THE STAB OF THE NORTH. •Z mr • -T~r: I ~~ Truth and Bight—Ciod and nr Conntry, [Two Dollars pr Adbuw •R. W. Wearer rroprieter.] Ir u " VOLUME 7. THE STAR OF THE NORTH IS PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY MORNING BY K. W. WEAVER, OFFICE— Up stairs, in the new brick build ing, on the south side of Main Steert, third square below Markri. TEE 918:—Two Dollars per annum, if paid within six months from the lime of sub scribing ; two dollars and fifty cents if not paid within the year. No subscription re ceived for a less period than six months; no discontinuance permitted until ail arrearages are paid, unless at the option of the editor. ADVERTISEMENTS not exceeding one square will be inserted three times for One Dollar and twenty five cents for each additional in sertion. A liberal discount will be made to thoee who advertise by the year. (ggTCDHOIB ggMMfSyST, VCR CHILDHOOD BY GEO. D. PRENTICE. 'Tis sad—yet sweet to listen To the soft wind's gentle swell, And think we hear the music Our childhood loved so well; To gaze out on the even And the boundless fields of air, And feel again our boyish wish, To roam like augels there! There are many dreams of gladness, That cling around tho past— And from the tomb of feeling Old thoughts aro throbbing fast The forms we loved so dearly, In the happy days now gone, Tho beautiful and lovely, So fair to look upon. Those bright and lovely maidens Who seemed so formed for bliss, T>io glorious and too heavenly For such a world as this! Whose soft dark eyes seemed swimming In a sea of liquid light, And whose locks of gold were streaming O'er brows so Bunny bright. Whose smiles were like the sunshine In the spring time of the year— Like the changeful gleams of April, They followed every tear! They have passed—like hope—away— All their loveliness has fled— Oh many a heart is mourning That they are with the dead. And yet—the thought is saddening To muse on such as they— And feel that all the beautiful Ate passing fast away I That the lair ones whom we love, Grow to each lowing breast, Like the tendrils of the clinging vino Then perish where they rest. And can we but think of those In soft and gentlo Spring, r When the trees are waving o'er us, And the flowers are blossoming; Fo: we know that winter'e coming With his cold and atormy sky— And the glorious beauty round us, Is blooming but to die! Judge Wilkins against the ('Jug Law." The veteran statesman, William Wilkins, the Democratic nominee for the State Senate in the Allegheny district, is out in a long and able letter against the so-called "Jug Law," of the last Legislature, and in favor cf its re peal. We extract from it the following par agraphs : lam not an example of reformation. I have been throughout my long days, and in : the course of many vicissitudes, a rigidly ■ temperate man. I have never, in the midst of the revel and frolics of others, been iniox- j icated. I have never drank malt liquor, j wins or spirits in the many and varied scenes ' of diversified society in which 1 have been thrown at home and abroad. ] atn sincere ly, tho advocate of Temperance,and my soul yearns for the wholesnmo reform which would expel from our community habits of f over indulgence and the imprudent use of drinks so ruinous to our advancement and happiness in life. But, the great and deeply interesting ques liot is—flow is this reform to bo brought about.' 1 answer ; by example, reason and moral suasion ; by the training of our youth and bv editoation ; by tho teaching of your neighbor, the sohollmaslers, and the Minis ters of the Church, and by models, brightly seiving for illustration, placed before us by ■our enthusiastic legislators themselves This great social and absorbing object cannot be obtained by persecution, nor by wild and ex travagant enthusiasm ; nor by the imprtsiiion of heavy fines and imprisonment, making the poor poorer, and ruinous to the unoffend ing family of the delinquent. Nor by laws so novel and penal as to bo almost impossi ' ble to be carried into execution, and, certainly so repulsive to the good sense of the com munity that nothing but the penalty of for feiture would excite and bring out the infor mer and extort the odious accusation before the magistrate. Nor could any good.whole efficacy be found in the enactment somffoi , abjured and condemned of ■ statute, aire*.., u -.. , . . • t „ at ite birth place, the " M.' ne ' ' ' ' passed by the people ol a State d'.' 10 " 9 *' • nor flows as plentifully as their own rivet ? Penobscot 1 would as soon think of reviving in Pennsylvania some of the laws of those eastern fellow citizens against witchcraft and sorcery, as to follow their modern exam ple, manifesting how gifted they are in the office of intolerance. With my views as to the proper mode ol reform, and in my hostility to over severe penalties, and the imposition of dißpropor tioned fines and imprisonment,! should have voted, fcad I been a member of the Legisla ture, against the present " License Law," (meaning the "Jug Law") and am of opin ion it should not remain on out statute book It was not celled for by the public voice, and waa in positive disregard of tbe vole of the people of the State. It was in mockery of the solemn judgment of the freemen of the Commonwealth, called for by the Legisla ture itself. BLOOMSBURG* COLUMBIA COUNTY, PA.* THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1855. LITTLENESS OF THE CHEAT. It is somstimes instructive, and at ail times interesting, to learn something of the eccen tricities, failings and foibles of remarkable persons. Having gathered together a number of per sonal anecdotes, we proposo to pass away a gossiping, and not wholly an unprofitable half hour in relating them to our readers. It is painful to reflect upon the inordinate I vanity which characterizes many illustrious lives. When Ctcsar became bald, he con- | stantly wore the laurel yrcatli with which ' we see him represented on medals, in the hope ol concealing the defect; and Cicero's egotism was so great, that he even compos ed a Latin hexameter in his own praise: Oh fortunalum natam me Consule Uoman, (Oh fortunate Rome when I was born tier Consul!) a line which elicited the just sar casms of Juvenal. Queen Elizabeth left 3,- 000 difforont dresses in her wardrobe when she died ; and during many years or the lat ter part of her life, would not suffer a look ing-glass in her presence, for fear she should perceive the ravages of time upon her coun tenance. Maecenas, the most egregious of classic exquisites, is said to have "wielded the Roman empire with rings on his fingers." Sir Waller Raleigh was perhaps the greatest beau on record. His shoos on court-days, were so gorgeously adorned with precious stones, as to have exceeded 6,000 guineas in value; and ho had a suit of armor of solid silver, with jeweled sword and bell, the worth of which was almost incalculable.— The great Deßcartes was very particular about his wigs, and always kept four in his dressing-closet; a piece of vanity wherein he was imitated by Sit Richard Steele, who never expended less than forty guineas upon one of his peri-wigs. Mozart, whose hair was of a fine quality, wore it very long and flowing down between his shoulders, with a j tie of colored ribbon, confining it at the neck, four Goldsmith's innocent dandyisms, and the story of his peach blossom coat, are al most proverbial. Pope's self-love was so great, that, according to Johnson, ho " had been flattered till he thought himself one ol the moving powers in the system of life."— Allan Ramsay's egotism was excessive. On one occasion, he modestly took precedence 01 Peter the Graat, in estimating t'neir com parative importance with the public : " But baud (hold) proud Czar," he says, I wadna nifier (exchange) lame!" Napoleon was vain of his small hand. Salvator Rosa was heard to compare with Raphael and Michael Angelo, calling the former dry, and the lat ter coarse; and Raphoal, again, was jealous of the fame and skill of Michael Angelo.— Hogarth's historical paintings—which were bad —equalled in his own opinion, ihoso of the old masters. Sir Peter Loly's vanity was so well known, that a mischievous wit re solving to try what amount of flattery he would believe, told bim one (lay that if the author of mankind could have had the ben efit of his (Lely's) opinions upon beauty, we should have been materially benefited in point of personal appearance! to which the painter emphatically replied t " Fore Gotl, sure, 1 believe you're right!" Bojaido, the Italian poet, ascribed so high an importance to his poetry, that when he invented a suit able name for one ol his heroes, he set the bells ringing in the village. Koizebuo was so vain and envious, that he could endure nothing celebrated to be near bim, though it were but a picture or statue; and oven Lara artine, the loftiest attid finest of the French poets, robs his charming pages of half their | beauty by the inordinate self-praise of their commentaries. Rousseau has been called the "self-torturing egotist ;"and Lord Byron's life was one long piece of ogotism from be ginning to end. He was vain of his genins, his rank, his misanthrophy, and even of his vices; and he was particularly proud of his ! gootl riding and of his handsome hands. I Penuriousness, unhappily, has boon too commonly associated with learning and fame. Cato, the censor, on his return Irom i Spain, was so parsimonious that ho sold his field-horse, to save the expenses of convey ing the ntii.Tial by sea to Italy. Attilius Reg ulus, at tbo period of his greatest glory in Af rica, entreated porm ission to return home to the management of his estate, which con sisted but of seven acres, alleging that his servants had been defrauding bim of severa I agricultural implements, and that ho wag anxious to look after his affairs. Lord Ba con is a melancholy instance of the dominion obtained by avarico over a great mind.