V 0 
. , SE RE' Dr. A. C. Cunningham. A. M. M. D. 
Professor at the Vnirrrsity College, London. THE 
MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED; 
OR, 
©nibe to Rje Sne^erietUEb: 
THE ORIGIN AND PROGRESSION OF DISEASES, AND THEIR 
EFFECTUAL REMEDIES J OR, 
The Confidential Doctor at Home. 
BY A PHYSICIAX. 
NEW YORK; 
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
1 845. THE MYSTERY OF 
DISEASE REVEALED. 
The Author does not intend, within the 
province of this work, to go into the detail 
of the treatment of those diseases inci- 
dental to the younger branches of persons 
living in largely inhabited cities, but merely 
to point out the most simple and efficacious 
means, by which they may not only rid 
themselves of the pernicious consequen- 
ces, but as far as possible destroy the oc- 
currence of such diseases. The diseases 
attendant upon the excessive gratification of 
the sexual passions, have been so often dwelt 
upon, their sad effects so often portrayed, 
that too many have lost sight of the end in 
view, namely, to check the occurrence, and 
have given such scope to their imagina- tions, that it has served only to plunge 
the mystery in still greater darkness. The 
press is teeming with works calculated to 
inspire terror in those who have unfortu- 
nately contracted the venereal taint. The 
public taste has been surfeited with the 
observations of authors upon all diseases 
incidental to male and female, originating 
from an impure connection, or an exces- 
sive venery. And what is the origin of 
all this ? Look at the thousand “ no cure 
no pay ” doctors, as they term themselves, 
and will you wonder at the result ? Look 
into the columns of the innumerable daily 
and weekly papers that flood our land, and 
see their pages filled with the nostrums of 
pretending Quacks, and will you be amazed 
at the present condition, lamentable indeed, 
of the healing art ? Look at the thousand 
horrid aspects which the disease assumes, 
and you will find them mostly to occur 
from previous mismanagement;—nay, I 
may almost say, consummate mal-practice. 
It is time the public mind was aroused 
to a sense of its danger. It is full time 
THE MYSTERY OF 5 
that fell monster, Quackery, was trodden 
beneath the feet of all intelligent citizens ; 
it is time the fatal arrow wTas hurled at 
this demon, by the iron arm of vengeance. 
The community has been outraged by 
the administration of its deadly poisons; 
the rugged hue of health has been snatched 
from the cheek of our offspring by its in- 
sidious grasp; the blessings of society 
have been perverted by its false and de- 
ceptive allurements; the very temple of 
sanctity has been polluted, and made the 
dwelling of its villainous machinations. 
And are these things to be suffered by an 
intelligent public 1 Are our offspring still 
doomed to feel the blight of its withering 
breath ? No : the course of this monster 
must be stayed; the gray hairs of man- 
hood no longer shall be borne down by the 
diseases it leaves in its track. Our youth 
shall no longer feel that corroding fire 
which rankles in the very soul; the hands 
of all honest men shall be held up against 
its further progress. For the total anni- 
hilation of this vender of disease, this en- 
DISEASE REVEALED. 6 
courager of crime, let every one take an 
active part. Your sons and your daugh- 
ters demand it; the very end for which 
society was formed demands it; the reli- 
gion of your country demands it; the hap- 
piness of your domestic fireside impels you 
on to its annihilation. Then do not en- 
courage it. Do not invite a guest among 
your family to mar its future happiness. 
If you are unfortunate, consult those who 
have.devoted their lives to the acquire- 
ment of their profession. Tell your friends 
to do likewise. Encourage none but those 
who are willing to stand or fall by their 
merits, and let wisdom and judgment rule 
in the place of ignorance and deceit. Then, 
and not till then, will the medical profes- 
sion be esteemed; then will the host of 
ills which follow in the train of Quackery 
be dispersed. Let no one’s judgment be 
influenced by the gaudy and voluminous 
sign-boards of “ Medical Institute,” “ Col- 
lege of Pharmacy,” &c.; but rather con- 
sult him who, by arduous study and a lau- 
dable enterprise, has acquired his princi- 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
7 
pies of profession. Then will the Doctor 
be distinguished from the ignorant dolt; 
then will the man of science be separated 
from the base pretender. It is not my 
province to undertake a reform in this re- 
spect ; the public have borne the evil, and 
they must seek the remedy. It has suf- 
fered from the invasion, and it must seek 
its own redress. It is only for me to point 
out the manner in which it may be done; 
the public then must act upon the sugges- 
tion. It is, unequivocally to denounce all 
dealers in nostrums and venders of patent 
medicines. To maintain a true respect 
for the profession, that profession whose 
trust and importance is next to the profes- 
sion of religion and Christianity. Never 
to patronise any save those, who have 
bound themselves under the sanctity of an 
oath to preserve, as far as possible, the 
physical nature of their fellow man. Then 
will Quackery no longer thrive and fatten 
upon the misfortunes of others. 
But upon this subject I have said suffi- 
cient to convince any one, whose mind is 8 
THE MYSTERY OF 
opened to reason and truth. I feel if these 
few suggestions, which are as palpable as 
true, are regarded, the result for which I 
have so ardently striven will be obtained. 
I will now enter upon the consummation 
of my object, and that is, to show the im- 
portance of the two great evils to which 
man in his nature is prone, viz., inconti- 
nence and excessive venery. To show 
their effects upon the prolongation of life ; 
to show how far each of them may be en- 
joyed ; and lastly, the evil consequences 
following in their train, providing they be 
abused. Incontinence is unchastity ; the 
inability to restrain the amorous passions. 
There are some persons who, from an im- 
pure education, are so ardent, whose de- 
sires are so uncontrolable, that they blindly 
rush into one of two great evils, onanism, 
or too frequent sexual intercourse ; and as 
the desire increases in proportion to the 
gratification of the appetite, just so, upon 
the other hand, is it diminished by non- 
intercourse. At the age of puberty, the 
most moral and most chaste arc assailed 9 
with feelings and desires, that, though 
young and unanticipated, yet when pre- 
sent and little interpreted, are so urgent 
and imperious that if not satisfied in a 
legitimate manner, passion and instinct 
are always prone to point out a means of 
gratification. In the male, the imagination 
commanding a greater range than in the fe- 
male, and nourished by associations with 
the practices of this world, elicits conse- 
quences explanatory of life’s purposes. 
And the youth, after having once experi- 
enced, perhaps unsolicited, and possibly 
during sleep, the agony of seminal secre- 
tion, can hardly withstand the afterward 
tempting pleasure of seeking a self-repe- 
tition of such solitary indulgences, which 
the forbidden union of the sexes at this 
early age may urge him to. Setting aside 
the unmanliness of the act, it is necessary 
that youth should be made aware of the 
evil consequences following the abuse of a 
given function by such an unnatural means 
of gratification. There is no emotion of 
the mind or exertion of the body that pro- 
DISEASE REVEALED. 10 
THE MYSTERY OF 
duces effects so debilitating, or such a com- 
plete nervous prostration, as the act of sex- 
ual intercourse; and it can be easily seen 
how horrid must be the excessive indul- 
gence of such a practice. 
Health consists in a due performance of 
all the functions of the body, and an undue 
exercise of them is very sure to lead to a 
very deleterious state of the system and a 
disturbance of the animal economy. In 
ordinary sexual intercourse there ensue 
particular phenomena, namely, the circula- 
tion is powerfully aroused, the heart beats 
violently, the blood is driven forcibly to 
the brain, great mental exaltation is in- 
duced, and instances have been known 
where death has suddenly crushed the 
transport. The too frequent repetition of 
such excitement cannot fail of producing 
positive injurious effects, and wear out the 
system, and disease the overwrought or- 
gans—the heart and brain particularly— 
upon the healthy condition of which the 
health of the entire frame rests. Hence 
the diseases of the libertine are unusual DISEASE REVEALED. 
11 
physical weakness, consumption and men- 
tal imbecility, all the result of disordered 
circulation and impaired nervous powder. 
If therefore such consequences follow a 
waste of the allotted privileges of man, 
how much more severe must they be that 
arise from complete nervous exhaustion; 
that which transpires from an absolute 
stretch of an already perverted imagi- 
nation ; from, in fact, imaginary pleasures, 
instead of those springing from the in- 
stinctive stimulus imparted by a warm and 
natural connection with women? Mark 
the offspring of those who have indulged too 
frequently in sexual commerce-; who, by 
oft-repeated coition, have so withered the 
constitution as to deprive it almost entirely 
of its pristine vigor. Do you see them 
possessing all the blessings of health ? On 
the contrary are they not pale, scrofulous, 
emaciated, surviving scarcely their tenth 
year? and if, perchance, they may have 
attained that age, they are oftentimes the 
prey of idiocy—demented, consumptive, 
subject to all the ills to which flesh is heir. 12 
Such are only a portion of the evil conse- 
quences following in the train of inconti- 
nency. The moral energies of such are 
so prostrated, so weakened, so completely 
shipwrecked, as to require the constant 
aid of stimuli to satisfy that longing thirst 
for excitement, without which the victim 
could not satiate its perverted desires, and, 
like the fuel to the flame, only adding to 
its own destruction. 
Where is the daily habitation of such 
youths ? Is it not the public brothel, 
the gaming-house, the theatre ;—in fact, 
wherever their uncontrolable desires may 
feed on their own destruction ? And what 
is the future end of such, and to how great 
lengths do their incontinent passions carry 
them ? Look to our penitentiaries, our 
workhouses, our asylums, our hospitals ; 
and two-thirds of their numerous inmates 
you will find the victims to their own in- 
continent desires, or the offspring of those 
who, by oft-repeated coitions, have so 
shipwrecked the system as to transmit to 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASK REVEALED. 
13 
their offspring the seeds of disease of which 
they were the recipients. 
Let any one, even with a limited ac- 
quaintance, recollect such of his former as- 
sociates, before they had leaped into the 
whirlpool of their own incontinent pas- 
sions. Let him recall the gay-lit counte- 
nance, the ruddy and prominent cheek, the 
sparkling and lively eye, the plump and 
well-filled neck,—in fact, let him compare 
them then, and now; and how sad, how 
disheartening the change ! The same being 
can hardly now be recognised, his consti- 
tution is so broken, his mind so imbecile. 
That there are exceptions, I freely admit; 
but such is the too frequent portraiture of 
those who have indulged too freely in their 
own libidinous desires. 
MARRIAGE. 
That marriage is the greatest blessing 
conferred on man, since the foundation of 
the world, no one can deny ; and as an ar- 
gument in favor of marriage, was there 14 
not a companion formed immediately for 
the great father of our race, to perpetuate 
the blessed ties of connubiality ? That 
marriage, on the other hand, is sometimes 
productive of ill effects, every one will 
freely admit. How striking is the appear- 
ance only, much less the bodily condition, 
of married persons of both sexes, within 
one or two years after their union, espe- 
cially if the match be a youthful one. Ob- 
serve how the countenance assumes, when 
thoughtful, the care worn aspect. Observe 
how, here and there a furrowed imprint is 
shown upon the blanched cheek; the eye is 
deprived of its lustre, the face has lost the 
hue of health, the lips are livid: in fact, na- 
ture appears to be exhausted, so great a 
drain has been established upon her eco- 
nomy. Mark, also, the decayed health 
and spirits; hear the bitter complaint of 
head-aches, side-aches, short-sightedness; 
and behold, perhaps, the puny, sickly off- 
spring, “ muling and puking in the nurse’s 
arms.” This picture may be held up as a 
ridiculous one, but I defy a denial of its 
THK MYSTERY OF 15 
unhappily too frequent illustration in real 
life. 
