Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-07-16
The Search for a P.macea.

~ unlVSTSdl me llClne, gtneral pam
acea, is what the impatient work
seems always to be yearning after, and
is ever ready to believe in. The stencil
of tar water is scarcely out Of our
nostrils before the treacle and brim.
stone beloved of Mrs. Squeers or the
camphor drops of Deputy RaSpail, is
announced as the long-sought-tor-noSI
trum. The grape cure IS a rather
recent craze of harmless enthusiasts
andi is likely to last some time, since, if'
not very ellicacious, it is undeniaby
pleasant. The same negative tribute
may be paid to the odor of pine forests
and the manifold virtues OF EOlled
celery and raw tomatoes. The latter
are. indeed, beginning to assert them
selves so vigorously in America that
before long they will be intro uced
here as the latest dietetic cure-all; for
the world has already heard of "A dlplO-
matist who, after damaging his con.
stitution by English dinners and an
undivided attention to the game OF
euchre. is renewing his youth on the
penitentiaL diet of love apples and
skim-milk- Lines have been vouched
for as fruit OF which man might live
forever were life worth living on such
nutriment, and at different times
there has cen great deal to say Tor
dried mummies green tea, Virginia
tobacco, caca0 leaves, snakes flesh, the
eve of newt and toe of frog,
glass of water at night and a little
whisky early in the morning, as CeI.
tain means for prolon2ing eNS'.
ence until person addicted to suca
physic would be burden to his less
ambitious relatives. The mandraht
which groaned as it was dragged ouI
of the ground attached to "A dogs tan
and made all mad within hearing o.
its moan, was in hakespeare'S day az
counted singularly potent drug
entered into all love pOtiOns, ana ~
Il sovereign remedy for bringing Da.A
recalcitrant wooers is referred TO
/ the book of Genesis. The bryOny 81"
keeps its place for similar purposes ID
the rural herbal, just as the elder i Il
repute for the cure of quinsy, the DF
of adders and mad dogs, as an aIluI'
/ against erysipelaS, an ointment Tor '"'
/ eyes, and a charm against toothacHf
/ fever and witches. a raw potato
a loa1stone In the pocket Will pro.e.
/ the owner against rheumatism, ana .
late as 1877. a mad stone "a cha -
a old as the middle ages, and reieTIe'
To by lbu Baithar, the Arabian phlF
cian-waS in use in KENTUCKY a.
cure for hydrophObia. The dock i
1 folk-medicine a SOFT OF unl'e'2~
panaeea, and tn ugh modern monaV..
no longer touch TO the HUE
evil Charles ", of France, o'heas5l
in that capacity at his coronation on
in the year 1888, ia ling the queer
touch. half-crowns bearing the e"s
of Charles 1. served this end ANU,
the Shetland Islanders, -ust as
Cairo scraps of garments thaI ~
come In contact with the Gamer -
ing the "grand seigneurs annu@
present were at one time preserve n
infallible remedies against ever!
Folk-medicine and the search 10
panacea is, indeed, branch OF le.l tt
ism. 1t ar ses oIt of tde idea 70
every created object must con,a
some occult yirtua, more ct less SUI I'F
natural For it is among the hinura
beliefs of man that there IS no I'D
, for which there is not remedy,
, that il heaven has ordained slcAps
and old age. perfidy and death II itg q
also have provided philters aga n og
! four, and that even sad menoiY
be got quit of by means OF tiia' ,ry
) chanted stem which made the
eaters forget the world behind W.
/ Lon lon STANDARD.