IIOMCEOPATHY IIOMCEOPATHIC PRACTITIONERS IN EUROPE. E. SANFORO, M. D., I ROVIDENCE, K. I. i#^&&> BOS PUBLISHED BY OTIS C L A P P , No. 3 Albion IU'ii.imnu, Beacon Stheet, Opposite Tremout House. 1857. HOMEOPATHIC PHARMACY. OTIS CLAPP, No. 3 Albion Building, Bkacon Street, Boston, respectfully informs Homoeo- pathic Physicians and friends of the System that he has on hand a good assortment of Ho- moeopathic Medicines in tinctures, triturations and dilutions. Pure Globules, sizes No. 1 to 6 per pound, $0.50 Kenned Sugar of Milk, " 62 " >• " granulated, " 62 Arnica Court Plaster. Light, black, and flesh colors, per dozen, * 1.00, single, 12 Homoeopathic Court Plaster, per dozen, Z>1.00, single, 12 Arnica Liniment, for wounds, stings, bites, chapped hands, cracked lips, sore nipples, sprains, &c. per oz. 25 Arnica Tincture, for external use, 12 Arnica Oil, " 17 Arnica Flowers, per \ lb. 25 Calendula Liniment, for inflammatory wounds, cuts, contusions, lacerations, &c. per oz. 25 Calendula Tincture, " 17 Urtica Urens Liniment, for burns and scalds, 25 Labels. per doz. 5u Homoeopathic Alcohol, in bottles, per qt. 50 Mortars of various sizes. Fullgratl's Inhalers, 1.00 Corks of superior quality, from No. 1 to 4, per gross, 50 " " " " " 5 to 7, " " 62 Vi;ils, of all sizes and patterns. Distilled Water. in bottles, per qt. 50 Diet Papers. per doz. 25 CATALOGUE OF HOMOEOPATHIC BOOKS, &c. FOR SALE BY OTIS CLAPP. Becker on Constipation, Consumption, Dentition, Diseases of the Eye. Boui'd, $1.00 ; atparate, 38 reins Bonninghausen's Therapeutic Pocket Book, for Homoeopathists. Cambric 75 cents; pocket case $1.25. Bonninghausen's Sides of the Body and Drug Affinities. 25 cents. Bonninghausen's Treatment of Intermittent Fevers. 38 cents. Bryant's Pocket Manual or Repertory. >1.25. Caspari's Homoeopathic Domestic Physician. &1.00. Chepmell's Homoeopathic Domestic 1 hysician. 50 cents. Croserio's Manual of Obsteterics. 75 cents. Dudgeon's Lectures on the Theory and Practice of Homoeopathy. Esreys Treatise on Anatomy and Physiology. 50 cents. Epitome of Homoeopathic Practice, i>y Curtis & Lillie. 75 cents. Epps' Homoeopathic Domestic I hysician; enlarged by Dr. Tarbell. 75 cenu. HOMOEOPATHY HOMCEOPATHIC PRACTITIONERS IN EUROPE. E. SANFORD, M.D., I ROVIDENCE, R. I. ^^CUffJ^-ft BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY OTIS CLAPP, No. 3 Albion Building, Beacon Street, Opposite Tremont House. 1857. » INTRODUCTION. The following pages have been prepared from notes, made at the time of learning the facts to which they relate. It will be seen, that homoeopathy has attained an influential position abroad, and that its supporters embrace among their number many eminent names. The extensive adoption which it has received is extremely gratifying, and bears unmistakable testimony to the esti- mation with which it is held. Some statistics gathered from Smith's Directory, relating to the condition of homoeopathy in the United States, may be found of interest to the reader. The whole number of homoeopathic physicians in the United States is given as 1749. Number of Colleges, 2 ; Dispensaries, 8 ; Hos- pitals, 2; Homoeopathic Societies, 24 ; Pharmacies, 23. 147 Benefit street, Providence. E..I (3) HOMCEOPATHY. While in Europe, last summer, I made it a leading object of inquiry to ascertain the condition of homoe- opathy, and the standing of its practitioners in the regions through which I passed. In the older countries, where established usage has almost unlimited influence in determining the habits of the people, departure from former observances is attended with no common diffi- culty. Allopathy has possessed the field for centuries, and its corporate institutions are powerful and rich. Those whose fame and emolument is dependent upon maintaining the order of things as they have been es- tablished invariably discourage every innovation. The people, accustomed to rely upon doctrines sustained by the bodies which have long commanded their respect, are consequently slow to adopt any movement not sup- ported by their ordinary advisers. The less intelligent portion of the community, in the habit of pursuing the paths of old usage without inquiring for reasons why, are not to be found among the earliest advocates for change. The better informed, if devoting any thought to the subject, may be presumed to conclude that those whose especial duty it is to examine the merits of medi- cal questions have done so, and, in adhering to their old belief, have detected the unsoundness of any new system. (5) 6 Notwithstanding these formidable obstacles, homoe- opathy has gained a permanent footing in Europe; and, at the present time, numbers among its supporters a large proportion of the intelligent and influential in the communities where its practitioners are found. These results have been attained within the space of fifty years since Hahnemann set forth the principles upon which homoeopathy depends. Its success has been established, not by the use of means which confer a temporary notoriety upon some striking novelty, but by the success of treatment in disease, at first confined to a restricted circle, and gradually extending to a wider notice. Grave maladies, which have resisted the skill of allopathic medicine, coming under homoeopathic treatment with marked improvement, cannot fail to become known, and in a progressive degree call public attention to the result. Thus homoeopathy has grown, depending solely \ipon its intrinsic worth, until it com- mands the confidence of great numbers, and enrolls