— Swift, in his old age, was avaricious, and had absolute terror of his visitors. " When his friends of either sex came to him,in expec tation of a dinner, his custom was to give evory one a shilling, that they might please themselves withtheir provision." Of the great Duke of Marlborough, it is said by Ma cfß'lay, that'his splendid qualities were min gled' willi a''oy of 'be most sordid kind." We will now turd to the errors of self in dulgence. Socrates, l'nJo, Agathon, Arista plianes, and others of the mo! CBiffbtaled Greoks, drank witio to a surprising oxtput; j and Flato says, in his Symposium, that Socra tes kept sober longer than any. Tiberius j was so much addicted to his vice, that he had trequently to be carried from theSenalo house. Cato was fond of the bottle. Ben Johnson delighted in copious draughts of i Canary wine, and even contrived to have a pipe of that liquor added to his yearly pen sion as poet iaureato. The fine intellect of Coleridge was clouded over by his unhappy propensity. Montaigne indulged in Sherry The otherwise unexceptionable morality of Addison was stained by this ono orror. Sir Richard Steele, Fielding and Sterne, shared the prevailing taste for hard drinking. Mo zart was no exception to tbe rule. Churchill waa a very intemperate man ; and Hogarth gave a ludicrous immortality to the satar- j ist's love of porter, by representing him in the character of a bear with a mug of that liquor in its paw. Tasso aggravated his mental irritability by tho use of wines, des pite (lie entreaties of his physicians. Du ring his long impiisonment, he speaks grate fully in Ilia letters of some sweetmeats with which he had been supplied, and after hia release, he relates with delight the good things that were provided for him by his patron, lite Duke of Mantua—"the bread and fruit, tbe flesh and fish, the wines, sharp and brisk, and the confections." Pope, who was somewhat of an epicure, when slaying at the house of his friend, Lord Bolingbroke, would lie in bed for days together, uuless ho heard there were to be strewed lampreys for dinner, when he would forthwith arise, and mako his appearance at the tablo. Dr. Johnson had a voracious liking for a lug of mutton "At my Aunt Ford's," he said, " I ate so much of a leg of mutton, that she I used to talk of it." A gentleman once treat- ! ed hint to a dish of lew honey and clouted i ctoam, of which he partook so enormously that bis entertainer was alarmed. Quin, the famous actor, has boon known to travel ftom London to Bath, for the mere sake of dining upon a John Dorey. Dr. Barr, in a private letter, confesses to his passionate love of hot boiled lobsters, with a profusion , of shrimp-sauce. Shelly was for many years I a vegetarian; and in the notos to his earliest i edition of Queon Mab, speaks with enlhusi- j asm of a dinner of "greens, potatoes and tur- I nips. He ale fast, and of whatever was near- j est to him ; often beginning with the broad | upon tbo table before the other dishes came, i Being visited one day by a stranger, ho do- j voured all the dinner that was provided for j both ; and when afterward censured for his j impoliteness, only observed that "the gen tleman should have taken care of himself." Handel ate enormously ; and Dr. Kirchner j relates of him, that whenever he dined at a tavern, he ordered dinner for three. On be- 1 ing told thai all was ready as soon as the company should arrive, he would exclaim : Due pring up de dinner prestissimo—l AM BE j COMPANY." Lord Bryon's favorite dish was eggs ami bacon; and though lie could never j eat it without suffering from an attack of in- • digestion, he bad not always sufficient firm ness to resist the temptation. Lalando, the great French astronomer, would eat spiders as a relish. Linnrcus delighted in chocolate, and it was ho that bestowed upon it its gen eric name of Thcobroma, or " food for the gods." Fqntonelle deemed strawberries tho most delicious eating in the world, and du ring his last illness, used to exclaim constant ly: •' If 1 can but reach the season of straw berries !" The amusements of remarkable persona ; have been various and often eccentric. The great Baylo would frequently wrap himsell ' in bis cloak and hasten to places where mountebanks resorted : and this was his chief relaxation from the intensity of study. Spi noza delighted to sol spiders fighting, and would laugh immoderately at beholding their insect warfare. Cardinal Richelieu used to ■ seek amusement in violcn' exorcise, and was ; found by Da Gammot jumping with his ser- ; vant, to sen which could jump the highest. The great logician, Samuel Clarke, was equal- ! ly fond of such saltatory interludes to his hours of meditation, and has been discovered leaping over tables and chairs Once, obser- I ving the approach of a pedant, he said : 'Now wo must leave off, lor a fool is coming in !' The learned I'etavius used to twirl his chair round and round five minutes, at Vim end of j every two hours, Tycho llraltediverted liitn | Belf in polishing glasses for spectacles. Pa lev, tho author of Natural Theology, was so I much eiveu to angling, (hat he had his per- 1 | trait painted with a rod and lino in his hand. Louis XVI of sad memory, amused himsell with lock making. Salvutor Rosa used to perforin in extempore comedies, and take the character of a mountebank in the stree's of Rome. Anthony Magliabecchi, tho famous librarian to ibe Duke of Tuscany, look a great interest in the spiders that thronged his apartments; and while silting among his \ mountains of books, would caution his visi- I tors "not to hurt the spiders!" Moses Men- I delssohn, surnamml the Jewish Socrates, | would sometimes seek relief from too much thought in standing at his window and count, ing the titles upon his neighbor's roof.