The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1897-08-06

Bishop, who believed the whole thlnS
to be imaginary, allowed himself to
be bitten by the tarantula and
presently fell to dancing with all the
delirious grotesquerieof the peasant.
By and by, when people ceased to
think much about the tarantula, tar
antism ceased, and at the present day
Italian peasants may be bitten again
and again by the tarantula with no
serious effect whatever. In other,
words, 'scxpectant attention" being
absent, the phenomena, which are no
longer expected, do not accur. DIR.
Woods believes hydrophobia in human
beings to be mimetic disease by ex-
pectant dread, and not by inooulation
with the virus of rabid animal.
There can be no soundness, he says,
in disturbed mind or in disturbed
body, and he adds the question, Can
we not hope for the time when hy-
drophobia also may be RELOCATED to
the limbo Of abandoned vagaries =,
Is THERE ANY TRUE HYDRopioDIA :
ANSWER OF DIR. DULLES.
So far, DR.. Woods has shown ONLY
that the subjective symptoms Of
disease, and even of the diSlocation Of
joints or the fracture Of bones. are
often induced by imagination. and
the influence of cxpcctant attention
does, in fact, cause not only ihdivil-
ual suffering, but fearful cpilcmcs,
His conclusion is legitimate that the
influence of imagination and expect
ant attention in a person who has been
bitten by dog and is in terror Of
hydrophobia may induce the symptoms
of that disease. All such cases must,
Of course, be clearly distinguished
from genuine hydrophybia, if, indeed
there is such a discasc-that is to say.
the rabies Of the dog transferred t.
the human body. But is there, in
fact, any hydrophobia that is really
caused by the bite of a rabid dog:
DR.. Charles w. Dulles. IN cn,-
ncnt lecturer on the history Of mclj-
cine at the University Of Pcmn,
sylvania, has corrcspondal on this
subject with most of the distinguished
medical men in Europe lie has
been repeatedly appointed by the
medical societies ofthc State of Penn
sylvania to investigate rabies. DR..
Woods says that Lie has also per,
formed the almost incredible task or
investigating, either personally CT by
correspondence with physicians OF
others in attendance, every case Of
hydrophobia reported i'll the news
papers Of the United States for the
past sixteen years " Tnc result Of
this patient and conscientious work
has not only brought DR.. Du!lyS TO
the conclusion that ''hy,!rophobia i.
extremely rare, but has also inclined
him to believe that there is no such
specific malady,' since he las failed,
"af,er sixteen years Of Investigation,
to find single case on record that
can be conclusivcly proved to have
resulted from the bite ola dog or amy
other cause We need hardly observe
that this fact, for fact it is, reduces
the probability that any supposed
case Of hy,trophobia has been
really caused by the bite of 4 dog
almost to zero. And then thu
other conclusion of necessity follows.
that the cases of supposed hydropho-
bia which do undoubtedly occur from
time 20 time arc almost, if not uni
vcrsally, caused by the influence Of
Imagination excited by drcad Of Il
disease WHICH probably has no exist.
cncc. In view Of these facts IS it
not duty to humanity to cndcavor
in every possible way to combat the
superstition which breads hydropho-
bia from every overhcatcd dog in the
dog days? Is il not time for the
press to refuse to publish reports
which tend to spread y disease which
IL not rabies transferred to the human
subject, but which is the spontaneous
product Of Imagination, and is there
fore called by at least one eminent
medical man by the name Of news
nape. hyd4oph9nia :"
OTHER MEDICAL OPINIONS.
80, at least, many eminent ply
Slclans hcliG,c, and among them the
following:
DIR. Parvin, Of Jefferson Medical