THE SCBANTON TBIBUNE WEDNESDAY MOENING, OCTOBER 7, 1896.
6
MUSIC IS BETTER
THAN MEDICINE
Facti About the Curative Propertlei of
Harmonious Sounds.
SOME INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS
Music Sore to Play an Important Part
in the Medirnl Practice of the
Futnre Wbnt lias Already Been
Accomplished in This Direction.
From Music. .
A great deal of attention has lately
teen given to music as a therapeutic
HKent. Indeed, the "experiments", in
this direct ion of scientists, physleimis,
mesmerists and nondescript of various
kinds are becoming somewhat contiin
One experimenter has ilist-ovi red
that music incites the action of the
heurt uml that this action InlliM'nces
the i-irvillatloii of the lilntid, causinff it
to coincide with the chanpeH In the
breathinp. Another says that the func
tional activity of the skin is powerfully
tititimlated by music, while Prof, t'oz
xollna of Naples recalls a demonstra
tion iriven by Charcot at the Saloetru-re
of the beneilt derived from music by a
selected group of his patie.its, all suf
fering from neuroses of varying de
crees of intensity. That distingulshe.1
physiologist. Prof, larchanoft of St.
.Petersburg has found that "if t'10 An
gers are completely fatigued, either by
voluntary effort or by electric, excita
tion, music has the power of making
the fatigue. disappear," a very doubt
ful 'experiment." seeing that the lin
gers of the pianist are quite as liable
to become fatigued as the finijors of
other people who seldom hear a, note
of music.
Again, there are the Interestlnz ex
periments of Dr. Wavthin, of Viciitit.
in the way of hypnotizing patients and
dosing them with music while In a
slate of trance. These experiments
seem to show pretty conclusively that
the man without music in his soul does
not really exist. The doctor's subjects
were live men antl two women who
were almost entirely unafTecte'l by
music when in their normal state.. Be
fore hypnotizing them, Dr. Warthln
"suggested" to them the will to pre
serve their Impressions after having
nwakened. One of the subjects, aged
forty, had Wagner's "Walkuerenritt"
played to him. His pulse Immediately
became stronger and more rapid. The
tension was increased by 60 and the
beats advanced to 120. Simultaneously
the respiration rose from 18 to 30 a
minute; the face expressed great agita
tion and the whole body was covered
with a profuse respiration. When
roused from the hypnotic state the sub
ject declared that he had not been sen
sible to the music as a sound, but only
as a general sensation, a frt of excite
ment like that produced by "a rapid
flight through space." Dr. Warlliin
states that he has found nothing so ef
fective as music in hypnotizing refrac
tory subjects.. One such subject re
mained insusceptible to everything tiut
the pilgrim's chorus in Tannhauser;"
when this was played he usually suc
cumbed about the llfth bar. There is
Ihen hope for the eternity of Wagner's
fame yet! In the way of further "ex
periments" we have to note the exist
ence in London of the so-called cStiilcl
of St. Cecilia, which seeks to charm
away pain and induce sleep by the
soothing strains of music, and even
contemplates, or did contemplate, a
mission of mercy by telephonic aid.
Further, we have the announcement
that music Is being more and more
systematically employed in our lunatic
asylums, and that the medical profes
sion in general are gradually coming
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. NOT,. A NQ'VELT.'
Now, interesting as it is to note all
these developments, the fact remains
that here is nothing very new .about
this recognition of the curative powers
of music. That certain physical pains
might be alleviated by the Greeks and
Romans, and the circumstances that
bodily and mental disease may be ef
fected in more or less degree by music
has been a subject of remark with
scientific writers of all nations from
Arlstoenus and Euclid down to Rous
seau and Buffon. Look for a moment
at the ancient classics. In the "Me
dea" of Kurlpldes the nurse expresses
her surprise' to. the chorus that music
instead of being composed merely for
feasts and banquets, should not equally
have' had a medical application to such
maladies as .that of her mistress. a
passage, l.v the way. rendered ilnely
by the author of "The Pleasures of
Hoie." You will find Cicero asserting
the amazing power of music over many
diseases, and Plato supiiorting him
with the suggestion that harmony ef
fects, the mind just as air effects the
body!
