The People's Medical Journal, and Family Physician

Pharmaceutical Society: oh, indeed! I shall not examine you any further then.

Mr. Griffiths, in replying to the defence, said, that as to this question being so important for the future safety of medical men in prescribing, how much more important was it to their patients! What safety is there, to any of us," said he, "that a prescription, obtained at a great expense, and in the crisis, it may be, of some fatal disorder, from some eminent physician, requiring the nicest discrimination and accuracy in its preparation and there are medicines, gentlemen, as the records of coroners' inquests too fatally make known to us,-in which the turn of a scale, or the measuring of a half drop make the difference between health and death-what security have we, I ask you, if such as I now complain of be the practice of druggists? What security have we the ignorant, 'confiding public-mystified by the Latin of the prescription, and bamboozled by the mysterious importance of the surgeon-druggist, that he will not make up this carefully-obtained prescription, on which the life of the breadgainer of a large family may depend, totally different from the purpose and intention of the able physician who wrote it-and administer to us some drastic sulphate, or bitter nauseating salt like this, instead of a tastless, inodorous, and innocently refreshing medicine, like Murray's fluid magnesia, or any other proper ingredient, legibly written in our prescription ?"

Mr. Griffiths then went on to say,--"That an attempt had been made by the druggist to get out of the difficulty by suggesting they did not venture to swear it-that he had asked for advice. If he asked Mr. Walford for advice, why did he ask him for a calomel pill? When you ask a doctor's advice, do you tell him what to give you? If he had asked his advice, and stood there to take the medicine as recommended, how came he to be so angry about the Epsom salts? Could he have shown so much feeling, if he had taken them under Mr. Walford's advice? What right would he have had to say-You are wrong! Is that the speech of a patient to a doctor whose advice he is seeking? Is it not rather the reproach of a man, who has asked for the one thing, and finds himself aggrieved by the substitution of another? Away, then, at once, with this flimsy pretence of his having asked for advice. He was himself a chemist, and went into the shop of Messrs. Lunn and Walford to get the medicine-Murray's Fluid Magnesia—which he was in the habit of taking. Mr. Walford had chosen, from carelessness, or design, or from the habit, of always giving Mr. Lunn's own preparations (a very natural reason,) to administer him what he did not want. He did so on his own responsibility, and he must take the consequences. He (plaintiff) would repeat what he had before said, that he had no personal feeling in the matter, and no desire for vindictive damages. It was the principle in question for which he stood out, that the druggist should sell to his customer the article for which the customer asked him, and not substitute, at his pleasure, another medicine, because more convenient or more profitable to himself. The public safety required that this rule should be rigidly enforced amongst medical men. There is no profession,' said Mr. Griffiths, in which we are called upon to place so much implicit faith and confidence as the medical. Why, almost more than one-half of the secret of success in medicine is the confidence the reliance of the patient in the physician. And what defence have we-what safeguard? If one lawyer deceive us we can go to another; if one clergyman attempt to lead us from the right path, we have the Holy Book, where we may track his wanderings and map our own way back again to the right course; but the doctor! he first kills you, and then leaves you to your remedy. (Great laughter.) In your hands, gentlemen of the jury, I now leave this important question, trusting that you will

bring your common sense to bear upon it, and return a verdict which will teach the medical profession not to tamper at their will with the health of those who place implicit reliance on their supposed good faith."

His Honour observed that there were several points in this remarkable and ably argued case which he must submit to the consideration of the jury. First, whether the plaintiff asked the defendant for advice. Secondly, whether he asked for Fluid Magnesia and received Epsom Salts. Thirdly, whether he received not Epsom salts, but something equivalent. Fourthly, whether this was done through gross ignorance or negligence on the part of the defendant-because, if not, the plaintiff would not be entitled to recover. Fifthly, whether he had waived the medicine he had called for by tacitly taking what was given him in place of it. These points, and the question of amount of damages, he must leave to their consideration.

The jury, after some discussion among themselves, retired to consider their verdict.

In the meantime, the Judge intimated his wish to taste some of Sir James Murray's Fluid Magnesia, which combined with the Acid Syrup, also of Sir James's preparation, appeared to make a cooling and refreshing effervescing beverage. Mr. Griffiths politely supplied His Honour with a glass of the mixture, which he pronounced, ex cathedra, to be delicious.' The opposing counsel and solicitor also requested a refresher,' and the whole Court, as far as the bottle would go, proceeded to try Murray's Fluid Magnesia; after which, they pronounced an unanimous verdict in its favour. At this moment the jury returned to their box, after an absence of half an hour, and returned a verdict for the plaintiff.