Although there are some ill effects fol- 
lowing the consummation of the marriage 
ties, still it were more obedient to reason, 
for the perpetuation of the human family; 
for the comfort, health, and well-being of 
society, that it should be preserved as the 
most holy and consecrated of all earthly 
ties. 
I think it not amiss in this place to pre- 
sent to the youth, who are anxiously look- 
ing forward to the consummation of the 
connubial vow, a few hints, by means of 
which they may not only increase the 
pleasure of the act, but add to the comfort 
and happiness of their mates, and insure a 
healthy and vigorous offspring. In the 
first place, attention should be paid to her 
physical formation, the colour of the eyes, 
the hair, the appearance of the skin. To 
insure a happy union and healthy progeny, 
we will suppose the male to be of a robust 
constitution, young, vigorous, and in every 
respect the personification of health. He 
DISEASE REVEALED. 16 
desires a connection with some one pos- 
sessed of all the qualifications of perfect 
physical endowments, for the advance- 
ment of his pleasures, the gratification of 
his passions, and the perpetuity of his natu- 
ral faculties. Great care should be taken 
that the couple be not too dissimilar, either 
in height, years, or temperament. If you 
have too great a seniority in years, the oflf- 
spring will be weak, puny, delicate of stat- 
ure, with a great flaccidity of muscle, and 
finally drop into a premature grave. If 
the difference in physical endowments be 
too great, or there be too great a dissimi- 
larity in the organs of copulation, great 
unhappiness, with both male and female, 
will be the consequence. There will not 
be a sufficient gratification of the sexual 
appetite, and they will either seek to sa- 
tiate that uncontrolable passion elsewhere, 
upon the bosom of some paramour, as is 
unfortunately too often the case, or fall a 
prey to despondency, and their too un- 
happy situation. On the part of the fe- 
male, if her copulative organs be unnatu- 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE UEVEALED. 
17 
rally large, and there is a fruitful connec- 
tion, and where there is such a dissimi- 
larity in the organs ; it can hardly be ex- 
pected but that before the time of child- 
birth takes place, she will be subject to all 
the ills and inconveniences which such a 
state of things demands, namely, miscar- 
riage, falling of the womb, and various 
other diseases with which that compli- 
cated organ is affected. 
So too in point of temperament, one 
should not be robust and vigorous, while 
the other is weak and scrofulous; as the 
union of such will never complete the de- 
sired end of wedlock, or insure to the pro- 
geny an athletic or vigorous constitution. 
To procure a desirable union, to make a fe- 
licitous bed; for that I conceive to be the 
“ ne plus ultra” of man's desires and aspi- 
rations ; great care should be taken that the 
couple be, as far as the nature of the case 
demands, similar in point of natural forma- 
tion, temperament, and moral energy; 
and last, though not least in consideration, 
that they are, as nearly as possible, equal. 18 
THE MYSTERY OP 
With such hints, I will leave a subject 
which, to you, is of more than vital in- 
terest ; and if you desire to avail yourself 
of the experience of others, these few sug- 
gestions will be, to say the least, received 
with profit, and be met with a considera- 
tion due to this most holy and binding of 
all earthly contracts. 
CELIB AC Y. 
The next subject which demands the 
attention of all the branches of the human 
family, and most particularly yourself, gen- 
tle reader, is celibacy ; (for I suppose you 
subject to the same passions, impelled by 
the same desires as the rest of mankind,) 
and to throw the subject before you in its 
proper light and true bearing, shall be my 
most particular attention. Celibacy or 
continence, the antipode of incontinence, 
as truly demands the passing notice of the 
writer as any of the preceding evils. By 
the term continence, we mean not only a 
freedom from the use of the sexual appe- DISEASE REVEALED. 
19 
tite, but an absolute withdrawal from all 
the pleasures of the consummation of the 
act, together with a total abstinence of sol- 
itary indulgences* The reader must have 
observed, in some of the preceding pages, 
a remark, that every part of the human 
economy, be it muscle, nerve, or bone, has 
its particular use, and these uses have been 
established by the God of nature for the 
development of that frame which he in his 
bounty has established. The productive 
organs have theirs, but it is not only for 
the propagation of the species:—they afford 
an outlet for accumulated secretion; they 
assist in resolving the animal passions ; 
they are the secret incentive to sexual 
love, and the bond of union between the 
sexes; they give an appetite wdiich, like 
hunger, must be appeased, or nature re- 
volts, and the harmony of society falls be- 
fore the unrestrained fury of maniacal so- 
licitude. Health, the source of all earthly 
happiness, the greatest of all human bless- 
ings, without the possession of which this 
world with all its beauties, all its pleasures, 20 
THE MYSTERY OF 
would be, for all we cared, destitute of all 
its gratifications, tenantless,—very mate- 
rially rests upon a proper and moderate 
use of the sexual appetite. Entire conti- 
nence, one of the greatest rarities among 
mankind, establishes in both sexes the most 
miserable perversions of mind and body. 
In man, from the result of perfect conti- 
nence, we have manifold instances re- 
corded of mania, melancholy, apoplexy, 
and various foul diseases of the skin ; deaf- 
ness, loss of vision, and many other evils, 
some greater, some less, than those just 
mentioned. It is true, that in males conti- 
nence is not so strictly observed; for if 
they are denied sexual intercourse, they 
are nevertheless estranged by that most 
distressful of all practices, masturbation, 
and thereby, in a great measure, are the 
evils depending upon a rigid chastity, 
warded off, but a train of ills much more 
distressful is sure to await the sufferer, and 
hence he is, in the very meridian of life, 
deprived of the very power, of which, in 
his youth, he was so provident. In the DISEASE REVEALED. 
21 
female, continence, which all will admit to 
be the brightest ornament in her charac- 
ter, the greatest jewel woman possesses in 
the consideration of every man of sense 
and judgment, meets but a poor requital; 
and its presence brings in its train the 
mysteries of hysteria, and other nervous 
derangements, that pervade the elderly 
maiden branches of every family, and con- 
stitute an enemy so formidable to all do- 
mestic felicity. 
Persons living a life of strict continency 
seldom live to an advanced age; whereas 
those females, for instance, who have con- 
summated the marriage vow, although ex- 
posed to all the dangers of child-birth, and 
the perils of pregnancy, generally live 
longer than those who live a life of celi- 
bacy or chastity. And provident married 
men escape all the ills and snares that be- 
set what is termed a life of single blessed- 
ness. On the contrary, libertinism, in 
whatever manner practised, whether by 
solitary indulgence or excessive venery, is 
hurtful and destructive to long life. 22 
THE MYSTERY OF 
That continence is a virtue to be extolled 
by all, I admit; but where the marriage 
life is allowable, it is not imposed; even 
then, if deviated from with moderation, 
there may be elicited the greatest amount 
of health and happiness. Matrimony, 
when succeeded by the birth of children, 
powerfully conduces to the health and hap- 
piness of woman. Even many diseases 
incidental to the life of the single female, 
are relieved by marriage. Among them 
all, we will mention disordered conditions 
of the sexual and uterine organs ; affec- 
tions of the skin; numerous nervous dis- 
orders, and many local complaints ; and so 
great is its effect in some persons, I have 
known two or three cases of confirmed 
consumption, not only relieved by a mar- 
riage state, but absolutely cured. The 
cure generally commenced as soon as 
pregnancy began. On the other hand, 
there are consequences resulting from a 
state of pregnancy, which are not only 
dangerous, but absolutely fatal. Strictu- 
ral impediments, with many other diseases, DISEASE REVEALED. 
23 
oppose the consummation of the marriage 
contract. Malformation and mental imbe- 
cility, should be considered as strong ir 
terdicts to the conjugal union. 
Persons of both sexes, to insure a healthy 
offspring, should not marry until the phys- 
ical powers of the whole body are devel- 
oped ; and previous to that, the strictest 
continence should be enjoined. From the 
twenty-third to the twenty-sixth year, is 
the suggested period for the male; and 
from the eighteenth to the twenty-first, the 
female. These results are modified en- 
tirely by the climate in which persons are 
living. You would not expect the inhab- 
itant of the chilly north, to be so early 
fired with the thrilling passion, as he who 
lives under the burning sun of the equa- 
tor. 
These observations only apply to those 
living within the jurisdiction of the United 
States, and other countries of the same 
latitude. In India, for instance, women 
become mothers at the early age of twelve 
yeays, owing to their physical develop- 24 
merits being more early than those living 
in less tropical climates. 
Marriages entered into too early bring 
premature decay on the father and mother, 
and entail upon their offspring debility of 
body, diminution of stature, imbecility of 
mind, and a host of other evils ; thus pro- 
ducing consumption, scrofula, insanity, &c. 
Marriages that are well regulated, and 
such cannot be mistaken, if attention has 
been given to the preceding remarks, 
contribute largely to social and lasting 
happiness. But ill assorted ones, those 
where the couple are too youthful, or the 
physical contrast be too great, or when 
the peace of either is infringed upon by 
opposing tempers, or by the afterward dis- 
covery of hitherto concealed physical in- 
capacities ; present a scene of wretched- 
ness and disappointment, to which death 
itself would be preferable. 
Too great stress, therefore, cannot be 
laid upon a subject which demands from 
all their most serious and deepest atten- 
tion. In order to the better understanding 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
25 
of the subject, I will give the reader what 
the author means by the temperaments; 
and as I have frequently made use of the 
term, will state its bearing upon the ani- 
mal economy. 
The temperaments are divided into 
four great heads, and these again subdivi- 
ded into others; but it will be sufficient 
for the present purpose, not to draw the 
line of demarcation too closely, but suffi- 
ciently so to make it intelligible to all my 
readers, as it will answer for all ordinary 
purposes, that we adopt the four great 
classes. They are the sanguine, billious, 
nervous, and phlegmatic. By the san- 
guine, we mean those persons who are 
generally in good health, vigorous in their 
amorous passions, with a great develop- 
ment of muscle, and a great predominance 
of sexual appetite. The nervous are ex- 
tremely susceptible in their sensations ; of 
less predominance of physical power, with 
a greater degree of mental vigor, and gen- 
erally much given to female society. Com- 
bined with the sanguine, they are capable 26 
of great animal excesses. The billious 
temperament imparts a jealous bearing in 
all affairs of sexual solicitude, that detracts 
from the fondness and affection which so 
entwine a man to his mistress, or the part- 
ner of his bosom. In this temperament 
you will find a great degree of moral and 
physical courage, combined with a great 
quickness of action and thought. The 
phlegmatic or melancholy person is frigid ; 
apathetic in his amours, and love with him 
becomes a secondary consideration to ac- 
cumulation of property, and advancement 
in the arts and sciences. These tempera- 
ments are modified by age, health, and 
physical culture. 
