The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-19


This harp can also be attached TO the
back Of rocking chair in which pa
tlent sits, and the movement of the
rocker serves to bring the harp into
pleasant action, thus producing ON the
invalid most soothing effect.
Being Intercepted on the subject a
short time ago. Dr. Rivera after some
hesitation remarked:
Il cannot just at present exploit 1t,
for l am fearful the moment Is hardly
ripe, and l may be exposed to severe
ridicule"
He stepped to his library and took
down book from the shelf,
However" he continued, II am
greatly encouraged in my work by GER
tain statements recorded in his diary
by the celebrated M. Feurcarde, of Par
Is statements recorded over half cen
fury ago, wherein he narrates how he is
advocating the use of few drops of a
certain medicine as a substitute for
bleeding in cases of low fever. Because
of this departure in the code of treat
ment, great ridicule was being heaped
upon him by the medical profession of
the time, and in his diary he refers at
much length to this ridicule on the part
of his brethren, among other express
sions making use of the following one:
I cannot walk the streets without
hearing the distasteful terms "lunatic"
and "quack'' applied to me-
Continuing, DR.. Rivera adds: Fifty
years ago 'cranks' were unknown, else
wise M. Fourcarde would have been
~ Ia - T r
cred by some, at least. But as I have
observed, 1 am greatly encouraged in
my discovery, for the water cure and
hypnotic methods of treating diseases
have prepared the way for every kind
of painless cure; and this is, indeed, the
age of painless cures. Anaesthesia was
the first step in the early part of the
present century, and from that day to
the present hour the painless treatment
has gone steadily forward.
Laughing gas was a great step in
advance, but cocaine was a greater
step, and now / believe music is to
prove not simplyAthe latest but the best
exponent of all. This last belongs real
ly to the vapor medicines, such as chic
reform, for the reason it acts on the
senses.
Indeed, the music cure, may be said
to have to do with antiquity itself, since
1t began in the days when David played
to soothe the perturbed spirit of Saul
The next record we have OF a musical
effort to relieve great distress was when
the singer Bellari, in the sixteenth cen
fury, put to sleep the Italian patron of
sculpture, Prince Bellargravia. The
prince awakened after twelve hours
slumber wholly relieved of the terrible
rheumatic pains which had prevented
his obtaining sleep for over a fortnight,
"And now, regarding our present
| plans for a musical hospital cure: 1t is
not our purpose--as in the case Of the
Kneippists-to advertise a cure for ev-
cry i'll of mind or body any more than
we would declare that electricity will
cure everything under the sun, or that
iron itself is universal medicine. We
only propose to cure diseases of GER
tain nature, while letting others entire
ly alone. We lay all stress on curing
pain. Now, everybody knows who has
given the subject careful attention that
the influence of music upon pain is
wonderful. The mothers lullaby is
founded upon it, and the singing to in
valids is also based on the soothing eff
fects of harmonious sounds Then, too,
reading to the sick-and there are soci-
cites banded together for this sickroom
| diyersion-is only branch of this same
cure.
1.-THE real philosophy of the cure lies
| in this: Pain viii depart If you only
give it sufficient time to do so. Why, If
you could only get a patient to sleep for
| a period of two weeks-while his pain
| is raging-there is no question about
his awalxing cured. But, of course, the
difficulty in the matter is to get him to
sleep. The music cure however,
serves it's purpose by putting the pa
| tient to rest.
THE influence of music has this eff
| feet: The patient hears the pleasantest
sounds and does not experience the
pain while he is listening. This is a
fact well known in every hospital. Pa
tients who are suffering acutely with
pain are quoted for hours while Sunday
hymn singing is taking place.
! 'We shall have a ward in our music
hospital expressly for pain patients,
where they can hear the most interest
| ing character of music. There will be
another ward for nervous patients.
For this character of disease there is no
music equal to Wagner's, partly be-
cause his music is largely descriptive.
For example, you see a millzmaid leave
| the house and go to the barn with her
pail in her hand. You hear the first
tinkle of the white drops in the pail,
with the maid grooming her song as she
| fills her pail. One by one the cows are
mooing for their turn, and at last, when
all the cows are MIXED, you see the
maid carrying her dainty burden to the
dairy. Now, the story will first be told
! the patients in mere words, after
which they will hear it expressed in
music. the effect of which will be to re-
| lieve them from pain, and so make
them well, all being accomplished, as
| you see, through the spell of music.
1--WE do not propose to abandon the
use of songs, since they will serve a
beneficial purpose at times; but pa
TENTS, you know die while taking med
| icine, because they are so blue in mind
that they fail to arouse ambition suffi-
cient to rally from their disorders But
music will keep UP their interest in and
love of life.
"A peculiar feature in this method of
treatment is in the character of sounds