The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1906-08-17
MEDICAL DELUSIONS
MANY STILL LINGER FROM THE DARK
AGES OF CREOULITY.

AGES OF CREDULITY.
Supcrstitions Regarding Remedies
For Disease on the Lower East Side
In New NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of the
Old Time Apo1hccaries.
An east slider in lower New York srf-
fering from acute rheumatism was
taken to the Postgraduate Medical
School and Hospital wearing pair of
cells. long Gefunct and dried, by way
of carriers. He showed much distress
when they were removed by the nurse,
being firmly convinced they would cure
his rheumatism in time.
The laugh of science to the contrary
Notwithstanding, medical decisions in
surprising number still survive from
the ages of faith Any physician who
practices among the poor and ignorant
can testify to this, and it is in particu'
lar The staff and students Of an insti-
tuition like the Postgraduate Medical
School and Hospital, which receives its
ratients largely from the lower east
side II quarter teeming with variety,
who are made to appreciate most fully
The extent OF superstition regarding
remedies for disease.
Italian immigrants are peculiarly in
leclsting in this respect. They fire.
Cuant,r attribute stomach trouble to
cats hairs supposed to have been swal
la~ci aud persist i'll eating eggshells
10 euro it. They also eat snails as
remedy FOR consumption, though here
,ncy are supported by Il highly respect
ao!e authority that of The Accom-
u..snci Physician published i'll 1856,
which declares that snail water, COW
i-c 10 the cool, clammy and glutinous
substance of the SNAIL is particularly
grateful to the c3nsumptive. These
Is3liaas use castor oil whenever thelr
feelings become at all excited, either
ly fay ~ sorrow. burn rolls of waxed
paper In their ears 10 cure the earache
"aa willingly 80 through the even more
heroic treatment OF lighting fires Oh
th,ir bare st3machs when they have
dyspepsia.
lie trouble with these people is mere
" chat they have not advanced with
t.ia times, but are still holding beliefs
which are held By the most intelligent
ana best educated men of few cen
3egira aCo. An ap0thecary's shop i'll
queen EliElhcth'S time was stocked
with things that strike moderns as sin
-u!ar enough, considered as medicine.
lny.e were crabs claws, foxes lungs,
sis-s' hearts b1arS' tuSks, sea horses
tla,h. ciks' hoofS precious stones in
r0-t:er. flying fish, tOrtOiscs alligatorS,
cried toaQ&, worms, scorpions and even
human munuics. These latter were
.Uite popular as q remedy for epilepsy,
vertigo and palsy. besides being sup.
posed to heal wounds and mortitica.
tons. Mummy cost Is. i'd. Il pound OF
SIS in or money and was recog-
uizel staple of commerce. but, being SO
expensive. an artificial substitute was
invented which is described by Crollius
in his Royal Chemist as calling for
The carcass of Il young man, some say
rcd headed. not dying of disease, but
killed. It is probable that this glIast.
J. recipe was responsible for many OF
the mysterious disappearance common
in those thrilling days. Human skulls
sold for as much as II shillings apiece
and were given in the form of pow.
dor, mixed with IL little oil.
The most highly esteemed prescrip
lions of the old time apothecary were
those which cost the most and which
must needs, therefore, include pow
Ggrel precious stones. "Gascon's pow
der was one of the most costly Of
these mcdiclmcnts, being prescribed
by the great physicians for their more
important patients. 1t cost 10 shillings
t%GG@D an ounce and was made III
equal parts of crabs eyes pearls, white
amber. oriental bezoar and the black
IDS Of crabs claws.
Precious stones, too, were thought tc
have much efficacy when worn as anu
Ia.s. The ruby protected its wearer
..pl plague and pestilence, the anne
shrs1 keep, q man steady and sober
bookstores stopped bleeding, the onyx
prevented epilepsy, the topaz cured in.
lEmu.atiou. the opal strengthened
weak eyes, aud the emerald prevented
loyilsfpcss and aided the memory. Con,
taer testiGcs: 1T takes away vain and
foolish fears. as of devils and hobgob
u- folly AMI anger. and causeth good
conditions; if IL 90 50 worn about one
saasou viii tell him that being beateE
into powder ana taken inwardly 1t vii
O. much more"
The use Of herbs and plants as medi
ciuas. of course, agrees with modern
practice; but the old physicians made
u.a mistake Of considering them as pos
sessipg Sgmi-magical properties. 1t was
believed that they were the dwelling
places Of good and evil spirits which
worked their good and evil wills upon
those who touched them. The old rhyme
says:
Trefon, vervain, Johns wort. dill
flinders witches Of their Will
md these four plants had extraordi
nary populations in the middle ages fol
both natural and supernatural powers
The trcfo.l is common i'll the Unitcc
States today, especially III the south
and has certain legitimate medical
Ur9ncrt!rs The vcryain Is allied to ouI
native ycFlena and was anciently be.
lievcd to be effective against all poi,
sons and the venom of serpents. as well
rs against bewitched drinks and the
Ike. 1t was also ctficaci0us for witch
craft. Anne Bohemian, the celebrated
witch of Salisbury, used to send heI
pupils into the fields to gather vervair
AID dill The sun worshipers of Persia
always carried vervain when they ap
preached their affairs. They gathered
il when there was neither sun mol
moon and poured a libation of honey
upon the Earth in reparatiion for theil
robbery. St Johns wort was called
'Fuea dcmonum' in the old days
because it routed evil spirits. 1t was
q common ingredient of magical con
,,.,4,e-,e ,,,,I &, c+iI cro tborad with muct