Among physiologists, speculations have 
arisen as to the effect of climate and sea- 
son, as well as age and temperament, upon 
the reproductive power of man. Tem- 
perate and warm climates are more pro- 
lific in exciting the copulative desire, than 
the frigid and uncongenial situations of the 
more remote and northern parts of the 
earth. The seasons bear a somewhat near 
THE MYSTERY OF 1HSKA9E REVEALED. 
27 
analogy. Spring is supposed to be more 
potent than summer, autumn, or winter, in 
bringing into existence those amative pro- 
pensities which, like the productions of the 
earth, spring, as it were, into a new exist- 
ence. This observation is borne out by 
the statistical fact of there being a greater 
number of births about the holidays than 
any other portion of the year. Man, how- 
ever, in all his appetites, is allowed to be 
omniverous, and the uniformity of his de- 
sires is preserved by diet corresponding 
to the season, which renders the whole 
year a perpetual spring. Man, as well as 
other animals, is capable of the procrea- 
tive process, when in a state of health, upon 
almost any food, never mind how scanty 
or paltry it may be. 
Morning, says a French writer of great 
celebrity, is the spring of the journey when 
all the functions of the physical man are 
renovated. As far as my own feeble opin- 
ion is concerned in this matter, I consider 
that the quietude and secrecy of night offer 
moments most congenial to the gratifica- 28 
THE MYSTERY OF 
tion of mutual love. There are times 
when, under any circumstances, sexual 
transport must be avoided, and that is im- 
mediately after a hearty meal, when the 
stomach is distended with meats, and the 
system exhilarated by the potent effects of 
wine. Under those circumstances sexual 
commerce should be most particularly 
avoided; as instances have been known, 
under such circumstances, of apoplexy 
having been induced by the excitement of 
connection. These remarks might be am- 
plified without limit; but the author has 
contented himself merely to show the im- 
portance of examining the subject prop- 
erly, and exercising a discretion in all the 
acts depending either upon a single life, or 
those duties imposed upon a life where 
there is a consummation of the connubial 
vow. But enough has been said to induce 
those who have approached to manhood, 
to be provident of that which, once lost, is, 
under all circumstances, most difficult to 
regain; and those on the eve of embark- 
ing in the most binding and solemn obli- 29 
gations of all human contracts, marriage, 
to ponder well ere they compromise the 
happiness of others, as well as themselves, 
by engaging in a compact they may know 
themselves incapable of fulfilling or of effi- 
ciently performing; one from which they 
cannot with honor retract, or one that, 
once sealed, demands a rigid compliance 
with its recognised duties. The sum totum 
of the preceding article may thus be sum- 
med up: that self-indulgence and exces- 
sive venery are injurious in the highest 
degree; that they induce early impuissance, 
and bring down upon the person that thus 
indulges a great load of mental and corpo- 
real ailments; that premature marriages 
are destructive to long life and undisturbed 
health, and that weakly and sickly chil- 
dren are the general result when impreg- 
nation of the female ensues; that conti- 
nence was never ordained and is alike pro- 
ductive of disease ; that moderate copula- 
tion propagates the human kind, preserves 
health, and produces longevity of life, and 
the sexual capability is thereby retained to 
DISEASE REVEALED. 30 
the latest verge of senility; that it is 
unnatural and unjust for impuissant per- 
sons to intermarry with those having 
healthy expectations and the power of en- 
joyment ; that it behooves all who have a 
doubt as to their own capacity, to have 
that doubt removed, and if rendered evi- 
dent, to abstain from shipwrecking their 
own happiness, or from occasioning disap- 
pointment to others. 
THE MYSTERY OF 
THE TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE. 
As we have investigated the effects of 
incontinence, celibacy, and marriage, on 
society, viewed alike as to their influence 
on the health and happiness of the sexes 
in general; another subject which equally 
engrosses our attention, presents itself for 
inquiry to every thinking and sensible per- 
son, who may contemplate, or be about 
embarking into the matrimonial tie, namely, 
the ability of issue, and how far the health 
of the offspring may be influenced by that 
of the parents. That conception requires 31 
the necessary aptitudes in both man and 
woman, is indisputable; and although 
such capacities are rarely absent, still all 
unions are not prolific ; hence the inference 
that some hidden cause must exist for such 
infertility. The prevailing resemblance pa- 
rents and their offspring have in features, 
form, and voice, and even constitutional 
peculiarities, is sufficiently well known to 
satisfy any one of the similar probability 
of the transmission of disease or sound 
health. It is of great consequence to be 
well-born, and it were happy for mankind 
if only such persons as are sound of body 
and mind should be allowed to marry. In 
Boethius’ work, entitled “ De Yeterum Sco- 
torum Moribus,” we find that anciently, in 
Scotland, if any were visited with the pre- 
vailing sicknesses, madness, gout, leprosy, 
or any such dangerous disease, which was 
likely to be propagated from father to son, 
he was instantly gelded. If a woman, she 
was kept from all company of men, and if 
by chance, having some such disease, she 
was discovered in a state of child-birth, 
DISEASE REVEALED. 32 
she, with her offspring, were buried alive. 
The Spartans likewise destroyed all weakly 
and deformed children, in order to estab- 
lish a vigorous and athletic race. Great 
as may be the anxiety to perpetuate our 
identities, to create new objects upon 
which we may concentrate all our affec- 
tions and love ; and who, when born to us, 
so instinctively rivet us so much the more 
to this world, possessing already so many 
attractions ; where is the man wTho does 
not feel himself humbled and mortified at 
beholding, in his anxiously looked for off- 
spring, the unfolding of infirmity and dis- 
ease ? Where is the man that would not 
commiserate the most poignant feelings 
of his wdfe, giving birth to an infant borne 
down with the weight of disease ? Where 
is the mother that would not curse the un- 
happy union, when anxiously looking for- 
ward to a tie the more closely to bind her 
to the husband, and find that tie drooping 
into the vortex of disease; instead of a 
blessing, a curse and a scourge to its pa- 
rents ? 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
33 
If such be the feelings of those who 
have so unfortunately connected them- 
selves to a companion, the result of which 
is most detrimental to their feelings and 
fatal to their offspring, how much the more 
does it behoove them to apply the forego- 
ing observations and suggestions of the 
writer, which, after a long and protracted 
experience, he has thus been enabled to lay 
before the public ? We are content to en- 
counter the ordinary chances of mortality, 
let but our children bear the impress of 
health, and possess the shape of perfect 
men; but sad and desolating are the re- 
flections that spring from observing, in our 
issue, the developments of the evils we 
have observed in ourselves. How many 
existing beings are there inhaling the 
breath of life, in whom the flame of dis- 
ease is fed by every respiration, ignited by 
those from whose loins they sprung, and is 
hastening them to a premature grave? 
Howt many living specimens of human 
nature, in whom reason is obliterated, or 
never dawned, drag out an existence infe- 34 
rior in enjoyment to the hunted beast of 
the forest, or the animal whose life is sa- 
crificed for the nutriment of man ? Are 
not the diseases which involve so ca- 
lamitous a result, such as gout, scrofula, 
consumption, and idiocy, traceable to the 
offspring of the third and fourth genera- 
tion ? These diseases, which may be 
likened to the germs of a fruitful plant, 
sown in a torpid soil, lie in ambush, and 
await some genial transplantation to dis- 
play their productiveness; which matri- 
mony, by the analogous change it effects 
in different constitutions, speedily encour- 
ages. It is needless for me to go into the 
detail in describing the definition of health. 
THE MYSTERY OF 
PICTURE. 
All who have arrived at the age of 
manhood must have seen the contrast be- 
tween health and disease, and have formed 
some model, which they have designated 
as the standard of health; therefore, it 
were useless for me to take up your time DISEASE KEVEALED. 
35 
in discussing that of which you, in your 
own mind, must have formed an incontro- 
vertible standard. I have pointed out all 
those diseases, by a hereditary transmis- 
sion of which, marriage, instead of a bless- 
ing, would become the veriest scourge on 
earth; and it only rests with you, gentle 
reader, to exercise a discretion worthy of 
the occasion which demands your contem- 
plation, you have been made aware that, 
in the selection of a companion, and in the 
transmission of health to your offspring, 
was, to you, more than vital importance; 
and if you would become a good citizen, 
sacred to that trust which your country 
imposes upon you, you will ponder well 
the suggestions made in this little volume, 
and if healthy yourself, consummate a 
union with one equally so. And if by mis- 
fortune, or accident, you shall consider 
yourself unworthy of such a union, for 
the sake of society, for the future sparing 
of your own feelings, for the sake of avoid- 
ing the crushing of a mother’s hopes and 36 
THE MYSTERY OK 
expectations, desist from a union which, 
once taken, it is too late to retrieve. 
There is one thing more before con- 
cluding this chapter, to which I wish to 
call your attention, that is, drunkenness. 
Wherever intemperance exists in married 
life, it is the bane of all comfort and enjoy- 
ment ; it saps the very root of domestic 
felicity and happiness. There is but one 
consolation, that every indulgence of this 
insane practice tends to break up the pow- 
ers of the system, and hasten the close of 
such a union. The drunkard should be 
reminded, “ that some leaves fall from a 
tree every time its trunk is shaken,” and 
the dreary nakedness of winter is brought 
on, long before that season would have 
commenced in the regular course of na- 
ture. 
I think the reader will coincide with me, 
that sufficient has been said upon this sub- 
ject to enlist the feelings of every young 
or old person to whom these remarks may 
in any manner refer; and as the treatment 
of the venereal will be serviceable to al- DISEASE REVEALED. 
37 
most every reader of this work, I will give 
an accurate description of the disease, its 
treatment, &c., and make it intelligible to 
the mind of every reader. Some authors 
have written upon the subject to embar- 
rass and confuse ; I will write to simplify 
and eradicate that confusion. The maner 
in which I take up the disease, although 
differing from almost every author, yet 
lays claim to entire originality. There is 
no author that has written upon this dis- 
ease, but has either complicated it to the 
extent which is entirely unintelligible, or 
has so thrown the veil of obscurity around 
it, that it could not be appreciable to him 
who had not a perfect conception of the 
whole class of diseases to which those 
organs are subject. It is my intention to 
simplify the disease in such a manner, that 
every one reading this little treatise may, 
in the majority of cases, become his own 
practitioner. 38 
THE MTSTERY OF 
SEXUAL DEBILITY. 
Involuntary seminal emissions are oft- 
entimes very serious, distressing, and oc- 
casionally beyond the touch of the healing 
art. They may be occasioned by one of 
two ways ; by a total abstaining from all 
sexual intercourse, and by great general 
debility or morbid weakness. The latter 
is much more frequent, for the treatment 
of the former is obvious and generally per- 
fectly effectual. The difference between 
the seminal emission between persons of 
ill health and those of a robust, healthy 
constitution, is very great. In the former 
it follows an absence of an erection, and 
may occur in a warm bath, or where the 
patient is clad too warmly; while in the 
latter it is consequent upon an erection fol- 
lowed by an act of coition. It generally 
is the consequence of an excessive abuse 
in early life, either by self-pollution, or a 
too freqhent sexual intercourse. The DISEASE REVEALED. 