The trial lasted five hours, and excited an intense interest.

RADICAL CURE OF HYDROCELE BY NOVEL METHODS.

[Hydrocele is the term applied to a collection of water in the tunica vaginalis, involving also the surrounding cellular membrane, and producing swelling of the scrotum: it is sometimes mistaken for diseased testicle, or even for rupture.]

A PATIENT, Benjamin Green, aged 38, was admitted into Bartholomew's Hospital with hydrocele of the tunica vaginalis, and was operated on for the "radical cure" by Mr. Lloyd. He pointed out to the students that the tumour projected more than common at its upper part, was contracted at its middle, and larger below, exhibiting somewhat the hour-glass shape. He stated that he had seen many large hydroceles of a similar figure. That the fluid in the two portions communicated was evident to the touch. But as a twelvemonth before Mr. Lloyd had operated on the opposite side of this patient for strangulated inguinal hernia complicated with hydrocele, it was important to examine the present hydrocele with care. Mr. Stanley having examined the case, and concurred in the opinion that had been formed of the nature of the disease, Mr. Lloyd at once punctured the sac just below. the contracted part and drew off about thirty ounces of greenishyellow fluid. He then injected the sac with undiluted port wine, using a pint for the purpose. It was allowed to remain in the sac for about fourteen minutes, and occasioned very little pain. Whilst waiting for the abstraction of the wine, Mr. Lloyd made some remarks on some other modes of treating hydrocele. He first adverted to the treatment by forcibly injecting the sac of the tunica vaginalis with air. He employed this plan some years ago in several cases among the out-patients of the hospital; at first he thought with success, but, with the exception of one case, the disease recurred in all; and what was the permanent result in that one, he had had no opportunity of ascertaining. He had also given acupuncturation a fair trial, but found it a

very uncertain remedy. It is, however, oftener successful in
children than in adults. But the plan of treatment most relied
on by Mr. Lloyd is one which he has adopted almost exclusively
at the hospital for several years. It consists of the introduction
into the sac, after it has been emptied of its contents, through the
canula, of a small portion of hydrarg. nitrico-oxydi, finely levi-
gated. This plan has been employed in a large number of cases,
and hitherto without a failure, as well as without any untoward
consequence whatever. It excites the necessary degree of in-
flammation, with as great, if not greater certainty than the in-
jection of wine, solutions of sulphate of zinc, iodine, &c. It is,
moreover, a much more convenient mode of treatment, as well as
saving much time.
The mercury is introduced, the patient is
left to himself, and the surgeon is at once at liberty.

Mr. Lloyd has likewise lately cured a case of hydrocele, in a hospital patient, by pressure-tightly strapping up the testicle directly after evacuating the fluid. The pressure was kept up for three days, by which time hernia humoralis was established; since which the patient has gone on precisely in the same course as in the case after vinous injection.

POISONING BY PRUSSIC ACID.

MR. GODFREY has published, in the Provincial Medical Journal,
a case of poisoning by prussic acid, which involves some points
of interest, not from the symptoms presented, but from the time
which must have elapsed, after the imbibition of the poison,
before death occurred; and also on account of the various acts
of volition performed by the suicide, after he had swallowed the
acid. It appears that, on the morning when he committed sui-
cide, one of his daughters accompanied him to his office, where
they were seen standing together; he sent her away with a
message, and, after taking off his great-coat, proceeded to a room
up stairs. After a short interval, he was seen to walk rather
quickly out of the house, in the direction of the druggist's shop.
He must have swallowed the poison-about half an ounce of
prussic acid-when up stairs, for the bottle was found in the fire.
place the following morning, the stopper on the table. It is
presumed that he took the acid before placing the bottle on the
fire-place, as no glass or similar utensil was found in the room; he
must then have gone to the head of the stairs, a distance of ten
average paces, descended the stairs, seventeen in number, and
proceeded to the druggist's shop, forty-five paces-realising a
total of fifty-five paces and seventeen stairs. He entered the
shop in his usual manner, which was slow and steady; the drug-
gist (a personal friend) asked him how he did? He replied, in
his usual tone of voice, "I want some more of that prussic
acid." The druggist passed round the side and end of his counter
to speak to him, and then perceived that he was in the act of
placing his hands upon him, as if for support, his eyes being
fixed upon him, with a stare. The druggist said to him, "You
have been taking the prussic acid?" to which no answer was
made. He was then placed in a chair, but fell to the ground,
and died soon after Mr Godfrey's arrival.-Although the facts
above detailed are highly interesting and important in a medico-
legal point of view, inasmuch as the suicide might avail himself
of this knowledge to conceal his act, or an ingenious counsel
might take advantage of it to confuse the medical witness, and
thus obtain the murderer's acquittal, yet it is somewhat imperfect
in its details. A knowledge of the amount of anhydrous acid
contained in the preparation taken by the suicide would add
greatly to the value of the facts, as the character of the effect
produced might then be more correctly estimated.