— Thomas Wharton, the poetical antiquarian, used to associate with the schoolboys, while visiting his brother, Dr. J. Wharton. Camp bell eays : •' When engaged with them in some culinary occupation, and when alarmed by the su'lden approach of the master, he has been known to hide himself in a dark corner of tho kitchen, and has been dragged from | thence by the doctor, who has taken him for some great boy. Cowper kept bares, and made bird cages. Dr. Johnson was so fond of his cat, that he would even go out himself to buy oysters for puss, because hia sorvant was to proud to do so. Geothe kept a tame snake, but hated dogs. Ariosto delighted in gardening; but lie destroyed all he planted hy turning up the mould io see if the seeds wore germinating. Thomson had hisgatden at Richmond, respecting which the old story of how he ate poaches of the trees with his hands in his pocket is telated. Gibbon was a lazy man. Coleridge was content to oil from morning till night threading tho dreamy mazes of his own mind. Gray said he wish ed to be always I) ing on sofas, reading eter nal new novols of Crebitlion and Mativaux. Fenion, the eminent scholar, died from sheer inactivity; he rote late, and when he had ris en, sat down to his books and papers A woman who had waitod upon him in hts lodging said, that "ha would lie a-bed and be fed with a spoon." Contrary examples to that of Sir Walter Scott, who wrote all bis fi nest works before breakfast! To return to the recreations of celebrated persons. Oliver Cromwell is said to have sometimes cast aside his puritan gravity and played at blindntan'a buff With his daughters ar.d attendants. Henri Quartre delighted to go about in disguise among the peasantry.—■ Charles II' most innocent amusement con sisted in feeding tho ducks in St. James' Park, and ir. rearing numbers of those boau tilul spaniels that still bear his name. Bee thoven would snlush in eold water stall times of the day, till his chamber was swamped, and the water oozed through the flooring to the rooms beneath ; he would also walk out into the dowy.fields at nightor morning with out shoes or stockings Shelly look an un accountable delight in floating little paper boats on any piece of water he chanced to be noar. Thore is a pond on Hampstead heath which has often borne his tiny fleets; and there is an anecdote related of him— rather ioo good, we fear to bo true —which says, that being one day beside llio Serpen tine, and having no othor paper in his pock et wherewith to indulge his passion for ship building, lie actually folded a bank-bill of fif ty pounds in the desired shape; launched the little craft upon its voyage ; watched ita steady progress with paternal anxiety ; and filthily went over and received it at the oppo site aid*. This piper might bo extended almost in definitely : but there must ho limits even to an essay, and certainly to tho good nature of our readers. •• Jleuutirul Extract. Water is an instructive emblem of'lff" immortality. Observe it well, and it tuny throw light upon, or at least, give interest ing suggestions regarding these mysteries. From the great reservoir of ocean this flu-' id rises invisibly, and dispenses life to every ! thing that blooms and breathes Not a nook,j however hidden, escapes its visitation ; noi-1 thcr root nor fibre is neglected. Where the thin-soiled mountain needs most its aid. it kindly doubles its attention. Besides, it finds its way into overy pore of the inner rocks, working continual changes there, and by a perfect system of pipes and reservoirs 1 it. cunningly distributes a cooling draught to all the children of men How it is supplied with the intelligence that is exhibited in all these complex workings we know not. Pure as tbe infant at birth it ■•nines upon the land a little rain drop, and soon it finds itself thrown into society with other drops, and it 1 becomes a compulsory worker in a common ' plan. According us its pilgrimage is long or short, it becomes, as a matter of course more or less tainted of earth, and anon, each drop ' its appointed task performed, finds itself gathered back to the great source whence it came. One may say to tho othor " thou art more soiled than I."' But soon the dross of earth, precipitates itself alike from all, and the pure spirit is ready to be born again to a ttcw life and another round of usefulness, to •be repealed thus forever and ever Behold the emblem of immoriuli'y! The rain drop departs from the land ! It dies, but lives 1 again ! WOMAN. A pretty woman is ono of the 'institutions'. of this country—an angel in dry good* and ] glory. Rho makes sunshine, fourth of July ■ ar.d happiness wherever s'io goes. Her path ' is one of delicious roses, purlume and tinau- I ty. She is a sweet poem written in rare curls, I choice calico and good principles. Men stand up before her, as so many admiration points, to melt into cream and then bullor.