Plutarch tells us that Thelates, the
Cretan, delivered the I.acedemonneis
from the pestilence by the music of
his lyre; while Murtiunus-Capella as
sures us that he knew of fevers being
removed by song, and that Kscleplades
cured deafness by the sound of a trum
pet, another rather doubtful experi
ment. Pythagoras and Xenoreates
brought maniacs to their senses by
melodious sounds; according to the old
historian, Suldus. Timoiheus the Creat
by his tlute playing that he "suddenly
rose from the . table and seized his
weapons." whether to deal destruction
on Timotheus or otherwise we are not
Informed: Perhaps Alexander had too
much wine, and if the flutist played
badly he might easily be made furious.
The story reminds one of the case of
Henry IV. of Denmark, cited by Krafit
zlus. Henry hail been told of a certain
musician who boasted that he could
"either vex or please those who heard
his music and either lay them asleep
or put them into a fury." He decided
to try the experiment in his own per
son, and the experiment succeeded so
effectively that the king .in the height
of his fury, "killed several of his cour
tiers with his lists." He should cer
tainly have begun by slaying the
musician. On the other hand, it Is in
teresting to note what Aristotle tells
about the Tyrrhenians, that they never
scourged their slaves without at the
same time giving them a "counter
poise" to the pain by a course of flute
music. The mythology of Oreece tells
of Chiron, who with the help of music
not only cured the sick, but also soft
ened the tits of anger of his charge,
the famous Achilles: while Thales. act
ing on the authority of a neighboring
oracle who seems to have hail great
weight in the consulting world, cured
a raging plague in Sparta by It. Aulus
tlcllius, Athcnciis, Celius Aureliiius,
Theophrastus. all availed themselves of
music to calm the offerings caused
by neuralgia, sciatica and gout. Celius
actually advises recurrence to the
Phrygian mode In case of those weigh
ed down by melancholia, while for rag
ing lunatics he would prescribe the
Doric mode. Some or these ancient
"cures" are no doubt apocryphal, but
there are others we. need not question,
any more than we question the soften
ing of Saul's anger by the music of
David's harp.
Hut we are not dependent solely upon
the old classics for facts to show that
music hath charms to soot lie the savage
and the sickly. Indeed, any one who
looks into the subject with some
minuteness will be surprised at the
amount of writing that exists In con
nection with it. The indefatigable
Hurney has dealt with the matter very
fully, and has collected the testimonies
of several historians ami the opinions
of many physicians. Richard Kast
cott in his "Sketches of the Origin and
1
J
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For men and boys. We sell the celebrated "Hopkins' Hat" at $3.00; the best hat in the market for $3.00.
B D OHO
Progress of Music." published In 1793.
also devotes a large amount of space
til it. Kastcott's experience it may.
however, be remarked, were not uni
formly in favor of the" poet's conten
tion that "Music can soften pain to
ease, and make despair and madness
please." For example, he recounts the
cases of several men who fainted
upon hearing certain kinds of music.
One man was taken to the opera, but
the opera was Ames's "Artaxerxes,"
and one does not wonder that a man
fainted after hearing the overture of
that deadly dull work. It is Kastcott
again who tells the story of a Mr. Hur
ton, a "celebrated chorus singer," who
fainted at he Handel commemoration
services in Westminster Abbey. The
overture to Esther so violently agitated
this gentleman that after lying in a
swoon for some time he expired.' "At
Intervals he was able to speak, and
only a few. minutes before breathing
his last he declared that it was the
wonderful effect of the music which
had thus fatally operated on him."
There is no reason to doubt the gen
uineness of this story, for several other
cases of the kind are on record.
SENSITIVE NERVES.
There is a well authenticated In
stance of a man upon whose nervous
system it so acted that he was obliged
to leave the room previous to music
being introduced. This man made two
linul experiments in hope of overcom
ing the weakness, but both ended in
his being seized with a convulsion in
the jaw, greatly to the alarm of his
friends. Mine. Mallbian. in like man
ner, now and again suffered intensely
from the effect of music. For example,
when she heard Heethoven's C minor
symphony for the first lime at the
Paris conservatory, she was seized
with such convulsions that she hud to
bo carried out of the room. Rousseau
says he knew a lady who could not
hear any kind of music without being
seized with involuntary and convulsive
laughter. In Halliard's "Life of Char
lemagne" we are told of a woman who,
when she heard an organ for the first
lime, was so transported with rapture
thut she never recovered from the ef
fect, and died In consequence, which
is not a bad testimony to the organs,
of Charlemagne's time. We all know
that each time the bagpiper of the
llurtz plays a maiden dies: and
charming writer whose versatility
must not be taken as pointing o a
want of veracity, tells us of a death
which was attributed to a neighboring
band. If the story is true no doubt the
hand was a brass one.
There is a much quoted anecdote
about -Mozart tainting away at the
sound of a trumpet, "an Instrument of
which, up to the age of 10. he had the
greatest dread." "He could not bear
the trumpet." says Holmes. In his life
of the composer, when blown by itself,
"and was alarmed to see It even han
dled. His father, thinking to remove
this childish fear, desired that' it
should be blown before him, notwith
standing all his entreaties to the con
trary. At the first blast he turned
pale and sank to the ground, and seri
ous consequences might have ensued
had the experiment been persisted in."
Mozart at any rate seems to have got
pretty quickly over his dislike for the
trumpet, for In the catalogue of his
works produced between his seventh
and twelfth years the instrument fig
ures frequently. There is no .doubt,
however, that with some excitable na
tures music, from being at first a
voluptuous enjoyment, soon degener
ates Into an acute sense of suffering.
Htiiioz was a witness to this in his
own person; and in one of his works
he has described his feelings In a very
expressive way. To the sensation of
pleasure he says succeeded a general
excitation, a greater activity of circu
lation, of beating the arterial vessels
of the head, an outburst of tears,
spasmodic and tetanic contractions of
the muscles, a tremor in all the limbs,
a progressive stiffening of the extremi
ties, swimming in the head, an ap
proach to syncope, a crisis completely
220 LACKAWANNA
hysterical. This state nf being was
surely remarkable enough in one who
had t make his living by music; hut
perhaps it depended , to some extent
upon the kind of music which he heard.
A course of Berlioz himself hus been
known to produce feeiings of restless
ness and disquietude in some minds;
a surfeit of Schumann might make cer
tain people morbid; and it is possible
that the cloying sweetness of Choln
might tend to voluptuousness In some
individuals. Shakespeare certainly
seems to recognize this fact. The sen
suous Cleopatra calls music "the
moody food of love;" and the duke's
words in "Measure for Measure" are
very explicit on the point:
Music hath such a charm
To make bail good and good provoke to
harm.
AMONG MEDICAL WRITERS.
The return, however, to our main
theme. We were speaking of the great
amount of attention given by writers
and physicians at various limes to the
question of medicinal music. There Is a
medical treatise written by a Spanish
lady as far back as the time of Klizu
betb, in which music is represented as
"that which tends most to comfort, re
juice and strengthen the brain, ami
as a disarmer of epilepsy." There is
an anonymous pamplih-l, ( date 1 T4H.
entitled "lielli-cllcins of Ancient and
Modern Music, Willi the Aoiilicutloll of
the cure of the disease," which, how
ever, I have not seen. Twenty years
before this certain kic-liaic! Hi own. "an
apothecary of Oldham." h id published
a I look "tin the Effects of Singing. .Mu
sic and Dancing on Human Kodies."
The specialty of this work is its rec
ommendation of the exercise of singing
as useful in certain disorders. In dis
cussing this point, the author lays
down a number nf propositions be
ginning, "There is a sympathy between
the soul and the animal spirits." und
going on to assert that animal spirits
regulate the action of the heart: that
the pressure of air in the lungs, caused
by singing, more effectually removes
deleterious mutter from the blood, and
so on, "The singing of certain mel
ancholy, languishing tunes, continues
this old philosopher, "does, instead of
elevating the spirits, rather tend to
their depression, und. therefore, In or
der to enjoy the pleasing und profitable
effect thut I have promised in singing,
we are to make choice of such tunes
as, having life and vigor In their com
position, are adapted m cheer and
elevate the soul and invigorate the
motion of the spirit." Apart from the
good effects of singing upon the singer,
this old writer especially recommends
music us helpful In uttacks of the
"spleen or vapors." Where a soft
adugio. according to Mr. Hrower. would
he "very improper, as by Its melodious
strains it only tends to soothe our
melancholy and bring a languishing
upon the spirits that are already droop
ing." the author pins his faith to a
"brisk allegro." which he proclaims to
lie of "prodigious service In the cure
of apoplexies, lethargies, etc." The
Ct. Ceciltuns, It Is understood, put their
trust In soft and gentle strains. They
must take care not to bring a lan
guishing upon the spirit, though the
patient may prefer it to any results
derived from the "airy, sprightly
strokes of an allegro."
Mr. Hurrettl, nn eminent physician
who made the music of the ancients his
particular study, was of the opinion
that music has the power of affecting
the whole nervous system, so as to
give a temporary relief in certain dis
eases: and Jacques Bonnet In his "HIs
tolre le la Musique," (ITiT.) tells us how
on one occasion lie was entertaineii by
a friend then In the service of the
Prince of Orange, with the perform
ance of three llrst rate musicians, who
were constantly employed by the prince
to keep him free frnnvmojancholy. The
same remedy. It may be remembered,
was used by Philip V. of Spain, when,
as the Result of bereavement, he fell
Into a state of melancholia. The queen
got Farlnella to sing regularly to him,
and as a result his health was very
mmER
Iff
&
soon restored. Moreover. Ferdinand
VI. Inherited this saine melancholia
from his father. Philip, and wus also
cured In a like manner. Apropos of ull
this, old burton, when he penned his
"Anatomy of Melancholy," wus not
likely to forget music as a potent rem
edy for that too Impracticable nialudy;
but he also cites the relief afforded by
it in the hands of the physician to many
"frantic persons," and tells how Clinias
and Empedocles "cured some desper
ately melancholy and some mud" by the
same means. It Is with him "a sover
eign remedy" and one that Will "drive
away the devil himself." This driving
away the devil, by the way, was a spec
ial object of ambition with Luther, and
it is curious to find that he also recom
mends music as being specially fitted
for the purpose. "The devil," says the
reformer, "is a sturnine spirit and
music Is hateful to him und drives him
far away from it." It is a countryman
of Luther's upon whom Snuthey drops a
passing note of admiration for that he,
a phvsiclun, "administered cat's en
trails as a panacea." We know that
catgut Is quite innocent of any connec
tion with the bowels of the domestic
puss, but Soiitbey's meaning Is pluiu.
and I .ill In"' would almost certainly
have approved tjie remedy. Mlllon ie
eoinmcliiled musical exercises before
meat as a relief to the mind, and ad
vises it after meat "to assist and cher
ish nature in her llrst com oil Inns, ami
send the ininil back to study In good
tune and satisfaction." And Milton
practiced what lie preached, for In the
account of his day's occupation we find
that bis custom was after dpiner to
"play on tin- organ and sing or hear
another sing." Douglas Jerrold de
clared that he haled to dine amidst the
strains of a military band: he said lie
could taste the brass 111 bis soup. Hut
perhaps he would h-ive had no objec
tion to music of u ouiet tvpe such us
Milton evidently advocated.
IN' ANCIENT tiEMMANY.
