if 

IS 

INTO THE NATURE OF THE CHOLERAIC INFLUENCE, ITS ORIGIN AND ITS COURSE, 

TO WHICH IS ADDED 

A COLLECTION 

OF THE MOST EFFECTUAL REMEDIES FOR THE CHOLERA ADOPTED 

IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES 

AND 

A PLAN OF TREATMENT BY THE AUTHOR. 

\ 

MES. cIfILETON, 

¦mmm 

AUTIIIW OF AN ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OF THE NERVOUS INFLI'KNCK 



/ 

LONDON: XS / t 

H. BAILLIERE, 219, REGENT STREET. 



18C6. 



A^v\e^ 

WC 



/T//^ v^. /^7 ;^o 



PAIIT I. 

ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OP THE CHOLERAIC INFLUENCE ITS ORIGIN AND ITS COURSE. 





ENQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OF THE CHOLERAIC INFLUENCE. 

An investigation of the Choleraic cause might, if successful, suggest more means of defence against its general progress — unfortunately, its original cause, like many other atmospheric agencies, eludes our grasp — the destroying angel who pursues his silent flight, hovering over his devoted districts, and shedding from his dark wings a mysterious and deadly influence, is veiled from our sight. 

Some have attributed the Cholera to currents of putrid emanations, carried by the 



6 

winds; but it is not a putrid disease, and though from certain chemical causes, it is invited and intensified by putrid miasmas, this is accidental and avoidable, because it depends on the state of the locality ; neither would the wind allow of the degree of regularity observable in its course : the general direction of the epidemic from south-east to north-west, shows a connection with some of the great operations of nature — the zone across the Old World which it occupies, and in which it pursues its slow but onward course, stern and unrelenting as destiny, must be connected in some way with the mysterious workings of the globe itself, and there must exist a dark and deleterious combination of air, earth, and water, far more certain in its course and consequences, than the wafting of moleculae on the wings of the wind. 

Some again have supposed that the malady resulted from the absence of some element in the air, such as ozone, or electricity, but I think that no privative could travel in currents, 



7 

and the Choleraic current seems to be a very positive agent. The nature of the agent is as yet unknown, and as a liberal physician has expressed his opinion that no theory respecting strange maladies should be rejected without some attention, I will venture a few conjectures on the subject, with the chance of hitting upon some useful suggestion. 

The source of the Choleraic principle is evidently in the earth, and it appears that this exists in the south-eastern part of the East Indian Peninsula.* From thence it is carried, at uncertain periods, through the atmosphere, in a general north-westerly direction, across Europe (in my idea, towards the magnetic pole), by the joint action of air, earth, water, and electricity, apparently throwing off branches right and left in its course, f The assertion that it entirely depends on foul air has no real foundation, and though such a 

* See the Report of the Board of Health at Madras. f See Appendix, Note 1. 



8 

doctrine is useful in spme respects, it is dangerous in others, by inducing a false security. In all situations caution is indispensable while the Cholera treads over the country. 

I first beheld it in one of the healthiest localities in Europe, in an elevated situation free from impure emanations, and in the highly electrified air of France ; there it came, and there it killed. But though in such air it is more sudden in attack and destruction, it can be more speedily arrested. Under the above-mentioned circumstances, I was enabled to see the Cholera pure and uncombined with deleterious elements and low diseases. Its suddenness, so far from alarming me, dispelled my fears by convincing me that it was a nervous shock, and though nerves are dangerous enemies when uncontrolled, they are more easily bullied than fevers and malarious agencies. I have since found reason to believe that the Choleraic action is chemical as well as nervous, but I did not succeed the less by treating it according to my first impression, 



9 

and I still consider the nervous action as the first object of our care. 

I will now proceed to state my surmises respecting the nature of the Choleraic agent. 

Hypothesis respecting the Origin of Cholera — If we seek for the original cause of Cholera, I think we shall find it in some chemical action in the interior of the earth. My belief is :—: — 

First. — That it is a gas, evolved from the deep cavities of the earth by the action of heat, water, mineral compounds, and electricity. The nature of this gas will be presently considered. 

Secondly. — That it is conveyed in currents through the atmosphere by the aid of electricity. 

Thirdly. — That the electric currents in the air proceed simultaneously with magnetic currents in the earth, moving from the southeast towards the north-west, in the direction of the magnetic pole, but spreading out laterally from attractive causes. 



10 

Fourthly. — That the Choleraic currents act both chemically and nervously ; that they have an electric attraction for our nervous system, and a chemical affinity for certain earthly emanations, and that they are brought down by them, as a thunderbolt strikes the earth when attracted by terrestial objects. 

Fifthly. — That a Choleraic current is, in itself, pure, free from poison, putridity, or any contagious principle — killing, nevertheless, by its nervous and chemical action on the human body ; but that its chemical affinity for some of the elements into which putrid animal or vegetable matter resolves itself, renders it venomous, and produces an important modification of the disease. 

Here then are various agencies, namely : electricity, magnetism, and some element as yet undetected j two modes of action, chemical and nervous (or electrical), and a modification of the disease itself. Probably this multiplicity of agencies may serve to account for the variety of successful remedies and the 



11 

variety of opinions which this malady elicits. I will now discuss these several points, beginning with the currents, because these are not hypothetical, but real facts to build upon. 

Cholera Currents. — It is evident that the Choleraic agent proceeds in currents of some kind, and these of no very wide extent.* They not only pursue one side of a street, a house, or a river, but cross and recross it. In India, troops marching on one side of a stream have been fatally attacked, while those marching in a parallel line on the other side have escaped altogether.! 

Electric Agency. — What impels these currents forward ? Wind would not carry them so steadily ; if miasma, or exhalation of any kind were wafted by the wind, they would be 

* See Appendix, Note ,2. 

f A curious fact may perhaps throw some light on the height of these currents. The swallows always leave Paris when it is invaded by the Cholera, in the year 1854 they did not depart in time, and on reaching a certain elevation, they fell in shoals, dead, in the river and on the earth. 



12 

lost or dispersed long before they reached ns ; an agent more resolute and pertinacious than an air-puff must convey the Cholera across the continent of Europe ; and, for many reasons, electricity seems best adapted to this purpose. The currents usually follow the course of rivers, though they also act at a distance from them, where there is stagnant water or bad air ; as moisture is a conductor of electricity, it favours my notion that this agent is the conducting medium. Moreover, it agrees with the theory of a current of gas, and of an attack upon the nervous system, both being electric. 

The Cholera has been attributed to a deficiency of electricity in the air ; at least, the malady is supposed to be connected with its abstraction. lam perfectly aware that there is a remarkable diminution in the quantity of electricity in Choleraic times — the electrometer of St. Petersburgh shows it. But this phenomenom does not, in my apprehension, oppose my hypothesis, for I pre- 



13 

sume that matter, whether ponderable or imponderable, is never lost, but misplaced ; we cannot suppose that it has been annihilated on this occasion, the supposition that the Cholera is caused by some gas conducted by electric currents, need therefore only imply that the free electricity that is usually diffused in the air, is condensed into currents, and that if we could analyse those currents, we should find the missing electricity in that form. 

Terrestial Agency. — A terrestial agency appears to me necessary to account for the steady onward course of the Cholera, and its north-westerly direction. The interruption of its influence in certain localities, to reappear beyond, makes me suspect that a magnetic current has been diverted from its course by some terrestial cause, such as the intervention of rock, especially granite, causing a deviation in the march of the attending Choleraic current.* Or, perhaps, in this case, it passes 

* Since writing the above, I find that Monsieur Boubie 



14 

over our heads, innocuous. It is this, probably, which gives an appearance of irregularity to the Choleraic progress ; which, however, may be partly attributable to the main current throwing off branches right and left, as it strikes athwart the Continent. Many circumstances show that the earth is implicated. Among others, it is mentioned that no ships-crew on arriving in India, is attacked by the Cholera until it has been in communication with the land. Whatever regularity, steadiness, or tenacity the Cholera may show, I would ascribe to a magnetic influence, while its eccentricities may be partly attributable to the electric currents that continually traverse the surface of the earth in various directions. The frequency of the Choleraic attacks about three o'clock in the morning, at which time the magnetism of the earth is at its minimum, seems to favour my argument; and surely 

in his paper on the Geological Progress of the Cholera, asserts that it is detained in alluvial soils, and glides over rocky non-absorbent lands. 



