequently succeeded in evacuating the water. As soon as the action of the pulse becomes lessened, it is necessary to strengthen the system and increase 420 Gout. the digestive powers, by the exhibition of steel alone, or the tonic powders, pills or drops (Recipe 4, 23, & 19) thrice a-day duriug ihe intervals of purging. In weak habits, accompanied with obstruction of the vis- cera and feeble pulse, stimulating medicines, as calo- mel in small doses to excite pf\alism, and afterwards tonic medicines, with a generous diet, form the most valuable remedy. The juice of leeks in doses of a spoonful twice a-day is said to have performed sur- prising cures; at any rate, in this state of the disease the patient can hardly make too free a use of the acrid stimulating vegetables, as garlic, onions, &c. Tight bandages applied in the morning round the belly and limbs, have their good effects in preventing the increase or return of dropsical swelling. Friction with a flesh brush or flannel every morning from the extremities upwards, is of the greatest service, particu- larly if the skin be previously moistened with the vo- latile liniment, composed of equal parts of soap, spirit and vinegar. Regimen. During the inflammatory disposition, or when there is a preternatural heat on the skin, or much action in the pulse, the diet should be light and easy of digestion. In the other state, when the patient is weak and feeble, it should be of the most nourishing kind, with a liberal use of wine. Exercise is of the greatest importance when not carried to fatigue. In the lowest stage of the disease, swinging or riding in a carriage are most proper; but as soon as the patient's strength will admit of it, riding on horseback will be found most beneficial. GOUT, Is often hereditary, but generally indolence and luxury are the hated parents of this disease, which righteous heaven has marked with such severity, that, like the leprosy of Naaman it is hardly ever curable.* * An English nobleman, after twenty years of riotous liviog> Gout 431 But though art has not often succeeded to cure the gout, yet it has discovered a variety of means to shorten the fits, and render them much more tolerable. Symptoms. The gout mostly affects the joints, but the viscera are not exempt from its ravages. It some- times comes on suddenly, passing from one part of the body to the other, in the twinkling of an eye; but ge- nerally is preceded by indigestion, flatulency, loss of appetite, unusual coldness of the feet and legs, with frequent numbness, sense of pricking, and cramp. These symptoms take place several days before the paroxysm comes on, but commonly the day preceding it, the appetite becomes greater than usual. The next morning, the patient is roused from his sleep, by an excruciating pain in the great toe, or ball of the foot, resembling the gnawing of a little dog. Treatment. No matter what part of the body this disease first seizes, the lancet will be required in every case where there is an increased action of the pulse, to take off the inflammatory disposition. The extent to which the blood-letting must be carried, can only be ascertained by the violence of the disease, and the sex and constitution of the patient. In this, as in all inflam- matory fevers, the bowels ought to be kept open freely by Hxative medicines, as castor oil, sulphur, cream of tartar, rhubarb, senna, jalap, or calomel. Indeed a fit of the gout may be oftentimes entirely, and almost instan- awoke one morning in the torments of the gout. As he lay writhing with pain, his servant ran up stairs to him with great joy in his countenance : " O ! sir, good news ! good rews ! there is a famous gout doctor below, who says he will venture his ears, he can cure your honour in a week." " Ah ! that is good news indeed, Tom; well, run my good boy, and put up his carriage and horses, and treat the doctor like a prince." " O sir, the gentleman has no car- riage and horses; I believe he walked a foot!" "Walk a foot! what! cure the gout and Widk a foot! go down Tom, go down, and instantly drive the rascal out of the house;'set the dogs upon him, do you hear ? the lying varlet! why if he could cure the gout he might ride in a richer carriage than his majesty.'* 423 Gout taneously removed by active purging. Even drastic purges need not be dreaded in this disease. Nitre with diluting liquors, given in such quantities as to excite a gentle perspiration, are of great utility in the inflammatory stage of the disease. After the ac- tion of the pulse is somewhat reduced by evacuations, blisters over the pained parts are greatly to be relied on. As soon as the inflammatory state of the gout has subsided, stimulants and tonic medicines, as bark and steel, are the best remedies. Laudanum, aether, good French brandy and aroma tics, as calamus, ginger, Vir- ginia snake-root, and red pepper, (see Materia Medica) in the form of teas, are all exceedingly useful in this feeble state of the disease, especially when it affects the stomach or bowels. Besides these internal remedies, frictions on the stomach and bowels, or the application of cloths wrung out of hot spirits or water, over the pained parts, and sinapisms to the feet, should be em- ployed whenever the gout attacks the head, lungs, bowels or stomach. Gentlemen long in the habits of intimacy with this disease, should remember thatit is of immense rudeness, and ready on the slightest provocation to quit the toes and knuckles, and seize on the very stomach and bow- els of-Its best friends. They should therefore be con- stantly on their guard, and keep always by them a vial of aether or laudanum, or a case of good old French brandy;* the latter of which is admirable for chasing the gout from the stomach. * For lack of this ammunition, the gallant Wayne was cut off long before " his eye was dim, or his natural heat abated." Lute in December, 1796, he embarked at Detroit for Presque Isle, hut not without his usual supply of brandy, which, however, w.«s all lost, through his servant's carelessness in upsetting his case. On the passage he caught cold, which brought on a violent attack of the gout in the stomach; and, for want of his usual remedy, he suffered the most excruciating torture until tie reached Presque Isle, where he died early in January, 1797. H's body was deposit- ed in the centre of the fort, to show the children of fu ure days, the grave of him who so bravely defended their liberties. Filial piety has since removed it to his native state, where it now sleeps with the dust of his fathers. I am Gout. 483 The white hellebore (see Materia Medica,) is highly extolled as a remedy in this distressing disease. Regimen. The diet should be regulated according to the siate of the patient. If feverish, and of a pletho- ric habit, the lightest diet ought to be used. If debilita- ted and of a relaxed habit, generous diet should be allowed. Exercise, although painful at first, must be freely taken. Prevention. If the person be plethoric, and has been accustomed to drink freely of wine, and eat hear- tily, be should gradually diminish the quantity of the aliment; particularly every spring and fall, as the dis- ease is more liable to recur at those seasons than at any other time. But in debilitating habits predisposed to the gout, a stimulating diet is most proper, assisted with the use of the rust of steel, bitters or bark. In every case, costiveness should be avoided; and fiannel worn next to the skin is peculiarly proper. Nothing, however, prevents the disease, more than temperance and exer- cise.* I am happy to acknowledge, that for this anecdote, I am indebt- ed to the politeness of my worthy friend Captain Hugh M'Call, of Savannah. * The story of the wealthy Mr. Palmer in the reign of George I. though well known to many, is yet so apropos to our subject, that I cannot deny myself the wish to relate it. Young Mr. Palmer received from his father, what the London merchants call a plum, (i. e.) a round 100,000/. of which he contrived to make such" good use," that by the time he was forty years of age, he was torn to pieces t y the gout. His physicians advised him to try the virtues of a sea voyage wiih the soft balmy Ar of Montpelier. He set out, but on his passage up the Mediterranean, was captured by an Alge- rine corsair, who took him to Morocco, and sold him for a slave. He was bought by a farmer, who carried him into the country, and set him to hard labour, allowing bim nothing better than brown bread and dates, and even of that hardly enough to support him. His only drink was water, and his only bed a plank. In a lew weeks every gouty symptom disappeared, and he recovered his health, with an uncommon portion of activity. These first of blessings continued with him all the time he was in captivity, (two years,) at the expiration of which, he was ran- 421 VENEREAL DISEASE. The venereal disease is of two species : the one, a local affection of the genital organs, termed Gonorrhoea, or Clap; and the other, a general or constitutional com- plaint, termed Syphilis, or Pox. THE GONORRHOEA, Of which we shall first treat, is an inflammation of the mucous membrane, lining the urethra in men, and the vagina in women; seated in the male about the frsenum of the penis, and in the female a small distance up the vagina; but in its progress communicating to all the surrounding parts, and producing a variety of painful sensations. Symptoms. A discharge of mucus, at first white, but soon turning of a yellow or greenish appearance— an acute or scalding pain in making water, with most indecent erections of the penis termed chordee, very painful, and sometimes followed by a discharge of blood.—At times the inflammation spreads to the con- tiguous parts, occasioning stranguary, swelled testicle, swelling in the groins similar to buboes, or a contrac- tion and thickening of the fore-skin; which when drawn over the head or nut of the yard, is termed phy- mosis, and paraphymosis when retracted behind it. When these symptoms dance their attendance to the catastrophe, the clap may be said to flourish in its full bloom, and the patient finds himself fairly seated on the stool of repentance. somed by his friends.—On his return to England, he was hardly known by his acquaintances, so great was the change which tem- perance and exercise has wrought upon him_____But alas ! for the lack of fortitude, he soon relapsed into his old passion for the rich dishes,flowing glasses, and soft couches of epicurism. His system soon became bloated and relaxed; and his ancient foe, the gout, returned, and killed him in a short time. Venereal Disease. 425 The appearance of a clap in the female is pretty much the same as in the male, allowing for the differ- ence of the parts. The disease in them is always mild- er, insomuch, that at times there is no other symptom but the discharge, which is often mistaken for thefluor albus. They are, however, more subject to excoriations of the parts than the men, and, indeed, when the in- flammation is considerable, it often extends to the ure- thra, and occasions great pain. Treatment. As the disease is local, topical appli- cations in the form of injections become necessary. The patient should therefore withont delay employ one of the injections, (see Recipe 44 & 45) which in irritable habits, may be a little weakened, and the strength gra- dually increased as the inflammation abates. Indeed, when the inflammation is very considerable, it is better, at first, to inject with sweet oil or mucilage of sassafras, (see Materia Medica) and in such cases, the testicles ought to be suspended by a bandage, and the antiphlo- gistic regimen strictly adhered to, particularly in taking freely of mucilaginous drinks, as flaxseed tea, barley water, or the mucilage of gum arabic, and obviating cos- tiveness, by small and repeated doses of cream of tartar. Whichsoever of the injections is used, it must be thrown up the urethra six or eight times a-day, immediately after making water, and with a syringe that works ea- sily, that it may not hurt or inflame the parts. For the chordee, which occurs mostly in the night, give a dose of laudanum at bed-time, and rub the guilty member well, night and morning, with mercurial oint- ment, or the camphorated liniment. Should a hemor. rhage supervene, it may be removed by rest, and im- mersing the part often with cold vinegar and water, or lead water, of the ordinary strength, of which the pa- tient may throw a lade up. When the inflammatory symptoms of gonorrhoea in- crease to a violent degree, a swelling or inflammation of one or both testicles sometimes supervenes. The same consequence is often produced by astringent injections 3 H 426 Venereal Disease. imprudently exhibited. In such cases the general re- medies for allaying inflammation, as blood-letting, cool- ing cathartics, diluent drinks with small portions of nitre dissolved in them, become necessary. Besides which, the testicles must be suspended by a bandage, and kept constantly moistened with cloths wrung out of lead water, or cold vinegar and water, often renewed. The swelling of the glands in the groins, and of the spermatic chord itself, require a similar treatment, which will also succeed in reducing the contraction or thick- ening of the fore-skin, should that symptom occur. In addition to this general treatment, when the penis is affected, it must be soaked every hour in warm milk and water or soap-suds, which should often be injected between the skin and the glands, to prevent the stag. nation of matter, whose extreme acrimony might other- wise produce a mortification of the parts. In these affections, a horizontal posture, and spare diet, are particularly enjoined. In case of much pain with little or no fever, an opi- ate may be given at bed-time. And if hardness remain after the pain, the patient should have mercurial oint- ment rubbed on the part, night and morning, and take freely of a strong decoction of sarsaparilla. But if a swelling without hardness follow, one or two vomits, succeeded by tonic medicines, with the use of the cold bath, will generally cure. Such are the principal symptoms which attend go- norrhoea. Its consequences, which induce a new state of disease, after the original affection is removed, are no less important. GLEET. This is known by a constant discharge of mucous matter, after the inflammatory symptoms have subsided, occasioned by the relaxation of the mucous glands, or stricture in the urethra. A discharge of this kind may also be occasioned by hard driuking, violent exercise, or straining. Venereal Disease. 427 Treatment. The cure of this affection depends on the use of uva ursi (see Materia Medica) or balsam capivi, in the dose of from twenty to thirty drops thrice a-day, or tonic medicines, as bark, steel, or columbo, with the cold bath, and a nutritious diet. Besides which, an astringent injection, prepared by dissolving twenty or thirty grains of alum in half a pint of water, may be injected up the urethra, twice or thrice a-day. If a stricture be the cause, the introduction of a bougie is the only remedy. SEMINAL WEAKNESS, Is another consequence of clap, when there has been frequeut returns of it, and is known by an involuntary discharge of the semen. At the beginning of the dis- ease there is a great inclination to erections, and the emission of the semen is attended with pleasure; but gradually tike penis becomes lame, the testicles hang lower than usual, and unless they are otherwise sus- pended, become almost a burden to the possessor. Although veterans in the wars of Venus, are most liable to be complimented with this kind of gleet, yet it may originate from other causes, as self-pollution, a sudden lift or strain, hot glysters, straining to stool, or the imprudent use of strong diuretics. Let the cause, however, be what it will, there is no drain which steals away the quintessence of life and strength more rapidly. Treatment. If the emission takes place on the slightest irritation, as heat, wine, &c. and is attended with some degree of spasm, it is a sign the patient is in a very rampant state, and can hardly get him a wife too soon. But if it oozes away insensibly, cold bath- ing, and tonic medicines, as bark, steel, or balsam ca- pivi in the usual doses, with a generous diet, are the best remedies. Costiveness should be carefully avoided. OBSTRUCTION OF URINE, Is another formidable symptom, which sometimes succeed^ gonorrhoea. It is produced by certain changes 428 Venereal Disease. of the passage, from tumours seated high up in the urethra or contraction of the urinary canal. Treatment. When this affection arises from tu- mours, a cure may be attempted, by the use of the mercurial pills, (see Recipe 25,) night and morning, and a decoction of 9arsaparilla, or mezereon ; hut it is often incurable. When spasmodic constriction of the passage is the cause, it will be removed by the warm bath or fomen- tations. The penis may also be rubbed with campho- rated oil, (see Recipe 65) or equal parts of aether and laudanum. If this fail to take off the spasm, bleed, and give laudanum in large doses. POX, Is the venereal disease in its confirmed state, mani- fested by chancres, buboes, or warts about the genitals. To these succeed ulcers in the throat, nose and tongue, blotches on various parts of the body, with nocturnal pains, especially in the shin-bones and shoulders. The system is now filled with the horrid poison, which, unless mercifully arrested, will soon ulcerate the eyes, consume the nose, contract the body, and con- vert the loveliest form into such a mass of corruption, such a dunghill of stench, such a picture of ghastliness, as is sufficient to strike the guilty person with terror. A pallid youth, beneath a shade, A melancholy scene displayed; His mangled face, and loathsome stains, Proclaimed the poison in his veins; He raised his eyes, he smote his breast, He wept aloud, and thus addressed, " Forbear the harlot's false embrace, Though lewdness wear an angel's face; Be wise by my experience taught; I die, alas / for want of thought." COTTOK* Venereal Disease. 429 ELEGY. " Weep o'er the miseries of a wretched maid, Who sacrificed to man her health and fame; Whose love, and truth, and trust, were all repaid, By want and wo, disease and endless shame. Curse not the poor lost wretch, who ev'ry ill That proud unfeeling man can heap, sustains; Sure she enough is curst, o'er whom his will lnflam'd by brutal passion, boundless reigns. Spurn not my fainting body from your door, Here let me rest my weary weeping head; No greater mercy would my wants implore; My sorrows soon shall lay me with the dead. Who now beholds, but loathes my faded face, So wan and sallow, chang'd with sin and care? Or who can any former beauty trace, In eyes so sunk with famine and despair? That I was virtuous once, and beauteous too, And free from envious tongues my spotless fame: These but torment, these but my tears renew, These aggravate my present guilt and shame. Where were my virgin honours, virgin charms? Oh! whither fled the pride I once maintain'd? Or where the youths that woo'd me to their arms? . Or where the triumphs, which my beauty gain'd? Ah! say, insidious Demon! Monster! where? What glory hast thou gain'd by my defeat? Behold the miseries I am doom'd to bear, Such as have brought me to my winding sheet." Treatment. Happily for mankind, the Governor of the world, is " a father who pitieth his children," 430 Venereal Disease. and afflicts them, not to kill, but to cure. In mercy he has appointed a medicine for this dreadful malady. A medicine, which, when taken in sufficient quantity, quickly flies to all parts of the system, attacks the dis- ease at every post, drives it from gland to gland, and with a fidelity and courage truly admirable, never gives it rest until it has completely expelled it from the body, and restored the patient to former health and vigour. This wonderful medicine is Mercury, which requires only to be so managed as to obtain full possession of the system; not exceeding it by salivation, nor falling short of it by untimely purging. To hit this desirable point, let one of the mercurial pills (see Recipe 25), be given night and morning, until the system is fully charged with the medicine, which may be known by a slight soreness of the mouth and gums, and foetid breath. This fortunate state of things, carefully supported a few weeks, will remove the disease. If the mercury affects the bowels, lessen the dose, or give it at longer intervals, or use the mercurial oint- ment ; and if there is an increased secretion of the sa- livary glands, we should omit the mercury for a few days, and take a tea-spoonful of flour of sulphur, in a glass of milk or flaxseed tea, night and morning. In this way the disease may generally be cured in a short time. It will always be prudent to continue the mercury in small doses for ten or twelve days after the total disappearance of all the symptoms. There are cases, however, where mercury will not answer, as in scrophulous habits, and when the blood is vitiated. In these, the nitric acid should be preferred, and from one to two drachms of it, diluted, (see Re- cipe 16,) may be taken iu the day. This medicine seems especially adapted to cases where the habit of body is much debilitated, from the long continuance of the dis- ease, or where it has acquired great irritability from an incautious use of mercury. It is also a sovereign cure of spougy gums, eruptions, ulcers, nocturnal pains, and all the train of consequences, usually attendant on this disease, when of long standing and imperfectly cured. Venereal Disease. 431 In the treatment, therefore, of venereal patients, too much attention cannot be paid to mark the peculiarities of habit; and we should always remember, that, when unfavourable appearances supervene from the use of mercury, other medicines, as the nitric acid, or tar wa- ter, (see Recipe 16 & 32) or decoctions of prickly ash, mezereon, lobelia, sarsaparilla, shumach, or poke bounce. (See Materia Medica.) In this disease, there are certain symptoms which re- quire local treatment. Thus, a chancre, which is a small red pimple, terminating in ulcer, with hard edges, and generally situated on some part of the prepuce or the fore-skin of the penis, is best removed by the applica- tion of caustic; or, if recent, washing with spirits or brandy, or a solution of kali, (see Recipe 30,) and ap- plying dry lint to the sore, with cleanliness, will gene- rally prove sufficient. When a bubo supervenes, which is known by pain and swelling in the groin, every attempt should be made to disperse it by rubbing in mercurial ointment on the inside of the thigh or calf of the leg; and the applica- tion of cloths wrung out of lead water, or ice, if it can be procured, to the swelling, renewed as often as they become warm. Besides which, the patient should be kept still, the bowels open, and the pain alleviated by the use of opi- ates at bed time. When a tendency to suppuration is discovered, in- stead of the former plan, warm poultices of flaxseed, milk and bread, or mush and fat, must be applied and renewed three or four times a-day, until the tumour breaks. After which, one or two poultices may be con- tinued, to accelerate the discharge of matter, for a day <§r two, when the sore must be kept clean with soap- suds, and dressed night and morning with basilicon, spread on lint, until the matter is mostly discharged.— The sore should then be dressed with lint dipt in a so- lution of kali, (see Recipe 30) once or twice in twenty- four hours, as may be indicated by the discharge of mat- ter; and lastly, when there is no appearance of proud 432 Venereal Disease. flesh, it may be healed with Turner's cerate, or any healing ointment. Warts are a frequent affection of the penis, and some- times remain after the venereal virus is expelled. In which case they may be removed by ligatures, or the application of caustic. Regimen. There is hardly any thing of more im- portance in the cure of this disease, thau a proper regi- men. Inattention to this, not only procrastinates the cure, but often endangers the patient's life. In full ha- bits, the diet should always be light and cooling. Exer- cise should never be carried to excess, and the patient should wear flannel on using any preparation of mercu- ry. Cleanliness is of too much importance ever to be neglected. Vs soon as the disease makes its appearance, the infected part should be frequently washed in milk and water, or soap-suds; and if from a neglect of clean- liness, venereal ulcers appear, the sores must be well cleansed, and dressed with dry lint, night and morning. In obstinate cases the lint should be dipt in the solution of kali. When the patient is in delicate health, or much re- duced, a nourishing diet, with wine, bark, and other to- nic medicines, are proper, with pure country air. Prevention. After a suspicious connexion, it be- comes a prudent man to discharge his urine, as soon as possible, and wash well his polluted member, by draw- ing forward the fore-skin, and closing the end with his finger, that it may be distended, and retain for a few seconds the urine. The glans and penis should then be well washed with strong soap-suds or grog. In women, besides cleansing the external parts, some portion of the wash should be injected up the vagina, by means of a female syringe. 433 SCURVY. Symptoms. An unusually weakened state of the body—pale and bloated countenance—the breathing affected on the slightest exertion—the gums soft, swol- len, and inclined to bleed on being rubbed, and some- time* putrid ulcers are formed—the teeth become loose —the breath fcetid—and the urine high coloured. The heart is subject to palpitation—the lower extremities to dropsical swellings—the body to pains of a pleuritic or rheumatic kind—besides which, blotches and ulcers break out in different parts of the skin, and often ter- minate in mortification. Causes. Cold moist air—vitiated or scanty diet— an indolent life, with luxurious indulgences—corrupt- ed water or provisions—and whatever may weaken the body, or vitiate the humours. Treatment. Raw and fresh vegetables of every description, particularly those of an acid kind; and fruits, such as lemons, limes, oranges, sorrel, &c. (see Materia Medica) furnish the most effectual remedies, But as these are not at all times to be obtained, common vinegar, or nitrous vinegar, used freely, will completely answer the end. The nitrous vinegar is prepared by dissolving three or four ounces of nitre or saltpetre, in one quart of good vinegar; and of this solution, from one to two spoonfuls may be taken three or four times a day, according to the advanced stage of the disease, and as frequently some of it may be used in bathing the limbs, where they are either stiffened, .swelled, blotched, or ulcerated. Soda water or nitric acid, (see Recipe 16) will be found a useful auxiliary, when the disease is inveterate. The belly most frequently will be kept open by this medicine, and when it is not, the exhibition of cream of tartar, or tamarinds, will be highly beneficial. When the gums are enlarged, ulcerated and fcetid, the mouth should be frequently washed with a decoction of bark, V 434 Eruptions of the Skin. in which a little alum is dissolved, and the gums rub- bed with a powder composed of equal parts of finely pulverised charcoal and bark, and with which the scor- butic ulcers may be dressed morning and night. These ulcers may be known by their soft and spongy edges. Regimen. So uncommonly salutary are vegetables in this disease, that whenever they can be had fresh, they should, with ripe fruits and milk, constitute the chief part of diet for scorbutic patients. When these articles cannot be procured, a mild, nourishing diet, with wine, cider and porter, is most proper. As no- thing is of more importance to the scorbutic, than breathing pure fresh air, it should at all limes be well supplied. Seamen, therefore, affected with it, ought constantly to keep on deck in fair weather. ERUPTIONS OF THE SKIN. There subsists so intimate a relation between the internal and external parts of our body, that no disor- der scarcely takes place within, that does not show it- self ultimately on the surface. Diseases of the skin are therefore very numerous, and as they most commonly arise from a constitutional cause, should be treated by general remedies. Local applications, particularly quack remedies, which are composed of mineral poisons, by repelling the vitiated humours to the brain, iungs or bowels, have often produced fatal consequences. Persons of relaxed habits, especially females, are subject to an eruption, attended with redness and sore- ness of the skin, forming large spots on the face and neck. This is certainly the mark of a constitutional debility, and can only be removed by tonics, as the bark, bitters, solution of arsenic, nitric acid, &c. and exercise. At- tention should also be paid to a frequent change of linen, and the skin occasionally dusted with starch. Cutaneous eruptions oftentimes arise from a foulness of the stomach, in which case occasional vomiting and purging are found to be highly useful. Eruptions of the Skin. 435 There are eruptions in the face of persons of appa- rent health, called grog blossoms, which are the con- sequences of an inflamed liver, from a too frequent use of wine and spirits, and high living. An attempt to remove these pimples by external meaus would not only be fruitless, but highly danger- ous. Their cure can only be effected by gradually cor- recting the habit of intemperance, both in eating and drinking. The primary affection must be first relieved. This is to be done by taking every night from half a grain to one grain of opium, combined with two grains of calomel. After using this medicine for some time or until the mouth is affected by salivation, the solution of arsenic (See Recipe 27) in the usual dose, twice a- day, for a week or two, will complete the cure. Scaly affections of the skin, or clusters of small pimples over the body, usually occur in some habits, spring and fall, which will generally yield to sassa- fras tea, or cream of tartar and sulphur, in doses of a tea-spoonful, night and morning. Should this fail, the decoction of sarsaparilla, and one of the mercurial pills night and morning, for a week or two, and afterwards the solution of arsenic, will always succeed. The prickly heat, is an eruption which is sometimes very troublesome, but commonly disappears on keeping moderately cool, and avoiding warm drinks. When this is not sufficient, and the itching is severe, the ca- thartic mixture (see Recipe 11) taken two or three times a-week, and the external applications of elixir vitriol diluted in water, will prove a good remedy. The nettle rash, so called from its resemblance to eruptions made by the stinging of nettles, is sometimes attended with intolerable itching. When many of the eruptions run together, the part seems swelled, forming tumours, such as appear after being struck with the lash of a whip, and betwixt them the skin is inflamed and very red. The elevations appear suddenly, but seldom continue long, and are apt to disappear from one part of the body and appear again in another. 436 Itch. The itching is the greatest inconvenience, as it some- times prevents the patient from sleeping, but the dis- ease is not dangerous. With respect to the cure, observing a cooling regi- men and a laxative state of the bowels, is generally sufficient; but if fever supervenes, it will be proper to bleed and give the antimonial solution (see Recipe 6) in small doses, to determine the fluids to the surface. When the disease is of a chronic narure, and often re- turns, twenty drops of elixir vitriol, tal^en thrice a-day, in a cup of camomile or centaury tea, or infusion of columbo, should be directed. To allay the itching, a solution of borax in vinegar, half an ounce of the former to half a pint of the latter, affords a good wash. ITCH. The itch consists of small watery pimples of a con- tagious nature, which first appear between the fingers, and on the wrists, but in process of time spreading over the whole body, except the face, attended with a great degree of itchiness, especially after being heated by exercise, or when warm in bed. In the cure of this disease, sulphur used internally and externally, is considered as a certain specific. A tea-spoonful of the flour of sulphur taken in milk or spirit and water thrice a-day, and some of it rubbed on the inside of the arms and legs at bed time, either dry, or in the form of unction, will soon effect a cure. Where the sulphur is disliked, the mercurial ointment may be rubbed in every night, about the size of a nut- meg, until the eruption entirely disappears. The ilc.u lotion (see Recipe 4^) will also be found an effectual remedy in this complaint, by washing the parts affected with it two or three limes a-day. The internal exhibi- tion of sulphur alone, or combined with cream of tartar, should always precede or accompany the external ap- plications. Dock root, tobacco, and Virginia snake root, (see Materia Medica) have sometimes cured when the above remedies failed. Tetter, or Ring- Worm—Tinea, or Scald Head. 487 TETTER, OR RING WORM, Is an eruption that attacks various parts of the skin, in a circle, with an inflamed basis, which gradually spreads, forming an extensive excoriation, sometimes moist, at other times dry; and is attended with smart- ing and itching, succeeded by scurfy scales. Treatment. If the habit of body be not faulty, external applications alone, are often sufficient to re- move this affection. The saturated solution of borax, with vinegar or le- mon juice, one drachm to two ounces, is an excellent remedy, without producing the least pain on its appli- cation. The itch lotion, when prepared with double its strength, is also equally good. Coveriug the erup- tion daily with ink, or the juice of black walnut, (see Materia Medica) has often effected a cure. Where the disease is inveterate, internal medicines must be exhibited and continued for some time, such as lime-water, flour of sulphur, the mercurial pills, or which is preferable to all of them in obstinate cases, the solution of arsenic. (See Recipe 27.) TINEA, OR SCALD HEAD. Symptoms. This disease consists of little ulcers at the roots of the hair, which discharge a humour that dries into a white scab, or thick scales, and has an offensive smell. It is not only a very troublesome com- plaint, but contagious, and when united with a scrofu- lous constitution, found extremely difficult to be cured. Treatment. When it is merely a complaint of the skin, it may be successfully treated with topical appli- cations. In the beginning of the affection, washing the sores well night and morning with strong soap-suds, or a decoction of tobacco, or by applying an ointment, made withjirason-weed, or pride of China, (see Mate- ria Medica,) will frequently effect a cure. But if the 438 Scrofula, or King's Evil. disorder prove obstinate, the head ought to be shaved, aud after being well washed with soap suds, covered wit'1 tar and suet, spread on a bladder. My very in- geniu s friend Doctor Chapman, has assured me, when every oilier application failed in removing this disease, he always succeeded, by having the affected parts washed with this lotion* twice a-day. But in cases w\ -'■•«» topical applications are resisted, medicine should be given internally, as lime water, flour of sulphur, or calomel, according to circumstances; and to hasten the cure, the course of the fluids may in the mean time be in part diverted from the head, by blisters or sinapisms. SCROFULA, OR KING'S EVIL. This disease is most frequent among the children of the poor, and negroes, who are ill fed, ill lodged and ill clothed; it is also hereditary, but never contagious. It most commonly occurs in children from the third to the seventh year; frequently, however, it discovers itself at a later period in habits peculiarly disposed to it. Symptoms. It is known by indolent hard tumours of the lymphatic glands, particularly those of the neck, be- hind the ears, or under the chin. The upper lip, and division of the nostrils are swelled, with a smooth skin, and hard belly. In the progress of the disease, these tumours degenerate into ulcers of bad digestion; the discharge of which consists of a white curdled matter, resembling somewhat the coagulum of milk; aud pre- vious to their breaking, they acquire a sort of purple redness, and a softness to the touch. Treatment. As soon as these tumours are first dis- covered, endeavour to disperse them by sea bathing, or bathing in salt aud water, one pound to three gallons of * Take liver of sulphur, three drachms'—Spanish soap, one drachm—lime water, eight ounces—rectified spirits of wine) two drachms—mix. Jaundice. 439 water, or cold water alone, or by frequent application of lead water. Warm fomentations and poultices of every kind, do harm, as they seem only to hurry on a sup- puration, which, if possible, should be preventer^i-A large draught of sea water every morning will he found a useful drink. Peruvian bark and steel used alternately every two weeks, will be of infinite service by giving tone to the system. The remedy, ha&ever, most to be depended upon in this disease, is the muriate of lime, given in doses of ten to eighty drops, gradually in- creased, three or four times a-day, diluted with water or tea. When a suppuration takes place, the solution of arsenic should be given twice or thrice a-day. The best application to scrofulous ulcers, is a powder com- posed of one pound of finely powdered bark, and one ounce of white lead in fine powder, mixed well together; or a tine powder of calamine-stone alone, and the ulcers covered with it daily, keeping it on by brown paper and a bandage. Where these are not to be obtained, the constant application of linen rags moistened with a so- lution of one ounce of sugar of lead, in a pint of water, may answer every purpose. With respect to the diet, it should be nourishing and easily digestible, avoiding all viscid food. Moderate ex- ercise in a dry warm air is exceedingly beneficial. JAUNDICE. Symptoms. Yellowness of the skin, but chiefly of the eyes, the urine also yellow—inactivity—-anxiety and uneasiness at the pit of the stomach—itchiness of the skin. Causes. Whatever obstructs the passage of the bile, through its natural channel. Treatment. The indications of cure are, to re- move the obstructions, which, as it originates from dif- ferent causes, will require different modes of treatment. As viscid bile is the most common cause of this com- plaint, in full habits, and where there are any feverish 44(i White Swelling. symptoms, begin the cure with bleeding, afterwards give an emetic, and then a day after a dose of calomel and jalap, which should be often repeated if necessary. Common soap in large quantities has b; an exhibited with much success in this case, but as this is disagreea- ble to take, the salt of tartar, which has the same ad- vantage, or soda, may be taken in doses of twenty or thirty grains, three or four times a-day, dissolved in the infusion of columbo. If there be any acute pain in the region of the liver, with a quickness of the pulse, bleed more freely, give one of the mercurial pills, (see Recipe 25,) night and morning, until a ptyalism is produced, use the warm bath, and apply a blister over the pained part. In cases of much pain, three or four table-spoonfuls of olive oil should be swallowed, and if it do not succeed in quiet- ing the pain, one or two tea-spoonfuls of sether, or thir- ty drops of laudanum must be given. The warm bath, or bags of hot salt applied to the right side, are like- wise beueficial. After the obstruction is removed, the tonic powders or pills, (see Recipe 4 & 23,) or dog- wood, or cherry-tree bark, (see Materia Medica,) are necessary to restore the tone of the system. Regimen. The diet ought to be regulated according to the constitution of the patient. In plethoric or fe- verish habits, the diet should be low, and in cases of excessive debility it should be of the most nourishing kind. Vegetables, by creating flatulency and acidity, are to be avoided. Mucilaginous drinks are peculiarly pro- per; and in many instances, sucking a new laid egg every morning, on an empty stomach, has succeeded in curing this disease, when all other means failed. WHITE SWELLING, Is distinguished by an acute pain, without any exter- nal inflammation, of a joint, attended with a gradual in- crease of its size. Though all the joints are occasion- ally subject to it, yet its most usual seat is in the knee. White swellings are generally of a scrofulous nature, White Swelling. 441 but sometimes they are produced by rheumatic affec- tions, and sometimes follow strains that have been ne- glected, or badly treated. Treatment. As soon as an affection of this kind is discovered, the patient should remain in bed, and the limb kept perfectly at rest, without which, remedies cannot produce any good effect. The great object is to prevent the formation of mat- ter, by the immediate application of leeches, or scari- fications to the part affected, and by which, eight or ten ounces of blood may be taken away, every other day. or oftener, according to circumstances. The whole joint should then be kept continually wet and cold with the solution of crude sal ammoniac, (see Recipe 28), by means of four or five folds of old linen. After the local affection is somewhat abated, frictions with the volatile liniment, or a mixture of soft soap and spirits of camphor, to which may be added some tincture of cantharides, will have a good effect. With one or other of these liniments, the joint is to be rubbed well twice a-day, and afterwards covered with a piece of flannel that has been soaked in the same. If this should not produce good effects, the part must be rubbed night and morning with mercurial ointment, in the quantity of two drachms at a time, and continued until the mouth is gently affected. The cure may then be completed by small blisters on each side of the joint, which should be kept running for a length of time. If the disease in spite of these remedies continue to advance, emollient poultices must be applied often, un- til various abscesses appear, and these should be open- ed as soon as the.y seem to point, and afterwards to be treated as ulcers. In cases where the white swelling is evidently scro- fulous, tonic medicines, as bark, steel, &c. and a nour- ishing diet, to correct the constitutional affection, with stimulating applications to the joint, form the best re- medies. 443 Sea Sickness—Intoxication SEASICKNESS. Symptoms. A most unpleasant giddiness, with great nausea and vomiting, occasioned by the motion of the vessel. The duration of this complaint is very uncer- tain. Generally it lasts but a day or two, but in some cases it will continue the whole voyage. Treatment. Though time, perhaps, is the only cure, yet it will be greatly alleviated by keeping the bowels open. A tea-spoonful of sether in a glass of water, relieves the convulsive affection of the stomach. High-seasoned food and acidulated drinks are peculiar- ly proper. But nothing will be found more serviceable than exercise, cheerfulness, and fresh air. Persons should, therefore, never go below, but romp on the decks, cut capers in the shrouds, and divert their minds and move their bodies as much as possible. INTOXICATION. Symptoms. Like every other kind of frenzy, ft comes on with a burning redness of the cheeks—a swell- ing of the jugular veins, and a fiery wildness of the eyes. The tongue is considerably affected, but very differently in different stages of the disease. At first, only glib and voluble—then loud, and louder still—at length noisy and excessively disagreeable. The patient now is quite on his top-ropes, and nothing goes down with him, but the most ranting songs, roaring laughs, ripping oaths, and bluntest contradictions, accompanied with loud thumping of the fist on the table, especially if politics be the topic of conversation. The-, e is no complaint that affects patients so differently—some it makes so ridiculously loving, as to hug and kiss one another— others it kindles into such rage and fury, that they will frequently throw the bottles and glasses at the heads of their best friends. And indeed, so wonderful is its influence, that it is no uncommon thing with it, to inspire cowards with courage—to teach truth to liars, and to Intoxication. 448 make persons naturally reserved, loquacious and even boisterous. The memory now partakes of the general infirmity, being hardly able to connect the parts of a story begun. The tongue at length, as if about to lose its powers, begins to trip—then to stammer—and at last the utter- ance dies away generally in some idle half-finished threat or oath. Hiccups now ensue, with a silly grin of the mouth, which continues half open, from the fall- ing of the lower jaw. The face puts on an air of great stupidity—the eyes turn heavy and sleepy, and the patient begins to nod, with his head bending forward, until, becoming too heavy, he sinks under the table, and not unfrequently after a filthy vomiting, falls asleep among the dogs and cats. Treatment. In a fit of drunkenness, the patient should instantly be placed in an airy situation, the head and shoulders kept erect, and the neck-cloth and collar of the shirt unbound, and copiously bled, if his situation geems alarming. The next step is to provoke vomit- ing, by the most expeditious means, such as tickling the'throat with a feather or the finger. Cold applica- tions to the head, as cloths wrung out of cold water, or vinegar and water, often renewed, will have the hap- piest effect; so will plunging the body into cold wa- ter, for many instances have occurred of persons having fallen overboard in a drunken fit, and having been picked up sober. m Therefore, it will be found an admirable mode ot sobering those vagabonds, who, as a nuisance, infest the streets of every city, to take them to the nearest pump, and there deluge them with cold water. Inis will not only bring them to their senses, but send them off, under that sense of shame, which ever follows the commission of a crime so truly ignominious. 444 TO RECOVER PERSONS APPARENTLY DROWNED. As soon as the body is taken out of the water, it should instantly be rubbed dry, and wrapped in warm blankets, unless the cooling process should be first ne- cessary, in consequence of the patient being in a half frozen state. For, in that case, the body ought to be rubbed with snow, or flannels wrung out of cold water or vinegar, before any degree of artificial warmth is ap- plied. After which the patient is to be placed on a bed or mattress, with the head elevated, and air is then instantly to be blown into the lungs, by inserting the pipe of a pair of bellows into one nostril, or for want of that article, a tobacco pipe, a quill, or even a card folded in the form of a tube, while the mouth and op- posite nostril are closed by an assistant, or covered with some wet paper. By thus forcing air into the lungs, and alternately expelling it by pressing the chest, respiration may happily be restored. Volatile salts, or vinegar, shouldalsofrequently be applied to the nostrils. Next the intestines are to be stimulated by injections of warm spirits and water, or mulled wine. It will be more effectual still, if some w arm spirits and water be introduced immediately into the stomach, by means of a syringe and a long flexible tube. While using the internal stimulants, a bladder of warm water should be applied to the region of the stomach, and the legs and arms briskly rubbed with a warm hand, or with flannel, extending the friction gradually to the thighs, belly, and chest. At that critical period, when sneezing, slight twitch- ings, or gasping, mark the first dawn of returning life, it will be prudent to moderate the stimulating powers. When respiration and the power of swallowing are re- stored, the patient should be kept moderately warm, and gentle perspiration encouraged by warm drinks. To Recover Persons apparently Dead. 445 Should feverish symptoms ensue, moderate bleeding, together with mild laxatives and cooling regimen, will complete the cure. TO RECOVER PERSONS APPARENTLY KILLED BY LIGHTNING OR NOXIOUS VAPOURS. Treatment. Instantly throw cold water with some force, in large quantities, on the face and head, which should be often repeated for some time, and if conve- nient the whole body may be plunged into cold water, and afterwards wiped dry, and warmth gradually ap- plied. If the body and extremities feel cold, instead of the application of cold water, the warm bath about the temperature of the blood, should be prepared as soon as possible, and the patient immersed in it for twenty or thirty minutes, using frictions at the same time with the hand. As soon as the patient is taken out of the bath, his skin must be wiped dry, and wrap- ped up in warm flannel, and gentle stimulants employ- ed to produce a reaction. When by these means the circulation of the blood is increased, and the extremities become warm, bleed- ing will be proper, and must be often repeated, if the patient have fever, or complain of pain. Besides which, evacuations must be procured by purgative medicines and glysters, and the antiphlogistic plan in every res- pect strictly pursued, until the febrile symptoms abate. After which tonic medicines, with wine, in case of de- bility, are of infinite service. POISONS. Treatment. The cure of poisons swallowed, whe- ther vegetable or mineral, requires either an immediate evacuation, or a counteraction of their effects. 1 here- fore, as soon as possible, throw in an emetic, quick m its operation, as blue or white vitriol m a dose, from 446 Poisons—Musquito Bites. ten to thirty grains, repeated in fifteen minutes, if ne- cessary, and assisted by copious draughts of warm wa- ter. To remove the stupefaction, which generally ensues after an imprudent dose of opium, acids of the vegeta- ble class, as lime juice, or vinegar diluted with water, ought to be exhibited freely. But if the patient lay in a deadly stupor, with cold extremities, the warm sti- mulating plan must first be adopted. Sinapisms or blis- ters ought instantly to be applied to the extremities; or as a more effectual remedy to produce reaction in the system, the legs and arms should be whipped well with rods, and the soals of the feet seared with red hot iron. When mineral poisons are taken, if a vomiting does not follow, attempt the expulsion by a quick emetic as above described, and let it be worked off with warm water, adding to each draught, twenty or thirty grains of salt of tartar, which medicine should be continued until the cure is completed. The exhibition of sweet oil, milk, and mucilaginous drinks, in large quantities, do good by obtunding the acrimony of the poison, and must not be omitted. The same method should be pur- sued, whether arsenic, corrosive sublimate,* sugar of lead, tartar emetic, or any metallic salt has been taken; and unless the remedies are quickly resorted to, death inevitably will take place. If in consequence of the effects of poison, fever su- pervene, the antiphlogistic treatment as recommended »'n inflammatory complaints must be pursued. BITES OF MUSQUITOES. Musquito bites often degenerate into painful acrid ulcers, particularly on the legs, in consequence of scratching them. It is therefore proper, where these in- sects are troublesome, to wear loose linen buskins to * It has recently been discovered by an eminent Spanish phy- sician, that the whites of eggs diluted with water, is an antidote against corrosive sublimate, and that common lump sugar is an antidote against verdigris. iBites of Venomous Animals. 