8  Dr.  Peter  Smith  and  His  Dispensatory.  {Arf^ZyFimm 
to  an  interesting  revolutionary  incident  where  it  had  been  used  with 
good  result  on  a  soldier  "  who  had  been  wounded  at  the  German- 
town  battle,  1777,  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  One  of  his  legs  had 
been  broken  and  shattered  while  he  was  one  of  the  forlorn  party 
sent  to  tear  down  the  fence  and  palings  about  Chew's  house." 
Passing  to  some  of  his  remedies,  we  are  reminded  of  the  ani- 
mal drugs  of  mediaeval  times;  e.g.,  a  dead  toad  is  recommended 
as  an  application  to  a  wen,  and  Smith's  remedy  for  toothache — well 
it  would  credit  the  animal  extract  men,  past  or  present.  But  this 
subject  must  be  touched  lightly  ;  for  are  not  many  members  of  the 
medical  profession  seemingly  gravitating  again  towards  the  "  moss 
that  grows  on  a  dead  man's  skull  "  of  European  mediaeval  medicine  ? 
Dr.  Smith  seems  to  have  anticipated  the  cold  water  curers  (hydro- 
paths),  but  he  recorded  his  views  in  language  that  demonstrates  that 
he  stood  close  to  some  of  the  sanative  surgeons  of  to-day.  He 
says  : 
"cold  water  applications 
"  I  reckon  among  the  choicest  of  my  discoveries. 
"  The  following  I  recommend  : 
"  When  the  accident  of  a  bruise,  piercing  of  a  nail,  a  cut,  a  broken  bone,  an 
eye  knocked  out  and  put  in  again,  etc.,  takes  place,  immerse  the  part  in  cold 
water  as'quick  as  possible,  and  then  dip  a  large,  soft  linen  cloth  into  cold  water 
and  apply  it,  and  keep  out  the  air.  This  cloth  should  be  kept  close  ;  aid  this 
by  dropping  cold  water  upon  it  for  fifteen  minutes,  and  continue  it  close  for 
twelve  hours.  The  inflammation  by  this  means  will  be  kept  back,  and  the  cure 
by  anything  else  will  be  almost  forestalled  ;  and  then  a  bruise,  a  strain  or  broken 
bone,  will  scarcely  swell  at  all ;  and  a  like  application  to  a  burn  will  have  a 
similar  effect.  In  about  fifteen  minutes  the  first  pain  will  be  over,  and  the 
future  ease  will  be  steadfast. 
"  I  have  tried  the  foregoing  application  of  cold  water,  with  full  demonstra- 
tions, for  forty  years  past." 
And  it  needs  but  little  imagination  to  credit  this  stern  man  with 
a  poetic  spirit,  for  he  pathetically  laments  (p.  vi)  the  fact  that 
through  his  own  fault,  the  "  Leotrill "  was  lost.  So  earnest  is  he 
concerning  this  precious  "  Leotrill,"  met  as  he  journeyed  from  Vir- 
ginia to  Georgia,  that  he  states  that  he  sometimes  thinks  of 
travelling  the  weary  way  over  again,  hoping  yet  to  obtain  this 
"  Leotrill." 
And  that  his  observing  eye  caught  yet  finer  lines,  is  evidenced  by 
the  fact  that  he  pointed  out  an  "  insect "  theory  of  disease,  and 
placed  himself  (pp.  xiv,  xv)  in  the  ranks  of  the  microbe  theorists  of 
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