524 THE MOUNTAIN. 



medicine alone ? As they give "no medicines in any case 

 whatever," but rely solely upon Nature's remedies, neither 

 attempting to advance or arrest the procession of things, by 

 the way the safest position to take for final judgments is t 

 surely to leave the sick man to get along alone, to live or 

 die by "Nature's remedies." 



The schools stand vis-a-vis on the question of death, as 

 on the question of life.* 



Mrs. B has lost her only daughter, and is broken- 

 hearted, f ***** 



To conclude this currente calamo splash on the subject 

 of some of the most prominent of the satanic strategies, wiles, 

 and charlatanries assuming the prerogatives and powers of 

 the regular profession of medicine which are now at work 

 hoaxing the world, it might be true, that spring fever, gout, 

 calculous concretions of the joints, pathological obesity or 

 morbid fatness, dyspepsia, blue devils, and common mulli- 

 grubs, and all diseases connected with incorrigible laziness 

 and soggy immobility, with indiscriminate stuffing of cavi- 

 ties, would be essentially benefited by the "Lingian formulas" 

 of medical gymnastics. Of course, many things might be 

 done by two thousand movements, by the therapeutic virtue 

 of kicking and cuffing, nudging and snubbing, etc., espe- 

 cially by the drill of the muscles of arms and legs in some 

 useful operation in the creation of value, as in the highly- 

 curative gymnastic movement of ploughing the earth, or 

 splitting wood ; that good may come of this medicine of the 

 muscles, "from the muscles of medicine," there is not the 

 least doubt ; also, that hypnotism may cure hypochondria- 

 cism and vaporism, and that hocus-pocus may medicate suc- 

 cessfully " conniption fits" and the whole range of diseases 

 which may be classified under the genus of " lackadaisical 

 fancies." "The unit of hypnotism is intense attention, ab- 



* See Robert Smith's story of the death of Mrs. T.'s son for want 

 of the twenty-fifth bleeding in bilious fever. 



f See Smith's story of the death of her daughter in the natural 

 way, or without the assistance of any kind of doctor at all. 



