The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-11

medicine. We may suppose that an i'm
preston of this stamp on wax was carried
TO the regimental dispensary by way of a
prescription. The medicines, of course,
were such as we should call patent, recog-
nized by their names; plenty of them are
mentioned by Piny and writers of all
sorts. But the dispenSary had drugs in
store and made them up at need
For such an establishment was discover
ed last year a Baden. near Zurich. form
ing part, as we should expect, of a hos
ptal And IL may be assumed that the
hospital was a military one, designed for
the use of the very strong garrison, the
Seventh and Eighth Legions, occupying
Vindonissa close by. II is a discovery
unique up to the present. and profoundly
interesting on that account, though among
the objects found there was nothing to
astonish the learned. They have long been
aware that surgical instruments of COM
plicated form, quite modern inventions
with us. were used in Rome, and even
In Athens, for the things themselves may
be inspected under a glass case In the mu-
seums there. But the public at large may
be surprised to hear that this ancient hos
pital was furnished as the Times report
states, with many kinds of medical, phar-
maceutical and surgical apparatus, the
latter including probes. tubes, pincers, eau
terizing instruments and even a collection
of safety pins used in bandaging wounds.
There were also medicine spoons in bone
and silver measuring vessels jars and
pots for ointment, some still containing
traces of the ointment used" As for safe
W pins. such an ingenious discovery of our
own times, they will be found among the
prehistoric antiquities in the Copenhagen
Museum.
In the Middle Ages.
Descending to the Middle Ages. blank
darkness envelops us again. Doctors of
sorts" accompanied feudal army, per-
haps for they are mentioned occasionally.
Joinville speaks of them once. When the
Constable of France was stunned i'll an en-
gagement, Several of the surgeons and
doctors in camp FASTENED to his tent" But
all through the horrors of plague that fed
lowed there is no further reference to
these gentlemen. The illness of the King
is described al length but never word
about his doctors. He who can read the
account of the camp sickness without
thrill must have strong stomach; but
there is only one allusion to medcal at
tendance. when the gums of our people
were overladen with dead flesh that II had
TO be cut away by the BARRIERS, so that they
might eat and swallow 'Cetait grard
pitie d'ouir crier dams lie camp les gems
auxquels on coupait la chair morte; car lis
criaient ainsi que les femmes qui sont en-
tria broke his thigh badly; it served him
right for his treatment of that gallant
brute Coeur-de-Lion. Doctors enough at
tended him, no doubt, but the chroniclsrs
do not notice them. Anyhow, the wound
began to mortify. Leopold did not think
of calling in professional aid. With his own
hands he held an ak in position while his
Chamberlain struck it with a hammer.
The Duke lived just long enough TO noe
the success of the ODeratiOn
When the most fashionable doctors in
large practice were idiots-unless, indeed
they had studied with the Arabs or the
Jews-we can imagine what sort of men
followed the army. But there Is no need u
imagine. When the Middle Ages were past
in the reign of Henry VIII, the barrier
surgeons begged a charter, and in support
of their petition DR.. Gale recounted his ex-
perience when ordered to report upon the
medical service of the English army be-
siegng Montreuil According TO com
mandment, we made search. Some
were SOW gelders and some horse-gelders,
with tinkers and cobblers We de-
manded what chirurgical stuff they had to
cure men withal and they would show us
a pot or box which they had In a budget
wherein was such trumpery as they did
use to great horse-heels, and laid upon
scabbed horses backs, with REVEAL and
such like. And others which were cob
blers and thinkers they used shoemakers'
wax with rust of old pans. and made with
al a noble salve as they did term it." This
report is long, but this extract shows its
burden. Judge then. what like were army
surgeons in the earlier time.