556 



POPULAR SCIEJS'CE MONTULY. 



almost extirpated certain diseases and 

 greatly mitigated the virvileuce of 

 others; tliat its prophylactic methods 

 in regard to epidemics that used peri- 

 odically to scourge the most civilized 

 jiatious are of proved and signal 

 efficacy ; and that by the use of an- 

 aesthetics and antiseptics it has as- 

 suaged an absolutely incalculable 

 amount of human anguish. A writer 

 in a recent number of The Nineteenth 

 Century, describing the progress of 

 medicine and surgery during the last 

 sixty years, quotes an account given 

 by a distinguished physician of his 

 own experiences in undergoing a 

 surgical operation before the days of 

 anaesthesia. The passage is a painful 

 one, but we shall be pardoned, we 

 hope, for reproducing it, as it is very 

 pertinent to the occasion : 



" Of the agony occasioned I will 

 say nothing. Suffering so great as I 

 underwent can not be expressed in 

 words, and thus fortunately can not 

 be recalled. The particular pangs 

 are now forgotten; but the black 

 whirlwind of emotion, the horror 

 of great darkness, and the sense of 

 desertion by God and man, border- 

 ing close upon despair, which swept 

 through my mind and overwhelmed 

 my heart. I can never forget, how- 

 ever gladly I would do so. . . . Be- 

 fore the days of anaesthesia a patient 

 preparing for an operation was like 

 a condemned criminal preparing for 

 execution. He counted the days till 

 the appointed day came. He counted 

 the hours of that day till the appointed 

 hour came. He listened for the echo 

 on the street of the surgeon's car- 

 riage. He watched for his pull at 

 the door-bell; for his foot on the 

 stairs ; for his step in the room ; for 

 the production of his dreaded instru- 

 ments; for his few grave words and 

 his last prei)arations before begin- 

 ning. And then he surrendered his 

 liberty and, revolting at the neces- 

 sity, submitted to be held or bound 



and helplessly gave himself up to 

 the cruel knife." 



Less than fifty years ago these 

 were daily experiences; and whence 

 did relief come? From any hocus- 

 pocus speculations ixpon mind and 

 matter? From any looking away 

 from phenomena and trying to dis- 

 believe them out of existence? No, 

 but from assuming the reality of 

 Ijhenomena, and bringing a material 

 agent to bear ou a physical condi- 

 tion. True, theological objections 

 were raised to this new and most 

 benelicent extension of medical sci- 

 ence; but it would have taken more 

 theology than was contained in all 

 the catechisms to make the world 

 renounce the new hope thus ten- 

 dered to it. And now, if further 

 progress is desired, can any sane and 

 honest man doubt the direction in 

 which it is to be sought? What sci- 

 ence has done is but an earnest of 

 what it will yet do. All that is 

 needed is a patient following out of 

 her methods the first of which is a 

 careful measuring and recognition 

 of facts as they are in order to 

 reach forward to all possible good. 

 We can only trust that many minds 

 now entangled with " Christian sci- 

 ence" wnll work their way to a 

 knowledge and love of true science. 

 If they do, they wnll gain a sense of 

 intellectual emancipation such as 

 they never before experienced ; they 

 will know also of the doctrine that 

 its foundations are in the truth of 

 things, and that its mission is the 

 healing and regeneration of the hu- 

 man race. 



THE WORLD AS IT IS. 



In these bright summer days, 

 when most of us get glimpses of ru- 

 ral scenery and not a few are privi- 

 leged to enjoy it for days and weeks 

 together, it would be fitting if we 

 were occasionally to reflect how 



