Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1871-10-13
COMMUNICATED.
ELECTG=C!TY L. TIE IRElEEYT GF DIS
EISE.

III li.li btuClllS tiiiS ShtlCtl 40 tDtt f-
tcntiun of your readers a few prela-
tory remarks in relation To the history
of Electr0-therapcuticS. viii prepare
the la!ty for correct appreciation OF
its Importance.
The earliest history of Electro-thera-
pcuticS is yelled in ubscuritY. Ii il
the offspring of the mythical and le-
gendary age, before mank ind had been
trained to habits of scientific enquiry,
and before history was accepted in it,
true light. If we depend upon histo-
~ as our guide, we will be told many
strange tales, pleasing to our fancy,
and highly exciting to the American
youth. In past days, superstition
seems to have peTvaded all nature and
taken dCepToot upon the minds Of men.
In fact, il was the stimnius of past
ages to quicken and eniivCn The imag-
nation to strange works and horrible
deeds. 1t was TO the ancienta as tOlac-
co and alcohoiic-drinks of the present
day. Ii was the betel nut and coca OF
the HindOos and other Easterns. 1t
was, as ScheTZer's description of the
bctel nut, "pungent, bitter, aromatic,
sweet, alkaline, astringcmt, a carmini-
tive, a dispeller of phlegm, a Vermi
fuge, Il sweetcncr of the breath, an or
nament of the mouth, d remover Of
impurities and kinder of the flame
of love. 'Oh, friend :" eXclaims the
enthusiastic eulogist. these thirteen
properties of bC;el are hardly to be
met with, even in Heaven. In fact,
superstition was to the ancicnts, IA
opiates to DeQuinccy, and without it
we would never have assembled the
stairway 10 fame. BHt to return to our
subject, superstition was the cOrrela-
tive of Electricity, and whilst Eiec-
tricity is not life. as some were SO fool
ish To suppO!e, il is just the stimulus
we want M many diseases. The ne
greSses Of West Africa were i'm the
habit of dipping their children in the
waters that the torpedo or Electric
fish Inhabited, and with good results.
The mysterious power of the magnet
(which was discovered IN Magnesia,
in Asia Minor, and hence The namel
was frequently used by the Ancieuts
in the treatment of disease, but from
their want of the knowledge of
Anatomy and Physiology, their cures
were NEE chance work, ard without
scientific reasoning. Piiny and DiOs-
corides. Paracelsus, TiLerius aud ScTi-
benius Largus, all make mention
of Magnetism. The era of GalvaniZa-
ton began with Galvaui in 17l9; also
the medical employ ment of the vOltaic
Pile. i he era Of FaTadiZation began
with the discovery OF induction in
1881 which is parativcly a recent
discovery. Statical or frictionaf cleo
tricity, was employed soon after its in
i'm the treatment Of disease,
until GalVaniZation and Faradizati0n
were discovered and brought INTO use.
The latter, together with the Pulver-
macher's belt as a local appliance To
the body, are now almost exclusively
used as Therapeutic Agents. The pro-
grcss If ElectrO-iherapeutiCs has never
been rapid or uniform. lt has been
tried for wide range of diseases. but
partly OH account OF the Inconsistency !
of the vOltaic pile, and the many blum
ders and ignOrancCs of so-ca!led PhYsi- !
clans, who have never Investigated il
from a scientific point, and their mex /
cusable ignorance of nervous force and /
distribution. it was found To he a RENE |
dy of mischief, instead of hope. Both |
and negative results were re- |
ported. Thus, that great man Du-
cheenHe. il is SAID, caused total blind |
ness i'm a woman from oneapplication, /
misunderstanding. Hart, |
brought on Paralysis in a girl and Alb 1
hi NazIas brought on EPILEPSY in one /
of his patients, and Benjamin Frank /
lin Jailed To cure the invalidS that flock /
ed 10 him after his great discovery.
We must necessarily look for negative /
results N everything following affirma-
tiveS and because the medical profession
had failed To study and understand the
complex machinery of the nervous
system, with its Physiological and
conditions. it was con-
founded with mesmerism and suffered
its fate. Light again DAVIS in the Flee
tric world, and now, that those Physi-
clans who have prepared themselves
to touch the delicate workings of
watch with the scientific, instead of
the rude hand of the blacksmith, SO
forcibly and eloquently alluded TO 10y
that able Divine, Rev. Mr. Caldwell
we may expect better aud more per-
results to follow the treatment
by this Agent. Vt least the scientific