— Her words float around the ear like music, or tho ehimes of Sabbath bells Without her, society would lose its truest attraction, the church its firmest reliance, and young men the yery host of comforts and company. Her influence and generosity restrain the vicious, slrengihen the weak, raise the lowly, flannel shirt the heathen, and strengthen die faint hearted. Wherever you find the virtuous wumaii, you also find pleasant firesides, bo qnets, clean cloths, order, good living, gemle hearts, piety, musio, light, and model ins'itu lions generally. She is the flower of hu manity, a very Venus in dimity, and her in spiration is the breath of heaven. A FAIR OFFER. Dr. Franklin made llio following offer to a ynimg man "Mako,' said he, "a full esti-* mato of ai! you owe, and of all that ia ow ing to you Reduce the same to a note. As fast as yon can collect, renew your note ev ery year, arid get the best secntity you can Go to business diligently, and be inditatrious; Waste no idle moments ; be very economical in all things; discard all pride ;be taitldul in your duty to God, by regular and hearty prayer morning and night; attond church and meeting regularly every Sunday; and do un to all men as yen would they should do un to you. If you are too needy in circumstan- I ces to give to the poor, do whstevor else in | your power for them cheerfully, but if you can, always help the poor end unfortunate Pursue this course diligently and sincerely for seven years, and if yon aro not happy, comfortable, and independent in your cir ! cumstances, come to me, and I will pay your debts." Young people, try it. ! OT Tho seventeenth Annual course of j Lectures in the Southern Botanieo-Mcdical College, at Macon, Ca., commences on I first Monday of November From the Medical Reformer. A Few Objections to Leeches. DY C. IT. ROSE, M. D. 1 propose occupying a few pages of the Reformor in considering some of tho more important ocjections to tho therapeutical application of Leeches. Less than half a century ago, vcnesoction was considered by tho members of tho allopathic profession as the only reliable remedy for inflammatory disease, and was frequently resorted to by the more heroic practitioners in controling aflections of an asthenic or debilitating cha racter. But the almost incredible advance ment of tho Reformed systom of Mcdieino, and its infinitely superior success in the treatmont of all the maladies to which hu man flesh is heir, have changed the tenor of public opinion, and compelled the advo cates of the lancet to abandon a remedial a gent so totally at variance with all the laws of the human economy. Tho experience and knowledge of nearly three thousand regularly educated physicians in this coun try, have proved to every unbiassed and in telligent mind that bloodletting is an unnec essary, unscientific and barbarous measure —gcnorally injurious to the patient and of ten fatal to life. I will not, therefore, fill the pages of the Reformer with an instructive dissertation upon the irrationality of gener al bloodletting, but confino my objections almost exclusively to the detrimental effects of Leeches in the treatment of disease. Since phlebotomy has become unfashion able, the Old School physicians of the pres ent day resort to leeches and cups, to pro duco those remedial results which their re j strictnd medical education renders it impos | sible for them to attain by the more inno , cent, natural and effectual resources of tbo j New School. Topical bloodletting, by leeches and cup ping-glassos, cannot be regarded as capable of producing as injurious effects upon the (•ojislitution as general bloodletting—but tho ultimate and inevitable result of the loss of hlo'nd upon the system is debility The condition df lb" patient, or tiie concom itant circumstances of the case, may in ma ny instances materially alter the effects. The abstraction of a small qil.wtity of blood from a person labouring under ail asthenic disease, or from one possessing an anemic habit, will generally prove more disastrous than the removal of a much larger quantity from a person of opposite condition or con stitution. Again, local bloodletting cannot be considered as dangerous as venesection, because there is no direct shock produced upon the system by the former mode, and the removal taking place more gradually, sufficient time is allowed for tho vessels of the part to contract their calihor