39 
testes, in such cases, usually wither, and 
the patient, if not entirely, becomes almost 
impuissant. Sometimes they will be fol- 
lowed by great irritability of the bladder, 
accompanied by pains in the back, kidneys, 
loins, etc. The treatment is altogether 
owing to the constitution and tempera- 
ment of the individual. In some cases 
active depletion will have a very happy 
effect in counteracting the tendency to the 
disease, while in others such a treatment 
would be decidedly injurious. In such, 
tonics will be of immense service. Their 
treatment will consist in taking nutritious 
and digestible food to impart strength and 
invigorate the constitution. All stimu- 
lants must be carefully avoided, except 
where great languor and lassitude inter- 
vene ; all spirituous liquors must be posi- 
tively prohibited. The patient, instead of 
reclining upon a soft, downy bed, should 
lie upon a hard mattress; the air of the 
room should be of a moderate tempera- 
ture, and but few hours must be allotted 
for sleep. Much of the time should be 40 
spent in the open air; regular exercise 
should be taken, but not sufficient to occa- 
sion fatigue. The cold bath, in such cases, 
must be imposed as an important auxiliary- 
in the treatment; the frequent application 
of a towel dipped in cold water, and ap- 
plied to the testes twice or thrice a day, 
will be of great service. 
To preserve a regular course of treat- 
ment for this disease would be of no avail, 
as the various temperaments subject to 
this affection wrould exhaust all the tonics 
of the pharmacopise; they are all useful, 
but the various preparations of iron sur- 
pass them all. During the treatment, the 
state of the mind should not be neglected; 
no lascivious idea for a moment should be 
encouraged, nor should the imagination be 
suffered to wander over the various works 
of fiction or romance, or any works apper- 
taining to matters of love. In this disease 
the patients affected are apt to despond, 
and become depressed in spirits ; to re- 
cover which, every pleasure or recreation 
should be encouraged to prevent the mind 
THE MYSTERY OE 41 
from indulging in gloomy ideas ; theatres, 
concerts, parties, and, in fact, every ra- 
tional amusement consonant to the feelings 
of the patient should be pursued. By an 
uninterrupted perseverance in this treat- 
ment I have seen the most beneficial re- 
sults. By using the above treatment, 
which I have heretofore mentioned, almost 
every case will be cured; I have tried it, 
and for the last forty years have derived 
unequivocal success. 
DISEASE REVEALED. 
PILES. 
This is a disease which is generally con- 
sidered to be of a delicate nature, and one 
concerning which the persons afflicted are 
unwilling to converse ; and it is even with 
the greatest of persuasion that the indi- 
vidual is induced to seek the aid of profes- 
sional skill. It is a disease very prevalent 
in large cities, particularly among that 
class of persons who live a sedentary life, 
and indulge in a small portion of exercise. 
A few words may be said to advantage 42 
THE MYSTERY OF 
upon the character and treatment of this 
disease. Piles constitute a disease that 
may be very slow or very rapid in its per- 
fect development. The first sensations 
complained of by the patient, will be a 
slight itching or soreness about the rectum 
after an evacuation, more particularly if 
the patient be subject to constipation, or 
if he be an irregular liver; when, after a 
while he will be surprised on discovering, 
subsequent to some straining effort at 
stool, a knot of elastic, but irregularly- 
formed tumours, of a size ranging from a 
peanut to a hazelnut, rising apparently 
from the rectum, that, in a few days, if 
they continue, will become sore, and prob- 
ably be attended with a discharge of 
blood. Another patient will experience 
similar symptoms as regards the pain, 
swelling, and discharge of blood, except 
that they will be greatly increased in se- 
verity, and be more transitory in their ap- 
pearance and stay ; but upon examination 
a perceptible difference will be discovered. 
In the former instance the tumours will be DISEASE REVEALED. 
43 
seen to proceed from the outer edge of the 
rectum, and will be found to be covered 
with the common integuments. This form 
of the disease is called, by professional 
men, “ external piles.” In the latter, the 
tumours are squeezed out of the rectum, 
and swell in a very short space of time to 
an enormous size. Their colour is of a 
much more vivid blood-red, and will be 
found to be covered only by the lining 
membrane of the low’er gut: these are 
termed “ internal piles.” 
Piles are nothing more or less than di- 
lated veins, just the same as vericose veins 
upon the leg or any other part. The of- 
fice of veins is to receive the surplus blood 
of the arteries, after having parted with 
that necessary supply for the nourishment 
of every structure of the body they are 
severally distributed to, and to carry it 
back to the circulating organ, the heart; 
and the mesenteric hcemorrhoidal veins, 
from their dependant confined position, 
(the circulation in and above them being 
liable to so many interruptions from the 44 
frequent hardened state of the faeces of the 
rectum,) become distended with blood, 
which, acting upon the same principle as a 
wedge, retards the circulation of the blood, 
and dilates them to the size we meet them. 
On the removal of the cause, the blood 
flows on and the swelling subsides, and 
the patient feels no further inconvenience 
until a recurrence of the pressure. After 
repeated attacks the veins become in- 
flamed, and pout out a sort of defensive 
mucous on the cellular membrane cover- 
ing the veins, and becomes organised into 
an indurated texture, which increases at 
each attack of inflammation, and at last 
gives them that fungus, fleshy appearance, 
which resembles newly-formed strictures. 
The distinction between external and 
internal piles is as follows: In both in- 
stances you have the same veins diseased. 
In external piles the lowermost portion of 
the hoemorrhoidal veins are dilated, and 
are thrust by the outer side of the rectum, 
•carrying before them the common skin, 
which dilates, and constitutes the external 
THE MYSTERY OF coat of the piles. The rectum is a portion 
of the intestine about the length of four 
inches, of a size nearly uniform; the 
lower end, constituting the orifice, is tied 
around with a contracting and yielding 
band of muscular fibres, forming a muscle, 
termed, in the anatomical language, the 
sphincter-ani. It is a muscle of great 
power, and, from its connection with other 
muscles of similar strength, forms the 
foundation of the pelvis, which supports 
the contents of the abdomen. Internal 
piles is that condition of the hoemorrhoidal 
veins, where, from their dilatation, they 
become protruded with the fieces, when, 
from the contraction of the sphincter, act- 
ing like a ligature, they cannot regain their 
situation until emptied of their contents. 
External piles consist of a protrusion of 
the hoemorrhoidal veins, between the cel- 
lular union of the sphincter with other 
muscles, constituting, in fact, a hernia or 
rupture in the perieneum. Inflammation 
soon sets in. and the various changes I 
DISEASE REVEALED. 
45 46 
have, and shall hereafter consider take 
place. 
Having stated the cause of piles, namely, 
pressure on, and thereby prevention of the 
circulation of the blood through the hoe- 
morrhoidal veins, it follows, that persons 
mostly annoyed with constipation, must 
be the most likely to be afflicted with 
piles; hence free and intemperate livers, 
great wine-bibbers, feeble and relaxed 
constitutions ;—those, again, who live a 
sedentary life, without the employment of 
much exercise ; and pregnant women, and 
women who have borne many children, 
seldom escape. Jt is rarely that piles 
attack people in the lower classes of 
life, and those who have to work hard for 
their livelihood, and exercise much in the 
open air; which accounts foi the preva- 
lence of this disease in the upper walks of 
life. 
The treatment of piles is as simple as 
efficient, if proceeded with at the com- 
mencement of the complaint, the great ob- 
ject being to prevent constipation. In the 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
47 
case of incipient piles, an excellent adjunct 
is the warm bath; its tendency to over- 
come local congestions, and thereby equal- 
ize the circulation of the blood, is well 
known. The best medicine which a hoe- 
morrhoidal patient can take, and the eas- 
iest to be procured, and that which lies 
within the reach of almost every one, is 
Turkish rhubarb ; and the patient, by 
placing a piece of the root in his pocket, 
and occasionally taking a chew, will find 
it to act almost like a charm in the case of 
this disease. Castor oil, one or two tea- 
spoonsful, every morning, or some mild 
electuary, must be taken until the piles 
subside. During this treatment, the diet 
should be temperate and laxative; those 
fruits should be used which produce a pur- 
gative effect. Wine, and all exhilarating 
spirits, should be avoided ; and, where 
admissible, as much out-door exercise 
should be taken as possible. When the 
piles have been of several days’ contin- 
uance, and are very much swollen, punc- 
turing them with a needle, and thus re- lieving the tension by evacuation, pro- 
duces a very happy and serviceable effect. 
If there is a great deal of inflammation, 
leeches must be applied around the tu- 
mour. Care should be taken in the appli- 
cation of leeches, that they be not placed 
upon the tumour, as great difficulty will 
be experienced in the stoppage of blood 
after the bite. In cases where they can 
be returned into the rectum, the best treat- 
ment is to push them in, and place over 
them a pad to prevent the protrusion. 
One of the most alarming features con- 
nected with piles, is their bleeding; and 
it is most marvellous to see what a great 
loss of blood a hoemorrhoidal patient can 
bear. Week after week have I seen the 
flow of blood constant, and such has been 
the emaciation of the invalid that serious 
apprehensions have been aroused of the 
death of the patient. 
There is a strong objection, among fe- 
males, when afflicted with this trouble- 
some complaint, to showing the parts to 
the eye of a surgeon, and if attention be 
48 
THE MYSTERY OF had at the commencement of the disease, 
the afterward serious difficulties will be 
surmounted. 
In cases where there is excessive bleed- 
ing, you may use some of the astringent 
injections, which must be regulated by the 
medical adviser. There are numerous 
specifics for this disease, but the one of 
best repute is Weir’s balsam, which ranks 
high among professional men. 
DISEASE REVEALED. 
49 50 
THE MYSTERY OF 
HISTORY AND TREATMENT 
OF THE 
VENEREAL DISEASES. 
It is not my is mention to enter into the 
details of all the ills which are the conse- 
quences of the three great classes of dis- 
eases, namely, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, and 
Gleet, but merely to give the accompany- 
ing symptoms of each, separately, and 
recommend that treatment which, through 
a long period of years, I have found to be 
most successful. I shall take pains, not 
only to give you the result of my own 
practice, but shall place the treatment be- 
fore you in such a simple light, that the 
most illiterate and unintellectual can al- 
most always become their own physician. 
Other authors, who have written upon 
these diseases, have terrified the minds 
of all who have unfortunately contracted 51 
such diseases; and, instead of throwing 
light upon the subject, have plunged it into 
a still thicker darkness. You may read 
Becklard, and a host of other authors that 
have sought to become candidates for pop- 
ular favour, and where, in the whole course 
of their writings, will you find one disease 
treated in such a manner as to be intelli- 
gible to you, although moderately learned ? 
