Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1908-12-24
OLD SCHOOL DOCTORS
Ignorance Of Physicians Of the
Eighteenth Century.
TORTURE FOR THE PATIENTS.

Every Ailment Beyond Diagnosis Wss
classed as a Fever, and Pills, plss'
ters, Burning and Bleeding Were the
Regulation Remedies.
The provcrb "The remedy IL worse
Than the disease must have been coin
ed IN the eighteenth century when
physicians treated their patients with
"A ~olenco that borderod on assault
and battery. II was held that sickness
was some kind 81 demon that must
be overcome 10y pills, plastors,. bleeding
and burning aud II the patient Incl
dentaIy got the full effects Of the tor
turc and died. 80 much the worse for
him. Air and water were considered
the most dangerous things for a sick
person to have, and his misguided de-
mand for them was Interpreted as a
.sis.---tifat he should have still less.
The windows were shut and the cur
talns Of the four poster tightly drawn
around the rccumbent unfortunate
gasping for breath. II he burned with
fever the blankets were piled on him
\ desire for water meant that he could
have none. while a lack Of appetite
proved that he ought TO be stuffed
with food. 4 bath was positively un-
thinkable.
The deadly results Of breathing
might air. were acccntuated by med
zeal writers. say- $. G. Tallentyre In
the Cornhill Magazine All air was
lad. but the night quality often prov
ed fatal to "young ladies Of beauty
fortune ana great merit and 10 ''yotmg
gentlemen of parts and breeding One
bold medico recommended that bed
chamber should bee ventilated-in the
DAYTIME. Mother dared 20 suggest
that cOnsumptives might benefit from
sleeping In pure atmosphere. The
ruiz for ablutions was "hands often,
fee. seldom head never" out a physi
clan Car I'm advance Of his age sur
missed that invalds might battle their
feet in warm water once Il week and
under extraordinary circumstances
take Il warm bath once a month.
Ovcreating and drinking caused
many Of the diseases Of the upper
classes. Montesquieu said that dinner
Hkiiled one half Of the Parisians and
supper the other half Everywhere II
was the custom to pile the table With
roas, beef. mutton, capons, boars'
heads, pasties creams. stuflings and
mlDcemeats 4 fearful repast OF twelve
indlgestible courses was brought on all
together. so that the diners knew what
was expected OF them. 4 large break
fast Of small beer and meats preceded
-the gigantic midday meal, when people
enjoyed n Gargantuan gorge for three
hours and spent two more in Falstaff
Ian potations. After this the gentle.
men Joined the women for dish OF
tea IN the drawing room. and II was
not long before the whole party Of hu-
man dnacopdas returned TO the dining
room for a supper on the cold rem
nnIts- of the dinner. Amid this orgy
Of gluttony 'Valpole and Voltalre were
distinguished for an abstinence that
prolonged their lives.
Heavy drinking was universal and
rarely reprimanded by medical men
as by Or. Tronchin. One DR.. Cheyne
advised women not to take a whole
bottle day. Another authority wrote
popular treatise In which the best
means Of attaining longevity was
stated 20 be bottle cf wine at dinner
and three glasses after These who fol
lowed such advice were In danger Of
being dubbed temperance cranks y
story is told of the celebrated and con
vivial DR.. Garth. who was tipping
bumpers at the Kit-Kat club when re
minded that his patients needed at
tention. "Tis no matter" said Garth,
already half seas over. IF see them
or not. Nine have such bad constitu-
lions that all the doctors In the world
can't save them, and the other six
have such good that all the doctors in
the word can't kill them"
a physician named Brown became
the pet Of fashionable women by al
ways prescribing pleasant remedies,
"a glass of wine In the forenoon from
time To time" several glasses of port
or punch after dinner till some enliv-
ening effect is perceived from them"
Together with inordinate quantities of
liquor and food, DIR. Brown recon-
mended to his male patients the COM
pany Of delightful young women"
One Of the natural consequences Of
sueh--an-- agreeable regimen was the
govt for which eighteenth century
high llvers took seas of liquid medi-
cines, mountains Of pills and bins Of
powders.
Any disease beyond diagnosis was
put down as "a fever" Whether ty-
phus or typhoid, scarlet or gastric, non
contagious or violently infectious, any
thing which caused rise in tempera-
ture was sufficiently described by the
term fever. Smallpox, scurvy, spotted
and Jail fever were maladies distinctive
Of the age. Distinction and first aid
to natures were never dreamed Of