THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID HENRY JENKINS, Bora in England tn the year 1501, died in 1670 aged 169 years. LECTf'HJiS ON THE USES OF THE LUIGS; AND CAUSES, PREVENTION, AND CURE OF PULMONARY CONSUMPTION, ASTHMA, AND DISEASES OF THE HEART ; ON THE LAWS OF LONGEVITY; AND ON TUB MODE OF PRESERVING MALE AND FEMALE HEALTH TO AN HUNDRED YEARS. WITH: 20 ILLUSTRATIONS. BY SAMUEL SHELDON FITCH, A. M., M. D. " I yet may walk, as it appears to me, the rosy paths of life ; and the energy and action that were once in these limbs, may again be mine. If so, 1 shall give ^honor to whom honor is due ;' and if contrary to this, the earth should soon close over me, to the last moment of my life should I be satisfied that this is the way, and the only true way, to cure consumption." Extract from Henry Peck's letter to Dr. S. S. Fitch. NEW- YORK: H. CARLISLE, 707 BROADWAY. 1850. Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1846, BY J. P. WEIGHT, Io the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New-York. LECTURE FIRST. On the Uses of the Lungs, and Causes of Consumption. LECTURE SECOND. On the Prevention and Cure of Consumption. LECTURE THIRD. On the Proofs of the Cure of Consumption, LECTURE FOURTH. TO LADIES ONLY. On the mode of forming, a Jine Chest, a Jine erect Carriage, and Walk. On the manner of procuring a dear and beautiful Cotn- plexion, without art. On the causes of Lung, Liver, and Sfom- ach Diseases, in Ladies, and on the Cause of Female Diseases, with their prevention and cure ; and finally, on the best mode of obtaining perfect Symmetry of Figure, and of forming and fortify- ing t/ie Female Constitution, so as to preserve Health and Beauty to Ike latest attainable periods of Life. LECTURE FIFTH. TO LADIES ONLY. On Symmetry of the Internal Organs of the Body, and on Sym- metry of Mind, as preventing" Pulmonary Consumption, and ensuring Long Life. LECTURE SIXTH. TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. On the mode of forming a noble, manly Chest, and Jine erect Car- riage. On the best manner of preventing Decline of Animal Strength and of invigorating the Male Constitution, so as to pre- serve Health and Life to an hundred years. TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Head of Henry Jenkins, (fronts title page.) A Three views of the human skeleton p. 21 13 View of the skeleton of the trunk of the body 22 C View of the windpipe, lungs, heart, midriff, stomach, liver, gall bladder, large bowels, small bowels 24 D View of the windpipe, lungs, air-pipes, and air-cells, heart, and midriff 25 E View of windpipe, gullet, and natural belts that form the walls of the abdomen 26 F Consumptive ai\d non-consumptive figures 63 G Inhaling tube ..:.... 93 H Asthmatic chest 69 \ Consumptive chest ib. Flora- Thompson, at 150 years 166 I View of shoulder-braces 176 LV Stooping female figure 182 L Front, view of the abdominal supporter 238 M Back view of do. do ib. N View of the figure and inside of the stomach 190 *O Side view of the midriff, stomach, large and small bowels, bladder, and womb. . . .: 217 *P Same parts fallen down ib. (I View of the liver and gall bladder 194 II Falling bowels 305 S View of the midriff kidneys, ureters or water-pipes, large bowel, bladder, and womb 252 Figure of Henry Francisco, at 134 years 254 T Injurious position for the chest 264 1.' Partial view of the brain, spinal marrow, and large nerves that go between the ribs and so to the arms and lower limbs. . 295 V Heart and blood- vessels 315 " Plates O nnd P were drawn or composed originally, T believe, by Dr. Banning, who de- aervpis a hiirh place anionir medical benefactors for his unwearied efforts, both by his writ- ings and eloquent lecture*? fo diffuse a general knowledge of the frequent and injurious cncea ol falling bowela CONTENTS. Introduction p. 13 Dr. Luther Brigham to Amos Binney, Esq 15 Dr. Benjamin H. West, M. D. to I)r. Gardner ib. Dr. Hubbard Graves, M. D. to Dr. Wm. Buck, M. D 16 Dr. Richard G. Belt, M. D. to Hon. Upton Heath, U. S. District Judge of Baltimore, Md ib. John Wilder, Esq. to Dr. S. S. Fitch 17 R. R. Hinman, Esq. to Professor Kingsley, Yale College , ib. LECTURE FIRST. Uses of the lungs, and causes of consumption 19 Four great chambers in the human frame 22 Skull 24 Chest ib. Left lung smaller than the right ib. Impossible to contract consumption when the air passes in and out of each air-cell 25 Consumption is caused by general or partial closing of the air- cells 26 Consumption a most curable disease ib. Grand uses of the lungs 28 Uses illustrated 29 Pure air food of the lungs 33 No books teach the true uses of the lungs 36 American Indians in native state do not have consumption .... 37 Consumption a child of civilization ib. Causes of consumption 38 Mechanical causes ' ib. Falling of the bowels 42 Effeminacy and debility cause consumption 44 Hope antagonises the spread of consumption 46 Diseases of the. throat 50 Too much clothing to be avoided 51 Influence of climate on consumption 55 Catarrh 56 Hereditary consumption 57 Spinal diseases 58 Pain in the side, kidney affection, gravel 59 Injurious medicines mercury, opium, emetics, blisters, and emetic tartar sores 61 V1U CONTENTS. LECTURE SECOND. Prevention and cure of consumption p. 64 Diseases that cure consumption * . . . ib v Diseases of the heaf t 65 Asthma cures consumption 69 Swelled tonsils prevent consumption , 71 Common cold cures consumption 73 Prevention of hereditary consumption 76 Plain bringing up of children 78 Effects of cheerfulness and exercise to prevent consumption 81 Climate and light to prevent consumption 84 Sea voyages, diet, regular sleep 87 Never neglect a cold 88 Cold bathing, inhaling tube, braces, supporter 89 Cure of pulmonary consumption 91 Inhaling tube, how it acts 93-94 Inhaling tube alone will not cure consumption 97 How we know one has consumption 98 Treatment to cure consumption 100 Bleeding, counter-irritation 101-2 Diet, air. and changes of air 103-4 Effects of journeys, sea voyages, warm climate 105-6 Respirators bad effects, when may be used 107 Under what condition of the lungs may we hope for a cure of consumption ib. First group, second group, of curables 108 Third group curable 109 Fourth group, fifth group 109-10 Asthma, causes and cure r\ 111 Heart .diseases, causes and cure 113 Mineral, iron and sulphur waters ; . . . 117-18 Red Sulphur Springs in Virginia 117 Hot mineral waters 119 LECTURE THIRD. Truth, but one offspring 122 Asthma, Case I. Thomas Fengar 125 Spasmodic asthma, Case II. Miss Little 126 Mrs. Fernald, Case III 127 Consumption Case I. Dr. Parker 12 II. Miss Hawley 130 III. Mrs. H. Gardner 132 IV. Mr. A. E. Phillips 133 V. Rev. L. D. Barrow 134 CONTENTS. Df Consumption Case VI. Mrs Uuntmgton p. 136 " Vii. Mrs Eiurlburt 138 Vlll. Mr. W R. Ames 139 IX. Mr. Mahlon Schenck 141 X. Miss S-ars ib. XI. Mr. Geo. H.Moore 142 XII. Miss Jan-, Tyler 143 " XIII. Mrs. Whi tier 144 XIV. Master G&\ W. Roberts 146 XV. Miss Brown 148 c XVI. Rev. Mr. Livrsey ib. ;' the bowels Ellec.ts on the lungs '. 218 Effects on the voice 220 E Herts on the heart, palpitation of. ib. Sinking, all gone at the stomach 221 Chronic diarrhoea costiveness 222 Liver complaint ib. Pain in side, and breast, back, and spine 223 Gravel ." 224 Piles 226 Pains in the limbs 227 Swelling of the limbs and veins 228 Incontinence of urine 229 Falling of the womb 230 Effects of dislocation of the womb 231-2-3 Fluor albus 234 Barrenness 235 M iscarriages ib, Floodings 236 Abdominal supporters 237 What a supporter should do -. 239 When abdominal support should be used 241 Symmetry of mind essential to health 242 Case of Mrs. Kingsley 243 Case of Mrs. Rowland 244 Case of M rs. Mary F. Gardiner 245 Case of Miss Beedom 247 Letter from Mrs. Gibbs ib. From Mr. Fayerweather 248 From Mrs. Taber 249 From Mrs. Smith ib. From Miss Mary Nutter 250 From M iss Wald ron ib. Questions to invalid ladies 253 LECTURE SIXTH TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. Cases of long-lived men 258 Grand di visions of the human frame 260 Manner of forming a fine chest 261 Proper carriage and position of the chest 263 "fWl effects of vicious position of the chest 265 Potion of tne shoulders 267 Remedy ibr round shoulders 26b CONTENTS. XI Shoulder-braces p. 269 How shoulder-braces should be made, and by whom worn 270-1 Man is intended to stand perfectly strait. 273 Fine figures of savages ib. Premature old age 274 Position in bed 275 Self-reparation of. the body 276 The stomach 277 Progress of food after leaving the stomach 279 Small and large bowels, costiveness 280 Bad effects of costiveness 281 Depression of spirits 283 Jaundice, piles ib. Manner of curing costiveness 285 Office of the kidneys and bladder 287 Skin and its offices 289 Bathing 290 Sponge bath, sea water 292 Effects of water upon weak eyes 293 Upon sore throat 294 Upon weak and painful spine ib. Bad effects of artificial irritation over the spine 296 Rheumatism 297 Treatment of the feet 298 Diet, not change too suddenly 299 Exercise 301 Animal gratifications w 302 Symmetry of the internal organs of the body 303 Effect of a rupture 304 Of weakness of the abdominal belts 305 Of bleeding at the Langs 306 Loss of voice, wheezing, palpitation 307-8 Breaking of the liver, and of the bowels 309 Piles 310 Gravel 311 Pain in the back, limbs, &c 312 Swelling of the limbs and veins ib. . Sleep, and beds ". 314 Frame destroyed by seeking to do too much at a time 316 The vices shorten life 317 The virtues lengthen life 315 Case of a cure of piles , 321 Management of scrofula ib. Kelita B. Townley to Dr. S. S. Fitch 322-4 QUESTIONS TO INVA4ID GENTLEMEN. As '.I has been my happiness often to cure invalids I have never seen, but lean? id their case from friends, or by letters, I give some questions, which may be carefully answered, such as may concern your case. It will be pre- sumed the others do not trouble you. A prompt answer will be returned, mating remedies required, and cost. No notice of a first letter not post-paid. $o charge for advice by letter. Address DR. SAMUEL S. FITCH, No. 707 Broadway, New-York. What is your name, age, occupation, or profession 1 Residence, so a letter may reach you 1 Where born and brought up 7 Delicate or good consti- tution'? Height? Slender or broad figure? Fleshy or lean 1 Person erect or stooping ? Chest full and strait, or stooping and contracted 7 Constitution delicate or robust 1 What is your measure around the waist, just above the hips? What is the color of your hair, whiskers, eyes, and complexion? To what diseases are your family subject? Any died of asthma, scrofula, heart-disease, or consumption ? Are you subject to asthma or short-breathing ? any humor, scrofula, salt rheum, or skin diseases ? any head-ache, or pain in the chest, neck, spine, shoulders, back, stomach, bowels, sides, or limbs? any sore throat, swelled tonsils, heat or dryness in the throat, weak voice f loss of voice, hoarseness, catarrh in head, nose, or throat. Any cough ? how long had it? Do you cough up anything? how much? what kind, &c. ? When cough most ? and when raise most ? Ever raise blood ? how many times ? how much ? On which side lay best, if either? On full- breathing, do your ribs* rise equally all over your chest, or do the ribs rise better on one side or part than another? Have you daily chills, or fever, or night-sweats, short breathing, or asthma ? Are you confined to your bed, or room, or the house, or do you go out daily? Any palpitation, or distress at the heart, or stoppage of circulation ? Are you nervous, or paralytic, or have fits ? Any bad dreams, and their effects ? Any dyspepsia, sour stomach, or distress, or pressure at the stomach, after eating, or ever sick stomach to vomit, or food rise after eating ? Ever any sinking, exhausted, all-gone feeling at top of chest, or pit of stomach, or in the stomach, or sides, or bowels, or across the bowels? Appetite good, bud, or capricious? Bowels regular, costive, or diarrhoea ? Any external, or bleeding, or blind piles ? Weak back ? Have , a rupture? Suspect having worms? What kind? Any gravel or kidney complaints ? Water stoppage, or free settlings, scanty or scalding, or too much ? Any heat in your back or any part ? Cold or burning feet ? Bloating anywhere ? Much wind in stomach or bowels ? Pains in your limbs ? Rheu- matism or neuralgia ? Any deformity ? Ever any wounds ? Long fevers ? Took much medicin or mercury? Fever sores? Billious? Clear com- plexion ? Wh".'. done for these complaints ? How long ? Are you marrjed or single 1 Can you read aloud, or talk long, or walk actively, or do your wen*!:, without unusual fatigue? In indigent or easy circumstances? Do you work hard, or take active exercise, or the reverse ? Dropsy or cancer ? Have you good teeth ? $3r No letter hould exceed three pages. INTRODUCTION THE Author of the following Lectures, besides lecturing in England, has had an opportunity of addressing about "fifty thou- sand persons in the United States, and thus of personally present- ing and enforcing his views by direct examples and prompt practical results and demonstrations. In 1827, whilst a-student of Medicine in Philadelphia, he discovered the grand uses of the Lungs, and thereby laid the foundation of a scientific, ra- tional, and certain method of elucidating and treating their dis- eases. For twenty years, with some interruptions, diseases of the Chest have been his study. To notice the effects of climate as a curative or preventive agent, he has visited twenty-three States of the American Union ; also England, Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy ; the northern shores of the Mediterranean, Switzerland, Sardinia, and Savoy ; several watering places of Germany, Prussia, the West-India Islands, the Canadas, &,c. &,c. seeking everywhere for knowledge and light on the diseases of the Lungs, making himself eve- y where as fully acquainted as possible with the peculiarities of each locality, both in the nature and prevalence of consumption, as well as the peculiar methods adopted for its prevention and cure by the highest professors and teachers of Europe and this country ; as well as by the untutored Savages of this continent, 14 INTRODUCTION. who are well known to treat many diseases, and especially those of the Lungs, with great success. To facilitate his re- searches,- he has lectured at many different points on the bor- ders of the Ocean, on the shores of the Great Lakes, in many of the great Valleys, and on the Highlands of this country, as f well north as south \ everywhere collecting most valuable and . interesting materials for a very extensive work upon the dis- eases of the Chest and Lungs. He hopes ere long to finish his researches, and then complete his 'great work upon dis- eases of the Lungs, which he flatters himself w r ill become for Physicians a guide to a successful treatment of Pulmonary dis- eases. These Lectures are intended as a Director to all classes in the prevention and cure of Consumption. Those who fol- low their directions, will not, I think, be disappointed, but will each day realize their truth by the most gratifying personal benefits. The writer's experience is derived from an observation of more than five thousand cases within the last three years, be- sides all his previous practice. To render the Lectures effective upon the reader, it is neces- sary that perfect confidence should be placed in the state ments and conclusions. Great truths are taught, which, if fully understood, implicitly believed, and judiciously followed, would lead to an almost total annihilation of Pulmonary Con- sumption. To obtain a snare of this confidence, a few letters are sub- joined from men of undoubted respectability and integrity ; some who have known the writer for many years, even from childhood ; others who have had a thorough opportunity ot noticing his practice, and its gratifying results. LETTERS, ETC From Dr. Luther Brigham to Amos Binney, Esq., of Boston. Lowell, January 4, 1844. AMOS BINNEY, ESQ. Respected Sir, Allow me to introduce to your friendly notice, Dr. S. S. Fitch, of Philadelphia. I have known Dr. Fitch from his child- hood. His grandfather, Dr. Ebenezer Fitch, of Connecticut, and his father, Dr. Chauncy Fitch, were ce^L:a'ed Physicians. Dr. Ebenezer Fitch, so long President of Williams' College, was his uncle. Dr. S. S. Fitch, the bearer of this, is justly celebrated for his re- searches in the uses of the Lungs, and the nature and treatment of Pul- monary Consumption. I think his opinion and advice on those subjects of great value. His patients in this place speak of him in the highest terms. Any favors you can render Dr. Fitch, will be highly appreciated by his numerous friends, and by none more highly than by your old friend and humble servant, LUTHER BRIGHAM. Extract of a letter from Dr. Benj. West, M. D., to Dr. Gardner, of Providence, Rhode Island. Nantucket, May 18, 1845. MY DEAR FRIEND : Permit me the pleasure to introduce to you Dr. S. S. Fitch, of Phila- delphia, a gentleman who has been lecturing here on Consumption ; one who is acquainted to a surprising extent with the subject in its most im portant bearings ; and who, by his disinterested actions, has shown him self entitled to the rqspect and confidence of all with whom he may be brought into contact. I bespeak for the Dr. your hospitalities and friendship. Your Friend, BENJ. H. WEST. 16 LETTERS, ETC. Copy of a letter from Hubbard Graves, M. D., to Dr. Wm. D. Buck, M. D., of Concord, New Hampshire. Nashville, N. H., Oct. 20, 1843. Mr DEAR SIB: Allow me the pleasure of introducing to you my friend Dr. Fitch, ot Philadelphia, who has recently delivered some lectures on Consumption, its causes and cure, in this place. On my announcing his subject, the idea of quackery may possibly strike you, but there you will be most agreeably disappointed. Dr. Fitch regularly studied his profession, both in this country and in Europe; and you will find him a man of strictly philosophical mind, who has thoroughly examined the theory which he advances. His ideas are not crude and confused, as those of quack lecturers in- variably are. You will find that they are clearly arranged, and that all his conclusions have been logically deduced. In fact, from what I have seen of Dr. Fitch, I am satisfied you will deem his acquaintance in the highest sense agreeable. 1 am, dear sir, yours with much esteem, J. HUBBARD GRAVES. Copy of a letter to the lion. Upton S. Heath, Esq., United States District Judge in Baltimore, Maryland, from Richard G. Belt, M. D. Fall River, Mass., Aug. 2, 1845. DEAR SIR: Allow me to introduce my friend Dr. Fitch, of Philadelphia, to youi acquaintance. The Doctor has spent several weeks in this place, and delivered a most interesting course of lectures, which I had the pleasure of hearing, upon the origin and cure of Consumption, and all the diseases oi the chest. The Doctor has effected many extraordinary cures in this section of the country, and in the city of Boston, of Consumption, after all other means had totally failed ; of which he carr produce the most sa- tisfactory te:timony. The Dr. has been laboring for eighteen years upon this most fatal disease ; about five years of which were spent in Europe vis- iting the largest and most prominent Medical Institutions. I take plea- sure in recommending the Doctor to any of my Baltimore friends, and LETTERS, ETC. 17 believe lie may be the instrument of restoring many to health who are now without hope. Any attentions to him will be gratefully acknow- ledged by Yours truly, RICHARD G. BELT. Copy of a letter from John Wilder, Esq., to Dr. S. S. Fitch. Rhode Island, July, 1845. DOCT. S. S. FITCH, Dear Sir: Having buried my wife and a daughter some years since, who died of that dreaded and heretofore considered-incurable dis- ease, Pulmonary Consumption, which is, and has been for many years, making fatal ravages in our land, and cutting down multitudes of the fairest and loveliest of the human family, has awakened in my bosom the tenderest sympathy for, and the deepest interest in, the welfare of those who are smitten with this complaint, and has induced me to watch atten- tively the cases of many of my friends who placed themselves under your care; those too whose cases were considered hopeless, and have had the satisfaction of seeing them restored to health under your manage- ment. I beg you will not for a moment consider this as flattery, but receive it as the honest expression of my confidence in your mode of treating this disease. Yours truly, . JOHN WILDER, Copy of a letter from R. R. Hinman, Esq., late Secretary of State of the State of Connecticut, to Professor Kingsly of Yale College. Hartford, October 17th, 1844. PROFESSOR KINGSLY My dear Sir : As Dock Samuel S. Fitch, of Philadelphia, is about to visit New Haven, upon the duties of his profession, 1 take- the liberty of saying, that I have had a personal acquaintance with him more than twenty years ; that he sustains an estimable moral character, that he is not only a regularly educated physician, but that he has been eminently 18 LETTERS, ETC. successful in that branch of his profession which he has particularly pur- sued for many years past. His travels in Europe at different periods of his life, and particularly his long residence in London, has afforded him a fine opportunity to examine the many cases of consumption with which he has met in all climates and in every quarter of the globe. You can rely upon him as a gentleman of strict honor, skilful in his profession, and every way worthy of the patronage of the public. Yours, R. R. HlNMAN. LECTURES. LECTURE FIRST, USES OF THE LUNGS AND CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: WE live in an age remarkable for its vast discoveries, for its most wonderful developments in knowledge: develop- ments which are giving us great control over the material world, annihilating time and space. At one moment, discove- ries obtrude upon our notice in a gentle light ; at another, they burst forth with the most brilliant meteoric glare, dazzling us with their splendor and awakening the most profound and awe- struck anticipations of the future. Even now, so much more can we achieve than we could have done fifty years ago, that life seems almost to have doubled its value in that period. Three hundred years ago, could a person have been thrown to sleep, and have continued in that state fifty years, on awak- ~ning and returning to the schools, he would have found the same books, the same modes of teaching, the same elements of thought, perhaps without a single change. Now, let a person remain in seclusion for no more than five years : on returning, he would notice many changes in the arts, and in all the active developments of human knowledge. As an example : about ten years ago, a celebrated oculist was accused of having said that, by cutting a few fibres of the muscles of the eye, cross-eyes, or strabismus, might be cured. 20 LECTURE ON THE He, in the public papers, declared this to be a libel ; that he had never made such an assertion ; considering it the height of absurdity. Within a few years after, this operation was adopt ed all over the civilized world. Perhaps very few persons are aware, or suspect, whither all these improvements tend, or what is to be the final result. J answer, they are all building up a science that now has no- even a name. It is now like an open square in t'he centre of a great city, to which all the ways tend, but itself is only open space. This science is the science of Longevity the science that tends to perpetuate human life, and make all reach the limits of its utmost duration. It is even now known that the duration of human life among civilized nations, is in the exact ratio of their increase in knowledge. In those countries where knowledge is on the increase, in that ratio does the duration of life increase among that people. For example : In 1760, the deaths in London were one in twenty-one of the inhabitants. In 1820, the deaths were one in forty-one ; life having nearly doubled its duration in eighty years. At that same period, deaths in Paris were one in seventeen ; now they are one in thi,ty-two. This knowledge must increase among the people, as at this time, in old ancient Rome, the deaths are one in twen- ty-five ; and in the polite city of Vienna, the deaths are one in twenty-two. The physicians of Rome and Vienna, are fully as good authority in medicine as those of London or Paris ; but the mass of their population are remarkable for gross ignorance. Knowledge to each individual is almost a palladium to his ex- istence. You all know to what vast reputation some physicians will attain in large cities. This is owing in part to the high intelligence of their patients, whose sagacity and knowledge give almost double efficacy to medical remedies. Correct knowledge to each individual in society, on the sub- ject of health, is what is required. It is this which is my apo- logy for calling multitudes together to lecture to them on the principles of health and the causes of disease. Many diseases were once thought incurable, which the pr< gress of knowledge has taught us are not so, but are now re dily cured. As for example : the small pox, once sweeping away tribes and nations, as with our North American Indians. Dropsies, inflammations, &,c., were usually fatal.' My own belief is, that there are no diseases for which suc- cessful remedies do not exist; but, owing to our ignorance, their prompt and timely application is not made, and thus the lives of millions are needlessly lost. Oftentimes perfect remedies become of no avail, from the ignorance or scepticism of the pa- tient, or his friends. A little correct knowledge in the mind of each individual, will work wonders in preserving his health and multiplying his days. 1. Side view of the skeleton. 2. Front view of the skeleton. 3. Back view of the skeleton. 44. The collar bones. 11. The shoulder Made*, USCTURK ON TH8 Before I proceed farther, allow me to call your attention to the skeleton. (See Plate A.) We live in a house. The human frame is a piece of mechanism put together on mechanical prin- ciples, and acting in all its parts mechanically, or mainly so j the only exception to this is, in the chemical changes and gal- vank or electric exchanges that take place in the actions and se- cretions of the various assimilating organs of the system, and in the supply of power to the nervous system. But the whole human frame and all its parts, constitute in the whole one great machine, whose harmonious action confers general health. The skeleton, or framework on which all is built, besides the upper and lower limbs, is naturally divided into four chambers : 1st, the skull 5 2d, the chest ; 3d, the abdomen ; 4th, the pel- vis, or basket of the hips. (See Plates B and A.) PLATE B. 1. Breast bone. 22. Basket of the chest. 33. Basket of the hips. 4. The spine in the loins or small of the back* USES OF THE LUNGS, S TXJ. The first chamber I will notice, is the skull. This is a dark chamber, remarkable for being the room in which the brain is located, and is also remarkable for the place where mind and matter meet. In the brain, resides that inscrutable and awful being, the human soul. The eye does not see, the ear does not hear, all the senses are only means and instruments that con- vey knowledge to the soul. The soul is imprisoned in this dark chamber. Its food is knowledge ; no man can explain no man can comprehend it. It is an emanation from the Most High ; and in control, holds the same relation to man's body that the Almighty does to it. Imprisoned now, it will one day leave its prison-house, and wing its way to immortality. The chest is a basket of bones, formed in the male like a sugar-loaf, and open at the bottom . (See Plate B.) The ribs of this basket are tied in front to the breast-bone, by elastic cartilages, which, for perspicuity, I will call India-rubber. By this construction, the chest is made flexible, expansible, or com- pressible. It is the only bony cavity of the human frame that can be enlarged or diminished at one's will. So formed is it, that any person choosing a full fine chest, can have it ; and any one choosing to have a contracted small chest, can be gratified. This flexibility of the chest continues with many and most per- sons to old age. It is in highest perfection in young persons. The chest is separated from the abdomen by the diaphragm, or midriff, which is a fleshy curtain that is loose, and floating up- wards into the chest on expiration, and falls downwards on in- spiration: working up and down as we breathe. (See Plate C.) On each side of the chest are situated the lungs $ a couple of air bags, folded in such a manner as to present a vast surface to the air. (See Plate D.) The lungs, like their envelope, the chest, are flexible, compressible, and expansible. The heart is situated between the two lobes of the lungs, and under the breast-bone, towards its lower portion, inclining a little to the left side. (See Plate D.) The lungs will bear moderate compression and expansion, without immediate disease, but the heart will not. A vast many cases of heart disease are produced by a con- LECTURE ON THB PLATE C. 1. Wind -pipe. 22. The lungs. 3. The heart. 4. The midriff 5. The stomach. 6. The liver. 7. The gall bladder. 8. The large bowel. 9. The small bowel. traction of the chest ; so that the heart has not room to play 1 have often cured seemingly fatal diseases of the heart, by en- larging the size of the chest ; of which I shall speak in another place. The left lung is smaller than the right. It is divided into two lobes, whilst the right has three lobes. The lungs are formed in cells, or leaves, if you please, like the honey-comb, or a sponge. Each cell has walls ; and on the thickness or thinness of these walls, depends the health or dis- ease of the lungs ; as all changes in the lungs commence by rendering their walls thick *or rather by external pressure, or USES OF THE LUNGS, ETC. PLATE D. 1. The \vin.J pipe. 2. The right lung, or great air-bag. 3. The heart. 4. The left lung half cut away, showing the air pipes ani air cells. 5. The midriff, or floor of ths lungs. internal engorgement of the walls of the air cells, these ceLs are made smaller, or entirely closed. Each air cell is in communication with the air pipes, from which it is rilled with air at each inspiration, and empties itself at each expiration. The air cells may be compared to grapes, and the air pipes to the stems on which those grapes hang. Now it is utterly impossible to have pulmonary consumption, so long as the air passes freely in and out of each air cell, and thus keeps all the walls of the air cells thin, and free from en- gorgement or deposition of foreign matter; and they will be kept perfectly free from such engorgement, or deposition of matter, if the air fully inflates each air cell at each inspiration. 2ft LECTURE ON THE PLATE E . L Wind-pipe. 2. The gullet, or pipe that conveys the food from the mouth to the stomach. 3 3. The belts covering the front of the abdomen. Allow me to repeat, pulmonary consumption is caused by a general or partial closing of the air cells, either from exter- nal compression, internal engorgement of the walls of the air cells, or a deposition of foreign matter in the air ctPs ; as chalk, bony matter, &c. ; which last is very rare. It is utterly impossible to have pulmonary consumption, unles the air eel's are more or less obliterated. The disease progresses as the air cells are progressively obliterated. A portion of healthy lung will float on water ; a portion pul- monarily diseased, will sink in water. From vast observation and experience, I unhesitatingly as- sert that consumption is one of our most curable diseases ; and USES OF THE LUNGS, ETC. 27 is easier prevented and warded off, than any hereditary disease to which we are inclined. I now address you upon the uses of the Lungs. On a correct knowledge of the uses of the lungs depend all correct views of their diseases, and of their management. It is well known in all great pieces of machinery, both natural or artificial, that we very often find one great leading purpose, and then comes a valuable but subordinate p.urpose. In nature, the sun: its first grand purpose is to keep the pla- nets in their places ; its subordinate purpose is to furnish light and heat, to those planets. In art, notice a watch : its first grand object is, by the move- ments of a pendulum, to mark the progress of the sun across the heavens. It might be a perfect time-keeper, with only this movement ; but in order to make it useful to us, that we may be informed of the progress of the sun, another subordinate movement is added, by which hands are moved iilong a dial plate ; thus counting to us the lapse of hours and minutes. Again : Lead two savages into a flouring mill ; on leaving that mill, one may be supposed to ask the other its grand use. At once he replies, it is to separate the coarse and fine parts of that powder from each other. No, says the other, that is not the principal use of the mill ; it is to crush the kernels of wheat into powder. The former, by only noticing a subordinate func- tion, arrives at a very false estimate of the importance of the mill, or the magnitude of its operations. So with the lyngs. It is one of the most singular facts con- nected with the history of the human mind, and the progress of knowledge, that from all time it has been known that the hu- man frame, in all its parts, constitutes a machine, exhibiting everywhere most perfect mechanism ; yet no human being has ever asked, " What is the power that moves this machi- nery," or whence does it derive its ability to continue the movements of that machinery. One would suppose, that in the earliest dawning of knowledge, this question would have been asked and answered. 23 LECTURE ON THE Why has net some one, long ago. stumbled upon it ; so nu merous are the facts, that, like a linker-post, have ever pointed to it 1 Nearly all writers upon the uses of the lungs make the chief use of those vast organs to purify the blood. Others allow, that they introduce a large quantity of oxygen into the lood. The blood, on arriving at the lungs, is of a dark color j and on leaving, is of a light vermilion red. This is owing to a loss of carbon, (charcoal,) thrown out of the blood in the lungs. Yet this loss is not more than could be separated by two glands half the size of the kidneys ; and does not at all ac- count for the vast size of the lungs, so disproportionate to this object. To purify the blood of this carbon, is only a subordi- nate function : by dwelling so long on this, and making it nearly final, much of the darkness on this subject has arisen, with all its deplorable effects. What are the grand uses of the Lungs 1 In 1827, whilst pursuing some investigations in Philadelphia, upon Nervous Influence, preparatory to my graduation thesis, I discovered, what I conceive to be, the grand uses of the lungs, and their first great purpose. In those researches, I was led to ask, what it was that gave support and power to the nervous system. I traced this support to the lungs; and at once, and forever, to my mind, all darkness upon the uses of the lungs disappeared. If any person in this auditory can tell me why we breathe harder in running up stairs, than in running down, he can tell me what are the principal uses of the lungs. I have often asked this question. I never met but one person who could make even an approximate answer. But what are the uses of the lungs 1 I reply : They give to the human machine its power of action. This power exists in the atmospheric air; and the lungs are the me- dium by which, and through which, that principle which gives the human machine its living power is conveyed to it. The lungs have the same relation to the human machine, that the water wheel has to the mill it moves. The air is the USES OF THE LUNGS, ETC. 29 same to the lungs that the water is to the wheel: shut oif the water from the v;ater wheel, and it soon stops ; shut the air from the lungs, and they as soon stop, and all the system with them. Where there is no air, there is no act on ; and the con- sumption of air iii any living machine, is in the exact r.:tio of its size and action. It is most likely that in all animals, the same momentum of action requires exactly the same quantity of air. * We see, in running up stairs, the lungs, before quiet and easy in their movements, at once double and quadruple their action: and if the exertion is long continued, are lashed into most active and even violent pantings. Whilst not the least increase of action, is observed in running down stairs ; because there is no increase in the consumption of power; for no in- crease of power is required. Exactly in the ratio of the con- sumption of power, will be the action of the lungs. To illustrate this subject, allow me to present a few exam- ples, familiar to you all. It is of vital consequence that we perfectly understand the uses of the lungs \ do this, and they will become as playthings to us. USES ILLUSTRATED. The first example I will give you is that of the race-horse. Ask any stable groom upon what depends the value of the race- horse, and he will tell you, not the swiftness of his heels, but upon his bottom, his wind, his lungs. Many horses could out- run Eclipse, at one mile, that would be dead on the course long before they could accomplish sixteen miles. This truth was known long before the days of Homer. If any man does not know it, get a broken-winded horse, and endeavor to urge him into speed, and he will soon know. The next example I will mention to you, is the difference in the strength of men and women. We- all know that women are weaker than mpn. but why sc I am not aware has ever been explained, nor can it be, except 30 LECTURE ON THE by reference to the uses of the lir;gs. The lungs of women are one-third smaller than those of men, as an examination of their chests will instantly prove. In those two beautiful re- mains of Grecian sculpture, the Apollo of Belvidere in Rome, and the Venus of Medicis at Florence, to which pilgrimages are made annually by thousands of admiring observers, this rule holds : the breast of the Apollo measures three, the Venus two. These statues 6we their value to their truth and fidelity to beautiful nature. It is written on the frame of woman, that she can never surpass man in physical strength ; she conquers by her charms ; her lungs are a third smaller than his, conse- quently her physical strength is always less. Agai i : observe the difference in the strength of different men. Were ^ou required to select the strongest man of your ac- quaintance, would you select a man with a flat thin chest, long neck and narrow round stooping shoulders, or would you select a man with a wide,deep,round chest and broad heavy shoulders 1 There can be but one answer. You would choose the man with large lungs, and you would not be disappointed. You would find his strength in the exact ratio of his pulmonary develop- ment, other things, being equal. The difference in the strength of different men is immense, and the difference in the size of the chest forms a very striking characteristic in such cases. So of Northern nations : we find them always conquering Southern nations, because of their superior physical strength, derived from larger lungs, from breathing purer, denser, and more nourishing air. Again : notice a man about to lift a heavy weight: as he stoops raise it, his last act is to till his lungs to its utmost expan- m, and if a great effort, he does not suffer the air to leave is lungs until the feat of strength is accomplished. Another striking instance is in the use of the right arm. It t o seen with all the natives of this globe, that the right arm is preferred in its use over the left ; in other words, that all men are right-handed, as a general rule. Some very unsatisfactory USES OF THE LUNGS, ETC. 81 reasons are given for this. The true reason is found in the fact, that the lungs give us the power of action, and that the right lung is larger than the left; hence it gives more power to the right arm. I have often seen the right arm hang quite useless at the side by extensive disease of the right lung. Very rarely we find persons left-handed, i believe in all cases where they are left-handed, the left lung will be found to be the largest. I have often had an opportunity of verifying this fact ; so that being left-handed is not a matter of capri- cious or accidental choice in the infant, but is owing to the left arm being the strongest, because the left lung is the largest. This explains why it is so difficult to make a left-handed child prefer to use the right hand, and thus become right-handed, when nature in its formation has ordained it otherwise, by making the left lung the largest and thus the left arm the strongest. Take two brothers, one brought up in sedentary pursuits in the city, the other brought up and leading an active and labori- ous life in the country : after the lapse of a few years the brother in the country will be found to possess in a vast many cases double the physical strength of the brother in the city, and not half as inclined to pulmonary consumption. We talk of the power of the steam engine, and are struck at its wonderful performances : but there is a power that laughs at the steam engine, and that is the power that is developed in the eagle. In him we see an animal that poises himself high in the heavens, and, almost with the rapidity of lightning, sweeps to the earth, and seizing a living animal of nearly or quite Jus own weight, flies away with him to the top of Mont Blanc. This is power acting upon mechanism. We know of nothing in man's art that will compare with it. Now what is peculiar in the eagle? First, his lungs are as large as can be stowed in his body ; secondly, the air is made to fill all his bones and quills, and finally is poured through the cellular tissue, and spread upon the living muscles, so that they may feed upon the air without, the intervention of the lungs. S3 LECTURE ON THE In the case of the eagle, science say? this universal diffusion of air in his quills and bones, c., is to buoy him up in the sky. Not so; for if you strike him in the sky, ha falls to the earth as suddenly as any other body of the same weight and space. It is to give him more air to consume, as no lungs can be given him sufficiently large to give air enough to generate a power sufficient for the wonderful feats of strength he is called upon to perform. Many migratory pigeons that travel fifty miles an hour, that you can hold upon your hand, consume more air tharfsome fe- males. Again : go down the scale of beings, and take those animals who, for a greater or less period of time, suspend all action, and you find that the lungs consume little or no air at this time, as irTthe case of the frog imbedded in stone or clay, for indefinite periods, perhaps hundreds of years. So with the hibernating bear, who breathes scarcely once in several minutes. In all cases it will be observed, with no ex- ception whatever, that in all animals the action of the lungs will be found to correspond exactly to the consumption of power; and, as I have before remarked, where there is no air, there will be no action. The importance of fully understanding this subject may be inferred, by knowing that the larger the lunps and the more perfect their development, the less they are liable to pulmo- nary consumption. That the more they are exercised, the larger they will become ; that as we lake active or laborious ex- ercise, our lungs will be continually enlarging; and that on the contrary, indolence, want of exercise, &c., will render the lungs smaller and smaller, until by absence of air the air cells then will close up, and cbllapse their walls, as a bird folds up its plumage. By this we also learn that pure air, and even cold air, be- cause more dense, is the best friend of the lungs, and should be resorted tc with the greatest confidence, both to prevent and cure their diseases. USES OF THE LUNGS, ETC. 33 Pare air is the food of the lunsrs. and diffuses through thorn o ' O life, energy and activity, into the system. In the pursuit of any science, if many minds of equal power and endowment investigate a suhject, and arrive at far different conclusions, diverging from each other like the spokes of a wh^ei, we may be certain they have started wrong; that thc-ir .Kc-.n.ses are er- roneous. As for example, the hieroglyphics ol Egypt. On many monuments, tombstones, obelisks and pyramids in Egypt, are observed numerous inscriptions, paintings, .c., drawn or engraved upon the solid granite. For more than fifteen hun- dred years a knowledge of the meaning or purpose of these in- scriptions was lost to the civilized world. Books and almost libraries were written to prove their uses, some making them one thing, and some another, until recently it was hinted that these very pictures were alphabetical letters. No sooner was this idea fairly stated, than an alphabet was commenced and gradually completed, until now these Egyptian writings are read with the facility of the inscriptions in the tomb-stones in our grave-yards. All the wretched speculations of the once would-be learned scholars have been dissipate^ and proved to be the absurdity of ignorance. We now learn that what was supposed to be a cloud, cover- ing most inscrutable mysteries, are only simple records of men's actions, wishes, lives and .deaths, and were once familiar- ly read by all the stone-mason? of Egypt. Now this is precisely the condition of our knowledge in re- gard to the lungs, their uses and diseases ; a perfect cloud rests over them, because their uses are not well understood. Their grand purpose is entirely overlooked, and unknown by the mass of medical and other men. This is shown in their practice and its results. No two of any experience agree in their practice. I do not know that I ever met two physicians who were of any eminence and not mere imitators, who thought or acted alike in .managing con- sumption, or who had the least notion how it might be pre- vented. Nor have they any confidence in their own practice : 2* 34 LECTURE 0\ THE i i few cases have they the least hope of curing the disease 01 of preventing it. Go to thorn to treat a pleurisy or lung-fever, or inflammation of the lungs, and they do it skilfully ; but tell them the patient has the consumption, or is threatened with it, and at once all is douht and darkness. One tells him to go to warm climate another says, go to a cold climate ; one says keep in the open air another says, shut yourself up in your room in all cold \veather, or damp or windy. One says, we can cure consumption if we can stop the motion of the lungs, and so directs his unfortunate patient not to breathe much, and to restrain his breath as long as possible ; one tells him to breathe the air wh n out of doors, but another commands his patient to wear a respirator and cover his mouth ,and not allow the cold air to touch his lungs, &c. One blisters the chest or makes awful sores upon it; another rejects this, &c. One bleeds and reduces the patient, another stimulates him and gives tonics. In one thing they nearly all agree, and their experience is alike, that their patients nearly all die. This universal mor- tality among their patients keeps them all in countenance, and inspires confidence that their practice is right. Nothing daunted, a learned physician will conduct all the members of a family to their graves, one after another, giving the same remedies to each, and never once suspecting that his practice is wrong, or that it can be changed for the better. Intimate to the medical body that consumption is a curable disease, and at once such an idea is denounced as the height of 7 D folly or knavery. What results from this darkness of the medical faculty 1 Why the whole land is covered- with a pall ; nearly one half of the adults, when they die, die of consumption or diseases of the chest. The whole population are running everywhere for aid. All confidence in the regular medical faculty, for consumption, is lost ; nobody respects them, and they do not respect them- selves, on this subject. Allow me here to say, from avast experience, that nine- tenths of all that is laid down in medical books, taught in medi- USES OF THfc! LUNGS, ETC. 35 cal schools, or pursued in medical practice, for the prevention and cure of consumption, is calculated to make the disease, not to cure it. Another most startling fact grows out of these premises, which is, that our oldest and most eminent physicians, every where those standing highest in the communities where they reside, having the most influence, and most addicted to written authorities, and regular precedence, in fact called the head of the medical profession are the poorest possible authority upon consumption, except to record its fatality. Their con- sumptive patients all die, without a single exception, and for this we have their most emphatic authority. Dr. Nathaniel Chapman, who has been for a great many years Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, in a recent publication, denounces a man who pro- fesses to cure consumption, as sinking- himself to the most de- grading charlatanism ; and solemnly declares, that in a prac- tice of fifty years, he never has. seen a case of seated consump- tion cured. This, gentlemen and ladies, is a record of his prac- tice ; and of nearly all, with scarcely an exception in the regu- lar faculty, up to this time ; and most fully confirms all I have said upon the awful destructiveness of their practice. This leads me also to call to your minds, that nearly all the higher classes in this country, who only employ the old school physi- cians, when struck with consumption, die of it. Whilst with the more independent, and thinking classes, not trammelled by fashion ; not reverencing mere names and pretensions, but fly from such persons, and ask for facts, demand cures, find often, at last, in perhaps an obscure old woman, or some illiterate per- son, that aid which could not be obtained from their regular, and " world and time-honored physicians." This want of suc- cess of the school-bred physicians, is owing to their profound ignorance of the uses of the lungs. Why do they not at ontfe, as honest men, tell their consumptive patients, we cannot cure you, and leave them to nature and its resources, without adding to their sufferings the accumulated and accumulating ills of drugs and medical remedies, that in nine cases out of ten, hurry 33 LECTURE ON THE them to their graves, and deprive them of all comfort whilst living. I have known many old physicians, who at last, overwhelmed by their ill success, say at once to their patients, let medicines alone, and trust to diet, change of air, and nature. It is a fact, that in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, patients left to them- clves will live much longer without the usual medicines, than with them. Wo then to you, consumptives, who put your- selves in the care of those who pronounce consumption always incurable. Let me here enter a solemn disclaimer of any unkind feel- ings towards any physicians. No man better than myself, knows their sacrifices, their great benevolence, and disinterest ed efforts in behalf of sick and suffering humanity. None ad- mit more fully than they, all that I have said on the insuffi- ciency, and even mischievous nature of their practice, and on its deplorable effects on medical reputation. None would go far- ther, or do more than they to introduce a successful practice in the cure of consumption, or rejoice more to see it fairly classed among curable diseases. But alas, in our profession, a few high priests dictate to all the others, and the laity of the profession consent to receive instruction only through these oracles. My father, my grandfather and brother, were regular, eminent, and respectably educated physicians. I cannot bear ill feelings to- wards physicians. No one respects them more ; but 1 do deplore their ignorance of the uses of the lungs, and causes of consump- tion ; and most of all, their ignorance of even rational practice in pulmonary diseases. One excuse is found, and a good one, that no books teach correctly the uses of the lungs; hence arises all the darkness, inefficiency, and mischief of their practice. Again : let me say to physicians, I have no secret remedies; call on me, if you cboose ; you will find me always friendly, and the little I know, is at your service. Allow me, before I go farther, to refer to one most interesting fact in the history of the spread and prevalence of consump- tion. It is found in the history of the American Indians,- at one time numbering many millions of people, and inhabiting USES OF THE LUNGS, ETC. 37 from the most extreme point north, to Patagonia, soutli ; em- bracing ail varieties of climate and location; resting in the frigid, temperate, and torrid zones ; occupying every variety of situation, on the seaboard, on the borders of the lakes, on the tops of tile highest lands, and in the mc~t secluded valleys ; on the wide-spread and open prairies, and in the most arid deserts ; the countries of the greatest humidity, and- where it rarely ever rains, as in Peru ; yet in all these countries, and every where, such a thing as a case of pulmonary consumption has never been observed, whilst those people remained in their sa- vage state. Bnng them into our settlements, civilize them, educate them, and let them adopt our habits, and they become as liable to consumption as we ourselves. It is eminently due to ourselves and our subject, to notice the peculiarities of the savage Indian, as compared with our- selves, and to seek for some light to elucidate the frequency of pulmonary consumption. By what peculiarities is the Indian distinguished from the civilized Ameiican 1 1st. The American Indian is remarkable for the perfect symmetry of his figure. u Straight as an Indian," is an old proverb, whose truth is instantly recognised by all who have ever seen the wild Indian : his chest is perfect s\ m- metry, his shoulders and shoulder blades are laid flat against the chest, and the whole weight of his arms, shoulders, and shoulder blades, is thrown behind the chest thus always ex- panding, instead of contracting it; the naked chest, and whole person, is often exposed to the open air; they are much out of doors; indeed, rarely in -doors; breathe the pure air, never stoop in gait or walk, and pursue no avocations that contract the chest, or prevent its free and full expansion; often wash themselves in pure cold water ; exercise the lungs freely by active athletic exercise ; running, racing, the chase, frequently dancing, and shouting, &c., most vehemently, nearly every clay. The same holds -true in regard to animals. Animals in their wild state never have the consumption ; whilst the same ani- mals domesticated have it as the monkey, the rabbit, the horse, &c. Consumption is a child of civilization ; results 38 LECTURE ON THE c/tiejliffrom loss of symmetry, and from effeminacy, i?iduced by too much clothing, too luxurious living, dissipation, too little ex- ercise, and debilitating diseases and occupations. CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. The causes of consumption may be divided into three great Classes. First: Mechanical causes, loss of symmetry, external and internal. Second : Effeminacy and debility of the constitution. Third : Poison. Inhaling dust, &.c. We have remarked before, that consumption could never take place until the air ceils of the lungs are closed, and so dis- posed that the air does not fill them well when we breathe; and that when every air cell is freely open, at each inspira- tion, no consumption can ever take place. The first cause of consumption I will notice, is, any external cause that contracts the basket of the chest upon the lungs, by any external pressure. This is produced by the weight of the shoulders, arms, and shoulder blades, being brought foiward on the chest. (See Plate F.) The collar bones are shoulder braces, and occur only in man, and are intended to keep the shoulders olf the chest 5 but if long pressed upon, they yield and bead. Pressure upon them depresses the breast bone at its lower end, and breaks it down towards the back bone, and causes the breast bone to press upon the heart, and allows the ribs to press upon the lungs, and press their flexible sides upon each other. The structure of the lungs is so flexible, that they yield to the slightest external pressure, and allow the capacity, or size of the chest, to be diminished daily ; in fact, the sub- stance of the lungs offers no resistance to a shrinking of the chest ; as the largest lung, when perfectly collapsed, is not larger than an ordinary fist, if so large. The weight cf the arms, shoulders, &c., thrown forward upon the chest, causes it to col lapse daily, unless resisted by most forcible and constant strong breaths, or inspirations of air. To delicate persons, the least CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 39 inclined to crbest diseases, this position of the shoulders is one grand cause of consumption. Jn fact, any position of the shoul- ders, by which the weight of the arms is made to Lear across .the chest, or upon it, instead of hanging down, so as to draw the che*st backwards, will contribute powerfully to diminish the size of the chest press upon the lungs, and close the air cells to prevent a free circulation of blood through the lungs, and thus tend to produce imperfect breathing, bleeding at the lungs, deposit of tubercles, and all the horrors and realities of consumption. (See plate F.) It is for this reason that all me- chanical employments that cause us to stoop forward, will in- cline to injure the chest; in truth, every position forward of the erect, is a producing cause of consumption. Who are those that contract these bad positions 1 I might at once say this whole nation, or nearly all its inhabitants, over three years old. If there is any appellation that would apply to us as a nation, it is round-shouldered. The habit of contracting the chest, by stooping, is formed in multitudes at school, by sitting at low tables or no tables ; by sitting ail in a heap, either in school or out of school, by not holding themselves erect, either sitting or standing ; as it is a matter of habit in a great degree, tailors, shoemakers, machinists, clerks, students, seamstresses, in fact all whose occupation causes them to stoop at their work, or at rest, or at their pleasures, or amusements. (See Plates F,K,T.) Passing by the position of the arms, shoulders, and chest itself, another most fruitful cause of consumption, is wearing the clothing too tight around the base of the chest, so as to di- minish the size of the waist. Millions from this cause sleep in untimely graves. A great deal has been said and written against tight-lacing. It is not entirely peculiar to ladies. It occurs in both sexes. The effect, however, is deplorable in the extreme ; it prevents a free expansion of the lungs, closes the air-cells of the lobes of the lungs at their bases ; impedes greatly the circulation of the blood, produces shortness of breath, hurried breathing, and ex- tensive closing of the air-cells of the lungs, bleeding at the lungs, &,c. 40 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. Consumption usually begins in the top of the lungs ; but many cases occur when the waist has been greatly contracted, that tubercles are first deposited in the bases of the lung?, and by their softenings produce one of the most intractable and in : curable forms of consumption. I once knew a lady, who at nineteen, chose to have the small- est waist in the neighborhood. Small waists were then and there considered by the young ladies, as most desirable. She would lace her stays as tightly as she could wear them by day, and at night would sleep in them. Before going to bed, she would tie one lace string to the bed post, and holding the other, would throw her whole weight on the strings, so as to contract the chest very greatly ; indeed, she soon had a perfect wasp, or hour-glass shape. She w r as in no way predisposed to consump- tion. In a few months, from perfect health, she sunk away into a species of apparent consumption, and died a most awful death, from the dreadful throes and efforts to breathe, which characterised the disease for some time before she died. After death her body was opene-J, when it was found that the liver, the upper part of the stomach, the midriff, the heart, and lobes of both lungs, had all grown together; and in this way pro- duced an untimely and awful death. Great contraction of the base of the chest, is a vast misfortune, and utterly prevents a full development of the lungs ; consequently they will always be weak, and disposed in such persons to the consumption. A striking and almost demonstrative proof, that consumption is caused by want of expansion and exercise of the lungs, is found in the fact, that disease always begins first in those parts of the lungs least expanded and exercised, which are in nearly all cases the tops of the lungs ; whilst the bases of the lungs, that are usually much exercised, are rarely ever diseased until late in the progress of consumption. In some rare cases, either from rheumatism, pleurisy, or tight-lacing, the bottoms of the lungs are least exercised, and consequently first diseased. Supposing the shoulder blades, shoulders, and all the chest to be in perfect symmetry, and to be well developed, and the base of the chest well expanded, and the air cells, in fact a per- CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION 41 fectly healthy chest and lungs, there is another formidable ene- my to them, arising from a relaxation or weakness of the na- tural belts which cover the abdomen, by which free expiration of the air is prevented. Loss of symmetry acting on the floor of the lungs. FALLING OF THE BOWELS. By referring to plate C, you will there see the lungs, heart, and liver, stomach, large bowel, and midriff, all in their places in symmetry. You will notice the lungs are wedge-shaped, with their small ends uppermost ; the heart weighing conside- rable, the liver weighing some pounds, and the stomach and large and small bowels, &c. The chest, you will see, is a bas- ket of bones, (look at plate A,) and open at the bottom, so that on setting up the trunk of the body, all the organs incline to fall downwards to the groins and into the basket of the hips ; and they would all fall through, causing instant death, if this were not prevented, and these all kept up, perfectly and beau- tifully in their places, by the basket of the hips falling back- wards, and by the natural belts that cover all the front and sides of the trunk of the body, which arise from the ends of the breast bone, and the lower edges of all the short ribs and back bone, where there are no ribs ; the upper edges of the hip bones, and from the cross bone, that goes across the lower part of the abdomen, these belts are very strong, perfectly flexible, and are found in three layers ; so that when in health, the stowage of the trunk of -the body and all the internal organs is perfect. No jarring of any of the organs takes place on walking: ail the inside of the body is kept perfectly firm and tight, yet elas- tic. These abdominal muscles, or belts, act a most important part in the functions of breathing, speaking, &c. (See plate E.) The midriff, or diaphragm, (see plate D,) is a fleshy curtain drawn across the base of the chest, and fastened to the middle of the chest and to the breast bone, and ends of the short ribs, and back bone. Oh its sides it is entirely loose, and its loose portions open up into the chest, like inverted bowls, rouading 42 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. up against the base of each lung, but not much against the heart. It is the floor of the lungs. When we draw in the air, the midriff draws downwards, and allows the lungs to fall down and fill full of air ; and at this mo- ment the abdominal belts contract themselves, and draw back against the lower bowels, and at once dash the liver and sto- mach and all the bowels upwards ; so that the liver and stomach start upwards into the loose parts of the midriff, and drive it against the bottom of each lung. This impulse at the bottom of the lungs is felt up to the collar bones, when the abdominal belts are healthy and strong ; by which contrivance the air is forced out of the lungs, and the upper part of the lungs are fully expanded, and all the upper air cells fully distended. A little reflection will convince you of the indispensable neces- sity for good lungs and healthy breathing, that the abdominal belts should be perfectly strong and healthy. (See Plate E, for a view of these belts, to which we shall again recur in an- other lecture.) On the contrary, if these belts are weak from any cause, the respiration becomes feeble ; talking long, or reading loud, is impossible without great fatigue, and aching of the lungs, pain and dragging down in the top of the chest shrinking of the chest under the collar bones, so that they stick up very much ; tops of the lungs collapse, and the air cells close more or less, by which they are exposed toa deposit of tuberculous matter. The blood circulates badly through the lungs, and they readily become full of blood, and bleeding at the lungs often takes place ; great weakness and sinking, and twitching is felt along and at the end of the breast bone ; wheezing, breathing, short- ness of breath, &c., a dragging down, fatigued feeling at the collar bones, and a constant disposition to stoop, not being able, or not feeling able, to sit or stand erect. In a vast many cases this is impossible ; a hacking cough, and at first a dry irritating cough, is apt to arise ; weak voice and sore throat 5 pains about the wind -pipe, and dryness in the throat. In a great many cases of bleeding at the lungs, it will be found that weakness of the abdominal belts is the grand cause. By this CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION, 43 the floor of the lungs may be said to be knocked out. On at- tempting a long breath, it seems lost, and on drawing in a long breath, the short ribs and lower end of the breast bone, in place of opening when we inspire the air, seems to close around the base of the lungs, seeming as if a cord was drawn around them. Breathing becomes difficult, and much exercise of the lungs aeems impossible. A great many consumptions in both sexes, begin with pain an;l weakness across the bowels ; aggravated by talking, singing, &c , complete loss of voice at times. Bleeding at the lungs is often preceded by a sinking, hollow, deathly feeling, more or less for months, at the pit of the stomach, or about the sides somewhere, in a greater or less degree. In cases of much relaxation of the abdominal belts, in walking, the lungs jar and tremble at every step. At times the breath seems lost. This subject is well .illustrated in cases of pregnancy. All physicians and observers know how promptly pregnancy will stop the progress of consumption, and that it will seem sus- pended in bad cases until the birth of the child. In a great man} 7 " cases, pregnancy will and does cure early consumption ; and could the child be carried in the womb for eighteen instead of nine months, nearly all consumptive mothers would be cured. This is done by the womb, with all its contents, rising up into the abdomen, and forcing the liver, stomach and bowels upwards, so as to lift up the floor of the lungs, enlarging greatly the size of the waist, and spreading the short ribs. The lungs feel the upward pressure to the collar bones, so that even mo- derate breathing will expand the tops of the lungs. All the benefits to consumptive ladies in pregnancy, may not arise from mechanical causes only 5 but I am inclined to think it is almost entirely so. Again : on the cessation of pregnancy, the floor of the lungs suddenly loses its support ; and unless fully supported and re- medied, they sink down ; the breathing becomes difficult, the lungs are most imperfectly filled, the cavities before closed by the lifting up of the lungs, which have not healed, now gape open ; the disease again starts with accelerated pace and fury, and death soon closes the scene. During pregnancy, the lungs 44 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. are placed in a most favorable condition to be cured. If in any way diseased, this period should by all means be improved, to give perfect health to the lungs. I am disposed to the belief, that about one-third of all the consumptions originate from weakness of the abdominal belts. In my lectures to ladies and gentlemen, this subject will be again resumed. EFFEMINACY AND DEBILITY, A CAUSE OF CONSUMPTION. The next great cause of consumption I will mention, sup- posing the chest to be in perfect symmetry, the floor of the lungs solid, by firm abdominal belts no sinking or weakness at the stomach, no jarring of the lungs on walking. This cause proceeds from the habits and constitutional con- dition of the system itself, comprised in two words, effeminacy and debility. I have told you that the lungs are the medium that gives us the power of action. This power is in the air ; the lungs taking it from the air and conveying it through the blood to the whole system. The action of the lungs, the full and complete expan- sion which we desire to produce at each breath, will depend on the exercise of the individual. So that ail trades, occupations, professions, or employments, whether for recreation or profit, whether from voluntary or ne- cessary indulgence, that prevent our taking active exercise, will incline to a rest of the system, diminished consumption of its power, and consequently a lessened action of the lungs, exactly in the ratio in which the exercise of the whole system is less- ened. The hearer can easily fill up the catalogue from all the sedentary employments and occupations comprising all those engaged in the sedentary mechanical trades ; all students those professions where there is much talking and little exercise; as clergymen, teachers, lawyers, and auctioneers. The last rarely hnve the consumption, because they usually take much exer- cise and often speak out of doors, and have freely expanded the lungs by speaking in the open and cold air CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 45 Lawyers have less consumption than clergymen ; because they usually take more exercise and speak on a level or at the feet of their auditors, instead of being lifted up into more rari- fied, attenuated, and heated air ; as is the case with the clergy in most cases. Indolence in all its forms of indulgence, lessens the action of the lungs. This will be found a most fruitful cause of consumption in the easy classes of the United States. The contrast between the easy classes in this country arid in England, is most striking. In England, all work almost in- stinctively to accumulate wealth, intending to retire and spend the remainder of their days in active repose, if I may use the expression ; in other words, to throw off the cares of business, and enjoy the delights of out-door of active of country ex- ercise, in the open air ; by walking,as the first best exercise ; next, of horseback exercise ; next, the carriage ; lastly, garden- ing and rural occupations, field sports, the chase, &c. Nearly every Englishman, however deeply immersed in bu- siness, in the most secluded solitude of London, hopes and de- sires one day to expatiate in the country, and spread himself on broad acres. In the United States, nearly all of our easy classes in the most active pursuit of wealth, never think much of exercise, or at any rate, shrink from the contemplation of its fatigues and the disagreeable sacrifices of ease and personal indulgence it involves. Almost all our gentry perfectly hate a country life, eschew- ing it most religiously, if they have the means to live in the city. In very many cases preferring quite a mediocrity in the cities and villages, to rural independence. The result of this is, that consumption prevails vastly less among the best classes in Europe, whilst it is almost an epi- demic among the easy classes in this country. Many ladies have become consumptive from mere indolence. With these, a walk two or three times a week, is thought sufficient. Taking very little exercise within doors, the lungs, from want of air and full exercise, cease to be expanded, fold up their air cells, and sink into consumption. 