15 

some terrestial cause must account for the exemption from the malady that is enjoyed in rocky localities, such as Rocca di Papa, on the rise of the Apennines, St. Vincent's rocks near Bristol (which are limestone), and nearly the whole territory of Switzerland, which is an elevated plateau, chiefly granite,* besides other places ; though there are various circumstances, such as noxious exhalations, that elicit the Cholera at any elevation, whether in its line of march, or in its depot in the East, as at Kandy in Ceylon, where a lake of stagnant water pollutes the air. Edinburgh, on its proud rock, would probably be unassailable by the Cholera, if the epidemic were not attracted by its dark and narrow wynds — in those miserable alleys, the favourite affinities of the Choleraic currents congregate. 

The existence of Choleraic currents being evident, I will venture the following surmise respecting their nature and origin. 

* The Lake of Geneva is 500 feet above the level of the 

sea. 



16 

Hypothesis respecting the nature of the currents — The nature of the Choleraic currents is the most obscure part of the whole subject, for they elude analysis, and unless they can be seized, the investigation of the air in a general way cannot suffice, which is shown by the variety of conjectures to which the enquiry gives rise. These currents must be considered separately from the air that invites them; and this again must be distinguished £iom the air which engenders them, which we have not got here, else the Cholera would be indigenous with us as in India. A Choleraic current mounts aloft from its source and moves forward, streaming over healthy and unhealthy countries, across whole continents ; but the air that brings it down is next to the earth, and abounds in its impurities, some of which have a chemical affinity for the current, which, from its lightness, must be a gas. The circumstances under which I first beheld its action enabled me to ascertain that when it descend- 



17 

Ed through a pure atmosphere, unmixed with other elements, aiming apparently at the nervous system, it was not cognizable to the sense of smell, nor to any other sense, and that although we poor mortals fell like the children of Niobe, struck by invisible deadly shafts, they were not poisonous, unless rendered so by our own culpable negligence, whereby they have too often reached us steeped in morbific matter : but of this, more hereafter. The object now is simply to discover the nature of the real agent. Viewing the Cholera unconnected with the. low maladies that complicate the case, and the premonitory symptoms that obscure the moment of its real attack in England, I came to the conclusion that it was neither putrid, bilious, nor inflammatory, but simply a sudden derangement of the nervous action, by some unknown agent. At first, the suddenness of the blow led me to attribute it entirely to a nervous and electric cause, but though even now I feel so far on more certain 

c 



18 

ground, as I have succeeded on this principle, I find reason to suspect that the action is chemical also, and in consequence I have formed a hypothesis respecting the nature of the agent, which I will present merely as a suggestion to those more learned than myself. 

My hypothesis is founded on the symptoms of the Cholera that distinguish it from every other malady, the connection, however, will not be apparent, till I have explained the matter. For this purpose, I shall not seek for any new element or wonderful agent. My conjecture is that the Choleraic currents are streams of Hydrogen gas, the lightness of which particularly adapts them to a forward movement, that they are the products of a deep-seated volcanic agency — and that they are carried by electricity through the air, and connected with magnetic currents in the earth, to which they owe their movement in a north-westerly direction. These currents, I suppose, pass over us, unless 



19 

they are drawn to the earth by particular causes, such as their chemical attraction for certain substances, and, in my idea, their electric attraction for our nervous system. I see many reasons for concluding that they act both chemically and nervously. Their chemical action may be inferred ; first, from the fact that certain elements contained in the emanations from stagnant waters, and in decomposed animal matter attract them if they pass over infected localities; secondly, that they produce an alteration in the state of the blood. Their action on the nerves is shown by the sudden and painful shock the nerves sustain when the currents descend pure from the atmosphere, unmixed with earthly emanations, and strike us at once ; a*id the instantaneous cures that nervous medicines can effect. This I have found so frequently, that if the Cholera was always simple, and checked in time, 1 should think a further enquiry into the cause would be hardly needful for curative purposes. But the nervous 

c 2 



20 

treatment is not sufficient to prevent the spreading of the Epidemic in impure air, neither can nervous medicines succeed towards the end, when the nerves of the stomach can no longer respond to stimuli. It must therefore be useful to discover the chemical cause, and its affinity to unwholesome exhalations. 

Chemical action of the Choleraic current. — I have sought for the nature of this chemical cause in the peculiar phenomena of the malady. These are, the formation of an unwonted fluid in the stomach ; the blackness of the blood; the external coldness, accompanied by internal heat; the sudden and remarkable shrinking of the features and shrivelling of the skin, and in pure Cholera, the extraordinary suddenness of the shock.. 

Now if a current of hydrogen, conveyed into our system by the agency of electricity, combines chemically with the oxygen of our blood, it must produce a nervous and electric shock, de-oxygenate the blood, and consequently 



21 

make it black and form water : the condensation of oxygen and hydrogen into a denser medium must cause an evolution of heat internally, while the contact of de-oxigenated blood, paralysing the sympathetic nerve, and thus arresting the circulation in the capillary vessels of the skin, must produce cold externally ; and the abstraction of oxygen, which forms a fourth part of the solid muscular flesh, must shrivel the skin and shrink the features in an extraordinary manner. Thus I have, I think, accounted for all the peculiar symptoms of the malady, in my own fashion, at least. With respect to the mode of the operation by which deoxygenation is effected, I will merely hazard a surmise that the conversion of the oxygen and hydrogen into water in the stomach (supposing the Choleraic agent to be hydrogen) is somewhat analogous to the conversion of oxygen and carbon into carbonic acid in the lungs, in neither case is the direct contact of the gas with the blood necessary; in the 



22 

lungs, the oxygen in the air-tubes permeates the coats of the adjoining blood-vessels — may not hydrogen in the cavity of the stomach in like manner permeate the coats of its vessels ? as the watery parts of the blood can exude through the coats of the blood-vessels outwards (and actually do in the cold sweat of the Cholera) so can other elements penetrate them inwards, especially when combined with electricity, which thrusts itself everywhere. It may be objected, that though the lungs are adapted to the process of de-carbonisation, the stomach is not adapted to deoxygenation ; but in a morbid action, a combination natural in itself, and regularly chemical, may take place in a wrong organ, of which there have been instances. That chemical changes can take place in the stomach we know, are not the multitudinous ingredients of an Alderman's dinner converted into a homogeneous pulp ? In the stomach we find all the requisites for a chemical change — heat, motion, nervous action, and 



23 

• 

chemical agents. I would engage to concoct a dozen diseases in that Alembic ! But though a chemical action takes place in the stomach, I do not believe that the blood is chemically changed in its nature, else a patient could not recover so suddenly; according to my hypothesis the Choleraic action is more simple, and only causes the partial abstraction of an element, the loss of which can be repaired, and quickly. If the element abstracted be oxygen, the blood must remain black, thick, tenacious and oily — for, out of its ultimate elements, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon, the hydrogen and carbon will predominate, and those are the constituents of oil. 

Now, this is precisely the appearance of Choleraic blood. Of course it cannot flow, its waves, dark and heavy as the waters of Cocytus, heave in vain in the oppressed heart, but let the oxygen be restored, and it bounds forward as gaily as ever ! The success of oxygen as a remedy has been exemplified by 



24 

the surgeon of the hospital at Howrah,* who cured all his patients by making them inhale this gas ; a fact to which I believe sufficient attention has not been paid, and which, according to my fancy, gives more probability to my de-oxygenising hypothesis. As an objection to this hypothesis, it may be said, " Why does not this combination of oxygen and hydrogen, forming water, liquify the blood, instead of desiccating it?" To which 1 would answer, " why does not the combination of oxygen and carbon in the lungs fill the blood with carbonic acid gas," because it is given out in respiration. f So I suppose the water formed by oxygen and hydrogen to be given out in the cavity of the stomach.| 

* Near Calcutta. 

f Out of the 45,000 inches of oxygen (or thereabouts) consumed in the lungs by an ordinary man in 24 hours. 40,000 are given back in the shape of carbonic acid gas. 

