American watchman and Delaware advertiser. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1822-1828, 1824-08-06
FROM THE HAMBURG GAZETTE,
CALOyuEL.

from this idol Of the maera medlca, sign himse
Knipperhausen. Had he been disposed TO d
rect indigny and insult, against any living man,
to tarnish The laures oil the illusrious dead his rel
Isoning might have been heard. and his nluenc
lfet in proportion to The weight Of his own charac
ter. But here is reputation which no words ca
stain, no opposition diminish. \ reputation calcu
lated TO disarm suspicion, and TO confirm alike b
its virtues and imperlecions the universal conviC
ltion OF its exalted merit 1t is not my design by S
Vague an introduction to detract in the smallest de
Igree from the well earned reputation of Calnmtl
see, as other men do, those astonishing specih
lenergies, by which it eradicaes diseases, that def
Tall other powers oil medicine. | see il ever exert
ling an influence in the of our autumnal fevers
that draws from me the warmest feelings oil appro
baton. But also see it the busy idol OF set o
men who prescribe II because il is Calomel, mel
who, overlooking the nicer shades of morbid action
and the modus operandi of medicine, ingloriously
abuse its merit; and vls misery and distress on al
who become the victims oil its rash and Indiscrm
nate use. Ii is the evils of misguided application
the remedy that are alone to be feared, and these
evils are not so likely to be produced in any othe
way, as by too frequent repetition of the dose
Through fears created by false and shallow notions
lof pathology IN tevel It is not uncommon amongst
the medical part OF this country TO deuge the
stomach with Calone, almos, as long as there ap-
degree OF prostration prevails no matter what est
essness and anxiety may seem to agitste the whole
system no matter what frantic delir.um parched
and lrrtated stomach may create in the brain no
matter what craving thirst may distract the unhap
Ipy victim, his stools thought bilious Calomel is
his resource, and drink his poison Such practice |
have often Witnessed; such practice is common ;
such practice have pursued, and such practice /
now regret having pursued saw it justified as far
as my Judgment enabled me TO apply it, in my text
books, from the lips oil eloquent professors in the
daily practice OF the most experienced amongst us
10 this plan enter my feeble protest. |, is ruin
ous-t is destructiVe-lt prostraes the vital ener-
gles, and exposes The system in a most unprotected
way to The violence OF the malady, and to all the
reactions Of debility and disease. MY practice has
furnished me with fears that shall forever guard me-
against this rule give Calome in bilious fever
when have reason 10 dislike the condition of The
bowels this repeat u their contents are obviously
crude and hurtIu. In addition ,his call in vari
GUS other auxiliary means OF depletion, such as the
lancet aud The like And by these means seldom
ial OF bringing about crisis or condition well SUIT
ed to the use OF baks and her tonics Ii will notI
answer Tor men to pursue cahartic measures to tool
great an extent. Nothing is more perncious in NV
opinion, TO the welfare of the sick than TO observed
towards them dogmatica precision in giving bal k
aone when the fever is off such conditions are TOO
seldom obtained. Fever is facilitating disease
nor can the system sustain its ravapes one moment
without injury. Under this impression, am in
the constant habit of giving bark especially when
united with snake root, in conditions of the system
That would be pronounced absurd by most Dbvsi. !
clahs. WIN my remedy combining in this way the |
tonic and sudorihc powers, have generally seen
levers abate, moisture ensue and the most delight
iul composure follows it, however, it fails oC produc
ing such an effect, is with much hesitation that
again resort to Calomel would sooner try the
warm bath, the cold bath where there is full evil
dence OF susceptible condition, or refrigerant ca
thallc powders and, above ALL blsters over the re-
glon OF The stomach and liver, and on the extremi-
lles' such IS the course of practice which now
pursue. Prosellted from my former adherence TO
the great Sampson OF the materia medca, as suited
to all conditions, now use il as preliminary step
to the introduction OF such remedies as tend to in
Vgorate and restore.-Since this revolution prac-
uce with better success, and am more deeply i'm
pressed with consolng belief that am much less
likely to do injury. The errors which have COM
mltied previous TO its adoption are numerous, and
my heart is alive to very many disseminating sym.
pathes when reflect that there are men now hid.
den III the silence oil the tomb, whose departure
from this world, tor all know may have been hast
ened by my Calome But invoke the forgiveness
OF my Esculspian ancestor, whose guardian spirit
has at least inspired me with less dangerous heo-
RES; and am resolved, as medical man. not on
slight grounds to hazard the dignity and Usefulness
Of his profession by giving Colonel TOO much. And
also call on medical men to scrutinize their par-
llallties, and try their validity This do in the
name of all those who have been injured by the re-
medy, and of all those who long now have iallen
its untimely victims; such evils are dishonorabe to
The medical flag; such results are alike deroeatory
to the philosopher and the physician.
KNIPPERHAUSEN.