46 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. Mental emotions, grief, fear, despondency, incline to depress all the energies of the system, and leave every part to be in- active, in which the lungs must participate, and so must suffer. It is for this reason that a family losing one of its number by consumption, grief, fear, and despondency seize upon all of them. This is one great reason why consumption will often sweep through a whole family. Two beautiful young ladies recently called on me, one with a bad cough, the other said to me : " Our mother died of con- sumption last spring; and since her death, sister has given up, that she must die, and will take no courage or do anything for herself.' 7 This is often the case, frequently at the very grave of one dead of consumption ; another will take a cough, go back, give up all hope or effort, and in a few months die of the same disease. In this order sometimes, whole families will be swept away ; at other times several will die, and from some hitherto unexplained cause, others of the same family will es- cape tne disease, and live to be very old. One case I knew, seven brothers and sisters died of consumption, between the ages of twenty and twenty-five. Two brothers escaped the proscription, and both a short time sgo were living, one at eighty-three, the other at eighty-five years of age. In all of these cases it will be found, that the peculiar habits of those exempted were of such character as prevented a decline of the general health, and procured an expansion of the lungs. Persons in early life, predisposed to consumption, often live to a great age after escaping consumption. Hope unmixed with fear, is a great antagonist to the spread of consumption. Grief arising from loss of children, loss of parents, loss of very dear relatives, loss of wealth, or even loss of health, will frequently paralyze all the powers of the system, and lead to an early decay. For this reason, when one of a family has died of consumption, I recommend, if practicable, change of air, change of location, change of scene, and in many cases change of occupation. &c. A most prolific source of consumption is found in those dis- eases that break down the strength of the system, and so pre- vent full action and expansion of the lungs. CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. TYPHUS FEVER. FEVER SORES. Lung fever leads thousands to consumption. Pleurisy im- perfectly cured, leaving pain and weakness in the side and chest, and often adhesions between the internal smooth cover- ing of the ribs, and the covering of the lungs, will take place, that greatly prevent an expansion of the lungs, and thus lead to consumption. Rheumatism and rheumatic fevers produce a great many consumptions by breaking down the general health , and thus preventing a full expansion ef the chest. At other times, the rheumatism will seat itself upon the lungs themselves, thus leading to consumption. At times it will settle between the ribs and prevent a full expansion of the lungs and chest on breathing. In persons predisposed to consumption, an attack of rheuma- tism in the joints, and the knees,ancles, hips, elbows, or shoul- ders, or a rheumatic fever, will often precurse the approach of consumption. Gout, a disease kindred to rheumatism, at times locates itself upon the lungs and induces consumption. In these diseases, large quantities of chalk are often deposited in the air cells of the lungs, and in the air passages, and around the bronchical glands. Both rheumatism and gout located upon the lungs, are indi- cated by vastly more pain, and darting sharp pains, and ner- vous irritation, than in true scrofulous consumption, and re- quire different treatment. Scrofula is considered a principal cause of tubercular or or- dinary true consumption. The whole variety of diseases designated in common lan- guage, and very properly as a humor, comprising scrofula, salt- rheum, and all the varieties, of the skin diseases, canker, hives, eruptions upon the skin in the mouth in the stomach in the bowels, &c. from, very extensive observation, I incline to consider as having one common origin, only differing in their 43 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION appearance by their difference in location 5 some appearing most in winter, others most in summer. Scrofula is located upon the cellular tissue, \vhich is a cov- ering thrown over the muscles, or lean meat, and below the ex- ternal skin ; it is found more or less everywhere. In this, scrofulous lumps are developed. At other times, this same humor will be found on the true skin under the scarf skin, producing salt rheum, suddenly going and coming. At other times is placed immediately below the true skin, swelling up into pimples and pustules, and discharging matter. At other times, causing eruptions of dry scales, or a discharge drying off in scales. . These varieties are not often seen in one person, but at times several, or nearly all seen in one individual. I believe all these proceed from a poison generated in the system by causes often palpable, at other times not readily discovered. In proof of this, we often see in the same family one have scrofula, another salt rheum, another eruptions or pustules, &,c. ; and as 1 said before, at times in the same person nearly all occur. These humors often appear in infancy,go off, and after some years appear upon the lungs, or throat, or air pipes. To treat consumption successfully, all these humors must be well understood. I once knew a lady in Rhode Island, who was thought to be near her end with consumption, when suddenly she became aff( cted w r ith humors all over her skin and swelled enormously, losing both sight and hearing for days by the swelling ; but in a few weeks got well of the humor, and with it all con- sumption disappeared. It is a vast desideratum to throw the humors out upon the skin ; they should never be repelled or driven in by washes or applications to them ; I once knew an infant of seven months die in its mother's arms of true consumption ; beginning with bleeding at the lungs, and going through all the stages of con- sumption to death, produced by driving in salt rheum ; it. had salt rheum upon its face; the physician injudiciously applied a solution of corrosive sublimate which cured it on its face, but drove it to its lungs, and thus produced consumption and dealh. CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 49 This humor, in one or all its varieties, often locates itself upon the throat, the wind -pipe, the larger and smaller air passages of the lungs, and in the air cells, and in the substance of the lungs. In our enquiries into the causes of consumption, refe- rence should always be had to the subject of skin diseases, or scrofula, because they so often locate themselves upon the lungs. They are always easily cured, and entirely driven from the system, if properly managed and in season. They are one ex- ceedingly prolific cause of consumption. INHALING DUST, METALS, ETC. Inhaling, or drawing in of large quantities of dust, will cause this to be deposited upon the lungs, and thus by mechanical irritation, lead to consumption. This is seen in stone cutters, millers, dry grinding of metals, pickers and sorters of rags for paper making, and many others. I once knew a case of a stone and marble cutter, who died suddenly. His chest was opened, and it was found that a large proportion of both lungs was so impregnated with stone dust, as to have caused his death. Thic case occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio. IRREGULARITIES IN DIET. Long continued irregularities in diet, either too low or too high living, will break down and effeminate the system, and in persons predisposed to consumption, will often induce it; but low living sooner breaks down the system and produces con- sumption, than high living. DYSPEPSIA. Dyspepsia and imperfect digestion of the food is a very com- mon cause of debility of the system, and breaking down of the powers of the constitution. Dyspepsia also greatly injur^!: Jna pirity and quality of the blood, and in this way. leads *:> iz<* creation of humors and the production of consumption. 50 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. LIVER COMPLAINT. CHRONIC DIARRHCEA.- COSTIVENESS. Liver complaint, chronic diarrhcea,costiveness, all are among the causes that injure the constitution and general health, and in this way lead to consumption. These subjects will be re- ferred to again, in another place. DISEASES OF THE THROAT, ETC. Diseases of the throat often cause consumption. Inflammation, and ulceration of the wind-pipe, and parts about the vocal organs, at the top of the wind -pipe, often cause consumption, by the great debility which this causes, and often by the great debility of the wind-pipe, preventing anything like vigorous breathing or respiration. This disorder is attended with hoarseness, and weakness of the voice, more or less ; often attended with a total loss of voice, great dryness and heat in the throat, and pain !n the throat on speaking or reading aloud ; clergymen are often subject to this disease. It is extremely rare that the wind-pipe alone is affected ; but in nearly all cases of throat disease, it will be found that the lungs are also much affected. In some cases the wind-pipe partially closes, and at other times dreadful spasmr attack the throat. When spasms attack the throat, so as to pro- duce temporary suspension of breathing, the chest will rapidly enlarge, and all lung difficulties in some cases will soon be re moved. I saw a striking case of this in the hospital in London A man came into the hospital, in an advanced stage of con sumption, his lungs badly ulcerated, his chest very contracted, and greatly emaciated. He had not been long in the hospital before he was attacked with an inflammation of the wind-pipe which was soon attended with most dreadful spasms. In those- fits, his breathing would stop ; his chest heave as if a rope were tied around his neck; he would at times be a whole mi nute without breathing. These spasms on his wind -pipe, caused a most rapid enlargement of his chest ; all symptoms 07 pulmonary or lung consumption soon disappeared j his ches/ became enormously enlarged. CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 51 TOO MUCH CLOTHING. Great effeminacy of the constitution, and consequent ten* dency to consumption, is often induced by our treatment of the surface of the frame. Too much clothing greatly inclines to debilitate the system, and lead to effeminacy. Suppose a per- son were to put his hand in a poultice, and keep that poultice . on for some weeks 5 on removing the poultice, the hand would feel as if it had no skin upon it ; so sensible would it be to the external air. Too much clothing has the same effect. It greatly effeminates the system, and makes it so delicate that it cannot bear the least exposure whatever. Each successive ad- dition to our clothing, beyond the point of health, instead of destroying the influence of cold, makes us more susceptible to its injurious effects, and infinitely more liable to those diseases that proceed from change of temperature. I have the pleasure of knowing two physicians who are now living in the same village, near the borders of Canada, about the 45th degree of north latitude ; a climate very cold for nearly six months in the year. One of these gentlemen is about six- ty-five years old, the other is about forty-five. Some years ago, these gentlemen entered into partnership in the practice of me- dicine ; the young physician, on first calling upon the old phy- sician, found him about to ride out in his sleigh to visit his pa- tients. It was very cold weather ; the young man expressed great surprise at the insufficiency of the old gentleman's clothing. " What do you mean 1" said the old doctor. - u I have on my hat, my great-coat, and my mittens ; what more do 1 want 1" The health of the old physician was perfect. The young gen- tleman was a show in some respects, and a fair representative of most effeminate people ; rather large and tall in person, he had on :i]\ the clothing he could put on for his daily in-door dress. Now talking to the old doctor, he had on a surtout coat, then a great-coat, then a cloak ; on his feet he had stockings, boots, and overshoes ; over his cravat he wore a thick woolen scarf, or shawl, that muffled up his throat, chin and nose, nearly to his eyes. On his head he wore a fur cap, which came down 52 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. nearly to his eyes. In these envelopes he hoped, and fully be- hev. d that he could exclude all cold, and fully prevent its in jmious effects upon his system. The health of the old physi- cian was perfect , the younger one was sick nearly every win- ter with lung fever, or some disturbance of his lungs. The old man told me it took him two years, by precept and example, before he could get the young man to reduce the amount of his clothing to the standard of health 5 when this was accomplished the constitution of the young man improved, and his health be- came perfect. There is an amount of clothing that is the point of health ; it no doubt differs in some persons; the best rule is to wear as little as possible consistently with comfort. It should never be worn with an eye to health, but to comfort. The first set- tlers of this country, and for several generations after its early settlement, were a very hardy race ; consumption with them was very rare ; had they have been obliged to wear as much clothing as we now wear, the country never could have bee*h settled. These remarks are applicable to all or nearly all of the present settlers of the new parts of our growing country. Sudden reductions of clothing should not be made in cold weather ; but should be commenced in warm weather, and care- fully proceeded with until the point of health is found. Too much clothing is highly injurious to the constitutions of chil- dren. The rule with them, as with all, is to wear as little as possible, consistent with comfort ; and never worn as a curative remedy. At all times neither our clothing nor our rooms should be warm enough to make us perspire, whilst at rest. This holds good also with our bedclothing ; nor should the warmth of our clothes nor the heat of our rooms make us feel uncomfortably warm : health requires us always to keep rather cool. Effeminacy caused by leaving active or invigorating , em- tlcyment, for sedentary, in-door and efiemi?iating ones. A most frequent cause of consumption, in those predisposed to it, and if noc predisposed to it, will, in a multitude of cases, cause predisposition, is leaving active, out-door, invigorating employments, for in-door and effeminating ones. Our cities, CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 53 our large towns, our manufactories, our workshops, our count- ing houses, the professions of law, physic, and divinity, are nearly all filled by persons who were the children of farmers, and in their early lives sharing in all the toils, the exposure and the invigorating pursuits of agriculture, and ail its once affiliated or kindred occupations. The consequence is, that great multitudes of both sexes fall victims to consumption, who otherwise never would have had it. The banishment of the old-fashioned large spinning wheel, from our farmers' homes, and leaving the daughters in comparative idleness, or sending them to work in manufactories, has tended vastly to spread the ravages of consumption. Again : we may often see fathers, whose children are consumptive, devoting them to the most sedentary arid debilitating occupations, and encouraging the heaviest tasks, or permitting it. These remarks are particu- larly applicable to all parts of New England. To illustrate this I cannot do better than to introduce a few cases of this kind, which fully explain all I can say on this subject. In Feb. 184-4*, 1 was consulted by a lady in Boston, who was hastening from New Hampshire to Virginia, to attend a young man who had gone there in ill health. He was the only son of a wealthy farmer in New Hampshire, who kept his son on his farm as much as possible, and at the same time undertook to give him an education. The boy went to school winters, and worked on the farm summers, until he was seventeen years old ; then, instead of going to school, he taught school and^pur- sued his studies out of school hours. After two or three years, he was prepared to enter Dartmouth College, still teaching school winters, and attending college in the spring and fall months ; but working at home on the farm in having and harvesting. This terrible course of efFeminatins: and exhaustin^ labor soon o O broke his health. He was predisposed to consumption by family .taint ; his mother having died of it. Its early symp- toms soon began to appear. He was sent to the south to im- prove his health and teach school. This course soon completed its work. The lady, on arriving in Virginia, found her young relative dead of consumption, and he the only son of a rich father. The southern people, when they see these multiplied 54 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. cases among them of young persons of reputedly rich parents, cannot but think that the New England mind is the very acme of meanness- Another case I will give of a similar character. 1 was consulted in October of 1844, by a young gentleman in one of the richest country towns in Connecticut. He was a line looking, genteel young man ; his first remark was, " I have called to ask you how long I have to live :" not believing that he could live long. He was an only son. His mother died of consumption, leaving one son and two daughters, one of whom had also died of consumption. The son graduated at l?ale Col lege, then studied law in the Law School in Albany. On clo sing his law studies, he settled in New York ; not getting law business as fast as he desired, he took a situation as book-keeper in a wholesale store : staid there until pulmonary symptoms began to appear, then went home : change of air and occupa- tion soon restored his health, and now he takes a school for oc- cupation ; in three months, bleeding at the lungs showed that consumption had began its work in earnest. He relinquished his school, and passed six months of unmitigated distress in an- ticipating an early and certain death. I had the pleasure of re- storing him to perfect health by God's blessing. No danger need he ever apprehend from consumption, if he follows faith- fully the directions. His father is a very wealthy man. I will still trouble you with one case more. I was consulted in May, 1844, at Springfield, Massachusetts, by a young man in the very last stages of consumption. He was brought up to farming pursuits and active out-door occupations until twenty- two years of age ; then desiring an easier employment and higher wages, he came from the country to Springfield, and hired himself to a confectioner, and worked in a basement, almost a cellar, over kettles of boiling sugar and boiling syrups most of the time inhaling a bad air, and covered with profuse perspiration. In seventeen months he died of consumption These cases will suffice to point out the terrible effects of leav- ing out-door occupations, and choosing exhausting and debili- tating employments within doors. If predisposed to consumption, your fate is certain ; if not predisposed, a predisposition may be induced by these exhausting drains upon the vital energies. CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 65 CLIMATE PREDISPOSING TO CONSUMPTION. Allow me to say a word or two on climate, and some states of the atmosphere, as under some circumstances predisposing to consumption. Consumption prevails most in dark, damp, cool climates ; such as that of Scotland and England ; but cli- mate alone never will cause consumption, and never did. In Scotland, and some parts of Wales, consumption is almost epi- demic. Its highlands and sea coasts are dark, cold and cloudy ; but in the early periods of Scottish history, its population was a most hardy race. Effeminacy almost unknown in both sexes. Then, consumption was almost unknown ; now, half of its adult population, when they die, die its victims. Climate can only concur with other causes in producing consumption. Light and dry climates are least predisposing to lung dis eases ; such as the climates of Siberia and Cuba^. No mor** deaths take place,nor as many, from consumption in Siberia, as in Cuba. Consumption was an exceedingly rare disease in Canada for many generations, until they became an effeminate race. It is now frequent. Cold is not a cause, nor does it cause predisposi- tion to consumption, as is commonly thought. In fact, cold dry air is most healthy and beneficial to the lungs. But cold may act to such an extent as to enfeeble and break down the system, and then like other debilitating causes, it may predispose to con- sumption. Of all the predisposing causes, the effects of cold are most easily obviated. I had the honor of a personal acquaintance, for many years, with Dr. Stuart, Lord Bishop of Quebec. In his old age and enfeebled by disease, his duties compelled him to pass alternate- ly his winters in Quebec and Toronto. In Quebec, the cold is incessant, steady and dry, for nearly six months, with very few changes or fluctuations of temperature. The air is dry and bracing. In Toronto, the air is mild, damp, and subject to great and sudden changes of temperature. Dr. Stuart told me that he much preferred residing in Quebec. Consumption is much less frequent in Quebec than in Toronto, all things considered 56 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. Obstructed perspiration, or a common cold a cause of con" sumption. A common cold is a frequent cause of consumption. Although in my remarks on diseases that cure consumption, I shall refer to a cold as at times curing, instead of producing consumption vet it much oftener produces than cures consumption. Th first attacks of cold very rarely produce consumption unless in lungs highly predisposed and prepared for it. There are many persons who will have a cold in cold weather which will last two or four weeks, and go off. The next winter they will last live or six weeks ; and so increase in intensity and continuance in successive winters, until a cough lasts nearly all the year, and consumption is the result. Cold produces consumption by obstructing the pores of the skin, and the fluids which should pass by the skin are thrown upon the lungs. The lungs be- come gorged with blood , the air cells nearly closed. Nature to retrieve herself sets up a secretion of phlegm more or less watery, that is thrown off in greater or less quantities from the skin that lines and covers the walls of the air pipes and air cells. Should these secretions continue long and be profuse the system sinks into consumption by the great debility of the lungs, and engorgement of blood and mucus and ulcerated se- cretions. What is called quick consumption, is usually in the beginning only a common cold. CATARRH. Catarrh is a form of cold that is located chiefly on the internal lining of the nose, extending up between the bony plates above the eye-brows ; at times occasioning most intense head ache and dullness about the head and eyes. Oftentimes the discharges are very copious. Occasionally it extends all over \ the back of the throat and parts about the palate, reaching along the passage back to the internal ear, and producing at first dull- ness of hearing and finally deafness. The discharges will often drop from the back end of the nostrils into the wind-pipe, pro- ducing constant hawking and raising of offensive mucus. Sometimes the catarrh spreads down the wind-pipe and along the air pipes to the top of the lungs, when pain, tightness and CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 57 sti cture is often felt also producing a cough and raising nearly the same matter as is discharged from the nose. Catarrh dif- fers ft-om a common cold by its longer continuance, almost total absence of any fever, and by its offensive smelling discharges, rarely ever found in ordinary cold. I think it is produced by a humor or sort of skin disease, that spreads wherever the catarrh is experienced, and is its exciting and continuing cause. Catarrh is very curable and all its unpleasant consequences easily removed. It is often a cause of noises in the head, ring- ing in the ears, and great oppression about the head, causing deafness. It at times deranges the general health so much as to prepare the way for pulmonary consumption. At times catarrh cures consumption. INFLUENZA. Among the exciting causes of consumption, ard one that weakens and irritates the lungs as much as any other, is influ- enza. It is a terrible disease. Its occurrence in summer is a frightful calamity, as it lays the foundation for thousands of consumptions. Influenza will render the strongest lungs i:\ persons no \vay inclined to consumption, highly predisposed to it. It is worthy of remark, that a summer cold or an influenza in summer, is much more liable to produce consumption than if it takes place in winter. No relics of influenza should be allowed to remain, but it should be done away by exercise, bathing and the inhaling tube. HEREDITARY CONSUMPTION. ]n speaking to you of the causes of pulmonary consumption, it is proper that I should speak to you of hereditary consump- tion. Hereditary taint is often spoken of as a cause of con- sumption. I do not think because our parents die of any disease, that we must necessarily have it, whether there is a predisposition to consumption, can -er, or any other disease. It is a very curious fact that children are copies of their parents, more or less frequently, in each minute particular j 58 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. both in external formation, and the most intricate peculiarities of the constitution. I once knew a case of a man, who after marriage, and having two healthy children, lost by injury the use of his right arm, that gradually withered away to mere skin and bone with no power in it. He had two children born after this accident, and both had withered arms. Persons born of parents who are consumptive, only inherit a predisposition to this disease, and sooner fall into consumption from any of the active causes 1 have before mentioned, than if their parents had been free from consumptive complaints. This strongly indicates to them the necessity of avoiding all the predisposing causes of consumption I have enumerated. Great- er care is required of these in forming and keeping a fine chest and lungs. They should also recollect that they should sooner adopt preventive remedies, and longer continue the precau- tions I shall hereafter point out. Disease in them is more rapid and sooner fatal than in persons of healthy parents. That their lungs will bear vastly less disease and are cured with greater difficulty than if not predisposed. Therefore they should take earlier remedies in their cure. It must be. agreeable to the consumptively disposed, to know that of all the diseases to which we are or can be predisposed by hereditary taint, that the seeds of consumption are easiest eradicated and most per- fectly obliterated from the constitution. Persons not hereditarily predisposed to consumption, may become predisposed to it, by long suffering under any of the causes I have mentioned, as inclining us to consumption j so that no person, whether predisposed or not, should allow any circumstances tending to consumption to be acting upon him, if possible to prevent it. That it can always be prevented, will be shown in the lecture on prevention and cure of consumption. SPINAL DISEASES. Spinal diseases often lead to diseased lungs, by the great de- bility they produce. This debility preventing a full free ex- ercise and expansion of the lungs. The ancient writers on the lungs and consumption, make a consumption of the back or CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 59 spine. A vast many persons allow pain to continue along time in the spine, between the shoulders in the neck, and particu- larly in the lowest portions of the back -bone, hips, and ex- treme end of the back-bone ; sometimes attended with heat, at other times not ; sometimes tender to the touch, at other times a cold spot, &c. ; curvatures of the spine, &c. In a vast many cases, and probably quite a large majority of the cases, there is no actual disease of the spine ; but those pains originate from loss of symmetry, as I shall explain in subsequent lectures. From whatever cause produced, the effect is very injurious upon all the general functions of the system, and should receive early attention.' PAIN IN THE SIDE. Pain in the side, or its cause, often by organic changes, or by producing inability or an indisposition ^o expand the chest, will at last injure the lungs in many cases, and should not be allowed, but should be cured. KIDNEY AFFECTIONS. It is the office of the kidneys to separate the salts and earths, and much water from the blood ; their office is most important, and if not properly performed, have a tendency most injurious to the lungs. Occasionally in consumption, little or no cough, or expectoration, is observed ; but all the matter that should be raised by coughing is carried off by the kidneys. This is a most important hint for the treatment of consumption, as it in- dicates the use of kidney medicines, or such as shall produce a free flow of urine. GRAVEL. Gravel, if present, so as to produce much stoppage of urine, or cause it to be scanty, and thick, with settlings, upon standing a short time, or very high and dark colored, will often predis- pose to a cough, and increased expectoration from the lungs. It is a most important state of things, and should receive our earliest attention. Too much urine, especially if it is sweet, inclines to debility and consumption. CO CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. Costiveness is also a frequent cause of debility and unhealthy action in the lungs. In both gravel and costiveness, the fluids that should pass by the kidneys and bowels are thrown upon the lungs and skin ; in many cases causing engorgement of the lungs, and a strong tendency to consumption. I rarely ever ecollect to have noticed bleeding from the lungs, unless cos- iveness was present. In a future lecture, I will speak again upon this subject. Luxurious and high living, if at the same time accompanied by a change from active to sedentary life, will often induce ra pid consumption. Among the articles of diet that I think often very injurious, is indulging in large quantities of coffee, hot, cold, &c. Also high-seasoned food, pastry, and meat, and greatly diminished exercise, and confinement within - doors. Sitting up late at Rights, &c., &c., will readily predispose to consumption in a vast many persons. I cannot better illus- trate what I mean, than by giving you one or two cases. Whilst in Virginia, last summer, a gentleman called on me, and mentioned the extraordinary mortality from consumption, that prevailed in some parts of the south. He said that of late, within a very few years, consumption had become very common on the southern plantations, among the slaves, and especially, almost exclusively among the house servants. He told me that thirty-five years ago, consumption was almost unknown among their slaves; that those slaves lived on the simplest diet, consisting of milk, vegetables, salt bacon, no tea or coffee. The very mention of these last would have seemed supremely ridiculous. Now those house servants on many estates are treated to the most luxurious diet. Coffee as much as they choose to drink, two or three times a day ; also large quantities of fresh and salt meat, fine bread, &c. j very little labor is expected of them ; they take little exer- cise, and that at the slowest rate, uniting at once, indolence, luxury, and effeminacy ; the consequence is exactly what I have before mentioned. The production and development of tubercles, or true consumption in its worst form, running its whole course, from beginning to death, in about twelve weeks ; the c~;3G3 occurring with frightful frequency. The last year, on CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. 61 one plantation, out of eighty persons, seventeen died of con- sumption, within twelve months. Hands perfectly well in field labor, but removed from the field to the house to supply the place of those who had died, would, after a few weeks' re- pose, confinement, and diet, such as I have before named, he- gin to sicken, and soon die. No cure was found, but at once on the appearance of cough or debility, to send them totheir field labor, and simple diet. This if early adopted usually ef- fected a cure. INJURIOUS MEDICINES. Medicines that incline us to consumption. I have before told you how little was known correctly of the lungs, and the true causes of consumption ; owing to this, a great many medi- cines and medical remedies are often used, thit instead of curing, rapidly and surely incline to produce consumption. I can only mention a few of them. MERCURY. At the head of all these is mercury. In all its preparations, or different modes of giving it, salivation in some states of the kings is as certainly fatal as the dagger or pistol ; in some sec- tions of our country, calomel, as it is. giv n, is a most dreadful scourge. In many parts of the United States, cities, towns, villages, and country, are strewn with the wrecks of living men, women, arid children; whilst the graveyards conceal the decaying remains of thousands killed by mercury. This is not everywhere the case. I am most happy to present the city of Philadelphia .as an exception ; more calomel is consumed by some small towns in New England, than by the whole city ot Philadelphia. Every consumptive should understand, that wln-u he takes calomel, uncombined blue pills, &c., he does it at the risk of his life. There is no doubt that mercury will remain m the system, many years after it is taken, and produces inju- rious effects even twenty years after it has been swallowed or ruobed into the skin. 62 CAUSES OF CONSUMPTION. If tubercles exist in the lungs, calomel softens and inflames them, and thus developes consumption. Calomel administered to the children of consumptive parents, is very liable to bring on consumption. I think in nearly every case of consumption in children, it is produced by calomel. OPIUM. Opium in all its preparations, as far as my observations go, is very injurious to consumptive lungs, and should be avoided. It may still the cough a little, but it soon returns with greater vio- lence. No cure will go on under the influence of opium. It pre- vents a cure, causes night sweats, closes all the secretions save of the skin, constipates the bowels, destroys the appetite, confuses the mind, and wholly breaks down the nervous system.. Now, in consumption, it is of the last importance that the nervous sys- tem should be kept in the greatest strength and composure. I never give any of it in any form, not even in the smallest doses. EMETICS. Emetics often do great injury to the consumptive ; especially those of a debilitating class, as emetic tartar. Ipecac and lobe- lia, &c., are not so objectionable. I scarcely use any emetics. BLISTERS AND SORES UPON THE CHEST. These I rarely use. I have often seen blisters and tartar emetic sores hurry consumptives to a premature grave. They prevent free breathing and expansion of the chest, very much debilitate the patients, make them excessively nervous, &c. I have seen very horrible sores produced on the patient's chest, even within five days before death. In seated consumption, blisters and sores can be of little use ; and in the latter stages, are most pernicious. These, ladies and gentlemen, are most of the leading causes of consumption. Nearly all tending to one primary effect: to prevent a free exercise of the lungs, and perfect expansion of their air cells, and of course the whole chest PLATE F 1. Consumptive chest and figure. 2. Not consumptive. LECTURE SECOND, PREVENTION AND CURE OF CONSUMPTION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE subject of this lecture can hardly be surpassed in its im- portance Nearly, or fully one-third of the deaths of adults in this country, arise from consumption, or diseases of the chest These diseases are eminently curable in themselves, and only require the aid of judicious knowledge, and such true remedies as actually exist. The reason why these diseases are so often finally incurable, is not because they are so in themselves, bu arises from our ignorance. Misconception and ignorance of chest diseases, prevails to an enormous extent, and hence arises their far spreading and overwhelming fatality. It is preposte rous to suppose that a wise and good God would create us sc imperfectly that a disease can arise in its nature incurable, anc that may sweep away the whole human family. I propose tc mention to you, in the first place, some of those diseases tha cure consumption, or at least prevent its progress and fatal ter- mination. DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. The first of these which I will mention, are diseases of the heart. 1 will observe that those diseases which cure consump tion are those that in their commencement and progress enlarg' the chest. Diseases of the heart are usually of this class ; SucI affections as are attended with enlargement of the heart, anc great palpitation, are those which mostly relieve the lungs By retarding the circulation of the blood, the lungs, as well a the heart, become greatly enlarged. In all cases, enlargernen and irregul-o* action of the heart, although distressing, still re tard consumption and often cure it. DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. 65 I will mention a few cases. In the summer of the year 184*3, I lectured at Saratoga. The day after my first lecture, as 1 was walking in the street, a young man standing in a store door, without any preliminary salutation, says to me, " What is the matter with me!" I stopped,and looking at him, told him there was not much the matter with him, " Have 1 not the consump- tion!" said he. "No," I replied ; "and you will never have it 5 you have a slight disease of your heart ; that is all your ail- ment." His brother-in-law, standing beside of him, said at once, "He will be very glad to hear you say so, as he thinks he has the consumption or is liable to it." The next moment the young man was laying prostrate in the store door in a fit, by sudden stoppage of the heart, brought on by mental excitement that had induced faintness and loss of consciousness for a mo- ment, until the heart again acted. I accompanied him to his house and prescribed for him ; in a short time he was well. At his house I met his wife. Before marriage, she was Miss Avery, of Fittsford, or Brandon, Vermont. Her brother was Doct. Avery, of New York ; a pleasing writer, who died early of consumption. She is the niece of my much esteemed friend, Lyman B. Walker, Esq., the present respected attorney general of New Hampshire. Mrs. L told me that twenty-eight months before, she was brought to Saratoga in the last stages of con- sumption : great emaciation, night sweats, hectic fever, much cough, and frequent expectoration; in fact, not expected to live two months. As a forlorn hope, she came to Saratoga to drink the water, without the least hope of recovering. After being a short time at Saratoga, she awakened one morning and found the bed curtains in great agitation, and the whole bed. She soon traced this to her heart, and discovered it in great agitation, and palpitating violently. For six weeks her friends watched her bed side, hardly daring to turn their backs upon her, fearing she might die without their observing it. In about six weeks the violent and irregular action of her heart began slowly to subside. Her friends then thought to inquire after her cough, but this had ceased for some time. In short, the heart had resumed its healthy action, and she was well. Her strength and flesh rapidly returned. I saw her about twenty-two months 66 DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. after her perfect recovery. She told me her lungs had never troubled her since. If she took cold, her heart would become agitated, but no trouble with her lungs whatever. She was a fine-looking, fleshy, healthy woman, with a very full chest and lungs. In Nov. 1843, I met at Concord, New Hampshire, General McNeil, of Hillsboro', New Hampshire, brother of the distin- tinguished Colonel in the American army. His case is inter- esting, as it shows the effects of a common cold as sometimes preventing consumption, instead of producing it. General McNeil's case was as follows : almost as early as he can remember, he had a cough and apparent consumption. He well recollects, at ten years of age, of hearing remarks from his friends and neighbors, that he was in consumption. This cough continued on him until grown up. In his adolescence he could only go to school, not able to do any work, or endure much fatigue. From twenty to thirty he could do no work, only ride about and superintend his farming operations. The cough and expectoration changed but little to the age of thirty- five, when being in Montreal, Canada, on awakening one morn- ing, he found his bed and its curtains, &c., in great agitation j he soon traced this to his heart, which was beating violently and irregularly. This irregular action of the heart soon controlled all the other organs of the chest. It continued on him for five years, with some returns of the old lung troubles, cough, ex- pectoration, &,c. At about forty, the cough ceased ; the action of the heart consequently returned to a healthy condition, and although a delicate man compared with others, yet from forty to sixty, to the time I saw him, his health has been good. If he takes a bad cold, or deranges his system much, his heart will be a little excited, but in general, his health is good. The heart, as far as I have noticed it, seems to control most the lower portions of the lungs ; so that in a multitude of cases, the tops of one or both lungs may be ulcerated, and go on to a certain extent, when the heart will begin to be affected and bv its irregular action stop the progress of the consumption, and finally cure it : which is effected by the heart first taking a part of the inflammation upon itself j and secondly, by retard- DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. 67 ing the circulation of the blood, engorges the lungs, and this, with its own enlargement, rapidly enlarges the chest and every part of the lungs. In October, 1844, a Miss Mary Dibble called on me in New Haven, Connecticut. She had heard me lecture, and was so struck with the parallel of my lectures and her experience, that though in good health, she called to tell me her case. She said that two or three times she had been raised from a seemingly hopeless state, but the reason of it she had never understood, until she heard my lecture. She was tall, and of a slight figure. Her father died of consumption, and she had lost nine cousins of consumption. Now 45 years old. Mother and brother died of lung fever. At eighteen, had a fever, and was salivated with mercury ; soon had a bad cough and raised blood. She rapidly became very bad, not able to set up for weeks. In eight months she recovered ; knows not how, but had great palpitation of the heart. In one year got down again with a bad cough. Dr. proposed the use of opium, and stimulants ; these she re- fused to take , had an enormous appetite, and relaxation of the bowels ; could get no relief except by great abstemiousness, living on a half pint of milk a day, and a little fruit ; cough dry and hacking, raising only blood. She gained her health, subject to fevers, and lungs affected. After some years, went to reside in Norfolk, Virginia ; had a fit of sickness there, and the doctor thought her case a heart disease. Eight years ago, returned to New Haven, and took a typhoid fever that lasted sixty days, terminating in hectic fever, ulcerated lungs, very bad cough, entire prostration, and life entirely despaired of by physicians, and every body else. Sick thirteen months ; con- stant palpitation of the heart ; but again recovered ; raised a great deal of thick, yellow, cream-like matter. Five years ago, sick again, raised blood three times, and lost voice from Novem- ber to April ; cough and thick expectoration, and her heart so bad as almost daily to threaten suffocation 5 and this had always been the case whenever her lungs had been bad. The heart affection usually seeming the most immediately dangerous. She has been benefitted by short sea voyages. Spent one winter in Savannah, Georgia. Disposed to be bilious, and at times 63 DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. dyspeptic. Through life, bowels in good order usually. On examining the chest and lungs, I found the top of the right lung all gone, down to about the fourth rib, causing a loss of nearly one-third of the right lung ; the rest of the right lung was good. The left lung was unusually large, and the ribs over the left chest bulging out. The heart was enlarged considera- bly beyond usual health. In this remarkable case, for twenty-seven years, the heart had resisted the progress of consumption, and three times raised the person from apparently hopeless consumption, and curing the diseased lungs after one-third of the right lung was lost by tuberculous ulceration. I could introduce numerous cases of this kind, but the limits of a lecture will not allow of it. Allow me to say, no greater skill is required or knowledge, than to know when to interfere with, or let alone, a heart dis- ease in persons who are predisposed to consumption, or in who-m the heart is acting, or being diseased, on account of the lungs, or to save the lungs. It is a singular fact, that a disease of the heart, when it is in sympathy wtih the lungs, is rarely fatal; bat is apt in a vast many cases, to continue until late in life, and finally cease altogether. I have often noticed in a family of brothers and sisters, one or more being consumptive, one or more heart troubled, and no consumption, whilst others perhaps will have asthma. There is another curious fact ; a parent saved from con- sumption by a heart disease ; his children are as liable to con- sumption as if he had had consumption. 1 have often known families of children going off in consumption, and no declared signs of consumption or asthma in either parents ; but I would very soon detect heart-trouble in one of them. The difference between heart disease and consumption is, one hurries you away in early life, the other allows you to die in old age. Of course, if the heart disease is very violent, it must be corrected and controlled by suitable remedies. At all times it is perfectly curable by curing the weak state of the lungs. I should remark that there are original diseases of the heart, which do notarise from sympathy with the lungs, and are entirely independent of the lungs ; but in all such cases the lungs are rarely diseased, DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. 69 and never become diseased, unless asthmatic. The diseased or enlarged heart saves them. Moderate disease of the heart, pronerly managed, is a tolerable passport to old age. ASTHMA. The next disease I will speak of, as curing consumption, and always preventing it, is asthma: ihe phthisic, as it is often called in common language. A diseased heart enlarges the chest and lungs ; but asthma vastly more, and is a disease of the lungs themselves. It is a disease caused by consumption, or consumptive tendency in the lungs, and always arrests the progress of consumption. It is a vastly lesser disease given in place of a greater, and instead of being a curse, is a great bless ing. In consumption, the lungs are too small ; in asthma they are too large. (See plates H. and I.) A disease like asthma H Asthmatic chest. I Consumptive chest. may be produced by ossification of the blood vessels of the heart ; but in nearly all cases, it is produced by consumptive 70 DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. irritation of the lungs. It often takes place suddenly, in ear- liest childhood, continues until between twelve and twenty, then goes off and is never seen again 5 but the person falls a victim to consumption ; or asthma may reappear and secure the patient from consumption. If properly treated, it is a passport to old age ; but when badly treated it may terminate in dropsy of the chest. In cases of dropsy superseding it, it will usually be found that ossification of the blood vessels of the heart is present, and not simple asthma. Asthma all but always cures consumption ; never produces it. In some exceedingly rare cases, by excessively effeminating and debilitating the system, a person may sink under the effects of asthma into apparent consumption, or what is made consumption by very bad treat- ment. The asthma leaves the person, and he rapidly is over- come by the consumption that had always been on him whilst he had the asthma, and resumes its rapid and fatal course, on asthma leaving him.. If asthma is cured without perfectly expanding the lungs, and keeping them so, the person is extremely liable to consump- tion. In October, 1844, at East Haven, in Connecticut, I was consulted by Mr. S. Hotchkiss, aged 43, who was in the last stages of consumption, wishing to go to the West Indies. My opinion was asked. For many years he was a subject of asthma. Ten years before, that is, 1834, he went to St. Croix, in the West Indies ; the warm climate entirely cured him ; he re- turned home delighted with his relief ; took no steps to keep his lungs well, as he had no fear of consumption. The conse- quence was,after seven years time, consumption disclosed itself, of which he died ten days after I saw him. Mr. Daniel Russel, at Providence, Rhode Island, consulted me in March, 1845, for diseased lungs. I found him near his end in hopeless consumption. He told me that at twenty, he was attacked by asthma, and had it every night, more or less, for thirty y^ars, when without any known cause it left him. In eighteen months after, he began to have a cough, with the early symptoms of a fatal and true tubercular consumption. Mrs. Faxon, of Boston, consulted me in March, 1844, for distressing asthma. She had been for forty-two nights unable DISEASES THAT CORE CONSUMPTION. 71 to lie down in bed at all ; but sat up all night. No medicine was of any avail. A short time after I saw her, an abscess broke in her lungs and discharged freely, which gave her im- mediate relief, and all the asthmatic symptoms left h'er. She has had repeated attacks in this way, but was relieved by the break- ing of an abscess each attack. During the time while the abscess o o was forming, asthma would attack her violently ; when it broke it would leave her. This had often been the case. Four or six weeks would elapse whilst the abscess was forming, and du- ring this period, most distressing asthma would be present, and all leave when the abscess broke, and the irritation of the lungs was over. She would then recover her usual health. Asthma, in this case, consequently curing consumption. I saw this lady in July, 1845, in very good health. As in heart diseases, so in asthma, woe to the person who is cured of asthma, without a free, and perfect, and continued expansion of the chest ; as he will, in nearly all cases, sooner or later fall into consumption. The remarks about asthma curing consumption, and preventing it, I have verified in a mul- titude of cases. It is also true that children, born of asthmatic parents, and delicately brought up, are equally apt to have con- sumption, as those born of parents who have died of true con- sumption ; but if rightly brought up, and well exposed to out- door occupations and exercise, with rather hard living, they will rather incline to asthma, not consumption. By treating asthma precisely as I do consumption, 1 find it perfectly and readily curable ; much more so than consumption. Its longer or shorter continuance, before I see the patient, is of very little consequence in its cure. I do not recollect to have attempted a cure of the asthma in which I failed, the pa- tient following my directions with ordinary judgment, care and perseverance. SWELLED TONSILS PREVENT CONSUMPTION. Swelling and continued inflammation, more or less, of the tonsils, and almonds of the ear, often and usually prevent con- 72 DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. sumption. Of this I have seen a great many cases. Dr. Ka madge, in London, had a cast of the chest of a man who died of consumption of the left lung, while the right lung was well, or nearly so. The right tonsil was always enlarged and in- flamed, and he considered the escape of the right lung from disease was owing to the swelling and inflammation of the right tonsil. The left tonsil had never been inflamed. After a lecture 1 delivered at Saratoga, in 1843, a distin- guished gentleman of that town, Mr. Cook, Esq., spoke to me of his experience in this matter. He said that for a number of years, his son had been subject in winter to attacks of quinsy, which is an acute inflammation of the tonsils. His life would at times seem in danger. Mr. Cook told me that he had con- sulted a great many physicians and surgeons who could give no account of the uses of the tonsils. One old surgeon of great celebrity, said they were the only part of the human frame that had no use, and were made entirely in vain. The tonsils act as a sort of sentinels to the lungs, and attacks which would affect the lungs in a vast many cases, attack the tonsils. The tonsils enlarge and partially close the throat, so that the passage of the air out of the lungs is partially and often much obstructed ; thi effect is to enlarge the lungs, and prevent the progress of co: sumption. It is said that whenever the tonsils are enlarged, tu bercles at that time exist on the lungs. To continue the case of Mr. Cook. After much anxious consultation, by the unan- imous consent of all the consulting physicians, the tonsils cf his son were cut out. But the next winter, said Mr. Cook, to my horror, the disease attacked my son's lungs, and it was with the greatest difficulty we could keep him alive until warm weather, when his diseased lungs grew better and now, said Mr. Cook, I propose to send him to the West Indies early in the fall, to cure his lungs and save his life by a residence in a warm climate. It was remarked in his case, that one tonsil was cut out and a part of the other. The inflammation attacked his lungs ; the lung on the side where the tonsil was all cut out, was much more affected than the other side, for the piece of the tonsil left in was inflamed, and so relieved the lung on the same side in some measure. DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. 73 A case was mentioned to me at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A child of captain Philip Currier, of that town, had swelled tonsils, and its mother had them cut out. The disease that was upon the tonsils soon settled upon the lungs, and the child, to its mother's inexpressible grief, soon died of consumption. In cases of persons who are inclined to any humor in the sys- tem, and that have the tonsils inflamed, if you cut them out, the luno-s are almost certain to become affected. Tha inflam- a mation and swelling of the tonsils are easily remedied and re- lieved ; so that cutting them out is usually unnecessary, besides often endangering the life of the person who has his tonsils cut out. Parents who have the health of their children in their keeping, should be cautious how they allow their tonsils to be cut out. COMMON COLD CURES CONSUMPTION. 1 have before hinted that a common cold will occasionally cure consumption. It may seem paradoxical that a cold will cause consumption, and will also at other times cure it. I will endeavor to make you understand how this can be. Suppose I stick a nail in my hand, and suppose inflammation follows, should this inflammation run over the skin of my hand and be superficial, my hand would swell very much, but I should not lose it ; but if the inflammation should attack the bones and deep seated parts of my hand, I might lose the hand. It is the same with a cold j at one time it will attack the deep seated parts of the lungs, and cause consumption ; at other times it will only run over the skin, lining the air pipes and air cells of the lungs ; in this way enlarging the lungs very much, and prevent and even cure consumption, as I have witnessed in many cases. The case of Mr. McNeil, of Hillsboro,' mention- ed in heart cases, at page 66, is an illustration of consumption retarded, and its fatal termination prevented by a cold on the lungs ; or as it is called, pulmonary catarrh. General McNeil had a cough and seeming consumption for thirty-five years be- fore his heart became affected ; when for five years the heart affection and cold acted together, and both cured the consump- 4 74 DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. tion upon the lungs ; when ; the exciting cause being removed, all got well ; both the heart disease and the lung complaint, &c. In Liverpool, England, 1 met a lady, Mrs. Eglington, whose mother died of consumption j and as her orJy child, who was afterwards Mrs. Eglington, was very delicate, as she grew up, all thought she would, at an early period, fall a prey to con- sumption. At nineteen years of age, she took a bad cold, as it was thought, and as it actually was ; soon her health became good. When I knew her, she had had a cough and daily ex- pectoration for twenty-seven years ; saving its inconvenience, she enjoyed excellent health, with a full, well expanded chest, without any symptoms of a decline. In Nov., 1842, I lectured at Burlington, Vermont, upon con- sumption ; after the lecture, a respectable lawyer of that town, Mr. Griswold, Esq., came to see me. He told me that if he could have thought I had previously known him, he would have believed that I had lectured upon him ; as my various re- marks so strikingly corresponded with his experience. He had suffered from a cough for more than thirty years, and raised a great deal from his lungs. At one time he had a bad influenza, and joined to his old cough, presented strong symptoms of rapid consumption. It was in March, a very cold, windy month. He was attended by two extremely well educated physi- cians, both professors, teachers and practitioners of medicine. They adopted the usual practice, a very warm room , as if cold were a mortal enemy to the lungs, and emetic tartar, confine- ment to his bed, ana all accessible remedies, to reduce the strength of the patient, and thus drive off his disease. Under this treatment his strength rapidly declined j cough and expec- toration became profuse, and every symptom of rapid consump- tion appeared. In this state his two physicians, knowing the extent of his business, felt it to be their duty to make known to him that he was near his end. On this announcement, he said at once, " If that is the case, why have you kept me so long in bed? I should have much preferred to have been up." He immediately had an arm chair brought to him, that had wheels on its feet, and caused himself to be dressed, and was wheeled into his parlor a large, well aired room. This was DISEASES THAT CURE CONSUMPTION. 73 on Thursday ; on Saturday after, his physicians called ; he told them that the next Monday morning he vshould start lor Mon- treal, capital of Canada, ahout eighty miles north from Burling- ton ? "For," said he, "as you say, I have a great deal to dr and but a short time to do it in." They remonstrated ngji.nst this unheard-of temerity, as a species of suicide; that his death must be the result in a very short time. Their erji-Laties and positive advice had no effect upon his resolution He went to Montreal and returned nearly well. I saw him eighteen vears after this transaction, in vigorous health, although still subject to his old cough and expectoration. As a very strong intima- tion of his consumptive habits, I will mention he has lost t\vo sons by consumption. HYSTERIA. Hysteria often stops and cures consumption. In many cases the spasms of hysteric fits stop the breathing for a short time, and prevent the air leaving the lungs; and in this way consumption is often retarded and at times entirely rured. The effect of heart diseases, asthma and swelled tonsils, hysteria, a cold, &c., in part is to divert irritation from the substance of the lungs, and also to expand the lungs and chest, and in this way cure and prevent a vast many consumptions. It is a most interesting circumstance, that there are some cliseas s that euro consumption that heart diseases, asthma, &.C., cure consump tion, is capable of the utmost possible or desirable demonstra- tion, by proofs entirely irrefragable and beyond possible con- troversy. The proving of this establishes a vast fact, that pul- monary consumption is a curable disease, and sets at rest the scepticism of those in the highest walks of the medical profes- sion, who boldly assert it is always incurable in the very na- ture of the disease itself. The despair engendered by these terrible declarations, lead thousands to untimely graves. PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. Having detailed to you the causes of consumption, yon will readily anticipate much I must say in teaching you how to pre- 76 PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. vent it. I will say, that all consumption is prevented by hav- ing and keeping a good healthy state of the constitution, and a full chest, and perfect symmetry of the whole person. No he- reditary disease is so easily prevented as pulmonary consump- tion. PREVENTION OF HEREDITARY CONSUMPTION. No state of mind is more distressing than to live for years, from earliest recollection, in the constant apprehension and ex- pectation of dying of pulmonary consumption; thinking be- cause a parent died of consumption, all his children must die of it. This horrible phantom, by night and by day, follows many, and usually all whose parents die of consumption. All pleasures are marred by its horrid apparition. It haunts them in their dreams, and terrifies them in their waking hours. Never do they see a notice of death by consumption, than they experience a thrill of horror through every nerve ; and a cough, or a little hacking, or the least speck of blood, and their minds are filled with the deepest distress and despair. They can find no consolation but in death itself. Let such take courage ; no disease is easier prevented than consumption. 1 will give two instances of hereditary consumption being en- tirely eradicated, apparently from the blood of families. 