324

LXXXVIII. HEALTH HOSPITALS, 327

LXXXIX. DESTRUCTION BY SCROFULA, 329

XC. STARVING OUT DISEASE, 334

XCI. DIETING ON MINCE PIE, 342

XCII. GIANTS IN THE EARTH, 346

XCIII. THE GREEN MOUNTAIN PATIENT, 349

XCIV. CURE OF POISON FROM LEAD, 355

XCV. FAITH AND WORKS, 358

XCVI. WORKS WITHOUT FAITH, 360

XCVII. DISEASES OF LICENTIOUSNESS, 365

XCVIII. CURIOUS AND INSTRUCTIVE FACTS, 367

XCIX. ANTI-MEDICAL TESTIMONY, 371

C. AN ANTI-MEDICAL PREMIUM, 375

CI. CONCLUDING REMARKS, 378

CII. A LAST CHAPTER, 380

FORTY YEARS IN THE WILDERNESS

OF

PILLS AND POWDERS.

CHAPTER I.

EDUCATIONAL TENDENCIES.

I was born in a retired but pleasant part of New England, as New England
was half a century ago, and as, in many places, despite of its canals,
steamboats, railroads, and electromagnetic telegraphs, it still is.
Hence I am entitled to the honor of being, in the most emphatic sense, a
native of the land of "steady habits."

The people with whom I passed my early years, though comparatively rude
and uncultivated, were yet, in their manners and character, quite
simple. Most of them could spell and read, and write their names, and a
few could "cipher" as far as simple subtraction. To obtain the
last-mentioned accomplishment, however, was not easy, for arithmetic was
not generally permitted in the public schools during the six hours of
the day; and could only be obtained in the occasional evening school, or
by self-exertion at home.

The majority of my townsmen also knew something of the dream-book and of
palmistry, and of the influence of the moon (especially when first seen,
after the change, over the right shoulder), not only on the weather and
on vegetation, but on the world of humanity. They also understood full
well, what troubles were betokened by the howling of a dog, the
blossoming of a flower out of due season, or the beginning of a journey
or of a job of work on Tuesday or Friday. Many of them knew how to tell
fortunes in connection with a cup of tea. Nay, more, not