among its practitioners a large body of well-informed physicians. At the present time, there are upwards of seventy homoeopathic practitioners in London, all of whom have received their medical education at the allopathic insti- tutions ; and, while standing on an equality with their brethren of the old school, have to their original at- tainments, superadded a knowledge of homoeopathy. Among the best known in this country, of the Lon- don physicians, are Dr. Laurie and Dr. John Epps. The names of Dr. Rutherford Russell and Dr. F. F. Quin are also alike known by their writings. Dr. Epps has been eighteen years in practice, and commands a large share 7 of confidence, both in London and as consulting physi- cian out of town. Before nine a. m., every day, he gives gratuitous advice to the poor, and prescribes for many patients in a morning. Until twelve, his house, standing on Great Russell street, Bloomsbury, next the British Museum, is thronged with patients seeking advice. The remainder of the day is occupied by the ordinary professional duties of the practitioner. Dr. Epps adheres closely to Hahnemann, and condemns any departure from his precepts. He maintains that the success of homoeopathy depends upon a correct in- terpretation of symptoms and the pathogenesis of drugs. He has an original bust of Hahnemann, taken from sit- tings to the artist. In regard to potency, Dr. E. relies chiefly upon attenuations between the twelfth and twentieth. He assured me that he never used aconite so low as the third, but always in sthenic inflammations at the twelfth. If pneumonia supervened upon phthisis, the third of bryonia might be necessary. He keeps a record of every case, classified according to the seat of the disease, and has accumulated an immense mass of evidence. The spread of homoeopathy is advanced here, as else- where, by arguments, which Dr. E. illustrates by relating the Scripture account of the man who replied to ca- vilers at his cure, " Once I was blind, but now I do see." Two of our foreign ministers have been Dr. Epps' patients; and many persons from this country and the Canadas consult him. He professes to be an earnest republican, though a good subject, and claims descent from American stock. Many generations since, his ancestors received a grant of land in Massachusetts, 8 and several of his progenitors were among the earliest graduates of Harvard college. Dr. E. is the author of a work on domestic medicine, which has had a large circulation in this country; and, as a reciprocal courtesy, Dr. Pultie's book has been re- published in London under his supervision. Among his writings, is a little work on the virtues of arnica; un- presuming in form, but highly valuable. Notwithstand- ing the utility of this drug, its properties are very imperfectly known beyond the homoeopathic profession. I saw a case of concussion of the brain, at St. Barthol- omew's hospital, under treatment by Mr. Lloyd, in which arnica would have been vastly more efficient than the formidable array of leeches, purgatives, and lotions. In illustration of the certainty of the law of cure lying at the foundation of homoeopathy, Dr. E. relates the case of a woman who applied for advice in a singu- lar train of symptoms, consisting of a sense of levity in the body and limbs. When the feet were advanced in walking, it required an effort to bring them to the ground; and, on lying down, the body seemed to float and ascend. The books of allopathic medicine afford no specific guide to the treatment of such a condition ; the homoeopath is more fortunate in finding a remedy. Asarum Europeum produces these symptoms upon the healthy subject, and removes the symptoms in disease, when not caused by the drug. When Dr. Epps was lec- turer on materia medica, at the Hunterian school of medicine, he used to assure his pupils, that the best- informed practitioners were merely educated quacks in the use of drugs; and when the genius arose who should disclose the universal law of drug action, the discovery 9 would render him immortal. It seems to be peculiarly appropriate that the prediction should have been made by one who has himself become better acquainted with the pathogenetic effects of drugs than scarce any other man. Another case, related by him, illustrates his views of drug action. A gentleman, under treatment for hoem- optysis, had been benefited by the use of arnica and lycopodium. On leaving town the remedies were con- tinued for a time in alternation; but, the latter medicine being expended, arnica was taken alone. Subsequently sanguineous expectoration returned, unexplained by any physical symptoms, but which Dr. E. accounted for by extreme susceptibility to the drug. He has used baryta and lachesis with favorable results in organic stricture of the oesophagus; and finds cannabis, after spigelia, the most effectual remedy in metastatic carditis. One of the rare cases of arsenic eating, concerning which we have very little authentic information, had recently come under Dr. Epps' notice. A man was in the habit of taking three-fourths of a grain per day on his bread, and supposed himself unable to get along without it. During the first week of abstinence the secondary effects of the drug became apparent, causing extreme depression; but subsequent amendment ensued. In manner, Dr. Epps is affable and courteous; in per- son, eminently after the English style. On entering, he approached with one hand extended, and, placing the other on my thorax, exclaimed, with the first salutation, that a narrow chest was characteristic of the Americans. At his house, as everywhere else, I found a most cordial welcome and an obliging willingness to communicate in- formation. 