Instead of recommending a medicine sim- 
ple and efficacious in its effects, you will 
see them running through a whole cate- 
gory of diseases, as much depending on 
the point at issue as a scalded foot or 
broken arm is upon negligence or careless- 
ness. Instead of recommending a prac- 
tice, effective and specific to the disease 
in its primitive form, they have wasted all 
their strength upon the consequent dis- 
eases ; which consequent diseases never 
would have existed, had they devoted half 
the attention and energy to the treatment 
of the disease in its primitive form. That 
the most erroneous views exist as to the 
treatment of the private diseases, every 
DISEASE REVEALED. 52 
one, who has at all studied the subject, 
must be made aware. And how, I ask, 
could it be different, when the country is 
flooded with such a catalogue of volumes 
as already exist; all purporting to be writ- 
ten by men of science, but as ignorant of 
the first principles of their profession as 
men of straw, so to speak ? It is no won- 
der, when we consider the powerful effects 
of the mind upon animal matter, that we 
have such a concatenation of sequent dis- 
eases. A person unfortunately contracts 
the venereal;—never mind in what form 
it may occur, he either flies to some ven- 
der of nostrums, who, with a shrug of the 
shoulder, and an exclamation of horror, 
paints to his imagination all those terrific 
consequences which may have been the 
result, probably, of his own neglect;—nay, 
I may almost say consummate malprac- 
tice ; or, perchance, he may purchase 
some one of the brainless works on vene- 
real, and, viewing the paintings of the au- 
thor’s inventive genius, becomes a prey to 
despondency, or the victim of an over- 
THE MVSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
53 
wrought imagination. Then, after a lapse 
of a few days, after having tried the nos- 
trums or red drops of some demoniacal 
vender, and becoming tenfold worse than 
before, he finally, with reluctance, confides 
his case to the advice and judgment of a 
regular medical adviser ; who is forced to 
contend, not only against the primitive dis- 
ease, but one made doubly worse by the 
ignorance of a pretending dolt. Why, 
then, should we wonder at the manifold 
appearances of the sequelae of these dis- 
eases, when such humbug, such a whole- 
sale quackery, stalks abroad over our land ? 
Why, then, should we be amazed at the 
great number of wretched inmates in our 
hospitals and asylums, when such bare- 
faced hypocrisy and deception is seen upon 
every corner of our streets ? Look at that 
mighty engine, the press, and see how its 
columns are perverted with the monthly 
reports of diseases, purporting to have 
been cured ; and read the various adver- 
tisements of hairbrained numskulls, and 
will you wonder that such diseases are 54 
made the objects of horror and terror to 
all mankind ? That sometimes, under the 
very best form of treatment, the private 
diseases assume forms most hideous to 
behold, every one, for himself, must have 
seen. But these are exceptions to the gen- 
eral rule, as the diseases, properly treated, 
upon the onset of the attack, give way to 
the proper remedies, and leave behind no 
unpleasant or injurious effects ; and as the 
mass who incur these diseases, feel a sort 
of privacy in the treatment, the object of 
this work is to give the disease the une- 
quivocal symptoms, with the most ap- 
proved and acceptable treatment; so that 
every one, in the majority of cases, may 
become their own physician. 
THE MYSTERY OF 
SYPHILIS. 
The first disease which I shall take up 
under the head of the venereal is syphilis, 
or what is known hy the vulgar and com- 
mon name of pox. The origin of this 
disease is still left in great uncertainty. DISEASE REVEALED. 
55 
Some authors contend that it first made 
its appearance in Spain; others assert 
France to be the birth-place of this infirm- 
ity, while others even go so far as to say 
that America was the cradle of its infancy, 
and controversies have been carried on by 
the opposing disputants. But I shall con- 
tent myself to give my reader my own 
opinion as to the origin of the disease, and 
leave those who have nothing better to do 
to discuss its primitive locality. As the 
laws of Nature have always been, and 
always will be, the same and unalterable 
and as fever is the same now as when it 
occurred hundreds of years ago; and as 
a wound formerly, as now, healed by the 
first intention or festered, or ever may do 
so,—each condition being modified by the 
wound and the health of the patient; and 
as an extreme of filth now, the same as 
formerly, will produce itch; I cannot re- 
concile myself to any other belief than that 
the venereal disease formerly, as now, was 
produced by a violation of the laws of 
sexual intercourse ; and as such violation 56 
was likely to exist when numbers cohered 
together, I consider the diseases, both 
gonorrhoea and syphilis, coeval with the 
origin of mankind. They, like every other 
disease to which “ flesh is heir,” are mo- 
dified by climate, habits, and constitution ; 
and therefore we find the various modifi- 
cations we see in all parts of the globe. It 
has been quoted, as an argument in favour 
of the former expressed opinion, that pre- 
vious to the arrival of some British sailors 
upon the isle of Otaheite, the disease was 
unknown. But the sexual cohabitation, 
until this foreign arrival, was not as pro- 
miscuous or frequent; and hence the very 
infringement produced the disease. One 
word as to the contagion of the venereal 
diseases. Both gonorrhoea and syphilis 
furnish a remarkably irritating, purulent 
fluid, which, applied to surfaces in a state 
of health, produces certain effects. If, for 
instance, you apply the gonorrhoeal virus 
to the delicate structure of the eye, you 
will have the same set of concomitant 
symptoms accruing as in a well-marked 
THE MYSTERY OF 57 
case of urethritis or clap. Instances have 
been known where the mouth has been the 
recipient of disease, when there has been 
a deposition of the venereal virus. And 
again, in cases where the integuments 
have been inoculated, the same phenomena 
have occurred as have been seen in a well- 
marked case of syphilitic chancre upon 
the generative organs. Therefore it can 
hardly be doubted, if there is such a thing 
in existence as contagion, it unequivocally 
exists in the venereal disease. John Hun- 
ter observes, that it is only the disease in 
its developed state that is communicable, 
and for the propagation of venereal affec- 
tions the poisonous secretion must be de- 
posited. So confident was he of this doc- 
trine, that he even permitted married men 
having gonorrhoea to cohabit with their 
wives—to save appearances—care being 
taken "at first to clear all the parts of any 
matter, by syringing the urethra, then 
making water, and lastly washing the 
glands. Such, however, is the rapidity of 
the formation of the secretion, that, aided 
DISEASE REVEALED. 58 
THK MYSTERY OF 
by the excitement of the generative act, 
the deposite of the same would necessarily 
take place with an ejectment of the seminal 
emission, especially in persons of full 
temperament, and in the plenitude of the 
sexual appetite, and thereby be liable to 
communicate the disease. Then briefly to 
recapitulate, I consider : 1st, That the gen- 
erative organs, from misuse, have always 
been liable to disease ; and that this dis- 
ease is modified by such circumstances as 
I have heretofore stated, viz., climate, age, 
constitution, and cause. 2nd, That it is 
contagious ; mild cases usually producing 
mild consequences, but those depending 
much upon the treatment and health. 3d, 
That newly indisposed and severer cases 
establish a worse form of disease, alike 
modified by circumstances. 
I fear I have already transgressed the 
bounds I proposed at the beginning of this 
work ; but I know you, gentle reader, will 
forgive the transgression, as it is more my 
desire of elucidating the diseases, than 
making a voluminous work of that which 59 
it is my intention to simplify. I shall now 
proceed to the symptoms of syphilis and 
its treatment. 
Syphilis is the most violent form of the 
venereal, and we shall divide it into two 
great classes. 1st, chancre, or ulcer; 
2nd, bubo, or inflammation of the glands 
of the groin. These symptoms may all 
exist at the same time ; or they may exist 
separately. There is no positive order in 
which they attack the system, but general- 
ly appear in the manner mentioned above. 
You may sometimes have bubo with no 
appearance of chancre, and you may be 
attacked with sore throat, without any ap- 
pearance of either chancre or bubo ; and 
you may have chancre disappearing, with 
neither symptoms of bubo or sore throat. 
It then will make its appearance as tho 
secondary symptoms. The first is chancre. 
The integuments of the body become 
hardened or softened, as the functions they 
are called on to perform. Thus the hands 
and feet, among those who are in the habit 
of exercising constantly, take on a horny 
DISEASE REVEALED. 60 
THE MYSTERY OF 
hardness. Thus, by exposure, does the 
face assume a softer aspect; while the ab- 
domen and the copulative organs, being 
continually accustomed to clothing, pre- 
serve their velvety texture. The glands- 
penis being generally covered by the pre- 
puce, assumes a very delicate and soft 
appearance ; thus its sensitiveness is in- 
creased or diminished, as it is covered by 
the prepuce or not. The entire covering 
of the penis is of a very delicate and tender 
structure, and hence also, from sexual in- 
tercourse, these parts become the chief 
seat of syphilis. The delicate surface, 
then, of the glands and prepuce, losing 
some of its sensitiveness by frequent ex- 
posure, and losing also the defence of the 
secretion, which mucous membranes pour 
out, becomes accessible to an occurrence 
of syphilis—a disease that is easily com- 
municable to almost any part of the body 
by inoculation. To give the words of the 
illustrious Hunter, he says—•“ It is an in- 
variable effect, that when any part of an 
animal is irritated to a certain degree, it DISEASE REVEALED. 
61 
inflames and forms matter—the intention 
of which is Nature endeavouring to re- 
move the irritating cause.” This is not 
only the case in common irritation, but 
also in specific cases—as in syphilis, burns, 
scalds, etc. To explain how a chancre 
is produced, is somewhat difficult; we 
may surmise, but those founded on certain 
facts are most likely to be true. For 
instance, a person receiving syphilis must 
contract it from one other individual hav- 
ing it. The mere act of coition, provided 
the party be clean, is not of itself sufficient 
to produce it. But as soon as a connection 
is had with an infected one, and thereby 
exposing a healthy surface to an unhealthy 
one, (a perfect violation of Nature’s laws,) 
the person becomes affected by this pois- 
onous secretion, and a specific result is 
produced, viz., a small pimple. This dis- 
ease generally makes its appearance upon 
the frenum, glands-penis, or prepuce, or 
upon the common integument of the body 
of the penis. From the difficulty of wash- 
ing thoroughly the folds of the prepuce 62 
THE MYSTERY 07 
after a filthy connection, the poison is apt 
to lodge in the little inclosures of the 
folds, and sooner or later manifests its in- 
fluence, which may occur in one day, or 
be withheld for months. The general 
period for the occurrence of the disease, 
however, is between the third and eighth 
day. If the patient, after a suspected con- 
nection, goes beyond the eighth day, he is 
generally exempt from any bad effects of 
the disease. The first symptoms are itch- 
ing, followed by a redness of the part, 
from which is observed to spring a small 
pimple or elevation. You may be very 
apt to confound it with a small abrasion, 
occurring after a hasty connection, or a 
disproportion of size, or where much ex- 
citement prevails ; but such pimples or 
chancres you will find generally upon the 
inverted portion of the prepuce, or the 
frenum of the same. The next thing that 
ensues is a perceptible hardness of its 
base, which, as it ulcerates, becomes more 
elevated, and leaves a little depression. 
The tumour, upon its first appearance, is DISEASE REVEALED. 
63 
not much larger than the head of a pin; 
but increases in size as the disease ad- 
vances. When a chancre attacks the 
frenum it destroys it, and with its destruc- 
tion is lost its property of directing the 
orifice of the urethra in urinating, or in the 
ejectment of the semen. When the pimple 
appears upon the outside of the prepuce, 
the form it assumes is much larger. As 
in such situations the head is liable to be 
broken off, new crusts continually arise, 
until the process of ulceration has very 
far advanced, or the topical applications 
that are applied prevent its re-formation. 
In the former instance, the crusts are at- 
tributable to evaporation of the discharge. 
