ORIGIN AND NATURE OF SPRINGS. 15 



chemically pure, and so are those of Wildbad and 

 Baden, to which thousands flock from all parts of 

 the world. These fountains, as resorts for invalids, 

 date back to the time of the Roman Conquest, when 

 Caesar bathed in and drank the waters, extolling 

 their virtues. Several of the springs at Ballston 

 and Saratoga contain so few saline particles that 

 they should be reckoned as nothing in judging 

 of the source of the therapeutic influence of the 

 waters. 



At this point the inquiry arises, From .whence 

 comes the remedial power of these fountains ? By 

 their use, are diseases ameliorated or cured ? or are 

 alleged beneficial effects purely imaginary, and 

 without foundation in fact ? The latter hypothesis 

 is unsatisfactory, and there is a vast amount of un- 

 impeachable testimony in the way of its ready 

 reception. Indeed, it is not necessary to resort to 

 this method of disposing of the difficulty. In the 

 examination, we find little more than pure water to 

 be the agent employed ; and, if remedial benefits 

 result, the pure lymph of the fountain, innocent of 

 salt, should have all the credit. And is not water 

 a medicine ? When drank in quantities beyond 

 the demands of thirst, in many diseases, especially 

 those arising from arrested metamorphosis, it pro- 

 duces marked salutary results. I venture the opin- 

 ion, derived from experience and observation, that 