10 Another practitioner of London is Dr. Laurie, who resides at the west end, near Hyde Park. Six years ago he was in this country, and received a degree at the Philadelphia Homoeopathic Medical College, in addi- tion to the degree conferred at Edinburgh, some years before. He states that the opposition to the more rapid extension of homoeopathy in England is the influence of the old medical corporations, which neglect no oppor- tunity to destroy the standing of any physician who dares depart from their doctrines. Homoeopathy was first introduced into England among the nobility, and its chief advocates are now found among the higher classes, and among the indigent. The • middle classes, who are the immediate friends and asso- ciates of the great body of medical men, and who receive their opinions from them, do not readily depart from allopathy. The gratuitous dispensaries have caused a knowledge of homoeopathy to be diffused among the poor; and it has been extensively adopted by them in London, certainly not from any motives other than a confidence in its worth, gained from observation of the effects of treatment among their friends. A dispensary* with which Dr. L. is connected, was opened in Manches- ter Square, near an allopathic dispensary; the latter, in consequence, soon became nearly destitute of patients. The Duchess of Cambridge, aunt to the queen, is pat- roness of the London Homoeopathic Hospital; and her family, when requiring medical service, call in homoe- opathic attendance. Her daughter, first cousin to the sovereign, was last summer under Dr. Quin's treatment when sick with measles. The Duchess of Kent, another royal dowager, is an advocate of homoeopathy; and, 11 when the difficulty of departing from prescribed cus- tom in England is understood, it becomes apparent that homoeopathy has obtained a footing which establishes its permanency and respect. The queen permits her children to be treated by Dr. Quin, when they require attendance, but cannot yet adopt homoeopathy for her- self. Her physician, Sir James Clarke, who has been her adviser for many years, possesses a large share of the royal confidence; and she expresses the opinion that, if the new system were wholly true, Sir James would not withhold his belief. A personal regard for her old attendant only prevents the queen from fully adopting homoeopathy. Dr. Laurie adheres to the lower potencies, rarely ' going above the sixth, and as rarely using the tinctures. Conversing with him in regard to the use of aconite, in an attenuated form, he related an incident which oc- curred recently at Edinburgh. He happened casually to hear Dr. Miller, the university professor of surgery, lecturing upon inflammatory fever. Among other rem- edies, the speaker said he ought not to pass over aco- nite, which acted efficiently in very small doses, — three or four drops in a tumbler of water being sufficient,— but without any acknowledgment that he had got his information from homoeopathy. A similar statement of the usefulness of aconite may be found in Pirrie's Surgery, a work by the lecturer on surgery in the Mar- ischal college of Aberdeen. I had an opportunity of stating to Dr. Laurie the vir- tues of hamamelis, which had not before been known to him. This preparation, so valuable in the treat- ment of venous congestions, introduced to use in this 12 section by Dr. A. H. Okie, has heretofore been entirely unknown among homoeopathic practitioners in England. Dr. L. has used glonoine, with the best results, in congestive and periodic headache. I found him retain- ing a lively recollection of his trip to America, and the medical men he met here. In features he is said to bear a marked resemblance to Dickens. Just before I visited London, medical men had been much interested in the scientific testimony given in the case of Palmer, tried for murder by strychnine. Among the distinguished witnesses were Taylor, Rees, Brodie, and Christison. During a rigid examination, these gen- tlemen disclosed nearly every property belonging to the poisonous action of strychnia upon the human sub- ject, and in experiment upon animals., The fact that it acts with the greatest violence upon carnivorous ani- mals, and is comparatively inert upon animals feeding upon grain and herbs, was however entirely overlooked. This property is stated by Teste, and verified by Ma- gendie, who found that ninety-five times as much nux vomica was necessary to kill a domestic fowl as suf- ficed to destroy a large dog. The effects of this drug bear a precisely analagous relation to the human sys- tem. Upon robust, plethoric men, accustomed to take much animal food, its action is much more prompt than upon emaciated, sparely-fed subjects. This fact must necessarily have an important bearing upon any suspected case of poisoning, and can hardly be over- looked with safety when any doubt as to the origin of symptoms exist. Homer says Machaon, a son of Esculapius, was a re- nowned hero, as well as a skilful physician, and made 13 " at least as much havoc among his enemies as among his friends." The skill sometimes displayed in dispens- ing " vials of wrath, pills, powder, and potion," is illus- trated by the adventure of Sir Walter Scott. It hap- pened, at a remote country town, that he required medical attendance for one of his servants, who was taken suddenly ill; and, on inquiry, learned