Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1874-02-25
Mysteries Of the Nerves.

Ut. DTOWu-ocQuAru iectuTeu 10
Plymouth Church recently on mental
phepomenR. The famous scientist is
apparently dfly years old, and nota-
bly, handsome His gray hair and
whiskers are neatly trimmed. his fsa-
lures are clearly ont and striking, and
This color is youthful in it's freshness.
Mr.. Beecher introduced him to the
audience, which included tho'majority
of the preachers and physicians Of
Brooklyn, besides q good share of the
Plymouth congregation. The plat.
form had been fitted up for the ocoa-
sion with o reading desk, a row of
gas jets, and q blackboard. DIR. Brown
Sequard took biz place At the stand,
on which be laid bis cane, and prefaced
bis speaking with good naturcd, half
deprecatory smile. His first utter
ance betrayed bis French accent, which
is 40 strong that close attention was
necessary on the part of the audience
in following his meaning throughout
the lecture. 81 "A sf
He started with dividing the nerv.
GUS system into the elements of cells
and fibres, which ramify tho brain
and spinal column. The nerves are a
network of the fbres connecting with
the cells, and tho irritation Of either
produces both action or arrest of ac-
lion. The irritation Of any Of the
cells of the brain, may affect
the brain or come remote part
of the body; or the irritation of nerv-
GUS fbres in any part of the body may
affect the brain. From these facts
arise the complicated phenomena of
mental and nervous disorders, and
the difficulty Of understanding them.
If cold water be injected into the ear
an immediate and very marked effect
will be the result in the nervous
system. H1
WHAT KILLED THE IRON DUKE.
zone OF the greatest Of military
heroes, 'snid the lecturer,"the Duke of
Wellington, employed a-quack, who
injected nitrate OF silver into his ear.
The Duke at once rolled and squirmed
like an eel being fried" He showed
with his cane how the Duke squirmed
like an ee, being fried, and the audi.
enoe laughed heartily. "But that did
not cure him." added the lecturer, his
dialect adding TO the quaintness of
the illustration, "and the next day the
quack tried the experiment again
This time he did get enough Of it,
and of life, too, for he died the next
day."
To showhow small nervous irrita-
tion may cause serious effects, he told Of
a boy who upon getting up one morn
ing was attacked with acute mania
and commissions. When the sufferer
was laid on tho bed, the mania and
commissions at once ceased; but when
ever he got on bis feet the symptoms
returned with great severity. The
surgeon who was called made thor
ough examination, and in doing so
found that the boy had the day before
run a piece Of glass under tho nail of
one of his big toes. This had injured
a nerve in such way that the pres
sure Of standing on the foot invaria-
bly, threw him into the alarming
symptoms. A cutting away of por-
ton Of the toe affected an entire cure
That minute irritation may have
immense power ovor the brain and
nerves was illustrated by other simi.
lar cases, and regarded the field which
these facts open for scientific research
as vast.
The phenomena Of arrest of action
was the second phase Of the subject,
and in handling it the lecturer first
spoke OF the great power oil the will
"a arres''ng convu's'Vo movements
vur CONSCIOUSNESS ieaVes us ourihg
s;eep 'nloasa an hrrsst OF ac.iViIy
s,,n''ar ~ ."a' Prouuoeu oy ,rri'a,'on
" cer'a'n nerve 10 tue neck Oon,
. vu's,ons are % ,ne resu'. OF lrr,,a'ion oil
Par''cu'ar cclis ne nau hao thirteen
Eases 10 n's own Pracuce 10 whicn
pressure 0, Tue o'g toes stopped con-
vu's'ons oi 'ne iegs' 10 ep'epsy,
wneh tue @ nsaa 10 drawn toward one
snou'uer' ,e'c, ca" oe procured oy
pressing 'ne neau over toward inc
o19c' snou'acr.
~ u.souss'ng nmec.'ons OF the ofa,n,
.ne lec'urer sa'o 'na' an INJURY 10 the
e.an m,gn. produce mama; yet
u'seaSco pra'n m'gnt result IN no out
ware symp'oms. ne knew Of cases
wnere nan nan ol 'ne ora'n nao oeen en-
l'.e,y diseased s ana no s'iecuon Of tho
'n.eiiec' pau resulted, and others
wnere very sl'ght huris had caused
''o'en' han'a'
WHAT PARENTS OUGHT TO KNOW.
"Thcse are facls,' no said, (which
show that each OF the two sides of
the brain is complete, and able TO per.
form sinsly tho offices Of both. lam
satisfied that we make great mis-
take in not teaching our children to
use both sides of tho body alike. We
ought to be able TO write as we'll with
one hand as with the other. 1t would
be great gain II both sides of the
brain could thus be developed equally
by even use of the body.