PHARMACOLOGY.

No. XXV.

NARCOTICS.(continued from page 94.)

NARCOTICS, OPIATES, ANODYNES, SEDATIVES, HYPNOTICS, SOPORIFICS,
and PAREGORICS, are terms which were indiscriminately applied to that class
of medicines which diminish nervous excitement, allay pain, and procure
sleep. We purpose to consider the drugs and their preparation possessing
these properties under two heads: namely, Narcotics-medicines which induce
sleep and stupor; and Sedatives-medicines which do not procure sleep, but
allay irritability by depressing the vital powers without previous stimulation.
The principal NARCOTICS are opium (morphia), henbane, and lactucarium.
When employed to relieve pain, they are called anodynes; when used to
soothe irritation, they are termed paregorics; when directed to diminish inor-
dinate muscular contraction, or spasm, antispasmodics; and, lastly, they are
called hypnotics when they are taken to procure sleep.
Opium.-Opium is the juice which exudes from incisions made into the half
ripe capsule of the Papaver somniferum-the White Poppy. Gum
opium is imported from Turkey and from the East Indies; that brought
from India is darker in colour, and less bitter to the taste. In small
doses opium acts as a stimulant; but in large doses it is narcotic, ano-
dyne, and hypnotic, operating on the living solid through the medium of
the nerves. It is a most invaluable drug, and may be employed in all
painful affections, when the disposition to inflammation is not very consi-
derable; it is prescribed in diarrhoea and dysentery; intermittent fevers;
in typhus-in smaller doses as a cordial, in larger to allay irritation and
to procure sleep; in cholera and pyrosis; in rheumatism when inflam
matory fever is not present; in retrocedent gout, and in convulsive and
spasmodic diseases when combined with calomel, in inflammation after
blood-letting; and in syphilis, as well as to arrest the progress of gangrene.
It is employed in a watery solution, containing two grains in an ounce of
water, as an injection in gonorrhoea and spasmodic stricture, and as an
adjunct to glisters in diarrhoea; externally it is employed, by means of
friction, and combined with oil, in tetanus and other violent spasms.
The dose of gum opium to produce a stimulating effect is from a quarter
of a grain to half a grain; to produce a narcotic effect, from one grain to
two grains; which may be cautiously increased in some spasmodic
affections. See article " on the Intemperate Use of Opium" in No. 2,
page 10, Vol. I.

When opium has been taken as a poison, the stomach should first be
evacuated by the stomach-pump, worked with infusion of yellow bark,
or by emetics containing very little water; and after the whole of the
opium has been evacuated, acid drinks should be freely exhibited; but
these and all other fluids are hurtful, if vomiting has not been freely
induced.-Dr. A. T. Thomson.

or in a mixture.