that there were two doctors in the place, one long established and the other a new-comer. The latter, being found at home, soon made his appearance,—a grave, sage-looking man, dressed in black, in whom, to his great surprise, Sir Walter recognized a Scotch blacksmith, who had formerly practised in the neighborhood of Ashesteil as a veterinary surgeon, with considerable success. " How, in all the world," exclaimed he, " can it be possible that this is John Lundie ? " " In troth, it is, your honor, just a' that's for him." " Well, but let us hear: you were a horse doctor before; now, it seems, you are a man doctor. How do you get on?" " 0, just extraordinar well; for, your honor maun ken, my practice is very sure and safe. I depend entirely on twa simples.'1 "And what may their names be? Perhaps it is a secret?" "I'll tell your honor" (in a low tone): "my twa sim- ples are just Imtdamy and calami/.." " Simples with a vengeance," said Scott. " But, John, do you never happen to kill any of your patients ? " " Kill? 0, ay, may be sae. Whiles they die, and whiles no; but it's the will of Providence." British medical and surgical science is undergoing a 14 revolution at the present time, and the progress of homoeopathy has had much influence in modifying its condition. Some years since, Dr. Harrison, who married a niece of the Archbishop of Canterbury, got rich by his profession, and retired from practice. His wife's sister, a woman of rank and fashion, was affected by spinal caries, which resisted the treatment of the best sur- geons of the time. Ultimately Dr. Harrison was induced to undertake the case; and, by enforcing the strict ob- servance of entire rest in a recumbent position, aided by pressure and friction, succeeded in accomplishing a cure. In consequence of this restoration, Dr. Harrison received constant solicitations to undertake treatment in similar cases, and was compelled to resume practice. Sir Benjamin Brodie, just then acquiring popularity, condemned this form of treatment in the most unspar- ing manner, and denounced it as a pernicious empir- icism. Recently this distinguished authority has pub- lished a lecture, recanting his former belief, in which he adopts the treatment practised by Harrison. There is in London an infirmary, under homoeopathic manage- ment, for the treatment of spinal diseases, known as the Harrison Spinal Institute, taking its name from Dr. H, the founder, who endowed it with a considerable fund. The strongest advocates of homoeopathy are found in England among the men of talent and cultivation. Several bishops, and large numbers of the clergy, Car- lyle, Kossuth, and Whately, author of the standard work on logic, and many of the scientific and literary men of the day, accept the teachings of Hahnemann. Two of the leading English life assurance companies offer lower rates of insurance to those who habitually 15 employ homoeopathic treatment. Statistics have shown that the relative mortality is less, and the premium can be diminished. There are in London quite a number of eminent names in the list of homoeopathic physicians. Among them are Henriques, physician to the Spanish embassy, and David Griffiths Jones, assistant surgeon to the Hotel Dieu, at Paris, during the revolutions of February and June; 1848; Drs. Drury and Dudgeon are likewise prominent practitioners. Medical fees in London are highly remunerative to a physician in large practice. A guinea a visit, paid at the time of making the call, is the usual reward; and the leading practitioners receive a guinea for an office consultation. Every town in England, of any considerable impor- tance, has one or more homoeopathic physicians, and they are uniformly well sustained. There are, out of London, about one hundred and sixty practitioners, ex- clusive of Scotland and Ireland. Homoeopathy has acquired a commanding position at Paris, the city where Hahnemann passed the last years of his life. About ninety homoeopathic physicians are in practice there, and some of them hold places of eminence. Though, as elsewhere, the same unscrupu- lous opposition has been encountered, the French people, less accustomed to be trammeled by prescriptive opin- ions, have earlier investigated and adopted the principles of homoeopathy. Andral instituted a series of spurious experiments, with the design of destroying the system of Hahnemann. It was admitted that he could not read the Organon in 16 the original German; and at that time no French trans- lation had been made. Thus it will be seen how in- competent he was to undertake the practice of homoe- opathy. The remaining particulars of the trial are told in the following extract from Dr. F. W. Irvine's article in the British Journal of Homoeopathy, 1844 : " We have now to state a circumstance for which our readers are scarcely prepared. It is seldom, whatever system we follow, that one medicine suffices for the cure of a chronic complaint, even when the experience of years has guided the choice; and it is rare indeed that one dose of the medicine brings about the desired result. To this obvious principle, however, M. Andral shut his eyes when experimenting homoeopathically; for we gather, from an attentive perusal of the article already referred to, what the author was doubtless ashamed to say in so many words: That, though three-fourths of the cases treated were such as required a long course of treatment to cure, none of them received more than one dose of the homoe- opathic remedy, the administration of which was followed by some days of