$ In a common chemical experiment, if small streams of hydrogen are introduced into a close vessel, containing oxygen, these elements, under the influence of heat, will produce water, which will be found trickling down its sides. Let us in this case suppose the close vessels to be the stomach with its oxygenated blood-vessels. 



25 

If the de-oxygenating effect of hydrogen is the cause of the malady, oxygen must not only be the best antidote, but the best preventive we can adopt ; for, as hydrogen will only change a certain proportion of oxygen in order to produce water, the residue, in well oxygenated blood, may preserve us in a tolerable state if we are attacked ; whereas, if oxygen is scarce, when the chief part is chemically changed, the blood must remain a viscid black mass, and the fatal effects of total collapse must ensue. 

Again, it may be objected that the living power resists the separation of our ultimate elements, of which oxygen is one; but if electricity is concerned in a Choleraic attack, such a chemical effect may be produced, even in the living body. Besides, as carbon can be withdrawn from the blood by one operation, oxygen may be elicited from it by another. 

To conclude — the de-oxygenation of the blood must not only unfit it for circulation on 



26 

account of its viscidity, but also on account of the paralysing effect of the black blood on the nervous system, for, according to one of our best physiologists, the nervous power is not originally derived from the brain, but from the blood, and from its oxygenated red corpuscles. Black blood contains it not, and consequently its contact carries death to the brain and nervous centres. Its effect in paralysing the sympathetic nerve is one of the worst symptoms of the Cholera; but the share taken by this nerve in a Choleraic attack will be discussed presently. 

According to a hypothesis which I formed many years before experiment had overcome scepticism, regarding the electric nature of the nervous influence,* the active principle of vital air is not oxygen, but the negative electricity naturally combined with it, and which, I should suppose, becomes galvanism by some process that takes place in the sanguiferous 

? See an " Enquiry into the Nature of the Nervous Influence." (Bailliere, 219, Regent Street.) 



27 

system. Now, if this electric action give vitality to the blood, and produces chemical change and motion throughout, and if the Choleraic agent is a gas conducted by positive electricity into the system, the nervous action of this malady can easily be traced ; perhaps the nervous symptoms may be partly attributable to the introduction of the wrong electricity. But all this will be discussed at length in its place. 

First Origin of the Choleraic Agent. — I will now inquire how the current of hydrogen can originate, and how a current rising in the south-east of India can invade our nervous systems in the north-west of Europe ? The origin of this superabundance of hydrogen, I would ascribe to an occasional irruption of water in the volcanic recesses of the earth, combined with adventitious circumstances, such as the presence of some electric and magnetic influences, combining with iron, sulphur, and caloric. Red hot metals decompose water — if it breaks into volcanic 



28 

regions, they will absorb the oxygen of its vapour passing over them, and the liberated hydrogen, forming with electricity the lightest of all gases (hydrogen is the lightest of all ponderable substances), may rise aloft and traverse the atmosphere, guided in its general north-westerly course by the magnetic influence in the earth.* The natural combination of gases with electricity (to which, according to Sir Humphrey Davy, they owe their elasticity) does, I think, point out the physical force by which a Choleraic current can be carried into our systems. Attracted by the opposite electricity of our nerves, the Choleraic current will strike us, and the positive electricity of the hydrogen will combine with the negative electricity of our oxygen, and produce its chemical result — water. The current will therefore recompose at its termi- 

* The countries in which the Cholera originates, have a volcanic soil ; and it has been observed that volcanic eruptions are often followed by epidemics, which makes it probable that there is some connection between them. 

f See Appendix, Note 3. 



29 

nation the compound (water), decomposed at 

its origin. 

*¦ 

Nervous or Electric Action of the Choleraic Influence. — Many facts tend to show that the Choleraic current strikes us as through the medium of the nervous system, though this is not so perceptible in England as in countries where the air is more highly electrified, such as France. There, I have known persons in perfect health suddenly struck down in the open air, evidently met by the fatal current. The form of Cholera characterised by suddenness, is certainly the most prevalent in pure air.* 

In this way I endeavour to account for the origin, progress, and attack of a Choleraic current, and though this is all surmise, there is, I think, sufficient ground for the belief that 

* Four shocks of this kind occurred at once in an English locality, where the air was remarkably good, and too pure to allow the Cholera to remain as an epidemic. Three of the persons attacked were immediately cured by my nervous compound, the fourth being in ill-health suffered a little longer. 



30 

it is a gas of some kind; it may be other than hydrogen, but there is none that possesses so many of the requisites, and when we come to its combination with deleterious elements, which are known to envenom the Cholera, hydrogen will appear still better adapted to the purpose. The current, as I have traced it hitherto, has been pure Cholera, and I do not believe that any extraneous particles could travel in this fashion across the world in the upper regions ; but I believe that the Cholera is subject to a very important modification, by the attraction and combination of its currents with earthy exhalations. This will presently be discussed. So far the chemical action : we must now endeavour to penetrate into the nervous action of the Cholera. 

Nerves attacked by the Cholera. — To follow up the Cholera in the nervous department, it will be necessary to describe the course and functions of the nerves it attacks. These are, in my belief, the pneumogastric and the great sympathetic— first one and then the other; 



31 

these nerves are so important, that life depends upon the action of both. To give a clearer view of the matter, we must proceed systematically. In the first place, the nerves are divided in a general way into two sets. Those which minister to the mind, and those which carry on the functions of life. The first belong to the animal nervous system, which connects us with the external world, of which the brain and spinal cord form the centre. The others belong to the organic nervous system, the seat of the functions of the vegetative life, of which the great sympathetic is the centre. This nerve presides over the functions of nutrition, circulation, secretion, exhalation, absorption, &c. By its connection with the cerebro-spinal system, it is a channel or medium by which the mind affects the secretions, and thus binds all together in sympathy. The pneuraogastric assists by undertaking the functions of digestion and respiration ; but the branches of both nerves act together in several of the 



32 

organs. Thus the nervous functions may be divided into two classes — animal and organic, or vegetative ; the functions of the organic system may also be divided into two classes — those directed by the sympathetic, and those directed by the pneumogastric ; the functions of the pneumogastric are also separable into two distinct classes — those belonging to digestion, and those belonging to respiration. I will now trace the course of the two nerves. 

Great Sympathetic Nerve. — The great sympathetic is a double nerve extending the whole length and on each side of the spine: it is connected with the spinal nerves throughout by nervous filaments. At each point of its junction with these filaments is a ganglion or nervous centre, from whence proceed nerves that go to the interior, and ramify in the various organs of the vegetative life. Some of the upper ganglions of the great sympathetic unite to form another double nerve, Cl the lesser sympathetic or splanchnic , which is more internal, and the whole, 



33 

descending with their ganglions and plexuses (or net- work of nerves), distributed as occasion requires, form the sympathetic system, exclusively devoted to the functions of the vegetative life. But before I proceed, I must say a word on the ganglions. 

The Ganglions. — The ganglions are the sources of nervous power, and in structure have all the elements of a nervous centre; they draw the nervous principle from the blood, and transmit it to the nerves. In these organs, the nervous principle is probably elaborated and adopted both to the functions of life and the service of the immaterial principle ; these nervous centres are masses of reddish grey vesicular nervous matter, traversed by tubular and gelatinous nervous fibres. The nerves proceed from them, and connect them with their appropriate organs. Throughout the whole nervous system there are but these two forms of nervous matter — vesicles to attract and modify the nervous principle, and tubes to convey it. The vesicles 

D 



34 

are imbedded in blood-vessels, from which they c' i the nervous principle ; the fibres are nductors, and in my idea, the electric of the body. The nervous fibres must be distinguished from the nerves, which are sets of nervous fibres, enclosed in a membraneous sheath, and enveloped in a white pulp. The fibres themselves are of microscopic minuteness ; they never unite or divide, but remain single from end to end ; while the nerves may combine, divide, form networks, and ramify ad infinitum, #hese cords may also contain fibres acting in opposite directions, some for motion and some for sensation, but in no case does the same fibre act in different ways. Every nerve, or rather every nervous trunk, must proceed from a ganglion, whether it be in the animal or organic nervous system — even the brain and spinal cord are composed of a series of gangions closely connected, and the cerebrum and cerebellum, or great and little brain, are two enormously developed ganglions adapted to 



35 

the functions of the immaterial principle. Those belonging to the organic system are more dispersed ; the great sympathetic nerve, which is the nervous centre of this system, is, in fact, a long double chain of ganglions connected by short nerves, and is totally different from the cerebral or spinal nerves. 