In the latter, their absence is already ex- 
plained by the prevention of the same. 
If the disease is not checked at the onset, 
and the patient is negligent of attention, 
you will have phymosis or para-phymosis. 
The treatment of both will be the same. 
You must, in such cases, apply warm 
soothing applications ; and, in a majority 
of instances, the disease will yield to the 64 
treatment; else you must seek refuge un- 
der the knife of the surgeon. If the in- 
flammation spreads fast and considerably 
it shows a constitution more disposed to 
inflammation than is natural. If the pain is 
great, it shows a strong tendency to irri- 
tation. It also sometimes happens, that 
they begin very early to form sloughs. 
When this is the case, they have a strong 
predisposition to mortification. Bleeding 
is also a consequence, owing to exposure 
of the ulcerated body of the penis. There 
are two kinds of ulcera—sloughing and 
phagedenic. The sloughing ulcer appears 
tumefied, ragged, with granulated and 
indurated edges, with a sanious discharge ; 
and I have seen it occasion the loss of the 
entire top of the glands and prepuce within 
one week. The phagedenic is a corroding 
ulcer, without granulations ; it is destitute 
of the indurated edges, and frequently its 
circumference is of a livid, red colour. 
When this disease is improperly treated, 
the whole of the penis will be destroyed 
in a short time. Warts are often met with 
THE MYSTERY OF 65 
in this disease, as in gonorrhoea; and like 
those will arise from uncleanliness, simple 
local irritation, or from an accumulation of 
the natural secretions ; but oftener they 
are the result of uncleanliness. They are 
divided into hard and soft; the treatment 
for which is excision—cutting them off by 
means of a ligature. Applying the nitrate 
of silver to the base will generally destroy 
them. You may use a solution of the luna 
caustic according to the following formula: 
R. Nitrate of silver, one scruple, 
Distilled water, one ounce, 
mix and apply to the part. 
Or the following mixture sometimes is 
equally efficient: 
Calomel, half a drachm, 
Lime-wrater, four ounces, 
applied by means of a piece of lint, kept 
wet, to the part. As soon as the patient 
perceives any of the foregoing symptoms, 
after a suspected coition, he will instantly, 
DISEASE REVEALED. 66 
THE MYSTERY OF 
if there is a chancre, touch it with the lu- 
na caustic, and burn it, from day to day. 
Or he may use, in less violent cases, 
the black wash, composed of the follow- 
ing: 
Calomel, one scruple, 
Lime-water, three ounces. 
Or the red wash: 
Bi-chloride of mercury, four grains, 
Lime-water, four ounces. 
Or the blue wash: 
Sulphate of copper, five grains 
Distilled water, one ounce, 
mix and strain. 
In cases where a chancre seizes a part 
easy of excision, some surgeons recom- 
mend the knife; but I cannot feel myself 
authorised to recommend such a practice. 
On the first appearance of the chancre, I 
would enjoin an attention to the diet, regu- 
lating it according to the strength of the 
patient. Abstemiousness should be the DISEASE revealed. 
67 
motto; avoiding extremes, however, lest 
dedility should be induced. Quietude, and 
rest in the recumbent posture, are two es- 
sential adjuncts in the treatment of pri- 
mary syphilis throughout. 
With respect to the treatment of the 
ulcer, characterized by its circular form, 
excavated surface, and hardened base, as 
detailed above, the plan I most invariably 
adopt is, immediately on its appearance, 
before the pimple is broken or desqua- 
mated, to smear it with a hair pencil, filled 
with a solution of luna caustic, two or 
three times a day: 
Caustic, one drachm, 
Distilled water, one ounce. 
Or you may use a lotion of the chloride 
of soda: 
Chloride of soda, two ounces, 
Rose-water, four ounces. 
Or what is equally beneficial, the black, 
blue, or red washes, according to the for- 
mula mentioned above. 68 
If the patient is strong, and otherwise 
healthy, you may generally recommend 
some mild purgative, in anticipation of 
any irritation: 
Epsom salts, four ounces, 
Water, one pint, 
and take a wine-glass every morning be- 
fore breakfast. Care should be taken that 
the patient’s diet be as mild and unirri- 
tating, for a few days, as possible. From 
the sedative and salutary effects of the 
warm bath, as well as its cleansing effects, 
I would recommend that it be taken every 
day, throughout the week, immediately 
after the operation of the medicine. When 
the disease is thus early detected, and sim- 
ilarly treated, in a number of cases, with 
the continuance of either the black, red, or 
blue wash, the chloride lotion, the middle 
diet, an occasional apperient, with a warm 
bath, with as much rest as possible, are all 
that will be found necessary to cure the 
disease; which is generally effected in a 
week or ten days, at the farthest. 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASK REVEALED. 
69 
The best purgative used in these cases is: 
Calomel, four grains, 
Pulverized jalap, fifteen grains, 
taken once in two days. Care must be 
taken, in the convalescing state, that the 
patient return not too rapidly to his accus- 
tomed diet; as, under all circumstances, I 
would recommend a spare diet for at least 
two weeks after the disappearance of the 
disease. Under such a course, as far as 
my own practice and experience is con- 
cerned, I have found very few cases of 
secondary symptoms. 70 
THE MYSTERY OF 
BUBO. 
Bubo may occur after either an attack 
of gonorrhoea or syphilis. But, as in 
most instances, it confines itself to syphi- 
lis, I will treat it as coming under that 
head. It is an inflammation of a gland or 
glands of the groin, and, like an inflamma- 
tion of any other kind, has a beginning, 
middle, and an end. It is occasioned by 
the poison being absorbed from the chan- 
cre, or ulcer, into the gland; and as a 
foreign body, produces that state of the 
system termed inflammation. It has been 
a subject of remark, that where we have 
an ulcer seated upon the prepuce, it is 
more apt to produce bubo than one upon 
the glans penis. 
Buboes are not always a sure criterion DISEASE REVEALED. 
71 
of the venereal disease, for, after having an 
ulcer upon the leg, of long standing, we 
are very apt to have an inflammation of 
the glands of the groin; just so with a 
whitlow upon the finger, you may have 
the axillary glands swollen. 
In the treatment of buboes, whether ve- 
nereal or not, the same principles must be 
applied as in chancre, comprising attention 
to the general health, and a subdual of 
the prevailing symptoms. In no form of 
syphilis is rest more important than in the 
treatment of bubo. The patient may plead 
the necessity of attending to business, and 
the utter impossibility of remaining at 
home ; but be assured that rest, and that 
alone in the recumbent posture, will strip 
the disease of three-fourths of its horrors. 
There are some local diseases that create 
a greater constitutional disturbance than 
others, and buboes may be ranked among 
that class ; and it would be as impolitic to 
check an inflammation of that sort, sud- 
denly, without creating some outlet for the 
increased action to vent itself, as it would 72 
be to stop a flux, or to suppress the erup- 
tion of measles or scarlatina. If, there- 
fore, the bubo is painful and much inflamed, 
positive rest should be imposed, with a 
spare diet. Take an apperient; and should 
chancres alone be present, a treatment 
going in for their extinction: continue the 
same. Or, as bubo often immediately suc- 
ceeds the ulcer, and probably may be the 
first symptom, adopt as an addition to the 
above mentioned, some alterative ; for in- 
stance, five grains of Plummer’s pill, every 
night, the apperient powder every other 
day, and let such local treatment he di- 
rected as the exigency of the case demands. 
It was formerly the received opinion that 
if buboes were not allowed to suppurate, 
the system could not escape the venereal 
taint; but the fallacy of that doctrine has 
long since been exploded. Diminish the 
circulating action of the vessels, by estab- 
lishing some slight drain, by determining 
the secretions to the intestines or skin, and 
buboes—even when matter has begun to 
be formed—will be dissolved, with judici- 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
73 
ous treatment, which, in nine cases out of 
ten, will not impregnate the system. To 
attend to this, warm applications should be 
constantly applied, and if possible every 
evening. If there is a great deal of swel- 
ling, and the tumour is red and painful, 
leeches are of invaluable service ; but they 
must be applied fearlessly, in numbers of 
ten and twelve at a time; to be repeated 
two or three times if necessary. By ap- 
plying them in small numbers, they only 
tend to aggravate the disease by the irri- 
tation they produce. If there be much 
fever, if the arterial excitement is much 
aroused, if there is great heat of the skin, 
you will take from twelve to sixteen ounces 
of blood from the arm. This remedy you 
may try before the application of the 
leeches. 
When, however, the constitutional ex- 
citement is not great—either local or uni- 
versal—the topical application of any of 
the following ointments will produce ab- 
sorption. I have found them always to 
exert a beneficial effect: 74 
THE MYSTERY OF 
Iodide of potassium, one drachm, 
Tincture of iodine, one drachm, 
Acetate of morphine, ten grains. 
Apply constantly a plaster of some of 
this ointment, spread upon a rag or lint, 
over the bubo, and occasionally rub a 
little of it gently into the skin ; or you 
may use the blue ointment in precisely the 
same manner ; or the following, rubbed 
upon the inflamed gland : 
Calomel, two drachms, 
Simple ointment, six drachms. 
When buboes have been suffered to 
proceed, and the suppuration appears in- 
evitable, it would be highly improper to 
retard it. It would only be disseminating 
through the system what nature was trying 
to expel. You may encourage it by the 
application of poultices, warm fomenta- 
tions, etc., and as soon as ripe, an opening 
should be made into it to allow the matter 
to escape. If it proceeds to that extent it 
then falls under the practice of the sur- 
geon ; and it would be ridiculous, under 75 
such circumstances, for any one—save he 
who is skilled in the treatment of disease— 
to attempt to prescribe for himself. Au- 
thors may talk and write upon the subject, 
but the diseases are so numerous, and 
assume such different aspects, that no one 
not skilled in the treatment of diseases, 
would attempt to become his own physi- 
cian. Great care should be taken, at this 
stage, to consult the best medical or surgi- 
cal authority, and not be gulled by the 
outside show of venders of specifics. 
There are a very few physicians, even in 
this great city, that treat the venereal 
upon perfectly sound and pathological 
principles. Dr. E. C. Franklin, of New 
York, a young man, (formerly student of 
Dr. Mott,) of some celebrity in that de- 
partment, has had, in conjunction with 
myself, some three or four cases embar- 
rassing in the extreme ; and from the suc- 
cess of his treatment, I can recommend him 
unqualifiedly to any who may become 
afflicted with such diseases. 
DISEASE REVEALED. 76 
THE MYSTERY OF 
GONORRIKEA. 
It is useless to define, with precision, 
the definition of the term, gonorrhoea, and 
make a long story concerning its origin, 
symptoms, etc. Every one knows when 
he has taken the clap, therefore I shall con- 
tent myself merely to give the positive 
symptoms and treatment, supposing that 
every young or old man must know when 
he has the clap or not, (and its signs are 
not at all mistakeable.) I shall take my 
own view of the case. Gonorrhoea, or 
clap, may originate in one of two ways; 
either after an impure connection, or the 
result of violent masturbation. 
