Year: 1879

Of oil nervous diseases, tetenuS u


one Of the most determined and objsc


tionabls. It Is usually induced BY


over indulgence in rusty nails or fish


hooks, and when II once takes hold o


. patient II 10 nearly impossible Il
drive II away. One Of Its permansn


symptoms Is the closing Of the jaws 81


tightly that they cannot bs opened


with q crowb bar. When II is remem


bsred that women as we'll as men suffsl
from this disease, its tremendously
powerful nature becomes evident
Hitherto there has been no remedy
which could be regarded as q specific
for tetanus. In the last century the
usual treatment was to knock out a
few Of the patients teeth, so as to pour
q little brandy down his throat, and
then to order his coffin. With the pro-
gress Of medical science, various other
remedies were suggested, among which
the simultaneous injection Of curare, a
particularly deadly South American
vegetable poison, gave, on the whole,
the best results, and, frequently, SC
far got the mastery over tetapus that II
killed the patient before the disease
could kill him.


At last, however, All ingenious


French physician has apparently hit


upon remedy before which tetanus


yields as readily as toothache yields to


the dentists forcsps, aud which will ol


course, superceds cursrs and all her


remedies. The French doctor in quss'


ton was called to attend lady suffer


ing from tstanus. In his report he
SAYS that she was q married woman oI
thirty-ons years Of age, and that pre-.


vious TO his visit her family physician
had tried every known remedy fol
tetanus, including curare, without pro-
ducing any effect. The patient was
lying on her back, with her jaws tight
ly closed, and the muscles OF her chest
and throat were so rigid that she was
unable to utter a sound. The doctor at
once sent out and procured live mouse
of the usual size and voracity, to the
tail Of which he attached q strong
horse hair. Placing the mouse at the
foot Of the bed, he permitted 1t to walk
the entire length Of the patients body.
No sooner did the patient notice the
mouse then she sprang up, loudly call.
ing to the attendants to take 1t Of, and
denouncing the doctor as a horfid heart
less wretch, who ought to bs ashamed
Of himself and guillotined on the spot


There was no recurrence Of the symp-
toms Of tetanus. In fact, the doctor
adds that the lady's jaws were thor
oughly and permanently unlocked that
the husband who is, of course, igno-
rant Of law, has threatened to begin q
suit Of damages against him. The sue.
cess Of this experiment encouraged the
doctor to try the mouse cure in other
nervous d,seases. He reasoned that
the administration Of mice powerfully
stimulates the nerves Of q female pa
tient, and enables the nervous system
to throw of any disease with which 1t
Is afflicted. Soon after the incident
lust related he met with violent case
Of by ysteria. The patient, q married
lady of thirty seven years, was subject
to hystsrical attacks, but this peculiar
one was OF un precedent violence. Among
its prominent symptoms was an absence
Of whisker on one side Of the husbands
face, a broken clock, an almost irresis-
table tendency on the part OF the pa
tient to lie on the floor and kick the
paneling Of rosewood bookcase. the
doctor at once perceived that mice in
strong doses were indicated.


He therefore ordered that q mouse
should bs administrated every ten min
utes until the violence OF the attack
Abate. The first mouse ran across the
patients body, but there was no per-
change in her heels or voice.
The second mouse, however, entangled
itself in her hair, and her recovery was
almost instantaneous. She sat up and
,aid that II the doctor would ouly take
hat mouse away, she would get right
10 and see about dinner. No further
treatment was necessary, and the fact
he disease has not returned leads the
loctor TO express strong conviction
hat the cure will prove q permanent
me. The mouse cure has also been
ried with the very best results In an
Ittack Of paralysis Of the left leg, which
vas in q fair way to prevent the wife Of
Parisian banker from making call
N certain Of her husbands relatives,
md in a case Of nervous prostration
which suddenly attacked a lady whom
Ter husband mad refused TO take her
o the seaside. Both Of these cases


isldsd promptly to the exhibition OF
nice, and there is no room for doubt
hat the cure was due solely to the
emedy employed.