to the quan tity of blood remaining in them: Arteriot otny or phlebotomy is very seldom resorted to in diseases of children, because a more available substitute can be had in leeches. Watson in iiis Practice says: (page 153) "It is seldom necessary, for in children we can always get as much blood by topical bleed ing as will be equivalent to a general blood letting." From this admission it is very evident that leeches arc more frequently ap plied to children than to adults, and taking into consideration the immense number an nually imported into this country, amount ing as lias been supposed to several mil lions, and a large majority of them consum ed in sucking from the infantile portion of the community that vital and all pervading fluid which is essential to earthly health and existence, can we not then refer a large part of the astonishing mortality among children to the therapeutical application of those delectable animals ? I think wc can. 'The iccch is now considered the most valu able remedy of the Allopathic Materia Med ica for relieving extravasations or conges tions of blood, or for discussing local inflam mations, and is also regarded as an excel lent substitute in cases where the use of the ! scarificator would be impossible or unad- ' visablc. A very prevalent opinion exists among a I'irgc portion of the community, that leeches 1 are very effectual agents in reducing a sub-! cutanoous extravasation of blood—in com-! mon parlance—leeches arc always nacos sary to relieve a part of an accumulation ] of btuisod blood, resulting from an injury, etc. But such an opinion is totally errone ous. Several respectable "leechers" of this city have admitted that leeches will not suck stagnated blood from a part of tho body. I have known "leechers" to refuse to apply leeches to a "blacken eye," although or dered to do so by popular physicians, and on tho plea that the effects would prove more injurious than beneficial, and possibly dostroy the organ. Again, if you attempt to remove blood from a bruise by leeches, it must be done prior to lire inflammation sot ting in, or after it has subsided, otherwise the lencli bites will incrcaso tho inflamma tion, and prove more serious than the origi nal difficulty. But there will be no neces sity of extracting the blood after inflamma tion has disappeared, the recuporativo pow ers of nature will restore the blood to its proper vessels and produce restoration. The cautions rocommondod in the books to be regarded, as well as the dangers re sulting from tho application of loechcs, are arguments sufficiently strong to convince any intelligent and liberal, medical man that leeching is an unnecessary and injuri ous measure. Hastings in his practice of Surgery, says, (page 42) that— "Leeches should npt be applied to females where llio cicatrix would bo unsightly. In children large superficial wins should bo avoided. Nor should they be placed on tho eye lids, since in this situation they are apt to cause odoma and ecchymosis in tho part; no* where cutaneous nerves abound. as erysipelas is apt to follow. They should not be applied directly to the inflamod part, for thb reason that the stimulus ot their bites adds to the existing inflammation; nor should they bo applied near an acutn ulcer, for their bites are apt to degenerate in this case into ulcers: if the ulcor be of a specific char acter, tho bites become inoculated, and thus extend, instead of decreasing tho ulcer ated surlaco. Neither should they be placed whero bandages are of paramount impor tance as in fractures, for in such cases the bites are apt to inflame ami ulcerate.' and thus cause the removal of the apparatus at a crit ical period." Prof. Bigelow, of Boston, says— 'T have known children to be killed by the bites of foreign leeches: caution should be observed in their application, as it is ex tremely difficult to stop tho bleeding." fn tho London Practice of Midwifery wc find the statement that "an infant lias been known to die under the operation of a single leech." Boisseau on Fever, says— "Wc are bound in conscience hero to note the fact, that leeches are capable ot destroy ing iilo In addition to sufficient evidence ! to be drawn from books, the writer ol this I article lias himsell been a witness, in tnore | than a single instance, to the fact." j But in tlio face of all this evidence, com | piled from the most celebrated Allopathic authorities, leeches aro still used indiscrim inately by all old school practitioners of this country. The bright, smiling and lovely babe, whose sweet and merry voice was often heard by all the household, who was once the idol of a mother's heart and the joy of a father's affection, now lies moulder ing in tho cold and silent tomb only one of , the innumerable victims to the use ol Iccch- ! ,'es. And why do such cases occur? Sim- ; ply bocauso parents remain ignorant of an 1 innocuous system of medicine and allow ; themselves to be carried away by prejudice I and upon the wings of popularity. I