There is no disease in the world so sim- 
ple in its treatment, or less injurious in its 
effects, than clap ; and if our students, in- 77 
stead of getting their brains overloaded 
with specifics, copaiva, cubebs, etc., would 
exert one grain of common sense, the treat- 
ment would be no more than the treatment 
of a common cold. A person catches the 
clap, he consults a doctor whose brain has 
been reeling under the weight of specifics, 
treasured up, perhaps, for months; and 
seeing nothing but a vision of cubebs, co- 
paiva, etc., floating before his imagination, 
loses the equilibrium of his judgment, and 
deals out, indiscriminately, the above nau- 
seating remedies, which every doctor 
should taste before he gave to his patient;— 
that, I think, would bring such an one to 
his senses, if he were possessed of any. 
Now let us take a parallel case: a person 
takes a cold, has a cough, the disease is 
in its acute state, with a great deal of con- 
stitutional excitment. Would you give such 
a patient your balsams of copaiva, and cu- 
bebs ? Every one will see the absurdity of 
such a doctrine. What is the treatment ? 
You deplete, either generally or locally, 
as the case may be; give aperients, su- 
DISEASE REVEALED. 78 
dorifics, recommend the warm bath. Pre- 
cisely so in a case of clap. Hundreds of 
cases have I seen made worse by the ad- 
ministration of these specifics, as they are 
termed. Injections have been advised, but 
given injudiciously, do ten times the in- 
jury they do good ; to have a beneficial 
effect, they should be given before the dis- 
ease fairly developes itself. Let us see 
what is the principle involved. In clap 
there is an inflammation of the lining mem- 
brane of the urethra. Whatever is the 
character of that inflammation, all will ad- 
mit it to be an unhealthy one. Now, for 
what is the injection given ? It is to pro- 
duce an inflammation of the healthy kind, 
to destroy the unhealthy one by its supe- 
rior power, and establish a greater inflam- 
mation, but a healthy one. Therefore the 
injection that is used must be sufficiently 
strong for the purpose. A good injection, 
which J have used in such cases, is: 
Nitrate of silver, twenty grains, 
Distilled water, one ounce; 
THK MYSTERY OF 79 
inject the penis twice a day until the dis- 
ease gives way to the remedy. Then, 
by giving a gentle purgative of epsom 
salts, or the pulvis purgans, is all the treat- 
ment necessary. 
If the inflammation is more violent, and 
the discharge profuse, more energetic mea- 
sures must be adopted. The strictest anti- 
phlogistic regimen must be enforced ; the 
patient should take some purgative; the 
epsom salts answmr a good purpose, com- 
bined with Dover’s powders. Leeches to 
the part, and poultices, have a decided 
beneficial effect, together with the warm 
bath. Where it is very severe, the symp- 
toms will become more urgent; then more 
energetic means must be adopted. You 
will have a great scalding, pfofuse dis- 
charge, painful erections. In such a state 
you may bleed, both generally and locally, 
applying topical fomentations to the part. 
Give an occasional purgative; calomel, 
five grains, pulverized jalap, fifteen grains, 
followed by half an ounce of sulphate of 
magnesia. Apply the most rigid anti- 
DISEASE REVEALED. 80 
THE MYSTERY OF 
phlogistic regimen, the warm bath, abso- 
lute rest, frequent wrashings of the part. 
Dover’s powder may be given, with effect, 
in this state of the disease, to determinate 
the skin; or the tart, antimony and ipecac.: 
Tart, antimony, two grains, 
Vin. ipecac., two ounces, 
Water, six ounces; 
take a teaspoonfull every two hours. If 
there is chordee: 
Pulverized opium, half a scruple, 
Camphor, twro scruples; 
make into ten pills, take two every night. 
Such measures, taken in proper time, will 
be found, in the majority of cases, to effect 
a cure. If the disease is allowed to run on 
until it becomes chronic, or what we un- 
derstand by the term, gleet, different steps 
for the cure must be taken. Gleet is a 
discharge, as its name implies, of a thin 
ichor from a sore. Gleet may be a spon- 
taneous disease, that is, it may arise from 
other causes than infection; but almost DISEASE REVEALED. 
81 
always gleet may be said, with certainty, 
to be a remnant of gonorrhoea, and it is 
very difficult to draw the line of demarca- 
tion between the two. Where we have 
no pain in making water, no painful erec- 
tions, discharge thin, like pure water, you 
may decide that it is gleet. Now for the 
treatment. It is a tiresome and trouble- 
some disorder ; so difficult is its manage- 
ment, that oftentimes the more regularly 
a patient lives, and the more strictly he 
conforms to medical regimen, the more 
deceptive is his disease. It would be dis- 
piriting, indeed, were every case of gleet 
to assume this character. When the mem- 
brane of the urethra is entire, internal 
remedies will avail. Here the stimulating 
treatment is very beneficial; the tone of 
the part is lost, and there is a great lack of 
vitality; hence it needs arousing into ac- 
tion. The vessels of the part must be stim- 
ulated to renewed exertions, and copaiva, 
in these cases, will achieve wonders. The 
use, also, of a mild injection, at first grad- 
ually increasing its strength, will give tone 82 
THK MYSTERY OF 
and strength to the weakened vessels, and 
correct, at least, the quantity of the secre- 
tion : 
Nitrate of iron, ten grains, 
Water, one ounce. 
Or the following: 
Iodide of iron, ten grains, 
Water, one ounce. 
In more obstinate cases you may try: 
Nitrate of silver, twenty grains, 
Distilled water, one ounce. 
In using the silver injection great pre- 
caution is requisite, from its properties 
of discolouration ; the patient should wear 
gloves, and take care that the fluid be 
not spilled over the person or dress, as 
it is very difficult to remove the stain. In 
such cases I have found very serviceable, 
a solution of the hydrarge of potass; in 
a majority of instances you will find the 
stain to be removed by this application. 
While upon this subject I would state, DISEASE REVEALED. 
83 
that in all cases where the nitrate of sil- 
ver is used as an injection, positive injunc- 
tions must be given that the syringe be of 
glass, and the point shelved off, pear fash- 
ion, so as to block up the urethra to pre- 
vent the injection from forcing its way out. 
The injection should be allowed to remain 
in a few seconds, and then flow out. In 
throwing up an injection I would advise 
that, in all cases, the finger be pressed 
against the urethra, as near the neck of 
the bladder as possible, to prevent its find- 
ing its way into that viscus, as it might 
produce very unpleasant effects if allowed 
to flow in. If there be ulceration or stric- 
ture, these two causes must be removed, 
else all efforts are unavailing. In general 
and local debility, attention must be paid 
to the constitution. Common sense, and 
common reading, must give to persons 
possessing both, every necessary informa- 
tion. The community is beginning to ap- 
preciate the advantages of temperance, 
air, and exercise, too highly to need any 
instructions how much of the one, or either 84 
THE MYSTERY OF 
of the other two, are essential to the re- 
covery of health. Such treatment as I 
have recommended above, will suffice in 
almost all cases to effect a cure. 
The next thing which demands my at- 
tention is stricture ; and, as little can be 
done without the aid of a surgeon or phy- 
sician, in this matter, it is useless to go 
into the detail, as it cannot be expected 
that a person labouring under this disor- 
der, would be his own adviser ; therefore I 
will dismiss the subject as briefly, yet as 
intelligibly, as possible. Of all diseases 
of the genito-urinal organs, it must be al- 
lowed that stricture is the most formida- 
ble ; it is not the most difficult to cure, 
but it involves, when neglected, the most 
serious disturbances, which frequently 
compromise only with the loss of life. It 
is of common occurrence, and in nine 
cases out of ten is the result of ill treated 
gonorrhoea ; not that a clap must necessa- 
rily be succeeded by a stricture, but be- 
cause there is such carelessness and in- 
attention among men, in the treatment of DISEASE REVEALED. 
85 
the primary disease. There is a very 
prevalent notion, and which explains the 
extensive prevalence of this disease, that 
to get rid of an expiring clap, is to repeat 
the act that gave rise to it. Now, accord- 
ing to the Homoeopathic treatment, and I 
consider it conformable to the rest of their 
doctrine, the disease should be cured. 
But what do we see in such a case? 
Why, that the disease is not only aggra- 
vated, but unequivocal signs of stricture 
set in. So much for the Homoeopathic 
treatment of disease. The first unequivo- 
cal sypmtoms are a diminution of stream 
in making water, and accompanied by the 
sensation of a pressure behind it. The 
stream, at times, will divide itself into sev- 
eral spirts ; at others, it will assume a spi- 
ral form, then suddenly split into two or 
more streams; while the urine, unless 
great care is taken, will drop over the 
person’s clothes. Those afflicted with 
stricture may be detected from the singu- 
lar attitude they are obliged to take, while 
urinating, to prevent the urine from in- 86 
THE MYSTERY OF 
conveniencing them, and the time occu- 
pied in discharging it. After the person 
has made water, he will be inconvenienced 
by an oozing of water upon the shirt; not 
till then does he think himself labouring 
under any other disease than the gleet. 
The next symptom, he will discover a to- 
tal inability to make water; in a few 
minutes, however, it will subside. In this 
state medical assistance should be sought 
for, and the treatment which I have 
adopted, with the greatest success, con- 
sists of a sedative, immersion in a warm 
bath, the tartar emei 'c, just sufficient to 
produce a nauseating effect, and the pas- 
sage of a bougie. Relief being thus ob- 
tained, the patient considers himself cured, 
and soon forgets the symptoms. But it 
ghould not rest here ; this should properly 
be the commencement of the treatment. 
I will give that practice, by which any per- 
son, reading this little volume, can pre- 
scribe for himself, if the signs are no 
worse than those mentioned above. The 
patient, by pursuing that method of cure, with the passage of a bougie, made of 
wax, taking care to use great precaution 
in the introduction, which will be found to 
be done more advantageously immediately 
after a warm bath, or while the patient is 
in it. Care must be used in the introduc- 
tion of the bougie, that it be neither too 
large, nor too small. If it is too large, it 
will have a tendency to strain the parts; 
if too small, to force a new passage. The 
ones most commonly used, are the compo- 
sition wax, about the size of a goose-quill; 
but this must be regulated by the size of 
the urethra. In cases of an ulcer, or of a 
formidable stricture, the best treatment I 
can advise, is the immediate consultation 
of a surgeon; one skilled in the science 
of his profession. It would be the height 
of folly for the patient to attempt a course 
of treatment for himself. 
The purpose of this volume is to sim- 
plify the treatment of the venereal; to 
lay down the rules of practice so unequiv- 
ocally, that the patient can prescribe for 
himself, and, in the majority of cases, be- 
DISEASE REVEALED. 
87 88 
THE MYSTERY OF 
come his own physician. This is the rea- 
son the author has not gone farther into 
the treatment of stricture; because, in 
ninety-nine cases in a hundred, the patient 
having such disease, is compelled to visit 
the surgeon. The other diseases I have 
treated simply effectively, and have placed 
a cure before every one into whose hands 
this book falls; and the author feels as- 
sured, that if the treatment is carried out 
to the extent laid down in this work, nine- 
tenths of the severest diseases will be 
escaped, and thanks bestowed upon the 
author. DISEASE REVEALED. 
89 
CAUSE OF DISEASE. 
