The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-06-07

the poor old man, in his excitement, held up with
his left hand the acerated and bleeding limb, and
dangled il in the face of the committee) sit is this
want you To cure at once; and, If you can't do
that, for heavens sake retire at once, and let my
old doctor here operate in his own way; he would
have set my arm while you have been trying TO
hunt up other ailments to affiict me with" "You
arc in our hands, replied the committee, sand it
Is our duty not TO give you up till we make a
sound man ofyou.''
Notwithstanding this appeal of the patient, the
committee still disputed about the remedy and so
widely did they differ, and stubbornly did each
one maintain his opinion, that they were
about TO abandon the case, when one of them pro-
posed compromise of their several opinions. He
said &" All nature was compromise. The healing
art, which was founded upon nature, the art of
compromising into harmonious action the most
discordant materials-thu producing health, and
restoring peace rest and union to all parts of the
body, distracted by wounds and bruises, and
racked by internal connections" Acting upon
this principle, he was willing to adopt all the pre-
scnptions proposed, although somewhat contradic
tory to each other; yet, although it was evident
that no one of them would all the diseases Of
the subject alone, he was, nevertheless, satisfied
that there was some healing virtue in each, and he
thought a combination Of them would produce
such concentration OF restorative power as would
at once relieve the afflicted patient Of his five
tai malades and restore him to perfect health.
His proposition, therefore, was, to combine the
thirteen several remedies proposed by the gentle
men of the committee (lor he did not desire that
any gentleman should give up his individual opn-
ion) into one grand remedy, to be called the Om-
nibtss Cure aI, Perfect Health Restoring Panacea.
As this proposition interfered with no precon-
ceived opinions, and maintained the equal profess
sional rights and dignity of all, it most cheer
fully accepted by the committee, and they imme
diatey proceeded to prepare the panacea for the
subject on hand. But, alas! while the doctors had
been preparing their panacea, Inflammation had
| covered the arm from the fingers to the shoulder,
modification had seized upon the neglected wound,
and when the committee returned to the patient
with their remedy, they found the old family doc
tor bathing the arm with some soothing liniment,
endeavoring to reduce the inflammation, with the
hope that it might yet be possible to prevent the
necessity of amputaton. The committee looked
on in silence; one Of them still held the panacea
but he did not now offer TO apply it. The other all
ments were forgotten-they were all merged into
one, the neglected broken The suffering man
turned upon them a look of reproach, while the
| old doctor said "Gentlemen, your interference has
been most unfortunate-in attempting to cure all
you have killed all If you aid me in saving
the arm, will be most thankful for your services;
If that Is beyond your power, be so good to
tire and leave the patient tO m care