New-York tribune., 1900-12-15

were at the mercy OF homebred talent Even
the imported medical men were mostly BARRIERS,
blood letters and bone settlers, who practised
only the rougher sort of surgery. The highest
medical knowledge, however. was tissue or
medieval scholastic doctrine. wrapped in SYM
bolism ana all sorts of obscure and poetic mys-
teries, with no more relation to observable facts
than We have seen in the natural history Of the
time. One of its chief features was the doctrine
Of signatures" cryptic theory:
The world was cosmic pharmacy; God had
placed a signature on each substance to in
d!eate the disease it was good for. What was
Necessary was to read the label. note the indica-
tions Of odor, color form and other marks.
The application Of this principle was bound up
with the further theory of ''hunlors'' in the hu-
man bcdy. which were four-bile or choler,
blood. melancholy and phlegm. Disease came
from an excess Of one or another humor. or
from humor's being too cold or hot, too wet
or dry. The puerilities of treatment under these
ideas are hardly credible to-day. Pine bark
was good for the skin. because IL was the skin
Of tree; rosin gathered on the bark was good
for outward application. turpentine. procured
by incisions, for wounds and cuts. Kidney
beans were good for the kidneys. Like cured
like; also. eontraries cured contraries. Milk be-
ing white. cured "taunders.'' the product of
BLACK humors'; but add saffron, which is
yellow remedy. for a yellow disease and you
gained double efficacy. cure for smallpox
was made Of toads. because toads were poison.
as was smallpox, and all poison drew poison to
itself "Theriac," universal remedy for poisons
and many diseases. composed OF sixty ingredi-
ents. one OF which was viper's flesh, was expelled
from the Brits Pharmacopoeia oaly $50 years
ago. Another universal antidote was the
''bezoar stone"-a eoneretion taken from the in
- rrsI1- 1rl-
the regular school.
II was long ago pointed out that old English
ferns and pronunoiations can be recognized In
many OF the Amerieanisms for which we have
been faulted. The subject of English speech in
the New World the various dialects in which IT
was brought hither, its notifications and devel-
opments. give DR.. Eggleston the material for
chapter not less interesting than his others, nor
less authoritatively stated, though perhaps less
novel OF the literature that was brought across
the ocean but little good be said. The largest
library in the colonies was that Of the Connecti-
| cut Winthrop, which had a thousand volumes.
but DR.. Eggleston ruthlessly characterizes il as
chiefly composed of "esoteric trunpery" and
impractical works practical subjects The
ology was the most important component OF
every collection OF books. Not till the last quar-
ter Of the century can there be traced IN tba
SSASAacSs III t4lS ASNcSS OI a rev educated Vfr-
ginians, masterpieces OF real literature like
Raleigh's History OF the world'-and there
might be suspicion cast on even the title that
Dr. Eggleston gives it TO rank as such-Bacon.s
Advancement OF Learning" the essays OF Mon
taigne OnventoFied as by Michael, Lord Mon
tague"). and the "Religio Medicl" In I69o
copy OF Macbeth" turns up. The most prevs-
lent book in all libraries was Bishop Bavlv.a
Practice OF Pisty, directing a Christian how ~
wake that ne may please God" II was an emit
oine OF the harshest Puritanlsm. and was CON
hoereo as OF almost divine authority; so .nat
IFS influence On the religious life of New-Enrlans
was important.
one Of the ways in which the seventeenth osn-
tusy man was held in the chains Of traaitior
was through his AFFECT reverence for his -,
perlors. The ideas he brought 10 America vs..
essentially aristoeratie. though he began soor
enough to throw them off, BY 1879 tha ~