We now proceed to notice the preparations of opium
Confectio Opii,-Opium Confection.-Contains hard opium, long pepper,
ginger root, carraway seeds, gum tragacanth, and syrup. Thirty-six
grains of the confection contain one grain of opium. It is employed in
atonic gout, in flatulent colic, and, conjoined with chalk mixture, in
diarrhoea; the dose is from ten grains to half a drachm, given as a bolus,
Extractum Opii Purificatum,-Purified Extract of Opium,-is prepared by
macerating opium in water, and then straining, and afterwards evaporat
ing the liquor. Although the cold infusion of opium possesses the peculiar
smell of the drug, yet it is dissipated during evaporation, so that the
extract is nearly inodorous. It is of a brown colour, and has a bitter
taste. The form of extract is to be preferred to that of tincture, when it
is intended to continue the operation of the medicine, and not to obtain
its full effects at once; but in cases of accident, or in which the efforts
of opium are to be called into immediate action, the tincture should be
employed. Extract of opium is well fitted for children and persons of
very irritable habits. The dose is from half a grain to three grains.
Tinctura Opii,-Tincture of Opium.-Laudanum is made by macerating three
ounces of hard opium in two pints of proof spirits, for fourteen days, and
then straining the liquor. As nineteen minims contain one grain of opium,
the quantity prescribed must depend upon that of the opium which it is in-
tended to give. Its dose is generally stated to be from ten drops to forty.
It is given in preference to opium in substance, in cases of accident or of
sudden and extreme pair.; it is sometimes preferred to solid opium in
chronic cases, on account of the facility with which the dose may be ap-
portioned and varied according to circumstances. It is prescribed to allay
pains, relax spasms, and procure sleep. In fever it should not be given
until moisture appears on the skin. It is externally applied as an ano-
dyne in lotions. In tetanus, and other violent spasmodic contractions of
the muscles, the quantity of laudanum that can be borne by the constitu-
tion is almost incredible. The late Dr. Currie reports that he gave the
immense quantity of five ounces and a half in twenty-six hours.

(To be continued.)

HINTS FOR HEALTH.

VIOLET POWDER.

This preparation is universally applied for drying the skin after washing, especially at the joints, which, if left even damp, produces chaps and chafing, often followed, if neglected, by inflammation. Violct powder is best prepared by mixing three parts of the best wheat starch with one of finely ground orris root; the latter adds to the drying power of the starch, and imparts at the same time an agreeable odour like that of violet, hence the name of the mixture. It is also prepared by perfuming starch with essential oils, without the addition of orris root; but though the scent of the powder is stronger, and to some more tempting to use, it is far less beneficial in its application. The scent, acting as a stimulant to the skin, increases rather than abates any tendency to redness. Unperfumed powder is therefore the best to use, dusted over the part with a little brush made of swan's down, called a puff.

MEDICINAL VIRTUES OF PRUNES.

These contain much mucilaginous and saccharine matter, and their medical effects are, to abate heat and gently loosen the bowels. They are of considerable service in costiveness, accom

and their means of cure so plainly, that he who runs may read.' The ad-
"The author of the above little work has given the causes of headaches
vice offered can be easily followed, and the list of prescriptions in English-
a most important innovation upon the old mysterious medical Latin-will
be found useful. The style of writing is familiar, and the advice given
in the most popular form; it justifies the title, People's Edition."-
Portsmouth Guardian.
Price 2s., by post 2s. 6d.

panied with heat or irritation, which the more stimulating carthar- CONSUMPTION of the LUNGS, or DECLINE; the

tics would tend to aggravate; when prunes are not of themselves sufficient, their action may be promoted by taking with them a little rhubarb or the like, to which may be added some carminative ingredient, to prevent their occasional flatulency. Prunes enter properly into the composition well known by the name of lenitive electuary; and when taken alone, in some constitutions, they gently act as an aperient.

TO STRENGTHEN AND CLEANSE THE HAIR.

Distilled rosemary water is one of the best hair washes that is made. Those who do not possess a still should make an infusion of rosemary precisely in the same way as tea is daily prepared, but of good strength. While in the pot add a teaspoonful of honey, or white sugar, and a piece of washing soda the size of a filbert to every pint prepared. If it is intended to keep the infusion, add also a wine glassful of rum, or pure spirit; indeed, a little spirit at all times is of service, assisting to stimulate the scalp-rum is considered the best. The wash should be applied with a piece of sponge or flannel. It gives a healthy appearance to the hair, and will be found of essential service when the hair is falling off. The principal ingredient in the celebrated Hungary water, which was sold at an immense price, is the essential oil of rosemary.

DAMP WALLS.

Causes, Symptoms, & Rational Treatment; with the Means of Prevention. "There is so much good sense, scientific knowledge, and useful information in this little volume, that we gladly assist in giving it publicity. Dr. that he suggests some safe and beneficial rules for the cure or amelioration of Yeoman discountenances all empirical modes of treatment, at the same time the disease. The remarks on the healthy discipline of home show that the author is a sound social philosopher as well as an experienced physician."— The Britannia, November 11, 1848. Price 2s., by post 2s. 6d.