1 once knew a family, the grandmother was the daughter of a very wealthy farmer in the western part of Massachusetts ; she was the oldest daughter, and brought up in the greatest effeminacy. She died of consumption at twenty-six, leaving an only child a daughter. This daughter was brought up with the same delicacy, until she was twelve years of age, then her father removed to a frontier town, where she was exposed to the hardships, and shared in the privations of a frontier life. At eighteen, she was married, and died at thirty-two of con- sumption. She left a family of sons and daughters ; her sons, whilst mere children, and all their early days to twenty-two, led most active lives, and became professional men. Two of her sons are public speakers ; they stand well as such ; they ob- tained their professional educations chiefly by candle-light, be- PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 77 fore daylight in the morning, and after dark at night. Their days, from quite boys, were occupied in active, hard out-door labor in farming, clearing land, cutting wood in the forest, &c. The daughters also shared in the hardships and exposure. One son, from excessive over exposure and hardship, contracted a dreadful pleurisy that nearly destroyed his right lung ; of the consequences of which he died at an early age. All the rest are living, and their average ages are about forty years all mar- ried, and have families considerably numerous, and nearly grown. Now, in the ordinary course of things, we should ex- pect consumption to have shown itself at an early period ; but not the least appearance or suspicion of consumption is seen among them ; all perfectly free from any appearance of con- sumption all its predisposition or its seeds entirely eradicated from the blood of the family. I will give another case : I knew a family, where the fa- ther died of consumption, and the mother's family were some- what inclined to it. The father, at his death, left eight sons and one daughter. These eight sons were brought up in most active, out-door labor and exercise coarse d et, hard fare sum- mer and winter. The oldest son for several years showed in- dications of consumption, but was remarkable for his tall, and very straight figure. My father doctored him for his cough ; he got over all consumptive predisposition, and is now living at nearly 55, but in poor health. All the sons are living ; one or t\vo had some appearance of scrofula, yet no consumption. The average age of those eight sons is about forty-four years; all well, save the oldest ; all living, all married, all have large fami- lies of children. Not a case of consumption has ever been known among these men, save the oldest, or their families. Heredi- tary consumption entirely eradicated by invigorating exercise in early life. No effeminacy in them or their families. It was not so with their sister ; she was an only daughter, and brought up most indulgently sent to school, and greatly effe- minated, She died of consumption at about twenty-t\\o. Change of air and location, are particularly valuab'e in changing the constitution of persons predisposed to consump tion ; go ; 'g j n to new parts of the country, should they choos 78 PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. to reside on the shores of a lake, b. p all means live on that side whence the least wind is experienced from the lake. This is a rule of vast importance to the consumptive ; piercing winds corning over a wide sheet of water, hecome loaded with vapor and dampness, and are injurious to the consumptive, Mothers who are strikingly scrofulous and consumptive, J think for their children's sake, should never nurse ; but these he brought up by the sucking bottle and feeding them with proper food, instead of nursing their mothers. Best of all is the choice of a healthy nurse, a wet nurse. I throw out these remarks on nursing merely as a matter of opinion, having no- thing very positive to determine my judgment. PLAIN BRINGING UP OF CHILDREN. Children born of consumptive parents, should be brought up in the plainest manner. Food plain, coarse, little meat, much bread and milk, pudding and milk, no pastry, no coffee, littlej greasy food, light clothing, no dainties to help their appetite barefooted in summer, if you please, at least no stockings or their feet ; indulge them in all active out-door exercises, run- ning, racing, climbing hills and mountains; farming occupa tions of ail kinds, military exercise. A.11 beneficial running and racinj, active out -door exercise tends to give full chests and large lungs, and vigorous constitutions. When 1 was a boy, I knew two families who lived nea ; each other. The mother of one family delighted in the pleas; ures of the table : had a great deal of company. Her childreij were brought up with the greatest possible indulgence, both if the. profusion, quantity, and expense of their 'clothing, and if their beautiful soft beds, and every luxury of the table; thi was especially the case with the daughters. The mother tol< me, in a later period of her life, what a mistake she made j ,- said her daughters scarcely knew any health after they wer ^rown up. The other family were brought up exactly the op posite in all respects, careless in clothing, and rather scanty | no luxury in food, and no superabundance of it; very mud out of doors. This family are all in the prime of manhoo PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 79 and in the enjoyment of perfect health. Both families enjoyed the same position in society. A friend of mine dined some years ago at the house of a rich American merchant, in one of our largest cities. Two years after, he dined at the same table again ; six persons who were at the table two years before, had died of consumption, including two beautiful daughters of the host. Their father could erect over their graves a most costly monument, but what was this to a good constitution. They had been brought up in the worst form of the most costly lux- ury, and effeminacy. Children should not go too early to school, nor be long con- fined there ; the desks at which they sit or study, should not be too low ; they should rise to the armpit of the child, and even to the bottom of the throat, so that they will not thrust the chest forward, or sit stooping, in order to study. Some years ago, I met a young girl of ten years, in the country, whom 1 knew to be an only child of very wealthy parents. 1 observed she had very round shoulders, and stooping chest. 1 observed to her mother, that her daughter had very round shoul- ders and stooping chest. u I know it," said she, " and I have scolded her enough for stooping, but all I can say has no effect upon her." I asked her if she thought that scolding would cure round shoulders. I went to the school-room, to see the table at which she studied ; I found it extremly low, so that each child was obliged to throw its shoulders upon its chest in stooping forward, to write or read. By raising the table, high, the child's shoulders were soon restored to symn.etry. 1 saw her at 16 years old and her figure was very good. This matter is so important, and vital to the future health of children, that every parent should go to the school-rooms, and know for a certainty that the desks at which children write or study, shall be fully up to the arm-pits, and in no case allow them to sit stooping or leaning the shoulders forward on the chest. If fa- tigued by this posture, they should be called to stand or go out of doors, and run about when fatigued ; so that never shall they rest their shoulders on the chest, or rest themselves by such a mischievous position. I am personally acquainted with two elderly legal gentlemen, 80 PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. who were practitioners of the law, and have both filled stations in the judiciary. They both lost children by consumption ; they both assured me, that they were satisfied, they owed their lives lo the practice of sitting perfectly straight, while writing and reading, never stooping at the desk at all. Practice will soon make sitting or standing perfectly erect, vastly more agreeable and less fatiguing than a stooping posture. To persons predis- posed to consumption, these hints, as regards writing or read- ing desks, are of the greatest importance. In walking, the chest should be carried proudly erect, and straight, the top of it pointing rather backwards than forwards. The North American Indians, who never had consumption, are remarkable for their perfectly erect, straight walk. (See plate A, figure 1.) Next to this, it is of vast importance to the con- sumptive, to breathe well ; he should make a practice of taking long breaths, sucking in all the air he can, and hold it in the chest as long as possible. On going into the cold air, instead of shrinking from it, draw in a long breath of the pure cold air. Do this a hundred times a day, if you have any symptoms of weak lungs, as it will soon cure you ; should you have a slight cold, be in the habit of often drawing in a full chest of air. In the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, where consumption is almost an epidemic, there is one class of persons who never have the disease ; these are the fish-women, who carry fish in the streets; they go two miles, down to Leith, the harbor of Edinburgh, and get their fish early in the morning, place them in baskets on their heads, and then run all the way to Edin- burgh, and cry their fish through the streets, carried in baskets on their heads. This practice makes them perfectly straight, and chests remarkably full and symmetrical ; they are said never to have consumption. I attended a ball at the Palace of the Thuileries, in Paris. Several thousands of the English and French nobility were present; 1 had the pleasure of noticing their fine erect chests, and carriage, and knowing by this why this class of people in Europe enjoy such remarkable exemp- tion from pulmonary diseases, compared to the rest of the pop- ulation. PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 81 CHEERFULNESS. Cheerfulness is a valuable ingredient in the composition for preventing pulmonary consumption. Persons predisposed to consumption should never indulge in forebodings on the sub ject 5 take all preventive means they know of, and cheerfully rely on the blessing of a kind Providence, to extend their days, and grant them an exemption from the disease ; they should seek cheerful society, cheerful employments, and cheerful ex- ercise. EXERCISE. As a preventive remedy, exercise, in the open air stands at the very head. Exercise to have its utmost value, should be taken at exactly such an hour every day. The machine comprising all the human frame, is a most ivonderful crea- ture of habit and association. Exercise taken at irregular hours, one day in the morning, another day at noon, and another at night, has very little effect, compared to the same exercise taken every day at the same hours, and continued the same length of time. I once knew a lawyer who had a large business, and found that he was rapidly sinking into con- sumption ; he resided at Burlington, Vermont. In the month of September, he bought a horse, and without any regard to his clients he would leave all, ask his company to wait, and he would mount his horse, and ride exactly one hour in all wea- thers. He continued this habit through a very cold winter, to the next March, when he found himself in perfect health. I met a gentleman the last summer, at the Red Sulphur Springs, in Virginia, who resided in Lower Virginia. All his immediate ancestors, and brothers and sisters, had died of con- sumption. He was a mere skeleton, and had had diseased lungs for thirty years; but by avoiding all drugs, and all redu- cing medicines, by keeping himself out of doors, on horseback, and with some object in view, such as fox chasing, and deer hunting, continuing his out-door exercises all winter, when 4* 82 PREVENTION OP CONSUMPTION. most invalids consider it their privilege to house up, he retained fair health. In summer, he would visit the mountains and places of summer resort; in this way, his disease continued nearly stationary, although highly consumptive by hereditary predisposition, by his early habits, by his figure, &.c. He had Lad true consumption thirty years. AH invigorating exercises out of doors, or in cold rooms, such as dumb bells, quoits, gar- dening, shooting, angling, farming, sawing wood ; in fact all that produce full expansion of the lungs, and do not contract the chest. Taking long walks in the open air, and taking full deep inspirations of pure fresh air,is most valuable. For delicate persons, jumping the ro, e is a valuable exer- cise. 1 witnessed at New Haven, in Connecticut, a most cruel hard case. A beautiful young lady of seventeen, and strongly disposed to consumption, became irregular in her nature, fol- lowed by some bleeding at the lungs. A judicious friend ad- vised her to jump the rope, which she did for some months, and by this pleasant and exhilarating exercise completely restored this indispensable function, and greatly improved her health $ when, one unlucky day for her, a medical professor called at her ho ise. It is a practice in a vast many cases, among con- ceited doctors, to disprove of any advice given by other physi- cians, but most of all, if it comes from such a vulgar source as persons not medical, if it is a popular remedy, or arises from domestic practice, on some pretext or other, without the least regard to its merits or usefulness, and without asking what it has already done in the same person, it is at once rejected ; so it was with this young lady. She was told tie exercise was too great, the jumping and jarring of her person too much and very unsafe ; that she must take but little exercise, and that not at all exciting, such as a slow walk; the consequence was, her monthly turns soon stopped entirely, difficult breathing came on, and bleeding at her lungs, and she died in a few months of consumption. Had she only continued the exercise of jumping the rope, it is more than probable she would have been alive and well at this time PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 83 DANCING. At the head of all exercises for delicate persons, and those predisposed to consumption, and invalids, is dancing. Dancing in company, dancing to the sound of harmonious music, I do not speak of dancing as a dissipation, but as an exercise. Its practice promotes cheerfulness, symmetry of person, full exer- cise of the lungs, and expansion of the chest. I once knew a badly diseased lung, and true consumption, cured entirely by dancing. The patient began when very low, from bleeding, and an ulcerated lung ; he began almost by accident, to step to music, and danced for two or three minutes at first, and in- creased as he could bear it ; this was done at exactly a certain hour, daily, for four months, when the lung was perfectly well, and has remained well for several years. When young per- sons and old persons meet in their small social circles, instead of sitting in conversation for hours, dance a little while, if only for half an hour, in rooms not too much heated} the musical instruments now so common will have a positive value in them, if they incite to dancing. The greatest value and good is obtained from this and all other exercises, by doing it every day or evening, at the same hour. No exercise should be carried to the point of great exhaustion, so as to produce debil- ity. Begin gently, and it may be gradually vastly increased, with daily increasing benefit. As a general rule, every person should take a walk or ride, every day in the open air, unless extremely stormy ; slightly disagreeable weather should never deter going out j strong, hard, cold wind, is much worse to en- counter, than slight rain or snow. The consumptive should never stand still , talking, or silent, exposed to sun, rain, or wind, but go at once to a shelter. Whilst out of doors, in the cold or wind, keep walking actively, not stand still. Clothing should be as light as is consistent with health. (See remarks on clothing, lectures four and six.) BEDS, AND LYING IN BEDS. Luxurious feather or down beds should be avoided, as they greatly tend to effeminate the system, and reduce the strength. 84 PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. For this reason beds should be elastic, but rather firm and hard $ straw beds, hair mattresses, these on a feather bed are well ; a most excellent mattress is made by combing out the husks or shuck that cover the ears of Indian corn. I first met these beds in ftaly, they are delightful. Cold sleeping rooms are in general best, especially for persons in health ; they should never be mich heated for any person, but all should be comfortably warm in bed. CLIMATE. Many consumptives think they would enjoy perfect exemp- tion from consumption, if they could reside in a hot climate. No mistake is greater than this ; a hot climate as a general rule, is not usually of much value j the effect of a hot climate is to debilitate and effeminate the system, and to predispose to con- sumption ; hence, consumption is very prevalent in all the West Indies, and in all hot countries amongst all the natives, and long residents. No climate is worse to a consumptive than where his diseases originated ; any change with him is for the better ; going from the sea board to the western country, avoid- ing a residence on the shores of great bodies of water. The new inland countries are the best ; changing from the sea shores to the interior, even if not more than forty miles back. Re- moving from the mountains to the valleys, and from the valleys to the mountains, especially in summer, is most favorable ; avoid locations where there is great prevalence of damp changeable weather. Cold, piercing, cutting winds are al- ways injurious. Consumption is as prevalent in any city of Cuba, as it is at Archangel, on the frozen ocean, the northern- most city of Europe, where there is six months day, and six months night. LIGHT. In only one respect do the torrid and frigid zones agree, and that is in the matter of light. Light and dryness are great friends of the lungs. Darkness and dampness are their enemies. Therefore^ in our choice of locations, these views should be PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 85 kept in mind. In the choice of our rooms, reference should always be had to light and dryness. Our bed rooms, sleeping rooms, sitting rooms, counting rooms, workshops, &c., should always have the sun upon them at least once a day. Choose a south exposure as much as possible. So valuable is the light considered in ancient Rome, that it is there a proverb, "where the sun enters, the physician never enters." Basement stories partly under and above ground, or cellars, are most dangerous to the consumptive, either as sitting rooms, bed rooms, or work- shops, or places of assemblage, as we see under churches, un- less very well aired and warmed and ventilated. I was consulted in New Haven, in October, 1844, in behalf of a hired girl, who had left her comfortable farmer's home, and gone to do house- work in a respectable family in town. Her sleeping room was a bed room in the cellar, near the kitch- en. The walls of the basement were very damp ; she took fatal consumption. For this reason the highest rooms of a house are always the best sleeping rooms. The chill of damp base- ments is always felt by consumptives, and should be at once avoided. Rooms should always le well ventilated, and have fresh air at all times. The following striking case will illus- trate much 1 wish to say on this subject. In November and December, 1812, I lectured in Burlington (< and Middlebury, Vermonl, and in Plattsburg, in the state of I New York. The contrast in these towns was most striking, and supports what I said. Plattsburg is situated on the west side of Lake Champlain. Little or no wind ever blows from the lake upon the town. The north and north-west winds carry all the vapor and dampness of the lake from Plattsburg, and throw them directly upon Burlington. On all the western shores of the lake, and at Plattsburg in particular, consumption was comparatively rare. The population of Plattsburg is not very wealthy, nor are their houses particularly warm. One of their principal physicians, Dr. Benjamin J. Moore, is at least a friend to out-door life and exercises, and not too much clothing and effeminacy. He is a most gentlemanly and valuable physician. Consumption was not very frequent at Plattsburg. Burlington contains about 4000 inhabitants, and is one of the 80 PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. richest villages in New England, or in the United States. The houses are beautiful and well built, and most of the best ones have double windows, I believe. I know a great many' have. The land rises gently from the lake for nearly a' mile, and presents a broad surface to the west and north-; west, looking upon the broad lake, and receiving all the west, south-west, and north-west winds from it, which come loaded with vapor. Some physicians of Burlington have, for many years, taught the necessity of shutting up in winder, and keeping very warm. For this reason, and a strong desire to, be comfortable, the houses are closed in November ; usually the double windows are put up and kept up without being once opened until April following, in many cases. Well defended vestibules to the outside doors shut out the possibility of cold air entering their houses. Luxurious living, with vast clothing, and almost a total want of exercise, complete the picture. A female is rarely seen in the street. I have visited one hundred and fifty cities in Europe and this country, yet my impression is, I never saw so much consumption any where as in Burling- ton, in proportion to its population, in the same classes of peo- ple. A great many cases were there when 1 was there. The disease was chiefly with the best classes. Little or no manu- facturing is done there. It is possible this is not entirely cor- rect, but it is my full impression. Middlebury is situated thirty-two miles south from Burling- ton, and has almost the same population, but vastly less wealth and luxury, or effeminacy, few or no double windows to their houses. Their principal physician, a highly intelligent ant sensible man, long resident there Dr. Allen has always taught the value of out-door exercise and air, in preventing consump tion. Middlebury lays rather high; is several miles from the lake, and has a fine fall of water running directly through the village. Whilst consumption was, and always had been, so prevalent in Burlington, I found but one case of consumption in Middlebury. I have met several other towns that seem to enjoy a remarkable immunity from consumption ; but I have not time to particularize them any farther. Rooms fronting PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 87 north and north-west, without the sun in them,should be avoid- ed especially in winter. SEA VOYAGES. Short sea voyages, as preventives of consumption, are very valuable, but not curatives. Long sea voyages never should bo undertaken, as a general rule. DIET. Luxurious and gross living should be avoided by the con- sumptive, tbe scrofulous, &,c. Avoid much coffee. I think it one of the worst liquors for the consumptive ; so are all de- scriptions of pastry, greasy food, and too much food ; eating to repletion is bad. On the other hand, all we eat should be good of its kind, perfect; but not eat too much or too little. Well cooked meats, plain puddings, milk, if it agrees, is a valuable article, and so is ripe fruit, fish, shell fish, &.C., good vegetables ; living neither too high or too low. NIGHT WATCHING. Sitting up late at night in dissipation, or anxious watching over the sick, or in study, is very bad indeed, for the consump- tive, and should be carefully avoided, as it soon breaks down the system. On the other hand, the sleep should be regular and undisturbed, as much so as possible. EMPLOYMENTS DISAGREEING SHOULD BE LEFT OFF. * Employments, occupations, professions, trades, &,c., that th^ consumptive knows to disagree with him, should be left off'. Oftentimes this alone will relieve the consumptive, even whei- he chooses another occupation that at first seems no better or not as gooJ. In November, 1842, I was consulted by a very em'nent law- yer, in a large business in his profession, for consumption. Hi? right lung was badly ulcerated ; he raised a good deal of blood, PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. and was very hoarse, having nearly lost his voice. 1 prescribed for him, but made it an indispensable condition to his relief, that he should go to his farm and abandon all law practice, for at least two years. After much hesitation he chose to do so. I met him twelve months afterwards in apparently good health. Had he continued his law practice three months longer, he must have died. He is now quite well, September, 184-6. It is deplorable to see consumptives continuing the same oc- cupations, such as laborious studies, &,c., which have originated the disease. Yet they will often continue on in despite of pain in the chest and side, cough, or bleeding lungs, whilst every effort they make is only piercing their bosoms with daggers. ' NEVER NEGLECT A COLD. 1 have before said that a cold will at times cure or retard the progress of consumption, yet it often leads to it ; for this last reason a cold should never be neglected. Some persons are very liable to cold, such are usually inclined to consumption. It will often begin at the beginning of cold weather, last a few days, and then go off. The next year the cold begins and lasts much longer. So from year to year, until the lungs are very much irritated and debilitated ; at last, the cough and expectoration do not leave at all, and fatal consumption is the consequence. A cold should never be neglected ; on its firs accession it should be stopped by drinking at bed time, a large draft, say one pint or more of hot tea of sage, or mint, hemlock thoroughwort, or lobelia, but not so strong as to vomit ; a the same time take a little gentle physic, such as salts and pu the f3et in hot water, will usually soon relieve the cold. DC not remit your efforts until it is removed. An old and celebra ted physician, of Philadelphia, told me that whenever he per ceived he had a cold, he would goto his bed, take warm drinks, and lie in bed until well, and would never have it last more than one day, and often a less time. Colds in summer, or in warm weather, are far more dangerous and more liable to pro- duce consumption, than in winter. Coughs beginning in sum PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. 89 mer are far more dangerous than those commencing in winter, and should never be neglected. COLD BATHING. Cold bathing as a prevcntive'of consumption, is most val- jable. Persons who bathe, in cold water every day, rarely ever take cold, or are liable to consumption. It is one of the most valuable preventives. (See Lee. 4 and 6.) I have before mentioned the case of a lady who lost all her 'amily, father, mother, and seven brothers and sisters, by con- sumption. She was the last She bathed her chest freely in cold water, in all seasons, and at all times, from seventeen to ;hirty-five, the age I saw her ; and although at times a little :roubled with colds, yet had entirely escaped consumption, and when I saw her, was enjoying good health. It is much more valuable in cold weather, and in variable weat? er, with the coldest water, than in warm weather, and consequently moder- ately cold water. I shall refer to this subject again in my 'uture lectures. Bathe in tepid water if you cannot bear cold. INHALING TUBE, BRACES AND SUPPORTER. 1 have thus far spoken to you of remedies and preventives, ;hat, although valuable, and should never be neglected, yet do [lot always in every case prevent consumption. I now come ,o speak to you of preventive remedies, which if faithfully and >erseveringly used with the others, cannot fail to prevent all consumption. I have told you, consumption cannot take place, unless the air cells of the lungs are closed up more or less. This may arise from loss of symmetry by the shoulders pressing on the chest; by tying up the chest so it cannot expand, and by the falling down of the bowels, so that the floor of the lungs is par- tially removed, or not well supported If you have a weak stomach, and sinking all gone the."e, short breathing, &c., wear a supporter which I shall hereafter describe. (See plate L.) The next step is to remove all tight lacings from the chest, and wear a pair of shoulder braces, for a description of which, see i lectures 5 & 6, and plate J. The shoulder braces will assist to 90 PREVENTION OF CONSUMPTION. rapidiy expand the chest, and keep the shoulders from pressing hard or* the chest. The next step is to use an inhaling tube In speaking of the cure of consumption, I shall describe the inhaling tube. (Also see plate G.) The use of the braces (an the supporter, if the abdominal muscles are weak), and inha ing tube, will, with the other remedies, entirely prevent the possibility of consumption from whatever cause. The inhaling tube, shoulder braces and supporter, w needed, are perfect preventives, and should not be neglected. The lungs can never become disease.!, if the shoulders are kept off the chest, and the abdomen well supported, and then an inhaling tube faithfully used. All pains, hoarseness, and weakness of the chest, are promptly removed. The breath- ing becomes deep, free and full. The chest rapidly en- larges, and every air cell is opened. Any person, in this way, who chooses to take the trouble, can have a large chest and healthy lungs. ^11 scrofula is driven from the lungs, and ren dered impossible to settle on the lungs. All invalids continec to their beds, except from acute fever or inflammation, shoulc use an inhaling tube, to exercise and expand the jhest, aric open all the uir cells of the lungs, and thus prevent ihe pro gress of consumption. After lung fever, pleurisy, or pleurisy fever, or iniluenza, the use of it is beyond all possible praise, as it will so promptly relieve the lungs, and cure them, and prevent the possibility of consumption. So also use it if labor- ing under scrofula, or scrofula sores, or white swellings of the joints, or hip disease, or spinal complaints, or rheumatism, and in fact, any thing and everything that prevents a free exercise of the lungs. In a great many cases, consumption is dated from a lung fever, or pleurisy, or some chest disease. If, after any of these diseases, an inhaling tube is faithfully used a few months or even weeks, the lungs and chest become perfect! j \vel! ? n? if never sick. In December, 1842, an old man at Rut land, Vermont, consulted me in behalf of his son, who a few months before had a large abscess in his chest. It opened outwardly, and two quarts of matter were discharged at once It continued to discharge for six months, up to the time I sa\* him I met his physician, who told me he had seen an account o; CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 31 lie inhaling tube, and although he had never seen one, yet he :onstructed a rude tube and gave it to this young man, and by ts use the lungs had been preserved from any cough, and were strong and well. Attacks of meas'es, scarlet fever, scarlet rash, and all the erup- tive diseases, and influenza, often leave the lungs in a bad state, especially measles. If the inhaling tube i^ freely used after these diseases, all seeds of consumption will be eradicated. The inhaling tube is a most valuable assistant in curing dys- pepsia, and many diseases of great debility only. Ladies after confinement, who have the least disposition to ilung diseases, should make a free use of the inhaling tube, so as to give immediate activity and expansion to the lungs, and thus save an attack of consumption, and meet all weakness of the lungs. Persons whose lungs realily stuff up, and till up with mucus, or from any cause, will find that the use of the inha- ling tube will entirely prevent this filling up of the lungs, or greatly relieve it. CURE OF PULMONARY CONSUMPTION. Having spoken of the prevention of pulmonary consumption, and having endeavored to convince you that, first, consumption is in a great measure a mechanical disease, and may in most cases be prevented by counteracting mechanical remedies, I come now to speak to you of the cure of consumption after it has actually taken place after the lungs have become tuber- culated after cough has become seated after the lungs have become ulcerated after night sweats and hectic fever are of daily occurrence after all these are present, I have shown to you that heart disease, asthma and pulmonary catarrh wi 1 cure it. I also will endeavor to explain a course of me .-hanical and medical treatment, that will in most cases, if seasonably applied, cure seated consumption. I have shown to you that heart dis- ease, asthma, &,c., cure consumption by enlarging the chest. I have now to introduce to your notice a mode of expanding the chest, even when the lungs are ulcerated, that is far better and more certain than to have consumption cured by other diseases, and has the advantage, that it may always be used in every case 92 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. of persons old enough to use them. The discovery of this mode of expanding the chest, like most great discoveries in medicine, was made by accident, and its fortunate discoverer was an em- inent physician of London, Dr. Francis Hopkins Ramadge. Laennec, a celebrated French physician, wrote a work more than 30 years ago, upon the diseases of the lungs and chest. In hat work, he announced to the world the fact that consump- tion was cured by nature or accident, but how this was done he could not tell. Nor could he even hint at a possible mode by which it was effected. He had seen persons in consumption, who had recovered, contrary to all ordinary expectation, or experience, and who,years after, had died of other diseases ; he had opened their lungs and seen traces of disease, and cavities where ulcers had once existed in the lungs, but had healed. Dr. Ramadge was a pupil of Laennec, and established a lung hospital in London, many years ago. At this time, Dr. R.am- adge enjoys a very extensive and lucrative practice in London, chiefly confined to diseases of the chest. The discovery was as follows : Among his numerous patients was one, who whilst in an advanced stage of consumption, was attacked with a tumor or swelling at the bottom of the neck in front, and above the breast bone. The swelling became so large as to threaten suffocation. It required all the skill of the doctor to sive his patient from being suffocated by the pressure of the tumor on Mie wind-pipe. In about six weeks the swelling began to sub- side, but before this the consumptive complaint rapidly yielded, ai>d when the tumor on the throat subsided, the consumption was veil. After a little time, the doctor received a call from, a person who was the last of his family, all the rest having died of consumption, and he was in confirmed consumption. The doctor related to him the case of the man who was cured by a tumor coming on the front of his throat. At Dr. Ram- adge's suggestion, this last patient made a silver band to gc around his neck, and on the front of it he fastened an ivory ball, and bound it firmly down on the wind-pipe in front. This operated nearly as the diseased swelling had done in the first patient. It soon cured the lungs of the silver -smith. From these two cases, Dr. Ramadge learned that the effect in each CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 93 was to rapidly enlarge the lungs and expand the chest. He also discovered, that all he had to do was to cause the pa- tient to breathe through a small opening or pipe, much smaller, say twenty times smaller than the opening into the wind-pipe To effect this, he made an instrument then called, AN INHALING TUBE. PLATE G. This tube he at first made about four and a half feet long, with an opening through its whole length, provided with a mouth-piece to go between the lips, and the patient sucked in, or inhaled the air as long as he could, and then through the same tube, blew it out again. By this process, the chest would rapidly enlarge. Dr. Ramadge also made an inhaling tube a ittle like a whistle, with a valve in it so constructed that the air would go into the mouth and lungs through a large free uassage, and on returning, the air would be forced to go out of ;he mouth and lungs through a much smaller opening. The jffect of which is, to allow the lungs to fill rapidly and without jxhaustion of strength, and on leaving the lungs, it is all passed hrough an opening not much larger than a knitting needle, hy which the air was slowly forced out of the lungs, and by this )ressure the lungs were greatly expanded, and the air every cvhere opened the chest in the largest manner. Dr. Ramadge is the original inventor of the inhaling tube, for the expansion of the chest, and expansion of the lungs, and the cure of pulmonary consumption. 1 prefer the valvular tube? as 94 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. being in all respects the most efficient and easy to the patient. These tubes were at first made of wood and ivory. For several reasons, I prefer the tubes to be made of silver, platina or gold. Because tubes made of wood, ivory or india-rubber, are apt soon, if used by a person with ulcerated or diseased lungs, to become very foul and poisonous in some cases. Some time ago, early in my practice in the United States, I was consulted by a man who had ulcerated lungs. I prescribed for him ; he told me he could borrow an inhaling tube, to which I did no* object. He did well for eight days and a half, when he was attacked with violent vomitings, and died in two and a half days, in despite of all the efforts of four physicians. The symp- toms much the same as death by poison. I asked to see his inhaling tube ; 1 found it was an india rubber long tube, and had been used by a consumptive man for four months. It was so impure that you would notice its unpleasant odor on entering a room whe.e it was. 1 detei mined at all events, whether poi- son had anything to do with my patient's death or not, to put it out of the possibilities by having the tubes made of silver or gold, never to be made of any material that could contract any impure or poisonous matter from the air that passes through it from ulcerated lungs, that might thus cause ulceration in healthy portions of the lungs, and so poisoning the whole system. The silver and gold is much better than wood, and wdll last hundred years, as far as I have had experience, or in othe words, never wear out. The consumptive should always have his inhaling tube. The wood and india rubber tubes, or ivory will last but a short time. HOW THE INHALING TUBE ACTS. Many of you may ask me how the inhaling tube can assist in the cure of ulcers in the lungs. I answer that ulcers in the lungs do not incline .to heal ; because every day the substance of the lungs is continually growing less, and the walls of the sores 01 ulcers retire from each other, and continually from this cause and the motion of the lungs are kept gaping open. But if yoi use the inhaling tube, its effect is to expand the lungs. In thif situation they struggle everywhere against the ribs and on al. CURE OF CONSUMPTION. ;>5 ides /or room, at once closing up any cavity existing in the ungs. Reflect for a moment that the lungs enlarge so as to till and enlarge the chest, four, five, six, and seven inches in cir- cumference. A good deal of force is used by the patient to pen his lungs, and this more strongly pushes the lips of the ulcers together, and occasions them to heal, or places them in i position to heal. The use of the irihalingtube will very soon each the patient having ulcerated lungs, where his disease is, LS there he will feel pain, smarting and burning, more or less. All ulcers not broken, will, on the use of the inhaling tube, ireak and discharge their contents. "This alarms the patient, L'here is now no cause of alarm, because all the ulcers must be TO A en up and emptied before they will heal. Again, by the ise of the inhaling tube the air cells all around the ulcer >r ulcers, having greatly enlarged and expanded, will swell iround and into the ulcerous cavities and close them up. Allow to illustrate, as well as 1 can, this most important subject. Suppose 1 wish to cause two of my fingers, which now are >lacfd beside each other, to grow together. If they grow eaner each day, they will separate from each other, and cannot ;row together ; but suppose 1 by some process cause each lin- ger to swell to two or three times its natural size ; the effect >f this would be to bring the fingers hard against each other, ind should the sides of the fingers next each other b? made sore, >r the skin be removed, the fingers might be made to grow to- gether. In this way precisely the inhaling tube acts. Its use expands and opens first all the air passages; next, all the air ;ells; and causes a free expectoration of all mucus and pus, &c. it completely cleanses the ulcers, next enlarges the air cells iround the ulcers, diffuses new life and vigor through the lungs, brces the extra blood out of the wal s of the air cells which has hickened and nearly closed them up. It causes a rapid and >ee circulation of blood through the whole lungs, allows no )lood to remain in them that should not, and it soon obliges the 3nlarged blood vessels of the lungs to become smaller and to return to a healthy state. ]n all cases when there is a cough, out no ulcerations, the inhaling tube is greatly required and is unspeakable value. After bleeding from the lungs, if used 96 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. with proper precautions, the inhaling tube is of vast value, ant its use never should be omitted. The history of thn introduction and use of the inhaling tube in this country is instructive, as it fully proves, that in all sci- ences, and arts, and bodies, there may be the original and true idea, and also the spurious or false imitation, the shadow and sub- stance. About nine years ago, the discovery and object of the inhaling tube was made known in this country. Instantly at tempts were made to make such a simple thing, and also to ue it. Nc questions were asked, no anxious enquiries were made of what it exactly should be, but one physician whittles out a stick, bores a hole through it, and places it in the hands anc mouth of some dying patient, and suffers, but does not encour age the patient to use it. Many fly to the use of goose quills as most eminently appropriate, and as good as anything. A large quantity of tubes in imitation of Dr. Eamadge's long tubes, were made and peddled through many sections of this country, and sold at high prices, without any opening through their length to allow the air to pass through at all. I saw one inhaling tube, made under the direction of an eminent physi- cian, that was made by cutting off the large end of a tin candle mould, stopping up the ends, and cutting a small hole through each end, so as to allow the air to pass, and then declaring this was as good as any, whilst in the immediate neighborhood the true article was to be had. In Boston great numbers of tubes have been made and sold, that looked well and would allow the air to pass freely into the lungs, but it could not come out through the tube, but out through the patient's nose, &c. Em- inent physicians in many sections of this country hare in this manner employed the inhaling tube, or what they supposed to be the inhaling tube, without any success, who on being con- sulted would pronounce the inhaling tube a failure, and of no use. In most cashes physicians have never recommended the in- haling tube until the patient was in the last days of life, wher his lungs were so extensively ulcerated and gone, and his gene- ral strength reduced, that a return to health was impossible under any known treatment. In such cases, without making CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 97 iny allowances for the above circumstances, the tube is con- demned, and the physician still adheres to the idea that con- sumption is incurable, deceiving himself and his unhappy pa ients. All new remedies, with few exceptions, have to fight heir way into notice, and their bitterest detractors and oppo- ers will be found in members of the medical profession. In no :ase has this been more verified than in the case of the inha- ing tube. Being rejected in some measure by physicians rom causes I have before stated, it has been taken up ind used by empyrics. This has still farther exasperated he regular profession, and makes them reject all enquiry >n the subject in many cases rejecting a patient investigation ,nd study of a remedy that is destined to produce an entire evolution in our notions of consumption, and place it among he curable diseases. Will the inhaling tube alone, cure consumption 1 You will ask me, will the use of the inhaling tube alone cure eated consumption 1 I unhesitatingly answer no. Medical emedies must also be used : consumption, as a general princi- >le, cannot be cured by the inhaling tube alone, unless the pa- ient is in perfect health except a small cavity or ulcer in the ungs. In nine hundred and ninety-nine cases out of a thou- and, proper medical remedies are required. The medical reatment must also be vighc; if not, the inhaling tube cannot lake head against the disease, and tne injurious effects of the ledicines too. This forces me to make the solemn declaration, nd in the most emphatic manner, that the usual routine of ractice laid down in nearly all the medical authorities, adopt- ig the use of emetic tartar, blisters, setons, tartar sores, caus- LCS, housing up the patients, confining them to their rooms, 8'mg opium and its preparations, drastic emetics and purga- .ves, much bleeding, iodine, low diet, &c., all are calculated > make consumption, and not to cure it ; so that if the inhaling .ibe is used in conjunction with these remedies, it can be of ttle use. The first step in our progress is to know if the lungs are actu- lly diseased or not. The air, in passing in and out of the air cells, and air pa* 5 08 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. sages of the lungs, gives peculiar sounds in health, from which there is no great variation in persons of the same strength and ! age. When the lungs become diseased, the air does not enter some parts; or in passing in and out of their air cells and air I passages, it gives a different sound from what it does in health. 1 On this is founded the art of examining the chest, to ascertain the condition of the lungs. You know the piano, the accor- deon the flute, the violin, all give forth peculiar and different sounds ; and so does a perfect, or a broken, or cracked instru ment, or an instrument imperfectly made. Every deviation from health is impressed on the sounds, or absence of sound of air in entering or leaving the chest It requires an instructor, time and practice, and constant experience, to be able to ex plore the chest, or ascertain the situation of the lungs with pro per certainty. In London, Paris, New York, and Philadelphia, as far as 1 know, nearly all the practice of examining the chest is done by very few in each city. In all these cities it is per- fectly understood, that one man cannot know all branches of medicine and surgery, and be as perfect in each branch as if the whole mind and experience were devoted to one subject. In each of these cities there is practice in each branch enough to employ the best minds, and all the time of physicians who are devoted to one subject only. It is customary in these cities, for physicians who do not devote their time to examinations of the chest, to send their patients to those who make examina- tions of the chest a particular study. No certainty and accu- racy can be attained in exploring the chest, without a good teacher first, and large experience and observation afterwards. The author of these lestures, besides his opportunities in Lon- don, has had five thousand consultations in cases of consump- tion and kindred diseases, within the last three years. In no instance have I ever had a decision of mine proved incorrect by any physician. I mention this, in the hope that when I men- tion in my lectures that such or such a patient had diseased lungs, it will be understood I carefully examined the chest my self. No matter how learned a physician or surgeon may without considerable practical experience, he is liable to fa into great and sometimes deplorable errors in his opinions CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 99 he state of the chest, for it may be diseased and he not detect t ; and he may pronounce disease when there is none. A triking case of this kind occurred in one of our largest colleges few years ago. A young gentleman, a student, was takn, ick with what seemed consumption ; besides his attending pliy- ician, two professors and teachers of medicine were called rom a large neighboring city, who all pronounced the case eated consumption, and advised sending for his father, who ;ame and took his son home. Passing through the city of Bos- on, he called in one of its oldest and most respectable physi ians, who agreed with all the others, that he was in the last tages of consumption. The young man went to the state of Maine, where he resided, and died in eight days after his return, iis father had his chest examined after death ; his lungs vere bund to be in perfect health. He had died of disease of his tomach. I knew another case, where a young man died in the inte- ior of the state of Connecticut, of what was supposed to be a isease of his kidneys. He never had any cough until a week >efore his death. Several physicians had seen him during his ickness. After death, his body was examined ; no disease was iscovered in his kidneys, but both his Jungs were found to be extensively diseased , he had died, not of kidney disease, but of :onsumption. Some persons may actually have diseased lungs, vho hardly suspect any such thing, and others may seem to lave consumption who do not have it, but some other part be- ides the lungs is the seat of the disease. There is no way of ettling this, but to have the lungs examined by some gentle- nan who is acquainted with the mode of examining and explo- ing the lungs and chest, both in disease and health. A man vho does know how to examine the lungs, goes to the che^t to earn their condition, whether diseased or not, with the same :ontidence as you would look upon the face of a clock, to tell he time of day; but to do this, the physician requires know- edge and constant practice. 100 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. TREATMENT. Faving ascertained by actual, careful, and skilful examine tion of the chest, that the lungs are diseased, the physicia should enquire into the condition of every other part of th system. He should investigate carefu-lly the condition of th brain, the nervous sj^stem, the stomach, the bowels, the kidney; the' heart, the circulation of the blood, if there is daily fevei or night sweats ; if the patient has piles, gout, rheumatisrr scrofula, skin diseases, or any humor; canker, sores upon an 4 part, such as white swellings; dyspepsia, gravel, all kidne diseases, throat diseases, liver complaint, worms ; in ladies, fall ing of the wornb, all female diseases, weakness at the pit of th stomach, or across the bowels, sinking, or all gone at the pit c the stomach ; weakness of the back, pain anywhere, stoppag of monthly turns in ladies, costiveness or diarrhoea. Thes must all be cured, for it is impossible to expect, as a geners thing, to cure the lungs, and leave any of these before-men tioned diseases upon the patient. A cure cannot be easily re aliped, whilst other diseases are upon you. For all these differ ent complaints, 1 administer what I think to be proper reme dies, so as in general to remove them perfectly. I next put upon my patient, a proper abdominal supportei well adjusted, of the right size, strength of pressure, &c. ; nex I put on him a pair of shoulder braces, and give him an inha ling tube, with careful directions; I take care that the tub is prepared for his or her case, as the inhaling tube differs i: many persons ; what suits one person will not suit everybody or every patient; if the inhaling tube is not perfectly adapte to the case, its efficacy is much impaired. I next direct hir or her to be bathed freely every morning in cold water, o cold salt and water ; any kind of spirits may be used in th water. The efficacy of the water arises somewhat from th tonic power of the cold that is in the water ; hence, the colde the watei the better for the patient ; if not accustomed to col bathing, the water may be a little warmed at first. For direc tions for bathing, see lectures fourth and sixth. Before wash ing all over, the chest should be rubbed well ; if cold and chilly CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 101 se flannel, if not use a cotton or linen towel, after being wt-il ; eated up, by rubbing, then wash all over with the cold water, specially the throat, neck, spine, all the chest, and stcwnach ; t is belter to wash all over, daily, either morning or evening, rather prefer the morning. Unless under very peculiar cir- umstances, nothing should be done to reduce the strength of he patient. It has been the fashion at various times to con- icier every step in the commencement and progress of con- umption to be occasioned by inflammation, and to reduce in- animation, the patient's blood must nearly all be taken from im. BLEEDING. At one time, bleeding was all the fashion in consumption, nd this but a few years ago; for be it understood, there is a ashion in medicine as in everything else, as leaders and set- ers of fashion say, so it is adopted by ail their followers, or se who rarely think for themselves, but rely on others for irection ; for this reason, at one time, bleeding was all the go. once knew a man bled nineteen times in eighteen days; I well remember his remarks on its singular efficacy, how it re- noved all the cold chills. He had constitution and lungs to ave lasted many years ; he never rallied from the dreadful leedings, arid died in a few months. In prescribing for about ve thousand persons within the last three years in this coun- ry, and at all seasons of the year, and in all locations, from rginia to Canada, I have never recommended bleeding, but n one case. In this case the young man had a cousin that led to death from the lungs two months previously, and another ousin of another family, that bled to death two years before i the same way. He came to me, and hacf been moderately Bleeding from his lungs for three days. In his case 1 directed fleecing from the arm, and other remedies, and soon relieved >im. In the ordinary progress of consumption, i never think )f bleeding, as it would be productive of vast injury. One or :wo leeches may at times be used; but 1 rarely find it ne :essary. CURE OF CONSUMPTION. COUNTER-IRRITATION. It has been at different times the fashion to use le most se vere remedies to produce irritation, and discharges, and sore on the chest, so as to cause internal inflammation. Three days since, 1 saw a lady, who, under the direction of a respectable physician, had put seventy successive blisters on her chest, with hardly any perceptible benefit. Another lady I saw a short time since, who had made on her chest, under the direction of a physician, the most severe emetic tartar sores. The physician himself applied the emetic tartar ointment. Its severity am extent may be inferred from the fact, that on the breast bone a hole was eat directly through it into her chest. It was a num her of -nonths before it healed. These sores and blisters, be sides being most horrible and dreadful in nearly every point o view, tend greatly to reduce the patient, and unless under very pecular circumstances, should never be used. In some rare cases they may be used, but the cases where they are needed are very rare. 1 once knew a young lady who was in consumption, but able to attend to all ordinary duties, to take long daily walks, a good appetite, and fair strength. Under bad advisers, she put an immense blister plaster over her whole chest, and kept it on all night, it drew one vast blister. She never after could leave the house, and hardly her bed, until her death. For the fir si three weeks after using the blister she never left her bed. excep to have it made, &c. Blisters and emetic tartar sores, in three ways act injurious!] to the lungs. First, bv the distressing pain and suffering the;i it, duce, they overcome the nervous system. IVcxt, their d^charges reduce the patient by the drair from his system, and lastly they prevent his breathing, he can not expand his chest on account of the pain produced by the sore: wrier, he moves his ribs in drawing in the air, or letting it out It is an interesting fact, in removing pain, a piece of linen 01 cotton cloth folded two or three thicknesses, and wet in coh water and laid upon the chest, or any part from which you wisl to remove pain, will remove the pain nearly as soon in manj CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 103 :ases, as a blister, without producing any injurious consequen- ces whatever. The cloth may be wet .two or three times in wenty-four hours, and worn all the time, or only at night, and he pain will usually cease. If still the pain does not leave, a inime:it may be rubbed on, and this will usually complete vhat the wet cloth has not perfectly done, or you may rub on he liniment, and then cover the part with the wet cloth, and *ery rarely will you ever fail of relieving the pain, without any suffering to the patient, or loss of strength, or those horrid scars vhich so often disfigure the neck and breast of beauty. DIET. On no subject does medical philosophy fail more, than on lie matter of what we shall eat- Inis is so with the consump- ive. I believe the best r ule is, to^allow them to eat whatever bey please, without eating so much as to load the stomach, or ause fever. Well cooked meats, fish, stale bread, vegetables, ruits, wine, beer, porter, &c., in fact, every thing in modera- ion that gives strength, and does not produce fever much ; slight ever will soon go off, and docs little hurt. Coffee I usually find o do hurt,and also acids. Use a plenty of salt, not much pep- er or spices. Salt provisions are not usually desirable. The ood or drink, usually, maybe rather cold instead of very warm. 3 astry, and all varieties of confectionary, meats, &c., should be sed very sparingly. In all this, the patient should be his own octor, study his case carefully, and eat what he finds to agree vith him, and not positively to disagree. Rigid rules of diet, I have seldom found of much benefit. AIR. To the consumptive, the air is a vast medicine. It is far more valuable than all other remedies. It is the grana agent in expanding the chest. It was a fashion, some time ago, for all consumptives to be housed up, or sent either to a warm climate, or at a very early day in the fall to their warm rooms, and kept there until the next summer, or late in the spring. A few, very few, would survive one winter. They usually went from their 104 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. rooms to their graves. No practice can be more fatal. It almost surely ends in death, and usually cuts off every hope of a cure of consumption. The consumptive should be kept out in the open air as long as possible daily, if the weather will any way allow of it, either to ride or walk. If he cannot ride, he should walk in a cold room each day; and if still obliged to keep his room, I often direct a small hose or stopcocSc to be placed through the window frame, and draw the air from out of doors to the inhaling tube. The effect of the cold air is very salutary upon the debilitated and ulcerated lungs. The cold fresh air is vastly more nutritious to the lungs and system, than warm air ) and even half a lung fed with cold pure air.it will sus- tain life when, if only supplied with warm, rarefied air, would allow the patient soon to die. For this reason, I always keep my patients at their business, especially if in active and out of door occupations. When in consumption you retire to your beds, it is usually the last place before the grave. Again let me say to the consumptive, keep out as long as possible. Do not be enticed into the house by the sympathy of friends, or the advice of physicians, and do not take reducing and strength- destroying medicines. Changes of air, and with it changes of location. Supposing all the while that you are usino; your proper rem- edies for consumption, as 1 have before remarked, and shall still again notice, changes of air will be found of vast benefit, if you have the means of doing it, and at the same time your mind is tranquil. Going from the valleys to the high lands, from the city to the country, from the mountains to the valleys from the country to the city, leaving lakes of water and the seaboard, and retiring a few miles into the country, away from much water and on dry situations. In your new location, take a^ much air as you can by walking, riding in a carriage or on horseback, etc. If you gain much in one location, stay there just as long as you improve or decidedly hold your own, cr do not go back any. CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 105 JOURNEYS. Long and pleasant journeys, and not too fatiguing, such as on horseback, or on foot, or in a carriage, will often, if properly managed, contribute much to a recovery. Great care should be taken at all times, and in all exercises, not to overcome yourself by too much exhausting your strength. In February, 1844, I was requested to see Mr. Wef.ster, a respectable merchant of Boston. On visiting him, I found him very comfortable, and occupying two very fine rooms in his own house. The temperature of the rooms was kept steady, etc, in a very pleasant situation, and condition. On examin- in " his chest, 1 felt confident that he could be cured, and told O ' him and his friends so. At any rate, I felt the utmost assu- rance, with the care he was taking of himself, that most likely he would live six or eight months without my aid. Dif- ferent counsels prevailed, and he was persuaded a change of climate would be a far better cure than to place himself under my care. In pursuance of this, about the first days of March, the worst month of the year, he broke up his pleasant and per- fect winter quarters, and went by boats and railways to Balti more, and thence to Norfolk, in Virginia. Far better would it have been for him, to have gone to Canada at that season. He died in four weeks, or thereabouts. In April, his body was brought back to Boston. I have hardly ever witnessed a case that filled me with more regret, or that more strikingly exem- plified the ignorance and bad counsels prevailing on the subject of consumption. SEA VOYAGES. It has been the fashion to recommend sea voyages, and lately talk is made of long sea voyages, and some say they would be a cure if the voyages were long enough. To this, I entirely dis- sent. I believe, all a sea voyage will do, or can do, is gained in five or six weeks. I have at times witnessed the most heart rending scenes of distress from this caus-e. Allow me to say, that a bad cold will often get well by going to sea, but if actu- 106 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. ai consurnpt on is present, I think the patient is better on land, than long at sea. I will give one case. Air. Perkins, of New London, a son of one of the richest men in New England, and by his mother inheriting consump- tion, after being out of health, and in consumption for some time, was persuade.!, advised, and by all that could be said, inci- ted to leave his wife and six interesting children, and take a voyage in a whaling ship to the Sandwich Islands. After the most heart-rending separation, almost equal to death, he em- barked on this long, this dreary, this cheerless, to him hopeless journey. He lived to reach the Sandwich Islands, and as soon as possible, to lose no time, with but one engrossing hope, that was to reach his home and die in the presence of his family, and bestow on them his last blessing. This was denied him. On board a whale ship, far from all he loved, he died, first re- questing his heart to be taken out and placed in an urn, and sent to his wife and children, as the husband's and father's last gift. 1 was in New London when the ship came in bearing the tidings of his death, and the only relic of his person. His body found a resting place in the ocean. How much, think you, would he have given could better counsels have prevailed, and he been allowed to have spent the dreary months at sea, with his fam.ly. Allow me to say to those who conjure up fanciful pictures of pleasure at sea, that the ocean is a perfect wild, howling wilderness, with scarcely a single object or inci- dent, save accidents, to cheer or change its dreary monotony. I speak this from amjle personal experience. Peculiar cases may and have occurred, but as a general experience, it is very rare that any person in consumption was ever benefited per manently by a long sea voyage. WARM CLIMATE. In speaking of the prevention of consumption, I gave my views of a warm climate as a preventive. I will now say that as a curative of consumption, nothing can be more fallacious. A pair of broken lungs that would last for years i-i a cold, dry climate, would cease to act at all in a few weeks, in a hot cli- mate. Cold air is a good tonic, and restorative of the system. CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 107 In such air, even a small piece of "healthy lung will serve to sustain life, whilst the same lung in hot, rarefied air, would im mediately lose its strength and die. There is as much differ- ence in the nourishing powers of cold dry air and of thin rar- efied air in sustaining life, as between wheat flour and wheat bran. Remember, consumptive, that travel wherever you please, you cannot travel out of your body. The disease orig- inated in your own body, by your own acts. Your cure will depend on yourself, and the use of the remedies indicated in these lectures. Do not fancy there is some far-off favored spot, which, if you could reach, it would be found exempt from con- sumption. No such place exists where civilized man resides. Do not expend all your strength and money to reach such a spot, that when attained, only ails you with the cruelest mock- cry and disappointment. RESPIRATORS. 1 will say one word of respirators, and of any thing worn over the mouth, and used to modify the air, and keep it warm. In some cases of irritability and inflammation of the air pipes only, or throat, they may be useful for a short time ; but in general, they weaken the lungs, and tend to produce consump- tion, instead of curing it or preventing it. I all but never recommend their use. In disease of the air pipes only, they may be used at times. Under what condition of the lungs may we hope for a cure of consumption ? You in ay now ask under what condition of the lungs may we hope for a cure of consumption. I will endeavor to group off classes of cases which usually occur in one or other form. The first case I will mention is as follows : Suppose a person to have lost father or mother, brothers or sisters, of consump tion, or who is in any way predisposed to consumption by in- heriting it, or by having long continued colds, influenza, pleu- risy, lung fever, measles, scarlet fever, or scrofula, or a humor struck in, or confined by any debilitating causes. In men, dis- sipation sometimes, in ladies, confinements, miscarrying, falling 108 CURE OF CONSUMPTION. of the womb, and by this, confined to bed or deprived of exer- cise, female weakness, irregularity of the months, etc., etc ; or in both sexes, by wounds or injuries causing confinement and debility, or dyspepsia, or liver complaint, or spine disease,, or fistula and its consequences, or bleeding at the lungs, or long ontinued fevers, or rheumatism. I say, suppose a person arfected by one or more of the above named causes, or of any thing leading to debility and predisposition to consumption, and such a person is taken with or without a pain about the chest, with an obscure hacking cough, slight, and not alarming, or causing much attention, after a while it increases until it be- comes habitual, more or less, night and day. Easily excited on exercise, laughing or talking much, may be most on laying down, or rising, or going into a cold room, or in the air, more or less shortness of breathing, quick pulse ? more or less followed after a while with much debility, disinclination to do anything, and much wearied if they do, pain in the side, across the top of the chest, between the shoulders, under the shoulder blades, down the arms, running from the breast bone to the spine, and pain its whole length; coughing nights and days, daily chills, daily fever, wasting night sweats, occasional bleeding at the lungs, and the cough dry without any expectoration, lungs highly congested. Consumption thus far is as curable as the ague and fever, with suitable medicines, inhaling tube, shoulder braces, snpporter, etc., etc., as 1 have before indicated. I never yet have had a case of consumption as far as this, that I have failed of curing when the patient did his duty to my remedies and directions. SECOND GROUP. Suppose a patient to have all, or some of the symptoms men- tioned in the first group, and in addition, he had ulcerated lungs, in the tops of one or both lungs in front, and his cough, in place of being dry, is humid ; or in other words, he raises a good deal of frothy or thick cream-like matter, with little specks of cheesy matter in it ; but his strength is such, he is able to be about his business somewhat, and the rest of his lungs are good, or nearly CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 109 so, and his or her general strength is not entirely gone, or greatly so. Cases of this kind are eminently curable ; say at least eight out of ten will get well. THIRD GROUP. Suppose a person who has the diseases, ,c., and the condition more or less of the first and second group, and raises the same matter, but in addition has a little phthisic, or asthma, or heart disease ; all such cases, with hardly a solitary exception, are curable, and often in a moderately short time. I always feel most gratified, if I find traces of asthma in the lungs, or in parts of them, as 1 can usually prognosticate a happy recovery. The same remarks apply to the presence of heart disease, with any or all of the symptoms or states of the lungs I have before mentioned. FOURTH GROUP. Suppose cases of a person, or of persons, who have lost nearly all of one lung, or all of it, and the other lung is gond, or a little asthmatic. The cure of such persons becomes doubtful, and in many cases impossible, especially if there is disease in the other ; yet I know persons who enjoy fair health, and do a goodly amount of labor and business, who have lost one lung, or carry it in their chests a mass of disease. Cases at times occui \\here one lung is lost entirely; it wastes by disease until nothing remains of it. This is usually foui;d in the left lung, but at times in the right. Yet such is the restorative powers of the system, that a person may lose one lung, and live to old age with the other. At times the entire loss of the left lung will take place, and the heart losing its support, will act most irregularly, and give rise to the opinion on the part of the medi- cal advisers, that there is a terrible heart disease present. I have frequently witnessed these mistakes on the part of physicians not skilled and experienced in the art of examining the lungs. I was consulted a day or two past hy a lady for her infant child, eight months old, that had been suffering with a difficulty in its breathing since it was four days old. The physician proaoimc- 110 CURE OP CONSUMPTION. ed it a heart disease. On examining, I found the heart well, but the left iung was all but entirely lost, it wn? extremely diseased. FIFTH GJIOUP. Under this group, I introduce all those cases where there is extensive disease at the bottoms of the lungs, or where there is extensive disease and ulceration any where in the lungs, and the rest of the lungs badly tuberculated, and with this state the general health much wasted and broken. In females, the monthly turns long since ceased, dyspeptic, often vomiting and chronic diarrhea, and the powers of the constitution very much prostrated. Although I have seen such cases terminate in a perfect recovery ; yet in the larger number of cases, the patient sinks to his final rest. In females, I have never lost a consump- tive patient who had regular, monthly periods. Finally, there is a great difference in the amount of disease and destruction of the lungs some persons will bear and live, whilst one half the injury in another person would terminate fatally. This is owing to the difference in the constitution of dif- ferent persons. I have known a child die from a scratch on its finger, so feeble the powers of its constitution as to allow the finger to mortify, and death follow. I have known a man to receive seventeen stabs with a dirk in his limbs and body, and yet recover. 