447 guard the legs in the evening; and when this has been neglected, apply oil, vinegar, lime juice, or camphora- ted spirits, to the part, to allay the itching and tingling occasioned by their bites. BITES OF VENOMOUS flour; or by strewing a little powdered rosin on the ban- dage, and afterwards soaking it with spirits of wine; or finally by soaking the bandage with fine glue, which makes a firm case, and is far from being offensive. Lastly, though splints and bandages in general are unnecessary during the cure; yet, when a patient rises from bed, rests the weight of his body on a fractured bone, and begins to be exposed to accidents, the splints laid along the limb should be made firm by a bandage or roller as above described, to prevent those accidents which may be incurred by precipitation and rashness. In fractures of the arm, the parts hang naturally in the best posture, and require but two splints of thin paste-board, rolled gently with a linen roller: and in fractures of the fore-arm, the limb preserves its natural length or form ; it requires merely to be laid upon a long splint of paste-board, with a small splint laid above, the two splints being secured with light ribbons or tapes, and the arm from the elbow to the fingers' ends supported by a sling or handkerchief round the neck, raising the palm of the hand to the breast, with the fingers moderately bent. When the arm is fractured between the elbow and shoulder, the fore-arm may be placed in the same position, as already described; but the sling, instead of supporting the whole length of the arm, should only sup- port the hand, which should be raised higher than in the former case, the elbow being allowed to sink; its motion, however, being prevented, by a handkerchief passed moderately tight round the trunk, includingthe fractured arm. When the small bones happen to be fractured, they must be replaced and retained in their situation, by splints and bandages fitted to the part. In using splints of paste-board or untanned leather, it is always necessa- ry they should be applied in the first instance wet, so as to assume the form of the fractured part. After the first fortnight, the dressings should be occasionally re- moved to allow some motion of the joints; and then re- placed, and daily removed for the same purpose. Fractures of the Ribs. 479 When there is an external wound, communicating with the cavity of the fracture, it is termed a compound fracture. This sometimes occurs by the protrusion of the bone; at other times by the same force which caus- ed the fracture. In such cases, the bone is to be redu- ced by carefully attending to the posture of the limb, and by dilating the wound, when the bone becomes gir- ded in it. The wound is then to be dressed With dry lint, in order to allow the hlood to coagulate, which will form a kind of scab, and every effort should be made to unite the wound by the first intention, thereby converting the accident to the state of a simple fracture. Almost all fractures are attended with contusion and consequently swelling; the abating of which is the first step that should be taken towards the cure, and is to be effected by bleeding, if the patient is of a plethoric ha- bit, by mild purges, a cooling regimen, and by the ex- hibition of the anodyne sudorific drops, as already de- scribed: the application to the parts affected should be vinegar or lead-water, with crumbs of bread, or poul- tices made of stale beer or vinegar and oatmeal, with a little oil to prevent their growing dry or stiff. The swelling of the limb being subsided, and the callus formed, cold water may be poured through the spout of a tea kettle over the fractured limb every morn- ing to restore the tone of the injured parts. FRACTURES OF THE RIBS. The ribs are broken, for the most part, near to the middle. The accident usually proceeds from blows or falls; and is known by an acute pain in breathing, and a cre- pitus or grating being perceived, on pressing the rib in different places. By carefully passing the hand over the rib, the inequality produced by the fracture may be sometimes distinctly felt. Coughing produces a crepi- tation, which is frequently perceptible to the patient himself as well as to the by-standers. The only treatment necessary, in simple fractures of 480 Blood-Letting. the ribs, whether one or several be brokeu, is to keep the part, during the reunion, as much as possible in a state of rest. This is done by counteracting, to a consi- derable extent, their motion in respiration. To effect this, a bandage, six inches wide, is to be passed repeat. edly round the chest, as tightly as the patient can suffer it to be drawn. Its slipping down may be prevented by means of a shoulder strap. Instead of a roller, a jacket, of strong linen, capable of being drawn very tight, by means of tapes, may be used. Until the reunion be completed, the patient should be kept as quiet as possible. If the lungs be wounded by a splinter of the rib, blood will be spit up, and high fever and inflammation will be likely to ensue. In this case, blood must be drawn copiously from the arm; and the patient be treated, in all respects, as if he were labouring under pleurisy. BLOOD-LETTING. The art of opening a vein, and the necessary cautions respecting the operation, should be learned by every one; since cases of emergency may happen, when the necessity of its being performed is evident, and where life may be lost before medical assistance can be obtained. Another qualification necessary to be possessed, is that of being able to stop the flow of blood from a vein thus opened. To bleed, you are to apply a ribbon or ligature with some degree of tightness, an inch or two above the el- bow joint; and as soon as a vein is conspicuous, place the thumb of your left hand about an inch below the place of your puncture, and then with your right hand, holding the lancet firm betwixt your thumb and fore finger, make an incision obliquely into the vein, without changing its direction, or raising the handle, lest the point, being lowered in proportion, should cut the uu- der part of the vein, or perhaps even wound an artery.* * To discriminate between an artery and vein, is a matter of the utmost importance. This is readily done if proper attention be paid. Blood-Letting. 4S1 When the quantity of blood you wish, is drawn, un- tie the ligature, and close the orifice. To accomplish this, let the thumb be placed on the orifice, so as to brinu; its sides together, and to press it with a moderate force. The flow of blood will now be stopped, and the ope- rator, with the hand, must introduce a compress, made by twice doubling a piece of linen about two inches square, between the orifice and his thumb; over thi* place another compress, three or four inches square, of a thickness sufficient to fill up the hollow of the bend of the arm, confining the whole with a ribbon or tape, passing over the compress, and above and below the elbow, in the form of a figure eight, finishing with a knot over the compress. If the bleeding continue obstinate, the sleeve of the gown or coat above the orifice, ought to be rjpped or loosened; and if this do not succeed, the lips of the in- cision should be brought nicely together, and while they are compressed firmly by the thumb of the opera- tor, the coldest water should be poured on the arm, or the orifice washed with sharp Vinegar. The placing of a piece of adhesive plaster over the orifice in the vein, generally succeeds in checking the flow of blood. To bleed in the foot, a ligature must be applied above the ankle joint, and after opening the most conspicuous vein, if the flow of blood is not copious it may be in- creased by immersion of the part in warm water. On removing the ligature, the blood will readily cease to discharge, and a piece of court plaster is the best ban- dage. Topical blood-letting is executed by the application of leeches, as near as possible to the part affected, or by a scarificator, or an instrument with a number of lancets acted upon by a spring. The chief mark of distinction is, that the artery has a pulsation, which the vein has not. But frequently it happens, that an artery lies so immediately un- der a vein, that its pulsation may be felt through the vein. In such cases it will be prudent not to open the vein unless the ope- rator is skilful; for it must be attended with danger. 3P 482 Blood-Letting. When leeches are employed they must be previously prepared by drying them, or allowing them to creep over a dry cloth; the part also, to attract them, should be moistened with cream, sugar, or blood, and they confined on it by applying a wine-glass over them. When the scarificator is used, as soon as a wound is made, a cup exhausted of its atmospheric air, by burn- ing over it for a few seconds, a bit of soft paper dipt in the spirit of wine, and on the flame of which being near- ly exhausted, must instantly be applied over the scari- fied part; when full, it is easily removed by raising one side of it, to admit the air. When you have taken away in this manner a sufficient quantity of blood, the wounds are to be covered with some cream or mild ointment. In the operation of blood-letting, certain morbid con- sequences at times arise, which demand a special treat- ment. The most common of these, are a swelling of the part termed eccymosis, and when it occurs, shifting the po- sition of the arm, so as to induce a free discharge, will lessen the tumour, if not entirely remove it. Should this fail, compresses dipt in the solution of sal ammoniac or brandy are to be applied. These also failing, and the swelling still continuing without any diminution, the tumour must be opened, and after removing the coagulated blood, the sore is to be treated as a common wound. This result, however, very rarely occurs. Another consequence which sometimes follows blood- letting, is an acute pain, immediately felt on the intro- duction of the lancet, and communicated from the part to the extremity of the member. The treatment of this complaint consists in the early use of cloths, wrung ou#t of lead-water, applied to the part, and adopting in every respect the antiphlogistic plan, as blood-letting, cooling cathartics, and a low diet, to obviate inflammation. This treatment not succeeding, laudanum must be given in large doses, which also failing, a free division of the nerve or tendon, which was pricked with the lancet, is the only remedy left. The last accident required to be noticed, is the wounding of an artery, which is known immediately Issues. 483 after the operation, by strong compression of the vein, above and below the orifice, by the tremulous motion in which the blood flows, and by not being able to stop the discharge as usual. The cure of this affection may be attempted in the early stage by compression, and observing the antiphlogistic regimen. On their failing, the tumour must be extirpated, and then the ends of the vessel secured by means of a ligature until a re- union of the parts is effected, when the circulation is made to pursue a different channel. ISSUES. These are a kind of artificial ulcers, formed in differ- ent parts of the body, for the purpose of procuring a discharge of purulent matter, which is frequently of advantage in various disorders. Practitioners were formerly of opinion that issues served as drains, to carry off noxious humours from the blood; and therefore they placed them as near the affected part as possible. But as it is now known that they prove useful partly by the quantity of matter which they produce, and partly by sympathy, they are generally placed where they will occasion the least inconvenience. The most proper parts for them are, the nape of the neck; the middle, outer, and fore-parts of the shoulder; the hollow above the inner side of the knee; or either side of the back- bone; or between two of the ribs; or wherever there is a sufficiency of cellular substance for the protection of the parts beneath. They ought never to be placed over the belly of a muscle; nor over a tendon or thinly co- vered bone; nor near any large blood-vessel. The is- sues commonly used, are the blister-issue, the pea- issue, and the seton or cord. When a blister issue is to be used, after the blister is removed, a discharge of matter may be kept up by dressing the part daily, with an ointment mixed with a little of the powder of cantharides, or Spanish flies, it the discharge be too little, more of the powder may be used; if too great, or if the part be much inflamed, the "ssue ointment may belaid aside, and the part dressed 484 Issues. with basilicon, or with common cerate, till the discharge be diminished, and the inflammation abated. It is sometimes most proper to use the issue oint- ment, and a mild one, alternately. A pea-issue is formed either by making an incision with a lancet, or by caustic, large enough to admit one or more peas; though sometimes, instead of peas, kid- ney-beans, gentian-root, or orange-peas, are used. When the opening is made by an incision, the skin should.be pinched up and cut through, of a size suffi- cient to receive the substance to be put into it. But when it is to be done by caustic, the common caustic, or lapis infernalis of the shops, answers best. It ought to be reduced to a paste with a little water or soft soap, to prevent it from spreadiug; and an adhesive plaster, with a small hole cut in the centre of it, should be pre- viously placed, and the caustic paste spread upon the hole. Over the hole an adhesive plaster should be placed, to prevent any caustic from escaping. In ten or twelve hours the whole may be removed, and in- three or'fonr days the eschar will separate, when the opening may be filled with peas, or any of the other substances above mentioned. The seton is used when a large quantity of matter is wanted, and especially from deep seated parts. It is frequently used in the back of the neck for diseases of the head or eyes, or between two of the ribs in affec- tions of the breast. When the cord, which ought to be made of threads. of cotton or silk, is to be introduced, the parts at which it is to enter and pass out should be previously marked with ink; and a small part of the cord being besmeared with some mild ointment, and passed through the eye of the seton-needle, the part is to be supported by an assistant, and the needle passed fairly through, leaving a few inches of the cord hanging out. The needle is then to be removed, and the part dressed. By this me- thod matter is produced in quantity proportioned to the degree of irritation applied; and this can be increased or diminished by covering the cord daily, before it is drawn, with an irritating or mild ointment. 485 ADMONITORY HINTS TO LADIES. IF we consider but for a moment, the wonderful power which superior beauty exerts over the human breast, how instantly at sight of a lovely woman, the hearts of the young are thrown into the most delightful palpitations ; and the looks of the aged brightened with admiration and pleasure; we can no longer wonder that it should be so highly prized by the other sex. But it is to be lamented that such preposterous means should be employed to gain an end so desirable, and that real beauty should be so often mistaken. Thus, some girls fancy that beauty can only exist in forms slender and delicate. At the very thought of be- ing corpulent, they are alarmed, and to obviate gross ness, as they call it, they drink such quantities of vine- gar as not only destroy the tone of the stomach, but introduce a withered ghastly paleness. For the same purpose they continue the absurd practice of wearing oppressive jackets or corslets, which, by compressing the ribs, prevent the expansion of the lungs. Another imprudence, and still more detrimental, is that of appearing at assemblies in winter, in light dresses, exposed to the baneful effects of cold, with the aggravating addition of extraordinary warmth, by the fatigue of dancing; hence consumptions and a train of maladies, too long to be here particularly described, are produced. There are others who, reading of the fair skinned belles of Europe, foolishly conclude that the rose and the lily are the only colours of beauty. Catching at this female passion for fair and unfrec- kled faces, the quacks have prepared a number of nos- trums, called cosmetics or beautifiers, which, they vauntingly profess are to heal the chaps on the lips—to remove pimples and freckles—and to give the coun 486 Admonitory Hints to Ladies. tenance such a fair, smooth and charming appearance, as to render it impossible for any one to contemplate it without being enamoured. But unfortunately, these boasted cosmetics, instead of heightening the polish and charm of beauty, too often contribute to tarnish and de- stroy it.* The truth is, beauty is not the creature of a quack, but the gift of nature; and to bring it to perfec- tion, nothing more is necessary than exercise, cleanli- ness, tpraperance and cheerfulness. These are the hand- maids of health; and health, to persons of certain sym- metries and expression, is beauty. How much then is it to be deplored, that so many of our young females, should think so meanly of exercise, which alone brings the female frame to perfection— paints it in the loveliest colours—and by giving rich- ness to the blood, and vigour to the nerves, disposes to habitual cheerfulness, and alike qualifies the mind for thought, and the heart for love. On the contrary, how different is the female wholeads an inactive and sedentary life, too generally looked on as proofs of a fine modern lady, which seldom fail to relax the system—retard the circulation—vitiate the blood, and obstruct the secretions. Hence, that chalky paleness of the face—that faintness of the eyes—indi- gestion—flatulence—weak nerves—low spirits—irre- gularities of nature—and constant complainings. Yes, many a girl by constant muffling and housing herself; by dreading that the sun should ever kiss her cheeks, or the wind ruffle her tuckers; by much indul- gence in bed, and other imprudencies, renders herself so exceedingly pale, and delicate, and puny, that her appearance is better fitted to damp love than to excite it. * To such of my readers as are partial to the use of cosmetics, an infusion of horse-radish in milk is recommended as one of the best and safest. Another innocent preparation for clearing the skin of pimples, and recent eruptions, is the expressed juice of house- leek, mixed with an equal quantity of sweet milk or cream. When these fail, blistering the face all over the eruptions will often suc- ceed in removing them- 487 MENSTRUATION. One of the principal constitutional characteristics of the female, is menstruation, or the monthly evacuations peculiar to the sex. This important operation generally takes place about the age of twelve or thirteen, but varies through the world, either in degree or frequency, both from consti- tution and climate. Its return is generally once a month; and in robust constitutions it continues for a shorter period, than in the more weakly. It is of importance for women to know that occasional irregularities are not always the consequence of tljis dis- ease. Constitutions vary as much in respect to the re- gular returns of this discharge, as they do with regard to its first appearance, or its final cessation. Those iu whom the change occurs very early from vigour of con- stitution, require little to be done for them; but in weak- er and less plethoric young women, the non-appearance of this evacuation is too often considered as the cause, whereas it ought to be viewed as the effect, of the state of the habit unpropitious to its taking place. And ac- cording to family practice, under this false impression, warm teas and forcing medicines are employed at the approach of this disease, which have often done much harm. Nature is not so defective in her own judgment as to require such auxiliaries. Care should be taken so to manage the habits of their lives, as to improve the ge- neral state of their health, by attention to diet, moderate exercise, change of air, and cheerfulness, which will be found to have the happiest influence on the body and mind, and gives a salutary impulse to the circulation of the blood. When the habit of a young woman is full, and the complexion fair and florid, a low diet, cooliug cathar- tics, and bleeding, will be proper to relieve some oc- casional indisposition; but the same complaint must be treated differently, if the constitution be backward, the 488 Menstruation. frame delicate, and the person of a melancholic tempe- rament. In such cases a nourishing diet, change of air, gentle exercise, particularly riding on horseback, with strengthening medicines, as the rust or tincture of steel, or the tonic powders in their usual doses, together with the occasional use of the stimulating purgative pills, (see Recipe 4 and 21) to keep the bowels in a regular state, are best calculated to assist nature. For the spasmodic pains of impeded menstruation, when the above means have failed of affording sufficient relief, a foot bath about the temperature of the blood, may be used with advantage on the eve of menstruating. Sitting over the steam of warm water may also assist, and when these are insufficient, a grain of opium com- bined with six grains of camphor, should be given at bed time. With respect to the immoderate flow of the menses, all women know what is its ordinary quantity and dura- tion ; but they should also remember, that what is to one woman a just and due proportion, would be to another, from the difference of constitution and temperament, an immoderate flow; and before they attempt to restrain it, let them carefully consider, what may have been the exciting or occasional cause. They are too frequently told that such a situation arises from mere debility; and under that belief will take cordials and stimulating me- dicines. In general this is not the case, and by such improper treatment, the flow is increased, and the habit rendered feverish. In every case where there are febrile symptoms, an amendment cannot take place until the antiphlogistic plan, such as bleeding, nitrous medicines, cooling ca- thartics and a low diet, with rest, are adopted. When the hemorrhage is sudden and profuse, the clothing which may occasion the least interruption to the free circulation of the blood should instantly be re- moved, and the patient placed in a recumbent posture, enjoying cool air. Every thing which is drank should be as cold a6 possible, and cloths dipped in cold vine- gar and water, should be frequently applied to the loins Menstruation. 489 and abdomen. Preparations of sugar of lead and ipeca- cuanha, (see Recipe 22) are highly important in this complaint, where the hemorrhage is profuse. When flooding has induced much debility in the system, it will be proper during the interval of men- struation to employ cold bathing and tonic medicines. The occasional cause should, in all cases, be particular- ly avoided, as by these means only the disease is to be prevented. A few observations in this place on the fluor albus, or whites, may with propriety be introduced. This troublesome complaint, in like manner as the preceding condition, is too often considered by the sex as the ef- fect of general weakness in their habit. They are, therefore, again led to the indiscriminate use of heat- ing and tonic medicines, as wine, bark, &c. without regarding the habit of body or cause of the disease. Local complaints of the chronic kind are commonly unconnected with constitutional causes, but by the mis- management of them, women either infect the constitu- tion with them, or they increase them, through having injured the general condition of the habit. It is under chronic local complaints of all kinds, even in both sexes, that so much more good may be done by doing but little cautiously, and trusting much to time, under the secret and salutary agency of nature. A sick person should not therefore deem the physi- cian's prescription trifling, as to the end desired, be- cause it may appear in itself of little importance A milk diet, change of air, and the partial cold bath,, as sponging the loins and thighs with cold water every morning, with attention to cleanliness and proper ex- ercise, and avoiding the occasional causes, are often sufficient to effect a permanent cure. Kowever, in ad- dition to this plan of treatment, when the diseasean.es from debility, or laxity of the vessels of the par , he balsam capiva, and the tonic powders or pill* or the rust of steel alone, in their usual doses, may be em- nloved with the greatest advantage. P Ten grains of powdered rosin taken three or four 490 Pregnancy. times a-day in the yolk of an egg, or a little molasses, is an excellent remedy in this disease. If the discharge should continue after the employ- ment of these means, a strong infusion of green tea or oak bark, to which a little alum may be added, should be thrown into the vagina several times a-day, and the tincture of cantharides taken in some mucilaginous drink, in doses of twenty or thirty drops thrice a-day. In respect to the final cessatiou of the menses, it is brought about by a particular change in the condition of the womb itself, and not through any material altera- tion in the constitution. How absurd it is therefore to set up any power to act in opposition to this establish- ed law of the animal economy. With these important changes, the constitution may sympathise, and be discomposed, if improperly treated; but by the laws of nature, the general health, both before and after these local alterations, may be better, than when under the influence of menstruation, which was solely ordained for one most important function of the woman's life. It is true, at that critical period, when the discharge is about to cease, which occurs between the 40th and 50th year of a woman's age, the cessation is sometimes suc- ceeded by a determination of blood to the'head, lungs, or bowels; but this is owing to their general tempera- ment, and may be easily obviated by moderate exer- cise, a spare diet, and the occasional use of aperient medicines, to keep the bowels in a laxative state, and, in case she complains of violent headach or giddiness, by blood-letting. PREGNANCY., The great varieties of the female constitution occa- sion pregnancy to be to some of the sex, of no trouble or distress, through the whole period of child-bearing; but it is to others often a continual disease, they being, perhaps, from the very first week to the last of their pregnancy, more or less disturbed in their frame from the peculiar irritability of their habits. The usual pe- Pregnancy. 491 riod, however, that its troublesome sympathies and an- tipathies prevail, is during the first month, until the time of quickening is past. In the young and healthy constitution, one of the most early symptoms of the incipient stage of pregnan- cy, is an uneasiness in the breasts, somewhat differing from what she may have been accustomed to on the eve of menstruation, and soon attended with some sen- sible addition to their natural fulness and weight, as well as with a particularchange in the appearance of the areola, or dark circle round each nipple. The nipples also soon become more prominent, some bulbous or glandular eminences around them enlarge, and a milky fluid will stain the linen, which had not been at all, or so much, observed before. These occurrences may justly excite in the mind, the first apprehension of preg- nancy, after which, the interrupted course of menstrua- tion generally establishes the certainty of the situation. Nature would seem, by these early notices, to put the mother immediately upon her guard, that she may not by imprudencies, and too much freedom, disturb the tender embryo. The most important circumstances to be attended to in the incipient months of pregnancy, is the costive habit of the bowels. This will more or less accompany the whole period of pregnancy. Its prevention/Will subdue, if not wholly keep off. some of the trouWesome complaints of the stomach, and will often ^rd, most securely, against some of the exciting causes of early & ThTcomplaints which occur in the early months of pregnancy/require a variety of treatment, in different circumstances. . ,„«„_ When symptoms of fulness appear in young women, formerly healthy, and accustomed to live well indica- ted hy pain or giddiness of the head, and Bushings in the face, or when the sieves* is constant or ^essive, modern hleedings will he exceedingly useful. But £ opposite circumstances, where there ,s *W™£» Jf nervous delicacy, along with symptom* of wdige.- 4:92 Pregnancy. tion, and consequently debility, bleeding must be care- fully avoided. In such cases, a nourishing diet, good air, cheerful society, and easy exercise, are most pro- per. Bleeding, cautiously used, either to reduce a too plethoric state of the general habit, or to alleviate some morbid affection, is a salutary agent; but it is in gene- ral more frequently had recourse to in pregnancy, than it should be, upon very erroneous principles. Because a pregnant woman, though by one of the established laws of nature, is now obstructed, they conceive it pro- per to draw blood, that the constitution may be freed of an imaginary redundancy, not recollecting that the process of pregnam-y is going on, to employ the inter- rupted menstrual fluid, to the now essential purpose of affording growth and support to the increasing womb itself, as well as to its contents. All the temporary be- nefits to be derived from blood-letting may be most safely and permanently attained by a due attention to the diet, and to the state of the bowels. Vegetables well boiled, and ripe fruits, are exceedingly proper for pregnant women, subject to a costive habit. When the stomach appears affected, along with con- stant loathing, or frequent retchings, the offensive mat- ter should be discharged by gentle vomits of ipecacu- anha, and the cold infusion of camomile flowers, or coluiabo root, drank daily. If this affection is accom- panied with a plethoric habit, or feverish disposition, small bleedings will generally give temporary relief; and when it occurs in a constitution of the nervous ir- ritable kind, laudanum in its usual doses may be de- pended upon. The floodings to which women are liable, at any time of pregnancy, occurs most frequently in the first months, and vary much in their character and tendency. They are more or less attended with danger, according to their frequency, and to^the time of pregnancy. In the early months they will sometimes put on the appear- ance of a copious flow of the menses, and render tjie sex sometimes doubtful of their situation. This will Pregnancy, 49S happen most frequently in the first and second months, and may be connected with the monthly paroxysm of the womb, aggravated by the existing state of pregnan- cy. When such hemorrhage has occurred, some in- jury has most likely been done to the embryo, whereby it is blighted; and about the third month of pregnancy, the patient will miscarry, if she does not at the time that the flooding first happens. However, by prudent management on the first alarm, such as keeping quiet and cool, by giving internally cold acidulated drinks, and by the application of a bladder with cold water, in whkh some crude sal am- moniac is dissolved, or cloths wrung out of vinegar and water, to the organ affected, the hemorrhage may be restrained, and abortion prevented. If the discharge should be attended with pain in the back, a dose of laudanum will put a speedy stop to the threatened dan- ger. Bleeding will be found of threat service in pletho- ric habits, to prevent miscarriage; but when the symp- toms which threaten it, have already come on, it is im- proper. In these cases, women should al«o be cautioned against adopting the idea, that this symptom arises from debility. Many, from this mistaken notion, have occa- sioned themselves to miscarry, by having recourse to the use of port wine and bark, by which they have also generally impaired their constitution, and have brought on a disposition to flooding, which has continued many months. In relaxed habits, the hazard of relapse must be guarded against, by the use of tonic medicines, a nou- rishing diet, moderate exercise, and the cold bath, but not on its extreme. Sea bathing, or bathing in a vessel in the patient's room, with the water a little warm, three or four times a-week. is not only an excellent method to prevent miscarriages, but other disorders which are incident to pregnant women, and generally attendant upon a weak lax fibre. In full habits, ouvvhen there is an evident disposition to plethora, gentle eva- 494 Pregnancy. cuations, a cooling regimen, and an abstemious and spare diet, are the best prophylactics. The irritable, as well as the plethoric woman, should take heed in time, and guard herself against disturbing the process of conception in its early stage, by avoiding the occasions of either sudden alarm, fatigue, fever, or whatever might derange the equable state of her health, and by attending to those meaus for its preservation, which are best suited to her particular constitution. Women advanced in their pregnancy, are frequently liable to pains in their back and loins, and cramps on the sides of their belly, and legs, and thighs. When they are violent, and the habit is full, small bleedings, gentle laxatives, a light spare diet, and occasional opi- ates are the best palliatives. By caution and good management, these occurrences seldom prove any bar to a safe delivery, or a favourable getting up. Nothing can be of greater importance to a pregnant woman, than cheerfulness. They should therefore not be depressed, by the relation of any unpleasant intel- ligence. Some women are often greatly disturbed by the account of misfortunes which have happened to others in the same situation. The impression made on a timid mind may remain during the whole state of pregnancy. The general health may be thus impaired, and the approach of la- bour too much dreaded, so that both body and mind are in a less favourable state, than they would other- wise have been. It should be considered, that though difficult and dangerous cases now and then occur, they most commonly terminate well, if properly treated, and their number exceeding; small, when compared to the multitude of women who.are delivered; and it is pro- bable that it would be still smaller, if the cautions above laid down were properly observed. We would further caution women against having re- course to cordials, to raise their spirits when low. Their good effects are, at best, but temporary, while they are ultimately baneful to the constitution; and the use of a small quantity too frequently produces the necessity for Pregnancy. 495 a larger, until both the mother and the unborn infant are injured by this pernicious practice. The best cor- dials for low ness of the spirits in pregnancy, are pure air, moderate exercise, aud a light and cautious diet. There is another affection of the mind of a different character, from which lowness and hysterical indispo- sitions often arise, namely, the force of a pregnant wo- man's imagination. This is often supposed to reach the infant in the womb, and to occasion marks and other deformities. But every mother may feel confident, that Providence has better guarded the unborn innocent, than to have exposed it to injury, from every variation in the feelings of a parent. Even admitting the possibility of such an influence, it could only take place at a very early period after conception, while the embryo is in its most tender state; and even then it seems, in a manner, secure by nature against the above accidents, by the peculiar provisions made for its defence in the womb. But it soon attains a sufficient degree of firmness to overcome any sudden or irregular impulse of the blood, from which alone such deformities, or other blemishes, could happen. The mother should, as much as possible, avoid every occasion of terror, on her own account, when any thing alarming occurs; but, let her not fear that her child will be marked from thence, or. still less, from some hidden operation of a disappointed longing, which most generally does not take place, until the above-mentioned period is past. Numberless examples could be produced to convince women, that the notion which most of them have, that figures of animals, or other extraordinary marks, are stamped on the face or the body of the foetus in the womb, by the mere force of the woman's imagination, is a gross error. In every instance it will be found, where a child is marked, the supposed cause of it has never been mentioned by the mother until after its birth; and when a woman has really been alarmed during her pregnancy, and ventured to foretel that her child would be marked, she has as uniformly been delivered of her 496 Progress of Labour. fears aud her child together, for her prediction has never been verified.* PROGRESS OF LABOUR. When a woman, after a preceding day of ease, and unusual activity, about the full period of her reckon- ing, begins to feel some restlessness about her, with occasional pains in her loins and sides; if she further perceive that the bulk of the belly has fallen, that the motion of the child has not been, for some time, so sen- sibly and frequently felt, and that she has a nervous hurry of the spirits upon her, with a feverish glow of heat, she may then conclude, that nature feels an incli- nation to prepare her for the termination of her preg- nancy. * Dr. Moore, in his Medical Sketches, relates a case so strong- ly in point, attended with such singular circumstances, that it is worth mentioning here. " A lady who had a great aversion tomonkies, happened unfor- tunately, during the course of her pregnancy, to visit in a family where one of those animals was the chief f ivourite; on being showed into a room, she seated herself on a chair which stood bt fore a table, upon which this favourite was already placed. He, not naturally of a reserved disposition, and rendered more petulant and wanton by long indulgence, suddenly jumped on the lady's shoulders. She was terrified, and screamed; but, on perceiving who had treated her with such indecent familiarity, she actually fainted ; and through the remaining course of her pregnancy, she had the most painful conviction that her child would be deform- ed by some shorking feature, or perhaps the whole countenance, of this odious monkey. " The pangs of labour did not overcome this impression; for in the midst of her pains, she often lamented the fate of her unfor- tunate child, who was doomed, through life, to carry about a hu- man soul in the body of an ape. When the child was born, she called to the midwife with a lamentable voice, for a sight of her unfonunaie offspring, and was equally pleased and surprised when she received a fine boy into her arms. After having enjoyed for a few minutes, all the rapturefrom this change from pain and misery to ease and happiness, her pains returned, and the midwife informed her that there was still another child. "Another!" exclaimed she, " then it is as I have dreaded, and this must be the monkey after all !" She was however, once more happily undeceived; the second was as fine a boy as the first." Pr&gress of Labour. 497 Some persons are disposed at this time to a laxity of the bowels, which is by no means an unfavourable symptom; and in very costive habits, if nature should not relieve herself, it will be advisable to take some gentle aperient medicine, to bring about that which is unquestionably favourable on the eve of every, but par- ticularly the first, labour. Premature labour is sometimes threatened by pains, which produce, for a while, some real change in the womb, sufficient even to give the practitioner just rea- son to expect that they will terminate in delivery. Bu£ things again recover their pristine state; the alarm of na- ture subsides, and the woman proceeds in her pregnancy, for several days longer, and sometimes for several weeks. As the change in the womb, above-mentioned, does certainly occur, even on a false alarm, it should put young and female practitioners on their guard, lest they promote labour too hastily, either by general treatment, or any manual operation; for these would only fruitless- ly tease the patient, when the judicious exhibition of an anodyne would do every thing that can be wished for. When, in consequence of irregular or premature pains, the membranes containing the waters with which the child is surrounded, have been broken before labour has really commenced, it must be expected soon to take place; though, if the pains should have entirely ceased, on the discharge of the waters, it may be delayed for some days; but it most frequently happens within twen- ty-four hours. There is nothing in this circumstance alarming. It may occasion the first part of labour to be more slow, but not in any degree less safe in the end. It arises wholly from the fineness of the membranes, which contain the waters, and which must rupture in every labour, at some period or other; and hence the waters are sometimes unexpectedly discharged, in a sudden manner, without the least preceding pain. In a slow labour, especially if it be the first, part ot the time, commonly spent in the lying -in apartment, mieht with more propriety be passed in the usual do- mestic habits. It would serve to lessen the too anxious 3 R 498 Progress of Labour. expectation of a speedy delivery, as well as to prevent the impatience of the attendants, both of which are of- ten improperly indulged. In the mean while, the apart- ment may be properly prepared, and the patient had better not go into it, until that necessary bustle is over. Some attention is also requisite, as to the manner of preparing the bed. The mattres-s should always be placed uppermost, especially in summer, and the ne- cessary apparatus and covering so arranged, that the patient may not require to be taken off the bed, after her delivery, which is often exceedingly improper, and indeed, sometimes impracticable; not to mention the fatigue it always occasions, even when it may be done safely, as to other particulars. Little things are often of great importance, and are sometimes found to be so, when it is too late. Women should so prepare their dress, against the time of labour, that it may not be necessary to disturb them, soon after delivery, by a change of apparel. Wrhen this is properly managed, they avoid an unsea- sonable fatigue, and the hazard arising from linen which may not have been cautiously aired. A sensible woman should always consider, that, in a slow labour, she may be afflicted with many distress- ing, and what have been called false, or spurious pains, but there are very few by which nature does not mean some good in the end. She must therefore give her mind to patience, as all unnecessary interference would rather retard, than assist tlie labour, and will only be employed by the designing and unskilful. Labours vary considerably in respect to duration. The first, if at the full period of gestation, is generally much the slowest, for very evident reasons, which oc- cur on that occasion only. But any subsequent labour may be tedious, from circumstances of a peculiar na- ture, but equally safe, with respect to the conclusion, as those of ordinary rapidity, provided no interference be, used, and nature be left to the secure, though slow, accomplishment of her object. When a woman, in her first labour is within an hour or two of her delivery, she ought on no account, to be Progress of Labour. 499 restless, or violent in her exertions, which many are apt to be, when the conclusion of the labour draws near. It is then that the practitioner is to guard against the serious consequences, which have sometimes attended the violence and hurry of the patient. More good will be derived from prudently delaying, than from hasten- ing the birth of the child, especially if it be the first, and this, even though the powers of nature herself may seem more than equal to the delivery. For this, and other reasons, which will presently be mentioned, it is also proper that such means should be used, as will prevent any part of the child being born into the world in too sudden a manner. We will now suppose the woman is just safely de- livered of her child, and that a complete cessation of the regular pains has followed. She must now endea- vour to calm that disturbance of the whole frame, which, added to her anxiety of mind before delivery, had ex- cited a great degree of heat and perspiration, especially if it should have been her first labour, or one attended with some unusual difficulty. In this state, s.he must not let herself chill, or cool too fast. It may, perhaps, have been necessary to throw off the bed clothes, during the last hour or two; if so, they should immediately on the birth of the child, be lightly placed over her again. She may now moisten her mouth with a cup of tea, grit gruel, or barley water, for either of which she will feel desirous, if she has not been taking frequently of one or the other, during the latter part of her labour; but they must be given her without wine or brandy. If she feels herself disposed to sleep, she should indulge it: at all events, she should keep herself quiet, and not encourage conversation. For it may be observed, that in general, the mind of a woman newly delivered of her first child, is so occupied with the novelty, as well as the anxiety of her situation, that her attention is too long kept alive, and therefore she can scarcely sleep, though exhausted by the fatigue of her labour. The midwife must now carefully attend to the degree, and force of contraction, which the womb is disposed to 500 Progress of Labour. take on, immediately or soon after the birth of the in- fant. The experienced practitioner will indeed have a presentiment, even while it is coming into the world, of what is likely to take place afterwards, from the man- ner in which the expulsion of the infant is completed. This should be effected slowly, even after the head is born, because such a practice favours that kind action of the womb, necessary to detach the placenta, which a contrary method will interrupt, and, we have no d<»ubt, has often been the cause of its being, with difficulty, brought away. Premature, or active endeavours to loosen it, must, however, be avoided, if its separation should not readily take place, by the seasonable con- traction of the womb. Let the operations of nature be watched, and she will prove the surest guide, though, in this part of the delivery, she ought never to be whol- ly depended on. The loss of blood, naturally consequent to the birth of a child, varies exceedingly in different women, and even in the same woman in different labours. On some occasions it is very trifling, and on others considerable; and the variation may either depend upon constitutional predisposition, or be occasioned by the peculiar at- tachment of the placenta to the womb. In some it will partly precede the descent of it, and in others will wholly take place after it, though not immediately. It cannot happen to excess before the delivery of the af- ter-burthen, but from some peculiarity of circumstances, provided proper attention be paid in time, to favour the first endeavours of nature to throw it off. The skilful practitioner, however, may know that it is safe, and yet not think it proper to bring it away immediately. A woman should, therefore, avoid expressing any im- patience about it, as this might induce some practition- ers to use that despatch which is not altogether consis- tent with their opinion, as many for want of firmness in their own judgment have done, that the patient, or her friends, might not have it afterwards to observe, that they were a long while in bringing away the after- burthen. Progress of Labour. 301 This kind of censure is too frequently passed upon the just conduct of the midwife, from the improper pre- judice, so often indulged, in favour of a speedy deli- very of the placenta. Women are too apt to deem that practitioner most skilful, who is the shortest time in finishing that part of a labour. Fatal, therefore, have sometimes been the consequences of this ill-judged management, particularly among the female practition- ers. The placenta, when it is at the command of the midwife, is sometimes a means of preventing that flood- ing which always excites a considerable degree of alarm in the lying-in room, and is certainly increased by the terror of the patient. It is a mistaken idea, that, in general, some external mechanical force is necessary, in order to expel the placenta. We cannot, therefore, approve of the modes, occasionally recommended, of coughing, sneezing, blow- ing on the back of the hand, or making general pres- sure over the belly, with a view of helping its descent, by any kind of tight bandage applied to the abdomen, immediately after the. birth of the child. The tender uterus may suffer from this pressure; nor is it of mo- ment, as to the effect it might have, either of disposing it to contract, or of supporting the viscera, which are not, as some suppose, relaxed, but only the parts of the abdomen contaiuing them. We generally find that the womb has of itself contracted, in a favourable manner, when there has not been any very sudden or hurried delivery of the infant. Neither can pressure be neces- sary, as some have lately asserted, to prevent the im- moderate expansion of an elastic vapour in the intes, tines, from the sudden change in the bulk of the womb diminishing the volume of the contents of the abdomen. The position to which a woman generally inclines, soon after her delivery, of itself supports the belly. If any thing further is wanted, a pillow placed before her will be sufficient, against which the patient may rest with that degree of pressure, which will feel agreeable to her. There is also a general action of the hand on the ab- 502 Progress of Labour. domen, which the patient herself may perform, and by which the uterus is tenderly excited to contract, and the placenta of course detached, in the most favourable manner, that will be found more useful than a bandage, or any extraordinary exertions of the patient, for this purpose. But as this may not be necessary in every case, it must be left to the judgment of the practitioner to direct, with the proper cautions to be observed in the application. We would further observe, that there can hardly ever be occasion for a woman to bear down, during the de- livery of the placenta. Indeed, on many occasions, it must be carefully avoided, lest it should produce, or increase a disposition to the prolapsus uteri. The throes, which take place naturally, are caused by the contractions of the womb, and with them alone the practitioner can generally, in due season, safely bring it away. They are most seasonable, when they quickly follow the birth of the child. We do not approve of a free and indiscriminate use of greasy applications, in the progress of a tedious la- bour. They are wholly unnecessary in the first stage of it, and in the latter paTt they interfere with the changes, which then take place naturally, and produce that mucous secretion, by which the parts are most fa- vourably lubricated, for the easy termination of the labour. But, after the complete removal of the placen- ta, it will be proper to apply a small quantity of mild pomatum, or fresh lard, to defend the parts from the acrimony of the ensuing discharges. Women will sometimes be liable, from peculiar irri- tability of habit, to some degree of faintness after de- livery, most commonly after the coming away of the placenta; but they may confort themselves with know- ing, that it is not always caused by too great a loss of blood. It is generally occasioned by uterine pains, and, though the patient may be faint, and even pale, the pulse will continue to be felt the whole time. On re- covering from the swoon, they are able to recollect that some degree of after-pain had immediately preceded Progress of Labour. 