inaction, at the expiry of which, if not cured, the patient was handed over to allopathy. It was expected, it would seem, that scarcely had the globules been swallowed but the cure should be effected, if it lay in the power of homoeopathy to cure at all. Diseases of every kind, bronchitis, pleurisy, and con- sumption, chronic inflammation of the stomach and hypertrophy of the heart, — diseases which had existed for weeks, months, and perhaps years, — homoeopathy must cure them all, by one dose each, or it is held to be a delusion. Notwithstanding all this, however, we learn that, of fifty-four cases thus treated, eight made perma- 17 nent recoveries, and seven others were better the day after getting the medicine." Homoeopathy is rapidly spreading in France. The Emperor has favored its partial adoption into the army, and the Empress Eugenie is among its active supporters. The Queen of Spain, with whom the French empress is allied, and the Spanish court, all embrace homoeopa- thy, and through these influences homoeopathy has re- ceived aid at Paris. Among the physicians of note, Tessier holds an im- portant place, by his talents and position. Physician to the Hospital Beaujon, where he has upwards of one hundred beds, the opportunity is afforded him to exhibit the results of his treatment to those physicians who, though sceptical, are willing to receive information. Much is accomplished in this way; for it is scarcely to be expected that practitioners, who haAre been accus- tomed to depend upon crude doses of drug preparations, should, without an opportunity to observe the favorable consequences of homoeopathic treatment, dare to rely upon unaccustomed methods. The widow of Hahnemann is still living at Paris. Her husband continued to practice up to the last fortnight of his life, and died at the advanced age of eighty- eight. There seems to be a very natural cause for regret that he should not have sooner partially with- drawn from active labor, and husbanded the strength which might have prolonged his life. Still, he did not die until events had shown the truth of the doctrines he had striven to unfold, and fame had attested the value of his labors. Madame Hahnemann possesses volu- minous manuscripts, in his handwriting, which contain 3 18 records of treatment; and efforts are being made to obtain them for publication. An EngHsh gentleman has offered to pay ten thousand pounds for the manu- scripts ; and Bonninghausen, for whom Hahnemann en- tertained a strong friendship,- is negotiating for these works, which are supposed to contain their author's final views upon the magnitude and repetition of the dose, and the summing up of his extended experience. Herring's account of Hahnemann's death is so brief and touching that it may be read with interest. " He was a very learned man, and a great inquirer and discoverer. He was a true man, without falsity; candid and open as a child; inspired with pure benevo- lence, and a holy zeal for science. When at last the fatal hour had struck for the sublime old man, who had preserved his vigor almost to his last moments, then it was that the heart of his consort, who had made the last years the brightest of his life, was on the point of breaking. < Why shouldst thou, who hast alleviated so much suffering, suffer in thy last hour? Providence should have allotted to thee a painless death." " Then he raised his voice, as he had often done when he exhorted his disciples to hold fast to the great prin- ciples of homoeopathy: 'Why should I have been thus distinguished? Each of us should here attend to the duties which God has imposed upon him. Although men may honor more or less, yet no one has any merit God owes nothing to me, I to him all.' With these words he took leave of the world, his friends, and his foes." Teste, the author of a treatise upon the diseases of children, is resident at Paris. The work is a valuable 19 one, which no physician can afford to abstain from read- ing. His treatment of croup, by bry and ipec, has been found successful where other remedies fail. The results of experience sustain Teste's treatment, and render it of undoubted value. His work upon materia medica has been extensively circulated; it displays considera- ble ingenuity in arrangement and classification. The value of the treatise is variously estimated by those who have examined it. Very many of the considerable towns of France have homoeopathic practitioners. At Marseilles there are five; at Bordeaux, three, one of whom is Count Donnevale; and at Lyons, six. In Italy there are, at Naples, Turin, Genoa, Florence, and Rome, about twenty-five physicians. In Vienna, Austria, there are forty homoeopathic practitioners; in Madrid, about fifty; and in the German States, many hundreds. The European Directory contains the names of seventeen practitioners who are court physicians. There are also upon the continent about twenty hospitals under homoeopathic management. The hospital of the Sisters of Charity, at Vienna, was opened in 1832 for the reception of cholera patients; and for two years a half-homoeopathic, half-allopathic plan of treatment was pursued. In 1835 Dr. Fliesch- man was appointed physician, and adopted an entirely homoeopathic treatment. This hospital is largely visited by medical men, who are anxious to see homoeopathic practice. On account of Dr. Flieschman's success in treating disease, the Emperor of Austria was induced to establish an institution at Vienna for the teaching of homoeopa- thy, under the patronage of government. Dr. Wrumb is principal of the college. 