1 have known persons whose constitutions were so frail, either by habit or inheritance, that a very slight ulcer- ation of the lungs would quite suffice to sweep them away, whilst another would be about and doing a little business, with a loss of half the lungs. From the general and almost univer- sal belief that consumption is incurable, and the exceedingly 111 success that follows the usual practice of medicine in its treatment, persons inclined or predisposed to it, are the last to acknowledge it, or to ask aid. Their friends usually speak of it long before they do. Let me address such in the language of the deepest sympathy. Your disease is eminently curable, and in its earlier stages, only a short time is required to produce a cure. You can have a perfect command of its progress. Do not allow it to progress beyond the first stages. Do not wait CURE OF ASTHMA. Ill until your lungs are badly ulcerated. Do not, whilst consump- tion is on you, say, " i am not sick enough to doctor, or use remedies." Again, let me in the most solemn manner conjure the con- sumptive, after he has commenced the remedies 1 have pointed out. and by a fair trial, find yourself improving, do not leave off, but resolutely and patiently persevere. Every step you {rain, will give you strength to gain more. You will go from victory to victory, until you attain to perfect health. Some of your remedies, you should never lay aside j such as bathing in cold water daily, and with it, full friction of the whole body, and the occasional use of the inhaling tube if the lungs are stuffed up, or oppressed, or painful ; remembering, after your lungs seem well, they will be weak where they were once dis- eased. A relapse is dreadful. It is no trouble for me to cure consumption, by God's blessing, in a vast many case?; but the difficulty is to induce patients to persevere in their remedies. Once a little better, keep on until well ; and once well, use the remedies to keep so. It is often to me a matter of profound surprise, to observe persons, who in consumption, have lived for months or years, in view of an open coffin, and a certain grave, and yet, as soon as relieved of consumption and all feeling of danger past, and lungs nearly well, in multitudes of cases, from pure heedlessness and indolence, or on some frivolous excuse of not convenient, or not time, or a continual love of ease, they will lay aside their remedies, and relapse back into exactly the same habits that originally induced in them the consumption Allow me to say, it requires from six months to three years to produce a radical cure of consumption. For farther instruc- tions to the consumptive, see lectures four, five and six, in this volume. ASTHMA OR PHTHISIC. With your permission, I will say to you a few words on the sub- ject of asthma. The causes of asthma, or phthisic, as it is often called, are as obscure to all medical men, or nearly all, as con- sumption, and often vastly more so. The causes of consumption are obvious and palpable ; but the causes of asthma are usually 112 CURti OF ASTHMA. an entirely sealed book to them. When speaking of diseases thai cure consumption, I spoke of asthma as one. I now propose to speak of the causes of asthma, and its cure. A disease something lilve asthma may arise from ossification of the heart, or its great vessels, but these cases are comparatively rare. In my opinion, asthma always arises from a consumptive taint, that it is excited by the same influences that would has r e ],ruduced consumption ; but God has ordered, that in place of consumption, an opposite train of symptoms arise that vastly enlarge the chest, in place of allowing it, as in consumption, to grow smaller and contracted. In asthma, the air cells become vastly enlarged, like grapes on a stem, whilst their necks are tied up, as with a thread, and then the air is allowed to enter the luno*s, but not to return with ease, so that the air is not O ' promp;ly changed. This is the reason why the asthmatic feels the utmost sense of suffocation, and gasps and struggles for breath whilst his lungs are distended to their utmost capacity with air. He cannot lay down from a feeling of immediate suf- focation, if he tries to do so. Thus for months and for years, he has turns when he cannot lay down at night, but sleeps what little he does sleep, in his chair. I do not know that such a thing as a radical cure of asthma is ever hinted at in the books, or any plan of treatment laid down that will be of any per- manent benefit. In asthma, the chest is too large ; in consump- tion, it is too small. (See plates H and 1.) I treat asthma pre- cisely as if it were a consumption, and by doing so, meet with complete and almost universal success. Asthma is far easier to cure than consumption and it is not so apt to recur again. Per- sons, who at considerable intervals have fits of asthma, may hive it cease altogether, and consumption take its place. Have it and the consumption which excites it cured, and all is well. In the lecture on the proofs of the cure of consumption, see the letters on the results of the treatment of asthma. A strong argument with me in favor of the side that asthma arises from consumptive influences, I find in the fact, that asthmatic parents have consumptive children, and some of the same family of brothers and sisters may have asthma, and others have con- sumption. CURE OF HEART DISEASE. 113 HEART DISEASE. I have before referred to the fact, that consumption is often cured by irregular actiow of the heart, and by disease of the heart. The heart often has diseases of its own, independently of association or sympathy with any other organs ; yet there is no organ of the whole body that is more influenced by the con- dition of other organs, than the heart. The condition of the stomach powerfully influences the heart, and so does falling of the bowels before referred to, and falling of the womb, and so does the condition of the lungs. The lungs, the stomach, the bowels, and the brain, may produce what seems to be heart disease when the heart is not at all diseased. The heart is often greatly affected by the condition of the walls of the chest itself. It is very often noticed that by stooping and leaning the shoulders heavily upon the chest, it is contracted at its base in front, and the breast bone thrown flat down upon the heart, in this way injuring the heart, and leading to the opinion there is disease of the heart, when there is no disease of it 5 but the walls of the chest have closed around it, and the heart cannot act. After forty years of age, and in a vast many cases at an earlier period, the heart begins to enlarge in multitudes of persons, and if the chest enlarges also, all is well ; but if the chest does not enlarge, then the heart is compressed, and palpi- tation, suffocation of the heart, and apoplexy may take place. From this fact is explained the reason why we have little heart disease until after the middle periods of life. That heart diseases often arise from consumptive influences, 1 have verified in a vast many cases. Knowing this, I have often ascertained the presence of heart diseases, in one or both parents, when I have found the children highly consumptive ; yet no- thing of consumption in any respect had shown itself in the parents. The treatment of heart disease, in a vast many cases, is required to be the same as we find necessary in consump- tion; in fact, with a little modification, I treat many cases of heart disease the same as I do consumption, and often have the pleasure of entirely curing it, when all hope of life had fled I enlarge the chest ; I restore as soon as possible, the chest 114 CURE OF HEART DISEASE. and all parts of the body to perfect health ; if necessary use the inhaling tube, shoulder braces, and supporter for the abdo- men ; in fact, treat the heart disease, with a little modification, as 1 do consumption; in some cases, but they are not one in twenty, such changes have taken place in form and structure of the heart itself, as to render a cure impossible. I will remark, that the heart is placed under the breast bone, and to the left of it. Mostly about one third of the heart lies to the right of the centre of the breast bone, and two thirds of it lies to the left of the centre of the breast bone ; so the heart Jias the breast bone, and the flexible ends of the ribs, chiefly in front of it, the spine behind it, and the lungs on its sides. (See plate D.) You will see by its commanding and peculiar position, how the enlargement of the heart must enlarge the chest at its base, and throw back the top of the frame, and make the person full chested, and straight. Now, if a heavy pair of shoulders, with all the dependent arms, are throw r n for- ward upon the chest, the heart cannot enlarge, and must be more or less suffocated, producing palpitation and disease of the heart. The heart is supported at its sides by the lungs. Sometimes one lung, from some reason or other, will waste away, or it will become bad and shrink up, so that no air will pass through it. The heart, in such a case, losing its support, will beat very irregularly, and seern to be greatly diseased, when in fact it is not diseased at all. The condition of the heart can only be fully detected by an examination by a per- son who is skilled in the art of examining the chest, and thus ascertaining the actual condition of the heart and lungs, and great blood vessels. A vast many mistakes, and those the most unhappy, arise from the examinations of medical men whose knowledge and experience are not sufficient to deter- mine, with certainty, the condition of the lungs and heart. I once heard a medical man, of considerable eminence, lecture against the idea of curing consumption by expanding the chest, and instanced the case of a man whom he, the lecturer, had doctored for some time for heart disease, who died; and after death, his chest was opened, and it was found that the left lung had disappeared, or entirely wasted away j the heart was well- CURE OF HEART DISEASE. 115 "Now," says the lecturer, u no person could have told that the lung had disappeared, until the chest was examined after death!" In September, 1844, I was consulted at New Britain, Connecticut, by a man who was subject to fits. He usually had about five fits in the day time, and three at night. He would lose his consciousness at the time, yet not fall down, but would seize hold of anything in his reach, and endeavor to break it, even to grnsp the blade of a scythe. His appear- ance was that of an idiot. The fits had gre tly impaired his mind, and all the powers both of mind and body. He was a shoemaker, and stooped very much ; his shoulders lay more upon the chest, than any case I had ever seen ; I found on ex- amining his chest, that the breast bone lay upon his heart, and pressed hard down upon it more than I had ever seen in any case ; and that the pressure of the breast bone upon the heart was so great that the blood could not pass well through the heart. About three times every day, the blood would so accumulate as to stop the action of the heart, and prevent the blood returning from the brain, and this would cause a loss of consciousness, and a fearful sense of impending dissolution. He would usu- ally have two fits every night ; any excitement would make the number of fits greater. I considered the disease to be en- tirely mechanical, proceeding from the breast bone pressing upon the heart. I at once put on him a pair of stout shoulder braces, to bring the shoulders off the chest, directed him to stand up straight, and not to stoop, and if he felt a fit coming on, to throw himself back, and to throw his shoulders as much as possible off the chest, and to avoid stooping. I also gave him a little medicine to assist and take away any irritability of the heart &c. In seven days he came back ; he had had but one fit in the day time, and two at night, three for the whole week. The idiotic expression of his face was gone ; he had not passed such a week for many years ; he experienced that on feeling the least trouble at his heart, or distress at the pit of his stomach, that always preceded a fit, by throwing himself backwards and throwing his shoulders back, and throw- ing open his chest so as to lift up the breast bone a little, the circulation of blood went on through the heart, and no fit would 116 CURE OF HEART DISEASE. take place. I will give one more case out of a great many. In Octob r, 184-3, I was consulted at Nashua, New Hampshire, by a young gentleman, seventeen years of age, who had a most distressing affection of the heart; his face wore a blue corpse- like appearance, arid he was entirely unable to do any business, could only walk with the greatest difficulty, and had been obliged to lea\v off all occupation. He had consulted the first medical men in Boston, who gave him but little hope of recovery ; he had great palpitation of the heart, which was greatly aggra- vated on the least exercise. On examining his chest, I found the breast bone pressed heavily upon the heart, so as to pre- vent a free circulation of blood through it, from which resulted all his illness; he was also very scrofulous. I put on him a pair of shoulder braces and gave him an inhaling tube, to fully expand his chest, and also suitable medicines to cure the irri- tability of the heart, and directed all the remedies as I would for consumption, save cough medicines. The young man im- proved with the greatest rapidity. Four weeks after, I met him at a ball. He did not take much part in the dance, but was vastly better, and I believe has perfectly recovered. It is of great consequence that the heart rule the chest and govern the lungs. A regular, symmetrical enlargement of the heart and great vessels rarely does any hurt, provided the chest en- larges with it. But if the chest does not enlarge, or the heart enla ges irregularly, then the case is full of danger. Some- tim s one side of the heart will enlarge more than the other side, &c., &c. In this case danger arises. Costiveness, dyspepsia, rheumatism, gout on the heart, ossj- fication of it, &,c., &c., will all incline to produce changes in the heart, and should be obviated and cured ; also great loss of blood by design or accident will injure the heart, and cause great nervousness ; for a long time producing palpitation of the heart, which wil at times lead to disease of it. I think heart diseases easily managed, and in a vast many cases cured ; espe- cially in scrofulous subjects, and in persons who have consump- tion, or who have had it, or who are predisposed to it. Soften- ing of the heart is a rare disease, of which I have met but two cases in this country $ therefore I do not speak of it. MINERAL WATERS. 117 MINERAL WATERS. In the progress of the lecture, I have not spoken a word of mineral waters, as a matter of prevention or a curative agent in consumption. This subject is too extensive to dwell much upon, save in general remarks. In seated consumption, when the lungs are ulcerated, I know of no waters that will he of any benefit. This leads me to speak of the Red Sulphur Springs, in Virginia. The last summer, at an immense expense in time and great sacrifice of personal ease, 1 visited that celebrated spring. 1 found a most valuable spring of wa- ter, which had suffered greatly in its reputation from having too much imputed to it. Too many virtues claimed for it had, from the numerous disappointments and heart-rending distres-s, produced from this cause, injured the reputation of the spring. Few persons were there ; and not one person, as far as I knew, who had badly ulcerated lungs, had derived much benefit. This water, had it been praised for what it really is, w.mld stand most pre-eminently high, and almost alone in some of its properties. It has an influence in reducing irritation and in- flammation of the mucous membrane, or the skin that cavers the inside of the throat, the air pipes, and the cells of the lungs, and the skin that covers the interior of the gullet, the stomach and bowels, and the internal lining of the bladder, the womb, &c. In all descriptions of catarrh, this water is valuable It is well known that an inflammation of the skin that lines the inside of the throat, or lungs, will produce a severe cough, and some expectoration and fever, highly excited pulse; night sweats, &c. Such persons often derive great benefit from this spring, but not always. In inflammation of the stomach, and in irrita- tion about the heart, and in dyspepsia, and costiveness, or chro- nic diarrhoea, this is a most unique and valuable water. In many kinds of kidney diseases, fluor albus, &c.. the water is most valuable. Its reputation should never be placed on ulce- rated lungs, but on dyspepsia, heart diseases, bowel complaint, and diseases of the bladder, womb, &c. Persons who propose to visit the Red Sulphur Springs, should, before concluding, have the chest examined, and if their lungs are ulcerated, not 118 . MINERAL WATERS. go at all ; or at all events, they will hardly realize any thing biit cruel fatigue, and still more cruel disappointment. I wish here to thank the gentlemanly proprietors of the spring, for their politeness to me the last summer. I consider the spring one of the first on earth, for its efficacy in the cases and diseases I have before indicated. I do not know another mineral spring in the world, that is so beneficial in heart diseases. In cases where there are no ulcers on the lungs, but where the lungs are only irritable, or inflamed from tubercles not yet softened, or when there has been some bleeding from the lungs, for all these cases, but no ulcerations in the lungs, the Red Sulphur Spring water will be found highly useful in most instances. IRON PURGATIVE WATERS. In persons of bilious pulmonary habits, or who are usually bilious, and incline to a cough or pains about the chest, the wa ters that have iron and magnesia, soda, &c., in them, are valuable. In other words, the purgative iron waters, such as those of Sara- toga, are of vast value in putting the system in such a state of health as will ward off consumption ; but are in nearly all cases injurious, if the lungs are ulcerated. These also usually much benefit scrofulous persons, who have no ulcerated lungs. SULPHUR WATERS. In persons who are scrofulous, or have any skin disease, or a humor in the blood, which has struck in, or who suffer from the bad effects of mercury, &c., who have reason to suspect a cough or distress about the chest to arise from a humor, salt rheum, erysipelas, or any thing of that kind, will find great benefit in many cases from using the sulphur purgative waters. These waters abound in some parts of the United States, and are seldom useful if the lungs are ulcerated ; otherwise may be used for the cases I have named. Sulphur waters are round in many parts of this country. The White and Blue, and Salt Sulphur Springs in Virginia, are very noble waters. I think the Salt Sulphur a superb spring of water. These springs are not surpassed in Virginia. There are two very fine sulphur springs near the north end of Lake Champlain. One is at Alburgh, MINERAL WATERS. 119 and the other is at Highgate, both near Canada line. Of the Alburgh I have no knowledge, save by report, which speaks well of it. I have visited the Highgate spring. The accom- modations are very good, and the spring of water is very good. The A\on Springs, near Rochester, in the elate of New York, are valuable sulphur waters. HOT MINERAL WATERS. I have visited the hot and warm springs in Virginia, and the hot springs at Aix-la-chapelle, and at Wis Baden in Germany ; and as far as I have ever known or observed in Europe, or this country, I believe the hot mineral waters, either for bathing or to drink, are very injurious to the consumptive, and should be most carefully avoided. Allow me now to conclude this lecture by observing, that I have only indicated the general plan of treatment. It is im- possible to go into details in such a lecture as this. I am now preparing a large work on the Lungs, for medical men, in which t propose to give what I know upon the subject in all the de- tails, and a careful account of all the medicines I have found aseful. I must remark, that every case of consumption 1 ever saw, requires, or did require the aid of medicines, more or less, for some or all of the following intentions to equalize the cir- culation of the blood to support the strength to purify and fortify, and enrich the blood to regulate the digestion to cor- rect the bowels to remove irritation to subdue the cough to renovate the functions of the skin, or to remove obstructions in the functions of the liver or kidneys ; and in females, to cure their peculiar diseases. The patients should never be drugged. They require but little medicine, but that should be efficient and perfectly applicable to the case ; otherwise medicines will be found hurtful rather than useful. X LECTURE THIRD. ON THE PROOFS OF THE CURE OF PULMONARY CONSUMPTION. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: MY first lecture to you was on the uses of the lungs and the causes of pulmonary consumption. The second was upon the prevention and cure of pulmonary consumption. My ohject heing to enlighten your minds in the clearest manner upon these sub- jects, and in this way to obtain your fullest confidence, for with- out confidence in what I say, my words are of no more conse- quence to you than the sound of a "tinkling cymbal." There is no class of persons who are more apt to be indolent, and more readily despond and give up. than consumptive patients; and particularly those who believe that they have an hereditary predisposition to consumption, because some relation has died of it. To prevent or cure consumption, requires a great deal of effort from the patient, the price of his or her health being con- stant vigilance. The consumptive must never forget the atten- tion due to his health. Under some circumstances, a few months, or even weeks, of neglect, will bring on the disease, or render his case hopeless, if he already have it. Unless I can obtain the confidence of the consumptive and his friends, he cannot be in- duced to persevere in the use of his remedies. Sometimes I ob- tain the confidence of the patient, but not of his friends. Often J have witnessed, from the influence of skeptical advisers, the patient lay aside his remedies, and sink into hopeless disease, at the very moment improvement had commenced in his health, and a few weeks of perseverance would have placed him out of dan- ger. No opinion is more widely spread, and no prejudice more deeply rooted, than that consumption is an incurable disease. I have heard one instance of a highly respectable clergyman pro- nouncing it blasphemous to say that consumption was curable, PROOFS OF THE CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 121 because God Himself had made it incurable. In this feeling no persons participate more than vast numbers of physicians, form- ing a very large portion of the medical faculty. With many of these, nothing can subdue their prejudices, nothing can cause them to seek new light upon the subject. If a person that they pronounce to be in full consumption, and a case hopelessly in- curable, yet, when they see such a person get well, they declare that he never had consumption. I recollect one case, of a pa- tient who called in an old and very distinguished physician, to examine his chest, and give his opinion of his case. After a care- ful examination of the case, he rebuked the attending physician for calling him in, adding that he " never saw a more hopeless case of consumption ; that it was true consumption, and that the patient would die very soon." About nine months after this, the patient, having recovered, went to this sam^ physician, and re- ported his recovery to him, and requesreo the physician to ex- amine his chest and see if he were not entirely well. The phy- sician expressed much surprise at the apparent recovery, and on the patienfs assuring him that he was perfectly well, he refused to examine nis chest, and said, " It your lungs are now well, you never have had consumption ; for I hold it to be an eternal truth, that no person ever yet got well of diseased lungs." So that you will remark that the patient has not only, sometimes, to war against his own despondency and fears, but also against his skeptical friends and advisers, and also against the vehement as- severations of, perhaps, his family physician, that his case is en- tirely hopeless, and that no remedy whatever can be of the least permanent benefit to him. You will see, then, how all-important i it is that I have the perfect confidence of the patient and of his friends, and, if possible, of his medical advisers, so that the pa- tient shall faithfully and perseveringly employ his remedies. If I can obtain the confidence of the patient and his immediate friends, I am satisfied, and patiently wait until his physician can witness the effect of remedies. There are many physicians who, under any circumstances, utterly refuse to believe, if I may use the exoression, their own senses, and after pronouncing a patient in hopeless consumption, and afterwards, seeing the patient get well, will then blacken their own reputation by declaring the pa- 129 PROOFS OF THE tient never had consumption, and then denounce the idea of its curability as a dangerous and even criminal notion. Has in- terest anything to do with this ? It is not to be wondered at, as I have said in a former lecture, that many physicians should op- pose the curability of consumption, for, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, nearly every remedy laid down in the books, and adopted in practice, is calculated to make the disease, and not to cure it. So that to* adopt correct- treatment of consumption, nearly all previous authority and experience on the subject must be laid asttie, and entirely new ideas and a new course of prac- tice be adopted. However, it always takes more or less time for the spread of truth. Allow me now to make a remark to you, that in all nature and in all things known to us, there are very few original principles or original roots or causes of things. For example : gravitation is probably an original principle in na- ture. Truth is also an originial principal in nature. The mind travelling Lack on this idea, carries itself to the throne of God, and is then forced to believe and instantly adopts the idea that God is truth. Now it is a most astounding fact, and emi- nently deserving of our notice, that truth has but one offspring, which is usefulness. This is an everlasting and never-failing test of the presence or absence of truth ; so that whatever is true is useful. The converse is also true, that whatever is useless is false, and whatever is false is useless. To prove this, I could cite to you numberless examples, but I leave it for you to do. Follow the idea yourselves, and you will find it a perfect guide in the pursuit of truth. By this test, aided by reasonable time, you will very soon be able to know what is true or what is false, and to detect where there is a mixture of truth and falsehood. I know what I have taught to you, on the uses of the lungs and causes of consumption, and upon the prevention and cure of con- sumption, to be eminently true, because I have witnessed, in a great number of cases of diseased lungs, that it was decidedly useful. You may now ask me, if I cure every case of consump. tion that is presented to my notice, and solicits my aid ? / an- swer most unhesitatingly, I do not ; and because I do not, some persons reject the idea of any being benefited ; but I deliberately assert, that I cure eight cases out of every ten, when the patients CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 123 124 PROOFS OF THE that of your friends, carefully and candidly investigate these cases*; and if you find in them all, one case that you believe to have been consumption, and that it has been cured, then lay aside prejudice and doubt on this subject, and proclaim consumption a curable disease; and, of course, if curable after being formed, its formation may always be prevented. Again, I beseech you, give me your confidence so far as to give me a patient hearing, and the whole subject a searching and honest investigation. It is of no use for me to rise up before an auditory of one thousand persons, and utter a falsehood, at the same time naming time, person, and place, because at once one or more persons would be found who could on the spot prove or disprove what I assert. I have repeatedly, after a lee- ,ture, had persons call on me, who were perfectly acquainted with the truth of what 1 had stated, although the cases had occurred hundreds of miles distant from the place of the lecture. In se- lecting these letters, 1 have taken such as I thought would pre- sent as great a variety of symptoms as possible, and from per- sons who, I hope, have no insuperable objection to have thei names or letters made public. There are those who would hardl have their names exposed, even to save the lives of others Should any be surprised, on knowing that their names are mad* public, 1 leg of them not to be offended, as the importance of th( subject would seern to fully justify me in giving names and re ferences in the most unequivocal manner. Allow me to say one word to the consumptive or invalid. Th< object you propose, the recovery of your health, is one oJlj vast moment to you, and is deserving of your highest efforts? Let me urge you, in the first place, to have confidence in you;n remedies; and in the second, to commence their use with th* greatest caution. If not accustomed to bathing, commence it ah first in a very warm room, with warm salt and water, and chang'j to cold as you find you can bear it ; commence your medicines ii do.sos, say about one fifth of what is called the smallest dose, s that, under no circumstances, shall the system receive any shock by any changes you may make, cither in diet, medicines, sup porters, shoulder braces, inhaling tube, bathing, exercise, or ex posure. Study to incorporate all your changes with your sys| CURE OF ASTHMA. 525 tern, so as to do no violence to it. Make all the remedies conge- nial to you, and know, for your pleasure, consolation, and < n- couragement, that if you become decidedly better, by faithfully continuing and pursuing the course that has made you a little better, you will certainly recover your health in a longer or shorter period. You, like other invalids, will feel the changes of weather, and have your poor days. But do not despond. Use your remedies faithfully, and, by God's blessing, you will re- cover your health. Recollect, the very essence of my teaching is, to make you your own doctors, and your own nurses. Be faithful to yourselves, and success will crown your efforts. If circumstances or season of the year allow, as soon as well able, travel, change ihe air and your location. If in a ciiy or town, go to the country ; visit watering places ; go quire away, for a time, from your business, or usual place of residence, and stay some months, if possible. CASE I. Case of Thomas Fengar. ASTHMA. I have mentioned to yon that asthma was one of the diseases that cured pulmonary consumption, and that Nature in this way saved the lives of thousands who would have otherwise die d of consumption. 1 think a disposition to consumption is the cause of asthma in nearly all cases. I find the same remedies, wiih some modifications, that cure consumption will cure astlmict j in other words, I endeavor to cure the consumption in the lungs, or the seeds of it, and the necessity of asthma ceases and it disap- pears. In January, 1^45, I spent some days at New London, Conn. ; and among many others that called upon me was a man named Thomas Fengar. lie was sexton to one of the churches, and had a large family, and was a very industrious, worthy citi- zen. For eight years he had been a subject of asthma, which had at last entirely broken him down, and prevented his doing any work. The weather was exceedingly inclement. It was with great difficulty that he could walk across the street. I gave 126 PROOFS OF THE him his remedies, and in three weeks from the time I first saw Liin he Copy of a Idler from the Rev. Mr. Barrow to Dr. 8. S. Filch. "Nashville, N. H., Nov. 1st, 1844. " Dr. FITCH Dear sir : " It is but just that I should acknowledge the benefit derived 136 PROOFS OF THE from your treatment. For nearly one year previously to my ap- plying to you, I had been suffering with a difficulty, which my medical advisers pronounced the ' Bronchial,' attended continu- ally \vun a slight cough; my throat and tonsils became inflamed, and the latter much enlarged, until a small portion of one of them was removed by excision ; my cough continued to increase until all medical gentlemen, to whom I applied, pronounced the right lobe of my lungs diseased. In this condition, sir, you found me ; your instructions, together with the good effect of your braces, soon convinced me that my posture in writing had greatly con- duced to my then state of .health. At once I could write half of the day with more ease, with the braces, than one hour without them ; your inhaling tube soon relieved, in a measure, my cough ; arid gave a heavier, smoother, and easier tone to my voice; my feeble and narrow chest, in a few weeks, was enlarged more than one inch. " The relief which I realized soon induced me to fall into care- lessness respecting your prescriptions ; and though my lung diffi- culties have recently revived slightly, it is the result of my own heedlessness, and I am applying again to the tube and braces, as my most efficient remedy. 1 can but think, sir, that your inform, ation and mode of treatment is fraught with great good to the human family, and especially to clergymen, whose habits of study and exposure of lungs need to be guarded and directed by your most important instructions. No speaker, even in health, can use your tube without great advantage; it will give a compass and music to the voice, and learn him to avoid a high, short, unpleas- ant and destructive tone of voice ; and to use those tones which will strengthen the lungs, and thus make speaking itself a means of prolonging rather than shortening life, which I believe to be the true theory. " Most respectfully yours, "L. D. BARROW." CASE VI. Mrs. Himtlnglon. In June, 1844, I was consulted at Hartford, Conn., by Mrs. Iluntington, whom 1 visited at her house. I mention her case in order, as well as for the interest of the case, to introduce another CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 137 in contrast to it. At that time 1 was consulted by Mrs. Hunting- ton, who had very had lungs, and was far advanced in pregnancy ; I gave her her remedies. 1 would remark, that no period is more favorable to healing bad lungs in a female, and 1 have before mentioned, how rapidly consumption proceeds in a lady after she has given birth to a child. If any lady is consumptive, every possible means should be taken to prevent a lapse of lung disease, and increase of it after her child is born. The letter of Mrs. Iluntington speaks for itself. The other case was the following: I think the same week I was consulted by Mrs Huntington, a clergyman, who resided in a small town on the east side uf the Connecticut river, beyond East Hartford, whose wife was some- what consumptive and in the family way, about as far advanced as Mrs. Huntington, having heard of rny lectures at Hartford, came over to that town and called to ask about me of a gentle- man whose brother-in-law had been cured of consumption. This gentleman and the clergyman weie of the same religious persua- sion. After the gentleman had recounted the case of the cure to the clergyman, and explained to him, as far as he knew, the mode of treatment and its striking success, he told the clergyman that if he would walk over to the hotel, the person who had been cured of consumption would give every explanation required ; but so skeptical was the clergyman, that he said he did not believe consumption could ever be cured, and omitted paying any farther attention to the subject, as far as 1 was concerned. In August I saw the lady arid her husband, the clergyman, at AVeathersfield, Conn. Her infant was then four weeks old, but 1 found the mother in rapidly advancing consumption. As 1 could give no positive assurance of recovery, no serious effort was employed for her relief. I only gave her a litlle cough medicine. She died in about three weeks, i think, after 1 saw her. Mrs. Huntington is now, (September, 1846,) in very good health. Copy of a letter from Mr. R. G. H. Huntington, to Dr. S. 8. Fitch "Hartford, Dec. 14, 1*44. " DR. S. S. FITCH My dear sir : " Knowing that you will be pleased to hear of the apparent benefit my wife has derived from the use of your inhaling tub*, PROOFS OF THE cough mixture, liniment, &c., I would state that she having been, fur the last four years, in a feeble state of health, suffering from a combination of complaints, so much so, that at times she has been confined to her room for months, and not unfrequently to her bed, and many remedies having been tried with no perma- nent benefit, we were induced some time about the last of May last, to apply to you, and she commenced the application of the above named remedies. At this time, (six months later,) I am happy to say that she is quite free from cough, and her general health much improved. Her lungs are yet weak and easily overdone ; but I am greatly encouraged to believe that, with a faithful use of the tube, &c., under God, she will yet enjoy her usual health. And I would most cheerfully recommend the use of the inhaling tube to those afflicted with lung affections. "Very respectfully yours, *R. G. H. HUNTING-TON." CASE VII. Mrs. Hurlburt. At Weathersfield, in August, 1844, I was requested to see & Mrs. Hurlburt, who resided in the west part of Weathersfield, about two miles west from the meeting-house. Her physician was Dr. Robison, of Weathersfield. She was represented to me as being in quite an advanced stage of consumption. An emi- nent medical gentleman from Hartford, had the week previously visited Mrs. Hurlburt, in consultation with Dr. Robison. I ac- companied Dr. Robison to her. I found her in what is called quick consumption that is, her lungs were affected pretty much all over them, and large quantities of pus were poured out daily from the internal skin of the lungs, with ulceration in the top of the right lung. She had a bad cough, daily fever, profuse expectoration, raising more than a quart a day, night sweats, great prostration of strength, and cold extremities. In fact, her immediate friends did not suppose she could live one week. I believe Dr. Robison and myself concurred in the opinion, that unless speedily relieved, she would soon die. I gave her reme CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 139 dies, such as the cass seemed to require. Her relief was very prompt. I saw her several times. In three weeks she was able to come down to the gate and converse with me. In a few weeks she was perfectly recovered. Her husband is a respecta- ble farmer. Her recovery is still spoken of in that region as little less than a miracle. Copy of a letter from Mr. James Hurlljurt to Dr. S. S. Filch. Weathersfield, Dec. 15th, 1844. "DR. S. S. FITCH : " Dear sir, In reply to your inquiries, I will tell you that my wife was in poor health, all last spring and summer, with some cough. The fore part of July, her cough became alarming, wiih fever, and every symptom of consumption. Two eminent physi- cians attended her ; but no medicine seemed to help her,- us she sunk very rapidly, until both physicians quite despaired of her recovery, considering her in a rapid consumption. Few persons considered that she could live two weeks: some thought she might not live one week. Such was her situation, when you were called to see her. In twenty-four hours after your first visit, my wife began to improve : in two weeks, she was about her house. By a faithful use of all your remedies, see has perfectly recovered. She imputes her recovery to your timely aid. She, and all her family, as well as myself, send you our best thanks and highest regards. We cannot cease to recommend your prac- tice to all in consumption. " JAMES HURLBURT." CASE VI1L Mr. W. R. Ames. In August, 1843, I was consulted at St. Albans, in Vermont, by a gentleman, who was a watch-maker of that town, and in very bad health. His figure was very stooping. He had a bad cough, raised a good deal ; and, in fact, was in consumption. I gave him his remedies, directions, &c. Six weeks afterwards, I received from him the following letter. At this time, September, 1846, he resides at Malone, N. Y., and enjoys good health. HO PROOFS OF THE Copy of a letter from Mr. W. E. Ames to Dr. S. S. Filch. " St. Albans, Sept. 16th, 1843. "DR. FITCH: "Sir, Jt is with feelings of gratitude, I assure you, that I withdraw a moment from my business, to address you. 1 have neglected to do so for some time, on account of my business calling me from home. But, without further preface, 1 hasten to inform you that my health has very much improved since you were in St. A 1 bans. The pain in my side has left me entirely; and, al- though the pain in my chest and lungs is not entirely removed, yet it is very slight, compared to what it was when you were here. My appetite is good, which has not been the case, for any length of time, within two years. 4k 1 commenced using your remedies soon after you left here ; and have continued to use them nearly up to the present time, [n eight days from the time I commenced using your breathing- tube, 1 gained (by measurement) two inches around the chest ; I began to walk erect, instead of stooping; my appetite began to grow better ; and my health has gradually improved ever since. The change in my appearance is noticed by all around me : and I have been asked how it was, that I, who had been so long an invalid, could have so soon regained my former activity and cheerfulness, I made one sad mistake, in using the tube, when I first commenced ; that is, the first week, in using it too freely. You will recollect, when you were here, I was very thin and poor. Well, not knowing the power of the instrument, 1, as 1 said, used it too freely, and came near pushing my ribs through the skin : at any rate, it made them very sore ; and they are some so yet, though not so bad as they were. I have used up your prescription, and am much better ; but yet I am not well. My chest is yet very weak ; and my lungs, also. I use the tube yet ; but, perhaps, 1 need something else. You can better judge of that than I. 1 am very thankful I have received so much be- nt fit ; but, still, I hope to receive more. 1 should be pleased to have you write me, and give me such advice as you think best. CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 141 My feelings, in kind, are nearly the same as when you were here ; but, in degree, they are not to be compared. " Yours, with respect, " VV. R. AWES " CASE IX. Mr. Mahlon SchencL There is no class of persons whom I am more disposed to re- lieve than the honest hard-working man, of whom I have relieved multitudes. They generally bear disease better, and are cured easier, than the effeminate and luxurious. The following letter is from one of these. lie had been told that he could never re- cover: had lost a great deal of blood from his lungs. He re- covered in a few weeks. Copy of a letter from Mr. Mahlon Schenck to Dr. S. S. Fitch. " Dec. 9th, 1844. "DR. FITCH: " I now take up my pen, to let you know how I am getting along, as I promised to do. When I came to see you, I was about to give up my work for ever : but now, with the help of the Lord, I am able to do a good day's work, which I could not have done. If I had not taken your medicine, I do think I should have been on the bed of death now. I cough some yet. My wife is better than she has been for three years ; and returns thanks to you for your services. I hope that the choicest of Heaven's blessings may attend you, wherever you go. " MAULON SCHENCK. " Bridgeport, Ct." CASE X. Miss Susan A. Sears. In October, 1844, I was consulted at New- Haven, Ct., by a young lady, who was one of those wretched invalids who may be said to be almost universally disordered ; lungs, stomach, bowels, badly affected. She had no hope whatever of recovery. It was 142 PROOFS OP THE two or three weeks before she began to change mucli for the bet- ter. She desponded very greatly. It was difficult to raise even a gleam of hope. However, a consciousness of returning health before long began to diffuse itself through her system. In Oc- tober, 1845, I received the following letter from her. I should say, that when she began her remedies, she was emaciated to a mere skeleton. Copy of a letter from Miss Susan A. Sears to Dr. S. S. Filch. "New-Haven, Oct. 8th, 1845. ''DR. S. S. FITCH: " Dear sir. It is now about one year since I commenced your remedies, being then afflicted with a severe cough, expectoration, pain in my side, dyspepsia, disorder of the bowels, and general debility. I had applied to a number of physicians, who had all pronounced me consumptive, and in all probability should never recover. But when you came to this city, by the advice of my friends, I called to see you, with little or no expectation of being benefitted by medicine, as it had heretofore proved nearly or quite useless. But I am happy to say, that by following your pre- scriptions, I have, by the blessing of God, so far recovered my health, as to attend to the common avocations of life, and to the enjoyment of society and friends : a blessing which a debilitated state of health lias deprived me of for about five years. " Yours, with respect, " SUSAN A. SEARS." CASE XI. Copy of a letter from Mr. George H. Moore to Dr. S. S. Fitch. "Providence, April 1, 1845. " Respected sir, " According to request, I have prepared the following brief statement of my case. At the time I called upon you, I had a very bad cough, coughing severely in the morning, and seve- ral limes a day, or upon any slight exertion, such as drawing CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 113 a pail of water, &c. ; raising a considerable, sometimes streak, ed with blood ; a constant wheezing in my throat ; at times, great difficulty in breathing, not able to take a long breath ; consi- derable soreness in the chest, particularly on the left side ; little appetite ; very poor in flesh, very weak, and not able to do much work, nor take much exercise. This had been the state of my health over two years previous to calling upon you. "It is now thirty-three days since I commenced treatment with you, and my cough does not trouble me any ; I raise but little, and that easily ; seldom troubled with the wheezing; no difficulty in breathing ; no soreness in the chest ; good appetite : very much improved in appearance, strength and flesh, and am able to at- tend to my business constantly, and take any usual exercise with- out inconvenience. " Returning sincere thanks for your attention, I remain, most respectfully, your obedient servant, " GEO. II. MOORE." CASE XII. 717/55 Jane Tyler. In October, 1844, I was consulted at New- Haven by a young lady, the subject of tbis case, aged about seventeen years, who had been out of health for a number of months, having constant daily fever, very quick pulse, pain about the chest, pain in her side, and almost constant cough, or at least a constant liability to it. She could not move or walk, or be the least excited without producing cough. The least change in the air would excite a fit of coughing, such as leaving the parlor and crossing the entry. At night she was very apt to have cough, nor could she go out in the evening to attend any public assemblage, or any private party. Her friends were very much alarmed for her safety. She had taken much medical advice and medicine, without relief. I gave her her remedies; under their influence, her health rapidly im- proved ; the cough and fever left her, and her whole system passed into a state of health. She was soon able to go out in the evening as much as she pleased, and to breathe the pure cold air, not only with impunity, but with great advantage. I saw this young lady in October, 1845. She was in charming health. 114 PROOFS OF THE Copy of a le Her from Miss Jane Tyler to Dr. S. S. Fitch. " New-Haven, June 24th, 1845. DR. S. S. FITCH Sir: " [ received your kind letter on the 23d, inquiring after my health. After yo'i left here I was taken with an influenza, arid my cough seemed to return, which lasted about two weeks ; since then I have been improving. My cough seems to have left me ; also the pain in my side. I continued to take your medicine and follow your direction, which I think has been of great benefit to me. I feel very grateful that I had the pleasure of seeing Dr. Fitch. " Respectfully yours, " JANE TYLER." CASE XIII. Mrs. Mary W. Whillier. At Portland, in the State of Maine, in November, 1845, I was consulted by this lady. She was a very accomplished young married woman. Her husband a respectable merchant of Port- land. She was brought up in delicacy and refinement, and had lost all of her blood relations, or nearly every one, by consump- tion. The last left was a cousin, a young gentleman, who died whilst I was in Portland. Mrs. Whittier now awaited her tur to meet the grasp of the spoiler. She had much pain in he chest, and cough, unable to go out much, and dreaded the cold. After seeing me, and I had obtained a fair share of her confidence, and she had taken her remedies, she met with a stranger who assured her in the most solemn manner that she would certainl be killed by the use of the remedies. She at once called up- me, and I had the means at hand to perfectly re-assure her coi fidence. Her recovery was rapid and satisfactory. Befon leaving Portland, Mr. Whittier gave me a letter. 1 saw Mrs, Whittier several times during the winter, in the enjoyment oJ pleasant health, and as happy a mortal as one would desire see. 1 have often been astonished at the utter want of feeling dii played by some persons in dissuading consumptives from the of remedies for their relief, and especially where this cou CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 145 remedies has cured others. If they do not take the remedies they must die, and if they do employ them, they can only die, and may get well by the change of treatment. Yet there are plenty of people who will dissuade the consumptive before he has procured his remedies, and discourage him after he has done so ; and to break down his confidence and destroy his hopes, will retail to him the most absurd falsehoods. " Portland, Nov. 30, 1845. " DR. S. S. FITCH Dear sir : " I am happy to improve this opportunity of expressing to you my perfect satisfaction with the course you have pursued in the case of my wife. The beneficial effects of your remedies have far exceeded our most sanguine expectations. Three weeks since, before she consulted you, I felt that the disease, which had carried five of her nearest relations to an early grave, had marked her for a sure victim. Since using the remedies pre- scribed by you, there has been almost an entire change in her health, for the better, as it regards breathing the cold air, appe- tite, strength, &c. I have the fullest confidence, that, by strict attention to your rules, she will eventually regain her health. "My wife joins with me, in cordial wishes for your future happiness and prosperity. " I remain, my dear sir, with much gratitude, " Yours, very respectfully, " SM'L. T. WHITTIER." " Portland, March 30, '46. " DOCT. S. S. FITCH My dear sir : " I was made very anxious a few weeks since, as it was told me you were dangerously ill. I could not feel reconciled to the thought of your being taken from your friends now, although I know our Heavenly Father, who cannot err, would do all things right. I was then about writing to you, but supposing you was not able to attend to your patients, wrote to Mr. Thompson for some medicines I wanted, and also for Mrs. E. He has informed me that you are better, and I cannot express to you how very happy I am to know that you are now quite well. I am r 146 PROOFS OF THE very well except a bad cold, which has given me a troublesome, hard cough for four or five weeks. I think it better for a few days past. My general health is very much improved. The pain in my chest is not so severe, or of so long continuance, when I have an attack. I have not been troubled much with canker since I saw you. I feel I cannot be sufficiently grateful for the good health I enjoy. I feel as if your life must be prolonged, to be a blessing to others as well as myself. The expectorant and powders for a cough do not relieve me much. The liniment is the best I ever had. I should like another phial of it. Mr. Staples mentioned a cough balsam you gave him, that was very good ; I should like to try the effect of it, if you think best. Mr. S, was very feeble when I saw him have not heard of his death. He was very grateful for the relief your remedies afforded him. Miss Merill died last week. Mrs. E. has been better this winter than for three that are past. She said when I saw her, that she only saw you once, and did not receive as much medicine as you intended she should have. She has never taken any that relieved her so much. She would like some more of the same. If you send me some, you may put hers in the same package, and direct to S. Whittier. I hope 1 shall not weary you with my long letter. Shall we not be made glad by seeing you next summer, if we live. You have many friends here. Please send me one word or line, and tell me how you do, if you are able to. " In haste, yours, with the kindest regard, " MARY W. WHITTIER." CASE XIV. Master George W. Roberts. In January, 1846, I was at Newburyport, in Mass., and was requested to see a young lad, who was about fifteen years old, an only child. He had been sick for upwards of three years, and at this time did not go out at all could set up only a part of every day. The top of his right lung ulcerated. He raised a great deal, and had a most harrassing cough, and although the weather was very cold, yet he was obliged to sit up two-thirds of every night. His case seemed to invite but little hope, as he CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 147 shad been so long ill, and his system was so prostrated. But his iconfidence was boundless. He used his remedies faithfully. I ineed not say that no person expected he could recover. His physicians had left him entirely, considering his case hopeless. Within three weeks I had so far calmed his disease as to allow him full sleep at night, and to be more or less out of doors in the day time. In March I received the following letter. I believa at this time, September, 1846, he is in fair health. " Newburyport, March 1st, 1846. ; DR. FITCH : Sir, I take pleasure in communicating through you to ua fflicted public, the astonishing effect your medicine has had upon me. I have not enjoyed perfect health for the last three years. Much of the time I have been reduced very low, so as to be given up by my physicians. They thought my liver was so consumed hat it was beyond the power of medicine to cure me. Some re- used to give medicine, saying it would have no effect ; that I jould not live but a short time at the longest, and perhaps might ive a little longer without .taking any medicine, excepting a rest- ng powder. So I left off taking any other medicine (or all other medicines), and I think I felt a little better (for my medicines ge- aerally made me feel very bad.) I was so that I was able to go out. I went out and took a slight cold ; was taken down to my >ed again. My cough increased, my appetite failed me. For many months I was obliged to be bolstered up in my bed. I could not lie down in bed on account of my cough ; if I did, it was ittended with severe coughing spells. I raised a good deal, was troubled with night sweats. I had given up all hopes of )eing any better supposed I very soon must die. I was in this situation when I heard of your arrival in this place. I had heard of the astonishing cures you had performed, and felt anxious to see you ; and, by the blessing of God, I am happy to say I owe my life to you, and tho health I enjoy. I applied all of your re- tnedies according to directions, and felt greatly relieved in a short time. My night sweats disappeared, my cough grew better, my appetite increased, my strength was greatly increased. I con- tinue the remedies. I now can lie down in bed, and sleep all 143 PROOFS OF THE night ; am able to go out, and take several walks during the day. I have faith to believe that your medicines will entirely cure me. All of your medicine has had an astonishing effect upon all that have been taking it in this place. Your patients, so far as I have been able to learn, are doing extremely well. We all feel very anxious to have you visit this place again. I feel very anxious t( hear from you. Please write when you think of visiting this place again. If you do not think of visiting this place, you must write without fail. " I remain your obliged friend, " GEORGE W. ROBERTS." CASE XV. Miss Brown. " Providence, Rhode Island, April, 1845. " DR. FITCH : " Dear Sir, You have been the means of restoring my daughter's health (by your braces, supporter, and medicine), in a great measure, and I think will entirely cure her, if she follows your advice. She has taken a grea.t deal of medicine from a number of different physicians, and received no benefit till she commenced yours. It is with heartfelt gratitude that I return thanks to you, that you have been permitted to visit this place, and have been the means, through Divine Providence, of doing so much good to the afflicted. Oh ! how nearly may you imi- tate the example of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is given you ' to heal the sick,' and how truly may you with healing mercies 'go about doing good.' Like Luke, 'the beloved physician,' you may both live and write for God. May success crown your every effort, and oh ! may your life yet be prolonged in prospe- rity and happiness, until you abate the deadly foe, consumption, that sweeps our land annually of its thousands. " Yours, respectfully, " ANNA BROWN." CASE XVI. Rev. William Livesey. In February, 1845, I was consulted at Providence, R. L, CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 149 the subject of the following case, a highly esteemed and valuable clergyman of the Methodist persuasion, English by birth, and re- siding at Warren, R. I. On inquiring into his case, I found that he had not been able to preach 1 believe for three years, and vvas the subject of pulmonary consumption. He had an enormous ulcer in the upper part of the middle portion of the right lung ; the top of the left lung was also diseased. I told him the exact situation of his lungs, and that considerable doubt of his recovery existed in my mind, but, if he chose, he might employ the reme- dies, and we would leave the result to God. At the end of four or five weeks his health began to improve. I saw him in Julv, '45, at Fall River. He told me he considered himself well. He was in the full discharge of his clerical duties, and had preached as many as three times a Sunday. Knowing, as I did, how very delicate a recently healed lung is, and how readily inclined to fall into a relapse, if the remedies are neglected, I cautioned the Rev. gentleman, whom I greatly esteemed for his usefulness and moral worth, on no account to relax his remedies, for, if he did do so before the lungs were restored to perfect soundness, and all ten- derness and debility removed from them, they were liable to be- come diseased, that he must expect to continue his efforts for himself for three years to come, and this he could do and be in the enjoyment of health, and fulfil to a reasonable extent the du- ties of his profession. His letter tells the rest. I have not heard from him since I received the letter. "Warren, R. I., Nov. 26th, 1845. " S. S. FITCH, M. D. : , " Dear sir, Yours of the 24th was received last evening ; and I hasten to answer it, in the best manner I can ; regretting, however, it had not come to hand some time ago. I would state here, that when I first saw you, in February last, I was judged by my friends, and several eminent physicians whom I had con- sulted, to be in an advanced stage of consumption. The upper lobe of both lungs had been diseased for some time ; the right for nearly two years. I had a very distressing cough, and most of the symptoms attending that disease ; a loss of strength, and great emaciation. After commencing the use of your medi- 150 PROOFS OF THE cine, and following your directions, I began to amend. My cough abated ; night sweats subsided ; I could sleep well ; gained my strength, and, in a great measure, my flesh. I could preach once on the Sahbath, without feeling any inconvenience ; and sometimes twice, but generally felt fatigued after. I thought myself almost well ; and think I should have been entirely so, if I had continued faithfully to use your remedies. But I must here make a confession : as I improved in health, I grew remiss in the use of the remedies ; and taking an agency, which neces- sarily took me away from home most of the time, I found it in- convenient sometimes, and, of course, in a great measure, left off the use of the means. I continued improving until about the last of September, when I took a very severe cold, by putting on some clothes that were damp. By a careful use of the means, I kept it irom my lungs, and seemed to recover, but not fully ; and being from home, with a distressing pain in my head, distress at my stomach and chest, was induced to send to a physician for an emetic, which I unfortunately took. It was antimony, and operated but little, as an emetic, but severely as a cathartic ; and, occurring in the night, I had frequent discharges of blood; and it left me very much debilitated, with an entire loss of appe- tite. I took two Dover's powders of the doctor, to relieve the pain in my intestines ; but these threw me into a violent paroxysm of asthma, and irritated my cough. I found, if I did not leave for home shortly, I should hardly get there. Returning, I took another cold, which settled on my lungs ; and what with loss- of appetite, &c., I have since been running down, for three weeks. Weak, and thin of flesh, restless nights, and tearing cough, I al- most despaired. Since taking a little tonic, in the form of elder- berry syrup, I find myself better : my appetite improves; my cough abates ; and I feel more strength, and more encourage- ment. I think the emetic did me serious injury, arid will take some time to gel over it. I have some of your medicines, which I am again using. I have a little of the Nervine, of the Expec- torant, and the Pulmonary Balsam ; also some brown and yellow powders I do not use, which you first gave me. I have felt so much better, for three or four days, that I begin to hope again that I may recover. I feel it a duty to give you the above infor- CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 151 mation, to clear you and your medicines from being in any man- ner accountable for the failure of the cure in my case. " I have an aversion to my name appearing before the public, in almost any form; nevertheless, I have not the least hesitation in saying that, from my acquaintance with you, as far as I have been able to form an opinion, I have the fullest confidence in your candor and integrity, as a man, and a gentleman ; and, as to your mode of treatment and prescriptions, for pulmonary diseases, I think them superior to any other I have met with ; and should feel entire confidence in submitting myself, or my friends, to your care, believing that, if within the reach of any remedies, yours would be the most efficacious in affording relief. " I am, affectionately, yours, &c., " WILLIAM LIVESEY. " N. B. I should be glad to hear from, and receive any ad- vice you may think needful ; and, could I know where a letter would find you, in a month from this time, I would write you further particulars of my state of health. W. L." CASE XVII. MM Cynthia R. Ward. In April, 1845, I saw Miss Ward at New Bedford, Mass. She was the daughter of Jonathan R. Ward, a respectable and well known citizen of that place. Miss Ward was in the sixteenth year of her age. She had been sick many months, with true pulmonary consumption. She had always been scrofulous. Na- ture, with her, had ceased for some time. So reduced was she, and so overcome, that she fainted, after I had examined her chest. On examining the chest, I found the top of both lungs tubercula- ted and ulcerated. She had a very bad cough, raised ulcera- ted matter every day ; had daily fever, night sweats, and mo- derate appetite. Her situation was the more alarming, as she had lost two aunts by this dreadful, and to her most dreaded, dis- ease consumption. Her case was, of course, very doubtful. I, however, gave her her remedies, and all the encouragement in my power. Her recovery was very rapid. On the 12th of June she gave me the following letter. I saw her again near the end of October, 1845. Her nature had become regular; shs 152 PROOFS OF THE was ruddy and fleshy, had no cough, and was in perfect health ; perfectly able to walk, to exercise, and perform any duties in the house she pleased. In January, 1846, I was at Portsmouth, N. H., and, in a public lecture, mentioned the names of Miss Ward and her father. A gentleman deeply interested in the question of the cure of consumption, wrote to Mr. Ward, to as- certain the correctness of my statements in regard to his daugh- ter's case ; and received the letter which follows that of his daughter. After the gentleman in Portsmouth had read the let- ter, and showed it 'to his friends, he gave it to me. Copy of a letter from Miss Cynthia R. Ward to Dr. S. S. Fitch. "New.Bedford, June 12th,- 1845. "DR. S. S. FITCH: " Dear Sir, In December last, 1844, 1 took a bad cold, which I neglected, and which soon became a confirmed cough, and set- tled on my lungs. Several physicians attended me, but no re- lief. The disease gradually and insidiously advanced. All my friends doubted of my recovery. I had a poor appetite, constant cough, night sweats, raising a good deal, &c., had always been scrofulous, great loss of flesh and strength, in fact, not expected to live four months. I first saw you on April 21st, 1845. I am now, June 12th, all but entirely well ; no pain, very little cough, some days none ; appetite good, headache all gone, no night sweats, sleep well, and, in fact, feel as well as ever in my life. All my friends rejoice with me in my happy recovery. I have gained many pounds of flesh, and all my good looks, and must recommend your practice. CYNTHIA R. WARD." Copy of a letter from J. R. Ward, Esq., to Samuel L. Cleaves. "New-Bedford, Dec. 19th, 1845. " SAMUEL L. CLEAVES : " Sir, Yours of the 16th came to hand last evening, and I hasten to answer your inquiries relative to Dr. Fitch. " The first knowledge I had of him was early last spring ; he was then giving free lectures on consumption, its treatment, &c. I did not go to hear him, thinking it a mere money-catch- ing concern. At the time I hail a daughter sixteen years old, CURE OP CONSUMPTION. 