503 the faintness. Under these circumstances, it wTould be proper to take a cup of milk-warm gruel, with a little wine and nutmeg, uuless they have taken a sufficient quantity of proper nourishment since the birth of the child ; for they should avoid overloading the stomach, as a nausea from fulness will sometimes occasion faint- ness. When this circumstance has occurred, and has been removed by the above treatment, it will be still prudent to indulge themselves longer than usual, before they undergo the bustle of being settled in bed; and if they have really had rather a free discharge of blood, it would be advisable, that they be as little as possible disturbed for several hours, and not raised to an erect position of the body, until they feel sensible they are quite revived. If hemorrhage alone should cause the faintness, then cloths wetted with cold vinegar and water, must be frequently applied over the surface of the belly. A more effectual remedyr, when the hemorrhage is alarmingly profuse, is to pour cold water out of a pitch- er from a height on the abdomen. This scarcely' ever fails to check the effusion. Cloths wrung out of cold vinegar may also be applied to the vagina. Air should be admitted freely into the chamber, if the syncope is very great; some cool light nourishment should be given, and great quiet observed for a length of time: but it will be proper not to lake cordials, or warm liquids, at first. The occasional return of uterine pains under these distressing appearances, may afford consolation to the practitioner, and to the alarmed friends of the patient. If these general rules are observed, especially if a medical gentleman is not in attendance, they will pro- bably prevent immediate danger, and in time recover the patient. The restoration of the circulation will be denoted, by the return of the pulsation at the wrist. But it will always be proper to call in medical assis- tance immediately, when the above alarming circum- stances occur. 504 MANAGEMENT OF CHILD BED. A child-bed woman, as soon as all the circumstances of her labour have been adjusted, may with propriety consider herself as still in a state of health, and as re- quiring little more than the common cautions, and good management on all occasions necessary to preserve it The first hours after delivery, provided some light ' nourishment has been taken, should be dedicated to quiet and sleep, and no person should be allowed to enter the patient's chamber, except such as are abso- lutely necessary. A number of people, besides preventing repose, foul the air, and render a frequent supply necessary. The chamber door, and even the windows, if the weather be warm, should be opened every day, and the room in every respect kept as clean and as free from any disa- greeable smell, as any other part of the house. The patient should often be supplied with clean linen well aired ;'for cleanliness and free pure air, are essen- tial in this situation; and upon the strictest examination it appears that there never was miliary eruption pro- duced without a sweat, nor a puerperal fever without ei- ther foul air, an accumulation of excrement in the in- testines, or confinement of the patient to a horizontal position, thereby occasioning a stagnation and absorp- tion of acrid matter, except in cases where violence had been used in the delivery of the child or the placenta. The heat of the room ought to be so tempered that the patient may neither be chilled with cold, nor yet suffer from sweat or burning. The strictest attention should be observed to have an evacuation daily, by the use, if necessary, of mild laxatives, or by the exhibition of glysters composed of milk, oil and sugar, or of soap-suds. It is a security against fever and inflammation, and even forms one principal mode of relief, when they are already affected with either the one or the other. An equal regard should also be paid to get out of the bed as soon as Management of Child-Bed. &Q5 they can with propriety, and to sit up as long as possi* ble, without fatiguing themselves. If the lochia do not flow so plentifully as may be exr pected, or if they entirely stop, no irritating or forcing medicines should be used. They never do any good, and are often productive of much mischief. If the patient be otherwise as well as can be wished, no regard need be paid to this circumstance. We not only find this evacuation very different in different women, but even in the same woman in different lyings-in, from which she recovers equally well. Much mischief is often done by binding the belly too tight, If there be any occasion for support, a thin nap- kin pinned very slightly round the waist, is all that is absolutely necessary, and the sooner this is disused the better. But little change takes place in the breasts, after the first months of pregnancy, until about the second day- after delivery. Then it is usual to feel a greater sensa- tion of fulness in them, accompanied with a febrile irri- tation, which varies in different women, according to constitution and management; but in all is favoured by temperance, a cool* regimen, and composure of mind. The child should always be put to the breasts early, before the milk can have stagnated in them, or they ean have acquired any great degree of hardness. It will be beneficial both to the mother and child, if this be done in a few hours after delivery; and this is most consistent with the operations of nature. If the patient have not nursed any former child, the infant will probably meet with difficulties in fastening on the nipples. In this case some older infant should be applied, or it will be proper to have them drawn by some other means, without giving pain. If the breasts grow knotty, they should be gently rubbed twice or thrice a-day with a soft hand, moistened with sweet oil, or the volatile liniment (see Recipe 64). If they become inflamed and hard, a poultice made with the crumbs of bread and lead water, and applied nearly cold upon the part affected, and renewed every four or 506 Management of Child-Bed. five hours, will generally remove the complaint in a short time. Should this treatment not succeed in twenty-four hours, the application of leeches and the exhibition of the cathartic mixture, (see Recipe 11) will probably be attended with advantage. If, notwithstanding these, suppuration should ad- vance, warm bread and milk, or flaxseed poultices, must be frequently applied over the part, until the abscess breaks, after which they may be employed twice a day, observing at each dressing, to carefully press the matter from the wound. As soon as the matter ceases to dis- charge, the sore may be healed with Turner's Cerate, (see Recipe 71) or some mild ointment spread thin on soft lint. During the inflammatory state of the breast, the child must suckle entirely at the other breast, by which the blood will be diverted to it in greater quantity, and the impulse of the circulation at the inflamed part will he in consequence diminished. The practice of covering the breasts with flannel, or too many clothes, is a frequent cause of their becom- ing inflamed; as, from the heat and perspiration they are thereby kept in, they are much more liable to receive cold from the exposure of the chest in putting the child to suck, whatever precaution may be taken to avoid it. To prevent the nipples from becoming sore, they should be washed daily during the last month of preg- nancy with brandy or port wine, to harden their tender surface; but when they become inflamed, or chapt, the use of those astringent applications must be discon- tinued. The best application to them, when ulcerations are formed, and attended with a sharp acrimonious humour, is a strong mucilage of gum arabic, or they should be often washed with quince, or flaxseeds. Thick rings made of beeswax, and fitted very exactly to the nipples, are often preventive of sores, by keeping the nipples elongated. They should be applied imme- diately after the child has finished its suction, and be put on so that the ends of the nipples may protrude Management of Child-Bed. 50/ themselves through them. These rings, however, ought not to be used, when the milk runs out in too great quantities. If the woman do not suckle her child, no method should be used either to repel the milk or invite it into the breast. Nature will be certain to do her part. She is soon made sensible, that the blood determined to them is not wanted, and there will therefore be very lit- tle further effort made on her part to continue it, and it will in the course of a short time cease of itself. A cool- ing cathartic, with a suitable regimen, will entirely su- percede the necessity of any local treatment, and is all that can be required, even when a mother has suckled before. No degree of fever in child-bed should be passed over unattended to, or be thought lightly of. Even the most serious are often slight at their beginning. Neither should any local pain, or tenderness, or fulness of the bowels, be neglected, lest they should arise from the incipient state of some inflammation, which, if not check- ed at first, by proper medicines and suitable regimen, might, in a short time, put on some alarming appear- ance. Let it be remembered, that it is much easier to prevent diseases than to cure them. It will, however, be proper, to prevent unecessary alarm, to notice that the milk fever, which comes on about the second or third day, is not dangerous, and that it will not return a second time, if the cathartic mixture (see Recipe 11) be administered to open the bowels, and a cooling regimen observed. It may also be very necessary here to point out the difference between the pains which sometimes happen to women under puerperal confinement. Those which take place soon after labour, unattend- ed with fever, and affect principally the back and loins, are not dangerous, and will readily give way to a dose of laudanum. But the pains confined to the belly, at- tended with tenderness on pressure, and are more or less accompanied with fever, indicate that some local inflammation has taken place, and the suitable remedies to subdue it canuot be too early employed. SOB Management of Infants. We have already observed in this chapter, that a warm regimen, and foul stagnated air, are the causes of miliary, puerperal fevers. It is therefore obvious, in order to their cure, that cleanliness, cold acidulated drinks, and a free aud even cold air, be strictly enjoined. In the beginning of these fevers, blood-letting is sel- dom advisable, as they soon put on the form of putri- dity, and require the same mode of treatment as recom- mended for the cure of nervous or putrid fever, unless the pulse is much excited, accompanied with other symptoms of violent action, in which case the deple- ting system should be pursued. MANAGEMENT OF INFANTS. As soon as the child is born, it is proper to moisten the head and chest with a little brandy, which is all that is necessary, until the navel string is tied. In general, there is more impatience shown by the attendants, than is prudent, in respect to tying the navel string, and removing the infant from the bed. It is al- ways proper to let the pulsation in the cord entirely cease, before this is done, unless the child has previous- ly cried. In order to tie the cord as it ought to be, two ligatures will be necessary, which should be formed of such a number of threads, knotted together at each end, thtu iu tying firmly with them, there may be no danger of dividing the navel string. And, as soon as the circula- tion in the umbilical cord is stopped, one of them is to be applied about three or four fingers' breadth from the navel, and the other about two inches from the first, on that side next the placenta, and then divide the cord between them. In respect to the first washing of the infant, ndrses are sometimes at a loss how to proceed. It is most frequently born so clean, that much washing is not ne- cessary. A little soap is recommended to be used with the first water, to which it is proper to add a spoonful or two of brandy or rum. The water need not be more Management of Infant's-. 509 than milk warm, and the head of the child should be washed first. The infant is sometimes born with & cheesy mucus on its skin, which is most in quantity at the beudings of the limbs and back. It will be more readily removed, with the assistance of a little soft pomatum or sweet lard. It is advisable not to remove the whole of it at the first washing. The remainder will be more easily taken off the next day, when the child may again be washed all over with some warm water and spirit. But this is only to be used a second time, when this cheesy mucus has been in so great a quantity, that it requires more time to get it off, than can with propriety be em- ployed at the first washing. For the regular daily washing, only cold water should be used, with which the child should be wash- ed all over, beginning With the head. It should be finished as expeditiously as possible. The infant should be afterwards well dried, particularly at the bendings of all the extremities, and the whole body and limbs should be gently rubbed with dry soft linen or flannel until a glow of warmth appears upon the skin. It is the manner of washing a child that secures it from suf- fering from the application of cold water. The more delicate and weakly an infant is born, the more will cold water strengthen it, if well applied; and, besides its bracing qualities, it will, by cleanliness, prevent excoriations, and keep off that troublesome complaint, termed the scald head. When the application of cold water has been omitted for some days, it will be better to begin with the addi- tion of some brandy to the water, lessening the quan- tity of it gradually, so as to leave it off entirely in a fe WhJn'children are a few months old, cold ^thing may be substituted in the room of washing with cold water; and it may be proper here to add some direc- tions, respecting the mode of dipping a child m cold water- Of these, the principal is, carefully to watch for that moment when it has taken in a full breath, and 010 Management of Infants. then to plunge it into the water, and take it out instant- ly, so that no part of the action of respiration may be necessary, during the time of submersion. The child will then breathe freely on being taken out of the wa- ter, and suffer little or none of that agitation which of- ten defeats the intention of the practice, and produces a terror when it is to be repeated. The next article to be noticed, in the management of the new-born infant, is its dress. Very improper me- thods are often taken, even from the birth, to strength- en the apparent weakness of a young child, such as the practice of tight rolling, by which means the circu- lation of the blood is impeded, and the action of the abdominal muscles hindered from properly perform- ing their offices. If it is wished to have them strong upon their limbs, and properly active, early in life, as by nature they are intended to be, they should have the perfect freedom of their limbs, and their bodies easy, from the first day of their birth. Their clothes should therefore be rea- sonably loose upon them, and not too great in quantity, although properly proportioned to the nature and va- riableness of the weather. The quantity of an infant's bed covering should also be appropriate to the season of the year. Children should not be used to too much. If this article is not judiciously managed, as they grow up, they will be apt to perspire in bed, the consequence of which is, that they take cold, by throwing off the clothes, or they are weakened in spite of cold bathing, by the relaxing effects of heat and moisture. With respect to the proper manner of purging the new-born infant, the first thing commonly given by nurses, is butter and sugar mixed, which has often been detrimental by promoting acidity in the bowels. If the infant, after being completely dressed, is appa- rently quite easy, it should be laid down to sleep, with- out taking any thing; and after a few hours it may be applied to the mother's breast, whose milk is not only opening, but has the effect of promoting the natural Management of Infants. 511 action of the intestinal canal. However, if the infant appears to be loaded with phlegm, a little well made plain grit gruel should he given immediately, and when this or its natural food, the milk, is not found sufficient to expel the meconium or first black stools, and the child appears to be indisposed, a tea-spoonful of good castor oil may with propriety be given. As most of the infantile indispositions arise from overloading their stomachs, it is of great importance to pay due attention to the feeding of them. Nature has pointed out that mother's milk is the most suitable nourishment for the child; but even of this their sto- machs may be gorged. The mother would do justice to herself and child, if she would not accustom it to suck in the night after going to rest. Good habits are early and easily ac- quired with infants. When the child is to be brought up by the hand, considerable judgment is necessary to proportion the quantity of food to its age and strength. Weakly chil- dren will always require less food than those who are stronger, for they are less able to digest it. They are frequently attacked with alarming and even fatal con- vulsions, from their bowels being over-loaded. Under all circumstances, if the food is too thick, or given in too great a quantity, the perfect digestion of it is pre- vented. When the infant cannot obtain the milk of the mo- ther, or that of a healthy woman who laid-in about the same time, the best food, for several months at least, is coat's milk, ass's milk, or cow's milk, alone or nux- ed'with an equal quantity of well-boiled grit gruel or arrow root. If the child's bowels be in a laxative state, the milk may be boiled; but otherwise, it had better be given freshly drawn from the animal, or slignt- lv warmed. „ .■ « It is not necessary to feed a child oftener than five or six times in twenty-four hours, and the less it is fed id the ni-ht the better. It is a most ridiculous error to suppose, that whenever a child cries, it wants victuals, 512 Management of Infants. and thus to be constantly feeding it both day and night. If the child's wants and motions be judiciously attended to, it will be found, that it seldom cries, but from pain; and if it be properly nursed, and quite easy in its dress, it will rarely cry at all. Nurses should be particularly cautioned not to lay a child on its back when fed. In the posture of sitting, it swallows its food more easily) and more readily feels when it has enough. As the child advances in age, and its strength in- creases, weak broths, with a little barley, rice, or hard biscuit boiled in them, may be allowed. Without a proper degree of exercise in the pure air, our attention in clothing and feeding infants will not succeed to our wishes. It is therefore of great impor- tance, both to the population of the country, as well as the health of the inhabitants, that parents should atten- tively consider, that the more children are exposed to the open air, within prudent bounds, the hardier they grow, and the less they are subject to take cold. In the first period of infancy, the exercise should be very gentle, and afterwards increased, as the strength of the infant increases; and that will always he best, which, at the same time it gives motion to the body, appears to divert and entertain the mind. Independent of those means already described, to ensure the health of children, and preserve the human species, we must have an equal regard to the disposi- tions of children. It must be remembered, that on the treatment the child receives from bis parents, during this stage, will perhaps depend much of his misery or happiness, not only in his passage through this but through the other stages of his existence. If, on the one hand, every little sally of passion and impatience is immediately controlled; if that which is admissible is regularly permitted, and that which is improper, as regularly withheld, the little creature will soon learn to distinguish that which is allowed, from that which is prohibited. He will indeed urge his claim for that which he has been taught he has a right to, but will not harass himself and his attendants with ceaseless Diseases of Infants. 513 winnings, or raving to obtain that which uniform pro- hibition has placed beyond expectance. But a melancholy reverse appears, if on the one hand no consistency is observed in his management; if at one time, the slightest indulgence is refused, and at another the most extravagant, and even injurious cravings are gratified; the child becomes more and more fretful, till at length he manifests such ill nature, as to render him odious to all around him, and sooner or later the poor little sufferer pays with his life the purchase of his early indulgences. DISEASES OF INFANTS REQUIRING EX TERNAL TREATMENT. In this chapter, we will make a few observations on those diseases to which the newly born infant is liable, from the circumstances incidental to its birth, and which require principally external treatment. The head and face of a child after a difficult labour, or from an unfavourable presentation of the face, will sometimes be very much swelled. It will commonly subside in a short time. But when a tumour remains on any part of the head, it must be bathed several times a-day with brandy alone or mixed with vinegar, which will soon disperse it. The scrotum will also sometimes be remarkably tu- mid, and even discoloured, particularly when a child has been born by the breech presentation. In this case it will be proper to suspend it by a cloth, after first co- vering it with a piece of linen, wetted with brandy, which should be frequently renewed. When an infant is born, with no other sign of anima- tion than a weak pulsation of the heart, and the arteries of the navel string, we must endeavour to rouse the circulation by frequent applications of warm cloths, and bV rubbing the nostrils, temples, and extremities, with spirits or volatiles. A table-spoonful of brandy must be poured on the child's breast, and if possible a little o A 514 Diseases of Infants. of it should be swallowed. Stools should also be pro- cured by glysters, or by giving a dose of castor oil. Infants are born with a thin membrane under their tongue, called thefrcenum, which is sometimes so broad as to require dividing, in order to give freedom to the tip, and to allow the child to take proper hold of the nipples in sucking. It is easily divided by a sharp pair of scissors, and the operation can never be attended with any inconvenience, or hemorrhage, if it be done with proper caution. The infant generally has an evacuation from the bow- els soon after birth. If, however, any length of time should have elapsed without one, it will be proper to ex- amine the fundament, which is sometimes imperforated, so that the meconium cannot be voided. This case can only be relieved by a surgical operation, by which the natural passage is opened, and afterwards secured from closing again by the introduction of the bougie. The vagina of the female is also sometimes imperfo- rated. Parents should therefore carefully examine the infant, that it may not grow up with a defect, which at a certain period of life, must inevitably prove trouble- some, and which, at last, will require an operation to relieve. When a child suffers from a retention of urine, it should immediately be inquired into, whether the orifice of the urethra be pervious. This obstruction is more rarely met with in the female than the male. If it be found closed, the skill of the surgeon is required. Some- times an infant will be very long, perhaps a day or two, before it voids the urine, where no defect or obstruc- tion is to be seen. It will then be proper to rub the bel- ly with some warm brandy mixed with a little oil.— Some have recommended it to be rubbed with an onion. Which ever be used, it is advisable immediately af- terwards to apply to the belly a bladder half filled with scalded bran, or camomile flowers, or hot water; and lest by some accident it should burst, it would be pro- per to enclose it in a second bladder. A glyster of thin gruel, with a little oil, should be given, and if necessary. Diseases of Infants. 515 a tea-spoonful of castor oil may be swallowed. If the child is in considerable pain a few drops of laudanum may with propriety be added to the glyster. The breasts of infants will often enlarge considerably, within two or three days after they are born. The vul- gar notion of nurses, respecting the cause of this ap- pearance, is the occasion of much bad management. They become tumid, and appear to contain something like milk; and they have therefore often been rubbed and squeezed with a roughness amounting to cruelty. If the pressure of the clothes is avoided by their being put on loosely, it will go off gradually without any ap- plication ; but in case of much inflammation, equal parts of brandy and vinegar must be applied cold by means of soft linen, or poultices of the crumbs of bread and lead water or milk, should be employed for its resolu- tion. Many mothers will make themselves uneasy about the falling off of the navel string. This generally happens abouUhe fourth or fifth day, but often earlier, and some- times much later. When it separates, the nurse need only apply a piece of linen rag, scorched. If there should be more than usual tenderness, it may be proper also to sprinkle it with a little prepared chalk, or starch. In some instances, there is a discharge, and the part continues raw, and then it will be proper to apply three or four pieces of soft cabbage leaf, laid one over an- other, that they may be preserved moist and cool, and continued as long as the discharge may be considerable. The bleeding which sometimes happens at the navel, is of such little consequence, that a light compress, with some gentle styptic, and secured by a sticking plaster or bandage, soon removes it. I he soreness, when considerable, may require a mi k and bread poul- tice, and the exhibition of some mild laxative ^dicine. Infants are sometimes very early troubled with her- nial affections; and when they happen in the.groin, all Uiat can be done, is to bathe the part occasionally with brandy, keep the body open, use the cold bath and prevent the child from crying as much as possible, 516 Diseases of Infants. Rupture of the navel has already been treated of, in the preceding part of this work, under the head of rup- tures. There will often appear in the scrotum of infants, at birth, a turgescence, which has been called the watery rupture. Of this it is proper that parents and nurses should be aware, thatit may not be mistaken for the true rupture. From this it will be readily distinguish- ed by its transparency, and by its not becoming larger when the infants cries. Ft will generally be cured hy compresses moistened with vinegar and water, with the addition of as much brandy as the skin is able to bear. But the best method is to puncture the bottom of the tumour with the point of a lancet, which is attended with very little pain, and soon effects a cure. Another little complaint like the watery rupture, is tumefaction of the prepuce, which also arises from ex- travasated water, and is a partial dropsy of the skin. The complaint will be removed in a few days, by wash- ing the part frequently with lead water, or by applying a poultice made with it and.the crumbs of bread, and by keeping the bowels open. An inflammation will sometimes attack the eyes of children soon afterbirth, which has been usually attri- buted to cold; however, that is not the cause. A slight case will do well by keeping the eyes clean, and wash- ing very frequently with cold water. If the eyelids should stick together when the infant sleeps, it will be prudent to apply a very small quantity of sweet oil, fresh butter, or lard, to their edges. When the inflammation is considerable, a blister to the nape of the neck, and the occasional use of the cathartic mixture, (Recipe 11,) in doses of a tea spoonful every hour or two, to keep the bowels in a laxative state, are proper. The inflammation termed galling, which so frequent- ly occurs in the groin, between the legs, and on the neck of an infant, evidently arises from inattention to cleanli- ness, and from the use of coarse or new pilches.* * If children were attentively held over a pan from the month, Diseases of Infants. 517 The cure will easily be effected by washing the parts often in cold water, and after being wiped dry, dusting them with prepared chalk, or starch. If the excoria- tions are situated about the genitals, it may also he pro- per to apply a thick mucilage of gum arabic, or to co- ver the part with a little fresh saturnine or simple ce- rate, to defend it from the action of the urine. Slight ulcerations behind the ears of infants are also very common, and only require to be washed daily with cold water, and covered with a singed rag to keep the cap from sticking to them. They are sometimes bene- ficial, especially during bowel complaints, or teething, and will get well and break out again into very foul sores several times, without any cause for alarm. However, when these sores become extensive and painful, it will be proper to apply a blister on the nape of the neck, to draw off the heated serum, and to give now and then, a few grains of magnesia and rhubarb, or the absorbent and aperient mixture (see Recipe 9). The sores should also be well washed with Castile soap and water, and dressed with an ointment composed of one drachm of calomel and one ounce of the simple cerate mixed well together, and spread on each side of a double linen cloth, which must be applied twice a-day. DISEASES OF CHILDREN REQUIRING MEDICAL TREATMENT. Before we proceed to the consideration of those dis- orders requiring medical treatment, it may be proper to cive a hint in regard to the doses of medicine. In prescribing for children, the chief difficulty lies in fix- ing the appropriate dose; and hence medicines more frequently fail with them, or are over-dosed, than with the adult. As a direction, therefore, it is proper to examine in a general manner, the proportions fit for this early period of life. it would be found that they are more cleanly than people suppose, and would supersede altogether the use of cloths, either by night or day. 518 Infantile Jaundice—Snuffles. Thus seven years require half the dose of an adult. Three years.......the fourth. One year.........the sixth. One month........the tenth. With these proportions in view, where nq peculi- arity of constitution exists, the doses stated will gene- rally succeed. INFANTILE JAUNDICE. That yellow colour of the skin, which is observed in some infants a day or two after birth, arises from vis- cid matter affecting the gall-ducts, and is readily re- moved by the exhibition of three or four grains of ipe- cacuanha, or a few drops of antimonial wine, to excite vomiting, and by keeping the bowels open by the occa- sional use of the absorbent and aperient mixture (see Recipe 9), or a watery infusion of rhubarb. Should the symptoms continue, the emetic ought to be repeat- ed after two or three days, and the above mixture or rhubarb given every other day. SNUFFLES. This term is given to a disease, which generally affects children within the month, and most commonly in the first or second week, on account of the noise made in respiration. The discharge is much more abundant than that which attends common cold. It is, from the first, purulent and thick, and afterwards turns thin. Children afflicted with this malady are always of a weakly, unhealthy habit; and though having apparent- ly no particular complaint, they seem incommoded from a stoppage of the head, which is particularly percepti- ble in sleep, when their breathing is difficult. A pur- ple streak is observable on the verge of the eye-lids, as an attendant on this disorder, with a general fulness externally, about the throat and neck. Its duration ex- tends to several weeks; and when it departs, it is usual- Red Gum. 519 ly succeeded by a disorder of the bowels and other complaints. This disease appears with various degrees of violence. The chief symptom that gives uneasiness here is the difficulty of breathing through the nose, which arises from an inflammation of the membrane, that lines the posterior nostrils and throat. By this inflammation ex- tending, every part comes to be affected, even to the stomach and bowels, and hence the great and increasing debility it quickly occasions. The stools are thick and pasty, and of a peculiar green or blue colour. From this account of the disorder, the state of the bowels is a circumstance which must be more attended to, than in almost any other disease. To this end, one or two tea-spoonfuls of castor oil should be given every day. so as to procure four or five evacuations daily. The bark should be given in a decoction or glyster, joined with cordials, to support the strength of the child. The same remedies should be exhibited to the wet nurse. The acrimony of the discharge on the adjacent sur- faces of the nose and throat, should be prevented by washing the parts frequently with warm camomile, or elder-flower tea, and afterwards applying a little sweet oil. Where convulsions are threatened, or occur, lau- danum is very proper, after the operation of laxative medicines; and in many cases, the anodyne should be given two or three times a-day. In this disease, blisters are improper, as tending to produce gangrene of the part. RED GUM, Is an efflorescence of spots, varying in their size and appearance, confined to the superior parts of the body. In general it is necessary only to keep the bowels open with the absorbent and aperient mixture, or magnesia, and to keep the child moderately warm, otherwise the rash striking in, may fall upon the bowels and produce fever. Infants are liable ;fco various kinds of rash, both 520 Thrush.—Costiveness, 8£c. in the mouth and on the body, till the period of teeth- ing is over. These cutaneous affections will be found owing either to some ill quality in the breast milk, a heating regimen, or errors in diet. It is only necessary to avoid the occa- sional causes, and the infant will not be troubled with them. THRUSH, Is an eruption of white spots, generally appearing within the month, on the lips and inside of the mouth, and sometimes affecting the whole alimentary canal. Like the preceding disease, it owes its origin to some affection of the first passages, and consequently will re- quire a similar treatment. As a local application, borax and honey, in propor- tion of one drachm of the former, finely powdered, to an ounce of the latter, and well mixed together, will have an excellent effect in cleansing the mouth, and healing the ulcers, especially when the milk adheres much to its surfaces. A little of this paste may be put on the child's tongue, as often as may be necessary to keep the parts clean; which will be licked to every part of the mouth, and will effectually do, without putting the infant to pain, by forcibly rubbing it on. But the cure is not permanent, unless the occasional causes are avoided, and the absorbent and aperient mixture, (see Recipe 9,) or magnesia, be given to subdue the feverish state of the system. COSTIVENESS AND WIND. Costiveness may be either constitutional or acquired. When constitutional, it is better to do but little, parti- cularly if the child appears in tolerable health in every other respect. In case of acquired costiveness, the pre- vention, as well as cure, will only be permanently found by avoiding improper treatment and diet. Flatulence generally accompanies costiveness, and Looseness, or Cholera Infantum. 521 is sometimes attended with pains of the stomach and bowels, which are indicated by the drawing up of the infant's limbs, aud by its agonising manner of crying. Under such circumstances, it will be proper to apply warmth to the belly, by bran or camomile flowers heat- ed with hot water, and put into a bladder, which is only to be half filled with it, and then tied and wrapped up in a flannel. At the same time it will be proper to give a tea-spoonful or two of castor oil. If this should not operate speedily, or the child remain in much pain, a plain glyster of thin gruel should be administered. The suppository will sometimes answer very well. The best in common use is prepared by scraping a can- dle until it is rendered sufficiently small and tapering to introduce it into the anus about an inch, or two inches at most. It will be better to dip it in oil before used. A strip of paper or linen cloth twisted up, and well moistened with oil, is easily introduced, and forms aho a good suppository, or dry glyster. It is a very common practice to give carminative me- dicines to infants, in order to remove flatulence, such as grated ginger and spices of different kinds. These OU"-ht never to be employed when the infant is the least feverish, or when the bowels are in a costive state. If any flatulence remain after costiveness has been re- moved, and there are no febrile symptoms, a drop or two of laudanum, or double the quantity of paregoric, fennel tea, and a little of the absorbent and aperient mixture, (see Recipe 9) or magnesia, may be given with advantage. It is the bad manner of feeding, as well as over- feeding children, in general, even at the breast, that is the cause of almost all they suffer from costiveness, flatulence, and acidity. LOOSENESS, OR CHOLERA INFANTUM. A purging is one of the most frequent complaints of infancy; however, it should be remembered that it is not always a disease; but on the contrary, it often 522 Looseness, or Cholera Infantum. proves a remedy. By it, nature most commonly throws off an offending cause. Its causes, therefore, and treat- ment, require very particular attention. Both vomiting and purging very often arise from un- wholesome, milk or other food, from teething, from a moist cold air, as well as from the sudden disappear- ance of some eruption on the skin. The purging is not then hastily to be stopped, until the offending cause be removed. The treatment, therefore, of this complaint, must consist first in removing, as far as possible, the irri- tating matter, and then checking the particular symp- toms. If the offending cause appears lodged in the stomach, the cure should begin by giving an emetic, and afterwards small doses of rhubarb, or the absorbent and aperient mixture (see Recipe 9). The nature of this disease is to be often drawn from the appearance of the stools, and the treatment ought in a great measure to be regulated from that circum- stance. Thus when the stools are sour and curdled, after the necessary evacuations have been premised, the absorbent mixture (see Recipe 8) or a few grains of prepared chalk or magnesia, combined with grated nutmeg, or some aromatic, is strongly pointed out, in addition to opening medicines. When again the stools are slimy, and of a clayey colour, in addition to the former plan, injections of soap-suds are not to be omit- ted, and Castile soap dissolved in milk will be found a useful drink. When the stools are watery and bloody, or fcetid, castor oil and calomel are the best purgatives, and if attended with much griping, glysters of milk and soapsuds should be often repeated. The extent and. continuance of this plan, must de- pend on the obstinacy of the complaint. To these me- dicines, opiates according to the age of the child, may be given with the greatest advantage at bed-time, pro- vided there exists no febrile symptoms. When the child is cold and languid, the purgative medicines ought to be joined with some aromatics, as grated ginger, and given less frequently: and during the intermediate days, as well as the evening after the Discharge from the Vagina, 5.2% physic has operated, a cordial diet, such as the addi- tion of wine in gruel or arrow root, with plenty of nut- meg, should be allowed. Besides this internal treatment, external applications are of the greatest service, as cloths moistened with the camphorated spirits, or wrung out of brandy stewed with spices, aud applied warm to the belly and ex- tremities. Blisters to the legs and arms have also their good effects, and ought to be repeated in obstinate cases. Wearing flannel next the skin, or a bark jacket, will also prove an auxiliary. A soft flannel bandage, passed frequently and with some degree of tightness, round the body immediately over the stomach and bowels, is found to be a very useful remedy in this complaint. In the treatment of all abdominal complaints, much attention is necessary to the nature and kind of food or nourishment taken. The food of children, with this view, should be deprived of acid as much as possible; hence, instead of milk, animal food, in the form of beef tea, or mutton broth, is preferable. When there is an habitual disposition to purging, there is no diet superior to arrowroot; and when this is not at hand, flour baked in an oven till it breaks into a powder, and afterwards made up with boiled milk, is a good substitute. Tapi- oca and sago are also very nutritious. Indeed it is proper to alternate the food occasionally, from one kind to another, and frequently to exhibit the animal food in a solid form, when the stomach rejects fluid nourish- ment. The change of the wet nurse sometimes makes a necessary part of the treatment; and when a child has been weaned, resuming the breast has often had the happiest effect. In many instances, a change of air alone has proved an effectual remedy, after every other means had failed. DISCHARGE FROM THE VAGINA. Infants have sometimes a discharge from the vagina, a few day9 after birth, resembling matter; but it is of no consequence, as it goes off of itself in a short time. 524 Worms. Children of five or six years old are subject to a mu- cous discharge, resembling the genuine whites of adults, which will in some instances be in an excessive quan- tity, so as to run through all their clothes. The dis- ease readily yields to a little cooling physic, as the cathartic or absorbent and aperient mixture (see Recipe 9) and keeping the parts perfectly clean with soap-suds or lead water. When it is obstinate, balsam capivi may be given thrice a-day, and if the child is puny, the tincture of steel is a suitable remedy. WOI^MS. The symptoms enumerated as most commonly dis- tinguishing worms, are, pain and acid eructation of the stomach, variable appetite, foul tongue, fcetid breath; the belly full, hard and tense, with occasional gripings or pains in different parts of it, particularly about the navel; irregular state of the belly, heat and itchiness of the fundament, urine white and limpid, and often dis- charged with difficulty. With these symptoms are joined a dull appearance of the eyes, often dilation of the pupil, itchiness of the nostrils, short dry cough, slow fever, with evening exacerbations and irregular pulse, grinding of the teeth in sleep, &c. However, many of the above symptoms occur in other diseases, and 1 believe, as was suggested to me by the learned Dr. Caldwell of Philadelphia, that worms are much oftener suspected to be the cause of children's complaints, than what they really are. For the care of worms, two indications arise; first, to expel them, and secondly, to prevent their generation. The first may be effected by giving a dose of calomel at bed-time, and rhubarb the next morning to work it off. The pink-root (see Materia Medica) has long been held in high estimation as a vermifuge. It may be given in the form of tea, with milk, sweetened, for breakfast, observing not to continue the use of it, if it is found to affect the child's eyes. The bark of the Pride of China (see Materia Medica) is much extolled Convulsive Fits. 255 of late, as a remedy for worms. My friend Dr. Grimes, of Savannah, says, that he considers it one of the best vermifuges we are acquainted with. He directs a tea to be made of the bark of this tree, and as much of it taken during the day, as the child can bear without producing vomiting, purging, or considerable weakness of the limbs. External applications have also been found useful for the removal of this complaint. These consist of a liniment made of equal parts of beef's gall, aloes and sweet oil or fresh butter, rubbed on the belly every night; or a plaster made of dry rue and aloes, or gall mixed up with a little turpentine and lard, and applied over the region of the belly, taking care to cover the navel with a piece of cotton. The future generation of worms will be prevented by avoiding greasy food, and by taking the rust or tinc- ture of steel thrice a-day, joined with bitters, to give tone to the bowels. CONVULSIVE FITS. The convulsions of children are generally preceded by slight symptoms of distortion of the face, as, invo. luntary laughter when asleep or awake, squinting of the eyes towards the nose, or turning them upwards, the child, at the same time, changing to a bluish colour. The fit itself is distinguished by distortions, more or less general, according to the violence of the attack. They are attended with the usual symptoms of froth, or frothy discharge from the mouth, and they are ter- minated by profound sleep, from which the child awakes unconscious of its former state. The treatment depends on the particular cause of ir- ritation. Thus when it is expected to arise from reten- tion of the meconium, or undigested matter received into the stomach, laxatives, as castor oil, should be given as early as possible. When from teething, the protrusion of the teeth should be hastened by lancing the gums. When from retropelled eruption, the warm 52b' Teething.— Watery Head. bath and blisters are to be had recourse to. And when from worms, the remedies detailed in that disease are to be employed. When the cause of convulsions is unknown, throwing up a glyster, bathing the extremities in warm water, and blood-letting, if the child seems able to bear it, arc the safest means during the uncertainty, The symp- toms still continuing, sinapisms should be applied to the extremities, and blisters behind the ears. An emetic of ipecacuanha or antimonial wine, is found to be an exceedingly useful remedy in this dis- ease. TEETHING. The symptoms that mark dentition are, heat and swelling of the gum, and a tendency to drivel or slaver much, with starting, and thrusting of the fingers into the mouth. Difficult teething, as a species of inflammatory disease, is to be treated as such. Bleeding with a leech or two behind the ears, or applying blisters there, or to the nape of the neck, will be found beneficial. But nothing is so effectual as scarifying the gum with a lancet, which should be occasionally repeated, according to the ur- gency of the symptoms; for, by thus removing the cause of irritation, the effect cannot fail to cease. A moderate looseness being beneficial in teething, should rather be encouraged than checked. If costive- ness prevails, it must be removed by the occasional use of the cathartic, or absorbent and aperient mixture, (see Recipe 11); and when there is much fever, the antimo- nial solution (see Recipe 6) in very small doses, to pro- duce perspiration, should also be employed. WATERY HEAD. This disease is distinguished by pain of the head, accompanied with nausea, sickness, and other disorders of the animal functions, without any evident cause, and Watery Head. 527 sudden in their attack; variable state of pulse; constant slow fever; and in the advanced stage of the disease, dilation of the pupil of the eye, with a tendency to a comatose state. It most frequently takes place between the age of two and ten years, and with children of a scrofulous habit. It may, however, arise from falls and blows on the head. The first stage of the disease is marked by loss of appetite, and a degree of melancholy and uneasiness, without the child being able to fix on any particular cause. Pain in the head is next felt, especially above the eyes, and in a direction betwixt the temples. In very young subjects, pain in the head is indicated by the child putting his hand often to his head, and waving it about. This pain gradually extends, and is at last felt more particularly in the arm and leg of one side. The affections of the stomach next commence, and alternate with pain and uneasiness of the head. The febrile symptoms, through pretty constant, are milder in the morning, but suffer also an evening exacerbation. Vo- miting occasionally occurs, but costiveness is a leading symptom; the tongue is a little affected, except towards the end, when it assumes a scarlet colour, and some- times becomes aphthous. As the disease advances, all the symptoms of hectic are conspicuous, and during the whole disease, the child shows a strong propensity to the bed, or a desire to avoid being moved. This disease is truly inflammatory in its commence- ment, and can only be treated with success by the early employment of those means which are best calculated to subdue inflammation; such as copious and repeated bleedings, the application of leeches or cups, blisters to the head and temples, and an issue behind the neck. Besides these external remedies, active pu-ges, as calomel and jalap, must be frequently administered, and if possible a ptyalism should be produced by the use of mercury, either in the form of calomel in small doses, or by rubbing in the unction. If acid prevails, the absorbent mixture (see Recipe 8). 