The i,first ganglion of this chain is on the second or third vertebra of the spine ; the sympathetic then descends by its double chain of ganglions along the anterior part of the spine, through the cavity of the chest, and (except in one part of its course, which brings it in contact with the principal artery), it follows the spine throughout. The great sympathetic nerve is in communication with the brain ; it communicates with the third, fourth, and sixth cerebral nerves (which are nerves of the eye), and with the opthalmic ganglion. There are seven sympathetic ganglions within the skull. I have been more particular concerning the position of the great sympathetic, because it can be reached by an 

d 2 



36 

external stimulus ; a fact of great importance in Cholera, and in all maladies connected with the loss of animal heat, for its production is one of the functions, or rather the result of one of the functions of this nerve. Having ascertained its position, we must now turn our attention to these functions. They are exclusively those of the vegetative life, such as circulation, secretion, absorption, exhalation, the production of animal heat, &c. In Cholera, all the organs to which the sympathetic sends its nerves, forming plexuses over them, cease to act, showing the particular effect of the malady upon this nervous centre ; struck with atony by the black blood, motion ceases in all its dependencies, while the lungs, being in contact with the atmospheric air, struggle on with the help of the pneumo -gastric nerve.* One of the most important functions 

* This shows the utility of friction of the spine in col - lapse, especially of the upper part, as the ganglions of ti e sympathetic in the neck, send various branches to the lungs and more especially to the heart 



37 

of the sympathetic is the action that it gives to the capillary vessels by means of its branches distributed to their inner coats ; this enables them to propel the blood by insensible contraction, and to compensate for the feeble influence of the heart in this remote part of the circulation. Heat is the result of the chemical changes that take place in the capillary system, and as the cessation of heat, in consequence of the cessation of circulation, is one of the most formidable and characteristic symptoms of the Cholera, I will devote a few lines to a more particular account of this system. 

Capillary System. — The capillary system consists of the last minute ramifications of the veins and arteries. " But," says Bichat, " the capillaries are something more than a point of contact between the arterial and venous system — spread like a network over the body, and forming the very tissue of the organs, the functions of nutrition, secretion, exhalation, absorption, the development of animal heat, 



38 

take place on this area. The red blood enters at one side — the black blood, secretions, exhations, &c., are sent out on the other ; through this channel there is a free communication of the fluids from the head to the feet. This system is governed by its own peculiar laws. Though apparently far removed from the heart's influence, the circulation in the capillaries is effected by the contraction of its ventricles, especially the left, the capillaries themselves ' not possessing any power of motion over their contents ; whatever influence they may seem to exercise, is referable partly to the action of small arteries, and partly to the relation that exists between the tissue outside them and the blood contained in the capillaries, which is known as the vital attraction of the tissues for the blood during the phenomena of secretion and nutrition ; this is most probably influenced by the sympathetic. The capillaries of the lungs, however, form a distinct set under the controul of the pneumogastric nerve, so that there are two systems — 



39 

the general capillary system and the capillary system of the lungs ; the sympathetic spreads in the lungs also, but while it predominates in the heart and in the arteries (deriving assistance from the spinal nerves), the pneumogastric acts exclusively in the red blooded capillaries of the lungs. We must now trace the course of this nerve, which, in its capacity of a stomach nerve, is the first attacked in the Cholera. 

Pneumo-gastric Nerve. — The pneumo-gastric (or, par vagum,) originates in the head, descends into the cavity of the chest, spreads in the lungs, on each lobe of which it forms a plexus or network of nerves, and sends branches to the heart. After supplying the organs of the voice, its two trunks descend upon the back part of the oesophagus to the stomach, on each side of which its branches form a plexus of nerves which control the muscular tissue of this organ ; from thence the pneumo-gastric proceeds to the liver, spleen, and other organs of digestion, in which 



40 

its branches terminate. The pneumo-gastric i; a nerve both of motion and sensation, and the fibres belonging to each function are enveloped in the same sheath. It arises by numerous filaments from the respiratory groove in the medulla oblongata (or prolongation of the spinal cord into the head). Its fibres, however, may be traced deeply through the medulla oblongata to the floor of the fourth ventricle (or vacant space) of the brain, where they terminate. In my idea, the fibres arising from the respiratory groove, must be those of motion, and those terminating in the fourth ventricle of the brain, must be those of sensatio — the first descend, the others ascend. 

The power of voluntary motion of the pneumo-gastric reaches no further than the vocal organs ; the remainder of its course is dedicated to the functions of the organic life. In the lungs it is aided by branches from the tithetic (the latter sending most branches heart, and attending almost exclusively arteries), but the pneumo-gastric acts 



41 

alone in the capillaries of the pulmonary vein, where the change of the black blood into red takes place. It should seem, therefore, that the office of the pnenmo-gastric is of all kinds — it effects voluntary and involuntary motion, sensation, and chemical change; to which may be added the power of transmitting emotion from mental causes to the interior, and shaking the organic system to its very foundation — this power results from its cerebral origin. We see every day that mental suffering affects the lungs, heart, stomach, and liver — all in the course of the pneumo-gastric. The effect is so evident, that the heart has been considered from time immemorial as the seat of the feelings, and the soul has, by some philosophers, been placed in the stomach (it is true that some epicures give an appearance of probability to the latter theory). However this may be, the pneumo-gastric has a versatility of talent that is marvellous, but it abuses its privilege sadly, by inducing disease from mental causes in the organs it traverses — even 



42 

to the throat. We can now understand why the throat is so easily affected by mental emotio — the pneumo-gastric is one of its nerves. This intrusion of a cerebral nerve into the organic system may also account for the influence of the imagination in the Cholera, which is notorious — not that it gives the Cholera ; the causes of the malady lie far deeper, but probably the stomach nerve being excited by the mind, is more liable to a seizure when the Choleraic currents are present. To reckon the pneumo-gastric simply as a branch of the eighth pair of cerebral nerves, would be to treat it with too little ceremony, for it presides over a department of the body. It is the only nerve that connects the brain with the vis¦ cera ; life depends upon the action of the one as well as of the other. I therefore think that the pneumo-gastric resembles the sympathetic in the importance of its function as a nervous centre. 

The pneumo-gastric also deserves particular attention, because its power of conveying 



43 

physical sensation to the interior, causes its influence to be so severely felt ; unlike the sympathetic, which quietly plods on through its round of functions, and gives no sign, unless thrown into an unnatural state by disease, the stomach nerve starts affrighted at every unusual object, grumbles, growls, and quarrels on every occasion, and disturbs all the neighbourhood. But it is a watchful sentinel who will not allow the works to be taken by surprise, and we often owe our safety to its vigilance. No doubt, without a twitch of the pneumo-gastric, we should be even more foolish and imprudent than we are. 

We have now traced the course of the two most important of our nerves; the pneumogastric, with all its turnings, and windings, and vagaries, which have earned for it the appellation of par vagum ; and the great sympathetic, whose branches meander also after their own fashion, instead of going direct to the point like the spinal nerves. The pneumo-gastric, though it seems to be only 



44 

the adjutant of the sympathetic, which is the centre of the organic system, is equally powerful, and even more immediately indispensable to life, for our first breath depends upon it, as it is the sole nerve concerned in the change of the black blood into red in the lungs; and so may our last breath depend upon it, for its division above the lungs would cause instantaneous death by stopping respiration at once. The alert pneumo-gastric is well qualified to perform, on our entering into life, the first of the vital functions, which is a triple operation ; for by this, Ist, the necessary exciting agent is carried into the blood ; 2ndly, the carbon that overloads it is carried off in gas; and 3rdly, animal heat is produced in the lungs by the chemical change. Heat is produced in the general capillary system also, by various chemical changes in the blood ; it is this portion of animal heat, developed by the action of the great sympathetic, that fails in the Cholera.* The general 

* See Appendix, Note 4. 



45 

view I have given of these two nerves will perhaps enable us to detect the course of the malady in the nervous system, and the following is what I suppose it may be. 