We have so far enlightened the mind 
of the reader, by giving a synopsis of dis- 
ease, and the various modifications of its 
treatment, and directed our attention prin- 
cipally to the cause and effect of that por- 
tion of disease incidental to, or at least de- 
pendant upon the gratification of the amor- 
ous passions. We shall now take up the 
cause of disease in general, in order that 
the wary may escape those ills which too 
many heedlessly rush into. The causes 
of disease are arranged under three heads: 
as predisposing, exciting, or proximate. 
Of these three, the last mentioned, or the 
proximate cause, is nothing else than the 
actual disease itself; the actual condition 
of that part, or those parts of the body 90 
from which the whole train of morbid 
phenomena essentially flows. When we 
know those parts -and that condition, we 
name the disease accordingly; when we 
do not, we call the complaint after the 
group of symptoms by which it is charac- 
terized. The term, proximate cause, is, 
therefore, an unnecessary term; it is, 
moreover, to learners, a puzzling term, 
and tends to give to the consideration of 
disease a scholastic and repulsive aspect. 
I am sure we may as well abolish that 
term altogether; though I have given a 
definition of its meaning for your guidance, 
when you meet with the term, either in 
books, or hear the term originating from 
the lips of a member of the profession. In 
strictness of language, one event is held 
to be the cause of another event which 
follows it; when the first, being absent, 
the second never occurs, and the first be- 
ing present, the second never fails to oc- 
cur, unless some other event intervene to 
prevent it. But the causes of disease will 
not bear to be spoken of after so strict a 
TUE MYSTERY OF fashion. We perceive that certain exter- 
nal circumstances often precede such and 
such diseases, and that the diseases sel- 
dom happen when these circumstances 
are not previously observable; and we 
begin to regard those circumstances as 
exciting causes of those diseases. We 
find that the diseases are much more fre- 
quent among persons known to have been 
exposed to the agency of the presumed 
causes, than among persons who are not 
known to have been thus exposed. The 
evidence at first is presumptive only ; but 
the more uniform their conjunction, and 
the more sure their disjunction, the more 
confidently do we ascribe to the two con- 
secutive events the relation of cause and 
effect. By this kind of observation, a 
number of exciting causes of disease have 
been clearly established to be such. But 
recollect, that certain circumstances being 
present, such and such diseases do not 
always follow. Some persons are more 
liable to be affected by the operation of 
many of those ascertained causes, than 
DISEASE REVEALED. 
91 92 
others are ; and the same persons more 
liable to be influenced by the same cause 
at one time than at another. Those spe- 
cial circumstances may properly be called 
predisposing causes. Thus, of a score of 
persons exposed to the same noxious influ- 
ence, to the combined influence of wet and 
cold during a shipwreck, for instance ; one 
shall have catarrh, another, rheumatism, a 
third, pleurisy, a fourth, ophthalmia, a fifth, 
inflammation of the bowels, while fifteen 
shall escape without any illness at all. 
Just so in the contagious qualities of the 
syphilitic virus; one person may escape 
the contraction of the disease to-day, 
while another person will take the disease 
from the same female to-morrow. A man 
may do that with impunity to-day, which 
shall put his life in jeopardy when he re- 
peats it next week. It is not the exciting 
cause alone, therefore, that in all cases de- 
termines the disease. Something—nay 
much—or all—will frequently depend upon 
the condition of the body at the time when 
the exciting cause is applied; and this 
THE MYSTERY OF 93 
condition of the body, which we call pre- 
disposition, will depend upon circum- 
stances then, or previously in operation; 
and these circumstances are, in our lan- 
guage, predisposing causes. Diseases 
sometimes occur when no exciting cause, 
when no cause at all has been apparent. 
All that we can say of such cases, (which 
are not, however, very frequent,) is that 
the causes have not hitherto been dis- 
covered. Now the ascertained causes of 
disease are many and various. What- 
ever ministers to life, health, or enjoyment, 
may become the medium, under changing 
circumstances, of pain, disease, or death. 
The atmosphere in which we are con- 
stantly immersed, is full of dangers. Both 
the organic and inorganic world of matter 
around us abound in poisons ; they lurk in 
our very food, which becomes pernicious 
when taken in excess, or when it consists 
of certain substances, or certain admixtures 
of substances; so that there really was 
much truth, as well as some humour, in 
the startling motto to Mr. Accuni’s book 
DISEASE REVEALED. 94 
on Adulterations, “ There is death in the 
pot.” Our passions and emotions also, 
nay, even some of our better impulses, 
when strained or perverted, tend to our 
physical destruction. The seeds of our 
decay are within us as well as around us. 
We know, by ample experience, that a 
certain amount of bodily exercise is essen- 
tial to good health. We see the evil con- 
sequences of much overstepping that 
amount, in the deformities and disorders 
that result from too severe and continual 
labour; but a much more numerous train 
of complaints follows the opposite state; 
that in which, from indolence, or from ne- 
cessity, but little exercise is used. Exces- 
sive indulgence in sleep, on the one hand, 
and long-continued want or interruption 
of repose on the other, are apt to give rise 
to serious maladies. Very many diseases 
have a mental origin—excessive intellec- 
tual toil, the domination of violent pas- 
sions, the frequent recurrence of strong 
mental emotions, vicious and exhausting 
indulgences;—each and all will sap the 
THE MYSTERY OF 95 
strength, and grievously impair the health 
of the body; and perhaps there is no 
cause of corporeal disease more clearly 
made out, or more certainly effective, than 
a continuance of mental anxiety and dis- 
tress. When we add to this catalogue of 
the sources of disease, all those morbid 
tendencies which are hereditary, and those 
which flow from original malformation, 
and are congenital, we shall have a tole- 
rable complete list of the manifold dan- 
gers to which our mortal frames are con- 
tinually liable. There are several points 
of view under which the consideration of 
these causes of disease might be shown to 
be interesting. We might inquire, for ex- 
ample, which of them is commonly predis- 
posing, which exciting causes ; and what 
are the circumstances which are found to 
render the same agent at one time merely 
a predisposing, and at another time, an 
exciting cause. We might also separate, 
with considerable advantage, those causes 
of disease to which the human body is 
often and necessarily exposed, from those 
DISEASE REVEALED. 96 
THE MYSTERY OT 
which consist in agencies that are of local 
or temporary existence only. But, with- 
out multiplying these artificial distinctions, 
I shall take occasion to advert to them 
more particularly when I come to speak 
of the disorders they have produced. In 
our investigations into the cause of disease 
great caution is necessary, in order to 
avoid being misled by individual cases. 
The circumstances capable of influen- 
cing the bodily health, are so various; so 
many of them are apt to be put in opera- 
tion at the same time, and so little power 
have we in excluding them, one after the 
other, so as to ascertain the exact efficacy 
of each, that our observations respecting 
their relative, or their actual effects, are 
open to much fallacy. We endeavour to 
escape this source of mistake by repeating 
and multiplying our observations. But it 
is by tracing diseases as they affect con- 
siderable masses of men, placed as nearly 
as possible under the same external cir- 
cumstances, that we gain the surest and 
most satisfactory evidence in respect to DISEASE REVEALED. 
97 
the causes of disease ; and hence it is that 
the experience of those medical men who 
are employed in our armies and fleets, is 
so invaluable. Dr. Allison has well re- 
marked that all military and naval practi- 
tioners are, in many respects, exactly alike. 
The men are generally healthy adults, in 
the first instance; the circumstances in 
which they are placed are thoroughly 
known to the observer, and, indeed, to a 
certain degree, are at his disposal. They 
are often suddenly changed, also, and 
changed sometimes as to one portion of 
the whole mass of individuals, while they 
remain unchanged as to another portion, 
so that his opportunities of observation 
partake, in some measure, of the nature 
of experiments, and being made upon a 
large scale, they are especially interesting 
and conclusive. In point of fact, a great 
deal has been learned upon this subject 
with absolute certainty. 
Hitherto I have enumerated some of the 
principal causes of disease, and indeed it 
were advantageous to the mind of the 98 
reader that I should enter into this portion 
of the subject with more minutiae ; but as 
the desired end of this work is not to aug- 
ment and found elaborate arguments re- 
specting the philosophy and cause of dis- 
ease, I shall simplify the subject as much 
as the nature of the case demands. 
The two great agencies, heat and cold, 
are capable of producing disease, and de- 
serve, before the completion of this work, 
a passing observation. It was a long time 
believed that the human body could not 
be safely exposed, even for a short space 
of time, to a degree of heat much exceed- 
ing that which is met with in hot climates. 
This belief, which we now know to have 
been erroneous, was strengthened by the 
result of some experiments made by the 
celebrated Fahrenheit himself, and related 
by Boonhaaus, in his chemistry. Some 
animals were shut up in a sugar baker’s 
stovei where the mercury stood at 146 
deg.; a sparrow died in less than seven 
minutes, a cat in about a quarter of an 
hour, and a dog in about twenty-eight 
THE MYSTERY OF 99 
minutes. The noxious air of the stove had 
probably more to do with the speedy 
deaths of these animals, than the heat. 
For the sake of ascertaining, with precis- 
ion, a subject which interested such a 
large number of the medical profession, a 
girl was induced to enter the oven while 
the heat, according to Fahrenheit, was 
160 deg.: she remained in the oven fifteen 
minutes, during which time the thermome- 
ter reached 288 deg. of Fahrenheit. There 
was a great deal of anxiety expressed for 
the safety of the girl, but she assured 
them she felt no inconvenience. When 
she came out her complexion was consid- 
erably heightened, but her respiration was 
by no means quick or laborious ; nay, she 
even breathed air for the space of five 
minutes heated to about 321 deg. of Fah- 
renheit, or 113 deg. above that of boiling 
water. I quote this individual instance to 
prove the fallacy of an argument formerly 
so common, but now, I believe, nearly ex- 
ploded. * 
The effects of cold, as might well be 
DISEASE REVEALED. 100 
imagined, are, in many respects, the direct 
opposite of the effects of heat. When its 
application is continued, it acts as a seda- 
tive upon the organic functions of both 
animals and plants. This appears from 
the shrinking of the external parts, the su- 
perficial arteries become unable to trans- 
mit the blood in the usual quantity through 
the integuments. Thus, rings which are 
tight upon the fingers while the body is 
warm, drop off in cold weather, and even 
the shoes fall from the feet during extreme 
exposure. Thus we must see the perni- 
cious effects of cold upon the animal econ- 
omy when carried to great extremes, and 
how it behooves us carefully to watch, 
and not undergo too sudden a transition 
from heat to cold, as it is very injurious to 
the constitution, and frequently induces 
that fearful disease, the consumption. 
When it is estimated that nearly one half 
of all the deaths that take place in our 
large cities are caused by that most insidi- 
ous of all diseases, consumption, it be- 
comes important that we should avoid all 
THE MYSTERY OF DISEASE REVEALED. 
101 
the tendencies to the complaint, and live 
carefully and prudently, and thus insure to 
ourselves a hale old age, and to our fami- 
lies a peaceful and comfortable home. 
If attention has been paid to the teachings 
of the author, I am sure disease will be rid 
of its too frequent hideous and melancholy 
aspects, and not only society will be bene- 
fitted, but the thanks of a grateful public 
will be bestowed upon the author. 
THE END.