528 Croup, or Hides. must occasionally be given, and during the continuauce of fever, the tincture of digitalis or foxglove, (see Re- cipe 55) will be found an auxiliary. After subduing the inflammatory action of the system, opium or laudanum may be employed with advantage, to relieve the spasm, or pain of the head, when it is con- siderable. In the last stage of the disease, cold bathing and the use of tonic medicines, may be required to in- vigorate the system. CROUP, OR HIVES. This disease, peculiar to children, is a species of asthma, with violent catarrhal symptoms. It is most common in low marshy countries, or on the sea coast, and in wet and cold seasons. Indeed it is readily oc- casioned by any thing wet or damp, or which obstructs the perspiration. There are two species of croup, the acute or inflam- matory, and the chronical or lingering: The former is attended with a very quick pulse, Cough, hoarseness, and difficulty of breathing, soon after and sometimes even before the occurence of the croak- ing noise, which is the characteristic of this disorder. As the disease increases, the pulse quickens, the heat augments, and an excessive restlessness takes place.— The breathing becomes more and more difficult, and laborious, and the peculiar wheezing sound which ac companies it, so increases, as to be heard at a considera- ble distance. The symptoms continue to increase in violence, until a spasm of the muscles of the parts taking place, the patient is suffocated; the disease often completing its course in the space of three or four days and nights. The extreme degree of danger which always accom- panies this disease, and the rapidity with which its symptoms proceed, show that immediate remedies are requisite to arrest its progress. Therefore, on the first appearance, blood-letting, both general and topical, should be employed, and repeated two or three times a- Croup, or Hives. 529 day, according to the violence of the symptoms, and habit of the patient. Immediately after bleeding, an emetic should be administered, and the sickness kept up for several hours or even days, by small doses of the antimonial solution (see Recipe 6). Inhaling the steams of hot vinegar and water, and embrocating the throat with the volatile liniment, (see Recipe 64) have also their good effects. Besides which, the application of blisters to the throat are not to be neglected, if the symptoms are the least alarming. The decoction of seneka or rattle snake root, (see Materia Medica) is a valuable medicine in this dread- ful complaint. It should be given at first in such doses as to excite vomiting, and afterwards in smaller doses, to keep up a nausea at the stomach, and to produce perspiration. Onions (see Materia Medica) are also celebrated as a sovereign remedy. The tincture of digitalis or foxglove, (see Recipe 55) is likewise a good remedy, if employed in the early stage of the disease. Attention should always be, paid to keep the bowels open by castor oil or some aperient medicine. The most speedy and efficacious of all remedies, in this alarming disease, which has come under my no- tice, is calomel in very large doses. For this valuable remedy, I candidly acknowledge myself indebted to my excellent and very learned friend, professor Davidge of Baltimore. . From him, I have been emboldened to use it in des- perate cases, in doses from thirty to sixty grains, to children. On my own daughter, only four years o d, and apparently in the very act of suffocation, I used it in the dose of at least sixty grains. The cure was al- most instantaneous. Among other instances of cure as surprising, was one in the infant of my amiable friend, Mrs. Chalmers, lady of the Rev. Mr. Chalmers, of Washington, with the dose of forty grains. The cure was so immediate, that the over joyed parent insisted I would instruct her in the remedy, for fear, on the next attack, 1 might not be in the way to prescribe. On 3 X 530 Whooping-Cough. learning I had given her infant, not more than between three and four years old, forty grains of calomel, she was excessively frightened, and exclaimed, "you have killed my child!" and indeed she could hardly be per- suaded for some time, though her eyes told her the con- trary, that 1 had not killed her child. So powerful is the effect of this medicine, that it suddenly removes the disease without having recourse to other means. It acts on the stomach, bowels and skin. In cases not very alarming, I have given calo- mel in smaller doses, conjoined with ipecacuanha, with good effects. The flaxseed syrup is peculiarly beneficial in all dis- eases attended with cough, and therefore should not be omitted in this. To prevent a relapse, and to re- store the strength of the patient, it will be proper, at the close of this complaint, to give bark in any form which is most agreeable and convenient. The latter, or cronical croup, is produced by spasm, and unaccompanied with fever. A most important re- medy in this species, if early used, is the warm bath, immediately followed by a glyster, to which some of the juice of raw onions may be added. A tea-spoonful or two of the juice may also be given by the mouth. If the symptoms do not yield to this treatment, an eme- tic should be administered, and after its operation, a dose of laudanum will he proper. Some children are troubled with this complaint for several years, and then seem to out-grow it. A flannel shirt, light diet, cold bath, change of air, gentle exer- cise, and whatever strengthens the body, are the best preventives. WHOOPING COUGH, Is a contagious disease, attacking in paroxysms of a convulsive suffocating cough, with a loud noise or whoop at each respiration, and generally terminating by vomiting. It is clearly the effect of a specific con- tagion, of a peculiar nature, and highly active, affect- ing, like the small-pox and measles,, but once in life. Whooping-Cough. 531 The treatment of this disease must be regulated by the degree of fever and spasm. When the fever is considerable, bleeding becomes clearly indicated, as well as blisters over the breast, and the use of laxative medicines, together with such as may determine to the surface; of which class, the decoction of rattle-snake root, (see Materia Medica) or the antimonial solution (see Recipe 6) are to be preferred. When the spasmodic state is most predominant, and the symptoms of fever mild, emetics will be highly useful, followed by a dose of the anodyne sudorific drops (see Recipe 17) at bed-time. If a free use of the flaxseed syrup is not sufficient to allay the cough, laudanum, or paregoric, when fever does not forbid, may be given with the greatest advantage. In this tiresome disease, I have found no remedy, when there is little or no fever, superior to this mix- ture,* given three or four times a-day, in syrup or tea, commencing with small doses, and gradually increas- ing them until a slight strangury is excited. The strangury usually comes on about the third day, and the whooping-cough seldom continues longer than a few days afterwards. A grain of asafcetida, administered four or five times a-day, proves oftentimes a very useful remedy in cases of whooping cough. When the disease is recurrent, and returns some time after its apparent departure, as it freqently does upon taking cold, an emetic, a dose or two of castor oil, and the anodyne sudorific drops (see Recipe 17) lauda- num, or paregoric at bed-time, as the symptoms may indicate, will quickly remove it. A milk and vegeta- ble diet is peculiarly proper in this complaint; and when the patient is debilitated, a change of air, and tonic medicines, as the bark of columbo, will be found neces- sary. * Take of Tincture of bark, one ounce and a half, Paregoric, half an ounce, Tincture of cantharides, one drachm. Mix. 532 Rickets. RICKETS, Consist in an enlargement of the head, belly, and joints, flattened ribs, and general emaciation, with a bloated or florid countenance. This disorder generally takes place from six months to two years of age, and arises either from unhealthy parents, or from the chil- dren being improperly nursed, kept wet, dirty, in a Close damp air, without due exercise. Weakness and relaxation being the cause of thwi complaint, its remedy must of course be to promote di- gestion, and to brace and strengthen the solids. Hence a nutritious and cordial diet, with exercise in the country air, is indispensable. Along with this, the cold bath and tonic medicines, as bark, columbo, and steel, to warm and invigorate the constitution, are peculiarly proper; but they should not be entered upon without previous purging with calomel and jalap. The tinc- ture of rhubarb (see Recipe 52) should also be occa- sionally employed, to keep the bowels in a regular state. However, nothing will be found more effectual in recovering the patient, than a generous diet, and cohi bathing, particularly in salt water. Sea-bathing constitutes, perhaps, the most promising remedy in this disease. 933 MATERIA MEDICA. " HOW wonderful are thy works, O Lord! in wis- dom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy riches." In all parts of these his Glorious Works, in their admirable fitness to one another, and their constant sub- serviency to the good of all, we behold the Wisdom and Goodjness of the Great Creator. But in no department of his works do mingled wis- dom and goodness shine with greater lustre than in the vegetable kingdom. There is scarcely a plant that greens the field, a flower thai gems the pasture, a shrub that tufts the garden, or a tree that shades the earth, which does not contain certain medicinal virtues, to remove our pains, and to heal our diseases. The American continent, though the last found, is not the least favoured of God in this respect. Embra- cing almost every clime and soil of the globe, it richly abounds with drugs of every healing quality. The common saying, that every country contains the best cures for its own diseases, seems fully verified in America. Here, above all countries, is the ague, and here exclusively, is the grand cure, the Peruvian bark tree or dogwood. And here too, exclusively, is found the Spanish-fly, the tobacco, the Jamestown weed, the pink and snake roots, besides those other valoable plants, equal to the ipecacuanha, rhubarb, jalap, &c. &c. which have hitherto been imported at a great expense, though not always genuine; but which may now be obtained in our own fields and woods, both unadulterated and Worthy of the high character of Americans, many eentlemen of the finest genius among us, have explored the medical treasures of our own country, and have 034 Materia Medica. shown an eagerness to make known the precious means to preserve the health and lives of our citizens. First on the list of this noble band of philanthropists, stood that bright literary and professional genius, the late professor Barton, from whose " Collections towards a Materia Medica of the United States," much valuable matter has been selected. If by the laws of Rome, "a civic crown was adjudged to lhe man who saved the life of a single citizen," what eulogy is suffi- ciently great to be attached to the memory of him, who, besides illuminating several other walks of ornamental and useful knowledge, has, by investigating the virtues of our native vegetables, laid the foundation whereby millions of our worthy citizens may be rescued from an untimely death. Next comes professor Chapman, who, if possible, with greater ardour, has been bending the forces of his powerful mind to the same all-important researches. The meed of highest gratitude is due also to profes- sors Hosack, Dexter, Mitchill, and to Doctors Mease, Cutler and Thatcher; to colonels Hamilton, Bird, &c. From the valuable discoveries and communications of these gentlemen, I have, with great industry and care, compiled an American Materia Medica, exhibit- ing, in alphabetical order, the names, characters, and qualities of our best medicinal plants hitherto discover- ed, together with the diseases they suit, and their pro- per doses, and forms of administration; the whole strip- ped of technical terms, and making, as I humbly hope, one of the most complete systems for family use now extant. AGARIC. See Touchwood. AGRIMONY—Agrimonia, Grows two or three feet high, in hedges and the mar- gins of fields-^-blossoms in July on long spikes, yellow. It is known by the vulgar name of cuckold, from the seeds sticking to the clothes in the fall of the year. Materia Medica. 535 In whey or tea it forms a good drink in fevers. The juice of this plant, or a strong infusion of the roots, two handfuls to a quart of boiling water, and sweetened with honey, is an excellent medicine in the jaundice, scurvy, and habitual diarrhoea or looseness. Dose of the infusion half a pint; of the juice a wine-glassful three times a day. The herb has been applied external- ly to fresh wounds. ALDER, BLACK—Alnus Nigra, Sometimes called Virginia winterberry, grows in moist places, generally sending up several slender stalks to the height of ten feet, and bears a red berry. The bark is tonic, and accordingly is used in sub- stance, or in strong decoction, like the Peruvian bark, in intermittents, and other cases of debility, as dropsy, gangrene, &c. The inner bark in the shape of poultice externally, with the decoction internally, a handful or two boiled slowly in three pints of water to a quart, is celebrated both by professor Barton and Dr. Mease, as of admirable use in arresting the progress of morti- fication. A strong decoction of the berries formed into a syrup with molasses in dose of a wine-glassful, or two tea-spoonfuls of the powder of the inner bark, is said to be a good purge. ALEXANDER. See Parsley, wild. ALUM ROOT—J/eMcAera Americana, Called also American Sanicle. The root is a very in- tense astringent. It is the basis of a powder which has lately acquired some reputation in the cure of cancer. Professor Barton observes that he does not believe that the alumroot has cured genuine cancel, but that it has proved very beneficial in obstinate ulcers, which have been mistaken for cancers. He says it is one of the ar- ticles in the Materia Medica of our Indians, the powder- ed root of which they apply to wounds, ulcers, and cancers. 336 Materia Medica. ANGELICA—Angelica, Grows in marshy woods and hedges, flowering iu June and July. It is frequently cultivated in our gar- dens. Every part of this useful vegetable partakes of its aromatic virtues, but especially the root, which in the form of powder, tincture or tea, is useful in flatulent colics. Conjoined with dogwood bark, or any other tonic, it may, like the Peruvian bark, be employed with advantage in intermittents and low stages of fe- ver. The dose, one tea-spoonful, in substance, of the former to two of the latter. It may also be employed in the form of strong decoction, in doses of a gill, or in cold phlegmatic habits, in tincture, either alone, or with dogwood berries, centaury, lemon peel, or any other articles of the bitter and tonic class. A strong decoction of the root, combined with red oak bark, a large handful of each to a pint of boiling water, makes an admirable gargle for relaxed and spongy gums, and ulcerated sore throats. APPLE, PERU. See Thorn Apple. ARBUTUS. See Bearberry. ARROW ROOT—Maranta Arundinacea, Is cultivated in the southern states. A table-spoonful makes a piutof the finest jelly in nature, which affords the most nutritious food in acute diseases for children. To persons labouring under bowel complaints, as di- arrhoea and dysentery, it is of itself a remedy. The jelly is made in the following manner—To a table-spoonful of the powdered root, add as much cold water as will make it into a thin paste, and then pour on boiling water through the spout of a kettle, stirring it at the same time briskly, till it becomes a clear jelly; after which season it with sugar and nutmeg, and to render it still more palatable, a little wine or lemon juice may be added. But to children, blending it with new milk is best. Materia Medica. 537 ASARABACCA SWAMP—Asarum, Grows in low lands. It has but two leaves, which rise immediately from the. root, and divide from one stem. The flowers are purple and bell-shaped, and proceed from between the leaves. The whole of this plant has a nauseous bitter taste. The root, from a half to a table spoonful in powder, operates both upwards and downwards. In the form of infusion, a half-handful to a quart of boiling water, it is said to be serviceable in the whooping-cough, in doses of a table-spoonful to children every half hour, or oftener, until it vomits; and in doses of a tea-cupful three times a-day, it has been used with success to promote the menses, or courses. AVENS COMMON— Geum Urbanum, Grows a foot high by fences and borders of fields. The blossoms are white or yellowish in July. Its smell resembles that of cloves. A strong tincture of the root, two handfuls steeped in a quart of spirits, given to the quantity of half a wine-glassful, or the powder, in doses of a tea-spoonful, several times a-day, has afforded an excellent remedy in intermittents and other disorders where strengthen- ing medicines are requisite. It is said to be equal to the Peruvian bark. There is another variety of this plant, called water avens, throat root, cure-all, which is to be found in boggy meadows. The blossoms are purplish, and ap- pear in May. Its properties are the same as the pre- ceding. A decoction of it has been found beneficial as a gargle in ulcerated sore throats, which probably gave rise to the name of throat root, or throat wort. BACK-ACU BRAKE. See Fern Female. BALM—Melissa Officinalis, Makes an excellent tea in fevers, and when sweet 3 Y 538 Materia Medica. \ eried, and acidulated with the juice of lemons or cream of tartar, forms a most grateful beverage. BARBERRY—Berberis Vulgaris, Grows along the sides of roads, in hedges;—leaves oblong, tender, and subject to the rust; the flowers are in clusters; the fruit oblong and acid; the stem is de- fended by three thorns. A double handful of the berries boiled in three quarts of water to two, and given iu doses of a tea-cupful four or five times a-day, sweetened with white sugar, is ex- tolled as a remedy in diarrhoea, dysentery and jaundice, BASTARD IPECACUANHA. See Ipecacuanha American. BAYBERRY—Myriea Cerifera Humilis, Called also Dwarf Candleberry Myrtle, grows in swamps to the height of two or three feet, and bears numerous green berries, of which tallow is made. The bark of the root has been considered a good re- medy for the jaundice. The powder of it, in doses of twenty or thirty grains, has been employed as a mild emetic. The inner hark, in poultice, applied morning and evening to scrophulous swellings, and drinking a tea-cupful of a strong infusion of the leaves, is said to have wrought surprising cures in a few weeks. BEARBERRY—Arbutus Uva Ursi, Bears whortleberry—wild cranberry. Is a low ever-, jgreen shrub, somewhat resembling the myrtle. The leaves have a bitter astringent taste, and un- questionably possess great medicinal virtues, especial- ly in relieving the irritation of the stone, gravel, and old cases of gonorrhoea, menstrual discharges, also ca- tarrhs and consumptions. The dose—half a pint twice or thrice a-day of a decoction made of the leaves, a handful to a pint, or a tea-spoonful in substance, two or three times a-day. Materia Medica. 539 BEECH DROPS. See Broomrape Virginia. BENNE—Se Samum Orientate, Is now cultivated in South Carolina and Georgia. The leaves by infusion afford an excellent mucilaginous drink, which is used with manifest advantage iu dy- sentery, diarrhoea and cholera infantum. The seeds yield a pure and pleasant oil, which in doses from one to two wine-glassfuls, acts well on the bowels. It is now generally used at the tables of the wealthy, and from the specimen 1 had of it at the table of my honourable friend, governor Milledge, near Au- gusta, I •consider it equal to the best Florence or salad oil. BETH ROOT— Trillium Rhumboydum, Grows in meadows about a foot high—the leaves eval, three at the top of each stalk, one flower of a purple colour, bell-shaped, producing a small berry, that contains the seed—the root of a brown colour ex- ternally, bulbous and full of small fibres. The powder of the root, in doses of one tea-spoonful three or four times a-day, is said to be exceedingly useful in spitting of blood, immoderate discharge of the menses, or in cases of discharging bloody urine. It is also said to be a good application, in the form of poultice, to putrid ulcers, and to obviate gangrene or mortification. BIND WEED. See Potatoe, Wild, BITTER-SWEET. See Nightshade, Woody. BLACKBERRY, OR DEWBERRY. These, thou-h different in name, are nearly, if not entirely, the same in nature. They both bear the same kind of berry, which, when ripe, is pleasant and whole- some. 510 Materia Medica. The roots of these vines, but especially of the dew- berry, are famous as astringents. From my own ob- servation in practice, two handfuls of the clear roots in three pints of milk or water boiled to a quart, and given in doses of a tea-cupful every two or three hours, has often cured obstinate diarrhoea and dysentery, when the best medicines of the shop had failed. BLACK SNAKE ROOT. See Virginia Snake Root. BLAZING STAR. See Devil's Bit. BLOOD ROOT-—Sanguinaria Canadensis, Has a variety of names, as Red Root, Puccoon, In- dian Paint, Turmeric. It grows about a foot high iu rich woodlands, and flowers in April. The leaves are roundish and deeply indented, somewhat like the white oak leaves—stems naked, supporting single flowers; blossoms white. When- the fresh root, which is about the size, of the little finger, aud blood red, is broken, a juice issues in large drops resembling blood. According to Dr. Dovvnie, the root, in powder from twenty to thirty grains, is strongly emetic. Professor Barton considers it nearly equal to the seneca or rattle- snake root in cases of ulcerous sore throats, croup and hives, and other similar affections. Professor Dexter celebrates it in doses of one grain of the powdered root, or ten drop9 of the tincture, every two or three hours, as an excellent diaphoretic in colds, pleurisies, and other inflammatory complaints. A tincture may be prepared by steeping a handful of the root sliced in half a pint of spirits. It may also be exhibited in the form of decoction, a handful to a quart of boiling water, and a table-spoonful for a dose every two or three hours. The blood root is consi- dered the chief ingredient of the quack medicine known by the name of Rawson's bitters, recommended as a remedy for the jaundice. The juice of the root is said to be good for destroying warts. Materia Medica- 511 BLOODWORT STRIPED—Lapathum San- guineum Rubrum, Grows six or seven inches high, on the sides of banks, and in upland woods. Out of the top of the stalk, which is small and bare of leaves, grow small purple flowers, which turn into husks that contain the seed. The leaves, three or four in number, lie flat upon the ground, are hairy, and full of red winding veins; the root small, tough and fibrous. An infusion of this plant, a handful to a quart of boiling water, in dose of a tea-cupful every three hours, is said to be useful in restraining immoderate flowing of the menses, and all other hemorrhages. A strong decoction of the roots with half the quantity of sugar or honey, and formed into a syrup in dose of a table- spoonful every hour or two, is beneficial in consump- tions or violent coughs. The expressed juice, in dose of a wine-glassful, and the leaves bruised, and frequent- ly applied to the wound from a snake, or any venomous insect, is said to eradicate the poison. BLUE CARDINAL FLOWERS. See Lobelia, BONESET. See Thoroughwort. BOWMAN'S ROOT. See Indian Physic. BOXWOOD. See Dogwood. BROOMRAPE VIRGINIA— Orobanche Vir- giniana, Grows from Canada to Georgia, and rises six or eight inches high, of a brown colour, brittle sprigs, but no leaves; the root is bulbous. It is generally found under the shade of the American beech tree; hence it is sometimes called beech drops, but more generally cancer root. .. .,' . . . Every part of this plant is considerably astringent, S4& Materia Medica. and along with the astringency, especially in the re- cent plant, there is combined a peculiar and extremely nauseous bitterness. It has been celebrated as a re- medy in dysentery, but its principal reputation is in cancerous affections. It is supposed this formed a part of the celebrated cancer powder of Dr. Hugh Martin, whose success in the management of many cases of this dreadful disease, has been acknowledged by the regu- lar practitioners of Philadelphia. It is certain, says professor Barton, that the powder of cancer root has been of great service, externally ap- plied to obstinate ulcers, some of which had resisted all the ordinary applications. The fresh bruised root has also been applied with good effects to cancerous sores. In the form of decoction it has been found use- ful as awash to gallings in warm weather, or excoriat- ing of the skin. It is also esteemed a good application in cases of St. Anthony's fire. BUCK THORN—Spina Cervina, Grows in hedges. It is a prickly bush, which flowers in June, and produces in the fall a round black berry containing four seeds. Equal parts of the expressed juice of the berries and molasses, or half the quantity of sugar, with a little calimus or ginger, formed into a syrup by a gentle fire, is said to be a good purgative medicine in doses of a large wine-glassful, and is much used in the cure of dropsies. BURDOCK—Arctium Lappa, Grows on the road side, on rubbish and ditch banks, bearing purplish blossoms in July and August. The juice of the fresh leaves, or an infusion or de- coction of the roots, operates gently on the bowels, sweetens the blood, promotes sweat and urine, and is esteemed serviceable in scorbutic,,rheumatic, and ve- nereal disorders. The juice is given in doses of a wine-glassful, and the decoction half a pint three times a-day. Materia Medica. , 513 BURNET SAXIFRAGE—Pi'mpinella, Grows about a foot high. The leaves are variously shaped; flowers in September; the seeds are furred and egg-shaped. The root, in the form of decoction, a handful to a quart of water, is esteemed by some a useful medicine in asthma, coughs, and obstructions of the menses, in dose of a wine-glassful twice or thrice a-day sweet- ened. BUTTERFLY WEED. See Pleurisy Root BUTTERNUT, See Walnut, White. BUTTON SNAKE ROOT. "The button snake root grows in South Carolina and Georgia, in poor pine land; the root bulbous, with numerous fibres, of a pungent nitrous taste ; the leaves or blades loug, narrow, pointed and saw-edged. A stalk shoots up in autumn, to the height of three feet, bearing globular prickly flowers, of an ash colour, which iYom a fancied resemblance to buttons of an old fashion, gives its name. "This root is a powerful sudorific; but in cases of gangrene and foul ulcers, is perhaps superior to any thing yet discovered. The mode of applying it, is in the form of poultice by boiling it soft."* * For the above I am indebted to my very honest, but unfor- tunately too credulous friend, Paul 'Hamilton, Esq. formerly se- cretary of the navy, whose zeal and success in exploring the vir- tues of ou. indigenous plants can never be sufficiently applauded. For these and m,ny other patriotic virtues,* k.„d Province^,. pleased to raise him up a .on as disinterested and pubhc-spi. ted Keif; I mean u£ extraordinary youth, be«^ H-milton, who, in defence ot his country, ^cm I,nn the early neriod of life to meet the veteran tars of Great Uritain. P He was a midshipman on board the United States frigate when after a short acnon she captured the brit.sh tn^te Macedonian. Si! activhy and valour in that brilliant affair were so conspicuous, Sat He irallant Decatur assigned to him the honourable and piling duty of bearing the British colours to the seat of govern- 544 Materia Medica. CALICO TREE—Kalmia Latifolia, Broad-leaved laurel, called also winter-green; grows seven or eight feet high in swamps and moist rocky pastures; blossoms are white, tinged with red in June or July. There is another species, Kalmia August i- folia, narrow-leaved or dwarf laurel, called also ivy, lambkill; blossoms reddish, variegated. A decoction of the plant externally applied, has often cured the itch; but like all other poisons it should be used with great caution. An ointment, made by sim- mering the leaves in hog's lard, is good for the scald head and obstinate sores. According to Dr. George G. Thomas, an obstinate diarrhoea has been cured, by a decoction made from an ounce of the leaves in half ment. With uncommonly good fortune he arrived at Washington, on the very evening that the president and his lady, with the heads of departments, at a splendid ball were celebrating this glorious victory. I had the pleasure to be one of tiie party; and never shall I forget the looks of hys venerable father, his most amiable mother, and charming sisters, when this blooming young warrior was ushered into the crowded ball room, with the trophies of American valour. The joy manifested on this occasion was not confined to his relations alone; for it was to be seen in the coun- tenance of every one present, but more especially in the young females, who, as was very natural to suppose, from his unassum- ing and graceful deportment, could not conceal the tender emo- tions of their hearts. To the honour of the president, this modest and amiable.youth was soon after promoted to a lieutenancy. He followed the for- tunes of commodore Decatur, when he shifted his flag from the United States to the President; and was with this intrepid officer when in that single frigate he endeavoured to fight his way through a British squadron. In this most unequal conflict the President was overpowered, but not until she had completely silenced one of the hostile frigates. By the last shot that was fired from the enemy, the gallant young Hamilton was killed. To say he was brave to the height of that heroism which has raised the infant navy of his country to be the admiration of the world, is to say but half his praise. The far nobler praise was his, of having rendered himself the idol of his brother officers, and his numerous relations and friends—to all of whom he has be- queathed the inexpressible pleasure of attaching to his memory every thing tlut was amiable and good. Materia Medica. 545 a pint of water, boiled to half, and thirty drops three or four times arday. In this form it has also been used internally with great success in the scald head. CALIMUS, OR SWEET FLAG—Acorus Calimus. Grows in marshy situations, and in shallow water, and may be known by the long sword-shaped leaves, resembling those of the blue and yellow flags, but nar- rower, and of a brighter green. The root is like that of the blue flag in Appearance, but has a strong aroma- tic smell, and a warm pungent taste. The flavour is greatly improved by drying. The root possesses stomachic virtues, and is fre- quently grated into water, and given to children for flatulent cholics, free of fever. It is sometimes used as an ingredient with dogwood, cherry bark, centaury, &c. in morning bitters, as a preventive of the ague in low marshy situations. CAMOMILE—Chamwmelum, Grows well in our gardens. An infusion, or tea, made of the flowers, is excellent to warm and strength- en the stomach in cases of indigestion, loss of appetite, and other complaints arising from debility. It is also of great use in doses of a tea-cupful three times a-day, as a preventive to the ague and fever, and bilious fe- ver, -in sickly situations. In the form of fomentation and poultice it is serviceable in discussing hard tu- mours. CAMOMILE, WILD. See Mayweed. CANCER ROOT. See Broomrape Virginia. CANDLE BERRY MYRTLE. See Bayberry. CARAWAY— Carum Carui, \ choice aromatic—grows kindly in our gardens, 3 Z 5*6 Materia Medica. The seeds assist digestion, strengthen the stomach, and are serviceable in flatulent colics. The dose of the seeds in powder, from one to two tea-spoonfuls to adults. CARROT, WILD—Daucus Carota. The wild carrot grows two or three feet high in meadows and swamps, and flowers in July. The seeds have an agreeable aromatic smell, and in a slight de- gree, a warm pungent taste. An ounce or half a handful of the seeds infused in a pint of water, and taken in doses of a tea-cupful every hour or two, is said to give immediate relief in sup- pression of urine, and is also serviceable in promoting the menses. The roots of the carrot cultivated in our gardens, beaten to a pulp, form an excellent application to can- cerous and other ill-conditioned ulcers, allaying the pain, checking the suppuration and foetid smell, and softening the callous edges. A marmalade of carrots, on account of their strong antiseptic qualities, has been successfully used for preventing and curing the sea scurvy. An infusion of these roots has also been found useful in gravel complaints. CASTOR OIL—Ricinus Communis, Flourishes well among us. The kernels yield al- most a fourth part of their weight in oil, which is ob- tained from them either by expression or decoction. Expression is the best method of preparing; but the common mode is to shell the seeds, and boil them in water, and as the oil rises, to skim it off. Castor oil is a gentle and useful purgative, aqd is a most efficacious remedy for the cholic or dry belly- ach, and also dysenteries, in doses of a wine-glassful every two or three hours until it operates. In doses of a tea-spoonful, it is the most suitable purge, when not rancid, to expel the meconium from new-born in- fants. Materia Medica- 5$7 CAT GUT, OR GOAT'S RUE— Galega Vir- giniana. It is vulgarly called cat-gut, from the resemblance of some of its roots to the article of that name. A decoction of the roots is reputed to be an excel- lent medicine for destroying worms. CELANDINE, THE GREATER—Chelidonium, Major, Grows about two feet high in meadows, and by run- ning brooks, has many stalks, with, larger joints than is common in other plants, very easily broken; the leaves large and saw-edged; the flowers, consisting of four leaves, are yellow; after which come long pods, enclosing black seeds; the roots long, reddish exter- nally, and yellow within, and full of yellow juice. Twenty or thirty drops of the juice, or half a tea- spoonful of the dried root in powder, in a cup of new milk, morning and night, is said to be beneficial in dropsy, green sickness, and cutaneous eruptions. The juice rubbed on warts, ring and tetter worms, effectu- ally cures them. A poultice made of this plant boiled in milk, or the roots roasted, and mashed in vinegar, is extolled by some as an excellent application to dis- perse scrophulous tumours on the neck. CENTAURY—Centaurium Minor, Is a fine stomachic bitter; and either in a simple in- fusion, or united withcalimus or angelica root, is ex- cellent in relaxations of the stomach and general de- bility. CHERRY TREE, WILD—Primus Cerasus Virginiana. The bark of this tree is an excellent substitute foe the Peruvian bark. I have myself frequently employ- ed it in the cure of ague and fever, bilious fever, and other diseases where tonic medicines were proper. I^i 548 Materia Medica. intermittents of long standing, I have found it more efficacious wheu united with the Virginia snake root, in the proportion of one part of the latter to four of the former. It may be employed either in powder or de- coction in the same doses as the Peruvian bark. A strong infusion of it in sound cider, is said to be useful in the jaundice. A decoction of the bark will be found a good wash to ill-conditioned ulcers. The cherry of the tree, when ripe in autumn, is much used in the southern states for making bounce and cordial. The gum of the common cherry tree is a good substitute for the gum arabic. CHICK-WEED, RED—Annagallis Phenicea, Called also red pimpernel, guach-hul—Is cultivated in many gardens, and grows spontaneously near Bal- timore and Havre de Grace. According to the deposition of Valentine Kettiring to the legislature of Pennsylvania, and report made by their committee, the red chick-weed is a specific in that most dreadful of all diseases, the hydrophobia, or bite of a mad dog. The dose for an adult is a small table- spoonful of the dried leaves in powder. For beasts the dose is much larger. CINQUEFOIL—Potentilla Reptans, Grows on pasture grounds, and is something simi- lar to strawberry. The stalks trail along the ground, and have but five leaves on each stalk, placed together, of unequal size, and bear a yellow flower. The whole of the plant, particularly the root, in the form of decoction, a handful to a quart of water, or milk, hoiled slowly, and sweetened with loaf sugar, is recommended as a remedy for the dysentery and bowel complaints. The dose for adults is a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, and one third or half the quantity for children. CLEAVERS. See Goose Grass. Materia Medica. 549 COAKUM. See Pokeweed. COCK UP-HAT, OR YAU WEED—Stillingia, Grows on the high dry lands of the southern states, and is much used there as a cathartic medicine. It is employed in the cure of that hideous disease, the yaws* and is said to be a specific in the venereal disease. COHUSH, OR PAPOOSE ROOT. Caulophyllum Thalictr&ides, Grows about two feet high, in low moist rich grounds near running streams, and on islands that have been overflowed. The leaves grow on small stalks near the top of the stem, which resembles the hand and fingers. The flowers are of a pale blue colour, which yield a berry something like grapes. The root is composed of many fibres/and is crooked, resembling the rattle snake root- i. i -i An infusion of the root, a handful to a quart of boil- ing water, in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a- day, or the same quantity steeped in a quart of spirits, in doses of a wine-glassful twice or thrice a-day, is highly extolled by the country people as a remedy for the rheumatism, and serviceable in cases of obstruction of the menses and dropsical complaints. COLT'S FOOT— Tussilago Farfara, Grows about eight inches high, in moist situations, producing yellow flowers early in the spring, which appear before the leaves. These are soon succeeded by large roundish leaves, which have a bitterish mu- cilaginous taste. It is said a decoction of the leaves and flowers, two handfuls to a quart of water, with or without milk, taken freely, is serviceable in coughs, consumptions, diarrhoeas and dropsical complaints. The eaves pow- dered fine, and used as snuff, removes giddiness and obstructions of the head. 350 Materia Medica. COLUMBO AMERICAN—Columha Americana, Grows plentifully in the western country, in the vi- cinity of the Ohio river, and from abundant experi- ments, is found fully equal to the imported. Columbo root has long been esteemed a powerful antiseptic and tonic, and as such, has been employed with manifest advantage in gangrene, cholera morbus, bilious vomit- ing, or purging, bilious fever, indigestion, want of ap- petite, &c. It may be given in powder in doses of a small tea-spoonful every three or four hours, or in de- coction in doses of a tea-cupful. Two or three ounces of the root steeped in a quart of spirit, form an excel- lent bitter, which, when taken in mint-water, or infu- sion of orange-peel, in doses of a table-spoonful, is excellent for moderating the retching in pregnant wo- men. COMFREY— Consolida, Grows about two feet high in moist situations near springs, but is cultivated in our gardens. The leaves are large, similar to water dock, flowers of a pale blue colour; the roots long, rather thicker than a man's fin- ger, mucilaginous, and' black externally, but white within. A handful of the roots boiled in milk, and given in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, is a popular remedy in dysentery, bowel complaints, and the fluor albus or whites. It is also beneficial as a diet drink in the clap, or in other cases attended with a burning heat in making water. CORIANDER— Coriandrum, Is cultivated in our gardens. The seeds are warm, and of a pleasant flavour, and in doses from a tea to a table-spoonful, have been found useful in cases of indigestion and flatulence. When mixed with senna. they more effectually correct the odour and taste of the infusion, than any other aromatic. They also form ajn excellent addition to ingredients for bitters. Materia Medica. 551 COW PARSNIP—Heracleum Sphondylium, Is found in hedges, meadows and pastures; but should be carefully distinguished from the hemlock or wild parsnip that grows in hedges, and is poisonous. According to Dr. Orne of Salem, it has been often used with success in epilepsy, especially in cases of indigestion with flatulence. The dose is three drachms of the powdered root, taken daily, and a strong infu- sion of the leaves and tops drank at bed-time. CRANE'S BILL— Geraneum Maculatum, Improperly called by some crow foot. It grows five or six inches high in meadows and woods; has long slender stalks, with seven long narrow leaves at a joint. The root is generally crooked and knotted, blackish on the outside and reddish; has a rough taste, with an aromatic flavour. When applied externally, it is highly extolled for its styptic power, in stopping hemorrhages of wounded vessels. The powdered root in dose of a tea-spoonful thrice or four times a-day, or a decoction in milk, used as a common drink, is said to be excellent in checking immoderate menstrual discharges, also the whites and gleets, and obstinate diarrhoea. The following account of the efficacy of crane's bill, as stated by Dr. Mease in the Medical Museum, de- serves the attention of the reader. The son of Mr. David Cooper near Woodbury, partially divided the artery at the wrist with the point of a hatchet in trimming a tree; the wound bled pro- fusely and an aneurismatic tumour of the size of a pul- let's egg was quickly formed. Dr. Hendry, who was immediately called, applied a tourniquet, and also a piece of flat lead to the tumour; and apprehending that the usual operation would be necessary, requested the assistance of Dr. Wm. Shippen from Philadelphia. On the arrival of that gentleman, the operation was resolved on; when the father of the young man insist- *52 Materia Medica. ed upon the trial of a vegetable remedy, which he said he had learned the use of from one of the aborigines of our country. He immediately repaired to the woods, and returned with some of the specific, which was pounded in a mortar with a little cold water, and ap- plied to the part, and in a short time, to the great sa- tisfaction of the sufferer and his friends, checked the bleeding. The tourniquet was left on as a precaution- ary measure, but fortunately no occasion offered for using it. In the course of a few days the wound heal- ed, and the young man had no further trouble. A man in pruning a tree, divided the stout muscles of the fore-arm in an oblique direction; the wound was full four inches in length, and bled profusely from a large artery, and numerous smaller vessels. His shirt sleeve was filled with blood; for being made tight round his wrist and fore-arm, it prevented the blood from escaping, and forming a coagulum round the bleeding orifice, checked for a short time a further effusion. The powerful effects produced by the geranium in the former case induced Dr. Hendry to apply it in the present; accordingly he procured some of the roots, and after washing and pounding them, filled the wound therewith: the effect upon the smaller vessels was al- most instantaneous in checking the profusion of their contents, and the bleeding in a short time entirely ceas- ed; and although, as in the former case, the tourniquet was very properly suffered to remain, yet no occasion offered for using it. Another case occurred of a wound in the ankle from a scythe, which had bled so profusely as to cause the man to faint; but on the application of the geranium by Dr. Hendry as above, it ceased in a short time. In the instance of a violent vomiting of hlood, which had resisted a variety of remedies, an infusion of the plant in water, produced the desired effect in a few minutes. Another instance mentioned to me by Dr. H. of the astringent effects of the geranium, was that of a young man who had a most obstinate hemorrhage from the Materia Medica. 553 socket of a jaw-tooth, which had been extracted. An attempt was made by a physician from Philadelphia to close the bleeding orifice by buruing it with a red hot needle, but without effect; on the application, how- ever, of the geranium, the bleeding soon ceased. In consequence of the virtues of the geranium having been so often experienced about Woodbury iu cases of he- morrhage, the inhabitants have been induced to cultivate the plant in their gardens; and it would be well if their example were followed by every one in the country; for though Providence has diffused the valuable plant over every part of our country, yet as it grows prin- cipally in the woods, and the accident it is intended to relieve may admit of no delay, and often happens in winter when the plant cannot be found, it should be transferred to every garden, that it may be at hand when wanted. CROSSWORT. See Thoroughwort CROW FOOT—Ranunculus Bulbosus. A very acrid plant, growing in meadows and fields. The leaves or roots bruised, and applied to any part of the body, will soon raise a blister, and ought to be used when the Spanish flies cannot be obtained. The roots collected in the fall, may be very well preserved through the winter, by burying them in some fine dry sand. CUCKOLD. See Agrimony. CUCKOW BREAD. See the following. CUCKOW PINT—Arum Maculatum, Also called lords and ladies, wake ^^^S0? root The leaves are generally bespangled with black and white spots, and striped in gawdy style; whence the country people have given it the name of lord, and ladies The root is bulbous, resembling a small turnip. A 554 Materia Medica. Both this and the leaves in a fresh state, are extreme ly acrid, and have been used with advantage externally for blistering, and internally in cachexies, rheumatisms, and all other complaints of cold phlegmatic habits. Of the fresh root, from ten to thirty grains may be taken thrice a-day, in the form of emulsion, with gum arabic, or cherry-tree gum. The root, which should be used fresh, may be kept so for a year, by burying it in a cellar in sand. CUCUMBER ROOT—Medeola Virginica. According to professor Barton, it is a very common plant. The root is white, and tastes a good deal like the cucumber. It possesses diuretic properties, and has cured dropsies. CURE-ALL. See Avens. CURRANTS—Ribes. The white, red, and black currants, all grow luxuri- antly in our gardens, and when perfectly ripe, and made with sugar and water, into the form of lemonade, serve as a most grateful and cooling drink in fevers. An infusion of the bark, sweetened with currant jelly, or honey, is an excellent gargle in sore throat, and an infusion of the young shoots is said to be beneficial in eruptive fevers. Currants afford an excellent wine, for making which, the following is an admirable, recipe. Of red or white currants ripe take fourteen pounds, broke into three gallons of water, and let stand for two days, when the stalks, &c. will all be at top. Press off all the stalks, and while straining the mixture, add twelve pounds of sugar; turn it into a cask, and keep it full enough to let the feculent matter work out—re- peatedly removing it, and filling it up, until no more rises, which will be in about fourteen days; add to it one quart of spirits nearly tasteless, or else brandy, and bung up close—keeping it at least six months be- fore it is bottled. Let the currants be gathered free from dew or rain; and if they be spread a day or two before they are used, they will be none the worse. Materia Medica, 555. Fourteen pounds willmake one gallon of juice, twelve pounds of sugar another gallon; therefore the above ingredients should be equal to five gallons, and enough to All up with. CUSTARD APPLE—Annona Triloba, Is said to be a good purgative medicine. DANDELION—Leontodon Teraxacum, Vulgarly called piss-a-beds; grows in meadows, pastures, and road sides and ditch banks, with yellow flowers, which blow from April to September, aud pos- sess the remarkable quality of expanding early in the morning, and closing in the evening. The root, leaves, and stalk contain a large proportion of bitter milky juice, which, in doses of a wine glassful twice or thrice a-day, is good in chronic inflammations of the liver, dropsies, difficulty of making water, and other complaints arising from obstructions of the viscera. It may also be taken in the form of a strong decoction, from a gill to a half-pint twice or thrice a-day. DEADLY NIGHTSHADE. See Nightshade Deadly. DEERBERRY. See Mountain Tea. DEVIL'S BIT—Veratrum Luteum. The root of this plant is a very pungent bitter, and is employed as a tonic, either in the form of tincture or infusion. In this last form it has also been employed as a vermifuge. DEWBERRY. See Blackberry. DILL—Anethum Graveolens, Flourishes in our gardens, producing seed delight- fully aromatic, which, in doses of one or two tea-spoon- fulsf are Excellent to remove flatulent colics, and assist digestion. 