The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1877-05-25

nope and expect to see the time when our
school-committee land especially if ladies con-
tlnue to act in that capacity will consider it
more important to make provision for teaching
our daughters a thorough knowledge of our
own bodily organization, than smatterin g of
Algebra, Geometry, Geology, Sc. Though these
are good also in their way and place) for moth
ers to have better knowledge of the preyen-
| ton and cure OF sickness would be OF the
greatest value to themselves and their children,
ior ready and available sort of domestic doc
toring, and more careful attention to ordin-
airy bygenic rules, would save many lite.
And here let me speak of the skilful earnest
devoted family physician, one who often be-
comes the near and dear friend Of the family
| conscientious and pains-taking, and a continu-
| al searcher for the TRUTH that he may ever be
able to add to and correct medical science as 1t
now stands, he keeps pace with every fresh
thought advanced, and puts into practice most
willingly, as an auxiliary, anything that proves
| itself better than he has yet known, he allows
no hame OF any special kind of practice to deter
| him from using the best and most ethclent
| remedies known to any or all OF them. There
| are many sucn in Boston and some known
| to myself in particular whom have described
so well that their names spring to my lips.
| But he will tell you candidly to day, that he
| employs powerful medicines, fearful agents,
some of them are, because of the need of some
| thing he has not yet found which shall take
their place. He will acknowledge, for he
cannot deny it, that heidaily orders the use of
l p0lSOuS, DOuu anu internally, OF
which an overdose would be fatal (you see an
| item frequently of death by an overdose of.
| mandrake) and of which any dose must be
sufficiently powerful to dispossess the disease
present and to take and retain control of its
| place, instead of removing from the system
every cause of disease.
| Wise statesmen tell us that the world is gov
| erned too much With even greater force it
| may be said that the world is doctored too
| much, and physicians disagree very materially
| QhOnt rho affppts Of 6iffaropt binds IF
| cines.
Dr. Stahl attributes the frequency of con.s
sumption to the introduction of Peruvian bark,
while DR.. Morton considers the bark an effect
| ual cure for the disease.
Dr, Reed ascribes the frequency of the dis
ease to the use of mercury. DR.. Brillouett
| asserts that it is only durable by mercury.
| DR.. Rush says shat consumption is an in.
| 1ammatory disease and should be treated by
bleeding, purging cooling medicines and star
| vation." While Salvador says sit is disease
| OF debility and should be treated by tonics,
stimulating medicines and generous diet,
Galen recommends vinegar as the best pre-
| ventive of consumption. Dessault and others
assert that consumption is often brought on by
common practice of young people of taking
vinegar to prevent obesity.
| Dr.. Beddoes recommends foxglove as spe-
| cic in consumption. Dr. Pan found foxglove
more injurious in the practice than beneficial.
In the face of such contradictory statements
| as these We must think and act for ourselves,
and most especially in the use of poisons.
will now quote Prof. Alva Curtis, A. M /,
| M. D., President of the Cincinnati Scientific
Institute. He says, "Of ipoisons articles in
their nature inimical to the human race, no
quantity is ever proper, nor should we lie
| cheated out of health and life by being per-
suaded to take poisons covered by abbrevia-
lions of unknown tongues, and being falsely
told that they are the best Of all medicines, nei-
ther should we unnecessarily come in contact
with persons affected with any contagious dis
ease or with the posons of vegetables or ami
mails, for they are calculated to injure our
healths If not to destroy our lives. Poisons re-
ceived into the alimentary canal or by absorp-
ton through the lungs, or the external surface,
possess tendency to destroy the vitality of
the organs with which they come In contact,
and do actually effect that destruction in all
cases in which their influence is not overpow-
cred by the vital force. Hence, though poisons
may by the vital reactions they provoke be
sometimes made the occasions Of a transient
good to the system, they cannot be properly
viewed in any other light than as direct causes
only of disease, and should never be taken for
the cure of disease in any FORM Remember
have just given you the words of prominent
physician, one whose knowledge of his subject
is most thorough.
