LECTURE ON HOMC(1OPATHY.                  19
a similar condition of the thlroat in healthy persons; they are
Aconite and Belladonna.  If thle disease is not stayed in its
jnurderous course by the use of tlese agents; if the angina
increases in intensity, and  a whitish exudation is deposited
upon the uvula, the  velumn  and the fauces; if the glands
bvcoine more and nuore enlrged, a ifetid ptyalisrn  sets in, the
breath  becomes foul, and  deglutition is ahlmost rendered
impossible by tlte closinlg of thle pharynx, another agent is
required to  meet this grou,,? of phenomena.  An allopathic
practitioner wllo is acqualilnted  witli tlle effects of poisonous
doses of MIercury, will at oncee admnit tlhat the Iodide of HMercury imeets these synll[tol-ls more accurately than any other
mercurial preparation or any other medicine wllatever.  ]We
therefore give the Iodide of Mercury ill cdivided doses, sometimes alternatinog it witl B3Allaclonna, which may still be partially indicated by thle original angilla.  In this manner we
follow up the symptoms of the disease group by group, and if
we do not cure every case, we certainly cure as many cases of
diplltheria as we do of aiy other epidemlic. The per-centage of
fatal cases is small indeed.  Of course the l)liysician has to be
called in time, for thle vital reaction  soon becomnes extinct
under the  assaults of this frightful malady.  I should add
that homnaeopathic practitioners avail themselves of suitable
palliatives during the treattmelnt; a solution of the chlorate of
potash, for instance, is sometimes resorted to as a wash or gargle, for the purpose of neutralizing  the fetid odor frbon the
mouth.
If I do not weary your patience, let me conclude these
illustrations of holnceopatlhic treatment by mentioning the
admirable virtues of Aconite in. neuralgia, in the treatment of
rheumatic and phleginonous inflamninations and of acute congestions of a rlleumatic or bilious character.  Why is it that
Aconite evinces such a magic power in neuralgia?  Look at
tlhe effects of Aconite upon the healthy tissues.  It is precisely
neuralgic pains tha:-t constitute prolinent teatures in the artificial or drugY disease which Aconite is capable of developing.
We have lancinating or stinging pains, tearing and wrenching
pains, screwing and boring pains, pains as if a hot iron were



20              LECTURE ON HOMCEOPATHY.
thrust throught the part.  And these pains are generally
attended with soreness and extreme sensitiveness of the parts
to contact or pressure. Even the dullest practitioners of the
old school, those most impenetrable to progressive ideas, find
that they cannot dispense with the use of Aconite in neuralgia.
It would not do, to say that Aconite cures neuralgia by virtue
of its narcotic properties. Opium, Prussic acid, Belladonna,
and various other drugs are powerful narcotics, yet they do not
cure neuralgia. Aconite is possessed of specific powers over
neuralgia, and these specific powers depend upon the fact that
Aconite affects the nervous system in a state of health in a
similar manner to what we know it to be affected in neuralgia.
What tortures are spared thousands of sufferers by the introduction of Aconite as a remedial agent.  It is chiefly to Hahnemann and his disciples that we are indebted for this blessing.
When I attended medical lectures, allopathic professors were
absolutely ignorant of the triumphant virtues of Aconite as an
anti-neuralgic and anti-phlogistic agent.  Many of you, gentlemen, have probably heard of the late Dr. Francis, of New
York City. The doctor had been for many years professor of
Obstetrics in the New York College of Physicians and Surgeons. Fifteen years ago the doctor met me in the drug store
of Messrs. Delluc and Soulard, two eminent pharmaceutists of
New  York city, at the moment when I was purchasing an
ounce of the tincture of Aconite.  With his usual gruff voice
the doctor asked me: -" What do you use this for? " I told
him that I used it for acute rheumlatism, congestions, inflammatory dysentery, which was at that time prevalent in New
York, neuralgia,etc.  The doctor gave another grunt, " Ho, I
knew all about this thirty years ago; a tablespoonful of this
stuff would not hurt anybody."
It was evident that the good man knew nothinbg about this
agent, and never had known anything about it. MAr. Delluc
slyly remarked to him; " I would not advise you, Doctor, to
swallow a thimbleful of it." I may observe that it was a concentrated tincture of the Aconite-root, one of tile most deadly
poisons, and far more powerful than a tincture made of the
leaves or blossoms of the same plant.