153 apparently fast going down with consumption. It was suggest, ed to me by my wife, to call upon him, relative to her case. I had no confidence in him, and therefore did not at first assent, but on further consideration yielded to my wife's solicitations, think, ing it would ease both of our minds to think we did all we could, although she might not live. The Doctor prescribed. The pre- scriptions were attended to> and she gradually mended* Her bad cough was soon eased, and finally, in a few weeks, entirely left her; her appetite and strength returned, and in less "than three months, she was apparently as well as ever ; she is now smart and active, and goes out in almost any tolerable weather. When here, he had many patients, and, 1 believe, there was not any evil report concerning him. He had the character of a candid and honest man. He did not promise to help all that applied, but 1 believe that almost all that he promised to help, acknowledge that they are helped. And although, in a population of sixteen thousand, I cannot know but a few, yet of that few I have a per- sonal knowledge of several of my friends, out of my family, that have been cured by his advice, medicines and apparatus, who speak well, and affectionately, and enthusiastically of him. In fine, we ' speak well of the bridge that carried us safe over/ and ' judge of the tree by its fruit.' I fully and firmly believe, that, under God, he was the instrument of thus far saving the life of my daughter, which was fast wearing away. I never saw him to know him from any other person, but I think, should he ever visit our town again, I should certainly try to see him, " Yours respectfulry, " J. R. WARD. " P. S. Among those that he cured beside my daughter, is Mrs. Martha Rowland, a cousin of mine, who had been long sick, and pining away. Her health is now good, and she is now bright and active. Also Mrs. Harriet Taber : she says she is as well as ever, and her looks confirm what she says. J. R. W." I have now a painful and distressing duty to perform in fol- lowing out the results of this case* I left her hi October, 1845, in perfect health ; but, as I had mentioned before, her lungs be- ing recently healed, were very tender, and readily liable to re- 154 PROOFS OF THE lapse from any cause tending to destroy the lungs. This liabil- ity to relapse will continue from eighteen months to three years, more or less, as the persons are delicate or robust, and as the health and perfection of the lungs is more or less perfectly re- Stored. After this takes place, and the lungs of the consumptive become sound, they are apt to continue through a long period of years totally exempt from pulmonary disease, or any liability to it. I told you that nature with Miss Ward was at times irregu- lar, arid this in young ladies is a terrible calamity, and most fear- fully predisposes to consumption. I told you Miss Ward was regular in this respect when I saw her in October. November came with it irregularity ; and so did December, January, Fe- bruary, and March. Early in March, her father wrote me a letter, informing me of this circumstance, and that his daughter's health had very much declined, and that she had great hoarseness, some cough, much prostration of strength, and strong indications of confirmed consumption. It was riot now too late to save her, but I was then on a wasting bed of sickness, and not much expected to recover from a long continued fever, which continued so long that the letter was not shown to me until the next June. I then directed a note to be written to Mr. Ward, explaining the reason of my not attending to his letter, and asking his daughter's situa- tion, that I might assist her again, if possible. I received an answer that she died on the 22d of May, 1846. A little assistance at the proper time, and this young lady, barring accidents, might have lived to old age. Irregularities of nature must not be allowed in young ladfes, for, if long continued, it will find for them an early grave. No one more deeply sympathizes with her parents tfian myself. CASE XVI1L Mr. Thaddeus Barnes. In October, 1844, I was consulted at New-Haven, Ct., by the subject of the following case. His father died of consumption, and "n every respect he was, himself, highly consumptive in ap- pearance. He was about twenty-four years of age. He had been declining in health for two years ; he was extremely ema- CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 155 elated ; his face was white as a sheet, the complexion perfectly blanched ; he had a bad cough ; raised considerable every day, and frequently raised blood ; the morning I saw him he had raised considerable blood. His friends had no hope of his re- covery, and he had very little himself. His recovery was very satisfactory. I heard from him about eighteen months after, and that he was in good health. I saw him in October, 1845, twelve months after he called on me. He was then in fine health and spirits. I saw him again on October 28th, 1846, in good health. Copy of a letter from Mr. Thaddeus Barnes to Dr. S. S. Fitch. " New-Haven, Oct. 8th, 1845. " Dr. S. S, FITCH : " Dear sir, I cheerfully comply with your request for a con- cise account of my situation, previous to my acquaintance with yourself, and your remedies. For some two years I had felt that my health was gradually declining, and for some eight or ten months, prior to your vasit to New-Haven, my friends had become quite alarmed at my symptoms. My hands and feet were al- ways cold. A constant hacking cough had produced extreme soreness in the chest, together with bleeding from the lungs at seven or eight different periods. My flesh was wasting away, and my strength so far gone that ascending a flight of stairs with more than ordinary haste, would completely exhaust me. In fine, my friends were bold to tell me I had thef consumption. This was and had been my situation at and before your visit to our city. After placing myself under your treatment, I very soon began to improve. In two months I had gained ten or twelve pounds of flesh. My cough was silenced in about one week, and I have never been troubled with it since. Without detailing further, I can say my health has been good most of the time since I commenced with your remedies. Believing, sir, that you was the means of my restoration to health, I subsc ribe myself, " Yours, under lasting obligations, "THADDEJS BARNES." 156 PROOFS OF THE CASE XIX. Miss Mary D. Angett. The subject of this case, a beautiful young lady, consulted me at Providence, R. I., on the fifth of March, 1845. This young lady was the last of her family, her father having died of con- sumption. A young sister died some years before of some sudden ung or throat disease, and another and only sister, her constant companion, being nearly of her age, had died of consumption in July previous, 1844. She had constant cough, much fever, raised matter daily, and at times there was blood. She had also hectic fever and night sweats. I do not believe she had one friend or ac- quaintance who thought she could survive much beyond the period of her sister's death. Her interesting age, her beauty and her danger, made a powerful impression upon my feelings. I gave her her remedies, and strong hopes of recovery. Her mo- ther privately said to me, " Tell me exactly what you think of my daughter, as I have given up every hope of her recovery, and do not wish you to give me the least encouragement, unless you feel certain she will live." Her lungs were highly congested, besides suffering from tubercles and ulceration. In July following, in place of the habiliments of the grave, wedding dresses were pre- pared for her. She is at this time in excellent healt'h. " Providence, June 16th, 1845. " DR. S. S. FITCH Sir : " I take the greatest pleasure in informing you, that after six months of cough and all indications of consumption, my father's death, and a dear sister, who died of consumption, in July, 1844, had induced me to expect their fate. All my friends and mother pretty much gave me up as soon to die. In March last, 15th, you saw me ; I took your remedies ; 1 was then weak, lost flesh, constant cough, raised a good deal, and raised blood, and some pain in the side. In sixty days all vestige of disease left me ; not a bit of cough for five weeks past. I am now in most perfect health, flesh and looks. " I must recommend your practice, from my own happy ex- perience of its delightful and happy effects. " My mother and all my friends, with myself, give you our best thauka, " Miss ANGELL." CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 157 CASE XX. Miss Sarah G. Nickerson. In April, 1845, I was consulted at New-Bedford by this young lady, who resided at Fair Haven, opposite New-Bedford. I re- lieved her entirely from the indisposition under which she had labored for some years. I returned to New-Bedford in June, and found a letter at the Hotel, requesting, should I come to New-Bed- ford, to call over and see this young lady. I will now remark, that every physician should be a master of medical remedies. His mind should be expanded to successfully meet every case, and learn judiciously to diversify his treatment. Some physicians are so stupid as to use the same set of remedies perhaps an hun- dred successive times, and always without success, seeming not to know how to diversify their practice. 1 found Miss Nickerson in a very deplorable state of health. She had had a very severe pleurisy upon the right side, and inflammation of the right lung ; and this had continued for upwards of three weeks, until nearly every hope of recovery had vanished. The day before I called, she had, in the most aiFecting manner, intimated to her friends, that she thought she could live but a short time, and in this they all concurred. She had constant burning fever," total loss of ap- petite, incessant cough, dry and hot skin, cold feet, great pros- tration of strength, wretched sleepless nights, and much pain over the right side. She had taken a great deal of medicine, un- til it seemed as if she could take no more, so prostrated had she become, and so injured was the tone of her stomach. She had been blistered very much upon her side ; horrid tartar emetic sores had been made upon her side and breast, and finally, to shut out all air from her chest, the whole chest was covered with oil- silk ; but beneath the silk were plasters, salves, and an abun- dance of sores. On examining the chest, scarcely any air enter- ed the right lung ; the lung seemed to be utterly closed up. Every remedy had seemed to have failed of conferring any bene- fit. All this, joined with complete prostration of strength, seemed to make the case almost hopeless. In addition, she had been deli- cately brought up, and was of rather effeminate habits. I, however, did not despair of her recovery, and told her so. It was a warm afternoon when I saw her. I told her at six o'dock to put her 158 PROOFS OF THE feet in very hot water, and keep them there until they were perfectly warm, and until the blood circulated freely through the lower extremities, and to raise the heat, if possible, to produce general perspiration. After this had been accomplished, I re- quested her to remove every thing from the chest, oil-silk, plas- ters, salve, and every thing of the kina, as much as possible; and after that was done, to dip a moderately sized linen table-cloth in cold water, and wrap up the chest, and indeed the whole person ; then to place herself in bed and be covered up warm. I directed her to keep on the wet cloth for three hours, then take it off and be sponged over with cold salt and water ; then be wiped and rubbed dry, and placed pleasantly in bed. I also gave her such medicines as I thought suitable for her case. The use of the wet cloth, as first directed, I recommended to be used in the same way every evening, until all pain and soreness should have left the chest, and all fever been dispelled from the system ; and after this, to wash her person all over, every day, with cold salt and water ; to go out as soon as possible, and to wear no more clothing about her chest than was comfortable; to put no more oil- silk or plasters upon it ; and finally, as soon as she found the side relieved of pain, and the fever somewhat dispelled, to use her in- haling tube in the freest manner, so as to open and expand the collapsed lung. In one week I received a letter from her, stating that she was much better in six, she visited me at Fall River, in company with a female friend, who required my assistance. Miss Nickerson was then in blooming health. I should have re- marked in the proper place, that when I told them to wrap her up in a wet cloth, they were as much astounded as if I had told them to kill her, nor would it have been adopted had she not before have tried nearly every other remedy without success, and had she not have previously experienced benefit from my prescriptions. I saw her in the following October. She enjoyed the finest health. Copy of a letter from Miss Sarah G. Nickerson to Dr. S. S. Filch. " Fairhaven, July 18th, 1845. "DR. FITCH: " Respected friend, In answer to your kind inquiry con- corning my health, I am happy to inform you of its rapid improve- CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 159 ment. You doubtless recollect the situation you found me in when you so kindly and unexpectedly called. Suffering with a constant pain in my side and across the chest, and in my shoul- ders, a dry hard cough, shortness of breath, a burning fever, and entire debility, I felt myself sinking fast, and the only encou- raging words said to me by my physicians and friends were, * The warm weather is in your, favor.' You, sir, like some kind angel commissioned by Heaven, declared I might yet live. After fol- lowing your prescriptions two or three days, I could rest sweetly all night, which I had not done before for many weeks, and my appetite, which was entirely gone, was completely restored, my cough ceased, and the soreness of my lungs and chest disap- peared. I am gaining in strength and weight ; and I will add. the benefit I have received from your medicines, together with the shoulder brace and inhaling tube, cannot be expressed. " I therefore most cheerfully recommend to all similarly afflicted with myself, your remedies, and would advise them not to give up to consumption's fatal grasp until they have given them a trial. " And now, kind sir, please accept my warmest thanks for your kindness ; and that Heaven's richest blessings may rest on you and yours is the sincere wish of your friend, " SARAH G. NICKERSON." CASE XXL Mr. Jeduthan Thompson. In the latter part of October, 1844, at New-Haven, Ct., I was most particularly requested by Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Storer to visit a gentleman, a friend of theirs, who was very low in consump- tion ; but, said Mrs. Storer, " I do not know that it will be of the least use, but it would be a great gratification to us, and to the sick person and his family. " Mr. and Mrs. Storer had heard me lecture. Mr. Storer is the editor of a newspaper in New-EIaven. A few evenings after I went to Mr. Storer's to see the gentleman Jeduthan Thompson. Mr. Thompson was about 37 years of age. His health had been declining for about one year, attended with very considerable pain in the chest. Six or eight weeks before I saw him he was taken with bleeding from his lungs, followed by severe cough, fever, great expectoration of matter from the lungs 160 PROOFS OP THE and universal prostration of strength. A very respectable phy- sician attended him, and another eminent physician had visited him in consultation with his attending physician. Their united conclusions were, that he was fast hastening to his grave. No medical remedies that had been employed seemed to exert any salutary influence whatever. His feet and lower extremities were icy-cold to his body. He was very greatly emaciated, expe- rienced much daily fever, had a very bad cough, and raised a great deal. Some time afterwards, his wife told me she did not think he could have lived six weeks. On examining his chest, I found a large ulcer in the top of the right lung ; the top of the left lung was also somewhat affected, and he was very much emaciated. I gave Mr. Thompson his remedies. In two or three weeks he came to the hotel to see me. The next June he visited me at Newport, R. I., and continued with me until March, 1846. Under my direction his health constantly improved, until he be- came a very healthy man. I received a letter from him this day, (October 30, 1846,) in which he says his health has not been bet- ter for ten years. Eleazar T. Fitch, Esq., is one of the Profes- sors in Yale College. Mr. Thompson is a very upright, worthy man. Copy of a letter from Mr. Jedulhan Thompson to Dr. S. S. Fitch. " In September last, I was taken with bleeding at the lungs, and had three very severe spells within the space of three days, which occasioned much loss of blood. I lay for several weeks on my back, unable to get up, and was obliged to take all my nourishment from a spoon, just as I lay. I was troubled with a severe pain, running from my breast to my back, a sickness at my stomach, and a head-ache. My lungs appeared, from the dis* charges by expectoration, to be badly ulcerated, and I was troubled with a severe cough. My feet and legs were very cold, my appetite gone, and my physicians gave but little hope of my ever being any better. I lay in this way for five or six weeks, when Dr. Fitch came to see me. After I commenced following his prescriptions I could perceive a change for the better. The foot-bath relieved that coldness in my feet, and by the use of the CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 161 balsam, tube, and brace, I have obtained such a mitigation of rny cough and other complaints, that I enjoy my meals and my sleep, and anxable to travel about with comfort, though not yet strong enough to labor. " JEDTJTHAN THOMPSON. " New Haven, June 23d, 1845." " From my knowledge of many of the facts contained in the above statement, and from my confidence in the character of Mr. Thompson, I can vouch for the whole narrative as true. " ELEAZAR T. FITCH." " Having visited Mr. Thompson in company with Doct. Fitch, the first time he called to prescribe for him, I can testify to the accuracy of the above statement. And it affords me unfeigned pleasure to see Mr. T. so far recovered from his illness, (through Dr. F.'s means, as I believe,) as to be able to travel. " WM. STOKER. "New Haven, June 24, 1845.' CASE XXII. Mr. Alfred M. Beck. In December, 1845, I was consulted at Portmouth, N. H., by the above-named gentleman, who is well known in Portsmouth, and is a respectable citizen of that city. He had lost a brother of consumption, and was of a consumptive family. His coun- tenance was very bad. His right lung was very badly ulcerated. He had a truly grave-yard cough, raised a good deal, and blood at times. Pain about the chest, difficulty of breathing at night, and short breath, night sweats, &c. &c. Although given up by his physicians, and advised " to go to his room and die I" still he persisted in going out very much, and in all weathers, not allowing himself to keep in-doors but very little, indeed as little as possible. I gave him his remedies, which he used with care. In June following, 1846, in a letter to me, he says, " Is it possible that I am well! I have not coughed once in two weeks." 1 add a .etter from him, dated October, 1846. 163 PROOFS OF THE " Portsmouth, N. H., Oct. 27th, 1846. " Dear sir, I was glad to hear from you that your health was restored. My health, during the summer, has been very good : I have, at times, a cough in the morning, and at night, when I first lay down, and it has been growing worse until within a week. A week ago I resumed taking the panacea and pulmonary powder. I left off taking the medicines, as I felt or thought I was well, last April, and have taken none until within a few days. I have no cough through the day ; it is only in the morning that I have a round turn at it. I do not raise much when I do cough. At all e\ents, I have to say, that I began to mend and get well after you commenced upon me. Though our physicians laugh at it, I do think that to you, as a human instrument, I owe now my present state of good health. Although I am not now a robust man, still I am about my daily business ; and you must remember that my friends and others, the time you said you could get me well, said it was impossible, if you could cure me, you could do what no other man could do. The tube, braces, and cold water, I have never given up. The tube I use every day ; the braces and sup- porter I leave off occasionally, and think I feel as well with the supporter off as when it is on. " I want to just say, that one of our doctors told me the other day, that he should have prescribed for me as you did, but that my lungs were not now, and he does not think they ever were, diseased ; that my complaint was in the throat. ' When doctors disagree,' &c. I have not, in consequence of sickness, lost the first day since I applied to you, and I have followed your advice as near as I could from that time to this, and it would give me much pleasure to see and shake you by the hand once more. My prayers and best wishes go with you One thing is sure, you have many strong friends here ; those who speak and tell that you helped them. You recollect old Mr. Hall, the painter, completely done up. as every body thought : why, the old man, after going through your course, has renewed his age, and, for what I see, may live many a day yet. He has worked much of the summer at his trade " Yours, in the bonds of affection, " A. M. BECK." CURE OF CONSUMPTION. 163 Copy of another letter from Mr. Beck to Dr. S. S. Filch. " Portsmouth, N. H., Nov. 6th, 1846. " Dear sir, It gives me pleasure to answer yours last received ; and it also gives great satisfaction, as it would any man who had been so much benefitted by another as I have by you, to say so. When I was advised by my friends to call upon you, I will be honest and say, that I had no expectation of your doing me good, for the reason that by my physician I was pronounced incurable, and in him I had the utmost confidence. My cough was so severe, that I was obliged to lean myself against the wall whenever at- tacked. My nights were spent in misery, night sweats pro- fusely, and startling dreams, shortness of breath, and such a violent pain in the chest and side, that the bed to me was dreaded : in fact, during the day, when I would throw myself down through fa gue on the bed or sofa, if I caught sleep, I awaked covered wL i sweat. With such symptoms, and growing weaker daily, I could see no chance for recovery ; but thank Heaven, I did hear to my friends, but with little or no faith, that you could do me good. I called, the result is known to my friends, and I am now, by following your advice, in what I must call good health. Since I began to follow your directions, I have been gaining ; and allow me to say, while I am spared as a monument of God's mercy, some of my friends who were ailing, and did not, as they were advised, call upon you, are now beyond the art of cure, passed from this to a better world, I trust. " My dear sir, I shall never forget you ; the kind and encourag- ing words you gave, the precision with which you pointed out nty case, and the medicines you administered, are enough to sa- tisfy me you have been spared and raised, as it were, from the bed of death, to be a benefactor to mankind ; and thousands will yet send up prayers, that your life and health may be precious in the sight of Him, without whose notice * not a sparrow falls to the ground.' " In affection, yours, A. M. BECK." 164 PROOFS OF THE CURE OF CONSUMPTION. CONCLUSION. With these cases, ladies and gentlemen, I conclude my lee- ture upon the proofs of the cure of pulmonary consumption. That some of you may believe, and many disbelieve, I have no doubt. Were you to ask for more cases, I could give you hun- dreds of others ;* but I have not time to read them to you ; nor have you time to read them, were more placed in your hands. The cases are marked, important, and were not done in a corner. Should you feel any personal interest in their truth, it is the easiest thing in the world to verify or disprove the state- ments, by appealing to the persons themselves, or to their friends. With these remarks, I leave the subject in your hands, hoping that, if you, or any of your friends, are attacked with pulmonar r consumption, or are predisposed to it, that you will never despa.r either of its prevention or cure, but apply promptly to the means I have indicated, and thus save your own lives, or those of your friends. * I have now twenty-four volumes of manuscript notes of cases of my patients. FLORA THOMPSON, Died at Nashua, in North Carolina, in the year 1908, aged 150 years. LECTURE FOURTH. TO LADIES, ONLY. On the mode of forming a fine Chest, a fine erect Carriage, and Walk. On the manner of procuring a clear and beautiful Com- plexion, without art. On the causes of Lung, Liver, and Stom- ach Diseases, in Ladies, and on the Cause of Female Diseases, with their prevention and cure ; and finally, on the best mode of obtaining perfect Symmetry of Figure, and of forming and fortify- ing the Female Constitution, so as to preserve Health and Beauty to the latest attainable periods of life. LADIES : It always gives me the greatest pleasure to address you on the important subject of health. It is a most painful fact, that, from a multiplicity of causes, some of which will be enumerated in this lecture, the length of female life is greatly abridged in this country. In fact, multitudes of ladies are cut oft* in the very be- ginning of adult life, and by a variety of agents, whose influ- ences and injurious effects can be entirely obviated ; and some of the most prominent, instead of being instruments of destruc- tion, as they now are, may, by a little knowledge, be converted into instruments of the highest good. The duration of female life ought to equal that of men ; but, in many sections, it would seem to be less. In the southern States, a vast many men, who attain to 45 or' 50 years of age, in that time lose two, and some three or four wives. The human frame is a machine, or the trunk of the body may be said to be a box, full of machinery. The operations and life of this machinery is capable of continuing a great many more years than it usually does. It ought to move always one hun- dred years, and may go on to one hundred and fifty or one hun- dred and sixty years, and probably more. To prove this to be :rue, I have only to present to you cases of persons who have 168 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. lived to that age. God is not unjust and partial ; he has not made one to live one hundred and sixty years, and another cannot live more than twenty or thirty. No, we are all made alike; and if cut off prematurely, it is, probably in nearly all cases, our own fault. I believe, that any lady who dies much short of one hundred years, it is the result of accident, and not incidental to old age. The machine needs only to be kept in repair, and it will continue its operations and life to a vast many years, and with age, the full enjoyments of life. The Countess of Desmond died in England some years ago, at the age of one hundred and forty years. Her age is well au- thenticated by official papers. Margaret Forster died in Cum- berland. England, in 1771, aged one hundred and thirty-six years. Flora Thomson died at Nashua, in North Carolina, in 1808, at the age of one hundred and fifty years. A great number of persons attended her funeral. A woman died at Knoxville, Tennessee, in the year 1835, aged one hundred and fifty-four years. She was a German woman, and came to this country, and was sold in North Carolina for her passage from Germany. It was a custom in those days for poor emigrants in this way to pay their passage, by being articled, or indentured, or hired out, for a longer or shoiter period, until their passage was paid. By these papers, sbe was known to have been thirty-five years old when she arrived, and to have lived one hundred and nineteen years after. Flora Forbes was living in the Highlands of Scotland, a short time ago, at the age of one hundred and twenty-five years, and I believe is still living. She witnessed the battle of Culloden in 1745, and was then twenty-seven years old. 'here is a woman now living in Norfolk, Virginia, in good nealth, who is one hundred and twenty-two years old. There was living, six months ago, in the city of Moscow, in Russia, a woman who was one hundred and fifty -seven years old. She had had five husbands. These cases, and a vast many more I could adduce, show con- clusively, that the female frame is made to endure a vast many more years than it now lasts : that, in place of dying, as multi- tudes do, at twenty-five to thirty, they may live to nearly one LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 169 hundred years ; that the average of the female life., in place of thirty years, ought to be and might be one hundred years. You that are frail and delicate, may see, by the ages others have at- tained, how much you may hope for. If you carefully pursue the means which are actually known to operate efficiently in sup- porting your health and constitution, you may attain to very old age. There is another reason why ladies should preserve their health, because with health you may always preserve your beauty. Health and beauty are almost synonymous terms ; you can hardly have one without the other. Good and perfect health, in many cases, confers beauty, or, at least, good looks and at- tractions. With very few and very rare exceptions, and those arising from accident, God has always traced upon your frames the most exquisite lines of beauty. He has formed you to be the most beautiful of all his works. The angels, in their most re- splendant beauty, as fancy and poets and painters embody them, take your forms, and fully fill up all that the imagination can create of angelic beauty. What do you suppose is the grand stimulus to man in all his fatigues, his exposures, his dangers, his toils, and his privations, in the field, in the workshop, in the camp, on the stormy ocean, by night, by day, even facing the cannon's mouth ? What cheers the student in his long nights of study, and wasted by untiring toil ? What sustains the mariner in his long and perilous nights at sea ? In fine, what sus- tains man in all his innumerable exposures and employments, sacrificing his ease, and often his life ? It is his love of you your charms are his attraction and undying stimulus, his love for his mother, his sisters, his wife, his daughters. There is a gulf fixed by the Creator between the male and female mind, which nothing can pass until both meet in their future angelic state. It is impossible for the female fully to comprehend the male mind, and it is impossible for the male to comprehend the female mind ; both will remain ulctinct whilst in this state of existence. Each sex can comprehend itb own mind. All men know that woman is the centre of all that is charming and lovely ; no place is attractive to us that is not graced by the presence of woman ; you form the ornaments if our houses, our streets, our 8 170 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. churches, and all peaceful and pleasant assemblages. To adorn you, man traverses all the earth, bringing home diamonds and rubies, and pearls and costly gems he seeks the plumage of the most rare birds he devises stuffs of the softest texture, and of the richest and rarest colors. He lays all at your feet, and finds in your acceptance and your smiles, and blandishments, his hap- piest rewards. A smile from you soothes the face of care, and wipes the perspiration from the brow of toil. In fine, without you, the world would become a desert, and man a brute. Man rules by strength woman controls by her charms. Hence, there is a high, moral duty that the female owes to her family, to her country, and the world ; that is, to preserve her charms to keep the flowers of her own loveliness from fading to preserve to her latest days all the splendors and realities of her beauty. Carelessness on this subject has blighted all the hopes of thousands of ladies, and made a wreck of happiness in many families of the best expectations. This, in too many cases, when the female is altogether unconscious that it is to herself that these ills are owing. In a multitude of cases, for want of attention to the most obvious principles of health, a wife may reduce her husband to despair, and her house to want, converting what should be a residence of pleasure, to a hospital for the sick. A daughter may, in default of a little knowledge, induce her own untimely death, and fill her father's house with never-ending sorrow. For these reasons I address you on the subject of health, ex- cusing myself for calling you together, with the hope that I may give such directions to your views of it, and its best mode of preservation, as will clothe you to your latest days with the highest adornings of beauty, and continue your lives to at least one hundred years in an uninterrupted holiday of glowing health. Health and beauty I use as synonymous terms. When I use the word healthy I might use the word beauty. It is impossible for a lady to have beauty without health, and next to impossibility to have health without beauty. To ensure a continuance of health, and with it life and beauty, it is necessary to have health every day, not to suffer broken health a single day. Recollect your frame is a machine, and LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 171 made on the principle of mechanics. As far as it has ever yet been explored, it is found to be mechanically formed, and to act everywhere on mechanical principles. To ensure its continu- ance in health, and its life, it is indispensable that each part should have its own perfect bearing, and fill its own proper place. No wear or tear should be allowed in one place more than another. You should see, and be certain, that the duty or office of each part should be properly and certainly performed, that no deficiency or excess exists in the doings or functions of any organs, or part of the machinery of your frames. Let no part suffer, or act too little, or too much. As a reward, perfect and long-continued, and uninterrupted health, will enure to you. By moderate prac- tice, you will experimentally learn that all the organs of your body are your servants, you may make them playthings, to do your bidding at your pleasure. By a little precaution, and the application of a little well-timed knowledge, you may prevent the anguish of disease, and cure it if it takes place. You may pre- serve your healths under nearly all circumstances of luxury, and affluence and ease, or of exposure, privation, fatigue, or misfor- tune. To ensure the entire expression of health, and with it, and by it, the nearest approaches to perfect beauty, you should pos- sess a fine figure, always at your command, a fine carriage of your head and person, and an elegant elastic step and walk, bril- liant eyes, clear complexion, the rose and the lily in just propor- tion, and equally blended and perfect, teeth of a pure shining white. Of these you can be the possessors. If already in broken health, the use of such means as actually exist, and faithfully pursued for a longer or shorter period, will usually restore you to health and beauty. The female frame is made, as I have before told you, to last in full strength a great number of years. In order to this, every part of it should have its perfect mechanical bearing. It is com- posed of a great many parts, each part must occupy its natural and appropriate situation. Each bone each muscle, must be in its proper place. All the great organs, as the lungs, the heart, the stomach, the bowels, &c., all have their appropriate and natural places. Each should occupy the space and place originally assigned to it, and prepared for it. After every or- 172 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. gan of the body, and every part of the frame, is in its place, and perfect, the continuance of th^se several parts in their places depends on yourselves. The mode in which we carry the frame, the way we dispose of it, will determine very greatly whether the organs of the body, and all its parts, shall remain in their places or not. By improper positions of the frame, long continued, every organ of the body may become dislocated, that is, displaced from its original natural position, and by this its functions deranged, and health destroyed, and life prematurely cut off. Symmetry is the foundation of all health and beauty. Just as we recede from symmetry, just in that proportion do we push from us the certainty of health, and the probability of life. Recollect, there is not an organ of the whole body that may not be dislocated, wind-pipe, lungs, heart, stomach, bowels, liver, kid- neys, bladder, womb, &c. all are capable of changing place, more or less. In fine, there are but two grand causes of all dis- eases. One is poison, and the other loss of symmetry. Small- pox, measles, sca'rlet fever, &c., proceed from poison, also typhus fever, skin diseases, &c. ; whilst nearly all chronic diseases pro- ceed from loss of symmetry as consumption, in nearly all cases. Heart diseases proceed from loss of symmetry, &c. The first point to which I will call your attention, is the sym- metry of the head and neck. The head is constructed to stand plumb and perpendicular upon the top of the bones of the neck, which are made to rest perpendicularly upon the spine of the back, (see plate A, figures 1, 2, 3.) By these arrangements the immense weight of the head is placed upon the slender neck, and yet safely ; as it is contrived that the head is supported on the perpendicular neck as its usual position. Now, should you carry the head forward, and of course bend the neck, what re- sults ? Why, that the head with its great weight is carried at a grant mechanical disadvantage. It is well known to you that a , post or column, standing erect and perfectly perpendicular, can support a vast weight, but let the column be thrown out of perpen- dicular, and a moderate weight will crush it to the earth. So with the head standing on the perpendicular column of the neck. In that position it is easily carried ; its weight is not perceived and gives no fatigue. But throw the head forward and bend the neck, LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 173 and you will perceive the head is placed on the top of a stooping column, and is carried at a great mechanical disadvantage, just in proportion as the stooping takes place, (see plate F, figure 1.) The human frame has the power of self- reparation and adapta- tion to altered circumstances in a wonderful degree, still, the effect of carrying forward the head is to produce weariness about the neck, spine of the neck, and muscles of the back, often produc- ing pain, and tending, by its everlasting drain and wear upon the system, to shorten the duration of the system and life. It requires five times the strength to carry the head on a stooping neck bent forward, that it does to carry it on a perpendicular neck as an usual position. Hence, you may infer in continued years, what a prodigious drain this will be upon the strength of the system, and consequently upon its duration. Another mischief is pro- duced : The spine of the neck, whilst made flexible to bend for- ward and sideways at will, yet never was arranged to have any of these positions permanent. It was no more intended that the neck should be bent permanently forward than to one side. A neck permanently bent to one side would be at once marked as a striking deformity ; yet, as regards health, it is no more injurious than when bent forward. The wind-pipe, and gullet, and blood- vessels, and muscles, are all, both in length and position, adapted to a strait neck. The effect of a crooked neck is injurious to the wind-pipe. In symmetrical arrangement, the wind-pipe is made strait and covered with stiff hoops, and so arranged that it cannot close together. Up and down this open strait barrel, the air goes in a full, strait, unbroken column ; but if the neck is bent, the wind-pipe is bent also, and, by being bent, the column of air is made crooked and partially impeded in its ingress and egress to and from the lungs. In the former case the lungs are badly filled, and in the latter case the voice is broken and impaired, more or less, so that every person who would expand his chest well knows he must have his neck and wind-pipe strait, and every public speaker or singer knows, to have his voice perfect, his wind-pipe must be strait. The neck should be carried perpen- dicular to the spine of the back, and the head should sit grace- fully and easily upon the top of the neck ; in other words, the neck and head must not bend forward habitually, if you would 174 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. have an easy carriage, free breathing, or healthy throat, back, &c. The neck, as Solomon so well expresses it, should rise gracefully between the shoulders, like a " tower of ivory." In still greater contrast and greater deformity, it is to see the neck thrown forward and the shoulders kept strait, as is seen in asth matic or phthisical persons. SHOULDERS. The next thing to which I would call your attention, supposing the head and neck are carried well, is the position of the shoul- ders. The shoulder-blades should lay flat against the back of the chest, beside the spine. The edges near the spine must not turn up at all, but lay perfectly flat against the ribs at the back. (See plate A, fig. 3.) The collar-bones are shoulder-braces and only occur in man. (See plate A, fig. 2.) Their use is to keep the shoulders off the chest and prevent their approaching each other. Their general course is strait, but if greatly pressed upon by' stooping, they will bend very much, and allow the shoulders to approach each other, forwards, and press upon the chest, pressing the breast-bone down upon the heart, and force the ribs upon the lungs, and make the chest much smaller. The shoulder-blades then turn up behind like wings, whilst the collar-bones are forced forwards and downwards, making the top of the chest, front and back, a mass of almost naked,, angular and repulsive wreck of scraggy, ragged bones. Everybody knows that the form of the bust, by which term I mean the upper half of the body, from the waist, is that of a triangle ; the base of the triangle is a line from the point of one shoulder to the other. The smaller part of the waist is the point or apex end of the triangle. The greatest beauty of the bust depends on having the greatest possible width from one shoulder to the other, on a line with the neck and shoulders, and both flat with the back, and perpendicular behind. Many ladies, who have greatly rounded the shoulders and brought them forward and towards each other, hope to correct the fault by tying or lacing up the waist so that it shal 1 be very small, and thus re- store the lost symmetry and beautythat is, they make one LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 175 deformity to 6bviate and cure the bad appearance of another. This bad and dangerous position of the shoulders has a most disastrous effect upon the chest, contracting it and making it too small, and injuring the lungs, and thus laying the foundation for thousands of consumptions, besides utterly destroying the beauty of the female form. When the shoulders are carried back as far as symmetry requires, the weight of the arms and shoulders hangs behind the chest, and thus balances the upper part of the person backwards, instead of stooping forwards, and so always expanding the chest, instead of contracting it. (See plate A, fig. 1.) By this the collar- bones lay flat to the top of the breast above the ribs, and can hardly be seen or felt at all. The continued weight of the shoulders, arms and hands falling behind instead of before the chest, drags the shoulders downwards and backwards, and lifts up the breast-bone at its base, and contributes vastly to enlarge the chest, always in all cases preventing its contraction. A great many ladies, from debility or bad posture, contract a habit of stooping, and thus bring forward the weight of the shoulders and arms and hands across the chest, and contract it fearfully. If they cannot correct this by any other means, they should tie the shoulders together behind. This leads me to mention SHOULDER-BRACES. (See Plate J.) Shoulder-braces are instruments of very old date, having been used in England and France for hundreds of years. In all parts of Europe, with the noble and educated classes, the remarks I have made on the carriage of the head and neck are fully appreciated, and have been understood for ages. Indeed, from observing these classes, all my ideas on these subjects have been fully confirmed. In many boarding-schools of England, it is a part of the education of young persons, to provide that the shoulders, and carriage of the head and neck, &c., shall be perfectly erect and elegant. They know that stooping or rounded shoulders are alike destruc- tive of elegance and health. Round and stooping shoulders are set down in England as decidedly vulgar, marking ignoble de- scent, and denoting weakness and age. The tickets for admission to 176 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. Plate J. the ball-room at Almacks', in London, cost $1.25 each, or five Eng- lish shillings, yet at any time five hundred dollars would be paid for one. But money cannot buy a ticket at this aristocratic place of meeting. Admission for a lady is obtained through a com- mittee of ladies of the highest rank, the object being to introduce the aristocratic youth and beauty of the empire to each other, to show off the finest blood in the world, and the highest breeding and physical cultivation. The least approach to deformity would be an insurmountable barrier to the admission of any one person, however exalted in rank. The Queen herself would hardly be admitted, if she had deformed shoulders. At the boarding-schools, if young ladies have high or stooping shoulders, strong shoulder- braces are put on them, and pass down the back behind, outside the dress, and a heavy weight is attached to it, and the child is placed on a stool for some hours daily, until the shoulders are brought into the required symmetry. They are worn until the disposition to stoop is entirely overcome, and a perfect figure and carriage are fully established. Shoulder-braces are universally worn by all classes that desire fine figures, or the rewards of them. The officers of the army cultivate in themselves, and in their men, the finest figures, and perfect position of the shoulders. LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 177 They all wear shoulder-braces, more or less. The soldiers also wear them until the form is perfect. From the nobility and higher classes, and from the army, a taste for a fine figure and perfect position of the shoulders is diffused throughout all classes, both as a matter of taste, and as the very key to health and beauty. The effect of all manual labor, is, to a greater or less degree, to throw the shoulders and arms upon the chest ; and from this results one-half the fatigue of manual labor. With a vast many the habit of stooping at labor is extended to periods of walking and sitting ; and, finally, at all times, save in bed, the weight of the shoulders and arms is forced upon the chest ; and thus the individual always carries a pack upon his back, and exactly the same effects are produced, as if a person were always to carry a burden equal in weight to the hands, arms, and shoulders, upon the back. Back-ache, pains between the shoulders, pains in the n^ck and spine, heat between the shoulders, are the frequent effects of bringing the shoulders forward. The occupation of many persons requires them to use one arm more than the other. This, long continued, is apt to make the shoulder of that arm weak, and to displace the shoulder-blade, causing it to grow out, and its inner edge to lift up like a wing, and in a vast many cases to change the spine to one side, and bulging out the chest, and shrink- ing it in, in some places, thus producing great deformity and disease. Nearly every case of crooked spine between the shoulders arises from this cause ; that is, the weight of the shoul- der most used drags the spine out of strait, or to one side. Now the cure of all this is to wear shoulder- braces. Tie the shoulders together, and they will revolve around the chest, but cannot press on it, or crook the spine. Perfect symmetry of the figure requires that the points of the shoulders should be carried downwards and backwards as far as possible, by which arrangement their points recede from each other as far as possible, and the shoulder-blades lay fiat upon the back. (See plate A, fig. 1, and plate K.) To produce this posi- tion of the shoulders, it is necessary that the whole length of the spine should be perfectly supported, and therefore the small of the back is the first point to be supported. (See plate J.) Having established my support there, I then carry the brace up the back, 8* 178 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. between and around the shoulders, by which I bring them down- wards and backwards at pleasure. The foundation pieces at the small of the back and between the shoulders, should be elastic, and are made of India rubber stuff. Great care should be taken to cover the spine as little as possible with the rubber stuff, as the spine may be kept too warm and weakened by it. Some braces are made so that the rubber stuff covers the whole spine. I made them in that way until fully convinced of their injurious effects. The spine must not be wholly covered with any thing that can prevent free evaporation and airing of the spine. The India rub- ber stuff on the whole spine will keep the spine wet with perspi- ration, and greatly weaken it. Such braces should never be worn. The pieces of the shoulder-braces between the shoulders should be elastic and allow full movements of the shoulders, and not confine the ball of the shoulder or arm, so that a free movement is permitted, and, on resting, the shoulders will at once be brought back by the elasticity of the stuffs to their places. The piece on the loins should be elastic, so as to allow free motion of the whole person, if desired. A great many persons, especially those with light chests, and whose shoulders are very flexible, and move easily, cannot do much with their arms or hands, not sweep a carpet, or do any manual labor, neither work, write, or study long, &c.. without having pain in the chest, or in the side, one or both. These pains often extend to both arms, even to the ends of the fingers, and pain down the whole spine, and great weariness at the top of the chest and between the shoulders, and heat about the shoulders, pains under the shoulder-blades, &c. Such persons will find the shoulder-blades, if adjusted and made as I have de- scribed, a vast benefit, and in most cases a perfect cure. The use of perfectly adjusted shoulder-braces will enable them to do ten times the work they could perform without them. Every female employed in any and all manufactories, especially if she has in the least a constrained position* should wear shoulder-braces. Girls at school, and young ladies, as long as at school, should wear shoulder- braces. In fine, every lady, whose shoulders are not always per- fectly in symmetry, should wear stupider-braces. If the least con- sumptive, or consumptively disposed, she should wear shoulder- braces ; they greatly assist in expanding the chest ; prevent curva- LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 179 ture of the spine, and assist much in curing it, and preventing its progress after it is present. They give symmetry to the back and shoulders, do much to prevent stooping, and almost double the strength of the sh'oulders, giving the wearer the ability to do twice as much with her arms and shoulders as she otherwise could. They perfectly prevent the straining of the shoulders or back, or chest. I never attempt to cure consumption without the use of shoulder-braces. Shoulder-braces should be sufficiently strong, and as light and elegant as possible. CHEST. Supposing the neck and shoulders to be all in symmetry, as before directed and described, our next step, in the formation of perfect symmetry, is to develope a large, round, erect, and per- fect chest (see plate A, figure 1.) A perfect and noble chest is the grand basis of all good health. The lungs, to ensure good health in them, and everywhere, must be large, and perfectly ex- panded in every part. Every air-cell must be fully stretched open, if possible, at every breath, and, at any rate, daily. The lungs cannot be perfectly expanded, when the chest is in any way contracted around them. In a perfect chest, the spine, from the root of the neck to the bottom of the waist, is placed stooping backwards ; rising from the bottom of the waist to the root of the neck, it inclines a little backwards of a perpendicular line, and tloes not, in a perfect chest, crook at all forwards. The chest, I have told you, is a basket of bones, open at the bottom (see plate B.) It is of the utmost importance, in forming a fine chest, that the bottom of the chest should be as open and wide as possible, and that the breast-bone, at the bottom, should be lifted outwards, as much as possible, and not depressed inwards, or crowded towards the back-bone at all. To form a fine and perfect chest, after the shoulders are fully in their places, all that is required is, to breathe properly, and carry the person well. Much has been said and written upon diet, eating and drinking ; but I do not re- collect ever noticing a remark in any writer upon breathing, or the manner of breathing. Multitudes, and especially ladies in easy circumstances, contract a vicious and destructive mode of breathing. They suppress their breathing, and contract the habit 180 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. of short, quick breathing, not carrying the breath half-way down the chest, and scarcely expanding the lower portions of the chest at all. Lacing the bottom of the chest also greatly increases this evil, and confirms a bad habit of breathing. Children that move about a great deal in the open air, and are in no way laced, breathe deep and full to the bottom of the chest, and every part f it ; so also with most out-door laborers, and persons who take a great deal of exercise in the open air, because, as I said before, the lungs give us the power of action ; and the more exercise we take, especially out of doors, or hard labor in the open air, the larger the lungs become, and the less liable to disease. But those in easy circumstances, or who pursue sedentary employ, ments within doors, generally use their lungs but very little, breathe very little air into the chest, and thus, independently of bad positions, contract a wretchedly narrow, small chest, and lay the foundation for the loss of all health and beauty* All this can be perfectly obviated, by a little attention to the manner of breathing. Recollect, the lungs are like a bladder in their struc- ture, and can be stretched open to double their ordinary size with perfect safety, giving a noble chest, and perfect immunity from consumption. The agent, and all the agent required to expand the chest, is the common air we breathe ; supposing, however, that no obstacles exist external to the chest, such as lacing, or ty- ing it around, with stays or tight dresses, or having the shoulders lay upon it, as I have before described. On rising from bed in the morning, place yourself in an erect posture, your chest thrown back, and shoulders entirely off the chest ; now inhale or suck in all the air you can, so as to fill the chest to the very bottom of it, so that no more air can be got in ; now hold your breath, and throw your arms and shoulders behind you, as if you would throw them off behind, holding in your breath as long as you can ; again fill your chest, and walk about, holding in your breath as long as possible. Repeat these long breaths as many times as you please ; done in a cold room is much better, because the air is heavier and denser, and will act much more powerfully in expanding the chest. Always, when stretching open the chest with air, throw the head back, so as to lift up the breast-bone, and bend the whole bust backwards from the waist LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 181 You rnay, in this manner, expand the chest a thousand times a day, if you please. On going out-doors into cold air, inhale or suck in all the air you can, and hold it in as long as possible ; stand or sit perfectly erect, whilst walking or riding in the street, along the roads, in the fields, or gardens. Practice this mode of expanding the chest. Do not stoop forward at all, but suck in all the air you can, throwing the head and neck backwards, and hold in the air as long as possible. By this exercise, you will often at once check a cough, or disposition to cough. The chest may also be fully expanded whilst lying in bed. By exercising the chest in this manner, it will soon become very flexible and ex- pansible, and will enlarge its capacity and the size of the lungs, so as, in a few weeks or months, to hold double its usual quan- tity of air, whilst, externally, it will measure from one to six inches larger in its circumference. Should you not have full strength to enlarge the chest in this way, then use an inhaling tube, such as I have delineated in plate G. The inhaling tube will greatly assist you in expanding the chest, if you are weak or not. The chest should be treated in this 'way during^ your whole lives. Should you become invalids, from any cause, keep your chests expanded by long breaths and the inhaling tube, and continue to breathe a little cold fresh air daily, by having it drawn from out of doors, by leather or tin pipes, or in any other manner you please. BAD CONSEQUENCES FROM USING THE INHALING TUBE, AND EXPANDING THE CHEST. Some timid patients and advisers may suggest the idea of injury from this exercise, but you need give yourself no un- easiness whatever on the subject. You cannot injure yourselves. Only commence gradually until the lungs, air-pipes, and air-cells are well open and expanded, and, ever after, you need fear no bad consequences from expanding your chests with all the air and strength in your power. The effect of theso means will be to . make the chest flat behind, and in front, as full and round, and lifted up, as the breast of the swan. All the ravishing attrac- tions of the chest, and an exquisitely lovely bust, will soon be fully yours ; the collar-bones will soon entirely disappear, the chest 182 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY will become round, and wide at the top ; the front of .the chest will rise up and be developed in its greatest fulness. No art or padding will be required to perfect the figure, but free, matchless, and unrivalled beauty will adorn your chest, and at once give a noble grace and dignity to your persons, and the exceeding gra- tification of a perfectly healthy chest and lungs. Your gratifi- cation will hardly be alloyed by one cough, or a tinge of pain, or unpleasant feeling in the chest, for a long life. POSITION OF THE CHEST. Whilst forming a fine chest, and after it is formed, great care is requisite to establish perfectly correct positions, so that the chest shall not be contracted, and all your efforts counteracted by bad positions. If your positions are habitually bad in spite of all you can otherwise do, the chest will be more or less con- tracted, (soe plate K.) The rule with you should be, and the rule of health is, to keep the bottom of the chest, the ends of the short ribs, and the lower end of the breast-bone, as far out from the back bone as possible. To effect this, the chest must be kept perfectly strait, and thrown a little backwards from the waist, at all times, (see plate A, figure 1.) HABITUAL STOOPING SHOULD BE AVOIDED. Plate K. The small of the back is made flexible, but the hip joints are LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 183 the points from which to stoop either backward or forward. These joints are ball-and-socket joints, like a swivel in some degree. The trunk of the body may bend forward as much as you please, for all useful purposes, and the chest, and whole spine, and neck, be kept perfectly strait. Hence, no lady should ever make a table of her lap, either for sewing, reading or writing, or any oc- cupation whatever, (as you see in plate K.) Let all these, and all work you do, be arranged on a table before you, and that ta- ble bo raised to the arm-pits, or as high as possible, so as to keep the chest strait. A little practice will make this infinitely more agreeable than to stoop, whilst little or no fatigue will be expe- rienced at your occupations, compared to what is experienced whilst stooping, or from habitually stooping. The weight of the shoulders will thus be kept off the chest, which is one of the grand causes of fatigue from manual labor. You will thus entirely prevent the mark of servitude being impressed upon your persons, in a pair of round stooping shoulders, and flat contracted chest. SITTING POSITION. Nearly all the American people sit badly. Whilst sitting, and trie person in repose, the chest should be kept up, the shoulders thrown back, and the person strait. This position, by habit, will be found to give the greater relief from fatigue, and be far more agreeable than to stoop while sitting. Most persons in this country, on placing themselves in a chair, bring the shoulders forward on the chest, and bend the whole spine, from the head to its lower end, forward, approaching, more or less, the figure of a hoop. (See plate K.) The effect of this is to produce a truly vulgar figure, round shoulders, crooked person ; even the bones of the lower end of the trunk of the body, by this wretched position, if long practised, lose their symmetry, and are bent forward, ana contract the basket of the hips, or, as anatomists term it, the pelvis. I have no doubt that a vast many ladies have lost their lives by thus contracting the basket of the hips, and bending inwards the lower end of the spine, so that no space or little is left for the greatest office the female can ever accomplish. No person will sit badly, unless from extreme indolence or ignorance, of its most injurious effects. 