Course of the Cholera in the Nervous System. — The course of the Cholera in the nervous system is more discernable when the current is unconnected with terrestial emanations, and the body free from the maladies that veil its real attack ; under such circumstances, the shock which the nerves sustain may be distinctly traced to the pneumo-gastric, and I think I may affirm from personal observation, that the Cholera begins in the pneumo-gastric nerve, and ends in the sympathetic; that is, in the principal organ connected with it, which is the heart.* The 

* According to Dr. Lee, the heart acts independently of the spine ; his researches proving that it is supplied with its own ganglions — but a Bit does receive nerves from the spine, I conclude that they are intended to secure a continuance of action in case the ganglions fail. It is probable that precautions of a similar kind have been adopted with respect to other vital organs. 



46 

progress of the Cholera from the stomach through the nervous system can, I think, be traced in this manner ; a Choleraic current of an electric nature, most probably conveying a gas, strikes the pneu mo-gastric nerve midway on the plexus, which it forms on the surface of the stomach. This will be readily believed by those who have felt the shock ; only, sensations differ — a hand of iron may seem to grasp the whole interior, arresting motion and voice, and showing that the diaphragm, to which the pneumo-gastric sends branches, is spasmodically affected ; or the stomach may be suddenly cleared without sickness or even nausea, showing that the plexus at its upper extremity alone has been struck ; these are facts, to which I can bear witness. 

Course of the Cholera. — My hypothesis respecting this (as I have before stated) is, that a chemical operation takes place, in which a stream of Hydrogen combines with the oxygen of our blood, and forms water, producing a violent commotion in the organs 



47 

by the shock. The blood thus changed into deoxidized or black blood, in the capillary vessels of the stomach, spreads gradually into the circulation, and on reaching the sympathetic, strikes it with atony, the natural consequence of the contact of black blood with the nerves. Of course all the functions over which the sympathetic presides, are arrested — especially the circulation in the general capillary system, which then remains like a block interposed between the veins and arteries, the movement of the blood being impeded not only by its thickness, but by the loss of the nervous power from the sympathetic, which should propel it in these vessels ; the heart which is supplied more by the branches of the sympathetic than by those of the pneumogastric, is not only oppressed by the weight of blood, but reduced in nervous power; it struggles on with the partial assistance of the excitable pneumo-gastric and the stimulus of red blood still received from the lungs by means of this nerve, which here exclusively 



48 

carries on the red-blooded circulation ; but at last the pneumo-gastric is paralysed also by the contact of black blood, the lungs cease to act, and the heart sinks exhausted, which is the death-stroke. All this is in accordance with the oppression and difficulty of breathing, and the whispering " Choleraic voice " in the last stage, for the pneumo-gastric belongs to the organs of respiration and the voice. On dissection, this nerve is found stained of a dark red colour, and the lungs are gorged with black, oily-looking blood, evidently destitute of oxygen. 

Such, I believe, is the Choleraic course, from the stomach round through the nervous system and the circulation to the heart, and here it terminates. There is a shorter road between the stomach and the heart than this round about, for both organs are served by the same nerve, viz. the pneumo-gastric ; but it is by two different sets of ramifications, and the functions are quite distinct, so that the communication is not direct. Besides which, 



49 

the course of movement in a nerve is from the origin to the extremity, and if the Cholera strikes midway, the action will not remount to the lungs, but descend. Sensation, however, ascends, and though the upper works are not the seat of the Cholera at first, the pneumo-gastric does not fail to inform the sensorium that the enemy is firing away at its plexus in the stomach. 

If I have traced the course of the malady correctly, the singular symptom of an opposite mode of action in the two principal nerves of the body is accounted for ; it is an evident fact that the pneumo-gastric is violently agitated, and the sympathetic paralysed — one nerve could not act thus upon the other, even if they joined, which I believe is not the case, though many organs receive branches from both. How, then, is the Choleraic action carried from one nerve to the other? According to my anatomical topography, it is through the medium of the blood, which, in a black state, conveys the malady from the pneumo-gastric 



50 

to the sympathetic branches, and strikes the great sympathetic with atony. That the action of the two great nerves is distinct, may be inferred from the fact that the set of organs governed by the one may be well constituted, and the other quite the contrary. The stomach may be very good, and the circulation very feeble. By what appears to me a wise arrangement, however, most of the organs receive branches from both, whereby a continuance of function is secured when one nerve happens to fail. This is particularly useful in the Cholera, for it is probable that the energy of the pneumo-gastric branches in the heart enables this organ to struggle awhile longer against the atony of the sympathetic. The over-excitement of the pneumo-gastric is not so dangerous as it appears, for it counterbalances the inactivity of the sympathetic, and, as an eminent physician observes, the violent commotion is less to be dreaded than the immobility of the system. It is known that attacks unattended by derangement of 



51 

the digestive organs, and deadening so immediately the sympathetic as to give no warning, are the most fatal. The excitation, if violent, has its evil consequences ; but they are more easily combated than the cold and death-like stillness of the paralysed sympathetic. The stomach is not one of the centres of life, and while the malady is limited to this department, recovery is by no means improbable. The three centres of life are the lungs, the heart, and the brain ; the last retains its power the longest in Cholera, and by a reversed order of the phenomena of death, the soul seems to survive the body ; while the immortal spark still lingers, life may perhaps be fanned into a flame, and we must not despair ; in pure Cholera, it has been saved even at the last — unfortunately the earth yields elements that give it a more formidable character, as we shall now see. But before I discuss it in its worst form, I will just notice a malady which I suspect to be akin to the simple Cholera, 



52 

though 1 have never heard that it was considered as such. 

Influenza. — The malady to which I allude is the Influenza, which usually precedes a Choleraic invasion, and hovers among us while the Cholera broods over Europe. By the Influenza, I do not mean the heavy colds which we so often honoured with that appellation when this epidemic prevails — but the genuine Influenza, characterized by a remarkable defluxion of water from the respiratory organs at the outset, and a congestion of the capillaries of the lungs at the termination.* This resembles the beginning and the end of the simple Cholera, but in the upper works. The same nerve is concerned in both maladies, the pneumogastric, which belongs to the lungs as well as to the stomach, but in this case the upper branch is seized. That the nerves are struck may be inferred from the suddenness with 

* I have known this defluxion continue for weeks as a solitary symptom, and then be followed by a state of the lungs threatening life. 



53 

which attacks of Influenza can take place, for a person may go out well and be carried home, though this is not so likely in Influenza as in Cholera ; an action on the nerves is also shown by the extraordinary sneezing that sometimes ushers in the malady. I heard this mentioned as so sudden and remarkable, that it even had a ludicrous effect when a whole ship's company was seized at once, but it was soon discovered that it was no laughing matter ! This, and the pain over the brow that attends the Influenza, indicate an affection of the sth pair of nerves, which meddles with the eyes and nose ; but as the principal organ affected is the lung, we must turn our chief attention to the pneumo-gastric, the same nerve that is seized by the Choleraic currents in the digestive organs; these organs are sometimes singularly affected after the Influenza, as if the excitation had descended from one to the other; the sympathy of the two departments can only be attributed to the identity of the nerve, for their functions and anatomical position make them 



54 

independent of each other in other respects. If I consider the Influenza in connection with my own hypothesis, I shall say that in this case the pulmonary blood is de-oxidized by streams of hydrogen, instead of de-carbonised (as it ought to be) by streams of oxygen j this would sufficiently explain the congestion of the blood vessels. But whether my hydrogen theory has a real foundation or not, I shall still think that the Influenza is a relation of the Cholera — a noble relation, uncontaminated by earthly emanations — a polite kind of Cholera for the aristocracy, that keeps aloof from noxious exhalations, produced, perhaps, by minor currents of hydrogen proceeding in advance of the great Choleraic current ; however that may be, I think them quite as dangerous, for they attack one of the centres of life, which the stomach is not, for if the former runs its course quicker, at least it is more quickly stopped, and if it is properly treated it need not leave a trace in the constitution, whereas the debility after Influenza is remarkable, 



55 

and often prolonged. The epidemic of 1835, which destroyed so many patients in London, shows its danger, and the necessity of more precaution. The still more violent French Influenza, which they called La Grippe, that raged in Paris in the beginning of this century, was probably of the same nature. In my idea, this was the first appearance of a current, exercising a de-oxidizing influence in Europe, and commencing the series of epidemic invasions that are now become so frequent. After this little digression, which is purely hypothetical, I will proceed to the last section on the nature of the Cholera. 