ASTHMA, BRONCHITIS, INFLUENZA, and CATARRH;

the Causes, Symptoms, and Rational Treatment. "Dr. Yeoman, in his admirable little treatise on Consumption, has already popularised with safety. This is an excellent sequel to the former work."very satisfactorily proved that in certain cases medical knowledge may be Weekly Times, January 19, 1848.

GEORGE VICKERS, Strand; EFFINGHAM WILSON, 11, Royal Exchange: and all Booksellers and Newsvendors. It is requested that all orders for copies to be sent by post may be forwarded to the Author, so as to insure punctual dispatch.

London published by the AUTHOR, 25, Lloyd Square; and sold by

EVILL'S PATENT FLOUR OF LENTILS,N Is the produce of the ARABIAN LENTIL, possessing natural restorative properties which will prevent the use of medicine for Indigestion, Constipation, and all other derangements of the Stomach, Intestines, Liver, &c. Recommended by medical men for persons advanced in age, Invalids, and delicate

Children.

Sold by most respectable Shopkeepers in the Kingdom, in lb. and 1 lb. Packets, at 6d. and Is. each; in Family Canisters of 6lbs. and 12lbs., 5s. 6d. and 10s. 6d. each. Manufactured by NEVILL and Co., 16A, Chichester Place, Gray's Inn Road, London; sold at 78, Gracechurch Street. When damp walls proceed from diliquescence in the case of TRUSSES.-S. SMITH, Truss Maker, 1, High Holborn, muriate of soda, in intimate combination with the sand used for TRU three doors from Gray's Inn Lane, respectfully announces to the Public the mortar, it is merely necessary to wash the wall with a strong that TRUSSES can be had at his Establishment at the following Low solution of alum. This converts the deliquescent salt into an Prices:-Double Trusses, 16s. each; Single Ditto, 8s. efflorescent one, and the cure is complete; or alum may be added to the plaster in the first instance.

TO MAKE COLLODION.

Belts, Back-boards, Dumb-bells, Wooden Legs, Crutches, Supports for Weak-
Manufacturer of Lace Stockings, Knee-caps, Suspensory Bandages, Riding
ened Legs, and all Instruments and Apparatus for the Cure of Deformities.
Mrs. Smith attends on Ladies.

DISSOLVE gutta percha in chloroform till the liquid is about
the consistence of honey. It must be kept in a well-closed bot-
tle, and, when used, it has simply to be poured on the wound.
The chloroform instantly evaporates, leaving the flexible cover-
ing over the part, which adheres strongly, rendering neither dress-
ings nor bandages necessary.
fully cleansed.

THE TEETH.-MR. SMARTT, DENTIST AND CUPPER, PROVED ARTIFICIAL TEETH. They are fixed without extracting the 25, Sun Street, Bishopsgate, London, invites attention to his IMroots of the previous Teeth, no pain is caused, they defy detection by the most scrutinising observer, and are guaranteed to answer all the purposes of mastication, filling up the void produced by the loss of the natural Teeth, thereby The wound should first be care-restoring facial beauty, and enabling the patient to speak with fluency and comfort. Irregularities and deformities of the Teeth removed where practicable. MR. SMARTT attends at 25, Harmer Street, Gravesend, every Friday

ΤΟ CORRESPONDENTS. NOTICE. All communications for the Editor must be addressed, pre-paid, to his house, No. 25, LLOYD-SQUARE. THE EDITOR is at home every day until One o'clock; and on the evenings of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from Seven till Nine.

THE DISEASES OF ARTISANS. We are preparing a series of articles, on the diseases incidental to, and caused by peculiar occupations and trades. THE DISEASES OF TAILORS, will be the first, and will appear in an early Number. The diseases of watchmakers, of engineers, of shoemakers, of seamstresses, &c., &c., will follow. CONSUMPTION.-The Editor's articles on Consumption commenced in No. 27, were finished in No. 37: thus the whole work, revised, may be had for tenpence! The Church and State Gazette says, as a work devoted to the history and nature of consumption, this little volume is complete." The Spectator says, "the author's treatment is of the safe kind." Blackwood's Lady's Magazine says, "Dr. Yeoman has been highly successful in many cases of early consumption, and we prize his

efforts."