556 Materia Medica. DOCK WATER, OR WATER DOCK—Rumex Aquaticus, Grows in wet ditches, mill-ponds, sides of rivers, and in shallow water, flowering in July and August. Half a pint of a decoction of the leaves or roots, two handfuls to a quart of boiling water, or two or three tea-spoonfuls of the dried roots in powder, taken two or three times a-day, is an admirable medicine to sweeten and purify the blood in scurvy, scald head, tetter worm, and other cutaneous diseases. The fresh roots bruised, and mixed with vinegar, or in strong decoction, is a good cure of the ring worm, and has often subdued that filthy complaint the itch, when quack medicines, and even sulphur, had failed. It is also well worthy trying in form of poultice to tumours and cancerous ulcers. The curled dock, narrow and broad leaved dock, which grow in yards and cultivated fields, are all va- rieties of this useful plant, and possess similar virtues. It is said the narrow leaved dock, applied, in the form of fomentation and poultice, to a cancerous sore, and from a pint to a quart of the decoction taken daily, make a perfect cure. DOGWOOD—Cornus Florida. The bark of this famous tree, which may well be termed the cinchona or Peruvian hark of North Ame- rica, possesses, like that, all those tonic powers, which give it such admirable control over intermittents, gan- grene, and all diseases proceeding from debility. From my own observation in practice I am abun- dantly warranted in pronouncing it generally preferable to the imported bark, which is often injured by adulte- rations. Like the Peruvian bark, but in somewhat lar- ger doses, it may be used in substance or decoction, infusion or tincture, either alone or conjoined with snake root, or some of the aromatics. But the shape in which it will be found most agreeable, is that of an ex Materia Me&fca. 557 tract, which is easily prepared by boiling the bark, straining it, and then evaporating it very slowly to the consistence of honey. To prevent the fatal effects of burning it, the vessel in which it is evaporated should be of the wide mouth sort, placed in a large pot of boiling water, and often stirred towards the close of the operation. The dose is from a half to a whole tea-spoonful, thrice or four times a-day. The beautiful red berries of dogwood, combined with lemon peel, snake root, cali- mus, or any other warm aromatic seeds, form a tine bitter against the common fall complaints. DRAGON'S CLAW. See Fever Root DRAGON ROOT. See Cuckow Pint. ELDER COMMON, OR BLACK—Sambucus Niger, Grows to the height of a small tree, in hedges, and along the borders of meadows: the young shoots are full of pith, and the old stalks empty; flowers in July and the berry of a blackish purple colour when ripe. The expressed juice of elder berries put into a plate or wide mouth vessel, and evaporated in the sun to the state of an extract, in doses from a tea to a table-spoon- ful acts as a good aperient medicine. A tea made of the leaves, a large handful to a quart of boiling water, and taken freely, removes a costive habit, promotes perspiration, and thus proves useful in eruptions of the skin St. Anthony's fire, colds, dropsies, and all ob- structions of the viscera. The inner green bark, steep- ed in wine, a large handful to a pint, or made into a strong decoction, purges gently, in doses of a gill. I he floweTs stewed with lard, form a good ointment for bUEuier berries also form an excellent wine, according to the following recipe: Elder wine is made by rout- ine twelve gallons and a half of ripe elder berry juice, aiid forty-two pounds of sugar, with thirty-seven gal- 558 Materia Medica. Ions and a half of water, that previously has had boil- ed in it six ounces of ginger, and nine ounces of pimen- to, bruised and strained off; and when it has nearly cooled, rather less than milk warm, add a pint of thin brewer's yeast, and let it ferment for fourteen days, in the barrel, then bung up close, and bottle in six months. ELECAMPANE—Inula Helineum, Grows three or four feet high, in stony pastures, and by the road side; flowers large and yellow, in July and August; and the root, when dry, has an agreeable aro- matic smell, and in a decoction sweetened with honey, or in the form of syrup, or a tea spoonful of the pow- dered root in molasses, is recommended for promoting expectoration in asthma and coughs. The fresh root, in ointment, or strong decoction, is said to cure the itch. ELM, AMERICAN, OR SLTPPERY— Ulmus Americana. My very learned friend, professor Mitchill, has wit- nessed its good t-ffects internally in catarrhs, pleurisies, and quinsies; and externally as a poultice for gun-shot wounds, tumours, and all ulcers and sores accompani- ed with irritation. A tea-spoonful of the inner bark in powder, to a quart of boiling water, or a simple infu- sion of the bark in boiling water, forms an astonish- ingly rich jelly, which I have often tried with the hap- piest effects, in diarrhoea and dysentery. With the addition of a little sugar, lemon juice, citron, or nut- meg, it might be made ail excellent substitute for sago or arrow root. I am indebted for this improvement to the reverend and very amiable Dr. Gant, many years chaplain to congress, and physician to Mr. Jefferson. This learned gentleman, universally celebrated for his successful treatment of dysentery, declared to me, with great can- dour, that he ascribed much of his reputation in that dan- gerous disease to this fine jelly. Materia Medica. 559 EMETIC WEED. OR INDIAN TOBACCO. Lobelia Inflata, Grows in dry fields, and rises to the height of one or two feet, with branched stems, flowering in July and August, with blown cups, filled with numerous small seeds. The blossoms are solitary, in a kind of spike, of a pale blue colour. The leaves are oblong, and have a very acrid and pungent taste, similar to that of to- bacco. The leaves collected in August, while the plant is in blossom, and carefully dried and preserved, act as a speedy and excellent emetic, in doses from ten to twen- ty grains; or it may be exhibited in the form of a satu- rated tincture, in doses from a tea to a table-spoon- r 1 As it is a medicine of considerable activity, it should be given in small quantities, and the dose repeated every ten or fifteen minutes, until it excites vomiting. From its speedy operation as an emetic, there is no doubt it would be an effectual remedy for the croup and whooping cough. In small doses it must be of great uti- lity in consumptive and other coughs, by exciting ex- pectoration. It is, however, valued on account ot its approaching nearer to a specific in that most distress- ing disease the asthma, than any other that has been vet discovered. e The following highly interesting observations from the Rev Dr M^ Cutler, an eminent botanist, who hrst noticed 'the virtues of this plant, is related in Dr. Thatcher'* American New Dispensatory. «By chewing a small portion of it, commonly not more than one of the capsules, it proves a gentle emetic. 1° thquantity be a little increased, it operates as an emc and then as a cathartic, its effects being much tnTsame as those of the common emetics and cathar- UC!at has been my misfortune to be an asthmatic for k t! vears I have made trial of a great variety of Casual readies; with very little benefit. In several 560 Materia Me&ica. paroxysms, I had found relief more frequently than from any thing else, from the skunk cabbage. The last sum- mer I had the severest attack I ever experienced. It commenced early in August, and continued about eight weeks. Dr. Drury, of Marblehead, also an asthmatic, had made use of a tincture of the Indian tobacco, by the advice of a friend, in a severe paroxysm early in the spring. It gave him immediate relief, and he has been entirely free from the complaint from that time. I had a tincture made of the fresh plant, and took care to have the spirit fully saturated, which I think is im- portant. In a paroxysm, which was perhaps as severe as I ever experienced, the difficulty of breathing was extreme, and after it had continued a considerable time, I took a table spoonful. In three or four minutes my breathing was as free as it ever was, but I felt no nausea at the stomach. In ten minutes I took another spoonful, which occasioned sickness. After ten minutes I took the third, which produced sensible effects upon the coats of the stomach, with moderate puking, and a kind of prickly sensatym through the whole system, even to the extremities of the fingers and toes. The urinary passage was perceptibly affected with a smart- ing sensation in passing urine, which was probably provoked by stimulus on the bladder. But all these sensations very soon subsided, and a vigour seemed to be restored to the constitution, which I had not ex- perienced for years. I have not since had a paroxysm, and only a few times some small symptoms of asthma. Besides the violent attacks, I had scarcely passed a night without more or less of it, and often so as not to be able to lie in bed. Since that time, I have enjoy- ed as good health as perhaps before the first attack. Dr. Cutler states a particular case has been related to him, of an effectual cure of the hydrophobia, or bite of a mad dog, in the last stage of the disease, by this plant. In a disease so formidable as this, it is certain- ly worthy of trial." Materia Medica. 501 ERGOT, OR SPURRED RYE—Secale Cor- nutum. Rye is subject to a disease, in low wet situations, or when a hot summer succeeds a rainy spring. The spu- rious substance called ergot, is found projecting from among the leaves of the spike or ear; it is a long crook- ed excrescence, resembling the spur of a cock, pointed at the extremity, of a dark brown colour externally, and white within. Some spikes are occupied wholly by spurs, while others have two or three only, inter- spersed with genuine seeds of rye. This extraordinary substance possesses considerable medicinal properties. In lingering and laborious cases in child-bed, it acts as an invaluable medicine, speedily inducing forcible pains, and expediting delivery. It is given in the form of powder, in doses from five to fifteen grains, but it has sometimes been found more active in the form of decoction, prepared by gently boil- ing thirty grains of the powder in half a pint of water, of which one third may betaken every.twenty minutes, until proper pains shall have commenced. It is proper, however, to caution the domestic prac- titioner against employing this powerful medicine in cases of prseternatural presentation, or even in every case of natural presentation. The powerful and con- tinued efforts of the uterus, from the effects of the ergot, prevent the retreat of the child's head after being ad- vanced, and the unceasing pressure, in some instances, occasioned the death of the child. Let this circum- stance, therefore, have its due effect, and induce the utmost' precaution in the administration of this power- ful article. This medicine has also been successlully employed in cases of obstructed menses, or monthly evacuations. See Thatcher's Dispensatory. EVERGREEN CASSINE. See South Sea Tea. 4 13 W2 Materia Medica. FEATHERFE W, OR FE VERYEW-^Matricaria Vulgaris. It is frequently cultivated in gardens. A handful of the leaves and tops infused in a quart of water, and given in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, is used by country people to promote the menses, to strengthen the stomach, to raise the spirits, and pro- mote perspiration in colds and fevers. FENNEL, SWEET—Fozniculum Dulce, Grows kindly in our gardens. A tea-spoonful of the seeds, with a little sugar and spirits, is a common remedy among the country people in flatulent colic. To children afflicted with the above complaint, an in- fusion of the seeds sweetened is highly serviceable. The seeds yield an aromatic oil, which, in doses from two to twelve drops, removes flatulence, promotes ex- pectoration, and is serviceable in coughs. FERN FEMALE, OR BACKACH BRAKE, Grows near ponds, and in moist pastures, about twelve inches high. The leaves are single, winged, and about a hand's length; the root is about the size of a goose quill, of a brown colour, very sweet, and of a mucilaginous taste. A quart of a strong decoction of the roots, and a pint of honey, formed into a syrup, by gentle simmering, and given in doses of a table-spoonful every hour or two, is esteemed highly beneficial in all violent coughs. It is said that three parts of the roots of this plant, and one part of sumach root, boiled slowly in any kind of spirits, until it becomes slimy, and then applied warm to the spine, has frequently relieved the backacb; hence the vulgar name, backacb brake. It has also been em- ployed as a remedy for the rickets in children. FERN, MALE—Polypodium, Called also sweet fern, male polypody. It grow* Materia Medica, 563 in woods and stony places, flowering from June to Oc- tober. The root, when chewed, is somewhat mucilaginous and sweet, and afterwards astringent and bitter. Sweet fern in powder, in doses from one to two tea- spoonfuls, or a decoction, a pint a-day, followed on the fifth day with a dose of castor oil, or some purga- tive medicine, is esteemed a powerful medicine against worms, and particularly the tape worm. FEVER BUSH, OR WILD ALLSPICE—Dumus Febris, Grows in meadows and swamps, and generally rises five or six feet high, leaves numerous and somewhat spear-shaped; the blossoms rather of a reddish colour; the berries are blood red, and of a pleasant smell. A handful of the twigs of this bush, infused in a quart of boiling water, and given in doses of a lea- cupful every hour or two, is said to be extremely cool- ing and beneficial in fevers. A handful or two of the berries infused in a quart of spirits, forms a pleasant bitter. FEVER ROOT, OR DRAGON'S CLAW, Grows upon mountains, and the sides of hills, about six or seven inches high; the leaves grow iu a cluster from the top of the root, spear-shaped, blossoms yel- low; the root black, about the size of cloves, very ten- der, resembling the claws of the animal whose name it bears. When it is pulverised and exposed to the air, it will liquify. The root in form of powder in doses of a tea-spoon- ful, or in the form of decoction, a handful to a quart of water, in doses of a tea-cupful every hour, is esteemed an excellent medicine in bilious fever, pleurisy, colds, St. Anthony's fire, and other febrile diseases. FIG TREE—Ficus. This tree ought more generally to be cultivated in 564 Materia Medica. our gardfcns, as it affords a fruit both grateful to the stomach, and easy of digestion, possessing also medi- cinal properties. A decoction of figs makes an excellent gargle for cleansing the throat and mouth; and the fruit, exter- nally applied to tumours, or gum-biles, is good to pro- mote suppuration. When unripe, figs, as well as the whole tree, yield an acrid milky juice, which if taken, proves both emetic and purgative, but externally is a mild caustic—hence is frequently used to remove warts, ring and tetter worms.' FLAG BLUE, OR WATER FLAG—Iris Pseudacorus, Grows by the brink of rivers, in swamps and mea- dows, blossoming in July; flowers blue, variegated With white, yellow and purple. The juice, in doses of a tea-spoonful, diluted with water, is said to be an active calhartic medicine, and to produce copious evacuations from the bowels, and lo he useful in dropsy and dysentery. It produces simi- lar effects in powder, from thirty to sixty grains, and has been employed as a vermifuge. In the form of decoction, used as a diet drink, it is greatly extolled in venereal cases. The root of the yellow flag, mixed with the food of hogs that have been bitten by a mad dog, has been known to save, when without it others have run mad. FLAG, SWEET. See Calimus. FLAXSEED—Linum, Possesses great medicinal virtues. An infusion, or tea, is the. most suitable drink for patients labouring under violent colds, coughs, difficulty or burning in making water. The flaxseed syrup, which is prepared by adding a pint of honey to a quart of strong tea, and simmering it away slowly by a gentle fire for an hour, observing to take off the scum as it rises, I have found Materia Medica. 565 to be a most valuable medicine in diseases of the breast and lungs, in doses from a tea to a table-spoonful, every hour or two, or oftener when the cough is trou- blesome. The flaxseed bruised, also forms one of the best emollient poultices with which we are acquainted. FLEA BANE, PHILADELPHIA—Erigeron Philadelphicum, Called by some, skerish. It is said, by professor Barton, to be a very common plant in many parts of the United States, and that in the form of infusion or decoction, it operates powerfully as a diuretic, and also as a sudorific. It is likewise reputed,to be a good re- medy for promoting the menstrual discharge. In Virginia there is a plant called pissvvort, which is esteeemed a powerful medicine in cases of strangury or difficulty of urine. FLOWER DE LUCE. See Flag Blue. FLUX ROOT. See Pleurisy Root FOX-GLOVE—Digitalis Purpurea, Has lately been cultivated in our gardens. It rises to the height of two or more feet, and its leaves are large, e°-e-shaped, notched like a saw, and covered with hairs. Blossoms of a beautiful purple colour, hanging down- wards in a row along one side, which are compared with the fingers of a glove, and in the inside are ele- gantly mottled with spots like little eyes. The fox-glove has been employed with advantage in those disorders where the frequency of the pulse requires to be abated. In the incipient stage of con- sumption, it has, by diminishing the circulation through the lungs, frequently succeeded in arresting the pro- gress of the disease. It has also been advantageously Lployed in the second stage, but here it should be exhibited with the greatest precaution rhe treatment of consumption with fox-glove, cannot be more satis- factorily shown, than in the following practical remarks { 566 Materia Medica. of my learned friend, Dr. John Spence of Dumfries, Virginia, communicated in that useful work, the New York Medical Repository: "In the incipient stage of consumption, where there is considerable vigour of constitution, particularly if at- tended with active hemorrhage from the lungs, I push the use of the digitalis cautiously, but freely; that is, I try to reduce the pulse under sixty strokes in a minute, and maintain this depression for two or three weeks, notwithstanding there be occasionally considerable and distressing nausea. At the same time I advise a milk and vegetable diet, with gentle exercise on horseback, or in a carriage, when the weather will admit, and the use of the swing-chair for an hour at a time, twice or thrice a-day. When the pains about the chest are wandering, I also advise the repeated application of a blister, and other stimulating plasters, to the breast, and between the shoulders; but if the pain be fixed, 1 prefer the introduction of a seton, as near the part af- fected as possible. My patient is also directed to drink moderately of emollient teas, or tar water, to be warm- ly clothed, to avoid cold and wet feet, and setting up late at night. All great exertions of the body, but par- ticularly of the lungs, as singing, or speaking loud, must also be carefully avoided. "In the second, or more advanced stage of this dis- ease, accompanied with a quick pulse and great gene- ral debility, the treatment is very different. The fox- glove must be so managed, as to lower the pulse, and moderate the fever, but never pushed to such an extent, as to excite nausea or sickness at the stomach. A little experience will soon enable a judicious and attentive practitioner to ascertain the dose adapted to his patient's constitution; and as soon as he has attained this know- ledge, he must be persevering in the use of the medi- cine. At this period of the disease, the patient's strength must never be suffered to languish. He must be sup- ported by nutritious diet. Agreeably to the present manners of society, two or three meals are taken in the course of the day; but this mode of eating is very im- Materia Medica. 567 proper with delicate constitutions, more food being ge- nerally eaten at such stated periods, than is necessary; thereby causing great heat, accelerating the pulse, and throwing the whole system into commotion. The diet should be nourishing, and of easy digestion, such as jellies, broths, eggs boiled soft, oysters raw or mode- rately roasted; indeed a bit of fowl, beef, mutton or venison, dressed rare, may be taken in small quanti- ties every two or three hours throughout the day. This deviation from the present fashion of eating is indispensable, ample nourishment being thereby thrown into the system without exciting irritation. At the same time I recommend solid food in this way, I for- bid the use of spices, wine, or spirits. The same di- rections respecting topical applications and exercise, are equally applicable to this, as the incipient stage, and particularly the exercise of swinging; and care must be taken that the swing-chair be so constructed, that the patient may be perfectly at ease, without be- ing afflicted by fatigue, or bodily exertion." Many other respectable physicians bear testimony in favour of this medicine in consumptive cases. Dr. Beddoes, of London, considers the fox-glove almost as infallible a remedy in cousumption, as the Peruvian bark in intermittents. From its power of reducing the force of the circulation, it is esteemed likewise a va- luable remedy in bleeding of the nose, spitting of blood, and excessive discharge of the menses, and also in pal- pitation of the heart from the passions of the mind or intemperance. . , , Dr &and, of Boston, has experienced the most de- cidedly good effects of this medicine in most of the pre- ceding complaints. In one instance of hannoptoe or snitting of blood, in a very athletic young man, where he dislharge eluded the force of every other medicine t reduced the pulse in eight hours, from one hundred o fifty pulsations in a minute, and stopped he hemor- rhage He has also given the medicine with complete success in cases of mental derangement. Fox glove possesses also diuretic power, and has 5«8 Materia Medicn. long been employed in dropsy. It unquestionably acts powerfully as a diuretic, or in evacuating the water in dropsy, and will be found of the greatest utility in every species of this disease, but more especially the dropsy of the breast, when there exists an increased action in the system. However, from the respectable authority of Dr. Wi- thering, and the celebrated Dr. Darwin, we are as- sured il has been exhibited with the most happy effects, in cases of extreme debility, where the pulse was fee- ble, intermitting, and the countenance pale. It should not be given in such doses as to excite much sickness or purge, otherwise it will not produce its diuretic ef- fect. The best rule for its administration, k to com- mence with the smaller doses, twice or thrice a-day, and gradually increase the quantity daily, until the medicine either acts on the kidneys, the stomach, or the bowels; and on the first appearance of any of these effects, it is to be suspended. After evacuating the water, tonic or strengthening medicines should he employed. Dr. Currie, another physician of great eminence in England, has employed this medicine with signal advantage in inflammation of the brain, heart, and lungs, and found it also an excel- lent remedy in the inflammatory rheumatism. The leaves of this plant are the part in use, of which from one to three grains in powder, may be given to an adult twice or thrice a-day, alone, or united with some aro- matic, or the powder may be formed into pills with soap, or the crumbs of bread, or it may be given in the form of infusion, by infusing a drachm of the dried leaves in half a pint of boiling water, for four hours, adding to the strained liquor one ounce of any spiritu- ous water; from one to two table-spoonfuls to be given twice or thrice a-day, as a medium dose for an adult. Another more convenient way of ascertaining the dose of fox-glove, is by making a saturated tincture of it in proof spirits, which has the twofold advantage of be- ing invariable in its original strength, and of keeping a long time without losing any of its virtues. Put two Materia Medica. 569 of the leaves nicely dried, and coarsely powdered, into half a pint of spirits; let it stand by the fire-side twenty- four hours or longer, frequently shaking the bottle, and thus making a saturated tincture of fox-glove, which must be poured from the sediment, or passed through filtering paper. From twenty to sixty drops of the tincture may be taken in a little mint-water or tea two or three times a-day. This medicine has also been ex- ternally applied with good effects. An infusion of it is recommended as a good wash for painful cutaneous eruptions or ulcerations. An ointment, prepared by simmering the leaves in lard or fresh butter, has been found successful in scrophulous ulcers and scald head. FRENCH APPLE. See Thorn Apple. FROSTWORT—Systis Canadensis, Grows in woods about two feet high; leaves small and numerous, of a whitish colour like frost; the stalk purple; flowers of a pale colour, producing a small pod with very small seed. It is said, in cases of scrophula, or king's evil, an infusion of the leaves, a handful to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea cupful three times a-day, and the leaves in the form of poultice, applied to the swell- ing twice a-day, has performed cures. FUMITORY— Fumaria Officinalis, Grows in corn-fields, and by fences, and rises a foot high; leaves pale green, andthe flowers of a reddish purple. The leaves in the form of infusion, a hand ul 5, Jl qu^t of boiling water, and taken in doses, o a tea-cupful thrice a-day, are esteemed a goodm*d c me in scanty eruptions, and all ™^™*^*?&^n cnlarly if the eruptions are washed with the mtusion. GARGET. See Poke Weed. 4 C 570 Materia Medica. GARLIC, COMMON—Allium Sativum, Is highly stimulating, and therefore useful to per- sons of cold phlegmatic constitutions. It provokes the appetite, assists digestion, removes flatulence, promotes expectoration and urine, and hence has long been used in scurvy, asthma, and dropsy. Where it cannot be taken in substance, the best forms are either in syrup or pills. Externally applied, it blisters the skin. A poultice or cataplasm of equal parts of bruised garlic and crumbs of bread, mixed with sharp vinegar, applied to the soles of the feet, in the low stage of acute disorders, or nervous fever, is good to raise the pulse, and relieve the head. Sydenham says it exceeds all other applications for occasioning a revulsion from the head, and that the efficacy of gar- lic thus applied every night, until slight inflammation is produced, is superior to Spanish flies. It is an ex- cellent remedy in cases of croup or violent sore throats. See Onions. It will also be found a good application to the pubes in producing a discharge of urine, when its retention has arisen from want of due action of the bladder. When made into an ointment, it is said to discuss cold and indolent tumours, and has been esteemed for its efficacy in cutaneous eruptions. In deafness, a small clove of the root, wrapped in gause, cotton, or wool, moistened with the juice, and introduced into the ear, has frequently proved an efficacious remedy, if repeat- ed twice or thrice a-day. GENTIAN— Gentiana, Grows on the sides of roads, and in waste pastures, two or three feet high. The stem is strong, smooth, and erect; the leaves, which rise from the lower part of the stem, are spear-shaped, large, ribbed and rough: flowers yellow, in whorls, terminating in yellow bitter berries. Its virtues are equal to the imported. It has long oc- Materia Medica. 571 cupied the first place in all recipes for bitters, whether used to provoke the appetite, or give tone to the system. It may also be taken in the form of infusion, a small handful of the root to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day. GINSENG—Panax Quin que folium, Grows in abundance on the sides of mountains, and in rich soils. My friend, Dr. Thornton, has some plants growing on his farm near Washington, which he obtain- ed at Monticello: he says it is easily cultivated. It flow- ers in July, and has black berries; the root has an agreeable sweetish taste, and is much esteemed by the Indians; it is also an article of exportation. The leaves or root in the form of infusion, are con- sidered useful in cases of debility, and gravel com. plaints. The root chewed, or steeped in wine or spirits, and taken in doses of a wine-glassful twice a-day, acts as a cordial, and invigorates the system. GOAT'S RUE, VIRGINIA. See Cat Gut. GOLDEN ROD, OR THREAD. See Mouth Root. GOOSE GRASS— Galiurn Aparine, Called by some Poor Robin's plantain, from its effi- cacy in curing the gravel. Grows in hedges, low grounds, and near brooks, to the height of five or six feet, climbing on the bushes near it The upper side of the leaves is white, with sharp prickles; the flowers small, and divided into four segments; these change into a fruit rather large, composed of two berries slightly adhering together, and covered with hooked prickles; containing two The leaves in the form of decoction, a handful to a quart of water, are highly celebrated as a remedy m gravel complaints, and suppression of urine, in doses of I tea-cupful every hour or two, until relieved. It has 572 Materia Medica. also been recommended in the cure of scurvy, spitting of blood, and epilepsy or fits. GROUND HOLLY—Pyrolla Umbellata. It is sometimes called Pippsisseva, which is its Indian appellation. It possesses, in an eminent degree, the same properties as Bear's Whortleberry, which see. GROUND PINE—Arthetica, Grows plentifully in stony lands, about six inches high, sending forth many small branches, with small narrow greyish leaves, somewhat hairy; flowers of a pale colour, growing from the joint of the stalk, among the leaves, after which come small round husks. A large handful of the leaves and flowers steeped in a pint of wine, and taken in doses of a wine glassful twice or thrice a-day, is said to be beneficial in rheu- matism and uterine obstructions. GROUND PINK—Silene Virginica, Called also catch-fly. A decoction of the roots is said to have been found a very efficacious remedy for worms. GUINEA PEPPER—See Pepper, Red. HART'S TONGUE, Grows among rocks and shady places; the leaves being of a shining black colour, long, pointed, and tongue-shaped. This herb, in the form of infusion, a handful to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful two or three times a-day, is said to be a good remedy in diar- rhoea and dysentery ; and in the form of ointment, pre- pared by simmering a handful of the leaves in half a pint or more of lard, is a good application to scalds and burns. Materia Medica. 87% HEART'S EASE, OR HERB TRINITY— Viola Tricolor, Grows generally in corn fields, producing white and yellow blossoms, intermixed with purple, which flower from May to September. A decoction of a handful of the fresh leaves, or half the quantity of the dried, in a pint of milk, used daily for some weeks, is said to be a certain remedy for that disorder in-children, called milk scab, or that species of scald head which affects the faces of children. HEART SNAKE ROOT, Flourishes in Carolina and Georgia, in rich high lands, never exceeding the height of six inches. The root is of a very aromatic taste, and the smell some- what resembling the sassafras. The leaf shaped like a heart, dark green, and very glossy on the upper sur- face. The juice of the root and leaf pounded together, in dose of a table-spoonful for an adult, is an active and safe emetic; and a decoction in as large quantities, and as frequent as the stomach will bear, is of excellent service in the jail, camp, and nervous fever. HELEBORE, WHTTE — Veratrum Album, Grows in wet meadows and swampy places. The stalk is thick, strong, hairy, upright, aud usually rises from two to four feet. The leaves are large, oval, rib- bed, plated, of a yellowish colour, and surround the stem at its base. The flowers are of a greenish colour, and appear from June to August, followed each by three flat pods, containing whitish triangular seed, lhe root is short, commonly near an inch thick, with nu- merous fibres hanging from it, of a brown colour exter- nally; it has, when fresh, a nauseous bitter taste, burn- ing the mouth and fauces; and snuffed up the nostrils in very small quantities, excites most violent sneezing. Every part of this plant is extremely acrid and poi- sonous. By the hand of skill, it has been employed in- ternally with beneficial effects in several obstinate d1S- 57* Materia Medica. eases, as those of the melancholic and maniacal kind, and epilepsy, king's evil, herpetic, and other cutaneous affections. In those complaints the bark of the root, collected in the spring, has been given in the form of powdtr, beginning with half a grain at a dose, and gra- dually increasing the quantity daily according to its ef- fects. The American species, says Dr. Thatcher, very pro- bably possesses all the properties of the foreign officinal root. It is undoubtedly a plant of highly active powers, meriting a particular investigation as an article of our Materia Medica. In fact, a new interest has lately been excited both in Europe and the United States, relative to the properties of white helebore. It is even supposed to be the basis of the French specific remedy, called Eau Medicinale d'Husson, so highly famed for its al- most infallible powers in the cure of the gout, as to com- mand the enormous price of from one to two crowns a dose. This remedy was discovered about forty years ago by Mr. Husson, a French officer, who affirms it to be prepared from a plant whose virtues were before unknown in medicine; and it has long been celebrated in France, and other parts of the European continent. The importance and popularity of the subject were incitements to various attempts for that purpose; aud to the ingenuity of Mr. I. Moore, member of the royal college of surgeons, London, the public are indebted for a composition, which, if not identically the same, bears a strong resemblance to the Eau Medicinale, in smell, taste, and dose : and also in all its effects, as far as it has been tried in the cure of gout. The composi- tion of Mr. Moore consists of wine of opium Sydenham, one part, wine of white helebore, three parts, made by infusing for ten days, eight ounces of the sliced root of that plant, in two and a half pints of white wine, and strained through paper. This compound, when exhibit- ed in doses from one to two drachms, has, in a variety of instances, effected a speedy cure of gouty parox- isms. There are, indeed, well attested facts, where the most painful gouty affections have yielded to a sin Materia Medica. 575 gle dose of about one drachm; and the instances of its failure have hitherto, it is believed, been more rare than can be said of any other remedy. The employ- ment of the composition of Mr. Moore, has also, in the hands of respectable physicians, been extended to acute rheumatism, and to some comatose affections, with the most decided advantage; aud a perseverance in similar trials is strongly recommended. Its operation may be promoted by some aromatic, or by pepperment, penny- royal, or ginger tea. It in general occasions some nau- sea and vomiting, followed by bilious stools. Exter- nally applied in the form of ointment or decoction, it cures the itch, and other cutaneous affections. Anoint- ment is prepared by simmering the root slowly in hog's lard. The decoction is made by boiling two ounces or a handful of the root bruised, in a quart of water, to a pint and a half, and then strained. The addition of a few ounces of lavender, rose, or lemon water, may be made, if convenient. With this the parts affected should be washed twice or thrice a-day. HEMLOCK—Conium Maculatum, Grows to the height of six or seven feet in rich lands. near ditches, and in moist shady places. It is an um- belliferous plant, with large leaves, of a dark green co- lour on the upper .side, and a whitish green under- neath; much resembling parsley, especially the leaves of the smaller sorts, whose poisonous quality is the most violent. The stalk is round, smooth, hollow, and mark- ed with brown or red spots; the flowers are white; the seeds greenish; flat on one side, very convex, and mark- ed with five furrows on the other. The root is long, yellowish without, white and fungous within, and some- what resembling a carrot. It changes its form accord- ing to the season; and the leaves have a rank smell, resembling the urine of a cat, but do not much affect the taste. This poisonous plant possesses great medicinal vir- tue when judiciously employed. It has been used with considerable advantage in painful cancerous ulcers, ve- jy6 Materia Medica. nereal ulcerations, cutaneous affections, gleets, painful discharges from the vagina, and in a variety of cases of scrophulous affections. It has also been of great efficacy in epilepsy, chronic rheumatism, and jaundice. Externally applied, it has been useful in discussing scirrhous tumours, particularly those of a scrophulous nature. The proper method of administering hemlock, in- wardly, is to begin with a grain or two of the powder of the leaves, or the inspissated juice, and gradually to increase the dose until the head is affected with slight giddiness, or it occasions some sickness and trembling agitations of the body, or produces one or two evacua- tions the morning after the dose. One or more of these symptoms are the evidences of a full dose, and here continue until none of these effects are observed; and then, after a few days, increase the dose; for little ad- vantage can be expected, but by a continuance of full doses. The dried leaves are less liable to injury from keep- ing than the inspissated juice. The leaves should be collected in June, when the plant is in flower, and its peculiar smell strong. The drying of the leaves should be performed quickly before a fire, on tin plates. The proof of the drying having been well performed, is the powder's retaining the odour of the leaves, and the deepness and freshness of the colour. It should be kept in close vials, and secluded from the light HENBANE, BLACK—Hyosciamus Niger, Grows at the sides of fences, about old ruins, and on dung-hills, and with the dung is sometimes carried into gardens, where, from its similitude to parsnips, it is mis- taken for them: and when eaten, produces stupor, and apoplectic symptoms terminating in death. It rises from one to two feet in height; the stalks are thick, woody, irregularly branched, and covered with a hairy down; the leaves surrounding the stalk at their base, stand irregularly: they are large, soft, and downy, pointed at the ends, and very deeply indented at the Materia Medica. 577 edges; their colour is a greyish green, and they have a disagreeable smell; the flowers are large, egg-shaped, and of a dirty yellowish colour, with purple streaks. The root is long, tough, white, and when recently cut through smells like liquorice. According to Dr. Stork, the juice of this poisonous plant inspissated, and exhibited in doses from one grain to twenty, every twenty-four hours, has relieved many from palpitation of the heart, a tendency to melancholy, coughs, and other spasmodic disorders and convul- sions, and this after other means had failed. HERB BENNET. See Avens. HERB TRINITY. See Heart's Ease.. HOGBED, OR HOGWEED—Ambrosia, Grows near farm yards, and on stony soils, like moss, about three inches high. The leaves are of a deep green colour, small and curly. 1 he hogs delight to make their bed on it, from whence it derives its ^Ahandful of this plant infused in a quart of water, and given in doses of a tea-cuptul three or four times a-day, is a popular remedy among women to promote the menses or courses. HOLY THISTLE. See Thistle Holy. HOODED WIDOW HERB-Scutellaria Lateri- flora, Ts found in abundance on the banks of rivers, and row-po nted, on long toot stainsi, i rican DisPw«atoOi «* »c^nt of "S W * P 578 Materia Medica. efficacy as an antidote to canine madness. It is direct- ed to be given in the form of a strong infusion of the leaves every morning fasting, and to be continued for several weeks. For cattle, it may be mixed with their food or drink. HOPS—Humuli, Are an agreeable strong bitter, principally used in making malt liquors. They also induce sleep; hence the popular remedy of a pillow of hops to procure sleep in the delirium of fever and insanity, which not unfre- quently succeeds. They give out their virtues to spirits or water. In the form of fomentation and poultice, hops serve as a most valuable application to ill-conditioned ulcers, or painful cancerous sores. Mr. Stephen Hammock, assistant surgeon to the royal hospital at Plymouth, gives the following account of the benefit obtained from the external use of bops. 1 have seen, (says Mr. H.) very good effects from hops in poultices and fomentations applied to ulcers of the worst kind, in more than sixty patients received into the hospital from ships of war. Some of the ulcers proceeded from scurvy, and some from other causes. But though all of them have been sordid, foetid, and extensive, yet the fee tor has soon been corrected by these applications, aud the ulcers have ceased to spread. A large handful of hops is to be well boiled with a quart of water, to which should be added meal or bran, forming a poultice, applied to the ulcer, without any intervening lint. But, previous to this application of the poultice, the ulcers are directed to be well foment- ed with the decoction. The pain proceeding from the ulcers is soon alleviated, and the ulcers soon cease to spread. They become clean, and in a slate to be dressed with lint, or any 6oft ointment. See Duncan's Annals of Medicine, also Medical Repository. Hops form the bases of beer and yeasts, of which the Materia Medica. 579 following arethe most simple, and among the most ap- proved. Beer. Take fifteen gallons of water, and boil one half of it, or as much as eau conveniently be managed; put the part of the water thus boiled, while it is yet of its full heat, to the cold part, contained in a barrel or cask, and then add one gallon of molasses, commonly called treacle, stirring them well together; add a little yeast, if the vessel be new, but if it has bee-n used for the same purpose, the yeast is unnecessary. Keep the bung-hole open, till the fermentation appears to be abated, and then close it up. The beer will in a day or two afterwards be fit to drink. A few handfuls of hops, boiled in the water, either with a little orange peel, or without, give a wholesome, aud pleasant bitter to this beer, and assist in keeping it from turning sour. If tops of the spruce-fir be added to the water which is boiled for making this beer, it is then called spruce beer. Extemporaneous small beer. To two quarts of com- mon porter, add of molasses half a pint, of ginger two drachms, water just warm, four quarts; let the whole ferment in a warm place, then rack off. Another. Lemon peel one ounce, cream of tartar four ounces, hops one ounce, molasses one quart, gin- ger one drachm, bruised cloves four in number, boiling water four gallons; ferment with yeast. To make yeast. Boil a pint bowl full of hops m two quarts of water to one quart; put eight table-spoonfuls of flour into a pan, and strain the hop water boiling on if when mixed, it should be thick batter, and when milk warm, stir in it a breakfast cup of good yeast; put it into three porter bottles, stopping them with pa- per; put them into a milk pan near the fire, and as icon as the mixture rises to the top of the bottle, re- move them to the cellar until it subsides, then cork the bottles, and set them on a cool cellar floor, or in an ice house. In very warm weather, the corks ought to be taken out every day, to let out the carbonic acid air, and the bottles again stopped. 580 Materia Medica. Another valuable recipe. Boil twelve clean washed, middle sized potatoes, and at the same time, boil, in another vessel, a handful of hops in a quart of water; peel and mash the potatoes in a mortar or bowl; pour part of the hop water, while hot, upon the potatoes, mix them well, and pass them through a sieve, then add the remainder of the bop water, and half a tea- cupful of honey, beat all well, and add a small portion of leaven to bring on the fermentation. Put the whole in a stone jug, and set by the fire, in the winter; all the utensils must be scalded every time they are used, and washed perfectly clean. One tea-cupful of the above potatoe yeast, will answer for two quarts of flour. In summer the yeast ought to be made every second day. HOREHOUND—Marrubeum Vulgare, Grows among rubbish, flowering from July to Sep- tember. The leaves have a very bitter taste. An infusion or tea of the Jeaves sweetened, is a very common remedy for colds. A syrup prepared by sim- mering slowly for an hour, a pint of honey in a quart of a strong decoction of the plant, is, from my own ex- perience, an excellent medicine in coughs, or any breast complaint, in doses of a small table-spoonful every two or three hours, or oftener, when the cough is very troublesome. In like manner, a candy prepar- ed by simmering slowly half a pint of the juice with a pound of sugar, will be found equally serviceable. In the southern states there is a plant, called wild horehound, growing to the height of one or two feet, of which a tea, prepared by adding one or two handfuls of the fresh leaves, or half the quantity of the dried, to a quart of water, in doses of a gill or more, every two or three hours, acts gently on the skin and bowels, and is used like the Peruvian bark as a tonic in the cure of ague, and bilious fever. HORSE-RADISH—Cachlearia Armoracea, Grows on the sides of ditches, and damp places, bat Materia Medica. 581 is cultivated in our gardens for culinary and medicinal purposes. It has long been known as a most powerful antiscorbutic, and when taken freely, it stimulates the nervous system, promotes urine and perspiration, and is thereby usefully employed in palsy, dropsy, scurvy, and chronic rheumatism. The root should be cut into small pieces, without bruising, and swallowed in the dose of a table-spoonful without chewing, once or twice a-day, or it may be steeped in wine, and taken in doses of a small wine-glassful. Upon the authority of the celebrated Dr. Cull en, it is, in the form of syrup, excellent in hoarseness, or in the decline of violent colds and pleurisies. Whether externally or internally employed, horse-radish proves a stimulant; hence it has been found serviceable by chewing it in palsy of the tongue, and applied in para- lytic complaints to affected parts. The root, scraped, and applied in the form of poultice, to the feet, until some inflammation is produced, in low stages of fever, attended with delirium, has also produced good effects. It is said, the root steeped in vinegar, will remove freckles of the face; if so, it deserves to be tried in cases of ring or tetter worm. HOUSELEEK—Sempervivum, Grows on the roofs of houses and old walls, flowering in July. , . , , • -ix The juice of this plant, mixed with honey, is said to ' be of considerable service in the thrush of children. Stewed with cream, it is a great favourite with the country people, for the cure of corns, fresh burns, stings of wasps, bees, and other external Inflammations An infusion of the leaves is also said to be cooling and lax- ative. HYSSOP—Hyssopus, Is cultivated in our gardens. An infusion of the leaves, sweetened with honey, or in the form of syrup, is useful in humoral asthma, coughs, and other disor- 56S Materia Medica. ders of the breast and lungs, accompanied with inflam- matory symptoms. ICE PLANT—Mesembryanthemum, Grows in woods to the height of six inches, and be-< comes white in September; the stalk and leaves are like frozen jelly, and when handled, dissolve as ice. The root pulverised, in doses of a half or tea-spoon- ful, in the morning, is said to be a good remedy for children troubled with fits; hence it is called by the country people, Fit Root. Adults may take it in much larger doses. INDIAN HEMP, Grows in woods, and on the borders of meadows, three feet high; the stalk is bare for a foot, then spring many branches; leaves numerous, flowers whitish, si- milar to buckwheat, which terminate in seedpods resem- bling a cucumber. The bark of the root in the form of powder, in doses from twenty to thirty grains, or half a tea-spoonful, will generally operate as an emetic and cathartic. In doses of five or six grains, or a wine-glassful of the infusion, every two hours, it promotes perspiration. It has been found beneficial in rheumatism, dropsies, and asthmatic complaints. A table-spoonful of the infusion, half a handful of the bark to a piut of boiling water, given oc- casionally to children in the whooping cough, throws off the phlegm, and prevents straining. INDIAN PHYSIC, OR AMERICAN IPECA- CUANHA— Spiroza Trifoleata, Grows about two or three feet high, in low woods and meadows. Professor Barton says, the root, which is the part made use of, is a safe and efficacious emetic. The celebrated Col. Bird, of Virginia, was so ena- moured of this plant, that he wrote a pamphlet on its virtues, which he found, from great and successful prac- Materia Medica. 583 tice in his own very numerous family, to be at least equal d not superior to those of the imported ipecacu- anha. In the dose of thirty to forty grains in powder, for an adult, it is one of the most safe and certain eme- tics. In broken doses of five or six grains, every two hours, it is equally valuable as a sudorific. It may als«> be given in infusion, a handful to a pint of boil- ing water, of which a small tea-cupful may be taken every fifteen or twenty minutes, until it promotes vo- miting. INDIAN TOBACCO. See Emetic Weed. INDIAN TURNIP—Arum Triphyllum, Grows in meadows and swamps, six or eight inches high, purple stalks, leaves three in number, roundish, and berries of a bright scarlet colour. It is a very acrid plant. An ointment prepared by simmering the fresh root in hog's lard, and one eighth part of wax, is said to be a good application in the scald head. From the authority of professor Barton, we learn that the recent root, boiled in milk, has been advantageously employed in cases of consumption. He even cites a very striking instance. It is also recom- mended in the asthma, and whooping cough, in the form of conserve, made of a pound of the peeled root pounded finely in a mortar, with three pounds of loaf sugar; dose, a tea-spoonful twice or thrice a-day. INDIGO WEED, OR WILD INDIGO—Sophora Tinctoria, Grows in great abundance on the road sides, and in the woods, and is used by travellers iu the middle states to drive away the flies. . A decoction of this plant in large doses, is said to operate powerfully on the stomach and bowels, but in smaller doses of a wine glassful, proves a mild laxa- tive An infusion or tea, is said to be cooling and good in fevers; and in the form of fomentation and 584 Materia Medica. poultice, to arrest the progress of mortification, espe- cially if a little of the infusion he taken internally at the same time. An ointment prepared by simmering the bark of the root in cream, fresh butter, or lard, has been recommended as a good application to sore nip- ples or ulcers of the breast. IPECACUANHA, AMERICAN. See Indian Physic. IVY. See Calico Tree. JAMES' TOWN, OR JIMSON WEED. See Thorn Apple. JERUSALEM OAK, OR WORM SEED. Chenopodium Anthelmenticum, Has long been employed to expel worms. One or two tea-spoonfuls of the seed with molasses or honey, is generally given to a child two or three years old, in the morning on an empty stomach, and the dose is sometimes repeated at bed-time. It ought to be con- tinued for several days. When there is an aversion to using it in this form, the seed may be boiled in milk, and taken in doses of one or two wine-glassfuls, or the expressed juice of the plant sweetened, may be exhibited in doses of a table-spoonful. The oil, which is prepared from the seed, possesses the same virtue, and is found a more convenient form of giving the me- dicine. JUNIPER, COMMON—Juniperus Communis. An evergreen shrub, growing on dry barren com mons, and hilly ground. A strong decoction, made of a handful of the tops and berries to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, has long been employed in dropsy, scurvy, and gravel, or difficulty of urine. The oil of juniper possesses the same pro- Materia Medica. 