The (lerman magistrates of olden
time used to hire musicians to play,
and "lusty companions"' to "trip the
light fantastic toe" with those ullllcteil
with St. Vitus's dance. At the out
break of epidemics, too, they would
call In the aid of the leading musicians
in order to lessen to some extent the
horror and fear which were spread
everywhere, and which of themselves
often brought on the disease. Even
the deadly bile of the tarantula was
indirectly rendered illiniums, by the
power of music. The great thing was
to keep the patient awake, for if he
went to sleep before the poison was
extracted he was sure to be -a dead
man in no time, and so the music was
chosen, and of a peculiarly exhilarating
kind, to throw the hapless wight Into
a violent lit of dancing which brought
on a plentiful perspiration ami thus
effected a cure. One may be sKeptical
on the matter of etlicacy; but at least,
we knnwthntthe'Taruntella" survives,
and that several of our best composers
have written in the form and charac
ter of the old dance tune. The last
movement of Weber's sonata in E
minor Is a masterpiece of the kind.
Even at the present time music is re
garded by some semi-civilized natives
as a medical agent. It is nearly al
ways used In those countries where
there Is a general belief that sickness
Is produced by the malignant Inllueuce
of evil spirits, the notion Dicing the
Lutheran one that music drives those
spirits away.
As a cure for Insanity, music has
been in more or less repute front the
earliest times. Shakespeare alludes to
it in Richard III., where the king snys:
His music muds me. let it sound no more.
Kor though It helps madmen to their wits,
To me It seems ll will make wise men mad.
LATER INSTANCES.
We nil remember the case of the late
eccentric King of Bavaria, who. when
suffering from one of his periodical
headaches, used to send for Nachbaur
to sing the dream song from "Musanl
ello" and Straddella's "Prayer," both
1
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H A
AVENUE.
of which hud usually a soothing effect
upon his majesty. f Mamizer. In h's
"Musle and Education records the
case of a woman in a illasgow asylum
who from hearing an old Scotch song
one evening had the faculty of memory
aroused and gradually came to such a
clear understanding that she could he
restored to her friends. A touching
story of a somewhat kindred nature
appeared not long ago In the Philadel
phia Record. The Record states that
In the Philadelphia hospital's Insane
department successful results have fol
lowed the treatment of diseased minds
by a mild application of the cause of
the trouble. A teacher of music some
time ago became Insane and was taken
to the hospital. The treatment was
tried on him and he was dally taken
to the piano. "His hands were placed
upon the keys, onlv to wander over
them blindly und without the slightest
Indication of skill. He would often
turn away his heud. and when forced
to look upon the instrument that had
once been his companion ami pride, it
was with disgust. Perseverance, how
ever, prevailed upon kindly tuition, and
in a lew da vis his eyes became tilled
wi'h their old lire. His lingers no long
er wandon-d aimlessly over the key
board, bul. as ihoii:;h realizing he had
found a lost friend, began playing with
all I he penl-up. passion of a soul that
had Just been liberated from sonie hor
rible thrallilciiii. l-'cir sevi,il minutes
he played as ope in a dream, nncl then
his head fell on his breast and be wept
like a cliilil." Thai man is todav per
fectly sane. It Is said that the usual ef
fect of music unon a deluded patient
would lie to m-ike him susceptible to
the Inllueuce f suggestion, and thus
enable the doctor to tlx his attention.
It is suggested, too. Unit by cullflig
forth some reaction, music would assist
Hie nhysiiian In diagnosing between
stupor and melancholia and anergic
stupor. Any experiments of that kind
would certainly be waleheil not only
by medlcHl scientists, bul by musicians
with due attention. On the whole. It
Would seem that music Is to form a
very important function in the medical
world of the future.
. tiltioniy l.oi ill Manic.
Much to I he surprise or Proprietor
Hurst. cT Hie Hurst hotel, says the St.
Louis lb-public, one of his regular board
ers walked up to the desk yesterday morn
ing, paid his bill, uml announced his In
tention of leaving. Mr. Hurst solicitous
ly inquired the reason. If there had been
any intittentlon Mr. Hurst assured his
guest he would see that It was remedied.