have already stated that pernicious and I deleterious effects often arise from the ap- 1 | plication of leeches directly over important arteries and veins. A case of this character j occurred here not long since. An Allopath- i ic physician ordered several leeches to be ' placed on tho nock of a child, about four years of age, which was immediately done j as directed. One or two filled very rapidly 1 and were taken off, when it was ascertained : that an important blond vessel had been j wounded. Here, any compression of the j neck might seriously affect the cerebral cir- 1 dilation, and the skill of the doctor to sup- ; press tho hemorrhage proved futile, until an extravagant effusion of blood had taken j place and left its debilitating effects upon a j previously weak and delicate child. There is always more or less hemorrhage , from the bites after, tho leeches have been ' taken off, which often continues for a long ; time especially from those parts of tho body 1 where compression is impossible and styp- j tics must be depended on, and also among | those poisons who possess a hemorrhagic diathesis, the bleeding is iri all cases inev itably and dangerously profuse. But the ; most forcible objection to the use of leeches ; is ono which iias not received from thp medical profession that consideration which 1 its importance demands, viz: the tfalismis- j sioti of diseases from ono person to another ! by tlicm. And is it not evident to every in vestigating mind that a morbid condition ; may be transmitted from one body to anoth er by the application of the same leeches to ; persons laboring under different diseases.— I May not variola, sypliylis and other conta- J gious aflections be propagated in this man- ; ncr? And may not a leech applied to a scrofnlus tumor and afterwards to a healthy ! person incorporate the constitutional con tamination ot the former into the latter ? I answer without qualification thai such trans mission can take place just as effectually as small pox can be produced by inoculation, I or that syphylis can result from the matter coming in contact with a mucus surface.— In support of this assertion. 1 will present to the readers of your widely circulated Journal a few well authenticated cases, cor roborating tho fact that morbid conditions have been transmitted from one body to an other by leeches. Case First.—A colored servant woman of Mr. W was attacked with inflammatory Rheumatism. An Allopath was called to her relief and recommended the application of several leeches to the inflamed joints.— The leeches were applied as directed* and in the course of two or three days the pre monitory symptoms of variola presented themselves, followed by the eruption which passed through its different stages with reg ularity. Upon inquiry it was ascertained that the same leochos had been previously applied to a person confined with the small pox. Case Second. —A physician of this city or dored a German man to lie leeched for some indisposition. A German pretender of the cupping and leeching profession performed the duly as directed In a short time after, the patient was surprised to find himself af fected with syphylitic disease, and future investigation into tho cause ot the disorder conclusively proved that tho leechos had previously drawn blood troni the scrotum of a man laboring under Syphylis! Case Third.— Dr. , a popular physician of Washington, D. C., lost his reputation and practice on account of producing a scrof ulous affection of a lady's face, by tho ap plication of a leech which had been placed j upon a scrofulous tumor. Having now impartially but irq perfectly j considered some of tho tnoro '"nporlnnt ob jections to the absurd practice of leeohing for tho purpose of eon'toling abnormal ae- I tion of tho human organism. I will think | myself amply repaid it the proceeding opin ions and rob actions will in slightest degree aid in abolishing local bloodletting as a torn odial agent; firmly and conscientiously be lieving that the attainment of such an end, would to an infinite extent shorten disease, diminish human suffering, prolong life, ancl at tho sarno time advance and disseminate tho Reformed System ot Medicine through out the world NUMBER 37. From the Meditnl Reformer Domestic Treatment ot Dysentery. Dns. Joint & PRETTVMAN —Gentlemen, — May I presume to offer a few remarks upon ■ that common and troublesome complaint the Dysentery'? I havo seen and nutsed a good many cases, and suffered several attacks mysoll, and as 1 always observe, compare, . reason, and deduce, as I go through life, t j would like to lay my observations &c. uport this particular subject beforo you, and the public. And first, I havo observed that dysentery is frequently the consequence of excessive mental, or physical exertion; ex ; posure to great heat; or sudden changes of i temperature. I have never been able to (trace a case of dysentery to any thing which the patient had eaten, though Cholera mor bus, and diarrhoea arc often thus occasioned. The stomach seems to take no part in ! dysenteric disturbance, except as it may be | sympathetically affected In all my obser j vations, an attack of dysentery is preceded a heaviness or dizziness of the head ; great weakness in the small of the back, and ' lower limbs, as if the tendons were so relax ed, and the joints so loosened, that the mem bers were 110 longer obedient to the will.