585 pcrties In a high degree, and imparts them to ardent spirits. The peculiar flavour, and well known diuretic effect of Holland gin, are owing to this oil. LAMBKILL. See Calico Tree. LAUREL. See Calico Tree. LAVENDER THRIFT—Statice Limonium, Grows on the sea shore, on salt marshes, flowering from July to September. The stem is naked, branch- ed, and about a foot high; the leaves long and pointed; the flowers blue, and growing on long spikes on the tops of the branches. According to Dr. Hughes of Providence, and Dr. Baylies of Dighton, a decoction of the root has been tried with success in aphthous state of fever, and ul- cerous sore throat, as a most powerful antiseptic. In large doses it operates as an active emetic, and iu smaller, as a strong expectorant. LEMON TREE—Citrus Medica, Is now cultivated in the southern states, and holds the first place among the cooling and antiseptic vege- tables, to correct the putrid tendency of animal food in summer. The acid of lemons, from its antiseptic properties, has long been employed as a remedy in the scurvy. Dr Cutbush says, from the commencement of our navy, it has been used on board the ships of war with very great success, in preventing, as well as curing this dis- ease. The fresh fruit is preferred. Lemon, or lime juice, diluted with water, and the addition of a little sugar, forming lemonade, serves as one of the most grateful beverages in bilious and ner- vous fevers. When saturated with common table salt, ^proves a valuable medicine in dysentery, putrid sore hroat, and remittent fever. In diarrhea and diabetes, where the aliments are apt to run off in their crude 4E 566 Materia Medica. state, this mixture is said to be a most efficacious re- medy. A table-spoonful of lemon juice, fifteen or twenty grains of salt of tartar, or salt of wormwood, with the addition of a little water, swallowed in a state of effervescence, is excellent to stop nausea, and allay febrile heat. The acid of lemons is a common remedy against narcotic vegetable poisons, such as opium. Either of the following methods is recommended for preserving the juice of lemons or limes. Boil the juice after straining, and bottle it, or squeeze the fruit, put the juice and pulp into a bottle, cover the top with an inch of oil, cork and rosin the bottle. The juice is supposed to feed upon the pulp. Before using the juice, the pulp and oil must be carefully taken out. The dried peel of lemons is a grateful aromatic, and as a stomachic, generally constitutes one of the ingredients of bitters. LETTUCE, WILD—Lactuca Virosa, Grows about four feet high, about hedges and the borders of meadows.. It has three different kinds of leaves; those proceeding from the root are slightly toothed, and those attached to the flower stalks are arrowT-shaped, pointed, and minute; the flowers are yellow and small, the leaves are milky, and smell like opium. An extract prepared from the expressed juice of the leaves, gathered when in flower, and given in doses of from five to ten grains twice or thrice a-day, is said to be a powerful diuretic, and of great efficacy in the cure of dropsy, LICHEN, OR LUNGWORT—Ziehen, Is a thin shell or skin which grows on the bark of the white oak tree, resembling the lungs, from whence it is called lungwort. It is said to possess the same qualities as the Ice- land moss, or lichen, so celebrated in the cure of con- sumption. An infusion, a handful to a quart of boiling water, Materia Medica. 587 used as a common drink, or a strong decoction formed into syrup, with honey or sugar, may be taken in doses of a wine glassful three or four times a-day. It is also said to be a useful medicine in the whooping cough. LIFE ROOT, Grows on the borders of meadows, about two feet high; leaves large and saw-edged; flowers yellow, and the roots small and fibrous. t An infusion of this plant, a handful to a quart of boiling water, taken in doses of a tea-cupful five or six times a-day, is said to be an excellent remedy for the gravel. LOBELIA, OR BLUE CARDINAL FLOWERS. Lobelia Syphilitica, Grows abundantly in the middle and southern states in moist grounds, and near springs; has an erect stalk three or four feet high; blue flowers; a milky juice, and a rank smell. Professor Barton says this plant was purchased from the northern Indians by the late sir Wm. Johuson, as a remedy in the venereal disease: hence its specific name syphilitica. He doubts, however, its power to cure the pox; though from its diuretic quality, it cer- tainly has been found useful in gonorrhoea or clap. He states that many persons iu the western country, from their ignorance of botany, have made use of a plant which they call lobelia, in the venereal complaint. But from the specimen he has received, he believes the plant to be the serratula spicata or spiked sawwort. It is a powerful diuretic, and there is good reason to believe that it has been found useful, not only in ve- nereal complaints, but also in cases of gravel. 1 hus ignorance sometimes leads to knowledge. & The lobelia is generally administered in the form of a decoction, a handful of the root and leaves boiled slowly in three pints of water to a quart, of which a «ill or more may be taken three times a-day. 588 Materia Medica. MADDER, WILD—Rubia Tinctorum, Is cultivated in Pennsylvania and South Carolina for dyeing a fine red colour, but also possesses great medicinal powers. It has been highly recommended in visceral ob- structions, particularly of the uterus, in coagulations of the blood induced either by falls or bruises, in dropsical complaints, and especially in the rickets. It may be given in powder from five to fifteen grains to children, and from half to a whole drachm three or four times a day to adults. When taken internally, it possesses the remarkable quality of tinging the urine of a red colour, and produces similar eflVcts on the bones of animals, when eaten with their food. MAGNOLTA, Goes by several names, as beaver tree, swamp sas- safras, elk bark, Indian bark. It is an agreeable aro- matic tonic bitter medicine. An infusion or decoction of the bark has been used in the ague and fever, and much celebrated among the western Indians as a remedy in rheumatism. I am informed from a respectable source that John Dickin- son, esq. author of the celebrated Pennsylvania Far- mer's Letters, was completely cured of a violent attack of the chronic rheumatism by a strong decoction of the twigs of the magnolia. The species magnolia grandiflora, ever-green laurel, sometimes called tulip tree, grows to the height of eighty feet near Savannah. The bark of the root of this tree is also used as a substitute for the Peruvian bark in intermittent fevers. The cones or seed-vessels of the magnolia, which is commonly called cucumber- tree, has been advantageously used in Virginia in the form of tincture, in rheumatic complaints. MAIDEN HAIR—Asplenium Trichomanes, Called also milk waste, spleenwort. Grows on old Materia Medica. 589 walls, rocks, and shady stony places, generally to the height of seven or eight inches; leaves very fine and soft, and spotted underneath; stalks of a dark purple colour; flowers from May to October. Its leaves have a mucilaginous sweetish taste, without any peculiar odour. An infusion, by pouring a quart of boiling water on a handful of the dry herb, sweetened with honey, and taken in quantity of a tea-cupful every hour or two, or a spoonful in the form of syrup, is said to be good in tickling coughs, hoarseness, and disorders of the breast, proceeding from acrid humours, in irregularities of the menses, and obstructions of the viscera. MALE FERN. See Fern Male, MALLOW, COMMON—Malva Sylvestris, Grows in hedges, foot paths, and among rubbish; flowering from June to August. The leaves possess a mucilaginous sourish taste. A decoction of this plant is said to he useful in dy- senteries and gravel complaints, though it is chiefly employed as an emollient poultice to produce suppu- ration. MANDRAKE, OR MAY-APPLE—Podophyllum Peltatum, Grows »n low grounds, two or three feet high, leaves generally three, broad at the base, and terminating in a sharp point; flowers yellow; the fruit resembling a lime, or small yellow apple, which is much admired by some. . The root is an excellent purgative, and may be taken in doses from ten to thirty grains in substance, or double the quantity infused in a gill of water. Dr. Little of Pennsvlvania. esteems it preferable to jalap. The honourable'Paul Hamilton, who often used it, di- rects equal parts of the juice and molasses to he mix- ed, and a table-spoonful taken every hour or two un- til it operates. 5$0 Materia Medica The best time of gathering the mandrake, for me- dicinal purposes, is in autumn when the leaves have turned yellow, and are about falling off. The Indians dry it in the shade, and powder it for use. MARSH MALLOW—Althaea Officinalis, Grows in marshes and wet places. The leaves have a soft woolly surface, feeling like velvet. The flow- ers are of a white pale flesh colour, and appear in Au- gust. Every part of the marsh mallow, and especially the root, when boiled, yields a copious mucilage, on ac- count of which it is employed in emollient cataplasms or poultices, for softening and maturating hard tu- mours. It is likewise of eminent service in the form of infusion, in asthma, hoarseness, dysentery and gra- vel. MARSH ROSEMARY. See Lavender Thrift. MASTERWORT—Imperatoria, Grows in meadows and rich soils, two feet high; leaves three together, saw-edged, and spear-shaped; flowers in June. The root of this plant is a warm and grateful medi- cine in flatulency, weakness of the stomach and bowels, and dropsical affections. It may be taken in the form of powder, decoction, or tincture. One drachm, or a tea- spoonful of the powder in a glass of wine, or spirits, and taken an hour before the fit, has frequently prevented the ague. The decoction or infusion is made of one handful in a quart of boiling water, and the dose a tea- cupful three times a-day. MAY APPLE. See Mandrake. MAY WE£D, OR WILD CAMOxMlLE—Cotula Foztida, Grows about two feet high, in pastures near fences; Materia Medica. 591 the flowers yellow, resembling camomile flowers, and are frequently used as a substitute for them. MEZEREON—Daphne Mezereum, Called also spurge laurel, dwarf bay. Grows plenti- fully in woods and shady places near the Ohio, and flowers in the month of February or March. The fruit is a berry, in which is found a single seed. The leaves are spear-shaped, and the flowers grow of a beautiful red or rose colour. The bark of the root of this plant is the part used in medicine, and has an extremely acrid burning taste in the mouth and fauces. Dr. Withering asserts that a patient who lived under extreme difficulty of swallowing for three years, was effectually cured in two months, by chewing the root as often as she could support its irritating effects. The fresh root scraped, and applied to the surface of the skin, affords an efficacious blister—when taken inter- nally, it determines to the surface, and has been found greatly serviceable in rheumatism and obstinate cu- taneous diseases. Its principal use, however, is in the venereal disease, in the last stage, or when mercury has failed. It is particularly efficacious in relieving nocturnal pains, and removing venereal nodes. One gill to a half a pint of the decoction, made of two drachms, or a handful of the bark, with an equal quan- tity of liquorice root, boiled in three pints of water to a quart, may be taken three or four times a-day. MILK, OR SILK WEED— ?7incetoxicum, Grows by the road sides, and on sandy ground, about three feet high; the stalk square -rleaves oval and milky; flowers yellow which terminate in a pod resembling a cZmblv, filled with down, which when ripe, is blown aWAyhandful of the root boiled slowly in a quart of water for half an hour, and given in doses of a gill or ^e three or four times a-day, is reputed to be an e£ fee ua emedy in the cure of dropsy, and serviceable 5tiS Materia Medica. in catarrhs, scrophulous and rheumatic disorders, and gravel complaints. MILKWORT, COMMON—Polygala Vulgaris, Thrives in dry pastures, and flowers in June and July. Its roots possess an extremely bitter taste, to- gether with all the virtues of the American rattlesnake root. A table-spoonful of a strong decoction of the root, two handfuls boiled slowly in three pints of water, to a quart, and taken every hour or two, promotes perspira- tion, as well as expectoration, and has therefore been used with advantage in colds, pleurisies, and other dis- orders of the breast. MILTWASTE. See Maiden Hair. MINT. See Peppermint. MISLETO OF THE OAK— Viscum, Is to be found on several kinds of trees. That which grows on the oak is said to have cured epilepsy or fits. It is directed that the misleto be separated from the oak, about the last of November, gradually dried, and when pulverised, confined in a bottle well corked; to be given in doses of a tea-spoonful three or four times a day, gradually increasing the dose according to its effects. MOORWORT, BROADLEAVED—Andromeda Mariana, Called wicke at the southward. A strong decoction of this plant is extremely useful as a wash in that dis- agreeable ulceration of the feet, which is called toe-itch, and ground itch,, a very common complaint among the negroes and lower class of people in South Carolina and Georgia. Materia Medica. 593 MOTHERWORT—Leonurus Cardiaca, Grows in waste places, and flowers in July and Au- gust. The flowers are in thorny whorls, purplish within, and white on the outside; the leaves are opposite, two to each whorl; they have a strong disagreeable odour, and bitter taste. An infusion of this plant is a common domestic me- dicine in fainting, and disorders of the stomach. It is said to be peculiarly adapted to some constitutions af- fected with nervous and hysterical agitations; and that if taken at bed-time, procures refreshing sleep, when opium and laudanum had failed. MOUNTAIN TEA, OR DEERBERRY. Gaultheria Procumbens. It spreads very extensively over the more barren, mountainous parts of the United States. A strong infusion of this plant, a large handful to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a day, is esteemed useful in asthma, and for promoting the menstrual discharge. MOUTH ROOT, OR GOLDEN THREAD. Nigelia, Is found in swamps; the stems erect and naked; the leaves grow by threes at the termination of the stems; the white solitary blossoms appear in May; the roots are thread-shaped, and of a bright yellow colour, and possess considerable astringency and bitterness. By the country people the root is employed as a re- medy for the thrush and cancerous sores in the mouths of children. MUGWORT, OR COMMON WORMWOOD. Artemisia Jbsinthium, Grows two or three feel high, «n road sides and among rubbish; leaves duply divided, pouted; oa the 4 b 594 Materia Medica. upper side of a deep green, and on the under soft or downy; flowers small and purplish. An infusion, a handful of the tops to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful, or a tea-spoonful of the powdered leaves three or four times a-day, is an admi- rable stomachic in weakness of the stomach, lowness of spirits, and hysterical affections. It is also said to bo a useful medicine in difficult menstruation, in inter- mittents, jaundice, and dropsical affections. Externally it is applied in the form of fomentation and poultice to resist putrefaction and relieve the pains of bruises, as well as prevent the swelling and discoloration of the part. MULBERRY TREE—Morus, Nigra et Alba, "Its fruit hath the common quality of all other sweet fruits, quenching thirst, abating heat, and proving lax- ative in its effects. A syrup made of the juice of the fruit, serves as an excellent gargle for mitigating inflammations of the throat, and ulcers of the mouth. The bark of the root of the black mulberry tree, in doses of thirty grains, or half a tea-spoonful of the pow- der, or double the quantity infused in a gill or half a pint of boiling water, or equal parts of a strong decoc- tion and molasses formed into a syrup in dose of a wine- glassful, is an excellent purgative, and has been used ^with success as a vermifuge, particularly for the tape- worm. The fruit of the common mulberry tree, when pro- perly fermented, and prepared, yields a pleasant vinous liquor, known under the name of mulberry wine. Con- siderable quantities of these "berries are likewise consu- med in the cider countries, where they are mixed with the apples, in making a delicious beverage called mul- berry cider. For this purpose, the ripest and blackest mulberries are selected, and the expressed juice is add- ed to the cider, in such a proportion as to impart a per- ceptible flavour. The liquor thus acquires a very plea- sant taste, as well as a deep red colour, similar to that Materia Medica. 595 of the finest port wine, both of which continue undimi- nished by age. MULLETN— Verbascum, The leaves, a handful to a quart of milk, is a com* mon remedy in bowel complaints. In the. form of fomentation or poultice, it is employed to relieve the piles, and other painful swellings; and in a dry and pulverised state, to destroy fungous or proud flesh. MUSTARD, BLACK AND WHITE—Sinapis, Nigra et Alba, Mustard used with our food, provokes the appetite, assists digestion, and promotes the fluid secretions, and is especially adapted to persons of weak stomachs, or where much acid prevails, as it acts upon the system ge- nerally without producing much heat. A table spoonful of prepared mustard in a pint of warm water, on an empty stomach, operates as an eme- tic in nervous disorders. A table-spoonful of the un- bruised seed taken twice or thrice a day, proves a gen- tle laxative, increase the urinary discharges, and is useful in chronic rheumatism, asthma, palsy and dropsy. In obstinate intermittents, or ague and fever, or with persons who find the Peruvian bark oppressive at the stomach, a tea-spoonful of the whole seeds, or the flour of mustard, united with the hark or any of its substi- tutes, will very frequently succeed in the cure, when a ptndof barkyalo2ewouy.d not produce the^ desired effect. In languid constitutions, or low stagey.of fe- vers, a gill of the seeds mixed with a small handful o hms-radish, and infused in a quart of winc, in doses of a wine-glassful occasionally, is a most cordial sti- mUAnnother excellent form in which mustard may be taken is that of whey. It is prepared by boiling two laKen, is mat u j ePPds bruised, in half a or three table-spoonfuls of the *e™f ",;'*'A b Der. pint of milk, and as much water, till the curd be per- « 596 Materia Medica. fectly separated, to which a little sugar maybe added, and of this drink a tea-cupful may be' taken three or four times a-day, in nervous fevers. The powder of the seeds, mixed with the crumbs of bread or flour, and formed into a poultice with sharp vinegar, is an excellent application to the parts affect- ed with rheumatism, and to the soles of the feet, and palms of the hands, in fevers, where there is a languid circulation, or cold extremities, or in cases of deli- rium. NETTLE, STINGING— Urtica. The expressed juice a wine-glassful, or a decoction, one handful.to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, is said to be useful in jaundice, asthma, consumption, and gravel com- plaints. It is also said that the flower and seeds, in doses of a drachm thrice a-day, may be substituted for the Peruvian bark in ague and fever. Externally it has been employed in restoring excitements to para- lytic limbs and other cases of torpor and lethargy. It may be applied by stinging the part with the nettles; or the fresh leaves may be applied to the arms or legs. NIGHTSHADE, AMERICAN. See Pokeweed. NIGHTSHADE, DEADLY—Atropa Belladonna, Grows two or three feet high in hedges, among rub- bish, and uncultivated places; flowers dusky brown on ^he outside, and a dull purple within, appearing single among the leaves in June or July; the berries round, green, changing to red, and when ripe, of a shining black. The whole of this plant is poisonous, and chil- dren allured by its beautiful berries, have too often experienced their fatal effects. Like all other strong poisons in the hands of skill it performs wonderful cures in palsy, epilepsy, melan- choly, jaundice, dropsy and cancer. 1 have, says the great professor pujllen, had a cancer of the lip entire- Materia Medica, 597 ly cured by it. A scirrhosity in a woman's breast, of such a kind as frequently proceed to cancer, I have found entirely discussed by the use of it. In the em- ployment of this dangerous medicine, it is necessary to begin with very small doses. Half a grain of the powdered leaves or root, or two table-spoonfuls of the infusion, prepared by infusing twenty grains in half a pint of boiling water, and strained after cooling, is a sufficient dose for adults to commence with. The dose is to he gradually increased, and repeated daily; but as soon as any dangerous symptoms occur, its use ought to be suspeuded for some days, and afterwards resum- ed in smaller doses. Externally the powdered leaves are applied to mitigate the pain in cancerous and other ill-conditioned ulcers, and the leaves in the form of poultice, to discuss scirrhous and cancerous tumours. The garden nightshade, growing also on dung-hills, with white flowers, odour of musk, and the berries, when ripe, of a shining black, possess similar virtues of those of the deadly nightshade. From one to three grains of the dried leaves infused in boiling water, and taken at bed time, will generally induce a copious perspiration, increase the discharge of urine, and operate as a mild laxative on the follow- ing day. If after increasing the dose some visible ef- fect is not produced, its further use will not avail much. The dose is to be repeated every night, or every other ni-ht. In the form of poultice it hath abated the in- flammation of the eyes, painful swellings, and inflam- mations of the venereal kind, and scrophulous and cancerous tumours. The woody nightshade, called also bitter sweet, be- cause it is first sweet, and then bitter, grows on the sides of ditches, and in moist hedges c imb.ng upon the bushes with winding, woody, but brittle stalks. The flowers are in clusters of a blue purple colour, appearing in June or July, and always turning against the sun. The berries are red. This species is not so deleterious as the above two, and it acts more uniformly. Its sensible operation as 598 Materia Medica. a medicine, is also by sweat, urine and stool, and in the form of infusion, is said to be eminently servicea- ble in acute rheumatism. It has also been found effi- cacious in jaundice, scurvy, obstruction of the menses, and in obstinate cutaneous disorders. An infusion, prepared by adding a pint of boiling water to an ounce or half a handful .of the twigs or stalks, either in a fresh or dried state, of which a tea-cupful or more may be taken morning and evening. Another form is made by steeping four ounces of the twigs in a pint of wine. The dose a wine-glassful. In the form of poultice or cataplasm, it is also said to be a powerful discutient of hard tumours. For this purpose boil two or three handfuls of the leaves in wine or vinegar, to which may be added a little flaxseed, and this to be applied warm to indurated or hard tumours. The application of the juice and leaves to cancerous sores, in some in- stances, has performed a cure. OAK—Quercus. The bark of the oak possesses, in a considerable degree, astringent, tonic, and antiseptic properties. Hence we can never be at a loss for a remedy in those diseases in which the Peruvian bark has been recom- mended. In intermittents, and low stages of fever, in the advanced stage of dysentery, diarrhoea, indiges- tion, and other diseases of weakness, or loss of lone in the system, L have myself employed internally the black and red oak bark with equal effects, though in rather larger doses than the Peruvian bark. Many cases have come under my knowledge in practice, of persons, especially children, reduced to, mere skele- tons, by protracted disease, of bilious, nervous fever, and bowel complaints, whose stomachs would not re- tain medicine, being most wonderfully restored to the blessing of health by bathing in a strong decoction of oak bark, not more than milk warm, twice a-day. In the year 1809, I was requested by my brother, Dr. Thomas Ewell, who had the superintendence of the Marine Hospital in Washington, to visit some of Materia Medica. .199 his patients in the confluent small-pox, which had proved fatal in several instances. The first case presented to my view, was that of a poor sailor in the last stage of this dreadful disease, and so far gone that it was thought utterly useless to prescribe for him, his coffin being actually ordered. Reflecting, however, on the virtues of the oak bark, I did not myself entirely despair of his case; and in- stead of passing bim by, I ordered a bath of a strong decoction of oak bark to be prepared with all possible despatch, setting, at the same time, some of the soldiers to boil the water, while others hastened to the woods for the bark. When we came to immerse him in it, we found his whole hody such a mass of corruption, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet^so filled with vermin, that there was no other way to bathe him but in a sheet. I directed him to be supplied liberally with milk toddy, and to repeat the bath every two or three hours. By persevering in this treatment for two or three weeks, gradually diminishing the toddy, and oak bath, as his strength increased, to the astonish- ment of all the spectators he was miraculously snatch- ed from the jaws of death. When his sight was restored, he was much sur- prised to see that the astringent waters of the bath had made him look, as he said, " as black as a ne- gro." 1 am happy to add, that of several others in the hospital, who were treated in a similar mode, not one died. m ,,.,••* e In further proof of the tome and antiseptic virtue ot the oak bark, I beg leave to cite the following case from Professor Barton. In a case of gangrene of the foot, says this learned professor, from the puncture of a nail, which came un- der mv notice iu the course of last summer, 1 gave to the patient very large quantities of the decoction of oak bark, at the same time that the affected part was constantly kept wet with the same decoction, or with a poultice made of bread and milk and the bark. I cannot but ascribe the recovery of my patient to the 600 Materia Medica. use of these means, and I am emboldened to recom- mend the use of this cheap remedy, as one highly worth attention in similar cases. OAK POISON. See Poison Oak. ONIONS—Allium Cepa, Possess similar virtues with the garlic, only in a less degree. The disagreeable smell which they im- part to the breath may be effectually obviated by eat- ing a few leaves of parsley immediately after the onions. Onions are justly reputed an efficacious remedy in suppression of urine, in dropsies, and in abscess of the liver. The following exemplification of the virtue of onions in liver complaints, deserves the attention of the reader. Captain B. Burch, of the District of Columbia, was afflicted with an abscess of the liver, deemed incurable hy his physicians, and seeing some onions in the room, expressed a wish to eat one. Thinking his case des- perate, and no longer a matter of a ny consequence what he ate, his wife immediately gratified his appetite. After eating one or two onipns, he found himself much better, which induced him further to indulge his ap- petite. He subsisted for several weeks entirely on onions, with only the addition of a little salt and bread; and from using this diet he was restored to per- fect health, and is now a very hearty man in his 53d year. This, with innumerable instances of a similar sort, onght to convince the young practitioner, that in the cure of this disease, nature ought always to be consulted, as she seldom or never errs. Upon the high authority of our virtuous and able statesman, the honourable William H. Crawford, onions externally applied, is an invaluable remedy in violent sore throats. This worthy patriot informed me, that one of his children being violently attacked with the croup, at his mansion in Georgia, a physician was sent for; but before he arrived, the disease became Materia Medica. 601 so alarming as to threaten the child with immediate death, if something for its relief was not speedily done. Having heard that an ointment of garlic had been era- ployed with beneficial effects in sore throats, he instant- ly had some onions beaten, not having any garlic at hand, to which was added a small portion of hog's lard; and with this mixture, the neck, breast, and back of the child was well rubbed, which, in the short space of one hour, relieved all the distressing symp- toms. Another case of croup, cured by this applica- tion, came under the notice of Mr. Crawford last fall, as he was travelling from Georgia to the seat of go- vernment. A little girl, daughter of the gentleman at whose house he tarried one night, was seized with this alarming malady; and on his recommending the above remedy, it was employed with the same happy effects. He also stated to me, that, while in Paris, he was afflicted with a violent sore throat, which did not yield to the usual remedies; he directed some onions to be beaten, and had them applied to the soles of his feet and legs, over which his stockings were drawn. The happy result was, that he had a good night's rest, and in the morning found his throat entirely cured. He communicated the cure wrought on himself to a * rench lady who was greatly distressed with a sore throat, which induced her to make the experiment, aud the fortunate result was very remarkable. ORANGE TREE—Citrus Aurantium, Is now cultivated in the southern states, and deser- vedly esteemed for its grateful acid juice, which, by ouenching thirst and diminishing heat, is of considera- ble use in febrile disorders. From its virtues to resist putrescency, it has always and most deservedly held the first place on the list of antiscorbutics. The following is a recipe for making orange wine: Take the expressed juice of forty sour oranges, five gallon of water, and fifteen pounds of sugar; boil the water and sugar for twenty minutes, skim constantly, Tnd when cooled to a proper heat for fermentation, 4 w $02 Materia Medica. add the juice and outer rinds of the fruit, rasped or sheered off, putting all in a proper keg: leave it open for two or three days, and then bung it close for six months. PAPAU. See Custard Apple. PAPOOSE ROOT. See Cohush. PARSLEY LEAVED YELLOW ROOT. Zanihonza Apiifolia, Is a native of the southern states. The stems reach the height of three feet, and are somewhat thicker than the barrel of a goose quill. The root is from three to twelve inches long, and about the diameter of a man's little finger, sending off numerous scions, sometimes two feet in length, by which means it spreads consi- derably. The flowers appear before the leaves, very early in the spring. Both the stem aud the root are of a bright yellow colour, and possess a strong and bitter taste. In me- dicinal virtues, it is nearly allied to the celebrated co- lumbo root. The powdered stem and root, in the dose of two scruples, is highly recommended in all cases requiring bitter and tonic medicines. According to professor Barton, we have a very com- mon plant in various parts of the United States, par- ticularly in the rich soil adjacent to the Ohio and its branches, in the western parts of Virginia, Pennsyl- vania, and Kentucky, which is commonly called Yel- low Root. He des ribes the root of this plant as be- ing a very powerful bitter, perhaps not less so.than the preceding, and very popular as a tonic medicine. The usual forms of administering it, are powder, tinc- ture, and infusion. This latter has been employed as a wash in inflammation of the eyes. It is supposed this is the plant which some of the Indians make use of to cure cancers. * Materia Medica. 603 PARSLEY, WILD—Petrosellinum, Grows in meadows, and among rocks near the sea; stems firm, near six feet high; long, thick root, strong smell, acrid taste; flowers in July, and kidney-shaped seed, which alone are used in medicine, as a powerful diuretic. A small handful of the seed, boiled in a quart of water, and sweetened with honey, in doses of a tea- cupful evi»ry hour or two, is celebrated as a remedy in suppression of urine, or gravel complaints. PEACH TREE—Amygdalus'Persica. Both the flowers and leaves are excellent cathartics, and ought to be preserved by every family. A tea- spoonful of a strong infusion, sweetened, and taken every hour or two, will operate mildly on the bowels, without griping as senna does. Of the syrup, prepared by boiling slowly the juice of the leaves, with nearly an equal quantity of molasses, honey, or sugar, a ta- ble spoonful to children, and a wine glassful to adults, will also prove a mild laxative medicine. I have my- self witnessed its good effects in St. Anthony's fire and measles, and have no doubt of its utility in other diseases requiring gentle laxatives. Two of my most intimate friends, on a visit to one of their cotton plantations just settled in the interior part of Georgia, and where there was neither medicine nor physician, were taken dangerously illuf the bilious fever A good neighbour hearing they were ill, went to see them, and prescribed what he called « an ex- cellent physic," which was simply a strong infusion of peach leaves, to be taken in doses from a gill to half a pint every two or three hours. It operated on the stomach, bowels and skin; and by persevering m the use of it for a few days, they were happily restored to hP A decoction, prepared by boiling a handful of the dried leaves in a quart of water to a pint and a half, u &04 Materia Medica. and taken in doses of a tea cupful every two or three hours, is reputed, upon respectable authority, to have proved an effectual remedy in many cases of affections of the kidneys or gravel complaints, as also in cases of voiding blood by urine, which had resisted the usual remedies. PENNYROYAL—Mentha Pulegium. An infusion, a handful to a quart of boiling water, a tea-cupful the dose three times a-day, has long been esteemed in hysteric complaints and obstructions of the menses, Dr. Withering says, that the expressed juice of pennyroyal, with a little sugar or honey, a tea-cup- ful every two or three hours, is a useful medicine in the whooping cough. t PEPPERMINT—Mentha Piperita, Is an excellent stomachic in flatulent colics, lan- guors, hysteric cases, and vomiting. The usual modes of administering it, are infusion, the distilled water, and the essential oil. This last, united with rectified spirits of wine, forms the essence of peppermint, so highly esteemed. In nausea, cholera morbus, obstinate vomiting, and griping, peppermint, infused in spirits, and applied as hot as can be endured to the stomach and bowels, will be found a most valuable remedy. A lady of Alexandria was seized with a violent fit of the colic, bringing on a weakness and irritability of the stomach, with nausea and vomiting incessantly.— Two eminent physicians sent for could prescribe noth- ing that did any service. Dr. Craik being called in, immediately ordered a large cataplasm of stewed mint in spirits, to be applied as warm as it could be borne, to the pit of the stomach and abdomen. It operated like a charm. The distressing nausea and vomiting left her, the aperient medicines were then retained, and the ob- stinate constipated state of the bowels was speedily re. moved. Materia Medica. 605 PEPPER, RED OR CAYENNE—Capsicum Annum, Is cultivated in our gardens; it is a powerful stimu- lant, and has been found beneficial in chronic rheuma- tism. Those who are subject to flatulence will find be- nefit in u«ing it with vegetables and soup. In cases of violent pain or cramp in the stomach, no medicine is superior to a strong infusion of red pepper, one or two pods to half a pint of spirits, in dose from a half to a win*--glassful. It is also useful, both as a medicine and gaigle. in putrid sore throat, when infused in water. Steeped in spirits and applied warm to the extremities in chronic rheumatism, or low stages of nervous fever, when the circulation is languid, it has produced the most happy effects. PINKROOT, CAROLINA—Spigelia Marilandica, Grows abundantly in the southern states, and is de- servedly esteemed a vermifuge, or destroyer of worms. An infusion, a handful to a quart of boiling water, and one or two tea-cupfuls night and morning, is the usual form and dose. With the addition of milk and sugar, children will take it almost as readily as their tea. It sometimes occasions disagreeable affections of the eyes; when this occurs, suspend the use of the medicine until these symptoms disappear, and then select from another parcel, or make tea of the tops only, as it is supposed the deleterious effects are in consequence of some other root being attached to it. Pinkroot is also considered a valuable medicine in fevers, as is verified daily, when given to children in a febrile state for a vermifuge, when no other effect has been produced than a removal of the fever. PISS WORT. See Flea Bane. VhA'STAlS—Plantago, Has long been employed as an antidote against the bites of snakes, spiders, and other venomous insects. 606 Materia Medica. The juice, extracted from the whole of the plant, is generally given in doses of two table-spoonfuls every hour, or oftener, until the patient is relieved. It is sometimes given in conjunction with horehound or rue. The leaves bruised are considered by some a good application to fresh wounds. PLEURISY ROOT—Asclepias Decumbens, Has a variety of names, as butterfly weed, flux root, decumbent swallow wort. It is a beautiful plant, grow- ing two or three feet high under fences and upland pas- tures. The flowers are of a bright orange colour, and appear in July and August. These are succeeded by long slender pods containing the send, which have a de- licate kind of silk attached to them. The root is spindle or carrot-shaped, of alight brownish colour on the out- side, white within. This plant possesses great medicinal virtues, and ought therefore to be cultivated in our gardens. It iias long been employed as a remedy in the treatment of violent cold and pleurisies. No medicine is better cal- culated than this to produce general and plentiful perspiration without heating the body, and hence its well-merited fame in curing the disease, which name it bears. Mr. Thomson Mason, of Virginia, was among the first who noticed the virtues of this plant, and from his long experience of its utility in pleurisy, recom- mended it as a specific. He states, that after the use of an emetic, and the loss of some blood, in the incipient stage, he administered, of the pleurisy root finely pow- dered, as much as would lie upon the point of a case- knife, in a cup of warm water, and repeated the dose every two hours until the patient recovered, which happened frequently in a very few days. By these simple means Mr. M. cured great numbers. We have also many of the most respectable physi- cians celebrating its virtues in pleurisy, and other re- cent affections of the breast. A tea-cupful of a strong infusion, a handful to a quart of boiling water, is given every two or three hours. Professor Barton says the Materia Medica. 607 ruot of this plant in powder possesses a purgative quality, and that he has used it with advantage in dy- sentery. In Virginia also it has been used with great effect in this complaint. This root is frequently re- sorted to by country people for the relief of pains of the stomach from flatulence and indigestion, hence it is called by some wind-root. The late Paul Hamilton, esq. ascribed the same virtues of curing pleurisies and dysentery to a plant that grows in South Carolina, and which is also call- ed Pleurisy Root, Asclepias Erectus. He thus de- scribes it: It grows in rich high lands. The root has the ap- pearance and taste of a small, long,sweet potatoe; the stalk erect; the leaves resembling the persimmon leaf, is situated transversely, and when broken, it throws out a viscid milk: blossoms in May and June. The blos- soms are a cream colour, with purple centres. Twenty, grains of this root in powder, he, says, given in warm water or tea, is excellent in flatulent colic; and the same quantity repeated every two hours, in pleurisy, will seldom fail to bring on a perspiration, while its pectoral effects are admirable. POISON OAK—Rhus Toxicodendron, Embraces several species, the most dangerous of which is the swamp sumach. The poison may be communicated, not only by the touch, but also by he smoke, smell, or steam, producing an eruption on he skin, with pain and itching, and sometimes attended with swollen head and fever. One of the best reme- dies which has come under my notice, is a wash ot crude sal ammoniac and corrosive sublimate, two drachms of the former to one of the latter, in a quart of water, used externally twice or thrice a-day, with a dose or wo of salts, or an infusion of senna and salts I have lately been informed, from a source which can be relied on, that lime water excels any other ap, h- L a a wash in this distressing affection of the skin. 608 Materia Medica. The species called sometimes poison wood, has a low shrubby stalk, the leaves somewhat heart-shaped, the flowers small, the berries round, and of a yellowish grey colour when ripe. Dr. Anderson of Hull, has employed the leaves of this species in doses from half a grain to four grains, three times a-day, with success in paralytic cases. Poison vine, called also poison creeper, has a slen- der stem, and frequently climbs to the top of our tallest trees. The flowers, which appear in June, are small, of a light yellow colour, and have a delightful odour. An extract of the leaves, two grains to a dose, and in- creased, has been successfully employed in paralytic affections, as well as an infusion in tetter-worm and scald head. Professor Barton says, that a decoction has been used with seeming advantage in cases of consumption; and others say, that a decoction of the root is service- able in asthma. POKE WEED—Phytolacca Decandra, Is known by a variety of names, as American night- shade, coacum, garget, skoke. The berries steeped in spirits, have long been employed in the chronic rheu- matism. It has, however, sometimes failed, which may have been owing to the peculiarity of constitution, or to the inertness of the bounce or tincture from age, an effect often observed by professor Barton, as also by myself. From the authority of this learned professor, the juice of the ripe berries, inspissated to the state of an extract, and spread upon a rag, or upon the leaf of the plant, is an excellent application to scrofulous or indolent tumours. The juice of the leaves has been applied in the same manner with equal advantage. An ointment of the leaves with lard is good in various kinds of ulcers. The roots, bruised, are sometimes applied to the hands and feet of the patients in ar- dent fevers. To make an extract, expose to mode- rate and continued heat, the juice of the berries or Materia Medica. 609 leaves, until, by evaporation, it thickens to the con- sistence of honey. It may also be made from the root, which is equally efficacious. Boil the roots for some time, strain the decoction, and then reboil it to a thick consistence. Other virtues have been recently ascribed to this plant by respectable physicians. An infusion of the leaves is recommended external- ly as an admirable remedy for the piles. One ounee of the root steeped in a pint of wine, and given to the quantity of two table-spoonfuls, is said to operate mild- ly as an emetic. It is also said that this plant may be relied on as an efficacious remedy for the venereal dis- ease, in its various stages, even without the aid of mercury. From my own experience of the virtues of poke- weed, I can recommend it as a most valuable medicine in rheumatic and gouty affections, as also in nocturnal pains, and obstinate ulcerations in the venereal disease, brought on by the excessive use of mercury. The usual form of exhibition is the bounce, a wine-glassful three times a-day. The bounce is prepared by filling a jug with the whole berries when ripe, and tjien pouring as much spirits to them as the vessel will con- to"1- . • i i ii An ointment, prepared by simmering slowly the leaves or a handful of the root scraped in a pint of hog's lard, with a small portion of beeswax, has been used with great success in cancers, and various kinds of ulcers. POLYGONUM. An infusion of it, as a diet drink, is a powerful pro- moter of urine, and very useful in gravel^complaints. POLYPODY, COMMON— Polypodium, Grows on old walls, shady places, and at the roots of trees, flowering from June to October. The root has a sweetish taste, but by long boiling becomes bitter An infusion of half an ounce of the fresh root m half 4 H 610 Materia Medica. a pint of boiling water, in doses of a wine-glassful every hour or two, operates as a mild laxative. POMEGRANATE—Punica, Is cultivated in the southern gardens. The fruit is agreeable to the palate, and possesses the general pro- perties of subacid fruits. Its rind, boiled in milk, and drank freely, or in powder, a tea-spoonful for a dose, three times a-day, has been used with success, in di- arrhoeas, dysenteries, and other diseases requiring as- tringent medicines. The flowers possess the virtues of the rind, only iu a less degree. POPLAR TREE, OR WHITE WOOD. Liriodendrum Tulipifera. The hark of this noble tree, as well as the root, is a very strong bitter, and considerably aromatic. In intermittents, in the last stage of dysentery, and other disorders requiring tonic medicines, it is consi- dered but little inferior to the Peruvian bark, and is generally employed in similar doses and forms. There is another species of poplar, the aspen tree, populus tremula, the bark of which, according to pro- fessor Barton, is also an excellent tonic and stomachic. POPPY, WHITE—Papaver Somniferum, Grows in our gardens, and yields a juice, which, when inspissated, to a proper consistence, is called opium. According to the experiments of Dr. S. Ricketson, of Duchess county, New York, the opium obtained from our poppies, is equal, if not superior to the im- ported. With respect to the method of cultivating the plant, and preserving the opium, we shall insert the directions given by Dr. Ricketson. " The poppy seeds should be planted about the mid- dle of May, in rich moist ground, an inch deep and ten or twelve inches apart, and kept clean. When the plants are arrived to the state of flowering, on a Materia Medica. 611 sun-shining day, cut off the stalks, at about an inch distance from the flowers, and as soon as the juice ap- pears, which it does at first equally well on the part of the stalks cut off with the flowers, as on the stand- ing part, collect it with a small scoop, or penknife. After the juice ceases to appear on the standing stalk* it should be cut off about an inch lower, when it will be found to yield almost as freely as before, and re- peated as long as any juice appears. The juice, when collected, should be put into an evaporating pan, placed in the sun's heat, and frequently stirred, till it becomes of a consistence to be formed into pills, or made into rolls for keeping and exportation. The quantity of opium that may be preserved, depends very much on the largeness of our plants, and the care used in col- lecting it. From one poppy plant, T have obtained seven grains of opium. If any would choose to have the opium freed from its impurities, it may be easily done, by pressing the juice, before it is inspissated, through a linen' strainer; but if pains be taken, ac- cording to the foregoing directions, I believe there will be little or no occasion for it." A strong decoction of the dried heads mixed with half the quantity of sugar, or honey, and formed into a syrup, by simmering slowly by a gentle fire for an hour, is occasionally used indoses of a table spoonful in coughs and breas't complaints, on account of its ano- dyne effects. Poppy heads are also used externally in fomentations and poultices, either alone, or conjoined with the leaves of southern wood, camomile flowers, or other ingredients. POTATOE. SWEET—Convolvulus Batata. From this root Bowen's patent sago is prepared, which forms a very nutritious jelly, like arrow root, and is prepared in the same manner; to which the reader is referred. . The process generally used for procuring the pow- der of the sweet potatoe, is to grate the clean roots, 61& Materia Medica, wash the mass through brass sieves of different sizes, and collect the flour at the bottom of the vessel which receives the fluid; finally, dry it in pans either by the fire or in the sun. The vine of the sweet potatoe, supports the famous insect, called the potatoe fly, which, from repeated ex- periments, is fouud fully equal in all respects to the best Spanish flies. The potatoe flies generally make their appearance about the last of July or first of Au- gust, and may be collected in great abundance morning and evening, by shaking th^m from the leaves in a ves- sel of hot water, and afterwards drying them in the sun. These insects will also feed upon the vine of the Irish potatoe. As they can be proeured in immense quantities annually, with but little trouble, every fami- ly should carefully collect them. POTATOE, WILD—Convolvulus Panduratus, Grows in low grounds and sandy soils, near running water. It trails along the ground several feet, much like a grape vine; the root very large, hard, and white, running very deep in the earth; the leaves triangular, the flowers are whitish with a purple tinge, and bell- shaped. It is called wild rhubarb, and from the arti- cle whose name it bears, is employed as a purgative in doses from a tea to a table spoonful of the powdered root. Professor Barton says, the root in powder or decoction has been much recommended in Virginia, and other parts of the United States, in cases of gravel. The decoction is prepared by boiling slowly a handful of the root sliced or bruised in three pints of water to a quart, of which, in gravel complaints, a tea-cupful may be taken four or five times a-day. PRICKLY ASH, and PRK5KLY YELLOW WOOD—Zanthoxylum, Possess the same virtues. Both species are covered with numerous prickles, whence the name. Both the bark and berry are of a hot acrid taste, and when Materia Medico. 613 chewed, powerfully promote spittle. It is used in this way to cure the tooth-ach, as well as by putting some within the hollow, also to cure the palsy of the tongue. A decoction, or infusion of the bark of the root, a small handful to a quart of boiling water, in doses of half a pint three or four times a-day, has long been em- ployed with great success in chronic rheumatism, para- lytic affections, and venereal disease. There is no me- dicine which I have found so effectual in relieving noc- turnal pains, and disposing venereal ulcers to heal, as the prickly ash in the above form and doses. A tincture, prepared by steeping half a pint of the berries, or a handful of the bark, in a bottle of spirits, is much esteemed as a remedy in doses of a wine-glass- ful in flatulent colics. It is someimes employed in this form, in cold phlegmatic habits, afflicted with the rheu- matism. „» PRICKLY PEAR, Grows on sandy lands, and rocky places. A large handful of the pear cut in slices, boiled in a quart of milk, and taken in doses of a gill every morn- ing, is reputed to be of great benefit in scurvy, dropsy, cancers, and cutaneous eruptions; and that the inner soft mucilage of the pear, while green, on a rag, to ulcers morning and night, is very efficacious It is also said Sat a fresh piece of the inner side of the pear, applied wice a-day to corns, after soaking the feet in warm water, and paring off the horny part, will in a few days perform a cure. PRIDE OF INDIA, OR CHINA—Melia Azedarach, Is now completely naturalised to the southern states. The puoUc walk and streets of Savannah and Augusta Lamented bv rows of this tree, a mile long, wh ch Zlh ™<5delightful shade against the scorching lr and alu not less to the healthiness than to the beauty of these cities. Independent of its luxuriant 614 Materia Medica. verdure, and cooling shade, it is highly valuable, for its medicinal properties, being now ascertained to be one of the best vermifuges in nature. Many physicians in the southern states, have wit- nessed its remarkable effects in destroying and dis- lodging worms. It has been even found a remedy against the tape-worm. I have not myself made use of this medicine, possi- bly because of having witnessed the deleterious effects of the berries on some pigs and a parrot. In the fall of the year 1795, at a country seat which I then owned, in Lancaster County, Virginia, a sow with eight or ten pigs came into the yard where I had several trees of the Pride of China, and observing the pigs to eat with avidity the berries, which were drop- ped on the ground, I had many of them thrown from the tree, and in a few hours all the pigs were seized with the common symptoms of inebriation, and died. The sow did not appear to be the least affected, al- though she also ate of them. The death of the pigs would not have operated so strongly on my mind, had it not been for a parrot, which not long after fell a vic- tim to those berries. This enchanting bird, which spoke many words as plainly as a human person, and which for several years had been a pet in the family of Dr. Andrew Robertson, the father of Mrs. E****, had not long arrived at its new home, before it was tempted to eat of the fruit of this tree. A gentlemen who was not apprised of the deleterious properties of this berry, presented the much-admired Poll with one of them, which she soon ate, and relished so well, as loudly to call out, "give me some more!" "give me some more !" After consuming several, she in a short time fell into a state of stupefaction, followed by a vi- olent purging, which soon terminated her existence. The common modes of using this medicine, are the infusion or. tea, and saturated decoction. Of the former a haudful of the bark to a quart of boiling water, is given in doses of a small tea cupful morning and night. The decoction is made by boiling a large handful of Materia Medica. 615 the fresh bark of the root in three pints of water to a quart, which is given to children in doses from a half to a whole wine-glassful. Dr. Kollock, of Savannah, observes, when exhibited in the latter form, every three hours, until it operates, he has found it benefi- cial as a febrifuge in those affections usuall) denomi- nated worm fevers, but where uo worms are voided. The pulp which invests the stone of the fruit, pound- ed with tallow, has been successfully employed in cases of scald head. Would not an oiutment prepared by slowly simmering the root in hog's lard, be found also an excellent application to that loathsome disease, also to tetter worms and ulcers? PUCCOON. See Blood Root. QUEEN OF THE MEADOWS, Grows in hedges, and on the sides of meadows, about four feet high; the stalk reddish, leaves long, spear-shaped, and opposite each other; flowers purple. A large handful of the roots boiled in three pints of water to a quart, and given in doses of a tea-cuplul everv two hours, is said to be an excellent remedy in suppression of urine, aud carrying off the water in dropsy. QUINCE TREE—Pyrus Cydonia, The liquor expressed from the ripe quince, also the syrup, has frequently been given with great success in nausea, vomiting, and fluxes. The iuice of ihe quince with sugar, a gallon of one to two pounds of the other, is said to make a mo*,t de. r LTfiil wine The ripe fruit sliced and steeped in Kh brandy or spirit, with a little sugar, or equal lrts of the juice and spirits sweetened orms an £ r a^rp^ tr t r;eedshea Ko3£ ^i w^SS?^ «> is -excellent drink in dysentery. S16 Materia Medica. RADISH—Raphanus, Is esteemed as an antiscorbutic, particularly if eaten with the skin. When old, or after having been kept some time, they ought to be avoided, especially by persons of weak stomachs, as apt to create indigestion and colic, and to render the breath disagreeable. RASBERRY—Ideeus, Like the rest of the rich subacid fruit, when ripe, are wholesome and nourishing. Rasberries, as well as strawberries, held in the mouth, will dissolve tartar ous concretions formed on the teeth, RATTLE, OR SENEKA SNAKE ROOT. Polygala Senega, Grows nearly a foot high, the leaves pointed, and somewhat oval; the stalks upright and branched, the flowers white, the root variously bent and joined, whence it is supposed to resemble the tail of the ani mal whose name it bears. In violent colds, croup, pleurisy, acute rheumatism, and all inflammatory complaints, I can recommend it as an admirable medicine to promote perspiration. The best form of using it is in decoction, a handful to a quart of boiling water, a wine-glassful to adults, every two or three hours, increasing or lessening the quanti- ty to avoid vomiting and purging. Professor Chapman recommends it very highly in obstructions of the menses; four ounces of the decoc- tion to be taken in the course of tlie day, increasing the quantity when the menstrual effort is expected, as far as the stomach will allow. If this excite nausea, aromatics are to be added, as cinnamon, calimus and angelica. , Dr. Archer, of Hartford county, Maryland, was among the first who noticed the efficacy of this medi- cine in cases of croup or hives. Materia Medica. 'air- He directs a lea-spoonful of the strong decoction to be given to a child every half hour or hour, as the urgency of the symptoms may demand, and during the intervals a few drops occasionally, until it acts as an emetic or cathartic; then repeated in small quantities, to keep up a constant stimulus in the mouth and throat. Patients who use this medicine, should not be permit- ted to drink any thing whatever for some time after each dose. He has also employed it in the form of powder in doses of four to five grains, mixed with a little water. Professor Barton, with his usual candour and libe- rality, observes, " I am persuaded that the Seneka is a very important medicine in the treatment of this com- mon, and too frequently unmanageable disease; and praise is, in my opinion, due to Dr. Archer for his im- portant discovery, for such I cannot but deem it. That the Seneka is a specific or certain remedy for the cure of croup, I do not believe; but from my own experience, I am led to repose more confidence in the use of this medicine than in any other. I have made use of a very strong decoction of the root. I have always given it in large quantities. It appears to be chiefly beneficial when it occasions an expectoration of mu- cus, and when it proves emetic. It is also very useful by virtue of its purgative quality. But 1 have known it occasion very plentiful stools, without benefiting the patient. Indeed, in the exhibition of Seneka, I would rather wish to guard against large purgings. I have sometimes treated my patients almost entirely with Seneka. Even in such cases 1 have perceived most unequivocal good effects from it. But I have more generally given along with the Seneka, calomel, and sometimes calomel combined with ipecacuanha. I have not omitted the employment of the lancet, though this in many cases of croup is not absolutely necessa- ry and the use of blisters or sinapisms applied near the seat of the disease. I am happy to close this short notice by observing, that several respectable physi- cians in Philadelphia inform me that they have used 4 I 618 Materia Medica. the Seneka with much advantage in the disease in question. Along with its emetic, cathartic, expectorant and diaphoretic qualities, the Seneka possesses a diuretic power, and hence has been found useful in cases of dropsies. It likewise acts upon the salivary glands. In the prevailing epidemic I have found a decoction of this vegetable, taken freely at the commencement of the disease, a medicine of great utility." RATTLE SNAKE VIOLET. See Violet RHUBARB, WILD. See Potatoe, Wild. ROSE—Rosa. The hundred-leaved, or damask rose, is justly term- ed the queen of flowers. Ottar, or essence of roses, is obtained from these by distillation, and is doubtless the most elegant perfume in vegetable nature. Inde- pendent of their use in this manner, a decoction of its leaves will be found a mild laxative, and, when form- ed into a syrup, may be given with advantage to chil- dren. The conserve of roses is also prepared from them for medical pnrposes. ROSE WiLLOW—Salix, Grows near brooks, along the banks ot rivers, and on the borders of meadows. It is about the size of an apple tree, and covered with a greyish-coloured bark, and very red within, with a bunch in the top resembling a bunch of roses. Four ounces, or a large handful of the bark, boiled in three pints of water to a quart, and taken in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a day, is said to be an excellent remedy in cases of gleet, the whites, im- moderate flowing of the menses, and in cutaneous eruptions. Materia Medica. 619 RUE—Ruta, Has an ungrateful smell, and a pungent, bitter taste. The leaves are acrid, and when applied to the skin are apt to produce blisters. Employed in the form of t«»a, they are reputed to be of great service to persons of cold phlegmatic habits. According to Boerhaave, au infusion of the leaves powerfully promotes perspira- tion, quickens the circulation, removes obstructions, and is particularly adapted to weak and hysterical constitutions, suffering from retarded, or obstructed secretions. SAGE—Salvia. An infusion of the leaves, or tea, is'Considered ser- viceable to persons of cold phlegmatic habits, labour- ing under nervous debility. Sweetened, with the ad- dition of a little lemon juice, it forms an exceedingly grateful and useful drink, in febrile disorders. Sage was supposed by the ancients to possess the virtue of prolonging human life; hence the following verse: ' Cur moriatur homo, cui salvia crescit in horto?' How can a man die, in whose garden there grows sage? in allusion to its many virtues. What a shameful abuse of this pretended property was made by the late sir John Hill, in his patent tincture of sage, for the prolonging of human life, and warding off old age, is known to every one. This conduct could not fail to draw upon him the pen of the wits of the age; and Garrick, with Thomson, conjointly published the following epigram: Thou essence of dock, valerian and sage, At once the disgrace and pest of the age, The worst that we wish thee for all thy bad crimes, Is to take thy own physic, and read thy own rhymes. Dr. Hill made the following reply: 620 Materia Medica, Ye desperate junto, ye great, or ye small, Who combat dukes, doctors, the deuce, and them all, Whether gentlemen, scribblers, or poets in jail, Your impertinent curses shall never prevail; I'll take neither sage, dock, nor balsam of honey; Do you take the physic, and I'll take the money. Such shameless imposition on common sense, de- serves something worse than ridicule; for deceiving the sick and helpless, they merit the execrations of every man who has one spark of humanity. SAMSON SNAKE ROOT, Grows from six to twelve inches on dry land, and bears on the top two or three pale blue flowers; leaves opposite, sword-shaped ; the root matted, variously bent, and has an agreeable bitter taste. Upon the respectable authority of the honourable Wm. Mayrant, of South Carolina, the root of this plant possesses in a very great degree tonic powers. He stat- ed to me, that being himself reduced to a mere skele- ton by dyspepsia, or indigestion, and having tried the usual remedies employed in such cases without receiv- ing any benefit, he was at length induced, as his last hone, to try the virtue of this plant, which had been recommended to him by a negro man. He was directed to steep a handful of the root in a bottle of spirits, of which he was to take half a wine-glassful diluted with water three times a-day; and such was the astonishing effect wrought by this medicine, that in a few weeks his health was perfectly reinstated. He discovered the plant to grow near Fredericksburg, Virginia, aud collected some of it to exhibit in Washington. Several persons in delicate health, and troubled with dyspepsia, were readily persuaded, from the recommendations of colonel Mayrant, to make use of his favourite remedy, and not without receiving considerable benefit. It may be taken in the form of powder, tincture, or decoc- tion. Materia Medica. 621 SANICLE, AMERICAN. See Alum Root. S AR S APARILL A*— Sm ilax Sarsaparilla, Grows in several parts of the United States. It is a small vine, resembling a bramble. A decoction of sarsaparilla, prepared by boiling a large handful of the root in a quart of water, till the third part be evaporated, has long been employed as an auxiliary to mercury, in the treatment of venereal complaints. It promotes perspiration, attenuates viscid humours, relieves venereal headach, nocturnal pains, and disposes venereal ulcers to heal. In rheumatic af- fections, cutaneous disorders, and scrofula, it is a very useful medicine. It may also be exhibited in the form of powder in doses of two drachms, or extract in doses of one drachm, three or four times a-day, SASSAFRAS—Laurus Sassafras, An infusion, or tea of the flowers, or bark of the root,. has often been successfully given as a sweetener or pu- rifier of the blood, in scorbutic, venereal, and cutane- ous disorders, or where an acrimony of the fluids pre- vails. Conjoined with the bark of dog-wood, cherry- tree, or oak, it is very useful in obstinate intermittents. The oil, externally applied, iu the chronic rheumatism, and also in wens, has oftentimes proved salutary. The pith of the small twigs, in water, forms a mucilage of excellent use for sore eyes, and as. an injection in the incipient stage of gonorrhoea. It also affords, when sweetened, with the addition of nutmeg, a palatable jelly useful in dysentery and febrile diseases. SCULL CAP, BLUE. See Hooded Widow Herb. SCURVY GRASS—Cochleara Officinalis, Is a pungent stimulating plant, and in the simple state of a salad, or in the form of expressed juice, a wine-glassful three times a-day, has long been esteemed one of the best of all the antiscorbutic plants. 62% Materia Medica. SENNA, AMERICAN—Cassia Marilandica, Is easily cultivated from the seeds, and ought to be more generally introduced in our gardens. It has long been employed as a purgative. To in- crease its effects on the bowels, manna, salts, or ta- marinds are generally added. To correct its ill fla- vour, and prevent griping, it should be joined with some aromatics, as coriander or fennel seed, ginger, &c. In the form of decoction, a handful to a pint of boiling water, the dose is a tea-cupful every hour or two, until it operates. It may also be exhibited in the form of tincture, to relieve flatulent colics, four ounces of senna to a quart of spirits, with an ounce of corian- der seed, or ginger, and a wine-glassful the dose. SKOKE. See Thorn Apple. SKUNK CABBAGE—Draconitum Foetidum, Abounds in swamps and meadows, and emits a dis- agreeable smell, nearly resembling that of a skunk or pole-cat, and from this, and its leaves resembling those of a cabbage, it has acquired its name. The roots dried and powdered, have proved of ex- cellent use in asthmatic cases, and often afforded relief in this distressing disease, when other means were in- effectual. It should be exhibited during the paroxysm, and repeated as circumstances may require, in doses of thirty or forty grains. It will be proper to perse- vere in the use of it for some time after the paroxysm has gone off, until the patient has perfectly recovered. Dr. Cutler has celebrated its efficacy in his own case of asthma, after other medicines had failed. In one of the most violent asthmatic cases, two tea-spoonfuls of the powdered root in spirits, procured immediate relief, and on repeating the trials with the same pa- tient, it afforded more lasting benefit than any other medicine. In childbed it produces the desired effect, in doses of a tea-spoonful repeated occasionally. In Materia Medica. 623 numerous other instances of spasm, and also in chronic and acute rheumatism, and dropsy, in powder or de- coction, it has performed important cures. The seeds possess the same virtues with the root. Dr. Cutler vehemently cautions, that, in collecting the roots, the white hellebore, or poke root, which some people call skunk weed, be not mistaken for this plant, as the consequence might be fatal. There is an ob- vious difference; the hellebore has a stalk, but the skunk cabbage has none, and the roots of the latter are much larger than those of the former. SOAPWORT—Saponaria Officinalis, Grows in moist swamps and meadows, particularly on the Ohio river, where it is used as a substitute for soap. It rises about a foot high, the leaves are point- ed, and furnished with three ribs, the flowers nume- rous, large, and of a pale pink colour. A handful of this plant boiled in three pints of wa- ter to a quart, in doses of half a pint, three or four times a day, has been found useful in the jaundice, obstructions of the liver, and the venereal disease. SORREL— Oxalis Acetosella, Called also sour trefoil, or cuckow bread. Yields, on expression, a grateful acid juice, which has been beneficially used in the scurvy, and scorbutic eruptions. An infusion of the leaves makes a palatable diet drink in fevers, and on being boiled in milk, forms an agree- able whey. A conserve made of the leaves, with dou- ble their weight of loaf sugar, forms an excellent sub- stitute for lemons, and may be given with advantage, in all putrid and other fevers, where antisceptics are indicated. The leaves bruised, and externally applied to scrofulous ulcers, have produced excellent effects, by promoting suppuration and granulation. SOUHERN WOOD. See Mugwort 6&4 Materia Medica. SOUTH SEA TEA, OR YAUPON—Alex Vomu toria, Grows abundantly in the southern states. It rises about twelve feet high, shooting into many upright slen- der stiff branches, covered with whitish smooth bark; the leaves small, evergreen, and saw-edged; the flow- ers small and white, and grow promiscuously among the leaves, succeeded by small berries, which become red in October, and remain so all the winter. It is held in great esteem among the southern In- dians. They toast the leaves, and make a decoction of them, which is called black drink. An infnsion, or tea of the leaves, is considered as palatable as bohea tea, and when used freely, is a pow- erful diuretic, and hence of service in the cure of drop- sy and suppression of urine. SPIKENARD—Aralia Racemosa, Grows in low rich grounds and among rocks, to the height of three or four feet; the leaves are many, on long branches, from a thick purplish stalk, flowers very small, of a bluish colour, producing berries much resembling those of the elder, of a sweetish pleasant aromatic taste. The roots are very long, about the thickness of a finger. A pint of the berries steeped in a quart of spirits, in dose of a wine-glassful, is said to be a speedy cure for the gout in the stomach. The roots in the form of in- fusion, a handful to a quart of water, and given in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, have been found efficacious in gouty complaints. The fresh root applied in the form of poultice, is said to be excellent for wounds or ulcers. SPLEENWORT. See Maiden Hair. SPRUCE LAUREL. See Mezereon. Materia Medica. 625 SQUIRREL EAR, OR EDGE LEAF, According to the late Paul Hamilton, esq. is pro- duced on barren pine land, in Carolina and Georgia. It is a species of sage, and very efficacious as an anti- dote to the poison of the snake bite. It is known by the remarkable characteristic which forms its name; the leaf, instead of the surface, presents its edge to the sun, and is in colour and shape, very much like the ear of a squirrel, although larger. The stalk never rises beyond three feet, and its leaves are alternate and transverse. A wine-glassful of the juice of this plant has been known to rescue, from death persons bitten by the rat- tle snake, who were so far gone, as to be incapable of speaking. The flower of this plant is white and fuzzy, and appears in every warm month in the year; the smell that of mellilot, with a slight tincture of the aro- matic. STINK WEED. See Thorn Apple. STRAWBERRY—Fragaria. The fruit of this plant is delicious, and being of a cooling and laxative nature, may be considered as me- dicinal. If freely eaten they impart their peculiar fra- grance to the urine, and when retained in the mouth for some time, dissolve tartareous concretions on the teeth They are of great service in cases of scurvy, and, according to Linnaeus, a copious use of them has proved a certain preventive of the stone in the kidnies An infusion of strawberry leaves, while young and tender, makes excellent tea; but for such purpose they ought to be dried in the shade, being slightly bitter and stvptic They have been used with advantage in laxity and debility of the intestines, as likewise in he- morrhages and other fluxes. Lastly, they are of con- siderable service as aperients, in suppressions of urine, visceral obstructions, and jaundice. 4 K 626 Materia Medica. SUMACH, COMMON—Rhus Copallinum. The berries or seeds, when ripe, are red and very acid. An infusion of them, sweetened with honey, is a good gargle for the sore throat, and for cleansing the mouth in putrid fevers. Mr. Jesse Torrey considers the bark of the root of sumach to be one of the best antiseptics produced by vegetation. Corroding ulcers, defying every common application, immediately began to heal 'by washing them with a strong decoction, and applying the boiled bark as a poultice. He says it is a very important material in decoctions for hectic and scrofulous dis- eases. Sumach constitutes one of the ingredients of the following recipe, which was handed to me by a gentleman of the first respectability and veracity, as a remedy for the venereal disease. Of the inner bark of pine and swamp elm, and the bark of the root of sumach, take each one pound, boil them in a gallon of water to three quarts, drink half a pint three times a-day; if costiveness be produced, a dose of salts may be used. If there be ulcers, they are to be washed with the decoction made warm. The detergent effects will appear in a very short time. Ab- stinence from too much stimulants will accelerate the cure. This remedy is one of Heaven's best mercies to offending man, and. instances can be produced of the effects of it, which would stagger credulity. Mercury, and nitric acid, have failed, but this has never been known to fail when properly applied. It is, moreover, a fine application in dysenteric affections. SUNDEW—Ros Solis, , Called also red root, or youthwort. Grows in mos- sy hogs, flowering in July and August. The whole of this singular plant is acrid, and its juice sufficiently caustic to corrode corns and warts. It is said the juice, properly mixed with milk, and applied to the skin, will remove freckles and sun-burns. Materia Mediaa* 637 SWALLOWWORT. See Pleurisy Root. TANSY—Tanacetum Vulgare, This plant possesses a warm bitter taste, and may be used as a substitute for hops. An infusion of the leaves is recommended for a weak stomach, hysteric com- plaints, and obstructed menses. According to Dr. Withering, its seeds are an excel- lent vermifuge, in doses from a scruple to a drachm, and that if animal substance be rubbed with the herb, it will be effectually preserved from the attack of the flesh fly. THORN APPLE—Datura Stramonium, Has a variety of names, as James-town, or jimson weed, French apple, stink weed, &c. Its common name, James-town weed, is said to have arisen from the circumstance of a number of sailors being violently diseased by ignorantly eating the boiled plant at James- town, in Virginia, at its first settlement. It grows among rubbish, and on dunghills, to the height of two or three feet, flowers in July and August. The corolla is funnel-shaped and plated white with a tinge of pur- ple. The capsule is large, egg shaped, and covered with thorns, which have four divisions, and contain nu- merous kidney-shaped seeds. The leaves are large, egg shaped, and deeply indented, of a disagreeable smell, and nauseous taste. Everv part of this plant is a strong narcotic poison; nevertheless, when judiciously administered, it is un- questionably one of the most valuable medicines in our possession. Professor Barton considers it a medicine of great aud invaluable powers, especially in cases of mania, attended with little or no fever, or with a cold skin and languid circulation. -The form in which he exhibited it, was that of an extract prepared from the first leaves, beginning with a few grains, and gradu- ally increasing the dose to fifteen or twenty grains. In one case of mauia, in a woman, he increased it to sixty 628 Materia Medica grains. In a few weeks it brought on an eruption in various parts of the body, '* and she was dismissed," he observes, "from the hospital, perfectly cured." Dr. Fisher recommends it highly in those cases of mania in young persons, where the fits occur daily, or monthly, at regular periods, especially if assisted by ehalybeates, or such other medicines as particular symptoms require, but advises the free and regular use of it, one or two doses every day. The most convenient form, especial- ly for children, he thinks, is the saturated tincture; the requisite dose may be known by the dilatation of the pupils. Dr. Alexander King, of Connecticut, has employed this medicine, in the form of decoction, one drachm of the seeds bruised, boiled in half a pint of water to a gill, in several cases of inflammation of the brain, atten- ded with delirium. The following is one of the cases recited by the doctor. A man of robust constitution, and sanguine habit, about 26 years of age, after drinking pretty freely, was seized with a slight paroxysm of the apoplexy, which was followed with a cold fit of fever, attended witl^.a violent pain of the head, and delirium. On the second day 1 found him delirious, with an inflammation of the brain, or rather the meninges. I bled him largely, so that be even fainted in a recumbent posture, which was succeeded by another partial paroxysm similar to the first. I put him on a course of medicine, nearly the same as prescribed in a former case. The next day I found no abatement of the symptoms; he had slept none for two nights past, and was quite outrageous. I then prescribed for him a decoction of the seeds of the datu- ra stramonium, and directed the nurse to give him a tea-spoonful every quarter of an hour. 1 found, on visiting him the next morning, that soon after taking the decoction, he became calm and composed, and went to sleep. I continued the same medicine through the course of the fever, which lasted about seven days, except one day in which I purposely omitted the use of it, in order fully to satisfy myself as to the operation Materia Medica. 6£§ of the medicine. On that day the delirium returned, and he slept none the night following. The next morning 1 had recourse to the decoction as usual, and it produced the same salutary effects as before. In this case, I had a fair opportunity to observe the action of the medicine, in an early stage of the disease, which was cooling, anodyne, and sedative. As a remedy in epilepsy, professor Barton thinks it may be relied on even in the most deplorable cases. A lady, aged fifty-five, having for some months been afflicted with alarming attacks of epilepsy, by which her powers of intellect and of articulation were im- paired, happily experienced a restoration, by taking one grain of the extract once in twenty-four hours. Al- though she did not suffer another attack, after com- mencing the course, she found it necessary to continue it for several months, to remove all apprehensions of a recurrence. A single grain seldom failed to excite unpleasant vertiginous sensations, accompanied with efflorescence of her face, and some degree of sleepiness. In asthma and spasmodic cough, stramonium is said to have proved essentially beneficial. It is also said to have produced salutary effects in cases of chronic rheu- matism, and difficult menstruation. As this medicine is endued with most active powers, it ought to be administered in very small doses at first, and Ihe quantity gradually increased daily, until it produce, in a slight degree, vertigo, or dilatation of the pupil. - In the course of my practice, I witnessed the dele- terious effects of this plant in a child, who was attack- ed with convulsions similar to those which attend per^ son* afflicted with the disease termed St. Vitus's dance, accompanied with delirium, tremor, thirst, glaring eyes, dilated pupil, and considerable efflorescence of the skin. The parents were perfectly ignorant of the cause of the child's sudd, n indisposition; but from the symp- toms, I was convinced it had taken some of the stra- monium, and on making the necessary enquiries, learn- ed it had been playing with some of the seeds a few 630 Materia Medica. hours before. Immediately on visiting the child. I directed the warm bath, and gavn it six or eight grains of blue vitriol, which was repeated at the interval of fifteen minutes, before it excited vomiting, when some of the seeds were thrown up. After the operation of the emetic, I administered a large close of castor oil, which, assisted by stimulating injections, produced in a few hours some evacuations, and the child was en- tirely relieved from all those distressing symptoms. Domestic practitioners will recollect, that two or three grains of blue vitriol is a full dose for adults; and the large dose given in this case was from persuasion that the child's stomach had been deprived of its sensi- bility, through the narcotic effects of the poisonous seeds. The extract may be made by exposing the juice of the plant to the heat of the sun, or by boiling the bruis- ed seed or leaves in water for the space of four hours; then strain off the liquor, evaporate over a gentle fire, without taking off the scum, until it has acquired the thickness of syrup: then place it in a warm oven, in an earthen vessel, until it becomes of a proper consist- ence for use. The dose is from one to two grains, or more, for an adult. The saturated tincture is pre- pared by steeping one or two handfuls of the leaves in a half pint of spirits for a few days. The stramonium has also been employed externally with the most happy effects. In recent wounds, in- flammations, or bruises, the leaves, either alone, or united with bread and milk poultice, have been ap- plied to the part with manifest advantage. In the form of ointment, which is prepared by simmering slowly the fresh leaves bruised in hog's lard, with about one eighth part of beeswax, for an hour, and then strained through a coarse cloth, it will be found excellent for the piles, scalds, and burns. From my own observa- tion, it far excels all other applications I have made to obstinate cutaneous sores, ill-conditioned ulcers, and painful cancerous affections. Materia Medica. 631 THOROUGHWORT—Eupatorium Perfoliatum, Is known also by the following names, thorough- stem, crosswort, boneset, and Indian sage. The first of the*e names, thoroughstem, has heen imposed upon it from the peculiar structure of the leaves, which are opposite, and appear as though the stem was thrust through them. It has received the second name of crosswort, by which it is known in many parts of Vir- ginia, from the position of the leaves, each pair of which take their origin from opposite sides of the stem, so tl at they cross each other nearly at right angles. I am -t a loss, says professor Barton, to refer the word bnneset to its real origin; but 1 presume the plant re- ceived this name from the great relief which, on many occasions, it has been found to afford to persons labour- ing under violent remitting and other fevers, in Which the bones are greatly pained. The resemblance of the leaves of this plant to those of the common sage, was long ago remarked by the botanists. Hence the name Indian sage, by which the eupatorium is known in some parts of Pennsylvania. This plant flourishes in wet meadows, and other moist places. The stalk is hairy, and rises from two to four feet. The flowers are white, and appear in July and August. The leaves at each joint are hori- zontal, saw-edged, and rough, from three to four inches W, and about one inch broad at the base, gradually lessening to a very acute point, of a dark green, and rnvered with short hairs. This plant possess very active powers, and has bee. exhibited with uncommon advantage m in.ermiU tents remittents, and other diseases of debility. When evhibi e7 n the form of a warm decoction, a handfn n? the herb boiled in a quart of water, a wine-glassful every two hours, has proved peculiarly beneficial, says nroffssor Barton, in fevers, by exciting a copious per- proiessoi v* > •, m„vrs emetic, wilhwhnh SV*°; , s"^a f I„m parts' of the United States, as Excellent remedy in intermittents. The drxed leaves view an 682 Materia Medica. in powder, in doses of twelve or fifteen grains, are said to operate gently on the bowels. Every part of this plant may be advantageously employed in prac- tice. The flowers, as a tonic bitter, are deemed equal to the flowers of camomile, for which they might be substituted on many occasions. This medicine has also been found very efficacious in cutaneous diseases. In a peculiar and distressing affection of the herpetic kind, which was formerly very common in Virginia, and there known by the name of James River ring worm,* professor Barton states, from the respectable authority of Dr. Thomas Kirov, of Culpepper county, Va. that a decoction of this plant drank daily, for a considerable time, made a perfect cure. A wine glassful of the expressed juice of the green herb drank every hour, is celebrated as a certain cure for the bite of a rattle snake. The bruised leaves should be applied to the part. THROAT ROOT. See Avens. THYME, GARDEN— Thymus Vulgaris, Is one of the most powerful aromatic plants, and as such, is frequently employed in the form of tea, in those complaints where medicines of this class are in- dicated. TOBACCO— Nicotiana Tabacum, This " obnoxious luxury," is a medicine of the most uncommon powers; being emetic, cathartic, sudorific, diuretic, expectorant, narcotic, and antispasmodic; hence its utility in a variety of diseases. A table-spoonful of an infusion, one ounce in a pint of boiling water, will excite vomiting; however, as it has no peculiar property as an emetic, and its operation * This disgusting disease prevailed mostly among the inhabi- tants on James River. It attacked the thighs, the scrotum, and especially the parts immediately adjacent to the anus. It ex- tended its ravages into the rectum, and perhaps much further. Materia Medica. 633 is atended with severe sickness, it is not often employed with this view. As a purgative, it is employed in the form of clysters, in all cases of obstinate costiveness. Exhibited in this form, in the quantity of two or three table-spoonfuls of the infusion, mixed in half a pint of milk or thin gruel, it has frequently afforded almost in- stantaneous relief in violent colics, after other medicines had proved ineffectual. If this quantity procure no re- lief, nor excite giddiness, nor nausea, the injectiou may be repeated every half hour, with the gradual increase of the infusion, till one or other of these effects takes place. By this mode of proceeding, the violent effects of tobacco may always be avoided. As a diuretic, it has on many occasions proved an invaluable remedy, as in ascites and other dropsical affections, also in gra- vel, or difficulty of making water. In those cases, ac- cording to Dr. Fowler, the dose for adults should be from sixty to one hundred drops of the infusion in a tea- cup of water, twice a day, about two hours before din- ner, and at bed-time; it being observed to disagree the most with the stomach in a morning fasting. And such is the difference between the morning and night, that almost every patient will require to take one-fourth, and some one-third more in the forenoon than in the even- in°\ in order to enable them to bear the dose with equal convenience. The common dose just mentioned, relates only to adults of an ordinary constitution; for it de- serves particular notice, that between constitutions which are very nervous and irritable, and those which are very robust or torpid, or long accustomed to the use of tobacco, the dose will admit of very great and sur prising alterations. As an expectorant, in asthmatic cases, unattended with inflammatory symptoms, this medicine has fre- quently afforded relief. In cases of tetanus, or lock-jaw, hiTec ions of tobacco infusion, says, Dr. Mease, have been used with success. They not only produce eva- cuations from the bowels, which are generally obsti- nate y constipated, but tend to a relaxation of the vio- knt spasms so peculiar to this disease. On this account, T* Ji G3<* Materia Medica* he suggests the propriety of giving it in the dreadful disease produced by the bite of a mad dog. Besides the internal use of tobacco in the above dis- eases, it is likewise commended for its virtues exter- nally employed. In the tooth-ach, a piece of lint moistened with the expressed juice of tobacco, has often acted as a charm in mitigating the pain. In ob- stinate ulcers, an ointment, or the dried leaves of to- bacco, steeped in water, and applied to the part affect- ed, have been attended with beneficial effects, after the usual remedies had failed. In the itch, and obstinate cases of cutaneous eruptions, the tobacco infusion, as a wash, applied two or three times a-day, seldom fails of effecting a radical cure. In that detestable distem- per, called lousy evil, to which many children are sub- ject, though from neglect of cleanliness, adults are some- times afflicted with it, the infusion has effected a radi- cal cure, in several instances, after preparations of mercury, and other-applications, had failed. It will be found equally destructive to crab-lice, if applied two or three times a-day, to the parts which they infest. In cases of worms, tobacco externally applied, is deserving the highest estimation. Professor Barton states, that the leaves pounded with vinegar, and applied in the shape of poultice to the region of the stomach and abdomen, have often discharged worms, after pow- erful anthelmintics had been exhibited internally in vain. We ought not to he surprised, says he, at this effect of the tobacco, since we know that the same ve- getable, applied externally, is often efficacious in in- ducing vomiting. Accordingly, says he, I have for some years been in the habit of applying tobaeco leaves to the region of the stomach of persons who have swal- lowed large quantities of opium, and other similar arti- cles, with a view of destroying themselves. It is well known, that in these cases, the stomach is often ex- tremely inirritable, insomuch that the most powerful emetics have little effect in rousing that organ into ac- tion. Here, as an auxiliary at least, the tobacco, in the manner 1 have mentioned, is certainly very useful, and in many instances ought not to be neglected. Materia Medica. 635- In further testimony of the efficacy of tobacco exter- nally applied, in the most formidable diseases, I can- not forbear inserting at length, a letter addressed to the Editors of the Medical Museum, by a gentleman of distinguished medical attainments and surgical knowledge. Preceding this letter, is a minute detail of the case, related by an Italian physician, of a young woman, long afflicted with an abdominal swelling, pro- ducing violent convulsions, which, after having baffled the most efficacious means, was radically cured by Dr. Cutbush, senior physician of the American Marine Hospital, at Syracuse, in the year 1805. " Sir,—In consequence of the earnest solicitations of the parents of the young woman, whose case is above stated by one of her physicians, she was brought to my bouse in Syracuse to be examined. I received from herself and parents a history of her case, which corresponded very nearly with the above statement. Her parents informed me they had consulted 33 phy- sicians and surgeons of Naples, and different parts of Sicily, without receiving any advantage. Some were of opinion that the swelling was owing to a collection of water in the uterus; others in the ovaria; others, that it was an enlarged liver; finally, two or three were strongly impressed with the idea, that it was an extra-uterine foetus, which produced all he d»s ress iog symptoms above stated. On examination, I found a verv large swelling, extending from the epigastrium hi a diagonal direction to the anterior spinous process of the rfght ilium. The tumour had a number of me oualities on its surface; no fluctuations could be felt ^he could not bear it pressed without suffering great nain 1 must confess I did not give any decisive opi- p. • 7u* n»L it being perfectly new to me, and espe- cially after tne n f N les and Sicily r/lTled in dv ng relief She had been twice under had failed in. gwng, r ^ g e. m SKp^W35^^ asurseou belons* 636 Materia Medica. ing to Lord Nelson's squadron, when his lordship was there in 1798, without beneficial effect. From this history and examination, I entertained no hope of re- lieving her; but the solemn entreaties of her parents determined me to make trial of a remedy, which I had found useful in discussing obstinate tumours, and which finally terminated a disease that had been the source of great distress to the unfortunate female, and which, doubtless, proved the disease to have been an hydro- pic affection of the uterus, or right fallopian tube, though no undulation could be discovered. 1 directed the leaves of the nicotiana, recently collected, to be stewed in vinegar, and applied to the abdominal swell- ing. The first application produced nausea, vomiting, vertigo, great depression of muscular strength, copious perspiration, and a loose state of the bowels. Her pulse became very slow. In consequence of the vio- lence of the above symptoms, it was not long conti- nued ; but on the succeeding day, it was repeated morn- ing and evening, and produced all the above symptoms, but in a less degree, attended with an immoderate flow of water from the vagina. The application was con- tinued twice a-day for one week, when its effects on the system were less powerful; but I was informed, with the most rapturous expressions, that the tumour had diminished very much. The day following, a priest was despatched to inform me, that the water was continually running from her as she walked her room. The remedy was continued about twenty days, but the swelling disappeared entirely before the four- teenth. No medicine was given, excepting a small quantity of opium or wine during the day. When the application of the tobacco was omitted, her abdomen was perfectly soft and, and she could bear it pressed without pain. She was occasionally attacked with syncope, and complained of a want of appetite; I ad- vised a bandage to be applied around her body, a course of tonic medicines, a generous diet to be gra- dually increased, equitation, (riding) and cheerful company. I saw her in October, 1805; she informed Materia Medica. 637 me that all the functions of her body were natural; her countenance was florid and cheerful. April 1,1806,1 was informed she remained in good health. "It is difficult to account for the modus operandi of tobacco in this case, unless the violent commotion, which it excited in the system, ruptured the cyst which probably contained the water. I conceive the external application of tobacco, as a remedy in many diseases, demands more attention from physicians than it has generally received. In obstinate constipation of the bowels, I have applied tobacco stewed in vinegar or water, with the greatest success; even after powerful cathartics, cncmata of different kinds, injections of to- bacco smoke, or the infusion of the plant, have failed; and conceive it preferable in many cases of ascites, to the common mode of administering it internally in the form of tincture or infusion. " I am. Sir, with esteem, yours, "EDWARD CUTBUSH." Happy if this plant " of many virtues" could always be exerted to beneficent purposes, and for which, no doubt, it was intended by the all wise and benevolent Creator: but, alas! we are constrained to deplore, not only the idle and expensive, but loo often fatal abuse of it, by snuffing, chewing, and smoking, practices which cannot be too severely censured, especially in young persons, and those of weak digestion, consump- tive, "or delicate habits. W'hen used in either of those forms, by persons unaccustomed to its use, it will, in small quantities, produce stupor, giddiness, and vomi- ting : but, like spirits, opium, and other narcotics, the use of it may be introduced by degrees, so that its pe- culiar effects, even from large quantities employed, seldom appear. TOE-ITCH. See Moorwort, Broad-leaved. ■ TOOTH ACH-TREE. See Prickly Ash. 63* Materia Medica. TOUCHWOOD—Boletus Igniarius, Called also punk. It is a spongy substance, grow- ing on the white oak, pine, and hickory trees, gene- rally used for catching fire with flint and steel. The heart of that which grows on the oak, reduced to a powder, and applied to violent hemorrhages from wounds, is said to be an excellent application to stop the bleeding. TREFOIL, WATER—Menianthes, Grows about twelve inches high, in marshes, swamps, and wet meadows. It bears many elegant flowers, in a spike, which are sometimes white, but commonly rose-coloured on the outside, and in the inside finely fringed; the leaves are three together, resembling our garden beans. A drachm of the powdered leaves is said to operate up and down. An infusion of the leaves, two handfuls to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful two or three times a day, is esteemed a useful medicine in chronic rheumatism, in scorbutic complaints, aud in all impurities of the blood. TULIP-BEARING POPLAR. See Poplar, White. TURMERIC. See Bloodroot UNICORN ROOT—Aletris Farinasa, Grows in meadows, and on the sides of mountains, about six or seven inches high; leaves spear-shaped, lying on the ground, and are green all the winter. The flowers grow on the stalk from the ground, which hang down at the top when fully blown; the root is whitish, full of small fibres, about the thickness of the end of the little finger, and crooked at the end. The powdered root, in doses from a half to a tea- Materia Medkoy. 639 spoonful is said to afford relief in hysteric, and flatu- lent or wind colic. A large handful of the root steep- ed in a quart of spirits, in doses of a wine-glassful three times a-day, is highly esteemed by some as a valuable remedy in chronic rheumatism VALERIAN, WILD— Valeriana Officinalis, Grows abundantly in the vicinity of the Ohio river. It rises two or three feet high—the leaves in pairs, large, hairy, and of a dusky-green colour—flowers stand in large tufts on the top of the branches, of a pale whitish-red colour. The root, which is the part used in medicine* con- sists of a number of slender fibres, matted together, and attached to one head, of a brown colour, having a strong and unpleasant smell. Valerian has long been recommended by the most learned physicians asa me- dicine of great use in nervous disorders; and is parti- cularly serviceable in hysteric cases, as well as in epi- lepsy, proceeding from a debility of the nervous sys- tem According to Dr. Withering, it is an excellent medicine in cases of habitual costiveness. It should be given in doses from one to two tea-cupfuls or more in powder, three times a-day. It seems most useful when given in substance, and in large doses. VINE, GRAPE— Vitis Vinifera. Several species of this valuable shrub grow^in the UnitedStates. The success which has attended the it empts to cultivate foreign and native grapes, suffi- 5 prove that our climate is perfectly congenial^to tie LltWation of the vine, and, that with very little at- tendon, we might supply ourselves abundantly with „!,.„„ and wholesome wines. Wine certainly is most excellent to prevent, as well .•to eo«Tdteases. A prudent use of it, when genu- * * I can say, from my own experience and observa- £2, aliralfly conduce, to health. It will be found G10 Materia Medica. particularly beneficial to the weak and aged, and to those who are exposed to a warm and moist air," or to a corrupted one. It exhilarates the spirits, quickens the circulation, promotes digestion, invigorates both the body and mental faculties, and thereby renders persons less susceptible to disease. As a medicine, wine is a most grateful and valuable cordial in languors and debility, in which it is found to raise the pulse, support the strength, promote per- spiration, and resist putrefaction. Hence we cannot appreciate too highly this reviving liquor, which justly merits the title of " donum Dei," gift of God. Were we to have less recourse to ardent spirits, and instead of continuing in those abominable practices of drinking before dinner, to take a few glasses of wine after din- ner, we should find " our account" in it. During my long residence in Savannah, and exposed as I was al- ternately by my professional pursuits, to the scorching sun and chilling night air, I was never attacked with the prevailing fever, incident to that climate, which I ascribe almost entirely to the daily use of the purest and best wine. In further corroboration of this fact, I will with candour state, that, when from unforeseen reverses of fortune, I was induced to remove to the more healthy situation, as 1 thought, of Washington, not a season has elapsed, but some one or other of my family has suffered severely with the bilious or ner- vous fever, which I cannot but ascribe, in a great mea- sure, to our not drinking such good wine as we were accustomed to at the southward. There are many persons in good circumstances, who object to the daily use of wine, as being too expensive. To such I would recommend it as economy. Besides the very great satisfaction which would naturally flow from having a healthy family, money is often saved by a prudent use of it. To illustrate this, it is only ne- cessary to state, that several families at the southward, who were in the habit of paying annually large ac- counts for medical attendance, inquired of me how it was, that myself and family enjoyed such perfect t Materia Medica. 