"Well." sabl the guest, "it may seem
foolish to you, Hurst, but I have a reason
for leaving. I have nothing unainst the
hotel. 1 tliink it is the nicest place to
live in I ever saw. Hut you know 1 am
superstitious, and my superstition is ell
that is tuklng me away.
"It is customary with me, as you know,
to take a few drinks through the ilhy. 1
ko into your saloun and 1 Unci that the
name of the man who inanuges It 1s
Merry. This in Itself doesn't amount to
anything, but his assistant Is named
Graves. Of course the tact wouldn't cut
any particular uniotuit of Ice with you,
hut it does w-lili me. esnecially when 1
Hud that you have a nlKht clerk named
Coflln. And then you have a porter named
i"!unn. and a chunihei maid named Vitrll,
to say nothing or a hell boy named
Sehroud and an elevator boy mimed Sex
ton. Taken in connection with the name
of the place, which can be easily mis
taken for 'Hearse,' there is too much
around lure to siiKgest a funeral to stilt
me, Hurst too much to fUKKcst. a fune
ral. "
And then the superstitious man de
parted, and Mr. Hurst thought long und
deeply. There w'll be some loose hotel
talent In tow n about Saturday.
A Modern Miracle.
He dropped a match from the bridge
and it lit on the water. Judge.
LOTH ON
(1
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15
1
HESITATE NO LONGEB.
Modesty In women is natural. It In
one of women's chief charms. i
No one cares for one who really
lacks this essential to womanliness.
Women have suffered
fearfully because
of over-sensitive
nesa in this dlrec
tiou. They could-
n t say tu
the phy
biciun what
they
ought
to say to
someone.
Mrs.'
Piukhatn
hus re
ceived the con
fidence of thou--Bauds.
Women open
their hearts tu
her. She understands their suffering,
and hus the power to relieve and cure,
tu neurly all cases the source of
women's suffering- is in the womb.j
In many cases the Sale physician doea
not understand the case tud treats tha
patient for consumption iudigestion'
anything but the right tiling.
It is under such circumstances that
thousands of women have turned tf
Mrs. 1'inklinin, at Lynn, Mass., and
opened their heurt and lives woraau
to woman und received her help.
Yon ask how she can tell if the doctor
cannot ? He cause no man living ever
treated so many cases und possesses
such vast expei ience.
Displacement, inflammation, torpid
action, st agnation, sends to all parta
of the body the puins that crush you,
Lydiu K, Pinkham's " Vegetable
Compound" is the sure cure for thut
trouble. For twenty years it bus dona x
its grand work and cured thousands
NO t.'OOUWOU.U COM K.
Tom Heed Punctures the Fallacy
r'ree Silver.
From His Portland Speech.
Wc never were able, when there wa
a difference of 2 or :i per cent., to keep
the one metal alongside of the other
it was always either gold or silver:
never both. Now, if the ITnlteil State!
then could not lift a silver dollar thul
was worth only two cents less than tin
gold dollar, can she now lift a fifty
cent dollar to the height of 100 cents
(Applause.)
And if she can. why should we want
to do It ? Suppose you have got a
house: Is it worth anv more, in it any
different house, whether It St worth
I'.nftO silver half dollars of 1,(HK gold
whole dollars? (Applause.) If you
want to count your house at more dol
lars why not cut the gold dollars ii.
two and measure it by gold?
Are there any more potatoes in four
thousand pecks than there are in a
thousand bushels? If I remember my
arithmetic aright, and perhaps I don't,
your house is the same, your farm 1st
the same. It produces the same t-uaiilt.
i&DDPS
Celebrated Vernal
Fowdfirn never fall.
1UJW UU ,!... .Us1
Mfhar.drarwktnUUMf
fiiiidiiibtTru7L
dl btr fkilct. Parties Itrt 4 MnU,
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AM
1 tar I I w m m
4PM
IN KJ
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IS,