— This condition is distantly related to paraly -1 sis. Consequently its scat is the brain, and a certain set of nerves are deranged. I have j known these symptoms to result in an ex j ccstiive (low of urine, of a pale whitish col • or, and disagreeable odor. In these cases the bowels were undisturbed, or most fre quency rather constipated. 11' dysentery re l suited, the urino was always scanty, and j tlark colored. And in every case the pa \ ticnt is teased by an irregular and capicious 1 fever, occasioning restlessness, and great I uneasiness. This indicates derangement of the nerves, which is farther proven by their • morbid excitability, and violent expulsive : action, whenever there is a downward move , inent, in the bowol: while the small intea : tines seem unnaturally torpid, from the fact, I that they do not discharge their contents in- Ito the lower portion of the canal. Hence ; I conclude that the cquilebriutn of the ner i vous system is temporarily destroyed, and j the excessive nervous action, or may I say, the excess of the norvous or magnetio fluid, ; in the parls affected, disorganizes the blood, j and thus produces the peculiar phenomena !of dysenteric disease. Titus dysentery as | sunics the character of a low form of typhoid congestion. I have kept house about thirty years, havo raised several children of my own, and oth er people's, and havo never onco had occa sion to call a doctor for a case of dysentery or other bowel complaint. Every attack, having thus far, yielded to domestic treat ment. My first aim is to equalize the cir culation, by warm bathing, drafts to the feet, and diaphoretic drinks, of which a tea of the mingled blossoms of white elder and catnip is the most efficient. An application of camphorated oil, oil tinctured with spir its of turpentine, or oil and hartshorn, to the small of the back, and sides,by nibbing with the hand, is aisrj serviceable. By these means a frok perspiration, and copious (low of urine are induced, and an inclination to quiet sleep. A light and loosening diet, plenty ol warm catnip, camomile, or slip pery elm tea, or cold water, in which is mix ed a tittle raw wheat flour, abate the dysen teric symptoms in the discharges, and then tea of strawberry leaves, briar root or any other mild astringent with occasionally a now laid egg beat Well with sugar, and eaten raw; with quiet and repose, complete the euro. In violent attacks, and desperate cases, when the nervous system Is so much disturbed as to produce vomiting, spasms, and general disarrangement, 1 have deemed it expedient to administer an opiate strong enough to control the nervous action, until a proper treatment, may induco them to take on a natural action. Having great faith in the instinctive de mands of nature for her own benefit, 1 nev er withhold from a patient any thing which they ardently desire to cat, or dfink, except spirituous liquors from such as may be sup posed to feel an inebriate's desire for them I havo known such food as scicnco would pronounoo it madness to sutler a patient to swallow, have the effect of groatly allevia ting the disease by acting as a stimulant, sedative, or palliative, as the oaso might to- * quire. I do not expect that doctors will sanction my views or adopt my regimen in these premises; but if they condemn them 1 can only say that 1 have had the happiness of seeing every ease that has occurred in my family yield 10 my treatment spocdily, per manently, and perfectly. Therefore—if a successful practice is a right practice, and if a right practice must bo founded On a right theory, I am right, whoever may be wrong. LYDIA JANE PIERSON. AbTiluilllY, Engage the people by their affections— convince their roason— and they will be loy al from die only principle that cen make loyalty sincore, vigorous, or rutlonat—a con viction that it is their trnost interest, andjthat their goyetnment is for theit good. Con s'laint U thq natural parent of resistance, and ! a ptngnanl proof that reason is not on the I side of those who use it. You must all re | member I-ucian's pleasant story Jupiter i and a countryman were walking together, conversing with great freedom and familiar ity on the subject of heaven and earth- The i countryman listened with attention and ac* j quiescence while Jupitot strove only to con ' vinco him; but happening to bint a doubt, 1 Jupiter turned hastily around and tbreatenad 1 him with his thunder. "Ah 1 ah !" said tba ' countryman, ''now, Jupiter, I know that yeu I are always wrong when you appesUh jrout ' thunder.—Er^kioc.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers