The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1843-07-12

Opium, use mercurial ointment, &c. En-.
tritis-Blood letting, Calomel, Opium, &c.
MISUNDERSTANDING. Calomel, nj
trate of silver, laudanum, &c. According
to Magendie, NJ. Louis. and others, bleed>
ing tends to produce inflammation; so does
mercury, nitrate of silver, &c. W hat hor.
rid unwarranted. murderous quackery as
Prof. Chapman calls it, Nitrate of silver
(Lunar Caustic) is one of the most power
full irtants in the world. 'It produces
inflammation and gangrene Of the mucous
membrane of the stomach and bowels, is
sometimes absorbed. and gives purple col
or to the rete mucosum Symptoms, arcid
taste and corroson Of the throat and stom-
ach, fullness and choking, vomiting, daro-
he, syncope, cramps, bloody mucous. tenes-
mus, commissions, and death" (Coley) A
glorious medicine for inflammation of the
stomach and bowels and yet it is given by
those very men who make great noise a.
bout Thomsonian's giving Hot Drops, Lo-
bella. Cayenne, and Composition neither
of which will make even blister. Indeed
cayenne is given in fevers by the regulars
themselves. In the infamatory forms of
disease, named by the writer, the Regulars
give CaIomel, Mercury. Opium, Laudanum.
and Nitrate ofsilver, Are these the men to
blame ThomsonIans for giving Composition
&c !
18th. After all the writer says about GER
tain cases in his village, which either died,
or dismissed the Botanic; we would ask-how
many have died under regular treatment 7
1t is well known fact that in many cases
Of the kind. under the influence of cOrro-
ding caustics, and other inflamatory poisons,
a complete stoppage, gangrene. modification
and death ensues but no one blames the
doctor; he's got Hcence to Kill scientifi>
cally, las the Editor of the N. Y. Lancet
says) and the people say-"the Lords lciH be
done" There are many things said by the
writer too palpably absurd, and foolish to
be believed, or to be worthy of notice and
we have neither time nor space to attend
to them at present but will Just say TO the
writer that whenever he feels capable,of de-
filming his theory,and Of defending it and his
practice. before the people,we hope to hear
from him again. We would remind him,
however, of his task in the following words
of Prof. Chapman-"ro harmonise the CON-
trarleties Of medical doctrines is. indeed,
task as impracticable as to arrange the fec
ting vapors around US, or TO reconcile the
fixed antipathes of Nature" (Thom. vol.
page 40 Medical Science. as now taught
what is 1t! The editor of Sydenham's
works calls 1.-THE art of talking rather
than healing" DR.. Brown of Edinburg.
after fifteen years of study and practice,
''depores the healing art as altogether un-
certain and ,ncomprehensible." DR.. Greg
of all the diseases of man, and yet, call the
vagaries of Medical theory respecting it,
have proved unsatisfactory" DR.. L. ].
Todd says-"medicine has never known
the fertilizing influence of the inductive log
ic, and DIR. Harrison says. "Reason and
common sense, are never brought TO bear
upon it, Lieuteand and other French
writers, give it all up and begin anew
(See Synopsis Medicine)Dr. Warehouse,
long professor in Harvard College calls it
LEARNED quackery," DR.. Bigeow, now Pro-
fessor there calls medicine ian Intellectual
speculation" DR.. Chapman, of the UnTer-
sity of Pennsylvania,calsi it ''absurdity con-
tradiction and falsehood"-"a Dedalion
Labyrinth" DR.. Eberle, SAYS, sit is nei-
ther worthy to be received nor condemned"
DR.. L. Nj. Whiting, calls it "a perfect chaos,
destitute of hardly one solitary well cstab-
lished fact" DR.. ]. Abercrombie calls it
'.the art of conjecture science of
guessing striking IN the dark" &c. DIR.
P. Harrison, says, Med. Els. page 67.)
"There are very few writers in our profes.
sion who possess faculties better dicIplined
for the discovery of truth, than this distin-
guished author I'' We repeat-can the wri-
ter define his theory Now Mr.. Editor,
who can wonder at the want of agreement
and success in the practice Of the regulars,
since they have no correct system 10 gov
ern them in it! The wonder is rather that
any live, who are treated secundum ariem.
j. SMITH.
Bristol Vt. June /. 1s43.