JAMES REYNOLDS (Digbeth, Birmingham).-Take, every night one of the following powders; continue them so long as the evacuations are green, slimy, and offensive ;-calomel, three grains; powdered jalap, ten grains; sugar, ten grains. Mix. Preserve, honey. treacle or roasted apple is a proper vehicle in which to take them. Calomel, or any of the preparations of mercury, should never be administered in a liquid. FANNY (Coventry).—Any respectable grocer or chemist will procure for you that excellent household article, "Nevill's patent flour of lentils." JANE HARLAND (Sunderland).—You are much too careless. Changing our garments from heavier to lighter, or the contrary, is just analogous to passing from a warm to a cold climate, and the contrary. If you will visit and expose yourself to draughts of cold air and damp" flags," you must pay the penalty. We dare not advise you until you promise to J. A. (East Retford).-The symptoms are all referable to hysteria: the forego your present amusements. age, temperament, and general health of your daughter induce us to refer her symptoms to this, we hope, transitory cause, rather than to organic disease. When you visit London rely on our best consideration. ALBERT (Berwick-on-Tweed).-See article on PATENT MEDICINES by Dr Conquest in No. 1. A box of quack pills that is sold for 1s. 14d. pays D. (Aldgate).-Refer to the paper on to government the odd three half-pence. "The Influence of Marriage on Longevity," published in No. 14.

A. PAYNE (Tabernacle Walk).—To notice your letter would incur the ad-R. vertisement duty. ADDERLY (Newcastle-on-Tyne).-We do not give advice in this column in such cases. How constantly are we to repeat this? See the DISEASES OF ERROR. THOMAS PERCIVAL (Farndon).-All the Numbers of our Journal are in print and on sale. Let your bookseller at Chester request his agent to send direct to Mr. Vickers. We cannot undertake to supply copies. We leave the publishing department in the hands of our good friend Mr. Vickers. To ADVERTISERS.-We have received many letters asking the charge for advertisements in our Journal: We decline promiscuous advertisements, and only insert those in immediate connexion with "health and its preservation,""-our lowest charge is 6s. 6d. each insertion.

MARIA F-N (Salford).-The convulsions in all probability depend on "teething" or on 'worms." The child is now old enough to be weaned; your ill health will render your breast anything but wholesome sustenance for her. You had better consult some respectable practitioner in your own town-Dr. Jepson for instance.

THE RECEIPT BOOK FOR THE MILLION.-We beg to recommend this carefully compiled volume to the attention of housekeepers and the heads of families. It contains a wonderful amount of information in a small compass, and has the great advantage of a copious and perfect index. A BOOKBINDER.-Bathe the eyes with the following lotion: Take eight grains of sugar of lead, ten grains of sulphate of zinc, distilled water, a pint. A full purge will do you good.

HOMEOPATHY.-Can any of our readers inform us whether a homeopathic physician will receive the 1-1005th part of 21s. for his fee,-if the 1-1005th of 21s. be nicely polished and wrapped up in tissue paper before being given?

HEALTH OF LONDON.-Last week there were seven fatal cases of small-pox, one of which occurred to a woman who had turned twenty-five years; of measles, there were fifteen; of scarlatina, thirty-eight; of hoopingcough, twenty; and of croup, seven; typhus numbers forty-seven persons as its victims, and exhibits a slight increase. Deaths from diarrhoea diminish; last week they numbered seventy-eight. There were only four deaths from cholera; two of them happened to young persons, two to men of somewhat advanced life. RICHARD GARLICK (Halifax).-Yours appears to be a case of confirmed

asthma. Take the following-mixture of the gum ammoniacum, four ounces; ipeacuanha wine, four drachms; compound tincture of camphor, half an ounce; syrup of the balsam of tolu, one ounce. Mix. Dose, a dessert spoonful when the cough or the paroxysm is violent. WILLIAM PINDER (Pimlico).-We are glad to find that you received our answer, W. P., in the last number in the spirit it was intended. A. B. LLOYD or FLOYD (Tunbridge Wells).-Read the Editor's small work on HEADACHE; write again, and go into detail, which then you will be better able to do.

