St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-03-25

a mesmeric doctor, though believe he
practiced on an "As-you-like-it' Sys-
TEN. To the scientifically inclined pa
tient he was a mesmerist, to the pious
he was man who cured by the power
of faith and he was accustomed to re-
mark, with great austerty, that if the
Protestant ministers of the city had as
much faith as he, they could work as
wonderful cures as he did-which, |
believe, was the only strikingly true
thing he ever said. To spiritualists,
again, he was a medium. His methed
of cure was by the laying on of hands.
He stood with his hands on the pa
TENTS head for about five minutes each
day. He not only cured, but he diago-
nosticated the disease in the same way.
For half the secret of success in quack-
cry lies in the audacity of your preten
sion. "IOujOurs rduddce" is the legend
of every impOstor who wins. 1t was
better than a play to see grave clergy
men, lawyers, and other prominent cit
izens file into the office of morning to
have the solemn old humbug put his
magnetic paw upon their heads.
Among his patrons were prominent
public men, and the Governor of the
State himself. The Governor urged
ME to go to him, because, as he said,
the man talked most nationally.
Meeting Doctor y. one day in a
public library, | sought to hear his
theory of healing. He expOunded it
almost in these words:
81 put my hand upon the patients
head, and bring the sonsorum of my
brain into contact with the sensorium
of the patients brain. Then l send a
subtle current of etherium all over the
patients system, stimulating all his Or
gans into activity. Then | make my
examination. do not want the patient
to tell me anything about his symptoms
symptoms are apt to mislead. But |
begin with the upper lobe of the brain !;
if find that all right | proceed to the
middle lobe; then the lower lobe, or
cerebellum and if find coagulation
of blood at the top of the spinal cord,
know that the patient has epilepsy, and
so on"
A Jew by the name of Quohn was
my neighbor. He was a merry hearted
fellow, in spite of the intelerable agony
Of eighteen years of asthma, which a
| little later caused his death. He went
to Doctor y. of course, and the exertion
of climbing the doctors steps set him
a-wheezing like the steam-engine at a
blast-furnace. Placing his hand on Mr..
QuOhn's head, the wise doctor pro-
nOunced the patient to be suffering from
asthma. This was a remarkable token
of skill, and the patient suffered him
self to come under the doctors hand for
five minutes day during the next five
or six weeks. at fifty cents each time.
At last, finding his asthma steadily
growing worse, he gave over, laughing
merrily at his own stupidity.
81 t'ink," lie said to me one day, "t'at
Doctor Y. has cot a cOot teal of magnet
ic power
"What makes you think so?"
asked
''How could he traw eighteen tOllar'
and a half ont of my pocket if he
hadn't ?" he gasped.
Whenever l speak or write of any
manifestation of superstition or ignO-
rance in the West, ! am sure to meet
some eastern man who speaks depreci
atingly of western barbarism, as though
any one section of the country held {
monopoly of ignorance and gullibiiity
, Such one has only to read the adver
tisements of clairvOyants in New Yorl
papers to see how many people, in villa
is called society go to see seventh
: daughters of seventh daughters, o
wonderful astrOlOgers.
During the first year that | was il
New York, l was talking one day to 1
prominent journalist. He was speak
: ing highly of a clairvoyant doctor il
| ba yUaSf m vVbnOo b4 yvos ahont N for
ward lock of hair of one of the mos
celebrated clergymen of the metropolis
1t seems the clairvoyant physician
could tell the disease and prescrib
medicines by means of lock of hair
My friend proceeded to mention tina
the wife of a certain New-Englander
of worldwide fame, had been i'll Ion!
g time, and that at his suggestion loci
5 of hair had been mailed to this grea
t clairvoyant, who had complained tina
| the hair was not cut off close enough t
+ the head. A second lock of hair, Gu
= closer, served the purpose, and brough
S Il correct diagnosis and beneficial pre-
= scriptiOn.
4 When this recital was ended, | brOk
e out into some skeptical rawlings abOu
T the absurdity of all this, finally saying
f "Why, that's as bad as Doctor y
e whom used to kaOw at -"
e doctor y. of -?" responded IN
= friend "why that's the very mani"
= You see how much more susceptibl
a of deception the wild West is tina
: New York and New England. The eS
+ cellent New England lady has sine
r. died, in spite of rs prescriptions, an
d the eminent metropolitan clergyma
: did not recover from his disease b
Y means of KS prescription. | came
s but admire KS ingenuity, hOweve
IS At home he despised physic an
IL wrought all by his Omnipotent hanC
i For the absent he prescribed as above
a BY these ingenious and thrifty acts Ii
a acquired a competence, and became
II cOnnOisseur in fruit-growiug at h
II country place.
: There is flOurishing just now a ric
l. and famous quack, who lives near Ne
e York, but who finds much of his ha
Ie vest among the intellectual people
= Boston. A gentleman who had bee
Is worried by his friends and family
submit a lock of his sick child's hair
l. taking a pair of shears to sever a rinI
m let from her head, he observed that b.
in hair was very similar in color to that
at pet dog lying on the pillow besiC
ID her. So he shipped off one of IL
9. pOodle's curls and sent it. 1t is nes'
E. less to add that the child's disease w
n, very correctly described by return
r mall
he OF course. quacks always take refui
rs in something that has an air of myster
l Why a claIrvoyant should know al
ne more than anybody else, or why