184 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. Let me say to you, ladies, who have daughters or young girls under your care follow them to school, and at any cost or sacri- fice, insist upon it that the seats for your little girls shall be easy, and that they shall sit at a table to study, write, &c. ; and this table be so high as to make it impossible for them to stoop at all. If the table is made as high as the arm-pits, and the child sits near to it, the chest will not be contracted, but will be expanded by studying or writing at such a table. To write, one inch below the arm-pits will be found fully as low as is necessary, and habit and practice will very soon cause the child to greatly prefer a high to a low desk. The child should not sit sideways, but per- fectly fronting her desk or table. The caution to have girls sit square in front of the table is very important, for if they sit side- ways to the table, the effect usually is, or in a great many cases, to lift up one shoulder higher than the other, and to bend their spine either between the shoulders, or in the small of the back. I have observed this effect in a multitude of cases, from five years old to thirty years. Bad position is the parent of nearly all de- formities of the trunk of the body, either of the spine, the shoul- ders, the hips 1 , or the ribs. In all occupations that require you to stand, keep the person strait. If at table, let it be high, raised up nearly to the arm-pits, so as not to require you to stoop ; you will find the employment much easier, not one-half the fatigue; whilst the form of the chest, and the symmetry of the figure, will remain perfect. You have noticed that a vast many tall ladies stoop, whilst a great many short ones are strait. This arises, I think, from the tables at which we sit or work, or occupy ourselves, or study, being of a medium height, far too low for the tall person, and about right for the short person. This should be carefully regarded and cor- rected, so that each lady may occupy herself at a table suited to her, and thus prevent the possibility or necessity of stooping. + POSITION OF THE CHEST IN WALKING. I have already occupied you a long time upon the position of tne chest, and will still occupy you with a few words upon the position of the chest in walking. An elegant carnage of the per- LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 185 son in walking is indispensable to health and beauty, and that graceful elegance of figure, of which the person is fully capable. It was the fashion forty years ago for ladies to walk with great grace, and perfectly erect, without any stoop. A few years ago some of our tourists and ladies took part in it, having seen the Venus of Medicis at Florence, in Italy ; her position being stoop, ing, conceived the fine idea that a stooping position in walking or standing was the very acme the highest point of elegance and grace. This stoop was called the Grecian bend. The statue of the Venus of Medicis at Florence, in Italy, which I have often seen, and admired, is that of a lady entirely naked ; just having left the bath, her person gracefully inclining, or stooping for- ward, she extends her hand for her robe. This position the acme of grace in a lady uncovered was never intended to represent for one instant a lady dressed. To prove this, you have only to look at the forms of the females as they are carved and painted in the processions of the Greek and Roman ladies funeral, reli- gious, and triumphal processions, &c. At Saratoga Springs, two or three years ago, I had an opportunity of noticing this most wretched posture in walking. In the large parlor of a large and fashionable hotel, were a number of ladies and gentlemen. The ladies generally assumed the Grecian bend, the shoulders and chest thrown forward, stooping from the small of the back; a po- sition at once indicating weakness and deformity. In striking contrast to this were the figures, the carriage, the step, of two young ladies, daughters of an English gentleman, but an Ame- rican mother, and born and raised in Connecticut. Their chests were fully developed, and their persons perfectly erect and strait. They attracted the notice of all. They must have been greatly obliged to the other ladies for so strikingly netting off their figures and carriage, by the miserable positions they had assumed, unless, what was most probable, the artless and unsophisticated minds of the young ladies forebore drawing comparisons unfavorable to their companions, and favorable to themselves. I hardly need say that the same rules apply to standing and walking, as in sitting, to keep the person strait, the shoulders completely off the chest, the chest thrown out, head and neck perpendicular to the spine, but easy in its motion and flexible, 186 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. the weight of the arms and shoulders entirely falling behind the chest. The step elastic and buoyant, and not mincing or affected or stiff. If the least stoop is permitted, let it be from the hip. joints, and not from the waist or shoulders. POSITION OF THE CHEST IN BED. I have no doubt that all beds should be rather hard, such a* can be made from a hair mattress, husks or shucks of corn, straw finely cut up, cotton, &c. I think these far better than down or feathers ; being better ventilated, they do not so much confine the heat of the body, and better promote the circulation of the blood, and do not effeminate as feathers and down invariably do. The position of the chest and person should be flat, laying on the back as much as possible ; indeed, this should be the habitual position in bed, the head very low, or level with the body, so that the spine is kept strait. This position, if early adopted, will be found, as a general rule, far more salutary than to bolster up much under the head and shoulders, especially on a soft bed. The practice of sleeping on a soft bed, with the head and shoulders high, will, in itself, make you crooked, and greatly contract the base of the chest. You should notice the position of your daughters in bed. They should never sleep always on one side, as this throws the lungs, heart, liver, stomach and bowels, out of symmetry, and often causes disease, STANDING ON ONE FOOT. Nothing is more common than to see ladies larely stand erect on both feet, but rest first on one foot and then on the other. This, besides being most ungraceful, is often productive of de- formity. I was lately consulted by a lady on behalf of her daughter, who had one hip much larger than the other, so as to be a great deformity, and caused entirely by standing very much on one foot. The liip of the same side on the foot of which she most rests, is soon thrown out, and the other hip drawn in. This, in a longer or shorter time, becomes permanent, and produces an irreparable deformity of the hip, and often curvature of the spine, and derangement of symmetry throughout nearly the whole person. LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 187 TIGHT LACING. A great deal has been said and written against the habit of tight lacing, or tying up the waist, so as to make it very small. You will notice, by recalling what I have said, how pernicious and destructive lacing the chest must be to the lungs, the heart, the liver, and large bowels. It produces a broken constitution, and almost certain death to any or all who practise it. It is utterly subversive of symmetry, and is, in every point of view, decidedly vulgar. No person is now known to practise it, save the ignorant and the would-be fine and genteel. It must not be practised if you would have health, elegance, or symmetry of person. But, as I have told you in speaking of the shoulders, widen them, and make the top of the chest wide, and the symme- try of the waist will be perfect without contracting its dimensions by lacing. It is murder in a parent to lace tightly the waist of a female child. Allow me, ladies, to exhort you to study symmetry of person, as a great science, and achieve it in each one of you, at any sacrifice of temporary ease, indulgence, or long-formed habit. Without perfect symmetry, you cannot have perfect beauty and elegance, and rarely health and long life. HOW TO FORM A CLEAR AND BEAUTIFUL COMPLEXION. Supposing the symmetry of the head, neck, shoulders, spine, chest, waist, and all your person, to be perfect and unexception- able, it is necessary to perfect beauty, and a consequence of perfect health, that you have a clear, beautiful complexion, that the lily and the rose God has painted upon you should be de- veloped in its full perfection, and preserved untarnished and undiminished. To enable you to understand the art of doing this, I must give you some account of our food, and those pro- cesses of Nature by which parts of it become nourishing to us, and other parts of it useless, and are rejected from the system. THE TEETH. The first of that series of processes by which the food is made to nourish and replenish the waste of the human machine, after 188 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. the cook, or Nature, has prepared our food, is to masticate it, to chew it well. This cannot be done without good teeth, which leads me to speak of the teeth in connection with health and beauty. Beauty of the face depends on regular symmetrical features, and three brilliants, brilliant eyes, brilliant complexion, brilliant teeth. Each of these brilliants are reflections of the health, the taste, and the neatness of their possessors. No lady can be beau- tiful, or long healthy, with bad teeth. The food, in order to a healthy digestion, should be rather slowly eaten, and well chewed ; but if the teeth are decidedly defective, or decayed, or both, mastication becomes imperfect and painful, and dyspepsia follows, more or less, a natural consequence. As a point of beauty, the mouth is a very striking feature. The teeth, in per- fection, and beautiful and appropriate in their forms, and all in place, present two perfect rows, one on each jaw, of a brilliant and exquisite pearly lustre. They become, when the counte- nance is animated in conversation, or enlivened by smiles, a con- stant source of delight to the beholder. But, should the teeth be discolored, irregular, defective, or wanting, they become at once a source of aversion and great disgust to the observer. With beautiful and perfect teeth, the smile of a lady is irresistible ; should it be otherways, her laugh is a grotesque caricature, ex- citing pity and aversion. You cannot possess attraction with tarnished and bad teeth. Such teeth destroy the purity of the breath, and shorten life. I am proud to say, no country can boast better or more intel- ligent dentists than our own. In all of our larger towns, and most smaller towns, good dentists are to be found. The care of your teeth, and those of your children, should engage your con- stant attention, aided by the advice and assistance of the best dentists. If the teeth are defective, they should be repaired ; if not capable of repair, their places should be supplied by artificial ones. Irregularity should be seasonably corrected. A good dentifrice should be used ; at any rate, each day, a brush and pure cold water should be freely applied to them. Acids tarnish their lustre, and should be carefully avoided. With beautiful, regular, perfect, and clean teeth, the countenance of no lady can be repulsive, la repose, should her features not be strikingly LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 189 prepossessing, let her smile, and at once she receives attention and admiration. DIGESTION. The food that is more or less solid we chew, and then swallow it. It passes through a kind of fleshy hose, or flexible pipe, which goes down the neck behind the wind-pipe, and is called the gullet. (See plate E, fig. 2.) It passes behind the wind-pipe, and behind the heart, through the chest, into the abdomen, and terminates in a bag, which holds from one pint to two quarts. (See plates N and O.) This bag is the stomach. The food and drink remain in a healthy stomach from three minutes to four hours. During this period, by the action of the stomach and its juices, the food is softened to a consistency like cream, when it passes out of the stomach into the bowels. A fter it has entered the bowels a few inches, it is joined by the bile, which is a bitter soap, that unites with the food, assisting to complete its digestion, and facilitating its passage through the bowels. The fluid and digested food now pass rapidly along the small bowels. (See plate C.) These small bowels are about 25 feet long, that is, almost twelve times as long as the usual length of the trunk of the body. Whilst the food is in these bowels, it is rapidly drained of all those parts of it that are fit for nourishment, or can enter the blood, the coarse portions remain, and are hurried along to the termination of the small bowels. These bowels end at the right groin, in the large bowel. This large bowel (see plate C) commences in the right groin, and advances upward to the right waist, under the lower edge of the liver ; it then turns from the right to the left, under or against the lower edge of the stomach, across the person, from the right to the left waist, when it turns downwards, along the left groin. At the bottom of the groin it passes to the right, as far as the back-bone, to which it is tied. It now becomes strait, and keeping along the back-bone, it passes directly down- wards out of the body, forming the back passage through the bas- ket of the hips. The large bowel is almost five feet long, so that the food, from its first entrance into the mouth, to its final exit from the body, passes nearly 32 feet along a continuous canal, or pipe. The large bowel, as a common rule, and the stomach, 190 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. in its general effect, in fulfilment of their functions, exert a most important influence upon the complexion, and upon the general health. This makes it necessary for me to say a few words upon each of these ; and, first, upon THE STOMACH. Plate N. It is the important office of the stomach to digest the food, and prepare it to enter the blood, and give nourishment to the body, and furnish materials to repair the daily waste of the system. With the healthy action of the stomach, the health of every per- son is intimately connected. Without good digestion, it is impos- sible to have health in perfection. The health is usually injured in proportion as digestion is imperfect, until, if digestion ceases for a short time, death ensues. I have before told you, that in good digestion, and a healthy condition of the stomach, the food, depending on its character, its quantity, and condition, is digested in from three minutes to four hours. Should the stomach be dis- eased, or weak, and unable to perform its natural duties, the food may remain in the stomach three months. I have known two perfectly authenticated cases, where some portions of the food remained in the stomach, in one case twelve weeks, and in the other forty-six days; and was in both cases vomited up, but little changed. This disturbed state of the stomach, by which it digests food imperfectly, is painfully known to thousands under the name of LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 191 DYSPEPSIA. This is known to exist in some persons by a sensation of weight in the stomach after eating ; in others, by a sour stomach ; in others, heart-burn ; in others, great distress in the stomach, after eating, taking place in a few minutes, or in one or two hours ; in others, by a great deal of wind in the stomach ; in others, by se- ver5 head-aches ; mothers, by a chronic diarrheea, the food com- ing away unchanged ; in others, the effects are chiefly shown by pains in different parts of the body, more often in the left side, or from the breast-bone, through to the back-bone, &c. In others, dyspepsia is shown by great palpitation of the heart. In a vast many cases, true heart diseases begin with dyspepsia ; and in many others, what seems, by the great palpitation and stop. page of the heart, and irregular breathing, to be a genuine dis- ease of the heart itself, is not so, but is caused by indigestion. Some or all of the foregoing symptoms, and many more, such as cough, mentioned in another place, are found to exist in dyspep- sia. I might mention sleeplessness, nervousness, beating of the heart on laying down in bed at night, often arise from indiges- tion. The eifect of continued indigestion is, to reduce the strength, to take all color from the f.ico, and, in many cases, to cause the face to become the color of a tallow candle. At other times, it causes great rushing of the blood to the head and face. It is the fruitful parent of skin diseases, or is intimately con- nected with them. If a good deal of bile comes into the stomach, it is apt to cause the skin of the neck, the forehead, &c., to become very thick and gross, and to break out in red pimples, greatly disfiguring the face, and utterly destroying the beauty of the complexion. I have only time to indicate to you a few of the articles of food that incline to dyspepsia, without hav- ing time to name many other causes of this disease. To have good digestion, the food should be eaten slowly, and well and perfectly chewed, or masticated. If the teeth of any one are bad, the food should be prepared, in cooking, so as to require but little chewing, or mastication. Good digestion depends ex- tremely on our choice of food. It is utterly impossible to lay down rules of diet that do not find a great many exceptions 192 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. in their application. We have several times had something like a fanaticism start upon the subject of diet. In these cases, it will be found that one man attempts to apply his individual experience to all mankind. Should his experience happen to be contrary to universal experience, he will be greatly disap- pointed in its good effects. For example, one has told us never to eat meat. On attempting to apply the rule of not eating meat to the general masses of men, it is found to* fail, or, when attempted to be adopted, has produced the most dis- astrous results. It is most true, that what agrees with one, will not agree with another. One can live on very light food ; one requires very hearty food ; one can be abstemious, others are destroyed by it ; one can eat meat, one can leave it off. In all this, you must be directed by your own experience. In general, you should practise a wholesome carelessness about your food, eating a little of any thing you please, unless you know it injures you. Eat enough, but never indulge in excesses. I will mention one or two articles often used, that most generally have a bad effect upon the complexion, and are most usually injurious, especially if used before thirty years of age, or even at any period of life. Good fresh butter, not at all rancid, and eaten without being melted, is, in a vast many cases, and most usu- ally, a very good article in the composition of our diet. A little pure sweet-oil may be allowed. But all the grease that is procured from lard, rancid butter, or animal oils, or gravies, is most injurious to the complexion. I will inform you how it acts. Grease, on being thrown into the stomach, cannot be digested by the juices of the stomach, as these incline to be acid, an.d will not digest grease well. In or- der to do this, it is necessary to call bile into the stomach, which is a kind of soap ; and grease, fats, &c., will not digest in the sto- mach, until bile joins and reduces them to a kind of soap, so that much greasy food for ladies will be found to make them bilious, and produce more or less of dyspepsia, in one or other of its forms. Now, we find that grease, or rancid butter, or at least melted butter, enters very largely into the composition of pie- crust, and all the forms of pastry, into some kinds of cake, &c. These all act badly on the stomach. This is the case with fat LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 193 food, that is highly seasoned, as pork, sausages, &c. So that a lady who would have a fine complexion, and good digestion, must avoid fat meats, rich fat gravies, highly seasoned fat hashed meats, pastry, and every species of diet where fat enters largely into the preparation. Again, new bread, and all hot bread, will be found hard to digest, and, as a general rule, should be avoided. Coffee is very generally used, and by some persons who attain to considerable age, and speak of it in raptures. Yet, from the ex- perience of many thousand dyspeptics, who have consulted ma, I find no article of diet more generally repudiated by the dys- peptic, than coffee. Its effects are almost universally, if much drank, to produce dyspepsia, nervousness, palpitation of the heart, head-aches, dizziness, costiveness, covering the face with pimples, and making the skin of the face thick, yellow, coarse, and repul- sive, destroying both rose and lily. Its earliest effect is to de- stroy the complexion, producing sallowness, and great biliousness, when no injury whatever is suspected. It inclines to produce in those predisposed to it, bleeding lungs, and to develope scrofula and skin diseases. Children should never taste it, except at long intervals, say once a year, or month. Black tea in moderation, milk, and also water, or milk and water, are good articles for drink. Late suppers should be avoided. Our food should never be taken much, if any, warmer than new milk. Animals in their native state, usually enjoy perfect health their whole lives, yet never take their food any warmer than new milk. In general, a lady, who would have perfect health, and a bril- liant complexion, should eat as much food as she pleases, inclin- ing to eat enough, and to select, indiscriminately, as her taste, or appetite, or convenience, or opportunity allows, fish, flesh, or fowl, fruits, vegetables, bread, &c. Allow her food to be well cooked, and, above all, let it be of a perfect quality, not rancid or tough. Table salt, on fresh provisions, she may eat as much of as she pleases. Salt is an indispensable article of diet, and perhaps never does hurt. Recollect, we should eat for nourishment, not gluttony. Variety in our food is desirable, but this variety should not depend on the art of the cook or confectioner, but on the diversified variety we select from the markets. Meats long salted should not be 9 194 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. greatly indulged in. Acids, spices, pickles, &c., should be sparingly used. Watch your own experience, and what you find best agrees, use it, but let the variety from which you may choose be as large as possible. Never run after vagaries in diet. Never weigh your food, or think to build up a constitution on one kind of food or diet. What you may find by experience disagrees with you, leave off. Do not dig your graves with your teeth. Yet do not be finical in your diet, eating moderately at times of any food, should it even be a little proscribed. THE LIVER. Plate Q. Many persons impute most diseases to the liver. A genuine liver disease is rare. When it does take place, it requires the aid of the physician. Observe the rules of health laid down in this lecture, and you will rarely have any liver complaint or any derangement of any of its important functions. BAD BREATH. The breath of some dyspeptics is extremely offensive, owing to undigested food remaining a long time in the stomach and bowels. HOW LONG THE FOOD CONTINUES IN THE BODY, The huE&n machine consumes, or, in other words, we eat and LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 195 drink from five to twelve pounds every day in extreme cases much less, or vastly more, but this is about its medium range. Now, all this leaves the body after it has accomplished its des- tined object. How do I know it all leaves the body ? I know from the very common fact, that many persons weigh more at 20 than they do at 70 in fifty years not having gained one ounce. Some persons flesh up a little, but it does not alter the general rule, for should even a very small portion of our daily food be retained, or stick to our bodies, we should become monsters in size during a long life. Now, all this food and drink, with all its grossness, leaves the machine, or person, through four avenues only, namely, the skin, the lungs, the kidneys, and the bowels; and on the mu- tual harmony, in action and functions, of those four great avenues for evacuation and unloading the machine, its health and long continuance must inevitably depend. The gross portions of the food, or that which is unfit for nour- ishment, or is undigested, passes through the small bowels and is lodged in the large bowel. In a healthy condition of the large bowel, and when it acts naturally, it evacuates itself every twenty. four hours. If the contents of that bowel are retained longer than twenty-four hours, it becomes injurious to the ma- chine, or system, and the injury is in proportion to the time it is retained over its natural term. COSTIVENESS. When this bowel is sluggish in its functions, the fluids that should pass by the bowels are thrown upon the skin, the kidneys, and the lungs, loading each of those organs, and deranging their offices. One of the very earliest effects is to render the skin of the face gross, thick, sallow, and unhealthy. Its brilliancy is lost. The blood rushes more or less to the head, the eye becomes dim, and soon loses its clearness and brilliancy. The skin every- where ceases to be transparent ; an unpleasant odour is exhaled from the body ; the breath becomes offensive ; the liver en- larges, and is loaded with blood and bile ; the right side of the heart is often enlarged by it ; dyspepsia results, and bleeding at the lungs. I rarely ever knew a case of bleeding at the lungs that not accompanied by costiveness. Piles, bearing down pains, 196 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. monthly irregularity, disease of the womb, enlargement of the ovaries, falling of the womb, dropsy, apoplexy, palsy, spine dis- eases, gravel, and disease of the kidneys, head-ache, and sick head-ache, are often produced by costiveness, and always aggra- vated by it. In the winter of 1842, I was requested to visit an old gentleman who was dying of an obscure disease. I was requested to deter- mine, if possible, what was the matter. A wealthy farmer took rne to call on this patient. We stopped at his house to change horses, and he requested me to see his sister-in-law, who was sick. I found she had a bad enlargement of the right side of the heart. On asking the state of her bowels, I found they moved but once a week. On going into the farmer's house, I found his wife sitting in an arm-chair, unable to walk. She had lost entirely the use of her lower extremities, from the small of her back down, caused entirely by costiveness. Here were two sisters ; one with a heart disease, the other palsy, caused by costiveness only. The large bowel, when its instincts are followed, never fails to solicit an evacuation daily. When neglected, the next day the call will be less urgent, and in a few weeks habitual costiveness will be established. The calls of Nature become less and less in some cases, until the bowel will not act at all. In the early part of March, 1644, I was consulted by a member of the Massachusetts legislature, on behalf of his sister, who had passed nine entire months without an evacuation from the bowels, the bowels having ceased to act altogether. I was consulted in Boston, last July, by a gentleman, proprietor of a large hotel, for his niece, a young lady, who had not had an evacuation from the bowels for four and a half months. Bloating is a frequent companion of costive- ness. CURE OF COSTIVENESS. The perfect preventive, and the almost infallible ' remedy for costiveness, is habit. Never allow a day to pass without a free evacuation. Observe one particular exact time for it, and at that exact period solicit the evacuation. A few days, or weeks, pa- tient solicitation, will usually restore Nature to its full health in this respect. Should this not fully answer, eating soft food, or LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 197 coarse bread, such as bread made of corn-meal, or of wheat-meal, unbolted. These are excellent to remove costiveness. Chewing a little good Turkey rhubarb daily, will often remove all sluggishness of the bowels, and, assisted by habit, will entirely cure costive- ness. Rhubarb has the rare property of a tonic to the bowels, and will not lose its effects upon the bowels, or do them any in- jury. I have known a lady, who had taken rhubarb, more or less, for forty years. It is a safe and most valuable remedy for costiveness, if assisted by habit. Neither health, beauty, or pu- rity of person, can be long preserved, if costiveness exists. It should be relieved at all hazards. KIDNEY EVACUATIONS. The next great evacuaticwi from the system is from the kidneys. The bladder is a reservoir, into which is received the water, which, with a variety of salts and earths, are separated from the blood by the kidneys. The water is conveyed from the kidneys by a pipe from each kidney, that conveys it to the bladder. (See plate S.) In a natural and healthy state, the proper time when the bladder should be emptied is indicated. Should the water be habitually retained longer than is proper, the effect, as in the bowels, is to lessen the action of the bladder and kidneys, and less water is taken off from the blood. In this way gravel and other diseases of the kidneys often take place. It is well known that the highest and lowest people in England rarely have any kidney disease or stone in the bladder, whilst the intermediate classes, who, from necessity, will often retain the water for hours beyond its na- tural period, have more of stone and gravel in the bladder and kidneys. If this is habitual, much less water will be secreted from the blood ; bad odour of person arises, loss of flesh, and a peculiar sharpness of the lines of the face, sallowness, &c. All these complaints are usually prevented by never repressing the calls of Nature in this respect. PERIODS. Allow me to say a few words on the great and peculiar office of Nature, that indicates maturity of the woman, beginning at dif- ferent ages in different persons, dependent on climate and edu- I 198 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. cation somewhat. In this climate, it commences at about thir- teen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen years, without in- jury to the female health. Fourteen and fifteen are the most usual periods, when naturally recurring almost with the regularity of clock-work, and continuing from thirty to thirty-eight years, end- ing usually between forty- four and fifty -two years. By this great provision of Nature, the female is reminded each month that she may become a mother. At its commencement in young ladies, it is at times irregular, taking place perhaps two or three times in the same number of years. This is usually owing to effemi- nacy, to poor health, a low state of strength and delicacy, arising from attacks of sickness, from confinement in-doors, too much at school, and general debility. This is soon cured by change of air, out-door exercise, sea-bathing, and strengthening medicines. Aftei the monthly periods are fully established, any derange- ment of them is a just cause of alarm, and should warn us to seek relief from medical aid, which is usually successful in the. cure. The effect of disturbed periods, irregularity or stoppage, is disastrous to the health and beauty of a lady; color flies from her countenance, her face becomes lifeless in appearance, and of the color of a tallow candle ; her eyes lose their brilliancy ; her buoyancy of spirits leaves her ; she becomes spiritless, timid, shuns society, and, when not relieved, is apt to fall a prey to dis- ease, consumption, dyspepsia, dropsy, &c., &c. In nearly all cases, it is easy to cure this state of health, and especially so at its commencement. In some cases, and rather frequent, the turns are often too profuse, in a greater or less degree, even to flood- ing. This state of things may occur to all ladies, but it is most usual at from 20 to 40. The effect is to produce great sinking at the stbnftch, and faint feeling, weak back, inability to walk much, general prostration, even confinement to bed for months at a time. It is very easily and perfectly cured. I do not recollect to have ever failed to cure such cases in a few days. There is one effect produced by derangement of the monthly sickness, that I do not recollect ever to have seen mentioned by any writer, in connection with disturbed monthly turns ; but which, I think, in nearly all cases, proceeds from a disturbance of the monthly periods, or derangement, in some way, of the female functions. LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 199 This the formation on different parts of the face, the forehead, and upper parts of the face, most usually, of yellow or brown spots, occurring more or less in extent or depth of color ; at one time hardly noticed, at another time, large, well defined spots cover half the face. These spots are often said to arise from a disturbed liver. I think they all but always arise from a de- rangement of the monthly periods, or some functions of the womb. At times they are quite curable. The effect is most disastrous to female beauty, for the brilliancy and clearness of the com- plexion is entirely lost. A cure can generally be obtained. PAINFUL MONTHLY PERIODS. In a great many cases, the commencement of the monthly pe- riods is marked by vast pain, most distressing and terrible, tak- ing all strength from the body; and often continuing a whole week. I have, at times, succeeded in perfect cures; at other times, I have failed. END OF THE MON1HLY PERIODS. The natural close of the monthly turns is often marked by some disturbance of the female health, but by care, keeping the bowels free, and preserving the general health, it will usually pass away, and a long calm succeed in the female health. This, when properly managed, will be scarcely marked by a single ripple upon its smooth, unbroken surface, until she attains, or may attain to 100 years. Although, after the cessation of the months, she'cannot again give existence to another, yet she can enjoy the highest charms of society and social intercourse. She can guide the young, and everywhere enliven and adorn, and in- struct society, by the fervor of her affections to her family, the brilliancy of her wit, the polisn and charm of her accomplish, rnents, and the generous diffusion of her knowledge and expe- rience, resulting from the stores of her reading, and the extent of her observation. Let her preserve her health and charms in the highest perfection, and never allow inactivity to creep upon her, or for an instant allow the thoughts of age to approach her, or think herself less useful or attractive than she ever was, con- vincing all that approach her, by her kindness and benevolence, 200 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. that time can not sear her affections, or damp her sympathies, or pluck a single flower of loveliness from her mind. Such a lady will find the last half of her century as pleasant, and even more pleasant, than the first. All places will be open to her, all hearts will welcome her. No society can be complete without her ; her hildren will be proud of her, her friends will admire her; she ^ill so realize the value of her presence, and the extent of her use- fulness, that never for a moment can she be made to feel herself a burden to others, or useless in society. She should never re- tire from society, and never cease to make herself useful. EVACUATIONS FROM THE LUNGS. I have mentioned the lungs as one of the avenues through which passes off* more or less of what we eat or drink ; and that neither by coughing or expectoration ; but the matter is deposit- ed in the air, and passes off by the breath. To convince your- selves of this, only breathe a moment upon a plate of cold glass, and you will notice it instantly covered with viscid matter. How much the lungs throw off in tjris way, we have no positive means of ascertaining. It differs in different persons, amounting, in some cases, I have no doubt, to some pounds daily. Clear, cold, dry air will take off vastly more from the lungs than moist, hu- mid air. Hence, in cold, damp, wet weather, the lungs are vast- ly more loaded and stuffed up than in a clear, dry air. This \vill teach you the value of breathing the pure out-door air daily, frequently, and constantly as possible. I have spoken of this sufficiently \n my remarks on forming a fine chest, and on the prevention of consumption, in another lecture, to which I parti- cularly refer you. THE SKJN. Having passed over these three great avenues of evacuation, the bowels, the kidneys, and lungs, I now come to the fourth, and last THE SKIN. Before proceeding with the general subject, I will say, the top of the chest is the very throne of beauty. Its round and volup- tuous swell is most seducing, winning every observer. The LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 201 skin covering it should be brilliantly clear and transparent. It is the misfortune of a great many ladies, to have the chest anJ neck, sometimes, but the chest very often, most horribly scarred by sores, made to remove pain or tightness across the chest, a cough, or a cold. Even little girls suffer from this practice. No prac- tice of medicine or surgery, in my opinion, is more pernicious, or more detestable than this, inflicting most horrible agony, and in- jury, in place of good, very rarely benefiting any patient in the least degree. It was only yesterday I had occasion to examine the chest of a young lady, who, in the last five months, had had tartar emetic sores made on her chest nearly all over it ; front and sides marked by hundreds of scars, in size from a small pea to that of a four-penny piece, without a thought of good or benefit. Rarely need you apply a blister, all but never setons, or sores. Should you wish to remove pain, or soreness, or stric- ture, rub the affected part well with a little stimulating lini- ment, and then cover it with a linen or cotton cloth, dipped in cold water, wrung out so as not to drip any. Keep it on a few hours, then change it. Using liniment, and wearing a wet cloth a few days, save in very rare cases, will remove pain, and soreness, and tightness upon the lungs, infinitely better than sores of any kind, and will produce no pain or prostration, and leave no scars. Mothers, I beg of you, allow no such sores to be made upon the chests of your daughters, and allow none on yourselves. 1 wit- nessed one case, on a lady's chest, where a tartar emetic sore was made on the breast-bone, and continued until a hole was eaten entirely through the breast-bone into the chest. It did not heal for several months. The beauty and brilliancy of the skin and the whole surface of the body is greatly affected by the condition of the lungs, the stomach, the liver, the bowels, the womb, the kidneys, and all these are greatly affected by the condition of the skin. It is im- possible for the skin and complexion to be healthy when any or all of these are much deranged in their functions. It is also dif- ficult for them to be in health should the skin not act in a healthy manner. Our great Creator intended the skin^for a clothing find a protection to the whole body. Some tribes of men, at this day, wear no clothing, not a vestige, and yet suffer no more than the 202 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. animals around them. This fact should never be forgotten, that the skin is itself a clothing. Artificial clothing is intended to ex- clude the cold, and retain the heat and warmth of the person upon itself. A certain amount of clothing does all that clothing can do for the wearer ; and after this, you may pile on as much clothing as you please, and you will only burden yourselves and effeminate the skin, without adding one particle to its warmth. The standard of health is rather to have the skin cool, than to have it hot or perspiring. Many delicate persons are taught, that when feeble or reduced in health, adding very much to their cloth- ing will contribute greatly to their health. They flatter them- selves, that by much clothing and warmth, they can fence out disease ; and if in perfect health, a great deal of clothing will keep " them so. A sufficiency of clothing is necessary to health,^but too much is very injurious to health indeed, and greatly injures the complexion, as do heated rooms. As little clothing as pos- sible is the true rule of health and beauty, and rooms as cold as possible, consistent with comfort. When already habituated to very much clothing and warm rooms, and flannels, especially next to the skin, sudden changes should not be attempted, and, above all, never in autumn or winter, or early spring ; but when we pro- pose to reduce our clothing, the change should be made in early summer, and thus, through the warm weather and advancing fall, we may permanently leave off all unnecessary clothing. I think cotton or silk worn next the skin in summer, and air the year, if possible, far preferable to flannel or woollen. Should one be already accustomed to the use of woollen-flannel, she may sub- stitute good cotton-flannel, I think to great advantage. Wool- len-flannel worn all the year, and great quantities of clothing, effeminate the skin prodigiously, destroy the complexion, and induce debility and great delicacy. The slightest changes of weather are felt to the innermost core of the heart; not a breath of air can blow upon her, or the least part of her person, or neck, or bosom, be exposed to the air, without taking cold. The true rule is to wear as little clothing as possible, consistent with com- fort. Never wear clothing for health, wear it for ornament,- wear it for comfort, so as not to be chilly or cold, but never in- crease it for health. The neck should always be uncovered, LECTTTRE TO LADIES ONLY. 208 or with the slightest possible covering, unless exposed to very great cold- Ladies, who habitually cover the neck, are liable to sore throat, while those who habitually keep the throat and neck uncovered seldom have sore throat or cold. A piece of human skin, on being held up to the air and viewed through a magnifying glass, is seen to be perforated with innu- merable small openings through it. These are the pores of the ekin. Through these pores, when in health, a great quantity of matter is constantly passing, in an extremely subtile form, and is called the insensible perspiration. Were a person divested of clothing and placed in a glass case, and the air pumped all out, the body would look as if covered with a cloud ; upon placing yourselves in a bath, after a few moments you can notice air bubbles rising from the skin, and covering it all over like very fine pearls. This is the insensible perspiration, and is constantly passing off through the pores of the skin. This makes the skin the fourth great avenue, through which passes an important share of what we eat and drink. Now it is of the last import- ance to health and beauty, that the pores of the skin be kept in a healthy state, and, in fact, that the skin be considered as a cover- ing and a clothing, and as a great element for evacuating, and unloading the human machine or system of its useless or effete matter. To achieve these two purposes for the skin, it must be well aired, never effeminated, and the pores never allowed to be closed by its own secretions or external impurity. I have before remarked, you must not wear too much clothing, as it effemi- nates the skin. All your clothing should allow of ventilation of the skin, and not completely confine the air around the body. Some persons wear oil cloth, or oil silk, around the person, over some part of their person, or next to the skin, to exclude the air entirely ; nothing can be more pernicious or destructive to health. It effeminates the skin and prostrates the system, and should never be done. To strengthen the skin, and to fortify it and all the system against cold or changes of weather, and to ren- der the skin pure and healthy, no remedy can for one moment be compared to washing the whole surface of the body over daily with pure cold water. I do not refer to covering yourselves with water, or taking a bath, but simply to washing your whole person over- 204 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. daily with pure cold water, as you do your face and hands. Ex- tend the same favor to your whole person, that you do to your hands and face. All you require is two to four quarts of cold wa- ter, and as much more as you please, but a common wash-basin will do, and two or three towels. Take one of the towels, dip it in his crystal fluid, eminently worthy of you, and you of it; lave well he wrists, the ears, the neck, the chest, the whole person, the lower limbs, the feet. Dwell much on the chest, about the collar-bones and below them, and on all the large joints, and feet and soles of the feet. As it will be a little difficult to wash between the shoulders, fill a towel full of water, and spread it out like a shawl, and convey it over the head, and let it fall down the back to the hips, covering all the shoulders, and all the spine. Let it embrace and wet all the spine well. Now, take a good-sized towel, one in each hand, if you please, and commence vigorous friction, and wiping on and over all your person, rub yourselves perfectly dry, animate all the skin by rubbing with a dry towel. This done, throw tho dry towel over your neck, take the opposite corners of the towel in each hand, draw the towel across the back of the neck, and between the shoulders, and down the back as far as the hips, wiping and rubbing the whole spine well and thoroughly, and shoulders, neck, shoulder-blades, &c., all down. Fill the chest full of air as you can, then throw the head, neck, shoulders, and chest backwards as far as possible, and for one or two minutes walk the roonj, holding the breath, and expanding the chest to its fullest extent by drawing in all the air you can. By this operation your shoulders will soon lie flat to the back of the chest, and the bosom, all untrarrrnelled, will swell and re- sume all the luxuriance of its natural form, and almost unap- proachable beauty. This whole open/lion will not occupy you more than three or four minutes, when your ablutions, frictions, and expanding the chest, will be finished, and you prepared to resume your clothing. The morning; is the best time of day for bathing, on first stepping out of bed, and when all the skin is in a glow of warmth. Any other hour of the day, or on retiring at night, may be selected with great advantage, as inclination or convenience may dictate. Ladies not accustomed to cold bath- ing, or who dread exposing the person to the air, may, at first, use LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 205 only a damp towel, or merely dampened in salt and warm water, and first expose only the limbs and person very partially at a time, and so gradually accustom the surface of the person to ex- posure. In this way, by exercising a little sound discretion and care, in five to ten days the most effeminated and feeble persons may habituate themselves to the free use of cold water, over all the surface of the body and limbs, daily. Should you in the com- mencement take cold, you need not dread taking cold always from exposure of the person, or bathing with cold water. The value of the bathing, save mere purity, is derived from the cold that is in the water. Bathing in cold water is more valuable when the weather is coldest in autumn, winter, and spring. In summer its effects are less striking than in winter. It is at this moment, ladies, I wish I possessed the highest powers of persuasion, to in- duce you to adopt at once constant daily ablutions with cold water all your lives. It may be done always, whether the monthly turns are on or not. When accustomed to it, it may be done an hour before childbirth, or an hour after, with perfect safety. It is hardly possible to imagine any fever, or any sickness, that forbids your daily bathing, or washing all over with cold water. On the contrary, in scarlet fever, measles, typhus fever, childbed fever, lung fever, scrofula, spine diseases, liver complaint, dyspepsia, consumption, ague and fever, erysipelas, and, in fact, in almost any and every disease incident to the human frame, cold-bathing is itself a great remedy, and never can do hurt, when you have before been accustomed to it. Rf rely, very rarely, will you be subject to any of these, should voi? constantly and faithfully bathe daily io cold water. The shower- bath may be used, when per- fectly convenient and agreeable. iVever use a tepid bath, unless to begin before yon use cold, it effeminates the whole system. Let. the water be hot or cold. Hot-baths are occasionally admis- sible, as a remedy for pain, fever, or hoarseness, either of longer or shorter duration. For stiff joints from rheumatism, lameness, pain in the side, and sore throat, or quinzy, pain and heat in the spine, swelling and pain and heat in either side, or about the chest, there are few remedies superior to cold water, either poured, cr, what is most applicable, a piece of cotton cloth folded two or three 206 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. thicknesses, and laid or bound on the painful or swelled part, changed often, and kept on for hours, or days and nights. This application is far superior to a blister, or tartar emetic sores ; will remove the pain sooner, and make a far more per- manent cure. By tying up the neck with a handkerchief dipped in cold water, and kept on over- night, or for several days and nights, if urgent, or for successive nights, will usually cure the sore throat in the most gratifying manner, without one twinge of pain, or reducing the strength in any degree. Dry friction, with a flannel, if the surface is cold, or with a dry towel, fine or coarse, as suits ) r ou, or with a flesh brush, as taste or inclination, or judgment direct, will be found excellent. Friction, to have its best effects, should be long continued, and for old persons, they are most valuable ; but ought not to supersede their use of cold water. Cold water preserves the freshness of the skin, and prevents wrinkles, and every thing of that kind, to a great degree. Followed and preceded by friction, it is beyond all possible value. A person who bathes in cold water freely, as I have directed, can hardly feel the fluctuations of the weather, or ba liable to take cold, or receive any injury from atmospheric changes. She will rarely ever have a pain, or be liable to fever, to rheuma- tism, or inflammation of the lungs, or pleurisy, or quinzy, or sore throat, or cough, or skin diseases, liver complaints, or dys- pepsia. When you can faithfully and fearlessly wash yourselves all over with cold water daily, you will have taken a vast step in the commencement of a period of uninterrupted health. In- fants at the breast should be bathed in cold water daily, from their youngest hours. Do not be afraid of doing them any in- jury by it. It is impossible, when the cold sponge bath is judi- ciously used. It is of almost inappreciable value to the child. The rooms in which you wash may be very warm indeed, if you please, and should always be warm, if you are delicate or unac- customed to exposure of your person to the air. To render the skin soft and pure, I recommend to my patients, to wash all over once a week, with saleeratus and water, cold or hot, or with su- per-carbonate of soda, which is the best. The effect of this upon the skin, used once a week, is very agreeable, and makes the sur- face of the person as pure as the rose. The soda should be the LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 207 fine super-carbonate of soda, sold by the apothecaries, &c. It will make the skin soft as the finest, the softest velvet. You need never be afraid of exposing your whole person to the air, (in a warm room, if delicate,) and of washing all over, daily, with pure cold water. The effect is, to give you good health, and, unless counteracted by other causes, I have already mentioned, and shall mention in another lecture, uninterrupted and brilliant health. The mind will be clear, the eye bright, and countenance brilliant as the first blushes of the morning. Lassitude, despon- dency, low spirits, and indolence, will find no lodgment in your persons. Timidity, fear, and moroseness, will be driven from you by the courage and resolution that result from^ood health. Your first great enemy is ignorance ; the next, its legitimate child, is indolence. Overcome these, and you have before you a pleasant and beautiful world, a long and happy life; victorious over these, and every other obstacle to health, usefulness, or hapoiness, will retire at your approach, as darkness before light. THE FEET. I will say one word on the condition of your feet. You can not walk well, unless the feet are in good condition. When not properly treated, the feet are apt to swell, and become covered more or less with corns. Many ladies are also liable to very cold feet, the cold extending even to the knees, at times. To remedy all this, I recommend putting your feet once a week in hot water, not a tepid, warm bath, but in a hot bath, and, if you please, medicated. I direct my consumptive patients, and all my patients, and every one, to prepare, once a week, a foot-bath. Take three or four quarts of water, warm ; add to this one tablespoon ful of the com- mon washing soda, or the fine super-carbonate of soda, as you please, and three tablespoonsful of common salt. Now put your feet in, and gradually add hot water, as you can bear it, for twenty or thirty minutes, until you have raised a very high heat upon your feet. Now remove your feet, and wipe them dry. Should any spots of hardened skin be upon them, scrape these off as often as possible, so as to make all the skin covering the feet, the bottom and sides especially, as thin as possible. Repeat this bath once a week, and you will never have corns, or any inconvenience in 208 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. your feet, remembering, the shoes should be most graceful, and fit the foot perfectly, but never squeeze or pinch any part of it. The hot foot-bath, such as I have described to you, is one of the greatest medicines for rushing of blood to the head, recent at- tacks of pain, neuralgia, pleurisy, swelled face, quinsy, scarlet fever, rheumatism, lung fever, cold, liver complaint, and in con- sumption, it is most valuable. In all cases of pains in the limbs, and diseased circulation, the hot foot-bath is valuable. In fits in children, and a vast many cases of disease, quite too numerous to mention, it will never do any injury. In profuse monthly turns, it at times does hurt ; when wanting or tardy, it is valu- able. The time to use the hot foot-bath is at bed-time ; and on leaving it, retire to' bed. Ladies in perfect health need not use the hot foot-bath, unless they choose. The feet of all should be washed daily in cold water. AIR AND EXERCISE. Although, in another lecture, I have said something of exercise, and incidentally much of air, I will say a few words upon these most important subjects. Walking, riding, dancing, and all amusements in the open air, contribute to form and invigorate the constitution to a vast extent. Without exercise in the open air, no rules for health could possibly be complete. It is impossible to have vigorous health, or preserve it long, without daily exer- cise in the open air. It is most unfortunate, that, in this coun- try, ladies take so little exercise in the open air, especially those who are well, and in easy circumstances, who have the leisure for it. Many ladies, during the long period of cold weather, say nearly seven months of the year, hardly go out at all. They stay within, in heated rooms, taking little or no exercise, for many months. The effect is deplorable. Debility all over, loss of spirits, costiveness, loss of bloom on their cheeks. The eye loses its brightness ; and health and beauty become impossible to this state of things. To female children it is very injurious. The striking contrast between English ladies, opposed to the French and American, and, in fact, nearly all other ladies in the world, is owing to out-door exercise taken daily ; scarcely any weather prevents it. Should the weather be very inclement, exercise is LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 209 taken within-doors. In stormy weather, the Queen of England daily takes exercise, by riding or walking in covered buildings, or terraces, dec., never omitting exercise, any day of the year, for herself or children. The ladies of England usually enjoy brilliant health. The very greatness of England is intimately connected with the out-door exercise of their females. For a fine race of healthy children is impossible, when the mothers are effeminate, and take no exercise, or but little. In our coun- try, many ladies exercise and go out in summer, and in the beau- tiful weather of autumn, that, in this country, is unsurpassed by any, and so gather a few roses on their cheeks ; but the cold, bad weather of our late autumn usually drives them in, not often to be seen out again until spring. No health can be supported under this want of exercise. Every lady should go out every day. Should the weather, by its inclemency, forbid it, then she should walk or exercise on a balcony, open to the air, should this be at her command walking one or two hours. Exercise should be taken to the point of considerable fatigue. It is better to ride or walk in the open air, in the country or city, where the eye is re- freshed, and the mind delighted, than to walk in a room, without these. It is also vastly better to walk and take exercise in com- pany than alone. It is better for health, not to be solitary. But, either with or without society, take exercise. Gardening, and tending flowers, is a pleasant and engaging exercise to some. Jumping the rope is a very pleasant exercise, both for symmetry and health. Dancing is the king and queen of in-door exercise. It is suitable for all classes, all ages, both sexes. It is a most ele- gant and most exhilarating exercise. It is one of the most anci- ent, and one of the most salutary. I do not speak of it as a dis- sipation, but as an exhilarating and valuable exercise. Among the exercises, it is second to none. It is extremely suitable for the sedentary, for invalids, and for consumptives. I have known one of the worst cases of consumption I ever knew cured by dancing alone, practised daily, for many months. The cure was permanent and complete. It is deplorable that dancing and amusements of nearly all kinds should have fallen under the ban of the clergy, and should be preached against as sinful. It is more than doubtful whether the 210 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. morals of mankind are benefitted by forbidding all amusements, and it is most certain the health of thousands is sacrificed by it. Who are those that sink earliest into consumption among ladies? Allow me to say, it is those who take least exercise, and refrain from all amusements, who, at school, at church, at home, are marked as models ; whose looks are demure, whose walk is slow, and whose conversation is always on serious subjects, who most apply themselves to severe studies, and protracted applica- tion in acquiring knowledge and education. Buoyancy of spirits, even to mirth and levity, is infinitely better for health, than to be morose. There is nothing better for the lungs than deep, fre- quent, hearty laughter, and the laugh should never be suppressed unless forbidden by circumstances. Laennac. a celebrated French writer on consumption, relates a case that came under his observation in a convent of nuns at Paris. He had witnessed all the inmates die three successive times within a few years, except the gate-keeper, the cook, and the lady abbess. These were obliged to take exercise, and so escaped death. Of all the contriv- ances to shorten and destroy life, a convent of nuns is the grand climax. Here, confined without exercise, or cheerful amuse- ments, and engaged in severe devotions, or sedentary occupa- tions, they fall into supine inaction. Health, energy^ and activ- ity, all go together. In a few years death does his work, and their long-prayed-for, long-sought-for haven, is soon obtained. No greater truth was ever uttered, than that " Religion never was designed To make our pleasures less." Neither in its letter or spirit does our happy and blessed religion, the religion of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom be eternal praise and obedience, anywhere forbid pure, rational pleasures and gratification. " Use the things of this world as not abusing them," is the injunction of the Apostle, and is a complete summary of all the teaching of the whole Bible upon this subject. It never can be too much regretted, that the American ladies, at a very early period, leave off all buoyancy in exercise, in spirits, in amusements, and consent, before they are thirty years old, to be old women, taking little or no part in amusements, 01 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 211 social pleasures, leaving society to be regulated by young ladies in their teens. No lady should ever leave society, or exercise, or rational amusements, until deprived of them by absolute disease, or until the infirmities of extreme age utterly prevent. But by this course, extreme age may be attained, whilst its great infir- mities may never be reached. The human frame is a machine that requires daily exercise in the open air, and in society, as far as possible. Without this it will fall into decay, and both mind and body sink into imbecility, whilst those daily and constantly employed and engaged, are constantly and daily renovated, and kept from one hundred to one hundred and fifty years in perfect health. Allow me to urge upon you symmetry of the whole person. The head and neck erect, and strait with the back ; the shoulders thrown back ; the shoulder-blades laying flat against the back of the chest ; the front of the chest round, high and full ; the waist untrammelled ; the person strait, never stooping, save from the hip joints ; the step elastic and buoyant ; the teeth perfect, pure, complete and regular ; the diet wholesome, plain, full and simple. Exercise daily in the open air ; daily recreation and amusement as much as possible, in pleasant and cheerful society ; the bowels perfectly regular and free ; the kidneys unembarrassed ; the person daily washed with pure, cold water ; clothing graceful, appropriate, tasteful, light and sufficient : all these are entirely in your power. Should every one not be able to use cold water, use it tepid, by all means, use it. These, I repeat, are all at your command, whether your means are ample or limited, whether your lot is that of poverty or riches. All these are the servants of your bidding. They form those grand arts of the toilet, and of health, that for ages have found, more or less, a home in the high, princely and noble families of Europe, that have aided them to perpetuate their names- and lineage, from age to age, through many centuries, bestowing upon them an almost constant and universal exemption from the ills, the frequent cala- mities, and the devastating diseases which have continually preyed upon the ignorant and consequently ignoble classes, everywhere. These arts, conferring such superior physical endowments, such striking beauty, and so long continued, have struck mankind with 212 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. awe, and charmed their admiration, not only in rude ages, but in the most favored and enlightened periods of our own day. In 1837, I had the honor of attending a ball in the French ca- pital, given under the patronage of the Duchess of Roxburgh. About 3,500 ladies and gentlemen were present, comprising the most distinguished English and French nobility then in Paris. Many distinguished English and French officers, of the highest grades. Some ladies wore ornaments to the value of one hundred thousand dollars. Two sons of Louis Philippe were present. Here I had an opportunity of noticing and verifying all I have before said of the connection of symmetry, health and beauty. Ladies of sixty hardly looking thirty ; gentlemen, seventy, and scarcely seeming forty. Not a round-shouldered European in this assem- blage ; no lack-lustre eyes; no pale-sunken cheeks; no halting gaits ; no balancing, first on one foot, then on the other. Nearly all the ladies wore the top of the chest bare, yet no scarred bosoms were seen ; no scraggy collar-bones stood out over the chest, but all was symmetry and grace, presenting the human machine in its fullest symmetry and highest elegance, and perfect health. Each lady, besides borrowed ornaments, presented in her ani- mated countenance three brilliants, brilliant teeth, brilliant com- plexion, and brilliant eyes. My next lecture to you will be upon the symmetry of tne inter- nal organs of the body and symmetry of mind. LECTURE FIFTH. TO LADIES, ONLY. On Symmetry of the Internal Organs of Hit Body, and on Symmetry of Mind, as preventing" Pulmonary Consumption, and ensunng Long Life. LADIES : THE present lecture will be upon the symmetry of the inter- nal organs of the body. By a glance at plate C, you will notice all these organs in their natural and appropriate places. The lungs, on each side of the chest, from the collar-bones above to the seventh rib below in front, and extending much lower back. The heart is in front between them. The contents of the chest are separated from the abdomen by a floating curtain, called the midriff. The right and left portions of the midriff are loose, and float upwards into the chest, every time we breathe out the air in the chest. On breathing in the air, the midriff of a person in health forms a floor to the lungs and heart, and descends until it is drawn tight, flat and stiff across the body. The midriff is so arranged as always to form rather a fast support to the heart, and floats below the lungs on their emptying out the air from the chest. The lungs are wedge-shaped ; the small ends of the wedges are uppermost, under the collar-bones, whilst the base of the lungs and vastly the larger portions are at the bottom of the lungs, and turned downwards heavily on to the dia- phragm. When we stand up, the lungs hang on the wind-pipes and large air-vessels, and on the larjre blood-vessels with which they are tied to the back-bone behind. The lungs float down- wards into the midriff or floor of the lungs, and sideways against the ribs, every time we draw in the air. The heart is also wedge-shaped, and its base or large end is uppermost, whilst its small end points downwards and sideways 314 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. into the left chest, occupying one-third more room in the left chest than it does in the right, measuring from the centre of the breast-bone, under which the heart is placed, towards its middle and lower part. The heart floats a little with the midriff, but is held securely in its place by its attachments to the lesser midriff, by its own case, and by the great blood-vessels that come and go from it. The heart and lungs both, and all, are enclosed in the chest, which is a basket of bones, formed by the back-bone behind, the breast-bone in front, and the ribs that go from the back-bone to the breast-bone ; seven ribs are long, five short ; the five lower ribs are short, yet all are so tied as to be connected with the breast-bone. (See plate B.) This basket of bones is entirely open at the bottom ; only divided off from the abdomen by a fleshy floating curtain. On looking into the abdomen on the plate, you notice towards the left side, below the breast and left lung, the stomach ; to the right of this, is the liver ; below, are the large and small bowels. Nearly all the bowels are floating, and readily move up and down, and rush out as quick as water, when, on standing, the walls of the abdomen are cut or broken through. Both ends of the large bowel are tied fast. The lower end of the large bowel is tied for some distance to the back-bone, and is thus kept from floating. It forms the back passage through the basket of the hips. BASKET OF THE HIPS. (See Plate B.) The basket of the hips is placed at the lower end of the waist, and is united to the end of the back-bone, at the bottom of the small of the back. This basket is open above and below, and is so placed that its lower end opens backwards, and its upper part pitches forward. (See the plate.) By this shape and position, in a strait, well-formed person, the bowels cannot fall down through the basket of the hips, but are stopped on the bone that crosses the lower part of the abdomen in front. This bone in front con- nects one side of the basket of the hips with the other. The bony walls of the basket of the hips are very thick, and very solid ; the only part moveable is the lower end of the back-bone*. The other parts of the bony walls of the basket of the hips, can hardly be said to have any power of being moved, or stretched, to a LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 215 wirger size, or to be capable of being compressed to a smaller size, offering a striking contrast to the walls of the basket of^the chest. The chest you can make as large as you please, or as small, but cannot move the basket of the hips, save in a slight degree, and never in any manner at will. In young persons, by a vicious habit of sitting in a very crooked posture, and long at a time, all bent into a heap, the basket of the hips may bend from its union with the back-bone, and come forwards at its lower parts, so as to make the basket of the hips pitch forward, instead of back- wards. This is a great deformity, and often leads to most deplo- rable consequences, by allowing the organs of the trunk of the body to fall into the basket of the hips ; by this at times pushing the wonfb entirely out of the body, and if not soon cured, will lead to being, at least, permanently bed-ridden. This deformed posi- tion of the basket of the hips, always.prevents being strait in per- son, or walking well, or standing erect. It is a great misfortune, and can always be prevented by sitting erect and strait, when you do indulge in a sitting posture, and by never sitting all in a heap, and much bent, and stooping. (See plate K.) The evil is aggravated by sitting long bent over on a hard seat, as is often seen with girls at school. The basket of the hips in females is much broader than in males, and is larger, and will hold much more than in males, all other things being equal. CONTENTS OF THE BASKET OF THE HIPS. The basket of the hips contains some of the most important or- gans of the body. In front, behind the cross-bone, first, is the bladder ; next, behind this, is the womb and its appendages ; behind this is the back passage, or lower end of the large bowel. The large bowel, in its whole length through the basket of the hips, is tied to the back- bone, or what represents it. The front passage only extends from the upper part of the womb outwards, when the womb is perfectly in its natural position. (See plates S and O, for a perfect view of all these organs in their natural posi- tions.) THE KIDNEYS. The kidneys are not in the basket of the hips, but above it, in 216 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. the small of the back, each side of the back-bone. Their office is to separate the surplus water, and salts, and earths, from the blood. There is a small chamber in each kidney, into which the water is first poured. From the chamber of each kidney a pipe passes downwards, behind the bowels, to the bladder, and conveys all the water from the kidneys to the bladder. (See plate S.) THE WOMB. The womb is situated between the bladder and back passage, and at the top of the front passage. The womb has the shape and figure of a pear, it is wedge-shaped, with its large end up- permost, and its lower, or small end, pointing downwards. Its base is upwards ; its lower end extends into the top of the front passage (see plates S and O.) The womb. is kept in its place by the soft parts around it, and by having no pressure at all on its top part. OVARIES. On each side of the womb, and connected with it by two pipes, are the ovaries, two balls of the size of a small egg. If the ovaries, or the pipes that lead from them to the womb, are diseased, or obstructed, so that nothing can pass from the ovaries to the womb, the female cannot become a mother. (See plate S, figs. 6-6.) SYMMETRY OF THE INTERNAL ORGANS OF THE BODY. I have before described the belts that cover the front and sides of the abdomen (see plate E.) The trunk of the body is a species of round box. Imagine a roundish box, the size of the trunk of the body, and that it is laid down flat, and stowed full of goods, and that half its lid is made solid and strong as a board, and the other half of its lid is made of cloth. Now, set tins-trunk up on end, the cloth part of its co- ver being at the lower part, all the goods will at once drag down to the lower part, and push out the cloth cover : hence, you will see how solid and firm the cloth cover must be, to keep up all the goods, and not burst out below. (See plate O.) This is a fair parallel of the formation and condition of the trunk of the body. LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 217 Plate O. Plate P. REFERENCES. O Side view of most of the organs of the body in their natural situation. C Elevated midriff, or floor of the lungs. 