R. THOMPSON.-Do you think you have described and named the case correctly? We fear not. Whatever the effects may be, you may depend there is some constitutional cause for them. "Boils" and "Nettle rash," may be the means which nature takes to relieve herself, or to hint to you that she requires relief. You have described what appears to us to be an important case, in fifty words! How can we prescribe a remedy" for you, guided in our opinion only by this scanty description, with the probability of benefit to you or honour to ourselves?

A NURSE (Great Yarmouth).-Wear a nipple shield," and after the child has suckled apply the following powder to the breast by means of a powder "puff." Powdered gum arabic, four drachms; alum, five grains; muriate of morphia, one grain. Mix carefully.

W. X. F. (Windsor).—Yes.

NEWS AGENT (Oldham).-You had better apply direct to our publisher. We thank you heartily for what you have done, and what you promise to do. One energetic man like yourself in each town would quadruple our present circulation in a few weeks.

MIRANDA, or SWINDA (who addressed her letter to our printer's, instead of to our own residence) is advised to wear one of Smith's improved chestexpanders."

BANQUO (Cheapside).-It cannot be an ordinary gum-boil, and as you are HENRY DOUGLAS (Edinburgh).-The symptoms you mention are those free from decayed teeth, we suspect a scrofulous tooth. We must see you. which mark serious chest disease. You only mention the fact of the cough and the expectoration. You do not allude to past or present circumstances with that care which we require. Could you place any confidence in an opinion given, based only on the very imperfect description of your case that you have forwarded to us? We never direct a patient unless we are convinced that, if the history of the case be sent to us correctly, the treatment we propose is, to the best of our judgment, correct. We know, we anxiously feel, the great, the immense responsibility that has devolved upon us. We know that the health, the safety, of a thousand fellow-creatures depend upon the advice they have the confidence to seek at our hands. The task to us is an arduous one ; we therefore beg our friends will bear in mind that we would rather read a long letter than be left in doubt as to the exact history of the case. While on this subject we beg to express our thanks to those medical men in the provinces who have detailed to us the cases of those patients who were wishful to have our opinion.

JONATHAN (Leicester).-Take half a drachm of the dried subcarbonate of soda, the same quantity of extract of camomile, and a scruple of powdered rhubarb; add a little syrup, so as to form a mass, and divide into eighteen pills. Take two daily.

EMMA DN (Cheltenham.)-We have little faith in the operation for strabismus (squinting). We performed the operation in eighteen or twenty cases in the year 1841: and we are compelled to say the benefit was only temporary. Squinting sometimes arises from the unequal strength of the eyes, the weaker eye being turned away from the object, to avoid the fatigue of exertion. When the deformity has this origin, benefit may be derived by covering the strange eye, and thus compelling the weaker one to exertion.

TAILOR.-We shall be much obliged by the information you promise us. Send us also the names and localities of any benefit societies in your trade, who allow a weekly sum in cases of sickness.

FIDELIS." Soujie" may be thus made: take, powdered pearl sago, fourteen ounces; West Indian arrow root, two ounces; rusk powder, one ounce, mix them well together. It makes an excellent pudding. HOOPER (Salisbury).—Take a pill composed of two grains of the iodide of potassium, and four grains of the extract of gentian, twice a day. A nutritive, wholesome diet. Avoid taking cold.

P. (Leamington).-" Elixir of vitriol," the dilute sulphuric acid-is good for" spitting of blood.

PAINTER (St. Albans).-The treatment of lead colic consists in the use of calomel, opium, followed by castor oil; warm fomentations; glysters, containing laudanum and castor oil may be required; and if signs of inflammation show themselves, then those means which are adopted to remove inflammation in the bowels must be resorted to. We shall notice this disease minutely in THE DISEASES OF ARTISANS. London: Printed by CHARLES ADAMS, at his Printing Office, 8 St. James's Walk, Clerken well, and published, for the Proprietor, by GEORGE VICKERS, Strand.

PEOPLE'S MEDICAL
MEDICAL JOURNAL,

No. 40.-VOL. II.

AND

FAMILY PHYSICIAN.

EDITED BY THOMAS HARRISON YEOMAN, M.D.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER
OCTOBER 5, 1850.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE PASSIONS ON
THE HEALTH.

BY THE EDITOR.
No. IV.

THE EXCITING PASSIONS (continued).

LOVE.

THIS passion is truly a divine one- -"God is love" itself, the fountain of love, the disciple of love-" who so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son for it ;" and "by this love, we, his creatures, purchased Heaven."

