382 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



was an unmistakable look of mortification on the part of those 

 who had consented to summon this iEsculapius, but there was no 

 help for it now. At this moment a visitor was announced to Mr. 

 Marsh, and the lady therefore was the first to prove the wild 

 man's skill. He examined the injured foot, placed it in warm 

 water, dipped his own fingers in olive oil, and rubbed and pressed 

 the foot very gently for about twenty minutes. He then careful- 

 ly dried it and bade his patient walk. She hesitated, having suf- 

 fered so much and so long from every effort of that kind ; but an 

 imperative ' Imslieh, imsheh,' decided her. She placed her foot 

 firmly on the floor and took a step, another and another, and still 

 no pain. In a few minutes she was in the street, and, after stroll- 

 ing some hours among the bazaars of the city, returned with- 

 out the least feeling of discomfort. The cure was perfect and 

 permanent. 



" In the meantime Mr. Marsh had passed through a more severe 

 ordeal at the hands of the magician. His foot and ankle, which 

 were both badly swollen and discolored, were very sensitive to the 

 manipulation, and especially to the energetic pulling which in 

 this case was a part of the treatment, and at the end of three quar- 

 ters of an hour he was well-nigh exhausted by the pain. But 

 then, on looking at his foot, he was surprised to find that the 

 swelling had disappeared, the color was almost entirely natural, 

 and the shoe and stocking, which had been laid aside for almost 

 two weeks, were put on with perfect ease. He was then directed 

 to walk, which to his amazement he found he could do without 

 the least pain ; and the only unpleasant sensation he experienced 

 afterward was a slight stiffness for the first day or two, which, 

 however, did not in the least interfere with walking. After this, 

 preparations for forty days' wandering in the desert were made 

 as rapidly as possible." 



Making allowance for the enchantment that distance always 

 lends, there is little doubt that these two injuries were much bene- 

 fited by the manipulations of the wild Arab. But it is very evi- 

 dent that he hurt his second patient much more than there was 

 any need of. It would, indeed, be strange if the teachings of sci- 

 ence did not enable us to improve on the methods of blind instinct. 

 And though science often follows art with limping strides, yet 

 here we can say that science has caught up with art and together 

 they work for the rapid amelioration of disabled joints. No sane 

 person would think of having massage applied immediately to the 

 seat of a sprain, but many imagine that this is what the masseur 

 will do, and hence deprive themselves of the early benefit that 

 might be got from this method of treatment, which quickly re- 

 lieves the pain, the heat, and the swelling, removes the pressure 

 from terminal nerve filaments, and prevents the parts from stick- 