20 Medical science at Paris is brought to a high degree of perfection; in all that pertains to diagnosis, and the ra- tionale of disease, the hospital physicians are unrivalled. The opportunities for observing every form of disease are very great. The Hotel Dieu contains eleven hun- dred and fifty beds. This immense hospital is under the charge of nine physicians and three surgeons, as- sisted by thirty-two house-students, an apothecary, and a retinue of a hundred and fifty servants. Sixty reli- geuses, of the order of St. Augustine, patient and subdued in aspect, hooded in white, administer spiritual consola- tion to the inmates. Around the beds are curtains, for seclusion, but, being open at the top, present no obstacle to change of air about the patient. The surgeon passes down the wards, wearing a white apron, probably a tra- dition from the barbers; students follow, and attend- ants bearing water and instruments. This hospital stands upon the banks of the Seine, near Notre Dame. In the vestibule are portraits of Dessault, Bichat, Du- puytren, and other distinguished physicians and sur- geons. Ricord is followed through the wards of the Hospital du Midi, with which his name is closely associated, by hosts of admiring pupils. Born at Baltimore, in 1800, and subsequently living in England, he is still eminently French. The old convent of the Capuchins forms the present hospital, containing four hundred and fifty beds. The monkish cloisters are widely diverted from their original purpose. " Quod vero, nunc si viveret Bonus iste clericus disceret." Whether in the lecture-room or by the bedside, Ri- 21 cord is perpetually throwing off brilliant things. His massive features never subside into quiet. During the hot weather, the shady court-yard of the hospital con- stitutes his lecture-room. In this academic grove, he sets forth and enforces his doctrines with all the com- bined force of talent, wit, and accumulated experience. Velpeau may be seen at the Clinical Hospital of the Faculty. He is now advanced in years, but full of vigor. His first concours gained him the place of house physi- cian at the hospital of St. Louis, unaided and unknown in Paris. Subsequently, after being three times unsuc- cessful in competing for the chairs of pathology, physi- ology, and obstetric medicine, respectively, he gained the professorship of clinical surgery over Lisfranc ; and, by talent and application, has acquired fame in almost every department of medicine. While physiology, anatomy, pathology, and chemical science have been rapidly advanced, therapeutics — the end for which all other branches of medicine exist — has scarcely been improved in a commensurate degree. Rejecting homoeopathy, the only unerring rule, the prac- titioners of allopathy have adhered to the traditional dogmas received from an ill-informed age. It is true that the portrait of Ambrose Pare, the dis- tinguished surgeon, who first substituted the ligature for boiling oil, in amputations, hangs in the lecture- room of the faculty; but their clinical teaching stops at the theories of Hippocrates and Galen. It was a favor- ite hypothesis of the ancients, that the human system, when in health, contained four elementary humors, com- bined in a correct proportion, viz.: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. If the first were in excess, vene- section was the remedy; if the phlegm were too much, 22 expectorants, diuretics, and the kindred remedies; did the atrabilis or black bile abound, purgatives; for the yel- low bile, emetics. The theory is exploded, but the prac- tice remains. Hahnemann disclosed the first systematic rule for the remedial use of drugs, which has happily been accepted by no insignificant number, to the vast amelioration of human suffering, and the increased assurance and rapid- ity of cure; and, in view of the abundant facts cor- roborative of the improvement, it is incredible that any should linger in the ancient paths. It is undeniably true, that, where homoeopathic med- icine has been very generally adopted in any com- munity, disease has there diminished. The improved sanitary condition is observed in the less frequent at- tacks of disease, and the shorter duration of the attack. After treatment by homoeopathy, there are none of the injurious consequences of taking drugs remaining; and, when the disorder is removed, there is an immedi- ate return to health. The results in a neighboring place illustrate the favorable consequences of homoeo- pathic treatment. A dozen years ago, the town con- tained three prosperous allopathic physicians, who did a thriving business. Homoeopathy was subsequently introduced; and first one, and then another, and ulti- mately the third, allopath left the field. Now one ho- moeopathic practitioner is able to attend all the sick while the population has increased. Such facts are sig- nificant, and may be seen in a less degree elsewhere. The leading homoeopath at Edinburgh is Dr. Hender- son, University professor of pathology. Formerly an allopath, he has incurred much obloquy for embracing 23 the sentiments he holds. Notwithstanding the violent opposition directed towards him by the faculty of the college, and the repeated efforts to unseat him, he main- tains his position with great firmness. Dr. Henderson's reply to Dr. Simpson is one of the ablest defences of homoeopathy ever made, and worthy of being extensively read, for its clearness, candor, and wit. * A single paragraph will show the keenness of his satire, in