The Love proper to humanity, is the universal passion that "rules, the court, the camp, the grove;" without which life would be a thankless existence. Lucian justly says, there are two kinds of love-" one was born in the sea, which is as various and raging in young men's breasts as the sea itself, and causeth burning lust; the other is that golden chain which was let down from Heaven, and with a divine fury ravisheth our souls, made to the image of God, and stirs us up to comprehend the innate and incorruptible beauty to which we were once created." The former, or grosser passion, is as different from that of pure and genuine love as is light from darkness, and, although deadly in its effects, cannot here be further alluded to. Poetry being the natural ally of Love, I borrow from the one, a description of the noble and beautiful qualities of the other :'Tis nature's second sun,

Causing a spring of virtues where she shines.
And as without the Sun, the world's great eye,
All colours, beauties, both of art and nature,
Are given in vain to man; so without Love,
All beauties bred in women are in vain,
All virtues born in men lie buried;

For love improves them as the sun doth colours,
And as the Sun, reflecting his warm beams
Against the Earth, begets all fruit and flowers;
So love, fair shining in the inward man,
Brings forth in him the honourable fruits
Of valour, wit, virtue, and haughty thoughts,
Brave resolution, and divine discourse."

ONE PENNY

Even in solitude, or when far distant from those who sympathise with us, our very nature yearns for something to love; and we love the grass, the flowers, the waters, and the sky, for man must love; and in the emotion of the air in the leaves there is found a secret correspondence in the heart. "A man," says Dr. Smith, "grows fond of a snuff-box, of a pen-knife, of a staff, which he has long made use of, and conceives something of a real love and affection for them. If he breaks, or loses them, he is vexed out of all proportion to the value of the damage." The love thus bestowed on an inanimate object that cannot reciprocate the passion, that cannot be conscious of its existence, is not to be compared to the love which man bears to his kind, and especially to her who is fitted to be the solace, the friend, and the companion of man. How much greater must be the "vexation," the distress, that attends the loss of one loved and loving, and the despair of he who loves and is not loved!

Admitting prosperous and virtuous love to be one of the healthiest passions of the mind, let us see in what manner, in its excess, or in its disappointment, it affects the body. Like all emotions that are sudden in their action, this passion most disturbs the balance of health, when the mind and body are least prepared for its attack.

"Love's not a flower that grows on the dull earth,
Springs by the calendar; must wait for sun-
For rain-matures by parts-must take its time
To stem, to leaf, to bud, to blow. It owns
A richer soil, and boasts a quicker seed!
You look for it, and see it not; and, lo!
E'en while you look, the peerless flower is up,
Consummate in the birth."

The passion thus aroused produces an immediate excitement throughout the whole organisation; the heart propels the blood with force and rapidity; the breathing is quick and short; and, for the moment, all other thought and reason vanishes; the nights are passed without sleep, the appetite is lost, and the body is in a state of fever. The imagination soon becomes exalted, and the sensibility of the system so increased, that the reality of life is frequently transposed into a kind of visionary existence Love, than which, as our great Lyrist sings, "There's no"There's no- that may produce mental derangement-but rarely leads to direct thing half so sweet in life," when happily prosecuted, contri-insanity, so long as there is the remotest hope of the attainment butes greatly to human health; in fact, its existence appears to of the object of the passion. But if hope be suddenly cut off by be essential to health, for without some object to look to, to de- an inexorable rejection, the intervention of a more fortunate sire for, as the one bright star of life, disease of mind, and then rival, the concealment of the object of adoration, or any other disease of body, would soon overtake us. Lord Bacon says, cause whatever, the mind is sometimes incapable of resisting the that there is in man's nature a secret inclination and motion to- shock thus produced by the concurrent, yet opposite emotions wards love of others; and that "Nuptial love maketh mankind; of desire and despair; then it is that the "love-sick swain" befriendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth and decomes a "love-sick maniac," and hatred, jealousy, and revenge baseth it." usurp the place of tender passion. To persons of strong passions • Religious love will be considered, when we come to speak of the "In- and warm temperament, it is of momentous concern that their fluence of Religion on the Health."

first attachment be a prosperous one; for, as Dr. Dick writes,

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The People's Medical Journal, and Family Physician, Ediția 1512,Volumul 1