Having got so far on the subject of poisons
let us look at few in general use mercury
deadly and insidious poison, once taken into
the system it never ceases to work, and poisons
the sufferer while life lasts, arsenic a deadly
es, never except with the aid of a physician,
yet have known Of ladies being put under
what is called ga course of arsenic by physi-
clans for the purpose Of making them appear
brilliant, frightening the eye and identifying
the complexion, treatment too which they are
not able TO leave off at will as the dose is con-
tinually increased. The curse of intern perance
pales before such an abuse of medical science
as this. There too is strychnne of which one
grain will instantly destroy human life, bis
ninth and Zlnc dpn0St themselves in the hOpnS
and produce permanent symptoms of poison
ing, quinine is much relied upon by the profess
sion and the public, but a continued use is alb
soutely suicidal; it temporarily relieves and
finally destroys. Think of making the body
sluiceway for these poisons that entail ineradi-
cable diseases by the deposit of poison in the
body. Are you willing to run the risk? Will
you lure the lightning to your freside, to the
for dispensation of Providence to avert the
disaster? Yet these poisons form the active
principle of the fever and ague and liver med!-
cines now in use, and that they not effectu-'
al to prevent or to cure those diseases those who
suffer from them know full we'll Now, there
fore, if those who have these diseases wish to
cure them, without resorting to what is famil-
iarly called "a poison to kill poson,' there is
a sure cure for that and many other diseases
without any medicine at all. Does it seem as
tonshing? and go it is, but nevertheless strictly
true.
am not asking you to try an experiment, I
am not offering you something which may or
may not be of benefit to you, but am telling
you of curative which has been SO thoroughly
tested that it is beyond the power of any to dis
pute it.
The Holman Fever, Ague and Liver Pad has
never failed to effect the cures that are claimed
for it. Should there be any question about the
value of discovery which does away entirely
with dosing and drugging for those diseases it
is intended to cure, and you will find it will
cure nearly every disease known, such as bill
IONS Iixrn1 xJato kn
jaundice, pains in the side, stomach, back,
shoulders and muscles, periodical and lifelong
sick headaches constipation, bilious diarrh@a,
bilious collie neuralgia, rheumatism, kidney
difficulties, paralysis, irregular action of the
heart, nervousness, fever and ague, chills,
dumb ague, ague cake, intermittent and remit
tent fever, ann the yearly visitation of yellow
fever in the South
And here let nae describe to You the use Of
an organ, usually but little understood In
deed we seldom hear of the spleen at all. ex-
cept when malarial disease is present. aud then
it very quickly makes its protest felt, it en-
larges, forming what is known as ague cake,
which the patient is able to feel with the pres.
sure of the hand. The spleen is like a sponge,
and susceptible of great expansion and con-
traction without injury. 1t is like the air
chamber of a fire engine which serves as
cushion, for the water to press against, accom-
modatiDg itself to the amount of pressure
brought to bear upon it, and securing steady,
unremtting flow or stream. The blood passes
through the spleen. 1t is claimed by some that
the nervous fluids do also, which may account
for its being called the seat of melancholy.
The heart is double-acting force pump, fore
ing the blood ont through the arteries, into the
system, and drawing it back through the VEINS
When the blood is natural, and ths mind free
from excitement and the body from disease,
this machinery moves smoothly and beautiful
~, with regular and uniform pulsations, and
without undue pressure upon any of the YES
sells or organs of circulation. But let the mind
be suddenly brought under exciting or depress-
ing Influence, such as anger, grief, joy or fear,
and how quickly the heart responds, either by
its almost ceasing to beat. or by jumping as it
were into increased vitality. with strong vigof-
GUS throbs, and the blood seeming almost ready
to break through some of its restraining bar
riers under the great pressure.
Right here comes the Office of the spleen. 1t
expands readily under this pressure like the
chamber in the force pump and the crisis is
passed without harm, and gradually comes back
to its natural condition as the exciting ause
gives way. In fever the same results FOLLOW.
the fever being the exciting cause. When ma
larial the blood is thick with poison, and the
heart finds great difficulty in performing its
work, especially in the extremities the small
vessels are easily clogged and offer resistance
to the blood's circulation, and thus bring into
use and make necessary the Office of the snlears