refuting 'a shallow argument brought against homoeopathy. " Dr. Simpson, referring to the ' moral symptoms' of the provings in connection with carbonate of lime and common salt, says, of man in general, who takes these substances with his food and his drink : ' Would not his mind have been rendered sinful by the very substances which his Creator obliges him to use constantly in the course of the common and requisite nourishment of his frame ? If homoeopathy were true, would not this ar- rangement form a strong and incontrovertible argument for sceptics to use, who wished to call in question the bountiful and beneficent arrangements of Providence ?' (p. 74.) What a prodigious quantity of salt Dr. Simpson must have taken before he wrote this passage! that is to say, if it is sinful to assert what is not the fact, and if salt be a cause of sin. But there is not a single sin re- corded in the provings as producible by either carbonate of lime or salt. The nearest approach to sinfulness that carbonate of lime produces is peevishness ; and that is no sin, unless it be indulged. Salt, however, goes a step nearer, as Dr. Simpson knows, experimentally; for it produces e want of discretion,' and ' vehemence without any special cause.' He must really take less salt with his food, lest he should give a handle to the ' sceptics.'" 24 Dr. H. has been compelled to remain continually on the defensive, and sustain a perpetual contest with his fellow-professors. When it is remembered that Christi- son and Simpson are his antagonists, it is no slight credit to him and the principles he maintains, to say that his defence has been made with honor and success. The only member of the faculty who sympathizes with him in the least degree is the professor of chemistry. He stated to me, that twelve years of experience in homoe- opathy has abundantly confirmed his belief, and enabled him to establish, by his own knowledge, the truth of the doctrines which Hahnemann promulgated. Such testi- mony from a man like Dr. Henderson carries great weight. Dr. H. prefers the lower dilutions, rejecting the idea of dynamization. He allows the attenuated drug to possess a medicinal force just equivalent to the amount of matter it contains, but does not deny the efficiency of the higher potencies. Their action is explained by the homoeopathicity of the remedy, and the augmented susceptibility of the disordered organization. He does not make use of mother tinctures, nor ascend above the medium attenuations. Dr. H. remarked, in allusion to his own experience, the difference of circumstances under which a case progressed in the two forms of treatment. Formerly, when blood had been taken, and purging enforced, or nauseants and narcotics given, he never felt any assurance of finding a patient in the same condition as on the previous day. Under the disturbing influence of drugs, new symptoms were created, and revulsions and crises continually occurred. Now, under the benign inflence of homoeopathic remedies, the case 25 goes steadily on towards recovery, without the interven- tion of any extraordinary symptoms; and great depen- dence could be placed upon the continuance of a favorable condition. Dr. Henderson looks unfavorably upon the founding of homoeopathic professorships in the old medical insti- tutions, as proposed in some places. At Munich, where such a professorship exists, it is found to be practically useless. The difficulties which he enumerates are the inharmonious condition which must exist among the faculty; the cliques it engenders among the students; and the anomalous circumstances under which a candi- date will come up for examination. In this country, where there are able institutions designed to give instruction in a full course of medicine, it wrould seem obviously better to sustain such to their full extent of usefulness, rather than confer a divided patronage upon colleges where the distinctive doctrines of homoeopathy are not taught. Those practitioners in England and Scotland who were previously allopathic physicians, have brought with them into the homoeopathic ranks, to a greater or less extent, the families which they were formerly accustomed to treat; and such is the tenacity with which old opinions are held, that, in former times, accessions to homoeopa- thy rarely came in any other way. The scores of phy- sicians in London, who have never been allopaths, are largely engaged in treating the various forms of chronic disease, and their houses are crowded day after day with patients suffering from long-standing ailments. Yet, such is the success of homoeopathic treatment that the results continually enhance its reputation. The custom 26 of assigning the treatment of chronic and acute diseases to separate practitioners is attended with some advan- tages. The physician who is visiting large numbers of patients daily cannot devote the time to chronic cases necessary to insure their thorough investigation; and he consequently fails to do them justice. Likewise, the habit of directing a frequent repetition of dose in acute diseases is liable to cause him to give medicine oftener than necessary in chronic disorders. It is a significant circumstance, in the present condi- tion of medicine, that, while the physicians in active allopathic practice uniformly oppose every departure from their own system, the medical men who have re- turned from India, with a competence, and the retired East India surgeons, have very frequently embraced the tenets of homoeopathy. It is also well attested, that large