Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1857-02-18
INFLUENCE OF MIND AND BODY.

anty not only their acquiesccnce but their hear
ty approval.-Pee Dee Herald.
INFLUENCE OF MIND AND BODY.
The influence Of faith, belief or opinion, on
the body, is unqucstionablc. We have seen
children of two, three or four years of age shiv-
er in the cold bath, because they feared before.
hand, it would be cold to them. The proof OF
mental Influence in this case is derived from the
fact, that when the same process in the same cir
cumstanccs, or those which nearly resemble it,
is submitted to chccriully and without apprehcn.
sion, there is no shverng.
The same truth is applicable almost every
where in life, and in near all circumstances.
Things are, to Il very great extent, as we apprr-
hcmd them. II we expect a room will be cold
al sixty degrees of Fahrenheit, il is very apt to
proove so. we expect to he i;ltigucd with a
certain kind or degree Of exercise or labor, we
are apt to be so: ard the contrary. So if VIC
expect to catch cold or any other di&casc-cven
small l-pox-wr are vcry apt to find it so. On
the contrary he who does not expect To be sick
or to hc assailcd, may walk un<cathcd through
dangers ly which the more timid man would bc
DESTROYED. We might illustrate the principle at
which we aim hv numerous examples, but few
wish. if possible To astcn the conviction on the
minds Of our readers that just as surely as the
expectation OF being wealthy, wise or good tends
to such results. so surely docs the expectation
that VIZ shall be healthy or diseased tend to make
u so.
In Paris life Of Sir Humphrey Davy, Wa are
ol that DR.. Br'l,locS once went to him with a
patient who was greatly afflicted with one spe-
ccS of palsy, in order that he ght receive the
nitrous oxide gas, hut without explaining to his
patient the nature of the operation. Before ad-
ministering the gaS, however, a thermometer
was placed under his tongue, to ascertain the
general temperature Of his system. Tic patient;
not so much "a imagining what Was to be done.
M sooner felt the bulb Of the thermometer un-
der his tongue. tiian lie declared he was better.
The gas. therefore, wasnOt given, but the man was
required 10 come and be operated upon i'll the
same way the following day, which he did, and
with similar happy effects. In fine, after repeat
ing tic operation Of placing the bulb Of the
thermometer under his tongue every day, for a
fortnight, the patient was dismissed perieyctl
cured.
Equally worthy of or credit, though it may
seem to lartaka IL little more Of the marvellous,
is story which DR.. Gregory, of Edinburgh, was
| acclm. .omcd to relate TO his students:
Having ordered young patient Of his-a
medical StudcEt-to take an anod vne at bed
time. the Young maa understood him to say a
cathartic. The medicine WAS accordingly taken
in the full expectation OF laxative effects which.
in truth. were realized. When DR.. G. asked the
next morning what effect the anodyne had, the
sick man exclaimed with great surprise" Ano-
dvnc. sir! ! did YOU not send me Il catliartic ?
By no means, said the doctGr; it was an anO.
dyne. We'll, said the patient, it has certainly
operated as u cathartic, and feel greatlyreeved
by it. Now, it is quite possible that the condi-
ton of the young man was such that the ano.
dvuc produced cathartic effects, independent
of the state Cf the mind still it is scarcely
probable.
1t is on the same principle that medicines in
general not only in the hands OF quacks, but III
those of regular physicians themselves, have
much of their efficacy. The influence of charms,
and conur,tions and incantationS, to restore
health among savages, is well known.
l. CRlyorINE lIAREoRISG RATs.-Awful! It is
evident that the capacious hoops and " ct ecte-
ras' of the ladies have more terrible evil to
bear, than we had thought Of \ rat-catchcr
atlvertiscs in onc Of our up town cotemporaries ::
Ladies' and gentlemen intestcd with those
destructive vernin, rats, would do we'll to call
on him.
Oh, Jchu! Its the last place VIC should have
thong Int of for catching rats But fun alive |!
wouldn't it he sport to see lively ferricr at
work "in the premiscs?'-Montgomery Mail.
A TEAr.-It is little thing, glistening but a
moment, pearly deep in the window of the
soul, but who may know the language it speaks ?
Who can tell what bitter thought has prompted
it to flow?
The opuent poet Rogers thus rhythmically
speaks Of tear:
+" Sweet drop of pure and pearly light,
In thee the rays of virtue shine,
More calmly clear, more mildly bright,
Than any gem that gilds the Mines