8 The stomach. G The bladder. H The front passage in the basket of the hips. I Back passage through the basket of the hips it is the lower portion of the large bowel. X Floating bowels. REFERENCES. P Side view of most of the important tft* gans of the body, which have fallen down from a relaxation of the abdomi nal belts. C Midriff. S Stomach, fallen down. G The abdomen hanging down. H The bladder. J The womb. X Floating bowels. All the organs of the trunk of the body, such as the lungs., heart, liver, stomach, and bowels, are kept in their places by the ab- dominal belts that enclose and form the walls of the abdomen. Now then, if these belts, or walls, become relaxed, or pushed 10 218 LECTURE TO LADIES uNLY. out, the effect is to cause, on standing up, u dislocation, or dragging down, more or less, out of their places, of the lungs, heart, stomach, liver, bowels, womb, ovaries, and back passage, producing the following effects, more or less aggravated, as the abdominal belts are more or less relaxed, taking every degree of mischief, from slight inconvenience to instant death. (See plate P.) Effects of a relaxation or giving way of the abdominal belts upon the lungs. The first effect is to take away from the floor of the lungs their support, and they drag downwards, causing w.heezing breathing, shortness of breath, asthma, a hacking cough, great difficulty, when standing up, to fill the lungs with air, a sense of great weakness and weariness under the collar-bones, a strong incli- nation to bring forward the shoulders upon the chest, and to stoop, on standing or sitting, a feeling of hollowness or emptiness at the top of the chest, great difficulty to get the breath, on walking fast, or on going up-hill, or up-stairs, or on any sudden exertion, running is impossible. Bleeding from the lungs is another effect of falling of the bowels, and relaxation of the abdominal belts, or coverings. I have often witnessed bleeding from the lungs in these cases. Another effect, in many cases, is a collapse, or closing all up of the air-cells of the upper parts of the lungs, and a shrinking up of the tops of the lungs, and thus allowing a deposit of tubercles, and formatioa of pulmonary consumption. Tall, thin ladies, with hardly any development of abdomen, are very often subject to falling bowels, when very few would imagine it possible. In proof of this, I have once before mentioned the stoppage of the progress of consumption when a lady is in the family- way, and its most rapid progress after the child is born. This leads me to remark, how carefully a consumptive lady should be supported, on getting up, after the birth of a child. I will mention two or three cases of consumption produced by falling of the bowels. In September, 1848, I was requested to see a young married lady, for consumption. I found a tall, elegant young lady, who had been very delicately brought up ; had been married thirteen LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 219 months. At the end of ten months, she gave birth to a daughter, and seemed doing extremely well. Three weeks after the birth of her child, she was allowed to leave her bed without sufficient support, and went fifty miles, to visit her mother. The want of support to the bowels allowed the lungs to drag down ; bleeding from the right lung began. I saw her twelve weeks after this, in the last stages of hopeless consumption. In those females who have never borne children, the abdomen may remain very flat, and yet the bowels fall down more or less ; but with ladies who have borne children, the abdominal belts become most enor- mously stretched and extended. After child-birth, they usually, in a few days or weeks, return to a smaller size, but rarely as fiat as before. Woe to the unfortunate consumptive mother, who, after child-birth, is allowed to rise too soon from her bed, or is not perfectly supported, when she does get up. In a great many cases of weak ladies, the abdominal belts never go back, to be small and flat, as they ought to be ; and, from the birth of a child, or a miscarriage, they date ill health ever after. Nearly all cases of bed-ridden ladies are made so from this cause. In Sep- tember, 1844, 1 visited a lady at Glastonbury, Ct., who had a child eighteen months old. The mother could never get up afterwards. At the end of one year, she fell into consumption, and was in its last stages when I saw her. In April, 1845, I was called to visit a young lady, at Provi- dence, Rhode Island. She was extremely beautiful and inclined to be fleshy. Soon after her marriage, she travelled with her hus- band through several of the western states, and during the journey rode seventy miles in a stage, on a very rough road. On return- ing to Providence, she soon found herself unable to walk, and had been confined eleven months to her bed and room. The morning of the day I saw her, she was taken with bleeding at her lungs. She told me the journey to the western country, and especially the stage-coach, travelling over the rough roads, seemed to shake and jar her inside almost to pieces, and that she had never re- covered from the fatigue of the journey. If her bowels had have been well supported, all these dreadful effects of her journey would have been entirely prevented. She had never been in a family way. I think nearly one-third of all consumptions in females are 320 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. induced by falling of the bowels, and thus leading to a dislocation and dragging down of the lungs. WEAKNESS AND LOSS OF VOICE FROM FALLING OF THE BOWELS, OR WEAKNESS OF THE ABDO- MINAL BELTS. Weakness of voice, and, at times, total loss of voice, arise from relaxation of the abdominal belts and consequent falling of the bowels. In this case, the lungs do not fill, the wind-pipe is dragged down, and weak voice and sore throat are the conse- quence. The person cannot sing or talk long, or read aloud, or speak in public, without excessive fatigue, and very soon cannot speak at all, unless relieved. A great many females and female teachers, who stand long and talk much, from weakness across the abdomen, lose their voices, become hoarse, take a sore throat, and if not relieved, are soon forced to leave their occupation. In March, 1845, I was consulted in Providence, Rhode Island, by a very accomplished lady, who was a teacher in a large school, but for four months past had been forced to leave her school, because of sore throat and great weakness of voice. She called on me, and asked me if I could relieve her in four days, because, if I could, she could return to her school at that time. I had the extreme pleasure, by God's blessing, to restore this lady to her school in four days, and to good health in a short time. (See her letter to me.) PALPITATION OF THE HEART. Several causes may produce palpitation of the heart. One of these is falling of the bowels, &c. On taking much exertion, or walking, or sitting long in church, or being in a crowd, if weak across the bowels, palpitation of the heart will come on in ladies of all ages. In July, 1844, I was consulted at Weathersfield, Connecticut, by two ladies, for palpitation of the heart, from which both suffered greatly. One w r as a married lady, mother of eleven children ; she was short and very fleshy. The other was a young single lady, about seventeen years old, tall and very thin. Both bad palpitation from the same cause, and both were cured by abdominal support. LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY, 221 FAINTING FITS. Many ladies, more especially young ones, are liable, on taking much exertion, to be suddenly overcome and to faint ; also, to faint in church, or in a crowd. This, in nearly all cases, is pro- duced by abdominal weakness. The heart is not well supported, and readily stops its action for a short time. This explains why a lady faints on standing, walking, or sitting up, that never faints whilst laying down. SINKING, ALL GONE AT THE PIT OF THE STOMACH, FROM FALLING OF THE BOWELS. Many ladies, and especially those who stand much, experience a most distressed and sinking feeling at the pit of the stomach a feeling of being all gone there, a place that seems quite empty, and that nothing will fill. Eating a full meal will, for a short time, usually stop this feeling, but it soon returns, and the lady feels as if she had eaten nothing, and a faint, exhausted feeling takes away all her spirits or ambition to do any thing. She ex- periences a sense of great weakness at th,e pit of the stomach, and a disposition to stoop. Stooping, at first, seems to relieve her a little, and she stoops more and more, until nearly bent double. I saw a tall lady, a few months ago, who began stooping, as I have said, and continued the habit until she was bent nearly dou- ble, bending from her hips so as to carry her head and chest and abdomen as low as her hips, producing a most distressing defor- mity. In other cases the lady feels as if cut in two at the pit of the stomach. At other times this weakness or sinking feeling is experienced in the side, either right or left, or both. If this weakness occurs on one side only, the lady will stoop more or less to that side. This great weakness and sinking at the pit of the stomach and sides, is usually much aggravated on walk- ing or lifting, or on taking any "active exercise. The lady is soon obliged to lay down, to recover her breath and strength. At other times the weakness is felt in front, opposite the hips, below the middle of the stomach. All this is perfectly cured by abdominal support. I have wit- nessed and cured a vast many cases of this kind. 222 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. This weakness at the pit of the stomach often leads to dyspep- sia or indigestion of the food. The food often, after eating, lays very heavy ; feels a load ; at other times the stomach bloats, and the lady feels as if she could not breathe. At other times the food sours in the stomach sooner or later after eating, and many kinds of f}od cannot be eaten. In others, in a longer or shorter time after eating, distressing pain is felt in the stomach. CHRONIC DIARRHCEA. In some cases, falling of the bowels from a relaxation of the abdominal belts, will produce a constant diarrhoea or looseness of the bowels, more or less urgent, which in many cases induces great debility. The stomach participates, more or less, in the weakness, and the food badly digested passes into the bowels and fermento there, causing flatulency and looseness. A vast many of these cases are cured by abdominal support. COSTIVENESS. In some cases, falling of the bowels causes them to be extreme- ly sluggish, and acting very slowly indeed, so as to seem almost as if dead ; often having no passage for days together, and fre- quently a^ rumbling and moving of wind in the bowels, a bloat- ing of them, &c., &c. Costiveness is usually very much helped, and often entirely cured, by abdominal support. LIVER COMPLAINT, CAUSED BY FALLING OF THE BOWELS.- (See Plate Q.) The liver is very heavy and solid, and strongly inclines to drag down, and fall low in the abdomen, if the abdominal belts are not strong and firm. I have known one case of a person who had very weak bowels. By riding on horseback, without having pro- per abdominal support, the liver broke partly in two, and the person died in a few hours. This remarkable case I shall relate in my lecture to the gentlemen. Jarring, and dragging down of the liver, will always, more or less, disturb it, and often causes if to secre'e a great deal of bile ; at other times, very little ; at other times, the natural position of the liver is changed, and the bile does not get out of the gall-bladder and liver as readily as it LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. 223 should do, and gall-stones are formed in the gall-bladder, thus producing jaundice, and almost every form of liver complaint. All these cases should receive our earliest attention ; and if any weakness of the abdominal belts is suspected, abdominal support should at once be employed. PAIN IN THE SIDE AND BREAST, PRODUCED BY FALLING OF THE BOWELS. A vast many cases of pain in the side are caused by weak- ness and relaxation of the abdominal belts. Pain in the breast is also produced by the same cause. I have witnessed such a vast number of cases of this kind, that I think two-thirds of the instances of pain ,in the side and breast in ladies arise from a falling of the bowels. When pain in the breast, or either, or both sides, is occasioned by weakness of the abdominal belts, and consequent falling of the bowels, it is rarely much helped by blistering, or setons, or issues, or sores, but is constantly apt to return in a short time after being stopped by any of these reme- dies. In those cases, the only permanent cure is derived from abdominal support. I have cured cases of pain in the side, of many years standing, after repeated bleeding, blistering, setons, emetic tartar sores, &c., had failed entirely to remove the pain. In fine, where the abdominal muscles, or belts, are much relaxed, or dragged down, all their upper ends, or attachments, are more or less liable to pain. WEAKNESS, PAIN AND HEAT IN THE BACK AND SPINE, PRODUCED BY WEAKNESS OF THE ABDO- MINAL BELTS, AND DRAGGING DOWN OF THE BOWELS. By looking at plates B and A, you will notice, that for a con- siderable distance the small of the back has no ribs going from the spine, by which it is strengthened, but that it consists of one co- lumn of moveable bones, and the ends of a considerable portion of the abdominal belts are tied to it ; so that in this way the spine of the small of the back is obliged to bear up all the contents of the abdomen. In a strait person, who does not stoop much, this weight is but little ; but in a person who stoops much, and whose 234 LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. abdominal belts are relaxed, it is greatly felt, producing great pain in the small of the back, that may extend up the spine, to the neck, causing heat in the spine, and soreness, and every symptom of a true spinal disease, in its earlier and milder forms. Abdominal support in all these cases is required. I would here remark, that the abdominal support should perfectly relieve the spine, and not bear on it, or cover it, or heat it at all ; but the pads should go up on the ribs, and down on the hip bones, so as to completely relieve the spine of any pressure or swaddling what- ever. Some of the worst spine diseases I ever saw, were pro- duced by pads of trusses, and supporters, resting in the small of the back, and pressing on the spine. GRAVEL PRODUCED BY FALLING OF THE BOWELS, &c. By looking at plate S, you will see the position of the kidneys ; each side of the spine, just above the point of the hips, and be- hind all the other contents of the abdomen. You will notice, also, two pipes that go, one from each kidney, forwards and downwards, behind the floating bowels, and down into the basket of the hips, to the back of each side of the bladder. These pipes, five to eight inches long, parry the water from the chamber of each kidney to the bladder. Now, then, when the floating bowels roll downwards, they often fall upon these pipes, and close them, more or less, so that the water is prevented from passing into the bladder. This throws it back into the chambers of the kidneys, and soon fills up the kidneys. The water usually has salts, and earths, and acids, &c., which it holds very lightly in solution. These salts, when the water stands for iany length of time, soon separate from the water, and fall down. This you can daily see in the chamber-vessels. These earths, in a short time, will glue together, and form masses, more or less large, from the size of grains of fine sand, to lumps that weigh several ounces. At times, all the walls of the chambers of the kidneys, and the pipes that carry the water from them to the bladder, are encrusted over with this sand. When this earthy matter is in the form of fine sand, it is called gravel. If it cements into masses larger than small peas, it is called stone. LECTURE TO LADIES ONLY. re, when I directed you, in order to form a fine chest, to take LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 269 long breaths, and in this way to fully expand the chest, and at the same time to jerk the shoulders downward, backward, and off of the chest. I also directed you to capry the chest perfectly erect and strait, and never voluntarily to stoop, and throw the chest forward, either in standing, walking, riding, or sitting, nor to stoop whilst writing, studying, or at work-bench occupations. Now, in addition to these, I will mention, that tying the shoulders together is a powerful assistant in preventing their displacement ; for you will recollect that the shoulder-blades, in order to go for- ward, and upward, also pass very much outward. Now, tying them firmly together will almost entirely prevent this change in their position. This leads me to introduce to your notice SHOULDER-BRACES (we Plate J,) or TRAMMELS, as they are sometimes called. The object of these instruments is to prevent the shoulder-blades from spread- ing apart, and to keep them in their natural position, flat against !* the back of the chest, and thus prevent their rising upward, and falling forward. The shoulder-brace should, at the same time, firmly support the whole spine, and the small of the back. Shoul- der-braces do not perform their whole duty, unless they fully support the small of the back, as a disposition to stoop frequently commences by a weakness in the small of the back. Shoulder- braces are not a new invention ; they have been worn by civil- ized people for hundreds of years, and even by uncivilized peo- ple. I was consulted about two years ago, by an old Indian woman, for a pain in her back, which she had had for fourteen years, and could obtain no relief. I had the pleasure of curing her in a few days. She enjoyed a high reputation in her tribe as a doctress. She imparted to me a knowledge of many of her best remedies, as a grateful return for the assistance I had ren- dered her. Among other things, she told me that forty years be- fore, when she was a young woman, she had experienced a great deal of pain in and between her shoulders, and also weakness and pain in her spine. At that time, aided by advice from no one, but resulting from her own reflections, she had come to the conclusion, that by making shoulder-braces that should confine her shoulders closely together, and support the spine, they 870 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. would entirely cure her spine of weakness, and all the pain in her shoulders and spine. She made and wore the shoulder- braces, and they effectually cured her, so that she had no more pain or weakness in her back for twenty-six years. Shoulder- braces are very often worn by officers in the European armies. Raw recruits in those armies, who are crooked in their person, and ungainly in their appearance, often have stout shoulder- braces put upon them/ This greatly assists in making them strait, and thus gives them a fine, manly, and erect carriage. Should they carry the head too much forward, or bend the neck too much, this is corrected by a wide, stiff, leather stock, that is made to encircle the whole length of the neck, and lift up the chin. HOW SHOULDER-BRACES SHOULD BE MADE. The thoulder-braces I now employ, are constructed with two elastic pieces of cloth, one piece resting in the small of the back, the other between the shoulders ; these two pieces are connectec by cloth bands, and by two firm pieces of whalebone, that lay on each side of the spine, but do not touch it, and extend from the bottom of the small of the back to high up between the shoulders ; the elastic piece in the small of the back is retained there by two broad straps, one on each side, that are fastened to the elastic piece, and come forward just above the hips, and buckle firmly together in front of the abdomen. These straps nowhere touch the ribs. To the elastic piece between the shoulders, two straps, one on each side, are fastened, that cross around the shoulders exactly at the outer end of the collar-bone, and above and for- ward of the ball of the shoulder. These straps are so joined as to be drawn backward, as firmly as you please, and bring the shoulders entirely off the chest. The elastic piece placed be- t\veen the shoulders allows as much play as we wish, and per- mits a free movement of the shoulders ; and as soon as this movement is completed, brings them back to their place. When 1 first began to employ shoulder-braces, I had them made with elastic water- proof stuff, that covered the whole spine, from the 11 of the back to the root of the neck. But I soon found this ' caused a -real deal of heat in the spine, and tended to weaken it very much, so that 1 now only employ a small piece of elastic stuff ^ LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 271 between the shoulders and the small of the back. I have parti- cularly cautioned every person to avoid wearing any shoulder- braces made of water-proof stuff, and constructed to cover the whole spine, from the neck to the loins, which will greatly heat the spine, and prevent perspiration from passing away from it, so that the spine will be very rapidly weakened and injured. By confining the shoulders firmly back, and tying them together, we cannot, by any possibility, bring them forward, so that they will crush in the front of the chest, but they will constantly keep the shoulders behind the chest, and thus cause the whole weight of the shoulders and arms to fall behind it, and so contribute rapidly to expand, instead of contracting it. Many persons use one hand, arm, and shoulder, much more than the other. When this is done, it very often causes weakness and pain in that shoulder, and a much greater sense of fatigue is experienced in it than in the one less used. The shoulder thus used is very often dragged forward, out of its place, and frequently drags the spine to that side, thus producing spine disease between the shoul- ders. The preventive of this is a well-adjusted pair of shoulder- braces. By thus tying the shoulders together, they are made to bear each other's burdens ; and thus their labors are equalized, so that no deformity of the shoulders, or disease of the spine, can take place, whilst a sense of weariness, or fatigue, will not be felt in one more than in the other. I have recommended shoulder- braces to almost every class of persons, and almost every occu- pation, and uniformly with benefit, where they were needed, and judiciously employed. I have recommended them, with advan- tage, to clergymen, lawyers, physicians, lecturers, professors in colleges, teachers, students, watch-makers, machinists, workers in cotton-mills, stone-masons, carpenters, brick-layers, dray- men, teamsters, stage-drivers, and, in fact, almost every pro- fession, trade, and occupation. I have had plain laboring peo- ple declare to me, over and over again, that the use of shoulder- braces took off one half the fatigue of their labor. One of the early effects of shoulder-braces is to remove pain from be- tween the shoulders^#nd about the neck, and in the spine of the neck, removing it from about the top of the chest, and in the chest, and very often taking away all pain and weakness LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. from the small of the back. They are a most valuable arti- cle for delicate boys going to school, and for students in col- leges, and delicate lads, and young men who are employed in stores, counting-houses, hotels, &c. Sometimes the shoulder-braces are drawn too tightly at first, o as to make them irksome to the wearer. This should never e done, but time should be taken to habituate ourselves to their use, so that in a moderately short time they will become exceed- ingly pleasant and agreeable. I have known the chest enlarged around its base, five inches in circumference, in six months, by no other means than wearing shoulder- braces. To persons who have delicate chests, and who in any way apprehend consump- tion, I would most particularly recommend^ in addition to shoulder- braces, the use of the inhaling tube. (For a description of the inhaling tube, and its effects, see Lecture II, on the preven- tion and cure of consumption.) Many persons have remarked to me, that it might be very easy to enlarge the chest, and restore the shoulders to their places, in young persons ; but, say they, can this be done with persons later in life ? I answer that I have most satisfactorily accomplished the enlargement of the chest at the age of fifty-six years. I am fully of the opinion, that a contract- ed chest can be enlarged and restored to symmetry, in persons of every age up to sixty-five years. In November, 1843, 1 was con- sulted by a very respectable man at Manchester, in New-Hamp- shire. He was fifty-six years of age, had a bad cough, and con- siderable pain about his chest. His breast-bone was very much depressed, so as to form a very deep depression and hollow in the bottom of the chest. By the use of shoulder-braces, &c., in a few months his chest was restored to perfect symmetry. The breast-bone was raised up entirely to its place, and the depression in it entirely obliterated. The pain in his chest and his cough were soon cured. In fine, Imust say that no man under sixty- five years need despair of having a fine, healthy, and perfect chest, in a moderately short time, by the use of the means I have indicated, especially wearing shoulder-braces, and using the in- haling tube ; by which means nearly every case of chest disease may be cured, or prevented. It always gives me great pleasure to address intelligent men on LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 273 these subjects, and especially mechanics, and persons practically acquainted with mechanical laws* That man in his formation is intended to stand and move in a perfectly upright position ; the head, neck, and other parts of the spine, standing perfectly per- pendicular to the hips, whilst the spine at the small of the back, in place of bending outward and backward, as occurs in crooked persons, naturally bends inward and forward. That this is our natural position is proven in the forms of all our children under three years of age, or who have not yet had their persons deformed by attending school, or by manual labor. The same fact is noticed in all savage nations with whom we are acquainted : the Indians of America, the native Africans, and the inhabitants of the South Sea islands. All travellers are every- where struck with the fine figures of these people. An exception to this is found only in those savages, who, from necessity, or in- dolence, reside in caves or very low tents, where they cannot stand or sit erect. Among these are the Hottentots of South Africa, and some others. These only form solitary exceptions. So that man, in his person, when standing or sitting, represents a strait, upright column. Allow me to ask you, who are me- chanics, how much more weight a stooping column can bear than a strait one, and how much longer will a stooping column last, supposing it made of perishable materials, than if it stood upright. There can be but one answer, and that is immeasura- bly in favor of the upright column. Whilst the upright column will support almost any weight, a trifling pressure crushes the stooping one to the earth. Now, we will suppose a man carries his head, neck and shoulders perpendicularly, as intended in his formation ; he suffers no fatigue from this position, and experiences no wear and tear of his system, however long continued. In fact, this position is constantly consolidating the frame of the system, harmonizes with every part of it, and confers upon it the greatest firmness and durability. So perfectly does this accord with universal experience, that upon beholding a strait symmetrical man, we at once and almost involuntarily associate with him the idea of long life. On the contrary, take a man who throws his head and neck forward, and observe to what a mechanical dis- advantage it is supported. It becomes at once an absolute burden, 12* 274 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. and, although habit makes us quite unconscious of it, yet its bad effects are shown by the far greater fatigue, and far less power of endurance, that such a person suffers over one who carries his head and neck strait. It is a source of constant wear and tear to the system. Now extend the case still farther, and in addition to the head and neck, bend forward the shoulders and spine, and the evils are still more increased, just in proportion to the deformity, so that a crooked man, especially if young, and even at any period of life, at once gives us the impression of disease, weakness, and debility, and especially of age ; the young man looks much oldei than he is, and the older man quite anticipates his years. PREMATURE OLD AGE. Besides the diseases I have mentioned, resulting from deformi. ty arid crookedness of person, there is one effect that always takes place in all cases, and that is premature old age. I am fully aware tha* occasionally many very old people are seen, who, at the same time, are very crooked. Such persons should know that their hves are always shortened by being crooked. Most persons think, that to become crooked is incident to old age. Bowed down with years, is a poetical expression ; but man was never yet made crooked by age. Crookedness of person always results from habit, occupation, debility, or disease. To demon- strate this, I can point out numbers of very old people, even to one hundred years, who are quite strait (see portrait of Henry Francisco.) in their persons, and could we find only one old per- son strait, this would prove that we are not made crooked by old age. The disposition to stoop is a matter of habit, and creeps upon us in a most insidious manner. We often stoop from mere indolence. Disease, by inducing debility, most usually inclines us to lie down or to stoop forward, when standing or walking. I will remark, that man's natural position being to stand upright, all the bands, belts, ties, and fastenings of the different parts, and all their coverings, and moving powers, are arranged for a strait perpendicular position. The faces of all the bones at the joints, as they meet each other, are arranged to this perpendicular struc- LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 275 lure and face upon each other accordingly. Now then, when we bend forwards, and continue so permanently in proportion as as we do it, we put some of the fleshy parts upon the stretch ; others are relaxed, some are made shorter and others longer than natural, and all are thrown out of their correct bearing. Were it not for the great power of self- reparation, possessed by the sys- tem, and its ability to adopt and re-arrange itself to meet great changes in it% form, though always to its injury and disadvan- tage, the machine would soon cease to act altogether, and life become extinct. I think I have said enough on this subject, and will leave it to you, and especially to those of you who are me- chanics, to fill up what I have omitted, by your own judicious reflections. POSITION WHEN LYING DOWN. I have mentioned, that in sitting or standing, the person should be kept perfectly strait, and as much so as possible at all of our occupations. I am farther inclined to the opinion, that children and all young persons should be taught to lay flat upon their backs, with the head as low as the shoulders, without any pillow at all. This would contribute most powerfully to make young persons strait. By sleeping upon pillows, much raised, it inclines young persons to become crooked. I know that the functions of life and the circulation of the blood are much easier carried on when we lay down upon a level bed, with the head as low as the shoulders. This is shown in persons who are very low in fever, or who have lost a great deal of blood, or been greatly reduced from any cause : lay them flat down on their backs, with the head fully as low as the shoulders, and life will continue, when, at the same time, were you to place them in an upright position, they would immediately die. Men, who from long habit have been accustomed to lay with the head very much raised, will find it very irksome or impossible to lay with their heads low. Fleshy men, and those with very short necks, find it indispensable to lay with .the head high, so that the blood shall enter the brain with difficulty, and leave it easily. By this means the circulation of the blood is mechanically obstructed towards the head ; but in all young persons, and a 31 those spare of flesh, there is no objection 276 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. to laying with the head low, and many positive advantages will result from it. SELF-REPARATION OF THE BODY. In my first lecture, I fully pointed out the uses of the lungs, which are, in the first place, to give the moving power to the hu- man machine ; and, in the second, to purify the blood. It is the ^uty of the heart to circulate the blood. We now come to con- sider that set of organs whose duty it is to prepare and change our food, so as to make it into blood, or, at least, all the nutritious parts. These organs are the teeth, the stomach, the liver, and bowels. The food, after being, if solid, thoroughly masticated, or chewed well, is first mixed in the mouth with the saliva, its natural moisture. Some parts about the mouth are so prepared, that, upon receiving solid food into the mouth, streams of pecu- liar water are thrown upon the food, and mix with it, whilst chewing, and go with it to the stomach, when it is swallow- ed. It is of vast importance to man, both to his health and continuance of his life, that he have good teeth ; and, for this reason, they should be carefully preserved. The teeth are never lost, except by accident or disease. A vast deal may be done to insure their preservation, and cure their diseases, by calling in the aid of the skilful surgeon-dentist. You can scarcely confer a greater favor upon your young sons, than to place their teeth un- der the care of a judicious and skilful dentist, by which means they will be certain to have, when grown up, their teeth healthy, regular, and perfect. You can scarcely, do yourselves a greater favor, than to preserve your teeth, by the aid of the dentist. De- cayed teeth should be either extracted or plugged, and the teeth should always be kept clean. The loss of the teeth, so that food cannot be well chewed, or masticated, is a great calamity, and always contributes, more or less, to shorten life. The food, after being masticated, in the first movement of swallowing, passes into the gullet, which is a long fleshy tube, that lays behind the wind- pipe, and passes downward, entirely through the whole length of the chest, into the left side of the stomach. (See plate E.) In swallowing, food, either solid or liquid, passes down this tube, into the stomach. LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 277 THE STOMACH. For a view of the gullet, stomach, bowels, and liver, see plates E, N, O, and Q. On the plates, you will have a much better idea of these organs than can be given by an oral descrip- tion. I will remark, that the stomach has a good deal the form of a hunter's horn, its larger portion being towards the left side, at the upper part of the abdomen, and separated from the heart and lungs by the midriff, or diaphragm, which is a fleshy curtain that divides the abdomen from the chest. (See plate O.) The inlet to the stomach is on the top. at its left side ; the outlet is at its right end ; much the larger portion of the stomach hangs be- low its outlet. This arrangement prevents the food and liquids from passing out of the stomach, by their simple weight alone. The stomach will hold from one pint to two quarts. Its walls are very thin, generally, and are capable of being very consider- ably stretched. This is one of the causes of its difference in size Those who eat and drink a great deal at a time, are apt to have much larger stomachs than moderate eaters and drinkers. O The food remains in a healthy stomach from half an hour to four hours. As soon as the food is swallowed, commences a process by which a considerable portion of the food is eventually con- verted into blood. This, considered in all its steps, is one of the most mysterious processes known to us. How portions of a po- tato, for instance, can be so modified and changed as to become flesh, is very difficult of explanation. We know it takes place, but exactly how, it is difficult to determine. It is the purpose of the lungs to give us the power of action, whilst it is the duty of the stomach to make such changes in the food, that this shall form the substance and growth of the body, and serve to repair all the waste of the body. It is of vast as- sistance to our stomachs, that the food is well chewed or ground up before it is swallowed, so that when it comes into the stomach it slrall be in a stale of fine, minute division. When the stomach is unhealthy, food may remain in it a great length of time. The late Dr. D wight, President of Yale College, vomited up a piece of boiled carrot that had remained in his stomach t \vejve weeks. A gentleman in Virginia told me last summer, that he 278 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. knew a boy to vomit up some persimmon seeds that had remained in his stomach forty-six days. Thus in weak stomachs the food may remain a long time without being much changed ; or it may ferment and form a strong acid, at the same time generating air more or less foul, at times producing an exceedingly unpleasant breath. . These unnatural changes and decay of the food in the stomach, attend the disease called dyspepsia. This is oc- casioned by various causes, but chiefly in grown-up persons it arises from badly masticating the food, from debility of the stomach itself, but above everything, and more than all other causes com- bined, it arises from eating more than the waste of the system requires. For we must always bear in mind, that after the hu- man frame is fully formed, all the object and purpose of food is to repair its waste, or the loss of its subtance which is daily taking place. Now, the system, when not under the influence of disease, experiences the greatest waste and loss of substance by hard and long-continued labor, such as is experienced by all the out-door laboring population, and by many in-door labors. Hard and long-continued out-door labor, unless too excessive, greatly invigorates the system, improves the appetite, and strengthens the stomach, at the same time producing great waste of the substance of the body ; the stomach, now greatly invigor- ated, is called upon to furnish the supplies, to repair all this waste ; it is under these circumstances that the stomach is able to do its best performances ; it seizes upon any, even the plainest and coarsest food, and rapidly converts it into materials for the healthiest blood, so that the 7 waste of the person of the laboring man is promptly repaired. So active is his stomach, that he is obliged to eat coarse and hearty food, that it may not pass off too rapidly. Now, the idle, the effeminate, and all those that pursue sedentary occupations, experience but a small share of the waste of the body that is suffered by the laboring man. Hence it is, that they are called upon to eat vastly less food and much lighter in its quality, and easier of digestion, than the laboring man. The great secret of preventing dyspep'sia is never to eat any more than the waste of the body requires. How much or how little this is, can only be determined by the experience of each LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 279 individual. There is no laying down any positive rules on this subject. Each individual will learn, that if he eats, even for a short period, more food than the waste of his system requires, or its growth demands, the stomach may at first digest this surplus food, but in a short time, as if possessed of an intuitive perception that these extra supplies are not wanted, it will refuse to prepare them, refusing, of course, to digest this surplus quantity of food. As I may speak again, in another place, upon the subject of diet, I will say no more of dyspepsia now. PROGRESS OF THE FOOD, AFTER LEAVING THE STOMACH. The food, after remaining in a healthy stomach from half an hour to four hours, passes out of the right opening of the sto- mach. The process of digestion having reduced the food to a ho- mogeneous consistence, considerably like cream, in its substance, after leaving the stomach and going a short distance, it unites with the bile. A portion of stimulants and liquids go from the stomach into the blood. The bile is a bitter soap, the object of which is to produce still farther changes in the food, and facilitate its passage through the bowels. The presence of bile is indispensable to perfect diges- tion. We presume it to be of great consequence in the animal economy, from the immense size of the organ, or machine em- ployed to prepare it. It is the duty of the liver to prepare the bile. The stomach is placed in the left upper side of the abdo- men, and partly under the short ribs. The liver occupies the right side of the top of the abdomen, and is divided into several lobes or divisions, lying partly under the short ribs ; a flap of it extends on the left side, considerably upon the stomach. The liver weighs a number of pounds, say from five to ten times as much as the empty stomach. It is by far the heaviest organ of the interior of the body. (See plate Q.) The food, after uniting with the bile, now rapidly passes down into the SMALL BOWELS. For a view of these bowels, see plates C and R. They are about 25 feet long, and after a great many turnings and convolu- 280 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. tions, terminate in the large bowel at the right groin, and are se- parated from the large bowel by a valve. The food passes ra- pidly through these small bowels. Those parts of it suitable for blood, are drawn out from the small bowels, that like worms have their ten thousand mouths, opening into these small bo'vels, and sucking but the nourishing parts of the food, immediately carry it into the blood-vessels. The coarse portions of the food, or such parts as are undigested, or are unfit for food, pass through the whole length of the small bowel, and are discharged into the large bowel. THE LARGE BOWEL, OR COLON. For a view of this bowel, see plate C. The large bowel com- mences at the right groin, within the abdomen ; it is about the size of the wrist, and sometimes larger. From the place of its beginning, it at first rises upward, passing inside of the right hip, and above the loins, until it reaches the under edge of the liver. It now makes a great turn to the left, and passes under the edge of the stomach, to the left side. It now turns, and goes downward past the loins, and inside the left hip-bone, for some distance downward, when it turns to the right, and crosses the left side of the abdomen, to the back-bone, or to a point opposite the centre of the back-bone, where it is tied. At this point it now turns downward, and continues strait down, lying close to the bone, until it passes out of the body. This bowel, in its whole length, is about five feet long, and, in some persons, will hold nearly a gallon, or more. The coarse portions of the food remain in this bowel about twenty-four hours in a healthy person, when it is evacuated from the body. Should the food remain in the bowel much longer than twenty-four hours, it produces that disease, or condition of the system, known by the term COSTIVENESS. The human system is endowed with peculiar appetites, and ap- parent instincts, and is remarkably under the control of habit ; for example, one person will dine at twelve o'clock in the day, others will dine at two, four, or six o'clock. Now, any person at the hour of his meals, whether it be dinner, breakfast, or supper, LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 231 when in health, will usually, more or less, feel the calls of hun- ger, and have a disposition to eat. But if not regular in his hours of eating, will either be hungry nearly all the time, or will have no appetite at all, or be very capricious in his appetite. So with the stomach : food thrown into it at regular intervals, and not too frequently, nor too much of it, will usually be well digested. The stomach, as if by instinct, expects it, and is prepared to receive it, and to digest it at these stated periods. But let a person be irre- gular in the hours of eating, and he will very soon, if I may use the expression, destroy the instincts of his stomach, and greatly impair the powers of digestion. Now, this influence of habit upon the instincts and calls of the system, is in no respect more remark- able than in the periods of the evacuations. There is no doubt that these periods, in every child or man, is distinctly experienced every day, and might always take place, unless checked by the will, or by careless inattention to them. Hence I infer, that cos- tiveness is, in nearly every case, produced by not attending to the calls of Nature at stated periods. BAD EFFECTS OF COSTIVENESS. When the coarse portions of the food, or, we might call it, ex- crementitious matter, is too long retained in the large bowel, very injurious consequences result from it. We eat and drink from four to twelve pounds, and, in some persons, much more, every day ; and all of this must leave the body, after having per- formed the offices assigned to it. You can ask me, how I know all leaves the body. I reply, that I know this is the case, and, of course, refer to adults ; from the fact, that the greater portion of mankind weigh very little, or no more, at seventy-five. years of age, than at twenty-five, and, very often, they weigh much less. During the long period of fifty years, thry may have eaten and drank something like an hundred and fifty thousand pounds weight of liquids and solids, so much does it require to replen- ish the daily waste of the human system for fifty years. Now then, there are only four great avenues through which the system relieves itself of its effete or redundant supplies. These are, through the pores of the skin, through the lungs, through the bowels, and through the kidneys, bladder, &c. A 682 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. very insignificant discharge is also obtained from the nose and internal surface of the mouth. These are all the avenues of re- lief to a loaded system ; and, on their harmonious and equal ac- tion, greatly depends health, and, with it, length of life. It is very true, that one of these may be very deficient in the discharge of its appropriate office, and the others will do duty for it. But, in a tolerably short period, if any one of these avenues is blocked up, the others w r ill refuse to do duty for it ; and then general disease will invade the whole system. This is exemplified in the BAD EFFECTS OF COSTIVENESS. When the excrementitious portions of food are retained too long in the large bowel, the fluid parts that should pass by the bowels are thrown upon the kidneys, lungs, or skin, and contribute to produce disease of these parts in any person predisposed to them. Thus, suppose a person to be inclined to disease of the lungs, or to raise a good deal from them, costiveness will always aggra- vate or increase this, and, very often, is the principal or entire cause of it. In the commencement of disease of the lungs, cos- tiveness is almost always present; and the same remark may ap- ply to the condition of the kidneys. I do not recollect to have ever witnessed a case of bleeding from the lungs, that was not preceded, more or less, by costiveness. The symmetrical or equal circulation of the blood is often impaired by costiveness, and its circulation is very much retarded through the lower bowels. It is often one great cause of determination of blood to the head, and thus producing obstinate head-aches and vertigo, swimming in the head, dropsy in the brain, and a disposition, in some persons, to apoplexy and is one great cause of it, and of paralysis, or palsy, either partial or general, and also of impaired vision, or weakness and even loss of sight. It is rarely, or ever, that these affections of the head occur, unless costiveness is present ; or, at least, we nearly always, at this time, notice a sluggish state of the bowels. The nervous system is greatly af- fected by costiveness. Indeed, the almost constant effect of con- tirmed costiveness is to produce great debility of the nervous sys- tem, making the sufferer peculiarly nervous. The mind is more or less clouded, and quite incapable of great or long-continued effort. LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. DEPRESSION OF SPIRITS. There is no one accompaniment of costiveness more frequently observed than depression of spirits, especially in persons a little advanced in life. It seems to cloud the whole mind, and to de- stroy every pleasure, to take away all elasticity and buoyancy of the feelings, and to produce a distressing sense of impending wo to come, in the form of poverty, calamity, or disease. Universal fullness of blood is often produced ; and this, at times, leads to dropsy, either partial or general. Diseases of the heart are always aggravated, and sometimes produced, by cos- tiveness. I have frequently observed an enlargement of the right side of the heart, in persons long habituated to sluggish, cos- tive bowels. In nearly every case of heart-disease, scarcely anything aggravates it more than costiveness, and few^ remedies relieve it so much as free bowels. Sluggish bowels are a very efficient cause of dyspepsia. It is true, that you will sometimes witness obstinate dyspepsia when chronic diarrhoea is present. But, in nineteen cases out of twenty, costiveness seems the cause of dyspepsia. In fact, it is exceedingly rare to witness good di- gestion, when the bowels are costive. Nothing contributes, as a general thing, to relieve dyspepsia more than to have a free state of the bowels. Liver complaint is often produced by costiveness. The liver is apt to become enlarged, and engorged with blood, and to pass off its bile badly. It is true, that a disease of the liver will frequently produce costiveness, or, rather, that a want of bile in the bowels will produce it. JAUNDICE Is often produced by costiveness : at any rate, jaundice and cos- tiveness are nearly always found existing together ; and relieving the bowels tends very much to relieve the jaundice. PILES. Piles are often produced by costiveness. The accumulation 01 matter in the lower bowel prevents the return of blood from that bowel, and thus very often causes piles. 884 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. A BAD BREATH Is almost always present in persons of an habitually costive habit. From the pores of the skin, in case of long-continued costiveness, the most unpleasant odor often arises, or is thrown out, rendering the unhappy subject almost a nuisance. SEA-SICKNESS Is almost always aggravated by costiveness, and almost pre- vented by having the bowels free. In fact, there is not a function of the whole system that may not be greatly impaired by costive- ness. Let me for a moment refer you to some other machines. Take, for example, a locomotive steam-engine, and suppose the fireman did not clear the ashes from his fireplace, how long, think you, could he thus run his engine ? Every part would soon become clogged ; little fire could be made ; no steam could be generated, and thus no power would be evolved, and his engine would become, to all intents and purposes, useless. Such, also, is the comparative effect of habitual costiveness upon the human machine ; every part is clogged by it, and every function em- barrassed. It aggravates most diseases, and inclines to produce many. The bowels must be kept tolerably free to insure good health and long life. I have referred to the fact, that costiveness is usually produced by repulsing the daily instincts of Nature. After we have broken up regular habits in this respect, the calls of Nature come to us at longer intervals, and with feebler influence, so that one week, two weeks, and even one month, will pass with- out an evacuation, until the bowels seem to have lost all power of action. I have known one case where no evacuation was had for four months and a half, and another case of nine months. Nothing in either of these cases could procure an evacuation, so nearly dead had the bowels become. The last person most un- expectedly recovered. I have not heard the result of the former. I once knew a young man, whilst on shipboard and very sea-sick, who suffered himself to remain three weeks without an evacuation. He came very near losing his life by it. Great accumulations will sometimes take place in the bowels, and produce sudden death. Mr. Legare, of Charleston, S. C., Secretary of State, under LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. President Tyler, died suddenly from this cause, at Boston, in June, 1843. I witnessed another death from the same cause, in Boston, and another in London. MANNER OF CURING COSTIVENESS. As costiveness exerts such a pernicious influence upon the system, and contributes so much to shorten life, it is most desira- ble to know how to prevent it. The best and most desirable mode of curing it, is by restoring the habit. Let the costive person, exactly at the same time every day, solicit an evacuation, and that most perseveringly for at least one hour, should he not suc- ceed sooner, at the same time leaving off all medicine. So much is the system influenced by habit, aided by the will, that in nearly all cases obstinate perseverance in this course, and never omitting it afterwards, will entirely cure their sluggish state, and the bowels become as free as is desirable, and the calls of Nature be come as regular and urgent as if they had never been inter rupted. There are some persons, however, who seem, or pre- tend to believe, that they still require further assistance. These will find themselves greatly assisted by eating rather coarse food, such as coarse bread, rye and Indian bread, and bread made of wheat-meal, or, we might call it, unbolted flour, sometimes called bran bread, and at other times Graham bread. Some persons derive great benefit from eating fruit. Almost all the summer fruits are found useful, apples, &c., throughout the year. Others derive great benefit from the free use of vegetables, &c. All will be benefitted by avoiding the use of very tough meat, and very hard salted meat. I rarely recommend any other me- dicine to correct costiveness, than the use of a very small quan- tity of rhubarb. That which should be selected, if practicable, is the best Turkey rhubarb, either in the form of the root, or powder ; the root is apt to be the purest. A few grains of this taken daily serves to improve digestion, strengthen the bowels, and remove costiveness. Rhubarb has the rare property over all other medicines with which I am acquainted, in a vast many cases, of never losing its effect. A great many medicines taken to open the bowels, soon lose their effect, and require the dose to be very much increased ; until, finally, they will not act 286 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. in any dose, and leave the bowels much worse than when the pa- tient commenced taking them. But this is not the case with rhu- barb, as a general thing. I knew one gentleman in Philadelphia, who took a portion of Turkey rhubarb every night for thirty years. This gentleman, on account of obstinate costiveness, be- gan with taking sixty grains every night, and when he related to me his case, he found it necessary to use only four grains every night. The late Dr. Physic, of Philadelphia, told me he had many patients in that city who had used rhubarb to great advan- tage, very much of the time, for forty years or more. In concluding this part of our subject, allow me to say to you, that to have the bowels in perfect order, and acting freely and kindly every day, is most desirable, and may be said to be indis- pensable to health and long life, and with this the happiness, the delights, and the pleasures of existence. A free, healthy state of the bowels is truly a pearl of great price, and a condition of in- estimable value to the possessor. It is true, that some persons of costive habits live to old age, whilst thousands and tens of thou- sands are destroyed by it. The fact only proves under what dis- advantages the system will labor on, and continue its functions. Let me repeat that, HABIT, HABIT, is the great cure-all. Assist this, if necessary, by regulating the diet, and, as a last resort, use a little rhubarb, but assist all by habit. Allow me to say one word to those who are fathers, husbands, and heads of families : that in the arrangement of water-clos- ets or necessary out-buildings, a good deal of art or discretion should be used, so that the delicate and modest members of your families may not, from fear of exposure, inconvenience, &c., be deterred or prevented from obeying the calls of Nature. Some- times these buildings are so exposed to the cold or cutting winds, while passing to them, or even exposure to wet or damp whilst in the building, that some of your beloved and delicate ones are de- terred from visiting them when they should. Besides, one or more rooms, as the number of inmates may demand, these buildings should be kept clean, perfectly accessible, and free from expo- sure. In no one particular is the intelligence, the civilization, and refinement of a people, or an individual family, more strik- ingly marked than in the preparation of these necessary build- LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 287 ings. No people on the face of the earth equal the English na- tion, in the attention, the expense, and the skill in the arrangement of these conveniences. If I dared, or the subject would admit of it, I could enter into a great many details connected with this subject, that I have witnessed in the cities of Italy, and in most parts of France, and in some portions of this country, that would contrast most unfavorably with what I have said of the English ; but I forbear, with the remark that I have no doubt^and indeed I have the best reasons for knowing, that many a father has wit- nessed the ruined health of the members of his family, caused wholly by inattention to this one subject. My subject would not be complete, were I to omit speaking one word to you upon the evacuation of water. I mentioned to you that the system un- burdened itself through the bowels, kidneys, lungs, and skin. An immense amount is carried off by the kidneys. THE OFFICES OF THE KIDNEYS, BLADDER, &c. Those solid portions of meat we eat and drink, not entering into the blood, are required to pass off by the bowels. But it is the of- fice of the kidneys to separate a vast amount of fluids from the blood, and with these fluids, and dissolved in them, they throw off a great quantity of earths, acids, and salts, which, if not taken from the blood, would soon destroy litb. THE BLADDER Is a natural reservoir for holding the water until periods conve- nient for its evacuation. The water is brought from each kidney by a long pipe, that extends from the chamber of each kidney to the bladder. The kiclneys are situated in the small of the back, one on each side of the -back-bone : the bladder is placed low down in the basket of the hips, and immediately behind the front cross-bone. (For a view of the kidneys, and the pipes that con- vey the water to the bladder, and the bladder itself, see plate S.) The bladder is capable of being enormously distended, by the habit of retaining the water too long. There are many persons who, from carelessness, and sometimes from modesty, do not evacuate the bladder when called to do so. If this habit is long continued, extremely pernicious effects are ; ' LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. apt to result. One of these is to~produce more or less a disten- sion of the bladder, the effect of which is to greatly lessen the secretion of water. 'The kidneys, if I may use the expression, being informed that the outlet is obstructed, cease to secrete as much water as they otherwise would ; and hence much less urine is secreted from the blood. The skin, the lungs, and the bowels, will then be called upon to do duty for the kidneys, and to take out tbe earths, salts, and water from the blood. It is, how- ever, chiefly thrown off through the skin. Any person who has witnessed a stoppage of water for any length of time, is immedi- ately struck with the smell of urine that, comes from every part of the skin of a person troubled with a stoppage of water. The next evil, I will mention, resulting from too long containing the water, is that the water accumulated in the bladder, and remaining there for some time, allows the earths, salts and acids, that it holds in solution, to fail down and settle at the bottom and sides of the bladder, and thus lay the foundation for gravel in the kidneys and bladder, and stone in the bladder. Much, very much, of all this mischief is prevented by never retaining the urine when we are called upon to discharge it. Any considerable obstruction in the action of the kidneys and bladder, especially if long con- tinued, in a great many cases leads to dropsy. At all events, we rarely ever notice dropsy, without at the same time observing that the kidneys are slow in their action, and pass off much less than their usual quantity of water. Although gravel is usually readily cured, yet it is better to prevent this and all other diseases of the kidneys and bladder, by never omitting to evacuate the water when called upon to do so. It was long ago observed in England, that the highest and lowest classes of socie- ty were always far more exempt from stone in the bladder, than the intermediate classes, and they could only account for it from the fact, that the highest and lowest classes of society there are perfectly easy in their manners, and not deterred by modesty, or want of convenience, from evacuating the bladder whenever they chose. Somewhat the reverse of this is found in the middling classes, and hence their greater liability to stone in the bladder. LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 889 THE SKIN AND ITS OFFICES. In order to insure perfect health, great attention should be paid to the state of the skin. The skin is the external covering of the body, and is to man a natural clothing. There are yet some nations of the earth known to exist without wearing any artificial clothing whatever. I mention this as merely showing the amount of pro- tection derived from tl?