Chemical Affinities of the Choleraic Current. — We must now encounter the Cholera in a more formidable shape, for though the same nervous and chemical causes are in operation, the chemical cause is envenomed by the affinities of the current. Whatever the nature of the Choleraic agent may be, it is evident that it is attracted by other elements, for, wherever there is decomposition of animal or 



56 

vegetable matter, there the Cholera descends and spreads, if this occurs in its line of march. The disease cannot be engendered by such emanations, for the same process of decomposition produces no true Choleraic phenomena when the Cholera stays at home instead of coming out a visiting ; the disorders caused merely by unhealthy exhalations may arise at any time, and in any locality — but the Cholera has its own times, its own laws, and its own course; it is unique in its nature and origin. This is more observable when it strikes us from above, before its connection with terrestial substances ; unfortunately it has chemical affinities, and the Cholera, contaminated by the marshy air of old Europe, and immersed in the multitudinous gases of our densely peopled cities, is more venomous than the simple current rising from a mineral source, traversing the sunny regions of the east, and passing over parched deserts and thinly peopled districts. Not that there are two kinds of Cholera, for the phenomena that so eminently 



57 

distinguish it are exhibited in both cases, but the addition of an element causes an important modification of the malady — at least such is my view of the subject — resulting from the circumstance that my acquaintance with the Cholera was in its unsophisticated state — which unhappily is less the rule than the exception. 

Combination of Hydrogen with Sulphur. — Hitherto I have sought the simple element of the Cholera. I must now endeavour to find the element with which it combines, and the compound that it forms in the human system. The symptoms of Cholera in corrupted air give reason to suppose that this compound is poisonous — my surmise is, that Choleraic currents of hydrogen are attracted by sulphur, emitted from organic substances in a state of decomposition ; and, combining with it, of course produce sulphuretted hydrogen. Animal and vegetable substances, in returning to their primitive elements, give out gases that have a very deleterious effect, of which the 



58 

watchful care of Providence makes ns aware of the sense of smell — the combination of hydrogen and sulphur forms one of these compounds, and on their affinity for each other, I build my hypothesis.* My idea is, that if Choleraic currents strike dead matter before they reach living matter, instead of descending upon us at once from the atmosphere, they acquire a malignant quality — the nerves of the stomach are struck by sulphuretted hydrogen, instead of pure hydrogen, and this produces a modification of the Cholera. Sulphuretted hydrogen, when undiluted, is a sedative poison, and productive of other poisons even worse than itself. Fetid emanations may at all times cause diseases of a putrid kind, as typhus and dysentery, but they do not elicit Cholera, unless it broods over the country, which shows that corruption is not the original source of this malady. Such combinations, however, in Choleraic times are deadly, in whatever manner they are effected, and experience proves 

* See Appendix, Note 5. 



59 

it by warnings that cannot be neglected with impunity.* All kinds of filth are dangerous, but the exhalations from dead bodies are the worst, and their effect was so sudden and violent in the Dobrutchka, that the Turkish soldiers, following the Russians in their retreat, often died of Cholera in a few minutes. If a Choleraic current of sulphuretted hydrogen is carried into our system, it may possibly act thus : — the hydrogen having a stronger affinity for oxygen than for sulphur will quit the latter, and combining with our oxygen in proper proportions, form water, as in simple Cholera, while the sulphur, being liberated, will combine with a further portion of oxygen and form sulphureous acid — a compound not so acid as sulphuric acid, but still sufficiently disagreeable to offend the best tempered stomach. Such a chemical change would require the presence of electricity ; but the Choleraic current, and the nerves of the stomach can supply this article, both positive and negative, 

* See Appendix, Note 5. 



60 

and thus produce the evolution of internal heat so remarkable in the Cholera. Indeed, T would attribute the peculiarities of this malady to the intervention of electricity. The formation of an acid poison is the more probable, as many of the best Choleraic remedies are antidotes to such poisons, such as alkalies, oils, magnesia, white of egg in sugar and water, &c. The contraction of the stomach in the centre, forming two cavities (as seen by dissection), also shows the violent irritation of some acrid agent. Whether an action of this kind does take place in the human system, is of course a matter of conjecture, but at all events the operation I suggest is strictly chemical, and the connection between sulphuretted hydrogen and the Cholera is a fact. It is remarkable that though these agents have a private understanding with each other, they do not agree in their views ; one tends to putridity, and the other not — which may account for some anomalies in the Cholera, and for the difference observable in its mode of attack. 



61 

According as the nervous or the chemical agency prevails, we shall find the Cholera sudden in attack and cure, as in the pure electrified air of France, or slowly developing itself with premonitory symptoms, as described by Dr. Strange, in the more debilitating air of England. His detail of symptoms combines the languor, chilliness, weariness, smallness of pulse, and mental depression of low fever, with the internal pains, violent commotion, coldness of the tongue, heaviness, shrivelled state of the skin, and rice water phenomenon that belongs to Cholera, showing that the nerves have been struck, though perhaps not perceptibly. In some of our healthy situations, however, I have known the attack as sudden and as easily counteracted by immediate nervous treatment, as on the heights above Paris, where the nervous shock given to persons in full health was evident enough. The vitiated Cholera is of course the most dangerous, for though the simple Cholera is more rapid in its progress, the other is more 



62 

tenacious. In the one, recovery is as quick as attack, if we use the right nervous medicines in right time — it is merely functional ; if the blood is set in motion again, the patient recovers, and no trace of the malady remains ; but in the low kind, the blood is more affected, the living powers are more depressed, restoration is slower, and consecutive fever more frequent ; if the air is not purified, the cause continues to act, and recovery is very difficult. 

Apparent Irregularity of the Cholera. — The Cholera seems to take leaps from one place to another far distant ; the doctrine of terrestial attraction may account for this apparent irregularity — the current moves forwards, till it is brought down by some of its affinities. It is easy to understand that a continuous current that would otherwise pass harmlessly over our heads, may be attracted !y terrestial emanations ; the Cholera may jorn the imputation of being capricious ; lithful to the unclean, it steadily shows its 



63 

tendency to dwell among them, and we know that care and vigilance can secure us from its worst form of attack ; in pure air its currents rush on — in impure air they are arrested, and diffuse their pernicious influence — no longer like the mountain torrent that sweeps down what lies in its narrow channel, it spreads like an inundation over a noisome surface, and leaves it not till it is exhausted. 

Summary. — I will now give a brief summary of my surmises. I have presented them with very different degrees of confidence; the first, indeed, respecting currents, can hardly be called a surmise, the fact seems so evident 

¦ — but it forms the foundation of the remainder. Some of my notions will, I fear, appear very hypothetical, but they may perchance contain some useful hints. 

Summary : — 

1. The Cholera proceeds in currents. 

2. The Choleraic current is a gas, conducted by electricity and magnetism. 

3. The gas may be hydrogen. 



64 

4. The hydrogen gas may combine with the oxygen of the blood, and form the Choleraic watery fluid, leaving the deoxidized blood black and oily. 

5. This chemical change, effected by an electric and nervous action in the stomach, may be the cause of the evolution of heat in the interior. 

6. The contact of the deoxidized blood must cause the atony of the great sympathetic nerve, the loss of action in the capillaries, and consequently the loss of heat in the exterior. 

7. The affinity of the Choleraic current for certain elements may produce a modification of the malady, and thus present two forms of Cholera ; one simple, the other, intensified by a poisonous combination. 

8. The current thus formed may be sulphuretted hydrogen, and the compound produced in the stomach, sulphureous acid. 

So far the nature and action of the Choleraic agent — respecting its first origin, and its course, my supposition is the following. 



65 

9. The gas originates in the volcanic depths of the earth, from a peculiar distribution of minerals, subject to occasional irruptions of water. 

10. The course of the current through the atmosphere is in the direction of the magnetic pole. 

11. The course of the Cholera in the human system is through the pneumo-gastric nerve to the gqgat sympathetic, commencing at the plexus at the cardiac or upper extremity of the stomach, and ending in the heart and lungs. 