numbers of allopaths secretly and surreptitiously dispense homoeopathic remedies. Among them, aconite is given for inflammation, in attenuated doses, and nux- vomica and arnica are likewise used in homoeopathic preparations by very many of the English physicians. At Edinburgh there are seven homoeopathic physi- cians in good practice; which, for the size of the city, is a very fair proportion. Literature, and not commerce, is the business of the town. The inhabitants are intel- lectual in their pursuits, and their characteristics are thoughtfulness and sagacity. Altogether, though allo- pathy has long held a dominant influence in Edinburgh its soil is not unfavorable for the spread of homoeo- pathy. Dr. Henderson has a keen and penetrative Scotch inteUect, a clear and well-ordered mind. His bearing is 27 courteous, — directness with suavity,— wholly free from the "sweet bedside mariner" which makes the fortune of a mere fashionable physician. There are two homoeopathic hospitals at London; one in Golden square, founded in 1849, under the patronage of her royal highness the Duchess of Kent, and the Duke of Beaufort. The Earl of Wilton is president of the board, and among the vice-presidents are the Arch- bishop of Dublin, the Earls of Albemarle and Essex, Lord Francis Gordtm, and several members of Parlia- ment. During the first four years, 11,290 patients were treated at this hospital, at an annual expenditure of about four thousand dollars. The Hahnemann hospital was closed in 1855, after continuing five years. The suspension was not conse- quent upon any lack of patients, but on account of the enormous expense attending its support. Its annual cost exceeded twelve thousand dollars, and afforded treat- ment, during the time of its operation, to about thirteen thousand patients. The hospital for children is under the management of Drs. Drury and Luther. There are also fourteen gra- tuitous dispensaries, all of which are daily frequented by many patients. In conclusion, it is impossible to meet any half-dozen persons in England, several of whom are not adherents of homoeopathy. At the public houses, coffee-rooms, and in private houses, it is the same, homoeopathy every- where having acquired a prominence and consideration. The magnitude of its influence is apparent from the character of the opposition it excites.. The hospital physicians, doctors who have written a book in support 28 of allopathy, upon which their fame and emolument depend, the Lancet, and Punch all combine to overthrow homoeopathy; yet, under the united opposition of all the adverse influences, it continues to gain in public favor, and steadily increases. OTIS CLAPFS CATALOGUE. 3 Epps' Rejected Cases. 88 cents. Forbes's, Dr. J.. Homoeopathy, Alkcopathv and Youn1.25. Ruckert, edited by Peters, on Apoplexy and Palsy. 75 cents. " i; '' Diseases of the Eye and Ear. 75 cents. « <• « " Stomach. 75 cents. " <<■ <•' " of Females. 75 cents. " <■■ <■'• " of Married Females. 75 cents. " » " Internal Diseases of the Eye. 75 cents. <• » " on Diseases of the Brain. 75 cents. " « '• Nervous Diseases and Mental Derange- ments. 75 cents. Ruckert, edited by Peters. Treatise on Headaches. 75 cents. " '< " Therapeutics. S3.50. Rosenstein's Homoeopathy. 75 cents. Ruoff's Repertory of Homoeopathic Medicine. $1.00. Rush's Veterinary Hand Book. 50 cents. Sharp's Twelve Tracts on Homoeopathy. 5 cents each. What is Homoeopathy ? The Defence of Momccopatliy. The Truth of Homoeopathy. The Small Uose of Homoeopathy. Ttie Dilllculties of Homoeopathy. The Advantages of Homoeopathy. The l'rmciples of Homoeopathy. The Controversy of Homoeopathy. The Remedies of Homteopalhy. The Provings of Homoeopathy. The Single Meilicine of Hornieopathy. The Common Sense of Homoeopathy. Schaeffer's Homoeopathic Veterinary Manual. $1.25. Smalls Manual of Homoeopathic Practice. $2.00. Staff's Addition to the Materia .Medica l'ura. $1.50. Transactions of the American Institute of Homoeopathy. $1.00. Tarbell"s Pocket Homoeopathist and Family Guide. 25 cents. L' Sources of Health and Prevention of Disease. 50 cents. '•' Homoeopathy Simplified. $1.00. Tessier's Clinical Remarks on Pneumonia. 75 cents. " " " " Cliolera. 75 cents. Teste's Materia Medica. $2.50. " Diseases of Children. $1.25. Wiegjuul on Croup and its Specific Remedy. 19 cents. Wilkinson on War, Cholera, and the Ministry of Health. 25 cents. Wilkinson's Proposal to treat Insanity by Spiritualism. 5 cents. Williamson's Diseases of Females and Children. 75 cents. HOMCEOPATHIC JOURNALS. North American Journal. 4 vols., $10.00. Terms, $3.00 per year. British Journal of Homoeopathy. Edited bv J. J. Drysdale, M.D., J. R. Russell, M. I)., and R. J. Dudgeon, M. D. Published quarterly. Subscription $3.00 per year. % Just Published, a Second American Edition of Gunther's New Manual of Veterinary Medicine, translated from the third German edition, with additions. $1.25. The British Journal of Homoeopathy, published in London, says of this book :__ "A good work on Homoeopathic Veterinary Medicine has long been a desideratum in this country; and thi-, :is far as we can judge, seems calculated to supply the want.....We have little doubt that this ' M miial' will prove of excellent ser- vice to those having the management of domestic animals, as it otters a more ra- tional and scientific, as well as a more efficacious, mode of treating their diseases than the ordinary empirical system of firing, drenching, bleeding, mid dismember- ins, by which our four-footed auxiliaries have teen so long martyrized."