^ skin. That it is a covering or protection, we have only to notice those parts of our person that are exposed to the air, such as t'ie hands and face, which are usually uncover- ed : these meet the air with perfect impunity. In addition to being a clothing, the sku is pierced with an innumerable number of very small holes, through which constantly pass a vast quantity of fluids from the body, either in apparent or invisible perspiration. Sometimes we will see great drops of perspiration standing on every part of the body ; at other times it is not visible to the eye, yet it is always passing ofF in great quantities when in health. Were the clothing to be removed entirely from a man, and his body placed under a glass case, and the air pumped off, he would seem to be covered entirely with a cloud of vapor. This is the insensible perspiration. The same thing may be noticed on first entering a bath : in a moment or two after the person is under the water, upon looking over the surface of the body covered by the water, we will notice vast numbers of little air-bubbles, seem- ing to stick to the skin. The minute openings through the skin are called its pores, and through these pores vast quantities of fluids, and even solids, pass off. It is perfectly indispensable to health, that the skin be kept in a healthy, vigorous condition, and that its pores be always entirely unobstructed. It is not desirable that the skin have too much clothing placed upon it ; indeed, we should wear as little clothing as possible, consistent with comfort. This will depend upon each person's experience and early habits. It is well known to every observer, that those children who go barefooted through all the warm months of the year, and who wear little more clothing than a linen or cotton shirt and trowsers would be upon boys, and continue this light clothing and bare feet for as many months as possible in each year, and during aU 13 290 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. the years of childhood, have much better constitutions, and enjoy far better health in after-life, than those who are more delicately brought up. The same thing applies to the continued preservation of health in adults. The more the surface of the body is exposed, and the lighter the clothing, if they can bear it, the more health they will have. An old man in New Hamp- shire, who had attained to nearly his ninetieth year, remarked to a friend, that of late he had become very effeminate. " Now," said lie, " I am obliged to wear shoes more than two months of the year, when for the most part of my life I have been able to go barefoot the whole year." I knew an old man at Bristol, Conn., who was eighty years old, that never wore stockings upon his feet, and only India rubber shoes through the season of snow. All his other clothing was correspondingly light. He enjoyed perfect health, and spent a large part of every twenty-four hours in active out-door employment. It is well known what excellent health the American Indians enjoy, and how impatient they are of clothing. For nearly or quite eight months of the year, in our cold climate, they wear very little clothing. For this reason, I think, cotton next to the skin is better than woollen. I will, how- ever, leave this subject to every man's experience, fully believing that the less clothing we wear, consistent with comfort, is most conducive to health. I would particularly urge every man not to increase his clothing, unless forced to do so by actual suffer- ing. BATHING. The skin should be kept clean, and the best mode of invigo- rating it, besides exposing it to the air, is to bathe the surface of the body frequently with cold water, this at all seasons of the year. To men who are delicate, and not accustomed to bathing, and exposure of the person to the air, I would particularly recom- mend to them, when they commence bathing, if in cold weather, to do so in a well-heated room. This ablution of the body with cold water, I think should be done every day of the year. Many per. sons shudder at the idea of using cold water upon their persons in cold weather. I think it is then most useful. In the very cold winter of 1835-6, the Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, D.D., one of the LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 291 oldest Episcopal clergy in Philadelphia, called at my house on one of the coldest days. The old man was about seventy-five years of age, and of a very light, thin figure. In the course of conver- sation he chanced to remark, that he did not feel as well as usual that day, because he had forgotten to take his bath in the morn- ing. " Why," said I, "Doctor, you do not take-a cold bath such weather as this ?" " Yes," said he, " I have been in the habit of bathing in cold water every day, in all seasons of the year, for more than fifty years." Few men ever enjoyed more uninter- rupte,dly good health during a long life than Dr. Abercombie. In January, 1845, I was called upon at Norwich, in Connec- ticut, by an old gentleman seventy-two years of age. He told me that he had not heard my lectures, but that he had heard of them, and my remarks upon bathing in cold water. He said to me, " My neighbors call me crazy, because I go out in all wea- thers, and never wear an over-coat ; and here," said he, opening a thin cotton shirt upon his bosom, " is all the covering I wear for my breast, save my coat and waistcoat ; and farther," said he, " I bathe a great deal in cold water. I prefer bathing in the river here." The water in the river at Norwich is salt, or brack- ish. He said, " If I omit bathing for a week, I become indis- posed j and it is very frequently the case, in winter, that the bay is frozen a long way out. In such cases," continued he, " I very often, without any regard to the weather, walk out on the ice as far as I can go, and there take off my clothes, deposit them upon the ice, and crawl on my hands and knees over the edge of the ice into the water, and stay there as long as I please, and generally till I feel better." The old gentleman enjoyed excellent health. Now, this is an extreme case, and one that I do not hold up for imitation, but only to exhibit what may be done in the most highly civilized communities, and with appa- rent advantage. Dr. Abercrombie told me, that he had hundreds of times found the water in his bathing-tub frozen over, and would place himself in the water, covered with floating ice. Now I would not recommend this course as judicious to any one. I rather question its propriety, or very much doubt whether it could be universally employed without injuring some persons. I think all, or nearly all, the benefits of cold-bathing can be ob- 292 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. tained, and with vastly less trouble, and much less inconveni ence, by the use of the SPONGE-BATH. I recommend to my patients, and others, the following method of managing the surface of the body, every day, morning or evening, or at any hour that is most convenient, I rather prefer the time of rising from bed in the morning. The room should be warm, unless you are robust, and accustomed to bathing and ex- posure of the person. Throw off all your clothing, and with a brush, or hair-gloves, &c., or one or two coarse crash towels, rub the whole person over in' the most thorough manner, exciting a fine life and glow upon every part of the covering of the body and limbs. After this is done, take a sponge or towel, and dip it in cold water, and, with one of these, rapidly wet over the whole surface of the body and limbs, dwelling much upon the neck, chest, and all the spine, and the larger joints. Now take one or two towels, and wipe every part of the person dry. Now rub the skin all over, so as to excite a fine glow upon it, and then re- sume your clothing, observing that the shirt worn through the night should not be worn through the day, if convenient to you. The whole time required for this bath need not be more than from three to five minutes. To be sure, you may occupy as much timp. as you please ; but an active person can accomplish it in the time I have mentioned. Some persons are so delicate or sensitive, that they cannot bear the shock of cold water. These persons will usually find them- selves greatly benefitted by using a tepid bath. I also recom- mend to my patients, especially those of a scrofulous habit, or those having a low condition of the system, to stimulate the water, more or less, as they choose, by adding to it sea-salt, or rurn, brandy, gin, or any spirituous liquors, or cologne water, &a SEA-WATER Is a most invaluable article in bathing, and should be used, whenever convenient. About once a week, great benefit may be derived, arid the beauty, softness, and purity of the skin be greatly promoted, by adding to pure soft water some sal-seratus, LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 293 or super-carbonate of soda. Either of these will confer an al- kaline property to the water, and thus purify the skin in a most effectual manner. EFFECTS OF WATER UPON INFLAMED OR DEBILITATED PARTS. Allow me to trespass upon your time a few moments, that I may name some of the benefits of water applied to inflamed, swelled, or debilitated parts. I now very seldom recommend the use of blisters to inflamed or painful parts; but, in place of blisters, I recommend the application of cloths dipped in cold water, or cold salt and water, and sometimes I use warm water, or very hot water. In most cases of pain in the side, breast, or throat, or in a joint, I find the application of a wet cloth, and worn some time, even for weeks, in old cases, will produce a far more effectual, certain, and permanent cure than blisters, leeches, or any species of sores. In cases of WEAK EYES, Or slightly impaired vision, or inflamed eyes, or eye-lids, when painful, &c., particularly in students, or persons of scholastic habits, I scarcely know a more effectual remedy to cure or prevent these affections of the eye, than dipping the forehead, eyes, and nose a great many times a day in cold water, and holding them there as long as possible. This course will serve greatly to strengthen the eyes. In cases of rush of blood to the head, great heat about the head, or head-ache, there is no remedy that will compare with the use of cold water, and the water made as cold as possible, by the addition of ice. This will often relieve the head, when every other remedy fails. The head should be dipped in the ice-water, and held there as long as possible, a great many times a day, ac- cording to the urgency of the case. Another mode of appli- cation is to sponge the forehead and temples freouently with cold water, keeping them wet, &c. Sometimes, advantage is derived from using warm water, in place of cold ; at others, a bladder of ice. 294 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. SORE THROAT. The neck is a very sensitive part, and the application of blis- ters is apt to produce a great deal of pain and nervousness of the system. In many cases, the suffering becomes quite insupport- able, a high fever being excited, &c. In every case of sore throat that I have ever met with, whether a putrid sore throat or inflamed tonsils, or where the windpipe itself is affected, I have usually found the happiest effects in the use of water, by bathing, and also by wrapping a towel, wet in cold water, around the throat at bed-time, and continuing it on all night. It is very rare to meet with a sore throat that will not yield to this remedy in a short time. Where the windpipe is affected, a wet cloth should be worn upon it all the time, day and night. Last summer, at Red Sulphur Springs, in Virginia, I prescribed for a gentleman for disease of his lungs, and also of his windpipe. His voice was nearly lost. Besides medicines, inhaling tube, &c., I recom- mended him to dip a cloth in cold water, and apply it over his in- flamed windpipe, and wear it there all the time. In about two months, I met him at Richmond, Va.; I found him nearly well. He told me he had derived immense benefit from the wet cloth ; it had almost entirely restored his voice, which was before nearly lost. WEAK AND PAINFUL SPINE. The spinal marrow which runs down the whole length of the back-bone, is in some respects very much of the nature of the brain. (See plate U.) Many persons are subject to sick head- ache, and a good deal of habitual pain in the head, more or less in all parts of it, accompanied with heat, &c. These head- aches are mostly produced by the state of the stomach, by in- digestion, by errors in diet, and by the condition of the liver, c-'stiveness, &c. Now, every experienced and well-informed physician knows that general bleeding, or blisters applied to the head, or tartar emetic sores, or anything of that kind, made upon the head, are of little or no use, and sometimes increase the head- ache ten-fold, because thrse head-aches maybe said to be purely nervous and often result from mere debility. The head is per- LECTURE TO GRNTLEMEtf ONLY 2d5 Plate U. Posterior view of tho Brain, Spinal Marrow, and the Nerves that go to the arms and lower limbs. fectly innocent, because of the diseases being in some other part ; now the same state of things very often exists in the spine. In fact, true spine disease is exceedingly rare, but heat, debility in some degree, and nervous and rheumatic pains in the spine, are exceedingly common. The cause of this not being in the spine itself, but in other dis- tant parts, another analogy is seen. We all know that the head should be kept cool, it is the same fact in regard to the spine ; hence, persons should never sit or stand much with their backs to the fire. The application of harsh remedies, much blis- tering, and, above all, tartar emetic sores, applied over the spine, when pains exist in it, caused by debility, nervousness, rheuma- ttsm, gravel, &c., will often produce the most distressing pros- tration, deprivation of the power of walking, and in many cases cause persons to be bed-ridden, even for years. Some physicians 296 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. are constantly on the stretch for spine diseases. Upon the least pain in the back, it is at once subjected to the ordeal of a severe examination ; strong pressure is made upon every part of the spine, and even pounding the spine, to see if a tender spot can be detected anywhere. Now, I am disposed to think that tender places can be found upon the spine, in this way, in more than half the people we meet, at the same time no spine disease ex- isting whatever. But some physicians, upon finding a slightly tender place upon any part of the spine, immediately announce spine disease, and recommend the most excruciating tortures known to us, such as excessive blistering, cupping, and above all, horrid tartar emetic sores. The truly robust and healthy can bear this without great injury ; but the nervous, the feeble, and the delicate persons are very apt to be overcome by it. In June, 1845, I was consulted at Nantucket, Massachusetts, by a lady who suffered considerably from female complaints and weakness of her spine. She told me that, seven years before, at the recommendation of her physician, she took a very powerful tartar emetic for a slight pain in her stomach. She vomited for twenty-four hours, which greatly wrenched her back, so that she could scarcely straiten herself for nearly two days. Some time during the second day, her physician called to see another sick person in the house, and also spoke to her. She told him that the emetic vomited her very much, and had given her a lame back. The physician said at once he thought she must have the spine disease. On examining her spine where it had been nearly wrenched off, he found some tenderness, and told her she had a spine disease, and urged immediate measures for its cure. To effect this he gave her a box of strong tartar emetic ointment, directing her to spread a plaster about the width of three fingers, to extend from the root of the neck to the lower extremity of the spine, to be snugly applied, saying to her, that the longer she kept it on the better, even all night if she could bear it. Her sister told me, that by midnight the very bedroom seemed heated by the heat from the sufferer's back. She, however, wore the plaster until the Doctor came the next morning, and removed it. Her sister^told me, that on taking off the plaster, the whole length LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 297 of her back presented the appearance of a cullender, the skin being perforated by a great many holes, eaten by the emetic tar- tar. The lady did not walk again for three years ; but at last, by laying aside all medicines whatever, Nature gradually and slowly so far triumphed over the skill of the physician, that, at the end of six years from the time of using the fatal plaster, she was able to walk in the street. For one year before I saw her, she had been able to take short walks out of doors. The phy- sician was one of the oldest and most respectable in Nantucket. The lady had enjoyed fair health all her life before. In almost every case of disturbance about the spine, a towel, or piece of cloth, dipped in cold water, or cold salt and water, or even warm water, if cold is rejected, and laid on at bed-time, and fastened up- on that part of the spine, so as to remain there all night, will, in nearly all cases, in a short time entirely cure the disturbance about the spine, and that without occasioning any debility, suffer- ing, or prostration whatever. In addition to this, the spine should be smartly rubbed, and washed with cold water, every night and RHEUMATISM. Warmth is generally recommended, and warm applications, m the cure of rheumatism ; and most people would say at once, that warmth would prevent it, and this, no doubt, is to a certain extent true. But it is best prevented by keeping up an equal and vigorous health. Nothing does this better than the rules I have pointed out, and, in addition, wash the body all over with cold water every day. The shower-bath, plunging-bath, and sea-bathing, may be used by everybody at their pleasure ; but for convenient, general, constant, and universal use, I think the sponge-bath far the best, unless we except sea-bathing ; and, as a preventive of rheumatism, I consider the sponge-bath far the best, this, how- ever, will depend more or less on each individual's experience. In the cure of rheumatism, after it is actually present, I know that pouring cold water upon the parts affected is one of the best remedies. I have known some cases of old, obstinate rheuma- tism, where the patients were reduced to their crutches, and be- come perfect cripples, to be completely restored to health by rub- 13* 298 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. bing the parts thoroughly, and pouring cold water upon them every day. TREATMENT OF THE FEET. I cannot leave this subject without adverting to the proper management of the feet. It is almost indispensable to health and longevity that we take plenty of exercise. One of the very best of these is walking out of doors as well as within. But if our feet are !,> in good order, this important exercise cannot be taken, nor will the symmetry of the body be perfectly preserved, if we cannot walk, or cannot walk well. The feet are mostly affected by corns and enlargement of the joints, &c. One of the best things to prevent corns and enlargement of the joints, provided tl^e boots or shoes are properly fitted, is at least, once a week, to put the feet in hot water, and this should be exces- sively hot, as much so as can be borne. I usually recommend to my patients to put the feet in hot water once a week, keeping them in the water from fifteen to thirty minutes, and adding hot water every few minutes : to the water you may add salt, wood ashes, sal-aeratus, or soda, as you choose. On taking the feet from the water, they should be rubbed perfectly dry, and scrape off the thick parts of the skin made soft by the hot water. The skin should be made as thin as possible. Most persons will find that this will keep their feet in good order. The hot foot- bath is a most excellent thing for the general health ; for colds and pain anywhere, it is excellent, and does not forbid washing the feet in cold water every day. DIET. I have mentioned to you that the reparation of the body, and supplying the waste of its substance, is a duty that devolves upon the stomach, and all those parts engaged in the process of diges- tion. It is of great importance that the food be taken at regular intervals, and that it be such as agrees with the system. On the subject of diet, what kind of food we should eat, and how much, very discrepant rules have been laid down by authors and lec- turers. At one time we have a crusade preached against all meat, including fish, flesh, and fowl ; at other times, the war has LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 299 raged against tea and coffee ; and now it runs against every de- scription of stimulant, from pure brandy down to the mildest fa- mily home-brewed beer. On these subjects, I look upon it as dangerous to run entirely against the experience of all past generations, and especially on the subject of our eating. Vio- lent and sudden changes in our diet, especially if engaged in exhausting occupations, I consider as very dangerous. Generally speaking, I believe the experience of every nation, for cen- turies past, on the subject of eating, to be a very fair guide to each nation. To exemplify what I mean, and to exhibit the pernicious effects of sudden changes in our food, I will mention one case. A few years ago, a regular war was set up in Massachusetts and else- where, against the use of meat as an article of food. Every- thing in the shape of fish, flesh, or fowl, was attempted to be re- pudiated. Men learned in medicine, an,d eloquent lecturers, stood forth to vindicate the exclusive use of vegetables, and to announce to the thunder-struck people, that all kinds of meat were in their very nature deadly poison, and the cause of almost all our dis- eases. Under the term meaty was included all fish, and every species of shell fish ; all flesh meat, fresh or salted ; all fowls, and all game ; in fact, everything that had ever possessed animal life. Experience of a thousand years was at once cast to the moles and the bats. Rumor carried something of these great dis- coveries in diet to Andover Theological Seminary. The students of this renowned institution summoned to their halls a gentleman who was a very learned physician, to enlighten them on the im- portant subject of diet. Several persons have described to me the effect of these eloquent lectures, and something of the doc- trines taught. One old sea-captain told me that he attended all the lectures. The number he represented to me as being incre- dible, and " as for eating," said the old man, " he left us, as wholesome, nothing to eat but the paving-stones upon the sea- shore." This is no doubt very hyperbolical, yet it is certain that the bill of fare was greatly abridged. Mr. Farley, the very worthy keeper of the students' eating, room, told me, that at the conclusion of the lectures the committee on diet had a meeting, the result of which was to direct him to SOO LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. discontinue, henceforth and forever, from their table, all meat of every sort. " Why," said Mr. Farley, " we have pork and beans on Monday, shall I not continue that salutary dish ?" " No," said they, " nothing but the simple beans." Mr. Farley at once told his wife he should dine by himself, for his experience of fifty vears and upwards was decidedly in favor of flesh as an article f diet. One young theological student, of rather herculean pro- portions and western growth, expressed to Mr. F. the greatest re- gret that he had ever tasted of a mouthful of meat in his life ; saying, " that he believed, if he had not done so, he might have anticipated a tolerably long life ; but," added he, " what I have done was from ignorance, and never will I taste meat again while I live." The vegetable diet commenced eight weeks before the end of the term, and was kept up in its greatest rigor for those eight weeks. Such was the disastrous effects upon the health of the students, that Mr. Farley told me he believed that its continuance four weeks longer would have broken up the school. As it was, about thirty young men lost their healths ; nearly all of whom be- came dyspeptic, and several sunk into consumption. The herculean young man was one of the sufferers : his head and nervous system became so much affected; that he could not possibly study. After trying a change of air, and every means to regain his health, he found it impossible to continue his studies, so following " the star of empire," he wended his way west, to Michigan, where he is now a useful farmer. The school reassembled at the expiration of four weeks, and then the committee on diet having somewhat the fear of vegetables before their eyes, ordered more meat than had ever been known before. Here and there a solitary instance can be found of a person well sustained by vegetable diet only ; but in general, meat, in moderation, is everywhere considered a salutary article of diet by those able to procure it. The amount of food required to be eaten by adults, must always be determined by the waste of the substance of the body when in health. The amount of this waste depends on the greater or less degree of exercisp encl iaoor. Out-door exercise and out-door labor causing more waste than in- door labor and exercise. The appetite of a person in health and regular habits is a very fair criterion of the amount of food required to supply the waste LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 301 of the substance of the body. This amount every person should eat, and no more, so that all human beings will vary, more or less, in the relative quantity they eat ; and the same individual will differ from himself, in proportion as the amount of his labor and exercise differ. In general, a varied and simple diet is the best, consisting of pure, wholesome food. No rancid meat or butter, no spoiled vegetables, or the flour of bad grain, should ever be tasted. One of the great secrets of the health and longevity of the noble families of England, France, Italy, Germany, and, in general, of all Europe, is owing to the great care in the quality and selection of the articles composing their food, its sufficiency, its variety, and in its preparation and cookery. There is no lay- ing down rules of diet that will suit every one, either in kind or quantity. I recommend indulging in every variety of food that we find is' not absolutely pernicious. For kind, be guided far more by experience than by precept ; and, for quantity, be go verned, in moderation, by the requirements of a well-regulated appetite ; but be sure that all the food you eat is perfect in its kind. Above all things, avoid taking up notions or crotchets upon the subject of diet; should you do this, you will soon find the tone of the stomach impaired, and the variety of food you could other- wise eat greatly abridged. In general, the mass of mankind follow a correct experience on the subject of diet. Never indulge in gluttony, as excesses in eating are often very dangerous. I knew a young officer of the U. S. Army enjoying excellent health, who was killed by an excessive supper. I believe nearly all cases of persons found dead in their beds, who have retired in apparent health, may be traced to some error in diet. I will leave the subject to the judicious experience of every one. I think the substitution of coffee, in lieu of milk, for our children, to be very pernicious indeed. No scrofulous per- son should drink much coffee. EXERCISE. I have told you that the human frame is a machine. Now, this machine, like many machines of human invention, suffers greatly by continued repose. Every day, when in health, exercise should be taken sufficiently to excite, in moderation, every part of the 302 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. body. For this purpose, we may adopt walking, riding both oiv horseback and in a carriage, nearly every species of rural labor, and many kinds of in-door labor, pursued in moderation. Danc- ing, both for males and females, is one of the finest exercises of which we have any knowledge. It is one of the oldest known to us, and one of the best. Taken in the open air, it is better than in-doors ; but either in or out of doors, when accompanied by the harmony of music, it at once dissipates the tedium of life, excites, in high activity, the circulation of the blood, exercises every part of the body, and vivifies the whole nervous system. I do not speak of the dissipation of dancing far from it ; I only speak of it, when practised in moderation, as an exercise. For the delicate, the sickly, and the sedentary, it is invaluable, and may be practised every day, and at all seasons of the year, and, of course, in all weathers. All the out-door athletic exercises practised by men are valuable in promoting robust health, and may always be taken, when circumstances will allow. ANIMAL PLEASURES, PROPAGATION OF THE SPECIES. Perhaps there is no subject upon which a lecturer can speak that is more delicate than this, that I have referred to as the third great object of the human machine. Every man knows his own history and his own peculiar excitements. All that I will say, is, that excessive indulgence in secret vices, animal passions, and unbridled lusts, is apt, especially if indulged in when young, to destroy the nervous system, frequently producing affections of the spinal marrow and brain, and early insanity, and premature death. At its best, it often breaks down all the powers of the system, de- stroys the voice, and induces dyspepsia, throat disease, and pul- monary consumption. Later in life, these excesses produce im- becility and premature old age. In all these respects, study pu- rity sin not against your own body indulge in the refined en- joyments of marriage and from these sources you will receive no impediment to the continuance of health and the attainment of long life. Extinguish the burnings of passion in the sacred delights of marriage, and you will find the most noble and ex- quisite pleasure in the society of your wives and the love of your LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 303 children, towards whom you should be a Providence, Protector, Prophet, and Priest. SYMMETRY OF THE INTERNAL ORGANS OF THE BODY. Extreme gratification is always conferred upon me when I have an opportunity of addressing a body of intelligent and reflecting men, men of mature age, who can take up the subject on which I lecture, dispel all crudities and hyperboles, and treasure up the teachings, noticing if their application is pernicious or useful, and thus, by observation and experiment, determine what is false and what is true, and ever after retaining and diffusing whatever is true and important. In the early part of this lecture, I spoke to you on the importance of preserving the external form of the human machine in perfect symmetry, keeping the head and nock, the shoulders, the chest, the spine, limbs, &c., all in the admi- rable perfection of their natural formation, when no deformity has been introduced by art, by incorrect habits, &c., &c. I now come to speak to you of the symmetry of the internal organs of the body. I mentioned to you, that symmetry was Ike very key of health; that the human system is a machine put together and acting upon mechanical principles ; that each part has its appropriate bearings, every other part being built to meet the situ- ation of each organ. These remarks applying to the external form of the person, also apply with equally great force to the in- ternal parts of the body. I believe that all diseases proceed from two causes only : one is loss of symmetry, either in size, position, function, or integrity; the other is from poison. The human person may be likened to a box or trunk. Now, suppose this trunk, the person, to be laid flat upon the back, we should then find the bottom and sides mostly solid, whilst the top or covering of the trunk would be solid only at one end, across the chest whilst the lower part of it is covered with elastic belts. Now fil this trunk full, as it is laid fiat on the back, and set it up on end, we shall find that every thing inclines to settle down to the lower part, and press against the elastic belts ; now, unless these belts are extremely firm, they will become relaxed or stretched, and allow the different parts of the inside of the body, more or less, 304 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. to fall do\vn out of their places. On examining the trunk of the body, we find the lungs, the heart, with the blood-vessels, air- pipes, &c., besides some small glands, filling up the whole chest. These parts possess considerable weight. The chest is a basket of bones, entirely open at the bottom, or its only floor is a loose, fleshy, moveable curtain, that floats up and down between the chest and abdomen. At the top of the abdomen, towards the left side, and stowed up against the loose floor of the chest, we find the stomach, that, when full, with its contents, weighs several pounds. We find, also, the liver, at the top of the 'right side of the abdo- men, a solid, heavy mass of several pounds weight. Beneath these, we have the large bowel, which, with its con- tents, is very heavy, and besides these the caul, and the small bowels. All these, in some large persons, weigh fifty or sixty pounds, or even more. Now all this immense weight, checked only by slight fastenings, is at last fully supported by the abdom- inal belts, by the belts that cover the front of the abdomen, and either take their origin or insertion from the lower edge of the breast- bone, from the lower edge of all the short ribs, from the back-bone in the small of the back, or from the upper edge, all around the basket of the hips. (For a view of these belts, and their situation, see plate E.) Whilst in perfect health, and whole these belts keep all the different parts of the inside of the body fully and snugly up to their places ; but when broken anywhere, very promptly, we see the bowels gushing out, and dragging everything inside out of its place; and if any way considerable, the person can neither stand or walk. This is exemplified in the case of ruptures. I once knew a sturdy blacksmith who had an immense rupture, and wore a truss. While the truss was well adjusted and kept the bowels in their place, he got along tolera- bly we'll ; but if the truss moved out of place, great quantities of the bowels would instantly glide out, at once causing loss pf strength and faintness, leaving the blacksmith no resource but to throw himself flat on his back, when the bowels would stop falling down ; he would then have to push the bowels back into place, and adjust his truss so as to keep the bowels up, when he could at once go about his business. Now, from a multiplicity of causes, although there will be found no open breach through LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 305 the abdomen, yet the belts covering it become stretched or relax- ed, and do not keep the internal parts of the body in their places ; and in this way, the stowage of the internal parts of the body, and all the parts, experience jarring, and settling downwards, producing a condition I shall denominate FALLING OF THE BOWELS. Plate R. Now, the falling of the bowels occasions a vast amount of sick- ness, that, when I speak of them, will be mentioned as caused by tailing of the bowels, whilst the falling of the bowels is, itself, produced by relaxation, or stretching, or weakness of the abdom- inal belts. (See plates O, P, and R, and notice all the different organs of the body there.) As you observe them in their places, you will observe how readily their forms will incline them to fall downwards, which, if they do, will produce some or all of the fol- lowing diseases of the frame, depending on the extent of the 306 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. relaxation of the belts, and falling of the bowels ; at one time producing some one of the symptoms in only a slight degree, and at other times causing the most terrible effects, and certain death. I will now mention some of the effects produced by this upon the large organs. First, the effect of falling of the bowels UPON THE LUNGS. By looking at plates D and C, you will observe that the lungs are wedge-shaped. Their points, or smallest portions, are highest up under the collar-bones, whilst their heaviest and largest parts are lowest, and rest on the floor of the chest, and greatly incline to drag downwards. It is entirely indispensable to the perfect health of the lungs, that the bowels be well kept up, so that there shall be no falling away of the floor of the lungs. The effect of the falling of the bowels upon the lungs is to cause a sense of extreme weakness and sinking feeling at the top of the chest. The breath enters the lungs, and seems to be lost the sufferer not being able to fill up the top of the chest; and thus, as I said in my chapter upon the causes of pulmonary consumption, if any part of the lungs is not kept well expanded, it lays the foundation for pulmonary consumption, so that falling of the bowels is a very frequent cause of consumption ; and the lungs being allowed to drag down, engorgement of the top of the lungs, or a secretion of tuberculous matter, will rapidly take place. BLEEDING AT THE LUNGS. For the same reason, bleeding at the lungs very % often arises from a falling of the bowels; the top of the lungs being so dragged down, that the blood does not circulate well through them. The sense of weakness at the top of the chest, and of be- ing all gone there, causes the person to stoop very much, and to bring the shoulders forward. I never attempt to cure pulmonary consumption without using means to have the bowels well brought up to their places, and thus have the floor of the lungs well supported. A great many consumptions arise from falling of the bowels, particularly in delicate young persons. LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 807 WEAKNESS AND LOSS OF VOICE, AND DISEASE OF THE AIR-PIPES, PRODUCED BY FALLING OF THE BOWELS. It will be very obvious to you, that if the lungs are not well filled with air, that their dragging down will bear heavily and at once upon the small air-pipes, the windpipes, and the organs of the voice, so that one of the earliest effects of falling of the bowels is to produce weakness, and even loss of voice ; the voice at times becoming hoarse, and husky, and weak, falling to a whisper. Talking or reading aloud occasions great exhaustion, a soreness in the throat, dryness and heat in the windpipe. The efforts to speak greatly strain the windpipe. Public speak- ers are, in this way, rapidly driven from their desks, and their usefulness destroyed. Many of these broken-down men, I have restored to usefulness by the aid of few medicines, and giv- ing perfect abdominal support, so that the lungs should be well lifted up, in order that no dragging down of the windpipe, or vo- cal organs, can take place. Some clergymen, who are sagacious observers of themselves, I have known to cure all weakness of voice i'n themselves, by inventing and applying support to the ab- domen. To permanently cure weakness of voice, and disease about the windpipe, I deem it indispensable to have the abdomen perfectly supported. SHORT BREATH AND WHEEZING BREATHING May be said to be an universal accompaniment indeed, they are among the first symptoms or indications of falling of the bowels. Wheezing breathing in men, especially after the middle period of life, panting upon any inconsiderable exercise, and for these reasons great difficulty in walking, whilst running and dancing are nearly impossible, and next to impossible to lift a heavy weight. In April, 1845, 1 was consulted at New Bedford, Mass., by a man who was a resident of Westport, Mass. He owned and resided upon a small farm, but was unable to do anything what- ever. His lungs were very much affected, bleeding at the lungs, cough, &c. He had not been able to do any work for four years, 308 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. and was not able to stoop down and raise up a four-pound weight. He was in consumption. His was an aggravated case of falling of the bowels. I gave him suitable remedies for his lungs, and an abdominal supporter. I saw him in July following. He walked- four miles on a warm afternoon, to see me. He told me he was in almost perfect health, and could lay stone wall fifteen hours in a day. In October, 1846, he informs me, by letter, that he continues in fair health. PALPITATION OF THE HEART, And disturbance of its functions, are very often produced by falling of the bowels, even stoppage of the heart and fainting, when the person by falling, or being laid down, the heart resumes its action. I have often witnessed apparent heart-disease cured simply by an abdominal supporter, but usually medical remedies are re- quired. SINKING FEELING, AND ALL GONE AT THE PIT OF THE STOMACH. This is one of the most common symptoms of falling of the bowels ; an extreme sense of exhaustion, as if there was a large empty space in the stomach, that nothing could fill. The food, upon eating, seems to pass away and leave the same hollow, empty feeling. This is particularly the case with men who stand a great deal at a work-bench. I was consulted in April, 1844, at Springfield, Mass., by a tin-worker, who told me that he had suffered this distressed feeling about the pit of the stomach for six years. He supposed it was occasioned by standing so con- tinually at his work, which was no doubt the case. I gave him his remedies. The second day after, his wife called to see me, with a message from her husband, saying, that he had not spent such an agreeable day for six years as the first day that he had used all my remedies. All the functions of the stomach are more or less impaired by falling of the bowels ; and the person feels at that point as if cut in two, and is greatly disposed to stoop. LECTURE TO -GENTLEMEN ONLY. 309 INFLUENCE OF THE FALLING OF THE BOWELS UPON THE LIVER. The weight of the liver is so considerable, that, unless the ab- dominal belts are very firm, it is apt to drag down, more or less, out of its place, sometimes so as to obstruct the bile-ducts, inclin- ing, more or less, to induce obstruction in the bile and jaundice. When the falling of the bowels is excessive, the effect upon the liver is, at times, deplorable, as it may become very much dislo- cated, and even torn, so as to produce fatal effects. I have no doubt but that inflammation of the liver is very often produced by its not being well supported. To exemplify this, I will give one example. A few years ago, a gentleman visited Saratoga Springs for his health. He had a diseased liver. He recovered his health very rapidly. At the end of four weeks, proposing to return, he started for home on a hard-trotting horse. The gentleman rode eighteen miles the first afternoon, and, at the dusk of evening, stopped at a tavern, disposed of his horse, and immediately retired to bed. The next morning he was found dead in his bed. His body was examined by Dr. Steele, of Saratoga, when it was found that his liver had been recently healed of ulcers, and that the old and new portions of liver, by the hard trotting of the horse and consequent jarring and falling of the liver, had been torn apart, causing a considerable loss of blood, that flowed into the cavity of the abdomen, and produced death. Proper support would have entirely prevented this. BREAKING AWAY OF THE BOWELS THEMSELVES, BY RELAXATION OF THE ABDOMINAL BELTS. I have repeatedly witnessed cases where the large bowel has been torn out of its place, more or less, from lifting heavy weights, or from excesses in exercise, or accidents, or severe straining of the bowels. In these cases, weakness and pain are apt to continue a great many years. I was consulted at Worcester, Mass., by a tall, delicate young man, who, by walking many miles on a very hot day, had caused a very severe dragging down of the liver and breaking away of the bowel at its great turn in the light side. (See the situation of this bowel on the plate C.) He 310 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. had great heat, and smarting, and weakness in the side, inabil- ity to walk far, and unable to perform any hard labor. I wit- nessed another case where this bowel was broken away in front, and another in the left side, causing a great deal of pain, weak- ness, and debility. After continuing a year or two, the sensation is that of hopeless debility in the affected part. One case I wit- nessed where the pain and suffering had continued for thirty years. All these cases were promptly cured by a few suitable medicines and perfect abdominal support. A relaxation of the abdominal belts and falling of the bowels will often produce great weakness and debility in the bowels themselves. This leads, in many cases, to HABITUAL COSTIVENESS. At other times, the very opposite state of the bowels will be produced, and the patient will suffer greatly from a chronic di- arrhoea. Both of these states of the bowels, so opposite to each other, it is well known often arise from the same cause, that is, debility and want of tone in the bowels, which is produced or greatly aggravated by a relaxation of the abdominal belts. Suit- able medicines and abdominal support will usually effect a speedy cure. UMBILICAL HERNIA, Or rupture at the navel, I have repeatedly cured, by the use of the abdominal supporter. PILES. This disease, which gives trouble, disquietude, and suffering, producing in some very severe illness, I believe is nearly always caused by falling of the bowels. By referring to plate S, you will notice that the large bowel is tied to the centre of the back side of the basket of tihe hips, just as it becomes strait and passes through the basket of the hips to go out of the body. Now, when the bowels fall down, they are exceedingly apt to fall upon the large bowel, where it is tied to the back-bone, press- ing, more or less, hard against the bone, and thus prevents the return of the blood from the lower portion of the large bowel. Piles may be greatly aggravated by the condition of the liver, by scrofula, or by a humor in the system ; but I believe the grand LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 311 producing cause is almost always a falling down of the floating bowels upon the strait bowel, after it is tied in its place to the bone, as it is about to become strait, &c. ; and upon this condi- tion of things will result the various kinds of piles, as blind piles, bleeding piles, external piles, &c., all produced by the same cause, that is, the bowel is so obstructed above, that the blood which enters the bowel cannot return, and hence results this dis- ease. In nearly every case, this is cured by removing cos- tiveness, and using suitable ointment. But for radical and per- manent cure, support is required to lift the bowels up to their place. I have had the pleasure of curing a vast many cases of piles, and do not recollect to have ever failed doing so, where the pa- tient followed my directions. By tying a string around the fin- ger, you will notice how soon the end of the finger will begin to swell, and if the string is kept on any length of time blood will ooze out from under the nail ; precisely in the same way piles are produced, because obstruction prevents the return of the blood. GRAVEL PRODUCED BY FALLING OF THE BOWELS. In another place I have spoken to you of the cause of gravel in the bladder, as occasioned by the urine being long retained in it. I then explained to you the situation of the bladder, the kidneys, and the pipes that convey the water from the kidneys to the bladder (for a view of which, see plate S.) Now, when the bowels fall downwards, they are exceedingly apt to fall upon the pipes that convey the ^ater from the kidneys to the bladder, and thus obstruct the passage of water from the chamber of the kidneys, so that it deposits its earths, salts, and acids in the kidneys, thus producing gravel in these organs in a great many persons, causing a great deal of heat, pain, and weak- ness in the small of back. Sometimes the affection will be con- fined to one kidney, which is shown by pain and heat on- one side only. At times, gravel in the kidneys is not only produced, but other diseases of the kidneys, inflammation, ulceration of the kidneys, &c. To cure these, requires suitable medicines and abdominal support. S12 LECTUKE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. PAIN AND WEAKNESS IN THE SMALL OF THE BACK, WITH THREATENED DISEASE OF THE SPINE. By referring to the plate s, you will see that the abdominal belts are tied to the back-bone alone, in the small of the back, ana that where the back-bone is quite weak and unsupported. Now, when the abdominal belts become relaxed, and the bowels sway down considerably, and produce severe pressure upon the spine of the back, this very soon renders the back so weak and pain- ful, that much difficulty is experienced in walking, and great weakness is felt over all the lower parts of the body, so that in some persons the water will pass off involuntarily and they be- come perfectly impotent. All this is relieved by a suitable sup- porter, and by such medicines as give strength to the spine. PAINS IN THE LIMBS PRODUCED BY FALLING OF THE BOWELS. I have often witnessed great pain in the limbs produced by falling of the bowels upon the large nerves that go out from the basket of the hips to the lower extremities. In September, 1844, at Bristol, Conn., I was consulted by one of their most enterprising men, on account of very great pain he suffered in the lower limbs, that was so great as to threaten to de- prive him of all power to pursue his farming occupations. He was quite astonished when I told him I thought it proceeded from a falling down of the bowels, and that I thought he could soon be cured, as he had began to despair of all relief. Having taken a great deal of medical advice and medicines, and used many remedies without the least benefit, I had the pleasure of relieving this gentleman in one w r eek, by a few medicines and supporting the bowels. I believe nearly or quite all similar cases would yield to the same treatment. SWELLING OF THE LOWER EXTREMITIES. By looking at plate V, you will have a view of the large blood-vessels that go down out of the basket of the hips to the lower extremities, and also a view of the large vessels that re- turn from the lower extremities through and into the basket of LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 313 the hips, to go to the heart. Now, when the bowels fall down- wards, they are very apt to press upon these large blood-vessels, and obstruct the return of the blood, causing swelling of the low- er extremities, and an obstructed circulation of blood in them, and a sensation as if the limbs were asleep. At times so intense is this feeling as to become very distressing indeed. Even cold- ness of the feet and legs will often arise from this cause. Swell- ing of the large veins of the legs and feet is often produced by falling of the bowels, and cured by abdominal support. Plate V. Heart and Blood- Vessels. ABDOMINAL SUPPORTER. Many instruments have been invented and used to support the bowels. We will recollect that the object of a supporter is to raise up the bowels to their place, and keep them there. Some abdominal supporters are objectionable, because they press flatly against the bowels, and do not lift them up more than they press 14 314 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. them down, and thus sometimes aggravating instead of relieving the disease for which they are employed. Other supporters are objectionable because they swaddle up the hips, and prevent free walking. Others are so formed as to press upon the spine of the back, thus occasioning some of the worst cases of spine disease I have ever seen. Others are made to be stiff and rigid without any elasticity, not allowing any movement of the bowels after they are once put on. Others, again, act more upon one side of the person than the other, having a spring upon one side and a strap upon the other, and in this way preventing an equal action. Others are most inconveniently cumbersome and weighty, or pro- duce far too much heat. Now, all these objections are perfectly unnecessary in a good supporter. The instrument I employ for supporting the bowels is made of steel springs, weighing only a few ounces, and perfectly elastic, and prepared with suitable pads, so as perfectly to support and lift up the bowels. The pads at the back do not touch the spine or go very near it, nor do they touch the small of the- back, but rest upon the short ribs above, and the hip-bones below, so that while the bowels are perfectly supported and kept in their places, the spine of the small of the back is completely relieved from any pressure. The springs do not go round, or press upon the hips, but rise on both sides above them, so that no obstruction whatever is experienced in them in walk- ing, in working, in dancing, or in any kind of exercise. By the elasticity of the springs, and their easy but effectual pressure, no chafing or suffering is produced anywhere, yet the bowels and the back are perfectly supported, whilst the instrument, yield- ing to every movement of the body, seems perfectly alive, and keeps all the parts in symmetry. After being worn one or two days, its presence gives no inconvenience whatever, and is remembered only from its constant support. It is worn with the pleasure of a well fitted glove. I scarcely need remark, that the supporter never need be worn in bed, and is not worn next to the person, but over some part of the clothing. (See plates M and L.) SLEEP AND BEDS. I look upon sleep as one of the appetites. It is most eminent- LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 315 ly connected with all those organs that repair the waste and ex- haustion of the body, allowing them perfect liberty, to exercise their restorative" functions, whilst, when perfect, it lays at rest all those organs that when in action exhaust the system, or waste the substance of the body. Hence the limbs, the senses, the brain, are all at rest in perfect sleep : and so is the whole nervous system, except those parts of it that give action to the repairing organs, which never sleep, and are chiefly the lungs, heart, blood-vessels, 1 stomach, bowels, kidneys, the skin, the liver, and the appendages of these different parts. Considering sleep as an appetite, we find that, like hunger, it comes to us, when in health, at those times that the waste or exhaustion of the body requires it. As the waste or exhaustion of body differs in every individual, so, like the food, there is no laying down any rules to determine the quantity of food or sleep that any individual requires ; and he must be governed by a well-regulated appetite. Laying upon soft downy beds much of the time, is very apt to produce effeminacy and loss of strength. As a general principle our beds should be rather hard than soft, and more or less elastic, if possible. Straw, hair mattresses, &c., make excellent beds for the warm and temperate periods of the year, and in winter feather beds are often employed to advantage. In Italy I saw most excellent mattresses for beds, that were made by preparing the outer covering, or husks, or shucks of the ear of Indian corn. These, on being combed or split into fine threads, serve to form most delightful mattresses. Too much clothing should never be employed in bed, yet every person should be warm and comfort- able while in bed, but not so warm as to be kept in a state of perspiration. The time for sleep is, by the universal consent of all nations, allotted to the hours when the sun is below the horizon. In very hot countries, the people sleep more or less in the daj r - time. The loss of sleep, and the dissipation of late hours, are usually found highly pernicious. Early rising is remarked to be an almost universal habit of old people. To this I have ne- ver met with but one exception. This gentleman was seventy- seven years old, and indulged in sleep to rather a late hour of the morning. 316 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. CONCLUSION. I have now detained you, gentlemen, as long as your patience or my time will permit. I could introduce other subjects, or enlarge each one upon which we have spoken, to a full lecture, and so amplify and exemplify the subjects as to swell them to an indefi- nite extent ; but I forbear, contenting myself with throwing out the ideas, and leaving to your experience and intelligence the task of supplying what I have omitted. I again repeat to you what I have before said, that few die of old age until after one hundred years, and many, very many, have lived far on towards two hundred years. All may live to reach the utmost verge of longevity, provided accidents do not occur diseases are obviated, and premature exhaustion of the system does not take place from our own war upon it. In order to attain to long life, we must have health every day. Excesses of all kinds must be avoided. The symmetry of the body, both external and internal, must be preserved. We must study the capability of each part of our system, and over-work or exhaust no part. In this coun- try, many suffer most from over-exertion, not allowing their sys- tems time for self-reparation. Our systems can bear much, and live on, but there is a limit to their powers of endurance, beyond which they cannot pass. The amount that can be safely ac- complished, differs in each, yet the weak often endeavor to.emulate the strong, and crush their ow r n systems by their excessive labors. This is strikingly exemplified in many of our schools of learning. What one there accomplishes in two years with ease, another, to do it with safety, requires four years. Yet emulation, or supposed necessity, prompts him to finish the task in two years. Now the midnight oil is consumed ; now the taxed brain reels under its efforts ; now the nervous system begins to falter ; now, the organs of reparation, faithful friends to those who treat them rightly, lose their power to supply the waste and exhaus- tion of the system, and very soon the brain, the lungs, the heart, the stomach, or the bowels, one or all, cease their wonted healthy action, until the human frame, like a noble ship, that instead of resisting the elements and making them subservient to her pur- poses, yields to their blows, deviating from her course, and iff LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 317 driven madly and rapidly forward to destruction. This is the fate of millions, not only of students and scholars, but those of every occupation. Everywhere persons may be found, who, for a while, do two days' work in one ; but in a short period the machine breaks down, and the imprudent person becomes an invalid, or is cut off in the midst of his days. I will repeat to you, tax no or- gan beyond its powers ; preserve all, and life will roll on, in a smooth, unbroken current, until a century is marked upon the dial of our years. If any of you discredit what I say of excesses upon the human machine, go and survey all the operations of machin- ery of human invention, and ask the keepersTiow long will last- a piece of machinery driven beyond its powers? And again, ask how long would the same machine endure, when only required to iio a reasonable duty, when promptly repaired on discovering the si ightest defect, and always judiciously preserved ? The answers will fully satisfy you that what I have said of the human machine is correct. Study, as you value life and health, a just equilibrium between rest and exercise, between repose and labor, between reparation and exhaustion, and between the supplies and waste uf the system, and never tax any organ that is in a state of dis- order or debility. No animal can endure as much as man. The care that is bestowed upon a favorite horse, if extended to our- selves, will give us good health. THE EFFECT OF VICE UPON LONGEVITY. One word more, and I will conclude.- Allow me to speak of the effects of wickedness, vice, and immorality upon longevity. It is a very interestingfact, and a very curious one, and to my mind a very sirong argument, that the same mind that dictated those precepts of morality which we find enjoined upon us in the Old and New Testaments, was also the framer of the human machine. This curious fact is, that everything laid down in the sacred volumQs of the Old and New Testaments, as vice, is most strongly and strikingly opposed to longevity, and most fully justifies the ex- pression of the inspired penman, "that the wicked. shall not live out half their days." On the contrary, all the virtues en- joined and recommended in those sacred books, are most strik- ingly conducivt to long life, to length of days, to longevity. I 318 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. speak this to you, gentlemen, not as a moral preacher, but as a physician, as an observer of those agents which destroy or shorten life, or which promote and continue it. Now, we will take those three great purposes for which the human body was formed. In the first place, the mind, in order to its full develop- ment and highest attainment, requires unruffled tranquillity ; his will prevent its destroying the frail brain by which it acts. And on the contrary, those of Kindness, Trust, Peace, Love, Good will, Generosity, Forgiveness, Hope, Reverence, Integrity, Confidence, Honesty, Compassion, ' Contentment, I Patience, . Cheerfulness. Now let any person reflect upon the state of mind produced by any of these vices, the excitement of the brain, and the tendency of this excitement to produce apoplexy, fever, inflammations, &c. How many lives have been lost by sudden fits of anger, or bursts of passion. How often the heart itself has been burst by a fit of anger. I have known a person reduced to a perfect skeleton by a fit of remorse, and with it every symptom of rapid dissolution, and the same person restored to good health in an equally shor* time, upon obtaining forgiveness for the crime that had occasion- ed the remorse. Again, we have seen fear turn the hair per- fectly white in twelve hours. The effects of these different vices or passions, are to break up fhe human machine, and sud- denly cut off life. Even profane swearing is calculated to pro- duce an undue excitement of the system. So that all these too Notice the effects of Anger, Jealousy, Remorse, Hatred, Envy, Covetousness, Revenge, Despair, Profanity, Fraud, Fear, Theft, Cruelty, Grief. LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 319 much excite or depress the functions of the brain, and thus far remove that organ, and the nervous system, from that repose and tranquillity necessary to health and longevity. Run the eye over the list of virtues, and notice how beautifully and sweetly they harmonize with all the functions of the system. They produce perfect peace to the whole human machine. When I read the moral law, found in God's Ho^ Word, for Man's guidance, and then contemplate the laws that govern the human frame, I am forced to exclaim the same mind dictated them both ; so perfectly congenial are they to each other, that no human being can break God's moral laws without injuring himself. The keeping of those laws is always beneficial to the human system. Again, let us notice the vices which concern those organs that effect the reparation of the body. We find them to be Prodigality, Indolence, Gluttony, Drunkenness. Opposed are Economy, Industry, Temperance, Sobriety. I have repeatedly had occasion to remark to you, the effect of these vices upon health and longevity. All of them are most fruitful causes of early death. What is more prolific of dis- ease, or shortens life sooner, than gluttony, drunkenness, and excesses ? As for indolence, it produces a very rust of all the organs of the system, and contributes greatly to shorten life. Again, look at the opposites of these, temperance, sobriety, pru- dence, industry, and economy, and see how perfectly they are adapted to the well-being of the system, and how indispensable they are to long life. Look at the third great division of the purposes of the human frame. Notice the vices Impurity, Fornication, Lust, Adultery. Opposed to these, are Purity, Restraint, Virtue, Chastity. The sword has slain its thousands, but these vices have slain their millions. Go to the gallows, to the state-prison, to the mur- 320 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY, dorer's grave, to the resting-place of the suicide, to the hospitals for the insane, to the residence of the outcast, and they will tell V'.m, in words not to be mistaken, the effect of these vices. The M.ses engendered by them are among the most terrible the :iun machine suffers. It is out of my power now to tell you tho number of deaths annually arising from these vices. But, taking the whole habitable globe, the number is absolutely in- iible. and contributes greatly to shorten human life. On the contrary, see how peculiarly friendly to the human machine is chastity, purity, and virtue. No triumph can be greater than that of the resolute man over his passions. And this triumph greatly contributes to lengthen his days. Let me also say, that, neral, all our vices hang together, and contribute to strength- en each other, and whether few or many, they are always at war Vf-ith-tho peace and health of the human machine. All of them contribute powerfully to shorten human life. It is another curious fact, that none of these are so incorporated with the system as to be uncontrollable or out of our power to prevent, and cannot be said, in any respect, to form a part of the human machine in any way ; they being entirely under the control of the will, and, whenever present, exist as abuses, none of them ever being committed involuntarily, we must always con. sent before we" do them. Again, all the virtues hang together and support each other. Each triumph we make over any vice, powerfully strengthens our virtues. All the virtues contribute to the well-being of the human machine, and give a mighty pre- ponderance to those elements that strengthen and fortify it, con- tributing to confer upon it immunity from some diseases, and as- sist to bestow upon it vast, length of days, even the days designed in its original formation, which I believe to be from one to two hundred years. I said that I had noticed these facts in relation to virtue and vice as a physician. Allow me now to add. that I delight in them as a Christian. They assist much to strengthen my belief, that when that change comes to me, and will come to us all, my eyes will then be opened to that, other state of ex- istence, whose glories and grandeur are heightened by the feeling that there can be no change, and whose great endowments are health, purity, and immortality. LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 321 CASE OF A CURE OF PILES. In July, 1843, at Troy, N. Y., I met the subject of this case. He was afflicted with most distressing piles, and was of a very scrofulous habit. I then soon cured his piles by medical treat- ment. He was, a little time before, forced to lay for weeks upon his back, being unable to walk, stand up, or do anything for any length of time. After I prescribed for him. he remained well un- til the next March, when his disease returned upon him so as to greatly impair his strength. In April. 1844. I gave him an abdominal supporter, which soon worked a radical cure. Copy of a letter from Mr. John B. Wliiton to Dr. S. S. Fitch. " Weathersfield, Dec. 11, 1844. " DR. S. S. FITCH : " Dear sir, In reply to your inquiries, I will inform you that I was afflicted with most distressing piles for about three years. In July, 1843, I met you at Troy, New-York. I was at that time, and frequently before, so reduced that I could not do any business, could not ride, and hardly walk. My usefulness was entirely k destroyed ; you relieved me by medicines. <; In March, 1844, 1 was again attacked, and suffered very much from piles, so as greatly to impair my general health. The first of April, you gave me an abdominal supporter, which in a short time perfectly cured me. I have now been well ever since. I feel most gratefully obliged to you, and cannot but most confi- dently recommend your supporters to all persons who may be troubled with piles, as, in my opinion, the only radical mode of cure. " JOHN B. WHITON." MANAGEMENT OF SCROFULA, &c. Case of Kelita B. Townlcy. In August, 1845, I visited several of the springs in Western Virginia, and among others the celebrated Red Sulphur Springs. 322 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. My object in visiting these springs was to observe their effect upon the consarrptive. On my return, I stopped at Lynchburg, Va. I there saw the subject of the.se remarks, one of the most distressed men I ever saw. He was one of the proprietors of the " Lynch- burg Virginian," (newspaper.) He had been sick about five years, and for the last year had been confined to his bed and room all the time, and had in despair left off taking any medicine. He had a large sore upon the left hip and another upon the left thigh. The left leg, from the knee downward, embracing the whole of the left foot, toes, &o., except the sole, presented the appearance of a raw blistered surface, and felt in every respect as if it had been recently blistered. From every p'art thus affected, constant- ly oozed out a burning watery liquid, that produced constant heat in the parts, with great smarting and burning, giving the whole leg the sensation of suffering from a terrible burn. I saw him early in September, '45. In the latter part of September; I re- ceived a letter from him, which is sufficiently explicit without any farther comments. I have again and again cured cases of running scrofula in persons, who, after trying every remedy in their reach, and suffering for years, had considered themselves hopelessly incurable. I should say, that I consider scrofula as comprising in my opinion scrofula or king's evil, and all skin dis- eases whatsoever, all comprised under the term "a humor," dif-* fering because located on different parts, and requiring different medicines, but originating from similar, or nearly similar causes. Copy of a letter from KeUta B. Townley to Dr. S, S. Fitch. " Lynchburg, Va., 11 mo. (Nov.) 19, 1845. " Respected friend,: Thy letter dated 'Portland, Maine, 7th Nov. 1345,' was received on yesterday. It will, no doubt, be tifying to thee to learn that I have left my bed and my room. I urn now going; about; however, as the body is covered with new skin, it is of course quite sensitive, consequently the action of the air, &c. causes some suffering. There is still, too some of thb disease, causing occasionally^ some irritation. leg ; which was principally disordered at the time of thy visit to me, is disposed, since 1 have commenced walking about, LECTURE- TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. 323 to swell. Inwardly I feel better than I have felt for 15 years. It is proper to say that I have, from early life, heen afflicted with a bronchial disorder. At one time it was.very severe, and it may be that it had a hurtful influence over my lungs. At this time the bronchitis is much improved, and I am inclined to think that, except an asthmatic affection, my lungs are not much disordered. I have had, and perhaps I have now, a good consti- tution, not in any organ impaired by my age, which is 43. My habits through life have been temperate, and if I may be permitted to lay aside modesty, virtuous. However, it is proper to remark that my occupations through life have been sedentary, and that I have over-labored both mind and body. " Unto thee I am indebted, no doubt, for my present improved condition of health. What I ought to say on this point lan- guage fails me. Gratitude, inexpressible gratitude, is due to thee from myself and my family. John says the thing was pro vidential. By-the-by, I must inform thee that when thou propos- edst to give me medicines, I felt a strong opposition to taking any. I had been in the hands of the best physicians included in this part of the state, and at the time of thy visit to me, my disease WHS upon me with great and increasing severity. A physician, in whom I had great confidence, said to me, Take no more medi- cine for his opinion was, that my disease was not under the control of medicine. _ The advice of this doctor was that I should visit the springs. Fortunately for me, my mind as well as my body was weak when thou wast here. I gave myself up to my wife and John, and yielded to' their entreaties as to taking thy medi- cines. If this letter should elicit from thee additional views in regard to my case, please to communicate them to me ; also, if thou think any additional remedies essential, please to send them. Thy prescriptions shall be strictly attended to. Under any circum- stances, don't fail to write to me immediately on the receipt of this. If thou hast no objection, I should prefer to keep up a cor- respondence with thee several months. Thy friend, " KELITA B. TOWNLEY." November, 1846, I was again favored with a letter from Mr. Townley, which speaks for itself : 324 LECTURE TO GENTLEMEN ONLY. " Lyncbburg, Va., llth month (Nov.) 4th, 1846. " DR. S. S. FITCH : " Respected friend, I was happy to receive thy letter of the 28th ultimo. I have not written to thee for upwards of ten months. About the 1st of the current year, I wrote to thee two letters, to which I received no answers. Presuming that thou wast out of reach of my letters, I thought it unnecessary to write to thee any more till I should hear from thee. " Under the administration of thy prescription, my health con- tinued to improve till I was able, about ten months ago to resume business. The cure was truly gratifying and astonishing to my- self, my family, and my friends. Some time during the summer, I got very wet, which increased a bronchitis, under which I have been laboring for 25 years. I was consequently confined about 3 weeks. With this exception, I have been regularly engaged at business for upwards of ten months. " However, the disease eczyma occasionally makes its appear- ance in a mitigated form. At present my whole system is more or less under the influence of it ; but not so much so as to give me much uneasiness. " For several months I did not take any medicine. Recently I have commenced drinking the hemp tea. I have an ample sup- ply of thy pills, but the purple drops are exhausted. I should like very much to get some more of the drops. " John, the servant, is still with me. If we can serve thee in any way, it will afford us pleasure. " Thy friend respectfully, " KELITA B. TOWNLEY." THE END. RETURN 1 2 3 4 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS DUE AS STAMPED BELOW r&w*- FORM NO. DD 19 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELE BERKELEY, CA 94720