12. Lastly, the Cholera is not contagious or infectious in its simple form. 

These notions have all been explained except the last, and I will conclude this little treatise with a few observations on contagion. 

Infection.— l believe it is at last acknowledged that we have calumniated the Cholera by calling it infectious. Still it does, under certain circumstances, appear communicable, and as some doubt and apprehension remaius 



66 

in the minds of many timid individuals, I am anxious to add my testimony to its innocence of any such malignant propensity ; at least, in air uncontaminated by filth and disease — and even then, I am perfectly convinced that, from its nature, the malady is not caught by the breath or the touch of the patient, but is derived from the same atmospheric cause, whatever that may be. That a malady is epidemic, that is, that numbers have the same^disease because they inhale the same air, is one thing ; but that we should inhale it from the human system, is another ; and the difference is not always heeded. In order to impart the malady, the blood must undergo a greater change than it does in simple Cholera, for if its constitution were altered, mere abstraction by venesection could not effect the sudden cures for which the malady is remarkable. According to my hypothesis, the blood in simple Cholera is not contaminated nor changed by new combinations, but is only deprived of an element which can be restore 



67 

— this cannot be communicable ; but if we adulterate the Cholera with putrid fever (we adulterate everything in England !) we catch the fever and the Cholera with it. 11 Evil communications corrupt good manners," says the old adage, and the Cholera owes much of its bad reputation to its unfortunate partiality for low connections. If there is any truth in my hypothesis that a Choleraic current, combined with an emanation from corrupted matter, forms a poison in the stomach, the doctrine of non-infection can still remain, for poisoned persons do not communicate their state of body, unless the venom be of a nature to corrupt the blood — this would be more likely if it were an animal poison, but I suppose it to be mineral, viz., sulphureous acid. Real proof may be brought forward that the patients can be nursed with impunity, in rooms properly ventilated, and we may discard our fears, and those horrors of the imagination which so enervate us, that we are struck by the first current we meet, and 

p2 



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then fancy that a friend has bestowed it upon us.* We should observe that one of the peculiarities of these currents is to proceed in a particular line, say one side of a stream, or one side of a street, while the other side escapes entirely; if the malady were infectious, how could we manage to give it to each other on one side of the way and not on the other? These atmospheric currents are pure, for they have no smell whatever till they form a combination with decaying organised matter ; their narrow onward course is notorious, and very perceptible in the open country, and in well ventilated streets ; but the line of demarcation is not so evident in crowded cities, where all is thrown into one abyss of destruction, and infection seems to rage. This, however, is only owing to the malignant combinations formed by the currents, and we should probably find that a stranger entering an uncleaned city, would take the disease before he had seen a single Choleraic patient. The fact 

* See Appendix, Note 6. 



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is, that the Cholera itself does not corrupt the blood — if it were malignant, it would not answer the same ultimate benevolent purpose, which, I do not doubt, is the purification of the earth, for it would add considerably to the quantity of its putrid miasma; whereas these are only its mischievous allies, they are* more or less under human control, and here lies the moral of the dispensation — the cause that draws down the Cholera is removable j were it unavoidable, this visitation would lose its utility ; as it is, the Cholera compels us to purify this earth, this fair and beautiful production of the Divine Hand, sullied by the sinful negligence of man ; for we must either avert the evil, or become its victims. We would fain act upon the current ; that would be less trouble, but the moral purpose would not be answered — no; the aerial course eludes our grasp, glides over us like the shadow of death, and proves its reality by its fatal combination with terrestial elements which it is our duty to remove. This plague does not 



70 

belong to us, it does not arise in Europe — and if it was not brought down, it would perhaps expend itself far, far away, and be lost in the unpolluted air of the Polar Seas, where the barren icy rocks give out no animal and vegetable matter, and no element of disease. Let us therefore ascertain its points of attraction, and let their destruction stand foremost in the list of preventives, thanking Heaven for the degree of power that has been granted to us over this new and appalling malady. Those who are subject to unreasonable alarms may be assured that, except under very unfavourable circumstances, an attack is easily avoided by the use of prudent precautions ; and as these precautions are not only useful to health at all times, but conducive to the moral and regular habits of life in general, we may here see what is often concealed from the view of blind mortals — that the most grievous dispensations of Providence may be beneficial. Unlike the evils that result from human frailty or wickedness, those which are sent by unerring 



71 

wisdom must have a wise end ; let us therefore reserve all repinings for the consequences of our own follies. The Cholera comes like a mighty purifier to compel nations to seek into the causes of disease and want that lie corrupting within their deep recesses, and to clear out the filth that would else remain undisturbed for ages, with resistless power; this scourge destroys the drunkard, the gormandiser, the sloven resting supinely on his mound of dirt — like the tempest, the whirlwind, and the earthquake, which produce necessary changes in the globe, and cause partial evil and general good, the Cholera has its uses, and proves that even disease and death can be turned to the general advantage by Divine Wisdom. It is a warning to all to prepare for what may be called sudden death, it is a messenger from Heaven to rouse the mind slumbering in fancied security, to call forth the dormant virtues of charity, neighbourly love, fortitude and presence of mind, to awaken our energies, and direct them to 



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general utility, and to induce us to be at peace with all with whom we may be called suddenly to appear before the Heavenly Tribunal. 



A P P E N I) 1 1. 





75 

NOTES TO PART I. 

Note 1. p. 7. 

COURSE OF THE CHOLERA. 

The eccentricities of the Cholera give it the appearance of deviating from a northwesterly course; but if we consider that course in a general way, we shall find that the main currents do go north-west, and that the irregularities must proceed from branches, thrown off right and left, which are attracted by various causes, such as bad air, bad water, or a dense and dirty population. Dr. Watson describes the course of the Cholera thus : — " The course of 



76 

the Cholera in 1817 could be distinctly traced towards our own shores, approaching with halting and slow, but sure steps, in a north-west direction. From India it spread to Persia, thence to Russia, across to Poland, to Germany, and at length it reached Hamburgh. Fourteen years after, it reached the eastern coast of our own country, and broke out at Sunderland, and thence it extended all over our island." Its crossing to America I can only account for by the mysterious manner in which it seems to be conveyed without being contagious. This does not disprove the fact that it spreads northwards from the country in which it originates, and not southwards. It does not turn towards the Antarctic regions, and it is remarkable, that although it rages as an epidemic north of the Equator, this never takes place to the south of it. I have have lately stumbled upon a letter, addressed by Dr. Stratford to the Editor of the " Southern Cross," at Auckland, in which he affirms that the Cholera does not, and can not, pre- 



77 

vail as an epidemic to the south of the Equator, as the electric state of the air in the Southern hemisphere does not allow of it. 

Note 2. p. 11. 

CURRENTS. 

A fact I will here mention is probably connected with the existence of Choleraic currents. While the Cholera was raging at Bristol, in the year 1849, a lady residing at Clifton told me that the plants in her balcony, which she had left in their usual healthy condition over night, presented one morning an extraordinary appearance, as if a destructive current had passed over them. One plant was blackened and killed, as if scathed by lightning, and the two on either side were partially withered and blackened. The Cholera never showed itself at Clifton, except in a few isolated cases ; but if this was a Choleraic current, 1 have an idea that it was a branch thrown off from the main current, and that it 



78 

probably followed the course of the river below, fronting this lady's house at a little distance. 

Note 3. p. 28. 

ORIGIN OF THE NERVOUS INFLUENCE. 

The discovery that the nervous influence does not originate in the brain, and other nervous centres, but that these organs obtain it from the blood gives more plausibility to my theory, in which I derive it from vital air, for it makes it more easy to trace the real source of this influence to the atmosphere. We know that it is from the air that the blood derives its power of giving the necessary concussion to the living organs ; oxygen gas, which constitutes a fourth part of atmospheric air, is what we all recognise as vital air. For this I have sought the nervous influence, not in the oxygen, but in the electricity combined with it ; for oxygen, though of vital importance, cannot produce motion and sensation ; it carries off the superfluous carbon of 



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the blood, and it forms part of our substance, but it must be the subtle and energetic agent combined with it, that produces the nervous phenomena, and this is electricity, to which I suppose oxygen owes its form of gas,* whereby it is enabled to effect a kind of combustion in the lungs, and to carry off the carbon of the blood. Oxygen gas being combined with negative electricity! is eminently adapted to act upon our other elements, as these, being combined with positive electricity, must attract it. Probably it is on account of its monopoly of negative electricity that oxygen has been so widely diffused in nature ; for it not only forms the fourth part of the atmosphere, but ninetenths of the waters of the globe, and nearly half of its crust, besides constituting a fourth part of dried muscular flesh. I apprehend tnat the grand depot of negative electricity is 

* Sir Humphrey Davy attributed the elasticity of the gases to electricity (see Mrs. Marcett's Conversations on Chemistry.) 

f Oxygen and chloroform are almost the only elements naturally combined with negative electricity. 



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the atmosphere, the depot of positive electricity the earth, and that they both combine in the human body (and fine pranks they play there !) where they are converted into animal electricity, (or galvanism) either in the nervous centres, or in the red corpuscles of the blood, which are supposed to be of a glandular nature, and are highly oxygenated. According to this view, the nerves derive the nervous influence from the brain and other nervous centres, these derive it from the blood, and the blood derives it from the atmosphere, which is therefore the natural and inexhaustible reservoir of the stimulus of life, exemplifying the admirable mechanism by which the circulation of the elements secures a never ending supply of all that is indispensable in the general operations of nature. I have brought forward my theory respecting the nature of vital air, because it appears to me to have some connection with the nervous phenomena of the Cholera, though the hypothesis was built up many years before the malady appeared, or I 



81 

knew of such a malady. It also shows the importance of attending to the air we breathe, a subject that has only called forth our particular attention within a few years. 

Note 4, p 44. 

COLD. 

Perhaps a little attention paid to the sympathetic nerves of our soldiers, during the siege of Sebastopol, might have preserved them from the dreadful kind of chill, which was, at the time, attributed to weather, but I am convinced was of a Choleraic nature. The following is the account extracted from the public papers : — " Cold in the East. It is bitterly cold, that clammy, deadly cold of these climates against which no clothes seem to protect you. It is a cold which is not felt in the chest, nor hands, nor feet, as our cold in Europe is, but it is sure to strike first at the stomach. You were well just now, and trying, with all the philosophy at your command, to be jovial under difficulties. Suddenly 



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you are seized with agonising pains just below the chest. In vain you try to make light, of it ; you are obliged to lean for support against the first thing or person you find ; your extremities have become chilled and useless, you sit and double yourself up, hoping something from warmth and quiet. At last you lie down and writhe in the intensity of your pain. If you are driven to take brandy (hot bran dy-and- water is best), you feel a peculiar sickness for some minutes, and then the pain slowly subsides, ; but it leaves you stupid and depressed afterwards, and trembling and nervous. The only way to give yourself a chance of escape, is by winding some twenty yards of silken or woollen sash tightly round the loins. It is the custom of the country, the dress of the peasant and the prince, and you will soon understand that it Siot been adopted without a reason. This ;he commencement of the sickness which id off numbers of our troops ; the doccalled it Cholera, it was only cold." I are the doctors were right, it must have 



83 

been cold chemically produced within the body, by a Choleraic current direct from the atmosphere.* I see here a shock given to the pneumo-gastric nerve exactly on the plexus, which it forms at the upper or cardiac extremity of the stomach. The suddenness and violence of the pain, its seat, and the coldness of the limbs following not preceding internal derangement, show that the chill is caused by a chemical action within, instead of the simple action of cold without. According to my theory, the shock given by a Choleraic current to the pneumo'-gastric nerve, is in this instance followed instantly by its effect on the great sympathetic, for on the latter depends the production of internal heat in the digestive organs ; the action in this case is so rapid, that nearly the whole heat of the body is evolved at once. I have never heard that this was the usual effect of mere cold in the East. The preventive also shows that it is something particular, for a non-electric (i.e. silk), is found to prevent the attack, probably by defending the body from the electric Choleraic current. 



84 

Note 5, p. 58. 

POTATOE DISEASE. 

It has occurred to me that the potatoe disease which has usually appeared when the Cholera was brooding over some part of Epe, may be caused by some stray Choj currents striking this vegetable. If the current is hydrogen, perhaps it may be attracted by whatever portion of sulphur may be in the potatoe (for sulphur is present in most bodies), and it will then form sulphuretted hydrogen, which is the more likely, as diseased potatoes give out a bad smell. Their seizure is as sudden as a Choleraic attack — a field of potatoes, looking healthy, will, in the course of the night, change its appearance, smell bad, and turn black. This is analogous to the fact mentioned in Note 2 : the flowers were suddenly struck in the night, became black, and looked charred. Perhaps a current of hydrogen, combining with the sulphur of the plant, produces a kind of combustion. 

* 



85 

Note 6, p 68. 

CONTAGION. 

Among other good anti-contagionist authorities, I may quote Dr. Bell (nephew to the late Sir Charles Bell), who cured thousands of the Cholera in Persia, where he was physician to the Embassy. He denies emphatically the infectiousness of which the Cholera has been suspected. He considers it as an ague, the attack being the first fit, prolonged even to death, therefore no more contagious than ague. The Cholera, however, is infectious when it is combined with the animal poisons that are produced by filth, though there is no danger of that hazard when it is pure. The Roman ague becomes infectious after the third fit, at least it assumes a putrid tendency; this is probably owing to some animal poison that lurks in the earthy emanations that produce the Italian malaria. Impure air is the cause of an important modification of the Cholera, which should be 



86 

borne in mind, for it will preserve us from fear as long as it is only a nervous attack easily arrested by nervous medicines (provided they are the right ones), and on the other hand, it will induce us to use every means possible to 'prevent its becoming infectious. The cases are as different as those of typhus mitior, and typhus gravior — one is a nervous fever, not catching, the other is the putrid, or goal fever, highly infectious, the result of inhaling air corrupted by animal poisons. The want of proper drainage is the most usual cause of the latter, and by making the malady epidemic, victimises the upper classes, those whose office it is to remedy the deject being among the number. High and low must feel the effect of a poisoned atmosphere, and impure water, which is also too often caused by neglect. The Roman ague seems to dissolve the blood, and the constitution is affected by it for years after. Perhaps it may be analogous to the consecu- B" the Cholera, which is said to be like the fever, putrid and infectious. Dr. Bell 



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attributes the loss of heat in the ague to the atony of the great sympathetic nerve, the activity of which is indispensable to the production of animal heat. Now the same phenomenon takes place in the Cholera, but in an aggravated form, to which is added the suspension of the action of the heart, which is chiefly carried on by nerves derived from the sympathetic. These characteristic attributes of the Cholera are of a nervous nature, and show a nervous not an infectious malady ; certainly not, as long as it is not combined with putrid miasma, but the neglect of cleanliness and ventilation may give it a putrid character. Dr. Bell observes that pure primary Cholera is rare in England, where it is more usually combined with two maladies that are infectious. For this reason, probably, venesection, which Dr. Bell used with success in Persia, was not found suitable in this country ; but his medicine, combining quinine and iron, has proved inestimable, where it has been tried. 

As the Cholera attacks the red globules of the blood, which contain iron, I suppose 



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that the medicine supplies the deficiency of this ingredient, while the tonic enables the fibres of the blood-vessels to contract and propel their contents. The lectures of this mild, calm, and reflecting physician are very interesting, but I believe are out of print. Before I dismiss the subject, I wish to mention that my hypothesis respecting the nature of the Cholera, formed before I was acquainted with Dr. Bell's, agrees with it, by ascribing the fatal effect of the attack to the atony of the great sympathetic ; . only I have ventured a little further, and endeavoured to find the original cause of this atony, which, I think, must be a more general one than malaria, as I have seen the Cholera where no malaria existed, evidently descending from the air, and not ascending from the earth. 



Printed by A. Schulze, 13, Poland Street. 



ERRATA. 

Page 13, line 4, for occasion, read occasion ; Page 24, line 13, for vessels, read vessel. 

Page 29, line 5, for strikes as through, read strikes through. Page 34, line 12, for ad infinitum, these cords, read ad inflni- 

turn. These cords 

Page 86, line 16, for deject, read defect. 

Page 86, line 23, for consecutive of the Cholera, read consecutive fever of the Cholera. s