611 health, while they were sickly. I remarked, that it was principally owing to drinking good wine, and as- sured them, though against my interest, if they would but pursue my plan, they a*lso would enjoy good health. Some of them adopted my plan, which carried convic- tion with it; for on the following year, and afterwards, they enjoyed much better health, were enabled to attend to their business, and found the expense of the wine saved in their physician's bill. Others again object to the habitual use of wine, as notcongenial to their constitution, observing, that when- ever they entertained, or dined with, their friends, they were either induced from politeness or persuasion, to drink as the rent of the company,* from which their heads were uniformly affected, and they always felt disagreeable on the following day. This objection is at once refuted, by simply stating, it is my wish to im- press on my readers the use, but not the abuse of wine, which no man more heartily than myself abhors, espe- cially in young persons, whose readiness to take glass for glass with their elders, is to me one of the most lamentable spectacles in nature. The excessive use of this stimulant, as well as every other, is most certainly iniurious to the system, and ought, therefore, to be carefully guarded against by every rational person. It deserves also to be noticed, that the same quantity of wine which would produce intoxication m one per- son would have little or no effect on another; and there is also a wide difference between taking it on an empty stomach, and on a full one. One glass, taken an hour or two before dinner, will affect the head, in most cases, * The following anecdote will at once show the absurdity of • „»r friends to drink more wine than their appetites crave. pressing our fr"■*» to « consisting as he was told, of £ t0rTnh losop£rs of whom he conceived a great deal. After E"SUtePnteousldinner, the cloth was cleared, and the bottles were a very plenteous dmne, fiye g ^ ^ ^the™ ange. perLed in assuring the company, he eh no but the str£n| Philosopher began then to be angry, and the fo- dr°UgPr ranTthe beU Sd insisted on another course, for they ought ££«* tnoSeat%5 he to drink^nst inchnation. 642 Materia Medica. more than a pint after dinner. In like manner, a half pint of adulterated or impure wine, will produce un- pleasant sensations, when a pint of genuiue Madeira will have no other than the pleasing effect of invigorat- ing the constitution. The apprehension which some persons entertain, that children, early accustomed to wine, will be apt to become drunkards, is without the smallest foundation whatever. On the contrary, it is a lamentable truth, that we daily see persons, who were restrained in the early period of their lives, from drink- ing wine, toddy, or table drink, in the presence of their parents, become perfect sots after they arrived at the age of manhood. It is one of the greatest commenda- dons of wine, that we never see those who daily indulge the use of it become drunkards. This is verified, not only in France, but in many parts of our Union. In Charleston, Savannah, and Augusta, the inhabitants generally make use of wine; the consequence of which is, they are sober, discreet, and, notwithstanding the climate, are healthy, it is a rare thing indeed to see a drunkard of any description in the streets of those cities. Whether it be owing to drinking less of ardent spirits, or a better police, I will not pretend to say; but it is the fact, and would that I could, with equal propriety, make the same remarks of the metropolis of the United States, where drunkenness, among the lower class and negroes, reigns triumphant, throwing open, as it were, the flood-gates of every species of vice. " Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace.'' Pope. It is also worthy of remark, that among the genteel circles in Charleston, Savannah, and Augusta, you will hardly meet with an instance of a gentleman drink- ing any thing before dinner, or pressing his friends to take more wine after dinner than they feel an inclina- Materia Medica. 643 tion for; however, this is only what might be expected of those not excelled by any society on earth, either for polished manners, or true hospitality. "Experi- entia docet," experience teaches, is my motto, and as I speak from this alone, I feel conscious of the rec- titude of my heart, in earnestly recommending to ray fellow-citizens, both old and young, the daily and pru- dent use of genuine wine, at least during the sickly season, aud in unhealthy situations, without any fear whatever of becoming sots. That the tenderest infant may be benefited by it, I am convinced from my own practical observations; but if higher authority be re- quired, I will conclude with the following sentiment of the late Professor Rush. It is remarkable, says he, that the children of per- sons in easy circumstances, who sip occasionally, with their parents, the remains of a glass of wrine after din- ner, are much less sulject to disease, than the children of poor people, who are without the benefit of that article of diet. Having said so much in praise of the generous juice of the grape, and considering it, as I sincerely dp, one of the choicest medicines in the Materia Medica, 1 can- not do otherwise than present my readers with the fol- lowing most approved method for making American wines, taken from the Domestic Encyclopedia. Grapes must be fully ripe before they are gathered; o-ather them in a fair day, when they are perfectly dry; and take away all the rotten and unripe grapes, for they spoil the wine. If your vintage be large, and you gather more grapes than you can mash and press out in one day, let them be gathered without bruising, for bruised grapes soon contract an unsavory taste, and hurt the wine; however, if they are mashed the same dav they are gathered, the bruising will do no hurt. Chaptal advises to cut off the tails of grapes very short with a pair of scissors, and to choose none but sound grapes, and those clusters which are best ex- posed, rejecting those which have been sheltered, and 644 Materia Medica. near the ground, and to prefer those which ripen at tlie bottom of the vines. They are then to be put into small baskets to prevent the loss of juice, by the super- incumbent weight; and when full they ought to be put in carts, or on the backs of men or horses. 1 would advise the gathering of them to be directed by some grave discreet person; for as this work is done generally by servants and children, it is made matter of pastime and frolic, and many grapes are torn off, and either bruised or scattered on the ground, to the no small damage of the owner, both in the loss of fruit, and in hurting the wine. These things should be impressed on the minds of the gatherers before they begin, that every thing may be done regularly aud in order, by which means more work will be done, and to much better purpose. If white frosts happen before some of your grapes are fully ripe, let them still hang on the vines, and they will grow ripe, rich, and high flavoured i but they must be gathered before the weather be so hard as to freeze the grapes, for that will spoil them: the light frosts that only kill the leaves do uot hurt the fruit, unless it be such as are late ripe; these, should be care- fully covered from all frosts, they should grow against walls or board fences fronting the south or south-east, and at night be covered with mats or frames thatched with straw, which should be so contrived as to be set op to cover the fruit or let down at pleasure. As the wine made from black grapes has a different management from that made of white grapes, I shall begin with the white; these then must be gathered, as I mentioned before, in a fair day, when the grapes are perfectly dry; and both the rotten and unripe grapes be carefully plucked off from every bunch; the clusters are then thrown into the mash vat, and two or three men, according to the quantity, having washed their feet and legs very clean in bran and water, get into the vat and trample and mash the grapes thoroughly, so that none escape. Chaptal says, as a general rule, that the grapes must Materia Medica. 645 be equally pressed, to insure a uniform fermentation: and the vat filled in 2/4 hours, to avoid the inconveni- euce and imperfections arising from a successive series of fermentations, and when unexpected rain suspends the collection of the grapes, the juice of those already collected and placed in the vat, must ferment separately. The first and second pressing being mixed together, is put into hogsheads, and filled within four inches of the bung, that it may have room to work and ferment, the casks placed in some warm room or dry cellar. Then having a small spile fixed in the middle of the head of the cask, the third or fourth day, draw a little of the wine in a glass, and if it be pretty fine draw it off immediately into a clean dry well-scented cask, the larger the better, so you have wine enough to fill it, which you must do within two inches of the bung, and stop it close, leaving only the vent-hole open for a second fermentation; after a few days it will work a second time, but not so much as at the first; if your wine be strong and good, which you may know by the age of your vineyard, and by the goodness of the sea- sons, it will be best to leave the buug-hole open for this second working; the wine will be the better, for strong wines require a greater fermentation than weak wines, and the stopping of the bung-hole checks the working, and prevents weak wines from spending themselves too much; on the contrary, if strong wines have not a thorough working, they are apt to grow thick and ropy; by this you may form a proper judg- ment what degree of fermentation is proper for the wine that is under working, and govern yourself according- ly Three or four days after the second fermentation begins, carefully watch your wines every day, again try them in a glass, and if they be pretty fine, prepare a cask sweet and good, burn a good large brimstone match in it, and as soon as the match is burnt out, whilst the cask is full of smoke, draw off the wine into if now fill up your cask to the brim, and bung it up tight, and stop the vent-hole; the smoke of the brim- stone will hinder any further fermentation; and this is 04-6 Materia Medica. called stunning or sulphuring; then make a mortar of clay and horse-dung mixed up with strong flaxseed jelly, and covering the bung and vent-hole close with it, let it stand till it is fit for use. When you first rack off, if you have any old wine that is rich and good, of the same kind or colour, put four or six gallons of it, and two gallons of good bran- dy, into your cask; this quantity is sufficient for an English hogshead, and then rack off your wine into it for the first time; this will greatly strengthen and pre- serve it. When wine is in fermentation, all the gross parts are thrown up to the top of the cask or vessel that it ferments in, and there meeting the air, they contract a harshness. If then they are suffered to pass down through the body of the wine, which they certainly will do as soon as the fermentation is over, they will com- municate ihose evil qualities to the wine. For this reason, draw off your wine both times before the fer- mentation be quite over. These general rules are of great consequence. I now pass on to the making of red wines from the black grapes. Red wines have a different management from the white; the whole of one or even two days treading or mashing, where the vintage is great, is thrown into a large vat, the must, stalks, skins and all, and stands in some warm dry place or cellar. The vat is covered close with sheets or blankets, or both, and thus it remains, according to custom, from four to 3even or even ten days, according to the coldness or heat of the weather. This is done to obtain a strong fermentation, in order to give a deeper colour to the wine; and this is the only end proposed by it; the manager of this work visits the vat twice a-day, and in a glass views the colour of the wine, aad tastes it; if the tincture be not deep enough to his mind, he knows1 by the taste of the wine, whether it will stand a longer fermentation; if it will not, he contents himself with the colour it has, and draws and presses it off, and fills it into casks, leaving about two inches from the Materia Medica. 647 bung, for a second fermentation. When the second . fermentation is over, which generally happens in four or five days, he draws it off into clean well-scent- ed casks, and adds to it six gallons of good old wine and two gallons of brandy to an English hogshead, which contains from 60 to 63 gallons. Where the same kind of wine is not to be had, he makes use of Port wine. He then fills the cask quite full, and bungs it up tight, leaving only the vent hole open to let out the generated air. Note: When I say, where the same kind of wine is not to be had, he makes use of Portu- gal wines, it is mentioned for our practice, not that the French make use of such wines, for they always have wines enough of their own of the same kind. Besides the main pulp or core of the grape, which is white in black grapes as well as others, there sticks to the inside of the skin, a considerable body of rich pulp, of a deeper dye in some than in others. This pulp gives the colour to the grape: this same pulp also gives the colour to the wine, for the same grape is capable of making white wine as well as red wine; if the main core which is first trod out, be only used, the wine will be white: but if the red pulp be mixed with it, it makes it of a rich purple colour; as this is a clear case, the great point of improvement is, to dis- solve or extract this rich pulp without injuring the wine. That the present method is the best and most effectual to that purpose, I can by no means think; the violent fermentation through which the wine is made to pass, in order to procure the tincture, must exhaust the spirits in a very great degree, and leave the body in a weak and languid state, and subject it to harsh- ness, to turn eager or vapid in a short time; 1 think I have reason to conclude, that if the husks or skins, af- ter four days lying in the murk, were taken out, and hrown into the mash vat, and trod over again, and especially if some of the must, or rather wine, be now and then thrown over the husks, in order to wash away the pulp, that a full tincture may be obtained, 648 Materia Medica without torturing the wine, as the present manner is, and without running so great a risk of spoiling it. Another Method, by Joseph Cooper, Esq. of Glouces- ter county, New Jersey. I put a quantity of the comb from which the honey had been drained, into a tub, and added a barrel of cider, immediately from the press: this mixture was well stirred, and left for one night. It was then strain- ed before a fermentation took place; and honey was added until the strength of the liquor was sufficient to bear an egg. It was then put into a barrel; and after the fermentation commenced, the cask was filled every day, for three or four days, that the filth might work out at the bunghole. When the fermentation mode- rated, I put the bung in loosely, lest stopping it tight might cause the'cask to burst. At the end of five or six weeks, the liquor was drawn off into a tub, and the whites of eight eggs, well beat up, with a pint of clean sand, were put into it: I then added a gallon of cider spirit; and after mixing the whole well together, I re- turned it into the cask, which was well cleansed, bung- ed it tight, and placed it in a proper situation for rack- ing off, vvheu fine. In the month of April following, I drew it off into kegs, for use, and found it equal, in my opinion, to almost any foreign wine: in the opinion of many judges, it was superior. This success has induced me to repeat the experi- ment for three years; and I am persuaded, that by using clean honey instead of the comb, as above de- scribed, such an improvement might be made, as would enable the citizens of the United States to supply them- selves with a truly federal and wholesome wine, which would not cost a quarter of a dollar per gallon, were all the ingredients procured at the market price; and would have this peculiar advantage over every other wine, hitherto attempted in this country, that it con- kins no foreign mixture, but is made from ingredients produced on our own farms. Materia Medica. 649 VIOLET, RATTLE SNAKE, Grows about four inches high, on the banks of ri- vers, and in pine woods; leaves grow in a cluster from a stalk, oval-shaped, fleshy, and full of small veins; flowers of a pale blue colour. An infusion of this plant, a handful to a quart of boiling water, taken in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a-day, and some of the green leaves bruis- ed, and applieil twice or thrice a-day to scrofulous tumours, or king's evil, is said to be an infallible re- medy. VIOLET, SWEET— Viola Odorata, Is cultivated in our gardens; leaves heart-shaped notched, flower deep purple, and odoriferous. A tea-spoonful of the powdered herb is celebrated as a mild laxative. To children, a strong infusion or decoction formed into a syrup with molasses, honey, or sugar, in doses of a wine-glassful, will be more acceptable. VIRGIN'S BOWER, Grows about two feet high, near ponds and low pas- tures ; leaves opposite in pairs, and terminated by an odd one; the flowers somewhat resemble the appear- ance of feather tails. A small handful of the leaves infused in a quart of boiling water, and given in doses of a gill three times a dayf is said to be very beneficial in venereal sores, or cutaneous eruptions of long standing, particularly tf the sores are washed with the same. The bruised Ireen leaves have been applied to ulcers, as an escha, rotic, to destroy fungous or proud flesh. VIRGINIA, OR BLACK SNAKE ROOT. Serpentaria Virginiana, firows in rich woodlands, from seven to nine inches higt leave" heart-shaped, flowers of a purplish brown 650 Materia Medica. colour. The root is composed of a number of strings, or fibres, issuing from one head, and malted together, of a brownish colour on the outside, and pale or yel- lowish within. It has an aromatic smell, and a warm bitterish pun- gent taste. It promotes perspiration, raises the pulse, and resists putrefaction. Hence it is especially adapt- ed to the low and advanced stage of typhus or nervous fever. It may be given in the form of infusion or tea, a handful to a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful, or in powder, from ten to thirty grains every two or three hours. Conjoined with the Peruvian bark, or any of its substitutes, it is an admirable re- medy in obstinate cases of the ague and fever, and other disorders of general weakness. In cold phleg- matic habits, it has also been exhibited in the form of tincture, and when united with double the quantity of dogwood bark, or berries, it affords a good bitter. Professor Barton observes, that a strong decoction of the root was used with great benefit as a gargle in a putrid sore throat, which prevailed in New Jersey. Externally applied, the decoction has been found to cure the itch. WAKE ROBIN. See Cuckow Pint. WALNUT, WHITE—Juglans Alba, Affords one of the finest cathartic medicines in the whole American Materia Medica. The inner bark, boiled for several hours, then strained and reboiled to the consistence of thick honey, forms the best prepara- tion of this invaluable medicine. A common sized pill or two at going to bed, is admirable to remove those costive habits, which occasion headachs, loaded sto- machs, colics, &c. And in increased doses, say double quantities, it will be found a sovereign medicine in dysentery, bilious fever, and all other complaints re- quiring aperient medicines, more especially if combined with equal quantities of calomel. I cannot quit this Materia Medica. 651 extract without most heartily recommending it to every American family to keep it constantly by them. The bark of the root is excellent to raise a blister, therefore may be substituted for Spanish flies. WATER CRESSES, Grow in running brooks and wet ditches. The green herb, eat<»n as a vegetable, and the ex- pressed juice in doses of a table-spoonful two or three times a-day, is an effectual remedy for the scurvy. WATER TREFOIL. See Trefoil, Water. WHITE BRYONY, Grows in low meadows and swamps; the stems twist about bushes, and shoot out to a great extent; the leaves pointed, irregularly toothed, very large, diminishing gradually to the top; flowers of a yellow green, which produce a red berry; the root is white and large. A very strong decoction of the root strained, and then simmered slowly by the fire, until it become of the con- sistence of honey, is said to be a good purgative medi- cine in doses from one to three tea-spoonfuls. WHITE WOOD. See Poplar. WILLOW—Salix. Professor Barton thinks that our willows possess nearlv the same virtues that have been ascribed to those nf Europe, »nd that they might be substituted for the Peruvian bark. The bark of the white willow, smooth willow, and crack willow, so called from the remark- Me brittleness of its branches, go ected when it abound, with sap, has been successfully employed m * ormittent or ague and fever, in doses of one or two Z»rhml The broad-leaved willow is said to possess tEater virtues than either of the above This species S k» di«tin-nished by the shape of its leaves from r,iy„therl S the bav-leave/vnl.ow. The leave* 652 Materia Medica. of the latter are smooth and shining, of a deeper green, and have not the downy appearance on the under sur- face, which is so remarkable in this. It is found in woods and hedges, on hilly situations, and delights in cold clayey moist grounds. A strong decoction of this bark resembles port wine in colour. It is astringent to the taste, and somewhat bitter. According to Dr. Wilkinson, it is a remedy of great efficacy in most cases where the Peruvian bark is indicated. He directs one ounce and a half (a handful) of the bark to be infused in one quart of water for six hours, then boil it. over a gentle fire for a quarter of an hour, and strain for use. Of this, the ordinary dose is a wine-glassful three or four times a-day. But in ague and fever, the dose may be repeated every third hour in the interval of the fit. WINTERBERRY. See Alder, Black. WINTERGREEN. See Calico Tree. WOOD BETONY, Grows about a foot high in upland woods, and old pastures; the stem square and hairy, the leaves oppo- site, and hairy, the flowers in spikes of a purple colour. An infusion of the herb, a handful to a quart of boil- ing water, in doses of a tea-cupful every two hours, is said to be serviceable in rheumatic or gouty affections. WORMSEED. See Jerusalem Oak. WORMWOOD. See Mugwort YARROW, Grows in dry pastures and along the sides of fences, about a foot high; leaves pointed, flowers white, ting- ed with a little purple beneath. A handful of the tops of yarrow infused in a quart of boiling water, in doses of a tea-cupful three or four times a day, is reputed to be a valuable medicine in the Materia Medica. 653 dysentery, bleeding piles, and restraining immoderate flow of the menses. A table-spoonful of the express- ed juice, taken twice a-day, and the herb bruised, or in the form of poultice, i6 said to have cured a cancer of the breast. The green leaves pounded, and applied over a bruise, dissipates it in a few days. DIRECTIONS, Respecting the Collection and Preservation of Vegetable Substances. HERBS and leaves are to be gathered in dry weather, after the dew is off them, and are to be freed from decayed, withered, or foreign leaves. They are usually tied in bundles, and hung up in a shady, warm, and airy place, or spread upon the floor, and frequently turned,. If very juicy, they are laid upon a sieve and dried ,by a gentle degree of artificial warmth. I hey should be dried in such quantities at a time that the process may be finished as quickly as possible; for by this means their powers are best preserved; the test of which is, the perfect preservation of their natural ^Flowers ought also to be collected in clear dry wea- tber, after the dew is off, immediately after they have onened They should also be dried nearly as leaves, w more ouicklv, and with more attention. As they ItTZ Z exposed to the sun it is best done by a ei;«rhr dearree of artificial warmth. 6 lark, Hd wood, should be collected when the most active part of the vegetables are concentrated .n them, u- I uLiis in sprine and in autumn. Spring is :reftedPfo "e LuPs bfrks, and autumn for those that P f llv Barks should be taken from young trees, Tdfteed from decayed parts, and all impunUes. 654 Materia Medica. Seeds and fruits are to be gathered when ripe, but before they fall spontaneously. Roots which are annual, should be collected before they shoot out their stalks or flowers. Those which are worm-eaten or decayed are to be rejected. The others are immediately to be cleaned with a brush and cold water, letting them lie in it as short a time as pos* sible; and the fibres and little roots, when not essen- tial, are to be cut away. Roots which consist princi- pally of fibres, and have but a small top, may be im- mediately dried. If they be juicy, and not aromatic, this may be done by a moderate heat; but if aromatic, by simply exposing them, and frequently turning them in a current of cold dry air. If very thick and strong, they are to be split or cut into slices, and strung upon threads; if covered with a tough bark, they may be peeled fresh, and then dried. Such as lose their vir- tues by drying, or are directed to be preserved in a fresh state, are to be kept buried in dry sand. The proper drying of vegetable substances is of the greatest importance. It is often directed to be done in the shade and slowly, that the volatile and active particles may not be dissipated by too great heat; but this is an error, for they always lose infinitely more by slow than by quick drying. When, on account of the colour, they cannot be exposed to the sun, and the warmth of the atmosphere is insufficient, they should be dried by an artificial warmth less than 100° Fahren- heit, and well exposed to a current of air. When perfectly dry and friable, they have little smell; but after being kept some time, they attract moisture from the air, and regain their proper odour. 656 DISPENSATORY. Having finished, as far as the limits of this work will permit, a general detail of the practice of domes- tic medicine, adapted to the climate of our country, it now only remains to notice the medicines requisite for family use, and to point out the best forms of prescri- bing them, in the treatment of the different diseases, described in the preceding parts of this work. The following table of medicines will be found suf- ficient to answer every purpose of domestic practice, and the expense will be found nothing, compared to the great advantages which must result from being con- stantly supplied with them. To render the work still more complete, I have, in this table, annexed to the medicines, their doses according to the age of the pa- tient ; observing, however, that whatever general rule may be given, it can only be applied with reference to the habit and state of the patient. The judgment of the person who administers the medicine must there- fore be exercised in this respect. It will be found that the constitution is often attended with certain peculiari- ties, both in relation to medicine in general, and also to certain substances particularly, which knowledge is only to be obtained by experience. A TABLE OF MEDICINES FOR FAMILY USE, WITH THEIR DOSES AND QUALITIES ANNEXED. {Q* These doses must be increased, or diminished, according to the strength and habit of the patient. MEDICINES. Arsenic, solu. of, (u) Antimonial wine —as a diaphoretic Alum Aloea Arrow root Balsam capivi Balsam Turlington Barley Bitters Borax Bark, Peruvian (6) 5 to 12 drops from 19 to 15 FROM 15 TO 10 5 to 10 drops 3 to 4 drms. [3 to 3$ drms. 26 to 60 drps. 20 to 50drps 5 to 15 grains]4 to 12 grains 4 to 8 drops 2J to 3 drms 15 to 40 drps. 3 to 10 grains from 10 to 6 5 to 20 grains 4 to 18 grainsJ3£ to 15 grs. 3 to 6 drops 2 to 2$ drms 12 to 30 drps 2 to 7 grains 3 to 12 grains FROM 6 TO 4 FROM 4 TO 2 FROM 2 TO 1 20 to 80 drps do. do. 2 to 4 drms 30grsto2dms 17 to 60 drps do. do. 15 to 40 drps. do. do 1 to 3 drms. 1 to 2 drms. 30 to li drraswi to 1 i drms 2 to 5 drops £ to 2i drms 10 to 20 drps. Is to 5 grains 2 to 10 grains 12 to 30 drps. do. do. 20 to 1 drm. 10 to 20 drps do. do. 1 to 4 drops !i to 3 drops I to 2 drms. il to I3 drms 8 to 15 drops 6 to 10 drops. 1 to 3 grains li ;o 8gransl to 6 grains 8 to 15 drops do. do. 5 to 10 drops do. do. 15 to 40 grs. 12 to 30 grs. 10 to 25 grs. DNDER ONE. \ to 2 drops \ to 1 drm. 4 to 8 drops \ to 5 grains 3 to 8 drops do. do. 6 to 16 grains lUALITIES. Tonic. Emetic. Diaphoretic. Astringent. Cathartic. Nutritious food* Corroborant. Corroborant. Nutritive. Stomachic. Deterg. externally. Tonic & antiseptic. Calomel Camphor Cream of tartar Caustic vol. alk. liq. Corrosive sublimate Columbo Chalk, prepared Camomile flowers^ Castile soap Castor Oil Essence Peppermint Elixir Vitriol iEther Vitriolic (c) Flaxseed Ginger Gamboge 6 to 20 grains 4 to 20 grains 4 to 12 drms. J to 2 drms. 10 to 60 grs. 25 to 50 grs. 20 to 80 grs. 4 to 12 drms. 10 to 50 dips 15 to 40 drps £ to 2 drms. 5 to 25 grs. 6 to 12 grs. from 19 to 15 FROM 15 TO 10 5 to 15 grains 3 to 15 grains 4 to 8 drms. £ to 1§ drms 4 to 10 grains 2 to 10 grains 3 to 8 drms £ to 1 drm. 10 to 50 grs. 20 to 45 grs. 20 to 60 grs. 3 to 10 drms 10 to 40 drps 12 to 35 drps £ to 1$ drms 5 to 20 grains 5 to 10 grains 8 to 40 grains 16 to 40 grs 20 to 50 grs 3 to 8 drms. 8 to 30 drops 10 to 30 drps 30dp».toldni 4 to 18 grain- 4 to 8 grains from 10 to 6 3 to 8 grains 2 to 6 grains 2 to 5 drms. 25 to 50 drps 2 to 6 grains 2 to 4 grains 2 to 4 drms. 20 to 40 drps 7 to 35 grains 15 to 35 grs. 15 to 40 grs. 2£ to 6 drms. fi to 20 drops 8 to 20 drops 18dps to ldni from 6 to 4 6 to 25 grains 12 to 30 grs. 12 to 30 grs. 2 to 5 drms. 4 to 15 drops 6 to 15 drops 15 to 50 drps. 3 'o 15 grains3 to 12 grains 3 to 6 grains from 4 to 2 2 to 5 grains 1 to 3 grains I to 3 drms. 15 to 30 drps from 2 to 1 5 to 20 grains 10 to 25 grs 10 to 25 grs. lj to 4 drms 3 to 12 drops 4 to 10 drops 12 to 40 drps 2 o 10 grains 2 to 4 grains 1 to 2 grains J to 2 drms. 10 to 20 drps UNDER ONE. 1 to h to ^ to 5 to 3 grains 1 grain 1 drm. 10 drops 4 to 15 grains 2 to i 7 to 20 grains 5 to 10 grains 12 grains 2 to 6 drops 8 to 30 drops 8 to 20 grains 5 to 10 grains 2 drms, 2 to 10'drops I to 6 drops 4 drops 10 drops 1 to 5 to 2 to 8 grains I to 6 grains QUALITIES. \ctive purgative. Stimulant. Cooling aperient. Stimulant. Anti-venereal. Stomachic & tonic. Absorbent. Stomach. Stantisep^ Attenuant & deter. Purgative. Carminative. Tonic. Stimulant. Pectoral &obtunding Aromatic. Purgative MEDICINES. ADULT. FROM 19 TO 15 1 'ROM 15 TO 10 FROM 10 TO 6 FROM 6 TO 4 FROM 4 TO 2 FROM 2 TO 1 UNDER ONE QUALITIES. um Arabic Obtunding. lartshorn, Spirit i to 1$ drms. % to 1 drm. 20 to 50 drps. 15 to 30 drps. 10 to 15 drps. 5 to 10 drops 3 to 8 drops 2 to 6 drops S imulant. loney Pectoral. pecacianha 15 to 30 grs. 12 to 25 grs. 10 to 20 grs 8 to 15 grains 6 to 12 grains 5 to 10 grains 4 to 8 grains 1 to 5 grains Emetic. alap 15 to 40 grs. 10 to 30 grs. 8 to 25 grains 6 to 20 grains 5 to 15 grains 4 to 12 grains 3 to 8 grains 2 to 5 grains Purgative. uunar Caustic £ to 3 grams i to 2i grs. % to 2 grains TV to Hgrs fV to 1 grain tV t0 i S™'" — — — — Si imulant. ^audanam 20 to 60 drps. 15 to 50 drps. 12 to 40 drps. 10 to 25 drps, 8 to 20 drops 5 to 15 drops 3 to 8 drops 2 to 6 drops Anodyne, Magnesia ^ to 2 drms. $ to H drm. 20 grs to 1 dm 15 to 50 grs. 10 to 40 grs. 8 to 30 grains 6 to 20 grains 4 to 10 grains Absorbent. M -nna 1 to 2 ovinces 1 to 1J ounce \ to li ounce \ to 1 ounce 3 to 6 drms 2 to 4 drms. 1 to 3 dims. £ to 2 drms Mild aperient. Nitre - 10 to 30 grs. 10 to 25 grs, 8 to 20 grains 5 to 12 grains 2 to 10 grains 2 to 8 grains 1 to 6 grains 1 to 4 grains Diuretic and febri, Nitric Acid - Pome and antiscor. Oil of Olive 1 to 3 drms. 1 to 2 dims. Obtunding & open. Opi'im (l Chaptal's recipe for wine - 644 Charcoal powder, how prepared 666 Chastity, examples of, 157.159 Cheerfulness, consistent with reli- gion - " 298 Cheese, difficult of digestion 101 Cherry-tree, wild, an excellent sub- stitute for the Peruvian bark 547 Cheselden, Dr. his observations re- lative to the study of anatomy 30 Chicken-pox - - -»*> Chickweed, red - - *>*° Chilblains - - J™ Child bed, management of - w* Children, management of Cbincough Chocolate, properties of Cholera, infantum ____-—- morbus Chordee Chremes, story of, an instructive lesson to the intemperate «& Chyle, the manner it is conveyed 58 Cider, properties ot - 54g SSetiU.-aiedrorh^.^ gleaiSrproltesheaUh-and preserves beauty *' Cleanliness, the foster mother of love - - - 280 —-— essential both in sickness and health - - 26 Cleavers - - - 548 Clemm, lieut. died for his country 285 Clinias, calms his passions by music 210 Cline, Dr. his advice on the dress of children Coakum Cock-up-hat, properties of Coclius, his irritable disposition Coffee, properties of Cohush, or Papoose root, proper- ties of Cold, treatment of ■ prevention of - Cold bath, when beneficial, and when injurious Cold-washing infants, importance of Colic, treatment of Colt's foot, properties of Columbo, properties of Comfrey • Common ulcers Conscience, the force and effects of it - Cons« mption Constantinus, his reverence for re- ligion Convulsions of children Cooper, J. Esq. his recipe for a cheap wine Corday, Charlotte, history of her death Coriander, properties of Cornaro, recovers a bad constitu- tion by temperance Corns, treatment of Cosmetics, observations on Costiveness, remarks on Costiveness and wind, of infants Cough, treatment of - - Covington, general, died for his country Co well, lieut. died for his country Cowparsnip, properties of Cowpox - " . ' Crabs and lobsters, caution in the use of * Cramp, treatment of C-ane's bill, properties of - Crawford, hon W. H. testifies the efficacy of onions in croup Crawford, Dr. his successful mode of treating a hypochondriac Cream of tartar, doses of Cromwell, Oliver, his hypocrisy Crosswort Croup, treatment of Crowfoot, properties of Cuckold Cuckow-bread 531 106 521 415 271 549 549 200 107 549 341 343 24 509 412 549 550 550 459 194 384 307 525 648 263 550 97 455 485 411 520 342 285 285 551 373 102 404 551 600 402 f-58 287 553 528 553 5^3 553 690 Index. Cuckow-pint, properties of Cucumber root Cullen, Dr. cured of a cancer by nightshade ---- clebrates horse-radish in hoarseness - * Cure-all - - - Crrants, properties of Currie, Dr. recommends the affu- sion of cold water in nervous fe- ver ... —«— celebrates fox-glove in inflam- mation of the brain Cusiard apple, properties of Cutaneous eruptions Cutbush, Dr. bears testimony to the efficacy of acids in scurvy of tobacco in dropsy 553 554 596 581 547 547 568 555 434 585 635 349 ---- his successful practice Cutler, Rev. Dr. deserving high commendations - - 534 —— testifies the efficacy of eme- tic weed and skunk cabbage in asthma - - - 559. 622 Dandelion, properties of - 555 Darwin, Dr gives an account of a surgeon killinghimself from fear of poverty - - 189 —— cites a case in which pride was effectually cured . 261 —i— his remedy to correct bad breath - - 346 Daviess, col. his dying words 285 Davis, general, died for his coun- try ... 285 Deadly nightshade - 568 Deafness ... 368 Death, over-much feared by some 191 —— occasioned by many persons placed in small apartments 79. 85 Death caused by going into a dry well - - - 84 ____ by sleeping near a lime-kiln 85 ----by taking a large draught of brandy 85 ,____by gormandising - 95 ____by exposure to cold weather 115 —— by laughter - - 175 ---by joy - - 175 ----by grief - - - 181 ----by fear - - 193 . by anger - - 204 —— by envy - / - 230 ----by avarice - - 235 ----by blasphemy - - 302 Dentition - - - 526 Deerherry - - - ( 555 Devil's bit, a vermifuge - 555 Dewberry - - 555 Dexter. Dr. entitled to praise 534 . celebrates bloodroot as a dia- phoretic - - 540 Diaphragm, use of - 54 Dickenson, J. Esq. celebrates the magnolia in rheumatism - 588 Diet, observations on 99 Difficulty of urine - - 388 Digestion, nature of explained 57. 99 Dill, a delightful aromatic -, 555 Dionysius, his miserable state of mind - Discharge from the vagina in in- fants .... Diseases of children Dislocations Dislocation of the jaw -—— of the shoulder ----of the elbow ,----of the thigh Dispensatory - Dock, properties of Dqdd, Dr. his sentiments on reli- gion - - - Dogwood, equal to Peruvian bark 556 Donaldson, col. Lowry, his last words - - - Dorsey, Dr. his mode of applying blisters in obstinate cases of sore eyes - Doses of medicines Downie, Dr. esteems blood-root an active emetic Dragon's claw Dragon root - - - Dreams, remarkable cases of Dress, custom of, in infants ----love of - - - ----neglect of, a bad sign ---- advantages of wearing flan- nel - Dropsy - Drowned persons how to be treat- ed - Drunkards reclaimed, instances of 248 Drunkenness, its horrid conse- quences ... 105. .4,44 Drury, Dr. testifies the efficacy of emetic weed in asthma Dublin lying-in hospital, good ef- fects of ventilating the rooms Duellists, their want of reflection ----how some have been morti fied Dysentery 191 523 517 470 472 472 473 474 656 556 296 285 353 657 540 557 557 121 270 271 274 276 418 444 560 83 205 207 390 Ear, description of 43 Earach . - - 367 Eginardus, anecdote of - 136 Elder, properties of - 557 Elecampane, properties of - 558 Elegy on the death of Col. Jesse Ewell - - 418 ----on an unfortunate girl 429 Elixir paregoric, doses of - 660 ----how prepared - -- 677 Index. 691 Elm, properties of - . 558 Emetic weed, properties of 559 Empirics, cause of their increase 19 •---cures on which their fame is built 20 Envy, nature of - - 228 ----its baneful effects . 229 ----antidote against - 233 Epidemic, treatment of - 358 Epileptic fits - - 394 Ergot, properties of - 561 Eruptions of the skin - 434 Erysipelas - - - 381 Evacuations, importance of 132 Evans, captain, died for his coun- try - - - 285 Evergreen cassine - - 561 Excretory vessels, use of - 36 Exercise promotes health - 108 —— absolute necessity of - 113 Explanation of weights and mea- sures - - ,- 662 ' Eye, description of - - 42 ----inflammation of - 352 Fainting fits - - - 395 Falling of the fundament - 454 ------of the palate - - 351 Fallopian tubes, use of - 62 Fanaticism, the cause of explained 290 ----how to be treated - 291 instance of its baneful effects 219 281 186 187 Fashion, its excess disgustful Fear, its origin and fatal effects —— superstitious, foundation of Feather beds should be frequently aired Featherfew, properties of Febrifuge powders, doses ----how prepared —— mixture Feeding of children Feeling, explained Feet, description of - - Fennel, sweet, properties of Fern, properties of Fever bush, properties of Pever root, properties of Fevers in general Fibres, description of Fig-tree Fish - ." " Flag, blue, properties ot —— sweet - "■ c Flannel great preservation .of ^ healtn. - „„ Flatulence in infants - - ^ Flaxseed, properties of - s» Flea bane, properties ot - ^oo Flies, potatoe, equal to the bpa- nish - ,... ____how collected - 611 130 562 663 665 668 511 45 32 562 562 563 563 311 36 563 102 564 564 Flooding - - - 492 Flower-'de-luce - - 565 Flowers, smell of, unhealthy 87 Fluor albus - - - 489 Flux root ... 565 Food, the most proper for chil- dren - - 91 ----the manner it is received into the stomach and digested 54 ,----rules to be observed in taking - it . .-- 99 Fothergill, Dr. his fanaticism soon cured - - - 291 Fowler, Dr. celebrates tobacco as a diuretic ... 633 Foxglove, properties of - 565 Fractures of the limbs - 474 -----of the ribs - - 479 French apple - - - 569 Frostwort, properties of - 569 Frozen limbs, treatment of 450 Fruit, properties of - 103 Fumitory, properties of - 569 Funk, lieutenant, died for his coun. try .... 285 Galen, how he became converted 29 Galling of infants - - 512 Gall bladder, its use - 60 Gamble, lieutenant, died for his country - - 285 Gamboge, doses of 658 Gaming, its lamentable effects 252 Gangrene - - 468 Gant, Dr. celebrates elm in dysen- tery - - - 558 Gaol fever ... 330 Garget - - - 569 Gargles, how prepared - 674 Garlic properties of 570 Gaston, the soldier and christian 206 Gentian, qualities of - 570 Ginger, doses of - - 658 Ginseng - - - 571 Gibson, colonel, died for his coun- try - - - 285 Glands, use of - - 36 Gleet - - - 426 Glossary - - - 681 Glysters - - - 675 Goats' rue, Virginia - - 571 Godfrey, his modesty, &c. - 269 Golden rod, or thread • 571 Gonorrhoea ... 424 Goosegrass, properties of - 571 Gout - - - ,420 Gravel, treatment of - 388 Graves, major, died for his coun- try 285 Greene, general, his death - 341 Green siekuess - - 489 Grief, injurious to health - *$ 603 Index. Grief, deep, induces insanity and death - - . 179 ----its best remedy - 182 Grimes, Dr. his mode of adminis- tering the pride of china - 524 Grinding pains - - 502 Gripes in infants - - 520 Grog blossoms ... 434 Gro-snd holly, properties of 572 Ground pine - . 572 Groind pink - . 572 Guinea pepper - - 572 ----worm - - 449 Hamilton, hon. Paul, the philan- thropist and patriot - 534 ------his description of the button snake root . . 543 -----of the pleurisy root 607 -----of the squirrel ear - 625 ------his mode of administering th«: May apple - - 589 ------Archibald, lieutenant, died for his country - - 285 ------account of his death 544 Hamilton, captain, died for his -•■ ntry - - - 285 ILtmmock, Dr. celebrates hops in ulcers - . 578 Hardicanute, killed by gluttony 95 Hart, cap'am, died for his country 285 Harriet, story of 148 Hartshorn, doses of - 659 Harts' tongue, properties of 572 Harvey, discoverer of the circula- tion of the blood - - 51 Hatred, destructive to mind and body .... 214 ----instances of - - 215 Head, description of - 41 Headach - - - 367 Heart» anatomy of 49 Heartburn - - - 409 Heart's ease, properties of - 573 Heart snake root, - - 573 Hellebore, properties of - 573 Hemlock, properties of - 575 Hemorrhoidal ointment, - 679 Henbane, properties of - 576 Henderson, colonel, died for his country - - - 285 Hendry, Dr testifies the efficacy of crane's bill as an astringent 552 Herb bennet 1 - 577 ----trinity ... 577 Hesiod, his observations relating to hope - - - 168 H----consequences arising from too much or too little 120 —— after dinner, whether advisa- ble 120 Sleeptalker 124 Sleepwalkers 126 Small-pox 347 Smith, lieut. died for his country 285 Snuffles 518 Soapwort, properties of 623 Socrates, his maxim relating to food 95 Solander, Dr. advice of, relating tc i cold IU Solution of kali, 672 ——— of crude sal ammoniac 671 Sore eyes 352 —— nipples 506 Sorrel, properties of 623 Southern wood 623 South-sea tea, properties of 624 Speech, blessing of 45 Spence, Dr. his mode of exhibiting foxglove 566 Spencer, captain, died for his coun- try 285 Spikenard, properties of 624 Spirit of lavender, doses of 660 —— of mindererus, doses 664 ■ how prepared 668 Spitting of blood 383 Spleen, description of 61 —— enlargement of 318 Spleen wort 624 Spotted fever 330 Sprains and bruises 470 Spruce laurel 624 Squirrel ear, properties of 625 Stansbury, lieut. died for his coun- try - 285 Stevenson, Dr his remark on bowel Complaints 390 —— his treatment of a hypochon- driac 411 Still born infant, mode of recover- ing 513 Stings of insects 446 Stink weed 625 Stoddard, Major, died for his country 285 Stomach, description of 54 Stork, Dr. testifies , the efficacy of henbane in palpitation 577 Strangury 388 Strawberry, properties of 625 Stroke of the sun 340 Sugar of lead, doses of 660 Sulphur, doses of 661 Sumach, properties of 626 Sundew, properties of 626 Suppression of urine 388 Sutures 464 Swallowwort 627 Swelling of the breast in infants 515 Swine pox 380 TABLE of medicines for family use - - 657 —— of weights and measures 662 Taliaferro, John, esq. iiis remedy for whitlow - 456 Tansy - - - 627 Tartar emetic, doses of 66J 7hf?ea\ 69? Tartar on the teeth, how to remove and prevent it Tar water, how prepared Taste, pleasures of Tea Teeth, management of Teething Tendons, use of Testicles, anatomy of -—----swelling of Tetany, treatment of Tetters, treatment of Thatcher, Dr. entitled to praise Theodoricus, his shocking death Thighs, description of ■ dislocation of - fracture of Thorax, description of Thomas, Dr. testifies the good ef- fects of cayenne in putrid sore throat .. recommends charcoal to stop bleeding at the nose Thomas, Dr. G. testifies the effica- cy of calico tree in diarrhoea Thorn apple, properties of Thornton, Dr. cultivates ginseng Thoroughwort, properties of Throat-root Thrush, treatment of Thyme, properties of Timon, the man-hater Tincture of bark ——— of cantharides ——— of columbo ' of foxglove ■ of myrrh ■ of rhubarb -----of steel -----rheumatic -----thebaic Tinea, or scald-head Tobacco, properties of Toe-itch Tongue-tied Tonic drops, —— powders, doses of --------how prepared Toothach Tooth ach-tree Torrey, Jesse, testifies the efficacy of sumach, as an antiseptic Touchwood Travellers in winter, caution to Trefoil Troup, hon G. M. testifies the effi- cacy of peach-tea in fevers —— his deafness cured Tulip-bearing poplar Tumours - - —— on the scalp of infants Turmeric Turner's cerate, how prepared 369 672 45 106 369 526 34 53 425 405 437 534 195 32 474 475 48 349 382 544 627 571 631 632 520 632 215 676 677 676 677 677 676 661 678 676 437 632 637 514 669 664 665 369 637 626 638 114 638 603 368 538 456 513 638 680 Typhus fever • . 330 ULCERATION of the navel 515 Ulcers - - 519 Ureters, use of - 61 Urethra . - 63 Uterus, description of 62 Unicorn root - - 638 VACCINE disease - 373 Vagina, description of 6? Valerian - - 639 Vanhorn, captain, died for his coun- ' try - - 285 Vanity, effects of - 255 ----cure of 261 Veins, description of - 35 Venereal disease - 424 Venison - 102 Villars murders his-wife 160 Vine, cultivation of - 639 Violet, rattle snake - 649 Violet, sweet, - 649 Virgin's bower - 649 Virginia, or black snake root 649 Votriolic solution - 666 Voltaire, his conversion 305 Vomiting, treatment of 324, 415 WAKE robin - 650 Walnut, properties of - 650 Warm bath, virtues of 25 Warts - . 455 Washing of infants - 509 Washington, general, his death 346 Water cresses - 651 Water, impure, how to correct it 104 ----trefoil - - 651 Watery head - 526 Wattles, captain, died for his coun- try - - 285 Wayne, general, his death 422 Weakness of the stomach 410 Weems, Dr his prescription 414 ——— his death - 414 Wells, dry, danger of 84 Whites - - 489 White swelling - 440 White vitriol, doses of 661 White briony - 651 White wood - 651 Whitlow - - 455 Whooping-cough - 530 Wilkinson, Dr. celebrates the wil- low as a tonic - 652 Williams, captain, died"*for his country - 285 Willow - - 651 Wistar, Dr. celebrates the nitric acid in liver complaints 362 Withering Dr. testifies the efficacy of fox-glove in dropsy 56.8 698 Index. Wilmer, lieut. died for his country 285 Wind and costiveness of children 520 Wine, excellent to prevent as well as cure diseases - 639 ——the use of economy 640 ——abuse of, injurious 641 ■■ recipes for making 643 ----adulteration of, how detected 329 Winterberry - 652 Wintergreen - 652 Wood betony, properties of 652 Worms - - 524 Wormseed - - 652 Wormwood - - 652 Wounds - - 462 YARROW, properties of 652 Yates, lieut. died for his country 285 Yeast, recipes for making 579 Yellow fever 520 . * . THE END. ABRAHAM SMALL, JVo. 112, Chesnut Street, Philadelphia, HAS IN PRESS, AND WILL SPEEDILY PUBLISH, A New and Improved Edition of WILLICH'S DOMESTIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, IN THREE VOLUMES OCTAVO: Corrected, Amended, and rendered more Valuable by many Additions, particularly in the Articles relating to DOMESTIC MEDICINE, THE VETERINARY AND CULINARY ARTS. Illustrated with many Plates and Cuts, applicable to and explaining the Subjects treated of. BY THOMAS COOPER, M.D. PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY. SOME years ago, Dr. Willich of London published a work under the title of Domestic Encyclopaedia; a werk, not intended to present a full account and present state of all Arts and Sciences, Geography, Biography, and History, but a brief view of those articles of knowledge which a Master and Mistress of a Family would wish to be informed about—a Parlour Dictionary, not of words, but of tilings—a book of Family Reference, in a mode- rate compass. The Public felt the want of such a book; and it sold with great rapidity. In this country Dr. Mease was engaged to edit a revised and improved American edition 6f it. He did so; and added greatly to the ralue of the work. A very large edition was sold, and the public now call for another. The American edition by Dr. Mease was in 5 volumes octavo: objections have been made to the size and to the price of the work. A new edition is now offered, in which these objections have been attended to. It will be comprised in three volumes octavo. It is requisite to give some account of the improve- ments proposed in the present edition; for it ought to keep pace with the knowledge of the day. The Publish* er has applied to Professor Cooper to superintend it, who has undertaken to do so. Many of the articles of Dr. Willich's work were use- less; many were unnecessarily long; many contained erroneous views and opinions, which the present state of science requires to be corrected; many articles of great use, and appropriate to such a work, require to be added. The articles of Domestic Medicine, in particular, re- quire alterations and additions; the Culinary, the Ve- terinary part of the work is too brief in the former plan. Much that a family would desire to know is omit- ted, and much is contained in the work that tends to increase its bulk and its price, without adding to its uti- lity. To all these points the present Editor, Dr. Cooper, will carefully attend; and he promises, without new-mo- delling the work, or encroaching unnecessarily on Dr. Willich's part of it, to make such additions and correc- tions, as will render it a truly useful Family Book, and conformable to its original title and intention, a Domes. tic Encyclopedia. * ■ i ■*i 4 i- ♦ \*& v? MX ff. Qpfl-UA*U*b •feVv* . Y^,vf, .,#? ^ w ^ *'A**t ' - \ ■-.- ft " , TNN ft ' / "V *• s \ M^^H * / .*- «i? —^ . /•. ■§§$ *■ ?r * \ ./ ; t/^7,'